A moment on the lips

Some amount of this undertaking is going to center around food. I am currently obsessed with food. Anyone who is “dieting” is, and I’m in the more serious aspect of dieting, i.e. literally trying to change the way I eat. Every nutrition guru worth their salt says it– It’s not a temporary endeavor; it’s an all-out life change.

I’m 36 years old and probably in the fight for my life. I’m not overweight, or chubby, or plump. I am medically obese. I may even be categorized as “morbidly obese” but that’s just splitting hairs. I’m fat. I’ve been following the Weight Watchers program for the last 12 weeks and have successfully lost 35 pounds. I have one hundred and six pounds to go to reach my goal weight. Even then, I’ll still be 20 pounds heavier than the normal BMI range for my height, but the BMI chart can suck it. Women my height in the upper end of the “Normal” BMI range are built like very athletic bikini models. It’s never gonna happen here.

So, I’m changing the way I eat. I’ve stopped eating fast food for the most part… a grilled  Chik-fil-a sandwich once in a blue moon isn’t gonna kill me.  I’m actually eating the recommended fruits, veg, whole grain and dairy amounts that the food pyramid draws out for us. I’ve taken on the challenge of cutting out 99% of processed food (I keep one “healthy choice” entrée in the freezer for lunch emergencies) and anything containing high fructose corn syrup (Harder than you can ever imagine).  I’m trying to buy organic goods, where a lower fat option isn’t a choice. And, honestly, I’m loving it.

Food has always been a focal point for me. I’m sure this is some sort of eating disorder. But if I’m going to be obsessed about what I’m eating, I’m going to go forward being obsessed with the eating the right things. Tonight I am making red beans and rice from scratch for the first time. Before, we always opened up a box of Zatarains and enjoyed it in 25 minutes or less. This is now a dish that has to be prepped the night before. But it’s mine. I know every ingredient and how that ingredient is beneficial to me. And that is more satisfying than anything that ever came out of a box.

A big part of this new-found zeal came from the book “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan. I was already on my journey of trying to attain a healthy weight when I ran across this little book. It’s a quick read, and lays out a lot of common sense ideas in an amusing thoughtful way. I highly recommend it for anyone who is trying to think differently about what they eat.

Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/014311638X

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How to survive the weekend

It is usually the weekend that we tend to forget about our long-term plans as we usually have a change of routine.  The main thing to remember is that the weekend needs to form part of our lifestyle change.  You can still go out and enjoy life but you need to plan how you will cope if you over indulge.

The main key is to continue to fill in your diary sheet during the weekend.  It acts as a great conscience.  Try and spend some time planning your meals for the coming week, remembering to compensate for any nights out where you may have over indulged.  The weekend is also a time to try and do some more exercise; start to make it part of your weekly routine.

If you are tempted by a takeaway try and make a good choice.  the attached leaflet explains some ways to limit the damage to your new lifestyle by selecting the best takeaway option. 

Healthy takeaways

Survive the weekend

Why not try making your own chicken curry at the weekend rather than going for a takeaway.  It will have fewer calories and will help to keep you on track.

Chicken curry

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Free Exercise of the week to increase muscular strength, back arms and gluts definition

Free Exercise of the week

Instructions

From a lying down position, forehead on the floor always and hold both weights (light weights)  in both hands, side of  the dumbbell touching the floor. Raise opposite arm and leg up. You should raise it just few inches off the floor (2 or 3). Alternate left arm and right leg and right arm and left leg. This is one rep. Do it 15 times (Make sure you are allowed to exercise)

Please send me your comments!

This exercise is:

Good for the Brain: You need to concentrate in postural alignment, balance, core stabilization. Cross lateral movement: When you raise the left arm and right leg you are forcing both brain hemispheres to communicate and work together.

Left, right brain hemisphere, coordination (basal ganglia, cerebellum)

Good for your body:

back of your arms (triceps,teres minor, lattisimus dorsis, rhomboids) legs (gluts, hamstrings)

For more exercises CLICK HERE

Release Date: December 2010

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21,169 Steps

Today I dropped my car off for repair.  Because I wasn’t able to get to the gym beforehand, I decided to walk/run home from the shop.  However, I realized I needed to go to Target, as well.  Oh, and I wanted to stop by the mall.  So much to do so off I went.  I REALLY underestimated the distance to the Target on Sepulveda.  It took me 2 HOURS TO GET THERE!  By the time I did my shopping and started back home, I was wiped out. 

Onward I trudged, however. There was no other option.  When I was within 6 blocks of the mall, which was on my way home, my back was killing me and I was questioning whether I could make it the rest of the way home.

I arrived at the mall looking and feeling pretty bedraggled.  Luckily, my friend Jennifer was able to pick me up from there.  All in all, I spent 4 hours walking which amounted to  21,169 steps. – and it was only 1pm!  I definitely didn’t miss my workout and the calories burned reflect the effort…

Yesterday’s Results:

Calories Consumed:  1347

Calories Burned:  3755

[Via http://thebiggestloserhomechallenge.wordpress.com]

Use Your Subconscious Will Power and Change Your Life

Have you ever met someone who was nice and slim and could eat everything they wanted?  You know the type – people with perfect metabolism.  I have – my Mother and my older Sister – they could eat sweets every day and not gain an ounce.  I felt like just from watching them I gained the weight instead – don’t you hate people like that?  I once saw my older Sister lose 10 pounds in one week in front of my eyes even though she was eating more and more due to a stressful situation our family was going through.  She would eat the richest chocolate cakes that she could find, drink sodas or fattening milkshakes and not gain an ounce.  I am not one of those lucky people.

Unfortunately for me I inherited my Father’s metabolism and through out my life I’ve had the problem of either being in shape, being overweight or have had to exercise for long periods of time to burn what I ate through out each day.  That’s no way of living your day-to-day life, worrying constantly about “food”. 

In my high school years I was close to 25 pounds heavier than I am now and from then on my weight went up and down.  At the age of 32 I was almost 35 pounds heavier then I needed to be.  At 5’2” that’s too much weight to carry.  At some point I started running and working out with a Personal Trainer and although this was a very positive step I still didn’t lose all the weight that I needed.  I realized something was missing.

Later on I started attending a school to learn about Hypnosis to pursue a career in that field.  It was at that time that everything started to fell into place in many areas of my life including weight loss.  As I learned more I realized that I needed to change certain beliefs and behaviors about food and that Hypnosis was one of the keys that would finally unlock my success with weight loss and health. When I started using Hypnosis to help my clients lose weight, I realized that something else was missing.  Hypnosis helped with cravings and old habits but if I wanted to help my clients keep the weight off forever I needed to learn more about food. That’s when I realized that the final secret to unlock my success and my client’s success was to learn about Nutrition and so I did.  I learned that many of the foods from my Guatemalan upbringing were the culprits in my struggle with weight.  In my culture white rice, tortillas and breads are a daily staple.  After learning about what happens to these foods when I eat them and with the use of Hypnosis – at this time – I don’t feel the need to eat them anymore.

I am in shape now. I finally feel that I am in control of my food and what I eat at my meal times.  It took a while and lots of experimenting, dieting that didn’t work and finally understanding how my body reacts to the foods that I eat.  By using the word reacts I mean – I either nourish my body with healthy foods or I give foods to my body that will cause it to gain weight.  We need to eat to survive – what we don’t need is to eat out of stress or eat emotionally to make ourselves feel better.

Hypnosis is a gentle relaxation process by which a person can change behaviors at a much deeper level (I now call it our subconscious will power) instead of just using our conscious will power that is so overworked because of everything that has to control through our day-to-day living. 

We all know that progress is impossible without some kind of a change happening, whether is personal change, routine change, weather change, or any other kind of change.  So if you want to stop smoking, manage your stress better, have more focus and concentration, stop nail-biting, get rid of fears and phobias and stop any other condition that at this time is controlling your life please give us a call at (323)839-0325.  We offer you a Free Consultation and at that time we will be glad to explain in detail how we can tailor a program to fit your needs on the issue or issues you need to work on.

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Weigh-in Wednesday, week 2

Against all odds, and four beers later (see, down one!) I’ve lost another kilo (2 lbs) this past week – woohoo! It feels great, and I’m most impressed with myself. People at work are commenting on it too, asking if I’ve lost weight, but I really don’t think it’s that big a difference yet. It’s just that some clothes look better and feel more comfortable again (though there are exceptions: swear to God, it feels like this bra is going to crack one of my ribs soon…).

Odd thing is that it feels like I can eat just about anything on this WW diet, what with the new “weekly bonus” system. But hell, I’m not complaining! So far it still seems to work So, grand total so far: -1,1 kg this week totals -3,5 kg, with 4 kg to go…

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The Last Ten Pounds

One of my best friends implored me: “write about those last ten pounds!”  If somebody could just solve that, weight loss would be so much more successful.

I have been struggling with that assignment since that evening – over a delicious Italian meal, by the way.  Such a great question!  It is at the core of the diet challenge.

How do we lost those last ten pounds.  There is, obviously, no easy answer to that query.  I mean, accordingly to the US Government, two out of three Americans are either obese or overweight. That startling statistic is based on the BMI scale – which in itself is somewhat controversial.  But let’s not get bogged down in all these numbers.  The bottom line is what is a weight that you and your doctor think is healthy for you and possible to maintain?  Once you determine that, let the change begin.

If this were an easy answer, we wouldn’t need to spend BILLIONS to figure out how best to lost weight.  So, forgive me as I ramble a bit on this challenge.

This is what I have come to.  You lose the last ten pounds the same way you lose the first ten pounds.  There is actually a reason why those last pounds are so difficult to shed.  This from Fitness Magazine:

There’s a good reason so many of us hit the “final 10″ wall. In a word: biology. “All of us have a built-in mechanism that protects against starvation. When caloric intake falls below caloric expenditure, a series of metabolic and physiological responses kick in to preserve and replenish energy stores,” explains Barry Levin, MD, professor and vice chair of the department of neurology and neurosciences at the New Jersey Medical School in Newark. So when you first begin to shed pounds, your metabolic rate slows, your energy use becomes more efficient, and your brain starts sending SOS messages that you’re hungry. By the time you’re down to the last 10 pounds? Your body is fighting to recover and will hang on to every ounce tighter and tighter.

If you have used your weight loss journey as a time to relearn your bad eating habits, build up an exercise program, and embrace the day-to-day process needed to eat sensibly, the pounds will ultimately come off.

The object of a diet is not to lose weight.  Not to see those numbers go down on the scale.  That’s the flaw of quick-fix diets.   Forget the numbers, you want to end bad habits and build new ones.  If you have gotten to the final 10 and are frustrated, have a heart to heart with yourself.  Have you picked a goal that is realistic for you.  Forget the BMI, pay attention to how you feel, where you are carrying your fat, consider if this is a weight that you often get to and stay (your set point.) I have heard so many people, usually women, set a goal for the weight they weighed when they were 20 years old.  You might want to rethink that.

The bottom line is to get yourself to a healthy place.  Remember how you felt when you started your journey, how you were willing to give it all the time it takes?  It is normal to want to sprint to the finish line.  But, you’re not finished.  This is it, baby.  So you might as well keep on keepin’ on.  And, enjoy yourself.

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