runforcourage.org

I just found the runforcourage.org website through the fire department's website. I will be signing up, it will cost me 30 $ to run in Folsom on Oct. the 8th (Saturday.) I am not really in shape for this but, what the heck? Its a good cause. They are raising funds to put a stop to sex trafficking and you know I'm all about spitting in the eye of injustice.

180 degree health

If you don't read this blog called 180 degree health, I won't blame you, its enough to make anybody's head hurt. Its quite verbose. But, crazy Matt Stone (my name for him, apparently not his birth name, go figure.) does one thing right which is he doesn't accept the status quo for being obviously correct. He does delve into different protocols and often dives in headfirst (all consequence noted and admitted.) This week's series of blog posts is focusing on a couple that have followed what is called RRARF. Its primarily a protocol for repairing the metabolism. I don't do things exactly according to his protocol. I did purchase a copy of the ebook. I read it. And, I went back to my basic simple method of correlating my weight, my food intake, and eating healthy, whole foods. If you are looking for a testimonial to my basic idea that eating whole foods is the way to go, definitely pop over to 180 deg. health and read both today's and yesterday's post, start with yesterday's first. As soon as I gave up weird food, everything got better.

I have also had a tremendous amount of success with some supplements including gymnema sylvestre (cures yeast issues), triphala (repaired my gut with it.) and tapioca pudding (home made please! for your hypoglycemia issues.)

Inspiring

Here is a very inspiring young lady. She is an aspiring olympic athlete. I have watched some of her videos online. Her workouts look extremely tough, definitely beyond my capability at this point. She seems to focus on adding dynamic strength and agility not just endurance. She also keeps a garden from which she gets some of her organic vegetables.

Fall 2011

Here is my plan, its pretty much more of the same, I just like to reiterate:

1. Journal include:

A. Daily body weigh in

B. Food intake

C. How I felt, any issues to be released using the Renee Method.

2. Weekly WRAP a la Sandra Ahten.

A. Identify potential challenges

B. Create a workout rotation

C. Select my zig zag meals

D. Plan my meals

E. Printout my plan and post it inside my bedroom door next to the calendar.

3. Sundays: Grocery shop.

Pre cut my vegetables.

Pre measure snacks into snack baggies, including nuts, pretzels, dark chocolate.

Batch cook: steel cut oats, quinoa, boil some eggs, lentils, a tomato soup or a chili.

Set the alarm.

Laundry: including your workout clothes be sure you have all 5 outfits washed.

Also, get your tops ironed and nice clothes ready too.

Its not so bad when your plan includes a plan for how to get it done.

Weight Loss Resources

Well, back to the drawing board. I have gone to the library and picked up some books including Jillian Michaels' "Unlimited."; "The Depression Cure"; "Procrastination: Why you do it. What to do about it now." I also purchased Marianne Williamson's "A course in Weight Loss". I am very interested in giving myself all the assistance and help that I can. Weight loss is not an easy thing for me. Weight does not seem to just fall off my body without a significant amount of mindfulness and intentful living. What I mean by that is that I must set my intent for how I want my days to go including the healthy habits that produce weight loss and make weight loss tolerable. Losing weight hurts. It does not feel good. One of the few trainers that is honest and upfront about this truth is Leigh Peele of "The Fat Loss Troubleshoot." Exercise does not make you lose weight. It does make losing weight easier by improving your insulin resistance and burning some extra calories. That does not mean that all of a sudden you can forget to journal your eats, weigh your food (forget measurements, Leigh goes into the frankly useless measuring cups/spoons here in this You tube video.") Jillian also lays down the law about 'doing the work' in her book Unlimited .

The take away message (which is not nearly as fattening as take away curry.) is that success in all things takes what Sandra Ahten calls a top down and bottom up approach. What she means by that is that it takes both the head and the heart to be on board along with the practicalities of planning to bring the feet through exercise and the stomach through diet all together to produce our desired outcome, whatever that might be. Sandra also talks about using what she calls a wrap, a weekly review and planning session where you examine your upcoming days and plan accordingly. This last part and approach is what got me started on this journey. I started 80 pounds heavier, lost that 80, put on 11, and now I'm working on losing 50.

For me that includes doing a certain amount of work on myself. Learning to set aside fears is not simple or easy. Letting go of anxiety can be a scary thing to do. I do recommend trying and using Renee Stephens free podcasts (especially episodes 1-18) to help with that transition. Just trying to rip a behavior pattern out of ourselves in a judgemental rather than loving manner does not seem to produce lasting change. However, just working on those aspects of ourselves using Renee's method can produce lasting change without the requirement for self hate and or flogging. I don't completely subscribe to the 'eat when hungry' method because I find that I don't eat enough or I eat too much.

It does seem like a big commitment. I do workout most mornings. I do make my own eats a lot of the time. I do like to make portion size baggies of weighed carb rich foods. I don't eat foods on my 'do not eat' list unless I want to put on weight. I do keep a food journal. I do read books about releasing my inner demons. But, even if I didn't have a weight issue, I would still need to release that garbage so the truth is my weight helped point me in the right direction. I do use meditations and yoga to relieve stress. But, even if I wasn't heavy I would do that anyway. I want to lose the weight so that I can run easily. If I were easily slender I would do that anyway. So, the truth is, that there is only a few tweeks that I put in place to help with what Sandra Ahten calls "AIM" which is accountability, information, and motivation. I use my journal to give me information and accountability. I weigh my body on a digital scale to help with information, motivation, and accountability. I weigh my food for information. I use the exercises both physical and mental to help me cope with the discomforts of weight loss. I take a multivitamin and I choose to eat fiber rich fruits/vegetables. I also eat only grass fed beef for the omega 3s. I only have organic dairy products so that I can avoid the less than stellar lipid profile in average dairy products. These things all add up to a more successful weight loss plan and a more tolerable one.

Its true, I could skip the cardiovascular workouts. But, my insulin resistance would worsen, my fitness level would dive, and my depression level would get worse. I could skip my yoga. I would no longer benefit from relaxing my vagus nerve. I would no longer stimulate that fat burning or relieve the pain from muscles staying in a contraction and causing back trouble. I could eat all low quality food and skip fiber. I could choose to be constipated, sure, I could do that. I could bring my progress to a halt all the while telling myself that I was trying. I could do that.

But, why? Why, when cardio makes it easier, when yoga makes it easier, when AM workouts are easier, and a fiber and protein rich diet makes it easier? Why make it harder when it doesn't have to be? Why not get it done so that I can then enjoy the fruits of my labor? Why not enjoy being 15 pounds lighter and embracing my feet feeling good? Why not embrace being able to wear my smaller clothing instead of buying new? Why not embrace feeling good, having lots of energy because I literally set down a 50 pound weight. Go pick up a single 10 pound bag of flour and try to run a lap and tell me that 5 of those doesn't weigh you down.

I want to be that nimble runner with boundless energy. I want to be flexible so that I can embrace the yoga poses in new way. I want to be easily employed because being heavy dramatically reduces your ability to get work.

I'm not saying its without work. Jillian says that you must do the work. Cathe Friedrich says, "Work, work!" Sandra Ahten says WRAP. Renee Stephens says to release the urges and desires to engage in behavior that doesn't make use feel good anymore. Dr. Oz says that its your belly fat that gives you high cholesterol. So, it seems to me that in order to avoid a heart attack, depression, insulin resistance (and thereby diabetes.) that I just need to do these relatively simple things that I would mostly do even if I were slender. I might not weigh my eats if I were slender. But, hey, just how hard is it to let the little scale tare out the dish and weigh it? Is it really that hard? Or is it that I have a little part of myself that is trying to avoid annihilation (fat cells, your days are numbered.) or am I looking for some other satisfaction through food or being fat that really can't be fulfilled through food and is toxic through fat?

The Two Gomers Sub Five Strive

Hello everybody, I just want to take a moment to comment on the less than satisfactory (to them) performance on this last marathon that the Gomers ran recently. They had a mixed experience including good miles and some very difficult miles. There were hills designed for Sisyphus and there was heat and humidity. All of those things in conjunction with a couple of injuries conspired against them. Their time was not anywhere near their goal of sub five.

However, they did make a PR of 8 minutes faster than their last marathon. I really do believe that was an accomplishment that they have every reason to be proud of. Life and races can be unexpectedly hard. In a race where no one met their goals, the Gomers actually improved over last year's performance!!! This is time to celebrate. I truly hope that the Gomers choose to train for their next marathon and that they don't give up the sport. If they stick to the right shoes, select a course that is not known for horrendous hills, and select a fall marathon, they will have a much better experience. The Gomers have proven, time and time again, that they are capable, disciplined, and tougher than they look. They can do this. They can continue to improve. They might need more than a 20 week training program; maybe the training season needs to be closer to 24 weeks. I know that it takes me longer to feel truly prepared for a major challenge.

The Gomers have the sub five marathon in them. They need a break to do some cross training and to heal. After that, if they come back at it, they will find that they are that much stronger because of this challenge. Their next victory will be that much sweeter because of this experience.

The core successors

The core lifestyle modifications that seem to work the best for weight loss, at least for me, are:

1. Plenty of yoga: This lowers your cortisol levels and thereby improves insulin resistance and depending on the practice, will stimulate thyroid.

2. Whole foods: avoid weird things that don't look like food. Correlate how food makes you feel, not just in the 7 minutes it takes to eat your meal, but afterwards, does it spike your sugar? does it make you feel good?

3. Reasonable levels of cardiovascular exercise: some helps with metabolism, insulin receptors, and depression. But, it does not make up for junk food.

4. Be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up for being human and eating something that makes you feel poorly. This is not a time to raise your own cortisol levels by berating yourself. Its much more effective to reprogram yourself to handle the situation differently in the future. And, don't expect yourself to be perfect the first time, every body requires practice before they play Carnegie Hall.