Week 15 down 46 lbs and counting

Finally, I found Betty Lite bread... it took 15 weeks, but I managed to find it.

The elusive 100% whole wheat bread that yields you 2 full slices per day (more tangible food than any other bread item) can be found in Ottawa at the Produce Depot on Carling Ave, or at the Independent Grocer on Bank Street by Hunt Club. Its not on the Gatineau side, thats for sure. What a nice change it is to finally have some toast for breakfast, or a cold cut sandwich for lunch. Mmmmmm

I was quite tired this week though. It may have been the combination of work burnout and just waiting for vacation to come, or the diet. I was being lazy and taking my K-Lite tablets twice daily. However, the nurse on Friday told me to break it up quarterly - the K-Lite is so fast acting that my body probably needs he more frequent intake throughout the day to help with the energy level. Im not so sure about that. Its Saturday today, and my first day of vacation. Im still feeling quite bagged. (Note to Reader: As luck would have it, after writing this, Aunt Flo paid a visit. I shouldve known, since that usually knocks out my energy...)

I learned a valuable lesson though that you just cant put anything past the ketosis-o-meter. I attended a gathering on Tuesday night with colleagues and nibbled on what looked to be an innocuous cracker. However, after one tiny nibble, the pumpernickle, sunflower seed and obviously sugar-encrusted morsel stopped my fat-burning cold. My punishment? Two days relegated to diet isolation for me from the nurses - no fruit for two whole days. My consolation? I could load up on three jello cups in lieu. Hmmmm....

Luckily after my two days fruit-penance I was back to a two (++) burn and didnt seem to lose and fat-burning momentum.

As a treat, I started my vacation last night with a jaunt to the National Arts Centre last night to see the touring Broadway production of Grease. A super show, with a special treat of meeting Taylor Hicks of American Idol fame. I like his music, so as I sent my son in line to get a CD signed, Taylor glanced up at me and gave me a nice warm smile and we locked eyes. Feeling like a million bucks in my skinny jeans and jacket, I felt like a million bucks. What a handsome guy...how attractive I felt!

Plus, when I came home, my mom had arrived for a visit for the period of our vacation. I hadnt seen her for four months - since before I started the diet. She was utterly dumbfounded when I walked into the house. She said "wow, what a difference - how beautiful I looked - that I looked fantastic." My mother-in-law was also visiting this week and whispered in my ear that she was so proud of me. It makes me feel good to know others see the difference.

Every weigh-in day I come home and proudly say to my husband, "Guess what I weigh now!?" On Friday he smiled lovingly at my exhortation of "161"as my new lowest weight, then tongue-in-cheek says" Not good enough!" We both know my goal is 140, so he eggs me on to keep going, all the while giving me a nice smack on the butt. Our little game.

However, Im proud most of myself - to give myself this gift of health and to let me return to my sense of self and image.

And so, with a final leg of 21 lbs to go - a little over 1 month left - I can honestly say that Im not in the homestretch, but in it for the longhaul.

Ill never be finished with the Bernstein program. Once I reach my goal weight I will be a lifer.

I never want to lose this again - my health or my shape or my happiness.

Only 21 more lbs to go (or a little more than one month left) to reach my goal of 140. Steady she goes....

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Week 19 57 lbs down and only 10 more to go!!

Image by karen.tkr via Flickr

Im jumping for joy with a spring in my step. Im officially down to 150 today.

Do you know what that means?

10 more pounds until I reach my goal weight of 140! Holy S&%*!!

I was so good this weekend. We had a Friday lunchtime soccer match with some colleagues (in the 30+ 0C heat) and got in some good cardio for a half hour. Then for the weekend, I did some walking and stuck to the diet religiously (of course.) That yielded a good 3 lb drop for todays weigh-in.

Its interesting though. Ive cut back my liquids to 2 litres only - and really spaced it out throughout the day. I didnt have any pop (no Diet Coke or Coke Zero) and took 2 Senokot.S tablets with each meal, which really kept things moving. I have come to realize that the Aspartame holds is the water retainer and evil culprit to my weight loss success. Good riddance!

I checked my urine with the pee-sticks (my very technical term) a few times a day and I was a consistent 2 (++) burn. Not bad.

Anyway, I go for my Maintenance Consultation tomorrow to see what the revised diet holds that Ill be on and see what I can reintegrate. I reall yhope I see some popcorn and maybe a glass of wine in there somewhere...

140s - here I come!

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Two Down Paleo Wrap Up

I have been remiss in my blogging due to a couple of nutty weeks at school, but I am here to try to remedy that. I finished Paleo two days ago and have already moved on to my (mostly) Raw Vegan diet.

While there were several aspects of Paleo I enjoyed, there were also some major issues I had with the diet that made it problematic. As I did with Atkins, I provide you with my Pros and Cons list of Paleo:

Pros                                                                         Cons

Emphasis on Fresh Foods                                         Restrictive

No "Counting"                                                          Unclear Rules

Athlete Friendly                                                         Lack of Satiety

(Lots of cooking)                                                       (Weight Loss)


The absolute best and greatest redeeming quality to Paleo, in my opinion, is its emphasis on eating high quantities of fresh, clean foods, especially vegetables. Any diet which pushes foods that are natural, unprocessed, and healthy earns major points in my book. Likewise, one can eat as many of these clean foods as they want; there is very little counting or calorie tracking on Paleo.

Personally, I enjoyed how often I had to cook on Paleo, but then again, I like to cook. On my busiest days, when time is an issue, the amount of time I spent in the kitchen was a bit frustrating, but well worth it. Being fully in control of the foods going into my body, knowing the ingredients and in what quantities, gave me a full knowledge of just how many great vitamins and minerals I was getting to consume. For someone with not a lot of time to spend preparing food, Paleo could be tough, it requires dedication.

For the athlete in me, Paleo left me with plenty of energy for exercise and long workouts were no longer a problem, except that they made me all the more hungry. Unfortunately, in my case, I was hungry all the time on Paleo. As I may have mentioned before, this is something that may be entirely my fault, as I do not eat ninety percent of the proteins that are the very cornerstone of Paleo. My mom, full meat eater that she is, said she had no problems with hunger; Paleo left her feeling fully satisfied (in the hunger sense).

Now when it comes to satisfying cravings, Paleo fails rather miserably. Both my mom and I have a pretty big sweet tooth, and about the sweetest food you can eat on Paleo is a berry. This leads to binges and so-called "cheating." Now, Paleo allows for a 85-15 split on Paleo vs. non-Paleo eating. Basically, it tells you to cheat within reason. Unfortunately, this can, at times, lead to the individual consumption of and entire mini-bundt cake or a full Dennys pancake breakfast. (those may or may not have been me)

My mom also struggled a bit with the clarity of the Paleo rules, trying to decide whether or not a particular food is sufficiently processed, to be considered "processed," was a tough issue for her. Unlike Raw Vegan, there are no clear cut rules for determining the proper degree of naturalness necessary from a food. Now, in her case, my mom stated she did lose weight on Paleo, on the order of a couple pounds per week. I, on the other hand, gained weight on Paleo.

However, despite the fact that I gained weight on Paleo, I did not gain dimension, which indicates to me that I may have converted some of my fat to muscle mass, thereby increasing my weight without increasing my size. The emphasis of Paleo on quality sources of protein and on mineral and vitamin rich foods most likely allowed for this conversion. I am certainly not going to complain about some numbers on a scale if my pants still fit.

In the end, Id say I like Paleo as a diet principle, with its clean eating and higher protein intake, but in practice, it comes with several strong issues. Paleo may yet earn a lasting place in the lifestyle diet field, but I do not think it has anything particularly unique or special to offer to the individual that another diet couldnt provide equally well. If Paleo appeals to you, and you think it might work with your lifestyle, by all means, give it a try. From a nutritional and personal standpoint I can say that Paleo certainly does more good than harm and is far healthier than many diets out there.

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One Down Three to Go Atkins Wrap Up

Fall has finally arrived here in earnest, leaves are blooming colors, air is crisper, days are growing shorter, and I have reached my last day of Atkins. Its amazing how quickly the last three weeks have flown by. Despite many of my issues on Atkins, I am stunned at how quickly it has become habit. I know the carbohydrate counts of almost all of my favored foods and its easy to keep track and make the right choices in terms of my hunger, nutritional needs and cravings.

While I may have complained a bit about Atkins and its restrictive limitations, its not the demon I have, in fits of anger, made it out to be. But neither is it all sunshine and rainbows; like many things, there are both upsides and downsides to Atkins.

Here are, in my experience, the benefits and drawbacks :

Benefits :                                                                     Drawbacks :

- Rapid weight loss                                                       - Restrictive 

- Easy to follow                                                            - Not athlete friendly 

- Filling                                                                         - Requires carbohydrate counting 

If Im being honest, Atkins was much easier than I thought it would be. While I knew there were plenty of foods I had to say no to, including freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in my chemistry class, the fact that I could go home and eat plenty of allowed foods made it much easier to resist. I didnt feel like I had to hungry all the time, a rarity on many diets. The rules of allowed and forbidden foods are simple, and require no guesswork. 

On the other hand, I very much dislike the weakness I feel when it comes to working out. I feel fine on a normal, walking around basis, but most activities that substantially raise my heart rate seem much more difficult. Ketosis is not athlete friendly. (Not that Im a full blown athlete, but Im extrapolating here) I also have found Ive gotten kind of bored with the foods I am allowed to eat. While I have pushed myself to eat more of the items on the Atkins list that I would normally avoid, there are only so many items on that list. 

Atkins certainly has a place in the modern lifestyle diet field, as its weight loss, during induction, may well be unparalleled. For a person with a lot of weight to loose, Atkins might be a good way to kickstart that loss. Especially in a culture that places so much emphasis on processed sugar, it would certainly be educational to be forced to avoid almost all forms of refined carbohydrate, replacing the carbs with more nutritionally sound food. 

However, from a nutritional standpoint, I shudder to think of how many saturated fats and processed foods I have consumed on Atkins. Though I understand most people (myself included) would go stir-crazy without some form of sugar in their lives, I simply cannot endorse sugar substitutes as being in any way healthy. Likewise, Atkins allows foods like diet sodas, mayonnaise, gelatin desserts and cream, many of which, in my opinion, shouldnt really be a part of a truly healthy diet. 

Perhaps this is why, during my research I have come to admire some of the theory behind Paleo, which I begin tomorrow. Paleo emphasizes natural, unprocessed foods. Type of macromolecule aside, (carbohydrate, fat or protein) it is apparent to me that the best foods are the most natural ones. Well see how Paleo fares under my very intense scrutiny. Until tomorrow!

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