Endurance

At the beginning of step class, Marisa announced that the goal today was endurance. We all looked around at each other as if to say, "Oh snap." And true to her nature, it was epic and just what I needed.  In my time working out, the word "endurance" has come up quite a bit and, when used in the gym, always means you're in for it. 

Endurance also is:

• Making it through a tough class, or a new class, whether you hit all the steps or not.
• Facing the scale on a regular basis, even you'd rather gouge your eyeballs out with a spoon.
• Getting back on track after a bad meal.
• Feeling defeated but fighting back anyway.
• Showing up every day, no matter whether your workout is perfect or not.
• Modifying what you can't do and making your workout fit your situation.
• Facing your fear, whether it be the gym, fit people, or foreign equipment, and sticking in there until eventually the gym is your happy place and those fit people are your friends and you know what to do with that equipment. 
• Shutting up that inner voice that tells you that you're tired, or you're fat, or you won't be successful. 

Even after these many months, these are all things that challenge me still.  Just today in step class, I felt tired and like I hadn't eaten enough prior to coming to class.  My inner voice listed all the reasons that I wouldn't be able to make it through class half-way in. It told me that I was too tired, too hungry, too sore, etc, winding me up until I almost gave up....then I recognized it for what it was and told it to SHUT UP!

I'm not super woman, but I've learned that even a former couch potato like me can endure. The secret is to simply quit thinking about all the reasons not to, or who's looking at you, or any of the other various things that our minds can craft to hold us back.  Miracles can happen when you tell that inner nay-sayer to SHUT UP.

 

 

Landmarks

Before the days of mapquest did you ever give or receive directions to a location based on landmarks? Like, "drive one mile and then you'll see a convenient store, turn there then go up three blocks until you see a used car lot.  Turn left at the car lot then go down to the second driveway on the left, the one with the mailbox that looks like a cow"?  I personally think this is much more effective that mapquest any day.

Back before we knew the proper names for equipment in the gym, we used to remember workouts this way.  Once, on one of our days without our trainer, Millie and I were getting ready to do a workout that we'd written down based on one we'd done with Marisa.  Examining the paper in her hand, Millie had told me, "Okay so we're going to do squat presses, then burpees, then rows, then we're going over to that machine where I cried that day and then we're going to do more squats and curl presses, then we're going over to do that exercise where you cried that day, then we're gonna..."  It was hilarious because without a beat, I nodded along and knew exactly what she was saying.

Today we broke out that old workout, only this time we knew the proper name of everything we were getting ready to do.  We still laughed about our old terms for everything because, after over a year of working out, we've definitely made "landmarks" all over our gym.  Instead of their proper names, certain spots in there could very well be called, "the place where I almost threw up that time," "the place where you called out for Jesus that time," or "the place where I refused to do it and then walked away and cried and then came back that time" among others. They could also be called "the place where I ran the first time," "the place where I realized I was getting stronger," or "the place where you pushed me forward that time" among many other wonderful "firsts."

Today Millie and I did a workout that we've done before, but this time we were able to push ourselves harder, step up our weights, and knew the proper terms for the equipment we were using.  We've been taught a lot and have gone past the novice phase of our transformations.  We can look back on times that we felt unsure of ourselves to the point where we cried and now find humor in it.  To me that just drives home the point that this process is truly a journey, something you have experience as it happens, not all in one fanatic burst. And learning that "that place where I cried that time" is really a smith machine is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Greatest Gift

Whew.  I think I survived Thanksgiving mostly unscathed. I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't awful...and as my wise friend Katie says, "it's persistence, not perfection" that counts.  Maybe we ate bad on Turkey Day and maybe the leftovers called our name the day afterward, but as one of my favorite characters from literature and movies, Scarlett O'Hara was famous for saying, "tomorrow is another day."  Maybe a holiday weekend of treating ourselves can motivate us towards a stricter plan for the upcoming weeks that will ultimately spur, not hinder, our weight loss. 

This is easily the most trying of times for dieters.  We're rushing around trying to get the right gift for everyone on our list, get preparations made for all of those holiday parties and family get-togethers, and trying to balance the usual family and work obligations.  It's a wonderful but stressful time of the year, two things that combine to make healthy eating and getting in regular workouts a challenge.  Like last year, this Christmas season I am going to try to keep at the forefront of my mind the fact that the greatest gift I can give myself and those who love me is health.

The Great Feast

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  It was a great day in our family spent the day in Sanford, NC. My aunt, AKA the Southern Martha Stewart, had the house decorated beautifully with flowers and greenery, pumpkins, and turkey centerpieces made by the younger generation of our family.  And you should have seen the spread!  Aunt Kathy always manages to make sure to have everyone's favorite Southern dishes like dressing and gravy, collards, turkey, cranberry salad, creamed corn, pumpkin pie, peas, roasted veggies,spinach casserole, rice, pork roast and on and on.   As the littlest one of our family, two-year-old Maggie, said to me when we arrived today, "Welcome to the great feast!"

I couldn't resist the dressing (my favorite) but I managed to enjoy myself without gorging so I will call Turkey Day a success.  Then, instead of crashing on the couch in a lunch-induced food coma, the majority of us headed outside with the kids to play games.  The old me would have had a few more rounds at the lunch buffet then crashed out for a nap, but the new me wanted to go outside and move. That assures me that I have truly made a lifestyle change.

Three generations enjoyed the sunshine and good temps outside by starting off with a game of duck-duck-goose, and for some reason the kids kept picking me to be goose. They did me a favor for sure because hopping up from the ground time after time and chasing the kids around the yard got my heart rate up and my blood pumping. Want some cardio?  Challenge a two, three, and five year old to a game of duck-duck-duck goose.  You'll be sweating in no time!

Next up, putting the kids on our backs and running around playing horsey, then some yoga moves on the lawn before taking a ride out in the country air as my uncle pulled us along in a trailer with his tractor.  On the ride home tonight, I told my husband that I don't take anything for granted since changing my lifestyle.  If you've ever been overweight and felt held back due to it, you can appreciate the simple acts of being able to jump up and down off of the ground and run after a child or being able to hop up into a trailer.  For years, the old me sat on the porch, watching everyone else play and wishing for all the world that she could participate.   Today as I sat on the ground in a ring with my family, sweaty from being the "goose" yet again, I looked over to the porch and smiled to myself, thinking of all the many small things that I have to be thankful for.

With Maggie and Andi, love these girls!

Turkey Day

Turkey Day is fast approaching.  Some of us will be sitting down to one of the biggest meals of the year in thirteen hours or so.  With the average Thanksgiving plate totaling up to around 2,400 calories (eek!) how do we dieters survive not being stuffed like the big bird?

This is my second Thanksgiving on my health journey and last year I must admit that I did really good. So here are some of the strategies that worked for me:

• Concentrate on the lean meat and veggies.
• Allow yourself a small serving of that irresistible casserole or delicious dressing and gravy.  If you don't have a taste of it, you'll feel resentful and will end up binging on it (or something worse) later.
• Drink lots of water.
• Distract yourself with conversations with family members. Usually someone's got something crazy to talk about or some sort of news.
• Get up and do something active after the meal; in most families there are some kids running around.  There's nothing like chasing kids for cardio.
• Think about all the things you are thankful that your new body can do that your old body couldn't, and the struggle it took to get it there.  Nothing tastes better than that.
• Realize that Thanksgiving is just one meal and good, bad, or ugly, tomorrow is another day. 

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for everyone who took the time to read this. 

You'll Be Able to Tell When You Lift Your Arms up!

Millie and I had a locker room debate today on what kind of workout we wanted to do. Seeing as it was Monday, I was leaning towards cardio, but she wanted to do weights so that we can keep up these "guns" Jeff and Marisa helped us create.  Millie and I are both alpha females of sort and as we don't have our trainers working us out anymore, sometimes we have a friendly butting of heads when planning our workouts.

After Millie assured me that we'd still work up just as much sweat and raised heart rate with the pyramid workout she had from our archives, I gave in and decided to trust my friend. And whew, was she right.

It's a good thing there are no video cameras in the gym because we were making some crazy faces at each other.  Our reaction to the strain and pain was seriously youtube worthy.  In no time I was covered in sweat and my arms felt like jello.  That pyramid workout with free weights might look tame on paper but it was a killer in practice.

Looking satisfied as we headed into the locker room, Millie said, "I told you so!" and I admitted quickly that she was right.

We both headed into separate shower stalls and I heard her yelp from behind her shower curtain, saying, "You'll be able to tell when you lift your arms up."

"Ohhhhh!" I yelped from behind my shower curtain as I took my shirt off, "I'll never doubt you again!"

The Eatin' Season Approaches

We are getting ready to be right smack down in the middle of the Eatin' Season. That wonderful time of the year when we celebrate with family our favorite way: eating and making merry.   As Turkey Day approaches, I can already see the Southern feast laid out at my family's Thanksgiving meal and can almost taste that dressing and gravy in my mouth.   How will I make it past that calorie-laden feast unscathed and goals intact?  I'm going to try my best to focus not on what's to eat, but on what I'm thankful for and the many wonderful things that have come from making this change in my life:

• I'm thankful for every pound I have lost and for the future pounds lost to come, because by God that scale will come down.
• I'm thankful for my wonderful family and friends who have supported me so overwhelmingly on this journey.
• I'm thankful for an over abundance of food because there are many out there who don't have enough. That being said, I don't have to over eat it just because it is so available. 
• I'm thankful that even though my right leg is still kind of gimpy, I have full mobility of my body and can modify my exercises and move forward.
• I'm thankful for my awesome trainers and class instructors and every person who has worked out at my side.
• And most importantly, I'm thankful to God who has put me on this journey and who continues to bless me along each step of it.

 How is the Eatin' Season to be survived successfully? Maybe by putting it into perspective.

Putting The Band Back Together

My transformation program ended in October and I must admit that I've felt a little adrift since.  A pulled muscle took me out of 5K training with the rest of my group.  Even though I have been in the gym every day, I felt bummed out that I wasn't able to participate in the running program with the rest of my group because I was counting on that extra time with my trainers. A crazy work schedule kept me away from Step class with my girls so I've been mostly slugging it out in the gym, solo on the elliptical machine.

I've missed my girls and our locker room camaraderie.  I've missed the inside jokes shared pumping iron with them.  Even though it's only been a couple of weeks, my anxiety prone mind began to feel like we'd lost the special magic we conjured over this past year.   I've worried seriously about losing my resolve because the scale hasn't moved and I've had injuries that have forced me to change my workouts and not participate in group activities.

 Yesterday Jeff gave me a bonus workout and kicked my butt up and down the gym, old school style.  He also gave me a "talking to" about keeping up my motivation and tightening up, and it was just what I needed.  Turns out Marisa gave the same speech to the other girls in my group after Step class.  The consensus had been that we were all drifting a bit (no one has gained, but no one has lost either) and needed to pull things back together.

As I left the locker room yesterday, a sweaty mess but feeling awesome, I ran into Marisa who said, "You guys need to put the band back together. Make your schedules work, don't worry about who wants to do what workout, just be together."

And today we did just that.  Walking into the locker room to find them there (I'm always the last one in and am legendary to be the last one out of the locker room) was just what I needed, that and the kick-butt circuit Marisa had written for us.  We recommitted to making the time to put the band back together because we are stronger with each other than without.

Sometimes we drift off the path of our journey a little.  For a Type-A personality like me who is highly resistant to change, that drifting off means exercising every day but freaking out that things weren't as they used to be. Sometimes we are put to the test and forced to face challenges and one thing I've learned lately is that those challenges are much easier to bear with partners at your side to lift you up, inspire you, and push you farther that you are willing on your own to go.

A lot of people I've talked to have told me that they were most successful when they worked out with a buddy or a group, but stopped when that support system wasn't there for one reason or another.   To those folks I will pass on Marisa's wise advice to put the band back together.  And to those who find exercise a chore, I say put a band together, whether that's a neighbor to walk with or friends made at a Zumba class.  This is way to hard an endeavor to go at solo

Challenge: The Motivation To Start

In my "former life" how many times did I say, "Okay, for New Years I'm going to get started working out and watching what I eat"? Then it became, "Okay, January's shot so I'll start in February." That lead to "Well, February's shot, I'll start in May...that will give me enough time to get ready for summer." That became, "Okay well summer's here and I haven't started, and it's hot, and I'm busy, and it's Tuesday and nothing good starts on Tuesday, and now it's fall and it's getting cold, okay  it's the holidays so who can lose weight during the holidays so I'll just start for New Years."  Oh vicious cycle, I do know you well.

Getting started is hard.  Obstacles large and small present themselves, most prominent being the sheer motivation to get going.  We are more often than not our own biggest critic and nay-sayer and getting past the inner enemy is one of the hardest things you can do.  When I first started I thought I was much more likely to sprout wings and fly than be consistent in a workout program.  I had no hope that I would be successful, I had no cardio stamina, I had a bum knee that I never thought would support me, and the logistics of getting a workout in during my day and eating correctly overwhelmed me.

If you find yourself in this situation or in a hard one of your own, I say this: have hope and take things slow.  Don't make the mistake most of us do and decide to jump in hard core every day at the gym.  This is a recipe for disaster that in the past I was guilty of making over and over again.   Luckily my trainers are smarter than me and started our group out for the first few weeks working out twice a week and that was it.   For the first few weeks we didn't even change our eating.  Additional workouts and changes in nutrition were pieces of the puzzle that were gradually added on, and the funny thing that happened was that those two days a week working out were so invigorating that we were looking forward to adding on more days.  We started feeling great and wanted to feel better, so we were ready to eat right.

What worked for me to get started on that very first day was to shut off the mind that told me in every possible way it could that I couldn't do this, and just let my feet carry me to the gym.  And believe me when I say to you that if I could do it in the shape I was in, anyone can.  I'll leave you with some wise words by the immortal Dr. Seuss:

From "Oh! The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess

"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go."

 

Challenge: The Food

Moving on down the list of the challenges in my poll...and this one's a doozy. 

• What is the thing that we use to celebrate every holiday, rite of passage, or celebration?  Food.
• What do we bring to people who've lost a loved one or gained a new baby in the family? Food.
• What is the factor that makes up 80% of whether we lose weight or not?  Food.
• What do we look forward to as comfort at the end of a hard day?  Food.
• If we feel we deserve a treat for one reason or another, what do we turn to most? Food.
• What is the centerpiece of our family traditions?  Food.

Hands down my biggest challenge, and the one that most of my friends say affects them the most, is making the right choices with food.   You can hit the gym every day and work yourself out till you're exhausted and dripping with sweat, but if you don't eat right, you won't lose weight. It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose just one pound, and unless you live in the gym, you have to modify your eating in order to play the numbers game right.

What's even more challenging is the fact that you can't get away from temptations.   They're everywhere from the commercials on TV for the $9.99 pizza deal, to the leftover Halloween candy that floods your office, to the family birthday dinner, to the sandwich artists at Subway who tell you for just a dollar more, you can upgrade to a five dollar footlong and look at you like you're crazy when you say "no thank you."

In fact, I can't think of any other addiction that you can't go cold turkey on because you must have food to live.  Imagine someone who is addicted to cocaine and gets clean, only they have to do a small amount of it three to five times a day in order to live.   Would they ever get clean?  But that is the challenge facing those of us who have food addiction.   We physically must have food to live so we can't put it down like an ex-smoker can put down the cigarettes and walk away forever.  The challenge that faces us is to learn how to modify our addiction and make it manageable to eat three to five times a day and not fall off the wagon.

I'm still working on it and probably will be the rest of my life.  It's been a year and I'm still finding out things about food I thought was "safe" but that turn into calorie traps. Just this morning I heard on the radio that a banana has just as many calories and sugar as a Snickers bar.  I haven't verified that but it stands to reason.  Now nutritionally, it's obvious what is the better choice.  But still, I don't think I'll be eating any more bananas anytime soon. 

I don't have any magic cures or surefire tricks to conquering the challenge that is food. It's been over a year and I am still learning to look at it as a source of energy, not reward or comfort.  There are still pitfalls that threaten to trip me up along the road of the journey every day.  The trick, as is the advice when kicking anything else, is to take things day by day and to forgive yourself and get back on track if you have a slip-up. And also know that this is a hard struggle, and it is commendable just to have decided to attempt it.

Slacker Karma

I've made no bones about my dysfunctional relationship with the stairs by my gym.  They've been like a metaphor for my weight loss journey as I conquered my fear of them (yes, I used to fear plummeting to my death on the stairs the way some people are afraid of spiders or heights) from the days where my trainer Jeff would patiently set goals for me to go up just a few until I was doing the full set, to the encouragement my team mates and friends would give me to take the stairs down to class instead of the elevator, to eventually writing a workout for myself and our group that included running up and down said staircase five times. 

I've also recounted the many ways Jeff would pop out at me when I was least expecting it and make me take the stairs, as well as the various cat and mouse games I've played trying to avoid him and take the elevator (my best attempt is here if you're interested). I mean hey, I felt like I was getting ready to go to the gym and burn major calories, didn't I deserve an elevator ride?

Today my slacking karma caught up with me.  It was Monday and I had finally managed to drag myself to the gym a little after three o'clock. I was tired and feeling squinty after staring at my computer screen all day. I could have sworn my gym bag was filled with heavy rocks as I made my way down to the fitness center and rounding the corner I came across two choices: the stairwell or the elevator.  Slacker that I was today, you can imagine my choice.

Yawning with the afternoon sleepies, I got on board, scanned my badge and hit the button for the gym's floor.  Doors shut closing me in and I waited.  The elevator didn't go anywhere.  I pushed the button for the gym again.  Nothing.  Scanned my badge and pushed the button again.  Nothing.  Pushed the button again.  Nothing.   Pushed the button for my current floor.  Nothing. Said a bad word and pushed the button.  Nothing.  Started to hyperventilate and pushed all the buttons.  Nothing.  Saw myself plummeting to my death.  Nothing.  Pushed all the buttons again and imagined my tombstone reading, "Here lies Jenn.  She should have taken the stairs." Still nothing. Hit the emergency call button and then wouldn't you know it, the elevator doors opened up on the floor I started out on.  

I flew out of the elevator with wobbly legs and heart palpitations and guess who just happened to be walking by at that opportune moment.   My trainer Jeff.  After hearing of my ordeal, he laughed, shook his head and said, "you should have taken the stairs." 

Challenge: Staying Motivated

I've been taking a poll on this blog to find out what challenges us most about the weight loss journey.  All of the challenges I've listed come from personal experience, and I don't think I'm alone.  No matter if you're just getting started, have started and stopped, getting back in the game, or in the thick of the battle, we all face these challenges. I'm no expert and my journey is far from over, but I've been at this long enough now to have a little experience with the hurdles that come along.  I'd love to say that it gets easier once you've been fighting the fight for a while, but these trials tend to come in like the tide every so often to test us. But the good news is that getting through them is not impossible..you just have to know them for what they are and then you can be prepared to overcome them.

So, tonight I'll tell you what I know about the challenge of finding the motivation to stay going. We've all been there: starting out fresh on a weight loss journey, pumped and ready to go.  We are raring to go, we jump in with both feet into working out and new food plan, the first week is challenging but then a good number on the scale puts a fire in our spirit and we're ready for more.   The weight starts coming off, we hit our stride in the gym, we start to feel better, people start noticing a change, we become hooked on that workout high, we get some new gym shoes,  our energy level goes up, we feel strong, we sleep better, there's a pep in our step - and then BAM! Something happens to throw us off our path.  It could come in many forms: an event like Thanksgiving or Christmas when we just can't seem to resist the seasonal treats, a hard and stressful situation that sends us running for the chocolate or a bag of Doritos, or it could be the weeks and weeks of fighting our basest urges with food and sweating it out in the gym only to face an unforgiving scale that either stays stubbornly the same or worse, goes up.

I've chosen to address this challenge first because it's close to home with me right now.  My program ended a month ago and the scale hasn't moved up or down.  Without my trainers to be accountable to, I've let the food slip a little bit and I struggle with pushing myself the way they did.  My team mates and I have had different, demanding work schedules so we haven't been able to work out together and motivate each other in the gym as often as we'd like.  Not to mention the various assorted and sundry injuries I've had lately that make workouts more challenging. Just writing this now makes me start to panic a little bit about how things were in my program and how they're not now.

But, what I realized today was that I am in a period of testing.  Left to my own devices, I now must face this challenge to keep myself motivated.  Do I let my old behaviors take me out of the game or do I reach down deep inside and prove to myself that I can do this on my own? Do I pass or fail the test?

The motivation to keep going doesn't come easy. My friend Debbie has a great saying, "weight follows behavior, just not right away." Basically this means that if you keep doing what you know is the right thing to do, eventually the weight will come off.  This doesn't mean you have to be perfect every day.  This just means that you have to show up.  You don't have to have the best workout of your life every time, you just have to move your body and know that every step taken, whether its a walk around your neighborhood or a rotation of the elliptical machine, is a step in the right direction. The pain and struggle of working towards your healthy goal is so much better than the pain of feeling unhealthy any day. I read somewhere (and the author of the quote was not known): "Losing weight is hard.  Maintaining weight is hard. Being fat is hard.  Choose your hard."

This week I chose my hard.  I put myself back on my plan of eating whole foods and I showed up at the gym every day to do anything I could, strained foot and pulled quad and all. I trust that my weight will follow my behavior, even if it's not right away.   My motivation this time around is to prove that I've conquered that old bad part of myself that got me into the place that I was, so I say this: whatever you need to grasp onto, use it.  It might be fear, as in my case, or it might be a special event or a health scare or the need to feel better to keep up with the people in your life.  Whatever it is, use it.  And choose your hard.

Plateau, Oh No!

Plateaus are frustrating.  For four solid weeks that blankety blank scale hasn't moved up or down one bit and despite my efforts, I find myself at the same weight (almost down to the tenth of a pound) as I was one month ago.   Plateaus are inevitable; this is the third one I've experienced on this journey, but they are oh so aggravating especially when I am this close to the milestone of losing 100 pounds. 

Plateaus can also be constructive.  They force you to re-evaluate your process and shake things up.  I myself have been relying way too much lately on Lean Cuisines and the like, rather than the whole foods that have brought me success. While the calories between the two ways of eating are comparable, whole foods are a lot less sodium and a lot better for you at the end of the day. 

One thing I've learned going through this process is that you can't keep things the same for too long; our bodies lose weight when they are confused whether in response to different food or new exercises. Today I started back on my whole foods and left the frozen diet meals in the freezer. If you find yourself frustrated due to a plateau, keep your head up and resort to trickery.  Eventually the storm will break and the scale will be your friend again. 

And, speaking of frustrations: I am taking a poll to find out what is the most challenging aspect of the weight loss journey.  It is on the right hand side of the blog.  I'd love to know your thoughts!  Thanks!

Day Two in an Ace Bandage

Today was Day Two of having an ace bandage on my foot.  My Transformation Team Mates took off to 5K training and I was benched, at least for that activity.  It was kind of a bummer to miss out on training with them, but I knew not to push it and hurt myself worse.  So, once again I found myself at the gym trying to find a work around. 

Lucky for me, my friends Autumn, Sharon and Dana were down at the gym when I got there. I have worked out with them before and I always end up learning something new from them.  After doing some cardio on the treadmill (I put the speed low and the incline high in order to not stress out my healing foot), I learned how to do my first bench presses with Autumn.  We did burn out sets (among other things) that I am sure I am going to feel tomorrow.

I was so grateful to have folks to work out with today when my motivation was low, folks that will push me to try new things and challenge myself.  In exercise, as in business, it's good to diversify.  This way, you not only confuse your muscles and learn new things, but you make your network of support even greater and that's always a win/win.

Where There's A Will

Getting injured was one of my early fears on my weight loss journey.   I wasn't scared of getting hurt in the gym because I trusted my trainers, but what I feared most was the (at the time) inevitable injury or sickness that would take me out of the game. This was a fear of mine because in every other attempt at exercise and weight loss before this one, that injury or sickness would be the excuse I needed to take myself out of the game, a convenient little escape clause.

Call it bad luck, call it Murphy's law, or call it the devil, but over a year ago in my first month of working out, I came down with bronchitis, a two bugs (one respiratory, one stomach), various strained muscles, and had a terrible cut under my arm that cracked and bled every time I worked out my arms. I worked out through all of those and did whatever I could in the gym because I knew that if I let one of those things take me out at that stage of the process, I was likely to be out for good.  Now, some of those times I definitely pushed myself too hard and probably shouldn't have been working out, but just showing up to the gym and doing whatever I could do was what I needed to do for myself so that I still had that accountability.  Do I recommend it?  No. But that's just what I had to do to overcome that hurdle and change that part of my behavior.

Prior to my lifestyle change of last year, I got sick a lot.   At least every other month I had a cold or bug or virus.  Prior to that change, I had terrible balance and fell down and hurt myself, a lot.  Quite quickly, however, my weight loss, improving balance, and stronger immune system due to better nutrition caused another unforeseen change: I quit getting sick and quit getting injured. And that was even being in a gym constantly where germs run rampant.   Just goes to show that the many benefits of a healthy lifestyle change aren't just limited to what happens on the scale.

Over the weekend I managed to pull or strain something in my left foot, causing me to not be able to put much pressure on it by the time Sunday rolled around.  Confined to the couch for the day, I found myself in the old position of being hurt and laid up.  This time I didn't panic however.  This time, as I propped my wrapped foot up and caught up on the backlog of my Tivo, instead of panicking about not being able to work out, I formulated a workaround plan. "Looks like it's an upper body kind of day tomorrow," I told my husband.  "What if you can't stand?" he asked.  "Well then I'll just do it sitting down," I said.

And that's just what I did. I'm not advocating pushing yourself beyond the safety point when you're injured or sick and there are always times to throw in the towel and trust yourself to get back on the horse when you're better, but if you can find a safe workaround, where there's a will, there's a way. That's the difference in me now versus who I was fourteen months ago: the will.

The Big Secret

More often then not when people find out or remark that I've lost weight, the very next question they have is how did I do it?  And isn't that one of the biggest questions we face in this era when so many of us are struggling to lose weight and the nation is facing the obesity crisis?  Well I am here to tell you that there is no secret to how I've done it.  There is no magic pill or medical procedure or crazy eating plan. I'm not knocking other ways of weight loss because you have to do what works for you, but I knew that for me to make this work this time, I would have to fight my way through this rather than take a faster way out so that it would be a true lifestyle change that would be permanent. I'm not a professional trainer or nutritionist, but if you're interested in my weight loss process, here's the high points:

• I started by simply getting moving.  For the first week or two, I didn't change my way of eating at all and got to the gym twice a week.  Gradually I started adding on workouts until I was at the level I'm at today of working out five to six days a week.
• Next I changed what I ate. I watch my calories and try to make the majority of what I eat lean protein and vegetables and try to limit the carbs.   Carbs are my weakness and I've noticed that I lose more on the weeks that I really try to eliminate them, regardless of my calorie consumption.  I've also learned that the cleaner I eat (i.e., the less processed food), the better my weight loss and the greater my energy.
• Water is so important, but I struggle with drinking enough of it for some reason. I have noticed that I am a lot less hungry when I push the water and that I have much more energy.
• I'm still not good at going to bed early, being the night owl that I am, but they say that aids in weight loss.  I'll report back when and if I ever manage to go to bed at a decent hour.
• The true difference this time around is the friendships I've made with the people I work out with.  A lot of times when my will to work out is waning, just knowing that my buddies will be in the gym motivates me to go hang out with them. On days when I feel discouraged, they lift me up.  When I feel like I can't do something, they cheer me through it.  They provide constructive competition to push myself harder, and I hope that I do the same for them. 
• The last piece of advice that has made the difference for me this time around was that I took my safety net away. When I was getting ready to start my change, my instinct was to keep my goals to myself and let people notice my weight loss when and if it happened, but then I realized that in doing this, I was giving myself an out. So, I decided to not give myself a loophole.  I told everyone I knew what my intentions were: my friends, my family, my co-workers, random strangers in line at Subway... That's how this blog was born. I wanted to make sure that if I gave up on my goals, I would have major egg on my face. Some days, that's all the motivation I need to keep myself on target.  Take your safety new away and see what happens, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 So, no great revelations right? No new innovations or fancy tricks.  Just the basics, but as my friend and workout team mate Millie says, "This weight loss means more this time, because we've fought so hard and worked so hard for it." Well put Millie, and very true.

Winning!

Earlier this year Charlie Sheen's bizarre ramblings on the Today show sparked several popular catch phrases, including the most quotable, "Winning!" The phrase quickly went viral and made Sheen even more newsworthy, to the point where his likeness was even one of the most sought after Halloween costumes this year.

So what constitutes "winning"? Charlie Sheen's perspective is all over You Tube, but for those of us who fight the weight loss battle every day, we don't always feel like we're winning.  It's easy to feel like a winner when the numbers on the scale drop, but if you've hit a plateau or feel frustration, it's hard to keep your head up sometimes.   I am seven pounds away from the milestone of losing 100, and I've hit a plateau.  It happens from time to time, but it still sucks when you fight the good fight every day.  The natural tendency is to be hard on yourself, but after several plateaus and pitfalls, I'm starting to learn to step back and look at winning in a different way:

• If you show up at the gym on a regular basis and do anything for any amount of time, that's winning. 
• If you mess up on your eating plan, but get back on it, that's winning.
• If you have the guts to step up on the scale, that's winning. 
• If you show up for class and stay till the end, no matter how many moves you mess up, or how many times you have to stop and catch your breathe, that's winning.
• If you can't do an exercise like everyone else, but you modify it and keep going, that's winning.
• If you've fallen off the path, but got back on it, no matter if it's the second or the twenty-second time you've made a fresh start, that's winning. 
• If your muscles are sore and your will is weak but you push through anyway, that's winning.
• If you know you're the underdog, but set out to prove everyone wrong, that's winning.
• If you've ever resolved to "go down swinging," that's winning.
• If you draw strength from others and pour that back into those fighting along side you, that's winning.
• If you keep fighting, keep moving, keep caring about your goal, keep showing up, that's winning...no matter what the scale says.