Um, well, dang. Today, the scale said, "Hey, you're gaining too much weight, Missy."
174.4
The lowest was, for a brief few days, 169.8. Then back to the 170s.
I've had a bad case of portion creep. Or portion dump. Appetite came back with a vengeance with the release of tension once hubby found a nice job.
I've just been dumping food on my plate and going to town.
So, today, I went to the cabinet and got out the gold-rimmed heirloom Bavarian china that's decades old, plates I inherited from my mother-in-law. I figured if I was gonna eat less, I was gonna eat it in style.
Breakfast today got served on very small, very shiny/gleamy/pretty plates that are about 6 or 7 inches wide (though the serving area is only like 5 inches, the rest is rim. They're pretty much bread plates. Or VERY TINY salad or appetizer plates.
Here's how I put the pretties to use: One for my protein. One for my fruit.
To keep the beautiful vibe going, I had my coffee in a matching ivory and gold-rimmed (though not Bavarian) Noritake teacup (so pretty) and Ralph Lauren saucer (so classy). I had acquired those years ago at a big sale where mismatched stuff got hugely discounted over at Macy's. It was a steal. The Noritake cup had no saucer. The Lauren saucer had no cup. But the pattern and colors matched, so I snapped them up super cheap. Less than 15 bucks for both, real china, real gold. SHAZAM! I use them when I am in the mood to jazz up my coffee or tea.
Those small plates means not a lot of food, but lots of eye-nourishment to help make up for it.
I figure my first meal of the day had crept up to 800 calories in the last couple weeks.
Today, it was 420. Much better.
I need to maintain or reverse the gain and lose some more again. The time of portion insanity ends...today....
Are you letting portion creep into your life?
Are you using old dingy plates?
Make your smaller portions prettier!
Use color or go get one of those "special china" pieces and use it, cause YOU are special, and once we're dead, the china does us no good. Use it now.
And on we go, in the fight against fat.
Next project--tackle the sloth and get back to movement. AKA "Where have my lovely muscles gone?"
Take care, all. Be well...
Showing posts with label portions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portions. Show all posts
Friday, August 17, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
So, we work REALLY FRICKEN HARD to lose weight and exercise, with all those odds against us, work on issues, see specialists, read and learn, weep and try again when we fall...WORK HARD AS HECK to lose 50, 100, 150+ pounds...and they still think less of us? People! That's CRAZY!
New research out of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, The University of
Manchester and Monash University, has revealed that anti-fat prejudice
still persisted against former obese women, even after they had lost a
significant amount of weight.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Goodbye, Stupid and Confusing Food Pyramid; Hello, Easy to Understand Food Plate!
I have had issues with the Food Pyramid for a long time. I don't think it's that easy to grasp. I also think it's not for everyone. Anyone with Celiac Disease or Insulin Resistance knows that we have issues with grains and/or starches/sugars.
But, finally, they're saying adios to Pyramid in favor of Plate. Plate is easy. Plate is a concept anyone can grasp, from a school age kid, maybe even PRESCHOOL, to the seniorest citizen on oxygen and multiple meds. We eat off plates. We GET plates.
Karen O knows, as do I, as do those who read REFUSE TO REGAIN, the author (Dr. Barbara Berkeley) recommends PLATE PATTERN: Your plate be 1/4 lean protein source and 3/4 fruits and vegetables. As an I.R./Metabolic Syndrome/PreDiabetic diagnosed person, that's actually the ideal way for me to eat. Most meals are pretty darn close to that, though I do use dairy.
The USDA Food Plate is not exactly like that, but kinda close:
Advocates of fresher foods, clean eating, wholesome diet, local and organic natural eating, etc, will rejoice. But some manufacturers are gonna have a hard time fitting themselves on the plates. As Dr. Berkeley writes:
The Food Plate, with modifications for our dietary issues--no gluten, limited starches (potato, sweet potato, some rice, especially for hubby who has a hard time keeping weight on once we gave up most starches, fewer for me)-- suits us pretty much. We've moved to a more whole foods, clean foods, organic foods, natural meats, veggie and fruit profile. I've given up, for the most part, the canned and boxed goods I used to rely on for convenience. I shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store--dairy, eggs, poultry/meat, produce, nuts, nut butters (I get the organic refrigerated ones from Whole Foods that are in the produce section from local Glaser Organic Farms, yum). I order my coconut oil and true cinnamon online. I order our toilet paper (Green Forest, recycled) online.
I no longer use the prepackaged hot cakes, the protein bars, the cereals, the canned soups (with exceptions, as when I'm sick, still gotta have some, cause I ain't cooking soup with colds/flu), the mac/cheese or pasta boxes. I have lots to give to the food pantry, actually, as even hubby won't eat pasta now (I kept buying Dreamfields and Fiber Gourmet --higher fiber, resistant starch, so they said-- for him).
I only need to visit the inner aisles for EVOO, spices, seasonings, tomato sauce/paste, paper products, water/beverages. I spend very little time in the frozen section. Pretty much only need to get frozen fruits (for smoothies) and veggies (for convenience) and the occasional sugar-free frozen treat.
Plate Pattern or Food Plate--easy to grasp, right?
And honestly, when I adhere to Plate Pattern, I lose or don't gain.
When I broadly deviate from my R.D. plan--which mirrors Dr. Berkeley's Plate Pattern, in that the emphasis is on lean proteins, lighter on fat, heavy on produce-- I stall and gain.
I have deviated--too much protein and fat, not enough measuring-- and am stalling. Transgression are paid for, be they legal or food. I gotta get back to PATTERN and PLATING.
Do you like the Food Plate or Plate Pattern?
What's your plate look like these days?
But, finally, they're saying adios to Pyramid in favor of Plate. Plate is easy. Plate is a concept anyone can grasp, from a school age kid, maybe even PRESCHOOL, to the seniorest citizen on oxygen and multiple meds. We eat off plates. We GET plates.
Karen O knows, as do I, as do those who read REFUSE TO REGAIN, the author (Dr. Barbara Berkeley) recommends PLATE PATTERN: Your plate be 1/4 lean protein source and 3/4 fruits and vegetables. As an I.R./Metabolic Syndrome/PreDiabetic diagnosed person, that's actually the ideal way for me to eat. Most meals are pretty darn close to that, though I do use dairy.
The USDA Food Plate is not exactly like that, but kinda close:
...a simple, plate-shaped icon, which is sliced into portions for basic food groups - fruits and vegetables take up half the space. The plate symbol will be announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday.Teaching people not some fuzzy concept in a pyramid, but showing them, "This is what your plate should look like" is a GREAT idea. Whether people will or won't, well, you can bring a horse to water, yadda yadda. But with a portioned plate, no one with a functioning brain can say they don't GET it.
...
The fruit, vegetables, grains and protein sections are colored individually. There is a small circle next to the place for milk, yogurt or other similar products.
Advocates of fresher foods, clean eating, wholesome diet, local and organic natural eating, etc, will rejoice. But some manufacturers are gonna have a hard time fitting themselves on the plates. As Dr. Berkeley writes:
But this easy formula presents a problem for the people who process and package foods. Where do cereals, all that soy stuff, all those crackers and breads and bagels fit in? What about those nice fatty steaks that come from the CAFOs where they stuff cows full of grain? What about premium ice cream, candy and cake? What about all those corn based products (corn is a grain, not a vegetable)? The answer is simple. They don't fit in, so they need to be relegated to the Itty Bitty Consumption category. But companies that make millions producing these foods are not interested in itty bitty sales.
The Food Plate, with modifications for our dietary issues--no gluten, limited starches (potato, sweet potato, some rice, especially for hubby who has a hard time keeping weight on once we gave up most starches, fewer for me)-- suits us pretty much. We've moved to a more whole foods, clean foods, organic foods, natural meats, veggie and fruit profile. I've given up, for the most part, the canned and boxed goods I used to rely on for convenience. I shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store--dairy, eggs, poultry/meat, produce, nuts, nut butters (I get the organic refrigerated ones from Whole Foods that are in the produce section from local Glaser Organic Farms, yum). I order my coconut oil and true cinnamon online. I order our toilet paper (Green Forest, recycled) online.
I no longer use the prepackaged hot cakes, the protein bars, the cereals, the canned soups (with exceptions, as when I'm sick, still gotta have some, cause I ain't cooking soup with colds/flu), the mac/cheese or pasta boxes. I have lots to give to the food pantry, actually, as even hubby won't eat pasta now (I kept buying Dreamfields and Fiber Gourmet --higher fiber, resistant starch, so they said-- for him).
I only need to visit the inner aisles for EVOO, spices, seasonings, tomato sauce/paste, paper products, water/beverages. I spend very little time in the frozen section. Pretty much only need to get frozen fruits (for smoothies) and veggies (for convenience) and the occasional sugar-free frozen treat.
Plate Pattern or Food Plate--easy to grasp, right?
And honestly, when I adhere to Plate Pattern, I lose or don't gain.
When I broadly deviate from my R.D. plan--which mirrors Dr. Berkeley's Plate Pattern, in that the emphasis is on lean proteins, lighter on fat, heavy on produce-- I stall and gain.
I have deviated--too much protein and fat, not enough measuring-- and am stalling. Transgression are paid for, be they legal or food. I gotta get back to PATTERN and PLATING.
Do you like the Food Plate or Plate Pattern?
What's your plate look like these days?
Monday, April 4, 2011
Day 57 of Phase 5: Back to Basics (which is always good periodically) Because It Is Easy For Fires To Go Out When Plateaus Hit...and I Don't Intend to Let This Fire die! AKA The Royal Game Plan for Not-Freaking During the Plateau...And a mini-rant on the DIVAFICATION of RUBY....
My official weigh-in for Phase 5 Sunday was 215. Stasis as far as the official number. A .2 lbs gain from last week's weigh-in. I'm plateaued.
When I plateau, I look at what's going on and if there is a fixable issue, I work on it. Here's what's going on:
I am using steroid creams (rash), increased my inhaled steroids (asthma, allergies), am using steroid eye drops (allergies), and added steroid antifungal ear drops (ear infection from, yes, allergies). While this is not the same steroid load as when I routinely took prednisone (egads, that sucked monkeybutt), it is absorbed into my body and it's coming from various sources (eyes, ears, skin, lungs, nasal lining). I suspect this is part of what's causing me issues.
I am also just fighting the multiple inflammatory processes that just sprang up like demons heading for spring break on my body.
Because I had some days when I just could not fathoming exercise, due to, well, not breathing much, I exercised less last week.
I'm starting to feel some relief. My rash is not driving me ubernuts with itching and scaliness. My ear pain is reduced. My nose is slightly less congested. My bronchii are a bit better, although when I exert too much, it induces an attack (which when I'm fine and dandy is not an issue unless I do stuff like, well, sprinting or superhard no-rest kind of stuff).
I want to see a loss this week. I intend to see a loss this week. So, I'll be hoping my body stops vexing me.
Meanwhile, to not lose motivation or hope or get frustrated and do something stupid (like, yes, binge), I am going back to basics. As many of you know, as you go along on an eating regimen of lower calories, you develop a number of set, useful, controlled meals--yeah, I do have set repetitive meals, meals I have measured, gotten used to, prepare quickly, are on my R.D. plan, and are no-brainers, like my veggie-egg whites plus fruit breakfast or my roast chicken breast with lightly sauteed or steamed veggies and herbs-- and I stop measuring event hose cause, well, you get used to it. I think it's those situations prone to portion creep. So, back to MEASURING and WEIGHING even the usual meals.
Today, it was that-- back to measuring. This is just to reinforce the habit of portion control once more.
I had gotten slack with journaling. I'd do maybe a few days out of the week. Not all. Again, this is something we tend to do when we're used to smaller meals and sort of eyeball what's on the plate.
Today, it was back to SparkPeople. Back to putting in every bite and spoonful and cupful and pat and sip.
I had NOT felt like blogging. I hadn't much felt like visiting blogs or commenting.
Today, I made sure to read some fellow fatfighters, comment on some blogs, and now do my blog post. I do think the staying in a blogging habit is a way to focus the mind ON THE GAME. Motivation can flag too easily. I don't want to flake.
My chest still feels like there's a critter sitting on it. But it's not a tiger anymore. It's a fat cat. So, me and the fat cat will be walking...
I went to Pilates and had a hard time in some positions (for asthmatics, sometimes it's hard to push the air OUT..and it sort of gets stuck, and more fresh air can't really get in, and this is a bad thing, yes). But I pushed on. Talked to the trainers about my plateau, and one recommended more cardio. I mentioned that for me, it's a very fine line between enough cardio (which makes me feel invigorated and energetic) and too much (which makes me crazy hungry and a bit grumpy). For now, I said, I'll wait a bit and see if things move. If they don't, then I'll consider increasing by 5 minute increments or slightly increasing pace, and see. All of it is a "let's see" for me. Don't wanna make things worse--not the breathing, the bad knees/ankle, or the appetite.
Next point: Weighing. I like to do it daily to keep tabs on my fluid retention.
I'm afraid if I get on the scale too soon and don't see it budge, I'll do something immature and stupidbutt like freak and head in 1 of 2 bad directions: 1. go on a whey fast and not eat real food for a week just to see movement on Tanita-san or 2. stuff my mouth full of whatever crap is handy just to quell the brain turmoil.
I'd rather just wait a few days or wait until the official weigh-in day and not precipitate some crazy dieter reaction. I'm not prone to crazy reactions often. But it has happened. I'm too happy being binge-free for 3/4 of a year+ to do anything to sabotage myself. So, my scale junkie needs to chill.
Next Issue: Affirmations-- I still like to rah-rah myself. But I've slacked off. My mood hasn't been as cheerful and beautiful due to being sick. So, today, I rah-rahed. and I'm gonna be doing a lot of the pom-pom waving to get the psychological circulation up and revved. I sometimes feel really stoooopid affirming myself, but I figure it's part of keeping the right mindset. So, I do it. Feeling stoopid is a small price to pay for preventing slippage into Gloom and Doom Town:
I can do it!
This is not bigger than me.
My body will respond!
I am strong! Stronger than fat!
My appetite serves me, not me it! I rule!
I plan to reread parts of my fave books--poetry, dieting, self-help, spiritual--as a way to keep my spirit up. I enjoy JOY too much to let sickness or a plateau take it from me.
I really do believe that proper actions will and must eventually yield positive results. I'm gonna reinforce basic good habits that got a bit lax as the challenge went on (measuring, journaling, affirmations) and not let this hyper-reactive immune system of mine roadblock me. Ain't gonna happen.
My eyes are on a prize, and that prize isn't NYC with the Kleins and a Christmas Tree....my eyes are on the number 186. The number at which I won't be obese anymore.
So, screw the plateau! I'm lighting fires left and right and this fat old antiquated barn is gonna burn down to a sleek modern cottage with WiFi and craftsman details.
The Princess will not be deterred...and this fat is gonna lose the siege...and this Challenger is gonna win, if not the DDDY-P5 prize, the war...
Update: Back from walk. 32 mins at a nice clip. Lovely evening with a wispy shy smile of a moon. Gorgeous sky and breeze. Happy! See, this is great for mood issues! A sweet breeze, a gentle moon, the rustle of palm trees, the fragrance of gardenias...how could I be grumpy? Sparkpeople says that my bkfst/lunch/snack have totaled 850 cals. That leaves 350 for supper. Okay. Doable! 4 more glasses of water to go to reach my fluid requirements for the Challenge. So doable. I'm off...nitey....
Update 2: RUBY is annoying me like nobody's business. I wanna slap her. And then I remember it's a reality show no longer in it's first season and she's probably used to the attention of all those trainers and counselors and camera folks and is becoming more of a diva....or she wants to create fake drama for ratings. Whatever. She's a whiny pain. Someone please remind her how fortunate she is to be making a good living from people helping her get healthy and slimmer! How many of us get multiple trainers and plush locations in which to work out? I'd have loved to do that obstacle course on the beach, even with my crap knees and bad ankle. It was a specially created course for her, with professionals begging her to try, and she just bitches and says they're mean. Oh, please. Spoiled brat is what she is. She needs to listen to her show's theme song a few times: "I can if I think I can...I can!" Lately, she's a lot of "I can't." And I wonder, really wonder, if it's fake/acting for conflict for viewers? Or is she really just a brat?
I'm not the only one annoyed with her.
I may stop watching the show altogether....or I may continue to see if RUBY looks around, realizes the shining moment she's been given to get healthy and slim, and grows the F up, stops whining, and finds her inner warrior at last.
When I plateau, I look at what's going on and if there is a fixable issue, I work on it. Here's what's going on:
I am using steroid creams (rash), increased my inhaled steroids (asthma, allergies), am using steroid eye drops (allergies), and added steroid antifungal ear drops (ear infection from, yes, allergies). While this is not the same steroid load as when I routinely took prednisone (egads, that sucked monkeybutt), it is absorbed into my body and it's coming from various sources (eyes, ears, skin, lungs, nasal lining). I suspect this is part of what's causing me issues.
I am also just fighting the multiple inflammatory processes that just sprang up like demons heading for spring break on my body.
Because I had some days when I just could not fathoming exercise, due to, well, not breathing much, I exercised less last week.
I'm starting to feel some relief. My rash is not driving me ubernuts with itching and scaliness. My ear pain is reduced. My nose is slightly less congested. My bronchii are a bit better, although when I exert too much, it induces an attack (which when I'm fine and dandy is not an issue unless I do stuff like, well, sprinting or superhard no-rest kind of stuff).
I want to see a loss this week. I intend to see a loss this week. So, I'll be hoping my body stops vexing me.
Meanwhile, to not lose motivation or hope or get frustrated and do something stupid (like, yes, binge), I am going back to basics. As many of you know, as you go along on an eating regimen of lower calories, you develop a number of set, useful, controlled meals--yeah, I do have set repetitive meals, meals I have measured, gotten used to, prepare quickly, are on my R.D. plan, and are no-brainers, like my veggie-egg whites plus fruit breakfast or my roast chicken breast with lightly sauteed or steamed veggies and herbs-- and I stop measuring event hose cause, well, you get used to it. I think it's those situations prone to portion creep. So, back to MEASURING and WEIGHING even the usual meals.
Today, it was that-- back to measuring. This is just to reinforce the habit of portion control once more.
I had gotten slack with journaling. I'd do maybe a few days out of the week. Not all. Again, this is something we tend to do when we're used to smaller meals and sort of eyeball what's on the plate.
Today, it was back to SparkPeople. Back to putting in every bite and spoonful and cupful and pat and sip.
I had NOT felt like blogging. I hadn't much felt like visiting blogs or commenting.
Today, I made sure to read some fellow fatfighters, comment on some blogs, and now do my blog post. I do think the staying in a blogging habit is a way to focus the mind ON THE GAME. Motivation can flag too easily. I don't want to flake.
My chest still feels like there's a critter sitting on it. But it's not a tiger anymore. It's a fat cat. So, me and the fat cat will be walking...
I went to Pilates and had a hard time in some positions (for asthmatics, sometimes it's hard to push the air OUT..and it sort of gets stuck, and more fresh air can't really get in, and this is a bad thing, yes). But I pushed on. Talked to the trainers about my plateau, and one recommended more cardio. I mentioned that for me, it's a very fine line between enough cardio (which makes me feel invigorated and energetic) and too much (which makes me crazy hungry and a bit grumpy). For now, I said, I'll wait a bit and see if things move. If they don't, then I'll consider increasing by 5 minute increments or slightly increasing pace, and see. All of it is a "let's see" for me. Don't wanna make things worse--not the breathing, the bad knees/ankle, or the appetite.
Next point: Weighing. I like to do it daily to keep tabs on my fluid retention.
I'm afraid if I get on the scale too soon and don't see it budge, I'll do something immature and stupidbutt like freak and head in 1 of 2 bad directions: 1. go on a whey fast and not eat real food for a week just to see movement on Tanita-san or 2. stuff my mouth full of whatever crap is handy just to quell the brain turmoil.
I'd rather just wait a few days or wait until the official weigh-in day and not precipitate some crazy dieter reaction. I'm not prone to crazy reactions often. But it has happened. I'm too happy being binge-free for 3/4 of a year+ to do anything to sabotage myself. So, my scale junkie needs to chill.
Next Issue: Affirmations-- I still like to rah-rah myself. But I've slacked off. My mood hasn't been as cheerful and beautiful due to being sick. So, today, I rah-rahed. and I'm gonna be doing a lot of the pom-pom waving to get the psychological circulation up and revved. I sometimes feel really stoooopid affirming myself, but I figure it's part of keeping the right mindset. So, I do it. Feeling stoopid is a small price to pay for preventing slippage into Gloom and Doom Town:
I can do it!
This is not bigger than me.
My body will respond!
I am strong! Stronger than fat!
My appetite serves me, not me it! I rule!
I plan to reread parts of my fave books--poetry, dieting, self-help, spiritual--as a way to keep my spirit up. I enjoy JOY too much to let sickness or a plateau take it from me.
I really do believe that proper actions will and must eventually yield positive results. I'm gonna reinforce basic good habits that got a bit lax as the challenge went on (measuring, journaling, affirmations) and not let this hyper-reactive immune system of mine roadblock me. Ain't gonna happen.
My eyes are on a prize, and that prize isn't NYC with the Kleins and a Christmas Tree....my eyes are on the number 186. The number at which I won't be obese anymore.
So, screw the plateau! I'm lighting fires left and right and this fat old antiquated barn is gonna burn down to a sleek modern cottage with WiFi and craftsman details.
The Princess will not be deterred...and this fat is gonna lose the siege...and this Challenger is gonna win, if not the DDDY-P5 prize, the war...
Update: Back from walk. 32 mins at a nice clip. Lovely evening with a wispy shy smile of a moon. Gorgeous sky and breeze. Happy! See, this is great for mood issues! A sweet breeze, a gentle moon, the rustle of palm trees, the fragrance of gardenias...how could I be grumpy? Sparkpeople says that my bkfst/lunch/snack have totaled 850 cals. That leaves 350 for supper. Okay. Doable! 4 more glasses of water to go to reach my fluid requirements for the Challenge. So doable. I'm off...nitey....
Update 2: RUBY is annoying me like nobody's business. I wanna slap her. And then I remember it's a reality show no longer in it's first season and she's probably used to the attention of all those trainers and counselors and camera folks and is becoming more of a diva....or she wants to create fake drama for ratings. Whatever. She's a whiny pain. Someone please remind her how fortunate she is to be making a good living from people helping her get healthy and slimmer! How many of us get multiple trainers and plush locations in which to work out? I'd have loved to do that obstacle course on the beach, even with my crap knees and bad ankle. It was a specially created course for her, with professionals begging her to try, and she just bitches and says they're mean. Oh, please. Spoiled brat is what she is. She needs to listen to her show's theme song a few times: "I can if I think I can...I can!" Lately, she's a lot of "I can't." And I wonder, really wonder, if it's fake/acting for conflict for viewers? Or is she really just a brat?
I'm not the only one annoyed with her.
I may stop watching the show altogether....or I may continue to see if RUBY looks around, realizes the shining moment she's been given to get healthy and slim, and grows the F up, stops whining, and finds her inner warrior at last.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I feel boring today; Portion creep; Salt Overload; Cytomel and my progress; Dismissive Doctors; Plugging Along...
I've been trying to figure out what the heck to blog about just to keep blogging. I feel really boring. I hate that.
So, maybe mention the portion creep I noticed going on here this week. It's not like I feel totally bingey or hugely hungry (though I have slacked off on both water and in-between meals protein-shakes). I have actually let myself get to the point of hunger, which tends not to be a good thing in my case (though it may work fine in yours). When I get hungry, I get a bit frantic and that's when I set myself up for impulse take-outs/delivery orders. I've fought the pizza cravings and the Chinese food take-out cravings well so far...and it's not easy.
But it's 10x stronger when I let myself get hungry.
As a consequence of the laxity in water and hunger-stopgapping shakes, I've had bigger portions at lunch/dinner (still okay at breakfast). Not so much that I should gain--except for the salt bloat, and yes, I have dark circles under my eyes to prove I've overindulged in the white substance--not crack, but I guess my version of it. I love salt. I love it more than sugar.
I've had food delivery (pre-bought, low-cal) yesterday and today. It was from a Groupon set I bought a while back for SHAPELOVERS. I've used them in the past when I felt depressed or ill and didn't wanna cook. I do not feel depressed or ill, but I didn't wanna cook. :) So, I used one of my Groupons.
I've had their lower cal, turkey ham version of Spanish Tortilla for breakfast (yesterday, today) with Alpine Lace swiss cheese (one slice, 70 cals) on top for added calcium and yumsiness. I don't really care for turkey ham, but it was filling enough. I added a tomato yesterday. Today, mushrooms.
Today, I splurged on a whole tall can of Amy & Brian coconut water to fight the salt bloat, which is considerable today after having two cups of a super-saltilicious soup from the Lebanese place. It was lentils, chickpeas and a wee bit of beef in the broth, and very tasty, but the sodium tasted off the charts!
Lunch (late today) is gonna be kept under 500 cals, I just haven't decided yet whether it's gonna be the ShapeLovers Walnut Chicken (really tasty) or one of the WonderSlim entress with added veggies. The pick-up for my organic produce was delayed to tomorrow, so I have zip greens or veggies other than tomatoes, onions, and peppers in the house (and some frozen peas and maybe the back of the freezer has some asparagus or something). I should be nicely stocked up tomorrow night. :)
I did have a mad chocolate urge last night, so I took 3 bites of a Rocky Road protein bar to quell that. About 70 cals worth.
So, still here, fighting the fight, and fighting my own slowly gaining laxity. I ain't quitting.
I have been browsing some books on Amazon on hypothyroidism. Since I feel so much better on the tiny amount of Cytomel (T3) I've been on since June (and it has helped me with the crazy hunger and helped my mood, damn what the docs say), I want to research this further. Doctors here are very reticent about changing the standard "Give em Synthroid or Levoxyl" formula, and I always went along. But the more I read, the more I suspect that I'm one of those leptin-resistant, reverse T3 plagued people. I have fatty liver disease. I don't trust my liver to do what it needs to to convert things properly, just as I have insulin resistance and can't trust my cells to get what they need. My acanthosis nigricans has gotten BETTER with exercise and weight loss, and I hope my liver recovers with losing more weight. Until then, I just want the best regimen, most absorbable combo, I can get.
(I never had trouble keeping to a lower weight--ie, under 200-- before my immune system and thyroid went whack and it turned into 10+ pounds up a year.) It's worth looking into what else to do. If that means going on a search for an endocrinologist without a Synthroid only stick up their butt, then so be it.
I remember too well many times I made specific observations to a doc to have it dismissed, to find that 10 or 15 plus years later, studies came out that confirmed my particular observations. It made me think that doctors need to listen when patients who are informed and compliant make comments. I'm educated in the health sciences. I've had doctors think I was a doctor when I was going with my mother to her own visits (when she had a chronic, terminal illness). I read up on things. I want to be healthier.
So, when I'm dismissed and the status quo is all that matters, it makes me wonder if I have to wait 10 or more years for a study to confirm my observations, yet again.
Pisses me off.
Because I'm old enough to remember when they used to say "asthma is in your head, it's psychosomatic." Yeah, tell that to my fricken hyperreactive bronchii and my hyperreactive immune system, you close-minded MD jackass. :) My brother and I have totally different personalities (he's extroverted and naturally active and gregarious; I'm introverted, a depressive, and prefer books to parties). Both of us have bad asthma, and have had since infancy. We both respond to the same meds. In my head: Yeah, right. Look into the DNA instead, you pissers. (Oh, I think I remember, too, that PMS was all in "our heads." Right.)
I remember in the 80s, when I used to say, "Ya know, this may be weird, but I keep a calendar for when I have asthma flare-ups, and they occur more often right before my period." I was pooh-poohed. And guess what--I was not alone. I just kept a calendar with incidents of attacks and respiratory downgrading that showed me the pattern.
I remember when I went to more than half a dozen specialists to try and figure out why my asthma got so bad I was essentially a respiratory cripple for years, couldn't use a pillow or couldn't breathe, sat up to sleep often, and was just given the regular regimen. It didn't occur to them to listen to me saying, "Um, this feels different. I've had asthma since I was a baby. But I'm 30 now and this is different." Well, when they treated my thyroid, guess what, the breathing started to improve. I suspect, though this can't be confirmed now, that my thyroid was inflamed and blocking my breathing. This, I suspect, is why I could not use a pillow (the way it inclined my neck made the obstruction worse). No one thought to check my thyroid, no matter how often I said to all these specialists, "It feels...different."
I was in such a state of inflammation from my immune system attacking me, I was turned down for blood donation--and that clue didn't lead my docs anywhere. It was DISMISSED. (yeah, years of blood donating, and suddenly my antibody titers made me unsuitable???)
I was in such a state of autoimmune inflammation that pap smears were a painful, bloody mess.
TMI?
And the fact that I worked in the oncology/hematology ward, surrounded by harsh cleansers and all sorts of toxic meds...nobody stopped to think that my already, naturally hyperreactive immune system may have just overloaded like the mother or all short circuits working 1 year in that environment? Hmmm...
But yeah....never mind what the patient is observing. All those little flags that add up to....
Docs don't always clue in. And American docs seem dismissive of European and other foreign studies. Don't know why? I'd think Swedish, French, Danish, British, Japanese, etc other doctors also have brains and degrees of study that means they can figure out how to do research and test meds. Ya know?
I may need to keep a new calendar/chart on how weight loss and mood and changes in my regimens correlate. Cause it wasnt' until the doc asked last time that I stopped to examine my progress and realized that, yeah, I was more active, losing weight, feeling more chipper, and wanting to try new activities. Most since the addition of Cytomel....
I was pooh-poohed again. Well, okay, let the studies come already. I'm sick of the dismissive doc shit. :P
I'll keep plugging along. This is my body. I am listening to it in my own way, trying not to be too much of an impediment to it's message....
So, maybe mention the portion creep I noticed going on here this week. It's not like I feel totally bingey or hugely hungry (though I have slacked off on both water and in-between meals protein-shakes). I have actually let myself get to the point of hunger, which tends not to be a good thing in my case (though it may work fine in yours). When I get hungry, I get a bit frantic and that's when I set myself up for impulse take-outs/delivery orders. I've fought the pizza cravings and the Chinese food take-out cravings well so far...and it's not easy.
But it's 10x stronger when I let myself get hungry.
As a consequence of the laxity in water and hunger-stopgapping shakes, I've had bigger portions at lunch/dinner (still okay at breakfast). Not so much that I should gain--except for the salt bloat, and yes, I have dark circles under my eyes to prove I've overindulged in the white substance--not crack, but I guess my version of it. I love salt. I love it more than sugar.
I've had food delivery (pre-bought, low-cal) yesterday and today. It was from a Groupon set I bought a while back for SHAPELOVERS. I've used them in the past when I felt depressed or ill and didn't wanna cook. I do not feel depressed or ill, but I didn't wanna cook. :) So, I used one of my Groupons.
I've had their lower cal, turkey ham version of Spanish Tortilla for breakfast (yesterday, today) with Alpine Lace swiss cheese (one slice, 70 cals) on top for added calcium and yumsiness. I don't really care for turkey ham, but it was filling enough. I added a tomato yesterday. Today, mushrooms.
Today, I splurged on a whole tall can of Amy & Brian coconut water to fight the salt bloat, which is considerable today after having two cups of a super-saltilicious soup from the Lebanese place. It was lentils, chickpeas and a wee bit of beef in the broth, and very tasty, but the sodium tasted off the charts!
Lunch (late today) is gonna be kept under 500 cals, I just haven't decided yet whether it's gonna be the ShapeLovers Walnut Chicken (really tasty) or one of the WonderSlim entress with added veggies. The pick-up for my organic produce was delayed to tomorrow, so I have zip greens or veggies other than tomatoes, onions, and peppers in the house (and some frozen peas and maybe the back of the freezer has some asparagus or something). I should be nicely stocked up tomorrow night. :)
I did have a mad chocolate urge last night, so I took 3 bites of a Rocky Road protein bar to quell that. About 70 cals worth.
So, still here, fighting the fight, and fighting my own slowly gaining laxity. I ain't quitting.
I have been browsing some books on Amazon on hypothyroidism. Since I feel so much better on the tiny amount of Cytomel (T3) I've been on since June (and it has helped me with the crazy hunger and helped my mood, damn what the docs say), I want to research this further. Doctors here are very reticent about changing the standard "Give em Synthroid or Levoxyl" formula, and I always went along. But the more I read, the more I suspect that I'm one of those leptin-resistant, reverse T3 plagued people. I have fatty liver disease. I don't trust my liver to do what it needs to to convert things properly, just as I have insulin resistance and can't trust my cells to get what they need. My acanthosis nigricans has gotten BETTER with exercise and weight loss, and I hope my liver recovers with losing more weight. Until then, I just want the best regimen, most absorbable combo, I can get.
(I never had trouble keeping to a lower weight--ie, under 200-- before my immune system and thyroid went whack and it turned into 10+ pounds up a year.) It's worth looking into what else to do. If that means going on a search for an endocrinologist without a Synthroid only stick up their butt, then so be it.
I remember too well many times I made specific observations to a doc to have it dismissed, to find that 10 or 15 plus years later, studies came out that confirmed my particular observations. It made me think that doctors need to listen when patients who are informed and compliant make comments. I'm educated in the health sciences. I've had doctors think I was a doctor when I was going with my mother to her own visits (when she had a chronic, terminal illness). I read up on things. I want to be healthier.
So, when I'm dismissed and the status quo is all that matters, it makes me wonder if I have to wait 10 or more years for a study to confirm my observations, yet again.
Pisses me off.
Because I'm old enough to remember when they used to say "asthma is in your head, it's psychosomatic." Yeah, tell that to my fricken hyperreactive bronchii and my hyperreactive immune system, you close-minded MD jackass. :) My brother and I have totally different personalities (he's extroverted and naturally active and gregarious; I'm introverted, a depressive, and prefer books to parties). Both of us have bad asthma, and have had since infancy. We both respond to the same meds. In my head: Yeah, right. Look into the DNA instead, you pissers. (Oh, I think I remember, too, that PMS was all in "our heads." Right.)
I remember in the 80s, when I used to say, "Ya know, this may be weird, but I keep a calendar for when I have asthma flare-ups, and they occur more often right before my period." I was pooh-poohed. And guess what--I was not alone. I just kept a calendar with incidents of attacks and respiratory downgrading that showed me the pattern.
I remember when I went to more than half a dozen specialists to try and figure out why my asthma got so bad I was essentially a respiratory cripple for years, couldn't use a pillow or couldn't breathe, sat up to sleep often, and was just given the regular regimen. It didn't occur to them to listen to me saying, "Um, this feels different. I've had asthma since I was a baby. But I'm 30 now and this is different." Well, when they treated my thyroid, guess what, the breathing started to improve. I suspect, though this can't be confirmed now, that my thyroid was inflamed and blocking my breathing. This, I suspect, is why I could not use a pillow (the way it inclined my neck made the obstruction worse). No one thought to check my thyroid, no matter how often I said to all these specialists, "It feels...different."
I was in such a state of inflammation from my immune system attacking me, I was turned down for blood donation--and that clue didn't lead my docs anywhere. It was DISMISSED. (yeah, years of blood donating, and suddenly my antibody titers made me unsuitable???)
I was in such a state of autoimmune inflammation that pap smears were a painful, bloody mess.
TMI?
And the fact that I worked in the oncology/hematology ward, surrounded by harsh cleansers and all sorts of toxic meds...nobody stopped to think that my already, naturally hyperreactive immune system may have just overloaded like the mother or all short circuits working 1 year in that environment? Hmmm...
But yeah....never mind what the patient is observing. All those little flags that add up to....
Docs don't always clue in. And American docs seem dismissive of European and other foreign studies. Don't know why? I'd think Swedish, French, Danish, British, Japanese, etc other doctors also have brains and degrees of study that means they can figure out how to do research and test meds. Ya know?
I may need to keep a new calendar/chart on how weight loss and mood and changes in my regimens correlate. Cause it wasnt' until the doc asked last time that I stopped to examine my progress and realized that, yeah, I was more active, losing weight, feeling more chipper, and wanting to try new activities. Most since the addition of Cytomel....
I was pooh-poohed again. Well, okay, let the studies come already. I'm sick of the dismissive doc shit. :P
I'll keep plugging along. This is my body. I am listening to it in my own way, trying not to be too much of an impediment to it's message....
Friday, October 1, 2010
Face The Truth Fridays: Met Goal, Back on Track, and The Portion Thing...
702 days and 8 hours to go....
Ahhhh. It's nice to be back in the groove after the less-than-goal loss last week. I know that any loss is a good thing, but I'd prefer to stay on track with the 1 pound and a scosh. :)
Okay, so the weigh-in result:
252.6
So, I'm back on the correct loss rate/number to meet my ultimate goal, and I'm actually a bit over my rate/number so far, which is a nice little extra head start.
Total loss from high weight: 46.4
Total Loss of the 98 in 2 Years: 5.4
Loss to go: 92.6
At my worst, I remember looking down at the number to lose--139--and it seemed daunting. That's the size of a not-that-skinny averagish gal that I had to lose to be, NOT to be skinny, just close to normal. Still overweight by medical charts, just not hugely so. Close to normal weight.
Now, less than 100.
That makes me feel good.
My next goal to continue at the original set goal rate is to lose 1 pound and a scosh by next Friday. But, I'd love to see a 2 lb loss and make the head start BIGGER.
Goal for next week: 251.4 minimum, 250.6 (ideal)
So, what Truth Am I Facing other than the number on the scale?
I can eat less and not freak out. I tested that this week while hubby was out of town. Instead of my usual 1800 to 2000 cals, I had a 950 day, a 1500 cal day, and a 1700 cal day. Those days of lower caloric intake helped make up for the debacle that was Sunday. Make up for it and then even move me ahead of goal.
I continue to see the correlation between calming appetite and 2 factors: filling breakfasts and lots of sleep. I always did better eating on days after I slept soundly-- and a lot of hours-- and on days when I ate a solid, tummy filling first meal.
The most filling breakfast that is lower carb that I've found is having the following:
~1 serving of WonderSlim hot cakes with Nature's Hollow sugar free maple syrup with cinnamon (I totally believe the cinnamon is having that positive effect on blood glucose and keeping hunger calmed.) I usually add a teaspoon of some fat for satiety.
~1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of egg whites or Egg Beaters (or an egg and some egg whites) with veggies and cheese (usually low fat)
~2 to 4 cups of water and coffee to fill up the rest.
~I'll occasionally add a small bit of fruit or some coconut water for Potassium.
The calories run about 400. Not bad for me at all and sets me up well to resist a lunch binge.
I've been allowing a bit more carb at dinner to provide the calming effect for sleep. :)
Today, hubby's back (yay) and he went out on errands. We normally have Mexican on weekends, so I asked for a burrito with double shredded chicken breast.
I cut the burrito in half, Tupperwared the half I wasn't going to allow myself to eat, and served myself half the refried beans. I had a few sips of Coke Zero, fresh homemade coffee, and some water. That's it.
Normally, a visit to Cheen Huaye would be...
*a bowl of tortilla soup
*a side salad with cilantro peanut dressing (insanely delicious)
*chips and salsa, and usually guacamole, too
*a burrito (all of it)--(or all of the tostadas, or the flautas, or the quesadilla, or the fajitas...)
*side of beans (all of it)
*sometimes rice (usually half, but sometimes all of it)
*a sugary drink made from tamarind (love the stuff, even if it's poison!)
*coffee, maybe dessert
Today: No chips or salsa or guacamole (though I'd have liked some on the burrito for healthy fats and Potassium, etc). No soup and salad. No rice. No sugary drink. No dessert.
I had the half chicken burrito with half of the side of beans. Water. Coffee. Yum.
It was really good and I got fiber, protein, and some veggies (it had lettuce, tomato, onions, and a light tomato sauce).
Getting a handle of portions has never been easy for me, so I knew I was better off ordering to-go than eating in, where the temptation to order and EAT more is pretty huge. Especially when those chips and that salsa are right in front of you on the table.
I can have the whole burrito, mind you. Just not at ONE meal. I saved half and if I wanna have it for dinner, there it is. Or lunch tomorrow.
I can eat stuff I want. Just not all that I want. Just not each and every item at once. Just smaller amounts.
Those "justs" are so hard.
But there it is: the truth. I gotta eat less at each sitting if I want my butt to be smaller at each meal.
What truth are you facing today--scalewise or otherwise...
Happy and Fit Friday to you all!
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