Hello Facebook!

I am excited to tell you that I have set up a Facebook page for my blog!  I would love for you to check it out and to Like it while you're there.  Just click this link to go directly to the page (you'll have to log on to Like it):

www.facebook.com/FromPolyesterToSpandex

This will take you right to my page, where you can click to Like it, and then don't forget to hover over the Like button and check the box for "show in news feed" so that you don't miss any of the posts.

I'll be posting links whenever I have written a new blog, as well as fun updates from time to time.  I promise not to overwhelm your newsfeed! 

When I first began my journey to lose 225 pounds through healthy choices in food and exercise, I had a hard time finding others who had succeeded in doing what I was trying to accomplish.  I found many examples of folks who had lost 100 or even 150 pounds without surgeries, programs, fad diets, or other extreme measures, but those who have lost over 200 pounds "on their own" so to speak, were a lot fewer and farther between.  Although I'm still working towards my goal (down 147 pounds so far!), I hope that my story can be an encouragement to others.

Please feel free to share the link on your own Facebook page and help me spread the word about From Polyester to Spandex!

(Just a reminder/disclosure…I am not a medical professional or certified trainer, so anything I write in this blog is not intended to be taken as advice, guidance, or recommendations.  It is simply a journal of my own personal experiences.  Thanks!)

Lost a Person

When I first set out to lose weight, I knew it would take some time to reach my final goal of losing 225 pounds.  After all, a person doesn’t gain that much weight overnight, and I didn’t expect it to disappear that fast either.  I have always been very realistic about my approach, and planned from the onset for it to take around 2-and-a-half years.  My projections have been right on target so far, as I am 17 months in and am about 64% of the way there (okay, yes, I’m a numbers geek, I admit it!).  When you’ve got that much weight to lose, and know it’s going to take a while, finding creative ways to evaluate your progress helps keep things interesting.  For instance, you could say that I have lost the equivalent of:

- 28 (almost 29) 5-lbs bags of sugar

- 32,535 M&Ms

- 16 (almost 17) gallons of whole milk

- 6 cases of 24 bottles of water

- 12 bowling balls (12 pounds each)

Once I had lost around 120 pounds or so, when people found out how much I had lost, I often heard comments like, “Wow!  You’ve lost an entire person!”  This remark has never felt more appropriate to me than it does today…As of this morning, I have now lost 144.6 pounds, which is more than my husband, who comes in at 143.3 pounds, weighs! 

When I put it into this perspective, before I started losing weight, it was like I had my husband taking a piggyback ride on my shoulders all day, every day!  It’s no wonder I was tired all the time and didn’t have much energy!  Although I love my husband dearly, I’m not altogether sure that’s what the vow, “to have and to hold” was really talking about!

Only 80.4 pounds left until I reach my goal…hmmm, that’s about the equivalent of one of my kids plus my dog’s weights! 

(Just a reminder/disclosure…I am not a medical professional or certified trainer, so anything I write in this blog is not intended to be taken as advice, guidance, or recommendations.  It is simply a journal of my own personal experiences.  Thanks!)

Shopping Adventures

Shopping for clothes has always been something I've enjoyed...well, to a certain extent.  I love seeing the new styles and fashions for each season, and I love having and wearing clothes that make me feel good about myself.  When you're wearing sizes at the top end of the plus sized lines at the specialty stores, however, shopping seems to lose some of its appeal.  When you're in very large sizes, shopping can become more of a frustration than a pleasure when you try on piece after piece, only to have it be too small, or just not look right due to your body shape. 

Can I have a brief soapbox moment?  I must say that I really don't appreciate the trend that goes on in the catalogs for most of the exclusively plus-sized clothing companies where they use models who are probably wearing a size 6 or 8 to show their garments.  In my personal opinion, I think there are a couple of reasons why this happens.  One possible explanation is that showing the clothes on women without weight issues convinces overweight women to buy the clothes, because it makes them think they're going to look like the women in the photos when they wear it.  I can assure you that a woman who wears a size 18, 24, or 32 will not look the same in an outfit as a woman who wears it in a size 8.  Case in point...I tried on a sweater dress in a store recently that looked very cute on the model in an advertisement I had seen.  My conclusion?  Whoever made that particular style of sweater dress for a plus-sized woman apparently never saw a plus-sized woman actually wear it!  Not flattering in any way!  Another possible explanation may be that, for the most part, our society doesn't tend to recognize plus-sized women as being as beautiful, or as marketable, as their smaller sized counterparts.  Sad, but unfortunately true. 

Okay, stepping off the soapbox now...

With my weight loss, shopping has become a bit more interesting.  For my birthday back in June, I was given a gift card to an upscale department store.  While I was appreciative of the gift, I didn't think I could use it to buy any clothes there.  My first reaction was that perhaps I could find some accessories, or shoes (because I can ALWAYS buy shoes!!!), because surely nothing would fit me in their clothing department.  All I've known for most of my life has been shopping at one or two exclusively plus sized stores and from a couple of catalogs. 

On a whim, I decided to go into the women's section and take a look around.  It's interesting though, how being overweight can cause a person to feel like they just don't belong in certain places.  I felt like I had somehow snuck in and someone would discover me and throw me out.  While I was looking through the racks, I kept feeling like a store clerk would come up to me at any minute and say something like, "Are you looking for a gift for someone else?"  Because, surely, I couldn't be shopping there for myself...or could I???  Imagine my delight when I realized that I could actually wear their garments!  Honestly, I was a little bit overwhelmed by it.  I stood in the fitting room, looking at myself wearing an adorable dress I had seen on a mannequin, and broke into tears right there in front of the mirror. 

Since that day, I 've been back a couple of times and had fun trying on different outfits and experimenting with different styles I've never been able to wear before.  The sweetest victory in it?  The pieces I bought in that first shopping trip there are now way too big for me and I just took them to the consignment store last week to re-sell them and I'm ready to move down another size!

2012 Year-End Goals

I can't believe today is November 1st and we've only got two months left of 2012!  Yesterday couldn't possibly have been Halloween, could it?  I think it was actually Valentine's Day and everyone was just confused...either that, or this year is absolutely flying by!

I guess reality wins out, because today I'm thinking about the goals I want to achieve between now and the end of the year.  For so many years in my past, Halloween was the kick-off to the prime food and goodies time of the year that involved several holiday parties and get-togethers over the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, and wrapped up with our annual family New Year's Day bash, guaranteeing each new year was started by trying to find my way out of a food coma.  But, by golly, times have changed!

Last year, I did really well throughout November and December by maintaining my weight, and actually losing a pound or two during that time.  I had only started my weight loss efforts in June 2011, so by Thanksgiving, I was only 5 months in with 56 pounds lost, but was determined I wouldn't blow it over the holidays.  To that end, I made a conscious decision to raise my daily calorie intake from loss levels to maintenance levels for those two months.  That allowed me a little wiggle room but still kept me in check as I continued to log everything I ate.  Yes, I even journaled my food on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day!

This year, however, things are a little different.  I'm now 16 months in with a loss of 136 pounds, and I really don't want to give up making progress for the next two months just because it's the holidays.  I've decided to go to maintenance levels (which affords me a few hundred extra calories per day) only on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days, not for the entire season this year.  The fact is, I like wearing smaller clothes and feeling better far more than I like pumpkin pie or yeast rolls!

That being said, I'm heading into the final weeks of 2012 with specific health and weight goals I want to reach and with a plan in place to achieve them, and I thought I'd share a couple of them with you here.

November & December 2012 Goals
1) Lose 15 pounds (this will put me exactly 75 pounds away from my final goal weight!)
2) Work out 3 times a week, even on holiday weeks
3) Increase the intensity of my work outs (higher weights, increased sets/reps, etc.)
4) Register for my first 5K run
5) Increase my running speed/endurance (move from running intervals to extended periods of running)
6) Go down one size in jeans
7) Pay attention to and appreciate the people and interactions at holiday gatherings more than the food

So, there you have it!  Those are a few of my goals.  Have you started thinking about the end of the year yet?  What kind of goals are you setting?  I'd love to hear from you!  Let's finish this year off feeling great about ourselves by making healthy choices!

Dropping Sizes...in My Fingers?

Just a funny little tidbit today...

As far as genetics go, I inherited my mother's thin wrists and long, skinny fingers.  I've often said through the years, that if only my body were proportionate to the size of my fingers and wrists, I'd be at the ideal weight!  When my husband and I got married almost 10 years ago, I was about 30 pounds heavier than I am right now, and my ring size was still only a 5 3/4.  Even as I reached my highest weight last June (which was 70 pounds heavier than when I got married), I never had any trouble wearing my rings.  My fingers, apparently, didn't get much bigger and my rings never got the least bit tight on me. 

As I've lost weight, however, my fingers have shrunk, which is not something I expected to happen! I came to this realization back at Christmas.  I was at a party with my hands laying in my lap when I heard a "clink" as my wedding rings literally dropped off my hand onto the floor!  While I was surprised, it felt like a victorious moment for me because suddenly, I felt like I was really making progress in my weight loss.  Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, I was doing some business at the bank and as I stood up from the desk to leave, my rings went flying off, landing about 10 feet away from me on the floor in the bank lobby!  The look on the bank representative's face was priceless!  I guess people don't come in and throw diamonds around the room too often!

So, last night, I gave in and took my rings to a local jeweler to have them sized down.  The sales associate helping me convinced me I should go down a half size to a 5 1/4, but I really thought a 5 would have been better.  Guess what?  Wearing them today, they're still too big!  They keep flopping around and the setting keeps sliding down until it's under my hand instead of on top where it belongs.  So, it looks like I'm heading back to the jeweler for another sizing, down to a 5.  I should have went with my gut instincts on it after all!

One of these days...my body is going to finally be in proportion with my fingers, and I am going to celebrate!

Walking and Laughing

When I first began my weight loss journey last June, right out of the gate I began working out 3 - 4 times per week.  I started with a Biggest Loser program for the Wii, doing everything from boxing to yoga, and then threw in some balance ball work for good measure.  In November, I blew out a hamstring and my exercise came to a screeching halt.  In the last several days, however, I've been trying to motivate myself to get up and moving again.  I've still been eating properly and losing weight steadily, but I know I need to start working on building muscle and improving my overall fitness as I lose.

So, that brings me to today...there is a sidewalk that runs around the outside perimeter of the office building where I work, and it is a bit over 1/10th of a mile to walk one lap (approximately 240 steps for me to make one lap, for those who look at it as steps taken, yes, I've counted!).  I only take 30 minutes for lunch, so I've been trying to take part of that time and go out and walk anywhere from 5 to 10 quick laps every day when it's not raining.  It's not very exciting, but it goes by quick and it's getting the job done and getting me back into the swing of things.

I don't particularly like to listen to music while I work out.  Perhaps it's all the years I spent in marching band throughout high school and college, but I tend to pace myself to the tempo of whatever music is playing rather than keeping up with the speed or intensity I really need to be at during exercise.  As a result, I typically listen to preaching podcasts, audiobooks, or to other speakers while I work out, and walking is no exception. 

Today, I happened to pick one of my new favorites, a humorist named Jeanne Robertson.  With my earbuds plugged in, I was listening to her tell funny stories as she exampled living a life that finds the humor in every situation.  Since it was lunchtime, several people were coming and going around the building, and I noticed I was getting lots of strange looks.  Then, I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the windows, and saw that I was walking around with this huge goofy grin on my face, and realized I had also been laughing out loud as I walked!  Since my hair covers the earbuds, people must have thought I was loopy!  There I was...just walking and laughing, going around...and around...and around the building!

                   "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine" Proverbs 17:22