Step out of your Comfort Zone

I have joined Aikido. It's way out of my comfort zone. But I need to change some things in my life and I can't change if I'm comfortable. 

I've been watching the boys do it for nearly 7 years now. After all that watching one would think it would be easier. But I think after all that watching the only thing special for me is that I may be slightly less self conscious. Slightly. It's still a lot of touching people and being tossed around. And I'm so glad the dojo is on a slab so I don't shake the building when I fall. I'm still sure I register on the Richter scale at the mines as a series of mini earthquakes.

 

I got my Gui last night. It's the uniform and white belt. It's enormous. Seriously, it could be a tent for a couple of toddlers or a nine year old.  It's is supposed to be a little big so you can move around a lot.  But the pants are just a little tight (thank goodness for elastic, the drawstring is unnecessary).  I have to hem the arms and the legs by nearly 6 inches. But the belt fits and I already knew how to tie it (sort of, it's very different putting it on myself rather than a kid, and I can't see over my boobs and belly to see it being tied). But it feels very official and I was excited to put it on. Now my goal is to make sure it gets too big.

 

And today, I am sore again and walking like an old lady.  I'm looking forward to going back!

Slight rant and then some good stuff

Hey Peeps!

I'm still in the game! Small victories right? I've lost nearly 10 pounds in the last month. And so far all that I have done is change the way I eat. Not even change it. Just be aware of it. That is what Weight Watchers helps me do. As long as I track properly I do OK.

I did have a slight gain this week. And I have several things I can attribute that to. 

• The first is I didn't track as well last week. I was lazy about tracking and therefore lazy about eating. I hope I've learned my lesson. Track track track! 
•  I didn't drink my water over the weekend. I had an absolutely lazy weekend (and it was fabulous!). I stayed under the warm covers with a book for far longer than I'm normally comfortable with. Then I got up to feed the boys lunch. So I went ahead and took a shower at that time. Then finished off the book and turned on some TV while the boys played at a friends house I had several shows recorded and waiting for me to watch. But being lazy went across the board and I didn't get up to fill up a glass of water, even once. 
• This is the week I historically gain weight. You know the week. The one where you feel heavy and bloated and maybe just a little moody. I always seem to gain a pound or more this week. And the older I get the more it seems to last 2 weeks rather than 1. TMI? I don't think this has to be a gain week. If I'm doing it all properly I'll bet I can still lose. Even if it's less than normal a loss is a loss. I'm going to test the theory in a month or so...

     Sometimes Weight Watchers irritates me. And today was a good example of that. I sometimes remember that it's a big corporation and they are in the business of making money. Sure, they are helping me. But their products seem pricey to me, and they change things up every so often and we all know that we need to replace some of the old things when the points system changes (an example is the Dining Out Companion. I bought one years ago on the Points System. Now we are on Points Plus 2012. My book is no longer accurate.). I know the System is backed by research and we have all learned over the years about what works and why, but they are still in it to earn a buck, even with the facade of wanting to help people. It's all about the dollar.

     This week the ActiveLink came out. It's a great way to track the Activity PointsPlus that you earn through the day. I'll bet it's even going to be a fun gadget to play with. It costs almost $40. And there is a $5 per month subscription fee. And you can only use it if you have etools. As I was sitting there listening to the spiel about this fun new gadget today, I got irritated. The company has figured out a way to not only get $40 more from many of their members but also $5 a month for something that probably doesn't cost them much to keep running at all now that the R&D is done. You cannot tell me that the $40+ I spend each month for the monthly pass and etools, multiplied by thousands of men and women around the globe, doesn't pay for the R&D that WW uses for it's products and to revise the Points system every other year or so. You can't tell me that the men and women who pay that at the single location that I go to pays just the overhead and salaries of the wonderful ladies who work there, as well as chipping in for the huge salary of the executives in this highly profitable company.

     But they sell this product as if it's a gift to us. This is one more generous thing that WW has done to help us in our quest to be healthy. Bull... It's one more gadget that will make them some cash!

I bought it. I hope it encourages me and I haven't wasted the money. Ask me in 13 weeks.

    The WW Weekly this week talks about writing down your reasons for losing. We are encouraged this week to think of all the reasons we want to lose. What made us start this journey and what keeps us coming back when we give up (we have all done it). So I thought I'd write a few of my reasons here. The list should always be growing and sometimes it should change. But here are a few points from my point of view.

1. I'd like to feel good in my clothes again. I feel pretty self conscious about my clothes right now. I remember liking my clothes a lot. It could be I have the wrong clothes now. And I guess in a way it is. I have clothes that are too big, because I have a body that is too. 
2. I'd like to be healthier and not get out of breath doing things I like to do. I tend to avoid certain activities because I don't want to be embarrassed from being out of breath.  
3. I'd like to be a good role model to my kids. One of my sons will take after me in being inactive if I let him. And the other is so active it's hard to keep up with him. I'd like to be able to keep up with him. I should show them both that I think it's important to keep being active and to watch out for the foods we eat.
4. Like the way I look. This one is tricky. I normally like the way I look. Until I see a photo or catch my reflection in a store window. Sometimes I'm quite surprised by how the way I look and the way I feel I look are so different. When I'm caught off guard I'm unhappy with the way I look. And that leads into the next one. 
5. Be confident around cameras. I don't tend to shy away from getting my picture taken. I love photos and the history they hold. But when there is a camera pointed my way I do my best to put my head up to try to reduce the double chin. And to stand tall and suck it in so I look even just a little smaller. Maybe someday I'll write more about this. I hope this is something that changes for me, but if the past is any key it probably won't.