Have You Looked At Your Reports?

Thursday, May 07, 2009

If you haven’t, you should!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. No kidding. I ran my fitness reports today and the changes over time are amazing. I started with SP on 12/1/08, and am proud to report that I did not log any exercise that entire month. Mind you, I always exercised but who knows what I was thinking in THOSE days. I must have thought that changing my diet would justify skipping exercise an entire month.

In the last couple of months however, I have really ramped things up. The report looks busy, full of little dots. Isn’t it amazing what changes we can precipitate in such a short time? Need I say more?

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CMB2048 5/8/2009 9:27AM

I've used the reports for Nutrition and what a shocker that is. Even when you think you ate healthy for the day, it points out important nutrients you still missed! The reports are very cool. Report Inappropriate Comment

PATTI575 5/7/2009 4:24PM

I LOVE reports! They do give a great picture about what you are doing. I don't have an exercise routine yet... I guess I am concentrating so much on getting my 5k steps a day and increasing it to 10k that I felt like that was enough. Today though I have been rethinking that. This weekend I'm going to spend some time getting my videos out and start doing some. My new goal is to have a report that is as busy as yours!!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

GHW1968 5/7/2009 4:16PM

Ooooohhhhh! I'm gonna go do that! Very cool... And look how busy you've been.....it looks like a heart rate monitor gone wild! I love it! All kids' activities are cancelled which means time for some exercise in the living room. Who's with me? Report Inappropriate Comment

KEAKMAN 5/7/2009 4:14PM

I'll have to go run my report right now! I like how busy yours looks....hope mine looks the same! Report Inappropriate Comment

Serenity Now

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

It struck me tonight how good I feel after a rigorous workout. Although I love working out in the morning because it ensures that my plans don't get derailed, I nevertheless cannot manage the morning routine during the week. And there is a lot to be said for exercise after work. By the end of he work day, I am usually exhausted, tension is gripping my shoulders and my mind is so full of thoughts and action items that I feel I should camp out at work permanently. Even though organize my thoughts and structure my work for the next day before leaving, the greatest satisfaction comes from my after work exercise routine.
I literally have to force myself to go to the gym because I am so tired and a night on the couch beckons. But I have been diligent about making myself go to the gym because I remind myself of the sense of well-being afterwards. It takes 45-60 minutes of vigorous cardio to clear my head and to rebalance my world. When I get into my car for the 30 mile trip home, I feel totally at peace. I am in tune with my body. I am conscious of my calm breathing. My body feels limber and the kinks are gone. I have an overall awareness of the muscles in my legs. I feel serene and calm. I am in a trance. I am a new person. I am civil again. I am kinder. I am content.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ISLANDJACQUELIN 5/7/2009 2:31PM

YOur blog is really inspiring!! Thanks so much! Report Inappropriate Comment

GHW1968 5/7/2009 9:44AM

I'm so proud of you! And a 30 mile drive home? Ugh! Serenity now is right! You are putting forth such an amazing effort with getting in the cardio.... It will pay off in the long run! Report Inappropriate Comment

KEAKMAN 5/7/2009 8:47AM

Good for you! It IS hard to get to the gym at the end of the day, but you are so wise to remind yourself of all the positive benefits you get from your end-of-day workout! I think I need that calm and peace to start my day, so I MUST run in the morning. It makes the rest of the day go smoother. Maybe I should start doing some yoga when I get home.... Report Inappropriate Comment

Ranting Of A Lunatic

Monday, May 04, 2009

Beware: I am starting this week in a funk. This is supposed to be my “I feel sorry for myself” blog. Despite all of the weight I have lost, I find myself looking in the mirror amazed at how fat I still am. I see the change in my clothes but the weight is still all there. Perception is a funny thing; a while ago I wrote about not seeing how fat I was in the mirror and being taken by surprise every time I looked at a picture of myself. Is this a transformation? Am I surfacing out of a lifelong trance?
I have struggled with weight my entire life. There are many endearing terms my family used when calling me. They ranged from Chubb Chubb and Chubby Dear to Pudgy in multiple languages. They were never derogatory or used in a bad way so I never minded. Who knows, this could come back as a repressed issue to be dealt with in years to come. Then again, it appears to be surfacing now. The point is that I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. I am so tired of being identified by my weight. There, I said it!!
There is more to me than being an overweight person. Why do all conversations have to revolve around my weight? How much have I lost, how much have I gained, what size do I wear, how much do I eat, what do I eat? Why can’t it be about the last book I read, the latest news in the world, the last vacation I took, or anything else? I remember my father telling me I needed to lose weight while we were in a bakery buying sweets. My mother and I were always on one diet or another. My entire life was defined by food and that is before I moved to the US and really gained weight. I was chubby before; when I moved here I gained 25 pounds in 3 months and that was in high school. I have been yo-yoing up and down aver since.
I don’t think I know how to deal with weight loss. I see my weight struggle as an inevitable part of life and who’s to say that this time is any different? What will we talk about if my weight is no longer an issue?

Food for thought! (Pun intended)

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

KAGWIZ 5/5/2009 12:59PM

You need to keep the faith as do I. Are you sure I am not the one you hear in your head?? You sound just like me... It's never enough... not quick enough, not enough gone, not enough definition, whatever we think is not enough... Time to retrain the thought process... It takes time.. I am sore and tired today and I gave in to the voice in my head.. I did not get up and walk this morning. So I will go tonight.. After I think all the gym bunnies have left, and I will go to bed earlier tonight. Had a Tiger game last night and got home late. We have to listen only to our positive selves.. negativity breeds negativity. There is hope, remember all that you have done, all the POSITIVE things you have accomplished.. the negative cannot live in that light.. it dies... What will we talk about??? Angelina as Scarpetta REALLY??? I am not sure she is who I see as Kay when I read the books, but I am open to see how she does.... What about the outlander books?? Smut with plot as we call it. Great books !! For pete's sake let's get some big screen action there.... Claire and Jamie .... not sure.. I would love Liam but with the death of his wife and the storyline not sure.. he maybe a bit old as well. but in my heart of hearts he is Jamie... Comment edited on: 5/5/2009 12:59:42 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

KEAKMAN 5/4/2009 9:35PM

Great blog! I guess I am mouthier (read "not so nice") than you. If a family member asked me how much I weighed, etc. I wouod say "You first!" and then wait them out. You are right - becoming healthy will be an adjustment for you and those around you. Start with you - look in the mirror and really see yourself. (I even took pics for before and after references - nice close-ups of fingers, calves, waist, etc. -- not for anyone else but me!) Think about how you look, and then start listing all the POSITIVES! No negatives. And no back-handed negatives. "My belt has to be tighter." "My pants fit better" "I can wear this shirt" "I look longer" "I have muscle definition" And tell yourself these things daily. Remind yourself about how much better you look, how much healthier you are, how much energy you have, etc. And practice being mouthy with the family! Report Inappropriate Comment

GHW1968 5/4/2009 11:45AM

I don't think there has ever been a time in my entire life when I didn't think I was fat. And my dad also told me on several occasions that I had to lose weight. When I graduated college, he offered me $250 to lose 20 pounds. When I eventually lost the 20 pounds, he reneged on the deal. Typical. And I also understand how you feel b/c people seem stunned to hear that I want to lose 40 more pounds. Don't they realize that I am STILL obese? Sheesh. But we must keep plugging along. It will all be worth it. Look at HOW MANY YEARS it took us to get to the point we were at when we joined SP. For me...41 years! And in less than a year, I will fix the problem it took me 41 years to create....and you will be right there with me. By Fall Season, we will both be ready for a new wardrobe of single digit sized clothes. And it will happen if I have to choke down 50 bowls of brown rice and roasted veggies (over the course of 50 different days...that is!). Let's finish what we started, my friend! :) Comment edited on: 5/4/2009 11:46:04 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

My Goals For This Week

Sunday, May 03, 2009

1. 10,000 steps a day
Sunday- 10,500
Monday- 10,005
Tuesday- 12,254
Wednesday 11,157
Thursday- 5,005
Friday- 10,020
2. 250 minutes of cardio this week
Sunday- 50 minutes
Monday- 35 minutes
Tuesday- 65 minutes
Wednesday- 45 minutes
3. Strength training every day.
Sunday- met
Monday- met
Tuesday- met
Wedneday- met
Thursday- met
Friday- met
4. One South Beach Phase 1 day.
Wednesday- met
5. Write a blog 5 times this week
Monday- met
Wednesday- met
Thursday- met

6. Lose 2 pounds
7. Read at least 20 pages daily
Sunday- met
Monday- met
Tuesday- met
Wednesday- met
Thursday - met
8. Yoga one night this week
9. No more than one serving of cheese a day
Sunday- met
Monday- met
Tuesday- met
Wednesday- oops
Thursday- met
Friday- met
10. Beans for protein at least 5 meals this week.
Sunday- dinner
Monday- lunch
Tuesday- lunch
Wednesday- dinner
Thursday- lunch
Friday- lunch

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CHUBERASER 5/4/2009 3:24PM

You are doing so good! You inspire me to get me a list and stick with it. I was just thinking this morning how I need to get more motivated and get me a plan down on paper! And check it off every day. I know I have goals on the computer...but to see it written down...just makes it seem more real and important. Call me weird...that's just the way my mind works. And, I'm with keakman! Put some pampering in there, too! Deb Report Inappropriate Comment

KEAKMAN 5/3/2009 7:29PM

Sounds like a great - and achievable - plan to me! But what are you doing for yourself to pamper yourself? Is that the reading 20 pages? Just don't forget that all work and no play.... Report Inappropriate Comment

The Bra Drama

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Why is it that we always want what we don’t have? I was pondering this in the dressing room of the lingerie department of a department store. There was a bra sale and it was obviously a wrong time to go bra shopping.

I dread shopping for bras. The stores are always filled with racks and racks of cute frilly things that could not even hold up cotton balls. Back in the corner somewhere hidden against the wall of shame, are the matronly looking bras for those of us who actually need to wear them all the time- preferably even to bed. There are typically 3 choices in 3 colors- and that’s it.

Any way, back to the bra sale: I took the meager selection available to me into the dressing room where total pandemonium ruled. There were bras on the floor, hanging over doors, flying through the air and women everywhere. I finally managed to get into a fitting room and started trying on bras. Well, as I was squeezing into minimizer bras, everyone around me was working on augmentation with wonderbras. What a paradox!!

It appears everyone but Louisa came bra shopping in pairs.
“I think I should try the padding for a C cup.” One woman told her friend. In the dressing room next door, I was dreaming of minimizing down to a C cup. Sigh!

“Could you see if this comes in a 32 A. The B-cup is too big.” This conversation took place on the other side of me. Double Sigh! Why even buy a bra?

I try minimizer number 2 which essentially minimizes by spreading everything evenly all over your body. Yup, so you minimize in one place and gain in other places. This is just pathetic.

As I am struggling with my bras and listening to the other women struggle with theirs, I have to laugh. We are all so fickle. We straighten our hair when it’s curly and perm it when it’s straight. We wish we had smaller hips while others wish for a smaller waist. Someone else is always luckier because they don’t struggle with our fatal flaws.

Well, I bought my much needed bras and left the battlefield filled with women and bras behind me. I reminded myself that I am lucky to be healthy and that is really all to worry about. Forget about the flaws, they’re a part of me and always will be.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CMB2048 5/8/2009 9:29AM

What a riot! Been there done that! Report Inappropriate Comment

DDHEART 5/2/2009 5:25PM

This is soooo funny and yet sad at the same time.....forget the bra issue, you are so right that it can be our hair or anything else....we women are so hard on ourselves....Do men do that? I don't think so. Thanks for the giggle. Report Inappropriate Comment

STEPHANIE0904 5/2/2009 3:49PM

umm - I would be one of those people looking at the slingshots ( as my father called them). The two pounds I have managed to lose since being here, came right off my boobs. So, now I can probably go to the girls sections where I will not run into the chaos in the dressing rooms...... Report Inappropriate Comment

KEEPSAKES66 5/2/2009 2:38PM

I could so relate- I get so mad when I go bra shopping- the cute pretty bras are all small and then they have the Ugly small selection for those of us "blessed" as one of my friends used to say. An if you hate underwires as much as I do it shrinks the selection down to the white, black and if you are fortunate beige- grandma bras. The kicker is that the cute small ones are cheaper than the big ugly ones Comment edited on: 5/2/2009 2:40:07 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

KEAKMAN 5/2/2009 2:20PM

What a hoot! I know that I hate bra shopping...like you said, nothing pretty, and they all look like battle armor, and a cute little "perky" girl is always the one who wants to help me - as if she had a clue what I need or even what language I am speaking! Report Inappropriate Comment

AINTSKEERD 5/2/2009 1:49PM

Too funny! I'm glad I don't have your problem. Report Inappropriate Comment

KRISTYSMOM 5/2/2009 12:36PM

I can relate to this. What I am having issues with now,, is from going to a larger bra size to a smaller one...all the seem to come in is padded ones. I just lost a lot of padding...lol Report Inappropriate Comment

KATHYI2011 5/2/2009 12:11PM

Hilarious!! This is so true. I HATE bra shopping also. I had breast reduction surgery about 7 years ago and I still hate shopping for bras! Thanks for the good laugh! Report Inappropriate Comment

WETPINKBUNNY 5/2/2009 12:04PM

omg! loved this blog. i have experienced both sides of this. i was born a B and bought a DD. you are so right that all the cute bras come in small sizes but they are just trying to distract from whats missing lol! Report Inappropriate Comment

GHW1968 5/2/2009 11:43AM

Words can't express how much I understand! Report Inappropriate Comment