Meet Andrea

Y'all know I've been active with Mamavation for over a year. I participate in the "Sistahood," the healthy living sorority part of Mamavation that is open to any mom. The support and accountability I have found with these ladies is amazing!

Another part of Mamavation is the Mamavation Mom campaign, where two lucky moms win a virtual bootcamp during which they receive professional nutritional and fitness coaching, as well as mental and emotional coaching. Their lives are on display during the seven weeks. They post a daily food and exercise journal, they post weekly updates, they appear on the weekly Mamavation TV online chat show.

We are currently in the voting stage of Campaign 8. Anyone and everyone with a computer can vote.

I want to introduce you to Andrea, who is one of the finalists. I asked her a few questions so that you can get to know her.  All of the finalists are wonderful and deserving, but I hope after reading about her, you'll consider going over to Mamavation and casting your vote for her!


1. How long have you been involved with Mamavation?

 I found Mamavation last October and started posting my Mamavation Monday posts. I had no idea that I would love it as much as I did, or how wonderful it would be for my weight loss. I was about 217 lbs when I joined and am now down to 196. It has been a slow journey, but being involved in the Sistahood has kept my journey positive.

2. Who are your biggest influences in your desire to be a Mamavation Mom?

My children are the first thing that comes to mind! I want so much for them. I want a childhood free of the food hang-ups I witnessed. They are very young and I want them to describe their Mommy as active, healthy and strong. I am looking for the tools to help me make permanent changes in my mindset and actions. I could lose weight on my own, but Mamavation Moms are given the information and education to do it right. I also want to do this for my husband. He has always been active and athletic, but I keep him from a lot of the activities he enjoys on the weekends. I want us to get out and ride our tandem across the state with Cycle Oregon again, or spend a long weekend skiing. I know this opportunity would change all of our lives for the better.

3. What are your fitness and healthy living goals?

I love scratch cooking and baking! So, I am working hard to find recipes to replace the foods we used to buy pre-made. I would love to increase my garden and recipe repertoire so we are not eating as many preservatives and are self sufficient. As far as fitness goals, a 5K is on the horizon one way or another, but besides that I want to attempt a local triathlon and ride another border to coast Cycle Oregon with my husband. I know. Big goals... but I like to aim high!

4. Where do you look when you need inspiration?

When I need inspiration I look to my old worn out Bible. It has been a faithful friend since my childhood and I often randomly open it to read whatever verses are meant for me that day. I have also come to look to my Mamavation Sistas for inspiration. Such a diverse and amazingly accomplished group of women. With talents and strengths so varied, and there is always someone to look to.

5. How do you encourage your family to make healthy choices?

This is an easy thing for me. I am a Stay-at-home-Mom and make all the meals for our family. Even my farming husband sits down with us for 3 meals a day. So when it comes to food I have complete control. I try to only buy items that are healthy and fresh. As for exercise, I have had more "Wii" nights planned every week. My husband is a good sport when I plan out our evening activities, and he loves being outside and is always willing to plan healthy and active family days. Really, I am much better at doing things right with my family... I am the one who snacks and indulges.

6. What will be the biggest challenge as a Mamavation Mom?

I worry most about "letting go". I am already trying to not be as fussy about the housework, let the kitchen go, or eat simply. I am a perfectionist and my husband has been lately telling me to go to bed and leave things till morning. I know with the amount of exercise required of the Mamavation Moms, I will need my rest, and will not be able to keep my house spotless. Even with the extra hazing and workouts I have had to give myself permission to feel guilty. This week to help out as I am busy working for votes my husband has been put in charge of laundry and I am enlisting the help of my trusty crock pot.


You can view Andrea's application video and cast your vote for her over at Mamavation. She's "notimemom." (You can vote for as many finalists as you want, but you can only vote once per computer.)  If you want to get to know Andrea better, you can also check out her blog.

Andrea also has two giveaways as incentive for voting for her. One for a $25 Amazon gift card and one for an EA Sports Active 2 for Wii (which is one of my faves!).

So go vote for Andrea, then tell her you did by entering her giveaways!

Lettuce Anyone?

Growing in my garden. Who wants a salad?

Rising to the Challenge

I love a good challenge! Especially if it's a competition with myself

Can I make a confession? I always hated Phys Ed class. If we were picking teams, I was picked last. I didn't have a lot of coordination; I wasn't fast. I could never get an A. That was reserved for the athletically-inclined who excelled at all the physical tests. P.E. was never about improving myself.

But now, physical fitness is ALL ABOUT ME! That sounds vain, but really, any physical challenge is about improving myself. That's why I love running. Yes, I see runners who are much faster than me. But I know that I have to compare myself with myself. I have improved so much in the past eight months!

And I need to challenge myself and set goals to keep myself going. That is how I am staying consistent with my fitness. Whether it's a race to run or a squat or push up challenge, a schedule to keep up with keeps me going and improving myself.

The past two weeks, I've participated in the Cupcake Marathon, a virtual event with the purpose of getting ourselves moving. I chose the 13.1 mile distance, to be done over two weeks.

I'm also working on the 200 Squat Challenge (just finished week 5) and the 100 Push Up Challenge (finished week 1). These are fun ways to keep myself moving and working toward a goal. A love a good challenge!

How do you keep yourself motivated to workout? Are you competitive with yourself or with others?

Here's how last week was for me:

Fitness: I did cardio on 6 days out of 7 for a total of 168 minutes. Having the Cupcake Marathon to finish and the squat & push up challenges kept me focused on both cardio and strength training. I was really sore in my shoulders and upper back thanks to the push ups, but I can see improvement, both in strength and muscle development. I can't wait to compare with my most recent MamaGuns pictures!

Monday - running, 29 minutes
Tuesday - #easactive 2 full body workout, 18 minutes; push ups and squats
Wednesday - running, 28 minutes
Thursday - Wii Your Shape, 30 minutes; push ups
Friday - #easactive 2 cardio workout, 20 minutes; squats
Saturday - running, 43 minutes; push ups
Sunday - cardio rest day; squats

Nutrition: I did okay this week sticking to my nutrition plan. I did make some healthified banana bread one day because I had two over-ripe bananas. Bread is still my Achilles heel, whether it's whole wheat or sweet bread. But I kept to proper portion sizes, although it was tempting to eat more than one piece. It was a busy week; I relied on nutrition bars for snacks. I think I do better with whole fruit and a few nuts for snacks instead, so I'll be stocking up on those this week.

Lots of fruit, veggies, lean protein. I'm even enjoying salad! I like to mix romaine lettuce & spinach, then top with feta cheese, a few sunflower seeds and a little bit of my favorite dressing, Newman's Own Lite Lime Vinaigrette - yum!  Here's our healthy menu plan for this week.

The Scale: Down .2 lbs this week. I'm glad I have the new scale because my previous one only measured in 1/2 pound increments, so this loss would not have shown up! I did start the push up challenge this week, so I hope I'm building more muscle to account for such a small loss.

Blogging Carnival: This week's Mamavation blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear. This week's question is: Where will your feet take you this year? Any plans for a big hike, race, or just a lot of walking?

I've already run one 5k this year, and I plan to run at least 3 more plus an 8k. This fall, I want to start training for a half marathon, running one either in January or February. I'm very excited about these goals! As I said above, I love challenging myself.

Thanks for your continued support and encouragement!

Cupcake Marathon Virtual Race

A few weeks ago I signed up to do a virtual race called the Cupcake Marathon. The great thing about this virtual race is that we didn't have to do the whole distance in one day, but over the course of two weeks. I opted for the 13.1 mile distance, and had a total time of 3 hours and 10 minutes. We could walk or run; I only had one walking session. Here are my stats for the Cupcake Marathon 2011.

Saturday Stumbles

A few good things that I've read that I want to share with you ...


Ever wonder about food dyes? In Color Me Carcinogenic, Foodtrainers shares about the effects of food dyes and a few natural alternatives.

And how about caffeine? Is it good or bad? Here's a great post at Fitblogger on the Good, the Bad, or Neither of Coffee.

Janice, the Fitness Cheerleader, shares Thirteen Little Known Facts About Cucumbers. I can't wait for fresh, local cukes!

Tara at Feels Like Home shared a great post about having a Living Room Carnival. This goes on our list for activities during the high heat of summer!

Mary at Giving Up on Perfect shared great tips about taking your child to the movies for the first time. Good friends of ours take their preschooler all the time, but we haven't done this yet, so I appreciated these tips!

And I can't do a Saturday Stumbles post without sharing a good recipe! Lynn shared a round-up post of awesome sounding peanut butter recipes - yum!


Don't forget to check out my blog series on Eating Disorders. Stephanie shared about Binge Eating Disorder, Lynn shared about Bulimia, Eryn share about Anorexia, and Rachel shared about Emotional Eating. Thanks to these wonderful bloggers for sharing their stories!

In the past two weeks, I've written guest posts for Diets in Review on learning moderation, and also for Rachel at The Lazy Christian on one of my spiritual struggles.

For more Saturday Stumbles, be sure to visit Simply Staci.

Guest Post: Emotional Eating

Today, I am pleased to share the fourth guest post in my blog series on Eating Disorders. Each story that my guest bloggers have shared is unique, and I love that God planned it that way when I put out a request for posts. Today, Rachel from The Lazy Christian shares her story. While emotional eating isn't a medically recognized diagnosis, fellow emotional eaters will tell you it is real.  Thank you, Rachel, for sharing your story!

I eat my feelings.

It’s fairly common, especially among women. And it’s not something I realized right away. It was something that started gradually and became a lifestyle over the years. Only recently have I been able to put a name to this stumbling block: emotional eating.

When I was younger, my parents went out a lot. They might deny the term “alcoholic,” but four (or more) nights a week at the bar speaks to the contrary. When I was old enough to be home alone, I was often just that. In junior high, I would come home from school to find money on the kitchen table and a note that said, “For dinner.”

You see, there was a McDonald’s at the end of our street—just five houses away—and that was the perfect babysitter. No meals together as a family. I ate with Ronald McDonald.

The first source of my emotional eating was resentment. I remember thinking, “Well, I’m going to spend every cent of this five dollars. Just watch!”

And I did.

And I ate every bite that five dollars would buy.

Food was mostly revenge in my mind. It was getting back at my parents. It was taking their money and spending it all on me, the kid they didn’t want to spend time with. It was finding the cookies and other treats that were strategically hidden from me just to send the message, “I live here, too!”

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve used food to rescue me from many different emotions: sadness or depression, anxiety, fear. The only time I don’t really eat? When I’m happy. I eat to get happy, not because I am happy.

But you know what? The food never makes me happy. It’s never made me happy. It’s made me chubby. No, not just chubby—I’ll say it. Fat. It’s made me fat.

About a year ago, I found an emotional eating support group through the local hospital. The most valuable thing I’ve learned is to take a moment before I eat and determine why I’m eating. Am I hungry? Is there some physical need that is telling me to eat? If not, then why?

People eat for lots of reasons: hunger, boredom, habit. Those are easily redirected. But if I’m eating because I’m sad or lonely, those are more difficult to walk away from. When I’m feeling that way, I’m trying to redirect those feelings using food. Giving myself something to do. Trying to fill the gaping hole in my heart with food.

Doesn’t work.

The only thing that does work is to feel. Allow myself to have those emotions and understand them. Sometimes that hurts. It hurts to feel lonely or sad. It’s embarrassing to talk to someone else about it. It’s even hard to journal about sometimes, just because admitting those things—even to myself—is difficult.

But you know what else hurts? My back. My knees. The weight I carry around in my heart is causing me to carry physical weight. And, honestly, that just adds back to the emotional weight.

It’s a vicious cycle.

All it takes is a moment to assess the situation and decide my reasons for eating.  It’s hard to deprogram years of emotional eating, and it requires taking hold of each moment to decide if the food is a physical request or an emotional one. But it’s done every day, moment by moment, choice by choice.

I can’t control the choices my parents made for their lives. And I can’t change the choices I made 15 years ago. But I can make better choices now and work toward a better, healthier life for myself each day.

A Tale of Two Eggs

We go through a lot of eggs in our house. I would prefer to always buy eggs from free range chickens that are allowed to move about and eat bugs & whatever else they like. But those eggs are more expensive & not always available. I was very happy to find free range eggs in my local grocery store this past week! Worth the splurge!

I was making breakfast for dinner Tuesday night and had one free range egg left. Which one is it? Can you guess?

On the Sneeze Mobile

It's that time of year in South Carolina. Pollen time!

This lovely yellow coating covers everything, and rain isn't in the forecast until later in the week. There aren't a lot of medications that I can take, so life has to be adjusted accordingly. Minor adjustments in the grand scheme of things.

Last week...

Fitness: I did 183 minutes of cardio. I didn't get my run in on Saturday because of allergies, but I was able to walk on Sunday for a while. I'm still moving forward in the 200 Squat Challenge; and I'll be starting the 100 Push Up Challenge this week. I know Greta and Rachel are starting that too - anyone else want to work on push ups?

I also finally had a chance to set up my Wii Your Shape workouts & do the initial fitness test.  I'll work that in on days when I have to do short bursts of cardio because there isn't enough time for a long workout. 

Monday - running, 29 minutes
Tuesday - #easactive 2, 21 minutes; squat challenge, resistance band strength training
Wednesday - running, 30 minutes
Thursday - #easactive 2, 14 minutes, Wii Your Shape, 20 minutes; squat challenge
Friday - exercise bike, 22 minutes
Saturday - exercise bike, 15 minutes
Sunday - power walking, 32 minutes; squat challenge

Nutrition: Not a completely stellar week. I reached for comforting carbs instead of fresh fruit and veggies due to the monthly visitor. I'm not going to beat myself up for that. I've already got my fresh veggies cut up and ready in the fridge so I won't have any excuses. Here's our menu plan for the week.

The Scale: No weigh in this week due to the monthly visitor. Saving myself some mental anguish. That also accounts for some of my "blah" attitude.

Blogging Carnival: This week's Mamavation blogging carnival sponsor is Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn, and the question to answer is: Are you a sweet or savory snacker? What do you look for in a healthy snack?

Oh, I love a good sweet snack! But now, I more often reach for sweet, natural fruit instead of something processed. Over the past year, our family has moved toward eating more whole foods, foods that are closest to their natural state. My current favorite snack is an apple with a few almonds - the tastes go great together!

There are times when I'm busy and I have to grab a quick snack. I'll reach for an all-natural nutrition bar or a homemade granola bar when I'm on the go. 

I have a guest post on what I've learned about moderation over at Diets in Review - it's a bit humorous; go check it out! I'm so thankful for your continued support & encouragement. I promise I'll be full of pep and inspiration next week!

Guest Post: I Live for This

This is the third in a series of guest posts on Eating Disorders.  Today, Mama Hall shares her story of healing from anorexia.  She posted an introductory vlog last fall before she shared the story on her blog.  Her faith in God is stronger because of this battle with anorexia. God offers hope and healing to anyone who struggles with an eating disorder, even you.

The details of the beginning and development of my eating disorder are hazy now. I could point the finger at specific moments and words and people, but it doesn’t matter. It was me, and me alone, that allowed those moments and words and people to have the affects that they did.

What I do remember are the bones. Protruding hip bones, knee caps, wrist bones, collar bones and spine. The bitter pain at the slightest bump. A bruise that would show immediately and stay around longer than normal. Counting back the months with no menstruation. Brittle nails and sensitive teeth, weakened muscles. Insane mood swings and dark depression. The sound of the car’s blinker irritating me to the point of rage. Looking in the mirror and feeling sheer self-hate and grueling anger. I remember the price I paid but I can’t remember why. 

….Or maybe I can.

For one thing, the compliments. “Skinny” and “thin” and “tiny,” when spoken about me, to me, fueled my self-induced famine. I’d been told that I was “big boned” and that “thickness” is in my genes, and here I was defying those god-awful odds. I was ripping off the labels I was given, adhering new ones for the sake of saying I could. I lived to watch the number on the scale go down below normal, to see my BMI calculate off the low end of the chart. I lived for that. 

I lived for that?

I knew all along that I had a problem. I owned it; like a pet, I nurtured it. It was a mark of my disease’s success to be told by a doctor that in order to conceive and carry a healthy baby to term, I needed to gain weight. “About 20 pounds,” she said. I couldn’t even mask my joy that I was “about 20 pounds” underweight. It thrilled me.

Though, I was torn. Do I love being an anorexic more than I would love to start a family? Do I love the protruding bones more than I’d love to be the picture of health? Do I live to wear the label of “thinness” more than I would love to live with the label of “Mom”? 

For weeks following, the doctor’s ultimatum echoed in my heart. Especially at meal time. It was as small a decision as taking a bite, as big a decision as changing what I lived for. The choices before me were really this: Live happily or die skinny. Seems simple doesn’t it?

If only.

If only it was as simple as telling a young me that I was beautiful no matter what size jeans I wore, or to love the body God blessed me with. Then maybe I would have been saved from this disorder. If only I had been taught early on not to judge people by their size or physical appearance, then maybe I wouldn’t have judged myself so harshly.  

I know now. I know now that this life is much better than the one I lived when I lived for the scale and the bones. This life of happiness and completeness and confidence and love and understanding. This life of grace. This life of acceptance. This life of health. This life see’s a God-designed vessel in the mirror’s reflection. This life isn’t marked by my size or my appearance. I am whole and full. I am healthy. I am a wife and a mom and a teacher, a friend and sister and daughter. Now, I live for this.

 

Rockin' & Rollin'

I don't even know where to begin. I had another great week & I'm starting to feel like a broken record! A good broken record, mind you. But how many ways can I say that?

Really, I'm very thankful that I have FINALLY busted through the plateau where I was losing and gaining the same 3 lbs over and over again. I am almost befuddled by my success lately; it feels so unusual!  I have this surreal feeling of watching myself from the outside. Is this really me? I need to constantly remind myself that it is. And I am rockin' and rollin'! Who wants to grab on my coat-tails and go for a ride? Weeeeee!

Anyway, here's the weekly recap.

Fitness: I did cardio on 6 days out of 7, for a total of 159 minutes. I took it easy, but not really. I am continuing with my squat challenge. I finally bought the app so I can keep track of the days & reps on my phone. I eased up on my running mileage, but the speed demon came out! My pace this week improved by a whole minute per mile! That speed came out on a hilly run. I went to a 7am Ash Wednesday service in my workout clothes, got my church on, then went for a run in the downtown area which has hills (our neighborhood does not). Maybe I need to go to church before every run? LOL

Monday - running, 30 minutes
Tuesday - #easactive 2, 25 minutes; squat challenge reps
Wednesday - running, 29 minutes
Thursday - #easactive 2, 17 minutes; squat challenge reps
Friday - #easactive 2, 23 minutes; upper body resistance workout
Saturday - running, 35 minutes; squat challenge reps
Sunday - rest day

Nutrition: A very good week  I'm feeling very good about my nutrition plan & am comfortable enough to switch things up yet stay on track with balance, portion sizes & caloric intake.  I've never really *loved* salads, but now I have a salad almost every day. Sometimes it's just a bed of greens with yesterday's leftover grain & protein. And I finally got that steak salad I've been craving - yum! 

My favorite snack of the week was a small apple chopped, sprinkled with cinnamon & cooked about a minute in the microwave, then topped my homemade granola. Almost like an apple crisp!

More of the same this week.  Here's our healthy menu plan.

The Scale: Woot! Down 1 more lb! I've lost 5 lbs in 4+ weeks on this nutrition plan, bringing my total weight loss to 27 lbs in 14 months. More rockin' and rollin'! I won a new EatSmart scale from Beth's giveaway and it arrived this week. That keeps me motivated too, but I can't leave the scale out or I'll step on it every day. So, as pretty as it is, it only comes out once a week.


Blogging Carnival: This week's Mamavation blogging carnival is sponsored by Fit Studio. The question of the week is: What time of day works best for you to be active? How do you make sure you stick to those planned workouts? 

I am definitely a morning person, so I get up early to get my cardio done before the family is up (well, that's the plan anyway!).  I do strength training exercises in the afternoon or evenings, and I find that is a good way to get my blood moving and fight through the afternoon sleepies. 

How do I stick to my planned workouts? For me, everything revolves around running. I love to run and I want everything else to help me improve. That's why I'm doing the squat challenge. My advice is to find that one fitness activity that you LOVE, schedule those workouts, then schedule everything else around them.

Thank you for your continued support & encouragement!

This post is sponsored by SEARS FitStudio and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation and sponsored by Sears.

Saturday Stumbles

It's been a while since I've shared some good web finds with you.

From the always inspiring, even when in a dentist's office, Alli Worthington, Luckily My Dentist Loves Social Media Too

Near and dear to my heart, How to Lose Weight the Cheap Way from Janice, the Fitness Cheerleader

So many great recipes! Cauliflower Cheese Bake, Open-Face Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sandwiches, Cheesy Spinach Bites, Butternut Squash Bruschetta, Healthier Chicken Parmesan, and Spinach Pancakes

To help raise awareness about Eating Disorders, I have several guest bloggers sharing their stories. So far, Steph has shared about Binge Eating Disorder and Lynn has shared about Bulimia. Two more guest posts coming this month!


For more Saturday Stumbles, check out Simply Staci

Guest Post: In Which I Had the Tiger By the Tail ... Until I Didn't

I'm pleased to share the second guest post in my Eating Disorders series.  Today's guest blogger is Lynn of All Fooked Up. Lynn is raw and a straight-shooter. This is her story of slipping into eating disordered behavior, to full-blown eating disorder, to therapy and recovery. Thank you, Lynn, for sharing!

When a call went out over Twitter looking for people who had had an eating disorder, I didn’t hesitate to reply that I had once had an eating disorder.  I received a response asking if I was willing to talk about it.  I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m an open book so I figured “yeah, why not?”  I had always intended on talking about it so now would be as good a time as any and it’s not like I hadn’t already been incredibly open about it with my family, especially my two college aged daughters.
 

I would be a guest blogger on Not a DIY Life while Heather was doing a series on eating disorders but weirdly enough, this has been a tougher assignment than I would have suspected.  First, I’m already in my midwinter slump and down in the dumps so writing, especially an emotional piece, is difficult and secondly, where do I begin?
 

How do you explain an eating disorder without explaining your complicated relationship with food?  And how do you explain your relationship with food without explaining why you’re screwed up in the first place and need to use food as a feel good source?
 

And trust me; I’ve been in therapy for 28 years.  Explaining the need for food, the need to self medicate with food would be a novel if I went into the entire thing so seriously, how to explain an eating disorder which is actually a symptom without explaining your feelings, which is actually the disease?  The more I thought about it, the more difficult it became to figure out exactly what to say.  What I’ve decided is NOT to go into the many psychological issues about WHY I was a binge eater, but to simply tell the convoluted story of HOW I became bulimic…so here goes.
 

When I was in college, like many young people, we would go out and eat and drink.  There were many evenings that ended with huge pig-out’s.  My roommate, and many of my other friends, would simply make themselves throw up afterward so that they wouldn’t get fat.  While it was often suggested that I do the same, I simply couldn’t.  I don’t mean that I couldn’t mentally throw up, I mean that physically I actually tried to throw up and for some reason I couldn’t.  Therefore, my weight often fluctuated because I alternated between starvation diets and gigantic pig-out’s.  I don’t think this was highly unusual, especially for college kids.
 

At any rate, after I graduated college I went on a one month trip to Europe and between a sh**load of beer, a ton of chocolate, a lack of diet soda and an overload of unhealthy food, I gained a lot of weight.  Arriving home, I needed to go on a massive diet and lose a lot of weight.   I was doing pretty well until one day, in a crap mood for some reason or another; I had about a half-gallon of ice cream.  A half-gallon you’re saying?  Yeah, no sh**, a half-gallon and trust me, I felt pretty d*** sick.  I went in the bathroom and I stuck my finger down my throat and for the first time ever, I managed to make myself throw up.  This had NEVER worked for me before but this time I felt SO MUCH BETTER.  What a relief, both physically and mentally.  I had eaten too much but now I wouldn’t get fat.
 

The ramifications of that particular instant were devastating, although at the time, I didn’t know that.  I didn’t try it again right away but the next time I was in a bad mood and I ate too much, I immediately went into the bathroom and threw up.  This was awesome, or so I thought.
 

Because I’m a binge eater, throwing up is a perfect solution.  What is a binge eater you might say?  To me, it’s someone who basically consumes MASSIVE quantities of food to eat away the pain, the emotion, the black hole of feelings.  I have always eaten when I felt bad although it took me YEARS to realize that was what I was doing.  Simply put, I could literally sit down and eat a pound of M&M’s, an entire half-gallon of ice cream or an entire pizza in one sitting.  Did I feel sick afterward?  Hell yeah I did, but that could be taken care of by throwing up.  Win-win, right?
 

At any rate, as throwing up because the perfect solution to my weight problem, I realized I could literally have my cake and eat it too!  It was great, until one day I realized that instead of over-eating and then throwing up I was actually planning on eating knowing that I could always throw up afterward.  What had begun as the perfect solution to an occasional problem had developed into an addictive behavior which I was incapable of controlling.
 

Although I wasn’t happy about this, I also wasn’t particularly disturbed about it because honestly I was 22 and figured it was no big deal.  I was taking some courses post-graduate and living at home and altogether enjoying this time with my parents.  It wasn’t until one evening when I was watching 60 Minutes on TV and they had a story on bulimia.  In this story, a young woman had DIED because she suffered a heart attack while throwing up.  To say I was shocked would be a massive understatement.  I mean, I knew it wasn’t healthy and I knew it could mess up your teeth but actual DEATH; it scared the ever living hell out of me.
 

I tried to stop, and I couldn’t.  I knew I was screwed so I decided to tell my parents.  This was literally the most difficult thing I have EVER done in my life.  My parent’s always seemed to capable, so amazing and to admit such a glaring weakness was terrifying.  My dad, who was in all honesty my hero, was always saying things like “Lynn, if you want to lose weight; just don’t eat so much!”  It was all so cut and dried to him and to have to tell him this was both scary and embarrassing.  And yet, I knew I needed to let them know just how much trouble I was in.  I sat them down and I told them the news and they were incredible.  They just hugged me, told me they loved me and quickly set about to find a therapist to help me.  Honestly, I don’t know how the situation could have been handled better.
 

And so began my process of recovering from bulimia.  How long has this taken?  Well, I’m 51 and I’m no longer bulimic and haven’t been for quite some time.  I would like to tell you it was easy but it wasn’t.  I started therapy in Greensboro, North Carolina when I was 22 and eventually moved to New York City.  Through my job, I found a new therapist and continued to have appointments twice a week.  By the time I met Kevin, I was 26 and was just beginning to get better.  I had good days and bad days and every type of day in between.  I had the lowest of low points where I despaired that I would never get better.
 

It took a long time for me to be able to tell Kevin the truth; that I was bulimic and I was getting help.  I was worried about how he would take it; would this be the end of my relationship?  Obviously, we’ve been married for 23 years and he’s been incredibly supportive.  Through the 25 years that we’ve been together there have been times I’ve been great and yet, I’ve had relapses…even through my early 40’s.  I’ve never stopped therapy and very frankly, I never will because I love it.
 

I’ve told my girls that easy answers aren’t always the best answers.  For many young women nowadays, throwing up is the easy solution.  I have instilled in my girls repeatedly that it’s a TERRIBLE solution because sometimes, right when you think you have the tiger by the tail, it really has you!

Ash Wednesday

Matthew 4 - The Temptation of Jesus

Giving Up on Giving Up

Lent begins tomorrow.  As a kid and teenager, I would give up donuts, or chocolate, or ice cream, or some similar sweet treat.  In grad school, I gave up playing computer card games.  But I would always go right back to those things as soon as Easter came around.

So what's the point?

The point of "giving something up" for Lent is to more closely identify with sacrifice, especially the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for all humankind. 

But I haven't taken the time to do anything for Lent the last few years.  The days seem to fly by and before I know it, Easter is here, then Ladybug's birthday, then the whirlwind of summer begins only to be followed by the whirlwind of the school year. 

This year, I won't be "giving something up" for Lent.  Instead, I am adding something.  (Like I really NEED to add anything to my already full plate. But I digress.)  First, I am adding time to meditate on Scripture.  I'm going to sit with a passage for a while, even if I only study one passage of Scripture over the next six weeks, I want to sit with it.  (I'll share more about that tomorrow.)

Another thing I'm adding is a family project, or more accurately, a project that our almost four year old can participate with.  Our church has challenged us to collect spare change during Lent to help feed the poor.  And, I hate to admit this, but I struggle to get LB to brush her teeth every day.  So I decided that for every day that she brushes her teeth, she can put money in our "rice bowl" (our collection bowl to be turned in at the end of Lent).  She knows that the money will go to people who don't have enough money to buy food and that we share our money because Jesus wants us to.

So I am encouraging a good habit in myself with Scripture meditation, a good habit in our daughter to help her brush her teeth daily, and we will be collecting money to help other people.  I feel really good about these Lenten disciplines.

What do you do for Lent?  Do you give up anything?  Do you spend more time in prayer?  How do you help your children (if you have any) understand what it means to sacrifice?

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

Goals Realized

Why do we set goals? Not to set ourselves up to fail. We set goals to push ourselves.  And when a goal is realized, there is definite cause for celebration!  Whether they are financial, personal, professional or health and weight loss goals, anytime a goal is met, we rejoice.  This week, I realized my first fitness goal of 2011. I ran 5 miles at one time.

Jogstats report for my 5 mile run

In order to keep myself from getting obsessed about the number on the scale, I need a fitness goal.  A 5k race, the MamaGuns Challenge were goals in 2010.  Now for 2011, I am participating in a 200 Squat Challenge and also set a goal to run five miles (in preparation for eventually running a half marathon!).  These fitness goals help me look at the bigger picture.  Yes, I want the scale to move in the right direction.  But I don't want to get obsessed with it.  So these goals keep me moving in the right direction and give me something more positive to obsess about. If I'm going to obsess, it might as well be about something positive, right?

It was a stellar week here. Let me 'splain. No, not enough time. Let me sum up. (Movie anyone?)

Fitness: Cardio on 6 days out of 7 for a total of 274 minutes. I feel like I was making up for the previous week.  I really enjoy the variety that I have in my workout schedule. The extra minutes this week came from my 5 mile run and some extra time when I squeezed in 45 minutes of yoga.  I'm finding that some weeks I have the extra time, some weeks I don't.  It's all about using the time that I have.

Monday - running, 30 minutes
Tuesday - #easactive 2 custom workout, 28 minutes; squat challenge, resistance band strength training
Wednesday - running, 30 minutes
Thursday - #easactive 2 cardio workout, 22 minutes; squat challenge, resistance band strength training
Friday - exercise bike, 24 minutes; yoga, 45 minutes
Saturday - running, 1 hr 15 minutes
Sunday - a well-deserved rest day!

Nutrition: A good week in this department as well. After being away for a conference the previous week, it was great to get back to my usual clean eating.  I felt strong this week and I know it was from the good fuel that I was putting in my body.  It makes such a difference!

This week, I'll be continuing with my nutrition plan, eating lots of fruits and veggies (current fave: Brussels sprouts!).  Here's our healthy menu plan for the week.

The Scale: Woo-to-the-hoo! Down 2 lbs this week. I re-lost the 1.5 lbs that I gained in the last two weeks, and lost an additional .5 lbs. Totall weight loss in 14 months is 26 lbs! (Check out my new badge in the side bar!) I also re-checked measurements; it's been 6 weeks since I did that.  In the last 6 weeks, I've lost an additional 1.5 inches in my bust, 1.5 inches in my hips, 1 inch in my waist, & .25 inches in my thighs.

Blogging Carnival: This week's Mamavation blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear, and the question to answer is: What are your strategies to fit everything into your busy life? Any areas you need to work on?

It is definitely a challenge to "fit it all in." I make priorities.  If a task is within those top priority areas, then that task is a priority.  I realize that some things are not "urgent," so I don't beat myself up if those things don't get done.  I am not as organized as I would like to be; I tend to be a pile-er.  But piles can get overwhelming, so I definitely need to work on that.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement!  This post is sponsored by Earth Footwear and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

Binge Eating Disorder - Thin Does Not Equal Healthy

This is the first post in the blog series on Eating Disorders. Today, I am pleased to present Steph (@fitmomtraining) and her story about dealing with Binge Eating Disorder. Stephanie is mom to an adorable one year old boy (aka Fit Boy), recently returned to work after maternity leave, and continues to strive toward a balanced life.

 

Which eating disorder have you dealt with?

I have never been "officially" diagnosed with an eating disorder, mainly because I never sought the advice or help of a professional. But if you look at the symptomatology and signs, I am quite clearly in the Binge Eating Disorder category and later on, had symptoms of bulimia (fasting, exercising excessively). 

At what age did you first “know” you had an eating disorder? (With or without a diagnosis, but you knew something was wrong)

It wasn't until my early 20's that it really started to click. I was taking a course on Eating Disorders at University and was really expecting to learn more about what I knew to be the "typical" disorders of Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa. When my professor began lecturing about Binge Eating Disorder (BED), I'm pretty sure my jaw hit my notebook. I honestly felt like he was talking about me when he was lecturing. I did a mental checklist as he talked and the only symptom I didn't have was that I wasn't overweight. I ate large amounts quickly, to the point of feeling ill, I mostly ate alone, I would feel completely disgusted with myself after.

Did you have an “a-ha” moment that you know you needed to get help?

It was when I realized that thin did not equal healthy and really stopped to think about what I was putting into my body and pay closer attention to the quantity of what I was eating, and how I felt when I was eating. I was eating anywhere from 4,000-10,000 calories of junk 2-3 times per week. I would constantly be thinking about food. I can remember eating 2 "family" sized bags of chips in about 30 minutes and feeling sick but "needing" more food. At one point I remember panicking because I knew what I was doing wasn't normal but being MORE panicked at the thought of stopping eating than of continuing on with it.

How did you get help? 

I remember mentioning my concerns to a couple of people that I trusted at the time, only to be met with ridicule and disbelief. If I ate as much as I said I did, I would be severely obese I was told. Or I would be told I should consider myself lucky that I could eat like that and stay thin. What I realized was that I was completely alone in my struggle and that it was up to me to make the changes in my life and to deal with my disordered eating. The main thing that helped me was educating myself on my issues, what was really causing them. I knew that there were some emotional issues underneath it all that were triggering my behaviour so my goal was to recognize my triggers and train myself to react differently in order to cope. Once I discovered the various triggers that would set me off and began to deal with those issues, I then began to educate myself on the fundamentals of healthy eating, exercise and remove trigger foods (highly processed foods, sugary foods, salty foods, things like that). The main thing I learned through this all was that I needed to find balance in my life as a whole, not just on my dinner plate or at the gym. 

What one piece of advice would you give to someone dealing with the same disorder? 

You're not alone. BED is the most common eating disorder and it is something that you can overcome. It takes time. It took me years to fully understand the root of my issues and to gradually change my thought process and behaviours. The key is to deal with the emotional issues causing the eating. You may not realize it and think it's simply that you love food but it's more than that. I guarantee there is a trigger or triggers that you can work on that will help you immensely. Mine are/were depression, self-hatred, living with a chronically ill parent and stress.  

What one piece of advice would you give to a friend or loved one of someone dealing with the same disorder?

Take it one step at a time and don't panic if you stumble. Just keep trying. I still have episodes now. This is a life long battle but you can win it. I am conquering it and learning to love and appreciate myself more and more everyday. Through this, you will build strength and power you didn't think you had.
 

Upcoming Blog Series: Eating Disorders

Did you know that 1 out of 4 Americans either suffer from an eating disorder or know someone who does?  That's twenty-five percent.  Eating disorders have huge physical and psychological effects on the sufferer, as well as the family and friends of the sufferer.  Eating disorders are not just about being skinny, although body image is big factor because 90-95% of people with eating disorders are women.

I was never diagnosed with an eating disorder, but I am a food addict (recovering!), which could have led me down that road.  I have a huge heart for women who deal with eating disorders on a daily basis.  Because I've been focusing so much on health and wellness on my blog lately, I wanted to bring some awareness to the problem of eating disorders.

During the month of March, I have several guest bloggers who will be sharing their story with us.  I'm so excited to bring these stories to you, and I hope that they put a face to the statistics and well as offer hope to anyone currently dealing with an eating disorder. Look for the first guest post tomorrow!

Photo Credit: stock.xchng