Disclaimer

This blog is an accounting of my personal journey to find fitness. All the content on this blog should be read as a biographical piece of literature, not a medical resource. I am a physician, but I am in no way giving medical advice or establishing doctor patient relationships with my readers. I am simply keeping a diary. If you are starting a diet or exercise program or require medical evaluation or advice, please see your own family physician.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

What a difference a year makes........

Yesterday, I went to TKD class, it kicked my butt as usual, then home to swim laps. I stayed on plan for the day and that's my plan today as well. Today I am taking a well deserved day off, just for me. No kids, no husband, no work. A year ago that would have meant, going out for a huge breakfast, shopping and treating myself to a nice lunch. Today it means, I'll start my day at the gym and I'm taking my food with me. I'll do some shopping NOT at Lane Bryant and  maybe catch a movie. What a difference a year makes!

This is the one year anniversary of me finding blogland and starting this blog. I regard it as an important milestone in my life now. I am sure had I not stumbled onto this wonderful tool I might not have made it this far in my journey. I was on the verge of quitting having gained a pound or two as we are all prone to do at some point. And then I saw a facebook post from LoseIt by a blogger. I read his blog and this led to other blogs and so on until I realized there were so many others trying to lose weight or who were maintaining their loss and I was inspired. Truly inspired. And here I am a year later. Over the last year I've lost and gained a LOT of things. Here's some of them.


Loss:  Pounds, 60 of them. I've lost 60 pounds since starting this blog a year ago. (84 from my highest weight) Sometimes I feel like it should have been more, but I'm proud of that number. I've never lost that much before.

Gain: I now know what a burpee is.  And P90X, Insanity, bench press, butterflies, chest presses, lat pull downs, v-ups and a whole bunch more. I feel like I'm in the "in" fit crowd cause I know the terminology of fitness now.

Loss: Inches. I've lost a total of 53 inches since starting this blog. (66 from my highest weight)

Gain:  A green belt. Since starting TKD I've learned that I CAN exercise HARD and I CAN exercise in public and I CAN break a board and I CAN spar with someone faster and stronger than me and survive.

Loss: BMI: I've gone from 47 to 36.  Only 6 more points until I'm no longer obese!

Loss:Waist circumference: I've gone from a 49 inch waist to a 36. That's one inch from considered "lower risk" for cardiovascular disease and high abdominal fat content.

Loss:The belief that I was genetically programmed or "destined to be fat: This one was such BS I used to justify my unhealthy choices. I really believed it, too. I honestly just thought I'd always be fat and that losing weight was just impossible for me. WRONG!

Loss:Fear of seat belts: This includes all modes of transportation, cars, airplanes, roller coasters. I know that that no matter what I'm trying to do or where I'm trying to go, I will fit now.


Loss:A closet full of Lane Bryant clothes:  Literally I shopped at Lane Bryant nearly exclusively for all my adult life. Last night I cleaned out MORE from my closet, 3 big bags. Got rid of the 18 and up stuff. It was hard to do some of it. I remember when I could finally get into an 18.  It seemed so small back then and I still can't believe that I wear a smaller size than that.


Loss:Temperature homeostasis:  This is one thing I kinda miss. I'm cold all the time. All. The. Time. It's gotten to where I have trouble wearing sandals at work because my toes get so cold. I have a heater under my desk for when I'm sitting and doing paperwork so my feet won't freeze. It is so weird for someone who was always hot and never wore a coat. I'm hoping my body readjusts my temperature setting so I don't have to keep blankets and sweatshirts for just in case, even in the summer! It's like 100 degrees outside and I feel relief when I go outside now. SO strange. I used to think skinny girls who were cold were weird or just wanted attention. No. Apparently they were cold.


Loss:Butt padding:  Whenever I went to meetings or lectures, people would complain about those metal folding chairs hurting their butts. I never got it. I never had butt pain from hard surfaces. I loved sitting on the ground, even hard surfaces like concrete or tile. NOW, OUCH. It's wonderful because I now FIT into chairs, no matter how small. But.....my butt actually aches after awhile.

Gain: Confidence and credibility:  In my line of work the topics of weight, exercise and healthy diet are constantly part of the dialogue. There were times where I felt like a hypocrite, and rightly so, counseling a patient on healthy lifestyle issues. NO MORE. I may not be at goal, but I'm practicing what I've always preached. It felt so good the other day when a thin, but unfit non-exerciser told me she "just didn't have time" to exercise and that it was "hard". Really? Hard? I explained to her that you can't start a program and go crazy with exercise. She thought that because she was thin she could just go running or lifting weights when she hadn't in years. I told her that if I can do an hour on the elliptical that she could, too, BUT she needed to work up to it. "AN HOUR!" she said. "Holy crap I can only do a few minutes." Score one for the fat chick. Being fit is not just about how much you weigh.


Gain: A whole new life:  This may seem silly, but I feel like a different person. My priorities are so different. I think of things differently now. My life doesn't revolve around food. I don't use food as punctuation for every emotion. I'm teaching my kids how to live a healthy active life. I have no qualms about going on a vacation. If I want to hike, I'll hike. If I want to rent a bike, I can. If I want to swim, I don't mind putting on a swim suit. If I want to do......well....pretty much anything, I can. It's amazing. A-MAZ-ING. And while I'm not done yet, I'm far enough into this thing to know that I want to finish if for no other reason than to see what amazing things I can experience next.


Gain: All of you:  This blog and my blog-friends have truly been so important. To be accountable, supported and just knowing that all of you out there have the same struggles that I do. That has truly been the biggest help to me.  I am still astounded that I have people in my life I regard as true friends that I've never even met. I am astounded that people read this everyday and care what I have to say and sometimes are possibly touched by what I am writing. So thank you, all of you. Can't WAIT to see what this next year brings.

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your one-year anniversary!! Love your ruminations of your gains and losses. I think, too, one thing we all learn is that it takes time. I bet a year ago you hoped you would be done with all this weight loss stuff. But, now, at least for me as I close in on a year, too, I know it will take me another year to get to my goal. That is okay. This is for life.

    Enjoy your well-earned day off and reveal in the 84 pounds less that you are hauling around! michele

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  2. What a phenomenal post! Double wow. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. What a day to celebrate you and all that you have become. :D

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  3. That's a great post to read. I'm looking forward to being here in a year myself and I hope I'll be as successful as you've been.

    Getting to the point where I'll wear a bathing suit in public will be great.

    Congratulations for staying through all the work it took to get you to where you are.

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  4. I'm so happy for you. I loved reading this post. Congratulations!

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  5. Got me a Doctor friend in Texas... That has to count for something as well...OK, I have a hospital there as well, but another Doctor couldn't hurt,,..XXOOO

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  6. What a WONDERFUL post! (Isn't it wonderful to undergrow Lane Bryant?)
    Jan

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  7. Happy Blogoversary Doctor F! I'm happy to say I have been following you since your beginnings, and your progress has been fantastic. You're a joy for all of us to know!
    Christine
    www.phoenixrevolution.net

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  8. Happy blogoversary and congratulations on an amazing year:)

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  9. Congrats to you Ann! You have done an amazing job of transforming your life!

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  10. Happy blogoversary!

    I remember when I got rid of my bigger clothes -- at one point I just looked at them and I realized I was keeping them just in case. Uh, nope. Not going there again. Out they went!

    It's time for another purge, but some of the too big stuff I really love, so I need to get it altered before I wear it again. Besides, the fit on some skirts is so bad they're seriously at risk of falling off my hips. Yipes!

    You're doing wonderfully -- I know you'll keep at it :D

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  11. Happy Anniversary! I just laughed with you about the butt padding. I've noticed that, too. My butt hurts if I sit too long anywhere anymore! I'm noticing more bruises, too, like I has when I was a kid. I've always been a bit clutzy, but before there was plenty of fat cushion to ward off bruises and now there's not!

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  12. Yay! What a good year it was - the best are yet to come!
    And the cold - it goes away all too soon!
    Or it did for me, at least. Especially in the DFW heat!

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  13. Wow, Doc. Just. Wow. I have my anniversary coming up too. I do what you just did pretty regular, but it is just one thing at a time. Would you take great offense to me stealing this idea on July 17?

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  14. I am so impressed with how far you've come - has it only been a year? I remember when you came upon the blogger scene...I was really impressed that a doctor would admit that she needed to lose weight and wanted help, and also that working out and running were foreign to you - not anymore! :) You really humanized doctors for me as I've watched your journey, and I'm so pleased that you've been so honest about everything.

    Congratulations, and well done, my friend!

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  15. Well done! It did me a lot of good to look back over my first year. It helped me realize what I had accomplished and helped me through those times when I got discouraged.

    A Mavericks win and a big win for the Dr!

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Progress to TouchDown and GOALLLL!!