Scale: Slave to? Or Accountable To?

 Weightloss.   Everywhere you turn you see ads for quick and easy weight loss.   Pills, shakes, creams, and even laser therapies.  If you have followed me at all, you know I have struggled with my weight since our daughter got sick the first time.   I know I am repeating myself, but I am a major stress eater.  Knowing and understanding your eating habits and eating triggers is critical to success in weight loss.

Fast forward to this spring.   Gyms had been closed for three plus months.  Our business has been drastically affected by this pandemic as well.  That was a recipe for disaster for me.   Food for comfort, beer and pizza, wine, chips and so much more.   The latest health issue in our home if our son hurting his back over a year ago during off season baseball training.  That is another story, but let's just say, unsupervised weight training with young high school athletes is a REALLY bad idea.  He has struggled a lot and missed a lot of baseball as well.  The masses of tests, emergency room visits and so much more has been stressful to say the least.

We trusted so many people and medical professionals to figure out what was going on with his back.  The answer?   I don't know.  His tests are normal.  We finally turned to a long time friend and person trainer Jason Ivesdal.  Jason is the perennial student and is always studying and learning to better service his clients.   Our son started training with Jason and working on building back his strength and mobility.  Of course then COVID hit.  there was no more training with Jason for over 3 months.  But, this isn't about our son.  I always went along to our son's training sessions with Jason.  Jason and I would chat about a lot of different things during those sessions.

One very emotional day for me, I said to him with tears in my eyes, "I can't be like this anymore, I need your help to lose this weight for good.".   His simple answer, "I will help you."

I will write more about the process later, but right now I want to talk about the scale.   I have been a slave to the scale for many years.   If I had a night of beer and pizza, I would step on the scale the next day.  I would get frustrated that the scale would go up significantly and it would take me days to get back to where I was.  I would get frustrated and say things like, "I won't ever be able to eat normal food again.  Every time I eat normal food I gain weight."  "I'm never going to get to my goal weight."  In the past the scale would make me feel like a failure.  It was not a healthy place for me to be so obsessed with the scale.   

The scale does not always reflect where you are in a weight loss journey.  There are other considerations.  For example:   Are you retaining water?  Do you have food allergies?  Are you working out and building lean muscle mass?   The scale is only one piece of a larger wellness puzzle.

So, I changed my focus.  Now I am excited to step on the scale and don't concern myself with how much it goes down. I am looking at the scale as a tool to help keep me on track.  I am learning what foods and what things make the scale go up slightly.  That way I can adjust my "normal" eating habits to not eat those things as frequently.   I also purchased a new scale.  This one has an app (doesn't everything) associated with it that lets you visually track your progress.  As an accountability tool, I make adjustments if I see the scale go up.  This will help me ultimately from rebounding and gaining the weight back.

My scale was also not accurate.  So many home scales are NOT!  That didn't help my cause.  So I decided to splurge on a new scale.  Withings Body Scale

                     

Who would have ever thought I would be excited about a scale?   This bad boy does all this:

• Tracks BMI & Weight Trends
• Up to 8 Users
• Wi Fi Synchronization
• Daily Weather Report
• Works with Multiple Health Apps
• Has a Baby & Pregnancy Mode (I am way beyond that but great for expectant Mother's!)

The hardest thing for me over the last few years is to remember that I AM Worthy.   This is a struggle for so many women.  I have lost weight and regained it more times than I can count anymore.  I know I have said this before, but it is time for ME.  Time to be healthy.  With all the craziness of this pandemic, it is even more important for people to care for the bodies God gave them.  Eat healthy, exercise, get plenty of sleep and have a strong spiritual life.  That will help you stay healthy even through a pandemic!   I will write more about healthy living, but don't fall for quick weight loss scams.  Pills, shakes, etc.  They are not sustainable unless you want to continue purchasing and using those products for the rest of your life?   No gimmicks, no cheats, real food and exercise (full disclosure, I started with shakes, but there is a good reason for that - I only did them for 21 days). 

You are worth it.   I am worth it.  If you need to talk with someone about this, I am always available.

This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase a product through an affiliate link I make a small commission at no cost to you.  This small commission keeps my husband happy when I spend too much time on things like this.  Thank you for your support!

The Bewitching Hour & Barre Class- Wellness Journey Post #6

I have been very behind on writing this week.  You will find out why a little later in the post.  I actually have at least 6 posts started but can't seem to get to finish any of them.  I tend to write in my head and then try to at least get the concepts on paper before I lose them.  There are some essential oils that are supposed to help support your memory and motivation maybe I need to try them!

So this update is actually from late during the first week of my exercise and healthy living journey.

So read on my friends - I am continuing on and will update some other posts here soon!

PLANNING

The first part of this week my son was home with just a little icky something for the first 3 days. I guess if there's good news about that is that I was at home. So eating well and eating small meals frequently was actually quite easy. When he went back to school on Thursday things changed a little bit for me.   This meant that I had to bring all of my food to the office with me.

I'm kind of a last minute person to be honest. So having to do a lot of planning is a bit of a challenge for me. Fitting in the classes, working out,  getting lunches ready the morning. prepping food for the day, having a dinner prepared (or at least planned) and getting the kids to school can be a real challenge.  Welcome to Motherhood!  I am envious of the families that can afford to have a stay at home parent!

It requires me to be organized. That is not exactly in my nature.  I guess that is a good thing and maybe it will become a habit. That is my hope. I have to plan for dinner the night before I have to make the lunches I have to get all of my food prepped and have everything ready to go to make my shake in the morning before I go to class.  Yikes.  This is a real challenge for me!  I see the prize down the road so I am committed to making it happen.

BARRE CLASS

Friday I took my first Barre class.  I went into the first class thinking this would be a little bit of a recovery from the HIIT & Bootcamp classes.  BOY WAS I WRONG!  It was all about strength, flexibility and core.    We started with squats for a LONG PERIOD OF TIME.  It felt like forever.  My legs burned like I don't think they ever have before.

OK - I have long legs, I am not flexible. Once again I WAS PATHETIC.  We did some stretching exercises where I had a partner.  You sit with your feet together, legs straight and hold hands to pull on each other and stretch your legs.  HAH!  What a riot.  Just sitting in that position was a challenge for me.  FORGET STRETCHING.  The poor woman I was paired with had her arms stretched beyond her feet, because I couldn't even get close to my feet!

This was kind of the theory but without the bands.  We were holding hands.  All I can say to my partner is I AM SORRY.

All these people on the floor looking like dancers and gymnasts.  And then there is me!

Ok - I know how important this is and as awful as it was. I actually liked it.  How weird is that?


BECOME AWARE.

a·ware

əˈwer/

adjective

1. having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.

   "most people are aware of the dangers of sunbathing"

   synonyms:

   conscious of, mindful of, informed about, acquainted with, familiar with,alive to, alert to; informalclued in to, wise to, in the know about, hip to;  formalcognizant of;  archaicware of

   • concerned and well-informed about a particular situation or development.

     "unless everyone becomes more environmentally aware, catastrophe is inevitable"
   • 
     

   
   

Part of this journey is to become aware of my body, of my eating habits, of my emotions and of my physical activity.  One of the things I discovered in the first week is that I absolutely have a "Bewitching Hour" !

After picking up the kids from school, we come home and they need a snack.  They both eat lunch fairly early.  So when they get home they are hungry.  In the past I would snack with them.  But my snacks were certainly not good for my body or my brain!  Chips were my go to.  Crunch, salty, yum!!!!  The activity of having to write down what I am going to eat made me stop, think and make a better choice.

BE AWARE.  Finding and knowing your triggers is one of the keys to your success.  Instead I grabbed some protein and some veggies.  I was satisfied very quickly and did not have that horrible - oh crap - what did I just eat feeling.

Be aware of your body, and of  your cravings.  When you find something like this you can plan for it.  Have a good healthy snack ready for you when this happens. This will help you make good choices.

Week one is done - stay tuned for a wrap up post on that.

I WILL DO THIS!

What is your why? - A Wellness Journey - Post #5

Today, a little bit about me.  Because ultimately a wellness journey is about yourself.  What is your why?  You hear that all the time from life coaches and network marketing coaches.  I have a lot of "whys".

I have four photos I have up around the house.


The first is from my wedding day.  This photo is in our living room.  I felt amazingly beautiful, loved and amazing.  It was a perfect day.  I was starting my life with the love of my life.  I truly am not a superficial person.  I am more comfortable in  sweat pants and a sweat shirt but like to dress up and look nice.  BUT I don't like the way I feel, the way my body looks, when I am over weight and out of shape.  I don't notice other people that are overweight (unless they are morbidly obese) but I sure notice it when I am.

The second picture is from a work function that my husband and I attended.  The proverbial little black dress.  We were married in 1996 and our beautiful daughter was born in December of 1999.  I gained a TON of weight during my pregnancy.  Apparently, subconsciously, I decided I could eat anything while I was pregnant.  My OB-GYN actually reprimanded me for gaining so much weight.   My food of choice was pepperoni, green olive pizza.  We have all heard the saying, "you should eat more, you are eating for two".  I took that literally.   After Elsie was born I started working out in a gym with a personal trainer.  I had never been in a gym before let alone really exercise!  After a period of time I was in the best shape I had ever been.  I did cardio, I ate right and I lifted weights.  The fat melted off me!  I felt great.

The third picture is when Elsie was about 1.  We were at a Hanken family reunion in Omaha.  We recently discovered this picture.  I don't think I had ever seen it.  My husband, David's Father passed away just before Thanksgiving.  Between 2000 and 2014 we lost all 4 of our parents and a Grandma.  We were down in Iowa cleaning out the house and going though over 60 years of memories.  I will write more about that later.  We discovered this picture.  I picked it up and all I could say was, "Whoa who is that woman"?  (Spoiler alert - this was a bit of a turning point for me).  This one hangs on our bathroom wall.

The fourth picture is from my nieces wedding.  We had our amazing son Porter in 2002.  I worked out as long as I could while pregnant with Porter.  I carried him so low that it was actually painful to walk.  I remember going to the gym and talking to my trainer in tears.  I had to tell him, I just couldn't keep going, it hurt too much.  Luckily I did not backslide much and was able to get back at it for awhile after Porter was born.  This was probably the longest that I kept at it.  This picture is in my office at work.

So you ask, what happened between 2002 and 2014?  A LOT.  Life happened, Motherhood happened, business ownership happened, financial stress happened, we lost the last 3 of our parents during that time, the kids schedules got busy, the kids activities got more expensive and busier, my husband bought a business, he was not paying himself (all the money went back into the business) he moved the business into a larger space with higher rent, there was a small financial system collapse (disastrous for small business owners - he was still not paying himself), I quit my job where I was part owner of a successful company, I traveled a lot for my new job, I quit tha!t job and took another job that was absolutely horrible - I was never home, I quit that job and went to work in David's business.   People say the most stressful things a person can go through are death of a family member, changing jobs and/or moving.  Let's just add financial stress to that issue.

These are not excuses they are reality.  They are reality for many people.  What have I learned?  You have to take care of yourself.  You can't care for others if you don't take care of yourself.

What happened?   I quit taking care of myself.  What do a lot of parents and business owners do?  They sacrifice themselves for their families and for their work.  I forgot what it felt like to feel great.  I forgot what it was like to look great.

Yes, this is about me.  That is my first why.  My second why is my family.  I want to be here for them for a long time.  I want to be an active Grandparent (when that time comes!).  I want to enjoy retirement someday. I don't think I have ever used as many I sentences EVER!  It is about time.

I WILL DO THIS!

It's a Love/Hate Thing - Wellness Journey Post #3

I hate restarting exercise.  I love restarting exercise.  Yes I am psychotic.  I hate how pathetic I am and I hate that I let myself quit and gain back the weight AGAIN.  I hate, hate, hate, hate that.  I love how I feel when I am done, even the soreness.  I love that when I start moving again and eating right that my face almost immediately thins out. I loose some of the puffiness.  My skin tone gets clearer.  I have more energy and I sleep better.  Seriously this is all in 3 days.

Anyone who has started a program like this knows the kind of muscle soreness that you get.

The love part, you know your body is burning calories and creating muscle.  All of that will ultimately make you stronger.

The hate part, you can't even get up and down out of a chair.  You can't lift your arms to get your shirt off at night.  You can't go up and down stairs.  Your children think it is hilarious and laugh at you.  :)

I know I have said it before, I have been here before.  So I do know that it all means progress.  I am not a very patient person so getting back in shape and weight loss is a real challenge for me.  I want to be at my goal NOW.   I know, I know, Rome wasn't built in a day. Who said I wanted to be Rome?  You didn't put the weight on overnight.  No that took a lot of inactivity, beer and junk food.  

My biggest fear with the muscle soreness was not being able to effectively work out again at the next class.  So, let me introduce you to my saviors!

Anti-inflammatory essential oils and pain relieving essential oils to the rescue

#1  Aroma Siez 

#2 Copaiba - here is a short little video about Copaiba Copaiba - natural anti-inflammatory

#3 Lemongrass - here is another video about Lemongrass and Copaiba - Tendonitis Relief

#4 Deep Relief - The name is just like what it does provide deep relief wherever I have muscle pain (which is pretty much everywhere).

#5 Ortho Sport.  This is an amazing massage oil.  Have a massage therapist use it in your massage or get someone to give you a home massage.  Ortho Sport warms the muscles and helps eliminate soreness.

So two workouts, one Sunday and one Monday after not working out for many months left me pretty bad as you can imagine.  Tuesday was an hour of hot yoga.

Both days I oiled with these oils, Aroma Siez, Copaiba, Lemongrass mixed with coconut oil.  I spread it everywhere it hurt.  Then topped with Deep Relief.  I did this right after my workout and two - three times a day.   

This morning I was pain free and my muscles were ready for today's workout!

This is not about selling you product.  But I do share these products with people.  If you are interested please let me know.  They are amazing!

I will post more about today's class adventure.  I have already started this protocol again today to hope to be ready for class Friday and Saturday.  Keep moving that body!

I WILL DO THIS

I Am Pathetic - Wellness Journey Post #2

So yesterday marked the completion of day 2.  2 days of intense exercise and eating well with whole foods.  Sunday I decided to get this old bod moving and did a ropes class.  It was tough and a lot of cardio type moves.  I was sore.

I reviewed my detailed report from Saturday and my body fat percentage is pathetic!  Please don't say it.  "Lori, you are not fat".  People are so nice and polite, they think that is the right thing to say.  Honestly what if you tried this instead.  Suzi says, "I'm so fat, I hate it."  Suggested response, "Suzi, if you feel that way and want to change your eating habits or your body I support you 100%!  How can I help?"

Now small caveat here, all the super thin older females and teenage girls that really don't need to lose weight, please don't encourage them to lose weight.  Encourage them to have a great self image, but that is another story. We all know when we look at someone if they could afford to be in a little better shape or make better eating choices.

Sometimes that statement is from someone reaching out for attention.  "What??? You???? No way,you are not fat, you look fantastic!"  Personally I would not feed into that either.  Consider your answers to be non-judgmental and supportive.   How about if they are thin, "If you believe yourself to be fat, might I suggest that you go talk to a nutritionist, doctor or exercise specialist?  They may be able to give you some good advice."

Ok, I am not judging someone that is fat.  If that is their choice and they don't want to do anything about it, that is their choice.  But here is my reality.

• I have gained a bunch of weight.  Reality - since after my daughter was born I have gained 47 pounds.  I am NOT proud of it.  I did not want to write that.  IT IS NOT OK FOR ME.
• My skin tone is horrible
• My hair and nails are brittle 
• I don't sleep well
• I have no energy
• I don't do anything well
• My clothes don't fit
• Bladder control issues (let's face it - I am over 50 and have had two children and am overweight)
• I have lost this weight before and don't intend to gain it back EVER

But, I digress.  Yesterday's class started with 20 minutes of high intensity cardio.  No breaks.  It was high intensity.  All the people in the Athleta and LuLu Lemon spandex and tank tops running circles around me.  Seriously I felt pathetic!  The trainer had to actually take me on a different route so that I didn't slow down the other people.  We then moved on to another 35 minutes of weight lifting type of exercises.  The only break was to move and setup for the next exercise.  When I went to speak with the trainer after the class, my legs were so weak I couldn't hardly sit down.

I can tell you, there was NO JUDGEMENT from the people at this class.  They encouraged me, the applauded me with their comments.

For those of you that have started a new workout routine, or when you switch up a workout routine.  You know how sore you can get.  You can't sit, you can't go up and down stairs, you can't lift your arms.  Been there done that.  As miserable as it is, I know that it means I used those muscles and the recovery is going to burn fat and increase muscle!  

I will write another post on what has saved my aching muscles during this process!  

I am moving my body, I am eating well and I am proud of myself.  I want to do this for me.  I want to keep up with my kids.  I want to live a long and healthy life. I want to feel great!  I want it to be a lifestyle.

Today, one of my favorite things in the world, Hot Yoga.  A little recovery and a lot of sweat.  Don't get me wrong, it is not easy, but I feel so amazing when done with Hot Yoga.  

I WILL DO THIS!

Moving Forward- Wellness Journey Post #1

Sometimes when you are looking to move forward with your life you have to go back to where you were.  Life takes many twists and turns and often things do not go exactly as you have planned or as you anticipated.  Work, family all make life an adventure.

I have been on a journey that has been very circular.  That journey is weight gain and weight loss.  I am starting the cycle again FOR THE LAST TIME.   I want to chronicle some of this journey for many reasons!  Some of those I will reveal as I go.




A LITTLE HISTORY

During high school I was not an athlete but I was active.  I guess some of that was we didn't have video games (yes I am that old).  We spent time outside a lot.   We rode bikes, we swam at the beach, we rolled down hills and much more.  During the winter, we were sledding, skating and skiing.  When I was home in the summer I rode my bike for hours.  It was my escape, it was my release.  I had time to think.  So what happened?  Why did I quit letting exercise be a release?  College came and went.  I managed to gain the 10 pounds but that was it.

After college came the single life.  Beer, pizza, junk food, late nights, lack of exercise, lack of sleep...
and a slow constant weight gain.  Biking, swimming, walking all went out the window.

One day after receiving my pictures from the church directory, I looked at myself and didn't recognize myself anymore.  I had no idea where to start or what to do.  I had no good role models as it related to exercise or eating right.  I checked out Jenny Craig.    I signed up.  As a single person this was actually perfect for me.  Most of my meals were packaged, I only had to add things like breads, milk etc.  The food was ok but not great.  They had me on a ridiculously low 1000 calories a day.  But I melted.  One of the things that I liked was they "counted" any type of physical activity.  You logged everything.  I learned to be more accountable with what I did on a regular basis.  Once you reached your half-way point you started slowly adding calories and adding in your own meals.  I was very successful.  They had weekly weigh-in's and accountability meetings.  I really excelled with the accountability.

When I got married, I was the thinnest I had been since high school.  But I was not in shape, I really had very little muscle.   That was in 1996!

More history in another post.

Sunday I started again, regular exercise, good food and will get back in shape AGAIN.

I would love for you to join me on this journey.  I am doing it for me and for my family.  I have also started a Facebook group.  This group is all about support and ideas.  There will be no people (including me) promoting products or their business opportunity.  Feel free to join!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/736247253157993/739534162829302/?notif_t=group_activity


Full disclosure - I do sell a product.  IT IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS PRODUCT.  I use essential oils and will be highlighting any success that I have in using them during this next 30 days.  I have already had a great story that I will most likely share tomorrow.

I WILL DO THIS.