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 ...
Monday, June 8, 2015
Friday, May 8, 2015
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!
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!
Friday, April 17, 2015
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!
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!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, March 27, 2015
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!
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!
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
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.
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.
Friday, June 27, 2014
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 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 :)
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