My Kapha brings all the boys to the yard ...

Ah well ... maybe not. Still, I do find the ideas and advice interesting and, in some cases, helpful.

Your scores are Vata: 2 Pitta: 4 Kapha: 4

Based on your results, you are a KAPHA-PITTA:

Kapha Characteristics

Kapha is the principle of protection, nourishment, and stability. It is associated with the earth element. People with a predominance of Kapha in their nature tend to have a heavier frame, think, and move more leisurely, and are stable. When balanced, it creates calmness, sweetness, and loyalty. When excessive, Kapha can cause weight gain, congestion, and resistance to healthy change.

Kapha Characteristics

Mind: Detail orientated, steady, consistent Body: Sturdy, gains weight easily, has trouble losing it Skin: Smooth & oily Hair: Thick, oily Appetite: Loves to eat but has a slow digestion Routine: Methodical and sturdy, resistant to change Temperament: Thoughtful, forgiving, sweet, patient, loving, content, slow moving Conversation Style: Simple and profound Shopping Style: Saves Stress Response: I don’t want to deal with it! Withdrawn

Pitta Characteristics

Pitta is the principle of transformation represented in our digestion of ideas, sensory experiences, emotions, and food. It is associated with the Fire element. People with a predominance of Pitta in their nature tend to be muscular, smart, and determined. If balanced, a Pitta is warm, intelligent, and a good leader. If out of balance, Pitta can make us critical, irritable, and aggressive.

Pitta Characteristics

Mind: Sharp, intellectual, direct, precise, discerning Body: Medium build, warm, muscular Skin: Sensitive, flush, acne-prone Hair: Tendency towards early graying or thinning Appetite: Strong, can eat just about anything, anytime Routine: Very precise and organized Temperament: Passionate, driven, courageous, strong sex drive, good leader Conversation Style: Speaks to convey a point Shopping Style: Spends on luxury items Stress Response: Irritable, tendency to blame others.

	22		21
	17		16
	24		20

A Question of Balance

Section Two provides a snapshot of your current mind body state. The mind body principle that scores the highest number of points in each section, is the one requiring the most attention at this time.

Invoke Your Inner Pharmacy

The first step in regaining balance is to recognize that the environment around you has a profound influence on how you feel. Paying conscious attention to what you hear, touch, see, taste and smell can help create peace, balance and vitality in your mind and body. A harmonized daily routine that engages the five senses with nourishing impressions is one of the most important steps towards achieving Perfect Health.

Accumulated Kapha

Out of balance Kapha leads to heaviness, sluggishness and congestion. Stimulation and movement help overcome the resistance of accumulated Kapha. Think activation and invigoration. Here are some tips to maximize balance and well-being:

Body

Take a yoga class to connect to your body and invoke your natural energy Perform a vigorous daily self massage with Invigorating herbalized oil Take deep breaths throughout the day Favor spicy foods with a predominance of pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes Walk 5-15 minutes after eating to aid digestion Drink Invigorating Tea Put your full attention on your meals when eating

Accumulated Vata

When Vata is out of balance, change and movement agitate the physiology resulting in a sense of instability. Balancing Vata requires introducing more grounding and stabilizing influences. Think routine and consistency. Here are a few tips to encourage balance and well-being:

Mind

• Meditate twice a day to quiet the mind
• Look for opportunities to create rhythm and routine in your life
• Go to bed and awaken at about the same time every day
• Wear Relaxing fragrances
• Listen to slow and relaxing music to calm Vata
• Minimize heavy reading, eating, or watching TV right before bed
• Diffuse relaxing fragrances into your environment
• Favor mild pastel shades and earth tones in your environment

Food Journal (first week of Step One)

Don't get confused by the labels. I am trying different things, and, trying to organize myself. I have a new step one, now, which I am sure of, and, which I will keep strict track of for a week before adding anything else to.

I am already doing some strength training exercises twice a week, but, they have not helped me lose weight. In fact, I have gained weight since beginning them as a regular thing.  I think I gained about 6 lbs, so far. That's also while taking the magnesium supplements and probiotics, that were to help heal my gut and to lose belly fat.

I did lose a little on my waist, briefly, but, now it is gaining again, and, my belly is almost always hard, inflamed and I am almost always dehydrate and constipated. The heat could explain some, but, not all, of that.  As of right now, I am still taking the supplements, but, I have decided on a new Step One, which I had done by accident, before, and found very effective. It is eating on a schedule. I won't bore you with the details, because, you can find your own information and do your own experiments online, if you can't weight for the book; and, I do need something to put in the book, that isn't in this blog, or, why would anyone want to read it?

Anyway ....

Today is the first day of Step One.

Day One: 

For breakfast, I had half a bagel. It's not plain, but, I don't know what it is. It's spiced with something. 1 Kroger Brand Beer Braut sausage, lightly sauteed in a little olive oil with 1/2 Roma tomato, some peppers and onions.

For lunch, I am having the same, as I made a bowl up for my son and he hasn't shown up, yet. I am also having an unmeasured amount of cantaloupe and honey dew. I would guess about 1/8 of a medium melon, each. It might be less.

For dinner, I had one chicken  drumstick (skin on), one baked potato, a little olive oil, and, some frozen green beans.

I finished eating around 4 p.m. It was hard, for the first couple of hours, not to go find things to nibble on, just to feel the feeling. I wasn't hungry. After a while, I quit noticing. I did take a Chem-Defense tablet and I think that helped, because, it's sublingual and that means a lot of shifting about.

After a few hours, I could really hear things moving around. My stomach felt flatter and less gassy than usual, too.

Day Two:

Woke up this morning, early, but, not hungry. Finally ate breakfast at around 7 a.m.  I still wasn't feeling hungry, but, I was feeling that I had better get on with things, before the day wore away and I hadn't time to eat. This is a bad feeling that I must fail to give countenance to, on future days, as I did eat quite a bit, today.

For breakfast, I had oatmeal made with a little honey, a little coconut oil, fresh sauteed papaya and pineapple, and raisins. I measured nothing out, really, but, I'm guessing about 1 cup of oatmeal and maybe 1/2 cup of pineapple and papaya, and, it was a little wee box of raisins, like they give kids for snacks. However, I did not eat all of the fruit, as I made more oatmeal than I ate, so there is about half of it left for tomorrow morning.

For lunch, I had one very small and one medium-small baked potato with a squeeze of lemon, sea salt and ground peppercorns. two small chicken drumsticks (skin on) and the rest of the green beans that were cooked yesterday.

For dinner, I had approximately 1/2 a (scanty) can of tuna with white onion and apple slices and an onion bagel.

I finished eating right around 2 pm.

When I woke up this morning, I still felt a little full from yesterday (or, a little inflamed, anyway), but, I did feel better than if I had eaten later, and, I did  .. *ahem*  .. use the facilities in a more gratifying manner than usual.

I've still been taking my magnesium supplements. I think I will quit. Regardless of what that H.P. says about magnesium being a cure for constipation, I read evidence to the contrary before visiting her site, and, I experienced the truth of it, for myself, as well.

Maybe she meant magnesium rich foods, but, what I read was "magnesium".  Of course, there is Phillip's Milk of Magnesia, which would argue in favor of her way of thinking, I guess. Hmm ...  No, it does not. I just looked at the ingredients, and, while there is 1200 mg of magnesium hydroxide, or some such, it also has sodium and is made from sea salt, and, anyone who ever read (or, especially tried) the Master Cleanser Diet plan in regards to cleaning out one's bowels, knows that sea salt is very good for that.

A Japanese study showed that constipation can be linked to eating too little  magnesium rich foods and taking in too little water.  Didn't show taking magnesium supplements helped, though.

Dr. Oz said that taking magnesium supplements can cause constipation, so, to drink plenty of water. I've had it almost ever since I started taking them. It could be that the one I take has some sneaky calcium. Calcium tends to bind one up.

Whatever the case, I was snubbed by H.P. when I tried to ask her a question, and, I have constipation where none out to exist, according to her, and, so, that's two wrongs against her. I win!

Hahah?

It's around 10:40 p.m, now, and, I have felt no hunger pains or wild urges to chomp down on things. I have had mild urges to make strong, sweetened tea; but, that's mostly because I am headachy and that is probably from not having sugar.

Day Three: Saturday

Today, unless anything weird happens (or, maybe, despite it) I should be going to the gym with my sister. I had a stuffy-headed semi-wakeful night, but, better sleep than I have been having, lately, except for the night of the Valerian Root. Sounds scary, no?

This morning, after I drank some more water and moved around a little bit, I had a bowel movement that wasn't terribly painful or entirely disappointing. I am beginning to think that all the numbness of limbs associated with eating things really is about the pressure of gas and whatever happens with constipation.  I have been feeling tired and numb and tingly, in the way I would if I ate cheese, but, without any of the other problems associated with it.

Today, for breakfast, I am eating the rest of the oatmeal, fruit, seeds, coconut oil combo with honey , that I made yesterday.

For lunch, I sauteed the two leftover potatoes, from yesterday, with a little olive oil, chopped leeks, peppers and white onion, and two eggs, along with some garlic, pepper and sea salt.  This was split between me and my son. Plus, I had most of a green apple.

For dinner, I had brown rice pasta and black olives, mixed with some pasta I had made before, plus some extra spaghetti sauce (canned, premade stuff). So, there was a little ground beef and a little other vegetation. Oh, and, I chopped up a zucchini to put in it, too. Plus, I had a grapefruit.

What I have realized is that, right now, my stomach/intestines always swell up and get uncomfortable when I eat anything. Booh! Anyway, finished up around 2 pm.

Day Four,Sunday; Five,Monday; Six, Tuesday; 7,Wednesday. ....

I tried to keep track of things, but, I didn't have time to log in and type it all up.What I can tell you is that I did follow it, still, today, on Thursday, aka: Day 8. I did not really follow it on Wednesday, though,as I was feeling a bit queasy and drank a 7-Up outside of the eating window.

I also had some doughnuts on Wednesday. What I learned from all this Wednesday sugar is that eating sugar really does make me feel worse than not eating it.  When my son and I went on a walk, today, I was really suffering and slogging, compared to the last walk I went on.

I have not weighed yesterday or today, yet, to see what might have transpired, because, truthfully, I hadn't realized that the week was up, until just now. I have been told by someone, today, that I look like I lost weight, though.

-------------

Okay, today is Friday, June 6, aka Day 9, only I am done counting in that way, since, really, I just wanted to do a mini-experiment for a week, to see what would happen. Now that  I've had a fairly decent night's sleep and recovered from my walk in the torturous sun, I shall attempt to recreate the days I so blithely skipped over last night.

Day Four,Sunday;

Busy day. I believe I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, on cut rate bread and including high fructose corn syrup as the main ingredient in the jelly, for breakfast, followed by a hot dog, soda and half a small bag of potato chips for lunch.Circle K was where I was offered food and it was already getting late, vis a vis my time window, so, I pounced.

Then, for dinner, I had half a regular sized Snickers bar and a banana.

Day Five,Monday:

I don't remember breakfast, but, I do remember having lovely pasta for dinner, which was a mix of wheat spaghetti noodles and rice penne noodles.

For lunch it was one tuna sandwich, cut rate bread, with onions and mayo. Very tasty, in fact. I added a touch of dried dillweed and some black pepper and sea salt.

Six, Tuesday;

A description of my breakfast, which I posted on FB:
"I am eating oatmeal that you want to try, though. Mmm ... It's got pumpkin seeds, peanut butter, banana, an egg, oatmeal (of 


Still, you want to try it. Don't know that you would need the egg, but, I felt the need for extra 

protein that didn't annoy me."


course) all stirred up and cooked together, utilizing the appropriate amount of water. Oh, 

and, cocoa powder with a little 

honey. 

That's as close as I get to a recipe for it, as I almost measured out the oatmeal and water, 

but, measured nothing else. 




For dinner, I had two smallish baked potatoes with sloppy joe mix (ground beef, canned spaghetti sauce, a little ketchup,some peppers and onion) over them.

Day Seven, Wednesday:
A bad day, indeed.  What did I eat on Wednesday? I drank a 7-Up, most of a full 2 litre, full sugar drink and I ate approximately half a package, each, of Hostess powdered sugar and chocolate glazed doughnuts. No vegetables, no fruit, no other carbs, no protein.

Day Eight, Thursday:
A few bites of leftover chocolate-banana oatmeal The rest of the 7-Up, for breakfast.
2 value menu chicken sandwiches and one value menu hamburger, plus value fries and water for lunch / dinner.
Followed by a Propel water,on accident and some Diet Coke with fresh lemon juice, on purpose.

So, there we are.

Now, for the news:

On approximately the 22nd of May, 2014, I weighed at GNC. I had gained weight, again, and was up to almost 264 lbs. Something like 263.7. It did not say that I gained any body fat, though. At any rate, I had not lost weight, and kept it off, for several months of stress and bad eating.

As you can plainly see, above, last week was also some fairly bad eating. I will let you know that it was an extremely hot time with no swamp cooler, followed by a crying jag after I had to ask my dad for help because the person who promised he would fix it simply left the water on to pour off the roof which I cannot access. So, yeah, stress.

This morning,I weighed and measured my waistline(s).
The scale said either 255 lbs or 256 lbs. I cannot be more accurate than that, as my eyesight is poor and the lines are tiny and way down by my feet. Let's round up to 256 lbs and down to 263 lbs as my previous weight, because I know that I hadn't lost weight (before beginning this week long experiment) and I might have gained some. So, even shaving off a little of how much I actually weighed at last official weigh in, and, knocking off one possible pound of weight loss, that's still 7 lbs. lost, in one week, without even trying to eat really healthy or counting calories, or etc. Simply by eating within a set window of time, and, even then, I messed up on some days.

My waistline (right below ribcage) was measured, this morning, as being 44",  My waistline (right above hip bones) was measured as 49".That's okay, though, as I can see, when I look in the mirror, that due to weight loss and skin that is looser, there are things that used to be up higher on my back that are now down lower.

Now, I was exercising at the gym this last week and went on a couple of walks, but, I was also doing those things during periods of weight gain ,while eating healthier.

Please be aware, I am not suggesting that you eat Hostess doughnuts and drink soda to lose weight. Nor am I suggesting that what you eat does not matter. I am saying that, especially if you have digestive issues that cause your food to move more slowly through your body, WHEN you eat is also of great importance.I am sure if I had eaten healthier, this last week, I would have lost even more and I would feel better, right now.

Still, I am happy with the results, and, I feel even more ready to do marvelous things for my health.

Day Two Step One

Since this is really only the second day that I have taken the supplements in the right amount, at the right time, according to package directions, I am considering this day two of step one, despite the week or so I was taking them before that.

Since my sister prefers to weigh later in the month, and, I'd like to have at least a week with the supplements, before I go weigh again, we shall probably be weighing next week. That way, I can see if taking the supplements has helped, at all.

However, I can tell you that I did my two waist measurements, today, and was fairly pleased. Two waist measurements are taken, in case you don't remember (or, haven't read that post) because the doctor who wrote the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet says to measure for calculating your B.M.I., you need to measure directly above your hip bones for your waist measurement. However, where my waist actually is, the natural indent, is up a bit higher. Not a lot higher, though, as I have a bit of a short torso.

Anyway, as I said before, I measured them one morning and they were 46"(natural) and 49" (above hipbone), but, later that evening they were 49" and 51" . Today, in the afternoon, they were 46" and 49". So, I count that as good news!

I do feel flappier, this week. It's a horrible feeling, in a way, but, it's also a really good feeling in another way, since it is the feeling of progress. My hands were creeping me out, though.

I had wiggled my fingers around, watching the bagginess of it all, and, then I noticed that the  .. hmm .. I don't know what you call it. You know, I could have totally freaky hands and be cluing you into my circus people genealogy, or whatever, by saying this stuff! Anyway ...

On my hand, at any rate, there is a rather large part under the thumb, where the thumb actually has the rest of its bits that attach to the hand proper. Over the bone is a whole lot of padding. So, when I move my thumb in toward the palm and fingers, that padding, now looser, bunches up and makes the thumb and itself look rather like a very sad, old penis.

See?:

And, here is my same baggy hand, sans penis:

It is a good thing, masquerading as a bad thing.

Same thing with other parts of me. Of course, by my saying "other parts" breasts are inferred; but, not only those. Still, I am constantly amazed when I find that I still have enough fat left there to lose anything, since, every time I lose weight, I lose more of them .Seriously! I was not Dolly Parton to begin with, you know? And, either was she, after she lost weight, until she got surgery.

My belly does feel more like it's partially made out of rubber, so that it bounces along as I walk. Or, move at all. Today, I was trying to read a book, but, I had put my legs together, laying on my back, and, was doing a wee bit of some sort of laying down, pretend belly dance, abdominal exercise and then, I don't know .. I was just flapping my thighs together, after a while, for my own amusement.

Hey! If you can't have fun, why do it? Any of it? Flapping your thighs together may not be normal, but, it is self-entertainment and it is exercise. So, I say, why not?

The real point of all that, above, is that I do feel as if I have probably lost weight and the measurements seem to indicate that some of it has come off my belly. Yaye!

Here is another photo for you, just because. Enjoy my flappy face and insouciant hair!

     













One of my sisters has these uber large eyes (though, I am not sure if she is aware of this) which still look big, blue and flashing, even though she is, currently, larger than I. Whereas my eyes are not so easy to spot, especially as light hurts them and I keep squinting.

To make up for it. I have these lips, you see? Think about it. I am 45 years old. I am overweight, so, my lips look small compared to my face size. People do not generally get fat lips from getting fat elsewhere, you know? No, but, they usually get them from calling other people fat!

My point is, lips get thinner as you age. They look smaller in a fat face. I do not use lip plumpers. I have gotten no plastic surgery or weird injections. Those are my natural, unenhanced lips that look as big, blue and flashing as my sister's eyes do! Err .. well, you know what I mean!

They are a source of happiness to me, because, as a child, I was afraid of being thin-lipped; and, I know that is a fear that is most unfounded.

They are, also, a source of amusement to me. For, while I do enjoy a good set of full lips, it freaks me out when I lose weight on my face, and, it tightens up enough to look like it, and, my lips, thusly, look bigger than they did. Sometimes, to me, it looks like nothing else has changed and it is only that my lips have grown.

Hahhahaha!

Hmm ... if I had a choice between that or being thin-lipped? Hmm... . tough choice. I guess I'd just stop trying to lose weight.

xx

                 

Lesson learned

So, here I am, taking my supplements, and, waiting out what I thought was a bad reaction that developed from eating the Greek Yogurt.  I mean, I expected it would be from the Greek Yogurt, though, I was a bit surprised that it started happening after not having eaten them for a few days, at all; but, you know, I have super slow digestion at times, and, when it comes to my milk intolerance, sometimes, it starts out being just a little bad and then blooms to full blown torture over the next week or so.

That wasn't it, though. It's been plenty long enough that I should have been over it, if it was the cause of my troubles, and, instead of getting better, I've been getting worse. As in, constant rash on my face , neck, shoulders and upper back, starting to get itchy in other places, stomach swollen up, and, other nasty things you just don't want to know about, at all.

I know what I've been eating and none of the food I had contained any sort of milk at all. Okay, there was some bread, but, there's never been a problem with eating bread, so long as its good quality, before now.

So, I go to look up the ingredients on the supplements I've been taking. Turns out the probiotic has wheat in it, which is a little alarming, since, part of balancing out your bacteria is avoiding wheat, if at all possible; but, I wasn't that concerned with that issue, yet. They also have milk in them! I have never bought a probiotic with milk in it, before now, or, even heard of one; but, that's what's in the one I got from Wal-Mart.So, now, I have a several month supply of poison. Yaye!
  I haven't been able to sleep, feel like I can't get going on cleaning or anything else, and, in the last couple of days my rash got really bad, I started seeing spots in front of my eyes and blacking out.  I'm about 100 percent certain that's why.
  Nothing like buying something that's supposed to be helping you get healthier and finding out that it contains things that make you more ill than just about anything else. It's got my thyroid acting all cranky, too.
  I bought the probiotic so that I could get the good results of eating yogurt or kefir, without having to have the milk that comes with it. Grrr!

Update:

Well, things just got weirder. Turns out that the probiotic USED to have milk in it, and, Wal-Mart just doesn't update their site often enough. It does have wheat, though, which is still not good, but, not terrible at this point. Also, even though I was looking for a one-shot supplement, I found out both the magnesium and probiotic really should be taken three times per day. (sigh)

It might be the magnesium that has the milk. Apparently, most magnesium supplements have milk in them. It doesn't say it has milk, but, either do other ones, on Vitacost.com, which do not show up in the search as soon as I search for ones without lactose.

Update, again:

It's true that the magnesium probably has some lactose in it, but, I have, since my last posting on the subject at hand, learned other things that are probably more important.

Most especially, I learned that magnesium tamps down your digestive juices. Since I already have low stomach acid, this is not even remotely helpful, even if other aspects of magnesium make it very good to take.

It might be that it is the fact that milk and cheese are so hard to digest which cause the most harm (when whey is not a huge factor), because, I was feeling just like I was snarfling mass quantities of cheese. Then, I drank some apple cider vinegar, with a little water, and, I felt much better.

If you'll remember from things I typed up, earlier, apple cider vinegar is an aid to digestion, among its other qualities, and, I have found it especially beneficial, in that respect, for me.

Since I found out both that this helps and that I need to take more of the pills to get the effect Dr. Oz was having people aim for, I went ahead and took the next dose at the time I first used ACV today. I just did both, again, and, am now going to eat a salad for dinner.

That may not be all of my dinner. Not sure, yet. It's a good, tasty thing, though, which I am looking greatly forward to, even if it is mainly just iceberg lettuce.

xx

Alternatives and Substitutes

  I am not a big fan of substitutes, but, I am a big fan of alternatives. What does that mean?
 
  Take, for instance, low carb bread. What's the point of it? So, you can feel as if you are eating bread, without really eating bread as it is intended to be. Or, margarine: something weird, pretending to be something it's not and can never hope to equal. The only way margarine can be anywhere near as good as butter is if you encase it in butter.

  Turkey bacon. Some people love turkey bacon, I have recently learned,  by meeting one who feels this way. There is nothing inherently wrong with turkey bacon, if you want to eat turkey bacon. If what you want to eat is beef bacon or pork bacon, turkey bacon will never do and there is no point in pretending otherwise.

 Artificial sweeteners are the worst. What you want is sweet. What is sweet, when you want sweet? Sugar, maple syrup, honey; maybe agave nectar or date sugar; raisins. What do you get when you take in artificial sweetener? Do you get the same taste as any of the actually, naturally sweet things of sweetness? No. You get a weird, unnatural tasting sweet, that's all chemically weird. Why pretend anything else is the case?

  Yogurt. I have read recipes for "yogurt" that involved mixing plant milk or animal milk with a thickening agent. That was it, really. There was none of the benefit of yogurt. It was just goop, pretending to be yogurt. Now, if you want goop, that's fine, I guess; but, if you want yogurt, it's not going to work for you.

  Tofurkey scares me, especially when someone actually molds it into the shape of a turkey. Tofu, with flavoring, pretending its meat. Gross! Choose, please, do you want tofu or do you want meat? Act accordingly!

  Now, alternatives are often called substitutes, but, they are different. What's the difference? Substitutes are when you feel you should have "the real thing", but, you are stuck making do with something else. Alternatives are when you make an active choice to not eat something and to have something else, instead.

 Back to bacon. An old man sits at his table, peevishly picking at his plate. His daughter, on advice from his doctor, has thrown out all his favorite foods and substituted them with things that resemble them, in some way. Just thinking about this scenario is getting me all worked up over eggs, but, I must not digress! On his plate is turkey bacon.

"Why can't I have real bacon?" he cries.

"Because, Dad, it's not good for you. Eat your turkey bacon. It's just as good." she says, both sighingly and lyingly. Don't judge her too harshly, though. She means well.

There is no point in giving him turkey bacon. He hates it. It taunts him, because, it looks like what he loves and tastes nothing like it. If it does taste like it, that's because someone processed it in some foul (no pun intended) way to make it so. That can't be good for him! Either thing can't be good for him.

Why not give him a bowl of oatmeal, instead? Or, a really good quality piece of bacon, that's less fat, and, far more tasty and enjoyable than most bacon he's likely to have encountered; but, just the one piece? Or, a small piece of lean pork or steak? Why torture him with pretense?

 I use olive oil, safflower oil, coconut oil, and, when I can get it, I use sunflower oil and sesame oil. I'd probably use avocado oil and macadamia oil, too, if I could afford them. I say probably as I never have used them, so, I am not sure I would like them. What I do not do is use them because I can't eat butter. Although, it is true that I absolutely should not eat butter. Still, I use them, because, I wanted to try them, I did try them, and, I like them.

I use unsweetened applesauce in things like muffins, to make up for the butter and/or sugar that I left out. I even have used it to make "oven-fried" chicken. I don't do it because I can't have sugar or greasy chicken. I do it, because, in the case of the chicken, I read a recipe that was in a magazine article dedicated to one of Oprah Winfrey's earlier weight loss plans, and, it sounded good. It is good! Too bad I don't still have the recipe. I could figure it out, again, though, if I really wanted to make it.  I do it, when it comes to muffins, because, I like the taste and I like the way I feel after eating such a muffin better than the way I like the way I feel after eating some oil-laden, sugar-infested monstrosity of a muffin.

Experimentation is fun. Forced substitutions are not. Honest, more healthful eating is fun and leads to experimentation. Pretending that life is the same, when you have lost foods you love, and, whipping up horrible alternatives to them and forcing them down your throat, while your taste buds quietly rebel and make plans to kill you in your sleep: not so fun!

Most of the time, I drink unsweetened tea or water. I was, for a while, buying Stevia. I can't do it, anymore. It was really brought home to me how far off it was from its original form (much more so than processed cane sugar is) when I put it in a pan as one ingredient in a sauce to go over pancakes. It lumped up, pretty much just like this one CD did when I pan fried it because I decided it was too negative and worldly, and, I didn't want to accidentally inflict something I thought was wrong to listen to on someone else.  (There are a lot of dumpster divers in this neighborhood.) I, also, didn't want someone seeing it in the trash, asking why I scratched it up, and, generally harassing me about it, as it was something that I knew I should get rid of, but, also, still wanted. It would have hurt to see it, again.
It lumped up into a sad little plastic pile, folding in on itself and leaving a nasty residue in the pan, which was very hard to get clean again. CDs are not made to eat. Things that cook up like them shouldn't be, either.

  Now, agave nectar and honey, the real things and not the sugar that is pretending to be them, are lovely. I would probably, sometimes, still use them for that reason, if I could afford them. I can't. There are times I will use sugar, probably. I like unsweetened tea, though, and, I like oatmeal that is sweetened by pure vanilla extract, apples, pineapple, and/or raisins, so, I really don't have need of sweetener, most of the time.

When I was a kid, Mom used to make tea with milk and sugar. It was lovely. I can't have it, now, because, milk makes me very ill and sugar appears to be not that good for me, either. Sometimes, though, I want a hot, creamy beverage made with tea, that's sweet. I have tried nut milks and found them satisfying. I have tried honey and agave nectar and found them satisfying, at times. At other times, they would disappoint. At those times, I either forego the hot, creamy tea beverage or I make it with the nut milk and sugar. There is an alternative to sugar and to milk, but, there is no substitute for sugar.

  Now, on to eggs. Egg substitutes. I have no idea what they are made out of, but, I suspect they come from some aborted science experiment attempting to replicate bewetted plastic diaper covers in a laboratory setting. They are nasty! Egg whites of three, in place of eggs of one or two. No thank you! Why? Look, egg whites have their place, in the world of baking, and, they do very well there. Eggs that are supposed to be eggs, but, have been dismembered and had all the best tasting parts of them thrown out, do not do very well, anywhere - not on the plate, not on the tongue, not on the stomach.

  It is my personal belief that if you want bacon and eggs, and, you are used to eating them most every day, and, then your doctor says to stop it, then, you should stop it. Stop what? Stop eating them every day. Maybe have them once a week, or once a month, and, find alternatives that you enjoy for the other days that you are not having them. Maybe have them twice a week, but, only one slice of bacon and one egg at each of those meals. Whatever the case, don't torture yourself!

  Yes, I know, like turkey bacon, egg white omelettes have their devotees. I can't understand it, because, they are completely unsatisfying to me, but, I know it's true and its not my place to judge.

  Another thing I like to do, though I haven't in quite a while, now, is to make a baked potato and put safflower oil and Canadian Steak seasoning on it. I used to put plain, non-fat yogurt on it. Neither are a good substitute for sour cream or butter, but, both are excellent alternatives

Just so you know ... (Day 6 of Step One, Day 1 of Step Two)

I purchased the supplements I am taking last Tuesday, started taking them on Wednesday. I have not  added any further step, since, such as purposeful sensible eating or moderate exercise. Nope! Not a bit of it.

In fact, yesterday, I was so ravenous and out of sorts, due to being tired and generally icky feeling, that I ate two pancakes with extra egg, wheat germ added and a little strawberry jam on top, a bowl of spaghetti (mostly noodles, light tomato sauce, a little black olives and tomato with kale and parsley, and, an even littler amount of chicken), and, a bowl of oatmeal with Stevia, coconut oil and apple chunks for breakfast - pretty much, one right after the other. None of them were large amounts, mind you, and, it did take me some time to eat the oatmeal and spaghetti. Just saying, it was a crazy day.

I went on, later, to drink a diet cola with lemon and lime juice (2 litre) and eat a King size Baby Ruth. Followed up, hours later, by a moderate bowl of a pretty healthy soup I made a few days ago. So, not a horrible day, but, not a low-calorie day, by any means. Plus, it was a stressful day.

Why am I telling you all this? It's a build up. Can you feel the tension mounting.

Today is Tuesday, April 29th. It is around 6:37 am. I am not feeling terribly bloated, but, I am not feeling terribly unbloated, either. I just measured my waist, both were the indent is and then where Dr. Peter Crook, author of the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet, says your waist is when you want to calculate your B.M.I., which is, for your information, directly above your hip bones.

My waist, as I have been measuring it, was 45" ; the other waist was 49".

Terrible sounding, isn't it? Silly! Not for me, it isn't. Last time I measured them, when I was feeling not so bloated/not so unbloated (which is about the best I can hope for, this time of year), they were 46" and 51".

Dr. Oz  has said that taking this supplement and eating foods high in it, and, balancing your gut bacteria that way, will help you lose weight, and, especially, melt your belly fat. He might just be right.  1" off one area of my waistline and 2" off my somewhat lower abdomen. Pretty good for 6 days, no?

Now, back to the ickiness. I have yeast overgrowth. I know this about myself. It is an on-going battle which, unfortunately, I often abdicate from in favor of chocolate. Bad idea, I know, but, it is so hard not to, when one needs the energy to do work, cook meals, etc. Because, the die off reaction from the bacteria is something terrible - headaches, fatigue, insomnia, bloating, fevers, rashes. I didn't expect it to be so pronounced with taking the supplements, and, without doing any serious meal planning.  I thought it would sort of just get me started on the journey and I would, then, begin to make purposeful efforts to eat better foods when I get some money to do so, and, viola (that'a joke, not ignorance) I would be well on my way ...

There was nothing in what I read from Dr. Oz that suggested taking the supplement was of such importance or that it would be key to bringing about such results. In fact, it was listed as optional. I decided to buy it, and the probiotic,  as the start to my ever-improving steps, because, I did have enough money for those and I did not have enough money to replace all my food.

Right now, I am excited and full of hope. No idea if I lost weight, of course, but, quite sure I lost inches, in an area of my body where, before, every 1/4 " was hard won to get to leave and easily put back on.  It really makes me want to eat cantaloupe and be a better person, because, right now, I feel like it's worth it.

I have not measured my chest. in quite some time, as I am never happy with the results. I am sure many females know what I am talking about.

I meant to start Step Two, yesterday, and, sort of did, but, it wasn't entirely purposeful, I must say. So, I will start it today.

Step Two is about non-exercise something another blah dee dah. I have forgotten what it is called. Helpful, no? The basic point of it is  - that I just looked it up. Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or, NEAT, for short. It is the theory, now well studied, that some of why people are thinner is that they fidget and some of why people are fatter is because they are tired, more efficient in their movements, or chained to a desk job with little or no chance for getting up and walking around.

You need to move at least once, every hour, in a purposeful way. Once every 40 minutes is better. Keeping on moving, throughout the day is even better than that. It can be standing during phone calls, getting up and taking a little stroll,  or, even just tapping your foot, flexing your muscles, stretching in your seat. They now, having studied it more, say there are specific cells in the body which are activated by this moderate sort of activity and when they are activated they help regulate blood sugar and fat burn. They are only activated by mild to moderate exercise, though. You cannot sit on the couch and at the office, like the slug the world would have you become, and, then go to the gym and work out like a mad fiend, and, have them activated enough to be helpful.

People often ask what the purpose of our existence is. What are we made to do and be. I tell them that if they read the Bible , they'd know that we are built to be gardeners. That doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't do other things, as well; but, seriously, the more they research how the human body works, the more it proves it.

The Bible says that the worker deserves his wages. This is a statement in 1st Timothy, about eating and drinking. It is more specifically about how to accomplish your ministry, but, even if you do not have a ministry, the saying is true. The worker deserves his wages.  The wages we would have from being gardeners is fresh, healthy produce to give us oxygen and nutrition, a good relationship with the animals on the planet, clean air,less stress, and, now, it is found, it would give us exactly the sort of exercise we need to be slim and trim (coupled with all that lovely, bouncy produce!). To whit, lots and lots of mild to moderate moving about, occasional bouts of running or lifting something heavy, satisfying periods of rest in-between. That's what we all need to be healthier, happier people. Just ask the scientists.

Silly people! They rarely notice when they start to agree with Jehovah God. Instead they wrap it all up in pithy acronyms and act as if they discovered it. Well, I suppose they did, in a way, but, if they had just gone gardening, they could have discovered it more cheaply and in a way that was healthier both for them and the environment. Or, they could have read the Bible, looked at all the fat non-gardeners, developed a theory and went from there.

I am now off my soapbox and getting back to the point. Ready?

Today, I start reminding myself to get up and do a little physical work, every now and again, or a little dancing, or to sit where I am but flex or chair dance in some manner, often, throughout the day. It's a good time to take this step, as I have a LOT to clean up and organize, inside and outside, and, the ever-looming yard sale to get things ready for, still. It shouldn't be hard, then, to do a little work, several times a day, as there is a lot of work to do.

Statistics:

I am now on day two of my new step one. Magnesium and probiotic supplement, purchased more cheaply than hoped for.

I decided that, while I could do it without them, it saves me the trouble of eating Greek yogurt, so often.

Anyway, as you can see, above, I got to weigh on April 22. Finally!  Then, on the 23rd, I started taking the magnesium and probiotic, one pill once a day of each, to help with various aspects of getting healthier.

The full information from the GNC receipt is:
Weight: 259.9  
Height: 5'6.5"  ( A loss, alas! I was under a LOT of stress, this last month, though).
B.M.I: 41
Body Fat: 41 %
Body Fat Mass: 107.3 lbs.

This is a teeny tiny loss of weight from the last time. However, as often happens, I was much smaller and flappier, and, I was swimming in my bra (due to size differential, as a matter of speech, not in actual fat being in a pool with it or using it as one, I hasten to add, as I have already been misunderstood on this point) the day before. Then, I got all swollen up and my clothes were tight and it was time to weigh. Of course! So, it is conceivable that I lost more weight, but, I can only go by what the scale says and try to stop swelling up!

To help with that problem, I kicked out the people who were stressing me out, who then stole my onions and left their giant, crappy broken desk, stole my son's Ipod or MP3 player or whatever it was, and, generally, stressed us both out some more. That was right before the weighing, though.

Also, I started taking the aforementioned supplements. People with Fibromyalgia (me) tend to have low magnesium. Magnesium can, and should, be gotten through food and I will be doing so. I am taking the supplement to speed the process along. And, because, quite frankly, some of my food has been stolen, again, and, now, I have to worry if I am going to make it until I can get more, without eating crappy things in place of the good. The probiotics help to balance gut bacteria, as does the magnesium. People with Fibromyalgia also tend to have various digestive issues and suffer from Yeast Overgrowth, which is probably due to the fact that they are low on magnesium. I really don't know which is the cause and which the effect, but, it seems obvious that the things are linked, no?

That's all I have to say on this subject, until I begin a new step or have another weigh-in. Which, I might try to do it, sooner (and, might succeed if I try) so that I can see what progress, if any, was made with supplementation before moving on to another step. Or, I might just start the next step today. One can never tell, until one does.

Life goes on

I am still in the process of developing a routine, which can be built upon as needed, which is most effective to meet my current needs.

I often think I am there, and, ready to properly begin, only to find some impediment. However, even while being impeded, I persevere and I can feel that I am stronger, with better posture, and, can move more freely. So, it is all progress.

Yesterday, I had half an apple and half a grapefruit for breakfast, a Snickers bar for lunch, chicken fajita with beans and rice for dinner (1 tortilla) and three small empanadas for dessert, with coffee and non-dairy creamer.

I also had an impromptu dance session with my sisters and parents. We all worked up a bit of a sweat. I got where it was hard to talk. Sometimes, we stopped for a little bit and then started again. I feel very refreshed and a little sore from the experience. I am also tired, but, that is mostly because they put cheese on the beans and I was too hungry to ignore them.

This morning, for breakfast, I had 1/2 afrapple, chopped up and added to 1 cup of oatmeal, with a little Stevia, cinnamon and ginger powder and the tiniest splash of coconut oil.

Today, for lunch, I am having half an apple, approximately 1/2 a cup of cantaloupe, most of a banana, and 6 strawberries for a fruit salad - divided between two people. My son is having blueberry yogurt with his, and, I am having the Greek yogurt that I did not, after all, end up eating the other day.

We are also having two slices of cinnamon sugar toast, made with the high fiber bread and coconut oil. His has more sugar than mine, though.

I have been reading, again, about dynamic tension and other forms of strength training without weights.  Now, I need to do additional research on certain dance movements. This is in preparation for beginning to write out my at-home exercise routine.

Still have not gotten to go weigh, because, my ID is gone. I have no idea where it is, but, I cannot get money out of my bank account until I have it. Just one of many impediments. Another big one is that my kitchen sink cannot be used.

It's very hard to make sure one has the dishes necessary to prepare the meals wanted when someone else is cooking, too, and, when they are not necessarily cleaning up as quickly as needs be, when one has to take the dishes all the way back to the bathroom and scrub them out in the sink. Then, there is the cleaning of the stove, when the water is all the way down the house and to the left and then to the left. (sigh)

I will get this!

Day 2 HHMD

Remember when I said that, from now on, you were likely to see only my stats posted here? Well ...

I did not enjoy the first day of the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet. I really did not. Did I suffer? No.  I was uncomfortable, though, and, quite frankly, I hate thinking that much about food - measuring it out, counting calories, etc. It's good practice, though, for getting a feel for what a portion size really should be, I guess.

Also, I prefer to eat the bigger meals earlier in the day. Nevertheless, that is not what was called for and that's not what I did.

Finally, I found the calorie count of the book to be off, somewhat, and, I went over the calorie count because of the fact that the bread that I can afford is hideously high in calories. It is also hideously high in fiber, though, which is a bonus.

I will tell you that I did feel fine on energy, yesterday. Though, as much as the Greek yogurt seems to be better than regular milk or yogurt, I do think I'm going to have to be careful to limit it to strictly the times 1/4 cup of cottage cheese is called for and just deal with the fact that I will not be having milk, of any sort, with breakfast.

This morning, I made the cup of oatmeal with 1/2 banana and cinnamon, as yesterday, except I added about 10 raisins. I added them in for two reasons. First of all, they are supposed to be particularly good at sustained energy production, and, I have work  to deal with this morning, as well as going to the Kingdom Hall for the usual meeting.  Second of all, they taste really, really good to me. And, since I am not having the milk, they will not interfere with the basic calorie count.

Anyway, I found that the oatmeal seemed like a more generous amount than it did yesterday. So much so that I had to double check to make sure I used the right measurements. I did. I guess I am just settling in.

The best news is that I neither went to bed hungry nor got up that way. Well, I was a little hungry when I got up, but, not feeling starving or deprived, and, right now, after having eaten breakfast,  I feel full. Granted, I did eat a whole 1/4 cup more of oatmeal than called for; but, again, I didn't drink the milk, so, it balances out.

Breakfast: 1 cup oatmeal, cinnamon, 1/2 banana, 10 raisins. (145, 61, 26 = 232)

I am sort of guessing on the calories of the raisins. California Maid Raisins says that their jumbo raisins are 130 calories per 1/4 cup. Another site says that the average serving of raisins is 50. Since other sites also mentioned 1/4 cup, it seems that a quarter cup is the average serving. It may be that less than 50 raisins would fit in to 1/4 cup, since they are jumbo raisins, but, I am assuming that's how many fit in. I divided 130 calories by 5, and, 26 is the number I got for the 10.

Anyway, in some ways I am resolved to try to follow the calorie count even better. In other ways, my sister might be in town and offer to take me to lunch, and, I am too poor to pass up a free meal.

Lunch: 1 egg, fried in olive oil  1 slice bread, 1/2 grapefruit  (90 -184, 110, 41 =241/335) (473/567)
The discrepancy is because fried eggs have 90 calories according to some people, and, according to other people, you should log the exact amount of oil used to cook it in. Now, I did not measure the oil, and, I cooked two eggs for someone else in that oil, too. I like to be honest, but, I don't like to go through a hassle to do so.

Okay, I have no idea what the actual calories are for the dinner and snack I had, later on, but, I shall try to approximate:

Dinner salad w/ honey mustard dressing,  5 oz porterhouse steak, medium baked potato, 2 slices Texas toast with butter (154 calories, 400, 161, 400 = 1,115)  Wow! (1,115, 565 = 1,680)
Check out this Salad Calorie Counter. It's pretty cool. Though, it did not ask amounts, so ...
1 small blueberry pancake cooked in butter (184) (1,864)

1,864 calories for the day. Which, while it is horrible for the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet is still well within normal range for a human being. Plus, I felt satisfied. Though, I could have done without the butter on the toast and felt even better about it.

Okay, now let me show you something:

According to the weight loss calculator, it would take 2,237 calories per day, to maintain my current weight, if I was sedentary. I did a lot of walking, yesterday. So, I did not eat an enormous amount, I ate less calories than I could have to lose weight. I had fun.

The concept I am trying to get across here is something men are far better at than women, when it comes to trying to follow a diet. It is summed up in two words "So what?"  It was more calories than some stranger wanted me to have, but, I don't eat like that all the time and I had a good time. I feel no guilt. I do feel slightly more aware and better able to resist buttered toast, though.

And, the more I am aware and even pretending to try to follow the HHMD, the more I come to the realization that I need more vegetables and less stress. Still, I bought the food, and, I shall, more or less, continue and see what happens.

Day 1 HHMD

Today, I begin to follow the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet, to the best of my ability.

It starts out on a Monday. I'm starting out on Saturday, but, following Mondays plan. So far, I'm not in love. Maybe, if I could fully follow it, I would feel better about the experience, so far; but, I can't drink the milk called for in the morning or eat the cottage cheese called for at lunch. So, instead, I had a full Greek non-fat yogurt, vanilla flavored. First, a little on my fruit salad and then the rest, while waiting for the potatoes to cook.

I woke up and began my day somewhere between 6 am - 7 am. It is now 1:07 pm, and, the potatoes are cooking. When they are done, I will cook chicken legs. I can't afford chicken breasts, mostly, so, I bought chicken thighs and legs. I'm pretty sure, thanks to modern engineering, two chicken drumsticks or thighs equal the 5 oz of breast meat called for back in 1983.

So, to sum it up, thus far:

Before breakfast: hot water with 1 tsp. Realemon lemon juice and 1 tsp. ginger powder.
Breakfast: 1 cup oatmeal, with a little cinnamon and 1/2 a banana. (145, 61 = 206)
Lunch: Fruit salad of 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup cantaloupe, 1/4 cup honeydew melon, a few lettuce leaves, a couple of spoonfuls of the Greek yogurt. (12, 13.5, 13.5 = 39) (245)
Later: The rest of the Greek yogurt (120, for full pkg) (365)
Dinner: Will be two chicken legs, 1 medium baked potato, 1/2 cup of broccoli, 1/2 cup of strawberries, and no yogurt over the strawberries as I already ate it. (210  w/ skin, 161, 27, 12 = 410) (775)
Metabo-meal: Will be two slices toasted bread with cinnamon and maybe Stevia. (240) (1,015)

Hmmph .. It's supposed to be 800 calories. I am going to be 215 calories over. Wow! That's about the amount of calo9ries in the Metabo-Meal. Well, it's still a pretty respectable try. I wonder, though, if I could do better? I mean, find ways to make it more satisfying, less costly, meet the calorie level called for and be more satisfied? Pretty sure I could!

Okay, there is something very wrong here. 5 oz of chicken breast has 230 calories (boneless, skinless) which is MORE than the 2 chicken legs. The cottage cheese would be 51 calories and the skim milk would be 43 calories =94 calories  So, that's 20 more for the chicken breast, and, that takes us to 1,035 calories; but, then, you drop 26 calories for skim milk and cottage cheese, and that takes us to 1,009 calories. So, the original diet plan is already 209 calories over what it said and I was only 6 calories over what it would have come to.

Hmmpph ....

Ah, I found out that wheat bread (some) has far less calories, though. 69 calories per slice. So, I should probably only have 1 slice of the other, I guess, since it has 20 calories less than twice as much. Amazing! Nevertheless, 1,009 - 120 = 889, not 800. So, booh! Still, I will try to keep my bread down to one slice at a time (or, less). I mean, if I had known that, I would have skipped buying the bread, altogether, and, ate more potatoes!

Well, in the long run, I decided to have both slices, anyway. 1,015 calories is definitely not too many calories for a low calorie diet! Maybe it is, according to that one diet plan, but, for a first day of eating super low calorie? No. It's fine.

One thing that I realized is, when it says 1/2 cup strawberries, it does not say if they should be chopped, sliced, or halved. That makes a big deal of difference! I chopped them. If I had only halved them, I probably would have only been able to have one strawberry; but, when I did the calorie count (above) I counted them for the size and amount of strawberries I had, anyway.

I did have a very tiny sip of Dr. Pepper, because, I was outside eating the toast for the Metabo Meal and found it to be way too dry. I was about to get hiccups. My son had his soda out there and my tea was all the way inside.

I did not do the full amount of exercise, partly because my leg is hurting from all the walking I've been doing (and, maybe, the eating of the cheetos before and the Greek yogurt). It's a tendon on my right leg that's really giving me trouble.

I did go on a short walk, earlier today; and, after I ate the toast, I did some arm and chest flexing, followed by a few calve raises and a few good mornings (without weights).

I've been sick ..

Don't let that frighten you off! I am not getting sick from the tea, I am just, possibly, getting sick from the tea. lol

Some of it is allergies; but, I do suffer from Yeast Overgrowth. So, I think the spices are killing bad things in my body, making me feel ill.

In the meantime, I have been praying and thinking , and, making my plans. From now on, most of what gets posted here will be my statistics, because, pretty soon, I'm going to get started on my plan and my book, properly, and, then, I won't stop until I am done.

Oh, by the way, for a sort of second breakfast, today, I had chopped strawberries and cantaloupe, and, toasted bread spread with coconut oil, sprinkled with white sugar and cinnamon. Oh, and, half a tangelo. It is one of the best things I've ever eaten. It may be the mood I'm in that makes it that good; but, it is good.

Day Six, Step Two (Day 13, Step One)

This morning, I took my leftover tea from yesterday (not the turmeric/ginger tea) and added more water (using same tea bag), 1 tsp. of turmeric and approximately 1 tsp. of ginger. It may have been a little less or a little more, as, it was what was left in the tin. I got about 1/2 tsp. out with the spoon but I couldn't get more, so, I just dumped the rest of the tin in the glass.

For breakfast, I had a Cup O' Noodle with the usual spices.

I'm going to try to get my sister to take me to go weigh, so I can see if there is any change at all. Though, I am not feeling well and I do feel bloated up, so that worries me. But, then, I felt that way last time I went to weight, too, so, maybe it doesn't matter.

On a different subject:

I have been reading the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet, copyrighted 1983. It was so close, in some ways, to things I would like to do, that I decided to research a few things about it

Those things being 1) Non-soy vegan alternatives to cottage cheese and yogurt; since I cannot use soy or any sort of animal milk. It was hard going, but, I found a couple of recipes worth trying.  2) Anything else related to adapting the diet to a vegan lifestyle. I found nothing, but, I already know a few good ideas.

Along the way, I found out that there is a newer version of the diet. In the comments for that book, there was someone saying that they used the original diet plan, that they had lost 50 lbs on it, and, that they had never gained it back. Good to know!

One of the things the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet focuses on, which I am interested in, is this being a lifestyle, not a quick way to lose weight just for the moment. Another thing is, because it is a lifestyle, having mild exercise at decent intervals, so as to add and keep some muscle and burn some fat, without devoting impossible amounts of time, energy or money to it. On top of that, they have a form of alternating calories, though, in a different way than I was thinking about.

I also like that they discuss the importance of when you eat and what you eat over how much you eat, and, the effects of stress on weight.

I am not currently a vegan, but, I would like to be more vegan than the plan calls for. However, I would be doing more of it just by using plant milk to make the yogurt and cottage cheese; and, I could make other changes to the plan, too, that are allowed as part of the plan.

So, uhm, yeah, basically, I am thinking of following the plan, with a few alterations, and, seeing how it goes; with the goal in mind of being a healthy mostly vegan-style eater, who, definitely, avoids most processed foods and is healthier as a result.

It will be a few days before I could even get properly started on following it, which is just as well, since it will be a few days before I am sure of the modifications.

Day Five, Step Two (Day 12, Step One)

This morning, I am very tired and sore. I still managed to squeeze out some steps (not counted, but, enough to be pleasantly breathless) before  eating some oatmeal. I made an actual serving of oatmeal, instead of a big bunch. I added a little coconut oil and cinnamon, but, that's it.

Since then, I have had a half bowl of the pork stew I made the other day and an inced honey bun. Of course, also, my tea.

I'm worried about the tea. Just because I am starting to run out of turmeric and ginger. I am thinking I cannot keep this up. This does not mean I will stop drinking it, but, I am thinking I may have to limit it to two or three times a week. Right now, of course, the problem is if I run out of spices before I get any more money and have to give it up, for a while, altogether.

Also, I think I am doing it wrong. I saw a video where a girl was talking about how she lost weight, and, she said she was drinking green tea an hour after each meal. I can't remember her reasoning for it, but, anyway - I think I need to drink the tea before meals or after meals.

I also feel like I still need to do some tweaking on the exercise schedule. Doing it before and after each meal is kind of onerous.  I think, maybe, doing it three times, either before or after each meal would work better.

It bears some thinking about, anyway. Because, in addition to needing aerobics, I want to add in the Makka Ho Stretches in the morning, some posture exercises, and, of course, some strength training sort of exercises (which can also be aerobic) such as push ups.  But, I want to do all this without being totally stressed out. (sigh)

I have made more tea, with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and Stevia. In the oven, chicken hindquarters are baking, which are seasoned with garlic seasoning mix, apricot pineapple jelly, all spice, cinnamon, chili powder, and, lime juice. Maybe other stuff. I don't remember. In the microwave, much as I hate the b east, is rice seasoned with cumin, allspice and paprika. I may add some other things to the rice, in a little while, like leeks, onion, kale, tomatoes. I just don't know.

____

I ended up eating a full chicken leg, about 2 cups of rice with leeks and onions, and about 8 pieces of baked asparagus. Later, I had a King Size Snickers and some diet soda.

I also had some more tea, with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.

Day Four, Step Two (Day 11, Step One)

This is the post that I should have made yesterday, except I was too busy doing things.

I started out the morning with my tea, but, I didn't finish the tea until very late at night. I had a Cup O'Noodle for breakfast, with the usual spices. Before I ate it, I did several steps with each leg, but, didn't bother to count them all up. I just went by what made me feel a little breathless, but, I think it was still 25 each.

As I was getting ready to do something else, even before I ate my Cup O' Noodles, my sister called and asked if I wanted to go work out with her. So, we went to the gym.

I played at the gym, with the elliptical thingy, the recumbent bike, free weights, and various weight machines. And, I got a very good workout! I am quite sore, mostly all over. On the recumbent bike, I managed to really get a good workout for my left leg, for once.

Afterward, we had lunch at Pappy's Diner. I had RC Cherry Cola, instead of diet soda; an Arizona burger (has bacon and barbecue sauce) without cheese, and, fries.  Their prices have gone way up, but, the food is still tasty and it's still cheaper than Red Robin's, by far.

After that, we went to the HobbyLobby and walked around a bit. Oh, and, right before that, when we went to my sister's house to check for the address of the Hobby Lobby, while she was doing that, I took her dog's outside and did some exercise while waiting for them to do their thing.

After I got home, my son needed me to go on a walk with him to get him a soda. And, shortly after I got back, my sister called to see if I wanted to watch a movie. So, yeah, lots of activities.

At my sister's, I ate a green apple, a small one.

That's it for yesterday.

Day Three, Step Two (Day 10, Step One)

Notice I did not post yesterday. Yesterday was a bit of a free day. I did do some exercise, and, I mostly ate moderately, but,  I did not do as much exercise, and, I did not bother to log in and type up what I ate. Also, while I did drink my tea, it took me until around 3:30 this morning (give or take an hour) to finish it.

This morning, I have done my 25 steps, made my turmeric/ginger tea, made a Cup O' Noodle with a little cumin, garlic seasoning mix and lemon, and, am now ready for a little Bible listening and breakfast.

By the way, yesterday, someone who has known me this whole time, really took a good look at me and told me that I definitely lost a lot of weight and look so much better than I did when he first met me. So, that's nice that someone can see it!
____

I, also, ate an unspecified amount of graham crackers. Not a full box, or even a full half box, but, definitely more than what would be considered moderate. Drank some more diet soda with lemon and lime. Still haven't finished my tea, but, it's mostly gone.

Just now, I did some "jumping" jacks. I don't jump - not at this point in my life. So, I raised my arms over my head, while stepping to one side, then brought my foot back to starting position while I lowered my arms; then, repeated with the other leg.  Did not count how many I did, but, I did make sure to do both legs equally. This was followed by walking in place, which included a little pumping and flexing of the arms, a few leg lifts to both rear and front, and walking leg lifts to the rear.

Walking leg lifts? Yes! For the regular leg lifts I halted and raised one leg a few times, then, did the same with the other leg. Walking leg lifts are where you simply lift your leg really high on the forward or back swing, so, it's more like a very weird march or a really bad tap dance move.

I had my regular turmeric /ginger tea, today; later, I had a glass of tea with cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. I also had another Cup O'Noodle. Yes, I did some exercise. Not the steps. Well, I did the steps once today, but, the rest has been walking in place or other non-impact aerobic moves.

For dinner, I made a noodle stew, with shell pasta noodles, chopped white onion, chopped leek, tattered kale, chopped butternut squash, chopped zucchini; beef and chicken buillon; balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, all spice, cinnamon, garlic spice blend, rosemary, pepper, and a little salt and pepper.

Oh, and, a little chopped jalapeno.

I did not exercise before eating it, I have to admit. Right now, I have ladled myself out about half a bowl of the soup and I am relaxing. I've barely slept in the last few days and I do not feel well.

Oh, and, some ginger garlic paste.  lol

(sigh) Oh, and, a little coconut oil, and, chopped pork tenderloin. I don't think I mentioned that it's a pork 'n' noodle soup. And, it is really good.

Oh, and, cumin. It's really, really good. I'm going to go get some more.

Oh, and, whole coriander and a bit of ground cloves. If I remember anything else, I am not bothering to tell you. xx

Day 2 Step Two (Day 9, Step One)

This morning, I had 2 small and 1 large weird pumpkin cookies for breakfast. I also made my turmeric ginger tea with Stevia and lemon juice. Drank about half the glass fairly quickly, then added cold water and am working on finishing it.

If I could find my smaller, but, big cup, I think I would go to using that for tea, instead; because, what I found is that if you stir the tea really good and d rink it faster, you end up getting more spice blended into each sip and less spice sludge at the bottom.

For steps, this morning, the first time I did them sideways; the second time I did them backwards. I, also, did a little bit of arm and back exercises and one-leg lifts that did not feel like they did much for my abs, but, they did get me moving and felt nice to do.

I am making me a Cup O'Noodle for lunch, and, will probably also have some graham crackers. There is a diet coke with lemon and lime juice (2 ltre) that I will drink some of, too. Still working on the tea.

Before I even decided to have lunch, I did 75 calf raises (also known as toe ups or toe raises) - 25, straight, 25 with toes facing in, 25 with toes facing out.

Walked up to Walgreen's and back, plus inside of store for a bit. Stopped at Burger King and got 2 cheap sandwiches for each person and then 2 value fries for 4 people to share. I gave my son a bit over half of ours. Since I had just gone on that long walk (Burger King, according to Google Maps, is 1/3 mile from my home; Walgreen's is a bit further than that, but, also 1/3 mile according to Google Maps. lol) I did not add in any exercises for before the meal. I am very tired, so, I will worry about the other part of the exercises in a little while.

Day 1 /Step Two (Day 8 /Step One)

Now, I am adding on to the steps,keeping up with Step One (the tea w/1 tsp turmeric and ginger) and adding in some easy aerobics before and rafter each meal.

When I say easy aerobics, I do not mean lazy aerobics. I mean, something that doesn't require a lot of effort to get to or maintain. So, this is not about going to an aerobics class , or, for me, even going on  a walk or putting on a DVD. I, also, mean, no substantial amount of time. Doing a half hour of aerobics, before one is allowed to eat, or doing a half hour of exercise directly after eating is not easy! Especially not when doing it at every meal.

It does not have to be the same sort of aerobics, every time or even for the same duration.  For instance, if I wanted to walk down to Burger King (approximately 1/3 of a mile away) or down to Pappy's Diner (1.8 miles away) for lunch, the walk to it and back from it would count as an easy aerobic session before and after the meal.  Though, if I brought the food home, I would still need to do  an easy aerobic session after eating, and, the walk to and from the restaurant would count as one session, in that respect.

If you have kids, then, a brisk cleaning of their room, with them helping (I hope) would count as one session.  So, if you are the type of person who feels you don't have enough time to exercise because you know you need to clean house and you know you have the sort of spouse (or, whatever you call them) who is going to come home and be depressed, or, angry, because the kids toys are all over the place, take heart. Clean the mess up fast and well, and, count it as exercise. Same for any other household chore, inside or outside, which will get your heart pumping along merrily.

For today, I have chosen to do step ups on my stoop, as I did yesterday. This morning, for breakfast, I did 25 right leg leading, 25 left leg leading, ate a Cup O' Noodle with some lemon, cumin and garlic seasoning mix and drank the juice from another one (my son doesn't like his noodle juice), and, followed it up by 25 more steps with left leg leading and 25 with right leg leading. There is no reason to have one leg leading at the beginning of an exercise session and the other one leading at the beginning of the next exercise session, by the way. It just happened that way.

Before, I used to do walking in place, leg lifts and such, to music, while waiting for food to cook, so I could be in the kitchen to keep an eye on things, and, because, it was one of the few places for privacy. It was a good system, at the time, but, then, on the days when I am not cooking, or, when someone runs off with the stereo, it makes it harder to maintain it

Later on, I know I will have another Cup O' Noodle, same spices, as my son had a friend over who, when I asked my son "Do you want a Cup O'Noodle, boy?" said "Yeah."  So, I made him one, too, and, then, he forgot and left without it.

The reasons for the easy aerobics before and after meals are:

1) Aerobics in short bursts of time (10 minutes or less) are more in keeping with the way people used to live, naturally. Very few people, outside of soldiers or when being attacked by same (or a wild animal) put on a big burst of speed and kept at it for enormous amounts of time. Instead, they would put on a great burst of effort to bring in firewood, or chop down a tree, or whatever it is they were doing, and, then, they would rest for a time before going back to it. Most of the time. There are always exceptions, but, in the main, it is not natural to exercise for long periods of time (except, maybe, walking) and it is not natural to remain sedentary for long periods of time.

2) When you begin to exercise, your body gets ready to burn fat. So, doing several bouts of aerobics per day, instead of one big bout, means that your body is getting ready and firing up to burn fat several times a day, which keeps it actively burning fat throughout the day.

3) When you exercise, you tend to be less stressed out; but, thinking of doing a long bout of exercise can make you feel stressed out and make you less likely to exercise. So, the small sessions take away stress in two ways.

4) Exercise before eating helps you burn the calories that you are bringing in and the fat that was already there.

5) Exercise after you eat, helps you burn glucose for energy, and, to keep from storing fat.

6) Is explained in 3), but, is not about the stress. It's just about the likelihood of continuing to exercise. If I told you to do a 16 minute session of aerobics, every day, and you were not used to doing exercise, how likely is it you would just jump right in? What if I told you that you were going to have to set aside an hour or more block of time to do exercise, every day? Could you do it? Would you want to? I wouldn't!

This is not a big block of time. It is not taking up time that you need to cook dinner, clean, or do anything else. If you need to mow the lawn or rake the yard, take the kids to the park, clean a room or something similar, then you can do that purposely, while dancing, moving faster, adding in squats or flexing your muscles, and count it as exercise.

You can definitely make a commitment to get up and do a few minutes of exercise before and after each meal.  There is no time limit, so long as you feel exercised. You should get your heart going, your breath rate going, heat up and need time to cool down, get your heart rate back down and your breath back to normal.  That's it.

So, if you are in fairly decent shape, that might take you ten minutes. If you are in really bad shape, that might take you a few steps.  Start wherever you are, and, go from there. Eventually, the goal is to work up to one hour of exercise in six 10-minute increments, every day; understanding that if you are going out to a restaurant or to a wedding, or some other event, you can do the exercise for that meal before you go to it and after you get home, if that's what's needed. But, for now, the goal is to do something significant for a short duration, before and after each meal, even if all you can manage is 10 seconds or if you can go the full 10 minutes.

The other goal is to incorporate your needs. Look at your house. Is it nasty? Does it need vacuuming? Are the windows dirty? Do the kids complain that you never take them to go play? Find ways to fix what needs fixing while making it part of your exercise schedule. When you are ready.

When you are ready? Yes. If it scares you, stresses you out, thinking of trying to make sure you get the proper amount of exercise and cleaning, at the same time, then, don't do it, yet. Do them separately, as you can. If you stress yourself out, you are missing the point.

Like, right now, my room is a horrible mess. It is not the sort of horrible mess that can be taken care of while doing aerobics, though. It is sorting, hanging things up sort of work, not mopping and sweeping, at this point in time. So, I am not going to incorporate it into the exercise. If I was going to go outside and weed, though, I would count that, as there is a lot of bending, stretching, walking sort of movement.

I am having my glass of tea with turmeric, ginger, a little lemon juice and some Stevia, by the way. And, I am really enjoying it!

Now, it is time for lunch, and, the eating of the other Cup O' Noodle, which I have semi-reheated. I have also done my 50 steps.  I'm going to be sooooo tired and sore from this.

I ate 4 squares of graham crackers: 2 with chocolate frosting and 2 with lemon frosting. my sister bought it, last night. I do not remember if I noted that in yesterday's post or not. Anyway, we ate some last night and then she gave the rest to me, so that she would not be further tempted.  As I got into it, today, I could see her point, as she was mostly eating the chocolate frosting and I was mostly eating the lemon frosting; and, the chocolate frosting is mostly gone, while there is still over half the lemon frosting left (even after I ate some, today).

Anyway, for my after meal exercise, this time, I tried a few windmills, but, that didn't seem to be doing anything. I don't know why, as I remember they used to be horrible for me to do. So, I switched to standing side leg raises and I did 25 for each leg. Then, I did 16 step ups for each leading leg.

On a side note, it is much harder to lift my right leg than my left one. I would have though, because of how much weaker my hip and buttock and lower back are on the left side, that would not be true. Apparently, my right leg is so much heavier that it makes up the difference. That's all I can think. It is really hard to do more than 5 standing side leg raises on my right side. I have to take breaks to do it. Weird, but, true.

Anyone out there who is a physical therapist or trainer, who might be reading this, please chime in with your own theories, observations, etc. Thank you!

UPDATE: I am so sore, that I have decided not to do it before and after every meal, right off the bat. I did it twice before and twice after a meal today and that is what I shall stick with, for now.

For dinner: spaghetti noodles and tomato/meat sauce. Small plate. Maybe more later. Maybe something else.

I did not do the exercises beforehand, but, earlier, while waiting for the mail, I did a few leg lifts while laying on the massage table that is being used as an outdoor bench. Didn't count them, but, I definitely did feel them in the abdominal region.

I ended up eating a couple of weird pumpkin cookies. I thin 1-1/2. And, I did do 25 more reps per leg.