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4 friends. Together they total over 800lbs. Diabetes & heart disease runs in their families. They want to get healthy. But they never seem to be able to stay motivated. Tune into their clever quips, philosophical ramblings, fleeting bursts of inspiration and their joint struggle to get to the title of "4 Skinnys and a String Bikini."
The Story of Us
Here's a story,of a lovely lady
And three of her very be-est friends...
3 of them were overwe-eight--
The other one was thin...
(To the tune of the Brady Bunch Theme)
We've been friends for 20 years...yeah, we feel old. Back in the day, I (Posh) was the skinny one. I had this gaunt I need more food look. Fortunately, I had some padding in the right places so in the moment it wasn't so bad, in retrospect I looked hungry. Wasn't really into sports but I used to hike a lot (mountains, parks, waterfalls) with the family. Anyway, had a kid and I'd like to say that the whole pregnancy thing triggered off a latent hormone cycle that spiralled me, in the last 11 years, to 209 lbs...but I can't... It sounds a lot nicer, though, than I like to snack a lot and that great food can be the highlight of my day and that I go through intense cravings for cheese curls and macaroni pie and roti & curry (island food) and lemon crunch cake with vanilla ice-cream and that my concept of a "hike" now is my walk across the parking lot to get to work....and well, you get the picture. So that's me.
Then there's Sporty. Since back in the day she's been saying that she was fat. I don't think her size ever really registered for the rest of us. Most we may have thought was that she was "big boned"...cause she is... Think her height (5ft) may have accentuated what was or wasn't there. She's 235 lbs now. We looked at some home videos recently, though and realized that she had a really nice normal size...not too skinny...not fat...Didn't even realize it at the time. She's been the most avid weight-loss attempter. She can organize a weight-loss plan with the best of em... Weight Watchers, Body for Life, Random Weightloss clinic, Weight watchers, Exercise Boot Camp, Weight Watchers... She's gone through a couple of cycles. And when she's on, she's on! Dieting & Exercising Demon... She lost over 50lbs one year....only problem...she gained it back the next! She keeps on trying though...This year's gonna be a weight-loss year for her. She's a good inspiration!
Scary. I guess you could say she's always been the "fat" one... remember when we were really, really young her grandmother making a comment about how she drank too much juice...not sure if that was the actual case, but several years and glasses of juice later she's 238lbs. I think out of all of us though, she's the most comfortable and secure with her weight size. Not that she wants to stay that size but she's comfortable in her own skin. She's been focusing on the health issues of being overweight...diabetes runs in her family...ever the logical one though, she's given herself a deadline...this coming July, I believe...if she hasn't gotten it together and started losing weight, she's gonna get Gastric Bypass Surgery. She says she'd rather deal with those side effects than deal with Diabetes. She wants to choose her health issue!
And finally Ginger (aka Miss Skinny who went from a size 10 to a size 8 because she decided to embrace veganism as a healthier life style and who doesn't drink soda 'cause it tastes so artificial and who likes to wake up in the mornings and go for walks or even a nice afternoon walk....). Yeah, so Ginger...she was always a regular size I would say....had a moment in college where she put on some weight but she became a vegetarian and lost all the weight (just have to insert bitterly that I've been a vegetarian all my life and I'm still 209lbs...but oh yeah, I forgot I have the whole hormone thing going...) Anyway, I think she's been talking about how she's having problems fitting into her clothes so she's trying to do the whole exercise thing (more) this year. I don't even know how much she weighs... Who cares, anyway-- she wears a size 8!! I'd love to fit my size 18/20 self into her jeans! But anyway, in the spirit of best-friendliness: Go Ginger! Go Ginger!
So that's the gang.
Of course we have a few peripheral characters: Scary's husband who wants to be wearing a speedo, with six pack abs on a beach this November (No he's not even close to speedo wearing); Mimi,Ginger's friend and workout buddy (who would never think of using this blog as a way to distract herself from her dissertation writing); Sporty's cousin, Jill, who thinks she can take sexy back from Justin if she loses 20lbs; my skinny active sister, Spice, who always wants to exercise and "lose weight" (yeah, she gets the same kind of bitter comments as Ginger); My son who started reading food labels last year, to remind me of my caloric intake and weight-watcher points (even though I never asked him to, but he says he's just trying to help); and my villainous mother who notices every plate of food I eat and the number of cheese curl bags in the trash and just knows that I'm gaining weight, even though the scale says I'm maintaining and who says that I need to dilute my juice with half a glass of water...
So yeah, The chronicles of our weight-loss begins!
And three of her very be-est friends...
3 of them were overwe-eight--
The other one was thin...
(To the tune of the Brady Bunch Theme)
We've been friends for 20 years...yeah, we feel old. Back in the day, I (Posh) was the skinny one. I had this gaunt I need more food look. Fortunately, I had some padding in the right places so in the moment it wasn't so bad, in retrospect I looked hungry. Wasn't really into sports but I used to hike a lot (mountains, parks, waterfalls) with the family. Anyway, had a kid and I'd like to say that the whole pregnancy thing triggered off a latent hormone cycle that spiralled me, in the last 11 years, to 209 lbs...but I can't... It sounds a lot nicer, though, than I like to snack a lot and that great food can be the highlight of my day and that I go through intense cravings for cheese curls and macaroni pie and roti & curry (island food) and lemon crunch cake with vanilla ice-cream and that my concept of a "hike" now is my walk across the parking lot to get to work....and well, you get the picture. So that's me.
Then there's Sporty. Since back in the day she's been saying that she was fat. I don't think her size ever really registered for the rest of us. Most we may have thought was that she was "big boned"...cause she is... Think her height (5ft) may have accentuated what was or wasn't there. She's 235 lbs now. We looked at some home videos recently, though and realized that she had a really nice normal size...not too skinny...not fat...Didn't even realize it at the time. She's been the most avid weight-loss attempter. She can organize a weight-loss plan with the best of em... Weight Watchers, Body for Life, Random Weightloss clinic, Weight watchers, Exercise Boot Camp, Weight Watchers... She's gone through a couple of cycles. And when she's on, she's on! Dieting & Exercising Demon... She lost over 50lbs one year....only problem...she gained it back the next! She keeps on trying though...This year's gonna be a weight-loss year for her. She's a good inspiration!
Scary. I guess you could say she's always been the "fat" one... remember when we were really, really young her grandmother making a comment about how she drank too much juice...not sure if that was the actual case, but several years and glasses of juice later she's 238lbs. I think out of all of us though, she's the most comfortable and secure with her weight size. Not that she wants to stay that size but she's comfortable in her own skin. She's been focusing on the health issues of being overweight...diabetes runs in her family...ever the logical one though, she's given herself a deadline...this coming July, I believe...if she hasn't gotten it together and started losing weight, she's gonna get Gastric Bypass Surgery. She says she'd rather deal with those side effects than deal with Diabetes. She wants to choose her health issue!
And finally Ginger (aka Miss Skinny who went from a size 10 to a size 8 because she decided to embrace veganism as a healthier life style and who doesn't drink soda 'cause it tastes so artificial and who likes to wake up in the mornings and go for walks or even a nice afternoon walk....). Yeah, so Ginger...she was always a regular size I would say....had a moment in college where she put on some weight but she became a vegetarian and lost all the weight (just have to insert bitterly that I've been a vegetarian all my life and I'm still 209lbs...but oh yeah, I forgot I have the whole hormone thing going...) Anyway, I think she's been talking about how she's having problems fitting into her clothes so she's trying to do the whole exercise thing (more) this year. I don't even know how much she weighs... Who cares, anyway-- she wears a size 8!! I'd love to fit my size 18/20 self into her jeans! But anyway, in the spirit of best-friendliness: Go Ginger! Go Ginger!
So that's the gang.
Of course we have a few peripheral characters: Scary's husband who wants to be wearing a speedo, with six pack abs on a beach this November (No he's not even close to speedo wearing); Mimi,Ginger's friend and workout buddy (who would never think of using this blog as a way to distract herself from her dissertation writing); Sporty's cousin, Jill, who thinks she can take sexy back from Justin if she loses 20lbs; my skinny active sister, Spice, who always wants to exercise and "lose weight" (yeah, she gets the same kind of bitter comments as Ginger); My son who started reading food labels last year, to remind me of my caloric intake and weight-watcher points (even though I never asked him to, but he says he's just trying to help); and my villainous mother who notices every plate of food I eat and the number of cheese curl bags in the trash and just knows that I'm gaining weight, even though the scale says I'm maintaining and who says that I need to dilute my juice with half a glass of water...
So yeah, The chronicles of our weight-loss begins!
Blog Archive
-
▼
2007
(301)
-
▼
June
(28)
- Posh: The countdown is on!!
- Sporty: Week 20/Month 5 (6/28/07)
- Posh: Nearing the end
- Sporty: Week 19 (6/21/07)
- Sporty: Ironman Challenge
- Ginger: The Bottom Line [June 14-20]
- Ginger: The Bottom Line [June 7-13]
- Sporty: Exercise as a Form of Worship?
- Sporty: Deter or Help?
- Ginger: Weight-ism
- Sporty: Intuitive Eating
- Ginger: Uncle!
- Posh: 5th week over
- Sporty: Week 18 (06/14/07)
- Sporty: Self-Awareness and Mindfulness Mediations
- Sporty: Greek Egg Special
- Sporty: Quick BFL Tip
- Posh: 4th week over
- Ginger: Help Needed
- Ginger: The Bottom Line [May 31-June 6]
- Sporty: What's the dilly yo?! Diet?
- Sporty: Week 17 (6/7/07)
- Alli
- Ginger: Toss Your Scale?
- Sporty:Check-in
- Ginger: The Bottom Line [May 24-30]
- Ginger: Thursday's Food Log
- Sporty: Stay the course, until we turn the corner
-
▼
June
(28)
Followers
Our Favorite Books
- 1984 by George Orwell
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by K.Hosseini
- Gone with the Wind by M. Mitchell
- Guiding Lights by Eric Liu
- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
- Stephanie Plum Series by J. Evanovich
- The Bible Experience, Inspired By...
- The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
- The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, Shane Claiborne
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- The Return of The Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen
- Uncle Tom's Cabin by H. Stowe
- Walking with God by John Eldredge
8 comments:
Hmmm...interesting question. I guess I like challenges 'cause they raise the bar. Then I think you need a lifestyle plan to help you perform (long-term) at the new level. A "planner" type would probably think this through in advance but it could also kick in during or after the challenge. Without it though, I think it's just a matter of time before the challenge behaviors die.
(This reasoning assumes that you'd want to keep the challenge activities going. I guess I'd be less inclined to do a hard core blitz that I didn't hope to sustain -unless it were tied to a clear short-term vanity goal like slimming down for a special event or vacation or something. That's just me though.)
I agree. I think they can definitely be a "kick-start" to get you out of a slump or push you to the next level. However I'm learning that having "lifestyle minimums" that may or may not be as intense as the challenge is equally important so that I don't flounder after.
That happened to me several times most notably after I did Body for Life in 2003. I made it through the 12 weeks, had great success. Couldn't sustain that level of activity and the diet (protein/carb) at each meal wasn't manageable. After a couple of weeks of trying to keep up I fell off. A "lifestyle minimum" would have been helpful but I didn't have those thoughts then.
Yeah...that totally makes sense. It's really neat that we're having these conversations before WOW ends. It's a good time to start planning for sustainability...
I see the mind shift happening.....
Yeah. I have no "lifestyle"... Weird thing is, I started WOW hoping for it to kick start something. It did, but now I'm like, what will I do without it? What am I going to revert to? Can WOW be my lifestyle? What I'd like to see is if I can keep my WOW motivation up, independent of group challenge....this is going to be a learning experience for me. I've never done a challenge before...so not sure what to expect of myself. But the format of wow...simple goals...daily check off....that worked for me...
You make a good point about wow being a "lifestyle" plan. If it ain't broke....
Yup, might as well keep going - and stay tuned in to your mind + body...they'll tell you if/when it's time to make any changes.
So true. Not everything will work for you all the time. Adapt to fit lifestyle. Hmmm...
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