comfort zone

I seem to be too much in a comfort zone all of the time. No wonder I talk about change but nothing surges me on. I only fasted for thirteen hours yesterday. It was time for my early night retirement, but I stayed up on the computer playing cards. If I had gone to bed like I was suppose to, I wouldn't have eaten in those last waking hours. I'm at the center right now and finished one hour in the weight room. I have noticed the more a machine gets used the lower the resistance feels. The ones with belts seem to stretch out like when a car belt occasionally needs changed. I know this doesn't sound like a diet blog.

How about this then? The wrong carbs are as bad as the wrong fats. That would include refined carbohydrates such as: white bread and rolls, crackers, candy, cookies, and sugary cereals. Overeating the bad refined kind of carb causes not only obesity but also heart disease and diabetes. Use whole grain carbohydrates. Doubling your fiber intake could reduce colon cancer risk by up to 40%. Skip those made from heart-damaging trans fats, called "partially hydrogenated" on the label. I'm off to my weigh-in, gulp!

fasting

I was away until today. I missed the chance to talk to myself about staying on a healthy program. I spent all day and night at that food function. Without a car, I am always subject to others schedules. No matter, I'm safe at home now and plan to do my weight room tomorrow. The only good thing I did do yesterday was go up and down the stairs a few times. The only way I can make up for yesterday is to do a one day fast to rid my system of the sugar items. I dread the weigh-in coming up on Tuesday! Someone suggested that I rant and whine too often about being morbidly obese but don't take the necessary steps available to make the change and stay consistent about my goal. Well! We'll see about that. Now I'm more determined. Sayonara!

impatient

Yesterday I did a point system and gave myself six tally marks. I managed in 15 minutes of exercise on the treadmill at the clubhouse and 45 to 60 minutes in the weight room three days prior. Come on scale move backwards, I get discouraged easily! Give me some encouragement to be able to face tomorrow's birthday party and dinner with no time for exercise. I don't want to blow it by rebelling and putting my life style change on hold again and again. You'd think at my age I'd act a little more mature, what can I say? I will try though to add some tally marks for today. I know what, the house has stairs, I'll go up and down the stairs a couple of times at a time, slowly as only I can do. I know the up coming weigh-in will show a gain but I will still try for the next three days to make a difference. I guess I'll shake the dust off my feet!

misc.

FACT: What determines how much muscle size and strength you gain, is the amount of weight you lift and the time you invest in it, not how fast you move the weight. Remember to control the movement up and down and not let gravity do the work for you.

JOKE: You've got bad eating habits if you use a grocery cart in a 7-Eleven.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it!

low-carb%

24% of all adults who have tried a low-carb diet since 2002

12% who are currently on one

20 average number of pounds study participants lost on a low-carb idet in 12 weeks

17 average number of pounds participants lost on a low-fat diet in 12 weeks

25,200 number of additional calories each low-carb dieter ate over the 12 weeks compared with the low-fat dieters

From a July/August 2004 magazine article but I don't remember which one of the mags I mangled.

Not much to say today except I did exercise at the weight room for 30 minutes. It's been three straight days in a row but I won't be returning for four days. That's not good. I don't want to lose the momentum! Maybe in between I'll do some progressive tally counting. This weekend is another family birthday party and a dinner. Here I go again. Instead of telling myself how wrong certain things are to eat, instead, I should try to remember all of the accumulating benefits that will be my reward and reinforcement towards my goal of a healthier life style, if I don't eat it. Lenvoy! (To say goodby.)

exercise

I arrived at the weight room at 8:15 am and it was packed. All twelve machines were being used with a limit of thirty minutes. I felt defeated at my efforts again to exercise as much as possible for me. I don't like hurdles when I'm still in a vulnerable place with my quest to improve my current life style. I started to return a half hour later and met up with my instructor who said it was still crowded but go ahead in, of course I did upon his request. I had to spend an hour there but I used ten of the twelve machines. I skipped the lunch and the birthday cake at the center there today. Sometimes I surprise myself.

exercise

In some slight pain and lethargic I tried to sneak past the weight room this afternoon. The instructor saw me through the window and came out to invite me in. I was on my way to the restroom. I joked and said, I was hoping you wouldn't see me my knees are soar. He offered the use of less resistant machines, accepting no excuses. I said I'll be back in a minute. I planned on disappearing. I followed through to the restroom and ended up on the treadmill, cycle, and sitting stairclimber. I only could do a combo of 27 minutes but had no regrets. Instead of lollygaging around tomorrow morning I will go straight to the cycle before my tired old body talks me out of it again. Thank you sir, for helping a misguided dieter.

slow aging

After 25 years of age our body's basal metabolism rate slows a little each year.

Don't expect twenty years of dietary neglect to be overcome in twenty days.

The middle age years are a constant battle of the bulge without proper dietary habits.

The most effecting anti-aging serum there is, is regular physical activity.

There is a steady decrease in physical and often mental performance as the years of youth go by through ignorance, bad habits, and learned prejudices.

Eating sensibly can add years to your life.

The preventive efforts of estrogen-replacement therapy for osteroporosis is negated in post menopausal women who smoke.

Omega 3-fatty acids found in fish and seafood can decrease cramps and other PMS symptoms.

Free radicals help bring on cataracts and muscular degeneration of the eyes in older people.

Taking a daily dose of calcium pantothenate can give you an unusual surge of enthusiasm.

Soy foods will slow bone loss, lower cholesterol, fight breast cancer, alleviate hot flashes and night sweats, may reduce the risk of cancer, and will work as an antioxidant.

Apples contain the water soluble fiber pectin, which can help lower blood cholesteol levels.

Two carotenoids found in spinach, leutin and zeaxanthin, appear to protect eyes more than beta carotenoids. Good sources are leafy greens like kale, collar greens, and romaine lettuce. Another source is red bell pepper and okra.

diet blahs

Busy and preoccupied the last three days with one more to go before I'm back to the weight room. I don't understand how I can be gung-ho one day and feel unaware the next couple of mindless eating days. I had some social obligations with family and just had a good old time. As I sit here to enter late in my blog, I don't even feel like supporting myself or to give any facts that will support others. Please forgive me, I know that is being selfish. Being busy has caused me to be surrounded by daily clutter that seems to weigh my mind down and drain me of enthusiasm. I am finally home for the night, if I can only declutter some areas, that always makes me feel lighter on my shoulders. Even pulling weeds makes me feel lighter, as if a load has been lifted. I'm so flaky right now, this doesn't even make sense to me. Up Up and away!!!!!!!!!!!!

article

The excess amount of salt in the American diet has been identified as a contributing factor to high blood pressure, kidney damage, premenstrual water retention and swelling, ringing in the ears, and heart disease. A teaspoon of salt contains approximately 2,000 milligrams of sodium, a level considered within the safe range (1,100 to 3,300 milligrams) by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. But current estimates of the daily sodium intake by most adults range from 2,300 milligrams to 6,900 milligrams--which means that some individuals get all the salt they need for a week in one day.

If you cut down on salt apparently you'll lose your taste for it, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania who report that "long-term reduction in dietary sodium alters the taste for salt." If you cut back on salt for only a short time, however, you will crave it; it's the long-term reduction that changes your taste buds so you can appreciate the natural flavor of food.

Even though it's sold in health food stores, sea salt has the same effect as regular table salt. (It is more potent in taste.) When you're reading labels at the supermarket, here's what to avoid:

Salt
Sodium chloride
Monosodium glutamate
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Any additive that contains sodium as part of its identification
by Robert M. Giller, M.D. "Medical Makeover"

appetite

I don't like it when my appetite wakes me up before the alarm in the morning, especially on a day off. I am aware it was not hunger, but my appetite, because I felt full in my stomach etc. I really didn't want to eat and I had my morning ritural to go through before I ate breakfast. My deeds were all in the back of my head. I was being led by a strong desire or inclination to whet (sharpen, excite) my appetite. I've made a discovery for myself. I had a good bit of chocolate before I went to bed. That had ignited a craving for sugar making me feel a strong desire to eat even though I was not hungry. To keep me from eating the wrong instant gratification foods or just from overeating in an addictive manner; I reluctantly microwaved two hot dogs, no buns, and fed the need, to stop the distraction of said appetite. The controlling feeling is gone. Now I feel as if I can get back into the drivers seat! When will I learn my lesson and stay completely away from sweets???

loser

In the scheme of things, I preferred not to be referred to as a loser. I don't like to see that thumb and index finger on anybodies forehead facing me. But I can be a humble loser in any game I play. Yet, somehow I look forward to the day I can be called the biggest loser to my fellow comrades in dieting. Losing weight has been a fleeting thought ever since my first weight gain that stayed after the birth of my child. On, and on, and on, and on again, it's way past the time to do something about it besides talking the talk. It's time to walk the talk. And that leads me right into the center's weight room onto the treadmill. I'm back again after six weeks of not exercising (according to my capabilities.) I thought it would be hard to get back into the swing of things. I didn't push it long or hard but I liked it, I really liked it! Of course, the music helps to put you in motion. Two days this week next week I want to increase it to three days. Oh, wish me luck. I've embarked on so many attempts. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!! That reminds me of a children's nursery rhyme.

liposuction

Almost 400,000 men and women undergo liposuction every year to remove excess body fat from their bellies, buttocks, or wherever it happens to be deposited. This improves their looks, their self-image, and even their weight. Unfortunately, however, it does not correct the abnormal chemical profile associated with obesity that predisposes to other diseases. Diet and exercise remain the most effective ways to do so.

It's possible this procedure leaves too much body fat behind, the deeper fat not accessible to liposuction. It may be the dangerous kind, rather than that which is superficially located and surgically removable. It may also be fat cells must shrink in size, not just in number (dieting does make fat cells smaller to improve one's health.) The body needs to run an energy deficit through diet and exercise in order to result in better body chemistry profile. Whatever the reason, simply eliminating the fat tissue by liposuction doesn't really reduce vulnerability to disease, at least over a short term. Extra fat is a threat to our health. In a real and measurable way, being overweight predisposes us to diabetes (with all its complications), premature heart attack and stroke, and even cancer.
by Isadore Rosenfeld, M.D. "2005 Breakthrough Health"

vulnerable

Okay dieters, let's pick our battlefields and go in fully armed! At the supermarket, never, never shop on an empty stomach. At mealtime, preplan. If you planned a healthy salad, you're more likely to follow through. If you didn't make plans, a hamburger will sound great. After a meal, pop a sugar-free mint or butterscotch candy into your mouth; resisting dessert will be easier. At a restaurant, order extra side dishes of rice and steamed vegetables. Eat more of those, less of the meat. At a buffet party, after a few hors d'oeuvres, sneak off into the bathroom and brush your teeth, You'll be less likely to eat more Swedish meatballs if they're going to taste like spearmint. At the office, visit the watercooler often or keep a carafe of water at your desk. Eight glasses of water a day keeps you more satisfied and prevents overeating. A lot of people overeat from thirst, mistaking it for hunger. After dinner, Clean up the kitchen, turn off the lights, and shut the kitchen down for the night so you don't keep going back for snacks. In front of the TV, put a thermos of ice water or hot tea on your TV table. Or lay out a preplanned healthy snack-like a measured amount of low-fat microwave popcorn. On weekends, Make firm plans to eat every four to six hours. If you're running errands and don't eat, the tendency is to get overly hungry and use your free time in a mall to grab high-calorie snacks instead of healthier choices. I knew that. I have even done one or more of those hints in one day. The trick is to do all you can everyday. It's not easy being green (or overweight!)

herbs

It's nice to know that there are things that titillate the palate that can be satisfying, calorie-free, and nutritious. We've all heard the healthy benefits of brown rice but by itself it is boring. Spice it up with herbs. Here are some herbs that are packed with flavor and have nutritional benefits:

Cilantro (Coriander) - Cilantro and its seed, coriander, are a source of vitamins A and K, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and copper.

Thyme - Another antioxidant powerhouse, thyme contains vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and iron.

Mint - A source of vitamins A and C, calcium and iron, mint also has traces of protein-building amino acids and disease fighting flavonoids.

Parsley - Good source of vitamin C filled with cancer-inhibiting carotenoids, vitamins A and K, iron, calcium and folate.

Another nice thing about herbs is they can be used in salads, soups, meats, vegetables, potatoes, breads, and desserts depending on the herb. Goodbye salt and butter a diet saboteur! These particular herbs are low-maintenance to grow on a sunny sill and water frequently if fresh is your bag. No need to start from scratch, buy seedlings at any garden center. Munga!

test

Being so over abundant with adapose I expected to fail the National Health Test on TV last night. The results was a "C" with concern for my health. It wasn't as bad as I expected the results to be. The only two questions that I answered that brought me down from healthy had to do with having 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night, which I do get but my snoring deducted from my points and made it a lower number for "D" instead of the "A." And of course 20 or more pounds overweight was my only bad fault. That is encouraging to me to think that all I needed to do was lose weight, and I possibly could live longer and be healthier. Along with a red glass of wine? I don't know if I want to start drinking, I'd much rather eat a grape. I also don't believe all tests are a definite indication or depiction of each individual person. Is that being a skeptic?

article

I read in the Reader's Digest by L.V. "Calorie-free Foods That Aren't." Here's a head-cathcer for you: Calorie free doesn't always mean zero calories. FDA regulations say companies can call foods "calorie-free" if they have fewer than 5 calories per serving. So calorie-free artificial sweeteners such as Equal and Sweet'N Low actually have about 4 calories in a packet. Sugar-free gum clocks in at 5 calories a stick. And the trickiest label? Cooking sprays such as Pam are composed almost entirely of fats, but are "calorie-free" because a serving size is so small. A one-second spray contains about 7 calories. But don't sweat these hidden calories: Coffee with Equal beats coffee with a doughnut; chewing gum appears to actually burn calories; and the 7 calories that you'll get from Pam are much better for your diet than butter is.

calorie 0

Selective hearing, selective seeing, can that be a pit fall? When you think fat-free do you forget the calories? When I see the word free anywhere in food my mind tricks me into thinking I can count it as a free food. If I am on a calorie-count tangent I seem to forget the calories in the minute items I may use. I'll list them today but go over the article I read tomorrow because I'm on my way to go somewhere this morning.

Artificial sweetener

Sugar-free gum

Cooking sprays

mad at me

I'm such a big (huge) baby. I need to grow up and mature. Forget the instant gratification. Always crying for that comfort zone. I started a low carb vigil. Not seeing the results fast enough I became discouraged. Up late at night, my most vulnerable time, I rebelled and ate four servings of dumb pudding. Not good, I would have rather had a cheeseburger! I threw a real tantrum for two days in the high carb zone. Today I get on the scale and have gained two pounds. Believe me if I named all of the no-nos for the last three days, you'd bet the odds would be in favor of a much higher weight gain. Twenty-nine sugar items, just because my stick wouldn't turn pink!!!!!!!!!!!

protein

Protein acts as a kind of metabolic catalyst.

Protein burns itself up very readily.

Protein stimulates the rapid metabolizing of other foods.

Protein provides for the body's perpetual manufacture of enzymes.

Protein daily can avoid hormone shortages.

calorie value

Calorie values per gram:

Fat/Oil - 9 Calories

Carbohydrate - 4 Calories

Protein - 4 Calories

Alcohol - 7 Calories

hooray

I lost 6.25 pounds. That helps keep me motivated to loose again next week. What did I do different from last week? I had too much salty food the week before and my feet and legs were swollen so I did take a water pill and I did do a cleansing with a fasting. Aside from that, I drank my eight glasses of water, took my vitamins, ate salad, went back to the weight room on the bike, stopped eating by 6:30 pm, and said no a couple of times to food and sweets when offered. I even wore my heavy shoes and clothes at weigh-in. What? Have I turned over a new leaf? Don't get over confident, self, there is still another week coming up with too too many temptations. I think it's time to add my food journal to my tally marks. I'll have to think of a few more modifications for this week to incorporate into my program. I even plan to post shorter blog entries.

stint

Well as usual, I only stuck to the fasting for one day instead of two. I prepared something to eat at 9:30 pm just waiting for the 10:30 pm internal alarm to go off so I could stuff my mouth. As I get older it is harder to fast for 24 hours. I did manage to lose five pounds with five more to lose before my weigh-in on Tuesday. I wanted to do the low carb for one week to give me that boost. As I review my food choices in the house, I see that they are limited and carby. Even my vitamin regimen is carb laden without the satisfaction of chewing food. That's okay, it is a slow start, but I'm in my resolution zone. I need to get a buddy system to keep me competitive and determined to be the Top Gun (I liked that movie.)

One of the most important factors influencing your weight-loss success is your belief in your ability to follow through and do it this time for sure. Perfection is not as important as perseverance! So long!

fasting

No sense in telling you how I managed to gain ten pounds in one week. I need for myself, to do now a quick body cleanse. In that way, I fast for at least one day or two if I can hold out. I did so well for the whole month of Novenber and December in keeping my weight at an even keel. I will drink all the water I can hold, which is hard to do for me. I'm always running to the ladies room. It takes four days for my body to digest meat, I am loaded down by sugar and salt, and I am slightly addicted again to caffeine and chocolate, and my feet and legs are swollen, and last but not least I have been bouting with headaches and very low plunges in energy. I think those are all good reasons to put myself in check right away and start over again this new year and get back on track with caring about my health, weight, and resolutions. I hope I don't get weak and funkify (to retreat fearfully) because I think I am always doomed to be fat. Till we meet again!

sugar

Sugar (which I love) is a link between fatigue, cholesterol, belly fat, and diabetes.

Fatigue: Sugar highs are inevitably followed by lows. "When blood sugar is low, you want to eat or take a nap," notes Dr. Pescatore.

Cholesterol: Studies at the Medical College of Wisconsin and elsewhere have linked excess insulin and high triglyceride levels.

Belly fat : A low-sugar diet helps reduce levels of the hormone insulin, a good thing since insulin had been linked time and again to excess abdominal fat.

Diabetes: In one famous study of nurses, those with the highest sugar intake were most likely to develop adult onset diabetes.

jaded/sleepless

Who hasn't had a night of less than six hours of sleep or even less than five? It's easy to become exhausted by overwork or just plain stressed, a real energy drainer. A tip for the following morning may help you make it through what seems to be a long day. Move around abit; (stairs, stretch, run in place, walk farther from car, skip, jump rope) anything to rev up circulation which will speed up your metabolism and trigger the release of adrenaline. Lunchtime have a chef's salad with meat and cheese for ample levels of tyrosine, an amino acid that increases alertness. The complex carbs in the vegetables provides a steady supply of glucose for energy. Midafternoon take five minutes to connect to the good in your life; (make a call, e-mail, meditate, listen to music you like, tell a family member how much you love them, get or give a hug to someone who looks like they need one) doing some good for others also will always have rewards and will boost your mood. That night don't short change yourself again with enough of zzzs, instead turn in an hour early! For me to work a diet it takes a lot of effort and concentration, therefore, not having enough of the proper sleep and rest will throw a monkey wrench in the whole program for the following day. A lot of times how I feel affects what I eat. Have you ever said out loud I don't know what I feel like eating. I rest my case! I'm going to skedaddle.

hurdle

It hasn't been a week yet since I've renewed my resolutions for this coming year. Already, there is a snag in my intentions. I went back to the small weight room to recapture my enthusiasm for being more active, to burn more calories in the form of fat. I stopped in yesterday and today to ride the cycle and it was so busy I was lucky to cram in 5 to 15 minutes. I felt the desire but the opportunities were very very limited and my patience was wearing thin. I'll try again next Tuesday but I feel I may have to find another source for activity that accommodates my limitations. Tonight is a meeting of people and goodies, here we go again. Same old, same old. How can I turn my life around when my surrounding circumstance are stagnant? I'm a firm believer that behavior modification will stop the monotony and cause one to make a change in their life styles. Something like this; ask yourself what kind of changes are doable for you, identify your bad eating habits, recognize mistakes, know your eating triggers, and use every trick in the book you've ever read about for diets until you come up with a healthy plan that works for you. Don't stay on a diet for more than two weeks that is only to give you the jump start with success, that we all seem to need. I guess I'll try, after the weekend of course, to cut way back on my carbs. That is something I should be doing anyway because I am a borderline diabetic. I also am a big (really big) fan of visual aids. I'm going back to listings, tally counts, journaling, graphs, pictures (of me that I hate), and little sticky note reminders all in view everywhere I look or go. Let there be no getting a break from it. It's do or die (sooner than later.) AVE!

facts

The hubbub in a nut shell, out there in the world around me, is all about losing weight to be healthy. How about the health of family members that have no need for that New Years Resolution? Good health is more than just losing weight to be within a normal range for a set group. Here are some facts about keeping the family healthy also.

Any addiction, such as; food, alcohol, drugs, sex, or gambling, all can wound the body, mind, spirit, and family unity.

Cholesterol build up often begins in childhood.

A newborn may be mentally and physically affected if the mother was nutrient-deficient during her pregnancy.

Many children have been poisoned by taking an overdose of five iron supplements or iron-containing multivitamins made for their parents, which contains more than 30 mg of iron.

Fat fuels a baby's growth especially brain development under the age of 2.

In preparation for pregnancy prolonged high intake of fluorine may cause skeletal abnormalities.

Each time an obese man feels rejected or hurt, he needs "emotional food of love and admiration" to compensate for his enormous lack of self-respect. Often undervaluing himself, he immediately converts his needs to "oral food" as fulfillment.

Married women on a diet tend to feel that their goal weight should be what they weighed when they got married which is an imponderable expectation!

Secondhand smoke puts children at risk for ear infections, asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, and SIDS.

Our favorite dish to eat was influenced by our families and a man may ask his wife to continue to make it.

Obesity is not inherent. Leanness is a more likelihood of inherence.

Prolonged childhood obesity has a bad prognosis for lifelong weight problems.

The rule of thumb for the risk of diabetes doubles for each 20 pounds of fatness. Men and women with body fat concentrated around the waist, even a moderate amount, run a relatively high risk for contracting diabetes and heart disease.

When one knows nothing of nutrition, and eats merely from ignorance, habit, and learned predudices, there is a steady decrease in physical and often mental performance as the years of youth go by.

When people get past their twenties, the immune system begins to lose some of its effectiveness. Is starts slowly going downhill unless we take corrective measures. That includes multivitamins, proper nutrition, and exercise.

Children are sensitive to the harmfull effects of chemicals so don't give herbs or supplements to them because most of the research has been done on adults.

water

You can live longer without food than you can live without water. Water is like liquid gold in our bodies. What diet doesn't include the mainstay of at least eight glasses of water a day? Many successful weight managers share one common weight management secret--drinking plelnty of water, ie:

Water quenches your thirst without adding calories.

Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. A glass of water can sometimes make hunger pangs go away.

Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps fill you up so you eat less and still feel full.

Water helps improve metabolism, thereby increasing your body's ability to burn fat.

Water helps remove by-products created by the breakdown of fat tissue when you diet.

Water is necessary for optimal performance when exercising and helps keep your energy level up.

misc.

FACT: Plunger style expresso contains diterpenes, oil componds, that can raise blood cholesterol. Not found in American style filtered coffee.

JOKE: Diet time, if you've ever found you spend a significant amount of time going from the first to the second floor on an escalator.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Every temptation has a choice attatched to it.

safety zone

All last year I dabbled in losing weight and gaining and losing weight. I made my resolutions, I incorporated small changes, and now I will psych myself up for resistance. The last two days I stayed in my safety zone and avoided four opportunities to eat to my hearts content. Which for me is a self-indulgent pleasure, receiving instant gratification, and acting oblivious to consequences that are felt and seen in the near future; let's call that all, overeating with food amnesia. I love it and my mouth waters just thinking about food, junk, and second and third helpings. I need to think and speak thinner if I want to be thinner. If it works for me to be in control by staying away from the triggers that make me binge, then so be it! I am still on turkey and vegetables and international coffees. I haven't seen a drastic change in the scale's wavering arm but it will show up at my weigh-in on Tuesday. I am resilient, I have survived my past childhood adversities and my latter drawn-out occasions for situations of duress. In comparison this endeavor should be a piece of cake (oops) a slice of 7 grain sprouted bread. I can smell the success in the air. One step at a time, one day at a time, one pound at a time, one mistake to hurdle past, then, stay in the right direction by keeping it all doable! I'm on my way! Out, that is.