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Scalpel Please

Its finally Friday which means: Announcement Time!

On November 18th, I’ll be having my abdominal skin removal surgery! !! !!! !!!! !!!!!

I’m sharing my photos today because it’s time I really let everyone know.  I hide my extra skin really well I think.   I’ve gotten a few looks when I’m announcing it to people because sometimes they don’t really think I need it.  But let’s be clear.  I carried my weight in my abdomen mostly.  I thought I had nice legs even back then and my arms have shrunk back to almost normal.  Surgery is now my only option to fix what I’ve done to my body. So I’m going for it.  Here goes nothing.

This photos are for those hoping to lose weight, have lost weight or are thinking about skin surgery.  NOT to show how hot I am, get sympathy comments and especially NO haters. Don’t like it? Keep scrolling or feel free to unsubscribe!

 

So everyone’s first question is: How are you feeling about it? Honestly? Equally excited and terrified.  Skin removal surgery is something that I have always wanted in the end.  There was a small time when I thought maybe I should keep the skin to remind me of who I used to be.  But over time the skin has become more and more of an actual medical issue.  Back in April of 2017 I went for my original consultation.  At the consultation I was cleared for surgery having lost enough weight and kept it off. Also, my doctor agreed it would be covered by insurance since my skin hangs below the pubic bone.  And……that’s as far as I ever went. I only wanted to know if I COULD get it removed, but I wasn’t ready.

Over the next year, I tried to get over it. In so many ways, the surgery feels like a bad idea. It’s going to cost me quite a bit of money. I’m going to have to miss work.  I’m having ‘elective’ surgery and putting my body through unnecessary trauma.  I’m putting a lot of extra stress on my husband through my recovery weeks.  I won’t be able to run or exercise for 6-8 weeks.  These were all the reasons that ping ponged around my brain and made me not even find out the answers to most of the questions I did have about the surgery.

This September, I went back to the doctor.  I had been listening to a few of my clients that were struggling to pull the trigger on a few things out of fear. I kept bringing it up, across many conversations, that I was scared to know how much it was going to cost and what the recovery would be, so I never went back. After bringing it up for about a month, I made an appointment.  And then I cancelled it because I was ‘too busy’. Two weeks later, I finally went because my friend had scheduled her mammogram (which she was also scared about) and we were meeting for coffee after. I didn’t look up the procedure ahead of time because I didn’t want to expect the doctor to say one thing, and he’d say another.

My plastic surgeon, Dr. Royal Gerow has been practicing for just under 30 years. Since he wears horn rimmed glasses and argyle ties, I felt comfortable immediately.  Dr. Gerow drew me diagrams and explained everything about the procedure before evaluating me once again, to make sure nothing had changed in the last 2.5 years. When he asked me if I had any more questions, I asked about the cost knowing he probably couldn’t give me much information. He gave me the number to call insurance and all the verbage I would need to ask how much the procedure would be through our insurance.  Then he asked me how soon I’d want to do the procedure and I mentioned maybe holiday time depending on how much it was going to cost. I figured missing work (2 weeks) near the holidays would result in the least amount of income lost.

I left feeling…….weird. I cried for a little bit, panicked for a little bit and then gathered myself and went to coffee.  The whole time I just thought about the phone number in my wallet and how soon I could get home to call. When I got home, the first thing I did was NOT call.  I stared at it for a while. Took the dog for the walk. Came back and I couldn’t wait another minute. I had to know. I called and gave all the information and waited on hold.  And waited. And waited.  It was probably 90 seconds but felt like 10 minutes.  When she came back on the line she said, “Well Kim, since this is an outpatient procedure you’ll need to pay your outpatient copay of $100.” I nearly died.  I had her repeat it so many times she was giggling. I got off the phone and texted about 10 people.

When I called to schedule the surgery, I was expecting to get a date a few months out nearest to Christmas as I could.  After much discussion and scheduling conflicts, I had to take the date of November 18th.  I cried almost the whole time I was on the phone with the nurse and forgot a lot of what she said after that.  I felt completely overwhelmed by fear, anxiety and excitement.  I sat in my car in the parking lot for about 15 minutes and just cried. It took me a while to figure out the emotion: relief.

Getting my skin removal surgery will do so much for my body. It will help my posture, make my clothes fit properly, make exercising easier, and allow better hygiene as I age and lose mobility. But it means so much more than that. It’s the last step.  It is the final part of erasing my past and who I used to be.  When people meet me, they rarely know about my weight loss unless I tell them.  Now it will be my secret alone. In a lot of ways, ever since losing the weight, there’s been this big “but ……..” lingering in the back of my mind.  I lost 160 lbs, but I still don’t run in a sports bra unless it’s 100 degrees outside. I totally changed my body composition but I still seem like I carry extra fluff in my midsection from skin. I feel 10 Xs more confident about myself and my body but only in clothes.   I feel like a prize on my husbands arm now but not in the bedroom.  Having my surgery will complete my journey, but it will never cure my original disease. Letting the skin go won’t change any part of who I used to be or who I am now but it might help change who I’m becoming. I’ve still got a whole future ahead of me!

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Colfax Half Marathon – 2019

This weekend I completed the Colfax Half Marathon with a personal best time. I’ve come so far in my last four years of being a runner.  Four years ago, I was already at my goal weight and starting to find confidence in fitness. I completed the Colfax in 2015 but I have not run it since.  You can read about my first experience here!  This year was so much different.

Last summer I trained and attempted to run the San Francisco Half Marathon in under two hours. I failed and it hit me really hard.  There were several reasons and excuses that I had given of why I didn’t make the goal that day.  But when it came down to it, I hadn’t pushed myself hard enough through all of my training and I didn’t deserve the victory.   If I had made my goal last year, I wouldn’t have learned anything that lead me to my success this year.

What I did yesterday wasn’t extraordinary.  Lots of people have set and met the same goal.  Here’s all the practice I had to do outside of daily mileage and prescribed paces. There’s lots of pieces to the puzzle.

  1. Self Talk – Usually in a run I find myself thinking about how hard it is.   In previous training weeks I’ve seen the miles as a task to check off my list each day.  I’d try to zone out and just get through it. This year I tried to stay tuned into my runs, encourage myself, experience the run and be thankful for what my body can do.  Telling yourself you can gets you that much closer to actually doing it.  Feeling sorry for yourself and just wishing it was over? That just makes it last longer.
  2. Fun – I was able to have so much fun in this race!  When I felt like it was getting too hard or I would have to walk, I looked to the side lines and found someone to talk to.  I thanked Police officers for keeping us safe.  I high fived children. I slapped “Power Up” signs, I mentally pet every dog on the course and I talked to runners around me when I needed to.  A few seconds of interaction with someone would give me another quarter mile of easy running. 
  3. Off Season – Spring PRs (personal records) are built in the winter.  All of the running that I’ve done from the finish of my season in 2018 to the start of my season in 2019 made a difference.  Running an extra 2 miles because my Game of Thrones episode wasn’t over helped! Forcing myself to do a long run every other week when I wasn’t training for anything? Made a difference! It’s not just the time you spend running during a training season that conditions your body, its all the miles.
  4. Motivation – This year I found several avenues of motivation while I was training.  I love to listen to podcasts about great runners because they all admit to their weaknesses.  It’s easier to remember that all runners struggle, regardless of their pace when you hear them speaking about it.  I love to think of people and their stories as I run.
  5. Community – This year as I prepared for the race, I got more support texts than I’ve ever received.   I felt backed by my community of support whether I failed or succeeded. I felt so much love crossing the start line!  Knowing that many people care and are watching made me run that much faster.  While running is a solo activity, it’s a global community!

Still wondering how I did? This year I absolutely CRUSHED my goal.  I was pushing to see 1:59:59 and I got……1:55:24!  Thats a 9 minute PR for my previous record. While I know I trained really hard and set myself up the best I could, it always comes down to that day.  What can you do that day in that race? I chose to dig deep and prove to myself what I could really do!

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Girl, My A$$ Hurts

Alright.  So I’ve been a little busy. Over the last 18 months when my posts have been lacking while I’ve done some pretty incredible things.  During that time I had two choices: try to keep up this blog and write from an exhausted, drained mind or release myself from the guilt of having too many plates in the air.  Obviously you know what I picked. I knew I didn’t have the creative depth or reservoir of passion to give much advice to readers.  But now, I’m slowly getting back to all the things I love and finding joy in things that take up time again.

Over the past 18 months, I fully switched careers to a full time personal trainer and recently acquired my Weight Loss Specialist license. I’ve been working with overweight clients, underweight clients, females, males, confident people, self conscious people and everywhere in between.  And I’ve been learning SO MUCH.  It’s been all consuming and thus my lack of writing.  But I have been doing some reading, which is the launching point of this post.

Lately I’m obsessed with the book Girl, Wash You Face by Rachel Hollis. I’ve read it.  I’ve written in it.  I’ve bought three copies for women I know.  I’ve lent out my own copy and I pretty much obsessively tell everyone about it.   Within the book, Rachel takes you through several lies women tell themselves and how to stop believing them so you can reach your full potential. While reading the book,  I saw a lot of lessons I had learned while losing weight printed into words I didn’t know other people had felt. Some chapters rang more true than others.  Some chapters I skipped (like about motherhood). But what was clear while reading the book was, she gets it.  Were all fighting the same battles each day and yet we keep providing the same lies were believing.

The chapter that I knew was for me was: Chapter 3: The Lie: I’m not good enough.  I had quite a light bulb-hold the phone-stomp on the breaks full mom arm seatbelt-moment during this chapter.  I always have known I’m a workaholic.  I liked to excuse the habit away with “but I’m from the Midwest, were taught to work hard” and “but I’m a teacher; it’s a 24/7 job” or “but I love my job.”  I had never ever had someone explain it the way Rachel does.  Of course I’m paraphrasing here but she explains that for many of us, work is where we feel the most confident.  It’s where we feel like we belong and have permission to do great things.  So we want to spend ALL our time there.  It’s ok to gain confidence from your job but it’s not ok that ALL your confidence rides on your job.

My favorite quote from the book is “Work just as hard for the pee in your pants moments as you do all the other ones.” I haven’t peed my pants enough in the past few years.

The best part of my job is watching people change.  I get to watch women become whole again.  Men gain their confidence back again.  Some people just want to put their shoes on again.  We all have goals and ways we want to change. I get to push people toward their goal and take the burden for just an hour while they work with me.  They let me push them past their comfort zone, past their breaking point, past their own goals to see them take steps towards that change.  I don’t necessarily think my clients look to me for life altering advice like I found in Girl, Wash Your Face I could get behind my own tagline: Girl, My Ass Hurts!

 

 

 

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Skinny Won’t Solve Anything

Lately I’ve been feeling very far away from my old self.  I’ve been forgetting what it was like to carry so much extra weight on my frame.  I’ve forgotten what it was like to be out of breath after climbing the stairs.  The life I lived as a morbidly obsession person was just that: the life I lived.  It was all I had known.  Now that it’s been several years since hitting my goal weight, it sort of hard to remember.  Who I am now has been reset to my new norm.

My body and my reflection felt strange for a long time.  I always felt 6-9 months behind what I actually looked like.  But now, I expect to see the person looking back at me.  When I see photos of my current self, I’m pleased instead of shocked.  It’s the photos of my old self that I no longer recognize.  That person continues to feel farther and farther away.

As I talk to clients now that are on their journey, I love to discuss their why.  Almost everyone answers with “Because I want to be skinny” or some version this same statement.   Granted, as we get to know one another, I usually find a deeper reason for their “why”.  Parts of me are still figuring out my why, even after all this time.  Most people think that if they just get skinny, everything will be different.  You’ll be confident.  You’ll be beautiful.  You’ll be a better friend and partner.  You’ll become adventurous and everything you’ve ever wanted! The real truth is: getting skinny won’t solve anything.  There’s so much other work to be done.  If you’re a bad friend when you’re unhealthy, you’ll still be a bad friend when you’re thin.  Getting skinny is not a miracle.  What is it really? Buying smaller clothes.

For example, I still run from some of my demons.  Getting thin didn’t disguise me from them.  I’m still not sure why I have this demon or when it found me but: I only want to do things I’m good at and comfortable with.  I know that most people are like this but I think I’m worse than the usual.   I like routine. I enjoy feeling like I’m better at most of the things I do than other people. (WOW.  That sounds really bad) Therefore, it’s hard for me to push outside my comfort zone.   I don’t like learning new things.  I like to be an expert at what I enjoy.

So now that I’m fixed and ‘skinny’, that problem went away right? I’m now super confident 100% of the time and never feel uncomfortable.  Yeah right.  Lately I’ve been getting in to swimming.  I remember liking swimming as a kid and being pretty good at it.  Now, not so much.  I’m pretty terrible at swimming.  I feel like all the others swimmers watch me the whole time and giggle.  (No one is). I feel like I’m splashing half the water out of the pool. (It always seems full when I get out though) I drank or chocked on the other half of the water. (This one is kinda true) I’m pretty uncomfortable the whole time.  BUT.  I’m doing it.  I’m forcing myself out of my comfort zone and doing new things.

While getting skinny didn’t banish that demon, I was able to recognize it more easily during my transition.  While having to try new things to create a new lifestyle, I had to push through that barrier and explore it.  Now, while I’m no more comfortable doing it, I force myself to do new things all the time.  Getting skinny fixes nothing.  Fitting into a new bikini won’t fix it.  Six jean sizes down will make you feel a ton butter but it won’t make you a better friend.  A new little black dress will look great but it won’t fix a marriage.  It’s all so much more.

 

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I Love Excuses

This past week, I started ramping up my running milage for my next upcoming race: The Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  This will be my third half marathon on the books.

As I prepare for the race mentally, I’m realizing how freaking lucky I am to be able to run.  For years, like a decade, I told myself I couldn’t run.  In high school, I suffered a full patellar dislocation during a basketball game. (dislocated knee cap) It was quite painful and took a lot of therapy to ‘fix’.  I often wonder if I had been at a proper fitness level while playing school sports, if it would have happened.  Regardless,  I used this as my excuse of why I couldn’t be a runner for a decade.  I also used it when convenient.  If something was too hard, it was obviously my knee issues.  If something was too long, my knee would get swollen for sure……or would it? Let’s be serious: I WAS OVERWEIGHT.  Half of the time it was the knee, half of the time it was me.  As soon as I started strengthening my legs, my knee was never an issue.  Even now when I have knee pain, it’s never from this old injury.

For a decade, I missed out on so many things because of the excuse I gave myself.  As I prepare for my marathon,  I am also fundraising for the first time.  I have joined a team at my gym and have set a goal to raise $1000 in the next month, to donate to Augie’s Quest.  Augie’s Quest is a foundation that is out to Cure ALS. Even though most people associate ALS with “the ice bucket challenge”, very few people know what ALS actually is.

I used to fear something like cancer because it’s the worst thing I can imagine happening.  Now I fear ALS.  Imagine being a runner and then one day you have trouble tying your shoes.  Then next day you trip on a rock you thought for sure you had cleared.  The next month your legs start feeling stiff every morning and you have to develop a new stretching you routine.  Then you notice you can hardly get into the position to stretch.  You’re legs start locking up on you as you run.  Then one day, you trip so bad you’re injured.  After the injury heals you’re disease has now robbed you of the ability to run at all.  And then slowly, you can’t even walk. ALS slowly robs you, day by day, of your motor skills.  Slowly you can’t walk, talk, dress yourself, feed yourself, wash yourself…….day by day. Then eventually, you die, frozen in time and space.  This is my absolutely nightmare.  The worst of it: ALS is cureable if only it had the funding to do so.

We can all help cure ALS.  Can you donate just $5 to help me reach my goal? Can you help me help just one person get the medicine they need to walk a little bit longer? To hug their children? To smile?

give.class.org/kimgalbreath

We never know how lucky we are, until we aren’t.  Help me help them.  If you still aren’t convinced, listen to Anthony’s Story.

 

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I AM a Beast!

Well it’s over just like that.  I’ve run my race of the season and it came and went so quickly!  While I sit around in my post race blues, I guess I’ll write you guys a post 🙂

This past weekend, I conquered the Spartan Beast.  I usually run the Tough Mudder as my race of the season, but this year I found it a little disappointing.  Every year I run the Tough Mudder and I feel changed.  It is usually the only race that pushes me to my limits and leaves me feeling accomplished for overcoming my fears in the race and finishing.  This year, it just didn’t feel the same.  The race was held in a new location and the course was much easier.  Everyone I had talked to felt the same way.  So when we crossed the Tough Mudder finish line, I didn’t feel like I’d accomplished my goals for the year.  We raced really well and I completed all the obstacles, but I didn’t feel changed.  I didn’t feel pushed to my limit.  I didn’t learn anything in the race.

So two weeks later, we signed up for the Spartan Beast.  The Beast is a 14+ mile mountain trail run with 35 obstacles.  Most of the obstacles require upper body strength, agility, and practice to complete.  If you fail an obstacle, you’re penalized with 30 burpees.  30.  We had never run the Beast before because we always preferred the Tough Mudder.  I’d always heard it was just as hard, but in a different way.

Start Line: I haven’t been so nervous at a start line in a long time.  I’d never run the course at Breckenridge, but I’d watched the elite team run in on TV the year before and it looked brutal.  I heard them announce that the course was just under 15 miles today.  There always some shouting at the start line about “I AM A SPARTAN” and then it’s time to run.  We made it up the first hill climb fairly easily and I could tell that our trail running training had really helped.

First Miles: In the first miles we covered some obstacles, 7 foot walls, 8 foot walls and a river crossing.  We were both feeling strong and excited for the race.  Near mile 3-4, we picked up an additional team mate.  As you run these races, the people near you tend to hang around.  You turn around and help the same person over obstacles and you find yourself playing leap frog on the course with the same people over and over. Finally, I just asked a girl what her name was because she appeared to be racing alone.  Emily quickly joined with us and kept our pace.  She stuck with us till the end 🙂

Middle Miles: In the middle miles we covered a lot of the heavy carries.  There’s an atlas stone carry, sand bags, and even a bucket carry filled with gravel.  It’s not easy.  The heavy carries leave your legs dead, your heart pumping and your arms weak.  And they happened all together.  I had been worried about my grip strength for weeks leading up to the race, but it seemed to holding up just fine.  Emily kept us going when we needed and we dragged her through the obstacles.

Burpees………crap:  There are two obstacles that I have failed in the past at other lengths of this race.  The spear throw is one chance at throwing a spear into a bale of hay from 15-20 feet away.  1 chance.  1 fail.  30 burpees for Kim.  The very next obstacle was the rope climb, no problems here.  Then came my nemesis: Mount Olympus.  I have always failed this obstacle.  I can never figure it out in time before my strength gives out.  30 burpees for Kim.  The next obstacle was Hurcules Hoist where you pull a sandbag off the ground using a long rope until you hit the bell at the top and then lower the bag back down.  I foolishly tried the mens weight, and my hands just didn’t have the ability to hold on to the rope.  30 more burpees for Kim.  Immediately following that one was the Rings Rig.  It’s a series of rings and pipes and then you hit the bell at the end.  I was so tired at this point that I wasn’t sure I could do it.  If I were fresh, I could no problem.  But I’d just had two failures.  I couldn’t do more burpees but wasn’t sure I had the strength.  I even cut my hand on the obstacle before I began.  I could have skipped it.  I could have just given up, in fact in the middle, I almost did. But I didn’t. And it felt AWESOME.

Final Miles: In the final miles, you feel like you’re about to finish at any moment.  After we passed the Mile 6 marker (not quite half way) we didn’t see another marker for along time.  We missed Mile 7…..Mile 8……by the time we were in Mile 9, I didn’t know we were so far.  I thought we were at 7.5 and I didn’t feel like I had it in me to finish.  There was still so much left. (Or course I was actually almost to mile 10!) I went to my dark place.  I let Dan and our new friend Emily know that I just needed quiet for a while.  We covered the next half mile in mostly silence while I got mad at nature, the course, the racing crew, life in general…….and then we saw the Mile 10 marker.  I was so excited.  I was worried I would fail.  I thought I couldn’t make it the whole way.  I almost thought about quitting.  And then it came, the relief.  When we hit mile 10, I knew I could finish.  I think a mile marker has never made me so happy before.  We completed the obstacles to the end.

When I crossed the Finish Line of the Spartan Beast, I felt changed.  I felt like I’d overcome fears, pushed myself outside my comfort zone, and accomplished something that I never could have done just a few years ago. I felt changed.   I felt strong, like a beast. 🙂

The next day, we raced again.  If you complete all three lengths of the Spartan Race Series in a year, you get special recognition as a Trifecta Finisher.  All of the medals piece together and it’s a pretty nerdy/cool deal to have done all three.  We decided to all but walk though the race the next day.  The Spartan Sprint is advertised at a 3-5 mile race.  I was hoping for 3 since I was pretty destroyed from the day before.  It was 5.6 miles.  This time we raced with friends and had a great time.  We saw them go through the same struggles we had when we started racing together and watched them overcome fears and the struggle to finish.  Running the race with friends was a much different experience but I’m so glad we did both races.

 

This time I only failed two of the obstacles and finished stronger than I thought I would.  I’m not sure how much longer my body will allow me to do these sorts of things but I’m going to while I can.  I had a moment on the second day with a fellow racer that summed up my journey on these races:

As we approached the Bucket Brigade, there are two types of buckets.  Red for Women (60lbs) and Black for Men (80 lbs) .  You fill your bucket up to the holes and then carry it a quarter mile up hill and back down.  As I started filling my BLACK men’s bucket, the volunteers alerted me that I had the wrong one.  I insisted that I did not.  I try to lift the men’s weight on every obstacle for as long as I can. So I filled my men’s bucket and started up the hill.  At one of the rest points, a girl questioned be about my bucket but seemed genuinely curious.

“So what’s with you and the black bucket? The red ones are much easier” she said.

I replied, “There were days I couldn’t lift a 20 pound bucket.  Today I can lift the men’s bucket, so I did.  I’m thankful for my strength today.” Then I picked up my bucket and kept going.

Be thankful for today.  Use your strength today.  Use your power today!  You’re stronger than you think you are and you’re capable of so much more.  How long have you been comfortable? What will it take to get uncomfortable?

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The Way to the Start Line

This weekend I will run the race that I’ve trained the most for all summer: The Spartan Beast.  On Saturday, I’ll run nearly 14 miles in the mountains and complete 30 obstacles.  I’ve never crossed a start line without crossing a finish line.  As the days draw closer, I’m realizing how bad I want it and how much is scares me to think I might not finish.

In this world of strange encounters and social media stalking, I’ve met and come across only a few stories like my own.   I’ve always been touched by  Gary Stotler’s journey to health and we continue to communicate and support each other’s journey’s online throughout the past two years. Gary was morbidly obese like myself and went on to lose the weight and complete marathons.  After reaching those goals, he has gone on to be an endurance trail runner.  Last year I watched Gary train for and complete the Silver Rush Leadville 50.  Again this year he trained for an even bigger race: The Leadville 100.  I felt such joy for Gary when he completed his first 100 mile race in March.  Then he just kept training and training.  He looked like he couldn’t have set himself up better for the Leadville 100.  I tracked Gary online throughout the race to see how far he had gone.  On Sunday, while I was up early, I checked to see where he was before I got out of bed.  He had run through the night and should be finishing in a few hours. And I was shocked.  Did Not Finish.  WHAT? What happened? Is he ok? I must have put in the wrong bib number………

Later I found out that due to both mental and physical aspects, Gary had quit at mile 69.  Now, 69 miles is farther than I will ever travel in a race.  69 miles is a jaw dropping amount of miles, even on the street.  I was so proud of how far he had gotten, but I was shocked that he hadn’t finished.  He had always finished.  He seemed to accomplish every goal he set out for but this time, he didn’t cross the finish line.

So this week, I’ve been trying my best to mentally focus for my race.  As I do so, I’ve been asking myself,  “Did I put too many eggs in the basket?”  Meaning, if I fail the race, will it make me feel as though I’ve failed? Will I feel like I’ve wasted the entire race season? Today is the first day I can say, no. Today I realize how freaking lucky I really am.

In preparing for this race, I have had some of the most fun I’ve ever had.  I’ve met some of the best people on the planet. Nothing can change the journey I’ve been on and nothing can take away the memories I’ve created.  The journey has truly been the best part 🙂

I will give everything I’ve got to my race on Saturday, and I just might come up short.  I’ve done everything I could do to prepare and those who know me know I’ll go as hard as I can.  I know I’ll cross that finish line, but now I can truly say, if I don’t, it won’t be the end of my world. My world is full of awesome people!  Thanks to everyone who has helped me train this year, even for one workout.  You all continue to push me, inspire me and make me the athlete that I am.  Love you guys.

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Goat Yoga

Yes, you read that title correctly 🙂  This Sunday I did Goat Yoga with Rocky Mountain Goat Yoga at Just Kidding Acres.  Here’s what I learned:

It is EXTREMELY hard to focus on breathing, foot position or chakras with baby goats around.

I am a yoga fan but would not consider myself a ‘yogi’.  I like to incorporate some yoga movements into my workouts for stretching and recovery.  I like to attend yoga class (usually HOT) when I can, which is not nearly enough.  I’m hoping to get into a routine again soon, as I will need it when I’m ramping up my mileage this fall.

I was invited to Goat Yoga by my amazing friend Sarah.  Sarah has had a long journey of health and recovery and back again several times over.  She’s someone that you’re constantly impressed by the things she’s done and overcome and came out the other side unscathed. (#mostly)  She helps me take life not so seriously and most importantly we laugh.  A LOT.  So when we were “OHMMMMMMing” and the baby goats are mewing, I can’t handle myself.  🙂

 

Before class, we laughed.  During class, we laughed.  After class, we laughed.  If I were going for a super killer yoga class, I would have been HIGHLY disappointed.  But this wasn’t regular yoga, it was goat yoga.  The whole concept was as ridiculous as it seems.  You’re doing downward dog and suddenly a goat is chewing on your hair.  You’re doing tree pose while a goat is peeing next to you.  Some people were even doing yoga ON goats who refused to move and snuggled up on your mat.

Here’s what I learned from the experience: Sometimes, it’s all about the experience.  Sometimes you just need to giggle and not take yourself so seriously.  It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day and trudge along.  Take time to be silly.  I feel better going in to this week than I have in a long time and part of the reason is Goat Yoga.  You can’t take yourself too seriously at Goat Yoga.  It’s impossible.

I highly recommend Rocky Mountain Goat Yoga not for the yoga, but for the goats.  If you live in the area, get yourself a ticket! The classes will and do sell out.

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A million tiny choices

When people in my new career hear my weight loss story, the first question is almost always “How did you do it?” Depending on the audience, I tend to tailor my response to what they are expecting to hear or maybe what they need to hear.  Lately, I’ve been playing a lot with the idea of choices.  The truth is, it was a million tiny little choices that brought me to my life now.

My hubby first started sparked the idea in me.  Recently he’s been ordering new things at restaurants we go to all the time.  The other day he waited patiently for someone to turn instead of cutting someone off and then the whole lane opened up.  He waits patiently for a older lady to cross the street and the parking space we need opens up. He says “Change your choice. Change the outcome. Let’s see what happens.”  Lately, both of us have been rewarded for small choices that change our course.

When it came to losing weight, it didn’t wake up one morning and decide “Today is THE day!” I didn’t start officially on any single day.  It was 100 choices over three weeks and then I noticed my pants are a little too big.  Then I decided to keep making those choices and add more to see how I could change my outcome.  And 1-2 MILLION choices later, here I am.

It’s making the same choices day in and day out to focus on your health.  It’s choosing health over whatever else may come. Example: My friend recently joked about me being the energizer bunny.  Trust me people, I’m just as tired as the next person. I also want to sleep in late and skip the gym.  I also want to eat stacks of pancakes instead of hard boiled eggs. I just make it a priority and hold myself accountable.  I don’t let myself get away with excuses.  Excuses lead to me being 300 pounds.

 

It’s making new choices, risky choices that might be uncomfortable. For example: I’m about to run the Tough Mudder for the third year in a row.  The first time I went, I ran it with strangers and didn’t even really know what I was getting myself in to.  Instead of backing out, I chose to be uncomfortable and I’ve been running that race ever since.  It’s the best race I run all year.  Another example, recently chose to share my story with someone at the gym and now they are turning into a weekly client, which could blossom into years of revenue.

 

But it’s also about forgiveness. You’re not going to make the right or best choice all the time.  And you have to learn to forgive yourself.  I still eat crap sometimes!  I skip a workouts! (really, I swear!) I scream at the car in front of me instead of waiting patiently.  But I try not to dwell on those choices.  I try my best to forgive myself and move on.  You can’t change the past because it’s in the past.  What’s the point of being sad or mad about it? Let. It. Go.  Make better choices today.  Be awesome TODAY. 

No one chooses how you feel.  No one is going to make the choice for you.  No one will be there when you have to hold yourself accountable.  You could work with a whole team of fitness experts (I know a great one if you need a card…..) but in the end, you choose what happens. Trust me.  If I could make the choice for everyone, we would all be happy and healthy and running a mountain somewhere.  We would all feel what losing 160 pounds feels like and you wouldn’t be here reading this blog. I can’t make that choice.  But you can.  What choices will you make today?

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Favorite Exercise #1: Jump Rope

In elementary school we ran a fundraiser every year called Jump Rope for Heart.  You had to get sponsors and jump rope for so many minutes in gym class each day.  I also remember not being very good at it, as I was most sports. I lacked the coordination and cardio strength to be successful at jump rope.  This left me feeling like a failure, unfit and added to my self doubt.  As a child, I always blamed myself for not being able to do certain movements in gym class or at sports practice.  Now that I am studying fitness training and how programs should progress, I realize how unprepared I was for many of the movements that they expected us to be able to do.  Did we jump rope each day for just a few minutes before being asked to do it for 20? No.  Did we do supportive strength exercise for the muscles needed to jump rope? No.  Did we do cardio regularly? Maybe 5 minutes to start each class.  The problem was in the program, not the exercise.

Now I love to Jump Rope.  I use jump rope as my cardio in a circuit before anything else.  I love to jump rope and I recently learned to do Double Unders. (Two rotations of the rope in one jump) Here’s some benefits to jumping rope:

  1.  It’s super cheap!  You can find speed or regular jump ropes on Amazon for $5-$8 that will actually last for a while and start you on your path of jumping rope.  You don’t even have to buy one when you’re starting. (See Invisible Rope below!)
  2.  It’s portable!  You can literally jump rope anywhere and everywhere.  I used to have a jump rope in my office for quick cardio bursts.  I have a jump rope with me almost everywhere I go.  It’s so easy to get in a few quick minutes.
  3. It’s a HIGH calorie burner! Jumping rope is one of the only activities that burns calories as quickly as running, without actually having to run. 10-16 calories a minute! 
  4. Good for the Brain! Jumping rope is great for the brain because it demands both physical and mental focus.  In order to do it correctly, so many systems need to work together.  
  5. Agility! One of the typical mental images of jumping rope is a boxer.  The reason for this is because boxer’s jump rope for the foot strength and agility on the balls of their feet.  Always jump rope on the ball of your feet! 
  6. Bone Density! Most people would be surprised to hear that jumping rope is better for your joints than running because the shock is absorbed by both legs instead of one at a time.   

Source Article: 6 Surprising Benefits of Jumping Rope

While I’ve been jumping rope for a few years now, I tried to go back and think about how I really learned.  Hopefully this helps a few of you be more successful:

  1.  Just get your feet moving: Sometimes starting with a rope just hurts.  If you are hitting yourself every few jumps, you’re never going to want to continue.  If you have fear of the rope, it could even get worse.  Jump rope with an “Invisible Rope” first.  Jump to the beat of the song.
  2. Watch yourself in a mirror: Now, watching yourself jump rope can be quite shocking if you have as many ‘nonfirm parts’ as I do. 🙂  Just watch your feet.  If you are jumping with the invisible rope from step 1, make sure both feet are off the ground at the same time BEFORE adding the rope.
  3. Rope Progression: Start with a softer rope, even one of the beaded ‘playground’ ropes.  DO NOT get one that is so soft that it holds NO shape when you are jumping.  (Even though they are usually super cute and brite) Work your way to a wire or thin speed rope to do more complicated jumps.  As you learn to jump rope, you’ll learn what you like in a jump rope.  If the rope is messing you up after you’ve been practicing a while, it could be the rope. 🙂 Length of rope is also important.  To measure, stand on the rope and the handles should meet your armpits.  Some ropes are child length and some are for giants.  It makes a big difference.
  4. Exercise those muscles: Jump Rope uses all of your leg muscles and even into your glute. (Duh!) Any additional leg strength exercises that you can do are going to benefit your jumping rope.  Calf raises, lunges, squats, deadlifts…..it’s all good!
  5. Time: I started with a timer for jumping intervals.  At first I could go for a minute and eventually two.  The more I tried, the better I got.  You can see yourself improving with this exercise easily.  Now I count my jumps because I find it keeps me more accountable.  Now, if I use a timer, I’ll just slowly jump.  But if I give myself a number, I’ll try to get it done ASAP!  A typical AMRAP or Circuit for me these days has 200 single jumps and 20 double unders each round.
  6. Keep Trying!  Don’t let more than a few days pass before practicing again!  With jump rope, muscle memory is key, so just keep trying.  I think you’ll get addicted pretty quick!  Get that heart pumping!
  7. Form is really everything:
    1. RELAX!  When you are jumping rope, relax everything as much as you can.  This includes: knees, hips, calves, shoulders and especially neck.  Keep your body aligned but relaxed.
    2. Jump Up and Down: I know how this sounds but what I mean is, jump in the same exact place each time.  If you are finding yourself moving forward or backward, your body isn’t aligned.  This can lead to knee and hip pain.  Until you are more advanced, you may lack the proper ankle and foot strength to do fancy jumps.
    3. Don’t jump so high: Half the time I see new ropers, they are jumping 18 inches in the air!  You literally need just a few inches for the rope to pass below you.  The more force you use to jump up, the more force you put on your joints when you return to absorb the jump and reload for the next.  Also, a higher jump takes more time.  The closer you remain to the earth while you’re jumping rope, the faster you will become and the healthier your joints will be.
    4. Shhhhhhh!  You should listen to yourself jumping rope just like you watch your feet.  If you sound like a herd of elephants, your putting an elephant’s worth of force on your joints.  If you sound like a mouse……duh.  Try to make as little sound as possible when you’re jumping rope.  This keeps your joints light and your form in check.  Aways jump on the pads of your feet.  Not your toes.  Not your heels.  Trust me.