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Here’s the thing, I come from a long line of FANTASTIC cooks.  My mother is fabulous.  My grandmothers could cook anyone on Food Network under the table on their worst day.  Holidays were more like all day food tours, going from Grandmother to Grandmother to Aunties’ House. And not just the expected Thanksgiving or Christmas but Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day…Tuesday.  Food has been more of an expression of love and creativity.  I don’t think my husband (then boyfriend) EVER left my Grandma Dorothy’s house without having eaten something.  I know I’m not the only one who understands what is about to go down when someone “puts their foot” into something they’ve prepared!  Here’s the other thing, I’ve inherited my family’s talents and developed into a pretty impressive cook myself.  I LOVE feeding people! It’s my way of expressing gratitude or affection to people I care about.  It also makes me feel closer to my grandmothers when people enjoy my food they way I enjoyed theirs.  Food and what it brings with it is an integral part of who I am.

Okay, so Lisa did not consult with my mom or Grandmothers about the menu she gave me.  But in trying to follow it, I’ve discovered how important food has been to me.  The first three weeks were so difficult because I kept trying to find a way to get some Aljestmas and Dorothy up in there which was the wrong approach.  It greatly limits what their love is to me and does for me.  So this past week, I have really been eating the same things…over and over again.  And it really hasn’t bothered me.  In fact I’ve lost more weight than I lost last week because I’ve taken the power that food has had over me.  Seriously, how excited can a person get over 3 ounces of Foremen’d chicken breast and 2 cups of steamed broccoli?  Now I feel like food is more the constant in the equation instead of the variable.  Now my health gain (this is bigger than weight loss…“you’ll have what you say”, right?!) is dependent upon what I put in at the gym instead of what I put in my mouth.  Amen.

I’ve been hitting the gyms pretty hard this week.  I say gyms because I go to the Y about three times a week.  My kids love the activities they offer and we’ve been members for years.  I’ve tried to lose weight and get healthier there in the past but nothing really stuck.  I wasn’t ready.  My family wasn’t ready.  Its tough enough to motivate yourself but try convincing four kids, two of which the idea of child-watch or daycare is foreign, that its okay that Mommie’s going to drop you off with people you don’t know.  Now that my kids are old enough to recognize that I’m coming back, I just have to convince me.  And I’m generally pretty rational.

But there is also something special about Flab to Fab that is making this time different. When I have to take this kids, my two year old usually ends up sitting on my stomach while we do abs.She’s comfortable there, I’m comfortable with her there (NOT physically) and it doesn’t interfere with my group’s workout.  I don’t have to postpone being a mom to get healthy.  The times I don’t have to bring the kids are awesome too.  I can do the group exercise session totally concentrating on the workout.  During the individual cardio, I put in my ear buds and listen to music that’s not about a party in my tummy and just burn it up.  Those 25 minutes flies!

This week I’m going to be more diligent about reading food labels.  Specifically the sugar content in food.  I have not been following the diet to the letter and though my endurance has increased, I haven’t seen the results I would have liked.  I’m sure its because of the sugar I eat and drink.  Ketchup, barbeque and spaghetti sauces, and iced tea are things I know have sugar.  But there’s even sugar in chicken patties!   I don’t want this to be yet another attempt at losing the weight; it needs to be the last.  So, I’m all in–one meal at a time, one workout at a time, one day at a time.  Its how I gained the weight in the first place…and its the best way to eat an elephant.

I kind of think Lisa has been peeking in my windows.  The day she gave us our personalized diets I had pulled ground veal out of the freezer to make salisbury steaks for dinner.  I also checked to see if I had enough bow ties for the garlic butter noodles my kids love to mix with the broccoli I was making.  After our morning routine at the gym on Friday she went over our menus and saved mine for last.  No red meat, no pasta, no bread…  I started looking around for one of the other Ticas at the gym.

We’re not big red meat eaters really but spaghetti is my go-to meal.  My “what-am-I-going-to-make-in-twenty-minutes-that-all-of-the-kids-will-actually-eat” meal. And I also thought having to go to Flab to Fab would give me more reason to frequent the Bread Store more often.  We probably eat it with every meal, every day.  Now, neither my kids nor my husband signed up for this.  I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to have the energy to explain everyday for the next eleven weeks why my four year old cant have his PB&J or my husband, who is half Italian, cant have pasta.  Having children (and a husband) has taught me to pick my battles.  Mommy leaving the house to workout, yes.  Spending a little more money on healthier foods for all of us, definitely.  Twenty uninterrupted minutes to take a hot shower in a locked bathroom after these workouts, with every fiber of my being. Not buying the kids’ favorite breakfast food (English muffins, bagels, and waffles) or my husband’s snacks is not one I have to win…just yet anyway.  So I spent my Sunday cleaning, portioning, and cooking the chicken breast that will make up most of my meals for the week.  It was a pain but it is making eating properly less difficult.  More importantly it has made NOT eating the wrong things less difficult as well.  This is my most difficult part of this challenge.

Its hard to be sedentary with kids so the exercise portion of the challenge is the easiest promise for me to keep. Not finishing my kids’ plates and not eating cereal have been the most difficult. Exercise makes me feel good; it gives me a sense of accomplishment that I carry with me throughout the day. And as silly as it sounds, not having ice cream and cake and cookies and hamburgers and hot dogs when everyone else is, really made me feel left out. But in learning how to deal with such silliness, I have recognized that the things that are in regular rotation at our table are setting my kids up to deal with the same stuff that is holding me down. I cannot allow that to happen. That realization has brought me to this–Lisa can look all up in and through my house. She can even bring Shanna–who is awesome Her plan has not only drastically changed how I will eat but how I think about feeding my family because I intend on keeping them Fabulous. This is my ultimate goal.

Today was an absolute Blessing! I have been struggling with my health and weight since I have been having children and I can now see the tunnel. Maybe not the light at the end of the tunnel but I finally feel like I’m heading in the right direction. Almost as long as I’ve been alive, I have been taking care of someone. Today was, for me, an “excuse” to put me first.

I have to admit though, I’m a little intimidated! I entered the contest as kind of a dare. My exact words were, “Okay God, I’m going to enter this contest and try to start working out again. If you give it to me, then I’ll know that this weight thing is what you want me to handle”. My Father knows me so I wasn’t surprised when my husband came home to tell me he ran into a childhood friend who is an aerobics instructor and thinks I should take her class. I started her class the day after I entered the contest.

So in front of me is this overwhelming task to allow someone to help me do something that I have not been able to do. My weight is just a symptom. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the girls and trainers. It’s been my experience that God always puts the right people around you when you’re doing what He wants you to do. I’m looking forward to ALL of us succeeding. With that being said, we all need to remember that no one can beat you except you, but I’m certainly going to try! And I expect nothing less from everyone else. The competitor in me might keep me from making Sweet Green Tea so these training sessions aren’t in vain. This can be a Blessing that can change the course of our lives AT THE VERY LEAST physically. Ima get mine!

Tica

I have a place, there is nothing special about the way it looks, four walls, a ceiling and a floor.  What makes my place special is what goes on inside those walls.  Women’s lives are changed!  They meet new friends, feel better about themselves, and mold the outside to match what’s on the inside.

I had an idea to help some very special people, people with the desire for a healthier lifestyle.  The idea was my version of the “Biggest Loser.” My version because no one gets kicked out.  One hundred and seventy four women wrote and stated their case as to why they should be among the chosen six. Thirty four were asked to come for a meet and greet … the plan was to pick the six to participate.  After meeting them all, the six became seven, seven more were given a free 3 month membership, and the remaining 160 women are being given the option to join the gym at half price.  All the women are special and have a different story.  After reading all the submissions I knew I couldn’t walk away from any of them.

My place is Flab to Fab, nothing special about the building or what it looks like, all the magic is on the inside. It’s a judgment free zone.  Women from 17 to 70 are there to better themselves physically, the magical part happens when they look in the mirror and like what they see.  With hard work and determination you can mold the body, the mind and the heart on the other hand it takes time and encouragement.  To all those women who submitted entries I say: “That was the first step, now take the second and use the half price membership.”  Make a new friend, feel better about yourself, get healthier, and be there for yourself and the ones you love.

– Lisa Desko, Owner, Flab to Fab

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