I really resisted this idea.  The thought of a gym membership brought up two things for me, one was that I would be wasting my money because I would never go and two I usually hate the energy at a gym (the pretty people against the not so pretty people).  After about a month or so, I fought through those fears and made an appointment to take a look see.

The gym was not what I expected.  It was filled with everyday normal people. It smelled clean and had a fresh air open feeling to it. (must be the high ceilings and skylights) The staff was welcoming and friendly.  I left that appointment with a membership card and an appointment to meet with a trainer for an evaluation.

Reception Desk

I popped in a couple of times to “try” to do a workout.  I realized I really didn’t have a good idea on what I should be doing there.  Good thing I had this appointment coming up with the trainer.  I was hoping he would give me a routine to get started on. (that story will come later)

The good news is that I am still a member at that gym (1.5 years later).  Even though I fought the idea of signing up and thinking it wouldn’t help me in my success, it has become my place where I can go, focus on myself, be safe and know that I am supported there.  It was one of the biggest surprises in my journey, who would have thunk!

Here is an excerpt from a Forbes article about when picking a gym make sure it is a good fit for you.

Top Tips For Picking A Gym - Forbes.com

Whether you’re moving a regular workout indoors or creating a new exercise routine from scratch, avoid simply joining the first gym with the shiniest logo and longest row of equipment.

Instead, think about how a gym’s available amenities can complement your existing level of fitness. A marathoner or cyclist, Murphy says, should consider whether a gym is staffed with running or cycling experts. If weight loss is a primary goal, then seek out a club that caters less to the endurance athlete and more to similarly-minded gym goers likely to take advantage of fat-burning classes and an on-site dietitian or nutritionist.

Often I would express my love of hockey and how I wanted to play the game. One follower suggested that I do a clinic that was hosted by my local rink called “Give Hockey a Try”.  It was put on my the Northern California Women’s hockey League and they use the great event to recruit league players.  Of course they would mostly be beginners but we all have to start somewhere right?

All the league players lend their equipment for the clinic participants.  The cost was only $20.00.  I already had my skates and another Twitter follower gave me a Nike hockey stick. The day of the clinic I felt like it was the night before xmas. (yes I am a bit crazy about hockey)  I checked in and started getting set up with my gear.  Now I have done this before (suited up) and knew what to wear under the gear.  One thing I can tell you is that there is a science and process to putting all that stuff on.  Like if you put your shin guards on before your skates you can’t lace your skates, etc. I think putting your gear on is a perfect warm up before you get on the ice.  You are sweating and totally exhausted before your blade hits the ice.

The clinic was made up of drills to see what level everyone was at.  Then they spilt us into two groups, one that can skate better than the other group.  I made it to the “can skate better” group and they had us work on stick and puck handling.  We paired up with someone and did “pass the puck” drills.  Then we did the same but skated the length of the rink.

By the time we got to the end of the drills, I thought I was going to pass out.  I made it to the bench and then, of course, they all took a water break.  I downed a bunch of water and was ready to go.

Now this is when the fun started.  They split us into teams of 5 and we did 2 min scrimmages.  I chose to play defense. I have no idea where that came from, it just sounded fun to me.

The Gang - I'm in the back row 5th from the right.

OMG, the 2 mins went by in 20 seconds.  It was so much fun to actually (well kind of) play a game.  Since you are fully geared up, your are not concerned about falling.  If you do, you really don’t feel anything and you just pop up and skate off.  The puck would drop in the face off and then I would start skating like a maniac. I was flying around the rink at speeds I never imaged, ok I am sure it looked like I was in slow motion to the spectators but that’s how it felt to me.

It was the one of my favorite experiences of my life.  For a week after I dreamt of ice skating and playing with my boys, SJ Sharks.  How cool is that, exercise and happiness all rolled up in one thing.  Can’t ask for more!

Well sorry to say that the rental equipment at the lodge was the same story.  Thank goodness the staff there was also very kind about trying and never gave me any reason to feel bad about it.  Since we made the long drive to the mountain, I told my brother to go ahead and ski.

At first I was so sad that I wasn’t skiing.  I sat in the lodge watching everyone coming and going from the lifts and ski runs.  I think I felt sorry for myself about a total of 5 mins.  Then I realized that I wore some great hiking boots and I had brought my iPod that had a great play list of cardio music. So, I headed off to the lodge road and took off for a cardio walk in the snow.

Kirkwood Ski Lifts

The skys were clouding up and sure enough the most delicate, soft snowflakes started to fall.  There was no wind so they fell straight down. The streets I trucked along on were lined with amazing gigantic ski homes.  It was during the week and there were no cars on the road.  My music kept me going a quick pace.  The snow fall started to pick up pace with my music.  Soon I had a layer of snow on my head, arms and tops of my boots.  I suddenly realized that I was keep pace to a beat that I normally do at the gym BUT I was at 9,000 ft elevation.  WOW, I wasn’t running out of breath.  I broke a heavy sweat and after a full 30 mins I spun around to walk back to my starting point.  I walked a total of an hour.  The slippery road/snow/slush added to the workout by challenging my balance (equals core workout).

I finished my walk in time to explore the lodge and then meet up with my brother for lunch.  Like me, he was proud that I choose to take a bad situation and turned it into a fun experience.  On top of that I had a great workout.

A year later we tried again to get me into a ski boot and I am about a 1/2 inch away from the bindings to close comfortably.  We went on a day trip anyway.  I did my cardio walk (no snow that time) and then spent the afternoon in the lodge working on my job search.  It’s amazing how easy it is to just choose to turn something around – take lemons and make delicious lemonade.

You sign up and choose what plan you want.  I choose the Low-Fat Traditional meal plan for 5 days of the week (lunch & dinner) each day.  I felt I could handle the breakfasts and weekend meals.

Sample of Meal

Once a week you pick the food up at a set location. Cost wise I felt it was just a tab bit higher than making your own meals.  It sure was convenient.  My work at the time was extremely busy, so having the food ready to be heated up was nice.  The food was not bad at first.  It is carefully balanced nutritionally but seems to be on the high side on sodium.  I did this plan for about 4 months (yes I think that 4 months is my breaking point on diets) and lost about 10 pounds.  Honestly after awhile the food all started tasting the same. I found myself not eating it and throwing it away (it doesn’t keep very long).

I’m glad I tried it but in the long run it was another thing that just wasn’t a match for me.  So I choose to move on.

I go to the first meeting and get signed up.  I walk away with a sense of great hope that this is plan is going to make the difference.  I read all the books, buy the food from the list and like any project I work on, I organize myself for success.  Well after about 3-4 days I am burnt out.  I am sick of counting, weighing and measuring.  I spend so much time thinking about the diet I just want to give it all up, so much to the point that I even hate to eat and I avoid it.

One thing that Weight Watchers has that not all plans do is the support of meetings.  I don’t remember now but I think you can go to a few meetings a week if you want (you just don’t get weighed in each time, just once a week). These meetings are great.  You get great advice for success and learn from the others that are on the plan.

Over all it is a tried and true plan that has worked wonders for the masses.  Well, it never worked for me.  I stuck with it for about 4 months.  I tried the point plan and the “other plan” that I can’t remember the name of. (in fact I see that they now have a new plan out called Momentum)  The meetings were good, the food choices where great but it just wasn’t working for me.

It got to the point that I resented getting weighed each week.  Even though the Weight Watcher personal were very kind and supportive.  I felt like they would read the scale, see that I hadn’t lost anything and give me that look of disappointment.  Maybe they were shocked that I didn’t have a look of disappointment.  I just wasn’t feeling it because I knew the diet and I was not a match.  After 4 months I didn’t want to waste their time or mine so I canceled my membership and moved on.

It was a good experience and I came out of it realizing that if something is not working for me, that I am bored or frustrated don’t keep pounding your head against the wall.  Just move on!

I found a great list of 7 steps to take to pick a diet plan that will work for you!  “How to Pick a Diet Program | eHow.com”

My Walking Team

The day of the event, I prepared myself with proper clothes, water bottle and comfy shoes.  After a quick group meeting, my co-workers and I headed over to the fitness center.  We were all chatting about the day, who had experience with this type of exercise and why we choose to do it.  As we got closer to the building I could feel the tiny sensation of butterflies starting.  With each step they grew larger and larger.  I could feel myself breaking out into a sweat.  Geeze, we haven’t even started the race yet.  I noticed that my mind was racing with thoughts of failure before we even checked in.  I was asking myself “What if I couldn’t make it all the way?”  “What if I am the last person” and “What if I am the ones that slows down my friends?”  Talk about “talking yourself” out of something!

I kept pushing through and ignored my “monkey brain” thoughts.  We checked in, got our racer numbers and proceeded to the starting point.  All the while my friends were smiling, joking and totally unaware of my panic.  I have pretty good acting skills and I am sure I was doing a great job of showing no fear.

The race begun, the runners were in the front, next where the joggers and then the walkers.  After about 1 mile, one of my friends picked up speed and headed out on her own.  My one good friend stuck with me through the full race.  As we were approaching the turn around point, I peeked behind us and realized we were the last ones.  Being the good friend that she is, my friend kept me going at a good pace and talking with me about anything fun and positive.

She knew that I was tripping about being last.  She kept saying, “Remember, the point of today Jane is that you have fun and complete what you set out to do”.  I realized that she was right and now was the time for me to set a base time for myself on 5k walks.  I could use this base time to challenge myself to improve.  Something I love to do is to compete against myself.

We finished the race and yes we were last.  But the lesson, awareness and accomplishment I got from this experience made me the winner.  About 6 months later I did this same race at work.  I beat my time by 15 mins and now I take 5k walks 1-2 times a week.  They are a piece of cake for me.  I shave minutes off my time each time and I now walk/jog during them.  My goal is to someday jog the entire way.  Sometimes the best way to conquer a fear is to just focus on finishing something and not be concern with the details.

I hope my story inspires you to try to get off the couch and try a 5k walk.  I found this great Checklist to prepare for the day of the walk. This would have help my nerves! Walking Checklists for a 5k Walk NOTE: Love the one note to “Do not smoke while walking.” DUH!

Brace Face

I opted for a full set of braces instead of doing Invisalign. Heck if I did wear my retainer back in the day I knew as an adult I wouldn’t wear the Invisalign sets.

The day I got the braces put on I felt like I lost 15 years off my age.  I spoke funny and started to talk with my lips closed to hide the braces.  Over time this all went away because I really didn’t care in the long run.  I knew the out come would be worth it all.

One thing I never realized was that braces where going to help me in my quest to shrink.  From the initial day they were put and the days that I got adjustments to the wires etc., they made my teeth so sore that I just didn’t want to eat.  When I did eat the soreness made me stop and think about what I put in my mouth.  I could choose anything soft but I took that thinking process a step further by making a better choices.

Taking advantage of this I made sure my cupboards and refrigerator were stocked with healthy and low fat food.  Some of my favorite choices were hummus and pita bread, apple sauce (low sugar) and Greek yogurt.

I had my braces on for a little under two years.  Towards the end I was fed up with them but now that I see the results, I am so happy I made that dental benefits mistake after all.  Funny you never know how one mistake can turn into a great healthy result.

Now my daughter has her braces on and only has a few months until she is done.  The good thing is that since I went through the procedure, I can help her get through it with a great result.

Skating Day

Everyone I know told me to never use the rental skates at the local rinks.  Not only is the blade dull, they do not support your ankles.  So since I am on a very tight budget (got laid off from my job in July 08)  I choose to buy used skates.

Depending on time of year and when the hockey season begins/ends, the inventory in used equipment stores varies.  I did find one store “Play it Again Sports” that had a huge selection.  I found a great pair of Bauer (men’s) skates.  I got the the blades sharpened and was on my way to the rink.  Well, little did I know how important it is to have a well fitted skate.  Ends up that my skates were a half size too big.  I had to wear very thick socks just to be partially comfortable in them.

Me and My New Skates

I did try a drop-in beginners hockey class.  The rink let you borrow the full gear needed.  I got there early, they fitted me for the gear and 30 mins later I was on the ice.  It ended up being more of an advance class.  Most of the classmates were on league teams and skating circles around me.  My focus was to not fall down no matter what.  I had to get through the class with my dignity.  The instructor knew that I couldn’t do the various drills he had everyone else doing, so he had me take a stick and puck and move it up and down the ice.

Let me tell you something, it is NOT as easy as it looks during a NHL game.  The puck would either go super slow and I would skate right over it or it would go fast and I couldn’t keep up with it.  After about 15 mins. my feet were hurting so bad (from big skates with no arch support) that I had to sit down a couple of times.  I felt so defeated. I love this sport and pictured myself on a team zooming around the ice making goal after goal. I kept my skates in the car for months.  Each time I opened the trunk it reminded me to get back on the ice.  I tried a couple of times but had the same aching problem.  I finally got waxed laces and even thicker socks.  It wasn’t a perfect solution but at least it kept me moving.

About a year later a twitter friend said she had a pair of skates for me.  They fit perfect.  They feel like slippers compared to my men’s Bauer skates.  Now I skate when I can.  Still dreaming of being on a league team and getting closer to making that happen.

I was late to my first appointment with her.  She came into the examination room and told me she was shocked I even got an appointment with her, as she was not taking new patients.  Being that she said “I will take you on but let me tell you about myself”:

Next time don’t be late.  I like to be on time with all my patients and if you are late then you throw all our schedules off. (fair enough)

There are 3 things I focus on in my practice -

1. Hypertension (great I want to get off my High blood pressure meds)
2. Diabetes (even better, I am borderline type 2)
3. Obesity (wonderful, I am on a quest to move more and shrink)

So, we carried on a wonderful conversation about what I have been doing for my health.  That my goals match perfect to her focuses and how frustrated I am with the lack of progress I am making.

Then she announced to me (like it was the most wonderful thing in the world or like I just won the lotto)

Sample of Successful GP

“based on your weight, YOU ARE A CANDIDATE FOR GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY, whoo hoo!  Ok, she really didn’t say it that way but that is how I heard it.  I felt like a semi truck just hit me.  So many thoughts were running around my head…WHAT, do I have to loose that much weight?  How did I let myself get this fat!  This can’t be true!

Now I want to say that a few of my friends have had this surgery.  It was a great success for them.  It even saved some of their lives.  But for me, this was not the way I wanted to go.  I don’t take to any surgery well.  I also couldn’t imagine being limited to what or how much I could eat for the rest of my life.  I knew it was not an option for me.

I expressed my shock to her with tears in my eyes.  She said, “Ok then lets start on a plan that will work for you”.  She gave me a list of diet plan websites to visit and we started on setting goals (something I do very well with).

I left her office, got in my car, drove 3 blocks and pulled over to sob.  5 mins later I pulled myself together and at that point made a commitment to never be in the category of gastric bypass surgery again.

I found a great site that can help you make your own decision about Gastric Bypass Surgery. Gastric Bypass.com – Your Guide to Weight Loss Surgery

H20 Aerobics Class

When I showed up to my first water aerobics class, much to my surprise the instructor ended up being one of the most welcoming and warm person I ever met.  She had the class all say “hello” to me and made sure I was not only enjoying the class but that I was doing the movements correctly so I didn’t injure anything.  I learned later that this is very very important. Well, I was hooked.  I found out her full weekly schedule and followed her around from pool to pool.

Puffer Fish

No matter where i went the classes were always made up of women and men of different ages and sizes.  But, there was always the same crowd in each class that I call the “puffer fish”.  This was a group of people that would crowd together and chitchat.  There arm movement, tiny and slow, would remind me of the puffer fish.  During the class they would carry on conversations about their new hair cut, savings at various grocery stores, grand kids and other gossip type topics.

Keep in mind I was focusing on the movement and technique.  Once I got that down there was no stopping me.  The faster the movement is in the water the greater the resistance.  So, at the start of the class I would find a spot in the pool that gave me plenty of space to “work it out”.  Sometimes the puffer fish group would migrate into my space.  I would be pushing against the water so much that I was creating a wake.  Maybe my wake was sucking them in closer to me.  Anyway, as I plowed along I could hear the puffer fish stopping their conversation and say things like “oh my” or cough and gagging from my wake water splashing in their face.  A big part of a water aerobics routine is jogging the length of the pool.  This really is a great way to not only get warmed up but also get your heart rate going.  Well, I found myself many times running up the back of the puffer fish.  Some would try to keep up with me.  Running hard while looking behind them to see a speedboat in a black swim suit fast approaching their back.  Finally they would give up and back off to give me some space.

Water aerobics was the first serious workout I incorporated into my life.  I did it 6 days a week for over 8 months.  I toned my muscles and increase my aerobic stamina tremendously.  I even built up a nice collection of swimsuits and cute hats.  Soon I realized I my body was getting used to the routine and it was time to mix it up.  These days, I try to do one or two classes a month.  I still love water and the puffer fish know me so well now that they stay clear of my wake.

Here is a a great list of the benefits water aerobics from my instructor Ginnie Plato of AquaFit.

Water Workout benefits:

• Reduce impact relieves stress on joints and tendons
• Increased resistance builds strength and endurance
• Circulation is stimulated, yet blood pressure is naturally reduced
• The hydrostatic pressure of water reduces potential for sore muscles and injury due to overwork
• Balance and coordination are improved with water’s support
• Muscles receive a balanced workout due to resistance properties of water