Day 11

I’m approaching 2 weeks!

Fun parts of this project: Buying and cooking new foods (I’ve made homemade crackers, organic popcorn, salad dressing, vegan pizza, and a ton of other super yummy stuff), gym class, reading cool books. Yes, I am actually having fun pushing myself in my gym class. It helps that I like my instructor and his teaching methods. I’m also starting to bond with a few class mates through our mutual pain and suffering. I haven’t weighed myself, but I think I’m still eating too much to be loosing weight. I’m going to try and really restrict my snacking this next week so hopefully by next Friday I will really be seeing measurable results.

Not-so-fun part of this project: The pain. My body hurts constantly. Every part. Parts I didn’t know I had hurt. I’m not joking. Did you know there are things called “lower abdominals” which basically means the muscles around your groin? Well, I have proof they exist because mine are sore.

Excruciating part of this project: Belly Dancing Class. I don’t know what I was thinking. First of all, I’m weight training and super sore. Second of all, I am NOT coordinated. Never have been. I suppose I could really work at it and get better at it, but a dance class, any dance class, is too advanced for me. Correction, I could probably keep up with my 2-year-old nephew in a dance class and even possibly one geared for 10-year-olds. The instructor for the class is amazingly good and she really wants me to be good, but I just don’t know if I want to do this to myself. I didn’t even go to class yesterday… I fell asleep after gym class, lunch and a pedicure around 3:30pm on my couch, and didn’t wake up until 6pm. I vacillate: Push yourself and just do your best vs. You are already doing so much, why torture yourself to unreasonable lengths? I really should have just taken Zumba and/or Salsa. I can do those. Not well, but no one would care. Our instructor wants us to be so precise, like a ballet dancer. It’s just not what I expected.

I haven’t mentioned much about this yet, but my skin is starting to look and feel really great! The skin care line and regimen that Stefanie has me on is amazing! My acne is cleared up and my scars are healing. I haven’t worn any foundation or makeup on anything but my lips and eyes this whole time and I’m really looking forward to clear, healthy skin!

I have noticed that my body feels different. Besides the sore muscles, my gut feels different. Part of it is all of the beans I’ve been eating, I’m sure. However, I have this new type of fuel in my body and I can feel my body processing it differently. I never feel that heavy “full” feeling, but I am satisfied by my food and love the flavors I can taste when there isn’t a ton of meat and fillers in my food. Also, I have noticed my body odor is different. Now, don’t laugh, it’s not the beans… it’s like sweeter. A few months ago I gave up antiperspirant and rarely even wear deodorant (that’s a whole other blog, but the ingredients in skin care and cosmetic products are just as terrible and processed as those in our food these days), so I have become very familiar with my natural odor, and just the last day or so, it has been different. To me, it’s proof that what I am putting in to my body is changing my body. I know some people might not think food matters that much, but I strongly disagree and think this change proves it. If it’s making me smell different, can you imagine what kind of other changes are happening internally?

Day 9

Thank God I am at least intellectual. I am not athletic. I am not the kind of person who has enough natural self-control to willingly stop myself from eating a whole pan of brownies. I don’t have a naturally fit, lean body. This being a health nut thing: eating super nutritiously and exercising like I enjoy it HURTS. It takes up all of my free time and my body hurts constantly. I know it’s going to get easier and my body will adjust, but I’d be lying to you if I said it was just super duper fun. It will be fun when I start noticing improvement and changes in my body and the way I feel. Right now, I feel grumpy. I know this is because my body is withdrawing from all of the crazy substances I have been feeding it for my entire life and is healing, which is why I am glad that I am at least intellectual. I can see that the mild suffering I am currently going through is going to bring about positive changes. Remember when I was on that crazy, torturous, dating project? Remember how painful all twenty-something of those first dates were? Yet, I had to experience them to get to where I am at and appreciate every moment of my relationship with my super awesome boyfriend. (Yay, for super awesome boyfriends!) If the results of this project turn out to be as amazingly fun as the results of my dating project, I’ll start going to the gym 6 times a week! Okay, not really, but you get the point. I’m following this through by focusing on the parts I do love: the writing and reading and the excuse to stay home on Friday nights to cook (I do love cooking), and I think about how wonderful the results are going to be.

Day 8

Well, it’s been a few days since my last post. I made it through the weekend still on track and finished reading The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone. If you want food nutrition summed up for you, read that book! She’s a crazy vegan. I’ve been aware of the animal-cruelty reason for being vegan, as well as the arguable nutritional benefits, but I never knew all of the harmful effects that meat has on your body! It’s ridiculous! Also, she definitely convinced me that dairy is, at the very least, not a nutritional requirement of the human body, and very possibly harmful. Since she has tons of references to studies on the topic and seems to have really done her research, I’m going to call her the Food Princess. The only area that her suggested diet and Michael Pollan’s Food Rules conflict is in the area of meat or dairy substitutes. Of course, vegans love their tofu and mock cheeses, Michael Pollan says to avoid foods that are pretending to be other foods. Of course, in every other area, his food suggestions are much less rigid than that of a vegan. So, unfortunately, I did not buy any rice milk “ice cream” sandwiches that Alicia raves about, because they have guar gum and other crazy binders (which seems to contradict her own diet, since those are just chemical parts of whole plants and she says to try to eat foods in their most complete, natural state.) However, I did find a super yummy looking dark chocolate bar and some yummy cookies made from quinoa.   Am I going vegan? Not completely, but the information I’ve heard about dairy products has made me decide to eliminate dairy from my diet. GASP! Yes, even cheese. And, since I don’t consume crazy binding ingredients, I’m not eating processed cheese substitutes, either. Yikes! I’m going to try this out for 30 days and see if it helps my allergies and the little bit of asthma that has been creeping up on me.

I have so much to say, but I’ve spent the whole day working on my diet by reading, planning, shopping, and cooking that I’m just exhausted!

Day 4

Yesterday, I had an eye exam. My eye doctor told me to start taking a double dose daily of omegas. She believes this will combat my dry eyes. Since Dr. Oz and Michael Pollan also both say omegas are great for you, I’m giving it a try. My old Weight Watcher tendencies are struggling with this choice a bit because that means adding nearly 100 calories and about 6 grams of fat a day to my diet in the form of pills, but I’d do anything (aside from ingest pharmaceuticals) to be able to wear contact lenses again. My doctor said that that’s all they talk about at the conferences… Omega, Omega, Omega. So, I’ll keep you posted on that.

I’m also going to take Resveratrol. It’s a potent antioxidant found in grapes and is believed to be the beneficial part of wine. Since Dr. Oz told me to take it, and Michael Pollan, the Food King, says to drink a glass of wine every night, I’m going to take the supplements… and have red wine some times, too. Maybe it’ll keep me looking like 31 forever!

If I seem a little dry today, it’s because I did my weight training class for 1 1/2 hours this morning and then went to my first Middle Eastern Dance class this evening. The class was super tough… especially since I was so stiff from the weight training class. I think for my body, it’s a good combination. For my mind, it totally sucks! I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I wanted to cry in the first 10 minutes of dance class. I’ve never been flexible enough to sit cross-legged, even in kindergarten, and the first part of class was sitting cross-legged, back straight, and holding our arms either at shoulder height or over our heads. OUCH! Seriously, a tear ran down my face. I’m looking forward to feeling some progress next week. Right now, I just feel like an uncoordinated idiot. However, uncoordinated, I am committed to this experience, good, bad, or ugly.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a good friend of mine’s mothers. On the way to their house afterward, as I was picking up the food orders they had made, I thought, “What the heck am I going to eat?” I had taken a veggie tray and a fruit salad, but was I going to be strong enough to not eat all of the other stuff? I wasn’t. I ate a bit of everything. While I have to say, I had one plate and stuck to that, rather than grazing the whole time, I totally regretted it later. I felt bloated, nauseated, and exhausted. I was wearing a dress, and I swear that my thighs, which have been rubbing together when I walk for a few years now, have begun to fuse together! Next time, I will stick to things only cooked in someone’s home… no Bobby Salazar’s or Subway. It wasn’t worth it. Um, and I should probably stick to only one desert instead of trying a few bites of everything.Tomorrow, we have a neighborhood block party, so we’ll see how I do. I might just eat at home first. Does anyone have advice for me on how to deal with these summer time social eating situations???

Food Find of the Day

I’m going to include either food finds or recipes or other helpful tips as often as I find them. I’m sure that occasionally I’ll devote entire postings to these topics, but I don’t want to miss out on sharing cool tips as soon as I find them.

Today’s Food Find: Organic Greens (mixed or spinach) at Costco. They are just $3.49, which is about the same price you’d pay at the supermarket for non-organic and half as much! That’s right, they are Costco-sized packs! Yay for organics at Costco! If anyone knows someone who works at Costco, you should tell them how much we appreciate organic options and that they should get more in!

Day 2

Well, day 2 went off without a hitch. I’ll tell you all more about my eating plans later, but one of my biggest problems is letting myself get too hungry. I almost made that mistake today, but thanks to some almonds, I survived without killing anyone. (I’m hypoglycemic and I’m certain that several serial killers were simply undiagnosed hypoglycemics.)

So far, we have only reviewed workout equipment and the syllabus in my weight training class. Tomorrow I am missing class for a funeral, so Thursday should be my first real work out. It’s also the first day of my dance class, so I’ll be nice and sore and grumpy on Friday.

I couldn’t bring myself to post the pictures of my body scantly clad. However, I did weigh myself this morning and took some measurements. Those I will share:

Height: 5′ 9″

Weight: 206.2 (I was 210 a week and a half ago.)

Hips: 47″

Thighs: 28″

Waist: 40″

Bust: 42″ (Was happy to find that my bust is still bigger than my gut!)

Bicept: 14″ (Relaxed, since there is no muscle there to flex any way.)

So, there you have it. All my personal business out there for the world on the web. Now I’ve really got to work hard!

I read Michael Pollan’s Food Rules today. For those of you still in the dark, you MUST see Food, Inc., Michael Pollan’s documentary on our food system. While you are at it, watch King Corn also. I have decided that in the world of food, Michael Pollan is King. So, I will use his rules as the starting point to my new eating habits. To sum it up, he believes in this motto: Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not too Much. I got a copy of Food Rules at Borders for just $11, but I’m sure the library has plenty on hand for those on a budget. GET IT! Of his 64 rules, these are the ones I find most applicable to my life:

1. Eat Food (Meaning whole foods, not processed.)

3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.

4. Avoid foor products that contain high-fructose corn syrup.

5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

6. Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.

7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.

8. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or ‘nonfat” in their names.

13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot. (Seems simple, but are you aware of the eternal shelf-life of a Twinkie?   Do you know how many of those I have consumed in my life?)

15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can.

16. Buy your snacks at the farmers’ market.

22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.

23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.

25. Eat your colors.

27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.

30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil.

33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi.

37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.

39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

40. Be the kind of person who takes supplements – then skip the supplements.

44. Pay more, eat less.

47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.

53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.

54. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.

56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods.

58. Do all your eating at a table.

63. Cook.

64. Break the rules once in a while.

Day 1

Today is the official beginning of my attempt at being a health nut. I am reluctant because I know that it’s going to take a lot of work to turn this junk-food junkie into a health-food fanatic. This girl, who has never ran a single mile in her entire life, isn’t going to be a marathon runner over night (or likely EVER). Yet, I need to find a way to treat my body like the machine it is and nourish it well to keep it working  and looking as best as possible for as long as possible. I plan on dying, at the age of 105, still alert and able to walk on my own. This brain and these bones and organs have a very long way to go before I will be done with them.

So, where do I start?

I’ve heard a lot about how and what I should be eating, how I should be exercising, what supplements I should be taking, etc. One book says eat only fruits and veggies, another says no carbohydrates. One says run an hour a day, the other says light weights 20 minutes a day. So what is really going to work for me? What is my body really going to respond to?

I’ve already learned a lot and made a lot of gradual changes over the past few years. 10 years ago, knowing nothing about nutrition, only that some things make you fat, I would have Pop Tarts and Pepsi for breakfast. Then I went several years without ever eating a breakfast at all. Now breakfast is whole grain cereal, oatmeal, or toast with almond butter or honey and I hardly touch Pepsi and wouldn’t dare put all the chemicals in Pop Tarts in my body. On a good day, I have a salad and fruit smoothie (home-made) for lunch and fish for dinner. What I am having the hardest time with is maintaining the good habits every day of the week. I think on average now, I eat right two days a week.  I might get good exercise once a week.  I still have fast food or take-out 2-3 meals a week, and eat way too many snacks and sweets. How do I eat from home 3 meals a day, exercise on a regular basis and still do the rest of my life? Most American women just can’t sustain those things with the busy schedules and life-styles we have, as well as all of the bad habits established from lack of information earlier in life, and the fast-food environment all around us. I am 31 years old, and while I plan on constantly learning about life and growing as a person, I DO NOT want to be dealing with my not-so-healthy habits into my sixties and beyond. I have got to find a way to efficiently and affordably make a healthy life-style a sustainable habit for myself. So, I have about 5 books form the library, 4 from my book shelves, and 1 borrowed from a friend. I have all of the knowledge of the internet at my finger tips. I have enrolled in and officially began a six-week co-ed weight training course at my community college today. I begin a middle-eastern dance class on Thursday. I am starting to use a new, organic, skin care line (Eminence, courtesy of Stefanie Zubia at Sheer Bliss), in hopes of clearing up and preserving my skin. Exactly what I should or shouldn’t eat, how much of it, what supplements to take, what labels to look for (ie organic, all-natural, free-range), hopefully will be somewhere in these piles of books I have in my possession.

I will soon be posting “before” photos. I’m procrastinating on that. I’m a little nervous about posting hideous photos of my face without makeup on and acne showing. I’m also nervous about posting pictures of the spot on my body that is currently covered in layers of fat, but used to be the home of my abdominal muscles. Hello, Abs? Are you still in there? Don’t worry, I’ll get you out. Hopefully in less amount of time than it’s taking BP to stop their oil leak.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the visual benefits of clear skin and the possibility of not wearing my maternity bathing suit some day sounds amazing, but I’m not in this for the superficial benefits. If I eat the correct foods in the correct amounts, exercise often and correctly and use great products on my skin,  it should indeed benefit my appearance, and these are the most measurable short-term benefits.  However, I’m in this for the long-term benefits, so you’ll just have to stick around with me to my 100th birthday to see those results.