Our weigh in is the 13th. We've both made significant progress, though not to "loose weight" per se, in a two month period, but as a motivator to get moving in the right direction. We both feel we have lost weight that we are happy with, not as an end point, but as a life change movement.
We were NOT impressed with the Fairfield Nutrition store, which is translated to: Herbal Life. The Body Transformation Challenge, which we thought was part of the Fairfield Park and Rec, as well as something called Fairfield Nutrition, is really just the Herbal Life trying to get new customers. What rubbish. Neither of us liked the man and woman on duty at the store, and neither of us thought their method of determining fat vice muscle was scientific. I still want to do some further research on that, to give them some benefit of the doubt, but it sure sounded like BS. And both of us are used to getting weighed and measured with the US Army.
The entire tone of voice of both the man and woman working at Herbal Life was also just too nasal and lacking in critical thinking.
So, the nasal voice called asking for a final weigh in. Dave scheduled it for the 13th. We talked. We decided to blow it off. It's not that we are intimidated. It's not that we haven't lost the weight. I got into a size 4, admittedly, a skirt with a billowy bottom, but still, no elastic waist, and this is down from a 10. (AND THEY SAID I WAS OBESE, AT 5'7" and a size 10.) I could have out-hiked, out-run (distance), out-biked probably EVERYONE in this little contest and all the Herbal Life customers in the little shitty town of Fairfield, IA. Really.
The good news is that we are losing weight, getting thinner, staying active. And we are in our late 50's.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Baggy Jeans
YES! The jeans that have always ranged just a tad too snug, almost just right, almost there.....are there now. In fact, it's funny how it sneaks up (losing weight as well as gaining, thankfully) that without realizing it, my jeans are baggy.
So much better than not realizing that you've put on weight and find out when you grab that favorite pair of jeans you haven't worn for a while.
So cool, baggy jeans. Love it.
When they get a bit more baggier, I get to go to a thrift store and find more. WARNING: Tangent ahead: I love thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales. In short, I love other people's junk. I am a cultural anthropologist of sorts. I also love the hunt. I love finding bizarre things that I'd never consider buying full price at a regular store, or wouldn't even think to go looking for something like that. But since I live in an RV now and have to be very careful about having "stuff" I have to keep my thrift store pursuits to a minimum. Bummer because I love it.
OK, I'm back.
I'm ready to plan a night run. I want that invigoration that comes from running at night with a headlamp. I want to do about 10 miles too.
So I guess I will sign off and go research where I will run.
So much better than not realizing that you've put on weight and find out when you grab that favorite pair of jeans you haven't worn for a while.
So cool, baggy jeans. Love it.
When they get a bit more baggier, I get to go to a thrift store and find more. WARNING: Tangent ahead: I love thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales. In short, I love other people's junk. I am a cultural anthropologist of sorts. I also love the hunt. I love finding bizarre things that I'd never consider buying full price at a regular store, or wouldn't even think to go looking for something like that. But since I live in an RV now and have to be very careful about having "stuff" I have to keep my thrift store pursuits to a minimum. Bummer because I love it.
OK, I'm back.
I'm ready to plan a night run. I want that invigoration that comes from running at night with a headlamp. I want to do about 10 miles too.
So I guess I will sign off and go research where I will run.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Gnats and Kiss Me, Kiss Me Hiking
Dave and I went for a long hike around Lake Wapello yesterday. It was warm, in the 80's, and no wind. And, like I said, we hiked around a lake. Which meant we were accosted by gnats the entire time.
It was 6+ miles of a quick route step march, using upper body movements such as Team America's (the movie) signal, "Kiss me, Kiss me". Actually, if you saw the movie and remember it, it was the danger signal, meaning to come and get me. Anyway, we love some movies like that, despite its liberal use of the F word, and some of the movie lines have peppered our language.
So here is Dave doing the "Kiss me, Kiss me" signal.
Yes, I know it is blurry. But picture the arms moving up and down across the face, windshield wiper style, or a "slow down" motion.
We got some good exercise on this hike that seemed to never end, mostly because of our pace. Also, when we started out on this hike, Meth boy (I named him METHer Head, or if you like Deliverance Boy better, you can think that). Both could have been accurate. He was carrying a plastic bottle of Mountain Dew with red liquid in it. And, of course, his drawers were almost off his butt, though more red neck style than the popular urban style.
Since we didn't know what he was up to, and he certainly wasn't a hiker, not a real one anyway, we were suspicious and quickly overtook him and moved out smartly. Thankfully we never saw him again. We half joked about running across his meth lab.... Glad we didn't.
Dave had run 6 miles or so in the morn, so this additional six he put in was a nice total for the day, matching my 12 or 13 miles of running on Saturday.
Today I can feel muscles in my butt from the route step pace we kept up, even up the hills.
We did some good sweating.
It was 6+ miles of a quick route step march, using upper body movements such as Team America's (the movie) signal, "Kiss me, Kiss me". Actually, if you saw the movie and remember it, it was the danger signal, meaning to come and get me. Anyway, we love some movies like that, despite its liberal use of the F word, and some of the movie lines have peppered our language.
So here is Dave doing the "Kiss me, Kiss me" signal.
Yes, I know it is blurry. But picture the arms moving up and down across the face, windshield wiper style, or a "slow down" motion.
We got some good exercise on this hike that seemed to never end, mostly because of our pace. Also, when we started out on this hike, Meth boy (I named him METHer Head, or if you like Deliverance Boy better, you can think that). Both could have been accurate. He was carrying a plastic bottle of Mountain Dew with red liquid in it. And, of course, his drawers were almost off his butt, though more red neck style than the popular urban style.
Since we didn't know what he was up to, and he certainly wasn't a hiker, not a real one anyway, we were suspicious and quickly overtook him and moved out smartly. Thankfully we never saw him again. We half joked about running across his meth lab.... Glad we didn't.
Dave had run 6 miles or so in the morn, so this additional six he put in was a nice total for the day, matching my 12 or 13 miles of running on Saturday.
Today I can feel muscles in my butt from the route step pace we kept up, even up the hills.
We did some good sweating.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Out for 13 Miles and Food Progress Report
Yesterday morning I went out to run a long one, 10 miles or so and ended up doing around 13, I think. I haven't traced my route carefully on a map to see what the exact distance was, but I've run that area before and also know what my general pace is so I'm pretty sure I'm close. I wore a Camelbak for water and a butt pack with my cell phone and small camera. I ran a modified version of the Fairfield, IA 16.2 mile bike loop trail around the city.
I did this long run partly because one of our sons, and some of his Coastie friends and colleagues were running the ADK Ragnar this weekend and I wanted to run with them in spirit. They did it ultra style, and in fact, they did the MD/DC Ragnar last weekend ultra style too. So they are rocking out.
There is so much to be said for identity with groups and with group behavior and motivation. I wanted to attach myself to them for that reason and so many other reasons that get complicated and have mixed emotions attached since we are in Iowa so I can be with my older sister who has stage 4 cancer. I haven't lived in Iowa since I left for college as a teenager. Some years I didn't even come back once for a visit. So here I am now, living in the RV in a place that I don't particularly care for, surrounded by extended family, many of which are toxic. Iowa is toxic. High cancer rates, lots of fat people, lots of handicapped parking places. Everyone watches TV and shops at Walmart. Like everyday. Both.
This is not a happy place in so many ways. It is certainly not a healthy place in very many ways.
So mentally attaching myself to our son in Connecticut who was running a 200 mile relay race in the New York Adirondacks with 5 other people this weekend was a good thing for me.
As far as the Body Transformation Challenge and the whole weight loss/changing our eating practices issues, we are doing very well. So I think, because neither of us has gotten on a scale since we started. Dave has lost two inches on his waist and actually acquiesced happily when I bought him several new pairs of shorts, jeans and casual pants. I am back into everything I had that was too small for me when we got rid of our house and moved into the RV - I'd made the rule for myself that I would never again buy anything larger than a medium or a size 10, so for a while I didn't have too much to wear. Now I have LOTS of choices. Some of my things are still a bit more snug than I desire, but I am getting there.
I am also doing the No Sweets September Challenge that one of my nieces invited me to participate in through FaceBook. I am enjoying that and despite having made 3 different birthday cakes, two ice cream cakes and one cheesecake, for my older sister whose birthday was this last week, I have not even done any taste testing. So I'm happy that the whole issue of sugary treats is totally off the table, so to speak, for me, and not only that, I found that I am able to bake and work with these things and not even wish I could eat them. One small complicating factor is that since I didn't taste test anything, and didn't use any recipes, well, I guess I am flying without a net. Good. I like risk taking and adventure. And so I guess I share that with the consumers (literally) of my efforts.
When I came back out to Iowa after a break back on the East Coast in the summer (to get my head right and to recover from some family and grief burnout), I realized that there was no way I could spend the lengthy (hopefully) amount of time with my ill sister and be able to navigate the emotional land mines that populate extended family dynamics. I know I will anger people. That apparently has already happened, as one of my brothers stopped by to ask why I am pissed at his wife and three of his grown daughters. What? I know nothing about that, and actually like them all very much. But, whatever.
Doing the fitness, the controlled eating, helps me have a level of control in this crazy, sick (literally) place where I am a prisoner due to the love and compassion I have for my sister. It is a no-win situation in that respect. But I can control my own body on so many levels, and I choose to do that. It makes me happy....and healthy.
I did this long run partly because one of our sons, and some of his Coastie friends and colleagues were running the ADK Ragnar this weekend and I wanted to run with them in spirit. They did it ultra style, and in fact, they did the MD/DC Ragnar last weekend ultra style too. So they are rocking out.
There is so much to be said for identity with groups and with group behavior and motivation. I wanted to attach myself to them for that reason and so many other reasons that get complicated and have mixed emotions attached since we are in Iowa so I can be with my older sister who has stage 4 cancer. I haven't lived in Iowa since I left for college as a teenager. Some years I didn't even come back once for a visit. So here I am now, living in the RV in a place that I don't particularly care for, surrounded by extended family, many of which are toxic. Iowa is toxic. High cancer rates, lots of fat people, lots of handicapped parking places. Everyone watches TV and shops at Walmart. Like everyday. Both.
This is not a happy place in so many ways. It is certainly not a healthy place in very many ways.
So mentally attaching myself to our son in Connecticut who was running a 200 mile relay race in the New York Adirondacks with 5 other people this weekend was a good thing for me.
As far as the Body Transformation Challenge and the whole weight loss/changing our eating practices issues, we are doing very well. So I think, because neither of us has gotten on a scale since we started. Dave has lost two inches on his waist and actually acquiesced happily when I bought him several new pairs of shorts, jeans and casual pants. I am back into everything I had that was too small for me when we got rid of our house and moved into the RV - I'd made the rule for myself that I would never again buy anything larger than a medium or a size 10, so for a while I didn't have too much to wear. Now I have LOTS of choices. Some of my things are still a bit more snug than I desire, but I am getting there.
I am also doing the No Sweets September Challenge that one of my nieces invited me to participate in through FaceBook. I am enjoying that and despite having made 3 different birthday cakes, two ice cream cakes and one cheesecake, for my older sister whose birthday was this last week, I have not even done any taste testing. So I'm happy that the whole issue of sugary treats is totally off the table, so to speak, for me, and not only that, I found that I am able to bake and work with these things and not even wish I could eat them. One small complicating factor is that since I didn't taste test anything, and didn't use any recipes, well, I guess I am flying without a net. Good. I like risk taking and adventure. And so I guess I share that with the consumers (literally) of my efforts.
When I came back out to Iowa after a break back on the East Coast in the summer (to get my head right and to recover from some family and grief burnout), I realized that there was no way I could spend the lengthy (hopefully) amount of time with my ill sister and be able to navigate the emotional land mines that populate extended family dynamics. I know I will anger people. That apparently has already happened, as one of my brothers stopped by to ask why I am pissed at his wife and three of his grown daughters. What? I know nothing about that, and actually like them all very much. But, whatever.
Doing the fitness, the controlled eating, helps me have a level of control in this crazy, sick (literally) place where I am a prisoner due to the love and compassion I have for my sister. It is a no-win situation in that respect. But I can control my own body on so many levels, and I choose to do that. It makes me happy....and healthy.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Let the Games Begin
So yesterday the Body Transformation Challenge started for Dave and I. We went to get weighed and measured, and to get body fat computed and photos taken around 6 pm. Who knew the Fairfield Nutrition store was just a front for the Herbalife company. Well, it is. And the entire contest is basically their way of getting more customers. OK, so that is my cynical view point.
The lady at my sister's church who gave me the cutout notice of the Body Transformation Challenge, and told me she had lost 40 pounds already, told me that she does Herbalife and that traditionally, Herbalife people fair better in the challenge than others. My response to her was that I knew how to do herbalife without the Herbalife. And it may be true that Herbalife people do better than others in this challenge but it may well be due to the frequent support group meetings that are held, that the others don't attend. I would be interested in seeing a good study done where each group got equal amounts of coaching and group support, where one eats (drinks, consumes, whatever) Herbalife and the other eats a healthy whole food diet, or even to compare other gimmicky things in the same league as Herbalife.
The other thing that ticked me off last night was that body fat was computed not by a pinch test or combination of taping and pinching and weight/height, but apparently by choosing one of three categories of occupation: Office, Nurse, Laborer. Bullshit on that. That is not scientific. Apparently that factors in with the height and weight (and my guess, gender) to determine body fat composition. The Herbalife lady said the scale can detect, from my bare feet, through electrons, what my body fat content is. Really? Can that be? Hmmmmmmm.....
Regardless, I weighed more than I thought. The caveat though is that I am getting into almost all my smallest clothes....and we are talking size 10 and 8 here. But, that weight is not what I want to weigh. I want to take off at least 20 and maybe up to 30. And when what you're doing isn't working, you have to try something else.
Thus, this contest to formalize a timeline.
The lady at my sister's church who gave me the cutout notice of the Body Transformation Challenge, and told me she had lost 40 pounds already, told me that she does Herbalife and that traditionally, Herbalife people fair better in the challenge than others. My response to her was that I knew how to do herbalife without the Herbalife. And it may be true that Herbalife people do better than others in this challenge but it may well be due to the frequent support group meetings that are held, that the others don't attend. I would be interested in seeing a good study done where each group got equal amounts of coaching and group support, where one eats (drinks, consumes, whatever) Herbalife and the other eats a healthy whole food diet, or even to compare other gimmicky things in the same league as Herbalife.
The other thing that ticked me off last night was that body fat was computed not by a pinch test or combination of taping and pinching and weight/height, but apparently by choosing one of three categories of occupation: Office, Nurse, Laborer. Bullshit on that. That is not scientific. Apparently that factors in with the height and weight (and my guess, gender) to determine body fat composition. The Herbalife lady said the scale can detect, from my bare feet, through electrons, what my body fat content is. Really? Can that be? Hmmmmmmm.....
Regardless, I weighed more than I thought. The caveat though is that I am getting into almost all my smallest clothes....and we are talking size 10 and 8 here. But, that weight is not what I want to weigh. I want to take off at least 20 and maybe up to 30. And when what you're doing isn't working, you have to try something else.
Thus, this contest to formalize a timeline.
Monday, September 1, 2014
No Sweets September
My niece who just visited her parents (and us) over Labor Day weekend, sent me a FaceBook invitation for a No Sweets September challenge. Hell yes, I responded. Why not? I am just about straddling the fence (progress from standing on the next to top rung, thinking, wavering) on the lifestyle change to quit sugar sweets forever.
So a month? Hell yes. Lets get it on.
And guess what? Two friends (at least at the first look within 12 hours of my response) have joined in too. One of them was just put on meds for Type 2 Diabetes. She said she'd been trying to manage it herself but her Doc said no more. I gave her encouragement. She needs to know others are out there who don't eat processed foods as a matter of routine. People who don't eat bread and still enjoy eating. People who don't nibble on junk all day, or at all. People who try, every day like a smoker trying to quit, to get at least half the daily intake of food to be fresh veggies and fruit.
Good stuff.
To try is to aim.
To succeed is to do it.
So a month? Hell yes. Lets get it on.
And guess what? Two friends (at least at the first look within 12 hours of my response) have joined in too. One of them was just put on meds for Type 2 Diabetes. She said she'd been trying to manage it herself but her Doc said no more. I gave her encouragement. She needs to know others are out there who don't eat processed foods as a matter of routine. People who don't eat bread and still enjoy eating. People who don't nibble on junk all day, or at all. People who try, every day like a smoker trying to quit, to get at least half the daily intake of food to be fresh veggies and fruit.
Good stuff.
To try is to aim.
To succeed is to do it.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Morning Run...and My Confession of Junk Food Junking
This morning I ran from where I am staying, house sitting for friends, to my sister's house. It is about 4 miles or so one way. As I jogged leisurely by a house where a couple were enjoying their morning coffee on the porch, I waved. They waved back and the gentleman who was perhaps ten years older than me, offered words of encouragement, "Hang in there! You can do it! Just keep putting on foot in front of the other."
I had no doubt that I could do it. I don't think I've ever had any doubt that I could do it (finish a run that I started). I guess I must look old, tired or too fat. That has to be why people say things like that to me. BECAUSE they do. This is not the first time. I never cease to be surprised when it happens though. I try to assess what I must look like. I wonder if my face looks pained or strained, if my gait looks shuffled or awkward.
Sometimes people have offered that kind of encouragement to me while I've been in the midst of a 15 miler. I laugh inwardly thinking, if they only knew.
Sometimes I want to make a snotty remark, but then, nothing is gained by that kind of negative energy. And they mean well.
I guess I need to lose some more weight and then see if I get remarks like that.
Motivation to get 20 pounds off.
For some reason I am tired today though. When I am tired, sometimes I lose my discipline.
Oops. I have to confess. I just ate three cookie bars from the refrigerator. Yesterday I had an ice cream cone, followed by a piece of fudge. Does it count if I through the rest of the fudge in the trash? Several pieces? The day before that I had a thin slice of chocolate cake with ice cream - my niece had made it about a week before and I found it in my sister's basement refrigerator. It wasn't even fresh anymore. The cake, the fudge, the ice cream....none of those really even tasted good. The cookie bars did though. They are the classic cookie bars that my mother makes as comfort goodies for all our family get together.
So what's up with my behavior? I need to figure this out. I just signed up for a weight loss challenge, under the pseudonym of a body transformation challenge, and here I go sabotaging the effort before I even get started.
Well, I am going to be honest about this kind of thing and see if I can't figure this out. I do agree I am tired. I've had nightmares (or stress dreams, I guess, if those qualify as nightmares) two nights in a row. I think that the stress of being back here in Iowa and taking care of my sister....and the issues my aging parents are having, are starting to wear on me.
What to do? I need to get a handle on this.
I had no doubt that I could do it. I don't think I've ever had any doubt that I could do it (finish a run that I started). I guess I must look old, tired or too fat. That has to be why people say things like that to me. BECAUSE they do. This is not the first time. I never cease to be surprised when it happens though. I try to assess what I must look like. I wonder if my face looks pained or strained, if my gait looks shuffled or awkward.
Sometimes people have offered that kind of encouragement to me while I've been in the midst of a 15 miler. I laugh inwardly thinking, if they only knew.
Sometimes I want to make a snotty remark, but then, nothing is gained by that kind of negative energy. And they mean well.
I guess I need to lose some more weight and then see if I get remarks like that.
Motivation to get 20 pounds off.
For some reason I am tired today though. When I am tired, sometimes I lose my discipline.
Oops. I have to confess. I just ate three cookie bars from the refrigerator. Yesterday I had an ice cream cone, followed by a piece of fudge. Does it count if I through the rest of the fudge in the trash? Several pieces? The day before that I had a thin slice of chocolate cake with ice cream - my niece had made it about a week before and I found it in my sister's basement refrigerator. It wasn't even fresh anymore. The cake, the fudge, the ice cream....none of those really even tasted good. The cookie bars did though. They are the classic cookie bars that my mother makes as comfort goodies for all our family get together.
So what's up with my behavior? I need to figure this out. I just signed up for a weight loss challenge, under the pseudonym of a body transformation challenge, and here I go sabotaging the effort before I even get started.
Well, I am going to be honest about this kind of thing and see if I can't figure this out. I do agree I am tired. I've had nightmares (or stress dreams, I guess, if those qualify as nightmares) two nights in a row. I think that the stress of being back here in Iowa and taking care of my sister....and the issues my aging parents are having, are starting to wear on me.
What to do? I need to get a handle on this.
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