Back in the Saddle Again...

Hey everyone! I'm back. Sorry for the lapse in postings, but my mother was visiting from out of state and I just didn't have much time for anything beyond the scope of work and the visit. Not only was my time consumed, my routines were completely trashed!

So, in the spirit of my last post, and barring torrential rain, I will be out on the death march at 6:30 in the morning. No more slashing of tires. It's time to change the flat and get back on the road. Won't you join me? M.E.

Back from the Road, yet again!

Well, sports fans, I'm back from a 4-day trip to Detroit. And I fared pretty well, considering I was at a regimented class and eating out with others from the class. But what I really want to share with you was the wisdom I learned in the class.

I will be the first to tell you that I fall off the wagon and get off track, just like everyone else. That goes for diet AND exercise. So when the instructor in the class began talking about staying on track, even though it had nothing to do with diet or exercise, I listened.

Usually I expect wisdom to come from those who are older and wiser than me. But Andrea was young and cute and extremely bright. She said to the class "Close your eyes and imagine that you are taking a trip to a really wonderful place. It is a place that you really want to visit and you can't wait to get there. But as you're driving along, you suddenly get a flat tire. What do you do?" Someone offered "Call AAA." But she continued.

"You stop and change the tire. You have to approach everything in life in that way. But a lot of people get off track and give up; instead of changing the tire, they get out of the car look at the tire and tell themselves they have failed to get to the destination. Then they proceed to slash the other three tires. You don't fail if you change the tire and continue on down the road."

I've been thinking about Andrea's analogy ever since. She is absolutely, 100% on the money with her observation. So the next time you fall off the wagon, be it diet, exercise, education, job or life in general, make sure you change your tire and get on with it! M.E.

Home Again, Home Again

Well, Week 4 is over, as is my road trip. And it was a wonderful trip. I didn't lose any weight on the road, but I didn't gain any either, and that is a very good thing! Half the battle is not eating fast food while driving. In order to combat that eventuality, I kept a small cooler seat-belted into the front passenger seat loaded with bottles of cold water, fresh fruit and Kashi Go-Lean bars. It worked. I ate small normal meals where I was staying, but on the road, it was fruit, water and Go-Lean bars. I was even able to have a few glasses of wine on the trip with no deleterious effects! Works for me!

Total loss remains at 7.7 pounds. Hopefully I will get back on track quickly now that I'm back to the day-to-day routines. How are you all doing, now that we're four weeks into the challenge? I hope to try a few new things this week and I will share how they are working. M.E.

end of week 3

Today is the last day of week 3. I was doing quite well up until Wednesday. All my friends at the office brought in a relative birthday feast! Although much appreciated and enjoyed, it was highly injurious to my progress. And of course there was enough for TWO days of gnoshing. This was complicated by a birthday dinner invitation I had already accepted AND a summons to escort a Board of Directors member at a company BBQ the following day. Talk about a major hindrance to my weight loss! I am happy to report I still lost 0.2 lbs. Needless to say that could have been 2.2 or 3.2 had not the demon birthday and event feasting gotten in my way. Sigh. But tomorrow starts another week...Week 4. To summarize, my 3-week total loss is now 7.7 lbs.

Week 4 will likely have some pitfalls as well. I leave Wednesday morning on a road trip...Nashville, Huntsville, Bremen, Atlanta and Chattanooga. I'll attempt to stop along the way and report on what I'm doing to defeat the food demons on the road! Stay tuned for more! M.E.

End of Week 2! A very good week!

I lost quite a bit of weight this week! 6 lbs as of this morning! My two-week total is now 7.5 lbs. This is an unusual loss for me. I am going to chalk it up to going raw for the most part and giving up the Diet Pepsi. Such a complete lack of sodium means no water retention. I can see my ankle bones!

I am very encouraged by my results, so far. Of course it is easy to eat fruits and veggies in the summer when everything is fresh and new. I am eating high protein lentil soup (homemade) and 2-4 oz of chicken or other meats for dinner. I'm also taking two teaspoons of cold-pressed coconut oil per day. But because I'm encouraged, I have no doubt I'll be eating raw next week as well. I'll be giving a new total loss next Saturday. Stay tuned! M.E.

Week 2, Day 5...things are progressing

Just to let you know...the scale is going down! I am starting to get excited over the prospects of a major drop on the scale at the end of Week 2...Saturday morning! Okay, what am I doing? A 16 oz glass of water with lemon when I get up in the morning. Raw foods all day...Fresh fruit for breakfast, hearty homemade lentil soup and fruit for lunch, fresh fruit or raw baby carrots or both for snacks, fruit, salad and protein for dinner...tonight it was scrambled eggs (one whole egg plus one egg white). I also had a Breyer's frozen fruitcicle. They taste great and are only about 50 or 60 calories each.

I'm drinking LOTS of water and today, finally, not one drop of Diet Pepsi! It has taken me a week to get off the demon caffeine and aspartame. I have to admit, I have had a headache every day...but they are getting less as I work through the withdrawal symptoms.

If you're working along with me here, make sure you are getting at least 1200 calories a day. Less than that and your body will thing you're starving it and slow down the weight loss to compensate.

Keep up the good work! M.E.

Week 2, Day 4...Diet Pepsi loosens its hold!

Things are looking up! I am still ingesting one Diet Pepsi per day, but my interest and craving for it is diminishing. Tomorrow I will attempt to go Diet Pepsi free. I have also gone to about 90% raw eating. Fresh fruits and raw vegetables, homemade soups high in protein and plenty of water. I am doing amazingly well, without any gnawing hunger pains. Normally I am eating even when not hungry. It is emotional, stressful, anxious eating as though if I don't imbibe, there won't be any food left when I need it. But I think I have found the cure for that, at least for me. I was introduced to Callahan's Technique. It is a system of tapping accupressure points to allay anxiety and cravings. So far I have refrained from eating between meals, eating after dinner or going after sweets. I will let you know if it continues to work! M.E.