Last night my roommate jumped on my scale and decided that she wanted to lose some weight too. Usually I get annoyed when "smaller" girls complain about their weight, but I knew her request was legit so I agreed. We decided to be accountability buddies and create a workout calendar and goal sheet for ten weeks. We are going to break down our total goal into small weekly goals. We will weigh in every Tuesday, then record the amount lost. My goal was much higher, since my overall goal is to lose 65 pounds. I have quickly learned that if you mention your weight loss goal to others, they look at you like you are crazy. But to much of your surprise, I am a lot heavier than I may appear. My goal weight is not skinny, but healthy and I know that it will be best for me.
Our charts and calendars are supposed to be for accountability and motivation, but of course my competitive spirit wants to turn it into a competition. Nothing is more satisfying than winning, knowing that you completely out did, out worked, and demolished the competition.
I plan to lose about 2.5 to 3 lbs a week. When you are creating goals it is important to make sure that they are measurable, ambitious, and attainable, and timely. This goes for any goal, not just weight loss, I am glad to say that mine are all of the above. We decided to create a 10 week plan, 26 lbs is my goal. The bigger you are the quicker they drop, so hopefully they fall fast!
I was reassured by my goals when I sat across from a woman at my training today that was talking about her high blood pressure medicine. Although my health at this point is fine ( and probably much better than some of my skinnier friends) she was not that much bigger than me. It is somewhat of a reality check when you see the damage that food can do to your body. There was also irony in the story that we were reading during this discussion about a woman who killed both of her husbands by feeding them to death. Scary, I know!
I am starting to see results already. I know that other people probably do not notice, but for the last year, you could say that I did a whole lot more eating than exercise, and I lost all of my tone and muscles. After a few kickboxing classes I can see the definition coming back. Although my body fails me a lot, I am lucky to have more testosterone than the average female, given my low register voice, competitiveness, and other things that will be kept private, but besides that it also gives me the ability to increase muscle mass much more easily. I have to be careful not to bulk up, but it only takes a few weeks to get my arms back looking right.
I am so excited about my new body, and hopefully the new attitude that comes along with it! Now its off to kickboxing.
Kick some ass this week,
Tiffany
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Fat is Funny
This past weekend I was with my best friends and we were hanging out with some guys after we had went out. They didn't know us that well, but after a few minutes ( and a few drinks) we all seemed to hit it off. We started talking about music, sports, relationships and everything. Since my friends were just visiting, both of the guys were interested in hanging out in the future. Don't get too excited, remember what I said about being a guy's girl? Well this is just another example. They were impressed by my knowledge of sports, interest in hip-hop, and frequent sarcasm. We all exchanged numbers, and I expect that these two will be some of my new guy friends in Atlanta. The next day I was told by one of the two that I was hilarious. Now this is something that I get quite often, but it made me think. Am I that funny? And if so, why?
Think about your favorite comedians, male or female. I can bet that they are either, fat, funny-looking, or short. Bernie Mac had a lazy eye, Richard Pryor, well... wasn't Denzel, and Kevin Hart is bite-size. This isn't some type of coincidence that the funniest people suffer from socially unacceptable features.
Fat, short, and funny-looking people have spent their lives trying to avoid public humiliation. It starts when we are in elementary school. I clearly remember the names that I was called, and the jokes that were said when I was younger, and these memories become even more vivid when I go to work everyday. I teach 8 year olds, and to say the least, they are vicious. I am sure psychologists will say that it is some part of human nature, but none the less it is sad.
Those of us who were "different" growing up have spent most of our time finding ways to avoid the shots that are fired. The best way to accomplish this task? Make fun of yourself! That way you say something everyone was already thinking before you get hurt by their words. There have been too many times where I have made jokes about my weight in order to make people feel comfortable about the situation that we were in, or to avoid someone else from doing it first. I have to say, this is a terrible trait. But rather than digging into the human brain, I would like to pose a question.
Yes, Fat is funny, but is it attractive?
When you ask a woman to list the qualities that she is looking for in a future man/husband, along her long list you will find "he needs to make me laugh". Now, when this same question is posed to a male, not only will you get a much shorter list, if a list at all, but funny is usually not included.
I have been called funny a few million times in my life, but I can count the number of times I have been called attractive on two hands. This could be because I really am not that attractive, something which I refuse to believe, or because that is not something that a man finds a want in a relationship. I find that men are always looking for women that have a sense of humor, and many of you may think that means funny, but in guy language it means don't get too sensitive when I make jokes about you, and when I do tell jokes, please laugh. Men are always looking for an ego boost, especially from their girl.
The more that I think about it, the less I think that a man actually wants a funny girl. Women with wit, are more than likely going to be intelligent. Hey, its not easy coming up with fast jokes. Anything that can damage a man's ego is usually a no-no. This is something that I have personally struggled with in the past year. I am so conditioned to defend myself, that it is nature for me to attack someone with my oh-so-harmless jokes. What I have found is that men don't really like to have someone that can challenge them, especially a women. It takes away from that whole alpha dog persona. It never occurred to me until recently that this was a problem, and now that I am meeting new people I sense a difference, and most men do not appreciate my humor.
Ironically this post really isn't that funny, but more of something that has been on my mind.
Should a woman tone herself down in order to find a mate? Do we need to be tamed?
I do not have the answers to these questions since I am still trying to find myself. I still need to figure out what I need to do in life before I dive head first into this relationship world. My opinion right now is that I am too old to try and change my personality, but who knows what the future will bring.
Think about your favorite comedians, male or female. I can bet that they are either, fat, funny-looking, or short. Bernie Mac had a lazy eye, Richard Pryor, well... wasn't Denzel, and Kevin Hart is bite-size. This isn't some type of coincidence that the funniest people suffer from socially unacceptable features.
Fat, short, and funny-looking people have spent their lives trying to avoid public humiliation. It starts when we are in elementary school. I clearly remember the names that I was called, and the jokes that were said when I was younger, and these memories become even more vivid when I go to work everyday. I teach 8 year olds, and to say the least, they are vicious. I am sure psychologists will say that it is some part of human nature, but none the less it is sad.
Those of us who were "different" growing up have spent most of our time finding ways to avoid the shots that are fired. The best way to accomplish this task? Make fun of yourself! That way you say something everyone was already thinking before you get hurt by their words. There have been too many times where I have made jokes about my weight in order to make people feel comfortable about the situation that we were in, or to avoid someone else from doing it first. I have to say, this is a terrible trait. But rather than digging into the human brain, I would like to pose a question.
Yes, Fat is funny, but is it attractive?
When you ask a woman to list the qualities that she is looking for in a future man/husband, along her long list you will find "he needs to make me laugh". Now, when this same question is posed to a male, not only will you get a much shorter list, if a list at all, but funny is usually not included.
I have been called funny a few million times in my life, but I can count the number of times I have been called attractive on two hands. This could be because I really am not that attractive, something which I refuse to believe, or because that is not something that a man finds a want in a relationship. I find that men are always looking for women that have a sense of humor, and many of you may think that means funny, but in guy language it means don't get too sensitive when I make jokes about you, and when I do tell jokes, please laugh. Men are always looking for an ego boost, especially from their girl.
The more that I think about it, the less I think that a man actually wants a funny girl. Women with wit, are more than likely going to be intelligent. Hey, its not easy coming up with fast jokes. Anything that can damage a man's ego is usually a no-no. This is something that I have personally struggled with in the past year. I am so conditioned to defend myself, that it is nature for me to attack someone with my oh-so-harmless jokes. What I have found is that men don't really like to have someone that can challenge them, especially a women. It takes away from that whole alpha dog persona. It never occurred to me until recently that this was a problem, and now that I am meeting new people I sense a difference, and most men do not appreciate my humor.
Ironically this post really isn't that funny, but more of something that has been on my mind.
Should a woman tone herself down in order to find a mate? Do we need to be tamed?
I do not have the answers to these questions since I am still trying to find myself. I still need to figure out what I need to do in life before I dive head first into this relationship world. My opinion right now is that I am too old to try and change my personality, but who knows what the future will bring.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
I KICK ASS!
Left jab, cross, hook, cross, jab, round house, left kick, jab, hook, cross... this was the first combination that I was given in my "beginner ready" kickboxing class. Luckily I am familiar with boxing jargon, but wasn't expecting to be thrown in the middle of a mat, with my gloves on for the first time, kicking the hell out of a 100 lb bag. I have to say, that I fell in love today. It was the most difficult workout that I have had since I played high school basketball, and even though I was sweating profusely and dying out there with the other people that clearly have been to a few more classes than myself, I enjoyed every moment of it. If you have ever been a serious athlete, you understand the bittersweet feelings that you have for soreness in the morning, and the aching from a great workout. There is nothing else like it! Exercising gives your endorphins, and after I work out, even if I am dead tires, I always feel an extraordinary high. The upside to my new workout is the calories that I burn. Kickboxing burns between 800-1000 calories and hour, and since I am on the heavier side, I will probably be burning more like 1000 +. I was motivated in the class for two reasons: one, my instructor wasn't bad on the eyes. He wasn't really my type, but definitely good looking, and I just felt like a loser every time I wanted to take a breath when he was watching me. If he was ugly or fat, I wouldn't have cared a bit, but as the sweat was dripping down my forehead I kept thinking about what he thought of me as I was trying to round house my bag. Two, punching a 100 lb bag is very therapeutic. I had PLENTY of inspiration from my bitter past that allowed me to want to knock the head off of some six-something, dark-chocolate, asshole ( a combination of all my exes). If you are super stressed out, just got dumped, played, or all of the above, I do suggest taking a kick-boxing class, you will not regret it!
I have already dropped a few lbs in this last week just with diet alone. I always eat better when I am on a schedule. Working full-time, especially as a teacher, doesn't allow me to snack at all. In the evening, I have even been busy, so I eat grilled chicken, spinach, asparagus, etc. and that is it. I am loving my new environment, job, and hopefully soon, body. I promised myself that when I moved down here to Atlanta, that I would really reevaluate my life and really make major changes that were in my favor. I am so used to changing for the benefit of others, which leaves me with a sense of false fulfillment and in return leaves me cold and empty inside. I have plenty of time to think about me, about who I am, what I want, and what I can do to make me happy, that I am finally ready to take some new steps. The weight-loss is just one small step forward in the new life that I plan to make for myself. I am ready to "kick" out all my bad habits and finally make me happy. As much as I talk about how much weight affects my daily life, and I won't lie it really is a factor, it is not the reason that I feel a certain way about myself, and because of that, I cannot wait until the weight is gone in order to make changes, because my life is much more that my fat.
I have already dropped a few lbs in this last week just with diet alone. I always eat better when I am on a schedule. Working full-time, especially as a teacher, doesn't allow me to snack at all. In the evening, I have even been busy, so I eat grilled chicken, spinach, asparagus, etc. and that is it. I am loving my new environment, job, and hopefully soon, body. I promised myself that when I moved down here to Atlanta, that I would really reevaluate my life and really make major changes that were in my favor. I am so used to changing for the benefit of others, which leaves me with a sense of false fulfillment and in return leaves me cold and empty inside. I have plenty of time to think about me, about who I am, what I want, and what I can do to make me happy, that I am finally ready to take some new steps. The weight-loss is just one small step forward in the new life that I plan to make for myself. I am ready to "kick" out all my bad habits and finally make me happy. As much as I talk about how much weight affects my daily life, and I won't lie it really is a factor, it is not the reason that I feel a certain way about myself, and because of that, I cannot wait until the weight is gone in order to make changes, because my life is much more that my fat.
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