Push Yourself Beyond Your Limits!

I am truly inspired by other bloggers and people I encounter who are also trying to lose weight. Last night after making my post on avoiding weight loss surgery, I did a quick browse around on other weight loss blogs. Well, these people are VERY SERIOUS about losing their weight. They put my blogging to shame. It's cool, though, because I was started this blog solely to inspire other people - especially others like myself. I'm from the coach potato bunch, but I want to let you know that anything you are thinking about as far as losing weight is concerned - you can do it.

Today, I got back to my 5K grind. I did a 5K walk/run on the treadmill. It took me around 45 minutes. In the middle of exercising, I got an amazing pain on my side, but I kept thinking about those other bloggers, and how I much I would love to share an amazing story to motivate my audience (and gain myself some bragging rights LOL). The last 15-20 minutes of my workout was very painful to say the least, but I maintained, and pushed through. It's truly amazing how good you feel after you have pushed yourself to the brink during a workout.

Here's the pics to prove it (in true Big Girl E fashion):

So here's what I challenge you to do: push yourself beyond what you think are your limits (you don't know your true limits). If you never exercise, join a gym (many have free trial memberships available) and start today. If you usually workout for 15 minutes, try 25 minutes next time. If you can walk one mile on the treadmill, try 1.5.

For anyone who lives in the Metro East STL area, here are some ideas:

*** If you don't belong to a gym, Club Fitness in O'Fallon, IL (as well as other local Club Fitness locations) offers a free 14 day trial (click the link above to sign up). This is where I workout. After the trial period, their rates are the most reasonable in the area. Let them know Elise Connors sent you.
*** If you prefer outdoor activities, try Fairview Heights' Longacre Park's walking trail (approximately 1.5 miles) or if you want to REALLY challenge yourself, try O'Fallon Family Sports Park in O'Fallon, IL (trail is approx. 2.2 miles).
*** If you enjoy the support of a group, you may try a Weight Watchers meeting. Your first meeting is free and there is no obligation to join.

If you have any ideas or triumphs to share, please comment below...

Avoiding Weight Loss Surgery (Gastric Bypass, Lap Band, and Others)

If you're considerably obese, weight loss (or bariatric) surgery may be your only option. The purpose of this post is not to discourage you or put you down from going that route. The only purpose is to open your eyes to other possibilities.

You don't have to get weight loss surgery to lose even considerable amounts of weight. A bit of diet and exercise should be enough for most people. Depending on your size and current activity level, it may be best to start out with diet changes until you have lost enough weight and are healthy enough to move around. It's always a good idea to get approval from your doctor before beginning any workout activity if you, for any reason, are unsure whether or not you should be exercising.

Initially, I did want to get weight loss surgery. Actually, I was still considering it even after I started this blog. My mind has since changed, and I'm of the belief that if you are able to move, you should be able to use diet and exercise to get the weight off without medical intervention. Plainly put, except in dire circumstances where there is no other choice, weight loss surgery is a cop-out. I'm sure we all know that anything that's worth doing is not easy. Not only will have you have a sense of pride after you lose the weight on your own, but you will most likely be able to maintain your weight. Even still, if you take the "easy" way out and have the surgery, you may not truly get past the psychological issues that caused you to overeat and gain weight like you have in the first place.

According to WebMD, weight loss for bariatric patients tends to plateau after 2 years. After that, you will enter maintenance mode, and while around 80% of patients are successful at maintaining their new, healthy weights over the course of their lives, what happens if you fall into that 20% that doesn't do so well? Well, there is a possibility that you gain all (or most) of your weight back and either face going under the knife for another procedure or following a diet and exercise plan.

But, I'm no medical expert. Maybe you'll take it better coming from Dr. Phil. He prepared a list of things you should consider before getting weight loss surgery. He says:

"Is gastric bypass surgery right for you? There are many factors to consider before undergoing this controversial procedure. Keep in mind the following advice from Dr. Phil:

Exhaust all of your non-surgical alternatives first.Before you think about going under the knife to lose 100 pounds, try everything that you can to drop the pounds on your own. This may mean a combined program of diet and exercise or visiting a nutritionist. Dr. Phil says, "If you're medicating yourself with food, if you're entertaining yourself with food, if you're eating when you're bored, anxious, lonely, depressed, upset ... if you have a lifestyle that's consistent with overeating, they're going to be there after the surgery." Try to develop alternative coping strategies.

Surgery is not risk-free.Because nurses see so many botched cases of stomach surgery, they have a phrase for it: "gastric bypass gone bad." There are many risks associated with the procedure, such as blood clots, pneumonia, incisional pain — even death. One young guest, Tiffany, spent three days in the intensive care unit due to complications from her surgery. "It's just not a problem-free situation as no surgery is," Dr. Phil explains. "The truth is, there are alternatives."

You have to maintain a lifestyle post-surgery.Understand that if you do make the decision to have gastric bypass surgery, there is an active management plan that you have to execute after the procedure. According to Madelyn Fernstrom, Director of Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh's Medical Center, among the things you have to keep up after surgery is "watch all of your protein, fluid intake, vitamins and minerals for life ... That would be one thing to consider and make sure that you understand all of the ramifications and how difficult it is." Know that gastric bypass isn't just something you deal with for a few months; post-surgery maintenance lasts a lifetime.

Program your life for success.
"Things often start for one reason, but they continue for another," says Dr. Phil. For example, if you were an overweight kid and you ate when you were lonely and hurt, chances are you will continue that pattern into adulthood. "If you don't get a new way of acting, a new way of coping, then you will continue to do it," Dr. Phil warns. You can't eat what isn't there, so you have to clean your environment. You also have to get your thinking right and abolish the old, negative thoughts. It helps to have people in your corner who applaud your efforts to lose weight, so set up a circle of support. "Weight is managed, it's not cured," explains Dr. Phil."

Ultimately, it's your body and the decision is yours. Just consider all of your options and at least try to see if you can lose the weight on your own first. You may be surprised at your own capabilities.