I can’t think of a more fitting coincidence than to have New Years Day fall on our Health Group Day! (Or the other way around).

Unfortunately for me, it’s a little depressing. I was hoping to have lost more than 25 pounds this last year. That being said, I do not regret the effort I spent. And I’m certainly happy being 220 as opposed to 245! But I was hoping to have done better. The last month plus a week has been really bad for me. I made it down to 212 at one point, right before Thanksgiving. Then I started eating really, really bad. My exercising has slacked. I’ve put on almost 10 pounds in the last month plus a week. I’m not too proud of that. And that’s the end of my whining.

This is a new year! I’m excited! I will do better! I know I can do better, and I finally know that if I do my exercises faithfully, and eat the things I know are good for me, the weight will come off. This is very significant, and I’ll explain why. I’ve been trying to lose weight for over 11 years now. I have never been able to. I was frustrated. I didn’t know what to do. Doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me. The weight simply wouldn’t come off.

I’m not sure what’s changed, exactly. The only thing I know for sure is that over the past few years I have slowly been working on my eating habits. Building, bit by bit, a healthier lifestyle. Learning how to cook from basic, unprocessed foods. And more recently, exercising harder. Lifting weights.

Half way has never worked for me. I’ve learned this over the past 11 years. I have never been willing to do anything stupid or damaging to my body to lose weight. I believe our bodies are amazing, and very capable of healing themselves, but each body is different, and finding exactly what a particular body is lacking or needing to right itself can be a long, difficult trial that tries patience and even sanity.

“Trying to watch what I eat” while dabbling in exercise here and there didn’t work.

Walking two miles nearly everyday, drinking 16 glasses of water a day, and eating salads for lunch, for a year and a half, was very beneficial to my health, but wasn’t enough to shed significant pounds.

Here is what I’ve found, over the last year, that works for me:

1. Exercising harder- What I like about the treadmill, as opposed to walking around the neighborhood, is the control factor (as well as the lack of rain). I can set the speed and the incline, and then adjust things as needed by carefully monitoring myself. Walking outside means I walk down hill at times, which drops my heartrate. Even flat stretches aren’t ideal as I can’t move my legs fast enough to keep my heart rate up without a gentle uphill. The treadmill enables me to keep my heart rate up.

2. Weights- I can’t say enough about weights. I love them. I’ve been slacking for a couple months, and I need to get back on it. There is the physical truth that weights build muscle, and muscle is hungry, and therefore burns calories all day. That is true. That is beneficial. But let me tell you the reason I really love weights. The day I folded my arms, and felt a muscle there… a beautiful, round, shapely and strong muscle there, I will never forget. I cry just thinking about it. You all know I am fat. I have padding. I can’t see my ribs, I can’t see my hip bones, I can’t see my abdominal muscles… I can’t see these things, because I have 75 pounds of excess fat covering my body. But I can FEEL them. And when I’m feeling muscle, I know there is a strong, healthy body down there, that is actively working to help itself. I feel alive. I feel hope. I frequently walk around the house with my hands on my quads. I can’t see the muscles there, but let me tell you.. I can feel them. They move with every single step I take. I can feel each of the four muscles there, working at different times in my stride.

Sometimes the weight doesn’t come off. Sometimes you try with every ounce of courage and energy you have, and can’t see the benefit. There is nothing more discouraging than that. But when, while doing some routine thing you do everyday, you suddenly feel something different, buried in the depths, you feel power. You feel like your effort has made a difference that doesn’t depend on the scale. That isn’t going to go away after one indulgent dinner party. It’s there, it’s growing, it’s helping, and it will inspire and uplift you at times when you need it.

Another benefit to weight lifting is liberation. It is amazing to learn about weights and muscles. I have learned many things talking to people. No one person has all information. I have collected information from many different people. One caution here, one helpful tip there. And physical therapy was invaluable. I have learned which pectoral exercises I want to focus on to lift as opposed to bulk. I’ve learned some upper back exercises that have literally taken pain away. I’ve learned to stand just so, adjust, tweak, and listen to my body while performing my exercises. Your body tells you things. Lifting weights has brought me more in tune with my body, and I literally feel liberated. I feel capable of spending effort in a way that will undoubtedly be of benefit, as opposed to that horrible feeling of spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.

3. Food- That’s the kicker, isn’t it? I have learned a few things that help me, and may, perhaps, help you. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DENY MYSELF. I can’t do it. If I am hungry, I’m going to eat. If I am intensely craving something, I am going to eat it. This was true before I was fat, and it’s true now. I am no longer trying to change that fact. I’m working with it.

Once again, I will tell you that I think our bodies are amazing. They are powerful. They are capable of healing themselves significantly more than we give them opportunity to.
I am going to share a story…

Three years ago, I turned up the heat on my health efforts. I got a dog (not Abner, but that’s an entirely different story) and started walking every day. I started eating better, yes, but this story is about water. Everyone knows water is beneficial, but that isn’t my point either. I would wake up in the morning, drink a glass of water, go for my walk, come home, drink another glass of water, and set my oven timer for 1 hour. Every single hour, on the hour, I’d drink a glass of water. Even if I wasn’t thirsty. I drank between 14 and 16 8oz glasses of water every single day. Do you know what happened? I was thirsty. I would go to bed at 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock at night, after having drunk 16 glasses of water that day, thirsty. I woke up thirsty, I went to bed thirsty, I drank and drank and drank water, all day, every day. Before I started drinking water, I was never thirsty. Seriously, NEVER thirsty. My body had shut it off. I never drank anything. I rarely urinated. I could never nurse my babies for very long, because I was living dehydrated. And I didn’t have a clue. All of a sudden, I had introduced water to my body, and I literally couldn’t get enough. It was months before my body settled down. But an interesting thing happened. I would be busy doing something, and suddenly feel thirsty. I would go to the kitchen to get a drink just as the timer was about to sound. Every hour, my body was telling me to drink.

I believe that our body, when offered what it really needs, will begin to crave it. I believe that as a society, we are far removed from the basic food habits that our bodies need to survive and function properly. Our bodies crave garbage because that’s what we give them, and it’s never enough because the crap that we eat doesn’t contain the basic components that we need.

The most amazing thing happened to me earlier this year. I think it was in the spring. Once again, I had stepped up the quality of my eating. (You can’t do it all at once, it is a slow process). I decided to make sure that I ate something that would benefit my body at every single meal. Even if I started out stuffing my face with garbage, and was no longer hungry, I would eat some vegetables, or a salad, or something else really, really good. Know what happened? I stopped snacking. I didn’t crave crap food. My portions decreased significantly for the first time in my life. None of this was because I was denying myself. I’ve told you already, I can’t DO that. But I didn’t need it. My body was content. I was full and satisfied with less food. I started losing weight.

Now, I’ve already blogged in Health Group about what ruins it for me. Eating this way takes a phenomenal amount of time, effort, and energy. I get busy. I start eating empty food again because it is convenient. After awhile, I start craving again, I need more meals, and I eat more food. That’s only if I let it go too long. It takes awhile, I believe, because I’ve built up healthy reserves. The interesting thing is, I don’t want the garbage. When I grab something quick, I don’t even enjoy it. I want good food. There have been times when I’ve eaten something, (and I wish I could remember what I was eating the last time this happened. I remember the experience, but not the meal), and I come away from the meal feeling that same high I get when exercising. About a half hour after eating, I have more energy, and it’s the good, solid kind of energy, not the shallow energy of simple carbs that is usually accompanied by a pit in my stomach. I even feel like my brain has been enlightened.

I’ve been very vague about food to this point, so I’m going to give you some examples of how I eat for those who’d like to know.

I cook from scratch.

I soak dry beans such as dark red kidneys, pintos, black turtle beans, Great Northerns, and make my own refried beans, soups, etc from them.

I cook unprocessed brown rice. (Not all brown rice is the same. Pacific is my favorite brand. Fred Meyer brand, for example, is mushy and gross).

I grind hard red wheat and make my own bread. We live off of that bread. All of my family prefers that bread to anything store bought. I even like my bread better than Great Harvest’s. It was years of bread making before I found this recipe, and I LOVE it. I make fluffy french toast with it. I also make whole wheat raisin cinnamon bread for toast. I use my fresh ground wheat flour to make pancakes.

I make granola using raw oatmeal, wheat germ, walnuts, honey, oil, brown sugar and dried raisins or cranberries. We eat it for breakfast frequently, and we eat it with soy milk. (West Soy is my favorite brand right now. I get really annoyed when a good brand changes their recipe and I have to hunt around for a good one again. I am not one that likes most soy milk).

Most everything I cook is made entirely from scratch. I use basic, unaltered or minimally altered foods from the earth. I make lentil soups, potato soups, minestrone soups, chilis, pasta sauces, etc that way, and they energize me.

I haven’t gone organic. So far, I haven’t felt the need to.

We don’t eat a lot of meat, mainly because we’re broke. But I like what the lack of meat has done to our diet. It has forced me to find more ways to use grains, beans, and vegetables. I have benefited from that.

I don’t believe in artificial substitutions. Man-made chemical substitutions for necessary food ingredients such as fats and sugars aren’t natural, and I believe they are harmful.

When we can afford it, I’d like to get a wheat grass juicer. I don’t know why, other than general common knowledge, I feel so strongly that I need it in my diet. I literally woke up one morning, some time ago, thinking that I needed to make wheat grass juice readily available. I haven’t done it yet.

I know I have gone on and on here. It is mainly for my benefit. It is inspiring for me to see how far I’ve come. This has been my New Year’s pep talk to myself. Many people will not have to go to such extremes to be healthy or to lose weight. For some reason, I have to. Many people lose weight by simply drinking more water. That didn’t do it for me, but I am confident I am significantly benefiting from drinking it. Many people lose weight from simply exercising more. That doesn’t do it for me, nor does only altering my diet. For me, it has been an all-encompassing journey. It is frustrating at times to be trying this hard, devoting so much energy to my health, and still being 75 pounds overweight. But this I do know… No effort has been wasted. By continually trying, listening, learning, and experimenting, I have slowly built a healthier lifestyle for myself that I will take with me forever. It has taken years to get to where I am now, and I will spend years working on it. Probably forever. But I can stand here today and see that I am doing better now, and have learned more, than I ever have before. More importantly, all other efforts, whether perceived as successful or not, have contributed to where I am now. They were all valuable. They were all worth it. I have learned much about myself, my health, my body, and how to live healthier. I anticipate that as I continue to try, I will continue to be the better for it.

I have high hopes for this year. I want to lose weight, obviously, but there are other things too. Many of which hinge upon my health improving. I have appreciated this Health Group. I have learned some good things. I enjoy the weekly check in. Thank you to all who have participated, and may this year be a great one!

Good morning! I did better this week!

Monday, I did weights and 50 minutes of treadmill.
Tuesday and Wednesday, I did treadmill.

That’s it for exercise, but I’m still happy with it. I hope to do better next week. I’ve been eating too much gingerbread and skipping meals. There’s definitely room for improvement there.

I’m a little distracted right now, as we have a friend over to look at our roof, which has been leaking for many months, and we’ve just been told that our sub-roofing, on more than half of our house, is molding. As in, we are completely screwed. I’m not very happy right now.

Are any of you successfully avoiding the dietary pitfalls of this time of year?

Well, I haven’t exercised. I haven’t been eating too good. The good news is that I’ve only gained a few pounds, like about three, so that’s nice. This sort-of-not-feeling-good is really holding me up, but I do legitimately feel much better. I think that next week will be a good one. I miss the exercise, I miss the vegetables and healthy eating. It is so stupid how, when I enjoy eating well, I still eat crap instead, just because it’s more convenient. Blah.

Anyway, I am very enthusiastic for next week. Strength and energy are returning.

Let me know how you’re week has been. Brag to me. I want to cheer for you!

Here we are, on another dark, cold, gloomy Saturday. How’s that for an opener? I bet you can guess how my week went. :-).

I didn’t have the amazing, productive week I had hoped for. I’m sick. I’ve been sick for a week now. Not sick enough to keep me from doing things. And that is the problem. If I had spent a few days in bed, drinking herbal tea and sleeping, I’d probably be all better now. But I didn’t. So I’m still kind of yucky. The only exercise that was had was on Thursday. I did a light treadmill for 35 minutes. I started to do my lower body weights that afternoon, but I got distracted and quit after my quads.

The happy news? I can cross my legs now. Isn’t that incredibly cool? There are probably many of you that can’t relate, but I am sure there are some out there who can. I’ve never been able to cross them well, I think because structurally, my legs are too close together. I paid attention to these things when I was younger. But for many years now, I couldn’t cross them at all. I am pleased to announce that I can cross them again. I don’t need to hear about spider veins. I know. But still, possessing the ability is worth cheering about! Hooray!

As usual, I’m hoping to do better next week. I hope you’re week has gone better than mine. How’s it going out there?

Good morning. I’m fighting some sort of evil, mid November illness, so I’m cranky.

Let’s see… this week kind of sucked by my Health Group standards.

Monday, I did treadmill and weights. Man, it felt good.
Tuesday, I did treadmill, and intended to do weights later, but I forgot we had a babysitter lined up for the evening, and I ran out of time.
Wednesday, I spent most of the day putting up the remaining Christmas decorations, because I was in the mood to, and then I spent the afternoon making 4 dozen crescent rolls (Mmmm) and it wasn’t until the evening that I remembered there was such a thing as exercise, and I was way tired.
Thursday was a holiday.
Friday was a holiday by association.

Blah. So, I ate loads of fat food, and I didn’t exercise worth a darn. How many weeks in a row am I going to claim to do better next week? And guess what!? This week is no exception…

I AM GOING TO DO BETTER NEXT WEEK!!! I have to.

The weird thing is that now that I’m off of my refined sugar and flour restriction, I’m not enjoying life any more than I was before. Goodies, while admittedly good, really aren’t very important. And, to be honest, the only reason I’m even eating them in quantity is because they are SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT than cooking super-uber healthy things from scratch like I usually do. It’s more like,

“Hmm, I’m getting hungry. Should I spend a half hour washing, drying, chopping, and assembling a yummy salad? or should I just pop that cookie into my mouth and call it good? Should I break out the homemade refried beans, heat them on the stove, grate cheese, chop lettuce and tomato, open a can of olives, and turn the oven on to heat my whole wheat tortillas to make a burrito? or should I grab a leftover crescent roll and slather some butter on it?” You see? It’s really not that I’m craving the junk. I’m tired of spending half of my life in the kitchen preparing food that my children will inevitably complain about anyway.

SO, I’m thinking about things. The scale, surprise surprise, is up a little bit. I’m 215 right now. I’m confident that it will drop back down once I start behaving myself again. I had a late night dinner consisting of “easy grab foods” last night, which is certainly affecting things. But what I’m thinking about is how I lost nearly 10 pounds in the 3 1/2 weeks of my refined carb fast. That is more enticing that the thought of being off of it. My intent is to give myself the weekend to play, then getting back to it, allowing myself exceptions for holiday events and social gatherings.

I want to get below 200 pounds. That is the new goal in sight. I have felt marvelous these last few weeks. I haven’t missed much by avoiding unhealthy foods. And seeing a smaller number nearly everyday on the scale makes me happier than any “lunch consisting of cookies” ever could.

The floor is now open. How’s it going out there ladies?

Brrrrr. It’s cold here this morning. And I have a headache. BUT…

Good morning everyone!

Monday, Tuesday, and Friday I did 50 minutes on the treadmill. It felt great getting back to it. Wednesday and Thursday I took off, due to an incident that landed me in the doctor’s office, but I appear to be all better now. (Be quiet, Gayle). I’ve been holding off on weights this week because of the injection I had last Monday. I figured I’d slowly build back up to my regular routine, and I’ll start weights next week. No sense in damaging myself, and I’ve felt pretty fragile since the procedure.

I’ve lost another couple of pounds, which pushes me over 30 POUNDS LOST!!! This is good news. This means I’m 1.5 pounds away from having lost 1/3 of the weight I want to lose. I was 213.5 this morning. I’m thrilled.

For those of you that have been with me since the beginning, and for others of you who have since clicked the link in the sidebar and read the very first Health Group post, you know that knitting has been very helpful as a motivator for this dedication to health and exercise. I’m dying to knit clothes for myself, and seeing so many wonderful patterns that are too small for me keeps me working. Well, I’m starting to see more clothes that will fit me. My chest measurement is 47 inches right now. I don’t remember exactly where it was when I started in January, I think 50 or 51, but at 47, I’m seeing some great patterns that would fit me! Plus, I’m happier with my body which increases confidence that I could make something that I would still like once I’m wearing it.

All of this translates to a lineup of sweaters I want to make for myself. My question is this…. It seems that my weight loss has picked up pace a bit recently. Should I start knitting my sweaters now, or should I wait awhile?

Right. Enough of me. How are you all doing out there? I’d like to thank you all for the comments and support on a weekly basis. This Saturday post continues to be a strength to me. Have a wonderful weekend.

Good morning. I don’t have much in the way of exercising to report. As in, nothing whatsoever. The truth is, I’ve been feeling quite fragile since the procedure on Monday. It hadn’t occurred to me previously that it’d be a good idea to take a week off from exercise while I recover, but that’s what ended up happening.

However… I lost a phenomenal amount of weight this week. I don’t think it is related to Monday’s hospital experience. In fact, I kind of went off the “no refined carbs” thing on Monday. On our way home from the hospital, we stopped at Spuds Fish and Chips in Juanita because I wanted some. Then after we were home, my sister-in-law made this fabulous chicken stew for us, with lots of potatoes. I ate them. Finally, my friend Gayle brought over a plate of her very yummy chocolate chip cookies. I probably ate about five. (Sorry Gayle, I keep forgetting to tell you. Thanks. They were good). The REST of the week, I’ve been good. And I’ve been loosing pounds steadily all week.

This morning, I was 215.5. I lost 5 1/2 pounds this week. I’m in shock, actually. At this point, I feel compelled to remind you that I’m not doing low carbs. I’m doing complex carbs. Last night for dinner, I had three large slices of my homemade, whole wheat, raisin cinnamon bread with butter, hot out of the oven, and a little bit of cold ham.

I am anxious to get back to exercising. I miss it. Monday should find me on the treadmill once again.

Soooooo, how are you all doing? I’ve had a few emails this week from new readers that have just discovered our Saturday group. Welcome! There are no rules. I, as you can tell, have no problem posting extremely personal information about myself. That is not necessary or required to participate. Feel free to use our group to the degree that it is helpful to you.

I’m still reeling a bit from what the scale has been telling me all week. It’s about freaking time! I’ve been working my butt off for months. That’s all I have to say.

Have a great week!

Good morning! How’s it going out there? I had an interesting week. The only formal exercise I got in was 55 minutes of treadmill on Thursday, and weights on Friday. I think that’s the worst week yet for exercise. However, I’m doing amazing with food. This was week one of my sugar purge. No sugar, no refined carbs. I took a break on Tuesday, as I said I would, for Nate’s birthday. Even then I didn’t do too bad. The rest of the week has been great. I feel good, aside from some pretty significant headaches.

Yesterday, when I put on my tightest pair of jeans, they weren’t tight! I’m pretty happy about that.

The sacrifice I was dreading the most when contemplating this sugar fast was hot chocolate. It’s been soooo cold. I’d recently started drinking hot chocolate regularly to keep me warm, and was really enjoying it. So, I went to the store and bought some of Stash’s Wild Raspberry Herbal Tea. (Two links there). Mmmmm. It is the only herbal tea I’ve found that doesn’t need sugar. It is fabulous all by itself, and it’s been doing the trick.

Tea parties and loose jeans. I think that’s a pretty good week!

This morning, the scale was at 221. So I get to update the sidebar again. That shaves off a mere half pound, however brings my total weight lost to 24 pounds. The funny thing is, I’ve noticed more of a physical difference in the last 4 pounds lost than in the first 20. I’ll take it though.

It’s been a good week. I expect to step up the exercise next week, and I’d LOVE to drop into the teens.

How is it going for you?

Good morning!

I was 221.5 again this morning, which is the lowest official weight I’ve hit so far. I’ve been eating sugar cookies much of the week, so I’ve got to knock that off. Which brings me to my big news of the day. I’m going to go off of sugar from November 1st to Thanksgiving. I did it two years ago, and actually enjoyed it. Then I woke up on Thanksgiving sick as a dog and was mad for four months. But I’ve moved on…..

SO, no sugar or refined carbs, which to me means white flour and white rice, for 25 days. Aside from the obvious health benefits, the reason I like to do this is because this is the time of year when bad eating can easily get out of control. Going on a purge restores self control. When I did this two years ago, it was not out of a desire to lose weight, it was because I was having a hard time moderating my sugar intake, and my body felt out of balance. I had to cleanse for awhile. During that time, I felt great, had more energy, and once it was over, I had the ability to eat holiday yummies in moderation without feeling (or behaving) like the tasmanian devil, devouring everything in sight and then hunting for more.

I have a couple of personal exceptions. Firstly, Nate’s birthday is November 2nd. I will probably cheat that day. Second, I will still eat my homemade bread which is 100% whole wheat, but is made with honey. I am allowing myself the honey that is in my bread. That’s it. Please note- this is not a low carb thing. I am going to be eating plenty of whole grains. I personally feel that the human body is supposed to eat grains. It’s the refined, processed crap that messes us up. And there’s my soap box.

Anyone want to join me?

And now, for the breakdown…

Monday, I didn’t exercise.
Tuesday, I did treadmill and weights. It felt really good, too.
Wednesday, treadmill and weights.
Thursday, treadmill.
Friday, I didn’t exercise because I was running around like a monkey doing Halloween things with the girls at school, then hauling off to Finchy Friday for what was a GREAT time! I met a woman named Kit who is hysterical, and conversation never lulled. My neighbor Julie was there, who is doing amazing things with her scarf (good job!), and there was Lisa, who is very fun as well.

Aside from the sugar cookies, I’ve been eating pretty good. How is it going for you?

Have a great Saturday. The sun is out, I’m a happy girl.