the weight loss papers

I’ve been steadily working on some major projects, causing a sort of “unexcused absence” from this blog over the past few weeks. Well, that, and the kids were on spring break April 7-11. I had planned to write some advanced posts for this blog and somehow never had the time.

So, anyway - not much has happened on the weight loss front. I’ve been continuing to experiment with the suggestions in the candida article I read a while back including adding flax seed to my foods, staying away from “white” foods (bread, rice, potatoes, etc), eating no dairy products (except pizza last week for my oldest sons birthday) and drinking plenty of veggie juice and smoothies as well as cutting out sugars.

Although I still have not had any significant success with it, there are some small successes that I’m pleased enough with to keep going on it. I’ve also added some Niacin (aka, Vitamin B3) to my supplements for heart health and have also added a fiber supplement.

One of the things I like best so far are the “blended salads” I’ve been drinking. (I wrote about those in one of my last posts.) I’ve found a concoction that is really tasty -

• A handful of 50/50 Spring Mix (pre-mixed, bagged salad)
• A handful of Baby Spinach
• 1-2 tablespoons ground Flax Seed
• 2-3 cloves minced Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• Half of a medium sized Apple, seeded and cored
• 1 tablespoon psyllium powder (can use a fiber supplement like Metamucil or something)
• 10-12 ounces of water

Every once in a while, I’ll put some horseradish in there to give it some kick. It’s pretty good. I’ve been drinking this once or twice a day. Be warned, though, that if you use extra Spinach (there’s already some in the Spring Mix), you’ll need a pretty high powered blender as the Spinach can get pretty heavy and stringy when it’s wet and has a tendency to wrap itself around the blades. It doesn’t work so well in my Bullet Blender, but it does just fine in my regular, full size, multi-speed Oster.

Ok . . . let’s see . . . what else have you missed?

Oh, I know!

I made an incredibly delicious oatmeal bread last week. Even my picky 10 year old son who only wants to eat white bread, ate it. It was SO good! In fact, I’ve got to make some more soon. I’ll share the recipe later this week. I’d take a picture of it for you, but 3 year old seems have taken off with my SD card for camera and the camera won’t download pics to my computer without it. Hopefully I’ll find it soon. Maybe my 14 year old would let me borrow hers? Hmmm . . . will have to ask. (Unless I get lucky and she reads this post. Can I borrow your camera, sweetie? Please?)

Well, speaking of the 3 year old terrorizer, I hear him messing with something in the bathroom. I’d better go see what mess he’s left for me to clean up . . .

Note to self - don’t scream too loudly.

Til later,
Annie

As I mentioned in the post on candida, I planned to try the suggestions made by the article I read and then Steve from Gold Flax Seed posted a tip in the comments about flax seed so I think I’ll try that as well. I do take an Omega 3 fish oil supplement already but I’m wondering if I should up that dosage or just add the flax seed. Will research that.

I generally eat Bob’s Red Mill’s 7-Grain Cereal for breakfast and it does already have some flax seed in it. I could likely add a bit more - a tablespoon, perhaps? - and that would increase the Omega 3 also.

As for the veggie juice, I’ve been drinking about 3 glasses a day for the past few days of the Isagenix HealthyGreens. It’s got kind of a licorice flavor which is ok but it can be overwhelming sometimes. Still not real sure if it’s helping yet. I’m sure it’ll take the full 10 days that is recommended in the info I found last week.

Also been eating/drinking tomato soup prepared with water. It’s also an Isagenix product that I had sitting around. It doesn’t taste that great so I only mix in one scoop instead of two as directed but it does taste considerably better that way. Add a little cayanne pepper for an added kick.

Speaking of cayenne pepper - have you ever followed the lemon juice cleanse? I don’t, but I do drink the lemon juice (using the recipe in the Detox Diet by Elson Hass) with a bit of cayenne once a day. It actually tastes pretty good.

If you have followed the cleanse, let me know what you think of it and if it helped you any. I’ve heard mixed responses.

Til next time,

~ Annie

Yesterday I mentioned that my plan includes some elements from a variety of resources that I’ve been studying and today I’d like to share that plan briefly with you.

My plan is broken down into a few categories - food, activity, supplements and mindset.

Let’s start with food.

I’ve learned that eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day helps control cravings and hunger. It also helps me to eat foods in the right proportions. I really like this way of eating and is in fact similar to how my mom always planned our family meals when I was growing up. Now, I must say - my mom is a nutrition expert and has never had an ounce of fat on her in her life. She’s in her 50’s and still weighs just about what she did when she was 18.

Eating on a particular schedule really helps as well. As such, here’s the plan I try to follow every day:

6:30 - 7:00 am - Breakfast (meal 1)

9:30 - 10:00 am - Brunch (meal 2)

12:30 - 1:00 pm - Lunch (meal 3)

3:30 - 4:00 pm - Snack (meal 4)

6:30 - 7:00 pm - Dinner (meal 5)

9:00 - 9:30 pm - Snack (meal 6) **IF** needed

You may have heard some health experts say not to eat after 6 pm and for many people who are eating 3 regular meals per day, that’s probably sound advice. However, when you’re eating 5 small meals per day, it’s not such a big issue really. The key for me here is to remember that each meal needs to only be roughly 250 - 280 calories. This way, I get about 1200 - 1400 calories per day which is what is recommended for a person of my height/weight following a weight loss plan.

The one rule that most health gurus advise that I do stick to, is no eating within 2-3 hours before bed. Since I go to bed between 11:30 and midnight most nights, it’s not a problem if I *do* need to have a small snack around 9 pm.

In addition to that, there are some other strategies I follow but I’ll post those later since this is just an overview.

Moving on to activity.

Working out in the morning is incredibly beneficial. I’ve found that when I work out first thing - and I do mean FIRST thing — before breakfast, before coffee even - it works. I feel better, have more energy and actually eat LESS. The best part is, it’s been scientifically proven (if I remember correctly, in the Journal of American Medicine was a study some time ago) that when you exercise first thing in the morning, your body actually burns an extra 300 + calories! It also helps boost your metabolism and keep it up all day.

I also walk 1.5 miles in the morning after breakfast taking the kids to school and another 1.5 miles in the afternoon when I pick them up. It’s a great way to get in some extra exercise and the kids enjoy it. Plus, it gets us out in the fresh air and allows our bodies to get the much needed Vitamin D from the sun.

Additionally, I do a stretching and toning routine in the evenings on occasion. This includes using the stability ball and hand weights. I’ve found it to be very relaxing and helpful to sleeping well. I try to do this around 8:00 pm or so. And I do try to be sure to get it in within 2-3 hours before bed as exercising too close to bedtime can cause insomnia.

There’s a little more to it, but that’s basically it. I’ll share my full routine in the coming days.

The next category is supplements.

Having a good vitamin supplement is essential. Our foods have become depleted of some of their base nutrients in recent years due to poor soil quality and over harvesting. Plus, many of us just don’t eat the right foods all the time. Getting enough vegetables and fruits to get ALL of the necessary vitamins our body requires on a daily basis is difficult. I use a handful of vitamins every day and space them out with my meals. They include:

• Fish Oil
• Calcium
• A multi vitamin
• CoQ 10
• A supplement with Spirulina and other trace minerals
• Yogurt with live cultures
• Flaxseed Oil

I also take a few supplements to help with various things like cholesterol and heart health, kidney health, etc such as read yeast rice, garlic and cranberry.

There’s not really much else to tell here. I do think it’s absolutely beneficial to take a quality multi vitamin if nothing else.

And we come to mindset.

Perhaps you’re wondering what mindset has to do with weight loss and that’s a good question.

For me, it’s about connecting with the Universe, learning to love myself, keeping stress in check as well as keeping motivated to stay with my plan. I don’ think one can truly lose weight and keep it off without some sort of mental balance.

I have a gratitude journal I write in daily as well as meditations I do throughout the day that help keep me mentally awake, balanced and joyful. It’s truly about a lifestyle change, not just losing weight.

This is definitely a subject I will continue to explore and write about on this blog.

So, that’s basically it! That’s my plan. And I’ll expand on these things later but I hope this gives a good overview of what I’m doing on this journey.

Thanks for reading!

~ Annie