A year of stagnation

Its time to refocus on the weight loss. I will weigh in one week. I'm working up to it by cleaning up my eats this week. I'm ready to go low carb again. I tried it last year and ended up with a high protein diet which back fired and resulted in a kidney/bladder infection. This year I will be going high fat. I am embracing the high healthy fat lifestyle, aka Atkins. I won't be going as low in carb as the induction. I will be keeping it between 30-60 g. of carbs and I will continue to calorie cycle. I need to be mindful of my PCOS and eating a low carb diet is well known to assist with the root cause of our disorder, insulin resistance. I am happy to report my fasting blood glucose was a cool 81 the last time I was tested. I do need to lose about 50 more pounds and I need to start being more vigilant. I am experiencing a carb craving first thing in the morning. I need to stay mindful of my eating at all times of the day, even when its most challenging. I have reduced the number of my meals to 2-3 a day because it really seems to help my IBS.

My eating plan is relatively loose, but here it is broken down. I'm using broad categories because I really like these kinds of meals. This is not true atkins. Do not be confused. I have arrived at my diet through much experimentation. I need some berries for my exercise performance. The protein is from either whey or rice powder. I do not add sweetener to my frozen blueberries. I just blend it with a little lemon juice. I add protein as I need it in the form of chicken, pork or beef.

TTSat Low calorie
Breakfast: Coconut milk/cream, 2 eggs, 1 pat of butter, and gluten free millet cereal,
Lunch: Vegetable soup with healthy dose of coconut fat

MWF: High calorie
Breakfast: Coconut milk/cream, 2 eggs, 1 pat of butter, and gluten free millet cereal,
Lunch: Vegetable soup with healthy dose of coconut fat
Dinner: Stir Fry with olive oil, blueberrie smoothie with protein powder

Sunday: (Not a low Carb) Refuel:
Breakfast: Gluten free waffles, plain yogurt, berries
Lunch: Gluten free Mac/cheese
Dinner: Roast chicken, wild rice or 1/2 baked potato (see not low carb there.) vegetables with lots of butter,
Dessert: 1 low carb cookie. (relax its just 1/2 or 1/3 a serving)

The idea being I refuel my ability to exercise at top performance throughout the week but I don't beat my insulin receptors into insulin resistance throughout the week, make sense? I think so.

This week is 4DS or 4 day split for those who don't know Cathe Friedrich. Next week? Next month? I don't really know right now. Lets look at my calendar. There are two challenge days, one tomorrow and one in two weeks. I can manage that. Both are just day trips. I've been really happy to discover that Fresh Choice has gluten free options on their menu. How awesome is that? So, I can stop and eat there and be ok. yippee! My workout days off will need to be on Mondays. Thats easy to accommodate too. I'm guessing that its safe to go back on the road soon. No one has seen the mountain lion in a couple of weeks. I will take my cel phone and baton for safety. I will not run in the dark at all.

This next month exercise rotation is designed to learn all of my new STS Cardio discs and to get my cardio back up:

Wk Dec. 27- Jan 2: 4DS
Wk Jan 3-9
Sunday: Yoga,
Monday: off
Tuesday: 4DS HIS
Wednesday: 4DS BC
Thursday: 4DS LIS
Friday: 4DS KB
Saturday: off

Wk Jan 10-16
Sunday: HIIT 1, Yoga
Monday: off (travel to Palo Alto to Stanford)
Tuesday: Cardio Core Circuit
Wednesday: Jog Steady State 30 min. Yoga
Thursday: MMA Kick Box
Friday: Jog Steady State 30 min. Yoga
Saturday: Step Athletic

Wk Jan 17-22
Sunday: HIIT 2, Yoga
Monday: off
Tuesday: Circuit Blast
Wednesday: Jog Steady State 45 min. Yoga
Thursday: MMA Boxing
Friday: Jog Steady State 45 min. Yoga
Saturday: Step Rhythmic

Wk Jan 24-30:
Sunday: HIIT 3, Yoga
Monday: off
Tuesday: Cardio Core Circuit
Wednesday: jog Steady State 60 min. Yoga
Thursday: MMA Fusion
Friday: Jog Steady State 60 min. Yoga
Saturday: Step Athletic

ennui

The desire for something you don't have. Its wistful. Its ridiculous. Focus on what you can alter. Forget the rest.

My PCOS treatment plan, home style

Its been about 2 years since I began this journey. First, it was discovering that I was insulin resistant, had PCOS, then learning I had IBS, and now going gluten free. I have lost 80 pounds. I have improved my triglycerides, my blood pressure, menstrual health, and most of my symptoms are now tolerable. I have used western medicine to discover what the issues were and a combination of diet, exercise, and supplements to manage my health.

I have posted my diet/supplements before. I will do so again because over time I have added and modified my program to accommodate new data.

Whole foods Low Carbohydrate diet- as low as possible. I aim for 30-60 g. / day

Dietary considerations

Focus on:
Healthy fats coconut oil, olive oil, and real butter
Abundant in freshly prepared vegetables and low GI fruits
Protein including chicken, fish, grass fed beef and pork.

Avoid:
Almost all grains,
High GI fruits,
Soy and any other excessively estrogenic food.
Root vegetables (they are excessive in starch)
Nuts
Anything processed including meats, nitrites, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, cotton seed oil and MSG.
Protein powders and shakes.
I follow a gluten free diet.
Dairy is optional, if you have dairy only select organic because the lipid profile is different.
Antibiotics if you can avoid them, do so.
Sauces often hide a lot of starch, sugars, and unnecessary

Avoid anything that is a trigger food. I think of cheesy poufs as a gateway drug.

Avoid toxic people. Toxic thoughts. Toxic clutter. Toxic food. Stress releases a lot of hormones including insulin and cortisol.

Weigh/measure your food most of the time, this is the only true way to get an idea of how much carbohydrate and calories you are getting. I err on the side of more calories rather than less most of the time. A few days per week I will lower my calories, this is called calorie cycling and I do it to help my body stay in weight loss mode. It seems to work for me.

Keep a food journal. Its nice to see the trends of when you felt good versus when you felt bad. You can cross correlate (associate) when you felt good with what you ate most of the time. Also, if you are prone to SAD get a solar spectrum light for your bed room.

Exercise:
Cardio for insulin receptor health
Yoga for thyroid and cortisol control

Supplements:

Saw Palmetto- mildly improves my hirsuitism
Bilberry- improves pancreatic function, and treats interstitial cystitis
Evening Primrose Oil- Helps with my ability to tolerate weight loss without feeling like I was getting snapped with a rubber band.
Fish Oil- Helps with hunger pangs, blood pressure, heart disease, depression and reproductive system function
Horsetail- helps with the hair loss on the top of my head
Gymnema- Only used when needed in the event of over exposure to sugars (usually only when I'm out with friends.)
Probiotics- Helps with IBS symptoms
Triphala- Used for the IBS symptoms

Poison oak

My cat keeps getting into the poison oak. I go to pick her up and get poison oak on me. I get these nasty bumps and it hurts. I take benadryl. Un-fun.

Half way through October

I have been tested for Celiacs and I was not found to have sprue's disease. However, I have read online that women with PCOS often have gluten intolerance, not true Celiac's disease. Apparently, 85% of us are gluten intolerant. So, I have decided to stick to a gluten free diet. Its not terribly hard for me because I already focus my caloric load on healthy fats, protein, and vegetables. I also eat some fruits. As a low-carber, I also try to avoid sweets anyway. This diet helps support my insulin receptors. I do allow myself one day per week to eat anything I want as a strategy to avoid multiple diet infractions during the week. I have purchased some of the low carb foods but I am not focusing on those products because I believe I can make my own eats that do not focus on grains anyway. Those by default are gluten free. I have given up my oat meal. I won't be eating any of the cookies I make for the holidays and for other people's birthdays. I used to test them. But, I won't be doing that anymore. The pain I had with this IBS was so severe that I am not willing to chance that kind of pain again. Some of the gluten free products I have purchased are tings (too tasty induced sugar cravings), brown rice tortillas from Trader Joe's, Pamela's chocolate chocolate chip cookies (perfect on my Cheat day), some baking mixes (again only on cheat day), and wheat free soy sauce. I also bought some puffed millet. I can still have a little dark chocolate but I noticed that I don't care for the semi-sweet chips anymore, they seem too sweet. I wonder if I will ever get to the point of unsweetened chocolate.

The newly re-tooled EDH Diet

Low carb(30-60g/day)

Calorie cycled

Gluten free diet

Diet break down:

Low Calorie Days:

Pre-WO Attune bar (90 calories, 8 g. carb)

Post WO: 1/2 c. millet, 1/4 c. coconut milk, 2 tbsp. cream,

Second breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled in 1 tbsp. coconut oil

1 cup sauteed mushrooms/spinach (7.4 g carb)

Lunch: 2 cups greens (4 g. carb)

4 oz. protein (0 g. carb),

2 tbsp. olive oil

Dinner: Chicken broth

2 tbsp. butter

High Calorie Days:

Pre-WO Attune bar

Post WO: carb, fats, 1 cup steamed/sauteed vegetable

Lunch: 2 cups greens, protein, fats

Snack: Chicken broth with some fats

Dinner: 1 cup steamed/sauteed vegetable, protein, fats

time to get in gear, lets go!

Vacation!!!!! I put on maybe like 5 pounds, I"m too scared to get on the scale. I'm getting uber serious about getting this off. I was ready to hike this morning but my ankle is still very tender from taking that fall last week. But, the good news is that diet is 80 percent so I will be good with my diet and be ok. Its worked before, I expect it to work now.

My planned eats for the next week are (not necessarily in any order)

vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, cucumber, celery, mushrooms, bok choy, cabbage, and snap peas, watercress, green beans,

protein: eggs, roast chicken, pork shoulder,

carbohydrates: buckwheat gluten free cereal, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries (frozen and fresh), kefir

fats: coconut oil, olive oil, walnuts,

drinks/smoothies: green tea, chamomile tea (at bed time.) coconut milk, and lemon/lime water.

Some of my favorite meals are stir fried vegetables, mushroom omelets, and green beans with almonds.

Planned activities have been modified because the ankle is not ready yet.

Sunday: off

Monday: yoga Gary Bromley

Tuesday: 3 miles with Leslie Sansone with weights

Wednesday: yoga Kathy Smith Yoga Basics

Thursday: 3 miles with Leslie Sansone with a stretchy band

Friday: off

Saturday: Hike 3 miles outside

I will be eating with the intent of losing weight. I am moving with the intent of losing weight. I am staying in the now with the intent of losing weight, improving my skills and creating a new portfolio. Life is especially good when you embrace each activity as fun and entertainment. Doing the best that I can is an end unto itself. I am still working on clearing out magazines, painting the pony for saddle pals, and getting the house squared away. Even though I've put on some weight, I feel like I have the opportunity and ability to get down to a healthy weight. I feel like there is hope and I'm ready to give being slender a try. I don't really know that being slender will make me happy, but I do know that not being fit makes me unhappy. Lets embrace the possibility of something different.

The next two weeks

I always give myself two weeks after a vacation before I do a weigh in. My plan is to aim for 30 grams of carbohydrates, eat plenty of vegetables, fats, and some protein. Also, as soon as I can, I will add back in some walking (ankle permitting) and low intensity yoga. I love having some lime juice in my water, very dilute, its very refreshing. Eggs are a daily treat when watching your carbs. I like them scrambled, or as a quiche. Also, I love squash, green beans or Asian cabbage with a little wheat free soy sauce sauteed in coconut oil. Avocados make a salad scrumptious and very nutritious. Jicama is very satisfying, refreshing and low in carbohydrate.

I have been really smart. I haven't had any of those ice cream cones, fried mushrooms or fried zuchinnini. I have avoided the coconut bars. I have also been listening to my body, when I'm not hungry anymore, I stop eating. It is a great tool and can prevent discomfort from over eating tasty food beyond the capacity of your stomach. After all, won't there be food later? If it was so great, couldn't you make it again later? If not, maybe that was as much as you should have.

Life is best when you respect your body on so many levels. Sleep is necessary. Nourishment in the form of food and drink are necessary. Sunlight is usually necessary, either the natural way or with sun lamps. Movement including cardiovascular, strength training, and flexibility training are integral parts of a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining your mental health is also important to your body. Spiritual health matters too. I use my yoga practice to satisfy much of that need. In college I did not respect my body, I ate poorly, I rarely slept, I stressed over grades and a job I was not really suited to, I let people walk on me. Also, having friendships and people that you interact with is also important. Being isolated takes a toll on your body. When any part of your life is contracted and like a pair of shoes which is one size too small, it takes its toll on your body.

Being reasonable about how much time you really have is crucial to how well you live your life. You must pick and choose which battle you want to fight first. The ideas that Eckhart Tolle has written about in "The Power of Now" and "A new Earth" are very helpful. Also, learning to set aside ideas for another time is helpful. If you are thinking about what you are doing at the time, you are much more likely to be productive and effective than if your mind is divided.

Vacation Eats

Today I had some scrambled eggs for breakfast, some Tings, a cup of potato soup, mahi mahi and vegetables for lunch at Marie Callendar's, and squash, mushrooms, and rice with pan fried grass fed beef for dinner. Over all, I am happy about that. I did ok. I did have 1 bite of a german chocolate cream pie but because I didn't really like it that much I stopped eating. The trick is to not feel compelled to eat something just because it has sugar in it. By keeping it to just the foods that I actually want to eat, I have saved some calories for yummy things like natural mint ice cream from Humboldt Creamery.

I am now on Face book my profile is under my real name, Alisha Durbrow. Facebook | Alisha Durbrow So befriend me if you dare.

Obsession

Why is it that food is on my mind so often?  I'm either planning what I'm going to eat, worried about what I ate, or anticipating when I will be hungry again.  I would like for food to stop being the important part of my day.  But, the thing is when you have had blood sugar problems, you can't just not think about it, you have to plan out your day according to when you can eat.  You have to pack some eats with you no matter where you are going.  You have to be sure that you have enough water and take your vitamins on time.  Its crucial because without that kind of planning you eat the kind of food which is fastest to absorb (simple sugars.) and gain weight or you forget to eat and your blood sugar crashes and you have a seizure or pass out.  I don't know if you have ever had a seizure but it really hurts alot.  I work really hard to keep my blood sugar in check.  I am always analyzing what I'm going to eat so that I don't eat mindlessly.  I can't just eat what I want to eat.  My natural tendency is to eat lots of sugars and the kinds of fats that make me gain weight.  I need to watch myself as thought I were a child and make sure I tell myself to eat healthy food.  

I want to be more normal but I"m not.  How do I shift my focus to other things and still be smart about taking care of myself?  I guess having a little 3 by 5 card with the day's eats on it might help.  How do you set this aside and still be effective?  I don't like eating poorly because it makes me feel so badly.  I am really good about avoiding processed meats anymore because the nitrates give me migraines.  I am really good about what I put in the shopping cart.  I'm also good about using my small kitchen scale to weigh nuts and chips or the natural cheetos.  I just don't know why the tendency to eat that stuff is still there.  Why is that urge there?  

Exercise for your well being

There has been some recent press regards the efficacy of exercise for weight loss.  I find that it helps dramatically with my sense of well being.  I don't start out feeling good.  About half way through my workout, I start to feel better.  It really helps me deal with my mental dementors.  Cardio is so helpful.  Also, yoga helps me with my sleep.  So, we know that it takes a lot of mental work to get through the difficulties of weight loss.  For me, my mental out look is dramatically improved with exercise so therefore, my ability to stick to my healthy eating plan is improved through exercise.  It is tough enough to lose weight, why would you want to do it without the free, once a day, dose of exercise?  While the research is probably true, I don't think its wise to just drop your exercise routine (unless you are over training!) if you find that it helps you deal with life.  Also, it helps your body to stay fit.  There are many aspects to fitness but cardiovascular fitness is one of them.  You need to exercise the heart muscle to keep it fit and able to do what you want it to do.  You also need to exercise your other muscles to keep them fit.  I prefer a once a week circuit workout and to use yoga for the rest of the week.  Thats just me.  Thats just my personal preference.  Do what works for you.  

Treat physical activity the same way you treat your diet.  Keep a careful and honest journal of what activities you have performed.  Watch how your rotation has an effect on your ability to live life.  Pay attention to things like duration, time in THR, whether or not you did intervals, and how many calories you burned.  Correlate this with your diet journal which details carbs, protein, fats, and what kind of foods you were eating at what time of day.  Again, correlate all of this data with how you feel at what time and also keep track of sleep and stress level.  These things matter.  This is how you can learn what the right balance for you really is and how to maintain that.

Coffee Mug Cake

I had some cake for breakfast.  It was not bad.  And the cool part is, I'm not experiencing any additional cravings because I did not use hardly any sugar in the cake.  Awesome!  It was my post workout carbohydrate.  I am happy with the result.  

The only thing is, after my jog this morning I feel really worn out.  I'm still recovering from a virus and being sick for two days.  I just feel like I've been run over by a train.  My bones hurt like hell for two days.  I had a nasty GI problem for two days.  And, I've been looking very green for a while now.  On top of that, I feel tired.  I don't feel like doing much. I hardly want to eat.  I get hungry and I eat but I don't actually want to.  There is no real joy in it.  Sigh.

The rest of the day will be spent reading/studying.  I might spend some time with my cameras.  

I really want to get back into weight loss mode, upbeat, high energy mode, and into my high energy business mode.  Its important to me to continue to progress with my weight loss goals.  I want to be a healthy size.  I've been in this plateau for about 8 months now.  I'm ready to move on.  Literally, this morning I jogged farther.  I'm increasing my distance on the road.  I'm back into making all my own food.  I even was smart about being sick, I only allowed myself 4 saltine crackers and 1/8 cup of sprite the whole time.  I made sure I stuck with organic soup.  Unfortunately, that is higher in carbohydrate than I like to eat but as soon as my tummy gets back to normal I will be just all over my healthy diet like white on rice or in my case brown on 1/8 cup of cooked rice!

Lets do it!!!!!!

Fish Pants Part 3

It only worked for a little while.  They are stinky again.  I think that I am going to give up.  And put the pants in the trash.  This is sad.  

Fish Oil Pants Part 2

I have washed the pants in goo gone and extra detergent according to the goo gone bottle directions.  Yahoo!  It worked!  The dawn did not work.  The baking soda did not work.  The vinegar did not work.  The detergent alone did not work.  The enzymes for eliminating cow elk odor did not work.  But, the goo gone did!  Now they smell like orange!  Awesome!  I still have to work on the dryer.  Perhaps, the goo gone on a rag and dried in the dryer will work.  Can anyone tell me why dryer is spelled with a y? and not an i?  It makes no sense.

The Power of Yoga

Thanks to the power of yoga and green tea I have lost 1.4 pounds of water weight.  Yahoo!!!!  Its nice to see the scale go in the right direction.

Feeling foolish

I went out to lunch yesterday.  I put on 4 pounds.  Dagnabit.  That just confirms that I really can't eat out and lose weight at the same time.  Forget it.  I don't like eating out that much.  I don't.  I feel bad.  I don't want that feeling anymore.

I want to feel good.  I want to be naturally slender.  I want to be comfortable in my own skin.  When I eat out, I'm none of those things.  Forget it.  I don't want to be liked that much.  I don't.  I only go out to eat to be social. I hate that I feel comprimised.  I am going to just say no from now on.  If they want to hang out they can find me.  Or, I can cook and bring food that does not sabotage my weight loss plans.

The cheap way to go organic

I have a garden.  I love it.  I get to have tomatoes and peppers.  I had more peppers before the wild rabbits ate the entire plant.  Its trying to grow back.  Its a good thing that I picked them before the bunnies got to it.  I think a dear had some of my roses.  Those are growing back with red leaves, its really neat looking.  

Some people find that eating organic is too expensive.  For me, knowing that the lipids in organic milk are different than in non-organic milk is enough.  I always buy organic milk.  I use it in recipes.  I have not switched to completely organic produce, yet.  I eat vegetables everyday and I guess it would make a difference over time.  I used to know a guy who said that the regular vegetables have less bugs than the organic.  That was my point.  The body needs to have friendly flora and fauna in the gutt.  Its critical to your health.  If you can get to eat something thats alive, so much the better.  

I have not switched to organic eggs yet.  I buy cage free/hormone free/anti-biotic free.  I will switch as soon as I have the capital to do so.  I like the idea that the chickens who make the eggs that I eat are not pissed off because of over crowding.  Sad/mad chickens would have a higher level of stress hormones and I don't need to eat stress hormones, my body makes plenty of it on its own.  I don't need any help in that area.

Someone posted the question, "When is it important to buy organic?"  I said, "When you can afford it."  

fish oil pants

I left a fish oil capsule in my pants.  I forgot.  They were laundered.  The capsule exploded in the drier.  Yucky.  I am so sorry, I promise that from now on I will never leave pills of any kind in a pocket.  Ever.  I had to buy new pants.  Those were my work pants.  I googled it.  I searched.  I asked on forums.  I searched K-mart, Wal Mart, and the grocery store.  I bought a bunch of products.  I am starting with coca cola and then today I will use dawn in the bath tub.  Oh my.  How sad I am.  I hope that if any body has had success that they tell me about it.

August/ Sept. Challenge

Here is my rotation for the next 4 weeks starting on Sunday.

Week 1:

S Jog (Road steady state, 60 min.), Yoga Today (advanced)

M off

T LIC

W Jog (off road), Yoga Gary Bromley (easy)

T Power Max

F Jog, Yoga (easy/intermediate)

Sa Low max

Week 2:

S Jog Yoga

M off

T CW

W Jog Yoga

T Step Fit

F Jog Yoga

Sa Imax 2

Week 3:

S Jog Yoga

M off

T SJP

W Jog Yoga

T SB

F Jog Yoga

Sa Original Imax

Week 4:

S 4-DS

M off

T 4-DS

W off

T 4-DS

F off

Sa 4- DS

FOCUS! Episode #2

Just eat healthfully.  Don't eat what has a bad effect on your body.  Don't eat processed food.  Do interval workouts.  Get your mind off of food.  Hard for your cooks and gourmands lol!  Do your yoga, its important.  Eat plenty of high quality calories.  Vary your calorie intake.  Be smart.  Take your weight daily.  It all makes simple sense.  

Low Carb, Clean Eats

I am not always successful in eating only low GI fruits and avoiding the wrong fats/lipids/hormones in foods.  Todays weigh in showed that.  It was also a reminder that I need to weigh in more often.  Sigh.  

So, low carb eats are often high in fat.  I did the higher protein diet for a while and that did not work for me, it worked against me.  I need to watch the base in my diet and aim for alkaline foods.  I got a nasty kidney/bladder infection earlier this year on a protein diet and after that I decided to embrace the high fat lifestyle.  There are many people who believe that fat is evil.  I do not.  I ended up with PCO from eating a low fat diet.  I ended up morbidly obese eating a low fat diet and exercising.  Boo hiss!  I used to only do cardio and never did any stretching work well now I know that yoga is key.  So, everything I used to know I have thrown out.  

The method that has worked in the past is as follows:

1. Weigh measure foods

2. Only eat foods from the safe list (in other words never eat from the do not eat list)

The only way to determine if a food is safe is to eat it.  Weigh yourself the day before.  Way yourself the day after.  If your weight went up then put it on the do not eat list providing everything else was the same (time of the month, calorie intake, exercise, stress level.)

3. Yoga everynight

4. Cardio most mornings

5. Daily weigh in.

6. Affirmations, gratitude/goals journal, re-do, and pod casts for mental/spiritual strength

I don't want my meat suit anymore

I put on 5 pounds over two weeks.  I'm working so hard.  I skipped dinner last night.  No popcorn or ice cream at the movies.  No dinner at all.  I had fish for lunch.  I just can't take this upward swing of the scale anymore.  I did have dim sum but that was over two weeks ago!  I'm skipping dinner at least ever other day.  I'm eating nuts, vegetables, lean meats, and abstaining from much fruit.  I did have some grapes on Thursday.  I am increasing my mileage.  Why is this happening!  Oh help.  Maybe its stress.  Or water.  It might be 1 pound of water but not 5.  I"m not puffy at all.  I've had so many nights where I was so hungry I could cry, why aren't i thinner?  Why is this happening.  I just feel like giving up.  Why bother with all the work when all I do is getting more and more frustrated?  I just don't see the point to me at all.  I'm just a resource sink.  I don't provide any money around here and all I did was have a failure business, twice!  I can't even get a job as an office assistant.  There is no point to me at all.  God I hate it here.  I had a small piece of home made pizza yesterday.  My belly feels awful.    

ok.  back to the drawing board.  

1. cut out nuts

2. cut out fried fish

3. cut out cat's cookies

4. cut out raisins/fruit

5. cut out flax muffins (did not work)

6. cut out meals out until I'm at my goal weight.

7. cut out weight training

8. Cut out organic cereal.

9. Cut out people who stress me out.

Add:

1. more oil/small amount of juice

2. use only fish oil instead of eating fish (can't have fish in the house)

3. have chicken bites instead of cat's cookies

4. have cucumber medallions instead of higher glycemic index fruits

5. go back to just using oat meal and taking magnesium

6. how the hell am I supposed to network?  Just have a salad and ice water?

7. do yoga instead of weight training

8. just 1/2 cup oat meal

9. The person who stresses me is a blood relative  I don't know what to do about that. 

God I'm so frustrated.  it sucks to hell.  

The Adzuki Challenge

In anticipation of my next foray into new-to me foods, I have purchased some organic Adzuki beans. I will soak them over night then cook them tomorrow. Today is a lower calorie day, so I'm really not hungry anyway. I will use the basic cooking instructions on www.adzuki.com

They recommend soaking them in "ample water" I'm guessing thats probably 2-4 cups of water, then drain them the next day. I will use the 1/2 cup of beans to 2 cups of water method and simmer it on the stove. I will also add some salt and then do at as listed on Maternity Now (I'm not a mother just a cook btw.) for the Adzuki chili, I will skip the added onions as we don't eat those in this house. I will post a picture over at foodpix.

Egoic Attacks

Ever have that aweful feeling in the pit of the stomach when things don't go your way?  When someone is picking on you?  Or betrays you?  Or hurts your feelings?  Or tells you something that you don't want to hear?  Tells you something that you thought no one else in the entire world knows, but you?  That feeling is your ego landing a blow in the center of your body.  Thats the feeling.  Its not that you should ever accept abuse, because we do teach people how to treat us and it is our responsibility to take of ourselves.  However, just because a situation arrises that does not favor ourselves, that does not mean that we must adopt a defensive posture, a snotty atitude, or fly into a rage either at ourselves or anyone else.  There are techniques for learning to deal with our inner turmoil and effectively embracing the inner grown up.  The most important part is to relax.  Bless the situation.  One of the ways people deflect pain is to engage in a behavior which quickly creates a sense of pleasure.  Unfortunately, those quick fixes don't fix the real problem and tend to create more real problems.  The trick is to learn to teach others to treat you well, understand and appropriately asses the situation, and also, in a relaxed state, decide how you want to behave, not how your ego would behave in a desperate attempt to save face.

We often confuse love with admiration.  Love is a feeling that you have or a behavior that we use.  It rarely makes any sense.  Typically, no one really knows why anybody loves anybody else.  We just do.  Once you understand that concept, then the need to impress people with our infallibility or to be better than or more interesting than everyone else or just our competitor, ceases to be of the utmost importance.  Accepting the help of others is not a sin or an indication of weakness.  It is a testament to the strength of your character.  When you are able to accept instruction, direction, and help from others, you have finally started to set aside some of the aspects of ego which can be so terribly debilitating.  

A bit of confusion can set in when we are children because pleasing our parents with our successes seems to produce love.  In reality, any success of a child is the success of the parent.  The parent is obligated to give positive reinforcement when the child has done well.  Thats how you train anybody, animal or human.  Thats how you give them language, culture, and morality.  But, when we don't set aside the concept that we must always be right or else we are inferior and therefore not worthwhile, things do fall apart.  Once this lesson has been learned, the world starts to make more sense.  Not only do you get to learn the other lessons available to you, but you also start to recognize the habits of the ego in others and when it might creep back into yourself.  This tid bit of ego recognition is the nose of the camel under the tent, once in for a little nostril the rest of the camel is short to follow and bring down the house of cards known as sadness, fear, anger, and resentment.  Usually people are mean to us and cause us pain because they are experiencing an attack of the ego which evokes the ego in us.  Once that lesson is in turn understood, the power of caustic words is lessened.  One is still, as mentioned above, obligated to disallow continued verbal or physical abuse, but it does lessen the sting.

I highly recommend Eckhart Tolle's book, "A new Earth".  He describes the ego and also something else called "Pain Body."  These are handy terms to describe a phenomena that all of us have experienced.  I found that book to be helpful in letting go of the embarrassment about my body, what my body was going to be, and fear of being seen exercising.  All of these feelings had to be let go and I am constantly re-evaluating my response to stimuli/situations in an effort to encourage continued progress in my quest for physical fitness.

Only hurting yourself

Here is the deal, I know that a person must set appropriate boundaries, I am definitely on board with that, but how do you go about effectively dealing with old hurts that happened a long time ago but are bubbling up now?  What gives?  Why does this stuff happen when you are losing weight?  Maybe its chemical?  I don't know.

I'm going to a meditation class tonight.  I'm really hoping that helps because for the past week or so I've been having what I call Dementor attacks.  I feel just despondent over stupid stuff that just doesn't matter anymore and that I thought I had forgotten about.  This old gunk just is not important or relevant at all.  I've done the work of forgiving the person who did it at the time (a very tuff bully I had for 4 years.) I've heard that you are sent the lessons that you can handle, but how was I supposed to handle that?  I had no skills at the time at all.  I just don't get how that was supposed to help me as a person.  Also, if we are supposed to learn the lesson of forgiveness I understand that one, but how do you meld both concepts, understanding the bullying individual and not rewarding the bullying behavior?  And, why would such a "lesson" be popping up now?  

Sticking points

For the past week or so I have been having flashbacks of a nasty bully I had for 4 years.  She followed me, sexually harassed me, called me hateful racial slurs (I'm native.) Generally, she was a brat for a long time, I could not avoid her, the teacher forced me to sit with her.  She encouraged boys to sexually harass me.  They exposed themselves and threatened me with bodily harm for two hours every day on the school bus.  Because I did not want to run the risk of my brother's homeschooling situation being investigated, I never did anything other than verbal response, of course that doesn't work.  But, its what I had.  At the time I was between 130-168 pounds.  The next stage in my weight loss is that pound range.  Sandra Ahten has mentioned that sometimes people get stuck in a weight because they have unfinished business with the time of their lives when they were that weight.  I thought I was over that.  In a way, I have learned that my bully was jealous, inferior, and knew it and the best thing that she could think of to do was to be mean.  I know she was sexually active at the age of 11.   She used to give her boyfriend blow jobs in the back of the school bus.  It was disgusting.  Isn't that tragic? I guess its progress to just feel pity now.  

I had to look myself in the eye this morning and tell myself that I did not have to go back there anymore and that those horrible people wouldn't bother me anymore if I just let it go.  So, as if by magic, I was down two pounds.  Weird.  And just a little spooky.

The mind is the key

Lately, the thing I have been using is the idea that "I genuinely do what is best for me."  That concept is an idea I heard on a podcast.  It seems to be working!  I turned down bread and butter (one of my favorite vices.) turned down the horrible fake voices in my head (Victory! One moment at a time!) and I turned down chocolate ice cream.  Thats a lot of successes today!  

Some of the tools in my mental arsenal include the gratitude journal, setting my daily intent, affirmations, motivational podcasts, online fitness forums, my best friend, and music.  I also take those lavender baths when I can.  I have read "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle, its helped me a great deal.  I play the piano, paint, and play fiddle.  

Life is good if you let it be so.

One hour at a time

Thats how I'm dealing with everything right now.  I'm outlining my next hour, putting the most critical item at the top of my list and devoting all of my brain power to completing that task or series of tasks.  I think that others probably use this tactic, I'm just not aware of them.  I intend to continue to set my intent (lol!) daily.  I intend to use my gratitude journal to stay in the positive mind set.  I intend to allow myself a 10 minute break (when reasonable) each hour to reassess my progress and re-set my intention for the following hour.  In other words, I will be doing my home work "once/hour."  I will continue to have a 2 hour home work session once a week.  I think that is an incredibly effective tool and I am grateful to Scott and Joi over at motivation to move for suggesting it to me.  Thanks!

Powered by the Plateau

My year has consisted of a 5 pound weight gain and a steady plateau.  I have not been as good about the eats as I could have.  I believe that it was the little snack here and there of peanut butter cups that did me in.  I have accepted this to be true.  I have decided to let my occasional sweet tooth to go hungry.  Today's eats were very clean.  I need to avoid the nuts, they are very addictive, and I would eat them all day without a thought to the calorie or fat content.  They always prevent me from losing weight.  

I would like to slip into weight loss mode for the rest of the year.  My intent, from here forward until I have reached my goal, is to lose body fat by making my own food, eating only my own food, and moving.  

I read something the other day (perhaps from Dr. Oz) that one needs 40 minutes of cardio per day to maintain a weight loss.  Well, lately, I've not been getting that much time in my target heart rate in each cardio session.  I suspect that the combination of 30 minute workouts and the peanut butter cups (which have hydrogenated oils and create insulin resistance) are the culprit this year.  Also, I did discover that commercial chickens with their antibiotics do have an immediate effect on my waist line, calories were not significant that day.  So, it would appear that the results I had last year doing 60 minutes of jogging 3x a week, adding yoga at night, and doing 3 days of step workouts per week probably makes sense in lieu of the scientific data coming out about how to maintain your waistline.   

I really do want to be naturally slender and at my goal weight.  Now, I do want to do what is genuinely the best thing for me.  I have got to protect myself.  Its crucial.  I must be my own diet coach, diet guru, and cheerleader because in the end, who else do I have?  If not myself?

Todays activity consisted of a 35 minute jog/walk, 22 minutes of stretching, and plenty of household chores.  I ate a bowl of steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, had a very low carb berry/olive oil smoothy, and a bowl of vegetables with olive oil for lunch.  Dinner is chicken drumsticks, maybe some corn (? maybe not? its fresh) and a salad.  

Come on, say it with me, what do you want?  To be free!

I've developed an aversion to ice cream

I think I have had the last scoop of ice cream for a long time.  Yes, I do get fat on ice cream.  No, I should not eat it.  Yes, ice cream has been a problem for me my entire life (ice cream binges as a preschooler.)  I have pretty much learned to be controlled in my ice cream intake.  But, yesterday, with a scoop of mint chip, I finally became ill.  Sick to my stomache, I realized that I really could not tolerate this food stuff.  Sigh, I love ice cream.  Perhaps a little too much.  Perhaps unreasonably.  Perhaps, I just didn't want to be right if loving it was wrong.  But, now, with the recent memory of illness that continued through the night, now I have a true aversion.  I don't eat foods that hurt me.  I just don't.  I don't eat processed meats anymore either, they make me have a nasty headache for about 12 hours that seems to be caused by the nitrates.  I don't eat that stuff no matter how much I loved the hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ham or salami.  No way in hell am I bashing my own head in with a bite of food.  

What kinds of foods are you eating that give you a headache?  Caffeine?  Sweets?  Or is it too little sleep?  Or a person in your life that causes more pain than the relationship is worth?  is it too little exercise?  Is it too little water?  How are you beating yourself up with the wrong diet?  Is there a food you have an allergy to that you still eat?  Is it inappropriately powerful over you?  I've decided that I don't want to think of food as entertainment more than once a week.  Most of the time, I need it to be attractive and tasty but it doesn't have to be the sole source of entertainment for me to be happy.  Healthy, whole, clean food can be equally enticing as the commercial modified, odd foods with odd preservatives in them, with the artificial dyes and flavors, and the msg, and the hydrogenated oils.  

I'm trying to shift my thinking about food.  I want to view it as fuel.  I have read that many successful folk view it that way.  Food serves as their fuel.  They select foods based on quality as though they were selecting an octane at the fuel pump.  When you open the refrigerator, or your lunch bag, or you have to select a meal at a restaurant, what octane do you choose?

So, if I need mint, I am now completely reduced to mint tea.  I have no choice really.  I don't want to indulge in Ande's mints because of the hydrogenated oils (listed on their ingredient list.)  I'm staying away from other treats too.  I don't care for Reese's peanut butter cups anymore because the peanut flavor is weakened by the amount of sugar.  I also find the chocolate to not be well, chocolaty.  

I am working towards cleaning up my diet.  My carb count is a little higher than some would recommend.  However, its all clean as of today.  Also, as of today, I'm not eating anything that I don't cook myself.  I have had it with worrying about what was at the restaurant?  How do I really know if I had something with nitrates?  I still have to go out for fish because I can't cook that at home (family member is allergic.)  Still, I see no harm in not eating out and just using my green cooler for eats.  I just need to work on good pack lunches with low carb ingredients.  I don't do well with just chugging olive oil.  That was a bit of a gag reflex.

I made chicken drumsticks this morning with fresh rosemary and lemon juice.  They are fabulous!  I wish you were here to try them.  The rose mary is from my garden.  I have been having lemon cravings lately, and luckily thats not something I have to give up when eating in a clean manner.  I am adding it to water and enjoying it very much on meats and salads.

I am also really enjoying stir frys with Asian style vegetables, a little soy sauce, plenty of cabbage and seasoned appropriately with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and white pepper.  The advantage to a stir fry is that it is quick, can accommodate any ingredient, and is highly nutritious, not to mention a quick meal.  I don't use the rice that most people do, I just go for extra veggies.  Sometimes I will add pork, chicken or beef, but sometimes I skip it.  I love adding canned water chestnuts and bamboo shoots.  Both have some carbohydrate content, so do be aware of that if you must watch carbs.

I've signed up for the World Wide Festival of Races.  I registered for the 5k but I will be training for the 10k.  Its just that I've already trained for the 5k and now I'm ready to train for the 10k but I don't think I will be ready to run a race at a 10k mostly out of fear and embarrassment if I have to walk.  Silly, but true.

Week 1 of July

This morning I went out for a jog/walk.  I intended to just hike, but found myself jogging to stay in my THR on the flat portions of the course.  I'm good about not jogging downhill, I get into a kind of a crouch and just walk really fast.  I heard from a friend, that jogging downhill is really bad for the knees so I don't do that.  I am trying to remember to jog with my head up, I tend to want to look at my feet which encourages poor posture.  

My weight is slowly edging downwards, .2 pounds every two days.  I am happy with that progress, it means I am not losing too fast.  Quick weight loss is not always long term weight loss, and I am in it for the long haul.    I look slightly smaller.  However, I am retaining some water because I've had a bit more salt to help me avoid dehydration due to a bout of the flu I have had over the past two weeks.  Its less important to be slightly lighter on the scale than it is to be alive.  I choose to be alive and that only happens if the body remains hydrated.

Its hot.  The hair is dirty.  I only go out for less than an hour early in the day.  I aim for a 6:30 am jog.  I am considering shifting that to an earlier call time, more like 6 am.  For some reason, I really like the feeling of the toasty sunshine on my legs when I'm jogging.  It feels so good.  In contrast, I like the cool shade on my face.  

I need to find a non-irritating sunscreen.  My hat is not cutting it.  Most sunscreens burn my skin.  But, I'm getting burned by the sun and I'm very photosensitive.

Life is good.  I am staying focused on the positive.  I am focusing on the foods I do want in my body:

1. Plenty of healthy fats from coconut oil and olive oil.

2. Plenty of good protein from chicken, eggs, pork, and beef.

3. Plenty of leafy greens, squashes, cucumber, celery, and jicama.

4. Moderate amount of whole grains, steel cut oatmeal for example.

5. Calorie cycling.  4 low calorie days per week and 3 high calorie days per week.

I am staying focused on movement:

1. Cardio 5-6 cays per week 30-60 min. in my THR

2. Yoga 4 nights per week 20-60 min.

3. Interval training 3 days per week

4. Long slow burn aka steady state 3 days per week.

5. Strength training 1x per week.

Life is an interruption

But, if you are smart about it and work around your own tendencies, even on wicked busy days you can get a workout in.  The tricks I've used this week are being flexible about the time of day, setting up my workout room in advance, and doing it the first thing upon arriving home.  I have done my workout in the evening.  I even got my mother to help me tidy up my room when I was driving home.  One night I did my yoga at 9 pm which is really late for me!  Also, before I left my work location (3 hours away) I put on my yoga clothes.  I'm not likely to go to bed without doing the yoga if I'm already dressed!  Thats what I mean by psyching my self out, I set my self up for success by working around my own personality.

EDH Technique #3 Make your own diet guide

Go to all of the website pages of your favorite restaurants.  Create a food guide with only the best food choices and their macro nutrients.  Print out this guide.  Take it with you in your purse or wallet.  I've done this with much success.  Its always surprising to learn things like a piece of fried chicken may have only 3 g. of carbohydrate and a piece of fried fish might be 10.  I never would have guessed that, but over at the Home Town Buffet, its true!  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to start eating fried chicken again. My point is that its not always obvious what the best choice is at any particular restaurant.  For me, over at McDonald's it is obvious.  Any salad selection with any salad dressing is acceptable.  I never drink anything that is sweetened.  Its best for a person to only have sweets as a treat.  I don't think its smart to drink them.  Its deceiving, it makes you think you had something to drink but what you had was a lot of sodium.  If you are thirsty, drink some water.  Soda is called soda because of the sodium.  It can't quench thirst by its very definition.  

I do like the buffet as an option.  As a person who prefers to eat low carb, I like being able to choose some white fish, a piece of beef, and green beans or a vegetable medley.  I do look up the carb content and watch my portion sizes.  I drink black tea.  I also put olive oil on a salad with tomatoes and mushrooms.  None of what I eat is weird food.  There is no sugar substitute on my plate.  I used to be a aspartame junkie.  I drank a case of diet cola per week.  I admit I was an addict.  I quit when I learned about its effect on the brain.  The headaches I used to get went away.  I also used to chew sugar free gum.  I loved to pop bubbles.  I switched to Altoids in college because thats what all of the other audio engineers liked.  I wanted to fit in.  I also developed a decayed tooth and had to have a root canal.  That was on my 16th birthday.  I stopped using Altoids after that.  A few years ago, I took an airplane ride and got some gum because its supposed to help with the ascent/descent variation in pressure and the painful effect that can have on the ears.  I got that nasty old headache again.  I finally put it together.  I should not be having these fake sugars.  I have not had any fake sugars since.  I tried the Splenda thing in Fl when I was trying to lose weight.  I did lose weight.  But, I have since then read about the effect of sending the brain the message that I have eaten a sweet substance without any additional sugars in the blood stream for my body to absorb.  This is a bad thing.  Sending mixed messages to your body is a bad idea.  Your body will release insulin and then you will lower your blood sugar to a dangerous level.  So, you get the insulin hit and no sugar.  After figuring that last bit out, I decided it was best to not eat fake sugar.  Its best to have the real thing if you want sugars.

I do not want sugars in my body.  Sometimes, I feel compelled to eat sugars.  Thats not the same thing as wanting to eat.  I don't want the effect of sugar on my body.  I get facial hair as a result of my PCO.  Its very clear the effect of sugars on my body.  Its critical to my sense of self to not have my body be androgenized.  It effects my self esteem, I become very depressed.  I don't like that feeling.  When I take my oils, especially my fish oil and evening primrose oil, the drive to find sugars decreases dramatically.  I have read that certain lipids give the body a chemical door into its own fat cells and that without those lipids, the body cannot access its own food supply.  Thats why when you eat a piece of salmon and your body is satieted, you might not be hungry for days because your body now has access to your fat cells.  That happened to me once.  I was stunned.  I had never not been hungry.  I was always hungry.  I always ate low fat.  I felt horrible all the time from my low blood sugar.  Then, one morning there was a left over piece of salmon that was going to go bad so I had to cook it and eat it.  I had it for breakfast without any thing else.  I did not eat for two days.  I had no low blood sugar symptoms.  Fascinating, no?

Jimmy Says!

Well, ok, he said yesterday on You Tube that there are several things which can stall low carb weight loss.  Pop over to his website and watch the video.  Don't be put off by the beginning part with the Kitty.  Its not a cat cast.  

Apparently, peanut butter and grapefruit are out.  I had tried the grapefruit on the recommendation of another dieting guru, Ms. Sandra Ahten of Reasonable diet.  I tried it.  I don't think it really helped.  As for peanut butter, I had heard that there are diet coaches who recommend against all nut use.  Apparently, there is a problem with the hormonal profile of nuts.  I guess it makes sense.  After all, the little bitty thing is supposed to grow up into a big tall tree.  Its too bad, I liked both of those foods.  However, in the interests of my weight loss goals, I will for go the grapefruit and peanut butter.  I'm also skipping the wheat and dairy products.  

You may ask, well Alisha, what does that leave you with?  Lots of healthy fats, plenty of low carb vegetables, and some protein.  The other thing that Jimmy mentioned which may pertain to myself is that excess protein is converted into sugar.  I had forgotten about that.  At some point, I did know that.  So, I should also watch the portion size of my protein.  I had read on a forum that some trainers recommend no more than 20 grams of protein per meal.  Wow, thats only 2.3 ounces of chicken breast at a whack.  The Dr. Eades recommend 34 grams of protein for a person my size.  Thats about 4 ounces of chicken or 2.5 to 4.5 ounces of steak.

Not really knowing

I know that I will be switching to primarily night/evening workouts.  I'm normally a morning workout person.  But, my new work schedule really requires me to be more flexible about that.  My plan is to do my yoga in the morning because that requires no sweat nor gear.  Just my mat.  I will do my cardio in the evening when I come home from work.  My day will start at 6 am.  There is a rumor that there is a gym that I may get to use.  I haven't done a gym workout in a long time.  I've been so enamoured of Cathe and home workouts, it just has not appealed to me.  Also, those places are kind of gross, how often are they cleaned anyway?  A lot of diseases can be passed through sweat and snott, you know?  Still, I can take a towel laced with cleaning fluid, wipe down the equipment and then use it.  There are spin classes and treadmills.  There is a full assortment of weight lifting equipment.  The last time I went to a gym people kept forgetting that I went there and kept asking for my ID but guess what I don't work there, my Mother does!  Sheesh.  They couldn't remember from one day to the next.  It was so freaking irritating.  I may just choose to run on campus (my job is at a college for the next 60 days.) and shower in the ladies gym.  Poop.  This stuff is dumb.  I need a runners wallet to carry my id/keys in.  I need to go to REI or Sports authority.  

I'm thinking about that new rotation.  I could shift my day off to Monday so that I would get my long run in on the weekend.  We are supposed to only work 4 days a week.  Thats super cool.  I bet my workouts will be awesome!  

Goals

My goal is to be a healthy weight.  I have fitness goals too.  I want to be able to run a 12 minute mile.  I want to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping.  I want to be able to run for 60 minutes without stopping.  I want to be able to do boy style push ups.  I want to be able to do chin ups and pull ups.  I want to be able to do a Cathe abdominal workout without feeling like I'm going to puke.  It just takes a little planning, a little dedication during the workouts, and vigilance about what I put in my mouth.  I'm 55 pounds away from my goal weight.  I'm two minutes away from my mile pace.  I'm 14 minutes away from being able to jog for 30 minutes without a walk break.  I'm 44 minutes away from being able to jog for 30 minutes without a walk break.  

My health goals are tied up primarily in my diet.  I need to eat a low carbohydrate diet in order to properly control my blood sugar, give my pancreas a break, and restore my insulin receptors.  The whole thing is complex.  I also must use my yoga.  It is critical to keep my stress level down because without a calm mind, the body produces sugars and raises your insulin level.  

I only eat a small amount of grain post cardio workout.  This morning it was 1/4 cup of berries and 1/2 cup of steel cut oatmeal.  Later, I'm planning a second cardio workout of stationary biking and I plan to follow that up with 1/2 a grapefruit.  

Goals are important.  They help you stay focused on what you really want.  I really want to be fit.  I really want my health to improve.  

Lentil soup

Has more carbohydrates than I remembered.  Oops.  Oh well.  There is always tomorrow and the rest of the day to make better choices.

"Eat like its your job."

I've forgotten who said that first.  Whomever they were was terribly smart.  It is important to eat frequently, properly and enough.  Even though I'm not really hungry yet, I'm snacking on some walnuts and left over roast chicken.  Its not easy to get a lot of calories in when they are all clean calories.  It takes a lot of good protein and healthy fats to make up the necessary calorie intake to avoid hibernation mode.  I've had what carbohydrate I will have for the day.  It was two slices of Sara lee Whole Wheat bread and 1 cup of black berries.  Yum!  

Why does a cloudy day make me want to sleep?  

I love cold, grilled chicken.  I had two left over pieces from Sunday night.  I grilled them outside.  They were so tasty.  

Food, diets, and macro nutrients

I've been thinking about my diet.  I think that I haven't always lived up to my goals.  Its time to be a little more forward thinking and  a little bit selfish.  That means I'm carying my cooler.  That means I'm not eating what everybody else is eating.  That means they may not like it.  Too darn bad.  Its my mouth and I'm in charge of it.

New diet goals:

1. Get 130 grams of protein per day.

2. Get at least 1200 calories per day.

3. Get 3-5 servings of vegetables per day.

4. Get 1-2 servings of fruits per day.

5. Get at least 1 serving of coconut oil per day.

Low Calorie days: 1200 calories with a calorie and carbohydrate taper.

High calorie days: 2000 calories with additional carbohydrates.  Up to 60 grams of carbs per day.  

Its simple, the night before I cook my chicken and have my hot meal.  The day after, I eat my left over chicken.  

All of this is important. The exercise is important.  The eats are important.  Why?  Because my goals are important.  It matters how I take care of my body, mind and spirit.  If something is out of wack, its much harder to be an effective human being.  

Stress

My best friend when I'm stressed is my workouts.  They aren't fattening.  Other coping mechanisms like ice cream and popcorn just make you feel worse.  I blew my diet all weekend.  I was under serious peer pressure.  I can't like that anymore.  I feel aweful.  I don't ever want to go back.  I've had it with ice creams and fried foods and hamburgers (not that great btw.)

Ugh.

There is more to life than sweet tastes in your mouth.  What about the aftermath?  The stomach ache?  The head ache?  The fat belly?  The self loathing?  The loathing of others?  Never again.   I've had enough.  What is that saying, enough is enough?  For whom?  I've had enough to last me for months without eating, of course my metabolism would tank and I would gain weight, but that is another topic.  

I have at least fifty pounds to lose.  In order to achieve that goal I have to set boundaries and use my ability to say "No thank you."  My old habit was to just go with the flow.  To use inconvenience as a reason to not eat well.  I'm too old to eat poorly anymore.  Now, eating poorly makes me feel bad.  Seriously, I could just puke and frankly if I did puke I would probably feel a lot better.  

In order to feel good about myself, whether or not my body does what its supposed to, I have to follow a reasonable diet.  A reasonable diet does not include dessert.  It just doesn't.  I don't need to be stuffed to not feel hungry.  A smaller portion of food will do just fine.

If I never eat another ice cream cone, I will be just fine.  There is no RDA for ice cream.  ugh.  It makes me wonder if I'm just bored or thirsty all the time.  I know I'm bored a lot.  

Boredom is not a fun thing.  They say if you are bored then you are a boring person.   I just don't give a poop whether or not I"m entertaining anymore.  I worked in show business.  Its boring half the time.  So, how can a business which is all about entertainment, be boring?  lol.  Go figure.

EDH Technique #2 State your goal before your workout

Before every workout, state to yourself or to others, what it is you are trying to accomplish in the next hour.  For me, each workout satisfies several goals.  I have both intensity and duration goals.  I also want to improve mental outlook, burn calories, and increase my metabolism.  I am also meeting a promise to myself, to give diet and exercise my all before I resort to a medication alternative to improve my mood, blood sugar, blood pressure, or insulin sensitivity.  The only way I know of to properly meet all of those goals is to use my heart rate monitor.  I wear it on almost every workout.  I use it to help me know when I have achieved my goals for that day.  I use it to help me run intervals and to stay in a tight range on steady state cardio days. Knowing what it is I am trying to accomplish before each workout really helps me stay on target.  Sometimes I don't meet my daily goals.  Thats a disappointment every time.  

Struggling with carb cravings

I don't know why this is coming up again.  It doesn't make any sense.  I just really like fresh fruit.  This morning I had some cherries and fresh strawberries.  More than I probably should have had on top of my pbj.  I'm going to have to be more careful about that.  

I am down a pound.  I suspect that it was a result of two days of hardly eating anything because I felt so poorly.  I did exercise this afternoon.   I didn't have the endurance level I usually do.  The best approach under those circumstances is to work with the endurance level that you do have and not worry about comparing yourself to your best days performance.  I did 26 minutes of a step workout without risers and 20 minutes of a hi/lo tape.  I plan to do some yoga later.

One thing that I have noticed, is that I'm getting better about not needing to eat everything I make.  This afternoon, per request, I baked two cakes, one was orange and the other is apricot.  I wanted to taste them but I did not.  Yeah!  Thats a victory!!!  I enjoyed the baking process but because I ate a filling lunch of eggs and steak, I was not swayed by the lovely smell of freshly baked cake.  Wow.  If you bake or cook, you may understand how important this is.  

I've been thinking about a rotation style that was posted on the Cathe Friedrich forum but I don't remember the OP's original name, so I do apologize for borrowing your idea, I don't know who you are, please let me know if you read this.  The idea is to use a different kind of exercise every day of the week.  I have not been willing to do this in the past because there are only two exercises which have really put me into my target heart rate, step and walk/runs.  I did try the stationary bike a week ago and I really hurt my butt.  I couldn't hardly walk for three days.  It was ugly.   I did start out gung ho, I did 60 minutes in my THR.  I wonder if that was too much or if I should try folding up a towel to make the seat a little more tushie friendly.  I'm not willing to give up a day of jogging/walking.  I like how that improves my lower body.  I would be willing to add some stationary bike to days where my step workout is not long enough in my THR.  Also, on one of my jog/walk days I can add some jump rope now that it is warmer.  

Yesterday I got out there and did a 3 mile hike even though I didn't really feel like it.  I didn't even wear my hrm.  I just walked.  My endurance was down.  I'm guessing it was from being sick.

Its the diet stupid!

I have read all over the Internet that it is the diet that is the culprit for most people when they are trying to lose weight.  I was sick last night and as a consequence, I did not feel up to going for a jog this morning.  I used to be really worried that a day or several days without a workout would make me heavier.  It doesn't.  When I was recovering from a broken foot, my appetite went way down.  I just did not want to eat.  So, I didn't.  I lost 25 pounds even though I was off of my feet for six months.  When I was working on a film project with a lot of hours and a lot of physical activity, I put on weight.  It was a very stressful job.  I believe that the stress trumps any physical activity added to the equation.  I believe that stress can trump a good diet, too.  

Luckily, the only real stress I'm experiencing right now is that I am looking for work.  I am extremely lucky.  I have a place to live.  I am able to look for work because I have my laptop, Internet access, a wardrobe and a vehicle.  

Although I really prefer to open my day with a workout, sometimes that is just not an option.  This is especially true when I'm not feeling physically well.  Dizziness, nausea, and gastrointestinal distress are good reasons to put off your cardiovascular workout.  The trick with a day that does not have cardio, you must be really careful with your calorie intake and the quality of calories.  Today, all I could manage to eat in the morning was some triscuit crackers and a very small amount of Sprite.  Just now, I was able to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich down.  I was feeling really hungry probably because I haven't eaten since yesterday morning.  

The best kind of peanut butter and jelly is the closest to clean that you can get.  I use the Laura Scudder peanut butter.  I like the natural kind of peanut butter that you have to stir the peanut oil back into the solids.  I like no salt on my peanut butter sandwich.  I use the grape jelly from Trader Joe's.  It does not have corn syrup and is very inexpensive.  I use 1 tablespoon.  I use the honey whole wheat Sara Lee bread.  Again, it is not made with corn syrup and is whole grain.  This sandwich has a considerable amount of carbohydrates.  As a consequence, on a day when I have one of these I don't have a lot of other grain sources.  According to my calculator, thats 481 calories and 61 carbohydrates.  That is more carbohydrate than I normally eat.  However, sometimes thats all I can stomach.  If I can eat later it will just be some plain scrambled eggs.  I should come in above my target on my carbohydrate intake.  But, my calories will be within range.  The next time that I experience this kind of sickness, I hope that I can keep my carbohydrate intake within limits, I'm just at a loss for how to manage that.  

Delayed Gratification

One of the other things that I delay is purchases.  I am currently in the job market.  I am delaying the purchase of a few non-essentials until I can purchase them without using credit.  I would like to purchase a lower mileage vehicle.  I would like to buy some of the Cathe Friedrich DVDs that I don't have yet.  I am on the 5 year plan to purchase Cathe's DVD collection.  I allow myself two purchases per year, one for Christmas and one for my Birthday.  They are gifts.  I would also like to buy a new computer to edit my audio, video and photos on.

I am grateful for my Cathe DVDs.  These are part of how I keep my sanity.  I love the use of exercise rather than prescriptions to bolster my mood and keep a lid on anxiety.  Exercise has been found (according to Dr. Oz) to be a more effective mood elevator than prescription drugs over the course of a year.  I am very glad that I did not elect to try prescription drugs before I tried exercise.  I do take fish oil.  I am under the impression that fish oil is not addictive.  I also understand that drugs like Paxil or Wellbutrin must be carefully reduced with the supervision of a medical doctor.  If stopped abruptly there are significant side effects.  

AM Cardio is Key

I, for one, find the morning to be the best time of the day to workout.  It is key to keeping me in a fitness mode for the rest of the day.  I have a very small snack before my workout.  This morning it was just three Triscuits.  That is wheat.  I should have had a hard boiled egg.  I forgot.  This is a good time to put into practice one of Renee Stephen's techniques called the "Re-Do."   Its very effective and prevents self recrimination.  After my recent post about the adverse effects of stress and how that in turn effects insulin, you should already understand why it is terribly important to reduce stress both external and internal sources.  That includes learning to modify your behavior without degrading into calling yourself names or beating yourself up.  

In a recent tweet, Sandra Ahten brought up the concept of delayed gratification.  I use that concept to help propel myself throughout my day.  I use my morning breakfast and my carbohydrate (for me its a treat) post workout as my gratification.  I delay it until after my cardio.  I try to keep treats/carbohydrates to only immediately post cardio.  I have read that having one's carbohydrate post workout is important to replenish the glycogen stores in the muscle.  I have also read that tapering your carbohydrate intake throughout the day is an effective fat loss strategy.  I understand that idea comes from Venuto of the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook.  I do not own a copy of that book.  I just heard about it on a forum.  I understand his book is really aimed at normal people and not at those with insulin resistance and PCO (aka easily developed muscle.)  Also, by keeping my cardio pre-breakfast I don't get into the situation of, oops I forgot!  or I feel too tired!  Cause, I know I'm not too tired when I wake up.  I am a morning person, this strategy works for me most of the time.  If I must workout in the evening, its not as pleasant.  I feel odd the whole day.  

Today's Reasonable Diet Tweet

Sandra Ahten posted a tweet suggesting 2 things:

1. What can you leave behind?

Cheese.  I should.  Its not really serving me.  I like it a lot.  I don't think its good for my digestive tract.  I haven't so far because its one of the few things I really look forward to anymore.  I do like my salads.  Preferably with some shredded cheese!  ugh.  ok.  fine.  how about just for one week?

The only real calorie sources in my diet are chicken, pork, beef and good fats (coconut, olive) anymore.  I really have to pack in the veggies too.  But, no tangy cheese?  shoot man!

2. What one, brand new thing, can you do today?  I have a pilattes dvd I have never tried.  I could do that.

Odd things in dieting: 1

People are sold appetite suppressants as though lowering calories was the ticket to weight loss.  One of the things that happens when you reign in your calorie intake is that you automatically lower your carbohydrate intake.  The result is a lower insulin level.  Insulin, as you may recall, is a storage hormone.  The less insulin floating around, the thinner you get.  Insulin is not evil.  It is something to be understood.  An appetite is not evil either.  But food that does not satiate is not (in my opinion) an effective food.  If you eat a reasonable quantity of food with an appropriate variety of nutrients you should be satisfied.  The body naturally regulates how much food it needs.  If, on the other hand, you eat a reasonable amount of a food and still find yourself ravenous or driven to continue eating, let me suggest that is not food.  What you have discovered is a narcotic which is ingested through the digestive system.  Real food satisfies.  Narcotics never really do.  

I have often been told by well meaning individuals that I would lose weight if I would lower my caloric intake to just 500 calories per day.  That tactic did not work for my grandmother.  As a matter of fact, I believe it destroyed her metabolism and that the recommended subsequent diet of low fat was her complete undoing.  I do not believe in a low fat diet anymore.  

Low fat foods do not satisfy me.  They tend to leave me with a stomach ache long before I am satisfied.  A mere 4 ounces of turkey, 1 cup of salad greens, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and drinking plenty of water spiked with lemon juice is satisfying for me.  For me, the protein and the olive oil are key components of my effective diet.

More than being slim

I am concerned with my pre-diabetic condition.  I was told two years ago that I was pre-diabetic and insulin resistant.  The advantage to this diagnosis is that with careful diet and exercise one can hopefully turn the tide of that disease.  It is a complex one.  It involves the cardiovascular system, the lymph system, the pancreas, the liver, and even the fat cells play a roll.  

My approach included a many pronged attack.  I am somewhat fanatic about my cardiovascular exercise.  Its not that I always want to do it.  Its that they told me in my pre-diabetes class that cardiovascular exercise is the one thing that reverses insulin resistance.  I took that bit of information to heart, literally.  I aim for 60 minutes in my target heart range 6 days per week.  My intensity is high.  I work between 150 and 185 beats per minute according to my heart rate monitor.  I vary my workouts.  I cross train.  I walk, hike, do step aerobics, hi/lo aerobics, jump rope, jog, and use a stationary bike.  Its an intense exercise regime.  I tried working out every day, but I found that my body really needs one day to repair.  Also, I vary between steady state workouts and interval style workouts.  

One of the methods that I use to address my blood sugar issues is yoga.  Stress reduction is very important both in weight loss and also in helping the body to disengage from a hyper stressful state.  The liver (according to what I have read on herbalprovider.com) releases  sugar when there is adrenaline present.  I have noticed a reduction in my weight when I was practicing yoga.  I am inclined to conclude that is a result of less sugar, and thereby less insulin, floating in my blood stream.  The problem with excess insulin is that it is a storage hormone, it stores fat.  It also has other ramifications beyond obesity, but I will leave it at that for now.

Yoga (according to a story on NPR) also immediately puts the body into fat burning mode.  I'm guessing thats the "fiery krias."  If you have ever performed yoga at a slightly advanced level, then you know what a fiery kria (spl?) feels like.  It feels like you are on fire.  I have experienced that feeling during an interval run or a tough Cathe Friedrich step workout.  

Nutrition is key when fighting the onset of diabetes or trying to avoid it entirely.  I am working towards being more adherent to a very low carb lifestyle.  For me, the biggest obstacles are the occasional grain or milk craving, fruit cravings, and the effect on my cardiovascular output.  When I'm on ultra low carb, I also don't seem to lose weight very effectively.  My body temperature takes a dip and my energy level hits the skids.  I do best between 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per day.  Thats not garbage carbs either.  I can't tolerate juice or soda.  I can't tolerate white bread or donuts.  I should probably eliminate dairy and grain, its more of a behavioral issue than a nutritionally sound way of eating.  I try to keep my carbs to whole fruits (portion controlled) and steel cut oatmeal (just 1/2 cup cooked) as well as healthy low glycemic fruits.  Tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados are my favorites.  I still occasionally make myself a bit of home made pizza with a hearty bread as the crust, whole milk mozzarella, olives and mushrooms.  I make sure I only have 1-2 ounces by cutting it up into iddy bitty bites.  I know that is a bit of a mind game.

I also take a few supplements.  I take fish oil, evening primrose oil, and calcium/magnesium.  I also take a broad spectrum multi vitamin.  If I have had too much sugar/carbs I will take gymnema.  

I have been using the calorie cycling method for a while.  It helps me with my weight loss.  I just skip my dinner every other day.  Its simple.  Not rocket science.  I'm not likely to get into trouble with breakfast or lunch.  Those are usually small bowl of oats, 1/2 to 1/8 cup fruit, 2 eggs, lunch is a big salad with plenty of olive oil, avocado and protein.  This works so long as my carbs aren't too high or I've eaten something from my "Do NOT EAT" list.

I don't know if anybody reads this thing, but if they have insulin resistance, PCOS, or are pre-diabetic, they should.

Low carb and my cardio

I do notice that my cardio endurance suffers when I'm really low carbing it.  However, I don't care because my goal is fat loss, repairing my insulin resistance, and avoiding diabetes.  I'm not training to be an endurance runner.  As a matter of fact, I read that training for more than an hour at a time releases cortisol, which I understand is released with testosterone, and as a PCOS sufferer, I am trying to avoid insulin and excess testosterone as well as excess estrogen.  

My personal goals regards my life and my fitness goals march hand in hand.  I want to become fit.  I want to become a yoga instructor.  I want to earn my MA in Psychology so that I can counsel others on how to be at peace with food, fitness and life.  I want to do that with Skype.  I want to empower people with knowledge.  I want to be effective.  I want to follow in the footsteps of diet coaches like Sandra Ahten, Renee Stephens, and to be an athlete like Cathe Friedrich.  I want to be smart like Jimmy Moore.  I want to be free of my personal fat suit.  I want to embrace the techniques which I know work.  

What do you want to do with your life?

The Alkaline Diet Concepts

Seem to be simple.  They are don't eat grain, dairy, meat and excess salt.  The one thing I'm concerned about is that the list of foods which are claimed to be alkaline don't really seem to be alkaline.  They list tomato which I know is acidic because when I had my kidney/bladder infection it bothered my bladder very much and in order to neutralize it I had to take baking soda.  However, the principles are not bad and the food list seems reasonable.  The only thing I would worry about is a lack of protein (not complete proteins) but protein in general.  

Fat Free yogurt

Is not sugar free nor is it calorie free.  However, today was hot and I was weak.  I had one of those Kirkland  swirl yogurts at Costco, to my horror it was fat free.   I would have had  a small but they only sold one size.  I think it was too much at one time.  Still, it is my high calorie day.  I also had some chinese barbecue pork.  We are having zucchini for dinner.  Yum. 

 I developed a nasty headache after having just a few bites of a salami.  Ouchie.  I guess I really can't tolerate those nitrates anymore.  I used to love ham, salami and pepperoni.  I just can't tolerate it anymore.  I develop these low grade migraines on that stuff.  I was good over all.  I did 30 minutes of intense step aerobics this morning with Cathe Friedrich.  I packed my lunch.  I did not eat out with my Dad.  I could have.  I just didn't.  I packed watermelon, roast chicken, a baby apple, green bell pepper, a spinach salad with olive oil and walnuts.  I feel like I've been hit by a truck.  I feel like my frontal lobe is pushing out my forehead.  OUchie.  No more processed meats, I won't every again, I swear!  I drank a bunch of iced mint tea when I got home.  

I also watered my garden.  I love my garden.  I don't love the rash on my forehead.  Its been there for two days.  It looks like a nasty case of itty bitty acne, but I don't get acne anymore and it doesn't hurt like acne nor is it responsive to anything, not creams or antihistamines.  Go figure.  I'm not eating anything odd.  I think it was pollen from outside when I was pulling weeds.  

The plan for tomorrow:

1. Workout Walk/jog for 60 minutes in my THR.

2. Look for work

3.  Work on my portfolio

4. Eat in a manner that supports my fitness goals.

Planned eats:

Pre WO 1 egg

Post WO 1/2 c. oats, 1/8 cup berries, 1 table spoon of coconut oil

Snack: 3 oz. chicken

Lunch: 2 cups greens, chicken fried steak, 1 tbsp olive oil, 

Snack: 3 oz. chicken

Dinner: skip (low calorie day)

In Dieting Trouble

I'm in serious trouble.  I've been working really hard and I put on two pounds.  I feel horrible.  I did everything right.  Well, almost everything.  I did have protein shakes, some nuts, some andes mints, and I tried skipping breakfast as a different time of day to fast.  I was in ketosis.  I did not get 60 minutes in my THR each day.  I guess the only real way to know that its my body and not my diet plan is to follow the plan to the letter so that I can at least feel good about that.  So, revisiting what had worked in the past, I am going back to my high/low days.  This is what my diet principles look like:

Regards Eats:

1. Eat 130 grams of protein per day from fish, chicken, eggs, pork or beef.

2. Eat only olive oil or coconut oil for my fat source.

3. Eat less than 60 grams of carbs per day.

4. Eat only 1/2 cup of steel cut oatmeal per day as my grain source.

5. Eat at least 4 cups of leafy greens per day (2 at lunch, 2 at dinner.)

6. Stick to low glycemic index fruits including tomato, avocado and cucumber.

7. Eat only food that I have made.

8. Eat only 1 tbsp walnuts/day.

Do not eat:

1. KFC, 

2. Donuts

3. Wheat, corn, potatoes, carrots (estrogens), soy, 

4. Dairy

5. Chile Rellenos (looks like diet food, but is not)

6. Anything with hydrogenated oils

7. 

Regards Drinks:

Drink only water, decaf herbal tea or lemon water. 

Drink at least 8 glasses per day.

Do not drink any fruit juice, soda, or soda water.

Prepare foods ahead of time as much as possible to encourage diet adherence.

Take my supplements on time.

Eat my snacks on time.

Do my exercise on time.

Use my ability to say no to behaviors which hurt me.

Movement:

1. Cardio in my THR for 60 minutes 6x a week.

2. Yoga 5x a week.

3. Strength training 1x/week.

4. Cross train as much as possible.

Mind, spirit, and heart:

1. Maintain food log/journal.

2. Blog 1x per week (not daily)

3. Check in 1x per week (not daily)

4. Meditate 1x per week.

5. Use the "homework" concept from Motivation to Move podcast

6. Use the WRAP from Sandra Ahten.

7. Use the Re-Do from IOWL.

8. Listen to podcasts when doing exercise or chores.

A sample day's menu:

Pre WO 2 hard boiled eggs

Post WO 1/2 cup steel cut oats, 1/4 cup fresh blueberries,

Snack: Chicken bites (3 oz.) with cucumber

Lunch: 2 cups lettuce, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp vinegar, 1/4 of an avocado, 1 tomato, 5 olives, Turkey (4 oz)

Snack: Chicken bites (3 oz.) with jicama

Dinner (eaten only on high calorie days): 1 cup spinach, 1 cup sprouts, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp vinegar, pork or beef

Low day is about 1200 calories.  High day is close to 2,000.  I really hope that this works.  Also, I've eliminated salted nuts.  They are good for some people but perhaps are not good for me to snack on.  

Ok, then, Operation SO GOOD ITS DISGUSTING begins tomorrow.

My rotation:

Sunday: off,  Yoga

Monday: Jog Warm up 5 min. Jog 25 min. then intervals of 2 min. jog then walk hr down to 150.  Repeat up to minute 60 in my THR according to my HR monitor., Yoga Kathy Smith

Tuesday: Step Works on one set of risers, Yoga, Today

Wednesday: Jog (same as Mon.), Yoga Gary Bromley

Thursday: Cycle 60 minutes Steady state, HSCkt (Strength) 

Friday: Jog (same as Mon.), Yoga (netflix)

Saturday: Cathe Friedrich's IMAX on two risers, Yoga Today

Sunday: Make up Jog?

Vary your calorie load

Both intake and burn.  It can help you bust a plateau when your body has adapted to your calorie intake.  I sometimes skip a meal.  I know that is contrary to popular wisdom.  However, I seem to benefit from it.  I prefer to skip a dinner meal rather than  a morning meal because I do so much physical activity in the morning.  I make sure I don't eat less than 1200 calories.  I have been listening to the Motivation to Move podcast on my shuffle while I was doing yard work (weed eating is very sweaty work.) Scott mentioned varying his calories this morning as a way to improve his fitness/physique.  I think he is on the right track.  Last year when I was in my last plateau (I'm in one now) I used calorie cycling to get myself out of a 9 month plateau.  Now, if you are in a plateau you shouldn't despair.  I have learned from Sandra Ahten and the IOWL podcasts that these are times to reevaluate my behavior and also to embrace the fact that I have learned how to maintain a lower weight than I was before.  I don't expect Scott to get around to reading my blog (he probably doesn't know I'm here lol!) Still, if you do, the cool part about calorie cycling is that you don't have to always abstain from your favorite foods, you just put off the higher calorie ones until your higher calorie day.  

Also, giving yourself permission to eat what you really want to eat (with a bit of portion control) removes some of the power that food can have over you.  Checking in with your stomach to find out what your body really needs is a very effective method for becoming more at ease with food.  Thats a major premise in IOWL.  

I am now working on getting out of my plateau.  Contrary to popular method, I have skipped the occasional breakfast.  I am trying the IF method.  That is short for Intermittent Fasting.  I'm not as hardcore as the Eades are as posted on their blog.  Instead, I just skip breakfast.  I have shifted my cardio to the evening on those days.  I don't want to do cardio without fuel in my system.  This incorporates a period of no food with unpredictable feed periods.  Also, I'm still using a couple of days of my old style of calorie cycling, with eating 

In a week it looks like this:

S Low calorie day (stop eating at 1 pm)

M Eat until 6 pm

T Start eating at noon.  (this is where I vary from the Eades)

W Eat until 6 pm

T Start eating at noon.

F Eat until 6 pm

S High calorie day Normal calorie load, no fast at all.  Low carb to avoid a problem 

I have also shifted my workouts to accommodate my variation in calorie intake.

S off

M am Jog, pm Yoga

T am yoga, pm Step

W am Jog, pm whole body strength 

T am yoga, pm cycling (1 hour steady state)

F am Jog, pm Yoga

S am Step, pm Yoga

Dieting By the Numbers

This is how I figure out how many calories to eat each day.  I aim for a 500 calorie deficit.  I try to achieve that deficit in my workouts rather than under eating.  What I mean by that is that I eat my bmr in calories rather than eating 500 calories less than my bmr and not exercising.  I determine my calorie load by using this simple calculator.  Then do determine what my calorie deficit is, I add my calories burned from my workout (as told to me by my heart rate monitor.)  

Todays calculations look like this:

BMR is 1588

Calories burned is 611

Total calorie load is 1588+611

For a deficit of 500 calories= (1588+611) - 500= calories that I need to consume today.

1699 is my goal for today.  I will round up to 1700 calories.  Thats a lot of food btw.  Thats not a small amount.  If you eat clean, it is a large volume of food.  Which is a good thing, for me!

To determine how much food I will eat I start with my macro nutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrate.  First, I look at what I have in the refrigerator in the way of protein.  Thats the most important component in my diet.  Its also the hardest to eat enough of, I like the protein power style of dieting.  They focus on 35 grams of protein per meal.  I don't always get that but that is my goal.  I use Fitday to determine how many calories and protein are in my food.

Intermittent Fasting

Oh boy.  I only made it to 11 am yesterday without a bite.  I was supposed to go until 6 pm.  I had an interview in the middle of the day.  I didn't want to be smelling like ketosis in the interview.  So, I ate.  This morning was less good, I had chocolate ice cream for breakfast.  I didn't have my oatmeal ready, and my resolve was down cause its ttotm.  However, it was only 1 cup.  Not the end of the world.  I have factored it into my calorie load for today.  I have a protein shake and salad on schedule for lunch.  I have a 3 mile Leslie Sansone dvd planned for today's workout.  I'm not up to Cathe today.  I did Cathe yesterday and I will do Cathe tomorrow.  I will fast in the evening today and tomorrow morning.  I also am skipping yoga because you need to not do inversions during menses.  Its not a good idea.  

Revisiting the Re-do

Ever notice yourself giving other people advice that you should be taking?  I just recommended the re-do to someone who had a food situation over the weekend that could be resolved with a re-do.  I need to re-do it myself.  I had some ice cream but I did give half to my Dad.  I had two burgers, but I had only 1.5 buns.  In retrospect, I should have had a couple of protein shakes and additional chicken for protein.  I could have skipped the buns entirely.  By then, I was so hungry, I could have cried.  Still, re-do and don't beat yourself up because being mean to yourself only leads to sad eating.  That is not a helpful behavior.  Its better to use something other than food to heal emotional wounds.  

weight is up again

I thought that a chile relleno would be diet food, apparently it is not.  I'm up four pounds.  I'm also very frustrated with this plateau.  I'm really ready to move on.  Its time to be serious.

Doing whats in my best interest

What is in my best interest?  

Plenty of yoga.

Plenty of high intensity endurance jogging.

Plenty of protein.

Plenty of good fat.

Plenty of leafy greens.

Home made lunches.

Doing that which makes me happy.

Inspired by the two gomers

They always have a section called songs to run to.  I like soundtracks, Hans Zimmer is the best imho.  "One Day" from the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End soundtrack is especially good.  "Up is Down" from the same soundtrack is also quite good.  I like it for off road running.  I use it to help propel me up particularly pernicious hills.  

Motivation to Move

Is a podcast that I am subscribed to on iTunes.  I like both Scott and Joy.  I listen to them when I'm on my morning jog.  I haven't signed up yet for their pay to play service.  I'm still in the job market.  However, I really like what they have to say.  Scott emphasises (spl?) doing your home work and what he means by that is checking in with your self to find out how am I doing?  This is a powerful tool because you do it at least once a week.  You look back on last week and review your performance, how you felt, and what you would like to have achieved but didn't.  Then you look at the following week and decide how you would like to feel and what you would like to achieve or get done.  This is a powerful tool because it is invoking the power of setting your intent.  There has been a lot of research about how setting your intent has a dramatic effect on the outcome of any situation.  I learned about intent setting from Sandra Ahten.  I highly recommend listening to both of these podcasts, they are a wealth of knowledge.  I realize that phrase sounds like a cliche, however, in these cases, its really true.  

A link to Sandra 

A link to Motivation To Move 

I'm about to go on my second workout from week 6 of the couch to 5k program.  I'm almost all geared up.  Its gotten warm enough that I'm forgoing my college sweatshirt.  I'm all decked out in pink.  Its going to be a scorcher by the end of the week.  We expect to see triple digits by the end of the week.  I am going out earlier to avoid complete and total melt down lol!