Shopping with Skinny Friends

You get invited to go shopping with your skinny friends.

Panic.

You try to make up an excuse.

"I'm too poor right now, sorry"

But you haven't seen your friend's in forever and decide to go anyway. Store after store you watch them try on clothes you desperately wish you could wear.

You go into brand name stores and check out the men's section to see if maybe you could find a hoody that fits you. The men's clothes are more expensive than the cute woman's clothes you want to wear, but you buy it anyway because you want to be like them.

Next stop: Lingerie. Oh God. You awkwardly walk around Victoria's secret empty handed while your friends bounce around with 3 double push up's over their arms and a hand full of thongs. For fun you look at the biggest size they carry. You realize that you would have had to sew two of them together to even make it around your body. You end up buying some body spray and lotion at the cash just so you can leave carrying that pink striped Victoria's secret bag too.

The ladies need fall boots! You get to the shoe store and take a look around. Your friends are grabbing the latest knee high boots and you're wondering how anyone in the world can squeeze their legs into them. Your friends zip them up effortlessly without even thinking about it. You realize that nothing in this store would fit you, so you casually make your way to a wall of purses at the back. You buy a purse so you don't have to leave the store empty handed.

(are you beginning to see why fat women have so many accessories?)

Lunch time! You head down to the food court. This is it, you're finally going to see what they eat to stay so skinny. They order whatever they want. Pizza, burgers, pop.

WTF

You order a small wrap, water, and a side salad because one bite of pizza makes you gain 5 lbs. Your friend's see that you aren't in a good mood and ask "what's wrong?". You say "nothing" and smile because you're embarrassed about everything you've encountered today. You're ashamed that you can't walk around the mall effortlessly in yoga pants, that you can't shop at the same stores your friend's shop at, and that you can't even buy a damn bra without going to a specialty store.

You go home and empty your shopping bags, adding to the many accessories and body sprays you already have, and vow to make a change. You promise yourself that you won't live like this any longer, and that you will lose weight.

Get Moving! Challange Day 1

Hi everyone! I'm participating in the Canadian Diabetes Association's Get Moving challenge! For one week, we are encouraged to incorporate as much physical activity into our work days as possible. I work at an awesome call center, but that means I'm sitting at a computer all day, but there are lots of desk exercises and small measures that can be taken to be more active.

We have a list of suggested exercises and ways to get more active during the day. I will post each evening my activity for the day!

I missed posting Monday, and I did not work yesterday, so I'm posting Monday's activity below now! :)

• I got to work an hour early and walked 1 mile on the treadmill at an incline :)
• 9:20 am- 50 Leg lifts at desk
• 11:45am- 50 more leg lifts at desk
• 12:50pm- Used resistance bands at my desk. I'm still trying to strengthen my shoulder from my dislocation.
• 1:20pm- used company gym for stretching and weight training on lunch
• 2:21pm- 25 leg lifts at desk
• 4:30pm- Desk exercises including leg lifts, resistance band, and stretching.

I'll post again later with today's activity!

Dedreanna

How I dislocated my shoulder

Hey everyone! I know I've been neglecting this blog in favor of my mom blog Adventure & Love, but I'm going to try my best to keep it going. I wasn't sure which blog this post should go on, but I've decided to talk about it here since this is my health outlet.

So, a little back story on the shoulder situation. Last spring I partially tore my rotator cuff. I was sitting in our glider trying to get Mason to sleep, and I reached my right arm back to grab something from the pocket of the chair. It was an instant searing pain and my shoulder felt really unstable and wobbly. It was SO painful I dropped Mason off my lap onto the floor. I had no idea what had happened, and it was extremely sore for weeks afterwards. I eventually went to outpatients and was told by the on call doctor that I had torn or partially tore my rotator cuff. The only way to tell if something like that happens is by doing an MRI, which they wont do unless its absolutely necessary.

So months go by. I never went to physio because I was told it would eventually heal on its own. Once in a while if I moved it a certain way, it would quickly pop out and pop back in, which is painful, but it always happened really fast.

3 days ago was like any typical morning at our house. Mitch was in the tub, and Mason and I were in the bathroom also, getting ready for the day. Mason was standing by the tub and I was by the sink. I stretched my arms out, like everyone does in the morning, and my shoulder completely slipped out of the socket and was pushed forward. I can honestly say I finally found something that hurts worse than labor pains. It was honestly the worst pain of my life. It felt completely unstable and I could feel the shoulder grinding around, my arm was completely numb from my elbow up and I couldn't move my shoulder in any direction without extreme pain. It was a complete shock and I just started screaming. Mitch had no idea what was going on and though that I had a charlie horse (I'm prone to them). He was like "What do I do??!?", so I told him I needed to go to the hospital.

He got Mason ready to go and we headed to the ER. Any movement at all was extremely painful, so I kept my arm close to my body while we drove up. On the way there we went over a bump and I felt my shoulder slip back into place. We still continued to the hospital because even though it was back in place, it still hurt a lot and I wanted to get it checked out.

The on call doctor ordered an X-ray of it and came back saying my shoulder bone looked "pristine" and that there was no sign of damage. Again, you cant see muscle damage without an MRI, which they wont do unless you need surgery. He said that my rotator cuff and shoulder muscles are probably still weak from the original injury back in April, and that it can easily slip out of place again if I don't strengthen them. I was given a sling and a "prescription" for physio. He also told me ways I can pop it back into place if it happens again- basically telling me it will probably happen again and I don't need to go to the ER each time- awesome...

It's been a few days, and I'm not wearing the sling anymore. It was impossible to do anything with it on, and just annoying in general. I'm taking this as a serious wake up call on my health and strength. My body is clearly trying to tell me something, and I need to listen to it.

So now, I sit here before work writing this, drinking a protein shake instead of an iced cap with serious intentions of finally kicking all of my unhealthy habits and following my own advice that I've been telling people based on what I'm learning in school.

This thanksgiving weekend I'm thankful for life, and for all of the changes to come. 

Small hills before big mountains

Hi everyone! I'm back after a long summer away from blogging, so I'm just going to jump back into it. 

I made a small goal today to walk all the way down our street and back up again with Mason in the stroller. This may not seem like a big deal, but I live at the top of a pretty steep hill. I even told Mitch to listen for my call in case I needed him to rescue me, lol! 

But...we made it! 

In fact, we walked further than I had intended. We walked all the way down the hill, down the next street over, then back up again. 

It's such a small goal, but I feel really good about it. My back was hurting, I had to stop a couple of times, but we made it. Next time, we'll walk even further. This is what goals are all about- crushing them and making even bigger goals. 

Dedreanna 

How to keep your family active this summer!

Hey everyone!

So, as most of you know, I have a toddler. He's a ball of wild energy and most days I'm left trying to find ways for him to work that energy off. Its so important to me that he's getting enough physical activity throughout his day- preferably outside where he can run free and get fresh air at the same time.

Some of his favorite things to do outside are play with his soccer ball, run around (obviously), swim, and play at the park.

I turned to a local mom group on Facebook to give me some insight on how they're keeping their children active and outdoors this summer. Here are some of their responses:

• Geocaching
• Biking/walking the trails
• Spending time at the beach
• Yard games, such as washer toss and ladder ball
• Visiting local swimming/wading pools and splash pads
• Yard toys such as sandboxes & water tables 
• Toddler/child sports, such as soccer, ball hockey, ect
• Visiting local parks/attractions 

Something else that I find very important is letting your children see you participating in outdoor fun too. It's our responsibility to set an example for our kids- which means not spending all summer in front of netflix.

Comment below, or on Facebook and tell me how YOU plan on keeping your family active this summer,

Dedreanna  

My Experience with Postpartum Anxiety and OCD

Hello pretties,

So this is a bit of a tough topic to talk about, but I feel it's also a really important one. You may or may not already know this, but I have been struggling a lot with anxiety and Obsession Compulsive Disorder since the birth of my son in April 2014. I did not seek help for this issue until I was 6 months postpartum, and by that time it was getting really difficult to function in every day life.

I felt on edge constantly, as if I were in a horror movie, waiting for something bad to happen at all times. I was afraid to get into the car with someone else driving because I was constantly worried about getting into an accident. I had intrusive thoughts about the people I love dying, and had to do compulsive behaviors to keep those bad things from happening. An example of these behaviors was when I went to get a glass out of the cupboard. I saw one that reminded me of my grandmother (she has the same one) and had the thought "If I don't choose this glass, my grandmother will die." So I was forced by my intrusive thought to choose that glass, or something horrible would happen.

Every night before bed, I would check on my infant son multiple times. I would check under his crib and in his closet to make sure no one was hiding there. I always checked the lock on the door, the heaters, the stove, the windows, ect before I was able to sleep. Even after checking multiple times, I would still get out of bed to check, again and again until I felt satisfied enough to go to bed. Once in bed, I would stare at the baby monitor, watching the motion sensor go back and forth. I would obsess about the temperature in his room- is he too hot? Too cold? I was terrified of SIDS and made every precaution necessary to prevent that from happening.

After going through this for a few months, my fiance started encouraging me to speak to my doctor. I made an appointment, and remember completely breaking down crying in her office. I just wanted to feel somewhat normal again. She told me that it happens to a lot of woman after giving birth, and prescribed me an anti depressant. It was a few weeks before it started working. During those weeks I had side effects such as nausea, anxiety attacks and insomnia. Once it finally started working, I felt so much better. I still have some OCD behaviors, but nothing compared to what I had before. 

My son is now almost 15 months old and I am considering switching medication or coming off it completely. I feel like it's making it difficult to lose weight- a common symptom in a lot of anti depressants. I'm hoping I can find ways to deal with this naturally through holistic nutrition, exercise, ect. I have a doctors appt to discuss some options next week! I'll keep you updated:)

Dedreanna

Free Gym = Happy Mom

I just thought I would share a few photos of where I work out while at work! I've considered getting a membership to a "real" gym, but why bother when I can use this room for free. I definitely would rather find ways to exercise outside of a gym, but this is perfect to use during breaks, or before/after work for some quick energy gaining, calorie burning fun. 

Thanks to that TV, I often catch up on my talk shows during cardio lol

My Favorite section 

...and the best part of using this gym? It's ALWAYS empty when I use it! Thanks to everyone having different breaks, I've never seen anyone else even come in this room before. Totally beats exercising in a packed gym uptown! 

Summer of Health!

Hey everyone, just a quick update on how I'm doing with my own weight loss. I've been taking advantage of our company gym at work lately, and also working out when I get home- and I'm feeling great! I was feeling sluggish lately and not really wanting to do anything, but since I've been exercising more, I have so much more energy. I'm finally feeling like I'm getting back into the groove of things and taking control of my health. My 1 year old has been watching me work out and copying some of the moves. It makes me unbelievably happy to see him joining in and learning about physical activity. Kids are pretty active creatures anyway, but it's SO important to me that he actually sees us being active, and for exercise to be a normal part of his life.

Next month we have some AWESOME changes happening in our daily schedule. I'm starting a new shift at work that offers me weekends off and mornings to myself, and Mason is switching to an amazing daycare within walking distance of our house. This means I can walk him to daycare every morning, and have time to squeeze in a workout before starting my shift. I can already tell that this summer is going to be so much fun.

Tell me in the comments how you plan to keep active this summer!:)

Dedreanna

A Walk in the Woods

One of my favorite ways to exercise is by getting outdoors. There is something so renewing about being surrounded by beautiful trees, and having dirt under your feet. I went for an early morning walk at our local Botanic Garden with my cousin, Amber. We took a trail through the woods, leading out onto the gardens at the bottom. It was so hot out! Like almost too hot to be walking outside, but we made it:)

I love this place so much. It's so nice to know that this small oasis exists in the middle of the city.

On a cooler day, I plan to take my toddler here (to the garden part) in his wagon for a picnic and to run around. Chasing a toddler around must burn some calories, right??

Throughout the summer, I plan to post more about different walking trails in Fredericton, and which ones are my favorite.

Dee

The Fat Acceptance Movement

I recently shared a Facebook post about the fat acceptance movement and got a lot of positive feedback from people agreeing with me. My intention is never to make anyone feel bad, or start a Facebook war, so I was pleasantly surprised when others felt the same way as I did.

My post was sparked by the recent publicity that Tess Munster has been getting for being on the cover of People magazine. I am a plus size woman, and have been for most of my life, therefore I fully understand the dangers and health risks associated with it. My issue with her being on the cover is this- If she was severely anorexic, would she still be getting praise for body positivity and accepting herself? Absolutely not.

If People magazine featured a woman with a severe eating disorder- progressed to the point of being just skin and bones and glamorized her, the public would be outraged.

So whats the difference between being morbidly obese and being anorexic? Obesity is everywhere and we see it everywhere we go. We are used to it. We ALL know someone who is morbidly obese. Whether its a family member, co worker, spouse, child, or yourself- obesity is everywhere.

It's much less socially acceptable to say to someone "Hey, I've noticed you've gained a lot of weight recently, is everything okay" then to say "You're losing a lot of weight, are you okay?"

When someone is losing weight rapidly to the point of being unhealthy, they get comments almost immediately, and usually an intervention of some sort follows. Why doesn't this happen when someone is becoming obese? People tend to tiptoe around the subject, afraid to hurt someone's feelings. If you really care for someone, you should be honest with them, and do everything you can to support them on their journey to getting healthy.

Tess Munster is as much of a body positive role model as the severely anorexic models we've all talked about. She is promoting an unhealthy image and showing people that it's okay to be unhealthy.

She is a beautiful woman, but she is an unhealthy woman.

There is nothing wrong with loving your body, but part of loving your body is taking care of it. We should be setting good examples by showcasing healthy, strong woman on the covers of magazines.

One of the main reasons I am changing my lifestyle is to promote a healthy image for my son. It bothers me to know that children will be seeing unhealthy role models on the cover of magazines and think that its okay to be like them. This goes for all unhealthy role models- both under and overweight.

Just some food for thought (no pun intended).