Birthday Goals

With my birthday so close to New Years, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions – I make Birthday Resolutions. And for the first time in recent memory this year’s resolutions have nothing to do with weight loss. Not that I don’t still have work to do on that front…it’s just that, I feel like I’ve got that under more control than ever before.

So this year, I plan to focus on getting control of two other things – my cash and the clutter in my life. Both are going to be hard, but I’ve got some goals for later in the year that are impacted by both. So I’m going to stick to my budget and do better at staying organized.

I have a feeling this may actually be harder than trying to lose weight, but I’ll give it a shot!

Dancing Queen

Exercise has never been easy for me. No kidding ;) And neither has dancing been. You see, I have rhythm, I can find and keep a beat. Memory is my problem. Ok, coordination too. That's my other problem.

Well, Dance is great exercise and since I've started to get back into theater, I've got work on that.

So tonight was week two of my new dance class. A friend was awesome enough to take the class with me. So, while it's not going to be easy, it's going to be fun.

Surprising myself

Today, I did my first run in week 2 today.

I've been making time to do the runs, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. That's often the greatest challenge. I live kind of far from work and friends right now, so I spend a lot of time in my car. That makes it hard to go for a run after work and then go out with friends or to after work events. But I'm making it work.

The first week, I actually only got 2 runs in. When I went to visit my brother and sister-in-law, I ended up doing a lot of walking including a full day of trekking around New York City.

Last week, I did three runs, including one day where I drove home, ran, showered and then went downtown for an event. They felt pretty good, but I'm still getting shin splints. That's frustrating but I'm working through it.

Today, I moved to the week two workout today without realizing it was different. So, when I had to run 90 seconds instead of 60 I was surprised, mostly that I could do it. So, I ran 90 seconds. I did it. I'm actually enjoying running and I'm thrilled with my progress.

No truer words

"When you're heavy, Stein says, you never know when the next insult's coming --
or who's going to hurl it."

That quote is from an article in today's Plain Dealer. "Stein" is Dr. Sara Stein who is an psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente in Cleveland. She is also obese and the author of "Obese from the Heart," a book that helps people trying to loose weight by treating obesity as a brain disease. (She's on Twitter too as @sarasteinmd)

This early article, from the paper's year-long series on obesity, gets the heart of what it feels like to be obese - and the comments on the website prove the article's point.

A few comments on the story:

• I am one of those people who have a hard time understanding why obese people cannot lose the weight if they eat healthy and exercise. I think some obese people even think they are eating healthy when they order a Cobb salad or reduced fat cake. Obesity is too common to say that so many people have some genetic anomaly that makes their bodies story fat more than any of the rest of us.
• If you consume more calories than you burn you gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume you lose weight. This is a simple equation and getting on the right side of it is 100% within a person's control.

Both of these commenters went on to say that there is no reason to be mean or nasty about weight. Hmmm...pot, meet kettle.

Sometimes the meanest things are the ones that are meant to be helpful - a simple comment about dessert or second helpings - can cut like a knife. And, unlike other brain diseases - alcoholism comes to mind - obesity is one you can't hide. It is a problem, character flaw, challenge, disease, disorder, bodily malfunction, what ever you want to call it, that you wear for all to see.

For those of us who've been heavy all or most of our lives, it seems like losing battle. And it often is - studies show that less than 5% of people can lose up to 20% of their excess weight—and keep it off for five years—with diet and exercise alone. With those grim statics, its hard to actually go out and make the change.

Dr. Stein extols the value of small changes. Add just a little bit of exercise, or healthy eating every day. These small steps hopefully add up to big changes - they have for her, she's lost 90 pounds.

We have to remember that this is about so much than changing our bodies. It's about changing our lives and focusing on health.

I ran again!

So, maybe I don't hate running after all. I did my second Couch to 5K run yesterday and I was happy to make time for it.

At the recommendation of my friend, I went to a national park in the area since I wanted to be on that side of town after work. I changed clothes in my car (a workout in and of itself!), laced up my new running shoes and got started. I got shin splints during the 5 minute warm-up and interestingly they got better during the 60 second runs. Runners, is that normal?

All in all, the second run was better than the first - I actually ran each time and didn't curse when the system alerted me it was time to run. That was an improvement over the first run!

I'll do my third run from Easton, PA. when I'm visiting my brother and sister-in-law over the next few days.

Holy Crap, I ran...

So, a few month ago, the Couch to 5K plan was circulating on my Twitter feed. I even told a few people about it off line. It seemed like a great concept, but I HATE RUNNING!
I'll walk - I like walking.

But then I started talking to my friend about how she lost the weight and she said one part was running. She had done C25K and was now running on regular basis. Then, all these runners started following me over on Twitter (my friend @pachladis included me in her #ff list).

So, it got me thinking - I need to do something. So, I decided to give it a try. I asked a few people what they thought of it, most people seemed to enjoy it.

Today, I went and got fitted for some new shoes (of course!) since I get shin splints and worry about my ankles. Then I downloaded an app for my iTouch to track when to switch from running to walking.

And off I went. You begin with a 5 min. warm-up and then run for 60 seconds and walk for 90 seconds. I didn't too badly. I did skip the second to last running sequence because i felt too tired and when it marked the halfway point, I switched to walking early. But I finished it - Not bad for someone out of shape and who hates running.

What stops you?

So, two weeks ago, I wrote here about coming back - starting to take care of myself again. I was great for 4 days - I even figured out to have some drinks after learning that a glass of wine is only 100 calories.

I was doing well. Using my new Sparkpeople BB app to track my food and focusing on that to begin with.

Then on day 4, everything changed. I ran into an emotional road block. Then my focus shift - I wanted to make the emotional pain stop, so the food started. Interestingly, I was ok on day 4. Perhaps all the yelling and screaming and being upset helped me that day - but the next day, I ate a healthy breakfast and then lunch came. I was telling a friend about what upset me and I just kept eating...and eating...and eating. I looked down on my plate and said - "I guess I'm eating my feelings again."

And that is my greatest challenge. I'm an emotional eater. I get upset and so I eat. I saw an old friend earlier this week and she told me she's successfully replaced eating with running - and lost 55 pounds.

I need to get my emotional munching under control, but I need help. Do you have any tricks or tips for emotional eating?

What's in your tool box?

As I've admitted on here, I've spent the last several months not watching what I eat or exercising. Between a divorce that had me turning to carbs to a re-entrance into community theater, my physical health has taken a backseat to the my emotional health. I've been doing things that make me feel good.

There's nothing wrong with that - until your pants stop fitting. Which mine have been slowly working towards. Last week, I went to the doctor and had to step on her scale. It had been a while since I weighed in, so I was disappointed (and a little surprised to be honest) to see that I had gained around 15 pounds.

So, after putting on a pair of pants that used to fit nicely, I decided I couldn't do this to myself anymore. So, I'm getting back on the horse.

But rebuilding oneself, physically, takes a lot of work. And clearly, it's been an ongoing struggle for me. So, I'm pulling out all the stops on this one. I'm breaking out as many tools as possible - slowly.

First, food will be my focus. I went back over to SparkPeople to track my calories and exercise. They have a Blackberry app too, which will help. I'm tracking my intake on there and staying within the calorie suggestions on the system.

I'll be drinking more water and trying to eat at home. I'm ceasing with the AM Starbucks stops and switching back to tea.

And, new in the tool box for 2010 is #teamslim. This Twitter movement was started by @RailbirdJ to help him lose the last 50 pounds. The idea is that you tweet your food and exercise and #teamslim helps with motivation. They welcomed me to the team today and I'm hoping it helps! Here's a little more about #teamslim.

What are your favorite tools? Do you have any tips or tricks?