9 More--Help!

170...and I can't for the life of me crack the 169 barrier! Now, admittedly, I have not been following the nutrition plan as much I should, but upon reflection, I have realized something else about that. You HAVE to give yourself a break sometimes!!!


As anyone who knows me will tell you, I love food--of all kinds--and always have (might be sort of obvious when you see my 320 pound picture). I love to cook, I love to bake, I love to eat. Fitness and health have not changed that. While I love and appreciate the plan Darren created for us, after seven weeks, I have had to deviate a bit. If that means that it takes me three months to Sprint to the Finish, so be it. I'm on my own time table anyway, right? And losing 18 pounds since January 1st is quite fine.

All this week I have been thinking about french fries from Paul and Jack's, a local restaurant. I had scheduled lunch with my dear friend, Lynda, for today and we were meeting at Paul and Jack's...hence the obsession with their french fries. Now, periodically throughout my Sprint to the Finish, I have talked to myself about regular foods that I crave. For example, every time I go to Chili's, I have to have the chicken club tacos. The talking to myself has come in the form of thoughts like this, "Will it KILL you to go to Chili's a couple of times in your life and not have the chicken club tacos? NO! You're sprinting to the finish! You can do it!" I have been able to resist those cravings. Well, today I had the french fries at Paul and Jack's...and they were heavenly. That means I'll need to hit the gym a little harder or cut back a bit over the weekend, but they were worth it. That's what I'm trying to say today. You have to give yourself a break sometimes and give in to those temptations. If I had not had the french fries, I guarantee that I would have eaten WAY more calories trying to satisfy my french fry craving than I did by eating the actual thing.

Fitness Test

This morning, I weighed 171 pounds, which is a new low for me...less than I think I've weighed since middle school. Only 10 more pounds to go to reach my "normal" rating on the BMI charts. Yahoo!

Steve and I have been talking a lot about how important it was for us to find someone with whom to work who will push us and keep us motivated. It's also critical that the motivator be knowledgeable about health, fitness and exercise. Steve and I were not motivated or knowledgeable. We needed Darren to help us. For other people, that motivator could be a spouse, friend, colleague or personal trainer. You have to find somebody.

One thing that I have come to love (and hate) about Darren is his monthly "fitness testing." Steve LOVES them, too...ha! Because Darren is such an extraordinary trainer, he holds his clients accountable for their monthly progress. I also think it's a way for him to check on himself. My latest fitness test was this morning.

Here's the fitness test deal...first, he takes all of my measurements using this CRAZY, pincher tool. If you have never had this done, it's quite an experience. He grabs what seem to be random folds of skin and squeezes them in the pincher. Then he writes down the number. He takes measurements from my arms, chest, waist, abdomen, thigh and calf (and maybe other places, too. I'm usually concentrating on getting the pinching to stop!). The purpose is to assess lean muscle mass and body fat.

After the measurements, Darren has me rest for five minutes while my heart monitor watch measures my VO2 max level (how well your blood stream utilizes oxygen). At the end of the five minutes, the watch displays a number and a rating. Then it's time for the sit and reach test, which measures how flexible I am (how far I can reach from a sitting position). After that--the real torture. PUSH UPS!!! Then sit ups. Then we're done...until next month.

Darren utilizes a computer program that assesses all of the data he enters from the tests. Then he explains the results.

Since the fitness tests began, I have consistently improved my numbers, which feels great. I remember that the first time I took the test I did six push ups, which was firmly in the "poor" category. This morning, I did 41. Darren even said, "I think you can stop working on push ups. You've reached the maximum level!"

The real shock to me is how important the fitness tests have become in my life. I want to do well...extremely well. Now, I've taken lots of tests in my life and have probably always wanted to do well, but this is a whole new realm for me. With each fitness test, I see Darren's wisdom even more. He is so knowledgeable about all things health and fitness related and he is a natural teacher...he inspires me. I must say getting good results encourages me to move forward and keep it up.

I had an interesting question this week from a friend at work. She asked if I was going to continue to work with Darren after reaching my "normal" goal in the Sprint to the Finish. I didn't even hesitate. Heck, yeah, I'm still going to work with him...and all of you should, too! If you can't work with Darren, find a partner for yourself. Your body will thank you.

Traveling Success

I’m feeling terrific right now because I just returned from a business trip to Toronto…and I had lost another pound!! I made a conscious effort to eat well and in moderation this time, unlike my wild abandon of two weeks ago. It paid off, in my opinion. I am now 11 pounds from “Normal” on the BMI chart. Wow. Hope I can keep it up.
I want to share another thought I’ve had recently. I saw a good friend on Sunday evening who has lost her own significant amount of weight. She looks great. We were at a pizza restaurant and she said she was “cheating.” Steve told her that she couldn’t look at it that way. He is SOO right! If you look at eating pizza (or cookie dough or whatever your weakness is) as “cheating,” you are going to generate feelings of guilt and inadequacy, which are not exactly wonderful tools to aid in fitness and weight loss, in my opinion. Instead, if you really want pizza (or cookie dough), just eat a small portion of it to satisfy your craving…and don’t call it cheating!
Sprinting is exhausting.

The Beginning

Obese. Heavy. Overweight. Stout. Portly. Rotund. Chubby. Big-Boned. Large. Generously Proportioned. Plus-sized. Solid. Plump. Fat. These words (and the countless others like them) described me…at least on the outside. Not any more! This is the story of my journey to good health, fitness and “normalcy.” By the summer of 2004, I had become incredibly aware of my own level of inactivity and my increasingly-sedentary lifestyle. The school where I worked was a campus and I could tell that more and more often, I was avoiding climbing the stairs and walking among the different buildings. I began to think it might be time to do something about it. During that summer, I saw a segment on “The Today Show.” The teaser line was, “Lose weight playing a video game.” I was intrigued. The segment had two high-school age kids who demonstrated Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) on PlayStation 2. Both of them had lost significant amounts of weight…but that was secondary to me. They seemed to have so much fun while exercising! I thought maybe that was just what I needed to get fit. I called my husband, Steve, and told him we had to get PlayStation 2 and DDR immediately! As soon as I hung up, I wondered, “How many wives call their husbands to buy a PlayStation? God, he’s lucky.” That weekend, we got the game and the game system. We went to make all the connections and realized we needed another cord. We bought the cord and that was it. It sat unconnected on top of our TV for the next six months. BUT during that six month period, I had reached an important place within myself. I turned 38 that October and decided that I wanted to prevent any potential health problems before they arose. I had been overweight/obese virtually since childhood. I had never been “normal” in terms of weight. My blood pressure and cholesterol had always been good, but I knew my grandfather had been diabetic and I was at risk for that, as well as a variety of other weight-related issues. I decided I had to change my life. I spent that six months thinking about how to change my habits. I had heard lots of “diet” stories over the years and none appealed to me. I wanted to eat bread. I wanted to eat pasta. I wanted to eat dessert. I decided that only I could make my plan. So I developed the “Jane Reed” plan, which was to make a conscious decision to eat better (more fruits, vegetables and whole grains) every day. I also decided that I would eat whatever I wanted (basically), but eat half of what I would have eaten previously. I was also going to do DDR at least one hour a day. I started on January 1, 2005. I weighed 320 pounds.

DDR to fitness

From the beginning, fitness was my goal, but weight loss was a wonderful side benefit. My first time on the DDR mat I wanted to cry after about three minutes, but I MADE myself keep going for an hour. I thought I would die. But I didn’t. The next day…another hour. The next day…another hour. And so on. I rarely took a day off, but would if I felt like my body needed rest. Within a month, I was totally into it and actually looked forward to my hour on the mat. Many days my competitive spirit would kick in and I’d go for an hour and a half and not even realize it. The pounds began to disappear and I began to realize that I could climb stairs and do other physical activity more easily…but was I “fit?” In October of 2005 I got my answer. I went to New York City with my friends, Eileen and Jennifer. As part of our whirlwind tour of the city, we visited the Empire State Building. To reach the top, we took one elevator up most of the way and then had an option: to switch to a different elevator or to take the stairs the rest of the way (I think eight stories). The line for the elevator was extremely long and we had a lunch reservation to make! We looked at each other and collectively said, “Let’s take the stairs.” I had a rush of adrenalin and—if I’m totally honest—a jolt of fear. What if I couldn’t make it to the top? What if all of my hours on the DDR mat didn’t translate to real life? I had to try to find out. We started the climb and by about half way, people all around us were panting and stopping to rest…but not Eileen, Jen and me! We kept hoofing it up those flights. When we got to the top, I was more energized that I could ever remember being in my entire life. Not only had I effortlessly climbed the stories, but I was also breathing completely normally! Wow. Kudos to my buddies, Eileen and Jen, too, for making the climb without much effort. By January 1, 2006, I had lost 120 pounds and—for the first time ever—weighed in at what my driver’s license said I weighed…200 pounds! I had also improved my cardio health and was able to do virtually anything physical that I wanted. As the Empire State Building had proven, I was no longer out of breath after a climb up multiple flights of stairs. What a difference a year makes. In reflection, I realized that my weight loss and fitness went hand in hand and were of equal importance. I don’t think I could have had success in meeting my goals without both.

Now What?

Well, now what? I was fit. I had lost weight. It was time to do the critical piece of the equation—maintain it. I spent 2006 following my workout and eating plans and ended the year at 212 pounds. Not bad, in my opinion. Now I was statistically much more likely to keep the weight off forever. A challenge presented itself along the way, though. I still worked out regularly with DDR and I still got EXTREMELY sweaty while doing it, but it began to lose its effectiveness. I now know (thanks to Darren Anderson!) that I had developed muscle memory and my body had adjusted itself to the rigors of DDR. I had to shake up the workout if I wanted to continue to improve. I began to look for something else to do. I had developed a bit of a crush on Bob Harper, the trainer on the TV show, The Biggest Loser, and I found out the show had exercise DVDs for sale. There was my answer! I spent the last four months of 2006 working out every morning with Bob. But was I doing the exercises correctly? What about my specific issues? My skin had been remarkably elastic as I lost the 120 pounds, but I still had some sagging folds on my arms, legs and abdomen. How could I address that? By January 1, 2007, Steve had decided he needed to change his lifestyle, too. I like to think it was in part due to me. As he often says, he was about to turn 40 and he wanted to make sure there was a 50. I was delighted to hear it. He knew that he had to have someone to push him and, as much as we like and love each other, I was not the one to do the pushing! He researched personal trainers in all of Kansas City and found Darren, who turned out to be the answer to our prayers…and a magician! Steve got us a gym membership and started working out with Darren twice a week. Now, I will admit I had always been terrified of gyms. I knew it was because I didn’t know the rules—written and unwritten. Who would teach me those? It turns out Darren would. Through Steve, I learned what to do and what not to do at the gym. I started going to walk on the treadmill whenever I could so I could support Steve in his workout regimen. By May of 2007, I was totally comfortable with the “code” of the gym, but I had only walked on the treadmills. I was still totally ignorant of the weights and machines. Then I had my initial consultation of my own with Darren. He took all of my measurements and analyzed my needs and goals. I started working out with him once a week. Additionally, I did a strength training workout that he developed for me two times a week and some kind of cardio five times a week. He took time to ensure that I understood each exercise and its purpose. He also taught me about the weights and machines. Wow…did I get results! I’m now fond of saying that I lost the initial weight, but Darren helped me put my parts where they belong.

Sprint to the Finish

By the end of 2007, I had dramatically increased my lean muscle mass and had dramatically decreased my body fat percentage. I had also significantly reduced the sagging skin…and I’d actually built some muscles. I’d lost some weight, too. And here was the really interesting part—I had enjoyed the heck out of my workouts with Darren! He has a natural way of pushing me without being bossy or overbearing. And more importantly, he knows SO MUCH about health, fitness and nutrition that I was much smarter about them after spending several months with him. I had a physical in October of 2007, where my doctor wrote “great” and “super” next to several of the tested categories. Wow. Talk about hard work paying off. BUT I was still overweight according to my body mass index. In fact, by the beginning of 2008, I needed to lose about 26 more pounds to be in the “healthy” category. As ridiculous as it sounds (and as crazy as many of my incredible and supportive friends thought it was), I wanted to be “normal” for the first time in my life in terms of weight. I realized that I had never really “been on a diet.” Maybe that was the answer for the last 20+ pounds. I talked with Darren and he thought it was a great idea. We developed my “Sprint to the Finish” plan, which was a low-glycemic, low-calorie diet (about 1200-1300 calories a day) and my usual workout routine. I committed to the “Sprint” for two months (January and February) or “normal” on the BMI charts…whichever came first. Steve decided he would sprint, too, given that he still had about 20 pounds to lose to reach his ideal weight. Darren worked with both of us to develop a relatively painless nutrition plan that we could live with…at least for two months. January 1, 2008 we started the “Sprint.” When I was ready for breakfast on that first morning, I carefully measured my ½ cup of All Bran cereal and my ¾ cup of skim milk to go with it. Wow. Not much food at all!!! I ate it as slowly as I possibly could (I think it took about five minutes for about five bites) and decided that I would see if I was still hungry in 15 minutes. If so, I would have a piece of fruit or something else. Shockingly, I wasn’t hungry in 15 minutes! The breakfast on the meal plan was actually satisfying. Lunch, dinner and the snacks were, too. Maybe this wasn’t going to be too hard after all. In a week, I had lost seven pounds. And more importantly, it wasn’t that difficult. As with any “eating right” plan, the real difficulty came in life interfering with the nutrition plan. I went out of town to attend a training workshop from January 17-21. Before I left, I had lost 12 pounds. But now what? How could I keep my plan when someone else had control of the menus and food? As I began to think about how I was going to manage to keep up with my progress and still eat a menu decided by someone else, I realized something that was significant to me. I didn’t know any of the people who were going to be in my training class (except for my dear friend, Martha, who loved me both before and after). That meant they didn’t know “Fat Jane.” You know what? I decided that I didn’t want to be that girl…the girl who was always on a diet. I didn’t want to need to request special meals or preparation. Instead, I decided that I would revert back to the “Jane Reed” plan of portion control and choosing correctly. It may sound crazy to you, but it wasn’t to me. I ate with total abandon (not exactly the “Jane Reed” plan after all!) and I gained four pounds back over that weekend, but it was totally worth it to me. And upon my return, I was able to slip right back into the new nutrition plan. The four pounds came right back off. How many times have I heard people talk about gaining and losing the same weight over and over again? I get what they were talking about! Now in my fifth week of the sprint, I weigh less than I think I have weighed since middle school. I am not finished yet, but I am well on my way to my goal of a “healthy” BMI. I know I can reach it by the end of February. I bought some new clothes over the weekend–regular sizes in regular stores–and that feels terrific.

Tips

You know, the hard part really is in getting started. At every step along the way, I have lost weight. Every pound off gives me the motivation to stick with it and lose another. Here are some of my “tricks” that I have developed to stay motivated and on task:

1. Weigh every day. As my Aunt Judy is fond of saying, “It’s a whole lot easier to lose five pounds than it is to lose 50 pounds!” If I go a few days and my weight creeps up a bit, I back off and follow the nutrition plan again.
2. Watch portion size. In a restaurant, I often ask for a to-go container as soon as my meal is served. I physically draw a line at the halfway point and put half in the to-go container for tomorrow. Then I can clean my plate if I want to and not worry about overeating.
3. The three-bite rule. From the beginning, I didn’t want to deprive myself. I knew I could never really change my life and stick with my new habits if I couldn’t eat bread, pasta and dessert. I follow my three-bite rule for things that are not particularly healthy or nutritious: I take three bites (and they are three regular-sized bites!). One bite still leaves me wanting more, two is working toward satisfied and three seems to do the trick for me.
4. Exercise, exercise, exercise. This really is the key. My cousin, Cyndi, who has always been my role model in lots of ways–including exercise and fitness–says that working out lets her eat whatever she wants. How great does that sound??
5. Do a combination workout regimen of both strength training AND cardio. If I have one regret at this point, it’s that I didn’t start with Darren soon after I began doing DDR (January of 2005). He has helped me sculpt my muscles and reduce much of my sagging skin, but I know that it would be even better if I have built lean muscle mass at the same time that I lost weight.
6. Don’t deprive yourself. It only makes you hungrier for whatever you are denying. It’s really true.