More on HCl

I've started taking Betaine HCl w/Pepsin. Got up to 11 pills and felt no real results. That doesn't mean there aren't (or won't be) any. It has only been since Friday and today is Monday.

I am gathering more intel:

Aspirin suppresses the production of stomach acid.

 Carbohydrates reduce the production of HCL – protein requires HCL to be digested. Eat proteins with low starchy vegetables. Eat starches/carbohydrates with vegetables. Eat fruit alone – not with meals.


Don't lie down immediately after eating. If you must lie down, prop yourself up with pillows so that head and upper torso are raised to aid the digestion.

Do not drink ice water with meals as it inhibits production of stomach acid.

Drink ginger tea to increase production of HCL.

Drink dandelion root tea (Eden Yansen Dandelion Root Concentrate available from Gold Mine – 1-800-475-3663 tea to increase production of HCL.)

Eat dandelion greens with meals in soups or as greens to increase production of HCL.
Take juice of half a lemon, diluted with warm water (or totally undiluted) at the beginning of each meal.

To aid the body in digesting animal protein soak meats in acidic mediums such as lemon or lime juice, tomato juice, apple cider vinegar, etc. Marinating meats is a good way to pre-digest or pre-cook them.

Always eat good fats when you eat proteins. Protein stimulates stomach acid production, and protein and fats stimulate the gall bladder to dump bile into the small intestines. Good fats also are needed by the liver in order to produce bile.

Use spices in cooking to stimulate stomach acid production and appetite.

Avoid snacking in between meals in order to allow time for your body to digest foods properly.

Take live-source hydrochloric acid supplement. 

New Meansurements

Measurements from 3-18-2014 (today)
Height: 5'7.7" (gain .09, or, almost an inch)
Weight: 260.7 (2.9 lb weight gain)
BMI: 40
Body Fat: 41%
Body Fat Mass: 106. 9 (.5 lb weight gain)

I am fairly certain that if we had weighed on the 10th, when I was not bloated up from allergies, that I would have actually had much different results. Still, they are what they are. I have been living a life against my will, more or less. Other people cooking, no music to dance to (someone stole the cord for my stereo), my sister deciding not to take me to the gym, people smoking pot close enough by to cause me problems, stress .. stress .. stress. Yet, I gained height and my long dress is even longer on me than it had been, to the point of me having to make sure I don't trip on the hem. So, I don't understand the weight gain. Seriously! My clothes are baggier on me, like they had been when I weighed about 10 lbs less than I do, now. It is a mystery!

On the plus side (no pun intended), do you see the height gain? I have been making more of an effort to straighten out both my upper and lower back, which are atrociously twisted and tight. Apparently, that has been going well!

Measurements from 2-13-2014
Height: 5'6".8
Weight: 257.4 (1.3 lb weight gain)
BMI: 40
Body Fat: 41%
Body Fat Mass: 106. 4 (2.2 lb weight gain)
Measurements from 1-14-2013
Height: 5'6.8"
Weight: 256.1 (0.4 lb weight gain)
B.M.I.: 40
Body Fat: 41%
Body Fat Mass: 104.2 lbs  (2.5 lb loss)

Not good news, then. I did , due to varying issues such as lack of money and being ill, being stressed out, and eating the wrong things (mostly due to lack of money) have a very bad month, both for exercise and for nutrition.

It was only in the last week or two that I started getting some exercise by going on a walk, usually, at least once per day.

Measurements from 12-10-2013
Height 5' 6.5"
Weight 255.7 (1.6 lb gain)
BMI 41
Body Fat 42 %
Body Fat Mass 106.7 lbs. (1.3 lb loss)

Measurements from 11-05-2013
Height 5' 5.6"
Weight 254.1 (loss of 3.1 lbs in 27 days)
BMI 41
Body Fat 43 %
Body Fat Mass 108.0 lbs.

Please note that this is the first time I gained weight in over a year. This is also the first time I started going to a gym and lifting weights (went three times, so far) and the first time I wore tennis shoes and sockss, instead of my sandals and no socks. All of which could add up to extra weight being on me, but, in a good way.

Also, please not that my body fat percentage and body fat mass have both gone down.

I think that it is mainly the going to the gym thing that has altered things. I tend togain muscle fairly quickly. Probaby not as quickly at almost 45 as I did when I was 15, mind you; but, sti.ll, I used to be scary with how strong I got how quickly, so that's not saying much if I slowed down some.

I am definitely tighter and stronger than I was before I went to the gym.

More about that, later.

New Measurements (11-05-2013)

Measurements from 11-05-2013 (today)
Height 5' 5.6"
Weight 254.1 (loss of 3.1 lbs in 27 days)
BMI 41
Body Fat 43 %
Body Fat Mass 108.0 lbs.

Have not done the other measurements, yet. May fill them in later.
Upper Chest
Chest
Waistline
Hips
Lower Abdomen and Hips
Lower Hips

Measurements from 10-03-2013

Height: 5'5.6"
Weight: 257.2
BMI: 42
Body fat: %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 106.7 lbs.
Upper Chest: 44-1/4"
Chest: 51-1/4"
Waistline:45"
Hips:52"
Lower abdomen (mid hips):51"
Lower hips: 44-1/2"

New Measurements

Measurements from 10-03-2013 (today)

Height: 5'5.6"
Weight: 257.2
BMI: 42
Body fat: %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 106.7 lbs.
Upper Chest: 44-1/4"
Chest: 51-1/4"
Waistline:45"
Hips:52"
Lower abdomen (mid hips):51"
Lower hips: 44-1/2"

Measurements from 9-03-2013

Height: 5'6.1"calculater
Weight: 261.6
BMI: 42
Body fat: %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 109.5 lbs

That's 4.4 lbs lost, while being ill a good bit of time, having more sugary drinks, lazing around, eating meat, being under a lot of stress; but, sometimes exercising and sometimes having very good veggie meals.

This last month, I ate a lot of eggs, some pancakes and dumplings, quite a bit of bread (egg sandwiches), and drank tea with sugar. Mmm! Didn't make me feel as good as eating more vegetables, by any means, but, I really didn't have that much choice in the matter.

A tasty "recipe" I ... hmm .. How do I say this? I read a recipe in a magazine for something called Veggie Cups. They were part of a diet plan. There were cheese and heavy cream, both, in the recipe.

Now, I don't follow recipes (mostly, ever) and I certainly do not take in those sort of milk products, except when I get stupid and forget that things like truffles, muffins, and such as that, from the store, have them.  It still sounded intriguing,though, so I did something that vaguely resembled what the recipe promised to make.

I used 6 eggs (2 per person); a lot of chopped mushrooms, green onions, white onions, zucchini and other lovely tasty bits; and, some all purpose baking mix to make a sort of muffin'ish mixture to cook in a 12 hole muffin tin for approximately 20 minutes. Of course, there were spices included, but, not that many (for me) and I don't remember what they were just now. Assume garlic!tt
They had a wonderful bread-like, eggy texture and were a big hit with everyone.

After that, I tried a variation with cornmeal and green chilies, a little cumin and chili powder. It was interesting in that the cornmeal sank to the bottom, so it was very corny on the bottom and very eggy on the top.  I should definitely have added some flour or baking mix!

I even tried them, once, without anything but the eggs and veggies, and limited spices, as the original recipe called for (though, not necessarily the same veggies or amount thereof). I didn't like that as well.

Anyway, you might want to give it a try. It's a pretty easy way to make a very tasty, not too messy, all-in-one breakfast treat for several people at once. Don't forget to lightly oil the tins!

These are the earliest measurements I could find. They may be the earliest ones there are, or, it may be that I simply am being lazy in my research. Either way, it's good enough to mark the changes that have been going on.

Upper chest: 52"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 49"
Waist: 51"
Hips/lower abdomen: 56"
Height: 5'6.1"
Weight: 300.9 lb
B.M.I.  48
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.8 lbs

That makes for inches/lbs lost:
Upper chest: 7-3/4"
Bust: 3-3/4"
Ribcage: Didn't measure this time
Waist: 6"
Hips/lower abdomen: 4"
Height: Not counting this
Weight: 43.7 lb.
B.M.I.  6
Body Fat %: 4
Body Fat Mass:  25.1 lbs.

I do not pretend to understand the way they measure body fat mass. I know that I have fat, arthritic fingers, so, I think that probably throws off the equation. For a certainty, I have gained muscle (though, maybe not this last month), and, at least some of my weight is from being swollen up. So, I take that particular measurement with a grain of salt; but, it is nice to see that even it says that progress has been made.

I believe those measurements were from January of 2013. So, in approximately 10 months, maybe a little more and maybe a little less, I have lost 43.7 lbs and several inches without starving, feeling deprived, having to spend exorbitant amounts of money on going to gymns or buying special foods or supplements, without joining programs of any sort and with numerous hardships to impede my progress. That was while being stressed out , chronically ill,  inflamed with allergic reactions and often just ill with a cold or flu because I still have my lovely weak immune system to deal with. And, I have not gained the weight back, even when slacking, but, have continued to make some progress month-by-month.

Not bad!

I think it's getting time, pretty soon, for new photos!

New measurements

Measurements from 9-03-2013 (today) 

Height: 5'6.1"
Weight: 261.6
BMI: 42
Body fat: %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 109.5 lbs.

Measurements from 8-08-2013

Height: 5' 5.3"
Weight: 265.8
B.M.I.  44
Body Fat %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 112.2 lbs

That is a loss of 4.2 lbs in weight and 2.7 in total body fat mass. Which, you will note, is slightly over 1 lb a week of weight loss, which Is well within the typically desired range of 1-2 lbs per week.

Should I be sad? Not even. I ate pasta, candy bars, cinnamon rolls, drank both regular and diet sodas, had way more meat than I should have, drank tea and coffee with sugar, drank beer and only seldom did I exercise any per day, much less three times per day I still lost weight, from what I did by way of eating healthy fare, much less often than I should have  but sometimes, and exercising, sometimes.

I weighed in the evening, by the way, and, come to think of it, I also weighed five days earlier than I did last month. So, within the next five days, I may actually be beyond the 1 lb a week of it all. Though, I will not be measuring to find out until around this time next month; if Jehovah is willing that it should be so, then.

I will tell you one thing I did do, though. I exercised some portion control. As in, when I made dinner, I mostly only made enough for one bowl per person. It was not a scanty bowl. Maybe it was even an over-filled bowl; but, it wasn't more than one bowl.

Another thing that I did is, even though I was not exercising regularly, I did go out of my way to get up and go wash my dishes or clothes, walk out to check the mail instead of waiting for someone to go get it, walk down to the store instead of sending someone else (at least some of the time). Apparently, it works.

Aaagghhhhh!

In some ways, I am actually feeling a bit better, now that we have decent food in the house, again. The first night, I made a moderate amount of spaghetti with onion, a little Roma tomato red bell pepper, mushrooms, tomato paste, fresh garlic, a little Italian seasoning blend, a little white vinegar, a little sea salt and a little ground beef. No oil for sautéing, not a lot of spices. So, mostly just fresh and lovely.

Yesterday, I made some hamburgers on 12 grain bread with onions and peppers. The patties were studded with minced garlic. Oh, mushroom, tomato and a little mayonnaise were also involved.

Today, for lunch, we had chopped pork with the rest of the tomato paste, and some spices and vinegar, to make it into a barbecue sauce. Onion and green pepper were cooked along with it and it was served on 12 grain bread, with a little mayonnaise. The bread itself had been toasted with a very light coating of safflower oil on one side of each slice and sprinkled with garlic powder. I also added tomato and mixed lettuce (from a bag of pre-mixed salad) and served it all up with small slices of cantaloupe.

Today, for formal(ish) exercise, I walked down to the quick stop type store at the end of the street. It is not really that far, but, I practiced some variation of a "model walk" there and back. It was hard work!

The basic model walk, as they used to do on runways at fashion shows (and, sometimes, still do) is to walk by putting one foot in front of the other, instead of side by side, and not to move the hips anymore than is strictly necessary.

I have no idea how the foot placement goes for the actual model walk, but, I was doing heel-toe movements and was not particularly trying to restrain my hips; but, I was trying to keep my pelvis tucked, shoulder blades down and in and chest up, all at the same time.

I must say, I could feel it working my inner thighs and abdomen quite effectively!

Grocery day

Today is grocery day. I went to Sprouts and also to Fry's Foods. At Sprouts, I got a few pieces of fruit (1 cantaloupe, 3 pears, 3 black plums, 3 of some other kind of plum, one stand of parsley, 1 pkg. of fresh mint, 3 Bartlett pears), 2 bulbs of fresh garlic, 1 stand of green onions, Romaine lettuce, 1 pkg. of sliced mushrooms, 2 red bell peppers and 1 green, a very small pork loin roast, 1 pkg. of ground beef (same price per lb. as what I could have gotten at Fry's, if I'd bought a bigger pkg., but, this claimed to be organic), 1 cucumber, 1 white onion, 1 sweet onion, one half-gallon of Coconut milk and 1 bottle of Agave nectar. This, along with a few other things I bought ($17.30 worth) cost just under $43.

At Fry's, I got a pkg. of pre-cut spinach, a few Roma tomatoes (for once a better price than at Sprouts, at a time when I had money to get some), 1 2-lb package of spaghetti, 5 boxes of General Mills cereal, 1 pkg. of Grits, 1 pkg. of Cream of Wheat, 1 carton Blue Bunny ice cream, 5 loaves of Orowheat 12 Grain Bread, 1 jar of crunchy peanut butter, 2 half gallons of whole milk (cheaper than buying 1 full gallon), 1 bottle of seltzer water (for when I want bubbles, so that I can avoid unnatural sweeteners), 3 small packages of tea bags (orange spice, honey vanilla chamomile, and a blend of spearmint and peppermint), 1 large can of store brand coffee, 1 jar of store brand strawberry jelly, one 8 oz . pkg. of some other kind of pasta, 10 pkgs of Ramen noodles, one 5 lb. bag of all purpose flour, and one (I think) 5 lb. pkg. of white sugar. This cost, along with one other thing purchased, just slightly over $103.

I suppose you noted the milk and ice cream. They are not for me, but, for the boys. I should say "the boys" as, technically, they are adults. Still, they are young and call me Mom, so, there you go.

I am thoroughly disgusted by how much the food purchased at Fry's ended up costing. As far as I can tell, they charged me the correct amount, though, so I only have myself to blame. If I had bought millet at Sprouts, instead of cereal at Fry's, that would have lowered the cost quite considerably. Still, the cereal will make the boys happy, and one of the boxes may even make me happy, as it is Multigrain Cheerios and I have declared it mine.

Hot cereal is lovely, but, sometimes, I do just want to get up and eat and not have to cook, right away. Hence why I bought the flour and sugar. Well, in part. I have corn meal, which I purchased last month, and I intend to make us some corn bread and spicy beans sometime soon.

Anyway, some of this stuff will last out the week, some will last a little longer, and some should last the entire month or thereabout.  So, hopefully, over the next few weeks, I shall only need to purchase a few fresh veggies or some small amount of canned goods, and that sort of thing.

Tonight, I made a very good spaghetti, and, only enough for one nice sized bowl each. It had onion, yellow squash (left over from a different month, actually), mushroom, Roma tomato, red bell pepper, a little white vinegar, some alleged basil (probably actually oregano, as my son mixed the two together and, I believe, put the oregano on top), sea salt, fresh garlic and a little pre-minced garlic tomato paste and fresh spinach. Much less spice than I usually add in, but, it tasted wonderful. Fresh is a taste I can get used to.

That's something you may need to know, for your own sake. It's like, the first time I tasted a butter cookie that had actually been made with butter. I grew up eating margarine, so, the taste of butter worried me. It tasted just all wrong, and, yet, somehow, compelling. I wrinkled up my face and I am sure mixed emotions ran rampant across it. My sister, seeing this, told me she had the same reaction and that she thinks they used real butter and that's how it is supposed to taste. Turns out, she was right! I got used to it, and, I learned to love butter, so much so that, as an adult, I cut out all margarine and related items from my life and learned to use less butter than I would have used of margarine, and had a lovely time of it, until I had to give up butter, too.

My point is, though, that "fresh" really is a taste. If you are not used to it, it is weird and somehow horrible -obscene upon the tongue. Once used to it, it is a delight and you will not wish to settle for else.

For exercise, I did a bunch of grocery shopping, which was well more than 10 minutes; plus, I walked to the Circle K and back, this morning, which is further than Walgreen's, so, again, more than 10 minutes. Aside from that, I did a bit of cleaning up around the house. My feet are sore! My body is sore. I am well fed on spaghetti, lightly salted (one of my 1/2 tsp. treatments being taken) and feeling a bit satisfied.

Oh, and one big bottle of lemon juice and one small bottle of lime juice. At Fry's, I mean! I am neither of those things!

You know what ...

The more I think about it, the happier I get. I'm talking about the just-shy-of-8 lbs weight loss that I learned of, today. That's 28 days, 4 weeks, and, so, basically 2 lbs. a week.

For people who are on a diet program, that is not a crash diet, doing an hour of exercise at least 3 times a week (which is more in total minutes than I've been doing, since I missed days) - who are, in other words, really striving and making themselves uncomfortable to lose weight - a weight loss of 1-2 lbs. a week is considered normal and healthy and something to be celebrated.

They cut out carbs, lower calories, strain and stress to get that done. I went to the Golden Corral and ate like a pig, and to Pappy's for their lovely meaty Pappy's Burger with French fries, and got a Double Bacon Burger from Los Michecanos (or, perhaps Las . I'm not sure), ate that pain-dealing 6" meatball marinara, last night ate half of a Smores Pop Tart, and had a ton of pasta, and did as well. More than 1 lb a week and only slightly less than 2 lbs. And, that's with my stomach in distress and probably adding on 3-5 lbs. So, yaye! This is very very good, not just okay.

This month, I hope to do even better!

New Measurements and Philisophical Justification

Measurements from today, 8-08-2013

Height: 5' 5.3"
Weight: 265.8
B.M.I.  44
Body Fat %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 112.2 lbs.

That's a weight loss of just under 10 lbs. Not bad, considering I've been under extreme stress, off and on; and that I pretty much haven't seen a vegetable since that first week, due to various circumstances. I did actually weigh less than this a few days ago, but, my stomach is all swollen up now. Not going to freak out. It's all a learning process and it is an improvement over 28 days ago.

My back is really tight. Notice the loss of height!

Today, I did do the salt water, in the morning, and I did do my first 10 minute session of exercise. After that, I've done some extra house work.

But, I have not been feeling well and I am not going to push myself too hard. It's better to be functional and fat, than to lose weight and then collapse completely. Yes! Really! It is!

Still, maybe a bit later, I'll do some more exercise. I'm excited by the progress. It's nothing like the "up to 2 lbs a day" that the Dr. Oz article was talking about, but, I did miss some, I wasn't eating real great,, and it was "up to". That means that is the most you could expect to lose, not the least. So, for someone who is poor, thyroidal, stressed out and eating too much starch and meat and nowhere near enough veggies, it's nothing to complain about.
Measurements from 7-19-2013 post. I believe they were actually taken on 7-11-2013, though; so that would have been 28 days ago.

Height: 5' 5.6"
Weight: 275.5
B.M.I.  45
Body Fat %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 116.4  lbs


Past measurements, starting at the beginning of February, 2012. 2012? Can that be right? Has it been that long since I measured, or am I getting the year wrong? I better check!

Yep! That's right. It's not really the last time I weighed, but, it is, apparently, the last time I bothered to type about them, based on what I can find. (sigh)


 Weight: 299.1 (5.7 lb gain)
Height: 5' 5.6" (0.3" gain)
B.M.I.: 49
Body Fat: 44%
Body Fat Mass: 131.6 lbs. (3.8 lb gain)
Finally found the tape measure, so this is 2/08/2012 measurements, whereas the stuff above is 2/07/2012
Upper Chest: 47" (2-1/4" loss)
Bust: 54 (1/2" gain)
Ribcage: 51" (3 " gain)
Waist: 50" (same)
Hips/lower abdomen: 57" (same)
Measurements from 1/24/2012
Upper Chest: 49-1/4" (1-3/4 " loss)
Bust: 53-1/2" (1-1/2" loss)
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 50" (1/2" gain)
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.3 "
Weight: 293.4 (4.8 lb loss)
B.M.I.: 48
Body Fat: 44 %
Body Fat Mass: 127.8

That's 7. 5 lbs lost, within approximately 1 month, without much exercise and without any real dieting.

Measurements from 13 before that:
Upper chest: 51"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 49-1/2"
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.6"
Weight: 298.2 lb
B.M.I.  49
Body Fat : 44%
Body Fat Mass: 131.3 lbs

Measurements from 13 days before that:
Upper chest: 52"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 49"
Waist: 51"
Hips/lower abdomen: 56"
Height: 5'6.1"
Weight: 300.9 lb
B.M.I.  48
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.8 lbs


Measurements from 1/24/2012 (it may be the 25th before I finish, though):
Upper Chest: 49-1/4" (1-3/4 " loss)
Bust: 53-1/2" (1-1/2" loss)
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 50" (1/2" gain)
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.3 "
Weight: 293.4 (4.8 lb loss)
B.M.I.: 48
Body Fat: 44 %
Body Fat Mass: 127.8

Measurements from 13 days before that:
Upper chest: 51"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 49-1/2"
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.6"
Weight: 298.2 lb
B.M.I.  49
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.3 lbs

Measurements from 13 days before that:
Upper chest: 52"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 49"
Waist: 51"
Hips/lower abdomen: 56"
Height: 5'6.1"
Weight: 300.9 lb
B.M.I.  48
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.8 lbs

PS: When I say my stomach is swollen up and my back is tight, I mean that, right now, I am wearing a pair of 3x men's shorts that I was going to throw away because they were capable of falling off me even with the drawstring tightened all the way and me pooching my belly out to hold them up. They were simply HUGE on me. Now, they are loose on the legs and buttock regions, and fit my belly pretty well. It is SWOLL- and - EN. Of course, the other day, I had a bite of burger with cheese, as I needed to eat SOMETHING.

Though, technically, I guess it is not a need. One can go quite some time without eating, but, it tends to make me feel horribly ill and then my stomach would be swollen,, anyway.

Anyway - for those of you who are wondering how it is I can tout vegan or veganesque eating as cheaper than being  carnivorous, and, yet, always complain about running out of food:

1) I am feeding three people on a two person budget.
2) Two of those people are not as vegan as I would like them to be. Especially the youngest one.
3) One of them has a definite eating disorder, where he wakes up and eats what's there.

I am taking steps to prevent some of the problems. Like, I will go and buy about $50 worth of veggies and possibly a LITTLE meat each week, and I am trying to plan a menu so that I can prepare some stuff within the first day or two and then freeze it. Like, say, veggie burrito filling. That way, there won't be as much for him to eat, and it won't be as convenient and even if he eats it all, I'll still have something to buy groceries with for the next week.

Also, we may just get a lock for a chain I have, to put on the refrigerator and a hasp lock to put on one of the cabinets, to keep him out of the goodies like black olives.

This is not cruelty. He knows he has this problem. He feels bad about it. He is an emotional eater.  This will help us stay on track with a menu, stay on budget, and help his waistline. It will also help mine due to less stress and less of that "must eat before it's all gone" feeling.

Progress report

Well, over the last few days, I've been doing more work around the house. It's like very intense Spring cleaning, except with things getting dirtier and it being summertime. lol

They do Brush and Bulky Clean Up twice a year. We are removing things from the yard and the house, in preparation for the upcoming day. We've got about a month. There's a lot of bushes to trim, weeds to pull, old furniture to dismantle and remove from the yard, etc.
I still managed to do two 10-minute sessions, one being a real walk and the other being indoors, yesterday, and several partials of a minute or more.

I stepped on our bathroom scale, and it looks like I lost weight. I still can't read the exact number, but, it was between 270 lbs. and 260 lbs. That was before I drank two beers, though!  So, we'll see.

Today, I only did one 10 minute session, so far, indoors; and I moved a wee bit of furniture.  I did not drink my salt water. This is a result of staying up until around 5 am, doing my work that I actually get paid for, then waking up just in time to greet the fellow who comes over for my son's Bible study, and then going right into the furniture moving. All thoughts of salt water were knocked out of my head, until about 15 minutes, ago.

Part of the issue is that it is so very hot and muggy around here and I cannot afford to run an air conditioner. All we have is a portable, that would only work for one part of the house, anyway; but, I can't afford to use it. It makes staying on top of exercise terribly hard. Once it gets cooler, I might go outside and do some steps on (and off) the porch, or something like that.

Another issue is that I find I need a balance between not exercising so much at once that it destroys my tendons, and not exercising so little that it doesn't feel worth it to put my new tenny runners on. To put them on just to walk to Walgreen's and back seems a bit silly. It would also be annoying to do it three times a day!

Also, I have found that I am getting more and more into exercise videos on YouTube, especially the ones related to dance, and I would love to use those - but,  ...

Grrr! I just had one of those glitch things happen. I wrote some inspirational stuff about excuses. At least, it was inspirational to me, but, then, it all suddenly became highlighted and deleted. (sigh)

Basically, I was giving you my list of things I'm up against and telling you that I know it may sound like excuses, but, it's not. These are just obstacles I am working through. I do not HAVE to workout, get in shape, lose weight, or get healthier. I DESIRE to. Since I don't have to, there is no one to make excuses to. There is only me, working my way through, learning as I go.

If it helps you to read about it, then, great. In the end, though, it's still me doing my thing and you choosing to do your thing.

This last Thursday (7/25/2013) ....

.. my sister and I went to a very famous sandwich shop and each had a 6"ssandwich that had meatballs, marinara sauce and topped it off with lots of veggies. I ended up getting really sick, bloating up, gaining most (if not all) of my weight back that I most recently lost, with my muscles cramping up. I was super tired, achy, and felt, generally, cheese-poisoned.

So, I looked up the ingredients for that sandwich and I found out it has Romano cheese in the meatballs, as well as a lot of soy and high fructose corn syrup in both the meatballs and sauce. Gross!  Well, you know ... I thought that the sandwich shop was about eating fresh, getting what you saw and not a bunch of hidden stuff that you don't want. So, I am extremely disappointed. I won't be going there, again, without looking up the sandwich ingredients first.

Disclaimer, lest I get sued: When I said gross, what I meant was that soy is very bad for me, personally, as is cheese, and I am not particularly keen on high fructose corn syrup. The sandwich was very tasty; but, not something I would have ordered, had I been better informed as to what I was going to get. It was not hard to find the ingredients list by Googling for information on what they put in that sandwich. It took me by surprise, though, as I expected something closer to just simple meatballs and marinara sauce.

I also meant the results were gross. I spent a lot of time in the bathroom, having diarrhea and feeling like my stomach was being clawed apart. So, yeah - gross. Tasty, but, on a personal level, the entire experience is not one I would care to repeat.

Anyway, as a result, I did little (or no) exercise on Friday - Sunday, nor did I drink the salt water. On Monday, I did one session of 10 minute of exercise. Today, I did two, but, I also did some other work that involved carrying around heavy bags filled with laundry and walking around the yard a bit, plus, yesterday (Monday) I did walk down to the local quick stop sort of place, so, there was a little extra exercise.

Today, I remembered to drink my salt water, once. My gut was in such turmoil that I did not do it twice. Instead, I ate a big helping of grits, plus two eggs, that was both breakfast and lunch.

Right now, I am mainly worried, again, about getting things done in the house and in the yard. So, while I shall do some more formal exercise, if there is time and energy to do so, I think I'll be getting plenty moving furniture about and such, for at least the next few days. I am still recovering from the cheese, too.

Took more all-over measurements this morning

Still cannot read the scale, by myself, but, at last check with someone else's eyes, my weight was 270 lbs. according to our bathroom scale, which appears o agree with GNC whenever I measure around the same time using both scales. So, until I see something on the scale that is obviously (to my blurry vision)  below 270 lbs (like 260 lbs) I am writing it down as 270 lbs.

So:

Weight: 270 lbs.
Upper Chest: 44"
Bustline: 52-1/4"
Underbust: 48-1/2"
Waist: 47 "
Across Navel: 52-7/8"
Upper Hip/Abdomen::54"
Hips: Darn it! I forgot to measure them.
Thigh (widest part, around the middle) : L: 28-1/2"  R: 28-1/4"
Knee: L: 18-1/4"  R: 18-1/4"
Calves: L: 19"  R: 18-3/4"
Biceps: L: 16-3/4" R: 17"

These were naked measurements, and, I am not about to go strip down again, just for the sake of getting in my hip measurements. Sorry!

Also, here are some photos that were taken yesterday:

As you can see, in this back view, my waist is up pretty darned high, and my butt cheeks have very little size relation to my hips or below.

You may think they look awful, but, they do look better than the last ones I had taken. I just can't remember if those ones ever got posted.

Today, I walked to Walgreen's and back, then drank my sea salt water when I got back. Then, I had white tea with coriander and ginger, plus 1 tbsp. ACV. For breakfast, I had a yam that I had baked the other day; for lunch, cream of wheat and scrambled eggs (not much of either).

Tried a new (to me) exerciseoday

The new exercise involves leaning slightly on the back of a chair, with one's hands, and leaning the body slightly toward it, without over-arching the back or tilting\the chest too far downward. Then, standing on one leg, raising the other leg up with bent knee as high as possible, in a forward motion. After which, the same leg is carried back through and up straight behind. You repeat for the required number of reps and then switch legs.

I saw it on some workout that had to do with ballet, if you couldn't tell.

Anyway, today, I moved a wee bit of furniture, on my own; plus, doing the three 10 minute sessions. Both sea salt waters have been drunken and I am working on some tea with coriander powder and ACV in it, now.  Mmm mmm mmm!

My hips are definitely getting looser. Yaye!

Also, today, Nick told me that he noticed I lost weight. He thought it was because we got rid of the microwave. To some extent, that might even be true. At least, I hadn't gained weight.  I think part of the reason is that when food is microwaved, it is less satisfying, so one feels the need to eat more.

Also, in case I did not tell you, I have decided that sugar is a great evil. My sister and I went to a buffet restaurant, the other day, and, we ended up having dessert. Well, I had not lusted after sweets for a very long time, before this; but, while we were there, I decided to have dessert. It just seemed like a nice, special treat.

Now, I am craving sweets, big time. So, I decided I need to avoid them like the addictive plague they are; at least, until I can get some more agave nectar and other delights by which to make my own muffins or cupcakes, etc. Things that will have good taste, sweetness, but, less calories, no animal milk and no nasty blood sugar spike like one gets from sugar.

July 19 - 24

That's 5 days, not including today, which isn't over yet and should not be counted. According to the theory about the 10 minutes of walking, 3 x a day, I should have lost  up to 10 lbs, in that time, without further exercise or dieting.

According to the scale in the bathroom, I may have lost 5 lbs. I say may, because, while I think the scale is measuring accurately, it is a little hard for me to see the lines and it only gives the big numbers every 20 lbs. So, I know, for instance, that I did not lose 15 lbs. Apparently, I did lose some weight, though, and, it looked like 5 lbs. to me.

I did finish my workouts for yesterday, and drinking the sea salt water. Also went to a buffet restaurant, sometime in between start and finish. My eating habits, for this month, have not been so good. But, then, I ran out of food stamps on the first day and then a lot of my fruits, vegetables and the flour tortillas went bad, ultra quick; and, my son's friend kindly ate some of the tomatoes and all of the cans of ravioli. (sigh)

Yes, I know that ravioli is not health food, persay; but, I was going to combine it with zucchini and onion, or other good-for-me delights! It would have been lovely!

This morning, feeling as if I did not digest a darned thing from last night, I decided not to take the baking soda. I mixed the sea salt and apple cider vinegar. Now, there's a treat I can recommend missing! Anyway, the point is: yuck! No, wait ... the point is: I think the baking soda is screwing up my stomach acid and that I don't have enough to spare.

I don't know that it is true, but, it sorts of feels like it is. So, I think I may just start adding ACV into tea and sipping it throughout the day. It is much better in tea or in actual cooking than any other way I have tried to imbibe it.

Also, I did my first 10 minute "walk".

By the way, in case you were wondering, if I did lose 5 lbs., and not 10, as appears to be the case, I  do not consider it either a disappointment or failure. If I went back and read the article, I am amost certain it would say "up to 2 lbs." for one thing. For another thing, even if I was guaranteed to lose 2 lbs a day and I only lost 1 lb. a day, that's still me being 5 lbs. lighter. And, who knows? I could have gained 5 lbs. of muscle.

I was looking at my reflection in the mirror, at my sister's house, and I can definitely see a difference in my profile. I guess it's mostly due to being more toned up (if the scale is correct). Also noticed that my hips felt less stiff and I could open my legs more "flat to the floor", except, when I was laying down and the "floor" was an ottoman. Still, normally, I could do no such thing, so, yaye!

I did finish my exercises and I drank both sea salt things. I also put 1 tbsp. of ACV in some tea and sipped a little of it, but, have not finished it, yet. I will, though.

Another day, another round of exercise

  I took both my sea salt water and the ACV/BS water; but, I have cut back down to 1 tbsp. ACV and 1/4 tsp BS, once a day. I believe it was really helping me, but, I would prefer less progress with the yeast overgrowth problem and more ability to do my work and have a life, to the other way around.
 
Also, I did my first 10 minute session, mostly just marching in place.

I have noticed that my hands are hurting a great deal less, since I started taking the ACV water, again.

Mainly for my information, but, read if you like

Walked to Walgreen's, but, as we took a shortcut and I had an easier time walking, and was wearing my lighter weight sandals (as opposed to my heavy, bouncy tenner shoes), I didn't feel it quite qualified as a 10 minute workout. So, a little bit later, I did some ... hmm .. not sure what to count them, as ..

It's where you lean over, supporting yourself on one leg and .. I guess they'd just be called standing leg lifts. Not sure that's what they were called, when I saw them on a workout video, but, that's what they are called now.

So, I did 20 with the back leg extended and being lifted straight up, then 20 to the outside with the leg extended. That is, the leg was extended in back and the movement was to the outside. Then, 20 with the knee bent and going toward the inside. This was for each leg.

One of the workout videos I saw, last night, was something for Victoria's Secret models. In it, the trainer had the models and editors (guest exercisers from fashion magazines) doing the exercises on the floor, instead of standing. The standing part was inspired by a different workout, where they did the lift just straight back. But, he inspired me in this way: He said that the buttocks are made up from three separate muscles, so, to get a nice, well rounded "circle" butt, you need to do lifts up, out, and, in.

I already knew this sort of exercising is effective for building calve muscles that are more well formed, instead of the weirdly off-kilter ones many people end up with. For that, you turn your toes in, out, or keep them straight ahead. I have trouble with that sort of thing, though, as I have a high instep, my feet tend to pronate, and one of my feet is just really weirdly shaped from years of abuse, walking on rocks, etc. It had more tin cans dropped on it, and other traumas, than my other foot.

Following that, I did a few squats. I did not count how many, but, it was more than 5, and it was mainly to practice keeping my weight on my heels, as I had ben advised to do by more than one workout video. Good advice, too!

Also, took one dose of sea salt water, afterward.

It is now 2:21 pm. I have just finished my second 10 minute workout and drinking my second sea salt water. Ended up mostly just walking in place, after trying, unsuccessfully, to workout using a couple of different videos. So, probably, I really did more like 15 minutes of exercise, but, I set the timer for 10 minutes, instead of quibbling over minutes already fulfilled.

The main reason I couldn't do the workouts is that I did not have enough space. Also, though, it is extremely hot and muggy in the house and I was feeling self-conscious because my son is here and his friend may show up at any minute.  I spent a good lot of my life being laughed at, in gym class or wherever else it was that I was attempting to exercise or play sports. So, it stresses me out when other people are likely to come in and find me in odd positions or flapping about like some obese bat.

Now, here's a question you may have. I know I've heard it before: What if I don't have a waistline?

In point of fact, you probably do have one. However, if you are fairly straight up and down it can be hard to locate, and, same if you are so overweight or loose of belly that part of what should be where your waistline is happens to be closer to your knees than you ever dreamed possible, until it happened.

Sometimes, sitting down and then locating your waistline is helpful. There is no reason why you cannot measure your waist while sitting down. Just remember to do the same, the next time you measure it or you might get startlingly different results.

If you really can't find a waistline, choose  some place between your hips and rib cage, and then remember it for the next time. Wherever it is the top of your pants gets to is probably the best spot, assuming you aren't wearing hip huggers or some other odd shape of trouser.

My waistline is high up, so, it is actually just below my rib cage. This may change, if I ever get my back to straighten out, but, probably not by much.

I recently read that one should measure one's waistline by measuring around the area where one's navel is. Mm hmm .. well, my navel is not where it used to be. That's advice for persons who are thin or, at least, not that obese. For people who are 200 lbs or more, it's probably nowhere near accurate.

The important thing is to pick a place and measure it. If you get it wrong and you find out, after you lose weight, that it is not really your waistline, what of it? It is still going to get smaller and that's what is  being measured - loss of inches, wherever they may roam. What size your actual waistline is doesn't matter, for these purposes; it matters when you go to buy clothes.

Interesting.... I just took some measurements ...

Upper chest: 45-1/2"
Chest: 52-1/2"
Waist: 47"
Hips/abdomen- 55"
Lower hip/abdomen - 51"

Some of these measurements are the same as they were, yesterday; my chest is measuring as slightly larger and my waist is measuring as smaller. I believe the upper chest is also measuring as smaller.

Interesting, eh?

I did my second 10 minute session and salt water, a wee bit ago. I say, just to keep track.
It feels like things are starting to happen with my big fat belly. Yes, I know the measurement for the area of it around my hips are still the same. Nevertheless, the actual feel of it, when I touch it with my hand, is looser and the fat feels less hard, more moveable, so less dense.

Around 9:20 pm, I finished my third set of 10 minutes of exercise. I'm going to ,try to look up some 10 minute (or so) workouts on YouTube, tonight, because, I can feel monotony starting to rear its ugly head.

Yippee Skippee Doo Dah Day!

I am finding, now that I have taken it upon myself to do 10 minute workout sessions, that I am feeling more energetic (even though the workouts do take it out of me)and happier, throughout the day. As if, having gotten into the habit of moving and making a positive change, I am now free to move and be more positive at other times.

I feel less burdened by life. I don't have more money. I still have problems with my son, a depressed sister who likes to argue, worries over if the food will last long enough. 

The worries about the food are because 1) I went to Food City to get the majority of my leafy greens and fruit, and, I found out, the hard way, that I should only buy as much of them as I can use within 1-3 days of purchase; 2) I bought meat for the carnivores, which, to some extent, still includes me; 3) I am feeding an entire other person, who is not someone I have grocery money for, at present. I have been feeding him for a good long time, now, because, he's around and he needs to eat and doesn't have what it takes to feed himself, so ...

Also, I should note that my sister, thanks to the generosity of our father, has been exercising at a gym and, so, I see less of her; but, she is also happier, too, it seems like.

The gym is Planet Fitness. It worries me, that place, because, it is all about being quiet and sedate, non-judgmental, etc. Now, I like that, to a degree; but, I am also a bit of a brute and I enjoy a little verbal encouragement from myself or others, for myself or others.

I could also be going there, by the way. The membership he purchased for her is such that she can have a guest with her, every time, and it can be the same guest, every time. It really is rather a nice place, in its basic set up , and, for the kind of membership she has, it includes hydro massage and a few other amenities; though, only for her.  He purchased that one so that we could both go and that's very sweet of him. The thing is, I am still wanting to write my book and the entire point of it is to show that despite financial woes and physical health issues, it is possible to lose weight; even if one cannot afford supplements, meal plans, special fancy foods that can only be purchased at shops that don't take food stamps, gyms or whatever else many deem as necessary. So, if I started going to the gym, now, I'd have to give that up.

Anyway, my life has not changed from what it was before I started exercising, except that I am now exercising regularly. I know it is the simple joy of using my body and helping it that is making the rest of me feel good, too.

This morning, I was laying in bed, watching my left breast trying to play hide and go seek by nestling in my armpit. Seriously! Instead of viewing it as the misshapen and saggy thing it appears to be, I have taken this as good news; because, as you know, if you have read yesterday's post, I have lost inches and pounds, and many of them have come off in such a way as to empty my brassiere. This is fairly typical for women, even those in the best of health, so I shan't complain. It will all, hopefully, balance out, later

Earlier, in this blog, I had posted about body changes as weight loss occurs. For those who need a reminder, or who just didn't see it and don't want to go find it , now, let me touch on that subject, again. For it is a subject that I feel is ignored, all too often, by those who are filling up one's head with their special way of losing weight and getting in shape. I suspect, for many of them, it's because they've never been overweight enough to experience it; and, for the rest of them, it's because it is not a pleasant subject that will inspire you with pep and vitality.

Ever see a balloon deflate? Sure, eventually, it does get all small and flat, again, and, sometimes, it even returns to the shape it started out with. However, in the process of doing so, it gets weirdly bendy and squishy, because, the air that helped it to round out is now leaving and its wee little balloon skin is still trying to be the outer covering for a big, fat balloon.

If you are significantly overweight, you will be much like a balloon, in that respect. Your skin has grown to fit over all the fat, bone and muscle that you have.  It probably has stretch marks from where it protested the entire process, too. Now, you are asking it to return to (or find some other, never before achieved) shape and you are taking much of its supportive fat away.

This can lead to breasts sliding away to your armpits, bellies dropping even lower and clapping when you walk, thighs applauding your every move, your lips curling under more than pouting out sexily, your buttocks drooping until parts of them are now touching parts of your thighs that they had no previous acquaintance with, arms that flap so hard in the breeze that people will line up to buy bingo cards from you, and more.

The quicker you burn fat, the more this will happen.

Take the clapping of body parts as your standing ovation for the good work you have done, and know that, if you continue, eventually, your flesh will do its very best to catch up to the changes you are making it go through.

I remembered not to take the ACV/BS water, this morning. It should be taken, at most, 5 days on and then 2 days off. I did take my sea salt and it did leave me running for the bathroom. So, that's what 1/2 tsp of sea salt is good for: removing the 1/2 lb. or so of nasty that's hanging around one's lower intestine.  Though, it appears to be good for other things, as well.

Also, I did 10 minutes of exercise. Since, last night, I had watched some dance workout videos and a kick-boxing workout video, I felt inspired to incorporate versions of some of those moves into my own workout.

There is one lady on YouTube Kiera LeShay (whose name, I hope I have spelled correctly) that gives pretty clear instructions and has a great variety of workouts posted. If you can, check her out! She has some Zumba workouts, at least one kick-boxing workout, instructions on how to perform certain dance moves, and a lovely standing ab workout. Probably more than that, too!

One of her standing ab moves is to hold your arms up high and then bring them down, while curling up your pelvis, to do a standing crunch. It is not hard to do, and, would be even easier if I had been using a towel, which is how she does it in her workout. It is effective. Thanks to my poor imitations of that and some of the boxing moves (punch to the side while pivoting from the hip), and the addition of some hip drops and raises, my workout was more aerobic than it usually is.

Anyway, this is me, signing off. Hope you have a lovely day!

Measurements (now and in past)

Upper chest: Cannot be bothered to measure, as I am too tired, just now.
Okay, fine, I felt guilty and did it, anyway. Even logged back on, just to tell you: 46"
Bust: 52" (no bra)
Ribcage: Likewise, cannot be bothered, just now.
Ditto: 47"
Waist: 49"
Hips/abdomen: 55"
Lower hips: 51"

Height: 5' 5.6"
Weight: 275.5
B.M.I.  45
Body Fat %: 42
Body Fat Mass: 116.4  lbs


Past measurements, starting at the beginning of February, 2012. 2012? Can that be right? Has it been that long since I measured, or am I getting the year wrong? I better check!

Yep! That's right. It's not really the last time I weighed, but, it is, apparently, the last time I bothered to type about them, based on what I can find. (sigh)


 Weight: 299.1 (5.7 lb gain)
Height: 5' 5.6" (0.3" gain)
B.M.I.: 49
Body Fat: 44%
Body Fat Mass: 131.6 lbs. (3.8 lb gain)
Finally found the tape measure, so this is 2/08/2012 measurements, whereas the stuff above is 2/07/2012
Upper Chest: 47" (2-1/4" loss)
Bust: 54 (1/2" gain)
Ribcage: 51" (3 " gain)
Waist: 50" (same)
Hips/lower abdomen: 57" (same)
Measurements from 1/24/2012
Upper Chest: 49-1/4" (1-3/4 " loss)
Bust: 53-1/2" (1-1/2" loss)
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 50" (1/2" gain)
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.3 "
Weight: 293.4 (4.8 lb loss)
B.M.I.: 48
Body Fat: 44 %
Body Fat Mass: 127.8

That's 7. 5 lbs lost, within approximately 1 month, without much exercise and without any real dieting.

Measurements from 13 before that:
Upper chest: 51"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 49-1/2"
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.6"
Weight: 298.2 lb
B.M.I.  49
Body Fat : 44%
Body Fat Mass: 131.3 lbs

Measurements from 13 days before that:
Upper chest: 52"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 49"
Waist: 51"
Hips/lower abdomen: 56"
Height: 5'6.1"
Weight: 300.9 lb
B.M.I.  48
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.8 lbs


Measurements from 1/24/2012 (it may be the 25th before I finish, though):
Upper Chest: 49-1/4" (1-3/4 " loss)
Bust: 53-1/2" (1-1/2" loss)
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 50" (1/2" gain)
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.3 "
Weight: 293.4 (4.8 lb loss)
B.M.I.: 48
Body Fat: 44 %
Body Fat Mass: 127.8

Measurements from 13 days before that:
Upper chest: 51"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 48"
Waist: 49-1/2"
Hips/lower abdomen: 57"
Height: 5' 5.6"
Weight: 298.2 lb
B.M.I.  49
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.3 lbs

Measurements from 13 days before that:
Upper chest: 52"
Bust: 55"
Ribcage: 49"
Waist: 51"
Hips/lower abdomen: 56"
Height: 5'6.1"
Weight: 300.9 lb
B.M.I.  48
Body Fat %: 44
Body Fat Mass: 131.8 lbs

So, my BMI and Body Fat Mass has changed, significantly; my bust has gotten smaller, my waist has gotten only slightly smaller and same with my hips/abdomen. Weird! But, it is progress!

And, hopefully, next month (because, I have decided to measure and report only once per month, now) there will be even better news. Why? Now, I am past the stage of trying to make plans and doing experiments of any significance, and I am onto actually doing the work.

Now that I have done the last two measurements, that I felt too tired to do, earlier, I find that the place I lost the most inches is my upper chest, and the second top one is my bustline. Perfect! Still, some of that must be my nasty, fat back. Yes?

Well, it explains the trouble I am having with my bra, anyway!

Done for the day!

Today, due to the unexpected advent of my dad coming into town, I have already done my three 10-minute exercise sessions for the day.

Had ACV/BS water and salt water once, each, so far, today.

No Makka Ho stretches, yet, on this day.

This morning Dad called and said he was coming in to buy me a good pair of walking shoes. So, we went to the store and got them. Went to Alan's Shoes at 5432 Speedway in Tucson, where Marcy (I believe is how she spelled it) helped me. She was very nice and helpful, both. Plus, a man, who I believe is named Jim, was there to answer questions. It was one of the most pleasant shoe shopping experiences of my life. Expensive (for Dad), but, pleasant.

I ended up with a pair of New Balance running shoes. They are not what I would consider cool, fashionable or anything that could be described in a similar fashion. Though, they are not ugly, either. Just, the sort of shoes one would wear in a gym, not wear to make an outfit. Unless one is a super hero! That's the sort of shoes they are. Silver flash, red, blue, white. Captain America would be pleased by these shoes!

After we got the shoes, we went over to my friend's house to pick up a patio set she gave to me. This involved carrying some of the chairs, getting them into the vehicle, getting them out of the vehicle, moving them into the side yard - twice; because, it wouldn't all fit into the vehicle the first trip.

After that, we went to Sam's Club, where we walked all the way across the parking lot to inside, all the way to the snack bar (or, whatever they call it), through the line, to the table a few times, to the condiment area once, to refill my drink from the register line once, to the bathroom from the tables once, and around the store to help Dad gather what he came for. Then, of course, back out again.

I am counting that as one exercise session. Even though I did not count the minutes, it was at least 10 and it was separate and distinct from the other two.

The first one was when I got up in the morning and while I was mixing and imbibing my healthy little potions. Plus, a wee bit extra after the timer went off, just to make sure I got the full 10 in, since I did slow down or stop, ever so briefly, a few times.

After I got home, I got a call that my check is in the bank, so I walked down to Walgreen's and back, which is approximately 1/3 of a mile. I wore my new shoes, which are heavier than I am used to. I can really feel that they exercised my feet, too!  Anyway, that was at least 10 minutes and, also, a distinctly separate exercise period.

Tada! All done for the day. I mean, I could do more if I wanted to, and I might do more, but, I don't have to do more.

I am not going to go weigh for quite some time, so, I have no tangible proof to share with you (or me), but, I have reason to believe that I am losing fat. To whit, my arms and belly (especially) feel looser and flappier than they did a couple of days ago.

Oh, I forgot that I had also done a wee bit of raking in the yard, in-between my indoor initial exercise period and the furniture getting /shopping exercise period. It was very little, but, it all counts, right?

Or, does it? ,

This is what I think:

If it is something you do not normally do as an every day activity (before exercise becomes part of your every day activities, that is), then it counts toward your exercise total. 

IE: If you always take your kids to the park, push them on swings, play ball with them, etc. then it does not count toward your exercise total. Same as if you always walk 6 blocks to catch the bus. These are normal activities for you.

If you start walking more, and going a bus stop that is 5-10 minutes or more away from your normal bus stop, though, then it counts as part of the 30 minutes per day exercise total. Or, if you start taking your kids to the park on an extra day of the week, or, doing more with them, or running around the perimeter of the play area while they are doing the things they usually do while you are sitting on the bench, then, it counts toward your exercise total for the day.

I don't normally go to Sam's Club or move furniture, or walk to Walgreen's. So, it all counts. Does that seem unfair? It shouldn't.

The goal, here, is to add 30 minutes of exercise, per day, in three 10-minute sessions (if possible), so as to burn fat faster. If it's not an addition, then, the goal is not being reached, and the fat is not going to be burned.

Though, there are exceptions to this rule. Such as, if you normally work out for an hour at a time and you break it up into sessions of smaller amounts of time. Why is that different? Because, the workout, itself, is already an addition that you have made to normal activity, and you are simply reconfiguring how you workout to get better results. Workouts count as workouts! But, if you do an hour, as you always do, then, you are still triggering your bodies proper fat burning response only the once, and you still need at least two more separate workout sessions of, hopefully, 10 full minutes each. Or, to avoid working out for 1 hour and 20 minutes, instead of 1 hour, you can simply change how much of
the hour you use at a go.

If you normally walk to work, then, that is not a workout. If you normally take the elevator to your office and, instead, you take the stairs, and you feel that you are more exercised as a result, it counts toward the total.

This is where you need to pay special attention, not so much to the clock, or to your reasoning, as to the way your body feels.

Right now, I am pleasantly exhausted, all hot inside, strangely both energetic and ready to fall to sleep. I feel like a rumbling furnace, burning it's fuel. I know, then, that I have been well exercised, today.
This feeling could get addictive. I don't want to push myself too hard, though. I still have to worry about Fibromyalgia. So, even though part of me wants to jump up and dance, I am sitting here typing at you, instead, and allowing myself to wind down a bit.

Reasons for some of the things I am doing

How Adrenals Can Wreak Havoc The site that has information about other problems that can occur as a result of having thyroid problems. The next site is also related.

Aldosterone  The site where I found information about how to treat low aldosterone.

Miracle Cure for Candida  This is about using baking soda and molasses to cure yeast overgrowth. I have not tried this one, yet, but, I might just do. The method is interesting, because, it is very reminiscent of how one kills rodents or bugs. Basically, you attract the candida with molasses and then it gets the baking soda, too, since they are mixed together; and the baking soda is poison. This is like using powdered sugar mixed with Boraxo to kill pests.

Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar

Other Uses for Baking Soda  Household uses, beauty treatment uses and some health uses.

Low Stomach Acid  Information on how low stomach acid can affect yeast overgrowth and how enhancing stomach acid can help overcome yeast overgrowth; how it can affect digestion of lactose; and various related bits.

Calisthenics Workout Information 

Cumin, Coriander and Fennel Tea

Grilled Pepper and Lentil Salad

Today ...

Well, first, yesterday. Yesterday, I drank the ACV/baking soda mixture (2 tbsp./1/2 tsp) twice and the 1/2 tsp of salt twice, and, I did two five minute sessions of exercise.

Today, determined to do all three five minute sessions and also the Makka Ho stretches that I missed out on, yesterday, I ended up doing one 10 minute session this morning. Then, just a wee bit ago, so after 9 pm, I did another 10 minute session, In both cases, I started out with five minutes and then just decided to reset the timer and keep going.

Now that I've done 10 minute sessions, I do say that they make me feel better. I can feel something changed, starting around the 5 minute mark; but, I can't say what it was. Endorphins, maybe.

Also, I did the ACV/BS and then the salt two times, again, today. 

Still no Makka Ho stretches. Almost! There were a few times I was really considering it, but, in the end, I just didn't want to be that on the floor, today. It's a very hot, muggy day and I don't like being on the floor, to begin with.

Recent News

Hello, lovely people ... assuming there are any people out there, reading this.

I have been quite busy doing various things, some of which are pleasant and some of which make me quite sad. Many of them cause a great deal of stress and cause a lack of money and other resources, tiredness, etc.

I am still plugging along, though. In the last month, I have lost 3 lbs. No muscle loss, though, and that's something!  If I remember correctly, I have lost more fat than the number of pounds would account for, too. I can't find the old receipt to find out, though.

In the last week, I started trying Apple Cider Vinegar water with baking soda, as I have read some interesting information about using it to kill yeast overgrowth. I started out with 1/4 tsp. baking soda and 1 tbsp. ACV, and have now started on 1/2 tsp baking soda and 2 tbsp. ACV, in 8 oz of water.

So far, I have only done it once per day. It is suggested to do it three times a day, for 5 days, and then to take a break for 2 days.

Also, due to things I read about thyroid issues, I have started taking 1/2 tsp. sea salt (iodized) in water, in the mornings. It does seem to help me feel less tired.

Today, I did Makka Ho Stretches. There are just 4 exercises, and, really, they are just stretching; but, for me, right now, they are pretty darned intense. I could really feel a difference in the way I was walking, immediately afterward.

The major focus is on the hip/groin area, to make it more mobile. I could really feel it in my back, lower abs and inner thighs. Yowza!

The Makka Ho stretches should be done every day. They only take about 5 minutes, once one gets used to them. I have almost zero mobility or ability to hold positions, but, I noticed there was a difference between the first set of 10 or the second set of 10.

When I say Makka Ho stretches, by the way, I mean as written by a Japanese gentleman in a book that was published in the late 1960's or early 1970's . There are other Makka Ho exercise books, that add a bunch of stuff in and try to make it all mystical. His book mentions God, but, it is not a book about religious training or any sort of mysticism; it is just exercises to help people remain mobile or gain mobility.

Also, after I made this initial post, I did a full five minutes of moving. Which, to you Alice Cooper fans, happens to be one full play of "My Stars'. Earlier, today, too, I went on a walk through the mall with my sister, and I shall count that as another five minutes.

My goal is to work up to 30 minutes of purposeful movement, every day. It can be walking, doing stair stepping, dancing, calisthenics, Callanetics, running, swimming. So long as it is purposeful and aerobic. Yes, that includes possible weight-lifting, if done right.

First, I shall do five minute intervals,  three times a day. The Makka Ho exercises will not be counted in that total, as, while they are quite beneficial, they are not aerobic.

There is a scientific explanation for why it is better to break up your workout into three periods of 10 minutes each. Though, during that explanation, I saw nothing to indicate that 15 periods of 2 minutes each wouldn't be at least as beneficial. Still, one does want endurance, and, such short periods of exercise would not accomplish that goal.

Basically, what I am saying, then, is that, if it is possible for you to do so, go for 10 minutes, three times a day. If it is not, do what you can, in whatever increment you can, and work up to the goal from there.

I do not have the scientific explanation on me, at the moment, but, I can tell you the gist. Your body, when you start exercising, goes through chemical changes that encourage you to burn fat. It happens every time you start exercising. Though, it could be that it happens slowly enough that 10 minutes works best. I don't know! Whatever the case, beginning to exercise and keeping it up for 10 minutes, then doing it three times is better for burning fat than working out for one session of a half hour.

Obviously, if you care to work out for an hour, you can decide to do four sessions of 15 minutes or 6 sessions of 10 minutes, too. Just don't go crazy and overdo it. Always work up to the goal. To overwork yourself serves no purpose at all. If all you can do is 1 minute at a time, do the 1 minute, three times a day. Then, add to it over time. Could be the next day or it could take you a week. It's your body. Train it, but, realize that part of effective training is listening to the needs of the trainee.

Fact finding

I checked out Jacobs Park. To the first entrance should be 1 mile. i had to alter things to get that information, because, it kept telling me about some other entrance which is 1.6 miles away, but, the road that should be right before the park is listed as 1 mile away.

So, if I walk  there and back, once a day, every day, that will be 14 miles per week.  Which is about the same as I was walking, going further every day I walked, but, not walking every day. I think the once per day would work better for me.

Ouchie!

3.5 mile walk tonight. My leggies are tired.

So, there I was, striding along. .

.. through the restaurant, feeling pretty good .. feeling like my muscles are stronger, my posture is more upright, my hips are swingier ...

I get to the table, and I start to tell my dad about how I've been walking more, lately, and before I get halfway through the first sentence, so all I said is "I've been walking .." he says "You're looking thinner."

My sister said that I'm looking thinner, the other day, but, only about one of several photos, so I wasn't sure if it was my face or just the angle. So, I didn't really believe it, at that point; but, today I got confirmation, so: yaye!

There is a reason I have not been doing my weight, measurements, etc. It's because I have not even been trying. I was not walking to lose weight. I was just walking to walk, due to restlessness.

I have not refined my eating plan, yet. Hopefully, soon. When I do, and I start really trying, again, I shall go back to weighing and measuring; probably, every two weeks again.

I'm still here ..

Been having a hard time of it, what with the neighbors stealing my groceries and all, but, I am still around and still have plans in motion.

Haven't gotten to weigh in about a month, and lost most of the receipts from several times before that, but, last time I did weight, I weighed about the same as I did before I started swimming.

Swimming was doing wonders for my posture and muscle tone, but, I was not losing any weight . Then, I found out I am allergic to bromine, which is what the year 'round pools use in this city. So, I had to stop swimming, at least until the summer.

Yesterday and today, I went on a walk in the evening that totaled what I will call 3.5 miles. That is, each walk was 1.8 miles each way, so each walk was approximately 3.5 miles and it was 7 miles for the two days.