Hello friends!!
I'm still alive...but just barely, lol. I am indescribably exhausted. Not only from the moving and unpacking and organizing, but I can also tell it's from ALL the bad eating I've done since Friday. It's been bad....really bad....I've focused on nothing but the move....haven't counted a single calorie since Friday....have eaten whatever someone brought me from whatever restaurant. I will pay for that this Friday and do my best to undo it by the following Friday.
Let's back up a bit. Dwayne came over Friday night and we had every single little thing done, ready to move. Got up early Sat morn and called the moving company to see just how late they were going to be. The lady in the ofc said they had a "small" move to do ahead of me and that they should be there in about 4 hours...meaning around 12:30pm. Well.....long story short....they showed up at my apt at 7:30pm Sat night. I think I finally fell in bed around 2am Sunday morning.
Back up around 6:30am Sunday to unpack everything and get organized. Busy all day and all night Sunday. Today I got up early and got out to run some errands and turn the keys and gate cards back into the apt complex. The girl that works in the ofc has been so upset over us leaving. She's worked there for a couple of years now, and we've lived there for 3 1/2 years. She actually had me in tears by the time I left with all the hugging and inviting me back for pool parties anytime. Sweet, sweet girl. I'm going to miss her, too.
Got back home this afternoon and finished organizing stuff. I'm proud to say that every single box is finally unpacked and everything is in it's place. I have a few little items in my closet on the shelves that I need to sort through....like the paper that has all my awesome quotes written on it! lol
My kitchen is finally in order and I cooked dinner tonight for the first time in 4 days. Can't say I wanted to.....simply because every single joint and muscle on my body are aching so bad. I've been averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night since Friday night....I'm just exhausted.
I love the house....we're renting it from my parents. They live right next door (own both houses). They used to live in this one....then moved next door a year ago, decided they like this one better, so they're planning on moving back in next summer after the other house sells. Thinking about going through another move in just one more year makes me want to cry, lol. I'm worn out. I'm very happy with the house and very happy that I managed to get everything unpacked and in it's place in 2 days. I've been working like a maniac.
However, now that it is time to sit down and post about all of it, the guilt is flooding my brain now over all the bad eating...after all, this IS a weight loss blog. Bummer. I suck, lol. I really tried to make myself go to the park today and walk, but my aching joints just wouldn't allow it. At this point, I'm hobbling around the house like an 80 year old woman. My get-up-and-go, got up and went, lol.
It's back to counting calories in the morning and for the next 3 days. I'll do my best to minimize the damage. I think it's safe to assume the 3.4 lb loss I wanted is a joke now, lol. Now it's time to pray I don't have a 3.4 lb. GAIN by Friday morning! I'm not going to freak about this....I'm slowly learning and reminding myself that the picture's bigger than this one week that I was moving. It's about a lifestyle change......this is forever.
Putting my nose to the grindstone when I wake up tomorrow morning...it's back to the egg whites! And to tell you the truth, I can't wait. I've been eating so good and so healthy for 3 months now. After a weekend full of whatever...my body is cussing me like you wouldn't believe. I physically feel like crap. My brain feels like it's in a fog....my stomach is killing me. I didn't realize how much "lighter" I felt on the inside eating so many whole foods and so much less processed and fast foods. Now I realize just how much good I've been doing for myself and I can't wait to get back to it. It feels good to feel good and I miss it.
I hope everyone's weekend was much calmer and more relaxing than mine was. I missed all of you! It's good to be back. I'm fixing to go soak in a nice, hot tub of water and then I'm crashing for the night. I'll do some catching up on blogs tomorrow. Sweet dreams. :)
Showing posts with label healthy eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy eating. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Rockin' It
Since my weigh in yesterday morning, and my ensuing disappointment in myself, the eating for yesterday and today have been stellar. I rock. Feeling good about my choices and staying under my calorie limits, drinking tons of water, pushing myself on the treadmill.
In fact, today Dwayne and I were out and about, away from home, taking care of stuff for the move at the end of the month, and it was about 3:30. I was soooo ready for a snack, and really needed to eat something to keep the metabolism fired up. We stopped by a convenience store on the way to Home Depot. Finding a decent snack calorie-wise in a convenience store? Yeah right. But I was determined! I need a loss this week!
I kept picking up things and reading labels, taking too long, and Dwayne was getting aggravated. He finally asked me what I was doing, and I told him. This dang snack bag of Doritos is 500 calories! The little pack of mixed nuts is 600!
He said, exasperated, "Baby, look where we're at. You're not going to find a snack in this store for under 500 calories...Gimme a break. Just grab something and let's go." Well that irritated me, I'm the one that needs to lose the weight...not him...so he can shut up and wait.
I kept looking and finally found a pack of crackers for 250 calories...and next to those found a tiny bag of Combos (those pretzel thingies w/ the fake cheese in the middle) that were 230 calories. Aha! Success!! I waved them in his face, he rolled his eyes at me, and we got up to the register. And what do I spy as I'm getting ready to pay for my itty bitty bag of 230 calorie Combos? A basket with small granny smith apples and little boxes of Sunmaid raisins. YES!! IN YOUR FACE, DWAYNE!! lol Yes, I know I'm a dork, but making the best choice on my eating is the priority, not his schedule. So I got my fruit and we were now happily on our way.
Dwayne got some chocolate chip cookies and some Combos and as we were driving down the road, he tried to make nice, and offered me some of his Combos. It seemed like he felt bad that I "had" to eat fruit when he was eating yummier stuff. He knows I do not care for apples, they're one of my least favorite fruits. He even told me they were "diet" Combos, lol, trying to get me to accept his peace offering. I politely declined and merrily munched on my apple...so, so proud of myself.
I had originally planned on cooking some shrimp and crab legs for dinner when we got home. My local grocery store, Publix, has been having some fantastic sales on their seafood this summer and seafood is my absolutely favorite food in the entire world. Love it. Well, my dinner plans didn't work out.
We had a long, tiring day of hauling a load of stuff to the new house, then going to Home Depot shopping for chicken wire, then bringing it back and stapling it up to the inside of the fence, over 160 feet worth, to keep my puppy from slipping through the slats in the picket fence and escaping like she did last week. It was hot, sweaty, dirty work. The wire tears up your hands when trying to unroll it, and having to cut it with wire cutters, etc. To sum it up, it was a total pain in the rump. A lot of bending, up and down, crawling under rose bushes, etc. and we were sooooo sore and just worn out by the time we were done. Dwayne took one look at me and knew I wasn't cooking dinner, lol.
So....his suggestion was our local pizza joint, Mellow Mushroom. They have some of the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life...and knew not to even suggest that to me after what we went through just to get me a snack today, lol. He suggested a calzone for him stuffed with sauce, mozzarella cheese, italian sausage and pepperoni. (I'm starting to drool again)...and a large Greek salad for me w/ grilled chicken (apparently he HAS been paying attention).
At first I declined because I wanted something a little more filling than a salad. Then I did a 180. I decided a low calorie salad was exactly what I needed to complete my 2nd day this week of awesome eating. I ordered it with one serving of grilled chicken on the top, dressing on the side, and REALLY light on the feta cheese....they can get crazy with that stuff. I had 650 calories available for dinner so this was perfect. Again.....so proud of myself. Day 2 completed and I'm going strong.
Then Mom called. She reminded me that tomorrow is the family reunion...the one on her side of the family. I had forgotten all about it. I told her I doubted I'd be able to go with her like I usually do, only because I was completely exhausted, covered in dirt and sweat, and all I wanted was a shower and my yummy salad. I felt like I could sleep for the next 2 days....joints and lower back were killing me. It didn't even hit me til a couple of hours later that it was a FAMILY REUNION. Meaning, some of the best-tasting, fattening, calorie-laden foods that have ever been squeezed onto a table before. I have got some darn good cooks in my family. OH......DEAR......LORD.
After I realized what kind of danger zone I'd be entering, I thought about it for about an hour before I called her back. I decided to go. I enjoy spending the time with my family....many of them I only see once a year at this reunion. I told myself I'm going to have to curb my neurosis about the food at some point, and will have to LEARN how to deal at these kinds of things...not just completely avoid them. The only way to do that is to go.
Of course, I'm sure you all know how completely nerve-racked I am about going. In pre-planning in my mind, I tried to leave most of my calories for the day tomorrow for the reunion at noon. I'll have a couple of hundred for breakfast to kick in the metabolism. I'll hit the treadmill before I even leave the house, again, for the sake of the metabolism. And I went ahead and took some fish out of the freezer and put it in the frig for tomorrow night's dinner, knowing that's low calorie. I have a medley of veggies in the frig that I steamed last night to go with the fish.
Pray for me, lol. The goal is to eat 1 plate....not my normal 2 at an event like this. My 2nd goal is to make at least half of what's on my plate vegetables...leaving less room for all the really good stuff. My 3rd goal is to drink only water....as I normally use something like this as an excuse to drink all the Coke I can hold. I have no idea why, I'm just weird like that.
So...it's time for rest...I hope the insomnia takes a break tonight and lets me sleep. I sure could use some. The quote I'm giving you tonight is one Mom told me several weeks ago, and I will be running it through my head at the reunion tomorrow. :)
Quote For The Day:
"Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." -Anonymous
In fact, today Dwayne and I were out and about, away from home, taking care of stuff for the move at the end of the month, and it was about 3:30. I was soooo ready for a snack, and really needed to eat something to keep the metabolism fired up. We stopped by a convenience store on the way to Home Depot. Finding a decent snack calorie-wise in a convenience store? Yeah right. But I was determined! I need a loss this week!
I kept picking up things and reading labels, taking too long, and Dwayne was getting aggravated. He finally asked me what I was doing, and I told him. This dang snack bag of Doritos is 500 calories! The little pack of mixed nuts is 600!
He said, exasperated, "Baby, look where we're at. You're not going to find a snack in this store for under 500 calories...Gimme a break. Just grab something and let's go." Well that irritated me, I'm the one that needs to lose the weight...not him...so he can shut up and wait.
I kept looking and finally found a pack of crackers for 250 calories...and next to those found a tiny bag of Combos (those pretzel thingies w/ the fake cheese in the middle) that were 230 calories. Aha! Success!! I waved them in his face, he rolled his eyes at me, and we got up to the register. And what do I spy as I'm getting ready to pay for my itty bitty bag of 230 calorie Combos? A basket with small granny smith apples and little boxes of Sunmaid raisins. YES!! IN YOUR FACE, DWAYNE!! lol Yes, I know I'm a dork, but making the best choice on my eating is the priority, not his schedule. So I got my fruit and we were now happily on our way.
Dwayne got some chocolate chip cookies and some Combos and as we were driving down the road, he tried to make nice, and offered me some of his Combos. It seemed like he felt bad that I "had" to eat fruit when he was eating yummier stuff. He knows I do not care for apples, they're one of my least favorite fruits. He even told me they were "diet" Combos, lol, trying to get me to accept his peace offering. I politely declined and merrily munched on my apple...so, so proud of myself.
I had originally planned on cooking some shrimp and crab legs for dinner when we got home. My local grocery store, Publix, has been having some fantastic sales on their seafood this summer and seafood is my absolutely favorite food in the entire world. Love it. Well, my dinner plans didn't work out.
We had a long, tiring day of hauling a load of stuff to the new house, then going to Home Depot shopping for chicken wire, then bringing it back and stapling it up to the inside of the fence, over 160 feet worth, to keep my puppy from slipping through the slats in the picket fence and escaping like she did last week. It was hot, sweaty, dirty work. The wire tears up your hands when trying to unroll it, and having to cut it with wire cutters, etc. To sum it up, it was a total pain in the rump. A lot of bending, up and down, crawling under rose bushes, etc. and we were sooooo sore and just worn out by the time we were done. Dwayne took one look at me and knew I wasn't cooking dinner, lol.
So....his suggestion was our local pizza joint, Mellow Mushroom. They have some of the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life...and knew not to even suggest that to me after what we went through just to get me a snack today, lol. He suggested a calzone for him stuffed with sauce, mozzarella cheese, italian sausage and pepperoni. (I'm starting to drool again)...and a large Greek salad for me w/ grilled chicken (apparently he HAS been paying attention).
At first I declined because I wanted something a little more filling than a salad. Then I did a 180. I decided a low calorie salad was exactly what I needed to complete my 2nd day this week of awesome eating. I ordered it with one serving of grilled chicken on the top, dressing on the side, and REALLY light on the feta cheese....they can get crazy with that stuff. I had 650 calories available for dinner so this was perfect. Again.....so proud of myself. Day 2 completed and I'm going strong.
Then Mom called. She reminded me that tomorrow is the family reunion...the one on her side of the family. I had forgotten all about it. I told her I doubted I'd be able to go with her like I usually do, only because I was completely exhausted, covered in dirt and sweat, and all I wanted was a shower and my yummy salad. I felt like I could sleep for the next 2 days....joints and lower back were killing me. It didn't even hit me til a couple of hours later that it was a FAMILY REUNION. Meaning, some of the best-tasting, fattening, calorie-laden foods that have ever been squeezed onto a table before. I have got some darn good cooks in my family. OH......DEAR......LORD.
After I realized what kind of danger zone I'd be entering, I thought about it for about an hour before I called her back. I decided to go. I enjoy spending the time with my family....many of them I only see once a year at this reunion. I told myself I'm going to have to curb my neurosis about the food at some point, and will have to LEARN how to deal at these kinds of things...not just completely avoid them. The only way to do that is to go.
Of course, I'm sure you all know how completely nerve-racked I am about going. In pre-planning in my mind, I tried to leave most of my calories for the day tomorrow for the reunion at noon. I'll have a couple of hundred for breakfast to kick in the metabolism. I'll hit the treadmill before I even leave the house, again, for the sake of the metabolism. And I went ahead and took some fish out of the freezer and put it in the frig for tomorrow night's dinner, knowing that's low calorie. I have a medley of veggies in the frig that I steamed last night to go with the fish.
Pray for me, lol. The goal is to eat 1 plate....not my normal 2 at an event like this. My 2nd goal is to make at least half of what's on my plate vegetables...leaving less room for all the really good stuff. My 3rd goal is to drink only water....as I normally use something like this as an excuse to drink all the Coke I can hold. I have no idea why, I'm just weird like that.
So...it's time for rest...I hope the insomnia takes a break tonight and lets me sleep. I sure could use some. The quote I'm giving you tonight is one Mom told me several weeks ago, and I will be running it through my head at the reunion tomorrow. :)
Quote For The Day:
"Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." -Anonymous
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Too Close For Comfort
The most bizarre thing happened to me tonight...right in the midst of my newfound attitude towards healthy eating for life, crucifying Obesity, and gaining optimum health.
I almost ate an entire casserole. It was so close.....too, too close.
Here's the bizarre part....I have NO idea why. I had a good day. It was productive with cleaning house and packing more boxes for the move. No bad emotions going on...no major stress...heck, I wasn't even celebrating anything. No binge feelings, no plans to go over my calories...in fact I'm so in sync with my calorie limit now that I've actually been thinking about dropping them, but decided that's better left for when a plateau hits.
I almost always have around 800-900 calories left by dinnertime. I had the desire for a casserole...something a little creamy and a little cheesy. I had bought some 98% fat free cans of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and broccoli and cheese a couple of weeks ago, and decided to finally try them. I figured with almost no fat that they would taste like crap. Boy was I wrong. Turns out the broccoli and cheese one I used was entirely too good.
I sauteed (3) 6 oz. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces w/ my Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. I covered them in all kinds of yummy spices....a touch of salt, black pepper, Adobo, garlic powder and onion powder. I added them to my casserole dish along with 1 c. of instant brown rice, 1 can of the broccoli and cheese soup, some water, 1 jar of mushrooms, and 2 c. of broccoli. I baked it in the oven on 350 for 45 mins and then raised the temp to 400 for the last 15 mins to make sure it was good and done and heated all the way through. When I removed the foil I added 1/4 c. of reduced fat finely shredded Colby Jack cheese on top and watched it melt. I was already starting to salivate.
I went to the computer and added everything up on my nutrition website, SparkPeople, to see exactly how much I could have....I'm ususally pretty darn hungry by dinnertime. And even after nearly 7 weeks of reducing my calories from 4,000 a day to 1550, I'm still amazed at how much volume I can hold and not feel sick afterwards. The entire casserole ended up being 1150 calories, half of it being 575. I decided I needed to eat half the casserole, lol, and I did. Of course I shared some with my puppy dog, so I didn't eat the whole whopping plate full, but probably 80% of it.
Here's the problem. It was TOO good. Just creamy enough, just cheesy enough (I do NOT like a ton of cheese in my food), and the chicken had just the right flavor. I wanted more. I took my plate back to the kitchen, set it down, and stared at that beautiful casserole. After what I had already eaten, I had 289 calories left for the day. I could have had a little more, but I wanted ALL of it.....another 575 calories which would have sent me way over, not to mention probably would have sent me to the bathroom puking my guts out once the entire thing hit my stomach.
Who eats ENTIRE casseroles in one sitting????? Good grief.
I stared at it...my eyes glazing over as if I were in a deep trance...food trances are the worst kind. I could just barely hear Skinny Tammy screaming at me in the background....very, very faint....barely audible.
nooooooooooooooo fat tammy....don't do it!....think of destin....think of the 21 lbs you've already lost....think of how much you're going to hate yourself....it's the day before weigh day for God's sakes......step away from the casserole.....save yourself!
It was so faint...so far off in the distance......I could just barely hear it. The casserole was winning out. I took a bite. OMG it was sooo good. Why do I have to cook so good? Why didn't I eat egg whites for dinner on the night before weigh day? I took another bite. And all of a sudden I was jolted out of my trance like Skinny Tammy was standing right beside me screaming in my ear with a megaphone....
GET YOUR FAT A$$ AWAY FROM THAT DANG CASSEROLE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??? THIS IS YOUR AMAZING MENTAL CHANGE???? THESE ARE THE GREAT STRIDES YOU'VE MADE??? THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL "FINALLY" HAVING YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE??? YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!
The best way I can describe the way I felt after snapping out of it is "frightened". I've read in other blogs where if people make a mistake or nearly do, they try to analyze it, identify trigger foods, certain emotions that set off bad eating, etc. I have no answer for mine and that frightens me. I very nearly ate that whole thing....1150 calories in one meal.....more food than any human being needs to put in their bodies in one sitting....would have totally killed all the work I've done this week to get off the sodium gain from all the birthday/restaurant eating LAST weekend.
And I just don't know why.
All I can say is that I hope it doesn't happen again...or if it does, I hope Skinny Tammy is a little more audible from now on. It's really, really bothering me. It's screwing with my mind. It doesn't jive with my decision to get this weight off at all. Yeah, I'm definitely frightened at what a close call that was, and having no reason to explain it.
Moving on....tomorrow morning is my weigh-in. I've drank enough water this week to float the Titanic. As I mentioned earlier in the week, after my 3 restaurant meals last weekend, I got on the scale Monday morning and saw a 5-6 lb. gain. Yikes. We'll see where it ends up. I can promise you one thing though....the following week WILL be a loss. The numbers WILL go down. How do I know that? Because I know what it takes to lose. It takes a decision to do the work, it takes daily consistency on staying within your calorie limit, it takes persistence with your daily exercise...pushing yourself as far as you're able to go. That's what I'll be doing this next week.
I'm really looking forward to the next 7 days. And there will be NO restaurant/Publix deli food this week. NONE. ZERO. I don't care what we're celebrating...I don't care if I win the lottery...we won't be celebrating it in SODIUM HELL!!! If I win, it will be more like....turkey burger and egg whites for EVERYONE!!! I'm buying. ;)
Quote For The Day:
"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that the final victory comes." -Buddha
I almost ate an entire casserole. It was so close.....too, too close.
Here's the bizarre part....I have NO idea why. I had a good day. It was productive with cleaning house and packing more boxes for the move. No bad emotions going on...no major stress...heck, I wasn't even celebrating anything. No binge feelings, no plans to go over my calories...in fact I'm so in sync with my calorie limit now that I've actually been thinking about dropping them, but decided that's better left for when a plateau hits.
I almost always have around 800-900 calories left by dinnertime. I had the desire for a casserole...something a little creamy and a little cheesy. I had bought some 98% fat free cans of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and broccoli and cheese a couple of weeks ago, and decided to finally try them. I figured with almost no fat that they would taste like crap. Boy was I wrong. Turns out the broccoli and cheese one I used was entirely too good.
I sauteed (3) 6 oz. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces w/ my Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. I covered them in all kinds of yummy spices....a touch of salt, black pepper, Adobo, garlic powder and onion powder. I added them to my casserole dish along with 1 c. of instant brown rice, 1 can of the broccoli and cheese soup, some water, 1 jar of mushrooms, and 2 c. of broccoli. I baked it in the oven on 350 for 45 mins and then raised the temp to 400 for the last 15 mins to make sure it was good and done and heated all the way through. When I removed the foil I added 1/4 c. of reduced fat finely shredded Colby Jack cheese on top and watched it melt. I was already starting to salivate.
I went to the computer and added everything up on my nutrition website, SparkPeople, to see exactly how much I could have....I'm ususally pretty darn hungry by dinnertime. And even after nearly 7 weeks of reducing my calories from 4,000 a day to 1550, I'm still amazed at how much volume I can hold and not feel sick afterwards. The entire casserole ended up being 1150 calories, half of it being 575. I decided I needed to eat half the casserole, lol, and I did. Of course I shared some with my puppy dog, so I didn't eat the whole whopping plate full, but probably 80% of it.
Here's the problem. It was TOO good. Just creamy enough, just cheesy enough (I do NOT like a ton of cheese in my food), and the chicken had just the right flavor. I wanted more. I took my plate back to the kitchen, set it down, and stared at that beautiful casserole. After what I had already eaten, I had 289 calories left for the day. I could have had a little more, but I wanted ALL of it.....another 575 calories which would have sent me way over, not to mention probably would have sent me to the bathroom puking my guts out once the entire thing hit my stomach.
Who eats ENTIRE casseroles in one sitting????? Good grief.
I stared at it...my eyes glazing over as if I were in a deep trance...food trances are the worst kind. I could just barely hear Skinny Tammy screaming at me in the background....very, very faint....barely audible.
nooooooooooooooo fat tammy....don't do it!....think of destin....think of the 21 lbs you've already lost....think of how much you're going to hate yourself....it's the day before weigh day for God's sakes......step away from the casserole.....save yourself!
It was so faint...so far off in the distance......I could just barely hear it. The casserole was winning out. I took a bite. OMG it was sooo good. Why do I have to cook so good? Why didn't I eat egg whites for dinner on the night before weigh day? I took another bite. And all of a sudden I was jolted out of my trance like Skinny Tammy was standing right beside me screaming in my ear with a megaphone....
GET YOUR FAT A$$ AWAY FROM THAT DANG CASSEROLE!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??? THIS IS YOUR AMAZING MENTAL CHANGE???? THESE ARE THE GREAT STRIDES YOU'VE MADE??? THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL "FINALLY" HAVING YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE??? YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!
The best way I can describe the way I felt after snapping out of it is "frightened". I've read in other blogs where if people make a mistake or nearly do, they try to analyze it, identify trigger foods, certain emotions that set off bad eating, etc. I have no answer for mine and that frightens me. I very nearly ate that whole thing....1150 calories in one meal.....more food than any human being needs to put in their bodies in one sitting....would have totally killed all the work I've done this week to get off the sodium gain from all the birthday/restaurant eating LAST weekend.
And I just don't know why.
All I can say is that I hope it doesn't happen again...or if it does, I hope Skinny Tammy is a little more audible from now on. It's really, really bothering me. It's screwing with my mind. It doesn't jive with my decision to get this weight off at all. Yeah, I'm definitely frightened at what a close call that was, and having no reason to explain it.
Moving on....tomorrow morning is my weigh-in. I've drank enough water this week to float the Titanic. As I mentioned earlier in the week, after my 3 restaurant meals last weekend, I got on the scale Monday morning and saw a 5-6 lb. gain. Yikes. We'll see where it ends up. I can promise you one thing though....the following week WILL be a loss. The numbers WILL go down. How do I know that? Because I know what it takes to lose. It takes a decision to do the work, it takes daily consistency on staying within your calorie limit, it takes persistence with your daily exercise...pushing yourself as far as you're able to go. That's what I'll be doing this next week.
I'm really looking forward to the next 7 days. And there will be NO restaurant/Publix deli food this week. NONE. ZERO. I don't care what we're celebrating...I don't care if I win the lottery...we won't be celebrating it in SODIUM HELL!!! If I win, it will be more like....turkey burger and egg whites for EVERYONE!!! I'm buying. ;)
Quote For The Day:
"Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that the final victory comes." -Buddha
Sunday, July 19, 2009
My Guy
I haven't said a whole lot about my boyfriend, Dwayne, since I started this blog, but after the sweet weekend I had with him I felt the need to share. :)
Dwayne and I have been dating for 5 years. My friend Pam in Florida, http://www.thinnerin08.blogspot.com/, is my best girlfriend and my roommate Shane is my best guy friend....but Dwayne...he's my BESTEST friend, and I'm his. He's college-educated, polished and diplomatic when he needs to be...but he's also very much a guy's guy....he's the funny guy, everybody's buddy or "bro", can throw back the beers with the best of 'em, and he's also the instigator in his group of buddies. In fact, I found out his nickname in the fraternity he belonged to in college was "Bueller", if that tells you anything.
As far as his role as a boyfriend, I have very few complaints. I've never had to pick him up drunk from a bar, drag him out of a strip club or bail him out of jail. So that's a plus. He's bought me jewelry for every Valentine's Day, birthday and Christmas since I've known him...except for this past Christmas. He really outdid himself this time. He gave me the cutest, sweetest, most precious puppy dog in the whole world. She is my angel, my sunshine, and I just love her to pieces. Major, MAJOR points for Dwayne. He's a good Daddy to Scarlette....he's bought her tons of toys, leashes, harnesses, pee pads, bags of treats and paid for all of her medicines (flea and heartworm pills) and all of her vet visits since I got her. He also loves to take us to the dog park so she can run around and play with other dogs, as well as take her on vacations with us when at all possible.
Since I got laid off in February of this year, he has given me between $200-300 each and every month to ensure all of my bills are paid, as well as paid off a $700 debt I owed to the IRS because I screwed up my tax forms this year and ended up in the red. Now, I'm not driven by money when it comes to my relationships, but cash and material things just happens to be the way Dwayne expresses his feelings and shows how much he cares. He's very affectionate with hugs and kisses, but he does NOT like to express his emotions verbally. To give you an example, we were together for nearly 4 years before he first told me he loved me (I mean, actually said it out loud). Now, he says it a lot more often....but it took him 4 long years to get comfortable with it. That's just the way my guy is.
As far as day-to-day life with Dwayne, he's pretty typical for a guy. He's sweet and caring and GREAT on holidays (thank God for calendars), but in our day-to-day life, sometimes he doesn't even hear me talking, lol. I get the "Uh huh, yeah, cool, uh huh" responses when I'm trying to tell him something important and he's engrossed in the latest Sci-Fi show on TV. So while I'm busy telling him about all the important things in life while he's busy digging for the remote, I'm thinking in my mind, "He'll never remember or notice this....why am I wasting my breath?"
Well, it turns out he HAS been paying attention to SOME things. A couple of weekends ago Dwayne indulged me and took Scarlette and I to Ft. Mountain to go hiking. I wrote a post about it called "High On Life...and a Mountain". Although it was a rough workout for me...hard time breathing..all of that...I absolutely LOVED it, and Dwayne knew it. Also, on my very first week of weight loss, I lost 6 lbs and was so excited....he showed up at my door that night with a food processor that I've been wanting but couldn't afford. He said he knew I would like to have it to chop up all my veggies and make my healthy recipes, so it was just a little reward for all of my hard work and that he was proud of me. Yay!!!
My birthday is coming up next weekend. Let's talk about Dwayne and birthdays, lol. The first 2 years we were together, he forgot them altogether. The next 2 years, I would give him gentle reminders about a month ahead of time. In fact, last year, I asked him in June, "When's my birthday honey?" and he got upset and snapped at me, saying, "Why do you ask me that?? It's like you want me to get it wrong just so you can get upset and pick a fight with me!!" After getting over my shock of him snapping at me (he's the most laid back guy in the world, so that was probably only the 2nd time in 4 years he had ever done that), I politely told him that I was simply trying to do him a favor by reminding him....because if he forgot me on my actual birthday after being together for FOUR YEARS, it wasn't going to be a fun day for either one of us. Apparently he got the point. :)
Normally Dwayne spends the night at my place on Friday nights but we were both super tired and he had to work really late, so I told him don't worry about it...just come over Saturday morning. Well noon rolled around and he wasn't here yet. I was starting to wonder what was going on when the phone rang. I answered it, and Dwayne yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BABY!!!!!" (My birthday is on a Sunday this year). I said, "What?" Again he said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BABY!!!! I REMEMBERED IT THIS YEAR!!!!!!" Bless his little pea-pickin' heart. He was trying to be so "on top of it" this year w/o any reminders from me, that he was a week ahead of time! LOL! As gently as I could, I told him, "Honey....my birthday's not til next weekend....." Long pause. Silence on both ends of the phone. Then we both busted out laughing at the same time. It was one of those great moments in life. He was so proud of himself for remembering, and then so embarassed for getting it wrong, even though it was a "good" wrong by being a week ahead.....and I was just so tickled that my honey bunny tried soooooo hard to remember it this year all on his own. Very sweet. I love moments like that. :)
We're having a birthday party at a friend's house next Sunday to celebrate my special day, but he was so excited about my gift from being psyched about it being "this" weekend, that he didn't want to wait another week for me to open my gift from him. (By the way, knowing Dwayne like the back of my hand and knowing what a procrastinator he is with buying gifts, I now know why he was late getting to my place...he was out shopping. :))
He first gave me the $100 back that he told me to go out and buy clothes with the other day...that was part of my gift. Then he gave me $40 to go to the salon and get a pedicure because he knows how much I adore them, and haven't had the money to do it in a few months. Then he gave me the most beautiful gift bag....so beautiful, I had to ask him if his mom had picked it out for him. He said, "NO!! I picked it out....you like pink, right?" Another "proud-of-my-guy" moment. :) Inside the bag were two books and a card. He told me to wait and open the card at the party next weekend. One of the books is a hiking book!!!!! He's actually been paying attention to my new weight loss goals, and my desire to get out and do things outdoors that I've just been too fat to do. Another reason I haven't pushed the outdoor thing is because of Dwayne. He's not big on traveling or doing a lot of outdoor stuff. For one, he loves to just sit and veg out on the sofa and watch TV/movies on the weekends. Secondly, he doesn't like to sweat, lol. Outdoors in July requires a whole lotta' sweating. And third, he's got this weird thing about not wanting to drive too far to get to places (unless it's a trip to the beach and he's going to be there for a few days).
About the hiking book....it lists 60 places to hike within 60 miles here in Georgia. It is so awesome! He told me that we could start with some local ones (that's the no traveling part), and then work our way out....COOL!! He said we could pack a picnic and take the puppy, and he said we could even get a bag to carry with us for healthy snacks, bottles of water, toys for the puppy, etc. He really put some THOUGHT into this! I was sooooo happy. :) My second book is one listing all of the locations on the coastal southeast, for our little weekend getaways and beach trips!!!! Dwayne and I both LOVE the ocean.......absolutely love it. This second book was just as perfect and thoughtful as the first one.
Finally, I'd like to mention that Dwayne and I are complete opposites on a lot of things when it comes to food. He won't eat a vegetable....I love almost all veggies. He's a carbaholic....loves the white breads, pastas, rice, etc. I eat them in very, very small amounts now....mostly converting to the whole wheat pastas. He loves Coke....I do too, but because of my lifestyle change, I noticed yesterday that I haven't had a Coke in 6 days...GO ME!! He's all about red meat and pork.....I'd say that 90% of my meat content over the last 5 weeks has consisted of turkey, chicken, seafood, and some very lean deli ham. He's got a pretty big sweet tooth.....mine's hardly noticeable.
However, I've noticed some changes lately. He's eating more wheat bread.....he let me know, on his own, that he's been going to Publix and getting 6" turkey subs on wheat for lunches instead of hitting the fast food restaurants. He's drinking a lot more water and a lot less Coke. He doesn't bring junk food into my house anymore. He'll forego the white rice sometimes and eat brown rice with me. And yesterday while we were out and about, we stopped by a Subway and he made sure we got a sub that we could share that I could eat....whole wheat, no cheee, lite mayo, turkey w/ lettuce and tomato. He's still not eating any veggies, past a little lettuce and a thin slice of tomato.....but you never know. I've noticed that because of me finally getting serious about the weight loss and making some healthy lifestyle changes....that he's picking up on it...and willingly. I haven't pressed him to change anything and have no plans to. Everyone has to do it for themselves.
So this is my guy....I just adore him. He's a great supporter of my lifestyle changes, he takes care of me and the puppy, and I'm glad that the healthier eating and the outdoor exercising/hiking is starting to rub off on him. I hope everyone has had as nice of a weekend as I have. Talk to you tomorrow! :)
"They can because they think they can." -Virgil
Dwayne and I have been dating for 5 years. My friend Pam in Florida, http://www.thinnerin08.blogspot.com/, is my best girlfriend and my roommate Shane is my best guy friend....but Dwayne...he's my BESTEST friend, and I'm his. He's college-educated, polished and diplomatic when he needs to be...but he's also very much a guy's guy....he's the funny guy, everybody's buddy or "bro", can throw back the beers with the best of 'em, and he's also the instigator in his group of buddies. In fact, I found out his nickname in the fraternity he belonged to in college was "Bueller", if that tells you anything.
As far as his role as a boyfriend, I have very few complaints. I've never had to pick him up drunk from a bar, drag him out of a strip club or bail him out of jail. So that's a plus. He's bought me jewelry for every Valentine's Day, birthday and Christmas since I've known him...except for this past Christmas. He really outdid himself this time. He gave me the cutest, sweetest, most precious puppy dog in the whole world. She is my angel, my sunshine, and I just love her to pieces. Major, MAJOR points for Dwayne. He's a good Daddy to Scarlette....he's bought her tons of toys, leashes, harnesses, pee pads, bags of treats and paid for all of her medicines (flea and heartworm pills) and all of her vet visits since I got her. He also loves to take us to the dog park so she can run around and play with other dogs, as well as take her on vacations with us when at all possible.
Since I got laid off in February of this year, he has given me between $200-300 each and every month to ensure all of my bills are paid, as well as paid off a $700 debt I owed to the IRS because I screwed up my tax forms this year and ended up in the red. Now, I'm not driven by money when it comes to my relationships, but cash and material things just happens to be the way Dwayne expresses his feelings and shows how much he cares. He's very affectionate with hugs and kisses, but he does NOT like to express his emotions verbally. To give you an example, we were together for nearly 4 years before he first told me he loved me (I mean, actually said it out loud). Now, he says it a lot more often....but it took him 4 long years to get comfortable with it. That's just the way my guy is.
As far as day-to-day life with Dwayne, he's pretty typical for a guy. He's sweet and caring and GREAT on holidays (thank God for calendars), but in our day-to-day life, sometimes he doesn't even hear me talking, lol. I get the "Uh huh, yeah, cool, uh huh" responses when I'm trying to tell him something important and he's engrossed in the latest Sci-Fi show on TV. So while I'm busy telling him about all the important things in life while he's busy digging for the remote, I'm thinking in my mind, "He'll never remember or notice this....why am I wasting my breath?"
Well, it turns out he HAS been paying attention to SOME things. A couple of weekends ago Dwayne indulged me and took Scarlette and I to Ft. Mountain to go hiking. I wrote a post about it called "High On Life...and a Mountain". Although it was a rough workout for me...hard time breathing..all of that...I absolutely LOVED it, and Dwayne knew it. Also, on my very first week of weight loss, I lost 6 lbs and was so excited....he showed up at my door that night with a food processor that I've been wanting but couldn't afford. He said he knew I would like to have it to chop up all my veggies and make my healthy recipes, so it was just a little reward for all of my hard work and that he was proud of me. Yay!!!
My birthday is coming up next weekend. Let's talk about Dwayne and birthdays, lol. The first 2 years we were together, he forgot them altogether. The next 2 years, I would give him gentle reminders about a month ahead of time. In fact, last year, I asked him in June, "When's my birthday honey?" and he got upset and snapped at me, saying, "Why do you ask me that?? It's like you want me to get it wrong just so you can get upset and pick a fight with me!!" After getting over my shock of him snapping at me (he's the most laid back guy in the world, so that was probably only the 2nd time in 4 years he had ever done that), I politely told him that I was simply trying to do him a favor by reminding him....because if he forgot me on my actual birthday after being together for FOUR YEARS, it wasn't going to be a fun day for either one of us. Apparently he got the point. :)
Normally Dwayne spends the night at my place on Friday nights but we were both super tired and he had to work really late, so I told him don't worry about it...just come over Saturday morning. Well noon rolled around and he wasn't here yet. I was starting to wonder what was going on when the phone rang. I answered it, and Dwayne yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BABY!!!!!" (My birthday is on a Sunday this year). I said, "What?" Again he said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW BABY!!!! I REMEMBERED IT THIS YEAR!!!!!!" Bless his little pea-pickin' heart. He was trying to be so "on top of it" this year w/o any reminders from me, that he was a week ahead of time! LOL! As gently as I could, I told him, "Honey....my birthday's not til next weekend....." Long pause. Silence on both ends of the phone. Then we both busted out laughing at the same time. It was one of those great moments in life. He was so proud of himself for remembering, and then so embarassed for getting it wrong, even though it was a "good" wrong by being a week ahead.....and I was just so tickled that my honey bunny tried soooooo hard to remember it this year all on his own. Very sweet. I love moments like that. :)
We're having a birthday party at a friend's house next Sunday to celebrate my special day, but he was so excited about my gift from being psyched about it being "this" weekend, that he didn't want to wait another week for me to open my gift from him. (By the way, knowing Dwayne like the back of my hand and knowing what a procrastinator he is with buying gifts, I now know why he was late getting to my place...he was out shopping. :))
He first gave me the $100 back that he told me to go out and buy clothes with the other day...that was part of my gift. Then he gave me $40 to go to the salon and get a pedicure because he knows how much I adore them, and haven't had the money to do it in a few months. Then he gave me the most beautiful gift bag....so beautiful, I had to ask him if his mom had picked it out for him. He said, "NO!! I picked it out....you like pink, right?" Another "proud-of-my-guy" moment. :) Inside the bag were two books and a card. He told me to wait and open the card at the party next weekend. One of the books is a hiking book!!!!! He's actually been paying attention to my new weight loss goals, and my desire to get out and do things outdoors that I've just been too fat to do. Another reason I haven't pushed the outdoor thing is because of Dwayne. He's not big on traveling or doing a lot of outdoor stuff. For one, he loves to just sit and veg out on the sofa and watch TV/movies on the weekends. Secondly, he doesn't like to sweat, lol. Outdoors in July requires a whole lotta' sweating. And third, he's got this weird thing about not wanting to drive too far to get to places (unless it's a trip to the beach and he's going to be there for a few days).
About the hiking book....it lists 60 places to hike within 60 miles here in Georgia. It is so awesome! He told me that we could start with some local ones (that's the no traveling part), and then work our way out....COOL!! He said we could pack a picnic and take the puppy, and he said we could even get a bag to carry with us for healthy snacks, bottles of water, toys for the puppy, etc. He really put some THOUGHT into this! I was sooooo happy. :) My second book is one listing all of the locations on the coastal southeast, for our little weekend getaways and beach trips!!!! Dwayne and I both LOVE the ocean.......absolutely love it. This second book was just as perfect and thoughtful as the first one.
Finally, I'd like to mention that Dwayne and I are complete opposites on a lot of things when it comes to food. He won't eat a vegetable....I love almost all veggies. He's a carbaholic....loves the white breads, pastas, rice, etc. I eat them in very, very small amounts now....mostly converting to the whole wheat pastas. He loves Coke....I do too, but because of my lifestyle change, I noticed yesterday that I haven't had a Coke in 6 days...GO ME!! He's all about red meat and pork.....I'd say that 90% of my meat content over the last 5 weeks has consisted of turkey, chicken, seafood, and some very lean deli ham. He's got a pretty big sweet tooth.....mine's hardly noticeable.
However, I've noticed some changes lately. He's eating more wheat bread.....he let me know, on his own, that he's been going to Publix and getting 6" turkey subs on wheat for lunches instead of hitting the fast food restaurants. He's drinking a lot more water and a lot less Coke. He doesn't bring junk food into my house anymore. He'll forego the white rice sometimes and eat brown rice with me. And yesterday while we were out and about, we stopped by a Subway and he made sure we got a sub that we could share that I could eat....whole wheat, no cheee, lite mayo, turkey w/ lettuce and tomato. He's still not eating any veggies, past a little lettuce and a thin slice of tomato.....but you never know. I've noticed that because of me finally getting serious about the weight loss and making some healthy lifestyle changes....that he's picking up on it...and willingly. I haven't pressed him to change anything and have no plans to. Everyone has to do it for themselves.
So this is my guy....I just adore him. He's a great supporter of my lifestyle changes, he takes care of me and the puppy, and I'm glad that the healthier eating and the outdoor exercising/hiking is starting to rub off on him. I hope everyone has had as nice of a weekend as I have. Talk to you tomorrow! :)
"They can because they think they can." -Virgil
Monday, July 13, 2009
Jillian's Nuggets of Knowledge
I'm warning you ahead of time that this is going to be a super long post, but I found out some really interesting information today. I want to tell you what my thoughts are on it, and put it out there for you to make your own decision.
I was in the checkout line at Publix today glancing at the magazines. I'm one of those people that gets really irritated by those magazines targeted at fat women that splash titles across their cover such as..."Lose 50 lbs. in 3 days with this Miracle Diet and NO exercise!". Bugs me. I saw one today called "for women First" and the cover said "Drop 19 lbs. in One Week". Would you give me a break? I'm so sick of this sensationalized crap...what a bunch of hooey.
Then I noticed the words "Master Your Metabolism" with a little picture of Jillian Michaels beside it. As one of my followers on this blog, Rebecca, had already alerted me....this is Jillian's latest book...in fact, this very book is the one I decided would be first reward for reaching my first 15 lb. goal. I rolled my eyes, said to myself, "Damn. They got me. Hook, line and sinker", and I bought the magazine.
I brought it home and read the 4 page article and the best way to describe my reaction was shock. It talks about how our hormones being out of whack can cause us HUGE problems with weight loss....things that we're probably not even aware of, so we have no idea how to fix it. Hormone imbalance, or "the hormonal storm" as Jillian calls it, affects 90% of women in making them heavy, tired and stressed. NINETY PERCENT!!! What are the chances you and me are in that percentage? Pretty darn good, I'd say. It was enough to make me keep reading.
Because we may not know about the hormone problem, we don't know how to fix it...what the right foods are that we should be eating to combat it. Instead, so many of us try and try, kill ourselves with exercise, only to make very slow progress. Jillian did these same things before she found out from a doctor about the hormone problems. In the magazine she states, "If I knew then what I know now, I could have done HALF the work to get the body I have". Before she found out from a doctor about hormone imbalances, she used to weigh 175 lbs. She now weighs 121 lbs. Jillian said, "I've won my weight battle outside the gym. No more grueling hours - I can do less strenuous workouts and not see an inch of fat creep on."
Now, obviously, I encourage everyone to pick this up at their neighborhood grocery store and read it for themselves. I believe the information I'm about to share with you to be invaluable. But just in case you don't go get the magazine, I want you to get the jist of it by reading this post.
I'm going to list the hormonal imbalance and the Nutritional Rx to help it, exactly as it is listed in the magazine:
Low Thyroid:
Depression, fatigue, poor memory, dry skin, hair loss, constipation, body-wide weight gain.
Rx: Selenium aids the manufacture of active thyroid hormone T3.
Sources: walnuts, Brazil nuts, wheat germ, whole grains, pork, tuna, salmon.
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Low Progesterone:
Cravings, low libido, PMS, insomnia, anxiety, fat gain in belly, hips and thighs.
Rx: Indole-3-carbinol stimulates detoxifying enzymes that flush competing hormones from the body.
Sources: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage.
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Low Testosterone:
Weak muscles, blue mood, fatigue, low motivation, low sex drive, belly fat.
Rx: Niacin boosts HDL ("good") cholesterol, which is a building block of testosterone.
Sources: dairy, eggs, fish, lean meats, poultry
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elevated Cortisol:
Insomnia, fatigue, frequent infections, high blood pressure, low libido, belly fat.
Rx: Vitamin C increases the adrenals' resistance to stress, preventing cortisol spikes.
Sources: Cantaloupe, citrus, strawberries, watermelon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elevated Insulin:
Facial hair, fatigue, cravings, mood swings, irregular periods, severe menopause, belly fat.
Rx: Magnesium regulates insulin production and increases cells' sensitivity to the hormone.
Sources: Swiss chard, spinach, black beans, walnuts, quinoa.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elevated Leptin:
Hunger, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, signs of inflammation such as joint aches.
Rx: Omega-3 fats cause a drop in leptin and increase the body's sensitivity to the hormone.
Sources: salmon, tuna, sardines, fish oil, flaxseed, flaxseed oil.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reason for my shock was because I have about 85% of all of the symptoms listed. Is it possible something besides a hormone imbalance is causing some of my symptoms? Sure. Would it hurt me to try and incorporate as many of these foods into my diet as possible, just in case it's truly a hormone problem? Not at all. In fact, I already enjoy many of these foods. There's only a few things that I would have to incorporate that I don't already eat.
They give you a very specific plan to incorporate all of these helpful things into your diet. But before I lay it out for you, let me just say that I still think there is some sensationalized stuff and possibly irresponsible things going on here within this article. They said on the cover, "Lose 19 lbs in One Week". When you actually read the article, it states that "contestants on The Biggest Loser who have followed this plan have lost between 12 and 19 lbs in a single week". First of all, they should have said "UP TO 19 lbs in one week" on the cover. Secondly, although I haven't watched a lot of this show, I have seen it some, and I believe that they have those contestants exercising their butts off several hours a day to go along with the healthy eating. This article didn't mention one word about exercise. I guess it's possible that someone followed the specific foods in this plan to correct a hormone problem, and lost 19 lbs in a week w/o doing a single scrap of exercise....but I seriously doubt it.
With that said, I plan on trying these foods for a few weeks (3 or 4 in a row, because I don't think hormones get all straightened out in only 7 days) to see if I feel any better. I want to stress that I personally am not doing this to try and lose 19 lbs in a week. I still think that's a bunch of crap. But....I've got a lot of health issues. As I stated earlier, I have about 85% of the symptoms they listed. I am choosing to give these foods a try to see if I FEEL any better. They have a girl in this article that has hypothyroidism just like me. She's no longer on medicine due to these whole foods. I think it's worth giving it a shot, purely from the health side of it. If I lose weight a little quicker than I normally would, cool. If not, the speed of my weight loss is not my main concern. I set my monthly goal at 10 lbs/mo and I'll be happy with that (average of 2.5 lbs/wk). My main concern is to get as healthy as I can and take as little medicine as I absolutely have to.
Because I am quoting EXACTLY what the magazine says about this food plan that Jillian Michaels is endorsing, I am putting the entire section in quotations.
"Hormone Power Plan"
"Daily, enjoy at least 1/2 c. serving of berries (frozen is fine); three 1 c. servings of dark leafy greens (such as spinach, arugula and dandelion greens); two 1 c. servings of cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and bok choy); and five 1/2 c. servings of fruit and veggies that are orange, yellow, purple or red (such as carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, purple olives, tomatoes and watermelon). Jillian also advises adding alliums (like garlic, onions, chives and shallots) to meals to help the liver detoxify endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Also, consume protein that optimizes fat-burning hormones, including one to two daily servings of nuts, seeds or their butters (such as almonds, walnuts, sesame, flax and pumpkin - one serving is generally 1/4 cup nuts/seeds or 2 Tbsp. nut/seed butter); one to three 1/2 c. servings of legumes (like chickpeas and red and black beans); and three to five 4 oz. servings of eggs, lean meats and poultry (preferably organic, free-range options) and fatty fish (preferably wild-caught).
Healthy protein also includes one to three daily servings of dairy (preferably organic). 'I'm a fan of cultured dairy like yogurt, Greek yogurt, buttermilk and kefir', says Jillian. 'Their beneficial bacteria enhance digestion, making hormone-balancing and fat-burning nutrients more available to the body'.
To ensure these nutrients are readily absorbed, use about 2 Tbsp. of healthy oils (such as olive, avocado or flaxseed) to dress salads, stir into soups, saute veggies or grill meats. Finally, aim for three servings of fiber-rich whole grains (like oatmeal, brown rice, cous-cous and whole-wheat pasta) daily.
Smart Strategies that Speed Slimming
To keep metabolism high and return hormones to fat-melting levels, don't skip breakfast, eat every four hours, aiming for four or five mini-meals dialy. At each meal pair one carb serving with one protein serving to keep blood sugar even. And favor hormone-restoring drinks like water (at least 64 oz. daily) and green, white and herbal teas.
For the fastest results, limit soy, alcohol and caffeine, which throw hormones like estrogen and cortisol off balance. Avoid processed foods and beverages, like those with trans fat, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial coloring and glutamates (such as MSG). (Processed foods that passed the Master Your Metabolism test include products from Arrowhead Mills, Amy's, Ezekiel 4:9, Health Valley Organic, Horizon Organic, Kashi, Nature's Path and Newman's Own."
The magazine goes on to explain that our environment and chemicals play a large part in throwing our hormones out of whack. They offered 3 tips to try to lessen these effects.
"Make a plastic wrap switch. The PVC in many plastic wraps can release hormone-disrupting phthalates or bisphenol A (BPA) into food. Glad Cling Wrap, Saran Premium Wrap and Saran Cling Plus don't contain PVC.
Buy eggs packages this way. The polystyrene (plastic #6) in eggs' foam packaging is known to cause endocrine imbalances. Instead, choose eggs packed in cardboard, which is much safer.
Switch drinking bottles. Hard-plastic bottles contain hormone-affecting ingredients like BPA (used to produce polycarbonate, or plastic #7). A better bet: stainless-steel bottles and kids' sippy cups (like Klean Kanteen, $10 and up, at amazon.com), which don't leach harmful ingredients into liquids."
Phew! That was a long one!! I'm looking forward to incorporating some of these whole foods into my healthy eating lifestyle. I'm going to take the rest of this week to do some research on the calories on some of these items that I'm not used to eating, come up with some recipes (I'm already thinking about making some chili w/ red kidney beans and turkey burger, as well as chicken burritos w/ whole wheat wraps, and pureeing some black beans to use in place of refried beans), and set up a meal plan that still keeps me at no more than 1550 calories a day. I can't endorse anything I have not yet tried myself, but I truly can't see a thing in the world wrong with all of us eating more whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Since this post is so ENORMOUS, I won't list my food intake for today. I was sitting at 1554 calories when I sat down to write this post, then decided I needed my usual 2 cups of coffee that I drink when I'm posting (I forgot to save the calories for it tonight). I pondered the 836 calories I've burned on the treadmill this week, and decided I could afford an extra 60 calories tonight for coffee w/ creamer. So my total calorie intake for the day is 1614.
Knowledge is power. I hope you found this information useful in some way. Let's take control of our health!! :)
Quote For The Day:
"Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow." -Doug Fircbaugh
I was in the checkout line at Publix today glancing at the magazines. I'm one of those people that gets really irritated by those magazines targeted at fat women that splash titles across their cover such as..."Lose 50 lbs. in 3 days with this Miracle Diet and NO exercise!". Bugs me. I saw one today called "for women First" and the cover said "Drop 19 lbs. in One Week". Would you give me a break? I'm so sick of this sensationalized crap...what a bunch of hooey.
Then I noticed the words "Master Your Metabolism" with a little picture of Jillian Michaels beside it. As one of my followers on this blog, Rebecca, had already alerted me....this is Jillian's latest book...in fact, this very book is the one I decided would be first reward for reaching my first 15 lb. goal. I rolled my eyes, said to myself, "Damn. They got me. Hook, line and sinker", and I bought the magazine.
I brought it home and read the 4 page article and the best way to describe my reaction was shock. It talks about how our hormones being out of whack can cause us HUGE problems with weight loss....things that we're probably not even aware of, so we have no idea how to fix it. Hormone imbalance, or "the hormonal storm" as Jillian calls it, affects 90% of women in making them heavy, tired and stressed. NINETY PERCENT!!! What are the chances you and me are in that percentage? Pretty darn good, I'd say. It was enough to make me keep reading.
Because we may not know about the hormone problem, we don't know how to fix it...what the right foods are that we should be eating to combat it. Instead, so many of us try and try, kill ourselves with exercise, only to make very slow progress. Jillian did these same things before she found out from a doctor about the hormone problems. In the magazine she states, "If I knew then what I know now, I could have done HALF the work to get the body I have". Before she found out from a doctor about hormone imbalances, she used to weigh 175 lbs. She now weighs 121 lbs. Jillian said, "I've won my weight battle outside the gym. No more grueling hours - I can do less strenuous workouts and not see an inch of fat creep on."
Now, obviously, I encourage everyone to pick this up at their neighborhood grocery store and read it for themselves. I believe the information I'm about to share with you to be invaluable. But just in case you don't go get the magazine, I want you to get the jist of it by reading this post.
I'm going to list the hormonal imbalance and the Nutritional Rx to help it, exactly as it is listed in the magazine:
Low Thyroid:
Depression, fatigue, poor memory, dry skin, hair loss, constipation, body-wide weight gain.
Rx: Selenium aids the manufacture of active thyroid hormone T3.
Sources: walnuts, Brazil nuts, wheat germ, whole grains, pork, tuna, salmon.
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Low Progesterone:
Cravings, low libido, PMS, insomnia, anxiety, fat gain in belly, hips and thighs.
Rx: Indole-3-carbinol stimulates detoxifying enzymes that flush competing hormones from the body.
Sources: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage.
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Low Testosterone:
Weak muscles, blue mood, fatigue, low motivation, low sex drive, belly fat.
Rx: Niacin boosts HDL ("good") cholesterol, which is a building block of testosterone.
Sources: dairy, eggs, fish, lean meats, poultry
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Elevated Cortisol:
Insomnia, fatigue, frequent infections, high blood pressure, low libido, belly fat.
Rx: Vitamin C increases the adrenals' resistance to stress, preventing cortisol spikes.
Sources: Cantaloupe, citrus, strawberries, watermelon.
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Elevated Insulin:
Facial hair, fatigue, cravings, mood swings, irregular periods, severe menopause, belly fat.
Rx: Magnesium regulates insulin production and increases cells' sensitivity to the hormone.
Sources: Swiss chard, spinach, black beans, walnuts, quinoa.
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Elevated Leptin:
Hunger, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, signs of inflammation such as joint aches.
Rx: Omega-3 fats cause a drop in leptin and increase the body's sensitivity to the hormone.
Sources: salmon, tuna, sardines, fish oil, flaxseed, flaxseed oil.
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The reason for my shock was because I have about 85% of all of the symptoms listed. Is it possible something besides a hormone imbalance is causing some of my symptoms? Sure. Would it hurt me to try and incorporate as many of these foods into my diet as possible, just in case it's truly a hormone problem? Not at all. In fact, I already enjoy many of these foods. There's only a few things that I would have to incorporate that I don't already eat.
They give you a very specific plan to incorporate all of these helpful things into your diet. But before I lay it out for you, let me just say that I still think there is some sensationalized stuff and possibly irresponsible things going on here within this article. They said on the cover, "Lose 19 lbs in One Week". When you actually read the article, it states that "contestants on The Biggest Loser who have followed this plan have lost between 12 and 19 lbs in a single week". First of all, they should have said "UP TO 19 lbs in one week" on the cover. Secondly, although I haven't watched a lot of this show, I have seen it some, and I believe that they have those contestants exercising their butts off several hours a day to go along with the healthy eating. This article didn't mention one word about exercise. I guess it's possible that someone followed the specific foods in this plan to correct a hormone problem, and lost 19 lbs in a week w/o doing a single scrap of exercise....but I seriously doubt it.
With that said, I plan on trying these foods for a few weeks (3 or 4 in a row, because I don't think hormones get all straightened out in only 7 days) to see if I feel any better. I want to stress that I personally am not doing this to try and lose 19 lbs in a week. I still think that's a bunch of crap. But....I've got a lot of health issues. As I stated earlier, I have about 85% of the symptoms they listed. I am choosing to give these foods a try to see if I FEEL any better. They have a girl in this article that has hypothyroidism just like me. She's no longer on medicine due to these whole foods. I think it's worth giving it a shot, purely from the health side of it. If I lose weight a little quicker than I normally would, cool. If not, the speed of my weight loss is not my main concern. I set my monthly goal at 10 lbs/mo and I'll be happy with that (average of 2.5 lbs/wk). My main concern is to get as healthy as I can and take as little medicine as I absolutely have to.
Because I am quoting EXACTLY what the magazine says about this food plan that Jillian Michaels is endorsing, I am putting the entire section in quotations.
"Hormone Power Plan"
"Daily, enjoy at least 1/2 c. serving of berries (frozen is fine); three 1 c. servings of dark leafy greens (such as spinach, arugula and dandelion greens); two 1 c. servings of cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and bok choy); and five 1/2 c. servings of fruit and veggies that are orange, yellow, purple or red (such as carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, purple olives, tomatoes and watermelon). Jillian also advises adding alliums (like garlic, onions, chives and shallots) to meals to help the liver detoxify endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Also, consume protein that optimizes fat-burning hormones, including one to two daily servings of nuts, seeds or their butters (such as almonds, walnuts, sesame, flax and pumpkin - one serving is generally 1/4 cup nuts/seeds or 2 Tbsp. nut/seed butter); one to three 1/2 c. servings of legumes (like chickpeas and red and black beans); and three to five 4 oz. servings of eggs, lean meats and poultry (preferably organic, free-range options) and fatty fish (preferably wild-caught).
Healthy protein also includes one to three daily servings of dairy (preferably organic). 'I'm a fan of cultured dairy like yogurt, Greek yogurt, buttermilk and kefir', says Jillian. 'Their beneficial bacteria enhance digestion, making hormone-balancing and fat-burning nutrients more available to the body'.
To ensure these nutrients are readily absorbed, use about 2 Tbsp. of healthy oils (such as olive, avocado or flaxseed) to dress salads, stir into soups, saute veggies or grill meats. Finally, aim for three servings of fiber-rich whole grains (like oatmeal, brown rice, cous-cous and whole-wheat pasta) daily.
Smart Strategies that Speed Slimming
To keep metabolism high and return hormones to fat-melting levels, don't skip breakfast, eat every four hours, aiming for four or five mini-meals dialy. At each meal pair one carb serving with one protein serving to keep blood sugar even. And favor hormone-restoring drinks like water (at least 64 oz. daily) and green, white and herbal teas.
For the fastest results, limit soy, alcohol and caffeine, which throw hormones like estrogen and cortisol off balance. Avoid processed foods and beverages, like those with trans fat, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial coloring and glutamates (such as MSG). (Processed foods that passed the Master Your Metabolism test include products from Arrowhead Mills, Amy's, Ezekiel 4:9, Health Valley Organic, Horizon Organic, Kashi, Nature's Path and Newman's Own."
The magazine goes on to explain that our environment and chemicals play a large part in throwing our hormones out of whack. They offered 3 tips to try to lessen these effects.
"Make a plastic wrap switch. The PVC in many plastic wraps can release hormone-disrupting phthalates or bisphenol A (BPA) into food. Glad Cling Wrap, Saran Premium Wrap and Saran Cling Plus don't contain PVC.
Buy eggs packages this way. The polystyrene (plastic #6) in eggs' foam packaging is known to cause endocrine imbalances. Instead, choose eggs packed in cardboard, which is much safer.
Switch drinking bottles. Hard-plastic bottles contain hormone-affecting ingredients like BPA (used to produce polycarbonate, or plastic #7). A better bet: stainless-steel bottles and kids' sippy cups (like Klean Kanteen, $10 and up, at amazon.com), which don't leach harmful ingredients into liquids."
Phew! That was a long one!! I'm looking forward to incorporating some of these whole foods into my healthy eating lifestyle. I'm going to take the rest of this week to do some research on the calories on some of these items that I'm not used to eating, come up with some recipes (I'm already thinking about making some chili w/ red kidney beans and turkey burger, as well as chicken burritos w/ whole wheat wraps, and pureeing some black beans to use in place of refried beans), and set up a meal plan that still keeps me at no more than 1550 calories a day. I can't endorse anything I have not yet tried myself, but I truly can't see a thing in the world wrong with all of us eating more whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Since this post is so ENORMOUS, I won't list my food intake for today. I was sitting at 1554 calories when I sat down to write this post, then decided I needed my usual 2 cups of coffee that I drink when I'm posting (I forgot to save the calories for it tonight). I pondered the 836 calories I've burned on the treadmill this week, and decided I could afford an extra 60 calories tonight for coffee w/ creamer. So my total calorie intake for the day is 1614.
Knowledge is power. I hope you found this information useful in some way. Let's take control of our health!! :)
Quote For The Day:
"Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow." -Doug Fircbaugh
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