We've all heard the saying, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."
Let's be frank: that's a load of crap.
When life handed me lemons today, I wanted to say, "Really, life? More lemons? Take them back. I've had enough."
Then my inner Madea said this:
Let's face facts: we don't want lemons in life. They are sour. On their own, they are not enjoyable. And sometimes, no matter what you do, there is no way that you can take those lemons and turn them into something good.
None of these are good options when receiving lemons...and I'm not sure how you start a fire with lemons.
Sometimes lemons are just lemons.
Instead of whining or complaining or trying to change those lemons into something better, we need to learn to accept that sometimes we just need to say, "Yep. These are lemons. They are my lemons. And eventually life is going to give me something other than lemons."
Not everything in life is great, but God is great. And He has great things planned for us. He tells that in his Word in Jeremiah 29:11.
Today, God taught me to accept the lemons. I said, "God, life has given me lemons again. I accept that. I cannot change the fact that they are lemons. I know that one day You're going to give me something truly great...but today is my day to get lemons. And that's OK."
Sometimes we work too hard to turn something bad into something good. But where is our faith if we feel that we must act to change those circumstances? God is faithful, and--if you're patient--God will give you the good stuff in His time. All we have to do is wait. (Granted, waiting is never fun or easy.) Making lemonade says that we don't have faith in God's provisions for our life. Sometimes God just wants us to hold the lemons until He's ready to give us something great.
So that's what I'm doing now: holding lemons. I'm not mad or bitter about it. It's just what God wants me to do right now...and who am I to complaining about that?
And if this doesn't convince you not to make lemonade with life's lemons, then maybe this last picture will:
It's been a long eight weeks since we started our friendly little weight loss challenge...and today was the final weigh-in!!!
I was really worried about the final weigh-in because we were out of town all weekend for my brother's wedding. And of course, being out of town means that eating good is so much harder.
Still can't believe my baby brother is old enough to be married. He'll always be a kid to me.
To make it even more challenging, Friday night's rehearsal dinner was catered by Dreamland. Now I can easily eat my weight in ribs... but I limited myself to only four. I savored every bite.
Watching "Friends"
The hotel where we stayed had a nice little gym, complete with a weight bench, two treadmills, and two ellipticals. The cardio equipment had TVs built in! They were awesome! The gym was also really hot--I'm talking like "It feels like this room isn't air conditioned" hot--and it made me sweat like it was going out of style! I did an hour the first night.
The day of the wedding, we ate breakfast at the hotel and had Arby's roast beef sandwiches for lunch. I knew the day was pretty much screwed at that point.
However, when I put my suit on, I could finally see the results of all my hard work. For the first time in years, I felt GREAT about the way that I looked.
And I'll humbly admit it: I made that suit look good. ;)
Man, I look good!
At the reception, we had Italian food, which was delicious. And I had a piece of both the wedding and groom's cake. (What can I say? When I fall off the bandwagon, I fall hard!)
Later that night, we were hanging out with my family at the hotel, and we all got hungry. Jackie and I went to get everyone some food. We'd decided on pizza, but after we drove into a questionable part of town, we realized that the Pizza Hut on the map was closed. Instead, we stopped at the world's smallest KFC and got the family meal.
At this point, my diet was going to Hell in a handbasket, so when we called it a night, I went back to the gym for another cardio session. Logged another 30 minutes.
Sunday morning, I woke up an hour early and went back and did 40 more minutes. I was hoping that it would help make up for all the bad eating the day before.
When we got home last night, I did another hour and 30 minutes.
This morning was the long-awaited final weigh-in. I got up an hour early, put on full sweats, and headed to the gym for a grueling two-hour cardio session. (This final workout had been my plan for weeks as a last chance effort to undo any wedding weekend damage.) I did an hour on the elliptical and an hour on the treadmill. I burned more than 1,600 calories and was sweating like I was in the center of the sun. I was drenched by the time I left. Jackie was worried that I would pass out. "Don't kill yourself at the gym," she texted me while I was on the elliptical. "I'm not dead yet," I replied.
When I got home, I stepped up on the scale, and was shocked to see the final number:
Before and After
I had lost a whopping 34.8 pounds!!! I was so excited! I hadn't been in the 230s since before Jackie and I got married three years ago! I sent my picture of the scale to Jackie's cousin Beth, our official weight keeper, and anxiously awaited the final results. Would my numbers be enough for 2nd place? After weeks of being in 3rd, I really wanted to finish 2nd.
Hours later, Beth posted this on Facebook:
I had done it! 2nd place! The silver medal has never looked so good!
I couldn't have done it without the support of so many people: Jackie, my parents, Ryan Tallie, Chuck Fant, Keith & Ingrid Warren, and a lot of others.
I'm well on my way to my goal of being in the 200-215 range.
I know I can do it. I hope that my transformation also inspires others. If I can do it, so can you!
We've got just over a week left in our 8-week weight loss challenge, and things have been slowly progressing. Check out this before-and-after picture of my first weigh-in and last Monday's weigh-in.
Don't get me wrong. I know it is a huge accomplishment, and I'm really proud of myself.
But there are still days where I just feel like a big old blob of fat jiggling away while I'm on the elliptical. And to make matters worse, it seems like lately I've been timing my gym visits with all of the super-fit, chiseled, Greek god-like guys. Nothing makes you feel even fatter than being the fattest person at the gym.
It's depressing.
I see them in the mirrors lifting weights behind me, and I'm all like, "Don't mind me. I'm just huffing and puffing away over here, sweating like I'm sunbathing on the surface of the Sun. Nothing to see..."
I came across this meme on Pinterest the other day, and it totally sums up my feelings about this whole subject.
I know how you feel, Jim Gaffigan...
I know it's stupid to feel like this. Their years of hard work in the gym are precisely why they look the way they do. And I hope that one day my time in the gym will make me look good, too.
But it still irks me when I realize I'm the fattest person at the gym... and that motivates me even more to do something to change that.
If I can lose about six or seven more pounds, I'll be back to the weight I was when Jackie and I got married three years ago.
My ultimate goal is to get down to 200-215 pounds. 215 will get me out of the obese category on the BMI chart. I've told myself that I can do it by the end of the year, which should be a realistic goal.
Yep, I am clearly too short...
Thanks again to all of you who have supported and encouraged me on this journey. Your support keeps me going!
[Tangent beginning in 3...2...1...]
For those of you who are wondering how my dissertation is coming along, here's a little update for you: it's going slowly. I got feedback yesterday on the largest chapter I've written. I knew it would need some work, but my chair wants some major reorganization.
At first I freaked out and got really discouraged. Then I took a deep breath, and got to work on revisions based off of his suggestions.
And what do you know? The chapter is improving and will be much better! I feel really good about it! My chair's honest feedback was right on the money, and I'm thankful for it!
And, by the way, I've gotten hooked on Doctor Who this summer, which makes this picture all the more appropriate when thinking about my dissertation.
Finally, I have been able to enjoy some time to clear my mind from my dissertation and teaching work. I finally got to take Jackie to see Star Trek Into Darkness. She really liked it! My plan to convert her into a nerd worked! I love that she likes Star Trek and lets me indulge in my nerdiness. We also saw Despicable Me 2. Now I can't get this minion's sound out of my mind, and now all sirens should sound like this.
So that's about it. The summer class I'm teaching is going well, and we're also getting ready for my brother's wedding, which is a week from today! Needless to say, I'm as busy as ever--and thankfully, I'm lugging around a lot less weight while we're doing all of this stuff!
The race is on March 30, so we've got some time to get ready. But we haven't started our training yet. The hardest part is finding the motivation to go to the gym. Last time we ran the Rumpshaker, we went to the gym for a month solid before the race to train.
Every other day or so, one of us will look over at the other and say, "When are we going to start training for the marathon?" (We call it a marathon because sometimes thinking about it makes it seem like a marathon. Apologies to all you marathon runners out there...)
The problem with training is that I've had a total lack of motivation to hit the gym. The race is 3 days after my 28th birthday, and I'd really like to be in better shape by then. I mean, I know I can't lose a ton of weight between now and then, but I like to lose something and be stronger. I keep looking at old pictures for motivation to remind me of how skinny I used to be. They remind me of how I've transformed my body before. If I've done it once, I know that I can do it again.
But why can't I get motivated this time??? I feel like if I can figure that out, I'd be unstoppable. In the meantime, I hope our looming race day will begin to get me to drag my butt to the gym in my free time (you know, the few seconds I have between class, prepping for class, dissertation work...).
After yesterday's post, I was motivated to haul my butt to the gym. I was so glad that there were only 2 cars in the parking lot when I pulled up. I hate going when it's busy.
I only did the elliptical today... but it felt so good to be back!!
I also spoke with the guy that works there about why we hadn't received our two free months for referring my parents and a lady from our church. I've been assured that we'll get 2 months for free, which is a $100 savings!!!
While I was on the elliptical, I kept telling myself, "Just keep going...just keep going..." Of course, the voice in my head sounded a lot like Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in Finding Nemo. "Just keep swimming..."
When I was done, I was proud of myself. I didn't feel like I was going to die. In fact, I felt better than I have in a long time. I keep trying to remember how good I felt before I gained all this weight. I also keep looking at my motivation pictures. Oh, to be that skinny again...
I know that I have a long way to go, but I'm determined to succeed! I can do this!!
After extensive training (OK, it was really just a couple of weeks), today was the day that we'd been waiting for: the 3rd Annual Rumpshaker 5K!!! Our obsession with the Rumpshaker began when Jackie told me about it a couple of months ago.
"Do you want to do the Rumpshaker?" she asked.
"With a name like that? Of course!" I said. "I want a t-shirt that says 'Rumpshaker'!"
We really buckled down with training when we joined Snap fitness earlier this month. Earlier this week, we both did a practice 5K on the treadmill to get an idea of how long it would take us to finish. I clocked in at 45 minutes, and Jackie finished in just over an hour.
I was totally prepared for it to take us longer to run the real race. The practice 5K was, I thought, our "best case scenario" for getting an estimate about our time. It was inside... in air conditioning... with plenty of water.
This morning when our alarms went off at 5:30, Jackie and I looked at each other, and we both said, "This is the dumbest thing we've ever done." Who in their right mind gets up at the butt-crack of dawn on a Saturday...to go running??? Well, it turns out that there were a lot of us that do it!
We met up with Jackie's parents and brother and headed to Sloss. Traffic was pretty backed up when we got close to the race site. Jackie and Diana set out on one last potty break before the race, while Jeff, Matt, and I waited to park the truck.
Once we were finally parked, we set out to find the girls...only to realize that we had no clue where they were. We searched and waited, but all we saw were a sea of people (most of which were wearing Rumpshaker t-shirts, just like us). As we were looking, they announced that it was about time to start the race. The three of us decided that, since Jackie and Diana would have to go to the starting line, we should go there to find them. Amazingly, out of the thousands of people there to shake their rumps, we found them on the way to the start line. We also caught up with Jackie's aunt and cousin, Patti and Samantha.
Before we started shakin' our rumps!
At the starting line, there was some guy from a local gym their to lead us in a warm up. Then they announced that the race would be delayed a bit because of last minute traffic issues (and a train was blocking part of the course).
Finally the horn blew, and we were off!! Jeff and Matt were in front of me. I quickly got separated from them in the crowd, but could still see them. (Jackie and the others were behind me somewhere. Once we started, I never looked back.) It took all of about 30 seconds for me to realize that my wearing my iPod clipped on my hip was going to drive me crazy, so I decided just to run with it in my hand.
When we reached the first turn in the course, I saw that we had to run across a bridge... and it looked pretty steep. I cranked up my iPod and kept on truckin'. I watched the road as we were crossing the bridge (one, so being up high wouldn't freak me out, and two, because I didn't want to step in a pothole or crack).
OK, it wasn't as steep at this bridge...but it felt like it was!
Back on solid ground, I looked up and saw Jeff ahead of me, but Matt was nowhere to be found. I assumed that he had run on ahead. Eventually, I lost Jeff in the crowd. We kept going... and going... and going...
and going...
I began to think that I'd missed the first mile marker because I knew I'd run at least a mile. I kept looking for the water station, which was set up at 1.5 miles. I was getting a wee bit thirsty. I kept on jogging...
That's when I saw it: the one mile marker. Seriously?! Had it really only been a mile?? It was at this point that I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into.
Finally, I spotted the water station. I eased off of my blistering pace...and by "blistering pace" I mean "slow and steady jog"... and grabbed a cup of water from one of the volunteers. I gulped it down...perhaps a little too quickly.
I was feeling good as we reached the next turn, but I had no idea what my pace was because I'd forgotten to start my timer when I crossed the start line. When I finally reached the second mile marker, the volunteer called out a time of 24 minutes and some seconds. That's when I realized that I was not only doing pretty good... I was actually doing better than I did during the practice 5K!!
I had told myself before the race started that I would take a brief walking break at the 2-mile mark, but I was feeling pumped, so I just kept jogging.
At one point, I could feel myself starting to slow down, and that's when my genius iPod started playing Robert Randolph and the Family Band's "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That"--one of my favorite cardio songs EVER!!! I matched my pace to the music and pressed on!
Rounding the final turn, I was feeling great... and that's when my knee started to bug me. It wasn't hurting bad, but it was like my knee was saying, "Ok, wrap this up. I'm getting a little tired."
Eventually, I could see the finish line...wayoff in the distance. I wanted to break out running as fast as I could, but I knew I needed to hold back a bit longer. Tortoise and the Hare, I kept thinking to myself. Slow and steady wins the race.
I felt like The Flash!
When I hit the 3-mile point, I suddenly got a burst of speed. My iPod also started playing Missy Elliot's "Shake Your Pom Pom" (yet another great cardio song)! It was like the finish line was drawing closer. With just .2 miles to go, I went wide open! I gave it everything I had left.
Nothing felt as satisfying as stomping on the rubber mat at the finish line. Unofficially, my time was 37 minutes and some change, but it will actually be a little better because it was counting from the moment the race started, not when I crossed the starting line.
Matt crossed a few minutes later, and then Sam, Diana, Jackie, and Patti finished! We were a happy (tired) bunch!
Patti and Jackie finish!
After getting some high-quality H2O, we headed to see the main event (at least for us): the inflatable colon!!! Inside the colon, we met a colon cancer survivor, and we saw examples of colon cancer. And of course, we had our pictures taken.
The colon!!!
I touched the polyp.
Having finally visited the colon, we left to go eat. (Gotta replenish our carbs!)
On the way to eat, we all agreed that we had a great time and that we want to do more races together! We're really excited about the Birmingham Zoo 5K Run in May!!! Hope to see you there!
And while none of us won a prized "Golden Toilet," hopefully, we can truly be in the running (no pun intended) for one next year .
Many of y'all know that I first began working out in 2003 after I graduated high school. When I used to do cardio back then, I used to listen to my Walkman CD player. I would burn workout mixes, which could only be about 13 to 16 songs long because that's all that would fit on a CD.
One day, my great friend Ryan loaned me his iPod during my workout...and it was love at first listen. After I lost a bit of weight, I treated myself to one of the 1st-gen iPod nanos, which were brand new at the time. It revolutionized my workouts. Now I could listen to music during my whole workout, instead of just when I was on the elliptical (because those darn CDs used to skip while lifting weights).
Hello, nano!
I stuck with that nano until I got my first iPhone, and now that I've upgraded to the iPhone 4, I can't imagine heading to the gym without my own personal workout playlist to inspire me.
Since Jackie and I joined Snap a couple of weeks ago, I've realized that my iPod has developed a sense of humor and irony. I always set it on shuffle, and let the fun begin. The following examples have all happened in the past 2 weeks:
When I'm really huffing and puffing, Maroon 5's "Harder to Breath" comes on. When I hit the wall, Kanye's "Stronger" gets me going. When I start slowing down (when I don't need to be), All-American Rejects' "Move Along" or the Black Eye Peas' "Pump It" starts blaring.
The last few minutes are often the ones where I just want to quit, that's when "Give a Little More" by Maroon 5 has come on. One day as my cool down started, Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" started playing. Once when I kept watching the clock, counting down to the end of my workout, Ke$ha's "TiK ToK" came on.
(My iPod really likes Maroon 5 and Aerosmith out of the current list of 120+ songs in my workout playlist.)
These are just a few of the instances I can remember. There have been many more...and it's happened enough for me to notice.
Also, the other night Jackie dragged me to Publix with her for one of her coupon extravaganza shopping sprees (which totally deserve their own blog entry in the future!). As we were walking in the door, I asked if I could just go look at magazines while she shops. Lucky for me, she said yes.
One of the 5 magazines I read while she shopped was the Runner's World. One of the featured articles in the "Newbie" section was about a man who borrowed his 8-year-old son's iPod when he went for a run while on vacation. He talked about how it was so motivating some of the songs were, and he was amused that the songs that his 8 year old liked were actually great songs to listen to while running.
So I want to ask you, loyal readers, what are some of your favorite workout songs? Hit the comments, Facebook me, or tweet me (@BruceFinklea) to share your musical motivation!
The other day Jackie suggested that we raid our magazine basket and cut out any sayings or pictures that would inspire us to get healthy. Then we had some arts and crafts time and glued everything to a piece of poster board. So here's a picture of my motivation poster:
One of my favorite quotes that I found was from the philosopher LL Cool J. He said, "You cannot be strong in body without being strong in mind and spirit." Something in that quote really stuck out to me. I know that many of my issues with food and weight are in my mind. Mind over matter!! And I know that the spirit to change is there. It has burned bright within me once before when I lost the weight before. Now it's burning bright again, and I'm so thankful for that.
Tonight, Jackie and I both went to the small gym at our apartment complex. It's not much, and a lot of the equipment is busted up. But we found a way to work out with what we had. It wasn't easy for either of us, and I was definitely huffing and puffing when I got finished on the treadmill. (I would much rather use an elliptical machine, but both of the ones in our gym are in really bad shape and in need of some serious repair.) When we got back to the apartment, I told Jackie that I had fun. She looked at me like I'd sprouted a third arm. But I had meant it; it was fun for me.
We've also been debating about joining a gym because the apartment's gym is so small and doesn't have the equipment that we really want. We've talked about the Snap Fitness that just opened in Columbiana, but we want to stick with working out on our own for a couple of weeks to prove our commitment to working out before we commit to a gym membership. So for now, we're going to stick with what we've got. Tomorrow is another day, and I'll be back at it again.
