I finally got in contact with my personal coach at 21day Fix...very excited about that. Mainly, I am hoping for some connection with her and others who are on the same journey and can provide inspiration and guidance throughout the program. I could use all the help I can get. I remember doing WW in Idaho and my brother and sister-in-law, four doors down, was also on the program and made it so much fun. In fact, many of our get togethers with them revolved around sharing ideas and low point solutions for stuff. And it helped.
This will help too, I'm sure.
Meanwhile, today I packed up my many foods so I can grab and go a little easier. I have been having a hell of time EATING ALL the food I'm supposed to eat in a day! I don't want that to ruin my chances for more weight loss and inches shed in a couple of weeks!
Meanwhile, I did my favorite work out today: dirty 30. There is one exercise I couldn't really do...it is so hard for me. It is basically laying on your side, lifting up your body onto the sides of your feet, arm outreached, other one on the mat and then lifting the one leg. I could do like two of them before my side ached and I just have a hard time lifting my body like that. Hello, that's why I'm on this program.
Anyway, trying to get my food in every few hours. It really helps when you don't have anywhere to go mid-day...otherwise, that becomes quite a challenge for me! How do I get a protein, couple of veggies, a blue container sometimes, a fruit, and maybe a carb in after lunch when you are running around doing errands? That right there is my biggest issue at the moment. Oh, and the water consumption. I do great with my first two while I workout. Then, maybe another but then not a lot in the afternoons again until the dinner, after dinner time when I drink another two. I need to have about 5 rounds of that two cupper and it is HARD.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Monday, November 27, 2017
When I Say It Has Been Crazy...
...I ain't lying.
Grad school final papers, son home from college, Thanksgiving. Blah, blah, blah.
But, as of today everyone is back at work and school, except me. I'm on "vacation" until the beginning of January when a new set of grad classes begin. Until then...I have stuff to do.
I need to update on my status after completing the first 21 day fix round.
Drum roll...
I lost almost 6lbs.
And lost about 61/2 inches, overall.
For three weeks, I'd say, NOT BAD! I was quite thrilled. Oh sure I was hoping to be one of those that lost like eighteen pounds or something but I didn't but I was still successful and happy about that.
I'd say this program, overall, is really doable. Sure, there were moments. Like, pizza night from a professor on our last class. Or, I don't know, Thanksfriggingiving. But, while I indulged, surely, I didn't overdo. I had some cheese, some crackers, no bread. I had veggies and lean turkey but I also had gravy and lobster Mac and cheese and not only a slice of pumpkin pie but half a slice of pecan. Shoot me.
Onto round two. Actually, Thanksgiving fell right into the second cycle of 21day Fix. Friday wasn't entirely great (we had leftovers of that lobster Mac and cheese!) and while we didn't technically document that day either, I was still trying to be careful. It was also the ONLY day so far that I haven't worked out. Even on Thanksgiving I worked out that morning.
An interesting observation regarding workouts. I know I've talked endlessly about WW and comparing it to this but little on workout evaluations. I have been faithful to Leslie Sansone and her walking DVDs. Oh sure, I spent one summer swimming everyday and had a spell awhile back with Zumba but overall it's been those walking DVDs.
I did one of the workouts on the day that 21 Day Fix people do Pilates...I know I shouldn't give up on Pilates, but it is REALLY, REALLY HARD FOR ME. So, I did a 30 minute Sansone weightlifting DVD. And you know what? I found the Sansone version to be "light" or "middle of the road" meaning it felt like it was more geared towards "EVERYONE" and not nearly as intense, repetitive, or "difficult" as the 21Day Fix ones.
All that got me wondering though. I have been doing Sansone walking DVDs along with WW, with little success, as you all know by know, or should know if you've been following me, and wonder if the workouts just weren't enough for me?
Anyway, I found that interesting.
Grad school final papers, son home from college, Thanksgiving. Blah, blah, blah.
But, as of today everyone is back at work and school, except me. I'm on "vacation" until the beginning of January when a new set of grad classes begin. Until then...I have stuff to do.
I need to update on my status after completing the first 21 day fix round.
Drum roll...
I lost almost 6lbs.
And lost about 61/2 inches, overall.
For three weeks, I'd say, NOT BAD! I was quite thrilled. Oh sure I was hoping to be one of those that lost like eighteen pounds or something but I didn't but I was still successful and happy about that.
I'd say this program, overall, is really doable. Sure, there were moments. Like, pizza night from a professor on our last class. Or, I don't know, Thanksfriggingiving. But, while I indulged, surely, I didn't overdo. I had some cheese, some crackers, no bread. I had veggies and lean turkey but I also had gravy and lobster Mac and cheese and not only a slice of pumpkin pie but half a slice of pecan. Shoot me.
Onto round two. Actually, Thanksgiving fell right into the second cycle of 21day Fix. Friday wasn't entirely great (we had leftovers of that lobster Mac and cheese!) and while we didn't technically document that day either, I was still trying to be careful. It was also the ONLY day so far that I haven't worked out. Even on Thanksgiving I worked out that morning.
An interesting observation regarding workouts. I know I've talked endlessly about WW and comparing it to this but little on workout evaluations. I have been faithful to Leslie Sansone and her walking DVDs. Oh sure, I spent one summer swimming everyday and had a spell awhile back with Zumba but overall it's been those walking DVDs.
I did one of the workouts on the day that 21 Day Fix people do Pilates...I know I shouldn't give up on Pilates, but it is REALLY, REALLY HARD FOR ME. So, I did a 30 minute Sansone weightlifting DVD. And you know what? I found the Sansone version to be "light" or "middle of the road" meaning it felt like it was more geared towards "EVERYONE" and not nearly as intense, repetitive, or "difficult" as the 21Day Fix ones.
All that got me wondering though. I have been doing Sansone walking DVDs along with WW, with little success, as you all know by know, or should know if you've been following me, and wonder if the workouts just weren't enough for me?
Anyway, I found that interesting.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Crazy Days
I just realized I haven't written in a week! Wow. Things have been a little hectic for me as I am winding down my first quarter of grad school, finishing up about 40 pages of writing, and collecting my son from college for the thanksgiving break.
So, my foods have been a little wonky, at best. There are days, many of them, where I didn't even meet the minimums. I hate that. Then, yesterday I spent the day in Chicago and at part of a MCD egg McMuffin and hardly anything else until dinner. Ugh. I have been keeping up with my workouts, though, so that is consistent. Although yesterday was yoga and I was feeling not 100%...a little dizzy, a little tired, body sore, belly bloated, ever so slightly queazy.
That's about the second or third time I've felt that dizzy feeling. It is odd, really, because I feel like the room is spinning and just now my eyes got a little fuzzy too. Not sure why this is happening but I wanted to document it.
I will be back to document my first 21 days properly but I have much too much to get done today like writing a couple of pages on the art exhibits I saw yesterday in Chicago and preparing for thanksgiving tomorrow.
So, my foods have been a little wonky, at best. There are days, many of them, where I didn't even meet the minimums. I hate that. Then, yesterday I spent the day in Chicago and at part of a MCD egg McMuffin and hardly anything else until dinner. Ugh. I have been keeping up with my workouts, though, so that is consistent. Although yesterday was yoga and I was feeling not 100%...a little dizzy, a little tired, body sore, belly bloated, ever so slightly queazy.
That's about the second or third time I've felt that dizzy feeling. It is odd, really, because I feel like the room is spinning and just now my eyes got a little fuzzy too. Not sure why this is happening but I wanted to document it.
I will be back to document my first 21 days properly but I have much too much to get done today like writing a couple of pages on the art exhibits I saw yesterday in Chicago and preparing for thanksgiving tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
After Two Weeks
Honestly, I feel great. I mean, I still have major stress and anxiety (as evident by my constant dreaming of missing a flight) as I finish up my first quarter of grad school but other than that, health wise, I feel really great.
I love the food we are eating, even if things aren't very adventurous right now. Like, last night we had a serving of brown rice, ground turkey, and a couple of veggies. But, hey, like I said, I'm right in the middle of grad school final paper writing hell.
Actually, it has been a little challenging to get all the food you need to eat in a day, in! But, I don't feel agitated (outside of school and life stress) anymore, nor do I feel like I could eat my arm. I don't feel bloated or stuffed. My skin has improved. My chest doesn't hurt like it had been occasionally.
I feel trimmer. My sweatshirt goes all the way down to my groin now where before it stopped at the belly part of my lower stomach area. I feel less tired during the afternoons (I loved those 2-3pm afternoon naps but don't seem to even think about them right now). I probably need better and more sleep at night but otherwise, I am feeling so much better.
Food prep helps with having lots of options right inside the fridge. It also helps not having anything tempting around.
I do still miss popcorn and will add it at least a few nights a week as a carb after this first 21 days.
Hopefully the scale and measuring tape will also report such good news.
Overall, I highly recommend this. It feels easy enough to live with and my taste buds seem to have improved as well. Is that even possible? Like, food just tastes better...even without all the salt and butter or oil I used to add to stuff. Maybe I'm just crazy, I don't know.
I like eating lean. I like eating smaller portions. I like eating whole grains and NOTHING with preservatives. I love having REAL maple syrup instead of using sugar free syrup because it was lower in points and because we shouldn't be having so much sugar. instead, I just use a teaspoon. I don't feel deprived one bit. And, like last night when I had a sliced up apple, a teaspoon drizzle of honey, and 1 tsp of mini chocolate chips as my dessert, I was shocked at how much a teeny tiny teaspoon of chocolate chips really was!!!
Look, I want to live longer and healthier for sure. I don't want to be saddled with a bunch of medical problems and medications. And if this is the road, well, I'll drive it then.
I love the food we are eating, even if things aren't very adventurous right now. Like, last night we had a serving of brown rice, ground turkey, and a couple of veggies. But, hey, like I said, I'm right in the middle of grad school final paper writing hell.
Actually, it has been a little challenging to get all the food you need to eat in a day, in! But, I don't feel agitated (outside of school and life stress) anymore, nor do I feel like I could eat my arm. I don't feel bloated or stuffed. My skin has improved. My chest doesn't hurt like it had been occasionally.
I feel trimmer. My sweatshirt goes all the way down to my groin now where before it stopped at the belly part of my lower stomach area. I feel less tired during the afternoons (I loved those 2-3pm afternoon naps but don't seem to even think about them right now). I probably need better and more sleep at night but otherwise, I am feeling so much better.
Food prep helps with having lots of options right inside the fridge. It also helps not having anything tempting around.
I do still miss popcorn and will add it at least a few nights a week as a carb after this first 21 days.
Hopefully the scale and measuring tape will also report such good news.
Overall, I highly recommend this. It feels easy enough to live with and my taste buds seem to have improved as well. Is that even possible? Like, food just tastes better...even without all the salt and butter or oil I used to add to stuff. Maybe I'm just crazy, I don't know.
I like eating lean. I like eating smaller portions. I like eating whole grains and NOTHING with preservatives. I love having REAL maple syrup instead of using sugar free syrup because it was lower in points and because we shouldn't be having so much sugar. instead, I just use a teaspoon. I don't feel deprived one bit. And, like last night when I had a sliced up apple, a teaspoon drizzle of honey, and 1 tsp of mini chocolate chips as my dessert, I was shocked at how much a teeny tiny teaspoon of chocolate chips really was!!!
Look, I want to live longer and healthier for sure. I don't want to be saddled with a bunch of medical problems and medications. And if this is the road, well, I'll drive it then.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Long Weekend
No, not like a holiday or anything. Just a long, busy weekend.
Last weekend we just about killed ourselves in the kitchen prepping the week's worth of food so we could grab and go. Or, that was the thought anyway. Sure, it was all prepared but it still seemed like a lot of effort to grab a snack, or several, throughout the day.
I am in grad school hell right now. It is nearing the end of my first quarter and I have been buried in writing a 15 page final paper on colonial women. Interesting stuff, thankfully, but I can hardly keep my eyes open. Friday, I worked on the thing all day. Saturday I planned to "finish it up" and work on my Russian revolution final paper today. Nope. Spent two more solid days on my paper and still have about 5% more to do...another read through, adding footnotes, triple checking everything is where it should be. Luckily, it isn't due until Wednesday night but with my son arriving from college on Saturday I really want the Russian final finished before he gets here even though that one isn't due until a week from tomorrow.
In other words, I need a break from adulting. I'm wiped out.
This weekend was rough. And I spent most of it writing and the other part doing all those grown up things like cooking and shopping.
Today we set out to do some prep again. Easy, we said. Fast, we said. Uh huh.
We made coconut peanut butter no bake energy bites; two different types of dressings from the 21-day fix cookbook; browned up 3 lbs. lean turkey; cooked 2 lbs. shrimp; stir-fried a ton of veggies; cut up and sliced a jicama; cooked maki-mahi patties for lunch and cod for dinner; cooked broccoli rice; cooked turkey bacon; hardboiled some eggs; and roasted a spaghetti squash, butternut squash, and acorn squash. Then, we cleaned out the refrigerator from top to bottom, restocked it, and washed all the new little storage containers we bought.
I worked out yesterday, difficultly. It was supposed to be my pilates day but I didn't do it. Couldn't. It is so bloody hard and I was so bloody exhausted. So I did the day one cardio again. Oye. That's the toughest one. Today, I did the cardio fix, day five, and still struggled. Couldn't do any of the on the floor, up again (like the burpee) moves so I skipped over them. Hey, I worked out, there should be something about that.
Meanwhile, I have been short all weekend in my containers! Time got away from us both days and between running around, shopping for the food, preparing the food, working on my final paper...we just lost track! Ugh.
But, on another note, I am feeling really good, despite the whole stress from grad school thing and sadness over some friend/family issues that I'm feeling right now.
I hope this is all working. It should be, right?
Now, I will go and put my feet up after a very long day and look over my paper again tomorrow. And then I can start counting down the days until my son comes home! Can't wait!
Last weekend we just about killed ourselves in the kitchen prepping the week's worth of food so we could grab and go. Or, that was the thought anyway. Sure, it was all prepared but it still seemed like a lot of effort to grab a snack, or several, throughout the day.
I am in grad school hell right now. It is nearing the end of my first quarter and I have been buried in writing a 15 page final paper on colonial women. Interesting stuff, thankfully, but I can hardly keep my eyes open. Friday, I worked on the thing all day. Saturday I planned to "finish it up" and work on my Russian revolution final paper today. Nope. Spent two more solid days on my paper and still have about 5% more to do...another read through, adding footnotes, triple checking everything is where it should be. Luckily, it isn't due until Wednesday night but with my son arriving from college on Saturday I really want the Russian final finished before he gets here even though that one isn't due until a week from tomorrow.
In other words, I need a break from adulting. I'm wiped out.
This weekend was rough. And I spent most of it writing and the other part doing all those grown up things like cooking and shopping.
Today we set out to do some prep again. Easy, we said. Fast, we said. Uh huh.
We made coconut peanut butter no bake energy bites; two different types of dressings from the 21-day fix cookbook; browned up 3 lbs. lean turkey; cooked 2 lbs. shrimp; stir-fried a ton of veggies; cut up and sliced a jicama; cooked maki-mahi patties for lunch and cod for dinner; cooked broccoli rice; cooked turkey bacon; hardboiled some eggs; and roasted a spaghetti squash, butternut squash, and acorn squash. Then, we cleaned out the refrigerator from top to bottom, restocked it, and washed all the new little storage containers we bought.
I worked out yesterday, difficultly. It was supposed to be my pilates day but I didn't do it. Couldn't. It is so bloody hard and I was so bloody exhausted. So I did the day one cardio again. Oye. That's the toughest one. Today, I did the cardio fix, day five, and still struggled. Couldn't do any of the on the floor, up again (like the burpee) moves so I skipped over them. Hey, I worked out, there should be something about that.
Meanwhile, I have been short all weekend in my containers! Time got away from us both days and between running around, shopping for the food, preparing the food, working on my final paper...we just lost track! Ugh.
But, on another note, I am feeling really good, despite the whole stress from grad school thing and sadness over some friend/family issues that I'm feeling right now.
I hope this is all working. It should be, right?
Now, I will go and put my feet up after a very long day and look over my paper again tomorrow. And then I can start counting down the days until my son comes home! Can't wait!
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Feelin' Good
I know I do a lot of comparing between weight watchers and 21-day fix. I don't mean to bash WW - hell, I've been on and off of their program for YEARS and YEARS. Even in a time of my life, looking back, when I really honestly didn't need it but was rather "convinced" I needed it by family. Another long story for another time.
And, I think I keep going back to WW because of my frustration level and resulting worry nowadays that *nothing* will work for me and my chubbiness (obese for those medical records, thanks!) and my underproducing thyroid. I mean, WW worked at times but was a VERY, VERY SLOW go. I would lose a pound, then gain a pound. Lose two pounds, gain pound. Lose half pound, gain 1/4 pound. And on and on it went for about 2 years. The most I lost, as I mentioned previously, was about 32 pounds and was feeling GREAT! I had put on a pair of pants I had not been able to wear in almost two decades. Why I still had these pants, please, don't get me started. However, this was also a time when I was working out regularly (but not 7 days. More like at least 4, most often 5 and sometimes 6) and after a long summer of intense swimming workout about 7 days a week! It was great. Then, the program changed, my husband (was ready to lose another temporary gig he had gotten after being laid off for the first half of the year) got a job across the country, my oldest said he was moving to Oregon, we put our house on the market, and I had returned to school full time for a second bachelor's degree. Maybe these excuses shouldn't matter but shit, they did.
My world changed and my focus on WW went quickly into the toilet. I tried to keep up with at least working out so that kept a lot of the weight off-ish but slowly, as predictable, it crept back on to now here we are.
So, WW has this sour taste in my mouth. As I mentioned in previous posts, I would work my ass off and not lose a bloody pound. Or, would take half a year for a measly 7 pounds.
Was I really working the plan the best way ever?
Most likely not.
And that brings me (the long way around, sorry) to today's post.
I have thought a lot about food intact, decisions on foods, and portions since starting the 21-day Fix. And, I can't help but (happily now) wonder if THAT all combined was not causing me problems on WW. Maybe it's just me or my body or my thyroid malfunction or whatever but here goes.
On WW, for example, you can eat all the fruits and veggies you can stuff in your mouth in a day. Nothing is off limits. Oh, sure, they don't consider peas, corns, or potatoes in that list but everything is free! EVERYTHING. Think about that. Well, I began to think about it when I heard on the 21day Fix program that everything has calories. I mean, don't get me wrong, I KNEW that but let's just say on WW I ignored and put that silly little thought out of my sweet little head.
Ditto for fruits. Even the high caloric ones. So, while I struggled to lose I was likely just STILL overeating calories. You know, that old tried and true (don't care how many times society has tried to shift the facts around, the old tried and true comes back again and again as the TRUTH) saying about calories in and burning the calories through exercise. Well, I would venture to guess that when it came to fruits and veggies I was eating way too many calories. I would also venture to guess that between the two I was eating way more fruits than veggies. You do the math. And that is only ONE aspect of a daily food intake.
Here, my choices all are whole food. Could I have eaten whole in the WW program? Sure. Did I? No. Why? Because I didn't have to. You count your points, whatever it may be. Boxed/frozen food items? No problem! Just count the points! A preservative-heavy granola bar? A preservative-heavy pretzel/cracker/goldfish? Sure! A 18 point piece of cheesecake? Okie-dokie.
And there inlays the problem, in my opinion.
I was simply STILL eating too many damn calories, despite the whole point thing and staying within your daily points and using those "extra" weekly given points plus any work out points you earned. I mean, I get it, there are doctors and scientists there at WW who are figuring all this shit out, I'm sure. But, for ME, this program did not withstand the long haul.
Will 21-day? I hope so.
I love how I feel. I love how I can tell the changes are happening (they are small still) after ONLY ONE WEEK. I am eating A LOT OF FOOD and yet it is all whole, lean, and my sugar intake has dropped significantly! Will I have "cheat" moments? Of course. This is life, after all and I'm not going to forgo a little dollop of butter on my mashed sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner nor will I turn a blind eye to a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream thankyouverymuch. But, will I eyeball that whipped sweet potato so it fits into a yellow container-ish portion? Yep. Will I overeat the cheese appetizer and have one too many glasses of wine? Most likely. Will I die because of it? No. I will get up the next day, eat a dinner of lean fish, most likely, and work out maybe an extra day or two. Maybe give the program's 3-day cleanse a try where you eat basically lean protein and veggies for three days. In other words, I am not going to completely abandon all good food at special times but I will continue to be mindful always.
What I have noticed is that my "cravings" are minimal. I find that refreshingly and happily strange. I admit I am looking forward to adding some light popcorn into my occasional dessert repertoire once this first 21-day round is over but I'm not feeling overly depressed not having it either. That is success. Almost like I am feeding my body what it SHOULD be eating to operate better and I am beginning to feel that shift. Believe me, I'm far from svelte but I am really feeling great eating healthier. And, if I want to avoid lifetime medication, becoming diabetic, or having heart problems that run in my family, I need to make these changes if I want to stick around for a lot longer. Period.
And, I think I keep going back to WW because of my frustration level and resulting worry nowadays that *nothing* will work for me and my chubbiness (obese for those medical records, thanks!) and my underproducing thyroid. I mean, WW worked at times but was a VERY, VERY SLOW go. I would lose a pound, then gain a pound. Lose two pounds, gain pound. Lose half pound, gain 1/4 pound. And on and on it went for about 2 years. The most I lost, as I mentioned previously, was about 32 pounds and was feeling GREAT! I had put on a pair of pants I had not been able to wear in almost two decades. Why I still had these pants, please, don't get me started. However, this was also a time when I was working out regularly (but not 7 days. More like at least 4, most often 5 and sometimes 6) and after a long summer of intense swimming workout about 7 days a week! It was great. Then, the program changed, my husband (was ready to lose another temporary gig he had gotten after being laid off for the first half of the year) got a job across the country, my oldest said he was moving to Oregon, we put our house on the market, and I had returned to school full time for a second bachelor's degree. Maybe these excuses shouldn't matter but shit, they did.
My world changed and my focus on WW went quickly into the toilet. I tried to keep up with at least working out so that kept a lot of the weight off-ish but slowly, as predictable, it crept back on to now here we are.
So, WW has this sour taste in my mouth. As I mentioned in previous posts, I would work my ass off and not lose a bloody pound. Or, would take half a year for a measly 7 pounds.
Was I really working the plan the best way ever?
Most likely not.
And that brings me (the long way around, sorry) to today's post.
I have thought a lot about food intact, decisions on foods, and portions since starting the 21-day Fix. And, I can't help but (happily now) wonder if THAT all combined was not causing me problems on WW. Maybe it's just me or my body or my thyroid malfunction or whatever but here goes.
On WW, for example, you can eat all the fruits and veggies you can stuff in your mouth in a day. Nothing is off limits. Oh, sure, they don't consider peas, corns, or potatoes in that list but everything is free! EVERYTHING. Think about that. Well, I began to think about it when I heard on the 21day Fix program that everything has calories. I mean, don't get me wrong, I KNEW that but let's just say on WW I ignored and put that silly little thought out of my sweet little head.
Ditto for fruits. Even the high caloric ones. So, while I struggled to lose I was likely just STILL overeating calories. You know, that old tried and true (don't care how many times society has tried to shift the facts around, the old tried and true comes back again and again as the TRUTH) saying about calories in and burning the calories through exercise. Well, I would venture to guess that when it came to fruits and veggies I was eating way too many calories. I would also venture to guess that between the two I was eating way more fruits than veggies. You do the math. And that is only ONE aspect of a daily food intake.
Here, my choices all are whole food. Could I have eaten whole in the WW program? Sure. Did I? No. Why? Because I didn't have to. You count your points, whatever it may be. Boxed/frozen food items? No problem! Just count the points! A preservative-heavy granola bar? A preservative-heavy pretzel/cracker/goldfish? Sure! A 18 point piece of cheesecake? Okie-dokie.
And there inlays the problem, in my opinion.
I was simply STILL eating too many damn calories, despite the whole point thing and staying within your daily points and using those "extra" weekly given points plus any work out points you earned. I mean, I get it, there are doctors and scientists there at WW who are figuring all this shit out, I'm sure. But, for ME, this program did not withstand the long haul.
Will 21-day? I hope so.
I love how I feel. I love how I can tell the changes are happening (they are small still) after ONLY ONE WEEK. I am eating A LOT OF FOOD and yet it is all whole, lean, and my sugar intake has dropped significantly! Will I have "cheat" moments? Of course. This is life, after all and I'm not going to forgo a little dollop of butter on my mashed sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner nor will I turn a blind eye to a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream thankyouverymuch. But, will I eyeball that whipped sweet potato so it fits into a yellow container-ish portion? Yep. Will I overeat the cheese appetizer and have one too many glasses of wine? Most likely. Will I die because of it? No. I will get up the next day, eat a dinner of lean fish, most likely, and work out maybe an extra day or two. Maybe give the program's 3-day cleanse a try where you eat basically lean protein and veggies for three days. In other words, I am not going to completely abandon all good food at special times but I will continue to be mindful always.
What I have noticed is that my "cravings" are minimal. I find that refreshingly and happily strange. I admit I am looking forward to adding some light popcorn into my occasional dessert repertoire once this first 21-day round is over but I'm not feeling overly depressed not having it either. That is success. Almost like I am feeding my body what it SHOULD be eating to operate better and I am beginning to feel that shift. Believe me, I'm far from svelte but I am really feeling great eating healthier. And, if I want to avoid lifetime medication, becoming diabetic, or having heart problems that run in my family, I need to make these changes if I want to stick around for a lot longer. Period.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Option 1, 2, or 3
So, when I set out to start this 21-day program I did the "get started here" part where you do a little math by adding your weight to a thousand and subtracting a plastic cow and then multiplying a maple tree and subtracting the whole thing by one lamppost. Whatever the formula was, it showed I was to eat within a 1800-2000 a day calorie range and offers the colorful plastic container numbers to coincide.
But, when I visited my doctor a couple of months ago I read over the "paperwork" online and there it said that I should follow a 1400 calorie a day diet. Yike-a-doodles. Wha? Shit, that's low, folks. I would be HANGRY 24/7.
However, when I visited my doctor less than a month ago where she suggested I look into the 21-day program, especially the fitness if I didn't want to do the food part, and said I should stick somewhere between a 1600-1800 calorie a day.
What. The. Hell.
Three different numbers, three totally different ranges within the 21-day Fix program, three totally confusing options.
I split the difference and went with what the doctor said, 1600-1800 even though the 21-day program clearly says, based on all that math calculations, that I should be in the higher (you get more food, yo!) group.
Not sure if that is right but for now I'll see how that all works out. So far, I'm not really starving, starving. Ish. Kinda. If you read my previous posts you'll understand where I'm getting at.
But, when I visited my doctor a couple of months ago I read over the "paperwork" online and there it said that I should follow a 1400 calorie a day diet. Yike-a-doodles. Wha? Shit, that's low, folks. I would be HANGRY 24/7.
However, when I visited my doctor less than a month ago where she suggested I look into the 21-day program, especially the fitness if I didn't want to do the food part, and said I should stick somewhere between a 1600-1800 calorie a day.
What. The. Hell.
Three different numbers, three totally different ranges within the 21-day Fix program, three totally confusing options.
I split the difference and went with what the doctor said, 1600-1800 even though the 21-day program clearly says, based on all that math calculations, that I should be in the higher (you get more food, yo!) group.
Not sure if that is right but for now I'll see how that all works out. So far, I'm not really starving, starving. Ish. Kinda. If you read my previous posts you'll understand where I'm getting at.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Reflections After Week One
Well, here we are at the end of the first week. I will say that the last few days were MUCH better than the first few. Here are some random, in no particular order reflections:
1. Before we realized we had access to teaspoons BUT ALSO "sweeteners" also via the teaspoon I was depressed to never have honey braise my lips ever again. And then we did a little more reading and honey, raw sugar, etc. is okay on a daily basis (teaspoons) but they would "rather" you didn't, but they are available if you need it. And I apparently need it. The minute I was able to add honey to my oatmeal and cottage cheese I was HAPPY!
2. I've been writing every thing down in a journal and while the journal will allow three cycles of the 21 days I will use it but I will likely revert to an online version after that. writing is good and all but it becomes cumbersome too. But, I figure at least if these cycles "work" then I will have a written document of what to maybe repeat, etc.
3. Oh, treats, I love you so. The first few days I really didn't want to focus on treats and felt it better to cold turkey the whole sugary stuff. WRONG. After we made some treats over the weekend and I had that as an OPTION to swap and eat for dessert, my world opened back up again and the sun began to shine brighter.
4. The workouts are HARD. And, I think they are kinda meant for people WITH beach bodies sorta kinda already and not for people like me. But, I managed to do them all quite well-ish EXCEPT the pilates. Go figure. I've done a walking workout that incorporated some pilates and found that quite enjoyable. So I assumed this would be great too. Wrong. I hated this day's workout. I was horrible at it and could hardly do the moves. Don't get me wrong, the other workouts are quite challenging too but at least doable-ish. Today was yoga and at first I was going to skip it. I'm SO glad I didn't...it was WONDERFUL and I could actually do mostly everything. Not great, mind you, like I couldn't reach my palms under my toes or anything remotely like that but I did my best and the "rest" workout today was kind of a nice reprieve. Will I work out 7 days a week forever? Likely no. Will I do at least 5? Yes. Will I try and get way more exercise into my life going forward? Yes again.
5. Steel cut oatmeal with 2 teaspoons of honey is like heaven.
6. I realized yesterday that I think I was making things harder on myself more than necessary. For days and days and days I "felt" it best to "save" more proteins for the dinner. So, I would eat like one protein all day and then load up on three for dinner. Or, eat two proteins all day and then 2 at dinner. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. OMG, future self: don't bloody do this! I was shaking, hungry, agitated, and doubting the program more than necessary! Stupid. Yesterday, I didn't do that. I had protein all day long and felt full, satisfied, not tired, motivated, happy, better. Between proteins and carbs, it gives me reason to live.
7. Those little colorful containers are misleading. They look super tiny but they hold quite a bit. I really do love (and feel so much better) concentrating on those portions. Gawd, was I overeating.
8. Call me crazy but I love this way more than counting all those friggin points! You just have to really sit down and write out a sort of meal plan for the day so you can work all that food into your day...otherwise, you'll be short or overeating all your missed containers at 10pm.
9. I miss popcorn. I'm going to bring it back after the first 21 day cycle. Even my doctor said the light popcorn was an okay treat. I will eventually swap out a yellow and indulge in a few cups worth maybe once or twice a week. I need it. And I need to look forward to it. I love popcorn.
10. I think this program officially got my husband off soda. A drink he has been drinking ever since I met him almost thirty years ago! Thank gawd. I've always felt that soda was so bad for you and he's paid the price in various health things that can be stemmed from an addiction to pop. Now, he drinks more water and COFFEE. There is a god.
11. Not exactly sure how to navigate the "real world" just yet because in the real world there are preservatives and ugliness. Like, tomorrow for my last class the professor is treating us to pizza. Maybe if I was that beach body fitness instructor person I could just nibble on carrots and push the pizza away but I am not strong like that. I can't do it. I sorta don't want to do it. Life is short, after all to forgo all things that are delectable! So, my plan is bring a salad to share with the meal and do TWO workouts: one in the morning (the 21day fit) and one after lunch (one of my Leslie Sansone walking videos) to offset the pizza. Oh, and I will have either plain cheese or the veggie version.
12. I still am not drinking enough water. If I truly drink ALL the water that is requested of me I will be peeing more than I do already. Does your bladder somehow tighten or something eventually? It's a problem.
13. I'm eating WAY more veggies than I have ever eaten. It's funny because veggies are free on WW and even though I was sometimes eating two veggies with a meat dish dinner it was never the "serving" of that green container!!!
14. My skin is looking better.
15. Am I sleeping better? With the exception of troublesome dogs who suddenly need to go out at 2am for no real reason or the time change or getting up to pee which is nothing new...I do think I am sleeping better.
16. Having food prep is great and less stress in the long run...but getting there can be a challenge. Maybe it'll be easier when school ends in a week or so...
17. I feel "less." It's hard to explain but it feels as though someone took a weight-reducing brush and swiped it all over my body. As if a layer has been removed. This certainly seems like good news and I am looking forward to seeing the end of the first cycle to see how well it all worked. How can it not, really? exercising every single day, lean proteins, healthy carbs, plenty of fresh veggies and fruits, no preservatives, huge reduction in sugary crap, nothing from a box, all whole grains. Jesus H. this bloody thing better friggin work.
18. It's a great system to work on your own for your own health but I love that my husband can also do it too without having to rely on me to tell him how many points a meal is or how many points a certain something was.
19. My body is sore. Not like I was after days one and two but still rather sore. Which also made the yoga today quite relaxing. My favorite pose: the corpse. You gotta lie down on your back, arms out, legs out and close your eyes. Nighty night. ;)
20. All in all, I'm happy with this. I feel good, I feel like I am doing all I can for my body by filling it with healthy stuff and while the results may be a ways off from being noticeable, I feel better. I feel healthier and will likely not go back to those boxed up, packed up overly processed pretend foods. The realization that Whole Foods is so much better for you makes me happy, truly. And, as a history grad student I had written a 44 page thesis on the history of food and this tends to stem a wee bit closer to an earlier time when food was only whole for obvious reasons and while I will not trade my access to seasoning blends I have begun to truly savor now, I like the historical closeness to colonial times in eating whole.
1. Before we realized we had access to teaspoons BUT ALSO "sweeteners" also via the teaspoon I was depressed to never have honey braise my lips ever again. And then we did a little more reading and honey, raw sugar, etc. is okay on a daily basis (teaspoons) but they would "rather" you didn't, but they are available if you need it. And I apparently need it. The minute I was able to add honey to my oatmeal and cottage cheese I was HAPPY!
2. I've been writing every thing down in a journal and while the journal will allow three cycles of the 21 days I will use it but I will likely revert to an online version after that. writing is good and all but it becomes cumbersome too. But, I figure at least if these cycles "work" then I will have a written document of what to maybe repeat, etc.
3. Oh, treats, I love you so. The first few days I really didn't want to focus on treats and felt it better to cold turkey the whole sugary stuff. WRONG. After we made some treats over the weekend and I had that as an OPTION to swap and eat for dessert, my world opened back up again and the sun began to shine brighter.
4. The workouts are HARD. And, I think they are kinda meant for people WITH beach bodies sorta kinda already and not for people like me. But, I managed to do them all quite well-ish EXCEPT the pilates. Go figure. I've done a walking workout that incorporated some pilates and found that quite enjoyable. So I assumed this would be great too. Wrong. I hated this day's workout. I was horrible at it and could hardly do the moves. Don't get me wrong, the other workouts are quite challenging too but at least doable-ish. Today was yoga and at first I was going to skip it. I'm SO glad I didn't...it was WONDERFUL and I could actually do mostly everything. Not great, mind you, like I couldn't reach my palms under my toes or anything remotely like that but I did my best and the "rest" workout today was kind of a nice reprieve. Will I work out 7 days a week forever? Likely no. Will I do at least 5? Yes. Will I try and get way more exercise into my life going forward? Yes again.
5. Steel cut oatmeal with 2 teaspoons of honey is like heaven.
6. I realized yesterday that I think I was making things harder on myself more than necessary. For days and days and days I "felt" it best to "save" more proteins for the dinner. So, I would eat like one protein all day and then load up on three for dinner. Or, eat two proteins all day and then 2 at dinner. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. OMG, future self: don't bloody do this! I was shaking, hungry, agitated, and doubting the program more than necessary! Stupid. Yesterday, I didn't do that. I had protein all day long and felt full, satisfied, not tired, motivated, happy, better. Between proteins and carbs, it gives me reason to live.
7. Those little colorful containers are misleading. They look super tiny but they hold quite a bit. I really do love (and feel so much better) concentrating on those portions. Gawd, was I overeating.
8. Call me crazy but I love this way more than counting all those friggin points! You just have to really sit down and write out a sort of meal plan for the day so you can work all that food into your day...otherwise, you'll be short or overeating all your missed containers at 10pm.
9. I miss popcorn. I'm going to bring it back after the first 21 day cycle. Even my doctor said the light popcorn was an okay treat. I will eventually swap out a yellow and indulge in a few cups worth maybe once or twice a week. I need it. And I need to look forward to it. I love popcorn.
10. I think this program officially got my husband off soda. A drink he has been drinking ever since I met him almost thirty years ago! Thank gawd. I've always felt that soda was so bad for you and he's paid the price in various health things that can be stemmed from an addiction to pop. Now, he drinks more water and COFFEE. There is a god.
11. Not exactly sure how to navigate the "real world" just yet because in the real world there are preservatives and ugliness. Like, tomorrow for my last class the professor is treating us to pizza. Maybe if I was that beach body fitness instructor person I could just nibble on carrots and push the pizza away but I am not strong like that. I can't do it. I sorta don't want to do it. Life is short, after all to forgo all things that are delectable! So, my plan is bring a salad to share with the meal and do TWO workouts: one in the morning (the 21day fit) and one after lunch (one of my Leslie Sansone walking videos) to offset the pizza. Oh, and I will have either plain cheese or the veggie version.
12. I still am not drinking enough water. If I truly drink ALL the water that is requested of me I will be peeing more than I do already. Does your bladder somehow tighten or something eventually? It's a problem.
13. I'm eating WAY more veggies than I have ever eaten. It's funny because veggies are free on WW and even though I was sometimes eating two veggies with a meat dish dinner it was never the "serving" of that green container!!!
14. My skin is looking better.
15. Am I sleeping better? With the exception of troublesome dogs who suddenly need to go out at 2am for no real reason or the time change or getting up to pee which is nothing new...I do think I am sleeping better.
16. Having food prep is great and less stress in the long run...but getting there can be a challenge. Maybe it'll be easier when school ends in a week or so...
17. I feel "less." It's hard to explain but it feels as though someone took a weight-reducing brush and swiped it all over my body. As if a layer has been removed. This certainly seems like good news and I am looking forward to seeing the end of the first cycle to see how well it all worked. How can it not, really? exercising every single day, lean proteins, healthy carbs, plenty of fresh veggies and fruits, no preservatives, huge reduction in sugary crap, nothing from a box, all whole grains. Jesus H. this bloody thing better friggin work.
18. It's a great system to work on your own for your own health but I love that my husband can also do it too without having to rely on me to tell him how many points a meal is or how many points a certain something was.
19. My body is sore. Not like I was after days one and two but still rather sore. Which also made the yoga today quite relaxing. My favorite pose: the corpse. You gotta lie down on your back, arms out, legs out and close your eyes. Nighty night. ;)
20. All in all, I'm happy with this. I feel good, I feel like I am doing all I can for my body by filling it with healthy stuff and while the results may be a ways off from being noticeable, I feel better. I feel healthier and will likely not go back to those boxed up, packed up overly processed pretend foods. The realization that Whole Foods is so much better for you makes me happy, truly. And, as a history grad student I had written a 44 page thesis on the history of food and this tends to stem a wee bit closer to an earlier time when food was only whole for obvious reasons and while I will not trade my access to seasoning blends I have begun to truly savor now, I like the historical closeness to colonial times in eating whole.
Monday, November 6, 2017
New Day
Maybe it's the fact that with daylight saving time the mornings are lighter earlier. Maybe it's the fact that I only have 3 more class sessions before a long and lovely winter BREAK from grad school. Maybe it's the fact that I am on the downward slope of assignments that are due and most of that is almost finished. Maybe it's the fact that we discovered new treats that are really yummy and satisfying and that these teaspoons of honey can still be used and I feel ever so less "deprived" at the moment. No matter the reason, I am renewed this Monday morning.
Got my workout in...today was the Dirty 30...hard but there was only ONE move I couldn't do...some side laying lift of your hip while your feet are planted and then you, oh I don't know, lift your torso. Wha? So, I did something else that would utilize my abs on the second rep. Other than that, I was able to do everything else, which made me happy, sweaty, hungry, and exhausted.
Hungry. So, weird thing now. I used to be able to get up and sometimes not get around to breakfast until 11am. And then be totally fine until lunch, whenever it was. Dinner. Maybe a little snack or something or other. Dessert. All good. Now, I am looking at the clock and hungry. I wake up hungry and until last night when I finally had something that looked more like dessert, I was going to bed hungry too.
But, I am plugging along. Day by day, one day at a time. Determined. Scared and worried still that this program will really work and bring those awful cholesterol numbers to a more reasonable and safe place. But, I do feel better eating this way. This whole food way without preservatives and extra crap that we've (society) just sort of accepted whenever it was we all accepted it that food was now to be quick, convenient, in a box, in the freezer section and encased in a million unrecognizable ingredients. So for that, I am very happy. Even my face seems less inflamed and angry. Maybe it's the water helping there too.
All in all, I feel really great.
Got my workout in...today was the Dirty 30...hard but there was only ONE move I couldn't do...some side laying lift of your hip while your feet are planted and then you, oh I don't know, lift your torso. Wha? So, I did something else that would utilize my abs on the second rep. Other than that, I was able to do everything else, which made me happy, sweaty, hungry, and exhausted.
Hungry. So, weird thing now. I used to be able to get up and sometimes not get around to breakfast until 11am. And then be totally fine until lunch, whenever it was. Dinner. Maybe a little snack or something or other. Dessert. All good. Now, I am looking at the clock and hungry. I wake up hungry and until last night when I finally had something that looked more like dessert, I was going to bed hungry too.
But, I am plugging along. Day by day, one day at a time. Determined. Scared and worried still that this program will really work and bring those awful cholesterol numbers to a more reasonable and safe place. But, I do feel better eating this way. This whole food way without preservatives and extra crap that we've (society) just sort of accepted whenever it was we all accepted it that food was now to be quick, convenient, in a box, in the freezer section and encased in a million unrecognizable ingredients. So for that, I am very happy. Even my face seems less inflamed and angry. Maybe it's the water helping there too.
All in all, I feel really great.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
The Weekend
Oh, hello weekend. What? It's Sunday night already? Gosh, you went fast.
Yesterday was a lazy rainy day half spent with hubby who got a colonoscopy and the other half relaxing on the couch with my Russian Revolution book (#4 but who's counting) and a little viewing of "St. Elmo's Fire (because why not?). Food was not bad but the exercise was awful. It was the pilates day and let's just say, I couldn't effing do it. It was SO HARD I felt like I modified more than half the workout.
Today, I enjoyed an extra hour of sleep and worked with my coffee on a historiography final writing about nine pages of my final paper until I just couldn't formulate sentences anymore. Even writing here feels a little forced tonight.
But, I did my cardio workout this afternoon (squeezed in at a weird time. I usually like working out in the morning but I did it, so brownie (oh yum, brownies, but I digress) and I'm glad about that) and had trouble with a few moves like the burpee. Who came up with such horrific moves? My gawd. I had to modify the modify. Then, there was some other move where you get into a plank something or other and mountain climb and I had to modify that too. Then, there was another move where you...oh, I don't even remember anymore but I had modify that too. I kept moving and sweated like a dirty, ugly, chubby pig. That's good, though, right?
Onto food.
Let me just say: most of the day hubby and I spent in the kitchen. My back hurts, my leg hurts, my shoulder hurts. Between the bloody workout and prepping food, I feel like my eyes are ready to close and it is barely 7:30, or 8:30 according to my body.
Anyway, boy did we PREP!
Hubby made some AWESOME DESSERT TREATS. They are worth the caps. I can't tell you how excited I am over these. To think that I could cold turkey all things delectable, sweet, and treat-like is unrealistic and hell, life is too damn short to not enjoy yourself. But, I will say I am loving the whole food idea and not using boxed crap and sugar free bullshit but real, honest to goodness ingredients.
Today, he made chocolate peanut butter fudge, oatmeal banana squares, and a pumpkin custard bar thing. They are like equivalents to 1 yellow swap, 1 tsp (!!!), and 1/2 of one and 1/2 another container. No matter, I am thrilled. They are not tiny little one bite treats but a decent bar-shaped size treat! I can't wait.
He also prepped some salad dressing and made fresh "jam" using frozen berries.
I poached about ten chicken breasts, browned three pounds of lean ground turkey, cooked a batch of quinoa, a batch of mixed grains (brown rice, barley, oats, etc.), hardboiled some eggs, roasted cauliflower and carrots, sautéed broccoli raab, and cooked up broccoli rice, grilled zucchini, and a lean pork tenderloin for dinner. Oh, and I prepped tomorrow night's dinner too since I will be in school...and filled four small bell peppers with a mixture of ground turkey and mixed grains/lentils.
So tired.
Fridge is full.
Ready now to relax a little bit and enjoy the last few hours of Sunday.
Yesterday was a lazy rainy day half spent with hubby who got a colonoscopy and the other half relaxing on the couch with my Russian Revolution book (#4 but who's counting) and a little viewing of "St. Elmo's Fire (because why not?). Food was not bad but the exercise was awful. It was the pilates day and let's just say, I couldn't effing do it. It was SO HARD I felt like I modified more than half the workout.
Today, I enjoyed an extra hour of sleep and worked with my coffee on a historiography final writing about nine pages of my final paper until I just couldn't formulate sentences anymore. Even writing here feels a little forced tonight.
But, I did my cardio workout this afternoon (squeezed in at a weird time. I usually like working out in the morning but I did it, so brownie (oh yum, brownies, but I digress) and I'm glad about that) and had trouble with a few moves like the burpee. Who came up with such horrific moves? My gawd. I had to modify the modify. Then, there was some other move where you get into a plank something or other and mountain climb and I had to modify that too. Then, there was another move where you...oh, I don't even remember anymore but I had modify that too. I kept moving and sweated like a dirty, ugly, chubby pig. That's good, though, right?
Onto food.
Let me just say: most of the day hubby and I spent in the kitchen. My back hurts, my leg hurts, my shoulder hurts. Between the bloody workout and prepping food, I feel like my eyes are ready to close and it is barely 7:30, or 8:30 according to my body.
Anyway, boy did we PREP!
Hubby made some AWESOME DESSERT TREATS. They are worth the caps. I can't tell you how excited I am over these. To think that I could cold turkey all things delectable, sweet, and treat-like is unrealistic and hell, life is too damn short to not enjoy yourself. But, I will say I am loving the whole food idea and not using boxed crap and sugar free bullshit but real, honest to goodness ingredients.
Today, he made chocolate peanut butter fudge, oatmeal banana squares, and a pumpkin custard bar thing. They are like equivalents to 1 yellow swap, 1 tsp (!!!), and 1/2 of one and 1/2 another container. No matter, I am thrilled. They are not tiny little one bite treats but a decent bar-shaped size treat! I can't wait.
He also prepped some salad dressing and made fresh "jam" using frozen berries.
I poached about ten chicken breasts, browned three pounds of lean ground turkey, cooked a batch of quinoa, a batch of mixed grains (brown rice, barley, oats, etc.), hardboiled some eggs, roasted cauliflower and carrots, sautéed broccoli raab, and cooked up broccoli rice, grilled zucchini, and a lean pork tenderloin for dinner. Oh, and I prepped tomorrow night's dinner too since I will be in school...and filled four small bell peppers with a mixture of ground turkey and mixed grains/lentils.
So tired.
Fridge is full.
Ready now to relax a little bit and enjoy the last few hours of Sunday.
Friday, November 3, 2017
Expectations
I've been down this road before. In fact, many times before, I'm somewhat ashamed to admit.
And I worry.
Worry that this 21-day Fix thing won't work. That I won't lose any weight. That this intense exercise (my gawd, my tired and sore muscles are screaming!) won't make a lick of difference.
I've done Weight Watchers on and off for years. Is that the problem? Right there. On and off. For years. If it truly worked would I be able to maintain over the long term? I guess it works for many because those employees surely look like they've kept the weight off? Are they not tempted? Or, are they just better at that internal dialogue that keeps them on track 24/7/365?
I mentioned earlier what I didn't like about WW. I hated the idea of the "fat free," "sugar free," low fat" options we were encouraged to use because they were lower in points. But, are those things really good for you? I mean, good for your body overall over the long term? I have doubts. And that issue alone bugged me. Don't get me started on Oprah, but her existence within the program was NOT inspiring. And, when they changed the program making everyone believe it was all for the good while making a simple little fudge bar worth almost half your days points, well, my motivation sank and my frustration rose.
But Weight Watchers wasn't the only thing. I've been off sugar before too. I remember a week my walking buddy and I decided to go completely cold turkey on sugar. We were walking daily or almost daily but I don't remember anything else as far as the "healthy eating" other than the elimination of the sugar. I'm pretty sure I was eating "healthy" enough but I also don't remember anything about portions.
Without sugar for one week I lost zero. ZERO pounds lost. ZERO. I was so extremely frustrated, angry, and annoyed...and let's face it, coming off a serious addiction to sugar, which wasn't pretty I assure you but to not lose a gawddamn thing pissed me off.
Over the years as doctors repeatedly told me I was teetering on the diabetic scale...only slightly above the highest safe range to be not diabetic...I have eaten sugar free candies and syrups and boxed cake mixes. I know sugar is bad for us but I'm not convinced that these sugar free chemically concocted foods are any better.
So, here I am at this 21-day Fix. All Whole Foods. No processed crap. Not a whole lot of sugar outside of the carbs and fruits and maybe a teaspoon of pure maple syrup here and there. Right now, I feel slightly edgy and slightly hungry. I don't think I'm doing it totally right and eating every 2-3 hours as recommended. If I were doing that I don't think I would be ready to devour my arm dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with milk chocolate chips by dinner.
But, I'm seriously trying. I WANT this to work. I really do. I'm tired of feeling fat, being referred to as obese by my doctors, my clothes fitting blah-like, and all the other ailments that attach themselves to being overweight. I want to be healthy. I want to be off medication. I want to feel good.
I'm also scared this won't work, though. And then what? I know, I know, I'm worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet! Hi, nice to meet you. Clearly you don't know what I'm all about...but you will.
I struggled as I tried my hardest on WW and lost like seven pounds in six months while a good friend of mine lost over fifty pounds in the same time period. I'm super happy for her because she has been battling for a very long time but I look at that and think, okay, what am I doing wrong and can I manage to do the same as her? Realizing that every body is different and I have my own built in issues with this rotten underproducing thyroid but still. Can I? Will it work for me too? Gawd, I hope so.
I have super high hopes for the next 19 days. I really, truly, super duper hope that I will see visible change at the end of this first cycle.
Meanwhile, I'm ready for a mid-morning-ish snack. This morning I had some steel cut oats, berries, four walnut halves, and 1 tsp of maple syrup. My snack is going to be a slice of Ezekiel bread with 1 tsp of nut butter and a persimmon. I did go to bed slightly hungry (my evening routine centered around "dessert" of a bowl of about 5 cups lite popcorn and sometimes a healthy choice fudge bar...last night I really had to have something so I had 1.5 purple containers of strawberries, 1 tsp coconut and 1 tsp maple syrup) and I did wake up today slightly hungry, which I have not normally felt in the past.
At what point does one's mind begin to forget about food and just eat to nourish? Ah, one can dream.
My workout this morning for day three consisted of the lower body fix. Oh. My. Gawd. I am so sore, I can't remember the last time I was this bloody sore. But, fingers crossed change is happening, slowly perhaps, but happening and I will see real change soon. I have such high expectations right now.
And I worry.
Worry that this 21-day Fix thing won't work. That I won't lose any weight. That this intense exercise (my gawd, my tired and sore muscles are screaming!) won't make a lick of difference.
I've done Weight Watchers on and off for years. Is that the problem? Right there. On and off. For years. If it truly worked would I be able to maintain over the long term? I guess it works for many because those employees surely look like they've kept the weight off? Are they not tempted? Or, are they just better at that internal dialogue that keeps them on track 24/7/365?
I mentioned earlier what I didn't like about WW. I hated the idea of the "fat free," "sugar free," low fat" options we were encouraged to use because they were lower in points. But, are those things really good for you? I mean, good for your body overall over the long term? I have doubts. And that issue alone bugged me. Don't get me started on Oprah, but her existence within the program was NOT inspiring. And, when they changed the program making everyone believe it was all for the good while making a simple little fudge bar worth almost half your days points, well, my motivation sank and my frustration rose.
But Weight Watchers wasn't the only thing. I've been off sugar before too. I remember a week my walking buddy and I decided to go completely cold turkey on sugar. We were walking daily or almost daily but I don't remember anything else as far as the "healthy eating" other than the elimination of the sugar. I'm pretty sure I was eating "healthy" enough but I also don't remember anything about portions.
Without sugar for one week I lost zero. ZERO pounds lost. ZERO. I was so extremely frustrated, angry, and annoyed...and let's face it, coming off a serious addiction to sugar, which wasn't pretty I assure you but to not lose a gawddamn thing pissed me off.
Over the years as doctors repeatedly told me I was teetering on the diabetic scale...only slightly above the highest safe range to be not diabetic...I have eaten sugar free candies and syrups and boxed cake mixes. I know sugar is bad for us but I'm not convinced that these sugar free chemically concocted foods are any better.
So, here I am at this 21-day Fix. All Whole Foods. No processed crap. Not a whole lot of sugar outside of the carbs and fruits and maybe a teaspoon of pure maple syrup here and there. Right now, I feel slightly edgy and slightly hungry. I don't think I'm doing it totally right and eating every 2-3 hours as recommended. If I were doing that I don't think I would be ready to devour my arm dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with milk chocolate chips by dinner.
But, I'm seriously trying. I WANT this to work. I really do. I'm tired of feeling fat, being referred to as obese by my doctors, my clothes fitting blah-like, and all the other ailments that attach themselves to being overweight. I want to be healthy. I want to be off medication. I want to feel good.
I'm also scared this won't work, though. And then what? I know, I know, I'm worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet! Hi, nice to meet you. Clearly you don't know what I'm all about...but you will.
I struggled as I tried my hardest on WW and lost like seven pounds in six months while a good friend of mine lost over fifty pounds in the same time period. I'm super happy for her because she has been battling for a very long time but I look at that and think, okay, what am I doing wrong and can I manage to do the same as her? Realizing that every body is different and I have my own built in issues with this rotten underproducing thyroid but still. Can I? Will it work for me too? Gawd, I hope so.
I have super high hopes for the next 19 days. I really, truly, super duper hope that I will see visible change at the end of this first cycle.
Meanwhile, I'm ready for a mid-morning-ish snack. This morning I had some steel cut oats, berries, four walnut halves, and 1 tsp of maple syrup. My snack is going to be a slice of Ezekiel bread with 1 tsp of nut butter and a persimmon. I did go to bed slightly hungry (my evening routine centered around "dessert" of a bowl of about 5 cups lite popcorn and sometimes a healthy choice fudge bar...last night I really had to have something so I had 1.5 purple containers of strawberries, 1 tsp coconut and 1 tsp maple syrup) and I did wake up today slightly hungry, which I have not normally felt in the past.
At what point does one's mind begin to forget about food and just eat to nourish? Ah, one can dream.
My workout this morning for day three consisted of the lower body fix. Oh. My. Gawd. I am so sore, I can't remember the last time I was this bloody sore. But, fingers crossed change is happening, slowly perhaps, but happening and I will see real change soon. I have such high expectations right now.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Oh, The Water!
Maybe it's my age, maybe it's the fact that I had three children, I don't know but I can't hold my water intake like I used to. Whenever that was. Because I don't even remember anymore a time when I didn't have to pee like eighty times in a day.
Yesterday.
Day one and all.
So, I set out to drink all that water that is suggested. I drank one "bottle" of about 20 oz during my workout, then some coffee, then another 1 1/2 bottle of more 20+ oz of water.
Then I got into the car to head to campus.
No big deal.
Takes me anywhere from 50 minutes (to drive 32 miles) on a good, everyone is going fast enough and not being jerks to 1 hour, all the red lights have my name on it.
Yesterday was not 50 minutes or 1 hour.
Here's a hint: it was raining.
How I didn't notice the bloody drops of water falling from the sky before I carelessly assumed I had time to pack my dinner (which is new since starting this program, usually I grab dinner in the school's expansive cafeteria) and a couple of snacks. But, I clearly didn't realize it was to be a rainy day.
Duh.
I ended up leaving LATE. Like, later than I've ever left. On a friggin rainy day. What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn't thinking.
But the whole dinner prep thing took me longer than I thought it would.
That ten minutes late with the rain and Chicago traffic. Hi. You suck, Chicago roadways.
It took me 2 hours.
And clocking in a little after an hour in my bladder started to protest. Hell, I didn't like the traffic either, or parking lot, really. But my bladder was PISSED OFF.
I wanted to cry it hurt so much.
I finally got to campus with about 20 minutes to spare before my class began (normally I leave around 3:25, get to campus around 4:30 and have a whopping 1.5 hours to eat, walk around, use the bathroom, go to the bookstore, sit in class quietly before anyone else is there and skim through social media) and I could hardly walk. I swear to you, I looked like a paranoid woman with a full bladder ready to embarrass herself in the middle of a college campus. Lord, did I pray.
Anyway, this whole thing begs the question about the water intake. I'm "supposed" to drink some ungodly amount of water like...100oz. One. Hundred. Ounces. Wha? That's like 3, 4, 5, 6 ...shit, I don't even know how many of my cups I need to drink for that kind of water intake. Jesus H. how do people do THAT?!
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE water. In fact, outside of my daily coffee ritual/habit I drink only water. I hate soda, hate sweet drinks, and truly love water. However, I know my and my bladder's limitations so I worry a bit about this...especially after what happened to me yesterday.
I'm not sure what to do, honestly. Does this "situation" sort of fix itself when you shed some weight? Does the bladder tighten up or something? Am I crossing into TMI land? Is there a pill for this?
You should see me on road trips. I'm a blast.
Yesterday.
Day one and all.
So, I set out to drink all that water that is suggested. I drank one "bottle" of about 20 oz during my workout, then some coffee, then another 1 1/2 bottle of more 20+ oz of water.
Then I got into the car to head to campus.
No big deal.
Takes me anywhere from 50 minutes (to drive 32 miles) on a good, everyone is going fast enough and not being jerks to 1 hour, all the red lights have my name on it.
Yesterday was not 50 minutes or 1 hour.
Here's a hint: it was raining.
How I didn't notice the bloody drops of water falling from the sky before I carelessly assumed I had time to pack my dinner (which is new since starting this program, usually I grab dinner in the school's expansive cafeteria) and a couple of snacks. But, I clearly didn't realize it was to be a rainy day.
Duh.
I ended up leaving LATE. Like, later than I've ever left. On a friggin rainy day. What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn't thinking.
But the whole dinner prep thing took me longer than I thought it would.
That ten minutes late with the rain and Chicago traffic. Hi. You suck, Chicago roadways.
It took me 2 hours.
And clocking in a little after an hour in my bladder started to protest. Hell, I didn't like the traffic either, or parking lot, really. But my bladder was PISSED OFF.
I wanted to cry it hurt so much.
I finally got to campus with about 20 minutes to spare before my class began (normally I leave around 3:25, get to campus around 4:30 and have a whopping 1.5 hours to eat, walk around, use the bathroom, go to the bookstore, sit in class quietly before anyone else is there and skim through social media) and I could hardly walk. I swear to you, I looked like a paranoid woman with a full bladder ready to embarrass herself in the middle of a college campus. Lord, did I pray.
Anyway, this whole thing begs the question about the water intake. I'm "supposed" to drink some ungodly amount of water like...100oz. One. Hundred. Ounces. Wha? That's like 3, 4, 5, 6 ...shit, I don't even know how many of my cups I need to drink for that kind of water intake. Jesus H. how do people do THAT?!
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE water. In fact, outside of my daily coffee ritual/habit I drink only water. I hate soda, hate sweet drinks, and truly love water. However, I know my and my bladder's limitations so I worry a bit about this...especially after what happened to me yesterday.
I'm not sure what to do, honestly. Does this "situation" sort of fix itself when you shed some weight? Does the bladder tighten up or something? Am I crossing into TMI land? Is there a pill for this?
You should see me on road trips. I'm a blast.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
New Beginning
Oh, how cliche. I hate that. This post sounds like the beginning of a stupid new year's resolution and I never really do those.
But, this is a new beginning of sorts. And not necessarily on my own free will, although a long time coming.
I'll make this part quick because I'm already yawning and I'm the one writing.
I suffer with a problematic thyroid and for years and years take medication for it. Good, dandy, great. And then the weight started to pile on and struggle with coming off (here comes the yawn) and am fully aware that I am far from unique in this problem but alas, I am here now. Well, all was sorta kinda okay (not really, the doctors have been telling me for years that I am considered "obese" and need to lose weight. ouch. whatev). So, about 2 years ago I went (back, but again, whatev) to Weight Watchers and was determined this time. And for a long time it worked great. I was doing it with my husband who also wanted to shed weight too and my brother and sister-in-law. So, our get togethers was surrounded by discussing low-point desserts and clever dinners using the least amount of points imaginable ("OMG, the corn tostada shells are only one point!") and it was fun and in the summers I swam in our community pool with my sister-in-law and managed to get to a weight I hadn't seen in almost a couple decades.
But then, life happens.
My husband had lost his job and the stress was high. I started back at college going for a second bachelor's degree in history. Then, he got a job in Chicago and we sold our big, beautiful home in Idaho that we raised our children in and moved (again, but that is another story for another day) across the bloody country. And, Weight Watchers changed their program in the middle of all this and I just couldn't get my head around it. In other words: I hated the new program.
Suddenly, I was in a new town, away from all my family and friends, and feeling isolated and lonely. We left my oldest son on the west coast...and while not necessarily in Idaho he was still only a car drive away and now we were separated by many, many states. Then, my middle son started college back in Idaho (oh, the sadness). We rented a super small house, storing half our stuff in the tiny one-car (gawd) garage and in storage units here and in Idaho (shut up, I know it is crazy). Our neighborhood backs a busy street. Our neighbors are one foot in the grave. Our house doesn't have a fence (a pain when you have a dog that requires a leash and patience every time she needs to pee or, well, you know what I mean).
And, in exploring our new city (may as well) food is a huge part of the Chicago scene. Weight Watchers began to falter and ultimately stop altogether.
Gawd, is anyone still reading?
Then, in February of this year as I was walking to class during my last semester as an undergrad I decided we needed to focus back on Weight Watchers. We gave it our (sorta) all. We tracked, counted points, and I worked out most days. And, after 6 months I believe I lost about 7 pounds. Seven. And when I visited my mother in Southern California in mid-July and told her I had been working out almost 6-7 days a week and following the WW plan she said she couldn't tell the difference in my appearance. (Okay, mother issues will be a topic for another day, which luckily for you, is not today.)
A doctors visit in September changed everything. I've been told for years and years to lose weight (I'm trying, dammit) and to eat better, blah blah blah. And I contemplated talking to a nutritionist because I felt like I was doing a lot of things right but I had questions (like, how good is all that low-fat cheese, for instance, that is "low in points" as WW preaches but is that really "good" for our bodies?) and I thought maybe I needed that type of help. Also, my doctor had told me that my cholesterol numbers were off the chart awful for the first time in my life. In fact, one of those numbers that was around 160 was now at 400. And I don't eat McDonald hamburgers like ever. What. The. Hell. Was. Happening?
The doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medication. I picked it up from the pharmacy but didn't want to take it.
Then I remembered the doctor telling me about 21 day fix by beach body. She said she highly recommends the workouts at least and it was how she lost her baby weight. She said the diet part was good too but really wanted me to do the workouts.
Something clicked. I investigated and was convinced this may work. For years my doctors have told me to eat healthy foods, lean proteins, and stay away from sugar (and in many ways WW talks about the same sort of stuff). This 21 day fix thing is all about lean foods, PORTION control that seemed easier and less "fussy" than counting those bloody points. And, it was also a way to take control of my own life without having to figure out points for my husband too...he has his own set of colorful containers.
So, here we are.
Well, not so fast.
We made the decision around mid-October and I sweartogawd I gained probably five pounds in two weeks as we "ate through our stash of food" and threw out the scale and the measuring spoons and threw caution and fat to the wind and ate whatever we wanted. Until I felt like bursting. Honestly, for two weeks as we prepare to begin on November 1st, I have felt like shit. My chest hurts, I am tired and sluggish, and BLOATED. (Hi, everyone!) I have felt awful but we certainly didn't throw (much) food away, dammit, and I feel I deserve SOME (a few?) brownie points for that!! We made cake mixes, ate Halloween candy, went back for seconds, ate the fatty pieces of meat in our freezer, downed cookies and drowned our bread in butter. We ate pancakes and waffles and not one but two homemade egg mcmuffins (with bacon) on Sunday mornings. At school I ate curly fries and chicken tenders with a buffalo bleu cheese dipping sauce.
I'm not saying everything is rosy and peachy in our lives that this will somehow be some magical solution. We are still renting the small house with more than half our belongings boxed up for now until our daughter graduates high school so she doesn't have to change schools again. We are still surrounded by deathly old people. My family is still all on the west coast. My friends I left behind in Idaho, my mom refuses to travel suddenly so we will never visit, and my son is still in college in Idaho. I'm lonely, sad, and oftentimes depressed. I am in grad school now so the pressure is all around me and we've added another dog to our family (this big ole great Pyrenees that is beautiful and, well, big).
But, I feel eating Whole Foods, no processed crap, and plenty of lean proteins and controlling portions coupled with the intense 21-day fix workouts will surely (they will surely, right? please tell me this will do SOMETHING to my overall body and healthy?) make some positive change in our bodies and life.
So, today is DAY ONE.
And I did the workout. Hi ho, my whole body aches. ACHES. and I didn't even really do the whole thing as suggested because, well, I just couldn't quite. I was panting and terribly out of breath and my body just doesn't move as flexibly as the people on the video. But, I tried. and did the best I could.
Last night my husband and I sat down and figured out what we planned to eat today and it sure seems like an awful lot of food.
That's the tale for today. New Beginnings and hopefully a successful ride.
But, this is a new beginning of sorts. And not necessarily on my own free will, although a long time coming.
I'll make this part quick because I'm already yawning and I'm the one writing.
I suffer with a problematic thyroid and for years and years take medication for it. Good, dandy, great. And then the weight started to pile on and struggle with coming off (here comes the yawn) and am fully aware that I am far from unique in this problem but alas, I am here now. Well, all was sorta kinda okay (not really, the doctors have been telling me for years that I am considered "obese" and need to lose weight. ouch. whatev). So, about 2 years ago I went (back, but again, whatev) to Weight Watchers and was determined this time. And for a long time it worked great. I was doing it with my husband who also wanted to shed weight too and my brother and sister-in-law. So, our get togethers was surrounded by discussing low-point desserts and clever dinners using the least amount of points imaginable ("OMG, the corn tostada shells are only one point!") and it was fun and in the summers I swam in our community pool with my sister-in-law and managed to get to a weight I hadn't seen in almost a couple decades.
But then, life happens.
My husband had lost his job and the stress was high. I started back at college going for a second bachelor's degree in history. Then, he got a job in Chicago and we sold our big, beautiful home in Idaho that we raised our children in and moved (again, but that is another story for another day) across the bloody country. And, Weight Watchers changed their program in the middle of all this and I just couldn't get my head around it. In other words: I hated the new program.
Suddenly, I was in a new town, away from all my family and friends, and feeling isolated and lonely. We left my oldest son on the west coast...and while not necessarily in Idaho he was still only a car drive away and now we were separated by many, many states. Then, my middle son started college back in Idaho (oh, the sadness). We rented a super small house, storing half our stuff in the tiny one-car (gawd) garage and in storage units here and in Idaho (shut up, I know it is crazy). Our neighborhood backs a busy street. Our neighbors are one foot in the grave. Our house doesn't have a fence (a pain when you have a dog that requires a leash and patience every time she needs to pee or, well, you know what I mean).
And, in exploring our new city (may as well) food is a huge part of the Chicago scene. Weight Watchers began to falter and ultimately stop altogether.
Gawd, is anyone still reading?
Then, in February of this year as I was walking to class during my last semester as an undergrad I decided we needed to focus back on Weight Watchers. We gave it our (sorta) all. We tracked, counted points, and I worked out most days. And, after 6 months I believe I lost about 7 pounds. Seven. And when I visited my mother in Southern California in mid-July and told her I had been working out almost 6-7 days a week and following the WW plan she said she couldn't tell the difference in my appearance. (Okay, mother issues will be a topic for another day, which luckily for you, is not today.)
A doctors visit in September changed everything. I've been told for years and years to lose weight (I'm trying, dammit) and to eat better, blah blah blah. And I contemplated talking to a nutritionist because I felt like I was doing a lot of things right but I had questions (like, how good is all that low-fat cheese, for instance, that is "low in points" as WW preaches but is that really "good" for our bodies?) and I thought maybe I needed that type of help. Also, my doctor had told me that my cholesterol numbers were off the chart awful for the first time in my life. In fact, one of those numbers that was around 160 was now at 400. And I don't eat McDonald hamburgers like ever. What. The. Hell. Was. Happening?
The doctor wanted to put me on cholesterol medication. I picked it up from the pharmacy but didn't want to take it.
Then I remembered the doctor telling me about 21 day fix by beach body. She said she highly recommends the workouts at least and it was how she lost her baby weight. She said the diet part was good too but really wanted me to do the workouts.
Something clicked. I investigated and was convinced this may work. For years my doctors have told me to eat healthy foods, lean proteins, and stay away from sugar (and in many ways WW talks about the same sort of stuff). This 21 day fix thing is all about lean foods, PORTION control that seemed easier and less "fussy" than counting those bloody points. And, it was also a way to take control of my own life without having to figure out points for my husband too...he has his own set of colorful containers.
So, here we are.
Well, not so fast.
We made the decision around mid-October and I sweartogawd I gained probably five pounds in two weeks as we "ate through our stash of food" and threw out the scale and the measuring spoons and threw caution and fat to the wind and ate whatever we wanted. Until I felt like bursting. Honestly, for two weeks as we prepare to begin on November 1st, I have felt like shit. My chest hurts, I am tired and sluggish, and BLOATED. (Hi, everyone!) I have felt awful but we certainly didn't throw (much) food away, dammit, and I feel I deserve SOME (a few?) brownie points for that!! We made cake mixes, ate Halloween candy, went back for seconds, ate the fatty pieces of meat in our freezer, downed cookies and drowned our bread in butter. We ate pancakes and waffles and not one but two homemade egg mcmuffins (with bacon) on Sunday mornings. At school I ate curly fries and chicken tenders with a buffalo bleu cheese dipping sauce.
I'm not saying everything is rosy and peachy in our lives that this will somehow be some magical solution. We are still renting the small house with more than half our belongings boxed up for now until our daughter graduates high school so she doesn't have to change schools again. We are still surrounded by deathly old people. My family is still all on the west coast. My friends I left behind in Idaho, my mom refuses to travel suddenly so we will never visit, and my son is still in college in Idaho. I'm lonely, sad, and oftentimes depressed. I am in grad school now so the pressure is all around me and we've added another dog to our family (this big ole great Pyrenees that is beautiful and, well, big).
But, I feel eating Whole Foods, no processed crap, and plenty of lean proteins and controlling portions coupled with the intense 21-day fix workouts will surely (they will surely, right? please tell me this will do SOMETHING to my overall body and healthy?) make some positive change in our bodies and life.
So, today is DAY ONE.
And I did the workout. Hi ho, my whole body aches. ACHES. and I didn't even really do the whole thing as suggested because, well, I just couldn't quite. I was panting and terribly out of breath and my body just doesn't move as flexibly as the people on the video. But, I tried. and did the best I could.
Last night my husband and I sat down and figured out what we planned to eat today and it sure seems like an awful lot of food.
That's the tale for today. New Beginnings and hopefully a successful ride.
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