Week IX: Progress

Hi Readers!

Sorry this week's post is relatively short, but I started a new part-time job in retail and well..  retail+holidays=madness. So, I haven't had too much time to devote to my blog *tear*.  However, I didn't want to leave ya'll hanging this week without hearing me ramble on for at least 30 seconds about my SUPER-awesome-healthy lifestyle (please note my sarcasm).

So, now that you're about 8.5 seconds into reading this, I better get to my point a little faster..

You don't have to read much into this weeks title to figure out what I'm going to touch upon. So, yes, I have made some greaaaat long awaited progress. *cue the fireworks*

Last week, my trainer mentioned that I am looking much thinner (not to be confused with "thin"). But, despite my changing appearance, I told her how frustrated I am with the scale. I explained my vow to stay away from it for a little while until I felt confident that I could handle the numbers that would appear between my anxious feet. She completely agreed with my decision to stay away from the scale, but thought I could find motivation from another reading: body fat!

Well, there's only one thing worse than getting on a scale to read your weight, and that is what percentage of that weight is made up of f-a-t. However, losing body fat is not only harder to lose and a bigger accomplishment, but a healthier thing to focus on than just weight. Soooo we measured my body fat and it was... wait for iittt... down down down :) Words cannot describe how that felt. After weeks of being frustrated with my stupid scale I wanted to dance on top of it. So, after I got some motivation from that reading, I weighed myself juuuust to see if things might have changed. And wouldn't you believe in a week I've lost anOTHER 5lbs.!!!! out of control. So, that brings my weight-loss total to about 20lbs. at this point!

I must remember that although I'm down, my scale body looooves to play tricks on me and go up and down with the "el bees". So, I will stick to my vow and not weigh myself for at least another 2-3 weeks in order to have an accurate measure. But, in the meantime, it's back to working hard and staying positive (oh, and my trainer kickin' my tush!)

Quote of the Week:
"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving" - Oliver Wendell Holmes

xx,
-Kate

Week VIII: Dear Diary -I mean- Readers!

Hello My Little Fit-sters,

Well, it appears that everyone is really enjoying the blog so far. My viewership was almost 3x the norm this past week!! So, thanks for tuning in, and I hope to see those numbers go up and up as people strive for a healthier life :)

Alright, let's get down to it!

So, I'm human.. as far as I know.. and I like to think of this blog as something like a journal, for not only the public to read, but for myself to take in as well- Although, sometimes I really think I AM crazy for putting this all out there! But it's done, so alas I go.. Lately, I know I've been talking more about general health topics, so I wanted to update my readers on my own health status and how I've been progressing. In other words: this week is all about ME! :p

Something I really want to stress to my readers is that the changes and efforts I'm making are not to be considered a "diet". To me, diets are quick, short-term changes that are more useful for dropping a few "el bees" for a reunion or wedding. The kind of changes I am making are life-long changes, which means that I have a much further goal date. BUT, that doesn't mean there's room for more"cheat days" or "off-weeks". It just means that I'm making progressive changes that take time for my body and mind to adjust to, and will live with for the rest of my life.

So, right off the bat, we all know by now that it's more difficult for me to lose weight than the average 23-year old (whomp whomp - Debbie Downer just arrived). I have a slight metabolic problem and a sensitivity to sugar & carbs- which made Halloween extra frightening for me. Despite these hinderances, I had dropped about 14 lbs. as of a few weeks ago. Then, I went up 5.5 lbs. in only four days. 'Tell me you're kidding', comes to mind. Honestly, I wanted to throw in the towel. I was practically killing myself at the gym, following a very healthy food plan, and yet I managed to GAIN weight. Seriously, I thought, "what the heck is goin' onnnn??? UGHH!" *throws scale across the room*

Alright, so again I stress that I'm human, and so I freaked out a little bit when I saw the numbers in front of me. Some people I know can simply cut out Diet Coke and lose 5 lbs.- absolutely abhorrent! ..I know. But, I knew in that moment that I had a choice, something my mother, aka dietition, always reminds me of.

So, I stared at myself in the mirror envisioning a chubby blonde girl perched on my left shoulder and a slender blonde girl on my right: The chub-ster bit into a slice of extra cheesy pizza and said with a mouthful, "Aw jusf giff up already! You can't do it! Look at yourself, you've giffen it all you can and you STILL can't lose the weight. It's worthless!". It was so easy to believe her, and the pizza looked heavenly enough to cross to the dark side. But, I also knew that path: The heartbreak I'd cause my own self. The frustration and self-loathing that would haunt me endlessly. I could feel the hurt turn into anger when I heard, "You haven't failed yet. It's a challenge, yes. But, you are being challenged because you're a fighter. And only those who know how to take a punch are the ones who learn to stand up again." It was clear as day. I had two choices:
1.) fail.
2.) try.

Well, I was a straight 'A' student in High School and Dean's list member in college, so "fail" was not in my vocabulary.

So, what did I do? Well, I stomped my feet a little bit. Then put "weight" out of the picture. I knew at that point I just signed myself up for a battle. But, I'd much rather be the girl who was known to fight her way to the finish, than the girl who stood in line at the food-stand cheering everyone else on.

Alright, so many of you might be wondering where my weight stands at this point. WELL, I dropped the 5.5 lbs., but more importantly, I decided that for me to be successful, I need to stay away from the scale for a little while and just see how clothes fit, how I feel, etc. (but just as an f.y.i. my jeans are falling off these days.. ;) So, someday soon I will get on that scale again, but until then I need to stay positive and not let water weight or any other fluctuations deter me from my goals!

I keep reminding myself that I could spend forever struggling with my weight, or spend the rest of my life conquering it.

Quote of the Week:
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." -Thomas A. Edison

xx,
-Kate

Week 4: Stop and Smell the Roses

Welcome Readers!

When I first started this blog, I mentioned that I wanted to not only improve my body's health, but also my mind and spirit. So, I thought today we'd talk about other ways to help yourself outside of the gym.

I feel like I should say "namaste" right about now.. *bows to yoga instructor*

Okay, so lot of people make excuses to not relax. Believe me, I'm one of them. We say we don't have time, don't have the resources, or we're too stressed to even find relaxation in the simple things. Look, I worked in New York City with the most vile of people, under stresses you can't possibly imagine. And if someone had told me to stop and smell the roses, I'd probably have straight-up punched them in the face. Wait, did I mention I was stressed?? Yeahh... it got ugly.

However! I've found that if we have enough time to do things like brush our teeth, shower, and wash our face, we can also incorporate other things into our daily routines that can help your mind relax.

While living in Italy last year, I was always envious of how Italians went about their day. They weren't concerned about getting to work on time - heck! they weren't concerned about getting to work at all! Now that's a little extreme, but, my point is that Italians take time to enJOY life. They're not rushing through it, not stressing over the fact that they just ate a Shrek-size portion of pasta, not complaining when a waiter offers a pitcher - yes, pitcher - of wine to compliment their meal. They LIVE in this life.. they don't jump from one hurdle and anticipate the next, they just let it come and deal with it then. We Americans tend to stress inbetween those two hurdles. How do we prepare when the next one comes? How can we avoid more? Before we know it, it's been years and you can't remember what you were even stressing about back then. That's because it's insignificant. Life can be much more plentiful if we just reduce some of that manifested stress.

I tend to find stress in just about anything, so I thought I'd make a list of things that we can all do to help minimize stress when it hits us and how to remain relaxed, if possible, inbetween the stresses life can bring:

SMELL

One of my favorite little relaxers is to light candles. While I was grocery shopping a few weeks ago, I found myself lost in the candy- I mean- candle isle trying to find a "Fall" scent to accent my bedroom. Two melted vegetable bags later, I found the perfect "Apple Cinnamon" Glade candle. Everytime I get ready to take a shower, or get ready in the morning I light my candle and enjoy the Fall essence it brings. It may not completely de-stress me, but if nothing else, I can feel my nose and mind smiling a little bit- despite how strange that sounds :p

BREATHE
Another little de-stresser, which some of you may have heard of, is to take deep breaths at night. Sometimes, I lay in bed and think of all the things I have to do the next day. Well, being in bed and not being able to do anything about it certainly is not going to help. So, I make a list before bed of all the things I have to do tomorrow and number them from most important, to least. Then, I lay in bed and take deep breaths in and out, letting the stress melt out of me and prepare my body for relaxing dreams. Believe it or not, sleep can be "me time". And it's important to really get those 7-8 hours, and not toss and turn with anxiety all night.

COLOR
You might think I'm crazy, but one of the things I, personally, enjoy doing is coloring. Sometimes while I'm watching Glee or Gossip Girl, I find myself craving a snack. *smacks hand* What I'm really doing is just being ADD and needing something to keep my body occupied while admiring Finn Hudson's cute freckles... So, color! Don't be embarassed if you pick up a Disney coloring book - my personal fav - they don't know you don't have kids ,or are a babysitter, or a teacher. Believe me it's kinda fun and you can even hang it up on your fridge to admire, if you dare ;)

PARTY
For my overachieving readers, this ones for you! Now, I am a little OCD about organization so it's not too hard to imagine that I love to organize get-togethers. Even if it's just a few gals coming over, plan a little dinner party. Recently, I threw a joint-potluck party and I went out and got flowers, made a new dish for the first time, cleaned the house, and surprisingly felt very relaxed and proud of myself that I threw it together. It's really a great reward to yourself and nothing spells relaxation better than a good laugh with friends.

So, these are just a few recommendations. Of course, you can get creative and come up with your own stress-relieving rituals. But, just remember, in order to really improve your total body package, you've got to keep a hold of all the things that make us feel beautiful, and that means going waaay beyond appearances. Madonna was wise to say "beauty's where you find it... not just where you bump and grind it" ;)

Quote of the week:

"Be aware of the things you cannot see" - Confucius

xx,

-Kate

Week 3: Progress!

Hello readers/followers/general stalkers,

So, the worst is over, I've basically put it ALL out there in my last post, and now it's onto the fun stuff: my journey of getting into shape!

First of all, I hope you've had a happy and healthy week since we last checked in with each other. I've, personally, had a really great week kickin' boot-ay at the gym with my trainer and being extra smart when making food choices. And I'll tell ya, nothing tastes better than feeling healthy :) Well, let's be honest- I'd practical make-out with the pizza boy at this point if he gave me a slice of New York style pizza. But, it's okay. I'll have a slice of pizza again - just not today (or tomorrow)..

This week was a pretty standard week with workouts (me, pleading with my trainer to let me just pass out - and her, telling me to go sprint the track instead; thank god she wins every time). But, in terms of my food, I really wanted to hone in on my calorie/nutrient intake this week:

I noticed that my weight was taking its good ol' time coming off, even though I've been sticking to a 1200 calorie diet with less carbs and sugars. Well, you should know that weight, in general, does not come off easily for me with hypothyroidism (a slow metabolism) - one of God's special gifts, I like to say - along with my sensitivity to sugars and carbs. So, I tried to get super serious about what I was eating and found a great app on my iPhone called "MyFitnessPal". It's amazing, it will tell me what my goal nutrients are for the day and if I'm under or over my percentage of that. For example, since I'm training 6-7 days a week, I try to load up on protein for my muscles to rebuild themselves after a hard workout. So, by entering my meals into the app, it told me my protein intake today was over about 5% for the average 1200-calorie diet. So, I know I'm in a fairly good range with that, considering I should be over to help my body recover.
Oh, and don't fret! the app isn't just on the iPhone.. you can go to their website at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ Honestly, check it out. It's mind blowing. You can chart your weight too, which is fun (only if you're losing) :/

I just can't tell you how amazingly-awful it is to see how quickly calories add up. However, I've gotten used to being honest with myself now and what I used to think was 1200 calories, is definitely NOT. By following this strict intake, I've already noticed a difference. The weight has definitely started to go a little faster (about 2lbs. a week - which IS healthy people. Do not try to lose more than 2lbs./week or you will gain it back eventually, I promise). So, I'm really excited about finding a new way to structure my food, just as I might structure a workout routine.

So, the BIGGEST news is that, despite only having blogged for 3 weeks, I've been on my new health-kick for much longer and have finally reached the -10lb. mark!!!!!
**FIREWORKS**
maybe a little confetti..? *~* nah we'll save that for a bigger moment :)

But, hey, 10lbs. is 10lbs. and it will NOT be missed.

Well, kids, I've got 2 more glasses of water to drink before bed and I gotta prepare my bladder for that, so I'll leave you with this:
"There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that once unleashed can make any vision, dream or desire a reality". - Anthony Robbins

xx
-Kate

Week 2: Putting It Out There

So, I can't even believe I am doing this right now. But, I have decided that in order to be successful, I have to be honest with myself. SO, I'm posting my "before" photo for all the world to see. *runs and hides in the bathroom* I can't even tell you how difficult it is for me to post this, considering I have huge problems even grasping the fact that I'm "overweight". Ugh! What an ugly, brutal word. You know what's an even worse word??? OBESE. Yes, ladies (and possibly gents), no longer are the days of basking in even the idea of being just 20lbs. overweight, but as soon as the doctor pulls out her chart and shows you that you're in the "obese" category, you know shits about to go down (even if laxatives have something to do about it). "But how could this be?", I thought. So I'm a little past the halfway mark to 200lbs... this seems impossible. Okay, deep breath. So, I'm technically *whispers* obese.. So, what? Whether I'm considered overweight or obese, all I know is that this girl has got to buckle down and start working that unwelcomed fat off. I want to stamp that weight with a big ol' red "FINITO" "DONE" "YOUUUURR OUTTA HERE!" So, the first step in making that change is to show myself the truth and put it out there.

Ouch. Pure shame. It's like staring at Kirstie Alley somewhere between "Cheers" and "It Takes Two". Alright, enough. MOVING ON. I'm wiping my hands clean of this.

You know what's beautiful about putting this out there? That I know someday - not tomorrow, or next week, or even next month - I'm gonna have a healthy, fit, dare-I-say enviable? body to display. And giiirl, I'm gonna not only post that image on my blog, but WEAR it, LIVE it, and BREATHE a fresh new breath of healthiness.