My Misconceptions About Losing Weight And Being Healthier

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / ktbuchs87

When I first decided to get healthier and lose weight, I had a lot of misconceptions about what would happen. I learned through trial and error about what it really means to change your lifestyle. While some lessons took longer to learn than others, all the things I went through helped me get where I am today. I want to share those misconceptions with you so you can learn from my mistakes and maybe not feel so alone on your own journey.

Misconception #1- Losing weight will instantly make me happier

For so long my weight had made me unhappy. I felt uncomfortable in clothes, shy around people, and self-conscious about my appearance. I thought that if I could just lose the weight, I would finally be happy. I was wrong. Yes, losing weight made me feel better and I could wear clothes that I hadn’t been able to before, but my life didn’t instantly become better. That was because I never worked on the mental part of losing weight. I still saw a bigger girl in the mirror and I still felt like I didn’t look the way I should. Just losing weight won’t make your life better or you happier. You have to work through the reasons behind your weight gain and the mental side of losing weight.

Misconception #2- Exercising a lot and eating a little is the only way to lose weight.

You will lose weight if you eat less food and move more, that’s science even if it’s more complex than that. But I went about this the wrong way at the beginning. I was in the mindset that I had to be working out all the time, multiple times a day. I had to eat the bare minimum or else all that hard work would go to waste. This is a horrible way to be healthier because not only is it not a sustainable way of life, you could be hurting your health more than helping it. Exercise isn’t meant to a punishment to your body. It is meant to make it stronger, better, and more capable. It isn’t torture and you shouldn’t hate it. If you do, then maybe you need to find a different form of working out. Food isn’t the enemy. We need it to nourish our bodies and fuel our day. It should taste good and give us pleasure while making us feel amazing. Eating isn’t a necessary evil, it’s a chance to make your health even better. It took me a LONG time to realize these things but once I did, things really turned around.

Misconception #3- My body has to look the same every day to be considered healthy

This was, and sometimes still is, a hard one to get past. My understanding was that those athletes and models that I saw in magazines and online always looked that good. They just walked around with their rippling muscles, taut stomachs, shapely legs, and hair perfectly styled. It seems silly to think about that now, but back then I thought that was true. Your body changes daily. It won’t look the same every single time you look in the mirror. That’s ok and normal. It doesn’t mean you aren’t healthy or that you’re a slob, it means that you’re human. Some days I still struggle with this, but I remind myself that my body is capable of so many things whether I have a six pack or not.

Misconception #4- My cravings for “bad” food will magically disappear

No. Just because you’re eating better doesn’t mean that you won’t crave a big piece of chocolate cake or a huge slice of pizza every now and then. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Cake and pizza taste good and cravings are a part of life. What has changed for me is that before I just blindly give into my craving I stop and ask myself why. Why do I want that piece of cake? Most often there is something else going on that is making me want that cake. I’ve also learned to satisfy cravings with healthier things.

Losing weight is so much more than just losing weight. Being healthier can come in many different forms and each person has their own unique experience. Even though I had all these misconceptions and issues to work through, my decision to be better was one of the best things I’ve done for myself. I have learned about who I am and what I can accomplish and I have gained a passion for sharing that with others.

So know that if you are just starting this journey, it might be hard and certain things you do might not work, but you’re worth it and you will learn how to make your health better!

Health Feature: Meet Jim Kruczinski

June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Hello, everyone! I hope that you had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead. I got to spend some time with family this past week, helping get ready for a wedding. It was fun and I learned that I am a pasta making master! I’m pretty sure I earned the title Nonna Katie after preparing 70 lbs of pasta. Whew! But it was great to help out and see family and the wedding was beautiful despite the monsoon that was going on outside.

Today I have a new feature for the blog. Each month I am going to be highlighting someone who has totally turned their health around. I talk a lot about being healthier and making good choices here. I think talk is good, but action is the only way you will get the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. I want to show you just what hard work and dedication can get you when you finally make the choice to live healthier. I hope these features will motivate you as well as applaud all the hard work these people have put in!

Our first feature is Jim. Jim and I went to high school together and were in marching band together. We also had chemistry together our sophomore year, but I don’t know if he remembers that! Jim was someone who was always friendly and willing to help. Many a time he bailed me out of a chemistry disaster when he was my lab partner and was always gracious about my science shortfalls. Thanks, Jim!

After high school, we went our separate ways and sort of lost touch, but thanks to Facebook I saw all the things he was up to. Around last year, I was scrolling through my facebook feed and a picture of Jim popped up. I was shocked because he had lost a ton of weight. I started seeing posts of him running numerous races and seeing updates with before and after pictures. It was incredible and I was so impressed with all the hard work he had been doing to turn his life around. Jim was actually the one who inspired me to start this new feature. I contacted him with the idea and he graciously agreed to be the first. I asked him a few questions about how he had turned his health around and his advice to others who were in the same position he was.

What did you weigh before and how much weight have you lost?

When I started my weight loss journey on January 8th, 2014, I weighed 408.5 pounds. In the past year and a half, I have lost approximately 220 pounds.

What made you want to lose weight and be healthier?

I got to a point where I was no longer comfortable in my body. It was getting hard to move around. I had to be careful where I sat especially with stadium or airplane seats.

What also helped me realize I needed help was the constant prodding from my sister. One night she got really angry at me and said “Jim, you don’t care about yourself!” At first I was upset, but eventually I realized that she was right. It was after that confrontation that made me search for the program I got into.

What were the first things you changed when you started out?

I started with being on an all protein shake diet for 10 months while taking nutrition and exercise classes. Please note that this was under supervision by a doctor. I work with a special program at Lutheran General Hospital. It is called Advocate Weight Loss. (http://goo.gl/84EYf6) Also, I got more active by walking more and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

What did a typical day look like before you started?

I would wake up at 6 am and get ready for work. Next I would head over to a McDonalds on my way to work and order a breakfast burrito meal with a large sweet tea. I would start work, which consists of sitting in front of a computer. I would order lunch at my work’s cafeteria. Then go back to work. After I was done with my day job I would go to McDonalds/Panera for dinner. I would finish my night teaching/tutoring GED students. When I got home I would have a snack and go to bed.

What was your goal when you first started?

I wanted to be under 300 pounds and become more active. I wanted to fit easier into places and be able to shop for clothes at regular retail stores.

How did you change your diet? What does a typical day look like now?

Now I basically pack all my meals at the beginning of the day so I don’t have to go out to eat. I now eat more fruits and vegetables. I eat lean meat such as grilled chicken and turkey. I reduced my consumption of bread and sweets. I don’t drink soda or sweet teas. I primarily drink just water. I try to drink 96-128 oz of water every day.

How did you chart/ follow your progress?

I use the myfitnesspal on my iPhone and I use the FitBit app to track my steps and runs.

What do you do for exercise?

I work on strength training with a personal trainer 1-2 times a week and participate in my gym’s bootcamps, spin classes, and run club every week. I try to run at least a mile every day.

What is your biggest challenge?

At the moment, my biggest challenge is portion control with certain foods such as with cereal.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated?

I look at old photos of myself and think of how far I have come. I also focus on what I need to do to fulfill my current goals.

What are your health goals now?

Increase my muscular strength. Maintain my current weight. I am also currently trying to train up for a half marathon.

Who has been your biggest supporter throughout your weight loss?

My family have been my biggest supporters. They check in on me from time to time and give me encouraging words.

Any advice for those who are just starting out?

Only think about one day at a time. Thinking about how long it will take to get down to your goal weight can be daunting. Also appreciate the little changes, such as losing a pant size or being able to walk an extra 20 minutes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support. For exercising I suggest getting involved with a workout class. It creates camaraderie with other people and also helps you stay committed to working out.

You can obviously see that Jim has put it in a lot of hard work to get to where he is now. He knew that he didn’t want to stay where he was and started making changes to achieve his goals. I LOVE his advice about taking it one day at a time. Health starts with small simple changes that lead to big results.

Thank you so much, Jim for being my first feature and keep up the awesome work!

Body Image

September 8, 2014 / ktbuchs87

Body image. I’ve written about it before and I will probably write about it again. It is something that I know many people out there struggle with. It is something that I struggle with daily. If my own struggles and experience can help even one person, then I count that worth it. That being said, if you don’t feel like reading another post about this topic that is totally fine. Check back Wednesday and Friday for more healthy recipes and tips. Otherwise, read on.

I had done it. I had made the decision to get healthier and I had stuck with it this time. Things just clicked and I ate better, found exercise that I loved, and I lost weight. Clothes started to fit better, I felt healthier and had more energy than I had before. It was like a Cinderella story, if Cinderella was overweight and ate junk food and then magically changed. I thought that because all of these things were happening, I would be happy. I would finally feel like I looked like I should. I would be self confident, I wouldn’t talk negatively about my body, and I would finally have a good body image. I was wrong. The magic Cinderella story didn’t happen like I thought it would.

I was shocked to realize that even though I had lost weight, I still had problems with my body image. At the beginning, I had trouble matching the image in the mirror with what I saw in my head. I was still the bigger girl in my mind and I just couldn’t see the new girl who had finally lost the weight. Over time, I was able to finally see what was really there. Through the help and support of friends and family, I realized that I looked different than I thought I did. It also helped that I could wear smaller sizes and do things physically that I couldn’t before, like run a 5k race. I started to feel better about the way I looked, and I was relieved that it felt like my body image issues were starting to get better.

Imagine my surprise now where I find myself struggling again. It’s been about three years since I dealt with those first weight loss body image issues, but those challenges are starting to creep back into my life. This time though it isn’t problems with matching my mirror image to my mental image. I find myself playing the comparison game and I really hate that I’m doing that. I tell others never to compare themselves to anyone else because they are their own unique selves. No one is like you or can ever be like you so you should celebrate your awesome self. And all the while I can say those things to others, I can’t seem to get myself to believe those sentiments.

The thoughts and questions that run through my mind are so hypocritical of what I want others to think. Shouldn’t I have six-pack abs with all the core exercises I do? Why can that person eat more than me and still have muscles? Am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I not eating the right things? Why can’t I do a full push-up without struggling the whole time? Shouldn’t 5 miles feel like a breeze to me by now? And on and on and on…. I feel like that insecure, high school girl, worried that everyone is staring at me and judging me, all over again. Why am I doing this to myself? Why do I have to go through this AGAIN?

Rather than sit here and wallow in my returning body image issues, I’m going to tackle them head on. There are things that I can do to stop the comparing game and start being proud of myself. I need to stop looking at all the Pinterest images and health magazine models with bodies that aren’t attainable to the majority of the population. Nothing good ever comes from trying to compare myself to them and wonder why I can’t look like them. I’m not them, I’m me and that is just fine. I don’t have a six pack, but I can hold a plank for seven minutes and I know that my core is strong. That’s good enough. I can stop worrying about all the things I might not be doing perfectly for my health. I am a human being and I will never be perfect. That is good enough. I won’t compare the way I eat or how much I eat to other people’s diets. My body needs to be nourished in it’s own way and as long as I feel healthy and am getting adequate nutrition, I shouldn’t worry. That is good enough. I should be proud of all that I can do physically. So what if I can’t clean and jerk an 85 pound barbell or run a marathon in 3 hours? I can do a whole heck of a lot. I should be grateful that I have a body that can do so much. That is good enough.

My overall message for this post is that I, and you, are good enough. Yes, it’s tiring and a little frustrating that I still have to deal with body image issues. I wish that I didn’t have to deal with them and that like the weight I lost, they would just go away. But that’s not the reality of the situation. The reality is I will continue to work on my self image and I will continue to try and help others do the same. One day I know that I can get to the place of feeling totally comfortable in my beautiful skin. Until I reach that point, I will continue being positive and working hard. And that is good enough.

My Story

May 13, 2013 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

I think it is about time that you all hear my story. I have shared a few insights into my health journey in some of my posts but I haven’t given you the full spiel. It was brought to my attention that readers might not relate to me because I seem to have it all together health-wise (trust me I’m still learning and growing on that front) and I want you to realize I have been in some of the same situations that you might find yourselves. My story probably starts a lot like yours….

I was a pretty normal kid (I use normal very loosely here, I am a bit quirky!). I didn’t have any major health problems and I was the same as most kids in my class. I had no issues with my appearance and I had no reason to have any issues. I was your average American kid.

Yes normal children sing for their Grandma in their bathing suit…

Then I entered fifth grade and puberty hit, which is totally normal, but I started puberty before all of my friends. That is when a lot of my issues started. I couldn’t understand why suddenly I was developing hips and boobs and my thighs were getting bigger and hair was sprouting places, yet my friends were still skinny and flat-chested and seemingly hair-less. I’m a naturally shy person and all these changes made me feel awkward and ugly and made me retreat even more from public situations. I didn’t want anyone seeing me or focusing any type of attention on me. This is also when I started to hate my body and when I started to go on diets to try and look like what I thought was normal. The diets would work for a little while, I would lose weight, feel good about myself, go off the diet and, you guessed it, gain the weight back.

Pretty sure this is fifth grade, I’m the one with the glasses flexing a non-existent muscle

Quite the attractive face, I think I was going for “I’m cool” ? Either way it didn’t work

High school wasn’t much different than junior high. I came from a small parochial school, so public school was a bit of a shock for me. I had never been around so many kids at once. My graduating 8th grade class was 21 kids and suddenly I was in a class of over 500. This made shy Katie nervous and panicky. Luckily, I got involved in the marching band and made amazing friends and had amazing experiences. I excelled in band and was a squad leader by my sophomore year and a section leader my junior and senior year. As cheesy and nerdy as it may sound, I really believe that marching band saved me during my high school years.

I believe this was my senior year? I wasn’t a big fan of pictures

But, high school was also a really hard time for my body, especially my self-image. Now that I was in high school I had more freedom over my food choices, and not knowing anything helpful about nutrition, I made HORRIBLE food choices. Our cafeteria was full of fat and calorie laden food, and I was drawn to those choices. I would eat bread bowls full of cream of broccoli soup, drink tons of soda (diet is fine right?), get candy as a snack from the vending machine, munch on bacon potato skin chips dipped in cream cheese (yes, it is as gross as it sounds). Of course I would also make sure I got “healthy” food like bottled smoothies (fruit is good for you, even when it is in liquid sugar form, right?), and baked potato chips.

Told you I was quirky

Needless to say I gained weight. While I might never have been considered obese, I was definitely overweight. The added weight did nothing to help my self-image, which I already struggled with, and I started to crash diet, in the most unhealthy way possible. I would skip meals and at one point even tried weight loss pills, anything to try and make myself skinny and pretty. Of course, none of these things worked and I was miserable. I hated my body and felt that I was so ugly that no one else could ever love me. It was a very difficult time for me. But things did look up my junior year when I got my first boyfriend. I was elated that someone of the opposite sex actually thought I was worthy enough to date Trust me, I know how sad and pathetic that sounds, but when you have such a low opinion of yourself, you look for anything to validate your worth, even a boy.

Freshman year of college

By the time that I got to college, I had had a few boyfriends. Sadly, having a boyfriend made me feel like I was worth something. I felt that if someone else other than my friends and family thought I was good enough, then I really was good enough. I entered college feeling both petrified and excited. Petrified because I was leaving home and my comfort zone and stepping into a world that I knew nothing about. Excited because I was finally going to become a little more independent and adult like. I decided one of my new major goals in college was to become healthier and finally lose weight for good and be happy with the way I looked. Great goals, but I still went about them in the wrong way. For the first year or so of college I was a vegetarian, partly because my boyfriend at the time was and partly because I thought it would help me lose weight. But you can still eat junk food while being a vegetarian (hello mac n’ cheese!) and having a prepaid meal plan where you can get all the food you want can be dangerous. But I was determined not to gain the freshmen 15, and in fact I actually lost weight. This was because I started to work out on a regular basis. I had free access to the Rec center at my college and made working out a part of my routine. While I had never been totally sedentary before and had worked out in spurts in junior high and high school, I had never had an established routine. Being able to go to the Rec center for free was great because it got me started on a great habit.

But I still ate some not-so-great foods and I still had self-esteem problems. I had hoped that once I lost weight I would magically be transformed into this happy, self assured person. At the time I didn’t realize that I needed to work on more than just my body, I needed to work on my mind and my relationship with myself. I never gave myself the chance to do that though because I was always relying on other people to make me feel better about myself, mainly my boyfriends.

And then something happened that really changed everything for me. The summer before my last year of college, I worked as a trainer with my dad. My dad is a kinesiotherapist (specialized area of medicine in which exercise and movement are used as the primary form of rehabilitation), and we would work with all different kinds of people, from athletes to the elderly, to make them stronger or faster or better in whatever they did. I got to create exercise programs for people and then work with them one on one to help them improve. That summer my dad also had another intern working with him, also my age and a friend I had known for awhile. It was a great summer, I got to step outside of my box and do something I didn’t think I was good at and I actually did fairly well. I also got to interact with my dad and become better friends with his other intern. It was that friendship that really turned things around for me. And the one thing that he did that pretty much changed everything for me? Encouraged me to sign up for a 5k race through our church. Yup, that was my big epiphany moment. At the time, I hated running. I thought it was pointless and stupid and I dreaded the thought of running. But my friend convinced me to give it a shot and we even trained a little together at work. I’ll admit, it wasn’t very fun and I was just doing this to make him happy. I figured I would get through this one race and never have to run again. Boy, was I wrong. The day of the race arrived, and I was a nervous wreck. There was no way I was going to be able to run 3.1 miles and I was about to make a huge fool of myself. But I didn’t, I ran really well. I never stopped or gave up and I didn’t die. I crossed that finish line and I felt amazing. Finishing that race made me realize I could do things that I never thought I could do. I was a stronger person than I thought possible.

Running became my therapy. Each time I laced up and went for my run, I proved to myself how strong and amazing my body was no matter what it looked like. I could do things that I was always too shy or scared to try. I started to love myself on my runs and started the long process of healing years of self-hatred. Yes, this all sounds spiritual and hippie-dippie, but running really changed my life and opened so many doors for me. Before running, I would never go up and talk to a person I barely knew. After running, I finally got the nerve to actually talk to a boy without him approaching me first. Good thing too or else I would have never met my husband. Before running, I would never have picked up nutrition books or health books or researched about eating right. After running, I completely overhauled the way I ate and learned as much as possible about being the healthiest me I could be. And you know what? I finally found that happy person I longed for ever since fifth grade. Yes, I lost weight along the way (about 45 lbs over a course of 7 years), but for the first time in a long time I didn’t care about the weight. I cared about how I felt on the inside. I cared about treating my body with exercise and good, wholesome food. I finally believed myself that I was worthy enough.

I’ve been in dark places in my past health-wise. Please believe me when I say I know how you feel. While I might not have the EXACT same story as you, I know what it’s like to go through rough times. Do I have my whole life together now and never struggle? Heck no. I still have my moments. I still struggle with self-image and self-esteem and have to work on it daily. I will probably have to work on it daily for the rest of my life, but I am in a MUCH better place than before. Life is so much more than how much you weigh or what you look like and sadly we (me included) get so wrapped up in trying to meet other people’s standards. But we can change that. Let’s work on setting our own standards and move towards a healthy life. Realize that getting to your happy place may look very different than how I reach my happy place. Not everyone is going to run a race and change their life. You do have to go out there and WORK at what will change your life for the better.

I hope that my story gave some of you inspiration. It is hard to share some of these personal moments with the whole world as well as make sure that I am sending a message of hope and encouragement as well. Remember, I’m here to help you find your way to a healthier life. Because I know how hard it can be along the way and how amazing it is once you see the light at the end of the tunnel! Have a fabulous week everyone!