Remember those numbers. No, I didn’t crash land on a mysterious island, those numbers are the date (10-1) my weight (245 lbs) and my measurements (52-41-52 inches). I can’t remember my measurements but my lowest weight was 235 back in October 2009. I’ve blogged before about why I “fell off the wagon” (http://bit.ly/khPzJe) so I won’t bore you with those details again. I went back to that posting to get the link & realized that since I posted that in June, I’ve lost 7 lbs and 6 inches from my waist. However, my bust hasn’t changed (woo-hoo) not have my hips (boo-hiss).
I’ve also returned to taking my vitamins & supplements (I’ll post a list if anyone is interested). I’d stopped for…..I can’t remember why, but started back for about 3 weeks. Then I had my car accident and wasn’t sure how green tea & dong quai would react with the muscle relaxers so I thought it best to put them away. I realized that I didn’t have nearly the energy without them. My horoscope (Pisces) the day I weighed/took these measurements;
Saturday, Oct 1st, 2011 -- You may be confident that you can change a long-standing habit or make a necessary adjustment to your diet. However, you could be fooling yourself today by oversimplifying what it takes to improve your daily regimen. Don't get discouraged by trying to accomplish too much all at once. Instead of running ahead without a plan, take one determined baby step at a time. Small incremental modifications have a much better chance of lasting into the future.
So here's the plan; I'll post weight & measurements at least once a month. I'm gonna try & take some “honest” pics this weekend to show off the bod and do so on some kind of regular basis to document the (hopeful) change. Of course we’ll see how that goes…we make plans & God laughs.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Slow & Steady....I'll Take That
When it comes to my weight, ya’ll know where I’ve been – up and down – for better or worse, it’s all here on this blog. Ya’ll have had my back the whole way. Do ya’ll know how much it’s meant? Well here’s where I am:
Ya’ll know about Mama’s surgeries; 3 major surgeries between September of '09 & December of '10. So instead of getting up at 5 AM to work out, I was getting up at 5 AM to get Mama ready for the day, get her breakfast done, dinner in the crock pot and the kitchen cleaned up & usually at least 1 load of laundry done, the get ready for work and out of the house by 8:30. I went to the doc for my chick check on June 9th....I weighed in at 257! I got home & took my measurements...BIG mistake! (Bust) 52 (Waist) 49 (Hips) 53!! I knew I had put some weight back on; ankles hurt more often, tired, and those 20's that were sliding on now took some work to get on. Ok, a lot of work. But half of what I had lost?!
Like before, 1 change at a time. Start with the eating -- not easy as we had a family reunion that weekend. It wasn't easy, but I did it anyway. Monday 13th: new thing was taking the stairs....no elevators. I realized (thanks to my handy pedometer) that it was 300 steps from my desk, to the 3rd floor where the ice machine is and back. Then on Monday the 20th I started walking in the AM & the first couple of days I barely made it though .8 (8/10) of a mile. Holy crap!! I'd gotten up to 2.5 miles.
Well after 2 1/2 weeks I got back on the scale....252! (B) 52 (W) 47 (H) 52. So in 18 days I've dropped 5 pounds and a total of 3 inches. I'll take that :-)
I've said before, my goal is to be healthy NOT skinny. My target is 200 pounds (I'm 5'10) a woman's size 16 and a man's 36/32. None of this is set in stone. If I get to 210 & I feel good, then I'm fine. If that means I'm a size 18 then so be it. I think that's why it's work this time as opposed to all of the other diets I've been on in the last 20 years because my goal isn't a look (skinny), it's a feeling (healthy).
Ya’ll know about Mama’s surgeries; 3 major surgeries between September of '09 & December of '10. So instead of getting up at 5 AM to work out, I was getting up at 5 AM to get Mama ready for the day, get her breakfast done, dinner in the crock pot and the kitchen cleaned up & usually at least 1 load of laundry done, the get ready for work and out of the house by 8:30. I went to the doc for my chick check on June 9th....I weighed in at 257! I got home & took my measurements...BIG mistake! (Bust) 52 (Waist) 49 (Hips) 53!! I knew I had put some weight back on; ankles hurt more often, tired, and those 20's that were sliding on now took some work to get on. Ok, a lot of work. But half of what I had lost?!
Like before, 1 change at a time. Start with the eating -- not easy as we had a family reunion that weekend. It wasn't easy, but I did it anyway. Monday 13th: new thing was taking the stairs....no elevators. I realized (thanks to my handy pedometer) that it was 300 steps from my desk, to the 3rd floor where the ice machine is and back. Then on Monday the 20th I started walking in the AM & the first couple of days I barely made it though .8 (8/10) of a mile. Holy crap!! I'd gotten up to 2.5 miles.
Well after 2 1/2 weeks I got back on the scale....252! (B) 52 (W) 47 (H) 52. So in 18 days I've dropped 5 pounds and a total of 3 inches. I'll take that :-)
I've said before, my goal is to be healthy NOT skinny. My target is 200 pounds (I'm 5'10) a woman's size 16 and a man's 36/32. None of this is set in stone. If I get to 210 & I feel good, then I'm fine. If that means I'm a size 18 then so be it. I think that's why it's work this time as opposed to all of the other diets I've been on in the last 20 years because my goal isn't a look (skinny), it's a feeling (healthy).
Thursday, December 9, 2010
New food obsession
This is gonna be short & sweet....I've developed an obsession with Peter Pan honey roasted crunchy peanut butter.
Up until about 3 months ago my dislike for peanut butter in general ran close to hate. Once in a while I’d grab a spoonfull and that’d be it but after hearing my cousin go on and on the new flavor, I tried it and I fell in love! I started out with the creamy but got the crunchy by mistake and it’s even better! I keep a 28 ounce jar in my desk drawer at work to snack on instead of chips or junk food & I’ll knock it out in about 2 weeks. I keep telling myself that it’s a good source of protein, I don’t get that afternoon drag and I actually eat less at dinner when I’ve had a few spoonfuls of this Ambrosia in the afternoon.
See...told ya...short & sweet :-)
Up until about 3 months ago my dislike for peanut butter in general ran close to hate. Once in a while I’d grab a spoonfull and that’d be it but after hearing my cousin go on and on the new flavor, I tried it and I fell in love! I started out with the creamy but got the crunchy by mistake and it’s even better! I keep a 28 ounce jar in my desk drawer at work to snack on instead of chips or junk food & I’ll knock it out in about 2 weeks. I keep telling myself that it’s a good source of protein, I don’t get that afternoon drag and I actually eat less at dinner when I’ve had a few spoonfuls of this Ambrosia in the afternoon.
See...told ya...short & sweet :-)
Monday, August 9, 2010
I Feel Lucky!
Today will be the first day I use the staff gym here at work. I don’t mind saying I’m a little skittish about it. I’m not crazy about machines...I prefer free weights & walking. But for the next couple of weeks I have to come in at 8 AM (as opposed to 9) and the idea of getting up between 4 & 4:30 DOES NOT make me happy or excited about working out. Also, there’s a chance my schedule could change permanently after this, so not to un-do the progress I’ve made thus far, I’m adjusting.
I’ve dropped 5 pounds since we got back from vacation so yippee for me. I was hoping to get on the scales this morning (I only weigh in once a week) hoping to see another pound gone but no luck so I was a little disappointed. But even though I didn’t lose anything, I didn’t gain anything so it’s all good.
I don’t put a lot of stock into horoscopes, they’re fun but you can’t use them to guide your life. At least I don’t...all I can think of is the Mary Chapin Carpenter song “I Feel Lucky” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laE3sj678so. That having been said, I read mine every morning. So I wake up this AM, weigh in, feeling bummed because the scale says the same thing it did last Monday morning, feeling apprehensive about a new routine, check my email and find this as my horoscope for today
Monday, Aug 9th, 2010 -- Pay careful attention to your physical body now, for the New Moon falls in your 6th House of Health and Habits. The smallest details of your daily routine can be important enough to make you feel better or worse over extended periods of time. Pick something that you can do every day, such as making an improvement to your diet or exercise program, to enhance your total well-being.
Even though I don’t totally believe in this....I feel lucky!
I’ve dropped 5 pounds since we got back from vacation so yippee for me. I was hoping to get on the scales this morning (I only weigh in once a week) hoping to see another pound gone but no luck so I was a little disappointed. But even though I didn’t lose anything, I didn’t gain anything so it’s all good.
I don’t put a lot of stock into horoscopes, they’re fun but you can’t use them to guide your life. At least I don’t...all I can think of is the Mary Chapin Carpenter song “I Feel Lucky” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laE3sj678so. That having been said, I read mine every morning. So I wake up this AM, weigh in, feeling bummed because the scale says the same thing it did last Monday morning, feeling apprehensive about a new routine, check my email and find this as my horoscope for today
Monday, Aug 9th, 2010 -- Pay careful attention to your physical body now, for the New Moon falls in your 6th House of Health and Habits. The smallest details of your daily routine can be important enough to make you feel better or worse over extended periods of time. Pick something that you can do every day, such as making an improvement to your diet or exercise program, to enhance your total well-being.
Even though I don’t totally believe in this....I feel lucky!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Rededication
This is the first fresh post for the new blog and it's going to be only about my new “health-style”. Well it’s not new, per say, but just reborn. Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up (you get fun points if you know where that came from); I fell off the wagon. No, actually, I think I jumped.
It all started when Mama had major surgery back in September & was out of commission for 3 months. I got up at the same time (between 5 & 5:15 AM) but between getting her set up for the day; breakfast done, lunch ready to pop in the microwave, supper in the slow-cooker, kitchen cleaned up...I didn’t have time to walk or even hit my weights in the house. At night (I get off work at 6 PM) I’d come home do some veggies and after we’d have dinner & clean up it was usually around 8 and to be honest, I just didn’t have the energy to do anything but shower & hit the sack. After the holidays I realized I’d put on 5 pounds…not a happy girl. I’d decided to get back in the saddle however the lovely sub-arctic seeming weather we had kept my lazy cold natured backside in my bed as long as I could. After the spring thaw guess what…more surgery. She’d developed 4 hernias around the incision which took her out of the game for another 2 months.
The day she had the first surgery I weighed 235.…today I weigh 250. That’s 15 pounds!
I’m not making excuses….well maybe I am. I’m just so frustrated and mad with myself. I’d lost 40 pounds and now I’ve put almost half of that BACK ON! Ok, in the beginning it was legit…taking care of someone took precedence, but what about in the time since then? There‘s really no excuse for that except that I‘m lazy. The only thing to do is start fresh and I took the first steps to that last week. When I came back from vacation I knew I had to do something.
First thing I did was get rid of the 36 ounce glass I used at work & traded it in for a 16 ounce. Yeah, I was going up stairs a couple of times a day, but now I’m going up & down 2 flights of stairs about every hour. My co-worker doesn’t like it much but we’re talking 5-10 minutes at most. I’m trying to decide how much I care about her disapproval….yeah.
Next was new shoes. I actually had to buy new sneakers on vacation because I left mine in the hotel we stayed at (decided flip-flops made more sense for 10-12 hours & forgot to get my sneaks the next AM). In the Sunday paper I saw that K-Mart had Rock N Fit sneakers on sale. Not only are they supposed to help tone your legs and even your abs, but they’re supposed to help relieve stress on your joints. When you’ve broken 1 ankle twice, popped the Achilles’ tendon on the other and have rotten knees (bad genes…thanks Daddy) something like that really gets your attention. I was skeptical but they looked cute & $20 for sneakers is a good deal. I got them Wednesday and let me tell you these bad boys work! I wore them to work Thursday & Friday and normally when I get home my ankles & the tops of my feet ache but I’ve gotten used to it. NOTHING! I wore the all day Saturday (my shopping/errand day) and after being on my feet off and on from about 2-7 PM and when I got home my feet felt fine. I plan on hitting the track tomorrow morning and I believe that’s where the story will be told. In the spirit of full disclosure, when I woke up Saturday morning my ankle was swollen & hurting but I realized it probably had more to do with bumming around in crocs after work & around the house. It didn’t happen on vacation, didn’t have my crocs, and I didn’t wear the crocs all day Sunday and no swelling. Even I can do that math on that one.
I’ve got to get back to healthy eating. Not that I’ve been tossing back the junk food. I just haven’t been as conscious as I had been; when I get a craving for something sweet, I’d eat ice cream instead of yogurt or when I wanted something spicy I’d grab spicy Doritos or chips instead of pretzels & salsa. I’ve started back with the Healthy Choice frozen lunches instead of leftovers. These things are pretty tasty. Lower in sodium than most frozen things, and there’s a great selection. If you want to try them, go to their website you can see the variety and get coupons.
I’ve GOT to start exercising again…that’s all there is to it. If I don’t get my butt off the couch, it doesn’t matter what shoes I wear, how many trips up the stairs I take or even how healthy I eat, it doesn’t accomplish much if I don’t move.
It’d be easy to use all of the reasons -- as legitimate as some may be -- as an excuse for not doing what I know I should have been. But the bottom line is, if I want to do this, if I want to be healthy, it’s up to me not someone else and I’m just wasting time and I don’t know why I’m waiting, I really don’t. When I was exercising everyday -- or even every other day -- I felt great, I slept great and the aches that I had gotten used to weren’t there 95% of the time. Life is too short to wait. I can’t wait for the perfect time, the perfect day, the perfect weather…. Yes, I’m putting off getting out of bed, putting off the soreness that I KNOW will happen that first week but what I’m also putting off is getting healthy and getting into shape.
Rock N Fit Shoes: http://rocknfitshoes.com/
Rock N Fit Shoes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rocknfit
Healthy Choice: http://www.healthychoice.com/
Healthy Choice on Twitter http://twitter.com/healthy_choice
It all started when Mama had major surgery back in September & was out of commission for 3 months. I got up at the same time (between 5 & 5:15 AM) but between getting her set up for the day; breakfast done, lunch ready to pop in the microwave, supper in the slow-cooker, kitchen cleaned up...I didn’t have time to walk or even hit my weights in the house. At night (I get off work at 6 PM) I’d come home do some veggies and after we’d have dinner & clean up it was usually around 8 and to be honest, I just didn’t have the energy to do anything but shower & hit the sack. After the holidays I realized I’d put on 5 pounds…not a happy girl. I’d decided to get back in the saddle however the lovely sub-arctic seeming weather we had kept my lazy cold natured backside in my bed as long as I could. After the spring thaw guess what…more surgery. She’d developed 4 hernias around the incision which took her out of the game for another 2 months.
The day she had the first surgery I weighed 235.…today I weigh 250. That’s 15 pounds!
I’m not making excuses….well maybe I am. I’m just so frustrated and mad with myself. I’d lost 40 pounds and now I’ve put almost half of that BACK ON! Ok, in the beginning it was legit…taking care of someone took precedence, but what about in the time since then? There‘s really no excuse for that except that I‘m lazy. The only thing to do is start fresh and I took the first steps to that last week. When I came back from vacation I knew I had to do something.
First thing I did was get rid of the 36 ounce glass I used at work & traded it in for a 16 ounce. Yeah, I was going up stairs a couple of times a day, but now I’m going up & down 2 flights of stairs about every hour. My co-worker doesn’t like it much but we’re talking 5-10 minutes at most. I’m trying to decide how much I care about her disapproval….yeah.
Next was new shoes. I actually had to buy new sneakers on vacation because I left mine in the hotel we stayed at (decided flip-flops made more sense for 10-12 hours & forgot to get my sneaks the next AM). In the Sunday paper I saw that K-Mart had Rock N Fit sneakers on sale. Not only are they supposed to help tone your legs and even your abs, but they’re supposed to help relieve stress on your joints. When you’ve broken 1 ankle twice, popped the Achilles’ tendon on the other and have rotten knees (bad genes…thanks Daddy) something like that really gets your attention. I was skeptical but they looked cute & $20 for sneakers is a good deal. I got them Wednesday and let me tell you these bad boys work! I wore them to work Thursday & Friday and normally when I get home my ankles & the tops of my feet ache but I’ve gotten used to it. NOTHING! I wore the all day Saturday (my shopping/errand day) and after being on my feet off and on from about 2-7 PM and when I got home my feet felt fine. I plan on hitting the track tomorrow morning and I believe that’s where the story will be told. In the spirit of full disclosure, when I woke up Saturday morning my ankle was swollen & hurting but I realized it probably had more to do with bumming around in crocs after work & around the house. It didn’t happen on vacation, didn’t have my crocs, and I didn’t wear the crocs all day Sunday and no swelling. Even I can do that math on that one.
I’ve got to get back to healthy eating. Not that I’ve been tossing back the junk food. I just haven’t been as conscious as I had been; when I get a craving for something sweet, I’d eat ice cream instead of yogurt or when I wanted something spicy I’d grab spicy Doritos or chips instead of pretzels & salsa. I’ve started back with the Healthy Choice frozen lunches instead of leftovers. These things are pretty tasty. Lower in sodium than most frozen things, and there’s a great selection. If you want to try them, go to their website you can see the variety and get coupons.
I’ve GOT to start exercising again…that’s all there is to it. If I don’t get my butt off the couch, it doesn’t matter what shoes I wear, how many trips up the stairs I take or even how healthy I eat, it doesn’t accomplish much if I don’t move.
It’d be easy to use all of the reasons -- as legitimate as some may be -- as an excuse for not doing what I know I should have been. But the bottom line is, if I want to do this, if I want to be healthy, it’s up to me not someone else and I’m just wasting time and I don’t know why I’m waiting, I really don’t. When I was exercising everyday -- or even every other day -- I felt great, I slept great and the aches that I had gotten used to weren’t there 95% of the time. Life is too short to wait. I can’t wait for the perfect time, the perfect day, the perfect weather…. Yes, I’m putting off getting out of bed, putting off the soreness that I KNOW will happen that first week but what I’m also putting off is getting healthy and getting into shape.
Rock N Fit Shoes: http://rocknfitshoes.com/
Rock N Fit Shoes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rocknfit
Healthy Choice: http://www.healthychoice.com/
Healthy Choice on Twitter http://twitter.com/healthy_choice
Friday, July 16, 2010
My Life as a Big Girl
This was originally posted on October 30, 2009. I thought it'd be the best way to start this off.
My Life as a Big Girl
Has anyone else seen the photos and article in the November issue of Glamour magazine? If you haven’t here’s the link...go NOW! http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/about/body-image I cannot tell you how happy I am to see these photos and read the article! It’s probably the first time I can remember seeing women in a “mainstream” magazine that I could physically relate to. I am 36 yrs old, 5’10, wear an 18/20 and weigh 235 pounds. I’ve been always been an outgoing chick and never thought that my weight or size held me back. Yes, I knew it wasn’t totally healthy to be overweight, but I was always happy with myself, never felt unattractive. I’ve always been comfortable in my own skin. I know other women who weren’t (and still aren’t) as comfortable. I can’t take credit for this attitude; I was one of the luckiest girls in the world. Mama who's always thought I was fabulous, an Aunt who thought I was beautiful and a Granny who thought I was as strong has her Mama. How did I know these things? Because they never missed the opportunity to tell me. Yeah, I was one lucky girl!
I won’t get on a soapbox about how the fashion industry and Hollywood have distorted the idea of what women are supposed to look like and created body image issues for generations of women. That road has been taken so many times the pavement’s worn out. Yes, they do bear a good part of the blame, but you can’t lay all of the blame on magazines, the movies, models, fashion or anyone else. It’s your body, no one else’s. There comes a time when you have to be accountable for your actions and behavior. Unless you have a medical condition, the only person who is responsible for you being overweight and out of shape is you. You’ve got two choices; 1) Change it. Jill Conner Brown (THE Sweet Potato Queen) said "If you aren't loving life, change it," and to me that means ANY aspect 2). Deal with it. Stop complaining, stop blaming. Own your life and all that it entails. If you're happy with yourself and your life and you're basicly healthy, to hell with any and everyone else and their opinions.
I’ve been overweight since I was about 10 yrs old. The pictures and video from Mama & Pop’s wedding that year, I looked like I was smuggling basketballs! When I was real little, I was such a picky eater and I guess they were so happy I was eating, they didn’t think there was a problem. By the time we all realized I was fat (I’m not scared of the word), I was old enough to do something about it myself and I tried...sort of. I have been on all kinds of crazy diets; when I was about 14 two cousins and I decided to go on the diet they put patients on before heart surgery! I lasted all of 1 day...could not stomach the beets or the tuna. I’ve counted fat, calories, carbs, portions you name it. I’ve drank teas, taken prescription diet pills, OTC diet pills, you name it. I’d lose weight but I’d abandon the diet not because I wasn’t dropping pounds but just because I wasn't dropping them fast enough, I was lazy and it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. I liked myself, I was happy with my life the weight wasn’t really in the way so why make myself crazy.
Well, in Oct. of 2008 it became a big deal.
I’d gotten bronchitis again and started popping all kinds of OTC cold meds. When it didn’t work I finally gave up and went to the doctor where my blood pressure was sky high and at 278, my weight was higher than it’s ever been in my life! Knowing the history of heart disease and strokes on Mama’s side of the family, the blood pressure scared me big time, but the nurse said that was probably because of the cold meds. I went back a week later and it was a little high (a couple of points) but nothing to worry about. But the weight was still a health issue. Maybe because I was 35 – just 5 months from my 36th birthday – I realized that if I didn’t do something now, I was in serious trouble. I knew something had to change, but I also knew from past experience that pills and fad diets were not the path for me.
First I had to eat right. The couple of bags of chips, you know the ones that say on the label that it’s actually 3 servings – I snacked on at work had to stop. I had to start exercising and walking to the elevator did not count. Eating as much or more than my Pop at dinner was not a good thing. When I thought about everything I had to change I was totally discouraged. There was no way in the world I was gonna do that. What did I do? Get a pint of mint-chocolate chip ice cream and settle in to watch an old movie. There on my television was one of the most beautiful women EVER and one that I’d always wanted to look like – Rita Hayworth. There she was; driving Glenn Ford insane, singing and dancing in “the black” dress...mocking me and my ice cream. Then I had an epiphany...who said I had to change everything at once? Where is it written?
So once I was sure I wasn’t going to die of consumption (still fighting bronchitis), I put the ice cream in the freezer and decided to use yogurt to feed a craving for something sweet. I switched the Doritos for Sun Chips or pretzels. A couple of weeks later, I started eating a kinda-sorta breakfast burrito instead of cereal or leftovers. Then I changed from the frozen lunches I was eating (actually, eating 2 for lunch) to soups. Next step was abandoning the “at work” snacks. That was easier than I thought.
New Year’s Day I got on the scales – I hadn’t even looked at scales since I left the doctor’s office that day in mid-October – and I was 265. That’s the day I started walking. Barely half a mile later and I thought, no, I was sure that my lungs were going to explode, my legs were going to fall off, I was going to die and they could bury me where I dropped. A few weeks later, I added weights and crunches. Did I exercise every day? No, but at least 3 days a week I did something. (I haven't been as) dedicated lately) I took the stairs at work. If I had something for someone, I didn’t use interoffice mail I walked it over to them. Before I knew it, clothes were fitting looser. Pants that I had been wearing comfortably required a belt. I’d bought a pair of jeans for a concert the first week of November. They were a 22 and they fit perfect! I put them on one Saturday afternoon...and they were baggy! BAGGY! I could put them in the dryer and they’d be good for a few hours and after a few months, even that didn’t work. They would literally fall down about mid-hip. I haven’t been able to wear them – even with a belt since July. The last jeans I bought were 18’s. I always envied my Granny because the woman could drop weight simply by deciding to do so and it looks like I may be more like her than I thought.
This is just the first blog here. I’m going to post my “progress” (maybe with pictures) as I go. I don’t have a goal weight, however, I’ve got a pair of 38/32 men’s Wrangler’s hanging up in my bedroom as inspiration. I used to joke that if I got smaller than a size 16, I’d move into Jimmy’s (it’s a 50+ yr old diner here in town) until I got back, but the closer I get, the more I think I might have to reevaluate. I don’t wanna be skinny, not by any stretch of the imagination. I never have. I guess that’s because when I was growing up, I didn’t wanna look like a supermodel. The women I thought were the most beautiful; the ones I wanted to look like weren’t on a runway. I wanted to look like Susan Seaforth Hayes, Suzanne Rogers and Deidra Hall from Days of Our Lives, Rita Hayworth in Gilda, and Jane Russell in anything. Yes, they are women two and three generations before me, but they were gorgeous. They didn’t look like boys or pre-pubescent girls...they looked like women and they had curves for God’s sake!
Do I think that only “real women have curves”? No. And if you do, you’re just as out of your mind as all of those people who think that skinny or thin is "always" healthy. Every woman, every person, is different and will not fit into the same mold. To think so is insane. I’ve lost almost 40 pounds since this time last year because I finally decided to stop dieting and focus on getting healthy instead of losing weight, and that's what I should have done all along. As long as you’re healthy and happy with yourself, the number on the scales or the tag in your clothes shouldn’t matter. Trisha Yearwood released a song a few years back called "Real Live Woman" and the lyrics are...well...perfect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cn9d8Xi_Cw
REAL LIVE WOMAN (Trisha Yearwood)
I don't buy the lines in magazines
That tell me what I've gotta be
Don't base my life on a movie screen
Don't fit the mold society
Has Planned
I don't need to be 19 years old
Or starve myself for some weight I'm told
Will turn men's heads, been down that road
And I thank God I finally know
Just who I am
I ain't a movie star
May never see the view from where they are
And this old town may be as far as I'm goin'
But what he'll hold tonight in his hands
He swears is so much better than
Anything this old world
Can show him
Cause I'm a real live woman
In love with this man I see lyin' here next to me
Lost in the way that he's holdin'
This real live woman
In the arms of a man where
I'll fall asleep knowin' there's
Nothin' on earth he loves more than
This real live woman
I work 9-5 and I can't relate
To millionaires who somehow fate
as smiled upon and fortune made their
Common lives a better place to be
And I no longer justify
Reasons for the way that I behave
I offer no apologies
For the things that I believe and say
And I like it that way
Cause I'm a real live woman
In love with this man I see lyin' here next to me
Lost in the way that he's holdin'
This real live woman
In the arms of a man where
I'll fall asleep knowin' there's
Nothin' on earth he loves more than
This real live woman
Cause I'm a real live woman
My Life as a Big Girl
Has anyone else seen the photos and article in the November issue of Glamour magazine? If you haven’t here’s the link...go NOW! http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/about/body-image I cannot tell you how happy I am to see these photos and read the article! It’s probably the first time I can remember seeing women in a “mainstream” magazine that I could physically relate to. I am 36 yrs old, 5’10, wear an 18/20 and weigh 235 pounds. I’ve been always been an outgoing chick and never thought that my weight or size held me back. Yes, I knew it wasn’t totally healthy to be overweight, but I was always happy with myself, never felt unattractive. I’ve always been comfortable in my own skin. I know other women who weren’t (and still aren’t) as comfortable. I can’t take credit for this attitude; I was one of the luckiest girls in the world. Mama who's always thought I was fabulous, an Aunt who thought I was beautiful and a Granny who thought I was as strong has her Mama. How did I know these things? Because they never missed the opportunity to tell me. Yeah, I was one lucky girl!
I won’t get on a soapbox about how the fashion industry and Hollywood have distorted the idea of what women are supposed to look like and created body image issues for generations of women. That road has been taken so many times the pavement’s worn out. Yes, they do bear a good part of the blame, but you can’t lay all of the blame on magazines, the movies, models, fashion or anyone else. It’s your body, no one else’s. There comes a time when you have to be accountable for your actions and behavior. Unless you have a medical condition, the only person who is responsible for you being overweight and out of shape is you. You’ve got two choices; 1) Change it. Jill Conner Brown (THE Sweet Potato Queen) said "If you aren't loving life, change it," and to me that means ANY aspect 2). Deal with it. Stop complaining, stop blaming. Own your life and all that it entails. If you're happy with yourself and your life and you're basicly healthy, to hell with any and everyone else and their opinions.
I’ve been overweight since I was about 10 yrs old. The pictures and video from Mama & Pop’s wedding that year, I looked like I was smuggling basketballs! When I was real little, I was such a picky eater and I guess they were so happy I was eating, they didn’t think there was a problem. By the time we all realized I was fat (I’m not scared of the word), I was old enough to do something about it myself and I tried...sort of. I have been on all kinds of crazy diets; when I was about 14 two cousins and I decided to go on the diet they put patients on before heart surgery! I lasted all of 1 day...could not stomach the beets or the tuna. I’ve counted fat, calories, carbs, portions you name it. I’ve drank teas, taken prescription diet pills, OTC diet pills, you name it. I’d lose weight but I’d abandon the diet not because I wasn’t dropping pounds but just because I wasn't dropping them fast enough, I was lazy and it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. I liked myself, I was happy with my life the weight wasn’t really in the way so why make myself crazy.
Well, in Oct. of 2008 it became a big deal.
I’d gotten bronchitis again and started popping all kinds of OTC cold meds. When it didn’t work I finally gave up and went to the doctor where my blood pressure was sky high and at 278, my weight was higher than it’s ever been in my life! Knowing the history of heart disease and strokes on Mama’s side of the family, the blood pressure scared me big time, but the nurse said that was probably because of the cold meds. I went back a week later and it was a little high (a couple of points) but nothing to worry about. But the weight was still a health issue. Maybe because I was 35 – just 5 months from my 36th birthday – I realized that if I didn’t do something now, I was in serious trouble. I knew something had to change, but I also knew from past experience that pills and fad diets were not the path for me.
First I had to eat right. The couple of bags of chips, you know the ones that say on the label that it’s actually 3 servings – I snacked on at work had to stop. I had to start exercising and walking to the elevator did not count. Eating as much or more than my Pop at dinner was not a good thing. When I thought about everything I had to change I was totally discouraged. There was no way in the world I was gonna do that. What did I do? Get a pint of mint-chocolate chip ice cream and settle in to watch an old movie. There on my television was one of the most beautiful women EVER and one that I’d always wanted to look like – Rita Hayworth. There she was; driving Glenn Ford insane, singing and dancing in “the black” dress...mocking me and my ice cream. Then I had an epiphany...who said I had to change everything at once? Where is it written?
So once I was sure I wasn’t going to die of consumption (still fighting bronchitis), I put the ice cream in the freezer and decided to use yogurt to feed a craving for something sweet. I switched the Doritos for Sun Chips or pretzels. A couple of weeks later, I started eating a kinda-sorta breakfast burrito instead of cereal or leftovers. Then I changed from the frozen lunches I was eating (actually, eating 2 for lunch) to soups. Next step was abandoning the “at work” snacks. That was easier than I thought.
New Year’s Day I got on the scales – I hadn’t even looked at scales since I left the doctor’s office that day in mid-October – and I was 265. That’s the day I started walking. Barely half a mile later and I thought, no, I was sure that my lungs were going to explode, my legs were going to fall off, I was going to die and they could bury me where I dropped. A few weeks later, I added weights and crunches. Did I exercise every day? No, but at least 3 days a week I did something. (I haven't been as) dedicated lately) I took the stairs at work. If I had something for someone, I didn’t use interoffice mail I walked it over to them. Before I knew it, clothes were fitting looser. Pants that I had been wearing comfortably required a belt. I’d bought a pair of jeans for a concert the first week of November. They were a 22 and they fit perfect! I put them on one Saturday afternoon...and they were baggy! BAGGY! I could put them in the dryer and they’d be good for a few hours and after a few months, even that didn’t work. They would literally fall down about mid-hip. I haven’t been able to wear them – even with a belt since July. The last jeans I bought were 18’s. I always envied my Granny because the woman could drop weight simply by deciding to do so and it looks like I may be more like her than I thought.
This is just the first blog here. I’m going to post my “progress” (maybe with pictures) as I go. I don’t have a goal weight, however, I’ve got a pair of 38/32 men’s Wrangler’s hanging up in my bedroom as inspiration. I used to joke that if I got smaller than a size 16, I’d move into Jimmy’s (it’s a 50+ yr old diner here in town) until I got back, but the closer I get, the more I think I might have to reevaluate. I don’t wanna be skinny, not by any stretch of the imagination. I never have. I guess that’s because when I was growing up, I didn’t wanna look like a supermodel. The women I thought were the most beautiful; the ones I wanted to look like weren’t on a runway. I wanted to look like Susan Seaforth Hayes, Suzanne Rogers and Deidra Hall from Days of Our Lives, Rita Hayworth in Gilda, and Jane Russell in anything. Yes, they are women two and three generations before me, but they were gorgeous. They didn’t look like boys or pre-pubescent girls...they looked like women and they had curves for God’s sake!
Do I think that only “real women have curves”? No. And if you do, you’re just as out of your mind as all of those people who think that skinny or thin is "always" healthy. Every woman, every person, is different and will not fit into the same mold. To think so is insane. I’ve lost almost 40 pounds since this time last year because I finally decided to stop dieting and focus on getting healthy instead of losing weight, and that's what I should have done all along. As long as you’re healthy and happy with yourself, the number on the scales or the tag in your clothes shouldn’t matter. Trisha Yearwood released a song a few years back called "Real Live Woman" and the lyrics are...well...perfect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cn9d8Xi_Cw
REAL LIVE WOMAN (Trisha Yearwood)
I don't buy the lines in magazines
That tell me what I've gotta be
Don't base my life on a movie screen
Don't fit the mold society
Has Planned
I don't need to be 19 years old
Or starve myself for some weight I'm told
Will turn men's heads, been down that road
And I thank God I finally know
Just who I am
I ain't a movie star
May never see the view from where they are
And this old town may be as far as I'm goin'
But what he'll hold tonight in his hands
He swears is so much better than
Anything this old world
Can show him
Cause I'm a real live woman
In love with this man I see lyin' here next to me
Lost in the way that he's holdin'
This real live woman
In the arms of a man where
I'll fall asleep knowin' there's
Nothin' on earth he loves more than
This real live woman
I work 9-5 and I can't relate
To millionaires who somehow fate
as smiled upon and fortune made their
Common lives a better place to be
And I no longer justify
Reasons for the way that I behave
I offer no apologies
For the things that I believe and say
And I like it that way
Cause I'm a real live woman
In love with this man I see lyin' here next to me
Lost in the way that he's holdin'
This real live woman
In the arms of a man where
I'll fall asleep knowin' there's
Nothin' on earth he loves more than
This real live woman
Cause I'm a real live woman
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