I know, the titles are boring...feel free to suggest something a little more exciting!
Another day late on blogging, but I'm traveling for work this week and sometimes I just can't fit one more thing into my day. I got to my hotel room last night at midnight-not about to start then!
Work is crazy when we have Agency Expo weeks, a few different cities, a lot of agents and the same message over and over and over again...wait...that sounds like a complaint...Always good stuff, but lots of moving parts to setting up an agency meeting and working with hotel catering staff. Which brings me to a great point...(see, this was going somewhere)....
Did you all know...The hotel catering staff is happy to accommodate special orders for food for your guests (or yourself if you are the guest) attending a meeting? All you have to do is ASK! Why do you care? Well, you are reading my blog, either because you are part of Dr. Garcia's program, staff, stumbled upon it because you were bored and clicked that "next blog" button, or you are my friends and family who I shamelessly send an email to every week, encouraging you all to read this because it's about ME! LOL
Anyway...why do we care? Well, because typically our lunches for agents are comprised of chicken (mass amounts of people, chicken is relatively safe)and some sort of a STARCH (BAD!) and then some sort of a SAUCE (really BAD!) and maybe, maybe some veggies and we can't forget the decadent desserts. I've so far, attended two events in the past week...two special order lunches for Michelle to stay on program. Chicken (no real option there) and steamed/grilled veggies of my choice typically, with my ever so famous "Ceasar Salad w/ no dressing, no croutons & slices of lemon wedges" (I think my boyfriend could order my salad in his sleep he's heard it so much!) Y'all should try it, it's really tasty!!
I'm just super happy to say that really, there isn't anywhere that I've been in the last month that I've had to say "yeah, there's nothing here I can eat". I'm still eating out, I still very much live my normal week, whether it's eating lunch in my car on a drive from agency to agency, out to lunch with friends, out with an agent or whatever. The only time the choice started to become difficult was at a hockey game last week. I was desperately searching for something from a concession stand that I could eat...Thanks, Outback Steakhouse for providing me with Steak tips and mushrooms, and by the way...those fries you put in my basket, ya know, the item that there was the most of in my $9.50 supper...yeah, those...I didn't eat a single one of them...HAH!
So today, I want to really remind you all that in everything that we do, whether it is diet, health, job, family etc... we have choices. Our choices, of course, have consequences. As long as you are informed of your options and clearly understand the consequences, the choice is yours to make.
I've consciously made choices every day, several times a day, to stay on program, to do what I am doing because it's the right thing for me...and have really brought back my whole feeling of it doesn't matter what's on my plate as compared to yours. It's the exact same premise I used in "Round 1" of the program, and it works. However, it only works when you consciously make an effort to choose the path that you know to be the right one for you. I choose to stick directly to the program, some people may deviate and not "give up" things they feel they don't want to go without. I know what I'm doing works for me and I hope you are all making the decisions that work for you.
It doesn't bother me in the least to sit in a movie theater, holding a bag of popcorn and not eating any (I was sitting in the middle of the popcorn eaters!!) Don't get me wrong, I stuck my head in the bag and smelled and smelled and smelled that popcorn...but that was it. Smelling has no residual effect on the size of my ______ you can complete that sentence however you see fit!
So all of this crazy talk about choices and consequences and meetings and stuff, all good things, so it must have been a good week, right? Well....
To close out the first month, week # 4 produced a 4.4# loss for a total of 19.8 pounds for the month. I just looked back at Round 1-Week 4 completion and I was at 22.2...well, I have nothing to say on that. This time is different and maybe I should stop comparing where I was to where I am. The one thing that isn't in that post though is a few measurements. They now do waist measurements at the beginning of the program and then at each monthly interval. I lost 4.5" in my waist this month...My clothes are too big, kinda frumpy looking...but I have a closet full of things I can switch to, and gladly!!
So, things are going well. Choices are being made and I couldn't be happier with the progress. As for now, it's time for more water...more and more and more!
Thank you all for your support, encouragement, comments you leave here, emails you send. It's encouraging to me and it makes it so easy to write this every week!
Remember to make the best choice for you, every day, in whatever it is you do!!
Until next week....Happy Spring!!! (And for those of you still in snow and ice...uh, sorry....my pool is ready for visitors!!) xoxo
March 29, 2011
March 25, 2011
The Completion of Week 3
It has taken me all day to decide what I want to write on here tonight. I truly am not up to talking about my week and the result of the weigh in today. That being said, with me you get the good or the bad, it is what it is.
I'm incredibly disappointed in the result of today, yet I can't wrap my head around why. Usually you don't read the result until near the end of the post for the week, but I'm just going to spill it. This week I stayed the same. I know, I didn't gain, and actually lost body fat, but I'm incredibly annoyed by having "maintained" a weight I despise for another week. So, why did I stay the same...well, I think there are a few answers to that question. All of which I have spent the day beating myself up about.
First and foremost, I am not eating all of my "allowable" servings of food in a day. I track on the BalanceMD program everything I eat, and there are several days a week when I have servings left over as I'm crawling into bed.
Wow, it's taken me the entire week to get back to this...I started writing on Monday night and the days and nights have been crazy this week! So...where were we...
Not eating all of the food servings is not something under the guidelines of the program. It's important to eat everything allowable. I have a hard time with that when I'm not feeling hungry, but I suppose at least what I am eating is healthy stuff!
The other issue with the "stay the same" I believe, were the choices I made on Saturday night. We went to dinner with friends on the beach and I made the decision to have a drink. Then, another, then...anyway... I drank Margaritas, with salt...and mentioned to Todd that I was really, really going to need to drink A LOT of water on Sunday to offset this...well...Maybe I should have indulged in something different, maybe I should have had one or two drinks...but it was a choice I made with each round. It's clearly my own fault.
That being said, it's days later, and I've accepted the "stay the same" and have been giving my all this week to make sure I eat the right amounts of food, to drink the water and do what I need to do, other than exercise...but that's going to be in next week's (Monday night's) post. I wouldn't want to ruin all the fun for you now! LOL
Here's to remembering choices have consequences, some good...some bad...some relatively insignificant...but always a consequence.
Better weeks ahead!
I'm incredibly disappointed in the result of today, yet I can't wrap my head around why. Usually you don't read the result until near the end of the post for the week, but I'm just going to spill it. This week I stayed the same. I know, I didn't gain, and actually lost body fat, but I'm incredibly annoyed by having "maintained" a weight I despise for another week. So, why did I stay the same...well, I think there are a few answers to that question. All of which I have spent the day beating myself up about.
First and foremost, I am not eating all of my "allowable" servings of food in a day. I track on the BalanceMD program everything I eat, and there are several days a week when I have servings left over as I'm crawling into bed.
Wow, it's taken me the entire week to get back to this...I started writing on Monday night and the days and nights have been crazy this week! So...where were we...
Not eating all of the food servings is not something under the guidelines of the program. It's important to eat everything allowable. I have a hard time with that when I'm not feeling hungry, but I suppose at least what I am eating is healthy stuff!
The other issue with the "stay the same" I believe, were the choices I made on Saturday night. We went to dinner with friends on the beach and I made the decision to have a drink. Then, another, then...anyway... I drank Margaritas, with salt...and mentioned to Todd that I was really, really going to need to drink A LOT of water on Sunday to offset this...well...Maybe I should have indulged in something different, maybe I should have had one or two drinks...but it was a choice I made with each round. It's clearly my own fault.
That being said, it's days later, and I've accepted the "stay the same" and have been giving my all this week to make sure I eat the right amounts of food, to drink the water and do what I need to do, other than exercise...but that's going to be in next week's (Monday night's) post. I wouldn't want to ruin all the fun for you now! LOL
Here's to remembering choices have consequences, some good...some bad...some relatively insignificant...but always a consequence.
Better weeks ahead!
March 14, 2011
The Completion of Week 2
I hope you all had a great week! Today ended week # 2 of the restart and I honestly couldn't ask for things to be going better in every aspect of my life right now.
As you know from last week's post, at the end of the week last week, phase 2 of the program started and the addition of 'healthy' carbs were introduced in the form of fruits and vegetables. There couldn't be a better time for fruit and vegetables to be a big part of my menu plan every day. It's peak strawberry season here in Florida and they have been wonderful! I love the availability of all of the fresh fruits & vegetables we have access too, makes it easy to plan meals for sure!
While things are going well, there were a few little challenges over the last week. I was on the phone with a couple of people through the week this week who don't understand when I say that this really has been easy. I know I just said there were a few little challenges, but 99% of the time, the program is easy. I honestly don't even have a desire to do something that's not on the program. The challenges come in where it is occasionally (one day this past week) incredibly difficult to drink all of the water. The other challenge is in finishing all of the protein servings allowable/recommended in a particular day. I wrote a bit about this last week but it seemed to be a bit of a challenge every day this week. I know I need to eat a larger breakfast and that would help that a lot, but it's difficult to get up early and cook breakfast for myself!
As far as sticking to the program and not having a desire to deviate, for whatever reason, it honestly doesn't phase me a bit. Yesterday I spent the day at the Strawberry Festival with Todd & Elise and wandered through the entire day with bottles of water, stops at the restroom (endless!) and when we stopped for Elise to have Strawberry Shortcake it didn't even look appealing to me. It's got to be the meds! :)
Speaking of the medication, that's something I am doing better with this time around as well. I seem to remember last time on the program I frequently forgot to take the meds, and when I remembered, it wasn't always on time! This time, Todd has a reminder alarm set to remind me when it's 4:00, just an odd time of my day for me to stop and take meds, but a text...I seem to always be able to read and respond to, so that has worked great...Thanks, Todd! The appetite suppressant medication honestly makes the hunger 'feeling' really non-existent. I can't remember a time so far since the restart that I could say I was "hungry". It was close yesterday, we had a late supper, but even at that, it was fine. They really do curb cravings.
The other medication is Calcium Pyruvate. For those of you who might not be familiar with what exactly that is, I found a pretty informative article and have copy pasted some of it here:
Calcium pyruvate is a nutritional supplement that combines naturally occurring pyruvic acid with calcium. While pyruvate is produced in the body and aids in the conversion of sugar and starches into energy, calcium pyruvate can help enhance the metabolism and speed up the creation of energy. Along with helping people feel more energized, using the supplement can also aid in weight loss when used in conjunction with a sensible diet and regular exercise.
Because calcium pyruvate helps in burning fat to create more fuel for the body to use, the supplement helps to reduce fat that is retained in the body. Thus, the supplement can minimize the amount of excess fat that is stored around the abdomen and other parts of the body. The additional energy that is generated helps the body to function more efficiently and comes in handy when exercising as part of an overall health improvement regimen. In an indirect manner, this also means that calcium pyruvate aids in mental as well as physical health, since emotional issues often have a physical origin.
Combining pyruvate with calcium creates supplements that will not interfere with any body function, nor will using calcium pyruvate cause the body to produce less pyruvate in the system. Instead, the supplements will enhance the effectiveness of the pyruvate already present in the body and increase the ability to maintain energy for the day and prevent the accumulation of extra pounds. However, calcium pyruvate should not be viewed as a way to eat and drink anything and still lose weight. The product works best when used along with eating lean meats, plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, choosing complex carbohydrates over simple carbs, and getting at least thirty minutes of exercise each day.
As far as the exercise routine goes, after Week 1 I was able to start back with my exercise routine. Dr. Garcia's office did, however, recommend that most of the exercise be cario and not much on the weight lifting type things since muscle weighs more than fat and that can throw off the goal at this point in the program. I've modified my schedule to add a couple more cardio classes to take place of the weight training classes that I had started previously. Now I have between three & four classes a week that are predominately cardio based and it seems to be working out well.
So, as a recap, food program is going great. I just need to find a way to have a larger breakfast and get all of the servings in during a day. The medication is working how it's supposed to, especially when I take it on time and the exercise program has been adjusted and working well. Things are good....(and you've been waiting, I know...) SO good, that today's weigh in showed a 5.8 pound loss during week 2 and a total over the two weeks of.... 15.4 pounds. It's really hard to complain about that!!
On we go to Week 3...no expected challenges or anything particular that sticks out as a stumbling block at this point. One day at a time, one glass of water at a time, keeps the program moving in the right direction!
To end tonight, a quote that shows the progress, even during a 'restart', by C.S. Lewis
“We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”
And finally, a thank you to those of you who live through this every day with me, listening to me talk about what I ate, what I can have, what I can't, encouraging me to move forward...your support means so much to me, as do each of you! Thank you, again!
As you know from last week's post, at the end of the week last week, phase 2 of the program started and the addition of 'healthy' carbs were introduced in the form of fruits and vegetables. There couldn't be a better time for fruit and vegetables to be a big part of my menu plan every day. It's peak strawberry season here in Florida and they have been wonderful! I love the availability of all of the fresh fruits & vegetables we have access too, makes it easy to plan meals for sure!
While things are going well, there were a few little challenges over the last week. I was on the phone with a couple of people through the week this week who don't understand when I say that this really has been easy. I know I just said there were a few little challenges, but 99% of the time, the program is easy. I honestly don't even have a desire to do something that's not on the program. The challenges come in where it is occasionally (one day this past week) incredibly difficult to drink all of the water. The other challenge is in finishing all of the protein servings allowable/recommended in a particular day. I wrote a bit about this last week but it seemed to be a bit of a challenge every day this week. I know I need to eat a larger breakfast and that would help that a lot, but it's difficult to get up early and cook breakfast for myself!
As far as sticking to the program and not having a desire to deviate, for whatever reason, it honestly doesn't phase me a bit. Yesterday I spent the day at the Strawberry Festival with Todd & Elise and wandered through the entire day with bottles of water, stops at the restroom (endless!) and when we stopped for Elise to have Strawberry Shortcake it didn't even look appealing to me. It's got to be the meds! :)
Speaking of the medication, that's something I am doing better with this time around as well. I seem to remember last time on the program I frequently forgot to take the meds, and when I remembered, it wasn't always on time! This time, Todd has a reminder alarm set to remind me when it's 4:00, just an odd time of my day for me to stop and take meds, but a text...I seem to always be able to read and respond to, so that has worked great...Thanks, Todd! The appetite suppressant medication honestly makes the hunger 'feeling' really non-existent. I can't remember a time so far since the restart that I could say I was "hungry". It was close yesterday, we had a late supper, but even at that, it was fine. They really do curb cravings.
The other medication is Calcium Pyruvate. For those of you who might not be familiar with what exactly that is, I found a pretty informative article and have copy pasted some of it here:
Calcium pyruvate is a nutritional supplement that combines naturally occurring pyruvic acid with calcium. While pyruvate is produced in the body and aids in the conversion of sugar and starches into energy, calcium pyruvate can help enhance the metabolism and speed up the creation of energy. Along with helping people feel more energized, using the supplement can also aid in weight loss when used in conjunction with a sensible diet and regular exercise.
Because calcium pyruvate helps in burning fat to create more fuel for the body to use, the supplement helps to reduce fat that is retained in the body. Thus, the supplement can minimize the amount of excess fat that is stored around the abdomen and other parts of the body. The additional energy that is generated helps the body to function more efficiently and comes in handy when exercising as part of an overall health improvement regimen. In an indirect manner, this also means that calcium pyruvate aids in mental as well as physical health, since emotional issues often have a physical origin.
Combining pyruvate with calcium creates supplements that will not interfere with any body function, nor will using calcium pyruvate cause the body to produce less pyruvate in the system. Instead, the supplements will enhance the effectiveness of the pyruvate already present in the body and increase the ability to maintain energy for the day and prevent the accumulation of extra pounds. However, calcium pyruvate should not be viewed as a way to eat and drink anything and still lose weight. The product works best when used along with eating lean meats, plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, choosing complex carbohydrates over simple carbs, and getting at least thirty minutes of exercise each day.
As far as the exercise routine goes, after Week 1 I was able to start back with my exercise routine. Dr. Garcia's office did, however, recommend that most of the exercise be cario and not much on the weight lifting type things since muscle weighs more than fat and that can throw off the goal at this point in the program. I've modified my schedule to add a couple more cardio classes to take place of the weight training classes that I had started previously. Now I have between three & four classes a week that are predominately cardio based and it seems to be working out well.
So, as a recap, food program is going great. I just need to find a way to have a larger breakfast and get all of the servings in during a day. The medication is working how it's supposed to, especially when I take it on time and the exercise program has been adjusted and working well. Things are good....(and you've been waiting, I know...) SO good, that today's weigh in showed a 5.8 pound loss during week 2 and a total over the two weeks of.... 15.4 pounds. It's really hard to complain about that!!
On we go to Week 3...no expected challenges or anything particular that sticks out as a stumbling block at this point. One day at a time, one glass of water at a time, keeps the program moving in the right direction!
To end tonight, a quote that shows the progress, even during a 'restart', by C.S. Lewis
“We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”
And finally, a thank you to those of you who live through this every day with me, listening to me talk about what I ate, what I can have, what I can't, encouraging me to move forward...your support means so much to me, as do each of you! Thank you, again!
March 7, 2011
Completion of Week 1-
Once again, I am writing to you all about the completion of the first week of the Garcia program. I certainly hope that this is the last time you ever see a Week 1 post from me! Things are different in my life now, so I'm confident that it will be the last "Week 1" you'll see :)
Just like the first time around, this week was fairly easy to stick to the protein only. Rather boring the first few days, but it's over quickly and then you move on to much more normal meals. The water was something I know is a great thing, but I hadn't really missed all that. Some days it was definitely a struggle to finish it all. I work in sales and when I'm in and out of the car all day it makes it a little tough to focus on drinking all that water. That being said, there wasn't a day that I didn't get through it all, and then some, when you add coffee or maybe a glass of water at a restaurant.
As far as the water is concerned, the two people who are around me the most deserve a big thanks this week. My boyfriend and my best friend both challenged themselves to one day of drinking a gallon of water to experience what I was going through. Needless to say, they understand my need to always be looking for a bathroom now!
There wasn't anything I really struggled with on the program this week, I stayed on track, even through some work stresses and am keeping my end goal in mind. For the most part I remembered to take all of the medication on time, even through a busy week and an incredibly busy weekend landscaping the front of my house. I'd say the only thing at times that might have been a little difficult was actually finishing the 16oz of protein each day. Sometimes I was forcing myself to eat even if I wasn't overly hungry, that's something that I'm not overly fond of, but not sure how to get around it. Breakfast might be a little of a struggle during the week, since most of the protein things need to be cooked. I'm not necessarily a morning person...even though I get up, I'm lazy in the mornings and cooking isn't necessarily something that works into my "get ready for work" routine. Weekends is completely different.
I know, you've been reading and reading and wondering is she ever going to tell us how she did for goodness sake? Well, here you have it. I lost 9.6 pounds this week. I followed along all week with my own scale and a new part of the program this time is an online tracker for everything, so it's easy to track weight, water, food, etc...
I was thrilled with the loss, as you can imagine and with the ease of transitioning back into the program. It's been easy to do with the support I have from my friends and family.
So on to week two, and looking forward to seeing the results little by little.
Just like the first time around, this week was fairly easy to stick to the protein only. Rather boring the first few days, but it's over quickly and then you move on to much more normal meals. The water was something I know is a great thing, but I hadn't really missed all that. Some days it was definitely a struggle to finish it all. I work in sales and when I'm in and out of the car all day it makes it a little tough to focus on drinking all that water. That being said, there wasn't a day that I didn't get through it all, and then some, when you add coffee or maybe a glass of water at a restaurant.
As far as the water is concerned, the two people who are around me the most deserve a big thanks this week. My boyfriend and my best friend both challenged themselves to one day of drinking a gallon of water to experience what I was going through. Needless to say, they understand my need to always be looking for a bathroom now!
There wasn't anything I really struggled with on the program this week, I stayed on track, even through some work stresses and am keeping my end goal in mind. For the most part I remembered to take all of the medication on time, even through a busy week and an incredibly busy weekend landscaping the front of my house. I'd say the only thing at times that might have been a little difficult was actually finishing the 16oz of protein each day. Sometimes I was forcing myself to eat even if I wasn't overly hungry, that's something that I'm not overly fond of, but not sure how to get around it. Breakfast might be a little of a struggle during the week, since most of the protein things need to be cooked. I'm not necessarily a morning person...even though I get up, I'm lazy in the mornings and cooking isn't necessarily something that works into my "get ready for work" routine. Weekends is completely different.
I know, you've been reading and reading and wondering is she ever going to tell us how she did for goodness sake? Well, here you have it. I lost 9.6 pounds this week. I followed along all week with my own scale and a new part of the program this time is an online tracker for everything, so it's easy to track weight, water, food, etc...
I was thrilled with the loss, as you can imagine and with the ease of transitioning back into the program. It's been easy to do with the support I have from my friends and family.
So on to week two, and looking forward to seeing the results little by little.
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