Hi,
I'm back! At the urging of my close friend Charlena, I am posting again.
OK, since my last post a lot has gone one and I have figured out a few things that have helped me out on my weight loss journey. I lost 3 lbs. I wish there was one of those little "raise the roof" smileys, I could really use one right here. No matter though, you get the point. Though it is a small (more along the line of microscopic) drop in the bucket-it is a drop in the bucket and as we all know any drop will cause a ripple. I have figured some things out here recently that I hope you too will find beneficial. Actually they are some rules or more so guidelines for myself. The first one I would like to address is the fast food industry. When I tell you it is a dieters nightmare, i'm not exaggerating. Drive-threws and restaurants on every corner, and we wont get into how much big companies shell out in marketing. A while back one of the (I wont mention any specific company) taco companies came out with a new flavor taco shell and I was rather excited to try this new amazing taco shell, until I tried it. By the way it was everything the advertisements said it would be-probably even more. Half way through I remembered why I stopped eating the regular tacos. I don't like crunchy tacos-never have. I chalked this momentary laps of taco judgement up to advertising and marketing. I had been seeing commercials at least once a day filling my head with thoughts of cheesy goodness I was missing in this taco nation. Another example is the buffet. Chinese buffets used to be one of my favorite and I used to work near a location that only charged $5.99 for lunch and they put out fresh food just as I was getting off work. Another dine out buffet restaurant has gotten so ridiculous with their prices it is unreal. Why is a buffet $12.99 (not including a drink) when the most an average adult can eat is two plates. Needless to say it is clear how they are staying in business. The final reason I arrived at the first of my new guidelines for myself was because of the simple fact that I can make anything mass produced by a fast food chain myself at home (and I can make it the way I like-no ketchup ketchup). There is a international burger chain that recently started making my favorite iced hazelnut coffee. The only problem was all the establishment didn't make it the same. Some would use too much creamer (so the coffee was weak), also they used dairy based creamer instead of soy or almond milk (I stopped drinking cow's milk a few years back because I thought it was ridiculous to drink milk from another species-but i will leave that argument for another blog post), and I didn't like having to rely on the cashier to provide Splenda instead of processed sugar. Since I wasn't getting what I wanted despite paying for what I wanted I decided to move to a larger coffee chain, which worked out for a while. I got the type of creamer I wanted, the amount of shots I wanted (after paying extra of course) and I got it with Splenda instead of sugar. However, it quickly became apparent that I would not be able to keep it up for very long because one iced coffee would come to almost $7. I learned to make two large pots of a common Cuban style espresso coffee and refrigerate, purchased the big box of Splenda, and bought sugar free hazelnut creamer. Once I had gotten the idea in my head; I ran with it. I can make anything at home; pasta (like at your favorite Italian restaurant-but with wheat pasta and ground turkey instead of beef), turkey burgers on wheat buns, and I could easily substitute broccoli for the greasy, salt drenched fries (It was funny today I was in the above mentioned burger chain getting filter water and ice from their fountain and I heard someone order fries with no salt. I chuckled to myself, its still deep fried in grease). Fast food has far worse health benefits than nutritional value-so I have banned them. New rule number one: No fast food-I can make whatever I want at home and much healthier.
My second new rule has to do with working out. I used to try my hardest and push myself when it came to working out-which I still try to surpass my personal best. However, I did not pay attention to how important it was to stretch after workouts. I would wonder why I was able to do 25 squats with no problem but could not sit down on the toilet the next day without groaning. I never stretched.
"Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is now understood to be caused by microfractures in the muscle cells themselves. This happens when you do some activity that your muscles aren’t used to doing or do it in a much more strenuous way than they are used to. Caused by ultrastructural disruptions of myofilaments, particularly with the z-disk and with damage to the muscle’s connective tissues."
I learned my lesson, I still get a little sore, however it is much more manageable.
I have started working out more often as well. Being the size I am-depression is something very real in my life and with the added stress of life changes it has become like an unwanted house guest. The only way I have found that I can get rid of it is to work out. I look at my elliptical cross trainer in my living room sometimes and I think "I really hate you right now"; I know that it is a lot of the depression talking. When I realize this negativity is creeping in I realize there is one good way to combat this-(because perusing or grazing the fridge is not a good option) it is to work out. Once I had tried it a couple of times I remembered when you workout endorphins are released-which is what depression is-decrease in endorphins. I would like to think I have come up with the cure for depression (which doesn't result in a commercial on late night television stating if you have taken these drugs call a lawyer), but I know I haven't.
What I do know is I am going to keep trying, I going to continue to give this my best. I'm not perfect and I'm going to have some short comings, but hopefully I will learn from then and my battle with obesity will become a inspiration to someone else to not give up but to push on for the greater good.
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end” - Ursula K. LeGuin
“Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.” - Alex Noble
