90 Day Challenge: Day 1

It's been 2 years since I posted.  I have to be honest, I just spent 30 minutes just trying to log into this blog, so I'll cut to the chase -- I'm throwing caution to the wind and thrusting upon myself a 90 day challenge.

90 DAYS!

I actually leave for vacation in 89 days so that elusive 90th day will happen while I'm on vacation.

Hurrah!

I literally decided about 45 minutes ago that I was doing this.  And here is why ...

I see I haven't logged in or blogged since 2015.  That's because I've done nothing but gain weight since 2013.  I could probably gives you lists of health problems and job problems and life problems that helped me along that path.  And you know what?  I've learned that they're always going to be there in some way, shape, or form, so I'm really tired of using that as an excuse.  The fact of the matter is that I haven't really felt good about how I've looked since 2013.  And it's been since 2009 since I've felt GREAT about the way I look.

And that's not good.

Is 90 days going to get me there?  No.  Since 2009, I've gained 60 pounds.  That's a lot.  Some of it I couldn't help and some of it I could.  So I'm going to get rid of it one pound at a time.  I'm doing the 90 thing just because I really like challenges. . . . . clearly.  And also because I'm going on vacation and have to wear a bathing suit ... ugh.

Here are there parameters:

1.  Workout 6 days out of 7
2.  Eat between 1400-1500 calories
3.  Eat as cleanly as possible
4.  Take measurements and pictures every 30 days

That's it.

Today's Day 1

Not Getting Enough Magnesium

Magnesium.

I'd bet money that most people have at least heard of magnesium.  I definitely had before I started supplementing with it last year.  But what I didn't know, was how much I needed it.

Magnesium is responsible for over 300 metabolic reactions in the human body.  Yes, 300!!  Some of those include: muscle function, proper heart rhythm, normal blood pressure, hormone regulation, and it can even help with insulin resistance.  And as many as 80 percent of Americans are deficient.  Crazy right?

I had never thought to supplement with magnesium until I started working with my integrative practitioner last year.  And it didn't take long until I was spouting the benefits of it to everyone I knew.


So how do you know if you need it?

There are actually a TON of symptoms (just type magnesium deficiency into google to find them all).

But here are a few:

-anxiety
-facial ticks
-lethargy
-impaired memory and cognitive function
-irregular heartbeat
-irritability
-loss of appetite

And like everything else in life, they are also symptoms of at least ten other things as well.

So I'm going to tell you my Top 5 things magnesium has helped me with.

1.  Sleep. 

I'm not a good sleeper.  Actually, once I'm asleep, I sleep like the dead, it's the falling asleep that I don't do too well with.  Well it turns out Magnesium is actually a natural sleep aid.  And for me, it is really effective.  About 1-2 hours after I take it, I just get all relaxed and ready to sleep.  And not just relaxed, I get really drowsy. 

2.  Muscle Tension - particularly in the upper back and shoulders

Ever since I was a teenager I have had a tight neck and shoulders.  And without fail, at least 2 times a year, I have to go see my "back guy".  He's actually this amazing massage therapist who does therapeutic work on me because I have so much tension in my back and neck.  I started noticing about 3 years ago that it was getting worse than usual and where before, I would only have to go in for 2 appointments, I was starting to need 3 or more.  Fast forward to last year.  I started supplementing with magnesium and I did feel relief.  It wasn't an overnight miracle or anything but my back, neck, and shoulder muscles absolutely started relaxing more.  I had less headaches and less back pain.  My therapist even commented on how he has been seeing me less! 

3.  PMS and Hormonal Imbalances

I've relegated you all with tales of my hormonal imbalances.  Well as it turns out magnesium helps those out too.  Magnesium is actually involved in the manufacturing of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone so as you can imagine it's pretty important in helping to keep those balanced.  Ever crave chocolate during PMS?  It might be because 1 square of 70-80% Dark Chocolate has about 24% of your daily value for magnesium.  Supplementing magnesium can help relieve PMS symptoms like headaches, bloating, fluid retention, and sugar cravings.  So yes, definitely eat your chocolate.  Dare I say you actually NEED it?  As for me.  In April of 2014, I had my hormones tested and I had an excess of estrogen and almost no progesterone OR testosterone.  After a careful protocol to get those improved which INCLUDED magnesium supplementation, as of July 2015, my numbers are now normal.  Or as my practitioner exclaimed "your numbers no longer look like that of a menopausal woman!!".  Which is awesome cause I'm only 37. 

4.  Insulin Resistance

I have trouble with blood sugar regulation and the dreaded insulin resistance.  And some studies have shown that low magnesium levels have been found in those with high insulin.  I don't have some crazy tale how magnesium has completely cured me or anything, BUT it is part of my get better protocol and so far I've only seen improvements. 

and finally ..

5.  Constipation

I've never been very regular in this area.  Like never ever.  But constipation is another sign of low magnesium.  It's also a sign of hypothyroidism which I also have. So as you can imagine, I was probably a prime candidate for supplementing with magnesium.  And for me, it did help things.  And you probably already knew magnesium was good for constipation because that's exactly what the constipation relief drug Milk of Magnesia is.  Again, magnesium is the relaxation mineral.  So you know, it relaxes!

So there you have it.  It's definitely something to consider if you're dealing with any of the magnesium deficiency symptoms.

I take Pure Encapsulations magnesium glycinate.  And I personally take between 360 - 480mg nightly.  And when I was starting out I was taking as much as 600mg nightly.



For more info on magnesium and supplementing, check out Dr. Hyman's post here.

Blood Sugar Solution Update

This update is long overdue but I've been on vacation and you know how that can just turn your life upside down.

Before I get to the update, let me recap my whole blood sugar situation.  I had followed the Blood Sugar Solution to the letter (food wise) from mid-March to the end of May.  That's when my blood sugar dropped the most (19 points) and I also dropped around 13 pounds. 

Starting in June, I slowly transitioned into one of the suggested strategies outlined at the end of Dr. Hyman's book.  I continued to eliminate gluten, dairy and refined sugar.  I was, however, mostly grain free.  Meaning 70-80% of the meals I had were grain free.  I did allow myself honey, maple syrup, and stevia which I usually used in cooking.  

I cooked easily 90% of everything I ate.  If I went out to eat it was either Hugo's (they list all of their ingredients on their website) or sushi (pretty easy to maneuver).  And on special occasions, I would also order from this local Thai place around the corner from my apartment.  My fiance (who's half-Thai by the way) went to talk to them about some of their ingredients and it turns out, one of my favorite dishes passed the gluten challenge (yellow curry).  I tried not to eat this too frequently because I'm well aware of how Thai food and sugar go hand in hand.  

I also started weight training (Drop 2 Sizes) June 1st.
So at the end of July I had a follow up appointment with my doctor.  My blood sugar had only dropped one more point.  My doctor was happy with that but I had hoped for lower because it still was at high normal.  I also hadn't dropped any more weight. 


We surmised that perhaps my weight training offset any changes in scale weight due to muscle gain because while I hadn't lost any weight I HAD lost one jeans size.  She had me keep my diet the same and we instead focused on some things to help my hormones a little more.



From July to mid-September, I continued to eat 100% gluten and dairy free, and I was eating around 60-70% grain free.  And I stayed away from the refined sugar.

As you can see, I started really strict and with time loosened the reigns.  It's really hard to maintain that level of discipline for an extended period of time because it is VERY restrictive.  And while I wasn't in that crazy restrictive mode, I was doing pretty great by comparison. 

 I had another appointment with my doctor last week.  We went over the usual but I still haven't lost any weight since May.  She wasn't happy about that either.  So we discussed the last 6 months to see what we could come up with.

I log my food everyday using Loseit and they have this great tool where you can see 30 day averages of your calories and macros.  So I looked at my calories and carbs from March to April and from April to May.  Then I compared each subsequent 30 days.  What I found was that while my calories were consistent across the board, my carbs were not.  In those first 2 months I was averaging around 85 grams of carbs per day.  And then after May, it starting creeping up.  In June it was up to 100 grams, then 125 grams, then 150+ grams. 

So she suggested I go down to 80 net carbs (total carbs minus fiber count).  The nurse drew my blood to check my insulin, blood sugar, and thyroid levels.  She also put in a test to check for something called a MTHFR mutation.  It may or may not be inhibiting my weight loss and I may or may not have it.  So, if I end up having it I'll let you know.

So as of right now, I'm really trying to focus on keeping within that carb count to see if maybe that's the magic spot for me.  It's low but not crazy low - completely doable in my opinion.  Yesterday was my first day and I hit it easily.  I'm also still gluten and dairy free.  And it looks like I ended up completely grain free too.  That's something that's also pretty easy when the carb count is that low.  I don't like to "waste" my carbs on grains. 

Yesterday's Menu:

B:  almond flour pancakes with sliced strawberries and bacon
L:  stuffed poblano peppers with chicken and salsa
D:  lettuce wrapped sliders with sweet potatoes fries and watermelon


  

The Secret to Eating Healthy

Today I sat down to eat my lunch.  It was a very simple salad.  Some greens, carrots, red pepper, grape tomatoes, poached chicken topped with a lovely vinaigrette I made with extra virgin olive oil and this amazing balsamic vinegar from a local store in Sedona, AZ.

Wanna see it?

Ok, so I've already eaten most of it but look how nice and colorful it is.

And as I was sitting eating my salad I had an epiphany.  Eating healthy isn't always easy and sometimes you do it because it needs to be done.  I know I've mentioned before how my co-workers like to comment on my food and how they wish they could eat more like me.

Well, the truth is, I don't always like what I eat.  The truth is, sometimes I'd RATHER be eating what they're eating.  But I don't for 2 reasons:

1.  My body does not forgive easily for food indiscretions.  If I stray too far from my regimented eating, then my body strikes back at me and boy is it ugly. 

2.  In my quest for gaining health, I've seen, heard, and read too much.  I know what that bad food is doing to my insides.  I know that in the long run, bad food just isn't doing me any favors health wise.  And if I TRULY want to get better (and I do, I really do) -- and not just lose weight but feel NORMAL again, then I must give my body as much help as possible.

And so I sat eating my pretty salad.  There was no pleasure in any of it.  I was literally eating to get rid of my hunger.  I was eating to fuel my body.  And THAT'S the secret to how I eat healthy.  I know that in order to feel truly good about myself, sometimes I have to make the sacrifice.  Sometimes it's about forgoing what I want in order to give my body what it needs.

And it's not all the time.  Most of the time it's really easy.  But on those days when almost anything else sounds better than what I've prepared for myself, those are the days I just dig in and remind myself that it's just fuel for the fire.

 

Drop 2 Sizes: Phase 2 (Again)

Third time is the charm right?

Yes, this is my third time trying to Drop 2 Sizes.

My first try was in January of 2014.  I had just gained 30 pounds out of the blue and was feeling pretty lousy so I was desperate for something to work.  Alas, I didn't make it all the way thru.

I then started working with my current doctor and was diagnosed with hormonal imbalance, hypothyroid, adrenal stuff, deficiencies etc ...  So my brilliant self thought it was a good idea to try again.   My second attempt was June of 2014.  I was only about 2 months into my treatment.  I finished.  I remember it being underwhelming.  In retrospect, I don't see how I could of thought I'd get ANY sort of results because I can now see how bad off I was.  But according to that post, I lost inches. I did NOT, however, lose 2 sizes.  Not even close.

And then finally I decided to try AGAIN.  Tonight will start my second week of Phase 2.  I can tell that this time I'm getting more out of it.  There are moves that I can do without modifying this time.  In fact, the first move of the first workout was one that I had to modify EVERY TIME during the previous 2 tries.  So I was actually SHOCKED when I started this time and didn't have to modify it at all.  And I think that's because I have made that much progress with my doctor.  Thank God.  So I really feel like this go round will be the first legitimate try. 

I took starting measurements and pictures back in June.  I haven't posted any updates yet because I haven't taken any update measurements at all.  I've thought about doing it but honestly, I've been afraid.  This may sound weird, but I've been feeling SO GOOD lately, I was afraid that if I took measurements I would see that nothing had changed.  And I didn't want to do anything that might make me feel bad.  But as I explained in my last post, I've been on a plateau and I believe now is the time to at least take the measurements to make sure I'm moving in the right direction.   Because you can't change what you don't measure.  Right?

Right.

Oh and one last tiny, little thing.  I just placed an online order over the weekend for a new pair of jeans because my old ones ripped.  I ordered them one size smaller.

WHAT?!?!

:)

July Fireworks and Working Out!

Hello world.  I hope everyone had a spectacular July 4th.

I don't know how it is where you live, but in Los Angeles there are just way too many people who get their hands on fireworks.  And not those pew pew tiny fireworks, those BIG BOOM BOOM fireworks.  And they are usually drunk and not qualified to handle such items.

My assistant's apartment almost burned down because of said people.  Thank goodness both he and all his worldly possessions made it out alive.  Seriously people, cool it with the fireworks.  You will be JUST as patriotic without them.



Lots of things to talk about on this fine Wednesday morning.  First lets talk about my weight.  I am still holding steady.  In fact, I still pretty much weigh the same as I did at the beginning of May.  And I'll be honest, I'm heart broken.  Now, I'm trying to not let it get to me because I'm aware there are many things that still need to be fixed in my body, but I thought I was making headway.  In fact, I felt like I DESERVED to make headway.  But alas, life had other plans.  In any case, sitting and pouting will absolutely get me nowhere so lets try to troubleshoot what is happening.

Lets look at some of the factors:

Food wise, I'm eating the same things and save the 4th of July weekend where I splurged, I have been eating around 100 grams of net carbs per day since February.  Calories are roughly the same, protein and fat are roughly the same, I'm still avoiding the foods I've been avoiding and everything.  So I don't think food is the problem. 

Workout wise, I'm STILL doing the Drop 2 Sizes program.  In fact, today starts Phase 2 week 2 and I feel like I'm really killing it this time.  Probably because I have more energy.  In any case, I really feel like I'm getting stronger.  So perhaps the plateau is a building muscle thing. 

Health wise I hit a little snafu.  In June I started to feel pretty lousy again.  Old symptoms were creeping back in too frequently (fatigue, sleeping problems, hair problems etc ..).  So after a dialogue with my doctor, we realized I was not taking enough progesterone.  In fact, I was taking 75% less than what she wanted me on.  That's a big difference.  I was taking 25mg and she had wanted me on 100mg.  She sorted it out with the pharmacy and I'm one week into my new dose.  So far so good.

Now when I lay it all out on the line like that it just becomes glaringly obvious doesn't it?  So what's probably happening is that I'm gaining a little bit of muscle which has offset any real loss on the scale AND with my meds a little messed up, my body hasn't been working as efficiently as it could.

I have to be honest, I hadn't really put 2 and 2 together until I just typed that all out.  Probably should have thought that thru a little more before I had my pity party.

Ok, so here's what I'm going to do:  I'm going to take some measurements.  If I HAVE been gaining some muscle then I should be down.  And secondly, I'm just going to give it some time.  Which in my opinion is one of the WORST THINGS EVER.  I don't know about you but there is nothing worse than when my doctor tells me "you just have to give it some time to work".  There is no comfort in those words because all I hear is "There is nothing you can do.  You have no control over this".    Those are not the words you want to tell a control freak, which I am.

But that's what I have to do. 

One Month Check In

It's been ANOTHER month.


It wasn't the craziest month but I did get thru a major hurdle.

HOUSEGUESTS.


I don't know why but sometimes I find it hard to eat how I eat around other people.  It's not that I feel tempted to eat something that I shouldn't, but sometimes I find that I have to actually DEFEND myself.  I've oft found myself in situations with food pushers and food preachers.  Food pushers are people who think you need something else on your plate.  And it's usually something fatty, sugary, or fried.  Food preachers are people who like to tell you what is wrong with what you're eating and that if you just eat what they tell you, then all your problems will be solved.

Seriously folks, I really just want to eat my food in peace.  I KNOW sometimes I don't eat the most exciting things.  And in all honesty, sometimes I even get BORED with some of my food.  But I'm eating it because it's helping me become healthier.  That's all.  It's not a competition.  A co-worker said to me the other day in the lunch room that every time he looks at my meals it makes him feel bad about what he eats.  I told him to not feel that way because for all he knows he just caught me on a "good day".  And then I went back to my desk and thought about how food makes people feel LOTS of things.  I wasn't having a "good day" with my lunch, I was having a NORMAL day with my lunch.  But I didn't want him to feel bad.  And then here was someone who actually felt bad about himself just by looking at what I was eating.   Crazy right?

Food is powerful stuff.  But I have gone astray.  My point was that I was having houseguests and so for the first time since my lifestyle change, I had to plan for someone else's meals.  I really don't like that.  I'm not a food pusher.  I know I eat healthy and that I should want the rest of my family to follow suit but I don't want to make anyone feel bad about themselves.  Change has to come from within.  And I believe that the changes I've made in my life have been radical and they've only stuck thus far because I was ready.  And many of you may disagree with me but I am firmly aware that dishes that I make and LOVE do NOT taste good to others.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that I think the FOOD doesn't taste good.  I just believe that my taste buds went through a major overhaul when I started eating clean.  Things taste differently to me.  Fruit is sweeter, salt is saltier, and broccoli now tastes like ice cream.  Ok, maybe not that broccoli thing but you get where I'm going.  So I didn't really want to try to cook much.  And while eating "paleo" at restaurants isn't that big of a deal for most people, my pesky gluten intolerance does NOT allow for me to be willy nilly about just any old meat and vegetables.

Well, long story short.  I was successful AND unsuccessful.
First my successes:
1.  I managed to sneak our favorite (and very safe) restaurant into the mix TWICE
2.  On a laid back night my guests ordered pizza and while they were waiting on delivery I whipped up my favorite pizza so I could enjoy pizza with them.
3.  SNACKS.  I ate small snacks throughout the day so if they wanted to eat something special that I couldn't have I was covered.
4.  HONESTY.  I would check out the menu to places that were suggested and if I could find ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that seemed safe I was honest and asked for another suggestion.  And you know what?  They really didn't mind.

My FAILS:
1.  GETTING TOO COMFORTABLE.  At one restaurant I ordered my meal without asking any questions and when the food came, my gut was telling me to ask before I ate.  I ignored my gut and I ate.  I got SICK.


Actually the GETTING TOO COMFORTABLE reared it's ugly head one other time but I was lucky in that the questionable food ended up being safe.

You see, when it's just me, I'll research and ask questions and if I doubt anything, I'll pass on it.  But when I'm in front of people, I tend to just go with the flow.  Maybe it's because I wanted to be a good host or maybe I just wanted to feel "normal" again.  Either way, it's something I will work on for the future.


Other than the one sickness, it was a VERY successful time.  Everyone had a really great time.  I also have a big family vacation coming up in September and now I feel way more confident about it.

In other updates ....

I ended the month of May with a bit of a plateau weight wise.  I didn't gain and I didn't lose.  And on June 1st, I revisited my Drop 2 Sizes workout.  I guess I just felt like I was ready to give it another go.  Today is the start of Phase 1 Week 2.

Until next time ...

The Blood Sugar Solution continues ... Blood Tests are IN!

Lots to talk about.  So I apologize in advance for the length.

It's been just about 3 weeks since last I posted.

First of all, I can't believe it's been almost 50 days since I started the initial 10 day Blood Sugar Solution.  It's crazy how time flies.

So as I said in my first post, I had started the Blood Sugar Solution mainly because of suspected PCOS, insulin resistance, and my high blood glucose test results.  Secondary reasons of course include weight loss, hormone balancing, and health but I initially bought this book for the sole reason of getting my blood glucose levels DOWN.

And as you know the initial 10 days were a success.  Well, as far as the things I can measure at home they were a success.  I lost 4 pounds, a good amount of inches and I felt great.  It was around this time that I received a book in the mail that I had forgotten about.  I had signed up via a promotion months ago for a free book by Dr. Sara Gottfried (whom I love) called "The Hormone Reset Diet".  As I have stated previously, I have Estrogen Dominance by way of low progesterone.  I've known this for over a year now because my initial test results with my practitioner showed this.  But we didn't try to combat it til recently because my thyroid was the first thing on the list and it took us almost a year to get that at a manageable place.  Anyway, so I'm in the midst of tackling my blood sugar when I get this book and I'm excited because in my gut I just KNOW that if I could get my hormones balanced it would make a world of difference.

But I was conflicted because I had committed to doing The Blood Sugar Solution (from hence forth to be known as TBSS) until my next blood test.  Well imagine my surprise when I sit down and open her book and the foreword is by Dr. Mark Hyman (author of TBSS) so I'm hopeful that perhaps I'm already on the right track.  And then as I dig deeper and deeper into the book I realize I'm already doing like 99% of what she suggests for hormone balancing.  And as far as diet was concerned, it was almost spot on with what TBSS was having me do.  I was super excited because that meant what I had already been working on was doing double duty for me.  It was helping my blood sugar AND my hormones.  Not to mention that my doctor had JUST prescribed me a bio-identical progesterone cream.  Now all I needed was time to work it's magic.

And then came the end of my first 30 days.  I hit 10 pounds lost.  That's huge for me.  Granted, that big loss of 4 pounds in the first 10 days really helped make that number so big but still, I was ecstatic.  But I knew I still had another 3 weeks to go until my blood test and so I stayed the course.

Those weeks went fast.  I had my blood drawn on April 24th and then we immediately went on vacation the next day.  We took a trip to the Grand Canyon and Sedona because neither one of us have ever been.  It's a pretty long drive (7-8 hours) but totally worth it.  Seriously.  It was awe-inspiring.

And even though my blood had been drawn, I STILL stayed the course.  It wasn't the easiest thing on earth but it was definitely beyond doable.  Especially because my fiance has been doing this with me the ENTIRE TIME (FYI he has lost TWENTY pounds so far and NO he is not overweight).  I packed LOTS of snacks and did some googling on restaurants so I knew what I was in for.  It worked out great.  The only thing I had to make tiny exceptions for was sugar.  I allowed it in certain foods because I thought it was for the greater good.  For example, I packed us some organic beef jerky that was gluten free but it had been cured with sugar.  I also packed larabars, sweet potato chips, baby carrots, homemade ham spread, grain free granola, lots of water, and unsweetened almond milk.  And when we got there we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were a lot of healthy options everywhere.  We only went to restaurants for dinner and it was easy enough to find steak/chicken and vegetables.  Menus were even marked for gluten!  In Sedona, we hit up a Whole Foods and replenished our snacks for our drive home.

That brings us to May and I'm STILL on point with food.  Besides the sugar I allowed on our trip, the only other "discretion" I had was on May 2nd.  We went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron (we are HUGE Marvel fans) and in celebration of the movie, we took some non-GMO popcorn (grain) that we bought from Whole Foods.   Yeah, that last sentence there makes me sound like such a hipster but I kid you not, we felt like we were sneaking handfuls of candy from the candy jar.

And then finally, I had my doctor's appointment on May 5th.  I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous.  I had been working so hard on getting my blood sugar down.  And all I could think the day before was "What if it didn't work?".  Seriously, crazy nervous.  I didn't care that at this point I was now down 11.2 pounds I just wanted my blood sugar to be down.

And it was.  It went down NINETEEN POINTS.  That's HUGE!  I do need it to go down just a little bit more to a place that she's more comfortable with but she feels CONFIDENT that it can be done.  My insulin also went down.  In fact, almost ALL of my numbers were rocking the normal range.  And not high-normal, NORMAL-normal.  Well, ALMOST all of my numbers.  My testosterone is a little high but she feels like that is a result of my progesterone cream and it should resolve itself in a couple of weeks.  And besides, she said what I'm doing already is what she would tell me to do to get it down otherwise.  So the plan now is to wait THREE MONTHS til I see her again.  That's the longest we've gone between appointments in over a year.  Trust me, it's a good thing.

As for my diet, I told her what I had been doing and she agreed it was best to just keep on keeping on.  She said my insulin resistance is improving and the hope is that with more time under my belt with my diet I will eventually REVERSE it.  Can you imagine!!??  After that, she would adjust my diet for maintenance.

So there you have it.  I have 3 more months but I'm not worried one bit.  I'm so excited about my results that I'm hopeful for the future now.  I can honestly say that hasn't been the case for awhile.  Oh and since my doctor's appointment I've lost another 2 pounds.

So since I started TBSS on March 23rd, I've lost 13.2 pounds and dropped my blood sugar by 19 points. 

It's been crazy but honestly it's been worth it.  I'm always hesitant and nervous about the future but I'm going to do my best to keep at it because I SO want to see those numbers down even more when I get my next blood test in August.

I'll keep you posted!

10 More Days and 10 More Days and 10 More ....

Just a little update on my 10 days.

So, after my initial 10 days ended, I did another 10 days.  I followed the diet completely and did my walking workouts more often than not, and I lost 2 additional pounds. 

That puts me at 6 pounds lost since March 23.

So I figured I might as well keep going and decided to do ANOTHER 10 days.  So far, I'm 6 days in and I'm fluctuating around 1 pound lost.  I say fluctuating because in the last 3 days the scale has been doing up and down things and it hasn't settled on a number yet but I feel confident that I'll end the 10 days down more.  I HOPING for 2 pounds but I'll honestly be happy with any amount because, sadly enough, this is the most weight I've lost since I can remember. 

What have I been doing?  I've been following the diet about 99% of the time.  I've been eating grain, dairy, white potato/starchy vegetable and sugar free.  I say 99% because I have allowed for a tiny bit of honey to be used in a recipe I've been making the last 2 weeks or so.  I also just started eating sweet potatoes to help keep my carb count up.  Believe it or not I have been having a hard time eating ENOUGH carbs.  Never thought I'd say that.  Overall, as time goes on, I am NOT finding this hard at all.  Well, at least for right now I'm not.  All I know is that I'm so happy that something seems to be working that I'm more than willing to do this for however long it takes.

I've also been going on walks every week.  I'd say about 4 days a week I'll do a very fast, moderate effort 30 minute walk.  Just to give you an idea of intensity, they are usually with hills and require some effort.  It is not, however, the hardest workout I've ever done in my life.  My next step workout wise will be adding in some circuit training (think 30 day shred kind of workouts).  I'm hoping to start that either today or this weekend.

And that's it.  April 21st will be day 10 of my current cycle.  It will also be day 30 since I began.  I'll let you know what happens.  My goal is 8 pounds total!




 

The Blood Sugar Solution: 10 day detox Final Results

Yesterday was my 10th day of the detox.  And I'll tell you, I was so in the groove with this thing, that I hardly remembered that it was the "last day". 

So in 10 days, I lost 4.0 total pounds, 3 1/2 inches off my bust, 1.5 inches from my belly button, 1.5 inches from my hips, and 1/2 an inch from my thigh.

Those are the only areas that he instructs you to measure.  But I added 2 areas of my own, my natural waist (I'm naturally short waisted so my belly button is definitely not my waist) and my ribs (area right beneath bust).  Oddly enough, I lost ZERO inches from those 2 areas.  I say oddly enough, because I definitely felt like I had.

In all truthfulness, I did not do every protocol that he asked.  I tried very hard but there were a lot of steps each day and honestly I just didn't get to them all.  I wrote in a journal and did detox baths most of the time for the first half, but once the weekend came I was so busy I completely forgot about them.  I NEVER did the breathing exercises that he suggested mainly because I always remembered them right as I was falling asleep and at that point, I did not care.  I did NOT use any of his recipes because the few I did try, I did not like at all.  I also did not take every one of his prescribed supplements, particularly the PGX he pushes pretty hard.  My own NP has me on supplements and most of them are the ones he recommends but I didn't want to stray from anything she's doing just because a book told me to.  I also did not walk/exercise 30 minutes every day.

Now for the things I DID do.  I stuck to his dietary guidelines the entire time.  No sugar, no grains, no dairy, and no starchy anything.  For breakfast I did a detox shake.  For lunch, I typically did a salad or soup of my own making that followed his guidelines and for dinner I had protein and veggies.  I also got my 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  That part was easy because I usually always get this much sleep if not more.  I love my sleep.  I also had a support system.  My fiance did the entire thing with me even though he has zero problems with blood sugar or weight.  So if I had doubts or was having a bad day, I had someone to talk to.  And while I didn't do 30 minutes of walking every single day, I did do 30 minutes most days.

Conclusion?
I absolutely think that if you follow the diet protocol, get your sleep, and walk (or get exercise) when you can, you'll get results, whether it's feeling great, losing inches, or losing pounds.  Or maybe even all 3 (like me!).  Everything else that is required is definitely helpful especially if you are a person who is crazy stressed out but if all the work looks overwhelming just stick to those 3 and do your best with the other stuff. 


Now what?

At the end of the book, he recommends some strategies for once you finish the 10 days.  I've chosen the 'Super Advanced Plan' (a fancy name for what I've been doing the last 10 days).  So I will continue to avoid processed foods, sugar, dairy, gluten/grains, starchy vegetables, and most fruit (I'm allowed berries or kiwi in the morning).  I'm also supposed to continue with the 30 minutes of exercise, the breathing breaks, detox baths, journaling, tracking, hydration, 7-8 hours of sleep, and hefty list of supplements every day.

That's a lot of stuff right?  Let's see, I definitely want to do my best to get in 30 minutes of walking every day and to get my sleep so I will focus on those.  The breathing breaks, hydration and tracking stuff I probably won't worry with.  I don't like tracking my measurements every day because I tend to let that kind of stuff get inside my head.   The detox baths are awesome and help me sleep so I will try to get as many in as I can but I don't personally feel the need to have one every single night.  What's left?  Oh the journaling.  I didn't journal the whole 10 days the first time so I want to try to do that for the next 10 days.  In the book, each day he lists questions/topics for you to consider and to write about.  Some of them are very thoughtful subjects so I WOULD like to try to do that.  And finally, the supplements.  Again, I will only take what has been prescribed to me by my doctor.

And that's it.  I'll report back in 10 days so we can see what happens when you continue.  Hopefully it's good stuff.

The Blood Sugar Solution: 10 Day Detox

Hello internet.

I had no idea it's been 7 months since I posted.

So lets do some updates.

After I finished my Drop 2 sizes challenge I ran into a snag with my thyroid treatment.  During the months of September, October and the first half of November my body went haywire.  I hadn't changed anything with my prescription, supplements, diet or anything when I just started feeling kind of bad.  And then bad changed to horrible.  My hair started thinning/shedding, I required at least 2 naps a day just to make it to 8pm for bedtime, and my ears were ringing all the time.  Fun times right?

So mid November my doctor made some changes to my protocol.  I switched to a new brand of thyroid with a new dose, added high doses of certain vitamins and (knock on wood) by December I felt great.  Fast forward to February and while I was still feeling pretty good, I had ZERO weight loss and for the first time, the letters PCOS became apart of the conversation.  So we have now added progesterone cream to see if that will help improve things (I'm low).

Now, while most of my numbers are now ok, my blood glucose is not.  And with the PCOS conversation comes insulin resistance and all of the fun things that comes with that.

So I've been working on trying to get those numbers down with diet and exercise in order to avoid going on any other medication because I don't want any more pills.

Enter Dr. Mark Hyman and the Blood Sugar Solution. 

 
In a nutshell, I'm doing a 10 day detox to see if I can get my blood sugar under control.  That's all.  And while he calls it a detox it's really unlike any detox I've done.

Basically you drink a "detox shake" for breakfast (aka a whole foods smoothie), eat a whole foods lunch and then a whole foods dinner.    So basically you're just supposed to nourish yourself with lots and lots of vegetables, healthy fats, and proteins because there's no grains, no starchy vegetables (potatoes), no sugar (obv) and no dairy (hello Paleo).  The detox part I think comes from the other things he wants you to do:  detox bath every night (Epsom salt bath), writing in a journal, breathing exercises, walking 30 minutes every day, and taking supplements to support your body.  So by detox, it's clear he means detoxing from stress which I like.  I'm not a fan of those detox juice cleanses or fasts or anything.

Before I started I was already gluten free and refined sugar free (I still used coconut sugar or 100% maple syrup on occasion) but other than that I WAS still eating gluten free grains, dairy, and starchy vegetables, so I didn't have to make too many changes.  I'm usually dairy free anyways.

How's it going you ask?

Today is Day 5 so I'm actually already halfway done.  The first 5 days were just fine.  I avoided the usual withdrawal symptoms like headache and crazy fatigue because I had already cut out sugar and my body had already done that.  The only thing I experienced was just a TINY bit of fatigue.  But it wasn't anything that stopped me from doing anything. 

How's the food?

Well, I'm not a fan of the recipes he offers up in his book, but I'm quite satisfied with what I've been making (which meet all of the requirements).  Like I said before, it's pretty much just a strict version of Paleo.  I HAVE been drinking one of his recipes for the detox shake because it's pretty good AND it keeps me full all the way til lunch.  It's just a bunch of seeds, nuts, almond milk, coconut oil, and fruit.  Nothing too fancy.  Now look, it's NOT the most delicious smoothie I've ever had in my life (my fave used to be the orange dream machine from Jamba Juice - delicious!) but I LOVE that when I drink it I FEEL like I'm being nourished AND it keeps me full.  Lunches have been a big salad with protein and olive oil and vinegar for dressing or soup (I made 2 of his and honestly, I did not like them either).  Dinner has been chicken curry (he also has a recipe for this but I used my own which only differs in the spices), breakfast (eggs and such), or chicken/steak with vegetables.  Basically, everything tastes fine, I always have enough to eat and I'm not really experiencing any hunger.  All pluses if you ask me.

Any results so far?

Well, my stomach feels flatter, my energy is good and I'm sleeping well.  All good things in my book. And in four days I've lost 2.6 pounds which is nice.  What I find interesting is that in the month before I started, I had already cut out sugar AND had been limiting my carb intake to under 100g/day per my doctors orders, and I feel like I'm getting better/faster results doing this.  The crazy part is that I'm eating the SAME amount of calories and the SAME amount of carbs, protein, and fat.  Interesting right?

and finally ....

Will I continue past 10 days?

Probably.  I did this for my blood sugar and I'm not scheduled to get my blood taken for another 3 weeks and I REALLY want to see what kind of effect this way of eating has on my blood sugar.  At the end of the book, he gives you options for what to do when you come to the close of the 10 days.  There are 4 options but they are only minimally different.  My gut says it's best to just stay the course and see what happens.  Either way, come day 10, I'll report back and let you know what kind of results I got!

Drop 2 Sizes Results

Sorry it has taken me so long to get to posting my results.

I finished the Drop 2 Sizes challenge a couple of weeks ago and I ended up liking it a lot more this time around.  I really got into the lifting part and I definitely gained some strength.

I worked out every week usually 3-4 times but the average came down to just 3 times a week.  I made sure to lift heavy and upped my weights with each phase.

Just for an example on lifting, I started the program doing some squatting exercises with no weights - now I can easily do squats holding 40-50 lbs (probably more).  For shoulders, I would do single arm presses with a 5lb dumbbell, I just used a 20lb dumbbell last week.  Same with rows, started around 8lbs, can use a 20lb no problem now.

My measurements:

Beginning:
Chest:  45"
Ribs:  36"
Waist:  38 1/2"
Hips:  49"
Thigh:  27"
Knee:  19"
Left Arm:  13"


End:
Chest:  41"
Ribs:  34"
Waist:  35"
Hips:  45"
Thigh:  24"
Knee:  18"
Left Arm:  12"

Total Inches Lost:  -20.5"

So while I apparently lost quite a few inches, I've got to be honest, I really can't personally see that big of a difference in my after pics.  However, I do FEEL better than I did when I started.  I also gained strength, and I definitely can tell a difference in my clothing but mainly just my tops.  Due to my hormone problems, my belly fat is what increased what seems like 10-fold.  I was hoping that with all the work I've been doing with my doctor I would see a bigger difference in my belly and hips but alas I did not.  I did NOT lose a pants size of any kind.  And even though I have personal issues with my hormones right now, I think that even if everything was working properly, I would not have lost TWO pant sizes.

But there's hope, I am currently on a new regime from my doctor to try to get that belly fat to go away :)

It's quite the process.

Oh and as for scale weight, I lost 0.8 pounds.  

Like I said, I ended up really enjoying the lifting aspect of the DVDs.  So much that I am still doing the lifting.  In fact, right now I'm doing a combo of 30 day Shred and Drop 2 Sizes.  I'm doing 2 days of lifting from Drop 2 Sizes, and 3 days of 30 Day Shred a week.

I'm very excited to see my results for a couple of reason.  First, I'm working out 5 days a week.  This is truly amazing because when I started the Drop 2 Sizes three months ago, I could barely workout three days a week because I was so tired.  So my energy is clearly improving!  Secondly, there's just something about the 30 Day Shred that I love.  It's quick, simple, and the last time I did it I had some really good results so I'm excited to see what happens.  And lastly, with my new regime, I'm really hoping that this time I'll see some reduction in my HIPS.

Test Results and a Drop 2 Sizes Reboot

Hello world.

I got my test results back yesterday.  My thyroid numbers aren't moving so my dose is getting doubled.  I actually was expecting that to happen so it wasn't a shock.  I also found out that I am low in Vitamin D.  Like really low.  I thought that living in Southern California would have given me an edge with all the sunshine but alas, no.  So I'm also on a large dose of that.

I'm hoping that with getting my Vitamin D levels up my energy will also come back up because that would be super awesome.  I started supplementing with Vitamin D just under 2 weeks ago and I had noticed that my energy was slightly improved during my workouts.  Enough so that I actually WANTED to do them.  Maybe wanted is too strong of a word :)

 My doctor threw the Vitamin D test onto my blood work late last week to see where I was at and I'm so glad she did.  I'm not positive that's what caused the improvement in my energy but if it gets even better I'll be thrilled.

I'll keep you posted.


I also I told you all that I would try to revisit the Drop 2 Sizes challenge and I finally did.

Actually, I'm in the last half of phase 2 right now.  I started it about 6 weeks ago.  So you lucky folk will get to see what kind of results someone with hypothyroidism, fatigued adrenals, wonky female hormones AND low levels of Vitamin D will get :)

All I know is that if I get ANY sort of results, then all you normal people out there should be getting MAD results :)

And yes, I did lose inches at the end of phase 1.

I, of course, will post the numerical results when they come in.  I have just under 6 weeks to go I believe.

How is it going this time?

Much better.  The first time I attempted it, I was frustrated with the LACK of exercise.  But since then and the fallout of my energy and ensuing medical discoveries, lack of exercise is apparently what I needed.  Having to maintain 4 days a week of exercise was actually the absolute maximum I could handle.  In fact, there were at least 2 weeks that I could only handle 3 days.  But I am hopeful that with each week that passes I will gain more energy and will be able to add more days a week.  I really can't wait to feel like my old self again.

I'm not weighing myself at all.  The program tells you not to anyway.  Usually I cheat but I seriously have no desire to do so this time around.  I'm only taking measurements at the end of each phase.

I'm also not really following the food program outlined in her book.  I am on a strict gluten free diet (doctors orders due to thyroid) and besides, I feel pretty confident in my food choices.  I'm also still under doctors orders to keep calories between 1500 and 1700.  I personally prefer to err on the lower side of that but I don't always.  (She did a "body scan" thing with some machine in her office and calculated my calorie requirements based off my lean body mass.  The machine calculated me at a higher intake but she lowered it due to the hypothyroidism.)


And that's it for today kiddos.  Have a great weekend :)

I'm Still Here :)

Hello all.

I haven't written in awhile.  I'm a little ashamed to say that I haven't had it in me.  I've been going thru some tough times with figuring out my weight loss puzzle.

I wrote awhile back about going to see my primary doctor because I felt like my body wasn't working anymore.  In fact, everything I tried to do to lose weight was JUST.  NOT.  WORKING.

Boy I had no idea how badly my body wasn't working.

It's been almost 3 months that I've been working with my wonderful Functional Doctor and I've learned quite a bit.

First some backstory.  I've documented on here for quite some time all of my adventures in weight loss.  And in January of 2013, I wrote about how I tried an elimination diet and how I changed my  eating habits and how wonderful that was for me.  Well, it was wonderful.  I lost weight, lost even more inches and felt awesome.  I really did.  I felt truly awesome.  And then in March of 2013 I started having some weird pains.  I never really talked about that on here but I am now because it ended up being an important clue in my weight loss puzzle.

In March I started getting pelvic pain that gradually got so bad it can only be described as horrifying. REALLY long story short, I went to my gynecologist who really had no information for me but just to "wait and see".  That of course was very disheartening.  I waited a month and went back because things were not getting better.  She still didn't have any news for me.  She ran a bunch of tests but they said I was fine.  One thing we both decided on was that I was going to stop my birth control (Nuvaring) immediately.  I'll be honest even without the pain I was going to tell her I was stopping it because I had been having signs of low libido, severe tiredness, and other hormonal symptoms that made me think it was time to take a break.

Enter my own research.  I spent day and night looking for what could be causing this pain.  I ended up going to a uro-gynecologist who gave me an official diagnosis of urethral syndrome.  She put me on an antibiotic and said it may or may not work.  She also gave me valium.  She said if at the end of the antibiotic cycle if I was still in pain then I should try anti-depressants.

Seriously not what I wanted to hear.  I started doing even more research.  I went on forums, searched medical journals.  I found lots of people who could describe what I was feeling but nobody had a solution to the problem.  It took weeks but I found one little item that clicked something for me.  It was a physical therapist who was in my neighborhood.  I called her and she actually sat on the phone with me as I explained my situation.  It was August now and I had almost no hope.  She didn't hesitate to tell me to come in and that she knew exactly what was going on.

You'd think that would be enough to make me happy but it wasn't.  I literally had no hope.  So I got my OB/GYN to write me a prescription and went to see her.  Another long story short, she really did know what she was talking about.  It took weeks of therapy but she got me to a place where things were actually looking up.  Where I didn't feel the hopelessness.  And while she couldn't give me an official diagnosis what we decided together was that it had to do with my birth control.  The hormones in the BC made the muscles in my pelvic floor essentially stop working and so they got tight and that caused me to be in pain.  So when I stopped the BC and putting the hormones in my body the muscles decided to start working again which caused even more pain.  So with some therapy I had to reteach my muscles not to spasm.

And once my pain started subsiding that's when my body decided to start gaining as much fat as possible.  It was September of 2013.  I had been off of my BC for 4 months, I was eating the same foods, doing my workouts and no matter what I tried, I just kept gaining weight.

Months went by and eventually it was January 2014.  I had put on about 35 pounds.  Yes, 35 pounds in 3 months.  CRAZY.  And when I say I tried everything I really did.  I tried strict paleo, low carb, high carb, Insanity, exercising craziness.  And I kept gaining weight.

And that brings me to when I went to see my primary and when I found the Functional Doctor.

Now that you know all of that (sorry it was a lot) I'll bring you up to speed.  What my new doctor has found out is that my thyroid isn't working properly, my hormones are not within acceptable ranges, and my adrenal glands are being overworked.  And you know what all of that together equals?

Consistent weight gain.

It took months of tests but I have the answers in front of me.  And again, here I am with a "diagnosis" and I still have trouble finding my hope.  Because in order for my body to lose the weight and start feeling good again, these things need to be fixed.  And that takes time.  And good lord are things moving slowly.

Right now I'm on Armour (thyroid hormone) and a slew of nutritional supplements (seriously, I take about 7 different types of vitamins, minerals and herbs).  And it's just a waiting game.  I started the Armour about 6 weeks ago but we're just in the phase of finding the right dosage for me (which can take months and months).  Once we find the right dosage and get my thyroid levels moving in the right direction, we are going to look at my hormones and possibly add a progesterone cream.  But that's in the future.  As for my adrenals, I'm off coffee, in bed by 10pm, getting stress under control, sleeping in a blacked out room, and eating as clean as possible.  I'm also on adaptogens (herbs).

And it's been rough.  The worst part is that I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing and I continue to gain weight.  I'm so uncomfortable.  It's so weird to have outgrown everything in my closet.  I went up a jeans size.  My bathing suits don't even fit and they stretch!!

But there has been an upside.  Apparently going on thyroid hormone was the last piece of the puzzle to my pelvic pain.  I'm actually really happy about that.  While I had gotten it under control it never really went away and once I went on that it has been the best it's been.  Once I started noticing it I found the research that showed how they were related.

So what happened to me?

It actually was something that happened when I was very young.  I went on a certain type of medication when I was in elementary school and poof.  This happened.  Of course please realize I'm way oversimplifying a very complicated medical history but that was the catalyst.  I went on a medicine that has been proven to cause thyroid problems.  And my thyroid stayed in the sub-clinical category for the majority of my adulthood which is why no doctor ever diagnosed me.  It's also why I've never been able to lose all of my weight.  Then when I went on BC, the hormones I was adding to my body were actually HELPING me in the beginning.  I was low in Progesterone and with that being added to my body I actually lost weight and got to my lowest adult weight.  And then early last year, my thyroid went from sub-clinical to clinical and things just started going downhill.  My hormones kept falling, thyroid was clunking out, my pelvic muscles failed and you know the rest.

So that's where I'm at.  I'm in the fix it phase of my journey.  Some days are better than others.  Some days I'm exhausted all the time.  Some days I feel like things are working and everything will be ok.  Some days I want to give up.  But I guess that all makes sense since we are talking about my hormones :)

I stopped blogging because it all got so complicated.  I gained so much weight I was embarrassed and a little ashamed honestly.  Because I gained a lot.  My measurements shot up and I didn't want to post anymore pics.  But the truth is, I shouldn't be ashamed because I had no control over what was going on.  What is going on in my body.  I can only control whether or not I do what my doctor tells me and I'm doing my best.

So where am I at right now?

I'm on a new dose of thyroid and in 3 weeks I have to get another blood panel to tell us whether or not I need a bigger dose.  I'm continuing with my supplements, working out, and eating between 1500-1700 calories (per her orders).  And what's interesting is that she isn't expecting me to lose a bunch of weight right now.  I hear her say this to me but I'm so desperate for it to happen it's like I don't hear her.  She tells me there is no way it's going to happen until we get my thyroid numbers moving in the right direction.  So fingers crossed that we hit that magic dose soon.

Insanity: Week 2

I'm in week 2 of Insanity.

A couple of things:

1.  I still like it.
2.  It's still hard.
3.  I still can't do all of the moves.

Sometimes I have to force myself to not get overly motivated during these workouts.  The moves are just plain hard and I find that I get so ramped up to do my best that I indeed start sacrificing my form in order to just keep pace with Shaun T and his crew.  This is not good.  I can tell when I sacrifice form, the body parts start hurting.  That's because since I'm not quite as fit as the fine looking people in the workout, I'm not actually performing the moves in the correct way.  My knees will creep out over my toes and my back will bend in awkward ways.  Not good.  But I do find that even going with my own pace, I still get in a good workout.  I'm always out of breath and the muscles are burning.

I took last night off even though I was supposed to do a workout :(  The flu or something similar is running around my office building.  It blows my mind how people come into work when they are clearly sick and should go home.  In fact, 2 people on my floor are at work this week when they clearly should be at home.  So last night I was feeling a little achy and was running a low grade fever.  It was (hopefully) probably nothing but my fiance took away my laptop (my workouts are on my laptop) and made me go to bed.  He told me to err on the side of caution and get extra sleep.  I hesitated because it made me feel like I was failing but he was right.  These workouts are really intense and I would rather take an extra night off then be out for a whole week.

I'm hoping last night was a fluke or that I did indeed do the right thing because I feel pretty good today (knock on wood).

Tonight I will be doing the Cardio Recovery workout.  Don't let the name fool you.  What it should really be called is crazy burning muscle workout.

I really like it.

What's next?   I have another Fit Test coming up next Monday.  I'm both excited and nervous.  I'm excited because I'm pretty sure my numbers will be improving.  And I'm nervous because what if they don't!!!

:)

Either way, I'll post my numbers when I'm done.

Today's Menu:
B:  Turkey Sandwich (turkey, mayo, lettuce, GF bread)
L:  Spring Vegetable Soup with Quinoa Salad
D:  Roasted Chicken and Salad

INSANITY!!!

Tis a reason they call it Insanity.

It really IS Insane how hard it is.

Thursday, March 6th, was my Day #1.

And before I get into it, let me give you the rundown of the program.

Insanity is a 60 day, 6 day a week high-intensity workout.  The first month, the workouts are around 35-45 minutes and the second month they are around the 60 minute mark.

The workouts are fast and intense.  Lots of plyometrics with squats, burpees, and kickboxing type moves.  There are also lots of various forms of push-ups and dips.  The only equipment you need is a a water bottle and some floor space. 

I did my fit test on Thursday and that was really an eye opener for me.  I know I'll improve with each week but wow even just the fit test was hard.  I then realized how much this process was going to physically hurt :)

And hurt it does.  I'm not as fast as ANY person on ANY of the workouts.  Nor can I do all the jumps that are required.  I modify when I have to and right now it's quite frequently.  I just have to remind myself to push as hard as I can and just keep moving.  Also every time Shaun T says "don't sacrifice form for speed" I listen hard.  I can't go as fast so I make sure the moves I CAN do are being done properly.  The people on the video may be getting in 5 reps for every 1 I'm doing, but I'm making sure I'm doing it right.  Speed will come with time.  And even with modifications, it still burns.  Good lord how it burns.  In fact, it burns right now.  I woke up this morning and oh how my body aches.  It's not crippling but it's there.

These are my Day 1 pics:

I'm also going to be very diligent about keeping a food journal again and tracking calories.  I always am mindful of how much I'm eating and I do still use Lose It but I think I'm going to make it a daily habit again.  And I'm going old school and using a pen and paper.

Today's Menu:

B:  breakfast casserole:  eggs, broccoli, potatoes
L:  beef stew
D:  bbq chicken, roasted green beans and baked potato

Weight Loss Surgery and a Functional Doctor

As you all know, I'm trying to get healthy and lose weight.  And now with my upcoming nuptials I'm trying harder than ever.

Truth be told, the last 15 years or so has been me trying to lose weight in some form:  Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Richard Simmons, Body for Life, South Beach, Lose It, and good old fashioned writing it all down in food journals and calorie counting.  I've tried them all.  I've had my resting metabolic rate tested.  I've gotten my thyroid tested.  I've met with a nutritionist.  I've gotten advice from doctors.

I've run, lifted weights, ran some more, did double workouts, did cross-fit, played racquetball, went spinning, tried p90x, rowed, walked, flirted with pilates, tried step aerobics, the Firm, Tae-Bo, kick boxing.  I've worn heart rate monitors, Fit Bit, pedometers.

I've done a lot. 

I don't lose weight very fast.  I never have.  Ever.  In fact, I like to say that I maintain.  I'm pretty sure that if I didn't do all of these things I'd probably be 100s of pounds overweight.  That's no joke.  That's how easy it is for me to put on weight.  And all of that work I've listed, that's also how hard it is for me to take it off.

And over the course of 15 years I've learned a lot about myself and this whole weight loss thing.  I've learned that I work hard, that I'll try anything, and that I probably won't ever stop trying. 

And for whatever reason, the thought of getting married and not having figured out the "key" to my personal weight loss puzzle is driving me crazy.  So I started 2014 throwing everything I had at it.

I started the year with a Whole30 and, quite frankly, I've continued - with the addition of a few Paleo/Primal tweaks here and there.  I feel very confident about my food choices and that I'm on a good road with that.  In fact, dare I say, I feel like the lifestyle change has taken place.  I've never been a horrible eater but every now and then processed foods, soda, and treats would enter the picture.  And over the course of a year, I feel like I've found my place with eating and I'm really happy about that.

I tried a new workout using the Drop 2 Sizes workout and now I'm heading towards Insanity/DDP Yoga.  Working out, for me, is just something I have to do.

So a couple of weeks ago I had a moment of reckoning.  I was doing the work, I was eating the right foods in the right amounts, and I was exercising.  And it was like I felt my body give out on me.  What little weight loss I could usually squeeze out just wasn't working anymore.  I don't know how to explain it but for the first time I felt like it was out of my hands.

So I went to get a physical.  I figured, first things first, lets see where you're at.

I went to my primary doctor.  I've had her for 10 years and in 10 years I've seen her maybe 5 times.  Maybe less.  All I know is that I haven't needed her for much (knock on wood).  I go in and sit down with her to answer the obligatory medical family history questions and the next thing I know I'm asking about my weight loss.  And before I know what hits me, she wants me to get surgery.  Gastric Bypass to be exact.

I'm about 45 pounds overweight right now. 

And I just sat there.  She went on about how it has nothing to do with how hard I'm trying it's just that what she's finding is it's genetic and there's nothing I can do.  She said why spend all that time and energy when you can just do this.

It wasn't a very nice feeling.  I felt deflated.  I started wondering if everyone who looked at me thought the same thing?  Did my friends, co-workers and family members look at me and think "poor thing.  There's nothing she can do.  She should just go get weight loss surgery."

Then I started thinking maybe what I'm doing is a fluke.  Maybe I'm not working out as much or as hard as I think.  Who cares what my heart rate monitor says.  Or how many steps I took in a day.  Or the fact that I was running 6 miles a day at one point.  That doesn't mean you're doing it right or in shape or healthy.

Maybe I wasn't really counting my WW points the right way, or I wasn't adding my calories right, or I was eating and not realizing it.

So I did the tests, got my blood taken and went to meet my fiance.  I didn't want to tell him what she said.  But I did anyway.  And he was flabbergasted.  We've been together 6 years and he's seen the work I've done.  Hell, he does it with me.  And no, he does not have a weight problem.  I don't see how he possibly could with doing all of that with me :)

So I called my mother.  I actually was nervous she would agree with the doctor.  Again, flabbergasted.  I started feeling a little better.

I had one week before I had to go back and get the results of my blood work.  I didn't want to go back to her.  But while I didn't like being told that surgery was my answer, I knew that the reason I went to the doctor was to get help and I still needed to find help.

So I went to look for another type of doctor.  A Functional Doctor.  What's a Functional Doctor?  Basically they treat you by trying to figure out what is CAUSING the problem.  They don't treat the symptoms.  They try to get to the root of whatever is ailing you and then work with you to treat the system (the whole body).

I found a woman.  She was down the street from my apartment and in her profile she said she specializes in resistant weight loss.

So I called her.  Long story short, I went for a consultation.

I'll be honest, I didn't have high hopes.  I don't know why.  I guess I'm used to nothing working.  But it was exactly what I needed.  We talked about food, and my family history, and my medical history and we found some things that need some fixing.   She actually is trying to figure out WHY I'm not losing weight.  She also told me that her professional opinion is that I should not get gastric bypass. 

That made me feel better.

So am I fixed?

YES!

I'm kidding ;)

My blood work came back from my physical.  Everything looked good as far as vitals and organs, but my thyroid looked a little strange to my primary so she is running another test.  I took my results to my new doctor and she agreed that it needed to be looked at further.  Yes, I've had my thyroid tested before and they gave me the thumbs up that it was fine.  Oh well.  So I'm waiting on that test to come back.  Once that does, I'm going to try to move everything over to the new doctor.

I'm working with her right now to just get more data.  We're running a couple of tests and that combined with my medical history apparently made complete sense to her.  It was funny.  I was telling her my story and things that I hadn't thought of as being related to my weight loss struggle were just these clues to her and she kept saying "yes, that makes sense".

Long story short, as odd as it sounds I'm really glad my doctor suggested surgery.  Yeah, it made me feel horrible but it was an amazing catalyst to get me to find someone else.  I don't know if she's going to be able to make my body work the way it should.  But I really would love it if she does though :)

I'm also really glad I got my blood work done.  My numbers were good but I definitely think they could be better. And I think working with this new doctor, I'll be able to get it done.

Drop 2 Sizes: I'm done

Hello everyone out there.

So I have struggled with coming to this decision.  And that sounds completely over-dramatic.  Wow.  I didn't mean for it to.   Anyway, I have stopped the Drop 2 Sizes challenge.

I just am not into it.  Like super not into it.

I was forcing myself to do the workouts which meant most of the time I was doing them half-heartedly which really does not benefit me in any way.  And so the weeks went by and I was just trying to make it to the end when I realized I felt like I was wasting my time.  I have very specific goals this year with getting married and all so why was I wasting all of this time doing something that just wasn't working for me?

So I allowed myself to put it aside and move on.

Sorry folks.

I may try to pick it up again in the future, I may not.  

What didn't I like?  This is going to sound weird but it had me working out about 4 times a week and that didn't keep me interested enough.  I had too many days off.  I don't know about you but when I'm working out, too many days off are my kryptonite.  When I rest too much, it's that much harder for me to get started.  There was an option for a 5th workout but I didn't do it.  I'll be honest, when I'm doing a program, I do it as prescribed.  If it says work out 6 days a week, I work out 6 days a week.  If it says "optional", I just don't do it.

At first I thought it was because you were rotating the same workouts every week but I don't have that problem with the 30 Day Shred.  I just was NOT clicking with the workouts.  I mean, the strength training workouts are really good.  You can tell that given some time, they'd really work but they just were not working for me right now. 

I'm not completely writing it off because one day I'd really like to follow it through but definitely not right now.  I'm on a tight schedule with my wedding and I need to keep my head in the game!

Did I Have Results?

Not really.  Like I said, I was doing the workouts but my head wasn't in it.  I firmed up so that of course meant things got smaller but I could tell that since I wasn't putting my best foot forward I wasn't going to get the 2 sizes smaller that it promised.

And that wouldn't have been the program's fault - it would have been mine. 

So what's next?

Well, I have a couple of options because I do love my programs.

I was trying to decide between DDP Yoga and INSANITY DVD Workout - Base Kit

Yes, two VERY different programs.  My gut was telling me to do Insanity and my brain was telling me to do the DDP Yoga.

I probably should listen to my brain but the thought of trying to do Insanity makes me excited.  My fiance has had it for a long time and I never did it for some reason.  All I know is that it's hard hard HARD!  It's a 60 day, 6 day a week, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout.   I'll be honest, I'm no spring chicken anymore.  The knees don't bounce like they used to so I hesitate.  I also have some high arches that like to flare up the old plantar fasciitis.  And my back - well, I've talked about my back and how it hates me.  Man, I'm talking like I'm 60 not 36.  But it's those reasons why I'm thinking about the DDP Yoga.

If you've never heard of it, check out the link above for it and just watch the video about Arthur.  I remember watching that a long time ago and it was one of the "oh wow!" moments at the end.     

I actually already ordered the DDP Yoga but it won't get here for awhile.  Apparently it's takes a couple of weeks.  So in the meantime, I'm going to go ahead and start Insanity. 

Hey, if it breaks me then I can do the DDP Yoga to get better right?

Drop 2 Sizes: Week 4

Hello everyone.  I hope the weekend was wonderful to you all.  Mine was very nice but definitely not long enough.

It never is.

Today marks day #1 of week 4 for my Drop 2 Sizes Challenge which means this is the last week of Phase 1 for me!

I'm doing ok with it.  I've missed a few workouts here and there but I'm still in the game.  I'm working out hard and doing my best to up my weights with each week that passes.  I can tell I'm getting stronger which is very encouraging.  I'm modifying moves less and less and I am able to push harder in the metabolic workouts.

Have I lost any inches?  Honestly, I have no idea.  I can definitely tell that my clothes fit better than they did January 2nd.  My tops look better on me and I've even had to start wearing a smaller bra (1 cup and band size smaller).  Oh and I've gone down a dress size.  So yes, clearly things are shrinking.  But pant sizes?

After a workout a little over a week ago I was feeling overly confident and grabbed 2 pairs of my "control" jeans to try on.  I think the adrenaline was still surging through my veins or something because I was positive my "goal" jeans were going to fit like a glove.

Yeah, they didn't.  In fact, I am almost positive they fit even worse then before I started.  Seriously, I couldn't get them off fast enough.  I'll be honest, it was deflating and a little heart breaking.  So I walked around my apartment and  came up with a list of reasons why this might have happened.  These were completely based on no basis of fact or reality but apparently it's what I needed to tell myself to not give up.

1.  My muscles were crazy swollen from lifting like the beast I am.
2.  I was retaining water due to my upcoming time of the month (this one ended up being true because I got it the next day).
3.  I tried on the wrong pair of jeans.
4.  My legs were really sweaty and that's why the fabric wouldn't pull up.
5.  The jeans shrunk.


I don't know.  I'm telling you this because this week is the week I'm supposed to do my jeans progress report and I don't want to do it.

I WILL do it because I need to know how I'm doing but I might put it off until the end of the week.  Rachel says in her book that either way, you need to put them on because they'll tell you how you're doing.  She says if you don't see a difference then you know you need to step it up.

It's like she is talking to me ;)


I do, in fact, need to step it up.  I feel completely ok with what I'm eating so I know I need to not be so accepting of skipping workouts.  So that's the goal for precious Week #4.  Do all of my workouts.

Wish me luck.

Today's Menu:
B:  Apple Cinnamon Almond Muffins
S:  Apple
L:  Baked Chicken with Broccoli Slaw
D:  Steak and Roasted Vegetables

Whole30 Round #2 Results

Happy February!

I hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl yesterday.

I thought it was very uneventful.  Sad even.  It was like the Broncos collectively all had their worst game ever.  Like they were all drunk even.  It was weird.  Every time they showed Peyton close up you could tell from the look on his face that even he didn't know what was going on.

Like it was voodoo witch craft or something.  I was hoping for an exciting, close game so I was very disappointed to say the least.

You know what I was not disappointed in?  My Whole30.

January 31st marked my 30th day.  So that means this past Saturday was my first "normal" Saturday in this fine year of 2014.  And you know what I ate?

Rice.  Yeah, that's it.  I had some rice.  I had some yellow curry and instead of forgoing the magic grain, I decided to go crazy and eat some for dinner.  And that was the only naughty thing I ate for Saturday.  It didn't affect me that much.  I was a little more full than usual and I remember feeling sleepy (because I was so full) but other than that, it wasn't a big deal.

And then came Sunday.  And not just any Sunday.  SUPER BOWL SUNDAY.  We went to a friend's house for the big event and as you can imagine there was food everywhere.  And you know what I ate?

Some smoked pork, carrots, pea pods, broccoli, grape tomatoes, and fruit salad.  Oh yeah, I also had a small dollop of dip from the veggie tray.  And that's it.  And you know what?  I did it without thinking.  Well, that's not quite true.  I remember standing at the food table, surveying all my choices and as I looked at each food my brain automatically labeled it as a yes or no.  And then I took all the yes items.  And I did not feel like I missed out on anything. 

This is so different then my first Whole30 last year.  Do you know what I ate after I finished that Whole30?  I ate everything.  No lie.  I remember just feeling like I needed to eat everything.  I believe McDonald's and pizza rolls both played a vital role that time.

So what made this time different?  I have no idea.  It could be that I'm getting married later this year and I'm very motivated by that event.  It could be that I'm sick of feeling sick when I eat certain food.  It could also be something as simple as allowing white potatoes during my Whole30.  Or what I'm hoping it could be is that I do enjoy this lifestyle.  It's hard but I honestly do enjoy it.

All I know is that it's February and my menu for the week is very paleo indeed.  I'm definitely not sticking to the strict rules of the Whole30 because like they said in their book:
It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways

This isn't a way to eat 365 days out of the year.  And I totally agree with that.  There is no way I could personally sustain a Whole30 for longer than 30 days.  Heck, I technically didn't even do a "real" Whole30 because of the allowance of potatoes but I don't care.  The last 30 days apparently worked for me and I'm ecstatic. 

I lost 7.4 pounds.  As for pics and measurements, those coincide more with my Drop 2 Sizes challenge so I'll post those further along.  I kind of didn't care about the physical outcome (meaning weight and measurements) with my Whole30.  I did it to get myself back on track after the holidays and I feel like I was 100% successful on that front.

So what now?

I guess I'm transitioning into a paleo/primal thing but I don't want to label it either way.  I'll continue to leave grains out for the majority of the time.  If I do eat them, you can bet they will absolutely be gluten free.  I definitely will keep refined sugar out.  There are too many great alternatives out there not to.  As far as legumes.  I'm not too diligent about that one.  I'm not a big bean or peanut butter person to begin with.  I bought sunflower butter last week and I believe that might be my replacement for the rare times I want peanut butter.  And the only time I really eat beans is with chili.   And I make that maybe once or twice a year during the cold months.  So I'm really just not going to sweat it.  And then there is dairy.  My fiance does not do well with dairy so I'll leave that out when I cook.  As for me, since he's not eating it that will pretty much mean I'm not since I cook for the both of us.  And I have no problem with that.

This week I'll have at some point: tomato soup, a big salad to which I'll add meat, beef stir fry with vegetables, apple cinnamon muffins made with almond flour and the inevitable scrambled eggs.  Man, I love some good scrambled eggs.

I also will drink my coffee with unsweetened almond milk which I like just fine.  And beef jerky will make an appearance in the snack department as will an apple or 2.


And I'll just take each day and food choice one day at a time.