Healthy Humping For All My Areas, Starting With The Body.

Oooh, I'm going to get so many Googlepervs, I can't wait.  I love to see the nasty-ass searches that they used to find me and then I love to imagine the crestfallen looks of disappointment to find out 1) that there's no ACTUAL humping and 2) that this is a HEALTH KICK post. 

Anyway.

I am debating on how much of my philosophy of life and wellness to put out there, in these posts.  I am mindful that what works for me may look positively CRAZY to you and so I want to make sure that you know that I totally UNDERSTAND if it looks crazy to you.  And I don't mind looking crazy (OBV.) I am also an overthinker, and so if looks crazy in the way of OVERTHINKING, that's probably not just a difference of opinion or perception.  That's probably totally me.  Overthinking.

Okay, then.  Now that THAT'S all out of the way, let's get to "The New Girl's Overthinky Crazy Health and Wellness Philosophy," then. Want to?

Brief Tutorial on TNGOCHAWP:

• I think about myself (and others) as having four major *aspects* (for lack of a better [new-agey] term, that make up the entirety of a person .
• They are:
  • Body
  • Mind
  • Spirit
  • Emotion
• I think that in order to make lasting change and/or to have true health/wellness, there needs to be some semblance of balance among those four major areas (as opposed to just focusing on the physical aspects of health, for example.)
• I imagine balance among the four aspects looking like a mandala divided into more or less equal quarters (Uhm. A pie chart divided into quadrants for you number types.) 

I'll go into it more as the healthy humping continues (Hey! Where are you going?) but for today, I'm going to start with the most common focus of fitness talk, The Body.

The Body, I define in the obvious way: The actual physical self and everything that is included in the package.  Muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, systems.  Blah blah.  Focusing on the care and upkeep of The Body (Most notably: eating and exercise) is what you most often expect from a fitness blog slash series of posts, I suppose.  And so, that's where we'll start.

My relationship with my own body has obviously evolved over the years, (with the biggest jump that I can remember being during and after my pregnancy.)  My involvement in physical exercise has waxed and waned but has remained a tenuous constant (except for those pesky times of acute, overbearing stress, when I tend to lose focus and motivation entirely.) 

The pattern goes something like this.  I generally am fit, working out in a steady, moderate way.  I'm taking care of myself and paying attention to what I'm putting into my body and how much exercise I'm doing.  Then something (or things) happen, I start to lose focus and motivation.  I eat like hell, don't exercise, get super-stressed, gain weight, become self-conscious and frustrated and wonder what the hell I'm doing.  At some point, I [get my head out of my ass] turn my focus back to taking care of myself, make a plan and get going.  I get healthier, lose the extra weight (I've done this whole thing about three times in my adult life), feel strong and relaxed.  And accomplished.  In control of myself.

I often joke to my family and friends that my future diet book and plan is going to be called, "Shut Your Mouth and Move Your Ass."  You know, eat less and exercise.  It's not rocket science, really.  Losing weight is basically a simple numbers game.  Burn more than you put in, you lose.  Burn less, you gain.  Break even, you break even.

Simple, yes.  Easy? Not for a lot of people.

There is an overlap, you see, among those four aspects.  Eating is often not just a physical slash body experience.  There are emotions involved, at least for me (I am a self-described emotional eater.)  Hence all my talk about lasting change requiring some examination and attention to aspects besides the physical body.

The last time that I lost a bunch of weight and got healthier was after I had an epiphany on a trip to Europe that kick started the latest inarnation of my 'SYMAMYA' plan.  I also decided that in addition to shutting my mouth and moving my ass, I also really, really needed to pay attention.  So, I started a formatted journal (I'll share it in another post, if you'd like to know what it's like), in which I make some examinations, and in which I take stock, and weigh and measure, and basically focus on and pay attention to what's what. 

I've just started it again.

==========================================================================

As part of the journal, I weigh myself weekly and measure monthly.  Here are my weights and measures for 6/08, since I'm all about the keeping track and I figure, why not put my money where my chocolate-chomping mouth is? Ready?

• Weight: 141 (Starting weight way back when was a high of 159. Not 160, my friends. 1-5-9.)
• Biceps: 10.5
• Chest: 37
• Waist: 31.25
• Hips: 36.5
• Thighs: 22 (top), 16.25 (close to knee)
• Calves: 13.5

Please don't read these numbers and think, 'Oh! I wish Iwas ONLY 10lbs to lose!' or some other self-defeating comparison type thought.  We'll talk about the 'Dangers of Comparison' another time but remember to be KIND to yourself.  Please, also, don't call me a fatty.  That's not kind to ME, which is ALSO important.

Next week, we'll talk workouts!  And how to [claw your way back from a depleting pregnancy] regain strength after childbirth!

Are you still here?

Hello?

Comments

[nomotherearth]

I've found that keeping a food and exercise record helps me to keep it under control. It's rough seeing the overeating in print.

[Donna]

attiton: Isn't that the truth! (Don't hurt me... I'm speaking of my own behind, not yours!)

Kayla: Hehe, oh, you meant "jiggling"?! What an awesome typo. Call me a weirdo, but "giggling" is a fitting description to me!

**Sorry for using your comments like an IM convo, TNG! :)

[In the Trenches of Mommyhood]

Will be following your journey. My Sis and I just started a blog called "In the Zone" regarding our fitness routine (or lack thereof).

[Kayla]

LOL I wrote giggle!!!!!

[attiton]

@Donna: If only my behind were LMAO, we'd be all set!

[Meredith]

I always tell myself just to eat less and exercise more...then something pops up: dinners out, holidays, parties, etc. No matter what, I end up eating more and moving less and I always find the perfect excuses...then I get pissed when summer rolls around and everything flabs around.

However, it is so much easier to exercise in the summer - I just pop the baby in the stroller and I am off!

[the new girl]

Also, those cheesy(ish) tapes/dvds from The Firm are effective. Do they still even make those?

[Donna]

Kayla, I also have a giggling ass. Actually, now that I've had my first child (born Feb '08), I think my ass LOL. I was all inspired by the gal over at sundrymourning.com, so I bought the "Turbo Jam Beachbody 5 Workouts" DVD a couple months ago. She and her readers raved about the Turbo Jam stuff. I've only used it *cough*3 times*cough*, but I was all tired yet invigorated when I was done.

[Kayla]

SERIOUSLY NO ONE can hook a friend up here - NOTA ONE person can suggest a good home DVD to take the giggle out of my ass.

PFFT

[Sam]

Meh. I am fairly sure that the thing living in my uterus would be displeased with my dieting right now. Which is not to say that I do not have 15 pounds to lose. It just means that I am going to get to keep!! it for the rest of the year at least. Crap!

[attiton]

May I present my "happy humping street cred?" I've weighed everything from 125 to 210 in my life (I'm 5'9" tall). The lowest was a way obsessive teenage weight and the top I've hit twice (once on my own, once after pregnancy). I have learned that I have two natural, adult set-points: 175 and 210. So, I'm heading towards 175 at the moment.

I'm down with your approach except one thing: the weekly weigh-in. The scale is an evil, evil thing. Makes me obsessive! Gets me to places I need not be!

I do best with weighing every other month, actually, because over eight weeks, my body really has time to process the change and the scale can actually tell you something.

That, and I'd like to mention that when I start these regimes I never see ANY CHANGES WHATSOEVER for at least 12 weeks. That's right, three months. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing (12 times) and then a glorious SOMETHING!

Measuring is a little different, although I will admit to a once-monthly schedule there too because I bloat, bloat, bloat from time to time (you know, periodically, about every 27 days) and so I wait until the same time every cycle to measure.

Nothing puts me into an eating tailspin faster than thinking that I'm going nowhere.

TNG, were you worried that YOU were going to sound obsessive?

[Backpacking Dad]

When I only had 10 pounds to lose Thanksgiving came along...now it's 20 (but most of that is like, totally muscle and i just did 60 pushups in a row so I can kick anybody's ass who calls me fat).

[the new girl]

Gillian: It's a formatted journal, like. Not free-form essay like writing. You can leave space for writing out reflections and such, but in crunch times, it's very short and to the point. Just a way of keeping track and focusing for a few seconds every day.

That said, I JUST started again and my baby just turned ONE YEAR.

[Andrea]

More, more, more!

Particularly about emotional eating. Motivation. Your formatted journal thingy. Plz.

The kitty should telled the bear its wrong. Kitty is adorable.

[Gillian]

My baby is 8 weeks old, and I have just now felt good enough to return to the gym (you and me? not only exactly the same diet/weight gain type history, but we also have the exact same attitude re:childbirth - loved your TLNG birthstory posts!) Bringing my body back to a state I can be happy with is going to be a long slow journey - I'm glad I have these Wednesday posts of yours for motivation. What felicitous timing, I must say. And PS - JOURNAL?? Who the eff has time for a journal? All is baby and baby is all. I'll be interested to see how incorporating caring for yourself into your babified life goes - how you do it? Do you ever feel guilty about it? Etc. FUN!

[Don Mills Diva]

I love that picture!

And hey - the best time to get started is when you only have 10 pounds to lose!

[Tessie]

HELLO I LOVE YOU!

I am SWOONING over this! Love! MORE! YAY!

*pant, pant, pant*

[Chlott]

I know! 'Dangers of Comparison' I've figured out lately that that was one of the main reasons for me thinking I was fat in high school (which I was not), and one of the main reasons that I actually got fat later (which I'm not anymore, just overweight).

I'm really looking forward to more posts like this one.

[Sara]

Ohh, thank you. I am due with kid number 1 in about 6 weeks, and I am getting the fear.

[RuthWells]

I am hoping to draw strength and inspiration from your project, New Girl. Thank you for sharing!

[Clink]

You measure your calves? Oh my you are serious!

I am waiting for the post on separating your emotions from brownies...because, seriously, they are my down fall.

[Kayla]

WOW - okay well I really have no much to say because I am the WORST eater. For whatever odd reason I keep thinking that I can eat like I did when I was 19 when clearly I am 30.

My biggest issue is that Depression came and knocked on my door about 2 years ago and it has knocked me on my ass. I am working on it and from a year ago I have come a long long way - with no meds I will add:) BUT I still procrastinate when it comes to a few things - eating is one of them:(

I know I want to be thinner and I want to be healthier but I keep telling myself - tomorrow I will start.

ON THE WORKOUT NOTE - I have a question for all you ladies and guys - what is a good work out DVD - I need to buy one ASAP.. I have a few yoga ones and that help me to unwind but I need something to get the giggle out of my ass:)

BTW - THANK YOU FOR THE PICTURE.. That is just the best!