Now I Lay Me Down to...

Sleep.  Sleep is a beautiful thing.  Letting your body go and leaving the world for a few hours.

Before the diet, my sleep patterns were erratic.  I'm what you call a morning person.  5 am visits to the gym.  But, I could also easily be a night owl.  Most days I was the first up and the last to bed.  I was operating on 4 hours of sleep most days.

I've read again and again that sleep impacts weight.  In fact, some articles suggest that sleep impacts weight more than exercise.  And, lack of sleep can be detrimental on ones weight.

In a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, "women who slept seven hours or more put on less weight over 16 years than women who slept less, even if the other women exercised. Those who slept only six hours a night were 12 percent more likely to put on more than 30 pounds; if the women slept five hours or less, they were 32 percent more likely to gain that much. Other studies have found that lack of sleep impacts hormones that regulate appetite (ghrelin and leptin) and that a higher BMI is proportionally linked to less sleep. One solution is to set the alarm so that you get your full night of sleep and schedule your exercise for later in the day.”

So, there you have it.  Sleep is important.  Meaning, those 4 hours I was getting every night was not doing me any favors.  It's not like I was getting a lot of stuff done.

But, now... since I got in the box, I can barely keep my eyes open past 9 pm.  Sometimes 8 pm.  It's almost as if the diet is dictating this new habit.  It's not like I made a conscious effort to nearly double my sleep each night (which is basically what I have done).  Isn't that great, though?  More sleep is, but not being to stay awake isn't so great.

The other night I was watching a show with the kids and couldn't stay awake.  I fell asleep with them all over me.  It's like my body just can't stay awake anymore and it HAS to sleep.  But, I guess this is good and what I need right now... so I'm going to go with it and sleep away.

Goodbye Pounds!

I had a surprisingly successful weight loss this week.  2.2 pounds down. 

That's a great number to lose while in the Maintenance Phase, especially when I know that I really wasn't so focused last week with my diet.  In fact, there were a couple of days I was pretty bad at tracking what I ate.  So, 2.2 pounds gone was great!

I do believe, though, that those green shakes I drink every morning have been a contributor.  I'm not exactly sure how/why... but I'm certain they are part of the equation.  All I know is that the more fruits and vegetables I eat during a week, the higher my weight loss generally is. 

Regardless, I'll take the loss.  And say goodbye to those 2.2 unwanted extra pounds!

Skinny Jeans

I bought some gray jeans back in March and wear them pretty regularly.  Yesterday I wore them to work for the first time and got so many comments on how skinny I look.

I met a colleague for lunch and she said the same.  Actually, she kept going on and on about it.  And, that girl IS skinny!

Skinny is never a word I'd use to describe myself or even connect with. It's a foreign concept.  That's like them saying, "Wow, you look so Chinese!!"  A pretty unrealistic concept... you know?

So, another friend came by last night and I made her take the picture below.  I must say, those are some pretty impressive jeans.  I do look skinny!!  And, that is a great feeling.  Makes the last 40 weeks worth it.

Communicating to the Plus Size Industry

After a lifetime living in the plus size industry, my name/address/email/whatever has successfully been placed on  every list available.  I get catalogs, discount cards, emails... daily.

Since most of my clothes are size 12 and the few size 14 items that remain in my closet are pretty loose, I think it's time to get off these lists.  But, how... ?  I didn't realize how many list I was on until now.  Wouldn't it be nice to send one email to someone saying, "I'm not as fat as I use to be... so please take me off your list."

Funny thing is... I think I'm still too fat to be a plus size model.  I was looking at one of the numerous catalogs I receive and thought about it.  Those girls really aren't fat.  I think most of the models are like a size 10.  Man, what a crazy world we live in.  They couldn't even shop in the stores they are advertising. 

Fatshionable

I did another round of weeding this week in my closet.  Two more garbage bags full of clothes gone to Goodwill!

I find this a daunting and exhausting task.  And, I've been trying to pile the clothes up as I notice they are getting too big.  I start a pile.  But, this time I hit the clothes that have been hiding in the back too.  And, I know I didn't even get them all.  There will be more to be wed!

But, as I go through some of these clothes I think... "Are you kidding... did I really wear this?"  And then I think "Why did I wear this?  Yowza!"  Then there are those things that still have the tag on them because I never had the confidence to wear it once I got it home.  Things that really don't look like they would be flattering on my figure (or anyone the least bit overweight, actually).

Anyway, perhaps I thought it was fashionable?  Who knows?

What I do know, though, is that plus size fashion has come a long way in the last 20 years but still has a long way to go.  And, why are most of the shirts/dresses in a plus size store sleeveless???  Seriously, you do not want to see my fat arms!  I will never understand that.

Oh well, goodbye clothes.  I hope you will let someone else look fatshionable.

Spinning the Pain Away

For the last five weeks, I have been spinning on Tuesday mornings.  It has been a challenging undertaking.  The 45 minute class has been surprisingly easy in some ways and hard in others.  The actual spinning doesn't bother me, nor does the up and down and increasing intervals.  What I can't seem to get is my form.  I believe I'm suppose to look like the gal on the left, straight back.  But, what I ultimately look like is the gal below.  Because what kills me is PAIN and discomfort of the damn bike seat.

Seriously, I think childbirth was worse.  And, I had two HUGE babies (over 10 pounds each) natural -- no epidurals.

Why does it hurt so damn bad? And, then for the rest of the day I am sore there or my lower back is sore. So, I assume my form is wrong.  Perhaps my seat, handle bars are not set right?  Thinking this, I stayed after class last week for some one on one time with my teacher.  She went over all my settings with me and said they were perfect and decided it's probably the seat... explaining it takes some time to get use to.  "Yeah, that seat is a killer!"  But, how much time?

I wanted to do spin because it would be challenging and it burns a lot of calories.  But, will I ever get use to the pain?  If I keep going will I eventually spin the pain away??

There's a really great blog online (where I swiped the drawing above) about a woman's experience spinning.  Actually, her entire blog is pretty fun.  It's about her attempt to become more athletic. Check it out.  Here's the Trying Not to Vomit in Spin Class from Tri-ing to be Athletic blog.

Open for Breakfast

When I was in middle school, I started gaining weight.  I was already over weight, but the pounds were coming on at an even faster rate than before.  My older sister had also been overweight and showing no signs of dropping pounds.  And, it apparently was beginning to disturb my parents. 

It was summer time.  A great time for sleeping in and relaxing until....

One morning at about 6 am, my dad came into my sister and my room (we shared a room).  He said, "Get up.  Get your shoes one. Lets go!"  I remember being very sleepy and disoriented when we finally got into his car.  We had no idea where we were going.  He drove us to my middle school (which was about 1 mile or 2 from my house).  He pulled in the lot and stopped.  Then he said, "Get out.  Now walk home." 

Ok.  This may sound harsh.  Remember this is coming from the perspective of a 14 year old.  I have no idea what really happened.  That's just all I remember. 

Anyway, it was hot and we weren't happy.  We didn't want to exercise.  It was 6 am and it was summer!!  And, gosh it was hot that morning.  But, we did it.  We walked home and got our exercise in.

The next morning we did it again.  I was still disoriented and sleepy.  And, it was hot again.  But, this time my sister (who was much smarter and more devious than I) was prepared.  About half way home there was a Wendy's restaurant with a big sign reading "Open for Breakfast".  When we approached it, she motioned to me to go in.  With a devilish smile she said, "Want breakfast?"  And, she held up some cash.  She really was a genius.

So, that's how we spent our summer.  Woken up by my dad each morning and dumped for exercise.  Then, stopping at Wendy's for their new breakfast menu.  I guess my parents didn't understand why the pounds weren't going away.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we gained a few pounds that summer.  I mean who would have anticipated Wendy's would be open for breakfast? :)