Tag Archives: Protein

There is NO “I Can’t”

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There truly is no “I Can’t” and the only limits we have are those we impose upon ourselves. No one exemplifies this more than South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, a quadriplegic who is competing head to head with the rest of the those running in this summer’s 2012 Olympic Games in London.

“Oscar Pistorius, running on prosthetic legs, finishes last in race, first in hearts”

(South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius pops out of the starting block in the men’s 400m semifinals during the Summer Olympic Games on Sunday, August 5, 2012 in London, England.)

At the tiny gym I go to now (not sure it’s really a gym, more like a place where serious athletes and body builders train), one of the owners – my trainer Liz – is going to put a huge poster of Oscar on the wall so anytime anyone says “I can’t” or wants to quit when they still have something in them, she’ll point him out as an example. Not only did he make it to the Olympics, and even with all the padding, those prosthetics HURT! He’s in pain and he’s still running! And maybe he came in last in his first race but he still has the 400 to go. Talk about “never say die”!

I’ve posted the “Versus” motivational video numerous times because it is so powerful. Any goal we want to achieve – mental health, weight loss, getting in shape, relationship or career goals, school, whatever – can be daunting, especially if we don’t have a solid ground of support and/or achievement. There comes a time when it’s necessary to become our own cheerleaders. To discover the strength we have RIGHT NOW inside us to start down a new path. If it helps, print out Oscar’s picture and put it where you’ll see it the most. Use his example to remind yourself that anything is possible, anything that can be dreamed can be achieved.

I believe in you. Now it’s your turn. If you’re already there, I’m working my a** off to catch up!

Celebration Time, C’mon!

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You’re Invited to the “Virtual 1 Year Celebration” of my Weight Loss Journey!

Please join me for a bit to enjoy virtual cake, virtual ice cream, virtual balloons and party favors, and, my favorite, virtual martinis and cosmos, to celebrate my 1 Year Weight Loss/Life Transformation Anniversary!

First, thank all of you for your support during this amazing, challenging, and oh so rewarding time. You have helped me so much with your following, comments, and encouragement “on the weigh”. And if I can do this, and keep working toward the main goal of losing the rest and then maintaining/thriving for a lifetime, then so can you!

A Quick Recap:

Here’s a very quick recap of the positive changes from the start point to today.

1 Year Ago – April 14, 2011

  • Weight: 278.8 pounds
  • Classification: Morbidly Obese
  • Clothing Size: 28 Women’s, 3X Women’s
  • Activity Level: Sedentary (butt glued to couch!)
  • Social Life: Almost non-existent, rarely left the house, isolated
  • Diet: Awful – high in sugar, fat, salt, fast food, bad carbs, very little fruits/veggies
  • Cholesterol: High in all the Bad Ones
  • Blood Sugar: Pre-Diabetic (in the danger zone)
  • Mood: 3-4 full episodes a month, depressed most of the time – A MESS
  • Sleep: 12-16 hours / night

A picture is worth a thousand words:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TODAY – April 14, 2012

  • Weight: 205.2 pounds (74 almost 75 Pound Loss!!!)
  • Classification: Moderately Overweight
  • Clothing Size: 16-18 Women’s, XL/1X Women’s
  • Activity Level: ACTIVE (4 sessions at Gym, 1 Hatha Yoga Class, 1 Exercise Meet-Up – every week!)
  • Social Life: out at the gym, friends at yoga, weekly motivational/exercise/social meet-up, out and about almost daily, blog/email/even talk on phone – Huge!
  • Diet: 160 degree change – mostly lean meats, chicken, fish, veggies, fruit, good carbs/grains, still struggle with fast food and sugar/fat bombs but major change
  • Cholesterol: All in Normal Range
  • Blood Sugar: Normal Range
  • Mood: 1-2 episodes a month, managing depression, snap out much more quickly
  • Sleep: 8-10 hours / night

A picture is worth a thousand words:

(And that’s from 2 months ago! But the changes are about 10 pounds down so it’s close enough.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I can do it, coming from being barely able to walk a block or climb a flight of stairs, sick and tired all the time, and chronically depressed – So Can You!

So let’s Celebrate wherever we are in our own “Weight Loss Journey’s” and be proud of our accomplishments, every big and every little, one of them. I would love to hear your stories in “Comments” and to see pics of your “before” and “now”s. Celebrating is more fun when we do it together!

Here’s to staying on track, meeting our goals, and thriving, a little bit every day “along the weigh”!

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“On the Ball” Week Challenge – Day 7

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“On The Ball” WEEK CHALLENGE – Day 7

(LAST DAY – Final Results Tomorrow!!)

Day 6: “Accountability Check-In“:

  1. Today’s Weigh In: Goal: 1.5 pounds loss/week – Start: 208.4, Now:  208.6 – .6 Pounds Up From Yesterday! Result: not sure but 9 pm low cal snack might be the culprit.
  2. Diet: NO CARB DAY– 1st: protein+veggies(2 eggs w/fresh spinach), 2nd: protein+veggie (chicken sausage w/1 fresh tomato, vinegar dressing) 3rd: protein (3 Weight Watchers cheese sticks), 4th: protein+veggie (mushroom/swiss cheese chicken w/steamed veggies), 5th: veggie+low fat (2 celery sticks w/2 wedges Laughing Cow cheese), Water: (12) 8 oz glasses!
  3. Exercise: Break day – 1 hour of light cardio in pm
  4. Stability Ball: 1 hours, Result: didn’t do anything

Take Away from Day 7:

I did everything right yesterday, no carbs, 5 small meals, an hour of grocery shopping, and still went up over a half pound. Now a full pound over lowest weight this week and .2 over when I started. See the foot doc on Wed to get ok for more vigorous exercise but hurt ankle on arc machine and think that will set me back again, possibly more “boot time”. Giving this the final day, today, with final results tomorrow. Lost 5 pounds in January, then gained .4 in February.

Action: will call trainer and meet with him in 2 weeks to figure out what the stall is and how to get back on track. Need a “motivation booster” and re-focus on why I’m trying to lose weight in the first place. Part of me just wants to quit now – 70 pounds is a LOT – but still want to prove to myself that can reach my goal and then keep it off. Possibly may need to move my timeline a bit – 48 pounds in 10 months is almost 5 pounds a month and although it’s possible, will have to make some additional changes in both diet and exercise program to accomplish it. Would love to hear from you guys who have lost the last part of your weight and changes you might have made to do so. Will also do some web searching to get additional tips and post them for those in same boat.

Check in tomorrow for LAST DAY – Monday’s Results!

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“On the Ball” Week Challenge – Day 6

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“On The Ball” WEEK CHALLENGE – Day 6

(1 to Go!)

Day 6: “Accountability Check-In“:

  1. Today’s Weigh In: Goal: 1.5 pounds loss/week – Start: 208.4, Now:  208 – .4 Pound Down From Yesterday! Result: exercise and watching diet helped
  2. Diet: LOW CARB DAY– 1st: protein+carbs (oatmeal w/protein powder), 2nd: protein+veggie+little carbs (chicken salad+little bit of carbs), 3rd: protein (leftover roasted chicken), 4th: CARB – 1 small slice angel food cake, Water: (12) 8 oz glasses!, No 5th Meal – avoiding the late night peanut butter
  3. Exercise: 1 hour of strength/cardio in the am, 15 minute session in PM
  4. Stability Ball: 2 hours, Result: think it helped

Take Away from Day 5:
Yesterday you got to enjoy the rant of “Bipolar Lara”and that’s always such an inspiring pick-up! (Just kidding – but at least you know I’m a real person.) Did struggle yesterday but doesn’t everyone? This isn’t easy for any of us and it’s critical to radically accept that fact and then move on. But in spite of that, still did 2 workouts, got in water, and watched diet, well at least did a better job. Read over the wonderful, supportive comments from during the week and wanted to thank everyone for cheering me on. Let me quickly return the favor – all of you are so strong and brave in your own journeys, you continually inspire me – thank you!
And for those of you who either went out and got a stabilizing ball or dusted yours off, here’s a terrific tricep exercise to do while you’re sitting on the thing anyway. You will need 2 hand weights of your choice.
Enjoy your Day and Check in tomorrow for Sunday’s Results!

On the Ball Week Challenge – Day 3

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“On The Ball” WEEK CHALLENGE: Day 3

Day 3: “Accountability Check-In“:

  1. Today’s Weigh In: Goal: 1.5 pounds loss/week – Start: 208.4, Now: .2 more lost- 208 .(2-loss, 1.1 to go!) Result: STILL OFF TARGET by .2 (from Day 2) – Need an additional (.2) on another day to make up.
  2. Diet: Carbs 3 meals out of 5 – 1st: carbs+protein (2 eggs/little ff cheese, 1 small pancake), 2nd: protein+veggie (large salad w/chicken), 3rd: protein+carb (protein/carb smoothie), 4th: CARB HIT BIG TIME – hit the bakery for 2 well chosen treats-it’s High Carb Day after all!, 5th: protein+veggies (small pork chop/mixed veggies), Part 2 of 5th: carbs+fat+sugar – 1/2 bakery Eclair, Water: (1) 8 oz glasses!, Result: Way off target, trying to shake things up, Lost .2!!
  3. Exercise: 1/2 hour of walking (shopping), skipped workout – will do Thursday. Result: a bit of cardio
  4. Stability Ball: 1/2 hour today, Result: Off Target, more tomorrow

Take Away from Day 2:
Maybe I’m not eating enough calories based on my activity level now??? Yesterday ate some serious bakery goods and didn’t do much of a workout except lots of walking. Sat on my butt in the afternoon and late into the night working on two different projects.
And still lost .2 pounds!
Lesson: Giving my body a break after the “laptop nightmare” week of stress looks like it gave it a small “restart”. Eating fewer treats and/or working out a bit might have increased the weight loss, but not sure about that. Needed the time to recover and I think pushing it would have pushed me over the depression edge I was teetering on all day. Will check with the trainer about this but think it will help keep the weight loss going after have completely worn myself out.
It’s frustrating when Life doesn’t go as scheduled and I felt like I was letting myself down, and you guys, by not sticking to “The Plan”. But I still lost weight and feel much better today. Sometimes, you just have to throw “The Plan” out the window for a day!
Check in tommorow for Tuesday’s Results!
Yes, you thought you were safe, but NO,
“Geek Girl” is back!
– For a mental jack-slap on the realities of how food gets from Point A – Origination to Point B – Your Plate and the incredible changes in what, how, and why we eat what we do (the obesity pandemic), read “The End of Overeating. Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite” by David A. Kessler, MD. His background is impressive – Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Admin under 2 recent Presidents, Dean of both Yale and University of California Med Schools, and a Harvard grad. But, most importantly, he himself struggled with obsesity and that pushed him to investigate the American “food priming industry” and pull back the psychological curtain of how we are manipulated into eating foods that make – and keep – us fat. Also, this isn’t his first “go round” – he took on the tobacco industry prior to this fight. For a “science” book, it’s an easy read: every chapter has been a short, easily digested punch to the gut. I like to keep you all on your toes with a bit of cool science every so often, but this book is important. Check out a chapter on Amazon – it’s accessible and you’ll never go into a Chili’s again!
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On the Ball Week Challenge – Day 2

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“On The Ball” WEEK CHALLENGE: Day 2

Day 2: “Accountability Check-In“:

  1. Today’s Weigh In: Goal: 1.5 pounds loss/week – Start: 208.4, Now: AGAIN 208.2 (-0-loss, 1.3 to go!) Result: OFF TARGET by .2 – No Net Loss on Tuesday!
  2. Diet: Carbs 2 meals out of 5 – 1st: carbs+protein (3 small gluten free pancakes), 2nd: protein+veggie (chicken/green beans/tomatoes/vinegar), 3rd: protein+veggie+carb (chicken/brown rice/tomatoes), 4th: protein+veggies (salmon/mixed veggies), 5th: protein+fat (2 tablespoons peanut butter), Water: (12) 8 oz glasses!, Result: On Target, but didn’t affect weight loss
  3. Exercise: 1 10-minute yoga workout in AM. Afternoon – 30 min yoga w/o, 5:30 – 1.5 hour yoga workout, Result: On Target (Maybe too much? Not enough cardio?)
  4. Stability Ball: 2 hours today, Result: On Target

Take Away from Day 2:
I do not know why I didn’t lose anything yesterday! Diet, water, exercise – all were right on target or even above. The only “X Factor” is the 6 hours I spent on the phone with Dell (Demon Spawn) trying to get my laptop back up and running and dealing with their red tape. Boycott Dell!!!. And at 9 PM started the 4-5 days it will take to get the laptop set up back up with programs/ie favorites/music. Total nightmare, completely stressed didn’t get to bed until after 1 AM!
According to the great folks at Livestrong.com (and the Mayo Clinic), excess stress, fatigue, and anxiety can hamper/impact weight loss efforts. I was one stressed out, anxious puppy yesterday. Today is better – found out that seroquel has gone from almost $250/month to $85 – HUGE! And computer setup is working well. Tomorrow will be a better day!
Check in tommorow for Tuesday’s Results!
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On The Ball Challenge – Day 1

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“On The Ball” WEEK CHALLENGE

Day 1: “Accountability Check-In“:

  1. Today’s Weigh In: Goal: 1.5 pounds lost – Start: 208.4, Now: 208.2 (.2 loss, 1.3 to go!) Result: On Target,  but need to average .2 loss daily.
  2. Diet: Carbs 2 meals out of 5 – 1st: protein+veggies, 2nd: veggie+carb smoothie, 3rd: oatmeal-carbs+protein , 3rd: lemon chicken+asparagas (protein+carbs), 4th: hummus+handful of carrots (some protein+5gm carbs+veggies) Result: Off Target, too many carbs today!
  3. Exercise: 1 10-minute yoga workout in AM. Gym – total 1 hour, 30 minutes strength training in arms, back, core, legs, then about 30 minutes doing cardio intervals. Result: On Target
  4. Stability Ball: 2 hours today, Result: On Target

Check in tommorow for Tuesday’s Results!

 

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