Yesterday Yahoo News posted an interesting article about something many of us struggle with - finding the right balance of how much to eat. While we all know that eating too much is harmful to our weight loss journey, you might not realize that eating too little is ALSO harmful!
Eating too little can cause weight gain by: slowing down your metabolism; affecting your hormones and thyroid; and boosting your cravings, thus increasing the chance that you will binge eat.
So the next time you are thinking about skipping a meal to lose weight, please reconsider!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Meet a Member: Arianna P., Week 10
My personal issues keep amounting, but I keep working out. My days at the club have gone a little lax, I think. I finally got into coming Monday through Thursday, but it's been a little harder recently.
I started my grad classes again, so I can't work out on Saturdays (class is from 8a-5p). I've had appointments and homework that has taken priority these past two weeks. This month it's going to be full of deadlines of various things that will determine my future. This will really be they time where I have to make sure my ducks are in a row. I have to go to class, get my homework done, deal with all my personal issues, eat right, work out, AND not let this gravitational pull of stress make me say "Screw it," and fall off the wagon.
I'm down more than 20 pounds now. I don't want to backtrack. That is not the motivation I need.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Meet a Member: Arianna P., Week 9
Week 9: Call Me Cecil
I thought of the classic tale "Moby Dick" for this week's blog. If you aren't familiar with Looney Tunes, the writers did a few "Tortoise and the Hare" cartoons, pitting Bugs Bunny against Cecil Turtle. Cecil might be slow on his own, like most turtles and tortoises, but he's also smart and tricky. In one cartoon, while Bugs races off, thinking he's leaving Cecil to eat his dust, Cecil pushes a button and his shell transforms into mini jet packs and he roars past Bugs. In a different cartoon with Cecil and Bugs, Bugs decides that aerodynamics and a streamlined figure are what gives Cecil an edge. So he makes a shell and tucks his ears under a swimming cap to run faster. But some gangster rabbits, who want to sabotage Cecil, attack "turtle" Bugs, letting "bunny" Cecil win the race.
I thought of the classic tale "Moby Dick" for this week's blog. If you aren't familiar with Looney Tunes, the writers did a few "Tortoise and the Hare" cartoons, pitting Bugs Bunny against Cecil Turtle. Cecil might be slow on his own, like most turtles and tortoises, but he's also smart and tricky. In one cartoon, while Bugs races off, thinking he's leaving Cecil to eat his dust, Cecil pushes a button and his shell transforms into mini jet packs and he roars past Bugs. In a different cartoon with Cecil and Bugs, Bugs decides that aerodynamics and a streamlined figure are what gives Cecil an edge. So he makes a shell and tucks his ears under a swimming cap to run faster. But some gangster rabbits, who want to sabotage Cecil, attack "turtle" Bugs, letting "bunny" Cecil win the race.
I know, I went a long way for that one. How does this relate to me? Despite setbacks (money problems, student teaching business, etc.), losing my "shell" (family and personal stuff), and the gangster bunnies (all those things negatives that life can bring), I'm still working out. Still trying my best to eat right, despite the stress. Still losing weight. Still running my race, the tortoise way.
So... call me Cecil. =)
Meet a Member: Melissa T., Week 9
Week 9
April 8, 2014
Thoughts for the Week…
·
This week I
am 2.6 more pounds down for a grand total of 27.4 pounds so far! It’s so crazy
to think that it’s only been 2 months ago today that I started this amazing
journey at Square One. When I texted one of my girlfriends my loss for the week
she replied back, “Wow! It’s crazy to think you have lost the amount of weight
of my daughter…she is 29 pounds.” That is wacky…I’ve lost a whole toddler off
of my body! Next week…new “during” pic!
·
I took
Marty’s advice and ate a tablespoon of peanut butter at night if I hadn’t made
it to my minimum number of calories for the day. I was a little nervous that in
doing that I wouldn’t lose as much weight, but it seemed to work out just fine!
It seemed like I had to eat A LOT of peanut butter during the week. This week
I’m trying to incorporate an after school snack so I don’t have to eat so much
PB.
·
I went to the
Tuesday Train your Brain class this week instead of my usual Saturday morning
class. Usually what is discussed on Tuesday is repeated for the following
Saturday class. That didn’t happen this week, so I listened to the de-stressing
segment again. Maybe there was a higher power behind that thought I needed to
hear that one twice!
Wednesday Workout
·
I work out
with a group of teachers on Wednesdays and Fridays after school. Below is the
workout that we did tonight…it was tough!
·
Round 1
o Run 800
o 100 yd walking lunge
o 40 mountain climbers (each leg counts as one climber)
o 40 sit-ups
·
Round 2
o Run 400
o 75 yd walking lunge
o 30 climbers
o 30 sit-ups
·
Round 3
o Run 200
o 50 yd walking lunge
o 20 PUSH UPS
o 20 sit-ups
·
Round 4
o Run 100
o 25 yd walking lunges
o 10 PUSH UPS
o 10 sit-ups
Ponder this…
·
One of the ways to de-stress that Marty
talked about was to relax our expectations we have for others. We can only
change our own thinking and behaviors, not anyone else’s. The woman in this
picture clearly needs to come sit in on the “How to De-Stress” segment of Train
your Brain!
Meet a Member: Melissa T., Week 8
Week 8
April 1, 2014
Thoughts for the Week…
·
This week I
am 3.2 more pounds down for a grand total of 24.8 pounds so far! Hopefully I’ll
make the 25 pounds lost next week!
·
I had 3 stars
and 4 star minuses for the past week. Marty wasn’t happy about the star
minuses. That means for 4 days out of the week I did not eat the minimum number
of calories that I should have. He reiterated that it’s important to eat at
least the minimum number of calories that your body needs so you don’t start
losing the lean mass (muscle) that you want to keep. The pointer he gave me was
to eat a tablespoon of peanut butter at the end of the day if I’m below my
calories. That tablespoon of PB has about 100 calories in it and it’s full of
protein. So we’ll see how this week goes.
·
In Train your
Brain this week we discussed stress and how it is normally caused by
unrealistic expectations of ourselves and of others. During our class I really couldn’t think of
situations that cause me to feel stress. Crazy, I know! I get a little frantic in the mornings when I have to
tell my children repeated to HURRY UP, but once we are out the door and on our
way that frantic feeling has dissipated. I don’t think I would consider that stress. I think I now have concluded
that Mondays at school cause me STRESS! They usually a bit hectic with making
sure everything is ready to go for the week. That part isn’t the issue. The
issue lies within the fact that the students look back at me with blank stares
because they’ve all stayed up way too late on the weekend and they are tired!
Asking a question that virtually everyone should know the answer to and I see
ZERO hands raised and 24 pairs of hollow eyes. Grrrr!! So here’s where I’m
going to practice what Marty taught us. I need to remember that I have little
to no control over other people (students, parents). I can change my own
thinking and behavior, but NOT theirs. So instead of becoming Mrs. Crabapple
when I’m asking questions and getting no response, I’m going to change my own
behavior to elicit a better response from the students. How will I change my
own behavior? I have no idea, but I’ll figure it out!
Wednesday Workout
·
I work out
with a group of teachers on Wednesdays and Fridays after school. Below is one
of the workouts we did this week…it was tough!
o 3 rounds
§ 50 pushups
§ 50 sit-ups
§ 50 squats
Ponder this…
·
I couldn’t decide on which quote to
choose for this week, so I’ve included two. About the first quote…just like
Marty said about how we can only change our own thinking and behaviors, if there
is something we know we can’t changes we have to change how we react. That much
we can do. About the second quote…it’s just a good reminder. Sometimes a great
laugh can brighten the mood! Last night I laughed so hard at something that my
husband said that I was crying. He didn’t intend for it to be funny, so he gave
me bird because I was laughing at him. After he gave me the bird, I laughed
some more!!
Plus Size Modeling: Creating a New Normal
We stumbled upon this interesting Indiegogo fundraising campaign recently, and thought it deserved some discussion. Two filmmakers are trying to create a film that follows the lives of a few plus size models, along with exploring the definition of plus size modeling and finding a way to combat discrimination against plus size individuals. See below for a link with all of the details:
At Square One, we are always on the lookout for ways to both improve the health of People of Size, as well as create greater social awareness of the continued discrimination that People of Size face. Do you believe that this campaign will be good or bad for People of Size? Does it help bring awareness to issues People of Size face, or do it just reinforce stereotypes?
Let us know in the comments below!!
At Square One, we are always on the lookout for ways to both improve the health of People of Size, as well as create greater social awareness of the continued discrimination that People of Size face. Do you believe that this campaign will be good or bad for People of Size? Does it help bring awareness to issues People of Size face, or do it just reinforce stereotypes?
Let us know in the comments below!!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Meet a Member - Arianna P, Week 8
Unfortunately, this week has been so stressful for me. I've had a lot going on, personally and professionally. I am on track to finally do my last semester of school during the summer and student teach Fall 2014. When you student teach though, you pay to work. How does someone pay their bills when they student teach and are not your average undergraduate student who lives at home or in the dorm? Good question (let me know if you have an answer)!
With all of that and other things going on, I did not work out as much as I wanted to. Monday came and I could get back on track. We did this complex or cycle of exercises that were fun (did I just say exercise was fun?!?) and challenging. The complex was a burpee down, rows with weights, burpee up, bicep curl, squat, and a press up. That was one. We did a sequence of 10 followed by 10 jumping jacks. Then you did 9 complexes and 9 jumping jacks until you got to one. My arms were so sore! It's been a while since I felt soreness like that, but it was awesome. I ended up being kind of a leader for a new member. He followed with me and we finished together. He rocked it out and I felt more confident in my abilities, too.
With all of that and other things going on, I did not work out as much as I wanted to. Monday came and I could get back on track. We did this complex or cycle of exercises that were fun (did I just say exercise was fun?!?) and challenging. The complex was a burpee down, rows with weights, burpee up, bicep curl, squat, and a press up. That was one. We did a sequence of 10 followed by 10 jumping jacks. Then you did 9 complexes and 9 jumping jacks until you got to one. My arms were so sore! It's been a while since I felt soreness like that, but it was awesome. I ended up being kind of a leader for a new member. He followed with me and we finished together. He rocked it out and I felt more confident in my abilities, too.
I have found that even when I'm stressed, working out helps. And I haven't let the stress make me make bad food decisions. I still lost 2 pounds this week. Keep on keepin' on!
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