She Said What!?!

"You may delay, but time will not."

Benjamin Franklin

My Regime, Week 3

At least I warned you the Portland trip might throw me off track... right?

So I went to Portland, quit dieting, slowed the exercise, and put on another ten pounds (Ok, technically it's only like 5... but I was considering 123lbs. to be a mistake, so I thought of myself as only weighing 118 lbs...). Cool.

Ok, so after gaining ten pounds, what is the first thing you want to hear? That you're going on a rafting trip in two months with several of your boyfriends closest friends? Didn't think so. So now not only do I have a bigger goal to tackle, I have a real legitimate date that I'd like to achieve that goal by. That's so much worse than the cute little fake ones we make up when trying to encourage ourselves...

About three weeks ago now I decided that I wasn't going to let this new trip depress me or overwhelm me - I was just going to get back to business. I started the first week just doing about 60 minutes of walking, at varied inclines, keeping my heart rate above 60% the entire time. I did this 5 days the first week. I've now moved on alternating days between 60 minutes, and 30 minutes (30 minute days the heart rate stays above 70%, and then I do three separate two minute bursts above 80%) for 6 days I week. I'm also on week three of the strength training section of my book.

I still maintain that Steve Zim is a genius when it comes to his exercises. I've never felt so good about myself while still being so overwhelmingly depressed by a stupid number on a scale. His one downfall, that I mentioned before, is that he's no dietitian. The first time that I started this book, I did the 2-week introduction that was supposed to have me see up to 10 pounds of weight loss - this didn't happen. This time, after working out hard for three weeks and not losing more than two pounds, I thought I'd research this state of Ketosis he discusses in the book more in depth (will post more about later...).

Turns out, he's a bit too lenient on the carb intake. The way he tells you to eat involves too many vegetables for the first two weeks. I know what you're thinking, how could vegetables be bad? They aren't silly! This is just a stupid little way to trick your body into burning fat instead of carbs, and in order to do that you need to start by drastically cutting your carbs, to less than 20g per day (one big salad with some broccoli and cauliflower will usually be enough to make you eat meat and eggs for the rest of the day...). After the first two weeks you gradually start working your way back up to normal by adding about 5g per week (or two weeks if you prefer). Eventually you should be back to normal, and actually if you are an incredibly active person there is a chance you could still be in Ketosis even after drastically increasing your carb intake.

So why is it such a big deal that Steve says yes to veggies when he shouldn't? What I've learned from my experience is that if you don't STRICTLY follow the low carb instructions, you will likely hover between ranges of blood sugar, never high enough to be nice, never low enough to induce ketosis. This is important to know, because if you are hovering, you're going to be as big of a butt head as I was the last time I did this. You're body will constantly be tired, you'll constantly have headaches, and everyone around you will suck! Take it from me, it seems overwhelming to cut carbs down so far, but it's necessary for your sanity.

Ok so, now I've been in my state of ketosis for two days, although I spent the week gearing up for it so I've been "low-carb" for like 5 days. When I first restarted this diet I was 128 lbs.

Current stats:

Weight: 122.8

Body Fat: 16.2% (Much lower than last time! Thanks Steve!)

Thighs: 21,21

Biceps: 10, 10

Waist: 28

Hips: 35

So obviously most things have stayed the same, with the exception of weight lost, fat lost and hips expanding (what!??!?!). One thing I'd like to point out, that has helped me from being discouraged, is that when you are exercising a lot, not only should you be drinking more water therefore carrying more water weight, but your muscles will actual be holding fluid as well. Whenever you tear your muscles (i.e. lifting weights) lactic acid builds up in your muscles to help repair them. Unfortunately lactic acid is more of a solid than it is a fluid and the "sharp" edges of this substance are what cause muscle soreness post workouts. Lactic acid also weighs something. Sometimes, like me, you'll be losing weight slowly, but body fat % a little faster and you're not sure what is going on. Surely in three weeks you can't have gained 7 pounds of muscle - that's a lot! You haven't, you just have too much stuff waiting to get flushed out.

Keep up the good work, pay attention to your calorie intake, and the quality of the food you're eating and eventually it will pay off. Changing up your diet every once in awhile (like I am...) is also a great way to reawaken your metabolism and get back to shedding pounds instead of plateauing!

She Said What!?!

You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is.

Ellen Degeneres

Scary Stats: Obesity

Today's scary stats are going to shed light on the other side of the weight issue: Obesity. Obesity is quickly approaching the top of the "leading cause of death" list, and should therefore be taken very seriously.

Of course, most people reading this blog are thinking "ok I wanted to lose weight, I didn't say I was obese..." and you're super offended. Don't be, I just want to remind you of all the things that won't be happening to you because you've chosen to be responsible for your health and wellness.

Although the topic has been debated, several popular ingredients found in today's super markets have been found to increase your chances of becoming obese. Now if you don't subscribe to this line of thinking, consider for a moment that they are right. What if all these things, like high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils, and artificial colors really are somehow increasing your appetite, and/or slowing down your metabolism, and/or causing cancer? What if they are?

Isn't the slight possibility enough of an excuse to just give it a shot? Chances are you tried plenty of diets, and they've all failed, or you wouldn't be here. So now let's pretend that you're new diet is to listen to the hippies and eat organic vegetables, and sustainably raised meats.

· USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions

·

o 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese

o Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight

o 78% of Americans not meeting basic activity level recommendations

o 25% completely Sedentary

o 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990

· Obesity Related Diseases

o 80% of type II diabetes related to obesity

o 70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity

o 42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals

o 30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity

o 26% of obese people having high blood pressure

· Childhood Obesity Running Out of Control

o 4% overweight 1982 | 16% overweight 1994

o 25% of all white children overweight 2001

o 33% African American and Hispanic children overweight 2001

o Hospital costs associated with childhood obesity rising from $35 Million (1979) to $127 Million (1999)

· Childhood Metabolic and Heart Risks

o New study suggests one in four overweight children is already showing early signs of type II diabetes (impaired glucose intolerance)

o 60% already have one risk factor for heart disease

· Surge in Childhood Diabetes

o Between 8% - 45% of newly diagnosed cases of childhood diabetes are type II, associated with obesity.

o Whereas 4% of Childhood diabetes was type II in 1990, that number has risen to approximately 20%

o Depending on the age group (Type II most frequent 10-19 group) and the racial/ethnic mix of group stated

o Of Children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese

I went ahead and bolded the 78% of Americans not meeting the basic activity level... Ouch. That one stung a little. I've been that American, which I blame mostly on the beginning of TRL and my strong aversion to sunlight as a teenager... Not anymore folks!

I haven't updated "My Regime" in quite awhile, because... well, it hit a snag. But I'm back on the wagon folks and you'll be happy to know that I most certainly do not consider myself among that 78%.

She Said What!?!

"You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."

-Unknown Author

In Review: The Denim Diet

Due to my slightly higher than usual interest in nutrition, I tend to read every new fad diet book (or at least a fair amount of excerpts from it online...) whenever one comes along. I recently heard of a new book titled The Denim Diet, written by Kami Gray, a wardrobe stylist out of Portland, OR. As a native Oregonian, and an individual who works in Media Production, I was not only intrigued to hear her take, but I also wanted to be supportive of this Oregonian's new endeavor.

The book was an incredibly quick read, and Kami's writing style is both humorous (without breaching on annoying) and concise. As she isn't a nutritionist or dietitian, I can only assume that she did thorough research to back up her "16 Simple Habits" before publishing the book - if she just had all the info memorized, it's fairly impressive; she doesn't skimp on scientific evidence.

All in all, I had a really good time reading the book. Good enough that I'll probably be sticking it on a shelf and NOT loaning it to people (diet books never come back...). Her tips are straight-forward and presented in a "common sense" kind of way that makes you feel empowered to make better decisions when it comes to food. That being said, for me, an avid diet and nutrition reader, most of it was redundant information. That's the problem with writing a book about common sense - it's common sense.

The thing to keep in mind, however, for all of us out there with emotional eating habits, and massive binge crashes after even the smallest attempt at a diet, is that sometimes we just need a gentle reminder of the facts. Yes I may have known most of what Kami was talking about, but I wasn't really practicing it, and when I was, it was in a begrudging fashion. Now, with the help of her humor and humanity, I've been able to realign my thinking back to the way it used to be, AND (here's the kicker...) feel good about it.

So to summarize the book, I would highly recommend it. She's got the cold hard basics down, she doesn't preach perfection, just a lifestyle, and it's entertaining. Sometimes we need a little entertainment to help us mourn the loss of our Wendy's Baconator Sunday rituals.

To The Mat: Water and Proper Hydration

I love how often people come out with new studies proving/disproving something we've been taught our whole lives. It's like math, you learn these simple rules for years and years, and then all of sudden you take college trig and they're like "forget this rule, it's not entirely true"... W.T.F. Why not just tell me that it isn't necessarily true in the first place so it's not like you're rocking my entire world! Idiots.

Anywho, today's discussion of annoying back and forths is going to be surrounding water and proper hydration. I've seen a bunch of Diet Coke fridge packs lately toting slogans like "recent studies have proven that drinking any liquid will help you stay hydrated" - which, by the way, is so reassuring when poison tries to convince you it isn't poison... As usual, I've digressed. Of course ANY liquid will keep you hydrated, but the big picture is, hydrated at what cost!?!

Drinking any fluid that has large quantities of sugar, or carbonation can not only add empty calories, but also leach important nutrients from our systems as well as decrease bone density (i.e. higher the chances of getting Osteoporosis, and increase potential bone fractures). Diet drinks are certainly not any better with their cancer causing aspartame, and possibly death inducing sucralose (read the toxicology report on Splenda - I don't think food items are supposed to mention death that often). All of the facts on other beverages would lead me to assume that of all the things that you CAN drink, water is the best possible choice.

SO let's get a few things straight here. Water is allegedly the majority of our entire bodies make-up, as in it's in our cells, and helps encourage our cells to operate at normal and healthy levels. It helps maintain hydration, without any side-effects, aside from, of course, more frequent bathroom breaks. (I like to think of large amounts of water consumption as my excuse for cigarette breaks. You always know that smokers get like one ten-minute break an hour. If you drink copious amounts of liquid, you might just well reach that some number yourself, and you smell far less disgusting).

Now, however, more and more reports are surfacing that the required 8 glasses a day may not be required at all. That drinking water may not help your skin, or help your health. Ok, fine, so that clear, flavorless (unless you live in L.A...) fluid doesn't necessarily benefit you. I could see that, I mean it's like as close to nothing as you can get. But, let's just say, that now you're on your high horse like "oh I don't need to drink water, I can drink what I want!" and you're downing like one regular soda, three diet soda's and four glasses of juice a day - but oh don't forget that Jamba Juice you had at lunch.

IDIOT- You've had like a days worth of calories in liquid alone, not to mention an outrageous amount of carbs! If you have that many simple carbs with NO protein your blood sugar levels will sky rocket, leading to an inevitable crash, increased sugar cravings - and after awhile, A HUGE FAT ASS. So not only are you stupid, but you're also fat. Seriously.

Now that I've insulted your appearance and intelligence, let me fill you in on a little secret. If I don't force myself to drink water, I won't. I LURVE Diet Soda. I LURVE cancer-causing carcinogens. I go through periods where I ween myself, but I always go back in the end. So I guess the moral of the story is that you should own up to your shortcomings, and realize that you can make better choices most of the time. This might make you feel less guilty when you're hiding in your car chugging a Diet Hansen's Root Beer before going inside to your loving family who's still smarting from your "No More High Fructose Corn Syrup or Sugar Substitute" spring cleaning fest.

Everything in moderation. Except water... and lettuce. You can crazy with the water and the lettuce.