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Sweating it Out
One word: Y O G A
This morning, as I did my final stretch, sweat dripping from my nose, my chin, my elbows, I was filled with gratitude. Gratitude for my body–limitations and all, gratitude that I made it– that I showed up, gratitude for my breath and my mind, gratitude for doing something good for myself. I signed up for a month. I’m hoping to go three times a week.
Don’t get me wrong. I still hate it. It’s hard, it’s hot. See that little white space underneath the arm of the silhouette? That doesn’t exist for full-figured gals like me. It’ll be a long time before my forehead kisses my knee. Yet I feel so good afterwards. And it makes so much sense to me…stretching and elongating my muscles. I have no idea how many calories I’m burning in the 90 minutes. It doesn’t really matter. I’m moving, stretching, twisting, and for now, I’m showing up.
Made some homemade chicken noodle soup (with gluten-free noodles!). Still eating clean. I breezed through Halloween without so much as a single M&M. It was easy. I had no desire. And I’m convinced if I did have an M&M, I would have been tempted, perhaps beyond my control, to eat more. Such is the poison of sugar.
Hit a milestone last week: 1/3 of the way to my goal at 194 lbs. I’m probably losing some ground, but I’m staying the course.
Namaste.
Patience
Haven’t lost a pound in two weeks.
I’m bummed. It means that I likely need to be on a ‘diet’ instead of the weight dropping off of me by virtue of eating healthy. Since sugar/flour/processed food put the weight on, I’d hoped it would be as simple as eliminating those foods to get the weight off. I’m not giving up, but I’m beginning to think about how I just may need to count calories…or carbs. Because as we know, calories in, calories out. I think I’ll give it through September before I change anything. My hub feels confident that I just need to be patient. I’m not on a quick weight-loss plan.
But this is not the way of my life-long weight-loss experience. By now I’m usually getting my second (dieting) wind–feeling energized and like there’s no stopping me! But these days, it seems like I’m doing nothing at all about my weight. And I have to say, I’m not so sure I’m feeling that much better, either.
Have you noticed I haven’t mentioned exercise? I haven’t been exercising enough. I need to figure something out. Now that I’m back to school, going to the gym is not convenient. Getting committed to a walking regime right here at home is what I need to do. I’ve just got to get over this back-to-school hump. I’m just exhausted.
Independence
A wise mentor recently observed that I am seeking freedom. I trivialized it at first, thinking how very mid-life-crisis-ish of me to be yearning for freedom as I near the half-century mark.
But it’s true.
Ever since, I’ve been thinking about my aspirations and desires, and rolling each of them forward. And each one liberates me in some way. I’d like to liberate myself of the contents of my house; I’d like to liberate myself from my financial obligations–live smaller and within my means; I’d like to liberate myself from my growing aches and pains; I’d like to liberate myself from my alarm clock; I’d like to liberate myself from my emotional dependence on others for happiness; I’d like to liberate myself from my obesity.
So my goal is to celebrate my very own Obesity Independence Day next year, on July 21, 2015:
<150 pounds by the time I turn 50. I know I can do it. I sure hope I do.
One of the things that’s keeping me motivated to eat whole, healthy food, is learning more about it. I mentioned earlier that I’m reading The Science of Skinny, by Dee McCaffrey. I’m about a third of the way through and I just finished reading about sugar and flour. It was fascinating to learn about how sugar and flour are refined. By the time we take a bag of sugar or flour off the shelf at the grocery store, the product we are buying (and consuming) has no resemblance, molecularly, to its original source. The nutrients have been stripped away, and along with it anything that is recognizable or useful to our bodies. Our bodies are simply not designed to deal with these foreign substances! Not only that, but ingesting them lights up and stimulates the same areas in the brain as drugs like cocaine and heroin. We’re all addicted.
And guess who knows this better than anyone?
You guessed it, the food industry. Here is a link to a TEDx talk about how the food industry (like the tobacco industry before them) is brainwashing us and more alarmingly, our children. As soon as my boy gets home, I plan on sitting him down to see this as well. I’m hoping his teen brain might feel stirred to rebel against the corporate manipulation infiltrating his body. He is after all an adolescent, and like his mom, seeking independence.
Happy 4th of July.
I wish you well in your own pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.
All Calories are not Created Equal
Can you imagine consuming a thousand calories of chips in a day? How about broccoli?
1,000 calories of chips • 1,000 calories of broccoli
Vastly different metabolic processes take place in your body as a result of which 1,000 calorie serving you consume. And apparently, those differing metabolic processes have everything to do with obesity.
It’s all about sugar. And whether we know it or not, we’re addicted to it.
This part isn’t really new news to me. Being a chubby family, I rarely bring overtly sugar-ridden food into the house. Cookies, soda, candy, Fruit Loops… oh no, we don’t do that. Instead, cereal bars, Crystal Light, pretzels, diet soda, you know, healthier foods fill my cart. What a joke. Well folks, the sugar haze I’ve been in is starting to clear, and I am beginning to see the light. Sugar (in all of its refined forms) is poison to me. Over the years, I’ve done best on low carb diets. Whenever I did Atkins, the fat melted off of me. It’s as if I’m allergic to carbs.
It occurs to me that each time I diet it’s like an addict going to rehab. I learn the truth about the foods I eat, figure out a plan, and follow it–follow it until I don’t, and I return to my old eating ways. I’d really like it if I could find my way to a healthier life. I think it’s time to kick sugar out of the house once and for all.
If you want to read more about this, I have only just begun to explore Dr. Hyman’s site. Check it out here. And have you seen the new documentary, Fed Up? I’d love to know what you think. It looks really interesting. I can’t seem to find a theater close to me, or anywhere online to see it. I suppose I’ll have to wait until it’s released on dvd.
Finally, even though I registered zero pounds lost yesterday, my boy lost 5lbs!
Exercise and whole foods. That’s it.
Be well.
The Time is Now
I’m turning fifty (fifty!) in a year.
I feel like an adolescent again. “Who am I? What do I want to do with the rest of my life?” I’m moody, fatigued and fat.
So is my family.
It’s time to make a change.
The time is now.
We’re going whole foods (mostly) and exercise.
My son (Little D) is fourteen and overweight. He loves hockey, so I’ve got him signed up for an intense conditioning program, three days/week which he seems to love so far. While he’s doing that, I’ll be working out. My hub (Big D) is on board as well.
In my weight loss career (all my life) I have probably lost and gained hundreds of pounds. The last time I dropped weight I thought I was set for life. Kept it off for nearly two years. And then, I quit smoking. 40 pounds later, here I am. Still not smoking, but all puffed up.
I have some goals.
I want to be under 200 lbs. by the first day of school (I’m a teacher).
And under 150 lbs. by my 50th birthday next July.
There~I’ve said it, written it and published it.
Namaste.
Why It Matters 