30 in 4!!!

A few years back when my almost five year old son was around 2 I got serious about my diet and exercise and dropped 32 pounds in about 4 months. I felt great. I got to go out and buy new clothes in brand new sizes, my joints didn't ache as much, I had significantly more energy, and I just felt so much better about myself. I managed to keep that weight off for about a year until I got pregnant with my third. I figured after I had her I would maintain a similar regimen and lose the weight fairly quickly. Oh, the folly!

Eighteen months later and I am in the ballpark of the weight I was a few years ago before I dropped 32 pounds. It sucks. I am tired a lot, my knees and back kill (I will always have knee and back problems thanks to years of playing through injuries in high school and college, however these parts hurt much less when they're not lugging around 30-40 pounds of extra weight), my clothes don't fit right, and I am just unhappy with the extra weight.

The thing with me is I suck at dieting. I always cheat and crave what I can't have. The only way in the past I have been able to keep weight off for a significant amount of time is to just restrict calories and exercise. April 1 was my self-imposed start date for healthier living. We joined a country club primarily for its pool access (unrelated to my weight loss, but a happy coincidence that it is providing a way to stay active). My goal is to weight lift and do high intensity interval training 3x/week in addition to swimming and playing with the kids in the pool another 3-4x/week.

This is only week one and I have a ways to go but already, despite being sore and exhausted, I feel like I have so much more energy. My back is killing and my knees hurt but I know that is just from not doing anything active the past two years and as the weight comes off those pains will minimize. I've been eating pretty healthy and been staying within my calorie allotment. I put an app on my iphone that has been helpful in keeping me honest in terms of what I put into my body. In five days I have dropped 7 pounds. I know that rate won't/can't be maintained but it feels nice to see results. It gives me the boost and encouragement I need to continue, knowing that if I keep at it there will be results. I gave myself an arbitrary deadline of July 31 to try to drop 30 pounds. If I don't give myself a finishing point I will find a way to push it off. So, to keep me motivated I have to view that as the deadline.

So, what about you? What are some ways you have been successful in getting weight off and more importantly keeping it off?

We the People....

I think I am going to start a petition to outlaw the wearing of spandex in public. I don't know if the fact that Tucson is a cycling town has anything to do with it, but the amount of the general population who feels it is appropriate to leave the house in spandex is downright frightening.

I am going to give the cyclists a pass because in most circumstances that is proper cycling attire. (Although everyone in Tucson who rides a bike views him/herself as a cyclist and decks him/herself out in head to toe gear). However, when people enter grocery stores, doctor's offices, restaurants, and banks in spandex I have to draw the line. Most recently I have seen a slew of old men in spandex at the gym. One could make the argument that spandex are proper workout attire. To that I say poppycock. While there are some incredibly fit women who can pull the look off, 99 percent of the population should run from spandex like they are laced with anthrax. Furthermore, there are some things on a male's body that are simply better left to the imagination and not just hanging out for the world to see. And in many cases things (mainly bellies) are hanging out and over giving a whole new meaning to the term muffin top.

Two days ago at the gym a man in his fifties to sixties wore full length spandex which his belly almost swallowed. To make matters worse he was wearing an old dress shirt with the sleeves cut off and only the middle two buttons buttoned. There was nothing about this look that was appropriate and I was almost waiting for a camera crew to come through the door screaming we were on some hidden camera show. Then today, a different man also in his fifties or sixties wore incredibly short spandex (think speedo) and a tight, short tank top. There is no way he could have looked in the mirror and honestly thought that was a good idea. Additionally, there is no way that the outfit he had one could be comfortable enough to work out in. But work out he did. Right in front of me.

So, for the sake of humanity I am calling on the general public to restore some sense of decency and modesty to civilization. We all have to live together and get along. That might be much easier to do if going out in public wasn't a constant test of my self-control. I feel like I am constantly fighting the urge to say something rude which I would regret later, throw up a little in my mouth, or laughing out loud before I realize they aren't wearing spandex to be funny. They really think they look good. That may be the saddest part.

On that note, what is a "look" that you think should be banned from public view?

Keeping Abreast

I have been cursed (although I guess some would consider it a blessing) with pretty large breasts. Even when I was incredibly fit, they were large. I hate them. They have caused back problems, made it difficult to find shirts that fit comfortably, and pretty much just drive me crazy. After having my son, I was the heaviest I had ever been. The weight I gained during his pregnancy just redistributed itself from my stomach to the rest of my body after I gave birth. Last April I got sick of being fat and started working my butt of to lose weight, through exercise and eating right....and less. For the most part I have been successful. In the past year I have lost 30+ pounds and kept it off. I am still trying to lose another 15 to 20.

The problem is that the one place I seem to be losing very little weight is my boobs. I've lost weight across my back and across the area of my chest ABOVE my breasts. My bra strap size has decreased a couple of inches. I'm narrower than I have been in years and I've gone down 7 pant/short sizes and a couple of shirt sizes as well. I even had to buy smaller underwear. But the boobs just won't go away. At all.

Part of it may be because I am still breastfeeding my son. However, even taking into account milk production if breasts are pretty much fatty tissue and I am losing fatty tissue everywhere else on my body it would stand to reason that I would at least lose SOME in my breasts, right? Everyone says you can't target specifics places for weight loss, that as you lose weight you will lose it everywhere. This seems to be true for me except that my breasts seem to be the one targeted place that will not lose weight. (For the purposes of full disclosure, they have gone down about a cup size, maybe two....but in proportion to the amount of weight the rest of my body is losing my boobs seem to be losing next to nothing.) I can't tell you how frustrating this is.

So, any suggestions?

Feeling The Love

After working out I went to pick up the kids from the Child Watch area. My one year old (well, soon to be two) son reached me first, so I scooped him up into my arms. He gave me a huge hug, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck, then scrunched up his nose and said, "Ooh, mama, you stink."

Can't I Just Go Naked?

Before my husband was my husband and we used to shop for clothes together I always thought my husband's guidelines for picking out clothes were a little weird. Before he would even consider trying them on he'd go up and rub the material between his fingers. Then he'd walk away with it either in hand and head for the dressing room or an emphatic no and move on. Apparently, since he was a small child he had a thing about the material and how it felt against his skin. I can understand that, although I found his constant fondling of clothes a bit odd.

In all truth though, I have come to realize that I am the strange one when it comes to picking out, trying on, purchasing, and then actually wearing clothes. You see, I have this need...an obsessive one really....to find clothes (shoes included) that when on basically feel as if they are not. I hate clothes that are too tight or snug, too short, too long or loose, cap sleeved, and the list goes on. As far as shoes go...they need to feel as if they are not encapsulating my foot. My biggest problem is with tennis shoes, which I need to exercise.

Which brings me to my latest obsession. I bought a pair of tennis shoes almost three years ago that I have been using with regularity. I love them. They are perfectly broken in, they don't rub any part of my foot, and I tie them just enough to keep them on without putting any pressure across the top part of my feet. Well, I have worn them into the ground with all this exercising and so I set out to find the perfect shoe. No small feat (pun intended). I found a pair of New Balance that I loved, but were $140. In the realm of things that is not bad, but I hate to spend money, especially on myself. So, I kept looking. I found two pairs of New Balance that I really liked and bought them both (for a grand total of 80 bucks). But now the break in begins and it is driving me nuts. I have to work out in them in order to break them in but all I really want to do is put on my old, falling apart, certainly not supportive tennis shoes from the days of yore. I know once they are broken in I will love them. In the meantime I am going crazy.

Next up...to find a pair or two of gym shorts that are the perfect length (mid-thigh), the right type of mesh (ones that don't include the ultra-static prone lining), and a reasonable price.

Me, Me, Me

Last April I began working out diligently. In a matter of four months I dropped a lot of weight, felt great, had much more energy, and was in a better mood as a whole. Plus both kids really enjoyed going to the Child Watch, which made me not feel as guilty for taking time out each day to do something for myself. Then September hit and it was one sickness after another. My son was sick for weeks, followed by my daughter, followed by me, followed by both kids again and the cycle repeated. Before I realized it, five months had gone by. It has been three solid months since I have even set a single foot into the gym at all. I got used to not working out consistently and frankly I suffered. While I have not gained more than a few pounds back I have noticed a huge difference in how I feel. I don't have as much energy, I'm grouchier and don't feel as refreshed.

While I would still like to lose some more weight, it is really not even about the weight. It's about the clarity working out provides me. I got used to and depended on starting everyday by working out, breaking a sweat, pushing myself to fatigue, and relishing in the results and changes I eventually saw physically. Plus, just having that hour break from my children was a great opportunity to recharge and do something for myself because let's face it. Very little of what we as mothers do during the day is for ourselves.

So, today as I found myself losing patience with my children and trying to keep it together I decided it was time to return to the gym. Both kids were very excited and I spent 45 minutes busting my butt....probably more than I should have for my first day back. I need routine and I need something, even if it is simply an hour at the gym, for me.

Why Does My Toe Look Like A Sausage?

I hate shoes. They crowd my toes. If at all possible I wear flip flops or sandals almost everyday. It presents a bit of a problem in the winter and at that point I sometimes have to suck it up and put on real shoes.

Anyway, I digress. The other day at Target I ran over and stubbed my toes with the cart. It hurt really bad and I realize if had I been wearing closed toe shoes this would not have happened. Within a few hours my toes felt fine and I honestly forgot all about it.

That was until yesterday when I put my feet in tennis shoes to head to the gym for my daily workout. My toe killed cramped up in those shoes. For the past week instead of my 30 minutes on the elliptical machine I have been running for 20 on the treadmill. (This is big news as I am not a runner, never have been. But that's another post for another time). Despite the toe I decided to run anyway. It killed, but I still did my 20 minutes. When I got into the car I took my shoes off and my poor toe was the size of a little sausage. It was about that color too.

So, as I sit here this morning getting ready to head the gym the debate becomes do I run and sacrifice my poor toe or do I find something else that is possibly less painful? Logic should dictate that I find something else that is less painful but sticking with my philosophy of "No pain, no gain" I'm pretty sure I'm going to run. Really, how much can a toe swell?