I'm doing a six-week holistic diet with Liz Vequist in an effort to start feeling fit, active, and inspired. The diet started on Monday, October 26, 2015.
*****
Week two of the diet starts on Monday, so I'm in prep mode this weekend. On the spiritual side of the diet, we're supposed to identify positive affirmations about our body that we can scatter around our homes, cars and workplaces to help inspire us to make the Slim, Fit and Sexy thing work.
I actually feel pretty motivated already. This is, in part, a function of the pounds falling off (an indicator my body was ready to lose some weight), and the new Fitbit groups I'm participating in, which, in the first week, motivated me to amp my steps from 7500 each weekday to more than 10k.
In the spirit of being "in it to win it," I'm creating affirmations anyway. I.m going to trust that even is my conscious self doesn't need them right now, the universe will hold them in readiness for me.
So here goes:
I am grateful for (something positive about your body): my continuing good health.
I love my (something positive about yourself): enthusiastic and empathic spirit.
I can (positive habit): make better choices to maintain my health and soothe myself when I feel sad.
What would your affirmations be?
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
SFS Fall 2015: A Reason to Get Out of Bed in the Morning
I'm doing a six-week holistic diet with Liz Vequist in an effort to start feeling fit, active, and inspired. The diet started on Monday, October 26, 2015.
*****
Four full days into this holistic diet and I've learned that I'm eating breakfast too early in the morning. By shifting my weekday breakfast time 75 minutes later in the morning, makes in difference in my feelings of hunger, particularly later in the day.
I've long held the belief that I shouldn't get out of bed in the morning for the sole purpose of going to work. I want to get out of bed because I have a full and learned life. So, my weekday routine has typically involved the following:
5:45-6:00 AM: Wake up, make coffee, give the cats cookies
6:00-6:30 AM: Drink coffee, check Facebook, read news, play games
6:30-7:00 AM: Get ready for work
7:00-7:30 AM: Make and eat breakfast, get out the door
7:30-8:00 AM: Travel to the office
9:30-10:00 AM: Eat snack at work
11:00 AM: Start perseverating on lunch, walk around and snatch pieces of candy from the generous candy bowls scattered around the office
11:30-11:45 AM: Get lunch (eat at desk)
4:00 PM: Leave work
4:30 PM: Get home, ready to chew my hands off I'm so hungry. Grab a high protein snack.
4:45-5:30 PM: Make dinner
5:30-5:35 PM: Eat dinner
5:35-9:00 PM: Think about eating sugary treats - either give in or try using wine or tea to satiate my sweet tooth
9:00-10:00 PM: Starting settling down for sleep
But, my routine means I'm often eating breakfast because of the time of day, not because of any hunger I might feel. And then I'm a hungry hungry hippo for the rest of the day.
So, I'm experimenting with a new routine that looks like this:
6:00-6:15 AM: Wake up, make coffee, give the cats cookies
6:15-6:45 AM: Drink coffee, check Facebook, read news, play games
6:45-7:05 AM: Get ready for work (I'm very low maintenance)
7:05-7:30 AM: Prep breakfast and lunch to bring to work, make lemon water for the journey, maybe blog or take care of house business (e.g., pay bills)
7:30-8:00 AM: Travel to the office
8:00-8:30 AM: Eat breakfast (at my desk)
11:30 AM: Eat snack
12:30-1:00 PM: Eat most (but not all) of my lunch (at my desk)
1:30-3:00 PM: Leisurely nibble on whatever lunch I couldn't eat at lunch time (at my desk)
4:00 PM: Leave work
4:30 PM: Get home, still feeling full from my afternoon of lunching
5:30 PM: Start thinking about dinner prep
5:30-6:00 PM: Make dinner
6:00-6:15 PM: Eat dinner
7:00 PM: Make evening tea and start settling down for a 9:00 PM bed time
It is amazing to me that shifting breakfast back just 75 minutes can make such a difference in how much I'm snacking and thinking about food. I am more focused in the afternoons, and am pleasant when I get home, instead of a bear because of how hungry I feel.
Sounds like the shift is working in the interest of my good physical and emotional health. So what's the problem?
In my brain, eating breakfast at work instead of home implies that my raison d'etre is working, instead of living. There is an inherent lack of balance in consuming two meals at the office instead of just the one. And, because of my commitment to work/life balance, this upsets me. Luckily, I have five more weeks of this diet to figure out if the rewards are worth the trade off. I'll let you know. W
*****
Four full days into this holistic diet and I've learned that I'm eating breakfast too early in the morning. By shifting my weekday breakfast time 75 minutes later in the morning, makes in difference in my feelings of hunger, particularly later in the day.
I've long held the belief that I shouldn't get out of bed in the morning for the sole purpose of going to work. I want to get out of bed because I have a full and learned life. So, my weekday routine has typically involved the following:
5:45-6:00 AM: Wake up, make coffee, give the cats cookies
6:00-6:30 AM: Drink coffee, check Facebook, read news, play games
6:30-7:00 AM: Get ready for work
7:00-7:30 AM: Make and eat breakfast, get out the door
7:30-8:00 AM: Travel to the office
9:30-10:00 AM: Eat snack at work
11:00 AM: Start perseverating on lunch, walk around and snatch pieces of candy from the generous candy bowls scattered around the office
11:30-11:45 AM: Get lunch (eat at desk)
4:00 PM: Leave work
4:30 PM: Get home, ready to chew my hands off I'm so hungry. Grab a high protein snack.
4:45-5:30 PM: Make dinner
5:30-5:35 PM: Eat dinner
5:35-9:00 PM: Think about eating sugary treats - either give in or try using wine or tea to satiate my sweet tooth
9:00-10:00 PM: Starting settling down for sleep
But, my routine means I'm often eating breakfast because of the time of day, not because of any hunger I might feel. And then I'm a hungry hungry hippo for the rest of the day.
So, I'm experimenting with a new routine that looks like this:
6:00-6:15 AM: Wake up, make coffee, give the cats cookies
6:15-6:45 AM: Drink coffee, check Facebook, read news, play games
6:45-7:05 AM: Get ready for work (I'm very low maintenance)
7:05-7:30 AM: Prep breakfast and lunch to bring to work, make lemon water for the journey, maybe blog or take care of house business (e.g., pay bills)
7:30-8:00 AM: Travel to the office
8:00-8:30 AM: Eat breakfast (at my desk)
11:30 AM: Eat snack
12:30-1:00 PM: Eat most (but not all) of my lunch (at my desk)
1:30-3:00 PM: Leisurely nibble on whatever lunch I couldn't eat at lunch time (at my desk)
4:00 PM: Leave work
4:30 PM: Get home, still feeling full from my afternoon of lunching
5:30 PM: Start thinking about dinner prep
5:30-6:00 PM: Make dinner
6:00-6:15 PM: Eat dinner
7:00 PM: Make evening tea and start settling down for a 9:00 PM bed time
It is amazing to me that shifting breakfast back just 75 minutes can make such a difference in how much I'm snacking and thinking about food. I am more focused in the afternoons, and am pleasant when I get home, instead of a bear because of how hungry I feel.
Sounds like the shift is working in the interest of my good physical and emotional health. So what's the problem?
In my brain, eating breakfast at work instead of home implies that my raison d'etre is working, instead of living. There is an inherent lack of balance in consuming two meals at the office instead of just the one. And, because of my commitment to work/life balance, this upsets me. Luckily, I have five more weeks of this diet to figure out if the rewards are worth the trade off. I'll let you know. W
Monday, October 26, 2015
SFS Fall 2015 - Goal Setting
I'm doing a six-week holistic diet with Liz Vequist in an effort to start feeling fit, active, and inspired. The diet starts on Monday, October 26, 2015.
*****
Week one, day one! We're focusing this week on setting a healthy breakfast routine. I feel like I nailed this during the five-day cleanse, so this doesn't feel like work to me. Which is good, because I still need to finish my goal setting.
From the "diet" workbook:
List 3 goals that you would like to achieve over the next 6 weeks:
My answer:
1. Beat the sugar addiction
2. Healthier relationship to snacking when I feel anxious
3. Sustainably lose another five pounds.
How will you feel as a result of achieving these goals?
My answer:
1. More attentive in my marriage
2. More confident in my family relationships
3. Less fearful of health risks
Is there anything that could stop you from achieving these goals?
My answer:
Those tapes that keeps playing, in spite of my knowing they are old. In spite of my knowing they aren't my story, but instead the story of the people who spoke the recorded words. The tape that tells a five year-old me, "You'd be so pretty if you could just lose some weight." And the tape recorded in Princeton that whispers conspiratorially, "I was told you are built like a linebacker...(but you are actually lovely)."
On a more practical level, my mother-in-law doesn't understand these sorts of shifts in eating (neither does my mother, but she lives 325 miles away).
Is there anything you can start doing now to make sure you achieve your goals?
My answer:
I want to find a way to symbolically release the tapes. And, I need to think about that a little more.
*****
Week one, day one! We're focusing this week on setting a healthy breakfast routine. I feel like I nailed this during the five-day cleanse, so this doesn't feel like work to me. Which is good, because I still need to finish my goal setting.
From the "diet" workbook:
List 3 goals that you would like to achieve over the next 6 weeks:
My answer:
1. Beat the sugar addiction
2. Healthier relationship to snacking when I feel anxious
3. Sustainably lose another five pounds.
How will you feel as a result of achieving these goals?
My answer:
1. More attentive in my marriage
2. More confident in my family relationships
3. Less fearful of health risks
Is there anything that could stop you from achieving these goals?
My answer:
Those tapes that keeps playing, in spite of my knowing they are old. In spite of my knowing they aren't my story, but instead the story of the people who spoke the recorded words. The tape that tells a five year-old me, "You'd be so pretty if you could just lose some weight." And the tape recorded in Princeton that whispers conspiratorially, "I was told you are built like a linebacker...(but you are actually lovely)."
On a more practical level, my mother-in-law doesn't understand these sorts of shifts in eating (neither does my mother, but she lives 325 miles away).
Is there anything you can start doing now to make sure you achieve your goals?
My answer:
- I'm not cooking with my husband any longer. This change in my routine helps because our food needs are so different. (This also makes me feel sad, even though it is better for both of us. I can feel the tears welling up inside.)
- I will give myself a daily 45-minute block of time - ostensibly after work - for exercise/movement.
- I need to let my mother-in-law know what I'm up to, so she doesn't keep asking me to come visit for food/wine/cake.
I want to find a way to symbolically release the tapes. And, I need to think about that a little more.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
SFS Fall 2015 - Before
I'm doing a six-week holistic diet with Liz Vequist in an effort to start feeling fit, active, and inspired. The diet starts on Monday, October 26, 2015.
*****
I spent the last four days helping my mother downsize from the house I knew as an adolescent and teen to a new house. A newer, more manageable house in a quieter neighborhood closer to four of her six grandchildren. Thursday through Sunday afternoon I ate pizza, doughnuts, Chinese food, fast food, chocolate bars, beer and wine.
I feel terrible.
Tomorrow is a great day to start a whole foods, mostly vegan, definitely macrobiotic (except for that weird chewing thing they do), diet.
As part of our prep we need to take measurements and "before" photos, preferably in something form fitting. We'll do "after" pictures on December 10, when the diet ends. And hopefully, by then, I'll have new, life affirming habits.
So, here goes.
And now the measurements.
Upper arm (ugh) - 13"
Bust - 40"
"Bra line" - 34"
Waist - 34"
Hips - 45"
Thigh - 25"
Come back in six weeks to see how I do.
*****
I spent the last four days helping my mother downsize from the house I knew as an adolescent and teen to a new house. A newer, more manageable house in a quieter neighborhood closer to four of her six grandchildren. Thursday through Sunday afternoon I ate pizza, doughnuts, Chinese food, fast food, chocolate bars, beer and wine.
I feel terrible.
Tomorrow is a great day to start a whole foods, mostly vegan, definitely macrobiotic (except for that weird chewing thing they do), diet.
As part of our prep we need to take measurements and "before" photos, preferably in something form fitting. We'll do "after" pictures on December 10, when the diet ends. And hopefully, by then, I'll have new, life affirming habits.
So, here goes.
And now the measurements.
Upper arm (ugh) - 13"
Bust - 40"
"Bra line" - 34"
Waist - 34"
Hips - 45"
Thigh - 25"
Come back in six weeks to see how I do.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Good Vegan
I'm doing a five-day food cleanse followed by a six-week diet with Liz Vequist in an effort to start feeling fit, active, and inspired. The cleanse ran from on Monday, October 5, 2015 through Friday, October 9, 2015. The six-week diet kicks off on Thursday, October 22, 2015.
*****
I hopped onto Facebook while eating lunch at my desk (mixed greens topped with a mixture of quinoa, black beans, corn, slaw veggies, guacamole, and salmon). I was surprised by the more than 10 alerts my page had, and dove in a little deeper. That's when I learned I won the week-long, #wholefoodschallenge, a seven-day contest the week after the cleanse, designed to inspire participants to continue their vegan, whole foods ways. And the 10+ alerts were fellow cleansers people congratulating me on my win.
If one wanted to participate, one needed to post one picture on the secret Facebook group for the cleansers on at least five out of seven days of a vegan, whole foods meal they were enjoying. And you had to complete the post-cleanse satisfaction survey. The prize was a $50 gift certificate to Whole Foods (or Amazon if there was no Whole Foods nearby).
I posted one picture a day for the entire challenge, along with the pictures of the food factory I created on my kitchen counter each time I made a batch of something. Sort of like this:
I won! I won! I won! I feel like such a good vegan.
The kick-off call for the six-week diet portion of this program is on Thursday, October 22nd at noon. I can't wait to go shopping at Whole Foods for whatever supplies I'll need on the next phase in this personal health journey.
*****
I hopped onto Facebook while eating lunch at my desk (mixed greens topped with a mixture of quinoa, black beans, corn, slaw veggies, guacamole, and salmon). I was surprised by the more than 10 alerts my page had, and dove in a little deeper. That's when I learned I won the week-long, #wholefoodschallenge, a seven-day contest the week after the cleanse, designed to inspire participants to continue their vegan, whole foods ways. And the 10+ alerts were fellow cleansers people congratulating me on my win.
If one wanted to participate, one needed to post one picture on the secret Facebook group for the cleansers on at least five out of seven days of a vegan, whole foods meal they were enjoying. And you had to complete the post-cleanse satisfaction survey. The prize was a $50 gift certificate to Whole Foods (or Amazon if there was no Whole Foods nearby).
I posted one picture a day for the entire challenge, along with the pictures of the food factory I created on my kitchen counter each time I made a batch of something. Sort of like this:
 |
| Dinner: Butternut squash, red lentil and carrot stew served on steamed kale. |
 |
| Five more dinners made with butternut squash/red lentil stew and steamed kale. |
I won! I won! I won! I feel like such a good vegan.
The kick-off call for the six-week diet portion of this program is on Thursday, October 22nd at noon. I can't wait to go shopping at Whole Foods for whatever supplies I'll need on the next phase in this personal health journey.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner - cleanse day 7
I'm doing a five-day food cleanse followed by a six-week diet with Liz Vequist in an effort to start feeling fit, active, and inspired. The cleanse started on Monday, October 5, 2015.
*****
The five-day cleanse is technically over, and I'm in the waiting period between the cleanse and the start of the six-week "Slim, Fit and Sexy" diet.
So, it seemed harmless enough to ask my husband for a bite of the leftover Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner last night. This stuff, along with its cousin Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni, are like crack for me. After seven days without food additives and dairy, I was curious to learn how it would taste to me, and if it would cause me to fall off the whole foods wagon. (Because crack will do that.)
I put one small fork full in my mouth.
Blecch!
"It tastes like chemicals," I said, astonished.
My husband laughed.
Later, I researched the ingredients in the product, The Wegman's website gave me the clearest information:
The ingredients don't read THAT terribly to me, and I have no idea what tasted so awful. Was it the ferrous sulfate in the macaroni product? Whey protein concentrate in the cheese sauce? Or maybe the sodium alginate?
It doesn't actually matter, because what I learned is that, so long as I maintain some commitment to whole foods eating, I won't have a taste for the product any longer. Which is good for my health, and good for my husband, who doesn't have to guard his beloved mac and cheese any longer.
*****
The five-day cleanse is technically over, and I'm in the waiting period between the cleanse and the start of the six-week "Slim, Fit and Sexy" diet.
So, it seemed harmless enough to ask my husband for a bite of the leftover Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner last night. This stuff, along with its cousin Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni, are like crack for me. After seven days without food additives and dairy, I was curious to learn how it would taste to me, and if it would cause me to fall off the whole foods wagon. (Because crack will do that.)
I put one small fork full in my mouth.
Blecch!
"It tastes like chemicals," I said, astonished.
My husband laughed.
Later, I researched the ingredients in the product, The Wegman's website gave me the clearest information:
The ingredients don't read THAT terribly to me, and I have no idea what tasted so awful. Was it the ferrous sulfate in the macaroni product? Whey protein concentrate in the cheese sauce? Or maybe the sodium alginate?
It doesn't actually matter, because what I learned is that, so long as I maintain some commitment to whole foods eating, I won't have a taste for the product any longer. Which is good for my health, and good for my husband, who doesn't have to guard his beloved mac and cheese any longer.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
After - cleanse day 6
*****
This is me after five days on the cleanse.
Do I look the same to you? I look the same to me.
Here's my before picture, as a reminder:
And yet I know I'm well-rested, have softer skin, and I'm eight pounds lighter.
In anticipation of the start of the six-week "Slim, Fit and Sexy" program, which I'm calling, "Fit, Active and Inspired," I need to continue to eat whole grain foods at least once a day. (Although the six-week program isn't JUST about food. It is also about being in right relationship with one's body - and includes a free hula hoop for every participant.)
Nevertheless, being better about *what* I eat is the starting point. So, to keep riding the whole foods train, I'm going to strive to "be a vegetarian before 6:00 (pm) on weekdays.
How am I going to do this? Careful and creative meal planning for breakfast and lunch.
The newest Wegmans' Food Market is opening in Massachusetts tomorrow. In anticipation of a grocery shopping extravaganza, I've been scouring Epicurious for interesting whole foods recipes that I can easily make at home.
What I have planned is the following:
Potential choices for breakfast:
- Plain hot oatmeal with apples
- Whole grains (e.g., brown rice, quinoa) with wilted greens, fried egg and siracha
- Egg white omelet with avocado and wilted greens
- Hot oat and quinoa cereal
- Curried squash and red lentil soup
- Kitchari - a recipe we received through the cleanse - essentially spicy rice and mung beans
- Quinoa and red lentil burgers served with roasted sweet potatoes and wilted greens
- A lentil/cauliflower/brown rice stew from my favorite cookbook, Extending the Table
I'll keep posting pictures of my food, here and in the Cleanse Group Facebook, to keep you inspired and to keep me honest.
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