Judy Weber

Every journey encounters a few bumps in the road. I’m extremely lucky that the bumps I suffered this past week didn’t land me in the hospital.

A few weeks ago I had discovered that the community room for my apartment complex had two treadmills that the tenants can access for free. I tried out each machine and found that I preferred the one that easily displayed my speed, distance, incline, time per mile, calories burned and a variety of other stats. I used this treadmill about five days per week and walked outside on the walking track the other days.

On Monday, March 26th I completed a 10K on the treadmill, adding varied inclines, sprints and running intervals to make it more fun. The next couple of days I did shorter distances of 3 mi, 3.5 mi and 2.5 mi On Saturday, March 31st I was planning to do another 10K.

I warmed up with a slower walk of 3.6 mph for 0.25 mi and was about to increase my speed to begin my actual 10K when the belt suddenly went backwards for an instant, throwing me off balance like I had suddenly stepped on a patch of ice. I tumbled in a violent fall, hyper extending my upper back and spraining/straining/contusing/bruising/scraping my back, ribs, chin, arms, forearms, legs and knees. I laid there partially paralyzed for a few minutes after the belt finally stopped moving and tossing me around. I was able to stand up but realized it was going to take a while to heal.

I reported the accident first thing Monday morning to the rental office. I mentioned that I thought I should have x-rays of my upper back. They informed me that they have no money to cover my medical expenses, and they blamed ME for the accident because they said I used faulty equipment. At the same time, though, they made it quite clear that they do not EVER maintain or inspect the equipment, and now that it is broken they will simply remove it because they don’t have the money to fix it. If I took this to court my attorney would have a field day with these people. I just want to heal; I don’t wish to fight in a stressful court battle. As long as I continue to heal a little each day I will let them think they won.

Returning to my exercise routine is slow. I cautiously walked a half mile two days ago, but that turned out not to be such a great idea. I hurt afterwards. Yesterday, I completed some slow, gentle leg lifts and a few other lower body exercises. I tried free weights for my upper body, but my underarms and left forearm are still too sore, so I had to stop. I stretch several times per day. I pray that I can return to exercising regularly soon.

Weight lost so far: 58 lbs.
Onward and downward!

Yesterday marked 5 months on program and 54 lbs. lost! I didn’t mean to let a full month go by without a new Blog, but a lot has been happening.

The CureSearch Walk was rescheduled for March 3rd due to severe weather warnings in Houston, TX on the original date of February 18th. I actually walked the distance on both dates and was able to collect a few donations for children’s cancer research through my account. It was for a great cause, and it was a fun activity to participate in with my friend, Nancy, and her daughter, Kristen. Signing up for the event also gave me a deadline for which I had to build up my walking endurance.

My college-age son, Matthew, recently visited me for a week, and we stayed busy the entire time. We saw the new Eddie Murphy movie, A Thousand Words. The plot was a bit predictable, but overall we enjoyed it and laughed a lot! We visited the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo, MS and two days later traveled to Memphis, TN to visit Graceland. On Matt’s last night here we enjoyed a relaxing dinner at Red Lobster.

Matt and I agreed that there is no possible way I could have survived even a quarter of the Graceland tour several months ago. You must be able to climb and descend several flights of stairs in the house, outer buildings and plane, and you stand for several hours. I would have had to stay home and miss out on yet another fun adventure if I had not started on my journey to a healthier me.

While at home during Matt’s visit I strictly followed my food plan, demonstrating to him how I measure and plan my meals. We found ourselves away from home sometimes, though, and I had to make some choices. For example, one afternoon we ate at Subway, which is really no problem at all. They offer low-fat choices, and I piled my 6-inch whole wheat turkey sub with veggies.

Ordering at Red Lobster was a bit more scary. I did my homework beforehand by visiting their Website and checking out the nutritional information for several possible menu items. I decided that I would indeed eat ONE of their yummy biscuits (150 cal.) and ordered a meal that wouldn’t result in major consequences showing up on the scale. My biggest concern was the sodium, so I increased my water intake that day and the next. I also increased my workouts for a couple of days. Bottom line is that I did not have a weight gain from eating out. In fact, within a couple of days I had actually lost a pound. It is possible to go out and enjoy a decent meal once in a while as long as you make informed choices.

It was a lonely trip home from Birmingham International Airport after dropping Matt off on the curbside. It’s a 6-hour round trip, and I really didn’t stop except to get gas and use the necessary. Well, next time I see him I hope to be much smaller and even more healthy and fit. Guessing that I won’t see him until the end of the year around the holidays, I hope to have lost well over 100 lbs. by then!

This week I’m catching up on my online activities and my Websites. I’ll Blog again soon!

Weight lost so far: 54 lbs.
Onward and downward!

Four months of hard work and 45 pounds gone! My old clothes don’t fit anymore, and I’ve noticed changes in every part of my body. This week I’ve especially noticed loss from my hips and rear.

The Richard Simmons FoodMover works! I should say that the FoodMover works if you use it the way it was designed. You must stay within your calorie allotment daily, and you must exercise. Burn more than you ingest and you will see weight loss! Fine tuning this process is up to the individual and is dependent upon personal food preferences and individual physical abilities.

I’ve got the food portion of the program under control, and I’m not really anticipating any major changes at this point. I eat a well-balanced diet of nutritional food. I no longer eat food for pleasure; food is my body’s fuel. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the food I do eat. I choose foods that I enjoy but eat only the weighed or measured amount that I am allowed.

Much to my chagrin, one minor change that I’ve had to put into practice is to limit cheese. I love cheese. All cheese. But, it loves me too and sticks to me like glue! I haven’t stopped eating cheese completely, but I buy only a small quantity every other week.

My friends and even some of my family members are the most shocked by my revived interest and dedication to exercise and fitness. I think, at this point, I have moved from a need to “exercise” to a desire for “fitness.”

Can you lose weight without exercise? Yes, you can. I know a few who have succeeded without exercise, but they are left with saggy flesh hanging on bone with no visible muscle mass. They are lighter, but they are not “fit.” Everyone knows the obvious benefit of exercise is that you burn calories. You can also strengthen your heart and lungs, strengthen your bones, improve cholesterol levels, improve blood pressure, help manage diabetes and arthritis, help reduce stress and mental illness and enjoy countless other benefits. And, who doesn’t want to look fit and healthy? I sure do!

I spent five years in the Air Force, so I visited their Website to find out the criteria for passing the yearly fitness exam for my age group. I now have a distinct goal for my work outs, and that is to pass that fitness exam. There are minimums for Pushups, Situps, Running 1.5 miles and the Abdominal Circumference cannot exceed 35.5 inches. I’ve got some work to do!

Weight lost so far: 45 lbs.
Onward and downward!

The answer to this question, for me, is a list rather than a single statement. We’re talking 52 years of acquiring bad habits and attitudes. You will probably find that some of your answers will overlap with mine, but our individual lists will certainly not be identical. I’m going to tell you about the top three reasons on my list.

Just today, I had an encounter with the refrigerator that would demonstrate my number one answer to our question. I (used to) eat to fill time and other voids in my life. Obviously, I haven’t totally broken the habit or else I would not have found myself in front of the fridge with the door open today. Today’s incident was not totally unlike past ones. I had finished a task online and before I started another it seemed a logical time to mindlessly get up and go to the fridge. But, why? I wasn’t hungry. While I was standing there with the door open I realized that I had just eaten a broccoli and tomato omelet not 30 minutes prior. I was simply looking for something to eat because it was break time, and I’m in a habit of grabbing something whenever there is a natural break in my workday, or at commercial time, or when I finish a phone call, or any other time there’s a break or transition from one activity to the next. What was different about today is that I identified my mistake and corrected my behavior before I ate something my body didn’t really need.

Since adopting a healthier lifestyle I routinely stop and ask myself:
1. Am I sincerely hungry, or am I eating out of habit?
2. Does my body really need this particular food I’m about to eat?
3. If I am sincerely hungry and ready for a snack, is this particular item the best choice at this moment?
4. Will eating this item keep me within my planned, balanced diet and calorie limit for the day?

After I determine that it is indeed time to eat, then I must face the next reason I used to overeat: My idea of portion sizes had gotten way out of line with reality. Like many of you I was taught to “clean my plate” and not to take it “if you aren’t going to eat it.” Once I was out on my own as a young adult I could still hear those little voices telling me that once it was on my plate I was obligated to eat it, and eat it all I did! Home-cooked meals were replaced by unlimited food lines in the military and frequent visits to my favorite restaurants where the portion sizes were larger than I ate in Mom’s kitchen at home. Eating everything on my plate was not such a good idea anymore, but I got used to those new portion sizes and soon needed even more to satisfy myself. After a few decades of increasing my portion sizes I was eating enough for two, or maybe even three at times.

These days I measure and/or weigh everything that I eat. Everything! I also eat at home 98% of the time so I am aware of every ingredient that goes into a recipe. Restaurant food is loaded with salt, fat and goodness knows what! Processed food has been removed from my kitchen. I know what I’m eating, and I control how much!

The third reason I used to overeat or at least used it as an excuse is that I’m on medication that causes weight gain. When the doctor wrote the first prescription for this particular medication he told me about this side effect, but he also told me to remember that weight gain is ultimately caused by how much we put into our mouths and that he thought I should give the medication a try.

Well, as it turns out, the medication works extremely well for me, but as predicted, it did indeed increase my hunger level. I rapidly gained thirty pounds within the first few months, and was faced with the decision of whether to continue and accept the consequences or switch to a new medication. A friend said he had experience with this medication and that he discontinued its use within the first couple of weeks because he was so hungry he was eating everything in sight. I still chose to continue the medication, and my weight continued to climb.

In October 2011 when I started my weight loss program I decided that my will power was simply going to have to prevail because I still didn’t want to quit taking this medication. So far, so good. I’m aware that some of the hunger I feel these days is caused by the medication, and I’ve learned to accept feeling hungry sometimes. To ease the feeling I drink extra water or engage in a healthy activity to help take my mind off of it instead of reaching for food.

NOTE: If you are having problems with weight loss and medication, it’s imperative that you speak with you doctor about your options. What is working for me may not be in your best interests medically. Some medications make weight loss extremely difficult for a variety of reasons.

I want to leave you with the worst excuse there is to eat an extra food or sugary treat. I hear it often from people who say they are trying to lose weight, and it irks me. Here it is: It just tasted so good that I had to have it! There’s so much wrong with that statement that I barely know where to begin!

I’ll check back in with a new Blog soon. Thank you for following my journey!

Weight lost so far: 41 lbs.
Onward and downward!

I’m not the first person to lose a large amount of weight. I’m not going to set a record for losing the most. I’m not going to be the fastest to lose. In fact, I’m not in competition with anyone else at all. This is a personal journey, and my body is responding to my efforts in its own, unique ways and in its own time.

To help me not compare myself to everyone else, I keep track of my weight in 3-week increments instead of monthly like most. (That’s why I can label my posts by weeks. I’m a nerd and made a spreadsheet on which I record my weight every third week.) I’m not intimidated by my ultimate goal. I deal in the reality at hand: I have a lot to lose! If I’m in competition at all, it’s with myself as I set and reach mini goals along way.

I pushed for 30 pounds lost by the New Year. I succeeded.

Currently, I’m pushing for 50 pounds lost by the time my son comes to visit during his spring break from college next month. I am confident I will make it.

My next “mini goal” after that is to get to a weight of 199 lbs by my birthday in July. This is going to take a lot of dedication to both my food program and consistent and increasing workouts, but I am confident I will make it. This is a huge milestone, one that any woman who has ever been over 200 lbs can appreciate. Once I get under 200 I NEVER, EVER, EVER want to see the number 2 on the left side of my scale again.

My walking program has been going very well. I walked 3 miles on Thursday for the first time. Any lingering doubt in the back of my mind of whether or not I would be able to endure the 2.5 mile walk for children’s cancer research coming up on February 18th is gone. I can do it! If you would like to donate to the cause I would certainly appreciate you doing so at:

Judy Weber’s page at CureSearch Walk For Children’s Cancer

No donation amount is too small or too large. Thank you for your support of Children’s Cancer Research!

And, thanks for stopping by to keep up with my journey!

Weight lost so far: 40 lbs.
Onward and downward!

This past Friday, January 20th, I celebrated three full calendar months on my healthier lifestyle and 35 pounds lost! I had to really push for that last pound, but I did it! How did I celebrate? Well, I shared my good news with friends and family early in the day via Email and phone. Then, I headed for the walking track to keep on keepin’ on, because as happy as I am about my success to date I have to remember that I still have a long way to go. It takes consistent hard work during workouts and self-control with what I choose to eat.

I’m now walking 1.25 to 1.75 miles every day that the dreary winter weather cooperates. I am pushing the distance to build my endurance for the 2.5 mile walk for Children’s Cancer Research on February 18th.

Last week I added Richard Simmons’ “Tonin’ To The Oldies” workout every other day. I shifted some furniture around and made room in my apartment. This is a great DVD because it combines some cardio with strengthening for both upper and lower body. I haven’t been able to complete the entire workout from start to finish yet, but I’m improving each time.

Walking and the DVD are my two main workouts, but it’s not all I’m doing. I have access to an exercise bike, so I ride for 20 minutes or so a few times per week. In the evenings I do some “traditional” exercises at home, especially for any muscle groups that didn’t receive a workout of some sort earlier in the day. Every other day I use my free weights for upper body muscles.

Increasing my workouts has paid off. This morning I got a really big surprise on the scale: not one, but two pounds lighter! It’s a great way to begin the new week.

Weight lost so far: 37 lbs.
Onward and downward!