What I've learned

Why do you smell like an Easter egg?

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:41:04 GMT

What prompted this blog was something I heard the other night during our monthly girls game night. A friend on mine said she had heard that if you drink two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day it will speed up your metabolism. Luckily (or maybe unfortunately) she was sitting next to me, the knower of all things vinegar, the grand poo-bah of vinegar knowledge, the wizard of.....well you get the point. I promptly debunked that myth and then said......but you know what it will do?

I love vinegar, I think it's the miracle liquid. It ranks up there with water, caffeine and alcohol. I talk about it and use it so much that whenever my boyfriend has an ailment his first response is “no, I'm not going to use vinegar”.

My obsession started when I was looking for a non-toxic weed killer. Every time I would spray weed killer my dog would immediately go out and roll all over where I sprayed. I thought “Yea, that can't be good.” So I googled (Google: the only place with more wonderful worthless information than my brain) natural weed killers and 1 part vinegar 2 parts water came up. And boy does it work! What I failed to realize is that it kills ANY kind of living foliage. I didn't have any grass that summer.

This new knowledge led to more research on the every day practical uses for vinegar. I used it to strip the old wax off my kitchen floors, clean all the soap scum and hard water stains off my shower doors, and it cleans mirrors and windows with no greasy streaks. It's non toxic, very inexpensive, the smell eventually dissipates and works better than any other cleaner I've ever used. Yea, I buy it in bulk now.

I thought I was the coolest kid on the block with all my new found uses for vinegar, oh but the fun doesn't stop there.....

I used to get a lot of common everyday warts on my hands and feet when I was a kid. They weren't a huge deal and I only got freaked out when an uncle told me they were caused by toads(frogs). Curse him, I looked at every frog and toad with disdain after that. Anyway, I remember the endless trials of the burning, smelly, crusty, scaring, wanting to torture toads Compound W treatments my mom used to inflict on me. They never really worked, even when I had a few froze off by the doctor they would grow back. Eventually I must have grown out of them because they started to disappear as I got older.

Then one day last year I got one on my toe, but before rushing out for some type of toad torturing device I did a little reading........SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Vinegar is the cure.

Before I went to bed for the night, I soaked a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar, put it on the wart and wrapped a bandage around it. The next morning it had turned black (ewww I know). I did it again the following night and the next morning it had fallen off. Three days later there was no trace of it and it has NEVER grown back and no frogs were harmed during this process. $.79 for a bottle of vinegar, $10.99 for Compound W which I would have had to use for 10 weeks. I really am the coolest kid on the block now!!

But wait......there's more

I have trouble with sinus infections and I'm tired of the different medications doctors give me for them. So I found a cool recipe to help! ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tbls of honey, 2 tbls of lemon and 8oz of water. Drink it up and no more sinus infection? Um yea, so this one didn't work so great. After my esophagus burning induced gagging and hacking my vinegar love failed me. As many wonderful uses as it has I can't stomach drinking it. But my love redeemed itself!

I ended up at the doctor for the sinus infection and was given antibiotics. And ladies, you all know one of the dreaded side effects of antibiotics right? Yep, I got it. The dreaded yeast infection. Guess what? Soak for 20 minutes in a warm bath with two cups of apple cider vinegar and the symptoms were gone the next day. No joke, gone. You read that part right? Go ahead, read it again, I'll wait :) Gone.

These new discoveries just opened the flood gates to biological uses for vinegar. It's even cleared up my acne. A quick sweep of vinegar with a cotton ball after washing my face and I no longer have problems with adult acne, something 3 dermatologists in 5 years couldn't do. It did dry out my skin a bit though so I switched to Witch Hazel and it works well too. Witch Hazel, another favorite, hehehe.

I think I've mentioned before that I sweat.... a lot, and living in the south doesn't help. Sometimes deodorant just doesn't do it's job. Once a month, while in the shower, I rub some vinegar under my arms and let it sit for a minute or so, then rinse. I can actually go a week or more without deodorant and still have no body odor. But I don't recommend doing this right after you've shaved your underarms, YOWZA!!! And since I'm allergic to bleach I wash all my workout cloths with a cup of vinegar to help with any lingering odor.

I've also heard it works for heartburn/acid reflux but I can't stand drinking it so I haven't tried that.

So there is my vinegar story, if you read this far you have been inducted into my obsessive compulsive vinegar uses club, muuhaahaaa. Secret decoder rings will be mailed out shortly. I would love to hear if you have discovered any other uses for vinegar that I may have missed, leave me a comment :)

Next blog.....my exercise, gym, and personal trainer progress

Does this treadmill make me look fat?

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:51:17 GMT

If you've read my previous posts you'll know that so far I've learned:

not to compare my successes to others
that for me to loose weight I am going to have to exercise
to make this change permanent I need to find an exercise I like and can commit to
cardio is not the answer for weight loss and I want to strength train
I don't know how to strength train and need help by someone who does so I'm joining a gym.

I want to explain a little about my personality so you get the idea of why joining a gym was difficult for me. I am an introvert, I'm not shy but 100% born and breed introvert. You will not find me going up to anyone in the gym to strike up a conversation or even ask a question if I need help. I am very self conscious about the way I look. I've spent years trying to perfect the right shirt, stance, walk, and sitting position to hide my fat rolls. Anyone find themselves holding (hugging) a pillow on their lap while sitting on the couch? You know you're doing it to hide your stomach, don't lie you know you are! I'm also self conscious about being very uncoordinated. And last, I sweat….. a lot. Even when it's not hot, I sweat and it's embarrassing.

If you are concerned about joining a gym because you are afraid you are going to be judged, give me a minute to ease your fears. You WILL be judged when you walk into a gym. See? Isn't that better? No? Ok, let's try this. You can not stop people from judging you; it's in our nature to be this way. It's genetic, it's societal, it's competitiveness, and it's survival of the fittest. It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, you will be judged in some way or another. Not only will you be judged by people who are more fit than you, but also by those who are not as fit as you. And you will judge others. Being judged is inevitable, how you handle that judgment is up to you.

I decided not to let this fear of judgment hold me back this time. So I put on some work out clothes and walked into that gym like I was a bad ass not to be messed with. Ok Ok Ok I probably looked like a deer caught in headlights, but on the inside I was a bad ass. I walked up to the first person there, told them I wanted to join a gym and asked for a tour. Yea, so he didn't actually work there, but pointed out someone who did. My inner bad ass was getting a little shaky after that. But I stayed focused, ignored the fact that I felt like the shiny new toy in the toy box with the not so subtle looks I was getting. I ignored the voice in my head that keep telling me to fluff my shirt away from my stomach (yea you all know what I'm talking about) and moved forward with the tour like I knew what I was doing. I'm sure I was sweating by then.

I sat down with the Personal Trainer sales guy and we talked about what I wanted. I was very honest with him about my weight issues, my past experience with exercise and my lack of confidence in a gym. Then I showed him the book New Rules of Lifting for Women and said "I want to lift….lift heavy." I think he had a little tear of joy in his eyes when he heard me say that, lol. He was very excited about my goals, very professional and a good sales person, so I signed up.

Ok, so joining a gym is one thing, but committing to a personal trainer was a whole new beast! It's expensive for one, very expensive. I was afraid I'd fail and loose a lot of money. I was afraid I would give up like all the other times and I was afraid I'd be laughed at when they saw how out of shape and uncoordinated I was. My inner bad ass went out for a beer and my inner insecurity was sabotaging my future.

The PT was smart though (again a good salesman, lol) he pointed out my need for accountability, and he was right. If someone is standing over me, watching me, motivating me I will push and not fail. I think I am more worried about letting someone else down then I am about letting me down. And as he was going through the list of things they were going to offer me I went down a list of things I was going to demand from them (inner bad ass was back baby). I explained I want accountability, motivation, exercise plans and schedules that work for ME, not generic work outs and assembly line high fives. I want an emphasis put on "personal" in personal trainer and I wouldn't settle for less. We were both on the same page :-)

Ok, so I had an exercise plan, joined a gym, hired a personal trainer and was on my way to a new happy healthy me! Uggg but what about all THOSE other people at the gym. The fit skinny girls in their cute little midriff baring exercise clothes who will mock me with every fat jiggle. The ones telling me I don't belong there, that my fat is taking up to much space and I sweat too much. The snickering between the body builders when I can only lift 10lb barbells over my head and I can't do even one push up. The snide remarks that will be made in the locker room and the constant staring at the fat girl falling over during every squat. What have I done????!!

So after my first workout (I will describe this torture in another post) my PT was showing me how to use a foam roller on my sore muscle. So, as graceful as I am every time I tried I would just roll off of it like a beached whale. Then, this very svelte looking guy in the same area with me started to laugh. I was just about to start beating him with the foam roller when he said "Don't worry, you're doing great! We ALL look like that when start". "We all" ? I almost cried.

It was then I realized I was the one who was judging me. There were no girls giggling and pointing at me, no one was concerned with my sweating and no one cared that I couldn't do a push up yet. Even if someone did look at me in judgment most likely it was not half as bad as the judgment I was putting on myself.

So when I told you that you will be judged in a gym I wasn't lying, however most likely that judgment is coming from you. I still judge myself a lot (the mirrors in the gym don't help) but I love my inner bad ass and eventually I will love my outside just as much. Joining the gym and hiring a personal trainer has been the best decision I've made in a very long time. It may not be for everyone but it has been for me.

You want me to put my leg where and do what?

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:33:33 GMT

In the past I was able to loose weight just by altering my diet. Today, not so much. So after two months on 1200 calories and no weight loss my doctor said "have you considered actually doing some exercise?" .....HUMMMPPH...

To say I dislike exercising is an understatement. Other than hiking (which I can't do often) there really isn't anything I enjoy, based on several factors:

I am completely and utterly uncoordinated and lack any sense of rhythm. I know everyone says that, but in my case it's true. I'm the poster child of how not to dance. I tripped, fell and broke my nose doing nothing! I was just walking and BAM! I got kicked out of a beginner Yoga class because I giggled every time I fell over. In their defense, I fell over... A LOT. In every group aerobic exercise class I've tried they eventually make me stand in the back so I don't confuse the other students.
I have a lot of fat. Do YOU realize how jiggly fat is?!? My torso is moving in one direction and my vital organ insulation (belly flab) is moving the opposite way. A wayward boob could knock someone out!
Up until four months ago I smoked and had for over 20 years. It's a little hard to breathe when you are falling over, tripping, and fat jiggling to the beat of "Sexy and I know it".
I'm lazy.

So, with this new profound information my doctor gave me "Exercising will help you loose weight" I set out to find some sort of exercise that I could live with and that would not land me in the hospital.

Exercise DVD's! I started with Turbo Jam because the woman on the commercial said "It doesn't even feel like I'm exercising!" I don't know what that girl was smoking but it was exactly like exercise. I sat and watched all the video's but strangely enough didn't loose weight, lol.
Walking - boring
Biking - probable head injury
Marital arts! - probable head injury to fellow classmate

I was starting to get discouraged. I knew I was capable of doing all of the above, but I knew I wouldn't stick with it so it was very important to find something that worked for me. That was when I received a coupon in the mail for 10 Jazzercise classes for $20.

I recruited a friend to join me, I finished all 10 classes in a month and was back at my doctor for my six week follow-up.

So, as I was approaching the scale Eye of the Tiger was playing in my head........one hour of Jazzercise, three days a week, almost four weeks and 1200 calories a day............take that bitch!

Ok wait for it...........wait for it..........I GAINED TWO POUNDS! Immediately upon seeing my doctor I screech out "You lied to me!!!" Back to researching.

Then I saw a reference to the book New Rules of Lifting for Women, read it and changed my exercise goals. I want to eat more and to eat more I have to raise my metabolism. To raise my metabolism I have to build muscle.............I must aquire these mysterious creatures called muscle, muuuhhaahaaa!

I loved the book, it was very empowering. Then I got to the diagrams for the exercises. You want me to put my leg where and do what? Seriously??

I knew 100% that I wanted to do weight training instead of cardio. And I knew (and still do) that lifting would bring higher success to weightloss and my health then a million hours of cardio (which just caused pain). But I didn't know how to do it. That was when I knew I needed help.

I needed to join a gym, oh the horror! ....................to be continued.

Success stories screw with my mind

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:50:25 GMT

I love love love reading the Success Stories thread on this website! They are so exciting and although the people who post on there might in real life be sociopathic serial killers I feel such pride for them when I hear their stories and successes! Weird huh?

They make me smile, sometimes tear up and I always want to stand up and applaud their hard work! I even brag about their success to my boyfriend! Of course the conversation gets a little awkward when he starts asking me more detailed questions like “these people are?” and I say “I dunno, but she lost 20 pounds it two weeks, I am so proud of her!” lol

Success stories even motivate me! I look at the beautiful woman who lost 20 pounds in two weeks and she looks like she went from a size 18 to a size 2 “OMG if I lose 20 pounds I am going to look like that?!?” 20 pounds in two weeks, no problem I can do that. I just have to increase my exercise to 5-6 days a week, continue to eat at my calorie deficit, take Zumbogalates (that’s Zumba, Yoga & Pilates mixed if you missed it) and I will be ……screeeeeeeeeeeechhhh beep beep beep back that bus up! This is the screwing with my mind part explained.

I am not her. Most likely she is 10-15 years younger than me, does not live a sedentary lifestyle and probably enjoys being physically active.
I am not her. I decided this is the last time I’m doing this “dieting, losing weight” thing. I’m tired; no I’m exhausted of the constant struggle with my weight. This time I’m doing it right. I’m making changes now that I know I can live with for the next 40 years, and exercising 5-6 days a week to lose weight faster is not an option for me. I don’t like to exercise and if I jump on the 5-6 days a week band wagon I will get burned out, quit and end up where I was before (on the couch). I have a PT I work with 2 days a week strength training and I try to do at least 1 cardio activity a week, usually hiking. This I can stick to for now.
I am not her. I’ve lost weight fast in the past and I’ve gained it all back fast. My 11+ pounds in the last 3-4 months is wonderful!! Not to mention in just one of those months I gained 6lbs of lean muscle and lost almost 10 inches. Yea me J
I am not her. I have a RMR of 1400 calories. On average, women my height, age and weight range from 1600-1800 calories. Whoooaaaa just call me…turtle metabolism! And that is why I stick to a doctor supervised 1200 calorie diet.

So there you have it. I can be proud of the people who post their success stories and I can be motivated by their success, but I have to be careful not to compare my success against theirs. Success is success, we are all the same but we are all different.

We are all the same...but very different

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:47:21 GMT

I thought my first post should be a compilation of information about me, my weight struggles, successes, failures, etc. But the more I read the forums and other peoples bios I realize my story is pretty much the same as 80% of the people on here, so why rehash the details?

Instead I’m going to use this blog to keep track of the things I’m learning about my health. Whether it’s something I’ve learned from this website, doctors, friends, reading or even just trial or error. There are times I get distracted …..squirrel……by the success stories, advice and drama by myfitnesspal forums that I start to question whether what I’m doing is completely off the mark or not. I’m hoping by blogging my experiences, insights, and general useless information I seem to absorb without effort I can keep focused on what works for me and not get distracted by what works for others.

Everything I post will be facts as they APPLY TO ME, my body, and my health. Try to remember that when I make some weird conclusion that having plastic pig figurines on my desk at work remind me not to mindlessly snack, it’s something that works for me. Don’t bother to tell me it scientifically proven that having cute pink pigs on your desk makes you crave bacon which then leads to stopping by the drive thru for a bacon cheeseburger. I love advice, constructive criticism, suggestions and helpful tips, but I don’t like being told what I know works for me is wrong.

The forums scare me, people get really worked up to the point that I want to just tell them to eat a donut and get over it, so I rarely post and I am very conservative with my responses. Not because I’m a timid person, because I don’t want to get distracted by debates (which I love but are a waste of time). But I will refer to posts I’ve seen in my blog and I can’t promise I’ll be nice about them J

So I think my next post will be about my first lesson learned …… success stories screw with my mind!