Royal Fatfighting Tournament: Day 4

Wanna join me this month for a self-challenge?

My goals for today: Stay within 38 WW points, get to Pilates training session, drink 8 glasses of water, & spend time praying/meditating/soul-searching about my personal obstacles to health.

What's your plan?

~~

The Ever-present Soreness

When you start a regular, challenging workout program, you get used to that ongoing soreness that follows each session, peaking the next day then at low-level until the next peak. The harder the workout, the greater the muscle groaning.

About the only day that I am not overtly sore is Sunday, cause I do Pilates M, W, and F. I'm sore all the time in some part of my body.

I like the soreness. It reminds me that something is happening.

This is different from the constant soreness/pain from when I was on a statin a few years ago for cholesterol. I went about three years with constant muscle aches and sensitivity. At first, it was pretty bad, and I felt like someone beat me with a bat. Then, like many things in life: you adjust. It wasn't until the liver enzymes went up that I got taken off the statin. Within a week, my mind was clearer, my memory improved. Within a couple weeks, my muscle pain receded. It's amazing what you learn to live with as normal. That was not normal, but it took it affecting my liver for the docs to sit up and take notice. Never mind I had such muscle pain that my hubby could barely touch my legs or upper arms without me ouching.

I still wonder if I have permanent damage from those statin years.

This Pilates soreness is a healing, stengthening soreness, not a destructive one. I welcome it. It's building me up, not tearing me down.

Are you having a good sore today. Even butt cramps, maybe? ; )
~

Hey! Moolah!

While I can't reward myself unless the weight stays off 2 weeks minimum, I've earned $120 in pounds loss rewards.

Oh, yeah, baby. $4600, I got my eye on you!

~~

If You Wish to Pray, Drop By and See (enter) Requests

Deb of One Weigh or Another has a prayer list up.
~~

New Month, New Beginning: Historical Notes for The Princess'August Fatfighting Tournament

It's a new month in our domain.

Time for a renewal...or just "newal."

What happened in the past in August, and what can happen today in order to make future Augusts so much better?

Let's see what we get with a little help from Wikipedia:


* Some of Ireland's most famous battles have been fought in this month. They include: the Second Battle of Athenry (1316); the battle of Knockdoe (1504); the Battle of the Yellow Ford (1596); the First Battle of Curlew Pass (1599); the Battle of Dungans Hill (1647); the Battle of Castlebar (1798), and the Battle of the Bogside (1969).

Today: Let August be the month of your most famous battles against whatever is holding you back from your best self. Fight against those double-cheeseburger cravings and send them packing. Overcome an addiction to sugary soda. Fight against inertia, and get moving. Take up your sword against the emotional blocks that are keeping you (and me) fat, and finally bury them for good. Your good. Become a warrior this month. Emerge victorious.

* August 6, 1806 Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire lays down the Roman Imperial Crown and renounces all claims on this throne.

Today: Renounce all right to eat what you want, when you want, and abdicate your couch potato status. That's the way to win the crown, ultimately. The fatfighter's crown.


* In 1945 the end of the Second World War was brought about following the August 6 bombing of Hiroshima and August 9 bombing of Nagasaki in the first and only use of nuclear weapons against people. Emperor Hirohito declared Japan's unconditional surrender on August 15.

Today: Bad habits war against your desire to become healthy. Imagine those harmful habits as the collective enemy. Use every weapon you have to win the war. Don't give up until those bad habits surrender, unconditionally, and you get slim and fit.

* August 10, 1822 Ecuador became an independent country.
* August 15, 1945 Korea became an independent country.
* August 15, 1947 India became an independent country.
* August 17, 1945 Indonesia became an independent country.
* August 25, 1825 Uruguay became independent from Brazil.
* August 31, 1957 Malaysia became an independent country.

Become independent of excess fat. Declare that independence today. Make AUGUST 1st the day you recommit to freedom, freedom from obesity. You are your own country, and you need to take care of state business, its general welfare, its defense, it's pursuit of healthful happiness. Does anything taste as good as liberty from fat feels?

* August 14, 2003 United States the Northeast Blackout of 2003 occurred.

* In the United States, August is National Back to School month. Some US School districts and systems return to school in August.

Don't stay in the dark. Get educated about food, about exercise, about your medical conditions. It all starts in the mind and heart, before it moves to the body. Get illuminated. Get smart. LEARN. GROW. If you want to get in shape, you gotta go back to "school."


* August 15, Catholic, Feast of the Assumption

Mary was an exceptional woman, and I can't imagine her getting fat and lazy on some couch. She had too much to do and was too self-controlled. Our Catholic friends believe her body and soul--as one--rose up to heaven, intact, unseparated; that her purity allowed her to rise up and never experience decomposition. While we can't stop aging, we can improve the quality of our lives by virtuous eating and faithful exercise. We can aim to be fatfighting saints. Even if we lapse into sin--sedentary ways, binges--we can accept mercy, forgiveness, and rise up, higher and higher, to a place of wholeness--flexible, strong, unencumbered by rolls of fat. Wouldn't that be heaven of sorts?

If we want to "rise up, intact" , then we need to struggle against the desires of the flesh in the here and now.


* August 15, 1769 Corsica, birth of Napoleon Bonaparte

Let your inner conqueror of obesity be born this August. Subjugate your food cravings. March over your inertia. Charge mightily into your inner fortress and beat down your emotional demons. Conquer everything in your path to good health. Be your own Empress of Exercise and Monarch of Clean Eating.


* August is Women's Small Business Month

Losing weight and getting fit is pretty much like running a business, isn't it? Working constantly, responsible for the results.

It pays off, too, just not always immediately in $$$, rather in feeling good and looking better. (Although studies have shown that thin folks have a job advantage over fat ones, so it does pay off in moolah to lose weight.)

Think of fatfighting as a business: Write down your business goals and objectives. Plot a strategy, both short-term and long-term for success. Monitor the activities of the business with a keen eye, ready to intervene at once when something goes off plan. Make corrections as necessary. Offer rewards for excellent performance. Track revenue and expenditures (what goes in, what goes out, be it calories or money, since some expenditures are tax-deductible for those for whom losing weight and exercising are mandated by a doctor due to a medical condition.) Set money aside for emergencies. Hire staff as needed to fulfill the objectives and maximize profit. Tweak the plan if results are lagging. Be accountable to investors (ie, spouse, parents, friends). Seek support from experts. With time, enjoy a smooth-running operation that, if continuing to be successful, will add to your emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and financial riches.

* In many European countries, August is the holiday month for most workers.

No holidays for fatfighters. Work, work, work. Sorry. Days off must be few and judicious.


* In common years, no other month begins on the same day of the week as August. In leap years, however, February does.

August starts today. A Friday. Fridays are supposed to be unlucky for beginning sea voyages. Fridays have been associated with "quashed dreams."

Know what? Screw superstition. Friday's are days we say, "thank God!" We should mean it. Thank God for this day, every day. The weekend begins for many on Friday, and that's great. The Sabbath begins with sundown on modern Fridays, and that's a blessing, introducing rest to our lives. We get to do fun things starting Friday night--going to the movies or a play, eating out with pals.

I say Fridays rule! Make this a truly auspicious Friday. A lucky one. Your dream won't be quashed, squashed, or washed away. If you've been putting off your lifestyle change, do it today. A good, good, good Friday. First of the month. A new beginning.

Let's make August fabulous. Let's challenge ourselves. At least ONE pound a week...or more if your body can handle it. Let's be 4 or 8 or 15 pounds lighter come August 31st.

My goals: I'm aiming for six pounds of loss. About 1.5 a week. I figure that since I'm actively building muscle, I gotta allow for a slower scale descent. I"m also aiming for more consistent aerobic work to add to my 3x a week Pilates training.

So, are any of you in for the Royal Fatfighting Tournament for health here at Once Upon a Diet? You won't be challenging other dieters, like knights against knights. No. You're gonna challenge yourself. I'm gonna challenge myself.

Every fairy tale needs a good beginning....or a good beginning again after a lapse...before it can have a happy ending.

Why not comment on what you plan to do and to overcome in order to meet an August fitness goal? And why not pledge to blog at least 4x a week on your progress. It's a good way to keep the motivation mojo going, and it forces accountability. Right?

Ready, set...(straighten that armor)...begin....

~~~

NOTE: My starting weight for the tournament is 272.4

Yours?

~

Fast Food Fairy Godmother Says:"If you can resist the donuts, a reason to finally go to Dunkin Donuts in the AM is here"

The Fast Food Fairy Godmother is smiling today at Dunkins Donuts. I'll tell you why in a sec.

First, I gotta admit that as a teen I was a Dunkin Donuts junkie. I had a thing for those glazed, Bavarian Kreme, and Boston Kreme donuts, then, later, for the jelly-filled and the coconut. This was hardly a time full of concern for healthful foods, I can tell you. (Fortunately, I was young, had a working thyroid, and had a higher activity level, so I was normal weight, though not thin.)

Finally, though, Dunkin Donuts has something to lure me back if I need a breakfast while out some morning.

Behold:



I'd go for the veggie one, myself. (Wish they'd do a Mexi-Veggie one, and add black beans and salsa to that. Yum.)

They also have a lite latte, and some other things that won't wreck your eating plan.

Good for them.

It's been at least a year since I ducked in for a coffee and cinnamon donut (had a massive craving). I avoid them for the obvious reasons (their breakfast sandwiches suck--at least the one I had like 7, 8 years ago-- and unless the coffee is really super-fresh, it sucks, too. And the donuts are prophets of diabetes or CAD. I want neither.)

So, if you run out of the house one morning, try one of these on the way to work. With a lite latte. Skip the Bavarian Kreme, if they even still make them. I honestly don't know.

If you try one, write a review and gimme a link.

~

What We Can Accomplish in a Year...

...if we do the work. If we stick to eating plans. If we move. If we don't lose heart or faith or let our attention flag.

Take a look at what we can do in a year by checking out the blogs (and archives) of these successful fatfighters:

Heather--at goal

Lyn--getting there, eloquently

Jennette--who got a book deal out of it and has been on TV

Roni--who's posted great "one year later" shots

Let's do some visualization--what CAN we look and feel like in one year?

Nice, huh?

And even though I didn't have a perfect day yesterday, I still was able to weigh-in 1.2 lbs less. Hurrah.

Let's take a healthy step toward next July 31. Let's become that visualized "me."

~

"Shrinking Inward" and the Imperfect Day...And How To Get Moving With Joy

That phrase in the blog entry header is the one used by my Pilates trainer today before we started our session. In her ebullient manner, she said, "Look at you! You're shrinking INWARD."

Imagine yourself there with me:

I look into the dread wall-to-wall-to-ceiling mirror of the eastern wall of the room and think, "Ew, I'm fat," but also, "Yeah, I am. I really am shrinking inward." See how my waist is defined. My belly, while still huge, naturally, at my great weight, and prominent, is nevertheless not as big, not as round, not as low.

I say, "I thought maybe I was projecting it when I looked in the mirror at home. Cause I really thought yesterday I was even smaller in my midsection."

"No, you're not imagining it," says Liza. "It's real."

Me: smiling.

I mention to her how the scale is barely budging (one pound down from last week, but still not at my lowest prior to my regain). She says, "It won't show on the scale. Not yet. Eventually, it will."

Building muscle. Wonderful and frustrating both to us scale-watchers, I think to myself.

Okay, you can come back from eavesdropping now. :)

Embarrassing moment: During one of the maneuvers on the Cadillac, my pants fell down. They're looser around my hips and waist. The same pants that were snug June 30.

Fortunately, I wear swim briefs (black or royal blue, depending on which of the four pairs is clean and at hand!) They are opaque and substantial enough to withstand all sorts of contortions and to forefend any flashing of naughty bits should pants tear or...er...FALL DOWN to my thighs!

Happy news: I can do more repetitions. I can do harder exercises. In just ONE month. Today marks ONE month of Pilates.

One month can bring changes. :)

What alterations are you going through this month? How have you changed?

BTW, how are you all doing on the exercise front? Good? I hope so.

If not so good, I understand. Really, I avoided exercising for YEARS AND YEARS.

I know it's really hard to break inertia. That couch is so comfy. That book is so engrossing. That dvd is so enthralling.

But you'll FAIL if you don't get moving! MOVE! Now! Today!

Find something that challenges you while having an enjoyment factor. It's the joy or fun or intriguing learning aspect that can make it stick. I think it's so much easier to make it to the gym or studio if you have an attachment, a pleasure, in some part of the exertion.

Maybe you are bored by treadmills. Avoid them. Try a bike. Or try hiking. Or try an exercise class. Or try a sport that will get you moving hard for at least an hour. Try a bunch of stuff until something sticks.

Honestly, who can get through all that trembling and heaving and heavy breathing for a lifetime (and we all need to move for a lifetime) unless we like something about what we do for exercise.

Without the "fascination" factor, you'll dread it and find excuses to stay home and sit and eat.

I dreaded my matwork and treadmill minutes years ago at LA FITNESS. I kind of liked the exercise machines, though--the weight-lifting sort. Still, that trainer was hard on my body and the maneuvers totally unengaging to my brain and spirit. I gained muscle, then dropped out. I didn't love it. I didn't attach to the action. I hated other people sweating on the equipment.

Now, it's as hard, but I feel connected to another person. I feel as if I'm pouring power into my spirit and body. I find it fascinating mechanically and I delight in how it uses my mind. I like that I have to think and imagine. I write fiction and poetry (at least, until my recent hiatus). I edit fiction and poetry, still. (Though I'm lax about editing my blog posts!!!) I dig metaphors. Always have. Exercising with metaphors--which Pilates does, because you must put an idea into the movement, now you're a feather, now you're wearing a corset, now you're trying to touch the ceiling, etc--works for me. Focusing on the placement and weight in this joint, that limb, creating that "scoop" in the abdomen, imagining my back straight as an arrow...I'm involved every single second.

What can work for you, those of you who have not gotten into movement yet?

Sit down. Think about what you liked to play at as a child. Use the knowledge that such a trip down memory lane gives you to narrow down what form(s) of exercise will give you what you need physically, emotionally, mentally, maybe spiritually?

Perhaps a martial art--if you want to feel like a warrior who can defend herself. Maybe swimming, if you wanted to be a mermaid as a kid. Maybe dance, if you wanted to be a ballerina. Maybe basketball, if you're tall and like dribbling, running, jumping, tossing. Think about yoga. Do you want something meditative, in tune with the cosmos? Do you want to feel like a Marine, and do obstacle courses and bootcamp-like training? You can! None of that is closed to you.

Do you want to move fast, slow, both?

Do you want music or silence? Inside or outdoors?

So, tell me. What have your figured out about how you want to move?

Write down your feelings about movement if you still haven't come to some ideas. Investigate. Become the Sherlock Holmes who unlocks the door to your perfect form of motion.

Now, a look at the food front: Yesterday was a quite imperfect day. Sadly.

I did fine until late night, which is my big bugaboo bingey time. After dinner. And I think my problem is that I had a VERY light lunch (6 points,some fat, little protein in my yogurt and fresh cherries). I felt fine at first, but the hunger at dinnertime was noticeable. I gobbled down an organic chocolate macaroon. I hit the low-fat chocolate frozen yogurt. I had a latte. I had some plums. It added up. (Clearly, I was having a sweet urge!)

I thought about my lapse. Know what? I can't do light lunches. Clearly. It sets me up for huge hunger and appetite freak-outs hours later.

I didn't make that same error today. I had a filling bowl of grilled chicken, brown rice, guacamole and salsa on top, with a dollop of organic sour cream for extravagance and mouth-satiety. I also had a three WW points iced Starbucks skinny cinnamon dolce latte right after the workout (instead of my past caramel macchiato indulgence). No sugar, lots of skim milk--oh, that lovely cinnamon kick--cause I need my calcium (I take inhaled steroids twice a day, bad for the bones.) Had some zero-calorie white tea, too.

You can approximate this entree with this recipe. If you try it, let me know how it turned out and how you personalized it. (I think it screams for veggies and avocado!)

Yesterday, I had 54 points! That's 16 over my 38 points "perfect day" number.

Today, I have 12 points left for supper. I'll be filling up on a salad pre-entree in order to head off that crazy late night temptation. And water. Lots of water.

How are you doing in your effort to have a perfect fat-fighting day?

Onward and Downward!

Did Ya Have a Perfect Day? If Not, TRY AGAIN!

Lyn posted about working at it one day at a time, aiming for a perfect day.

I decided to take the one-day challenge. One perfect day. Well, okay, nearly perfect. I exercised for 50 minutes and I ate within my self-selected points count (38 pts, which is 1900 calories). It would have been perfect had I had more greens and slept 8 hours. I only slept 5 and a half.

The scale was .6 pounds down.

I'm aiming for another perfect day today. :)

One day at a time...because like it or not, you will have those days, and you can make them good or bad, better or worse, best or worst...or even perfect.

As Lyn said beautifully:

One perfect day, you can do. And if you can do it once, you can do it again. Don't think about the other days. It is ONE day. You only have to do it for ONE day. Then at the end of your perfect day, hug yourself, go to bed, and get back up in the morning committed to doing ONE perfect day. Again.

One day leads to another. Like the momentum of footsteps taking you to a goal, the days carry you forward. They are going to carry you, regardless. In a month you will be a month older. Will you be a month heavier? More miserable? Or will you be a month lighter and happier? Because believe me, the good days string together and create something more masterful and wonderful than weeks and months. They create joy. They become peace and clarity. They lead to a new you.

If you have a hard time visualizing a perfect eating day sort of meal plan, how about some of these to spur you on?--

Women's Health's meal plan for steady blood sugar

Men's Health's meal plan for craving control

High Fiber meal plan

A vegetarian meal plan at 1500 calories

A low-carb meal plan

Vegan meal plan

Oprah's Seven-Day meal plan

High Calcium Meal Plan

A 1200 calorie meal plan with meal replacements

Take 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise-- a bracing walk, an energizing DVD, some yoga, a refreshing swim, a hike in the woods or desert, a jog through the park, a spell on the trampoline, some focused weight-lifting, a bit of dancing in your living room to salsa music--and add several glasses of water to a good, calorie-controlled meal plan, and, presto, a perfect fatfighting day!

Then utter thanks for being able to breathe, move, and for having food at hand to nourish your body. These are great gifts in a world where many go hungry and many are unable to walk or run or jump or just do one abdominal crunch.

Always be grateful for being able to enjoy a day of becoming that new you.

Have a perfect today!

~

Aussie-Accented Pilates

Because of my wonky immune system, I had asked my trainer, Liza, to let me know if she had something or suspected she was coming down with something, so we could either get me rescheduled or get me with another (non-germy) trainer.

Well, Monday she called. Stuffy nose. Possible "something." Suggested training with another trainer, Elise, at X, Y, or Z times. My choice.

I had a moment of distress hearing the message on my voice mail, because, well, my body is..er..complicated. I worried a different trainer wouldn't have Liza's accumulated knowledge--after four weeks of 3x a week session--of my quirks and difficulties.

But, for the first time in my life, I did NOT want to miss an exercise session. (This is so weird for me to type, the exercise hater. Hah.) I wanted my Pilates!

So, I took a 4:30 with "Elise."

Turned out I had nothing to fear. Elise was WONDERFUL. A beautiful Australian redhead with an adorable accent and a very "nurturing" sort of voice. A dancer by training, and a certified Pilates instructor, she was terrific. (I''m really impressed by the professionalism and "reformer-side" manner of these ladies.) She's so gorgeous, I'd normally be intimidated somewhat, but she's soooo niiiiice! (Y'all would love this place. People there have heart.)If you saw MOULIN ROUGE, you might have caught a glimpse of her, as she was one of the dancers in the film. (The flattest abdomen I may have ever seen, too. You could serve tea on it and not spill anything.)

She made me feel "understood" talking about her large-sized mama, how difficult it can be for us obese folks to get inside a gym. It takes some courage.

Anyway, she got me through my complete first "the hundred." I struggled. (I don't think she knew Liza had me doing halfsies with a rest break.) My breathing wasn't bad yesterday, so I got through it. By the wheeze of my lungy-lung-lungs.

Also did some new "prone" stuff on Reformer and Cadillac. All you with big boobs and big bellies know that anything face-down is, well, NOT easy. I sweated buckets.

Felt good.

Honestly, if you're ever in the Miami area, go take a private lesson at The Pilates Room. Ask with full confidence to take a class with Elise or Liza. They'll treat you right.

You'll feel good.

~~