In the Past Week I’ve Dropped Five Pounds

When I started this blog, I weighed 189 lbs. Last week I weighed 186 lbs. Two days ago I weighed 181 lbs!!! This morning I weighed 183 lbs. So I’ve lost 3-5 lbs in about five days. I haven’t measured my waist, but I can tell it’s down too. Woo hoo!

Part of that is because I’ve had a head cold, and I’ve been drinking about 120 oz of water a day. My motivation though was that the doctor gave me a month to control my blood sugar by diet and exercise before he puts me on insulin. So I started The 30-Day Diabetes Cure by cutting out sugar and flours. But then I had a couple of green apples and a couple of slices of sprouted whole-grain bread and one tiny sliver of a cream cheese brownie. And popcorn. I gained two pounds in two days, doing that!

This morning I had an egg and some carrot sticks for breakfast. That’s what sounded good. It tasted good, too. I’m learning that I don’t have to eat very much at one time.

Starting to Panic!

I’m starting to panic that my health plan isn’t working. Of course I’m not following it exactly. I tend to hope that partial efforts will give me full results. The facts are that (1) My cravings have diminished dramatically, even without 100% compliance, but I sometimes eat anyway. I’m not listening to my body very well, (2) I haven’t lost any weight, (3) I have lost about an inch around my waist–which doesn’t mean a ton because of my fabulous ability to bloat, (4) my moods are more stable, and (5) I don’t feel deprived even though I’m eating healthily most of the time. It’s the sugar and overeating that are holding me back.

My committment was for three months, though, so I’m sticking with it. New stats forthcoming on Monday.

Have a happy day!

KC

When Tired, Rest

When tired, rest.

That’s what I’ve been fortunate enough to do these past few weeks while going through various therapies for my hands and back. Today I’m more tired than usual. I’m told it’s common after having body work, such as massage, chiropractic, physical therapy. The infamous “they” said to rest my hands as much as possible today. What can you do without your hands? I’m watching Red Box movies. I exercised gently for 25 minutes during one movie. Now bring on the snack: cottage cheese, creamy cucumbers, fresh peach, and whole grain wafers. Oh, and LOTS of water!

I wish everyone a chance to rest.

Best,

KC

Emotional Eating and Sabotage; i.e., Some days I just do not want to eat vegetables!

Four days in, and already I’m making poor choices off plan. I find that as I get older, I continually sabotage my own progress. Whenever I give myself a goal, I start breaking it. I start looking for loop holes. Whenever I reach a certain level of success in loosing weight or changing habits, I start stuffing myself until I get back to where I must feel most safe. (I was going to say comfortable, but having tight pants and an achy gut is definitely not “comfortable.”) I just want to do whatever I want!

My health coach tells me I am eating emotionally and that I need to retrain my thoughts to make better choices.

I found an ebook called The Stress Eating Solution, by Richard Kuhns, which addresses this issue. I’m going to read Chapter 6 many times this week. It gives a three-step plan to resolve emotional eating, including tips for “managing difficult situations and feelings effectively.” The idea is to put eating in its proper perspective and lessen the emotional attachments.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day!

Toodles,

KC

Why I Switched Eating Plans

Good Wednesday! My exercise and dinner plans fell through last night, but I still ate a healthy balance of lightly buttered yellow crookneck, Parmasan-toasted whole-wheat bread, and a pineapple-raspberry smoothie (made with Greek yogurt for protein and banana for sweetening). Yummmmm. I love this eating plan!

Why am I using this eating plan? Before this, I had been following a medically supervised plan which drastically reduced calories, as well as carbs. Some days, I was dying of hunger. I was having stomach discomforts and felt tired of the limitations, even though I enjoyed seeing almost normal blood sugars and wearing a size smaller in clothes (13/14). But I felt that I couldn’t possibly live like that the rest of my life. I started looking at other diet plans, even though I don’t really believe in dieting. I kept looking until I found what I believe is a healthy lifestyle, not a diet. It provides me with a sense of abundance and hope instead of being deprived and resigned.

When I decided to follow what I’m going to call The Plan, I went overboard, happily swinging to the far ends of the eating “pendulum,” stuffing myself with a good balance of water, veggies, grain, fruit, and protein, and treats. I gained four pounds. The Plan cautions that you must add calories and fiber slowly or this will happen, but I was tired of depriving myself.

Last week (before I started blogging my progress) I was thrilled to notice that my food cravings were diminished, and I had lost those four pounds. Now that I’m not craving sweets and carbs as much, I’m not eating them as much. I’m paying more attention to my body’s cues and trying to not overeat. My stomach is more relaxed and less bloated. Being bloatless makes a world of difference in how I feel; I’m more comfortable physically and much calmer mentally. I’m learning to be patient with results, even though I panic sometimes that I won’t be able to find something to wear that will camoflauge my gut.

Woo hoo! This could work!

Disclaimer and First Boo-boo (But let’s focus on the positive!)

DISCLAIMER: When I said, “Join me if you’d like” in my last post, I didn’t mean to imply that I know what YOU should do for health or lifestyle. I’m not a pro, and I haven’t proven anything yet! Besides, I think there are many ways to arrive at most destinations. What I meant was, “Follow my progress (assuming and hoping that there will be some) if you’re interested.” I want to share what I’m thinking and doing, boo-boos and all, in hopes that I will feel more accountable, and if you’re struggling with changes maybe you won’t feel alone. There! 🙂

Today started out different from most. I woke up at 5:15 or so and couldn’t sleep because my arm and face ached. I got up, drank 12 oz of water with my thyroid medicine, propped up on the couch for awhile, did my floor stretches, drank another 12-oz water, and ate.

For Breakfast I ate 1/2 of a whole-wheat English muffin, toasted, with a teaspoon of natural peanut butter and a teaspoon of Smuckers Simply Fruit Spread, 1/2 cup 1% milk, 1/2 large Fuji apple, and my vitamins and pills with 12-oz water. I would have eaten the other half of everything out of habit (and desire) except I didn’t want to be too full for my massage therapy.

My theory is that eating a balance of Water, Veggies, Grain, Fruit, and Protein at each meal, without overeating, will nourish the body and reduce cravings. If I don’t eat vegetables at breakfast, I eat extra veggies later as a snack. I’ve taken these ideas from Lean and Free 2000 Plus by Dana Thornock. I’ve been experimenting with it for a few weeks now, and my cravings for sugar and chocolate have definitely reduced.

I went to my massage therapy appointment for over an hour, then stopped at Subway for an early lunch.

For Lunch I ate a 6-inch Subway Veggie Delight sandwich on 9-grain wheat with a drizzle of oil and vinegar, a squirt of Ranch dressing, and half a bag of baked chips. I was starving because I went too long without eating. Also more water. By this time I had consumed 48 oz of water.

About two hours later, I remembered that I was supposed to meet some ladies for lunch! I wasn’t hungry yet, but everytime I eat at a sit-down restaurant, I end up wishing I had room for dessert, and I never do. Today I just ordered dessert: a thick, beautiful Pecan Pie with a scoop of ice cream. That’s my boo-boo! I generally justify a small low-cal dessert after a full, balanced meal, if I want one, but this piece of pie was way too big to justify, and I waited too long after my earlier meal, so it gave me a bigger sugar hit. I drank another 12 oz of water.

This post feels too long now, so I’ll wrap it up.

Exercise: 20 minutes gentle walking in place and swinging arms while listening to a book on CD.

Afternoon Snack: 12 almonds and a cold, sweet 6-inch corn cob, and 12-oz water.

Dinner plan: 12-oz water, 1 cup corn chips, 1/2 cup black beans sauteed with garlic, 1 cup Romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup chopped tomato, and 1 tablespoon Ranch dressing.

12-oz water about an hour before bed, and maybe some celery with peanut butter.

Sounds fun! Thanks for stopping by.

KC

Riding the Yo-Yo Wagon

After two years of riding the yo-yo wagon, I am back at square one. I lost 12 glorious pounds and felt suave and confident in my new clothes. Then I gained back the 12 pounds and the belly fat and the high blood sugars. But . . .

The good news is I am committing to a healthy lifestyle plan for the next three months, even with tendonitis in my hands and an injured shoulder.

My goal is to prove that I can get healthy, lose belly fat, and feel good by eating plenty of real food, exercising, finding a purpose outside myself, and improving my attitude (to reduce stress). I will also continue my medical care, which consists of laser therapy twice a week and deep-tissue massage once a week for tendonitis, as well as a weekly chiropractic adjustment–until I run out of money, that is.

I will NOT be counting calories, and I WILL eat occasional desserts. I’ll post recipes sometimes.

I’ll include some of my daily menus and explain why I picked them. I’ll also report my weight and waist measurement once a week, probably Monday afternoons. Even though I don’t know you, it will help me be accountable if I think someone is reading this.

Thanks! Join me if you’d like!

KC

*Today’s stats: morning weight–186.8 lbs, 40 inch waist   (But I still like myself?!)

My Gut Felt Like a Stuffed Sausage

I’ve studied at least twenty eating plans, and I’ve finally decided to follow . . . them all. I figure as long as I choose a balanced menu and don’t overeat, what’s the problem? Who cares that some of the plans are total opposites in principle? I’m simply tired of being indecisive.

After eating volumes of Christmas junk that tasted delicious, I felt like a stuffed sausage. Worse, I felt like a sausage stuffed with hardened chocolate. But in ONE DAY I turned that feeling around. On New Year’s Day, I ate no chocolate, none! I drank lots of fluids and ate small portions of vegetable soups, salads, half sandwiches, and fruit juices, even whole grain crackers and cream cheese, but I spaced these meals out every 2-3 hours (forcing myself to stop grazing constantly on junk), and my gut thanked me! I am encouraged that the body responded quickly.

TiredOfBeingASlackerToo!

Sorry for slacking on my posts. It’s part of my overall defect, that I can’t remember all my projects and proclaimed commitments. But here’s an update:

I’ve actually GAINED weight and inches since my post, back on August 30–probably from depression, too much sugar, and not enough exercise. Why do I drop all my ambitions for weeks at a time? If I sound all Waa Waa, I’m sorry! But I WILL NOT GIVE UP! This is the wrong time of year to let go of my health goals. Today I exercised for an hour and purposefully drank water. I have planned my exercise and eating routines: Up at six. Drink water. Kick fanny. Eat something healthy with low fat, low protein, high fiber, and primarily plant based. Take pills. Do something interesting and meaningful in addition to my usual work. (This is more important than it sounds at first read!) And r e l a x. Don’t let stress make things worse!

My current, depressing STATS are:

weight: 189.5 lbs

bust: ?

waist: 39.5 inches

My renewed GOAL is:

aerobic exercise three hours per week

anaerobic strength training three times per week

I’ll keep you posted, sooner than before.

Here’s hoping your latest goals were achieved much better than mine. ;-}

I Hear the Camera Adds Ten Pounds . . .

Taking into consideration some scary pics in this post, enter at your own risk. But I want proof. Yessirree. The embarrassment will only be worth it when I compare it to my futuristic moment of pride–when I have a 26-inch waist.

Current stats: weight: 189 lbs–bust: 38 in.–waist: 39 in.  Who cares about anything else???

Gut

Torso