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Green Eyed Monster

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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20 Comments

  1. Robyn

    I love that quote about dimming your light, it’s so very true. I have a best friend who is 5’10”, model body and great personality to boot, I’m a chubby 5’4” and i always felt like I looked horrible next to her, I compared myself to her, but in reality I need to compare me to ME, and I being the best me that I can? This is a great reminder of what is really important. Thanks

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Aw yes! The friend envy. I’ve been guilty of that too. I’m 5’5 (barely) and it’s hard not to compare to tall skinny people. My sister-in-law is 6 feet tall in heels, skinny as a stick and can eat whatever she wants. Even though I’m really fit and at my happy weight, standing next to her I feel about 50 pounds heavier!

  2. christi

    I hear you on the Green Eyed Monster. I see those runners on the road and they make it look so easy and effortless. Meanwhile I’m looking like Honey Boo Boo out there. LOL

    I dealt with a lot of injuries trying to run over the last two years. Working on changing my stride and mechanics has made a world of difference. No more calf pain! But now I need to push myself over that mental hurdle that yes, I can do it. And then just do it!! I’ve signed up for three 5Ks this year and my goal is to run them all without walking.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Hahaha! Thanks for the laugh, Christi. I think I’m like you too. I’m pretty sure I look like a spaz when I run, not an elegant marathon runner.

      How did you change your stride and mechanics? Physical therapy?

      1. christi

        I’m lucky that my best friend’s sister is a PT. She watched me run on the treadmill and did a bunch of diagnostic things in her office. She sent me home with glute and calf exercises.

        Then she took me out on the track and watched me run and worked on correcting my stride and how I land. In my case, I naturally run on my toes. That was causing a lot of problems with my calves. I had to learn to run more on my heels She ran behind me and she’d remind me “heel!” when I was starting to strike on my toes again. I know it’s opposite of the whole mid-foot/neutral/barefoot movement today but I needed to get off of my toes! It’s working so far.

        1. Lisa Eirene

          That’s really cool that you were able to do that and figure out a better way. I may talk to my sports doc about doing something like that.

  3. Candace

    Great post, so true. I started running because I thought I should, everyone out there with a weight loss/fitness blog was running. I tried to eat what others ate, and felt like a failure because their “3 easy miles” never became easy for me! I’m over it now, I could care less what others are doing. (Although, I am attached to your blog because it’s one of the more realistic and relatable ones out there).

    I’ve just stopped subjecting myself to things that make me feel bad or inadequate, no facebook, no reading blogs by 25 year old runners that I cannot relate to. I spent 3/4 of my life comparing myself to others and I’m tired of it, it serves nothing. Now I concentrate on getting information on being healthy and fit in my 40’s and trying to age as gracefully as possible. A positive thing about aging is I accept and love myself, I don’t care what others think of me anymore. I just wish I had gotten to this place in my 20’s!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Candace – I love your comment and I appreciate that you think my blog is different and more relatable. That was my goal. I live my life without crazy fad diets, fitting exercise into my busy schedule and eating healthy plus enjoying pizza and beer!

      When I first started reading blogs, I read all of them and like you I started to feel inadequate comparing myself to them. I work full time and can’t spend my day going to Crossfit followed by hot yoga followed by a lunch at Whole Foods. 😛 I just couldn’t relate to most of them out there. Now I only read a few that I really like.

  4. Nathan the FFK

    Bart Yasso is one of my new heroes. Yes, the green-eyed monster does occasionally visit me, but I just turn it in to fuel to get better. Now, people much more fit than me are jealous of my run times! It’s a pretty awesome feeling.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I love it! That’s great you turn it into a positive motivator. I need to do that more often.

  5. Biz

    I loved this post Lisa. Just yesterday I was swimming next to someone who was an awesome swimmer, which I am not. But you know what? I ended up doing “sprint” laps trying to keep up with him, and I had a harder workout because of it. I didn’t end up feeling bad because I wasn’t as good, but I let him motivate me to make me better.

    Glad your green eyed monster is back in the closet! 😀

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Ha! I know what you mean. I’m a strong and fairly fast swimmer and sometimes when someone else is faster than me, that motivates me to push it. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and not push yourself. That competition is good!

  6. Michelle @ Eat Move Balance

    I can definitely relate! After my bouts with injuries over the past few years, I’m just now getting back to running. I’m not nearly as fast, and can’t run as far as I used to. At first it was very frustrating, but slowly I’ve learned to just enjoy what I can do. Who cares? So, yes, sometimes that green-eyed monster sneaks up on me, but I’ve tried to focus on being grateful and proud of what I accomplish.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      YES! Injuries are hard. They make me feel sad and when I read running blogs about people doing races, etc it’s hard not to feel even worse.

  7. Trevor

    It’s hard not to compare ourselves to others, but rarely does much good come of it.

    I learned early on in my lifting career that there was always going to be someone stronger or leaner. So why even bother comparing? You will always be better than some and worse than others. That’s just how it is.

    Compete against yourself. So long as you’re improving over time, in whatever ways you deem valuable, you’re a winner.

    Cheers!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Yes. There are always people stronger and faster. Sometimes I see this particular girl in the gym with a totally rocking body. She must lift weights all day long. While I don’t feel jealous, I definitely feel impressed by her body.

  8. Marc

    I like this post. Reminds me to cheer louder for others successes, and be genuine about it:)

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I love it!!!! YES! Cheer loudly for others–especially if it looks like they are new to the sport.

  9. Nick Goodall

    A great reminder of who’s in charge and who’s important! I’ve often tried to beat others, but I’d never beat myself, which happens to be the important part…

    Taking a moment to think about the true situation always helps, maybe they can run faster, but how about you and your cycling ability? Not that those 2 are relevant examples, but just remembering to always look at the bigger picture never hurts 🙂

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Good point! Someone may be a faster runner than me, but maybe I’m a faster swimmer!

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