A link to a link

Roni has a wonderful interview from Sean Anderson on her site. I love his simple approach, that is exactly what I did to get myself started. I gave myself a calorie budget and I could spend it any way I wanted. I soon learned to make those calories count, but at first it was so much easier to just worry about calories and nothing else. Sean is such an inspiring guy and his website is a great way to get motivated.
http://ronisweigh.com/2010/11/wordless-wednesday-275-pounds-lost-in-two-years-two-months-and-a-day.html
http://www.losingweighteveryday.blogspot.com/

Very inspiring!

You might have seen this already, but just in case you haven't I'm posting it too. His post about the ironman he did with his father and brother is a great read http://bendoeslife.tumblr.com/page/6

I won't back down

There is a hill that is close to the end of my run. I'm almost home when I get to the bottom of it. I've been challenging myself to run, not walk, that hill for a few weeks now. It's gotten a lot easier and I've noticed some real improvement in the muscles in my legs and rear end. I love it when a great song comes on my iphone when I am approaching that hill. I put my iphone on shuffle and listen to whatever comes on, it's always a different run that way. Today a really awesome song came on right as I started running that hill. Thought I'd share, it really fits the whole weight-loss/exercise thing, I think.

Learning to eat well

When I was in junior high school (that's what we called it, now it's middle school) I took a home economics class. Actually, I took home ec all through my junior and senior high school years. Looking back it amazes me to think of what we were not taught when it comes to nutrition. I vaguely remember a food pyramid, but when we were actually cooking, we didn't take that into consideration. I remember learning how to make white sauce. I can't say that is something I've made a lot over the years.

My junior high home ec teacher was one of my favorite teachers, she was very patient and kind. She taught us how to make a food budget. I remember working really hard on it, it wasn't easy to feed two people on the limited amount we had in the budget. I ended up with a lot of boxed macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and things like that on the menu. I got a very good grade on it. When I got married we were on a very tight budget so we ate all those cheap foods that were on my budget menu from junior high. I don't remember being concerned about it. Not until a few years had passed and I had gained a lot of weight.

Were you taught good eating habits or have you had to develop them yourself?

Running App

I tried out a new running app this morning and I love it. It's called runkeeper. It's for the iphone and it's free, which is really great:) It gives me all the stats I wanted. It maps your run with gps and a google map, gives the distance, pace, speed, calories burned, and a cool graph at the bottom. I mostly wanted to know how far I was going and how fast. I'm still pretty slow because I run/walk, but I'm not trying to win any races so that doesn't matter. If you have an iphone it's definitely worth checking out.

http://runkeeper.com/home

Addicted to Sweets?

I thought this segment on The Rachael Ray Show yesterday was really interesting. I get that crazy out of control feeling when I eat sweets. I usually do better if I don't eat them at all. It's hard though, since I'm facing sweets all day at work. I'd like to know what others feel about the idea of sweets/high fat/high calorie foods being addictive. What is your take on this subject? How do you handle it?
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/im-addicted-food/

I can dig ditches

I continue to find it amazing what I can do now that I couldn't when I was obese. Just bending over or climbing the steps into our house was so hard when I was over weight. We've been doing a lot of heavy work in our yard. Things like digging and moving dirt and covering areas with rock. I can actually do those things now. I'm sure I could have done a little of it before, but it would have been very difficult. I know I wouldn't have been able to move the next day if I had tried. I did my share of digging a long ditch so we could install a drain to route the rain out to the street instead of under our house. I have some achy muscles, but I feel so good about what I was able to do. It was 110 degrees here on Sunday which made it even more challenging. I won't be giving up my day job to go dig ditches, but I'm sure happy to know I'm strong enough that I can do it if I want to.

Am I the only person that gets so much joy out of being able to do hard things like digging a ditch?

Learning to trust yourself

Since I reached goal I've had this terrible fear that I would lose control and gain all the weight back. Maybe it's all the statistics that are thrown around in the media. They say most people do gain it all back plus some. The voice in my head says "why do I think I am any better/stronger than all those people". When my treadmill broke down I panicked and was sure I would gain the weight back. When I give in to the two year old in my head that wants cake I panic and think I will gain the weight back. When we go on vacation and I don't have as much control over my food I'm stressed about weight gain.

Through all of these situations it's important to find ways to cope. Realizing that even though the odds are stacked against weight maintenance there are plenty of people maintaining. It's not that I'm trying to be better than others, it's about taking responsibility and doing what's best for my own body. Without the treadmill i've learned to love running outdoors. Even with the summer heat, I can still get out early or late and get some exercise in. Portion control is so important. Giving in to the two year old doesn't mean letting her lose all control. Even when I'm out of my comfort zone with food I can still find the best options and keep the weight off.

I was a little scared to get on the scale this morning. I felt kinda bloaty after being out of town for a few days. The number was actually at the lower end of my maintenance window. It's great to get that reassurance that I must be doing something right and it's still working.

Do you trust your maintenance ability and how do you build that trust?

Adjusting

It's been a year since I hit maintenance, but I'm still adjusting. At first I was shocked to see my reflection in windows. For years I avoided looking in store windows for fear of seeing my reflection. When I got closer to goal I started peeking. Then when I hit goal I found myself fascinated with it. Lately I've been wanting to see myself in pictures. For years I avoided the camera, even destroying most of the pictures of myself. I think it helps with the adjustment to take pictures and really look at them, helps the mind catch up with the body.

It's taking some time, but I'm adjusting.

How long has it taken you to adjust to the new you?

Things I was missing out on

We have some beautiful trails here. I had no desire to see them when I was overweight. It didn't sound like any fun to walk for miles when it was so hard just walking around a store. I had no idea what I was missing out on. I love strapping on my ipod and hitting the trails. The exercise is great, but make sure to take a minute to stop and enjoy the scenery.

Lori's Lanacane Anti-Chafing gel giveaway

http://findingradiance.com/2010/06/24/lanacane-anti-chafing-gel-review-and-giveaway/

I could have really used this on my thighs at my high weight. Like Lori, I'm wondering if it would work on feet. Might be great for runners. I love my heels since I lost weight, but I end up with lots of blisters. I'll have to give it a try.

Beautiful day for running!