So it is just six days from my last post. I am up 6 pounds from that post. What happened? So easy. I made a plan that has proven to work for me and I walked away from the plan. I did my spin classes. I did my running. I decided there were days I wanted alcohol. NASCAR championship? The day before Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving Day?
I blog this because I want everyone who gains weight like me to recognize that we are making choices everyday. My commitment to the health and the weight loss was clearly not quite strong enough. It was the holidays and I have lots of excuses. That is fine. Today, I have to mentally readjust. I cannot say in one week I will lose the six pounds. I cannot plan to be under 200 lbs by the new year. These are self defeaters before I begin.
So, today I recommit. (please know that I believe you can recommit every half hour if you need to) This time, there is NO ALCOHOL as was supposed to be the plan all along. I am committing to that until Christmas Eve and I will readjust or look at my choices for the holidays. I love a glass of champagne with my family. I am committing to 2 days of spin each week and at least 3 runs. Those are easy commitments as I love both things. I am committing to me. I am committing to my body.
I wonder how many people trying to commit to themselves are beating themselves up after the holiday. Stop the beatings! Recommit. We've Got this. Be Strong!!!!!!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Praising our bodies
Sometimes when you are trying to reach a physically (and thereby mentally) healthier you, you can spend too long looking at the scale. I am down 3 pounds since last I posted. Yay, and yet...being down 3 pounds does not accurately represent all that my body has done for me since my last post.
This body got me to work without fail. This body brought me to spin class and helped me spin my hardest and sleep the sleep of the happy after a good work out. This body ran me 3.8 miles on Saturday and pushed me 3.1 miles on Sunday for my fastest 3.1 mile time of 38:42.
This body held me up when I cried, and put me to sleep when I didn't want to think anymore. This body is amazing. I do not have the kind of job where I am judged on how I look. (Although, surely there are always people judging how we look.) I am not sure why I only praise my own body when the scale says some magical number.
This body does amazing things for me everyday and I won't be able to take it with me when I go...and so, I choose to praise this body every single day. No matter what the scale says.
Notice what your body does for you today.
Be Strong!
This body got me to work without fail. This body brought me to spin class and helped me spin my hardest and sleep the sleep of the happy after a good work out. This body ran me 3.8 miles on Saturday and pushed me 3.1 miles on Sunday for my fastest 3.1 mile time of 38:42.
This body held me up when I cried, and put me to sleep when I didn't want to think anymore. This body is amazing. I do not have the kind of job where I am judged on how I look. (Although, surely there are always people judging how we look.) I am not sure why I only praise my own body when the scale says some magical number.
This body does amazing things for me everyday and I won't be able to take it with me when I go...and so, I choose to praise this body every single day. No matter what the scale says.
Notice what your body does for you today.
Be Strong!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Be Strong- but not always
In July I went on hiatus from this blog because my 44 year old sister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I was broken hearted and determined to be there for her as much as possible. On September 10, 2012 my sister died. I am still broken hearted....and yet...I am not broken.
With my sister's diagnosis came a lot of anxiety for me. This is not the place nor is it the time (not ready to go there yet) for me to share all of that with you. However, since the magical date I blogged about -March 11, 2012- I had gone down 30 lbs. and now, I am exactly half way between that and my starting weight. Half way feels magical, too. It is the moment I say to myself, "Did I really change or am I the same person who won't believe how fat I am until my belly sits on my knees?" If you remember previous posts you know I am not afraid to call out my weight of 223 lbs because I carry that weight into the world everyday. I carry this friggin amazing body into the world everyday!!! It is a body that has not failed me yet. How honored and blessed that I am. Perhaps now is a good time to mention that exactly one day after weighing in at 219, I ran a half marathon in 3 hours and 9 minutes! They didn't ask my weight. They didn't care my weight. If I could run I was in!!! And I ran!!!
So here I am today 15 pounds heavier than I was in the last post in July. And yet, I am wiser, stronger, more gentle and more loving. Win-Win. I am ready to get back to the healthier version of me. So, what made me gain the 15 pounds? Easy. I started drinking alcohol again and I stopped exercising faithfully. I exercised here and there. 2 things. That is it. Nothing more. There are solid reasons for both those things happening. I am not here to make excuses. I am not here to ease any guilt because I don't have any related to those two choices. I am not even here to say that I slipped. I didn't. Life happened as it does. It came at me hard and I made different choices than I had been making. Today, I look at those choices and say...."yeah, they worked for right then but those aren't choice I want to hang onto long-term."
And so I have stopped the alcohol for now. I have started the spinning and the running again. My goal is 3 miles 2 x a week and 5 miles once a week. I will probably have to do a lot of that on the treadmill and although I don't love that idea, the idea of making the gym work for me is great. Spinning will be 2 x a week. I know I will have to fight the not wanting to even harder with the days getting darker much earlier. Winter is a time where I have to watch myself like a hawk or I will fall into a place where I want to wear sweats, read a book, and drink hot stuff as soon as I get home!
The good news is that I like the healthier me. I like that I don't shy away from things that are hard. I had never pushed my body beyond comfort zone and it is such a feeling of accomplishment to do that! I keep thinking about and loving the idea that the more weight I take off of this body the faster I will run without having to do ANYTHING else.
Life will keep happening to us. Sometimes it will be gentle, but often it will hit hard!!! It is okay if you get the wind knocked out of you. Take time to catch your breath. When you are ready jump up and fight back! Be Strong! Be Gentle with you and those you meet along the way!
With my sister's diagnosis came a lot of anxiety for me. This is not the place nor is it the time (not ready to go there yet) for me to share all of that with you. However, since the magical date I blogged about -March 11, 2012- I had gone down 30 lbs. and now, I am exactly half way between that and my starting weight. Half way feels magical, too. It is the moment I say to myself, "Did I really change or am I the same person who won't believe how fat I am until my belly sits on my knees?" If you remember previous posts you know I am not afraid to call out my weight of 223 lbs because I carry that weight into the world everyday. I carry this friggin amazing body into the world everyday!!! It is a body that has not failed me yet. How honored and blessed that I am. Perhaps now is a good time to mention that exactly one day after weighing in at 219, I ran a half marathon in 3 hours and 9 minutes! They didn't ask my weight. They didn't care my weight. If I could run I was in!!! And I ran!!!
So here I am today 15 pounds heavier than I was in the last post in July. And yet, I am wiser, stronger, more gentle and more loving. Win-Win. I am ready to get back to the healthier version of me. So, what made me gain the 15 pounds? Easy. I started drinking alcohol again and I stopped exercising faithfully. I exercised here and there. 2 things. That is it. Nothing more. There are solid reasons for both those things happening. I am not here to make excuses. I am not here to ease any guilt because I don't have any related to those two choices. I am not even here to say that I slipped. I didn't. Life happened as it does. It came at me hard and I made different choices than I had been making. Today, I look at those choices and say...."yeah, they worked for right then but those aren't choice I want to hang onto long-term."
And so I have stopped the alcohol for now. I have started the spinning and the running again. My goal is 3 miles 2 x a week and 5 miles once a week. I will probably have to do a lot of that on the treadmill and although I don't love that idea, the idea of making the gym work for me is great. Spinning will be 2 x a week. I know I will have to fight the not wanting to even harder with the days getting darker much earlier. Winter is a time where I have to watch myself like a hawk or I will fall into a place where I want to wear sweats, read a book, and drink hot stuff as soon as I get home!
The good news is that I like the healthier me. I like that I don't shy away from things that are hard. I had never pushed my body beyond comfort zone and it is such a feeling of accomplishment to do that! I keep thinking about and loving the idea that the more weight I take off of this body the faster I will run without having to do ANYTHING else.
Life will keep happening to us. Sometimes it will be gentle, but often it will hit hard!!! It is okay if you get the wind knocked out of you. Take time to catch your breath. When you are ready jump up and fight back! Be Strong! Be Gentle with you and those you meet along the way!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Be Strong
I will be taking a hiatus from this blog. Let me leave you with this thought. Try to get healthier if you are overweight, but don't obsess about it...because obsessing takes you away from the things that are really important in life. Don't look at the scale today. Get some kind of fun exercise and go love up your family! Make some good memories that will carry you through storms. Be Strong and I will work on being the same.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
It is not all physical
On Thursday I headed for the ocean. When I got to the cottage I looked for running routes and for me the roads were too narrow, there were not side walks for whole roads and I did not see that I would enjoy running here. So I didn't. In the scheme of things that is two training runs I missed. I felt guilty...for about a minute and then I made a decision and I let it go.
Look, having a healthy body is important. But, being healthy mentally and not beating yourself up all the time, that is just as important. I have read a lot of weight loss blogs in the last few weeks. I get that they are journals of people's weight loss journey but I worry that some people are so obsessed that they forget to live. I don't want this blog to be like that. I write about running and losing weight in the hopes that it helps someone else to be healthier, but this is about 10 percent (maybe in training 15 percent) of my life.
So, what do you do when you are not focused on becoming physically healthier? You work on making your spirit healthier. Write a letter to someone you love, make a phone call to an old friend, patch up a rift with someone you care about. Think about people. Pray for or with people. Laugh with your siblings. Call your mom and dad.
What do you need to do to make your spirit healthier? Focus on that today and see what happens. Good Luck and BE STRONG.
Look, having a healthy body is important. But, being healthy mentally and not beating yourself up all the time, that is just as important. I have read a lot of weight loss blogs in the last few weeks. I get that they are journals of people's weight loss journey but I worry that some people are so obsessed that they forget to live. I don't want this blog to be like that. I write about running and losing weight in the hopes that it helps someone else to be healthier, but this is about 10 percent (maybe in training 15 percent) of my life.
So, what do you do when you are not focused on becoming physically healthier? You work on making your spirit healthier. Write a letter to someone you love, make a phone call to an old friend, patch up a rift with someone you care about. Think about people. Pray for or with people. Laugh with your siblings. Call your mom and dad.
What do you need to do to make your spirit healthier? Focus on that today and see what happens. Good Luck and BE STRONG.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Vacation
Vacation time folks! I am off to the ocean and will return happily to the blog on Wednesday morning. Enjoy!
Who owns you anyway?
Yesterday after I did my run I had a text from a friend. Turns out the partner she goes to the trainer with could not go and she wanted to know if I could go. The best thing I can tell you is that I didn't even think about if I wanted to. (OH, I WANTED TO) I only had to worry about timing. The timing was perfect.
I showed up for the training raring to go and I was NOT disappointed. This friend hasn't seen me in about a month and her reaction to the way I look was authentic and awesome. She does not read my blog so although she knows I am working on weight loss I doubt she really remembered til she saw me. That was cool. Then the trainer worked me like a dog and I loved every sweaty second of it. I will admit that even when I can't do an exercise fully I love strength training. We even got to put on gloves and punch a bag. (my FAV). He was very different from the trainer I used at my gym. He kept commenting that my form was great. I knew that was from the constructive criticisms I got from my first trainer. Some days I felt frustrated by her "do it again that wasn't right." But now I realize that is why I know how to use the correct form and after yesterday I am excited to think about when I might be able to start working with her again!
Note of interest: I read a blog the other day and I actually really enjoyed it. However, the girl has three scales line up by her bed and gets on each one when she weighs herself to make sure the number is right. Um, that is not going to work for me and I daresay that is not a good way to work on changing your life. Throughout our day we can take off and add up to 5 lbs at a time. Essentially you could weight yourself every hour and see different weights. Again, you have to take control and do what works best for you, but this is what I am going to tell you. One of the exercises last night was to hold onto a bar with both hands. Get off the step so I was hanging there and lift my knees 12 times. I did it. I felt amazing. I could have been 350 lbs right then and it wouldn't have mattered to me because I was making my body meet a strength challenge and it felt awesome. I even grunted!!!! Don't get too obsessive about the number. As my trainer told me when I started. If you get obsessive about exercise it is much healthier than getting obsessive about a number on a scale.
Final note: Friends couldn't believe I had put my weight on this blog. That is so funny to me because I put my weight out into the world everyday. You see me, you know generally that I am overweight. You saw me four months ago, you generally worried I was going to keep ballooning until I exploded. (Well, my brother shared that with me anyway, God love him.) The number on the scale does not own me, it guides me. It does not set my moods, it guides my workouts. It does not choose my food, it helps me make choices. Alright, I am going here: If your scale makes you miserable on a daily basis....get RID OF IT. You don't need it to know if you are losing weight. TAKE CONTROL.
Be Strong.
I showed up for the training raring to go and I was NOT disappointed. This friend hasn't seen me in about a month and her reaction to the way I look was authentic and awesome. She does not read my blog so although she knows I am working on weight loss I doubt she really remembered til she saw me. That was cool. Then the trainer worked me like a dog and I loved every sweaty second of it. I will admit that even when I can't do an exercise fully I love strength training. We even got to put on gloves and punch a bag. (my FAV). He was very different from the trainer I used at my gym. He kept commenting that my form was great. I knew that was from the constructive criticisms I got from my first trainer. Some days I felt frustrated by her "do it again that wasn't right." But now I realize that is why I know how to use the correct form and after yesterday I am excited to think about when I might be able to start working with her again!
Note of interest: I read a blog the other day and I actually really enjoyed it. However, the girl has three scales line up by her bed and gets on each one when she weighs herself to make sure the number is right. Um, that is not going to work for me and I daresay that is not a good way to work on changing your life. Throughout our day we can take off and add up to 5 lbs at a time. Essentially you could weight yourself every hour and see different weights. Again, you have to take control and do what works best for you, but this is what I am going to tell you. One of the exercises last night was to hold onto a bar with both hands. Get off the step so I was hanging there and lift my knees 12 times. I did it. I felt amazing. I could have been 350 lbs right then and it wouldn't have mattered to me because I was making my body meet a strength challenge and it felt awesome. I even grunted!!!! Don't get too obsessive about the number. As my trainer told me when I started. If you get obsessive about exercise it is much healthier than getting obsessive about a number on a scale.
Final note: Friends couldn't believe I had put my weight on this blog. That is so funny to me because I put my weight out into the world everyday. You see me, you know generally that I am overweight. You saw me four months ago, you generally worried I was going to keep ballooning until I exploded. (Well, my brother shared that with me anyway, God love him.) The number on the scale does not own me, it guides me. It does not set my moods, it guides my workouts. It does not choose my food, it helps me make choices. Alright, I am going here: If your scale makes you miserable on a daily basis....get RID OF IT. You don't need it to know if you are losing weight. TAKE CONTROL.
Be Strong.
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