Roadside Assistance

The journey continues on, and I decided to get a little "roadside assistance" from Weight Watchers. Good decision I think. I was doing many good things, making changes and sticking with them but wasn't seeing the results I wanted: weight loss!! I was kind of bouncing up and down in the same 5-10 lb area on the scale and still doing things to sabotage the whole plan.
I feel differently than the many other times I've joined Weight Watchers. This time it isn't so hard to stay on track and I realize all that stuff they teach is so helpful!
I've also been exercising more-and harder and I feel like I can. I feel stronger in my daily activities; going up stairs, getting up off the couch, in and our of the car, things that use to hurt don't hurt so much now. I've lost 6.2 lbs and man is it coming off slowly...I've never lost weight so slowly before. I know what they say about it being harder when you are older, but come on now...geez, I'm not that old am I?
I've been using an extra tool to keep track of my progress. On fitness.bizcalcs.com there is a Body Fat Percentage calculator, it helps me see total results, not just weight loss, but fat loss and the building of my lean mass-love it. So although I've only lost 6.2 lbs, I can see that I've lost 4 lbs of fat and gained 3 lbs of lean body mass. WooHoo!

I feel good!

I continue to feel better and lose lbs, and I don't even feel like I'm trying. At least it doesn't feel like the old days of dieting. The re-introducing of foods was a little more difficult for me than I thought it would be. Part of that reason was because I went on a road trip in the middle of it all. So I'm not sure about my results. I would like to start from the beginning and do it all again, partly because I felt so good while on the 3 week plan.
The first food I re-introduced was eggs, one of my fav's I ate them every morning, for years. Surprise ~when I had them again my face broke out in tiny whiteheads, all around my lips~strange. No reaction from tomatoes, soy, corn, that I can tell. The problem is that some of these foods I added too close together. I do think I have some trouble with wheat/Gluten so I will be avoiding that for a while and see how I do when I have it again. Sugar was a biggie, I knew that, but when I had some of it (Little Debbie Swiss Rolls and Donuts) it made a big difference, swollen lymph glands in my neck, fatigue, cranky...get the hint-no more sugar! Which doesn't make me as sad as it use to to think that I can't pig-out on sugary stuff.
Many of the changes that I made during those 3 weeks have stuck with me, and I feel so much better because of them. I (therefore we) am eating and cooking simpler. No more casseroles, things with cheese melted all over the top, no "cream of" anything, just simple ingredients cooked simply. Lean protein, lots of veggies, fruit, and a little whole grain starches such as rice, or quinoa. I am finally doing more of the things I always knew I should, like eating more fish -2x a week now, taking my supplements more regularly-vit D3 and fish oil, juicing-hurray for Jack LaLanne's power juicer! It feels good!

New Path

I feel so good about the new things happening in my life~ I want to share. I'm not shouting from the roof tops because I know those who know me well are a little tired of hearing about the latest and greatest "diet" or program, so I will just quietly blog here and get it out of my system and maybe inspire or encourage someone in the same place.
Through my cousin I found a great Dr. who is helping me along this journey to wellness. During our 2 hr. visit the other day I was able to explain to him the many issues I've been dealing with over the years and finally someone listened! I've been dealing with pain and fatigue for a while now and it just seems to be getting worse, often hindering me in my quest to lose weight.
The underlying factor in all this is INFLAMMATION, it is taking over my body, and to find out what is causing this inflammation I have begun a 3 week diet, removing the most common foods that cause sensitivity.
MediClear is a program of cleansing and nutrient support while I am on this diet. It is inexpensive and so far I am doing well:
Week One: Easing into the diet, removing some food categories; corn, wheat, tomatoes, soy, peanuts, shellfish, beef, pork, dairy, sugars. Drinking a Mediclear "shake" once a day.
So far I'm doing well, I haven't really missed most of the things I use to eat. I have had a few cravings for goodies, but they pass and I can find something else to fill the void. It's early to see many changes~today is Day 3~but the hope is that I will begin to feel better, joint pain and muscle pain will ease up and go away, energy will increase.
After the 3 weeks, I will slowly-one by one- begin to reintroduce the sensitive foods and see how I feel, thereby figuring out what my body is sensitive to.
This is a very brief description, there are many more things that he recommended and I will write about those as well. The biggest thing that I want to express is Hope~I am once again hopeful that I will get better, feel better and get back to the person I want to be.
Typical Food Day:
Morning-
Warm water with lemon
MediClear powder in Rice milk with banana
Turkey Sausage
Mixed Berries
Snack-
Pear
Lunch-
Mixed salad with cajun chicken breast
Snack-
Raw Almonds
Dinner-
Grilled Salmon
Steamed cauliflower
Beets
Mashed potatoes
Snack-
Rice cake with almond butter
This is not a calorie counting type diet, just avoiding certain foods and getting plenty of good stuff in for now makes me feel great.
So I'm off to get in a work-out and spend some time the sauna (get out some more toxins!)

Baby get back

Oh, I am such a slacker~it's been over a month since I've even looked at this blog. My efforts at exercise and eating well have also been slacking. It started out with a yucky sinus cold, neck and back pain, and then Mr R. got this swimmers ear infection, so we haven't been to the gym in a couple of weeks~bad.
Bad for the weight loss progress, but also bad for the emotional/mind connection to this whole thing. I know that exercising every day keeps my mind in the right place~up in the happy zone and not down in the dumps I hate me and everything is awful zone.
I went to Lane Bryant today just to get a couple of summer t-shirts, nothing fit and it all looked terrible-I hate dressing rooms!!! AAArRRGGH~~***
So Rebecca, it is time to get back on track, back to the pool, back to sweating with the oldy, back to life at the gym, back to veggieville (don't stop me, I'm on a roll)back to....

Thursday check-in

I've had a great couple of days, yesterday was another round of aqua-sloshing, up and down, back and forth in the pool followed by hot tub and sauna. I managed to get my fruits and veggies in, thanks to a trip to a Chinese buffet~probably not the best way to do it, too many other temptations, but it will do in a pinch.
Today I tried the elliptical, thinking it would work better for my knee~think again, it was painful. So instead I walked back and forth in the pool, which is something I've done before, but always got slowed down in the deep end, so I would "swim" through the deep end. It never really worked well because I think my heart rate would go down in the deep end. So, today I just walked as fast as I could and turned around at about 4' and kept that up for 20 mins. I will keep that up and see if I get results. I would like to try it with shoes on, some old tenny's instead of water shoes, for some more support. I don't want to give up on the aerobic part of my work-out, I know it is important, so I will keep trying things until I (or my knee) can stand it.
I got the veggie's and fruit in, but just barely five. I need to do better pre-planning in that area.
So tomorrow:
1. Ice the knee
2. Upper body weights
3. 7 fruits & veggies!

Nine a Day

Had great work-outs two days in a row now! Yesterday we joined in with the Aqua class, with the tough-guy teacher! So a lot of running and kicking, it felt good. Tonight I gave my legs a workin' over~quads, hammies, abductors, adductors, and calves. 3 sets of 20 reps each~~twice! I won't be able to walk tomorrow!
So for tomorrow we will try Aqua class again.
Oh, and I had 3 veggies, 3 fruits today. I'm trying for at least 5 fruits and veggies each day, but I should get 9!
Tomorrow, the sun will come out, and I will be eating fruits and veggies.
Lovin' this life.

Friday Follow-up

So I managed to get the icing done and get in the pool. Not all 3, but I feel better. I spent some time in the hot tub, massaging my knee with the jets~it's tough, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! So it feels somewhat better tonight.
Tomorrow, is anotha' day~I have some Scarlett in me~and I will get to the club and do
1. lwr body weights
2. pool time
3. ice it baby 3X