| Anyone read this? |
[Jul. 11th, 2009|08:21 pm] |
Hey,
I'm doing ok. Missed a week of weigh in because I need to find a new meeting. The good reason is that I have a job for the summer (back at Rivier, where I worked before) and am vaguely hoping it might turn into something for the fall.
Anyway - I think I'm still doing pretty well although currently we're trying to get the whole *family* to eat more healthily! To that end we're putting together a "healthy food pyramid 'menu'" which I'm hoping to have the boys use to help us meal plan. (especially since I get off work at 6 pm and that means Ed has to have dinner ready when I get home!)
Can't remember how but in researching that stuff I came across this book
http://www.amazon.com/End-Overeating-Insatiable-American-Appetite/dp/1605297852/ref=reg_hu-wl_item-added
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite (Hardcover) David Kessler
"Conditioned hypereating is a biological challenge, not a character flaw, says Kessler, former FDA commissioner under presidents Bush and Clinton). Here Kessler (A Question of Intent) describes how, since the 1980s, the food industry, in collusion with the advertising industry, and lifestyle changes have short-circuited the body's self-regulating mechanisms, leaving many at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Through the evidence of research, personal stories (including candid accounts of his own struggles) and examinations of specific foods produced by giant food corporations and restaurant chains, Kessler explains how the desire to eat—as distinct from eating itself—is stimulated in the brain by an almost infinite variety of diabolical combinations of salt, fat and sugar. Although not everyone succumbs, more people of all ages are being set up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the ever-present availability of foods laden with salt, fat and sugar. A gentle though urgent plea for reform, Kessler's book provides a simple food rehab program to fight back against the industry's relentless quest for profits while an entire country of people gain weight and get sick. According to Kessler, persistence is all that is needed to make the perceptual shifts and find new sources of rewards to regain control."
Anyone read it? It looks really interesting. |
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| Runner's Cramp? |
[Jun. 2nd, 2009|06:25 pm] |
Hey, can you guys help me out - I've been having serious cramping in my calves lately; it never happens while I'm running, but I don't recall ever having them before I started running regularly. Drinking lots of water doesn't seem to affect the symptoms either way.
Any ideas?
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| Well that's good at least! |
[May. 21st, 2009|09:14 pm] |
So life has been... stressful and hectic. Stressful because Ed hasn't had a job since the beginning of January and my job ends in the middle of June. Hectic because I've been frantically looking for jobs, going to job fairs, applying like crazy...
I do have a really promising "formal interview" (third!) at a private school for the gifted that is starting this fall in Manchester area. So that's interesting (and I need to do *stuff* before Tuesday!!)
But meanwhile - since December I have lost 40 pounds now. Yay!
Now I just need to start exercising and firming some of it up. Yeesh! But hey - a very good feeling anyway.
The weird thing is I really haven't been *doing* that much. I just go to weight watcher's meetings and try to make good choices about food. I don't even keep track of points very often because I keep getting behind and not doing it. But so far I seem to be doing ok anyway. I'm not quite up to half way on my weight loss goal but close. So yay. Now if I could just get my life back. Sorry I've been so out of touch with everyone! I sort of want to go back a couple months and catch up on everyone's live journal because I am totally out of touch with all my friends for the most part. Sigh.... Anyway - thought I'd share the good news and say "hi!". Hope you are all well! |
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| Worldcon |
[May. 13th, 2009|04:33 am] |
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Anybody going to Worldcon? Want to do a group run in the mornings? |
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| Yay me! |
[Mar. 23rd, 2009|09:23 pm] |
I have now officially lost 10% of my body weight! Woohoo!
I have lost 28 pounds as of tonight. (yeah - do the math - I don't care...)
I am feeling better I admit and it is nice to be wearing old smaller jeans again.
Exercise is mostly still eluding me - but... one thing at a time - especially in the face of the extreme stress.
So yay. |
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| A big milestone |
[Mar. 16th, 2009|08:30 pm] |
Well, I've been not here much because life has been... stressful doesn't begin to cover it.
Ed is still looking for work and his severance ends this month. Ugh. Dunno what the heck we're going to do but we'll figure out something.
Meanwhile - thank god I started weight watchers again. Because if I hadn't I'd probably be eating way too much out of stress.
I've lots 27 pounds. Even more exciting is I've reached one of my first big milestones: I'm below 250! YAY!
I really haven't been doing anything extreme - I'm just being a bit more careful about portions, trying to write things down, and pampering myself with good smelling body lotion instead of food.
So hooray. Now if Ed can just find a job.
I'm going to try to check LJ more often. How is everyone else doing?? Are you staying healthy?
How do you handle stress? I was really starting to break down - I had very bad unremitting neck spasms, frequent headaches... But finally one weekend I really did lose it and cry and basically have a little breakdown - that wasn't good but it *was* good that it provoked a long overdue talk with Ed. So now we're at least trying to solve it together. (It wasn't concious but I think I was not talking to him about my fears because I didn't want to burden him further.)
I am trying now to breathe more, stretch more (I'd like to get back into Yoga but so far haven't managed it), and check in with people more - reach out (like - oh - say bother posting to and reading LJ?? ;-)
Hope you are all well!!! |
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| Finally really on the way |
[Feb. 3rd, 2009|11:07 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pleased | ] |
Well the rest of my life may feel a little scary and out of my control (that is - finding a job for my husband and figuring out how to get a better job next year for myself) but at least the weight loss/taking better care of myself is falling into place.
I had some landmarks tonight. Lost 5 pounds this week. Hit my "5%" almost 20 pounds total so far. So that's good. Also went from a 6 in a digit to a 5. Yay!
I laugh when I see people doing things like stripping to tank tops to get weighed. I just feel like if you obsess about fractions of pounds then you're not really in it for the long haul you're just focused on the numbers. The numbers are useful as a sign that things are moving in the right general direction but the real sucess comes from just working on the program - eating healthy, boosting the exercise, paying attention to your body.
So... next mini goal is to see a zero after that 5. Wheeeeeeeee
Tip o the week? If you make caramel dip for apples with
1 8 oz package of fat free cream cheese (yes, an abomination but ok in rare cases)
16 caramels (unwrapped)
1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of water
vanilla
melt caramels in water over med low (or in microwave but I always burn/overheat it that way)
cream cheese and sugar
fold in caramel mix
makes 9 - 1/8 cup servings at 3 WW points per serving including an apple (I love granny smith because the tartness of them is a nice contrast) The nice thing is that this is perfectly fine to make for your kids or anyone - it doesn't have artificial sweetner in it or anything nasty. (Ok fat free cream cheese is nasty and you can make it with regular but this is a rare instance that I can live with it - mixing it with salsa for a veggie dip is another).
Wheeeeeeeee! |
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| Long winded update - and a landmark ten pounds yay! |
[Jan. 12th, 2009|07:37 pm] |
Sorry I've been gone so much lately! I've discovered that although I am pretty emotionally healthy and I would have said that I can handle stress pretty well - in fact I do NOT handle stress very well - or at least not lately. Yow. So Ed got laid off and without really realizing it we both got seriously worried/depressed/more-or-less nonfunctional. But the good thing is we/I realized it. With Christmas coming I really felt that I had to clean up at least the livingroom enough to enjoy Christmas. And then my cousin decided to drop by to visit which meant I had to clean the kitchen, the bathroom, the hall.... which is really good because doing all this meant that I realized how BAD it had gotten which made me stop and think "Oh. Wait. We don't usually let things get this dirty. Cluttered yes, actually dirty? Not this bad. Hmm - I must be depressed and nonfunctional!"
So I decided (as is my wont) to *do* something about it. The house was a good way towards actually clean anyway and I kept right on top of it (having the added advantage of being off work for a big chunk of time since I work in the public school!) And I remembered that through the last year several friends of mine that I really respect have said they love this thing called "GTD" 0r "Getting THings Done" - an organizing your life / productivity system that apparently lots of geeky types love. So Ed and I looked into it on the web a fair bit, liked what we read, bought the book for $12.95, and poured over it.
Then we proceeded to move our filing cabinet downstairs to the office, buy a labeler, and go on an organizing spree! I also (before this) started going to weight watchers again under the theory that my life would probably never be un-stressful and I really need to lose weight both for health reasons and for my self esteem.
Life is slowly feeling more in control. I also hit the ten pound landmark today. Yay! And mostly it hasn't been very hard. I am writing things down pretty carefully but always miss a few and figure the fact that I end up with "extra" points every day probably is balanced out by the ones I miss. I'm also finding many things I love that are low points and not even "diet" food like a caramelized oatmeal recipe that I adore! It makes 6 servings at 7 points each (5 the original way but I love it with nuts and vanilla yogurt instead of plain yogurt). I eat it most mornings right now. :-) I also discovered that a half cup of Edy's light vanilla with 1 square of Lindt 75% dark chocolate (1/4 serving supposedly but pretty big!) shaved into it is a whopping 3 points and YUM! Add 1 of the Trader Joe's peppermint "oreos" that I bought and normally would have mowed through and it adds 1.5 points and is extra yum. A good way to make them last and not eat way too many of them like I would if I just ate them with milk.
Ok ok - sorry to ramble. But it does feel good to be starting to pull back together. I really feel like my life has been so darned stressful the last few years. Sigh. If ever there was a need for yoga and meditation and incense... ah. OH! And I discovered that buying a bunch of Body Shop body butter on sale wicked cheap in "seasonal" scents that I love was a great investment. It makes me feel better and smile every time I put it on and I feel pampered without food. YAY!
How are you coping? Has the economy put you in a state of comfort eating nervous stress? Or are you blissfully stretching and breathing your way through life as a role model for us all? Or somewhere in between?
I'll try to check in more often. I really need a script that automatically makes me read specific Live Journal entries on a rotating basis. And really - if you are in this LJ community and want to talk to me about something or be supportive or GET support specifically from me you really can always email me at mew at mewsic dot com if I seem to have dissapeared from here again!! :-) (or just to nag me to come back!) |
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| Yoga memory game |
[Nov. 16th, 2008|01:49 pm] |
ConcentratiOm on the Gaiam website - took me a minute to get the hang of it, but I matched about half the poses to the names on my first go.
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| Food Diaries? |
[Oct. 6th, 2008|10:55 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | calm | ] |
Does anyone here use an online or software based food diary? I am looking for recommendations - I would like something to help me track what I am eating. |
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| Race Across Azeroth |
[Oct. 1st, 2008|06:56 pm] |
I thought folks here might apreciate this video, after the discussion of walking to all the filk cons. Two gamers hook up treadmills to WoW and run across Azeroth:
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| Eat it |
[Sep. 7th, 2008|12:27 pm] |
They finally got the workbooks in at the gym, so I could sit down with my trainer and go over how the food exchanges work. The list of foods is fairly extensive, so it's amusing what's on the list and what isn't: they have raccoon meat as a lean meat, for example, but no listing for quinoa or taro. The good news is that one day out of seven is a "cheating day", when I don't have to follow the plan or write anything down.
I've started going to BodyFlow again now that they're on a new release - new routines and music. The music is much more yoga-friendly than the last release, and there's no cow face pose or bow pose - hooray! |
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| A yoga question |
[Aug. 25th, 2008|06:23 pm] |
Dangit, I posted this to my LJ instead of here. That'll teach me to post first thing in the morning.
Down dog:
Neck relaxed and eyes looking at knees, or head slightly up and eyes looking between hands?
Is the point of the exercise to get your butt as high as possible to stretch out your back and spine, or to lower your heels as close to the floor as possible to stretch your hamstrings?
Because I've had instructors who went one way or the other. |
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| Best-laid plans |
[Aug. 20th, 2008|06:46 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  frustrated | ] |
I need to have a talk with my trainer about the packet she left for me last night. The one-day "meal plan" is a textbook example of why people don't stick to their diets, along with a vague instruction that I can substitute "similar" foods. So what's similar to two masa tortillas, two eggs, string beans, and half an apple? Because I'm not eating that mess for lunch! Also, the excercise plan bears no resemblance to what she recommended on Saturday. So yeah, gotta give her a call and say WTF? |
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| Bike-o-vision |
[Aug. 10th, 2008|12:26 pm] |
I've ordered a couple of Bike-o-vision DVDs from Amazon - they're supposed to give you the experience of riding a bike though various scenic countrysides. I don't have a stationary bike at home, but my RPM instructor says that if I bring them in she'll pop them in the player. I can also use them at home with my elliptical trainer, if I pretend I'm walking really fast. Come to that Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica usually work pretty well at getting me to work harder, and some sports (on TV) get my pulse rate up too. Not so much figure skating, since my body tends to involutarily follow what the skater's doing, which can be disastrous when I'm on the trainer and the guy is doing a triple axel.
Next Saturday I'm starting up with a personal trainer again. This time they set me up with a trainer who's big on nutrition, which I think is where I need to focus at the moment. I've been managing myself since my old trainer moved to the Chandler location, but I can't track muscle mass armed only with a bathroom scale. I just hope she has some familiarity with the Les Mills classes I'm taking four times a week - honestly, how can you assign someone a set of exercises without knowing what they're already doing? But some of the trainers don't seem too clueful in that regard. |
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| Workout Update - and "mix it up"? or "habit"? |
[Aug. 5th, 2008|04:30 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
| [ | music |
| | DDR SuperNova :-) | ] |
Yay! I keep forgetting to update my ticker but I've been doing DDR 30 minutes almost every day on "endless" mode. It's a good workout because it doesn't stop between songs.
I even splurged and bought another DDR which has a bunch of oldie songs I like a lot - Cindy Lauper "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", David Bowie "Let's Dance", Funky Town, Shout, Angel is a Centerfold (but not, alas, by J. Geils band)... but I did it in a harder level (because in this one the easy mode is actually too easy for me) Yikes! I made it through 17 songs, a good 30 minutes and I was SWEATING!
Yow.
So yay. So what if I gained a pound last week and haven't been tracking very well. I'm sure getting healthier.
I also came up with a great idea! I'm going to find some tiny thing (candy or something - about the size of a mini-m&m) and put it in with my pills as a visual physical reminder that my exercise every day is medicine for me.
I really do think it helping me a lot in so many ways!
Now if I can just stay with this. I know they say you are supposed to mix up your exercise but truth be told I think the habit I've gotten in of this is just the thing for me. What about you? Do you need to mix things up to keep from being bored - or do you find it easier to find a workout you like and just stick with it? |
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| Weighing Update |
[Jul. 30th, 2008|08:18 pm] |
I am midway through my seventh week on Take Shape For Life. It was not easy at first -- I was very whiny occasionally and felt tired. Eventually (with some excellent help from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) weirdsister, I figured out that because I like to be active, I had to make sure I got a few more calories than the 800-1000 that were suggested. My body liked to have somewhere between 1000 and 1200 calories, and once I made sure I consumed that many, I felt better and I began to lose weight faster.
On any food program, make sure you get enough calories, or your metabolism slows down. (Your body is afraid you might starve to death if it lets go of any poundage.)
I have enjoyed the last three and a half weeks of the life program, eating program, er. . . I know you aren't supposed to say 'diet,' but I can't remember the terminology you actually are supposed to use. *shrugs* Anyway, this program works for me! *big grin*
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| Dosha! |
[Jul. 30th, 2008|08:16 pm] |
I am a kapha/pitta which surprised me not at all. What was interesting (to me) was after I filled out the questionaire to find out if any of my doshas were out of balance in mind or body, I had to answer two tie-breaker questions. Ever since I adjusted to the Take Shape For Life meal plan, I've become pretty balanced it would seem.
The results after the tie breakers were answered suggested that my vata might be slightly out of balance, so I should keep warm. Twist my arm! I love being warm. The last few hot yoga classes have not even seemed all that hot to me. I was convinced that the room was not as hot as usual last Thursday, and everyone around me (sweating) had to assure me that yes. Yes it was. We really didn't need to turn the heat up. Me and Sam McGee, we're like that you know. *crosses fingers* I don't think I would do well living up north in the winter -- even though they get to make the cool snowmen (snowpeople -- snowentities -- snowthings?) up that way.
And the kapha was ever so slightly unbalanced in my mental state. So, I was urged to organize my stuff. True that. I actually shut down if someone places clutter near me -- particularly near my dominant hand (left.) My office/music room needs some picking up around the deask, And I am not done clearing off the pool table downstairs where I'll be teaching.
Here's the quiz! Check it out.
http://doshaquiz.chopra.com/ |
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