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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

This is harder than I thought it would be...

As I stood on my scale this morning, looking at a number that has not budged in the last five days or so, I found myself wondering why my weight wasn't dropping as quickly as I expected it would. "This shouldn't be so hard," I said to myself. Well then, let's review the evidence.
First of all, I had in the last couple of years completely let my diet go. Please note that when I say diet, I mean it in the true meaning of the word, i.e. the food I eat on a regular basis. Anyway, I had let junk food gradually creep back into my diet until I was consuming it on a regular--even frequent--basis. I was also eating out A LOT more than I used to. Now, although I still allow myself to eat sweets now and then, the amount and the frequency with which I eat them has dropped significantly. And eating out doesn't really happen but once in a month. My meals are almost always home cooked and loaded with healthy whole foods, including many veggies. That is a big difference, right? So shouldn't it be making a big difference to my waistline as well?

Second, in the past year or two I have been what we used to call in the mission field a fubeca, or in other words, a major slacker, at least where exercise and movement are concerned. (Incidentally, if you speak Portuguese then go and check out this link. It is awesome! http://www.dicionarioinformal.com.br/fubeca/) My working out was sporadic at best, and completely nonexistent at worst. To add insult to injury, I was in school full-time for most of last year, so I found myself sitting in a desk for many hours each day. My life was the definition of sedentary. Since the beginning of this year, however, I have been extremely active, exercising on an almost daily basis, and I have been up and about much more due to the nature of my work as a massage therapist and a yoga instructor.

Alright, I have laid the evidence before you. It seems like the weight should just be melting off with these changes I have made, don't you think. Me too! And yet, here we are.

I have decided, however, that this is really a matter of perspective. When I am watching the scale anxiously for every pound and every tenth of a pound drop, thinking that the weight should be melting off so easily, then I get impatient and frustrated when it doesn't drop as fast as I think it should be.

At the same time, if my focus is on these lofty expectations I tend to miss the reality of the situation. I am dropping weight, slowly but surely. The drop may not be happening as fast as I would like, but it is happening. Even were I to only lose 2 pounds a month, if I did this on a steady and consistent basis, I would still eventually reach my ideal weight. And all the while, as I am eating right and exercising regularly, I will be building muscle, improving my cardiovascular health, and generally improving my level of fitness all the while. Think of that--by the time I actually reached my goal weight under this scenario, I would be this super fit individual, filled with energy, life, and vitality. Isn't that my ultimate goal here? Why yes, now that you mention it, it is.

As I said before, it is all about perspective. So for today, anyway, I am going to check my impatience at the door, and I am going to allow myself to feel grateful for that slow and steady decline in the number on the scale while I continue to exercise, eat right, and get fit!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

January results . . . finally . . .

Okay, I apologize for the delay. This bug I had was a nasty one, and I ended up going an entire week with no exercise at all (bleh!). It seriously knocked me flat! Definitely no fun. I am sure, however, that this came about as a result of stress and over training, so I am approaching my workouts a bit differently now that I am back on my feet. More on that later (i.e. in another post).

Anyway, I promised to post my January results so here you go:


Measurements (as of 1/1/2014):
Measurements (as of 2/4/2014):
Weight: 179.2 lbs
Weight: 172.8 lbs
Body Fat: 43.3%
Body Fat: 41.1%
Waist: 41.5”
Waist: 40”
Hips: 44”
Hips: 42.2”
Chest: 42.2”
Chest: 40.5”
Right Arm: 13.8”
Right Arm: 13.2”
Left Arm: 14.5”
Left Arm: 13.8”
Right Thigh: 22.5”
Right Thigh: 23.5”
Left Thigh:  22.8”
Left Thigh:  23.5”


These results are a combination of eating well (I will post my eating guidelines in the very near future), exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep, and hoping for the best.

So here are a few tips that are working for me. Perhaps they will be helpful to you as well:

1. I have not starved myself or deprived myself in any way. I will talk about this more in my "eating guidelines" post, but suffice it to say that any kind of deprivation diet is not sustainable. If this is what you are using to lose weight, I wish you the best, but I do not believe you will be successful. In any case, I have never been successful (in the long term) losing weight with a severely restrictive diet.

2. I eat healthy, whole foods and keep processed foods to a minimum. This one is pretty self-explanatory. In general, if the food is packaged, and especially if it has a long list of ingredients, it is not good for you, no matter what it claims. Keep these types of food to a minimum.

3. I go to bed as close to 10PM as possible and I aim to get up around 6AM. A good night's rest is crucial to weight loss as well as to your overall health and vitality and mood. Don't skimp on sleep, even if it means missing your workout that day. Your body needs that time to repair and regenerate. So if something from your to-do list has to go, don't let it be your sleep.

I am happy with these results, and I am on track to reach that goal of weighing less than 120 lbs. by the end of the year. Yee-haw!

Monday, February 10, 2014

When Things Don't Go Your Way

My voice has been gone for these last couple of days. It is amazing how powerless you feel when you can't talk.

Speaking of feeling powerless, you may remember that I mentioned in a recent blog post how I used to get sick all the time. We're talking seriously ill: off my feet, missing work, miserably ill, at least once a month. At that time I was very unhappy, working in a job I didn't feel fulfilled in, living far away from my family, eating a very poor diet (way too many sweets), and all my closest friends were getting married and moving on while I stayed right where I was--alone and depressed. So now that I have painted this lovely picture for you, is there any question as to why I was getting sick all the time? Didn't think so.

Fast forward five years to today. I am living near my family (most importantly my twin sister, who is only 10 minutes away, and my mom), I am eating a very healthy diet, and I am running my own business (with my sis) doing exactly what I want to be doing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, I am also, once again, getting sick constantly--we're talking every other week. What??!!! This doesn't make any sense! That time before, now that made sense. But this??? What in the world is going on?

Unfortunately, I don't have the answers yet, but I do believe it is somehow linked to my deep-seated fears. Fears of what, you ask? I don't really know for sure--fear of failure, fear of success, fear of getting hurt, fear of loneliness, fear of letting my clients down, all of the above? Maybe it has to do with all of these things plus some that I haven't even listed. What I do know is that I am letting myself get way too stressed out about things again, and I am not trusting in my God enough. I have not been living mindfully these past few weeks. Instead I have been worrying and losing sleep over deadlines and sundry administrative obligations, and the stress has grown exponentially in that time. And now, at this very moment, I am sicker than I have been in years--probably since the last time my body and I were playing the "always sick" game.

So what now? Even though I don't understand all that is going on with my body right now, there are still some things I can do to make the situation better right now. First of all, I have done some energy clearing with my sister, Denise Mason, who is an energy coach, and I can feel my energy and my mood--and my body--changing already. I am also getting back to trust, hope, and mindfulness. I am trusting in the Lord again, and remembering that He has always taken care of me, and that He will continue to do so as long as I am doing my best to stay close to Him. This gives me great hope! I am striving to be present and live mindfully, not letting the deadlines and worries of tomorrow rob me of today. It is time for me to set my fears and my stress and my worries aside and just take things one day at a time--again. Add to all this a healthy dose of gratitude, since I know that recognizing my blessings will always raise my energy and my joy.

Now, it may seem to you that I had this all figured out a month ago; it seems that way to me too, and to tell you the truth, I am not sure why I have to figure it out again. But, looking on the bright side, at least I am figuring it out again just a month later, rather than a year later, or five years later. Before long these things will just be a part of me, and I won't have to keep forgetting and re-figuring things out.

So what is my answer to what you should do when things don't seem to be going your way? Trust God, be full of hope and gratitude, and choose to really live each moment of your life--that is my solution. Feel free to find a better one, if you can.

P.S. I have my January "get fit" results. I will post them in another day or two.