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.

Today was a MAJOR CHEAT DAY!

I went to Ponderosa. I ate out of the buffet. I don't know if it's because I haven't ate a lot of food in a while or what, but it was delicious. I had three plates. I know what you all may be thinking - way to exercise self-control, right? Well, you would be right for the most part. I went to a wedding today and afterward, everyone agreed to go to Ponderosa. So, here I was caught in the middle of wanting to stay home so that I can safely calculate each and every point I eat or go out with the family and enjoy myself. Well, the reality of it is, I will always be faced with these situations. The key is how I react to them. If I overeat (like I obviously did today), I owe it to myself to eat light the next day and work out more than I would have.

Hopefully you grabbed one of the keywords from the last sentence there. OWE. If you remember in a recent blog post, I discussed loving food more than myself. Well, in order to owe yourself something, you have to think that you are worth something. While it's true that I do love food. I can now say I love myself more. That, my friends, is progress.

I won't keep too much of your time on this post because I will be writing something that we all can learn from during the day tomorrow. I just wanted to briefly share that I cheated (and if you do this, it's ok), but I'm growing from the experience and learning who's really in charge (me!).

Talk to you soon!

Weight Watchers Update!

Today I will (for real, this time) keep it short and sweet...

I lost 3.4 pounds last week using the Weight Watchers program! According to their scale, I am now 237.2 pounds. Can you say w00t?!!

For the most part, sticking to my plan has been fairly simple. Simple is not to be confused with easy. It has not been easy, by any stretch. However, it is much simpler than ever before, because I have the support of the meetings in learning the right things to do. So far, the program has been worth the $40 monthly pass that I bought. Plus, I enjoy sharing my triumphs with people face-to-face. So, the good news is that I'm not slacking.

So, I'm sticking to the plan and loosing weight. On top of me changing my eating habits, I also go to the park and walk 2.2 miles at least every other day or so.

It's actually fun this go 'round. Once again, that shouldn't be confused with easy. But, it is fun and the fun makes it all more tolerable.

Well, that's all I got. Til next time, take care.

Love,
Big Girl E

This Weekend!

So, this weekend was amazing. I touched on so many areas of my own personal fitness. I don't have very much time to type, so I will keep it short and sweet.

#1 - I attended the FAA (Food Addicts Anonymous) phone meeting. It really was not my speed. Their focus is to cut all wheat and sugar out of your diet. Granted, this is an excellent focus and will likely lead to future weight loss and overall fitness. However, it's not the change for me. I would go crazy cutting off my sugar and breads cold turkey like that. Plus the call was pretty scattered and everyone seemed a bit rehearsed. That's just my opinion. They say you should try attending the meetings six times before you decide it's not right for you. Right now, I just don't see this being the route I want to take.

#2 - I joined Weight Watchers. Yes, I'm a part of the actual program. The reason I say "actual program" is because I have tried to do it on my own without the meetings and failed each time (I tried 2-3 times before). Now, I will not only have the support of my leaders, but I will also have more accountability to my finances (since there will be $40 coming out each month for the monthly pass). I'm too cheap to let money go down the drain like that. A big plus, though, is that my sister in law joined with me so we will try to attend the meetings together. I think it will be fun for us and let us have some "girl time".

#3 - I had the most vigorous walk in the park so far. My hubby really pushed me beyond what I thought were my limits, but it was a fierce workout, and I can't thank him enough. Sure I whined and complained along the way, but it was really worthwhile - so much so that I lost a pound right afterward. Now, of course he thinks he's the master trainer. He's pretty awesome, and I will give him credit because it's definitely due.

I stuck to my plan today and even sought out what Weight Watchers calls "Filling Foods" so that I have lower points, but I'm getting more full. Of course that results in fewer cravings, and a happier disposition about this lifestyle change I have made.

I know I said I would keep it short, but time flies when you're having fun. Gotta run, but I will keep you all updated. Keep tuning in! TTYL :-)

Quick Update!

Sorry for not posting for a while. I'm still here. I haven't been dieting or sticking to a workout schedule (surprise, right?). I did, however, download MyFitnessPal to my Droid, and I'm going to start keeping track of things very soon. When exactly? I can't say for sure because I don't want to keep setting myself up for failure. But, bear with me as I keep trying.

Here's a comment that I received to my post on Tyler's 344pounds.com site:

"When I’m obese I know the mechanics of how to lose weight, but I haven’t the heart.

Then something in my life will trigger that switch in my mind that is turned on and PRESTO I become motivated and get it in gear.

For Tyler it was the birth of his baby girl. For me it has varied, I have an milestone birthday coming up next year and I don’t want to hate myself for being overweight anymore. I’ve lost 50 pounds since January and my quality of life is much better now, even though I’ll still overweight according to my BMI.

You’re not ready, till you have your heart and mind committed to changing – until then just do your best to be super supportive of your husband!"

This was in response to my complete breakdown on his blog. I think it's very true. I'm obviously not ready, but at the same time, I need a way to clear this food addiction. I'm going to get involved in some Food Addicts Anonymous meetings - there is actually a session scheduled for tomorrow at 10 AM CST. I think I will call in and hopefully get some inspiration. The good news is they have the meetings every single day. So, I think this will be helpful. I will post to let you know what I have learned from the call. The website suggests attending at least 6 meetings before dismissing it. So, that's exactly what I will do.

Thanks everyone for reading, and please bear with me as I work to get myself on the right track!

Six Tons @ Six Flags

The title above was just for fun - FYI :-)

I went to Six Flags today. I haven't been in a while, and boy have things changed. And no, I'm not talking about the rides in the park. The thing (person) that has changed is me. I'm probably about 40 pounds heavier than I was the last time I went.

I have never really felt ostracized because of my weight. I was never ridiculed (at least not in front of my face) about it. As I told the hubby earlier, I was already ready to make a "cheap shot" at myself before someone else did. I would call myself fat or talk about how big I was so that I didn't hear it from anyone else. That way, I was laughing with them about my weight as opposed to be laughed at.

Well, long story short, today while riding some of the rides, it was clear that I was really too fat to be on the rides. I won't name specifics (not now at least), but there were a few where I was not only uncomfortably snug but also barely able to get buckled in. I know a big contributor to that was the size of my boobs (that's a whole 'nother topic of its own), but I've always been top heavy. I haven't always been 240+ pounds. That put a huge damper on my day - all I could focus on was how big I was and how I had no business being there and thinking I could get on any rides. It was incredibly painful, embarrassing, and most importantly - it was a reality check.

I may feel all warm and cozy in my abilities and may even live in denial about what I can and cannot do from time to time. However, the rides don't lie. If you can't fit them, there's no getting around it. You will either still try to get on and risk embarrassment or stand on the outside watching everyone else ride the rides. Either way, you're singled out as the "fat kid".

I've been learning so much about my struggle with weight over the past week or so, it's amazing. I've found that I was living in denial, playing the victim, and not seeing myself at the size I really am. Today, I got a reality check. I'm a big girl and it's a small world. I have to figure out a way to fit in somehow...