It's Doesn't Have to Be a Marathon...Just Get Moving!!!

*photo courtesy of Junonia.

If you watch a certain weight loss reality show, you may think that the only way to get the pounds off is to immediately jump into a full-fledged boot camp type workout. More power to you if you can do it this way without getting hurt, but the majority of us are not built to withstand this much pressure on our bodies without bringing on trauma or injury. Seeing someone rushed to the hospital might make for supposed "good" TV drama...but it's not fun for the person in danger and it is not worth risking your life for. Most people do NOT start their fitness programs with a 26 mile bike ride or climbing a mountain.

If you have not exercised in a long time, you need to move into it gradually. Depending on your fitness level, you may need to start out with a brisk walk around the neighborhood...or even a slow stroll if you find yourself out of breath and need to work up to a faster pace. Swimming and yoga are easier on the joints, and you may want to start there if your body is not ready for the pressure of pounding the pavement. I have also found Pilates helpful in strengthening my body, and I will elaborate more on that in another post.

The main idea is to get moving in some way. Exercise is good for your body and mind, whether or not you lose pounds because of it. Chances are you will lose some weight as your body burns more fuel, but what's important is treating your body well, not what size you end up at. Don't expect to be able to run a marathon right away. Do what you can and enjoy the feeling of movement.

Tomorrow is National Dance Day...and I encourage all of you to get up and dance, no matter your size, fitness level, or level of dance experience. Just feel the joy of expressing yourself, and get moving!!!

Honored To Make The Top 100!!!

I'm excited to share some wonderful news with you. I just found out that my blog made a very special list...NursingSchools.net picked their Top 100 Empowering Posts, and my post "Size Does Not Matter" was chosen to be on the list!

All of the posts deal with losing weight in a healthy way and staying positive about yourself and your life journey, and I am honored to be in such good company. If you would like to view the entire list, please go to http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/07/100-empowering-blog-posts-for-your-weight-loss-battle/ . My post is listed in the 5th spot under the Self Image section. This site is also helpful if you are thinking about becoming a nurse, filled with information about all of the different categories of nursing, classes, and schools across the country. Please check out the blogs on the list as well as all of the nursing resources available to you.

I am very proud to represent a positive, healthy body image in this group. Thank you to NursingSchools.net for this great honor, and here's to good health for all of us!

Movie (and Moving) Night on Huge!!!

Tonight's episode of HUGE brought out a lot of emotions for me. Not that it doesn't happen during the other episodes, because it always hits me hard. Movie Night just got to me even more.

Dr. Rand warns the counselors that campers go to the infirmary complaining of a sore throat just so they can get salt, which they then use on their food. To me, it sounds like the camp isn't making the food tasty enough so that they don't miss the salt...and then the kids are treated like criminals for it. She also warns them that they have to watch for couples sneaking off together at Movie Night, because last year a guy and a girl were caught in one sleeping bag together. Sleeping bags are banned this time for that reason. This issue obviously affects teens of all sizes, so it's a great lesson to show.

The girls talk about Hollywood stars in their cabin, and Chloe teases Amber because she still has the hoodie that George let her borrow the day her shorts ripped. Will asks Becca if she's afraid that someone might read her own journal, and Becca tells her she writes in code so nobody can figure it out. Will still doesn't believe that Ian only read the first page of hers, and Becca is feeling guilty that she read the whole thing herself. In the meantime, Ian and Alistair discuss Will and what Ian is going to do. Since everyone is voting on the movie choices, Ian slips a note to Becca to give to Will. When Will reads it, she discovers that Ian wants to write a song with her. When she goes to him, he says that he never wrote anything good before, and he finally did because of her. Now for me, that is an ultimate compliment. I write songs, and I would be honored that something I wrote moved someone that much. Becca doesn't want to get in the middle of Will and Ian, because neither of them know that she read Will's journal. She knows exactly why Will is worried that Ian may have read it all.

Wayne is back to construct the fence, and he and Dr. Rand bond even further. He tells her about Paris, quotes poetry to her, and tells her about a movie that the kids would rather see instead of the lousy choices they were given to choose from. Dr. Rand is just as confused about her feelings for Wayne as the teens are about their relationships. Dr. Rand is even more surprised when she has a conversation with her dad...and he tells her she's beautiful. You can tell that she isn't used to hearing those compliments. I have to admit, that really got to my heart. I'm the same way, and a compliment like that can go a long way in making me feel good. I also know from experience that when I give someone else a compliment like that, it touches them like nothing else can. My advice here: Tell your family, friends, and significant others often how special and beautiful they are. Sometimes we all really need to hear it!

Amber finally gives George back his hoodie, and George goes back to the guys' cabin to give them advice on how to treat girls well, because he's worried that some of them might try the stuff that happened last year. Michael is testing his blood sugar, and knowing that I have to be careful because diabetes runs in my family, I really hurt for him having to deal with it at his age. Ian goes outside to talk to Will when she comes by, and he wants her to help him write a "non-cheesy" love song. She agrees to meet with him later to work on it.

Wayne gives Dr. Rand a copy of the movie that the kids really want to see, "Phantasma". She tells him she wants to be clear where they stand, and Wayne gets mad that she's so defensive. He tells her to see the invoice he left in her office for the fence. Will goes to meet Ian, but as she comes up behind him she can hear what he wrote so far. He's singing about beautiful blue eyes and yellow hair...and Will knows that this song is not about her. It's for Amber. She runs off before Ian even sees her, and I can feel her pain. Even when you become an adult, you never forget that guy you liked...the one you thought liked you back but has fallen for someone else. OUCH...it still hurts thinking about it, even though I've obviously moved on in my life! Everyone knows how this feels.

After Ian says he would like to sit with Amber at the movie, Will also realizes that he didn't read the rest of her journal. He would never have said anything about Amber in front of her if he had, because he's too kind of a person for that. Becca knows how much this hurts Will, but can't help her because that would mean telling Will that she read her journal. Ian has his own feelings hurt as Amber and Michael go off to the movie together, so he goes to the rec center to work on the song. Little does he know that Chloe asked Michael to sit with Amber because she didn't have a "boyfriend"...and that Chloe is expecting Trent to join her at the movie. Trent goes to the rec center to hang out with Ian because he admires his musical talent. He even gives the old drum set a try and jams a little with Ian. As "Phantasma" starts, Chloe is looking around and wondering where Trent is. Michael and Amber sit down next to Sierra, and it's obvious that Michael really likes Sierra. Chloe throws popcorn to get Alistair's attention, and they meet on the side to talk. She admits to him that she was the girl who was caught in the sleeping bag last year, and the guy didn't come back to camp this year. She asks Alistair if she thinks Trent heard about it, and maybe that's why he didn't come to the movie. Alistair says no, but he is so sad for Chloe because she doesn't care that she did that; the guy was popular and they both got something out of it. Alistair goes back to the movie as Chloe cries by herself.

Dr. Rand opens the envelope from Wayne with the invoice, and there is a forget-me-not tucked inside. She leaves the movie, purposely dropping the flower on the ground as she goes. Amber sees Michael take Sierra's hand, so she leaves to take a walk as she's feeling lonely. George is picking up trash around the movie site, comes upon the flower, and picks it up. He goes back to the movie, and he and Poppy talk about all of the angst surrounding them...onscreen and off. Poppy says she thinks she's asexual, because she's never had those kinds of feelings for anyone. Then George notices Amber is missing and goes looking for her. When he finds her, they talk and he can tell she is feeling down, so he gives her the forget-me-not.

Ian walks around outside with his guitar, and Will comes to him saying she got inspired. Actually she wrote down lines from the movie to share with him. They work on it together, and Will really does feel like she's a ghost that Ian looks right through. He tells her he's felt like that so many times, not realizing that this is how Will feels about him. They do agree that romance is a nightmare! Chloe spots Trent after his jam session with Ian, and he seems confused as to why she's there. He thought that their kiss was a one time thing, and didn't realize that she wanted it to be more. She tells him that she wants it to be whatever HE wants it to be. Always the wrong way to go...don't cater to a guy that obviously cares nothing about your feelings just so you can have a boyfriend. Chloe is so desperate for love and acceptance that she'll do whatever everyone else wants...and in doing that she will never make herself happy. Both people in a relationship have to be happy, it's not all one or the other.

As we end the night at the girls' cabin, Chloe is wearing Trent's bracelet, Amber is secretly admiring the flower George gave her, and Sierra is crying because she made out with Michael. She feels like she cheated on her high school boyfriend that took her to prom. What I really love is that all teens face these issues...no matter when you were a teen or what size you were, everybody goes through these things. I feel that this show really helps kids figure out things going on in their own lives and makes them more willing to talk about it. Please share your thoughts here, or on my Facebook and Twitter. I would love to know what you've learned so far from Huge!

Diet That Didn't Work #3...Metabolife & Other Diet Pills!

Back in the late 90's, my friend/co-worker Kim and I decided to go on Metabolife together. People who walked into our office could hear us happily chatting away about how much weight we were going to lose and all of the sweet clothes we were going to be able to wear afterward. We were really looking forward to having the results that all of the deejays on our favorite radio stations had with Metabolife. At the time, you couldn't go 15 minutes without hearing the products talked about on the radio, and everyone raved about them.

We both started taking the pills at the same time. Kim began to lose weight rapidly, but my loss was much slower, even though I was following the program exactly the same way she was and we were both exercising. By the end of the month, Kim had lost 20 pounds...I had lost 6. We both kept taking it, because she wanted to lose at least another 20 and I, of course, was trying to catch up to her. Within a couple of weeks I lost 2 more pounds, but Kim started having some problems. Her heart was racing all the time and her pulse pounded in her ears. I will say that I didn't have that happen to me, but I did have trouble sleeping at night because I was still so wound up. She made an appointment to see her doctor, who told her to stop taking Metabolife IMMEDIATELY. A lot of people were having the same problems we were, and these pills were more dangerous than helpful. As soon as Kim told me at work the next day, I stopped taking it as well. I didn't want to have the same thing happen to me.

This didn't stop me from trying other diet pills, however. I tried to reason with myself that it was only this one product that was bad. Well, the real problem was the ingredient ephedra. None of the pills with it were safe. I hopped from pill to pill, but wasn't seeing much in the way of results. I was still laying awake at night because I couldn't calm down enought to fall asleep. I began trying other products that didn't have ephedra but promised the same results. They didn't help me any more than Metabolife did...but one of them gave me the gift of an allergic reaction and a trip to the ER. In the middle of the night I broke out in hives that covered my entire body, my tongue swelled, and my throat began to feel tight. At the emergency room, I was asked what medications I took. I wasn't on any other meds at the time, so I told the doctor about the diet pill. He immediately nodded and told me that he'd seen several people come in already with this reaction that were taking the same product. I promised him at that point that I would not try any more diet pills, and I've kept my end of the bargain. I refused to jeopardize my life any further with these products. (And by the way...Kim's best friend tried Ripped Fuel and wound up passing out at work. She was ordered to stop taking that as well!)

There have been way too many people who died or permanently damaged their health in the quest for that "perfect" body. Don't even think about going that route, because it's not worth it. You are much too precious of a human being to hurt yourself with these products. You are valuable just the way you are right now, and if you want to be healthy start eating nutritious foods and getting some exercise. Your body will find the weight that's right for you...and remember that God never meant for all of us to be exactly the same size. Be the best YOU that you can be, and do it the proper way!

Diet That Didn't Work #2...Nutrisystem

Doesn't the Nutrisystem food look so good in the commercials? You would think they were prepared by a gourmet chef. I know when I decided to try the program a couple of years ago, I was looking forward to the meals...especially because all of the people in the testimonials couldn't stop bragging about how delicious everything is. I thought it was a win-win situation, that I would be able to eat food that tasted good and was healthy for me...and lose weight. Plus, it would be easy to follow since I wouldn't have to plan recipes and menus to cook myself. All I had to do was warm up prepared foods...which was very welcome with my busy schedule.

When the box arrived, I was sure that there were a couple of other boxes missing somewhere at UPS. There was no way that a month's worth of food could fit into this one box. Well...it WAS the entire month's supply of food, plus the one "free" week of meals that I was promised upon signing up. It was like taking apart a puzzle getting all of the meals and snacks out, and a few of them were smashed...most likely in the attempt to make it all fit. I checked off the list and everything was there. It was obvious that the portion sizes were EXTREMELY small. I got everything ready to try the next morning.

I started on a Sunday with breakfast. The muffin caused a burning sensation all the way down my throat and into my stomach. It was very dry, and even after I tried to wash it down with black coffee I could feel crumbs still stuck in my throat. I drank a lot of water, which is a good thing, but at that point it was mostly to make the muffin go down. The rest of the day's meals did not go much better. Everything was SO salty, which I couldn't imagine was very healthy for me. I most certainly did not feel satisfied after eating, but I was determined to stick with it...thinking that I just had to get used to the food and it was an "acquired" taste.

On Monday morning I ate a different muffin, and I had the same burning sensation as I did the day before. Nothing improved. I went to work carrying my Nutrisystem lunch and a bottle of water. All morning at the office I felt lightheaded because that muffin was so small and I was starving. The serving size was one muffin, and I didn't want to overeat on the plan and run out of food too fast. By lunchtime I was ravenous. You know those old cartoons where the character is so hungry that he starts imagining his friends look like a big, juicy chicken leg? I was starting to think that cannibalism wasn't such a bad idea. I warmed up my special lasagna in the microwave and settled in to eat it. The taste was so bad that I almost threw up after a couple of bites. I choked the rest of it down, since it was the only thing I had to eat. There wasn't enough water in the world to wash that taste out of my mouth.

After another disgusting little meal at dinner, I decided that I was not going to last on this plan. If the food was making me ill as I ate it, how would I ever be able to stick to it? I packaged everything back up just the way the instructions said to, used the special return label and waited patiently for my refund. Two weeks later...another box of food arrived at my door. Nothing was ever mentioned about the return I made, so I called and spoke to someone at Nutrisystem. She apologized and told me to send the second box back as well, and she would make sure the charges were taken off my credit card. I did...and two weeks later ANOTHER box of food was at my door! I called my credit card company, who said that the first two boxes were not taken off the card. I was able to file a dispute with the credit card company and the third box was taken off. I was told that I would have to get Nutrisystem to remove the other charges. I called them again, and was told that the lady I spoke to the first time no longer worked there. (Isn't that what always happens?) This new lady told me she made a note not to send any more boxes to me and the charges would be removed.

The food stopped coming, but the charges were never removed. To this day I'm out $580.00 from Nutrisystem, even though I've tried calling, writing, and e-mailing. And even though they promised full refund, I tried to bargain that if they deducted the 2 days of food I actually ate and reimbursed me for the rest that I would be fine with that. Nope...I didn't get one cent back from them. To only make me angrier, I kept receiving "We Miss You!" postcards in the mail from them asking me to join again. Talk about nerve!

So buyer beware: don't kiss your money goodbye for lousy food. And don't believe the pretty pictures. Just like in cookbook photos, food stylists are used to make the food look its best. Most of the time it isn't even the actual food being photographed...they use other products that look like the food, such as shaving cream in place of whipped cream. It's like having an artist "sculpt" food, just as pictures of models are photoshopped. Really look into any product you're thinking of trying. I would NEVER recommend Nutrisystem to anyone, ever!

Diet That Didn't Work #1...Atkins

***photo courtesy of freakingnews.com

Diets do not work. This is the cold, hard truth. How many strange diet plans or products have you tried on your quest for the "perfect" body? I'm going to share some of mine with you...starting today with the Atkins Diet.

I tried Atkins a few years ago on the advice of a friend. He lost 40 pounds following the plan and could not stop talking about how wonderful it was. This friend went to school with my husband and I've known him for many years...and knowing that he is a very intelligent guy, I decided to try it for myself. We were all on vacation together, so I started it the day after I got back home. I read every book I could get my hands on about Atkins and shopped very carefully for the right foods. I exercised 3 times a week in addition to following the plan. I even stuck to the diet on a weekend in West Virginia later that summer...which was very difficult with the types of foods available.

I ate enough meat and cheese to feed a third world country for months. I did eat plenty of veggies, but stayed away from the fruit because supposedly the natural sugars would screw up the plan. It was so hard to spend a summer avoiding fresh fruit, which was plentiful and looked so good at BBQ's and summer parties. I kept wondering why fruit was a bad thing, but I stayed faithful to the diet. I bought the special Atkins shakes, bars, and candies which were formulated to be low carb and OK to consume.

I did lose 16 pounds on the Atkins Diet...but not as fast as was promised. It took almost 3 months to lose that much, and during the last month I was on it I didn't lose anything even though I still stuck precisely to the plan. I upped my weekly exercise thining it would help, but still the scale did not budge. I decided in September that I would allow myself a piece of cake at my son's birthday party, since I wasn't losing anymore weight on the diet anyway. Once I had that first serving of sugar, I could not stop. For the next 3 weeks after the party I ate huge amounts of cake, breads, and other sweets. I binged on pizza, because I had missed it during my Atkins phase. I actually didn't gain any weight back during that time...but after those 3 weeks the pounds came back on, and they brought their friends to stay.

So...what did I accomplish by following the Atkins Diet? I initially lost weight but put even more back on, wasted a ton of money on specialty Atkins products, denied my body the nutrients that come from fruit and other foods, and ate way too much fat in the form of meat and cheese. I also can truly say that my sugar addiction became much worse after the diet than before. I've always loved sugar, but never consumed it in the quantities that I did after Atkins. I would have been much better off eating a balanced diet and having an occasional sweet treat..and would have been less likely to binge on candy and cake.

I'm finally just getting to the point where a single serving of something sweet satisfies me...and it's been 8 years. Following this diet only set me back in learning to eat properly to fuel my body. The initial weight loss is not worth the damage to your health...stay far away from this plan!

HUGE Talents...and Journals!

I love that we're getting deeper into what makes all of the characters tick as the show goes on...and you always bring out the best and worst of everyone when you have a talent show! Chloe and Amber practice their dance to "Baby Got Back", and of course this leads to them arguing about whose butt looks better. After they leave the cabin, Becca tells Will that she and Chloe were really close friends the summer before...then Chloe got popular and suddenly Becca wasn't "cool" enough for her. Have you been there? I know I have! It hurts when friends betray you, and it doesn't matter if you're thin, heavy, tall, short...it hurts no matter what. How have you dealt with a friend like that? Chloe's story to Amber is that Becca got jealous of her, but with the way Chloe acts you can tell that 's not the case.

Shay talks to Poppy and George about the new chef, wondering why Dr. Rand hired him when she recommended a chef to her that specializes in healthy recipes. She goes to confront Dr. R, but walks in on a conversation where she figures out that Chef is her dad. She covers by saying she wanted to tell Dr. R that Will is planning on doing an impression of her for the talent show, and takes off without ever saying anything else. A gentleman named Wayne comes to survey the property line, because the tennis camp director sent him. Dr. Rand doesn't trust him, so she walks it with him. They end up talking a lot and he tells her that a "talent" used to be a measure of weight a long time ago. He tells her that the wooded area is her property, but it could be considered a common usage area because there are no signs posted. She thinks he's blaming her for that and gets angry.

Everyone is deciding what they want to do for the talent show, and Alistair decides to make use of the camp's magic kit. Ian wants to write and perform a song, but he's nervous about performing it in front of everyone. I feel so awful for Sierra, who keeps asking to join people's groups for the show and keeps getting turned down. (She winds up performing with Poppy the counselor.) You can see the difference between Amber and Chloe here, because Amber is about to include her while Chloe tells her no in a bratty way.

While everyone is discussing favorite comfort foods and their talents, Will discovers that her journal is missing. She races back to the cabin but it's not there either. She's freaking out, telling Becca that if anyone ever read what she wrote in it she would die. She has come to love writing in the journal but is not ready to share it with anyone. Becca tries to help her find it, even lying to Shay that she's missing swimming because she's practicing for the show...a dance to "Baby Got Back". (Nice quick cover!) Ian and Alistair are doing their laundry and come upon a journal. They don't know who it belongs to because there's no name in it, but Ian sees the poem on the first page as he looks for a name and he is really moved by it. Alistair makes him quit reading it and they take it to Lost & Found.

Amber and Chloe tell Trent and his friends about their dance, and Chloe's camera winds up broken. Chloe wants to use Amber's but she says she lost her camera, so they head to the Lost & Found to look for it. They see the journal and begin reading it...Becca comes upon them and yells at them for violating someone's privacy and snatches it away. Amber's conscience gets to her and she's sorry she read the journal, but Chloe doesn't care. She finds a camera and hands it to Amber. They head back to watch TV with Trent and company...a Bachelor-type show called "Love Handles". The girls love it, but then the guys decide later that they will perform a spoof of the show as their talent. Becca puts the journal on Will's bed, but then she can't resist reading it herself. When Will comes back she thanks her for finding it, praying that nobody read it. Now Becca feels guilty as well.

Dr. Rand is seen at a group meeting in town...it looks like a weight loss support group, and she shares her feelings about her dad, the property line, and eating that muffin. This is good...it's important to know that even adults have to deal with self-esteem problems and other issues. It's not just the kids!

Ian is still nervous about his song, but Will tells him to just act like he's performing it for her to calm him down. Dr. rand starts the evening by telling Wayne's story about the meaning of "talent". As the show starts, Sierra says that the camera Amber has is hers. Chloe insists that it's not, but Sierra proves it by a sticker that her sister put on the bottom of it before she came to camp. Chloe is upset that Amber lied, and their act breaks up before they even get to perform. When their music comes on, Shay nudges Becca and tells her that's her song...get up and go! Becca dances really well while one of the guys sings the song. She really pulled that one off well! Chloe is so upset that she falls into Trent's arms. He holds her and they wind up kissing. She then helps him and the other guys get into makeup and costumes for their little spoof. Alistair is on stage and he messes up his magic...but thinks quickly and turns it into a comedy act. Everyone loves it! Finally it's time for Ian's song. He says he was inspired by a poem he read, and as he sings Will realizes that he read her journal and she runs off. She never gets to do her impression of Dr. Rand after all.

Chloe and Amber make up when she apologizes for lying about the camera. She admits that she's never owned nice things like that and was embarrassed. Chloe tells her all about kissing Trent. Ian finds Will, but they get into a fight. I have to admit, when I was a teenager if someone had read my journal I would have been just as upset. Those thoughts are only for sharing when you're ready, and if you don't want to share they are for your eyes only.

Wayne brings some no tresspassing signs for Dr. Rand and puts them up, saying that as far as he's concerned they were always there. She apologizes for getting angry with him, and he offers to help with some other things at the camp. Looks like we'll be seeing more of him around!

It's nice to see not just size issues being dealt with on the show...we get to see issues that teens and adults have to feal with at any shape or size. I can't wait to see what happens next week! What are your thoughts on tonight's episode?