These tortoises are going to win the race

Ah yes, the mid-month slump. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems like every time we hit the mid-month post, at least one, if not all three of us is lamenting some kind of breakdown in our efforts for the week. It was a tough one for all of us, as I mentioned in our last post, with the trip to Victoria and ridiculous amount of food that was enjoyed there. Despite that, we’ve all got right back on the wagon (more or less) and not letting one weekend of indulgence throw us too much for a loop.

Then the other day, I was lamenting the fact that I’ve *only* lost 13lbs to the Jedi Council, when Sam kindly reminded me that it’s a normal amount of weight to have lost in the time that we’ve been going.  Which serves as a reminder, I think, that even though we’ve all made some missteps (as any normal person will), along the way, we’re only 11 weeks into our adventures in healthier living. Change is happening, and habits are being built, but we’re tortoises here, not hares, the race will be won, but it’s going to take some time.

 Kate

I'm going to chalk this past week up to divine intervention. Miraculous miracles, perhaps. Maybe even Nargles. Cause really, how else do I explain the fact that I've lost a whole 4lbs this week? I mean, do you know what I ATE this week?? Do you?

Last Friday was my wedding dress fitting, and I foolishly skipped breakfast due to nerves and oversleeping. I gotta say, standing perfectly still and square for 2 hours while a lady pins your dress for hemming is NOT something you want to do on an empty stomach. So of course, when we went for lunch afterwards, I was starving and ate a whole lot of junk I shouldn't have. Ok, one meal, no biggie. But then I went out for dinner with my bestie, and it was Thai food. I love Thai food. Oh dear.

Also, I love my Mother dearly, but she is blessed with that motherly gene that says "everyone must be starving", and visits with her involve endless amounts of eating. Saturday morning was hot cross buns and eggs, and then she fed my friends and I a huge lunch "just in case", because next was my bridal shower....where there was more food. Lots more food. At one point our lovely hostess announced it was time for dessert, and I just started giggling. There might have been some hysteria there. How could there be more food? How? And it was all SO good.

So good.

So, anyway, I'd been avoiding the scale since this weekend. I figured I'd give myself a couple days of normal eating so the number wouldn't so terrifying. You can imagine my shock when I discovered I was down 3lbs, and then this morning when I was down another 1lb. What in the world is going on??

Unicorns. I'm blaming unicorns.

 Sam 

Gluttonous Sloth. That has been me for the past week. Well, that may be a tad of an exaggeration, but compared to the last two months or so, it sure feels like I've been a gluttonous sloth. I've been on holidays from work this week, and I also took a bit of a break from over scheduling myself. I've still been busy every day of my holiday, but I've also slept in every day and eaten what I've felt like eating. Next week I'm back to work and will get back to my running and eating healthier, but for the rest of the weekend, I'm taking a break and not worrying about anything.

Andrea

STRENGTH TRAINING! WHY ARE YOU SO ELUSIVE?!? 

I really, honestly, and truly do want to get back into strengthening up all these muscles that are hiding beneath my generally soft appearance. I mean how else am I going to be able to do try parkour if I can't even do more than 4 push-ups? And I really want to try parkour folks. It may seem a strange aspiration, but I’m a bit strange.

Other than my lack of progress in the above mentioned strength areas, I've been pretty dang on track! I’m still trying to work out what the best running route is around my new place, I feel like it’s going to be a bit more trial and error, until I really figure it out. I really miss my graveyard folks. It was my absolute favourite place to run.

I know I’ve said it on the blog before, but I think this will have to be the week that I give up some of my lunch time walkies (yes, we’re apparently dogs now) with Craig (from thenoblehero.com) and hit up the ol’ work gym. I mean, it’s here, it’s free, and I should be using it. I guess it would help if I remembered to bring my workout gear to work as well…*enters several reminders into her phone in an effort to make technology help her workout*

Dear body, you're awesome.

This post was supposed to go up on Friday, but then that thing called life got in the way for me, and since I'm the one doing the posting, it all fell apart a little. So, many apologies to my Council (who are amazing during life crises FYI, not just health/fitness encouragement). Nonetheless here's our 'Valentine's Post' for the Jedi Council.

Since it's Valentine's Day on Saturday, I've challenged the Jedi Council to find something about our bodies that we've grown to love, or loving something you can do now that you couldn't do 6 weeks ago when we began. To be fair, knowing the ladies Jedi, I was sure they'd come up with something poignant and lovely. I wasn't far off. Kate and Sam wrote very different pieces for this update, one short and concise, and one long and proud. Even though I'm the one who suggested the challenge, I find myself struggling with it, I don't know if I quite thought it through, having to find something to love. We live in a society that's constantly bombarding us with images of tiny, happy, girls, trying to convince us it's the ideal. However, I was reminded that ideals are constantly changing when I watched this video that Buzzfeed put together in January, tracking beauty ideals over the course of history.

Let me just people, if I'd lived in the Italian Renaissance, I would have been the talk of the town. Yup this little video is a nice reminder that 'ideal' is a fluid thing, ever changing, just like me. Just like you!

Andrea:

There was a time that if you'd asked me to carry something, I would have internally balked, and then shot out a joke about my 'weak baby bird arms' and then do my best to help carry whatever needed to be carried. Now I'm stronger than I've ever been, ready, eager and willing to lift heavy things. I've learned that my body can do things that I didn't think it could, which is kind of amazing. I'm still not an amazing runner, but I'm working on it. 

This week's been a bit of a set back in that area with the unwelcome appearance of vertigo in my life. BPPV (bening paroxysmal positional vertigo) makes the world feel like it's spinning, and makes everything seem a little off kilter. Workouts became a no-no and running was off the list until I could be sure that I wouldn't trip over my own feet. 

However, on the upside, here at the end of the first 6 weeks of our little experiment, I'm down 13lbs. True it's not the 15 I'd aimed for, but it's pretty dang close. On top of that I was extremely pleased to find that I can fit into Old Navy pants. I don't know if you've ever tried on their pants, but they fit small. It's been annoying...until now.

All these little things are constant reminders that I'm able to do more and achieve more than I maybe once thought I could. So, what I think I love about my body is that I have it. And that it works, (most of the time) and that I'm learning to use it better. I saw Kingsman: Secret Service on the weekends, and my desire to be able to Parkour has been reignited. It's a lofty (very lofty) goal, but maybe one day, with some serious work, I'll get there. 

Kate:

For this weekly update, Andrea challenged us to find something about our bodies that we'd grown to love. It's been surprisingly hard to write this update, because I'm just not used to thinking of my body in terms of approval or satisfaction. I spend far more time focusing on what's wrong with it, even when I know how unhealthy a mindset that is. So, thanks Andrea! Time to send my body a valentine.
Dear Body,
The thing I've grown to love most about you is how resilient you are. This week has involved a fair bit of increased activity and exercise, and you've handled it with a minimum of complaints. Aside from the occasional tendency to sprain ankles, you've been remarkably good at keeping injuries to a minimum, and even when our inner ear makes poor life choices, you pick yourself back up and don't even bruise. You handle pretty much anything I throw at you, and for that, I love you.
Signed,
Me.

Sam:

Since it’s Valentine’s day on Saturday, Andrea has challenged us to write about learning to love our bodies or loving something we can do now that we couldn’t do 6 weeks ago when we started this new adventure. What I love now is that my clothes are starting to fit better, and now I can even wear some articles of clothing that had just gotten too small over the last year. One article of clothing in particular is a jacket. A few years ago I volunteered for a curling event (The Continental Cup) and as part of the volunteer package, I got a nice blue jacket. This jacket was perfect, not too hot, not too cold. It has been a staple article of clothing. Last year I grew out of the jacket and was unable to wear it. Well, this past weekend I tried it on, and guess what? It fits! On Wednesday I wore it to curling for the first time in a year. I was sure that it would be a winning game, (It wasn’t). Despite not actually winning the game, it sure felt good to have that jacket on, like all was becoming right in the world again. The other thing that I have noticed that I love is one of my winter jackets that I recently purchased is now just too big. I look silly in it. It’s awesome that it no longer fits, but in some ways I feel that I just wasted the money on that jacket. C’est La Vie. I guess that a good complaint though.

Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated; to get up for those early morning runs, or the late morning runs, or the exercise of any kind, but I’ve surprised myself and discovered that once my grumbling is done about the morning or the leaving of my house I’m actually enjoying learning to run. The app that I’ve been using (Zombie Run 5K) is definitely a big help.. The uniqueness of the app with their zombie survival story has helped me stay motivate. The other thing that helps me get up and out there are old pictures of myself. Last month I noticed people on facebook posting their very first profile picture. I took a look at mine and almost didn’t recognize myself. This weight thing has been a challenge for many years, and despite my setback over the last year, I have made so many positive changes over the last few years, eating healthier and exercising etc, that is can sometimes be hard to see where I started from. Looking at that old profile picture reminded me that I can do this thing. I can get up early, I can go for my runs, I can put in extra workouts, I can stay away from the chocolate and chips. This time around, It sure is nice to be going through this journey with Andrea and Kate. Being able to send them a picture of the giant Valentine’s Day cookie platter that just arrived in my office as yet another temptation sure helps me keep from breaking down and eating one (or two or three) of these cookies. There isn’t trying any more to make this work. It’s doing that counts.

A New Year, A New Hope

Ahhhh, the New Year. Everytime the first of January comes around, I get excited with what all my big plans are for the coming year. This year, I have MANY plans, and you'll see a lot of them show up here on everydayoptimist.net. However, the big over-arching plan is to be less, well, big. And this year, I'm not going it alone. I've teamed up with two of the coolest ladies I know, Sam and Kate, to support, encourage, and hold each other accountable. Accountability is also the reason for this new area on everydayoptimist.net. We figure (or maybe just hope) that having to share how things are going with the whole wide world once every two weeks will help keep ourselves accountable and on track. We have varying reasons for doing what we're doing, (and the other two will introduce themselves and lay out those reasons below) but Sam, Kate and I have a wedding to attend in July, and we want to look extra awesome, so that's a nice goal post to aim for. Sam is a bridesmaid, and I'll be doing the emceeing, Kate, well, she'll be the one in white walking down the aisle.

Ladies?

Kate:

When I was 18, I was 5'7 and weighed 120lbs. I'd spent my entire life eating whatever I wanted, exercising only when forced, and generally not giving a second thought to weight gain or body image. I figured I'd made it through puberty with no boobs, hips or butt to speak of, and while I sometimes wished I had a little more "curve", I was pretty content with myself.

Then, hormones happened.

In the space of 6 months I gained 30lbs, most of it in the aforementioned boobs, hips and butt, and then spent the next 12 years yoyo-ing up and down the weight scale (mostly up) while fighting those ubiquitous enemies of good intentions: Motivation and Accountability. I've had to deal with some pretty major self image issues, trying to reconcile the image I formed of myself when I was a teenager with the image I see in the mirror today. I'm never going to be that 120lb girl again, and I've finally reached a point where I don't want to be, but neither am I going to allow myself to keep getting bigger and bigger, and less healthy. It's time for a change!

Course, I've said this exact same thing many times over the years. So what's different now? Well, for starters, motivation. In 7 months, I need to fit into my wedding dress. And instead of just relying on the magic of corset backs and clever photography angles, I actually want to look good. To feel good.

Then there's accountability. That's where Sam and Andrea come in. The three of us are going to work together on this, to keep each other accountable, to keep eachother motivated, and more than anything, to support eachother and make this all feel just a teensy bit easier.

In short, we're gonna rockstar the crap out of this.

Sam:

I’ve struggled with weight most of my life. When I was a teen it was the same mental struggle that most teens go through. I thought I was fat and overweight, even if the scale thought otherwise. When I was in my twenties I made that thought become reality tipping the scales at over 260 lbs at one point. I would go through various diets and exercise plans, nothing stuck. Then I hit my thirties and there was this one moment, this one point in time when everything changed. It just clicked. I lost 90lbs. It took about 2 years but I did it. The moment that scale fell below 200 lbs I said to myself NEVER AGAIN. I didn’t exercise any more than I had been, but I did change what I was eating. I stopped eating at fast-food restaurants every day for breakfast and lunch. I stopped getting the fancy coffee drinks from Starbucks and I stopped eating out for dinner 6 nights a week. Slowly as the weight dropped, I started to feel better about myself and started to become more confident and started to do things I never thought I would.

The last year however, I started to make bad food choices again, gaining weight that I promised myself I would never do again. While I haven’t gotten a handle on losing the weight I’ve gained, I have managed to stay at my current weight for the past 2 months, and that it a feat in itself during December.

I have to buy a bridesmaid dress for a July wedding and I refuse to purchase the dress at the weight I am at now. I would also love for my clothes to fit better again, everything is just too tight, and I’m not even able to wear some of my clothes. I’m also cheap when it comes to clothes; I have better things to spend money on so I really don’t want to get an entirely new wardrobe. So with the help of my friends, we are going to diet, exercise and blog together and all work towards getting healthy and comfortable in our own skins, starting on January 1, 2015 with the Polar Bear swim. It’s going to be a rollercoaster of a ride, with many ups and downs.

Andrea:

I've always been a big girl, and despite being fairly comfortable in my own skin, my weight has always been the thing that has made me the most uncomfortable with myself. For a long time, I've let it define me as 'the chubby, funny sidekick' type and I think it's about damn time to become the superhero in my own life! 

My motivation to stick with this is that I truly want to experience the world to its fullest, and get the most out of life, and while my enthusiasm knows no bounds, sometimes my size prevents me from doing this. I want to be stronger, faster, healthier... I would say happier, but I've got that covered I mean, I'm already the Purveyor of Sunshine and Rainbows.

While I do have said enthusiasm, I sometimes lack willpower and follow-through, and that's where my 'Jedi council' comes in. With Kate, Sam, and I all working towards a similar goal, coming from a similar place, we can call on each other to be that willpower and follow-through. And with the looming deadline of letting you (yes, Interwebs, I'm talking about you!) know how we're doing once every two weeks, there's a little bit of extra motivation to keep on track. It's going to be tricky, but more than that it's going to be interesting, and most importantly, with these ladies by my side, it's going to be fun!

So, that's us! And to be honest, this post was supposed to go up January 1st, to be all 'New Years-y'. But we decided to jump into to Pacific Ocean in 8 degree weather to ring in the New Year and start our quest off on a fun (and freezing) note! So here we are, cold, excited and rearing to go!