Shoots , heat and weight

Photo by Wolfshead photography

So again, I haven't been posting much,mostly because I have been doing more art modeling things than photography... Would you like to see and hear about  some of that as well?

Friday,I had my first shoot in a while ,  the themes were "Superheroes" and " Gothic " pinup.
Michael ( the photographer) sent me this little teaser from the Gothic section.

What you can't see, is that I was melting, totally.  It was 91 according to the the thermometer in my car, Michael's studio is on the third floor, and only partially air conditioned ( the bathroom and front room, where we shot was not...this one, shot in the garage, even MORE not conditioned...probably 110 in there at least) I am sure that my face got red, even with the makeup, and was having to blot my face CAREFULLY, so as not to smudge makeup.  Heat is not my friend, was not my friend.... go ahead, try to get a full spandex body suit on, while sweaty.  I dare you...to say it as a little difficult, whew!  
Don't get me wrong, Michael is an awesome guy, and I had a good time, but extreme heat ( or for that matter cold) DOES make things much more difficult.  ( though it also made us go faster, to finish up....but that is not always a good thing, as there were poses that in retrospect, I would have wanted to try, but it was just so hot. ) So here is a word to the wise.... outside shoots, one expects to be uncomfortable because of heat or cold or rain or water, but inside....comfort should be taken into consideration. So Michael, as much as I like you... if we work together again, full summer would not be best time to do it in.

You may ask why I have not been shooting so much?
2 reasons really. One is that I am looking for more paid work- not that I won't do TFP, but it needs to be a concept that I haven't done before- something new...something that I have really been wanting to do...and most of those ideas are pretty conceptual.  The second reason, is that I had a bit of time where I got lazy with my eating and my exercise...and I gained weight...So I have beefed up my working out again , and paying more attention to food, so that, I will be able to see my ab muscles again.( not to mention, get into all ready waiting to be shot wardrobe)
Yes, let me make it clear, I do love my body, and I am fairly amazed at the things it has done BUT just because I love it, doesn't mean it can't be better- doesn't mean I stop striving...I had a hiccup, it happens, now it's back at it .    

Losing weight

I have,over the years, and again yesterday , have people wonderingly ask about my "secret" to losing weight.  "How did you do it? "
Well, there are several things that went into it...let me start at the beginning ( more or less)

I was not a chunky child or teenager , in fact as a child, I was PAINFULLY thin.The biggest things on legs were my knees ( and feet) I was VERY active, though clumsy ( ADHD you know) and this continued into High School.  Even though,because of the developing of Exercise Induced Asthma and really bad knee joints, the activity level dropped off.  I took art instead of gym, I wrote instead of running.
I didn't gain weight though ....even though I ate like most teenagers do...terrible food and a lot of it.
I was what I now know as "skinny fat" very little muscle tone,but still small ( size 5-6,and about 115-120 at 5'4)  This continued well into my 20's .  I would periodically have bouts of attempted workouts, though after a doctor told me I "didn't have the joints" to be athletic, I kind of stopped, other than walking and being active in gardening,cleaning, chores and such.

Weight creeped up, as it does in adult hood. I was in a size 8-10 and 135 when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2000...and after her ,and trying to lose the baby weight I was at about 140.  Again, with not much muscle to speak of...I briefly dropped down into the 130 range with the Atkin's diet.

In 2009 I was 150.

    When I became a surrogate mother in 2010, I started the journey at 160....and ended it at about 195.

So,there we are, end of 2010, 200 lbs. ( there are no pictures of me from this point)
My back hurt, my knees hurt, I was depressed for more than one  reason,as well as it being an ongoing battle in my life.
I told myself, that I needed to make a change, for me.   I wanted my daughter to see the advantage of being mentally healthy and physically healthy. I wanted to prove that I COULD, that I WOULD.
So, when I felt I was able ( about 6-7 weeks after the c-section) I dug out an old workout DVD.  I popped it in, and I did it.  It was an hour long,I made it about half of that.  It was belly dancing ( in retrospect, not the best beginning, after a c-section,  considering) I could barely walk back up my basement stairs, my legs were so week, I almost puked, twice.  But I went back the next day, and did it again, and again, and again.  I added more DVD'd to my collection. More dance ( ballet, Bollywood, hula, Brazilian , hip hop) Martial arts, Yoga, Pilates, Budicon,  Sword fighting, kickboxing, kettelbell, Cardio, Circuit training , HIT, Strength, Tai Chi,  Piloxing.  The DVD's got harder, and more intense.  I started running a couple times a week( more like a really slow jog at first) I ran 1 mile, 2 miles, eventually up to 3.  I ran my first 5 K....I ran the whole way and finished.  My second, I finished in the middle of my pack of age mates...My third, I got third place in my age group.  We got an exercise bike, I do that in the winter with weights, or just to mix things up. I started snowshoeing this winter.
I do all kinds of things, so I don't get bored, either in body or mind.

Because of the depression when I started, I was not eating well, AT ALL. But I did force myself to eat.  It wasn't much, but I made a point of trying to be low carb ( not because of Atkins...I just run better over all that way) organic, un processed foods. Fruits, veggies, meat, nuts and seeds. I never was a big pop drinker, so I didn't have that to worry about, but I cut out fruit juice,and drank water or tea. ( I have a host of food allergies, so things like wheat, dairy, chocolate and pork are automatically off the table)

Gradually, the depression lifted, The weight came off.  I liked how I felt, I like how I looked.  By August of 2011, I had met my 3rd goal of "medically" healthy weight of 121, and a size 5( my first was to get to prepregnancy weight, then, it was to be the weight on my drivers licence...130) .

Since then my weight has gone up and down a bit...heaviest 135, lowest 115.  Even at the heaviest, I still was no larger than a size 2 jean....so I think some of that is muscle changes....since muscle weighs more than fat, and takes up less space.

I still eat well ( but allow some cheats...you have to to keep sane) and work out between 4 and 6 times a week. Typically for about an hour...though on rushed days it can be half of that. My depression is lifted, my ADHD symptoms are under control....I feel good.

So.... no secret....no magic bullet, no pill or supplement magically did this. I did.  You can too, if you want.    

Tattoo session

                            Photo by G& D Studios 


I am continuing work on the large tattoo of a Dragon and a Phoenix you see in this photoshoot.   Since this shoot in December, The Phoenix ( on my stomach)  has been completely colored in.  The next session is March 7th, where we will work on finishing the dragon on my leg.

Most of the time,I sit rather well for tattoos...I don't squirm,or yell, faint or puke.  ( Yes,ask your tattoo artists,they most likely have had ALL of these things happen to them at one time or another) Now granted, on the whole this has been a tough tattoo...it goes to my lower ribs at the front, from hip bone to hip bone, around the ribs on my side,and down to my upper thigh....most,if not all of these spots tend to be painful ones.  ( more than ,typically a shoulder, an arm etc)

My sitting yesterday did not go well.  I seemed to be just super sensitive,so had to break every half an hour or so...I spent a good portion of time having to bite my own knuckles ( I did avoid screaming and crying,though there was some soft cursing and grunts- The whole screaming thing tends to frighten other clients in the shop...I try to avoid that )  The goal for the day was to finish up the wing on my ribs and the tail feathers ( except for little bits of extra color) We did indeed make it through... Though by the end of the thigh, and the session ,  I could feel the muscles, especially in my leg, start to jump and twitch.  ( an aside, Miles Maniaci at Deluxe Tattoo is very calming and mellow...and certainly helped me make it through)

By the time I walked in the door at home,I was not feeling well ( after an hour drive) I was shaky, woozy, and shivering.  I managed to get up the stairs and hit the couch before I quite literally fell over.  I think I was actually shocky.  I ate a steak salad and an Atkins snack bar and felt reasonably better, though I almost puked twice, and spent the majority of the evening laying on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with a cat curled up next to me,and a cup of hot tea in my hand.  It wan't until this morning that I felt "myself" again.

What was wrong, what was different, what was the problem? What is the lesson here?  EAT.  I had eaten my normal breakfast/ lunch( or my normal lately, as I am working on getting back down to my modeling weight) So I had had 2 cups of tea, lots of water and a large apple  ( and ran 2.5 miles) before going in.  Apparently this was not enough.  Now I know. Don't eat heavy...but don't eat too lightly either.