Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: weight loss

  • Is Your Weight Holding You Back from a Passionate Life?

    Is Your Weight Holding You Back from a Passionate Life?

    Ugh, I’m so fat. 

    That was the thought going through my head after getting off the water during Women’s Barefoot Week. I had packed on the pounds from too much writing and too little exercise and I was really feeling the results.

    Not to mention seeing the results.

    Photo by Betsy Gilman

    I cringed at the pictures that showed up online. On the water, I was struggling each day–not only with the extra pounds but also with the mental beatings I was giving myself every time I squeezed into the wetsuit. I was holding back and not really having fun on the water.

    I blamed my weight.

    Things finally came to a head one day when all of us gals were walking back to the house after an intense day on the water.

    “You have to stop being so negative,” one of the gals said. “You’re too hard on yourself. You’re beautiful.”

    As a “fat” girl who has dealt with up and down weight gain and loss over the years, I was struggling deeply once again. I had shed the weight several years ago after getting back into the sport of barefoot water skiing–and now it was all piling back on. There was a whole myriad of emotions going on–and there was no escaping any of the feelings that were swirling around inside.

    To top things off, Community Voices on Facebook released a video that we filmed a year ago–and at first, I didn’t want to share that video with anyone. I was ashamed of the pounds I had put on.

    I was really lucky that my friend had the courage to call me out about my negative views about my body. I had to do something different about the messages that were going around in my head. It was affecting my ability to have fun and to enjoy the sport that I’m usually so passionate about.

    So the next time I went on the water, I decided to say something positive to myself–to appreciate the body that was performing amazing things despite the extra pounds.  The mental conversations took on a happier tone. I enjoyed my session on the water so much more, because I was able to focus on the things I could passionately do–and forget about the weight.

    Photo by Lynn Novakofski

    So if this is you–if you’re struggling with weight issues and it’s holding you back in life–join me in making a pact in moving forward–toward the things you’re passionate about–without letting weight hold you back.

     

     

    Want a dose of passion in your life? Grab Karen’s latest book: Unwrapping Your Passion

    Or take a class: Unwrapping Your Passion Course

  • Karen Putz in Suburban Woman Magazine

    You know those thick magazines that you find in the doctor’s offices around town?  Well, you’ll find me in Suburban Woman:

    Deaf Mom Barefoots Her Way to Weight Loss

    And in other news, you’ll find me talking about drive-thru access using the Order Assist at Culver’s restaurants:

    Culver’s Program Helps Deaf Place Orders

    A bit ironic, since the drive-thru is a rare thing for me now.  At least Culver’s has some good salads!

  • A Size Six? You Gotta Be Kidding

    Over on AOL That’s Fit, I shared my story of losing weight and taking up barefoot water skiing again.   Here’s the link:

    Karen Rediscovered Her Passion

    The story was posted earlier in the week and was featured on the front of the AOL website several times.   Emails, tweets and Facebook messages have been coming in, mostly with people expressing shock at the before picture.  At a recent ZVRS presentation, a senior citizen came up to me and said, “Wow, you lost weight!  That’s much better!  You were so fat before!”  Gotta love those seniors, they tell it like it is, in colorful sign language.

    My oldest son even did a double-take at the photo of me.  “Mom, I didn’t realize you were that… big,” he said.  He glanced at me and then came over and gave me a hug. 

    Debra Poneman, the gal behind the “Yes to Success” seminars, said, “I nearly fell off my chair when I saw the photo of you at 220 on the That’s Fit article.”  

    Well, Debra, you and me, both.  I guess that’s why I avoided the scale and the mirror for a long, long time.

    I still have a ways to go to get rid of the rest of the pounds.  It’s a work in progress.  During the last couple of weeks, I have been going to Bikram Yoga.  Most days, I actually enjoy the challenge of getting through 90 minutes of poses in a hot, hot, hot room.   Then there are other days when I want to run screaming out of the room into a tub of ice.

    The most amusing part of the whole losing weight saga has been the comments left on the That’s Fit story.  Here’s one:

    I am really happy for her and her weight loss. But somehow I find myself wondering when I read this article and many magazine articles where people are said to “finally buy a size 6 jean” at 168 lbs??? I bobble between 158-162 and I am in a 12 comfortably and can still squeeze in my 10’s on a good day. I might get one leg in a 6. Exactly what kind of jeans are these people buying??

    I have two pairs of size six jeans, one from St. John’s Bay and the other from Target.  At 168 pounds, people are scratching their heads trying to figure out how that could possibly be true.  I wonder the same thing myself at times, because I weigh exactly the same as I did back in November when the barefooting photo was taken, yet have gone down two sizes since then.  But then again, jeans vary in sizes like crazy.  I can’t get into a size six in jeans from Eddie Bauer. 

    So to give you an idea of my jeans one year ago and my jeans today, take a look:

  • Losing Weight — A Work in Progress

    At the beginning of this year, I joined Loser Moms in an attempt to lose weight for barefoot water skiing.  I was heading down to the World Barefoot Center in March and I wanted to lose a few pounds before getting on the water.   Part of the requirement to join was to post a picture on a personal blog.  So with a heavy (yeah, pun intended!) heart, I went searching for a picture to post.   I had to close my eyes when I hit the “publish” button.

    The thing is, by the time that picture was snapped, I had already lost a few pounds.  I’m estimating at my heaviest, I was probably 215 pounds.   I wouldn’t know– I avoided the scale, the mirror and the camera every chance I could.    The only exercise that I got around to doing was playing a weekly volleyball game in a league.  A local bar sponsored our team, so we were obligated to head over there after the game and hang out.   I filled up on appetizers, sometimes late at night.

    I grew up waterskiing and barefooting and I really missed those activities.  My niece convinced me to try water skiing again on July 4 in 2008.  I got up on two skis and kicked off one.   I went back and forth across the wake a few times and called it a day.  I was out of breath and had no strength to continue.  It was one very short ride on the water.   I was in a size 16 jeans and wearing 2x tops.  No, it wasn’t pretty.   You would think after seeing this photo on my niece’s Facebook page– that I would be motivated to lose weight.  I wasn’t.

    Ever hear the saying by Buddha:   “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”   Well, that’s pretty much what happened.  The teacher turned out to be Keith St. Onge, from the World Barefoot Center.  Keith went through a metamorphosis of his own several years ago.   He was packing on too many pounds as a professional athlete and wasn’t feeling healthy.   He became serious about his health, made some changes in his lifestyle and eating habits and went on to win two World Championships.    At the end of May, Keith sent me some eating guidelines to improve my health.  I was ready, finally ready, to make some lifestyle changes.

    “You have to cut out pop,” he told me.

    I loved my Coke and Pepsi.  I lived each day for the moment I could sip the soda.   Every time we went out to eat, I ordered soda.  And now it was time to kiss it goodbye.  My friend Sue had kicked the pop habit and she was trying to get me to kick it a year ago.   But now, I was ready.

    I wanted a lifestyle change, not a diet.  Keith’s guidelines fit right into that.  I made healthier choices, but I enjoyed the food.  Instead of boneless chicken wings, I went for grilled chicken on a salad when eating out.  Salmon with asparagus.   I went for more fruits and vegetables and less of the processed stuff.  I found ways to cut out white flour– but I have a weakness for Panera Bread’s sourdough rolls, so eliminating that completely felt like death.   So I saved it as a very rare treat.   And I got hooked on quinoa.  “Keen-wa”– the whole grain with funny name.   I introduced my book club to it one day and they liked it.  I brought in almond and coconut milk and the kids went crazy for the almond milk.

    I also had two other barefooters who provided support and encouragement, Joann O’Connor and Judy Myers.  Both of them had wonderful weight loss stories of their own.  I joined Donna Cutting’s weight loss group on Facebook, and it helped tremendously to be surrounded by others walking the same journey.

    It’s a work in progress– as I still eat emotionally and I deal with that all the time.  It’s a work in progress, I remind myself again and again– as I still have a ways to go to get healthy and lean.  In a weak moment this fall, I texted Keith after I had scarfed down two rolls at a fundraiser.   “Always bring healthy snacks with you for moments like that,” he said.  Then he shot me a modified Dave Ramsey quote:   “If you want to live like no one else, make decisions like no one else!”

    I put my fork down when the dessert came.

    I had two incredible highlights this year:  the day that I learned to go backwards on the water… and the day that I slipped on size eight jeans.   Thanks, Keith, for both of those highlights.

  • I’m a Loser Mom

    It’s official.  I’m a Loser Mom.

    That’s right.  I’ve joined the 2nd Loser Mom contest, thanks to Devra Renner, who made me realize that I really couldn’t continue to hide my spare tire under those sexy Lanz of Salzburg nightgowns.

    The contest is a timely one, as I’ve been so tired of carrying around 60 pounds of unhealthy weight.  With my son’s friend Aubrey as a witness, I’ve climbed on the scale and registered it at two hundred and one pounds.  Yes, I’m almost ashamed to say it.  I’m packing some major flub on my 5′ 4″ inch frame.  What better way to be accountable than to blog about it for the whole wide world to see?

    At least I have a bunch of other Loser Moms to hang with during the next couple of challenging weeks.

    And look at my skinny Mom– doesn’t she look sexy in that flannel?