Adina’s Cute & Perky Blog!

The best part of being a weight loss success story for me, has by far been getting to share my story with others.  I love writing.  I love talking.  I love meeting new people.  So sharing my story is something I am ALWAYS happy to do, whether it be with one or 100 people.

But I had a friend ask me the other day why I got to share it so much.  She asked me if someone had turned me in for losing all the weight.  She said, “I know you’ve done a great job and everything, but just how did you get to do all that?”

My immediate reply was, “Girl, I tooted my own horn.”

She laughed, and thought I was being modest.  So I reiterated my point by saying, “Girl!  There ain’t nothing wrong with tooting!”

And you know what?  There really isn’t.

It’s how this very site works. You have to go beyond setting up your profile.  You have to make updates and changes to your profile as you grow stronger and leaner.  To truly experience the community of this site, you have to participate.

How can someone congratulate you if you don’t say, “I did something great today!”?

When I see an overweight person struggling through cardio at my gym, I make it a point to get on the machine next to them.  I do give a mean pep talk after all!  Often times, new gym members are sent my way for motivation.  The thing is, the comment I hear most often is, “You don’t look like a person who lost a lot of weight.” 

So, how can I motivate someone struggling to make it through cardio if I don’t toot just a little.  Just a quiet little utterance of, “I know what it’s like to struggle through cardio.  I used to weigh 256 pounds.”

Sometimes, the very thing you just accomplished is something someone else is striving so hard to achieve.  Sharing what you have done and how you did it helps not only you, but the other members of this site.  You get encouragement.  They get hope.

I love looking at the profiles of people who keep their charts and photos updated.  Now that I am through the weight loss part of my own journey and into the muscle building phase, I continually draw on what I see on other profiles.  I am an expert at losing weight and keeping it off.  I am a novice when it comes to lifting and building.

I’m putting forth a little challenge today:  Take a look at your profile.  If it’s been a while since you updated anything, it’s time to release a little flatulence of self praise. 

If you communicate with someone who you know has made gains or maybe losses, but too modest to proclaim it, tell them it’s time to break the wind of modesty.  You might just send them a message and tell them you haven’t noticed them tooting lately, and you don’t think they should hold it in.

Today is a good day to update your profile or login to the forums and proclaim something you have accomplished…because today is a good day to toot!

No matter what I look like or what I wear, I will be asked at any given store where something is.  I mean I could be in the middle of Wal-Mart in a prom dress and a tiara, and someone would ask me where the toilet paper is.  I don’t know why, I just know it’s part of being me.

After seeing countless fallen faces and red cheeks through the years, I have learned to diffuse the asker’s embarrassment before it even starts.  When someone asks me where something is, or how long the wait is, or what time the store closes, I say, “I don’t know.  Let’s go find out.”  They may still be embarrassed that they asked a completely random stranger rather than an employee, but the shock of my walking them through the store usually takes over!  Hard to feel the sting of embarrassment when a random stranger has turned finding the public restroom into a game of “let’s meet a stranger”!

I believe people cross your path for a reason.  So I have learned to view this personal phenomenon as an opportunity to both meet people and help people…and yeah, spare them from some embarrassment.

I have helped many a harried Christmas shopper find their last minute gifts.  And yes.  I have been dressed in a skirt and pumps and helped a little old lady find the toilet paper.  And it was WAY at the back of the store.  No wonder she couldn’t find it.

With that in mind, it came as no surprise to me that I got a panicked call from one of my two best friends last night.  I was actually just finishing up my daily blog after spending the day helping my gym buddies move.  I was looking forward to a hot bath followed by reading something in Muscular Development before I crashed.

My friend had panic in his voice, so I knew I had better come right away.

I get to his lake house, where an afternoon of panic has ensued…  A boat had sunk.  Various methods to get it back in were failing right and left.  There was food left unattended on the stove.  No one was where they were supposed to be.  Phones were lost.

My other best friend’s dad came to tow the boat out, and this is where I come in!  His truck started overheating rapidly.  He gets out of the vehicle to see about the situation.  Wind slams the door shut…and the keys are now locked in the car of an overheated truck…..with the motor running.

Now, do I know anything about getting keys out of locked trucks?  No.  Do I know anything about vehicles overheating?  No.  But am I surprised that I was asked to help?  No!!!  I’m just secretly glad I’m not in a dress and pumps!

But in moments like these, you really learn the value of being fit and not being overweight.

I leap from my car to see Stuart and Earl fanatically trying to get the door unlocked.  Being new to the situation, I am not upset, so I can see clearly what they cannot….they are going at it from the wrong angle.  The tool they are using is too short to use from the top, and they are trying to feel their way and not see their way.

So, I climb onto the front of the truck, and crawl my way to the windshield.  From this vantage point I can effectively use the tools to unlock the door.  I can reach it and I can see it.

And when it was all said and done, and things were quiet again, I was pondering how I would not have been able to do that when I was 256 pounds.  I would not have been strong enough to pull myself up onto the truck.  And I would have worried that I was too heavy to crawl across the truck even if I had been able to.

I had to use balance and power to hold myself up with my left arm, while at the same time using the strength in my right arm to use the tool.  Balance and power come from athleticism.  Not from obesity.  Strength comes from lifting weights, not from lifting my fork to my mouth.

And when it was over, and hands were extended to let help me down from the hood of the truck, I did not have to worry that the hands that reached for me would not be able to hold up 256 pounds.  And because I am now fit, I don’t even need outstretched hands.  I can jump down, thank you very much!  It’s just a little plyometrics!

And when I help little old ladies find toilet paper on the second to last aisle of the store, I now view it as a chance to burn calories, and I am not out of breath when I get there.

Being fit brings something good to my life each and every day.

Today I helped two of my gym buddies move to a new house.

As any lifter knows, if you lift, you will get asked to help move your friends!

This was different though.  This was two lifters moving.  So fellow lifters descended on the house!  It was great!!  There were about ten of us.

If you find the right gym, you find family.  We were a family of lifters getting our buddies where they needed to be.

Even though the move had nothing to do with exercise or lifting, bodybuilding still permeated the air.

The first thing I noticed was that most of us had on some article of clothing that defined us as lifters.  Hats with gym logos.  Protein company T-Shirts.  I myself had on a bodybuilding.com T-Shirt and an Elite gym hat!

The next thing I noticed was that we all had some of our food with us and would leave the group at various times to have a shake, a bar, or maybe some chicken.

When it was a formal meal time, we chose a buffet.  Some of us were cutting.  Some were bulking.  And this would fit us all.

As with all lifters I am sure, we frequently get singled out to move the heavy stuff.  You know how it goes when you help a friend.  Invariably someone will say, “Hey, Adina.  You lift.  Come move this.” 

We all just moved whatever was in our path!  Who were we going to say that too?  Who was going to say it to us?  We all know how to move heavy stuff!  We just did it!

None of us thought it was odd when it took several boxes to move all the various containers of protein and supplements out of the kitchen.  Again.  We all have a kitchen stocked like that!

My friend Robert has been a Master’s Mr. America and his wife Helen has been Ms. Fitness.  We had trophies almost as tall as us to move.  And we moved them carefully.  We all knew the hard work they represented.  We moved them with great pride and respect for our friends.

In the end, we got it all done. 

There was no complaining about soreness, or sweat, bangs, or bruises, because we are lifters….and we are family….and we know how to handle so much more than that.

So two co-workers were walking by my cubby the other day arguing about the height of Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I hear them before I see them. 

“Ask Adina.  If anyone in this office knows, it’s Adina.” 

Now…do I randomly know how tall this icon of my favorite sport is?  No.  

Do I Google it super fast so I could provide them with the answer before they reach me?  Why surely! 

He’s right at 6’ according to the Internet….6’1.5” at his tallest?  His tallest?!  Hmm.  The Mighty Oak lost a few acorns somewhere along the way.  I’ll research that later. 

I give them the answer they came searching for.  I don’t even ask why they want to know.  One guy ribs the other saying, “See.  I told you she would know.” 

And then they leave. 

But I was wondering…why would they ask me?  Until I took a step back and looked at my cubby.  

Autographed pictures of Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman, and Victor Martinez are the first things you see upon entering my work domain. 

ISS Vitamin Paks and Whey Power in one corner. 

My meal plan clipped to my memo board  (just in case I suddenly forget the way I have eaten every single day for a year). 

A framed picture my coworkers gave me of the magazines and newspapers I have been blessed to be in because of the weight loss. 

My trusty cooler at my feet. 

A bodybuilding.com box peers out of my trash can.

And there is a Muscle Magazine open to where I left off last time I picked it up, because of course I read it cover to cover. Can’t skip a page.  Not even as ad.  Not even as ad I’ve seen before. 

Wonder….why…they….would.  Oh, never mind.  I know why!  I surround myself with it.  I immerse myself in it.  I LOVE the sport and the lifestyle of bodybuilding.  

And that only reminds me why I am part of a very small group.  Many people lose weight.  Few keep it off.  

In the past, every time I lost weight, no matter how big or small the amount, I went back to my old ways.  Now I know better, and I surround myself with the things that keep me in check.  I can’t look at a picture of someone like Marcus Ruhl without being reminded how much harder he works at it than me.  It reminds me that if I work even a forth of what someone like he does, I will not fall back to my old ways. 

And the next time somebody asks me how tall Arnold is, I know the answer.

To make my diet work for me, I have to do some quirky things. 

You see, I have an EXACT diet that I follow.  I eat six meals a day.  It’s not like I can cook every few hours, so I pack a cooler the night before. 

I do an hour of cardio on an empty stomach, so I even scramble my egg whites the night before and heat them at work for meal number one the next morning.  Invariably, someone will turn their nose up at my food.  They say they don’t like the look of it or the smell of it.  Usually the person saying it is eating donuts, or something of the like.

It’s funny that I don’t walk by someone eating a Big Mac and French Fries and say, “Ooooh.  Gross.”  I mean, I’m thinking it, but I don’t say it.  It USED to smell good to me…now it smells like an extra hour on the treadmill. 

People have no problem telling me my Whey Power shake and Ezekiel Bread look disgusting, but I would never say anything to the 300 pound person chowing down on some candy and a coke.  I want to say, “Look.  You’ve got a problem.”  Again, I just think it, but I don’t say it.  I never offer advice that is not asked for where weight loss is concerned.  I have learned better!

On the reverse though, a non-healthy person has no problem with telling me I have a problem.  That I’ve taken this whole “fitness thing” too far.  They don’t just think it;  they say it!

Funny.  I didn’t know you could take fitness too far.  I didn’t know that following a meal plan that is perfectly suited to me shows that I have a problem.  That I am too disciplined.  Too strict.

Of course, it’s usually overweight, unhappy, or unhealthy people going over my diet with a fine tooth comb.

But in the end, I let it all roll off my back….because I am happy, healthy, and fit.  And no Big Mac-chomping, donut-eating, cola-slurping, out of shape person can tell me otherwise!

I get asked on a daily basis why I smile all the time…why I’m so happy…OK, and sometimes it comes in the form of, “Dang, girl, don’t you ever turn that off?!”

Here is the answer I give almost everyone (just not that last guy!): “I don’t have time to be anything other than fabulous.”

And…I don’t.

I woke up this morning to the sound of my alarm clock ringing at 4:19.  I can still hear.  FABULOUS!

I stub my toe trying to put on my workout clothes in the dark.  I can still feel.  FABULOUS!

I turn on the light to make sure I get all my food for the day from the fridge.  I can still see.  FABULOUS!

I take a quick glance at the obituaries.  I am still on this side of the ground.  FABULOUS!

I stop at the gas station to get coffee and put real cream in it…even though my hot friend Kevin at ISS Research tells me to do my cardio on an empty stomach.  That’s ALMOST empty.  I’m still sarcastic.  FABULOUS!

I bounce through the doors of the gym where I see all my morning gym buddies.  All my people are OK.  FABULOUS!

And the rest of my day goes pretty much the same. 

I decide before I get to work it’s going to be a great day.

I decide before I get home to my boys that we’re going to have a fun evening.

I decide I’m going to get in my best workout ever before I go through those gym doors to lift.

When it’s the end of the day and I feel tired, I know that I’m blessed that I was able to enjoy a good day, because I chose to.

And when the next person asks me how I am, my answer will still be, “I don’t have time to be anything other than fabulous.”

Because I don’t!

“You just don’t understand.” 

Ironic that an overweight person can look at my before and after photos and utter that phrase to me without batting an eye.

After all, I understand what it’s like to be breathless walking up only one flight of stairs.

I understand what it’s like to leave the house thinking I looked SO good, only to catch a glimpse of my reflection and see that I looked SO heavy.

I understand not fitting in small chairs.

I understand searching the room for someone bigger than myself to stand by…

and I understand not finding ANYBODY bigger than me in the WHOLE room.

I understand Friday nights with no dates.

BUT….I also understand….

Working hard.

Lifting heavy.

Doing what you think cannot be done.

I understand success….and I understand maintenance.

Shedding the weight did not make me forget where I came from.

But what I don’t understand is waiting until you think someone understands you to get in gear. 

Whether or not someone understands you and what you’re going through today….it’s still a good day to lift, get in shape, and have fun doing it.

It happened again the other day…I heard the magic phrase.  “I’m going to wait to join a gym until I lose 50 pounds.”

Now, I don’t know why 50 pounds is the magic number, but it is a phrase I hear a lot.

My generic reply is this, “You’re not going to look back ten years from now and wish you had waited longer or spent less time in the gym.”

I am very passionate about my gym.  The gym is where I learned to break free from what my friends make fun of me for calling “Big Girl Adina.”

I remember passing the gym several times thinking, “I don’t belong there.”  I thought that as a 256 pound woman, I would walk in to people thinking, “Why is she here?”

But “Fit Girl Adina” knows the difference.

When someone outside of optimum shape walks through the doors, I’m not thinking, “What are you doing here?”  I’m thinking, “What took you so long to get here?  Hurry.  We’ve been waiting!”

So many times when I was heavy, I thought the world was out to get me.  But through the journey of losing over 100 pounds I learned that sometimes the people you think want to kick you when you’re already down are really the people extending their hand to help you up.

And I am glad I joined a gym when I was still a big girl.  My closest friends are my gym buddies, because they helped me, encouraged me, cheered me on, and didn’t ever even once ask me why I was there.

“You’re just more motivated than me.” 

That’s one of my favorite things people tell me.  As if the uttering of those words excuses the one who said the phrase from going to the gym or eating clean.

It ranks right up there with, “It’s easy for you,” or “I just can’t.”

When a goal is reached, which for me was to lose more than 100 pounds, it’s funny that people forget what I was or how hard I worked to get there.  They forget that sometimes, in fact many times, I had to drag myself to the gym kicking and screaming.

This morning, I did not want to go.  But I did.  You see, I always weigh risks versus rewards.  The risk of one slipped day leading to two was not worth losing the reward of doing it, and enjoying a guilt-free day.

And once I was there, the gym euphoria soon took over.  And rather than berate myself all day for not going, I was able to just enjoy my day.

When I weighed 256 pounds, I was NOT more motivated than anyone.  Motivated people don’t reach 256 pounds.  Not 5’5” tall women, anyway.  I did not want to go where all the fit people were while I was still oozing out of my jogging pants.

Here’s the thing, whether you’re motivated or not, you go.

Grilled chicken without salt does not motivate me.  But does my food have to motivate me?  For that matter, does my gym have to motivate me?

I’m NEVER motivated to mop my kitchen floor, but I do it.

If I were to wait for motivation to wash my car, I would not be able to even recognize the color of it.  There is a reason God made light-colored cars.

I saw a man the other day.  He was in his 50’s.  And I could look at him and tell he had never lifted.  And he was one of those people with great genetic potential.  And I was kind of sad that he was that age and never knew what he could have been.

I guess he was never motivated? 

If you wait for motivation to strike, you might be waiting a long time.

As for me, I go to the gym 6 days a week, whether motivated or not.  It’s just what I do.  And 130 pounds on the other side of my first non-motivated, cringe-inducing visit to the gym, I’m sure glad I went….even though I wasn’t motivated.

It’s funny that I have come to realize that in my search to lose weight, I was really just looking for a life more ordinary.

I can cross my legs… like an ordinary person.

I can sit in a booth ….like an ordinary person.

I can shop and not search out plus size departments….like an ordinary person.

I can blend if I want to.

I can stand out if I want to.

I can order a salad or triple chocolate fantasy dessert and no one stares or wonders why.

My size does not define me, nor does it rule over me.

I don’t have “such a pretty face.”

I don’t get winded when I walk up a flight of stairs.

I am happy from the inside out….because I found a life that is ordinary to some, but extraordinary to me.