Friday, January 27, 2017

Non-Scale Victories!!


Heyo!  How are you, dear reader?  I hope you are eating success for breakfast (with skim milk!)!!

In one of my videos, I talked about not being a number on the scale - because that is true... we are ALL so much more than what the scale says.  The hardest part of weight loss, for me, is when that scale refuses to budge... for any number of reasons.  This Wednesday, I was back up to 270, but Mother Nature played a stupid role in that part (Sisters of the world, raise your hand in unity!!)  So, I know that I will kill it next week!

I talk to my Sensei nearly every single day - about my journey, about what I am eating, what I am NOT eating... He is wonderful to let me blow up his phone nearly every day with good or bad reports, even silly questions!

One thing he CONSTANTLY reminds me is that it's not just about the number on the scale.  Case and point... I spent nearly 3 minutes fighting a Judo match.  That may not sound like much to some people, but it's like constant burst of energy.  My heart was pounding, my lungs were screaming, my mind was racing, and I was trying NOT to get thrown (which I didn't!)  This is a Non-Scale Victory!!

Here are some examples of Non-Scale Victories from myself:

I lasted my match
I bear crawled across my gym - TWICE!!
I RAN ON THE TREADMILL LAST NIGHT FOR ALMOST A FULL 30 SECONDS!!

The last one sound silly, but I can barely walk a straight line on a treadmill... so going faster than walking, to me, is pretty good!

Non-Scale Victories can also include lifting a heavier weight (if weight lifting is your thing) Climbed stairs without stopping.  Grabbed a water at the gas station instead of soda, without even thinking about it.  

There are many things along the way that show your improvement, that will not show up on your scale.  Are you losing inches?  Is it becoming easier to choose healthy over junk?  Are you FEELING better?

The scale is important, but it is not the end all be all of your journey.

So you didn't lose any numbers this week, but where else have you improved??


Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Weigh In Wednesday!


269.4!!!! Can you believe it!!??

Got my steps in today... 6184 to be exact, and I haven't started getting ready for bed yet!

I sure hope this is motivating you as much as this is motivating me.  It's really helping me stay focused and on task.

How are you feeling?  Are you enjoying this? Are you hating this?  Please like and subscribe to my channel, and join us on FACEBOOK!!

Did you weigh in today???

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Hi... my name is Shanna... and I am an ADDICT!


Kind of a harsh title, but it shares a little bit of truth that I don't normally like to talk about.

I am addicted to food.  I want to eat all of the time!  When I am sad, give me a Big Mac.  When I am happy, give me some pizza.  When I am feeling my depression or anxiety creep in... give me everything in the fridge!  

There isn't too many food items I would turn down - except mushrooms.  Allergic and don't feel like dying... so no mushrooms.

I am sitting here right now, pounding my water, because I KNOW that I don't need chips.  I ate my breakfast, I drank my vanilla ice cream snack... I don't need chips!  I don't need anything else until lunch!  It's a struggle.  And I know I am not alone.

I want to say something, and I want you - lovely reader - to listen (or read) to me very carefully.  Addiction is no joke.  Addiction of any kind - food, drugs, alcohol, exercise, gambling, WHATEVER!  I was addicted to alcohol... I would drink to make everything stop.  And I would drink heavily.  So please PLEASE don't think that I am making light of addiction.  I am not.

I have seen first hand what drug addiction can do to a family - both to the user, and the family they have left behind.  Now that I am sober, I realize what my drinking had done to my friends, family, and even potential jobs!  

I have an addictive personality.  If I get involved with something, I jump head first into it.  I want to read about, study it, watch movies/documentaries about it... you name it.  I have to know everything.  And I have noticed this tendency in my training aspect too.  I have watched my judo competition video 102397875480977978 times, looking at my game and where I need to improve.  

Food addiction is a very serious thing... and out of all the things you can be addicted to, I feel it's the hardest to get over.  You can go to rehab to get away from drugs or alcohol... but you still need food to live.  

I have taken steps to stay accountable.  For instance, I am in constant contact with my Sensei, my nutritionist, and even our facebook group.  I know how it feels to have to face the music for stuffing my face at McDonald's... It helps to keep my sugar levels steady - when they dip, I notice my depression and anxiety run wild!  

There are so many things I used to hide, because I felt ashamed of them.  My food addiction being one... I can't keep quiet anymore.  That doesn't help me, and it won't help someone else.  So, here I am... taking the steps to admit:

My name is Shanna... and I am an Addict.

I will always struggle with food.  It fills my stomach, and it fills voids.  BUT with the house full of good, healthy things, at least I will be filling up on fruits and vegetables.

Anything you want to share?!
#LosingtheFatKid

**Watch for a weigh in Wednesday video tomorrow!  I have been forgetting my camera to make videos for you all... FAIL!  Any suggestions for content??**

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Wow... A Week??

My gosh!!!  I can't believe that I haven't blogged since Tuesday!!  So much for blogging every couple of days...

So, the "Ice Storm of 2017" turned out to be a real downer... But, for safety, my office closed - which was greatly appreciated.  I didn't say it to my manager, but I was super worried about driving on Friday.  And then I received the glorious text that we were closed.  Since Brandon sleeps during the day, I snuggled back in for what I thought was going to be only a few hours.  I woke up at 4pm... oops.  I must have been tired.

However, I am thinking that it's time for me to add a Post Workout drink to my regimen.  After the Judo tournament, I literally slept all night, and all the next day.  I am thinking that my body doesn't quite know how to process hard work at the moment, except to sleep it off.  Maybe a Post Workout will help.

I have spent this weekend, "snowed in" to my house, and thought about the new week that starts tomorrow.  I always think to myself "a new week, a new change to get it right!" So, I think it's time to add weekly challenges to myself, and my fellow "Fat Kid Losers" (to be honest, I don't know what to you call you, dear readers and followers...  Maybe you all can suggest something, and then we can have a vote??!!)

Most of my friends either were a FitBit, or a step counter of some kind.  We are also tracking our food/calorie intake and even workouts.  If you google "how many steps should I take in a day?" just about every webpage that is found suggests 10,000.  That is 5 miles... I have to be honest, with a sit down job... the only way I would be able to make those steps is if I walked my entire lunch hour, and after I got home. 

SO...

I have a challenge, to at least get myself started on this. And I would like you, dear reader, to also take part!!  With creating the facebook group (message me if you want to join us!! It's private and closed, so everything posted and commented on is protected from people who are NOT in the group) I am finding that while not a single one of us are following the same eating plan, workout schedule, or even water intake... we are ALL in this together.  It truly takes a village.  When one person is down, everyone rally's!  It's great!

A while ago, I saw something on youtube called the "Bring Sally Up Challenge"


There are all kinds of these challenges!  Squats, Squats with barbells on your back, Pull ups... the possibilities are endless!! (sort of)

So, here is my challenge - Everyone strive for 5,000 steps each day!  That is HALF of what is recommended, but you need to start somewhere.

Each Monday, I am going to pose a challenge to all of you.  This is week 1 - 5000 steps EACH DAY.  Even on the weekends.

I know you can do it!  Tomorrow kicks it off, tomorrow is a new start, tomorrow is the first day of the new week to make it right!!

#MondayChallenge

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Tuesday Gym Fails!


I can only assume how silly I look at the gym sometimes, so I hope no one thinks I am trying to be mean... However... there are some pictures and videos of some gym fails that are just too funny to pass up!

Such as:


OR...


And sometimes...


Enjoy!!



Like I said, I can only imagine how silly I look at the gym... So consider me laughing WITH these people, not at!

Enjoy!



Sunday, January 8, 2017

Hollis Park Judo Tournament



Yesterday morning, I got up at 6:30 (earlier than normal...) and was at the gym by 7:45 AM!!  I was too excited to sleep, so I got there early.

At 8, Sensei Jeremy pulled up with Reagan and Mikey in tow.  Threw my bag in the back of the hummer, and off we went!  We were headed to Hollis Park, Illinois.  Hollis Park is right outside of Pekin, which is about 2-3 hours away from home.  Depending on who drives  ðŸ˜Ž

We had to make a little pit stop in Tremont, which was only about 20 minutes from the recreation center in Hollis Park.  Why did we have to stop?  Well... we were all sworn to secrecy by Sensei Jeremy... but the end result was a full tank of gas and a Casey's stop!  We did enjoy the scenery... and a big THANK YOU to Earl and Angie Clark!  They were also on their way to Hollis Park.  Their youngest 2 daughters (Izzy and Lacey) were also competing.  Earl saved the day for reasons I have been sworn to secrecy, and Angie saved the day by remembering the cheese danish for Reagan!

We made it just in time for weigh ins.  I don't know what anyone else weighed in, but I weighed in at 272.  To be honest, we weren't sure if anyone was going to be there for me to fight.  Judo is split up by age, rank, and weight.  However, after some discussion, I was found an opponent.

After weigh ins, Reagan went through her process - eating a bagel, and then a cheese danish.  She also wore her lucky shirt, and brought her lucky gi.  She has done all of these things since her first fight, and considering she is a National Champion... I won't sit here and lie and say I didn't eat the same breakfast.

I tried to get a clip of everyone's fights, but some of my teammates were fighting at the same time as me.

Judo has a belt system, like MOST martial arts.  Every new beginner starts out as a White belt.  From there, the Sensei in charge (in my case, Sensei George Stanich) determines when a student will advance.  I am a yellow belt, which is a step up from a white belt.  The young lady I fought is a green belt.  Green is 2 steps up from yellow.  Being a yellow belt, I will earn my stripes before I advance to green.

I didn't win... HOWEVER!!  I have some thoughts about my fights.  I gave it everything I had.  Even more than what I thought I had in me.  I never did throw her, but she never did throw me either.  There is one point in the above video when you can hear Sensei Jeremy say "You are doing good" I may have been pinned, but I didn't quit.  I didn't give up!  And if you think about it... We had a long match!

Judo matches are 4 minutes long.  In that time, you either throw someone flat on their back for an Ippon, or submit someone.  I was beat due to submission - basically she held me down and I couldn't move or get out.  She won both matches by that submission.  And I am 100% ok with that!

I proved something to myself this weekend.  I proved to myself that even though I am overweight, I can still do something.  I may have been completely out of breath afterwards, but I felt ALIVE! I felt like I could do anything!! (I think it was the adrenaline...)

One of the fights that I didn't get video of, and I am super bummed about, included a young man by the name of Adnon (I think...)  He is visually impaired... and he beat every single person he fought!  It was amazing!  I had never seen anything like it.  He did so well, he earned Master of the tournament.  I really wish I would have gotten video of some of his fights.  It was incredible!  He even submitted someone via armbar!

When all of the fights were complete, it was time to hand out medals.  I sure did not think, for one split second, I would be getting a medal.  Since there were only 2 of us in my division, she won!  She gets the medal.  Even though I lost to her, I earned the second place medal!  That was a great feeling!  There is even a picture of me giving the young lady who beat me a high five!  She deserved it.  She fought hard as well.  She gave it everything she had!  It was great!

We also got to see 2 people advance to Black Belt, which was super cool!  The whole atmosphere was just incredible.  It was all about having fun, and doing your best.

The ride home was simple... I slept.  I slept the whole way home.  Woke up for about 2 minutes to see where we were, and I was right back out.  And yes... I wore my medal the entire rest of the evening.  Even after I got home.

I learned some very important stuff this weekend... You have to work hard if you want to succeed.  You also have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone to find out what you are truly made of.  I have watched the video of my fights at least 30 times already, and I am STILL not bummed that I lost.  I see a young woman who is refusing to allow her weight to hold her back anymore.  I see a young woman who is going to break barriers within herself AND for other people.  I also see where I will need to improve, and what I need to work on.

What do you see??

Hot Stuff... or Infrared Sauna Bed


Dr. Robin Ellsworth challenged me to a 6 week experiment!  Come in each week for a 1 hour session in the Infrared Sauna Bed.  Each week, she will take my weight, measure my left arm, left upper thigh, and my waist.

Once the 6 weeks are over, I will be revealing the results!

The first 30 minutes were warm, but not incredibly hot.  However, the last 30 minutes, sweat was running like crazy!  It was extremely relaxing though.

After I got done with my treatment, I weighed in 2 pounds less than when I went in!  When I got home, I had to get myself together for the Judo tournament in Hollis Park.  I slept like a baby, and truly feel like the treatment loosened up my muscles, and helped me relax.

Even after several hours, I could still feel the burn!!!

I highly recommend giving Dr. Robin a call, and setting up an appointment.  She is my nutritionist, chiropractor, and can set you up with a sauna bed treatment.  She did not pay me for this review, other than offering the treatments for an experiment.  I will be visiting her office each Friday for the next 6 weeks.

Please don't forget to like the video on youtube, and subscribe to my channel.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

No Excuses!!!


Yesterday, I walked the garage with Bonnie from work! Then we came back to our office and did 20 squats with some of the other ladies.  It may have been the first day back from the holiday break, but that is NO EXCUSE to not get some work done...

Went to Judo last night... got my butt kicked, but for good reason - which will be revealed later!!  Spent some air time with Sensei Jeremy (watch how AWESOME his hair looked!!) and Sensei Chris from the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado.

After training, Sensei Jeremy ran his Resolution Mile (and broke in his new running shoes) while I cooled down on the treadmill next to him!  SEE!!! No excuses!

Logged my food yesterday, and my exercise.  I am wearing my fitbit again, but it is acting up for some reason.  I did a hard reset on it a little bit ago, so my numbers for today are not going to be accurate.  Hopefully tomorrow will show some numbers.

Weigh In Wednesday's will start next week!  I will video the whole process... which may or may not be terrifying as I will be weighing in first thing in the morning.

Tonight I won't be editing a video, but I AM going to be figuring out how to add non-copyrighted music to the videos... I think this one is kind of boring in silence.  Which is weird, because we talked last night after practice, how music in the gym can change the entire atmosphere!!  I guess this video is bringing that point home.

4 days in - how are you doing?!  Stay Motivated!!

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Documentaries... Docudramas... What To Watch?!?!



Like everyone else in the world, we have Netflix.  We also have Hulu, and are avid YouTube watchers.

Yesterday, Brandon and I started talking about different documentaries we both enjoy.  Yes, we are THOSE people...  But you can learn so much from documentaries!  It's crazy.  We also like to watch Top Gear (USA), Alaska: The Last Frontier, and The Walking Dead - So we aren't too boring.

I started thinking about some of the documentaries that help encourage me, even when I am trying to fall asleep.  Here are some of my favorites!

From Fat to Finish Line:




Inspired to Ride:

The Barkley Marathons:  The Race That Eats Its Young

Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead:


These are just a FEW of the MANY that are on Netflix.  You can learn so much by watching other people film things.  I could go on and on posting trailers for the many different documentaries that we have watched.  

There are even documentaries found on YouTube that can teach you so much.

What are the documentaries you like to watch?  Have you watched any?

What about motivational videos found on YouTube?  I have also followed Shay Butler through his ShayLoss Channel Like me, he had many starts and stops before he FINALLY took his health seriously.  He lost 100 pounds and shared the entire process on YouTube.  His progress, his set backs, his family!!  He and his family also have their own personal channel, but are taking 2017 off.

What will help you keep going?  These videos and documentaries help me keep going.  They remind me that I am not alone in my health struggle.  It's why I follow fellow Cyster (PCOS patient) Whitney Way Thore from A Fat Girl Dancing:



She also has her own show on TLC - My Fat Fabulous Life.

These people share everything with the world.  Regardless of what others think or say about them.  That encourages me to do the same!  

I know what to do to be healthy... these videos encourage me to get up and DO SOMETHING about it!!  You can to!!

Much love, and happy Netflixing!!

#LosingtheFatKid


Sunday, January 1, 2017

Happy New Year!!!


Started out 2017 by walking around Wilson Park!  It was super cold when I woke up this morning, but I knew I couldn't NOT go...  I was hoping for others to show up, but no one joined me.  That's ok!

My thought for the Resolution Run was simple... just do SOMETHING to get yourself started.  A mile really isn't THAT far to go!  Start somewhere!  There is still time today!

I know it's dark, but you can do a mile on a treadmill.  You can go to your gym (or mine, they are open today thanks to 24 hour access!!)  Take the dog for a walk, fur babies need exercise too! 

My cousin posted that she and her oldest daughter went for their mile today!!  See... it can be a family outing!

What I am getting at... no excuses.  Do this!  Start somewhere.  No one says you have to do a mile even.  Do a half mile.  Just get it done.  No one and nothing is standing in your way.  People look at you weird?  Let them!  They aren't changing your mind or your life.

Here is to a better 2017!