I think I’ve figured out how I can appear to gain weight whilst consuming fewer calories than I burn… The realisation struck when, after a 1,500 cal cardio work out, I lost all the apparently-gained weight overnight.
Whilst my body was remaining the same (fitting clothes the same), the scale was reading an extended plateau and then a shocking 2.5lb increase. I think the difference is in the amount of stored glycogen. Glycogen is the energy source stored in muscles that you draw on when you do endurance sport. Because I had worked out for over 2hrs without topping it up with energy gels (as I’d do in a marathon) I had used it all up. By this morning I was down 3lbs on yesterday.
Consequently the use of weight as the sole assessment of the physical body is not sufficient.
I guess this is how the Atkins Diet works. It gradually starves the body of glycogen (which is made from carbohydrates), forcing it to use fat stores. So not only does it lead to a reduction in muscle mass but also a greater apparent weightloss. This means that the dieter gets trapped into Atkins because the second they eat carbs the body grabs them to refuel the empty glycogen stores. They step on the scales the next day and see a huge increase despite the fact that their body won’t have gained an inch. The fuel is in the muscles, not sitting around as fat. Consequently they stop eating carbs, use up the glycogen and ‘magically’ lose weight. That has got to be the stupidest diet I have ever heard of.
I might not consume enough calories but I do try to eat a balanced diet.
Ok, so I thought I’d have a chance to write something Sat- I didn’t. My bad. Reminder, giveaway start Monday : )
But on my list of to-dos was ”update blog with weight check-in and post Bo’s tutorial and pics”. Regrettably, I fell asleep before I had that chance. So here it is, Sunday night, I am down another 1.4lbs!! Woo hooo. That’s a total of 17.8lbs. Only 42.2 to go. A quick review- I recently had my fourth child (6 mo. ago) and went into the pregnancy already 20lbs overweight. After having Cullen, I didn’t like the way I felt or looked. So off to weight watchers I dragged myself. I literally made all kinds of excuse why not to join and tried to talk my way out of attending a meeting. Thank goodness I went. I’ve been a member since June 30th, 2009 an I’m down 17.8lbs. The points system works.
Next we have Sabrina’s first tutorial. She’s so cute. She’s about to turn ten in ten days. She was watching me sew one night and decided to do something crafty herself. I only wish I’d taken pics as she assembled her four season mobile. The following are her directions in black (my comments in blue):
Step 1. You take two chopsticks and tie them together (in a criss cross or X with string or twine).
Step 2. Make four leafs and color you want (she did the four seasons).
Step 3. Then you get a hole puncher and punch 4 holes in the four leafs.
Step 4. You tie a long string to the top (to hand it from something).
Step 5. You hand it where all the people (you love) can see.
Another up and down week, although it’s ended on the down side for a change. I’ve been going through a bounce on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after the big weigh-ins at work. I cut back on Sunday & Monday, then after eating normally and taking a break from working out, my weight has been shooting up in mid-week. I was so busy on Saturday that I actually never got around to eating until after going to a concert with a couple of hotties (one blonde, one brunette). I actually lost weight between Saturday and Sunday before working out. It’s a good sign that your appetite is under control when you don’t eat by habit.
If anything, it’s good that I’m making the progress that I am. I’ve got a doctor’s visit Thursday, and he had been on me my last visit to drop a few pounds. It’s always nice to go into one of those visits expecting a little praise. As important (to me), I’m only a couple of pounds away from the Wii Fit telling me that I’m “overweight,” instead of “obese.” That’s something I haven’t heard since owning the thing, and I’m looking forward to it.
The funny thing about losing weight (”The?” There are a lot of funny things, actually) is noticing the change. I’ve still got a spare tire, and am more pear shaped than I care to be. I gain and lose uniformly, so it’s hard to notice specific change — that is, when I look in the mirror, I pretty much see the same thing every day. I pretty much have to depend on people who don’t see me every day to notice the change.
Hitting the Town
I mentioned going to a show with a couple of hotties Saturday night. Women who used to be in the news business know how to swing. I had passed on a chance to swing by the Levitt Shell at Overton Park. I had kinda wanted to go because Jimbo Matthus was on the bill, and I’m a big Squirrel Nut Zippers fan (new album coming out in October called Lost At Sea). Anyway, I ended up at the Bartlett Performing Arts Center for a “Symphonic All-Duke Ellington Night,” with pianist Donald Brown and Joyce Cobb (who was in good voice, by the way). Interesting, I don’t think we were the oldest people there, which is good. Anyway, check out the Center, they’ve got Nat King Cole’s brother coming up, as well as Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers Band in October.
Fashion to me should be fun. And jewelry should be special. If I had to describe my style, it would be classic with a kick. By that I mean: rings shaped like squares, matte gold jewelry, you know stuff like that. That’s why I was so attracted to the whole concept of coloured diamonds.
Oddly enough though, I find the best jewelry comes from the smaller jeweller. The ones who are so into their designs, and create really original pieces. I know there are some standard settings, but sometimes what limits you can inspire greatness. I love the jewelers who are really artists and used metal and precious stones as their medium.
I’m not an artist myself, but I have ideas in my head for jewelry, and once the funds are there plan to “design” some pieces with a trusted jeweler. I’m very picky and custom jewelry fits my control-freak personality.
In real life I don’t wear alot. My only mandatory jewelry is my rosary ring, I always try to have a gold and a silver one so I can always wear one when I go out. I don’t wear earrings regularly, though I want to. I plan to get some studs for my ears. They’re pierced twice, and I need to keep the newer holes open. I’ve just been slack.
Since my lack of funds makes owning the type of jewelry I like difficult, I browse.
Costume jewelry is great for a girl with a budget (once she’s ot allergic to it) amd during Carnival I really look towards my assessories to bring colour and drama to my fete gear. That’s why I love plastic jewelry; they’re cheap and wonderful. A ring like this creates a nice playful touch, that carries well throughout the year. I would wear this with a nice sun dress, or with jeans for a run to the mall. There’s this whole culture on etsy dedicated to qwirky plastic rings. A lot of them are made with Japanese toys and glued to an adjustable base. Many of them I really like as presents for little girls. Any one of the flower rings I linked too could work for young girls, pre-adoloescent and up. As an adult you’d probably only wear it out once or twice anyway, after which you could give it away to the little girl in your life.
Please note this cassette ring, it’s hilarious!
As for classic ring options, once I saw a pavé diamond knuckle- ring set in white gold in a MarieClaire magazine article. It’s been 5 years and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. They’re such a masculine, and violent concept, but the ring was elegant and slim. I found this option on Daily Candy’s website, and it’s quite nice. I keep pairing them with evening wear, either a lovely cocktail dress or satin suit. The overall finish would be quite stunning I imagine.
I’m also partial to simple geometric designs. This ring is a series of squares joined together. Also I really love Liz Mannette’s steelpan line. Her tenor pan ring is to die for!
Recently I’ve been really attracted to natural looking rings. Shells, Wood and Mother of Pearl rings call my name.
So what say you, What’s your ring type? I just think I need more!
Any tea drinkers out there? Not the average brews, but the more exotic blends?
I’ve been visiting the local Teavana and finally decided to buy something on Friday. With my long commute and my thyroid issues, I am constantly battling fatigue (I won’t even get into the weight issues). Their brochure highlighting the health benefits of each of the teas and tea blends peaked my interest. I decided to give one a try – a Matevana/Rooibos blend – providing energy, appetite suppression, and allergy relief, among other things. Not only is it tasty, but it seemed to fit my specific needs.
I tried my purchase today and found I had energy all day long, but was still able to take a nap (just because). I also wasn’t hungry all day. I still ate on schedule, but I could’ve easily eaten less or not at all. Overall, it’s a winner! I will be drinking it daily as a morning substitute for coffee. I also want to try their Strawberry Slender blend to see if it provides the weight loss benefits it claims.
Obviously weight fluctuates and I did weigh myself 5 hours after I’d eaten a weight watcher bagel with a bit of coffee, but hey, it’s better than seeing the scale go up right?
Let’s count alcohol calories to add to my awesome 870 in food and drink:
1/2 summer ale (80) + sugar free redbull with 3 shots (240) + tequila (80) +3/4 bud lite (80) = 480
Grand total for the day was 1350 which is still awesome considering I drank alcohol and had a long day. It is not like I’m going to drink more than 2 nights a week, and the fact that I ate only 870 calories (200 of those being a hazelnut skim latte) means that I really am back on track. I’ve always wanted a scale and now I have one and it is really very motivating! Also my housemates (love them) go to the gym and take classes so I’m going to sign up and go with them. They do Zoomba? Whatever I dont care, I need exercise really bad.
So as far as food goes today I am eating a granola bar (180) when I finish writing and then later on probably starbucks and then dinner with alli. In between that I have to go buy goceries, a laundry bag, a garbage pail, headphones, lug some sh*t out of the my trunk, maybe buy a textbook or two and then finish unpacking and setting up my room! Busy day. Then later on after dinner I am taking jackie, andrew and maybe nicole to alli’s apartment to pregame with her and then TC will show up sometime during that. TC is so great, I cannot wait to see him. He bought me some things for my room but I have no idea what they are. He wont tell me so I guess I’ll have to be surprised.
So I’ll probably give my calories count for today, tomorrow. I’m really excited about this, I feel in control for the first time in ages. Hopefully I can join the gym for only 4 months without it being so much money.
Over three years ago, I quit dipping. It nearly killed me but I attacked that challenge and I’ve stuck to it. One of the side effect of quitting nicotine for some people is weight gain. I can say that I’m definitely in that group. Since I’ve quit I’ve put on a good 25 lbs or so – and I was overweight when I quit. If you’ve read any of the previous posts on this blog you’ll see that I’ve been struggling with this for quite a while. Some successes, some failures.
Tonight I’m sick of thinking about it. I’m sick of obsessing. It’s time for a change. I need to lose at least 30 lbs (probably 40) and I’m starting now.
My wife doesn’t believe me when I tell her – nor should she. Like with dip before, I’ve said this before. Not sure what is going to make this time different but it is. Maybe that’s why I’m writing – to see it.
The title of this post is significant… back when I quit dipping I was keeping a journal. The title of the entry the day I finally quit dipping? “A new day”. Here’s to the first day of the rest of healthy life.
Pumpkin Spice Latte and cookie (yes, breakfast of champs)
Lunch: Bratwurst with relish, tomato, onions, mustard and ketchup, lemonade and grapes
Snack: cookie
Dinner: 2 pita chips, 5 pop chips and 1/2 c. spaghetti
Activity: 20 minutes of walking
I definitely wasn’t in the “kill the competition” mode yesterday. I was in “I’m getting it together” mode.
Tonight, I have a dinner at a friend’s home. My plan is to eat lightly through the day and skip the alcohol tonight. It won’t hurt as I have a model shoot tomorrow. I’m sure my body/mind/face will thank me for it.
Left work early on tuesday because I was feeling sick….thought it was because of lunch….but 2 days later and my digestive system is still less than happy…
Needless to say the plans for working out this week were derailed….BUT I’m seeing the Evil Trainer tomorrow morning, and Saturday I am trying Pilates. Come hell or high water for both. Period.
Plans for this weekend? Well, tomorrow the new entertainment center from Room & Board is being delivered and I have a friend coming over that evening for cocktails. Saturday it’s the Vet, Pilates, then dinner with friends. Sunday I have friends coming over to go through the fabric/yarn/books I’m getting rid of to pick out what they want. NO time for myself this weekend apparently – and that makes for a crabby fat girl. So Labor Day weekend needs to be ALL about the time for myself. Period.
Plans for next week….
Stop at the gym on the way home from work & do 20 min cardio Mon-Wed
Swim Thursday & Saturday evenings
Continue to stay away from Diet Soda & Fast Food
Bring my breakfasts & lunches to work – no dining out or vending machine lunches!
And yet again this week someone has found my blog by searching for “how much did betty davis weigh”… seriously… *shakes head*
Today was an average day. Nothing new and exciting to report… besides the fact that I’m purchasing 1/2 carcass of grass-fed beef this weekend as well as two more boxes of those figs straight from Greece! Mmmm….
I’ll post pics when they arrive!
Today’s Menu:
Breakfast: 3 Fresh Barhi Dates
Snack: 3 Pears
Lunch: Romaine and Orange Salad
- 1/2 cup Romaine
- 1/2 cup Mixed Greens
- 1 Orange, chopped
- 1 Handful Blueberries
Snack: 5 Figs
Dinner: Fish w/Mayo
- 1 piece wild caught Halibut
- 1 tbsp home-made Mayo
- 1 tbsp Coconut Butter… (couldn’t help it)
Snack: 2 Apples
——————————————
Nutritional Analysis:
——————————————
Physical and Emotional Changes:
1. Craved a lot of carbs today. Not sure why… wasn’t feeling “meaty”.
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I weighed myself this morning, and even after a super crappy and uber stressful week, I lost 2.5lbs! Last week, I was at 241.5 and today I was at 239 even! I broke the 240 ceiling (floor?)!! Needless to say, my day started off on a high note.
I was still flying high when I pulled into the gym parking garage this afternoon. This is always a bad sign for my muscles, because it means that I want to do A Lot.
And A Lot I did.
Braids put me through my paces tonight, but I kept up! I did tons of step ups on the weight bench, bench presses, ab work, and two laps around the track (again, with beautiful form, she says). And jump rope. If there’s anything I hate more than running, it’s jump roping.
When I finished with tonight’s session, I headed to the spinning room for my second night of spinning in a row. I was excited—this was a different teacher, so I was happy to experience something new.
Oh. My. God.
Before I get into any major bitching, may I say that the music was amazing—it was all neo-classical, in that it was classical music with a techno beat and electronic instruments. I was in post-opera singing heaven. Jaime, the instructor, timed everything really well too. Each exercise was timed to the music perfectly so that each drill ended as the final cadence fell.
Jaime likes to make up nicknames for her students.
“You’ve been in my class before, right?” I said no, I usually take the Tuesday night class. She insisted that she’s seen me before. I shrugged…then a light went off.
“I know! I’ve seen you jump roping today! That’s where I’ve seen you before!” I smiled and politely explained I absolutely abhor jump roping. I hate everything about it and I think it should die a horribly painful death. “Oh, no. It’s wonderful. I love jump roping. If you want someone to jump rope with you, definitely call me!” And thus I am now Jump Rope Girl.
In my thoughts, I saw myself jumping rope with my new friend. Sometimes we’ll jump on our own, side by side. Other times we’ll tie on end to a door knob and double dutch. Then I thought about the time I smashed my face on the concrete. I don’t think I’ll be calling her.
Jaime is a drill sergeant.
COME ON GUYS! YOU CAN DOOOOOOO IT!!
Jaime has two volumes. Loud and louder. Despite this, I liked her. She’s pretty no bullshit, and I appreciate that. Before class, we chatted about she doesn’t sky dive anymore because she ripped her thumb off. So instead of jumping, she decided to buy a condo.
As my muscles began screaming bloody murder, I started talking back to her in my head.
AND RAISE IT UP! BE NEAR THE SEAT BUT DO NOT USE IT!
You’re not the boss of me.
ADD ON! YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!!
I can not fly. I can not impregnate myself. And due to incredibly poor math skills, I can not do quantum physics.
WE CAN DO THIS ALL DAY!!
No, YOU can do this all day. I can not. More importantly, I will not. Not only do I have physical limits, but I have a full time job that does include killing my non-existent ass on a stationery bike.
ALL DAY, EVERY DAY!!
You make me want to kill myself.
PUSH IT TIL IT HURTS!
Your mom pushes til it hurts.
FIRST MINUTE IS YOURS, THEN YOU’RE MINE!
Slavery has been illegal since 1864. Women gained suffrage in 1920. It’s been months since I’ve had a date. I belong to no one.
Not much to post about today. It was a great day. Eating was good and the exercise was better. I really put in a good effort tonight and did 7 circuits over my usual 6 circuits. My body feels tighter and strong and I’m loving the new schedule for the week. And can I say that I really love chicken. My wife made some up for me for the week and I put it in tonight’s salad. Oh so good and I can feel that my body is just craving for it. Really love that protein.
Another compliment today. This time from an older lady I work with and she didn’t know if I was comfortable talking about it. I never stop finding this hilarious. I wonder if it is themselves that don’t feel comfortable about it. She also has stopped with the pop (that’s what we call soda up here) and drinking a lot of water. I’d love to put Pepsi and Coke out of business. But then some might not like me too much.
Deciding to go on a diet does not imply that you have to get rid of your favourite food. With the Volumetrics Diet you can reach your ideal weight withoutbeing starved.
It is a popular diet produced by nutritionist Barbara Roll. Roll’s weight loss plan is based on the energy density concept. Energy density is defined as the number of calories found in a specific quantity of food or serving. Food high in energy density hasmany calories whereas food with low energy density has fewer calories. Foods with great amount of fat are high in energy density and water has zero energy density.
The extraordinary thing about this weight loss plan is that you can carry on eating your favorite food while losing your weight. You can take huge volume of food, provided that these foods are low in energy density. When you take food with low energy density you will feel stuffed because of the amount of the food you have consumed and not because of the number of calories, grams of fat, protein, carbs or anything else.
There are no prohibited foods and division of foods in terms of good or bad according to this diet. What matters is that you go on evaluating the foods that you consume based on their energy density. Sweets, chips and crackers, for example, are high in energy density foods and therefore, you must cut down on them. Some samples of foods that are very low in energy density include soups or broth, fat free milk, fruits with great amount of water, fiber, fish and lean protein. Food that have high water content such as vegetables and fruits have 95% water and will easily fill you up without caring overly about the calories.
Some nutritionist would recommend this dietary plan since it helps you to eat and live in a healthy way. Consuming more foodslow in energy density, you will reduce weight without even being starved. The Volumetrics Diet will reassure you that starvation is not the smart option to become thinner.
No matter whether it’s six or eight glasses a day, it’s common knowledge that the body needs water to function properly – it is primarily made of water after all! When you’re dieting or trying to lose fat, it’s even more important to drink water, as it’s the water (and the associated lymph) that carries all of that fat out of the system! When you drink lots of water (another recommendation is half of your body weight in ounces), you’re also less likely to be hungry, less likely to overeat or to fill up on junk in order to feel more energetic. The latter is especially true because water actually gives you energy by removing all of the toxic stuff out of your body! And if that wasn’t enough of a why, it also improves skin elasticity and makes you look younger!
Even though I know that drinking water is just as important (if not more so) as maintaining a healthy food diet and getting regular exercise, it tends to be the first thing I let slip when I’m tired or stressed. It’s ridiculous. Why would I stop doing something that’s so simple, especially when it gets me such great results? It’s particularly stupid because I’ll exercise and not drink enough water, which leads to an even more advanced stage of dehydration. Now a lot of people think that they’re not dehydrated because they’re not thirsty. Thirst is a warning sign! When you start feeling thirsty, it’s too late. Most nutritionists recommend that you take a sip of water every fifteen minutes! Whether you feel thirsty or not!
So why would I not drink water? Why might you not be drinking enough?
Personally, I get bored. It’s not that I don’t like the taste of water; I do. But then again I have a well and am not dependent on city tap water, which does (unfortunately) come in a variety of flavors, largely based on your location! But filters do work wonders and there are a number available all at varying price-points for sale on-line.
But, when I am legitimately tired of water, I do sub in other options that still count as water. So, how to get more water into your diet?
As I mentioned before, I make protein shakes. I tend to mix the protein powder and liquid with two trays of ice cubes; although frozen, ice does count as water! You even burn more calories because your body has to bring it up to temperature!
Another way to make water more exciting is just to simply make up a pitcher of ice water and cucumber slices and let the flavor seep in. I had this at a spa recently and it was fabulous! Unbelievably refreshing! Since then, I’ve seen people do the same thing with fresh mint, fresh blackberries or fresh raspberries.
My personal favorite, especially in the winter months (which, unfortunately are back on the horizon) is to drink caffeine-free herbal tea. Stay away from decaffeinated coffees or black tea, which contain marginal amounts of caffeine, as well as all of the residual chemicals that it took to decaffeinate it to begin with! This works especially well for me because you can really mix up the flavors and you can mess with the intensity and sweetness by varying the steeping time as well as the amount of sweetener (if any) that you use. My favorite sweetener is Stevia Plus, by Sweet Leaf. Stevia Plus is an all natural supplement that contains no saccharin, Nutrasweet, aspartame, refined sugar, maltodextrin fructose, or any artificial sweeteners of any kind! It’s called plus, because it also contains inulin fiber (F.O.S.) which selectively nourished the friendly bacteria (lactobaciilus and bifidobacteria) in the intestines!
During the winter I tend to drink eight to ten cups of herbal tea a day! I drink a number of brands, but my house tea is Celestial Seasonings. 1) It’s cheap (as am I). 2) There are a ton of flavors so I am less likely to get bored. 3) There is minimal packaging – they are the ones that don’t use strings or tags!
And for those who can’t imagine drinking hot tea in the summer (or are too impatient to brew it hot and then ice it), they have just come out with a product that steeps in cold water in just five minutes! Unfortunately only of of these is caffeine-free, but I’m hopeful they’ll expand the line if it’s a success! Or with enough push-back from interested buyers!
Another way I get my water in is to drink my green stuff mixed in 24 ounces of water! Again, cold improves the taste. Sometimes I toss the glass into the freezer for 15 minutes or I mix it with ice.
And, finally, a fourth way I get water in when I’m bored is to drop in a couple of nuun tablets in a quart sized Sigg bottle. Nuuns are electrolyte-enhance sports drink tabs, which I drink while I exercise, especially if I am doing something that is going to involve a lot of sweat. Six calories per tablet; all are caffeine free with the exception of the cola flavored one, which has about as much caffeine as a cup of green tea. So, although it doesn’t count as water, per say, because of the caffeine, it does actually taste enough like cola to kill the craving (that is, if you have craving for cola). Personally, the lemon-lime and ginger orange are my favorite!
So, if you find yourself feeling sluggish or overly hungry during the day, ask yourself the following question: How much water have I had today?
And if you’re not even close to 1/2 your body weight in ounces, drink some water! If you don’t like water (or think you don’t) because it doesn’t taste like anything, try something new to jazz it up. And you’d be surprised. Just as it does with sugar, the more water you drink, the more your body will want.
did a little better on points today. i sort of made the minestrone, but i used already cooked turkey instead of beef, added everything together at once and cooked it all together for about 6 hours on low, used penne pasta instead of macaroni, and added beef bouillon and a packet of onion soup mix… so really, it wasn’t anything like the original. lol. and it wasn’t all that good either. XD but it was food.
i got a pack of precut salad from aldi’s on thursday for 50 cents! it was fairly small and i figured it would only make about 2 salads. with using it for snacks and making small salads, i just today ended up using the last of it. i also thought it might be near it’s expiration date with it being so cheep, but it was perfectly fresh the entire time. i might have to start getting salad more often. i wasn’t using a lite dressing either, so with proper dressing and being an even lower point snack, it sounds like a great deal to me.
i’ve decided to start weighing in on fridays. with working on mostly weekends, saturday is more of a start-of-the-week for me. i may weigh wed. and fri. this week, or i might skip wed. i haven’t decided yet. and i’m not sure what to do with my weekly points. i guess i’ll just have to watch myself extra close until friday.
sorry if my post was a little rambley. i’m tired. g’night.
what i ate today: mango smoothie (with flax and wheat germ) – 8 points small salad – 3 points pork and tomatillo stew – 7 points small salad – 3 points tapioca pudding – 3 points minestrone – 10 points total points: 34 weekly points left: 0
Well, that’s not completely honest. I just knew I wasn’t going to try it because the warning about “anal leakage” scares the hell out of me. LOL.
I’m sure anyone in the diet world has heard the news that broke yesterday (I think). They’re saying Alli may cause liver damage. According to the newswires, regulators are assessing at least 32 reports of liver problems between 1999 and 2008 in patients taking the weight-loss drug orlistat (I wonder if that’s the same fake fat they use to make a lot of foods fat-free? No, that’s orlean. Is it the same? I’ll have to look that up). It is sold as a prescription drug Xenical, and more recently, as an over-the-counter medication called Alli. The prescription is twice as strong as the over-the-counter drug.
Of the 32 reports of liver problems the FDA has in hand, 27 patients were hospitalized and six suffed liver failure. In an “early communication” of a drug safety review, the FDA said it will also review additional data on “suspected cases of liver injury” submitted by drug firms that make and market orlistat in its branded and generic forms. Now to me, this is kind of like putting the fox in the hen house. Do they really think the firms that make this stuff are going to be honest about reporting the negatives? You’ve got to be kidding me! Glaxo reported $123 million in sales for alli last year, while Roche posted $472 million in revenue for Xenical.
Dr. Steven Osborne, executive director of the FDA’s drug safety oversight board, called the issues surrounding orlistat’s safety “complex” and stressed that “no definite association between liver injury and orlistat has been established at this time.” He noted that 30 of the 32 reports of liver damage already received by the FDA come from outside the United States. Personally I don’t know why that would make a difference. Are they using a different formula outside of the U.S? or are they getting more honest reports from outside the U.S.? He also says people taking this drug should keep taking it. That’s our FDA watching out for us alright.
The symptoms that could point to liver injury, include jaundice, fatigue, or brown urine, should consult a healthcare professional. Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, itching, or loss of appetite (I thought loss of apetite was what it was supposed to do) also may be symptoms of liver damage. Physicians, as well as
consumers taking orlistat and experiencing such symptoms, can make an online report to the FDA’s Medwatch Adverse Events Reporting system, or call (800) FDA-1088.
A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline said there is no evidence the company’s drug causes liver injury, noting that it primarily acts on the intestinal tract. She said alli’s safety has been studied in more 30,000 patients enrolled in 100 clinical studies. Of course didn’t the makers of Redux and Phen-Phen said until the evidence was so insurmountable they couldn’t ignore it any more?
Well, I flung myself off the wagon Friday, and I just finally have almost pulled myself back on today…. Sunday was definitely the worst of the 3 days, and I had to really fight the urge to purge all that I had eaten – but at least I did win that battle because I did NOT purge… But I felt so horrible and my stomach was so distended, that I couldn’t even sleep last night.
I did better today.
I’m sure there was more to the bender than the lack of weight loss, but if stepping on a scale in way contributes to that happening, it’s time to measure my success a different way – like in the amount of cardio I can do, or my measurements. I think I just need to stay completely away from the scale for a bit longer. I know the Evil Trainer will support me in this.
So my plan for tomorrow (one day at a time):
Yogurt/granola/flax/fruit/udo’s for breakfast
20 min of cardio at the gym on my way home from work
Light dinner
Water, Water, Water – gotta flush 3 days of crap eating from my system
DON’T GIVE UP
I’ve also started reading Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food”… REALLY interesting, and makes me more determined to stop eating the crap, and focus on eating locally and sustainably. If you haven’t read it, do so! Check out “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” as well….
I had been pondering breakfasts of smoothies with protien powder – but on second thought I’m going to eat REAL food instead, and stick with my vow of no pills/powders/bars/etc. And I really want to work on meeting my goal of eating vegetarian 2 days a week (dairy/eggs okay, I’m not aiming for vegan).
As we were eating out at Old Country Buffet this evening–meatloaf Monday–I casually mentioned to M, “There is an article in New Scientist magazine this week about how obese old people have smaller brains than their skinny counterparts.”
She paused with her fork of peach cobbler halfway to her mouth to look at me askance, “Really?”
“Ayep,” I said, “and obesity in middle years is linked with an increased risk of dementia.”
“Why do they think that is?” she asked, after she finished chewing.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “Either because being fat causes one’s brain to shrink or one’s brain shrinks causing one to be fat.”
She looked quizzical. I said I would send her the article to chew over. So, here is the link…make of it what you will:
Recently, I’ve noticed that I’m actually starting to get somewhere in this weight loss journey. It makes sense, I’ve been eating a lot healthier, eating less, and exercising a lot. But, since I take a good look at myself in the mirror everyday, it is a little harder for me to notice the subtle changes my body is going through. This is why when things happen that make me realize I am making progress, it can be so exciting. A few days ago, Patrick and I decided to go window shopping at Columbus’s biggest and most exciting mall. I’ve been kind of discouraging this kind of behavior lately, because we hang out in malls a lot and don’t really buy anything because we can’t afford it. But, I’m seeing that it may not be so bad. I mean, it is cheap (free, in fact) entertainment and it does get us moving. Although I’ve been trying to encourage us to get out and see more of Columbus, I guess I shouldn’t be so upset about the occasional mall trip. Anyway, while we were there, I decided to go and drool over some nice clothes. When I do finally make my way into the professional workforce, I am going to need some professional clothes…tons, in fact. I ended up going into The Limited, which had tons of cute professional clothes. Usually, I stay out of stores like these for the simple reason that I couldn’t fit into their clothes at the beginning of this journey. But, I’ve been trying like mad to shed some weight, so I decided to (gasp) try some of their clothes on. And you know what? They actually fit. And they looked good! Feeling pretty good, I ended up going to a few more stores and even tried on a few dresses that were a size smaller than all of the dresses I currently own and they all fit very well. It was a confidence boost to be sure. Eventually, I’m going to have to start replacing my wardrobe, but I don’t think I am quite at that point yet. But I will say, I am so excited about the prospect of a closet full of new clothes! This is something that keeps me motivated on the hard days. I really want to totally change up my style and be really fashionable and cute, exuding confidence. Right now, a whole new world of fashion possibilities is opening up to me. You see, previous to losing weight, I was only really clothes shopping at three stores: Lane Bryant, Target, and Old Navy. At size 16, I was at the low end of plus sized stores, but couldn’t really squeeze myself into much at “regular” stores. I like Target and Old Navy because they don’t try to segregate “regular” sizes from plus sizes too much, but I need some variety! I’m excited to go into some new stores (or stores I haven’t been to in years) and be able to fit into a wide variety of clothes. In other small progress news, my engagement ring is becoming too big for my finger. Why is it that I always lose weight in my fingers before I do anywhere else? Oh well though, weight loss is weight loss, so I’ll take it!
Speaking of clothes, I’m a bit of a clothing junkie—but not in the way you might think. Really, I don’t have a lot of clothes and I rarely go shopping. I look for bargains and rarely buy anything that’s not on sale. But when it comes to workout clothes…that’s another story! I recently realized that about half of my wardrobe is exercise clothing and I probably have it (in at least 3 colors, thank you). I have more pairs of workout pants than I do regular pants!
I realized that I had a problem when I was shopping for a new pair of jeans not so long ago. I found a perfect pair (which is so rare, am I right?) and I bought them immediately. It fit well and made me feel great. And even though I’d wear these jeans multiple times per week for months on end, after purchasing them, I still had to justify their $60 price tag to myself. However, just a week prior, I had spent $50 (yes, $50!) on a new pair of Nike (my favorite) workout pants—something I’ll wear for an hour once a week. Am I nuts? (Don’t answer that…haha)
So I started to wonder: Are you like me? Do new, cute, or cool workout clothes motivate you to exercise?
Workout clothes DO motivate me. I used to wear those baggy sweat pants to the gym, now I only wear them at home as PJ’s. I am much more excited to go to a gym when I’m sporting my great-fitting, sweat-wicking exercise pants that make me feel comfortable and confident than if I threw on any old thing. I call them my “super-woman pants”. Seriously, as soon as I put them on, I’m ready to go. You will never see me working out in a random oversized T-shirt or anything made of cotton (it retains moisture and keeps you soggy). I can’t really explain it—I mean, I’m definitely not that into my appearance. For me, buying and wearing nice workout clothes is not about what others think when they see me exercising. It’s about how the clothes make me feel about myself. I like to have the right gear for the job so to speak. Just as a new fitness gadget, like a pedometer, heart rate monitor, or even a bodybugg, can motivate other people to get moving, that’s what workout clothes do for me. They don’t have to be expensive or fancy—they just have to have the right fit, fabric, and style. If that makes me a clothing snob, so be it! (At least it helps motivate me to exercise 4-5 days a week and feel good while doing it.)
How about you: Do you care what clothes you wear when working out? Do new workout clothes motivate you, or do you think these “outfits” are silly}?
I would love to hear your thoughts ladies and gents!!!
For those of you who know me, I’ve struggled with my weight pretty much all of my life. When I’m stressed, tired, lazy, emotional, whatever, food is my drug of choice. Unfortunately, as I’ve gotten older, the weight has crept up even higher. So if 50 really is the new 30, I’d like to be back at the weight I was then.
What I find most curious, though, is the way we view fat people in this country. Our national obsession with a person’s measurements borders on the batty.
It’s especially true if you’re in the public eye. Take Keely Shaye Smith, wife of former Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan. When the couple met, she was beautiful and slender, but in the years since their marriage in 2001, she’s packed on the pounds. Her voluptuousness doesn’t seem to have diminished Brosnan’s love for her, as many photos on the Internet will attest.
But when you google Smith’s name and look at the image results, one-third of all the photos are about her weight gain, with words like “fat Keely Shaye Smith,” “fat in a bikini,” etc. Now, one could argue that at her present weight, a bikini might not be the most flattering choice, but it’s her life and her body to dress as she wants.
I find it depressing that despite the fact that she and her husband are tireless champions for the environment and other worthwhile causes, the only thing people seem to care about is her full figure.
It seems to me that in this age of political correctness, being fat is the last safe zone for mockery. It’s ok to make fun of fat people, because apparently we deserve everything we get for being lazy, having no willpower, not taking better care of ourselves and causing a burden on our national health. And since fat people are “jolly,” they won’t mind if you make fun of them.
I had a co-worker years ago who every time she saw me, gave me the “once up and down” to see if my weight had changed. I wonder, if my weight had gone up, did that affect her perception of me as a colleague? Or was the reverse true? If I lost weight, and became more size appropriate in her estimation, did that make me more socially appropriate?And what about her rudeness in being so obvious in her judgment? I guess that’s more acceptable for most people.
It also doesn’t seem to matter how much attention we draw to the problem. In recent years, a number of celebrity reporters have donned fat suits and gone out on the “mean streets” to see how the public treats them. The find out quickly how they are either at best, invisible, or at worst, the subject of countless taunts and tactlessness.
Do the skinny b***hes, as Mo’Nique calls them, really learn to be kind? Or do they just learn to be silent. They won’t make fun of a fat person to their face or even behind their back, but I doubt seriously that their BFF weighs more than dehydrated lettuce leaves she eats for lunch every day.
Though not enough, we have made strides in becoming a color-blind society in the past four decades since the start of the civil rights movement. While I’m not sure I believe it will happen in my lifetime, I long for the day when size really doesn’t matter – at least not outside the bedroom.
“In the first month of exercising regularly you’ll start to feel the difference. In the second month you might notice the difference. In the third month others will notice the difference.”
Ray Kybartas, manager of the original Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, Calif., fitness trainer since 1979, author of Fitness is Religion: Keep the Faith, with an introduction by Madonna.
Vitamins and minerals are a daily necessity which most people do not meet the daily requirements. Take this quiz on vitamins and minerals and test your IQ! I got 8/12, not bad, but I am studying medical science, so I hope I did my program justice!
Interesting – a 130lb woman has 3lbs of calcium in her!
P.S. – JT says that you can easily break the Centrum multivitamins. A good quality multivitamin is one that you can break with your fingers. This means that it can be easily digested and your body can absorb the ingredients.
Wow. So I just got on the scale for the first time in a week. I was nervous. I was so nervous. In fact, I had worked myself up into a total lather, convinced that I had gained ten pounds while on vacation. I told myself, it’s okay if you gained ten pounds. You’ll work it off. It will be okay. But really it would not have felt okay.
And guess what? I weigh exactly the same – TO THE OUNCE! – that I weighed last week. I couldn’t believe it. I had been telling myself all KINDS of crazy stories in my head. I was convinced it had all gone to hell in a handbasket.
It was an interesting exercise in trust. I did not trust myself. Not one bit. And I was completely insecure without my scale.
I couldn’t tell if I was eating too much or just right. (I never worry about eating too little, ha!) I did have birthday cake. I ate more cheese – fancy shmancy cheese- than ever. I did have a lot more wine than usual. (normally my max is about one glass a week, and I think I was averaging more like one a day) I went out to eat. I didn’t exercise as much as usual. But I was “active.” (splashing around in the river, a bit of canoeing, some walking, and two runs)
I’m just sitting here right now going, “Huh. WOW.”
Can I reallllllllly trust myself?
Along these lines, I have signed up for an interesting site along with a friend of mine. Basically, it uses monetary incentive to stick to a goal. It’s called Stikk. Their motto is:
Having a goal is easy. Turning that goal into an accomplishment…THAT takes commitment. We know you’re ready, so Put A Contract Out On Yourself!
The concept is, you make a goal and then put a monetary value on it. If you don’t reach your goal, your money goes to the charity of your choice. You can also choose an anti-charity, ie if you don’t reach your goal, your money goes to a charity that you vehemently do NOT support (ie Sarah Palin!). (I find that much more motivating)
I signed up and put my goal down as maintaining my weight for the next 12 weeks. The first six went okay, but can I really maintain for three more months?
They’ve been sending me emails for days, nudging me to report in on how my goal is doing. I was thrilled (AND shocked) to report that I’d actually accomplished my goal for this week.
Hello, my name is Katherine. Katherine, Katie, Kate, Kat and I have an eating disorder. Several of them. One to go along with each of my names. I write to share with you my story. Which is all it is, just another story; my story. The story I tell of my past. I share not because I have all of the answers, but because along the way I have found some tools to help quell the beast; the raging monster that resides within. At times it reared its ugly head and ate its way thru the King Buffet placing fear in bus boys and linebackers alike. Other times it wrapped its claws around portion control making the diet of a two week starved runway model look like that of a glutton.
I have vehemently hated food and I have fervently loved it. I would yearn for my favorite indulgences, dream of delectable delicacies, and lust over forbidden fruits. This secret and passionate affair brought with it a torrid darkness that threatened to engulf my existence. Food became my friend, my fuel, my addiction, and my enemy. I used it for pleasure, to entertain my loneliness, excite my boredom, stuff down my anger, punish my bad side, and control my wild child. It is how I soothed myself, loved myself and numbed myself in order to check out from the tumultuous throws of my world. When life threatened to consume me, I consumed food.
My little sister always said that everyone has pain. Some wear their pain on the inside while there are those that wear their pain on the outside for everyone to see. Looking back on the rollercoaster ride I’ve had with the scale, the starving, the binging, the purging, and the just plain old overeating, it was always a reflection of my inner world. And the pain… well, I wore it on the outside for everyone to see.
I was pissed the day I realized that no specific diet, no exact exercise regime, no diet pill, or nutrition guru was going to solve my weight problem or end my issues with food. I had to trust myself, be my own guru, and that no one, no diet, no thing, could do it for me. I had to go through the fire and do the work in order to come out the other side. “Crap,” was all I thought. “How the hell do I do that?”
Current Level of Muffin Top in my Size 10 Jeans: In magic knickers I might actually be able to get away with wearing them. But I want to do more than just ‘get away’ with it.
Are you as flabbergasted as I am that I went down, of all things? Guess that goes to show what a jackass you can be as long as you only eat when you’re hungry. Well, in theory anyway. I’m contemplating adding the % of body fat to my stats, but the concept of body fat % just confounds me. When I started losing weight initially, I was over 50% (can’t remember how much more). The idea of that boggles me.
SO, as you will come to expect from me, I am doing some research this evening to get things squared away.
Well, there we go…and here I am having a sudden epiphany. I’m only just squeaking into the ‘Overweight’ category as of right now. (My percentage, as far as my home scale is concerned, so it might not be perfectly accurate, is 42% today. Was 41% the day before. That’s what happens apparently when you don’t work out for a couple days. Point taken.)
So, wait…I am a size twelve, which is considered average woman size by American standards, yet by this table’s calculations, I am still considered obese?
Well fuck body fat %! Body fat percent can suck my balls!
And on a happy note, this picture was featured recently on page 194 of Glamour magazine. This picture is of a ‘plus-size’ model who wears a size 12-14.
Her stomach made me smile from ear to ear.
I have that stomach. And I’ll be honest, I still have days when I hide that stomach. Not anymore, motherfuckers!
Suddenly, a whole decade and a half worth of media based self biases have crumpled away.
Wow, I am actually doing good. I think it is because I am distracted, I am forced not to think so much about myself.
Also, today is the third day I have to eat. Like really eat. And the third day I cannot exercise. And yes, this puts me down. I feel how I am getting fatter and fatter and flabbier. But, I will do it. One week won’t kill me, right? One week will not make me gain 10 Ibs, right? (Ok, I admit every little pound sucks…)
Anyway, I even have been eating candy and chocolate chip cookies…
I mean, I cannot say no, if I am having a guest, right?
Anyway, other than that I am good at pushing all my bad and saddening emotions aside. It really works. But I know it will all crash down once she leaves on Tuesday and I am scared of the drive back from Houston on Tuesday. I mean, I have to do the drive alone… and I fear it will crash down then.
I need to be strong.
So, next week Thursday I will see my nutritionist and I will see how much I gained. I am a little anxious, yes. But we will see.
Oh an about the psychiatrist I was thinking to actually tell her what i thought last time and that I just don’t need empathy or pity…
I cannot open up though.
In Brian’s session I started crying the first time…
I could never in front of Paula.
Kinda been feeling down lately. I get into these periods where I want the weight loss to be consistant. If I put in the work, the pounds should come off. I worked my butt off this week, pushed myself, ran harder and farther, sweated like never before. Problem is if the scale continues to show what it has shown me the last few days, my official weigh in will have slipped from last week. I know that I’ve gained a lot of muscle this week. I can feel it and it feels great. But why does it have to go up and down? Why can’t it consistently go down at the pace that I want? All I have to do is look back at my progress and see the zeros. It happens. The body does funny things during this process and it’s probably physically changing. I have a lot to be proud of. Not only the weight loss, but my determination and effort. I’ve never done anything like this before. Tonight I watched a preseason football game for an hour while on an exercise bike. That is not normal for the old Ehren. The old Ehren would have stayed on the couch, eating something he should not have at a time of the day that isn’t good. Behaviors have changed. Patterns have changed. And because of that, my body has changed. Next week I’ll see a difference and will be closer to my goal. My body just needed a break this week.
Exercise yesterday were my sprints. I didn’t go the full 10mph now that I’ve doubled my time but 9mph was a good push and really showed up on my watch. The treadmill is great for keeping consistent speeds. This morning was 40 minutes on the exercise bike where I really pushed myself. That thing I just don’t understand. I don’t really push my heart rate when I’m exercising but I sure do sweat more. Maybe it’s because my upper body isn’t involved in the workout but my lower body really is getting a workout. I was sore the last two days but it feels good to be sore. To know I still have a long way to go to push myself, to become stronger. And that I’ll be able to tap into that as I continue to lose weight.
I discovered this morning at work… that eggs + me = Baaaaaaaaaaaaad combination. Ick. I felt AWFUL all morning. It wasn’t until my first break, when I ate an apple, that I felt better.
So uh, I’m saying bye-bye to the eggs from here on out. Unless a recipe here and there calls for 1-2… but no more egg breakfasts… noooooooooo way.
This just goes to prove that eggs are not a natural part of our diets. Our ancestors ate only a few eggs a YEAR… not a DAY!
Today’s Menu:
Breakfast: 3 Fried Eggs w/Avocado
Snack: 4 Apple
Lunch: 1 Orange
Snack: 3 Sugar Pears
Dinner: Beef Patty w/Avocado
Snack: Baba Ghanouj w/Cucumber
*yeah, I know. Not paleo. Hey… it was a one-time deal. I had to know how it would make me feel!
——————————————
Nutritional Analysis:
——————————————
Physical and Emotional Changes:
1. Eggs cause excessive gas and bloating.
2. Eggs cause body odour.
3. Eggs cause drained energy levels, dizziness (blood sugar) and decreased mental clarity.
Today at CrossFit Central, our Workout Of the Day (WOD) involved the kettlebells for the first time, and it was pretty tough. All of our workouts so far have been some type of compound lift interspersed with 400m runs, and today was no different. The lift was the Deadlift High-Pull with kettlebells instead of a barbell, like this:
Our WOD for the Level I class looked like this:
50 reps Deadlift High-Pulls
400m run
40 reps Deadlift High-Pulls
400m run
30 reps Deadlift High-Pulls
400m run
20 reps Deadlift High-Pulls
400m run
10 reps Deadlift High-Pulls
400m run
As you can see, even with the gradually decreasing reps, fatigue set in pretty hard mid-way through the 40-rep set. Your body doesn’t know when to rest, because the run and the lift sets were equally tiring. Every day, at the end of our workout, I am completely exhausted, and dripping with sweat. I felt especially worn-out today because of a lack of sleep. For some reason, I had insomnia last night, and didn’t go to sleep until almost 1am. The alarm at 5am this morning was especially hard to answer!
I want to send a big happy birthday to my good friend Kellen, who turns 25 today! Kellen is a personal trainer, and a great up-and-coming triathlete, and he serves as an inspiration to me. Jess and I will be going to Sweeny, TX tomorrow to his parents’ house for his birthday bash this weekend. I will have to pay special mind to my diet, and try not to overdo it with beer and food too much. I am really looking forward to a couple of days off with good friends, to relax and recharge for next week.
Question of the day: What is the best way to balance caloric intake and exercise on off-days from CrossFit? If I take a rest-day between the high-impact, high-intensity CrossFit workouts, should I lower my food intake for that day, since I will be burning fewer calories? Also, what is the proper amount of rest I should be getting per week? If I switch to a 3-day per week schedule at CrossFit, should I work out the other 2 days on my own, or do I need to let my body recover on those days? Please post your opinions and answers in the comments section!
2 cups of cous cous
5 tablespoons of sweetener
2 eggs
2×100g tubs of fat free cherry yoghurt (choose syn free ones)
1/4 of a tsp of almond essence
1 tsp of baking powder
Spray Oil
Method
Preheat oven to 200c or 400f
Put cous cous in bowl and pour over boiling water, so it’s about 1 inch above the cous cous, then cover and leave for about 5 mins to soak up all water.
Fluff with a fork and add the sweetener, yoghurt, almond essence and baking powder.
Stir in the eggs
Coat a cake tin with some spray oil to stop cake from sticking.
Pouring mixture into cake tin and bake in the oven for about an hour until firm and golden.
(The yoghurt I used had pieces of cherry in it, so I presume when cooked then becomes syns, I had a quarter of a slice with 4 tablespoons of light squirty cream and counted it as 3 syns).
Finally, I have an official PCOS diagnosis, and a doctor who is actually going to treat it instead of telling me to come back after I’ve been trying to get knocked up for 6 months.
Yesterday I got the results of the multitude of blood and saliva tests that my PCOS-specialising doctor sent me for.
I have high testosterone and DHEA (the testosterone precursor) levels – which is what he bases an official PCOS diagnosis on. Happily, he classifies my case as mild.
I also have excess oestrogen, which is what caused my presentation to be a-typical in that I don’t suffer from a lot of the symptoms of PCOS such as hirsutism, acne, and so on. The oestrogen has been masking the presence of the excess testosterone.
According to the tests, I’ve been ovulating regularly despite not having had a period for over 6 months. I didn’t even know that was possible, but apparently it is!
What’s causing me to not have periods however is a marked lack of progesterone. The doctor said that progesterone and oestrogen levels should be about the same. My oestrogen came back at 22, and my progesterone? Was 0.2. Yeah, it’s lower than it should be by a factor of over 100.
He also did some test which shows what my insulin levels have been for the last three months (I have NO idea how this test works!) and apparently they’re high (insulin resistance), and also unstable. The doctor told me that this can sometimes lead to type 2 diabetes, and assured me that THIS IS GENETIC. Yeah, that’s right baby!
And the icing on the cake? My cortisol levels are very low – I have adrenal exhaustion. Doc says that this is probably the reason why I’m always tired.
Hallelujah for a doctor who actually finds and treats problems!
This doctor believes in a 4 step approach to treating PCOS, and strongly believes that the majority of PCOS is currently being mistreated. He’s starting me off on progesterone supplements, and I have to go back in a couple of months, after which we will look at the insulin and cortisol stuff. Apparently until the oestrogen/progesterone/testosterone thing is normalised, there’s no point trying to fix the other things because the body will not absorb other supplements properly. I’m hopeful that finally being treated will help me feel normal again.
I have to say, I’m kind of irritated that it has taken so long to find someone who was willing to find out exactly what’s going on. Since my sister was diagnosed by ultrasound about 5 years ago, I have asked every doctor I’ve been to about PCOS, if I could have it, and whether I should be tested for it. They pretty much all blew me off – which is ridiculous seeing as PCOS has a strong genetic component. But since I was already on the Pill and not trying to get pregnant, nobody cared. And I’ve been asking doctors about the tiredness (and the weight gain) for just as many years. Thanks for nothing medical people.
The doctor recommended a book to me called The Low GI Guide To Managing PCOS, and I bought it because it has a lot of information about PCOS, and some delicious sounding recipes. I skimmed through it last night, and I have to say it was a mind-bending combination of weight loss diet and HAES. There’s even a part in there that says don’t diet, references to the fact that low kilojoule diets don’t work, cause more problems than they fix, encouragement to eat foods that you love even if they are high GI, and assurances that you don’t have to be perfect, even small changes are good, regardless of their affect on your weight. And yet there was a chapter than seemed to be all about the weight loss stuff – I kind of skipped this one.
But since I’ve been trying to get some lower GI foods into my diet for the last couple of months anyway (and it has a recipe for chocolate and pear muffins), I still bought it. I will continue to try to eat low GI where I can, and I will continue to completely ignore my weight. I kind of got the feeling from this book that the authors believe in HAES and a lower GI diet for its own sake—or maybe that’s my FA bias showing— but felt that they would sell more books if it had something of a weight-loss focus. And from what I’ve seen of PCOS message boards (*shudder*), they’re probably right. Its possibly one of the best diet books I’ve ever had (although I did only skim it, not read and dissect in detail), and I would recommend it for anyone who has PCOS and is trying to lose weight, mostly because I think they would benefit from the messages of “you don’t have to be perfect”, “don’t worry so much about the weight” and “its not your fault”. Has anyone else read this book? Am I deluding myself here?
On a somewhat unrelated note, my sister-in-law seems to have discovered IE during pregnancy (thank goodness!). I went to visit her and the kid yesterday, and while we were celebrating the news story about how our government is considering making weight-low programs and products prove they can help people keep off the kilos long-term (HOLY CRAP that would be fantastic! Maybe another post about this later…) she was talking about how she is now only 3 kilos from her pre-pregnancy weight (4 weeks after the birth) purely from the revolutionary action of eating when she’s hungry, and not eating when she isn’t. And we talked about how diets make people fatter, and obsessed with food, about how people have a set point and how now that we’ve both given up on dieting, chocolate just doesn’t hold that much appeal anymore (this continues to blow my mind). I really, really hope that this sticks with her and she doesn’t go back to weight-obsessed-hell (she is the one who bought her wedding dress a size too small and then had panic attacks when it didn’t fit 6 weeks before her wedding).
So, yesterday was quite awesome, all things considered. Now I’m going to go cross all my fingers and toes and hope that our government passes that brilliant law while I wait for the chemist to mix up my (hopefully life changing) meds!
well, last week was interesting. work was ridiculous, stress levels way too high to be healthy. and my workout last week? all over the place. i still felt great, but it was just…different. so this morning brent says we need to change it up.
rather than starting on the leg press, we started on leg extensions. usually, my legs are already worked by the time i get to the extensions, so they are just so hard for me. but starting with them meant fresh muscles. i think the weight was at 200, and i did really well. or at least i think i did. it felt good. burned like it should. i didn’t struggle like i had in the past few weeks, coming off the leg press. was kind of eye-opening for me, since we hadn’t done that order before, to see how much of a difference it makes. i mean, yeah, i knew it would make a difference, but to actually DO it really showed me the difference.
brent is just awesome too. somehow, no matter how hard i’m struggling (whether it’s last week’s mental stress mess or pure physical struggle against the machines), he makes it fun. i come out of the studio feeling so much better, physically and mentally. it’s like he’s a trainer and a therapist. so cool.
anyway, so we did the extensions, then the chest press. that one felt good too. maybe it’s just coming off last week that made this week feel so much better. i don’t know, but pretty much all of the machines felt good this week. i mean, they were hard, and my muscles burned and all that, but i felt like it was a good workout. it went like it “should”…you know, whatever that means.
all of the other machines were like normal except that we swapped out the abdominal crunch machine for the pull down machine. that was hard, but it was good. i could tell it was working a lot of muscles at once. i really felt it in my arms, but i could also tell that my abs were really working. i did better on the hip adduction (i forget, is that the pull in one, that’s the one i mean) than i have before. i think i actually completed two full reps myself, and most of the third, when i think i have only done one before. nice, i like progress.
on the chest press machine, brent said something about me doing really well, that the weight was at 180. i told him “you know that really means nothing to me, right” because to me it’s just a number. sure, it means something to him, since he has other people to compare it to, but to me, it could be 100 or 300 and it still wouldn’t mean much. ok, if it was 300, i’d be pretty impressed with myself because that is a big number. but 180? no clue.
so we changed it up. i think it was a really good thing to do. i feel great right now. a little muscle fatigue, but that’s a good thing.
the other cool thing (how could i forget!) happened over the weekend. my mom commented on how good i look. she is considering going to brent, after seeing the progress that i have made. now is that a compliment or what?! very cool.
measurements for this week. not much change since last week, but then again, they’re just numbers. it’s nice to feel less worried about the numbers because i like what i’m seeing in the mirror. now that’s progress.
It seems every man measures his strength by his ability to bench press; but the best way to build a broad chest and sculpted shoulders is the pushup. Ever wonder how much unwanted fat you’re lifting when you do one? Calculate 75 percent of your body weight and you have the answer, according to research by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Pushups don’t only target your chest and arms: They’re also great for your abs, upper and lower back, and glutes. And the more muscle you pack on, the more fat you scorch. Here are five ways to build some of the top muscles women love:
* To make pushups harder, place a weight plate on your back at shoulder-blade level. And don’t ditch the plate when you’re done.
* You don’t need a gym or weights to blast fat. Burn hundreds of calories with the ultimate no-weight, home workout.
* Challenge yourself to set a target and work towards it. If you don’t immediately meet your goal, don’t worry: Implement strategies to help you improve.
* A better body leads to better sex, so work on it.
It’s been a long day and I’m kinda worn out. Wife had a meeting tonight so I got to be with the kids again and had to do some cleaning as she is having a party here tomorrow night. It’s great to finally have a house that functions well for parties and the sort. A lot of the house plans we looked at have the plan where the kitchen is open to the dinning room and living room. It just isn’t our style. I grew up in a home where people visited in the kitchen and a different group would meet in the living room. So we have a dinning room/living room area and the kitchen is separated off with a nice breakfast nook. Perfect for separate conversations so the different groups don’t have to talk over each other. Anyway, the house is almost clean and I’m done for the night.
Got up early this morning and got my 5-miler in on the treadmill. 900 calories in 55 minutes. It was pretty hard. I did get 2 miles that I ran in 9:40 each which was very good for me but I got worn out during mile 4 and had to slow down a bit. I noticed that my toes started to hurt and the pain never went away until tonight. It’s at the end of my toes. No blisters, nothing wrong with the toe nails, just irritating discomfort. I’m going to keep my eyes open for better dress shoes. It felt great to stretch out during my walks on my breaks today but it would be nicer to do it with better shoes. Could be worse. What if I had no shoes?
Ech. I’m in a funk and need to go to bed. Sprints in the morning, hectic evening after work. Should be fun.
Let’s face it, the thing keeping many of us from reaching our health and fitness goals is motivation (or a lack thereof). It can be tough, at the end of a long day, to force yourself into the gym to train, so you need to do whatever you can to stack the odds in your favour. One of the best ways to do that is to find a workout partner.
Your partner needs to be someone that will motivate you, maybe even get you fired up and competitive. It should not be someone with whom you can’t stop talking for 2 minutes, and it definitely shouldn’t be someone who will help you make excuses!
You guys will work together to be accountable and to make sure that you’re both sticking to your plan. It’s easy to bail on the gym if there’s no one waiting for you, but when you’ve got a friend who’s dragged their tired self over there in the evening it is a LOT tougher to justify not going.
The other thing working with a partner affords you is the opportunity to try partner exercises that you simply wouldn’t be able to do on your own. And, in the case of partner training at The Body Temple, bringing a partner means that you get top quality training (which is essentially still personal training) at a lower price. More fun, different challenges, less expensive – you can see why partner training is so popular at our gym.
So what can you and your friend do, right now, to workout together? Grab a large towel (like a beach or bath towel) and then roll it up so that it resembles a rope. The partners each grab an end of the towel and face off. From here, you’re going to perform squats together while pulling on the towel. The idea is to find that point of balance and move in unison. The towel will force your forearms, biceps, and upper back to work, while the squats will work your entire lower body and even your core. Perform 10 repetitions, slowly. Look at your partner and make sure that your movements match. If 4 sets of 10 reps isn’t enough for you, try for 4 sets of 20 reps. This will really get your whole body going, even your heart and lungs (provided you don’t take too much rest in between sets).
So, if getting yourself into the gym hasn’t been working for you lately, grab a friend! And if you’re at a loss for what to do, come in and train with us and see what all the fuss is about!
VegLiving will be continuing the Superfoods of Significance Spotlights today with the third post on beans. These feature excellent, healthy and tasty choices for foods: what they’re about, why they’re healthy and how to incorporate them into your life. Read more about this series here.
A. “What are beans?“
Beans are a member of the legume family, a high-protein, high-fiber food group that also includes peas, lentils, peanuts, carob, and more. Beans have supplied excellent nutrition for hundreds of years and are rightfully revered in the nutrition field for their beneficial protein, fiber (meat with none), folate, iron, calcium, potassium and numerous others. Their delightful taste and versatility in cooking should not be overlooked as well.
B. “What is healthy about beans?“
Though many of the nutrients beans feature have been mentioned, it’s good to reiterate that beans are one of the best, most usable (and tasty) form of protein for vegetarians and vegans that in addition packs in tons of nutrients that your body needs. With all these wonderful health properties, it’s no wonder that including beans in your diet can reduce the risk of diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, states the article here at WebMD.com.The fiber and protein that’s abundant in beans will help you feel satisfied and avoid unhealthy temptations that can lead to obesity and weight gain, main risky conditions to have in these diseases.
C. “Where can beans be purchased and what is the price range?“
Not trying to insult your intelligence here , just sticking to the format. Beans have been a longtime favorite and there’s no doubt that they can be found at any supermarket. However, a good tip for finding them at a good price with a large selection is to look in the Mexican or Spanish (Latino-based) food section, for brands like Goya that are very tasty and affordable.
Beans are sold at a very reasonable price, especially when compared to meat products and other proteins (For less than one dollar, 10 servings of dried beans can be purchased, according to this article at Examiner.com). The best way to buy them, as with many things, is in bulk, often then with reduced price.
D. “How can Beans be incorporated into my lifestyle?“
This seemingly (and rightfully so) perfectly nutritious food is too, the perfect ingredient to any recipe, as a staple like in many vegetarian and vegan dishes, or as a side dish — whatever suits you. One of my favorite Veg Sites, SavvyVegetarian.com, featured here, has an entire collection of recipes here devoted just to beans. Check them out here — tasty soups, stews, salads, dips, and more.
If you’re just looking for a quick way, maybe not the most culinary or gourmet voyage (I understand), try just throwing some in a salad or sandwich or eaten plain.
Hopefully, if you’re not yet acquainted with beans, you’ll become great friends with this true superfood that shines both in taste, nutrition and wallet-impact. Be as creative as you like with this versatile food and let us know what you think!
Be well,
Brian
Thank you to these sources:
Beans – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -link-
Health Benefits of Beans – YourBestBodyNow.com -link-
Today is Monday 08/17/09 the second day of my 365 adventure “weight loss with God.” I feel like I’m just getting ready to enter a war against myself; my egocentric, sinful, selfish me. I know there will be several battles to fight during these 365 days of weight loss; some I will win and some I will lose. Yet I should not be concerned about it because I know the utmost battle belongs to the Lord. I shall win, I shall be finally free from all this weight I have been carrying for so long. I need to get ready so when the first battle comes I won’t be attacked by surprise. My daily devotional, my daily encounter with God will be the strength I need to keep fighting, and to keep hoping. The Bible reading will be the food I need to be attentive, and strong. Memorized verses will be a light to me during the dark times; the map that will guide me and save me from the deep valleys; the hand that will lift me up when I’m bruised, tired, and down from the battle fought. Prayer will be my secret weapon, it will be where I can get directions from the great commander, the One who knows my enemy and all his strategies. The Bible says, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Shall I be defeated? “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37). It is time to get prepared because I know with assurance the first battle will come soon. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6 :13).
I know fo sure I won’t be alone, God will be by my side helping, supporting, and taking care of me.
I feel like I’m not really trying very hard…I guess that’s a good sign. Maybe it means that I’ve turned a corner and changed my eating habits. I’m eating a lot less than before but I don’t feel hungry and I don’t feel like I’m dieting much. I need to lose 3 pounds both this week and next to make goal though and that’s going to be tough. I might end up going an extra week. That’s fine too. I plan to keep going forward – after I complete this first 30 pounds, I plan to start another challenge. If you go by the books, I should probably lose another 43 pounds. Realistically though I want to lose another 30. I’m comfortable there even if it is a bit above the recommended weight for my height. Anyway, on to the results.
To be successful at sticking with your diet and exercise routine, you need to change your habits. If you have decided to start exercising and dieting you have to look at your life now. If you spend a lot of time watching TV, sitting on the computer, or anything that doesn’t require a lot of work, you are going to find it hard to go from doing a whole lot of nothing to working out!
You have spent time developing habits that your body has gotten used to. Those habits are causing you to become out of shape, overweight and lazy. To get yourself back in shape, have more energy, and to lose weight you have to become more active and reverse those unhealthy habits!
Let’s take a look at some things you can do:
1. Start your routine on Monday. Most people view their week as starting on Monday. So make an effort to be active on Monday; start the week off right. Start eating right, get some exercise in and try to stay as active as possible most of the day. This will help set the tone for the rest of the week!
2. Exercise before or right after work, if possible. If you can exercise first thing in the morning, then it is out of the way for the rest of the day. Nothing can pop up and temp you not to workout if you have already completed your workout. Also, this will give you more energy throughout the day. If you can’t exercise first thing in the morning, then plan on going directly after work. If you go home, turn the TV on and sit down, chances are you will not get back up. Avoid this situation altogether and just stop at the gym on the way home.
3. Don’t take too many days off in a row. Once you start exercising, try to stick with it daily. You need to take a day or two off to rest your body, but don’t miss anymore time then one or two days. If you start missing three, four, or even a week you will start to fall out of your new habit of exercises and pick up your old couch potato habits.
These are just three things you can do to improve your chances of sticking with your new exercise and diet routine. It takes about 40 days to produce a new habit for the body. So, after a week don’t expect to not want to watch some TV and stay home fro the gym. Keep pushing and forcing yourself to go and before you know it, you will start to look forward to exercise. That’s when your new habit will form and you will start accomplishing your goals!
Check out www.MorganPersonalTraining.com for FREE weight loss and fitness tips. Also, there will be some new services available soon for the York area!
I would love it if you became a fan of my Facebook page. You will stay up to date on every tip I gave out and I would get a chance to know my readers so much better!
My new found motivation sent me to the gym tonight. I hit it hard. Just as hard as I did in the beginning. I felt great afterward. Didn’t realize how much I missed everything until tonight. Like I said, I was going before, but the drive wasn’t there. I have it again. It’s back, thank goodness.
I have been looking up recipes online for vegetarian meal ideas lately and keep hearing people talking about almond milk. I have never heard of it, so today I decided to see if we had it at our grocery store and I bought some. It comes in the same kind of container that soy milk is in.
So, my take on almond milk is? It’s not gross or bad tasting or anything like that. It’s just not as good tasting as soy milk and it’s more expensive. The thickness is nice and everything, I have just decided to stick with soy milk because I like it better. If for some reason you do not like the taste of soy or you are allergic to it or something, almond milk would be a great alternative.
On Wednesday I had said that I was going to a Zumba class on Thursday night. That didn’t happen because I opted for staying home and making a healthy & delicious dinner instead. Priorities, right? LOL. (BTW, I made grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, and brown rice – yum!).
Since a few of you were looking forward to my thoughts on the class, and I definitely didn’t want to be a complete flake, I found out that there’s also a Saturday morning class offered at 10am at another nearby 24 Hour Fitness. So I headed there this morning. I spent about half an hour on Friday afternoon looking up various YouTube videos about Zumba so that I would feel prepared. From everything I saw, I thought I’d have no problem with the steps in the class.
Now I’m a woman with big hips and I know how to use them. I have great rhythm, and I think I’m a good dancer. Since I can swing and sway my hips with the best of them, I figured the merenge, salsa, and cha cha cha would be no problem for me. HA! With that said, I felt like I had two left feet the entire time I was in the class today. The class was extremely fast-paced and had lots of fancy footwork that I had never done before. Not only that but the instructor was maybe 5 feet tall, and I arrived just as the class was about to start, so I was stuck with a space in the back, making it almost impossible for me to see her. There were at least 50 people in the class, so it was jam-packed. Unfortunately, the women in front of me were rhythmically challenged (to put it nicely), so watching them didn’t really help matters too much.
Even though there were many, many times that I felt like I was doing a completely different class from everyone else, I had a blast. I loved the music and the energy in the room. The instructor was hilarious and said things like, “Honey, I’m 62, so if I can do this, you can do this, now MOVE!“ At another point she was having us shimmy and she said, “now if you like a guy, you can even shake your “treats,” (meaning our boobs), “but if you don’t like him too well, you save those for yourself.” It was hysterical, and I found myself laughing out loud at least 3 or 4 times throughout the class. I don’t remember ever doing that in a more traditional aerobics class!
The class was really high-intensity, fast-paced, and challenging, as I said. I was sweating dripping throughout the class, and that’s really saying something for me, because I normally don’t sweat that much at all, even during an intense workout with Jimmy. My heart rate was highly elevated the entire time, but not in an uncomfortable, I’m-going-to-die kind of way; more like an I’m-really-moving-my-body-to-the-beat kind of way. Sort of like when you’re out dancing with your friends and you really get into a song and just can’t stop.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the class was the music. It was mostly Latin beats with a bit of hip hop mixed in. The mix that the teacher was using was broken up into 10 minute segments, so you never felt like you were doing any one style of dance too long. It really made the hour fly by.
As far as calorie burn, in the one hour class I burned over 800 calories and earned 14 Activity Points!!! (When I entered it in eTools I used the “high-intensity aerobics class” as the entry, because that’s exactly what it was). Now, your results will vary because both of those previous stats are based on my weight, and since I weigh a lot, I burn a lot. I’ve already well surpassed my calorie-burn target for today, and it’s only 7:20pm, which is awesome.
The one complaint I have about the class was that it was in no way geared for beginners. It was more of a sink or swim thing. Since I’d never done much of the footwork before, some of it was very difficult to follow. Still, I kept my body moving the entire time, and tried my best to approximate the moves that I saw everyone else doing. I’m sure it wasn’t a joy for anyone catching my rear-end view, but whatever. I stayed after class and asked the teacher if she taught a beginner’s class, and she said she didn’t. In fact, she told me that today’s class wasn’t as intense as the one on Thursday nights; she said that class was more of an advanced class. So maybe it was a good thing that I flaked out on going on Thursday night, because I know I probably couldn’t have handled that class, at least not yet.
I definitely want to keep taking Zumba, but I think I need to start a bit slower. I looked it up, and 24 Hour Fitness offers a Zumba Gold class, which is more geared towards beginners and seniors. It’s only offered on Fridays at 10am, so I normally won’t be able to attend, but luckily this Friday is still summer vacation, so I can go. I better soak up as many of those moves as I can! The other thing is that this instructor doesn’t normally teach the Saturday morning class, so maybe the regular instructor is a bit less intense.
Either way, I had the best time today, and I’m definitely going to keep going. Hopefully next time I can get to class early so that I can position myself more in the middle so I’ll be able to see and follow the instructor.
If there are Zumba classes offered through your gym or a nearby dance studio, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try!
FINALLY got the system problem resolved at about 23:30 last night. THANK GOD! Had to do a small amount of work this morning- but I actually got to enjoy my day!
To celebrate, I finally ordered myself an “Entertainment Center” (okay, it’s really a long, low dresser) from Room & Board. Check it out:
I wouldn’t say my eating has been good today – waited too damn long to eat in the morning – hell it was after noon before I ate – so I ended up eating too much. This is a habit that I have to break. BUT on the plus side, no fast food or diet soda was consumed! Day two down!
Tonight I had invites to three different bashes…but this week was so crappy I’m opting to stay home and relax instead. Besides, I have to get up early and work tomorrow morning for hopefully only an hour or so, depends on how well the system cooperates… Woo-hoo – living the dream aren’t I?
Made some minor inroads to de-cluttering the casa, and a couple of friends have volunteered to take some of my crafting/sewing/knitting stuff off my hands. I have ALOT more to do tho.
I need to get the main floor cleaned up so I can take a pic of my current dining room set – which is just too damn big for my house (it was perfect in the old house) – so I can list it and hopefully sell it on Craigslist…Already have it’s replacement picked out. But I can’t order it till the old one is gone! Have a couple other things to sell as well… And of course there is the large amount of stuff to take to Goodwill….
I just need to let go of a whole lot of things in my life…
