Tuesday, January 31, 2012

observing a trend

Since about Monday morning (yesterday) I decided to cut back on my carbs along with eating less (listening to body hunger cues).  So far, 2lbs.  down.  Hmmmnnnn.......

I am still eating some carbs.  Yesterday I had a baked potato with my evening meal.  And, I had a cup of ice cream for dessert (literally measured it out).  Did not have any carbs during the rest of the day with the exception of a teaspoons worth of honey in my tea and about the same amount of sugar in a cup of coffee.  Rest of the day I drank a lot of water.

I am just making a note of it here.  We will see if the trend continues.

Slimpod sale

Just passing this along to anyone interested in trying out a Slimpod.  Here is a message from the owner of the company-
"We know you're busy but it would be nice if you could let your friends know that our *20% off everything* January special offer ends at midnight tonight. Tell them to use this code at the checkout 2012SAVEIT. We're sure they'll be very grateful. Thanks."

So, if you have any interest now would be a great time to try it.  They do have the option of allowing you to pay in American dollars during the check out process.  Let me know if you are going to try it.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Last Hurrah

Last night we had a "martial arts movie night" at our house with some dojo friends.  It was a lot of fun watching action movies and eating junk together.   The guys all got pizza.  I ate cheese, gluten free crackers, diet ice tea, potato chips and dip.  This morning I woke up sick as a dog.  You would have thought that I got drunk from how hung over I felt from eating like that.  Guess I am out of practise eating junk food.  If we do this again I am going to make something better for myself like hamburgers (no bun of course) or shishkabobs.  Something meat based.

At any rate, this brings up something that has been on my mind for a while.  There is one part of the Slimpod that talks (I am paraphrasing here) about losing the weight based on exactly how you wish to do it, you are in charge.  That line in particular really sticks in my mind.  Initially it was nice to think that I could eat carbs and sugar in moderation and still lose weight.  Maybe some day, if I ever get the weight off,  I will be able to do that.  But, what I think the Slimpod (and last night) has helped me to admit to myself is that I need to limit my carbs for both weight loss and for feeling well.

I ate way more carbs than normal last night.  I attribute my feeling ill today from all those carbs.  Regardless of what kind of carb you eat, it all converts to sugar in your blood stream.  One of the reasons I don't drink any more (except maybe once a year) is because it messes with my blood sugar.  It doesn't matter if the carb is a fast or slow carb, a good or bad carb,  processed or unprocessed carbs...  the body always sees it as sugar.  And, sugar plays havoc with your blood sugar.

Now, my husband is one of those people who could eat nothing but carbs and never gain an ounce.  We are like Jack Sprat and his wife.  Genetically people can either handle or not handle carbs and I just have to accept into which camp I fall.

Perhaps the makers of the Slimpod never intended for a person to restrict a certain food group.  But, I really feel the Slimpod has helped me see the truth of my particular situation.  Starting tomorrow I am going to get back to my paleo way of approaching food.  Perhaps a bit stricter this week since , due to stress of the situation I wrote about in the previous post, I really have to maintain level blood sugar this week.  I have a bad feeling that things might come to a head this week.  [BTW-whenever I know I have a stress filled time coming up in my life I go no carb just to be certain I don't have episodes of hypoglycemia  Having excess adrenaline/cortisol in my system seems to mess up my blood sugar as well]  I need to be as present and able bodied as I possibly can.

So, last night was my last hurrah for junk food.  It was fun while it lasted but I am also glad to see it go.  Hope this brings about a productive week.  Hope that you have a great week as well!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

karate post will wait

I was going to write a post about the status of my karate.  I am going to wait on that.  This week (and probably the next few weeks) has been odd for us.  Something kinda huge is happening in our personal lives.  Some one rather important to us in many, many ways is in the process of passing away.  We are basically waiting for this person to pass away any day now (which is a gruesome thing to think about).  This has effected our lives on many levels.
Till this life issue is resolved I won't be able to make the kind of progress I was making on karate.  This is due to my husband not being around to double check my kata.  This has been going on for two weeks now and who knows how many more weeks it may go on for.  I am certainly not complaining.  This is a sad, sad situation.  So just please bare with me as we go through this storm.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

42 days review of Slimpods

When I started Slimpods, I committed to 42 days of doing the program.  I am now at the end of that 42 days.  Did it work, you might be asking?  My response is YES.  But, not in the way that I expected.

First of all I didn't lose any weight but I also didn't gain.  The Slimpod helped me uncover a lot of negative and self-defeating attitudes that I had and didn't know where there.  It is my firm belief that these beliefs have been holding me back in all areas of my life-especially weight loss.  Truthfully, I could have done any diet plan during the last 42 days and, due to these attitudes, I would not have lost weight. 

Now that a certain amount of unconscious negative thinking has been uncovered and dealt with in my brain, I really believe weight loss is just about to happen.  Because of this, I am recommitting myself to another 42 days of listening to the Slimpod.  March 4th will be the end of this new 42 day program.

Another thing I want to do in addition to listening to the Slimpod is starting to working on incorporating healthy habits into my every day life.  Over the last 42 days I worked on getting exercise into my daily routine.  I am still working on that one.  But, it gets easier every week.  This week I want to start drinking more water.  I was doing well with getting water in after my operation but since then I keep forgetting to drink water (or anything).  For some reason I just forget about drinking liquids in general.  The last time I drank a few glasses of water every hour my hunger levels dramatically decreased.  So, it seems like a really easy way to do better with my weight.

So, this is what is going on with my weight/diet plan.  I am excited about the direction I am going in.  This week I am going to write about what is going on with my karate.  I am also excited about where that is going as well.

Lastly, I want to say to Sensei that I hope your finger is doing OK (he hurt himself on Friday night and it looked very painful).  We have been thinking about you and hope all is well!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Friday night

Here is another success I can attribute to my Slimpod.  My father spent the day with me, all the while mocking my pursuit of karate.....And, I still haven't binged to deal with it.  Now that is a massive success!

Anyway, tomorrow is a dojo day and I can't wait to get there.  Hope to see some of you there.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The relationship between stress and weight.

I have been trying to figure out how to write this post all day.  I don't want to bore all of you with a long, drawn out story about my personal life.  And, yet, there is a lesson to be learned that I really want to share.

Basically, this week I was feeling a lot of stress over my weight.  You know -the typical why can't I lose weight more quickly question I ask myself.  Yesterday I decided to take a mental break from stress.  I made myself think of anything that did not have to do with weight, karate, exercise, or diet things.  Today I weighed myself and I was down 3lbs.  I ate the same but didn't exercise. I even allowed myself to have a treat.  I read and had a good time, avoiding any and all stress.  Down 3lbs in one day.....

Lesson-stop thinking and/or stressing about your weight.  It is counter productive!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Still debating

I am still debating what to do about the issue I wrote about yesterday.  I have asked for advice from various people and know one seems to know what to do......
My husband definitely seems to think I should just continue doing what I am doing now.
Which reminds me of what they always say at Weight Watchers, "If you continue to do what you have always done,  you will get what you always got".......

Quick update
I was able to read on that company's website a seven day menu of what you could eat.  Totally solved my problem.  I can't eat the way they recommend.  Problem solved :)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Would love your feedback.....

Funny how life works.  I reached out to a diet plan, that is hugely popular in England, a few months back out of desperation.  They had not previously been here in America but they are starting up here now.  All of my U.K.  friends tell  me this is THE plan to go to because it really works (they have all of our plans over there plus a few of their own that we have never had access to before).  Well, today I got a call from the company and they offered me a very good special to join (unbelievably low price....kinda giving it away).  Lucky me, right?

Except that I have been using Slimpods and that would conflict with that program.  I think the Slimpods programs is really good.  It has changed sooooooo many things for the positive in my life.  And, while I haven't lost a lot of weight I have been exercising a lot.  I know that I am gaining a ton of muscle over  the last few weeks. So, while I didn't lose I also have not gained.  And, my body is reshaping.  I feel strongly that pretty soon the weight is coming off along with the inches.

So, I am torn.  I will never get an opportunity like this again but maybe this isn't the right opportunity for me.  What would you do???

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Rethink

I looked around town in various stores to find that Glucomannan supplement and none was to be found.  So, I decided to hold off for a while.

There is some logic behind this.  Since I start doing the T-Tapp exercises on Monday (Jan. 9) I am noticing differences in my shape already.  Also, while I always seem hungrier than other people I am also starting to notice a change in my appitite which I attribute to the Slimpod.  So, I just think I need to stay the course for a month and just see how things play out.  I think it would be wise to just let the T-Tapp, karate, and Slimpod to work their collective magic for a while.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Saturday-Quick Update

My time at the dojo was really awesome.  Going in with very low expectations of my performance seemed to allow me to just relax and do my work.  I learned a lot and had a blast. 

Sensei started asking me some questions about weight, food, and portion size.  I believe I eat a fairly healthy diet.  I try to eat sensible portions but to be blunt, I am constantly hungry.  I really struggle with this.  It seems the feeling of hunger is not a true indication for me of how many calories my body actually needs.

One trick I have been using to deal with my hunger issues is increasing the fiber in my diet.  Protein and fiber are the only things that kills the feeling of hunger for me.  For someone who has gluten intolerance, getting enough fiber in can be difficult.  Usually I eat a lot of beans, fibrous veggies, and prunes to get in my fiber.  But, I need a little more help in this area.

In researching this topic, it seems there are fiber pills made out of the Konjac root that will help.  Konjac Root fiber is what is in the Shirataki Noodles that I love to eat.  There are several companies that make these pills but most of them use the name "Glucomannan" (just another name for Konjac Root).  Not sure if this is a ringing endorsement but Dr. Oz seems to recommend its use for weight loss (go to his site and search the term).  Hoping to get out tomorrow and get some.  I'll let you know how this experiment goes.

Saturday-dojo day

Today I get to go into the dojo for an hour and workout.  I am always so excited to go.  The problem is once I get there I sorta freeze up.  I guess you could call it performance anxiety.  I practise my kata all week long.  My husband reviews it with me most nights of the week.  Things start to look really good.  Then I get to the dojo and I will literally forget moves or screw up in some other way.  All of the progress I made that week is forgotten.

This journey I am on is more than just weight loss.  I am also trying to become a better person in every way.  My natural tendency is to be an anxious person, particularly around authority figures.  The more respect I have for a person the more nervous I can get around them.  This is what I attribute to my performance anxiety.  It is to the point that when Sensei leaves the dojo to run down to his house for a few minutes, suddenly I can perform kata well again.  Then 15 minutes later he comes back and I am back to sucking again.  Yup, I have issues.

My goal for today is to literally not care about anyone at the dojo (i.e. Sensei).  I am trying to remain calm and grounded.  And, I keep repeating to myself that it is OK to mess up today at the dojo. 

I know all of this sounds really stupid but it is part of what I need to work on to become the person and black belt that I want to eventually become.  Wish me luck.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

What am I eating today?

Lasts night Sensei asked my husband (while he was at karate) what I eat since I am not losing weight very quickly (yet!).  So, I thought you might be interested in what I am eating these days. 
What you see is basically what I will be eating all week.  I make large batches of food and then we just heat it up for meals.  To the left you see a package of Nutiva Hemp Protein.  I have been trying this protein out this week.  Most protein powders don't agree with me.  If you are a regular reader you know that I can no longer have soy, whey, rice, or egg protein.  So far the Hemp protein has been alright for me (but only this brand.  I have tried another brand and had an allergic reaction to that one).  This morning I mixed it with almond milk.  I won't suggest you do that.  It tasted horrible.  I got some no sugar blueberry/cranberry juice to mix with it tomorrow.



This was lunch. Shirataki noodles (which are high in fiber and contain zero gluten), Bell and Evans chicken, broccoli, assorted peppers, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and Bragg's Ginger and Sesame salad dressing.  I also had a latte (about 200 calories) around 11a.m.  In a few minutes I will be brewing some green tea (I add a teaspoon of honey to my huge mug of tea).

Dinner is in the crock pot as I type.  I will take a picture of it when the soup is done.  It contains organic chicken broth, Braggs Amino Acids, onions, peppers, carrots, spinach, ground turkey, and ground Laura's Organic Beef.  My husband will eat this with bread, I won't.  We both usually add a little cheese on top of our soup.  For afters, I may have a few pieces of chocolate or some berries with whip cream.



(soup doesn't photograph well)

My diet is basically based on the "Primal Blueprint" diet.  No grains, higher protein, good fats, and try to keep it low in sugar.  I am not perfect in doing this but I do try.  I also try to get a lot of veggies in because I feel better and stay fuller when I do that.  Also, my weight loss completely corresponds to how many veggies I eat per day.  And, while "Primal Blueprint" is the philosophy of nutrition that works best for my body, I still have to watch portion size.  Slimpods is really helping me with that.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Jan. 10, 2012

A third of the way through January already.....geez, where does the time go?
I am on the mend and yesterday I went back to excercising.  I started my T-Tapp workout for the first time and worked on kata.  The T-Tapp is going to take some time to get used to and learn.  But, I am really excited about it. 

Last night I had a nightmare again about karate.  This time I wasn't practising kata enough so I guess that is my subconscious way of telling me to do more.

Hope your new year is going well so far!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Thank God for antibiotics

After 24 hours of antibiotics the size of horse pills I am starting to feel better.  Very excited by that.  Thanks to Amanda for all of her constant support!!!  Now back to exercise....

Saturday, January 7, 2012

frustrated

It is 10:30a.m. Saturday morning and normally I would be leaving for the dojo right about now.  I am just too sick to go in today and yet the guilt I feel is overwhelming.  This week has been a total waste of time.  Nothing productive got done.  I should just blame my doctors for being jerks.  This morning I finally got someone to call in some antibiotics so hopefully I will be on the mend by tomorrow. 
Alright, one week of the new year down and wasted but that is it.  I have my mind set that the rest of this month is going to be very productive.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Still sick

I am still sick and not making any headway on getting better.  Pretty frustrated by this whole experience. My Sinus surgeon is out due to a death in the family ( poor guy) so I can't get him to help with this whole thing and my regular doc doesn't really want to intrude on the surgeon's deal.  So basically I am screwed.  Unless a minor miracle occurs I doubt I will be in to karate tomorrow.    We will see...

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Oh no!

I am sick with something.  At first it was thought to be strep throat due to soar throat but no congestion.  But, the doc thinks that there is an infection going in my sinus from the operation.  She looked in there and literally said my sinuses still look "gnarley".  Guess things are not healing the way that they should.  So, I got really excited to receive my T-Tapp DVDs in the mail yesterday but have been too sick to do anything about it.  The doc did a throat culture on me yesterday just to rule out strep.  Hoping they call back soon with results and I can get some antibiotics.
Anyway, just a bump in the road....

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Three pronged attack

Hope everyone is doing well in the New Year so far.  Over the holidays I formulated a three pronged attack to my weight/health issue.  Before I tell you what I will be doing, I have to give credit where it is due.  As you all know I have been listening to my Slimpod hypnosis program every night.  While the weight isn't falling all of me yet, the Slimpod has made a HUGE change in my thinking for the positive.

 It has made me realize some things about myself and how to make some positive changes for the better.  Perhaps the best thing thing it has done is to help me to see that small, consistent changes add up to make the huge changes I want in my life.  As silly as that sounds, I previously always tried to change too much, too soon and I always failed.  This new positive way of thinking has even started to effect my karate for the better!  So, the first part of my three pronged attack will be:

1) Slimpod-continue to listen nightly.  I am amazed at what a positive attitude can do to change your life.

2) T-Tapp - T-Tapp is an exercise program that is sorta like Pilate's but completely different.  I know that sounds confusing but it is a very rehabilitating program that focuses on helping you to lose inches. It is also wonderful for getting stronger and lowering your blood sugar.  I tried it back in the 1990's and got away from it.  Actually, I had totally forgotten about for at least 10 years.  But, after listening to my Slimpod one day I started thinking about it.  I believe it was my sub-conscious mind telling me this would be a good thing for me at this time in my life.  Then, coincidentally,  I saw a program on T-Tapp on my local PBS channel and I knew it was time to do something so I ordered it. My T-Tapp package will arrive today and I am very excited to get started.  I really believe it is going to help my body get healthier without hurting it (you have to see the before and after pictures on the site), get my metabolism going so I can lose weight, and improve my karate!

3) Karate-Not a lot here to report here except that daily practise of karate will get me to the dojo full time quicker then anything else will.  My husband started back to the dojo full time last night.  I am really happy for him but it only reminds me of how much work stands in front of me.  So, I better get moving!

So, you are asking yourself "why hasn't she discussed food and diet"?  Well, the Slimpod has made me realize that I over focus on that.  I spent the last year figuring out that a diet based on the Paleo way of eating is best for my health and I basically stick to that on a daily basis.  The rest is down to portion control and exercise.  I don't really need to think on that any more.  I just need to do it.  Beyond that, exercise and doing karate are what will get me where I want to be.

Wish me luck!