Excuses, Excuses, Excuses - Part Three

I am FAT because I am allergic to exercise. Seriously! Whenever I exercise I become red and splotchy all over, I sweat profusely, my face becomes beet red and I have trouble breathing. Sometimes it is so bad, that I'm wheezing. That sounds like an allergic reaction to me! Ok, I am not truly allergic to exercise but sometimes it feels that way and for the record, being allergic to exercise is an actual diagnosis. I believe it's called Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis and for some people, it's no laughing matter, so, no offense intended to those who actually have EIA.
As for my excuse, it's not that bad. I don't wheeze as much anymore. Obviously, the quitting smoking helped tremendously. But I DO still turn alarmingly RED and look like a person having an allergic reaction when I exercise which is why I don't do it in public. No gyms for me. Nope, I thank the gods (or the goddesses) for 'in home' exercise equipment. I love that I can puff-up and look like a tomato in the privacy of my own home. I'm all for embarrassing myself into losing weight but even I have some vanity!
Note the lack of pictures of ME on my 'OneLessFatGirl' Facebook page. That's right... I only photograph my elliptical monitor and my feet on the scale. One day I'll become courageous enough to post an "in-action" shot of me exercising but until then, you'll just have to imagine how truly unattractive a picture I make.

I am overweight because I am an obsessive compulsive reader. Believe it or not, this is a problem for some people. Namely, me. Some call it a form of OCD and others an addiction. Either way, it goes way beyond "loving" the smell of a bookstore or the gentle hum of a library. This is the absolute NEED to be reading at all times.
This means when you read that final page of that 300 page book, you MUST have another book to move on to or you go a bit nuts. For example, if I finished my book on my lunch break at work and forgot to pack another book, I would be compelled to drive to the nearest store that sold books (Barnes & Noble, Borders, RiteAid, Safeway, Walgreens) to purchase something- ANYTHING to read.
A trip to the library would usually entail me lugging home 10-15 books at a time just to get me through a week to 10 days. Yes, I was sometimes reading more than a book a day. And yes, we're talking three to four hundred page books. Now all this reading MIGHT be considered "OK" if I were burning calories on a stationery bike or treadmill but of course I wasn't! I was sitting, usually on my favorite love seat on my back patio, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. This was me at 5AM before the children got up. This was me during my lunch breaks at work (replace favorite love seat with inside my car). This was me after work while my children were doing homework, playing with friends, watching TV. Take break to cook dinner and clean up. Put children to bed and then... This was me reading again on my favorite love seat, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee until 10 or 11PM. Repeat... daily... for YEARS. The picture becomes clearer and more frightening now, doesn't it?
I lived on about 5 hours of sleep per night and a diet of coffee and cigarettes, for years. It's no wonder why when I gave up all three of my addicitions, I gained about 14lbs in 6 weeks. My body hadn't seen real food regularly in ages and I took away all the stimulants (caffeine and nicotine). It's actually a miracle I'm not 400lbs with the poor eating habits and lack of exercise. For the first time in a long time, I'm living a 'healthy' lifestyle. No more giving in to my addictions.
Since all three of my "vices" went hand-in-hand I knew I was going to have to give them ALL up to begin with. I weaned myself off the books first. Without the books I was able to spend more time "doing stuff" with my kids. We would take walks around the neighborhood or go places like local parks and museums. The coffee and cigarettes I gave up for my 2010 New Year Resolution. I'm thrilled to say that it's been relatively easy to give up the smokes. The coffee, is another story. At first, I couldn't have coffee in the house since it was my "gateway" drug to smoking but now that I'm over the cigarette cravings, I allow myself one cup per day. This is a HUGE improvement over the 10-12 cups per day I was used to drinking. As for the cigarettes, I hope to never go back. I really like being able to briskly walk five miles without feeling like my lungs are going to collapse and I really want to participate in next year's Breast Cancer 3-day and I know that would be impossible for me if I were a smoker.
Some people have asked me how I quit my "bad habits" and honestly I don't have a good answer. I admit, I have tried to make these changes in my lifestyle many time before and failed. I truly have no idea why this time it work and other times it didn't. The only real difference was that this time I was doing it not because people on TV or my doctor told me to, but because my children asked. My oldest child commented that he didn't like me reading all the time and that he didn't like knowing that, while he was at school learning about how bad it is to smoke, I was at home or in my car putting those very toxic chemicals into my body basically killing myself. For me, that was all the wake up call I needed to quit. If you are a smoker hoping to quit and are unable to cut "cold turkey" as I have, below are some links you may find useful or insightful.

I was going to write about three 'Excuses' in this blog but honestly, I think two is good enough for today. The last 'Excuse' is already writing itself in my head, so I promise it won't be as long a wait. Until next time...


For help with quitting smoking... http://www.becomeanex.org/
http://www.smokefree.gov/

For help with reading addictions... http://www.experienceproject.com/groups/Have-A-Reading-Addiction/203653

For info about EIA... http://allergies.about.com/od/anaphylaxis/a/eia.htm

Weighing In - Week One

Discouraging encouragement. Encouraging discouragement. I'm not sure which statement better describes how I feel at this moment. It's gratifying to see a downward shift on the scale but I have to wonder if it was just water weight, and if it was, why didn't I lose more?

In all fairness, I didn't start the heavy exercising until Wednesday, that's only four days ago. But I still feel all that sweating would have, could have, should have at least dropped me down below 190lbs. Maybe this is just some sort of 'beginners blues.' I think secretly I had hoped to have dropped an amazing 5 to 10 lbs and this is reality bonking me on the head chiding, "Silly girl, weight loss like that is only on TV." Maybe this is going to be harder than it looks. Maybe this is going to take longer than I'd hoped. Mope... mope... mope...

Wait! Hold up! This isn't so bad! Think about it. Maybe I'm lucky. I've heard the 'horror' stories of people actually gaining weight their first week of a weight loss program. I've read about people staying exactly the same weight. Man, now that would really bite! I can't imagine doing all that hard work and dieting to have the scale say, "Sorry kiddo. Nothing's changed." Maybe I should be thrilled! In four days of real exercise I was able to lose almost 2 lbs. At a rate of 2 lbs per week, I could be at my target weight by Halloween! Yes, I think I'm OK with this weigh in after all. It might just be 'slow and steady' who wins this race.

Until next time, thanks to all my friends, fans, and cheerleaders. I am greatly motivated by your support. I'm still looking for recipe posts on the OneLessFatGirl Facebook Page. You can find the recipe section on the 'Discussions' tab. Also, you can find us on the OneLessFatGirl Twitter Page. My next blog here will be the final installation of 'Excuses, Excuses, Excuses," so stay tuned. Thanks again!