Inspiration

Norman is still pouting, so I (Woman) am blogging again for him. Maybe he'll be less of a sour puss next week.

We don't have cable, and since the mountains block the "free" television transmission waves, we don't currently have access to network television. Back in the day when we did, I loved the show The Biggest Loser. Although I have never been overweight, I could somehow relate with these people and felt such joy in their accomplishments. What a great show. I haven't seen the show in a long time, but I was impressed with NBC's ability to keep the backstabbing drama that was so prevalent in other reality shows out of this one and focus on the participants' victories. I hope it's still the same.

Likewise, I get teary-eyed reading phenomenal weight loss stories that I occasionally find on-line. Yeah, I'm a sap. CNN recently ran this story regarding a woman who lost 175 pounds over two years. Her website further documents her amazing journey and gives pointers to people with similar weight loss goals. To me, this woman losing all this weight is comparable to someone winning gold at the Olympics - just simply amazing.

Although I don't have a "super inspirational" story like hers to share with you, I would like to share some personal insight on fitness and weight management from the perspective of someone who has been striving over the past year and a half to live a healthy lifestyle. It boils down to this - It takes commitment to a lifestyle to be a healthy person. Health isn't about an occasional work out session, the latest binge diet or handful of pills, but a commitment to living responsibly every day and being personally accountable to yourself for the choices you make. Each day puts you one step closer to your goal, so it is important to rejoice in yourself and your accomplishments every single day.

Throughout high school I was really thin, just reaching 100 pounds the end of my senior year, although I suspect that hairspray contributed to my weight. At 5' 6", 100 pounds was probably thinner than I should have been. I didn't feel all that thin though. I ate what I wanted and didn't have a really regular exercise program. I guess I had a crazy fast metabolism. Rumors spread that I was anorexic, but I honestly was not.

I started to gain weight in college as my intake of fast food increased and my activity level came to a halt. I could put a pounding on a Whopper, let me tell you. I worked full-time and went to school full-time, so most of my time was spent sitting on my butt. Once I got married I took up the hobby of baking which only contributed to my increasing hips. My target weight is supposedly 120-133, and at my heaviest, I weighed in at 137, which is not really "heavy," but was for me. I was popping buttons off my size 6 pants (literally!) and couldn't seem to find any new clothes that fit me right, probably because I refused to go up to an 8. After swimming in a size 0 throughout high school, it was hard for me to come to terms with a size 8. I had also been struggling with chronic back problems for several years that I blamed on sitting in front of a computer all day and had painful arthritis in my hips that made transitioning from sitting to standing unpleasant.

So last summer ('07) I just got fed up and decided to join a gym and try to get back into a comfortable size 6. I started out on the elliptical for 20 minutes 4 times a week. Since the gym is close to our house, I was able to go during my lunch hour. At first I hated it, but as I saw results, I became addicted to working out. Not only was I losing weight, but my back pain was gone, and the arthritis in my hips was also fading. In December I took my first group fitness class, which happened to be Body Pump. I wanted to tone up my flabby muscles to really enhance the weight loss I was experiencing. I immediately became a Body Pump fiend, even showing up the day after Christmas for class, only to get turned away disappointed that class was canceled for the holidays. Maybe it's sadistic, but I love the muscle pain that lingers for days.

I had been taking Body Pump regularly for 6 months when I was asked by the Instructor if I had interest in teaching the class. I had actually fantasized about teaching the class, so heck yeah I was interested. I trained in August, submitted my video for certification 2 weeks ago and have been teaching my own class on Monday nights for the past month. I love me some Pump.

So during this whole Body Pump certification process, I was working my body the hardest I have ever worked it. I was supposedly as physically fit as I had ever been, but I realized that working out was not fulfilling all the health needs I had. I still suffered frequent persistent headaches and troublesome stomach issues. So I decided to do some investigation into what was going into my body. I was really startled by what I found. I can't believe the FDA has approved this food for human consumption. I decided to take better control of what was going into my body and committed myself to a two-week perfect whole food diet in order to learn how to eat more healthy.

I purchased the book, "Recapture Your Health," which outlines the PWFD and provides a handy reference for what is and is not a whole food. I had no intention of maintaining a PWFD for the rest of my life, as I found you can have absolutely no social life while on this diet, but I was hoping to train myself to read labels and really think critically about the food choices I make. Two weeks on this diet is a good training technique, and I have learned a lot from those two weeks. Admittedly I only made it through 12 days on the diet, but I am still happy with myself. I am still working on changing my dietary habits, but I am confident it will help me with my remaining health issues.

I am not a fan of "diets." "Diets" are so temporary. If you want to lose weight, if you want to be healthy, if you really want to change, you need to change your lifestyle. You need to change the way you think about food altogether and adopt a healthy system of choices. Don't cut sugar out altogether. Don't avoid carbs or fats, just use them responsibly. Don't buy a whole bag of Oreos, but buy the little snack pack of 6 cookies and treat yourself two or three at a time. You'll enjoy them a lot more. Swap whole wheat pasta for refined pasta, try Stevia instead of sugar, use olive oil instead of butter, eat oatmeal for breakfast in place of the supposedly healthy cold cereals full of refined sugars. Turn your healthy choices into a habit and thereby create a lifestyle!

If you are considering making a change in your lifestyle, I recommend that you do some reading first, and start after the holidays. There is no reason to torture yourself during the holidays by making major changes in your eating and fitness habits. You're probably going to fail and feel worse than before you started, because the holidays are too stressful as it is. So, grab a book on healthy eating or fitness advice, and start making a plan for the future, with a specific start date. Also make goals for yourself, and write them on a calendar or day planner. If you need an accountability partner, want some advice or just need someone to vent to, drop me a line. I would love to help you out any way that I can!

If anyone wants to share their stories, I'd love to hear them!