5 Ways My Dog and I Are Alike

Posing for a picture in the park. Such a good girl!

My friend told me once (or more) that a dog reflects their owner's personality. I think it's partially true since the dog will act the way it's been trained to act (or react in some cases). But I certainly don't chew my nails or lick my hoo-ha like Pepper does, or at all for that matter! Haha. The other day I thought it'd be fun to write about ways Pepper and I are alike, so here's what I thought of:

We both love food.
Seeing how food sustains life, this may be a given. But, what you may not understand is, my world revolves around food. As the first of my four alarms goes off in the morning, my stomach starts growling and I'm running through my mind what's still good in my refrigerator. "Leftovers? No, too soon. Eggs? Eh, only if there's bacon. *gasp* Do I have bacon? Do I have time to go to the store and get bacon if I don't have any? I need to go to Costco and get bacon so I don't have this problem. Mmm, bacon."
Even if my alarm hasn't sounded and I've moved a centimeter, Pepper's all up IN my grill: "FOOD? FOOD TIME? MOM? FOOD?! IS IT TIME FOR FOODZ YET?! IM HUNGRRYYYYY MOOOOMMMMYYYYY! *paws at my face* FEEDMEOMGI'MDYINGFEEDME!" I actually had to get her a special eating ball to eat slowly so she wouldn't choke on her kibble. Maybe, juuuuust maybe, she's more passionate about food than me, as I don't literally inhale my food...

Getting pats on the head is fantastic.
Now hear me out.
We all know most dogs like to get pets on the head, and Pepper's no exception. That's one of her favorite places to be touched. She does this super cute thing where she snuggles her nose under your hand and flicks your hand onto her head if you're not paying attention to her when she wants pets.
I don't do anything that cute, but I do enjoy people playing with my hair or massaging my head. That $40 I spent to get my hair cut the other day was worth it if nothing but for the head massage I got during the shampooing part. You can't tell me you don't find it nice. Stimulating even!

Staring into the abyss is our favorite past time.
Relaxing. Thinking about nothing. Imagining where that smell that smells so smelly is coming from. Those are the things Pepper and I do in our spare time, just snuggled up somewhere. She looks at me and I look at her and then we look at nothing. Sometimes I wonder what she's thinking about while I'm thinking about the future or the past or what I could be doing at that moment, but am too lazy to do. Who knows.... Hey, where's that smell coming from?

Must touch/sniff ALL THE THINGS!
I should admit: I have a problem. My friends can confirm this. Whenever I go anywhere, I have to touch everything. My favorite place is the bedding department. So. Many. Textures. The last time I was home, my mom actually yelled at me for touching things in the store. I was 23 years old. Commence shaking your head.
Also, Pepper... sweet, little Pepper must sniff every little piece of everything we pass by. I know that it's a dog thing, but you'd think after sniffing the same rock, like 5 minutes ago, you wouldn't need to spend an additional 7 minutes sniffing and licking it... or rubbing your face on it... I don't mind because I can totally relate.

We need our own space.
As much as we depend on each other for company, comfort and fun- we both need our alone time. Even though it's late at night and I'm snuggled in bed, Pepper went to her kennel to curl up and have some time in her own space. We are both independent beings who cherish togetherness and aloneness, or at least don't mind aloneness when it's available.

I'm so glad that Pepper stole my heart from behind those bars at the animal shelter in Asan, South Korea. We are so alike in that we enjoy a lot of the same things, and yet we're so different with her being a dog and me being a woman. She brings so much joy, responsibility, sunshine, and laughter to my life. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ready for my close up!

Letting Go

I've always been sentimental. (Maybe more mental than anything...) I like to keep cards, doodles, little things my students have given me. I love pictures (though I'm terrible about keeping them in albums or frames). I still have stuffed animals from when I was young and little knickknacks I've received throughout the years. If you look through all of my stuff back in the States, you'll find things even from my elementary and middle school days. You must admit that it is really nice to look through boxes and drawers and reminisce about the days of old (or cringe- I can't believe I dated that guy!).

This may or may not be a good representation of the population of my exes.

I'm already packing to move back to the good ol' USofA. It is amazing, incredible even, how much CRAP you can accumulate in three years. When deciding what would go back with me and what I should toss/give away/sell, I found myself putting more in the take back pile than was really necessary. Do I really need these birthday cards? No, I don't. Is it important to bring that, probably expired, sunscreen with me? Absolutely not. But these are my things. These have been my things ever since I  bought them or they were given to me. And we all know that how many thing we have define us, right? Right?

You can't handle all this definition!

This past weekend, I attended a clothing swap. I was picking clothes from my closet to give away, trying them on, and then putting them back in the closet even though they were way too big. I knew I'll never wear those things again. Yet I just couldn't seem to put it in the donation bag. "I have so many memories in that cute black dress. And it's still in such good condition. I just can't give it up," thought I. Then it dawned on me: Give and you shall receive. If I were to give up all of the things I'll never wear or use again, I would open myself (and my closet) to new and exciting things. The weight of the old would be off my shoulders. (Get it?!) I will always have those memories, but I don't necessarily need things to remind me of them. At that moment I started pulling things off hangers left and right. By the time I finished, I had a huge back pack and suitcase filled with clothes and accessories that had to go. I needed them gone because I needed the freedom that comes with letting go. Since then, I've let go of a lot of things. I've let go of bad feelings. I've let go of frustration. I've let go of worries. I've let go of judgements. I've let go of friendships that weren't going where I'm headed. And once more, I've let go of eating things that make me feel good right then but make me suffer later. I even let go of some hair.

ohai

All this letting go has been really hard~ ya know, going against all that has been engrained in me for the past 25 years, but it has also been SO liberating. The best thing is I have three years of stuff paired down into two boxes and two suitcases. Now to get rid of all the STUFF that's cluttering my spare room and use that money for my future precious. (Next on my "letting go" TO-DO list is going paperless- even books!)

Oriental Medicine Diet

The History

I’ve been overweight for 18 years. I always thought I could just make the decision and change my eating and activity habits with the snap of my fingers and that would be the end of my unhealthy lifestyle. Every time I tried, something would happen and I would get discouraged, gaining the little weight I had lost back, plus more. It got to the point that I was almost 300 pounds

Spring 2007

Fall 2007

Summer 2010

Summer 2010 

And Then

I moved to South Korea in the summer of 2010. After two years, my weight had yo-yoed like nobody’s business from all the changes in my lifestyle there. I had HAD it! I started looking for ways to PERMANENTLY change my life. Enter Sunny Smart Shopping on Facebook. Sunny always posts the most interesting and helpful things on her page and helps foreigners, like me, with pretty much anything! One day in the fall of 2012, she posted an ad for an oriental medical clinic that would offer a free 3-month weight loss program (valued over 2 million won, or about $2,000) to a hand selected individual. I sent my information in thinking, this probably won’t work (I mean, why was modern medicine created if the ancient stuff works?), but what could it hurt?

Summer 2010

Winter 2011

Spring 2011

Summer 2011

Winter 2012

Summer 2012

Summer 2012

The Doctor

Dr. Kim, a kind and sincere doctor from DoDream Oriental Medical Clinic, greeted me when I got to the clinic. He asked me about my goals and told me his expectations for me during the diet program he would tailor specifically to my body and my health needs. He paid close attention to all of my health issues while I was under his care. I have never had a doctor who seemed so invested in my health and wellness as Dr. Kim has been. Between weekly visits to the clinic, he would email me to check and make sure I was doing well. What kind of doctor does that?! An awesome one, that’s what kind.

First meeting with Dr. Kim

The Medicine

I took two types of medicines. One was a “juice” that I drank with every meal. With dinner, I took herbal BB pellets. Dr. Kim made me new medicine (both the juice and pellets) every two weeks, tailored to how my body was changing and how I felt. To be honest, the first two weeks were the hardest. I had to get used to the medicine, which my body took to quickly, but my taste buds took a little longer to adjust. After that, I almost craved the medicine, and felt that a meal wasn’t complete without it.

The Diet

What has had the greatest impact on me is the change in diet. I was restricted to eating lean meat (basically chicken breast and steak with little to no fat) and vegetables (except for potatoes). I couldn’t have any grain-based food (rice, pasta, bread, etc.) or fruits (except tomatoes, thankfully- they're my fave). I couldn’t drink any juices or alcohol. If I had tea, there could be no sugar or honey in it. I could have dairy products, but the lightest of the light and just a little bit, preferably not at all.

I was so fed up with how I felt and looked that I didn’t care about all the restrictions. I would do almost anything to become healthier. And that’s what happened. I found different ways to make food I loved but couldn’t have because they were on the “no-no” list. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be, probably because I had made the decision, for myself, that something had to work. I think I have enjoyed my food more now than I ever have. Do you know that guilty and gross feeling you get after you eat a really delicious meal? I have not experienced that since changing to a paleo diet.

The Side Effects?

There were a few side effects for the first one or two weeks. I was dizzy, had insomnia, felt shaky, a perpetual stomach ache… it felt like a hangover that wouldn’t go away. My muscles felt like there was a lot of lactic acid build-up in the second week. The great thing is the side effects went away after my body got used to the medicine and Dr. Kim made me feel so much better with acupuncture in the meantime. It was more annoying than disabling, if anything.

The Treatment

I am deathly afraid of needles. Only in the past year have I been able to go into a doctors office without shaking from fear of getting a shot. Needless to say, the thought of MANY needles being jammed into my body, LEAVING them there and then attaching electrodes to those needles… I wasn’t sure if I could go through with it. Dr. Kim calmly told me he’s good at acupuncture as I exposed my belly and winced as he took aim and… nothing. Acupuncture feels like a whole bunch of nothing as the needle goes in and just sits there. When he attached and turned on the electrodes it felt like a tingling jiggling feeling around where I had been pierced. I felt like I had a bunch of tiny lightening rods in me and I was being transformed through electric pulses. Yeah… that’s a fun way to explain it! At my last diet appointment, I was told that would be my last electric acupuncture session, and I was so sad! I love acupuncture. I have been relieved of muscle tension, stomachaches, and even a twisted ankle with it. It seems almost like magic when I get up and walk out of the office feeling as good as new after a session. Every two weeks I would have my “InBody” measurements taken. Inbody measures your height and body composition, calculates your weight and your BMI, and then finally determines what changes you should make. At first, those clinic visits were the ones I dreaded, and then they became days I looked forward to.

First acupuncture session~

The Weight

The first two weeks I didn’t feel like I had lost much weight, but I dropped about 5kg (11lb.). I was so surprised and excited when I found out the results. At that point I started to really “believe” that oriental medicine really did work! Week after week, I waved good-bye to kilogram after kilogram. The weeks turned into months and the several kilograms turned into dozens of kilograms. People started commenting on my appearance at work and on facebook. I stopped breathing so heavily climbing to my 4^th floor apartment. I could run a descent distance without feeling like I was going to die. My clothes were getting looser and looser. I thought, so this is what it feels like to succeed in health. I’m hooked!

This shirt used to be so tight!

One year apart...

The Aftermath

By the doctor’s record, I’ve lost 25kg (55lb.). I have officially gone down TWO sizes in every clothing aspect. Even my shoes are looser! My official “fat(ter) girl” clothes literally fall off of me. My belt is going to need more holes soon. My work clothes need some SERIOUS alterations. If I don’t get them soon, I might get in trouble for indecent exposure from them falling off because they’re too big! It’s kind of an awesome problem to have.

I can't wear these jeans without a belt... they'll fall right off!

Don't get too excited now...

I couldn't button this shirt when I first got it.

I guess I can't button it now either...hehehe

The Maintenance

Because I’ve lost so much weight so quickly, I had to go on a maintenance program per the doctor’s request. Now I take BB tablets with every meal. I need to spend two months taking these tablets before my weight can be considered “stable.” Dr. Kim said I could eat like I used to, but I don’t want to! Obviously my body doesn’t need or like all that yucky stuff I was putting in it, so I’ve continued to eat lean meats, vegetables, and I’ve added a fruit or two in the mix.

The Future

I will go beyond “maintenance” and will progress! My future is so bright and fit. I now have the jumpstart, knowledge and tools I need to live a full, healthy and prosperous life. I want to share this knowledge with everyone I know, especially those I care about. I can’t imagine my life going back to the way it was. Now that I’ve “seen the light”… My candle has been lit and I’m looking to light others’ while moving up my path of success. 

Need a light?