Stress No More

I was browsing through the www.TOPS.org website recently when I noticed they had stress balls for sale (I had never noticed that particular item before).  I suffer from repetitive strain in my right hand and although a wrist brace has done wonders for pain and mobility, I thought working a stress ball would help as well.  I thought the fruit inspired stress balls were cute and at only $2 each, a good buy as well.  Instead of just ordering one for me, I ordered the whole set of seven thinking that I could use them individually as small prizes for some of the contests we do in our group on a regular basis.  Stress balls are foam or gel-filled balls that provide some resistance to pressure – can reduce stress, with immediate benefits.   www.TOPS.org is an amazing resource tool for TOPS leader as far as meeting ideas and inspiration is concerned, and also a great site for members to check out regularly for new, updates and encouragement.

When my June 2013 issue of TOPS News arrived it included an article on using the stress balls for health.  The article is by Amy Goldwater, MS and contained some useful information, so I decided to use it as the topic for my meeting this week.

“According to traditional Chinese medical theory, a person’s fingers and hands are connected to all the vital organs of the body.  Strain from repetitive actions – particularly phone and computer use – can create muscular soreness and stiffness from the fingertips to the shoulders” read the first part of the article.  Tell me about it, I thought.

The article goes on to say, “Typing, test messaging, playing sports, and even cooking and driving can wreak havoc on the small muscles of your fingers, wrists and forearms.  Eventually, wear and tear may lead to more serious conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome.  Stretching and exercises designed to strengthen these areas can help prevent injury and speed recovery when damage does occur.

Many doctors recommend the use of stress balls for more than just stress reduction.  They are also an excellent way to promote stronger wrists.”

I have heard of using stress balls and another foam tool (one that looks a lot like a pool noodle) to do stress free exercises to help thing like migraines, shoulder strain, back and hip problems and, leg issues.  Recently there was an author on “Breakfast Television” promoting her wellness book discussing this very thing.  I have been trying to come up with name of the book, without much success, but if I find it I will definitely mention it in a follow up post.

The article also quotes a July 2007 study in the Journal of Hand Therapy focused on using stress balls to combat symptoms of osteoarthritis.  The study noted an increase in grip strength and dexterity and also a decrease in pain, among those who used stress balls in physical therapy.

“As always”, the article noted, “be aware, be sensible and be careful!  Hand or wrist strain with swelling and inflammation, severely impaired basic function, or pain along the entire side of the body may be signs of serious medical conditions that require professional attention.  As with any exercise equipment, use stress balls in moderation.”

The article also suggested a meeting idea that sounded informative and fun at the same time.  It was a simple

game of toss using one of the stress balls (or a tennis call would do as well).  Members would toss the ball to each other and when someone dropped the ball they had to answer a healthy eating question.  And, WOW, they weren’t fooling around, some of the questions were tough … especially with the 10-second time limit imposed.  I threw in a couple of general trivia questions, just for fun and to catch people off guard.

Some examples of the TOPS suggestions were:

·         Name five green vegetables

·         Name five blue or purple fruits or vegetables

·         Name five benefits of exercise

·         Name four ways you can add more exercise to your day

·         Name four ways to get motivated

·         Name four ways to cut 100 calories

·         Name four things you can do to help a discouraged member feel better

Some of the general trivia questions I added (for fun) were along the lines of:

·         What did Kate and Will name their new baby

·         Name three current television reality shows

·         Who made the song “Danke Schoen” famous

I’m sure you get the idea.

We are not a large group to begin with and since it’s summer and some members are on holiday it was even smaller this week.  My group did really well with both the toss and catch (I think some of them definitely played softball in their youth) and with the questions (which was nice, since it meant they were actually listening at meetings and reading their own TOPS magazines).  By the end, the two remaining members were standing across the room from each other hurling the orange shaped stress ball through the air.

The winner was allowed to keep the stress ball as a prize.

If you organize any kind of meeting this was fun, and the idea could certainly be adapted to all kinds of meetings, not necessarily only weight loss groups.  I am keeping one of the stress balls at my desk at work ... who know when I might need to relieve a little stress, and squishing a foam apple is better than eating a chocolate bar!

Why now?

It’s true …being fat is hard.  The hardest part is saying “fat”.  So many euphemisms we use, but the truth is its fat we store inappropriately on our bodies and its fat we have to get rid of.  Weight is a battle I have been fighting for most of my adult life.  I’ve gotten to the high ground a few times, but always slid back down that treacherous slope covered in chocolate, rich food and laziness.  Every weight loss tips article I read, every television show I watch and every person I speak to about successful weight loss all say the same thing.  They say it in a variety of ways but it all boils down to the same thing … Keep a food diary.  You must journal what you eat.  It helps you see where you went off track and helps you avoid the same pitfalls in the future.

I have a personal problem with keeping a food journal.  I lie!  I do not want to write down everything I eat because it looks horrible to see it all written down on paper.  And … OMG … what if I accidentally leave it lying around somewhere and someone else happens to see what I’ve eaten that day, or that week?  I would be mortified.  I know that is the precise purpose of it, but I simply cannot do it.  Besides, I also know where I went wrong.  I started to slip up about the time I had the first bite of the chocolate doughnut that I should never have bought in the first place.  Chocolate could become a recurring theme here because it is most definitely my downfall … my food addiction.

So, because I HATE keeping a food journal but I do like playing around with putting words on paper I have decided to keep an information journal.  Hopefully writing things down will help.  Even if no one but me ever reads it, putting it “out there” might be the push I need to get “back on track” and finally make it this time.  If nothing else, it’s difficult to type on a keyboard and place food into my mouth at the same time.  That alone could save me hundreds of calories in a given day.

Now that I have made my mission statement let me tell you a little bit about myself …

I have just turned 54 years old.  I am mother to two amazing young women, have a close group of people in my life who love me and am secure enough to realize that the number on the scale does not reflect my self worth.  Secure in my mind that is … in my heart … I desperately need that number to be lower.  I work full time.  I am addicted to food, cigarettes and books.  I fully understand that two of my addictions are life threatening, but this is a case of picking my battles and right now weight is my priority.  I can only handle one fight at a time.  I belong to a weight loss group called TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) but more on that later.

That’s me in a nutshell.  If you happen to follow along on my journey you will no doubt find out more about me, but for right now that’s probably enough.

Oh … I guess to make some sort of sense out of why I am writing this … I currently tip the scales at mumble, grumble, and mumble pounds.  And WOW, that was hard to write down.  You see no one besides me and my weight recorder know that.  So please, don’t share the information, okay?  I know that’s a cop-out and maybe someday I’ll share, but right now – no can do!

Now, back to TOPS.  This would be a good time to put a disclaimer in here.  This blog has nothing to do with TOPS officially.  I mention it only because it has been a huge help to me personally as it has been for many other people around the world.  It is a non-profit weight loss organization that stresses healthy eating, smart choices, portion-control and education about real food.  It does not promote any particular weight loss program, sells no food products, vitamins or supplements.  I am currently a group leader so quite obviously (or I would not be writing this blog) consists of real people helping each other on their journey.  I will only be referring to TOPS in the context of a group I belong to, and possibly might pull some information occasionally from their website or the free magazine I receive with my membership fee.  If you would like more information you can visit www.TOPS.org

Now, back to TOPS.  When I first walked through the doors of my first meeting on a Wednesday afternoon so many years ago I stepped on the scale for my first weigh-in and promptly started to cry.  I had not weighed myself for a long time and found I tipped the scales at 275 pounds.  That was a shock.  I was very good at kidding myself.  I think most of us are.  I was a stay at home mom so wasn’t shopping much for clothes.  I lived in sweat pants and oversized tee shirts and sweaters.  My life revolved around my kids and their activities.  When one of the moms on my daughter’s T-ball team talked about TOPS I stored the information away but did nothing about it right away.  I couldn’t afford a weight-loss program, I didn’t have time to go to meetings in the evening and I REALLY did not want to step on a scale.  Oh yes - I had all the excuses.  It's scarey admitting you have a problem and even more frightening to make the decision to do something about it.  When I finally got up the courage to walk through the door I found a supportive group of people and, whew, I never had to state my weight or share my weaknesses.  This whole group was about positive support. 

I did well in that group losing close to 75 pounds.  By the time the weight had come off my youngest daughter was in school full time, my life circumstances had changed and I found myself needing to go back to work full time.  So, Wednesday afternoon meetings no longer fit into my schedule.  I, very regretfully, left the group.  If you have ever been out of the work force for a long time and then jumped back in full time you know that it takes some adjustment.  Tasks that were completed during the day now had to be completed in the evenings … it was a huge time adjustment for me.  I did not look for an evening TOPS group to join again right away.

Guess what happened.

Yup.  That weight started creeping back on again.  I needed the accountability of weighing in every week.  I fell right back into the old habits and let’s face it … if you are not accountable it really doesn’t matter if you eat that extra piece of chocolate cake.  Well, too many pieces of chocolate cake add up pretty quickly.  It took me three years to walk back into a TOPS meeting, but I finally took a deep breath and did it.  The scale was not quite as traumatic as the first time, but I had managed to gain back a substantial amount of the weight I had lost.  Once again I started being responsible for what passed my lips and I dropped almost all the weight I had gained. 

Once again life happened and I could not stay in that group any longer either.  I had to deal with my father facing dementia and eventually full blown Alzheimer’s.  I still had two daughter’s who needed me and still worked.  My hours had been cut at my full time job and my financial obligations depended on a certain level of income, so I took a second job.  You would think with all that going on I would not have time to overeat.  Not so.  Not so at all.  It’s not that I overate … I ate on the run – in the car going from one workplace to the next, in the car or at sports venues when my daughters were playing rep sports, and in the car driving to see to my father.  You get the idea.  You may even identify with the circumstances.  Needless to say, not a lot of wise choices were made in the food department.  Funnily enough, I always insisted my girls eat properly.  I just did not take my own advice.

Then many roads merged.  My father passed away, my full time hours at my first job were reinstated and my girls became a little less dependent on me for transportation. 

It was time to look after myself again.  Once again I rejoined TOPS.  This time I would make it stick and for awhile it did.  As I said at the beginning of this, losing weight it a slippery slope and last year, despite staying with my group (and being group leader no less) I started to backslide.  I have not yet been able to get my head in the game again.

And that’s where this blog comes in.  I’m hoping it will keep me focused.

A burning question would be “why right now?”  It’s a month to Christmas.  Crazy!  Setting myself up for failure?  Not the prime time to choose to start a diet.  True enough.  But keeping everything totally honest here, let’s face it … when your underwear starts to feel too tight … it’s time!  When you have more clothes that do not fit, than clothes that do … it’s time!  When you stop looking at yourself in a mirror … it’s time!  I won’t go on because I’m sure you get the picture.

I do have a plan … some fun things and mind games to keep me on track this time.  Will I slip up?  No doubt!  But I won’t beat myself up over it … I will get back on course and this time … I know I’ll get to my goal.

Join me, won’t you?  It’ll be fun!?!?!