Finally Getting Fit

Thirteen Reasons I’m Looking Forward to the Doctor

1. I feel better than ever. There is nothing like going in for an assessment knowing that you are doing heaps better than you were the last time around.

2. Being told I don’t have to go on metformin. Yeah, I know I don’t have to, but I’m so looking forward to hearing it; to hearing that I’ve found something that beats the bloody PCOS weight loss stall.

3. Getting blood tests. Yeah, blood tests cost and they are a pain in the arse, but I am looking forward to getting them. I want to see how much everything has improved after taking off so many pounds.

4. A trip to inner Melbourne. That’s just plain hard to beat.

5. Seeing my dietitian. She is just an awesome, totally supportive lady. She never makes me feel bad about what I haven’t done; she just encourages me to improve.

6. Seeing my doctor and dietitian having lost weight. Yay! I didn’t think meal replacement would be as successful as it has been. I’m looking forward to what they have to say.

7. Clearer directions on where to go from here. I have heaps more weight to lose - I’m not even halfway to my goal weight yet - but I’m hoping we can start working on other things like improving my fertility and getting me off The Pill. (Yes, I’m back on. I had to unless I wanted to face another round of progesterone. No thanks.)

8. Talk about concerns. As it’s a check in, it’s a prime time to talk about any concerns I have. I don’t have heaps of questions, but I do have some things I’m eager to talk to them about.

9. The official weigh-in. I go by my own scales, of course, but it will be nice to see how I am going according to their scales.

10. Free samples? Hehe. I got a few free meal replacements before, and I’m not above accepting more.

11. Seeing all the preggy ladies. Yeah, I know, but they’re so cute wandering around with their huge bellies.

12. Having the dietitian right when I need her. I’m moving on to the next ‘phase’ of the diet and the timing comes together wonderfully. I can ask her about the foods I’m thinking about incorporating back into my diet.

13. Just because. I ran out of reasons.

***While the original site has been and gone, there is a new site for Thursday Thirteen! Woohoo!

If you’d like to join in with your own Thursday Thirteen - whether or not it’s health related - please leave a link to your list in the comments. I’d love to check it out.

Check out my other Thursday Thirteen at Write Anyway

Today JM and I went for a walk. It dawned as one of those special days Melbourne can put on in the middle of winter, clear blue sky, slightly chilled breeze and a pleasant 14º - in short, a great day to be out and about.

A few years back, when JM first came to Australia, we had to renew her visa so we headed to New Zealand for a holiday. Among other places we visited during a lovely time touring around, was Tauranga a seaside town near Rotorua, a place of sulphur springs (think fart smells) and geysers.

At Tauranga there is a hill out on a point sticking out into the ocean – it’s maybe 350 metres high with a walking track that winds around one side to the top. JM struggled her way to the top, resting when things got too tough, but showing amazing determination – a number of times I assured her she had shown her willingness to strive and that we could head back down knowing she had done a very good thing in getting as far as she did. As usual she was concerned about what I would think of her but I assured her I was already impressed at what she had achieved.

We got to the top; I don’t think I’ve seen anyone ever so proud of themselves. (which brought up a childhood religious issue about being chastised for being proud of things she had done – I explained that pride in achievement is NOT what the bible was talking about)

So, today we set off on a casual walk, no plans for power walk or anything special, just out and about to enjoy the day.

I was quite astonished at how easily she was able to walk at a decent pace. Mind you, she has been improving steadily in pace and stamina over the years we’ve spent together – the gym work and exercises she has been doing have worked wonders. But the difference that’s come from carrying 36lbs less than her normal weight was pretty startling.

Soon I will have to start getting fitter to be able to maintain her pace – up till now, an exercise walk with her has been little more than a stroll for me.

JM is amazing!

I was responding to comments the other night and came across Little Miss Fatty’s Pants weight loss blog. While she is struggling a little bit with things right now, she has taken that all-important step of deciding to make her life a better, longer, healthier one.

I was looking through her past posts, and there was one that contained a letter to her boyfriend.

While her letter was a short one, it conveyed the love she has for her boyfriend and the appreciation she has for him looking out for her.

Well, that inspired me to write a thank-you to my husband…

Dear Mr. JM,

Me

I’ve mentioned on this blog a few times how I have managed to lose weight before and yet, for some reason, I hit my sabotage point – 244 – and screw it all up in one way or another. For some reason, that number always trips me up. It’s like something clicks in my head and I feel like ‘it’s okay’ to just drop everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve.

But something different has happened this time.

I talked yesterday about how moving the scale from the lounge to the tiled floor of the kitchen gave me not only a steadier scale that didn’t need constant adjusting but also a six pound difference in my weight.

Well, that six pound difference just so happened to take me right past my sabotage weight and plant me firmly on the other side.

Huh.

The moment I had been dreading trying to get past was suddenly gone. Poof. No need to deal with it.

And I have even lost another two pounds since then.

I always knew that the sabotage point was well and truly just in my mind, but to pass it so easily was… weird. And strangely, a complete non-event.

Knowing that I had suddenly gotten past the sabotage point with ‘no muss no fuss’ has apparently broken whatever hold it had over me in my mind. I smirked at being past it, but I focused more on being near (and now in) my 230s.

Is that weird or what? Something that had been so big to me is just gone.

Hooray!

Mr. JM and I went shopping the other day because I wanted an electric blanket (does anyone else find it near to impossible to generate enough body heat to warm a bed at night?). I also had a special item to look for: my first weight loss reward.

When it comes to rewards, I’m pretty easy to please. I pick special things to me, but they usually aren’t particularly motivating to other people. Even so, that doesn’t really matter so long as I’m happy.

Having lost 5% of my body weight, I got to pick out a new pair of slippers. My old slippers were falling apart and I’d had them since before I moved here, so I was due for a new pair. Plus, I reckon there isn’t much better in terms of foot comfort than a nice pair of cushy slippers.

In the end, I went for a pair of dark blue slippers that are super-soft on the inside. They also are slightly shoe-like, so they’ll hold up if I need to duck outside quickly.

My next reward doesn’t come for another fifteen pounds, but it will be worth the work and the wait. I get to buy myself a new pajama set. Mmm. I know that might not be the ideal reward for anyone else, but I do love me a set of quality pajamas. Especially given that I work in my pajamas 50% of the time anyway. (Probably one of the top three perks of working from home.)

Even though I’m still emotionally fragile with everything going on, I’m still at a more peaceful part of my mind. I know that this is going to take a while, but I’m in no particular hurry. I just want to be healthy for the first time in my life.

And rock out in my new pajamas. Haha.

SW: 262
LW: 260
CW: 260

I have officially been exercising and all that good stuff for one week! Woohoo!

This week I am focused less on weight and a lot more on everything I have accomplished. As I said to Mr. JM this weekend, “I feel like I am in such a good place right now.”

And that pretty much sums it up. I’m working, exercising, cooking, cleaning… Things aren’t really balanced at the moment, but I feel like I’m walking with the flow of life instead of fighting upstream like usual.

The lack of a change from last week to this week is disappointing on one level, but I’m not concerned about it. First, I’m still on TOM technically so I’m probably still retaining water. Second, my body is probably still getting used to this level of exercise and is probably retaining water for that reason as well.

So it’s all good!

There is another issue happening that could be keeping me from losing weight, but I’m still debating whether or not that subject is just way too much information to be talking about on this blog.

I really feel like I have finally found the exercise routine that works for me. I’m someone who gets bored pretty easily, so spending half and hour on a treadmill doesn’t quite work for me. With the routine I’ve put together, I’m moving around, incorporating different types of exercise and I’m not doing anything long enough to become bored.

Woohoo!

I’d love to be to 256 by my wedding anniversary (May 5th) but we’ll see if that actually happens.

I hope everyone out there is feeling great and accomplishing wonderful things.

Well, in my time zone it’s actually day six and I’ve already done my morning and lunch time exercises. But I don’t think that’s a big deal.

Things are going great and I’m so incredibly happy with myself. I thought doing all this with TOM going on would make things extra difficult, but it really hasn’t. I can’t tell you just how happy I am.

I keep saying to Mr. JM, “I know I’ve only been doing this for x days, but…”

The ‘but’ is followed by how happy I am, the little successes I’ve had with resisting temptations, how my view of myself is improving etc.

A little voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me this excitement will end. I’m a ‘starter’ by nature. Let me start things up, get them going and you can take them from there. That little voice has been reminding me a lot about that and has also been reminding me about the times in the past when I’ve gotten off to an exciting start only to trip up.

But the thing is, I reckon I need to embrace the enthusiasm for no matter how long it lasts. Who cares if I’m a starter? That’s a part of life. I just need to learn to be a runner when my enthusiasm for starting starts waning.

Do I sound crazy yet? Hehe.

I really am just very happy right now. I haven’t skipped any exercise sessions, I’ve completely cut alcohol, I haven’t even thought about chocolate (though I usually ‘need’ it at this time), I’m looking even closer at labels and – AND! – I’m cooking more.

Everything is looking up, and it all started with finding the exercise routine that is right for me.

Woot!

Today is only day three of my new exercise regime and I am incredibly sore. The combination of stretching, yoga, cardio and weights has me hitting pretty much all of my muscles.

The weird thing is most muscles recover quite well. As in, I don’t feel too much of the soreness until I go to do the exercises again. I’m not sure that is a good thing, but I’m taking it that way. I’m sore enough with the other places (especially right above my boobs and just inside the shoulder area on my chest – ow!) to be grateful for any reprieve.

Another strange thing is that I’m already noticing a change in my mood. I know exercise is a good mood enhancer, but I didn’t expect it to work this quickly! I know it’s partially because I’m teaching myself that even day two or day three in a row is something to be very proud of. But there’s more to it.

I’m not going to question. I’m just going to smile…

The best thing about all this exercise? Well, it should be my feelings of pride and all that good stuff, but it isn’t. Not right now, anyway. The best part right now is that I am enjoying the best nights’ sleeps I have had in weeks. I hit the pillow and I am out into deep, blissful sleep.

Sleep problems have been a pain in my arse for most of the month until this week. I knew exercise would be the trick that switched things around. Unfortunately, I need to go to sleep earlier because I’m so exhausted, but it doesn’t matter. I’m sleeping well!

Things are good. Very good. I’m going to make it this time.

I’ve decided, for various reasons, to not weigh in today. It seems like the right thing to do.

Today I’m thinking about 2009 and what I hope it will bring. I can’t say that I’m going to start anything on January fifth (because I like starting things on Mondays) because I’ve already started exercising nearly daily, keeping a food diary, and making strides towards being a healthier person overall.

In the beginning of February, I’ll be heading to the Royal Melbourne Women’s Clinic for appointments with a dietician, endocrinologist, and a group meeting for women with PCOS who are trying to lose weight and improve/preserve fertility. I have high hopes for all those appointments.

In 2009 I also mean to get my husband in for a full physical, just to make sure he’s doing okay on all counts.

In May I will celebrate my third wedding anniversary. It’s a milestone one because most couples who get divorced do so within the first two years of marriage. Or so the statistic was when I last read it. And with our third wedding anniversary comes our fourth year of being together in October as well as my third year in Australia (also in October).

In June I will be reinterviewed by immigration and, barring any problems, I will be granted permanent residency. After that, it’s only two years until I can become an Australian citizen.

Yet another October event will be celebrating my third year anniversary of my first post made on my first 451Press site: my ‘baby’ Fiction Scribe. I have grown so much since I made my first post for this network, and I couldn’t be more proud of what I have accomplished.

There are many more events, but I’ll leave it at that. I’m going to skip resolutions for this year and look forward to celebrating how far I’ve come and how far I will go.

I’m actually getting things done on time today! Well, catching up and now getting the current things done on time anyway.

This week’s question:

“If weight loss was easy, then no one would be fat.” – One of my friends said that, but that person will have to forgive me because I can’t quite remember who it was at this moment.

Getting fit certainly is certainly not the easiest thing you are going to do in your life. We all take on the challenge in different ways and sometimes have to fight different battles. Personally, I usually have to battle my own mind and sometimes lack of confidence when it comes to making my goals. I keep winning that battle, though, and I keep losing weight.

What battles have you fought and won on your journey to get fit?

I have quite a few battles in the realm of getting fit, many of which repeat. Which sucks, but such as life.

The biggest battle I have fought and won recently is the belief that I just couldn’t lose weight. I had tried everything, it seemed. Even exercise and healthy eating just didn’t seem to be doing anything for me. It didn’t help that the psychological factors weren’t exactly up to par.

It turns out it is just a matter of finding what works for you – even if it takes years to do so. Diets, non-diets, changing habits one at a time, detoxing first… You may have to go through a lot of them to find out what works, but it’s worth it.

Thankfully I was able to find something to smack me on the behind and say, “Hey! You can lose weight!”

On May 14th 2007, I wasn’t long married and I decided it was time to get my health straight. I started at 256 pounds and set out to lose 100 pounds. I wanted to be healthy and happy. And, as the year wore on, it became important to me to be healthy so I could have healthy babies.

My starting statistics looked like this:

Starting Stats: Started: May 14th ‘07

Weight: 256 lbs ~ 116.1 kilos
Waist: 45 inches ~ 114.3 centimeters
Hips: 51 inches ~ 129.5 centimeters
Upper Left Arm: 14.5 inches
Upper Right Arm: 15.5 inches
Left Thigh: 27 inches
Right Thigh: 27 inches

BMI: 41.4

GOAL: 156 lbs ~ 70.76 kilos

I felt ashamed of my body and ate whatever I liked. I knew little about PCOS, insulin resistance and didn’t pay much attention to what dietary changes I should make because I deal with those things.

Now a year has gone by and I look at how far I have come.

Stats: May 14th, 2008

Weight: 248 pounds
Waist: 44 inches
Hips: 50 inches
Upper Left Arm: 13.5 inches
Upper Right Arm: 14.5 inches
Left Thigh: 26.5 inches
Right Thigh: 26.5 inches

BMI: 40

I’m not that much changed in terms of weight or inches, but I am completely changed in mentality. I am no longer ashamed of my body. It’s my body. I like it, but I know it can be better.

Food is no longer my enemy. I have adjusted my diet to one that is better for someone with blood sugar problems. I don’t eat as much and neither do I feel the need to eat more. I eat things that satisfy my hunger longer and have even discovered foods I love that are also good for me.

The numbers simply cannot show how much I have changed in just one year.

I was a bit nervous about making this post because, like a lot of people, I’m afraid (on a subconscious level) of ‘cursing’ my weight loss by posting about successes. It may seem silly, but it’s the absolute truth.

However, there comes a time when you have an undeniable non-scale victory… This week, I am happy to share mine with you.

I have fat pants!

For probably the first time ever, I have a pair of pants that I need to put away because they are practically falling off. I might not put them away just yet because I have a belt, but the fact remains that I am in danger of everyone getting to know my knickers in a public place if I don’t wear a belt with these pants.

I am so happy!

I have had pants get a bit loose during weight loss before, but I have never gotten to a point where my pants were so obviously loose and falling off on me. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten my measurements down so much in my life. It’s a fantastic feeling. It makes me want to go through all of my pants and start putting away the things that are too big for me.

Not only that, I noticed this morning that I had to pull up my gym pants a couple of times because they were a bit loose on me as well.

As they say, when your pounds aren’t dropping, check your measurements! It just might be that you’re losing inches instead of pounds right now.

After a weekend of rest (due to illness and stress), I headed back to the gym this week feeling a bit unsure as to how my body would take to getting back into exercise after the break. I did light exercises yesterday and decided to test myself today on the tread climber. (If you don’t know what that is, it’s the love child of a treadmill and a stair climber.)

The results I had are something I’m proud enough to consider a non-scale victories – the victories we should all talk about more often.

Usually when I get on the tread climber, it’s a workout that tires me out more than every other cardio machine except the no-impact runner (why can’t I think of the name of it?). Usually I stop once every ten minutes to catch my breath, and I’m always practically glistening with sweat.

I worked at it for a while and got to the point where I would only have to take a breath every fifteen minutes, but that was really pushing it.

Today I got on the tread climber hoping that I wouldn’t be too bad of a time after the break.
It turns out I got on the tread climber and didn’t have to get off until I was done (thirty minutes). I was sweating, but it certainly wasn’t torture or forcing myself too hard.

Yay for non-scale victories!

What kinds of non-scale victories have you had? Is there a pair of pants you can now fit into? A battle with a craving that you have overcome?

Please share your experiences in the comments section.

This is a success story from earlier this month, but I don’t think a few weeks of dust on the story will make it lose anything.

Many people who go on the journey to lose weight blog about their stories not only to have somewhere to talk about things but also to find people who are going through the same experiences. Support has always been an important part of weight loss and blogging has made it easier than ever to get in touch with other weight loss bloggers.

In addition to featuring people who are on their weight loss journeys, I would also like to feature success stories I come across.

Yes, I know; success stories sometimes only serve to make you feel grumpy about what is going on in your life. However, they can also serve as a big motivation. Other people are doing it and so can you.

Thus it is my pleasure to feature the first success story here at Finally Getting Fit.

From the headlines of CNN.com comes a story of a woman who was nearing the 300 pound mark in 2004 and stepped back from that line to lose 168 pounds and thirteen dress sizes.

Writer Lynn Bering was like many of us before we started losing weight – no self-esteem and increasingly avoiding situations where we would get attention.

But Lynn is living a lovely life now and is happy to be able to pick up her granddaughter. She even has a blog where she has been keeping track of her journey. You can visit that site by clicking here.