I got a round-about funny compliment this weekend. I ran into one of my mom's friends who I haven't seen in a while. We chatted and then went our separate ways. My mother calls me to tell me her friend had called her as soon as she had gotten home from running into me. My mother proceeds to tell me that her friend was shocked at the weight I had lost. She was worried that I had been really sick and was calling my mom to see what was going on and if I was alright. She didn't dare mention the weight loss to me when she saw me because she was positive I was or am really sick.

I had to laugh! I needed that. I have been a bit down as the weight isn't coming off as fast as I want it to and the compliments had slowed down also.

Then in church yesterday I wore a shirt my friend Luanne handed down to me and low and behold got a few more compliments, so something is happening, I am just not seeing it in my sizes.

Then thinking over my adult life, I have never been a size 16 since I had been 20 years old, a long time ago. So I guess I can see why my mother's friend was so shocked.

Also, I have never in my adult life, been able to accept hand-me-downs and have them fit! That alone is MAJOR in my life!! No one had hand me downs big enough to fit me!!!

I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I am NOT SICK and am loosing weight so effortlessly and enjoyably! and not starving myself!!!

helps to put things back into perspective!!!! Thought you would all enjoy a chuckle today!!!

July 23, 2012

I'm continuing to explore options out there in the world of fitness that I might enjoy. Someone at work offered to do a spinning class, to help us finish up our mini-triathlon goals; the six week challenge ends this Sunday. I never thought I'd find myself in a spinning class, but that's just where I was today. Wow, that was a workout! 

Image source: Gables Fitness

I doubled the distance I've been getting on the recumbent, and that's great because I still have another 18 miles to bike this week. Right now that seems like a whole lot of miles and an impossible goal to achieve, but I am determined and so close to my goal. I can't let myself down! I will make my goal!

It's these great little challenges that keep me going back to the gym. I'm still feeling pain in my achilles heel, but not when I'm on the bike. One good thing about this spinning class: at the end we did stretches that are exactly what I'm supposed to do to help heal my heel. Support comes in strange ways.

July 19, 2012

Earlier this month, Linda wrote about Exercising Around the House and asked us to share ways to exercise in fun ways around the house. For example, she has an aunt who does knee bends while washing dishes. Linda wrote about how she exercises in their in ground pool, which sounded like a lot of fun. I don't have much to say about exercising around the house in fun ways, but I've had a lot of fun in the water during my summer vacation.

Boat harbor where we took off in Long Beach.
We sailed the small boat located in the front right of the pier.
Photo by Theresa

Usually when I vacation in Southern California, my exercise consists of only walking. Each year the walking seemed to be less and less distance covered because my weight kept going up and up. Not this summer. This summer I not only walked a great deal, I gave my upper arms a good workout too.

I swam laps at the Belmont Olympic indoor pool until my arms ached. This experience was quite different from the last time I'd been in swimsuit, which was in 2006. That year, and at my heaviest weight, I wore a swimsuit (size 30/32) and I swam in the beach on the windward side of Oahu. Unlike my friends who sunbathed most of the time we were there, I was in the ocean the entire time at the beach. I love swimming. I loathe sunbathing. At least I didn't let my weight or vanity stop me from getting into the ocean. Prior to 2006, I hadn't been swimming since 2002, when I took an aquatics class. Prior to that 1989 was the last time I swam. Obesity has kept me from one of the great pleasures of life: swimming. Not anymore!

I sailed while on vacation too. It's been years since I've been at the helm and I had forgotten how much fun it is. I also forgot what a workout tacking can be. My friends wanted to give me a refresher on tacking (sailing close-hauled on alternate courses so that the wind is first on one side of the boat, then on the other), so they had me steer all the way and out of a channel, where I had to tack again and again. It was a blast! My arms ached for days after.

I also enjoyed kayaking this summer. Now here's a fun way to get in an upper arm workout! When I was in Alaska last summer, I declined on an opportunity to kayak, because I knew I didn't have the upper strength to get in and out of the kayak. Alaska is no place to be in stuck in the water. It was depressing seeing everyone else paddle around while I stayed on the main boat. That's why this summer I took the opportunity to learn how to kayak. one of the friends I traveled with in Alaska was my Long Beach kayak teacher. I enjoyed this so much, I can barely holding back from running out to buy a kayak. Instead, I'm looking for places I can rent a kayak near my home and friends to join me.

I told my Long Beach friend if I hadn't been swimming for several days, followed by sailing, and kayaking, I would ask her to take me to the emergency room. That's how bad my arm ached! That just solidified the need for me to continue to find ways to have fun and build upper arm strength at the same time.

As much as I have enjoyed outdoor activities, I'm grateful to have a state-of-the-art-gym at work. Until last October, I didn't use the gym, but I find when it's too hot or too icy outside, the gym works best for me. Plus, I have co-workers who workout with me or at least walk with me to the gym and then we go our separate ways. This kind of support helps!

Yesterday I planned to bike during lunch, but it was too hot to walk to the gym and I didn't get there at the end of the day as I had planned. I too am doing an at-work-fitness challenge, which has helped me get in lots of exercise this summer. I have to make up for the lost time on the bike that I missed yesterday in the next few days, as the challenge ends this Sunday. My plan is to bike 8 miles four times this week. Before my vacation, I did a little over 6 miles and was exhausted when I was finished. Earlier this week, I did 7 miles and I could have done more if I didn't have to get back to work. It's great to see that I've built up strength in my legs. Woohoo!

Based on how quiet this blog is, it seems I'm not the only one who is enjoying a summer vacation. When you get back, tell us what kinds of fun activities you did this summer. What fun things have you done this year that you couldn't do last year?

July 18, 2012

While on vacation in Southern California the past two weeks, I had some incredible meals. I want to share a few stories and photos from some of the meals on my trip.

Breakfast from Baja Fresh at LAX airport. Photo by Theresa.

Airport Food

When I was at the at LAX airport, waiting to depart for Hartford, I had lots of time before my plane was boarding to search for the best choice for breakfast. I found a place called Baja Fresh. I made up my own dish, which was inspired from a menu item they referred to as Baja Bowls. My version (shown in the photo above) included spicy tender steak, scramble eggs, freshly made pico de gallo, ripe Roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and topped with sour cream. Man, I really know how to order off-menu!

A lesson that I learned and I want to share with the rest of you who plan to travel: look at the packaging of the food you are going to travel with carefully. I bought a pack of pepperoni sticks and a package of beef teriyaki (jerky) to have for lunch between LAX and Dulles, WA. I figured the pepperoni sticks would be all I needed, so before sitting down, I tossed the jerky into my bag that I stored above my seat. You can guess where this story's headed.

After they came through with food, and I said no thanks, I pulled the pepperoni from my purse and discovered the pack was vacuum sealed. There was no way to open the package without scissors or a knife, which the attendants did not have.

Sitting next to the window (without a seat belt extension - I still can't get over that!), I decided I'd just wait until we landed to eat. I tried to busy my mind by watching a movie, but I it was going to be seven hours before we landed. At some point both people in my row got up to use the rest room, so I jumped up and grabbed my jerky. Yes, I could have asked them to move so I could get up, but I wasn't inclined to do that at the time. I may have asked if they hadn't stood up.

Dinner with Friends

The most challenging meal for me was the night I had dinner with old friends, shown in the photo below (yes, that's me with another new dress - thanks to Aime). They key word here is friends. If I can't ask my friends what they're serving for dinner and be frank enough to talk about other alternatives, then I'm not sure how I'll ever survive the rest of my journey. 

I took a deep breathe and I asked my friend Mary to put her daughter on the phone. Nina was cooking dinner, so I asked what she's cooking. I then told her it sounded wonderful, but I don't eat gluten-free noodles, so her lasagna wasn't going to work for me. Was there something else we could arrange? Nina said "no problem, I'll cook you a nice piece of chicken on the grill." It was that simple.

Theresa with Southern California friends George and Mary. Photo by Nina.

What was so incredible was that when Nina and I had a few minutes to ourselves, she thanked me for asking her for another option. She was so gracious. She said she could see how much weight I've lost, even since I saw her two months ago, and she was happy to support my staying on course with the program. That's a good friend! The was delicious chicken too!

BTW, when I called, I had every intention of saying I would bring protein for myself. I wasn't expecting such a generous response. 

Last year when I visited with Mary, she took me to an In and Out Burger where we ordered burgers from their not-so-secret menu. I went to In and Out this trip as well, and, as you can see in this photo, they wrap these burgers with lettuce instead of a bun!

In and Out Burger; lettuce wrapped instead of a bun. Photo by Theresa.

Hot Tub Breakfast

I cooked during my vacation too. Here's a breakfast I made and then ate by the hot tub, after a morning walk to the pool. Years ago I got a number of my friends into frothing milk for their coffee, so when I visit, I don't have to travel with a frother.

Scrambled egg with Parmesan, dill, and chives, with asparagus and tomatoes. Photo by Theresa.

We did a lot of grilling at another friend's, almost every night for a week, which I really enjoyed.  I love eating outside in the yard. Living in a condo, I don't do that. 

Exercise Mojo Explained

This is not related to my travels, but I want to explain a comment I made to an earlier post. I referred to "mojo" in one of my comments about exercise and I want to explain what I meant by "mojo."  I was playing with words. What I meant to say was that last summer (2011) Julie gave my group an exercise suggestion to help us. I referred to Julie's "exercise suggestion" as mojo, meaning to be humorous, but my meaning was lost in translation. Sorry!

In any case, I had a few more thoughts about this that I explored tonight. For whatever reason, I didn't take to Julie's exercise suggestion last summer, but I did start to exercise in October.  I was curious about the time I started to exercise versus when I had last seen Julie. Looking at my calendar, I saw Julie a week before I started exercising on Oct. 25. I know because I logged my couch-to-5K progress and my sessions with Julie. What makes all of this (slightly) interesting is that I was out of town when I started to exercise and later that day I found out that Aime started a couch-to-5K that same morning. We both thought it was a funny coincidence, but looking back now, I realize we went to the Oct. session together. My guess is Julie gave us another exercise suggestion and that time it worked for me, as well as Aime.

July 17, 2012

Oh my! Did I really post a photo with me in a bathing suit? Yes I did. Yikes! I can't believe I did that. Today I'm going to write about negative self-talk, so I can get it out there in the open, out of the dark corners of my life and into the light. I am changing my life and I no longer need to stand in the shadows.

Del Mar, CA. Photo by Theresa

I'm currently at the same size that most of you began your weight loss journey, so it is a mixed bag when I see your photos. I'm inspired to see that you went from the size I am now to my goal size (8). At the same time, I look at my photos and think about how big I am now and I'm horrified at how large I was six sizes ago. I feel great about my progress and then when I see my photo I have mixed feelings again. I see how much I've lost and I feel good, but I also see how much more weight I have to lose and then I don't feel so good.

But all is not lost! I have positive thoughts to push me forward and away from these negative ones, some of which come from within and others from the support of this blog and the Facebook support group. Thank you all for sharing the way you do. Your stories inspire me and encourage me to stay positive about my journey, which is fantastic.

Other positive thoughts come from friends I've known for years. While visiting my friends in southern California, where I lived for eight years near people I've known for 35 years and others I've known all my life, they said some wonderful and positive things to me. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Wow - you look so different! 
• Do you realize how much you've changed?
• This is the first time I've seen you in a dress in twenty years! 
• It's wonderful seeing you wear fun clothes again!

It was fabulous to visit my friends and for them to see me being active once again. During my visit, I found that I was filled with negative thoughts again and again. I can't walk as fast. I can't move as fast. I don't have as much strength in my arms. One night I was to sleep on a futon on the floor and I was caught up in thoughts about how difficult it was going to be getting on the floor then getting up again in the morning. But then I would remember:

• I am changing my life. 
• I am moving. 
• I am moving faster. 
• I am building strength in my arms, legs, and my core. 
• I did get in and out of the pool. 
• I did go kayaking and swimming.
• I am an active person once again. 
• I did my stretching exercises last night.
• I am living life in the light.

It's not about being the fastest or the strongest. It's about being strong and living my best life. It's about living life in the light instead of in the shadows.

Another positive experience happened the day after I returned from my vacation, at the Holyoke mall. I discovered that Aime was right when a few weeks ago she told me that would be my last time shopping in the woman's section of Macy's. After trying on a few items in the woman's department, I wandered over to the other side of the clothing area and when I went into the dressing room to try on 18's and 16's (nobody stopped me at the entrance) I was ecstatic that I found items that fit. I didn't buy them because I just wanted to know if they would fit, I wasn't ready to spend any money. I may go back in a few weeks and try on a dress that I liked, but I wanted it to be loser around the hips.

Woohoo! Now I know what people mean by shopping therapy!

Oh, and it's pretty safe to say, as several of you have reported recently, I too lost weight while on vacation! I'm moving into the light and the lighter side of life!

Del Mar, CA. Photo by Theresa

July 15, 2012

I'm back from California, well rested, and ready to finish the home projects I put on hold a few weeks before my vacation. One thing I'm not willing to put on hold any longer: exercise. During my vacation I was more active than I've been in a decade. I return home with renewed strength from walking, swimming, sailing, and kayaking. A soak in the hot tub every night was great too!

I look at this photo and think, wow, if I look this big now - how big did I look when I was six sizes bigger? Okay, enough self criticism. I had a blast as long as I didn't look in the mirror while wearing my swimsuit.

The last time I was suited up and went in the water was 2006 and that was because I was in Hawaii and, obese or not, I was not not going in the water while in Hawaii. Ever since I was  very young I was in the water every chance I could an it's incredible to be back in the water once again.

My motivation to get into the pool during my vacation: I'm participating in a mini-triathlon at work. This means I committed to a specific distance of walking or running, swimming, and biking, over a six week period. Since my Long Beach friend goes to aquatics three times a week, I asked her if I could join her at pool to do my laps. One morning I even arrived at the pool at 6 am! 

Getting into the pool was difficult, as I am not as flexible as I used to be. Sitting on the floor has been difficult for me and I had to get over that on day one at the pool. I managed to sit at the edge of the pool, but then I froze for a few seconds. Was I really going to be able to slide in? Wait. Really? When did this kind of fear hit me? I LOVE swimming. It wasn't fear of the water, but of the process of getting into the pool. I've been so inactive for so many years that my body has become stiff and unbending. I told myself I was going to get over this right that moment, and then I pushed off the side of the pool and into the water. Once in, I was like a fish in water. Getting out, I climbed up a ladder, which defied a few laws of gravity, as I have no upper arm strength.

All of this is embarrassing to admit, but I suspect I'm not alone with these kinds of issues, so I thought I'd explore this a bit further with all of you and ask if any of you have had similar experiences. Have you?

During the past ten months, I've done more running than walking for exercise, but while I was in Long Beach I walked to the pool (and everywhere else) at fast-pace and it was invigorating. It helps to have a friend who walks faster than you do. We walked to the pool and back, three miles round-trip, during which time my favorite sneakers gave me corns. The solution: buy a new pair of sandals and (as I do at home) switch out my shoes daily.

I always travel with a pair of sandals and a pair of sneakers, and I always put comfort before beauty when it comes to shoes. This trip was different. This time I packed my favorite sneakers and a new pair sandals that are both beautiful and support my feel in all the right ways and just a tad shy of being orthopedics. I broke in the sandals in a month before my trip. On the plane, I wore sandals that I could easily slip in and out of at security and while in flight; they are not as supportive as my foot doctor would suggest, but they are comfy and beautiful. Keeping up with my friend as we walked about town, not so easy in these sandals, but hey - I looked great! Ha!

Why am I writing so much about shoes?  While on this weight loss journey, I discovered other areas of my health that also need my attention: resolving my feet and my knee issues, and building strength in my upper arms and in my core. Exercise, I now realize, isn't about losing weight, but about gaining physical stamina. I want to have a strong body so I can be active and live a long and healthy life. Exercise, it turns out is key. Ha-who's not at all surprised to hear this? What I'm saying is, okay this isn't the first time any of us have heard this, but this time I really get it.

After dropping a couple sizes last spring, even before I started to exercise, my feet hurt and I wanted to do whatever I could to resolve my feet issues before my vacation in Alaska. I went to a foot doctor and to a specialist to find out why I had pain in my right knee. My doctors gave me stretching exercises for my feet and knee, which I've done about three times since then.

A year later, my feet issues resurface from time to time, and they really surfaced during my California vacation. I've decided I'm SO ready to rid my body of these aches and pains. I'm ready to incorporate those stretching exercises into my daily routine, so I can maintain and expand an active lifestyle. I've been saying this for several weeks now, but today I put my words into action. I will not go to bed tonight until I've done my stretches!

BTW, thanks for keeping this blog going while I was on vacation. It was hard to blog from my iPhone, tiny keyboard and all, and I couldn't upload any photos, which drove me crazy. In the next few days I'll reply to many of the comments that I wasn't able to respond to properly while I was away. I've been following the Facebook thread as well. I even made yogurt Popsicles today, a take-off from an idea on the FB support group. Thanks for sharing recipes there as well as this blog!

A few weeks ago, I blogged about Exercise and I encouraged you to explore new ways to exercise. During my vacation, I took my own advise and I'm happy that I did. I'm going to look around my area and in Rhode Island for places to rent a kayak or a canoe. I really liked being on the water this way. Now that I know a) I can do it, and b) it will be more and more enjoyable as I strengthen my arms and my core, I'm going to fully explore kayaking and see if I prefer a canoe or a kayak better. Perhaps next year I'll buy one!

Have any of you come face-to-face with physical limitations due to your weight? Or, on the flip side, have any of you discovered you are no longer physically restricted because you've lost weight?

July 14, 2012

This week was such a challenging week emotionally for me.  My son and my husband both got hurt within a 12 hour window of each other which meant an awful lot of time spent in the ER all the while juggling my other two children.  In the past if I had a weekend like this, I would have run to my bucket of ice cream to console me and that would get me through.  Not this time!  I am proud to say that I not once thought of eating anything that is off program.  I actually sat down on Monday around 12 to try and get some work done while everyone was sleeping and realized that I had not eaten in 24 hours.  I know that is almost as bad but it hit me for the first time that I now eat to survive rather than live to eat.  This is such a great feeling.  Though this may be a little silly, I finally realized how much Julie was helping me.  It is not always about the measurements or the size cloths that I am in.  It is about the baby steps that lead to a better me.  Not depending on food to get through a tough time was one of the steps that I needed to get through before I could continue.  I did it!

July 13, 2012

I read a contest in my Oprah magazine this morning and thought I'd share it with the rest of you, especially those of you who have lost a lot of weight. I know the deadline is close, but I hope a few of you enter, because who couldn't use a jean makeover?

I don't have time to write and essay while on vacation, I hardly have time to write this, but I hope some of you go for it! Here are the details:
Enter the “Denim Style Star” contest for a chance to win a trip to New York City, a NYDJ denim makeover, and a custom photo shoot! Simply upload your photo and write a brief essay describing why you should win. One winner will receive:

• A trip to NYC with one guest
• A denim makeover by stylist Dale Sudakoff, founder of Dalestyle, Inc.
• An opportunity to model NYDJ’s latest fall fashions in your own photo shoot
• Images will be featured on Real Simple Offers Facebook page and NYDJ.com

Meanwhile, I'm still in Carlsbad, enjoying a relaxing visit with friends. Vacations are a great thing! I packed two tops that are way too big for me and those size 18 carpi's are tighter than I would like them to be, but all is well otherwise.

July 07, 2012