Tag: yoga pants

Gravity, Weight Loss, and a Really Good Bra

Weight loss is a funny thing, but then again, so is gravity. As we get older, gravity becomes even funnier. Our skin loses its elasticity, our asses start to sag, and if we have tattoos, they begin shifting like the continents. Those perky 90-degree boobs start to resemble a geometric puzzle.

I often joke that one way to combat that is by tying my boobs to my ass, thinking it might create some equilibrium. Alas, I digress.

When you combine aging with weight loss, gravity plays an even bigger role. I’ve lost 30 pounds this past year (yes, I’m on Wegovy), but no, it wasn’t done out of vanity. I have several autoimmune diseases that took a toll on my body. After the weight loss, my blood tests and heart tests are looking better, and surprisingly, even my IBS has improved. All my doctors are happy, and let’s be honest, I live to make my doctors happy.

The 30 pounds are quite noticeable on my five-foot-nothing frame, and gravity noticed it too. Last weekend, I ran into an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a while. She commented on my weight loss, but instead of saying, “You look great!” she said, “I can tell you lost weight because your boobs are saggy.” I started laughing—not from embarrassment, but because I found it funny.

This acquaintance had a breast reduction, so she’s very observant about other people’s breasts. I think we tend to judge or observe others based on the things we’re most unhappy about, and that impacts how we see people and life in general. She didn’t mean to be rude, and I don’t think she even realized it was.

Yes, gravity has taken its toll on my body, and weight loss has combined with it in ways that aren’t exactly fun. But I accept it with grace—and a really good bra.

#WeightLossJourney #GravityGotMe #BoobsAndButt #AgingGracefully

#WegovyJourney #WeightLossRealTalk #EmbraceTheSag #TalesOfGravity

#BodyPositiveHumor #AcceptanceAndHumor #AutoimmuneAwareness

#LaughingThroughLife #PerkyToPuzzled #SaggyButHappy

Facing Reality: My Journey from Out-of-Shape to Reclaiming My Fitness”

Today I discovered that I am an out-of-shape middle-aged woman. I knew I was middle-aged, so that was not really a surprise. The “out of shape” part, however, kind of threw me for a loop.

I started seeing a cardiologist, as it was suggested to me that, at my advanced age, I need to establish a relationship with one. It was a suggestion I listened to and actually followed through on.

I met with the cardiologist, took a heart calcium scan, and had a stress test performed. I walk almost eleven thousand steps a day, do Pilates Reformer three times a week, eat a mostly healthy vegetarian diet, and I’m usually on the move even at work. I also lost almost thirty pounds this past year. So, I thought I would do great on the stress test—alas, I was wrong.

I used to hike a lot. I climbed all the way to the top of the Moon Pyramid in Mexico when it was still allowed, did part of the Great Wall of China, and climbed all the way up to the Pantheon on Lindos, just eight months after breaking my leg. This past summer, I biked for fourteen miles in Alaska—downhill, but I think it still counts! But apparently, all of this wasn’t enough. I am out of shape.

Naturally, I questioned this, and according to the experts, I’ve been neglecting my cardio. I thought that walking was cardio, but apparently, it’s not enough—at least not for my body.

So now comes the proactive part: how do I improve my sad state of cardio without killing myself and still enjoy it? This is a really tough question, as I hate going to the gym. I really do. I also hate running; I firmly believe that running can be uncomfortable for those of us with larger chests—it’s just not pleasant.

I already do Reformer Pilates, but that’s focused on core strength. Now, the cardio part needs to kick in. My middle child is getting married, and there’s hope for grandkids in the future, so getting in shape is a priority. The big question is: exactly how?

When I was younger, I loved biking, so I guess I’ll be biking once again. I think short hikes—with and without the dog—are destined for my future as well. And I believe I’ll also add at least one great date a week with the elliptical at the gym.

I’ll continue being middle-aged, at least for a while, but that won’t stop me from getting back in shape.

Made my 1st online sale

I made my first sale on poshmark yesterday and I was very excited, no I am not endorsing poshmark and I will not be retiring any time soon. The reason I am excited is that I’m finally moving extra clothes I do not need or have ever used out of my house, decluttering and making a couple of bucks in the process.

Cleaning your closet is an emotional process, at least for me.  It is the process of learning to let go and actually letting go. I have clothes in sizes that will not fit me again any time soon. I kept telling myself that I will use them in the future once I lose some weight , but in reality I was afraid to admit that my body has changed and that is ok.And in reality when and if I will need smaller size clothes I can always buy more.

The other items  I am letting go off are all the great deals I got during the pandemic and boy there were really good deals, such good deals that they were never worn and still have tags on them. Shopping online was very dangerous back then, we got constant deals and free stuff. The 

the only problem with all the good deals was that I did not need them. Like many of us I worked remote and meetings were on zoom and there was no real need for dresses, dress pants or blouses. But like other people I justified it with “ I will use it when we get back to the office” , I was over optimistic. I have yet to use 80% of the items I bought and now I am sending them on a journey to a better home and in the process making enough money for a sushi dinner.

Jumping in puddles

 

There is something fun about  jumping in rain puddles, unexplainable it’s just fun. You see kids doing it all the time, jumping and splashing all around. Just pure fun. As adults, we don’t do this so much. I in fact hate to get my feet and socks wet so I used to avoid puddles like crazy.

Technically living in southern california kinda helped, rain is not really big here and we have had a drought for the last several years.  But not this year, we had rain and rain and more rain. It’s March 22nd and we still have more heavy rains coming. We had so much rain this year that we surpassed Seattle.

Many years and a dog ago I bought rain boots at Costco, black rain boots with colorful polka dots on them. I didn’t get to use them much because rain is not really big here. Last winter I didn’t get to wear them even once. I broke my foot, courtesy of my dog. Not only did I not get to wear my rain boots, I hardly got to wear any real shoes. When I got these boots my husband thought I was crazy, my kids might have thought I was crazy even the dog might have thought so and yet I still wore them to walk the dog and I was happy.

We went on a trip to Japan this past November and the weather was mostly great except for one day. We had a tour at an old style village called  Shirakawa-a and it rained non stop, we got completely soaked including our feet, socks and shoes. The tour bus had nice warmers underneath the seats so we could dry our feet. And even though we got wet, it was fun and we used a hair dryer to dry out the shoes later when we got back to the hotel. This experience reminded me that it’s not so bad to get your feet wet although it would have been better if I had waterproof boots.

These days in the rain I walk in the puddles and have lots of joy when I do it. I am not worried about getting my socks wet when the dog keeps looking for a spot on the wet grass to do her business and when we walk on the sidewalk I don’t shy away from those rainy muddy water puddles.  

My take from this is we can always find joy in simple actions like jumping in puddles  but the other take is that it’s easier, less stressful and funner  to do things when you are simply  prepared or when you have your polka dot rain boots on!

Trying New Things- Zumba Edition

Instead of waiting for next week, 2023, to start new things, I decided to start today. You hit the iron when it’s hot! So today I went with a friend to zumba. I have never done zumba before, didn’t want to try zumba before but my friend convinced me and I said fine, let’s see. 

I woke up this morning ready, muscles were warm from walking the dog already and my Shakira hips were ready to shake. To those who don’t know, zumba is like a school playground. There are favorite spots and locations, you have those who like to be in the front next to the instructor, there are those who like to hide in the back because they are uncoordinated. But being in the back means everyone that goes down the stairs or is on the other side of the glass sees you shaking your ass coordinated or not. So choosing a spot is tricky. If you go to the front and you are new you are bound to get stared down, front rows apparently are saved for the regulars. However if you have no clue of what you are doing  and you need to see the instructors movements you really need to be in the front, especially in busy crowded classes. 

Some wear elaborate zumba outfits with full hair and make up done, some wear the necessary sweatshirt around the waist so no one actually sees your ass shaking. I was in my regular yoga and t-shirt gym outfit and was guided by my friend who is a regular and saved me a spot in the second row, talk about pressure! She was asked if she knows me and if I am her friend. I have to say that zumba is not easy, it requires coordination and rhythm. Luckily I have rhythm, coordination not so much. But we had fun, burned some calories and tried a different skill , my body hurts all over and I see a Costco size pain killer container in my future. But I will go again as I have to admit, it really was fun.

How flexible work destroyed work life balance

Once upon a time people would finish their work day, pack up their stuff and go home. There was separation between work and home at least for most of us. Lunch time at work was sacred and you got to eat in peace and when you went home you watched TV, ate dinner with your family or just did whatever worked for you on your off hours. Granted some jobs required you to be on call or have late evenings.

Then came the pandemic and most of us went home. A lot of companies discovered that now they can have meetings galore, there is no need for everyone to be physically in the same space anymore. We can have meetings with people in other countries any time needed. Online meetings were the new god! Don’t get me wrong, not dressing up was a blessing for me and I loved the fact that I could cook when a meeting was boring. I even took advantage of the online all hours format and finally finished my MBA from an international school waking up at 5am for class. 

But what happens when you work for an international company that has meetings all hours – with countries that have 10- 16 hours time differences. Some that I know have meetings scheduled for them at 7am and then again at 9pm or as my friend says, I know when China and India start working as the meets pinging starts. When do employees have a chance to decompress and relax? 

This is not the only problem, employees are expected to be available at all times. If you have small children and don’t mind the weird work hours that is not a problem for you. But what happens with everyone else, the meetings keep being scheduled as everyone is supposedly available, family life is pushed to the side and balance does not exist. 

Some employers are great and respect boundaries but what happens when there are no boundaries. Work life balance does not exist anymore and if anything work and those annoying meet pings on the phone become worse.

Embracing the yoga pants look

I discovered lately that once your kids are grown up and are no longer in the house you are no longer considered a disheveled mom. Apparently at this point, just like a Pokémon you evolve and become just a regular frumpy human being. Technically you haven’t changed, you just no longer have the excuse of why you are disheveled, you are no longer juggling getting kids ready for school, after school activities, grocery shopping or play dates. You have no excuses anymore. 

Well in theory you have no excuses but in reality I can come up with many excuses for my disheveled look. I am only going to the gym or the grocery store, I’m just walking the dog. It’s dark no one knows who I am anyway. See I told you I have excuses galore.

I always admired and was a little jealous of those who are  all put together at 8am,color coordinated and dressed up to the T, a situation that I have to admit I never was in by choice. This is an ability that is really beyond my capabilities and will never be achieved unless I am on my 4th cup of coffee. To those of you who wonder if I look like crap all the time, don’t worry. For  work I dress like a professional. However, once at home my  preferred attire of yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt is back on.  Especially that these days yoga pants have pockets.

When I was younger and childless I was always dressed nice and all put together even in my college years. Somewhere during the first pregnancy I switched the high heels and dressy clothes with comfort and never went back. And now in my 50’s I doubt it will be different.

So today I am owning my frumpy look and even embracing it outside my work hours, but if you see me wearing a velour tracksuit stop me immediately , that is too far gone even for me.

Perfecting the disheveled mom look

I left the gym this morning with my usual gym attire – black Costco yoga pants and t-shirt that was on top of the pile of clean laundry. As i was leaving a young lady was entering, now young for me is anyone under 40, this young lady was perfectly dressed in matching yoga pants and sports bra, hair looked perfect and even her eyeliner was perfectly drawn.

I looked at her and wondered when did i change from being dresses to the T for the gym or for anywhere else to looking like something my dog dragged home 99% of my time. Could it be the fact that i’ve been married for more than 30 years, the fact that i’m not really a girly girl or maybe the problem is that i really don’t have the patience or that i really don’t care. The fact it that if i need more than 10 minutes to get ready it is too much for me.

After pondering my gym outfit existence my brain continued on the crazy path, why bother looking so good for the gym? If i would have been single and looking i would have gone and dressed like this in the afternoon as the morning crowd at the gym is a different demographic than i would thing a young lady would be looking for, but then again what do i know.

From there i continued on this very weird thinking path and realised that maybe that’s her motivation in the morning to get up and go to the gym and it probably works for her. For me, it’s a different story, i really dislike the gym and i really love the disheveled mom look, a look that i really perfected over the years and as the Collin Raye country song goes – That’s my story and i’m sticking to it!