Showing posts with label obesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obesity. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
REWARDS AND PUNISHMENT
One thing I have known for a long time on an intellectual level but that I recently felt slip into my working reality is that each time I feed myself, I am choosing whether to punish or reward myself. I ate some donuts yesterday. I haven't eaten donuts in years and they were in my home (VERY rare occurrence) and I thought, it's been years - literally years. I can have a treat. But was that a treat? NO! It was a punishment! I harmed myself! You don't reward yourself by harming yourself. I KNEW I was harming myself. I know too much now to fall for the old, "just this once, I deserve a treat now and then" bullshit. I DESERVE to lose this weight and feel vibrant, energetic and healthy. I DESERVE to enjoy my life with little fear of heart disease, diabetes or other diseases causing me to lose my quality of life. I DESERVE to give myself every opportunity to be around to see my amazing grandsons grow into amazing men, fall in love, become husbands and fathers if they choose to and to make the world a better place. In the big picture, who the hell cares about the mouthfeel of a donut?! But I ate the damn thing because I have slipped more and more over the last 2 years into addictive thinking. I dwell on fears and worries, I obsess over food continually. There is rarely an hour in the day when I am not thinking about what I could "get away with" eating. I've redeveloped the habit of hitting a drive-through or buying something at the deli every time I go out! "Well, at least it's just a bean burrito." "Well, this horrible meal won't do as much harm if I don't eat anything else all day." Bitch please! I have slipped backwards a lot more than I ever thought I could and it is time I acknowledged that fact. It is also time I recognize and deal with the food addict aspect of my problems. I honestly wish I could afford to enroll in Chef AJ's Ultimate Weight Loss program but she generously shares a lot of information and support for free so I'll be taking advantage of that. I know from experience that I cope better if I jump straight into the deep end rather than inching in toe first so... this is me, jumping into the deep end again. Today, smoothies and salads and veggie soup. The plan is to do that until Friday or Saturday. And then to juice fast or water fast throughout the rest of March. I won't use budget as an excuse to quit. If I can't afford produce to juice then I will simply water fast. That is free. This is the best way I know to reset my taste buds and get the addictive crap out of my system and reboot my enthusiasm for this lifestyle. I will blog every morning to keep myself accountable. Even if it is just a line or two, I'll post something. Even if I have to say I screwed the pooch, I will post something. Pass the noseplug, I'm jumping in.
Friday, August 1, 2014
YOU DON'T NEED THE CEREAL COMPANY TO ADD FOLATE TO YOUR FRUIT LOOPS TO BE HEALTHY!!
So I read this article this morning: Gluten-free for weight loss? You’re doing more harm than good: study
There is so much wrong here I almost didn't even try but here goes. Condescending claptrap. Just more of the medical establishment trying to convince people that if the doctor (is that spelled g.o.d?) didn't say it, it ain't so. Ordinary mortals are much too foolish and self-deluded to figure out what their own bodies need. Dumbing us down on a profound level. Ugh!
So they found that if you replace your white bread and doughnuts with gluten-free white bread and doughnuts you aren't helping anything? Genius. How about replace the gluten bearing grain with healthy, whole foods. And stop looking for science to "fortify" your foods and just go to foods that contain them *naturally.* Radical concept, I know. Me and my fads;o) My favorite part of this article (solely for the belly laugh it gave me) was, "If I’m a college student, and I want to lose weight, and I read on the Internet that a gluten-free diet is the way to go, I may start avoiding products that contain essential nutrients such as those found in cereal grains fortified with folic acid." If you need some folic acid eat some frickin' beans genius! Or some spinach or broccoli or a salad! Oy vey!!! You don't need the cereal companies to add folate to your fruit loops to be healthy!!!!!!!
Now I don't believe everyone needs to give up gluten but I think it is a good idea to cut back on it and be much more choosy about the gluten bearing foods you eat no matter who you are. First off, modern gluten 'ain't what it used to be.' The bread you are eating is far, far, far from the bread your grandparents ate. And even if your bread label says "Whole Wheat," chances are it is far from a true whole grain product. Just about everyone could benefit from switching their usual bread and cereal products to true whole grains. But true gluten sensitivity is brutal and pretty easy to diagnose even without a medical degree. If you cut out gluten-bearing foods for a week or two and you are feeling fine and then you eat a serving of gluten bearing food and get sick as a dog, it is a pretty good sign that gluten is a problem for you. Over the course of the last year, we found that my youngest daughter, Harmoni, was severely gluten-intolerant. I am actually considering getting her tested for actual celiac markers. It's bad. A tiny little bit of hidden gluten and she is curled up in the fetal position for hours - usually on the bathroom floor because she dares not get far from there... if you know what I mean. Both ends baby. It has happened a handful of times when I got just the tiniest bit careless about labels. (Seasoning packets and vanilla extract among many, many other things contain hidden gluten.) Or on one memorable occasion when we trusted a pizza company that said their product was gluten free. People who work at pizza places have since told me that while the product is gluten free, the employees are given NO training about the importance of handling gluten free products with care to avoid cross contamination.
Now, I do see the point that it is foolish of people to think that replacing one cookie mix with another cookie mix isn't going to help you lose weight just because one is gluten free. So teach people that where weight loss is concerned, the problem is that you are eating all your food from a box or food that is prepared by someone else and designed to survive sitting on a shelf for months or more. Teach people, spread the word, get the information in the hands of nutritionists and doctors that preparing your own food from whole, fresh products is the key to healthier bodies. Health and weight-loss doesn't come in a box! Gluten free or otherwise!! But don't try to convince people that their own intuition about their own body isn't to be trusted and that it requires a doctor to decide what you should eat. Read my lips people! Doctors are NOT taught nutrition!! And what little they are exposed to is promoted, backed and often even taught by big pharma, meat, dairy and fast-food representatives. As is the information taught to the average nutritionist. Don't believe me? Check this out: Nutritionists Annual Confab Sponsored by... McDonalds? Yes, seriously. "Andy Bellatti, a dietitian and member of AND, recalls his shock the first time he attended the organization's national conference, in 2008. "I could get continuing education credits for literally sitting in a room and listening to Frito-Lay tell me that Sun Chips are a good way to meet my fiber needs," he says. "I thought, 'No wonder Americans are overweight and diabetic. The gatekeepers for our information about food are getting their information from junk-food companies.'"
I went to doctor after doctor for 30 years trying to figure out why I was declining in health and expanding in size so drastically. Not one ever offered me any solid advice on what to eat or not eat. If and ONLY if I asked, they gave me those sheets about the healthy plate and the FDA's food pyramid. Yeah that worked. I followed the conventional wisdom on weight loss for years while I gained over 100lbs. When I would tell doctors what I ate, you could tell they thought I was lying. I couldn't be getting this fat if I really had given up soda and fried foods and was only eating "healthy, lean cuts of meat" and watching my portions. And even worse, not one single health professional ever even hinted that the medical conditions that were systematically trashing my quality of life could possibly have ANYTHING to do with what I was putting in my mouth. But I'm supposed to go pay for a test to prove what I have already found to be fact in my own experience and my child's about eating gluten and ask them to help me fill in the horrible, gaping void left by bread and pancakes and spaghetti? Thank you! I needed a good laugh today.
Now, there is the matter of that study they referenced. (Insert eye roll.) They said half the people were given standard cookies and chips and the other half were given gluten free cookies and chips. Gee, maybe the problem was that they were feeding these people COOKIES AND CHIPS!! "Participants were cycled through three diets: high-gluten, low-gluten and a control... Participants reported stomach pain and sensitivity even when they weren’t eating gluten. Each diet had patients reporting pain, bloating, nausea, and gas after their baseline treatment." Okay, what was the control? What was the "baseline treatment?" How long were they on this diet? And what did the rest of their diet look like? Lots of things can cause bloating, pain, gas, etc. And if none of these was completely gluten free, it tells you exactly nothing. And they didn't even mention the studies that have shown the effect of gluten on the thyroid.
So bottom line for me... I'm not saying everyone should go gluten free. Healthy, truly whole grain, preferably home-made, grains without artificial crap added are a great part of a healthy diet for many people if you haven't already developed a gut problem. My youngest daughter has SEVERE stomach issues, pain, diarrhea, gas and vomiting from even a whiff of gluten. I just get bloating, joint pain and gas. These can last a few hours to a few days. It is reliable as the sunrise. Eat gluten, this happens. Don't eat gluten and it doesn't. My middle daughter is on the same whole-food, plant-based diet as Harmoni and I, lives in the same home and eats the same food, but she can eat a truly healthy, whole-grain bread or pasta and not suffer any ill effects. She is losing weight right along with Harmoni and I and has stopped her acid reflux and horrible allergies and gotten off of the continuous need for medication for those conditions. I think I can save the money and time and skip the doctor on this one.
So no, I don't think everyone needs to go gluten free. But I'm beginning to wonder if we don't need to go doctor free:/ (Just kidding! Don't shoot me! But we seriously do need to take the time and effort to find a doctor who has a clue.) But I think if you are seeking your healthiest state that it is well worth trying an elimination diet to make sure gluten isn't creating a stumbling block for you. And make sure that whatever grains you include in your diet are really whole, as fresh as possible and not processed and messed with beyond the point of being healthy any longer. And above all, we need to stop spreading the idea that people are too stupid to know what their body needs without someone with a bunch of initials after their name to approve their decisions. And all the evidence out there that diet is the key to the huge health decline around us needs to be made available instead of covered up and ridiculed by people with lots of money to lose once people know the truth. And I really believe that those big money interests need to STOP being the ones funding the "studies." Has everyone forgotten what the term "conflict of interest" means?!
To quote Dan Miller, "Relax and enjoy, eat and drink plants." And of course, my favorite, JUICE ON YA'LL! WE GOT THIS!!
There is so much wrong here I almost didn't even try but here goes. Condescending claptrap. Just more of the medical establishment trying to convince people that if the doctor (is that spelled g.o.d?) didn't say it, it ain't so. Ordinary mortals are much too foolish and self-deluded to figure out what their own bodies need. Dumbing us down on a profound level. Ugh!
So they found that if you replace your white bread and doughnuts with gluten-free white bread and doughnuts you aren't helping anything? Genius. How about replace the gluten bearing grain with healthy, whole foods. And stop looking for science to "fortify" your foods and just go to foods that contain them *naturally.* Radical concept, I know. Me and my fads;o) My favorite part of this article (solely for the belly laugh it gave me) was, "If I’m a college student, and I want to lose weight, and I read on the Internet that a gluten-free diet is the way to go, I may start avoiding products that contain essential nutrients such as those found in cereal grains fortified with folic acid." If you need some folic acid eat some frickin' beans genius! Or some spinach or broccoli or a salad! Oy vey!!! You don't need the cereal companies to add folate to your fruit loops to be healthy!!!!!!!
Now I don't believe everyone needs to give up gluten but I think it is a good idea to cut back on it and be much more choosy about the gluten bearing foods you eat no matter who you are. First off, modern gluten 'ain't what it used to be.' The bread you are eating is far, far, far from the bread your grandparents ate. And even if your bread label says "Whole Wheat," chances are it is far from a true whole grain product. Just about everyone could benefit from switching their usual bread and cereal products to true whole grains. But true gluten sensitivity is brutal and pretty easy to diagnose even without a medical degree. If you cut out gluten-bearing foods for a week or two and you are feeling fine and then you eat a serving of gluten bearing food and get sick as a dog, it is a pretty good sign that gluten is a problem for you. Over the course of the last year, we found that my youngest daughter, Harmoni, was severely gluten-intolerant. I am actually considering getting her tested for actual celiac markers. It's bad. A tiny little bit of hidden gluten and she is curled up in the fetal position for hours - usually on the bathroom floor because she dares not get far from there... if you know what I mean. Both ends baby. It has happened a handful of times when I got just the tiniest bit careless about labels. (Seasoning packets and vanilla extract among many, many other things contain hidden gluten.) Or on one memorable occasion when we trusted a pizza company that said their product was gluten free. People who work at pizza places have since told me that while the product is gluten free, the employees are given NO training about the importance of handling gluten free products with care to avoid cross contamination.
Now, I do see the point that it is foolish of people to think that replacing one cookie mix with another cookie mix isn't going to help you lose weight just because one is gluten free. So teach people that where weight loss is concerned, the problem is that you are eating all your food from a box or food that is prepared by someone else and designed to survive sitting on a shelf for months or more. Teach people, spread the word, get the information in the hands of nutritionists and doctors that preparing your own food from whole, fresh products is the key to healthier bodies. Health and weight-loss doesn't come in a box! Gluten free or otherwise!! But don't try to convince people that their own intuition about their own body isn't to be trusted and that it requires a doctor to decide what you should eat. Read my lips people! Doctors are NOT taught nutrition!! And what little they are exposed to is promoted, backed and often even taught by big pharma, meat, dairy and fast-food representatives. As is the information taught to the average nutritionist. Don't believe me? Check this out: Nutritionists Annual Confab Sponsored by... McDonalds? Yes, seriously. "Andy Bellatti, a dietitian and member of AND, recalls his shock the first time he attended the organization's national conference, in 2008. "I could get continuing education credits for literally sitting in a room and listening to Frito-Lay tell me that Sun Chips are a good way to meet my fiber needs," he says. "I thought, 'No wonder Americans are overweight and diabetic. The gatekeepers for our information about food are getting their information from junk-food companies.'"
I went to doctor after doctor for 30 years trying to figure out why I was declining in health and expanding in size so drastically. Not one ever offered me any solid advice on what to eat or not eat. If and ONLY if I asked, they gave me those sheets about the healthy plate and the FDA's food pyramid. Yeah that worked. I followed the conventional wisdom on weight loss for years while I gained over 100lbs. When I would tell doctors what I ate, you could tell they thought I was lying. I couldn't be getting this fat if I really had given up soda and fried foods and was only eating "healthy, lean cuts of meat" and watching my portions. And even worse, not one single health professional ever even hinted that the medical conditions that were systematically trashing my quality of life could possibly have ANYTHING to do with what I was putting in my mouth. But I'm supposed to go pay for a test to prove what I have already found to be fact in my own experience and my child's about eating gluten and ask them to help me fill in the horrible, gaping void left by bread and pancakes and spaghetti? Thank you! I needed a good laugh today.
Now, there is the matter of that study they referenced. (Insert eye roll.) They said half the people were given standard cookies and chips and the other half were given gluten free cookies and chips. Gee, maybe the problem was that they were feeding these people COOKIES AND CHIPS!! "Participants were cycled through three diets: high-gluten, low-gluten and a control... Participants reported stomach pain and sensitivity even when they weren’t eating gluten. Each diet had patients reporting pain, bloating, nausea, and gas after their baseline treatment." Okay, what was the control? What was the "baseline treatment?" How long were they on this diet? And what did the rest of their diet look like? Lots of things can cause bloating, pain, gas, etc. And if none of these was completely gluten free, it tells you exactly nothing. And they didn't even mention the studies that have shown the effect of gluten on the thyroid.
So bottom line for me... I'm not saying everyone should go gluten free. Healthy, truly whole grain, preferably home-made, grains without artificial crap added are a great part of a healthy diet for many people if you haven't already developed a gut problem. My youngest daughter has SEVERE stomach issues, pain, diarrhea, gas and vomiting from even a whiff of gluten. I just get bloating, joint pain and gas. These can last a few hours to a few days. It is reliable as the sunrise. Eat gluten, this happens. Don't eat gluten and it doesn't. My middle daughter is on the same whole-food, plant-based diet as Harmoni and I, lives in the same home and eats the same food, but she can eat a truly healthy, whole-grain bread or pasta and not suffer any ill effects. She is losing weight right along with Harmoni and I and has stopped her acid reflux and horrible allergies and gotten off of the continuous need for medication for those conditions. I think I can save the money and time and skip the doctor on this one.
So no, I don't think everyone needs to go gluten free. But I'm beginning to wonder if we don't need to go doctor free:/ (Just kidding! Don't shoot me! But we seriously do need to take the time and effort to find a doctor who has a clue.) But I think if you are seeking your healthiest state that it is well worth trying an elimination diet to make sure gluten isn't creating a stumbling block for you. And make sure that whatever grains you include in your diet are really whole, as fresh as possible and not processed and messed with beyond the point of being healthy any longer. And above all, we need to stop spreading the idea that people are too stupid to know what their body needs without someone with a bunch of initials after their name to approve their decisions. And all the evidence out there that diet is the key to the huge health decline around us needs to be made available instead of covered up and ridiculed by people with lots of money to lose once people know the truth. And I really believe that those big money interests need to STOP being the ones funding the "studies." Has everyone forgotten what the term "conflict of interest" means?!
To quote Dan Miller, "Relax and enjoy, eat and drink plants." And of course, my favorite, JUICE ON YA'LL! WE GOT THIS!!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Wheelchair OR 5K... I think I'll RUN!
So let's review. Last August, I was writing goodbye messages to my kids in my journal and challenging The Almighty to finish up anything he had for me to accomplish in this life because I was done. I was in constant debilitating pain. The doctors had long since let me know that there was nothing to be done to improve my lot, they could only treat the symptoms. Since I clearly didn't have the "willpower" to lose weight and I wasn't a candidate for weight loss surgery due to my history of blood clots, I would just have to try to manage the symptoms and accept that I would be in a wheelchair soon. There was talk of amputating my leg because of the damaged circulation from a massive blood clot 20 years ago. My knee had been a mess since 1982 when I shattered the knee cap and it was now bone-on-bone with bone spurs and arthritis and scar tissue. My right shoulder was also "permanently" compromised from multiple tears in the rotator cuff that they couldn't operate on so it also had scar tissue, bone spurs and arthritis. I had undergone physical therapy which helped a lot. I was able to effectively use my right arm again at least. Couldn't do overhead tasks with it and it caused me a great deal of pain but it was at least functional. The stated goal of the PT with my shoulder and knee were to give me enough mobility to perform basic personal tasks on my own. Like dressing myself and going to the bathroom.
I also had ruptured discs in my back twice and had others that were deteriorating. I was told I had "degenerative disc disease." And then, in early 2013 came Paget's. The pain in my back started becoming really unbearable over the 2012 holidays and I was afraid I had or was about to rupture another disc. It turns out I actually had developed a disease called Paget's disease of the bone. It was causing the bones in my pelvis and hip to become very soft and the combination of that with my severe obesity (I was about 320 at that point) was causing remodeling (deformities) in the bones. It caused excrutiating pain to even have to sit upright in a kitchen chair or the seat of a car. Walking was... torture. I had become effective house bound. Rarely left my bedroom.
I had other medical issues; autoimmune disorders - Hashimoto's thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, fibromyalgia - high blood pressure, irritable bowel. Needless to say I took a number of perscription pills each day. In July of 2013 I was a serious mess and had also started having symptoms of congestive heart failure. I hid this and avoided my doctor as I had made the decision that I wasn't going to seek treatment. That I was, in fact, going to stop taking ALL the pills and let nature take it's course. I figured a stroke from the blood pressure would put me out of my, and everyone else's, misery quickly enough.
On August 17th, I was watching movies on Netflix and a movie came up in my "recommended for you" section called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and the rest is history! That was a Saturday. Thursdays were my husbands paydays so on the 22nd I cleared out every single thing in my house that couldn't be juiced and stocked up. I started my juice fast on August 23rd, 2013. I consider that my "rebirth-day." I don't live in pain anymore. I swim and walk for exercise and have no issues with sitting, standing, walking, getting up and down off my knees, squatting. But I haven't run yet. I haven't run on land in over 25 years, maybe closer to 30. I used to jog in the water, which I'm sure looked pretty crazy, because I didn't want my body to lose the muscle memory of HOW to run.
So yesterday I was on Facebook and my oldest daughter, Bonni, posted that she had set up a team for the Tulsa Glow Run. If anyone wanted to join her, it would be on August 23rd. It took about a nanosecond for me to say, "I'll do it." WHAT?!?!?! Nine months ago I could walk across my yard without my son or husband to lean on! Even when I was active in my teens and twenties, I was into horses and swimming. Never ran a race in my life! Was I crazy?! Well, maybe so. But just watch me run, baby. I have 100 days to train. I will be doing the Couch To 5K program 3 days a week and swimming 2-3 days.
JUICE ON YA'LL! I GOT THIS!!
I also had ruptured discs in my back twice and had others that were deteriorating. I was told I had "degenerative disc disease." And then, in early 2013 came Paget's. The pain in my back started becoming really unbearable over the 2012 holidays and I was afraid I had or was about to rupture another disc. It turns out I actually had developed a disease called Paget's disease of the bone. It was causing the bones in my pelvis and hip to become very soft and the combination of that with my severe obesity (I was about 320 at that point) was causing remodeling (deformities) in the bones. It caused excrutiating pain to even have to sit upright in a kitchen chair or the seat of a car. Walking was... torture. I had become effective house bound. Rarely left my bedroom.
I had other medical issues; autoimmune disorders - Hashimoto's thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, fibromyalgia - high blood pressure, irritable bowel. Needless to say I took a number of perscription pills each day. In July of 2013 I was a serious mess and had also started having symptoms of congestive heart failure. I hid this and avoided my doctor as I had made the decision that I wasn't going to seek treatment. That I was, in fact, going to stop taking ALL the pills and let nature take it's course. I figured a stroke from the blood pressure would put me out of my, and everyone else's, misery quickly enough.
On August 17th, I was watching movies on Netflix and a movie came up in my "recommended for you" section called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and the rest is history! That was a Saturday. Thursdays were my husbands paydays so on the 22nd I cleared out every single thing in my house that couldn't be juiced and stocked up. I started my juice fast on August 23rd, 2013. I consider that my "rebirth-day." I don't live in pain anymore. I swim and walk for exercise and have no issues with sitting, standing, walking, getting up and down off my knees, squatting. But I haven't run yet. I haven't run on land in over 25 years, maybe closer to 30. I used to jog in the water, which I'm sure looked pretty crazy, because I didn't want my body to lose the muscle memory of HOW to run.
So yesterday I was on Facebook and my oldest daughter, Bonni, posted that she had set up a team for the Tulsa Glow Run. If anyone wanted to join her, it would be on August 23rd. It took about a nanosecond for me to say, "I'll do it." WHAT?!?!?! Nine months ago I could walk across my yard without my son or husband to lean on! Even when I was active in my teens and twenties, I was into horses and swimming. Never ran a race in my life! Was I crazy?! Well, maybe so. But just watch me run, baby. I have 100 days to train. I will be doing the Couch To 5K program 3 days a week and swimming 2-3 days.
JUICE ON YA'LL! I GOT THIS!!
Monday, May 12, 2014
Plateaus, Set Points and Other Boogeymen
I have said many times that even if I never lost another pound, I would continue to eat a plant-based diet and drink green juice because it has given me back my health. I would reassure others who hit weight plateaus for a week or two to just keep at it and the weight would start to go down again. Our bodies sometimes need time to adjust to this new way of being and doing, especially if we have been very overweight for a very long time. I had been from 280 to 340 for a couple of decades. So mid-March when I hit a plateau, I had to put my money where my mouth is so to speak. I hit a plateau. I hit 265 and my body froze, looked at me in horror and said, "Are you kidding me? We're melting like the wicked witch after she got watered down by Dorothy! This ain't right!!! Do you WANT to disappear? What if there's a famine? This is dangerous! You can't just go losing weight willy nilly I tell you!"
It didn't help that I had several extra-curricular stress activities pop up during this same time frame. If you don't know or understand what the stress hormone, Cortisol, can do to weight loss efforts, look up Dr. John Bergman on youtube. He explains it better than anyone else I've seen.
So for a couple of weeks, I was totally zen about this plateau. Seriously. I really didn't let it bother me because I understood what was happening. I had hit a lower weight than I'd seen in at least 15 years. When it had been a month, I started to get worried in that scared, secret, small place inside me that has always feared this new found health and energy will be ripped away. Right at this same time I was getting super busy trying to pack and clean to move out of this house finally. After several months of planning to move, we are finally actually moving. We HAVE to be out of this house by the end of the month even if it means camping out at the lake until we can find something else. Long story.... anyway, I was extremely busy and having to use every coping mechanism I had not to let the stress get to me. We had a very, very hard winter financially along with some other life stressors so it was no surprise, really, that the weight loss stalled. Knowing and understanding that and dealing with seeing that number stay the same every day are two different things. Actually, it didn't stay exactly the same. My weight, as with most people, can fluctuate 3-5 pounds in any given week which is the main reason I usually weigh daily. So I had hit that 265 for about 2 days when my weight started doing a gentle rollercoaster up and down and up and down from 266 to 269 for weeks. So I put the scale away. I didn't want worry over that number to pull my focus away from the main thing which is my health. I just played Dory and kept on swimming... and eating my plants and making my juice. As Spring came on strong, I did what I had always planned to do and shifted more to raw fruits and salads and less soups and starches. Not a big shift but just a bit more of this and a bit less of that. It felt right. I felt a boost in energy almost immediately.
I was out of town for over a week and got home last Wednesday night. Thursday morning I decided to pull out the scale and see where I was at and it said 266. Okay. Saturday morning, 264. Hey! Monday morning, today, 261! Yeah! Bye-bye plateau! I learned from you. I let you be and you let me be and now we must part ways. See ya!
That plateau lasted nearly two months. I learned that I really do have the power of my convictions within me to put my health first. I really felt that my body would eventually begin to seek a healthier weight once again. But I knew that if it didn't or if it took a year or two for that to happen, I would be okay in the meantime as long as I continued to flood my body with real nutrition. I learned some valuable lessons about myself. I have said many times that how I feel is far more important than how I look and I proved to myself that this was true. I've said that I have learned to trust my body. Now I've proven it. I've also proved to myself that if the scale becomes a detriment, I can just put it away.
I recently watched a video shared by my friend, Lori. It was posted by a bariatric surgeon and explained how our bodies will establish "set points" at a very high weight. He went into the anthropology of it all. His point was to make us feel hopeless to lose the weight without surgery. FALSE. The problem is that most people hit those points where their body is trying to adjust to the changes you've made, the weight loss slows or stops so they tighten down on the calories even more. They starve their cells which makes the body freak out even more. "Starvation! She's trying to kill us!" If you hit your plateau - or your new "set point" - and you just keep FLOODING your body with amazing nutrition, your body WILL relax and realize that it is safe to allow more of that weight to go. Truth. Doctors selling hopelessness to line their pockets make me sick. Right up until I drink my green juice or eat my bowl of fruit or salad. THAT makes me very, very well:)
JUICE ON YA'LL. WE GOT THIS!!
It didn't help that I had several extra-curricular stress activities pop up during this same time frame. If you don't know or understand what the stress hormone, Cortisol, can do to weight loss efforts, look up Dr. John Bergman on youtube. He explains it better than anyone else I've seen.
So for a couple of weeks, I was totally zen about this plateau. Seriously. I really didn't let it bother me because I understood what was happening. I had hit a lower weight than I'd seen in at least 15 years. When it had been a month, I started to get worried in that scared, secret, small place inside me that has always feared this new found health and energy will be ripped away. Right at this same time I was getting super busy trying to pack and clean to move out of this house finally. After several months of planning to move, we are finally actually moving. We HAVE to be out of this house by the end of the month even if it means camping out at the lake until we can find something else. Long story.... anyway, I was extremely busy and having to use every coping mechanism I had not to let the stress get to me. We had a very, very hard winter financially along with some other life stressors so it was no surprise, really, that the weight loss stalled. Knowing and understanding that and dealing with seeing that number stay the same every day are two different things. Actually, it didn't stay exactly the same. My weight, as with most people, can fluctuate 3-5 pounds in any given week which is the main reason I usually weigh daily. So I had hit that 265 for about 2 days when my weight started doing a gentle rollercoaster up and down and up and down from 266 to 269 for weeks. So I put the scale away. I didn't want worry over that number to pull my focus away from the main thing which is my health. I just played Dory and kept on swimming... and eating my plants and making my juice. As Spring came on strong, I did what I had always planned to do and shifted more to raw fruits and salads and less soups and starches. Not a big shift but just a bit more of this and a bit less of that. It felt right. I felt a boost in energy almost immediately.
I was out of town for over a week and got home last Wednesday night. Thursday morning I decided to pull out the scale and see where I was at and it said 266. Okay. Saturday morning, 264. Hey! Monday morning, today, 261! Yeah! Bye-bye plateau! I learned from you. I let you be and you let me be and now we must part ways. See ya!
That plateau lasted nearly two months. I learned that I really do have the power of my convictions within me to put my health first. I really felt that my body would eventually begin to seek a healthier weight once again. But I knew that if it didn't or if it took a year or two for that to happen, I would be okay in the meantime as long as I continued to flood my body with real nutrition. I learned some valuable lessons about myself. I have said many times that how I feel is far more important than how I look and I proved to myself that this was true. I've said that I have learned to trust my body. Now I've proven it. I've also proved to myself that if the scale becomes a detriment, I can just put it away.
I recently watched a video shared by my friend, Lori. It was posted by a bariatric surgeon and explained how our bodies will establish "set points" at a very high weight. He went into the anthropology of it all. His point was to make us feel hopeless to lose the weight without surgery. FALSE. The problem is that most people hit those points where their body is trying to adjust to the changes you've made, the weight loss slows or stops so they tighten down on the calories even more. They starve their cells which makes the body freak out even more. "Starvation! She's trying to kill us!" If you hit your plateau - or your new "set point" - and you just keep FLOODING your body with amazing nutrition, your body WILL relax and realize that it is safe to allow more of that weight to go. Truth. Doctors selling hopelessness to line their pockets make me sick. Right up until I drink my green juice or eat my bowl of fruit or salad. THAT makes me very, very well:)
JUICE ON YA'LL. WE GOT THIS!!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Exciting Plans for March
So, February is over and I'm glad to see it go. The weather is gradually getting better and better although there are still way too few sunny days for my taste. We are supposed to get ice and frigid temps for Sunday and Monday but then it is supposed to warm up to normal temps for this area and time of year. So with the majority of the really cold stuff behind us, I am confident enough to go ahead and start another juice fast. I'm juicing at least through March and maybe part or all of April. I'm calling this my March Juicing Madness!
I reached my second 10% goal in February so that was a huge victory that put me at 275.5 and I actually got down to 273. But overall February weight loss was quite slow. I believe that it is probably normal for our bodies to hold onto the weight tighter when we are exposed to frequent subzero temps as a safety mechanism and I was definitely exposed. Not as in, "Baby It's Cold Outside" so I'll stay in my house where it's nice and warm. Oh no! I'm talking cold as in my house is a pile of crap and you can't keep it warm. Cannot. I have been freezing my assets off this winter. But I just feel in my bones that my body is ready to start letting it go again so as a kick start, I'm back on Da Juice! I have my brain in juicing gear so that I'm not even looking at or thinking about the chewed stuff. That is the hard-to-describe difference between wanting to do a juice fast and having it just not take off like I did earlier this winter and a juice fast that is working for me. I'm in the zone baby.
I'm really pumped because the 10% goal I'm working on right now is to go from 275.5 to 248. Making 248 will put me just 8 pounds away from having lost 100lbs. So I've been hoping that I could hit 248 by the end of March but now I'm thinking that I will go on into April however far it takes to actually hit 100lbs gone. I'm really going to hit 100lbs gone! Like within the next few weeks! How exciting is that?!
I made a youtube vid about my March plans that I've also posted here on my blog and I am getting ready to upload one about willpower. I said I didn't believe in willpower and a friend said she was curious about that and I should make a vid so I did:) It'll be up shortly. I don't usually feel like I really articulate what I'm trying to say in these videos which is frustrating for me as public speaking is another one of those things that I used to be good at:/ But it is a personal challenge I've set for myself. It's almost therapeutic.
So that's where I'm at for March. I'm planning to weigh in on Fridays so I'll at least post progress blogs on Friday or Saturday of each week.
JUICE ON! WE GOT THIS!!!
I reached my second 10% goal in February so that was a huge victory that put me at 275.5 and I actually got down to 273. But overall February weight loss was quite slow. I believe that it is probably normal for our bodies to hold onto the weight tighter when we are exposed to frequent subzero temps as a safety mechanism and I was definitely exposed. Not as in, "Baby It's Cold Outside" so I'll stay in my house where it's nice and warm. Oh no! I'm talking cold as in my house is a pile of crap and you can't keep it warm. Cannot. I have been freezing my assets off this winter. But I just feel in my bones that my body is ready to start letting it go again so as a kick start, I'm back on Da Juice! I have my brain in juicing gear so that I'm not even looking at or thinking about the chewed stuff. That is the hard-to-describe difference between wanting to do a juice fast and having it just not take off like I did earlier this winter and a juice fast that is working for me. I'm in the zone baby.
I'm really pumped because the 10% goal I'm working on right now is to go from 275.5 to 248. Making 248 will put me just 8 pounds away from having lost 100lbs. So I've been hoping that I could hit 248 by the end of March but now I'm thinking that I will go on into April however far it takes to actually hit 100lbs gone. I'm really going to hit 100lbs gone! Like within the next few weeks! How exciting is that?!
I made a youtube vid about my March plans that I've also posted here on my blog and I am getting ready to upload one about willpower. I said I didn't believe in willpower and a friend said she was curious about that and I should make a vid so I did:) It'll be up shortly. I don't usually feel like I really articulate what I'm trying to say in these videos which is frustrating for me as public speaking is another one of those things that I used to be good at:/ But it is a personal challenge I've set for myself. It's almost therapeutic.
So that's where I'm at for March. I'm planning to weigh in on Fridays so I'll at least post progress blogs on Friday or Saturday of each week.
JUICE ON! WE GOT THIS!!!
Monday, January 20, 2014
Hard Truths - We Are Raising a Generation of Children to Die Young
I went shopping with my middle daughter and 3 grandkids Saturday. It was pretty fun. I love those kids more than sunlight. When we got to the checkout, Ryley asked if she could get a drink from the cooler and Cheyenne said sure. Ryley got a bottle of water and the cashier scanned it and handed it back and watched in apparent amazement as Ryley opened it and started drinnking it. "Oh she's drinking water! What a good girl!!" As if it were completely amazing to see a 6 year old drinking water. It got me thinking so here I am on a bit of a rant. LOL First a cute pic of my shopping buddies:
I can't remember exactly where I found it but I read an article recently that talked about Jamie Oliver, the chef, going into a public school system either` here or the U.K. and asking the kids how often they drank water. There was a large percentage that said, "Never" and even more who said, "Less than 16oz per day!" I also came across an article about attempts by some people to get vending machines removed from schools. There was a picture (I've tried but can't find it again) of parents and lower elementary aged kids picketing with signs proclaiming their "right" to twinkies when they want them. Honestly, when did twinkies become a right and not a privilege? I went through 12 years of public school without ever having the option of buying a candy bar, snack cake or soda pop on school property. Well, except during sporting events at the snack bar. Since when do kids have an actual need or right to have 24/7 access to junk food? And when did parents stop givnig their kids water to drink? I'll tell you how to figure out the answers to those questions. You can make a little timeline that leads directly from when those things started happening to when obesity rates for children in grade school started going through the roof and childhood diabetes became common instead of rare as it was when I was a kid. If I was techie enough, I would love to make you a graph showing the rates of heart disease and diabetes and the age of onset. Those were diseases of the lederly when I was a kid. Now they strike people my age (51) and younger every dang day. Our kids and grandkids will be experiencing heart disease, stroke and diabetes in their 20s and younger. Authorities predict that this generation of children will die younger than their parents. I suspect that my grandkids generation will die far younger.
The big food companies have spent a fortune creating an entire society addicted to harmful substances in the food. Parents are so steeped in the hogwash that passes for nutritional wisdom that they don't even realize they are raising their children to die young. "We deserve Twinkies!" You have a right to them and I, as a Libertarian would never use the law to inhibit your right to choose. But I feel so bad for the children. And there is a big difference between your right to choose those things and society's responsibility to provide access to them 24/7. You have a right to smoke but we don't have to put cigarette machines in all our public buildings to make sure you have ready access to them at all times. So no, I don't think it is right to have junk food vending machines in the schools. Trust me the people who are egging that trend on (and it is a trend - a pretty recent one) are the people who want to make darn good and sure that your children and grandchildren are well and truly hooked on all the most addictive substances in food by the time they have their own income to contribute to the wealth of those companies. Don't believe me? Take a peek at this...
Yes, that is a toddler vending machine. They say it will be filled with only healthy, nutritious snacks. Well, good for them:/ Problem one - unless you are tending that thing daily, it isn't going to have things all that healthy. Maybe things that pass for healthy nowadays but really healthy? No. Because truly healthy things don't keep for long in a vending machine. If they do keep truly healthy, stuff in there it will be expensive. Promise. So poor mom says, "I'm sorry honey, I can't afford that machine but I don't want you to feel left out so have a cupcake from this machine instead." God bless the few moms that will say, "No honey, we don't get our nutrition in a little foil wrapper from a machine. I want you to live a long and healthy life!"
Problem two and, in my mind, the bigger problem: it is just establishing a pattern of behavior that suits the companies like Pepsico and Frito Lay quite nicely thank you. Let's get our nutrition a prepackaged ounce at a time from a machine. We deserve it! Can't we teach kids they deserve something MUCH better!
I was a victim of one of the earlier and most successful campaigns of this kind. Pepsico and CocaCola companies successfully converted my entire generation to drinking nothing but pop all day every day. Hence, my generation is no stranger to many, many 300, 400 and 500 pound people. I never met a person over 300 pounds in my life until I was an adult! And women over 200 pounds were quite rare. Now a good half the women I know are over 200 lbs. And over 300 is common as dirt. My kids drink water, thank you. And since discovering that Naked and Bolthouse are owned by Pepsico and Cocacola respectively, we don't buy those either. These companies have a vested interest in making you crave their products. And until people understand that and realize the full implications of it, the outlook for the little ones is pretty dire. My grandkids are being taught what true nutrition is and what the human body thrives on and the consequences of living on poison. Are yours?
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Winter 2014 Juice Fast Day 1
First off, I have to start by saying my heart goes out to those affected by this insane cold front that has blanketed the nation. Many areas are getting down in the 30 below area!! Here in Oklahoma it was in the single digits most of the time for the last two days. Windchill last time I checked yesterday during the day was around negative 12 degrees. My main source of heat is out so we have portable electric radiator style heaters. They do all right when it is in the 20s or 30s but single digits are too much for them. It was 35deg in my house when I went to bed last night. It is supposed to get up in the 40s and 50s for the rest of the foreseeable forecast so we're fine here. But so much of the country is just frozen. My husband is snowed in at a truck stop in Gary, Indiana. And this cold is apparently hard on heating systems because my daughter and several friends have reported their heat going out. However, my main thoughts and prayers at a time like this are for the homeless. The shelters are just woefully inadequate, at least around here. I feel bad because I didn't take any hats and scarves to the shelters this year at all. The last couple of winters have been so mild it sort of fell off my radar. So my knitting challenge for the duration of my juice fast is going to switch to just making as many hats as I can, both adult and infant, as well as scarves and glittens. If they report another cold front headed for us, I'll take them to John 3:16 shelter. If not, I'll send them to the reservation. (To make the time pass faster during my juice fast, I'm knitting for charity. When I set myself a knitting deadline, the time always flies by.)
Now, my report for Monday. I have to report on the previous day, obviously, since I can't know for certain what all I will do today! So, weight will be current mornings weight. Food will be from the previous day. Got that? So tomorrow will read "Day 1 - Again"
MONDAY, 6 Jan 2014
Weigh in: 282.3
Juice: 3 pints
Liquids: 16oz water, 16oz broth from cabbage soup with pepper
Food: 1 banana, 3 tangerines, 1 baked potato with salsa
Detox symptoms: Yes! My eyes are all gummy and I have a headache and some nausea. Someone just asked me yesterday if I experienced nausea last time and I said, "No, not really." And then in the wee hours of this morning, bam. Nothing too unbearable, but not all that pleasant either. I also feel pretty upbeat and cheerful from some fool reason. But I do feel like the glitches on the reboot website are maybe more than I can handle right now without ripping someone's head off so I'll wait a while to log in.
And, by the way, it is up to 40 degrees inside my house! Whoopee! I am planning to also include any workouts I get in on these posts but I didn't do any yesterday. Maybe today or tomorrow at the latest it will be warm enough for me to take off some layers (ha! I typed lawyers at first - I'll take off some lawyers) and work out with my resistance band:)
Stay warm everyone. And pray for those who can't.
Now, my report for Monday. I have to report on the previous day, obviously, since I can't know for certain what all I will do today! So, weight will be current mornings weight. Food will be from the previous day. Got that? So tomorrow will read "Day 1 - Again"
MONDAY, 6 Jan 2014
Weigh in: 282.3
Juice: 3 pints
Liquids: 16oz water, 16oz broth from cabbage soup with pepper
Food: 1 banana, 3 tangerines, 1 baked potato with salsa
Detox symptoms: Yes! My eyes are all gummy and I have a headache and some nausea. Someone just asked me yesterday if I experienced nausea last time and I said, "No, not really." And then in the wee hours of this morning, bam. Nothing too unbearable, but not all that pleasant either. I also feel pretty upbeat and cheerful from some fool reason. But I do feel like the glitches on the reboot website are maybe more than I can handle right now without ripping someone's head off so I'll wait a while to log in.
And, by the way, it is up to 40 degrees inside my house! Whoopee! I am planning to also include any workouts I get in on these posts but I didn't do any yesterday. Maybe today or tomorrow at the latest it will be warm enough for me to take off some layers (ha! I typed lawyers at first - I'll take off some lawyers) and work out with my resistance band:)
Stay warm everyone. And pray for those who can't.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Progress Pic As Promised
Okay, so this is not exactly earth shattering but there is a difference. Pic on the left is August 23rd, 2013 at 340. Pic on the right is January 2nd, 2014 (that's 4 months and 10 days) at 287.
I was going to try to use the same clothes but it was too freaking cold! It was hard enough to take off my jacket for this one. and the next one probably won't even be able to be in the same spot since we are moving soon. (Thank God!) The only measurement I'm going to share right now because I am being lazy, is that my waist went from 52" to 45" so far but trust me, my hips, legs and upper arms are all smaller too. Now... bring on the next 50! Now THAT will be a progress pic!!
So for my daily update that really will hopefully become daily:/ Friday and Saturday, I had a couple juices along with a couple pieces of fruit and a big ol' salad. Today, I'm having more juice, less fruit and a veggie soup that I'm mostly just taking the broth off of. It has herbs and spices, very little salt, cabbage, mushrooms, squash, green beans and a few stray carrots. It's yummy:) I plan to scoop out the veggies and put them in the blender for a cream soup for the girls and I'll set back the broth for me.
Weight this morning 284.
Exercise - 0 (I usually don't exercise on Sunday.)
JUICE WITH ME!!
So for my daily update that really will hopefully become daily:/ Friday and Saturday, I had a couple juices along with a couple pieces of fruit and a big ol' salad. Today, I'm having more juice, less fruit and a veggie soup that I'm mostly just taking the broth off of. It has herbs and spices, very little salt, cabbage, mushrooms, squash, green beans and a few stray carrots. It's yummy:) I plan to scoop out the veggies and put them in the blender for a cream soup for the girls and I'll set back the broth for me.
Weight this morning 284.
Exercise - 0 (I usually don't exercise on Sunday.)
JUICE WITH ME!!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Welcome 2014!
This is the first time I can ever remember being happy on New Years. Usually New Years, like my birthday, is an occasion for me to try very very hard not to fall into a terrible depression; or at least to not let it show to my family. People talking about their New Year's resolutions just reminded me that I had let yet another year go by without doing anything to change the dismal direction of my life. Thank God for Joe Cross and his movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and for all the other wise and wonderful people and resources that it led me to. Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn among others. Today I can honestly post this on facebook and mean it! (As I, in fact, did;o)
That pretty much sums up how I feel about New Years. I lost 54 lbs during the last 18 weeks of 2013. And I have every expectation that I will lose double that during 2014. That will put me at the weight I graduated high school in 1980. I don't know what my final ideal weight will be but I know that will be an unbelievable victory and that I will be in radiant good health. I have reclaimed my dreams and plans. I think of 2013 as the year I came back to life. If you read my blog, you know that this is not hyperbole. Now here is how I think of 2014:
I am not one for big, involved New Year's resolutions but I have made some plans for the new year. I eat a clean, healthy diet but I am still growing and learning in this lifestyle. I am not fully raw, just high raw and I am not even 100% vegan. For now, this is cool with me. Maybe I'll "evolve" beyond this and maybe I won't. But I really do feel a need to both track my food for my own benefit and to be accountable. So I plan to start posting here daily instead of randomly. I may frequently only post what I ate and what specific exercises I did but there will be something every day unless my computer or ISP goes down. I'll also post my weight every Friday. And everyone has been after me to do progress photos since I've lost over 50lbs now but trust me, since I started at 340, 50lbs isn't a dramatic change to the naked eye. But I'll do them. I'll try to do them and post them tomorrow. And I will post progress pics every 50 bs or every 4 months, whichever comes first or seems to make more sense at the time.
And, for the record, I am starting another juice fast Friday. I will go to the store tomorrow for supplies and start juice only the next day. I am committing to 30 days of nothing but juice. Period. After the 30 days, I'll decide on a weekly basis. I'm hoping to go 90 days. I may end up having a one day a week salad and I will be having a special, healthy, vegan meal at a great restaurant for my birthday on February 11th but hopefully I can do 90 days other than those exceptions. I have no problem with making up my own rules about my juice fast as I have nothing to prove to myself this time. I am just pushing for as much health and weight loss as I can possible get in the next three months. I have things to do and horses to ride come this summer so we got to get this party started!!
Hopefully, my third long juice fast will be late this summer when I have a garden of my own to harvest and I'll be juicing as fresh and organic as it gets. Yeah babay! JUICE ON my friends! 2014 is Going. To. ROCK!!
And, for the record, I am starting another juice fast Friday. I will go to the store tomorrow for supplies and start juice only the next day. I am committing to 30 days of nothing but juice. Period. After the 30 days, I'll decide on a weekly basis. I'm hoping to go 90 days. I may end up having a one day a week salad and I will be having a special, healthy, vegan meal at a great restaurant for my birthday on February 11th but hopefully I can do 90 days other than those exceptions. I have no problem with making up my own rules about my juice fast as I have nothing to prove to myself this time. I am just pushing for as much health and weight loss as I can possible get in the next three months. I have things to do and horses to ride come this summer so we got to get this party started!!
Hopefully, my third long juice fast will be late this summer when I have a garden of my own to harvest and I'll be juicing as fresh and organic as it gets. Yeah babay! JUICE ON my friends! 2014 is Going. To. ROCK!!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
But But But... Tough Love
Nota Bene: if you don't like reading long blogs, cut to the last paragraph. That's the long and the short of it.
Okay, lets start by getting the provisos out of the way. First, I am addressing people like me. People who are morbidly obese with multiple serious health problems that are connected to that obesity and have decided to address the problem with a whole food/plant based diet. Many of us watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and also incorporate juicing into our quest for healthy bodies.
Second, I am NOT addressing people who truly, literally do not have control over their own environment. It's not all that common and you need to really look at whether or not that is true and not just a cop-out. But if you really are not in control of your home environment then stop reading or understand that I'm not really speaking to you. Work environment is much more commonly out of our control but not nearly as critical either.
Another group I really can't address in this post is a large one. In my interactions with people seeking better health and/or weight loss, I see many, many more come and go than those who stay. Most people just aren't ready. They just haven't hit their own, personal, rock bottom yet. When it becomes uncomfortable they make a beeline for the mac and cheese muttering, "I can do it with portion control and working out like Jillian Michaels. I don't need no stinkin' vegetables." Cuz, that has worked out so well for them in the past:/ Heaven knows there is plenty of propaganda out there to feed their desire to choose an "easier" path or to even just continue on the one that is killing them. Everyone likes to hear good news about their bad choices so when the media spouts off crap about how we really have to eat dead animals or how chocolate is a health food, it's easy to grab onto that. Anyway, that's another soapbox entirely.
Right now, I want to address people like me. You're obese and unhealthy and truly committed to changing that. You have come to believe that a WFPB lifestyle is the best medicine out there. You are making changes and seeing progress.... and this is where SO many insert a "but."
But... it's the holidays.
But... my family is visiting.
But... my girlfriend doesn't want to give up chips and ranch dip so it's there in the cabinet taunting me.
But... I still need to fix cookies for my kids or I'm a bad mom.
But... my husband deserves fried chicken because he works so hard.
But... I have to go out to dinner with clients a lot.
But... nobody wants to see a veggie tray at the party.
When people who are just as sick and fat as I am/was say things like this, I want to ask them just how important this is to them. For me, it was literally life or death. If you've read my early blogs you know I don't exaggerate. So many people describe situations just as dire, nearly as dire or even more dire than mine was and then turn around and say, "Oh I have to fry chicken and bake cookies."
I believe we need to look at two things when we find ourselves letting these "buts" interfere with our best intentions. First, how important is this to ME and second, how important am I to the people around me. How much can I reasonably expect from those nearest and dearest to me. Here is where I start to sound harsh but bear with me. I know that I am lucky. Blessed actually. I didn't know how my family would handle it but, to be honest, my family is a matriarchy. My hubby is a truck driver and I'm a bossy, independent type chick so it works for us. In other words, I worried I would meet opposition but I. Didn't. Care. Once I knew that I had finally found the answer, I knew that I would follow through with it whether they liked it or not. I have kids from 17-32 and I wanted to influence them but I can't control them so I figured I would do what I had to do for me, require of them what I needed and leave their own bodies to them. I have been absolutely astounded how readily my family has not only embraced and supported my needs but followed my example. I have not exactly been a shining example to them in the physical/health department so they had every reason to shrug this off as "Mom's latest attempt" but they recognized something in the way I talked about it and in the evidence I presented and they have been on board 100% from day 1. I have NOT, however, been all that surprised that they had no problem with all the junk food and processed foods going bye-bye. If I told them I had developed a deadly allergy to cotton that was leaching away my health and energy, they would be right in there helping me find all the hidden cotton in our house. Because they love me! I would have expected nothing less. If you can't depend on your family to support you in your own fight for your very life, then what is wrong with that picture?!
So what if your family isn't on board? Get tough! It's your health people! In many cases it is how long you will be around for them and it is definitely how you will feel and function during that time. Sit them down and watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and, even better, Forks Over Knives. Tell them that you want to look better, feel better and be around to annoy them in your old age! Say flat out, if you love and value ME, you will support me.
I don't want this to be too long for anyone to get through so I'll cut this part short. If you have grownups who don't have the issues you have, look at two things. Do they actually need or benefit from the foods that were making you fat and sick? Does it really make you a bad mom/wife to refuse to prepare foods that contribute to diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease? So Susie isn't overweight? Yet? Most of us were thin at some point. The groundwork was laid while we appeared to be healthy. If they are healthy and fit, let's keep them that way! And if the hubby really has to have something like fried chicken or chips and dip, they are adults, they can go through the drive through. Same goes for adult children. They have to decide for themselves. But they should have enough concern and respect for you to support your effort to create a clean, healthy environment.
Here is my bottom line. Yes, I realize it sounds pretty harsh. If your family will not support your need to eliminate junk food and food that trashes your health from your home, then you have some deeper problems than weight.
And my other bottom line (hey, who says there is only one bottom line?) is that no matter how thin or fit your family appears to you, if you have discovered that certain foods are deadly, why would you continue to feed them to your family? If you've come to understand that a high consumption of sugar, animal protien, saturated fats... whatever, creates terrible health problems over time, then tell me again why you are a bad mom if you don't give it to your kids? You don't have to make the change completely overnight but I can't understand why you wouldn't start transitioning them to healthier and healthier foods. That is what my daughter is doing with her boys. I'll let ya'll know how that goes;o) But, trust me, you aren't a "bad mom" if you refuse to feed a diet laden with sugar and salt and animal fat to your growing children. Frankly, if the children are dictating what goes on the dinner table then we have a case of the inmates running the asylum.
Now about all those other "buts," if you have to eat out with clients, is it really going to make them lose respect for you in your professional capacity to eat a salad instead of a steak? To leave the butter and cheese and bacon off of your baked potato? If others at the party don't want a veggie tray... okay! More freggies for you!! And more of the junk they are scarfing for them. If your family is visiting, visit some vegan chef websites and find some really impressive recipes to show them just how tasty your diet can be. Sure, go ahead and fix PopPops favorite casserole but offer a couple of really yummy things they've never tried before with it! It gives you some healthy options and shows them that you aren't starving yourself on rabbit food;o)
I really want to add one last note to those who have somewhat dysfunctional families. You know who you are. You read this and think, "Yeah, try telling my husband that. He would start bringing home Kentucky Fried Chicken and eating it right in front of me while taunting me the entire time." "Try telling my mom that this is healthy. She is just as overweight as me but she would start bringing my favorite fattening treats over every weekend and telling my kids that I don't love her because I won't eat her thoughtful gifts." Yes, some families are dysfunctional. If these things are a problem, you probably know you have other issues besides food to deal with. You, my friends have to advocate for yourself. You have to love you. You have to realize that a healthy you can work on your families dysfunction better if you are in a healthy body. Especially since WFPB diets also make you think better and feel emotionally and mentally stronger.
Okay so THIS is actually my bottom line. (Yes, really! Why do you doubt me? LOL) Do what you need to do to get healthier. You count. YOU matter. Advocate for yourself, even with your own family, employers, clients. Unless you have some pretty extraordinary circumstances, clean up your environment. Your family won't die from lack of deep fat fried food. Require those who love you to show it. Become fierce about your own well-being. I know many people (myself included) who have spent November and December losing an extra 10 or 20 lbs while the average american gains 8 or 10. For the first time in many years, January 1st will be a time to celebrate all I've accomplished and plan for all I will accomplish in 2014. My only regret is that I didn't start way sooner in the year! I don't for one second regret skipping the pumpkin pie or sugar cookies. And I don't regret refusing to contribute to the poor health choices of others either.
Okay, lets start by getting the provisos out of the way. First, I am addressing people like me. People who are morbidly obese with multiple serious health problems that are connected to that obesity and have decided to address the problem with a whole food/plant based diet. Many of us watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and also incorporate juicing into our quest for healthy bodies.
Second, I am NOT addressing people who truly, literally do not have control over their own environment. It's not all that common and you need to really look at whether or not that is true and not just a cop-out. But if you really are not in control of your home environment then stop reading or understand that I'm not really speaking to you. Work environment is much more commonly out of our control but not nearly as critical either.
Another group I really can't address in this post is a large one. In my interactions with people seeking better health and/or weight loss, I see many, many more come and go than those who stay. Most people just aren't ready. They just haven't hit their own, personal, rock bottom yet. When it becomes uncomfortable they make a beeline for the mac and cheese muttering, "I can do it with portion control and working out like Jillian Michaels. I don't need no stinkin' vegetables." Cuz, that has worked out so well for them in the past:/ Heaven knows there is plenty of propaganda out there to feed their desire to choose an "easier" path or to even just continue on the one that is killing them. Everyone likes to hear good news about their bad choices so when the media spouts off crap about how we really have to eat dead animals or how chocolate is a health food, it's easy to grab onto that. Anyway, that's another soapbox entirely.
Right now, I want to address people like me. You're obese and unhealthy and truly committed to changing that. You have come to believe that a WFPB lifestyle is the best medicine out there. You are making changes and seeing progress.... and this is where SO many insert a "but."
But... it's the holidays.
But... my family is visiting.
But... my girlfriend doesn't want to give up chips and ranch dip so it's there in the cabinet taunting me.
But... I still need to fix cookies for my kids or I'm a bad mom.
But... my husband deserves fried chicken because he works so hard.
But... I have to go out to dinner with clients a lot.
But... nobody wants to see a veggie tray at the party.
When people who are just as sick and fat as I am/was say things like this, I want to ask them just how important this is to them. For me, it was literally life or death. If you've read my early blogs you know I don't exaggerate. So many people describe situations just as dire, nearly as dire or even more dire than mine was and then turn around and say, "Oh I have to fry chicken and bake cookies."
I believe we need to look at two things when we find ourselves letting these "buts" interfere with our best intentions. First, how important is this to ME and second, how important am I to the people around me. How much can I reasonably expect from those nearest and dearest to me. Here is where I start to sound harsh but bear with me. I know that I am lucky. Blessed actually. I didn't know how my family would handle it but, to be honest, my family is a matriarchy. My hubby is a truck driver and I'm a bossy, independent type chick so it works for us. In other words, I worried I would meet opposition but I. Didn't. Care. Once I knew that I had finally found the answer, I knew that I would follow through with it whether they liked it or not. I have kids from 17-32 and I wanted to influence them but I can't control them so I figured I would do what I had to do for me, require of them what I needed and leave their own bodies to them. I have been absolutely astounded how readily my family has not only embraced and supported my needs but followed my example. I have not exactly been a shining example to them in the physical/health department so they had every reason to shrug this off as "Mom's latest attempt" but they recognized something in the way I talked about it and in the evidence I presented and they have been on board 100% from day 1. I have NOT, however, been all that surprised that they had no problem with all the junk food and processed foods going bye-bye. If I told them I had developed a deadly allergy to cotton that was leaching away my health and energy, they would be right in there helping me find all the hidden cotton in our house. Because they love me! I would have expected nothing less. If you can't depend on your family to support you in your own fight for your very life, then what is wrong with that picture?!
So what if your family isn't on board? Get tough! It's your health people! In many cases it is how long you will be around for them and it is definitely how you will feel and function during that time. Sit them down and watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and, even better, Forks Over Knives. Tell them that you want to look better, feel better and be around to annoy them in your old age! Say flat out, if you love and value ME, you will support me.
I don't want this to be too long for anyone to get through so I'll cut this part short. If you have grownups who don't have the issues you have, look at two things. Do they actually need or benefit from the foods that were making you fat and sick? Does it really make you a bad mom/wife to refuse to prepare foods that contribute to diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease? So Susie isn't overweight? Yet? Most of us were thin at some point. The groundwork was laid while we appeared to be healthy. If they are healthy and fit, let's keep them that way! And if the hubby really has to have something like fried chicken or chips and dip, they are adults, they can go through the drive through. Same goes for adult children. They have to decide for themselves. But they should have enough concern and respect for you to support your effort to create a clean, healthy environment.
Here is my bottom line. Yes, I realize it sounds pretty harsh. If your family will not support your need to eliminate junk food and food that trashes your health from your home, then you have some deeper problems than weight.
And my other bottom line (hey, who says there is only one bottom line?) is that no matter how thin or fit your family appears to you, if you have discovered that certain foods are deadly, why would you continue to feed them to your family? If you've come to understand that a high consumption of sugar, animal protien, saturated fats... whatever, creates terrible health problems over time, then tell me again why you are a bad mom if you don't give it to your kids? You don't have to make the change completely overnight but I can't understand why you wouldn't start transitioning them to healthier and healthier foods. That is what my daughter is doing with her boys. I'll let ya'll know how that goes;o) But, trust me, you aren't a "bad mom" if you refuse to feed a diet laden with sugar and salt and animal fat to your growing children. Frankly, if the children are dictating what goes on the dinner table then we have a case of the inmates running the asylum.
Now about all those other "buts," if you have to eat out with clients, is it really going to make them lose respect for you in your professional capacity to eat a salad instead of a steak? To leave the butter and cheese and bacon off of your baked potato? If others at the party don't want a veggie tray... okay! More freggies for you!! And more of the junk they are scarfing for them. If your family is visiting, visit some vegan chef websites and find some really impressive recipes to show them just how tasty your diet can be. Sure, go ahead and fix PopPops favorite casserole but offer a couple of really yummy things they've never tried before with it! It gives you some healthy options and shows them that you aren't starving yourself on rabbit food;o)
I really want to add one last note to those who have somewhat dysfunctional families. You know who you are. You read this and think, "Yeah, try telling my husband that. He would start bringing home Kentucky Fried Chicken and eating it right in front of me while taunting me the entire time." "Try telling my mom that this is healthy. She is just as overweight as me but she would start bringing my favorite fattening treats over every weekend and telling my kids that I don't love her because I won't eat her thoughtful gifts." Yes, some families are dysfunctional. If these things are a problem, you probably know you have other issues besides food to deal with. You, my friends have to advocate for yourself. You have to love you. You have to realize that a healthy you can work on your families dysfunction better if you are in a healthy body. Especially since WFPB diets also make you think better and feel emotionally and mentally stronger.
Okay so THIS is actually my bottom line. (Yes, really! Why do you doubt me? LOL) Do what you need to do to get healthier. You count. YOU matter. Advocate for yourself, even with your own family, employers, clients. Unless you have some pretty extraordinary circumstances, clean up your environment. Your family won't die from lack of deep fat fried food. Require those who love you to show it. Become fierce about your own well-being. I know many people (myself included) who have spent November and December losing an extra 10 or 20 lbs while the average american gains 8 or 10. For the first time in many years, January 1st will be a time to celebrate all I've accomplished and plan for all I will accomplish in 2014. My only regret is that I didn't start way sooner in the year! I don't for one second regret skipping the pumpkin pie or sugar cookies. And I don't regret refusing to contribute to the poor health choices of others either.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
There Are No Magic Bullets, But There Are Miracles
Every time I find myself describing my journey to someone new, I realize just how much I sound like an infomercial or like I'm just caught up in the pink fluffy honeymoon cloud of a "new diet" but I've never in my life stuck to a diet for this long much less been in the "honeymoon" phase of it for several months and going strong. This has most definitely settled into lifestyle mode.
So that begs the question, how can a simple change of diet create the incredible changes I've experienced. Well, lets look at a few things. First, getting the disgusting mess the local grocer passes off as meat and animal products that I was eating - hormones, puss in the milk etc - out of my body. Just removing those has to help. If I had changed to homegrown, grass fed, lean cuts and healthy prep and still ate the meat, I would be better off but still not as good as just getting the animal protein out of my diet. (If you aren't following me here, read the China Study and/or watch Forks Over Knives.) I'm 90% animal protein free. I still eat a serving of fish 2 or 3 times a month, have a bit of organic chicken or turkey in the crockpot soup once or twice a month and I have an organic, cage-free, hormone free, preferably locally grown boiled egg a couple times a week. I don't know if I will eventually eliminate those or not. Even the China Study noted that the cancer growth and other bad effects weren't triggered with a low intake of animal protein. So I'm good with this for now.
Next, let's note that my diet went from very near zero fresh fruit and veggies to a good 75% freggies. That alone had to be a huge shock (of the good variety) to my system. At this point, every system and cell in my body has to be singing for joy. It's like, "Halleleujah! She's finally giving us something to work with!"
Now let's add the fact that I juice and blend a lot of freggies and add really nutrient dense, natural additives like ground flax etc. Now you are taking the great nutrients that your average healthy eater would consume in a day and putting all those nutrients into one serving. You are literally just FLOODING your system with nutrients it's been deprived of for decades.
Our bodies are amazing self-healing machines but we take a machine that has the ability to repair itself and even regenerate on its own but we deny it the building blocks it require to do that. And then we wonder why we fall apart. So what do we do? Instead of handing it those high-quality, sound and solid building blocks that God gave us in abundance, we give it man made imitations made of cardboard and chemicals. And then we wonder why we fall apart!
One last thing to consider that really just makes our body sing is that even when I was eating a salad or drinking juice before, it was made and packaged and stored and shipped and stored again before I ate it. If I had ever gotten ground flax in something, it had probably lost most of it's nutritional value before it got to me. Now, I grind my flax seeds, throw that into the soup or smoothie and consume it. No nutrional loss there. Again, tons more nutrients hitting my body than it is used to. And next year is really going to take it up a notch as I will be able to just go to my own garden and pick the veggies as fresh as fresh gets:)
So if I sound like a crazy infomercial sometimes; if it sounds crazy to say that I went from depressed, barely able to walk across a room, in constant pain and a mental fog every day of my life and then literally became pain free, regained my energy, improved health conditions dramatically, started losing weight at a steady pace and regained a much higher degree of mental clarity all within days of starting a juice fast and now I'm still feeling fantastic just as much after 4 months of a clean, plant-based diet, you can understand that I'm not promoting the latest fad or a magic bullet or even a "diet." I'm just saying to eat the way God meant you to. Eat the abundance of things he gave us to thrive on. If that includes meat for you then at least make that a smaller ratio of your calories and make it fresh, untainted by a disgusting industry and prepare it in a healthy way.
It's not a miracle... and yet it is the biggest miracle of all. How miraculous that those plants include all those crazy nutrients that really can heal, regrow, vitalize and maximize the potential of every cell in your body. The things your doctor throws his hands in the air over and just writes another script for? Your creator gave you the cure. When the few doctors who have actually studied the topic of healing through nutrition say, "Sure, a plant based diet would help my patients but they won't follow it so I just give them a pill instead." You can shout, "I'll do it! I'll heal myself with nutrition!" Maybe more doctors will seek out that information and share it with their other patients if they have patients coming in with dramatic improvements and telling them, "I don't need those pills, doc. I stopped taking those months ago." I am praying that by the time my grandkids are grown, they will defy all those predictions about the newest generation of children dying younger than their parents did.
So that begs the question, how can a simple change of diet create the incredible changes I've experienced. Well, lets look at a few things. First, getting the disgusting mess the local grocer passes off as meat and animal products that I was eating - hormones, puss in the milk etc - out of my body. Just removing those has to help. If I had changed to homegrown, grass fed, lean cuts and healthy prep and still ate the meat, I would be better off but still not as good as just getting the animal protein out of my diet. (If you aren't following me here, read the China Study and/or watch Forks Over Knives.) I'm 90% animal protein free. I still eat a serving of fish 2 or 3 times a month, have a bit of organic chicken or turkey in the crockpot soup once or twice a month and I have an organic, cage-free, hormone free, preferably locally grown boiled egg a couple times a week. I don't know if I will eventually eliminate those or not. Even the China Study noted that the cancer growth and other bad effects weren't triggered with a low intake of animal protein. So I'm good with this for now.
Next, let's note that my diet went from very near zero fresh fruit and veggies to a good 75% freggies. That alone had to be a huge shock (of the good variety) to my system. At this point, every system and cell in my body has to be singing for joy. It's like, "Halleleujah! She's finally giving us something to work with!"
Now let's add the fact that I juice and blend a lot of freggies and add really nutrient dense, natural additives like ground flax etc. Now you are taking the great nutrients that your average healthy eater would consume in a day and putting all those nutrients into one serving. You are literally just FLOODING your system with nutrients it's been deprived of for decades.
Our bodies are amazing self-healing machines but we take a machine that has the ability to repair itself and even regenerate on its own but we deny it the building blocks it require to do that. And then we wonder why we fall apart. So what do we do? Instead of handing it those high-quality, sound and solid building blocks that God gave us in abundance, we give it man made imitations made of cardboard and chemicals. And then we wonder why we fall apart!
One last thing to consider that really just makes our body sing is that even when I was eating a salad or drinking juice before, it was made and packaged and stored and shipped and stored again before I ate it. If I had ever gotten ground flax in something, it had probably lost most of it's nutritional value before it got to me. Now, I grind my flax seeds, throw that into the soup or smoothie and consume it. No nutrional loss there. Again, tons more nutrients hitting my body than it is used to. And next year is really going to take it up a notch as I will be able to just go to my own garden and pick the veggies as fresh as fresh gets:)
So if I sound like a crazy infomercial sometimes; if it sounds crazy to say that I went from depressed, barely able to walk across a room, in constant pain and a mental fog every day of my life and then literally became pain free, regained my energy, improved health conditions dramatically, started losing weight at a steady pace and regained a much higher degree of mental clarity all within days of starting a juice fast and now I'm still feeling fantastic just as much after 4 months of a clean, plant-based diet, you can understand that I'm not promoting the latest fad or a magic bullet or even a "diet." I'm just saying to eat the way God meant you to. Eat the abundance of things he gave us to thrive on. If that includes meat for you then at least make that a smaller ratio of your calories and make it fresh, untainted by a disgusting industry and prepare it in a healthy way.
It's not a miracle... and yet it is the biggest miracle of all. How miraculous that those plants include all those crazy nutrients that really can heal, regrow, vitalize and maximize the potential of every cell in your body. The things your doctor throws his hands in the air over and just writes another script for? Your creator gave you the cure. When the few doctors who have actually studied the topic of healing through nutrition say, "Sure, a plant based diet would help my patients but they won't follow it so I just give them a pill instead." You can shout, "I'll do it! I'll heal myself with nutrition!" Maybe more doctors will seek out that information and share it with their other patients if they have patients coming in with dramatic improvements and telling them, "I don't need those pills, doc. I stopped taking those months ago." I am praying that by the time my grandkids are grown, they will defy all those predictions about the newest generation of children dying younger than their parents did.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
BRRRRR and Some Embarrassing Truths About My Life
So here in Oklahoma, winter is making up for how mild it was the last couple of years by icing on us and leaving us in the single digits. I'm freezing and pissy. I HATE ICE!!! I don't mind snow, I kinda like it. And when it's cold outside, it can make you appreciate your warm house and your fuzzy slippers (or in my case, hand-knit wool socks) even more, right? Yeah right!! We are doing good to keep it over 40 degrees in this place. My house is old. Really old and falling apart. They found problems with the gas pipes so they won't allow the gas on. Some nonsense about the danger of explosions or fumes... whatever. (Yes, for those who might not understand me yet, I'm being sarcastic.) So we have no hot water and only space heaters. We are supposed to be moved out by the end of the month but it may realistically be January something. We rent, by the way. The windows and doors are so poorly installed that you can literally pass things through to someone outside around the edges. Seriously, we've done it. The sliding glass doors have about a 3 inch gap on one side because they don't fit the opening! We've filled that with foam but it still lets in air. There are holes that you can throw a cat through, as the old saying goes. Although nobody better be throwing my kitties anywhere;o) I know the holes are that big because possums keep sneaking into my house. Yes, literally.
Totally off subject but I have to tell this story now, since I mentioned the possums. They live under our house. I'm cool with that. Well, this one is so comfortable living with us that he likes to stroll through in the night. We would usually just yell at him or the dog would bark or a cat would hiss and he would take off back out the hole. (It's not a hole I can get to - the landlord made the holes last year trying to fix the gas problem.) Possum wasn't aggressive, in fact he was quite shy and nervous so we just ignored the problem. I grew up in the country; critters don't bother me. My cousins had a pet raccoon for years. Well a couple weeks ago, Cameron woke up and the possum was strolling across his body on his bed as he slept!!! He screamed like a little girl and the dog came running and started barking and the chase was on. Well, possum realized he had screwed up big time (even though he was considerably bigger than the dog) so he did what possums do.... he played possum. He had made it to my room by this time. So Gadget dragged what he presumed to be his "kill" behind my love seat. Possum still playing dead. Cameron moved the love seat, put a bucket over it, took it outside and THREW it across the yard. Still playing dead! He came in the house and we watched out the window. About two minutes later, he gets up and casually strolls back under our house. Yup, it's like that around here.
I've mentioned that I had given up on life until last August when I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Well, I'm admitting to all of this so you can understand just how low I had sunk. We were living in a house that should have been condemned. We can only plug use one appliance at a time in the kitchen other than the frig. Throwing a breaker is a very regular occurrence. Basically if you turn on the toaster without unplugging the juicer, bam. This neighborhood isn't great either. Oh and my beloved old truck (I LOVE old trucks - especially Fords; I would rather push an old truck than drive a new car) has been neglected and left in need of repairs for over a year. I had to have someone to help me in and out if I went anywhere anyway and I couldn't do my own shopping anymore as I couldn't walk unassisted and was too proud to use an electric cart. So what did it matter if I had my own transportation. My poor family could do nothing to pull me out of this downward spiral. It was actually quite telling that I was even willing to live in town. I have always hated living in town. I need to be in the country surrounded by nature and critters and air. I feel trapped and claustrophobic in town and it sets off my PTSD something fierce.
So this really does relate to all my healthy life changes. I hated myself so much that I didn't care how I lived. I don't now. Juicing and WFPB eating has not only given me back health, energy, weight-loss and independence (which is so important to me I can't even express it here - I am independent to a fault by nature) it has also given me back my self-respect and my desire to live the life I choose. We are getting out of this rat trap. We are looking for land to buy out in the country. We are going to buy a large RV to stay in while we pay off the land because once you have 50% equity in your land, there are a couple of companies that will either put a double wide on it or build a prefab home on it for no down payment. Your land serves as your collateral. The RV will also allow me to do another thing that I've always yearned to do and never been able to - travel. And buddy, let me tell you... we are going somewhere warmer for the winter. We should have the RV by the end of January at the latest - probably a 32' 5th wheel, haven't decided for sure. Getting the truck fixed by the end of the month as well - that's my Christmas present. I have friends in South Texas I'd like to see as well as a sister in Arizona and brothers and tons of cousins in California. I am most definitely going somewhere warmer for at least a good chunck of this miserable, cold, icy winter that Oklahoma apparently has planned. I love Oklahoma but I HATE ICE!! (See how I brought that back around. I really did have a point!)
Oh and lest you think I'm too off topic on this post, let me just say that as long as I have to literally bundle up in several layers including hat and scarf and mittens inside my house, I will probably not be losing as much weight because I'm not drinking cold juice and eating cold salad today. If I can see my breath in my bedroom, I'm having hot lentil soup and warm broth and baked potato with salsa and oatmeal and anything else that is served nice and hot! Don't get me wrong, still plant-based and clean but not much raw. And I have really come to believe in the power of raw. I'm not getting involved in all the drama going on in the raw community these days but I do believe that eating as much raw, fresh foods as you can manage will always benefit you. Except when it's 8 degrees fahrenheit outside and you only have a space heater.
Oh and as to my weight, I have lost a bit more. I'm down to 293 which means I've lost 47 lbs since August 23. I'm really curious to see how much the weight loss slows with these changes or if it will surprise me and keep going at 2-3 lbs a week. Stay tuned!
Totally off subject but I have to tell this story now, since I mentioned the possums. They live under our house. I'm cool with that. Well, this one is so comfortable living with us that he likes to stroll through in the night. We would usually just yell at him or the dog would bark or a cat would hiss and he would take off back out the hole. (It's not a hole I can get to - the landlord made the holes last year trying to fix the gas problem.) Possum wasn't aggressive, in fact he was quite shy and nervous so we just ignored the problem. I grew up in the country; critters don't bother me. My cousins had a pet raccoon for years. Well a couple weeks ago, Cameron woke up and the possum was strolling across his body on his bed as he slept!!! He screamed like a little girl and the dog came running and started barking and the chase was on. Well, possum realized he had screwed up big time (even though he was considerably bigger than the dog) so he did what possums do.... he played possum. He had made it to my room by this time. So Gadget dragged what he presumed to be his "kill" behind my love seat. Possum still playing dead. Cameron moved the love seat, put a bucket over it, took it outside and THREW it across the yard. Still playing dead! He came in the house and we watched out the window. About two minutes later, he gets up and casually strolls back under our house. Yup, it's like that around here.
I've mentioned that I had given up on life until last August when I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Well, I'm admitting to all of this so you can understand just how low I had sunk. We were living in a house that should have been condemned. We can only plug use one appliance at a time in the kitchen other than the frig. Throwing a breaker is a very regular occurrence. Basically if you turn on the toaster without unplugging the juicer, bam. This neighborhood isn't great either. Oh and my beloved old truck (I LOVE old trucks - especially Fords; I would rather push an old truck than drive a new car) has been neglected and left in need of repairs for over a year. I had to have someone to help me in and out if I went anywhere anyway and I couldn't do my own shopping anymore as I couldn't walk unassisted and was too proud to use an electric cart. So what did it matter if I had my own transportation. My poor family could do nothing to pull me out of this downward spiral. It was actually quite telling that I was even willing to live in town. I have always hated living in town. I need to be in the country surrounded by nature and critters and air. I feel trapped and claustrophobic in town and it sets off my PTSD something fierce.
So this really does relate to all my healthy life changes. I hated myself so much that I didn't care how I lived. I don't now. Juicing and WFPB eating has not only given me back health, energy, weight-loss and independence (which is so important to me I can't even express it here - I am independent to a fault by nature) it has also given me back my self-respect and my desire to live the life I choose. We are getting out of this rat trap. We are looking for land to buy out in the country. We are going to buy a large RV to stay in while we pay off the land because once you have 50% equity in your land, there are a couple of companies that will either put a double wide on it or build a prefab home on it for no down payment. Your land serves as your collateral. The RV will also allow me to do another thing that I've always yearned to do and never been able to - travel. And buddy, let me tell you... we are going somewhere warmer for the winter. We should have the RV by the end of January at the latest - probably a 32' 5th wheel, haven't decided for sure. Getting the truck fixed by the end of the month as well - that's my Christmas present. I have friends in South Texas I'd like to see as well as a sister in Arizona and brothers and tons of cousins in California. I am most definitely going somewhere warmer for at least a good chunck of this miserable, cold, icy winter that Oklahoma apparently has planned. I love Oklahoma but I HATE ICE!! (See how I brought that back around. I really did have a point!)
Oh and lest you think I'm too off topic on this post, let me just say that as long as I have to literally bundle up in several layers including hat and scarf and mittens inside my house, I will probably not be losing as much weight because I'm not drinking cold juice and eating cold salad today. If I can see my breath in my bedroom, I'm having hot lentil soup and warm broth and baked potato with salsa and oatmeal and anything else that is served nice and hot! Don't get me wrong, still plant-based and clean but not much raw. And I have really come to believe in the power of raw. I'm not getting involved in all the drama going on in the raw community these days but I do believe that eating as much raw, fresh foods as you can manage will always benefit you. Except when it's 8 degrees fahrenheit outside and you only have a space heater.
Oh and as to my weight, I have lost a bit more. I'm down to 293 which means I've lost 47 lbs since August 23. I'm really curious to see how much the weight loss slows with these changes or if it will surprise me and keep going at 2-3 lbs a week. Stay tuned!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
The Real Thanksgiving
So for those of us trying to live a healthier life and lose weight and regain vibrant health, Thanksgiving can represent a challenge. I must have been asked at least 85 times in the past week how I would "handle" it and even asked for advice about how best to handle it for others. That's new. I still haven't gotten used to having other people act as if my opinion on topics of health and weight loss really matters. LOL Everyone really has to decide for themselves. Some people have complicated family situations to consider and I would never presume to get in the middle of that! But, as usual, my real, deep down feeling is that family should value your health and well-being enough to make some concessions or even (gasp) just support what you are trying to do. I can't imagine not having a family that supports me like that. And that is probably what I'm thankful for this year most of all. My husband is one in a million. He supports me through all things. He epitomizes "in sickness and in health" and "for better or for worse." My kids and grandkids bless every day of my life and don't hesitate to do anything in their power to support my efforts. So how did I "handle" the challenge of Thanksgiving?
I have had a great Thanksgiving with my two teenagers. I am so proud of them. I told them that if not having pie or rolls or something was going to make them feel deprived or like this lifestyle was too hard, I would get them some. They both said NO! And Harmoni (17 year old) said, "The main thing I'm most thankful for this year is how happy you are just living every day now." My hubby is on the road but we are used to that. We have a nice meal when he gets home and we don't celebrate Christmas until Epiphany so that he can be home. I told my grown kids that since Thanksgiving meal was going to be turned on it's ear that they should probably just spend it with their inlaws. I hope to be so used to this lifestyle by next year that I will make them a feast to remember that I won't hesitate to eat as well. I'll be spending some time with my oldest daughter and that new baby boy next week and I'm definitely thankful for that! I'm really thankful that all three of my grown kids have found really amazing and wonderful people to share their lives with. Both son-in-laws and my daughter-in-law are really awesome. I honestly couldn't have chosen better for them myself. I have NINE beautiful, healthy, intelligent grandchildren. God has blessed me beyond measure.
Thanksgiving was really my Mom's holiday as she was an amazing cook in the old-school Southern cooking style. I see her in my daughter Cheyenne. I always miss her so much on this day but part of me is glad she isn't here to see what terrible condition I have let myself get into. At least I have felt that way every Thanksgiving until this one. I know that she would be so proud of the changes I've made, the things I've learned and the rest of the family for their unwavering support. A few weeks ago when people first started talking about Thanksgiving, my first thought was, "Oh no! Mom's stuffing and apple pan dowdy and heavenly hash!" Fixing her recipes always made us all feel closer to her. We knew that she was there with us in spirit. Well, the day came and we ate our small serving of roast turkey and roasted veggies and lots of fruit. We even had a special treat that Cameron brought us; gluten free, dairy free cookies! I do NOT feel like I missed a thing. Rather, I feel more thankful and more blessed than I have in many years. And that, my friends, is what Thanksgiving is about, not turkey or pie or cornbread dressing.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Three Types of People You Meet in Juicing Communities
I have watched all the youtube videos and read all the blogs I could find by and about people who lose weight juice fasting and/or a whole food/plant-based diet/high raw diet etc. Yes. A lot of people do regain the weight but the ones who have the courage to come back and tell you what went on will tell you exactly why. (Check out Steve Crider's latest videos STEVE CRIDER YOUTUBE CHANNEL- love that guy because he is honest and never gives up!) They regained the weight because they went back to eating whatever they used to eat that made them fat in the first place. If you do what you've always done, you will end up where you've always been. I read and watched and researched and read some more. I saw that many people regain the weight with juicing and WFPB diets just as they do with WW, Atkins, South Beach and Weight-loss surgery. I took all that in and used it to motivate me to really research and plan so that when I was finished with my first actual juice fast, I would have a solid plan in place for what I was going to eat for the rest of my life to continue to lose weight and eventually maintain a healthy weight, feel great, live an active and joyful life and love my food all at the same time. And I have. I NEVER would have believed that I would love eating like this and I sure as heck never thought I would LOVE eating like this. I grew up a country girl. We raised our own beef, chickens, and pork. I showed livestock in the shows and went hunting with my dad. Vegans and vegetarians were extremist nutcases. (Note - Personally, I still think PETA is nuttier than fruitcake.) Well, call me nutty because I am now very near vegan and I LOVE what I eat every single day. And my two teenagers have gone along for the ride and are losing weight as well and they love the food too! And my 19 year old was one of those kids who never touched a veggie other than a tomato or canned corn EVER before we started this. (No! I'm NOT counting french fries. That is a fat, not a veggie, in my book.)
Here's the thing. I really believe there are three types of people around juice fasting communities. Those who think they want this, try it and, within days or maybe a couple of weeks at most, decide it is too hard. Even though detox has been explained to them, they may become certain that juice is making them sick. They drop out and are never heard from again. Then there are those who throw themselves into it and white knuckle their way through a nice long juice only fast while counting the days til they can once again hit the Burger King drive through or pat themselves on the back for having more veggies on their pizza than they used to. They lose a ton of weight and then promptly gain it all back. It is absolutely true and can't be repeated often enough; If you do what you've always done, you end up where you've always been. One hundred percent accurate! Funny how that works:/
Then there are those who use the time on juice fast to allow the process to fundamentally change them. If you are one of these people, you come to realize that this doesn't just change what you are doing for a few days or weeks or even months; it changes everything. It is physical, mental and emotional. You discover things about yourself that you didn't know before including inner reserves of strength. You educate yourself. You discover that your weight gain had nothing to do with lack of willpower and that you've been duped by a huge industry into becoming addicted to things that harm you in order to make them richer. You get pissed and You. Change. Everything. And you love it! Free of all the salt and sugar and chemicals, your taste buds come back to life! You rediscover that the foods given us by our creator actually are wonderful to the taste without all the chemicals and that foods that aren't over-processed and overcooked and genetically modified taste better and sustain our bodies the way they were intended to be. You relearn what healthy feels like. You rediscover having energy to burn. You realize the miraculous thing that the human body really is! It begins to heal itself! I have a number of friends who have gotten off of blood pressure medication just as I have and off of asthma meds and acid reflux meds like my daughter has and even off of INSULIN! The body can and will heal and regenerate itself if you flood it with all the nutrients it needs.
I'm NOT saying everyone has to give up meat or dairy or gluten as I did. But it is certainly wise to very cautiously add those substances back in and pay attention to the effect on your body. Most of the ones I know who are still losing or maintaining after a long period of time have definitely made whole-food/plant based foods the center of their diet. And I literally do not know one who has maintained while still eating a processed, junk-food based diet. I really, really recommend you check out Dan Miller's web page here: DAN MILLER WEB PAGE or go to DAN MILLER JUICING & PLANT-BASED FOOD and look over his discussion thread there. I'm in there as Natshell:) Dan has been at this a long time and has more knowledge and information available on this topic (not to mention succes at losing and maintaining for a long period) than anyone else I know of and he is great at answering questions.
I assume most people who find my blog have already watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead but if you haven't, do so! I also strongly recommend anyone who hasn't already, please watch Forks Over Knives. If you are a reader, read The China Study, The Pleasure Trap, Wheat Belly and Clean. Check out youtube videos and websites by Dr. McDougall, Dr Fuhrman, Dr Esselstyn and Rip Esselstyn, Douglas Lisle and Robert Lustig. Let one discovery lead to another. Make it your business and your top priority to discover what food/long-term diet will best serve your weight and your health once you aren't juice fasting anymore. Shouldn't your health and well-being be a top priority? Lots of people do regain weight after juice fasting. But YOU don't have to be one of them.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Guest Blogger Reynolds - Surely Juice fasting isn't (gasp) ever difficult!?
Hello Ladies and Germs, it appears to me that contrary to all previous articulated notions to the contrary, doing a juice fast can, for some, in certain specific circumstances, be just a tinge on the difficult side.
Who would have thought? Let's see.... ceasing to chew food after decades of that thrice daily ritual ... ingesting liquids that look like your grandpa in South Louisiana just dipped a pitcher into the swamp to conduct mosquito larvae experiments... giving up our favorite foods of Snickers and Cornflakes on rye and cold Chef-Boyardee ravioli with apricot and dark chocolate pieces... living in a world where inundation from food sellers is more difficult than winning the lottery three times in one week... being ridiculed, criticized and called crazy by our FRIENDS!!! ... having removed from our listening pleasure the melodic sound of freshly produced cellophane wrappers crackling in our fat little fingers... having that little invisible monkey that piggybacks around with you screeching that he is hungry at the top of his lungs ... and the icing on the cake, so to speak, having to wash the dog in the backyard as your sadistic neighbor grills burgers and bacon every night. Then you realized that you've bathed the dog in the back yard four times this week already.
This is a big head game, this juice fasting. It is an exercise in distraction, illumination, redirection, denial and wistfully hoping.
It is all about dealing with THIS hour. Whatever it takes is what it takes. Taking a walk, cleaning the bathroom, calling your mother, vacuuming the car, weeding the roses, reading a book, watching Fat Sick and Nearly Dead again. Whatever it takes. The big thing is you have to believe that rebooting is beneficial and worth the sacrifices. Has stepping on the scale and seeing a smaller number show up, does that spin your top? How about knowing that you just began the process of expelling decades of stored toxins in your body, likely extending your life and making your remaining years healthier? If none of that works, then get creative. Try following a squirrel into a tree and do the squirrel bark at him until he looks mad enough to jump on you. Get creative!
Just please, please........... don't go eat 19 twinkees and a bag of Oreos and expect to feel good tomorrow, or feel good about yourself. It is not gonna happen. We are rooting you on gal. We've walked that walk. It is all about THIS HOUR. So just win this hour. Whatever it takes.
- See more at: http://community.rebootwithjoe.com/discussions/topic/100-lbs-or-more-starting-a-9113-30-day-reboot?p=135#sthash.Ys8JReho.dpuf
Saturday, November 9, 2013
11 WEEKS IN - An Update
It is pretty crazy to think that we only started this new lifestyle 11 weeks ago. I haven't blogged as much lately because I tend to think I don't have anything interesting going on. I'm just a mom and grandma dealing with day to day life just like anyone else. I forget that certain things about our lifestyle nowadays are considered "non-norm." I forget that it is not "normal" to find no meat and no dairy in the average kitchen. I forget that not every mom hears their teenagers arguing over who took all the mushrooms in the salad. "I want mushrooms too!" LOL The average home probably doesn't have 10 pints of beet/apple/carrot/ginger juice in the frig. For about a minute; until the teenagers discover it. Not every house on the block contains 3 ladies who have lost a combined total of 115 lbs in the last 3 months. Is it normal for you to spend 90% of your grocery shopping time and money in the produce section? I used to barely glance in there; maybe to grab some bananas for the grandkids or a bag of potatos. Is the average families trash made up almost entirely of juice pulp and peelings? Where are all the cans and boxes and plastic containers?
Here are the problems we have lately:
Honey, should we sell the microwave?
No! I heat up my lemon/ginger water in there in the mornings!
I am NEVER going to finish my holiday knitting if I don't find some time to sit and knit!
Mom! We're out of celery!
I can't BELIEVE I was dumb enough to consume gluten again! Gluten makes me ill! What was I thinking?!!!
So life around here is just the same old boring routine as anyone elses.... With a few twists;o) And the most beautiful part is that I am actually participating in that routine. I'm not sitting in my room watching life go on without me. Yes, I am still on the program. Yes, I am still losing weight although it isn't beating any speed records. I have broken through to the 200s again but since I hit 299 last week, I haven't lost any more. The scale likes to screw with me like that. I'm not worried. I am giving my body what it really needs and trusting it to do the rest. Meanwhile, I feel fantastic!
A few things have changed. I no longer have to mindfully create positive dialogue about my food. I don't have to say to myself, "Those foods are poison to me. I am not the sort of person that eats whatever is easiest. I nourish my body." I don't have to mindfully say those things any more than I have to mindfully say, "I am a mom. I am a wife." They are just who I am. And did I mention I feel fantastic?
Here are the problems we have lately:
Honey, should we sell the microwave?
No! I heat up my lemon/ginger water in there in the mornings!
I am NEVER going to finish my holiday knitting if I don't find some time to sit and knit!
Mom! We're out of celery!
I can't BELIEVE I was dumb enough to consume gluten again! Gluten makes me ill! What was I thinking?!!!
So life around here is just the same old boring routine as anyone elses.... With a few twists;o) And the most beautiful part is that I am actually participating in that routine. I'm not sitting in my room watching life go on without me. Yes, I am still on the program. Yes, I am still losing weight although it isn't beating any speed records. I have broken through to the 200s again but since I hit 299 last week, I haven't lost any more. The scale likes to screw with me like that. I'm not worried. I am giving my body what it really needs and trusting it to do the rest. Meanwhile, I feel fantastic!
A few things have changed. I no longer have to mindfully create positive dialogue about my food. I don't have to say to myself, "Those foods are poison to me. I am not the sort of person that eats whatever is easiest. I nourish my body." I don't have to mindfully say those things any more than I have to mindfully say, "I am a mom. I am a wife." They are just who I am. And did I mention I feel fantastic?
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Guest Blogger - Reynolds
I am a member of the fantastic community of juice nuts at rebootwithjoe.com based on Joe Cross and his experiences as seen on "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." My friend Reynolds is the guy that everyone in our group turns to for wisdom and inspiration. He is in the middle of this same journey that I am on and, like me, feels that nothing in this world is going to offer the things that juice fasting can. Another friend on the group had had a pretty significant slip-up on day 6 of her first juice fast and wondered if she should just give up and "pig out for a few days" or jump right back into juice fasting or maybe just try to transition onto a healthy "diet" instead of juice fasting. She got tons of great advice and support but Reynolds words really hit home for many of us. I asked him if I could post his reply here and he agreed so here it is. Someone out there needs to hear this. I just have this feeling.
Heathie: I read your post then went offline to compose a thoughtful response. When I came back to post, Katie had posted her very sage advice gleaned from numerous reboots over the last 6 months where she trimmed over 100 pounds from her frame. My words are very similar to hers, I'm just more long-winded. But the common points on which we both touch, we hope resonate with you. Here is mine:
ROFL..... Heathie your number three, "pig out a few days and then start back?" had me splitting my side. You probably don't get it but Natalie, Katie and Jana do for sure.
You are likely saying, "but I wasn't trying to be funny." Exactly! You were asking the SAME question every Fattie asks themselves when they get a mouthful of mud... "so do I just go back to being who I was for all those years?" Every single one of us in this forum have had huge doubts when we stumbled and we asked that same question.
Here is the whole enchilada wrapped up in a long thought :
All fat people got that way for a reason, maybe three. Once fat, we had family, friends and society send us mixed messages about our rising weight. At some point we became obese, and while we learned a host of excuses to push back anyone who cautioned or criticized us, we never managed to get around to accepting responsibility for STAYING fat. It is one thing to get fat over our teenage and young adult years, but it is another thing to keep gaining in our twenties, thirties and forties. Jana, Natslie, Katie and I are all near or above 50. Sure, we'd tried to lose weight every year or two. But we never found a way to get it off and keep it off. Until we ran into Joe Cross and juice fasting.
Heathie, what happens on a JF is a fundamental change in the mind. It doesn't come with most any other weight reduction plan. During a prolonged JF the mind is allowed, yes even forced, to put some distance between food and ourselves. Not having reason to be so intimate with chewed foods for a period of time allows us to reduce, and even remove, the emotional bonds that exist between EVERY Fattie and food. Finally, the stranglehold food has had on us is broken, literally, for the first time. It is not a permanent break up, necessarily, and yes that is the challenge of every Fattie that has gone through an extended JF must deal with.
I can't tell you how many days you have to be on a JF (10-45?) before the brain makes the switch and the mind sees things like it has NEVER seen them before. That change has as many looks as there are people doing a JF. But most JFers come to the realization that they have been lied to by the commercial food companies, but worse they've been egregiously lying to themselves as well.
During the JF the combination of detoxing, losing lots of weight and stepping back some distance from food synergizes together to give the person a birdseye view of food, addiction, compulsion, cravings and binging. I guess it is akin to seeing a ghost or Bigfoot. -- you might later question what you saw, but at the time you were unmistaken in what you saw. It is that pronounced of an awakening. The trick is to live out what we know. But we have 10-20-30 years of bad habits and only days/weeks/months at having a deep appreciation of vegetables and juicing.
So it is hard at first to win every single fight with our compulsive/addictive self. We'll lose once a day, then once every third day, then once every week, until finally ... finally the body relents and goes along with what the mind has been saying! Then, the struggle is cut to a fraction and the person is "over the hump." Will he or she struggle occasionally? Most certainly. But the struggle isn't at 10:42am, 2:39pm, 6:05pm, 8:47pm -- it is once every week or so.
The addiction is broken, but no immunity is created or a magic shield thrown up around the person. The lust of the eye is still there. The difference is that the new mind sees food differently. It no longer is a surrogate lover as it was. Now it is something to use as needed to meet a basic nutritional need. Sure, enjoying food is fine, but seeking pleasure from food no longer controls your every chewing decision. Most critical for the typical JFer out living in the chewing world again is the ability to master perceptions of food and thereby strictly controlling what goes in the body. There is no longer a free-for-all where just anything goes. We cant kid ourselves anymore. When eating again, every meal is a considered decision. Do want me to say that again? Every meal is a considered decision.
So why this loooong post? Well, what I'm telling you is this, it is so US. So fattie, to flop off the horse and then say, "oh what the hell, I think I'll just go eat a pan of peach cobbler." That is what fatties do routinely.
But in the near future, maybe within only a week or two, you too will recoil from the thought of going and pigging out with every stumble. Soon, you'll want to flee from pig outs as you will see them for what they are -- compulsive , uncontrolled bouts of mania. Yep, as part of JFing the mind changes its perceptions and with the changed perceptions comes a changed behavior. But! It is possible to slide back into the abyss, so vigilance is required for a long time, usually for more than a year.
Have you ever talked with someone that has climbed a massive peak like Kilimanjaro or Denali? Invariably they will mention that besides being staggeringly difficult dealing with all the adversities, it was a very specific system to summit and return to base camp safe. Freelancing was tantamount to death. The many that had gone before had spelled out all the problems and obstacles threatening each climber. While only thousands had done it before, nevertheless all the perils, risks, pitfalls and dilemmas any climber could face were very well articulated and defined by previous climbers writing about their experience.
So it is with a JF. There are no new wrinkles to be discovered by a new JFer. The struggles are all well known and written about here and in many blogs. It is important to know that what each of us are going through on our JF, is completely commonplace. It is predictable! Really!
Oh, not everyone has the exact same issues of headaches and diarrhea, or like. But your weaknesses, cravings, panics, listlessness and other symptoms experienced in your JF are the same ones the rest of us have experienced. Promise! So you see where I'm going with this -- learn from climbers that have summitted and come down to tell about it. Don't think for an instant that you , or me, or Natalie, or Katie, or Jana or Danielle -- can beat the established path that has been blazed ahead of us. We simply can't do it. Knowing the regimen and then sticking to it is imperative. We just aren't smart enough to find a new, better route up the mountain. Stick to the known, proven routes. Going rogue has bad consequences.
So what! You fell off the horse! You did it. Now that is history. Are you going to live in that momentary failure or instead jump back on the horse and ride. I hope you choose the latter, and choose it immediately.
Heathie, you have inside you a champion. But you'll have to find that champion. Usually the champion doesn't show up in the first couple of days as that time is so full of confusion, angst and flailing about.
But she will show up if you stay on the horse. But, before she does, it seems like you are about to expire. The body throws a fit, and then capitulates finally in day 4, 5 or 6. This gets lots easier. We are sure rooting for you and want you to ride with us on our journey to get healthy and lose weight. We hereby grant you a full absolution of your face plant! Now c'mon, go with us. You can only fail if you quit. So don't quit! :)
- See more at: http://community.rebootwithjoe.com/discussions/topic/100-lbs-or-more-starting-a-9113-30-day-reboot?p=83#sthash.AEETWGPg.dpuf
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