Fat Ticker Friday and My Two Cents

Happy final unofficial Fat Ticker Friday!

(My weigh-in will be at 8 a.m. ish as always and I'll report back).

Weight lost: no change (surprise surprise!)
What to do next week: I can already tell you it will be something to do with no brownies that's right, no brownies, no crap, lots of exercising, lots of water, lots of wonderful healthy yummy meals and time to buckle down and do this, for real! no more putzin around.

Here in the "O" house, we've been doing "letter weeks" with the boys. Making crafts and eating food and playing with things that start with the letter we're working on. Last week was "A" and lucky for me because there were really healthy A's happening all over the place because there was a lot of apple stuff. But guess what B stands for? Besides basketball, bug, bunny, boat, (screaming banshee), butterfly, and bubbles, there is "baker" and "brownies" and marshmallow krispy treats shaped like the letter "B". (I thought it would be fun to play "baker" one day but I ended up stuffing my piehole with brownies).

So thank goodness B week is over. (C stands for things like cookies and cake but I'll just stick to plain ol' "cookING".)

Anyway, there may not have been a huge loss this week, but I did run a strong three miles yesterday (which was 60 laps on an indoor track at my gym). Funny how you have to play mindgames with yourself to get through 60 laps. I counted backwards. 60, 59, 58... and when I thought about it in 10 lap increments, it wasn't so bad. I also did a lot of "plank" -- oh my arch enemy, I will conquer you!

Before we get started on Hot for the Holidays, I wanna share a couple of tidbits I learned over this past year during my weight loss quest. And you can take it or leave it, not everything works for everyone and I know that! But maybe something in here will help you and please, feel free to add on to any of this!

One of my biggest suggestions for success is setting a parallel goal, like actually purchasing the dress you want to wear during the holidays, or like me, setting a date for a race and training for it. For me, it's the Turkey Trot, which is a 10k on Thanksgiving Day. I've never in my life run more than 4 miles in one sitting, so this is going to be difficult for me. But I plan on doing it no matter what. (I can be the fat chick running the race or the fit chick running the race -- it's my choice. That's my slogan.)

And no, this challenge won't be easy for anyone. It shouldn't be. It's work. But here, this moment, is where you can dig your feet in and decide that you're going to do the work. Because you can do it. You can. Trust me. And you'll be that much stronger for having done it. If I can do it, you can too. I have lost about 25 pounds this year from doing the work. And by the time my baby turns one, I will have run 3 5k's and a 10k. For someone who was the polar opposite of athletic for more than 2 years, that's pretty good.

So, the rest:
-Figure out your "big picture plan". Your workout plan, your gym plan, write your workouts into your day, write your food plan down, all of it. Plan it all out. Set yourself up for success right off the bat.

-Purge your fridge and pantry. Start over with everything that you are allowing yourself (and/or your family) to eat. For me, it's just healthy lean meats, whole grains, veggies, fruits, yogurts, low-fat cheeses and milk, that type of thing. Kind of a "Body for Life" plan -- which is pairing proteins and healthy carbs at 5 or six small meals (with one day "off"). And minimizing the sugar and the fat. Don't get me wrong, I am personally against total elimination (I believe in moderation and the occasional treat). But if your fridge is filled with a ton of crap, ditch it and start over with healthy food. Choose your "treats" carefully, but go ahead, indulge if you must so you don't fall off completely!

-Set your goals (realistically). Have it written out somewhere, on your blog, on paper, journal, on your fridge, whatever. Mine is a combo platter: to lose 12-15 pounds and to be able to run 6 miles without wanting to die. That's about 4 pounds a month (totally doable! If I work!) and that's with doing three training runs a week and three weight-training days for a total of 6 days a week working out. However, it's no more than one hour a day, which certainly I can find one eensy weensy hour a day to move my body, right?

-This one is big. Tell your friends and family what your plan is because if you don't, they'll poo-poo your efforts! They won't mean to, but they will!! You need their help. You can't do it without them. After all, if they know you're serious, they'll move mountains for you to do things like watch the kids so you can work out, not make you eat crap food, make sure there are healthy options at those family gatherings, etc etc. They can contribute to or impede your efforts, so get them on your side! I can't tell you how many people said to me, "Don't worry, it's only one ____ (fill in the blank)." But now they don't even try.

-Again, set yourself up for success. If you have the tools in place, if you've planned it all out, all you have to do is follow it. (How easy is that?!) If you know when to workout, what your workout is, and how and what to eat and when, you'll have a better chance of following than if you go at it by the seat of your pants. Planning, to me, is the biggest tip of all. Case in point: If I don't write down and let my husband know when my runs are, the schedule gets screwed up, I add runs to my workout days, my weight days get thrown off, it all gets out of whack.. it's like a snowball. Then the following week I'm playing catchup and then before I know it, my eating starts to suffer because I think, "Well I've already messed up this week..." Which I have to work on. Because the best thing for falling off the wagon is getting right back on.

So these are my suggestions, but everyone has their own thing. As long as it gets you to your goal! I really just want to see as many people as possible becoming healthier and happier. Living the one life we have the happiest way we can. And happiness for many of us means not carrying around all that extra weight, feeling beautiful inside AND out. And going confidently in the direction of life.

The more I lost, the more I started to live again and that is the most valuable thing I could possibly give my family. It's amazing how much my weight had an effect on everything -- like the fact that I refused to wear shorts (in Florida!) and I didn't want to go outside and play because I would only wear pants, and I was embarrassed of my appearance and had zero confidence in meeting other moms for playgroups, and I had no energy at all, and I didn't want to go to pool parties (again, in Florida!) or the beach (hello! I live in Florida!) and I never wanted to take pictures of myself -- how awful would that be to look back and see no pictures of me with my beautiful babies??? I could go on and on and on. Not to mention, when you feel like crap all the time, doesn't it follow that people treat you that way? I don't think it's my imagination. I think that's how it was for me and I was always grumpy and other people were always grumpy and that negativity just manifested.

So I hope we have lots of fun and lose lots of weight but really I just hope we get healthy together and cheer each other on and pick each other up when things get a little rough. I'm so happy to see so many people with the same goal! Let's get moving!! See ya Monday on the flip side where I'll announce the prize for the week!

Fat Ticker Friday and My Two Cents

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