Sweatin' With the Oldie

Make that "A Sweatin' Oldie". I finally did it...broke down and joined a gym! (At least I don't have to wear a gym suit anymore...remember those?)  I've been working out for three weeks now and have managed to gain 2 pounds!

Believe me, it wasn't easy for this hates-to-sweat blogger to locate the perfect gym. I had lots of requirements but the most important one was...

I was determined not to huff and puff in front of a cadre of tiny women in spandex. If I could have found a gym that promised "no sweat" that would have been on my list too.

I start with a dreaded warm up on the treadmill. Notice I chose the treadmill closest to the door...just in case I decide to give up and run for my life!

I also chose the treadmill closest to the TV...so I can watch decorating shows while I suffer. Notice that I have the closed captioning turned on...that is so I know what is being said...since I can't hear over my heavy breathing.

I've always hated my arms and this little machine promises to make them beautiful.,,I can't wait! Notice how much I look like I'm enjoying it?

And here's my personal trainer...DH. He makes me crazy because he does not sweat. Believe me, DH cuts me no slack at the gym...Bob and Dolvett from The Biggest Loser look like pussycats next to my Hank! Between DH and my world's best WW leader, Mary Elizabeth, it seems as if I should be down to 90 pounds by now.

Today DH started me on the jump rope. I figured that would be easy...NOT!

At least I haven't needed the handy little defibrillator yet. But I do have just one question: If going to the gym is so good for me, why is there one of these on the wall???

Guess it's been a few years since my sisters and I actually thought jumping rope was fun!

I'm still determined to get this last 10 pounds off and reach my Weight Watchers goal...if working out doesn't kill me first. I have a feeling that the last 10 is going to be tougher the first 37...but, call me crazy, I just won't give up!

Have you ever joined a gym or tried to lose weight? I'd love to hear your story...

Yours in Sweat,



A Shocking Before and After

Looking back to last year's blog entry about my New Year's resolutions made me feel pretty good...because, in 2011, I actually kept one of them...I lost weight.

This Post may be the most embarrassing one since yours truly wrote about eating dog biscuits back in a March post. But I've vowed to "keep it real" on the blog so I'm going to reveal some of the ugliest "before" pictures you have ever seen...me at 188.6 pounds. These photos are for mature audiences only so clear all children (and men!) away from the computer. Oh...and get ready to laugh...I did (after asking my DH why he didn't just shoot me when I looked like I did then).

Here I am in 2004...proving that Denial is a lot more than a river in Egypt. (I can assure you that no hot guys were honking at this big mama as she drove by!)

And with my sister Nancy in 2006...we were both heavy then but doing a really good job of kidding ourselves about it. After all, what are sisters for?

Here is yours truly with my friend Claudia in February 2010...at an Italian restaurant, of course. My waistline did not need one more ounce of pasta!

I saved the best for last...here I am dressed as a "wizardess" for our July 2010 Gourmet costume party...white is clearly not the best color to wear at 188.6 pounds.

Hmmm, maybe adding a jaunty little wizard's hat will improve the look...

NOT!

And with Nancy again in September of 2010. She had been on chemo for four years by then (she called it her "cancer diet") but I was still piling on the pounds.

I joined Weight Watchers in October of 2010 out of sheer desperation. After seeing myself as the obese white wizardess, I simply could no longer kid myself: I wasn't "big boned"; I was fat. And the program worked. By December 31, 2010, I blogged that I had lost almost 20 pounds...I was down to 170.

I think losing weight is definitely a mind game. You have to be ready to commit to changing your lifestyle. I still hate to exercise but, by staying with the program, I was finally wearing size 10 jeans in this September 2011 photo...with 30 pounds gone.

In November, as I struggled across the grocery store parking lot with a frozen fifteen pound turkey in each arm, it suddenly hit me that that was how much extra weight I'd been dragging around all these years...two whole turkeys worth!

And now, at 150 pounds, I look and feel so much better...

And am comfortably wearing my first pair of size 8 jeans...EVER! Even I can't believe that...I was a size 16 when I started this journey 14 months ago.

I still have another 10 pounds to go to get to my goal of 140...I'm 5'5" tall and that is the weight my doctor would like to see me reach. I eat completely differently now and know that 2012 will be the year I'll make it to goal. When I do,  I'll celebrate by sharing the "After" photos...

I can't wait to write that post!

p.s. Thanks Mary Elizabeth...world's best WW leader ever...you and I will have all the hot guys in Maine running after us soon!

Need a Good Laugh?

If you read this blog, you know that I've been on Weight Watchers for quite awhile now. All in all, I'm doing well...almost 30 pounds gone since September. But...today wasn't so good and I decided that I had to just sit back and just laugh at myself. Since I'm still laughing, I decided that you could probably use a good laugh too, albeit at the expense of your humble blogging friend. So, here goes...


I arrived at school this morning and there were little cookies on a baking tray in the old Home Ec. room where I store my diet soda. I had just weighed in at the Weight Watchers center on my way to school. I gained a pound and was feeling pretty discouraged so I snuck a cookie from the tray and ate it. Just one couldn't make it any worse, right?  Well, it was AWFUL and I ran to the sink to spit it out. I figured that the kids who had made them must have messed up the recipe. A few minutes later,  the special ed. teacher came into my office to tell me about her new class project:  they would be making dog biscuits and selling them to raise money for the local Animal Refuge League.  Guess what??? Their first batch was on the cookie sheets in the old Home. Ec. room!!!

Feeling pretty stupid,

p.s. This post is linked to NO blog parties!

Bragging!

OK, I'm sorry, but I've just got to brag...just for a minute...promise. After six months on Weight Watchers, guess what I bought today? Size 10 jeans...and they FIT!!!

Just a quick "Thank You" to my amazing Weight Watchers leader, Mary Elizabeth...you are the BEST!
OK...end of brag. (Wait! I think I am hearing applause coming in over my computer's speakers...)
Happy Day!

A Quick Trip to LL Bean

Had to make a quick trip to the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine and thought some of our long-distance Followers might enjoy a tour. Lucky for me (but not my wallet) we live only about 20 minutes away. Now that I think about it, even my car is from Bean's, sort of...it's a Subaru Forester LL Bean edition and, of course, it's green! Had fun browsing, photographing some of the holiday displays, and enjoying a hot cup of coffee by the waterfall...had to pass on the chocolate scones due to my pesky little "lose 25 more pounds in 2011" resolution.  The holiday lights in the photos are created by an artist named Pandora LaCasse, who also does the lighting displays in downtown Portland...even prettier at night. Here is an article about her work: Pandora Lights.

It was 50 degrees outside today here in Maine...pretty warm for us on New Year's Day...snow is melting fast. I'm not quite ready to break out my LL Bean flip-flops yet... but it's tempting!