KAYAKING, canoeing, biking in yet another small town. See you next week. Create your own adventure wherever you are!
Confessions of a Startled Woman
I want to live startled. And have adventures. How 'bout you?
Filed under Confessions of a Startled Fat Woman …
Drink Up: Ultima Replenisher Drink
I think I started drinking “recovery” drinks way back when with Gatorade, back when I actually ran two miles almost every day. Gatorade tasted nasty, but I figured I was putting back, um, well…stuff I needed to put back after sweating like a horse. (For most of my life I have been saying “sweat like a pig” but have recently been informed by a farmer-type friend that pigs don’t sweat.).
Did I know what I was “putting back in”? I did not. Did I read to understand all the ingredients of Gatorade and think if they worked for me? I did not.
Flash forward to the bummer diagnosis of insulin resistance. Watch that sugar source, eliminate most of it anyway. I began reading labels. Aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, fructose (okay for most, but not me), etc.
Um, and an electrolyte is?
From the Ultima web site: (yes, it’s the lazy way to do this, but hey–it’s my blog.) “The word “electrolyte” is derived from words meaning “carry” and “energy”. Electrolytes are minerals found in the healthiest foods we can eat, such as fruit and vegetables, The main electrolytes include the macro-essential electrolytes: calcium, chloride, magnesium, potassium and sodium, and the micro-essential electrolytes: selenium, zinc and phosphorus. These minerals, when used in proper ratios, can be utilized by the body systems to control blood flow and oxygen utilization, which thus keeps our cells healthy and our muscles strong and loose. Ultima’s formula focuses on provided all of the electrolytes in correct and useable ratios. Hydration depends on electrolytes and the best way to stay hydrated is to make certain you get electrolytes.”
How we found Ultima
The Food & Exercise Guy (FEG) we visited for four sessions tuned us in to Ultima. He recommended it for the “other stuff” and the stevia, which would not affect my blood sugar. I was already using Now French Vanilla Stevia packets for my coconut-almond milk lattes and in coleslaw. (Added data: Stevia can be 70-300 times sweeter than white sugar.) Stevia was a good thing. Then he gave us the “other stuff” info, the added benefit of an electrolyte drink.
The added benefit
Here’s the gist of what the FEG said: To get optimal hydration from the water I’m drinking, I need a good balance of the different electrolytes. It takes carbs~gasp~to help electrolytes absorb best (and thus provide the best benefit to me). After the fact, when I was preparing this post, I learned that “Ultima’s researchers found that by minimizing carbs, and using only complex carbs, rather than simple sugar, the absorption is quick and effective.” So that’s why “sports drinks” made me feel nauseous, gaggy, and shaky very soon after drinking–the carb was a simple sugar. Sort of like the way I feel after eating a cheese Danish or toffee almond ice cream, dang it.
But how does it taste??
The fact is that Ultima Replenisher powder, added to water, will help me. The reality is, if it tasted like Gatorade or any other crummy sport drink, it wouldn’t matter how good it was for me–me no drink it.
The good people at Ultima (who are NOT on Twitter & YES I instructed them on the exponential value of getting their tweets going) sent me a packet of no-strings-attached-no-positive-review-hint samples of their most popular flavors. We have Lemonade and Orange at our house already. At first, I wasn’t a big fan of Orange, but now I’ve adjusted the powder-ratio to how I like it and it likes me. Remember, I was a Tang kid, so judge accordingly. Lemonade is the one I use the most.
Well. That was before I got the samples box.
Ready for the taste tasting
Before I get to that, let me say that when I was a kid, my mother was early-savvy on the white sugar thing. We had soda very infrequently and it was always an ask-first luxury item. If we did have it, it was stored in the vegetable cellar, out of our line of vision. Coke was never an option; it was Tru-Ade or Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Not sure why, but I think it had something to do with the Navy using Coke to clean the rust off bridges. (I’m not saying it’s true, I’m just saying that what I remember hearing somewhere as a young kid. I do, however, distinctly recall a baby tooth eaten in less than a week in an inch of coke in a glass bottle. That was Mr. Abraham’s experiment in sixth grade. And yes, he drank Coke in the teacher’s room.)
When Mom made Kool-Aid (shall we sing? “Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid, tastes great. Wish I had some, can’t wait!”), she put in half of the one cup sugar called for and when the “new and improved” came out, pre-sweetened, well, she wasn’t buying it.
the new favorite
All this to say that grape was my second favorite Kool-Aid flavor and Ultima’s grape is GREAT. Brings to mind the K0ol-Aid days.
Adventure Guy weighs in on taste
He tasted each of them with eight ounces of purified water. The directions say 8-12 ounces, but I wanted more flavor than not. That way, if there was an interest, but he wanted to dilute, he would still get the flavor. See how scientific this was. I would have taken pics of each glass with the ice cubes and sunshine beaming through, but alas, I have hard water and the glasses were most unattractive.
The results, in order of preference:
- Orange – “Reminds me of Tang”
- Wild Raspberry (which I thought for sure would be first)
- Lemonade
When it came to the Grape, he swirled the ice in the glass, sniffed the bouquet, and sipped. Cocking his head, he mushed it around in his mouth. He sipped again. I got a little worried. That was the last packet of Grape and if he liked it, it meant I was going to have to share. This time he took a deep drink. Dang it. Adventure Guy has the kind of face that looks the same whether he’s happy, sad, or mad.
Then he spoke: “I don’t like this even a little bit. Tastes like Dimetapp.”
Whew.
I’d like to know the electrolyte drinks you use and what the sweetener is in them. Please post!
If Shedding Takes Four Years, Will I Still Do It?
Here’s the tale of the tree that doesn’t show any growth for years, then shoots up above the ground.
I think about this. If shedding the final 45 lbs takes four years like the tree, am I in it for the long haul?
Too often? I just don’t wanna.
It’s the wanna that I’m working on. And if you read The Grace Note earlier in the week, that the wanna way I’m working.
Wonder Woman Becky Danto: From Miserable Mom to Mini-Marathons
The Wake-Up Call
A time to celebrate. A birthday. Her son’s. He received a trampoline. Eyes aglow, he turned to his mom, then 271 lbs. at five foot ten inches and asked, “Mommy, can you jump on it with me?” A quick look at the safety standards and her heart sank. To make him happy would make them both unsafe.
It was then Becky Danto (@beautifulbecky on Twitter) began thinking of many other things she would miss with her children at her current weight. Things like playing soccer or ball in the yard, sliding down slides at playgrounds, walking around amusement parks and riding rides with them. She wanted them to be proud to have friends come over to the house and play.
The Back Story
Living overweight wasn’t a new thing for Becky in 2005. It wasn’t even a having-kids sort of overweight. It had begun
soon after the first hand surgeries when she was in the fourth grade. An active kid became inactive. Enter more weight piling on and being called “orca” and “cow” in high school. Then came college, marriage, and the added baby fat with two children.
After the wake-up call, however, at 271 pounds, she donned the bracelets, tiara, boots, and cape and headed toward Wonder Woman.
Here’s the Q & A:
Me: Becky, your story on That’s Fit is compelling. You’ve had a lifetime (up until 2006) of dealing with your weight. What were some of the diets and pills you tried unsuccessfully? In looking back, why did you try those instead of a healthy path?
Becky: You name it, I probably tried it. I did Slim Fast, LA Weight Loss, Fit America (all pills). I tried Metabolife. I even signed up for Jenny Craig but realized I couldn’t afford to buy that food and groceries for my kids. I thought if I did a pre made plan or have that ‘magic pill’ it would be easier to lose it. I don’t think I ever thought I was ‘fat’ because of the way I ate.
Me: How did your boyfriend-turned-husband react to the added weight from the time you met? How has it affected your relationship then and now? You’re not only healthy, you’ve got a bikini body post two children at age 36!
Becky: My husband really never once batted an eye. He likes the curvier, more voluptuous woman. It never really seemed to bother him that I got bigger and bigger, but it affected my self esteem which I think halted our sex life. I didn’t want to be touched, looked at and felt very uncomfortable naked. Since getting healthy, it has increased my confidence and I have a GLOW which he is attracted to.
He was pretty nervous and well… his confidence decreased since I lost the weight. He was more insecure and felt since I was looking good, I was going to leave him. That was rocky part of our marriage, but he has since started eating healthier and has started exercising and it is now something we do TOGETHER! He is so proud of me and he boasts about me any chance he gets! He does shine when I walk into the room.
That girl is not a kid. That's the mommy!
Me: How does your body makeover affect your family? Any challenges at home to overcome during the shedding weight process?
Becky: My family just knows what I will eat and not eat. They know what I will cook and not cook. Mike (my wonderful hubby) will joke to friends, ”Yeah, she doesn’t even make fried food anymore… we don’t even have a fryer in the house.” I know he is joking because since me losing the weight, he has lost 40 lbs since January 2009. The biggest challenge was at family gatherings, not having the healthy food I eat there. I since then I bring my own food, and my family expects me to.
Another challenge I faced was trying to figure out a workout schedule. Once my boys were old enough, I felt I could allow myself “me” time. I would go walking after dinner or right after work. I started to feel guilty that I was missing out on the evening with them. I didn’t see my kids or husband all day, and here I was going to leave them to go work out. That is when I turned myself into a very EARLY riser. I wake up at 4:30 every morning. I am at the gym by 5. I get a good workout in either a run/weights or a long run. I am home by 6 so Mike can go to work and then I start the day.
Me: The elusive “willpower” question. Why Weight Watchers then and not earlier attempts at Weight Watchers? What sustained you during all those two-pounds-a-week weeks? Losing 100 lbs is a looonnnnggg process. How did you handle wanting to give up? Or maybe you never felt that way.
Becky: I wasn’t going to do Weight Watchers. I had an appointment with a gastric bypass surgeon. I was going to have the surgery and go from there! Something just didn’t feel right. I had a consult appointment with the dr, but had to have it rescheduled because I didn’t have the right documents. I was devastated. I so wanted this to be the answer. I went home and did some reflection, and thought maybe this was someone’s way of saying… “you gotta do this on your own, Becky.” I knew Weight Watchers worked for me in the past ( I would lose 20 lbs here, 25 lbs there), it can work again. I signed up January 2006. I hung up a 12-month calendar and in pencil circled my WW days and wrote down in the corner what I wanted to lose that week. Some weeks I nailed it, some weeks I fell short. I didn’t have a time line or a particular date I NEEDED to lose the weight by. I knew I just needed to lose it!
Well, the first 25 was gone really fast, and I knew I had to keep going to my meetings and learn more about the plan. Before I knew it, I was celebrating 50 lbs gone, then 75 lbs. I was getting compliments left and right. I had a new found sense of confidence and pride. I never once in my adult life been below 200 lbs.
I was 171 lbs and knew I only had 5 more to go be at goal and no longer pay to attend a meeting. March 2007, I reached my goal weight (set by WW, I picked the highest in my weight/height bracket). I had to maintain that for 6wks before becoming a LIFETIME member. Well, May 3, 2007 (my birthday) I became a lifetime member. Just wanting to accomplish that..was my motivation.
Me: After losing 60 lbs, you became interested in the Couch to 5K training. Why running? What else did you begin to do as far as the E word, exercise?
Becky: Mike and I always went to the gym as we were dating. It was something to do together. I usually would do the treadmill, but always walked. I tried other cardio machines too! I would take fitness classes, but just felt at my size I stuck out like a sore thumb. I started walking around my house, and well, the walking got boring. I wanted to try to run. Well, my heart rate got up there…and LOVED THAT HIGH. I know I really have a hard time doing anything else. I will bike ride for leisure, walk for leisure, and roller blade for leisure..but I will RUN to burn calories!
Me: I read on Twitter that you’re doing regular gym routines now. At what time in the metamorphosis did that begin? Tell us about it.
Becky: I can honestly say, I didn’t start this intense gym routine until after I hit my goal weight and maintained it for about 1 year. I realized after a year of maintaining, my body still needed a makeover. I didn’t have muscle tone—or strength—for that matter. My whole weight loss process I focused on losing weight. I watched my calorie intake and got the exercise in, but that was so I can lose..not maintain. I had loose skin and flabby arms. I realized I needed to step up my game if this was going to be FOREVER!!! It has only been more recently that I have fallen in love with lifting weights and changing my whole outlook on cardio vs. weights. I think they BOTH play a huge role in MAINTAINING my weight. It has taken me 3 years to learn my NEW BODY!
Me: Re-tell the story of “This is my normal.” I love that. It’s what Adventure Guy and I are living.
Becky: Oh, my… I love my sister dearly. She was always the pencil thin girl. In high school she was the size 0. Before, during family gatherings and holidays, we would just eat. I would have cookies, chips, more cookies. Well, I was no longer indulging; I would say out loud, “ No, I am not going to eat this…”
My sister turns to me and asks me, “When are you going to eat normal again?” I turned to her and politely and calmly said, “ This is my normal!”
“Well!” that was all she could say!
Me: Why did you decide to become a leader at Weight Watchers? Tell us how that’s turned out for you.
Becky: I am a teacher and a teacher wants to teach everyone something new and that will better them. I thought this would be the greatest venue to do that it. I went and the leader wanted me to keep the weight off for a year. Since I lost a lot of weight, they wanted me to get used to me being the NEW me! I went for the training and started my sessions. Unfortunately, due to life’s business of being a wife, a mom and a full time teacher/administrator, I was not able to continue being a WW leader. It is something I will look into again when my boys (9,8) are grown. I lost the weight to be a better mom and more active; it was hard to be more active when I was at WW meetings or at my full time job.
Me: Finish this statement: Before I lost the weight, I saw myself as someone who …
Becky: didn’t appreciate myself and life!
Me: Now, with the after, the @beautifulbecky, complete the same statement: Now I see myself as someone who …
Becky: loves life and myself!!!
Me: Imagine we’re sitting outside at a coffee shop in the shadow of your Wonder Woman cape, sitting and sipping something iced. How can you encourage us who are at whatever point on the path to health? What would you tell us as we hang on every word?
Becky: I would first ask, ”What do you want?” Then I would ask you “How are you going to get what you want?” and continue to ask “What do you need to get what you want?” Then after you say what you need to get what you want, I will ask my favorite question: “Are you going to do it?” I would continue to say,”I can give you all the advice in the world, tell you what to buy, how to cook it, and when to eat it, but I can’t do it for you… YOU HAVE TO WANT IT and be able to reach down deep mentally, emotionally and physically and make it happen!”
Me: You go, girl. Them boots are made for running.
“Vegesketti” Rocks & So Does the World Cuisine Turning Slicer
my vegesketti maker
my vegesketti maker
How I came to be a vegetable evangelist
After Kenzie of Healthy Purpose blog made her pics of vegetable dishes look so good with what she called a “spirooli”, I purchased a World Turning Slicer. Turns out the Spirooli is now called the boring name of World Cuisine Turning Slicer. (I think spirooli is more fun.) To call it a nonmotorized vegetable slicer just doesn’t explain it. It makes vegetables look a lot different, and when you’re eating a lot of vegetables like we are now (hooray!), it’s wonderful to have a tool that travels well and yields diversity of visual eating delights. And the price of about $26 plus shipping on Amazon made it fit my budget.
Now I make what I call ”vegesketti,” using one of the on-board blades of the slicer by taking a zucchini or a yellow squash and making long strands (or short ones if I make a couple of cuts) of vegetable “noodles.” (I wonder if someday that term will be in Wikipedia or the dictionary?) Then I lightly grill or pan “fry” them and add a chunky tomato-based sauce. We add some grilled meat and, presto! Yummy. Sometimes I cook a few quinoa noodles and mix them in for a mixture of textures.
And since I pretty much have to tell somebody when I’ve discovered something helpful (have you noticed?), I’ve carted my lightweight slicer to Crossroads International Coffee House and the Dancing Coyote Cafe here in Garden City, Utah (at Bear Lake) and loaned it to the college girls in the Beehive Cheese Company teardrop trailer across from me. Everyone has loved it and swears they’re headed to buy one. Someone asked me if I were selling them. Funny. If I were, I probably wouldn’t open my mouth. Anyone else that way? I’m a storyteller and a teacher, not a salesperson.
Here’s an example of what this little number can do:
So, if you’re looking for a boost to all those garden vegetables and your consumption of them, consider a World Cuisine Turning Slicer. ~boring name, great product~. (Here’s a side note: I emailed World Cuisine and mentioned I couldn’t find them on Twitter and would love to start a # tag for them because I am such a besotted fan. Their response? “Thank you for your kind words, but we’ll take a pass on Twitter.” They’re crazy.)
Making my daily 100%'s with the little Philips DirectLife - even one final walk the dog at 9:30 to get 'er done!
The Reverse Pavlovian Gimme Girl
Going Dotty
Going Dotty
Confession
You know the principle. Conditioned response. First the dog saw the food, salivated.
Then the dog began to salivate when he saw the dude who brought the food whether the guy had food or not. I so relate to that dog. I used to salivate when I looked at cream cheese Danish at the 7-11, saw the guy who filled the case with cream cheese Danishes. Even if he wasn’t near the cream cheese Danish.
Now, it appears, I’m reverse Pavlov. There are no green lights at the beginning of the day. I want green lights. So I will do what I have to, to get those green lights. This would be a rather sad commentary on my susceptibility to bribes with the exception that I am doing something good for my body. I am luring the Inertiate out into the light…where Gimme Girl will run over her with a bike. I will move my molecules, wog with the dog, ride a bike, do jumping jacks, to get those little green lights.
Back to the tease from yesterday (thank you for not getting peeved at my “To Be Continued”)
So, as I was saying yesterday, I was wogging with the dog. Wearing my Philips DL
activity monitor. (I did mention I like that it doesn’t call itself an EXERCISE monitor?) It had been so many years since I’d attempted anything more than a fast walk. My body felt heavy, lumpish. Then, when I realized that I was not going to injure my upper extremity because of my firm foundation underpinning, ancient though it was, I breathed deep and began to relax. It was splurt and stop, splurt and stop. It startled the wonder dog because he isn’t used to me chasing him as he tears after the Frisbee. I was awkward, according to the shadow in the morning light, more lumbering than spritely, but hey.
After wearing him out and making my heart rate rise substantially (with a nice recovery, I thought, for a new wogger.), we headed back to the trailer at a fast trot. I wanted to see if the wogging had gotten me any green lights. Cue drool.
What up with those little green lights?
On the DL, there are six dots that lead up to 100%. One hundred percent of your goal. Three more follow to show if you pass the goal. When you plug the unit into your computer at the end of the day, it syncs and calculates the percentage of your goal you achieved for the day.
Now, for those of us who live life saying, “I wanna know NOW. Gimme credit! Gimme my due! Gimme the results!”, we have a during-the-day option.
I took it.
I burst through the trailer door, unclipped the leash from the wonder dog and pulled the necklace over my head. As per instructions, I set it on the table with the Philips logo up (of course), and watched. In a second or two, the 100% green light glowed to show me the goal. Then one green light at the end. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. CREDIT!!! I was getting instant credit for my wogging! For moving my molecules. Oh! Then a second one popped on. By then I had fully morphed into Gimme Girl.
A short digression
Gimme Girl reminds me of Kathy Bates’ alter ego “Towanda” from Fried Green Tomatoes:
Evelyn: Excuse me. I was waiting for that space.
Girl #1: Yeah, tough!
Girl #2: Face it, lady, we’re younger and faster.
Evelyn: … Towanda! (screams & smashes into the car) Towanda!! Yes ma’am!
Girl #2: What are you doing? Are you crazy?
Evelyn: Face it, girls. I’m older and I have more insurance.
Meanwhile, back at the trailer…
I had to sit down with my tall glass of water and think this over. Dots for wogging. Very cool.
Well, then it began to rain and the thought of riding my bike to drive up more green dots seemed a little implausible. I put on my bike shorts so I would be sure to ride as soon as it cleared. Before going to bed, I took off those same bike shorts without ever having them touch the bike saddle that day. Curious, though with a certain “come to Jesus meeting” angst, I plugged in the unit to the laptop. It synced. I sighed.
A very large— really— obnoxiously LARGE font came up for the daily percentage of goal: 66%.
The Inertiate won that day.
Moving right along
So, it’s just a number, right? I’ve gone in search of better numbers these last two days and found that wogging and a determined bike ride, either up Cardio Bane Hill attended by the rodenty marmots, the skunk, and the appreciative crickets who paused to admire my slow ascent or a steady shoot into town, a zip through the side streets, startling the raccoon, and pumping my way back to the campground did the trick.
In fact, today, I was over 100% by 2 pm. How do I know that? ‘Cause Gimme Girl was looking out for me.
I locked the bike, pulled off my helmet, opened the trailer door and pulled that necklace off over my head. “C’mon, baby,” I said, ignoring the wonder dog who thought the endearment was for him. “100%, 100%. Make it happen.” I set it on the table.
The goal dot glowed. “I know, I know. Now gimme some green dots.” I pushed the sweaty hair off my face and waited. One dot, two dots, three dots, four…five…
“Keep going!” I shouted at the DL. “One crummy dot from 100%? I pedaled my BUTT OFF.”
And then I remembered naming. Lovely, lovely, dial-it-in naming. Here’s the definition of it: “Activity naming is a new feature in Directlife. With Activity naming you can interact with your activity data, naming what you were doing during a certain interval which will adjust your score for that timeslot.”
You see, the DL didn’t know I was riding a bike. It just knew I was moving. So with naming (ah, I LOVE that function), I had a second shot to GET CREDIT for moving my molecules. I entered the activity, the time of day it happened (from the chart already there), the duration and that it was moderate (more than 12 mph), as opposed to high, which was racing. (The only thing I was racing for was little green dots.)
Once that was saved, I looked at my percentages. In lovely, lovely–really–not nearly big enough numbers, it read:
WEDNESDAY 152% (1256 calories burned)
THURSDAY 159% (1314 calories burned)
Green dots, baby! Ring that bell, Pavlov. I love me some green dots.
Celebrate with me that I’m moving my molecules? The challenge arises when I get back to suburbia and all that entails. But for now, I am one startled fat woman. Who’s grinning, just a little.
http://unbounce.com gif
Just Call Me “Gimme Girl”: The Philips DirectLife Activity Monitor Report #1
When I investigated exercise monitors, idly at first, then with more interest, I found there were quite a lot of them, each stronger in some areas than others. I wanted more than a heart rate monitor, less than something that an Olympian would use. I’d seen the Body Bugg poster in my 24-Hr gym and thought the black armband a bit intimidating. A review mentioned it user interface was a little complicated. That gave me pause. What did I want an exercise monitor to do for me?
Well, duh. Make me exercise. Make me love it. Make me a smooth, muscled beach number. Deep breath. Okay, since a piece of electronics can’t do that, I had to move on to other wants. Here’s what I came up with:
- Easy to use. No fumbling around with it while I was exercising or living life. Oh. I wanted it to turn my living life activity into something that counted? Hmmm. Okay.
- Not complicated when uploading to the website. Oh, I guess I wanted it to go somewhere so I could make sense of it all. Okay. We’re getting somewhere now.
- Small. I hate to carry a pocketbook. I have a small smart phone. Don’t give me something else to find a pocket for.
- No armband. This narrowed the field considerably. Although I am not opposed to wearing an armband in the gym, I wanted something to assess my functional fitness. You know, moving the molecules in real life, not just when I hit a scheduled (or, speaking theoretically, a potentially scheduled visit to the gym or road (with my bike)). And that did not include a “look at me” black armband in my normal life.
Oh, and a lot less money than a VitaMix. Although I have a 13-year-old VitaMix and esteem it highly, I wasn’t in the market to pay similar bucks for an exercise monitor. I didn’t even know if I’d use the thing. The DL is around a hundred bucks with the four-month subscription with a trainer.
What it is
I wanted small. It's small.
The Philips DirectLife calls itself an “activity monitor” which, as a recovering inertiate, I appreciated. Not just something for a trip to the gym. I’m not yet—nor may never be—the heart rate diva or tattoo how many reps per set I can do on my upper arm. I am most concerned about getting moving consistently. As my little sister says, “movement.” DirectLife’s philosophy sounded like a connection. Plus—it’s waterproof. As in I can go into a water aerobics class and have it mean something. At least I thought it would mean something. I still wasn’t clear about how it would help me.
The fine print
Philips offered me, as a lifestyle blogger, the DirectLife monitor, to review it here. And here’s my disclosure. I didn’t ask them to give me a complimentary unit with the standard four-month trainer-by-email support. They offered it without any statement on what I was to do with it except use it and get more active. I am reviewing it for my blog and the good, the bad, and the really lame gets the same space as the raves and, if possible (oh, dear God, let it be) shrieks of joy. I have no pressure/hint/a Philips Guido-type relative showing up to suggest I write a favorable review.
The beginning
To start off, there’s an 8-day assessment time in which I wore the monitor. Several
This is not actually my chest.
places to wear it: as a necklace outside clothing, inside my underpinning, in a pocket. I’ve elected inside and outside as a necklace. I charged it. I started wearing it. That was it. And usually forgot I had it on until I moved quickly and felt the nudge of a foreign object in my upper region. (That was a bit startling the first couple of days.)
My trainer
There’s a real Jen who is a real trainer via email. One of the first questions I asked her, while impatiently waiting for the unit to do its thing on my “normal” activity level for the assessment level, was “are you a real Jen or are there 20 women in a room and you all use the name Jen?”
“Fair question,” she responded promptly. (The speed at which she responded startled me. We’re talking less than a few hours.) “Yes, I am a unique Jen.”
Turns out, @foodiemcbody also has/had her for a coach with her DirectLife. @foodiemcbody says, “She rocks.” Thus far, Jen certainly has put in the time with all my questions and what ifs and what I will do and what I will not do. Yes, I unloaded a few rants about exercise.
It’s show time
At the end of the assessment period, which ended Tuesday, I stuck the unit into an adapter with a USB and plugged it into my laptop. At first, the site didn’t seem to like my Google Chrome browser and wouldn’t let me play, but I got it to work on Explorer and then the next day it very nicely logged me in on Chrome with no attitude. Who knows why.
It began to sync. I began to sweat. How low was I?
And the answer is
I am a level 2 activity on a scale of 6.
Level 1 showed an icon of someone sitting. A bit of the old competitive nature I hadn’t used much, stirred. At least my person was standing. At Level 3, the person is actually walking. I am above average (not much) based on country, gender, and age group, but lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. Since the WHO has seldom (read that: NEVER) figured into my fitness paradigm, I’ll have to check out what they think is fit. I’ll let you know. Promise.
So the DL declared that my first goal was to bump up the 806 calories/day assessment activity level to 1036 per day for the 12-week stint. Okay. And that means…?
What that looks like
“Bump it up, bump it up” was the first thing I thought when I woke up this morning. I WILL INCREASE MY MOVEMENT TODAY. I WILL GET THE GREEN DOTS TO MARCH THROUGH TO 100%. Correction, I thought of the DL right after I wished I had closed the travel trailer blind so the early morning sun would leave me alone.
I put it on. I wore it all day. I made a point to move my molecules more. I was intentional.
I wogged with the dog. A wog is a walk with a spurt of a jog for people like me who can’t/won’t do a full jog/run. A word coined by either Becky Who Does Math, Trula, or Trula’s sister. After checking it out on the internet, you’d best only use it as we do, as a positive action verb and never as a noun. I’m just saying.
Startled
And then, about an hour into the new day, in the middle of a wog, I found out I was a Gimme Girl. Never saw it coming.
So, you ask, scrolling down for more, “Did the thing work? How did you know you did good? What the heck is a Gimme Girl?”
Slow down, turbo. Tomorrow. Let me just say there was a great deal of bickering between Gimme Girl and the Inertiate. Who won? Sigh. Tomorrow.
90/10 Guide Helps on Vacay…and Our Go To Road Snacks
Confession
Vacation. I experienced some trepidation. It would be a first in taking our shedding chronicles on the road and I didn’t want to leap headfirst off the healthy path into the first drive thru encountered south of Lehi on I-15 because my blood sugar was rocking. Or I was bored. Or any other excuse.
So I packed a cooler, determined to provide immediate options as we made our way from Utah to Tehachapi, CA, via Wendover and Vegas, land of the buffet snares. I’d never made it through those towns without “needing” to stop and try some buffet that was supposedly terrific. And then, of course, I had to overeat (all chorus here) to get my money’s worth, right? (I know some of you are nodding your heads. The rest of you, just scratch yours. It happens, if not in your world.)
Startled by what worked
· Go to snacks
I know it worked because I didn’t have any sugar blips or the mid-afternoon sleepies that often comes from eating less than effectively. Since we left after Adventure Guy got out of work, lunch was eaten at home.
Here’s what we toted:
- Nuts – specifically, macadamia, almonds & pecans. The pecans I had dry roasted myself after soaking them in sea salt water overnight and drying in a 275 degree oven until they smelled right. (I know, frustrating directions for a newbie, but that’s how I do it.)
- Apples — What I love about apples is their portability. Bananas don’t travel nearly as well.
- A few date bits —those were for the “sweet wants” I get when I’m driving for a very long time and start to get bored and want to entertain myself with something sweet. A bite of apple, a pecan half and a date bite. Chew thoroughly. Yum. I get mine at my local natural foods store, Good Earth in their bulk section.
-
Absolutely yummy and so portable
Tribe hummus in single-serving containers. I usually make my own hummus to salve the control freak in me who wants to know how much salt, quality of oil, etc. goes in my food. But for a road trip, these little babies are great. Serving size is just right. The flavor is traditional, pungent, and zesty.
- Mini carrots – to use as shovels for the hummus. I don’t eat a lot of carrots because of their glycemic content, but pecans worked as trenchers, too.
- Metagenics ProteinFusion bars —specifically, the peanut butter ones. Great to
A definite go-to protein hit for me
eat half a one when dinner should have been eaten an hour ago. With these, I didn’t rip off Adventure Guy’s head to hit a crummy drive thru for a protein hit.
- Cold, good water. We had a jug in the back seat to refill our water bottles from home, to keep the fluids going and not proliferate empty plastic bottles across the desert.
an unconventional breakfast
We made it to Mesquite, NV for the half way. The Virgin River Casino lost money on us that night. We each ate a hard-boiled egg and fell into bed. The next morning, we ate chicken and raw salad for breakfast. Unconventional, perhaps, but I wanted good, solid food to hit the stretch between Mesquite and Tehachapi. There’s not much healthy in between and even fewer rest stops. A Starbucks and we were on our way.
- The 90/10 guide, not a rule
The Food and Exercise Guy told me about the 90/10 Guide. Yes, it involves math, but not so much. Here’s how it works: I eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. Sometimes an additional snack in there somewhere. So that means 5 meals a day X 7 days in a week. Simple times table = 35 meals a week. If I were to eat 10 percent of that 35 (I’ll help you out; it would be 3.5 meals) outside of our normal eating clean of lean meats, major vegetables & fruits, nuts, seeds, healthy fat, I would be okay for not gaining. (Factor the soft concept in that portions always play a role. If I count 3 cheese Danish as one snack…well, you see how you still have employ your want to.)
I was a bit skeptical, being the all or nothing type who, in the past said, “No! You can’t have any deviation from this diet or you’ve screwed up.” The today LiveStartled me was willing to give it a try, one point being Adventure Guy and I aren’t on a diet. We’re on a live startled path.
See Fat Woman segment below to see if the 90/10 Guide worked for me.
- Even some exercise
One of our main reasons to attend this writer alumni reunion was to ride bikes with Wayne, the husband and CWO (Chief Work Officer) of author Lauraine Snelling’s writing success. He likes to ride and wanted to get going again since it helps his lungs and flexibility. A reason to ride bikes? We were in and had ours loaded on the Adventure Sube’s hitch rack as soon as he called with the invite.
While we were there, through the arrival of three boxes of gigantic doughnuts one morning, choices being made on what to select that best fit our new eating path (without acting as someone else’s Food Police), homemade whipped cream (Adventure Guy makes INCREDIBLE whipped cream), we took early morning rides with Wayne. Great way to tour a town and see the “Golden Hills.”
Fat Woman
I lost two pounds. Yes, you heard correctly. I am still amazed. I mean, good grief, I ate DOUGHNUTS and too much tri-tip! With daily cruising short rides, lots of sitting and talking, some writing, a couple of doughnuts, and marathon drives to and from. Lost weight on vacation. Call me a STARTLED woman.
Your turn
What is YOUR go-to road snack and/or bar?
Since we’ll be taking road trips for ever, I’d love to know what your healthy go-to road snacks are. And I’m putting together a “bar” post, so would like to know what you’ve found locally or online that meets your concept of healthy and effective for your body. All the deets, please!
P.S. I went back and forth through Mesquite and Vegas with nary a quiver for a buffet.
Wonder Woman Janet Pratt Part Two: In Which She Moves Her Molecules
Wanna be the next Wonder Woman profiled? Post a comment & say, "Yes! I am a Wonder Woman!"
To recap: If you missed Monday’s post, we met Janet Pratt who hauled herself off the couch and changed her life. She’s the first of the Confessions of a Startled Fat Woman’s Wonder Women.
Janet began at Curves for her first regular fitness routine. When she wanted more, she headed toward Gold’s Gym. We pick up the Q&A from there.
Janet: So I went to Gold’s Gym where I was too intimidated to touch a weight. I just walked on the treadmill. I joined Gold’s about a year after I started losing weight. I was probably down about 65 pounds and had been on a plateau for months.
Me: How long after that did you decide to work with a trainer?
Janet: After fooling around at Gold’s for about 3 months I decided to book a session with
The Reveal
one of their trainers to learn how to use the equipment.
Me: Are you with the same trainer?
Janet: My first trainer, Cosmo, was a really nice kid. He left Gold’s about a month after I started working with him. I didn’t want another trainer. He wasn’t arrogant or intimidating. So I followed him to an independent gym. A “muscle head gym.” I was terrified. I wouldn’t set foot in there without him. No one talked to me. These were serious weight lifting guys. Cosmo basically had me do the same things each session. I was developing some definition but not losing weight. He never weighed or measured me.
After about 9 months he moved out of state and there I was, alone in the gym. But I kept going and the guys that
Wonder Woman indeed!
were there in the morning got used to me and would sort of nod at me when I came in. I worked alone for a year with no real progress.
There was another trainer there who looked pretty tough and who would talk to me once in a while. I finally hired him. Dietrich has made all the difference. He harps on me about balancing my diet. He weighs, measures and checks my body fat percentages. He mixes up my workouts and he is committed to making sure I have the healthiest body possible.
Sometime during that previous couple of years I lost the other 45 pounds. Very, very slowly. A little here, a little there. My weight fluctuates about 10 pounds up and down and I still have about another 40 to lose, but overall, I look and feel much better.
Me: Have your moods or attitudes changed over the five years? If so, how?
Janet: I am much happier, much more outgoing.
Me: Finish this statement as you would have when you were 285 lbs.:
Janet: I think I am the kind of person who can … never be a healthy weight.
Now finish the sentence as the YOU you are today:
Janet: I think I am the kind of person who can… do anything I put my mind to.
Me: How much weight had you lost when you decided to pursue becoming a certified fitness trainer?
Janet: I first thought about it when I had lost about 65 pounds. I thought when I got the rest of my weight off I would like to get certified. But after a couple of years, I just figured that I couldn’t afford it and who would take me seriously?
Me: Why a fitness trainer?
Janet: I wanted to help other people who were in the same shape I was in. I figured it I could do it, anyone could. About a year ago, I met someone who was so impressed with what I had accomplished and really believed in me and my potential as a trainer. They helped me research what it took to get certified and paid for me to do it.
Me: Were you the exception in body size and age at the certifications?
Janet: It was an individual study course and test, but I’m certainly the exception at the gym, which, I think makes me less intimidating to someone who is in their 40’s and 100 pounds overweight.
Me: How would you describe your personal style as a fitness trainer?
Janet: Encouraging but tough. My clients whine a little bit, but they meet the challenges I set and they’re making wonderful progress , gaining strength, stamina, confidence and fitness. And lots of giggling. I’ve got a great sense of humor and sometimes the ferocious intensity that is displayed by the guys down there gets me going. And I’ve earned my place there. Now the guys punch me on the arm and make jokes.
Me: What can someone expect by hiring you as a fitness trainer?
Janet: My dedication to help them meet whatever fitness goals they are trying to achieve. If I don’t know the answers, I will research it, ask for help, or do whatever it takes. I still train with Dietrich and I’m still learning and he mentors me and occasionally helps me if I had a question about a client.
Me: What should someone look for when searching for a fitness trainer?
Janet: Someone certified. Someone who will listen to your goals and concerns. Someone knowledgeable in proper technique. It’s easy to get hurt or have an ineffective workout if you aren’t doing it right. Someone you are comfortable with. It needs to be a good fit. Someone who will be punctual and mentally present during your workouts, not just stand there and count reps. Someone who will talk to you and investigate
what is happening in your life if you aren’t seeing results.
Me: What are your body goals now?
Janet: I would like to get down to 25% body fat.
What would it take to get you off the couch?
What questions do YOU have for Janet? Post a comment and she’ll reply.
Dang—Suckered Again
To date, consistency has eluded me
It’s happened again.
Remember when I said I had a rich thought life? Well, since the rehab of the living room and dining room has wandered to a close and I’ve dug out those rooms, my “floor exercise” is over. I lost three lbs during the house work. Now, however, I have lapsed back into my rich thought life.
Evidence
I wrote about Wonder Woman Janet Pratt and how she moves her molecules. On Twitter, I cheer on @beautifulbecky and @skinnyemmie who go to the gym and work like mad. Then a blog post comes in from Kalli at fitandfortysomething and her 30-mile bike ride. @healthylosergal (we’re the same age) hits the gym, continues her nearly 100 lb weight loss, and goes on a date. Then I read Steph’s Yelps on what cool place she’s checked in and the great food she’s eating. I’m there, I’m reading it. I’m cheering on my sister bloggers.
See the problem?
Yeah. They are living their life and moving their molecules and I’m not. It’s an occupational hazard of writers,
I could, but I'm not
actually. We are observers and some of us (like me) must be participants as well to write as richly as we think. Regardless of how encouraging or lovely these gals and their lives/transformations, I need to live my life, and not as some cyberspace peeping tom. Yuck.
You’ll also remember my list of what I already own to get my molecules moving, to commit the E word on purpose and consistently. To get beyond “inertiate.” Sigh. Adventure Guy and I are at the end of two months since beginning our shedding chronicles. Lots of positive progress. (See all previous posts; except the ones about the E word). It’s the exercise that’s not getting going. Yes, I can ride a bike 30+ miles. One day. A month ago. But it’s the everyday stuff that helps shed the excess. At least 20 minutes every day of raising my heart rate. Food and Exercise Guy says so. And that’s not the flexibility and strengthening realm either.
[Insert a list of excuses here why I am not exercising, with weather the chief one. Totally irrelevant because I also own a gym membership.]
Sexy new thing?
I think I’m below exercising at this point and need to concentrate on the seminal concept of movement. My sister Linda doesn’t say she’s going to the Y in her Massachusetts town to exercise. She calls me afterward and says she engaged in some movement. Sometimes it’s really cool movement like pickle ball.
I’m awaiting delivery of a Philips DirectLife exercise monitor, what I hope is the sexy new thing that will tip me
Will this help me out?
over into more daily movement. As in something more than sitting at the computer, driving around for errands, and thinking. Richly. Yeah, and reading other people’s lives.
I chose the DirectLife because it seemed to fit where I’m at (um, starting at nowhere) and my preferences like ease of user interface, waterproofness (is that a word?) and a human trainer on the other end of an email. And small. Unobtrusive. As in tuck inside my topside underpinning.
Plus it has green lights which will simply tell me where I am on moving for the day. The stupendously cool additional thing about it is that I planned to review it for this blog (hopefully with shrieks of victory) and when I emailed Philips about a coupon to defray the $99 price tag (which includes four months of aforementioned human trainer on the other end of the email), they graciously offered to send me one. Gratus. Eeek. How much more supported can I freaking be?
Me and my rich thought life. We gotta get moving.
Anyone use a sexy gadget to monitor movement? Do you like it? Tolerate it? Give us some deets, please.
