This is my transparency post. What are the deep dark motivations of my blog? All is revealed in this post.
1. I personally know what it is to be "fat." I was size 18 for a while in 2005. A little kid called me "fat," and little kids don't lie. So I empathize with everyone who is at a heavy weight. I want to do anything I can to tell you a point that matters to help you. I'm size 10 now.
2. My two best-y friends in Milwaukee are both very overweight. They are also absolutely lovely people. They nurture me. I honestly don't care what weight you start at, but I do care that you try your utmost best to care for your health, which includes honest effort. I tell them this same message.
3. To respect all of my readers, I do not censor my words about "fat." Fat is fat is fat. I am honest about this because I believe I respect all of you, no matter what weight you are, by not carefully choosing words as if you can't handle truth about fat. Your spirit has no fat. None of us equal our fat lumps. I will not treat anyone like they have an emotional disability by censoring my words. I'm just going to talk to you like an honest friend to a good friend, regardless of what size you are. Some people have thanked me for this, as it turns out that I am one of the first people in their lives to do that.
4. Several years ago, one of the best things a friend to me said was, "The way you walk so fast doesn't go with you weighing so much." It was blunt, cut through the nonsense in my mind, and it made me think. She was absolutely right. I thank her for being so honest. I hope I do the same thing for you.
5. There are blogs I will not read. I've said this before, and I mean it. There are "award-winning" fitness blogs with bloggers who are chock full of excuses, give extremely unhealthy advice, and live extremely unhealthy lives. I will not follow or comment on these blogs because I don't want to encourage this behavior in any way, shape, or form. To be frank, I find these blogs to be "delusional" and the bloggers to be extremely unhealthy role models--and I fully own up that this is my opinion. I know that a majority of the bloggers I follow (Yes, I follow fitness freaks like marathon runners and people who have kept off their weight for many years!) deserve fitness blogging awards much more than these people. Most people in my neighborhood have better fitness than these people. And yes, a person can quantitatively measure fitness and weight to determine if a blogger should get a "fitness blogging award." If you see my comment anywhere that I completely disagree with these bloggers and what they are doing, those are my words and nobody forced me to say them. I advise you to use good judgment about what blogs you subject your mind to because all messages you read impact your judgment. If the blogger's advice is obviously not working for him or her, then it is not good advice because something is flawed about it. I believe that fitness/weight loss blogs should have integrity with their message. If nobody else believes in my message, one person does--me.
6. I only give honest compliments. When you get a compliment from me, you've definitely earned it. I'm not going to lie to make anyone feel good about excuses to overeat or to not exercise, so if someone is making a bunch of excuses, I won't comment.
7. I think I am a cartoon villain. In 2010, I got my buttons pushed so many times that I felt I went over to Darth Vader's dark side. Many times, I imagined tossing a hateful person over a balcony. So I don't think I'm a righteous person. I'm not a goody-goody. I'm just me, with flaws. My kids say I'm not as bad as I think I am--all because I did not physically act out the urge of tossing the person over the balcony when I had many chances to do it. I guess that's a valid point, but my thoughts were still pretty dark. Remember this, if you think I'm ever acting overly righteous, because I'm not that at all! Also, I swear too much.
8. I know a lot about gym because I have almost 6 1/2 years experience of going to gym. I hope you will have a lot of fun playing in your gym. I will try to write about gym experiences and wonderful gym buddies to get you excited about the gym. However, if you ask me about running, swimming, or anything else I'm not educated about, I am not going to act like I know something that I don't know. However, I might know other bloggers who might be able to answer your questions.
9. Sometimes, my gym socks smell. I'm not sure why but my feet sweat, but the rest of me--not so much. I like nearly every person in my gym. I understand that the hardest working people in my gym are those people who are just starting to get into shape. Us fitness freaks appear more impressive, but the gym newbies are the ones going home to heating pads on excruciating thighs. I know this, because I remember my heating pad days. I never disparage a beginner in the gym, and I often tell them that they are "working hard."
10. I want you to succeed. I believe that facing facts we want to avoid is the shortest route to success. So bear with me, at times. I have a point to what I say. And I say it to help someone.
11. I've had almost every stupid idea about weight loss and fitness. I've made so many mistakes, which I frequently use as examples in my blog posts. I am the perfect lab rat to dissect for discussion. I preach that you should make mistakes because it is liberating--I would know from my vast experience in this area! And, when you make mistakes, you become receptive to getting people to help you do better.
12. I help a lot of people in my gym learn how to use free weights and to bench press. I am known to be one of the most generous people with my time at my gym. I wish you could come to my gym to get a bench press lesson from me. Although you aren't in the gym with me, I hope that what I say adds something good to your life.
What do *you* think? I wrote this because I want you to know all of this about me, so you're never surprised or disappointed about who I am. On the days you're p.o.'d at me, remember that I warned you--I'm a cartoon villain, and never someone to put on a pedestal. As usual, say whatever you want.
Happy weekend!
:-) Marion
Friday, May 17, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
*Let's Cheer!* (Those Asterix are the PomPoms!)
Today, this post is *not* about me. Once in a while, I care a lot more about how others are doing than myself. Today is such a day. :D
There are 3 bloggers in particular that I want to talk about in a proud way:
Connie has lost 50 pounds! That is a super serious weight loss number--keep it going! You can do it!!! But, also, Connie has been walking 5k on the treadmill until she is mega-sore! Really freakin' sore. Why does this warm my heart? Well, I started the exact same way! Yes, I, Marion, started out on the treadmill, just walking, until I had walked over 600 miles, and then I branched out to other exercises. In the beginning of 2007, when I started my fitness journey, omg, I was sooooooo sore! I slept with a heating pad over my thighs. *Yay Connie!*
Lynn did a 5k obstacle course! As Lynn explains in her post, this was waaaaaay outside her comfort zone! But she had friends to encourage and support her. And she finished! And she's proud. And I'm so happy for her. Why does this tickle me? Because I was so very chicken to try free weight lifting, but I stepped outside my comfort zone with a friend--and it turned out great, just like it did for Lynn. This is how comfort zones get larger--by trying new stuff with support of friends. *Yay Lynn!*
Marc walked over 350 miles this year! He is getting ultra serious about his eating and fitness. One of his recent posts made me remember when I decided to get really serious about my fitness--not just do fitness but to become super good at fitness. Marc, the following song is perfectly dedicated to you:
What do *you* think? If you have praise for Connie, Lynn, or Marc, I hope you will click the links above to tell them on their blogs. We all start our awesome fitness journeys somewhere. We should encourage people who are daring to try this hard.
Have a courageous day!
:-) Marion
There are 3 bloggers in particular that I want to talk about in a proud way:
Connie has lost 50 pounds! That is a super serious weight loss number--keep it going! You can do it!!! But, also, Connie has been walking 5k on the treadmill until she is mega-sore! Really freakin' sore. Why does this warm my heart? Well, I started the exact same way! Yes, I, Marion, started out on the treadmill, just walking, until I had walked over 600 miles, and then I branched out to other exercises. In the beginning of 2007, when I started my fitness journey, omg, I was sooooooo sore! I slept with a heating pad over my thighs. *Yay Connie!*
Lynn did a 5k obstacle course! As Lynn explains in her post, this was waaaaaay outside her comfort zone! But she had friends to encourage and support her. And she finished! And she's proud. And I'm so happy for her. Why does this tickle me? Because I was so very chicken to try free weight lifting, but I stepped outside my comfort zone with a friend--and it turned out great, just like it did for Lynn. This is how comfort zones get larger--by trying new stuff with support of friends. *Yay Lynn!*
Marc walked over 350 miles this year! He is getting ultra serious about his eating and fitness. One of his recent posts made me remember when I decided to get really serious about my fitness--not just do fitness but to become super good at fitness. Marc, the following song is perfectly dedicated to you:
What do *you* think? If you have praise for Connie, Lynn, or Marc, I hope you will click the links above to tell them on their blogs. We all start our awesome fitness journeys somewhere. We should encourage people who are daring to try this hard.
Have a courageous day!
:-) Marion
Monday, May 13, 2013
Slim Personality--Do You Have It?
This post is about the personality of the slimmer person. Last week, we discussed Overweight personality. So, today, we are going to discuss Slim Personality. In other words, what are traits of a slimmer person?
Okay, we all know there are slimmer people who do not try very hard to be slim. They were either raised to be slim or they are naturally slim. <<They don't need any help, so, for this post, we don't care much about them. Hehehe. :D
But for us people with chubby ideas about food who tend towards being overweight, we had (or still have) to change to a slimmer personality to lose the weight. In this post, "slim" is a relative term. What is "slim" for your weight history might not be "slim" for someone else. (For me, "slim" is size 10 because I used to be size 18 in 2005! And I used to weigh over 60 more pounds than I do now.)
Here are some traits of Slimmer People:
1. Slimmer people have a long-term plan about weight. That's right, our weight issue affects us (how long was that again?)...Forever! First, we had to come to peace with that. Then, we had to get freakin' serious about this reality. A 90-day diet is bullshit, and we concretely understand that, in the deepest sort of way.
2. Slimmer people are hungry at certain times of the day. Yes, slimmer people know what it feels like to have the deep gnaw in the stomach that often makes weird tummy sounds like tiny internal cannons booming because we often go for a long time between eating. (FYI, being hungry is definitely not the same as food cravings. Being hungry is from not eating for a long time or not eating very much food. Food cravings involves those addictive brain itches of wanting to eat more food when you're not actually hungry.)
3. Slimmer people have hard-ass food rules. We have hard-ass food rules so that we bluntly say "no" to ourselves about problem foods in problem situations, while overweight slow-thinking friends ponder about whether to eat the problem food, eventually giving in to temptation.
4. Slimmer people are more assertive and individualistic about food. Do you ever sip an iced coffee while everyone else eats huge slices of deep dish pizza? I do. That's how I'm slimmer than them! Slimmer people often eat entirely different foods than others around them. Slimmer people often eat very different meals than their families.
5. Slimmer people often care more about looking good at the party than the food. We get more excited about a reason to look good and wear a special outfit, great shoes, and lovely hair than imagining how great the party food will be. We slimmer people are not going to eat that high calorie party food. We might take a dab of something we don't want, to look polite, but toss it out later when nobody's looking.
6. Slimmer people never eat what we don't want to (even if someone resents that and thinks we're a "skinny bitch" for it). We recognize our personal freedom to choose the foods we eat. We reject food from food pushers.
7. Slimmer people face the truth that if we eat something, it is our fault and our consequence. We all have the opportunity to be as slim as we choose because nobody is forcing us to overeat.
8. Slimmer people do not squander calories. Is there a little bun on the table at the restaurant? Slim people will think: That bun won't even taste that good, and I can't afford to waste 100 calories on it. Anyone who is keeping within a good daily calorie limit knows that there are no extra calories for any excess food.
9. Slimmer people often face their raw emotions and effectively deal with them. If you don't sedate with excess food, then your emotions remain raw. So we might become crankier about problems sometimes, but they are often problems that should be attacked and resolved anyhow. Then we ease our mind, not with food, but by dealing with the problem that bothers us. <<Wow! What a monumental idea it is to deal with our problems!
10. Slimmer people have lots of little tricks to make weight management easier. We do a variety of things to aid in weight management: food journaling, going to weight loss meetings, calorie counting, eating off smaller-sized plates, measuring portion sizes, checking calories per serving on the label, eating specific foods that don't cause cravings, putting problem foods away in hard to reach places, scheduled times to eat and to not eat during the day, and so many more little things that make a big difference.
11. Slimmer people eat for nutrition rather than excitement. Many slim blogging friends say they eat basically the same things every single day. So do I. We tend to have "clean eating," meaning that the food is unprocessed without ingredients involved. Unprocessed food gives the most food satisfaction per calorie. The reason we don't feel tempted to eat second helpings is because we are just going to eat the same old thing tomorrow anyway.
12. Slimmer people do not make excuses to overeat for holidays or weekends. If you read various blogs, you can detect the person's weight almost entirely by the amount of excuses to overeat there are in the posts. Slimmer people don't rationalize overeating for any reason because--excess calories don't care what day it is or excuse you have to make you fat.
13. Slimmer people know that little eating details make all the difference. We know that one fun-sized candy bar per day every day can make us over 10 pounds heavier. So we watch our food portions, nibbles, and choices very carefully.
14. Slimmer people understand how many calories they can eat to be their goal weight--and then eat that calorie amount. A general rule of thumb is: ideal weight x 10 = calories per day. Yes, that means if you want to be 150 pounds, you only get to eat 1500 calories per day, all week long, all month long, all year long. That's not much.
15. Slimmer people understand that excess calories never vanish into thin air. All excess calories manifest as fat lumps, the size of the lumps being relative to the amount of excess calories being eaten. Feeling sorry about overeating does nothing to make you lose weight.
16. Slimmer people love our bodies! Oh yes, we like to look at ourselves in the mirror. It is fun to try on clothes at the mall. We like our butts in stretchy yoga pants. We look good! Shapely in all the right places! Many people think we are younger than our true ages, which makes us smile. We are more vain than overweight people, which actually helps us keep slimmer.
Now, if these are not your traits, you can change! I used to have an overweight personality but then changed my ways. Anyone can change to become a slimmer person.
What do *you* think? Did I miss anything? I often do. If so, please add it below. As usual, add whatever you want to say. With the overweight personality post, your comments were the very best part of the discussion. Your experiences are based upon your knowledge, which show in the comments.
Have an outstanding day!
:-) Marion
Okay, we all know there are slimmer people who do not try very hard to be slim. They were either raised to be slim or they are naturally slim. <<They don't need any help, so, for this post, we don't care much about them. Hehehe. :D
But for us people with chubby ideas about food who tend towards being overweight, we had (or still have) to change to a slimmer personality to lose the weight. In this post, "slim" is a relative term. What is "slim" for your weight history might not be "slim" for someone else. (For me, "slim" is size 10 because I used to be size 18 in 2005! And I used to weigh over 60 more pounds than I do now.)
Here are some traits of Slimmer People:
1. Slimmer people have a long-term plan about weight. That's right, our weight issue affects us (how long was that again?)...Forever! First, we had to come to peace with that. Then, we had to get freakin' serious about this reality. A 90-day diet is bullshit, and we concretely understand that, in the deepest sort of way.
2. Slimmer people are hungry at certain times of the day. Yes, slimmer people know what it feels like to have the deep gnaw in the stomach that often makes weird tummy sounds like tiny internal cannons booming because we often go for a long time between eating. (FYI, being hungry is definitely not the same as food cravings. Being hungry is from not eating for a long time or not eating very much food. Food cravings involves those addictive brain itches of wanting to eat more food when you're not actually hungry.)
3. Slimmer people have hard-ass food rules. We have hard-ass food rules so that we bluntly say "no" to ourselves about problem foods in problem situations, while overweight slow-thinking friends ponder about whether to eat the problem food, eventually giving in to temptation.
4. Slimmer people are more assertive and individualistic about food. Do you ever sip an iced coffee while everyone else eats huge slices of deep dish pizza? I do. That's how I'm slimmer than them! Slimmer people often eat entirely different foods than others around them. Slimmer people often eat very different meals than their families.
5. Slimmer people often care more about looking good at the party than the food. We get more excited about a reason to look good and wear a special outfit, great shoes, and lovely hair than imagining how great the party food will be. We slimmer people are not going to eat that high calorie party food. We might take a dab of something we don't want, to look polite, but toss it out later when nobody's looking.
6. Slimmer people never eat what we don't want to (even if someone resents that and thinks we're a "skinny bitch" for it). We recognize our personal freedom to choose the foods we eat. We reject food from food pushers.
7. Slimmer people face the truth that if we eat something, it is our fault and our consequence. We all have the opportunity to be as slim as we choose because nobody is forcing us to overeat.
8. Slimmer people do not squander calories. Is there a little bun on the table at the restaurant? Slim people will think: That bun won't even taste that good, and I can't afford to waste 100 calories on it. Anyone who is keeping within a good daily calorie limit knows that there are no extra calories for any excess food.
9. Slimmer people often face their raw emotions and effectively deal with them. If you don't sedate with excess food, then your emotions remain raw. So we might become crankier about problems sometimes, but they are often problems that should be attacked and resolved anyhow. Then we ease our mind, not with food, but by dealing with the problem that bothers us. <<Wow! What a monumental idea it is to deal with our problems!
10. Slimmer people have lots of little tricks to make weight management easier. We do a variety of things to aid in weight management: food journaling, going to weight loss meetings, calorie counting, eating off smaller-sized plates, measuring portion sizes, checking calories per serving on the label, eating specific foods that don't cause cravings, putting problem foods away in hard to reach places, scheduled times to eat and to not eat during the day, and so many more little things that make a big difference.
11. Slimmer people eat for nutrition rather than excitement. Many slim blogging friends say they eat basically the same things every single day. So do I. We tend to have "clean eating," meaning that the food is unprocessed without ingredients involved. Unprocessed food gives the most food satisfaction per calorie. The reason we don't feel tempted to eat second helpings is because we are just going to eat the same old thing tomorrow anyway.
12. Slimmer people do not make excuses to overeat for holidays or weekends. If you read various blogs, you can detect the person's weight almost entirely by the amount of excuses to overeat there are in the posts. Slimmer people don't rationalize overeating for any reason because--excess calories don't care what day it is or excuse you have to make you fat.
13. Slimmer people know that little eating details make all the difference. We know that one fun-sized candy bar per day every day can make us over 10 pounds heavier. So we watch our food portions, nibbles, and choices very carefully.
14. Slimmer people understand how many calories they can eat to be their goal weight--and then eat that calorie amount. A general rule of thumb is: ideal weight x 10 = calories per day. Yes, that means if you want to be 150 pounds, you only get to eat 1500 calories per day, all week long, all month long, all year long. That's not much.
15. Slimmer people understand that excess calories never vanish into thin air. All excess calories manifest as fat lumps, the size of the lumps being relative to the amount of excess calories being eaten. Feeling sorry about overeating does nothing to make you lose weight.
16. Slimmer people love our bodies! Oh yes, we like to look at ourselves in the mirror. It is fun to try on clothes at the mall. We like our butts in stretchy yoga pants. We look good! Shapely in all the right places! Many people think we are younger than our true ages, which makes us smile. We are more vain than overweight people, which actually helps us keep slimmer.
Now, if these are not your traits, you can change! I used to have an overweight personality but then changed my ways. Anyone can change to become a slimmer person.
What do *you* think? Did I miss anything? I often do. If so, please add it below. As usual, add whatever you want to say. With the overweight personality post, your comments were the very best part of the discussion. Your experiences are based upon your knowledge, which show in the comments.
Have an outstanding day!
:-) Marion
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Importance of Breakfast Myth
This post is about research on the importance (or not!) of breakfast for weight loss and maintenance.
As many of you know, I am not a regular eater of breakfast. But sometimes, I eat an apple or orange before lunch time. So I'm not opposed to anyone eating breakfast. However, I do not believe that breakfast is necessary, and also may not be helpful, for certain people to lose weight. For me, cutting out calories in the morning was the very easiest way of cutting calories in my day. I don't like breakfast anyhow, and I get by very well without it.
In my last post I wrote:
My blogging friend Satu, raised up in her comment that there are research studies finding that breakfast is important for weight loss and maintenance. <<This is true. There are studies that find that, plus many articles and advertisements that hype those studies.
We need to be aware that many of these importance of breakfast studies were conducted by breakfast food manufacturers who want you to consume their breakfast products. In the article "The Greatest Weight-Loss Myth Ever Told" by David Zinczenko:
(Think you exercise too much to skip breakfast? Dr. Mattson routinely skips both breakfast and lunch and still runs 6 to 9 miles with his cross-country team he coaches.)
Additionally, there are also many studies that have found against the necessity of breakfast. In 2013, Dr. David Allison of the University of Alabama, upon reviewing studies on the subject, found that the popular claim of regularly eating (versus skipping) breakfast is protective against obesity is an "unproven assumption."
In 2011, Researchers found the people who ate bigger breakfasts ate more calories throughout the day, while people who ate small or no breakfast ate less calories throughout the day. Their advice was "consider the reduction of breakfast calories as a simple option."
Research out in December 2012 that shows that college athletes (guys) who were forced to eat breakfast, when they weren't eating it previously, lost some lean muscle mass from the eating change--which appeared due to being required to eat breakfast. This greatly surprised the researcher, since he was advocating that all athletes should eat breakfast.
My favorite article about skipping breakfast is by Martin Berkin entitled, "Why Does Breakfast Make Me Hungry?" This super long article explains details of why breakfast actually makes some people more hungry than not eating anything at all in the morning. (I am one of those people who get hungrier by eating breakfast.)
My conclusion: The overall research is does not prove or disprove anything necessary about eating breakfast for weight loss and weight maintenance. I personally don't have anything against breakfast. If you want to eat breakfast, then do that. However, you should understand that eating breakfast is definitely not a requirement to weight loss. For me, I needed to reduce about 700 calories per day from my fattest weight to get to my current weight. Breakfast calories were the very easiest calories for me to give up. Skipping breakfast helped me lose weight in a way that I can maintain because--I didn't even like eating those calories in the first place. However, other people find that breakfast is their important key to eating well all day long.
The bottom line is how many total calories you consume in your day.
What do *you* think? This was definitely one of the most labor-intensive blog posts I've compiled. So I hope it gives you a lot of great information to consider. As always, comment on whatever you'd like to say. It's all good. :D
Have an interesting day!
:-) Marion
As many of you know, I am not a regular eater of breakfast. But sometimes, I eat an apple or orange before lunch time. So I'm not opposed to anyone eating breakfast. However, I do not believe that breakfast is necessary, and also may not be helpful, for certain people to lose weight. For me, cutting out calories in the morning was the very easiest way of cutting calories in my day. I don't like breakfast anyhow, and I get by very well without it.
In my last post I wrote:
I am so tired of hearing about how to "boost metabolism" at my weight
loss group. All of the overweight members, who I dearly love, are
bothered by the fact that I usually don't eat breakfast. They keep
insisting that eating a big breakfast will "spark" metabolism. They are
looking for a short-cut to success that does not involve as much
sacrifice. So I take them to task: "How many extra calories burned are
we talking about here if your metabolism is "boosted." Possibly 50
calories total per day? Is this the reason why you insist that I 'must'
eat a 350 calorie breakfast (rather than eating 0 calories for
breakfast) in order to burn off 25 to 50 calories of that breakfast?"
Yes, the members are realizing that my math is accurate. Metabolism
boosts are malarky, and are definitely not worth overeating to achieve.
It is the most overweight people who are believe in short-cuts that
never work. At my fattest, I used to be a huge believer in short-cuts.
My blogging friend Satu, raised up in her comment that there are research studies finding that breakfast is important for weight loss and maintenance. <<This is true. There are studies that find that, plus many articles and advertisements that hype those studies.
We need to be aware that many of these importance of breakfast studies were conducted by breakfast food manufacturers who want you to consume their breakfast products. In the article "The Greatest Weight-Loss Myth Ever Told" by David Zinczenko:
"There are a lot of forces in our society pushing against skipping
breakfast," says Mark Mattson, PhD, chief of the Laboratory of
Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. "Those forces are
driven by money. They include the food industry obviously, and in some
respects the pharmaceutical industry.” Breakfast cereals alone are an
$11 billion a year industry, and that's before you get into eggs and
bacon, bagels and lox, pancakes and syrup.
(Think you exercise too much to skip breakfast? Dr. Mattson routinely skips both breakfast and lunch and still runs 6 to 9 miles with his cross-country team he coaches.)
Additionally, there are also many studies that have found against the necessity of breakfast. In 2013, Dr. David Allison of the University of Alabama, upon reviewing studies on the subject, found that the popular claim of regularly eating (versus skipping) breakfast is protective against obesity is an "unproven assumption."
In 2011, Researchers found the people who ate bigger breakfasts ate more calories throughout the day, while people who ate small or no breakfast ate less calories throughout the day. Their advice was "consider the reduction of breakfast calories as a simple option."
Research out in December 2012 that shows that college athletes (guys) who were forced to eat breakfast, when they weren't eating it previously, lost some lean muscle mass from the eating change--which appeared due to being required to eat breakfast. This greatly surprised the researcher, since he was advocating that all athletes should eat breakfast.
My favorite article about skipping breakfast is by Martin Berkin entitled, "Why Does Breakfast Make Me Hungry?" This super long article explains details of why breakfast actually makes some people more hungry than not eating anything at all in the morning. (I am one of those people who get hungrier by eating breakfast.)
My conclusion: The overall research is does not prove or disprove anything necessary about eating breakfast for weight loss and weight maintenance. I personally don't have anything against breakfast. If you want to eat breakfast, then do that. However, you should understand that eating breakfast is definitely not a requirement to weight loss. For me, I needed to reduce about 700 calories per day from my fattest weight to get to my current weight. Breakfast calories were the very easiest calories for me to give up. Skipping breakfast helped me lose weight in a way that I can maintain because--I didn't even like eating those calories in the first place. However, other people find that breakfast is their important key to eating well all day long.
The bottom line is how many total calories you consume in your day.
What do *you* think? This was definitely one of the most labor-intensive blog posts I've compiled. So I hope it gives you a lot of great information to consider. As always, comment on whatever you'd like to say. It's all good. :D
Have an interesting day!
:-) Marion
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Overweight Personality--Is There Such a Thing?
I hate when I've been scooped. I actually started this blog post last week, but didn't finish it because some shiny object caught my eye, and I chased that instead. Lack of attention span is why I have about 50 unfinished blog posts!!! I have some finished ones too, that I haven't used yet.
Anyhow, the new weight loss research today is that "Weight Gain May Change Personality."
According to this new livescience.com article:
Friends, I know that I offended some of you when I referred to me acting like a "skinny bitch" in this post and that post. I'm sorry about offending you. But, I'm not sorry to explain that my personality had to drastically change in order to lose weight.
"Fat people" stereotypes are based upon a certain amount of truth.
There are "fat people" stereotypes that we all really resent. But what I hate even more is that the "fat people" stereotypes are based upon a certain amount of truth.
Let's examine those research points above that I bolded above:
Being overweight involves a bunch of defective lifestyle issues:
Most of us, women in particular, were taught to agree with others in most circumstances. At my heaviest weight, I was not individualistic about food choices. If my husband overate, I did too.
9. Feeling overly unique about life issues, such as believing that other people's successful formulas could not possibly work. Yes, at size 16, I was the space alien on the planet who was unique. Sure, another woman could gain success by keeping a food journal but that did not apply to me. Sure, a friend lost weight by reducing refined carbs, but that was just because she was her and not me. Nobody's success formulas applied to me.
10. Feeling overly emotional and victimized by life. There are a bunch of blogs right now that I will not read. These overweight bloggers are complaining and making excuses about how their food issues and life issues are far worse than everyone else's. At size 16, I used to feel that way too. At some point, I realized that--everyone basically has the same basic life problems. Mine are not unique or worse than other people's problems.
11. Looking for a short-cut that allows easier success. I am so tired of hearing about how to "boost metabolism" at my weight loss group. All of the overweight members, who I dearly love, are bothered by the fact that I usually don't eat breakfast. They keep insisting that eating a big breakfast will "spark" metabolism. They are looking for a short-cut to success that does not involve as much sacrifice. So I take them to task: "How many extra calories burned are we talking about here if your metabolism is "boosted." Possibly 50 calories total per day? Is this the reason why you insist that I 'must' eat a 350 calorie breakfast (rather than eating 0 calories for breakfast) in order to burn off 25 to 50 calories of that breakfast?" Yes, the members are realizing that my math is accurate. Metabolism boosts are malarky, and are definitely not worth overeating to achieve. It is the most overweight people who are believe in short-cuts that never work. At my fattest, I used to be a huge believer in short-cuts.
12. Viewing weight loss as a short-term event. I used to believe that eating right had an ending. At my biggest weight, my goal was to have willpower for 90 days to get results. I could not envision a long-term lifestyle change because I impulsively lived for the moment.
13. A noticeable disconnect between body and mind. At my heaviest weight, I felt mostly like a big head with feet underneath, like the way kindergartners draw bodiless people. I didn't connect my thoughts to my pounds. I didn't connect twisting my waistline certain ways to watching my calories. I didn't care about my clothes except that they covered lumps. So I was always disguising myself instead of revealing myself. I rarely looked in the mirror for vanity's sake.
14. Believing that being saintly controls life's situations. At my heaviest weight, I believed that my enormous daily sacrifices made our family's life work. My sacrifice was the center of our universe. I truly believed that I had that power. I now realize that there are many people and factors involved, and no matter how hard I try, I am not an end-all to life's problems. When I quit trying to be a sacrificial martyr and concentrated more on my personal issues, such as regularly going to the gym, the house did get a little messier but the entire family got much happier. No one likes a martyr.
This post is already very long, and I didn't even get to slimmer personality traits. So that will be another post. But I have firmly argued the point that being overweight is about defective lifestyle issues, not just pounds. Research cited above seems to confirm that fact. To lose the weight, those defective lifestyle issues have to be addressed.
What do *you* think? In the comments, please put down the numbers you agree with, and explain why you disagree with any points up there. Also, if you feel "fat" stereotypes are not based upon any truth, argue your case below. Your opinion counts, my wise readers. My blog is so much better for having your ideas inserted. :D
Have a great day!
:-) Marion
Anyhow, the new weight loss research today is that "Weight Gain May Change Personality."
According to this new livescience.com article:
"What we don't know is whether significant changes in weight are
associated with changes in our core personality traits," Angelina Sutin
of the Florida State University College of Medicine said.
Sutin and her colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
looked at data on the personality traits and weights of more than 1,900
people at two time points, nearly a decade apart.
During that period, those who gained more than 10 percent of their body
weight became more impulsive and were more likely to give in to
temptations compared [to those with stable weight]. ...[W]eight gain was also associated with increased thoughtfulness in decision making.
Friends, I know that I offended some of you when I referred to me acting like a "skinny bitch" in this post and that post. I'm sorry about offending you. But, I'm not sorry to explain that my personality had to drastically change in order to lose weight.
"Fat people" stereotypes are based upon a certain amount of truth.
There are "fat people" stereotypes that we all really resent. But what I hate even more is that the "fat people" stereotypes are based upon a certain amount of truth.
Let's examine those research points above that I bolded above:
- Weight gainers were "more impulsive." This is the problem with being an overly flexible person, a characteristic of most overweight people I know. If a family member or friend suggests eating a high calorie food, overweight people impulsively "go with the flow" and eat it too. Slimmer people have more food rules and say "no" more often.
- Weight gainers "give in to temptations." Overweight people eat more treats more frequently than slimmer people. Slimmer people have more food rules and usually don't "give in."
- Weight gainers have "increased thoughtfulness in decision making." In other words, overweight people waffle long enough until the decision to eat the high calorie food becomes a "yes." Slim people with more food rules say a hard "no" early on to entirely avoid getting to a "yes."
Being overweight involves a bunch of defective lifestyle issues:
Most of us, women in particular, were taught to agree with others in most circumstances. At my heaviest weight, I was not individualistic about food choices. If my husband overate, I did too.
9. Feeling overly unique about life issues, such as believing that other people's successful formulas could not possibly work. Yes, at size 16, I was the space alien on the planet who was unique. Sure, another woman could gain success by keeping a food journal but that did not apply to me. Sure, a friend lost weight by reducing refined carbs, but that was just because she was her and not me. Nobody's success formulas applied to me.
10. Feeling overly emotional and victimized by life. There are a bunch of blogs right now that I will not read. These overweight bloggers are complaining and making excuses about how their food issues and life issues are far worse than everyone else's. At size 16, I used to feel that way too. At some point, I realized that--everyone basically has the same basic life problems. Mine are not unique or worse than other people's problems.
11. Looking for a short-cut that allows easier success. I am so tired of hearing about how to "boost metabolism" at my weight loss group. All of the overweight members, who I dearly love, are bothered by the fact that I usually don't eat breakfast. They keep insisting that eating a big breakfast will "spark" metabolism. They are looking for a short-cut to success that does not involve as much sacrifice. So I take them to task: "How many extra calories burned are we talking about here if your metabolism is "boosted." Possibly 50 calories total per day? Is this the reason why you insist that I 'must' eat a 350 calorie breakfast (rather than eating 0 calories for breakfast) in order to burn off 25 to 50 calories of that breakfast?" Yes, the members are realizing that my math is accurate. Metabolism boosts are malarky, and are definitely not worth overeating to achieve. It is the most overweight people who are believe in short-cuts that never work. At my fattest, I used to be a huge believer in short-cuts.
12. Viewing weight loss as a short-term event. I used to believe that eating right had an ending. At my biggest weight, my goal was to have willpower for 90 days to get results. I could not envision a long-term lifestyle change because I impulsively lived for the moment.
13. A noticeable disconnect between body and mind. At my heaviest weight, I felt mostly like a big head with feet underneath, like the way kindergartners draw bodiless people. I didn't connect my thoughts to my pounds. I didn't connect twisting my waistline certain ways to watching my calories. I didn't care about my clothes except that they covered lumps. So I was always disguising myself instead of revealing myself. I rarely looked in the mirror for vanity's sake.
14. Believing that being saintly controls life's situations. At my heaviest weight, I believed that my enormous daily sacrifices made our family's life work. My sacrifice was the center of our universe. I truly believed that I had that power. I now realize that there are many people and factors involved, and no matter how hard I try, I am not an end-all to life's problems. When I quit trying to be a sacrificial martyr and concentrated more on my personal issues, such as regularly going to the gym, the house did get a little messier but the entire family got much happier. No one likes a martyr.
This post is already very long, and I didn't even get to slimmer personality traits. So that will be another post. But I have firmly argued the point that being overweight is about defective lifestyle issues, not just pounds. Research cited above seems to confirm that fact. To lose the weight, those defective lifestyle issues have to be addressed.
What do *you* think? In the comments, please put down the numbers you agree with, and explain why you disagree with any points up there. Also, if you feel "fat" stereotypes are not based upon any truth, argue your case below. Your opinion counts, my wise readers. My blog is so much better for having your ideas inserted. :D
Have a great day!
:-) Marion
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Getting Your Brain Zings Without Food
When I was very overweight, I used to get my brain zings primarily from food. Every time I was bored or upset, I ate something to make myself feel better. And, boy, did I feel better! There's nothing like a good food high.
Food zings are highly addictive. In fact, eating food releases dopamine in our bodies, like heroin does.
But now, I eat about 700 less calories per day than I used to eat. What does that feel like? Well, it feels more vulnerable. It feels more raw, living-wise. It often feels unsheltered.
When I first started eating that many less calories, I noticed that I was less happy. Literally, every time I was bored or upset, I did not eat but also didn't do anything to make myself happier either.
It doesn't have to be that way. A person who doesn't sedate/zing themselves with food can still find an alternative thing to do--that lights up the brain.
Here are some of the ways I get brain zings without food:
1. I thank myself more often for little things I do. In other words, I say thank you to myself dozens of times each day. I do many little jobs that nobody but me cares about. I actively appreciate the work I do. Every little thank you or compliment is a little zing.
2. I play cell phone and internet games when I'm bored or upset. A 7 minute game of the 100 most popular boy's names from the year 1900 on Sporcle temporarily distracts my mind off what's bothering me. The little break gives me time to calm down.
3. I listen to a favorite song on youtube.com. Preferably, something I sing along with. It's hard to be cross while singing a favorite song.
4. I clean up something that is bothering me. I hate cleaning, but sometimes I hate a mess even more. It gives me some sense of control that I desperately need.
5. I get out in the sunshine. Often just 15 minutes of sunshine and quietness with no clocks and computers peps me up.
6. I baby talk to my dog. Keebler is my dog psychiatrist, and talking to him always makes me feel better.
7. I compliment somebody. Giving a well-deserved compliment is even better than receiving one.
8. I paint my toe nails a sparkly dark pink. Or I curl my hair into my version of Charlie's Angel's hair. (Still totally love 70's and 80's hair.)
9. I have a long funny conversation with one of the teen kids. Laughing is very good for a brain zing.
10. I soak in a hot bath. Or I wrap myself in a warm blanket.
11. Exercise is definitely a huge zing for me. Woo hoo!
There's lots of ways to make yourself feel happier without excess food, but at first, it might take some deliberateness to fully realize how to get the non-food zings. I suggest that you make a list of your favorites so that they come to mind when you need them.
Lastly, I was mopey yesterday. So I gave Keebler a haircut, which I like to do. He's sort of like having a 25 pound Barbie doll with hair that I can trim.
And then, I listened to my favorite Billy Joel song about 5 times:
If you can't get happy while listening to Rosalinda's Eyes, well, you're a tough nut to crack. :D
I listened to this song about a thousand times in high school. It is definitely the most under-rated Billy Joel song. Here's an even sweeter version. (And this guy is a singer who definitely deserves more hits on this video.)
What do *you* think? What's you favorite way to get a non-food zing? As usual, add anything else you want to say. Today is Tuesday, and I don't eat anything until about 7:00 p.m. tonight, so I'll definitely have to zing myself other ways.
Have a beautiful day!
:-) Marion
Food zings are highly addictive. In fact, eating food releases dopamine in our bodies, like heroin does.
But now, I eat about 700 less calories per day than I used to eat. What does that feel like? Well, it feels more vulnerable. It feels more raw, living-wise. It often feels unsheltered.
When I first started eating that many less calories, I noticed that I was less happy. Literally, every time I was bored or upset, I did not eat but also didn't do anything to make myself happier either.
It doesn't have to be that way. A person who doesn't sedate/zing themselves with food can still find an alternative thing to do--that lights up the brain.
Here are some of the ways I get brain zings without food:
1. I thank myself more often for little things I do. In other words, I say thank you to myself dozens of times each day. I do many little jobs that nobody but me cares about. I actively appreciate the work I do. Every little thank you or compliment is a little zing.
2. I play cell phone and internet games when I'm bored or upset. A 7 minute game of the 100 most popular boy's names from the year 1900 on Sporcle temporarily distracts my mind off what's bothering me. The little break gives me time to calm down.
3. I listen to a favorite song on youtube.com. Preferably, something I sing along with. It's hard to be cross while singing a favorite song.
4. I clean up something that is bothering me. I hate cleaning, but sometimes I hate a mess even more. It gives me some sense of control that I desperately need.
5. I get out in the sunshine. Often just 15 minutes of sunshine and quietness with no clocks and computers peps me up.
6. I baby talk to my dog. Keebler is my dog psychiatrist, and talking to him always makes me feel better.
7. I compliment somebody. Giving a well-deserved compliment is even better than receiving one.
8. I paint my toe nails a sparkly dark pink. Or I curl my hair into my version of Charlie's Angel's hair. (Still totally love 70's and 80's hair.)
9. I have a long funny conversation with one of the teen kids. Laughing is very good for a brain zing.
10. I soak in a hot bath. Or I wrap myself in a warm blanket.
11. Exercise is definitely a huge zing for me. Woo hoo!
There's lots of ways to make yourself feel happier without excess food, but at first, it might take some deliberateness to fully realize how to get the non-food zings. I suggest that you make a list of your favorites so that they come to mind when you need them.
Lastly, I was mopey yesterday. So I gave Keebler a haircut, which I like to do. He's sort of like having a 25 pound Barbie doll with hair that I can trim.
And then, I listened to my favorite Billy Joel song about 5 times:
If you can't get happy while listening to Rosalinda's Eyes, well, you're a tough nut to crack. :D
I listened to this song about a thousand times in high school. It is definitely the most under-rated Billy Joel song. Here's an even sweeter version. (And this guy is a singer who definitely deserves more hits on this video.)
What do *you* think? What's you favorite way to get a non-food zing? As usual, add anything else you want to say. Today is Tuesday, and I don't eat anything until about 7:00 p.m. tonight, so I'll definitely have to zing myself other ways.
Have a beautiful day!
:-) Marion
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Days of Our Gym: Best New AB Exercise You're Going To Love
A gym buddy I hadn't seen for months asked me "How are you?" "Perfect," I replied, "Not perfect as in I'm a perfect person, just that I feel perfect when I'm 'in the zone' in the gym." And I really do.
Saturday: Yoga
I saw W., one of my most favorite gym buddies for locker room talk. We have never worked out together, yet we are such good friends. She thought my figure looked good! I told her that I realized "The world's not going to change. My family is not going to change. The only one changing is me. The change is done entirely by me. The change is for me." This proclamation was regarding all of the pizza, turtle brownies (which have caramel and pecans), burgers, and other high calorie food in my house--that I turn down. 99% of the time, I am the only one who cares about my food decisions. (I'm sure *you* know how this feels.) She thinks this is "absolutely correct."
I did my usual yoga routine, with the addition of a few headstands. I haven't done headstands since over a year ago. Some of you might think that I'm overly safe/negative about running in order to protect my joints, but I haven't been doing headstands either to help protect my spine. I do want to get a few photos of me doing them, so I did a few for practice. (Even in my heyday of headstands, I was probably only doing 1 to 2 minutes of headstands per week. Just a little per week.) The headstands turned out great. I forgot how incredibly light they feel. It's like my legs are floating up in the air.
I tried the best new AB exercise ever! I got this tip from Rusty at Fitness Black Book (link on the right under "Blogs I Read"), from the mass email he sends out to everyone. The exercise is this: walk a steep incline on the treadmill with good walking form--with no holding onto the treadmill. Yes, we are talking free arms up a steep hill incline. I had the treadmill set at 13 incline at 3.2 miles per hour. This was misery--the longest 12 minutes I've ever had on treadmill because it worked my ABs so hard. Trust me, I would have rather jogged for 12 minutes. My ABs were so tight and engaged the entire time. Hours later, I could still feel my ABs more tightened than usual. So try it! I'm certainly going to work this into my workout routines. Shorts and t-shirt weather is around the corner. We gotta look good! It is definitely the new AB exercise I'm going to love to hate. I hope you do too.
I talked to T., a guy gym buddy who's a graphic artist. He's very creative about his exercise. He was telling me how he never listens to music when he works out, and his mind wanders everywhere! I told him that I do listen to music, but sometimes I'm thinking so deep about my exercise that I don't even hear it. T. noticed that we are both left-handed. Because we are very alike in the way we approach exercise, I said, "that makes sense."
Sunday: Weightlifting
I couldn't find the handle for the lat pull-down machine today. Two of my guy weightlifting buddies found it for me. It was stuck in a corner of the gym hallway with the medicine balls. One of them even put it on for me (even though he knows I could have done that myself). How very nice! The Sunday weightlifting guys are the absolute nicest people you could meet anywhere.
I decided to switch the order of my workout today. Order makes a huge(!!!) difference for exercise results. This is called the "priority principle." The weightlifting exercises done first get the most energy with the freshest muscles. So, today, I started with my back exercises instead of my chest exercises.
Now, why should it matter at all to my chest exercises that I did back exercises first? Well, the arms are involved in both sets of exercises. Specifically, today when I did my reverse grip pull-downs first, I was exhausting my biceps in my arms during this exercise. By the time I got to bench press, my biceps were "pre-exhausted," meaning they were already pretty worn out. So during my bench press, my arms helped the lift less than usual, meaning my bench press numbers were a little bit less than normal. That's not disappointing because I knew the specific reason why they were a little worse than usual. It does not mean I'm getting worse.
In the meantime, I got super great reverse-grip pull-down numbers. I just hammer these like a beast. And, lately, this is the exercise that people watch me do. I pull down the motherload, and people are pretty stunned when they see the thick set of 175 pounds of plates go up in the air:
137.5 lbs: 10
150 lbs: 8
162.5 lbs: 4
175 lbs: 3, 1, 1, 1
162.5 lbs: 2
150 lbs.: 5, 3, 4, 3, 3
I kind of call this approach of improvement "hitting my head on the brick wall until I get better." I do sets over and over and over (!!!)--13 sets in all--until I can't do any more. Literally, I can't do any more, like nothing happens when I try to pull down because I'm just too tired. This was a great 13 sets. (This is the exercise that I can lift my weight. If you are curious about my current weight, you can calculate that with the numbers above.)
Yoga guy, who can turn himself into a compact human box said "Hi!" to me today. He's about 30 years old, but acts like he's at least 50, while I am 45 years old, but act about 15 in the gym (I think I act like I'm 12 years old, my friends say it's 15 because I got a figure). So the reversal there is awkward. Also, he does the spiritual thing, looking almost like he's praying when he does his seriously crazy yoga poses. Me, I am "the struggle." That's what teen daughter calls me. It just kills me when people comment on this blog about how "zen" I am, when I'm actually the total opposite of that. I love challenges and I enjoy the struggle--so no zen for me. Struggle is way more fun.
At the end of my workout, I did another 10 minutes of steep incline treadmill walking with no hands. I told A., guy gym buddy about this exercise, and he wanted to try it.
A few last things to say: They are painting our women's locker room deep lavender with darker purple trim (and there is some omg! about this color choice). Also, there are way too many people in my gym with very(!) noticeable groin sweat marks on their light-colored shorts. Yech!
What do *you* think? As always, say whatever you like. I really like reading your comments because they are so interesting. :D
Have a wonderful day!
:-) Marion
Saturday: Yoga
I saw W., one of my most favorite gym buddies for locker room talk. We have never worked out together, yet we are such good friends. She thought my figure looked good! I told her that I realized "The world's not going to change. My family is not going to change. The only one changing is me. The change is done entirely by me. The change is for me." This proclamation was regarding all of the pizza, turtle brownies (which have caramel and pecans), burgers, and other high calorie food in my house--that I turn down. 99% of the time, I am the only one who cares about my food decisions. (I'm sure *you* know how this feels.) She thinks this is "absolutely correct."
I did my usual yoga routine, with the addition of a few headstands. I haven't done headstands since over a year ago. Some of you might think that I'm overly safe/negative about running in order to protect my joints, but I haven't been doing headstands either to help protect my spine. I do want to get a few photos of me doing them, so I did a few for practice. (Even in my heyday of headstands, I was probably only doing 1 to 2 minutes of headstands per week. Just a little per week.) The headstands turned out great. I forgot how incredibly light they feel. It's like my legs are floating up in the air.
I tried the best new AB exercise ever! I got this tip from Rusty at Fitness Black Book (link on the right under "Blogs I Read"), from the mass email he sends out to everyone. The exercise is this: walk a steep incline on the treadmill with good walking form--with no holding onto the treadmill. Yes, we are talking free arms up a steep hill incline. I had the treadmill set at 13 incline at 3.2 miles per hour. This was misery--the longest 12 minutes I've ever had on treadmill because it worked my ABs so hard. Trust me, I would have rather jogged for 12 minutes. My ABs were so tight and engaged the entire time. Hours later, I could still feel my ABs more tightened than usual. So try it! I'm certainly going to work this into my workout routines. Shorts and t-shirt weather is around the corner. We gotta look good! It is definitely the new AB exercise I'm going to love to hate. I hope you do too.
I talked to T., a guy gym buddy who's a graphic artist. He's very creative about his exercise. He was telling me how he never listens to music when he works out, and his mind wanders everywhere! I told him that I do listen to music, but sometimes I'm thinking so deep about my exercise that I don't even hear it. T. noticed that we are both left-handed. Because we are very alike in the way we approach exercise, I said, "that makes sense."
Sunday: Weightlifting
I couldn't find the handle for the lat pull-down machine today. Two of my guy weightlifting buddies found it for me. It was stuck in a corner of the gym hallway with the medicine balls. One of them even put it on for me (even though he knows I could have done that myself). How very nice! The Sunday weightlifting guys are the absolute nicest people you could meet anywhere.
I decided to switch the order of my workout today. Order makes a huge(!!!) difference for exercise results. This is called the "priority principle." The weightlifting exercises done first get the most energy with the freshest muscles. So, today, I started with my back exercises instead of my chest exercises.
Now, why should it matter at all to my chest exercises that I did back exercises first? Well, the arms are involved in both sets of exercises. Specifically, today when I did my reverse grip pull-downs first, I was exhausting my biceps in my arms during this exercise. By the time I got to bench press, my biceps were "pre-exhausted," meaning they were already pretty worn out. So during my bench press, my arms helped the lift less than usual, meaning my bench press numbers were a little bit less than normal. That's not disappointing because I knew the specific reason why they were a little worse than usual. It does not mean I'm getting worse.
In the meantime, I got super great reverse-grip pull-down numbers. I just hammer these like a beast. And, lately, this is the exercise that people watch me do. I pull down the motherload, and people are pretty stunned when they see the thick set of 175 pounds of plates go up in the air:
137.5 lbs: 10
150 lbs: 8
162.5 lbs: 4
175 lbs: 3, 1, 1, 1
162.5 lbs: 2
150 lbs.: 5, 3, 4, 3, 3
I kind of call this approach of improvement "hitting my head on the brick wall until I get better." I do sets over and over and over (!!!)--13 sets in all--until I can't do any more. Literally, I can't do any more, like nothing happens when I try to pull down because I'm just too tired. This was a great 13 sets. (This is the exercise that I can lift my weight. If you are curious about my current weight, you can calculate that with the numbers above.)
Yoga guy, who can turn himself into a compact human box said "Hi!" to me today. He's about 30 years old, but acts like he's at least 50, while I am 45 years old, but act about 15 in the gym (I think I act like I'm 12 years old, my friends say it's 15 because I got a figure). So the reversal there is awkward. Also, he does the spiritual thing, looking almost like he's praying when he does his seriously crazy yoga poses. Me, I am "the struggle." That's what teen daughter calls me. It just kills me when people comment on this blog about how "zen" I am, when I'm actually the total opposite of that. I love challenges and I enjoy the struggle--so no zen for me. Struggle is way more fun.
At the end of my workout, I did another 10 minutes of steep incline treadmill walking with no hands. I told A., guy gym buddy about this exercise, and he wanted to try it.
A few last things to say: They are painting our women's locker room deep lavender with darker purple trim (and there is some omg! about this color choice). Also, there are way too many people in my gym with very(!) noticeable groin sweat marks on their light-colored shorts. Yech!
What do *you* think? As always, say whatever you like. I really like reading your comments because they are so interesting. :D
Have a wonderful day!
:-) Marion
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)