Dieting, Metabolism and Me

Exercise … a demon in spandex

2010-06-01T22:22:00.003-04:00

Here we are, almost 5 months from my last post on exercise and once again I’m ‘restarting’ my exercise engine. It has been a hectic few months. I’ve had a severe cold and a hacking cough that won’t go away (get this: I might have ‘exercise induced asthma’; had a tight chest after a bike ride that didn’t go away in a couple of hours, as it has in the past; that led into severe cold, sore throat, then this hacking cough and trouble breathing) … Excuses, excuses.

So here I was today, determined that I was going jogging. I wanted to go late so it wouldn’t be so hot, humid and laden with pollen. I was getting my clothes on when I realized that it was still raining. So I finished getting dressed and since I hadn’t heard thunder since about 4 pm (it was now 7:15) I figured I’d be safe. It was quite nice. It wasn’t pouring, no cars and I just felt really good. By the time I finished the sun was coming out. I jogged for 20 minutes and felt great. Now the trick is to keep it slow and steady.

I may also emulate my friend Roseanne who does 10 minutes stints of exercise and she has lost 18 lbs. Anyone can do 10 minutes of movement a few times during the day. Baby steps as always :)

Technorati Tags: exercise,jogging,running,movement

Still going strong …

2010-05-24T14:19:00.001-04:00

I know it’s been a while, but I am still here doing what I need to do. I’ve been kind of busy and stressed out and it’s good that I have this keeping me eating well. Though I’ve gone up and down a couple pounds since my last post, I am down 3 lbs. since then. So I have hit the 160’s; I am now 168.

Someone made a comment that maybe this wasn’t the ‘diet’ for me, since it was so hard to lose on Step 2. I know this is the way for me because of what I’m eating and the things I actually crave when I’m on Step 1. I am not wanting more bread, chips or ice cream; I can’t wait to get back to Step 2 so I can have an orange, strawberries and my beloved corn :)

It’s extremely hard for me to lose anything on Step 2, but I will keep trying because it’s the more healthy way for me to eat. This diet is not meant to have you on Step 1 for an extended period of time, it’s just supposed to jump start the weight loss and then move up to a more healthy way of eating; i.e.. fruit, whole grain, etc. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me, but I’m doing what I have to do to continue to lose and keep my sanity, while still eating healthy. I go back and forth from Step 1 to Step 2; the first to continue to lose and the second to eat more carbs and one of these times I’m gonna get Step 2 right. But if not, I will slowly work my way to the weight that seems right for me by doing what I’m doing. If I miss a few fruits along the way, it is surely better than the way I was eating, lots and lots of bread, chips, ice cream – and when I was eating that way, I wasn’t eating much fruit anyway!!

I’m learning that even on this diet, not everyone is the same and we all have to adapt whatever we do, to the way our own bodies respond. Now one of these days I’ll start exercising again and tone-up what I have left. You can lose more weight on this without exercising, but when you do exercise, you’ll look like you’ve lost more. Can’t seem to get that, “I’ve got to lose this much weight…” mentality out of my head. Now I will start getting my muscles back in shape :()

Technorati Tags: metabolism,met b,diet,weight,step 1,step 2,tone-up,muscle,losing

Belt Loss …

2010-04-08T08:19:00.000-04:00

To me a belt has always been just a fashion accessory; to be worn sometimes, to enhance an outfit.

Suddenly my belts have become useful. As my pants seem to ‘grow’ (not very often we get to say that:), the number of holes used on my belt grows also! It dawned on me about what a perfect gage this was for my weight loss :() As my pants ‘pucker’, my belt tightens, the better I feel.

So here’s a picture of my favorite belt. I made this belt (not the buckle) in 1982 while stationed in Seoul, Korea! I had just ‘discovered’ country music (in small country bars – stories best left untold ;) (who the heck discovers country music in Korea???) so I was influenced to design this western style belt. The designs were ‘punched out’ with tools in the shop they had on post. It has traveled with me ever since. It’s been well-used, hung in the back of closets, brought out again, put back for years before coming into the light again, hopefully for a long, long time.

This is the belt that I wear every day and each time I put it on and pass each hole it just puts a smile on my face. Oooops, time to get out my trusty hole-punch again…

Actually, since I’ve been able to wear it again a few months ago, I’ve gone from the 1st hole to the 5th hole; that is 4 inches!

Progress

2010-03-26T15:12:00.001-04:00

ok,ok… This ‘new’ (new to me:) concept of only eating when I’m hungry seems to be working. When I feel hungry, I wait a little while to make sure it’s not just in my head. Then when my stomach is really telling me about it, I eat something. Actually, it’s a cool feeling being hungry, it let’s me know that I’m not stuffing myself. It’s not like when you’re on a diet and you’re hungry all of the time.

With this, I know that if I’m actually hungry that I can eat whenever I want; that’s the key, if I’m actually hungry.

So I seem to be losing weight again. My belt is on the third hole, from the first. I bought another belt, to wear to work, just a cheapy at Wal-Mart. They didn’t have medium, so I got a large. I really needed a belt, and this one was cute. As soon as I put it on I was already on the last hole!! But we have our trusty hole-punch and these days it’s getting a great workout :() I did weigh myself on Tuesday and I’m down another 3 lbs.

Is it no wonder that so many people are overweight? It’s so easy to put it on, but taking it off is such an uphill battle. You have to fight every inch of the way and always lurking around the corner is the urge to give in. I guess searching for the right solution is what keeps most of us going. As long as we keep trying and find a way to slay the temptation beast we should reach our goals.

Technorati Tags: diet,metabolism,hungry,weight,losing,lbs,overweight,battle,temptation

I’ve ‘DISCOVERED’ a ‘BRAND NEW’ concept in eating … :)

2010-03-20T23:00:00.001-04:00

It came to me just before my morning snack. But first, a short explanation. There are certain intervals when I must eat a certain amount of carbs, so I will, whether I’m hungry or not…

It was time for my morning snack, an apple and almonds. I realized that I wasn’t hungry like I usually am. So it dawned on me that maybe I should only eat the apple, since I wasn’t hungry. (The apple was the carb that I had to eat) I was fine right up until lunch time! I finally did have those almonds after my jog when I was truly hungry. Normally, I would’ve had the almonds in the morning and then another something when I really was hungry.

Since I’m not losing weight something must change. So right then I had the epiphany, the discovery, the brand new concept…

I will only eat when I’m hungry !!!

Since I don’t have the cravings any longer, this should be easier than it used to be. Now, I know perfectly well it won’t always work; but for the most part I can do it. There are still times, like at night, I get this need for more (whether it’s physical or emotional), even though I just had my snack. The difference now is that if I must have something, I make better choices.

Technorati Tags: discovered,concept,carbs,hungry,change,epiphany,discovery,cravings,choices

Not losing…

2010-03-18T08:27:00.001-04:00

Where do I begin? I apologize for being silent for so long. It’s easy to speak when things are going well; I’ve always gone real silent to those around me when things ‘go south’. No, I haven’t strayed, overeaten, or otherwise screwed up on my eating. I just haven’t lost weight in about a month.

So here’s where I remind myself of what I said a while ago. To loosely quote myself, “Even if I don’t lose any more weight I am eating so much better and healthier that I don’t ever want to go back to being so out of control of my eating.”

In reality, if I stayed at 175 it wouldn’t be so bad if I could ‘fix’ my stomach. Now that I have my eating the way it should be, I want to be more consistent in my exercise. I know that’s where toning my stomach will come in to play. I haven’t had one whole month of consistent exercise in a very long time. It’s just that there is so much I want to do, that my time gets away from me, or I want to just be home and just be… I have time for the gym right after work and the plan is to go at least Tuesday and Thursday; then do cardio most other days. Plans go awry, but I’ve got a pretty good start last Thursday and this week.

Step 1 RESTART - update

2010-02-18T14:13:00.001-05:00

Like an old comfortable sweater, Step 1 has me in a much better place. My mistakes on Step 2 have me re-grouping and planning my next assault. In the meantime, I will hopefully lose a few more pounds. It feels like I’m in ‘no mans land’ as I refresh my body with the foods that I know.

I’m not sure how I will ever be able to persevere on Step 2. I have ‘fought’ every schedule I have ever made for myself, since being out of the Army. You have to be very aware of when you are eating carbs on Step 2. It is almost the opposite of Step 1. In Step 1 you can take or leave the carbs. In Step 2 you must have them at certain intervals, or risk getting triple the amount as your body takes over and feeds itself.

I just have to remember that I’ve been eating so much, and so unhealthy for such a long time, that it may take a while to learn how to eat; specifically for the way my body works. I really want to overcome bad eating habits and I don’t want to always be saying, “Oh well, I’ll eat better tomorrow”.

Basically I have been eating healthy. It’s those times when I would eat the whole bag of chips after everyone else has gone to bed. Or when we eat out and ALWAYS feeling as though I have to eat as much as possible, because I just have to get my money’s worth. Then there were the times when I already had a snack, ice cream, but was that enough (?), noooo. Then came the chips, or anything that was sweet and/or salty.

Each one of us knows how to eat healthy, for some of us it is harder for a reason we now know. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, as I have clearly shown. It will be worth it when I figure this all out and can finally be in control of what I shove into my mouth.

After coming this far, I have shed myself of cravings, lost 16 lbs., been able to eat out and feel satisfied but not stuffed, not pigged out every weekend … so hang in there, my journey has just begun and I will fight tooth and nail every step of the way, and maybe I’ll drag a few of you out there with me. (Albeit, kicking and screaming!!)

Sorry some of the articles are so long. It’s really hard for me to keep it short. There always seems to be one more thing I want to say. Funny how that’s just the opposite of how I am in person :()

Splenda and Stevia

2010-02-13T18:56:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of good articles on Splenda and Stevia. I thought those interested would benefit from this information. I choose to use Splenda especially now on the Metabolism Miracle. Scroll down to Dec 11th and 13th for the articles: Stevia and Splenda

Step 2 False Start

2010-02-10T18:23:00.001-05:00

The start of Step 2 had its challenges. The first few days were rough due to the fact that adding some more carbs can create a bloated feeling. Then a couple of days later, my period began! So it’s taking me quite a while to get back to a thin feeling; not there yet.

Adding carbs in Step 2 does not mean a free for all on carbs. There is a very specific timing issue and only certain carbs are added, they’re referred to as ‘low impact’ carbs. Whole grain bread, brown rice, whole grain pasta, milk, many fruits and crackers are some of the foods that are added back into the diet. There is a method to the timing and type of carbs. Basically, our bodies follow a 5 hour cycle in which our liver will feed us between 45 and 65 grams of carbs, if we haven’t eaten any! We are trying to avoid this self feeding. On Step 2 you should have 11-20 grams every 5 hours. (and another 11-20 grams in between meals that are further than 5 hours apart, this is where I mostly had problems).

Diane says that we should learn Step 2 as if it were our jobs and I’ve taken that to heart, I really thought I was doing well. I was able to email her my first few days food log and found one thing that I needed to change, but for the most part I was doing well. Step 2 is quite a turn around from Step 1, so it takes a little concentration to understand. Questions, emails and the Metabolism Miracle forum helps a lot also.

All that being said, in reality I have not done well at all. I haven’t been vigilant about ALWAYS having enough carbs if my meals are far apart. My problem usually wasn’t with what I was eating, but when I was eating it. You can miss OCCASSIONALLY, but I see that I just had too many small miscalculations.

I haven’t stepped on the scale in almost 3 weeks, but I can tell because I’m feeling ‘pressure’ in my waistbands again. I’ve also noticed that I’m tired in the mornings again after a good nights sleep. I’ve had some days of just feeling so blah, and pissed off over everything. When I was on Step 1 I didn’t have all of that as much as I used to.

I sent Diane my food log again, because I felt that I was actually gaining. She had many comments and recommended I go back to Step 1 for a refresher. (I emailed her on the 5th, she responded on the 5th, but it went into my SPAM and I didn’t see it until today, the 10th) Actually I had decided to go back to Step 1 this morning after I did step on the scale!

Now going back to Step 1 is not because I’ve failed. It’s actually what she recommends whenever you veer off course for whatever reason. Some people have planned ‘splurges’ if you will (Diane actually does this over the holidays), some people have other reasons. You can go back whenever you want, just to ‘clean things up’ again. So she recommends going back to Step 1 for 2 weeks when you need to.

Addendum to MM vs Atkins

2010-02-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

To be fair I wanted to add this fact to my last post. Part of the high fat component on Atkins is that he says you will eat less because fat is more filling. Well I think about that and maybe this could be true; but then think about all the diets we've been on and after a while you eat less and it seems like you're stomach can't take as much food. Then it all wears off and little by little we start eating more and more. It seems to me (and I'm no scientist) that we would eventually eat more and more fat, and little by little ... you know where that train goes.

The Metabolism Miracle vs. Akins

2010-02-07T22:41:00.001-05:00

I’ve read comments and heard people talking about how The Metabolism Miracle is ‘just like’ Atkins. Sometimes I wonder how people can talk about things without really knowing. I haven’t found one article that is accurate in regard to this matter. I actually bought the ‘New Atkins Revolution’ so I could do an accurate comparison. I also went to Dianne Kress’s website. At one point I was actually going back and forth between both books comparing this and that. I think I have a grasp of the differences.

The easiest to understand is in regard to fat. Atkins still recommends eating full fat everything. There is no thought about how much fat you are eating. Metabolism Miracle advocates eating mostly low-fat when applicable. You have to really think about this one. When you eat lots of fat your body is going to burn that first. So instead of burning the fat on your body, it’s expending all that energy on the extra fat you’ve eaten! On the Metabolism Miracle ,you are eating much more lean protein with some fat, nuts with good fat, and so in my mind, you are getting plenty of good fat. (Atkins refers to ’low fat diets’, but only in the realm of high carbs. So he’s never compared a low-fat, low-carb diet to his high-fat, low-carb diet.)

The Metabolism Miracle is the only diet that actually ‘rests’ your pancreas and liver(Step 1 does this). Those of us with Metabolism B have been over eating sugar and carbs for a very long time, our bodies have been over producing insulin, so our livers need the rest to ‘reset’ our metabolism. Carbs are then reintroduced in a very timely manner, in particular amounts and only certain types of carbs. Your body goes by a 5 hour cycle, and no one else pays this cycle any attention. So when you go too long without a certain amount of carbs, your body feeds itself and for us, too much. Atkins has a very low-carb first phase, but it only lasts for 2 weeks. You may do it longer if you want to though. This is not enough time to reprogram your bodys’ metabolism, and the way you count carbs is way to intrusive.

On the Metabolism Miracle the only carbs you count are: bread, rice, pasta, milk and yogurt and fruit. You can eat freely most vegetables, cheese, meat, poultry, fish, artificial sweeteners (they are not absorbed, so don’t affect your blood sugar), peanut butter and nuts. On the Atkins diet, he would have you count all of your vegetables, cheese, nuts and (get this) every packet of Splenda would have to be counted! These foods do have carbs, but they don’t affect your body the way bread etc. do, because the carbs are absorbed very slowly, so they are ‘free‘ foods on Metabolism Miracle.

These are the major differences between Atkins and Metabolism Miracle. Just thought I’d put that out there.

Dianne Kress blog

2010-02-03T22:01:00.001-05:00

My time is totally out of control and I can’t figure out why. Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. On Dianne Kress’s blog there is a very interesting article; Dianne's blog. Also, if you go to the 2009 blog, she has a quick outline of what to eat on Step 1 if you were interested. Actually, her whole website has great info on the diet.

The diet seems to be catching on in the UK also. Here is a 4 part series Dailymail in the UK , which if you don't have the book, is a really great place to get the skinny on what to do. It is pretty much excerpts from the book. Some great information there for you.

Back to the Holidays...

2010-01-27T23:00:00.006-05:00

Seriously starting a diet during the holidays poses many challenges, as you can well imagine. There are not only the holidays to contend with, but other get-togethers pose serious challenges in figuring out what to eat. Passing through Thanksgiving with flying colors, I had confidence to move on to the rest of the season. Each day I was, and still am, pretty consumed with what I would eat next. This was not due to being hungry, I always ate when I was hungry. I was just making sure I did everything right. I was always afraid that if I screwed up even once that I would be back at square one. That is totally not true of course. There are allowances for indulgences on any diet, I just chose not to indulge and that has worked for me so far.

During December, I had a concert with The Fall River Symphony Orchestra. Members of the orchestra and choir had a chance to get an extra ticket by baking something for the bake sale after the concert. I chose my favorite holiday indulgence, congo bars. Talk about a glutton for punishment. As I was taking them out of the pan and putting them onto plates, I got some on my finger, oh my … automatically my finger started to go to my mouth. I caught myself before I ate it, went into the kitchen and rinsed off my hands. That is the absolute truth! There was no dilemma as to whether I wanted it or not, no thought of how good it would be. I only knew that I had to get it off my finger! (I did tell you in an earlier post that you wouldn’t hear any stories of how my ‘carb cravings’ would lead to some funny stories, sorry) Normally, when I make congo bars I’m the first to ‘make sure they taste good’ and clean any crumbs from the pan. It’s pretty ridiculous how I would eat them like they were the last food on earth.

After the concert we made spaghetti at our house, for my family who attended the concert. I had literally run out of time to make some biscuits that I would eat. So while everyone else had the nice, aromatic, fresh Italian bread, I quickly toasted my low-carb bread, buttered it and I was good. While I was eating my spaghetti and toast(spaghetti squash for Ma and I; there we go being the ‘special people‘ again), I noticed, very briefly, a look that my toast received from someone. That look seemed to say, “Jeez, that’s what she gets to have? Poor girl!”. I smiled inwardly because I knew I was fine and they just didn’t understand …

Exercise, then and NOW

2010-01-24T21:57:00.001-05:00

I suppose that if you truly want to do something you will make it a priority in your day. Perhaps this is a little insight into why I have such trouble ‘fitting’ exercise into most of my days. This realization is rather depressing. I’ve always thought of myself as ‘athletic’, yet I don’t make exercise a priority in my days. I put everything else ahead of it. So most days do not include exercise of any kind. The days I finally get to it, it’s already dark. While this is excellent during the holidays with all the lights in the neighborhood, it’s not quite as enticing after the lights go out. There is just something so magical about being outside, in the dark, with all of the Christmas lights, the silence and if I’m lucky, a beautiful light snow. I even have my ‘snow tire’ running shoes for the snow and ice.

For the first 6 weeks of the diet, my exercise was very sporadic. So if you read the blog on exercise last week, you know that I have lost some muscle along with the fat, in the 16 lbs. I’ve lost so far. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE PEOPLE!! Who has the time to purposefully exercise for 30 minutes, 5 days a week? Uh, I know this one, pick me, pick me … I DO. I get out of work at 1 pm; well usually I do, this month has actually had me leaving work at 2 - 3. "What", you say, "is wrong with that? I get out at 4 or 5". Yup, you’re absolutely right. The gym is on my way home, the road is right outside of my house, what could possibly keep me from doing what I know I should be doing when I do have the time?

I seem to have trouble with any type of scheduling. Staying consistent has never been one of my better attributes. There always seems to be one more mundane daily task that I put ahead of my own well-being. The masses facetiously chant, “Gee Tami, we don’t know anything about that!!” WE ALL KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!! I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve put on my running clothes so I’ll be ready after I’ve eaten and done ‘a few’ other things; only to find that, hours later, I’m still in my running clothes and the only running I’ve done is to get the laundry before it wrinkles, or vacuumed the house from end to end, ran to feed the animals, ran to pick up Austin (thank god he has a car now), ran to get groceries, ran for other errands. By the time I remember I need to go running, it’s time to run to my chair and collapse!!

While not all days are like that, most days I could do something. Of course there are crazy days, like last Friday. I got out of work at 3 (2 hours later than scheduled), had to rush home to eat something, had to rush to the grocery store because I started Step 2 and needed to get a few things, got home at 5:30, finished putting away groceries by 6, Dan cooked so we ate at 6:15, dishes done by 6:45, cleaned up various messes all over the house from the morning and getting home to drop everything, sat down for 15 minutes to read email, got dressed to go to a dance party at 8:15. We then danced from 8:45 to 11pm. Now finally I actually did get some exercise! Talk about collapsing after a busy day. But I had my sketcher’s on all afternoon so my feet were still going strong. Anyway …..

For the past 2 weeks I’ve exercised at least 4 days a week. The old feeling is coming back to my jogging. I really jog now. In the past I would always strive to go further AND faster. How can I put this? … In the past 5 years I’ve come to realize that certain parts of my body can no longer take certain stress. From a torn ACL and PCL in my right leg and some sort of pain in my left knee, whenever I start to push my running I have to ice my knee. I have found that if I just jog the whole way, there is no pain. That’s good enough for me. If you have ever been into running, then you know why I must continue. There is a certain feeling you get that is really hard to explain, I think they call it ‘runners high’, so for now I will be slow; and happy about it:). The gym has seen my face 2 days a week for the past 2 weeks. I do 10 minutes cardio warm-up and 30 minutes of lifting weights. That’s normally one cycle of a whole-body workout that I do.

So hey, let’s get off our butts and do SOMETHING! I have big plans of longer runs this year! Dust off your tread mills, your ab machines, your dogs, your stair machines, your clothes holders (uhm, sorry, all of the machines I just mentioned), your dozens of workout tapes, your sneakers, your jog bras/jock straps and recapture the feeling of well-being that naturally comes with moving our bodies! Before you know it, it’ll be 8 weeks down the road and you’ll be looking forward to your next workout.:)

Weight fluctuations :(

2010-01-22T23:00:00.007-05:00

Last week and this week, I decided to test how it works when you weigh yourself everyday. It was an interesting experiment and yes, very frustrating.

180      Thursday 1/14
180.5   Friday 1/15
181     Saturday 1/16
179.5 Sunday 1/17
180     Monday 1/18
177.5 Tuesday 1/19
177     Wednesday 1/20
176     Thursday 1/21
175     Friday 1/22

Actually, It wasn’t a ‘decision’ that I made on purpose. I weighed-in on Thursday to see how I was doing. Then again on Friday I weighed-in as my usual day. I became more frustrated, so decided to weigh-in one more day just to get that good number. See how this all plays with my (your) mind!? Then Saturday made me start doubting everything I was doing. So I decided to skip my weight update and see how my weight fluctuated for the rest of the week(this week, as I write this). Sunday gave me a little hope and then Monday brought me right back down. I had a few fleeting moments of real doubt and the pity cry of, “What’s it all for if I can’t have all the old ‘junk’, and not lose weight?”. Keep in mind that I haven't even wanted 'the old junk'(!); and I'd lost 12 lbs. up to then. Amazing how I can still get stuck on a number after two months of doing and feeling great!!

So much for weighing everyday. I can see that even weighing in once a week could have potential pitfalls. If you weigh in on like, the Saturday above, it was an off day and you think you did ‘bad’ all week. For some reason seeing that number on the scale validates what I’m doing. Why is it that I (many of us) rely on that inanimate object to control how I (we) feel? Surely I (we) can feel when our clothing gets looser, or tighter...I need to break the cycle, and break free of that one number!!

So for Step 2, which I started Friday, January 22nd, I’m not going to weigh myself for the entire first 4 weeks. It will be extremely difficult… Dianne Kress recommends only weighing in once a month to avoid the scenario that just played out with me. Moving on and still nervous about adding the carbs again. More on adding them later….

Exercise - not your average burn

2010-01-20T23:00:00.003-05:00

How about a few words about exercise? Exercise is a big part of ‘The Metabolism Miracle’, but not for the usual reasons that accompany every diet on the planet! Most diets include exercise as a means to burn more calories than you take in, that usually makes sense. But this diet is different in how exercise is used also. Exercise is actually used to stimulate your muscles, so that your body can distinguish them from fat. If you didn’t exercise, your body would see fat and muscle as one in the same, and it would burn both. So you’d be losing muscle right along with the fat. Which is also true on other diets, a fact that I think most of us ignore and is not stressed enough. But because you aren‘t exercising to burn calories, you’re not killing yourself to burn more than you take in.

The recommendation is to get 30 minutes at least 5 days a week, over and above what is ‘normal’ to you. If you do nothing now, then do 30 minutes of something, 5 days a week. If you walk your dog for 30 minutes daily now, then do another 30 minutes of something, 5 days a week. This tells your body what you want it to burn, and that is FAT. You will no doubt lose WEIGHT if you don’t exercise at all; but you lose muscle too. If you exercise, you’ll look and feel like you’ve lost more, but you will have burned way more fat than if you hadn’t exercised. If this is confusing, read it a couple of times and really think about it … (next time: my perpetual struggle with exercise … finding the time)

My email to the author.

2010-01-19T08:19:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share with you some correspondence I’ve had with the author of ‘The Metabolism Miracle’, Dianne Kress. She responded within 24 hours and she seems to be genuinely interested.

Diane,

I really wanted to thank you so much for what you are doing. You have really motivated me, I'm doing great and I've found I have a real passion for this diet. I keep saying it on my blog and cant say it enough; the fact that my cravings are gone, just blows my mind!! I'm entering week 8 (with much trepidation about moving on !!) and have lost 12 wonderful lbs. I'm still having much trouble getting in the exercise, but the past 2 weeks I've done what you recommend. I could go on and on, but I won't. Thanks again so much.

Diane Kress’s response less than 24 hours later,

Hi,

About that trepidation regarding moving to Step 2. Check out the blog themetabolismmiracle.com 2009 blog. The index will help to find the entries about people fearing Step 2. It is very common. I promise that it works and you will be glad you moved on. When you begin, feel free to send a 2 day food log with times of meals/snacks, amount of carbs eaten at each, exercise, and water indicated. I will make sure you are on the right track! All best, Diane

Diane Kress, RD CDE
The Nutrition Center of Morristown
25 Lindsley Drive (Suite 202)
Morristown, NJ 07960

Thanksgiving Challenge...

2010-01-13T18:54:00.000-05:00

Even I thought I was a little nuts to start a diet just a week before the holidays. In my sleep there were little dancing pies and potatoes, warm bread, stuffing and congo bars danced in my head. Yet I still dove in head first and never looked back. Now, Dianne Kress, the author of ’The Metabolism Miracle’, warns that the first 3 days will be really tough, as your body goes through a little withdrawal from carbs. There may be some irritability, but who’s to say that wasn’t just my normal bitchiness that seems to come and go at will… but ahhh, I persevered through those days with no ill effects. In fact, I had no cravings, no bitchiness (that’s my story and I’m stickin to it; I still haven’t asked Dan what his story is; he probably blocked it out of his mind, so my story should be safe;) But really, Thanksgiving was a great day and the crazy ‘carb monster’ (cravings) didn’t rear its’ head once. I planned on having stuffing, because, well, it’s stuffing, do I need another reason? That was my carb indulgence for the whole day and it was well worth it. Lee and Gregg outdid themselves.

As you may know, I am the ‘pie maker’ at our Thanksgiving gatherings (for better or worse). This year was no different, well there were some differences. I made the usual pumpkin and apple pies, but one of the pumpkin pies was made for the two ‘special people’ at the table. Ma has her special needs and I have mine. So I split the pumpkin pie in half, literally. I made gluten-free crust on one side and low-carb on the other. Have you ever worked with gluten-free dough? It is disgusting! You can’t knead it, it sticks to everything and it looks weird~ So you plop it in the pie plate, put plastic wrap over it and gently nudge it into the shape of the pie plate and in this case it was half of a pie plate. When that mess is done, it’s over to the other special needs dough. But first, you must put up a barrier so that none of the low-carb will touch the gluten-free. (honestly can’t we all just get along!!? It’s like, “Ma she touched me”, “No I didn’t”, as she punches her :) So I put a strip of tinfoil down the middle of the pie, rolled my dough out (not nearly as disgusting or hard to knead) and then they could play nice. I carefully poured a gluten-free, low-carb pumpkin filling, a little at a time, into each side, so neither side would overflow my barrier. Ma was safe from the ‘gluten-monster’ and I could indulge without overloading on carbs. We both had our ‘cake’ and ate it too…oh yah, we had gobs of whipped cream on top of that!! Even the gluten-free crust looked and tasted like crust :() That indulgence was well within my diet, so it’s all good. So ended my first challenge of the holidays, and I can honestly say that it went by without a hitch.

Broccoli - Cheese Casserole

2010-01-11T22:14:00.001-05:00

Ok folks (Steve:), here it is. I made this at Thanksgiving, which was about a week after I started 'The Metabolism Miracle'. I am not a fan of Green Bean Casserole, so I knew I would need something, since I wouldn't be eating potatoes, squash, or the infamous Green Bean Casserole. This is awesome~!~~! (more on Thanksgiving later)

Broccoli-Cheese Casserole (this is a no-carb recipe)
This recipe is out of 'The Metalolism Miracle', Dianne Kress, RD, CDE; Da Capo Lifelong, 2009.
Serves 4

2 cups reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
Cooking oil spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine all the ingredients.
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking oil spray. When the cheese melts, spoon the mixture into the casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Serve warm.

You may have 'Metabolism B' if ...

2010-01-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

If you're wondering whether or not you have 'Metabolism B', there is a comprehensive list of 'symptoms' here: Metabolism B Even if I wasn't losing weight, the way I'm eating is so much more healthy, it's exactly what I've been trying to do with my diet for over a year. With the cravings gone I can eat in a more natural way! Hope this helps. Tamij

My First Week

2010-01-10T15:24:00.007-05:00

My first week on the diet was a blur of buying way too much food and finding the carbs that I could eat. 3 different stores later I had spent more than needed and my fridge was overstuffed, it was quite comical. (**A little side story here: I was making sure I had what I needed for Thanksgiving here also. So I bought broccoli for the ’broccoli, cheese, mushroom casserole’ I was making and we always have broccoli about twice a week anyway. About 5 days go by and I still need a few things for Thanksgiving, in my mind one of them was broccoli. My whole bottom shelf of the fridge was filled with broccoli!! The good news is that through that casserole, regular using and some freezing, I didn‘t have to throw any of it away:) For the first 8 weeks the carbs are so low that you have to read many labels, well I did and here’s what has been working for me (wraps and yogurt are in my grocery store of choice Stop & Shop; I found the bread in a Pepperidge Farm store I go by everyday; I may have seen the bread at Shaw's also):

Bread - Pepperidge Farm ‘Carb Style’
Wraps - Wrap-itz Low Carb Wheat
Yogurt - Dannon Light and Fit ‘Carb and Sugar Control’

Now I never said that I didn’t still love my carbs, I just am not controlled by them any longer. I haven’t missed eating many in the weeks that I’ve been doing this! The three foods above have been my saving grace. I’ve used wraps for hotdogs; I’ve used yogurt as my before bed snack; wraps are baked for chips; bread gets my favorite topping of peanut butter and sugar-free jelly; wraps also make a really yummy grilled cheese sandwich, especially when I added sautéed mushrooms.

The first three days are the hardest because your body still craves carbs. I can’t explain why, but my story doesn’t include funny anecdotes about me being ‘carb crazed’ during the first days, or any other days. I guess I was so ready and excited after reading the book, that I dove in with such confidence that there were no feelings of deprivation, or hunger (and still are none).

On the face of it, this diet seems kind of like Atkins. This is pretty far from what it is. The first 8 weeks are similar because you are only eating 5 grams of carbs every 5 hours, but it is optional. (Being optional is a fact that I missed for 6 weeks on this diet. I thought I had to eat them, so I haven't missed any. This ‘mis-step’ has actually set me up nicely for the next phase of the diet, in which you ‘must’ eat them to keep your metabolism working the way you have worked so hard to get it to.) Please keep in mind that this IS for a limited time in the grand scheme of things. A quote from the book explans it best, "A very low-carb diet is not nutritionally balanced but, as a temporary choice to reset a healthy metabolism, it works well by deliberately leaving the pancreas and liver in a state of rest. Carbs come back into the picture on Steps Two and Three, but by then you have established a new metabolic balance that your body can work with beautifully." (The Metabolism Miracle; Dianne Kress, RD, CDE; Da Capo Lifelong, 2009; p. 46)

These weeks are designed to ‘rest/reset’ your liver and pancreas. After the initial 8 weeks you gradually add carbs back into your system. Many of the foods that are recommended are low-fat, this differs from other low carb diets. Doesn’t it make sense that if you’re trying to lose weight you don’t want to eat a lot of unnecessary fat? You are eating so much protein that you are getting plenty of good fat in lean meat, fish, nuts, peanut butter and oils. You won’t be deprived of the good stuff by eating low fat, as some nay-sayers propose. The amount of carbs added as you go along is more than other low carb diets, because carbs are not really the problem, it’s the way our body reacts to them that has been the problem all along. On this diet, you are always working towards losing weight and getting back to a normal way of eating. We’re not resigned to never again eating some of the foods we love, in the end we will be able to sensibly choose when to eat our favorite foods.

I don’t have the expertise to explain the how’s and why’s, that’s why you should get the book if you are at all interested in doing this. Consider it if, you can’t seem to stay on a diet, diets that used to work for you no longer work, you are still gaining weight, or you're always tired. For me, food no longer has the power. Once I’m where I want to be weight-wise I’ll be able to choose wisely when I want my chips; I won’t be controlled by the cravings.

'The Metabolism Miracle' by Dianne Kress ... Lives up to the title

2010-01-07T23:00:00.006-05:00

One afternoon, about 6 weeks ago, I sat down to read a magazine I had bought. It was Women First magazine, the November 2009 edition. An article about losing weight caught my eye. It was 'The Metabolism Miracle' by Dianne Kress. Well, despite the name, I did read on; of course I did, it was a new diet and I needed to lose weight. Who among us that wants to lose weight is not going to read on?! Yes it has only been 6 weeks, but this mundane occurrence has changed my life. How can I say this after only 6 weeks? Well, I can say it changed my life because it took away my cravings for bread (lots and lots of bread of every kind), chips, ice cream and other stuff I seemed to be addicted to. That in itself is a miracle; there I said it, a miracle! If you’ve ever gotten late night cravings for something, anything, and the whole while you’re eating chips or some other junk you long for someone to take away that ‘craving’, or to make you a stronger person, or to give you at least an ounce of will-power, then you know where I’m coming from. How do I know it won’t be like Weight Watchers? I’m afraid everyday that it will stop 'working'. That’s why I've been nearly perfect on this diet; I’m afraid that if I eat one bite of one of my trigger foods (the afore-mentioned bread, chips, ice cream etc.) that I’ll once again be addicted and won’t be able to ‘come out of it’! A few ‘purple puddles’ here (tears: a term coined by the 'flylady.net'). But after reading and re-reading the book, the science behind it is sound, and it just makes perfect sense to me.

The biggest difference I see right now from any other diet, is that I don’t crave all the usual stuff that I used to. I’m not ‘white knuckling’ it and I don’t miss any of the foods I’m not eating. I didn’t even blink during the holidays; I just enjoyed what I ate. If you had the chance to try the Broccoli, cheese, mushroom casserole I made(recipe in The Metabolism Miracle), then you know I’m enjoying what I’m eating. (Though possibly another thing that keeps me going on this (except for what I’ve already mentioned) is that peanut butter is one of the staples(!!); if you know me, then you know I LOVE peanut butter. Though I still don’t eat it out of the jar, (like some, or ONE who will remain nameless) I use it often. One of my favorite snacks is celery sticks with peanut butter!) Well it could also be the fact that I’ve lost 1 to 2 lbs. in each of the 6 weeks I’ve been on the diet...

Back to the gym...and not :(

2010-01-05T23:00:00.003-05:00

In December of 2008 I started going to a gym called ‘Barbelle for Women’ (I love MY 'Barbelle!!'). I initially lost 10 lbs. and then stopped losing weight, but I continued to workout. I did spin twice a week, worked with weights a couple of days a week, but still nothing. It has always seemed that I could get one thing under control at a time. If I was eating well, I wouldn’t be exercising. I could be working out 5 days a week steadily, but 'Id be eating enough for a body builder twice my size! That’s not what I was doing this time, but my weight just wouldn’t budge. Of course, I figured it was my age and it was going to get a whole lot harder to lose weight from now on.

Then I did what I always do. In August 2009 I sprained my back a little bit. So started a 4 month hiatus from the gym. I can account for the first 7 weeks and give fairly good ‘reasons’ (aka - excuses) for not going to the gym. Beyond that is where my laziness kicked in and so began a period of inactivity, overeating and feeling sorry for myself. I was engulfed in self-loathing and resigned myself to the uncomfortable realization that this was where I would stay for the rest of my life. Talk about self-pity. It’s kind of funny that in my mind I could always see that athletic person I’ve always considered myself to be; but the mirror has been telling a very different story, for a very long time…

But just when you give up hope, along comes a regular Thursday, you sit down to read a magazine article, and BOOM!! It happens…(I feel a new phase about to start; AND IT‘S GONNA BE BIG!!)

My Life on Weight Watchers and off and on and off....

2010-01-03T22:24:00.001-05:00

In February 2002, I went to the DMV to renew my license. When I saw that picture, I was absolutely horrified! I had kind of a ‘double chin’, maybe not huge, but noticeable to me. That license still haunts me today. Not a haunt really, more like a taunt every time I look at it. That was the first catalyst to get me off my ever-growing ass. The next, was that my weight was as much as it was on the day Austin was born. (You’d have to go to the last post to find out what that was; that won’t be mentioned again) The need to really do something overtook me, so that day, a Tuesday, I signed up for Weight Watchers online. I did really well for a long time. I had my little points calculator in my purse for shopping and I would count points at restaurants when I could. I lost 50 lbs. doing this. I did it without exercising much. But anytime I have to consistently write daily meals or whatever, it starts to get to be too much. Miss a day here, a day there, and before you realize it you’re way off track. While doing it though, my ‘thing’ would be to take one day a weekend and go off the diet. That always seemed to help my metabolism; but eventually one day turned into all weekend binges. That’s when it all went downhill. I would go all week and just barely get back to the previous Friday’s weight. This cycle continued and expanded into eating out. Within the past seven years I’ve tried about 3 other times with Weight Watchers. Somehow I never got that magic back. I either couldn’t lose the weight, or I couldn’t stay on the diet.

My life with FAT ... :()

2010-01-02T11:56:00.009-05:00

A long, long time ago, in a faraway land, (Sept. 1980, Fort Dix, New Jersey) PFC Brennan (that would be me at age 18), was struggling to make it through Army boot camp. Was I struggling with running, pushups, sit-ups, or 10 mile (or more) marches? Are you kidding? I was already fighting to lose 5 lbs., in two days, in order to make it through basic training. I had company of course; starvation and sweating it all out in the sauna seemed to be the Army way, yes I made it through. This weight haunted me most of the eleven years I spent in the Army. As most of us who have ever fought this battle must know, the 5 lbs. continued to grow over those years. I was always on the edge of not passing my weigh-ins. I always did more running than most, and early on, found the gym. The gym was my saving grace when the Army started doing body fat tests (sometime during my Germany years). I was always over-weight, but made the grade by running and going to the gym to bring my body fat within regulation.

In 1991 I got out of the Army and all discipline went out the window. The weight packed on, exercise became sporadic or non-existent and I usually felt out-of-sorts. I had moments of feeling good in my skin, but it’s too easy to become lackadaisical or complacent in all things healthy. I have never fit into the 'official' body weight for my height and gender; I've always said the ole "I have more muscle and big bones". That may be true, to a point; but where do you draw the line? Is it before bedtime when the cravings have hit and I'm eating a bag of chips after ice cream, "Ya, I can eat this because I have muscle and big bones"?! And that voice was always there; show me the muscle now, can't see it through all the fat!! Through my adult life, my size has yo-yoed from 12 to, uh dare I put it in black and white (?), 20 . Some of you may be surprised at that large size I wore. I seem to keep my weight around my belly, so the pants can be loose around my butt and thighs, but my stomach is still tight. My stomach is what makes me go up in size. I can't stand to be constricted around my mid-section. When I start running out of clothes to wear I know I’m out of control again. Of course 2 pregnancies packed on the weight, seemingly in a more permanent way. My ‘set weight’ was always getting higher and higher. When finally, on a Tuesday in February 2002, I was at the weight I had been in May 1992 when Austin was born (add a zero to my largest size; YIKES!!), I started the diet that helped, for a few years…