Archive | October, 2010

Strange and Wonderful Things

By on October 29, 2010 in body, emotional stuff, self-image, weight, working out

I was chatting with Tara yesterday and we kept coming back to all these random little things that we are noticing now that we’ve lost weight.  Some of them are wonderful; others are disturbing.  Some can break your heart if you let them, but we decided not to.  Let them, that is.  But it made me think – we talk a lot about big milestones.  Weight lost.  NSVs.  New clothing sizes.  But we don’t talk as much about the random things we notice as a result of having lost weight.

So today, that’s what we’re going to talk about.  I put out a call on Twitter to ask people for the things they’ve noticed as they’ve lost weight, and below is a list that combines what Tara and I talked about yesterday, other random things I’ve noticed, and the feedback I got from y’all on Twitter.

And you?  Your job, my friend, is to add to this list via the comments!  As you can see from the list here, we’re letting it all hang out…so please to join us in this ridiculous act of self-exposure amazing act of honesty and sharing!

  • Steph shared that when losing weight, she is constantly cold.  As in, FREEZING. COLD. PEOPLE!!
  • I cross my legs constantly in BOTH directions, where before I could only cross right over left and only for a few minutes before losing all circulation in my legs.
  • Another Steph shared that she noticed a gap between her legs at the top of her thighs during yoga recently.
  • Tara and I chatted about the lovely “slapping” noise our arms make when we’re moving around, lifting, whatever. (Grr for loose skin!)
  • Jen shared that she has better balance.
  • We also discussed the fact that while in the shower, we can shave our hoo-hah while standing up, no contortions necessary.
  • RissaMama3 shared that her shoe size got smaller, and not just in width.  (Me too!)
  • We both noticed (and Tony agreed!) that shaving the armpits is a different thing because there are now hollows there where there weren’t any before.
  • Tara tweeted about no more inner thigh burn (and space between her legs) when she runs!
  • Tara also says her deodorant stick is now “cone” shaped on the top because of said hollows.  She also sometimes is caught off-guard when she sees herself in the mirror.  (Is that really me?!?)
  • Melodie shared that her pants seem magically longer!
  • I’ve noticed that my balance has changed and I’ve had to continually work at it as I’ve lost weight.  Maybe because my center of gravity has changed?
  • LeavingFatville has loose socks because her ankles are shrinking!

What am I leaving out??

Comments { 26 }

Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge

By on October 28, 2010 in challenge, consistency/commitment, plan, working out

When I saw that Bella and Scale Warfare decided to co-host a challenge that would take us through the end of the year, I knew that I would be joining in.  Especially when I realized that the challenge was about each participant picking the goals that they wanted to focus on for the next 9 or so weeks!

Here are the rules:

1. Choose a specific, realistic goal that you can achieve by December 31st.
2. Post weekly updates (you choose the day) about your progress.
3. Add the challenge button to your blog post/sidebar.
4. Decide on a gift (reward) that you’ll give yourself when you meet your goal.

So, here’s me, following the rules!

1. My goal: commit to and follow-through on four structured workouts/week from now until the end of the year.  I have some travel time coming up, along with the normal scheduling challenges that we all face during the holidays!  So my goal is to make at least four structured workouts (and by structured, I mean “official” and not just a walk – trainer, weight lifting, running, gym, something) a priority in my schedule no matter what.

2. I will post updates about my progress on the challenge on Thursdays each week.

3. I don’t know how to post the challenge button to my sidebar, but here is the great graphic that Bella and SW had on their posts today:

Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge

Countdown to Christmas/NYE Challenge

4. For my reward, I am going to have to think about that for a bit.  My husband and I are finally taking concrete steps towards planning our long-delayed honeymoon!  So I don’t know if I want to spend any more money than we are already spending over the holidays, between gifts and traveling.  But maybe my reward will be a spa treatment when we’re on our honeymoon!  So stay tuned on this one.

Anybody else want to join in?

Comments { 4 }

Go Where the Road Leads You

By on October 26, 2010 in consistency/committment, emotional stuff, hcg, R2P2

The older and more mature (hopefully!) I get, the more I realize that what mom always says is true: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”  No disrespect intended to anyone who disagrees with the theology of that statement, but I think we’ve all been there before, right?  You make plans.  Get all excited.  And then…life happens.  Spoke in the wheels.  Wrench in the works.  Whatever.

And no matter what the cause for the disruption, we have two choices for how to respond.  We can freak out, stress, worry, and give ourselves a heart attack.  Or, we can … just breathe.  Accept that there are things beyond our control, do what we can about the rest of it, and let go of the outcome.  But keep doing what we know we need to do, staying committed/determined to the important things.

What does this have to do weight weight loss or healthy living or running?  (Okay, really?  Do you have to ask that question??)

Well, I made a decision last week to shorten my latest round of HCG because my weight loss was stalled and there were some other things going on that just didn’t feel right.  I made the best decision I could with the information available to me, as we all do every time a choice presents itself.  I chose to end my round early, and guess what?  My weight won’t stabilize to save my life!  And since stabilization at your new, healthier, lower weight is a huge part of the Protocol…well, this is a problem.

Instead of agonizing over it, I just observed my body for several days.  I did some research.  And I e-mailed my doctor with the thought that I’d like to treat my brief foray into Phase 3/Maintenance a an “interruption” of my longer round and go back on the injections to see if I can’t get my body to stabilize a bit better.  Know what I found out?  Several doctors have had patients stall around the same period of time, and they all use the same pharmacy as the supplier for their HCG.  There’s a suspicion in the medical community that a less-than-perfect/potent batch is the culprit.  Which would explain perfectly why my body isn’t stabilizing and why I was feeling less-than-stellar towards the end of my round.

So, I got some new injections and am restarting/finishing out my Round 2 Phase 2 today.  11 more injections.

Weight today: 199.6.  Yeah, that bites.

But you know what?  I’m not worried.  I’m not going to gain all my weight back.  This isn’t the end of the world.  The other day, these words actually came out of my brother’s mouth: “You’re going to have to stop standing sideways in pictures anymore, otherwise you’ll disappear!”

And, yes, I realize that at 199 pounds, I am not in danger of disappearing.  But you know what?  I’m so much healthier and happier than I was even 6 months/55 pounds ago, that no “detour” or road block or stumble or mistake or obstacle can deter me from my goal.  I’m staying on this road, and my destination is certain.  How long it takes me to get there?  Who cares?

So that’s my deep thought for the day.  Go where the road leads you.  Don’t freak out.  Do the best you can.  Don’t hide it when something imperfect happens.  And know that you’ll be okay.

Where’s the road leading you right now?

Comments { 9 }

Something to Chew On: Zumba Hater

By on October 25, 2010 in Betsy, fear, guest post, working out

Yeah that’s right. I’m a Zumba Hater. All I’ve heard for months (Hey, give me a break. I live in Northern Utah so it takes longer for stuff to catch on here) is, “Zumba is so much fun!” “Oh my God, have you tried Zumba?” “Did you hear Jolene lost 45 pounds just doing Zumba three times a week?” “Sorry I’m so sweaty. I just came from Zumba.” “No. I can’t meet you at 6. I’ve got Zumba.”

So finally I grudgingly went to Zumba class to find out for myself what the hullaballoo was about. As I walked down the hallway towards the fitness studio I could see the class starting to assemble, and holy crap if they weren’t all twenty-something’s with their hair all big and make-up done perfectly, wearing tank tops and mini-skirts. Gag. I’m walking straight into a fat girls nightmare: a room filled with thin, well-groomed chicks that can shake their groove thang without showing any jiggly bits.

I stopped. I actually came to a stop in that hallway and for a few seconds I considered heading back into the locker room, grabbing my stuff and heading for the safety of home. Who was I to brazenly walk into this thin-girls-only world and dare to aim for self-improvement? I took a deep breath and told myself to go fill up my water bottle. Aching for my friend who so wanted to be there with me but had to work, I remembered I had told a lot of people that I was coming to Zumba class tonight. People were going to hold me accountable even if I was ready to hide in a hole. And I really, really, really did not want to let myself down. So more-confidently-than-I-felt I walked determinedly into the fitness studio and made a beeline for the far back corner.

Thankfully more humble exercise enthusiasts quickly outnumbered the MTV-salsa-dancer-wannabes and I found my people. They welcomed me to my first Zumba class and all aglow with Zumba Love told me to just have fun and not get frustrated. They said, “You’ll be amazed at how quickly you catch on and in a few weeks you’ll know all of the moves.” And with that the music started.

I studied ballet as a child and was a twice-weekly step aerobics buff so I’m not without coordination and a basic understanding of counting. I found most of the moves easy and caught on quickly. Okay, so I never looked at myself in the mirror and why would I? I had morphed into my Size 2 self (the one that was encased in a fat girl’s body by a wicked witch) and I was not about to shatter my resolve by glancing at my Size 24 body. That would have crushed me. So I meringued and sashayed and hip-hopped through the hour-long class in a packed room where the furnace was on and the temperature was nearing 74 degrees (not a normal occurrence I was repeatedly assured). I got my heart rate into my 80-85% max range and held it there.

When the class concluded my surrounding classmates all converged to giddily congratulate me on finishing my first class and ask me what I thought of it. Sweaty and red-faced I thanked them and said, “Yeah, it was good! I did much better than I thought I would.” Blah, blah, blah.

But you know what? I wasn’t oozing Zumba Love. My eyes weren’t sparkling with Zumba-ness. I didn’t have the urge to transform myself into Charo, or run through the streets proclaiming to strangers that, “You MUST try Zumba!” In fact, I was quite underwhelmed. I don’t get what all the fuss is about. And that got me thinking. Are the most vocal Zumba enthusiasts too young to have taken an aerobics class? That’s what Zumba reminded me of: a ‘90’s aerobics class.

Since I’m not averse to doing things I don’t enjoy, I will make Zumba a weekly activity. Why not? What else have I got to do on a Tuesday night? Stay home and watch Glee? Nah. The DVR has me covered so instead I’ll see if I can’t find my inner Charo.

And you? Have you tried Zumba? Are you a Zumba devotee? Did you ever take an aerobics class in the ‘90s? What is your favorite activity these days? Do any of your get-fit activities make you want to run through the streets encouraging strangers to take it up for themselves?

Comments { 46 }

Why I Keep Doing the Work

By on October 22, 2010 in consistency/commitment, determination/motivation, emotional stuff, fear, goals, hope/inspiration

Hello and happy Friday, friends!  I’ve been scarce this week and don’t really know when that’s going to change.  This may be my “new normal” for a while!  I’m still reading your blogs and commenting as much as I can…alas, my Twitter time has suffered tremendously!

Quick reminder: if you’re in on the Ninja Giving Skillz project, do what you gotta do ASAP!  I’m extending the “deadline” until Monday to give y’all a chance to catch up on your “homework.”

Also, I just have to give a shout out to my ND, Dr. Joanna Forwell (or Dr. Jo as I call her).  She called and left me the best voicemail offering to help me trouble-shoot through the stall that led me to end my latest HCG round early.  Thank you, Dr. Jo – I hope we get a chance to talk today!  It has been ages since I’ve worked with a doctor who has been so proactive and concerned about my health and who would leave me a 3-minute voicemail.  If you’re in Seattle and need an ND, give Dr. Jo a call.

Whew!  Okay, on to the “topic” of today’s post.  I was thinking today about how our motivation and/or reasons for doing what we do changes over time.  It’s a necessity, really.  If you started because you were fat and then lost weight, that “condition” of being fat is no longer the thing that keeps you going.  And we all know that if the motivation is simply NOT being fat…well, sometimes that *insert favorite food here* is much more compelling in the moment than the fear of getting fat again.

Likewise if your reasons for starting this journey were to address health issues, perhaps those health issues have resolved themselves.  I know so many of you who have reversed diabetes, gotten rid of high blood pressure, brought your cholesterol down into healthy ranges, and improved a whole host of other health conditions by eating healthier and moving your body.  And what a wonderful thing!  Or maybe you’ve gotten rid of the knee/hip/foot/back pain that just got to be too much and spurred you on to change.

Whatever your reasons were at the outset, it is likely and good that those reasons change and evolve as you get healthier (and, for many of us, lose weight).  When I started, my reasons included being healthier, feeling better about myself, feeling sexy, being able to do anything I wanted to (physically), and shopping in “regular” stores for clothes.  Well, I’ve achieved every single one of those objectives, but my motivation/determination hasn’t waned one bit.

If anything, it’s gotten stronger.

What I’ve discovered is that the longer I do this, and the healthier/faster/stronger I get – the more I want to keep going.  I love feeling healthy, strong, and fit.  I want to feel that way for the rest of my life.  The more I do this healthy living thing, the more I realize that, for me, the lifestyle itself is the reward just as much as losing weight is.

Don’t get me wrong – I know I’ll still have a week now and then where I just can’t find it in me to workout.  I know the scale will go up and down a little.  I know food will still call my name when I am going through something emotional.  But whatever temptation I may have to fall back into my old ways; no matter how I might stumble, I know that I am in this for life.

So that’s why I keep doing the work.  New reasons.  Because I love myself and how I feel.  Because I’m worth it.  Because I know I can do this; choose to live as healthy as I can in each moment, and be the best me I can be every day.

So why do YOU keep doing the work?

Comments { 6 }