Water For Hot Dogs
When my mom had my kids over the 4th of July holiday, my husband and I took a walk on a beautiful trail, accompanied by the Fox River on one side, and beautiful mansion-type houses on the other. Along the trail we came across a sign nailed to a rustic fence post that read "water for hot dogs". We looked at each other in puzzlement and I made a comment about how maybe the owners really like hot dogs. A little way down the trail we saw a bucket of water on the ground labeled "for dogs" and finally all kinds of lights went on. Hot DOGS, not hot dogs.
It's funny how the smallest things can confuse you, and then something so simple can put things in the proper order.
Last week was a crazy week for me, and due to technical difficulties I was on a bloggin hiatus, which made me feel a little restless. I signed up for my twenty year high school reunion early in the week, and eagerly made a goal of losing ten pounds before then, seeing as how I had a full month to do it. The following day, I took myself off my blood pressure medicine, which also had a diuretic. I knew I'd gain weight, and I did, and I knew it would be water weight, but boy is it doing a number on me mentally. It's not as if I gained an enormous amount, just three pounds, but seeing 156 on the scale again, was really disheartening. And all the water trapped in my body made me look soft despite all the work I've been putting in. I walked around feeling jiggly and like I was "going the wrong direction" and even questioning if certain items of clothing even fit anymore. To make matters worse, over the weekend I was trying to find something to wear to my reunion, and nothing seemed to fit right or look good on me.
Then I told my husband how I'd been feeling and he put it very simply. You have been on a drug that has been artificially removing excess water from your body for a few years, and now it doesn't have it, what do you think your body is going to do? Of course it's going to go into a bit of a shock mode and hold onto that water. You know it's just water, because there's no way you're going to put on three pounds of fat in a week. And even though I had known all of this, just hearing it from him, put in a simple and compelling way, made it all much clearer to me. I stopped sulking and immediately my workouts were more effective. I have also increased my water intake to help flush the excess water out of my system. Yesterday I drank nearly two gallons of fluid, as it was very hot and humid, and this morning I was a pound lighter. I guess I expected the water weight to come off easier, but since I do indeed know that it's just water, I know that it will eventually come off, and maybe a bit easier than this past week has been.
My new Oxygen magazine had an article about jiggly arms, and that has been something I've been extremely self-conscious of as of late, so I added a killer 4-move triceps workout, that includes a pre-exhaust. I have done the workout once, and can tell it is going to be effective. It's little things like that that get my mind back on track, in the face of my own setback, I can empower myself to stay positive by making changes that will help me reach my goal.
I still have more than three weeks left until my reunion. And while I am sitting at 155 this morning, I am thinking just getting under 150 might be a more realistic goal than aiming for a ten pound loss, I am happy with the work I've done thus far. I would never have considered going to this reunion if I hadn't made these positive changes, and in a way, it will be a huge release for me, to let go of the feelings I have harbored against many of my classmates, for treating me so negatively because even back then, I was one of the heaviest girls in our graduating class. It's not good to hold on to those feelings for so many years, but feeling disdain for certain people who hurt my feelings, made me feel like I was protecting myself from further insult. It's time to let it all go, and because I'm in the position to do that, I know I will have more fun than I've ever had with that group of folks, and I'm actually excited about going. I have decided that if I don't find an outfit I like, I will make one, and in that sense, I am not leaving my satisfaction in anyone else's hands. Me "owning" my health issues and taking this journey has translated into so many areas of my life, and knowing that I have a great support team is priceless, but knowing that I am empowered to make changes all by myself, makes me increasingly aware that I can handle whatever life throws at me.
My goals are to do extra cardio this week, keep drinking a ton of fluids, and to work the triceps work into my strength training at least twice this week as it is a muscle group that takes longer to heal for me.
Hope you all have a great start to your week!
It's funny how the smallest things can confuse you, and then something so simple can put things in the proper order.
Last week was a crazy week for me, and due to technical difficulties I was on a bloggin hiatus, which made me feel a little restless. I signed up for my twenty year high school reunion early in the week, and eagerly made a goal of losing ten pounds before then, seeing as how I had a full month to do it. The following day, I took myself off my blood pressure medicine, which also had a diuretic. I knew I'd gain weight, and I did, and I knew it would be water weight, but boy is it doing a number on me mentally. It's not as if I gained an enormous amount, just three pounds, but seeing 156 on the scale again, was really disheartening. And all the water trapped in my body made me look soft despite all the work I've been putting in. I walked around feeling jiggly and like I was "going the wrong direction" and even questioning if certain items of clothing even fit anymore. To make matters worse, over the weekend I was trying to find something to wear to my reunion, and nothing seemed to fit right or look good on me.
Then I told my husband how I'd been feeling and he put it very simply. You have been on a drug that has been artificially removing excess water from your body for a few years, and now it doesn't have it, what do you think your body is going to do? Of course it's going to go into a bit of a shock mode and hold onto that water. You know it's just water, because there's no way you're going to put on three pounds of fat in a week. And even though I had known all of this, just hearing it from him, put in a simple and compelling way, made it all much clearer to me. I stopped sulking and immediately my workouts were more effective. I have also increased my water intake to help flush the excess water out of my system. Yesterday I drank nearly two gallons of fluid, as it was very hot and humid, and this morning I was a pound lighter. I guess I expected the water weight to come off easier, but since I do indeed know that it's just water, I know that it will eventually come off, and maybe a bit easier than this past week has been.
My new Oxygen magazine had an article about jiggly arms, and that has been something I've been extremely self-conscious of as of late, so I added a killer 4-move triceps workout, that includes a pre-exhaust. I have done the workout once, and can tell it is going to be effective. It's little things like that that get my mind back on track, in the face of my own setback, I can empower myself to stay positive by making changes that will help me reach my goal.
I still have more than three weeks left until my reunion. And while I am sitting at 155 this morning, I am thinking just getting under 150 might be a more realistic goal than aiming for a ten pound loss, I am happy with the work I've done thus far. I would never have considered going to this reunion if I hadn't made these positive changes, and in a way, it will be a huge release for me, to let go of the feelings I have harbored against many of my classmates, for treating me so negatively because even back then, I was one of the heaviest girls in our graduating class. It's not good to hold on to those feelings for so many years, but feeling disdain for certain people who hurt my feelings, made me feel like I was protecting myself from further insult. It's time to let it all go, and because I'm in the position to do that, I know I will have more fun than I've ever had with that group of folks, and I'm actually excited about going. I have decided that if I don't find an outfit I like, I will make one, and in that sense, I am not leaving my satisfaction in anyone else's hands. Me "owning" my health issues and taking this journey has translated into so many areas of my life, and knowing that I have a great support team is priceless, but knowing that I am empowered to make changes all by myself, makes me increasingly aware that I can handle whatever life throws at me.
My goals are to do extra cardio this week, keep drinking a ton of fluids, and to work the triceps work into my strength training at least twice this week as it is a muscle group that takes longer to heal for me.
Hope you all have a great start to your week!
Your husbands advice is down to earth and spot on, we all need someone to point things out that we might blind ourselves to at times.
ReplyDeleteI went to a rough school and was bullied and this has affected my confidence throughout my life. I have never considered going to a school reunion although as far as I am aware there never was one. Even so I don't think I would go as I have no wish to meet any of these people again, even though I have a great life and am in great shape. Good luck with yours.
Sounds like you have a great, supportive hubby. I hope you let us know how the reunion goes and post a pic of the outfit you decide on?
ReplyDeleteYou're both right, my husband is one of my best assets, and I am so lucky to have him!
ReplyDeleteI went to my ten year reunion and swore I would not go to any more, but with the advent of Facebook, I have been able to get to know some folks as adults, and learned that people are people, kids are cruel. I am more excited about spending time with my bestie, like old times. And yes, I will post photos and retell all the gory details!