Don't Put Me On A Pedestal! (and book reviews)

Everything has been going along fine here. The weather has been much warmer than normal and combined with recent rains, everything is blooming and greening up outside!
I've been increasing my 'role' as co-leader of the weight loss support group at the local senior center. By the way, our "senior center" is not where old folks go to sit and vegetate. It is almost like a country club! There is a fantastic gym, a heated pool, a cooler lap pool, and classes for everything from exercise, to crafting, to dance, to driver improvement and more. There are day trips and overnight trips to all kinds of interesting places too. It is also VERY affordable!

Anyway, I help out as I can with the weight loss support group. I like helping folks but worry about being put up on a pedestal. I am not perfect!
I still struggle with eating right. I struggle with cigarettes off and on. I sometimes don't feel like exercising. I really have all the same issues that anyone can come up against when losing weight.
Looking at the others in our classes and seeing them looking back at me, is daunting. They ask questions that I hope I answer correctly. I can only answer them though, from MY point of view. I hope they also hear me say that.

One point I try to get across is to not believe everything you read or see on TV. There is a ton of money to be made by people touting their spin on the latest and greatest weight loss methods or ideas. Information is backed by "scientific" data, they'll say. The thing is, you can almost find a study to back what you are touting! I try to get across the thought that you need to be a skeptic about such things. I don't know if I am getting through to them yet though.

Speaking of being a skeptic, I've browsed several books lately. Most of their ideas will work for weight loss. Some will work for a long time, many will work for a short time. The thing is, you cannot lose weight and keep it off unless YOU change your lifestyle. If you "get on a program" that insinuates that you will one day get off the program. Then the weight comes back on and you get back on that same program again, or try the newest one out there. This is classical yo-yo dieting.

The first book I recently took a look at was The Primal Blueprint. There has been a lot of things that recently point to eating more like our ancestors did. The Paleo Diet is another one of them.
There are some good points in these books. I would have to agree that all the processed foods we have access to are not doing us a lot of good out there. I do believe that the closer we get to eating food that we could pick ourselves, or shoot ourselves, or pull out of the ground ourselves, the better.

I feel that The Primal Blueprint is saying that. I don't agree with all that is said in the book though. I read that our ancestors did not eat grains or most legumes, for example. I don't buy that. This is just my personal opinion though. Would you lose weight if you followed this book's plan? Probably. Is it realistic for most of us? Probably not. Still though, it makes for an interesting read, although it was a bit dry for my taste.

The next book I have been looking at is Deep Nutrition. There is a LOT more information than I have the patience to read. This one too, has some good ideas. One of its biggest no-nos is sugar. They say that we should cut out all sugars that are not naturally found in foods such as fruits. We should not add plant based sugars to our foods either. I wonder though, did our ancestors not use honey? Isn't that a sugar?
There was so much information in this book, that I lost interest in it too. I don't know if I buy their thoughts that our genes, our DNA, is affected by the food we eat. I probably misunderstood their thought that you can change your DNA, and that of your offspring, by changing the foods you eat. I thought that the DNA you have is the DNA you live with all your life?

I still stand by the Fat 2 Fit guys train of thought. They say to "Eat like the thinner person you want to be." This is just plain common sense! Russ and Jeff are the guys who do the podcast. Every time I hear of some new diet or plan or method, it can't stand up like the guys' method of eating as if you already weighed what you want to weigh. It is all so easy!

Look, it really boils down to this: Eat as healthy as you can; educate yourself on what foods are good for you and bad for you; learn what a true portion is of something; commit to some type of exercise regimen; and the weight will come off. Do not buy into everything you read, without investigating it. Do not go buy what the TV tells you to buy, until you have checked it out more.

A quick aside here...the other day I was in Whole Foods and was looking for something that I had heard about on a recent TV show. They had had a run on that product because a TV doctor said it would help folks lose weight. In the conversation I had with the person, they said every time there was the newest latest greatest product mentioned on certain shows, they would surely run out of it within a few days.

We are all looking for that magic pill. It does not exist.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

1. If you need to slow down your eating, try using your left hand if you are right-handed or your right hand if you are left-handed.
2. If you reach a plateau, don't think of it as a plateau, think of it as your metabolism doing a readjustment or recalibration. Your brain and body need time to figure out if what you are doing is going to hurt. This switch can take time to be reset. Isn't the body an amazing thing?!

RECIPE:

I have been playing around with yogurt based foods. I make a mean yogurt cheese now, that is sooooooooooo good. Yogurt cheese is when you remove some of the whey. It can get to the consistency of cream cheese and as a spread on banana bread, it is mmm-mmm good! It is easy to make. I personally use Greek yogurt. I put a coffee filter into a wire basket strainer and put the yogurt in that. I set it over a bowl or large glass mixing cup. I put wax paper on top to keep the yogurt from drying out and put the whole thing in the fridge for a few days. The whey drips through and can be saved and used to cook with. I have saved my whey by freezing it until I learn how to cook with it.

Oh! I DID say I had a recipe, didn't I? Here it is:

*6oz cup of Greek Yogurt plain (I use fat free Fage)
*3 tbsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed seems better to me)
*1/4 tsp seasoning of your choice (I have used black pepper, seasoned salt, and onion powder but really like finely ground California seasoning best)
*2 chopped green onions, both the white and green parts

Mix together and refrigerate at least six hours, but overnight is better.
This makes a great vegetable dip or a decadent salad dressing! Play around with the spices to suit your personal tastes. Even add a pinch of sugar if you want. The calories are just a modicum more than whatever the yogurt's calories are.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Be not afraid of growing slowly;
be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese Proverb

Cha-cha-cha-changes!

First off, I haven't exactly addressed how I am doing these days. I feel I am in, or almost in, a maintenance mode now. I still have to track my foods. I still exercise 60 minutes per day, trying to do that seven days a week. It has all gotten so easy that it is scary! The scale doesn't move much these days. I had almost thought this was going to be where I was going to end up being, weight-wise. I convinced myself that this was ok because I was a LOT better than I was. Then I looked at my weight loss chart that one of my programs keeps for me. It looks ok. Then I took a closer look. I realized that I had lost TEN, yes TEN pounds since the first of January! That is very good, in my opinion. Of course MY opinion is all that counts here. I feel better about the slower progress now, especially because it IS still progress!

In other tidbits of news, a month ago we had this:

Snow in Arkansas is not that common, but we usually get a dusting now and then and a storm once in a while too. Notice the 'real' cap and scarf on the figures in this statue? Someone had a neat sense of humor there. This statue is in front of the center that I go to for exercises and the support group.

On one of my trail walks last week I came across this tree:

That is not snow on it though. It is the first signs of spring! It has been a blooming good time here of late. My daffodils have been up for weeks. My crocus just came up last week and my hyacinth are also in full bloom. The tulips will be next. The rose bushes are full of new red baby leaves. I hope we don't have a cold snap as that would really hurt all this spring growth! It makes for nice walking weather and I have been taking full advantage of Mother Nature's hints of spring.

The other morning I was waking up slowly. I stretched. I checked to see what time the clock said, hoping it was six A.M. or later. It was! I had stayed in bed till almost 8:00! To have that luxury of waking up slowly was so nice! Usually I have to get up, and get awake, and get coffee, and get my breakfast, and read a few emails, and get the child up, and be sure the child is still up ten minutes later, and get him going on his breakfast, and let the dogs out, and make the child's school lunch, and remind the child to brush his teeth, hair, and find his glasses, and tell him to get shoes and socks on, and smooch the husband goodbye as he goes off to work, and let the dogs back in, and head out the door in plenty of time to walk the child to school, and then continue walking a couple miles for morning exercises, and so it goes! (And NO, I don't do this in the buff! Of course I got myself dressed first. Geesh!)

This morning was different. I laid there, in the early morning light, just relishing my momentary laziness. My hand brushed down the front of me and I felt my heart beat. In a split second, I realized I had actually felt my physical heart BEATING! I felt again, and sure enough, my hands actually seemed to feel the heart muscle, pulsating. It was strong and regular and it was amazing!

I had no real idea of just how much body fat, masks things on our bodies. If you've been obese or close to it, for most of your life, you just don't know how amazing your body feels when the fat is gone and your body parts are suddenly noticeable.

Not only do I feel my heart, I can feel bones where there were none before. I honestly am often amazed when I find a new bone where I used to just be squishy. There are a few downturns to losing weight though. For some of us, the barriers come down. I never thought I used my obesity to hide from things...or people. As the weight has come off, I feel like I am a target. I don't feel like I look as formative and that someone would be more likely to attack me! It is a strange feeling. I never thought such things when I had size to protect me.

I have also found I don't need to take ibuprofen like I used to! I used to almost eat it like candy for so many aches and pains. Now I only take a few, maybe once a week. I also don't like my glasses anymore. They look huge on my face. I won't be able to get a handicapped sign for my vehicle any time soon either. A year and a half ago, I wondered how hard it would be to get one because it was hard to walk from my vehicle into the store, much less walking around in the store!

All these little things are my little diamonds.

We have a state park in Arkansas that you can go to and hunt for real diamonds. There have been some huge ones found as well as lots of smaller ones. I like to use the analogy of going to that state park for a vacation. You go out every day and hunt for diamonds. Each little gem you find, you put into your bucket. You hope for those big diamonds too. On the last day of vacation you go out and don't find any diamonds at all. You toss the ones you had gotten before, because you are so disgusted that you couldn't get that last big find on your last day of vacation. Now that is just silly, right? You would keep all the diamonds you found, of course, and you'd be happy you had found them and might make money from the sale of those small sparklers.

Yet how often do we start losing weight and when we hit a bump in the road, we say we should just quit. Nothing will work, right? NO! We need to give ourselves credit for every pound lost, big or small, in a week or a month or a year. We need to give ourselves credit for every healthier choice we make. We need to give ourselves credit for every time we say "No, I won't quit." We need to give ourselves credit for every step we take to add any type of exercise into our lives. Often we forget those little earlier diamonds of success. It makes as much sense to quit as it does to toss all the little diamonds out of our bucket, right?

This is why, when I see I haven't lost a pound, or that I have gained a pound, or that I have started smoking again, that I have to remember that I have LOST weight over several weeks, that I didn't gain that much, and that I will quit smoking again. I worked for where I am. It makes no sense to toss my little diamonds out because I didn't find the big one today. Hang on to your diamonds, big and little. You are worth as much, and more, than diamonds. Really!

TIPS AND TRICKS:

What is your biggest food challenge? Is it that you can't give up KFC? Is it that you really want a cupcake? Don't give them up! Work around such things. The next time you have KFC for example, don't eat it in the car, eat inside the restaurant or take it home to eat it. The next time you go, use a fork to eat the chicken. Never touch the chicken with your hands. Don't pick up the bones and suck off that very last morsel of meat. The following time you go, tear off half the skin and don't eat that. Work your way through the trips to KFC until you can take off all the skin and not lick the bones clean. (You can still lick your fingers though!)

You want a cupcake. Do you grab one, tear off the paper, and stand right there at the counter and stuff it in your mouth in one or two big bites? Then you want to eat another? Pretty soon you've convinced yourself that you are bad and you may as well quit trying to lose weight. Instead, try it this way...get a plate and fork and put the cupcake on the plate. Take it to the table and sit down. Get back up and go get a napkin or paper towel. Sit down and now use the fork to peel off the paper wrapper. Then use the fork to eat the cupcake in small bites. Does it have frosting? Scoop off some of that frosting and put it on the wrapper or in the paper towel. EVERY little step you take to slow you down and to make you aware of what you are eating, doing, tasting, smelling, feeling...every step is your little diamond. Don't throw away your other little diamonds because this one has a little frosting on it.

What is your personal challenge food? What can you do to change it? Can you cut out five calories? How about ten calories? How about several hundred calories if you get a bunch of frosting off the cake or the skin off the chicken? Figure it out. Make it better, if only a little bit. These steps are the beginnings of change. These steps are the beginning of your brain rewiring itself to be the thinner person you want to be. Do not discredit little diamonds!

Have you ever eaten a big meal and wanted something sweet within a few minutes of finishing? You know you are full but the craving is driving you nuts! Researchers found that an after-meal, spike in blood sugar often leads to dessert cravings. What this means is that after a meal, many people experience a sharp rise in glucose, followed by an equally sharp decline. People then often crave sugary foods to get back to that food 'high' that they felt, right after that big meal.

Try eating slower or eat like you were at a restaurant. You get the appetizers first, then salad, then the main course. You can divide up your meal to fit within those categories. PLAN ahead and figure adding in a dessert to be had at least 20 minutes after the main meal. This doesn't have to be cake, cookies, pie, or ice cream either. I often have a cup of fat free Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of a high quality jam mixed in it. I savor it and eat it as slow as I can. The jam (not jelly) adds the sweetness and this will satisfy my cravings.

Eat smaller portions or halve your portions and then go get the second half later. Figure out anything you can commit to doing, in order to slow down your meal and to avoid the spikes in glucose. This is mindful eating. This is a good thing to learn!

QUOTE FOR THIS WEEK:

Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.

Arnold H. Glasgow

Preach What You Practice!

I've found myself stepping into the limelight more and more as I share my story and my methods of weight loss and living a better, healthier life. I guess having lost almost 100 pounds gives me some credibility in their eyes. I wasn't really searching out this kind of attention, but I am enjoying it! I love, love, love, helping out anyone I can! I also love having this happen because it really helps keep my motivation up and running...along with my butt! hahaha

With all this notoriety, comes a lot of responsibility. First off I have to keep on top of my choices to stay true to what I say. I am so glad I have documented my story! There are many out there that have succeeded like me. Many are out there helping others. I am in my little niche of my little world and am helping those around me. It motivates me and keeps me rejuvenated!

I have to be sure of where I get my information from and I have to believe in what I say...that it is working and will keep working. I am not at the end of my journey yet. I am still working on eating enough calories and believing that I can eat these amounts and still lose weight. It goes way against how I was brought up to lose weight. It just is not about cutting calories to starvation levels and exercising six hours a day. It has not worked in the past, so why would it magically work now? A person can't stay on a starvation diet forever. Eventually they would die.

Just think, if you were locked away with bread and water only, what happens? You lose weight, right? Let's say you were locked away for a year. What happens first? Some weight comes off. What happens next? You grow weaker. As you lose weight, the body panics and hangs on to the fat, then the body takes more muscle, you grow weaker still, then the body takes the rest of the fat as you lay on the floor with no energy...and you die. It is similar with restricted calorie diets. We have to eat to keep strong and we have to build strength/muscle at the same time. Otherwise our bodies will hang on to the fat and make us weaker and weaker until we give up...or die!

At our weight loss support group I am going to make a magic wand out of a stick and tinsel. I plan to wave it over each member, during one of our meetings, and I will promise that everyone will magically lose 20 pounds overnight! It has as much of a chance of working as so many of the newest, latest, greatest, quick loss diets out there these days...doesn't it?

I not only practice what I preach, I preach what I practice!
A week or so ago, I challenged my group to park in the far parking lot, before coming in to the center for their exercise classes and such. I didn't see anyone parking there in the week that followed. However, it HAS kept ME parking in the far parking lot, fearing someone would see me if I parked closer! I think this is funny. I also like how it really proves the point that a support group really does help keep you motivated!

Remember that you have to fuel your body, but in a smarter, healthier way. Remember that having support throughout these changes in your lifestyle are critical to making this work for the rest of your life...not till next week, or next month, but forever. Your body is the only one you have. Treat it like a precious thing...because it IS one!

TIP OF THE DAY: Can't slow down your eating habits? Here is a silly little thing I would suggest for you to try...eat chicken with a fork. Never touch it with your fingers. Don't worry if you can't get that last little morsel off the bone. Peel away the skin (if you have it) with the fork too. Need more of a challenge? Use chopsticks!
If you can't imagine life without KFC, use these tips. It is a great step in learning how to slow down your eating, lower your calories by leaving the skin behind, and not sucking off every morel of meat from each bone. THEN we can work on weaning you off the KFC and on to better choices.

RECIPE: CHEESECAKE
From the book "Not Just Cheesecake!" by Shelley Melvin
Now you know this has to be pretty good, or I wouldn't share it! Even our group at the center liked it. There are a few variations to it, but I will share what I tried and liked best.
Ingredients:
2 cups non-fat yogurt *cheese (quality Greek yogurt such as Fage works)
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar (or sweetener of choice)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites (I buy the cartons of 100% real egg whites)

Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly grease a 7 inch spring-form pan or 8 inch pie pan.
In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla, mixing gently with a fork or whisk until well blended. Stir in beaten eggs.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula if need be. Bake until the center is set. (20-25) minutes for a pie pan or 45-55 minutes for a spring-form pan. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Refrigerate until firm.

Notes: I use a pie pan. I usually overcook it. I like a good quality jam or fresh fruit with my cheesecake. *I make yogurt cheese by taking Greek yogurt and putting it in a coffee filter in a strainer and setting that over a bowl or large measuring cup. I put a piece of wax paper over the top and set this in the fridge for at least overnight, sometimes longer. The whey drips out of it and you are left with super thick yogurt cheese.

Serves 8
Each serving has 80 calories, 8g protein, 12g carbs, 0g fat, 0g cholesterol, 49g sodium, 11g sugar (unless you use a sugar substitute)

PARTING THOUGHT:
Just a little tidbit from a recent walk...I found this treasure along the curb. It was a clock. Most of the insides are missing. I hauled that about a half mile home with me. I plan to clean it up and put shelves in it for a wall hung curio cabinet. I like 'repurposing' things.

Note the apple and water ready for me to consume after my walk too. :)

Last Sunday my 11 yr old son took this photo of Ziva and me on the trail:
Until next time, go for a walk!

QUOTE FOR TODAY: "Today I will see something positive in all situations."