Tammy Salo

Traveling over ground and imagination

Dadgum Rodents…

This past weekend I bought this super nifty “keep the squirrels away” bird feeder from Lowes in the hopes that my fat squirrels would leave the seed to my poor, starving birds.

Monday, I came home to this:

I’m pretty sure my cardinals didn’t unscrew the feeder from the pole. Yes, the albeit cute, rodents somehow unscrewed this:

From this:

Did you notice the slinky on the pole? Yeah, that was another brilliant idea I had to try to keep the cuddly monsters out of the bird feeder. Obviously, that didn’t work either! In my mind, Rocky grabbed hold of the cage and pushed himself around and around using the pole with said slinky protector. I’m sure they had a jolly good time with it as well!  So much so that the extra piece that covered the larger hole on the feeder was missing for a bit. We found it a little later a few feet from the crime scene.

Weekend Trials…

Happy Monday!! Ok, so I’m not really happy it’s Monday but fake it ’til ya feel it, right?!

I mentioned in a previous post that I was considering allowing myself to have 1 cheat day a month but I was concerned that by indulging the one day I’d be tempted to keep on indulging. Well, I was tempted to keep indulging but I was successful in resisting!

My Saturday started off pretty good with my morning run. I met up with my cousin, Kelly, and her husband, Mark. We were just going to do a 4 mile route that was marked out for us. There is a group that gets together and marks the trails with white spray paint so you know which way to go. Kelly and Mark hadn’t been running since November (their 1/2 marathon) so they were just going to run/walk the route. I, on the other hand, wanted to see if I could run the whole thing.  

I was feeling pretty strong. My breathing was doing pretty good (I think it’s getting better thanks to the Serrapeptase but it’s still early) and my legs were pumping! It was only about 60 degrees and windy so the temperature was perfect. After I hit the 2 mile mark, I expected to be tired and ready to walk since that seems to be wall. However, I just kept on trucking! I made what I thought was the last turn back to the park when things started looking a little odd. I was on a golf course. I looked back to see if I took a wrong turn but the trail only went one way. I passed a few people that gave me looks. After a while I decided I needed to get off the course fast, but all I could see were fences for what seemed like miles. Surely there was a road that would meet up, but nope…not that I saw. Then I saw the top of the country club and decided I’d hit the street from there and find my way back to the park. At this point I was 3.5 miles in to my run. I stopped running so I wouldn’t get yelled at and hoped I could just blend in and get out as quiet as a ninja.

Yeah…not happening. Apparently, there was some sort of shindig going on at the club house and there were 100′s of people there. These were people lving in the million dollar homes I’ve been running by. They didn’t take too kindly to me being on their course! The Golf Course Bouncer stopped me before I could get to the club house and told me running wasn’t allowed. I explained that I didn’t do it intentionally and that I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. He asked what street I was looking for and when I told him he pointed to the woods and said I could hit it through there.

Ummm…ok, so you want me to go fighting through all that bramble? I asked him politely how I was supposed ot get through that and he explained that there was a slight trail next to the house and the woods that I could take. He even escorted me to the opening to ensure I left. Needless to say I was highly embarrassed. At the same time, I was proud to have run 3.5 miles and could have kept going. Plus, some of the hills on the course were a lot of fun to run on!

I started walking next to the house and when I came around the front there was a mother with her two kids (about 5 and 7). No one else was outside….no…just the people whose house I’m sneaking through the yard! She jumped because I scared the tar out of her. I apologized as I kept walking. I found the street and the park. Come to find out, I missed the spray paint arrow telling me to turn again because it was on the opposite side of where most people run/walk and right at an intersection where you’re looking for cars…no wonder I missed it!

All in all, I added about a half mile to my run and I finished at the same time Kelly and Mark did. It was pretty funny after the fact. Mark thought it was especially funny because he’s the one that normally gets lost!

After all of that excitement I started my cheat/splurge day by going to Chick-fil-a and getting a spicy chicken sandwich with waffle fries….yummm. Afterward, I went to Office Max to find some things when I started feeling rather sour. I left the store and went to sit in my car for a bit. My heart was thumping and I felt rather weak and worn out. It wasn’t food poisoning but I have no doubt it was all of the carbs that I hadn’t had in almost two months. I fell asleep in my car for a bit and when I woke up I was feeling better even though I had a slight headache.

For dinner the hubbins and I went to an Italian restaurant where I had a spicy Penne dish and a Ceasar Salad. It was quite delicious! I only ate half of my meal because I just wasn’t that hungry. I also had a couple of glasses of white wine. That night we went to a friends house where I had some chips and dip and shot the breeze until after midnight. Now, I only had 3 glasses of wine the entire night.

That night I slept like crap and Sunday morning I swear I had a carb hangover. I just felt bleh all over and didn’t feel like doing much of anything. The bad thing was, when Mike and I went out to dinner Sunday night even though I had felt bad from all the junk the day before I still wanted to order a cheeseburger. Thankfully, I resisted and got back on my diet. Those processed carbs are evil!

Who’s Afraid of a Cheat Day? Me…

As I sit here writing this post, I’m pondering whether I should allow myself to have a cheat day once a month. First, a little background. If you’ve read my blog for a bit you already know this, but I’m going to recap anyway!

I have Idiopathic (meaning don’t know what caused it) Tracheal Stenosis (a narrowing of my airway). Over time, my throat closes up to the size of straw which makes working out, heck even just walking across the parking lot, quite a chore. Think of wearing a nose plug and only being able to breathe what air you can suck in through a drinking straw. Now, think of running or lifting weights while doing that. Yeah…not fun.

Since the doctors don’t know what’s causing it, I’ve been trying to do different things with my diet to see if I can make it better. I’ve been sugar free for 60 days and gluten/dairy free for 45. So far, I can’t really tell where it’s making a difference, except for helping me lose weight! That being said, I don’t want to go through the rest of my life never eating another piece of bread, cake, or Mexican food…mmmm….Mexican food.

With that in mind, I’ve told myself that I would allow 1 day a month where I don’t worry about what I eat. Obviously, I’m not going to binge but I’m also not going to worry about gluten/dairy/sugar. In my mind, once a month is not bad. If I allowed myself one day a week I would be in trouble though.

So, what’s the problem? I’m scared to death that if I break free from my diet for the day that I’ll have a hard time getting back in to the groove the next day which may lead to me eating badly again…then again…and you get the picture.  I’ve lost 50+ lbs and I don’t want to gain them back. 6 months ago I would have been “hell yeah!” about a cheat day and not thought twice about it but I would also have probably fallen back in to my cycle of gaining the weight back and having just that much further to go.

This outlook is definitely new for me. This fear…I don’t like it. I should have confidence in myself to make the right choices for me. I want to be one of those people who can enjoy a piece of cake at a party and be able to go back to being healthy. Normally, an all or nothing approach is best for me. Especially since I think I’m a sugar addict. But, it’s just not realistic to think I’m never going to eat it again!

How can I enjoy my “cheat” day and hop back in the saddle without feeling food guilt or fear that I’ll gain 50lbs in one day?

Of Guest Posts and Shed Pounds

Happy Tuesday Everybody! I’m so excited to have my first guest blogger, Sasha, visiting today to talk to us a bit about her weight loss journey and what she has found to work for her. Please take some time to get to know her a bit here then hop over to her blog to read more about this inspirational woman!

From July 2011, currently down to 246.

Hi, Sasha, and welcome to my blog! I’m happy to have you as my first guest blogger.

Thanks so much for asking me to be a guest blogger, Tammy. You have no idea how much it means to me to be able to share a little of my experience.

Tell us a little bit about your history. Have you always struggled with your weight or is this something that has happened at a later stage in life?

I have always been overweight, my entire life, I have always also been rather tall and somehow that always compensated for it especially since I was always fairly active and muscular. My serious weight gain didn’t begin until I was well into my late 30s.

What was your rock bottom moment? That moment that pushed you to start your weight loss journey?

When I got to the point where I looked at a set of stairs with no banister with dread and when I starting avoiding unfamiliar restaurants because I was worried I wouldn’t fit into a booth, I knew things were way past out of control. Besides, I just got tired of feeling tired. Carrying around almost 400 pounds is a huge chore!

When you began your journey, did you tell anyone your goals or did you just jump in and let the current take you where it wanted?

When I first started out, I knew only two things for certain, first that I was absolutely not going to do a traditional diet of lowfat/nonfat foods/diet foods and, I was determined to be physically active again. My husband was the only person who knew what I was doing. I downloaded an app on the iphone called LoseIt a few months after I started my weight loss, it’s a simple tool and that’s about as ”organized” as I get with my weight loss. I try to keep my goals fluid so I don’t get discouraged or frustrated. Very important to keep in mind.

What has been one of the hardest things you’ve had to face since starting? How were you able to push through/cope?

The most difficult thing for me occurred early on in my weight loss and that was the point where I realized that my desire didn’t match my physical capabilities yet. I wanted to do so much more than I was able to do, my mind was already thinner and fitter than my body and I really had to push myself to get to where mind and body were more evenly matched. I still have this issue but not to the extent where I get as frustrated.

To date, you’ve lost about 130lbs, is that hard for you to wrap your head around? I’ve known some grown women who didn’t weigh that much! That’s a huge accomplishment.

Yes, the fact that I’ve lost 130 pounds just blows my mind sometimes. I’m at turns proud of myself and disappointed in myself for allowing myself to get that obese. It’s a mixed bag but mostly I’m enormously relieved that the majority of my weight loss is in my past.

How long has it taken you to get where you are now?

It’s taken me two years. If I had thought about this fact in the beginning of my weight loss I probably would have been overcome by impatience and possibly too discouraged to begin but I tried to acknowledge the timeline only occassionally. If you busy yourself with enjoying the process instead of focusing on “where will I be X number of months/years from now”, it helps.

Tell us about some of your non-scale victories and how that has motivated you to keep on trucking.

Those non-scale victories are certainly icing on the cake. Giving away huge bags of clothing to charity over the past two years has been a big incentive and I still have bittersweet feelings over giving away rather expensive shoes that no longer fit me after I lost an entire shoe size. Gaining strength is still my biggest incentive though. Every time I scale a hill on my bicycle that I had trouble with before or take on a longer hike, I gave huge amounts of self-confidence.

Speaking of motivation, what do you do when your motivation has left you? I know I have many times where I have no motivation to work out or watch what I eat. However, if I wait for motivation to strike I’ll be waiting a long time, and probably gain a few pounds in the process!

I talk about motivation often to people because I’ve noticed that they often allow motivation to be their basis for losing weight. This, in my opinion, is setting oneself up for failure. As you say, if we wait for motivation we’ll often find ourselves simply sitting around packing on pounds and getting weak when we should be drawing on self-discipline to compensate. Self-discipline is my fallback and I often find that after I push myself into doing something, the motivation comes back very naturally. I guess it’s a chicken or the egg thing.

How has your life changed (outlook, hobbies, etc.) since the day you made the choice to live healthier?

I am a happier, more confident person in mind body and spirit. I went from serious couch potato to enthusiastic outdoorsy girl. I love my hiking, bicycling and just being outdoors in nature. I live in the Pacific Northwest which has beautiful mountains and opportunities to play outdoors so it’s become my own personal playground now. I can’t believe how I’ve changed in this respect and I have great appreciation and gratitude for this change. 

How do you reward yourself for reaching goals?

My favorite ways to reward myself; hiking and bicycling gear and clothing. Being able to purchase a new bicycle because I’ve “outgrown” my old comfort bike or buying a backpacking backpack because I’m finally fit enough to go backpacking –these are my favorite rewards and they inspire to do more. 

What is your current goal you’re working toward?

Currently I’m working on toning and strength. I figure since it’s been awhile since I’ve lost any significant amount of weight, I’ll take advantage and work on shaping my body. When you lose a huge amount of weight, your body really droops. It’s been through a shock and needs a little tender loving care and that seems to be where I’m at right now. I’m seeing results in inches and appearance which is a big confidence booster. Weight loss isn’t a straight line and this is just part of the process as I’m discovering.

What 1 tool/item has been indispensable in this process?

Is self-discipline considered a tool? Because honestly, of all the things I’ve needed over the past couple of years, this has been my bottom line. The best part about it, anyone can have self-discipline, it’s like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets and the easier it’ll come to you.

Do you have any pearls of wisdom for people who may be where you were? Or for people who feel the task at hand is just too great?

Be persistent, be consistent, keep moving forward. This has been an important motto for me and it applies to all stages of the journey. Be prepared for rough times and emotions, push past them, ride them out, do whatever it takes, just keep going and it’ll happen.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to talk with us! I’m looking forward to seeing your journey continue to unfold!

These were wonderful questions and I appreciate the opportunity to help. Anyone can do this, I promise!

Face Lift

In 1983 my Uncle Eric gave me my first Bible (KJV). It was white leather, or maybe simulated leather, and to keep it from getting messed up my Mom added a clear film/book cover. Unfortunately this film had a tacky glue that didn’t remove easily. I was able to get the film off the cover, but it left some glue which them made black smudges in various places. While I was at church this morning I came up with an idea to give my Bible a face lift.

First, I chose the fabric I wanted to use and cut it out to fit. Then I attached it to the best of my ability.

It turned out pretty good, including the inside where the folder over fabric is. I had a bit of a problem with the corners though.

All in all, I’m happy with the results…

except I ended up putting the fabric on upside down! DOH.

This is definitely a more permanent cover than what most people would want, but it looks much better than the smudgy, sticky cover I had originally!