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Thursday, October 9, 2014

Then vs. Now.




Last week, I was teaching a 4th grade music class. It was a group of really fun kids, and I was teaching them a dance to the song Footloose. They will be performing the song at an event in November and the students were so excited to be learning the dance.

At the end of the song, we punch our fists into the air and freeze. The song ended and the room was silent. All 25 of us were standing still with our fists up in the air.

"Wow Mrs. Cooney, you have muscles!" one of the girls exclaimed.

I am not going to lie, I was TICKLED PINK when she said that. And it got me thinking... several years ago, I would have been so excited if someone had said to me, "Wow, you look so skinny!" All I wanted was to be skinny. No, I wanted to be too skinny. 

Now, it's a different story. Someone telling me I look strong is what makes me feel good about myself. (Among other things, of course, but I would be lying if I said I didn't want my body to look a certain way.) I no longer want to look skinny. I want to have muscles and I want to be STRONG!

Which got me thinking... quite a lot has changed since I decided to make a commitment to my health and sanity. Here is a little chart that shows how far I have come in the past couple years...



THEN
NOW

Do 2 hours of cardio a day. Every day.


40-50 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week.


Eat 1,200 calories a day. (ish)


Eat 2,200+ calories a day.



Zero strength training.


2-3 strength training session per week.



Obsessing over how many calories are in a particular food.



Recognizing food as fuel. Calories are energy that I need.

Running 50-65 miles per week.



Running 20-35 miles per week.

Zero rest days. Freaking out that I will get “fat” if I rest.



2 lower body rest days every 9 days. Embracing rest days and realizing they make me faster and stronger.

Thinking about food all day long and worrying about what I'm going to eat.



Enjoying food and looking at hunger as an opportunity to make a food choice that will help me reach my goals.


The results? I feel free. I can’t believe the downward spiral I was in. I am so happy I changed my lifestyle for the better! I’m not sharing this with you to insinuate you need to eat/workout the way that I do. It’s simply what works for me and keeps me happy, injury free, and healthy. (No, I'm not perfect. I have my moments, hours, & days where I get back into my old thinking. But I eventually get myself out of it. I'm not immune to setbacks.)

What I do hope is that this post inspires you... If something is NOT working for you, take a CHANCE! Step out of your comfort zone! If you’re not happy, try something different. What’s the worst that could happen?

No one has called me "skinny" in a LONG time. It makes sense. There are so many fitness goals I have met now that I never, ever, ever would have been able to meet had I kept trying to appear "skinny".
When was the last time you took a chance? Something was not working for you and you did something different...

25 comments:

  1. I love this, friend! As you know, I took a similar journey. My "before" looked very much like yours except I have to add "injured, tired, depressed and constantly getting sick". It has not been an easy journey these past 4 years, but my "after" is so worth it. Like you said, I feel FREE!

    I would tell anyone that is struggling with this to take a chance and give it a try. Meg & I can tell you....it does work and the results will be amazing!

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    1. Yup, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Logic would tell us we HAVE to do something different.

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  2. That is awesome! It takes a while for us to learn sometimes, but when we do, it is so worth it to truly be HEALTHY and FREE!

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    1. It is worth it, and I can't imagine not seeing the light and how unhappy I would still be!

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  3. That's so awesome that your student noticed! You are being a good role model to little girls everywhere! I have a friend with two young daughters and she's always talking about losing weight even though she is very skinny and I wonder how that will affect her daughters. She says she tries not to talk about being skinny in front of them, but one time her daughter said that she felt fat and if she was fat no one would like her ... she's only 5 years old. I hope she finds your blog when she's old enough to read blogs :)

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    1. Oh that IS sad. I wish we could use more words like "strong" "energetic" and "healthy" to describe ourselves and describe young girls.

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  4. Holy poop 2 hours of cardio! I love that not only your student said that, but that she it admiringly. I see people comment on videos/articles all the time saying that girls with muscles need to stop lifting or whatever and I just want to punch someone through my screen. I think muscles are beautiful and being strong makes me feel better than being thin, but it just makes me feel SO happy that a kid noticed and was impressed rather than falling victim to the whole skinny is best thing.

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    1. I wanted to punch my computer screen last night. Someone in my FB feed who is in the fitness industry was promoting using 1-3lb weights so they didn't build "bulky" muscle. WTF????

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  5. LOVE it! I hope my daughters see me as physically strong, not just as skinny. (I am rail thin and have been my whole life). I make no qualms about enjoying eating, and food as fuel, and embracing who I am. What a good example you are for your class!

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    1. There is nothing wrong with being skinny/thin whatever if that is just your natural body type. I would say I am on the naturally thin side as well, I was just trying to get SKINNIER via unhealthy habits. Not good!! I am sure your daughters admire you for loving yourself for who you are!

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  6. Strong is the new skinny right. So important to listen to your body and give yourself a break when you need it on your rest days. And incorporating strength training into your weekly workouts. -L

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    1. The biggest thing I am surprised about is the embracing rest days. I would say for the first year, I would rest, but not enjoy it. Then it got to the point where I would rest and look forward to it. What a game changer!

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  7. Love this! I have learned a lot about my body since I started running, and I can't wait to continue learning more. I cringe when people call me skinny, it's more of an insult to me than anything else. I'm looking forward to doing more strength training after my race!!

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    1. I know, especially with all your marathon training, I am sure the last thing you would want is for people to call you skinny! How about "Dang girl, look at your strong legs!" ??

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  8. Love this!! I agree - strong is SO much better than skinny!!!
    Your Now list is awesome!!!

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    1. Thanks! The mind shift didn't happen overnight but now it feels right.

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  9. Yes, that is why I wanted to be sure to mention that just because I ate a certain number of calories doesn't mean everyone should! I have actually slowly been bumping up my cals and now I don't even track them anymore!

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  10. I hear ya girl and although I never went to extreme measures to be skinny, it's probably something I would have hoped for more at one time, and like you, now I love it when people say I look strong. I'm "thin" enough...I'm all about the muscle definition and the tone...and just being healthy!

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  11. What I love about this post is that I know you're helping gives these girls an idea of what fit and healthy looks like. You're a role model for them. They will see strength as beautiful. They may be less likely to delve into unhealthy habits because of it. Modeling healthy living is so important for our students. I seriously LOVE that you're clearly having that impact on them!

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    1. I honestly never thought of that. I guess I thought 4th graders are too young to care about that stuff but clearly they're not.

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  12. I can relate to you on eating more calories and viewing food as fuel and energy, not something that can change the way my body looks. I also take more rest days and don't panic when I can't get a workout in. It's on these days that I can get other things done around the house and have more time for family and friends.

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    1. I am glad you are at such a healthy place. Getting to do "other stuff" is definitely a perk of more rest days. Even if that other stuff is simply sleeping in an extra hour!

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  13. Love this post!!! I love the "Wow, you have muscles!" line!!! :D

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