. . . continued from Part 1, in my series about my friend, Donna, who has lost 120 pounds (and is still working!) by eating healthy and exercising.
Barb: What other supplemental types of activity do you do?
Donna: In November 2008, I also started taking a Pilates class at the gym, taught by the same trainer I was working with. I think it was around March, 2009 that I decided to try the yoga class that followed her Pilates class, and I was HOOKED. I started taking more and more yoga classes, and it has become as important to me as lifting. I practice pretty much 6-7 days a week, and have made enormous progress in my practice. Things I *never* thought I’d be able to do, I can do now –
headstands, plow, splits — and I’ve recently started doing hot yoga classes, which have taken the practice into another realm. The intense effort of doing a 75-minute class in a 100+ degree room leads to a sort of mental cleansing that I’ve never experienced with any other type of activity — and let’s not talk about the physical cleansing that it creates. I’ve never, EVER, sweated the way I do in hot yoga — and I love it!
headstands, plow, splits — and I’ve recently started doing hot yoga classes, which have taken the practice into another realm. The intense effort of doing a 75-minute class in a 100+ degree room leads to a sort of mental cleansing that I’ve never experienced with any other type of activity — and let’s not talk about the physical cleansing that it creates. I’ve never, EVER, sweated the way I do in hot yoga — and I love it!
Donna November, 2010
I’ve had an off-again, on-again relationship with running, and have completed 3 5K races, which I got a real kick out of, but have recently been debating whether I have enough time, or love of the activity, to make running a regular part of my life.
I did a stint of swimming, which I truly loved, but the closest pool is a little too far away to make it a viable regular activity for me. I also took a few month’s of ballet classes, which I enjoyed tremendously, but couldn’t carve out enough time to practice at home in addition to the once-a-week class, and felt I was getting enough from it as a result. So, when I scan across all the possible activities, lifting and yoga keep emerging at the top of the list.
Barb: How significantly did you change your diet? How did Weight Watchers work with your workout routine?
Donna: Before I started, we had evolved an eating habit of pretty much one meal a day. And, it was HUGE. I had no idea what a normal portion of food looked like. Switching to 3 meals a day, I realized that it was possible to eat a much smaller dinner and still be satisfied. Breakfast is now a regular part of my day, and possibly my favorite meal. I also learned how “expensive” the enormous amounts of booze I was drinking were, and for the first year or so of the journey, I didn’t drink at all during the week, only on Friday/Saturday nights. Alcohol is probably the hardest “food” for me to manage well, as I love my martinis a little too much!I eat very healthily now, and have rediscovered my love of fruit and vegetables. The biggest sacrifice has been minimizing starchy carbs — I feel better when I don’t eat them, but I do miss bread, pasta, rice. My conception of every dinner needing a starch has changed though, and I don’t feel like the meal is incomplete anymore without one of them.
Barb: Besides obvious health benefits from weight loss, what are some mental benefits you’ve gained? Mental/emotional? Confidence? How do you feel about yourself now compared to before you started?
Donna: The wall of denial that I mentioned earlier was a well-constructed one. I didn’t feel, or at least I didn’t acknowledge that I felt, limited, sad, unhappy, or anything negative about myself as a result of my weight. I couldn’t recognize the lack of self-esteem that my poor health represented. I just didn’t realize that my choices were saying that I didn’t think I was worthy of taking better care of, that I didn’t deserve to be healthy, that I didn’t love myself properly. I wouldn’t acknowledge that I was judged by my appearance — which fit in well with my strong feminist politics — but when I thought about possibly having to look for a new job, I couldn’t ignore that I would be judged.Now, 120# lighter, I realize that my own health is the highest good I can serve, and that anything I want to accomplish in life can only come if I take care of myself first. Having achieved the loss I have, I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do if I set my mind to it. My confidence is through the roof, and my commitment to protecting my health has led me to make professional choices that sometimes still surprise even me. I’ve stepped off the executive track at work because I realized that the stress and time commitment to achieve a vice-presidency would come at the expense of the time I need to be active and plan/execute my food choices appropriately. And, there’s no question which is more important anymore.
Donna: The wall of denial that I mentioned earlier was a well-constructed one. I didn’t feel, or at least I didn’t acknowledge that I felt, limited, sad, unhappy, or anything negative about myself as a result of my weight. I couldn’t recognize the lack of self-esteem that my poor health represented. I just didn’t realize that my choices were saying that I didn’t think I was worthy of taking better care of, that I didn’t deserve to be healthy, that I didn’t love myself properly. I wouldn’t acknowledge that I was judged by my appearance — which fit in well with my strong feminist politics — but when I thought about possibly having to look for a new job, I couldn’t ignore that I would be judged.Now, 120# lighter, I realize that my own health is the highest good I can serve, and that anything I want to accomplish in life can only come if I take care of myself first. Having achieved the loss I have, I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do if I set my mind to it. My confidence is through the roof, and my commitment to protecting my health has led me to make professional choices that sometimes still surprise even me. I’ve stepped off the executive track at work because I realized that the stress and time commitment to achieve a vice-presidency would come at the expense of the time I need to be active and plan/execute my food choices appropriately. And, there’s no question which is more important anymore.
. . . More to come! The story of Donna up next!
Posted by Barb Macy 
