Exercise is not a Spectator Sport

Yesterday at Boot Camp there were some kids waiting to use the basketball court we use and just watching us as we were working out.  One kid gave me a thumbs up and I nearly went over and decked him.  I'm not sure why it bothered me so much.  Maybe because it reminded me of high school when people made fun of me when I couldn't do certain exercises.  I just don't like to be watched (unless it's an instructor who is helping me to correct my form.

2 lbs to the 100 lb mark...so close!!!

I'm not blogging as much lately.  It mostly has to do with keeping busy with other things, but I'm obviously still doing very well.  I do update my tickers daily even if I don't blog. 

Keep on moving!!

I love what this teaches my children

I don't always think about this along the journey but there have been times lately that my kids say or do something that reminds me that changing my life is helping to put them on a better path.  Here are some examples.

Water:  My kids are more likely to grab a water bottle when thirsty than before.  They know they are only allowed 1 juice a day so they don't even ask.  But they don't complain about the water.  They see me carrying around my big cup of water all the time.  They even  will experiment putting lemon juice or lime juice in their water.

Serving Sizes.  We talk a lot about serving sizes here.  Enough so that when the kids come home from school they look in the snack cupboard and ask "How many cookies is a serving?" and then take that many and are satisfied.   They are also learning that sometimes you get a lot more if you choose a lower calorie snack.  Hmmm..  a big bowl of grapes or 2 cookies.....

What food does -  My kids can tell you whether different foods are carbs, proteins and what they do for your body.  (sometimes).  I really like that they know why we can't eat a whole package of cookies...and why eggs are good for them.

Exercise:  I am proud that I am teaching my children a daily habit of movement.  Now, my dad played team sports (for the local bar) while I was growing up, but he didn't take care of his body outside of that.  I am thrilled to be able to teach my children all the pieces that go together to make up a healthy body and mind.

Trying New Activities

One of the benefits of having lost a lot of weight is the confidence to try new things.  In the fall I climbed *half* of a rock wall (which I never would have done at 290 lbs).  Last Saturday I tried Cross Country Skiing.

Now I've tried downhill skiing once and I HATED it.  I don't like to go fast down hill on anything (including my bicycle).  I don't like waterslides and I have difficulty explaining to my children why mommy won't go with them.  I just HATE it.  I'm afraid.  I've always been this way.  But I thought, how bad could cross country be?  Well it's fine, if you aren't having to go up and down  any hills, which usually at most trails there is a little bit of rolling.  My thighs did get a good work out though.  I won't be doing it again.  I did get a pair of snowshoes from my husband for Christmas though, so I'll be doing that when it snows again.

I'm glad I am trying new things though.  I think it's important as I gain confidence to put myself out there.   I think next month a friend and I are going to take a cooking class at a French restaurant. This particular one is on chicken and after you cook, you get to sit down and eat a 4 course meal with wine pairings.  I would have never done that before because I would have been worried that everyone was looking at me and judging me and thinking "That girl shouldn't be EATING, never mind cooking".  But I'm comfortable enough with myself now to do it. And THAT is exciting.

Brought to Tears...

in a good way.  I'm close to having lost 100 lbs and I have been thinking a lot about whether anyone would mark that occasion for me in a special way when it happened.  I often think I should just throw myself a party....I can't figure out how narcissistic that is... but really, it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life...harder than any of my jobs, harder than my degree work...and I feel I should celebrate the accomplishment.

Today is Tuesday, the most awesome workout day of the week.  I do 45 minute spin and then an hour BodyPump class with awesome awesome ladies.  Kiersten is the instructor (and I've written about her before) and there are quite a few of us who do back to back classes.  Well today one of my friends sits me down and says - "You are on mile 20 of a 26 mile marathon and we want to be here to help push you on to the finish."  She called over my other 3 "besties" from the gym.  The presented me with a gift card to the fitness center and a card with encouraging notes from them.  She said they didn't need to wait till I got to 100 lbs lost to tell me all that.  I couldn't stop crying.  Moments like that are like a dream moments for me.  Moments that I wish would happen, but usually don't. 

I'm amazed at kindness like that, because I really haven't had a huge supporter of me before like this.  Most folks are pretty disinterested in me...it's just been that way. This is my response to them...and really to you bloggers who are regular readers and commenters:

I wish everyone could have such an encouraging group of people in their corner. Thank you, my friends for pushing me beyond what I think I can do, for helping to pick me up when I'm emotionally drained and reminding me of how far I've come. I could not have hoped for a better group in all the world.

Do you fast?

I fasted yesterday for the first time in a really long time.  Completely fasting from everything except water.  I even had an approximately 3 mile walk.  My husband was pestering me why I was fasting.  In part it was because I'd made some poor choices food wise on Saturday, but in the end really it was about getting my head back in the game.  I've been floundering a bit these last few weeks....2 good days, 1 so so day, 1 bad day, 2 good days....etc...  so I wanted to spend a day and not eat.

The results:  I did not feel particularly hungry until about 5PM or so, when I went for a walk...then a little more around 7PM and that's it.  I think I am going to try to fast one day per week (on Sunday) because that seems to be one of the hardest days for me to stay on track. (usually because we are all home most of the day and its easy to snack - easy to say "lets get pizza").  I actually felt great all day and even this morning

There's mixed advice on the web about fasting.  Some sites say that it doesn't do any good unless you do it more than 24 hours.  Others say don't do more than 24 hours.  Regardless, I do believe it is good to rest our digestive tracts for a bit.  And I would like to explore the spiritual side of it more.  The Bible talks a lot about fasting and praying going together.

So Do you fast?  How often?  What are the results?

Back to Basics

After a while, and some success, it has been easy to let little bad habits creep back in unknowingly.  For instance, I used to always drink 32 oz of water BEFORE I ate breakfast.  Somewhere along the line I stopped doing that.   I used to allow myself one fruit for lunch...now I have 2-3 most days.  Clearly these are not the worst things in the world to be doing, but it just went to show how easy it is to "allow" ourselves breaks that just keep going. 

Well, I got out the measuring cup to measure 1 cup of grapes for breakfast.  And I drank about 15 oz of water before breakfast...not my whole cup but it's on the way to getting back to that habit!

I worked out yesterday for 2 hours and 45 minutes.  I did Boot Camp, walked 3 miles on the treadmill and then did Sh*Bam!  I am so sore right now....SInce I added Boot Camp I haven't really wanted to take out any of my other classes, so I've been doing a ton of double days of exercise.  I've already worked out over 20 hours this month and that's with taking 4 days off!  I know, it's crazy!!   I will be glad when Boot camp is done.  (at the end of January).  It does work my butt off, but I don't love it. 

I did wake up to this Facebook post this morning from a gym friend:

Good morning sunshine!! I know you are worn out from your intense work out(S) but I wanted to let you know you are an amazing person, role model and friend. Those of us that are priviledged to spend time with you are constantly amazed by your drive and accomplishments. We love you and hope you have a restful day! xo

Isn't that awesome?!!

Under Pressure

Yesterdays facebook post:  Success is Great - The pressure to remain successful and not become a failure, not so much!

I don't know why I put so much pressure on myself.  I know there's a lot of things going on:
First:  I'm close to that 100 lbs lost mark and we all know numbers can be a hurdle
Second:  I am now the weight that I said I wanted to be in order to try to have a baby...
Third:  I was on the back cover of our Health Club newsletter this month that was mailed out to thousands of people....


I wonder if my fear of failure is really a fear of people not talking to me anymore if I don't continue on this path.  Now, I know I am losing weight for me and me only....but still.   I grew up with very little affirmation or direction in life.  For the first time in my life, I'm getting accolades right and left.  People are talking to me, taking an interest in me.  So I wonder if really the pressure I feel is really the fear of rejection and abandonment that has plagued me my whole life....

Terribly bad eating weekend.  Terrible. 

63% is the number

An interesting statistic.

As of today I have lost 63% of the weight I want to lose.   I have lost 95 of the 150 lbs I wanted to lose when I began

Also today I have raised 63% of the support I need to walk in this years Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  (the ticker says 60%, but I have a check I just received today that will bring it up to the 63%)

I'm excited about both things!  I'm thankful to those of you who  are committed to the Avon Cause.  I look forward to watching that percentage of support increase as friends who were waiting for the new year to make their donation follow through on that pledge.  If you choose to donate, you can do so by clicking right on the ticker on this blog, or going to my personal page at http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/jodiefletcher

Boot camp is still kicking my butt, and I don't really enjoy it, but I will finish out January, then it's on to training for the 8K I am doing at the end of March and for the Avon Walk. (39 Miles!)

Uncontrollable Cravings

Even after almost a year, I still get them - those uncontrollable cravings.  I'm just like you see on TV.  I start breathing heavy, I literally grip something tight to try and avoid the giving in to the insanity, but alas, often it doesn't work.

I'm far enough in this journey that a slight derailment does not completely throw me off the path.  2 Twinkies and a swiss roll will not put on the weight that I've lost this year.   However, I start playing the body game when these crazy cravings happen.  I circle 14 days out on the calendar.  Because I'm pretty convinced that my cravings coincide with hormonal changes at ovulation and then again at menstruation.   We shall see if it still holds true.  But I do know something is going on in my body to have these ridiculous, "I might kill someone if I don't have something sweet and chewy," feelings!

Boot camp is still going well, although, it's a little frustrating to be pitted up against these healthy people who have been doing boot camp for a while.  I often come in last in a lot of the cardio stuff.  It's kind of sad for me.  Usually I feel so empowered.   We played basketball, and that was quite fun.  Best comment of the night though...another girl says to me:  "You've lost 94 lbs?  I think that's a Snookie!  You've lost a Snookie!"

Boot Camp Kicks My Butt!

Today was the second day of Boot Camp.   It's MWF and I'm doing it for the month of January.  We do a mixture of strength training and cardio.  Today we used resistance bands and the treadmill.  Here's some things we did:

Walk Backwards on the treadmill, hop on the treadmill, skip on the treadmill. 
Put our hands on the floor with our feet behind us on the treadmill and walk.  Put our feet on the floor and our hands on the treadmill and walk with our hands.  3 minute sprint drills

Then with the resistance bands we had to pull our partner around the track forwards and backwards while they tried to keep us by pulling on the bands. 

I like Boot camp because it works muscles that I don't always work and it's kind of fun doing it with a small group of people.  I like large group classes as well, but it's a nice change.

It's a butt kicker for sure though!!

I now weigh less than 200 lbs!!

I am officially now 199 lbs.  I don't ever remember a time when I weighed less than 200.  We are talking pre-high school here.  It's just a weird thought to think  I weigh less now than I did when I was a teenager. 

 I don't always have the most inspiring words on this blog.  There are so many who write so much better and use words to motivate.  I don't do that.  I suppose I could, but really it's the actions that make a change.  When I say that anyone can do this, I mean it.  I was 36 years old before I took control of my life.  30 plus years of eating crap and a lot of it!  30 plus years of limited exercise.   But it can be done.  Only if you act well.   I hope I inspire by my actions, because while words are great, they won't help me lose a pound.  I once wrote that one of the things I did differently this time was to stop reading and thinking and start doing.    So I did, and here I am - 91.5 lbs less. 

I love my readers and I hope i inspire you to Do! 

Um...these are a size LARGE!

You all know I get excited when a clothing issue happens!  Well, right at this moment I am wearing a size LARGE (12-14) pair of workout pants!  That's a Large with NO X in front of it!!  Yes, they are stretchy, and I'm no where near a 12 in regular pants yet, I'm just thrilled to the moon that I fit in something that is not even considered plus.  I still bought the XL shirt because I'm not super comfortable with super snug shirts (even though I am ANTI Baggy clothes now).

Happy 2012 so far!!

Happiness

I love today.  Hubby's home from work, kid's are playing nicely, house is pretty clean.  Nowhere to go, nothing to do really!  LOVE IT!!

I'm very thankful my gym in not running a zero enrollment  this year.  My classes were a little crowded this morning.  I hated it when they did zero enrollment 2 years ago - it was crazy!  I'm all for people getting healthy of course, and saving money, but I like my space!

Happy New Year!