Friday Foodie: Lies Your Govt Tells You

In my continuing research for what is truly healthful for the body and doesn't put unnecessary stressors on the organs and cells to receive their nutrition, I have run across Fat Head and this article from Lew Rockwell.  Amazingly enough, I hadn't actually been trying to put this all together, it just all happened to fall right in my lap and what astonished me was how similar this two sources were.  Paired with what I know already, I just thought that I would share the info with you.

I really can't do either of them justice with a summary.  If you're low on time, start with the article, then plan an evening to watch Fat Head, the documentary rebuttal to Supersize Me.  The importance of this film is not that Naughton proves you can lose weight on fast food.  I am not a proponent of fast food and rarely ever eat it.  Part 2 of the documentary discusses how and why our government (FDA) lies to us about what we should be eating, the destruction of pertinent research, and how to get off your current medications if you have diabetes or cholesterol issues.

Just because a doctor has a doctorate doesn't mean he shouldn't be questioned.  It is your body and the quality of your life is at stake.  I'm not accusing doctors of purposefully lying to you and steering you in the wrong direction; I'm just saying that important information has been covered up so others can make money.  That means that medical residents are being taught the information the FDA and pharmaceutical companies want them to have.

Read and see for yourself - have an open mind.  It can be difficult to believe that these things can happen, but the powers that be no longer care about the common people - just take a look at what's happening in Washington right now. 

Fat Head is available on DVD and streaming from Netflix.

Weight Loss Wednesday - Shake It!

Shush already!  I know it's not Wednesday - just pretend.  So when I left Bootcamp last Friday, I stepped on the scale and it said 188.4.  Either Mom's scale is wrong, or I gained 3 lbs of muscle in 3 weeks.  Let's go with 3 lbs of muscle.  My measurements were as follows:

Bust: 43"                0"
Waist: 39"             -1"
Hips: 47"               -.25"
Arms: 14.25"         -.5"

Compared with the last set of measurements:
Start:                                      6/20:                                       Change:
Bust 43.5"                              43"                                              - .5"
Waist 41.5"                            40"                                              -1.5"
Hips 49"                                 47.25                                           -1.75"
Arm 15"                                 14.75                                           - .25"

Not bad for 3 weeks, especially with all that large muscle group work.  This week I've gone back to my DVD/TV routines, since now I have to kick my own butt.  My beautiful, gorgeous, skinny but also had 4 kids sister is a Zumba instructor.  She lives 3000 miles away, or else I would let her kick my butt (only for exercise reasons!).  But she was kind of enough to hook me up with some DVDs.  Zumba's been kicking my butt this week!  I just want to say that if you do 50 minutes of Zumba 5 days a week, you will lose inches - it just melts away.  If you don't know what it is, it's basically Latin dancing - salsa, meringue, some hip hop, all set to routines.  If you shake your butt while you are doing all this jumping around, you can actually feel your waist getting smaller.

These are my measurements this morning:
Bust: 42"                -1"
Waist: 38"              -1"
Hips: 46"                -1"
Arms: 13.75"         -.5"
I'm not kidding!!!!  The bootcamp measurements were taken Friday.  I took these this morning - I haven't done today's Zumba yet!  But I will in 10 minutes when I finish.

Small Victory:  I loved stilettos as a teen.  I used to vacuum the house in them - I wore them everywhere.  I haven't been able to wear any skinny heel for 15 years - even if it was only 1.5".  I've been stuck with flats, until the Wedge Revolution happened a couple of years ago.  Thank goodness for the 70s - wedges and platforms have given me the illusion that I was in heels for last 3 years.

Over the weekend, hubby wanted to go to Steinmart to buy a dress shirt for a wedding we are going to on Saturday.  I saw these shoes and I've been dying to try on a pair in this style for about a year, but could never get up the nerve.  I mean what's the point, I'll love how they look and then I'll break my ankle 45 seconds later.

Yep, Fergalicious!  I tried them on anyway.  They felt great and I COULD WALK in them without any problem!  I pranced around the store for 5 minutes without incident.  I couldn't believe it.  I can usually tell in less than 30 seconds that a heel is too narrow or too high to support my weight.  I was practically in tears!  I didn't buy them - not enough money on hand.  Maybe it was fluke.  So I went to RackRoom yesterday for Test 2.  I tried these on:

They had music on in the store - I danced inconspicuously between aisles for 5 minutes, then walked around for another 10.  No problems!  My high, narrow heel wearing days are back!  I am SOOOOO excited!  Thank you Bootcamp!  Thank you Zumba!  You are making my dreams come true!  After Saturday's wedding, I'll post a picture of me in the heels I bought for myself (neither of these).  Well, gotta go - Beto and his Calypso beat are calling me :)

Weight Loss Wednesday - Boot Camp Week 2 & 3

Okay, well I took last week off from blogging, but I did have an abbreviated Boot Camp.  They gave us Monday off for the holiday and boy, did I need it!  The 3 days off gave me time to languish in my pain and heal up a bit.  Once we started up again, I was still very sore after the workouts but I felt like my endurance was improving.

So far this week, we've been concentrating on heavy lifting and large muscle groups, so my knee is whacked again, but there's only 2 more days and I can consider myself a survivor.  I definitely feel muscle building, but I don't feel any inch loss - we'll see when I measure next week.  I like the idea of the Boot Camp.  I may do it again in the winter after I've had a chance to whittle away at the fat more.  I definitely don't want to build everything I have into muscle - need to lose more inches first.

Still disliking the skinny people there, but I feel progress is being made, so giving myself a pat on the lats for not ending up flat on the floor :)

I Feel Amazing!

I did it!  I made it through a whole week of bootcamp.  It was REALLY hard and I even thought about skipping out of it one night.  I was really sore all week.  Now after day 5 is complete, I'm not nearly as sore.  I still can't complete each exercise repetitions until the end, but I didn't collapse and I pushed myself to my limit. 

I feel great!  I've been getting amazing sleep and waking up fully refreshed an hour earlier than usual.  My food cravings are regulating what I eat and I'm finding that it's working.  I've been craving proteins and fruits on a more consistent basis.  I am eating carbs, but they are portion controlled.  I don't feel stuffed or sluggish.

My summer Latin and Chemistry classes are finished also.  And I managed to get the final grading done right away, so I feel mentally relieved as well.  I have so many summer projects I want to get to - a teacher's manual for Latin that I'm writing for homeschoolers, lesson planning for the new school year, sewing projects for my shop, and lots of fact finding for the American History class I'm teaching this Fall.

I'm ready to take it all on - I feel good mentally and physically.  Next weekend, I'm taking my boys on vacation to the annual sci-fi convention - so psyched!  Feeling good feels good :)  Still busier than I should be, but I feel like I'm taking care of me.

Weight Loss Wednesday - Boot Camp Week 1

I'm broken.  I'm writing as I'm getting to go in for day 3 of 5 this week and I'm already broken.  I shudder to think what would've happened to me if I hadn't started working out a month ago!  Most of the people doing this have done it many times and are within their correct body weight ranges, which of course, makes me feel horribly inferior.  They are sweating and puffing as much as I am - the difference is that they are completing each set of exercises.  I'm not.  I would be in the hospital if I tried to keep up.  What have they done to me so far?

Day 1 Strength
5 Stations - 5 minutes each, 3 exercises each, 50 reps each exercise.
So this was not on machines, but rather these hideous moves like Mountain Climbers and Burpees, planks and sprints, and all sorts of jumping around and using things like kettle bells and rubber tubes.
Very sweaty and not so bad until I woke up the next morning and couldn't move well.

Day 2 Conditioning
6 Stations - 2 exercises each, 45 seconds spent on each one - twice
This was supposed to be the light day, I was told.  Bah!  Jumping jacks, push ups, reverse lifts and lunges, etc.  More sweat and a quickly deteriorating knee last night.  I think I've already made the decision to not go to Thursday's class, because I'm worried about my knee.  We'll see how I feel after Day 3's workout.

Day 3 Strength
6 stations - 1 exercise, 50 seconds, 10 second rest to move to the next station - 4 rounds
Oh sweet blessed relief!  It was arms day!  Okay, yes I still sweat like a pig, and was shaking from the effort; but at least my knee was spared.  We did rows, lifts, plank rows, and other nifty things involving weights and bands.  I was silently cursing - others were grunting out loud with each exertion.  Sweat was flying everywhere - quite nasty if you ask me.  BUT, I did it!  And since my knee got a reprieve, I will go tomorrow night.

P.S. They have a scale there.  I didn't get on it - I'm a little frightened.  Maybe I'll do it next week.  Blaise says I look like I should be losing 1 pound a day from all the sweat that comes off me.  Wouldn't that be nice?

Friday Foodie: A Typical Day of Organics

In today's Friday Foodie, I thought I'd share with you a typical day in my diet.  Now, when I use the word "diet", I don't mean that I'm on some menu trying to lose weight or even counting calories.  I'm just letting you know what a food day is like for me.  I'm choosing yesterday's meals because it was a particularly busy day and I didn't feel like cooking.  I'm sure many people can relate to that!

After workout and shower, I had a 20 oz. glass of water and 2 hard boiled eggs with salt.  I find that I really crave proteins only after my workout.  Just that little bit fills me up until lunchtime.  The days that I ignore my protein craving and have cereal instead, I'm usually ready for a snack 2 hours later.

3.5 hours later, it's lunch time.  I made a salad with green and red leaf organic lettuce (never use iceberg - it has no nutrients; it's just a ball of crunchy water), black olives, dried cranberries, bacon bits, organic tomatoes, shredded colby jack, and sliced chicken I had grilled the night before.  Quick, easy, and no heat necessary!  I had blue cheese dressing - not light, just regular yummy blue cheese dressing :)

3 hours later, got home from school and the kiddies were screaming for smoothies.  Why not?  I used frozen blueberries, 100% Juice Cherry Pomegranate juice (for extra vitamins!), and raspberry sherbet.  Delish and filling!

3 hours later, chicken sausage cooked and crumbled, sauteed onions over hash browns (potatoes run through my salad shooter) and a side of scrambled organic eggs with cheese.

2 hours later, 2 handfuls of baked Cheese Nips while watching Eureka.

At some point during the day, I had about 4 other glasses of water, 1 glass of iced tea, and half a glass of grape Fanta.  I try not to fight my cravings - that just makes them spiral out of control.  I'm not an emotional eater, so I usually only eat when I'm hungry.  I try to make sure that my portions are within recommended guidelines, but that doesn't always work - most of the time it does though.  I just can't put off eating until I'm starving because that's when I eat waaayyyy too much.

So that's it :)

Weight Loss Wednesday - Baby Steps

Well, I'm actually amazed that I've made it this far. Usually, I would've given up by now, since I hate sweating and I'm tired from the one million things I have to do. So Yay me! Small victory - I'm still working out 4 or 5 mornings a week. On Mon/Wed/Fri, I usually go for the 45 - 60 minute workout, Pilates, Yoga, or some Core strength routine. Tues/Thurs (I have school classes at 10am) I do 25-30 minute cardio - jump around, dance/sculpt. Comcast has a variety of workouts in the On Demand section, and they vary every 3-4 weeks. I also found that ExerciseTV has a few free downloadable workout plans. You can more if you buy a subscription, but the free ones correspond to the On Demand workouts, so it takes the guesswork out of it. I have one that I want to start, but I'm waiting.

Back in October, I had bought a Groupon deal for one of my local gyms - 3 week Express Bootcamp. They were completely overwhelmed by the number of deals bought and are just now getting to me. My Bootcamp starts on Monday, 6/27. I figure that will kick my butt pretty fiercely, so ExerciseTV can wait a month. I'm actually a little scared about this bootcamp. They SAY all fitness levels, but I don't believe that. So I'm really glad that I've already been working out for a month, because this blog might've been coming to you from the hospital.

So you want to know how I'm progressing?

Start:                                    6/20:                                 Change:
Bust 43.5"                            43"                                          - .5"
Waist 41.5"                          40"                                         -1.5"
Hips 49"                               47.25                                    -1.75"
Arm 15"                             14.75                                        - .25"
I think I'm ready to go down one size in underwear, but I'm gonna hold out a little while longer :) Wanted to share a little tidbit with you - I read somewhere on the web a couple of years ago that if you stick with your workout during PMS week, you actually lose 30% more fat that week than any other week of the month. Don't remember where I saw that, but I'm going with it.

So there it is, I'll give you more stats AFTER the Bootcamp (provided I'm not writing from the hospital!)

Friday Foodie: Organics on a Tight Budget

So you want to start buying organic and farm fresh food, but you're on a tight budget. Let's face it, the convenient organic foods sold at your local grocery store are typically much higher in cost than their preservative and chemical filled counterparts. This falls into one of my many conspiracy theories to keep the little and middle people down, but we won't go there right now. If you bought all organic products at your local store, it is likely that your weekly grocery bill would increase significantly - possibly by as much as 50% in some areas.

What's a poor girl to do? There are a few ways to incorporate more organics into your diet without breaking the bank. Here are a few:
Farmer's Markets: There are farmer's markets everywhere. Some even travel to a location near you! If you have no idea where to find your local market, just check out Local Harvest and Eat Wild. By entering your zip code, you can find what's available near you. If you are in Virginia or Montana, you can also take a look at Lulu's Local Food. They connect farms within a region with a customer base through online ordering. Your order (which may have items from several different farms) is picked up and delivered to one of several nearby central drop-off points. How's that for convenience!
Join a CSA: CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a wonderful way to begin your organic adventure! Through a search on Local Harvest, you may find that there are farms in your area (within a 30-mile radius) that are looking for loyal customers. You purchase a seasonal subscription, maybe $300-$500 for a six-month time period, usually payable in installments. That money is then held in an account in your name for you to draw upon at a local drop off point. For example, week 1 I go to the drop-off point, do a little browsing, fill up a basket, go to checkout, and (since I have a big family) $30 is deducted from my account. I've bought enough produce for a couple of weeks, so I don't need to go during week 2, and that's just fine - no penalty or lost money. Each CSA is run differently, so you'll have to check with the various ones in your area to see which one is right for you. The good news is that the pricing for produce is typically the same as or slightly less than what you are paying for non-organics in the grocery store. Your money stays local (helping the local economy); you are keeping a farmer gainfully employed doing what he loves so he doesn't have to convert his farm into an ethanol field to get government subsidies; and, you know where your food has been (many times the farmers have family parties at the farm or ask for volunteer harvest help) and that it was grown without chemicals and has not been irradiated for preservation. This is win-win-win.
Stock up: When organic dry goods or frozen foods in your grocery store go on sale, stock up. It does happen - look for it.
Read labels: If you can't buy pre-packaged organic foods, or your budget is especially tight this week. Read the labels carefully of the non-organic selections. The Kroger/Fry's family of supermarkets offers their Private Selection store brand for very reasonable pricing and many times doesn't contain some of the big no-no's. Try to avoid: high fructose corn syrup, monosodiumglutimate, carrageenan, partially hydrogenated anything, and any words that have 4+ syllables that you can't pronounce.

One important fact that you must wrap your head around, and I know it will be difficult, is that foods advertised as low fat, non fat, or diet foods will be filled with all the no-no's. I know you've been told for the last 30 years that this is the way to be healthy and lose weight. It's a lie. The human body is meant to easily process animal (butter, cream, bacon) and plant (vegetable, canola, peanut oils) fats. As a matter of fact, animal fats work in harmony with certain vegetables to bring more of their nutritional values to your blood stream. This means that bacon and spinach were meant to go together - that's why they taste so good together! The animal fat helps your body extract and keep more of the vitamin A from the spinach - it's the same with broccoli and cheese (not low or non fat).

That's enough for today, we'll talk more later. I know that's a lot for you to digest :)