21 days into the cleansing diet....9 pounds, and 5 inches... gone. I am back to my "normal" size/weight.
THIS pleases me!
Dave is losing weight more slowly, but that's because he's burning off that solid abdominal fat. I mostly lost water and soft saddle bag fat.
SO- off to shop at the thrift stores! Wheee!! Hoping to continue to build my bohemian wardrobe!
Bought new jeans at Kohl's yesterday, on sale plus a 20% off coupon.
It's been years since I bought a new pair of jeans! It was fun! Kohl's credit card, I love you!
I've tried to buy jeans at thrift stores, but they often have thousands of pairs of jeans, and they tend to be in
no order what so ever ...i.e. not by size or brand or ANYTHING.
Buying new and getting two brand new pair of Levi's for less than $60 (given the fact that they're usually SO expensive as to be completely out of my budget) was kinda fun, and SO much easier than trying to sort through the thrift racks!
Anyway... the cooking for this new way of eating has been a challenge, but I'm getting the hang of it. We've had a few recipes that were "meh" at best, and, thankfully, none so far that were...."ew."
Learning to cook in a new way.
Speaking of that....sales and coupons and discount for using the Sears card...and I AM GETTING A GAS STOVE!
I am SOOO excited! I HATE cooking on electric, and that's just what folks use down here. No idea why.
The new stove has one of those oblong burners down the middle, great for a griddle or a big ham pot!
It's not self cleaning, but I have never used the self cleaning feature of any stove I've ever owned...so....I won't miss it.
With the discounts, the free delivery and haul away....still...under $700 on the card! SWEET! And Dave has taken care of making sure the electrical hook up for it is ready, and he'll handle the gas line, too.
And we also got, with awesome discounts, a little chest freezer.
Making my kitchen what I want it to be a little at a time!
Oh, and I think I had told my sister that I would write down all of the bone building dietary ideas I've learned since being diagnosed with osteopenia....
Vitamin K2
Vitamin D3
Of course, Calcium, Magnesium, and other minerals....but to be sure to alternate forms. NO carbonate, though, and NO oyster shell source!
Good bio-available sources include citrate, lactate, and microcrystaline hydroxyapatite.
Another important mineral that is often overlooked is Boron.
Also, include in the diet: prunes, dark leafy green vegetables (preferably eaten with something that's slightly acidic, like say basalmic vinegar), sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, and green tea.
I also incorporate enriched almond milk that comes in asceptic cartons, since I can't drink cow milk.
I've been counseled to try to drink that with a meal so that the acid in the foods and through digestion will help the body utilize the added minerals in the almond beverage.
And then, of course, there's the bone building lifestyle stuff, too..... Cut down on alcohol, and increase resistance type and weight bearing exercise.
I work out almost every weekday on the eliptical bike thingie we got for cheap last fall. I also walk for 15 minutes a day on workdays if the weather permits (temp is between 55 and 90 outside, and there's no rain falling, or ice on the pavement). I also stretch and dance for 20 minutes, every day--7 days a week. AND, I take a 90 minute dance class once a week.
My doctor recently told me that's all fine and good...but now, try to add weights. "Get some hand weights and pump your arms while you're watching tv or something..." LOL...
HOOOOKAY! We'll see how to incorporate more resistance.....
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
This day
On the autumnal equinox of 1992, I took a step.
After opening my eyes, looking at options, and trying a few new things, I chose to step away from "the religion of the popular culture," onto a path of my own.
20 years ago, on this occasion, I made a conscious decision, manifested it through ritual, because I love ritual, and began to forge my way back in time: looking for what I thought could have been glimmers of the religion of my deep ancestry.
I began earnestly gathering snippets of information, and snippets of speculation, and building my own intuitive pathway to Spirit.
And I have never looked back.
20 years of exploring, experimenting, and expanding.
20 years of learning, listening, and loving.
20 years of praying, peering, and playing.
During this time, I have gone from being alone in my practice/search, to leading a Circle, to being a teacher, to being alone again.
The spiral continues, and it will always expand and contract, and expand again.
But at the center of the spiral is my heart, in the exact spiritual place where it belongs.
After opening my eyes, looking at options, and trying a few new things, I chose to step away from "the religion of the popular culture," onto a path of my own.
20 years ago, on this occasion, I made a conscious decision, manifested it through ritual, because I love ritual, and began to forge my way back in time: looking for what I thought could have been glimmers of the religion of my deep ancestry.
I began earnestly gathering snippets of information, and snippets of speculation, and building my own intuitive pathway to Spirit.
And I have never looked back.
20 years of exploring, experimenting, and expanding.
20 years of learning, listening, and loving.
20 years of praying, peering, and playing.
During this time, I have gone from being alone in my practice/search, to leading a Circle, to being a teacher, to being alone again.
The spiral continues, and it will always expand and contract, and expand again.
But at the center of the spiral is my heart, in the exact spiritual place where it belongs.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
First week on Paleo
So, the first week on this strict, cleansing diet has been interesting.
The only thing I have really had cravings for is alcohol.
This is very good information for me to have.
It tells me that my old (read: when I was living alone) habits of drinking a little on the weekends were PROBABLY a lot healthier for me than the habit I have developed since moving in with Dave.
Since moving down here, we have gotten into the habit of having a drink almost every day. Some days, way more than one or two.
My cooking marathon this weekend has been VERY different to be doing withOUT a glass of wine in my hand!
I know how insidious alcohol is. I know how it ruins lives very slowly. I know my own tendency to use it to self-medicate.
And now....now I know that I let it get out of hand over the last three years, and it needs to be better controlled after I reintroduce it into my life after this cleanse. Which I will do, but with a different awareness.
Also, I have lost a total of 6 pounds (between my 2 weeks when I did a sort of "pre-strictness" diet on my own, and this week). Those pounds that, no matter what I did before, I could not shed have been melting away magically.
Now, Dave, who drank more than I did, as a rule, has only had one craving for alcohol, and that was yesterday.
He has been having issues with craving his snacks, though. No cheese. No pretzels. No candy bars.
He says he has realized that he counts on those snacks when he's bored during work. I have found the same thing to be true as well.
We now ask ourselves "am I HUNGRY, or BORED?" If the answer is really, truly "I'M HUNGRY," then we now are armed with healthy snacks that fit with the program. (I've actually been doing that part for months, but now Dave is too).
Plus, we are eating SO well, that there is no feeling what so ever of deprivation. I wake up hungry for breakfast (which is supposed to be NORMAL....I've never felt hungry for breakfast in my life!), and I have really been enjoying the process of creating new meals on the menu.
There is a lot more work involved in cooking, but Dave is helping me, and we are having fun with it.
This weekend, for example: put 8 chicken thighs in to marinate, and then brined a sizable pork roast that will be roasted today; grilled those chicken thighs, which will be used in meals this week on Monday and Friday nights, and roasted a whole chicken for dinner, with some baked sweet potatoes. Seems like there was something else, too, but I can't remember.
Today, stripped the chicken carcass (that was his job), and got a batch of broth going with the bones; made a batch of breakfast sausage patties for the week, put a pot of smoked sausage stew in the crock, and it's bubbling away. Later, strain the broth, and make chicken veggie soup with the left over meat, and finally, roasting that brined pork and making some whipped cauliflower (no white potatoes on this diet) for dinner. That roast is so big, there will be left overs for a pork and pepper stew next weekend.
This will provide us with all of our lunches and some of our dinners for the coming week.
Hopefully, next weekend won't be so intensive in the cooking department, because now I have a better feel for how it works, and what needs to be done ahead.
One week down!
The only thing I have really had cravings for is alcohol.
This is very good information for me to have.
It tells me that my old (read: when I was living alone) habits of drinking a little on the weekends were PROBABLY a lot healthier for me than the habit I have developed since moving in with Dave.
Since moving down here, we have gotten into the habit of having a drink almost every day. Some days, way more than one or two.
My cooking marathon this weekend has been VERY different to be doing withOUT a glass of wine in my hand!
I know how insidious alcohol is. I know how it ruins lives very slowly. I know my own tendency to use it to self-medicate.
And now....now I know that I let it get out of hand over the last three years, and it needs to be better controlled after I reintroduce it into my life after this cleanse. Which I will do, but with a different awareness.
Also, I have lost a total of 6 pounds (between my 2 weeks when I did a sort of "pre-strictness" diet on my own, and this week). Those pounds that, no matter what I did before, I could not shed have been melting away magically.
Now, Dave, who drank more than I did, as a rule, has only had one craving for alcohol, and that was yesterday.
He has been having issues with craving his snacks, though. No cheese. No pretzels. No candy bars.
He says he has realized that he counts on those snacks when he's bored during work. I have found the same thing to be true as well.
We now ask ourselves "am I HUNGRY, or BORED?" If the answer is really, truly "I'M HUNGRY," then we now are armed with healthy snacks that fit with the program. (I've actually been doing that part for months, but now Dave is too).
Plus, we are eating SO well, that there is no feeling what so ever of deprivation. I wake up hungry for breakfast (which is supposed to be NORMAL....I've never felt hungry for breakfast in my life!), and I have really been enjoying the process of creating new meals on the menu.
There is a lot more work involved in cooking, but Dave is helping me, and we are having fun with it.
This weekend, for example: put 8 chicken thighs in to marinate, and then brined a sizable pork roast that will be roasted today; grilled those chicken thighs, which will be used in meals this week on Monday and Friday nights, and roasted a whole chicken for dinner, with some baked sweet potatoes. Seems like there was something else, too, but I can't remember.
Today, stripped the chicken carcass (that was his job), and got a batch of broth going with the bones; made a batch of breakfast sausage patties for the week, put a pot of smoked sausage stew in the crock, and it's bubbling away. Later, strain the broth, and make chicken veggie soup with the left over meat, and finally, roasting that brined pork and making some whipped cauliflower (no white potatoes on this diet) for dinner. That roast is so big, there will be left overs for a pork and pepper stew next weekend.
This will provide us with all of our lunches and some of our dinners for the coming week.
Hopefully, next weekend won't be so intensive in the cooking department, because now I have a better feel for how it works, and what needs to be done ahead.
One week down!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Going Paleo
So---for a number of years, there's been a movement in the nutrition world called the Paleo diet.
It's based upon the concept that during the time in our species' history before we developed agriculture, humans thrived on the foods we evolved to eat: meats, eggs, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.
It's based upon the theory that daily consumption of post-agricultural foods, such as grains, legumes, and the milks of different species, has resulted in our health being compromised every day of our lives.
And there was no such thing as sugar.
Studies have shown that post-agricultural foods can cause inflammation and poor digestion. Inflammation, when it builds every day over a lifetime, becomes systemic, leading to chronic health issues such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and even cancer.
So, anyway....being that I've always been interested in health and nutrition, I've heard about this diet style for years. I've read about it here and there, but had not considered experimenting with it until now.
Recently, however, in reading about it more in depth, and talking with Dave about it, I've become convinced that there has to be something to it. The nutrition science behind the theory is not only compelling, but completely logical.
I have friends who have gone down this path, who have reported improved energy levels, weight balancing (either loss or gain, whichever was needed), better sleep, and fewer aches and pains.
This is not to say that they never, ever have rice, or bread, or pasta, or ice cream, or cheese....but they have reduced consumption of these foods drastically, and they feel better, stronger, and healthier because of it.
Starting tomorrow, Dave and I will be doing a "thirty day challenge," in order to allow our bodies time to cleanse from a lifetime of gluten, sugar, alcohol, and dairy.
After the 30 days, we will see how we feel, see what's changed (like Dave's blood fats and weight, and my chronic poor energy and bad sleep), and then decide what to add back into our diet.
We will need support and encouragement as we go through this process.
Especially Dave....I've been into healthy eating for a LOT longer than he has, and he still has some daily bad habits, like snickers bars and pretzels.
Even though he is completely on board with this, and it was even his idea that we do it....he's convinced that he is going to be grouchy and unhappy during this process, and I keep trying to encourage him and tell him that it won't be as bad as he thinks.
Also, by putting it out there on my blog, and on Facebook, we will be held accountable to ourselves to follow through. It's public now, so we gotta do it!
Please, wish us luck and good health changes!!
It's based upon the concept that during the time in our species' history before we developed agriculture, humans thrived on the foods we evolved to eat: meats, eggs, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.
It's based upon the theory that daily consumption of post-agricultural foods, such as grains, legumes, and the milks of different species, has resulted in our health being compromised every day of our lives.
And there was no such thing as sugar.
Studies have shown that post-agricultural foods can cause inflammation and poor digestion. Inflammation, when it builds every day over a lifetime, becomes systemic, leading to chronic health issues such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and even cancer.
So, anyway....being that I've always been interested in health and nutrition, I've heard about this diet style for years. I've read about it here and there, but had not considered experimenting with it until now.
Recently, however, in reading about it more in depth, and talking with Dave about it, I've become convinced that there has to be something to it. The nutrition science behind the theory is not only compelling, but completely logical.
I have friends who have gone down this path, who have reported improved energy levels, weight balancing (either loss or gain, whichever was needed), better sleep, and fewer aches and pains.
This is not to say that they never, ever have rice, or bread, or pasta, or ice cream, or cheese....but they have reduced consumption of these foods drastically, and they feel better, stronger, and healthier because of it.
Starting tomorrow, Dave and I will be doing a "thirty day challenge," in order to allow our bodies time to cleanse from a lifetime of gluten, sugar, alcohol, and dairy.
After the 30 days, we will see how we feel, see what's changed (like Dave's blood fats and weight, and my chronic poor energy and bad sleep), and then decide what to add back into our diet.
We will need support and encouragement as we go through this process.
Especially Dave....I've been into healthy eating for a LOT longer than he has, and he still has some daily bad habits, like snickers bars and pretzels.
Even though he is completely on board with this, and it was even his idea that we do it....he's convinced that he is going to be grouchy and unhappy during this process, and I keep trying to encourage him and tell him that it won't be as bad as he thinks.
Also, by putting it out there on my blog, and on Facebook, we will be held accountable to ourselves to follow through. It's public now, so we gotta do it!
Please, wish us luck and good health changes!!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Hair magic
SO---many years ago, I had a hair dresser who had helped me grow my hair out from a short pixie cut to long and luxurious and gorgeous.
I even had an elderly metaphysician approach me about undergoing a "hair magic" ritual due to the beauty of my long, auburn hair.
I went to my long time, fully trusted hair dresser one day in 2002 for a trim, and it just happened to turn out to be the very day, and the very moment, that she was going through a literal mental break down.
She hacked my hair OFF.
After freaking completely out, I did wear my hair short for a few years, and got it trimmed BY SOMEONE ELSE once in a while....but then, I decided that long hair was more "me."
So, I grew it back out.
I have been cutting my own hair ever since. Snipping off the dead ends from time to time, and maintaining my bangs.
Until yesterday.
I've been wanting to stop coloring my hair, which I have been doing for 25 years, trying to hold on to the "spun bronze" color my mom was so jealous of. (that was what she said my hair reminded her of).
I'm tired of it, and I'm 50 now, so it's time. The white ones are nice and white, silky, and pretty. They need to be allowed to show.
It was also time to get someone who works with hair to take a look at it, because it's become dry, damaged, and broken in the years since I moved from the cool blue north into the hell that is Oklahoma weather.
SO, yesterday, I let someone touch my hair again. She did what she called a "color weave" which is like the opposite of a highlight. The color is put in here and there, in order for the outgrowth to look more natural, and for the white to eventually be the "highlights."
She also cut off a LOT of hair, without making it short. She layered it softly, and added more bangs.
It looks great, and is so much more healthy! Also, the layering makes it lighter, and also allows me to wear it wavy, when the mood strikes, because the bottom layer of it has always had a natural waviness to it.
I even had an elderly metaphysician approach me about undergoing a "hair magic" ritual due to the beauty of my long, auburn hair.
I went to my long time, fully trusted hair dresser one day in 2002 for a trim, and it just happened to turn out to be the very day, and the very moment, that she was going through a literal mental break down.
She hacked my hair OFF.
After freaking completely out, I did wear my hair short for a few years, and got it trimmed BY SOMEONE ELSE once in a while....but then, I decided that long hair was more "me."
So, I grew it back out.
I have been cutting my own hair ever since. Snipping off the dead ends from time to time, and maintaining my bangs.
Until yesterday.
I've been wanting to stop coloring my hair, which I have been doing for 25 years, trying to hold on to the "spun bronze" color my mom was so jealous of. (that was what she said my hair reminded her of).
I'm tired of it, and I'm 50 now, so it's time. The white ones are nice and white, silky, and pretty. They need to be allowed to show.
It was also time to get someone who works with hair to take a look at it, because it's become dry, damaged, and broken in the years since I moved from the cool blue north into the hell that is Oklahoma weather.
SO, yesterday, I let someone touch my hair again. She did what she called a "color weave" which is like the opposite of a highlight. The color is put in here and there, in order for the outgrowth to look more natural, and for the white to eventually be the "highlights."
She also cut off a LOT of hair, without making it short. She layered it softly, and added more bangs.
It looks great, and is so much more healthy! Also, the layering makes it lighter, and also allows me to wear it wavy, when the mood strikes, because the bottom layer of it has always had a natural waviness to it.
before
during
after...see....not scary at all!
I am no longer afraid to let someone cut my hair! Whee!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)