I failed to post towards the end of last week, as I had planned. It's been challenging to keep the momentum going this week. I've done pretty well with eating--I enjoyed some apple pie I made for our women's broadcast but don't feel too bad about it. I am looking for a balance and do not feel the need to beat myself up. I've also done pretty well with exercising and keeping active. I have found that I am enjoying walking more, and have not had any more chest pains when doing so. My legs still hurt a bit, but I realize that they are supporting a lot of weight and it will take some time for the pain to go away.
One thing I've been struggling with is cravings. Prior to my decision to work on getting healthy, I had gotten into the habit of eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. One of the things I grew especially fond of, and indulged in nearly every day, was a large cherry or strawberry limeade from Sonic. Honestly, I still want it pretty badly most days. I had also gotten used to ordering the cheddar peppers at Sonic when I went to get my soda. Some days I would order them and eat them even though I didn't really want them or they didn't taste good to me. It was a habit I got into and it has been hard to break. I have been without these items for a couple of weeks now and it is getting easier.
So far my resolve to eat better and be more active has done pretty good to help keep me going, but it is a challenge. I am so grateful for the support I am getting from family and friends, especially my sweet husband. Without his support I know I would not be doing so well. Some mornings I really dislike him when he annoys me out of bed and onto my walk, but I really appreciate that annoyance once I have returned home afterwards. Today was one of those days. I ended up getting in a nice, long walk, and feel much better for it. Thanks, Rick.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Weekend Struggles and Numbers that Hurt
The weekend was more difficult than I anticipated. By Friday, I was kind of worn out. I did get some walking in on Friday, and played volleyball in the evening, but not much other exercise. Saturday was worse. I didn't get a walk in and ended up napping a bit. My eating was, well, okay. I haven't been snacking like previously and did pretty good with serving sizes, but didn't eat as well as I had hoped. I did manage to get a walk in Sunday night. In fact, it felt so good that I walked for about 60 minutes. So, I'm doing pretty good but need to work harder to stay on-track and motivated.
To help with this, today I had a fitness assessment at the HRC Fitness Center in town. I knew that I was in bad shape, but seeing everything written down made my health plight that much more real to me. It's hard to not feel overwhelmed when I can see how far I have to go. Here are some of the stats:
Weight: 308
Height: 5'9"
Resting blood pressure: 135/85
Resting heart rate: 83
Seven Site Skinfold (BMI test):
Lean weight: 183
Fat weight: 125
Fat percentage: 42%
Push-up test: 6 in a minute (although I didn't make it all the way down)
Sit and reach distance: 13 1/4
I plan to go in three months and test again to see what progress I've made. It is kind of a downer to see how bad I've gotten, but it is also motivating to know that I can do better. I am resolved to improve but I know it is going to take a long time. This is challenging as I (like many of us) have gotten used to instantaneous gratification. I even get frustrated when my cell phone takes to long to load Facebook (yeah, first-world problems, I know). However, I have a great support system and I am motivated to make the changes I need. So, let's keep moving forward.
To help with this, today I had a fitness assessment at the HRC Fitness Center in town. I knew that I was in bad shape, but seeing everything written down made my health plight that much more real to me. It's hard to not feel overwhelmed when I can see how far I have to go. Here are some of the stats:
Weight: 308
Height: 5'9"
Resting blood pressure: 135/85
Resting heart rate: 83
Seven Site Skinfold (BMI test):
Lean weight: 183
Fat weight: 125
Fat percentage: 42%
Push-up test: 6 in a minute (although I didn't make it all the way down)
Sit and reach distance: 13 1/4
I plan to go in three months and test again to see what progress I've made. It is kind of a downer to see how bad I've gotten, but it is also motivating to know that I can do better. I am resolved to improve but I know it is going to take a long time. This is challenging as I (like many of us) have gotten used to instantaneous gratification. I even get frustrated when my cell phone takes to long to load Facebook (yeah, first-world problems, I know). However, I have a great support system and I am motivated to make the changes I need. So, let's keep moving forward.
Friday, September 18, 2015
So. Many. Steps.
The post title pretty much sums up how I feel about this process. There are so many steps to getting healthy. I've neglected my health in so many ways that it is going to take time and effort to really turn things around. When I stop to think about how much there is to do I get overwhelmed, so I am simply choosing to take it a little bit at a time.
Over the past year or so, I've grown accustomed to a pretty sedentary lifestyle. In fact, I have gotten to the point where it hurts to stand for very long. I get easily fatigued. This is frustrating and hurts many areas of my life. I can't run and play with my kids like they need and deserve. I am missing out on so much because of my selfish lifestyle. But I am changing.
I started pushing myself to be more active about two weeks ago. I started by walking my first-grader to school every morning. We live a few blocks from her school. This walk, which should be easy for someone my age, was actually really tough for a while. My legs would hurt and I would be severely winded from the exercise. It gradually got a little easier. After a few days, I started adding some time to my walk after dropping her off. At first, I would walk for just a few minutes and then would have to stop and rest before heading home.
As of Monday of this week, I have been walking for about thirty steady minutes each morning after dropping my daughter off (except for Wednesday, when directionally-challenged me got lost and ended up walking in circles. I got in almost 60 minutes that day just trying to find my way home). For the first half of this week, my legs and feet hurt badly and I would have a bit of chest pain to work through at the beginning of each walk. By today, my legs are hurting much less and I didn't notice any chest pain. I feel a little better every day, and even feel my mood lifting a bit.
Is this all easy? No. Would I rather stay in bed most days? Absolutely. Is it getting easier? A little bit at a time. Do I expect amazing results right off the bat? Heck no. I'm realistic. It took time to get to the point I'm at and I know that it will take time to get to where I want to be. I'm not focusing on my weight right now; I'm focusing on getting to feeling better. My goal with walking is to work my way up to being able to walk for 60 minutes at a time without it being too difficult. Then I will be ready to move on to some personal training. I plan to add ten minutes every other week as I feel comfortable. That's a lot of steps!
I've also decided that I should get a "base" reading of where I'm at now, so that I can better see my results after some time has passed. On Monday morning I will be going to have a personal fitness test at the Hays Recreational Center. This should help me have a better idea of where I'm starting from, especially since I haven't even looked at a scale in over a year. I will post my results next week. I plan to post about twice a week, so I hope you'll keep up with my progress. I really appreciate everyone's support and words of encouragement! Have a great weekend.
Over the past year or so, I've grown accustomed to a pretty sedentary lifestyle. In fact, I have gotten to the point where it hurts to stand for very long. I get easily fatigued. This is frustrating and hurts many areas of my life. I can't run and play with my kids like they need and deserve. I am missing out on so much because of my selfish lifestyle. But I am changing.
I started pushing myself to be more active about two weeks ago. I started by walking my first-grader to school every morning. We live a few blocks from her school. This walk, which should be easy for someone my age, was actually really tough for a while. My legs would hurt and I would be severely winded from the exercise. It gradually got a little easier. After a few days, I started adding some time to my walk after dropping her off. At first, I would walk for just a few minutes and then would have to stop and rest before heading home.
As of Monday of this week, I have been walking for about thirty steady minutes each morning after dropping my daughter off (except for Wednesday, when directionally-challenged me got lost and ended up walking in circles. I got in almost 60 minutes that day just trying to find my way home). For the first half of this week, my legs and feet hurt badly and I would have a bit of chest pain to work through at the beginning of each walk. By today, my legs are hurting much less and I didn't notice any chest pain. I feel a little better every day, and even feel my mood lifting a bit.
Is this all easy? No. Would I rather stay in bed most days? Absolutely. Is it getting easier? A little bit at a time. Do I expect amazing results right off the bat? Heck no. I'm realistic. It took time to get to the point I'm at and I know that it will take time to get to where I want to be. I'm not focusing on my weight right now; I'm focusing on getting to feeling better. My goal with walking is to work my way up to being able to walk for 60 minutes at a time without it being too difficult. Then I will be ready to move on to some personal training. I plan to add ten minutes every other week as I feel comfortable. That's a lot of steps!
I've also decided that I should get a "base" reading of where I'm at now, so that I can better see my results after some time has passed. On Monday morning I will be going to have a personal fitness test at the Hays Recreational Center. This should help me have a better idea of where I'm starting from, especially since I haven't even looked at a scale in over a year. I will post my results next week. I plan to post about twice a week, so I hope you'll keep up with my progress. I really appreciate everyone's support and words of encouragement! Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Food
I love food. Or, more correctly, I love to eat food. This is one of my biggest challenges and a natural first place to start in my journey to better health. Food has become almost my everything and I use it to bury my sadness, my fear, my anger, my frustration, my insecurities and, worst of all, even my happiness. Sometimes I eat just to eat. The food might not even taste that good to me. My stomach might be hurting from the onslaught but I continue to shove it in. This is how I self-medicate. This is my addiction.
It has a taken a long time to get to this point. I think I've always had a bad relationship with food and that the challenges in the recent years of my life have only accentuated the problem. Perhaps the most difficult part is that I have always misunderstood nutrition. I blush a little to remember that, at some point in my childhood, I picked up the idea that sugar calories weren't a big idea because they're "easy to burn off." I held this idea in the back of my head long into my late teens and early twenties. I still struggle to know what I should and should not eat. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with this--especially with the myriad of "diet plans" and modes of thinking that are out there. I'm guessing that I'm not the only person who struggles with this.
Luckily for me, an opportunity to learn about nutrition and learn healthy eating has presented itself. I have a friend from church who has recently opened a fitness center. She also prepares healthy meals for client and has graciously been taking some time to teach me about what she does. I have already learned a few healthy meals that I can prepare at home. Komoss, you are literally a God-send. I am so grateful for what you've been teaching me. The food is delicious and I am excited about what I'm learning. I have been eating these healthy meals for almost two days now. I love how they taste and I'm looking forward to feeling better as I continue to eat better. I won't lie and say that I'm never hungry, but I am learning to appreciate what I am eating and stick within portion sizes.
(If any of you would like to learn more about Komoss and her facility, here's her website: jumpstarthealthandfitness.com)
So, I have started focusing on a big part of my problem. I am excited to see where this goes. I hope you are, too.
It has a taken a long time to get to this point. I think I've always had a bad relationship with food and that the challenges in the recent years of my life have only accentuated the problem. Perhaps the most difficult part is that I have always misunderstood nutrition. I blush a little to remember that, at some point in my childhood, I picked up the idea that sugar calories weren't a big idea because they're "easy to burn off." I held this idea in the back of my head long into my late teens and early twenties. I still struggle to know what I should and should not eat. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with this--especially with the myriad of "diet plans" and modes of thinking that are out there. I'm guessing that I'm not the only person who struggles with this.
Luckily for me, an opportunity to learn about nutrition and learn healthy eating has presented itself. I have a friend from church who has recently opened a fitness center. She also prepares healthy meals for client and has graciously been taking some time to teach me about what she does. I have already learned a few healthy meals that I can prepare at home. Komoss, you are literally a God-send. I am so grateful for what you've been teaching me. The food is delicious and I am excited about what I'm learning. I have been eating these healthy meals for almost two days now. I love how they taste and I'm looking forward to feeling better as I continue to eat better. I won't lie and say that I'm never hungry, but I am learning to appreciate what I am eating and stick within portion sizes.
(If any of you would like to learn more about Komoss and her facility, here's her website: jumpstarthealthandfitness.com)
So, I have started focusing on a big part of my problem. I am excited to see where this goes. I hope you are, too.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
It Begins
Hi. My name is Ginny and I am morbidly obese. You're probably thinking that this is a strange way to introduce myself, but the truth is that this is the exact introduction people get when they first meet me face-to-face. There's no hiding it. It is part of who I am. It is not, however, all of who I am. I am also wife to an awesome husband and mother of the three best kids in the whole wide world. I am a singer, an artist, a cook, a baker, a dreamer and an achiever.
My size is not all there is to me and it should not be my defining characteristic. I am afraid, however, that it all-to-often becomes just that--and I am the worst offender for this line of thinking. Frankly, I obsess over my weight. Night and day. Hardly a moment goes by when I'm not thinking about it. Honestly, it's hard not to.
The thing that most of you who aren't obese may not realize is that it hurts. A lot. Imagine carrying yourself around on your back all day. And all night. And again tomorrow, and the day after that. After awhile, you'd get a little sore, wouldn't you? Your back would hurt. Your knees and feet would be killing you and you'd probably want to sit down as much as possible. You would toss and turn at night because you're too sore to get comfortable. Many activities would be difficult or impossible because of your size. Welcome to my world. But please don't pity me. I did this to myself.
So, why not just lose the weight? It's a question that I ask myself every day. I've gotten really good at making excuses about why today is not a good day to start eating right or why tomorrow won't be a good day to work out. When I take the time to be honest with myself, I realize that it's all rubbish. I've gotten good at making the excuses and packing on the pounds. Some of my excuses are really good, I must admit, but I've had enough. I'm fed up with this life and I am ready for a change.
This is my story as I work to make the changes that I so desperately need. This is my outlet to express the ups and downs of my journey and seek to hold myself accountable. Judge me if you must, but your encouragement would be much more valuable. This is your chance to laugh and cry with me and support my efforts. This is the story of how I'm going to get healthy.
My size is not all there is to me and it should not be my defining characteristic. I am afraid, however, that it all-to-often becomes just that--and I am the worst offender for this line of thinking. Frankly, I obsess over my weight. Night and day. Hardly a moment goes by when I'm not thinking about it. Honestly, it's hard not to.
The thing that most of you who aren't obese may not realize is that it hurts. A lot. Imagine carrying yourself around on your back all day. And all night. And again tomorrow, and the day after that. After awhile, you'd get a little sore, wouldn't you? Your back would hurt. Your knees and feet would be killing you and you'd probably want to sit down as much as possible. You would toss and turn at night because you're too sore to get comfortable. Many activities would be difficult or impossible because of your size. Welcome to my world. But please don't pity me. I did this to myself.
So, why not just lose the weight? It's a question that I ask myself every day. I've gotten really good at making excuses about why today is not a good day to start eating right or why tomorrow won't be a good day to work out. When I take the time to be honest with myself, I realize that it's all rubbish. I've gotten good at making the excuses and packing on the pounds. Some of my excuses are really good, I must admit, but I've had enough. I'm fed up with this life and I am ready for a change.
This is my story as I work to make the changes that I so desperately need. This is my outlet to express the ups and downs of my journey and seek to hold myself accountable. Judge me if you must, but your encouragement would be much more valuable. This is your chance to laugh and cry with me and support my efforts. This is the story of how I'm going to get healthy.
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