My 8 year old's baptism

Pre-Baptism

Pre-Baptism

And she comes out laughing.

Symmetry

Mother-of-two Gail, 44, credits the photos with helping her recover her self-esteem after battling cancer.

Symmetry-

1.the correspondence in size, form, and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point; regularity of form or arrangement in terms of like, reciprocal, or corresponding parts.

2.

the proper or due proportion of the parts of a body or whole to one another with regard to size and form; excellence of proportion.

3.

beauty based on or characterized by such excellence of proportion.

A great inspiration

This is a great inspirational story written by a man that I have gotten to know. He is a wonderful person that truly has a passion for life. You can find his blog by going to http://doobyruns.blogspot.com/

~Jeannie

By Dorrian Rhodes, guest community blogger

Rhodes will be occasionally blogging for RunOregon as he continues on his journey towards his ultimate goal (read below to learn about that). I first met Rhodes through the RunOregon facebook page and then again later at the Operation Jack 6-hour run held at Summerlake Park in Tigard. When I learned about his accomplishments and what he still hoped to achieve, I asked him to share his story with RunOregon. If you want to get in touch with Dorrian, email us at runoregonblog@gmail.com and we'll forward it on to him; just include "For Dorrian" in the email subject line.

Courtesy Dorrian RhodesRhodes (#5244) at the 2011 Heartbreaker Half Marathon.

The term “obese” in America often conjures imagery of a slovenly person lying on a

couch late at night, surrounded by bags of chips and cookies, watching infomercials.

These slobs are often emotional wrecks without self-esteem or hope, and every story

related to how they came to their present condition, obesity, is sad. However, while

the criteria above for obesity fits some people; to say it fits all obese people is absurd and overbroad. 

Not all obese people share the same story. For some of us, our ability to manage care for ourselves has been overshadowed due to caring for others. Daily workouts take a backseat to properly managing household affairs and employment opportunities, also known as the daily grind. Days blur into weeks and weeks into years as our waistlines expand to resemble that of the couch potato, rather than Kate Moss. I share this story with many people who like me find themselves also overweight or obese. But a year and a half ago, something changed inside and set into motion the idea of a new possibility…that I could complete a 100-mile race. At the time, I was 365 pounds.

I believe that any worthwhile task starts with inspiration. My inspiration began when

I watched a documentary called The Spirit of the Marathon. In the documentary, four

average runners, and two elites, trained to run the Chicago Marathon. 

Of the stories that were covered, the one that I found most interesting was the one that wasn’t. As the runners lined up at the starting line, the camera briefly stopped on a runner with a prosthetic leg. Those of us with all of our limbs constantly complain about what we aren’t capable of doing. Yet, many physically disabled people rise to the challenge, and live at levels far beyond our own. I pondered within myself for an excuse or justification for not being active, when a disabled runner was about to prove that he was able. That was it! Inspiration was in the building.

There are few obstacles that can’t be overcome without training. At almost four times

the distance of a marathon, running a 100-miler seems to suggest that those who do them are not only extremist, but are just plain nuts. For even the advanced and long standing runner, my idea was extreme and far-fetched. Everyone I talked to expressed caution and various medical reports on knee injuries related to force impact. 

With that in mind, I started small by walking with my children. I also began to read literature on endurance running, and learned about running shoe construction. Fixing Your Feet by John Vonhof has been instrumental in helping my advancement in running and hiking. Armed with information, inspiration and desire, I slowly began to increase my weekly mileage. After shredding 50 pounds from my body, the journey continues in making this soft hunk of man into a hardened endurance runner.

You may be wondering where to begin. Start with getting to know your feet. Go to a

running shoe store like Fit Right, Road Runner Sports, or the Portland Running Company to get your feet evaluated at no cost. All running shoes don’t require running, start with walking daily. I want other obese and overweight people to know that a healthy lifestyle is not beyond your reach. Find your inspiration, be consistent and you are already on your way!

http://blog.oregonlive.com/runoregon/2011/04/from_couch_potato_to_endurance.html#cmpid=v2mode_be_smoref_face

Related topics: Dorrian Rhodes, inspiration, motivation for running, Spirit of the Marathon movie, weight loss through running

Friday song of the week

Never Alone By Barlow Girl

I waited for You today
but You didn't show
no no no
I needed You today
so where did You go?
You told me to call
said You'd be there
and though I haven't seen You
are You still there?

I cried out with no reply
and I can't feel You by my side
so I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here ... and I'm never alone

and though I cannot see You
and I can't explain why
such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my mind
we cannot separate
cause You're part of me
and though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply
and I can't feel You by my side
so I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here ... and I'm never alone

we cannot separate
cause You're part of me
and though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply
and I can't feel You by my side
so I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here ... and I'm never alone

Funny video of Boogie playing with a dead crab at the beach

almost there....

almost tall enough to reach the sink and floor.....

Body for Life

I gained 45 pounds with my first daughter and 50 pounds with my 2nd. Yes, I know what your thinking, "the baby only comes out weighing 7 or so pounds. I was heavy. When I was pregnant, I found great comfort in putting butter on most everything and I ate a lot. While this may have been fine to me while I was pregnant, it wasn't so much once the baby came out.

Picture of me and my Grandfather in law when I was a few months pregnant with my 2nd daughter

Picture of me and my first daughter having just delivered my 2nd

After the birth of my 2nd daughter in 2003, I heard of the Body for Life program. My sister in law, Julie was doing it. I decided to give it a try. Since I had a c-section, I did wait 3 months to begin the program.

The Body for life program is a 12 week challenge and it's very simple. You eat 6 small meals per day, do an aerobic activity for 20 minutes, 3 times a week and weight training 3 times a week. You get one day of freedom, which means no exercising and you can eat whatever you want. For further reading, click on the link http://bodyforlife.com/what-is-bfl

You can buy the Body for Life book or check out the book from the library.

http://www.amazon.com/Body-Life-Mental-Physical-Strength/dp/0060193395/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303072980&sr=8-1

What I like about Body for Life is that you don't have to buy anything. It really is just about changing your eating habits and changing what you eat.

The following information is taken directly from the Body for Life website.   www.bodyforlife.com

Official Body-for-LIFE Cardio-Training Plan

Cardio workouts are indispensable to an effective training program and general good health. By definition, cardio workouts can be any exercise—jogging, running, biking, swimming, elliptical machine, stairs, even jumping rope—that raises and maintains your heart rate over a predetermined amount of time. By doing so, you strengthen your heart and lungs and lower your resting heart rate, which means that over time the same effort that produced a 10-minute mile will produce a 9-minute mile. Cardio workouts burn fat. And cardio fitness is what gives you endurance and the ability to persist in sports and in life.

The Benefits of Cardio

• Increases metabolic rate
• Increases growth hormone secretion
• Reduces stress levels
• Increases blood flow to the brain increasing alertness
• Improve cholesterol levels
• Improves digestion
• Boosts immune-system function

20-Minute Aerobics Solution™ — The Official Body-for-LIFE Cardio Plan

1. Warm up the first 2 minutes at Intensity Level 5
2. Minutes 2-3 move from Intensity Level 5 to 6
3. Minutes 4-5, 6-10 and 11-14 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 9, maintain for one minute.
4. Minutes 15-19 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 10 (High Point at Level 10), maintain for one minute.
5. Minute 20 cool down to Intensity Level 5 for one minute.

Alternate weight-training and cardio workouts for six consecutive days and rest on the seventh day.

I always liked the cardio part of the workouts. When I first started out, I walked up and down my stairs, gradually moved to the treadmill, just walking and slowly worked up to running. 

Official Body-for-LIFE Weight-Training Plan

• Weight train intensely, three times per week on alternating days with aerobic exercise three times per week. Make sure to hit your "high points" during your workout.
• Alternate training the major muscles of the upper and lower body.
• Perform two exercises for each major muscle group of the upper body.
• Select one exercise and conduct five sets with it, starting with a set of 12 reps, then increasing the weight and doing 10 reps, adding more weight and doing 8 reps, adding more weight for 6 reps. Then reduce the weight and do 12 reps. Immediately perform another set of 12 reps for that muscle group using the second selected exercise.
• For each muscle group, rest for one minute between the first four sets. Then complete the final two sets with no rest in between, wait two minutes before moving on to your next muscle group, complete this pattern five times for the upper body training experience and four times for the lower body training experience.
• Always plan your training before hand.
• Record all your weightlifting exercised in a journal indicating the exercise selected and weight lifted.

Daily Training Guide

Download the Exercise Guide

Day 1	Upper Body Training	Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back/Biceps
Day 2	Cardiovascular Workout
Day 3	Lower Body and Abs Training	Quads/Hamstrings/Calves/Abdominals
Day 4	Cardiovascular Workout
Day 5	Upper Body Training	Chest/Shoulders/Triceps/Back/Biceps
Day 6	Cardiovascular Workout
Day 7	Rest

Upper Body

Chest

Choose Exercise from List

• Barbell Bench Presses
• Barbell Incline Presses
• Dumbbell Bench Presses
• Dumbbell Incline Presses
• Dumbbell Flyes
• Cable Crossovers
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Back

Choose Exercise from List

• Pull-Ups
• Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns
• One-Arm Dumbbell Rows
• Seated Cable Rows
• Back Extensions
• Straight Arm Pulldowns
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Shoulders

Choose Exercise from List

• Seated Dumbbell Presses
• Front Raises
• Lateral Raises
• Reverse Flyes
• Upright Cable Rows
• Upright Barbell Rows
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Biceps

Choose Exercise from List

• Alternate Dumbbell Curls
• Barbell Curls
• Preacher Curls
• Concentration Curls
• Cable Curls
• Hammer Curls
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Triceps

Choose Exercise from List

• Seated Triceps Presses
• Lying Triceps Presses
• Triceps Kickbacks
• Triceps Pushdowns
• Cable Extensions
• Bench Dips
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Lower Body

Quadriceps

Choose Exercise from List

• Barbell Squats
• Leg Presses
• Leg Extensions
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Hamstrings

Choose Exercise from List

• Dumbbell Lunges
• Straight-Leg Deadlifts
• Lying Leg Curls
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Calves

Choose Exercise from List

• Seated Calf Raises
• Standing Heel Raises
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Abs

Choose Exercise from List

• Floor Crunches
• Oblique Floor Crunches
• Decline Crunches
• Decline Oblique
• Hanging Knee Raises
• Reverse Crunches
• Cable Crunches
• Cable Oblique Crunches
• Repetitions: x12, 10, x8, x6, x12, x12

Click here to learn about the Body-for-LIFE Cardio-Training Plan

So what do you eat during these meals? Anything healthy, but smaller, portion sized. When I was doing it, I always heard that protein, carbohydrate, fruit and vegetable should be the size of your fist and no more and that is what I went by. I did get rid of the butter, used more pam, sometimes olive oil, for example. The Body for life website is full of recipes and meal ideas and there is even a Body for life recipe book. Below is a sample weekly meal plan. It says to eat a Myoplex shake for in between meals. Costco was selling this, not sure if they are still, but they have a lot of protein shake mix.

 http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Life-Bill-Phillips/dp/0972018417/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303073259&sr=1-1

Sample Weekly Meal Plan

Eat more often

Research indicates that eating smaller meals more frequently (about every three hours) supports metabolism and helps maintain energy.

DAY	7:00am	10:00am	1:00pm	4:00pm	7:00pm	10:00pm
1	Six egg-white omelet, 1/2 cup (dry measure) oatmeal, prepared with water	Myoplex® Nutrition Shake	Grilled fresh tuna with broccoli and roasted new potatoes	Myoplex®Nutrition bar	Eye of round steak with sweet potato and green beans	Cottage cheese with blueberries
2	Breakfast wrap (low-fat sausage, scrambled egg whites, low-fat cheese, salsa, whole wheat tortilla)	Myoplex® Ready-to-Drink	Teriyaki salmon with cooked spinach and brown rice	Myoplex® Nutrition Shake	Pork tenderloin with asparagus and baked potato	Cottage cheese with strawberries
3	Egg-white pancakes (six egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 T whole grain pancake mix, mix in blender), serve with sugarless fruit spread	Myoplex® Nutrition Shake	Chicken fajita wraps (grilled chicken breast, grilled vegetables and a whole wheat wrap)	Myoplex® Ready-to-Drink	Sushi made with brown rice, seaweed salad	Green salad with cottage cheese
4	Scrambled egg whites, one slice whole wheat toast	Myoplex® Ready-to-Drink	Southwest chicken salad (chicken, lettuce, brown rice, black beans, tomatoes, onions, avocado)	Myoplex®Nutrition bar	Tofu-vegetable stir fry with brown rice	Cottage cheese and grapes
5	Six egg-white omelet, oatmeal	Myoplex®Nutrition Bar	Turkey burger on whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato	Myoplex® Ready-to-Drink	Grilled salmon with cucumber-dill dressing, green salad and baked potato	Cottage cheese with an apple
6	Egg-white pancakes (see Day 3); sugarless fruit spread	Myoplex® Nutrition Shake	Chili (made with lean ground turkey, kidney beans, salsa), green salad	Myoplex®Nutrition Bar	Rosemary chicken with mushroom gravy, snap peas and whole wheat pasta	Cottage cheese and yogurt
7	FREE DAY	FREE DAY	FREE DAY	FREE DAY	FREE DAY	FREE DAY

Replace this...	with this
whole milk	skim (0%), low-fat (1%), reduced fat (2%)
cheese	reduced fat cheese
pasta with white (cheese) sauce	pasta with marinara (vegetable) sauce
bacon or sausage	Canadian bacon or lean ham
eggs	egg whites or egg substitutes
white bread	whole-wheat
mayonnaise	reduce calorie, fat-free or mustard
regular salad dressings	reduced fat/calorie dressings
guacamole	salsa
creamed soups	broth-based soups
butter, oil or shortening	non-stick cooking spray, applesauce or prune puree

Body for life has a great community. You can chat with other people who are going through the exact same thing that you are.

http://bodyforlife.com/community

So how did I do? Well in the 12 weeks, I lost 20 pounds. The running as most of you know stuck and I am now training for my 2nd 50 mile ultramarathon and I feel great. I still eat very healthy, and still have the Eating for Life recipe book and often use it.

Here are my transformation photos;

Before in 2003

After in 2003

 

 

Photo of me now

The program works, I swear by it. At least check it out. http://bodyforlife.com/

Today, I met a new friend.

Isn't he sweet? He was such a snuggler. I'd walk away and he'd snuggle with me.

My fat dog and I say this ashamed.

Look at that face

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

Fat, me! Not in this picture anyway. He's chasing some dog at the dog park in Oregon

I totally blamed my mother for making my dog overweight. When we moved from one state to another, I had to leave him in her care for a month. When I went to go pick him up I said, "what in the world did you do to my dog?" He was fat!

I blamed the cheesy hot dogs she was feeding him for a treat and the unhealthy can of dog food. I also think when she knew I was irritated with her, she gave him more than just the one dog treat she swore she was giving him.

As, I stayed at her house for about 4 days, he started to look skinnier to me and the thought went into my head, maybe he really was overweight this whole time, even before I took him to my parents. Maybe I just got so used to seeing him, he didn't appear to be overweight. I hate to admit it, he wasn't that active prior to moving. I wasn't running with him and it was always a struggle to get someone to take him for a walk.

Well when I brought him to his new home, I took him to the vet and he weighed in at 55.5 lbs, that's 6.5 lbs heavier than the last time he was at the vet. We started running together and he was running a lot. We were up to 40 miles a week prior to my hamstring injury. I thought he was losing weight and I couldn't understand why my husbands Grandfather was still making fun of him, calling him fat and I got upset. You know, "don't call my dog fat!"

I just took him into the vet to get weighed and I am not kidding, he is the exact same weight and the lady said he could lose some weight. She asked me what I was feeding him and I said 1/2 can of Costco's wet food + 1 3/4- 2 cups dry. She said to reduce it to 2 cups dry and 1-2 tbsp wet.

Uggggghhhhhh!!!!!!! I guess love really is blind.

I don't get it, doesn't look fat to me.

I think it is just his fur.

You know what they say, well at least I do, only dogs in America are fat.