Shelli Belly

     Well this day was like no other.  I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins.  I had a seal steal a wave I was body surfing on before but I’ve never swam with a dolphin. 

     All the overweight worries never came to pass today.  They had a life vest that fit and looked like everybody elses.  I was able to get in and out of the pool with ease.  I was able to hold on for a dorsal swim. Finally, the dolphins were able to Foot Push me across the pool with no problems. 

     I’m such a fish.  After swimming with the dolphins I put in another 30 minutes of Water Aerobics.  Oh and Solomon even walked to the park twice today!

It was a great day!

        I’m having a great time in Oahu. I got settled in and now I’m ready to explore.  As recorded on the Bodybugg  I burned 4165 calories yesterday.  I walked Solomon twice and strolled along the very populated Kalakaua Ave in Waikiki. I was told that the best local fish was served at the Cheese Cake Factory. Go figure?  So I found free parking on the street near the Zoo and hit the road.  The walk was gorgeous, however, it was very hot. I lingered for a while a the beach called the Wall and watched the waves crash. Just beautiful!  By the time I found the restaurant I was soaking wet and dehydrated.  It was nice to sit on the outdoor deck and watch all of the activity.  Everyone was in such a hurry.  Fortunately, I have 27 more days to enjoy any way I see fit.   I’m going to try not to put any pressure on myself during this time.  I’m not going to rush and do rush and do.  I want to find a nice balance between doing amazing things but also relaxing and being OK with my decision to just go for a drive or throw the ball to Solomon or go to a movie or read a book or have a bite of Carb-Free Cheese Cake.  

I’m on VACATION!

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I had a big surprise Tuesday while watching Losing It. 

Jillian Michaels had an open chat on Twitter.

To my surprise she answered my question.
(Read from the bottom of the image to the top).

Now to keep following her advise.

Day 162 – 

              Recently, actor and director Kevin Smith was asked to leave a Southwest Airline flight because he was deemed too fat to fly.  He has since begun a Twitter campaign to boycott Southwest.
      The story hit me really hard when Kevin mentioned that as he was leaving the plane he made eye contact with a fellow “fatty” who was trying to sink into his seat as to not to be exposed. Who among us has not asked for a seat extender or sat for 5 hours with ankles crossed and arms folded about the chest? I have often recited to myself, “Next time I fly I’ll be skinnier.” There is a careful choreography played out while on a plane put the armrest up, think small thoughts, pray that the person in front of you will not put their seat back and lean only into the aisle when the coast is clear. I’ve cried many times on planes. The tears just come. I don’t want to cause any discomfort for other passengers.
      Once on a plane I assumed the position and the lady in the middle seat asked me to relax into the seat because she “loved chubby women. Her momma was chubby and her whole family was chubby.” She even said she always wanted to be chubby but to no avail. It was the best flight ever. Most of all when I fly it is another mirror moment.  I am once again disappointed with my efforts in this area of my life.  For hours I sit there uncomfortable and thinking of nothing else.  Oh how could I let this happen.   This world is just not made for people of my size but, I do believe there needs to be a little more compassion. It’s as if it has become socially acceptable to be mean or derogate obese people (I can’t believe I used the “o” word).
              I personally can’t wait to use my Companion Fare for a friend and not an additional seat. When I fly with two tickets in hand I do find it entertaining to read the expressions of other passengers as I walk down the aisle. I just know they are thinking to themselves, “Please don’t sit here! Please don’t sit here!”
         Since the “Too Fat To Fly” story broke the media has made it seem that we are this united group of people and as a group we think that we’re entitled to special treatment or allocations. But I believe that the airlines have negated many other populations of passengers that are not only large but in my friend’s case “freakishly tall.” Yes on his last flight he overheard a flight attendant use those words to describe him to a passenger in an effort to free up a seat for him in the Emergency Row. We as a society are just supposed to deal. Squeeze into the seats with both armrests down or as in my friend’s case put your knees up to your chest and deal. Whatever happened to customer service?
            In the days since the incident the most recent angle that has transpired with this story is how not only do large people infringe on the rights of other passengers but we also create an emergency hazard if we have to disembark the plane. Give me a break. 
         We’ll deal and accept your disdain as a group of people whom you can still pick on but, in the mean time I’ll keep on keeping on.  I’ll board the airplane, sit next to you at movie theatres, scan the room for armless chairs and walk in your gym all the while knowing that you have no idea what it’s like  to walk a mile in my shoes carrying 100 pounds.

Let me know what you think leave a comment!

           This morning I came across an amazing program called My Big Fat Body on Discovery Health. The star of the show, Frank, went through an amazing realm of tests. The most interesting was the Anti-Gravity Treadmill or Alter-G Treadmill. It’s a normal treadmill but the lower half is completely encased in plastic.
The Alter-G Treadmill reduces your weight by a certain percentage. On any given day at 363 lbs. Frank’s knees experience 720lbs of pressure. This treadmill reduces your weight by 30%, by 50% or even 99%, which is very useful if you need to take the load off your joints. I too have a knee injure that flares up from time to time so I was very interested.  At first Frank was walking at his normal pace but soon the chambers air pressure was modified and pretty soon he was walking at 28% air pressure, which was 100 lbs less, then 50%. He actually had a bounce in his step. He was running like a gazelle.   When his 200lbs were added back the bounce was gone and the laboring step returned. It was such a visual representation of what life will be like when my bounce returns. Call me Tigger. I’m leaving Eeore behind.

         So is it coming? You know the ebb and flow of something new? I have been so excited about my new choices, blogging and even writing that I’m now waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m waiting for the enthusiasm to wane. Will it happen on the next Wednesday weigh in? Will it happen on the ride home when I mindlessly pull into a drive-thru and order a double of everything? Justifying the purchase because I’m too tired to cook. Will it happen on a day that my last ounce of patience was used up by 10 am? Will it happen when I’m finally tempted by a perfectly baked corner piece brownie? In the past I was successful for a while but I would always lose steam and surrender to the temptation to just give in.

BUT NOT TODAY!

        It was a working Saturday for me.   This usually meant that I committed to something during the excitement of the new school year. In the past I would commit but then back out at the last moment. One thing I want to do within this venture is to be truthful to you and myself. Most of all I want my “Yes”  be “Yes” and my “No”  be “No.” (Matthew 5:37)   Truthfulness is the key!   No more lying to myself.    So as this day approached I was tempted to just bail. Especially since it was going to be an incredible fall day. You know those crisp fall days where the sky is a crystal blue with big fluffy clouds and the trees a fiery yellow. I did not want to spend a day in a computer lab especially since I was going to get a nice lunch but no pay. 
       My new plan for my life got me to the school today. The whole sum of my decisions this past week made my early morning rather routine. I didn’t argue with myself or try to negotiate for a better deal, which would have been a day of me just relaxing in my chair. I prayed for a day of good decisions and a positive attitude.
       I HAD SO MUCH FUN TODAY! Every lesson was geared right for what I needed for my students. The exchanged between colleagues was uplifting and informative. I guess like-minded people meet on Saturdays for a computer conference. But what I did notice was that following through with my plans for the day allowed me to follow through with my healthy choices. During the catered breakfast I chose a wonderful assortment of fruit and during lunch I was completely satisfied with bypassing the bread in the sandwich and adding everything to nice toss salad. The best part was that I also passed on the perfectly baked corner piece brownie. It had no ownership of me today. I was not tempted in the least. I made a plan and I stuck to it. In the past I would have went back for seconds and even squirreled a brownie away for the afternoon session. Great choices all day long even allowed me to enjoy a wonderful walk after the conference. The day was just as beautiful and I probably even enjoyed it more because of my accomplishments throughout the day.

Small victories are so important.

       I have spent the past 3 years learning how to live within a budget.  I never took the time to learn about money.  I avoided the subject at all cost.  I just unconsciously paid bills and then charged everything for the rest of the month.  I took on more and more side jobs in order to account for the short fall but I never really could make ends meet.  I never cut back my spending or set a limit.  I just worked harder.  After 15 years of wayward spending I was in over my head to a tune of $45,000.  This is a perfect example of living with no boundary.  When I could not work  any more hours in a day and my credit cards were at their limit I made the struggle public and set a budget.  I became a student of a  friend who had made smart financial decisions. I made graphs and posted them all over my house and classroom.  I read books and listened on the radio to financial experts such as Dave Ramsey.   I became the cash queen and my mantra was “Credit Cards are Bad!”  I lived within a budget and paid cash for everything.  Every dollar had a purpose and destination.  Believe it or not I had freedom within that boundary.  I had “if then choices.”  I worked it so I could choose where the money would go and shuffled as needed.  I was determined and unrelenting.  To this date I have paid off 90% of this debt.

I bet you know where this is going .

       Isn’t it interesting that my financial history is very similar to my weight story?  It’s amazing to see the similarities.  My family knew that my weight gained was not a topic up for discussion. It wasn’t fair to them because they were coming from a place of love. But I would become very hurt when the topic arose.  When I spoke with friends about my weight I approached the subject as if I was a victim, “Oh whoa is me.” I felt defeated because I believed that this was an area in my life that I would never achieve significant success in.  I tried to white knuckle it many times but I would always defeat myself once again.   I would reach that certain milestone and then turn around and eat more and more.  I’d learn about healthy eating but I would never take any ownership in what was going on, so the pounds just piled on and on and on. 

   Financial and Weight Gain Similarities
1. Topic off the table
2. Continue as if nothing was happening
3. Play the “Whoa is me,” card

    I made the connection today when I was talking to a friend about my success this week.  I was reviewing with her my calorie options and if I budget correctly I could have certain foods according to my calorie allotment for the day.  She had witnessed my financial journey and said, “If you can be on a cash budget you can surely budget calories.  Lets see can you say “LIGHTBULB MOMENT?”