Being snowed in is a good thing

It started snowing Wed afternoon, so I got home before it got bad. Then it's been icy so I haven't been anywhere for 3 days. This is good because I've gotten over my cravings.

I missed Wednesday's workout, but I walked up to Laura's Friday morning for a workout and I've also walked.

Hopefully, I'm back on track now. I'll do a few days of 19-hour fasting next week. I should be able to do it for a whole week now that I've lowered my carbs these last few days. My appetite is much less already.

Saw the bobcat again today. I think it was looking for some tasty squirrel to eat.

Asian beef, shiitake, bok choy soup

I made my beef bone broth last weekend along with some braised shortribs. This made the best soup I ever made. I hope I can recreate it again. The shiitakes have a unique flavor.

Braised short ribs with a little low-sodium, wheat-free tamari sauce and about 6 cloves of garlic in the last hour.
Simmered the beef bone for about 5 hours along with some vinegar.
After about 3 hrs, added braising liquid to broth and cooked for another hour.
Strained broth through cheesecloth and refrigerated overnight.
Allowed ribs to cool.
Next day, skim fat from broth.
In large pot, cook sliced shiitake mushrooms in coconut oil.
Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the beef picked off the short ribs.
Add sliced bok choy, frozen peas, sliced green onion, one bunch cilantro chopped, red pepper flakes and some sesame oil.
Simmer just a little more.

Serve with bean sprouts in a bowl. Add a little more tamari if needed.



Monday night, Workout B
Step ups/Dumbbell incline bench press
Bulgarian split squat/lat pull down
Romanian deadlift (straight legs)/swiss ball side crunches

The deadlifts this evening gave me a slight backache even though I kept the weight light (35# dumbbells). I was reading Performance Menu forum and there was a link to this article about doing press ups for back pain. I did about seven and the pain magically disappeared! Good stuff.

http://danjohn.org/gu11.pdf

I can really feel a difference after these workouts. I liked what the barbell squats did for my whole backside.

I fasted Monday until about 4:30, but ate regular meals today. Will probably fast tomorrow. Have really been fighting the cravings and did well today. Got into some potato chips yesterday, though.

Day 2 of the New Year - Diet and workout

Day 2 – so far, so good! It's always exciting to start a new thing. But I have my eating plan and exercise designed out and all I have to do is execute. Don't get into discussions of "should I/shouldn't I".

Workout
I printed my Excel spreadsheet with the workout and did that tonight for the first time. I used light weights to start with and it was a pretty easy workout, actually. But at least I have the weights written down and will know what to start at next time. My spreadsheet has groovy colors and I have it in a sheet protector in the file cabinet. If that's not a dork factor, I don't know what is! I don't care. I just focus on my workout.

On Tuesday night afterwork, I did the 19 minute total cardio. 5 min warmup, 1 min high, 2 min moderate (3 times) then 5 min cooldown. I used the elliptical and changed directions often.

Wednesday night, Workout A
Barbell squats/ Standing rows
Swiss ball supine hip extension/dumbbell push press (slight squat)
Rotational lunge/swiss ball crunch 8lb medicine ball

Diet

I'm doing a type if intermittent fasting where you condense eating to about a 5 hour window between 5 and 10pm. Basically, I skip breakfast and eat my lunch at work around 4:30 or 5. Then I eat dinner at home after my workout. But for the last 2 days, I've eaten around 2 or 3 because I felt a little shakey. I knew I had too much coffee, so today I switched to decaf after the first 2 of regular. Of course, my meals are low carb -- about 12g carbs per meal. I like the 3 carb Dannon light and fit yogurt. The little 4 oz. size is very filling.

Dr. Bert Herring has written a nice little book about fasting and is available for a free download.
http://www.fast-5.com/keystone.html

Yesterday, my weight was 236 which was up about 11 pounds prior to the holidays. My fasting bg was 160 which I'm not proud of at all. I had ice cream and potato chips way too often. Next week on Tuesday, I'll get back to tracking my weekly progress.

Fat burning workout - Afterburn

Well, guess I got busy with the holidays and also was without the internet for a week and a half due to a power outage. How did I stand it? :) I did get about 6 books read with my trusty penlight. I had found a link to an interval training site where it explained a good fat burning workout where you superset different exercises and move quickly with short rests. This is designed to be less efficient which is what you want for fat burning.

When I was at the bookstore, I found the book The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. I found that they like doing many of the same exercises Laura has trained me to do, such as deadlifts, squats, lunges and others. Lou says there is no 'dork factor' in using a clipboard, so I made up my own spread sheet with the Fat burning exercises and will take to the gym with me. I'll be able to write in how much weight I'm using which is good because I can't remember diddly squat. Somehow, Laura remembers what weight to give me but I don't pay any attention. I only made about 3 modifications.

Monday night, Workout B
Step ups/Dumbbell incline bench press
Bulgarian split squat/lat pull down
Romanian deadlift (straight legs)/swiss ball side crunches

Wednesday night, Workout A
Barbell squats/ Standing rows
Swiss ball supine hip extension/dumbbell push press (slight squat)
Rotational lunge/swiss ball crunch 8lb medicine ball

I do this routine from Jan 3 through Feb 12 and then move on to the Fat Burning II workout. The Fat burning III has a 4 exercise giant set. Let's see if I can make it to that.

Tuesdays I'll do the high/low intensity cardio (1 minute fast, 2 minutes slow repeated 3 times to start).
Fridays I still work out with Laura and the girls and then do the afternoon hike. I'll do a walk on Sundays and then either rest or a walk on Thursdays and Saturdays.

http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/Energy-System-Training.html

Week 17: +1, Total 19

Well thanks to fasting yesterday, I lost 4 of the 5 pounds I gained last week. My fasting blood sugar was 113 compared to 130 yesterday. So I will continue this IF for a while. I will avoid eating out because it makes me hungry. Maybe due to hidden sugars or something else.

We are snowed in today, so I will take a nice walk in the neighborhood this afternoon. It's coooold outside!

For lunch, I'm having a salad of mache (lamb's lettuce) and sliced radishes. I make a viniagrette with a garlic clove smashed with a pinch of course salt. Love that stuff. I guess I'll have some sockeye salmon too. Then I'll skip dinner tonight.

Back to IF

I decided to get back into the intermittent fast today as a way to reign back my appetite. I don't like feeling out of control. Last week and through the weekend, I ate lots of nuts and also made the low carb pumpkin custard. I also ate bread a few times. I do not like the feeling of overeating.

My weight was up to 230 and morning blood sugar was 130.

So it's gone pretty well today. Got hungry a few times, but just kept putting it off and made it through. Looking forward to bone-in pork chops and asparagus for dinner.

I've been reading various articles that remind me about the damage caused by excess insulin. Watching blood sugars is only one part of the story. For example, fructose doesn't make blood sugar rise that much but it gets converted to fat in the liver and contributes to insulin resistance.

Also re-read the chapter about insulin in PPLP. The top 2 things to reduce insulin levels are 1) reducing carbs, 2) lowering calories. So I guess IF does both. I really want to lower my insulin levels in addition to keeping my blood sugar low. Dr. Eades also made a point that having lower insulin levels helps weightloss. So I'm all over that!

I also found Dr. Ron Rosedale's talk about insulin in 1999:
http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin.htm

It's best to get fasting insulin levels below 10. I will ask the doc if I can get mine tested (when I get around to making the appointment). I would also like to have my iron levels checked and probably should donate blood.

Week 16: -1, Total 20

Since August 13, I've lost 3 inches off my waist and hips! I lost 1 inch this last month, but no weight. I'm pleasantly surprised at that. It's motivating to get through Thanksgiving without eating too much bad stuff. I'm not planning on eating anything bad. But I ordered a beef dip sandwhich at a restaurant yesterday and then today I had some bread. I'm not sure why I'm doing that.

Hiked Rattlesnake again

We hiked to Rattlesnake ledge again Friday. It got pretty dark by 4:30 or 5. I should always remember my backpack and head lamp just in case. But it was a nice afternoon.

My blood sugar went from 115 Friday morning to 95 on Saturday morning. My weight is still around 226-227.

Saturday, we had a beautiful sunny day. I finished moving the rest of the compost to the back yard over the sand filter septic system. Then I planted the carex, oxalis and tassel ferns as ground cover. Little by little, there won't be any more grass to mow in the back yard. I have room for 2 Japanese maples. I may try to move one that is vase shaped and getting bigger. But it's close to a gas line, so I may have to just cut it down. I'll have some pathways of beauty bark around and through the yard.

It's all I can do to wait to make the pumpkin mousse. But I've got to cut back on the treats in order to keep losing weight. I've had some winter squash with pork chops. I have one more serving of almonds in the freezer and I won't buy anymore for a while.

I went to a little party last night and was going to have a little wine, but I just had a diet pop instead. Wine always makes my ankles swell up anyway.

Week 15: -2, Total 19

Lost 2 of the 3 I gained last week. I cut back on low carb treats. I have been having about 2 handfuls of almonds in the evening. One would be sufficient.

I made two soups on Sunday with some grass-fed chuck roast that I cut up into bite-sized pieces. PCC did not have the soup bones on hand, so the soup wasn't as good as last time. One was a beef soup with dinosour kale, leek, squash, carrots and peas. The other was a chili with beef, red peppers, celery and onion and the New Mexico green chiles. It's a little hot, but gets better when I stir in a little cream cheese and cheddar cheese.

I'm going to my brother's for Thanksgiving. I'm planning on taking the low carb pumpkin mousse, either green beans almondine or broccoli puree and maybe some deviled eggs, but they like deviled eggs too. We'll have fun playing games. Hopefully I can get a hike in over the long weekend. Maybe I can get a niece or two to go with me.

Week 14: +3, Total 17

Oh man. I'm getting nowhere fast by having low carb treats. Plus 3 this week. I made a low carb chocolate mousse and I had some nuts. I had some toasted coconut - big shavings of organic coconut which I baked at 300 for about 10 minutes. Next time, I will add that to a coconut custard. I may have eaten some other things I can't even remember. I had some regular bread too.

My morning blood sugars have been between 99 and 108 for the last week. I need to prove to myself I can maintain 85 for a week! I've only maintained that for about 3 days.

I just had one more treat. I wanted to practice some recipes to use on my family when I have them over. I had read about cooking sliced apples separately and then adding to a pie. So here's what I did for a lower carb dessert:

1 sliced Golden Delicious Apple

Melt some butter in a skillet with the heat on medium low. Add the apple. Add cinnamon to taste and a light sprinkle of other spices such as ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Toss with the apple. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Toss and cook another few minutes. Sprinkle about 3 packets of Splenda. Serve warm with a splash of heavy cream.

Week 13: -3, Total 20

Yay, going back down again.

It was tough to get through today at work with the Halloween candy all around me. Especially the Almond Joys! How many times in years past did I eat a few bags of Almond Joy, Snickers and Reeses. Empty wrappers all over. It's ugly to remember and to think of the harm it has done. When one trick-or-treating teenager asked me where my candy was, I just said "It's so bad for you!". The commercialism and greed or hoarding of candy turns me off. Just like Easter when instead of hunting eggs, the kids just greedily run around getting as many as they can. The size of Easter baskets is extreme and now includes gifts. It's just too much, I think.

I did get to the gym Monday. I bumped up the wave machine, like elliptical only an inline skating motion. I was even swinging my arms, pretending I was skating out on the boardwalk by a California beach! I had my heart rate going at around 155 for about 8 minutes and then a cool down. Then I did some upper body and abs on the ball to round out the hour.

I *will* get to the gym tomorrow night for mostly cardio, which I usually hate to do by myself and I talk myself out of going. When I look back on my journal, exercise makes a big difference!

Have to remember my goal of improving my hiking time. Everybody is faster than me and I don't like to make my friends slow down and wait for me. I would like to do more group hikes, but I gotta lose more weight so I can walk faster.

Hike to Poo Poo

We hiked to Poo Poo point from the high school. This was a tough hike. I was huffing, puffing and sweating the whole way up -- total time was about 2.5 hours. But look at the results! I lost the 3 pounds I had gained over the last couple weeks, so now I'm back at my lowest in 3 months. And my blood sugar was 84 today! Whoo hoo.

In 3 months, I've lost a total of 2 inches off my waist and hips.

This time of year, you can't help but think of pumpkin pie. I made this custard as practice yesterday. It tastes so good and sweet! I will take this to my brother's house for Thanksgiving since there will be some borderline diabetics as well as sugar-sensitive kids there.

1 29-ounce can pumpkin puree
sweetner to taste - I used 20 packets or so of Splenda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs
1 - 13oz can Coconut milk

Mix and pour into 6 large muffin tins greased with butter. Preheat oven to 425 then turn to 350 and bake for 45 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. I froze the individual portions.

Week 12: -0, Total 17

Well, doggone it. I did well eating-wise, but the scale hasn't quite gone down yet. Just barely. It probably will tomorrow! I have been hungry and maybe I ate larger portion sizes or an extra piece of cheese. Geez, constant struggle and thinking about food.

Hey, wait a minute! I just remembered I take my waist and hip measurement each month.

>>>>>>>I lost a half inch off both waist and hips. <<<<<<<<

So the ratio is still 97% :(

Hike on Snoqualmie Winery Road

This hike connects to the Rattlesnake Ledge Hike, but we didn't quite make it far enough to connect. I liked this hike because there was plenty of clearing which gave us a spectacular view of Tiger and Taylor mountains. We heard that familiar screech and looked up to see a bald eagle gliding above. This mountain had been logged many years ago, and seeing all the new growth and variety of plants is fun. There are some we couldn't identify so I have to look the up (didn't have my camera with me -- that needs to be standard equipment from now on!) The vine maples are flaming red and glowing amber.

The scale was down a pound this morning and my blood sugar is back down to around 100 after last week's cold and eating a few too many carbs. So I'm working hard to eat less and get some more weight off! Oh yah, and exercise more. I have to stop telling myself I hate the elliptical.

I love the elliptical. I love the stair master. I love the skating machine. I love the stationary bike.

Week 11: +2, Total 17

I ate out last week and just had a little of this and that. Hopefully things will go back down again.

I've missed my hikes a couple weeks in a row now too. So I need to bump up the workouts. At least do 4 good high intensity workouts a week.

My blood sugar was 124 one day. I had a good workout that night. The next day, fbs was down to 111. So I know exercise is very effective for getting that down for me. I was looking at my journal and when I hit 85, I had done a nice long bike ride the previous day.

I've had some carb creep and nuts so I'm going to keep an eye on that. Things are heating up at work so I have to make sure make time to get to the gym after work. It's good to work out the stress (not bad stress, just good stress). I would so love to get back to playing tennis because I'm not that crazy about just doing an elliptical by myself. I quit tennis because of heel pain. I suspect that high blood sugar was partly to blame. I'll have a little surgery for a meniscus tear and then I hope to be ready to play next spring.

So that's how I can make it through elliptical: it's bringing blood sugars down, weight down and good training to get back into tennis!

Week 10: -4, Total 19

Woohoo! I'm back in action. After my potato chip incident, last Sunday, I was kind of hungry for the next few days. But I stuck with it and am much less hungry now.

I've had a bad cold, so that probably helped me not eat. I haven't had many colds in the last several years. Maybe it was punishment for eating the potato chips.

Some of the things I ate last week: fajita skillets (just the chicken, peppers and onions with some cheese), tuna salad with cucumber and mache (lambs lettuce), grass-fed rib steak, cod and bok choy soup. I also made some low carb cheese cake, but just had small amounts.

My blood sugar was 127 this morning and was 116 yesterday. Maybe my cold or lack of exercise is why it is so high?

Voila! down a pound

I buckled down and watched my portion sizes and voila! I lost the pound I gained last week plus one more.

No hike this week since my hiking buddy is in Hawaii. So I will get in a bike ride on Sunday.

Week 9: Gained 1!

Uh oh. Now how can I wriggle out of this one? I have to face it. I had a bag of potato chips and a candy bar on Sunday. I don't know why. I had actually gone down a pound earlier in the week. A couple of people have noticed that I look better. So why would I slip back to old habits? I don't know.

Other than that cheat, I'm eating how I was eating for the first couple of months for the challenge when I lost about 2 pounds each week. About 30g carbs daily, 6 oz meat for lunch and dinner and 3 eggs for breakfast. Plus the supplements including fish oil. Ok, I probably exceeded the portion amounts sometimes in the last couple of weeks. So I will pay closer attention to measurements.

There is no way I'm giving up on this. I will do it. I CAN and I WILL.

Week 8: Lost 0, Total 15

I've updated my goal to what my ultimate goal is. 150 will put me out of the overweight classification on the BMI charts.

Didn't lose weight this week. Had a little clam chowder and even a few french fries when my Mom and I went to lunch! That was my first cheat meal in two months and I hope it's my last. It just was not worth it. It is not fun to gain back what I worked so hard to lose.

For Month 2, I lost an additional inch off my hips and a half an inch off my waist.


I made something a little different for dinner.

Lamb and chantrelle skillet

Sautee crimini and chantrelle mushrooms. Remove from pan.
Sautee sliced leeks then add 4 cloves garlic.
Add ground lamb
Add 2Tbsp fresh thyme. Salt and pepper to taste.
When lamb is almost done, add back mushrooms. Stir for a few minutes.

I then had some homemade gelatin with sf raspberry syrup, plus some cream.

Good stuff.

True confession - sugar free treats.

I'm going to confess now that my fbs went up to 98. I got a maltitol-sweetened nut thingy and ate the whole thing. A few days ago I had some sf carmel pudding. This is the ready-to-eat pudding in 4 little containers. I hope I can learn some day to eat just one at a time. But I ate all 4 that night. So I'll just stick with the sf jello as my only treat.

I have not gained weight yet, but I haven't lost either this week.

I have a hike planned today and the weather looks good for another bike ride on Sunday. I'll keep my carbs under 30 as usual and eat about 6oz protein for dinner along with my usual 3 omega-3 eggs for breakfast. I've been having some cheese in an omelet for breakfast and I will skip the cheese if I don't start losing.

I skipped lunch Friday and I may continue to eat about 2 meals a day with no snacks. I won't eat before exercise in order to get extra fat burning. I have 4 days until Tuesday!