Trust Your Gut: Carla’s Story

Trust Your Gut: Carla’s Story

by | Sep 14, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share Carla’s Story, written in her own words.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Carla’s Story

Discover Why the Bulge is Harder to Battle for Women Over 50

Have you ever looked in the mirror and quickly looked away in disgust? Don’t feel bad, I know just how you feel; I’ve done that more times than I can count … my entire life. Why is it that women over 50 have this ongoing bulge to battle, especially between our armpits and our thighs?

It would take a book to share my entire story; but, it has been a journey, one that I’m still on. You can read about one of my “diets” and the yo-yo effect it had on my belly fat here. Have you ever noticed that when we set our minds to lose weight we do it? But, what happens when we “transition” back to real life and the diet is finished? If you are like me you gradually put back on the weight you lost plus 25 – 50 pounds. Gosh, what a struggle, right?

After many years of trying this diet and that one; losing and gaining weight I gave up. I resigned myself to be the squishy grandma as one of my grandsons called me. Hey, what’s wrong with being squishy, there’s more to love and love is what it is all about, right? We can play all the games in our heads that we want to; but, the bottom line is this – we want our youthful body back. Secretly we want our spouse to look at us and see and feel the firm muscles our bodies were meant to be. Today, hubby looks at me and we laugh at the mature figure we each have. Are we really laughing or secretly crying for something better?

Over the past ten years, age has entered the race for the fat factor. I’m finding bulges everywhere and some places you wouldn’t expect! We’ve had many changes in our lives, too. Stress, business, and life have a way of taking the bulge to a whole new battle and to a whole new level. So, January 2017 I decided it was time to stop the battle and wage war on my fat and these hideous bulges. I threw the word diet out of my vocabulary. I measured every inch of my body, where I couldn’t reach I had the hubby measure. I weighed for the sake of a starting number and put it in my journal. Then, I started sipping my way slim. I’m starting my final journey to battle the bulge after 50 and taking along those who want to do the same. They say there is power in numbers, I believe it. Together we can do anything we can conceive.

You can wish me success or join me on the journey, your choice. I’ll be posting my results, my accomplishments, and failures on my blog. I’m not sure anyone else can relate to a grandma, a woman over 50 who has failed in the weight loss arena her entire life or not. All I know is I will win this battle of the bulge and help others to do the same come h-e-double toothpicks or high water!

 

Carla with her youngest grandson

Me (Carla) at my heaviest (not a proud moment) in 2009 with youngest grandson in Hawaii at the time of photo 5′ 4″ 235#s.

fiery-grandma-signature2a

Carla, thanks so much for accepting my invitation to be a guest blogger here.  If Carla’s story resonates with you, or if you would just like to connect with her to learn more, you can check out her Facebook page Coffee with Carla and just pop over to say hi when you are having your coffee some day.  I have had the chance to meet her in the process of setting this story up, and she is a wonderful person, who is easy to chat with.  I wish her success in her journey and am happy to share her story with you here.  I am certain if you take the time to learn more about her, she will be happy to share more of her story with you and join you on your own journey.  Two heads are better than one.

#TrustYourGut

 

Trust Your Gut: Carla’s Story

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 10

by | Apr 27, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 10

Today is the day I have picked to start shopping for a new bathing suit.  Wish me luck!  I need it in terms of my requirements, but I am also looking for a sale and not hours of searching!

The good news this week is that I am hovering within two pounds of that twoville goal, still.  The bad news is that I have not crushed that goal yet.

Which means that this is a perfect week to write about another THM concept.  I really like this one.  It is called NSV.  That translates into a Non Scale Victory.  So what is an NSV?  It is anything you can celebrate OTHER than the successes you fight to see on the scale.  The weight on the scale is a number, and it can be depressing if you obsess about it especially if it is not moving in the right direction or moving at the speed you want it to change at.

I wrote about twoville, and it is looming on my horizon again.  It is a Scale Victory when you have a happy dance on the floor after you weigh yourself and see a good number. Don’t think too hard about that.  Yes, that would be me,  first thing in the morning, after a trip to the washroom, in my birthday suit, having a happy dance.  Not the thing you want to focus on here.

The NSV is something that doesn’t relate to the scale, directly.  I have set my first official NSV as a small one.  The blog will help, for sure with this.  I want to be able to comfortably wear both my wedding band and engagement ring together on my finger.  I have the engagement ring on a lovely gold chain, that I wear from time to time, but it belongs on my ring finger.  I have fluid built up in my fingers, and you may think this is funny, but when I had a cashier job in the past, I noticed that my fingers were less puffy when I had that job.  I was using my hands a lot when I was a cashier, and it helped my fingers to lose weight.  Not that there is a lot of extra weight in my fingers, but it was a really good experience to look at slimmer hands and fingers.  As I blog, I am exercising my fingers.  It might not seem like a big thing to other people, but it matters to me.

When there is fluid built up in my fingers, wearing my ring causes an indentation.  I have short fingers, and the fluid doesn’t stop me from wearing the rings together, but it is painful to wear them both at the same time. I can get them both on, but it does block circulation in the finger, and it is painful to take it back off, because of this. So I am working on my health, and trying the rings on together from time to time.

It doesn’t have to be about the number on the scale only.  It can be about fitting back into an old pair of jeans, having to buy new clothes because the ones you have don’t fit, changing the size of clothing you wear, or measuring your inches and seeing that the shape of you…r body (Shout out to Ed Sheeran, love that song!)  is changing when the numbers on the scale are not.

As we all struggle with weight together, whatever our issues are, we all have them.  It is good to set reasonable goals to go along with making changes to live a healthier lifestyle.  I know it helps me to check in from time to time with a measuring tape and my rings.  It can even be as simple as the clothing you wear fitting better, or that you can climb that annoying flight of stairs without needing to take a break, or losing your breath.

Pedometers are wonderful because they can help you increase your daily step count by challenging yourself.  I will write a Zumba post about this soon, we are talking about steps at Zumba class since I am sharing my steps after each class.  I am also involved with a group 100 Coffees, and they are challenging members to start healthier habits. Drinking water is necessary for life.  In this group, one of the admins is asking us about how much water we drink each day, as a way to hold those who choose to do this accountable for drinking enough water every day.  It is great to have a support system for healthier lifestyles, and encouragement is a wonderful thing.  100 Coffees is a group of women entrepreneurs, so if you fit that description, go check it out!

I am looking forward to the day that I can wear both of my rings comfortably at the same time as my first official NSV.  What is your NSV?  Any comments might help you figure out what small goal you need to work on, give you a place for your own accountability, or help someone else find a reasonable NSV to start working on.  I look forward to seeing what other people are setting as their own goals.

 

Trust Your Gut: Carla’s Story

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 8

by | Apr 12, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 8

I am following the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) Plan.  They have some books on the program, and it is implemented into your life, the best way you can.  I am honestly telling you that I am trying.  I am also going to admit that I am struggling.

I can’t seem to find my willpower.  It is so easy to eat the unhealthy, off plan things.  They are all prepared and full of preservatives, and sugar and other junk, but they are literally the no-brainer choice.  When you are hungry, and there is a choice of something quick and easy, it is SO easy to fall into that pattern.

I am not an official THM trained coach, I am making my own way, and not on plan 100% of the time.  But I do see the value of it.  I have seen myself make little changes along the way, and I believe that they will all add up one day.  Someday I will realize that the changes I am making added up to enough effort to make a difference.

I keep checking my waistline.  Every once in a while I stand straight, with my hands on my waistline, and I think that it is smaller.  I just measured it for fun.  It isn’t.  One day it will be.

I have decided that it is time to start looking for a new bathing suit.  The last time I did that I was ready to throw in the beach towel.  I tried on all the one piece suits I could find, in all the local stores.  The very last one I tried on was the one I bought.  It was perfect.  The straps have lost their elasticity, and I tied knots in them last summer to hold the bathing suit in place.  It does not fit right anymore, so I have decided to start hunting for a new one.

It must be a one piece.  I refuse to buy a bathing suit that has a skirt.  Support is a must.  It has to fit right, be fashionable, comfortable, and practical.  I would like to say it will be a size or two smaller than the last one.  Maybe next year I can do that.

When I find one I like, I am going to look into swimming more often.  I would like to get back into Aquacise classes.  I used to go, and I think it is time to get back into a swimming pool on a regular basis.  A long time ago, on an island on the East Coast of Canada, I used to teach swimming lessons.  I love swimming as much as I love dancing.  I think it is time to start adding in new activities to help me want to make smarter choices about what I eat.  One small change at a time, I will regain control of my health, my body size, my energy levels, and my life.  It all comes down to me.  I know the easy way is how I got to be in this predicament.  I have to set my mind to working my way back out, one small change at a time.  Then it won’t be such a daunting task to get a new bathing suit.  Having a choice of several bathing suits instead of the only one that works will be something to look forward to.