Moving Home!

I am moving my adventures in dieting to my Wordpress blog hosted from my website - it's "purtier". :)

www.swift-creative.com/Blog/

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Don't like to exercise? Dance!

I have always dreaded the idea of having to exercise every day! I didn't want to walk anywhere unless I had a destination, or at least someone to walk with. I was too out of shape to jog. I bought an elliptical trainer, and since it has sat in my closet unused because frankly, it's BO-RING! So when I was reading, "The 17 Day Diet" and got to the part about exercise, I started scratching my head. I didn't know what kind of exercise I could do that would keep me interested, focused and not give up immediately.

On the second day of the diet, I turned on some tunes and was ready to drag the ol' elliptical out of the closet, when I decided to just start dancing. Now, I must admit that I am a terrible dancer and I would hate for anyone to catch me doing it. You know that saying, "Dance like no one's watching"? Well, that's the only time I CAN do it. Trust me - flailing arms, the junk in the truck carelessly being whipped around and the occasional karatesque moves wrapped in one package is not a pretty picture. But, it's FUN and doesn't even feel like I am exercising - well, aside from the sweat pouring down my face. And who would have known - sweating can actually feel good. On top of all that, I am so thirsty afterward (even though I drink water while I am doing it), that I get at least 2/8 glasses of water out of the way in a short amount of time.

Below are the songs I have been using for my "dancing" exercises. Maybe they might get you up dancing, too... or give you nightmares imaging ME actually trying to dance to them.

The point is... if you like to or have to sit on your butt as much as I do, or you are confined to an office cubicle all day and the last thing you want to do when you get home is put on your running shoes and go for a jog or run on the treadmill, put on some music and get your groove thang on!

If you have any song suggestions for me, please leave me a comment!

7 Pounds in 10 Days

Yay! I am down 7 pounds in 10 days and still holding strong! Although I had another dream last night about eating an entire birthday cake, in waking life I have no desire for it! Ok, well maybe a little. I mean, if someone set a cake down in front of me, I would be tempted to devour the entire thing in one go, but I wouldn't!

For someone like me, who starts diets and can never stick with them... not even after a couple of days, I am still amazed that with this diet I am STILL excited!

5 Pounds Down!

Yay! I am on day 8 of my first 17 day cycle in the "17 Day Diet", and while I was holding at 3 pounds down for a couple of days, 2 more pounds seemed to have slipped off overnight! I was hoping that it would start by coming off my butt, but it's been coming off my stomach and it is quite noticeable. My little "pouch" at the front is now almost completely flat when I am standing, and I don't know if I am imagining things, but I think my posture is even a little bit better.

The book states:

We pack on two forms of belly fat. One type collects around the internal organs (also known as visceral fat). This type of fat raises blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and increases the risk of diabetes, Alzheimer's and even some cancers. Visceral fat is far more sinister than fat elsewhere in the body.

The other type sits just under the skin and is known as subcutaneous abdominal fat. It causes a hard-to-get-rid of belly pouch. In a Finnish study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, a rapid weight loss diet followed for 6 weeks trimmed visceral abdominal fat by 25 percent and abdominal subcutaneous fat by 16 percent.

Bye bye, subcutaneous abdominal fat! Woohoo! Although I won't be in a bikini this summer, as long as I can get rid of some of my "muffin top" I will be happy, at least for a start... and it is turning out to be a great start!

Day 4, 5 and 6 of 17.

The last couple of days have been pretty uneventful with the diet. I have continued to be very diligent, only eating what the book suggests. I have found that in the evening I have had cravings for junk food, but have surprisingly had enough will power to munch on some carrots instead.

One of the "freebies" - foods of which I can eat as much as I want are sardines. I hadn't had sardines in years, but picked some up when I was doing my shopping. a couple of hours after having some delicious lemon & pepper Catfish for dinner, I was a little peckish and wanted a snack, so I opened the tin of sardines. Eww. I used to like these things? I took a couple of bites and I don't know if it was because I was all "fished out" or I couldn't stand eating fish in a tin with all the scales still on them, but they ended up being a lovely treat for my cats. Note to self: buy double the amount of carrots this week!

The first three days of my diet, I lost a pound each day and although I haven't strayed from the diet, I haven't lost anymore weight in the subsequent 3 days. I am not discouraged though - I think I need to step up the exercise a notch.

The diet requires 17 minutes of exercise, 2 times a day, but so far I have only been doing the morning exercises. I have found that after doing all my usual activities and working during the day, by the time I make dinner and let my stomach settle and I get into my usual routine of making some art - time slips by. By the time I feel up to it, it is late and I need to go to sleep.

Overall, on this, the beginning of day 6, I actually do feel better and I have noticed that I am not lethargic anymore halfway through the day. and, even if I have only lost 3 pounds, it is still 3 pounds. Plus, I am proud of myself for being able to stick with it, especially on some days when my mind starts thinking, "Really, how bad could it be to have a piece of toast".

Kefir and Pee

Ok, so I tried a Kefir smoothie today for my "Day 4" breakfast. After my boss/diet buddy had informed me while shopping that I likely wouldn't like the consistency, and then reading online after I had purchased it, that it is actually a "fermented milk", I had my concerns. I just KNEW it was going to taste terrible and I would have to down it with nosed plugged, much like the horrible chalk-flavoured "drink" they give a patient who is having an Upper-GI performed on them.

I poured my 1 cup of kefir, 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil, 1 cup of fresh raspberries, 1 tablespoon of sugar-free blueberry jam and a handful of ice into the blender and turned it on. I watched as the colours of the raspberries and blueberries mixed with the Kefir, and it actually looked pretty good - but looks can be very deceiving. Much like if presented the right way, a plate of liver and onions can look pretty appetizing.

I poured the concoction into a tall glass and plugged my nose, ready to down the large drink in one go. "No!" I thought to myself... "Be brave... give it a taste". So, I did. Absolutely.... DELICIOUS! Much, much better than the plain ol' fat-free, sugar-free yogurt I have been having mixed with a little bit of jam.

I am pleased!

The only thing in this fourth day that I am really having trouble with is the amount of water I have to drink. Thankfully, green tea is allowed at every meal; I don't think I could go without my tea. The trouble is, I have to drink 8, 8oz. glasses of water in a day. For someone who drinks about the maximum of three glasses of tea on a regular, I feel like all I am doing is drinking (and peeing) all day long. I have started to drink hot water though, instead of cold. I think I have tricked my mind into thinking that the couple of drops of lemon I add to it makes it tea. :)

Have to run... gotta pee... again!

The 17 Day Diet Has Begun

Four days ago, I started "The 17 Day Diet" by Dr. Mike Moreno.

While flipping through television channels one day, I happened to stop on the Dr. Oz Show as I was on my way to the kitchen - a show I have never watched. While I was in the kitchen, I was listening to audience members on the show raving about how great "The 17 Day Diet" has worked for them. Not one to fall easily for the newest trend diets - in fact I normally pay them no heed, I watched the show because there was nothing else on television of interest - like usual.

I didn't think about it anymore until I was at a family BBQ and my sister-in-law was talking about how she had recently saw the owner of the store she manages, after not seeing her in a couple of months - and she had lost a lot of weight. I asked her what she did to lose the weight and she said, "It's called 'The 17 Day Diet'.

I had remembered watching the Dr. Oz Show and hearing all the great things about the diet and how the diet is likely the only diet that anyone can do. When I got home from the BBQ, I read a little bit more about the diet and decided to buy the book. A couple of days after ordering it, it came in the mail. I was so excited to get into the book and start reading!

Although at one point in my life I was a size 3 (12 years ago), medication that I began taking for depression in my early 20's seemed to pack on 50 pounds over night, leaving me in a most uncomfortable size 14.

I was also a chubby kid, but when I was in my early teens, I was forced to go on a Gluten Free diet (for 4 years) due to some medical issues and I ended up losing a lot of weight - about 40 pounds. So I have had experience with not being able to eat the food I really wanted to eat.

Over the years I have tried to go back on a strictly gluten-free diet, and even though I "pay" for eating foods with gluten in it, generally with terrible abdominal pain, it was always hard to resist a cheeseburger or a piece of cake at a birthday party.

On my fourth day into the first 17 day cycle, I have found that it is much easier to stick to because I have the book to guide me along. I have also found I have more drive and determination to stick with it. It does help that I have a diet buddy as well - my boss! We shop for our food together and we keep each other "in line". I am sure I could do the diet on my own, but it is so great to have the support of someone "going through" the same thing.

I am determined and I know it will work for me as long as I stay focuses on the ultimate goal - not necessarily being as skinny as I was in my 20's (even though that would be nice), but losing any amount of weight that I can - for my health. Plus, aside from the weight, it is getting me out of my usual sendentary behavious of sitting in my office all day and night.

I must admit, I am not too fond of the plain, sugar- and fat-free yogurt or the kefir but I have found plugging my nose while I eat it helps a great deal! :) I have also noticed that my cooking creativity has improved greatly! With only a small variety (in this first cycle of 17 days) to work with, I have had to put my thinking cap on to make the food tasty. I guess I am doing a great job, because now my husband, who is a steak-lovin', sauce-covering freak, is asking me to make extra for him!

So far in four days, I have lost 3 pounds - although I haven't yet checked the scale today. I feel like I have more energy, I still feel excited, I am eating healthy and enjoying it!

Here are some pros and cons of the diet that you should take into consideration before starting the diet - as found here.

Pros:

It doesn’t get monotonous. The plan itself is 68 days long, but it’s broken up in four parts, 17 days a piece. “Since it divides weight loss into little chunks, each cycle seems doable,” says nutritionist Laurie Slayton, who runs the diet website foodtrainers.net.

The results are fast. “You get good results in the first phase especially,” adds Slayton. During the first 17 days, dieters can lose up to 15 pounds by eating a restrictive diet of 1,200 calories a day. Seeing results so fast makes for some serious motivation to stick with it.

There’s a long-term emphasis. The first 17 days are the most extreme, but the second cycle introduces more calories and the chance to shed another 5 pounds and the last two cycles are designed to integrate healthier overall eating habits into your long-term lifestyle. Swapping out mayo for mustard, and sugars for nectar and spices are some of the basic principles for keeping off the weight. “If you eat a highly processed diet this could be a good switch,” says Slayton. “If you are a healthy eater you already know things like egg whites, fish, and vegetables are good for you.”

It’s fairly balanced. Unlike the Atkins diet, Moreno’s plan doesn’t completely cut out one major source of nutrition. Fruits, veggies, protein-rich meats and healthy carbs are all part of the constantly shifting meal plan so your body is never completely deprived of one thing. Overall, it's considered fairly safe as opposed to more high-risk deprivation diets and cleanses.


Cons:

The scientific proof isn’t totally convincing. Moreno claims that shifting your meal plan every 17 days before your body registers certain eating habits is a way to keep your metabolism in high gear, but not everyone is buying it. "There is no scientific evidence to support the efficacy of calorie cycling or its effect on metabolism,” Mary Hartley, director of nutrition at Calorie Count, tells the editors of Diets In Review. "There is no harm in calorie cycling temporarily or indefinitely and the process happens naturally for most people, who don't eat or burn the same number of calories every day."

Marisa Sherry, a registered dietician, questions one hard-and-fast rule of the diet—no starchy carbs or fruit after 2 P.M. "There's no proof that after certain times of day your body loses the ability to digest carbohydrates," Sherry tells CBS News.

The first 17 days of calorie restrictions may backfire: "You are cleansing your body of the unhealthy foods you have been eating," says Sherry. "But if you are not consuming enough calories to meet your resting metabolic needs, then you are in starvation mode which actually slows your metabolism."

It’s an investment: While there’s plenty of store-bought foods that fall into the meal plans, dieters are encouraged to buy specific 17-Day Diet branded snacks like the breakfast cookie. That can rack up your bills unnecessarily.

It's complicated: “I have two nutrition degrees and found the explanations a little confusing,” says Slayton. Since the guidelines of the diet are constantly shifting, following the plan takes focus, organization and the constant recording of calorie intake. Still, the basic principles are simple. "Cut your calories and increase your exercise, that's how it's done," Sherry tells CBS News. "If you can get away from the rules that aren't based on science, it should work just fine."

____________________

If you are dertermined, focused and well-organized, it really isn't as complicated as they suggest. As long as you can make a promise to yourself that you will follow the guidelines in the book to a tee, it is really quite easy... at least on this, the 4th day!

More to come...

Dearest Gramma,

It’s been so many years since I last weeded with you, covered myself and the entire kitchen in flour as I baked with you, or brushed your delicate gray locks as you watched your soaps. It’s been so long, but it feels like only a day has passed since you slipped away and out of my life. I loved your wry sense of humour and that you’d let me join you and your friends assembled around the kitchen table on Saturday afternoons, happily fulfilling my requests for a sip of your coffee – sometimes even whiskey!

You always kept my “saucy” behaviour in check with a quick squint of disapproval rather than harsh words or a swift spanking, even though at times I am sure you were tempted.

My fondest memory of your gentle ways came one summer afternoon when I was 3 or 4 years old. I recall very little from before the age of 10, but this day has replayed many times in my mind like watching a video recording.

You were downstairs in the basement doing laundry while I played underneath the kitchen table with my dolls. Between the sudden jolts of water rushing through the old pipes under the floor upon where I sat, my dolls used my crossed legs as makeshift bridges and the chair’s leg as an elevator to the penthouse.

I was involved so deeply in my dolls interactions with each other; it took me a moment to realize that a warm pool had formed around and underneath me. Confused at first, I scuttled out from under the table on my little hands and knees, looked back to the floor where I had been sitting and then felt my bottom. Oh my! “How could this happen?” I must have though. “I’m a big girl!”

Nervous that you would walk in and find me in that state, I launched to my feet and poked my head around the corner into the hallway, then tiptoed to the top of the basement stairs to check and see if you were still feeding clothes through the wringer washer. I could hear you moving around downstairs; your fluffy slippers scuffing along the concrete floor. As carefully as possible, I strode down the hall to the bathroom, trying my best not to make the old floorboards squeak. I slipped into the bathroom and stripped down to my bare skin. I reached for the faucet that was closest to me and turned it with all my might. Soon water was rushing out of the tap and I swiftly started tossing my clothes into the sink. First my red polyester pants, then my favourite white t-shirt with the cartoon screen-print of a little Dutch girl in wooden shoes. On my tippy-toes, I managed to reach my arm up and over the sink and push the clothes as far down as I could, and topped them off with my underwear and socks.

I stood there, still for a moment, observing the sink fill with water and even for a second still as the hot water began spilling over the edges like a rushing waterfall. Stark naked, I closed the bathroom door and I scurried out of the bathroom. I ran halfway up the stairs to the second floor, and waited.

Soon after, mixed in with the sound of gushing water, I heard your frantic voice calling my name. I sat motionless and didn’t make a peep. Then came the sound of the bathroom door creaking open and shrieking as you made your way across the bathroom floor that was now flooded with scalding hot water, all the while still calling my name. Seconds later you found me, sitting naked on the stairs - my eyes looking back at you from a crack in my fingers; my hands cupped over my face in shame. With an unexpected chortle, you slowly pulled your weight up the stairs, consolingly brushed your heavy hand across the top of my head and then took my hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up” I remember you saying in a soft voice.

After wrapping me in a towel and setting me on the bottom stair, you mopped up the sea, not saying a word and without complaint. You ran a warm bath for me and then dressed me in a fresh set of clothes, letting out a quiet snicker now and then as you shook your head and wiped the occasional tear running down my cheek. Then you paused. You bent down to my level and looked me right in the eyes and said, “What am I going to do with you?”

You took my little hand in yours, soft and plump, and led me to the top of the basement stairs. I stopped and looked down into the dimly lit cellar. Without disappointment or anger in your eyes, which I was nervous I would see, although I never had, you smiled and said, “Come. Let’s go do some laundry… gramma’s way”.

With love and admiration,
“Saucy”

Dearest Pyjama People,

You may find it a little strange that I am writing this letter to you, when the most interaction we’ve ever really ever had is the occasional uncomfortable “hello” as I’ve tried to squeeze my way past you both to retrieve pizza flyers and junk mail from my mailbox.

Is it fate that brings us together at our mailboxes at the same, different time each day? Or, do you stay there even long after I have gone – waiting for a snail mail apology or an invitation somewhere beyond the stuffy lobby of our building – an invitation to a place that requires a touch more sophistication than the flannels I have become so accustomed to seeing?

Will she, the tall vulgar-mouthed mistress who I have heard swearing at small children, be wearing the blue nightgown again? The one with the sheep stretched to their capacity as they jump faded fences across her ample stomach? Will he, the funny looking, small pudge of a man who often cowers behind his mate to avoid being seen, be donning the green, red or camouflage print fleece pants today? Or perhaps, now that the summer is here, his light grey cotton jammies with the red spaghetti-o stain? Oh goodness, I hope it is a spaghetti-o stain!

I wonder dear pyjama aficionados, connoisseurs of all that is comfy, if you realize that your sleepwear collection is often dinnertime conversation. Or, that on a particularly lazy day I made a parody of a Bob Marley song with you in mind– “Pyjamas! Pyjamas, pyjamas, pyjamas, I hope you like pyjama’s too”.

I have often thought of setting my alarm clock to wake me from my midnight slumber, so I might sneak downstairs to the first floor. With a light, “tap, tap, tap” and a childish grin, I would stand in the hall outside your door in my best PJs as your shadow casts behind the peephole, looking out at my fisheye shape before you.

But what, I would ponder, would you be wearing at this time of night? If you wear your best nightwear in the day time, perhaps in the evening behind closed doors is when you wear your ball gowns and three-piece suits.

But this I am afraid I will never know. If I knew the reasons why, even when I perchance see you in the laundry room - your basket void of t-shirts, jeans or dresses that you should choose to be seen even at the store in your nighties, one of my daily, small simple pleasures would be demystified. Then what would come next – discovering the meaning of life? Some things in life are best left as mysteries.

Although our conversations will likely never go beyond that quiet hello, please know that as I walk away with mail in hand and board a creaky elevator to the 6^th floor, that I also take with me a smile as I look forward to my next polka dot or silver moonbeam reception.

Sincerely,
Your mailbox neighbour

...it's been a while...

Wow. It's been a long time since I have written anything in my blog. Likely do to the fact that I have been working my ass off ('though I don't know where this term came from because when I look in the mirror it appears to be about the same ample size as it always was - DAMN IT!), thinking about what I want to do with the rest of my life, living through the occasional mental breakdown and trying to keep up with all my other, sometimes tedious and irritating obligations (see: Family).

I keep hoping, almost on a daily basis, that my dreams of miraculously becoming independantly wealthy would come to fruition, and that I could just pack up and move to the Azores - ah, Ribiera Quente - such fond memories.

Alas, I continue to march on, having only enough time apparently every 5 years to write a little note in my blog. I should add that to my "to-do" list - write more! Like my "to-do" list needs to get any longer! I already spend at least half of my days procrastinating about the things that are already on the list.

Mar's "To-Do" (Sometime tomorrow) list:

1. Finish up that "thing" for work.
2. Finish up that "other thing" for work.
3. Find a new doctor that isn't a complete moron who pushes pills and makes equally moronic suggestions like "Keep off it", when presented with a potentially broken leg.
4. De-stash my craft room or apply to be on "Hoarding: Buried Alive" - whichever comes first.
5. Do the dishes - again.
6. Stop caring about whether or not my crops are withering in Farmville.
7. Find a new group of friends (or any friends for that matter) that aren't completely helpless and needy, who don't have to call me everyday for assurance that yes, I still like them, and who know how to say "Please" and "Thank you" like good big girls and boys.
8. Stand up to my neighbour across the hall who screams obsenities at his wife every weekend, but can't be man enough to come to the door when I knock to tell him to keep the volume on his "Ground Control to Major Tom" to respectable level, especially at 3 a.m.
9. Start setting aside a certain amount of money each month to spend on frivolous things - I always have such a feeling of guilt when I buy anything for myself. Perhaps, while I am at it, I can invent a new product "Guilt BeGone" - Simply spray on Guilt BeGone, and you will no longer have feelings of shame and self-condemnation! Try it when you forget to pick your kid up after a soccer game or forgot that you took them to the mall with you and drove home without them!
10. Clean up my desktop so it doesn't look like a file exploded, producing hundreds of little "file shrapnel" all over the place.
11. Finish this "to-do" list tomorrow.