Feels Familiar

Being a Floridian, the recent hot weather while exercising outdoors feels a little bit "familiar". Maybe not quiet as humid as Orlando Fl but still easy to work up a good soaking wet T shirt. There is nothing that makes you feel like you've had a successful workout than the sound of a big SPLAT as your T shirt hits the garage floor after a long walk or bike ride.

Perhaps another benefit of the hot weather is that you need to and typically want to drink a lot of water. For me, filling up on water helps me control my urge to eat also.

So my abundant weighted friends, drink plenty of fluids, wear your sunscreen and a hat and don't let some heat stop you. Chose to work out indoors at your gym, or do outdoor routines early morning or evening to help out.

Now get out there and go for a hot, wet, wilting walk.

What Oprah taught us about weight

The year I graduated from college, something really special started -- the Oprah Winfrey show. Very few people expected this large black woman to succeed in the very size-conscious field of TV. When Oprah first entered the national talk show industry in 1986, Phil Donahue was the King of Talk and had been for almost 20 years. Oprah became a success in spite of her size. Through the years Oprah's success intrigued me, especially as she struggled with weight.

I will never forget the 1988 show when Oprah came out on the stage pulling a wagon containing 67 pounds of fat. At this time I was in graduate school eating myself through the stress of the MBA program. Watching her in those size 10 jeans, for a moment I believed that could be me. In 1994, our paths crossed as I watched her jog past the finish line in the Cooper River Bridge 10K Run in Charleston, South Carolina. As she crossed the line, I pictured myself crossing the finish line one day.

Oprah was heckled unmercifully by the media about her rollercoaster weight. But her physical size was eventually overshadowed by the abundant amount of positive energy she shared with her audience. While others were fixated on her weight, Oprah focused on building her brand and connecting to her audience. She didn’t allow her physical appearance or her past hinder her from her ultimate goal. Those of us who routinely make excuses on why we can't, don't or won't lose weight should tear a page from Oprah's story. Sure she is still fighting her weight, but she has carried herself with grace and dignity. Oprah's example shows that we can accomplish anything if we focus on our goal.

Oprah, thank you for sharing your gift with me for the past 25 years. Your weight struggles reminded me and many others like me that we were not the only ones struggling with weight. Together we can do more, be more and share more. I got Oprah's message. Did you?

Nancy Johnson

Tips needed! How do you get out of your rut?

In an earlier post, I wrote about my Weight GPS. What a novel idea, an invention that could get me back on track when I make a slight detour off course! I realize that there are some of you who have never strayed off course when you were losing weight. I wish I had your discipline. Unfortunately, I do not but I am learning and that is part of the process. Right? What I don't have in discipline, I do have in a fierce determination to win this fight regardless of the number of stumbles or falls.

No, I haven't gained weight, but I am in a rut -- no gain, but no real loss either. Just as a real GPS would say "Calculating Route", I have found myself needing to calculate a new route to my weight loss journey. My weight loss goal has changed. My initial weight loss goal was 36 pounds for the year. Since I've already lost 21 pounds, I've decided to increase my annual goal to 50 pounds; another 20 pounds by August 15th. This new goal is going to require a more disciplined approach -- a more defined plan.

This week I am starting a more comprehensive program at the YMCA that encompasses nutrition and exercise. This program will supplement what I am learning in Weight Watchers with more accountability in the exercise part of this weight loss journey.

Each of us has a different approaches to weight loss -- in diet and in exercise. There is no perfect solution for weight loss. It doesn't make a difference how we do it. What is important is that we must first make up our mind that change is necessary and then take the small steps necessary to change our path in the right direction. I'm looking for tips. What have you done to get out of your rut?

Until next Monday remember to share your knowledge. Please save the sarcasm; the world has more than it needs.

Nancy Johnson

Broke Toe Mountain

Just as my puny amount of jogging mixed in with my walks was beginning to ramp up, I broke my toe. Or as I put it last week when I smashed it barefoot into a rubber mallet while putting new flooring in my mountain cottage, "my dad gum dog gone I'll be danged toe". Oh well, its just the middle toe. So other than being very tender and black and blue, it doesn't hurt too much to walk. But for now I'll have to use the exercise bike and mountain bike more to offset the lower walking and no jogging bit.

Meanwhile though, I'm down 24 pounds so far. Not bad. Based on history I probably could have doubled that by now but living life while also losing 24 pounds is ok with me. I do want to get more and more spartan in my pursuit of the goal of 70 pounds though. Exercise is no problem. My "cheating" still comes in the form of food from time to time.

But habits have changed and are still evolving as I look for the right mix to go forward with for the rest of my life. Wherever you are in your own personal weight loss journey, don't give up. It will feel so good when you get to a healthy weight and new fitness level you'll know it was worth the effort.

Now get out there and break a leg/toe.....or not. Perhaps not. Just walk ok?

Is There a Scale in Heaven?

Until this weekend, the thought never crossed my mind. Then I woke up on May 21st wondering what if. What if “they” were right? Will I be judged about my weight in heaven? Stupid question, but it crossed my mind for a brief moment, nonetheless. Thankfully May 21st has come and gone. We were spared.  With this opportunity we can choose to continue our lives just as we always have or we can choose to become better people.  We can choose to improve ourselves and the way that we treat our fellow man.  I hope going forward that this blog is used as a positive forum for all sides of the weight loss equation to articulate views, share ideas, and motivate those struggling with weight issues in a respectful way. Will we always agree?  No.  Should we respect that we are different, have different opinions, and come in different sizes?  I hope that you all believe, yes.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending an exhibit at Discovery Place called, “Race: Are We So Different”. I had expected to go in and out within an hour because I thought no one could tell me anything new about race. When I thought about the word "race", I immediately thought in black and white.  I thought the exhibit was about the continuous struggle between these two races.  Boy was I wrong!  Through this exhibit, my eyes were opened to the many facets of race.  I stayed at the exhibit for three hours until it closed.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading, seeing and hearing the fascinating information about the human race.

My mind was opened to the other aspects of race because I took the time to consider a different perspective than my own. Over the next seven months I will continue to share my weight loss journey -- one that will be filled with many celebrations and periodic defeats.  At times the journey may be bumpy, that's what happens in real life.  Life's not perfect and neither am I.  I hope you will enjoy the ride. 

Until Wednesday.

Nancy Johnson

Low Down Skinny Varmit

Earlier this week I mentioned an old marathon buddy of mine from Fla, Dennis is his name and being fit all his life was his game. I met Dennis with a group of long distance runners who'd train together once per week for company and encouragement of our 12 to 20 mile long runs. Dennis joined our group as a non runner and was an extremely lean and muscular guy of around 34 years of age at that time. I learned that he had for years worked out 3 times per week at his gym.

He used to drink special drinks with high calories to try to keep weight on his body. Adding running to an already very lean body apparently was a chore to him. Da Bum!

Now he is around 65 years of age and didn't run for a good number of years. He did, however, maintain his 3 days per week forever gym workouts and stayed very fit all these years. He's recently gotten back into running and did another half Marathon in the past year just for fun.

Once again he is whining about losing weight.

He may be blessed with superior genetics to be lean all his adult life. I suspect, however, that the life long habit he made about consistent year after year never ending work outs being a part of his weekly schedule is what helped him stay so fit for decade upon decade. Dennis, I salute you for your example and hope to find the type of pattern of workouts I can continue for the rest of my life . Better late than never.

Me and my yo-yo (weight)

You've heard folks say they are big boned. As I kid I was called "husky" sometimes. My history of weight all my life was up and down. I was skinny until about age 9. Then I was very obese until about age 12. Then I was very slender again through all of my teens. 5 foot 10 inches and a 28 inch waist for example. Then I hit 208 pounds around the time of our second child's birth.

Started running again and stayed around 160 for four or five years and gradually gained up to 230 or so as the running tapered off. The exercise kicked back in and I lost back down to 170 pounds in 9 months while ballroom dancing and other exercise. As you know, over the last 3 plus years I then gained up to around 250 during a time of massive life style changes including job changes, elder care duties in our house and moving to a new state. Apparently, my body is very adaptive at changing depending upon my amount of exercise and stress.

Later this week I'll tell you about a old marathon running buddy of mine from Florida who is one of those bums who actually has to "try" to keep weight on his body. He might be an alien from another world. His name is Dennis. In our running competitions he was Dennis the Menace to me. Anyway, I think in addition to a very fast burning metabolism he had a system that might be a good guide for all of us to follow. Stay tuned.

Why don't FAT people type?

Let’s start off with some good news. It seems that even with my weekend detour, I lost another 2 pounds -- 2.2 pounds to be exact. I didn't realize how much weight I'd lost until a very embarrassing incident happened while visiting my mother this weekend. When I removed the belt from my jeans, they dropped all the way to the floor. Let's just say, thank God for Spanx!

Now, on to today's post. For several weeks, Dan, Melissa, and I have shared our personal struggles with weight. While many of you have been very encouraging, there have been many who have not been so encouraging. That's fine for me. In some sadistic way, the negative comments have been a way to reinvigorate me. Sick but very true.

I often hear that people read our blog and some enjoy hearing our weekly toils. Yes, many feel that we are not working as hard as we should and you are entitled to your opinion. From the very beginning, I stated that my blogs would be a walk in my shoes – an opportunity to share stories and encourage those who share my issues while educating others who may not understand what it means to be overweight.

I made a very reasonable goal -- to lose 36 pounds this year and another 36 next year. Low by most people's standards, but it is my goal. To date, I have lost 21 pounds. I plan to lose another 20 pounds by August 15th. Am I perfect in my approach to weight loss? No and that was never my intention. Are there still things I can learn about nutrition, portion size and exercise? Absolutely! That's why I am a member of Weight Watchers. I have a great leader and my Wednesday team at-work is the most supportive group I know!

So Anon 5/10/2011 9:54, thank you for continuing to read our blog. I appreciate the time you are taking from your day to read our daily antics. Weight is a very personal issue – one that a lot of people in the Charlotte area struggle with every day. I will continue my charge to lose the weight; I am committed to that. I am just as committed to educating the masses about the various issues that overweight people face. Yes, it is often our fault that we are in this predicament, but that does not give anyone the right to ridicule anyone that finds themselves larger than others. 

If you are like me and are struggling with weight, post a comment and share this with your Facebook friends. I know there are many overweight people out there. We don't have to sit in silence.  Share the love. Post your comments. Let me see that FAT people (Faithful And True) can type.

Until next week.

Nancy Johnson

How many points is this?

On March 10th, I posted about whether I should go to my 25th college reunion. Although I enjoyed all of the comments especially the words of encouragement, I decided not to attend the event. Instead I decided to spend the weekend with my family and my daughter's family in South Carolina. The visit was great for my homesickness; not so good for weight loss.



Crab and Shrimp Ole!

My first stop was Charleston so that my daughter could see her father and her six-year old sister who were visiting from Seattle, Washington. I should have known that it would be my ex-husband who would produce the first kryptonite for the weekend, shrimp and crab and grits for breakfast pictured here. I LOVE seafood and miss eating the local delicacies.
Next stop was my mother's house in Branchville, South Carolina. No pictures from my eats here. It’s simple, Mom cooked and I ate and thoroughly enjoyed the home cooking. I don't get home very often and I have decided that in MY weight loss journey, I will enjoy those things that I can't get everyday.

Yes, I know when I hop on the scale later today that my weekend detour will impact my weight loss. Yes, it will be minor setback, but I will get it back on track to meet my next goal -- 20 more pounds lost by my birthday in August. Thank you for all of the music tips. I will look at all and summarize in another post.

See you tomorrow.

Nancy Johnson

Fat and Flawed?

I've noted during the duration of this Charlotte's Biggest Losers blogging that some readers are of the opinion that being overweight somehow makes a person "flawed". The suggestion is that we fat folks are just emotional wrecks. That being overweight pretty much proves we are weak emotionally.

Ok then. Oprah and Mike Huckabee are weak emotional undisciplined hulks I suppose. Sure, one is tremendously successful in entertainment and business. Huckabee was Governor of Arkansas and is a serious contender for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2012. They both have a long term weight struggle. Therefore, following some readers logic, they must have just lucked into all their success.

Its my opinion we are all flawed. Yes, even you fit marathoners and weight room fanatics have your hang ups too.

Lets just fight the fight and battle our demons and try to be the best we can be. Lose weight if needed and exercise for your own benefit and for that of your loved ones who should want the best for you.

It has been one year now since my beloved mother passed away at the age of 91. She was never a fat person. Until she broke a hip in her late 70's she walked briskly for four or five miles most days. Her slight weight and walking fitness did not define her though. It was her spirit and love for others fat or slim that made her so loved in her world and community.

So lets get on with our exercise and life and do the best we can each day. An old quote I heard once went something like "people who claim to have no vices tend to have really annoying virtues". Did I hear a big "ouch" out there?

It's a Dog's Life After All

I took my two kids (I mean dogs) to the park today. As we walked around, I noticed how tired my black lab Diva was, huffing and puffing her way down the root-studded trail. Diva lost her svelte canine physique soon after she gave birth to six pups years ago, and as she gets up in years, her weight could use a little lightening. Despite her strict diet of fat girl dog food (for the lab who has more to love) and a measly 1.5 cups of food daily, Diva continues to fight the battle of the fur bulge. While my yellow lab Duke eats large dog biscuits and carries around rawhide chips instead of eating them, Baby D only gets to have small Shih Tzu-sized treats and a limited, no-sugar added Puppy Cup frozen snack intake of one every couple months (during which time she occasionally tries to eat the cup too because it’s just so good). Reduced to doing drive-by food nips from Duke’s overflowing bowl that he is much too busy and much too wiry to eat, Diva can’t get over her joy of food or how much it loves to hang on her.

I have always claimed Diva as my dog – she’s much more social and chill than Duke the Nervene and she lets anyone love on her. Now I realize Diva and I are similar in many other ways as well. Although I think I would probably lose more weight if someone limited me to 1.5 cups of lite chunks a day, I’m right there with Diva straining and panting and struggling. We both aren’t that great with weight loss, we walk slower, and we haven’t really found a way to get control over our food cravings - drive-bys are a hard habit to break (ask a gangster). On good days we celebrate our control and run with hair flying, but even though we are trying to do everything right, it’s a hard, slow-going road with lots of pitfalls along the way. The pure muscle, food-as-fuel Dukes of the world we are not; we have a hard time trying to be like that.

Occasionally, my great ideas do about as well as Diva's grand schemes (overturn the trash can and eat tinfoil - that would be a great way to greet my owners and wonderful for my digestive system!). I had no idea regarding what really need to be done to lose 80 pounds. In fact, looking back on my initial goal and even the decision to expose my weight issues leaves me thinking A) I actually experienced some sort of pipe dream or B) I unwittingly ingested an illegal substance that made me think I was queen of the world. With chagrin, I've decided to take a page out of Nancy's book and work a multi-year plan (30 pounds per year) to get to my ultimate goal. Believe me, I already can hear the taunts, but a re-evaluation and multiple, smaller goals does not a dead dog make. I'm now thinking less of a Great Dane to Chihuahua change and more of a Mastiff to Chow to Schnauzer rehaul.

So it's me and the D working our breeding. We're struggling, championing, and messing up, but we rally and even trot for curiosity’s sake. We’ll keep plugging along, taking our walks and doing the best we can. Our tails will never stop wagging, despite sometimes feeling blue, and we will always see everyone we meet as an opportunity to give and get some love.

Now we both need to be taken for a walk.

I need your music suggestions!

My cellphone finally gave up and on Tuesday I made my 5th trip to Verizon to find a replacement. It took this many trips, because I rate purchasing cell phones right up there with buying a car and a computer. It didn't help that I had a very old phone. My phone was so antiquated that when my daughter announced the kind of phone I was replacing to the salesman, he laughed and then called over another salesmen, who walked away shaking his head and muttering, "A Razor. I can't believe she still has a Razor phone." For those of you who are like me, "technology challenged", my phone was apparently one step above morse code or using smoke signals.

But I persevered through the ridiculing about my technology struggles and finally decided to get a smartphone. Why? Two reasons. I need an electronic way to track my points and eating. Although I have lost 20 pounds, I want to expedite the next 20 pounds by walking around time with some upbeat music.

Here is where I need your help. I need suggestions on some motivating music to walk around Charlotte. I listen to all types of music, but I want some fast paced music that will really get me moving! What music gets you moving? Also, what kinds of weight lose apps have you found useful on your SmartPhone?

Inquiring minds want to and need to know. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, stepmothers, single dads, and anyone providing love and support to someone without a mother. Enjoy your weekend and get moving!

Nancy Johnson

Land of the Free. Home of the Brave

Hello Readers.

Its week 15 of this blog and I have an announcement to make.  I have finally reached my 20 pounds lost goal!

I realize this is just one milestone and that I have at least 16 more pounds to go to meet my mininum amount to lose, but forgive me if I bask for a moment.


Recent events this week reminded me on just how blessed Americans are to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  We are blessed with many privileges that we take for granted, specifically the most important freedom of all -- the freedom of speech.  Many of you as readers and commentors of this blog, fully utilize this freedom.  I hope you take a minute to realize that words have power.  Words can be used to encourage those who need motivation.  Words can be used to provide guidance to those who have lost their way.  Unfortunately, words can be used as weapons. 

In the land of the free, EVERYONE has the right to share their opinion regardless how it affects the other person.  It has taken a great deal of bravery for me and for the other bloggers to share a glimpse into our worlds.  In celebration of my 20 pound hurdle, I ask you to take a minute and be thankful for the right to speak your mind.  Please use your power wisely. 

Nancy Johnson

Rip out the mess and learn as I fix it

I'm over at my mountain cabin outide of Franklin, NC today. Ripping out old carpet and starting a multi trip project to put down laminate flooring. I have never tried this particular task. I figure if it works out ok, I'll bring my talent back to Matthews and put wood flooring in our house here and save some big bucks on labor.

My mindset is a bit like the weight loss adventure. I'm willing to try some things that I may not have attempted in the past and won't worry about minor mistakes knowing I can rip out the mess and fix it as I learn. You have to be willing to mess up from time to time on our weight loss journey this year. Just don't let your mind make a bigger deal out of it that you have to.

By the way, while at the cabin this week there is a road that goes up and over a mountain ridge that is so steep its a lot like walking up stadium stairs. Each morning and each night I will be going over the top and back down the other side....and back up again. I can't wait until I reach my final goal weight. More mountains will feel like they are all downhill at that point.

Now get out there and climb your own mountains this week. Conquor. Win some battles. Learn from your defeats. Do not fear the uphills. Fear and refuse the idea of giving up.

Spring Workout

It's nice to know that there are lots of ways to be productive while working out. Planting my perennials and cleaning up my yard this past week, I was able to feel the burn and work on my tan. In fact, I have been discovering new ways to burn calories while checking things off my to-do list. Weeding and raking had me working my back, arms and legs; mowing and cleaning helped me work up a sweat and work on my house. In addition, the influx of veggies and fruits have resulted in healthier dinners and satisfying treats. Summer is in the air and healthy living is growing all around me.