FatGirl vs World

Last week, I tweeted that I should do a PSA about how to hug a person with a back injury (cause I had suffered a few bad hugs).  My amazing friend, Paul, was like "LET'S DO THIS!" So we did it.  I think he did a great job of compressing 27 of me acting like a creepy idiot into 7 minutes of semi-coherent awesomeness.  Kudos Paul. (You should also check out Druidzilla's (Paul's doggie) Twitter feed.)



Paul brings up a very good point -- that any and all physical contact requires consent (verbal or physical) each and every time.   There are times when even someone with the best intentions in a hug (to comfort and show affection) can go very wrong in the application (unwanted contact or the hug exacerbates an injury). Not everyone is a hugger (like me) and that's 100% okay and within his or her rights. 

Many times if I see someone going for a hug, I'll say "I have a bad back, please be careful." Most well-behaved Homo sapiens will respect that and either switch to a handshake or they let me lead the hug.  But there are a few people who don't get the message.  Not all of the "bad hugs" made it into the video so I'll list them here:
1.  The Bear Hug 
2.  Wiggle/Weeble Hug (with Twist variation)
3.  Side strangle Hug (with Slap variation)
4.  High Velocity Hug (with Tackle variation)
5.  Crack-your-back/Amateur Chiropractor Hug
6.  Jump-up-and-down Hug (a/k/a the Giggly Sorority Hug)
7.  Pick-you-up/Go Low Hug (a/k/a Feat of Strength Hug)
8.  The Limp Body Hug (this isn't injurious, it's just lame)
9.  (The Little Kid Hugs -- this one kills me because I love my niece and little ones in the family, but I can't always pick them up or bend over to hug them, which sometimes hurts their feelings.  In this case I really need mommy and daddy's help in explaining that I have a boo-boo.)

What makes a good hug? 
1.  Consent 
2.  Balance (in terms of gravity and that hugger/huggee mirror each other's physicality)

Again -- BIG THANKS to Paul for filming this with me and thank you all for (hopefully) your future hugs.

I really can't introduce this in any other way than repeating that this is the story I'm always trying to tell (and never seem to get right) as well as the hardest story I have to tell:

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August #GoTheDist

For me it was an unfocused personal mess... Though I didn't meet either of my exercise targets and gained 5lbs, I achieved the theme of celebrating.  Between my birthday, my brother's wedding, my dad's birthday, a few other birthdays in the family and among friends, I definitely had lots of joy in my life (as well as some frustration for added contrast).

For some people it was yet another victorious month (how do YOU define it?).  Congrats to @Bambi_P, @OfftheDlistM, @phatteri, @x_factor, @dubyawife, and @siobhanmpalmer who all either reached their targets, or got really effing close.  Kudos to those who suck with it and put forth some noble effort.

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September #GoTheDist



<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ap5ByzNXXC9NdERtU1ZaUktmbGVicVllUEhWOFpfV2c#gid=0"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyExc2LnLgRUIrIQrukXkvVMzir_LKlCqy_wIQ68bJe4KuenAFrOF__KWqyzhSFzJCUcXAK15lcQdcVtgbTRBVdCzL2K5shcXop4afSmxTjnOMemFklLTyABU5jbXkxs7SpPk6ntdMcUw/s320/buddha.jpg" height="300" border="0"></a>
One of the recent themes of my blog/life has been failure and truth as well as how they relate to each other.  As usual when I'm feeling down, I turn to The Buddha, or Buddhist texts for some insight.  Why is this?  Look at the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, or even the new guy, the Karmapa Lama:  they seem to witness so much suffering in their own personal lives or those of their countrymen and peers and yet they find a way to smile from the very depths of their hearts. I figure they know something.  And I want to know what they know.

It becomes almost circular at some point with Buddhism.  For all of the teachings, for all of the teachers, there is an intrinsic sense of truth that cannot be coerced into being.  It blossoms with time and experience, knowledge and examination, patience and curiosity.  It's what some people call faith, some call noumenon.  Just one day it arrives and yet it had always been there.

So for September's theme, my question is "What is your personal truth; what is true to you today?" It doesn't have to be deep or serious, but it does have to be genuine. How can you (further) bring sincerity and truth into your weightloss/healthgain/fitness/life journey? Borrow a truth if you need one, or need some inspiration.

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How to Join:

1. Click on the SUMMARY PAGE (bookmarking it would be a good idea as you will be using it often).

2. Fill out the next available line on the "Summary" spreadsheet (do not use Columns F or G, J or K -- they will automatically calculate once link your sheet).

3. **CREATE YOUR INDIVIDUAL PAGE** (This is a NEW step. Duplicate the "Participant Sheet." If you're comfortable working in spreadsheets you can edit it where it should repeat your personal information. The formula line will look something like "=Summary!A2" -- replace the 2 with whatever line you are on the summary spreadsheet. For =Summary!B2 do the same, etc.).

4. Rename the tab "@[twitter name]" or if you don't have Twitter "[nickname]"  (If you want to link your page back to summary spreadsheet, go for it.  It's a huge help. Column F will look like this (minus the brackets):  ='[your tab name]'!D43  Column J will look like this (minus the brackets):  ='[your tab name]'!E43)

5. Fill out the sheet as you wish.

6. Update your own individual page as needed (if tracking is too hard, consider printing out your page and filling it out by hand and updating it online once a week). The total mileage will automatically be updated on the Summary tab as you report on your individual page.

7. Follow #GoTheDist on Twitter for support if you need it or to support others when they do, to announce achievements, and find new/old friends!

8. PLEASE DO NOT DELETE LINES OR TABS! Do not SORT.  If you want to add columns, please add them to the RIGHT of the page.  Please do NOT move your page around! You CAN bookmark your individual page using your browser to find it easily.

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I'm also quite happy to see how #GoTheDist and #MeFirst can work hand-in-hand.  Consider taking the #MeFirst pledge!

So grab your #GoTheDist buttons, use the hash tags for each month, and get out there! We're all behind you!

At the end of the month consider answering these questions:

• How do you think you did over the course of the month?  
• Did you overestimate or underestimate your capabilities?  Why is this?  Is this representative of a larger trend in your life?
• Did you learn anything about yourself while doing this? 
• Can you apply what you've learned in ##GoTheDist somewhere else in your life? 
• Did you make any new friends through #GoTheDist -- were you able to support each other?
• What was the hardest part of the challenge?  (physical? mental/psychological?)
• What do you think you did really well this month? (doesn't have to be about #GoTheDist)
• What do you think you could improve on? (again, doesn't have to be about #GoTheDist)
• No matter the numbers you already entered, are you going to finish strong, or taper off? 
• Did you go the distance? And no, I don't mean did you hit 100% of your goal... did you put yourself out there and really try for it?  Is 80% still something you can be proud of?

There's a lot I wanted to say here, but never really got it all in the video.

Long story short, Emily had me in her apartment showing me a few moves I could do outside of the gym and a few of them were really hard for me.  She told me that she'd often tell herself "I can do anything for 30 seconds."  Those words really stuck in my head -- that it was a mental challenge, not just a physical one.  I just needed to stick with it and get myself through the panic, the doubt, the fear and on the other side of all of it was someone that was remarkably capable.

So when I was running the 2.5 miles on the treadmill (something that scares me and is hard for me) I imagined Emily right there next to me saying I could do it.  Once I believe her voice telling me I could do it, I started saying it to myself (out loud, the the mirror across the gym) -- "You can do anything.  You've got this, Robby."

Sometimes if we can't trust in ourselves, it helps to have someone who believes in us begin the mantra.  I trust Emily.  I trust that she's been through all of this.  I now trust that I can and will see myself through to the other side.