Week 42: Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

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Summary Weeks 40 & 41: Operation Get Fit No Excuses

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Summary Week 39: Operation Get Fit No Excuses

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Summary Week 38: Operation Get Fit No Excuses

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Week 38 Summary
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Week 37 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

It’s now Week 37 of my fitness journey that I’ve dubbed Operation Get Fit No Excuses. This past week I’ve been dealing with sleep deprivation and battling chronic tiredness due to Epilepsy related issues. I absolutely despise when these symptoms pop up and affect my entire life on a daily basis but I have learned to be patient (most of the time) and get through as best as I can. 

I’ve managed to do some type of workout everyday, for a minimum of 30 minutes, despite my limits. Now, while I admit some days were a struggle just to get to that 30 minutes mark, I did it. I have no idea how I managed it either, but I did. 

While I do push myself to my limits sometimes and beyond, I know my body and listen to what it’s telling me. If you don’t know yourself that well, or aren’t sure how far you can push your own training, I urge you to be extremely careful. If you push too far, you might injure yourself physically and it’s a possibility that you could hurt your motivation mentally as well. If you push and something happens or you can’t reach whatever goal you set, do not allow that to discourage you from continuing a healthier lifestyle. Pushing your limits is great as long as you know when to stop. 

I have a confession now. I know I’ve written how important it is not to become obsessed with using a scale and being fixated on numbers, but that’s exactly what happened to me this past week. Since we came off vacation at the end of August, I’ve maintained a steady weight of 70 kilos (ranging 70.1 - 70.8). I’ve found myself weighing multiple times a day to ensure myself that I remained in this range, especially after eating.

Two days ago, I stepped on the scale and found that I had gained 1 kilo (which is about 2.2 pounds). I freaked out! See, I’m really good at sticking with my low carb vegetarian diet. I rarely, if ever, cheat. Well, I had eaten some ice cream and a bowl of a heavy stew with normal bread that day and think that’s where the weight came from. I returned to my normal diet and exercise regimen and now I’m back in my 70 kilos range. 

My point is that I should not have freaked out about 2 pounds. It literally could have been a matter of going poop and boom - I’m back to my preferred weight. I have been heavy for my entire life and I’ve worked so hard to lose the weight in an all natural and healthy manner, that my brain and emotions are very much connected to a number on the scale. 

When I saw that 1 kilo extra, I immediately thought ‘I’m going to be fat again’ and ‘My new clothes won’t fit now’, which were both absurd. But, when you are so conscious of and emotional about your weight, thoughts like that are like a default setting. I know they aren’t true, but the insecure, overweight me that still lives inside my head will always try to tell me negative thoughts. Any person that has struggled with weight for a long time will relate to what I’m saying. 

I have to accept that yes, I’m now much smaller and train my brain and emotions, to recognize this. I also have to back away from the scale and only use it once a day at the same time to maintain my weight. Becoming so obsessed with my weight that I actually end up standing on the scales almost every time I go in the bathroom is not good and can only end badly because we all know our weight fluctuates on a daily basis. 

So, now, with Padrone as a reminder and my support, I’m going to try and not give in to the compulsion to step on that scale more than once a day. I’ll let you know next week how I did. 

That’s all for this week. Thank you again for your encouragement and continued support. See you next week!

Week 36 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Hello and welcome to Week 36 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses! I’m late posting this week because I totally lost track of time. I’ve been working on making more videos for YouTube as well as exploring new social sites. 

Before I start, I want to let everyone that is in the path of Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Manghut know we’re thinking about you. This week has been a natural disaster nightmare around the world. 

Now, back to this week’s summary. For some reason, I have not felt especially motivated to exercise every day. Even with an almost complete lack of motivation, I have gotten up and done some type of workout every day. 

I have started making a weekly 5k outside and returning inside to finish my other daily workouts. I love trying new and different routines that I find online. It helps keep my body guessing and getting the most out of every workout plus it keeps me from getting bored. 

I have maintained my weight in the 70 kg range (70.1 to 70.9 - 154.5 to 156.3 pounds) while expanding my diet to include a few more carbs daily. I have had low blood sugar problems off and on my entire adulthood so it’s difficult to balance diet and exercise with weight loss. I’ve noticed a slight dizziness this past few weeks when I stand up to fast. Usually that means my body needs more carbs to function properly. I’ll let you know next week if adding additional complex carbs helps the problem. 

I’m working on a vegetarian recipe book that I hope to get finished and published by Christmas. It will have a variety of recipes that include Tofu, Mopur, and Seitan, which are all great meat substitutes. Last week, I mentioned I would post a simple soup recipe, so here it is: 

Veggie Soup in Tomato Sauce

2 cups of chopped mixed vegetables (for convenience, I used a frozen mixed vegetable brand that has 12 different veggies. Make sure the frozen brand doesn’t contain added salt or additives. You can use fresh if you like and whatever variety you want.)

2 cubes of beef broth

1 16 oz can of tomato sauce 

4 cups of water (may need more or less depending on the size of your pot)

Mix all together in a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to minimum. Cook for 1 hour. 

I bought a medium sized round bread rosette and hollowed out the inside to use as a bowl for the soup. It was a perfect combination. 

It’s a very simple but very delicious meal! Packed with many vitamins and minerals and low calories. 

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Please leave any suggestions or comments below! See you next week!

Week 35 Summary of Operation Get Fit No Excuses

It’s officially September and the temperatures are definitely getting cooler. Welcome to Week 35 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses! 

As you may know, last week was our first week back from vacation and had me easing back into my daily workout routine. I didn’t exercise every day but did every other day to allow myself and my muscles to adjust to increasingly harder workouts. Now, I’m fairly confident that I am back to the level I was at before vacation. 

Yesterday, I was feeling very weak and tired so I didn’t workout during the day. I woke up and was wide awake overnight so decided to try and do a low impact mixed cardio routine. I got about 7 minutes into it when my right butt muscle started hurting. I immediately stopped the workout. I looked up stretching techniques and tried those, but none helped. I then decided to try relaxing in bed and that didn’t help either. 

After researching and reading many sites about different types of back pain, causes and cures, I decided to try a long slow walk to help stretch my muscles in a different way. I left at 7 am and did 3.24 miles at a medium pace, stopping once midway to stretch. It worked! After I got home, I stretched more and my pain was completely gone. Just to be clear, I’m not recommending this for everyone, just telling you what worked for me. 

Before you exercise, make sure that you do a small warmup first. Some people stretch before and after a workout. Do what you feel is right for you and your body. Pay special attention when stretching back and legs as you can cause yourself pain if you do it wrong. 

Next week, I’ll share a recipe with you for a quick and easy veggie soup with tofu. You can use meat instead if you wish, but it’s perfect for those brisk days and makes a great after workout meal. 

Thanks for your continued support and encouragement. If you have any comments, please feel free to leave them below! 

Week 34 Summary: Operation Get Fit No Excuses

So, you might have noticed I haven’t posted in about a month. We have been on vacation since the second week of August and before that, I was preparing for a couple of friends visiting from the USA and the UK. But now, I’m back and have a lot to tell you!

First, let me say thank you if you have stuck around and followed me through this Get Fit / Weight loss journey I have undertaken since 10 January, 2018. This is Week 34 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses! 

While on vacation, I gave myself permission to eat anything I wanted and boy did I! We ate at some fabulous restaurants, most of which Padrone and I had never been to. I can’t even tell you all the pasta dishes, chicken entrees, desserts and ice cream that I ate! But, it was vacation and I knew that once we returned to our normal routine, we would start eating healthier again. I am officially back to a no meat, plant-based (tofu, mopur, quinoa, etc) diet. 

As far as exercising, I have been pretty lax on keeping up with that also. I’ve worked out probably an average of every other day for at least 30 minutes or more. I can tell that my body is not used to me not moving and exercising because I’ve been sore the past week especially. My muscles have gotten used to their exercise routine and want me to go back to it! I am starting tomorrow. 

I can definitely tell the change in my energy levels from eating whatever I wanted instead of my usual plant-based only diet. The past two weeks, I’ve felt more sluggish and tired throughout the day. I’ve had to sleep more than usual also. On my regular diet, I have lots of energy and sleep much less on average per day. I also started experiencing heartburn and reflux a couple of times during vacation. I haven’t had to deal with these problems since February when I switched to a vegetarian diet. 

Although I throughly loved the variety of foods we ate for the past two weeks and don’t feel any quilt or regret at all, I can really understand now what a difference diet and exercise make in our daily lives. I feel like I conducted an experiment without meaning to. I can say I really appreciate what I’ve been able to accomplish over the past months with hard work and determination. 

Fortunately, even though we did eat a lot of not-so-good-for-us food, I didn’t gain any weight! I actually lost some weight and a few centimeters as well! Here are my measurements from July and August: 

While I am returning to my normal exercise regimen, I am easing back into it so I don’t stress my body out or hurt myself. This is very important, especially if you have been inactive for a period of time. While it’s normal to feel a little sore after a workout, you should not feel pain! That’s a huge sign you overdid it! 

This leads me to a completely new topic: clothes! Now, many women love to shop for clothes. I am not one of those women. I hate clothes shopping. But since I literally had nothing to wear for fall or winter, I had to buy an entirely new wardrobe. While I hate shopping, I love finding bargain basement prices! I do most of my shopping online at a site called Bonprix. I have searched high and low and found many things on sale that I actually like and in my new size for under €8 a piece on average! Even though I had to spend money on new clothes, I was able to do it for a very cheap price. 

That’s all the new from me now. We had a fabulous vacation and time off. But, today marks our return to work and reality! Visit me next week for a new blog post. You can also visit my YouTube channel to see me talk about a variety of topics, not just exercise and diet related. See you next week!

Back From Vacation! New Post coming soon!

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Combined Weekly Summary: Weeks 27 and 28 Operation Get Fit No Excuses

You may have noticed that last week’s blog post was missing. That’s because I honestly didn’t have anything that I thought was worth saying. So, this week’s post is a summary for Week 27 and 28 of Get Fit No Excuses!

So, last week, I was able to exercise every day for a minimum of 40 minutes. I alternated indoor and outdoor activities to keep my muscles guessing. I love changing up my indoor routines so I don’t get bored also , plus I like the challenge of trying slightly harder and varied workouts. This past Monday, I took the day off from doing any exercise to allow my body and muscles to rest.

This week is my weight and measurements week. I am aggravated to say that I have not lost anything and my measurements are pretty much the same! I started eating cereal last month in an effort to add more variety to my diet and help keep everything on the inside ‘flowing properly’, if you get my drift. I now think that was a mistake because cereal is a very high calorie food, even if you only eat 60 grams at a time.

Here are last month’s and this month’s comparisons.

Thankfully, I have not gained any weight or size back from my eating mistake. Everyone reacts differently to food, so just because I can’t eat cereal doesn’t mean you should ban it from your own diet. Do what works for you.

I am going to focus on trying to get to 70 kilos bu the end of summer and that will be a size I will try to maintain, once I reach my goal and my measurements and weight stays at a constant.

We will be on vacation for 2 ½ weeks in August so I will definitely be cheating a lot more than normal and probably not exercising as much, but I’ll report all that as it comes.

I’m always looking for new recommendations for recipes and workouts online so if you want, comment below with the links and I’ll definitely take a look!

Thank you for your continued encouragement and support over that past months and I hope my blog helps some of you in your own fitness journey. See you next week!

Week 26 Summary: Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 26 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is complete! This means I am halfway through my one-year transformation. Now, let me to clarify something real quick. I have not set a one year goal, just like I have not set a weight or measurement goal. But, I think it’s really cool that I am literally 26 weeks into my get fit regimen. I’m very proud of myself and a little astonished that I’ve stuck with it like I have.
         
I want to start out this week by telling you a little story. Obviously after losing 19 kg, which is around 42 pounds, most of my clothes are way too big. Therefore, I had to buy new clothes, and of course, I hate shopping. But, out of necessity, I ordered and received new clothes.

Here is the funny part: when I opened the package and saw how small they looked, in my mind the first thing I thought was “they’re not gonna fit”. Then I said OK, let me try them on just to see how bad a mistake I made in the sizing. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. What does this say about me? Even though I’ve lost so much weight, in my head, in my own mind, I still see myself and my body, as 200+ pounds. When in reality, I’m at 160 pounds, which is about 72.5 kg.

What I want to convey with this little short story is that no matter how much we change our bodies, we have to change our minds as well. Our mental and emotional states are completely connected with our bodies whether we realize it or not. I was happy with the way I look. I honestly never really looked at myself so closely and just said “Eww, my 200 pound body is nasty”. I thought I looked good.

Now that I am a lot smaller, I still think I look good. But, I have to reconcile my brain to recognize hey, I’m not that big and yes these tiny looking little shorts or tiny looking little shirts will fit me and are my correct size now. And that’s something that I’m still working on. I don’t know if you would call it body image issues or if it’s just that I was so big for so long that in my mind I still am that person. This is definitely one thing I’m going to continuously have to work on and get used to.

As far is this past week has gone, I’ve had a lot of epilepsy related issues pop up. I don’t know if it’s the heat and humidity that we have now here in Tuscany, or if it’s just because my epilepsy decided it wanted to screw with me so it did. With the type of epilepsy I have, I never know when it’s going to happen, where it’s going to happen, and usually why it happens. It just does. But despite the annoying setbacks, I have continued to exercise pretty much every day in some form or fashion. I’ve gotten at least 30 minutes per day every day except for one I think, and I was too messed up that day to be able to do anything. So I’m actually pretty happy and proud of that accomplishment as well.
         
Ok now, a word of caution. I covered it last week but I wanna make sure I cover it again, because this is really affecting my workouts. I try to get outside every morning when it’s crisp and nice around 6:30 AM or 7 AM to do my work out, but life happens and I don’t always get there. When I don’t and I have to work out in the afternoon when it’s hotter, especially in the house and not having air conditioning, I always make sure to pay attention to my body and what it’s telling me.

Drink plenty of water and have a fan pointed directly at you on high to help keep you cool. Have a towel to wipe the sweat off because if you’re anything like me, you will sweat. If you can exercise in an air-conditioned facility, or your house, do it! Just remember, sweat does not mean weight loss. Sweat means your body is hot and it’s trying to cool itself down. It’s a huge misconception that when you sweat you automatically lose weight. You might be losing water weight, but not much.

Padrone is progressing with his own weight loss journey. He had a minor setback last week and gained a couple pounds back because he cheated too many times, but is back on track this week and I’m happy to say he’s lost the weight he gained. So he will continue on his journey to getting healthier and losing weight as well and I will report next week on how he’s doing.

Thank you all so much for your continued words, support, and good thoughts. I hope we see you back here next week reading week 27 summary blog.

This Is One Face of Epilepsy

This is one face of Epilepsy. There are an innumerable amount and combinations. Seizures, or episodes as I call them, can manifest in many forms, many strengths, and affect any number of bodily functions. 

Seizures can pop up out of nowhere, with no warning or they can give the person a small warning before taking over: referred to as an Aura. Sometimes seizures happen multiple times a day. Other times, they may not come around for days, weeks, months, or even years. 

Seizures can be triggered by practically anything, depending on the person’s type of Epilepsy: sounds, stress, odors, lights, foods, emotions, and environment. 

Seizures don’t always come out as uncontrollable shaking. A person may stare, have intense head or body pain, experience instant emotional outbursts (many times in crying form), feel like they are in a literal walking nightmare, have trouble with speech and motor skills, or lose consciousness. They can affect balance, cause vertigo, and impaired vision. 

After a seizure, depending on the type and person, recovery can be instant or take minutes, hours, or even a few days.

Many people with Epilepsy feel they need to hide their condition because they are embarrassed by it and don’t want weird reactions from family, friends, co-workers or people at large.

People with Epilepsy can and do live normal lives. They love, work, and go as much as someone without seizures, when they are able. 

You can’t tell a person has Epilepsy just by looking at them. There’s no physical indicator to point us out. It’s one of those invisible diseases that is misunderstood by so many healthy people. 

Seizures cause us to loose time with our families and friends. They cause us to blame ourselves for being late to important stuff. They can cause depression because those that have unmedicated Epilepsy can feel they are a burden to those around them. 

Epilepsy as a whole sucks. Many types are not able to be stopped or medicated simply because they haven’t found the right medicine yet. 

Epilepsy is also a silent killer. Many peoples die because of seizures every year. 

So, before you judge the stranger sitting next to you, the “weird” person on the bus, the person that you think is high, ask yourself if that person could have an invisible condition you know nothing about. Or, just don’t judge them. Don’t jump to the first negative conclusion. Ask if they need help first. Be kind. 

Week 25 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 25 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is finished. I can’t believe how fast it has gone! Next week will literally be my halfway point for a one year mark.

This past week has been filled with my usual diet and exercise regimen. We spent one day at the sea so I didn’t get any exercise done that day and I cheated and had ice cream. It was so good! But, I’m happy to report that one cheat day didn’t affect my weight loss at all. It’s good to treat yourself sometimes for all the hard work and dedication you put in towards losing weight.

Every other day, I’ve exercised a minimum of 45 minutes. I haven’t actually set this as a requirement or a goal for myself. I’ve done it just because it feels good. I change my routine every single day as well. Sometimes I stay home and follow different videos on YouTube, alternating Walk-at-Home videos with Toning and strength training segments. Other days I take long power walks outside and go different routes so that my body doesn’t know how I’m going to work out. This is a good training strategy when losing weight because your muscles are continuously working to keep up with your demands. If you do the same exercise routines every day, your body will lose the edge because it expects what’s coming and you won’t maximize the calorie burn.

While I was out today, I had the weirdest realization hit me out of the blue. It was about 7 am and beautiful outside. I had my music cranked up and my headphones on. I was in the zone and was pounding out the miles. The route I took this morning was one I had never taken before and was a little more crowded than other routes I normally take. I noticed that nobody paid any attention to me other than a cursory look or side glance.

I personally never really pay attention to anybody because I’m watching where I walk and keeping my pace steady. Normally the fact nobody was paying attention wouldn’t bother me or even register on my radar. But today it bothered me and I couldn’t figure out why. That’s when it hit me!

In the first months that I started on my Get Fit journey, people would stare at me and even make what I call a “stinky face” when they saw me out walking. Of course, when I started, I could barely walk 1 kilometer, let alone the 5 kms I do every day now. I was 19 kilos (42 lbs) heavier. People didn’t see a fat person trying to improve their health and lose weight by starting to exercise. They just saw a fat person and automatically had some type of negative reaction. I remember the ugly looks and scrunched noses as I was starting out. I remember people looking at me with disgust  instead of encouragement. Now that I’m relatively an average size, nobody pays attention and I never see those nasty looks.

Because I realize this, I am going to make a conscious effort to give a nod, thumbs up, or something positive to every larger person I come across when I’m exercising to let them know I’m routing for them. It doesn’t take any extra effort and I hope it will help encourage them to continue. It may creep some people out, but if they have experiences anything close to what I did, they will understand and appreciate the encouragement. So, if you can, encourage others around you when you see them making an effort. I know I would have appreciated that versus that nasty looks I got.

Now, news about my Padrone Marco. He’s been experimenting with adding small amounts of normal food back into his diet. He is also walking to and from work twice a week in the month of July so that’s adding extra exercise to his daily routine. I’ll keep you all updated with his weight loss as he progresses.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement! See you next week!

Week 24 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 24 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is officially done and I’m on to Week 25!

This past week has been a challenge for me physically, mentally, and emotionally because I’ve been dealing with Epilepsy related issues on and off all week. I have no idea what triggered this round of seizures, but I think I finally am over it for now! (Crossing my fingers anyway).

There were many days I had difficulty walking, talking, balancing, seeing clearly, or just having energy. I managed to get a workout in every day except for one, despite these difficulties. For this, I’m extremely proud of myself. I actually didn’t workout today because my body told me that I needed more rest, so that’s exactly what I did. I slept about 9 hours before I woke up the first time. I ate and prepared myself to exercise. Even though I wasn’t feeling like it and was still sleepy, I was determined to stick with my motto Get Fit No Excuses. But, after setting there for 30 minutes, I decided that my body needed more sleep to recover from the week of seizure activity and I slept 2 more hours. I honestly feel really good and better than I have all week.

So, now for the fun part! This week is my weigh-in and measurement day! I’m excited to report better than expected results. Here they are:

28 June 2018

Weight: 72.7 kg (160 lbs)
Hips: 107.8 cm (42.4 inches)
Waist: 81.5 cm (32 inches)
Bicep: 33.5 cm (13.18 inches)
Thigh: 61.0 cm (24 inches)

I have to say that even after all these months of weight loss, I get surprised looking at my body when I least expect it. You have to be wondering what I mean. Let me give you some examples.

1) The other night, I was laying sideways on an armchair reading. Before I lost weight, I took up the entire depth of the chair. I had no room for my arm to rest comfortably and it would just hang in midair. Now, in that same position, both of my arms have ample room to rest on either side of my body.
2) I can cross my legs with no trouble and they stay there! Before losing weight, it was virtually impossible to cross my legs because my thighs were so big. Now, no matter what I’m wearing or the type of chair I’m sitting on, I can stay for hours with my thighs comfortably crossed.
3) Riding in the passenger seat of our car. Before, my butt was wider than the seat and the sides of the seat dug into my hips. It was also difficult to lock the seat belt. Now, I have plenty of room and no problems at all reaching the seat belt.

When you have been overweight pretty much your entire life, you have a set body image in your head and it’s extremely difficult to change that, even as you lose weight gradually. That’s why I still get surprised many times when I look in the mirror, when I realize how my body fits in seats or other places, or even how I can squeeze between cars to get in ours when we’re parallel parked.

In my head, I’m still 200 pounds even though my rational mind understands that I’ve lost over 40 pounds. I don’t really dwell on my body image and how my size affects my everyday life, but I know many of you do so wanted to share that you are not alone.

Now, on to good news about my Padrone’s weight loss! He has continued to lose weight and his Diabetes doctor told him that they were not only extremely surprised at how much he’s lost since 8 March, but very happy with his progress! He’s lost 12 kgs (26 pounds)!

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement from us both!

Week 23 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 23 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is officially done and I’m on to Week 24! The time and the weight loss are just flying by. This week I want to talk about heat. Not only is today my own official stop/start day in my weekly blogs, but it is also the first day of summer! That means more heat and hot weather here in the northern hemisphere.

As I’ve lost weight and the weather has heated up, I’ve realized that I am able to tolerate the higher temperatures easier than I did last year at this same time of year. The weather and temperature patterns are relatively the same so I know it’s because of my weight loss. We don’t have air conditioning at home and rely on windows and fans. They have kept us comfortable so far this year and Padrone has felt a little cool even if the temperatures are at 28°C In the house. He has lost 22 pounds (10 kg) as of today and it has definitely made a difference in the way his body adjusts to the temperature changes as well. I have been able to stay very comfortable around the house with no problems so far. I’ll let you know as it gets hotter, how my body reacts and adjusts to the temperatures.

I’ve been trying to exercise exclusively in the morning about 7 am when the temperatures are still nice out, but I haven’t always succeeded. When I ended up exercising during hotter parts of the day, I did an indoor workout with a fan turned on high and pointed directly at me. I make sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water because our bodies can become easily dehydrated when exercising in high heat. I always pay attention to my body and it’s needs, especially when I’m doing something out of the ordinary. Try exercising when it’s cooler or in a temperature controlled environment whenever possible. But if you can’t, pay close attention to what your body feels because it’s the best judge of what you need.

Next week will be my weigh in and measurements so I’m excited! I am going to try to talk Padrone into letting me post his progress as well at the same time as mine.

If you have any questions or advice about exercising and weight loss, comment below! I love hearing from you!

Week 22 Summary - Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 22 has not been that eventful for me. I’ve been keeping up with my exercise and diet, but mostly concentrating on finding the right combination of food that will satisfy Padrone but fit into his diet restrictions also. I can definitely tell with the changing weather and warmer temperatures that I need to exercise first thing every morning because I don’t do well in very hot weather.

A couple of days ago it got up to about 90° and I decided to do my exercise about 1 pm. We don’t have air conditioning. I had fan set on high,  but after 10 minutes, I had to stop because I literally couldn’t keep going. The heat, even with the fan, just drained me. I definitely have to be careful and mindful of how my body responds to exercise during the summer.

If you are exercising during the summer, which I hope you are, listen to your body and try to exercise during the cooler parts of the day or evening. Stay hydrated with water and possibly use an electrolyte based drink if you need the boost.

I may have to limit my time to 30 minutes a day, depending on my endurance level. We shall see as time passes. I’ve only been active during cold or cool weather, so hopefully, my body can adapt to the warmer temperatures as the summer season comes.

As I mentioned above and in previous blogs, Padrone has struggled to find the right balance and combination of food that will satisfy both his needs and fit within his diet restrictions. I decided we needed to try a pre-made food delivery service for him. After much research, I found a couple that are not cheap, but not cost prohibitive either. The nutritional values are well within the range of what Padrone needs and the quality and variety of dishes makes him happy. So, I am calling it a win all around!

Padrone himself has lost 8 kg (17 pounds) so far and is continuing to lose more at a steady rate. While he has been slacking off on the exercise part for a few weeks, I’m hoping that having resolved his food dilemma will inspire him to get back to a daily exercise program. I’m so proud of him and his progress! He has also been smoke free for 3 months now!

Thank you for continuing to follow our journey to getting fit and living a healthier lifestyle. We are proof that it’s never too late to make the necessary changes to life a healthier lifestyle.

Week 21 Summary - Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Welcome to the end of Week 21 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses! The time has flown by and I’ve learned a lot on the journey. It hit me today that this has been a real year of change and reinvention for myself and Padrone both. We have changed the way we eat. We started exercising. We’ve lost weight, so changed how we look. Padrone stopped smoking 3 months ago. And, today, I got a new haircut in a style I never would have considered before.

I have alternated my indoor and outdoor exercises to keep my muscles guessing. When you do the same routine all the time, your body will get used to it and that particular exercise won’t be as affective. There were a couple of days that I was unable to exercise because of an Epilepsy attack, but I got back out there as soon as I could. 

During my outdoor walking adventures, I’ve come across some really interesting people. Two of them stick out in my mind when I think about it. One lady was walking slow and I passed her. She gave me a dirty look and decided to walk faster so she could pass me back. Now, I was just keeping up a steady pace. I had my headphones in and my music pumped so I was in the zone! I don’t really pay much attention to other people because I’m trying to keep an eye on my own statistics (heartbeat, pace, steps, distance). So, a few minutes later, I ended up passing her again because she was bent over with her hands on her hips trying to breath! Moral of this story is to stay at your own pace and ignore everything else around you. You do you and don’t worry about what everybody else is doing.

The second incident that comes to mind involves a guy that looks like he stepped out of the 1970s. He had on a white tank undershirt (aka wife beater), black dress socks that came to his knees with brown ugly sandals! His shorts where made out of nylon and looked like some Bruce Jenner wore when he was running track. That isn’t even the funny part. The guy was bent over a bench doing what he thought was stretching. He was kicking his leg up in the air behind him like a donkey does when they get mad! I was doing my best not to laugh! Moral of this story is to get out and stay active no matter how you’re dressed! And don’t hurt yourself by exercising the wrong way. 

After so long a time of restricting my diet I decided to allow myself a “cheat treat” once a week. We found a place that serves cream coffee (known as a Frappe or Frappicino in America) and it’s so good! So, only once a week, I allow myself to enjoy one. I walk or exercise every day and  eat a low carb/low calorie vegetarian diet the rest of the time so I don’t have an ounce of guilt. The weird thing is that I don’t crave junk food or comfort food much anymore. If I see something that looks good on Facebook, I usually think that looks good but immediately follow that with lord I can’t imagine how much fat and calories that has in it! It’s all about perspective for me.

Last week was my 45th birthday week and also my weigh in week. I was disappointed with not having lost more weight or centimeters in my measurements. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’m ok with my results. I am still seeing progress and it’s actually a steady progress. Considering that I’m doing everything naturally and not using weird pills or strange diets, I’m happy and proud of myself. 

Thank you all again for your continued support and encouragement! See you next week!

Combined Weeks 18-20 Summaries Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Welcome back! I haven’t posted a weekly Summary in a few weeks, so I’m using this one to do a combination of Weeks 18 through 20 (which is this week and technically ends on Thursday).

I’ve been concentrating on getting to a certain goal weight by my 45th birthday. I turned 45 yesterday and I feel better now than I have in many years. Getting older doesn’t mean we have to slow down and take a side road in life. It just means we survived another year and have another chance to see more and thrive as much as we can in life. Changing my diet and adding exercise has hd a huge impact on my health and my looks both. This week is also not only my birthday, but just happened to coincide with my monthly weigh in and measurements check.

I wanted to be 75.9 kilos or less for my 45th birthday. I think it had something to do with the number 5 and it just sounded good! Hahahaha! I’m happy to report that I made it! I weighed yesterday morning and was at 75.8 kilos (167 pounds). As of now, I’m down 15.2 kilos or 33 pounds! I’m staying on a steady course of weight loss and it’s working.

Now, I have to insert a word of caution here. While making and achieving weight loss goals are good, they can also be a catalyst to becoming obsessed with reaching that number. I found myself thinking unhealthy thoughts in an effort to try to reach my goal of 75.9 kilos. I thought about eating less, taking diuretics, and trying to exercise more than my body could handle. I didn’t do any of these and I still achieved my goal with sticking to my diet and exercise regimen. If I had gone down that unhealthy path, I could have seriously hurt myself. Please be careful and mindful of negative thoughts in your own weight loss journey.

I have stuck with my semi-vegetarian diet while only cheating a couple of times over the past 3 weeks. I enjoyed a small pasta dish one week and I had fried chicken and a lemon muffin on my birthday. It was totally worth it! While I’m not saying to cheat on your diet, there will be times when you can bend the rules every once in a while without having a negative affect.

Since I’ve been eating much better for almost 6 months now, my body let me know it wasn’t happy with me after eating the fried food. I didn’t go on a walk on my birthday but did a 5.92 kms (3.68 miles) power walk this morning and I felt nauseous before going. After I got back, I was ok. But, that’s my body telling me it didn’t like my fried cheat meal. I won’t be doing that again!

Since I started my journey in January to a healthier body and lifestyle, I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve also learned through, research, trial and error what my body likes and doesn’t, food and exercise wise. Since I’ve changed my diet, I also started taking supplements to help replace vitamins and minerals that I don’t get enough of on a daily basis. Here’s a picture of what I take:

Now, here’s the results of my measurements from 25 May 2018:

Hips – 112.5 cm
Waist – 85.2 cm
Bicep – 34.5 cm
Thigh – 61.6 cm

Here’s my measurements from 26 April 2018:

Weight – 78.7 kg
Hips – 114.5
Waist – 86.5 cm
Bicep – 35.0 cm
Thigh – 62.2 cm

While I have seen improvement from April, it is small. But, any improvement is a great accomplishment! Plus, I continue to feel better each week. As I tell you all the time and continue to remind myself, it’s not all about the numbers! It’s how you feel and how you are health wise!

Thank you all for your continued encouragement, kind messages, and for following my blogs. We’ll see you next week!

Week 17 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 17’s Summary of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is finally here! After so many weeks of writing weekly posts, it gets hard to think of different topics that won’t just be a repeat of things I’ve already written about in previous weeks. This week has been pretty calm and uneventful as far as my exercise and eating habits are concerned. I did a 30 minutes workout every day or more. I alternated outside walking with indoor toning/cardio at-home workouts. I’ve been thinking of possibly adding some sort of strength training, but haven’t decided yet how or when. I will definitely share it with you when I do add this to my exercise regimen.

Since I started my journey, I’ve lost over 30 pounds and haven’t been this size in longer than I can honestly remember. Since I live in Italy, I had no idea what American size I now wear in pants. I got curious and wanted to try to convert my Italian size to American. I thought that all I had to do was do a little research on Google and that would be the end of my search. Boy, was I wrong!

I ended up looking at over 25 different sites with 25 different answers as to what an Italian woman’s size 48 would be in an American woman’s size! My research said the conversion was a 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20! All of these numbers were said to convert from just a size 48 in Italy. Obviously, since I am American, I knew right away that over half of those numbers were wrong! I had been a size 16, 18, and 20 before in past, so I knew those were wrong right up front. To make a long, confusing story, short, I’m a 10/12 in the average American woman’s size now.

But, that’s really not the point I’m trying to make. I wasted so much time and effort researching this because my brain became obsessed with needing to know what number I was. I just could not make myself stop agonizing about it. It’s like getting caught up with what  the number on a scale says. People that weigh themselves every day. It’s a trap!

Western society has programmed young females through diet and fashion magazines, air brushed photos, and online articles about what the ideal size of a woman should be. We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We also know that weight and body types, especially those that carry around extra weight, are not the only factor in a persons health. They are definitely not a factor in a person’s character. We have been taught that it’s not acceptable to be over a certain dress size or a certain number on a scale. We should always go on the latest diet or try the newest pill to lose the weight. We are taught, consciously and subconsciously, from birth, that a number is more important than how we feel. Even if we are comfortable and healthy, if we don’t conform to a certain size or a certain number, there’s something wrong with us. DO NOT LET THE NUMBERS WIN!

I have fallen into this trap more often than I can tell you. After we purchased a new scale so that we can keep up with how much weight we’re losing , I became obsessed with making sure that my number on the scale stayed the same or went lower. Now, we all know that weight fluctuate during the day, depending on what you eat, the weather outside, how much you drink, your body type, and many other factors. You can actually fluctuate up to two or 3 pounds in one day. I caught myself weighing in two or three times a day on that scale in an effort to see how my numbers were going. Where are they going up? Where they going down? Or were they the same?

I had to physically stop myself and mentally slap myself, to stop obsessing over a number. I look in the mirror every day and see my progress. I know what I am eating and how many calories approximately a day I eat. I know how much exercise, time, and effort I’m putting in to losing weight and getting healthier.

When I started my operation get fit no excuses, my goal was to live a healthier lifestyle, not to conform to a certain number size in clothing or weight. I have never really cared what the scale or my size of clothes said in the past. Why should I care now? What should matter is how I feel about myself. What should matter is how my body feels now. Those are the things that matter. My health and the improvement in my health are what matter. There is no number on this earth that can tell me if I feel good or if I don’t. Only I and my body can tell me what I’m feeling, how I’m feeling, and if I’m doing the right thing to stay healthy and happy for myself and my body.

I know I have said this in past posts, but do not let the numbers rule you! Be your own person. Don’t be a number. You are so much more than any number on the scale, any size in a pair of pants, or any fake, perfect sized person in a magazine. If you start obsessing about the numbers on your scale, your measurements, or even the size clothing you’re wearing now, stop!

If you think about it, in the past few years, there’ve been many articles about new regulations for models in the fashion industry. I’m not sure who dictates how tall or how skinny the perfect female’s body type is. Is it the editors? Is it the fashion designers? Is it the talent scouts that are looking for the actual models? I have no idea. But what I do know is that their standards over the past 20 to 30 years have become extremely ridiculous and impossible. Less than .5% of people around the world could conform to a 6 foot tall, 110 pounds, size 00 female. And honestly, how many really want to be like that? Yes, sometimes it looks good on a photograph. But most times, what you don’t think about when you’re looking at that glossy, retouched picture, is that the person in that picture is not happy. The person in that picture is starving themselves just so they can look like that. The person in that picture is not eating healthy or even close healthy.

Now that I have gotten my point across, leave the scale alone. Leave the measuring tape alone. Don’t care what size pants you’re wearing. It’s one thing to be proud of the weight you’ve lost, or the hard work you’ve put in to getting to that goal. But it’s another thing to be gum so absurd is that it takes over your life. It makes you unhappy if and when your weight fluctuates. Only use the scale once a week. I suggest taking your measurements only once a month. That way, if you continue on with a healthy eating and exercise program, you’ll see much bigger and better results in four weeks then you will every single day. Seeing that type of progress is a huge motivation and will keep you going the next four weeks.

Well, that’s all I have for this week’s summary. I hope you continue to follow me on my own journey. If you want me to follow you, or if you just want to share your own story with me, please contact me. I love to hear stories and progress from my readers. It helps motivate me but also makes me happy that sharing things from my own life, experiences that I have had, may help inspire you guys to get over whatever hump you are in that might be similar to a situation that I’ve been through. See you next week!                  

Week 16 Operation Get Fit No Excuses Summary

I can’t believe week 16 has finally come and gone! It seems like just yesterday I started my journey to get fit and get healthier. Thinking about all the things that I’ve been through and all the changes that I’ve made in the past four months, 16 weeks, I amaze myself that I have continued on this road. There have been challenges along the way. It definitely has not been an easy path to follow.

This past week I’ve had mental and emotional challenges that I didn’t expect to pop up. I should’ve expected it because everybody goes through it, but I didn’t think that it would happen to me. Padrone‘s birthday was 30 April, and it was a cheat day for both of us. I had a tiny tiramisu and some pasta. I was all happy about it. The next day, I got out and did about a 6 km fast walk to help work off what I had eaten the night before. A few days after that, I woke up with absolutely no motivation whatsoever. It was extremely weird for me. I didn’t say anything to Padrone at first and kept it to myself. I still got out every day and did some form of exercise, either a walk with Padrone,  a faster walk by myself, or some type of indoor exercise. But I wasn’t putting 100% effort into it. I was only half way pushing myself when normally I push myself to go further, go faster, and do a little bit better than I had the day or week before.

It honestly was a little bit of a struggle for me to make myself get up and exercise. Every day for the past 15 weeks, before I’ve enjoyed it and felt guilty when I did not actually get out and do something. But for some reason, my mental motivation, mojo if you will,  just left. I was feeling down and a little depressed. I felt like everything around me was just pressing in on me and that I didn’t know what to do or how to get out from feeling this way.

After a few days, I finally came to a point where it is all spilled out and I told Padrone how I was feeling mentally and emotionally. At first, I didn’t feel any better. I thought I was going a little crazy. I wondered if I was developing some form of depression because of hormones, epilepsy, or some other reason. But then, after finally talking about my feelings openly, I stayed home and I slept for about six or seven hours. I had not been sleeping very well for the past two days. I woke up and I feel like me again.

I don’t know if it was talking to Padrone about how bad I was feeling, actually sleeping really well for the first time in a few days, or just some chemical change my brain, that actually made me feel better, but whatever it is, I feel like I’m back on track now. That’s one reason why I haven’t posted a weekly summary, because I honestly didn’t feel like it and I could not.

When you are going through a down time, a funk, a small depression, or what ever other name you want to give it, you have to realize that it will change over time. Things will look better and will get better, if you just keep going. For me it’s easier to say that than do it, because I’ve been through it and I am not clinically depressed. And for me, it only lasted about four days.

If you feel bad or down longer than that, definitely seek professional help! Don’t be afraid to tell your partner, your family, your friends, someone how you are feeling, because talking about it and getting it off your chest and not carrying that entire burden or weight on your shoulders, will help you. If you’re unable to talk to someone face to face, find somebody online that you trust and say hey can I talk to you for minute? And then explain how you’re feeling. Who knows? They might have an answer that you never thought of to help bring you out of your depression.

Well now that you understand what I’ve been going through, you know you’re not alone. Many of you probably think that I only post the good things that happened to me in life, I post a lot of the bad things too. I write this blog as a way to help myself stay motivated, in an effort to help others that might be going through the same things that I have been, and hopefully, it’s an inspiration to other people to get healthier on their own and take their life back. We are all getting older and we all need to take the necessary steps to live longer, live healthier, and be the best that we can be mentally, physically and emotionally for ourselves, our family, and our friends. I know in 20 years when I’m 65, I want to be the most fabulous, physically abled, mentally abled person I can be and not be a burden on anyone.

I’ve actually found that my epilepsy symptoms improved with the change in my diet along with exercising. Obviously, it’s not a complete cure. But since the type of epilepsy I have is resistant to all current medications, I’ll take any improvement at this point. As I’ve gotten older, my seizures and the other things that happened to me because the epilepsy, have gotten worse. Of course, environment and attitude play a significant role in how your body reacts when you have epilepsy, but exercise and diet also have a role as well.

Other health improvements that I’ve seen for me in the past four months, 16 weeks, have been less reflux, less heartburn, and virtually no nausea. Before, since I had my gall bladder removed over 10 years ago, I had many symptoms of GERDS. But now that I have changed to an all plant-based diet, combined with my exercising, I’m much better. If I’m feeling this many improvements in just four months, I can’t wait to see how good I’m feeling after another four months.

Although I don’t have a specific weight goal in mind, I’m just going to continue on the path that I’m on with my exercising and eating, and see where it goes. I’m very happy so far with the results and I feel much more confident in myself and how I dress, but also on the inside. Sticking with the diet and a new way of life, because let’s be honest, it is a way of life, not a diet, and continuing on is one of the hardest things anyone can do, especially when you were so used to eating all kinds of junk food, fast food, and generally things that are not good for you.

So my goal for this week and the continuing weeks, is just to continue on improving my health, pushing myself for exercise, and maybe changing it up a little by adding some small weights for strength training. I’m not exactly sure where I’ll go from here but I’m continuing on. I know that I’m going to have other times where motivation is lacking or I just don’t feel like doing anything. But I’m going to continue because I know and experienced the results, that this is the best path for me.

Thank you so much for following me and staying with me all this time. If you have any questions, or just want to comment on something, please make a comment on the bottom. Will be back next week for week 17 summary.

If you have any exercise tips, I would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading!  

Week 15 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Well, this week is time for me to do a measurement and weight checkin. It’s the end of Week 15 and I’m still going strong keeping up my plant based diet and exercise routine. Over the weeks, I’ve seen a steady progress of weight loss and my body slimming down. I’ve made sure not to check my weight and measurements constantly because I think that would have a negative impact on my progress.

One thing I did this past week is to finally go and buy clothes that fit. I was able to shop in the ‘normal’ sized section for the first time in over 20 years! It was an exciting and very cool moment for me. I have strived not to think about the physical changes as much as I have concentrated on the positive health changes I’ve experienced. I think one of the main factors that have kept me focused and on track is how much better I feel overall.

So, now to get down to business! Here are my current measurements and and weight as of this afternoon:

Weight 78.7 kg (173.5 lbs)
Hips 114.5 cm (45 inches)
Waist 86.5 cm (34 inches)
Bicep 35 cm (13.78 inches)
Thigh 62.2 cm (24.48 inches)

Below are my progress stats from the program I use to track my measurements:

If you have been following me over the past months, you know that I have problems with my blood sugar levels staying high because I have low blood sugar. I’ve had to add more complex carbs back into my diet in an effort to keep my sugar levels steady. I think that my exercising has changed my metabolism and now my body is compensating for less carbs. Other than this, my diet has not changed.

 I want to encourage you to continue on with your own health journey and don’t think about weight or clothes sizes. Keep your physical health as your number 1 motivation. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to write to me. Thanks for your continued support!

Week 14 Summary - Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 14 of my Operation Get Fit No Excuses has come to an end and brought with it some beautiful weather! This week has been busy with many things but thankfully my fitness routine has not suffered. I’ve continued my training with a combination of outdoor power walks and indoor toning videos.

Since I switched my diet to a soy/plant based choice, many of the chronic health problems that I was experiencing has vanished. My blood sugars have stabilized as well, even with a lower carb intake. I’ve been eating this way now for about 12 weeks. In the past few days, my blood sugar levels have been reading low and I can’t figure out why. I have had to add more carbs into my diet to get my sugar levels stabilized. I don’t know if it’s the change in weather, my metabolism, or a combination of things. Luckily, I found a low calorie toast that has a medium amount of carbs and seems to keep me in balance.

As for good news, I finally had to go shopping for some new clothes because almost everything I have is now too big or really baggy on me. Yeah! While this is a great feeling, I hate shopping so it’s hard to figure out what to buy. Plus, we’re in a transitional season now and I never know what to wear. That makes it harder for me to try to guess what will work and what won’t!

I’m also a little on the frugal side. I keep putting off buying new clothes because I hate shopping, but also because I keep thinking about what size will I be in a few months time when the heart of summer hits? I’ve been consistently loosing about 2 kilos every few weeks so I have no idea when it will slow down or what size my body decides it likes. I keep thinking that if I buy a certain size now, and I lose more weight, did I waist money on buying new clothes? Padrone has been on me to get new stuff but I’m going to wait until the very last second to see if I can get the right size that will last all summer.

Some of you will read that and roll your eyes because you don’t understand what a hassle it is to me to shop for new clothes. It’s the whole emotional journey trying to figure out what looks good and trying to make my brain see my body as it really looks, and not as it used to look. It’s an emotional journey.

Well, that’s it for now. I’m happy that we have beautiful and warm weather for my Week 15 to begin! Thank you all for your continued support, for following me on my journey, and all the kind messages. See you next week!