Busier Than a One-Legged Man in a Butt-Kicking Contest

Hot damn, ya’ll. It’s been too long! Have you missed my Southern charm?

I took a hiatus for the winter…and like any good Chicago winter, we skipped Spring and went right into construction season.

I reckon I’ll get you caught up. Since I have mostly been working out and watching hockey, I was apprehensive to write much. I promised you a blog about a Southern girl living in the big city not another fitness/weightloss blog, but then I realized part of my story is about trying to get healthy in Chicago.

Don’t worry, though. It hasn’t been all lifting weights and eating canned tuna. I have plenty of exciting things to share with you, too.

Let’s start with a getting healthy update. Overall, I have seen progress since starting at Meatheads five months ago; I have lost 8 lbs, dropped 5.4% body fat and lost nearly 2 inches on my hips, thighs and waist. There’s definition in my arms and the faint outline of something ab-like. My weightloss has pretty much stopped, but I still get on the scale daily and feel let down—I am my own worst critic.

Sweating Like a Sinner in Church…It’s Time I Do Darn Push-ups

I have three weeks—17 days actually—to accomplish something that may seem minor to some but will be a huge feat for me, something I never thought I could do. By February 26, I will do five real push-ups in a row and check off my next personal goal.

By the way, today I am not yet able to do any push-ups.

Patience has never been my finest virtue, and I am stubborn to a fault, but this is a goal I want to achieve really badly, and I will. If I can do push-ups, I feel like I can do anything.

By the way, I still hate talking about personal things, especially things that make me struggle. However, I got over my discomfort to share my progress with you, and I feel like I owe you a quick update.

I don’t know why push-ups became a goal for me. Perhaps it’s because they are the most challenging exercise for me. They are a compound exercise, so they require that I am strong enough in my arms, chest, shoulders, core and legs—my whole body, really—to lower my body weight and push myself back up. For me, it means I have worked out everything well enough to consider myself “in shape.”

I Fell Off a Bit…Or How I Lost This Dang Weight

Talking or writing about personal things is difficult for me, but I was encouraged to share this, so here it is… how a girl from South Carolina lost 55 lbs in Chicago. A true Southern belle keeps her secrets, but I will share with you as much as I can comfortably.

A few things to start…I refuse to call this a weight-loss journey. That implies there is a destination. And this is not intended to elicit “atta girls” to boost my self-esteem. I’m in the best place physically, mentally and emotionally I have been in for a decade.

My starting point

In October 2013, I was 5’7 and 208 lbs, a size 16 on the bottom and an XL on top, with a 38” waist. I was pear-shaped with a waistline, a butt and a healthy bust line, but I was overweight, and I knew it. When I started having chest pains, shortness of breath and coughing, it was a wake-up call on a lot of levels.

Several doctor visits and tests on my heart, lungs and digestive system led me to a diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Reflux Disorder (GERD). It runs on both sides of my family, so there was no real surprise there, but it was the kick in the pants I needed.

Winter 2013/2014

Dec. 2013, Feb. 2014 and March 2014

I left the doctor’s office with the commitment to myself to change—I wanted to like myself again. I set a weight goal of 160 lbs, which seemed impossible. I started with changing my diet.

I searched for lists of reflux trigger foods, and I removed darn near all of them from my diet (coffee is my friend…couldn’t cut that). No garlic, onions, citrus, tomatoes, fried foods, soda, heavy foods, spicy foods, tea, chocolate… My diet was bland, but I played around with food to determine my triggers, and in some cases, I cut foods out altogether, like soda. I lost some weight (about 15 lbs), but it gave me the mental boost I needed.