I have found a new diet book as of late that I am now trying out. It is called Perfect 10. No, it is not about looking like Bo Derek, but about correcting your 10 most important hormones which makes your body run smoother and to lose weight. The book is written by an internal medicine doc by the name of Dr. Michael Aziz. Unlike the Atkins diet or South Beach which are from cardiologists, this is from the angle of someone that looks at the body as more of a whole. The website to read more is:
http://www.perfect10diet.com/
So far I have not found any bad reviews and Dr. Aziz really did his research.
Here is my experience thus far (I'm still in phase 1):
Day One was a bit painful. I am not sure if it was due to the diet changes or having just gotten back in town from a conference. The entire day I was non-stop hungry, but stayed on the diet. I was also exceedingly tired.
Day Two was better. I was still pretty hungry, but was full by the time I got home from work. My weight and inches had not made any shifts yet.
Day 3 was a great day. I felt really good and was enjoying the foods. Today I had a checkup echocardiogram which showed that the heart murmur I had developed after being sick for a few months was completely gone, my glucose fasting level was 97, my blood pressure was 108/80, and I had dropped 3 pounds. Everything is looking good thus far.
Today is Day 4. I've been feeling really good all day and still enjoying the foods. Also, I was down an additional pound. Now I am working to drastically increase my water consumption. Apparently individuals are supposed to drink 1/2 of their weight in ounces of water so if you weigh 150 pounds that would be 75 ounces per day. I'm slowly working my way up to where I should be, but I'm sure it's going to take a little while. Sugar withdrawal should now be complete since it's supposed to be completed in 3 days. I am eating a lot of natural sugar from fruit, but no other sugar consumption.
The first phase, which lasts 3 weeks, is the most restrictive, but options open up after that. Since I have severe food allergies I am following a rotating diet while on this so I do not eat the same foods 2 days in a row. This should keep allergy reactions down to a minimum and seems to be working thus far.
My goal is to keep a regular update going on how this process goes. I have quite a bit to lose so it will be a rather long process.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Bang of a Beginning to The Year!
While I do like to keep things interesting, I have to say the beginning of this year has been a bit much! The good news is that will all of the challenges everyone I know is facing it is furthering us along our path to what we are supposed to be doing.
Finding ways to look positively at the trials and tribulations that we all face is sometimes hard when so many things are working against us, but sometimes these things push us harder than we are willing to push ourselves if they did not occur. Life is always a learning experience. The important thing is to take these lessons and move forward.
My hope for the rest of the year is for it to be nice and filled with only positive excitement!
Finding ways to look positively at the trials and tribulations that we all face is sometimes hard when so many things are working against us, but sometimes these things push us harder than we are willing to push ourselves if they did not occur. Life is always a learning experience. The important thing is to take these lessons and move forward.
My hope for the rest of the year is for it to be nice and filled with only positive excitement!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Patience, or Lack Thereof
I have never been, nor probably ever will be one that is great about being patient. For the past 2 years I have been working on learning to be better at it, but progress seems to be very slow. Life seems to be trying to teach me about patience anyway.
After our son passed way 2 years ago I started walking - around 2 hours a day with the dogs at the park. Within 2 weeks I developed plantar faciitis. Six months later I finally gave in to my pain and made the trip to the podiatrist. After a couple rounds of shots I was free to start doing minor things including running in the pool which I automatically started doing. Then I slammed my foot into a stationary object - same foot. This required me to get shots to numb the area so I could walk and heal. After I was finally healed and back to working out again for a few months I took the dogs to the dog park. Thankfully, I took hubby with me since as the dogs were playing they started running circles around us. The weimerainer (my parents, not ours) slammed straight into my knee popping my kneecap out of place and, thankfully, back in. It was, of course, the same side. This time I got to see a sports medicine doc, had a full leg brace for 6 weeks, and ended up going to therapy. After that I was free to start moving back in life again.
Shortly after I started working again. A few months after that I sprained my ankle. Yep, same side and out for another 6 weeks. About 3-4 months after that I messed up my shoulder on that same side which took a few weeks to heal. At that point I gave up on working out for a while. The new year, 2010, finally gets here and I decided to start with a blank and reasonable slate. I purchased the Biggest Loser jumpstart workout which starts with 10 min. workouts for the first week then you move up to 20 the next and on up to 40 min. This I started on a Sunday. By Thursday I was feeling great and doing all of the workouts. Then it rained. For most people this would be nothing, but we are talking about me here. I went to an appointment and on the way in notices that the walkway was a little slick was I was a bit more careful than usual even in my shoes that had rubber soles (I have learned better when it rains just be prepared). On the way out I impressively bit it, turned my foot so much to the side that it was mostly upside down, and finished my lovely graceful fall. Yep, you guessed it, same frigging side. Now I have a lovely sprained ankle again and have been on crutches this time.
It has now been a week and I still can barely walk on it without the crutches. Shoes do not fit and those with support are excruciatingly painful so I'm stuck with flipflops or barefoot. My hope is to be back to normal mobility soon, but this time I'm working on other forms of working out that do not require my legs until I am more healed.
Things could be much worse, I could be living through the devastation of Haiti so please know I am not complaining or in anyway feeling sorry for myself. I just find it comical that I seem to find large hurdles all of the time to working out.
Please pray and send any support you can to assist those in Haiti. What has occurred there is completely horrific. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has suffered through this and for all of those down there trying to help.
After our son passed way 2 years ago I started walking - around 2 hours a day with the dogs at the park. Within 2 weeks I developed plantar faciitis. Six months later I finally gave in to my pain and made the trip to the podiatrist. After a couple rounds of shots I was free to start doing minor things including running in the pool which I automatically started doing. Then I slammed my foot into a stationary object - same foot. This required me to get shots to numb the area so I could walk and heal. After I was finally healed and back to working out again for a few months I took the dogs to the dog park. Thankfully, I took hubby with me since as the dogs were playing they started running circles around us. The weimerainer (my parents, not ours) slammed straight into my knee popping my kneecap out of place and, thankfully, back in. It was, of course, the same side. This time I got to see a sports medicine doc, had a full leg brace for 6 weeks, and ended up going to therapy. After that I was free to start moving back in life again.
Shortly after I started working again. A few months after that I sprained my ankle. Yep, same side and out for another 6 weeks. About 3-4 months after that I messed up my shoulder on that same side which took a few weeks to heal. At that point I gave up on working out for a while. The new year, 2010, finally gets here and I decided to start with a blank and reasonable slate. I purchased the Biggest Loser jumpstart workout which starts with 10 min. workouts for the first week then you move up to 20 the next and on up to 40 min. This I started on a Sunday. By Thursday I was feeling great and doing all of the workouts. Then it rained. For most people this would be nothing, but we are talking about me here. I went to an appointment and on the way in notices that the walkway was a little slick was I was a bit more careful than usual even in my shoes that had rubber soles (I have learned better when it rains just be prepared). On the way out I impressively bit it, turned my foot so much to the side that it was mostly upside down, and finished my lovely graceful fall. Yep, you guessed it, same frigging side. Now I have a lovely sprained ankle again and have been on crutches this time.
It has now been a week and I still can barely walk on it without the crutches. Shoes do not fit and those with support are excruciatingly painful so I'm stuck with flipflops or barefoot. My hope is to be back to normal mobility soon, but this time I'm working on other forms of working out that do not require my legs until I am more healed.
Things could be much worse, I could be living through the devastation of Haiti so please know I am not complaining or in anyway feeling sorry for myself. I just find it comical that I seem to find large hurdles all of the time to working out.
Please pray and send any support you can to assist those in Haiti. What has occurred there is completely horrific. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has suffered through this and for all of those down there trying to help.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
It's Been A While...
It's been a rather long while since I've posted on here. This past year has been rather insane (not that my years normally are not! :))
We are in the process of expanding our family by bringing in a child through a foster-to-adopt program. While we are very excited, this process is quite extensive and overwhelming. At this point we have completed everything and are just waiting for our placement. This is extremely exciting!
For the organization that I have started, U.R. Our Hope, we are at the point of filing our 501c3 with the IRS. This is extremely exciting. We are here to assist those with undiagnosed and rare disorders in all sorts of ways. If you would like to read more on this please see our website:
www.urourhope.org
Thursday I brilliantly twisted my ankle in a very funny way and am on crutches for the first time. Let's just say that it is not fun. The good new is I can finally put my foot down without tons of pain, but I'm still no where close to walking normally. Oh well, such is life!
We are in the process of expanding our family by bringing in a child through a foster-to-adopt program. While we are very excited, this process is quite extensive and overwhelming. At this point we have completed everything and are just waiting for our placement. This is extremely exciting!
For the organization that I have started, U.R. Our Hope, we are at the point of filing our 501c3 with the IRS. This is extremely exciting. We are here to assist those with undiagnosed and rare disorders in all sorts of ways. If you would like to read more on this please see our website:
www.urourhope.org
Thursday I brilliantly twisted my ankle in a very funny way and am on crutches for the first time. Let's just say that it is not fun. The good new is I can finally put my foot down without tons of pain, but I'm still no where close to walking normally. Oh well, such is life!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
TV Shows
Every year they throw in a few new shows on various networks. For some odd reason the ones I am most interested in always seem to be canceled. The one hitting the chopping block this season is My Own Worst Enemy. Christian Slater is actually exceptionally good in this show. When he is playing his alter ego he even looks different. Very few actors are able to pull that off. The rest of the cast is also very good. Now, this is not a show that I would expect to be on for 5+ years, but it is interesting enough to be on past one season. Desperate Housewives, on the other hand, had an excellent first season and has gone down hill ever since.
For shows focused on weight loss there are many to choose from. One of the most known ones is The Biggest Loser. Now while watching most weight loss shows I get excited and am interested in making many of the changes they suggest, when watching The Biggest Loser I always want to sit down and eat pizza. Other friends of mine feel the same way so I know it is not just me. I actually find this show disappointing not because the individuals do not do a phenomenal job of working hard to lose weight, but because they continue to not show what they are doing and instead focus more on the drama between individuals. To find out any information to follow you must join The Biggest Loser Club. Now, I get this for following a more specialized plan, but you would think more generalized information would be easier to access. In fact, I think it's great that it offers a place for individuals trying to lose weight to interact when they are following the same basic plan. The good thing is that the trainers have now made workouts on the Exercise on Demand channel and they are extremely well done, but what about those individuals that cannot afford to upgrade to the cable box? I think if they gave more tips on the actual show that it would be more beneficial for those watching it on a regular basis.
For shows focused on weight loss there are many to choose from. One of the most known ones is The Biggest Loser. Now while watching most weight loss shows I get excited and am interested in making many of the changes they suggest, when watching The Biggest Loser I always want to sit down and eat pizza. Other friends of mine feel the same way so I know it is not just me. I actually find this show disappointing not because the individuals do not do a phenomenal job of working hard to lose weight, but because they continue to not show what they are doing and instead focus more on the drama between individuals. To find out any information to follow you must join The Biggest Loser Club. Now, I get this for following a more specialized plan, but you would think more generalized information would be easier to access. In fact, I think it's great that it offers a place for individuals trying to lose weight to interact when they are following the same basic plan. The good thing is that the trainers have now made workouts on the Exercise on Demand channel and they are extremely well done, but what about those individuals that cannot afford to upgrade to the cable box? I think if they gave more tips on the actual show that it would be more beneficial for those watching it on a regular basis.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
It Appears to Be Near The End of the Crazy Allergies
So what is the difference between today and yesterday? Not much. My body seems to be at a standstill and does not know what to do. My throat still hurts, I'm still coughing, voice is still totally Frogger, and my poor nose is still making stuff. Overall, I can tell that whatever was in the air just is not anymore - or at least not to that extent. Yea!
The majority of individuals have fairly minor allergies. Mine fall into the absolutely insane category. About 2-3 times a year I get extremely sick from them to the point where they have the potential of putting me to bed for a few days unable to do anything. These are just the airborne allergies, not even going into the foods which can make me deathly ill. In fact, I have now moved into the category of always carrying an epi pen with me because there are times when I eat wheat and my throat closes up. The good news is I am being completely retested for allergies next week to see where I am now on the scale. From what I've been able to establish they seem to be much worse than they were the last time I was tested around 3 years ago so this should be interesting. For those that don't know, you should acutally be tested every 1-2 years to see how your allergies have changed. The best treatment is still meds and shots, but they now have an option where you can take a day and work to increase the amount your body can handle of the shot in one day instead of slowly increasing over months. After that you will continue to keep getting your shots, but it will be at a much higher dose than if you slowly increased over an extended period of time. This was not an option the last time that I did the shots so I am pretty excited about this.
The majority of individuals have fairly minor allergies. Mine fall into the absolutely insane category. About 2-3 times a year I get extremely sick from them to the point where they have the potential of putting me to bed for a few days unable to do anything. These are just the airborne allergies, not even going into the foods which can make me deathly ill. In fact, I have now moved into the category of always carrying an epi pen with me because there are times when I eat wheat and my throat closes up. The good news is I am being completely retested for allergies next week to see where I am now on the scale. From what I've been able to establish they seem to be much worse than they were the last time I was tested around 3 years ago so this should be interesting. For those that don't know, you should acutally be tested every 1-2 years to see how your allergies have changed. The best treatment is still meds and shots, but they now have an option where you can take a day and work to increase the amount your body can handle of the shot in one day instead of slowly increasing over months. After that you will continue to keep getting your shots, but it will be at a much higher dose than if you slowly increased over an extended period of time. This was not an option the last time that I did the shots so I am pretty excited about this.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Allergies
I have no clue what is in the air right now, but it is holding me hostage! As long as I'm standing up or walking around I can breathe, but I'm coughing. If I'm sitting down I'm completely stuffed up and occasionally cough. Lying down is like being held under water! The good news is I've been very careful about consuming enough fluids that it has not gotten very bad, but still annoying. Plus, I sound like Frogger. Today is actually the first day since Friday that I did not wake up with a massively sore throat so things are looking up! The problem is that I'm on Zyrtec, Rhinocort, and Singulair so even though I can't breathe while on all of them they will not let me stay awake either. This puts a damper on me walking and standing nonstop too.
For the first time I have tried the neti pot to help clear out my nasal passages. Let's just say it is the most bizarre thing ever! I also am unsure on if it is really helping or not since I probably did not start using it soon enough. If I could find a suction machine like The Big Guy had I would be all over it! I even still have a few suction catheters to donate.
Oh well, hopefully the allergies will be even better tomorrow. I hope everyone has a lovely night!
For the first time I have tried the neti pot to help clear out my nasal passages. Let's just say it is the most bizarre thing ever! I also am unsure on if it is really helping or not since I probably did not start using it soon enough. If I could find a suction machine like The Big Guy had I would be all over it! I even still have a few suction catheters to donate.
Oh well, hopefully the allergies will be even better tomorrow. I hope everyone has a lovely night!
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