Butterball

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with loved ones.

I had a quiet, low-key holiday. It was exactly what I needed. But I’m also proud of myself for starting it off in a good way.

Thursday, I decided that I was going to get up and go to the gym in my apartment complex. Those of you who are long-time readers will remember that I had set a goal to do that many months ago. I never did it. But this time I was determined.

So I procrastinated a bit—like I tend to do. But I put on my workout clothes and headed over there. I figured it would be a perfect day to try it out. There probably wouldn’t be anyone in there and I wouldn’t feel self-conscious.

But as I punched in the door code and opened the door, I saw I wasn’t the only one who wanted to work off my Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time. There were a few guys in there. This is a tiny gym. Not too long ago, I would have seen people in there and immediately turned around and gone home. But I’m a different person. And I walked in there believing—knowing—that I belonged there just as much as they did.

I got on the treadmill and picked up my pace. And I did some people-watching. Obviously, as I belong to a women’s-only gym, I don’t see many guys in hardcore workout mode. And I have to say, the guys I saw at the apartment cracked me up.

One guy would practice his golf swing (with an actual club) in the mirror in between sets on various machines. Another guy would shadow box and dance while watching himself in the mirror. And a third guy tried to lift so much weight at once that he basically dropped it rather than following-through with proper form. My trainer, Jessica, would have had a heart attack watching.

At the 45-minute mark, I got the feeling I could have power-walked forever. But I had to meet my family. Still, I left that gym feeling accomplished in more ways than one.

Turkey Day treadmill proof.













And at dinner, I watched what I ate and tried not to overeat. This year, I was full of turkey and stuffing. Not full of regret.

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful for the platform I've been given to share my experiences. But I'm especially thankful for all of you—my readers who have supported me through my ups and downs. You've encouraged me, inspired me and kept me going.

I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday with your families. And remember, eat slowly, concentrate more on the time with your loved ones than on the food, and fit in some time to move today.

Next week I'll be back full throttle. Here are a few topics to anticipate:

• Thanksgiving recap
• Me versus the Brangelina pant
• Rewards. Really big ones

Happy Turkey Day!

The human experience

Tap tap.

Is this thing on?

Where have I been? Oh friends. There are just some days/weeks that I don’t want to blog, because I don’t want to have to admit the truth.

But I’m struggling a little, you guys.

Don’t worry—I haven’t been on some four-day food bender. But I’ve definitely wanted to be.

I feel like this has gotten a little easy for me. I’ve been sailing by for the past few weeks, not really concentrating or focusing on my weight loss yet still losing weight. I’ve overeaten a few more times than I would like, and this past weekend, while filling in at the Ronald, I basically ate my weight in Halloween candy.

Sigh.

It’s never easy for me to admit to you when things are less than perfect. I want to be a good role model. But I’m also a real person and this journey is not easy.

Why it’s been extra hard lately, I’m not sure. Maybe I’m stressed. Maybe I’m getting the holiday blues like I often do. I don’t know. What I do know is that it seems like lately I’ve been white-knuckling to keep myself from full-out bingeing.

Now, I have not gone back to my old ways. I’m just fighting it more than usual. A wise person told me that as I’ve lost weight, I’ve literally shed layers of myself to find new things about myself that I have to face. Maybe that’s true.

I know this is an ongoing process. And I know that—overall—I’m continuing to succeed in small ways. I also feel confident that I will never again be the girl I once was. But it’s still a little frustrating to struggle.

I kind of hate being reminded that I’m human.

Snap out of it

I haven’t been feeling very well this week. I’m OK—just not feeling 100 percent. I worked out (fairly lightly) Monday evening, but haven’t felt up to going to training or even to my beloved Zumba all week.

Boy, that’s affecting me. I have said before that I’m not a person who really loves to exercise. I don’t wake up in the morning craving a good run. I don’t get super excited at the thought of getting on the elliptical. And I still—at times—have to talk myself into going to the gym.

But I’ve gotten to where I appreciate pushing my body more than I thought I could. I love knowing I have muscles where I didn’t before. And I really like the feeling of accomplishment I get from a good workout.

And this week, because I haven’t been feeling up to working out, I’ve felt pretty down. In fact, Wednesday night I had a good old-fashioned pity party. For no reason, really. Just me, some sad songs and lots of tears. It was pretty pathetic, actually.

I’m hoping I feel much better next week. Because this moping stuff just isn’t for me. And maybe this shows—as much as I don’t want to admit it—I don’t hate working out quite as much as I claim.

And just because I know you guys love photos, I'm leaving you with a little before/after treat:
 
 

 
My boss and great friend, Paul Parson, and me. This was taken in August 2009.


Paul and me--Oct. 28, 2010

Cold legs but strong legs

Congratulations to all who participated in the 26th annual Strong Legs Run Saturday. I know I wasn't alone in groaning when the alarm clock went off and the temperature was only about 30 degrees. Brr.

But the cold didn't keep people away. It's quite a bizarre contradicition to be simultaneously sweating and freezing, and it seemed to take at least a mile before my legs were moving at a normal pace. All the same, I finished the 5k (I walked, of course) in about 51 minutes. Here are a few pictures from the event.

5k start line

LaTonia McGinnis, Tess Khan (our Zumba instructor) and me at the start line.

LaTonia, Ruth Bell and me pre-race. Note my Santa Claus-like red nose. Did I mention it was cold?

On the other side of the finish line. Woo!

My friend Jan Mayheu and I posing with Hope and Will.

If I had a photograph of you

Yay for more photo blogging! Here are a few shots. I'll add some more today and throughout the weekend, too.

Yesterday I got this postcard in the mail from Carnival Cruise Lines. Let's hope this is good foreshadowing.

Tomorrow I'm doing the Strong Legs Run. I'm walking the 5K. Man, it's going to be cold out there. I'll post some pictures from the event.

Yay for a weekly Menchie's treat!

A bonus. My friend, Jennifer Wozniak, Manager of Foundation Marketing at Children's, and me at the Golden Flame Awards. Our quarterly donor magazine, Small Wonders, won a silver flame from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC Atlanta). Several other Children's-produced marketing pieces won awards, too. Yay for Children's!


More to come...

Joy and pain

Five words you don’t want to hear your personal trainer say when you walk into the gym:

“I’ve been reading Jillian Michaels.”

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Jillian, the trainer from “The Biggest Loser” who pushes her contestants to their limits and beyond. She’s notoriously tough. And a little bit scary.

So last Wednesday when I went to my training appointment with Jessica and she told me that she’d been reading Jillian’s book, I was terrified. Jessica told me that my body had gotten used to our typical workouts and it was time to step things up.

She wasn’t kidding.

We’ve started doing circuit training. Basically I’ll do short bursts of cardio—a minute of jumping jacks or step-ups—followed by a strength exercise with weights. And then we intersperse abs among everything else. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I know that my body needs to be shaken up in order for my workouts to be effective. I know that it’s hard because it should be hard. But still, it didn’t stop me from actually getting a little teary yesterday. I guess because I’m used to my workouts, they haven’t seemed super challenging lately. So now that they are challenging again, it makes me feel like I’ve regressed, not progressed. Which, of course, is the opposite of why we’re stepping up these training sessions.

I’m excited to see how this new way of training will increase my stamina and strength levels. Hopefully I’ll start to see a real difference in the next month.

But for now, my first goal is to not cry while doing lunges. It’s a baby step.

P.S. To all of you who read the title of this post and immediately started singing the follow-up words, "sunshine and rain...," you are my people.