Wednesday, December 28, 2022

No Junk January weight loss challenge pro tip: purge and cleanse


 Hello friends! In this blog, I've been exploring how I lost 100 pounds and keep it off. One of my weight loss and weight maintenance techniques is to do occasional diet revamps such as this one I started called No Junk January weight loss challenges. I'm cleaning up my eating habits by deleting all junk food, fast, fried and fatty foods and sweets. I promised pro tips in case you'd like to join me. I can't promise that we'll all lose weight but I can say from experience that I feel better overall when I eat smarter. 

Today's tip for No Junk January is to purge and cleanse. I'm not talking about using a liver cleanse per se, though it will have the effect of a system cleanse, certainly. No Junk January begins in December with a purge of junk food around the house and in my diet. By Jan 1, I'm going to have all Christmas goodies, chips, salty snacks, fatty and fried foods gone. I'm stocking up on fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, lean meat, keto bread, whole milk yogurt and plant protein powder. 

To achieve weight loss, I need those temptations gone. Part of how I lost 100 pounds 8 years ago, was to pare down food choices to healthy diet-friendly options. So I'm doing a cupboard cleanse of chips, salty snacks, Christmas candy and cookies, baked goods, pie, cake, muffins and fatty processed meat like bacon, ham, sausage, salami and summer sausage ( big favorites around here). I'll replace these with frozen salmon pieces, chicken breast, lemons and grapefruit, berries and leafy vegetables, cut veggies for snacks, nuts and seeds and keto bread. 

You might be thinking, great, but what about non-dieting family members? Won't they get upset if I get rid of their treats? Good point that I'll cover tomorrow. In fact this  method was how I lost 100 pounds in the first place. Oh, and I promised a system cleanse from the cupboard cleanse. With less liver blocking and artery clogging junk food and more leafy greens, berries, seeds, MUFA and PUFA foods, that system cleanse will happen, just you wait! 

Methods like these are part of my Mind Over Platter weight loss method to not only beat obesity but keep it away for good. I'm excited about No Junk January and look forward to hearing from you if you join in! 

Monday, December 26, 2022

Who's up for weight loss with No Junk January?



 Hey friends, the New Year is  just around the corner. Are you up for a weight loss challenge?  I've found that my eating habits have strayed off the path (actually, down the verge into the ditch up and are hurtling down the cliff. So I'm starting a personal No Junk January eating plan (diet). For 31 days, I'm purging sweets, salty snacks, fast, fatty and fried foods. If I lose weight, bonus. If I just get healthier, that's great too. 

If you're like me, you make resolutions and forget them by February (or January 3 lol). That's okay, though because this is just for one month. Losing weight, like any other, personal growth initiative has to be done in increments. Like Alanon says, planning on doing something forever is so daunting that failure is certain. So let's do this weight loss challenge one day at a time. We won't think about the end of January just yet. We'll just take the first step, and then the next, one at a time. 

Every few days, I'll try to provide ideas, tips and updates. For today, my first step is identifying triggers. Tomorrow I'll post more about my triggers. For now, I'm losing the tortilla chips, candy, cookies, baked goods, chips and dip. If you want to join me, in this No Junk January weight loss challenge, start by listing your diet kryptonite. More tomorrow! 

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

How I lost 100 pounds without exercising (unclench the pearls!)

So yanno how there's this big debate about exercise or diet to lose weight? I'm going to share how I lost 100 pounds without exercising, with calorie restricting on a 1200 calorie diet. Now before you get the vapors, diehard fitnessfolks, unclench the pearls and hear me out. Weight loss wasn't laying on the couch. I just didn't exercise in the traditional sense. I worked out by working and that, with calorie restricting helped me lose weight. 


Weight loss by calorie restricting alone, AKA sans a gym, personal trainer, etc, wasn't exactly a choice. And it may not have even been an ideal method. I have extensive structural issues that make garden variety exercise (calisthenics, aerobics, weight training, jogging and running) insanely, cripplingly painful. It's not a matter of getting used to it. It's literally impossible for me to do this things routinely with doing further damage. 

Yes, I've been told, "no pain no gain." And for a long time, I bought that erroneous thinking. It was said that I didn't know the difference between soreness from stretched muscles and devastating, relentless agony. I finally realized that at 58 years old, I do. And I can make a decision to do what's best for me. 

Now clearly, doing nothing isn't what's best. That's going to cause pain too. If we've learned anything from "My 600-lb Life" and shows about morbid obesity, it's that sedentary lifestyles cause, increase and exacerbate chronic pain issues. "My 600-lb Life" shows people bedridden, by choice, constantly complaining of aches and pain. 

So movement is essential, to health, pain management and weight loss. My solution is to keep active, doing physical labor. Don't get me wrong. This causes pain too. But not the wracking pain of jarring exercise like jogging. There are some exercises I can do that are very beneficial: yoga, limited bike riding and swimming. I have to moderate, and know when to slow down. Ice and Epsom salt baths help too. 

Part of how I lost 100 pounds was by recognizing physical limitations, working around them and doing all I can within them for the betterment of my health. Exercise vs. diet is not mutually exclusive. And neither are one size fits all. Like "My 600-lb Life" shows,  if I am to overcome obesity, I have to work my program and not sit back and wait for someone else to fix u. 
 



Tuesday, December 6, 2022

When self-confidence plummets, HALT

So I know I come across pretty confident in this blog on how I lost 100 pounds. But a lot of that is me faking it till I make it. I can be going along just fine and then, whump, my self-confidence plummets. And low self-esteem, rushes in, accompanied by her friends anxiety, self-loathing, depression and paranoia. And it doesn't matter a jot what I've accomplished, I just suddenly feel like a fat, ugly, stupid loser. Anybody else experience this? Yeah, I thought, unfortunately, I wasn't alone in this. But maybe it's not so unfortunate that others can relate. Maybe we can help each other. 

So what do you do when those unwanted guests arrive? I am learning to HALT. To stop and use the Al-Anon acronym HALT to determine if I am Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. I add another, Sick. If I'm any one of those, I'm not at my best. And those uninvited guests may be (probably are) just manifestations of my struggling brain.  But what if none of those apply? 

Clearly something is off. Al-Anon refers to nagging self-doubt as a "monkey on my back." The  monkey doesn't shout. He whispers in a nasty, pernicious voice that only I can hear. He knows just what to say to make me miserable. He taunts that I'm a failure, ugly, loser, etc. When I try to confront him head-on, he gaslights me and drives me crazy. 

I actually have nightmares in which people are shaming and mocking me. I've had dreams like this as long as I can remember. There will definitely be another post on that and maybe a series. So what do I do when the monkey is live? I'm learning to use the yoga tool of coming back to center. I rid myself of distractions, esp digital ones and bring it in and close. I breathe deeply and focus on channeling positive energy, till I get my balance back. It doesn't have to be for a long time. Just a few moments usually gets me on track and shuts the monkey up. 

How I lost 100 pounds with Popeye

 


Hiya friends! If you follow this blog on how I lost 100 pounds, you know that I like to write enigmatic titles to provoke your curiosity. Today we're looking at weight loss with Popeye. Not, alas, the famous Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen. I wish!! But Popeye the sailor man. (Whom my grandson Moses used to call Potpie, which makes me laugh to remember, and ponder how the baby grands are growing so quickly, but I digress...)

Anyway, Popeye says he's "strong to the finish cuz I eats me spinach." And that's great for weight loss too. One cup of spinach has $5% RDA vitamin A, 20% vitamin C, gobs of Vitamin K, Vitamin B and 10% potassium (the most difficult-to-get-enough-of of the electrolytes, as I learned by getting seriously dehydrated during Covid 19.) 

But how does spinach help lose weight? Popeye demonstrates when he eats a can, he gets super strong. That is a genuine benefit of spinach. Because it contains such high quantities of vitamins and electrolytes (calcium, magnesium) it boosts metabolism and energy. Metabolism boosters help food digest more efficiently, improve circulation and even enhance mood. Speedier metabolism gets the most bang for your food buck. 

You'll notice on shows like "My 600-lb Life" that most gastric bypass patients never eat a green vegetable unless it's saturated in butter or drowned in salad dressing. It's true that green leafy vegetables like spinach require some fat to digest. But it should be something high in MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) or PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids), low in saturated fats (unless avocado or coconut oil) and free of transfats. 

Dr. Now, gastric bypass physician on "My 600-lb Life" uses a 1200 calorie diet to help patients lose weight before and after surgery. This 1200 calorie diet is vegetable forward and features spinach and other green leafy vegetables prominently. These not only help with metabolism, they help cleanse and flush stored fat and end obesity. 

Another green leafy veggie that is great for weight loss is kale. However I find that kale has a stronger and more bitter flavor whereas I can hide spinach in most anything and not taste it. My favorite way to eat spinach is in a salad or breakfast smoothie. Add a few handfuls to your protein shake, with half a grapefruit, pea protein powder and blueberries or raspberries and drink your way to weight loss! 


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