Updating

Well I did OK on the Ultrasimple diet even though I didn't really finish the week out. I caught a cold on that Thursday as ya'll know and it just got worse over the weekend. I'm almost over it just a nagging cough that's hanging around. Even though I missed the last few days I still lost 9lbs and now that I'm starting to feel better my energy level is slowly going up and I want to do more, I don't just feel like doing more I actually want to get up and do it. That's big for me 'cause I'm one of the world's worst procrastinators. Now finding the time to do more may be different. I want to do another week, but I'm waiting till I get the book. I did the first week based on Dr. Hyman's website but I feel like I missed something. I read on the website's forum that some people started taking the lemon/oil shot and then got to a point where they just couldn't do it anymore. They suggested that since the shot is suppose to be a liver detox, maybe the not being able to drink it anymore was their bodies way of telling them that it was good. I like to believe that 'cause I just got to where just the thought was making me gag. At first I didn't think it was so bad.

Some pluses from doing the Ultrasimple diet have been:

1. 9lb weight loss
2. 2.5 inches off my belly and hips
3. lost craving for soda (I actually tried to drink a Mountain Dew yesterday and just couldn't do it. It tasted slimy and thick and way too sweet).
4. Less cravings for sweets ( I'm able to satisfy it with fruit or just a small bite of something sweet)
5. Reduced appetite (I'm only able to eat about half as much as I was. I'm stopping when I realize that I'm not hungry anymore and before I get that too full feeling).

I'm also reading Dr. Hyman's Ultrametabolism book. It's very interesting and I'll summarize some of it once I get it all read. When I do the diet again I'm going to make time for the yoga and workouts. I admit I didn't really do that too well.

Okay now on the school front...

My classes seem all right so far. I have a couple strict teachers but I can handle that. I had a pre-test on Wednesday in my Gen. Chemistry class. The professor said that if you didn't get at least 8 points he suggests that you go in the next lower class. Well I got 6. Not so good but I don't think I'll take his advice. I really don't want to retake an Intro to Chemistry class. I'll take this quiz as a sign that I'm going to have to study 3x as hard in order to make it. It's been quite a while since my last Chemistry class and I have forgotten some of the math. When it comes to math, though, it usually comes back to me quickly as I do it. So I have to study harder in order to keep up. I just want the opportunity to try. So I hope he doesn't bring it up. He said that some people (like 40%) do pass with a C or higher that make lower then 8pts. I think I can be in that 40. I know I can. Speaking of Chemistry I need to get off of here so I can go finish reading chapter one for class tomorrow and read some more of Antigone for Lit. tomorrow.

Day 5 and Beginning Day 6

Well yesterday was OK but I felt the beginning of a cold coming on. So I took an extra vitamin C and hoped for the best. I'm so tired of lemon juice and the lemon/olive oil shot every morning. I woke up with some bad sinus pain this morning. I don't think it's due to the detoxing, I think it's more a result of the cold symptoms I had yesterday. Since I feel so bad I just couldn't bring myself to drink the lemon juice/olive oil. I think some green tea and the recipe for tofu scramble is the thing this morning. I'm down another pound and about 1/2 an inch. I noticed the jeans I put on this morning fit much better then they did the last time I wore them. I'm doing well so far...not doing the diet 100% but pretty close. Right now I'm thinking of going one more week (to kinda make up for the slip ups this week) and then start adding foods back in. My caffeine withdrawal symptoms are all gone though I still have some junk food cravings.

Well lots to do today. Have to get a tire and an oil change then to the campus bookstore to get books and supplies for class next week. Then this evening we are going to go see the Memphis Redbirds game. Should be fun.

Day 3 and Start of Day 4

Well good news is so far I've lost almost 5 pounds and 2 inches around my belly and hips. I'm tired of the lemons (just the thought makes me shudder) but I go on. I just realized my caffeine headache is finally gone. Maybe now I'll start getting the increased energy the book says you'll have. I'm not hungry but am fighting soda and sugar and junk food cravings (buying the family McDonald's just about did me in last night). Hopefully those craving will soon fall by the wayside and I can really start enjoying this diet. Well this is a quick post as I'm going to whip up a quick hummus to eat for lunch at work today. Kinda tired of just rice and broth so today I think it will be carrot and celery sticks, hummus and broth. Still loving the Ultrashake...even if I did make it kinda thick this morning so have to use a spoon to eat it. Have a great hump day everyone.

Uh Yeah...

I may of told some friends and coworkers (and hubby) that I wasn't going to do another diet for a while because I was tired of trying to pay attention to what I could or could not eat. Well that lasted a week. Starting today I'm doing Dr. Mark Hyman's Ultrasimple Diet. It's only 1-3 weeks long (well if you add in the prep week then it's a bit longer, but I didn't do a full prep week). It's restrictive the first week, very restrictive. No coffee, no sugar, no dairy, no gluten (wheat), no beef. Basically the Ultrashake (which is yummy) and the Ultrabroth (meh it's a veggie broth), rice, chicken and certain kinds of fish, lots of veggies and fruits and some nuts/seeds and 3 types of legumes. It can be filling and tasty it's just not very exciting. It's basically a detox diet after the first week you can start adding foods back and then figure out which ones work with your body and which ones work against you. So first day has not been bad. Doing the 20 min Ultrabath was difficult as I'm not much of a bath person. Hubby asked if I was marinating myself. I have a slight headache but I think that's due to lack of sleep last night due to a storm going through around midnight. I was worried I would have a caffeine withdrawal headache but I think the two cups of green tea I'm allowed kept that away.

Well off to bed and then to work in the morning.

Slowly but surely

I've been to five Zumba classes now. I'm feeling more fit and like I have more energy. I've lost 3lbs and I like the classes. I don't feel embarrassed that I can't quite do the steps right. I don't feel embarrassed that I'm a bit chubby. It's a very small class (usually only 2-3 other women not counting the instructor) and all are really friendly. Unfortunately this week I'll miss my Monday class because of work. I should make the Wednesday one and I'm going to try and go to the kick boxing class on Thursday to make up for Monday. I'm only sorta doing the Genotype diet this past couple of weeks due to finances not being able to let me go and buy the sorta foods I need for it. I'm just having to make do with what we have in the freezer and pantry. Which is fine, I'm trying to balance out foods that are bad for me with foods that are super good for me. I may eat like crap one day, but for the next couple days I'll try hard to eat very good. Still I'm only like 40% compliant and that's not enough to see any results. I'll do some grocery shopping and meal planning next weekend and get that on track though. I feel as I'm getting somewhere health/body wise right now. I feel fitter even though I haven't lost any real weight/inches. That will come along shortly I'm sure. A lady I work with said she was thinking about taking up tennis and I may see about that. It would be fun and another workout. I could do it while my middle son was at his baseball practices. Or after Zumba class while her son was at football practice, either way would work.

Diets

I know I change diets about as often as I change my haircolor (about at the same time, go figure). Well I was reading First magazine and a new diet/lifestyle caught my eye. It's called Crack the Fat-Loss Code by Wendy Chant. It promises to break weight loss plateaus and you can lose up to 17 lbs in the first 7 days. Okay so, no, I do not expect to lose 17lbs in 7 days. That doesn't even sound healthy but a big weight loss the first week would be great. Basically the first week is the tough one and then on the following weeks you cycle between baseline days (where you eat both high carb and low carb foods), carb-down days (low carb foods) and carb-up days (high carb but still nutritious foods). Even on low carb days your allowed one starchy(high carb) food for one meal. So your not giving up anything just changing the pattern you eat...and if you eat with no pattern your creating one. I'm thinking about combining this with the Eat Clean Diet (which I stand by, even though I've been a dirty girl.. lately and have been eating junk, when following the Eat Clean diet you feel healthier). I wish I could combine all these with the blood type diet but I can't afford to do the blood type diet very often as I have to cook a separate meal for me then the rest of the family (I felt very very good on that diet, sinuses all cleared up and just a sense of all around well being).One of these days I'll find that magic combo, that perfect solution. Of course I'll let you know when I do. I know everyone says eat healthy and exercise. But there's more to it then that I know there is, I just got to figure out what. Most likely it's different for everyone. Unfortunately we're not all cut from the same cookie cutter (mine had a post babyx4 belly and big butt and wide hips and smallish breasts how about yours..wait don't forget the thunder thighs, can't forget the thighs). Still if something works for me I'm glad to share it with the world.

My other blog...

I have another blog, at times I've thought about closing it down but then the skinny-but-thinks-she's-fat girl that's a part of me gets back to reading it and I keep it going. It's where I post most of my weightloss/eating stuff. I'm going to link it to here even though, to me anyway, some of the posts can be disturbing (yea like the day 3 years ago I was proud of myself for only eating 126 calories). I post on it kind sporatically. It bugs me to read some of the posts though, I'll beat myself up for eating 1700 calories or 1400 calories when I know that's not that bad. Especially since my bmr is 1592 so I'm burning off that 1400 calories just by being and out of that 1700 calories only about 200 is extra and that's not that hard to get rid of. Well the link is in the sidebar if you want to check it out go ahead.

The Eat-Clean Diet

Yea I'm a sucker for flashy book covers and diet books that promise success and stories of 200lb or + women who have lost all the weight and kept it off for years. Everyone swears that theirs is the only way to lose weight, the best way to do it and so on. But this book/diet I think I could actually do...in the past year I've tried a couple different diets, the Blood Type diet (which I really liked but unless everyone in your household is the same blood type it's really hard to do and I'm the only O in my house, but I felt good, lost weight and slept better on this diet) and the really old Beverly Hills diet (some may remember it as the pineapple diet, I only tried this one for a week if that, too many no's). This author of this book doesn't tell you not too eat anything really, well except junk (potato chips, donuts, soda pop stuff you know is bad for you but eat anyway). She encourages fresh veggies and fruits, ground turkey instead of beef, hot cereal instead of box cereal and flax seed, bee pollen and wheat germ. I really think I could get my whole bunch on this eating plan. There are no big calorie restrictions (I believe I read 1880-2200 or something like that and that seems like a lot to me since most diet plans are 1200-1500 cal's a day). Your suppose to eat 6 times a day or every 3 hours but not after 6 pm(she includes a bedtime snack in the two-week meal plan but says only if your actually hungry, I think after eating every 3 hours you should not be hungry).
I like the way the books wrote, lots of charts and lists, not too technical. It’s written so if you've only had high school science you’re good. Compared to the Blood Type diet where a college level knowledge of chemistry is helpful, lol.
I think I'll start this on Friday. My only thought is what about the weekends...I work 7p-7a on Saturday and Sundays. I think I should turn the eating plans around on these days and do it overnight when I'm up compared to during the day when I sleep(well I only sleep for maybe 4hours). I'm noticing on these days I'm not losing the water weight I usually do when I sleep ( I'll weigh anywhere from 3-8lbs less in the morning then what I do at night, lately I'm weighing about the same, I don't like that obviously). I think though if I nibble on baby carrots or turkey slices or something healthier then I have maybe I can combat that. I don't drink soda at work; I've mostly been drinking coffee, water and hot chocolate or green tea. I don't know I'll get it figured out; I just need to get started. I'm tempted to buy diet pills but I don't really want to. Last time I did, I didn't like the way they made me feel so it's scared me off of them for a while.
Well, if anyone wants to check this book out its The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno her websites are www.toscareno.com, and www.eatcleandiet.com . In a few months I'll have a garden full of veggies so this will be pretty easy for me to follow, plus the farmers around here will begin selling their produce on the roadside. Lots of yummy Ripley tomatoes, can't wait.