The LBDDiaries.com Blog

To come into my life.  And waiting and waiting.  The pool arrived Thursday.  I was very excited.  Hubby got it all put together Friday and we started filling it with water… and filling and filling.  On Sunday, at 9:53 a.m., we were STILL filling.

The manual said “up to 24 hours”.  They should have said that it was more like 48 plus hours, depending on how slow the water pressure is. 

It is also lovely FALL weather (bleh) here so I am going to have to invest in a full body swimsuit.  I’ve been researching them – whew.  They aren’t cheap.  But if I want to get the full use out of this swimming pool, I will be swimming on cooler days.  This is probably the first time I am dreaming and hoping for Indian summer – warmer weather than we’ve been having!

Of course, these two played in the Atlantic ocean in November at Rye Beach, New Hampshire.  The hotel clerk said, “You two aren’t from around here, are you?  We don’t swim when it is this chilly.”  I think it was 50 degrees or so, but the ocean water was colder.

I was finally able to get into the pool pretty late last evening.  Before going to bed, I was worn out from messing around.  It still had 4 more inches to go before it is considered filled, but it was full enough to swim laps in.  And do aerobics.  And now.  I. Am. Sore. Sore. SORE.

Obviously this swimming pool is going to kick my bootie like nobody’s business!  This morning I feel like someone ran me into a brick wall then kicked me a few times for good measure.  Whewww doggie.  I am SORE.  It is an amazingly good feeling, though.  It was a great workout.  I even did some aerobics like pushing a ball down into the water, using the water as resistance.  I didn’t think I did that much but today my arms are sore so it must have done some good!

The best thing for me is that my knees are not sore.  That had been the problem prior to this when I wanted to do cardio exercises.  Because of the car accident and then the recent weight gain, I was unable to do a lot of cardio without it impacting my knees in a bad way.  The orthopedic surgeon I saw said swimming was my best form of exercise – now I realized how right he was.  Wish I’d found a pool a couple of years ago!

Again, it just shows that it is important to find some form of exercise you can enjoy doing – or at least not hate – and work with it.  Don’t give up with slow beginnings, either.  I realize now that if I don’t like doing something, I will find ways to get out of it.  Even thought my heart wants to lose weight, my mind will say, “Heck no, I’m not going to do that; I hate sweating and I hate hurting, and I don’t like that so Body, let’s figure out a way to stop this!”  Then a distraction comes and I allow it to pull me away from my plan.

Like Alpha Hubby always says, there will always be a reason to quit.  The trick is to find something you will do that you won’t quit!  Then DON’T QUIT.

So we’ve been messing in the fountain for this past week – about 9 days – and I’m here to tell you what, water will kick your bootie.  In a way, the resistance it offers is actually just as effective as lifting weights.  Alpha Hubby says it does more – he would probably know since he’s a gym rat.

This picture is a couple of years old.  The fountain has water in it now.  And I don’t have a patio anymore, I have an enclosed sunroom (where the table is).  Be that as it may, you get the point.  I’m too lazy to go take a current picture! 

I sit in the bottom on the pond and then move my arms out in the water, then back in to “clap” my hands, then back out to my sides.  I “push” the water and let me tell you, my arms get tired pretty fast.  I’d done some weight training with hand weights but this hurts everything on my arm – in a good way.

The leg part requires caution because I have to be careful.  I can’t kick too hard or I hit bottom which… HURTS.  The pool is only about 2.5 feet deep.  I can get a good leg workout but the swimming pool will allow more movement.

The most important thing is that I have found something I like to do and am sticking to it.  Plus I get some personal time with the slave driver who has to be nice or I’ll splash the heck out of him!  When the pool gets here tomorrow, I know I am going to be able to do so much more but I’m glad I got to mess in the fountain.  It showed me that there really are things out there I like to do that are called exercise!  I was beginning to wonder!

I have DVD’s for beginner’s yoga and Pilates.  I have Tae Bo videos.  I have a Wii-Fit.  I have Gilad on satellite, and I own several pieces of gym equipment from the elliptical to the recumbent bike.  Now I have a swimming pool.  There are NO excuses left for me.  I have found something I enjoy.  Once a couple of months pass, I’m willing to bet I feel so good, I’ll get back on the other equipment.  It will be winter – I’ll sort of have to!

When it comes to exercising, keep digging around until you find something that you will faithfully stick to.  It really makes you feel better about yourself!  Not just physically but that old mental imp that used sit on your shoulder and to tell you, “You are so lazy and you’ll never exercise.  You’re never going to make it! You don’t have it in you to be faithful.”  Well, something like that. 

Find something you like and will do whether it is swimming or working out at a gym – walking, working with water jugs – anything – find something and stick to it long enough to count.  You’ll be glad you did!

I’ve been married 15 years.  And I’m here to tell you, those 15 years have been:

Phew.  When I think of my life with Alpha Hubby these past years, I can honestly say that there is a place a couple can “live” that makes ordinary marriage pale in comparison.  It is beyond my wildest dreams and imaginings.  Most hope for, but few discover, this place.  I am a blessed woman.

Alpha Hubby is a haven for me.  He offered sanctuary 15 years ago and I took it.  I’ve never looked back, not one time.  In his love, I am not only complete, I am known and understood in a way no one else on earth has accomplished.  He is a total man and makes no apologies that he wants to take care of and protect me and our family.  Very old fashioned.  And I’m here to tell you – phew baby!

One reason I am sticking to this journey and NOT giving up is Alpha Hubby.  He is a man beyond what I ever dreamed of meeting and loving.  He’s been an amazing support in any endeavor I’ve tackled and believes in me so strongly, I sometimes think he is blinded by bias. 

I am winning this battle and when I get on the other side, look out!  Every meal I eat that is good for me – healthy, wholesome and low calorie – it is not only for me, it is for him.  I am learning to eat to live, not live to eat.  This is harder than you’d think – my family had celebrations around food.  It is OK to celebrate and still keep your eyes on the end goal.

Every time I break a sweat (and I HATE to sweat), I do it for him.  I have to go get into the fountain right now.  I have leg exercises to do.  That water whipped my bootie this past week.  It provides far more resistance than I ever dreamed.  Imagine when I can swim laps – whoo hoo!!  I can’t wait until I look smokin’ in my bathing suit – really.  And I am not going to cover up and say the politically correct things people are supposed to say when they give their reasons for losing weight.  I am losing weight to make hubby proud of how I look, even if he is the only one who sees me.  In a sense, I am doing it for me – ‘cause the benefits are outstanding!

And yes, I know that I have to be doing this for ME in order for it to really work.  But when I do it for him, I am doing it for me, too.  We are one and by golly, half of us needs to look a little less bulky!

Love wounds and mars

Any heart not tough or strong enough

To take a lot of pain – take a lot of pain

Love is like a cloud, it holds a lot of rain.  Love hurts.  (Nazareth, 1974, “Love Hurts”)

Yeah, yeah, I know.  I don’t get that cloud thing either.  BUT be that as it may.  I had been stuck in this plateau for awhile.  Then alpha hubby comes up with a great idea last Sunday.  And it hurts while it is also the best thing ever!

He loves me passionately.  I know this ‘cause I asked him.  I said, ‘Honey, do you love me passionately?”  He said, “Is this going to show up on the internet?”  I said, “Eeeenh, wrong answer.”  Huge *sigh* then he replies, “Oh, all right, I love you passionately.”

I also know this because he has done everything I could possibly need to help me reach my goal weight.  He’s bought equipment, help me learn how to eat better, supported me, put on a cutesy little cheerleading outfit, gotten out the pompoms and cheered me on.  Oh OK, maybe not that last bit.  But you get the point.  He’s been there for me, big time.

He also has never, ever, one time expressed disappointment when I failed a plan, program, or goal I set for myself.  He just keeps working to find ways to help me.  He’s like the energizer bunny that way.  They say men are very visual.  Ya think he has a hidden agenda?  Me, too.  Works for me!!

If you’ve read my bio, you know I was in a car accident in 1972 that injured both my knees.  You also know that I had a lot of trouble with the knees in the past couple of years due to the excess weight on them. I recently tried to do many different types of cardio programs but inevitably, I end up stressing the knees either by doing too much or because what I’m doing is too much.  So I’ve been stymied.

One thing the doctor said a few years back was that one of the best exercises I could do is swimming and those aerobic water exercises.  Of course where I live, the nearest city swimming pool is miles and miles away and there is NO way I’m going there anyway.  It is a haven for many many rug rats.  NO way, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, here’s what Alpha Hubby came up with first.  This is the fountain he built me several years ago when I had a hankering for the sound of babbling brooks and frolicking water.  It’s in three parts, top running through the middle into the bottom which flows back up to the top (click to enlarge).

So his idea is this – since the center of the big part (bottom) is about 2.5 feet deep, why not try some form of exercise in the water.  OK.  Umm, sounds like… ? 

But you know what?  IT WORKED.  I can balance myself in the water and kick my feet.  I can lie on my side and do side scissors.  I can sit and move my arms through the water using the water as resistance.   I can also, after 6 days, want to smack my loving Alpha Hubby upside the head BECAUSE EVERY MUSCLE I HAVE IN MY THIGHS AND ARMS HURT LIKE HECK.  Not my knees tho so how cool is that?

But here’s the coolest part of all.  Because I really, REALLY enjoy swimming so I really enjoy this type of exercise and do them – he bought me this so he could work out too:

It’s 16′ wide by 48′ long and 52″ deep.  It will be here next week.  I am so psyched.  I haven’t been swimming in years.  It is a salt water pool so I don’t have to worry about green hair (chlorine, bleached hair?).  Oooooo, I am so very, very excited.  Of course, I will let you know in 2 weeks or so just how excited I am after doing some laps in this pool.  I know swimming is an overall exercise that works the entire body so I’m suspecting that his love is going to hurt me even more than ever after a few evenings of laps. 

Ya gotta love it!  Getting to go swimming in my own back yard – I am so blessed.  I fully expect this to amp up my weight loss so stay tuned for results and whining.  

 www.littleblackdressdiaries.com 

Obviously I think in song titles a lot.  An old song will pop into my head and then an entire article follows.  

It’s been a week and 2 days since I posted.  Slap my hand!!  I made a promise to myself I would write in my “journal” every day to keep myself motivated and also to have a form of accountability.  But never fear, I’ve been a busy girl since my last posting.  

Everyone I know who started this journey with me has suddenly become silent about their own journey.  Me, majorly included.  We have all had different and diverse reasons why we’ve… ummm… fallen off the journey wagon.  Unfortunately, for me they are all just EXCUSES.  If I really take them out and study them, the reasons aren’t good enough to stand up to the truth – I got lazy.  There was one girl who had that same attitude as the title: she was going to eat whatever she wanted to, no matter what.  She also couldn’t figure out why she kept gaining weight instead of losing it.

Newsflash – you can’t swap calories out.  The amount of calories in several pieces of fruit is not the same as the same amount of calories in a piece of chocolate.  Ask me how I know.  I WAS THE QUEEN OF CHEATING STRATEGIES!

Anyway, I’ve been studing, thinking, preparing, working, and getting into a lot of pain (next post).  I haven’t gained weight but I now do see why I haven’t lost anymore – that dreaded plateau.  It really all boils down to one thing – I quit working the plan.  Stopped tracking my calories.  Stopped weighing my food.  

There is a Bible scripture that fits me perfectly.  It simply states, “…where there is no vision… people perish.”  When I looked up that word “vision” it came back, “see (mentally) to gaze at; mentally, to perceive, contemplate (with pleasure); specifically, to have a vision of; a dream.”  If you can’t see yourself slender and healthy, you’ll probably never get there.

When Alpha Hubby scanned all my old “slender me” pictures, I began to get that mental vision of a slender self.  I looked at all those pictures and began to SEE.  I also saw that I had gotten comfortable with myself being overweight.  Not really comfortable, per se; more of a “got used to what I was seeing in the mirror.”  That didn’t mean I liked what I saw but it did mean I glanced in the mirror, grimaced, and went on with my day, not happy with that self.  I had no vision of what I could be, what I used to be or, more importantly, where I wanted to go.  I just couldn’t “SEE” myself slender.

So I took some of my favorite pictures and posted them around the house – on mirrors, on the fridge, on the freezer, by my makeup table, on the comptuer screen saver, and here and there.  Alpha Hubby doesn’t care – he supports whatever it takes to get me back to a healthier self.

That is my plan for today:  SEE myself slender.  SEE myself shopping for smaller sizes.  SEE myself exchanging my entire wardrobe for a smaller sizes, including shoes!  Oooo and sexy lingerie, too!!

  www.littleblackdressdiaries.com

Reasons for losing weight are varied for each person.

Some people want to become healthier.

Some people want to fit back into a favorite outfit.

Some people have a class reunion coming up.

Some people have had a scary doctor’s report.

Then there are those of us who have deep and vitally important reasons for losing weight.  I have these:

Because I have this:

   www.littleblackdressdiaries.com

Yes, change is in the air.  Change is in the house.  Change is in the fridge.  Bah humbug!

I have reached a plateau and been stuck at the same weight for a few days now.  I finally had a light bulb moment and realized I needed to search out what I had been eating and other ways of how I could change things up.

Sometimes it feels like all I do is spend all my time changing whatever was working before to cause me to lose weight.  It is like I lose weight, lose weight, get stuck, stay stuck, don’t lose weight.  Something works… then it stops working.  It is an evil plot against my journey.  Heads will roll!

I read somewhere that our bodies adapt to whatever we are doing to them.  If you exercise the same way all the time, your body says, “Hey, it’s me, your body.  I’m tired of this walking stuff.  I’m gonna quit letting it affect me.  I’m going on strike and I will not let any more weight come off me.” 

So “they” tell you that you have to shock your body -bzzzzzt – by changing up your program.  So one day you get on the elliptical instead of the treadmill and ta-da!  You start losing weight again.  But of course, your body doesn’t like this either, so in just a little while, it will again cause you to need to change things up.  I told you, an evil plot.  What a bummer.

So here I am.  I have to change portion sizes of my food again.  I need to change up what I’m eating again.  I need to change up what I do as a form of exercise.  Yep.  Guess that means I need to start actually doing exercise again.  I’d been simply doing resistance training.  You know, I resisted exercising, vigorously!

NO NO – just kidding.  I mean that I work out with weights.  But without some form of cardio, I plateau.  Like it or not, I have to get off my tushie and get back on the elliptical again.  My excuses are over.  No more knee pain.  No more back pain.  No more… whatever else I could think of to resist that form of exercise. 

It is time.  It’s way past time.

  www.littleblackdressdiaries.com 

I don’t know who sketched this cartoon, but it was so good to learn that after months of deprivation and suffering, I am not overweight after all!  I’ve just been weighing myself wrong!

So, I’m just wondering if I can pass this by Alpha Hubby and get away with it.  Somehow I just don’t think so.  Oh well, it was good for a Monday Morning laugh.

 www.littleblackdressdiaries.com