My mom went to see a dietitian yesterday. So today, she wanted me to go see her and look through all the papers she got about how she should be eating.
She isn't a full on diabetic, but she does have "food controlled diabetes", which I don't totally understand, but what I am assuming is that she can control her condition through her diet.
Good. I was pushing for her to eat a better diet anyway. Not good that she has this condition, but at least now she has her doctor basically echoing what I've been telling her all along. Which is, eat better.
I've learned some interesting and shocking things today. One being, I don't want to become a dietitian. The thought has crossed my mind more than a few times, as I try to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life now that all my kidlets are in school. And since I'm nutty about nutrition, I thought that might be a good career choice. But, I obviously don't share the same beliefs that the dietitians are trained to have. One being, you can drink pop.
Yes. I was BLOWN AWAY by this. My mother, is allowed to drink diet soda. It's actually in a category called "unlimited" - meaning, she can drink as much as she wants.
Another little tid bit that fascinated me (because I didn't want to use the term blown away again, although I was) is that she is not supposed to count total sugar grams. What they have her doing is controlling her carbohydrate intake, which is all fine and good, but they aren't really teaching her to stay away from high sugar foods by telling her to ignore total sugar. Yes, the pamphlet actually says "ignore total sugar grams". Wait, what?
Yes, keeping a limit on the amount of carbs you eat is limiting sugar (I guess) to a certain degree, but it says nothing about the fact that you probably shouldn't be eating a particular food if the sugar content is higher than 6g per serving.
She is supposed to "count" carbs. For instance, she can have 3-4 carb "choices" for main meals and 1 carb "choice" for both snacks. Her breakfast should be around 30 carbs, lunch around 45 carbs, and I hadn't looked at dinner so I don't know that number. But all they want her to do is pay attention to TOTAL carbs.
I get that they are solely trying to eliminate the problem with her condition (in this case, too many carbs) and not forcing her to eat a totally clean and perfect diet. Because not everyone is into that. Even when faced with a food specific disease. But you would think that they would preach a little bit about sugar intake. And certainly not tell her to ignore it all together!
Nothing about staying away from white breads and pastas. Nothing about fat intake or protein. Some of their OK'ed snack choices even included Doritos. Really? I figured there would be a much more balanced and holistic approach.
So, I went through her meal options and picked out some healthy choices for her. I even went through her pantry and we got rid of everything that had partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fat) and I plan on taking her shopping tomorrow. Once she has a good solid foundation of what is ACTUALLY healthy for her and starts eating properly, I have no doubt in my mind that she will not only feel better, but have more energy, lose more weight and be happier.
I'm not trying to put down this dietitian in particular or the profession as a whole, because they probably know many many different diets for all different situations. They are trained professionals and I am not. I was just very....very surprised by a few things. That's all. No offense intended here.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
I love ya, tomorrow
So, the healthy diet sort of went bye bye over Easter. I've been not so careful about what I'm eating, when I'm eating, getting enough protein, etc. And do you know what? I feel LOUSY! I honestly can't wait for tomorrow. I hate to say that because tomorrow the kids go back to school and my husband goes back to work. Although I love having them here, it's just so hard to adhere to my "special" diet (which is nothing other than simply eating healthy foods) when no one else really cares much about eating for health.
I have been dipping into the Easter candy quite frequently over the past 5 days and I can REALLY tell that it negatively effects my body. I get dizzy. I get headaches. I get gut aches. And I feel lazy. But it's not just candy, it's other things that I normally wouldn't eat: fatty bacon, buttery potatoes, bread, etc. I'm getting that euphoric effect while I'm eating it, because it tastes good. But literally within minutes of eating it, I feel horrible. And the horrible feeling lasts and lasts.
I know why my husband always wants to lay around on the couch. In fact he's laying there now, napping, and it's almost 5pm. He never has energy. He always wants to nap or lay on the couch or the bed. Do I think it's his diet? No. I KNOW it is.
When I talk about the importance of eating healthy, it's not just because I know it will help me reach certain body goals, but I know the difference in how it makes you FEEL. It is monumental!
You can deny it all you want. My husband does. He might know that his diet causes him to be lethargic, but he would never admit it. That would imply he's doing something wrong. And it's not in his nature to admit to being wrong....ever. But deep down I think he knows. I just don't think he cares all that much. And he doesn't care because he's not obese. Therefore, it's not doing him any harm.
But he knows. Just today we were at a pizza place for lunch and he was coaxing me to eat the last couple squares of his pizza. I asked him why he was practically begging me to eat it and he said to me, "Because your cholesterol levels are awesome and your skinny."
I was working out in my basement yesterday because, for whatever reason, I didn't want to go to the gym. And I did a different weight routine, it wasn't circuit based, it was straight sets. After weights, I did 20 minutes of cardio. According to my heart rate monitor, I only burned somewhere around 350 calories (usually at the gym, it's about 550 - but that is when I do a circuit based routine and 20 minutes of cardio after). And I was thinking to myself how sad it was that I worked out for an hour and ten minutes to burn off 2 cadbury eggs worth of calories. Something that would take me about 2 minutes to eat. Do I really want to spend that much time working out to burn off something I shouldn't have eaten in the first place? NO! It's not worth it.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Sadly, I'm not looking forward to measurements because I know that nothing will have changed in the past week. But even so, I look ahead to the future and see success. I have not yet failed because I have not yet given up.
I have been dipping into the Easter candy quite frequently over the past 5 days and I can REALLY tell that it negatively effects my body. I get dizzy. I get headaches. I get gut aches. And I feel lazy. But it's not just candy, it's other things that I normally wouldn't eat: fatty bacon, buttery potatoes, bread, etc. I'm getting that euphoric effect while I'm eating it, because it tastes good. But literally within minutes of eating it, I feel horrible. And the horrible feeling lasts and lasts.
I know why my husband always wants to lay around on the couch. In fact he's laying there now, napping, and it's almost 5pm. He never has energy. He always wants to nap or lay on the couch or the bed. Do I think it's his diet? No. I KNOW it is.
When I talk about the importance of eating healthy, it's not just because I know it will help me reach certain body goals, but I know the difference in how it makes you FEEL. It is monumental!
You can deny it all you want. My husband does. He might know that his diet causes him to be lethargic, but he would never admit it. That would imply he's doing something wrong. And it's not in his nature to admit to being wrong....ever. But deep down I think he knows. I just don't think he cares all that much. And he doesn't care because he's not obese. Therefore, it's not doing him any harm.
But he knows. Just today we were at a pizza place for lunch and he was coaxing me to eat the last couple squares of his pizza. I asked him why he was practically begging me to eat it and he said to me, "Because your cholesterol levels are awesome and your skinny."
I was working out in my basement yesterday because, for whatever reason, I didn't want to go to the gym. And I did a different weight routine, it wasn't circuit based, it was straight sets. After weights, I did 20 minutes of cardio. According to my heart rate monitor, I only burned somewhere around 350 calories (usually at the gym, it's about 550 - but that is when I do a circuit based routine and 20 minutes of cardio after). And I was thinking to myself how sad it was that I worked out for an hour and ten minutes to burn off 2 cadbury eggs worth of calories. Something that would take me about 2 minutes to eat. Do I really want to spend that much time working out to burn off something I shouldn't have eaten in the first place? NO! It's not worth it.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Sadly, I'm not looking forward to measurements because I know that nothing will have changed in the past week. But even so, I look ahead to the future and see success. I have not yet failed because I have not yet given up.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Easter
Oh how holidays are hard to live through when you are trying to eat clean healthy food.
I wasn't going to let it effect me this time. I am too serious about this goal. But then the devil on my shoulder starts whispering things in my ear like, "But you've been so good for so long, you deserve to be a little naughty."
To which the angel on my other shoulder will whisper, "You've worked so hard and come so far, don't slip up now"
It's a battle. Not every day. Not all the time. But I have triggers, and they are difficult to get past.
I've got an addictive personality. At least I can admit that. I know that for the most part, I can stay away from sugar and nasty food, but I am also aware that after a while, abstaining becomes so overwhelmingly difficult that it's ALL I think about.
And it's usually around the month mark. This week has been slightly difficult for me. And it's mostly due to the fact that there were some naughty foods in the house. That's one reason I make it very clear to everyone in the house that we just can't keep things like chips and chocolate in the house. ONLY on the day I intend to have a cheat meal. But, sometimes I feel that is unfair to them.
So I baked bars. Some of my favorite bars in the world. The last time I made them we lived in Denmark. That's how long it's been since I've had one. It's just too dangerous. They are called Hip Padder bars, and they will pad the hips if you eat too many!
Well, I made a pan. Everyone has been thoroughly enjoying them. I brought a couple to my mother, who has been sick with a really bad cold all week. She asked me how they turned out. Had I tried one? Nope. I was holding strong. And I did. For a few days. Then I thought, oh really, what could one half of a tiny bar do?
Well, it makes me want MORE, that's what it does.
So over the course of the week, I've had about 4 hip padder bars, finished off a bag of tortilla chips that were left over from cheat day and then yesterday, I wolfed down a bunch of Easter candy.
And I still have 4 more days of Easter vacation to get through. The kids are all home. Bigs is taking some days off of work. This is usually where the eating clean goes out the window. It's just so hard. And I'm hard on myself. It's a constant struggle.
I really hate it.
Andreas said something to me about a week ago that made me laugh. Because I had thought the exact same thing myself. He was answering a question Emma asked. She asked why mommy wasn't eating [whatever it was] like everyone else. And he said, "so she can wear a bikini twice a year".
While he was underestimating how many times a year I am in my bikini, he did have a good point. And something I think of regularly. But it's not JUST about the bikini. It's shorts, gym pants, skinny jeans and a lot of other things that I wear all year long. It's about confidence. It's about being able to walk around in front of him in cute little things that will make his heart race. I don't want to be worrying about whether or not I'm jiggling or if my cellulite is showing.
I need to refocus.
You know what? I AM passionate about this. I AM serious. I AM dedicated. But I am also human. And to err is human. I will get back up on the horse and ride it hard. That's what I do.
Fall down 7 times, get up 8.
I wasn't going to let it effect me this time. I am too serious about this goal. But then the devil on my shoulder starts whispering things in my ear like, "But you've been so good for so long, you deserve to be a little naughty."
To which the angel on my other shoulder will whisper, "You've worked so hard and come so far, don't slip up now"
It's a battle. Not every day. Not all the time. But I have triggers, and they are difficult to get past.
I've got an addictive personality. At least I can admit that. I know that for the most part, I can stay away from sugar and nasty food, but I am also aware that after a while, abstaining becomes so overwhelmingly difficult that it's ALL I think about.
And it's usually around the month mark. This week has been slightly difficult for me. And it's mostly due to the fact that there were some naughty foods in the house. That's one reason I make it very clear to everyone in the house that we just can't keep things like chips and chocolate in the house. ONLY on the day I intend to have a cheat meal. But, sometimes I feel that is unfair to them.
So I baked bars. Some of my favorite bars in the world. The last time I made them we lived in Denmark. That's how long it's been since I've had one. It's just too dangerous. They are called Hip Padder bars, and they will pad the hips if you eat too many!
Well, I made a pan. Everyone has been thoroughly enjoying them. I brought a couple to my mother, who has been sick with a really bad cold all week. She asked me how they turned out. Had I tried one? Nope. I was holding strong. And I did. For a few days. Then I thought, oh really, what could one half of a tiny bar do?
Well, it makes me want MORE, that's what it does.
So over the course of the week, I've had about 4 hip padder bars, finished off a bag of tortilla chips that were left over from cheat day and then yesterday, I wolfed down a bunch of Easter candy.
And I still have 4 more days of Easter vacation to get through. The kids are all home. Bigs is taking some days off of work. This is usually where the eating clean goes out the window. It's just so hard. And I'm hard on myself. It's a constant struggle.
I really hate it.
Andreas said something to me about a week ago that made me laugh. Because I had thought the exact same thing myself. He was answering a question Emma asked. She asked why mommy wasn't eating [whatever it was] like everyone else. And he said, "so she can wear a bikini twice a year".
While he was underestimating how many times a year I am in my bikini, he did have a good point. And something I think of regularly. But it's not JUST about the bikini. It's shorts, gym pants, skinny jeans and a lot of other things that I wear all year long. It's about confidence. It's about being able to walk around in front of him in cute little things that will make his heart race. I don't want to be worrying about whether or not I'm jiggling or if my cellulite is showing.
I need to refocus.
You know what? I AM passionate about this. I AM serious. I AM dedicated. But I am also human. And to err is human. I will get back up on the horse and ride it hard. That's what I do.
Fall down 7 times, get up 8.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
grilled pizza
I just DEVOURED a home made grilled pizza. I was SO hungry and it was SO darn good. Now my belly is happy. I usually don't like to eat a huge amount of calories in one sitting but I had so many calories left to fill today and hardly any carbs so far so I went for it. I ate about 800 calories worth of pizza, but it was mostly the crust. Little bit of mozzarella - the kind that comes in a ball shape - love it. Slice some of that off and a few dollops of natural pizza sauce (no added crap) and some fresh basil. So simple. So good. Thanks to this website:
how to grill your own pizza
how to grill your own pizza
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Progress pictures, week 4
Progress pics for this week.
I can see improvement but I also see
that there is quite a bit of work to be done still.
I'm confident I will get there.
I'm on my 4th week of the 12 week timeline.
I am getting firmer and leaner each week. It's very exciting!
My gym pants don't feel as tight.
I have been diligently keeping track of my measurements from week to week.
Diligently tracking every morsel (21 days straight as a matter of fact).
Diligently tracking my calories burned at the gym, as per my
Polar heart rate monitor.
And most importantly, eating according to my diet
and diligently getting my workouts done
EVERY DAMN DAY.
Except for rest days of course.
I get 2 of those per week.
I'm in the zone!
My scale weight was 112 as of last Saturday (down from 118 on March 11th).
My hips have gone down to 35.5 (down from 36)
My thighs have gone down to 19.75-19.5 (down from 20)
Although these numbers appear to go down, it has a lot to do with how accurate
I am with my measuring from week to week. It's not uncommon for my thighs
to hover between 20 and 19.5.
What I REALLY want to see is 19. Then I will know for CERTAIN that
I'm getting movement.
My goal is 18 inches. Yikes! I've got a ways to go.
Why 18 inches? Well, I am speculating that it will take that much for the thigh fat to be gone. It seems like a small number, but I have a small frame.
With lots of extra padding on the lower half yet.
And I'm going to get really skinny in my upper body before the fat
comes off the bottom half. That's just the way it is for me.
I can't do much about it. My body fat is going to have to get pretty low.
Not all women are like this. Some are luckier in their proportions.
We have to work with what we were given.
So that's what I'm doing.
To the best of my knowledge and ability.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Dream squashers
I just read something that really hit home for me. It was called "Beware the Dream Squasher".
The author basically described a dream squasher as someone who feels compelled to tell you why you can't or won't achieve your goals and dreams.
I have come across a few dream squashers. They live to annoy. My husband, unfortunately, seems to be one of my biggest dream squashers. He has made it clear on many occasions that he isn't into my passion for fitness/muscle/health/etc. And that's fine. We don't have to agree on everything. But what really gets to me is that he is so negative about it.
A few examples of this are when I was so proud of how my lower abs were finally starting to become visible. I mentioned it to him and his response was, "I'm not into visible abs." Fine. To each his own. Another time, I talked about muscle separation in my legs. He said, "I'm not sure that's a good thing." I don't know if he thought I meant my muscles were actually separating or just that he didn't think that being able to see muscle definition in my legs was a good thing. By the way, when I said muscle separation, I was referring to being able to see the different heads of the quadriceps.
Yeah, this coming from a self professed "leg man". You would think he would love the fact that I'm trying to improve the shape of my legs instead of letting them go to flab.
Not that I'm trying to drag my husband through the mud, he is a good man. I just wish he would show me some support. Even when I bring it up, he claims he does and it's end of conversation. So talking to him about it gets me nowhere.
He isn't the only one either. There are others (one in particular, whom I won't name) who questions EVERYTHING I am passionate about. It drives me crazy. You may not agree with everything I do, say or believe, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong and you're right. I feel literally picked on at times and I just want to say shut the hell up and leave me alone!
Anyway, getting back to this article, the author goes on to give tips on how to deal with people like this. One that sort of opened my eyes was this:
"Realize they don't understand your dreams." - well, that's an understatement in my case. It seems like I'm alone in this world when it comes to my aspirations. I know there are thousands upon thousands just like me, I just don't know any personally. I know a few fitness fanatics, but no women who want to build muscle the way I do.
Another tip was: "Be selective about who you share your dreams with." Well, in my case, I have a husband who doesn't particularly share an interest in nutrition and fitness. And when you can't share a huge passion with your partner for the rest of this life, who do you go to? Mom? She's too biased.
There is no real balance in support. On one end, I have my mother who (like any mother) thinks her child can move mountains and is beyond perfect. Then I have my husband who is ever so happy to be overly critical of every thing I do, all the time.
"Don't expect universal support". I don't. I totally understand that when it comes to the topic of women having muscle, there usually isn't a grey area. You either love it or hate it.
And my personal favorite: "Succeed." (Oh, I will!) "It will annoy the crap out of the Dream Squashers."
Sometimes I think that is part of what drives me forward. The negative feedback I get from a certain few people really makes me want to shove my success in their faces. God has put these dream squashers on this earth to motivate me and push me onward. He doesn't throw anything at me I can't handle, right?
click to read article
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/698718
The author basically described a dream squasher as someone who feels compelled to tell you why you can't or won't achieve your goals and dreams.
I have come across a few dream squashers. They live to annoy. My husband, unfortunately, seems to be one of my biggest dream squashers. He has made it clear on many occasions that he isn't into my passion for fitness/muscle/health/etc. And that's fine. We don't have to agree on everything. But what really gets to me is that he is so negative about it.
A few examples of this are when I was so proud of how my lower abs were finally starting to become visible. I mentioned it to him and his response was, "I'm not into visible abs." Fine. To each his own. Another time, I talked about muscle separation in my legs. He said, "I'm not sure that's a good thing." I don't know if he thought I meant my muscles were actually separating or just that he didn't think that being able to see muscle definition in my legs was a good thing. By the way, when I said muscle separation, I was referring to being able to see the different heads of the quadriceps.
Yeah, this coming from a self professed "leg man". You would think he would love the fact that I'm trying to improve the shape of my legs instead of letting them go to flab.
Not that I'm trying to drag my husband through the mud, he is a good man. I just wish he would show me some support. Even when I bring it up, he claims he does and it's end of conversation. So talking to him about it gets me nowhere.
He isn't the only one either. There are others (one in particular, whom I won't name) who questions EVERYTHING I am passionate about. It drives me crazy. You may not agree with everything I do, say or believe, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong and you're right. I feel literally picked on at times and I just want to say shut the hell up and leave me alone!
Anyway, getting back to this article, the author goes on to give tips on how to deal with people like this. One that sort of opened my eyes was this:
"Realize they don't understand your dreams." - well, that's an understatement in my case. It seems like I'm alone in this world when it comes to my aspirations. I know there are thousands upon thousands just like me, I just don't know any personally. I know a few fitness fanatics, but no women who want to build muscle the way I do.
Another tip was: "Be selective about who you share your dreams with." Well, in my case, I have a husband who doesn't particularly share an interest in nutrition and fitness. And when you can't share a huge passion with your partner for the rest of this life, who do you go to? Mom? She's too biased.
There is no real balance in support. On one end, I have my mother who (like any mother) thinks her child can move mountains and is beyond perfect. Then I have my husband who is ever so happy to be overly critical of every thing I do, all the time.
"Don't expect universal support". I don't. I totally understand that when it comes to the topic of women having muscle, there usually isn't a grey area. You either love it or hate it.
And my personal favorite: "Succeed." (Oh, I will!) "It will annoy the crap out of the Dream Squashers."
Sometimes I think that is part of what drives me forward. The negative feedback I get from a certain few people really makes me want to shove my success in their faces. God has put these dream squashers on this earth to motivate me and push me onward. He doesn't throw anything at me I can't handle, right?
p.s. I'm "into visible abs" and I LOVE mine :)
click to read article
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/698718
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