Skinny Girl - Fat Girl - Skinny Girl

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. Please forgive me for this lapse, I decided to go off on my own from my personal trainer and didn't realize that I need to work my body beyond running. Running is my staple, my peace and my maintenance, however, to lose weight and to keep it off, I must work my body beyond just running. I actually think this applies to most people, cause running even though I do a lot of it,  4 to 6 miles everyday, on an off week less, my body adapts and the muscles don't work to burn off the fat.

That being said, I but on weight and for the past year, I have been embarrassed and disappointed in myself. Then I realized I made a mistake and I must learn from that mistake, to change and grow from it. So now I have added to my morning/daily routine of working out and running. 

Arms: push ups, triceps dips, biceps curls and triceps extension with free weights. 

Sides and Hips: Side crunches with free weights and obliques turns with weights. 

Abs: exercise ball sit ups, floor crunches, floor leg lifts and floor glut crunches.

Legs: Thighs and gluts with squats, then inner thighs with Pilate squats. 

I change up the counts and reps to keep my muscles changing so they are always working and not relying on memory. Since I started this routine, 5 days a week, I rest on Saturday and Sunday, I have lost weight in my arms and my shirt sleeves fit again (underarm jiggle is less).

My pants are fitting again correctly in the waist and the thighs. 

I also watch my food intake more closely when I have a day that I can't workout or run verses the food intake when I do workout and run. It all works together, food intake (the quality and the quantity) with exercise working the whole body as individual muscles groups and then running, getting the heart rate up as to burn calories/fat.

I have learned that it is a constant battle to lose, tone and maintain our optimal body weight and shape. Don't get discouraged with weight gain or if you get off track for a while, we are all human and we make mistakes. What matters and makes us triumph against this war is when we learn and grow and change from our mistakes.

So from a Fat Girl to a Skinny Girl Running to a Fat Girl Running and back down to a Skinny Girl Running... I have lost, gained and lost again... I will reach my goal.  

100 Pounds – A Milestone in so Many Different Ways!

100 Pounds of FAT!

I just achieved 100 lbs of weight loss. I knew I would reach this goal, it was a life saving goal, but when you are looking at a 100 lb battle against years of fat consumption it’s a scary sight. I now have only 62 lbs to lose to reach my ultimate goal of 150 lbs for my optimum body weight and those lbs look easy, but I am not going to stop what I am doing, I am not going to slack off. I will continue and achieve this goal to live a long healthy life, as long as the Lord is willing. That being said let me give you a little insight into what it is like to be fat, what we as fat people deal with.

For those who have never carried that much weight, I suggest you try this so when you are out and about and see someone over weight you have at least a bit of an idea what they deal with everyday, find a fat suit and wear it for a full 24 hours. You will see what I and millions of people deal with as overweight… no not overweight, but fat, I claim it so I can lose it, FAT people.

The health, the movement, the clothing, these things are great but are extras compared to doing everyday things easily for yourself. It’s about being able to drive a car without having to put the seat all the way back just to avoid hitting the stirring wheel with your stomach. It’s about being able to bend over and put your shoes and socks on without breathing heavy and it taking 5 minutes a foot, because you have to take a break between the sock, shoe and tying laces. It’s about your beloved dog being able to ride on your lap in the car and not slide off because your thigh is so big it’s to steep for him to sit there. It’s about walking into a store and people not staring at you, because you are buying groceries and they are judging you by what you put in your cart. It’s about being able to sit up and get out of bed without having to roll yourself off to one side, tearing the mattress as you grab it for support. These are just a few of the things I no longer worry about or have to deal with. Those are my milestones, yes the weight lost is awesome, but these little everyday victories mean more, because they no longer rule my world. The Fat no longer rules my world.

I am turning the Fat into Muscle

I am healthy, happy, weigh less, move more, run and exercise on a daily basis. But most of all, I can sit down, bend over and put on my socks and shoes all in about a minute. I have moved my seat up in my car and my Jack Russell Terrier can ride on my leg without being thrown forward because he has a place that’s level to sit. I don’t care what people in the world think of me, I don’t judge them, and therefore I don’t worry if they are judging me. I am able to actually sit up in bed and then set my feet on the ground and stand up out of bed without any help I then go out and run 4 to 6 miles a day (that’s a new milestone a pound), 100 pounds and counting down 62 more.

Fat Girl – 326 lbs, Smoker – Can’t breathe, Unhealthy Eater – Diabetes, So being a Coach Potato leads to Heart Attack at 40.

This is me at my heaviest, 326 lbs. I am on the right. 

It was November 19, 2010 just 6 months past my 40^th birthday when God said “Girl, your time has run out!” I thank Him everyday for that kick in the butt to…

1) get me to stop smoking, I can breathe, I can smell and I can taste food so much better, I eat less of it.

2) I was on the verge of full blown Type II Diabetes, but with exercise and change in diet, I am now off medication for Diabetes and my doctor has taken me off that diagnosis.

3) 326 POUNDS, at that weight, I hated myself, my surroundings and my life. I am now down to 217 as of this writing. I am healthy, happier and I can move and do things I couldn’t do before. I love moving, doing and going.

This photo was taken two months before heart attack.

I am all the way to the left.

I saw my Cardiologist today, my check-up was awesome, BP was normal, finally as it was so high for the past 5 years. EKG was great. Cholesterol test showed that my HDL’s were at 89, my LDL’s were at 29 (my doctor was Gob-Smacked). He has reduced my medication which is just unheard of. I have the LDL levels of a child.

This is all due to God saying, get up and move. Praise be to Him, who is in full control. With him all things are possible. I am alive and living a very happy, healthy and productive life.

This journey is just beginning; I am going to finishing sharing the past year’s journey of heart attack to the Disney half marathon. So stay tuned. ;-)

This picture was taken in December, a year after

my heart attack.

Tomorrow, learning about foot wear and leg pain.