Perfection.  Everybody wants it, right?  I know I do.  I strive for it in all aspects of my life, especially my body.

Maybe, though, it's all in the eye of the beholder. 

Take today, for example.  It's dreary, no sunshine, raining cats and dogs, chilly, just a down right awful day.  But, then again, perhaps it is a perfect day.  It's a perfect day to stay inside and, it's a perfect day to take a nap, it's a perfect day to read a book or watch an old movie snuggled under a blanket with your favorite pet, and well, it’s a perfect day to write a blog.  

So I got to thinking about perfection and what and how it has impacted my life, and in particular, my transformation journey.  So, like I previously said, I strive for perfection in all aspects of my life, especially my body.  But realistically, I know that perfection cannot be humanly achieved in life, like raising perfect children, or being the perfect child, or the perfect spouse or the perfect friend. The only perfection I know of, are the works of Mother Nature.  The flowers, the sky, the stars, the sun.... 

Why then, do I not accept that reality when it comes to my physical being?  Why do I think that perfection is out there and if I just work hard enough, I'll get it, but then, who's to say what it looks like?  I mean that is really the crux of my struggle.  Looking back at my "Before Statement" at the outset of the transformation contest, I stated: "The challenge for me is to accept myself.  To be proud of the way I look, with all the imperfections.."  Uh oh...

Encarta Dictionary shows the definition of perfection as "the quality of something that is as good or suitable as it can possibly be" (emphasis added).  Hmm, "as suitable as it can possibly be".  Now suitable to me does not sound like perfection, not at all.  But, if something is of the right type or quality for a particular purpose, wouldn't that be pretty much perfect?   Uh oh...."something's happening here.  What it is ain't exactly clear"*....or is it?  Like Oprah says, I'm having an "Ah ha moment." 

You know, I've been happy lately.  I've transformed the way I eat, never skipping meals, eating 5 - 6 times a day and consistently exercising.  I like the way I feel, and I think that I have begun to see that my body, my mind, is of the "right type and quality".   It seems to me now, that my goal of accepting myself with all the imperfections was somewhat of an oxymoron.  I see that my "imperfections" are "as good and suitable as they can possibly be", and therefore, perfect. 

I can accept that. 

Just like a rainy day.

*Buffalo Springfield

     I’ll admit it. I own a Snuggie and I love my Snuggie.

     One day I was somewhere and I saw a “Slanket”. I sneered condescendingly at the Slanket thinking, “Ha! You are just a cheap, Snuggie knock-off! I own a REAL Snuggie. Not a just a generic blanket with sleeves, like you, SLANKET!” But recently I found out that the Slanket actually came out two years before the Snuggie. Sadly, the Slanket is the original Snuggie and the Snuggie just hit it big with their silly advertising. Now I feel bad for thinking the Slanket is a copycat, when in fact the Snuggie is the copycat.

     They say, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, but in all honesty I have never been a big fan of copycats. And I think the Slanket people would tend to agree. But, I’m writing about cheap imitations because many months ago I was ordering t-shirts for my boot campers. And the lovely Joci Sykes recommended that one of the shirts say, “I can do anything for a Mandy Minute!” There is a whole inside joke involved because for a long time the boot camp has been mocking me (in a fun way) for always saying, “You can do ANYTHING for (fill in the blank with an amount of time)!” The camp coined the phrase “Mandy Minute” because I will often time exercises for a minute, but for various reasons they tend to last longer than 60 seconds. A “Mandy Minute” is a fluid time orientation that is somewhere around a minute. It’s a flexible amount of time. So, the phrase, “You can do anything for a Mandy minute!” is OUR thing.

     Imagine my surprise when I found out that another fitness group in the area printed, “You can do anything for a minute!” on their boot camp t-shirts.

      I would first like to thank all of you for supporting me and my business since I started it in 2005. It has changed and grown over the years and I have had a blast working with all of you. BTW, I'm not closing up shop or anything. This isn't one of THOSE blogs!

      And I sincerely apologize if you have been receiving friend requests on Facebook from other Harrisburg fitness businesses as a result of your status as a "fan" of my Facebook page or your personal friendship with me on Facebook. I recently discovered that a group has been soliciting not only the "fans" of Mandy Kutish Personal Fitness Training & Boot Camps, but also my personal "friends" on Facebook. While I have grown accustomed to them shamelessly copying my intellectual property (more on this in a bit), I didn't think they would stoop to such a level. I was wrong.

     I can somewhat understand the temptation of wanting to solicit the "fans" of my business page, but in the end, I think it shows a lack of integrity and is a poor choice. But, what I find more offensive is that they are soliciting my friends on my personal page. There are certain lines that shouldn't be crossed and I think they have done it. I find the whole thing to be rather distasteful and in all honesty, down right creepy.

     If you are one of the people they have been bothering, please accept my apology.

     Fitness (in general) and this business are truly my passions in life. I have always said that I have the greatest job in the world because most of the time it doesn't feel like a job. So much in fact that I don't dread coming back to work after vacation, nor do I really mind getting up at 3:30 am most days. I get to work with really great people, to share something I love with others and to be creative. And it's a great excuse to buy cool new fitness products and to take the hottest new training courses. :)

     And as much as I love it, it still requires that I invest a lot of time, physical effort, brain power, creativity and money into researching, developing, learning, practicing and perfecting my craft. I'm only one person and there is only so much I can do. Implementing a new program of any type is a pretty big undertaking. It isn't the same as if I worked as a group fitness instructor at a local gym where I would be responsible for only the material in my class and other employees would do the rest. Very rarely (I can't think of a single time) will I start a new program, boot camp, class, etc., without first trying it out either at an extreme discount or for free. Even if I think my program is worth a certain price and I'm confident I can get that price, I will never offer it at that price until I have worked out all of the kinks and I truly feel it is worth it. Sometimes the programs are where they need to be and other times they need more work. So, I take them back to the drawing board, reevaluate them and try again. I'm willing to take a loss to maintain the integrity of my business and to give my clients the best experience I can give them. T

     This past summer/fall I developed 3 new programs: A Group Running Camp based on the Couch To 5K program, Core and Booty and Down and Dirty. I charged well below market value for these programs because I was testing them. Tomorrow night I am offering a free Flirty Girl Fitness "Girls Night Out" for the same reason. I was part of the very first group of instructors to become "Flirtified" (Flirty Girl's certification) a year ago. I sat on this certification for a year because I didn't want to roll out Flirty Girl until I had the right facility and I felt worthy enough to ask people to give up an hour of their time to attend. And if I hold the class again or it becomes a regular thing, I will not charge for it until I feel it's worthy. And it will be the same when I offer a free "Bad Kitty Sassy Fitness" class in the near future. But, it wouldn't surprise me if this other group rolls out something very similiar very soon.

     This is why I find it so frustrating when other businesses shamelessly take my ideas and copy my programs. It doesn't take any special skill, passion or creativity to just copy what someone else is doing. Yes, there are times when I hear of a particular type of class (ex. yoga) and I start that class, but never would I copy someone else's entire program and try to pass it off as my own. I know that not everyone is creative, but this makes me question their dedication, passion and experience for the fitness industry. A good fitness professional should not have to copy their local competitors to come up with ideas. They should just be developing new programming because they can see a need for it. And if they are truly passionate, then they should be spending their time attending conferences and classes with other passionate fitness professionals so that they do know what is going on.

      That being said, this hasn't deterred or discouraged me in any way. If anything, it has encouraged me to continue down the path. If my stuff is worth copying, then it must be pretty good. :) My goal has always been to expand and grow my fitness business and I am even more determined to do so now. I will continue to develop new programs and to stay on the cutting edge. And I am planning to hire other passionate fitness professionals (and passionate people who wish to become fitness pros) to work for me.

     They might be able to imitate, but they will never duplicate (and that includes the sayings on our boot camp t-shirts). :)

P.S. If anyone would like to order a "I Can Do Anything For a MANDY Minute!" t-shirt, please send me your size and whether you would like a Men's t-shirt or a Misses T-shirt by 2/28. I'm not sure of the price yet, but they will be less than $10.

Why does Valentines Day equate to unhealthy eating? It’s an occasion of temptation that really I could do without. We are a culture based on food. Its one commonality all humankind shares. In my family, food= love. I never visit my family without a smorgasbord of food on the table. I’m talking good, old fashioned country cooking. My mom doesn’t understand the definition of low fat. She feels she is doing her due diligence as a parent if she feeds me, regardless if I tell her I’m on a diet and “no, I don’t eat meat”, she still tells me “one bite won’t hurt you”. Visits home are much like holidays and it’s really hard to stay on track!  

Valentines Day menus and recipes market to the hopelessly romantic (that would be me). They allure you into ways of setting the mood with food. I’ve been so hungry lately and I know it’s mental. After going through my four step program:

1)      Am I REALLY hungry (for the cheese and chocolate fondue!)?

2)      On a scale of 1-10 HOW hungry?

3)      If I drink my body weight in water…will I still be hungry?!

4)      If I do deep breathing exercises and visualization techniques like picturing my face on a Victoria’s Secret model will the desire to eat (the chocolate and cheese fondue) go away?

If I can’t live without it, I give in and I deal with the consequences of my mental breakdown at a later time. My cheese and chocolate fondue was fabulous. And yes, I’ll have some whine with that cheese. Please.

My plan for the rest of the week is to spend five days on a detox diet. The fat flush diet has been my go cleanse in the past. There’s comfort in knowing the results I’ll achieve. Monday I will look forward with a renewed sense of Valentine’s past.

Six Hundred Twenty One.   Thirty feet.   Six minutes.

621, I think everyone would agree, that's a big number, no matter what it represents, unless it's 621 pennies, and that's big to a 5 year old !

30 feet.  Hmm, not that far.  Unless, of course, that's how far you can jump or how far you could fall. Yikes!!  To put 30 feet into perspective, a average length of typical car is about 14 feet, so just a little over the length of two cars.

6 minutes. This is an interesting one.  It could be a very long time, like in the case of doing Mountain Climbers for 6 minutes, or, it could very short, as in your vacation only lasts 6 minutes.

So what do these numbers mean to me?  Back to that in a minute.

This week was a little bumpy for me.  I started off strong, committed to my exercise and eating routine.  I felt lean and physically powerful.  I felt happy. I was in the zone.

I also started working on my "mind makeover".   In my last blog, I mentioned Bill Phillips, author of "Body for Life" and "Transformation Solution".  He approaches fitness with a holistic approach.  He teaches and preaches transformation from the inside out.  Using his program as a guide, I began looking inward to identify my most prominent inner feelings and emotions.  I started to challenge my mindset by discovering what patterns of thinking or beliefs I have that limit my ability to change and I tried to objectively look at, and evaluate, my body.

Ok, now this stuff is as easy as it is hard.  The operative words above are: "began", "started" and "tried".   Obviously, "began and started" is a exactly that, a starting point, a first action, or first part.  And then there is "tried" , well, I did that. I attempted, I made an effort.  Not to be redundant, but these verbs do not mean an "end", but a beginning.   I mean everybody knows that, right?

I don't know, I guess I'm the only one who thought that by just doing these things, I would be successful and would have changed my behavior and my state of mind.  Well, I'll tell you, I was happily rolling through the week, just feeling all kinds of chipper.  I felt so good, I decided to check my weight, and take my measurements.

 "In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips and chains. Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale."  - Steven Phillips

Yup, and tape measures!  Ok, the number on the scale was fine, affirming even, but the measurements...........not so much.  It appeared that I gained an inch in nearly every measurement except my waist.  I FREAKED!  Oh, all that positive self talk was quickly replaced with self-doubt, fear, discouragement, and anger. I'm gonna admit it, I cried.  I called Mandy, and she assured me that it was a mistake and not to worry.  

But, it was too late. The mind is such a fluid thing.  One minute you can feel great and the next, spiraling in the opposite direction.

So, back to the numbers.

The day after my "meltdown", I went to visit my mom. 

621:  It had been 621 days, not since I'd seen her, but since the stroke.  On June 22, 2009, while living with me, my beloved and precious mom, suffered a massive stroke. She lost 25% of her brain.  She is paralyzed on her right side, she cannot walk, she cannot use her right arm and she cannot talk.  For 621 days, she has tirelessly worked toward regaining some muscle strength and physical ability.  The process is very slow and very painful.

But that day, she walked!  She did it with assistance and a hemi-walker (like a 3 legged cane), but she walked.

30 feet:  The distance she walked that day.

6 minutes:  How long it took her to walk 30 feet. (It would normally take less than 1 minute to walk 30 feet.)

621 days to be able to walk 30 feet (the length of two cars) in 6 minutes (which must have seemed like an hour)!

It was an incredible accomplishment, it was inconceivable.  But not to her.  She has never given up, she has never given in to hopelessness or dispair, she has persevered through the most difficult of circumstances.  Mom had a positive mindset and a purpose, she transformed from the inside out.  And it was a great triumph!

She is an inspiration.   She is my inspiration.  

I have a perfectly healthy body and an intelligent, sound mind.  I have alot more work to do, but I will triumph too!

Thank you momma.  

I'm an only child. You might be wondering why this matters as I'm also an adult at this point. But, as a former child and a forever only child (I don't think my parents are going to have any more kids), I don't always like to share.

I know you're thinking, "What a brat!" or "I had no idea Mandy was such an awful person", but let me explain. It would be more accurate for me to say that I don't like sharing certain things. If you ask me to borrow anything: my car, my boat, my clothes, my iPod, etc. I will gladly give it to you. What I don't like sharing are things that I need to use at that exact moment. Things like bathrooms, bedrooms, my car (if I need to go somewhere), etc. As an only child, I never had to share a bedroom and I always had my own bathroom. I had my own toys, my own clothes and my own car. As a matter of fact, I even refused to live in the dorms in college because I wouldn't share a dorm room and the thought of using a community bathroom was more than I could handle. One time in high school during senior week and not one of my best moments, my friend allowed some people to "crash" on the floor of our hotel room. I woke up the next morning to discover them on our floor and one in the bathroom. I didn't like having to wait to use the bathroom in my own room because when nature calls, it calls. Then when the bathroom was free, I stepped over one of them to get to it and this person made some sort of remark I didn't like (I don't remember what it was). I immediately woke every one of them up and told them to get the hell out of my room. And I then proceeded to constructively evict them by throwing their stuff out into the hallway. Admittedly, not one of my best moments. I have become much more tolerant over the years, but not completely.

It probably wouldn't surprise you to hear that I don't really like using the gym. I mean, I LOVE the gym because it has all sorts of cool exercise equipment, but I HATE sharing it with people. I hate how stressed I become when I'm there because I'm afraid someone is going to jump on my next piece of equipment and mess up my superset. I hate how there are like 15 TVs in front of the cardio equipment and they all have the same 3 channels on them. I hate how someone has decided that at least one channel will always be devoted to sports and that CNN is the news channel. I hate that we have to watch the news at all. The list of things I hate at the gym is like a mile long and I won't go on and on.

Unfortunately, I have to use the gym right now. I spent years putting together a really great home gym. I have just about every piece of equipment I need to get a great workout at home. But, then I moved and got divorced and moved again and moved again (it's a long story full of drama). Now most of my exercise equipment sits in a storage unit collecting dust; waiting for the time when I can put my gym back together. I do have a few key pieces of equipment at the house now and that has helped tremendously, but the other day I broke my treadmill. I ordered the part to fix it, but it isn't here yet. This means I will have to do my 55 minutes of cardio at the gym and my hour plus of strength training every day. It means I have to go there twice most days. With running a business and going to law school, I prefer doing my cardio at home. I like putting on my TV Ears (yes, I'm old) and watching "Gilmore Girls" DVDs and zoning out. Now I will be at LA Fitness watching the police kick the crap out of someone on CNN (which will cause me to become more angry). But, I just have to suck it up. I'm training for an NPC bikini contest on June 4th and I need to get my workouts in. So, to the gym I go.

But, you can bet I will be on my phone 100 times a day tracking FedEx as they transport order number 504-231130 from the Treadmilldoctor.com.

Hello All !

Sorry I have been having issues trying to get to use this blog site. I have been trying to find time but it hasn't been working out so here it goes! My name is Danielle, I am 22 years old, I work at Sheetz and Wachovia Bank, I inter at the Whitaker Center in their Human Resources Department, and I am a full time student at Penn State Harrisburg. I have a boyfriend of 6 years in June and we have a kitty named Xena, because she is a Warrior Princess -- or so my boyfriend thinks ! He also attends Penn State Harrisburg and we will be graduating from there this May! So excited :) Now that you know a little about me I'm gonna talk about the rough super bowl weekend! 

This weekend as we all know was the super bowl & trying to stay dieting while hosting a super bowl party is rough time itself! We had hosted a super bowl party at our house but trying to cook everything & make sure you are not indulging was a bit of a struggle for me! I really want to be healthy but it is so hard when everyone else seems to be having a great time eating & drinking away and not but on any weight! If I touch a piece of cookie I will gain a couple pound over night! Is this an issue for anyone else? I know that I induldged a little, thus today I will try to make up for it and eat the way I know I should ! 

Thank you for all who took the time out to read & Good Job to Amy and Kathy! You guys are awesome ! 

Danielle 

It's another cold day in Pa. I worked out this morning, as usual, ate a good breakfast and plan to do yoga this afternoon. 

I'm sitting in front of the fire, cozy and ready to talk. 

For the past several days I've been really trying to ramp up my "transformation" efforts.  It didn't take long for me to realize that I probably started this contest with the same attitude that I've started most every other diet or exercise program.  Pretty confident that I would complete the task at hand, but with a little nagging feeling.  This is a contest.  I am a fierce competitor.  When I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon, I knew that I would not give up.  I had a goal: train right, eat right, finish injury free.  Sure, it was a long grueling process, but I just did it.  I finished in slightly under 4 1/2 hours, with a smile on my face and not one ache or pain.  Man, was I proud of myself.  I felt good.  But the euphoria didn't last long.  When I returned to a normal running schedule and routine, I felt a little lost and I started thinking, "I need to enter another race.  Maybe I'll try to run faster, or a longer distance." The proudness I felt that day was remarkably fleeting.  I'll tell you, I was down right peeved that all that work didn't settle my soul.

So here I am in another contest. I mentioned in my first blog (Blogging 101) that one of the requirments of the contest is to state your goals.  Here's an excerpt from my statement: 

 "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller...I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat..." (Music lyrics from Rapper, Skee-Lo)

You know how sometimes music lyrics repeat over and over in your head?  Those lyrics remind me of myself.  Remind me of my struggle.  For as long as I can remember, I wished to be happy and content with my self image.  I always wished "I was a little bit taller", and thinner and more athletic with long legs that went on for days.  I "wished I had a rabbit in a hat" that could make me into the image I perceived was perfect.

The challenge for me is to accept myself.  To be proud of the way I look, with all the imperfections, and enjoy my life a little more. Maybe, I'll always wish I had a rabbit in a hat, but I think the magic lies within me.

I know we are 3 weeks into the contest, but I wrote that statement just last week.  But, here's the thing.  That little nagging feeling was fear  and disbelief.  The goal I set was honest, the path I have taken so far has not been.  Why?  Because, immediately I started working on losing weight, gaining lean muscle, so I would "look better" and then, in turn, I would look in the mirror, and like what I see. Presto, chango...right?

Wrong. I forgot to search for the "magic that lies within me".  So I've been spending alot more of my time searching my heart and soul.  I've gotten hooked on this idea of transformation.  Bill Phillips, author of "Body for Life" and "Transformation Solution" says that everybody wants to look better, but you have to go beyond that, you have to identify the real reasons for wanting to transform.  I have to understand why short terms gains never accomplish my long term goal of acceptance and happiness.

I have to transform from the inside out. And that sucks (my favorite blogging slang), because changing my body is a whole lot easier than changing my mind! 

Poof! 

K

There's a switch that gets turned on when adapting to change and mine was turned on this week! For me I need to make changes in moderation. Extreme change sets me up for failure. I believe anything taken to its extreme becomes its opposite. This week was about making small yet powerful changes to my diet. I love to eat. I love junk food in all forms. I'm a vegetarian who could sustain on a diet of pizza and fries. I'm making sure to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in my diet but I'm also modifying my favorite guilty pleasures.Thankfully I love to cook! I'm going to make a shameless plug for Hungry Girl (www.hungry-girl.com). If you're on a whole food diet or you are nutrition obsessed than don't waste your time going on the website.Lisa Lillien provides "tips and tricks for hungry chicks". I aspire to make healthy choices but Hungry Girl understands that some (or many!) of us don't have the self-discipline to cut out all the junk food ALL the time! I reach for her recipes when I need a craving buster! She has many cookbooks but my favorite is' 200 recipies under 200 calories'. Last plug on this topic is the Hungry Girl television show which recently debuted on the Cooking Channel. It's on today at 4:00...set your DVR's! No better time than Superbowl week-end to learn some tricks to modify your game favorites.

I'm excited to enter Week 3 of the challenge. Although we are still in the beginning stages I am proud of my accomplishments so far. I'm fighting my inner demons and winning. My focus for next week, now that my diet is in check, is to increase my exercise to 6 hours a week. With bootcamp taking up half that time, I'm confident I can meet the challenge!

Despite the bad weather, this week has been really great for me! To my fellow biggest loser competitors I have two words for you all. GAME ON :)

Amy