Well, my computer was out of commission for a few days so I'll try to catch up. Last week, my friend and I took a road trip to Southern California to see the Redwood forests. I'd never been there before. We stayed at a 100 yr. old hotel/bed and breakfast at the mouth of the Klamath River, just feet from the ocean. Driving up the hill, we found the trailhead for the Pacific ocean trail, where we hiked a couple of miles our first day. The second day, we obtained a Forest Service permit and drove to the trailhead for the Tall Trees trail. It involved hiking down from 900 to 0 feet sea level 1 1/2 miles, hiking through the Redwood groves (another mile) and then back up 1 1/2 miles to the car..all 900 ft elevation. Besides being breathtakingly beautiful and humbling to be in the midst of that primeval forest, I was SOOOOO impressed with my ability to do this hike and not be wiped out!! And we went on to hike another couple of miles during the trip home. During the trip, I just enjoyed myself with the food provided by the Bed and Breakfast and it looked like I might have gained a few pounds by the time I got back. But I just "got back up on the horse" and ate well the rest of the week. By my weighin on Saturday, I'd lost another 2 1/2#. No doubt all that walking made a big difference.
I've mentioned that I've struggled for a couple of months to reach my WW 50# goal. I got there on my scales a couple of times and then would slip back. I had to work this past Saturday so I went between meetings, before work, and weighed in. Jennifer weighed me in and, when she saw that I had reached my 50# goal, she jumped up and began waving her arms at Don, who was in the middle of a class, shouting "50#!" So Don halted the meeting and made a big deal about it, asking me to share my wisdom. It was really very nice.
Every day I become aware of some new bonus associated with my weightloss. Todays bonus, My thighs still touch but, when I wear cordoroy pants, instead of a symphony, I only hear a hum. When laying in bed, I realized that my hand was laying on my rib cage - RIB CAGE! I didn't know I had one! When approaching work today, I waved "hi" to a couple of co-workers. Then I overheard one turn to the other and say, "She's getting so thin!" Thin? OMG! Not a word I ever thought would be associated with me. What a bonus!
Had a good workout tonight. Last week Amber said she thought I'd changed in my upper body and wanted to check my measurements again. She did it tonight. My chest measurement is down 2" from one month ago. (Not sure I'm too happy about that one!), 1 1/2" at the waist, and my fat mass is down from 75.421 to 70.422 and percentage of body fat from 37.9 to 36.3. So tonight I arranged to change my workouts to Wed. and Friday so I can take the Zumba class on Tuesday at 630 pm. If the class does anything like the night of dancing I had this week, I should really bump up my success. I told Amber tonight that she's helped me knock down the barriers in my life. I'm so grateful for her approach. Tonight she told me that her advanced certification would be coming through in the next couple of months and her sessions will be costing me ALOT more. I've got to figure out a way to buy a bunch before then.
A friend has been trying to get me to go dancing for a few weeks. I resisted because I haven't been dancing for a LONG time. Then it hit me...I'm not the same person. I'm 50# lighter and can move now. So I called her up and said yes. The intimidation factor went way down when I saw the room filled with a boat load of grey haired lesbians. So I got out there and shook my bootie!!! This morning, when I got on the scale for my daily weight-in, I was 2 1/2# lighter than the day before, at 190#. I've never been that close to the 180's. It took my breath away and I had to get back on to check it again. I think I'll go dancing more often!!!
Worked out for 50 minutes with Amber tonight, working up a real sweat! What a shock that I'm loving this!!! At one point, she had me pick up a 35 lb. weight in each hand (that felt like 100 lbs each, I swear!!) and walk as fast as I could the length of the gym and back. I did this 3 times and thought I was going to die!! Then I realized that I was carrying 70#, which isn't that far from the 50# I've lost, 50# that I packed around all day, every day, up and down stairs, in and out of the car, you name it, for most of my adult life. What an insight! I love that I can run upstairs, that I can walk with a spring in my step, that I feel 15 years younger than I did a year ago. So I'll keep on keeping on.....
I started with my personal trainer in September and Amber, my trainer, took my measurements and body fat index. I've found a place to keep track of my measurements but not some of the others so I'll do that here. In September, my fat mass was 95.161; on January 19th, it was 75.421, a loss of19.74. My lean body mass went from 115.839 to 123.579, an increase of 7.74. My goal for February is to increase my exercise days to 3 days a week (2 with my personal trainer and one on my own) and to walk 5 of 7 days for a minimum of 20 minutes. It's the consistency that's the challenge.
Saturday is my WW weigh in day. I travel a ways to attend a meeting with a leader who has always given me something to walk away with. I dreaded this meeting more than usual - actually I'm usually pretty pumped to go. But this week, I had gotten on the scales about mid week and it appeared I had gotten back to my pre-Holiday weight and I was so thrilled. But when I weighed this morning before the meeting, I was actually a pound over my last week weight and I couldn't figure it out. I've minded my peas and q's, gotten in more walking than usual and had two really good workouts with my personal trainer. So when I showed a 0.2 pound gain at meeting (better than I had feared), I was bummed. When Don started the meeting, the first thing out of his mouth was "What constitutes a good week?" Someone said "A weight loss.", and then another said, "A good attitude." Don repeated, "A good attitude." And he reminded us that sometimes the body has it's own agenda, that we can do what we know we need to do and the body may not reflect it. He reminded me that, it's really not so much about the weight loss as it is about "keeping the lifestyle." If I keep walking the walk, the results will follow, ....eventually.
I've attended this meeting with this "group" for a year at the end of February. There have been times when I've felt discouraged because in all the time I have attended faithfully, I haven't "connected" with another person there. No one to sit with, share stories or recipes with. But today, when I entered the meeting, Don was there to smile and say, "Hi, Sonni." Then Holly smiled as she checked me in and said, "Hi, Girl. How's it going?" and when I started to make a face, she said, "I knew it! You're doing great!" and I couldn't help but smile. And when I entered the weigh in booth, Patty smiled and said, "Hi, Sonni. How was your week". I left today realizing that these people have been about the only real constant this past year and they are there for me. They ARE my support. I am so grateful!
Day Off. Got up early and went for a walk in the hills above the St. John's Bridge amongst the green cedars, green ferns and green moss. Perfect winter day!! I used my walking poles for Nordic Walking for the first time and they were great. They gave me added stability on the sometimes muddy ground and definately improved my workout. My upper body was as tired as my lower by the time I got back to my car. My daughter, Shannon, first exposed me to the Body Bugg, which I got a few weeks ago. It's been really reinforcing to see how many steps I've taken and how many calories I've burned in my efforts!
In my earlier post, I listed a couple of the lessons I've learned over time. I left out a very important one...Never feel deprived. If I really want it, I have it...as long as I weight the impact it will have and am willing to compensate in another way. I still go out as often as I always did. I found a great web site that helps me keep track of restraurant foods, Dotti's Weight Loss Zone - DWLZ Restaurants. It gives nutritional information as well as WW points. Check it out! It's interesting how often I decide it's not worth it. It surprises even me!
I'm starting my blog at the invitation of my daughter, Shannon, who has been my inspiration. I started on this journey when I was probably 15 years old. Some 50 years later, I realize that each attempt taught me something. In the past 8 years, I joined and rejoin Weight Watchers 5 times. These were very productive attempts and I lost weight each time, gaining back only a portion. In February, 2009, I joined again, incorporating everything I've learned along the way, the most helpful of which were:
. no weight goals or time lines. These imply that there will be an end point, a time when I can stop eating right and go back to my old lifestyle. . no beating up on myself. I'm in this for the long haul and I will have ups and downs.
Eight years ago, when I moved to Portland, I weighed 265, today I weigh 193. After seeing my daughter hire a personal trainer and train consistently for 2 years, through a full pregnancy, I was so blown away by her strength - both physical and psychological - I got up the courage to hire my own personal trainer. I've become stronger, more self confident and tons happier.
My hope for my blog is to share it with my daughters, and hoping I get to share their journeys as well.
