Drop Dead Healthy

My husband found this video tonight--pretty entertaining guy and a few good tips.  I have found the keeping gum in my purse (which is always nearby, even at home) helps me get through some of the more challenging parts of the day and keeps me from eating when I'm driving--yet another bad habit I get into at times.

I think his book looks like kind of a fun read and may have some more good tips in it as well.  Just a thought.

Gateway...foods?

I just came across this article and it's actually something I have noticed with myself for some time now.  If I want to lose there are certain foods I just have to stay away from because once I eat some it's like I just totally lose control!

I also have to watch out for certain times of day.  Mornings are easy for me.  Generally speaking I eat pretty much the same thing almost everyday--my own version of muesli with yogurt, milk, and fruit.  Water.  Supplements.  That's it.  I rarely eat anything between breakfast and lunch and I don't even think about it.  For lunch it's often leftovers and often too big a portion of leftovers.  But sometime between lunch and dinner the cravings begin.  I usually try to have a piece of fruit midway through the afternoon, but what I really want is junk--something--anything!  Any cookies around?  Candy?  Chocolate chips?  And if it's something that I can eat piece by piece like chips or m&ms I will eat until it's gone.  It's like I can not stop.  Whatever.

So I know I have to find a way to keep myself busy (ie., out of harm's way) during my dangerous parts of the day AND avoid those gateway dr...ah...foods.  Like the plague.

UGH

Bob, I haven't actually ever done Atkins, but I think this is along those lines, yes.  The more intense the workout, the more carbs you get to add back in.

I did the workout one day, and it's pretty intense.  I felt great afterwards, and sore the next day, lol.

I'm having a difficult time eating what I need to, though, which makes things more difficult.  It's not that I don't want to, but my throat isn't healing as quickly as I'd like.  Drinking straight water feels like I'm drinking a cup of salt water, it hurts so bad.  Soda (non-caffeinated) has been easier to down, but I need to get some soda water cuz I don't like the sugar, and it's probably not helping the healing process.  And the only solid I've been able to eat relatively easily is ice cream.  Veggies are too painful, of course.  They taste good, they just hurt. 

I'm back over the 200 mark.  :( 

I'm not too discouraged.  I'm looking at this for what it is--an illness, and once I've kicked it, I'm getting back on track. 

I just wish I was better already!!!

Sticking with it

So I started my new way of life on the 1st, and I have to say, it's been great.  The not having carbs has been really hard, so every few days I cave and eat a little bit of bread, but I'm good with that.  It might slow down my overall weight loss, but I'm ok with that.

I gave up all soda 14 days ago, and I have to say, the effects on my belly have been SWEET.  I don't look 6 months pregnant anymore!!!  Seriously, I think of how I feel now and it's not worth it to have that Mountain Dew. 

Tomorrow I'm supposed to start the exercise program, and add carbs back into the diet, but I've been sick for the last two days and haven't eaten much of anything, so I might hold off a few days, until I'm feeling better.

New Year, New Start?

Hello!  It seems with the holiday season, I kinda gave up on losing any weight or getting in shape.  Thankfully, I didn't GAIN any weight, so I'm not starting OVER, just starting ANEW.  :)

I've been thinking about trying out the P.I.N.K method; saw it on Dr. Phil, and it looks more in depth than W.W.  I did W.W. after having Aidan, my 4 year old, and it worked great, I lost weight like crazy, but I'm thinking it was only because I was working on the ramp at the airport and not counting that as excersize.  Because when I was working at a desk after having Asher, it did NOTHING for me.  But they don't really place an emphasis on exercise, just watching what you eat. 

I need motivation to exercise.  Watching what I eat has helped me maintain, but I want to LOSE.  I don't know if this will work for me, but I'm willing to give it a shot.  It's cheaper overall than a gym membership, and easier--I don't have to lug my kids anywhere or find someone to watch them so I can hit the gym.

Also, it's come to my attention that I need a dream.  I was reading a friend's blog, and she was talking about how she's kinda stalled out lately--she's living her dream from when she was young, and has realized that she needs a new dream.  And it occurred to me that I'm in the same boat.  I have a loving husband, 2 wonderful children, a home in which to raise my family, great neighbors, and a church family that I love.  My health isn't as tip-top as I would like.  I'm still hovering around 204 lbs.  Which doesn't look HORRIBLE on my 5 foot 9 inch frame, but it's not flattering.  I look at pictures of myself when I was in Maine, how I thought then that I was heavy, and WISH I was back at that weight.

Just "losing weight" isn't working for me, though.  I need something more...concrete.  I think I need to commit to running a 5k or something similar, though I'm not going to commit to that just yet.  Maybe I commit to committing to running a 5k?  :)

One thing I need to do is commit to writing on here more.  Maybe once a week?  Because just writing this post is motivating me.

Update!!!

As of today, my mother-in-law has lost 51 lbs. using this method described earlier on this blog. (Remember?  4 to 5 8-ounce meals a day and 6-8 glasses of water?)  She said that when her sister was visiting they had American chop suey and strawberry shortcake--both big favorites--so she weighed out 4 ounces of both and enjoyed her meal!  I am totally getting a food scale.

Way to go Iris!!

the weight of health: can you be FAT and still be HEALTHY???

yes you can!!! hahaha! i know i haven't posted in a long while, but i do check up on the blog and read everyone's posts and comments a couple times a week so KEEP ON POSTING!!

anyway, i regularly get SPARKPEOPLE updates and articles in my email and saw this one today and it reminded me of the comment i left on mal's latest post about how i believe that people can be relatively healthy and still be overweight. now, i don't say this because i want or intend to be a fat girl for the rest of my life, but rather because as a female who has almost always struggled with her weight, i can tell you that over the past ten years i have personally experienced the various stages of being thin and healthy, thin and unhealthy, fat and unhealthy, and yes, even fat and healthy (SHOCK!!). now you could say "but all the doctors and research and conventional wisdom tell us that the state of being overweight is unhealthy". but if there is one thing i've learned from my extensive years in college it's that conventional wisdom (usually derived from scientists and research) soon becomes traditional which eventually becomes old-fashion (because of new research conducted by new scientist) and in my experience this is particularly true when it comes to the "science" of human health. now for me personally, i have struggled with some serious health issues over the past few years and they can all be tied into being fat. the catch is, however, that when i first experienced these problems i was not fat at all! in fact, i would say that my fatness has come about primarily because of these health problems, not the other way around and in actuality since i've been fat, i've never been diagnosed with a new health problem. the reason i am addressing this is not because i'm a fan of obesity, i am not going to join the fat club of america or sue a clothing company for not carrying a plus size. i plan to lose weight simply because i know and believe that health issues can occur by the extra fat carried around. the dead weight (which is what i call fat) that your body carries. i am addressing this issue because i have personally witnessed the prejudices and assumptions placed on fat people, and while it may be an annoyance or esteem-killer to hear it from friends, family and strangers, i think it is especially harmful to have these assumptions and prejudices made by your healthcare provider.

for example, when i was 19 years old i was a freshman in college and weighed all of 115 lbs. Unlike a lot of people, i did not put on the notorious "freshman 15", in fact, i did not put on any weight at all that year and it wasn't because i was being particularly healthy either (i didn't exercise, i didn't diet, and there were all you can eat ice cream and waffle bars in the cafeteria of which i would usually have one on top of the other!) however, despite being thin, that year i was diagnosed with clinical depression, insomnia, and was placed on prescription medications for severe back pain. over the next two years i did gain about 45lbs as i dealt with my increasingly debilitating mind. at one point i moved back home and lost twenty pounds and when i moved from home to hawaii i weighed 140lbs, which, though considerably heavier than the 115 i was when i started college, i was now 22 years old, had been through some stuff and 140lbs was still considered within the "healthy weight range" according to the body mass index or BMI (which is a WHOLE other post!). now, in hawaii i not only suffered even more from my depression, but i was now additionally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and something that one doctor said was an ovarian cyst while another thought it was endometriosis. i also was experiencing problems with my legs that no one seemed to be able to figure out. whenever i went in to see the doctor (which during this time i saw 4 doctors, 1 physician assistant, 1 nurse, and 2 psychiatrists), not one of them suggested that any of my health problems had anything to do with my weight or activity level. the reason i am bringing all of this up is because during all of the times that i was relatively thin, i did not have one healthcare provider suggest to me that any of my health problems were in anyway connected to my weight. however, since i have been obese, almost every time i've gone in to see a doctor they almost always suggest that my weight is the reason i am having problems until i explain that i had the problem long before i ever had the weight. now, i do not blame the doctor, they are simply regurgitating their training which is always in line with popular research which right now says that if a fat person walks into the room complaining of a headache then it's because she's fat. and though i do believe and understand that obesity can cause and advance all of the problems i previously mentioned, including the depression and anxiety disorder, the point is that in my case i had the illness before i was even fat.

anyway, this is kind of a long post in order to make my point. but i really just wanted to point out that although obesity can be dangerous because it can bring with it a whole host of medical problems, it is important, especially for physicians, to realize that not everything wrong with a fat person is connected to their weight. if your patient comes in complaining of a headache, yes, consider it might be because she is suffering from sleep apnea caused by her weight, but also consider that she might not have sleep apnea but rather interrupted sleep caused by her husband's snoring and a headache caused by the stress of raising three kids. it's just a thought.