Tuesday, July 31, 2012

kata work: starting with stance

Above is a picture of our living room floor.  Those blue marks you see are pieces of tape we put on the floor to mark the perfect stance.   We measured it out before we put the tape down to ensure we were accurate.  So, this week my goal is to daily stand in stance to get used to what it feels like. I am also doing basics (blocks, punches, and kicks) in this position.  I will also work on the first kata but mostly this week is about developing the feel for the perfect stance.
Oh and today is my 40th without sweets!

Monday, July 30, 2012

belt testing

Now that I have my diet in order (some 40 days without sugar and still going strong) it is time to get my workouts figured out.  I am going back to my T-Tapp workout since they really rehab your body in a gentle way.  T-Tapp needs to be a 5 day a week workout to be effective.  But, I also need to get regular kata workouts in.

Kata is a problem for me.  Some people can do kata and feel when they are doing it wrong.  I don't mean getting a movement wrong.  I more mean that I can't really feel when my basics, like stances, are wrong.  When I used to go into to Saturday open gyms at the dojo, one thing Sensei used to constantly say is that I should not progress to a new kata until I had the first one perfected.  I have been thinking a lot about how I can use that piece of advice here at home.  So, this is what I came up with....belt testing.

My husband is a black belt and as such, he helps with testing at the dojo.  He knows what Sensei is looking for in kata and basics.  So, I am going to work on kata here at home starting with the very first kata you get for your white belt.  After a while of practising it, I will have my husband basically test it.  If he thinks it is up to par then I will go to the next belt's kata.  This way I will just slowly but surely work up the belt rankings.  My hope is that by the time I get to my ranking (green belt with two stripes) I will have not only have mastered kata and basics but also gotten a lot of weight off.  This plan starts today!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

30 days of no sweets

Today I have officially not had sweet treats for 30 days.  I am feeling really good about this.  I have been addicted to sugar since I was a little kid.  Going without it literally seemed impossible.  And, if anyone had suggested giving up sweets to me I would have thought they were totally nuts.  But, I decided enough was enough and I gave it up.  Now I realize I am capable of a lot more than I ever realized. 

From here on out I won't want to eat sugar.  There are just too many benefits of not eating it.  But, it is not my new religion.  If I am in the mood for something and if there is a sweet treat that truly seems worth it, I will eat it.  But, for now I am very happy continuing as I have been.

Now that I realize I am capable of so much more than I ever thought, it is time to come up with another goal to tackle.  I will think on that and get back to you.....

Friday, July 20, 2012

Stunning

I got on the scale this morning and yet another pound has gone!  Can you believe that???? That is 6lbs. since giving up sugar.  I am dumbfounded. 

In the past, in order to have lost 6lbs. I would have had to go zero carbs and exercise an hour a day.  That of course would only last a few days as I would eventually rebel against the strict regiment and go back to carbs, especially sugar.  Then literally, in one day, the weight would come back and usually doubled itself.

Now I think I am getting the hang of what my body wants.  I don't need to go no carb (although I am still pretty low in carbs) in order to lose weight. It seems my body just wants very low sugar.  But, it is fine with a piece of fruit a day and sometimes a potato.  And, I can still have a cup of coffee or tea with sugar or honey (only a teaspoon though).  Life is good.  Really good.

Another result of giving up sugar is how much less I want to eat in general.  I am convinced that sugar creates false hunger.  I recently read an article on the topic and wanted to post it here but after looking for it for an hour I must admit defeat.  If and when I find it again I will post it.  But, the reality of why I am losing weight without starving myself or feeling deprived is that I gave up sugar. Once the detox process was done I no longer really wanted it.  I absolutely don't miss it one bit.  In fact, foods made of sugar now gross me out a bit.  If I am really craving something special I will bake an apple for myself.

Many of you know that I was able to get past my sugar  addiction by using a hypnosis program by a company called Thinking Slimmer.  Previously I had tried another hypnosis product from the same company called a "Slimpod" which is excellent for general weight loss.  While it helped my self-esteem greatly, I couldn't lose weight using it.  Now I know why, my real problem was the blood sugar roller coaster that consuming sugar had put me on. 

Speaking of self-esteem, the other thing this process has taught me is that I am worth taking the time to cook for.  I never cooked for myself before.  I made certain my husband had his food prepared and organized.  But, I never did it for myself.  Now I am purposely making time daily to have all my meals organized.  This way I am not tempted to give in to poor quality food when I am hungry.  My old viscious cycle was not to do anything to prepare food ahead of time, get super hungry, rip the house apart looking for something I can eat, and then end up eating something less than healthy.  I finally feel like I deserve to eat healthy food and I deserve to take the time to care for my own health.  This is something I also attribute to "Thinking Slimmer".

So, all in all, I am feeling really happy and grateful for the weight loss.  Now all I have to do it keep up the good work.  6lbs down and only 144lbs to go.......

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wow, the scale is moving in the right direction....

I weighed myself this morning and I got quite a surprise.  I don't want to jinx myself but I have to share that I am down 5lbs.  What am I doing?

  First of all, I am still not eating sugar.  That makes 27 days without sugar so far.  Also, please note I don't eat grains (due to Celiac disease) or dairy either.  I seem to be allergic to cow dairy.   Secondly, I am eating whole foods.  I am making everything I eat. Nothing from a box.  Thirdly, I found some great whole foods recipes from a great website that are helping me eat healthy.  The website is by a nutritionist named Zonya Foco.  Her recipes are found here (she gives them to her readers for free).  In many cases I have to modify these recipes to deal with my allergies or to cater to my husband's preferences.  But, they are a great place to start and they are economical.   I am trying to exercise but due to the heat I have not been doing too much of that.  I think the big key is because my blood sugar is stable now from not eating sugar, so I can eat much less and be satisfied.

That is all I am doing.  For me it all starts with not eating sugar.  And, for that I have to thank the people at Thinking Slimmer.  There "no more sweet treats"  program has literally changed my life for the better!!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

slightly frustrated

Been trying to get back into my exercise routine but just as I got rolling with it I got sick.  Been sick since about Saturday.  Hopefully, I will start to get myself back together soon.  Autumn can not come quickly enough for me!!  Once the cooler weather returns things will get better for me.

Oh and I am on day 26 days sugar free!!!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

21 days sugar free

I am so happy.  Today is 21 days of no sugar.  My cravings have gone and I am getting adjusted to this new way of living.  Thank you sweets pod!  I also gave up dairy along the way.  So that means I am not eating gluten, dairy, or sugar......menu planning is getting interesting.  But, it is worth it.  I am feeling really good from the change in diet.  The best part is I gave away all of my chocolate.  I had gone to BJ's ,the day before I decided to give up sugar, and bought a big bag of dove chocolate squares.  It was literally a pound of chocolate.  And, I gave it to my sister-in-law. Something about that just makes me smile.  I couldn't stand having it in my cabinets any more for some reason.  It felt wonderful getting rid of all of it.

I am having a problem in my effort to get the weight off.  It is the heat.  I am just not handling the heat we are having here in Philadelphia very well.  I am not sure why but I am just not feeling great from it.  Therefore, making myself exercise has become very difficult.  But, I can't allow myself to have this excuse.  I have to get myself moving.  So, that is my goal for the week-get off of my butt!!!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

16 days, no sweets

Today is the 16th day that I have gone without sweet treats or much sugar in general.  I am feeling very good about that.  My big goal is to hit day 21, since they say it takes 21 days to form a habit.  I still crave the darn stuff every day.  But, every day I realize that if I want that black belt some day I need to be sugar free (for the most part).  I am hoping that by day 21 sweet treats won't keep dancing through my mind.  We will see.....

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Mid-week update

Tomorrow will be a full two weeks since I've had a sweet treat (or much sugar in general).  I feel really good about this and am seeing a lot of positive results.  The weight is slowly coming down and I am just feeling so much better.

Monday night I started back to Tai Chi class.  This particular class was really a good one because I was able to work with Sensei and get some questions answered. I'd been having some trouble with the form but something clicked in for me on Monday night.  I really enjoy Tai Chi. It is something you can do for yourself where ever you are. And, my instructor also teaches Tai Chi sword which I am hoping to eventually learn as well.  My goal with Tai Chi is to learn it inside and out and make it a daily practise for myself here at home.

So, over all I would say things are really going well for me.  I see a lot of positives taking place and small but consistent progress being made.  The key seemed to be taking the pressure off of myself to please everyone in my life and instead focus on what I want to do.  Once I got my goals very clear in my mind things like sugar, cheese, other people's opinions of me,and taking care of everyone in my life seemed to stop being important to me.  That freed up a lot of time and energy to put into my life. Yes, this does sound selfish to me as well.  But, the truth is that better I take care of myself the more energy and time there suddenly is to do things for other people. It is a bit of a paradox but it is true.  And, it only took me 42 years to learn it -lol!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Tai Chi

Just got back from Tai Chi....
very happy :)

Sunday, July 1, 2012

back to the dojo?

So, a few weeks back my husband's boss threatened to cut salaries.  We went into panic mode and cut things from our budget and started trying to save every spare cent.  This is the reason why I stopped going to Tai Chi night at the dojo.

Well, while the threat is still there nothing has happened yet....

I am missing Tai Chi big time.  I am missing being in the dojo.  And, since I am no longer eating sweet things I think my reward should be going back to Tai Chi night.  The way I look at it, by not eating sweets I am saving at least the amount it would cost to go back to the dojo for one night a week.  So, unless we get some kind of news about the salaries tomorrow I am going back to Tai Chi tomorrow night.