Sunday, January 30, 2011

It's t-shirt tiiiime!!!

Hello, my name is Cindy and I am addicted to t-shirts.

I bought two new t-shirts yesterday and after I hung them up in my closet, I thought "Damn. I'm getting quite the collection here!" I've always been a t-shirt sort of girl, but as much as I have always loved music and sports, I never had t-shirts to proclaim my love for my favorite band or team - or my support for a cause, or pride in heritage.

I did have a man's size-6x Ohio State shirt that I found once in a big and tall shop in Columbus, Ohio. I *treasured* that shirt and wore it till it was basically a rag.

When I was in high school, there were no shirts or jerseys for me. I was pretty much the only one who didn't have anything to wear come game day. Same for college.

A lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, I remember having one shirt when I was in junior high - it was also a find from a man's big & tall shop. You know, I still don't have a Bengals shirt! I have looked when I go home and, oddly enough, can't find them anywhere. I guess I'll have to order one online.

I'm going a little crazy buying every one I can get my hands on. At least I'm not buying designer dresses, huh? The affordability of this habit makes it hard to say no. LOL! Erich can't complain because he feeds the addiction. There have been several times when I've been in a store trying to choose between two shirts and he takes them from me and tosses them both in the cart. I guess he thinks I deserve to splurge a bit!

Take Bo Bice t-shirts for example. I can't tell you how it always killed me that I couldn't wear one. I spent almost 5 years sighing heavily at merch tables and online listings, wishing for a damn Bo Bice t-shirt. When I bought my first one, at the fan club party last year in Nashville during CMA Fest, you would've thought I had just scored the Holy Grail. I was a happy, happy girl that day! I have five years' worth of merch to buy...!!!!

Here are just a few in my ever-growing collection (click to enlarge):











Here's a link to all of them: T-shirt album.

There aren't enough days in the week to wear all of this stuff so I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Most of them I can't really wear to work even though my office is very casual (I would find it difficult to work in an environment where I couldn't wear jeans & a t-shirt to the office...sorry). I guess I'll just keep buying them till I'm satisfied that I'm all caught up on the stuff I should've been able to wear all these years. If that's the worst I do, then I'm ok.

I lost one pound last week, so that's six in total for The Biggest Loser's Pound for Pound Challenge that a lot of us Bo fans are doing to support Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee. We're up to over 100 pledges now! Come on...you can even pledge maintenance if you have nothing to lose and that counts as 10 pounds - which means 10 pounds of food for Second Harvest. You know you wanna!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Does it take a village?

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows the importance of a support system. For success to happen, you must surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart. Friends who cheer you on when you finally leap over that plateau; family that beams with pride when you walk into a room.

A group mentality of hope nearly always overrides a singular cry of doubt. I've blogged about how fans of Bo Bice are coming together to participate in The Biggest LoserPound for Pound Challenge. Separately, we've all tried to lose weight for years - like most everyone else in the country. Together, we are doing it. It's the group mentality of "WE CAN DO THIS"!

In my blog Broadcast Motivation, I neglected to mention a new show called Village on a Diet. The tiny town of Taylor, British Columbia has banded together to get healthy. Each week they strive towards a common goal - to lose one ton in 10 weeks. The motivation they give each other is wonderful to see. Last week they climbed a huge hill on the outskirts of town as a community; literally and figuratively.

Everyone needs people to help them get up the hill. I know for myself, my weight-loss journey would've been infinitely more difficult without all of you. I know every person reading this is in my corner - what could be more motivating than that? If so many people think I'm worth having a long, healthy life then how can I argue? My friends - close by and far away - my family, my co-workers. I've been very lucky.

I've heard horror stories about husbands bringing home donuts to a dieting wife or a cousin pooh-poohing someone's agonizing but life-changing decision to have gastric bypass as "the easy way out". No one has ever done those things to me. I am extremely grateful for that.

However, lack of support can come from some surprising sources. When you do something this *BIG*, you tend to find out who your real friends are. Maybe they're not comfortable with you changing so much. Maybe they're afraid you'll find new friends and leave them behind. Or maybe they're just jealous. Try not to let it get you down.

A stellar support system is crucial but in the end, the discipline and hard work has to come from you. As Oprah Winfrey once said, "It's my ass on the treadmill!" Absolutely! Oprah's up-and-down dress sizes clearly illustrates that. No chef, trainer, cheerleader or surgical procedure can do it for you. All that can certainly help but it's really up to you to find it within yourself to decide you're worth the effort to get off the couch and into the gym; to put down the cupcake and pick up the apple.

So we do need support but never forget it's YOU who are doing this and YOU deserve the credit. You rock! Now pat yourself on the back and get your ass to the gym.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Who knows what?

The arrival of the new year as me thinking about the next steps in my journey. People always ask me if I'm "done" now that I reached my goal weight. I may be done losing weight - and the jury's still out on that - but I'll never be done watching my weight. I'll never be done trying new things and celebrating life in this body. I feel very grateful that I had the good sense to take a second chance on ME and believe life itself is not something to be taken for granted anymore.

So what's next? Who knows what?

Well, one thing I do know is I have a lot I want to try. New things that pique my interest, and a split second before dismissal have me thinking HEY! I could possibly physically DO that! Maybe I'll try it!

Horseback riding. I have only been on a horse once that I can recall, when I was a small child. My maternal grandfather was alive so I was probably between 5 and 7 years old. Too much of an animal lover to even consider this an option pre-op - I mean, the poor horse! - for some reason this is on my radar screen lately.

Rock-wall climbing. Dangling off a real cliff isn't my idea of a great time, at least not for my first time, but I can see me trying to scale a rock wall. The dangling part could maybe come later. It would be fun to see if I could actually do it, if I'm strong enough.

Karate? Yes, I'm putting a question mark after that because if I don't, there's a high probability of the men in little white coats coming to haul me away. We got a coupon catalog in the mail and I ripped that page out. There's no coupon on the page but it intrigues me for some reason. Let me tell you right now that Cindy has no balance, little patience and practically zero desire to jump around in a white robe with a roomful of people. So I have no idea why this appeals to me. But it does. So I keep looking at the page and wondering if I could give it a shot.

Zumba. I keep hearing such great things about Zumba, which is sorta like a dancing/cardio mix thing, that it's the first class I've been interested in taking. Aye, but there's the rub. It's a class. The gym Barbies don't intimidate me as much as they used to, but I still don't want to jump around in a well-lit, mirrored room with them. It's something I really need to just GET OVER and do it. Take a class, any class, just to get over my fear.

Everything I want to do at this point seems to over the top compared to the days when I simply longed to walk across the floor without sweating. Cross my legs. Sit on my husband's lap. Stand up for an hour or two and watch my favorite singer. All of that stuff is so automatic now but I try never to forget how difficult it was to get here. Never take it for granted.

Do I want to lose even more weight? That's a toughie. I don't think I need to, but I kinda want to. So I guess I won't be happy till I do, right? I'll cross that bridge when I pull up to it.

So those are just a few things rambling around in my head. The sky's really the limit here, people. Who knows what?

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Broadcast motivation

Ok, so it's time to get back on the horse and go back to the pre-holiday routine. I admit, I went off the rails a bit. I'm not beating myself up too badly though - to me, it seems pretty normal to eat a little more and gain a few pounds in December. It'll come off just getting back to doing what I should be doing. The key to holiday overindulgence is not to let it become a habit. It's easier said than done, I know, but really...un-doing all my hard work over a sugar cookie just ain't gonna happen.

Plus there's new incentive to do well. A good friend of mine, Debbie, has set up a group called Bo Peeps through the show The Biggest Loser for their Pound for Pound Challenge. For every pound we lose, the show will donate 11 cents to Feeding America. That's enough for one pound of food for the local food bank of your choice. We are pledging for Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee which is a charity close to Bo's heart. Uh. That's Bo Bice, of course. Do you know me at all? If you check us out on the teams page, you will see a link to our Facebook page. Why not try it? You just click on the 'pledge' tab and follow the steps. If you want to pledge for Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee, use the zip code 37228. But you can pledge for any food bank you like; just join the Bo Peeps team! So far we have 76 members pledging 2,168 pounds. You can also pledge maintenance, which they count as the equivalent of 10 pounds.

Here is Bo volunteering for Second Harvest. I love the first line - Bo is a joker!


I pledged 10 pounds. That'll take me to 189. I know I always said that 194 was my goal and I didn't care if I lost any after that but it wouldn't kill me to lose a few more, as my BMI is still in the 'overweight' category. I hate the frickin' 'charts' that tell you what you're supposed to weigh but I think I need another goal in mind to keep me on track for now. Like I said, it won't kill me.

There's a plethora of motivation on the airwaves to start off the new year! I love to watch shows that focus on weight loss because it gets me off my ass. I watch and think 'if they can do that so can I.' Here are a few to consider. I have my PVR set to record them all:

The Biggest Loser Of course! I was surprised that a new season started so soon after the end of the previous one (less than a month ago), but very happy nonetheless! Last season was a bit of a downer as game play seemed to be more important to some of the contestants than losing weight, but so far this season looks to be quite interesting. Two new trainers are available to the contestants and this is Jillian Michaels' last season at the ranch. That's kinda like Simon Cowell leaving American Idol. The show will never be the same. It's brought me tremendous motivation and clarity over the past two years and I highly recommend the show to anyone, whether you're trying to lose weight or not.

I Used to be Fat follows teenagers in the summer between their senior year and first year of college. I've watched the first two episodes and am reminded of the time I took off 80 pounds my senior year of high school. It was so incredible to be normal. Being fat as a kid or teen is incredibly hard. My weight loss didn't last very long, unfortunately. I'm rooting for these kids, bless their hearts.

Heavy follows people for 6 months as they attempt to transform their lives. It's not a competition; click on the link and watch the video. Inspiration? Oh yeah. It starts January 15 on A&E.

Ruby starts its third season in March on the Style network in the States. Canada has to wait a while after that for it to air on E! Canada, but it's worth the wait. Ruby Gettinger has lost almost 400 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly. If she can do that, you can lose whatever you need to lose. That's it, end of discussion. I watched the first season faithfully then lost track of the second season - they kept moving it around on me! I hope they release it on DVD - the first season is available but only in a 'best of' package which I don't understand. Why not offer full episodes? I love her, she is awesome!

There are also magazines that I'll buy just so I can read the success stories for inspiration. Off The Couch, special editions of Oxygen magazine, is one of my favorites. I'll also buy Wight Watchers, Self, anything I see that can be of help to help me stay on track.

Look around and you'll no doubt find someone's story that will resonate with you. Relating to others helps me in a big way.