Be Happy, It’s Saturday!

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coffee-owls

I woke up actually feeling like Espresso Owl. Why? I finally had my first awesome night’s sleep in about a week.

I feel like a weight’s been lifted. My doctor gave me the all clear to start working out again.  My healing is moving along nicely. I just have a few sutures that haven’t dissolved yet.

While I still need to take it easy, I can resume my training for a 10k and start lifting weights. Heck I’m even allowed to go swimming or take a bath.

I haven’t done anything for 7 weeks. Ugh! I’m so happy I’ve made a habit out of being active. I just can’t sit still anymore. It won’t be difficult to get back into the swing of things. The hard part will be the slow and gentle pace. My inclination is to go as hard or fast as possible. Not too bright. Last thing I want is an injury or screwing up my still healing abdominal area. I must be the turtle, not the hare.

But this weekend I’m focused on food prep, making meals for the week and a special project with the husband (minds out of the gutter!).  I’m spending part of this beautiful morning gearing up to run the gauntlet that is Saturday grocery shopping. May my Espresso Owl energy stay with me.

Which morning owl are you?

10 Tips For A Successful Fast

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water 1

Staying hydrated helps me stay on track during a fast. Cucumber-mint water is one of my go too drinks when fasting. Yummmm!

This morning I’m in hour 40 of my 48-hour fast and I feel great. My energy level is high and I’m managing the hunger pains easily. It’s a far cry from my very first attempt at fasting (I broke the fast within 4 hours).

Since I incorporated fasting into my way of eating there are a few things I’ve learned to be successful when choosing to go without food. Read More

First Time Cycling In 30 Years

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bikes

Out of the shed and into the living room! We keep our bikes 10 feet from our front door now. Yes, it makes the space feel a little cramped but the convenience of quickly hitting the road is too alluring.

This weekend my husband and I took our bikes out of the shed for the first time in 5 years. Other than 4 flat tires, lots of dirt and cobwebs, they were in pretty good shape. Makes sense since we only rode them twice.

Failed Attempt 5 Years Ago
We purchased the bikes in 2011. We were both much heavier and this was our solution to losing weight. Pretty typical of overweight folks who are sedentary and suddenly get the urge to “move more.” Instead of a treadmill (our Love Shack is too small) we opted for two 8-speed bikes.

Of course my excitement gave way once the rubber hit the road.

The last time I was on a bike was middle school. Peddling wasn’t as easy as I remembered. And my balance was gone. I kept thinking I’d fall and break something. I was gripped with the fear of falling and had zero confidence in myself.

So I came up with loads of excuses to get off the bike. Read More

Running Etiquette vs. Selfies

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Brambelton 5K

Race Etiquette 101: After crossing the finish line of my first 5k, I pulling off to the a designated spot to out of the way of other runners so my husband could snap this shot.

When running a 5K it never dawned on me to stop, take my iPhone out of my carrier belt and snap a selfie of me.  That’s not why I run. Sure I had my husband take a photo of me crossing the finish line for my first 5k — that was a big deal to me.

I’ve run other 5k races since and not once did I stop in the middle of the course to snap a photo.

Well apparently it is becoming a problem. More people stopping mid race — in front of other runners — to take a selfie. There will always be rude people who are so self-absorbed they are inconsiderate of others. But apparently it is dramatically on the rise in races thanks to smartphones.

Race organizers are trying to come up with solutions to this problem — no selfie sticks allowed (good start!), redesigning courses to allow selfie areas (fine), and “discouraging” runners from taking selfies or social media updates mid race (ugh!).

I think when idiots like this get their 15 minutes of fame by taking selfies of unsuspecting “hot guys” during the New York City Half Marathon, racing organizers are going to have to do more than “discourage” these folks. When media like Good Morning America covers a story like this because “oh how cute” expect more of this crap to happen. Unfortunately I think it’s going to take a serious injury for it to happen. Read More

Why Women Are Getting Fatter

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tape measure fork

Four in 10 women are obese in America and that number is climbing. Yet they are more focused on diet and nutrition than men. So why are women getting fatter? Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and Mister GC.

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveals that while the obesity rates of men (35%) have hit a plateau, women’s obesity rates (40%) continue to climb. Yet women pay more attention to calories, food labels, and are far greater consumers of health and nutrition information.

Studies show when schools roll out an anti-obesity program, girls are far more likely to change their eating behavior than boys.

Not only that, women do the “lion’s share” of grocery shopping. And Women’s Marketing, a marketing agency focused on women consumers and their buying power, indicates that the next trillion dollar business is “Health & Wellness.”

With that kind of buying and decision-making power, is it any wonder that the food, nutrition, health and fitness industries heavily cater to women? It’s clear that women are more tuned in to the current nutrition advice from the US government than men.

If that’s the case, why are they getting fatter? Read More

The Great 2016 Clutter Battle

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Office mess

My office/workout room AFTER we took out the king size bed. Yep, I’m battling clutter this week as I transform this space into something functional.

This week I’m starting to tackle all the crap that we’ve accumulated in my office/workout area. For months we’ve been storing junk in here and just recently we added a second litter box to the room – our cat doesn’t feel the need to walk all the way down to the basement when there is a perfectly good carpet on the second floor. Grrrrr!!!

I for one hate clutter. When I see it I stop focusing on my current task and start fixating on the mess. Since we had a few other important things to do around the house before taking on this room, I made the decision to stay out of the room unless I absolutely had to hunt for something.

Otherwise I’d go bonkers seething with rage that my beloved office turned into our junk room.

Plus I got tired hitting my hands, feet and head on my desk, sofa table and bed rails when trying to do yoga poses or using my resistance bands.

Connection Between Clutter & Weight?
I’ve read lots of stories that claim there is a connection between clutter and weight. But most are professional organizers claiming such a connection. Sort of self-serving if you ask me.

That said, I think there might be something to it. Certainly one of the first things I did whenever I started a diet was to “organize my kitchen and pantry.” Read More

Needed: A New Skin Care Routine

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I’ve been so worried about combating loose skin I’ve neglected my face. Luckily for me I don’t have too much sagging facial skin with the weight loss. However in the last few months I’m noticing more acne, some flakiness and small spots on my left cheek. And the circles and puffiness around my eyes has got to go.

But where to start. There are so many products. How do you know the good from the crap? And what type of skin do I really have. Yes I have some flakiness but some spots are oily. I guess that’s combo skin.

Fortunately make-up guru Lisa Eldridge has some great videos on skin care.

You can find the second part of this video here and the update here.

Plan of Action
I know I need a cleanser, exfoliator, eye cream and sunscreen. However, I think my very first step is getting a facial.

A facial would exfoliate the dead cells, clean out the blackheads, open up pores, increase circulation, and super hydrate my skin. But the real value is learning what type of skin I really have and getting advice on the products I need.

That could save me time and money.

Once I have a handle on my skin, then I can head out to the local drug store.

Of course, its one thing to buy this stuff. It’s another to actually build a new skin care routine.

Goodness…I need to make more room in my bathroom cabinet!

Weekly Weigh-In: Inching Closer to 170s

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weekly weigh in june 5

I’m down a few ounces. A loss is a loss. But I’m tweaking my food this week to fight the cold. My body temperature is off and changing my macros should do the trick. Perhaps this will eventually kick my insulin resistance to the curb and jump start my weight loss.

I’m down a couple of ounces this week. I’ll take it. That puts my total weight loss at 140.8 pounds. As frustrated as I am that I’m still hovering in the mid 180s after a year, a little perspective makes that frustration go away.

I’ve shed nearly 50% of my weight in 4 years and kept it off. That’s awesome.

But I am doing some tweaking to my diet and it has noting to do with the scale.

I’m always cold. Too cold. And it has nothing to do with my air conditioning.

It’s been going on for nearly a year. Regardless of temperature, I’m always wearing a sweater because I feel chilly. How cold I feel goes off the charts during fasts. So no more intermittent fasting this week. My metabolism is off and the course corrections I’m making this week are already bearing fruit.

Funny, I’m wearing the sweater right now and I’m sweating up a storm. Clearly I reached for it this morning out of habit. That tells me my resting metabolism was out of wack for far too long.

If all goes well this week I plan to try a 36 hour fast this weekend. I’ll eat regular on Friday and not eat again until Sunday morning. Keep in mind the fast isn’t about the scale. It’s about lowering an artificially high body weight set point caused by decades of insulin resistance. And the best way to do that is by fasting.

Optimal health really is one big science experiment. And I’m enjoying being the scientist and the lab rat.

Living Healthy…A Sense of Humor Helps

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“The most important things in my life are God, my family and my Instagram account…and not necessarily in that order.” — JP Spears

My husband introduced me to the Ultra Spiritual Life series on YouTube. If you haven’t discovered JP Spears, you really need to. When I saw the video on how to take photos of yoga poses, I knew this was something special.

But I especially loved his probing question of what if meat eaters acted like vegans.

Before any vegans bombard me with hate, just remember life’s too short not to have a sense of humor, especially about yourself. When you see success in how you changed your life it is way too easy to think everyone should live this way. “If it worked for me it must be the superior way to live.” All of us — Vegan, LCHF or Paleo — can get caught up in that type of thinking.  Heck, the disaster of our government’s nutrition dogma over real science for nearly 40 years should teach us that.

Besides I’m looking forward to JP’s take on those of us going down the ketogenic path. Heck, he’s already took on one of my favorite fats — coconut oil.  Banting/LCHF/Ketogenic diets can’t be far behind.

Taking your health seriously is important. Far too many of us put it on the back burner and we are now paying the price. But having a sense of humor makes things a little easier.

 

Fruits & The 5 A Day Myth

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I always wondered how the US Food Guidelines came up with the recommendation of eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables everyday. In the video below Dr. Zoe Harcombe (PhD in public health nutrition) explains how this idea of eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily has no science to back it up.

I should have known it was just a marketing gimmick by the companies that what you to eat more fruits and veggies.

Is this really a big deal? I mean fruits and vegetables are really healthy and we should eat more, right?

If you are healthy, go for it. If you have insulin resistance, fruit isn’t your friend.

In the video, Harcombe explains that fruit isn’t as nutritious as we’ve been told. What fruits lack in vitamins and minerals they make up with an abundance of sugar and fructose. People, especially women, tend to over eat fruit (because of that sweetness) and limit or skip the more nutritious vegetables.

For me, I made the decision to severely restrict fruit when I started eating low carb, high fat (LCHF). Thanks to insulin resistance, my metabolism was broken. The only way to start reclaiming my health was to go strict LCHF (no more than 20g of net carbs a day). Given my level of insulin resistance, fruit wasn’t going to help me do that.

Not all fruit is horrible.  Berries provide enough of a benefit that outweigh the rising insulin.  However I follow 2 rules strictly when eating berries:

  1. I always eat fruit with a fat, like cream, to minimize the insulin response.
  2. I rarely eat berries, because fruit is nature’s candy.

Do I miss fruit? Sometimes. Bananas were my favorite, but not anymore. They are pure sugar. Cherries, peaches, kiwi and apples are missed. At some point I’d love to enjoy them again, but I also understand that I’m dealing with decades of damage to my metabolic system.

I may never “cure” my insulin resistance. The best I may hope for is increasing my sensitivity to carbs.  Which means I’ll never eat the 2-4 servings a day recommended by our government as part of a “healthy” diet.

I’ll enjoy those missed fruits again, but only on my terms — as rare, special treats … and always with fat.