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Archive for the category “7. Inspiration”

25 Dec 2010

Holiday BLOB and WTF

I was just thinking how strange it is to wake up in my oh so quiet and sleeping Jewish household at 7:30 on a Christmas morning. All my sisters’ and brother’s families have probably been up since before dawn and are now surrounded with opened gifts and their Christmas morning breakfasts. When I was young I ALWAYS wanted those packaged, baked sweet rolls with the orange glaze you put on the top after they are baked. The scent of that takes me right back to being a child and those Christmas mornings.

Since I don’t eat that stuff anymore, last night I made up a big batch of BLOB – Brier’s Luscious Orange Bath – my own concoction – of sea salt, orange peel, olive oil and sweet orange oil and put them into pretty glass containers for my sisters and my brother – a non-food way to celebrate that memory. Then I made up a batch of Brier’s Winter Foot rescue (which I wish I’d thought to call WTF – Winter Time Feet)  – also my own concoction – with the lotion base from Hobby Lobby, some vitamin E and cocoa butter and then lots of lavender buds and lavender oil. Instructions are to warm in the microwave for 30 seconds and then slather on your feet, put on your socks and leave overnight. I hope that someday my nieces and nephews will have sensory memories of the holidays that remind them of something other than food!

Now I’m just about to whip up some huevos rancheros with crispy roast pork that has been cooking all night. How’s that for a fabulous taste/scent memory? Tonight we will have a beautiful roast chicken and celebrate the Shabbos together. (edited: my husband just pointed out that LAST night was the Shabbat. HA! Well, G-d won’t mind if we’re one day late. And if he does, it’s been nice blogging with you all!)

So whatever your religion, enjoy this day and your families and your SELF – both the new and the old.

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 7. Inspiration, Life and tagged , | Leave a Comment
23 Dec 2010
1 Comment

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

I’m still reading all the blogs from A Weight Lifted from the Green Mountain at Fox Run program. It makes me nostalgic about how long I’ve been on this road to health and how many things I’ve tried to get control of my eating. Twelve years ago this week, in the winter of 1998/1999 I went to Green Mountain for four weeks to focus on my compulsive/emotional eating and binging. I learned so much:  about food and emotions; food and health; food and life.  I also learned about exercise, but frankly, I kind of ignored all that at the time and focused on the eating.

So much of what I’m doing now started there: that was where I first encountered Geneen Roth’s books. That was where I first learned about really healthy cooking – making my own stock, vegetables, lean proteins – and that was where I started learning about the balancing act between carbs and protein and fat. That was also, now that I think about it, where I learned about trying different kinds of exercise until I found something that worked for me.

Most importantly, that was where I finally learned to forgive myself for the binging and stop the horrible cycle of binge, guilt, binge, guilt that kept me prisoner for most of my life.  To be kind to myself. To start the long road towards self-love. I’m not done yet, but I’m closer than I’ve ever been and ever day I get a little closer.

So – Never give up, never surrender!  Galaxy Quest was a funny movie, but you know something? Maybe they were stumbling around, not realizing that they were on a quest, that what they were doing was real. But when they did, they chose not to give up, even though they knew they could fail.

I have tried so many things in the last 35 years. So many diets, exercise programs, shakes, pills, powders, soups and even cookies! (What was I thinking??) Losing weight wasn’t about finding the perfect vitamins and supplements or the best tasting protein powder, though, of course, those have helped.  For me the combination for success (so far) has been focusing on how I MOVE, what and how I EAT, how I LIVE and then to THINK about all that. For me, that means weight loss counseling, Weight Watchers, surgery, exercise, group support and my writing.

All that is a pretty long-winded way of saying that I KNOW that even though I might try a million times and fail, as long as I try a million and one times, I’m going to succeed.

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 7. Inspiration and tagged ,
22 Dec 2010
5 Comments

What do you believe?

I am waiting for the sun to rise after the end of the longest night. The solstice is over and starting now, each day will be a little longer until June 21, 2011 – the summer solstice. I believe our ancestors built stone monuments to mark the sun’s passage across the sky because they needed to believe that the sun would rise and the days would lengthen and warmth would come back into their lives.

Which made me think about what I believe:

I believe that the sun will rise and the grass will grow and spring will come again – every year.

I believe that it only takes one person to start a revolution that can change the world.

I believe I can reshape my life through my thoughts and actions and be strong and healthy.

I believe that you can start with nothing and create anything that you can dream.

I believe that there is more good than evil in the world.

I believe that love is the strongest and most widely available, but woefully under-utilized, power in the universe.

I believe that the sweetest things in life cost nothing, have no calories and are all around us.

I believe that love lasts through this life and long after we are gone.

I believe that the most beautiful thing in the world is the curve of your child’s cheek.

I believe that it is, and always has been, my choice to be happy.

I believe.

What do you believe?

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 7. Inspiration, Life and tagged
12 Dec 2010

Eggnog and Biscotti

Eggnog: I really wanted some eggnog yesterday, so I checked out Linda’s no egg recipe on Eating Well Living Thin. But I didn’t have Cinnabliss and I really wanted something more traditional. I found this recipe on about.com under low carb eggnog recipes. So what I did was merge the two. Here’s what I made and it was delicious:

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs – separated
  • 4 cups fat-free half and half (post-ops be careful – there is a lot of sugar in the Land o Lakes version I just discovered)
  • ½ cup splenda or more to taste
  • 1 tsp McCormick’s rum flavoring
  • 1 tsp cinnamon (I used more)
  • Fresh Nutmeg for grating

Separate the eggs. In a small bowl, beat the yolks with the splenda, rum flavoring and cinnamon until light. In another bowl, beat the whites until they form soft peaks. In a big bowl, whip the half and half until frothy. Then combine everything with a whisk (don’t overmix) and grate fresh nutmeg on the top – about 1 tsp.

This made 6 servings of the most fabulous eggnog I have ever had, except for this one really memorable occasion at Yale when Cricket made a traditional 150 proof version. Of course, I don’t really remember much after the first sip.

Biscotti

Another thing I have been craving lately is biscotti. That crispy snap that melts beautifully into a cup of fat-free sugar free hot cocoa. Today I’m going to experiment with the flourless chocolate cake I made last week and bake it thinner. Then after it cools, I’m going to cut it into finger sized pieces and bake it AGAIN, but in a very cool oven. For about an hour. I will also add some almonds and craisins to the batch for a little variety in texture. I’ll come back later and post how it went and a picture.

Update: the biscotti turned out great. I used Linda’s flourless chocolate cake recipe again but added in some chopped almonds and some cranberries (craisins that I soaked in hot water and rinsed to remove as much sugar as possible).

I baked them in a rectangular glass pan and then when they were cooled, I cut them into 1 by 2 1/2 inch pieces and baked them again, this time in a cool oven at 200 degrees for about 3 hours. Half way through I rotated them onto their sides. They came out crispy and hard and perfect for dunking!

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 3. Nutrition, 7. Inspiration | Leave a Comment
07 Dec 2010
1 Comment

27 in 2011

Today I started watching the Julia Child/Julia Powell story – Julia & Julia. I’m really enjoying it and the movie has started me thinking about my own writing dreams and how I just don’t seem to work on them.  I love the idea of setting a challenge to work on something for a year. Something you are excited about.

So here’s my challenge for 2011: I am going to lose the last 27 pounds in 2011. That will put me at 146 pounds – lighter than I’ve been since high school and a pound under the “normal” range for my height. Then I know that if I gain even a pound while in maintenance, I’ll be back in the overweight category where I am now. Plus, it rhymes: 27 in 2011. I think I’ll get a t-shirt printed up!

At 146 pounds, I will have lost a total of 175 pounds – more than 50% of my starting body weight.

So here’s the plan: Weight Watchers PointsPlus program, power walking and strength training. This is all stuff I’m doing now (though I’ve been slacking off on the strength training.)  I’ll focus on adding in some serious exercise days on the weekends: long bike rides, hiking, swimming, yoga and roller blading which is the December “try something new” activity. Plus the two- three days a week of strength training. No money for bootcamp this year, but I can do a lot on my own. Maybe some kickboxing classes to kick things up. Oh and I’m going skiing – all good, calorie burning stuff.

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 7. Inspiration, Life and tagged
02 Sep 2010
2 Comments

Tight Blue Jeans

The blue jean corset - this is not me

These are not my breasts

I really think tight blue jeans are the modern woman’s version of the corset. Think about it – they hold in all the jiggly stuff, you often need some assistance getting them zipped and when you take them off, everything comes flying out again!

The only real problem with blue jeans, besides being able to sit down, breath, eat or feel your toes after the first hour, is that you really need something on the top to hold in the resulting muffin top. When I’m moving down a size, and the jeans JUST fit – you know what I mean? When you have to lie down or jump up and down to get them to fasten, but by God, they fastened, so you can now claim that you are a size whatever? Well, when they are that tight, the muffin top is more like the whole loaf, as my nephew, Bradley, once hilariously pointed out.

I don’t like to leave the house when they are that tight. Well, UNLESS I have a very flattering shirt that hides the worst bits, am only going somewhere for a short time and expect to be mostly standing while I’m there and know that as soon as I leave I can safely unbutton them in the car.  I distinctly remember each time I’ve gone down a size in blue jeans. Starting with the size 28s that did not fit when I had my surgery last year. Then I had a pair of 24 and 22 and 20′s in a box in the garage. Wore those a few times (that was in the hallelujah days when I was dropping a size every 3-4 weeks). I bought a pair of jeans as my goal outfit (Calvin Klein 34′s – too big now!) and almost immediately started looking for jeans at the Goodwill. I have now bought, worn or donated about 15 pairs of jeans. Blue ones, black ones and white ones. Found one pair that was tan and another really pretty yellow pair.  I’ve been wearing the 14′s since my birthday in March. (Yes, I could sit, but no, I couldn’t breath or eat and I had on a beautiful blue linen shirt to hide the underlying sins and a Teez Her that sucked in the worst of the muffin top, I mean loaf.)

Yesterday I wore some Bandolino size 12′s that made me look tall and like I had a real butt. Not sure what the technology is, but that’s some powerful magic, because I don’t actually have a butt anymore.

Now I just need to invent a running girdle so my belly doesn’t flap when I run.  The first time I tried to run was downhill and I kept turning my head because I could hear someone pounding along behind me. Turns out that was my own belly.  Yep. Step. Flap. Step. Flap. After that I tried tighter and tighter exercise pants or bike shorts to reduce the flap volume. A couple of times I’ve resorted to wearing a regular girdle. Which is more comfortable than it might sound to someone who doesn’t have 15 pounds of belly flapping along with them as they try to huff and puff their way through a Couch to 5k program.  Now that I’ve lost more weight, the butt is starting to make its own silent but painful contribution to the concert so I really need that running girdle.

Nike, are you listening? I see a whole line of Fat-Lete Accessories: the Fat-Lete Running Girdle – holds it until you can burn it off. The Fat-Lete Leggings – we’ve got you covered from waist to ankle.  The Fat-Lete Corset – no black eyes for you (or innocent by passers). What I really need for cold weather though is a Fat-Lete All in One Miracle Suit: zip into this and watch as the miracle fabric instantly tightens to support boobs, butt and belly and create a sight that won’t frighten the neighbor children and dogs as you go running by.

There could be a whole industry created: Fat-Lete Yoga clothes – relax and let us worry about the bulge. Fat-Lete swim suits – show off your good parts and hide the rest. Fat-Lete bike shorts – never worry about what’s hanging down again. Fat-Lete scuba suit – now with built-in weight belts for neutral buoyancy that only you know about.

Well, breakfast is calling my name. Gotta get this day started!

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 2. Exercise, 7. Inspiration and tagged , , ,
26 Aug 2010
4 Comments

Will the Real Karen Renee Couch Brier Please Stand Up?

A friend from the WLS board commented on my post about this not being the new me, but the REAL me. That made me think. Who is the real me? The real me is someone I live with almost every day now, but I only got glimpses of her in the past. She’s smart and strong. She’s fierce and brave and adventurous. She’s witty and entertaining and not always tactful or politically correct. She’s messy and creative but loves making order out of chaos. She’s easily hurt but a good actress that can hide it. She loves to sing but is tone deaf. She wants to be a writer when she grows up, but keeps showing up at her day job so she can support her husband and son in their homeschool adventure (who in turn support her in her goals to get healthy).

So when have I glimpsed the real Karen?

  • When I was a little girl called KayKay who lived at the dead end of a dirt road but read every book she could find (thank you Nanny and Aunt Tena for the books)
  • Like when I joined 4H in the 4th grade so I could do presentations and get over being shy. (I think that worked, don’t you?)
  • When I decided in the 6th grade to be a writer and started writing.  (Mrs. Agnew – where are you?? See? I’m writing!)
  • When I learned in the 7th grade that it was easier to win a fight with my brain and my smart mouth than my fists
  • When I got my counselor to get me waivers so I could apply to every Ivy League school  (and got into Yale…)
  • When I played Albert’s Mother in Bye Bye Birdie and wore combat boots with a sable coat and sang from a trash can in my senior play. (Hi David and Lana!)
  • When I worked to support myself through college with sometimes 2 or 3 jobs at a time.
  • When I got a job at the Yale Film Studies department so I could see every movie ever made
  • When I took on some bullies in the TV room one night over Remington Steele vs the football game and won (and most important, met my best friend)
  • When I talked the head of British Studies into letting me into the program so I could study abroad.
  • When I went to London with only $400 and managed to live on it for 4 months until my scholarship check finally arrived after the Yale strike  (thank you Ellen, I will never forget you!)
  • When I bought a beaded black gown in a thrift store and threw a huge party just to wear it (I miss you, Sam)
  • When I stood up to a bully head cook in a restaurant where I was waiting tables to pay for my first car and took off my uniform and threw it at him and then told him off  (so loud everyone in the restaurant heard!)
  • When I impulsively decided to move back to Georgia rather than hanging around waiting for a guy to notice me (Danny, did you ever know?) and was packed and moved two weeks later (Thank you Meredith! I miss you Lisa and Cathy)
  • All the times I sold everything I had to travel (and then slept on sofas when I got back (Thanks, Andy!)
  • When I worked at Coke and got to travel around the world (Miss you Ross, Teresa, Rose, Karen, Julie, Sandra, Rick – best team ever)
  • When I went to Spark and discovered I was a “whole brain” and understood why I could always see both sides of an argument (to the point where it annoys even me)
  • When I was on the board of directors of ARCA and helped run the Uncork a Cure fundraiser (Hello, Andrew! Chris and Matt!)
  • When I volunteered for a 3 month assignment in Africa and had to leave for the airport the same day.
  • When I found out I had a four day wait in Nairobi and was on a plane for the Masa Mara an hour later.
  • When I met Fred and was friends before anything else. (And we’re still friends almost 16 years later)
  • When I quit my job at Coke after a completely unfair and politically motivated review
  • When I had a new job 45 minutes later, closer to home, business casual and a 30% increase in pay (thank you, Fred – the best revenge is living well!)
  • When I used my huge profit from my Coke stock to take a year off
  • When I hiked the Appalachian Trail
  • When I kept going when my partner quit after the 1st week (Hi Ron and Sheri!)
  • When I planned our beautiful wedding at Nantahalla Outdoor Center alongside the AT (and 12 years later, people STILL talk about it!)
  • When I said no the first time Fred proposed (I really needed to make sure HE was sure)
  • When I went to Montreal to help with the twins after my miscarriage
  • When I had my hysterectomy and started to get control of my health for the first time in decades
  • When I went to Sante Fe on a spa trip with Meredith (we need to go again SOON)
  • When I traveled to London, Dubai and Singapore for IHG and did great work and had a blast
  • When I joined Weight Watchers
  • When I found a weight loss therapist
  • When I had weight loss surgery
  • When I signed up for kickboxing
  • When I joined the first Biggest Losers Challenge
  • When I started my blog and started writing EVERY DAY (what took me so long?)
  • When I went to my 25th reunion wearing clothes from the Goodwill (and looked GREAT!)
  • When I was the first one on the dance floor with my son at Reunions
  • When I signed up for scuba lessons
  • When I signed up for belly dancing

Well, now they are getting to be pretty much every day or at least every week, so I guess I need to stop listing them. Thanks, Teresa for the inspiration. Thanks to anyone who is reading. Thanks to Dr. Finley for my surgery. Thanks to Fred and Jacob for always being there for me. Thanks to my friends and family who have been so supportive.

It’s been an amazing year, but it’s only one year out of 47 amazing years. I can’t wait for the next 53!

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 4. Success, 7. Inspiration and tagged ,
25 Aug 2010
2 Comments

Happy “Surgiversary” To Me

Couldn’t sleep. Reminds me of last year at this time. I posted about how I was feeling and got so many great responses. So supportive. I was downstairs fighting my head hunger and finally realized what I really needed, so I came online tonight and started reading and posting.
Time is ticking away and in another minute it will be my one year surgiversary.

Just read a whole bunch of wonderful things that everyone said and that made me happy and tearful all at the same time.

It’s midnight. But my midnight of the soul was last year. Now I’m almost a different person. Not just the weight loss. The change in my attitude and outlook and lifestyle is unbelievable to me. I can’t imagine going back to that. I fear it, but that will just make me more vigilant.

The old Karen would have had fried chicken and icecream to celebrate.
But I made some homemade yogurt and bought some fresh organic blueberries to have for my “birthday” breakfast.
And tomorrow night I’m running a 5k to celebrate my year of change. I thought that was more fitting for the New Karen.

The old Karen would have been snacking all night on junk food and feeling sick.
The new Karen made bison meatballs and brussels sprouts.

The old Karen would have been sitting in a dirty, disorganized house, too tired to do anything but ignore it.
The new Karen has been busting her butt to organize and clean for the last few months. (Still some ways to go, but SO much better)

The old Karen would have been mindlessly reading a Nora Roberts and eating in bed.
The new Karen is surfing the Board and sipping water. (Though I still like Nora Roberts!)

The old Karen would be planning to come home and crash tomorrow.
The new Karen is planning to run a 5k after work.

The old Karen would be sad and angry and have no idea why she was heading for the ice cream.
The new Karen has been delving into her head so much, she’s got to the point she says outloud – oh hell, I’m emotional eating again because of such and such – AND I STOP.  (Sometimes now I realize it BEFORE I start!)

The old Karen would have laundry piled up because she’s too tired to do it.
The new Karen has laundry piled up because she’s taking boot camp and scuba diving and yoga and swimming and she’s busy, plus all those wardrobe changes play havoc with the laundry basket.

The old Karen would have ice cream, fried chicken, pudding, whole milk, full fat cheese and leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge.
The new Karen has fat free milk, homemade yogurt, half fat cheese and leftover brussels sprouts in the fridge.

So good bye Old Karen. New Karen is hear to stay. May you rest in peace.

Size 12 - July 2010

Size 12 - July 2010

Before Dec 2008

Before Dec 2008

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 4. Success, 6. Weight Loss Surgery, 7. Inspiration and tagged
20 Aug 2010

Train your mind, train your body

It’s Friday and that means that I survived another week of boot camp. Frankly, last night it was touch and go. Wasn’t sure I was going to make it through the night. Massive cramping in my shins and calves from the INSANE cardio workout last night. But you know what? I ran for NINE minutes last night at the start and another 5 minutes at the end. And I think that  tomorrow I’m going to try running a whole mile. Can I do that? Yes! I think I can do it. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

From http://thinkican.wordpress.com/tag/the-little-engine-that-could/

from http://thinkican.wordpress.com/tag/the-little-engine-that-could/

Boy that feels better than “I’m not sure I can do this!” which is where I started. Oh hell, who am I kidding? I started with “Hell, I can’t do that.” Or maybe “Why would I do that?”

<insert big belly laugh here>

It’s all about changing your mind-set, right? So if you want to try this, figure out where you are on this chart, then start telling yourself the next one down. After a week, start telling yourself the next one until you get to Hell yes I can!

Training Your Mind (so you can train your body)

Level 1: Why would I do that?

Level 2: I should do this.

Level 3: Hell, I can’t do this.

Level 4: I’m not sure I can do this.

Level 5: I’m going to do my best, even if I fail.

Level 6: I probably can do this.

Level 7: I think I can do this.

Level 8: I can do this.

Level 9: Hell yes, I can do this!

Level 10: I can do anything!

Today is my day off, but tomorrow, I’m going to work on level 9!

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 2. Exercise, 7. Inspiration and tagged , | Leave a Comment
19 Aug 2010

Historic Occassion

Mark this down: August 18, 2010, 9:18 am: I actually liked the way I looked.

Yep. I liked the front view, the side view and the back view. I was not focused on the belly or any “shrinkle” areas. I even took a picture and mailed it out to my sisters to mark the historic occasion.

It wasn’t just a one moment kind of thing; it kept going all day. I got to boot camp and changed into my workout clothes and tee-shirt and I even liked that. (Although I had to take my glasses off to quiet the concerns about the shrinkles.  (If you don’t know what shrinkles are, they are the wrinkles caused when you lose a lot of weight, or shrink. So we call them “shrinkles”. Mine are not that bad, but I can see them, of course!)

Another great moment at boot camp was realizing that I ran for 8 solid minutes for the warm up. Not super fast, but consistent speed for 8 minutes. Another personal best. I’m starting to feel pretty excited about my Survigersary 5k next week.

Wow! Next week? How did that happen? Is it really a year since I had surgery? A solid year of being focused and on track and successful. It is hard to think back to where my head was last year. I look at some of my old writing and plans and think “Did I really think that was enough?” because, frankly, it wasn’t.

I think that is why so many super morbidly obese people stay super morbidly obese. It takes a full-out attack, an onslaught of apocalyptic proportions to begin to tip the scales (literally) in the other direction. The surgery wasn’t the first thing I did or the last, but it was the one that won the war. Like bringing Gatling guns into the Civil War. Or the Atomic Bomb into WWII. The allies were so far behind, that even if the Weight Watchers ground troops were eating right and the drill sergeants were exercising – they couldn’t do it on their own. They needed those big guns, plus a steady stream of battle related intelligence from my weight loss therapist. And don’t forget the impact of morale on the battle: my letters to the front were my husband, my son, my friends, my family and in person and online weight loss communities. The blogging and Facebook postings earn me so much support and comments from my friends. I’ve made a lot of new friends, too. Friends who have taught me so much and understand that even after the war is won, the cold war will continue forever. Battling my demons and keeping them in their place while I maintain the weight loss. In some ways, that is the most dangerous part, and it is still to come.

But for today, I’m going to enjoy the victory celebrations, because it has been a hell of a good fight and an amazing year.  I’m really looking forward to this next year. I have so much planned already: I’m going to keep writing; finish boot camp; get scuba certified; learn belly dancing; some rock climbing (maybe); a trip to DC in the fall; Phoenix and Tahoe for the winter break; more skiing in February; my 48th birthday in March (probably going skiing for that) and the Warrior Dash in May.

Whew! A year ago I would have been tired just reading that! But now, I guess I just need to get busy!

Have a great day!

PS: I hope you have a day where you like what you see in the mirror.

Posted by getsmartgetstrong in 4. Success, 6. Weight Loss Surgery, 7. Inspiration and tagged | Leave a Comment

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