Week 3, Day 3

Yesterday was Day 3 and I did ok. Once again I unintentionally skipped a meal because of some health stuff. Ever take pain killers? If you have, you would know that it backs you up pretty bad. I felt like there was a cement block in my intestines. I didn't even have the urge to go and my abdomen hurt so much! I went to the pharmacy and picked up the dreaded bottle of magnesium citrate. Look it up. You get to drink it the day before a colonoscopy. Mmmm comes in grape flavor now!

Drinking that stuff makes me so nauseous, it sucked. So eating more food was out of the question. Things are better today so I'm trying my best to do this all the way! I did come to a realization last night that I need to do what my body is needing. Notice I didn't say WANT. If my body needs a little bit of carbs or protein because my blood sugar is low, then I'll do it.

I forgot to mention that last week I gained back 1 pound. Not a huge setback, considering it was a holiday week. But disappointing regardless.

Sorry for the TMI but my digestive system was a huge factor in yesterday's diet. I did get in the cardio though before my delicious, grape-flavored laxative. *sigh* Time to go walk the baby and the dogs. Cardio, cardio, cardio! (And pooping!)

Week 2, Days 6-7 AND Week 3, Days 1-2

Ok the family has left the casa de Bex and I will be able to blog (hopefully) daily again. I swear, I haven't had much quiet time at home to sit down and do this. The last two days have been filled with trips to the airport and doctors, doctors, doctors. Today we get a reprieve and tomorrow, one more doctor appointment. Whew.

The last two days of week 2 were also a wash. I was eating leftovers and only exercised one of those days. I am so pissed at myself but it's done. So on to week 3!!

Week 3 is HARD. This is the detox/cleanse week and you don't get to eat many solids. Each morning starts with lemon juice in water. Then you have protein shakes, smoothies, soup, etc for the four meals. The exercise is ramped up too, to about 40-45 minutes minimum. Thankfully I have had such sporadic meals in the past so drinking my meals instead of eating isn't a big sacrifice for me. My appetite is more controllable now so I don't feel intense cravings to eat everything in sight. However, I have rid the house of unhealthy temptations. Yesterday I threw out some leftover cupcakes and cake because they were getting dry and let's face it, I'd eat it dry or not as long as it's chocolate. But I got rid of it and only kept a few thanksgiving leftovers for Elsa to eat.

Last night I got in some good cardio so I'm really happy about that. I hope I can get some stamina to do it again today! I am seeing changes in my hips and legs from the cardio and that is one helluva motivator to keep it up.

Today I will do this 100% and kick some ass. Wish me luck!

PS: Some pics my brother took this week and weekend.

Week 2, Days 3-5

Well we made it through Thanksgiving! This week has been very hard to keep to the plan. I am not one to ignore or throw away yummy Thanksgiving leftovers unless they are spoiled. So I've been eating small post-TDay meals. And for the first time EVER my pumpkin pie turned out perfect! It's my favorite pie and I've had a couple slices of that heavenly yumminess.

Thursday night my mother in law and I went to Toys R Us to do some shopping. We stood in line to check out for almost two hours. YIKES! Standing was tough for me (and her) but we made it and I even found some awesome collectibles for myself! (More on that in a post to come.) Yesterday I got some good cardio and maybe today I can get a walk in the evening. We are having Elsa's birthday party today so there will be cake and all kinds of temptations. Again, I'm not going to gorge myself but I am going to have a piece of birthday cake, dammit.

Overall it feels like the week is a wash. I'm debating starting over on Monday with Week 2 but wonder if I should just plow through into the third week. I could have tried harder to follow the diet plan but, as Lady of the House, with guests, I have been trying so hard to make everyone feel welcome, make sure everyone has what they want to eat and drink, take care of the baby, and try to keep my health in check. I've definitely been overdoing it and not sleeping enough. Next week I have several doctor appointments so it's going to be tough to get any rest. Oh well, onward and upward! We'll see what I can do with these last two days of Week 2!

Week 2, Day 2

Once again real life has sprung up and thrown a wrench in the day! I didn't do the elliptical at all but instead I cleaned the house at least 4 hours. So that better substitute for the 45 minutes of cardio. Meals were ok but the very last one I splurged on a couple IPA's with supper, which had a bit more carbs than allowed. But I think I'll live. :)

Not much else to report! Some family is in town now and I will be busy busy until the house empties again next week. Trying to keep my strength and willpower!

Week 2, Day 1

I'm up early today, getting in my post for last night. My weigh-in for Week 1 was freakin' FANTASTIC! I lost 6.5 pounds! I kept stepping back on the scale because I couldn't believe it. Whoopee!

On to Week 2! Day 1 of week 2 was definitely more intense. In some meals there were foods added and some meals were smaller. Also the cardio requirements were increased. I did my best to get to that number but Elsa woke up from her nap and I had to go get her. It was really rough for me doing cardio too. It took a long time for me to be able to get the strength and energy just to pick up the baby. That part really sucked. I had to lay down for a few minutes to clear my head and try to regain some stamina. Plus I had this weird, awful pain to deal with. Other than that, I did pretty well.

I stopped by the grocery store yesterday and I swear, I must have circled through the bakery section at least a half a dozen times. I could feel myself drool over the sights of muffins, cookies, lemon bread, cupcakes, etc. After a third run around the chocolate chip muffins (one of my favorites) I checked the nutrition label and one muffin was 420 calories. Wow. I had no idea, or at least, I didn't want to know the yummy, awful truth. It took some willpower and whining from the baby to finally move on. That 6.5 lb loss kept ringing in my ears and I knew I'd need to save the treats for Thanksgiving and Elsa's birthday cake.

Time to get my head cleared and knock out the rest of the housework before my brother flies in. This week will be a tough trial to stay true to the Shred. I hope I'm up for it!

Week 1, Day 7

Another hectic day. We spent half the day furiously cleaning the house to prepare for our Thanksgiving guests. Then we attended a very fun birthday party for the kids of some friends of ours. Elsa partied like crazy! She danced and danced! Well, she did the little baby-bounce thing that they do when babies hear music. It was so cute and so fun to watch her play with the other baby. Love it!

There was also some very yummy food at this shindig. I will admit it, we lost our willpower and ate some forbidden yums. But we really didn't stuff ourselves, which I was shocked and proud to see. I ate some amazing guacamole, carrot cake and wine. It was so great to eat some of the food but not to go overboard. Have I been abducted by aliens? A healthy, cardio-busting cult?

To be honest, I've felt AMAZING this past week and the looser pants are great motivators to keep going. I am still very excited to be doing this. One challenge is that it does take time to really think and plan out what we're going to eat each day. Normally I only think about what I need to cook for supper. Breakfast in the past was a smoothie and lunch was either another smoothie or last night's leftovers. Now I have four meals to shop and plan for.

Tomorrow is the weekly weigh-in. I have no idea where I will be but I'm excited and nervous to see where I am. I did eat a lot of salty chips today so it's possible I am retaining water. Doh! I will report tomorrow!! G'night everyone!

Week 1, Day 6

Again, I was unable to blog last night. That thing called LIFE keeps getting in the way! Here's a run-down of Day 6.

I've noticed that the menu slowly adds in more carbs. Thank God! I personally find it hard to sustain exercise without a carb and protein recovery. My fave is peanut butter and banana on whole wheat toast. It tastes like heaven! It probably exceeds the calories permitted for snacks but I have learned if I'm light headed and shaking, I better give my body what it needs.

I really feel a difference in how my clothes fit. I've been avoiding a style of underpants sitting in my drawer because my hips and rear end are so big, the elastic really hurts my skin. Because we've been too lazy and distracted to do laundry lately, my supply of granny pannies has dwindled. I was forced into the "pinchy" ones, only, they fit now! I know most people would be posting about getting into their skinny jeans but dammit, I'm excited my damned underwear fit again.

We did a much better job at eating on time yesterday with me hollering SNAAAACK TIME!!! down the stairs while Ron was gaming. I'd hear a WHOOPEEE! in response. Again, my damn jaw only allowed me to eat about half of the veggies I wanted but such is life. The menu plan also states that you don't have to eat everything, just that you eat something every 3-4 hours. Ok, simple enough! At least, it's simpler on the weekend with two of us in the house to remind each other. So we both still need to work on getting our food consumed at the right times during the week.

Day 7 starts now so I'm off to experience this brand, new day. I hope to get Day 7's blog done on time tonight! Have a good one! Tschus.

Week 1, Day 5

Forgive me, in advance, if my post is a bit odd. My jaw pain is managed, somewhat, but I'm on some medications that make me a little loopy. And maybe sappy.

Holy smokers, it's still hard to hit all the meals and snacks on time with this diet! One would think it's easy to snarf down food all day but I find it a challenge to nail the snarfing at certain specified times. I am pleasantly surprised to realize that I do not sit on my ass all day, as a stay at home mom, but rather, I am up running around all gawddamn day. I used to feel so bad because I cannot work and I stay home with the baby. That baby and all the responsibilities of household activities are enough to keep me working all day. I haven't nailed down personal time for myself yet. My clock has been set to "baby time" for about a year now. But, I will work harder in the next few days to do better at it.

My husband has been so awesome this week! He's helped with the meals, he's changed his eating times/habits and he's been up before 5AM everyday working out. All of this just to support me. Whatta guy! Having a support system at home has made a huge difference. I don't think I could do this on my own. This first week has taken willpower and resolve. I am also swept up in the enthusiasm of the other people who are taking part in this challenge. If I do well, I could be on the local news, helping to spread the word!

So yes, I am a little excited about being a Shredder. If you want in on the hub-bub, lemme know. Or you can check things out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShredderNation and on Twitter @doctoriansmith. If you want to try the diet, you can email Dr. Smith and he will give you details on what to do in order to join.

So far, my pants feel looser. Weigh-in is on Monday. I feel confident that I will show a loss on the scale!

Week 1, Day 4

I was unable to post last night so I'm going to catch up right now.

Oh what a 4th day! I had a horrible day, but this wasn't due to the diet. My TMJ/transgeminal nerve, or whatever is going wrong in my jaw, was a lot worse yesterday. With every mastication came pain and the feeling that my jaw would slip out of place. I called my jaw pain doctor who proclaimed he really doesn't know what else to do for me. Isn't that a great feeling? Anyways, I was unable to follow the diet because of the limited function of my chompers.

I did try to eat at least something at each designated time and although I could not eat what I was supposed to eat, I did take in some calories. Here's to hoping today is better than yesterday! Onward and upward!

Week 1, Day 3

And so ends day 3 of my first week. Not a whole lot to report today. I find myself getting caught up in the day and forgetting to eat my snacks or mini-meals. I need to work harder at that otherwise this plan won't work. It's tough with the baby because I'm always thinking "what does the baby need now? Is it time for her to eat? Play? Bath?" And then there are the dogs, constantly entwining themselves between my legs, like overgrown cats. The minute the baby is placed into her highchair, I see three fur balls parked under her seat. And the baby has discovered how fun it is to feed the doggies her food! Maybe it would be helpful to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to eat. Who knew I would need some kind of external reminder to eat???

I finally caught the Super Cold Virus going around and the disc in my jaw joint is still slipping out of place. I went to the dentist today, hoping for a solution. Basically all I got was "get a night guard." I do hope they are right and all will be well when I get the Miraculous Night Guard. I won't have the ability to cough up $350 until January 1st, so until then, I'm on my own. I'm worried that this won't solve anything and I'll be shit outta luck. Since, you know, neither the medical insurance or the dental insurance covers this problem unless my doctors can prove it's the RA causing all the fuss. Anyways, I find that I can't chew much and I'm stuck to drinking smoothies for most of my meals.

Even with these constraints/challenges going on, I feel I'm doing well. I find there is a lot of flexibility among the rules because you have a lot of choices. You can pick what kind of fruit to have along with your breakfast, and you can choose oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, or cereal AND have juice. I don't know about you all, but that's more than I normally eat each morning. There are snacks scattered throughout the day and more mini-meals. You learn to eat fresh fruits and veggies along with lean proteins. It's great having structure with so many choices. Of course, no weight loss plan is complete without exercise! But workouts can be broken up so it's not too overwhelming. I wonder if housework counts.

It's too early to tell if I'm going to lose weight or not. However I am still excited about this plan and very motivated. It means so much to me that my husband is right alongside me, doing the diet, helping plan meals. He's my rock!!

PS: Right before I started this diet, the neighbor kid dropped off our order for Girl Scout cookies. We ordered them a few weeks ago and I had entirely forgotten about them. I can almost hear those damn cookies screaming to be eaten from the pantry closet. *sigh* Fucking cookies...so delicious. Do Girl Scouts earn Obesity Badges with each sold box?

Week 1, Day 2

Another day done! I can't believe I'm going to do this dieting/food behavior modification thing for 6 weeks. Forty two blog posts. Yikes.

I took my "before" photos finally today. I figured it's not too late to get those done just in case. Just in case I actually lose these 20 pounds for good. I have to say that many people tell me I don't need to lose weight. But I'm very skinny up top and too round on the bottom. For vanity reasons, health reasons (belly fat inches almost the same as my hips and my poor, poor knees), and because I really want to be able to wear all the size 10 jeans in my closet, I've taken up this weight loss challenge. So here I am. My before pictures.

I don't think anyone's "before" pictures are attractive, so I'll give myself a break. And my post-pregnancy belly is really bringing me down. But I'm hopeful I can look AND feel better soon!

I have to say that Dr. Ian is very good about communicating with all of us Shredders. He responds to Facebook posts and emails as much as he can. I think he's a really great person and his enthusiasm is contagious. I want this and I believe it's obtainable. I just need to stay focused! Doing the 45 minutes of cardio today was BRUTAL. I had to stop and re-start a lot. I am pretty fatigued now and took it easy for the rest of the day. Also my jaw problems are worse and I had to alter the prescribed diet to just liquid foods. I just can't chew much more than bread. Hopefully the dentist tomorrow will give me some ideas on how to feel better.

My baby girl and I played a bit this afternoon. She's amazing and what better motivation than her? Have a good evening and wish me luck on the next forty days! Tschus.

Shredding: Week 1, Day 1

We've made it through Day 1 on the Shred diet. I weighed myself to get my starting weight and I also managed to eat well and work out. The menu lists a lot of food to eat in one day. There are four mini-meals and three snacks. It sounds like a ton of food but it's not a lot of food at once. And if you can't eat it all, it's ok to stop. So instead of having big meals, like we are used to, we eat smaller meals with a few snacks scattered in between. It's not easy to retrain the stomach and brain to eat this way, but we sure as hell tried our best.

Since non-creamy soups are acceptable to the plan, and we had the produce sitting around, I made butternut squash soup today. I did not add any dairy products, other than a couple tablespoons of butter to cook the onions, celery and carrots. Blending the squash was interesting. I managed to have very hot squash bits fly around the kitchen and land on my hand. OUCH! Elsa just looked at me like I was an idiot. But it's done and ready for tomorrow!

I also bought a bunch of fresh fruit and veggies. We have grapefruit, oranges, apples, pears, frozen fruit, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, cucumber, carrots, onions, yams, etc. Holy crap, I feel my junk food genes about to explode from all this healthy stuff! But it's good to be on a real plan with frequent meals. I feel tired out today but I feel good overall, except for my jaw. It's still pretty messed up and it's hard to chew certain textures of food. Maybe a liquid diet is in order, haha. Fun times! On to the next day, g'night!

Prelude to a diet

It's that time of year again. It's the holiday baking, cooking and gorging season. I LOVE this time of year. I love baking up yummy, carb-laden cookies, cakes and breads. I also love cooking Thanksgiving dishes like roasted turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, and sweet potato casserole. And Christmas time? What's Christmas without cut-out cookies, fudge, snack mix and hot cider? See where I'm going with this? I love to eat just as much as I love to cook. This is not helping out the weight loss efforts!

I've been taking a supplement called Visi which really took the edge off of the insane appetite I have. I still take prednisone and recently added a couple more medications which have hunger and weight gain as a side effect. So it was working great up until the last couple of weeks when my appetite went off the charts again. I lost ten lbs and then gained it right back.

I also got my ass back on to the elliptical machine and that was great until my joints started to grind together in my knees and ankles. It doesn't really hurt but I can feel and hear the grinding and popping. I will definitely talk to my doctor next checkup but I'm not letting that stop me from trying to stay as fit as possible.

With all this going on, I happened to catch Dr. Ian Smith on our local Fox 4 morning show. If you have ever watched Celebrity Fit Club, then you will recognize Dr. Smith as one of the judges and consultants for the show. He is promoting an upcoming book and weight loss plan called Shred, The Revolutionary Diet. He asked people who were interested in his plan to tweet him @doctoriansmith to get a sample of his book. I did that and emailed him and next thing I know, I was accepted to be part of his nutrition and weight loss plan, representing the Kansas City group. So I start tomorrow on a whole new way of eating and thinking about nutrition. I've decided a good way to keep me honest and on track is to blog my journey through this 6 week plan. I think I'm crazy because this is the best time of the year, food-wise. It will not be easy to hold the hungry monster at bay over Thanksgiving! But I like challenges and am actually looking forward to giving this my all. If I do really well, who knows. I may be on the local news as a "success" story.

If anyone has links to low-carb recipes featuring Thanksgiving fare, please let me know! Thanks and I will let you know how Day 1 goes!! Tschus. :)