Fat Problems

Currently, the focus on health in the US has been the rise of obesity. They are calling it an epidemic. We have old and young suffering from this ailment. They are predicting the younger generation will be the first to NOT outlive their parents because of weight related illnesses.  I want tell you something about being fat (and hang on to your hats - this may spiral into several posts)!

Yes - fat.
 
Because by today's BMI scale, I fall into the obese category. Now - if you look at me - you'd never believe I weigh as much as I do because I'm tall (thank god) and pear shaped (matter of fact my pants and shirt sizes differ by almost 3 sizes), but none the less - I'm obese.  Based on my BMI, I have been obese since high school even when I was in regular woman's 14/16 pants - but by my BMI I was still considered obese.

Let me clue everyone in on something... I know I'm fat. I know I'm overweight. I know I need to lose weight. In fact, I bet MOST of the people in the world KNOW when they are.  (I also know there are people in this world who are obsessed with their weight and size). 

I'm talking about those of us in the world who are truly overweight. It isn't a big secret - it didn't happen overnight.  We know we are, we watched it happen, and usually we didn't do anything about it. But I do want to share a few things that may have contributed to our size, and things that frustrate us when trying to lose weight.

Once you get to a certain size (and it is different for everyone), there is a HUGE variation from size to size. So you can be in a size 20W pants - and be in that size for a weight range of 20 to 40 lbs in some cases.  This range is why we sometimes don't realize we've gotten significantly heavier over a year or two because we don't seen drastic changes in sizes for just a few pounds.

This also works in reverse. We finally decide we want to lose weight, so we talk with our doctors, loved ones, friends, etc and make a plan. We decrease write down our weight, decrease our calories, and increase our activity. We are serious, motivated and excited. And then guess what -- nothing happens.  Oh, the scale might start to go down - but we watch with baited breath as 10, 20, 25, even 30 lbs seem to fade from the scale - and we see no changes in the mirror. We don't go down a size in anything, we don't see a smaller waist, we don't have to go clothes shopping... nothing. And as everyone knows, it may take MONTHS for this to happen. So imagine dieting and exercising (and feeling like you are depriving yourself to a certain degree), and getting NONE of the positive feedback you need to keep you motivated. This is why I HATE the Special K commercials (and other types of advertising) that promised losing a jeans size in a few weeks.  I can promise you that it is FRUSTRATING to listen/watch people who can drop a little as 5-10 lbs and they have to buy a new wardrobe because everything in too big!

So at this point that little voice pips up, "you've done good - I know you've tried. But it obviously isn't going to work for you - why don't you go ahead and have that second serving.. just for tonight. It obviously isn't going to make a difference in the size you wear or how you look. What can it hurt?"
And before you know we are back to the same weight (or higher) but still in the same size, and the world is oblivious to this.

So consider this when dealing with someone you know and/or love.  Our health isn't a surprise or shock to us - it is a constant source of frustration. You may wonder why we are always yo-yo dieting, or trying the newest fad. We do it because we hope we can find something to get us over the initial weight loss hump where positive feedback is achieved and can be used as motivation for us to continue on the "getting healthy" journey.  I know Plexus Slim isn't the wonder drug. I know I will have to maintain a healthy lifestyle once I reach my goal weight... Personally I just want to get to the point when 15-20 lbs down means a new pair of jeans.. so that I can keep my motivation up to continue losing!

I have a few other comments - but they will have to come in a later post.

Back in the Saddle

My Plexus Slim arrived! I'm very excited to be back on the Pink! I did it faithfully for a little over 30 days, but didn't order fast enough when I ran out.  I can say that I truly feel the changes in appetite, cravings, and energy were NOT psychological!! I really feel they were the Pink.

Lets break it down -
All women KNOW we have hormone fluctuations... for each and everyone of us there is something we "crave" at certain times of the month. I have a sweet tooth. I usually REALLY want chocolate peanut butter SOMETHING right before my time, and then salty and sweet stuff during!!

In the month of November, I was rocking the Pink and I didn't want any of that!! I was hungry and ate regular food. December was another story. Oh MY GOD!! Between the hormones and being home bound due to weather - my cravings were/are out of control. 


Also - energy levels...
My DH and I bought bikes and had been riding. Now I'm not nearly as in shape as he is, so I want to ride easier trails and he likes to do longer rides. However, we were riding together a good bit. We would ride our trail and then he would go ride with some guy friends... I haven't ridden in over 2 WEEKS! I feel guilty - but there have been extenuating circumstances... Thanksgiving was in there, and so was bad weather...etc.  I think I'm going to surprise him, and ask him in the morning to go ride...

I'll let you all know if my cravings decrease again - or if it was a one time fluke.... Off to work I go !

The British are coming....

Everyone has heard this..

"The British are coming.... The British are coming.."  We learn about this in history as the famous shout from Paul Revere.  

When I got the email from Plexus Worldwide telling me my Plexus Slim order had shipped, I felt I should be doing my own version.. "The Plexus is coming... The Plexus is coming!"

Tonight, when I got home from work - I HAD A PACKAGE! My Plexus Slim has arrived and tomorrow I plan on starting my journey.

Tomorrow (after work) I will post my measurements (gasp!).  I have a picture and my weight - but I'm embarrassed to put that out there just yet. Maybe when I can see how far I've come - I will become braver.

Looking forward to this - Hope everyone enjoys the ride!

Slight break

     I totally intended to write on this everyday, but life can get in the way.  So quick update:

Yesterday (October 23, 2013) :
    
      The DH and I went to the River Trail again, and this time we completed 5.1 miles. I think I left my legs on the trip somewhere, but I didn't have to walk my bike at anytime so I count that as a win!  We were both thrilled that we were able to do this. We got a little saddle sore as that being our third day out, so we went and got (GASP!) padded shorts.  Currently I think many athletic stores discriminate against chubby girls. I could NOT find anything in the woman's section that fit me, so I had to buy from the men department (which itself only went to an xxl). 
     I understand that mostly fit people buy clothes in stores like this, but I don't understand why can't stores have a small selection of xxl and up for people trying to better themselves. It almost seems like a slap in the face when you are starting out.  While many exercises can be completed in shorts and t-shirts, there are some things that really need the required clothing to make the exercise possible (such as biking padded shorts).  Ok that is my rant for now.

Today:

        We got up early today because we were dog sitting for some friends, and DH had a doctor's appointment.  At his appointment, we did tell the doctor that we were riding bikes and he encouraged it. I asked him about Plexus Slim, and he looked at the ingredient list I brought. He was not impressed, and said that exercise and decreased caloric intake has been proven, but he wasn't sure about anything that did not have to be regulated by the FDA. While I am totally with him on the skeptical thoughts,  he wouldn't even tell me if there were any KNOWN interactions with some of the homeopathic ingredients in Plexus Slim, and my DH medication.  So for now, I am on this journey alone.  Today we totally intended to ride our bikes, but I think after 3 days in a row we needed the break. So we did not ride today, but completely plan on riding tomorrow. 

See you tomorrow (hopefully!)!

Throwing my hat over the fence!

     Well I did it! I threw my hat over the fence.... well actually I threw two hats over two different fences.

      "Throwing a hat over the fence" is an expression I got from my mom meaning when she had done something that required her to follow through with it in some way. Let me give you an example. In my parent's house, mom hated the wallpaper in the bathroom. One weekend, she just rented a steamer and peeled all of it off. Now she had a mess on her hands, but she had "thrown her hat over the fence" and would have to do something about the bathroom walls (which got painted like she wanted!).

      Back to me - I threw some hats today.  First hat: I purchased my first month of Plexus Slim Pink Drink and Accelerator. I am going to give it a chance. While I am slightly skeptical (never mind the results I'm seeing in co workers and friends), I went ahead with my DH's (Dear Husband) approval because I'm tired of being overweight.

I HATE clothes not fitting!
I HATE shopping in specialty stores!
I HATE not feeling comfortable in shorts!
And the list goes on!

     Second hat: I bought a bike. DH had decided he wanted a bike to ride downtown. Currently, we both play a geeky game on our phones called Ingress. This game is capture the flag and geocashing mixed together. A great place to play is down by the river, so he wanted a bike to play.  He also wanted the bike for the added benefit of losing some weight. So today we got him a bike, and he immediately starting making plans on going to the river with some people to play.  I started realizing that he was going to spend many of his days off down at the river riding bikes - and I couldn't.  Not because I wasn't able, but because I didn't have a BIKE! So we promptly turned around and bought me one as well.  

      So now we have a plan for getting healthier and losing some weight. I will plan on starting the Plexus Slim when I get it later this week, and we plan on riding starting tomorrow.  I will post weight and measurements as soon as I am able. I might even get a current picture up in honor of keeping this a real time blog.