Often times when I write and
create my blog posts, I know my topic, know what I want to say, and can sit
down and relatively quickly put words to paper. Other times, I may have an idea, but am not
sure just exactly what I want to say, so it takes me longer to develop my post,
and have it ready for publication.
This time is quite
different. This topic I know intimately,
I know my thoughts, I certainly know my content, but it is a topic that I am so
intensely passionate about, that I can hardly find the words to convey my
thoughts. My heart needs to bleed words
to give this the justice so rightly deserved.
For a little background, on April
7, 2014 I started my wellness journey with the HMR program at Baptist Health
Milestone Wellness Center in Louisville, KY. By December 29, 2014 I had lost 70
pounds!!! This was amazing and
overwhelming to me. But as proud as I
am of that loss, I am even prouder to say that today, December 29, 2016 marks a
two year anniversary of maintaining my 70+ pound weight loss. Some days it is 73, others 70, others 71 …
depends on if the scale is being a brat when I weigh. But all joking aside, I am one blessed
girl!!!
Last year, on this anniversary
date, I shared numbers and what they
meant. I’m not even going to enter the
numbers for my lean proteins, fruits, veggies, whole grains, HMR shakes, HMR
entrees, and physical activity calories, as I did last year. Trust me,
they would almost mirror the same numbers this year as last year. No this time, I want to try to convey the
overwhelming feeling of the word that
is almost the hardest with any of us on a wellness journey … Maintenance!!!
April 7, 2014 Weight 199.5
December 29, 2014 Weight 129.5
So here we are at another
December 29 … December 29, 2016
WEIGHT --- 128.25
Yes, I have made it another year,
with maintaining within my 5 pound range for my maintenance weight. You might ask about the 5 pound range. Due to how our bodies work, on any given night
of weigh-in, my weight could be down 3 pounds, up 3 pounds, or anywhere in
between. This was a hard lesson for me
to understand and more importantly for me to embrace. I had this “magic” number in my head that I
thought I wanted to weigh, and thought I should weigh. I have learned, and sometimes painfully, that
our bodies dictate to us our maintenance weight. Does that mean that because you want to eat
certain foods in excess, not exercise or move your body in a healthy manner, or
want to be content with a weight that is not healthy for you, that you can say,
“oh, it’s what my body wants to do?”
Absolutely not! What it does
mean, is that if you are living a healthy lifestyle, eating a balanced diet of
lean proteins, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, have a solid exercise
program, and if you have lost weight down to a healthy weight; that just because you “want” to weigh a
certain number, it does not mean that your body will continue to lose weight to
get to that number. This is hard! This is very hard!!! I always wanted 5 pounds to “play
with.” That meant that I wanted to
weigh about 5 pounds less than I really
wanted to weigh, so that I could cheat at times, and not have to worry about
that 1 to 3 pound weight gain that might accompany said cheat! Well, guess what? My body refuses to do it. I eat
basically the same combination of foods that I ate for a period of a year, as I
was losing my 70+ pounds. I exercise the
same as I did during that year’s period,
and often even more vigorously and with heavier weight, but the scale will not
budge. My body has said, and has said
loudly and clearly that it is happy!!!
It is happy, healthy, and perfectly content!! And so am I. So am I!!!!!! I am overwhelmingly happy, healthy, and
content!!!
On my recent physical check-up,
my lab work was perfectly normal. My
numbers look better than they have looked in years. I have completely stopped my blood pressure
medicine, and I have been able to reduce my cholesterol medication by one-half. This would be completely discontinued as
well, but I have heredity issues with hypercholesterolemia, and we all know we
cannot out-run heredity!
I had a bit of a set-back early
in 2016, when I took a clumsy fall, and dislocated my shoulder, broke my
humerus, and shattered the bones around the entire area. I had major surgery on my right
shoulder. I am proud to say that during
this surgery and recovery, I maintained
my weight precisely! My exercise
habits were adjusted greatly, due to physical limitations, but I barely missed
a day in the gym. I worked with my
trainer, and we modified my work-out to accommodate my limitations. I was in physical therapy for over 5
months. My orthopedic surgeon has told
me many, many times that my recovery has been so far above the bar, that he is
truly amazed. He said that anyone else
with that injury would have ended up with a shoulder replacement. I truly believe my recovery was due to my
total body health that I enjoy, and the fact that I had strengthened my body
physically, before my injury, with the correct exercise program.
My goal for 2016 was to actually run a 5K. I am a vigorous walker, but am, admittedly, a terrible runner. On October 15, I RAN my 5K.
It was a not a record time, but I RAN a 5K!!!!!!
Being a smaller size, and being
able to wear different styles of clothes is so much fun! However, our health educator always likes to
ask us to share with him our “non-scale related victories.” I want to convey in this post, the importance
of those “non-scale related victories.”
I’m not diminishing the scale, and how it feels to see the numbers
decrease on the scale. But, one of the
most important things I have learned, through this process, is that it is just
so much more than the scale. The scale
is but a small part of a wellness journey.
Brandon Howard has been my health
coach, personal trainer, and friend throughout this journey. I am forever grateful for his leadership,
knowledge, compassion, and PATIENCE. He
has a God given gift for his life work, and I am so lucky to have crossed
paths. I have enjoyed the Don’t Sit Get
Fit program with Eugene Dean for the past 2+ years. He is awesome, and his workouts are difficult, but always
fun. I have met innumerable friends,
that I didn’t even know before this journey, who are now kindred souls with me. Debra Clover and Kay Snyder have been on the
same journey with me since day 1, and we still march on together. I love them!!!!! Baptist Milestone is an awesome facility with
awesome staff. It is not just a gym … it
is a wellness center. I enjoy many
Fitbit challenges with some of the trainers, and we always have smiles and
laughter to share when we cross paths at the gym. So you see, my “non-scale related victories” come
in the form of human souls, friendships, support, laughter, tears, lifelong
friends to walk a path with me. All of
this coupled with a body that feels great, health that is enjoyed, and body
movement that I didn’t know I could do … WOW … MAINTENANCE!!!
Today I attach to this post, not
a picture of how I looked before, and how I look now … yes, that is
important. But, today I post a picture
taken on December 14, 2016. It is a
picture showing me doing squats with a 115 pound barbell!!!! My security net, Brandon, is right behind
me, always coaching, protecting, and I think ready to catch me!! So just remember … you are never too big,
you are never too small, and most importantly you are never too old!!!!! It is amazing what the body can do when it
is healthy!!!
Brandon wrote these words to me
recently in a card, “You have somehow managed to pack the power and determination
of a 10ft. giant into a 4’9 petite
redhead.” And he added, “The best part
is that there is so much more we can accomplish.” Oh, my!
That, folks, is the WIN!!!!!!!! That, folks, is glorious MAINTENANCE!!! I say it all of the time, and I’ll say it
again once more … Brandon and this program helped save my life. Of that,
I have no doubt.
God truly put me in the right
place, at the right time, with the right people. Blessed!!!
