Hi all. I’ve been reading all of the Maintainers threads since Day One, but I usually post over at Ladies Who Lift. Lately, however, I’ve been bedeviled by maintenance issues so I thought I’d hang my hat over here for awhile.
My name is Robin, but since there are a number of Robins, I often use my sign-on name, Airegrrl. My husband and I have only furkids -- Airedale terriers -- hence the name.
Like many of you, I’ve battled my weight for most of my life. Up down; up down; up down. Chubby as a child, chunky as a teen and a yo-yo as a college student (in more ways than one)
. Although I was convinced that I was obese in high school, I was stunned not too long ago to look at some old pictures and discover that while I was no Twiggy, neither was I obese. Yet another example of poor body image.
It was after college that I began to encounter the worst of my problems, which should have come as no surprise seeing as how I was living on cigarettes, coffee and junk food. Fast forward to my 30s when, post-divorce, I packed on 50 extra pounds and began a vicious cycle of losing and regaining those same pounds over and over again.
The ensuing 25 years (I’m 56 now) brought about a number of changes: ditched the cigarettes and husband No. 1. Remarried, this time to a wonderful fellow. And, thanks to WW, finally lost the 50 pounds, although I continued to swing up and down by 12-15 pounds annually.
I’m no athlete, but I’ve lifted weights off and on for nearly 30 years. However, it wasn’t until I discovered 3FC 15 months ago that I realized I was lifting about as ineffectively as possible. Sigh. Too many light weights, no real training schedule, thus not much progress.
I’ve learned a lot at LWL, which has been a source of inspiration, comfort, motivation and giggles. My progress, however, has been impeded by a series of injuries, aches and pains, brought about by age, fibromyalgia, arthritis and sciatica. As a high-energy, fast-moving humanoid, I find these conditions perplexing, confounding and irritating, but I can’t seem to find a strategy to effectively cope with them. I *have* taken up yoga, which has been a real discovery. It makes me feel good; it makes me feel balanced; and it makes me wonderfully aware of the unity of body, mind and spirit. I hope to be practicing for many years to come.
When I was tipping the scales at 185, I believed that all would be right in my world if I weighed 140-142. Well, that’s what I usually weigh these days, and all is not right.
First off, my weight is oozing up again, and I’m not very fit and I’m not very strong. Although I’ve (blessedly) learned to eat clean – and manage to do so a fair amount of the time, which is why my weight is oozing up instead of skyrocketing – I just don’t have this maintenance thing totally wired yet. Very annoying, given the time I’ve had in which to practice. As Meg said in one of her typically clairvoyant posts: Losing weight changes your body, not your head. I still have head work. A lot of head work.
So, here I am. It’s a pleasure to meet those of you I haven’t met before, and to see so many familiar faces. Let the good times roll!