Trying New Things.....

When you make it known that you have started a new healthy lifestyle and are setting certain goals on occasion other people will chime in with advice...or even more helpful offer to help you along by becoming an active buddy with you.

I got an invitation from a friend to join a walk-run group in downtown Plymouth right near me and I figured part of adapting a healthy lifestyle is breaking down walls of your normal routine and trying new things. So I thought why not? and I went!

I was very nervous about going, I'm not one for running in public. I figured if I didn't like it or died during it because everyone was in much better shape than me I just wouldn't go again.

There was a whole map through town and guess what? There's a 3,5 and 7 mile all set! Meaning that if one day I decide I want to run outside I could just follow the little smiley face marked path.

Tonight, my friend and I walked the whole time and chatted. It was great having a buddy and walking 3miles went by so quickly!

I would certainly go again. My friend and I are going to try to go at least once a week. I'm feeling pretty happy and a little silly for being nervous.




 

Are Some People Just Bigger?

I often look in the mirror.

That's normal. Most people do look in the mirror on a daily basis.

The thing is I don't think I've ever been happy with what I look like when I look in the mirror. Not even when I was a little girl.

I mean sure there are times when I get a new dress, or I am getting ready to go out, I feel like I look prettier than when I just wake up in the morning and before I go to work I meet certain standards that say I'm allowed to go out in public, but I've always felt like I was bigger than I should be.

I've always taken steps and measures to try and make myself smaller...but even if I lost a bunch of weight, it wouldn't necessarily make my shoulders less broad or my legs less muscular.

We're always told that people come in all shapes and sizes...so the answer is yes...of course some people are just bigger!

My real question is, why isn't that okay?

Not every small person or thin person I've met has felt this way.

So why is it less acceptable for a bigger person to look in the mirror and think "this is okay."

These people are more likely to be judged by other people or not fit into normal sized clothing.

New goal: I want to be able to look in the mirror and be happy with what I see. Not just okay with what I look like that day, but really be happy about myself.

Not sure how I'm going to achieve this one, but it's worth a shot.

Wrappin' It!

I hesitate to write this post, because a part of me just wants to do this by working out and eating right, but my childhood friend, Katie (who by the way is an incredibly talented hair stylist) was using, selling and believing in these all natural products. 

So I decided to try some of them, justifying it with the following reasons:

1. They are all natural as in I won't be putting chemicals in my body

2. There is a whole page of before and afters of Katie's real clients proving it does work

3. I figure if it really helps me improve my body image, then it will give me confidence and help me with my other goals

I am starting with "the wrap" also known as the 'Ultimate Body Applicator'

The first time I went to Katie's house, we took a before picture and she wrapped me. In this box is literally a giant pad that kinda looks like a giant tea bag with lotion on it.

You wrap it around your belly with saran wrap and leave it there for 45min. to an hour.

It feels very cold and you feel a little like you can't move, but if you wrap it as tight as you're supposed to then you should be able too.

You also have to drink lots of water or it won't work.

Katie also said that sometimes if you have thicker skin then it doesn't work until after a few wraps.

After trying it I think it really does work. the results don't seem that extreme, but that gives me more faith that it's not necessarily that bad for me. My stomach just feels smaller and therefore it does improve my body image.

I find my stomach is flattest on the third day after the wrap, the day before I'm supposed to repeat a wrap.

Here is my before and after of the first wrap. I don't think they are very good photos, but you tell me, do you see a difference?

Before

After

I'm going to continue this for the duration of the week and perhaps there will be even greater results then.

Week 4 Day 1 5K

I'm going to try to make this entry short. Especially, since I don't have any pictures for ya...but I just did day 1 of week 4 in my couch to 5k training. This is the furthest I've ever made it in couch to 5k training.

It includes running for 5 consecutive minutes, which wasn't easy at the time and for those of you who don't run and have never attempted it...quit laughing, this was quite the achievement for me!

Usually, I've had to quit couch to 5k training by now, not always because I wasn't motivated, but sometimes an injury would appear that wouldn't allow me to continue. I've had my fair share of knee problems and arch of the foot problems in the past.

Here are the things I've learned or that I am doing different this time around that may or may not have anything to do with having an easier time this time:

1.) The strength training I mentioned before of the different parts of the body for at least 10minutes prior to the run

2.) Tying and untying my shoe laces- I know this sounds dumb, especially to seasoned runners, but not everyone realizes (like me until now) that if you lace up your shoe by pulling on the strings like you would ice skates every time you put them on to go running, your feet will get more support and be happier in the long run.

3.) Bring a towel to the gym and hang it on the treadmill to wipe away sweat

4.) Be sure to hydrate (I've always done this one but figured it was worth mentioning again)

5.) Have the mentality that all you gotta do is keep going, soon it will be over and your body will feel great :)

Veggie Spiraler

Along with exercising it's important to explore new healthy foods...eating healthy can be challenging because there is so much research about what is bad for you and what isn't. Then, someone disproves that research and everyone is back to square one...let me give you some examples:

Atkins diet...
South Beach Diet...
No Carbs Diet...
Kale fade...
Cauliflower rice...
or recently I've been hearing a lot about coconut oil?

These are just a few diet trends and fades that I can think of that either didn't make it or eventually became unfashionable.

I will never ever follow one of these diets strictly, but I will cut down on carbs a little if that has been proven and that is why we are not longer eating pasta one to two times a week.

I dearly DEARLY have missed it. I miss how full I feel after a bowl of pasta. I miss the garlic and herb spice and I think mostly I miss how easy it is to prepare.

Then, through social media I heard about something called a vegetable spiraler. This is a new fangled kitchen device that spirals veggies into noodle shapes and then you can cook them just like noodles! I know, right?!

I had to have it and so I went to the store and bought the cheapest one I could find, which was this one...hey I'm not made of money and I thought getting a manual one would allow me to burn more calories.

   

 

 I decided to spiral squash...since that's what we had in the house. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until too late that this green veggie spiraler is only supposed to be used for zucchini, carrots, radishes and cucumbers...so my squash noodles may not have turned out picture perfect, but it worked well enough.

Oh and for those wondering...no I didn't match the green bowl and spiraler on purpose. It was just a happy coincidence Green isn't even my favorite color, the spiraler just happened to come in green and the bowl came from the dollar section at Target (um..yea...total score there).

After spiraling the veggies, the next step was to boil them just like noodles. It was all as simple as spaghetti...but of course the next step was to taste it!

I put some on my plate and even though I offered to make real spaghetti for my fiance he agreed to try it as well, however he did wait until we were both served and I tried the first bite of this food adventure...

I tried it and you know what? I LOVED it!

One of the things I missed most about having pasta or spaghetti is how full I felt after eating a big plate of it. With this squash-ghetti substitute I was full after just a few spoonfuls. It was more filling than spaghetti!

I think the veggie spiraler is something I will be using on a regular basis. I plan is for my next adventure with it to be with zucchini...and possibly carrots.

 

On dress sizes...No! Clothing Women sizes in general!

When I first started wanting to lose weight for my wedding...it didn't happen right away...in fact I wasn't worried about it at all because I had a man that loved me and nothing else mattered.

Then, I found it...THE DRESS. I would like to say more, but it will just have to remain a mystery in case my fiance finds this blog, but let me just state the obvious...

#1- IT'S BEAUTIFUL

#2- There's something about it that can't be fixed that I never found to be all that ideal for my body type, thus I decided I would feel better and less self-conscious if only I could only drop a few dress sizes.

Image Credit

The sample dress of my dress in the store was a size 12 and too small...no surprise, it was good enough to get an idea, but just to test different sizes I tried on a different dress that was in a size 16 and it was too big...

Yes, the story of me and dresses often seems like the part in Goldilocks and the Three Bears where she's trying the different chairs and bed sizes.

I would love to tell you that if a 12 was too small and a 16 was too big it means that the 14 was just right, unfortunately that's not the case. The truth is my bust fit perfectly into the 16 and my waist and bottom not so much, it turns out the different areas of my body are all different sizes....*sigh*

I am proud to say my waist and bottom are smaller than my bust. I wish that was good enough news to give me a better body image.

Conclusion: the dress shop has ordered me a size 16 dress and will be taking the waist in or in the words of the owner of the dress shop "Your bust is plus sized, but the rest of you is not!"

She said that like it was good news and I could see how many would see it that way, but what I heard is my wedding dress is plus size, which brings me to the whole point of this blog entry...SIZES.

This moment is what made one of my goals to drop one dress size...why one dress size?

It can depend on the shop but typically:

SIZES: 0-14=regular sizes

SIZES: 16 and above=plus sizes

(Sometimes ladies who wear a 16 are just out of luck because shops will end their regular sizes of 14 and start their plus sizes in a different section at 18.)

 Bottom Line: I thought if I dropped one dress size I could feel prettier having confidence knowing that I am wearing a reguler size dress as oppossed to a plus size dress....even though for me there is only a one size difference. HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT!

So ladies and gentleman, here is the point I would like to discuss today, WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE PLUS SIZES? Why is there a separate place for bigger women to shop in a store?

I can't think of the source, but somewhere I heard that the average woman wears above a size 10...meaning there are a lot of woman that shop in a different place in the store...a shameful place....a broader shoulder, don't fit into society's frame of reference for woman place...a bad body image place.

Recently, I learned that a bad body image can lead to more overeating and falling off track when trying to be healthy. These separate sections in the store aren't helping.

So why can't stores just shelve everything together? Why do we even have to call them plus sizes?

Not everyone who wears plus sizes leads an unhealthy lifestyle, "plus" sizes imply something irregular and could be contributing to the national eating disorder in America.

Workout Routine

I mentioned before that one of my goals was to do a progressive workout, but I didn't expand on it much...well it's because explaining a workout routine can get complicated...but here I go...

I lost weight by joining a soccer team a couple years ago, but I've moved since then and I'm not as close to a leisurely recreation intramural sports team for adults anymore (plus to be completely honest I was afraid of getting hurt and having to limp down the aisle like one of my teammates had too).

However, I thought maybe it was the running that did it, so I thought I would try running for my cardio. I've tried running or run/walking in the past with little success, but I'm making this time different by following this couch to 5k on the treadmill program. 

This is a progressive workout because each week it increases how much you run versus walking by a few minutes. The program says to do it at least 3 days a week, but I don't want to fall off track so I'm doing it about 6 days.

I'm on week 3 and so far it's been going great. I really like it because it seems short compared to doing 60minutes on the elliptical.Any day I don't feel like doing it I just have to convince myself it will be over soon and it's worth it.

Also, more good news, I was afraid that I would be battling injuries from running, but so far I haven't felt anything stretching doesn't tackle.

On days when I can't make it to the apartment's fitness center for the treadmill (due to weather or not wanting to walk in the dark on my own to fiddle with the lock and key) I do Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred. It's an intense workout with results I can feel.

On top of cardio, I do a little strength training. In fact I usually do this after stretching before going to run. I have a couple of old workout tapes that I rotate, including the "wedding workout."

I customize the workouts and rotate so that one day I do legs, one day I do abs and one day I do arms and upper body...then repeat....this way I can still tell myself that it's just a short amount of time to get through and I will evenly tone everything.

The strength training and sculpting is something I didn't do last time, but really allow me to see and feel a difference. Plus, over the past couple of years...being skinny has become less of a body type goal to reach and being "toned" has become something to strive for, so it's fun to feel toned or work toward getting toned.

If all else fails, maybe I won't lose weight, but I will looked toned and healthy.