What Follows 28?

So, I've just completed 28 days following the Fast Metabolism Diet in strict adherence.  I reached my goal and I feel great. I am craving a cup of coffee with cream again. Can I drink it? What about the foods I avoided while following the 28 day regime? I don't want to lose the healthy glow I have or the energy I feel. What next?

Maintenance can sometimes be an unpopular activity. I know from all my previous weight loss journeys that it is often harder than the diet was.

Weight management wasn't an issue for me as a teen. I was a skinny little freckled face farm girl growing up. Even though I gained a TON of weight during both my pregnancies (60# with the first, 45# with the second) I managed to lose all of but 5# with in the first year of their births. And truly at the time, I needed that extra weight. I was too thin.

I didn't start having issues with unwanted weight gain until I was separated from my first husband. For the first time in my adult life I didn't have anyone controlling what I ate so, I ate whatever I wanted. (A lot of despair and anger was soothed by the midnight munchies, a lot of stifled aggression diverted by the drive thru window of Micky-D's) As a result I quickly packed on the pounds. Then life got more settled and calm, I was working a full time job and slowly the weight came back down.

I fell in love and we got married. Happy and content to play homemaker again I started banging out all kinds of wonderful in the kitchen. Aaaannnnnd, the weight crept back on. When one day I saw a picture of myself I knew I had reached the point of desperately needing to do something.

the picture that spurred me to change.

I joined Weight Watchers. I was successful with the program and by the end of the first year had reached my goal. I kept the weight off for several years, then slowly it started creeping back on. Maintenance wasn't going so well.

Next came Curves. Running my own business, working out every day, following the weight management program we promoted, I quickly lost weight. Then the stress of running my own business took it's toll and slowly but surely the weight snuck back on. It seems to be a never ending story with me! Lose it, Gain it. Lost it, Gain it. Aaaaaaghhhh!

The thing each of these weight loss stories have in common was the maintenance phase. Each time I reached a goal and started living out life in maintenance mode, it would only last for so long. Why? Because I had been counting calories or counting points or following specific meal plans and as soon as I returned to eating without counting, my body greedily grabbed hold of each morsel of caloric/ fat and stacked it back on. That is why this 28 Day Fast Metabolism Diet held such appeal. I wanted a metabolism that was on fire! I wanted my food to properly fuel me, to be my ally not my enemy.

So, back to my original question. Can I have my coffee with cream? After following specific phases of eating each week and avoiding certain foods, what do I do now?

Well, since wheat and gluten and corn were already on my "do not touch" list due to food allergies I have no issue with leaving them off for forever! I suspect dairy should not have a primary place in my eating anymore but in moderation I plan to explore that. Many of the things that were strictly OFF THE LIST, during the last month I have no problem leaving behind. And let's be honest, NO ONE can eat anything and everything and expect to stay fit and healthy. We all need to be sensible in our eating choices to be healthy.  But after following the plan that allowed my liver to heal and process food the way it was designed to and for my metabolism to be revved up, I should be able to navigate maintenance successfully. I'll post an update from time to time and let you know how it's going. Feel free to help hold me accountable. :)

28 Days Part Two

Winter isn't my finest time to begin with, given that S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) compounds my long term battle with depression. Add in some feeling pudgy and sluggish and you've got a major black cloud hanging over you.

So.. with the arrival of spring and thoughts of cute summer tops and capri's to wear, I went into a little bit of panic mode when I discovered the change in my body (thanks post-menopause) over the winter months meant those cute clothes just didn't fit right anymore. I knew I had to do something.

A few days later in a conversation with my daughter-in-law, she mentioned a diet that several ladies she knew were following. She said they were eating all the time and losing weight. But she said it was super strict, in that there were lots of things prohibited on the eating plan. Still, they were losing and liking it. I was intrigued and later that day I googled the title and did some research on the diet.

The Fast Metabolism Diet was the name of the book and author Haylie Pomroy assured readers that they could lose up to 20# in just 4 weeks through the fat burning power of food. I didn't feel I needed to lose that much but so much of what she wrote about resonated with me because of my prior days of owning my own fitness center. We taught a weight management program at Curves that espoused ways to raise your metabolism so you'd lose the weight and keep it off. (That eating plan didn't work so well for me once I realized I was wheat/ gluten --and to some degree, dairy- sensitive). I realized just a few chapters into the book that the main problem for me was that the restrictive calorie intake had messed big time with my metabolism. I also wasn't eating enough of the right kinds of foods and I needed some help to get me back on track.

Now, you might think I'd know how to eat right but I'll admit right now, in the last few years I've gotten lazy in the kitchen. My cooking had gotten into a rut and I'd been going for fast, easy and cheap when it came to food purchases and prep. And because I am wheat/gluten and semi-dairy sensitive, it's a challenge to find food I can eat sometimes. I needed a meal map to point me in the right direction. Fortunately The Fast Metabolism Diet was full of maps and pointers. A kind of GPS for my tummy!

The diet is strict: NO wheat, corn, soy, dairy, sugar, artificial sweeteners, fruit juice, alcohol and, (the biggest one for me) NO COFFEE!! (I almost said "I can't do this" when I read that part. In fact I negotiated with myself thinking I could give up all of it but the coffee but once I finished the book I decided if I was going to commit to doing this, I needed to commit fully and give it my all)
And that's what  I did. I began to wean myself off the caffeine. I sat down and wrote out a meal map of my own, using some of the books recipes and suggestions, substituting some foods with ones I liked better (but that were still on the approved foods list) I prepared a shopping list. Best of all, my husband said he wanted to do this with me!

While the diet is strict, and with that list, you think "well, what's left to eat?" but honestly, I've never eaten better! Fresh fruit, veggies by the bushel full, lean meats--organic and nitrate free whenever possible, healthy fats like almonds and cashews, hummus and  avocados. Yes, I've missed my coffee and cream but it's not for forever. It's 28 days of eating strategically, designed to light your metabolism on fire! I've not felt deprived or starving and when I'm hungry it's because it's time to eat not because I've had to skip a meal to try and justify calorie intake.

 I feel better than I have in years! I have energy and stamina. My digestive issues have settled down to almost nothing. I've had only one bad day of fibromyalgia symptoms and I know it was related to snacking on some questionable food items at a party. I've lost inches all over and definitely seen a reduction in that troublesome tummy area! And weight loss? As of this morning I've dropped 10 lbs and am at the lowest weight I've been since... I can't remember when! (hubby reports he's lost about 5 lbs and definitely feels better and really loves and appreciates the wholesome goodness of the meals)

Bottom line is... it works.

coming next.... What follows 28? 

the curse of the dreaded fibro-fog

it was a dark and stormy night.... Oh wait, that's the beginning of a bad novel.This is just a blog post and I don't want it to read like a soap opera turned horror flick. No, this is just your average tale about a modern day woman who occasionally suffers from a malady known as Fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia, for those who may not know, is one of those chronic ailments that are widely misunderstood but had gained much attention in recent years as more and more people become diagnosed with it and doctors scramble to learn the cause and subsequent treatment of it. Fibromyalgia, or FM for abbreviation purposes, is characterized by wide spread pain that does not seem to be related to one specific cause. Its not arthritis, or bursitis, it's not a flu or virus, though when in a fibro-flair up, I often feel like I have the flu... or that I've been run over by a semi.

I was diagnosed with FM about 10 or 12 years ago. Back then there were not many doctors in our neck of the woods who knew what to do with the diagnosis. I saw a specialist for awhile (back in the good old days when we had health insurance) and the most common treatment was putting us on anti-psychotic medication. (Crazy right?) The premise was that it would raise the serotonin levels which would help combat pain. I can't vouch for anyone else but after a horrible trial run with several different med's which made me feel crazy, I said "enough with that!" and decided to go with a more holistic approach. During that time I took a leave of absence from my job (I was driving school bus at the time and calling in sick way too much) and concentrated on trying to find answers to my problem. I was blessed to stumble across a chiropractor who practiced natural techniques.  Within the first couple of treatments I was experiencing less pain than I had in months. I kept up a regime of regular visits to his office, taking supplements and incorporating exercise as much as my body could tolerate. (A few years later when I opened up our Curves for Women's Fitness Center, I was really able to keep up my exercise, and thankfully with a workout that was easy for me to handle. It was a win-win for me.)

this helps keep me going when the going gets really tough. 

Getting adequate sleep is also important but the sleep issue is often trickier to manage as insomnia is one of the trademarks of this debilitating ailment. In addition to insomnia, joint pain and stiffness, there is irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, difficulty swallowing, and cognitive dysfunction. Or, as some of us call it "fibro-fog". (Today for instance, it's taken me most of the day to put together this post, something I usually knock out in a relatively short amount of time.)

A few years ago I made the discovery about my intolerance for gluten. Once I removed gluten from my diet I noticed a dramatic difference as far as inflammation goes. Now, when I do have a flare up, I can usually trace it back to something I ate the day before that was on the No-No list. ( this often occurs after eating out, as I can't control what goes into restaurant prepared food.) Despite the tricks I have learned to help keep this nasty condition at bay, I can't guarantee it wont rear its ugly head and render me useless.

don't bug me. I'm sleeping.

So, it wasn't a dark and stormy night after all. It was a dark and stormy Morning. One of those mornings where it hurts to even open my eyes.  Where it feels like someone poured cement into my joints and its quick setting cement.  Where mass amounts of coffee still wont make the brain fog lift.  On these days it would be better for me to just crawl back in bed and sleep. Or so one would think. But I find sleep just as elusive on these days as I do most nights. And sleep doesn't necessarily relieve the joint pain and stiffness. It's usually better for me to move, painful as it may be. So, this morning, if you saw someone stumbling down the road, with her ass dragging on the heels of her shoes, looking like a zombie... yah, that'd be me.

What's in Your Bread Basket?

Jesus said "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6.35)

I'm gluten intolerant. It has taken some adjusting but eventually I got the hang of it. I got past the withdrawals of not having toast for breakfast or a muffin with my coffee. I learned to cook using substitute flours or pastas or just going without. It didn't kill me. In fact, I feel healthier. But the kind of bread Jesus was talking about wasn't the hot, fresh out of the oven, smothered with butter kind. He said HE WAS the bread. A few posts back I wrote about the Woman at the Well and her wanting Jesus to give her the water that would forever quench her thirst. Here, Jesus is saying he'll not only satisfy your thirst, but he'll satisfy your hunger too.

Life is full of things that promise to fulfill us but they are most often temporary or, worse, counterfeit. I love to shop and my husband once asked me 'how many pieces of clothing does a woman need? when is it enough?" (Silly question. My answer was rhetorically phenomenal: How many tools does a man need before he has enough? When he sat there is a seemingly stumped silence I added: clothing are MY tools for looking good for you. Ha ha!)  Yet in all seriousness, while that little rush I get when I make my purchase is fun, it doesn't last. When I eat my lunch, it won't be but a few hours before I am ready to eat again. That's the way my body was designed. It needs food-fuel on a regular basis to run properly. So it is with my spirit. I need regular fill ups from Jesus and just once a week on Sunday isn't going to do it. I want to be hungry, fiercely hungry, for the only ONE who can give me what I really need.

I have tried some gluten free breads. Hmmm....... Let me just say, they never measure up. I might not notice it in brownies (put enough sugar in something and it is bound to taste good) but when it comes to making a sandwich? Sorry, gluten-free bread, you just don't satisfy. It's gotta be the real deal or nuthen'. It's the same with Jesus. Those counterfeit substitutes will not fill me in a way that will sustain me.

When the Israelites wandered in the desert for those 40 years, God sent manna from heaven to feed them. He didn't dole out a portion once a week to carry them through till the next week. No, God supplied what they needed that day. He gave them just enough for the day and every morning there was fresh manna. Jesus is still in the bread business. He offers us a daily portion of Himself hoping we will come with a hunger only He can meet.

If I passed around a bread basket at the dinner table and you pulled out one of the gluten free products, you might be a little disappointed. (a LOT disappointed) Especially if you were expecting hot, fresh out of the oven bread, smothered with butter. Yet, how often does the breadbasket of life choices fall short of offering true satisfaction?

I have often find myself trying to fill up my soul with substitutes. Yes, the shopping. Yes, watching a movie or reading a book (not a bad thing by any means!) Sometimes its frivolous things; mani-pedi time. But probably by far the thing that occupies my time more than anything are the social media outlets.  I'm not saying any of these things are wrong. What I am saying is I recognize that often I am trying to fill a void in my life that only ONE can fill yet I keep going for the counterfeit basket of bread.

I was recently challenged (convicted) in my spirit to make some changes about how I spend my time. In an effort to re-prioritize, and to re-focus, I decided to unplug from facebook for awhile. This is day one, and I have to admit, it's harder than I thought it would be. Having that smartphone capability has made it too easy to allow other things to distract me or entertain me when I might be doing things that would be of far more value. I keep picking up my phone and twiddling with it, determined to NOT GO THERE. I have plenty of other things to do but I guess I hadn't really realized what a habit the facebook thing has become.
I said once that it has to be "God's book before Facebook" but even that rule has gotten bent a time or two.
So this week I am taking a deeper look at this thing called the Bread of Life, examining how I can better use my time to bring glory to the One Who Is Worthy.

So, tell me friends; what's in your bread basket?

Praise the Lord Tomato Soup!

I don't do recipes on my blog. But I won't say 'Never'. I am a decent enough cook but I would never go so far as to say my dishes are photo worthy and I don't invent new recipes, just keep the tried and true ones coming. I guess after 30 plus years of cranking out meatloaf and spaghetti, this old cook is a little weary. Add the challenge of cooking gluten free for the last 2 years and you can understand why a "4 Buck Cluck*" sale at the local grocery store is a deal too good to pass up!
(* 4 buck cluck = roasted whole chicken on sale for $4, pairs very well with some 2 buck chuck (wine) from Trader Joes )

That said.... a dear friend created her own cookbook of some very yummy gluten free dishes and gave me a copy. The first thing I experimented with from the cookbook was something I'd sampled from her kitchen and found so hearty and delightful that I was excited to re-create it in my own kitchen.

I love tomato soup. Coupled with a grilled cheese sandwich  it's the ultimate blues-buster on a chilly rainy winter day. It's comfort food. It's finger licking good. This delicious soup is so good I can understand why it's called "Praise the Lord!"

PRAISE THE LORD TOMATO SOUP
1 lb spicy ground Gluten Free sausage or sausage links (I used  GF spicy chicken sausage meatballs, diced)
1 box GF Pacific Natural Foods organic tomato soup
1 jar of (your favorite GF) marina sauce. 
1/4 cup (or more, LOL) Red Wine.
1-2 tsp oregeno and basil,
salt and pepper to taste.

in soup pan, brown the sausage. Add rest of ingredients, and simmer till hot. Do not boil. 

Options: 1 cup fresh or frozen corn can be added. 
Other variations include using roasted red pepper/tomato soup for a spicier taste. 
I served mine with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with Pepper Jack grated cheese, (in lieu of the grilled cheese sandwich)

If you try this recipe, I'd love to know what you thought!

Embracing Change

The Apostle Paul shared his frustration with us when he penned about knowing what he should do and being unable to do it. I am sure many of us have battled this ourselves with many things in life; diet, exercise, anything that has to do with self control. I know this is true for me.

I am on a quest to lose weight and be in better shape and it does not come easy to me. Even working in the fitness industry does not make my daily struggle with choices easier!

It's so much easier to give in to the temptation of a warm-fresh-out-of-the-oven-gooey-chocolate-chip-muffin and flop on the couch to read! And occasionally this choice is not bad, providing it is occasional!

I guess what I wrestle with is the 2 natures at war within me. The instinctual selfish side that wants the instant gratification and comfort and the New Creation that God instilled in me when I invited Jesus into my life. I was created in the image of God and in his eyes I am a beautiful person who has been given the gift of self-awareness and free will.

Free will is a gift but with it comes great responsibility. That responsibility is to recognize the behaviors that are harmful to our lives and to replace them with good choices.

In addition to needing to shed a few pounds, I also am gluten-intolerant. So sometimes the desire for the warm gooey fresh out of the oven muffin is doubly deadly. I don't need the muffin-top that comes from eating muffins (and other calorie laden treats) and I really don't need the side effects that straying from my smart eating plan will give me.  Still, even as I stand there, knowing what is wrong with this idea, the temptation to satisfy the immediate cravings of the flesh is so strong....

Still the words of Paul come to mind:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

—1 Corinthians 10:13

I think one of the reasons we continue in the same mode, accepting harmful behavior and even the consequences, is the desire to stay in our comfort zone. We tend to seek comfort before we seek success. Let our free will choose to embrace change and we will allow ourselves to become the person our true heart desires.