Fat Jeans To The Rescue!

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Me in my size 28 fat jeans. The photo doesn't do justice to how baggie those suckers are now. I'll try to get a better photo up when the hubby is home.

Me in my size 28 fat jeans. The photo doesn’t do justice to how baggie those suckers are now. I’ll try to get a better photo up when the hubby is home.

Yesterday was a bad day. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say that I started the day feeling sorry for myself (sore knee = no exercise; plateau frustrations galore).  And I ended the day with a big slice of chocolate cake and a side of vanilla ice cream.

Ugh! I hate self-pity days. My rational side knows weight loss is a marathon not a sprint.  It’s just amazing how quickly you can turn on yourself regardless of success.

This morning I stumbled upon an idea to hold the negative thoughts at bay.

While getting dressed I found an old pair of jeans.  I completely forgot about them. When I started losing weight, I did a complete wardrobe overhaul. The only item I kept was the size 28 jeans. I wanted a reminder of how far I’ve come.

I decided to try them on.

Wow! If I needed a pick me up, this was it. I can’t believe that I was that big. But then again, I have days like yesterday where I still think I’m that size.

Sure I look in the mirror everyday, but I can’t see the weight loss. I notice that my clothes are a bit loose or that I have more energy. But I needed to put on old clothes to shake me out of my funk and appreciate the work I’ve done this past year.

From now on I’m going to take a photo of myself once a month to track my progress.  It’s a great way to chronicle my weight loss and motivate me when I feel down.

Getting the photos off the phone is key. Seeing is believing, right? I’ll keep them in strategic places – on the fridge, in my wallet, as my screen saver on my phone and tablet, and on the blog.

I can’t trust my own eyes, but photos don’t lie.

Can A Walker Get Runner’s Knee?

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Ugh! Fingers crossed that the knee is just a bit sore and that this isn't in my future!

Ugh! Fingers crossed that the knee is just a bit sore and that this isn’t in my future! Image courtesy Ambro and FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve heard of runner’s knee. Is there such a thing as walker’s knee? Or is it all the same thing?

This morning I felt a sharp pain during my walk. I slowed my pace and the pain dulled. I toyed with turning around and going home, but the pain went away. I chalked it up to age and weight and continued walking, but decided to just do 2 miles and not the scheduled 4. On the way home, I stepped off the curb wrong and sure enough the sharp pain came back. Again it dulled and disappeared after about 50 steps.

When I got home I decided to rest my leg. After 30 minutes, I felt great and decided to run my errands for the day – grocery shopping, cleaning the house, prepping all my veggies for the week. I only had one mishap with the knee. While carrying groceries from the car I lost my footing and fell on the walk leading up to my house. Both knees gave the concrete step a love tap, but it wasn’t too painful.

Now I’m sitting down for the first time since that morning sit and the knee is throbbing.

Great.

Good news is that it doesn’t hurt going up and down the stairs. With all the walking, plus my weight and age, perhaps my knee is feeling a little overused. I don’t think I pulled, sprained, ruptured or imploded anything.

I plan to take it easy the rest of the day – it’s a beautiful day out so I plan to go outside, drink ice tea (curses you 30-day No Alcohol Challenge!), and read with my leg raised. If my knee behaves, I might treat it to a nice ice pack to boot!

Tomorrow, instead of the 5-mile walk, I’ll do a muscle workout and give the knee a rest. With any luck, I’ll be back to my old self by the weekend.

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Get Your Mask On!

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Do you mask? Everyday beauty includes a skin regimen.

Do you mask? Everyday beauty includes a skin regimen.

Mud masks are magical!

I stopped using mud masks a few years ago and I have no idea why. Not only does a mask help clean your skin but it’s relaxing and fun. Trying not to smile once it dries is difficult, which is why I stay away from mirrors.

Masking Tips

  • Exfoliate Before – For the mask to penetrate and draw out the impurities in your pores, it works best if you remove the dead layer of cells on your face.
  • Moisturize After – Masks pull oil away from the skin, which is why if you’re like me and have dry skin you should 1. Apply a moisturizer after you wash the mask off, and 2. Limit masks to twice a week.

I did a little research this weekend and sure enough, mud masks are formulated for your skin type. The mud in my cabinet is probably 4 years old. No doubt, it’s not the best for my face. Oh well. I guess it’s another item to go on my make-over list (oh, the make-over is in September).

Everyday beauty means looking after my skin…and setting aside two nights a week to play in the mud is just the ticket.

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…That Lovin’ Feeling

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Five days in and so far I’m doing great with my 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge. I’ve really had no desire to drink.  I just wish I could say that about the old ball and chain.

The hubby decided to undertake the challenge with me in a show of support.  I’ve encouraged him to lose weight with me. He needs to drop 80 lbs. to reach his ideal weight. When I started my low carb voyage, he was right there with me. He even lost 25 lbs. (but gained it back).

I thought that his strong declaration of no drinking was the jump-start of his own fitness regime. Sigh…

Within the first hour of his taking the challenge, he graciously offered to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner. On Sunday he suggested we go to our local watering hole for a few drinks.  It took him a bit too long to realize why I said no to both offers.

I married Homer J. Simpson.

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C’mon Get Happy – Exercise & My New Attitude

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Dot2trot got her walking groove back. Averaging more miles a day. Sweet!

Dot2trot got her walking groove back. Averaging more miles a day. Sweet!

I got 4 walks in this week and I feel grrreat! And I’m super stoked about getting up early Saturday to walk 4.5 miles…..good lord what is wrong with me!?!

I’m not a morning person. I like waking up at the crack of noon. Why am I so damn happy about early morning walks of all things?

Clearly I’m pumping out the endorphins – the brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters. But I think that’s only part of the tale. Exercise is no longer one more thing on my to-do list. It’s becoming part of my daily routine. Exercise first. To-do list second. I’m getting back to making me a priority! Woohoo!

I’ll leave you with a little inspiration. If it doesn’t get you moving, you’re not human.

 

New Playlist To Celebrate No Drinking Challenge

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No Alcoholic Beverages

Today is Day 1 of My 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge.  (Photo credit: Travis S.)

Today is Day 1 of my 30-Day No Alcohol Challenge. To kick off things off, I decided to create a new playlist of the best drinking songs. Hey, if I can’t drink the stuff why not listen to songs about it while working out. I’m off to a pretty good start with a nice variety of music styles – from swing to blues to Irish folk.

The list isn’t complete. It lacks Reggae. I need something other than UB40’s Red Red Wine. I welcome suggestions from the Peanut Gallery.

40 Oz to Freedom – Sublime
All I Wanna Do – – Sheryl Crow
American Honky Tonk Bar Association – Garth Brooks
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers – ZZ Top
Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys
Drunk Daddy – Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
Drunken Lazy Bastards – The Pogues
Drunken Lullabies – Flogging Molly
Gimme Three Steps – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Gin House Blues – Nina Simone
Hey Bartender – Blues Brothers
Honky Tonk Women – Rolling Stones
Hurricane Drunk – Florence & The Machine
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer – John Lee Hooker
Seven Drunken Nights – The Dubliners
Somebody Put Something in My Drink – The Ramones
Sunday Morning Coming Down – Johnny Cash
The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy
Too Drunk to F$#k – Nouvelle Vague

I Want To Put On…My My My My My Boogie Shoes

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H/T womenwalkingshoes.net for a great job explaining pronation and how to pick best shoes for your feet.

H/T Women Walking Shoes for a great job explaining pronation and how to pick best shoes for your feet.

Yesterday, I talked about my new favorite socks. Today, I begin my quest for new sneakers. I thought it would be as simple as trying on a few pairs. Lo and behold, there is a lot more to it than just snapping up some cross trainers.

As I started my search, I kept coming across the word “Pronation.” This is the inward rolling of the foot from heel to toe while walking. There are different levels of pronation and you need to know how you roll to choose the right pair of sneakers.  Just look at the bottom of your well-worn sneakers and check the inside and outside edge around the heel.

Foot Mechanics
If the outside is more worn down, you are prone to underpronation. You transfer weight from the heel to the outside of the foot, so your body isn’t absorbing the shock efficiently as you walk.

If you’re like me, you’ll find the heel worn down more on the inside edge. My foot mechanic is overpronation. I tend to push-off from my big and second toe. So the shock of impact spreads unevenly through my foot and ankle. Wonderful!  This causes pain in the foot, shin and knee without the correct shoe.

Arch Typing
Just knowing your foot mechanic isn’t enough. You also need to know your arch type. Are you flat-footed? Have a high arch or a normal arch?  There is a simple test. Just step on a piece of paper with a wet foot. The amount of your arch that shows indicates your type of arch. I turned out to have a normal arch.

So now I’m looking for shoes for overpronation and medium arch.  So my shoe of choice is:

New Balance shoe The New Balance 990 WB3 Lady! This shoe provides the cushioning and stability to compensate for overpronators like me.

So while I await my new shoes, I need to start focusing on walking heel-to-toe.

 
 
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Lies, Damn Lies and Fitness

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There are so many health and fitness fads out there – many with bogus health claims designed to suck you in and hand over your cash. P90X, Insanity, 8 Minute Abs, the Thigh Master…

The most powerful tool at these hucksters disposal – before and after photos. Who wouldn’t be persuaded to buy into a fad when you see the transformation of a doughy guy into someone with rock hard abs. 

Well H/T to Andrew Dixon for showing how those transformations come about. Andrew is a certified personal trainer and blogger at the HuffoPost. He demonstrates how the before and after photos really work.  I’ve heard about this before, but it is eye-opening to have someone show you how it works (emphasis mine).

The reasons these programs become so popular is because they are presented and marketed very well. These marketing campaigns use testimonials and before-and-after transformation photos. Before I claim it’s all bullshit, I want to make it clear that there are definitely some very impressive, genuine physical transformations out there. What I do take issue with are the transformations that are manipulated with Photoshop, professional lighting, postures to degrade or enhance their look, pro tans, sucking in or pushing out a bloated belly or flexing muscles vs. not flexing to obtain an optimal look.

Checkout the article. Andrew actually has before and after photos of himself taken within an hour that shows the techniques used in these miraculous transformations.

Andrew recommends using the images in the ads as inspiration but don’t be tricked into buying their products. I think that’s about right.  There are no get-slim-quick fitness plans.  I have yet to meet someone who took the weight off fast in a safe, healthy manner and kept the weight off.  It just doesn’t work that way.  If you are looking to drop the pounds fast, you will fail in the long run.

Here is my favorite recent fad.

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Everyday Beauty

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Ah! Warm golden brown hair courtesy of Garnier; seductive pink lipstick by Loreal; and Khaki Blue eyeshadow provided by Estee Lauder.

Warm golden brown hair courtesy of Garnier; seductive pink lipstick by Loreal; Khaki Blue eyeshadow provided by Estee Lauder; and necklace supplied by Lane Bryant.

Yesterday I decided to do some low-budget pampering.  I’ve lost weight, but other than buying new clothes (required!) I really haven’t focused on my appearance. I’d just put my hair up in a pony tail and head out the door. I’m still on my sabbatical from work so I don’t feel the need to dress up just because I’m leaving the house. And if I’m being honest, I really did the bare minimum for work.

Well now it seems that I’m having a change of heart. I feel great about myself and all the work I’ve done the last year.  But I’m starting to get a little miffed at myself for being too low maintenance when it comes to how I look.

I think I never really bothered with it before because I worried about how an outfit looked on my frame. Did it fit was more important than does it flatter my figure. Perhaps I’m now feeling great about myself and I just want it to project it on the outside.

I started with a quick little inventory.

  • Shoes – 2 pairs of flip-flops and a pair of Nikes.  How sad.
  • Make-up: 3 lipsticks, blue eye shadow, no blush.
  • Hair: A ton of gray that needed to go.
  • Nails: All of my acrylic nails had popped off except for my right thumb nail. Wow, stay classy Dot!
  • Skin: Dry as hell.
  • Jewelry: Have a ton…so why not wear some?
  • Purses: 1

So yesterday I took care of those nasty grey hairs, gave myself a damn fine manicure, lotioned up, and made do with the little make up I own.

My new philosophy: Make everyday a day of beauty!

Weekly Weigh In – Down 3 Lbs!

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chartThe numbers are moving in the right direction again. Down 3 lbs since the end of June. I expect the rest of my Arizona weight to fall off by the end of this week.

I postponed the daily walks the last week. I really wanted to focus on good eating habits. Plus the humidity was brutal last week. But the walks start back up this week – rain or shine.