Getting Healthy~ Week 3

This week I'm feeling super great! My clothes are starting to fit a little better, and I can even get into some of the clothes hidden in the bottom of my drawer, they're still a little tight, but atleast I can put them on.

Since Labor Day Weekend is around the corner and I'm having family over for a BBQ,  I planned to be extra good this week so I can cheat a little on Sunday.

As we go into the new week, my body actually feels like it's been through some serious detox. I'm not feeling as bloated as I usually do, and I've also noticed that my migraines are not attacking me daily. Did I mention I was suffering from severe Migraines?  

Also since I started having Chai & Flax Seeds with OJ before bed I've noticed I've been pooping alot more daily, which for me is great as I usually would only go 2-4 times a week. I know I know TMI. Sorry.

Exercise: The Hubs has made a little work out plan for us to do a few nights a week. This week we tried going up and down the stairs 10 times....that's 110 steps up and 110 steps down.  Sounds exhausting, but it's doable. I was really proud of myself because I completed the 10 sets without quitting. 

We didn't watch any documentaries this week, but I did pick up this TIME magazine the other day.

It has some pretty amazing articles. Here's one I really liked...

 

"Can Posture Change Your Mind?"Source: Time Magazine
Article by: Regina Nuzzo

Surprise: Standing tall or hunching over affects more than your appearance. To soothe an anxious mood and maybe drop a few pounds, move right this way.

The MIND-BODY CONNECTION has long been thought of as a rather simple affair. Picture it: a bossy mind orders around its servant body like an aristocrat issuing sniffy requests to a household staff downstairs. "Body, get out of bed. Arm, lift coffee mug. Mouth, we're feeling jolly. Let's have a smile." Research increasingly shows, your body downstairs has a surprising amount of influence over your mind up above.

Something as simple as your posture can affect what your brain thinks, feels and believes. Psychologists call this "embodied cognition" a term that pays homage to deep-seated wisdom hidden in our bodies. Their research is showing that how you move your muscles and where you place your limbs, head and torso all help control your mood, your behavior, and the way you think.

Postures:


Leaning In:
Makes you feel more interested in whatever you're gravitating toward. A tilt toward a tempting dessert, one study showed, is enough to light up a "gonna grab it" region of the brain.


Standing Tall:
Sparks feelings of confidence. It may make you more secure in your opinions, so you're easily less crowded.


Slouching:
Makes you feel stressed and unsure of yourself, scientists say there's a reason your mother always told you to stand up straight. Even when you do well, a hangdog posture leaves you more apt to throw in the towel.

Clutching yourself:
Signals to other people and yourself that you're low on the totem pole. Hugging yourself doesn't bring comfort; it increases stress, reduces your self-confidence, and makes you less assertive.

What is your Posture like?

This is where I am today:

Weight Lost: 3 pounds 
Total Lost:     13 pounds

Measurements:
Hips: 51"                       L Bicep: 14"                  L Calf: 18"
Waist: 41"                     R Bicep: 13"                  R Calf: 18"
Neck: 14"                      L Thigh: 28"
Bust: 45.5"                   R Thigh: 28"

Getting Healthy- Week 2

This week was a little easier. I'm finally feeling a little more energy and I'm feeling great about being down 6 pounds!

I've continued to substitute 1-2 meals a day with either a shake or a juice. I've continued to snack throughout the day and still having my 8-10 glasses of water and I feel great!

This week we watched "Forks Over Knives"  another Netflix documentary where Lee advocates how you can combat many diseases by eating a low fat plant based diet. You can read more about it HERE Yes, I'm a Netflix Junkie...I'm not sure how I ever survived without Netflix. 

Over the weekend we juiced for Breakfast and Lunch since we had plans to go out for dinner. I was surprised to see that the juices and snacks had held me up throughout the day and I didn't feel hungry at all.

I love love love red meat...the Hubs keeps it out of our diet as much possible...but Kussifay has the yummiest parillada in town. Kussifay is an Argentinian Restaurant located in Downtown Hollywood. Whenever the Hubs and I get a chance to, we go there an order a parillada for 2. But this meal can probably feed up to 4 people. I only eat the skirt steakand the salad while the hubs likes to eat all the other stuff on the platter.

This week, we exercised lightly this week 3 days nothing too crazy.  I've also started parking my car farther than usual. At work I park in the last spot on the other side of the building. At the supermarket or any other place we go we also park farther just to get in a little extra walking.
 

This is where I am today:
Weight Lost: 4 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 10 pounds

Measurements:
Hips: 51"                       L Bicep: 14.5"                  L Calf: 18"
Waist: 44"                    R Bicep: 13.5"                  R Calf: 18"
Neck: 14.5"                   L Thigh: 29"
Bust: 46.5"                   R Thigh: 27"

Getting Healthy ~ Week 1

 Last week I began my path to becoming healthy. It hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been impossible to do. I've started by reducing my portion sizes and adding 2-3 snacks in-between my meals, drinking 8-10 cups of water daily and exercising a few times a week.

I wake up around 6:40am every morning, I jump out of bed and get ready, prepare breakfast, clean up, pack lunch and out the door to play in traffic. Of course there are days where I hit the snooze button, later get up in a rush leaving me with no time for breakfast. Since the first week of any diet is a little stressful, the Hubs and I tried going to bed by 10pm so we're able to get enough rest and not feel so tired in the morning. 

This week  I thought I should try having a protein shake for breakfast just to get in the habit of having breakfast every morning. Let me tell you this has worked perfectly, even when I'm running late, I'm able to have my breakfast while I sit in traffic.

I've also started snacking. At 10:30am I have an apple, or a banana, or a 1/4 cup of almonds, or an orange, 1 cup of grapes. Since I started snacking this week, I find that I'm not as starving when lunch time comes around making me want to eat everything in sight. 

Also drinking water throughout the day has kept me feeling full. By lunch time, this 33.8 fl oz bottle of water is gone.

 I figure if you're supposed to drink 8 glasses of 8 oz of water daily, this bottle equals to a little over 4 glasses, so if I have 2 bottles that makes 8. And it's not stressful to see 3 empty bottles of bottles of water and think shoot I still have another 4 bottles to drink.

At lunch I usually have salads, or chicken and vegetables, some days I'll have tuna with 2 MultiGrain CrispBreads by Wasa. The Hubs say they taste like cardboard.

I'm also substituting my dinner with another shake. What ever was prepared for dinner that evening I have for lunch the next day. 

Before bed time, I have a 4 oz glass of orange juice and mix 1 tablespoons of Chia & 1 tablespoon of Flax Seeds in it. Chia seeds is a great source of healthy Omega 3-fats and Fiber.  Flaxseeds are also a great source of healthy Omega 3's, Fiber and Lignans. I gotta warn you...when you wake up in the morning, you'll poop like 10 lbs. TMI I know. :)
You can pick a bag of either for a few bucks at Whole Foods. 

A few weeks before I started,  The Hubs and I did a lot of research on healthy eating, exercising, and all kinds of healthy stuff. We came across this documentary on Netflix called "Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead".  Where this guy named Joe started a juice fast for 60 days and lost 100 pounds. You can read more about it HERE In the past, the Hubs had always talked to me about juicing but we never really took it seriously and after watching this documentary we've included juicing into our meals. We substitute one or two meals with a juice, usually at dinner time. I've found a bunch of juicing recipes HERE.

I'm sure there are people like me who are very antsy and find it hard to wait to weigh in. For me weigh ins are on Sundays. There were times where I would weigh myself every 2 days, until it back fired on me. One day the number on the scale had increased and I freaked out! Thankfully when Sunday came around the number I was looking for was there.

I haven't done any exercising this week as I didn't want to push myself since I've reduced my portions and have replaced my meals with shakes or juicing.

Here's where I am today...

Weight Lost: 6 pounds

Measurements:
Hips: 53"                      L Bicep: 14.5"                L Calf: 17"
Waist: 42"                    R Bicep: 14.5"                R Calf: 18"
Neck: 14.5"                   L Thigh: 28"
Bust: 47"                       R Thigh: 30"

Getting Healthy

Into my late teens I was always very thin. I'm 5'7 and the most I ever weighed was 115lbs wearing a size 0 until I turned 21. Sure, those are the years where you can eat everything and anything and your metabolism is running on overdrive and can burn every last calorie intake in your body. Those years quickly went by and before I knew it I had grown into a size 12 then with a blink of an eye into a size 22 and 100 lbs extra. If I recall correctly the increase of weight was between 2001 and 2006. A lot was going on in my life through those years and I counted on food to comfort me.

I'm one of those people who has read every health/workout book, tried about every single diet, workout video, in the market and failed.  In 2006 I went to see an Endocrinologist who put me on a 1200 calorie diet, which was easy to do as I wasn't restricted to all my favorite foods. He taught me how to read my food labels, and how to eat the correct portions and included light exercise. On his program I lost 57 lbs in a little over than 8 months. Sadly, a year later I went through a small depression and gained the weight back and then some. In 2011 I went back to see him and he suggested I try the HCG diet. This diet became very popular in the last few years, where you ate 500 calories a day and the pounds would just shed away. Yea, I tried it too and lost about 40 lbs and when I later could not afford to continue the plan I put those 40 lbs back on and added another 20.

Throughout the past few years I've struggled with weight loss, my weight would come off and then right back on plus a few. I have no one else to blame but myself for putting on and keeping on the weight for all those years. 

This weekend we went on our final Disney trip of the year and after reviewing our pictures, I was so disappointed at myself and decided that it was time to stop making excuses, and get with the program. 

I'm in a place where my life is starting to make sense, my goals and dreams are starting to become a little more reachable,  I'm happier than I've ever been, and I'm ready to take on the WORLD! Today I say my GOODBYES to my un-healthy WEIGHT, my FAT, and my BAD EATING HABITS forever! It's not going to be easy, "NOTHING GREAT IS EASY" but it's NOT impossible, plus I'm lucky to have the BEST support out there by my side, My Hubs!

This is where I am today...

Measurements:
Hips: 54"                      L Bicep: 15.5"                L Calf: 20"
Waist: 45"                     R Bicep: 15"                  R Calf: 19.5"
Neck: 16"                       L Thigh: 30"
Bust: 49"                        R Thigh: 31"

My goal weight loss: -65 pounds

August 2013