Going Primal

This year is rapidly coming to a close.  It has been interesting to say the least.  As far as things that have occurred that I will discuss here, I have lost over a third, or about 35% of my total body weight in a year.  As it stands now based on body fat percentage, I plan on losing about another 75 pounds or so.  As I first began it was common sense things, then a bit of trial and error in trying new things to see which resulted in weight loss, or stomach upsets (My doctor and I suspect I may have Irritable Bowel Syndrome), or weight gain.  One of the biggest factors in deciding how and what I will eat revolves around me being a Type 2 Diabetic.  I was diagnosed in 2004 and frankly paid little attention to it until this year.  One of my goals recently has been to cut out as many of my medications as possible, so I have tried to keep my sugars under control.  And the best way I have found to do that is by eating low carb, and I recently have been busy researching how to continue to do this.

Part of this research has brought me to my first challenge of 2012.  I plan on, for at least the first 30 days, following a Primal Diet.  for those of you who may not know what that means, it is basically eating what a cave man would have eaten: lean meat, eggs, veggies, and a little fruit.  A few things you might find surprising is that beans, legumes (including peanuts) and most dairy is to be avoided (some types of hard cheese seem to be ok in small amounts by some, other say no way.), along with grains and sugars.

According to Mark's Daily Apple, a Primal Blog I have being following for some time, to lose weight you need to stay between 100g and 50g of total carbs a day.  That is an amazingly small number for most people.  A one cup serving of plain oatmeal has a little over 20g of carbs in it.  So does a medium apple.  Eating both together would essentially take up all your carbs for a day on this diet.  For those of you who are curious, a large McDonald's french fry has 63g of carbs.

I have found that the fewer carbs I eat, the lower my fasting blood sugars, so I am going to give it a go via the Primal BluePrint, which is basic guidelines like move, lift, and run, as well as eating per the Primal Diet.  I plan on subbing scrambled eggs and veggies or leftovers, as I do many mornings anyway, for my mornings meal, and a green salad with protein for my daily lunch of beans and salsa.  Instead of another green salad for dinner, as I normally do now, I am going to have a protein and cooked veggies (brussel sprouts for the win!).  Snacks are going to be nuts and veggies, and possibly a high fiber fruit, like an apple, or ounce of hard cheese, about the same as now.  The only thing that I worry about is that in doing this I am trading out 300-500 calories a day by omitting my quinoa/oatmeal and beans depending on my protein choices, so I am going to have to increase my amount of veggies I eat to make up my calories, as I could easily fall under 1000 calories eating this way.  Many Primal Dieters don't count calories as they say only the carbs count in weight loss.  It is not that I don't like meat, I just don't typically crave it and many of my favorite foods lack it, so I don't see myself grabbing another pork chop or slice of steak to fill up, but rather reaching for broccoli or green beans (which I have read may be ok on the Primal Diet if you eat the green pods, not the mature beans).  In fact when I order Chinese food I often pick out and eat all the veggies before I touch the protein.

One other thing I find interesting is that the Primal Diet encourages fat.  The reasoning behind this is that by severely limiting carbohydrates, which easily broken down into sugar (glucose to be exact) which is what fuels your body, you force your body into breaking down fat into glucose, which is a little harder for your body to do.  Doing this, you are less likely to store fat, as your body will be looking for fuel to use now not fuel to store for a later date, which is what normally happens to fat you eat.  So that means not more fat free cheese, which frankly, I hadn't been using since I find it disgusting.

My exercise goals also include working in 20-30 minutes five times a week of cardio, and 20-30 minutes three times a week of core exercises, in addition to my weekly hike.

So January is going to be an interesting month.  Not only will I be starting my new job, I will be going carb free, which means no stress snacking on my carby go-tos like pizza and fried chicken and pintos and biscuits from Doug's Place. I look forward to updating you on how it goes.

Early Winter Update-The Holidays got me

So the holidays snuck up on me.  I wasn't expecting it, and have found very little time to write.  So here is a quick catch up on the last 3 months.

Around the first part of October I hit my one hundred pounds lost goal.  I debated on how to celebrate, and finally decided on ordering a new pair of hiking boots, the first pair I have had in over 10 years.  I love them, as they make hiking so much easier and enjoyable.  I haven't turned my ankle a single time since I got them, and I find that my back and hip rarely bother me.  (I have some bone degeneration in my lower back, and bilateral hip anteversion. More on this later.)  I read several articles on quality, inexpensive hiking boots, and ordered a pair that came highly recommended from several sites from L.L. Bean. My only complaint is that they are a bit heavy, but fine for the amount of hiking I do. Hiking boot Review    My New Boots       Both links should open in new windows.

My weight loss slowed drastically in November and December.  As of today I have lost around 120 pounds.  While this is nothing to be upset about the rate has definitely slowed, mainly due to my lack of regular exercise during this period.  With the days getting shorter and me working longer hours my daily walks suffered.  I now have a tread mill, but I have yet to get into the habit of using it regularly.  I also have had a 3 month long run of allergy and upper respiratory ailments, which has greatly reduced my desire to move my butt.

The Thanksgiving holiday went better than I thought it would.  I did have my favorites, like mac and cheese, but just a couple spoons full.  I ate and was satisfied, but not overly stuffed, even though I had a lunch and dinner feast to attend that day.  The dinner was a a local buffet place, so I had a big green salad before my turkey and such to cut down on the temptation to eat badly.  I didn't lose, but I didn't gain either, during Thanksgiving week, so I count that as a triumph.

So that brings us to mid-December.  I am walking more, though nowhere near as regularly as I did.  Though my boyfriend and I, albeit somewhat accidentally, upped our longest to day hike from somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 miles to just over 12 miles.  I have a few health goals for the next year, which include to completely discontinue my hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol.  I am only still on this one to help raise my good cholesterol), and diabetes medications.  I am also going to completely give up my two current stress foods; fried chicken tenders and pizza.  Though I still will indulge in these treats, it will not be a weekly thing as I am doing currently.

I have also resolved to blog weekly about my weight loss and fitness journey.  It is therapeutic and helps act as a sounding board for my thoughts and ideas.

So this is where we are so far.  I have several things I am planning on discussing, and will probably make several more posts this year setting the tone for the first part of the year.  Until then, just keep at it.

Exercise

Exercise is terribly annoying.  Do I want to get up early on the weekends and walk my two miles?  Nope.  I'd rather snuggle with my sweetie and dogs.  Do I want to walk 2 miles after working a 16 hour shift?  I'd rather do most anything.  But I do it, everyday.  Why?  It helps me lose weight and improves my cardiovascular health. 

Studies have shown time and time again that exercise, especially aerobic exercise, helps you lose weight faster and keep it off than just dieting alone.

I have found hiking to be rather enjoyable.  I like nature, and hiking gives me an opportunity to see flora and fauna up close.  It is good exercise, and carrying a backpack counts as strength training.  GeoCaching is an activity that can also be done while hiking.  It is kind of like hide and seek, where someone hides a Cache and you find it.  I also enjoy bike riding, and have plans to start that again soon as soon as I work out the issues my gears have been having.

I have been told by my physical terrorist, I mean, therapist, that I need to work on my core strength.  So I am looking into that currently.  I've been told hula hooping is great core exercise, and for some odd reason it appeals.  I also have one of the Gold's Gym videos, but the chick annoys me greatly. So, we will see.

Introduction

First of all you may be wondering what in the world 'flensing' means.  'Flensing' is a word used to describe the removal of blubber from a whale carcass.  It may sound cruel, but it fits.  At my heaviest I weighed over 340 pounds.  Even though I have a large build for a woman that much weight on a 5'8" frame is not a pretty site.

Not only was I overweight, I was an uncontrolled diabetic, often times with my blood sugars so high my at home meter would not read them (and the one time I went to the ER for it the meter there would not read it either.  It had to be done in a lab and was well over 900.), hypertensive, had hypothyroidism, and high cholesterol.  And I had joint and back pain.  Not great for someone in their mid 20's.

I have always been over weight.  At my smallest I was a size 14.  And petite I am not.  I wear a size 12 in women's shoes, and have shoulders most men envy.  I am an Amazon.  Not matter how hard I try I will never be a 100 pound waif.  It just isn't in my genes.  And I am ok with that.

As of this morning I weighed 249 pounds.  This means I am nine pounds away from loosing a hundred pounds from my highest documented weight.  I have decided to start this blog to tell of the things I have found that worked, the things I found that did not work, and to discuss the things I haven't tried yet. 

Back in October of 2010 I had a Halloween party at my home.  The next day a picture of me was posted by a friend of mine.  It showed me sitting in a chair and four distinct rolls (my boobs, and three fat rolls, all the same size.) were all I could see.  I looked like a gross pale, fat, grub worm.  I decided at that point I had to do something.

I had tried diets in the past and had failed.  Every time I craved something I couldn't have and got side tracked.  So this time I decided I was going to change my diet, not go on a diet.

The first thing I did was stop drinking soda, fruit juice, and sweet tea.  I just drank water, and lots of it.  It kept me full, and kept me hydrated.  I have even discovered that many times when I thought I was hungry I was just thirsty.

The second thing that I did was only eat meals when I was hungry.  This was actually harder than it sounds.  So many times I would be going out with friends and realize I was not hungry in the least.  So I would sit and drink my water or iced tea and visit while they ate.  I actually had some folks tell me they were uncomfortable with this, and I politely explained that I was doing myself no good by eating when I did not need to.  Most understood.  Some didn't.

After that I slowly started modifying the things I ate.  Being a diabetic I knew carbs were bad, so the ones I left in my diet where the ones that take a while to digest, like whole grain.  I stopped eating breads and pastas, and refined sugar, and started eating more brown rice and quinoa and fruit.  This transition took several months.  I found it difficult at first to give up my sweets, as I love to bake, but soon found that it was a rare occasion that eating a treat was worth the calories.  Often times I could get by with eating just a cookie or small pie slice.  It took a lot of will power. One of the positive side effects of whole grain is the increased amount of fiber i take in, which helps you feel fuller and *ahem*, poop more.

Another thing I did was buy a calorie counting guide, like the CalorieKing reference book.  This pocket sized book gives you the fat, carbs, protein, fiber, and calories in most any food or fast food out there.  Being able to see these values helped me to make better choices.

Other than that, switching to fat free dairy was the only other thing I have done diet wise so far.  And it is working well.  I am taking only a half tablet of one of the two blood pressure medications I was on.  I was able to stop the other completely.  I am taking only one of my diabetes drugs and I am looking at lowering the dosage soon.  And for the first time in my life my cholesterol and triglycerides are normal.

My typical day starts with oatmeal with cinnamon and a banana mashed into it, made with milk.  Lunch is a can of black beans and salsa mixed together.  Dinner is a large mixed greens salad with tomato, cucumber, green olives, feta cheese, salsa and grilled chicken. Snacks are whole fresh fruit or nuts, and occasionally popcorn.  I aim for 1200-1500 calories a day and rarely ever feel hungry.

I do cheat. I still eat pizza, fried chicken, and cookies. I just do so infrequently and in small doses.  I have found that the best way to kill a chocolate craving is to give in.  I love the Dove Promises Dark Chocolate with Almonds.  I take one square, and let it melt in my mouth slowly.  By the time it is gone, I am happy, and have only had about 43 calories and 4 grams of carbs.

So this is where I am currently.  I have lost 91 pounds in 10 months.  I am taking less medicine for my health problems.  I look better.  I feel better.  And people notice. 

So hopefully we will be celebrating my loss of 100 pounds soon.  We can lament my blood sugar woes, mostly hypoglycemia due to too much medicine.  We can learn from our mistakes and do better tomorrow. We can do this.