Real Girl: Health and Fitness

Let’s face it. We live in a society where everything is fast pace and immediate; this includes how we get news, how we communicate with one another and how quickly we can access goods and when they get delivered. I believe that this not only has an effect on our levels of patience but also how we quickly we anticipate results of our efforts that are traditionally tedious such as waiting for grades, medical results, and various forms of customer service. As a server I see this in the amount of customers I sometimes get demanding a well done steak to be plated and in front of them in less than 10 minutes. Though much of this demand for immediacy can be due to increasing advances in technology (internet, smart phones, etc.) it also has a profound effect on other aspects of life that are known to be tedious and lengthy. There are many examples you can use this fast paced mind frame including the health and dieting industry.

            Many weight loss programs such as the Cookie Diet, Adkins, South Beach, Bernstein diet and P 90 X claim big results in a short period of time and it is no wonder that people have come flocking to these products and programs. Having gained a couple of pounds over the holidays added to comfort eating in the cold winter months, I was starting to feel my jeans getting tighter and tighter and decided it was time to hop on my pre-Christmas fitness and health food eating regime. My sister forwarded me a link to the documentary movie Hungry for Change and was intrigued by the quick results of many of the people speaking in the movie. The film emphasizes clean life style changes instead of dieting (which I strongly advocate for) but there was a strong emphasis on the health benefits of a raw vegan diet and more importantly juicing. For those of you who don’t know what juicing is, it is the process of making your own juice with a power juicer in order to create a juice that caters to your health goals and tastes and also avoids buying juices in grocery stores which are often filled with as much sugar as the same quantity of soda. They argue that the advantages to juicing is that you are able to consume all the vitamins and nutrients of foods that not many people would ever eat raw such as kale and cilantro in a short amount of time without much preparation effort. Some of the experts went on juice cleanses where all they consumed was the juices they made some lasted as little as 3 days while others went on for a couple of weeks. Most spiritual teachers tell us to treat you body like a temple, I on the other hand to an extent treat it like a laboratory; seeing what works and what doesn’t. In the impatient mind set that I was in and determined to get rid of the month long turkey tummy pouch I had been lugging around all month, I decided to give it a shot. So in the words of my favorite Arrested Development character Tobias Funke: Let the great experiment begin!

            I went to my nearest Canadian Tire the next day after consciously deciding to try the cleanse. After comparing customer reviews on the website I bought the Jack Lalane juicer which was fairly affordable and small enough to fit inside my shoebox apartment. My next trip was to the grocery store where I loaded up on celery, cucumbers, spinach, kale, cilantro, parsley, beets, and all other kinds of fun vegetables that I don’t each on a regular basis. My fridge looked like this when I was finally done unpacking. Rabbits everywhere would be proud. 

The juicer itself was easy to assemble and even came with a little pamphlet on juice recipes and the different results they would have. I mostly stuck with recipes I found online but they were helpful. I decided that day to opt for the 5 day cleanse. Everything that went into my body had to be in juice form. If it didn’t come from the earth in liquid form, I wouldn’t eat it. Mind you I made that decision at 9 AM and I hadn’t made my first juice yet. The first one I made was called the Dr. Oz’s Green Drink containing apple, celery, cucumber, ginger, lemon, lime, parsley and spinach. Now I can’t say that from the first sip I fell in love and felt my body being rejuvenated with every sip but my taste buds were not impressed.

  I knew from the get-go that this cleanse wouldn’t be easy but I decided after my first glass that I would instead do a three day cleanse and only eat things that I would but in my juicer anyways. Essentially I would go raw vegan. Now this cleanse would probably be more realistic if you didn’t have to do anything like walk, think, or any kind of vigorous movement. But this is the real world and not only that but it was Saturday night and I had to get to my shift at the restaurant I work at.  I was kind of feeling out of it at the beginning of my shift and was slower to react to things that were going on around me. An hour into it I was feeling pretty light headed and weak. Luckily I made some juice for myself that I kept in my locker to sip on to sustain me (kind of). I told some of my co-workers about my experiment and it was met with a mixed reaction of “Good for you!” and “Are you nuts?” I am not too sure how many of you reading this have ever worked in a restaurant but there is nothing worse than starting a shift on an empty stomach and having to watch customers wolf down plates of nachos and burgers. My stomach was not impressed with me.  This dilemma is not that unusual for me. I was working at the same restaurant thought out my initial 50 pound weight loss but I usually solved this problem my making my own meals at home before I started a shift and this liquid diet was not cutting it. From the 5 o’clock start of my shift to the 11’ o’clock lull I had the food forbearance that would have made Ghandi proud but by the end of the night when we my manager told me it was last call for food and asked if I wanted to order something, I caved in and got a spinach and pear salad (sorry Ghandi). As I dug into my salad at the end of my shift I felt less light headed and began to perk up again. I felt rejuvenated and after I finished eating I knew I couldn’t carry on another two days of doing this.

            The next morning I started off with a beet and pineapple based juice that I figured would be a bit tastier then Dr. Oz’s concoction and I decided to allow myself to eat food and even meat but to replace one of my three meals with a vegetable juice and choose another meal to be half of what I would normally eat but have juice be the other supplement. I started my ‘cleanse’ on Saturday and it is now Tuesday and I have lost 3 pounds so far. I am satisfied with the results but also know as my body adjusts to this regime, the effects will not be as pronounced. Juicing is a great way to add much needed nutrients into your diet but as a replacement for food it is insane and unrealistic (unless you have the option to lie around all day and not do anything). The idea behind juicing isn’t a particularly new or revolutionary one, having a clean diet is something doctors and nutritionists have been arguing for years, this is just a different way of getting these nutrients. The main reasons why this trend has become so popular is the quick result tag line that has been attached to it, but if you want to feel the benefits of weight loss you have to be willing to go through the long haul. For me to lose 50 pounds took about a year and it was by no means a linear path. I lost some pounds and gained some but I did not give up or believe that my journey would only take a month. I think that we have a problem with immediate results, and if they are not we immediately give up. I could go on to tell you about the serious health implications of these fasting diets but we all know what happens to people who lose the weight quick, they just as quickly gain it back then some. In conclusion I would like to reflect on how I felt the morning after my first day of my attempted cleanse. I figured I would try again but not in the same way I tried the day before. I would add ingredients that I liked and of course make a conscious effort to stay clean. I prepared a beet and pineapple based juice that I actually enjoyed with my protein pancake (ill post a recipe for it later). I was able to be active trough out the day doing my routine without feeling like I was about to faint. So as I continue on my journey towards health, I will take this experience as a reminder of patience. The saying goes that good things are worth waiting for, but I also know that good things are also worth striving for and working hard for.

I’ve been thinking about writing this for a while, and with the start of the New Year I figured now would be a better time then any. It hasnt’t been a secret that my New Year’s resolution last year was to lose some weight, I didn’t really have a number in mind at the time I just wanted to make healthier choices so I could feel better about myself physically and emotionally. Over the course of the year I made conscious decisions to eat properly and start exercising more and the end result has been approximately 45-50 pounds lost. My friends and family often asked how I did it and they were often surprised when I told them I didn`t use the help of a tailored diet (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, The Zone, etc) or a personal trainer. Bottom line it was motivation, will power, and conscious decision making and the best part about that is it is absolutely free and won’t expire after a few months.
Most of you know that I was always kind of overweight since I was a child. Not to say that I was dramatically overweight or obese, but I was never all that comfortable in my skin. I remember as a teenager that I wasn’t able to fit into the ‘cool’ jean brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister and never wanted to wear a bathing suit in front of my friends. I dabbled with some dieting fads such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig and I did lose some weight (10-20 pounds) but would usually just gain it all back within a couple of months. When I went to live in residence at University I did gain some weight but attributed it to the “freshman 15” and brushed it off as something that everyone did. As I eventually moved into my own place, I continued to make horrible food choices such as ordering lots of pizzas, eating boxes of Kraft Dinner, baking cakes and eating nearly half of it in one sitting I ballooned to well past the 200 pounds. Not only was I incredibly unhappy with my appearance but I felt fatigued constantly and was very susceptible to illnesses. I hated shopping for clothes, I never wanted to be in pictures and found myself always volunteering to take the pictures of my slimmer (and by the way fabulous) friends. I remembered last November as I was going through pictures that were taken the night before I untagged nearly all of them because I simply looked enormous, I was too ashamed to even look at them. It was at that point I decided I needed to make a change and that I wasn’t going to continue living like this any longer.

       It defiantly wasn`t easy and I took small and gradual steps towards changing my diet in order to stick with it. You don`t have to make a dramatic change overnight to achieve weight lose goals, in fact doing that will only sabotage your efforts because you will probably lose interest in your goals pretty quickly. A year ago I used to eat pasta about 5 days a week and buy lots of high fattening or high calorie snacks. So in the beginning I decided that I was only going to have pasta one meal a week and buy only one snack type food when I went to the grocery store. If I immediately transitioned to the nearly gluten/sugar free diet that I am on now I would have lost interest pretty quickly. Over time I decided to cut more and more things from my diet such as bread, sodas, and the more I cut out the less I found myself craving these types of foods. I am convinced after reading Dr. William Davis’ book Wheat Belly that certain foods like ones that contain wheat have addictive qualities that not only make you want to eat them more but also can make you hungrier. I also found that I was able to replace certain cravings with healthier alternatives.For example my replacement for chips are Mary’s Organic Crackers which are gluten free, made completely out of seeds, and contain great healthy fats that keep you full. I also find that eating particularly sweet fruits such as green apples and clementine’s curbs my craving for sugar. I also make a point to really ask myself if I am eating something because I am hungry or if there is something else wrong. What many people seem to forget that food is really just a tool for survival. There many foods that we eat today that offer no nutritional value (I’m looking at you sugar sodas) but we simply eat/drink them because we enjoy them. I totally get devouring an entire tub of ice cream when you have been dumped or failed that exam you have studied so hard for but you need to ask yourself is it really going to make you feel better? In the moment maybe but in the long run it will pack on the love handles and make you feel even worse which will turn to more emotional eating until you’re stuck in a vicious cycle you can’t escape from. It is important to get rid of this idea that you are entitled to food even when you are not hungry. For the first time in history food is over abundant and it is easy to forget that there was a time when McDonalds and Starbucks was not on every block and available for dirt cheap prices. So now whenever I crave any kind of junk food I take a moment and reflect on whether or not I really need to eat it or if it is even worth sabotaging my health goals; 90% of the time the answer is no.Looking back on it I found that I was using food as a kind of emotional crutch and many of the habits that I had developed could have been easily described as a binge eating disorder. I was a textbook example of an emotional eater and food became anything I needed it to be for me at the time, a best friends, a vacation, a boyfriend, it was a means of escape for me. I know it sounds strange for me to be comparing my relationship with Kraft dinner and cheesecake to that of an abusive partner but that’s how it honestly felt at the time. It was a shitty relationship that needed to end. I am not saying that I never eat candy anymore or that I don’t eat pasta from time to time. I still love those foods! Anyone that tells me that they hate cake or chocolate is either lying or absolutely insane. I do eat them but just not in the same quantity that I used to. I may make my favorite fattening foods once every couple of months or enjoy the occasional cake at a party or special occasion. I am not telling anyone to write off certain foods altogether but eat them in small moderation and trust me they are more satisfying now that I don’t eat them all the time.

Before I made my New Year’s Resolution I wasn’t particularity fit or active. I did ride horses 2-5 times a week (depending on the season) and was competing but I was often got tired quickly and couldn’t even finish some of my jump courses because I was out of breath. I remember thinking to myself when I made my resolution that it isn’t fair that I expect my horse to be fit and in shape with defined muscles when sat at home eating chips and watching TV. It was completely hypocritical and the extra weight was probably not helping my poor horse jump any higher. My dad was nice enough to include me in the family plan at the YMCA on Argyle and at the beginning I made a point to go to the gym at least once a week and signed up for a beginners Pilates class. I found myself looking forward to my ‘gym’ days and got chummy with the people in my exercise classes, staff, and other regulars. I built my own little community within the gym which made going not such a chore. I also re-discovered my love of swimming and doing similar drills that I used to do when I was a competitive waterpolo player. As I stated earlier you do not need a personal trainer in order to achieve fitness goals. Not to say that they aren’t useful, they are great if you have an injury and need a more structured routine or if you are trying to achieve a very specific body type or weight goal; but unless your goals are very specific, I would save the money and invest it in something that you can enjoy and make you active such as a bike, a really great pair of running shoes, or even a massage because you’ll need one after all that working out you’re going to do. Many gyms also offer great drop in classes that can show you great new routines and instructors that can both challenge you and make sure you are doing certain exercises correctly. My favorite free classes offered at the YMCA are Total Core, Total Muscle Control, and Spin classes. There are lots of others that I am going to try but bottom line I definitely recommend getting a membership to a great gym that you can see yourself going to on a regular basis and that offers free classes. Also I feel it is important to talk about insecurities and feeling comfortable at the gym. I know I felt insecure lifting 5 pound weights next to the guy bench pressing 150 pounds. As someone that has been very overweight, I know how it feels to go to the gym just to feel intimidated by the super fit gym rats around me. But believe me when I say that no one is judging you or thinks less of you because you cannot perform at the same levels. If anything, they too were in your position at one point as no one is simply born with lean muscle and high levels of athleticism. They too had to work very hard to the point that they are at and you will be there someday if you work hard at it too, I promise. Though I have never personally encountered anyone who judges overweight people exercising at their gym or made snarky comments about obese people making genuine efforts to get healthy are complete assholes who are not worth a moment of your time. Anyone who tries to make an effort to be healthy should be applauded not jeered or subjected to body snark. People who do this clearly have deep seated insecurities and are the ones with the problems. After I started to go to the gym on a regular basis I defiantly noticed differences not only in my body but with my overall health. As I mentioned earlier I was also susceptible to illnesses but now I find I am hardly sick and always full on energy. When I ride I do not get nearly as tired as I used to and can finish jumping courses and dressage tests without breaking a sweat. I now feel almost as healthy and fit as my horse and I’m sure Rocky appreciates the lighter load.

As I got more serious about monitoring my diet I found that I could find most of the answers to my questions about certain foods and its benefits just by googleing it. I stumbled upon lots of great websites such aswww.livestrong.com and www.womenshealthmag.com which give you access to informative articles about health and some really great recipes. I also loved to use youtube to look for great at home exercises and health blogs from very informed dieticians and personal trainers. My personal favorite channels to follow are lean secrets (love Brenda Lee Turner, one of my main motivators when I started) and SarahsFabChannel (I found Sarah’s channel is especially helpful because it is geared towards young women in their 20s). However the one website/youtube page that really inspired me was Laura Must Lose Weight. When I watched her first videos I remembered feelng that I look a lot like she did when she was 50 pounds over weight and inspired me that if she could do it, then I could do it too. Since then has completely transformed her body and life and is now a fitness coach and body builder. She is so sassy and unapologetic about who she is and I love it. When I see people with such drive as Laura I feel inspired. Though I do not recommend trying to find a good book on dieting at Chapters there are some books and magazines that I find informative and helpful. Trying to find a good book about healthy eating is a real pain in the ass. When I went to Chapters to try and find a good one, I found them all contradicting each other and had no idea which philosophy to buy into. I find that much of dieting is trial and error, everyone’s body is different and what may work for me may not work for you. This is why I recommend reading free-online articles and experimenting with diets that they recommend and see what works before investing money in a book. For example, I found that a gluten free diet has helped me reach my goals so far so I borrowed (thanks Uncle Chris!) Wheat Belly by Dr. Willaim Davis to help me understand why gluten free diets are effective and construct gluten free diet strategies. I also love picking up the odd Women’s Health or Shape Magazine for tips and motivational stories. Though I do find they tend to repeat themselves they are still great reads to pick up from time to time.

As I travelled back home from West Palm Beach where I spend my Christmas, my mom was sure to let us know that our suitcases had to be less than 50 pounds or else we would be charged. I weighed my bag and it was 47 pounds and also had to haul it from my parent’s condo, to the airport and back to my apartment. I remember thinking how heavy the stupid thing was and that when I came to the realization that a year ago, I may as well have been hauling that suitcase around me everywhere I went. That suitcase was about the same weight was what I had lost in a year and if I had still chosen to stay that way I would probably be paying for it now in joint problems, back issues, cancer susceptibility and even diabetes. I never want to haul something that large around with me 24/7 ever again. So if weight loss is your New Year’s Resolution you have to be sure that you are doing it for yourself and yourself alone. You cannot do it to appease a family member, a boyfriend, or even societal standards but for simply you and your health; because at the end of the day it is you that has to live with your body and you have to be okay with it. I’m still working towards my goal of health and still want to lose a bit more weight but am more interested with overall fitness goals. However I think my New Year’s Resolution this year is to help others with weight loss or fitness goals. I’m not a doctor, a nutritionist or a personal trainer but I have been at that point before and I know that it seems impossible but you can do it if you try. If anyone has questions don’t hesitate to ask, but I figured I should write this to answer most questions that I got asked frequently over the year. Anyhow I hope all of you have a Happy and Health New Year! 

These are the pictures that triggered it all. I had to hunt them down because I detagged myself but now they are out there for everyone to see. I was probably at my heaviest in both of these about about 205-210 pounds

 About 185 pounds so roughly 20 pounds lost, felt better about myself but not quite great. 

 Im really happy here! lol, This is the point where I really started to feel a difference and look noticeably different. Roughly 175

 I remember looking at this one and freaking out because I thought my face looked different. It was weird because I didn’t notice a difference till I looked at this picture. I was about 168 here and feeling proud because I don’t even think i was that thin in high school. 

About a month ago and not only fitting into clothes that I couldn’t in years but they were actually becoming too big for me! Had to throw away half of my wardrobe.

Last night New Year’s Eve Shenanigans about 50 pounds lighter then the first picture taken.

Hi. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Katie. I’m a 22 year old girl from Ottawa, a university student, and in most ways and average 20 something year old trying to navigate her way through life. A year ago I was over weight, unhealthy, and unhappy. I decided to make a change. My new years resolution was to get healthy. I did not have a particular plan or goal but I wanted to change my life. I’m happy to say that in a years time I have lost 50 pounds and have made a better life for myself. I posted my achievement on facebook with lots of great feedback and with that I decided to chronicle the rest of my journey via this blog and transfer what I have learned so far in my journey. This is my story. My journey to better health and fitness is not over yet. The name real girl struck me as an appropriate name because I am like most other college girls. I cannot afford a personal trainer nor the latest diet trends but I make do with the resources I have. I am by no means at my fitness goals yet but I am still trying. I remind myself daily that I cannot be and never sill be perfect, but I am real.