Healthy Progress and Discoveries

As my readers know, I have been doing (and loving) the Couch to 5K plan. I made it through week 8 of the 9 week program - going from barely being able to jog for 60 seconds to jogging for 28 minutes straight. Woot! I am really proud of this achievement. But at the same time I was really discouraged because in all of those 8 weeks I didn't lose an ounce - in fact I GAINED 4lbs! I tried not to let it bother me, figuring I was gaining muscle, but I still wasn't happy about it. Then, two weeks ago I was sidelined by a twisted ankle.


Ouch. I wish I could say I did it doing something really cool and dangerous, but the truth is I stepped in a hole while walking the dogs. Classy. Anyway - since I was benched I decided to tackle my eating habits. Until that point I had been taking one step at a time, concentrating only on jogging.

I started the Maker's Diet. It's not really a diet, it's more about retraining you to eat healthily based on the way they ate in biblical times. It's a fantastic book and I highly recommend it, not just for weight loss, it's for those with chronic illness too! The author was gravely ill with Crohn's and used this plan to regain his health and weight - it's all about health. I used this plan years ago when I went on my elimination diet to see what Bram is allergic to. Rereading this book - I realize just how far I've wandered from the healthy path, it's shocking how bad habits creep up on you and then the pounds follow. I don't follow the book exactly, the author recommends things like clenzeology, HSOs and a bunch of supplements that I don't have the time or money to fool with right now, but I'm following the eating plan.

AND I'VE LOST 9LBS!!!! WOOT!!!! While concentrating on my eating, I've been able to learn some valuable pieces of information about myself.

1. I am a grazer and that's bad. There's nothing wrong with eating more often (5 small meals instead of 3 larger ones) but I would snack all day - much more than I realized. I wouldn't sit down with a bag of chips, but I'd eat four chips here, a few grapes there, taste this, a bite of that and on and on. That resulted in probably hundreds of extra calories a day!!
   


2. I am a condiment queen. Gotta have smoked chipotle Tabasco on my eggs, ketchup on fries, dressing with my veggies, honey on my bread and mustard on everything else. Again, this meant hundreds of extra calories a day. Add that to my grazing habit and we're talking a thousand extra calories a day!!
   


3. Real food tastes good! I knew this and did eat plenty of natural, healthy foods daily. But when the good food is compounded with the processed junk, my body craves the sugar and cancer-inducing-processed nastiness. After the first few days I have had very few junk food cravings which is awesome in and of itself.
   


4. I'm an emotional eater. I never considered myself an emotional eater because I don't crave food when I am on an emotional high - whether the emotion is positive or negative. But I've discovered when I'm in that in between melancholy, slightly teary mood - kind of sad and a little stressed, but not overwhelmed. That's when I get my cravings and want to eat.

I've been dealing with two of those emotional situations this week. Do any of you have a friend who lies all the time but since no one calls them out on their BS they think that they're fooling everyone? When in reality, the only one they are fooling is themselves. You know the person - the one who thinks everyone is buying their crap but in actuality everyone has decided not to waste their breath trying to point them in the right direction. I've been emotionally dealing with one of those.

Plus, a sweet family member called last night. She's 8 weeks pregnant, has had some slight spotting and today is going in for a second sonogram because they couldn't find a heartbeat on the last one (after her spotting). The good news is she and the baby are measuring 8 weeks - but it is a tough situation. My heart aches for her, I've been there. So I'm wrapping her and the little peanut in prayer today. I would appreciate it if you would take a moment to pray also.

Anyway, after that phone call I had a crazy mad craving for a big, sugary bowl of cereal. Carbs! I want carbs!! It was my first major craving. I'm happy to report I ate garlic lentils instead. No, It didn't taste as good and I went to bed sulky. But this morning the feeling of triumph was so worth it!! As one of my getting healthy buddies, Honey, likes to say:

I'm not saying it's going to be easy, I'm saying it's going to be worth it.

Amen!