I Won't Back Down

I think some of my friends are feeling a little down and frustrated with the scale right now.   I understand it because I feel it too.   After you've given every drop of sweat you have in your body, denied yourself daily, felt the gnaw of hunger in your belly, stretched your brain to think of what to eat for every meal, and pushed yourself past every limit in your heart, to have the scale not reflect this Herculean effort is devastating. You think, "Dang, I might as well have been on the couch eating Doritos."  This is the point when most people quit...my former self included many times over. 

To you and to myself I say, as long as you keep moving (whether you're losing, gaining, or on a plateau) you are still in the game.  After step class today, I was sitting on a mat in the gym stretching my aching legs out and thinking about the arabesques I just did in class and the strength in my legs.   I thought about how I started doing eight pound free weights, and now I can lift twenty pounds over my head easily. 

The World English dictionary says that strength is, among other things, "the ability to withstand or exert great force, stress, or pressure" and "the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; mental power, force or vigor; moral power, force, or vigor."  All of my friends have these qualities.   Working out is so much more than how many calories you burn or the pounds that you drop.  Those are only the top end of the pyramid we are building.

To anyone who is struggling or feels tired of fighting the fight (myself included at times) I say keep showing up and I offer you some lyrics from Tom Petty:


"Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of Hell
But I won't back down

No I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from dragging me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down

Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey yeah, I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down"

Like a T-Rex

Today was just as crazy work wise as yesterday, but I managed to make my two o'clock workout appointment with Marisa and my girls.  Last week when we were discussing how we could switch things up and get off of our collective plateaus, Marisa suggested that we would have more time to workout if we didn't chat as much. She had observed that Jeff worked the guys out so hard that they couldn't physically talk to each other.  Like I said, I could see her wheels turning.  I made a pledge to chat less, but turns out I wouldn't need to...

We started out doing stations of different arm exercises.  The first rotation we did 25 reps at each station (75 reps in all), the next go round was 20 reps (60 in all), and then 15 the next (45 in all) for a grand total of 180 reps of pure arm ripping.  Ouch.  Next we were off to the treadmill to work the belt without power for ten sets of sprints.  As I got it going faster than I ever have before (I was at a jog for crying out loud!) the sweat started to pour out of me and over the speakers came the song "I'm Riding Solo."   By the time we reached the halfway point on the treadmill, I'd changed the lyrics in the song to, "I'm gonna throw up, I'm gonna throw up, I'm gonna throw up, throw up."

We weren't finished yet.  It was back to some more arm rotations and another 180 reps.  Whew!  By the time we were done, I was dripping sweat and feeling shredded all over.   My arms, which are usually my best muscle group, wanted to draw up into my chest.  I felt like a T-Rex.   But, because I'm sick like that, I was happy.  Good job Marisa!

Like a T-Rex

A Monday, a Storm, and Some Chips

I did not want to work out on Monday...coming off of a "play hard" weekend, I had low motivation. 2 o'clock came around and none of the girls were able to make it to the gym.  Marisa was on vacation.  Slacking off became more and more tempting.  But, I got it in gear, pushed away from my desk, and headed down to the gym.

Thank goodness for Ipods because my music got me through my time on the elliptical.  That and the view out of the Cape Fear river out of the gym windows.  I watched a storm come up across the river from Brunswick County and pumped my legs up and down to the beat of Eminem, and at the end of it, I was sweaty and glad that I made time to work out.  There was a time when I couldn't last five minutes on the elliptical and it is marveling to me what I am capable now.

After work, Millie and I finally got to introduce our husbands to each other over dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.   Another new development: I'm able to control myself around chips and salsa. I only had two chips, whereas back in my unhealthy days, I would have had no problem eating two baskets.  It's hard every day, but there are also great blessings around the way...like a great dinner with wonderful friends and the knowledge that I am in control.

Eric, keep the chips on your side of the table. :)

I Dream of Sand

What an awesome day to be at Topsail Island!   We celebrated my husband's birthday with a family cook-out at our place at the beach. I made a big oriental-themed salad as a low calorie side to go with the traditional cook-out fare.   I used fresh romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, cukes, red bell pepper, and wonton strips that had 35 calories per two tablespoons. Add in some light sesame ginger dressing, and it was a hit!

After avoiding the most delicious cake on the earth, Momma's chocolate cheesecake, it was time to hit the beach with the family.  Our house is on the sound, but we also have property directly across the street on the beach, which is where we have a  walk-over deck.  The driveway is long and I am ashamed to admit that I have spent the past few summers holed up in the beach house because walking over to the beach was difficult for me. I remember taking a lot of naps while everyone else headed to the beach.  Those were probably some of the most sad moments of my life, because I love the beach and felt just awful watching life go on around me.  On the rare occasions that I huffed and puffed my way up the driveway, I would sit at the table under the umbrella and never venture out onto the sand, because that entailed walking down the stairs and into the sinking sand.   I remember sitting up there last summer, having a heart to heart with my Momma where I told her how much I wanted to lose weight, but how impossible it seemed.  I had no hope at all.  Little did I know that in a few months, I was about to set out on this journey that is leading me to all of my dreams.

Today, walking back and forth to the beach was no problem at all, and then came one of the best rewards so far on this journey: getting my toes back in the sand and into the water. Last summer I dreamed of being "normal".  Today I was. Last summer I told my Momma I didn't think I could ever do what I'm doing now.  Today when she came out to the walk-over, I waved to her from down on the beach and saw the pride in her smile.  When I first started working out with Jeff in September, coming off one of the most inactive summers of my life, I told him my dream was to run down the beach.   Today I walked the beach.  I'm that much closer to my dream!

On the walkover with the hubby.  

On the sands of Topsail Island with my brother and sister.

Girls Day Out

I had a fun girl's day with my friend Tera today.  We had a delicious yet healthy lunch and an afternoon of strolling around window shopping. Nothing like some retail cardio!  We didn't buy anything, five hundred for a dress....oh no, but it was fun to look anyway.

Tera inspires me because she's lost a bunch of weight and looks GREAT!   When you're fighting this fight, it's nice to have people around you who you can go to lunch with and not feel like the only one eating a salad.  We were took a break to have some frozen yogurt and fruit and do a little people watching while chatting about the weight loss journey we'd both been on.

"Oh let me show you my old license!" said Tera, handing over her driver's license.  I looked down at the picture and was marveled at how far she'd come.

So of course I had to drag my license out too.  "That doesn't even LOOK like you!" she said, and it did my heart a world of good!

My advice, which I give shamelessly on this blog, is that if you're trying to lose weight, meet a goal, or accomplish anything, it's so important to surround yourself with people who are doing the same.   It's been amazing to me this time around in the weight loss game, what blessings come back when you open yourself up to people and let them know about your goals.  I said it in the beginning and will say it again now: if you want to make things happen - whether it is with weight loss or any worthy pursuit - put yourself out there, tell everyone you know, and you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.  

Recycling

Everyone agrees that recycling is a good thing.  It's good for the planet, it's the green thing to do.  Now what if you've been recycling the same three pounds for a month?   Today I was down three pounds.  I gain three, I lose three and around we go. 

After our awesome workout, we brainstormed some ways that we can all get off of our plateaus.   We haven't quite figured out our battle plan yet, but I can see Marisa's wheels turning. I'm sure she's going to have something up her sleeve for us tomorrow.  If anyone else is on the same plateau, hang in there and I'll hang in there too.

50 Mint and Fry the Meat

When you've been working out together as long as my group has, you get to know each other pretty well and develop all kinds of  inside jokes that no one else would get, but that crack you up every time. It's these relationships that keep you engaged and keep you going to the gym when in other times you would have given up by now.   I can't begin to tell you about the numerous times that these people have lifted me up when I needed it and I like to think I've done the same for them.   I've blogged about the tough times, so here are some of the other things:

• Millie is the Goldilocks of the gym because she can't ever find an exercise ball that is just right.  One is too small, one is too big, one is too flat, and her quest continues.   This week she's having the same problems with gym bags: this one is too squeaky, this one is too big, etc.   It cracks me up.
• Sylvia is very reserved in nature, but if you watch her closely, she'll break out into a cute little shuffle or one of her high school step routines from time to time.
• When Jeff was explaining the slow carb diet and the fact that you could eat your fill of meat, Roy asked if you could fry the meat.  That became our new term for a workout, because believe me, the meat (aka any muscle group) gets fried. 
• The last name Minter has lent itself to my many nicknames: Mint, Minty Fresh, Mint Condition, 50 Mint (after I lost the first 50 pounds)...hopefully one day they can call me Thin Mint. 
• Frank also has a nickname: Frank the Tank Soon To Be Frank the Mini Coupe.
• At any given time one of us owes the other one a pair of socks from a previous borrowing. 
• Millie and I call each other Marisa's dobermans because we're "on point."

• It takes nothing to crack Lakshmi up and I love her beautiful smile.

There are many other things that make up our collective relationships, but what it amounts to is a one of the coolest experiences of my life.