Miss Moon Gets Healthy: December Stats

I did pretty well for December, I think. It's super cold now and I admit that since the start of 2013, I haven't been walking the 4 days a week I had planned to after work. But on the plus side, I have been eating super better, and I believe I've finally found the balance between eating good food and eating junk on occasion (A girl needs a little BBQs from time to time! LOL)

Me with my Lovely Aunt at Christmas. Please note I'm wearing my eating pants and NO shaper! LOL

I'm feeling really great about the progress I made in 2012, and I'm super excited to learn what the new year will bring for me. I have one big plan on the horizon, to make up for the fact that the cold is preventing me from wanting to take my walks. I'm calling it the best Valentine's Day present ever!!!

I'm planning on getting my very first Gym membership!!!! Right now I'm sort of torn between the Crunch Fitness Downtown Brooklyn  (Close to home) or the NYSFC in Soho (Close to the job), but I'm confident that by V-Day, I will be making my first visit to the gym that's right for me!! If you go to any of these locations, be sure to leave a comment letting me know the perks! :)

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: November Stats

So I was terribly disappointed by my walking stats for November, and I had almost contemplated not posting them out of embarrassment.

But upon further reflection, I started to understand that I did damn good this past month, considering.... Considering what? Considering the fact that I work full time now. Considering the fact that I've been racking up a butt load of overtime. Considering the fact that NYC was hit with a Super Storm and a Nor'easter two weeks in a row!

So I've revised my feelings and I am now quite proud that I walked almost forty miles last month. And the best news of all is that I've (kind of) reached my goal!!! I am now a size 18 in tops... though I'm still a 22 in bottoms! Whomp! Whomp! LOL

HORRIBLE picture of me: Just home from working 8 hours and walking 3 miles, so I was not looking very glamorous... But I am wearing a size 18 top, so YAY! LOL

Reaching my goal partly has given me the motivation to reach it completely. I don't know if I'll get there by the end of December, which was my original plan. But I know with certainty that I will reach it, and that I will keep walking (weather permitting.. it's getting cold here!) And I will start eating better than I have been to get myself back on track!!!

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: October Stats

I'm back with last month's walking stats and my Miss Moon Gets Healthy progress. I did really really well this past month, I think. The only hindrance was the appearance of Super Storm Sandy, because as a result I didn't walk for an entire week during the clean up process.

I actually had the golden opportunity to go shopping to get a few new items for work, and the funniest thing was that I was so hesitant to get a smaller size. It was like I was paralyzed with fear that if I bought these smaller sized clothes, go home and they don't fit... I will feel like a failure. I had to pep talk myself with the obvious statement that if they don't fit, I can return them for a larger size. And the most fabulous thing was that I didn't have to return them. The smaller sized clothes fit me just fine. And it was a bizarre concept to me... I am actually two sizes smaller than I had been for YEARS!!!

I am so very close to my year end goal, and now that I'm working, I understand the importance of keeping the walking going. I don't know if I can realistically walk 20 miles a week, so for November I will shorten the goal to 10 miles a week. Once I get used to the process, I will up the ante. I also would very much like to join a gym by year's end, because once the weather gets colder here in NYC, I'm not going to want to be walking around for an hour and a half a day! LOL

On a side note, my tee shirt says, "My Vote Rocks"... because it TOTALLY does!! And so does yours! So be sure to get out there and vote today!!!!

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: And Learns to Love Her Skinny Sistren (And Herself!)

I've never considered myself a hater of slim women before. I never even partook in the "skinny women are evil" campaign... even in jest. This is something I'm especially proud of, because in being full figured for most of my adult life, I've had random strangers speak so disrespectfully of me... all because I dared walk into their field of vision being the size I am. I never felt good after those encounters, so I am not about to make anyone feel that way. Ever! But something happened to me last week that really opened my eyes. It's not my finest moment, I admit... but there's a revelation in the story, so I'm inclined to share it.

For my daytime walks, I like to walk up to Lafayette Avenue and circle Von King Park a few times before I make the trek back home. The park is beautiful, and has the only working water fountain in Bed-Stuy, it seems.. so its a good place to go and get hydrated while walking, since I never carry water with me (I know.. major no no!). The first time I tried to lap the park, I thought I was going to die. Now, I can do 5-7 laps, something I am very proud of myself about.

I'm a life long insomniac, and my sleep schedule gets wonky at times. Such has been the case recently, so my "daytime walks" have been happening around 4 or 5 pm. And lately, when I've been circling the park I've encountered this woman jogging. She's... amazing! She glides around the blocks effortlessly in her little running shorts, ponytail swinging to and fro, much like the woman pictured above.

When I first laid eyes on her, to paraphrase comedian Louis C.K. (I know I quote him a lot, but really.. sometimes he puts things  EXACTLY the way I would!!), I had to stop walking, because I needed my whole body to hate her with! LOL

Why did I hate her? Because she made me feel like a major chump for daring to walk my big ass around this park, panting and sweating like a hooker in church while she jogs past me... thin and beautiful and glistening. She actually effin' glistens... she doesn't sweat!!! I felt horrible about myself, and experienced a "Oh, what's the use?!?" moment, so I stopped circling the park around two laps and walked back home, contemplating walking someplace else from now on, until my sleep schedule gets right, and I could get to the park earlier. 

What's funny is that this whole situation was that this was also the day that I took the photo of myself that I shared in my last Get Healthy entry. I went home and told my Mum about this woman, and she said to me, "Don't worry.. this time next year, you'll be jogging along side of her!". She went on to tell me that she can very clearly see that I have lost weight and that my attitude and posture has improved since I've started walking. Which was great to hear, because as I've said.. I don't see it yet. I feel it, definitely, but I still look like the big girl I always was. And she's fine.. she's great in fact. But I wanted to see some evidence that I'm on the right path.

And I had an epiphany. I didn't hate this women because she's perfect and I'm not... I didn't hate her at all, but I envied her because she represented something I thought I couldn't achieve. She was like a carrot dangling over my head that I had no chance in hell of catching... And seeing her pass me by when she jogs felt..... cruel to me. When I reflected on this some more, my attitude changed. Because that carrot?!? It's TOTALLY something I have the capacity to catch. And I will catch it. It might not be next year, as Mizz Lennid predicts, but it will happen. And I took the picture in part as a reminder to myself that I have already made great strides and will continue to do so. Which is a perfect opportunity to say....Thank you, Everyone, for the words of encouragement here, on Twitter, and on The Miss Moon's Musings FaceBook page!! Your excitement about my progress is a big part of what keeps me going!

So when I saw the woman again, instead of hating her (Really, hating myself.. let's be honest!) I sent her a silent "Thank you!", and repeated my thanks each time she lapped me around the park. Because she represents the possible results of the path I have started: A women who is fit, healthy, and effortlessly pacing Von King Park like a mickey ficky BOSS... her ponytail whipping to and fro. Perhaps one day, when I am feeling especially brave I will thank her personally. For now, this post is a start. :)

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: April Stats

I've been on my "Get Healthy" path for a few months now, but April was the month that I really got it going!!! I plan on  keeping this post short and sweet and just share with you how far I have come! If I can do it.. believe me, anybody can!!!

And here I am... after a walk earlier this week. I saw this Pin on Pinterest once that said, "If you still look cute after a workout... you're not doing it right!".... Judging from this picture, I am definitely doing it right!!! LOL

Others have remarked that they can already see a difference in me, but I must admit that I can't just yet. But I will continue to keep going and I know that one day, I will!!! I cannot wait to see what May has in store for me!!! Let's go #TeamGetHealthy!!!!

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: By Walking...With Gratitude!!!

I wish I was one of those women who are GUNG-HO about working out. While I find my walks tremendously gratifying, and I love the fact that I am doing something beneficial to my body... I'm not at the place where I can say honestly, "Yes!! I'm about to workout and sweat!!!" Perhaps one day I will be 24/7/365, but for now... it's a struggle to get motivated to take my walks sometime.

What's proven to be helpful in the process is GRATITUDE. Surely, gratitude is something that makes life better 100% of the time, but I hadn't thought about how gratitude can help me in my work outs before until recently. I set out to find three things to be grateful for at the beginning of my walks, which made the trek seem less like a workout and more like a walking meditation of sorts.

And I've found that during my walks I find something to be grateful about ALL the time!!! From the beautiful murals I've spotted around my neighborhood (Photos courtesy of my Instagram)...

To the beauty that only Spring in Bed-Stuy can bring....

And how can I not mention the bounty of EYE CANDY spotted at the local basketball courts?!?!? Whoooooo! Bless those menfolks!!! LOL

The moment I started finding things to be grateful for, I've started to be excited for each of my walks... if only for the opportunity to express gratitude! And I am a firm believer that gratitude=happiness and happiness=health... And since that is what the objective is, I believe I'm on the right path!!!