Sometimes we have to take a step back to see where we have come from. Because what once seemed impossible can very well now be your warmup...your every day easy routine!!!!!!!
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Wednesday, April 07, 2021
Belief in Yourself
I absolutely love this saying! Of course I would ......especially when you remember what my website is named!!!!!!
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
An inspiration like no other
Throughout my weight loss journey I have come across people that have greatly inspired and influenced me. While my drive and motivation to lose weight is my responsibility, these people are what helps me to push a little harder....to go a little further....to stay the course. These inspirational people have come into my life at random times and through many different ways. Sometimes it is a virtual influence....I might read an article about someone’s weight loss success online and it inspires me. The inspiration sometimes may come from my friends who double as accountability partners. I have even received inspiration from people that I call angels...random steangers that make comments and compliments...for me this is usually while out running. Such as the touchy guy and the safelite guy. Inspiration is awesome!
The other morning when I was out running a song started to play in my headphones. It was a song that we used in Zumba. Immediately memories started to flood through my mind. I remembered my first night at Zumba and how I hid in the back room. I remembered the emotionally battered woman that I was when I started. I remember how I had to exert my independence and wishes within my marriage just to attend Zumba. I looked back and could clearly see how my independence and confidence grew each and every week of Zumba. Zumba, was a life saver and a life changer for me. My fitness level skyrocketed and I was inspired almost weekly with each and every class I attended. It wasn’t just the hour of exercise that changed my life and inspired me. It was one lady… The instructor.... Anita. (And yes, I was indeed crying while I was running and reminiscing... it was from the incredible onslaught of memories. Doesn’t everybody cry while they run?)
Anita. I don’t even know where to begin. This lady is just all around incredible.
Anita is my mothers age, but don’t let that fool you. This lady can out exercise most people. I remember after one class talking to a group of people and we mentioned how the hour long class had been a real tough workout. We were blown away when we realized that Anita had already taught four such classes just like the one that had wiped us out....that day alone. Anita is constantly searching, learning and bringing new techniques and exercises to her classes. She also practices what she preaches. When you talk to her or glance at her Facebook page you will quickly see and hear that she take the steps to secure her own fitness levels. She doesn’t just rely on the 20 some classes that she teaches to stay in shape...she works out on TOP of leading multiple classes. (I think at one point she told us she was teaching over 20 classes a week… but I could be wrong on the number.). She leads her classes in a way that all levels of fitness are reached and made to feel welcome and pours herself into these classes. She reaches everyone in that room, in spite of how she is feeling personally. And we all work harder because of her example! This lady is a true dynamo!!
Anita is inspiration like no other. I have seen this lady push through tiredness, pain and sickness to still lead a kick butt exercise class. I have seen her dancing and exercising with what she suspected was a broken toe… She still stomped her feet in time with the beat! Surgery/ Procedure on her hand earlier in the day that required her to keep her hand elevated? Anita didn’t cancel the class that day! She arrived, got on stage and lead that class with the same energy level that she always did. She did it all while keeping her hand elevated for the whole hour. I even saw her lead a class with a case of stomach bug. What an incredible inspiration. She truly leads by example. It’s easier to push through the pain of a hard workout when you see your leader push through her pain. ‘If she can do it...so can I!’ When you have a leader like that, it makes you realize that you can push through and accomplish so much.
Last but not least, I want to talk about the compassion that Anita shows. She is very passionate about making sure that the attendees in her class get a good workout. But what really sets her apart from any other leader, is her compassion for each and every person in her classes. I can’t tell you how many times I arrived for my hour of exercise and received a hug and words of encouragement about life issues I was facing. One of the best examples of her compassion was the last week before I announced my pending divorce in 2014. I was an emotional wreck and could barely hold it together. Anita took one look at me and gave me a long hug but didn’t say a word...just gave me her silent support. A week later when I announced that I was getting a divorce, Anita made this comment, “I could see the turmoil within you last week. I could see that you were barely holding it together. And I knew the only thing I could do was hug you to let you know you weren’t alone and that whatever you were dealing with was something you had to wrestle with on your own.” Once I made it public, she was right there continuing to offer her support for me as I went through that difficult change. How’s that for compassion? But the compassion doesn’t end there, I had to stop attending zumba due to schedule changes that prohibited me from attending her classes. Yet, three years after I stopped attending, she arrived at the viewing when my father died. (I’m sorry for sobbing all over you when you hugged me that night… I was working hard to hold it together, seeing you and feeling your compassion gave me the much needed release for all that pent-up emotion.). Anita is the real deal. If I can have half the compassion that she displays, I will consider myself lucky.
This lady is the complete package. Incredibly fit, tough as nails,fun and compassionate! I have been blessed to have her in my life.
A few years ago the local newspaper did an article about me and Zumba. It alluded to and talked about how Zumba had change my life and it even mentioned lightly the inspiration that Anita had on me. But the article didn’t make it clear enough. Anita has inspired me in so many ways. I want to be her age and in the physical shape that she is in. I push myself through aches and pains when I exercise because of her long lasting influence. And I try to show the compassion and love toward others....the same behavior she has continually shown toward me. She really is my inspiration. And Anita, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
The other morning when I was out running a song started to play in my headphones. It was a song that we used in Zumba. Immediately memories started to flood through my mind. I remembered my first night at Zumba and how I hid in the back room. I remembered the emotionally battered woman that I was when I started. I remember how I had to exert my independence and wishes within my marriage just to attend Zumba. I looked back and could clearly see how my independence and confidence grew each and every week of Zumba. Zumba, was a life saver and a life changer for me. My fitness level skyrocketed and I was inspired almost weekly with each and every class I attended. It wasn’t just the hour of exercise that changed my life and inspired me. It was one lady… The instructor.... Anita. (And yes, I was indeed crying while I was running and reminiscing... it was from the incredible onslaught of memories. Doesn’t everybody cry while they run?)
Anita. I don’t even know where to begin. This lady is just all around incredible.
Anita is my mothers age, but don’t let that fool you. This lady can out exercise most people. I remember after one class talking to a group of people and we mentioned how the hour long class had been a real tough workout. We were blown away when we realized that Anita had already taught four such classes just like the one that had wiped us out....that day alone. Anita is constantly searching, learning and bringing new techniques and exercises to her classes. She also practices what she preaches. When you talk to her or glance at her Facebook page you will quickly see and hear that she take the steps to secure her own fitness levels. She doesn’t just rely on the 20 some classes that she teaches to stay in shape...she works out on TOP of leading multiple classes. (I think at one point she told us she was teaching over 20 classes a week… but I could be wrong on the number.). She leads her classes in a way that all levels of fitness are reached and made to feel welcome and pours herself into these classes. She reaches everyone in that room, in spite of how she is feeling personally. And we all work harder because of her example! This lady is a true dynamo!!
Anita is inspiration like no other. I have seen this lady push through tiredness, pain and sickness to still lead a kick butt exercise class. I have seen her dancing and exercising with what she suspected was a broken toe… She still stomped her feet in time with the beat! Surgery/ Procedure on her hand earlier in the day that required her to keep her hand elevated? Anita didn’t cancel the class that day! She arrived, got on stage and lead that class with the same energy level that she always did. She did it all while keeping her hand elevated for the whole hour. I even saw her lead a class with a case of stomach bug. What an incredible inspiration. She truly leads by example. It’s easier to push through the pain of a hard workout when you see your leader push through her pain. ‘If she can do it...so can I!’ When you have a leader like that, it makes you realize that you can push through and accomplish so much.
Have I mentioned how fun Anita is? She makes her classes smile. Holidays are always celebrated... She dresses for each holiday!!!
Yes, those are indeed her legs!!!
Last but not least, I want to talk about the compassion that Anita shows. She is very passionate about making sure that the attendees in her class get a good workout. But what really sets her apart from any other leader, is her compassion for each and every person in her classes. I can’t tell you how many times I arrived for my hour of exercise and received a hug and words of encouragement about life issues I was facing. One of the best examples of her compassion was the last week before I announced my pending divorce in 2014. I was an emotional wreck and could barely hold it together. Anita took one look at me and gave me a long hug but didn’t say a word...just gave me her silent support. A week later when I announced that I was getting a divorce, Anita made this comment, “I could see the turmoil within you last week. I could see that you were barely holding it together. And I knew the only thing I could do was hug you to let you know you weren’t alone and that whatever you were dealing with was something you had to wrestle with on your own.” Once I made it public, she was right there continuing to offer her support for me as I went through that difficult change. How’s that for compassion? But the compassion doesn’t end there, I had to stop attending zumba due to schedule changes that prohibited me from attending her classes. Yet, three years after I stopped attending, she arrived at the viewing when my father died. (I’m sorry for sobbing all over you when you hugged me that night… I was working hard to hold it together, seeing you and feeling your compassion gave me the much needed release for all that pent-up emotion.). Anita is the real deal. If I can have half the compassion that she displays, I will consider myself lucky.
This lady is the complete package. Incredibly fit, tough as nails,fun and compassionate! I have been blessed to have her in my life.
A few years ago the local newspaper did an article about me and Zumba. It alluded to and talked about how Zumba had change my life and it even mentioned lightly the inspiration that Anita had on me. But the article didn’t make it clear enough. Anita has inspired me in so many ways. I want to be her age and in the physical shape that she is in. I push myself through aches and pains when I exercise because of her long lasting influence. And I try to show the compassion and love toward others....the same behavior she has continually shown toward me. She really is my inspiration. And Anita, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Empowerment : Tips to find the strength to lose weight
How do we keep our heads in the game of weight loss? Some people call motivation, some call it inspiration, desire, focus, affirmation, reminders or any number of things. . I’m not sure I like any of those words. So we’re going to just say how do we keep our heads in the game during this long journey called weight loss.
It is really easy (easier) to keep your head in the game when you’re seeing losses on the scale. We are a very results oriented generation. But what happens when the results are just not showing up quickly or at all? How do we stay focused on this journey during those tough moments.
There are so many things that can empower us to find the strength to push forward toward our goals. I personally have used a multitude of different ways over the years. By no means are my ways and tricks the only way. My methods may not work for someone else in fact, they may not work for me now but they did at one time, and they may work again in the future. That said, this list is it in no way comprehensive.
- Goal clothing. I have personally used this methid in the past. I found a dress that had a vintage flair to it… I love 50s style dresses. I bought it, even though it did not fit. I hung that dress on my bedroom door so that every day I would see the dress and remember what I was working toward. I have heard lots of other people doing this, and it can be quite beneficial.
- Accountability partners. Sometimes, knowing that someone else is waiting for your report is enough to keep our head in the game. It is easier to slip up and fall off the bandwagon when you know that no one is going to know about it or care about. And over the years I have use this quite a bit with various people. (Thank you Sherry, Julie, Donna and some others.).
- Sometimes just knowing that people are watching is enough to empower us enough to keep us on track! Tell people that you are on a mission to lose weight. Knowing that people are watching me makes me ignore the snack table at work!
- Weight loss meetings. I know there are different meetings out there. I have a friend that goes to a meeting at her church. They have motivational talks, a weigh in and sometimes they exercise together. Her program is neat because if they gain they put money into a piggy bank… The money goes to missions project so it is a good cause. I personally went to Weight Watchers for quite a while. The meetings were instrumental in my first successful weight loss and the lessons I learned helped shape me and teach me so that I’m prepared for my current weight loss journey. But the best part of Weight Watchers for me was the meetings. There are a few different aspects of a weight-loss meeting that can come into play. The first is the fact that it offers accountability. Knowing that I was going going each week kept me on track. A weight-loss meeting can also give us new ideas, encouragement andthe spark needed to keep fighting for a healthier life.
- Success stories. When I am working, focused and losing weight and happen to stumble upon a success story, I have always gobbled up the words. It was an excellent reminder to me that weight loss is possible! And yes, I said to myself each time, “if they can do it...so can I!”
- Pictures. Sometimes we can’t see our progress. Sometimes we can’t see ourselves what we really are. There have been a couple times in my life where I have had to see a picture of myself before I knew that I had to get myself on track! In Lori’s success story she talked about a picture that showed her the unhappy overweight girl. A picture that sparked her and got her head into the game. On the opposite end of the spectrum though sometimes we can’t see our success either and when we see a picture it finally sinks in and empowers us. At the peak of my weight loss (the first go-round), I looked in the mirror and I still saw the fat Maryfran. And I had people close to me tell me that I was unrecognizable… My own dad saw me sitting on his porch while he and my mom drove up and he asked my mom who that was on his porch. But I still didn’t get it. There was one picture that cemented it for me and really helped me stay focused. My then husband one day was flipping through pictures on his computer and I happened to look over and see a picture of a woman posing for him. Immediately I got angry. Who in the world what is this Skinnywoman? (A natural reaction for someone that is in a failing marriage.). He started laughing immediately. The picture was me.
- Reward. Over the years I also set up reports for myself. I look forward to getting those rewards. Sometimes it was small things… A charm for my weight-loss bracelet, a new pair of shoes or something that. I wanted. For a bigger milestone losses I chose bigger. I bought a new camera for one of my large milestone weigh ins. And knowing that you will get something you want as a reward can be motivating.
- Complements. These are amazing when you get them and go so far toward helping us feel empowered to push forward. I’ve had a few experiences that stick out in my mind...compliments that really meant a lot. You really don’t have much control over this one. But there is nothing like a complement on your success that motivates one to stay the course better. And it takes a while for people to notice your effort… But the compliments will help you keep up the effort. Just one word of caution, people are afraid to compliment so don’t be upset if you don’t hear the compliments! I had people that were afraid to comment and complement me. One year for July 4 I saw friends of my parents for the first time in a year or so and they didn’t stay on the word even though I had lost about 100 pounds at that point. The next day my mom called me and gave me the compliment over the phone. Their friends had called them to make sure that I wasn’t sick because I had lost so much weight when they found out that it was just hard work and pier effort they were profuse in there complement to my mother. There are also some people that won’t make comments simply because weight is such a taboo subject in our society. But you will get compliments, saver and treasure them.
As I said earlier, this list is in no way comprehensive. There are so many ways and tricks to stay focused during this weight loss journey. It is all dependent upon ones personality.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Inspiration comes on all forms
Last night Todd and I watched a movie. It was on TV and Todd was into it and very shortly I was enthralled. Can I say inspirational? What movie did I watch? Men of Honor, based upon a true life story. The story is about Carl Brashear, a young black man who joined the Navy shortly after they desegregated it. He had his dreams and he pursued them under incredible odds and incredibly resistance. He was extremely successful in reaching and actually exceeding his goals. (Watch the movie…or at the very least go and read about Carl Brashear online.)
This man knew what he had to do to reach his goals. He stood up against terrible prejudice (he was black in a time when there was little or no equality for black people). He stood up against terrible odds (lacking the formal education that would make the book learning at dive school easier). He overcame incredible injuries and still succeeded. His navy career was marked with many ‘firsts’.
Our goals and desires are attainable. Carl Brashear proves it. It may not be easy. It may not be a quick trip to reach those goals. However, persistence and a deep rooted desire will make any dream attainable!
This morning, with the thoughts of this movie in my mind I woke up. I was going for a run. Seriously, what was a little rain going to hurt me? Rain didn’t hurt me….but it hurt me to see it all over the floor inside my front door. An hour later and gutters cleaned (thereby stopping the overflow of water down the front wall…and through the frame and into my house…or however it’s happening) and I discovered that a cat had ‘missed’ the liter box. Another hour later and the laundry room had been emptied, liter boxes scrubbed, floor and wall disinfected, liter boxes refilled with fresh liter and returned to place. It was 9:26 when I got into the shower……I have to be at work by 10……so you know my run didn’t happen this morning. I have this evening though…I can and WILL exercise this evening!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Priorities
Working out. I do so much better with working out when I schedule it. Simply saying "Ohhh, I have to run 3 times this week" Is not enough. I tend to push off the exercise until it's too late and I just throw in the towel. Luckily for me it is enough right now for me to simply schedule the DAY of my runs. Saying that I will run on such and such day is enough for now. But I have to keep telling myself that working out is something that should be on the top of my list in priorities. (Being healthy is number one...and notice when I was getting sick I DID skip a zumba and have done so on more than one occasion). It's making ME a priority! I am a priority!
I was talking to a friend last night after zumba (OK, part of the conversation was before zumba). We were talking about priorities. We both want this
Zumba rocks on! Anita is a fun instructor. You just smile in her classes. My eyes are automatically drawn to her socks. Last night was wearing St. Patricks day socks. Who knows what it will be tonight. I've tried other leaders....and I've just been spoiled with Anita. She is top notch! I worry about the fact that she has hinted about retiring. :-( Yes, she is in her mid 60's And yes, she KICKS MY BUTT every time!
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| Zumba Socks |
Monday, February 04, 2013
Inspiration and love and a wee little report
Another week down. I am actually very happy with myself. I nailed the exercise this past week. I nailed the eating. I conquered the urge to binge. I lost 1.2 pounds. 1.2 may be smaller than I have typically been losing but I'm tickled with it and I will take it. That makes 13 pounds since the beginning of this year! :-)
Another tidbit of inspiration...............
Strongest Dad in the World by Rick Reilly
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 6.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."
"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.
Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."
That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway. Then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 – only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."
So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."
Another tidbit of inspiration...............
Strongest Dad in the World by Rick Reilly
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 6.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."
"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.
Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."
That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway. Then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 – only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."
So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
GREAT INSIPIRATION
I found this story on the internet while reading Blogs...couldn't help but post it on mine to reread whenever I need that little umf to help me stay movitaved and keep my willpower strong!
FOund on http://journals.aol.com/mmclem1112/marks ...just reading his blog is an inspiration in itself.....so far 172 pounds gone!
Posted by Kat on March 1st, 2005
Charles Laurence
The Sunday Telegraph
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Big Pete” Loiselle is a shadow of his former self. At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, he sits at his kitchen table and describes what it is like to be one of the most obese people in the United States.
The 40-year-old schoolteacher from Ellsworth, Me., told of being mocked at shopping centres, being unable to use public washrooms, suffering from severe body odour because of the sweat trapped in the folds of his skin and being scarcely able to lift himself from his living room chair to go to work. In the end, with his weight peaking at 763 pounds and a waist measuring 84 inches, his spine was being crushed by the pressure of his stomach whenever he stood up. It had come down to a decision between diet and death
“You get bigger a little bit at a time,” Mr. Loiselle says. “The bigger you get, the less activity you do. Even going to the bathroom is a problem.”
For 20 years, he could not go to a movie because he could no longer fit into the seats. He missed his sister’s wedding in Chicago because he could not afford to buy the two seats the airline was demanding before letting him on board. The mere act of staggering from his pick-up truck to his front door or into his classroom would leave him gasping for breath.
As he soared past the 700-pound mark in his early thirties, Mr. Loiselle worked out that he could get himself dressed more easily if he put his shoes on before hauling on his enormous, custom-made jeans. When he could no longer tie his shoelaces, he bought shoes with Velcro fasteners. “I could not go to my favourite restaurants because I could not fit into the chairs,” he says. “So I bought my own chair, tossed it into the back of the truck and hauled it into the restaurant.”
Mr. Loiselle did not, by his reckoning, “gorge constantly.” He did not eat breakfast and insists he was “never the kind of guy who ate all 12 eggs in the box” at one sitting. Rather, he regularly ate cheese crackers and peanut butter biscuits—“a packet or two at a time.”
There was plenty of food to be had, he discovered, if he volunteered for lunch duty at the Surry Elementary School, close to his home on the spectacular Bar Harbor coast of Maine. “The cooks always make too much for the kids, so I would eat all I liked from the leftovers. When I got home, I’d sit down and eat all that carbohydrate-sodium-sugar stuff that makes you feel good. Then I’d have an ordinary dinner—burgers, or something like that—only I’d have two or three portions. I ate all that I wanted and never counted the calories.”
If he had counted, according to the doctors who eventually helped save his life, the mathematics teacher would have arrived at a figure close to 10,000 for his daily calorie intake.
“I stopped going to the mall because of people pointing, staring and giggling,” he says.
Mr. Loiselle insists, however, that he was perfectly happy as one of the fattest men in the United States. At the age of 25, when he weighed about 650 lbs, he married Christine, now 45. “My love life? Well, I’ll say this: I’m still happy, and I’m still married. It’s another thing you learn to work your way around,” he says.
Christine laughs, and says: “There’s a lot less to love now, but a lot more loving. Pete was pretty big when I got to know him, and his weight was never an issue. He’s a really nice guy, and he has a wicked sense of humour. I always saw beyond what everyone else saw.”
At school, his pupils had never mocked him, even as he grew too big to get up from his chair below the blackboard. Mr. Loiselle had wanted to be a teacher since he was 13, and he has a knack for the job. He is known as a strict disciplinarian, but one whom the children love and respond to. When, in the end, he found himself in hospital, they made videotapes pleading for him to recover.
“The kids were my biggest defenders.”
By the time he was 36, however, Mr. Loiselle knew that his health was failing. He was developing cellulitis in his legs, an agonizing condition that causes inflammation of body tissue, which can lead to gangrene and amputation. While he was in hospital, he was told he would lose his legs within a year—and his life within three or four. It was considered remarkable that he had reached his mid-thirties at all.
Doctors called in surgeons and dietitians. They offered Mr. Loiselle a last chance plan: if he lost 100 lbs, they would offer gastric bypass surgery. After gastric bypass, however, a patient must stay on a strict diet for life.
Mr. Loiselle’s face still creases with horror at the thought. He decided he would forgo the gastric bypass and simply diet. “There was no big moment,” he says. “But I wanted to be with Christine, and I wanted to be big brother to my four siblings, all younger, and I wanted to see the 22 nephews and nieces they have grow up.”
With the dietitian, he worked out a daily regimen of 2,200 calories which enabled him to eat his favourite foods. He still enjoys peanut butter and burgers, drinks the odd beer and takeout from KFC. He just eats less.
For two-and-a-half years, he lost an average of 17 lbs a month—the total weight loss of almost 504 lbs is understood to be the largest achieved without surgery. After a year, he was able to exercise, and he now walks four miles a day and lifts weights daily. He has a body mass index of 30 and a body-fat ratio of 15.3%. “According to my doctor, I now officially have the body of an athlete,” he says, smiling.
Mr. Loiselle has, however, had one operation: his diet left him with folds of floppy skin. Surgeons removed eight pounds of skin from around his waist. “Yes, I’m happier like this,” he concedes. “I realized that my family had been keeping a little distance from me, because they were scared I was going to die.”
And not long ago, Mr. Loiselle was striding through Ellsworth when he encountered some pupils from his 700-pound days. “They were in shock,” he says. “And they were even in tears to see me like this because they were so pleased.”
FOund on http://journals.aol.com/mmclem1112/marks ...just reading his blog is an inspiration in itself.....so far 172 pounds gone!
Posted by Kat on March 1st, 2005
Charles Laurence
The Sunday Telegraph
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Big Pete” Loiselle is a shadow of his former self. At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, he sits at his kitchen table and describes what it is like to be one of the most obese people in the United States.
The 40-year-old schoolteacher from Ellsworth, Me., told of being mocked at shopping centres, being unable to use public washrooms, suffering from severe body odour because of the sweat trapped in the folds of his skin and being scarcely able to lift himself from his living room chair to go to work. In the end, with his weight peaking at 763 pounds and a waist measuring 84 inches, his spine was being crushed by the pressure of his stomach whenever he stood up. It had come down to a decision between diet and death
“You get bigger a little bit at a time,” Mr. Loiselle says. “The bigger you get, the less activity you do. Even going to the bathroom is a problem.”
For 20 years, he could not go to a movie because he could no longer fit into the seats. He missed his sister’s wedding in Chicago because he could not afford to buy the two seats the airline was demanding before letting him on board. The mere act of staggering from his pick-up truck to his front door or into his classroom would leave him gasping for breath.
As he soared past the 700-pound mark in his early thirties, Mr. Loiselle worked out that he could get himself dressed more easily if he put his shoes on before hauling on his enormous, custom-made jeans. When he could no longer tie his shoelaces, he bought shoes with Velcro fasteners. “I could not go to my favourite restaurants because I could not fit into the chairs,” he says. “So I bought my own chair, tossed it into the back of the truck and hauled it into the restaurant.”
Mr. Loiselle did not, by his reckoning, “gorge constantly.” He did not eat breakfast and insists he was “never the kind of guy who ate all 12 eggs in the box” at one sitting. Rather, he regularly ate cheese crackers and peanut butter biscuits—“a packet or two at a time.”
There was plenty of food to be had, he discovered, if he volunteered for lunch duty at the Surry Elementary School, close to his home on the spectacular Bar Harbor coast of Maine. “The cooks always make too much for the kids, so I would eat all I liked from the leftovers. When I got home, I’d sit down and eat all that carbohydrate-sodium-sugar stuff that makes you feel good. Then I’d have an ordinary dinner—burgers, or something like that—only I’d have two or three portions. I ate all that I wanted and never counted the calories.”
If he had counted, according to the doctors who eventually helped save his life, the mathematics teacher would have arrived at a figure close to 10,000 for his daily calorie intake.
“I stopped going to the mall because of people pointing, staring and giggling,” he says.
Mr. Loiselle insists, however, that he was perfectly happy as one of the fattest men in the United States. At the age of 25, when he weighed about 650 lbs, he married Christine, now 45. “My love life? Well, I’ll say this: I’m still happy, and I’m still married. It’s another thing you learn to work your way around,” he says.
Christine laughs, and says: “There’s a lot less to love now, but a lot more loving. Pete was pretty big when I got to know him, and his weight was never an issue. He’s a really nice guy, and he has a wicked sense of humour. I always saw beyond what everyone else saw.”
At school, his pupils had never mocked him, even as he grew too big to get up from his chair below the blackboard. Mr. Loiselle had wanted to be a teacher since he was 13, and he has a knack for the job. He is known as a strict disciplinarian, but one whom the children love and respond to. When, in the end, he found himself in hospital, they made videotapes pleading for him to recover.
“The kids were my biggest defenders.”
By the time he was 36, however, Mr. Loiselle knew that his health was failing. He was developing cellulitis in his legs, an agonizing condition that causes inflammation of body tissue, which can lead to gangrene and amputation. While he was in hospital, he was told he would lose his legs within a year—and his life within three or four. It was considered remarkable that he had reached his mid-thirties at all.
Doctors called in surgeons and dietitians. They offered Mr. Loiselle a last chance plan: if he lost 100 lbs, they would offer gastric bypass surgery. After gastric bypass, however, a patient must stay on a strict diet for life.
Mr. Loiselle’s face still creases with horror at the thought. He decided he would forgo the gastric bypass and simply diet. “There was no big moment,” he says. “But I wanted to be with Christine, and I wanted to be big brother to my four siblings, all younger, and I wanted to see the 22 nephews and nieces they have grow up.”
With the dietitian, he worked out a daily regimen of 2,200 calories which enabled him to eat his favourite foods. He still enjoys peanut butter and burgers, drinks the odd beer and takeout from KFC. He just eats less.
For two-and-a-half years, he lost an average of 17 lbs a month—the total weight loss of almost 504 lbs is understood to be the largest achieved without surgery. After a year, he was able to exercise, and he now walks four miles a day and lifts weights daily. He has a body mass index of 30 and a body-fat ratio of 15.3%. “According to my doctor, I now officially have the body of an athlete,” he says, smiling.
Mr. Loiselle has, however, had one operation: his diet left him with folds of floppy skin. Surgeons removed eight pounds of skin from around his waist. “Yes, I’m happier like this,” he concedes. “I realized that my family had been keeping a little distance from me, because they were scared I was going to die.”
And not long ago, Mr. Loiselle was striding through Ellsworth when he encountered some pupils from his 700-pound days. “They were in shock,” he says. “And they were even in tears to see me like this because they were so pleased.”
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