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.