What do you eat?

That is the second question people ask me when I say I have lost 105 pounds. And they say it with an incredulous tone that infers I must be eating nothing but celery and carrots. People truly believe the only way you can lose a substantial amount of weight is to deprive yourself.

I will tell you that is wrong. I wouldn't be 40% lighter if it were true, because I am bad at disallowing my favorite things. In fact, it's why I failed so many times in the past.

Instead what I have learned is what a portion really looks like.

One of the top reasons Americans are obese is because we have no idea what a portion is. This picture is an example of how portions have changed, note that this is a "salad" and they are healthy right?
See those calories? That doesn't even begin to address the fat in that "healthy" favorite. Take the two quizzes about portion control - here.

I have debated how we came to a world where what we allot ourselves to eat in one sitting has become so out of control. There are a number of reasons I believe, but this isn't about socio-economic reasons for obesity, I am talking about what to eat. :)

I control my food, I no longer let it control me. I am aware of the calories and fat I put in my body. I do my level best to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. I will not put anything in my body with trans fats or an outrageous amount of saturated fat. Beyond that, almost anything is fair game - if I am reasonable and responsible.

Reasonable means I eat one cookie, one good size bite of a decadent dessert, half a cheesy sandwich, you get the idea - moderation.

Responsible means I know what is going into my body, why I am putting it there and how it's going to end up. What - going back to the make-up of the food, ingredients, calories, fat. Why - Am I stressing? Angry? Lonely? Craving? Or actually hungry? How - Is my body going to use what I am putting in it for good or evil. Good - I build muscle, fight disease, meet my daily calories that are needed to both survive and exercise. Bad - Junk metabolizes quickly and poorly, too much and it becomes fat. Too much of anything becomes fat actually, because if your body gets too many calories, they have to go somewhere; hence my hips.

You'll note I didn't just give you a "diet" to follow, because diets fail. Instead I gave you the idea of some guidelines. I say idea because everyone is different in what they need for their own body. I will say though that no one has ever failed to lose weight who watched their calorie intake and exercised.

To be honest, you can take in too few calories and put your body into starvation mode and actually gain weight. So, check with a professional to set your initial calorie guidelines. You see, I have professionals helping me now, but I started this on my own - after I checked with my doctor.

On the right of the page you will find links to several sites to support your journey. One is a link to the USDA to help you find the calories and nutritional make-up of almost any food, even a number of fast foods. (Prepare to be scared.)

That's it for now, questions are now and always welcome. Back to my carrots. (Don't worry, I want to eat them, no body is forcing me.;) )

Yours in wellness, Kate

A picture is worth a thousand words - part 2

I have just passed the 15 month anniversary of my lifestyle change. I am healthier than I ever believed I could be. I eat right, I run, I have more life in me, it's wonderful.

In the beginning (July 18, 2006) there was 260 pounds of me on a 5' 4" frame. Now there is 155 pounds on that same frame, pretty amazing. And I can tell you right now, I am never going back.

Instead I am going to lose a few more pounds, tighten things up and pack on muscle. That's why I am at Fitness World West . After losing so much weight, I needed that next thing. For me that is becoming more lean and athletic, but it's different for everyone.

However, that's one of the things that made trainer Traci and I click so well from the beginning. She asked my goals and I said I didn't care how much I ended up weighing, (within reason) I just wanted to be athletic. She assured me I had the right attitude and we moved forward with this in mind.

It's working, I am getting leaner. You can see my 'guns' (biceps and triceps) growing. My thighs have definition and my waist is leaner, just to name a few of the areas improved. That's in just 2.5 months!

Though you have to count me out for 12 days during that time due to strep throat. One bout took me out for 10 days and landed me in the hospital, so pay attention to your bodies people!

So I thought I would show you some pictures of what I looked like at the beginning of training with Traci at Fitness World West. This will give you an idea of where I started what I consider my final push to fitness. These pics are from August 13, 2007.

I will have more pics along the way. But if you look back at the one "before" I was able to find and look at these, you can see how far I have come.

I still have a ways to go, but with Traci and FWW, I will get where I want to be for the rest of my life.

Yours in fitness, Kate

The Day After

It is the day after my personal triumph in the 5K at the IMT Des Moines Marathon. You would think I would be sore, but I feel great. I thank Traci and my time training at Fitness World West for that.

So, feeling good (and after a stressful day) I head to FWW. I hit the treadmill to warm up with a run before I meet with Traci. I put in a 20 minute run/walk and am surprised how great if feels, I thought there would be some remnant of pounding on the pavement, but it feels fine.

Traci grabs me and we head into the private training room. She proceeds to have me work every major muscle group. We put in a lot of time on upper body and core.

I love working out with Traci because she pushes me to places I would never even attempt on my own, let alone actually do. Today it was modified "crunch like" sit-ups with a medicine ball. That would be hard enough, but once I get up into a sitting position I throw her the medicine ball and then go down. Then it's back up to catch the ball. Um, hard. I had to stop a couple of times and admittedly whined a bit through the first set of 20. But by the second set I had a rhythm and it was easier.

Afterward I always feel great. Today is no exception, I put in a kick-butt workout on the heels of a kick-butt race performance. I feel a bit like I rock right now, I think I will enjoy this day after.

Yours in fitness, Kate

A MAJOR Milestone

Last May I was talking to my sister-in-law to be and I mentioned that I was thinking of doing a 5K somewhere along the line. I wanted it to be one of my fitness goals. She instantly said I should do the one that was part of the Des Moines Marathon. She would be doing the half-marathon and we could make it a family event. When she said it wasn't until October, I thought that was a reasonable amount of time to train. So I went straight home and signed up online.

You see, I wasn't a runner. By May I was a fast walker, but running was something for the "skinny" girls. I still had plenty of weight on (183) and my knees still tweaked when I hit more than 3.5 miles an hour walking. Despite that, I had faith that I could do this.

My brother Gordon said he would do it with me and then my brother Casey agreed to do the half-marathon with Annette. So it was truly a family affair.

I trained slowly but surely and going into Sunday I knew I could finish and I expected it to be in about 42 minutes or almost 14 minute miles. (Trainer Traci had full faith in me being faster.) I thought I would be at that pace because I had been training inside only for the past couple of months. When you add in wind and pavement, you tend to slow down.

So, it's race day and it's chilly. (Since I have lost weight, I am always cold.) I line up and realize I have forgotten my watch. Gordon says he will punch his when we cross the line to keep our time.

The gun fired and we were off.

The first mile, even being an uphill grade, goes by smoothly. My time spent increasing the incline on the treadmill at Fitness World West has paid off.

Another half mile in, BAM. Every muscle in my body is cold, achy and sore. I want to stop, but my brother is behind me somewhere and I know it and everyone is watching. I keep chugging another quarter mile and then finally cave to walk. Gordon catches up and says I am doing great. I think I moan something like 'yea, right' and start running again.

A quarter of the way through the third mile my jogging legs feel wobbly and I slow to a hard walk. Again Gordon catches me and says I am faster than I think. A bit inspired, I run.

Just before the end of the third mile my breathing is off and I am panting, so I slow down. Besides, I figure maybe Gordon will catch me again for that last push. He does as we head onto 3rd Street for the last .2 miles. He says, "Let's finish strong," and starts sprinting toward the finish line. Somewhere deep in me the competitor, who once knocked girls down on the softball field, kicks in and I run too.

I finished in 36:19.

That's almost 6 minutes faster than I thought I could be. That's a pace of 11:43 per mile. That is a long way from where I was in May. That is a major milestone and I am proud.

Yours in fitness, Kate
(Is that sign-off better?)

A picture is worth a thousand words - part 1

I didn't get to workout today. It makes me a little crazy. But I will be back at it tomorrow with both my cardio and Traci.

My pitfall today - I needed something to wear for my photo shoot tomorrow. That's right, the Des Moines Radio Group air talents are having a professional photographer come in to take our pictures. This will be the first time I have had a pro-pic taken in 19 years, the last was my senior pictures for high school. The winter after those my weight ballooned and I began avoiding cameras like, yes, the plague.

So, now I am facing down a major mental menace tomorrow and I had nothing to wear. I know that sounds odd, but due to my eating and exercise, I keep shrinking out of everything. In fact, today as I was hunting, I found I have moved down another pant size. I am not whining, I am aware that everyone wishes that had such problems. However, shopping ate up my workout time.

I am taking three options to the photo shoot, hopefully something will work for the photographer.

NOW... the thing everyone asks me for, a "before" picture. Honestly, I have looked everywhere and this is the best I can offer. It is a chest up shot from May of 2006 that I used for a headshot as I attempted to land a walk-on role in the movie "The Final Season". I remember thinking at the time that I looked pretty good. I realize now I was deluding myself, I was morbidly obese and miserable.


Again, this is from May, I actually put on about 12-15 pounds after this was taken. I didn't start my journey to health until July 18, 2006.

Yours in health, Kate
(I still don't like that sign-off)

Introducing Traci

Today is one of my three days a week to train with trainer Traci. I love these days. I do some cardio and then let her put me through my paces. She pushes me hard, harder than I would push myself, but that's what I need. However, she never does it without a sense of humor.

We hit all the major muscles today from shoulders through calves. Plus of course, core. Your core is your midsection - from just under your chest to about your pubic bone. She helps me build my core every time we meet. A strong core can help with a number of things including burning more calories and in my case, helping my lower back not hurt as much. That's because now there are muscles on the front of my torso doing some actual work.

By the way, here is a picture of Traci, so when I am telling my stories, you'll know who I am talking about.

Soon I will post a before picture of me. The only one I can find is from the chest up. I am working on a full body shot. I do have full body pics from before I started training with Traci and those are coming soon as well.

Yours in health, Kate

Welcome!

If you have made it from the Lite 104.1 page to this blog you are curious and I applaud you.

At this blog you will be able to follow my progress and pitfalls along the path to health. Featured in this blog will be Fitness World West and my trainer Traci.

The reason I decided to do a blog is because people want proof of whether products or services work. (I know I do.) This is my chance to show and tell you how it is working for me. I hope to inspire and even on occassion amuse you as I continue my journey toward a fit and healthy body.

Yours in health, Kate
(I may have to work on that sign-off.)