Vegas

I am here in Sunshine-y Vegas and loving life! From bathing suits to sassy evening wear I have felt so confident in my body and have been really proud of my progress.  Let's break down my initial goals.


1. TO LOSE 10 LBS:
I never reached my goal of losing 10 lbs, but I did exceed my modified goal of 5 lbs. I lost 6.5 pounds.  Good enough, and I would venture to say perfect.  As I was dieting, I also lifted weights, ran, did pilates and rock climbed so I added some muscle to my body.
2. TO QUIT INDULGING IN MY CHEATING WHIMS AND BE OK WITH TELLING MYSELF NO:
While I wasn't perfect, I did really well with supporting my cravings.  I took out snacking and made sure each meal was complete. I also added a 4th meal to my regimen so I didn't have to struggle with feeling hungry. By doing this, I learned how to regulate my blood sugar so when I did become hungry I didn't feel shaky or deprived.  I also learned that strictly telling myself "no" does NOT work.  I had to make goals with finesse and look at the bigger picture, rather than my present cravings.
3. EXERCISE EVERYDAY:
By no means did I meet this goal, but I did get creative with how I got my body moving.  I tried new things like rock climbing (great workout) and I made sure to get in at least 20min. of running around my neighborhood when I needed to release steam or felt the need to snack.
4. EAT WHAT I KNOW IS HEALTHY AND SATISFYING TO ME AND MY BODY:
I met this goal with flying colors.  I always had a variety of veggies for me to snack on and had my blended vegetable soup everyday. I made organic beef burgers with collard greens when I needed protein, and got creative with the type of salads that I made for myself.  My body got used to this way of eating, that I began to crave these things daily and did not struggle with being tempted with an alternative.  I also had an end date to my specific regimen, so that kept me motivated.  I stayed focused when I was out to dinner with friends and modified dishes to fit my desires.
5. GAIN A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF MY CRAVINGS AND WHY I INDULGE IN THEM:
I believe that I will always struggle with anxiety eating.  However, I learned about relentless perseverance and constant tending to when I felt myself begin to test my boundaries. There are always reasons for my cravings, and usually they tend to be emotional.  These emotions need to be addressed and not stuffed.


This blog was created to support my goals and help me lose the unneeded weight that was on my body so I could feel totally confident, radiant, and healthy, therefore being my wonderful authentic self without using the excuse of hiding behind my circumstances and ineptitudes.  It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and forget to create a personal foundation of health to use as your spring board.

I have a client's permission to disclose part of a conversation that we had.  She was absolutely livid that I should be 'whining' about losing a few lbs. when her end goal is to lose... a little bit more than that.  It put her in an impossible situation and she became pissed off that I should be so vain.  While I absolutely see her point of view, I have to say that we all go through different periods in our lives... all of us hit hardships. Like I have said in my past blogs, shedding weight permanently DOES NOT mean only pounds.  It's emotional and spiritual as well, and if a holistic POV is not taken there will be an imbalance.  So to put it lightly, I am "healing" from my imbalance. We came to the conclusion that every body is different as is our story. While I can superficially say "I gotta fit in a bikini", it goes deeper...as with all things.  

No matter how much weight you would like to lose, start with 5-10 lbs.  Reach that goal, re-asses, and then set a new goal.  Healthy actions recycle themselves- first in your body, and then to experiences around you and their affects on how you process them.  

I promised you a picture if I lost the weight... stay tuned ;)

Lunch Hour

I spent the most glorious day in the sun eating my lunch on the stoop.  Not only was I getting nutrients from my most amazing salad that I made, but I was getting nutrients from the sun as well!  I have been reading a lot about the benefits of vitamin D and how it boosts your mood, reduces risk of disease and inflammation, and builds strong bones.  Take advantage of the suns FREE benefits!! Get outside 10-30 min. a day with no sunscreen between the hours of 10-2.  Be aware of how sensitive your skin is.  You don't want to burn!!

Down and Dirty

It has been almost two weeks since I have placed myself on this diet. Eliminating snacks for this time period was a fabulous idea (practically speaking; otherwise it sucks), and since then I've cut down even more on the less nutritive foods and focused on highly quality nutrition. It has been thoroughly cleansing.  This pairing down, is in fact, happening naturally.  The more I integrate clean eating, the more my body craves it, so then I can surf the healthy spiral up and begin to let my BODY dictate what I should eat and not my emotions... and that includes my brain as it is directly connected with sugar cravings and emotional eating.

Nutrition feeds information to cells and those cells, being hard little workers, distribute all of the food's nutrients to your blood, bones, organs, tissues, brain, ending with your emotions.  If you constantly feed your body a variety of whole foods with a high amount of nutrients, your body will process that information with vigor, and health is recycled over and over again. Same works in the converse.  Feed your body even a little refined sugar, artificial sweetener, processed foodstuffs, high sodium, and dare I say it... caffeine... and you make your body work extra hard to distribute the appropriate digestive enzymes, minerals and hormones to complete it's cycle in the body... sometimes taking years to finally exit... if at all!

To be completely frank with you I struggle with certain extreme digestive complexities...ok, I am not going to be so frank about the deets, but the long and the short of it, in a beating-around-the-bush-fashion is that I am highly sugar sensitive and when I eat poorly (usually sugar, alcohol, my allergic foods, and too little veggies) bad bacteria takes over and I am left with some pretty frustrating side affects... including weight gain.  I have a poor genetic constitution, and while I fully believe that we have the power to change our genes, I think it takes a lifetime to do so.  The progression and it's benefits are immediate and rewarding and if it's consistent through your lifetime the benefits are priceless.  Less doctor visits, less disease, less allergies and colds, a lifetime-al happy demeanor ;), memory retention, higher energy, lower stress, and most important to me is renewing the next generation.

I'm not going to detail all that I have taken out of my diet because I would become overwhelmed. But. Here is my basic meal plan:

Salads:
Mixed greens
various chopped veggies
avocado
kim chi i (those who inquire about this gets extra points)

Blended veggie soup:
zucchini, green and yellow
onion, garlic
cabbage
brussels sprouts
collards
celery
fennel
cayenne

Kale sauteed in coconut oil with red pepper flakes topped with fresh herbs

and steamed anything.

I am having a small amount of good protein daily like wild canned tuna or organic chicken and sometimes I will have a serving of a gluten free whole grain.  But the main focus here is getting in as many veggies as a can.  That's where the optimal nutrition is.  I can just picture bright, happy, shiny working cells circulating in my body.  That makes me feel good. :)

What weight are you carrying?

I was sitting with a group of friends the other night for a late dinner wondering what the heck I was going to eat.  I had already eaten a light meal of sauteed bok choy and brown rice and I wasn't necessarily hungry. I knew that if I ordered a drink, I would be cheating on my diet.  Everyone else was getting a full meal and if I opted out of eating, I would be odd ball out.  This is a problem with me.  Fear of not fitting in.  Go figure, a 5'11' woman wishing she wouldn't stick out.  It's in my very nature and yet sometimes I want so badly to conform!

When I am my most authentic self, I am not caring what other people are thinking and my fear of judgement is diminished by how I use my integrity and the good choices I make.  Some people don't understand what it is like to struggle with insecurity (and I doff my hat to you) but I know first hand what it feels like to be frozen in place not knowing if the next word that comes out of my mouth is going to be the dumbest thing I have ever said.  I know the realities and practicalities of self-doubt and self consciousness but does that stop me?... In my teens, I read and reread The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. It helped me through some of my worst moments and I still remind myself of it's wisdom.

As I become healthier, my soul and being is built up and through my pursuit to be a stronger person, I am able to overcome a lot of my battles.  The trick is to go through it.  In my experience, trying to find a short cut or attempting to move around the problem instead of wrestle with it head on only prolongs it's existence.  I believe certain things are given to you to work through so you can come out the other end a better person. If you put it aside, and repress what it's front of you there will be a continual build up and those same issues will revolve around and around you.  The hope is that once you actively start weeding through the issues and circumstances facing them head on, most will take care of themselves and fall away over time.

So when I ask, "what weight are you carrying" I don't want to know how many pounds too many you are.  I want to know what those things are in your life that you feel you can't battle.  More specifically, what relationships are not feeding you positively?, do you despise your job and feel creatively stuck?, What hurt do you carry around that you would like to unload, but can't see how to do it? That's the weight that I am talking about.

So, here is my coaching session with myself, my amazing health coach, who is helping me lose my weight.

Myself: I care so much what people think about me that I carry their opinions around with me and give up my voice.  In my most extreme moments I will let other dictate my actions as not to upset the energy around me.
Health Coach: So what weight are you holding on to?
Myself: Those people in my life who don't let me live authentically.  Mostly it's myself and my fear.  Others are just my mirror to my insecurities.  I hold back as a preventative measure.  But I am only coddling my fear.
Health Coach:  So what are you going to do about it?
Myself: I am going to follow my intuition and do things because they are authentically right for me.  I will set aside my fear of judgment and focus on loving myself and building myself up in order to be the giving, compassionate, fun, and intelligent person that I am.
Health Coach:  Do you believe you are all those things?
Myself: Yes and more!!!
Health Coach: Find the freedom of fitting out!
Myself: Ah, you are so wise...

By the way, at that dinner I was talking about, I chose to sip a club soda with a splash of cran and extra lime.  I got a few searing looks from the waiter, but other than that my friends thought nothing of it, and I had a lovely time. ;)