So I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I feel like it's not worth blabbering if there is nothing going on...
Well, technically there is ALOT going on, but most of it is too personal to discuss and other stuff is just boring, and well everyone always has crap going on in their lives and I see my life as the same as everyone elses and my problems are not more important than anyone elses...so...I just have a lot going on.
Stress and me don't get along, it's a fact. Stress tends to make me overeat, have bouts of rage, and apparently gives me shingles. What!? What!? Shingles?! Honestly, I only thought older people get shingles, but I guess everyone that has had chickenpox WILL get it, eventually. It lays dormant in your system until something brings it on, generally illness or stress. Stress? Really? Ug...just Ug... I have Shingles on my head, scalp, and in my ocular nerve. It's painful, makes me super grumpy, and I had it back in September and it went away, and now it's coming back...Coming Back!? yea..exactly what the hey..not fair.. Anyhoo, so I'm back on meds for it, which make me uber sick..Can't these scientists come up with meds that cure something without giving you some other ailment?! I mean really....
I thought I would take a break form Wow, yes world of warcraft for you fellow geeks (For the Horde!), to write a bit about how my weight loss is going. World of Warcraft? Erin really? Won't that make you fat just sitting there playing online games? Well...yes...if I do it all the time. But I do it in moderation because I really like it, and it's the only hobby I have alright! Quit hassling me people! Anyway, as you can see I'm slightly uppity today. It's the meds.
So, weight loss has been...meh..just meh..just ug. I lose weight, gain weight, lose some more weight, put it back on. It's been a very aggravating last couple months with my weight. But the stress, well I guess that does it.
Let's talk about my "excuses" as to why I have been doing horrible at weight loss....
Online Classes!
I haven't been going to the gym as much mostly because my online classes have me online..ALL THE TIME!... I swear all these teachers think their online class is the ONLY online class I have and so I have 3 online classes and every class I have to spend at least 20-30 hours a week on...that is too much time for an online class! I hate them now, not doing them anymore, after this semester that is. I'll take sitting in a classroom falling asleep over sitting here at my computer freaking out and screaming at my screen because my stupid microsoft power point test is NOT cooperating! Ug..ug.
Stress and Illness
I know this is a lame cop-out on "avoiding" the gym, but sorry I'm going to use it. NO ONE likes to workout or do anything for that matter when you feel like ick! It is a fact of life! Especially considering I'm contagious to people that have never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine, I'm avoiding people like the plague. You can bet I would feel like the Grim Reaper himself if I gave some poor little kids, pregnant ladies, old people, or anyone with a compromised immune system chickenpox. Kids can handle it ok it's more obnoxious for them with the itchy bumps, but once you're an adult, chickenpox is actually a a very serious illness and can actually kill people! Craziness. So I'm kind of home-bound, been home bound, now I'm home-bound again. Thank goodness it's a Friday, since I have a 3 day contagion period. Oh and if that is not bad enough...my hair started falling out, so I had to shave it a while back. It's starting to grow back, but I mean...really?..ug....just UG!
Moving on....
Are there dangers to not working out once you've started a regimen?
Honestly...I don't know, but I can tell you I don't think it's good to suddenly stop a workout regimen...
Not being at the gym has been making me sort of crazy. I didn't realize how much your body loooves those endorphins and feel good hormones you get from working out. My body wants it baaaaad. It's like "GO TO THE GYM FATTIE!" But somedays I just can't go. And it's definitely taking its toll on me, my family, and my kids especially, since I'm a big raging grump with no fuse when I haven't gone to the gym in a while. Robert forced me to go the other day, and no he didn't literally drag me and carry me, but he said "you really need to go" so I did, and you know what? I felt a million times better when I finished my workout.
So..what am I going to do about this? I'll tell you...Working out like I was, 6 days a week, just isn't going to work anymore. Mostly because I really don't have time! Literally...It's not an excuse, remember those online classes I told you about? Yea..so between my online classes, my campus class, bringing my 5 yr old to kindergarten, then picking her up 5 hours later, juggling everything with my 3 year old as well, cleaning house, doing housework (I'm no Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart, but that's another whole blog lol), caring for our plethora of animals and rescues...I need to find time to go to the gym.
I'm figuring I'm going to start going to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 3 days a week, weight lifting and cardio.
My cardio has been super bad because my cardiovascular system is not in shape, so swimming is going to be my cardio. I have such a strong desire to run (irony right? because i want to run, but i'm fat?) but I loooove running. I listen to music and I want to just...GO! It's weird, I think I was a cheetah in my past life. Swimming will be my cardio choice because it's easy on my bad joints and hurting body, and is actually the best form of cardio out there because it helps people gently gain cardiovascular health and burn fat and build muscle.
Update as of today: Weight is 215....Ug!......just Ug.
Until next time!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Cooking for Life
An odd title I know. But to lose weight and stay on a healthy path I need to stop eating processed foods and eat food that is in its natural form, or in a form I cooked it into.
Which means I need to start cooking again. Which means I better start learning how to cook.
I can bake, don't get me wrong, I'm a baker. A damn good baker if I say so myself. But being a baker and a cook are two different things. I make the best darn brownies (yes from scratch) and cookies around, but if you ask me to cook something like a cheese souffle or spaghetti I run for the hills!
I'm getting better. There are some cooking dishes I'm getting good at, like my Chicken Parmesan, or my Baked chicken with carrots and potatoes (thanks mom for teaching this one!) and I'm trying to make gumbo from scratch, but I suck at that one. I must learn this Cajun cuisine or I fail as a Cajun!
Side dishes are easy for me...Rice and a veggie...there done. We like to use brown rice or basmati rice. Both are good for you, and carbs are good, just in moderation. Veggies are a carb too, so go easy on the side dishes. Sure I guess you could cut out carbs if you want, but have fun dragging butt everywhere, because carbs give you energy, real energy. Cutting carbs is not for me.
I am cooking pretty much everything I used to cook and baking even. "OMG! Not baking! You will gain weight with sweets!" Sure, I might, if I eat sweets the way I used to. I could down a gallon of ice cream in two sittings. I could eat an entire package of cookies or scarf an entire 13x9 pan of brownies. But I don't eat like that anymore. Moderation is key peeps, don't forget your favorite foods and give them up! I eat one brownie now, maybe two. But I have gained the most important thing of all, Self Control!
Thus, I continue to cook and bake but now I just change the ingredients for now.
Instead of regular sugar, I use organic sugar mixed with Stevia, a sweet substitute with 0 calories. I don't use equal or splenda or anything like that. I have a bad sensitivity to aspartame and artificial sweetners. "Isn't Stevia an artificial sweetner?" No it's not. It's an herb that is very sweet. You mix it half and half with your sugar and it cuts those calories right in half.
Instead of Vegetable oil for cooking and baking, I use EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) or canola oil. Now evoo is pretty expensive, but the other day we found a whole bottle for 1.99 on sale at Sunflower. Craziness, so we jumped on that. Canola oil is basically the cheapest healthy alternative you can use.
And then just simple things, we use healthier butters, brown sugars, I like organic foods so everything we bake/cook with is organic and free trade.
I'd like to setup an area for recipes I love, but I haven't figured it out yet, as it's very user unfriendly when I try to setup a place for my photos or recipes.
Take care until next time!
Which means I need to start cooking again. Which means I better start learning how to cook.
I can bake, don't get me wrong, I'm a baker. A damn good baker if I say so myself. But being a baker and a cook are two different things. I make the best darn brownies (yes from scratch) and cookies around, but if you ask me to cook something like a cheese souffle or spaghetti I run for the hills!
I'm getting better. There are some cooking dishes I'm getting good at, like my Chicken Parmesan, or my Baked chicken with carrots and potatoes (thanks mom for teaching this one!) and I'm trying to make gumbo from scratch, but I suck at that one. I must learn this Cajun cuisine or I fail as a Cajun!
Side dishes are easy for me...Rice and a veggie...there done. We like to use brown rice or basmati rice. Both are good for you, and carbs are good, just in moderation. Veggies are a carb too, so go easy on the side dishes. Sure I guess you could cut out carbs if you want, but have fun dragging butt everywhere, because carbs give you energy, real energy. Cutting carbs is not for me.
I am cooking pretty much everything I used to cook and baking even. "OMG! Not baking! You will gain weight with sweets!" Sure, I might, if I eat sweets the way I used to. I could down a gallon of ice cream in two sittings. I could eat an entire package of cookies or scarf an entire 13x9 pan of brownies. But I don't eat like that anymore. Moderation is key peeps, don't forget your favorite foods and give them up! I eat one brownie now, maybe two. But I have gained the most important thing of all, Self Control!
Thus, I continue to cook and bake but now I just change the ingredients for now.
Instead of regular sugar, I use organic sugar mixed with Stevia, a sweet substitute with 0 calories. I don't use equal or splenda or anything like that. I have a bad sensitivity to aspartame and artificial sweetners. "Isn't Stevia an artificial sweetner?" No it's not. It's an herb that is very sweet. You mix it half and half with your sugar and it cuts those calories right in half.
Instead of Vegetable oil for cooking and baking, I use EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) or canola oil. Now evoo is pretty expensive, but the other day we found a whole bottle for 1.99 on sale at Sunflower. Craziness, so we jumped on that. Canola oil is basically the cheapest healthy alternative you can use.
And then just simple things, we use healthier butters, brown sugars, I like organic foods so everything we bake/cook with is organic and free trade.
I'd like to setup an area for recipes I love, but I haven't figured it out yet, as it's very user unfriendly when I try to setup a place for my photos or recipes.
Take care until next time!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
An update
I apologize to my loyal followers, I have been moving and haven't had internet, so I haven't been able to post in a while. But now the internet is back up, so let's trudge on toward my sad tale of woe.
Long story short, food has become an evil entity in my life now. Everything I have worked so hard for has been for nought. Because I have been such a spaz with food, I now either don't ever want to eat at all, or I go crazy and binge. So I'm going to have to start over yet again with the food thing.
This was so heart wrenching for me. I don't know what happened, maybe it was stress or whatever, but I have reverted back to my old eating habits. I was one pound away from my goal of being under 200 lbs. Now I am back up to 211 again. So....don't mind my french as they say..but SH*T THIS SUCKS! So do I give up? Heck no! I start over, all over, and try not be a blubbering baby about it. Ok...so what am I going to do about this and what went wrong?
First off, my way of eating was all wrong. Sure it seems cutting your calories by 75 percent and going to the gym like a crazy person seems like a good idea and the best way to lose weight. And sure you lose weight, but it's not the kind of weight you want to lose. Let's talk about what happens when you cut calories like that. Your body is used to a certain way you eat, and by suddenly depriving your body of the normal calorie intake, it goes into shock and survival mode. What does this mean? This means that every tiny bit of food I put into my mouth, even if it's barely nothing, will get instantly put into my fat reserve because my body and brain thinks that I am lost on turtle island with nothing to eat but berries and protein shakes and it better save every calorie I eat in case I won't ever get food again. Of course I'm not stuck on an island somewhere, but tell my brain that, it doesn't care. Your brain needs fat to survive and function, so it will be a greedy little bugger about saving every little adipose molecule. Your body will do what is best for it, and it thinks it would be bad for you to lose weight, since it's delusional and thinks you're island bound. So what is one to do? To begin a weight loss program, I have to start cutting my calories and food intake slowly, by only maybe 500 calories every 5 days or so. And I have to stop being a spaz about food again. By cutting calories slowly, it allows your body and metabolism to level out and not go into survival mode.
Second, I have to STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT CALORIES! I stare at the treadmill, row machine, whatever cardio thing I'm doing watching those little numbers climb ever so slowly. It's like calorie torture! I think about that cookie I ate and feel determined to burn off 500 calories to count for the cookie. THIS IS INSANE! It doesn't work that way. Robert is like Mr. Insano on the elliptical stair climber thingy, he does full out running on the max level for an hour and he manages to burn 800-1200 calories! I get on a treadmill and I'm lucky to burn 200 calories after an hour of interval training. (where you walk, speed walk, sprint, walk, speed run, sprint, etc) For one, this is not fair because men burn calories and lose weight differently from women, but it also shows that you don't really burn that many calories from doing cardio.
What is important about cardio? Is it about burning calories? Cardio is important for your cardiovascular health. I'll repeat it again...Cardio is important for CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH! It's not there for you to burn off your cookies, it's there for your health! My cardio health is awful! My heartrate goes up to 180 when I sprint on the treadmill. Very dangerous, and this means I have to start out slow and do low impact stuff. But one day I'll be able to sprint on that treadmill with a HR of 160. Right now my heart is just lazy and out of shape from 7 years of a very sedentary lifestyle. I have other health problems too, but I never let my health problems get in the way of anything! Don't tell me what I can or can't do! I can do whatever I want! Or I try at least. Unless you ask me to move something over 50 lbs, I might think about it, and give whatever it is a push, to see really how heavy it is, but I'm not stupid and I'm not going to blow out my back to move your sofa! Forget it! Move your own sofa!
I haven't been going to the gym, horrible me *slaps herself* but we have been extremely busy with the move and I have been horridly sore and tired and just darn grumpy. I am getting surgery to get an axillary mass removed from near my breast, and then I have to have another surgery consult about my bipolar uterus, but that is tmi for sure. (TMI= too much info) Sorry boys, I said uterus, get over it.
I <3 weight lifting. One day I'd like to be a fitness model. I have a pretty face, I think I could do it maybe. Weight lifting is not just for bodybuilders! Muscle is sexy! Muscle also makes your body burn more calories! More muscle = higher metabolism and calorie burning everyday. Did you know you burn calories everyday without doing anything!? That's right! Your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate, is the rate at which your body burns calories, just for you being you, getting up in the morning and breathing. Sometimes I forget this and think I have to be burning calories incessently. This happens to those exercise addicts, they forget they have a BMR and feel they have to exercsise literally 24/7. Poor souls.
Weight lifting makes you stronger, burns calories, and it feels good darnit. I <3 those endorphins you get when you exercise, it's like being high on life. *Sidenote: I have never done drugs ever! That's right, you make fun of me I don't care, I'm no druggie and I don't drink either! So this is the only "high" I've ever experienced.* There are those girls that don't want to lift weights because they "don't want icky muscles!" well poo on that! Depending on the amount of weight you use, you can either start making muscles or just have your body toned up, get rid of the waving arm flap, ha ha. Mine are going away! Huzzah! My arms are getting tighter and toned, and I'm ecstatic.
So how do I weight lift? I like to alternate days of weight lifting. One day I'll do Arms and Back and the next day I'll do Legs. I do my abs pretty much everyday. Why do u alternate? Well for one, if you work every muscle you are going to be sore and immobile beyond all reason lol. But to answer that question, let's talk about how building muscle works. When you lift a weight and challenge your muscles, they make tiny little fiber tears in your muscles, this is the "burn" you feel when exercising or lifting weights. You cannot get stronger or build muscle without tearing these muscle fibers. That is just how it works. So by alternating, you are giving your muscles a break so they can repair themselves. So you lift weights, tear the muscles fibers, the fibers repair themselves allowing you to be stronger, lift more weights, tear fibers, heal, etc.. This is how the muscle process works. But by alternating, your muscles repair and heal themselves, they have to repair themselves or you will risk injury to yourself, and other people around you for that matter. I don't like being next to the guy in the gym grunting lifting something heavy, just in case he drops it, lol.
I like to do drop sets. This is a proven process of muscle building and weight lifting that allows you to really get into the deep muscle fibers to see the best results. For example, I'll start on my triceps at 40 lbs, do that till exhaustion (till I can't do it anymore), then I drop the weight to 30lbs and do the same thing. Since the weight is lower it is easier, but you're still going to feel it after a bit. Then I'll do 30 lbs to exhaustion and drop it to 20 bs, and so forth, until I can't drop any lower. Sure I look lame doing 5 lbs on my triceps looking exhausted and in pain, lol, but it's ok, I know I started up there at 40 lbs.
A sidenote here..why do I know so much about this stuff? Because I READ people! I research and read books, and go to the library and talk to the gym folks and it's because I'm smart, that's why!
So the important key factors for me to remember and to get back on track right now:
1. Start cutting calories slowly. Stop being a food nazi.
2. Continue weight lifting and cardio, but go easy on the cardio.
3. Watch what I eat, but don't deprive myself of evil pleasures like chocolate or ice cream. Moderation is key!
Thanks for reading and until next time!
Long story short, food has become an evil entity in my life now. Everything I have worked so hard for has been for nought. Because I have been such a spaz with food, I now either don't ever want to eat at all, or I go crazy and binge. So I'm going to have to start over yet again with the food thing.
This was so heart wrenching for me. I don't know what happened, maybe it was stress or whatever, but I have reverted back to my old eating habits. I was one pound away from my goal of being under 200 lbs. Now I am back up to 211 again. So....don't mind my french as they say..but SH*T THIS SUCKS! So do I give up? Heck no! I start over, all over, and try not be a blubbering baby about it. Ok...so what am I going to do about this and what went wrong?
First off, my way of eating was all wrong. Sure it seems cutting your calories by 75 percent and going to the gym like a crazy person seems like a good idea and the best way to lose weight. And sure you lose weight, but it's not the kind of weight you want to lose. Let's talk about what happens when you cut calories like that. Your body is used to a certain way you eat, and by suddenly depriving your body of the normal calorie intake, it goes into shock and survival mode. What does this mean? This means that every tiny bit of food I put into my mouth, even if it's barely nothing, will get instantly put into my fat reserve because my body and brain thinks that I am lost on turtle island with nothing to eat but berries and protein shakes and it better save every calorie I eat in case I won't ever get food again. Of course I'm not stuck on an island somewhere, but tell my brain that, it doesn't care. Your brain needs fat to survive and function, so it will be a greedy little bugger about saving every little adipose molecule. Your body will do what is best for it, and it thinks it would be bad for you to lose weight, since it's delusional and thinks you're island bound. So what is one to do? To begin a weight loss program, I have to start cutting my calories and food intake slowly, by only maybe 500 calories every 5 days or so. And I have to stop being a spaz about food again. By cutting calories slowly, it allows your body and metabolism to level out and not go into survival mode.
Second, I have to STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT CALORIES! I stare at the treadmill, row machine, whatever cardio thing I'm doing watching those little numbers climb ever so slowly. It's like calorie torture! I think about that cookie I ate and feel determined to burn off 500 calories to count for the cookie. THIS IS INSANE! It doesn't work that way. Robert is like Mr. Insano on the elliptical stair climber thingy, he does full out running on the max level for an hour and he manages to burn 800-1200 calories! I get on a treadmill and I'm lucky to burn 200 calories after an hour of interval training. (where you walk, speed walk, sprint, walk, speed run, sprint, etc) For one, this is not fair because men burn calories and lose weight differently from women, but it also shows that you don't really burn that many calories from doing cardio.
What is important about cardio? Is it about burning calories? Cardio is important for your cardiovascular health. I'll repeat it again...Cardio is important for CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH! It's not there for you to burn off your cookies, it's there for your health! My cardio health is awful! My heartrate goes up to 180 when I sprint on the treadmill. Very dangerous, and this means I have to start out slow and do low impact stuff. But one day I'll be able to sprint on that treadmill with a HR of 160. Right now my heart is just lazy and out of shape from 7 years of a very sedentary lifestyle. I have other health problems too, but I never let my health problems get in the way of anything! Don't tell me what I can or can't do! I can do whatever I want! Or I try at least. Unless you ask me to move something over 50 lbs, I might think about it, and give whatever it is a push, to see really how heavy it is, but I'm not stupid and I'm not going to blow out my back to move your sofa! Forget it! Move your own sofa!
I haven't been going to the gym, horrible me *slaps herself* but we have been extremely busy with the move and I have been horridly sore and tired and just darn grumpy. I am getting surgery to get an axillary mass removed from near my breast, and then I have to have another surgery consult about my bipolar uterus, but that is tmi for sure. (TMI= too much info) Sorry boys, I said uterus, get over it.
I <3 weight lifting. One day I'd like to be a fitness model. I have a pretty face, I think I could do it maybe. Weight lifting is not just for bodybuilders! Muscle is sexy! Muscle also makes your body burn more calories! More muscle = higher metabolism and calorie burning everyday. Did you know you burn calories everyday without doing anything!? That's right! Your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate, is the rate at which your body burns calories, just for you being you, getting up in the morning and breathing. Sometimes I forget this and think I have to be burning calories incessently. This happens to those exercise addicts, they forget they have a BMR and feel they have to exercsise literally 24/7. Poor souls.
Weight lifting makes you stronger, burns calories, and it feels good darnit. I <3 those endorphins you get when you exercise, it's like being high on life. *Sidenote: I have never done drugs ever! That's right, you make fun of me I don't care, I'm no druggie and I don't drink either! So this is the only "high" I've ever experienced.* There are those girls that don't want to lift weights because they "don't want icky muscles!" well poo on that! Depending on the amount of weight you use, you can either start making muscles or just have your body toned up, get rid of the waving arm flap, ha ha. Mine are going away! Huzzah! My arms are getting tighter and toned, and I'm ecstatic.
So how do I weight lift? I like to alternate days of weight lifting. One day I'll do Arms and Back and the next day I'll do Legs. I do my abs pretty much everyday. Why do u alternate? Well for one, if you work every muscle you are going to be sore and immobile beyond all reason lol. But to answer that question, let's talk about how building muscle works. When you lift a weight and challenge your muscles, they make tiny little fiber tears in your muscles, this is the "burn" you feel when exercising or lifting weights. You cannot get stronger or build muscle without tearing these muscle fibers. That is just how it works. So by alternating, you are giving your muscles a break so they can repair themselves. So you lift weights, tear the muscles fibers, the fibers repair themselves allowing you to be stronger, lift more weights, tear fibers, heal, etc.. This is how the muscle process works. But by alternating, your muscles repair and heal themselves, they have to repair themselves or you will risk injury to yourself, and other people around you for that matter. I don't like being next to the guy in the gym grunting lifting something heavy, just in case he drops it, lol.
I like to do drop sets. This is a proven process of muscle building and weight lifting that allows you to really get into the deep muscle fibers to see the best results. For example, I'll start on my triceps at 40 lbs, do that till exhaustion (till I can't do it anymore), then I drop the weight to 30lbs and do the same thing. Since the weight is lower it is easier, but you're still going to feel it after a bit. Then I'll do 30 lbs to exhaustion and drop it to 20 bs, and so forth, until I can't drop any lower. Sure I look lame doing 5 lbs on my triceps looking exhausted and in pain, lol, but it's ok, I know I started up there at 40 lbs.
A sidenote here..why do I know so much about this stuff? Because I READ people! I research and read books, and go to the library and talk to the gym folks and it's because I'm smart, that's why!
So the important key factors for me to remember and to get back on track right now:
1. Start cutting calories slowly. Stop being a food nazi.
2. Continue weight lifting and cardio, but go easy on the cardio.
3. Watch what I eat, but don't deprive myself of evil pleasures like chocolate or ice cream. Moderation is key!
Thanks for reading and until next time!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Detesting food
So let's talk about food today.
First things first, to lose weight I had to stop eating bad food, which was just about everything I was eating. So it's been rough, but I'm over the cravings and good on portion control. Honestly I'm barely ever hungry anymore, so I have a hard time eating 6 times a day, mostly because I forget to eat. Forget to eat!? I know it's weird, but I can go all day and then realize oh crud I didn't eat anything today, and wow am I hungry!
I think robert is worried I'm becoming anorexic or something, because I don't want to eat. I do like to eat, I just have lost the desire to eat nowadays. Maybe it's my metabolism trying to even out or somehting. I remember once, and people would and still laugh anytime I mention this, that I tried to be anorexic once, but I couldn't do it, because I would get too hungry. Yes, ha ha, but I think it's seriously messed up that I used to wish I had the willpower to be anorexic so I could lose weight.
I had an eating disorder of types, overeating. And it is an eating disorder not just a "i love food" issue. I used to eat because I was hungry, bored, tired, happy, depressed, whatever, I was an overeater. Not anymore, but this was a serious problem. I was one of those people that you put a chip bag or cookie container in front of me, and it would be gone. I would eat so much I'd get sick. Just because I didn't pay attention while I ate. I would be this mindless food eating zombie, and just eat cookie after cookie, until the entire bag of oreos was gone! And due to that, I can't eat oreos anymore >.< They taste gross to me now anyways. And I used to hate when I'd go somewhere where there was food and people say "help yourself!" and I'd think well crud, because well I couldn't help myself, so I'd be one of those people that would just hover around the food table the entire time and eat, and eat, and eat.
This part of me is gone now. I don't know how I did it, maybe it was facing my own mortality or something, that finally caused me to suck it up and stop eating like a fat zombie. Whatever happened it worked. I stopped eating all crap, no processed foods, no fatty foods, no soda pop, no juice, nothing like that at all for the first two weeks! This is the hardest time, and it's torture, but it worked. It gave my body time to detox perse and get rid of all the unrefined sugars and additives that are so addicting and bad for you. Food must be eaten in its original form. Seems like a pain, but it's easier as you get used to it. Homecooking becauses your best friend. I am learning to cook, and I love it. I eat everything in its most basic form. What does this mean? That means if I want meat, I eat it cooked from a cut from a butcher, not from a carboard box from the freezer. If I want veggies or rice, I make it plain.
Personally I prefer to eat organic when I can. Just because it's better for you. I also try to get local foods and meat from our organic stores here like Sunflower Market or Whole Foods. I hate Walmart so I try to avoid them when we can. Sometimes we're too "poor" to not shop at walmart, but we try when we can. We actually got this awesome membership to Costco from robert's very generous boss and we use that a lot. They have an amazing organic and fresh selection of foods. For me, I want to know where my food came from, what it was in contact with, and I like to know this because it's going into my body.
I'm also a huge advocate of animal rights, and although I'm no vegan I do try to respect the animals that give their lives for our sustinence and so we try to buy meat and eggs from free range animals. I see no reason why animals can't be loved and treated with respect up until the day the make their debut on our plates. Think about it people. I'm no crazy peta supporter or tree hugger, but I do respect life, no matter how small or insignifigant it may seem.
Whoa, I kind of went off on the soapbox there for a second. Enough of that.
Eating organic and free range is the best, but it can be pricey, so do the best you can.
Veggies and fruit for the most part are not always sprayed with pesticides, especially if you're at the farmers market, you can bet they are all naturally grown, so just buy the "normal" ones to save money. At that point, if you're buying "organic" at a farmers market, well...shame on them..they're ripping u off.
Meat though, well that's another story. You don't know where it comes from, unless you are the one culling your own meat. One day we hope to do this on our own and raise our own meat, but until then.... Look for "Grass Fed" animals, and then "no antibiotics", etc.. Also I learned the other day that "Free Range" is a very broad and misleading tag on food. Chickens crammed into a egg making facotry are considered "free range" if there is a door cracked open for some fresh air, so they're not really free range. But thanks to whatever idiot made up these "definitions" you may be buying "free range" eggs from chickens that aren't really free range.
I would also recommend growing your own food, even your own meat if you have the space and the emotional ability to do so. Even in our small apartment we will be growing our own veggies and herbs. Every little bit helps ya know. You guys should see my folks garden! It's amazing. Plus they grow enough to last all year for them. As soon as we are able, we're going to have our own chickens. Depending on the breed, they don't make noise, and you can make a very simple and effective chicken coop. Even in the city you can do this. (Legalities! Check with your zoning laws to make sure. "Well Erin told me too" doesn't count as legal, lol)
I guess all in all my suggestions for the ultimate health nirvana (in my own humble opinion) are:
-Eat food in its most basic form
-Eat Organic when possible
-Respect your food and its former life, go free range and grass fed when possible
-Grow and raise your own food when you can.
Till next time my friends :)
First things first, to lose weight I had to stop eating bad food, which was just about everything I was eating. So it's been rough, but I'm over the cravings and good on portion control. Honestly I'm barely ever hungry anymore, so I have a hard time eating 6 times a day, mostly because I forget to eat. Forget to eat!? I know it's weird, but I can go all day and then realize oh crud I didn't eat anything today, and wow am I hungry!
I think robert is worried I'm becoming anorexic or something, because I don't want to eat. I do like to eat, I just have lost the desire to eat nowadays. Maybe it's my metabolism trying to even out or somehting. I remember once, and people would and still laugh anytime I mention this, that I tried to be anorexic once, but I couldn't do it, because I would get too hungry. Yes, ha ha, but I think it's seriously messed up that I used to wish I had the willpower to be anorexic so I could lose weight.
I had an eating disorder of types, overeating. And it is an eating disorder not just a "i love food" issue. I used to eat because I was hungry, bored, tired, happy, depressed, whatever, I was an overeater. Not anymore, but this was a serious problem. I was one of those people that you put a chip bag or cookie container in front of me, and it would be gone. I would eat so much I'd get sick. Just because I didn't pay attention while I ate. I would be this mindless food eating zombie, and just eat cookie after cookie, until the entire bag of oreos was gone! And due to that, I can't eat oreos anymore >.< They taste gross to me now anyways. And I used to hate when I'd go somewhere where there was food and people say "help yourself!" and I'd think well crud, because well I couldn't help myself, so I'd be one of those people that would just hover around the food table the entire time and eat, and eat, and eat.
This part of me is gone now. I don't know how I did it, maybe it was facing my own mortality or something, that finally caused me to suck it up and stop eating like a fat zombie. Whatever happened it worked. I stopped eating all crap, no processed foods, no fatty foods, no soda pop, no juice, nothing like that at all for the first two weeks! This is the hardest time, and it's torture, but it worked. It gave my body time to detox perse and get rid of all the unrefined sugars and additives that are so addicting and bad for you. Food must be eaten in its original form. Seems like a pain, but it's easier as you get used to it. Homecooking becauses your best friend. I am learning to cook, and I love it. I eat everything in its most basic form. What does this mean? That means if I want meat, I eat it cooked from a cut from a butcher, not from a carboard box from the freezer. If I want veggies or rice, I make it plain.
Personally I prefer to eat organic when I can. Just because it's better for you. I also try to get local foods and meat from our organic stores here like Sunflower Market or Whole Foods. I hate Walmart so I try to avoid them when we can. Sometimes we're too "poor" to not shop at walmart, but we try when we can. We actually got this awesome membership to Costco from robert's very generous boss and we use that a lot. They have an amazing organic and fresh selection of foods. For me, I want to know where my food came from, what it was in contact with, and I like to know this because it's going into my body.
I'm also a huge advocate of animal rights, and although I'm no vegan I do try to respect the animals that give their lives for our sustinence and so we try to buy meat and eggs from free range animals. I see no reason why animals can't be loved and treated with respect up until the day the make their debut on our plates. Think about it people. I'm no crazy peta supporter or tree hugger, but I do respect life, no matter how small or insignifigant it may seem.
Whoa, I kind of went off on the soapbox there for a second. Enough of that.
Eating organic and free range is the best, but it can be pricey, so do the best you can.
Veggies and fruit for the most part are not always sprayed with pesticides, especially if you're at the farmers market, you can bet they are all naturally grown, so just buy the "normal" ones to save money. At that point, if you're buying "organic" at a farmers market, well...shame on them..they're ripping u off.
Meat though, well that's another story. You don't know where it comes from, unless you are the one culling your own meat. One day we hope to do this on our own and raise our own meat, but until then.... Look for "Grass Fed" animals, and then "no antibiotics", etc.. Also I learned the other day that "Free Range" is a very broad and misleading tag on food. Chickens crammed into a egg making facotry are considered "free range" if there is a door cracked open for some fresh air, so they're not really free range. But thanks to whatever idiot made up these "definitions" you may be buying "free range" eggs from chickens that aren't really free range.
I would also recommend growing your own food, even your own meat if you have the space and the emotional ability to do so. Even in our small apartment we will be growing our own veggies and herbs. Every little bit helps ya know. You guys should see my folks garden! It's amazing. Plus they grow enough to last all year for them. As soon as we are able, we're going to have our own chickens. Depending on the breed, they don't make noise, and you can make a very simple and effective chicken coop. Even in the city you can do this. (Legalities! Check with your zoning laws to make sure. "Well Erin told me too" doesn't count as legal, lol)
I guess all in all my suggestions for the ultimate health nirvana (in my own humble opinion) are:
-Eat food in its most basic form
-Eat Organic when possible
-Respect your food and its former life, go free range and grass fed when possible
-Grow and raise your own food when you can.
Till next time my friends :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Fat Tech
So I'm realizing there are some things I need, some things I want, and things I am starting to acquire that help keep one on track and make the healthy life more fun! And some things are just darned cute!
1. A food diary
Sounds weird, but if you're trying to watch what you eat and lose weight, gain muscle whatever, you have to keep a food diary. At first I hated this because it was kind of a pain, but now it is second nature. My mom actually picked me up an actual journal for this, a cute brown one with polka dots, very girly and cute. Much better than using random pieces of paper and receipts lying around the house. Lol. I keep track of everything, and I mean everything, I eat. I don't keep track of drinks only because all I drink is water nowadays. Technically you should be eating 6 small meals a day, but I'm still finding this hard to achieve, mostly because I forget to eat a lot. Having this journal helps keep me accountable for myself, because I know if I eat something bad I have to write it in my journal for everyone to see! Lol.
2. Gym Clothes
I hate to say it, but you have got to have specific clothes for the gym. Jeans or shorts and a huge baggie shirt does not cut it, trust me we've tried. I am the last person on earth I thought would ever be caught dead wearing spandex type pants, but I love them! And the more weight I lose and the more toned my legs get, I love them even more. But seriously it's hard to move and work out properly without having something that fits right. Having loose pants creates chaffing which is not fun to have for 2 weeks while you try to work out. And having a large shirt while trying to do Yoga, well it's kind of embarrassing to do downward dog and have your shirt come rolling down. When you're trying to adjust your clothes the whole time due to it falling every which way, or having a wedgie, or just because you're self conscious, well it's very distracting. Everyone else in the gym is just as self conscious as you are! Once you realize that, which took me 2 weeks to figure out, and you chill out and don't care anymore every time your shirt comes above your gut when you're doing tricep curls, well then it makes gym time more enjoyable. Oh yea, and a good sports bra is worth a million bucks! Or in my case $11.99, thank you Kohls!
3. Music Player or reading material
A good ipod or mp3 player is priceless, well not really priceless they are stupid expensive. But thanks to my MaMa, I got this cute little Ipod that works for us right now until I can get a new one for me. In the meantime Robert and I will fight over it, lol.
Reading material is good too, but it is really hard to read while you jolting around, so if it works for you, go for it, if not music is just as good. Me personally, I love music, and I'm downloading some podcasts to listen to as well as I type this. What is a podcast? Kind of like an audio book, but there are millions to choose from, and they are free to download, on itunes.com.
4. A Camera
What? A camera?! How does that help? Well i'll tell you. I just took some pics which I will be posting soon. I will not be posting bikini pics of me like those horrid before and after crap pics where they look all sad and fat before and then happy and thin after. Sorry, not gonna happen, I'm not a bikini person. Plus I'm horridly modest and have severe self confidence issues, so not gonna happen! Maybe when I'm a fitness model I'll post some pics then. But you will never see me in something that reveals my skin. A camera is a good and sometimes fun way to capture your progress and share your fun workout gadgets.
5. Specialized Equipment
This section could go on forever, but basically, in a nutshell, get stuff geared towards what you like! If you like running, get awesome shoes, if you like swimming as I do, get a good swimsuit. A swimsuit for me is a challenge right now since I have um..ahem..large bust..so I have yet to find a suit that doesn't make me expose myself everytime I try to swim a lap. For me I need a Yoga mat and bag, because I'm getting tired of smelling someone else's sweaty feet on the gym's yoga mat. Not to mention, I don't want to get athlete's foot or something. But to be honest people, make sure you like something before investing in gear, because it gets expensive. The mat and bag I want together are about 60 bucks, because they are top of the line, and I don't plan on quitting Yoga until the day I die now. So for me, it's a good investment. I would suggest trying something for at least a month before investing in gear.
6. Health Equipment
Scales are good, a good scale. I have been weighing myself on 3 scales, and they are all off by several lbs. I trust my doctors scale, plus it's the lowest ha ha. But look for something good for you. My parents have this scale that actually measures body fat, bmi, percentages, things like that, so that's cool. Also some scales seriously have weight limits! Can u believe that. If you have a health problem, like a bad knee, get a brace. A bad ankle, get a wrap, things like that.
I need a heart monitor, because my cardio is so bad I hit 180 HR in a couple seconds while I exercise, so I need to keep an eye on that. My target heart rate (HR) is supposed to be 140-156 so that I can get my heart in shape. This is disheartening for me, since I used to be able to sprint on the elliptical machine without breaking a sweat for 30 minutes, and now I can barely jog on the treadmill without spiking my heart rate to a dangerous level. So I need a monitor that I am going to program with my stats, and that also has an alarm for me if my HR goes too high.
*After writing this thread, I'm thinking I may actually do a section specifically on gadgets and write reviews on them.*
All in all peeps, it's important to make it fun, or it will be a dreaded thing. Above all else, be safe about it and use common sense! It won't help me to lose all this weight and get healthy if I literally die trying because I'm pushing my HR too high.
Till next time!
1. A food diary
Sounds weird, but if you're trying to watch what you eat and lose weight, gain muscle whatever, you have to keep a food diary. At first I hated this because it was kind of a pain, but now it is second nature. My mom actually picked me up an actual journal for this, a cute brown one with polka dots, very girly and cute. Much better than using random pieces of paper and receipts lying around the house. Lol. I keep track of everything, and I mean everything, I eat. I don't keep track of drinks only because all I drink is water nowadays. Technically you should be eating 6 small meals a day, but I'm still finding this hard to achieve, mostly because I forget to eat a lot. Having this journal helps keep me accountable for myself, because I know if I eat something bad I have to write it in my journal for everyone to see! Lol.
2. Gym Clothes
I hate to say it, but you have got to have specific clothes for the gym. Jeans or shorts and a huge baggie shirt does not cut it, trust me we've tried. I am the last person on earth I thought would ever be caught dead wearing spandex type pants, but I love them! And the more weight I lose and the more toned my legs get, I love them even more. But seriously it's hard to move and work out properly without having something that fits right. Having loose pants creates chaffing which is not fun to have for 2 weeks while you try to work out. And having a large shirt while trying to do Yoga, well it's kind of embarrassing to do downward dog and have your shirt come rolling down. When you're trying to adjust your clothes the whole time due to it falling every which way, or having a wedgie, or just because you're self conscious, well it's very distracting. Everyone else in the gym is just as self conscious as you are! Once you realize that, which took me 2 weeks to figure out, and you chill out and don't care anymore every time your shirt comes above your gut when you're doing tricep curls, well then it makes gym time more enjoyable. Oh yea, and a good sports bra is worth a million bucks! Or in my case $11.99, thank you Kohls!
3. Music Player or reading material
A good ipod or mp3 player is priceless, well not really priceless they are stupid expensive. But thanks to my MaMa, I got this cute little Ipod that works for us right now until I can get a new one for me. In the meantime Robert and I will fight over it, lol.
Reading material is good too, but it is really hard to read while you jolting around, so if it works for you, go for it, if not music is just as good. Me personally, I love music, and I'm downloading some podcasts to listen to as well as I type this. What is a podcast? Kind of like an audio book, but there are millions to choose from, and they are free to download, on itunes.com.
4. A Camera
What? A camera?! How does that help? Well i'll tell you. I just took some pics which I will be posting soon. I will not be posting bikini pics of me like those horrid before and after crap pics where they look all sad and fat before and then happy and thin after. Sorry, not gonna happen, I'm not a bikini person. Plus I'm horridly modest and have severe self confidence issues, so not gonna happen! Maybe when I'm a fitness model I'll post some pics then. But you will never see me in something that reveals my skin. A camera is a good and sometimes fun way to capture your progress and share your fun workout gadgets.
5. Specialized Equipment
This section could go on forever, but basically, in a nutshell, get stuff geared towards what you like! If you like running, get awesome shoes, if you like swimming as I do, get a good swimsuit. A swimsuit for me is a challenge right now since I have um..ahem..large bust..so I have yet to find a suit that doesn't make me expose myself everytime I try to swim a lap. For me I need a Yoga mat and bag, because I'm getting tired of smelling someone else's sweaty feet on the gym's yoga mat. Not to mention, I don't want to get athlete's foot or something. But to be honest people, make sure you like something before investing in gear, because it gets expensive. The mat and bag I want together are about 60 bucks, because they are top of the line, and I don't plan on quitting Yoga until the day I die now. So for me, it's a good investment. I would suggest trying something for at least a month before investing in gear.
6. Health Equipment
Scales are good, a good scale. I have been weighing myself on 3 scales, and they are all off by several lbs. I trust my doctors scale, plus it's the lowest ha ha. But look for something good for you. My parents have this scale that actually measures body fat, bmi, percentages, things like that, so that's cool. Also some scales seriously have weight limits! Can u believe that. If you have a health problem, like a bad knee, get a brace. A bad ankle, get a wrap, things like that.
I need a heart monitor, because my cardio is so bad I hit 180 HR in a couple seconds while I exercise, so I need to keep an eye on that. My target heart rate (HR) is supposed to be 140-156 so that I can get my heart in shape. This is disheartening for me, since I used to be able to sprint on the elliptical machine without breaking a sweat for 30 minutes, and now I can barely jog on the treadmill without spiking my heart rate to a dangerous level. So I need a monitor that I am going to program with my stats, and that also has an alarm for me if my HR goes too high.
*After writing this thread, I'm thinking I may actually do a section specifically on gadgets and write reviews on them.*
All in all peeps, it's important to make it fun, or it will be a dreaded thing. Above all else, be safe about it and use common sense! It won't help me to lose all this weight and get healthy if I literally die trying because I'm pushing my HR too high.
Till next time!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Yoga and Diet
I went to Yoga today, and instead of the plain ol yoga they were supposed to have they had a substitute for the normal Yogi, and she did her bodyflow workout for us instead. Now mind you, I've been trying to make it to the Bodyflow class for weeks, but something always comes up and I can't make it. Well what a pleasant surprise for me. Bodyflow is basically a class the gym made that combines Tai Chi, Yoga, and some Pilates. It was Amazing! And at this one point, I was able to do a full backbend today. Maybe I'm getting stronger, I'm sure I am, but I haven't been able to do this pose or have this kind of flexibility for a long time. I don't know what it was, but during this move when i took a chance to go into the full back bend, I pushed myself up and felt tremendous relief and release and I started crying. It was very moving. Maybe I'm a freak or something, but they say that sometimes yoga brings out different emotions. It was such an enormous step for me that I didn't think I'd be able to do for a long time, or ever again for that matter. I think it proved to me that I can heal, get better, be stronger, and hopefully live to be 90. Back Bend Move I did...
Yoga is NOT for wimps, wussies, or little "girly" men!
Close minded people that don't believe me can go sign up for and participate in a class. A beginners class not hard enough for you? Then try some Vinyasa yoga, which moves from posture to pose quickly and is a lot harder. Yoga is an amazing exercise and lifestyle. It is great for all ages, shapes, sizes, weights, and disciplines. There are more types of yoga than I have learned yet. Some focus more on stretching, other on cardio, some on chanting, others on meditation and relaxation, some you do in a hot environment, etc.. There is a yoga for everyone! I also recommend trying yoga for everyone, even if it's just once. It increases your flexibility, makes your blood pump, helps your circulatory system, helps you lose weight, and gain and tone muscles. It's also perfect for people with injuries or people that just hate the monotonous cardio workout of the dreaded treadmill.
Yoga is perfect for me. I have numerous health issues that have improved significantly with yoga. Plus now if I don't work out, I feel like ick because my fibro flareups begin and then I can't move around much. Life is miserable to me now without my gym time everyday.
Eating :)
Ok onto something I haven't talked about yet. What the heck do I eat? Let's not even talk about what I used to eat, then I'd need a novel lol. I'll list what I know so far....
Basically I've been told three important things to be eating: Protein, Carbs, and Fats. Good fats mind you. I know you're thinking...Alright chocolate and cake! No not quite. ;)
Protein: Lean chicken cuts like the breasts, lean ground meat, lean meats, buffalo, ostrich, emu, etc.. Don't knock it till you try it people, buffalo and flightless birds taste delicious! (No offense to vegetarians which I respect very much, I'm just a meat person)
Carbs: Whole grains! In moderation of course, carbs and too many of them will not work for you and defeat any chance of losing weight and burning muscle. Veggies and more veggies! Fruit! Fruit actually have a lot of carbs! Ridiculous! Watch the fruit, but it's good for you.
Fats: Almonds, peanut butter (an easy one for me because I loooooove PB!), olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, safflower oil, flaxseed oil, etc..
Now I've been doing really good, and I'm not finding a hard time avoiding bad foods anymore. I cut them out completely several weeks ago, and have spent a long time finding alternatives to fulfill my cravings, like fruit. I don't even want cookies and cakes anymore. I had a small cake piece at a baby shower I attended the other day and it was gross to me. So hey! Awesome! I never thought I'd see the day when I would hate cake. This coming from a person who would send Robert out at random times during the day and night to go get me a piece of cake. I freakin loved cake. So this should prove that if I can do it, anyone can!
Another important food item I've been digging is whey protein. Kind of funky, but really good for you, and protein is the most important thing to take when trying to lose weight an/or build muscle. You mix this whey protein with water or milk or whatever. I use either water or soymilk because I can't drink milk anymore. (I'm lactose intolerant) Fine with me though, I don't mind the soy much anymore. Silk soy milk is the best. I recommend everyone try Silk Soy milk! Seriously, just a half gallon, if you hate it you only wasted 3 bucks ok. There is plain soymilk, which I don't recommend as your first half gallon, I only use plain if I'm cooking with it, making shakes, or mixing something in it, like whey protein or something. I would recommended the Soy Very Vanilla or the Chocolate Soy one. Let me know how you guys like it. My kids are on it, they love it, they have milk sensitivities. Once we started them on soy they began to gain weight, they are both very petite small kids that can't gain any weight, so we're happy they have a milk they love that is good for them and fortified with calcium, minerals, and protein. My husband loves it too! It's a plus for everyone. Milk really isn't good for you, makes you bloaty because it sticks to your stomach lining and takes a while to digest. Did you know that humans are the only organisms that drink and consume milk after infancy?! Maybe more people should switch over and see if it makes them feel better. I know since I stopped drinking cow's milk and soda pop it's helped a lot. If I try to drink pop it literally makes my kidneys hurt.
Till next time friends!
Yoga is NOT for wimps, wussies, or little "girly" men!
Close minded people that don't believe me can go sign up for and participate in a class. A beginners class not hard enough for you? Then try some Vinyasa yoga, which moves from posture to pose quickly and is a lot harder. Yoga is an amazing exercise and lifestyle. It is great for all ages, shapes, sizes, weights, and disciplines. There are more types of yoga than I have learned yet. Some focus more on stretching, other on cardio, some on chanting, others on meditation and relaxation, some you do in a hot environment, etc.. There is a yoga for everyone! I also recommend trying yoga for everyone, even if it's just once. It increases your flexibility, makes your blood pump, helps your circulatory system, helps you lose weight, and gain and tone muscles. It's also perfect for people with injuries or people that just hate the monotonous cardio workout of the dreaded treadmill.
Yoga is perfect for me. I have numerous health issues that have improved significantly with yoga. Plus now if I don't work out, I feel like ick because my fibro flareups begin and then I can't move around much. Life is miserable to me now without my gym time everyday.
Eating :)
Ok onto something I haven't talked about yet. What the heck do I eat? Let's not even talk about what I used to eat, then I'd need a novel lol. I'll list what I know so far....
Basically I've been told three important things to be eating: Protein, Carbs, and Fats. Good fats mind you. I know you're thinking...Alright chocolate and cake! No not quite. ;)
Protein: Lean chicken cuts like the breasts, lean ground meat, lean meats, buffalo, ostrich, emu, etc.. Don't knock it till you try it people, buffalo and flightless birds taste delicious! (No offense to vegetarians which I respect very much, I'm just a meat person)
Carbs: Whole grains! In moderation of course, carbs and too many of them will not work for you and defeat any chance of losing weight and burning muscle. Veggies and more veggies! Fruit! Fruit actually have a lot of carbs! Ridiculous! Watch the fruit, but it's good for you.
Fats: Almonds, peanut butter (an easy one for me because I loooooove PB!), olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, safflower oil, flaxseed oil, etc..
Now I've been doing really good, and I'm not finding a hard time avoiding bad foods anymore. I cut them out completely several weeks ago, and have spent a long time finding alternatives to fulfill my cravings, like fruit. I don't even want cookies and cakes anymore. I had a small cake piece at a baby shower I attended the other day and it was gross to me. So hey! Awesome! I never thought I'd see the day when I would hate cake. This coming from a person who would send Robert out at random times during the day and night to go get me a piece of cake. I freakin loved cake. So this should prove that if I can do it, anyone can!
Another important food item I've been digging is whey protein. Kind of funky, but really good for you, and protein is the most important thing to take when trying to lose weight an/or build muscle. You mix this whey protein with water or milk or whatever. I use either water or soymilk because I can't drink milk anymore. (I'm lactose intolerant) Fine with me though, I don't mind the soy much anymore. Silk soy milk is the best. I recommend everyone try Silk Soy milk! Seriously, just a half gallon, if you hate it you only wasted 3 bucks ok. There is plain soymilk, which I don't recommend as your first half gallon, I only use plain if I'm cooking with it, making shakes, or mixing something in it, like whey protein or something. I would recommended the Soy Very Vanilla or the Chocolate Soy one. Let me know how you guys like it. My kids are on it, they love it, they have milk sensitivities. Once we started them on soy they began to gain weight, they are both very petite small kids that can't gain any weight, so we're happy they have a milk they love that is good for them and fortified with calcium, minerals, and protein. My husband loves it too! It's a plus for everyone. Milk really isn't good for you, makes you bloaty because it sticks to your stomach lining and takes a while to digest. Did you know that humans are the only organisms that drink and consume milk after infancy?! Maybe more people should switch over and see if it makes them feel better. I know since I stopped drinking cow's milk and soda pop it's helped a lot. If I try to drink pop it literally makes my kidneys hurt.
Till next time friends!
205!
205 lbs!
I lost more weight! It's starting to "melt off" as they say. For me I wasn't as obsessed with weighing myself off and on incessantly but I'm going to check it every week. I've just been weighed a lot by the trainer and doctors this week, so I am able to see my progress.
Let me say that weighing yourself doesn't actually show progress, and it can be really discouraging at times. Because muscle weighs MORE than fat! So you work out and out and out, and then BAM you either haven't gained or lost anything, or you gain weight. Oh man, does that make me feel bad. This is because muscle does weigh more than fat, so as you gain muscle and replace the fat, you either stay the same weight or gain weight. I dealt with this the first 2 weeks of starting my transformation. It was very discouraging so I just decided to stop weighing myself.
May I say also that this is the worst time ever to need new clothes! I am going through so many body changes right now that nothing fits. And my mom was so awesome to get me some new clothes for school, but they already don't fit. I was wearing a 22, oh yea, that's big.
Seeing myself at such a bad place made me think back to when I first got together with my husband, about 7 years ago. I thought I was fat then, always feeling so bad about myself, having no self worth, etc.. I kick myself now for that, because I wore a 15/16 back then, and I can't even get those up my thighs anymore. Very depressing.
My Goals right now!!!!
-Get under 200 lbs! I have been struggling with this for almost a year, and now I'm so close, I think I will be under 200 in 2 weeks, we'll see. I think I'll cry when that happens, and eat something special to mark the occassion, but nothing too bad ;)
-I want to get back down to a 15/16, and then when I get there I'll change my plans from there. Right now a 22 is huge on me, but an 18 is slightly grabby. Kind of when you first pull jeans out of the dryer, and you have to squat and bend and make all sorts of weird poses to get them to stretch out a little....am I the only one who does this? Lol.
Health Update:
I have been feeling awesome lately. My back isn't hurting as much, except for today since I worked my back yesterday. I can walk better, and yoga has definitely improved my posture and flexibility.
Meeting with my doc yesterday was disheartening. So yesterday was a pretty bad blue day. Basically my woman plumbing is full of cysts and fibroids, my left ovary is dead, and I can put up with the pain and annoyance of 6 month long menses until I'm ready for a hysterectomy. Oh yea, and I can't have any more kids. We saw this coming, hence why we had our 2 kids early in our lives when we did, since the doctor told us we had three years to try, so we did, and had a rough time with it, but were definitely blessed beyond all reason with two great kids. Kind of saddening for me though, since personally we wanted 2 more kids. But we're happy and grateful we were able to have the 2 we have. I also have this growth crammed in my lypmh nodes in my armpit, and it has grown to a baseball within a month. Very scary. So next week I'm meeting with someone to get an ultrasound on it, biopsy it, and then have surgery scheduled to remove it. I'm hoping it's nothing, and probably just a side effect of gaining weight the way I did a year ago, when it first appeared.
A note on Cheat Days, as I see it.
What is a cheat day? Basically a day of the week when you can eat whatever you want and it won't affect your progress whatsoever. Sounds like a good idea...but then again..if I spend all week trying to eat healthy, and then eat like a crazy person that has been having incessant cravings for the whole week, don't you think that could be potentially bad? I think I'd get super sick, and would feel guilty and whatnot. I know a lot of trainers and bodybuilders that do this, but hey they don't have any fat to lose and I do. So here's my 5 cents on this..I think cheat days are bad...for me. It might work for other people but robert and I discussed this for about an hour the other day. I think it'd be better to eat something "cheat-like" every once in a while without it hurting your diet. That way my cravings don't go haywire and I don't feel guilty. But also when I say cheat, I'm not talking go crazy at a buffet or have an entire deep dish pizza or a wedding cake by yourself. For me, last night, it was my dad's pizza, a nice treat for us, since I avoid carbs nowadays. But having a cheat day would also mean anytime I'd ever want to do things with my friends or family, like a bbq or a birthday party, well it would have to be centered and scheduled around MY cheat day, not very convenient or fair to others involved. "Oh honey we'd love to have a big surprise party for your sister for her 28th birthday this year, but we'll just have to wait till her cheat day.." :P Lol, well poop on that.
The most important thing when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy and changing your life around is that it's YOUR life, do it in a way that works for you! Everything can be tailored to meet your needs.
On another note, I didn't get to do Hot Yoga last night because little Bobby has a double ear infection so we were at the afterhours clinic. But I'll do it next week. Today I'm going do regular Yoga, so I'm off to the gym.
Till next time :)
.
I lost more weight! It's starting to "melt off" as they say. For me I wasn't as obsessed with weighing myself off and on incessantly but I'm going to check it every week. I've just been weighed a lot by the trainer and doctors this week, so I am able to see my progress.
Let me say that weighing yourself doesn't actually show progress, and it can be really discouraging at times. Because muscle weighs MORE than fat! So you work out and out and out, and then BAM you either haven't gained or lost anything, or you gain weight. Oh man, does that make me feel bad. This is because muscle does weigh more than fat, so as you gain muscle and replace the fat, you either stay the same weight or gain weight. I dealt with this the first 2 weeks of starting my transformation. It was very discouraging so I just decided to stop weighing myself.
May I say also that this is the worst time ever to need new clothes! I am going through so many body changes right now that nothing fits. And my mom was so awesome to get me some new clothes for school, but they already don't fit. I was wearing a 22, oh yea, that's big.
Seeing myself at such a bad place made me think back to when I first got together with my husband, about 7 years ago. I thought I was fat then, always feeling so bad about myself, having no self worth, etc.. I kick myself now for that, because I wore a 15/16 back then, and I can't even get those up my thighs anymore. Very depressing.
My Goals right now!!!!
-Get under 200 lbs! I have been struggling with this for almost a year, and now I'm so close, I think I will be under 200 in 2 weeks, we'll see. I think I'll cry when that happens, and eat something special to mark the occassion, but nothing too bad ;)
-I want to get back down to a 15/16, and then when I get there I'll change my plans from there. Right now a 22 is huge on me, but an 18 is slightly grabby. Kind of when you first pull jeans out of the dryer, and you have to squat and bend and make all sorts of weird poses to get them to stretch out a little....am I the only one who does this? Lol.
Health Update:
I have been feeling awesome lately. My back isn't hurting as much, except for today since I worked my back yesterday. I can walk better, and yoga has definitely improved my posture and flexibility.
Meeting with my doc yesterday was disheartening. So yesterday was a pretty bad blue day. Basically my woman plumbing is full of cysts and fibroids, my left ovary is dead, and I can put up with the pain and annoyance of 6 month long menses until I'm ready for a hysterectomy. Oh yea, and I can't have any more kids. We saw this coming, hence why we had our 2 kids early in our lives when we did, since the doctor told us we had three years to try, so we did, and had a rough time with it, but were definitely blessed beyond all reason with two great kids. Kind of saddening for me though, since personally we wanted 2 more kids. But we're happy and grateful we were able to have the 2 we have. I also have this growth crammed in my lypmh nodes in my armpit, and it has grown to a baseball within a month. Very scary. So next week I'm meeting with someone to get an ultrasound on it, biopsy it, and then have surgery scheduled to remove it. I'm hoping it's nothing, and probably just a side effect of gaining weight the way I did a year ago, when it first appeared.
A note on Cheat Days, as I see it.
What is a cheat day? Basically a day of the week when you can eat whatever you want and it won't affect your progress whatsoever. Sounds like a good idea...but then again..if I spend all week trying to eat healthy, and then eat like a crazy person that has been having incessant cravings for the whole week, don't you think that could be potentially bad? I think I'd get super sick, and would feel guilty and whatnot. I know a lot of trainers and bodybuilders that do this, but hey they don't have any fat to lose and I do. So here's my 5 cents on this..I think cheat days are bad...for me. It might work for other people but robert and I discussed this for about an hour the other day. I think it'd be better to eat something "cheat-like" every once in a while without it hurting your diet. That way my cravings don't go haywire and I don't feel guilty. But also when I say cheat, I'm not talking go crazy at a buffet or have an entire deep dish pizza or a wedding cake by yourself. For me, last night, it was my dad's pizza, a nice treat for us, since I avoid carbs nowadays. But having a cheat day would also mean anytime I'd ever want to do things with my friends or family, like a bbq or a birthday party, well it would have to be centered and scheduled around MY cheat day, not very convenient or fair to others involved. "Oh honey we'd love to have a big surprise party for your sister for her 28th birthday this year, but we'll just have to wait till her cheat day.." :P Lol, well poop on that.
The most important thing when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy and changing your life around is that it's YOUR life, do it in a way that works for you! Everything can be tailored to meet your needs.
On another note, I didn't get to do Hot Yoga last night because little Bobby has a double ear infection so we were at the afterhours clinic. But I'll do it next week. Today I'm going do regular Yoga, so I'm off to the gym.
Till next time :)
.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Here's the Skinny...
Oh my goodness, enough with the fat and skinny sayings! Yea right, I'm going to milk that for all it's worth. Ha ha!
Ok, so I thought I'd start with a break down of my stats and what-not, so that I can follow my progress as I go, and so that everyone else can be in awe at how much I've let myself go and be surprised that I haven't had a heart attack yet....well one that hasn't killed me anyway...get to my health problems later.
Current Weight: 207 lbs
BMI: 40 percent
Fat content in my body (aka.adipose): 86 lbs!
Wow, that's so bad isn't it. Let me tell you, I did pack that all on overnight too! It does happen people! Thanks to a combination of horrid medications and lots of overnight raiding with my World of Warcraft buddies, well...shame on me. Once I got over 200 lbs, the realization hit me...I was fat, really fat, and life really sucked. Not that my actual life sucked, just the whole..being huge, not fitting into clothes, not being able to play with my kids, or walk without pain, or work without pain...well that part sucked. Soon, my knees jurt, my back hurt, my feet hurt, everything hurt. That on top of some health problems, well..being overweight does not help at all.
That brings me to the next part: My Health Problems!
Boy howdy this might be a long read..
Back problems, since 1999: I have L3, L4, and L5 herniated in my back. I have degenerative disc disease. And nothing helps and I won't get surgery, so don't even say anything about it! I hate needles near my back after 3 unsuccessful epidurals for steroids. Last time I had an epidural was 3 seconds before I had my son, and the guy was so impatient he jabbed me eight times before giving up, and ended up bruising my spine, and I had a spinal headache for 2 weeks. Ever had one of those? No? Then you have no idea the pain, felt like a stroke...a stroke? that seems extreme you think to compare the pain to that.....oh yea?..
Stroke, March 25th, 2006: When my daughter was about 6 months old, I was having a rough night sleeping. My head hurt sooooo bad and my back hurt and the pain wouldn't stop. It was the worst pain ever! And I can actually say that now, since I had my son naturally. I woke my husband, Robert, up after 6 hours of this, and told him I needed something, anything... At that point, I couldn't see well anymore, and the pain was so intolerable, I could barely move or function. He says that I wasn't talking to him or making sense, I was talking in numbers...that does not sound good. So off to the ER we go. I was breastfeeding my daughter exclusively so she came with us, and I attempted to feed her and suffer this intolerable pain at the same time, which didn't really work because she was so freaked out. Long story short, I had a small stroke. My vision and speech aren't completely 100 percent, my vision is blurry and I stutter at times, but thank goodness that was all I have long term. It could've been much worse. Only a year ago, I found out I have Protein S Deficiency, a condition that can cause blod clots with certain drugs and medications. Turns out I can't take estrogen with this condition, and I was on birth control at the time, so that explains it.
Fibromyalgia, since 1999: I have fibromyalgia, it's a long and complicated explanation so..
.What Is Fibromyalgia?
I have had this condition since my car accident in 1999, which is how I hurt my back, so the doctors assume it's onset from that. And when I say the "doctors" I mean the doctors I have seen over the last 15 years, I'm not going to specify lol. The fibro makes me feel like crap, all the bloody time. I am tired beyond all reason, and I feel like I have the flu, and I just hurt, all the time. But do not pity me, because I'm used to it. Every once in a while, it progresses and gets worse, but then I acclimate to it again.
PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, it's a girly thing, makes it hard to have kids, have weird menses, etc.. I hate talking about girly things anyways, so if you wanna know more: PCOS
Hypothyroidism: I have a glandular problem lol. Still working on finding the right dose of meds for this.
Mystery Thing: I always have those mystery things going on...like why do I have migraines incessently, why am I so tired all the time, why do my kidneys hurt, why is this lymphatic growth getting bigger every month? etc..
So other than my health problems, why do I want to get healthy?
-I want to teach my kids about health, so they can live a healthy life and not have to deal with health problems, or be the "fat kid."
-I want to grow old with my husband and be as healthy and strong as my grandmother, who has taught me so much.
-Being overweight and unhealthy is making my existing health problems soooo much worse.
-As of a month ago, I am pre-diabetic, and have been advised that "if i don't get it together and lose the weight, I will die."
Ok enough depressing talk already! On to the good, encouraging stuff....
My progress so far.
-I was 225 lbs a couple months ago, so I've lost a lot of weight so far, on my own, thank you ;)
-I have a gym membership to Gold's Gym. I love the gym, how it's family friendly, I love the classes, the weight machines, still hate cardio but I'm working on it, and I just love this place. It's our new home away from home. Both Robert and I have begun this lifestyle change together, and he has lost a lot of weight and is looking into bodybuilding next year.
-I have met with a trainer, mostly to pick his mind about nutritional stuff and how the fat burning process works. I mean you see all these people have lost all this weight, and where does it all go?! I'll tell you! It burns away, the body uses fat reserves as you gain more muscle, and you burn that adipose away, poof it's gone! But from this as well, I have learned I don't need a trainer, and I think I would be even more annoyed having one.
-I have completely changed my way of eating. I mean completely! No more fats, candy, cookies, pop, anything like that! That right, who would've thought that I, of all people, would ever be able to give all that up!? Crazy huh? Sunday is my cheat day though, but for the most part I don't even like that stuff anymore.
-I have a complete regimen of weight machines to use, and my exercise of choice is YOGA!!! I LOVE YOGA! Vinyasa, restorative, etc... Tomorrow I will be trying Bikram Yoga, or Hot yoga, where you stand in a 100 degree room while doing yoga, it's gonna be awesome! Or horrible...I don't know yet, I'll blog about it tomorrow night.
-I have completely weaned off of all unnecessary medications and am on supplements and vitamins now. I was taking medications, specifically Savella and Zoloft, for my fibromyalgia and my depression, but I hated how I felt if I forgot a dose, and felt like I wanted to deal with that on my own. I really believe in all natural and homeopathic medicines, so the only prescription I'm on now is Armor Thyroid, for my thyroid, but that's necessary. But even then, it's an all natural thyroid pill made from the thyroid gland of porcine animals. Smells funky too, bleh.
I want to go on and on, but I'm sure this blog is long enough already, plus I'm getting really sleepy, so nighters :D I'll continue tomorrow.
Ok, so I thought I'd start with a break down of my stats and what-not, so that I can follow my progress as I go, and so that everyone else can be in awe at how much I've let myself go and be surprised that I haven't had a heart attack yet....well one that hasn't killed me anyway...get to my health problems later.
Current Weight: 207 lbs
BMI: 40 percent
Fat content in my body (aka.adipose): 86 lbs!
Wow, that's so bad isn't it. Let me tell you, I did pack that all on overnight too! It does happen people! Thanks to a combination of horrid medications and lots of overnight raiding with my World of Warcraft buddies, well...shame on me. Once I got over 200 lbs, the realization hit me...I was fat, really fat, and life really sucked. Not that my actual life sucked, just the whole..being huge, not fitting into clothes, not being able to play with my kids, or walk without pain, or work without pain...well that part sucked. Soon, my knees jurt, my back hurt, my feet hurt, everything hurt. That on top of some health problems, well..being overweight does not help at all.
That brings me to the next part: My Health Problems!
Boy howdy this might be a long read..
Back problems, since 1999: I have L3, L4, and L5 herniated in my back. I have degenerative disc disease. And nothing helps and I won't get surgery, so don't even say anything about it! I hate needles near my back after 3 unsuccessful epidurals for steroids. Last time I had an epidural was 3 seconds before I had my son, and the guy was so impatient he jabbed me eight times before giving up, and ended up bruising my spine, and I had a spinal headache for 2 weeks. Ever had one of those? No? Then you have no idea the pain, felt like a stroke...a stroke? that seems extreme you think to compare the pain to that.....oh yea?..
Stroke, March 25th, 2006: When my daughter was about 6 months old, I was having a rough night sleeping. My head hurt sooooo bad and my back hurt and the pain wouldn't stop. It was the worst pain ever! And I can actually say that now, since I had my son naturally. I woke my husband, Robert, up after 6 hours of this, and told him I needed something, anything... At that point, I couldn't see well anymore, and the pain was so intolerable, I could barely move or function. He says that I wasn't talking to him or making sense, I was talking in numbers...that does not sound good. So off to the ER we go. I was breastfeeding my daughter exclusively so she came with us, and I attempted to feed her and suffer this intolerable pain at the same time, which didn't really work because she was so freaked out. Long story short, I had a small stroke. My vision and speech aren't completely 100 percent, my vision is blurry and I stutter at times, but thank goodness that was all I have long term. It could've been much worse. Only a year ago, I found out I have Protein S Deficiency, a condition that can cause blod clots with certain drugs and medications. Turns out I can't take estrogen with this condition, and I was on birth control at the time, so that explains it.
Fibromyalgia, since 1999: I have fibromyalgia, it's a long and complicated explanation so..
.What Is Fibromyalgia?
I have had this condition since my car accident in 1999, which is how I hurt my back, so the doctors assume it's onset from that. And when I say the "doctors" I mean the doctors I have seen over the last 15 years, I'm not going to specify lol. The fibro makes me feel like crap, all the bloody time. I am tired beyond all reason, and I feel like I have the flu, and I just hurt, all the time. But do not pity me, because I'm used to it. Every once in a while, it progresses and gets worse, but then I acclimate to it again.
PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, it's a girly thing, makes it hard to have kids, have weird menses, etc.. I hate talking about girly things anyways, so if you wanna know more: PCOS
Hypothyroidism: I have a glandular problem lol. Still working on finding the right dose of meds for this.
Mystery Thing: I always have those mystery things going on...like why do I have migraines incessently, why am I so tired all the time, why do my kidneys hurt, why is this lymphatic growth getting bigger every month? etc..
So other than my health problems, why do I want to get healthy?
-I want to teach my kids about health, so they can live a healthy life and not have to deal with health problems, or be the "fat kid."
-I want to grow old with my husband and be as healthy and strong as my grandmother, who has taught me so much.
-Being overweight and unhealthy is making my existing health problems soooo much worse.
-As of a month ago, I am pre-diabetic, and have been advised that "if i don't get it together and lose the weight, I will die."
Ok enough depressing talk already! On to the good, encouraging stuff....
My progress so far.
-I was 225 lbs a couple months ago, so I've lost a lot of weight so far, on my own, thank you ;)
-I have a gym membership to Gold's Gym. I love the gym, how it's family friendly, I love the classes, the weight machines, still hate cardio but I'm working on it, and I just love this place. It's our new home away from home. Both Robert and I have begun this lifestyle change together, and he has lost a lot of weight and is looking into bodybuilding next year.
-I have met with a trainer, mostly to pick his mind about nutritional stuff and how the fat burning process works. I mean you see all these people have lost all this weight, and where does it all go?! I'll tell you! It burns away, the body uses fat reserves as you gain more muscle, and you burn that adipose away, poof it's gone! But from this as well, I have learned I don't need a trainer, and I think I would be even more annoyed having one.
-I have completely changed my way of eating. I mean completely! No more fats, candy, cookies, pop, anything like that! That right, who would've thought that I, of all people, would ever be able to give all that up!? Crazy huh? Sunday is my cheat day though, but for the most part I don't even like that stuff anymore.
-I have a complete regimen of weight machines to use, and my exercise of choice is YOGA!!! I LOVE YOGA! Vinyasa, restorative, etc... Tomorrow I will be trying Bikram Yoga, or Hot yoga, where you stand in a 100 degree room while doing yoga, it's gonna be awesome! Or horrible...I don't know yet, I'll blog about it tomorrow night.
-I have completely weaned off of all unnecessary medications and am on supplements and vitamins now. I was taking medications, specifically Savella and Zoloft, for my fibromyalgia and my depression, but I hated how I felt if I forgot a dose, and felt like I wanted to deal with that on my own. I really believe in all natural and homeopathic medicines, so the only prescription I'm on now is Armor Thyroid, for my thyroid, but that's necessary. But even then, it's an all natural thyroid pill made from the thyroid gland of porcine animals. Smells funky too, bleh.
I want to go on and on, but I'm sure this blog is long enough already, plus I'm getting really sleepy, so nighters :D I'll continue tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The End & The Beginning
The end and the beginning? Did I put that right? You bet I did. Because this is now the end of my old me, and the beginning of the new me. Kind of cliche, but I don't care. But it's not like i'm gone and have no more personality or anything, just the physical outside part of me will soon, very soon hopefully, be a lot smaller and I'll feel better and look better.
Now, Adipose Nirvana.....Why did I choose this bizarre blurring of words for my blog..seems kind of weird. But, let me explain, and then hopefully it'll all make perfect sense. When you look at the two words, and their definitions...
Adipose means "fat" but is usually used to refer specifically to tissue made up of mainly fat cells such as the yellow layer of fat beneath the skin.
Nirvana is the supreme state free from suffering and individual existence. It is believed to be the ultimate goal for those who try to achieve this.
So when I thought of a name for this blog, I wanted something creative, but not stupid, but also something that got you thinking. Adipose, or fat, is what I have on my body. 86 lbs of fat exactly is what I'm lugging around. When I found this out, well it was pretty shocking to say the least. Shocking, gross, depressing, etc.. the feelings were a lot to deal with at the time.
Basically, my ultimate goal is to be FREE from my fat! It would be adipose nirvana, or..freedom from my fat, to be free from suffering from the effects of an epidemic that plagues our country. Fatness and unhealthiness are all over, but it's rampant in the USA.
I'm not saying I want to be a skinny minnie or anything, but I want to be healthy, live better, eat better, and live a long life.
Thus begins my long journey. This is my first blog to set forth my blogging! Onward mateys to Adipose Nirvana!
Now, Adipose Nirvana.....Why did I choose this bizarre blurring of words for my blog..seems kind of weird. But, let me explain, and then hopefully it'll all make perfect sense. When you look at the two words, and their definitions...
Adipose means "fat" but is usually used to refer specifically to tissue made up of mainly fat cells such as the yellow layer of fat beneath the skin.
Nirvana is the supreme state free from suffering and individual existence. It is believed to be the ultimate goal for those who try to achieve this.
So when I thought of a name for this blog, I wanted something creative, but not stupid, but also something that got you thinking. Adipose, or fat, is what I have on my body. 86 lbs of fat exactly is what I'm lugging around. When I found this out, well it was pretty shocking to say the least. Shocking, gross, depressing, etc.. the feelings were a lot to deal with at the time.
Basically, my ultimate goal is to be FREE from my fat! It would be adipose nirvana, or..freedom from my fat, to be free from suffering from the effects of an epidemic that plagues our country. Fatness and unhealthiness are all over, but it's rampant in the USA.
I'm not saying I want to be a skinny minnie or anything, but I want to be healthy, live better, eat better, and live a long life.
Thus begins my long journey. This is my first blog to set forth my blogging! Onward mateys to Adipose Nirvana!
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