Off-track with the supplements - bad

Okay, so while I was fully on all my supplements, I guess I wasn't just peeing expensive water.

I laid off the vitamins and supplements since I went on vacation, just to see what would happen to me. It's been over a month since I took anything and I feel like crap! I don't remember feeling like this before I started taking them all. It was a slow build of supplements and now I don't really remember which one is for what. (There must be a supplement for that.) So I'm going to write it all down here and then I can refer back to it.

• PB 8, a pro-biotic acidophilus by Nutrition Now. 2 capsules every morning, on an empty stomach, to support digestive health. 
• Bayer Low Dose Aspirin. I take two to prevent clots. This is the only medication I take and it was prescribed by my doctor because I have type 2 diabetes and this is supposed to help with heart health.
• Alive! Once Daily Women's 50+ Ultra Potency Multi-vitamin by Nature's Way. One tablet (giant horse pills!) 100%+ RDA on everything but calcium and magnesium.
• Proβeta by PharmaTerra. 2 capsules in the morning, 1 in the evening. To support and rejuvenate the pancreas.
• Porcine Thyroid by Nutri-Meds. 2 capsules in the morning, 2 in the afternoon. To support thyroid.
• Adrenal by Nutri-Meds. 1 tablet in the morning. To support adrenal.
• Potassium Citrate by NOW. 1 capsule 3 times a day. To support electrolyte balance and helps with blood pressure. (I also eat foods rich in potassium like kale, chard, bananas, mushrooms, turnip greens.)
• Oreganol Oil of Wild Oregano. 1 gel cap. As an antiviral and antibacterial, plus added anti-inflammatory. (I also use Greek oregano in my salads every day.)
• Cranberry 2000 mg by Nature's Bounty. 2 caplets, three times a day. For urinary tract health.
• Dandelion Root by Nature's Way. 3 capsules as a diuretic. Helps blood pressure.
• Liver Blend SP-13 by Solaray. 1 capsule, for liver support
• Kelp Caps by NOW. 1 capsule, for thyroid support. Provides iodine.
• Pomegranate Extract by Source Naturals. 2 tablets twice a day. Antioxidant plus stimulates skin's collagen production.
• GTF Chromium by Nature's Way. 1 capsule. Helps balance blood sugar.
• Cinnamon Bark by NOW. 2 capsules, twice a day. Anti-fungal/viral/parasitic/inflammatory, plus helps regulate blood sugar, especially in conjunction with chromium, and a good source of manganese.
• Silent Night with Valerian by Nature's Way. 4 capsules an hour before bedtime. (By the way, these smell terrible!) Helps me keep my circadian rhythm in the groove.
• Vitamin D-3 by NOW. 1 softgel per week, because I don't spend a lot of time in the sun.

I started taking my supplements again yesterday. I still feel pretty yucky, but today I'm feeling just a little more energized than usual. I gained 10 lbs in the last two days (funny how I'm burying that info so far down in this post), but all my size 24 clothes still fit me. My hands and other joints are swollen and hurt a lot, so there's a lot of inflammation going on. Very likely some serious water retention. Because I did NOT even eat half of the 35,000 calories in the last few days that would have been required to gain this much so quickly.

What I did differently this last week was to increase fruit. I also caved to some carbs that I don't usually have. So I know this water weight is from the carbs needing to hang on to some water. Not going to be disheartened. Just keep moving, back to eating on plan, keep drinking water, keeping the sodium low. I think the struggle with water will continue until I'm done with menopause. My period is now coming every two weeks, but it's not as heavy as it was earlier in the year.

What do I do with all my unused feminine products? There must be someplace I can donate them.

I'm having one of those weeks...

The food plan, not feelin' it.

The fitness plan, not feelin' it either.

Hoping going to Pilates will get me out of my funk. I don't have anything mind-blowing to share, nothing new to report really. I weighed in at 297 a couple days ago, but it's not impressing me much. I think this is the summer doldrums. I get reverse S.A.D., and I'm much crabbier in the summer than I am in the winter. (And my oldest says, "Mom, please point out to me how you're more crabby now than during the winter, because I don't see the difference.")

Actually, I want to nap. My sleep cycle is way off. So I'm turning off my computer and I'll have a lie down for an hour and then I'll go to Pilates. Since I'm already dressed for it. And I wrote it down in a public place and am sending it out to the world and people will hunt me down and drag my ass to class if I miss another one.

In the meantime, a little thought-provoking reading for you...

PS) Sheri, Rhyan wants to come over to swim tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay?

299 and holding

I had a self-indulgent holiday weekend, so I knew better than to step on the scale on Tuesday morning. I spent a couple days getting back on track with lower calories, upped water intake, sleep patterns. I don't do well during the summer. I have that S.A.D. that happens when there's too much sunlight, heat and humidity. I need an air conditioner for my bedroom, because the house's a/c doesn't make it quite all the way to the back of the house. I tried to get up early to exercise when it's cooler. I'm going to have to shoot for something like 5 a.m. That still doesn't add up to enough sleep!

However, despite all of that, I am still clinging to 299 lbs. And my size 24 pants.

I've not been back to Pilates since I left for my vacation. When I return, I am going to be so sore! I'm hoping by morning. I've been busy with my mother's medical dramas this week. She has a way of killing my motivation! But this blog is about me! The other blog is about her!

For the weekend, I intend to get back into Pilates, weight training and cardio with some fun DVDs that I have. Not going to go nuts and kill myself, but I don't want to be overly sore after I go back and risk losing out on the benefits because my muscles are cranky. And I think this is going to be a very low carb weekend. Last weekend was a higher than normal carb/calorie weekend. It's only fair to balance this out.

I think I may be adding some tabs at the top of my blog soon. Recipes, book and dvd reviews, stuff like that. What do you think?

Oh happy day!

299!!!!!!!

Didn't gain, didn't lose...

Others are telling me that I did good by having maintained my weight while on vacation. I'm trying to talk myself into being happy with that. But I am happy that I went, and I feel pretty damn good right now. Creativity is back (yeah!), enthusiasm for life is flowing again...I'm even motivated about getting right back into the weight loss routine.

On Facebook, someone posted my high school picture (we're ramping up to a reunion in a few weeks). Well, at least I'm still that tall. And my hair looks better now. If only I had another five years to get back down to that weight before the reunion. Really, that girl looks great! But inside, she was so clueless, confused about where to go, and her self-esteem was really low. I felt so huge, and powerless.

I wonder what I'm going to look like when I get to goal weight. I'm hoping I look a lot more toned, more definition in my shoulders, arms and back. Hope my thighs are smaller. My stomach should be flatter too, because back then, I had hardly any core strength. I had no ambition for becoming more athletic or even active. I feel very different about that now.

My summer goals:

1. Stay on track with the intermittent fasting. It works for me.
2. Stay on track with keeping carbs low. That also works for me.
3. Get back to the exercise. Pilates tomorrow night, plus daily aerobic activity and weight training.

I slipped into my size 24 pants while I was away. They all fit! Yippee! Shooting for getting them really loose by September. I like it when that happens!

Should I blog while on vacation?

I'm leaving for L.A. soon. With regards to staying on my optimum wellness track, I'm going to have fun! Hanging out with people I truly enjoy. Lots of laughter. And my mother is not coming along! In any way!

(By the way, if she calls you to find out where I am, tell her I told you I'm at UCLA at a writer's conference...)

(Plausible deniability.)

So, while traveling, I can easily stick to the intermittent fasting. Not a breakfast eater, planning to sleep in some. Spending the first few days shopping and won't be eating till later in the day. Keeping food choices clean and low-carb. No fast food. I won't be tracking calories and I won't be weighing myself, so this is going to be an exercise in really living with the choices that I make. Intuitive eating and exercise. I've packed my Pilates gear and some weights into the car too.

I packed along all my size 24 clothes too. They are all in their own little suitcase. Not quite fitting into some of them, but it's close. It would be lovely if by the end of the trip, I could button all the buttons and zip the zippers and not see lines where the fabric is pulling. That's my incentive and my yardstick on the trip.

Yesterday, I had my pair of size 26 jeans from Lane Bryant on. I'm bloated, so the waist still fit, but the seat and thighs were roomier than before. It's odd that I'm now losing fat through my seat and thighs before my waist. But I'm still dealing with stress on a daily basis (see my other blog to read about that), so I don't expect the waist to whittle down too quickly.

So, I don't know if I'll be blogging while I'm away. Bringing the laptop along, so I might slip in on occasion. Just to report on how much fun I'm having...

Tweaking, tweaking, just keep tweaking

I've had some solid period of time where I've consistently kept my calories below 1600. I actually averaged 1580. I exercised consistently as well, but only Pilates. I kept my nutrients closer to what the CDC suggests, proteins at around 50 gm, carbs at a minimum of 130 gm, and I tended to fill in with healthy fats like avocado and olive oil. I kept fiber at 30+ gm. by eating lots and lots of vegetables and a little fruit.

Results...I didn't lose an ounce! In fact, I maintained my weight very consistently. Today I weighed in at 303 lbs. Lesson learned: that's my current maintenance level! I'm down 50 lbs total. I used to be able to lose weight eating more, but those days are gone. I have to accept that I need less calories now. And that my body is still insulin resistant and carb-sensitive. And that I'm going through menopause. And that I just have to eat less and exercise more, especially after I eat. And to not count the calories burned from exercise so I can let myself eat more. And I need to do more weight training again to build more muscle.

During the past few weeks, I've struggled so with hunger. I drank coffee with cinnamon, took extra cinnamon capsules, took those HCG drops, tried to distract myself with activities, ate those Miracle Noodles with no calories or carbs in them (if you really want to clear out your intestines, eat a package of those!), meditated, did extra plank progressions (my waist is a little smaller!), but I'm still hungry all afternoon and evening, like never before. I think it's because I cut the protein.

So, this week's dietary tweaks...cut calories a little more, increase protein to 120 gm and keep it lean (where it was before and I didn't get hungry all the time), cut carbs to below 100 gm, keep fiber at 30+ gm and fill in with healthy fat choices. And drink lots of water. For exercise...I missed Pilates this morning so I'm going to do it on my own in the living room this afternoon, then continue with that daily. Will keep up with the rowing machine and weights for upper body.

Next week is vacation week! My plan is to bring my Pilates toys and weights with me. And actually use them. And I hope to be walking a lot, whilst shopping and looking for the movie stars at the mall. And I will stick to the dietary plan too...intermittent fasting and the right nutrient mix to manage hunger and cut calories.

I do believe I will be getting extra liquid calories next week, in the form of Chardonnay and Petite Sirah. And gin. (No, not all at once!) Let's put those under the category of grown up fun and stress management!