New Year, New Start?

Hello!  It seems with the holiday season, I kinda gave up on losing any weight or getting in shape.  Thankfully, I didn't GAIN any weight, so I'm not starting OVER, just starting ANEW.  :)

I've been thinking about trying out the P.I.N.K method; saw it on Dr. Phil, and it looks more in depth than W.W.  I did W.W. after having Aidan, my 4 year old, and it worked great, I lost weight like crazy, but I'm thinking it was only because I was working on the ramp at the airport and not counting that as excersize.  Because when I was working at a desk after having Asher, it did NOTHING for me.  But they don't really place an emphasis on exercise, just watching what you eat. 

I need motivation to exercise.  Watching what I eat has helped me maintain, but I want to LOSE.  I don't know if this will work for me, but I'm willing to give it a shot.  It's cheaper overall than a gym membership, and easier--I don't have to lug my kids anywhere or find someone to watch them so I can hit the gym.

Also, it's come to my attention that I need a dream.  I was reading a friend's blog, and she was talking about how she's kinda stalled out lately--she's living her dream from when she was young, and has realized that she needs a new dream.  And it occurred to me that I'm in the same boat.  I have a loving husband, 2 wonderful children, a home in which to raise my family, great neighbors, and a church family that I love.  My health isn't as tip-top as I would like.  I'm still hovering around 204 lbs.  Which doesn't look HORRIBLE on my 5 foot 9 inch frame, but it's not flattering.  I look at pictures of myself when I was in Maine, how I thought then that I was heavy, and WISH I was back at that weight.

Just "losing weight" isn't working for me, though.  I need something more...concrete.  I think I need to commit to running a 5k or something similar, though I'm not going to commit to that just yet.  Maybe I commit to committing to running a 5k?  :)

One thing I need to do is commit to writing on here more.  Maybe once a week?  Because just writing this post is motivating me.

Update!!!

As of today, my mother-in-law has lost 51 lbs. using this method described earlier on this blog. (Remember?  4 to 5 8-ounce meals a day and 6-8 glasses of water?)  She said that when her sister was visiting they had American chop suey and strawberry shortcake--both big favorites--so she weighed out 4 ounces of both and enjoyed her meal!  I am totally getting a food scale.

Way to go Iris!!

the weight of health: can you be FAT and still be HEALTHY???

yes you can!!! hahaha! i know i haven't posted in a long while, but i do check up on the blog and read everyone's posts and comments a couple times a week so KEEP ON POSTING!!

anyway, i regularly get SPARKPEOPLE updates and articles in my email and saw this one today and it reminded me of the comment i left on mal's latest post about how i believe that people can be relatively healthy and still be overweight. now, i don't say this because i want or intend to be a fat girl for the rest of my life, but rather because as a female who has almost always struggled with her weight, i can tell you that over the past ten years i have personally experienced the various stages of being thin and healthy, thin and unhealthy, fat and unhealthy, and yes, even fat and healthy (SHOCK!!). now you could say "but all the doctors and research and conventional wisdom tell us that the state of being overweight is unhealthy". but if there is one thing i've learned from my extensive years in college it's that conventional wisdom (usually derived from scientists and research) soon becomes traditional which eventually becomes old-fashion (because of new research conducted by new scientist) and in my experience this is particularly true when it comes to the "science" of human health. now for me personally, i have struggled with some serious health issues over the past few years and they can all be tied into being fat. the catch is, however, that when i first experienced these problems i was not fat at all! in fact, i would say that my fatness has come about primarily because of these health problems, not the other way around and in actuality since i've been fat, i've never been diagnosed with a new health problem. the reason i am addressing this is not because i'm a fan of obesity, i am not going to join the fat club of america or sue a clothing company for not carrying a plus size. i plan to lose weight simply because i know and believe that health issues can occur by the extra fat carried around. the dead weight (which is what i call fat) that your body carries. i am addressing this issue because i have personally witnessed the prejudices and assumptions placed on fat people, and while it may be an annoyance or esteem-killer to hear it from friends, family and strangers, i think it is especially harmful to have these assumptions and prejudices made by your healthcare provider.

for example, when i was 19 years old i was a freshman in college and weighed all of 115 lbs. Unlike a lot of people, i did not put on the notorious "freshman 15", in fact, i did not put on any weight at all that year and it wasn't because i was being particularly healthy either (i didn't exercise, i didn't diet, and there were all you can eat ice cream and waffle bars in the cafeteria of which i would usually have one on top of the other!) however, despite being thin, that year i was diagnosed with clinical depression, insomnia, and was placed on prescription medications for severe back pain. over the next two years i did gain about 45lbs as i dealt with my increasingly debilitating mind. at one point i moved back home and lost twenty pounds and when i moved from home to hawaii i weighed 140lbs, which, though considerably heavier than the 115 i was when i started college, i was now 22 years old, had been through some stuff and 140lbs was still considered within the "healthy weight range" according to the body mass index or BMI (which is a WHOLE other post!). now, in hawaii i not only suffered even more from my depression, but i was now additionally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and something that one doctor said was an ovarian cyst while another thought it was endometriosis. i also was experiencing problems with my legs that no one seemed to be able to figure out. whenever i went in to see the doctor (which during this time i saw 4 doctors, 1 physician assistant, 1 nurse, and 2 psychiatrists), not one of them suggested that any of my health problems had anything to do with my weight or activity level. the reason i am bringing all of this up is because during all of the times that i was relatively thin, i did not have one healthcare provider suggest to me that any of my health problems were in anyway connected to my weight. however, since i have been obese, almost every time i've gone in to see a doctor they almost always suggest that my weight is the reason i am having problems until i explain that i had the problem long before i ever had the weight. now, i do not blame the doctor, they are simply regurgitating their training which is always in line with popular research which right now says that if a fat person walks into the room complaining of a headache then it's because she's fat. and though i do believe and understand that obesity can cause and advance all of the problems i previously mentioned, including the depression and anxiety disorder, the point is that in my case i had the illness before i was even fat.

anyway, this is kind of a long post in order to make my point. but i really just wanted to point out that although obesity can be dangerous because it can bring with it a whole host of medical problems, it is important, especially for physicians, to realize that not everything wrong with a fat person is connected to their weight. if your patient comes in complaining of a headache, yes, consider it might be because she is suffering from sleep apnea caused by her weight, but also consider that she might not have sleep apnea but rather interrupted sleep caused by her husband's snoring and a headache caused by the stress of raising three kids. it's just a thought.

My Get Healthy Strategy:

I got myself a puppy!  His name is Bandit, and he's an American Bulldog/Pitbull  mix.  He's 6 months old, great with the kids, and freaking adorable.  I love him.

I've had some health issues lately, been on leave from work because of the stress, and watched my weight creep up to 212 lbs two weeks ago.  Granted, it was at the doctor's office that I got that last number from, so I was probably only 208, haha.

Anyway, Bandit has been such a blessing.  Because he's so active, I need to take him for at least one 30 min walk a day, and then if I don't take him for another walk, I at least go outside and play with him, wrestle, and play catch.  I run with him, too.

I knew I was on the right track when I went to yet another doctor appointment and my weight was DOWN a few pounds.

As of yesterday, I weigh 202.8!!!  I'm *thisclose* to the good side of 200 lbs!!!  :)

Sweets Attack

I have been on a massive sweet binge lately. Not that that's a big surprise to anyone. I do try to keep my sweets under control--Mike and I are both big preachers to HEALTH not WEIGHT, if that makes sense. Obviously health and weight are connected, but as someone who knows firsthand what it's like to be thin and not particularly healthy, I feel it's important to keep a clear distinction between the two.

So, in my effort to keep myself over the sweets attack, I am focusing on not making cookies and instead making a dent in the gigantic container of dates we have in the fridge. (Admittedly, there is a bit of a dent, but it's largely from making date squares. For those of you who don't know, date squares+healthy=:(, BUT date squares+yummy=:)  )

I do love dates though, so this really shouldn't be difficult. Anyway, so I thought I'd share with you some of the health benefits of dates. I am getting my information from here, but I will put some highlights on here for you.

-Dates are rich in dietary fiber, which prevents LDL ("bad") cholesterol absorption. Dietary fiber also binds to cancer causing chemicals in the colon, which prevents abdominal cancers.
-Dates contain antioxidants called tannins (the same antioxidants found in teas). Tannins have anti-infective, and anti-inflammatory properties.
-They contain a lot of vitamin A, beta-carotene, and lutein, which are all antioxidants that help to fight numerous cancers.
-Dates contain a lot of iron, potassium, calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium.
-Dates are rich in the B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K.

So, hows THAT for a super-fruit. And they're sweet to boot! Not to mention, they always make me think of Harrison Ford, and that's always a good thing.

Fridge Sign

Here's a quote for the fridge:

"Nothing tastes as good

As THIN feels!"

7 Habits That Keep Us Fat

And yes, I recognized one or two of these things in myself (I promise that I will try very hard not to eat your food again Casey).  Here are the bad habits along with the good habits that we need to--and CAN--develop to overcome them.  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44063730/ns/today-today_health/

***Also, I've been asked several times for an update on my mother-in-law's progress on the 8-ounces-of-food-every-3-hours diet and as of 2 days ago she says that she is still doing it and still happy with her downward progress!