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    My Body Measurements

    Aug 3, 2022 · Leave a Comment

    tape measure and person on scale

    We all start somewhere.

    Here is where I'm starting at.

    As of August 1, 2022.

    Weight - 155.6 pounds
    Fat - 43.2%
    Muscle - 80 pounds

    Chest - 37"
    Midsection (belly button/muffin top) - 41.5"
    Waist - 34"
    Left thigh - 25"

    I will update the above measurements monthly.

    Laboratory Results

    I have bloodwork done yearly.
    Some of the results are things I want to work to improve with better eating and exercise.

    Lab results from July 2022

    Triglycerides - 164 mg/dL (Goal is below 150)
    HDL - 55 mg/dL (Goal is above 50)
    LDL - 103 mg/dL (Goal is below 100)
    Non-HDL - 131 mg/dL (Goal is below 130)
    I'll repeat this bloodwork in summer 2023.

    My Why for Losing Weight

    Aug 3, 2022 · Leave a Comment

    woman standing at sunrise

    I can tell you right off the bat, I'm not losing weight to fit into a bikini.
    I've never worn a bikini.
    Not even when I weighed just 100 pounds.

    But I do want to lose weight for two very good reasons.

    1. I want to experience life comfortably.
    2. I want to do what I can to live as long as I can.

    Experience Life Comfortably

    Bottom line, I'm not physically comfortable in my body at the size it is.
    I sweat in places I didn't used to sweat when I was thinner.
    (Thanks to extra rolls and such)

    My body feels heavy.
    My chest feels heavier when I'm breathing.
    My legs feel heavier when I'm walking.

    I don't fit clothes I have.
    I go to put on clothes, and have to try different shirts, shorts and pants until I find an outfit I can wear comfortably.
    Most of my clothes are tight when I put them on.

    Yes, I could go buy bigger sizes.
    But honestly, I don't like clothes shopping and I'd rather spend my money on other things.

    I get worn out or winded trying to do regular life things.
    Like walking around a store or some place with my family.
    I get winded and tired.

    Live A Long Life

    I know I can't change my DNA.
    The various health issues that run in my family are long.
    When I fill out that paper at the hospital that asks you to check all the boxes for health issues that run in your family -
    Heart disease. Check
    Breast cancer. Check
    Immune disorder. Check...

    I know I can't change that.

    I've also gone through Early Menopause.
    The effects of early menopause on my health just adds to the list.
    Osteoporosis, dementia, increased overall mortality.

    AWESOME.

    What Options Do I Have?

    I know I can't change what I'm genetically set up for.
    (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

    But I can do things to possibly delay or maybe even offset some of what is genetically in my cards.

    So I turned to my trusty provider of information - Google.

    I typed in how to prevent...
    - heart disease
    - immune system diseases
    - osteoporosis
    - menopause symptoms.

    The results for all of them were similar.
    What stood out -

    Be more active. Maintain a healthy weight.

    I may never have any of those health issues my family has.
    I may be perfectly healthy the rest of my life.

    Regardless, I want to know (and I want my family to know) that I did EVERYTHING I could to be as healthy as I could to possibly avoid these issues.

    And for me - that's a good enough reason to lose weight.

    The Last 10 Minutes

    Aug 3, 2022 · Leave a Comment

    woman walking on treadmill

    I committed to 30 minutes a day on my treadmill.
    I don't know the speed, distance or calories burned.
    My treadmill is kinda old and janky and the only stat I know is right is the timer.

    But it seems easy enough, right?
    Just get myself on that treadmill and walk for 30 minutes.

    There are 48 30-minute increments in the day.
    I just need to spend 1 of those 48 increments on the treadmill.

    But today it wasn't easy.
    The first 20 minutes were okay.
    Well, maybe not.

    The first 10 were fine.
    The second 10 were slow as hell.

    My feet seemed like cement blocks.
    I was sweaty all over.
    Breathing was heavy and difficult.

    My brain started talking to me.

    This is hard.
    This is hard.
    Just stop.
    You already did 20 minutes, those last 10 won't make a difference.

    At first I tried arguing with myself.
    No, it's not hard.
    It's easy.
    You know what is hard - other people's lives.
    People who don't have homes.
    People who are sick.
    People who can't walk.
    People who are having to work hard jobs.
    (Yes, I was ready with a dramatic list of other people's lives that are hard.)

    Just walk 10 more minutes on the treadmill...in your basement.
    It almost couldn't be easier.

    But my brain persisted.
    This is hard.
    What difference does it make?
    Who will know?

    What if my brain is right?

    What if it doesn't make a difference?
    Honestly, I don't know for sure if those last 10 minutes are going to make a difference.

    I've never lost this much weight.
    I don't know how to do it.

    I'm just trying this, but I don't know if it'll work.
    Maybe it won't make a difference to my overall end goal of losing weight.

    ... and who will know?

    I will.
    I'll know that I didn't show up for myself fully today.
    I'll know that I didn't do the full 30 minutes.

    I want to be a person who says something - and means it.
    I want my word to mean something.

    I want to be a person who commits to do something, and I do it.
    I want to be a person who can do hard things.

    All this thinking took about 5 minutes.
    So just 5 more minutes to go.

    And still - it didn't seem easier.

    For the last 5 minutes of today's 30-minute walk I kept repeating the same thing over and over.

    I love my body
    I want to feel good in my body.
    I am making my body strong.

    This is what I had to do to get through my 30-minute walk today.
    It wasn't hard.
    But my brain didn't want to keep going.
    And today, I found a way to convince myself to keep going.

    I don't know if this same convincing will work tomorrow or the next day.
    Right now, I know that I completed Day 3 of walking 30 minutes.

    And for today, that's enough.

    My Plan to Lose Weight After Menopause

    Aug 1, 2022 · Leave a Comment

    losing weight after menopause with woman working out

    My plan to lose weight consists of 5 simple things.

    1. Stay Hydrated
    2. Move My Body
    3. Stop Eating When I'm Full
    4. Commit to Take Action
    5. Manage My Thoughts

    That's it. Seems simple enough.

    That's the point. If I complicate things, I'll get dragged down with all the details and end up just giving it all up.

    Instead, I'm making it easy.

    1. Stay Hydrated

    EVERY article and professional I see talking about weight loss seems to agree on one point - the importance of staying hydrated.

    I don't mind water, I just prefer coffee. So making myself commit to drinking water will be a change.

    I know water serves many purposes. Helping with digestion, with my joints and even regulating my body temperature. (https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink)

    Whether increased hydration will help with clear skin or help reduce my dry eye issues, I don't know. But I do know it won't hurt either of those!

    Goal: Drink 64 ounces of water a day

    2. Move My Body

    I am wording it this way on purpose.

    I'm not committing to a number of minutes to exercise or a type of exercise.

    I know I am going to exercise every day. I am planning on walking, yoga and weight training.

    However, since I'm starting from a point of a VERY sedentary lifestyle, I'm going to slowly build. So to start, I'm doing yoga to help start my daily moving, and 30 minutes on my treadmill at an incline. My goal is to walk so that I start sweating.

    In addition, I want to do some weight training. I want to get strong!

    To start off, I am going to do weights 3 times a week.

    Goal: Yoga, 30 minutes of cardiovascular daily. Weight training 3 times a week.

    3. Stop Eating When I'm Full

    This is the ONLY food restriction I am putting on myself.

    I will eat when I get hungry. I am not going to eat just because of the time of day.

    I am going to make sure I get enough fiber and protein in my diet.

    And besides that, I can eat what I want.

    I do have some eating limitations that I already had. I'm lactose intolerant so I limit my dairy and choose to drink almond or oat milk.

    I also have reduced my consumption of refined white flour and sugar. I haven't cut these things out, but I usually make food choices with these reduced.

    I don't drink alcohol. My husband and I have never been drinkers. I might have a margarita once a year. Honestly, I don't like the taste of alcohol.

    But instead, I'm taking a note from Corinne Crabtree (https://www.phit-n-phat.com/) and I'm going to listen to my body and stop eating when I'm full.

    Goal: Stop Eating When I Feel Body Reactions of Being Full

    4. Commit to Take Action

    I don't control the outcome.

    I can exercise, drink water, and do all the things, and my body might still not lose weight.

    I have never REALLY tried to do this before for an extended period of time to know if I can get results or not.

    But I'm not going to tie my feelings to achieving any result.

    Instead, I am going to focus on the action I want to take.

    I am going to commit to take the action.

    I also know there may be days where I don't take the action.

    And on those days, I'll just pick up with the next meal and follow the action I planned on.

    Goal: Take action.

    5. Manage My Thoughts

    This is the final one on my list, but it's really where this all starts.

    I am going to manage my thoughts about myself, my body, and my results.

    I am going to step on the scale on a weekly basis - and I'm not going to make the number mean anything about my self-worth or the way I think about myself.

    Or the way I talk to myself.

    My weight is just a data point. It tells me if the decisions I'm making and the action I'm taking is giving me a result I want.

    If it isn't, then I can change things up.

    But weight doesn't mean I'm a bad person.

    It's just a number like my height, my age, my vision (which is not good!)

    It's a number that I can change.

    And I'm going to change it.

    But I'm not going to tie it to the way I think about myself.

    Goal: Love myself.

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    Hi, I'm Rebecca! I'm a 44-year-old woman sharing my experiences as I live a life with intention and early menopause!

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    • My Body Measurements
    • My Why for Losing Weight
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