Let's Play Catch....Up

Well, hello there! Long time, no see. It's been two years since I've blogged. Time is surely flying by. What have I been up to? Come, take a little trip with me. Let's have a look see.

First, we'll go all the way back to July 8, 2012 when I created my blog, Fat Neaux More. I had retired on June 30, 2012 and I was ready to tackle this weight problem ONCE AND FOR ALL!! This time the weight loss would stick. I would be FAT NEAUX MORE!! Since I was retired, I would have plenty of time to plan and make meals, exercise, and any other tasks associated with getting and staying fit. And, with so much time on my hands, I would do a little blogging. With my blog, I'd help myself and hopefully others, get and stay motivated to be fit, healthy, and last, but certainly not least....thin. I'd be determined, disciplined, devoted (alright, enough with the d words!), and blah blah blah! Well, that lasted about six weeks. Though I really enjoyed blogging at first, it started to feel like work, and I wanted no part of 'work'! I had just retired, for Pete's sake!!

On August 15, 2012, I joined TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). I, was on that day at my highest weight ever (by one half pound). By December 5, 2012, I had lost a whopping ten pounds (please note that's sarcasm!)! Seriously, ten pounds in four months?! My first thought to that was...how sad! But, when you've ridden the weight roller coaster as much as I have, you come to realize that down is good. Yes, no matter how small the number....down is good. By the time the new year rolled around, I had gained five and one half of those ten pounds back.

On to January, 2013. I weighed in at my TOPS meeting on January 2nd. That was the beginning of a weight loss journey like I had never experienced before. I lost weight for twenty weeks straight, for a total loss of 38 pounds in that period!! Wow!!! Add to that the big ole four and one half pounds that I had lost and kept off from 2012 and I was then down forty two and one half pounds.

What made the difference then, you may wonder. Well, I'll tell you. Along with eating healthier (you just cannot get away with not making that change), I started running. I mean running regularly, at least three times a week. I was training to do a 5K on April 20th and I so, so, so badly wanted to run the entire thing. I had run/walked a couple of 5Ks in 2012, but had fallen way short on the run part. But, not this time. When April 20th came and I crossed that finish line, I had not walked one step!!! Then, as a bonus to being able to RUN a 5K, the pounds were just melting off! I mean, it just doesn't get much better than this!

After the twenty weeks straight of losing weight, I lost another four pounds over a period of six weeks. Talk about a screeching halt! Yikes! Some of that was due to my body adjusting to such a big weight loss. But, and it's a BIG but...the most of it was to my slacking off, eating more than I should and had been, not running as much, etcetera. I had gotten complacent. I was only fifteen pounds away from my goal, and if I must say, looking pretty darn good! So, now we're at the end of July and what a transformation from July a year before!

Fast forward to the end of October. I did another 5K and I ran the entire thing! Now, get this....get this; for my birthday on October 29th, I ran 5.3 miles to match my 53rd birthday!!!! Two weeks later on November 16th...another 5K, and again, I ran the entire thing! As a matter of fact, that was my fastest one yet. Whoop whoop!! Oh, just to clarify, I haven't said I ran fast, just that I ran, and that I was getting faster. ;-)

Let's move along to 2 weeks later. December 1, 2013.......tragedy strikes. :-(  :-(  :-(  As has been the case most of my life, I did not handle the tragedy without turning to food. Within five months I gained back all of the weight I had lost, and exercise has been almost non existent.

Now, here I am at the end of July 2014, professing yet again, that I will be Fat Neaux More!! I will lose the weight, and with the help of God, I will learn to get through this thing called life without self destructing.

See below pics from the last three Julys. Amazing how quickly things can change. Of course, when the change is losing weight, quick is a good thing!! :-)

July 2012

                                                                  July 2013

                                                                 July 2014

And, one more. This is a pic of me about to cross the finish line at the last 5K I ran. It's so hard to believe that was only eight months ago. I WILL be RUNNING another one soon!!

Today's Thought

Today's Thought (from thebestlife.com)

If you want to change your life, you may have to make some sacrifices. You must be willing to step back and say, 'What's the best thing for me?' And if something is not good for you, you have to find the strength to give it up. By giving up bad habits, you allow new, healthy ones to form.

I absolutely love this!!!!

 

Don't Mess With My Toot Toot!

Toot....toot....toot!!! That's me blowing my own horn!!! I love the sound of that!! I have now exercised three days in a row! Yea! Geaux Janice, geaux Janice, geaux, Janice! I did not do the second session of Kettle Worx today. I could tell my body just was not ready for that. What I did was a Walk Away the Pounds 2 mile video. The kicks, the knee lifts, and the kick backs were perfect in that they helped loosen up and work my thighs in a way that ached a little but also felt really good. I could not do squats or lunges today. I knew to not even attempt them, but this video really fit the bill! I am really pumped that I've exercised for three consecutive days!! I already feel more energized and am actually looking forward to exercising tomorrow. Oh, I forgot to say what else was great about my exercise today. I did it on my screened patio that sits under several shady trees! The temperature was really nice because it rained all day yesterday and most of the day today. It was quite pleasant!

I wonder why after all the times I've realized how good exercise makes me feel, I quit doing it. It just doesn't make sense! I must once and for all make exercise a part of my daily life and enjoy the  benefits from it. I mean they are just immeasurable!!

One constant that you'll see in reading articles on living a healthy life is the importance of exercise. With all of the different views out there on healthy living, the fact that exercise is always, always on and at the top of the list speaks profoundly!

Weight loss; increased energy, strength, flexibility, and self-esteem; decreased depression, stress, and anxiety; better sleep, mood, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and sugar levels; all of these are there for the taking!! It doesn't take exercising hours a day to reap these benefits, but it does take getting your heart rate up....preferably for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day. The minutes can even be broken down in smaller increments if needed. The important thing is to move...get that heart rate up....get that blood pumping....get those feel good endorphins out and about!!!

Here's to exercise!! May we learn to love not only what it can do for us, but doing it as well!

And here's to acknowledging our accomplishments on the way to our goals and tooting our own horn!

I'm doing pretty well with that already! Don't mess with my toot toot!!!

Kettle What?

Kettle Worx, that's the name of the program I did the first session of yesterday. Kettle Kills might be a better name for it!!!! OMG!!!!

I have had a terrible time today just moving.....period. Once I managed to pull myself out of bed, I rode my bike to the gym and walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill. I knew I needed to move some to work out the stiffness and soreness. Well....let me tell you......IT DIDN'T WORK!!! I later took an Epsom Salt soak. Well..... IT DIDN'T WORK either!!! I got dressed (groaning) and went to a birthday party (Happy Birthday Carson!) where the only time I sat down was for a few minutes on the arm of a sofa . I knew if I sat all the way down on the sofa, I wouldn't be able to get up without drawing attention to and embarrassing myself for screaming in agony! When I got home after a 50 minute drive, getting out of the car was no pleasant task. Then I had to walk up the steps. It's only three of them, but oh my...how difficult is was to get to the top!!! Before sitting down to type this I even broke out the rolling pin and massaged my thighs with it (no need to worry that I might actually use it to roll some dough.....PUH-LEEZE....me cook?!). It felt oh so good after the initial pain passed. I thought to myself....ooooh....I think this is gonna help. I got up to go do something in the kitchen, and...well....guess what.....that's right....IT DIDN'T WORK!!!

So anyway, now I've taken some Ibuprofen and I'm about to climb in the bed. I'm going to pray that when I wake up in the morning, this soreness has subsided enough that I can at least move around without grimacing and moaning.

Oh...and listen to this. I am supposed to do Session Two of the plan tomorrow! I'm looking forward to seeing how I'm going to pull that off!!

Giving Up is Not an Option

Obviously I haven't been doing very well, hence the not blogging. I know I said I was going to blog even if I wasn't doing well...but....that's easier said than done. I have been at least planning my attack (on fat). I seem to do a lot of planning and less doing. But....I will never give up!! That is not an option!!

This week I have taken a couple of steps in my attack. Now to make that a couple hundred!

I joined TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) on Wednesday. For those of you who don't know what that is, go to tops.org and check it out. The gist of it is that you meet each week to weigh in (you're accountable to someone at the scale other than yourself) and talk with others who are losing/maintaining weight. It is similar to Weight Watchers in those repsects, but other than that, it isn't. With TOPS there is no food plan provided. You choose any food plan that works for you. There is also not a Leader who discusses a certain topic for the week. The speakers at these meetings are members who volunteer to speak on a subject of their choosing (usually a different member each week). That's pretty cool. It is also different from Weight Watchers in that the cost is much less. Know that I am not knocking Weight Watchers or it's cost! I think Weight Watchers is probably the greatest weight loss plan out there and is reasonably priced!! Because it provides a food plan and a Leader, it is more a little more expensive, but worth what you get. Then why don't you go to Weight Watchers you may ask. Well, the truth is...I worked part time for Weight Watchers for close to ten years, and it's just different after you've been on the employee side. I don't know why that is, it just is. The meetings just don't feel the same anymore (at least that's been my experience and that of a few other WW co-workers). Anyway, TOPS is an alternative for those who like the idea of weigh in accountability, want to choose their own food plan, and want something a little less expensive. I'm looking forward to Wednesday's meeting so I can say....yea....I lost ____ pounds!!!! Or at the least I'll be able to say I had a much better week than the one before!

The other thing I've done is started the Kettle Worx Six-Week Body Transformation program. Let me tell you though...I can already see that I'm gonna have to repeat each week at least once if not twice, so it's going to take me twelve to eighteen weeks to complete. But, that is okay!!! The important thing is that I give it my all each session!! That is what's going to give me the weight loss, better health, and body transformation I'm looking for!! It's not about keeping up with someone who has a higher level of fitness than I do. It's about building mine!!!! I am so so looking forward to increased fitness and more energy!!! Did I say MORE energy? I meant SOME energy!!!!!

Hopefully, I'll blog tomorrow about what a great day I had today. So far it has been just that!!

Later!

Priority is Job 1

Okay Bob, okay! I'll get changed and get to the gym! Geez! :-)

Wonder Drug!

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted the last few days. I took a trip to Percy Quin State Park in MS. It was a great, rejuvenating getaway!!

The following (italicized, in blue) is something I read while I was gone in the book Mayo Clinic Fitness for Everybody. I love, love, love this piece!

Imagine that a new wonder drug has been created. It will help prevent illness and disease - including cancer. It will help you lose excess weight - and keep it off. It will slow the aging process, making you look and feel younger than your years. It will give you energy and increase your self-esteem. It will reduce stress, fight depression and anxiety, and put you in a better mood. It will make you stronger and healthier. It will improve your posture, your flexibility, your balance and your endurance. It will even help you sleep better.

Now imagine that this drug doesn't cost a penny and that you can take it several times a day or just once a day and still see results. In fact, you'll start seeing results within two weeks of your first dose.
    
Sounds pretty appealing, doesn't it? Would you take it?
    
This mirale drug is available right now - and you can take it starting today. It's called exercise.
    
Regular, old-fashioned, sweat-inducing exercise is probably the single most important thing you can do to age successfully. Even in moderate amounts, exercise can help you enjoy life and avoid diseases that many people mistakenly believe automatically come with age. It truly is a wonder drug.


I absolutely love this! Can you believe the things that exercise can do for us?! It's amazing!! Makes you wonder why we work so hard to keep from doing it doesn't it?!

I'm going to print the first paragraph and put it in different locations (at my computer, in my car, in my purse; oh how I love that I no longer have to say....at work) to remind me of the benefits received by partaking in daily exercise. The return on investment is absolutely astounding, and unbeatable!!!