Don't Lick Me For Benefit

A resolution to not be skinny anymore

[action]

Happy Women’s History Month, Tumblr! 🎉

For the past few years, Tumblr has celebrated Women’s History Month by honoring women who have continuously shaken up our world for the better. We’ve highlighted prominent women in their respective fields, signal-boosted those who were working for or speaking up about a worthy cause, and showcased incredible artists who deserve to be seen.

This year we’re doing more of the same—just a little bit differently. This year, we’re making a concerted effort to give the microphone to women of color, indigenous women, trans women, immigrant women, women who are refugees, and all other types of women who face the effects of marginalization more than others.

Not all of us experience the world in the same way. Life experiences, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexuality, immigration status, and so many other factors can determine how the world sees someone. We hope our interviews, celebrations, and all the other highlighting we do here on @action will allow you to see what it’s like for someone who may live a life that looks much, much different from your own. In continuation of our year-long #BlackExcellence365 celebration, we’ll be shining that spotlight a little more brightly on Black women.

Here is a glimpse of just some of the interviews and other celebrations on our calendar:

3/5—An interview with Colombian artist Stefania Tejada (@stefaniatejada)

3/8—Observance of International Women’s Day

3/12—An interview with Game Designer Mitu Khandaker

3/14—An interview with Brooklyn-based photographer Miranda Barnes (@mirandabarnes)

3/18—An interview with Mexican-American artist Gabriella Sanchez (@thatnoisegallery)

3/19—An interview with Game Designer Catt Small

3/25—An interview with Nigerian activist Kawther Inuwa (@muslimarmy)

3/27—A Celebration of #MuslimWomensDay2019 with @muslimarmy

3/29—An interview with Transgender parent, Kat Rohn (@trans-parenting)

3/31—Honoring the International Day of Transgender Visibility Day with Kylie Wu (@transgirlnextdoor)

That’s not all. We want this to be a community effort. We want to hear from you. How are you honoring the women in your life? How does intersectional feminism shape your art, your writing, or even how you move through life? Let your followers know what’s on your mind by making a post and tagging it #Women’s History Month. We’ll be looking.

[dontlickme4benefit]

Lazy Daisy

Recently recovered from being sick and having no energy to work out. Now the kids are sick so I have no idea if I can make it to the gym later this week. I should be able to go back to the Clutch Program though. I'll so sore getting back into it.

[doingitbitch]

Start the day working out!

[dontlickme4benefit]

Been So Long

Hey, to anyone reading this. It's been a long time. Life happens. I got injured a bit back and had to go into therapy. Bunch of other stuff. But I recently got back into my workouts. I am following Ashley Conrad's 21 Day Clutch Program. Hoping to get back to the gym. I'm still at 126lbs but my body fat (for those new to my Tumblr, I am a skinny girl and training to not be skinny and build muscle so weight gain is my goal as well as building muscle and lowering body fat since there is such thing as skinny fat) is back up. I have a new goal of 139lbs with 10% fat by 2020. I will post a recent pic later. Also, I am hoping this fall to get back to college to major in exercise science. I have such a full schedule already and some think I'm insane to keep pushing and feeling worn out but life can't stop just for me. Well I am going to go get a post workout meal. Chocolate protein waffles. I did my own recipe since others just don't taste that great. Also, post that later. And if you're following I am on Day 5 of the Clutch workout Program. Hope everyone is having a good day.

[aspoonfuloflissi]

Slow mornings with waffles and coffee :)

[dontlickme4benefit]

Though I didn't have waffles, I did have coffee. Non-decaf. I need me some waffles like this though.

[dontlickme4benefit]

Ahh, it's Jan 5!

So, in my last post I said I'd post again on the 2nd. Well, that didn't happen because I was suffering from migraines. I figure it's linked to the stress of the holidays. I wasn't as busy as usual. But I still felt bogged down so it's got to be a belated bodily response. Though I do suffer migraines. I'm doing great today. More energy. Not tired. Strange for not sleeping as well as I'd wanted.

So, let's get to the nitty gritty. I have stayed on a 2500 cal daily goal. It does go up depending on how active I am and with having migraines, I've slept a ton. Last night I managed to cook dinner when some energy returned. I had chicken, red pepper, and onion kebabs with a honey sauce that reminded me of teriyaki. And a salad with milk. For the days since the second I've had a warm breakfast. It's cold out so warm food is my friend. I had a Great Grains cereal with raisins and nuts in milk. Heated in the micro wave. And Nature's Way Protein Chocolate granola added in with coffee. I can't do without my coffee. Two days it was decaf and I do wonder if it contributed to my head pain. As with many migraine sufferers, caffeine fends off pain. For others, it makes it worse. Lunch has bean a spinach and arugula salad with a guacamole dressing and two egg yolks with parmasean shavings and apple juice. My snacks have been blueberry coconut smoothies with protein powder. I bought Body Fortress from Walmart. It had a decent amount of protein per scoop. But the vanilla flavor is very strong and sweet. Oddly it doesn't have a lot of sugar in it, so I think it's the no cal sweetener they add. I hadn't noticed it until after purchase. Next month I'm going back to my EAS Protein powders. They aren't too strong on flavor, aren't sweet and make my mouth sticky, and they don't have a crap load of cholestoral. Not good if you have bad cholestoral. I don't have bad cholestoral. Never have and I'm not about to change it. I've had to cut down to half a scoop per day. Making it more difficult to get protein in. I add milk to my smoothies. About a third cup. And yogurt. I bought Greek Goddess and it seems too sweet to me now. I'll go back to Dannon after it's all out. They have a great zero sugar with high protein line. It's artificially sweetened. But when you add your fruits it balances out. I also have for snacks wheat toast that is low in sugar. Read your labels people. They trick you with fancy labels. With a guacamole spread, mild; two tomato slices, shredded egg yolk, and parmasean flakes. It's pretty good. I do it twice a day with my shakes. Dinners are generally chicken dishes. With veggies. Tonight I'm having a white bean chicken chili. Great source of fiber and protein. I'm using a protein broth I found at Walmart. A great find. And of course 130 oz of water because I go with my body weight plus five oz. You'll use the bathroom a lot. Now if you have extra sodium over 2000 I'd do 1.5oz for every pound. To help flush out what you don't want. For me it helps with bloating. I also have to be on a high fiber diet so I tend to get 35g in. With more calories you need fiber especially if you eat a lot of fat. Did you know that a lot of dairy constipated you because of the amount of fat in it? I try to stay within a healthy limit of fat. You need it for bodily function and brain health but there's good fat and bad fat.

I've posted a pic of what I look like. Honestly even though I'm told I'm still thin, I look better than I did 20 lbs before. Most of it went to my stomach and legs. I'd like to get a butt for once and work on my arms. Which will be hard because I was born with Rubella Syndrome. Not the rash. The syndrome. It's rare to meet anyone in person with it but we are out there. Among the things it affected in my body is my pectoral muscles and the muscles in my wrists. It's hard to do a push up because my muscles are underdeveloped from birth. I can still do things but when it comes to weight it gets hard. But I'd like to go for it anyway. Any disability shouldn't stop anyone from doing what they want. So to start working on my arms I'll have to get wrist braces and a personal trainer who can help me with alternative exercises. I can't afford it right now but I can surely look through what options I can find on Google.

Which brings me to another subject. I also have costochrondritis. It's a condition in which inflammation of the ribs and sternums cartilage cause severe pain. It can be a temporary condition or chronic and the amount of flares can vary person to person. Some of us have it so bad it's a daily basis. I am lucky in that it happens about twice a year. Unfortunately it happens without full warning and over something dumb like the position I slept in the night before. And baths. I have a messed up back between my shoulder blades. A degenerative disc. It doesn't hurt often but the only way I can make it go away is with a warm Saltzer bath. But it causes my costo to flare up and then I need ice packs. Still I want to do cross training. I'm determined to do it. I'm going to see a gym this month that's in town because they have an amazing list of classes and also my son wants to do wrestling and they have a program to teach young kids as well as a cross training program. I used to do a milder form of cross training in high school. I liked it. It's what caused my costo because I apparently fractured my sternum, which, I didn't even know I did until a few years ago. But I miss weight training. It was fun. I was kick a$$ at anything involving the legs.ive chatted long enough. I'll post again tomorrow, when I get back to my at-home workout routine. It's been a while so I'm starting small. And remember, no matter what goals you have: to gain weight and build muscle, too lose weight and get fit, or to just get healthy, keep going. And watch some YouTube videos. They really inspire going at it.

[dontlickme4benefit]

Being told I'm too thin, I decided to add a pic. Looking at it, though I have no but and really no hips either, I don't look as thin as last year before gaining 20lbs. A lot of it went to my stomach and legs. I'd like to gain a but and work on my arms a bit more. And sorry it took me several days. Haven't felt well.

[dontlickme4benefit]

Making a Resolution

So, I’ve decided to take up a goal I had from this year, 2017, and reboot it for the coming year. I have been thin all my life and have been teased for it. Or people make comments whether they mean to be rude or not, about how I’m thin and I should eat. There have been times in my life I didn’t eat much. But I was also going through a lot. High school was a pain and I did at one point not really eat. I can be known to forget to eat when I get busy. Recently, since about three years ago I have noticed my body has changed preferences as to when I’m hungry. If I up early my stomach will immediately go into hunger mode. And then for a while I would get hungry around 11 and then at lunch and wait until dinner. I’d snack through out the day and basically ate enough to sustain my small frame. I’d neither gain or lose. Then my body decided to change. I was getting hungry earlier in the morning and then at 10 and noon and something around three and dinner. Sometimes late night. Last year I got tired of people saying how skinny I was. Including my doctor. I have a high metabolism. I am what bodybuilders and some nutritionists call an ectomorph. Meaning I’m naturally thin with a high metabolism and it’s actually rather hard to gain and build muscle. Doesn’t help I’m small as well. A short 5′4″. And.... apparently I look young as well. At the age of 35 people seem to think I’m between 18-23. Much too young to be a mom of three. One being 14. 

While we are talking about it, don’t tell people like us that looking young is a blessing. When you are thin, short, and look young you get treated like a child. Looked at like your some teen mom who couldn’t keep her body to herself. Tell me I look young when I’m 60. There is a negative side to it all.

Now, back to the subject at hand. As a single mom of three my life gets busy. It’s likely to change in some way and can throw my life a different direction. Not that I need to say it but I have one disabled child who is 24/7 care. This year I did a good three months of a weight gaining diet and exercise four times a week. I finally gained 20 lbs. I felt happy. I now only have three pairs of pants that fit because it wasn’t just my weight that made it hard to fit into them. Those squats thickened my legs. :-) But then life changed and I wasn’t keeping up. I managed to keep the weight until I get sick this December. I drank so much water that I pretty much lived in the bathroom. But still, I was told I was skinny. I’ve noticed that body shaming is at it’s all time high. Mostly geared to the heavier side and to most women. But I’ve noticed a disturbing mind set among it all. That skinny isn’t shamed. 

That those of us who are thin, unless we are near death, aren’t thought to be ridiculed as much as the other half is. This isn’t true. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Oh, what do you do to stay so thin?”, “Do you eat?”, and while working at GNC, a store I love, and having to promote weight lose products, “Wow is this what you used?” Now I realize some people are just innocently assuming I lost weight having to promote said product. Don’t assume this. Avoid it and just ask if you have known anyone to have had success with said product. Because that person may not have needed it. Not saying that this is a bad thing. In fact there was a time skinny girls would have had said products flying off of the shelves because to them when they looked in the mirror they only thought they were fat when they weren’t. This still happened but it wasn’t long ago that there was an epidemic of girls purging and such. I remember shows depicting the dangers of being too thin. Saved By the Bell has a few episodes with Kelly going bonkers trying to be thinner. It’s a real issue. Now my most interesting comment about my size was, “Can I lick you and get thin?” What. The. Hell?

But now there’s those of us who don’t try to be thin and yet are. My favorite food is a medium rare steak with broccoli and mashed taters and maybe some shrimp. and a nice mixed drink. But I rarely have that. So expensive. I really have wanted to get back to my goal. Which I wont state until I’ve reached it. But I will say I’ve been as thin as 97lbs but I was very sick at the time and was suffering from something having to do with my uterus and was having a three month period that no doctor knew the cause of. Thankfully I stopped after three months. But had to be put on the pill and to my horror, for the longest time would bleed heavily if I missed one day. I haven’t been that weight since that time. I am now actually a weight I have never been without being pregnant. But still called skinny. I worked hard to get this weight and was hoping the chiding would stop. So now I want to gain more, and build muscle. I figured having a blog that I told myself I would commit to would help be a workout buddy of sorts. In this blog I will try to post pictures often, hoping for no hate and will delete comments if I have to; what I ate that day and the workouts plus how I feel. And anything else relevant to my goals. I was inspired to not only gain weight and not be thin but to do so in no shame of myself by an amazing girl who did the same: Stef Joson from Switzerland. She has an Instagram account if you want to look her up. Lastly I will start my posts Jan 2nd.