Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Zombies, Monsters, Vampires, & my Croatian Conscience...all terrifying in their own right.

"You're a 126lbs less attractive to flesh eating zombies than you used to be, and you can now outrun them!" - My Croatian Conscience

Daniel-san.  Yes, this is how hard we laughed at the microflat.
Good point.

My Croatian Conscience, Daniel-san, came for a visit this weekend and was...wait for it...REALLY NICE TO ME!  He didn't tease me about my weight, he didn't make any off-colour remarks, nor did he have a laugh at my expense...he was, in fact, a perfect gentleman.  And, I think I know the reason why:  I now weigh less than him, and for years I was at least 15...30...50...90 pounds more than him.  

It was a little strange for both of us...in fact, we had to reminisce about the fat old days in Tokyo when he would razz me for being a big western gaijin.  We joked about our futon placement in his microflat.  Danijel rolled out his futon on the floor, we were on the wooden framed futon just to the right of that.  Because of the close proximity (remember he lived in a tiny apartment of 180 square feet in total) and the difference in height, should I have rolled over in my sleep...I would have crushed my conscience to a pulp.  He would have had to call into work flat!  

It was I who got to joke about eating, weight, and exercise this time.  Daniel-san, who had recently returned from a cruise...which pretty much means he rode a buffet around the Yucatan...made the extra effort to tack on a quick trip to Victoria to see me (or at least I think he came to see me, unless he came to see the slimmer version of my husband...slimmer, Daniel, not gayer...haha).  The least I could do was bug him about bugging me for so many years...and have a delightful 24 hours chatting with my conscience.        

And speaking scary things...Croatians, zombies, re-animated creatures, and vampires...which of those would I most like to be?  And let's look at this from all angles, shall we?  

Zombies:  Zombies don't crave carbs.  This is a good thing.  As a food-obsessed fat-girl, I have to admire their absolute adherence to a rather strict diet.  A diet of...well....brains.  I wish I could be more zombie-like in that way...their stick-to-it-iveness, not their lust for brains.  Well done zombies, you have fantastic will-power...though, I think it's more of an unhealthy fetish.  But, you can't fault zombies for that...they're dead.  They don't know any better.

Frankenstein's Monsters:  Finally, I can pick and choose my own parts!  Actually, someone else would have to pick my bits because I would be a bunch of other dead people scattered about the lab until the doctor arranged the new me just so, sewed me together, shot some electricity through me, and hooked me up with a cool greenish-hued guy with bolts in his neck and staples in his head.  Which just goes to show that you should be VERY careful when picking a plastic surgeon (and/or matchmaker), not only do you get a new bod, but a date out of it.  However, I have a new bod, I'm married, and with my knee the way it is, I am already walking like the bride.

Next.

Vampires:  They don't die.  Awesome.  They don't age.  Fabulous.  They stick to a high-protein liquid diet which they absolutely seem to love.  Easy peasy!  I like drinking...and as a child I had a nasty habit of biting people (which resurfaced briefly in university).  I think this is the one for me.  Also, I tend to eat a lot of the same things over and over and over so this isn't so far off.  Eat/drink one thing.  Blood.  Though, I don't normally have to hunt for my own food...my food comes from the store to my fridge or pantry.  Grocery shopping sure would be different...instead of going to the market, I guess I would go to the bar or club or something.  Wow, sleeping all day and partying all night, and sticking to a liquid diet?  I think I already was a vampire in my 20s.  Plus or minus the sanguine fluid.  

I'm currently suffering from a severe case of Halloweenitus.  I can't believe how many costume possibilities have opened up for me having lost all this weight.  And, no, I'm not going as a "sexy" something...nurse, police officer, Croatian what have you.  Costumes like that are for bar stars who don't know what to be for Samhain.  No, I'm going pretty traditional this year...Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

Don't get strung out
By the way I look
Don't judge a book by its cover
I'm not much of a man
By the light of day
But by night I'm one hell of a lover
I'm just a sweet transvestite
From Transexual, Transylvania
-
The Rocky Horror Show

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Weigh-in Wednesday #37 & #38 - From victory to emergency

Here we go again.  It's just about 4 days after Weigh-in Wednesday #39...so I had better catch up here by telling you about WIW #37 and #38.  You've probably memorized this part if you have been following my blog for a while, but for you newbies...voilà, les results: 
  
Suzie & Stéffi Spitfyre celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss!
Starting weight:  292.1 
1st weigh-in:  286.8
2nd weigh-in:  280.1
3rd weigh-in:  276.4
4th weigh-in:  274.1
5th weigh-in:  270.6
6th weigh-in:  266.2
7th weigh-in:  262
8th weigh-in:  261.4
9th weigh-in:  257.7
10th weigh-in 251.4
11th weigh-in 247.3
12th weigh-in 243.6
13th weigh-in 241.7
14th weigh-in 235.4
15th weigh-in 235.4
16th weigh-in 227.7
17th weigh-in 223.5
18th weigh-in 223.5
19th weigh-in 221.6
20th weigh-in 221.6
21st weigh-in 215.6
22nd weigh-in 213.2
23rd weigh-in 207.9
24th weigh-in 206.6
25th weigh-in 200.1
26th weigh-in 199.7
27th weigh-in 197
28th weigh-in 191.3
29th weigh-in 189.9
30th weigh-in 180.7
31st weigh-in 183.4
32nd weigh-in 186.4
33rd weigh-in 186.3
34th weigh-in 174.8
35th weigh-in 174.8
36th weigh-in 170.1

And on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013...I hit a number, I don't think I've seen since possibly 1997, maybe even 1996.

37th weigh-in 169

Weigh-in Wednesday #37 and this girl went back to the 60s!  A shagadelic 169lbs!  Oh, behave!  Feeling groovy, baby, yeah!  At this weight in the past, I think I was wearing chunky high-heeled platform loafers, bootleg polyester pants, and some sort of baby-T...and possibly listening to the Spice Girls.  Haha...and because I couldn't find any of those old clothes (except for my jean cut-off shorts with the longest rise ever and all whole slew of Canadian flag patches sewn onto the butt)...I, of course, decided to pull everything out of my closet and try it on, as you do.  I think it's awfully fortuitous for me that this whole hipster fashion movement seems to be loosely based on various items of clothing that I wore to university.  Having said that, do I want to wear it again?  NO.  Can I physically wear it again?  YES, but who wants to wear high-waisted second-hand cut-off vintage 1995 Levis 501 shorts?  Hipsters.  Am I one?  Nope - my black framed glasses are much too cat-eye for all that nonsense.  So, the lower my BMI gets, the smaller my closet becomes.  However, the shoes that I bought in Paris at 217 pounds in 2009, finally fit NOW.  So, I ask myself, why did I have to lose an additional 47ish pounds in order to slip on those leopard print wedges and black taffeta and red grosgrain ribbon peep-toe pumps?  How fat were my feet?  What kind of cruel trick of gravity was that?  I certainly wasn't storing 47 pounds in my feet, was I?

38th weigh-in 170.2

Gahhhh!  Welcome to weight loss in the real world for someone who has already lost 123 pounds.  Sometimes you lose a pound, sometimes you stay the same, and sometimes you gain a pound.  And sometimes you're able to blame something for gaining a pound. 

This week, I will unabashedly blame the retention of fluids in my sprained knee.  Yes, I sprained my knee.  The cool thing is, I did it in taekwondo.  Should I be proud of a "sports injury?"  I think so.  Just as I was getting good at kicking, and staying in control whilst doing so...I went up for the quick kick, connected with the pads, and then my right knee buckled out from under me and suddenly I was on the ground.  PANIC.  First thought:  Don't cry in front of the ninja and everyone in class.  Second thought:  Not this...again!

The last time something gave out on me was on holiday in New Orleans last year.  I was walking along a lovely flagstone sidewalk on my way to breakfast and my foot wobbled and I rolled my ankle.  I remember thinking, ohhhhh crap.  Then I got up off the street (that, thank gods, had probably been sprayed cleaned with bleach the night before) and tried to walk it off.  And no big deal, I was up and running again for an hour or so.  Not running, but I was able to walk the 3 or 4 blocks it took to get to the French Market.  Then as we ate our breakfast (okay, it was more like lunch...it was NOLA, we got up late!  And the night before we'd been out celebrating Hallowe'en) of gator burger, jambalaya, and crawfish mac n' cheese, respectively, my ankle started to swell and turn a lovely shade of purple.  1900 bucks later we'd been to Tulane University Medical Centre, and I was told nothing was broken, it was a bad sprain, and that I should rest it, elevate it, ice it, use the tensor bandage, here's an aircast, and try these crutches.  I got told by two separate doctors that I needed to lose weight, and no body thought to tell me that using crutches is very difficult if you can't support your body weight with your arms.  I was screwed.  Then we went to the zoo a couple days later and we rented a ride-on scooter.  YAY!  That was fun, however, Stéphane found it tedious...as I honked and bonked into him pretty much all afternoon.

My reaction to the aforementioned recent pop-buckle-splat was to try and get up on my own, but I gladly took the arms of the ninja after realising that I couldn't, in fact, get up on my own.  I hobbled to the bench at the side of the gym as my internal alarm sounded.  I sat there with my instant ice-packed leg propped up on a giant sports bag, and I worried myself into a tizzy.  

My personal ambulance, chauffeured by my husband, took me to emergency après class.  I was admitted to hospital, but not before I was asked if this were a work related injury.  

My answer,  "Well no.  I'm not paid to be a ninja at this time."  

We'll see what happens in the future.  For now, I'll be resting and icing my knee.

Monday, October 14, 2013

I'd like to thank the academy, the Times Colonist, and my MIJO Sport ninja...

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013 - As I walked the walk from my place to the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre, I had an extra spring in my step due in part to the article, written by Sandra McCulloch, that graced the entire front page of the Times Colonist's LIFE section.  I hadn't seen the article yet, but I would soon enough...haha...I may have sneaked a peak on the interweb before leaving for the gym.  
Visit Divinely Inspired on Facebook :-)
When I power walk, I'm on a mission...I don the giant backpack that is crammed with changes of clothes, boxing gloves, spinning shoes, my laptop etc., I crank the tunes, I dance on street corners when the light is red, I pretty much look like an idiot in clothing that is far too tight, but it holds me in so I wear it anyway.  So, as I motored up Fisgard not paying attention to anything in particular, I wasn't expecting the honking minivan that pulled up right next to me.  

Down rolls the window, and the couple inside are laughing and holding up a copy of the morning paper.

"That's you!" Says the woman in the passenger seat, "You're on the front page! And we're so proud of you."
Her accent was vaguely familiar, and on closer inspection I realised that I had met both of them a few weeks earlier at a friend's birthday.  Okay, good...random people aren't flagging me down and telling me they're proud of me...though, truth be told, I kind of like that attention.  We chatted for a sec, while sweat poured down my face and into my eyes as it always seems to do when I stop an activity midway through.  Then they were off on their merry way, and I continued up the street and rounded the corner.

About half a block from the Crystal a fellow walker stepped directly into my path, took off her sunglasses, looked me straight in the eyes, gave me the thumbs up, and said, "Well done!  Keep it up!"  Oh gods, is this going to continue all day?  Because, at some point, I'm going to break down in tears of gratitude.  These random TC readers, are not only making my day, they're motivating me!  I knew there would be a little added accountability that came along with being in the paper again, but it's amazing what happens when people you don't know encourage you.  What was it I said in April upon completion of the Health Challenge?
It’s not all about weight loss though, I have met so many amazing people along the way…not only the people in the challenge, the TCers, the gang at the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre, mental coach Christie Gialloreto, my dietician Heather Dueck, and the ninja, of course…but the people in the grocery store who stopped to tell me they were going to go for a bike ride, the guy in the car who honked and shouted, “Keep up the good work,” the gal on the treadmill next to me who’s always up for a quick check in,  the dog walkers on the beach who waved me over and asked me loads of questions about the TC Health Challenge.  It’s everyone who read my blog and then put down the TV remote and went for a walk, or intended to buy cheesies but opted for an apple instead, or tagged me in some sort of inappropriate ecard regarding fitness & healthy eating…it’s all those people who became an extended support system for me.  They may not know it, but they kept me going…and will continue to keep me going.
I still feel the same way.  The reason I'm continuing to act the protagonist is because of a huge cast and crew that work along side me in this drama that is my life.  Though the article in the TC was almost entirely about me, I have to give shout outs to some of my supporting actors and those players working tirelessly behind the scenes, the producers, and let's not forget the director.  An acceptance speech of sorts, if you will.
I would like to thank the Times Colonist and Sandra McCulloch for continuing to share my story with readers in Victoria, and beyond.  I received a message from my Aussie friend, Lucy, letting me know that her co-worker had been reading newspapers online and had asked, "Hey, is this article about your mate in Victoria who lost all that weight?" Not only has the TC brought me a certain amount of notoriety on the streets, yoga mats, and gymnasiums of the capital, but my ex-roomie from Ireland read the article on a vineyard near Adelaide thank you very much!


The Times Colonist quite honestly gave me the role of a lifetime - in January, Shannon Kowalko called me and congratulated me on being chosen as a participant in the 2013 Health Challenge.  I knew right then and there that I was ready to take the stage.  Ushered into the PISE gymnasium, on January 13th, by an excited executive producer, the cast of 6 including myself (Elisabeth Westlake, Raechel Gray, Nathaniel Robinson, Steve Holub, and of course Sandra) had our first head shots taken before reading through the script together.  We were acquainted with the our mental coach Christie Gialloreto, our caliper holders and measurement takers, physiologists Holly Murray and Paula McFadyen, the athletics programmers from our respective rec centres, mine was (and still is) Josh Taylor of the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre, and we also met our directors.  I would like to thank all of these players, but it is my director who has had the most profound and lasting effect on me...so I need to single him out.

Jonathan Carpenter, my director, my personal trainer, my ninja, and most recently my 사범, has taken me from 292.1 pounds to where I am now, 169 pounds.  There is no way that I would have been able to lose 123.1 pounds without him...full stop.

I met the ninja at PISE with his sister Michelle, together they run MIJO Sport.  When Josh told me on the phone that I was going to be trained by a "martial arts guy" I kind of imagined Mr. Miyagi.  Mr. Miyagi, Jonathan was not, though he's got the moves...I creeped the MIJO facebook page shortly after the Health Challenge Kick-Off only to discover that he could fly.  And, the ninja moniker was born.


We met up one Sunday afternoon in January to go over the plan, and set some goals.  I wish I could have taped the conversation.  I was awkwardly enthusiastic as I couldn't wait to get started, though I was not without trepidation due to the magnitude of the journey.  Good thing I had a guide.  What did I want to get out of this?  Well, I wanted to get healthy...I wanted regain some of the athleticism that I grew up with...I wanted to get down to 150 pounds in the future.  And, I wanted to be able to climb Mount Fuji eventually....the list was long and kind of all over the place.  Jonathan reeled me in and asked me what I wanted to achieve in the next 3 months...I said I wanted to lose 24 pounds because that would be a loss of 2 pounds a week.  He said that that was great, but then he doubled it...lose 50 pounds in 3 months.  Holy shit!  Either he believed in me (though he didn't even know me), or he believed in his experience and ability to transform me, I prefer to think that it was the former and not the latter, but I have a feeling it was a bit of both mixed together.  It's amazing what happens when someone believes in you...even if you're not so sure if you believe in yourself...not totally anyway.  Whatever the case may have been, he made me believe that if I took his direction, followed his instructions, and worked my butt off, I would meet those goals.  And he was right.  I lost more than 50 pounds in the first 3 months...and I can finally see myself at under 150 pounds in the near future.

The ninja is like a hot new director breaking onto the scene that gets the best out of his actors.  I thought my script had already been written, I was going to play the part of the fat girl for the rest of my life.  My comedic moments based mostly on self-deprecation, I would be cast as the loveable friend, the lucky wife, the over-the-top neighbour, the character that people would get a kick out of, but at the end of the day and behind closed doors would judge - "What a shame, she has such a pretty face."  I would steal the show with that one song everyone remembered, but I would never play the heroine...unless it was an indie film that I wrote and produced myself (and that still may happen, stay tuned! Ha!).  I was destined to be a foil juxtaposed with the svelte and sultry protagonist.  In all honestly, I have always wanted to be a scene-stealer, so it wasn't such a bad storyboard to be a part of...until I was introduced to a different director.  I realised

that with a bit of revision, a re-write or two, and following the advice of a prodigy from exotic Courtenay, I would be able to deliver a breakthrough performance.  Having already been a part of the ensemble cast of TC HEALTH CHALLENGE, and in the following 3-4 months playing the title character in THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN: 100 POUNDS DOWN, I am happy to announce that the ninja and I will be continuing our partnership.  I'm sorry, I can't say more.  No spoilers.  The screenplay is currently being written.

This is harder than I thought, I want to express my gratitude for everything Jonathan and MIJO Sport have done for me then, now, and everywhere in between without seeming like I didn't have anything to do with it.  And, I loved the article Sandra wrote, but this person of interest needs to thank her people of influence.

How do you thank your director for making the right decisions without sounding like you're an ingénue vying for a role in his latest thriller?

Jonathan split up simple exercises to make them more accessible to this special

needs performer.  He innovated and adapted workouts so that I was able to complete each step without feeling inadequate and hopeless.  Mountain climbers, burpees, push-ups, you name it...he morphed them into something that would function for someone as obese as I.  Perhaps not in one fluid motion, but he made them into a comprehensive series of procedures that benefited my physique as much as the "normal" athletic equivalent.  For that, I want to thank him. Thank you, my ninja, for creating a special programme specifically designed to benefit me.  Thank you for understanding that sometimes I couldn't do something, not for lack of trying, but for want of physical ability, and for the wisdom to make an alteration that would not only suit my condition, but indeed, inspire me to be able to do the original process with vigour in the future.  Who loves burpees?  I do.  I am probably the only person that I know of who does...other than another MIJO athlete that I recently made acquaintance with in a Taekwondo class captained by none other than the ninja.  He inspires excellence in everyone he teaches, and that's a rare quality in any professeur.

Thank you, Jonathan.

What more can I say?  I am very grateful for the influence you've had on my life, and can't wait to see what happens down the road.  You keep teaching and I'll keep learning.  I'm feeling more and more ninja-like every day.  Perhaps there's an action flick in my future!?!
Is it fair that I suffered from writer's block over this post for a month?  No, but life isn't fair.  We all know that, but I think it's entirely appropriate that I have finally been able to finish this post on Thanksgiving.  I have a lot for which to be thankful.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

And now, we return to our regularly scheduled programming: The Tale of the Incredible Shrinking Woman.

LACKADAISICAL, busy...whatever, I have not been blogging, but I have been doing things.  Things I should be blogging about - training outside, taekwondo, riding my bike all over the place, running with the dog, taking part in the eating disorders programme, copious amounts of yoga, spinning, gaining, losing, eating, drinking, enjoying my summer and not writing.  Now, I'm back.  I've been working on one bleeding post about the Times Colonist article and my ninja...and I've had a heck of a time with writer's block.  Why?  Well, I have no idea how to thank him for all that he's done for me...but don't worry, I'm working on it.  I promise it'll be out today or tomorrow.

Last time I checked in about my weight, it was Weigh-in Wednesday #30...this is how that went:

Starting weight:  292.1  
I had no idea getting my throat slit would be so much fun!
1st weigh-in:  286.8
2nd weigh-in:  280.1
3rd weigh-in:  276.4
4th weigh-in:  274.1
5th weigh-in:  270.6
6th weigh-in:  266.2
7th weigh-in:  262
8th weigh-in:  261.4
9th weigh-in:  257.7
10th weigh-in 251.4
11th weigh-in 247.3
12th weigh-in 243.6
13th weigh-in 241.7
14th weigh-in 235.4
30th Weigh-in Gorelesque performance with Bloody Betty & Co.
 
15th weigh-in 235.4
16th weigh-in 227.7
17th weigh-in 223.5
18th weigh-in 223.5
19th weigh-in 221.6
20th weigh-in 221.6
21st weigh-in 215.6
22nd weigh-in 213.2
23rd weigh-in 207.9
24th weigh-in 206.6
25th weigh-in 200.1
26th weigh-in 199.7
27th weigh-in 197

28th weigh-in 191.3
29th weigh-in 189.9 
30th weigh-in 180.7

So then after my giant loss of 9.2 pounds, this happened:

31st weigh-in 183.4

Just before the Crystal Pool closed down for annual maintenance...so did I, apparently.  After 30 weigh-ins of losses...I gained.  I gained 2.7 pounds...and that put me in a state of disbelief and panic, of course.  Self-doubt, yes, I had that...and disappointment?  Yup, felt that too.  And so I slunk over to the ninja on August 21st, 2013 to tell him what had happened on the scale.  Generally, I fire off an excited text just after weigh-in at 6:30 in the morning or something like that...but I didn't feel celebratory that particular morning.  So, I only told him when he asked.  Mind you, he had warned me that I would plateau at some point.  Originally he speculated it would be at 220 or 200 pounds, but after observing my pattern of losses he said 180...and looky there, he was right.  Gah!  I dropped a ridiculous 9.2 pounds...hit 180.7...and then my body said...NOPE!  Just kidding.

So for the next week, I worked out extra hard (without my beloved Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre being open...thank you spin classes at Quadra Sport & Fitness) and kept eating really cleanly with a dollop of restriction (which I will talk about later) thrown in...and all that hard work resulted in another gain.  This time I was up 3 more pounds.  Stupid body.  Stupid mind.

32nd weigh-in 186.4 

Is that any way to be rewarded for hard work and dedication to my new (or newish) regimen?

Now, when I say hard work and dedication, I mean..yes, I ate cleanly and yes, I worked out...but here's the sketchy thing, if my mind isn't totally into it, it doesn't seem to really matter.  Or so I've been told.  Remember, the month of May when I became suspect of the process for the first time after seeing the bariatric surgeon?  Well, a gain and then my gym closing apparently had a greater effect on me than I thought.  Tuesday, August 27th, would be the first time I broke down in tears and blubbed all over Jonathan in the lobby of my newly closed rec centre.  Just exactly what I wanted to do that day, obviously. 
 
This is how we talk.  Haha...
We met on the tennis courts for our first outdoor training session since the forced closure of the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre and soon moved into the lobby to talk shop. Jonathan made the colossal mistake of asking me how I was doing...and I lost it.  My eyes welled up with tears and I asked him, "You mean beyond being disappointed in myself for gaining weight?"  And then, I clammed up because that's what you do when tears spill down all over you face and you don't really want to talk about what's actually bothering you.  I don't normally talk about personal issues with the ninja...beyond what's happening with my cat's health.  Perhaps it was my depression rearing it's ugly head once more, or maybe it was just the fact that I needed a break in my routine after 4 continuous months of twice daily training except on weekends and clean eating all the bloody time, or it could have been that I was overwhelmed by the positive response of people whom I don't know at all commending me on my progress and celebrating my weight loss, when all I could think about was my failure to lose anything in the last couple of weeks.

My baby ninja cat, Cobweb.
Whatever it was, I was feeling particularly vulnerable, and then I let loose and...waaah wahh...my cat is sick, and I really love my little baby kitty and I need Cobweb to be okay because I can't live without her.  Wahhh waaah it's hard to get up and go to the gym 2 times a day especially when your husband isn't that into going to the gym with you any more...and wahhh wahhhhh....I need to eat properly 6 times a day and not give in to temptation...and I have to stop restricting when I do give into temptation (even though giving in to temptation has changed drastically since January 16th, 2013...oh no, I ate 16 Crispy Minis and a spoonful of hummus).  Waaaahhhhwaaaahhh...I drank too much alcohol when I went out on Saturday, but I still managed to make it to spinning on Sunday morning...and it just sucks because.....waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh...I feel like I can't be social and do things with people because that means I drink alcohol or eat out and that's not a good thing.  Someone call a waaahhhmbulance.

The ninja sat and listened...which is exactly what I needed.  Because, let's face it, I wasn't exactly being very articulate, and I'm not used to sharing my feelings with the man that makes me do push-ups every time I attempt to befriend him.  What happened to lightening up, JC?  You told me you would once I reached that 100 pound milestone.  I was throwing a bit of a pity party for myself, complete with waterworks, whining, and a wobbly bottom lip.  I'm not proud of what I did, but I do know that sometimes you have to bottom out before you can climb back up again.  And in my world, the end of the world is gaining weight, disappointing the ninja, and not giving it my all.  Before I realised that all I probably needed was some time to sort my head out, the ninja told me that we weren't going to be training that day, and that my week of active rest had just started.

Deep breath.  No training?  But, that's what I do.  I haven't gone back to work yet, so working out is my job!  This is like forced staycation.  Well, I guess things could be worse.  The last time I had an active rest week (in April), I still did cardio once a day at the gym...but this time I took the entire week off.  More of a rest week, less of an active week...unless you count going boating and island hopping.  

33rd weigh-in 186.3

Wednesday September 4th, 2013 - And I'm down!  I don't even care that it's a tiny amount...the scale went in the right direction.  How does this work exactly?  I stop working out, I eat a bit too much, I drink a bit too much, and I lose weight?  I think sometimes you just need to get the heck outta Dodge, change your scenery, forget what's troubling you...and chill.  In this case, I just needed to go to Pender market, hang out with my birth-mom, take a ride on the schooner skippered by my little bro, drink wine outside in nature, I needed to sit by a pond and watch dragon flies to clear my head.  How am I going to get through this next part of my weight loss journey if I keep beating myself up when I gain?  It's only a few pounds, and obviously, I know how to lose weight...look at my track record.  I have to keep in mind that it's a form of dialectical abstinence.  I will strive to keep on this path of healthy eating and exercising, I will do my best to stay focused and follow the plan...but if I should indulge in some treats or skip a spin class once in a while, I'm not going to wave a white flag and admit defeat.  If I'm not perfect and ocassionally gain weight, that's okay, it's just part of the process, and nobody's perfect, right?
 
I strove for perfection the very next week.  And...


34th weigh-in 174.8

Yes, that is an 11.5 pound loss in 1 week.  This is one crazy game I'm playing.  That is far too much in one week, but it follows my established pattern of stay the same weight, stay the same weight (or gain weight), then lose a ridiculous amount of weight.  I had to get a witness when I stepped on the scale, and I stepped on it 3 times in front of that witness to be sure that I wasn't seeing things.  So besides drinking loads of Silk Road teas and eating mountains of veggies, what did I do differently that week?  I'll tell you...I started working out again.  Not in crazy amounts as the Crystal remained closed, but I went to yoga and trained with the ninja a couple of times, even went kayaking at Willows Beach.  Apparently, active living is awesome and results in colossal losses.

Kickboxing in the park.  That's what happened next.  I hadn't really been doing any kicking lately because I was without gym, and no gym means no heavy bag, and no heavy bag means no kicking and punching...unless you have your very own ninja.  So, training on the tennis courts turned into kickboxing in the park, what an amazing workout!  My next session with Jonathan was less Thai boxing, and more Korean kicking.  Back on the courts, I spent the hour kicking pads, learning more moves, and sweating.  

35th weigh-in 174.8

Pattern.  Established and confirmed.  Time to kick it up a notch...literally.  On my 35th weigh-in Wednesday, I started Taekwondo classes.  Besides being the only person that seems to have no clue what's going on, I feel pretty badass.  Except that I'm not sure how to hold my hands, and there's a lot of yelling, and instructions are sometimes given in a different language, and I'm the only one not dressed in white pajamas, but apart from that it's good.  Change is good...hopefully the added classes will have a positive effect on my 36th weigh-in.

36th weigh-in 170.1

Taek works!  I just kicked 4.7 pounds off of me...AND the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre is open again.  Ladies and gentlemen, we are back in business!  Life is good.  Happy October!