Monday, April 29, 2013

Weight Bearing or Non?

by Kris Pitcher

This whole thing is confusing. And just when you think people are starting to get it...you see something that makes you do a face palm. SMACK!

When I heard this one, I laughed and said, "I HAVE to blog about that!" So here you go. I'm blogging about something people seem to be confused about. Weight bearing vs. non-weight bearing exercise. I've written about it before.

Fade in:
Guy at the gym doing cardio. He's pretty serious. Gym guy is wearing requisite gym outfit including warm up pants and sweatshirt. Over the top of that he's wearing a weighted vest.

This guy is serious about his cardio. Right? His vest has about 25 pounds in it. That's a lot of weight to add to one's body weight. Here's the catch...

HE'S RIDING THE BIKE!!!

Now, if your jaw isn't dropped or you didn't just snort food out of your nose, you don't understand weight bearing exercise. The point of adding weight to your body with the vest is to increase the intensity of your exercise...by increasing your weight.

This is only a factor in weighted exercise, or weight bearing exercise. When we are seated on our behind, we are not bearing our body weight. Cycling, swimming, and rowing are not weight bearing. Walking, and upright movements are weight bearing.

When you are bearing the weight of your body with each step, your body requires more energy to make that happen. It's not "better" it's just different.

There is no point to wear the weighted vest on the bicycle. No point. Walking on the treadmill, you bettcha! On the stepmill, you're a diva! Stairmaster, yes please! Get it?

There are times when a person should do non-weight bearing exercise, and times when someone should do weight bearing. We're not going into all those specific individualized instances.

The take away is the difference between the two. Doing non-weight bearing exercise requires less work. It doesn't provide the load on your muscles and bones in the same way. For some that's a good thing, for others it is not.

There are pros and cons to each and depending on your goals, injuries, and situation one or both may or may not be the perfect fit. Again, the point is if you are on your rear, you are not bearing your weight, in water...not bearing weight. See?

So, Gary...thanks for the blog fodder and for helping us all remember the difference between weight bearing and non-weight bearing exercise.

Friday, April 26, 2013

You Think You're Better Than Me?!

by Kris Pitcher

Two high school girls in the locker room. One is in the toilet stall the other one is rearranging her ponytail. They're in their basketball uniforms:

Did you see the new girl?
No. Is she the blond one?
No.
Is she brown haired?
No. You'd know her if you saw her.
I bet she thinks she's better than all of us.
She's hearing impaired.
What?
She's hearing impaired.
What?
She's. Hearing. Impaired.
Oh! Like my Aunt. You just have to look at her when you talk to her.

This conversation went on a little longer until FINALLY both girls were reunited from behind the confines of the toilet stall to return to basketball practice together. And I thought to myself...girls are so mean.

Women are mean too. I pulled on my workout clothes and wondered why we aren't more supportive of one another. Why do we bad talk each other? Why do we wish ill will? Why do we immediately assume the other thinks she's better?

Why do we teach this to our girls? Can't we do better? These girls happen to be on a team together. A team! Working toward a common good. Look around, what are we working toward?

I wish mean girls didn't grow up to be mean women. We'd get more done. We'd be happier. We'd feel more supported...I'd have more friends.

Stop gloating in someone elses failure. It doesn't make you more successful. Turn your negatives into positives. Give a compliment rather than a criticism. Think of one another as sisters. And play on the same team.

And when you give that compliment and it isn't acknowledged, or returned...tap a shoulder, or repeat yourself. Maybe she just didn't hear you?

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Cheat Meal Slippery Slope

by Kris Pitcher

It starts with a sniff. Maybe even permission. You've been given free reign to have a cheat meal, or a re-feed, or "free" meal...what ever you want to call it.

Usually you have some parameters set around this meal. A time limit, or a suggestion of what to have or when to have it. If you're just starting out, you might be left to learn a lesson on your own though.

This can be a slippery slope. I've learned all kinds of lessons about my cheat meals along the way...over the years. Here are a few of my biggest "a-ha" moments:
  1. Never waste it on something crappy. That fast food thing you got pulled into by the flashy new marketing...it's going to taste crappy and you will have wasted your meal.
  2. Don't eat it in the morning. You simply can't control the rest of your day.
  3. It isn't necessary to be completely and totally stuffed. I can actually stuff myself. It's true. I have fed myself into a very uncomfortable state. I never thought that was possible. It is.
  4. This meal needs to be planned. You can't wing it. If you can wing a cheat meal you have the wrong stuff in your house. Period.
  5. I don't like this meal at restaurants. Like everything in life, it's personal preference. I want what I want...in my pajamas.
  6. You need a time limit. Without a time limit, your meal turns into 3 days of binging. This is the slippery slope.
  7. It's not a contest to see how much sugar and fat you can cram into your pie hole.
  8. The meal serves two important purposes: to give you a mental break if you need it; and to train your body to accept the fuel you'll carb up on prior to your show.
  9. Re-read the second half of number 8 until you understand the reason you require this meal.
People have "ooo'd" and "aww'd" over my progress this year. I have to tell you a secret. I've been training my body with the right food, including my re-feed, for the last 2 years.

So, no I don't go to the Piecake Factory (I actually just threw up a little) and chow down...or any other fill in the blank gross chain place. Can you tell I don't like that kind of place? I don't eat piles of sugar or bowls of ice cream. I don't drink alcohol.

What I eat is exactly what I will eat the days up to my competition. I'm watching for changes, and we're training my body to take the fuel at just the right time. We are determining how much fuel, in just the right quantities and how far out. It's a science.

The re-feed is about the science. It's yummy science, I won't lie. I look forward to it, and dance around in the kitchen over it. I lock the door, draw the shades, and eat. EAT!

I hope you'll begin to eat your re-feed with more purpose and less "slippery slope". I hope you'll see it as an opportunity to put the right fuel into your body to see how that changes your look. I hope you'll consider not having cake and wine.

Think about the fuel you take in not only on your diet but during your cheat, or re-feed, as having a purpose. What I see is people doing a week of work, then three days of damage during their cheat. You never make any progress. How frustrating?

I don't have anything different than anyone else. In fact, I see a lot of people with better structure and potential. The challenge is they keep sliding down the slippery slope.




Monday, April 22, 2013

Random Facts You NEED To Know

by Kris Pitcher

There are some things I thought you should know about me. These may or may not fall in the "confession" bucket...none the less, here you go.

  • I will not wear capris. I don't care who you are, capris make you look short and fat. Period. With the exception of that one pair of workout pants I have, I will never wear capris (and they are getting a hole, so I'll throw them out soon).
  • I prefer my mornings slow. They almost never are. (Was that a double negative?) It is nice to wake naturally and if that happens one day a week I consider myself lucky.
  • Shoes hurt my feet. If I threw out all the shoes in my closet that hurt my feet I might have one pair left. Maybe one.
  • I'm ready to retire. People who say they'll work forever because they love it...need to find a hobby. I will have no trouble filling my time. I'll try to hold out until I'm 57. Try. (cringe)
  • Baths are a waste of time. I'm not even enticed by the thought of it.
  • Paperless may not be for me. I still have a paper calendar. I need to see things and touch them, and I can flip to a page, write down an appointment or give you 3 options before you can get to your app. 
  • I want to drive fast. The speed limit doesn't take into account how fun my car is to drive. It's...limiting.
  • I was the kid who thought she was funny. Other people might not have. They still may not. That is OK.
  • Exspecially is not a word. Please refrain from ever saying it. Ever.
  • I love dark beer. Really, really dark. It will always make my sinuses stuffed up because I'm allergic to gluten and alcohol. But I may drink one off season. Maybe. 
  • Aging has made me prettier. Youth was unkind to me in some ways. My husband will attest that I've aged well. You don't think he's just saying that? 
  • I still use hair gel. It's embarrassing with all the sophisticated hair products. But, it works for me. I also use wax, finishing cream and hairspray. It takes a chemistry project to get this hair under control. But it's true about the gel.
Whew! That is probably enough for one day. These are things I think about, my random thoughts and ideas...things you should know. And for a Monday, well, there you go! 

Friday, April 19, 2013

The Body Difference

by Kris Pitcher

Heading for the doors of the gym with my hands overloaded, trying not to let my slacks slip off before making it to the locker room, OR peeing my pants after the drive from the office...she came at me.

"Every time I see you I think I should stop you and talk to you!" she started, "you are just looking so great, I should find out what you're doing?!" she finished as she ran off to her group exercise class.

I was kind of dumbfounded. A few things struck me. First of all, she didn't stop me and hasn't. Second, she's going to group exercise. No offense, I started 20 some years ago in a group exercise class. Lots of people begin there. But I immediately thought, "You're going the wrong direction...you should be heading toward the weight room."

But the thing that really made me laugh is people THINK they want to do what I'm doing to look the way I look. They don't. Believe me.

She couldn't even slow down to ask, let alone listen. And if I even started to tell her, I'd get the familiar glazed over look I've seen so many times. So, no you can't have the look without the work. How does this sound?

Six years of competing. Focused drive over the past two years of clean "dieting". Meaning strict attention to detail of macro nutrients, no alcohol, virtually no dairy, and no gluten for the last year. Still with me? Most days off season one or zero pieces of fruit. Zero.

Twenty weeks of contest prep dieting following a nine pound increase in body weight over last season's stage weight. Nine pounds. There are no french fries in 9 pounds. Daily food preparation and meal packaging carrying my cooler ever where I go. Meetings, travel for work, holidays with the family, vacation. Everywhere.

Still think you want it? The alarm goes off at 4:25 a.m. so I can get up and do my cardio. Why so early? I work four 10 hour days at my professional job and start at 7:00 a.m. I make it to the gym by 6:00 p.m. for our six day split weight lifting routine.

Let's see, home by 7:30 p.m. pack meals, eat, and in bed by 8:30 p.m. to do it all over again. It's a lifestyle. You live this. You don't just do it for a while when you want to look a certain way then stop. The nutrition, the exercise, the sleep and recovery, the stress management, the organization - it all plays into the body that walks into the gym.

A body that is a lower percent fat than "normal" even for an athlete. A body at it's limits. A body that is underfed, and over tired. A body that is refining itself constantly. A body that has over time made improvements beyond belief.

A body that will join the ranks of National competitors for the very first time in June. A body who wants to leave nothing behind. A body who is fully committed to her dreams. A body who believes she is a champion. If you want it you have to believe, and you have to do. That's the difference.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Have Your Cake & Eat It Too

by Kris Pitcher

From my office, I overheard her complaining that her "diet pill" had really amped her up. It was some kind of appetite suppressant. I stayed in my office...enacting the bystander effect as I usually do when people at work want to talk about dieting.

Later in the day, I couldn't help myself as I heated up a meal in the break room. There it was. The giant cake from the reception the night before. Cake never goes to waste. I took a picture of it, posted it to fb, and said I was going to have a piece. My facebook LIT UP! I am so funny.

Of course I wouldn't eat a piece of cake. I'm about to compete, I am in fact, dieting. But as the day came to a close the cake was still massive. "There's lots of cake, please feel free to take some home." my colleague chirped.

"None for me," said the diet pill lady, "I've already had two pieces." It was all I could do not to shoot broccoli out my nose (which hurts if it's ever happened to you). TWO PIECES!

Clearly, this gal believes you can have your cake and eat it too. Her appetite suppressant didn't quite do the job. Did it? That and she may not be fully committed to her new diet, or have any eating plan at all.

Wow! And this is what's intrinsically wrong. People think there's a magic pill they can take and eat what ever they want. It simply doesn't work that way. You can have cake and a big fat butt, or no cake and look different. But you can't have the rockin' body, and eat the cake. Simple.

You don't get to continue the same behavior (twice!) and expect a different result. Would that make any sense to a logical person? No, it would not.

It isn't about logic though. It's about cake. It's about instinct, and wanting what you want. Eating the cake is about emotion and association. It's about sticky, sweet, sugary muck. Then come the bad feelings. Following your caving in, you feel bad.

You started the day with good intentions...you even took the magic pill that was supposed to make this easy. But then you were faced with choices. Difficult choices. Ones you were not prepared or equipped to make. The choice you made didn't fall in line with your intention. Now you feel bad.

Guess what? Make a different choice next time! It's that easy. Decide to decide. People always say they don't know how I can do it, stick to it, eat what I eat...Well, I'll tell you how. I have decided that's what I'm going to do.

I've decided I will compete on June 14th at Jr. Nationals in Chicago and I have bought a plane ticket. I'll be dog-gonned if I'm showing up with a fat ass! Not me sister!

How do I do it? I do it because it's important to me. It falls right in line with my values, making the choices really, really, easy. Period. Done. I don't even take an appetite suppressant?! My mind is much more powerful.

You can get your mind around this too. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. It just doesn't work like that. You can make choices. You can fit things in. There doesn't have to be absolutes for the non-competitor. You certainly don't have to be me. Who would want to figure out this crazy hair?

It's simply hard work. Every day. You make choices one by one. You keep doing that whether there's a giant cake at work or not. Day in. Day out. As long as you want the results. Go for it! Have exactly what you want!  

Monday, April 15, 2013

You Could WIN!

by Kris Pitcher

This is a VERY exciting opportunity! Simply visit my blog following the facebook link each day this week; enjoy the blog post and search for the "contest word"; the word will have a hyperlink; follow the hyperlink BACK to facebook; enter the daily contest word in the "comments" section of the post; "like" the post; then "share" the post using the contest word from that day in the "say something about this" section; next ask your friends to share the post; you must instruct them to visit my blog and follow the hyperlink; when 5 friends have shared the post incorporating the contest word - you are entered to win! For each different page or group you share on, you are also entered. Enter as many times as you like during the week of the contest and you may WIN!

How many of these have you entered? A wild goose chase of a contest, for some silly prize. A t-shirt, a sample pack? There is no contest by the way. I simply intend to illustrate a ridiculous set of instructions for which I usually drop off after the first two sets of instructions.

I'm not doing all of that! And who ever wins this stuff anyway? Not me! But I did help them market their jeans/pre-workout/stack pack/what nots...

Maybe someone does win. I know a few people who seem to win these types of things on a regular basis. Me, nada. Nothin'. Empty handed. So, to get this straight - there is no contest word because there is no contest.

We sure are suckers for this stuff though. And how many t-shirts do you have in that pile in your closet? I know, a lot. I don't need another one either. Custom jeans, yeah I did want those because jeans never fit me. But I didn't win them...

So, I'm saving myself the letdown by not entering in the first place. I will not be going on any social media wild goose chase to "like" and to "share". When I like and share stuff, it's because I like it and want to share it. No contest.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Beast Out!

by Kris Pitcher

I realize you are probably not going to like me after this...and it's ok. Who knows, maybe you'll love me, even more.

Sit down because we need to talk. Every now and then I get a little fed up, and it's not always on my no carb day. I put myself in check, and even in time out. But this time that wasn't enough...I needed to have this talk with you. Here goes.

Really? Even this guy?
Everyone cannot be in BEAST mode. What is this mode? A self-proclaimed bad ass? Here's the thing, (get ready for a run-on sentence) you've got your weight belt on and you're head phones, and you are grunting away in your cut out shirt exposing your entire (fat) mid-section, nodding and fist pumping, chest bumping away...with your pants on...

Meanwhile, I am also working back and I'm waiting for you to stop dancing around and get off the plate loaded pull down so I can have a turn. And guess what? I'm pulling as much weight as you. No grunts. Oh, and I'm actually using my lats.

Beast? Who, you? You are in dork mode. Let's look at leg day big guy. Oh you don't do legs. Hmm. Well I'm the one with 7 plates on the leg press to burn out before I squat. Take your pants off! Beast?

Have some humility. Get your diet in order. You think you're big? Sure, you're big. You are fat. You've got your estrogen out of control and you've been eating Cherrios. Figure it out. I'm a third of your size, 12% body fat, prepping for a show and out lifting you. And I'm 43!

Stop with all this silly beast mode business. Stop posting pictures of yourself all "pumped up", we don't even know what we are supposed to be looking at? Is there a muscle there? Stop contorting your body and calling it a "pose" - what pose is that?!

I am sorry but I am fed up with the posers, the poster children and the weight room beasts. Do something serious and let's see some changes in your physique. Stop professing and start doing.

Everyone starts somewhere and we all have improvements to make. We all want to be enthusiastic and believe in what we are doing. We have to be focused and "into" this or we wouldn't do it.

For those of us who actually live this, and have been around awhile...we know the BEASTS never last very long. So get it out of your system and come down to earth and join the rest of us. We'd like to see you succeed. Beast out! No, really, get it out.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Disappearing Act

by Kris Pitcher

"Oh my God your boobs are disappearing! You look great!" she said with a huge smile. Only a good friend, a competitor friend, can say this to you and mean it as a compliment. Not only was it said with enthusiasm, it was said with enthusiasm in the middle of the gym on a busy night, with cupping gestures.

I love my friends! And she's right! They are going, going, gone! Back fat? Nonexistent. And anything in the front, going as well. Bye ladies.

That's just part of the process, we lose our fat. We lose it from where we want it, and where we don't want to lose it. We don't get to decide, how, or when.

Someone said something about losing it from their "saddle bags" and Jacques said, "I'm not a surgeon." True, we don't get to spot reduce. It goes from where it wants to go. This is why we start early and go slow.

It's also why we buy padded bras, smaller sports bras, and inserts for our suits. There's just nothing left. Smoke and mirrors...and padding. It's all an act!

I'll keep getting smaller, all around, as the contest gets closer. We're slowing things down just a bit to keep on track and are in a great place. What I love the most about the disappearing act is as I get smaller...I look bigger. It's all relative.

For all you dieting with me, keep your head in this game. You're shedding off your fat, and keeping all that hard earned muscle. You might be getting smaller, but the disappearing act makes you look so different.

You're on the downhill side, you'll climb back up. But for now, we can all say good bye to our disappearing boobs!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Can You See Baltimore From There?

by Kris Pitcher

To be ten weeks out and put a posing suit on might seem brave. But, I need to know what I'm dealing with here. Plus, I've got an exciting new project to work on...but that's for later!

I raced home after working out to try on the suit which had arrived in the mail. It fit! I put my shoes on and went to the kitchen. Naturally?

Waiting for my husband to get home I was prepping my meals for the next day thinking to myself, "I hope the neighbors can't see in here." Who's cooking eggs in 5" heels and a sparkly suit?

Well, I was! And then he finally rolled up. He came in the kitchen and made a very respectful comment about the way I should always dress when I'm cooking, hugged me close...then I did some quarter turns.

The suit fit well so I fished, "How do I look?" He said I looked good. "What about this stuff?" I said reaching around and grabbing the stuff attached to my adductors.

"Well, we don't want to see Baltimore through there." he said. I laughed. Baltimore?! I suggested it was all fat, and he corrected me that it was muscle and some fat. It was good.

Why do women think we should be able to see space between their thighs? Space is no good. Being able to see a city through there is no good. Especially Baltimore! So, yes...hopefully your thighs DO touch one another.

I think last year I had a bit of space there. This means progress. Muscle is progress. Yes! Hopefully you've got some muscle to create shape on the inside, and outside of your legs. And by all means, we hope we can't see Baltimore! 

Friday, April 5, 2013

By the Numbers, My Weight on the Scale

by Kris Pitcher

With a solid 11 weeks under my belt and ten more to go you might be surprised to know, I don't usually know my numbers. I don't know what I weight, how much my body fat percentage is, how many grams of protein I eat...none of it.

I don't know. I just do the work. My coach assesses my progress and we make adjustments, or not. When things are working, you don't change them. But at the point we are now, we are working to slow things down.

How? Well, we can do lots of different things. And one of the things we thought was important was to look at the numbers so we could assess how those changes impact me. If we cut a day of cardio, how does that impact me?

Or, if we add carbs...what does that do to my numbers? We needed a baseline. But it had literally been weeks, a month, since we'd done a body comp.

Why? Because it doesn't matter. If I look different, I look different. The trained eye can see the differences each week. Then every other week we may even have my husband's coach look at me. Two coaches starring me down...

But those of you still getting on the scale every day, enough already. Change takes time. Solid time, day in and day out doing all the right things. You won't see big swings, or progress in just a few days, or a week even. You need lasting changes to make lasting shifts.

This is a long process, and eventually you're splitting hairs looking at the numbers. Is that skinfold 6mm, or 5mm? Will it change to 4mm? Eventually, it doesn't matter. What matters is how you continue to look.

Do you look like you're making progress? Are you losing fat? Are you keeping your muscle? Are you flat? Are your muscles staying full? Do you look stringy? What happens when you refeed with carbs? What do you look like?

If you're 10% body fat and you don't look right, what's the point? You could be 13% and look phenomenal. Great! But if the number trips you up, would you be unhappy? My 12% will look completely different than yours. We can't compare our numbers.

The numbers, after a certain point, don't matter. If I could be 10 pounds heavier and hit the stage looking tighter, great! I have no preconceived notion of what I'll weigh this year based on my stage weight last year. (I won't be 10 pounds heavier, maybe a couple.)

And you should let the numbers go too. They don't matter, they are holding you hostage, they are playing the ultimate head game. Your scale weight makes no difference to anyone. When was the last time anyone even asked you how much you weigh?

I left my 12 pound Dansko shoes on the last time I was at the doctor's office because the whole thing is just a joke. OK, maybe they aren't 12 pounds...but they are heavy. No one cares what you weigh. And frankly, neither should you.

Your goal should be to be as heavy as possible with the best body composition. That means carrying the most amount of muscle and the appropriate amount of fat. Get over your numbers and get over a mental hurdle that is keeping you from making progress.

Start letting the way you look, how you feel in your clothes and the way your body feels tell you if you are on track or not. You are not a number on the scale. Me? I'll go without knowing my numbers for weeks from here on out. You can do it too!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Chipped Off!

by Kris Pitcher

Despite the fact that I need massive cuticle treatment, hydration and possible transplant...I am pretty chipped off. I ebb and flow between wanting to be girly and needing to be utilitarian.

Our dishwasher quit working, I don't know, a year ago. Hand washing all the way. And that really doesn't bother me because in a household with two people filling a dishwasher is silly. We would run out of dishes before it was full. Then what?

So, my hands get a lot of abuse. Then there are the workouts. That takes a toll as well. I don't baby them either. I put lotion on but there's no way to keep up with the constant trips to the bathroom and the hand washing to follow.

A dry climate, lots of water and you're going to have dry hands. Realizing I'm hard on polish, I almost never paint my nails. Then I got a girly bug and went for it. Sunday night I painted following best practices.

Soak, cleanse, push back, trim, base coat, two coats of color, and a top coat. Plenty of dry time. I didn't even do any dishes that night. Then came Monday morning. I got ready as usual. And this is what I saw.

Are you kidding me? Chips on every single finger? Every one! What gives? How do you women keep your nail polish on?

I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? Not even one day of wear from my polish. Not one day.

So much for my ebb toward girly prettiness. I will now flow back toward my natural nails. Bare nails. No paint nails. At least I know they'll last me a week. And I won't be, chipped off.

Monday, April 1, 2013

A Look In My BIG Bag!

by Kris Pitcher

Phone charger, wallet, prescripion bottle, coin purse, tiny notebook, Shelly's posing suit, a seam-ripper, 2 chapsticks, 2 lipsticks, 3 lip glosses, some feminine hygiene items, 2 pens, hand lotion, an envelope with an email address on it, several receipts, a package of kleenax, a spice bottle with fennel seeds in it, nail file, bracelet, two rings, only 1 pair of earrings, a (clean) pair of socks, zipper baggie with ricola, mini medicine cabinet pouch, dental floss, 2 phones, and 3 loose business cards...

This is what's in my purse right now. There's still room for a meal. Wow. That's a lot of stuff. What a jumbled mess!

Is it a wonder you can find anything in your purse, your gym bag, your car, your life?! We sure do need a lot of stuff. This purse is my home away from home. And I'm away from home, a lot.

Over the course of the week most of my jewelry ends up in there as I strip it off at the gym and throw it in. The nice thing is, it's there when I need to accessorize. That's handy.

My computer bag is less of a mess. Because everything is in my purse! My gym bag, another disorganized matter. It's probably a bacterial nightmare. I'm lucky I don't give myself MRSA.

Well, I'm not sure what the point is here. It wasn't to brag about my bag. It was to illustrate all the stuff we carry around. Stuff we need to put away, stuff we'll file later, stuff we ought to throw out. Stuff, stuff, stuff.

The clutter overcomes us and overwhelms us. It's spring, clean out, clean up, and clean house! Get rid of the stuff. Put it in it's place. Take it out of your purse. Clean it out of your car, your gym bag...your life.

Simplify. Stop stuffing stuff in, and de-clutter. It will feel really good. Now, what am I going to do with all this stuff?! I'll start by cleaning out my purse. I can certainly throw out this envelope with the email address. Done!

That does feel better! Now you try it. Enjoy spring and get a handle on your stuff! Time to clean up. Lighten your load and let go of the stuff that's dragging you down. Let. It. Go!