Fantastic Voyage: Pack your baggage and let's get moving!

Fantastic Voyage: Pack your baggage and let's get moving!

Well, here I am again, folks. I've taken a bit of a break from the keyboard here and while things in real life have been crazy, I think it's time to get back at it with this new venture.  If you've stumbled upon this post by some stroke of fate, allow me to welcome you.  If you're someone who knows me personally, you know how glad I am that you're taking any time to take a look at my thoughts.  

Given the nature of the title of my blog, I feel that this first post should be a quick overview of what you can and cannot expect from me.  

Expect the following:

• Stories from my journey from one side of the fitness spectrum to the other.
• Sarcasm--it's a gift.
• My personal experiences with not only that journey, but everyday life as well.
• A cast of colorful characters who may not enjoy being written about, but who have played a roll and are worthy of mention.
• The occasional 4 letter word.

What NOT to expect:

• I am not a dietitian, nutritionist or any kind of trainer! I cannot advise you on the best or healthiest way for you to live.  I am not saying that everything I did is right, but it is my story and I feel that right or wrong, there are things that others can benefit from.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let me tell you why I felt I should sit and write TONIGHT.  

I was walking through Publix (my local supermarket) today when I overheard two girls in their mid 20's talking about tea.  Actually, they were lamenting the fact that they couldn't find the tea they were looking for.  That's when I heard the word "dandelion".  Ahhh, dandelion root tea.  I instantly knew why one girl was looking for it while warning her sister, "You better not tell Mom I'm doing this."  She was doing a cleanse.  Cleanses, as we all know, are huge right now.  People love to say they need to "jumpstart" a weight loss program.  When I was a kid, that was when you just didn't eat anything for a few days.  Yeah, not smart, but some of the cleanses out there are scarier than that.  

I knew she was going to do the Gillian Michaels cleanse.  Basically, you drink dandelion root tea mixed with 1 tablespoon of cranberry juice and some lemon juice and you can drop up to 7lbs in the first 3 days.  As someone who has done this particular cleanse, I can tell you that weight comes off in the form of water.  Water weight can be a woman's worst enemy.  I half heard her talking about how she needed to start this asap and without thinking, I grabbed a box of tea from the shelf and handed it to her.  

"Just so you know, it's not very tasty."  I offered.  She asked if I knew what she was doing and I told her that I had done it and what she could expect.  She asked why I needed to do it.  I was shocked.  People who knew me didn't ask these things.  They knew.  "I retain a lot of water." I muttered.

"That's not what I mean. You're not big like me." Big like me. A thought I'd had when looking at other women countless times.  She went on to say she was a size 14.  I almost wanted to laugh.  Not because of her size, but because she really thought there was something wrong with it.  

"Oh honey," I smiled, "I topped out at a 20/22."  She couldn't believe it. I admit that it's handy to keep before and after pics on my phone.  I showed her mine and we talked about what I'd done, how long it had taken and what I saw as my next challenge along the way.  

It was about 15 minutes later when I left and she thanked me saying, "Thank you. I feel better knowing that a real person has done it. Not just rich and famous women who can pay for it."  She'd struck a cord for me.  

I'd always thought it was so strange that society praises celebrity weight loss the way it does.  Praising those who can pay for the nutritional guidance, personal chefs and trainers while they lose and then any surgery they want to finish off their new look?  Seems off to me.  Why can't we praise the working women who drag themselves from their beds to workout on their own before working?  Or the women who stay at work on their lunch to read articles on the newest workouts and best ways to achieve their results?  There are women who struggle daily on their own with the notion that even after losing all the weight they wanted or needed to, they still aren't there.  Women who didn't drop weight to look good on a magazine cover, but who changed their lives because they wanted to not only look better, but feel better.  

I am one of those women.  My story isn't over yet, but I'll do my best to tell you about it...