By Lisa Thomas

It was a bright sunny morning when I spoke with this dynamic P3 Pearl. I was awe struck with her presence. She’s such a soft spoken young woman with a passion that exudes from her inner core. When introduced I wasn’t surprised to find a fascinating story in Anna Levesque. I knew her triumph would offer women inner strength and courage like none other.

During our time together Anna chronicles her life as a woman who found her passion and pursued it in spite of a few naysayers. She speaks of the pressure from those closest to her to find something more meaningful or more real. Many doubted her abilities but Anna paddled against the current of all of those who did not believe. She discovered that more meaning lies in her truth than anything else.  

Anna is an avid Kayaker and has made it her mission to empower women to build courage, confidence and strength through Kayaking classes and workshops.  While she loves the sport, it hasn’t come without challenge. Kayaking is a male dominated sport and considered an extreme sport. However Anna saw it as an opportunity to find her truest most authentic voice.

During my time with Anna, she shared the moment she embraced her femininity in a male dominated world. She honored who she is and in the process transformed lives.

I’m excited you’ll listen in on this candid interview with Anna Levesque. Anna’s life  seems to be an experience of paddling against the current with extreme rewards and pleasures. How fun! What would life be like if  “you” chose to go against the current for a change?!?

Prepare to be inspired, to learn the lessons of being true to who you are no matter what and how bringing your faith into alignment with your desires produces extraordinary results.

Anna shares what she knows for sure, two favorite quotes and the best advice for all women pursuing their passion. Enjoy !

Click here to listen to the interview!

Watch Anna in action below! Enjoy!

Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy working out. I’ve been physically active since I was a kid; 5 years of competitive gymnastics, 4 years of color guard, 10 years of pageants, and 10 years of dance. As a kid my dad would take my sister and I to the gym with him. I will never forget the time he and another guy pitted the kids against each other. It was my sister and I versus the guy’s 2 sons; treadmill and weights. His 2 sons lost. My dad would also challenge my sister and me to ab contests. We would work on our abdominal muscles for 1 month and then compare 6 packs. He also trained us in Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan; a form of martial arts that he holds a black belt in.

As I got older I realized that the time I spent in the gym was therapeutic. Gym time was me time! Running on the machines, lifting weights, or doing my favorite, The Roman Chair; my mind is able to reorganize and recharge. Whenever I’m feeling bombarded and stressed from life I hit the gym. There probably is some scientific explanation for this, but I don’t know what it is. The only thing I know is that when I finish my workout I feel great!

I encourage each of you to find a physical activity that takes you away from the mundane cadence that beats throughout your daily life. Find 30min-1hr at least 3 times per week to do that activity. Taking a walk is a great way to clear your mind and get in that much needed cardio! Bike riding, swimming, and tennis are other great activities to increase your heart rate! Whatever is weighing you down; shake it off in a Zumba class!

Load your MP3 player with your favorite upbeat songs to keep you going through your workout. Take time to make playlist to go with your specific workout. For example, I have a play list designed just for my running days! I hear the Soca, Reggae, Funk, Hip/Hop, and Rock music and I am amped! Give it a try!

Let the gym time become your time! If you’d like to share your gym time with a friend or significant other; do it! Encourage each other! Talk to one another! Laugh with each other! You will be burning calories and fat all while clearing your mind and rejuvenating your spirit!

Each month, Angela will be writing a new fitness article to keep you motivated! You can reach your goals; never doubt yourself!

So many weight loss stories have an addendum in the small print that negates just about everything a quick-loss product promises to do. Usually, they say: “Weight lost in conjunction with diet and exercise.” I’ll bet you’re sick of seeing buff models work out on the latest “As Seen on TV” exercise product, intimating their athletic body is a result of that one machine. We all know weight loss commercials and infomercials are designed to suck us in by our strong desire to lose weight and have a more beautiful physique.

So what do we do?

My weight loss wake-up call

I’ve always been athletic and enjoyed outdoor activities. Once I left the workplace, however, to homeschool my children I began to pack on the pounds over the past several years. Before I realized it, I was at 240 pounds. 240 pounds is a lot of weight on a medium 5’7″ frame.

I found it more difficult to participate in activities with my kids. I hid under big clothes, and I was generally more fatigued and definitely clumsier. This wasn’t working well for me, but for a long time I did nothing about it.

When I turned 40, it suddenly occurred to me that being overweight was going to shorten my lifespan and continue to prohibit my ability to get out and enjoy my kids. I also thought of five to 10 years down the road when I have grandkids. I wanted to be able to care for them and play with them without feeling like I was going to pass out.

Weight loss was no longer about how others viewed me. Weight loss became a health issue to me.

Beginning the journey toward weight loss

In order for me to lose weight and improve my health, I knew I had to take an introspective look at my life, identify factors that contributed to my weight and make a decision based on what I learned.

Among the things I discovered about myself were the following:

• My family has a predisposition to being overweight.
• I was comfortable with my weight because it allowed me to hide behind fat.
• I often ate for comfort.
• My lifestyle had become largely sedentary.
• I paid little attention to my diet, eating what was quick and convenient.
• I drank around 20 Diet Cokes a day and very little water.

Each of these issues had to be addressed, but it couldn’t be done all at once. It took time to deal with each issue. Some were dealt with concurrently, but once I identified them and wrote them down there was no avoiding addressing these weight issues anymore.

Weight loss success despite genetic predisposition

We are all different. Although there are many generalities, we could each come up with our own excuse for being and remaining overweight. Regardless of my family’s disposition to being overweight, I had to shed that as an excuse.

My medical doctor performed thyroid tests, found I did need synthroid to give my thyroid T3 production a boost, and put me on the medication.

This knocked out one of the first reasons I was overweight, but synthroid didn’t make me lose weight. I had to put more effort into changing my lifestyle.

Lose weight by getting comfortable in your skin instead of behind your fat

I’m generally outgoing. I am a pastor’s wife, so there are certain expectations, fair or not, placed on me. In my quest to lose weight and make positive lifestyle changes, I also came to the realization that I didn’t have to be a fat and jolly preacher’s wife. God created me the way that I am, and I began to realize that the fat was hiding me and preventing me from being who God created me to be and doing all that God created me to do.

I had to change my thinking about myself and my role in society and the Church. It was time to step out from behind the cellulite.

Successful weight loss didn’t change who I was, but it improved my ability to convey who I am and what God has created me to do.

Successful weight loss meant finding fulfillment in life, not food

If you are a comfort eater, you know exactly what I mean. When you feel emotionally empty or hurt, it is very easy to turn to cool, creamy foods, high-carbohydrate foods and high-fat foods to fill you up and help soothe your feelings. In reality, comfort food does you better than those who choose to self-medicate their problems with alcohol.

It is very easy to become addicted to food, especially the foods that make you feel better. In order to successfully lose weight, I had to acknowledge the foods that I ate for comfort and, although painful, identify what inside my soul or psyche was empty and in need of fulfillment.

This was one of the most difficult parts of beginning successful weight loss. But once I pinned down the issue of comfort eating I was able to control it; this lead to moderate weight loss even before I began to exercise.

Lose weight by changing your lifestyle — for good

Losing a little weight by giving up comfort food was nice, but I knew there was more I had to do. I needed a lifestyle change, one that included diet and exercise.

As I worked to overcome comfort eating and related issues, I tackled exercise first. I didn’t have much stamina to begin with, but I joined a gym (American Body Works, Ridge Road, Hiram, Georgia) where professional employees and trainers encouraged me. I was never made to feel uncomfortable about my weight, but was encouraged to get moving in order to become healthier.

At first I could only do about 15 minutes of cardio. I weighed too much to put much pressure on my knees, so I did a lot of work on the elliptical and the spin bike. In no time at all I had lost 30 pounds.

Once I could see the light of breaking beneath the 200-pound mark, I was highly motivated. I began to work out five or six days a week. The more cardio I did, the more fat was burned.

Lose weight by paying attention to your diet

Once I dropped 30-plus pounds, I hit a plateau. It was time to focus more on my diet. I knew the basics and implemented the basics of a healthy diet, cold turkey. I ate more lean protein, fruits and vegetables. Carbohydrates were limited to complex carbs like oatmeal, whole grains and sweet potatoes.

My weight dropped even more.

Everyone always asks if I ever cheat on my diet? No. I didn’t, and I don’t cheat because I AM NOT ON A DIET. I made a lifestyle change. Yes, that change does allow me to enjoy a small piece of cake at a birthday party or have a bite of something sweet when I get a craving. The amazing thing is that once I changed my lifestyle, including eating habits, I no longer wanted — nor want now — foods that are more harmful than beneficial to my body.

Successful weight loss involves not drinking most of your calories

Many people are not aware of the number of calories they pour into their bodies when they drink soda, juice filled with high fructose corn syrup and sweet tea. I didn’t have that problem. The only thing I drank was Diet Coke. It has zero calories. What harm could it do?

A little research and a discussion with the nutritionist at American Body Works Ridge Road / Villa Rica opened my eyes to the harmful effects of Diet Coke. The problem with Diet Coke is two-fold. One, carbonated soda leeches calcium from your bones. That’s not good for anyone, unless you want brittle bones. Two, aspartame breaks down into a few toxic components in your body. One of them is formaldehyde. It is little wonder, then, that fat on my thighs and belly didn’t want to move. It was well-preserved.

One of the biggest aspects of my successful weight loss was giving up Diet Cokes. I did it cold turkey, not for the nutritionist and not because someone sold me on a scare tactic, but because I felt that it was in the best interest of my health.

Within one week I lost another 10 pounds.

I now drink a minimum of one gallon of water each day.

Lose weight successfully by exercising

I was well under 200 pounds when I hit another plateau. At this point, I spoke with a personal trainer at American Body Works, Ridge Road in Hiram. I was advised to continue working on cardio to burn fat, but to increase weight training.

Like every other woman, my immediate response was that I didn’t want to look like a brute or weight lifter. I was assured that weight training would help replace fat with healthy muscle mass, help strengthen bones and burn calories.

Successful, lasting weight loss does not happen overnight

All of my weight loss efforts have taken place over the past year and eight months. I have tried yo-yo diets in the past, quick weight loss pills and even starvation. Those methods did more to harm my overall health and slow my metabolism than to help me lose weight.

All the time, the key to successful weight loss and healthy weight maintenance was a change of mind and lifestyle.

How successful weight loss has changed my life

I now weigh around 160, but I’ve learned not to pay attention to the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat. What matters to me is that I no longer wear a size 20. I wear a size 10. I’m still losing fat and maintaining weight training.

I no longer have a weight loss goal. I already look smaller than my weight, which is up due to toned — but not bulked — muscle mass.

Fat weight has been replaced by muscle. My skin isn’t flabby, as it would be if I lost quick weight, which included muscle.

I am stronger and have more stamina.

My cardiovascular health is no longer worse than that of a 40-year-old. It is much closer to that of a young 30-year-old.

My borderline hypertension has been eliminated without the use of any medications.

By changing my lifestyle to include cardiovascular exercise, weight training and healthy eating, I know that my life — and my weight — has been changed forever.

I lost 80 pounds, have kept it off, and I continue to work daily toward weight loss and greater health and fitness. If I did it, you can do it, too.

Wendy Dawn is a freelance writer. She enjoys research and writing on a variety of topics.

After speaking on a panel of incredible women at the Women’s Empowerment Expo 2009, with over 20,000 women in attendance, I stumbled upon another incredible speaker. Standing at 5 foot even was a poised, statuesque woman with a body most would die for. She had on an amazing pink dress that perfectly complimented her perfect form and a smile that radiated across the room. Although she looked really young, she had a wisdom about her. She was supposed to be on the same panel as I was but as the day’s agenda changed, we ended up on different panels. When another panelist introduced us, I felt an instant connection to another woman out to motivate and transform lives.

Her name is Dr. Joy Ohayia. She’s the author of Don’t Let “IT” Get You and BluePrint For Success. I was so fascinated by her ageless appearance and her passion for health and wellness that within a few seconds I knew she would be our June P3 Pearl Cover Girl.

At 47, looking very much in her early 30′s, she’s holding her own. Dr. Joy and I finally caught up a few months later. We sat down for a little girl talk about her vision and how she made it where she is now, her regimen for her fabulous body and how she’s been able to stay so fit with two children.

You’ll discover the meaning of Dr. Joy’s coined phrase, “the it’s” of life which often times lead to disaster when it comes to producing results.

There are also some tender moments during our talk. One in particular stands out when she candidly reveals how her life was while wearing the golden handcuffs. She opens up about that time in her life and offers what actually drove her into the arms of her truth passion for health and fitness.

You’ll experience her deep desire to share her wisdom when she explains the 5 steps to a good workout which will give you maximum results you’ve been looking for. She states “just because you’re working out, doesn’t mean you can eat anything. A perfect combination of both fitness and healthy eating is key.”

She even gave me a tip on my workout as well. Believe me, you want to sit back and listen to this hour of unscripted girl talk with Dr. Joy. Find out what she knows for sure, two of her favorite quotes and a new “mantra” I shared with her that we both agree is worth sharing with all women pursuing a strong vision.

Enjoy this moment with me, Lisa Thomas with Dr. Joy Ohayia.

Can you imagine trying to paint a new picture on an old used canvas? Often we do that when we make New Year’s resolutions. The resolutions from 2008 are still lingering – incomplete and unfulfilled yet we try to start new ones as though they will magically manifest.

Every three years I do a deep introspective. I’ve been in the space of determining my next steps since the first of October. I usually give myself three months to bring closure to all that has happened good or bad. All occurrences have emotions attached to them whether we choose to process them at the time they happen or push them back to process later. To go forward effectively and embrace the future, we have to completely process them all.

I use these three sets of very pointed questions to navigate through my closure process:

What do I really want?
Where am I unbalanced?
What are my happiest moments in life?
Where is my heart pulling me?
In what direction do I know within my soul am I being led or pulled?
Where am I agitated in life?
Where am I fulfilled?
Where am I unfulfilled?

I follow those with the big questions:

Why am I unfulfilled?
Why am I agitated?
What elements make up the happiest moments in my life?

And lastly, three important and paramount questions come to mind:

What responsibility do I play in it?
What, if anything, am I willing or going to do about it?
How can I make my life line up with what I want it to be?
How do I put myself in the driver’s seat of my own life?

Most of us make New Year’s resolutions without first bringing closure to what has happened. Often we decide we want a different result without first identifying old habits and cycles that continue to lead to our demise. The demise of our great ideas and thoughts that prevent them from coming into fruition. When we fail to produce, we can easily become cynical and resigned to simply settling for whatever we can get.

I think it’s critical to honor and acknowledge the following:

What have and have I not accomplished.
What is my honest assessment of my accomplishment pro and con.
How do I make improvements and adjustments for the future.

As you answer these questions please be cautioned that guilt may arise. Make sure you are in a place to embrace the answers and to become empowered by them. Feelings of guilt or chastisement do not bring closure but rather deepening incompletion. It is also critical to acknowledge in authentic truth what you will change and what you are not yet in a position to not change. Also, what you can and cannot commit to and own the whole enchilada.

Keep the process going until you feel whole inside and a sense of completion. When you feel a sense of completion you are settled and at peace in your state of mind and being.

This process cleanses out all of the impurities of your life. It brings about the truest most authentic you and creates a clean slate to work from. When you finally make a decision to have something in your life for the new year, you actually do it with integrity and power attached to it rather than adding it to a pile of words that never manifest. Cleansing actually starts to wipe away all of the old paint and gives rise to a new canvas ready for a new creation.

The new creation can now begin!

You can now create something new for yourself and in this case for 2009.

When you finally bring the integrity of closure to your life, you must have clarity of your vision.

Here are the next steps:
Access your vision and make it as vivid and clear as possible.

Without clear vision, you will lack the fortitude to continue on your path to success. You MUST know clearly what you want and should reinforce your clear vision with visual displays.

You must have passion and purpose.

Clearly and boldly state your personal “why.” Why do you want this vision to be fulfilled? Answer your why with boldness and authority!

You must believe.

With unwavering faith you must stand in your vision. This means address your emotions, thoughts and feelings that fall short of belief in your vision

You must act.

With all that you are, take action with fire and passion. Action produces the results. No action, no results. You must ACT!

Each of these elements are a process to living a life of power, passion and dreams come true. I’d love to share more on these subjects because it is a process and you must be rigorous with yourself to fully bring closure and create a new.

This Wednesday, January 21 at 10am on the P3 Power Boost Radio show we will discuss “The Power of Closure” so tune in http://www.TheP3Group.com/P3Radio. On February 3rd, I will lead a powerful teleseminar on the Six Keys to Living the Golden Life which will include an in depth look into vision.

We will also conduct more teleconferences in our P3 Lifeline on these subjects to aid in your quest to achieve your goals. So be sure to join as soon as possible – http://www.TheP3Group.com/lifeline

We’re in your corner and we know the power lives within you. We want to help you tap into it.

Stay tuned as we too embark on an incredible 2009. Call us and join us in the many things to come.

Your P3 President and Visionary,
Lisa H. Thomas
www.TheP3Group.com
704 909 7663 Headquarters
336 988 2383 High Point
336 790 8640 Fax