today... I've started my journey towards a healthier lifestyle. The first step of my journey was changing what I eat and the bad habits I had regarding food. I've chosen The Blood Type Diet by Dr. Peter D'Adamo to be my "bible", knowing I have to make many changes and experiment with it. I wasn't sure I'd love this diet at the time, but I was determine to try it and see how it works.
When I started it all back then, it was after I lost 6 kg (13.2 lbs) along the year before that, and was standing on 91 kg (200.2 lbs). I still had in mind to lose 31 kg (68.2 lbs). That would've put me on 60 kg (132 lbs). So, I had a goal, and I thought I'd get there in a year or 15 months.
Along the first month, I lost 6 Kg (13.2 lbs). It was easy. I loved the menu, I got used to eat more raw (and new to me) veggies, I dropped eating red meat all together, and I felt energetic and full of hope. It worked... for me.
2 years later, and I find myself - still - on the journey, still far from goal. I lost 20.5 kg (45 lbs), and I still am 10.5 kg (23.2 lbs) from goal. The truth is, I lost more... but then gained some, and lost it again, and gained some... you know the routine. Up and down I went, like a yo-yo!
All in all, this time around I'm very happy with my dieting process. Not like before, it goes at a very slow pace (which is thought by many to be the healthiest one). Most of the time I'm in control, and though I gain few pounds back from time to time, I didn't undergo major gains. It sure looks like this all dieting process transformed to a way of life through the years, something I can keep, and live with, forever.
Am I pleased with my achievements today? I sure am! I know what I have to do to keep it going, I keep my blood pressure down with no pills, and I've learned not to be hard on myself whenever I fall off the wagon. Instead, I quickly get up, look forward, and continue. The road is still long, but not intimidating anymore. And yea... not less important is the fact I've learned to love my body just the way it is... and be proud of it! And that's not small change at all!!!
2 years... today. Boy, time flies when you have fun, doesn't it? ;-))
:::Lorien @ 02:55 PM MT :::
Monday, February 23, 2004
::: Get my life back :::
Defeated by a constant pain that doesn't want to go away, I went to the drugstore and bought the pills my doctor prescribed few days back. I've got to get rid of this nuisance and get my life back... I have to take the worried look off of Joe's face. He really tried his best to make me rest comfortably, but alas - love and compassion won't cure this thing, though they sure help!
So I got my pills, and I walked home from the drugstore - 45 minutes in a lovely sunny outdoors. Today is the beginning of my recovering, and my going back on the path of my journey.
In the background the TV is on, The Oprah Winfrey show, and LaShell Griffin just won the pop star competition. She sang Whitney Houston's song One Moment In Time. The words... they give me new hopes right now... that I'll reach my goals in the future... and have my moment.
One Moment In Time. Written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis
Each day I live I want to be
A day to give the best of me
I'm only one but not alone
My finest day is yet unknown
I broke my heart for ev'ry gain
To taste the sweet I faced the pain
I rise and fall yet through it all
This much remains
I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment in time
I will feel
I will feel eternity
I've lived to be the very best
I want it all no time for less
I've laid my plans now, lay the chance
Here in my hands
Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment in time
I will feel
I will feel eternity
You're a winner
For a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine
Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment in time
I will be free
:::Lorien @ 05:50 PM MT :::
Friday, February 20, 2004
::: Back to the gym :::
I went back to the gym today, for 30 minutes treadmill and 30 minutes bikes, low impact. I wanted to enjoy it without feeling the pain, and it worked, though I burned only half of my usual calories. That's ok too. I don't mind it, and I do realize I need to let my arm rest for a while. I also wanna make sure I do the stretches the right way, and the instructor I usually talk to wasn't there today, so I'll wait till I see her.
I also jumped on the scale (of course, how can I resist the urge? ;-)), and found out I lost 0.6 lbs from a week ago, which is great since I didn't work out for the whole time, and my eating was NOT very good. So now I'm at 155.2 lbs. Good! *s*.
:::Lorien @ 01:39 PM MT :::
Thursday, February 19, 2004
::: Another fast day :::
Today was my second fast day, and as usual it started yesterday at 6:00 pm, and ended today at 6:00 pm. It went well, again. The funny part is, I didn't feel hungry at all for the whole 24 hours. My stomach was relaxed, I drank my water, and everything went well. I just had some inconvenience in my stomach after I had my soup... but it went away after a while.
Strange thing, how in regular days I look for food even when I'm not hungry, but when I decide food is out - it works so well. Now, what I have to do is decide that food is out after 6:00 pm, and stick to it till the morning after... every single day. That will boost my diet, no? Yes it will. Can I do that? It remains to be seen...
Yesterday I forgot to mention that the doctor got my annual test results from the lab, and everything was perfectly normal. My good cholesterol went up, which is good, my bad cholesterol was good, sugars are good, urine tests were good. Everything was good, and I'm very happy! *s*. Now I only have to do the mammogram on the 24th, and if/when it comes back good - I'm going to be even happier...
... I only wish the pain in my left shoulder/arm/elbow will go away. I miss the gym so much! Joe suggested I'll take the drug my doctor prescribed, and finish with the pain. I'm thinking about it... I might break and take it. I'm tired of the pain... it's been 9 days already, and I had enough!!!
:::Lorien @ 09:42 PM MT :::
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
::: Golfers elbow :::
Yucks!!! My doctor tells me I probably have a golfers elbow.
What is golfers elbow?
These problems, tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, are both forms of tendonitis. Tendons are the ends of muscles that attach to bone. Because of the force of the muscle, the points of insertion of the tendon on the bone are often pointed prominences. The medical names of Tennis Elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and Golfer's Elbow (medial epicondylitis) come from the names of these bony prominences where the tendons insert, and where the inflammation causes the pain. The pain of golfer's elbow is usually at the elbow joint on the inside of the arm; a shooting sensation down the forearm is also common while gripping objects.
What causes golfers elbow?
The mechanism of this injury can vary from a single violent action to, more commonly, repetitive stress injury where an action is performed repeatedly and pain gradually develops. No one is immune from these injuries, but they are most common at the beginning of the golf season, or when the offending activity is increased in intensity or duration. Golf is one common cause of these symptoms, but many other sport- and work-related activities can cause the same problem. Another common cause of this injury is with weekend carpenters who use hand tools on occasion.
Treatment Information
Medial epicondylitis is usually a self-limited problem, and does not cause any long-term disability. Treatment is rarely surgical, as this condition is well managed with a little rest and proper rehabilitation. If you are told you have Golfer's Elbow, the first step is to avoid the offending activity, be it golf or any other activity, until the pain has subsided. Once the pain has passed, the activity should be gradually resumed (both the intensity and duration should be minimal at first).
Other treatment options are the R.I.C.E. method to prevent inflammation following the activity. Taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication, such as Ibuprofen or Motrin, can be helpful so long as you have no problems with ulcers or bleeding that would contraindicate the use of these medications. Pre and post activity stretching and warm-up exercises are also important, as well as forearm muscle exercises on days when you do not participate in your activity. Simple, mild resistance exercises are the best for these purposes. Most fitness stores will sell resistance rubber bands that can be used to work the muscles of the forearm.
My doctor, knowing that I don't like taking drugs, did give me a prescription of anti inflammatory drug, but suggested I wait with it and see if it goes away without it. His suggestion is to do lots of stretching before and after my workouts.
Good lord, my gym instructor told me so so many times, but I was too lazy to comply! I have to talk to her again, get the exercises I need to do and START DOING THEM!
:::Lorien @ 11:40 AM MT :::
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
::: Still in pain :::
The shoulder pain doesn't want to go away... Darn, it makes me so worried I won't be able to do any workout for a while. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, and I truly hope he tells me it's nothing.
Meanwhile, I didn't work out since the 13th, because even light walking makes me feel very uncomfortable. My oh my, I don't like this! Don't like this a bit!!! :-(
:::Lorien @ 04:54 PM MT :::
Saturday, February 14, 2004
::: It's time for love :::
Happy Valentine's day to all of you who celebrate today. Mine will have to start in the evening, when Joe comes back from work. He already suggested we go out for dinner tonight, and I agreed, but asked to go easy and have a sensible meal, and that means no buffet where we can pig out, but a regular menu place where I can control what goes into my mouth.
The scale has been very good to me this morning as well, and I want to keep it this way, for a change ;-)). I sure would love to see the 140's soon, and get on with this all thing in a rapid tempo. I've been standing on one spot for way too long!!!
My left shoulder bugs the hell out of me since the 10th. I don't know what's wrong with it since I'm sure I didn't injure myself at the gym. I sure hope it's not "a computer illness", though... I've been resting on my left arm for way too long, and if I messed it up, that's going to be a long process to make it better again.
Sigh... Let's think positively today, shall we? After all, it's that time for love today *s*.
:::Lorien @ 07:42 AM MT :::
Thursday, February 12, 2004
::: Fasting - What is it good for? :::
I've been contemplating a fast for few weeks now... a cleansing fast. One of the instructors at the gym suggested it, only to remind me of my friend Luda from Israel, who does fasts as a way of life (She's from Ukraine. Cleansing fasting is popular and known in Europe for years). So, I went online searching for info, and I've found this article, Fasting - A powerful natural tool for health rejuvenation. As I understand, fasting is a method to better health suggested by Naturopathic Physicians. It is meant to help the body clean itself of the toxins it has accumulated from years of neglect.
In the above mentioned article, Dr. Andrew W. Saul says:
Your body, like an automobile engine, consumes its fuel (food and air) and also produces exhaust wastes (carbon dioxide, urine, sweat). Quite a few organs in the body are involved in filtering, reclaiming and excreting waste materials. These organs include the kidneys, lungs, liver, colon, spleen, bladder and skin. Your skin is your body's largest organ. If these organs of excretion are "clogged up" by years of "foodless" foods, meat eating, chemicals, additives, cosmetics, liquor, smoking, overweight, vitamin deficiencies, and stress, you can imagine that they will not be functioning properly.
You know what a "backed-up" septic tank or sewer system can do to a home. A backed-up bowel does the same to a body; so does a toxin-filled liver; so does an overworked kidney; so does a cosmetic-covered, antiperspirant coated, deodorant soap and moisturizer treated skin. If the body wastes don't get out, they stay in. Naturopaths believe that this is the basic cause of all mankind's various illnesses: the polluted body, or systemic toxemia.
In another section, we will discuss how a polluted lake provides the perfect medium for bacteria to thrive. So does a polluted body. The naturopathic method calls for cleansing: cleansing fasts, cleansing foods and beverages, and internal and external cleanliness. Naturopathy holds that the organism will heal itself, regardless of ailment, if giver a chance to purge itself of the wastes that are the basis of the ailment. A good cleaning out gives the body that chance.
So one of the methods suggested to clean the body - which I'm interested in right now - is The cleansing fast. The article suggests that in order for the fast to be effective, it should last from 4 days to a week.
Some other sites' links I've found regarding cleansing fasting are:
HPS Health - Colon Cleaning, Fasting, Cleansing & Preventative Health Care
Ethical Living - Herbs For a Purer Life
Liquid Fasting Cleansing Diet
There's lots of info out there, and of course there are those who claim fasting is bad for the body, mostly because it pushes the body into starvation mode, brings down metabolism rate and makes the body hold to whatever nutrition it gets. Lots to think about, so I thought it was better consulting my family doctor about it!
After talking to my doctor, I know fasting for 3 days won't interfere with my blood pressure levels. He suggested I'll consume at least 1,000 calories + the important nutrients through drinking - veggies or fruit juice, soy milk and such. He warned me to be prepared. "It'll weaken you for sure!", he said, "but it is not dangerous".
I also talked to my friend Luda and asked her for whatever info she has about the subject. She suggested to start with a one day fast, and drink only water. She also suggested not to eat meat the day before the fast, and also the day after the fast. She said if I do 1 day fasting each week for 4 weeks, my body will understand it's not going to starve and won't panic, and later I can try to prolong the fasting time to 36 hours and see how it goes.
Now, 1 day fast won't clean the body. It's not enough time for the inner systems to do so. But, I expected it to give me an interesting mental experience on top of the physical one (After all, fasting takes big part in Eastern philosophies, right?). The spiritual side of it all was quite intriguing!!!. It's not only the body that goes through a different state of being... I'm told it does wonderful things for the soul. While trying to calm the body's demand to be fed, the soul has to use all the willpower it has... and that's a challenge. It sounded appealing to me, for some reason.
So, will I be able to go without food for 24 hours? How would I feel, mentally and physically? Will it be a war, or just a battle? Can I control my urges to eat for a prolonged time??? It was meant to be a challenge of the mind, and also a test of my body, to see how it reacts.
OK... answers will come only if I try it! It took me few weeks to gather some courage, and finally, I decided to do it. On Tuesday (2 days ago), at 6 PM, I had my last meal for the day. Afterwards - only water. My next meal was on Wednesday (yesterday) at 6 PM. 24 full hours with nothing into my mouth but water... 7 glasses of it.
It sure was interesting. I thought about food most of those 24 hours, I sure did! Couldn't stop doing it. Mentally, I felt a huge need to chew something. Surprisingly, my stomach was very relaxed and didn't growl. Around 5 hours before the end of the day, I felt a bit weak, so I went to bed and had a snooze. The harshest battle was on the last hour, when I tried making myself go and eat before the 24 hours ended. I didn't listen to those urges, and waited. I broke the fast with soup, and later with some fruit and yogurt. I also needed to calm a developing headache, so I took a pill and it went away after some 10 minutes. I also drank some more... juice, coffee, hot chocolate.
Conclusions? The experience did prove to be very interesting. My common sense tells me the inner body parts which participate in food digestion did appreciate the day off they got. I lost less than 1 lbs in the process, but it wasn't about losing weight to begin with. This morning I felt great, went to the gym to do some cardio without eating (I wanted to get an accurate reading of my weight), and it went very well. I feel somewhat rejuvenated right now, very proud of myself, and much more motivated to continue on with my journey. The battle of the mind power and will power went very well, though wasn't easy, but - I won!!! *s*.
I'm going to try it again in 7 - 10 days, for another 24 hours. Right now I'd like to see if there will be any fluctuations in my weight. All in all, since my last weigh-in on February 4th I lost 2.4 lbs (now standing on 155.8 lbs). Not bad, and I'm really hoping it'll continue moving down down down! *s*.
An important note: All the above is by no shape or form a suggestion to anyone else to try the same. This is my experience, my responsibility... for myself! I don't suggest you to try it. If you have thoughts about something like that, consult your doctor, 'k?
:::Lorien @ 07:10 PM MT :::
Thursday, February 5, 2004
::: I'm grounded :::
Darn knee felt better this morning, but still bad enough to make me limp around the house. So no gym for me today, even though I really felt anxious to go... but thought about it for a while, and decided to let it heal and not mess with it before it's ok again. Annoying as it is, I'm not going to push my luck too much, and take care of myself.
I'm listening to my body now... but have to try not to hurt it in the process;-)).
:::Lorien @ 05:59 PM MT :::
::::::
::: What's Your Workout Style? :::
Snitched this one from Bev.
What's Your Workout Style? (You need to fill some info, but it's fun).
So here are my results:
Outside Adventurer
Onward and upward! A fresh air aficionado like you wouldn't want to be cooped up in a sweaty weight room when you could be working up a sweat al fresco. With the wind at your back and the sun on your face, an outdoorsy person like you probably prefers your workouts without all the flash and dash, get-buff-fast gimmicks that are out there.
It's all about reaching new heights for you. Whether you're scaling new summits, blazing new trails, or exploring uncharted territory, an enthusiastic adventurer like you should head into the open air to get your pulse pounding. So, get going. First one to the top wins!
It's so true I could cry *s*. Let me be out on a trail, riding my bike, or on a lake/river, rowing our canoe, or walking on a trail somewhere in the mountains, and I'm a happy-go-lucky human. Maybe that's a hint for us to move to some place where summer is eternal (Florida? California?), and workout outdoors all year around??? Mmm... no, but still, that would've been nice *s*.
:::Lorien @ 12:18 AM MT :::
Wednesday, February 4, 2004
::: First day of a brighter future :::
Before I continue the saga from yesterday, I'd like to mention I went to the gym today (thanks to Joe who said: "Ok, we're going to workout today, together") and found out my savage feast for the last 10 days or so put only 1.1 lbs on me. That's a surprise for sure, one of a good nature, considering the fact I'm going through my TOM now as well. So right now I'm 158.2 lbs. Not too bad!
I had a mild workout today, intending to slowly take me back into my routine:
5 minutes warm-up and cool down + 25 minutes treadmill (1.82 miles)
15 minutes bike (5.36 miles)
Total of 465 calories burned.
3 upper body weights machines = 8 sets x 12 rep.
And I also joined the gym's challenge for the month of February. It's kind of a competition game involving the workout + answering questions and accumulating points. Sounds fun, and it might give me an incentive to go to the gym regularly as I used to, and try to do my best. We'll see *s*.
And... While getting into the van afterwards, I've managed to bang my left knee into the van, and now it hurts like a sonofabitch :(... How stupid can I get, being so un careful???... sigh...
::::::
So let's go back to yesterday's post. I've finished it with this statement: My body, being in despair itself, was desperately trying to get my attention, to let me know what it needs me to do... but I wasn't listening anymore.
True. Indulging myself into a mini mental/physical breakdown, I forgot to listen to my inner voice. My body is there to let me know what's good for it, for me, if only I would listen. So for the last few days I'm trying my best to start listening again, and here are some points I've come up with so far:
My body doesn't want to be in a constant state of pain resulting from severe workout routine. It agrees to go through pain when the levels of effort are being pushed up... but there's no way it's going to go through life always with aching muscles.
My body likes the cardio workout because it help it control the blood pressure levels without the help of pills, and by that prevents heart diseases.
My body most definitely likes to tone and firm it's muscles and lose inches, but it doesn't want to overdo it. "Get rid of the Jell-O mass, but don't become an iron lady. I don't want to look like a bodybuilder!"... Honestly, that what it tells me.
My body is tired of dieting. New definitions have to be applied here... new look at things. This is a for-life change, and not something that will end at some time in the nearest future. My body is tired of the constant obsessive dealing with food. It needs a more natural quiet approach to food in certain times of the day. Only then, and not 24/7 bubbling about what to or what not to do/eat/drink/supplement, etc. In short, feeding should be a natural part of my life, like sleeping, breathing... and the other good stuff ;-)). Do it when it's time to do it, and let it go in between without thinking so much about it.
My body wishes me to stop consuming cigarettes and get rid of this nasty habit, in the right time, and not on the expense of eliminating other things it needs. So better planning have to be considered. "Take one little step at the time" is the message here.
And last, but not least... My body wants to be treated with respect and understanding, in a mature way. Guilty conscious doesn't do it any good, so from time to time - for a short while - it'll allow me to "go crazy" and do the "bad" stuff, in condition it'll be short, enjoyable, and then back to the right stuff with no regrets. Healthy mind in a healthy body - that's what I need!
Ok. Lots of thinking has been done, lots more to do. I'm hoping that the next time I go bananas, it won't be over eating/working out and such. It doesn't do me any good anyway...
:::Lorien @ 05:15 PM MT :::
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
::: Contemplating the future... Fighting the present :::
It's a time to think and reassess... and I'm doing both for the last week or so... and nothing else (like working out or dieting, god forbid!).
See, I have this Character's Obsession Component in me (my definition). In the past, whenever I started a new job, new hobby, new mission, new interest - I set myself to do it 1,000%. I did it with all my heart, investing all of my inner self and lots of my time into it... and after a while that behavior tended to burn me out, and I lost the interest and moved on to something new.
In the last few years, some of my projects kept going for a long time, so I assumed my COC was no more. Like, I'm online for almost 7 years now, and though I lost some of the initial enthusiasm, I still come online everyday and do my thing. Not to mention the new life I've chosen up for myself 5 years ago, in a new country, with a new love... and this goes strong and gets stronger everyday, and I'm not going to leave it a side, no way! *s*.
Anyway, I think I've been pushed by this COC of mine to a dark corner lately. I felt I had enough of dieting and counting what I eat. I felt I had enough of working out, being sore all over part of the time. I felt a deep objection to all of this routine I've taken on myself for the last 2 years or so. I felt I was burnt out, and ready to drop it... and that's just what I did!!!
But why? As you might recall, my main goal when I first started my healthy lifestyle journey was to lower my high blood pressure and keep it low without pills. This goal was achieved 100%, and I'm very proud of myself because of it! And... that should've been an enough incentive to continue, even though I also enjoyed the secondary outcomes of changing my lifestyle - losing lots of weight and gaining a more firm healthy body.
So why am I ready to give it all up and go back to my old annoying bad habits?
After lots of hard thinking for the last few days, it seems to me I've neglected listening to my body's needs. Somewhere along the line I've stopped listening to my inner voices, and instead adopted others' needs as mine.
You see, after doing lots of reading of numerous articles, weblogs and what not, I've accumulated so much information regarding dieting and working out (what's good and what's not), and just lost control. Every idea and plan out there that was reported to bring success - I wanted to try too. This is the COC part of me, that demands I take on myself to do the best possible. Some how I wasn't influenced much to change my diet plan. That plan still holds, because I'm very content with it, and don't really feel deprived most of the time, but I do have new doubts now if I get enough nutrients, enough protein, enough vitamins, enough of that... enough of that... oh lord!
I've become even more anxious regarding my workout routine. Thousands of questions started roaming my brain:
Do I do the right stuff?
Do I do enough cardio?
Too much cardio?
Enough lifting?
Too much lifting?
Do I lose muscle mass instead of fat?
Do I gain muscle mass? Do I need power drinks?
What and when to eat before workout?
What and when to eat after workout?
How many workouts a week make me look lazy?
How many are enough?
Should I take rest days?
Shouldn't I?
What's my BMI?
What's my BF%?
What to do?
What not to do?
Is this right?
Is it not?
WOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!..................................... Wait a minute!!!
ENOUGH.................. Please, enough with all the questions... the doubts... the "Ifs" and "Buts"... ENOUGH!
I guess I felt a desperate need to stop the noisy flow of thoughts... I had enough noise in my head to last me a lifetime! So I stopped everything attached to the noise... No diet, no workout... No need to ask all those questions... and answer them.
But... One thing I know for sure... My body, being in despair itself, was desperately trying to get my attention, to let me know what it needs me to do... but I wasn't listening anymore.
Geezz... I'm so tired typing... and mentally too. I'm writing this post on and off since 3 PM. I'll stop now and continue later, or tomorrow... Maybe the mist will be totally gone by then... and I'll see my way more clearly.
Happy Valentine's day to all of you who celebrate today. Mine will have to start in the evening, when Joe comes back from work. He already suggested we go out for dinner tonight, and I agreed, but asked to go easy and have a sensible meal, and that means no buffet where we can pig out, but a regular menu place where I can control what goes into my mouth.