All About Me!!

Hi!  I'm Cindy.  

(Notice the lack of body in this pic.  Just my head....and a pretty necklace.)

Hi!  I'm Cindy! I am a mother, wife, voice teacher, and a RED HEAD!!  That means that I am busy, opinionated, and a tad crazy.  I am also overweight.  This isn't really a shock to me as I have now been overweight for 12 years!  For 12 YEARS I have been "trying to lose weight."  In that time, I have been through some great weight loss programs, read over 30 books on eating healthy and losing weight, subscribed to a ton of blogs, and tried to find the special formula that was just perfect for my lifestyle.

NEWSFLASH!!!

With the exception of holding onto the phrase "I'm losing FAT not WEIGHT" (meant to inspire people to work out and gain muscle...) There wasn't a formula for my lifestyle!!!!  *GASP* See, my lifestyle was the problem. (DUH!) Turns out, you don't lose weight while chasing kids, making "healthy" meals, teaching voice lessons, and watching TV with the hubby. WEIRD!!  Well, CRAP.  So, after a full year of "who cares, I'm going with the EAT, PRAY, LOVE, theme" in my life, I'm back!  I received a slap in the face recently as I was denied health insurance due to my weight/height ratio.  I am "obese" and no one wants to take a chance on my health. And honestly, I can't blame them.  So this time, I THINK that I have it figured out. This is my attempt on recording my adventures and progress.  I hope that it works because I REALLY don't want to start ANOTHER blog (this is my 3rd, and I really suck at this.)  

So, Here goes nothing! In my opinion, the first step (other that recognize that there is a problem,) is to understand yourself.  What comes easily to you?  What struggles do you have?  What physical, emotional, mental issues keep you from accomplishing your goal?  See, some may see these as excuses (which they are) BUT, I think that there are ways to overcome each challenge and ways to bring our talents to the forefront. So, let's delve! 

Some facts about Red Heads.

http://facts.randomhistory.com/redhead-facts.html

Approximately 1-2% of humans, or about two in 100 people in the world, have red hair.k (Who knew!) The ancient Greeks believed that redheads would turn into vampires after they died.i,j (Pretty sure that isn't going to happen. Duh! I'm going to be a Queen and rule my own world....a discussion for another time.) Otherwise dark hair may turn red or blond in cases of severe protein deficiency due to starvation.c (Eat protein...got it!) Red hair doesn’t gray as much as other hair colors. Red hair initially tends to turn blond and then white.b Red is the rarest hair color in humans The most rare hair color in humans is red.b Because natural red hair holds its pigment more than other colors, it is harder to dye.b During the witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, many women were burned at the stake as witches merely because they had red hair.i (I've been called a witch....and worse....) Redheaded women report bruising more easily than other women of different hair colors.f (See, exercise is going to be hazardous!!) People with red hair have twice the risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease.d (Eat healthy and reduce Oxidative Stress....another discussion for another time.) Redheads have the fewest strands of hair, with an average of 90,000 strands Because redheads have thicker hair than people with other hair colors, they have fewer strands of hair. For example, while blondes have on average 140,000 hairs, redheads have approximately 90,000.b Mark Twain once quipped that “while the rest of the human race are descended from monkeys, redheads derive from cats.”b Hitler reportedly banned the marriage of redheads in order to prevent “deviant offspring.”i (He might have been onto something there......) According to legend, the first redhead was Prince Idon of Mu who, upon discovering Atlantis, was imprinted with the island’s stunning red sunset and leaves in the form of red hair and freckles so future generations would be reminded of Atlantis’ first sunset.c( Ahhhhhh.......) Red hair is a recessive trait, which means that a child must inherit one red hair gene from each parent. Recessive traits often come in pairs, and redheads are more likely than other people to be left handed.b (I'm right handed) Some scholars speculate that because Adam was from “red earth” and the Hebrew word for “red” is adom, that Adam was a redhead.i Redheaded women are often associated with sexual prowess According to Playboy magazine, “Redheads are like other women—only more so.”c(??????) Scholars note that redheads have influenced history out of proportion to their numbers. Famous redheads include Roman emperor Nero, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, the ancient god of love Aphrodite, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon Bonaparte, Oliver Cromwell, Emily Dickinson, Antonio Vivaldi, Thomas Jefferson, Vincent Van Gogh, Mark Twain, James Joyce, Winston Churchill, Malcolm X, Galileo, and King David.b (THAT'S RIGHT! We be tough!) According to a Clairol Color Attitude survey, 71% of redheads think that the word “bold” describes them, which is 24 points ahead of blonds.e (Expect BOLD actions from THIS red head......and BOLD text!) While 49% of those polled in a Clairol Color Attitude survey think blonds are naïve, only 15% thought redheads were.e Some scholars postulate that the same gene mutation that causes red hair also affects the way redheads respond to pain and anesthetics.a (VERY true! I am very sensitive to pain. But I DO have a higher pain tolerance! Which means, that I'll feel the pain early on in exercising, but should be able to fight through it. Right?......Right?) Scotland has the highest proportion of redheads in the world The gene that causes red hair initially had the benefit of increasing the body’s ability to make vitamin D, which was important for people living farther away from the equator. However, today’s redheads are more likely to develop skin cancer and premature wrinkles.c (What a rip-off!! No exercising in the sun.... ok.) Red hair is a mutation of the MC1R gene on chromosome 16. The mutation blocks the production of eumelanin (dark brown and black pigment), which causes a buildup of the phaeomelanin (red and blond pigments). Some scientists believe that higher levels of phaeomelanin may produce more mutations and dangerous effects when exposed to UV radiation.b In Michelangelo’s Temptation and in St. Paul's Cathedral, Eve is initially depicted as having brown and blond hair, respectively. But in both artistic renditions, after she eats the apple and she and Adam are driven from the Garden of Eden, Eve is depicted as a redhead.i (Shall we say.....rebellious? Daring? No fear of the unknown??) Ruadh gu brath is Gaelic for “Red heads forever!”b (New motto!) “Gingerphobia” is a fear of redheads. “Gingerism” is the bullying or prejudice of redheads.i (Really??? There are people out there that are afraid of me because of my red hair? And there, I thought that I just had an intimidating personality.) EVERYONE HAS SOME RED IN THEIR HAIR!!!!!!  COOL, HUH!!!! (That means that EVERYONE can be a healthy redhead! ;))  References a Blue, Laura. “Do Red Heads Really Feel More Pain? The Jury’s Still Out.” Time. August 12, 2009. Accessed: October 20, 2010. b Cass, Cort. 2003. The Red Head Handbook. Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. c Douglas, Stephen. 1996. The Redhead Encyclopedia. Redheads International/Stone Castle Literary Group. d Gao, Xiang, Kelly C. Simon, et al. “Genetic Determinants of Hair Color and Parkinson’s Disease.” Ann Neurol. January 2009 65(1): 76-82. Accessed: October 24, 2010. Pub Med Central. e Garreau, Joel. “Red Alert!” The Washington Post. March 19, 2002. Accessed: October 23, 2010. f Liem, Edwin B, Sandra Hollensead, et al. “Women with Red Hair Report a Slightly Increase Rate of Bruising but Have Normal Coagulation Tests.” Anesthesia and Analgesia. January 26 102(1): 313-318. Accessed: October 20, 2010. g “Redheads Have More Sex Than Brunettes or Blonds.” MailOnline. August 2006. Accessed: October 24, 2010. h Rincon, Paul. “Neanderthals ‘Were Flame-Haired.’” BBC News. October 25, 2007. Accessed: October 24, 2010. i Roach, Marion. 2006. The Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning, and Sexual Power of Red Hair. Bloomsbury USA. j Sherrow, Victoria. 2006. Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.k Sterling, Kristin. 2010. Red Everywhere. Lerner Publications.

OK! There we have it.  That is what SCIENCE says about ME!  Now, what do I say about me???

Mentally

Well, I THINK about losing fat all of the time.  I also feel like I have all of the tools to do so. BUT, I am a VERY ORGANIZED person.  I do well with schedules, plans, goals, etc.  So, this is where I will start.

1. GOAL: My goal is to live healthy through eating the correct foods, a fitness lifestyle, and a positive outlook!!! I believe that this will bring extra happiness into my life and the life of others!  I believe that fat loss will be an AWESOME side effect of this lifestyle change and I plan to reveal the NEW me on May 26th, 2013. (My husbands birthday.)    
2. PLAN: I will break this down into simple steps that are easy to accomplish on a day to day basis. To help me stay motivated, I will be held accountable to anyone that MIGHT read this blog as I am making it public for everyone to read. (Who knows who might find this somewhere in the web universe.)
3. SCHEDULE: I plan to devote a whole blog entry specific to schedules.  Keeping a simple, schedule with a back up plan will help to keep me on task.  It will also act as a small award as I get to "check off" my daily tasks. This may seem tedious, but I really work better this way.

Emotionally

I think that I am emotionally tired of my self image.  I feel sad and beat up.  I am angry with myself for letting my health get out of control. I see pictures of a younger me and I want to scream!  My friends are all fit and beautiful, and I can't help but think "I used to be that way..."  It sucks.  I'm scared that this will be another failed attempt. I'm afraid to visit my friends and family that live far away.  I HATE visiting them because I am embarrassed of what I look like.  I just "KNOW" that they are all saying things behind my back.  Things like "Boy, Cindy said that she would never get overweight...now look..." or "I'm really worried about her.  This can't be healthy." or "Men are always so focused on the physical appearance of women...what does Jeff think?"  Now, I realize that PROBABLY isn't happening.  However, tell that to my insecure sub- conscience.  BUT!!!!!  I can honestly say that I am excited to start this new journey and I NOW have a positive outlook on life and my appearance. No, it wasn't a Dove commercial, or a song, or a self-help book.  It was just me, looking in the mirror at myself, in my underwear (TMI?) until I LOVED what I saw. Yup, I forced myself to find the amazing things in and on my body.  It was an emotional roller coaster ride, but I encourage EVERYONE to do this.  Sometime, when you are home alone, strip down, and stare. It's amazing what you REALLY see when you give yourself time to see it. Stretchmarks aren't ugly anymore, but memories.  Which brings me to my next topic.

Physically

I really don't think that we need to spend time on the negative. Yes, I want to look different.  And by different, I mean smaller.  By smaller, I mean thinner.  Whew, took me a bit to come to that realization. BUT!  I have stretch mark memories, angel kissed freckles, smooth skin, pretty shoulders, a pretty smile, straight teeth (thank you braces,) and AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL RED HAIR!!!!  

Hi!  I'm Cindy, and I am on my way to becoming The Healthy Redhead!

I am on my way to becoming The Healthy Redhead!