It's been quiet on the board. We had some of Andy's family here this past week so I have been out and about entertaining them and showing the sights of Florida. I'm exhausted and ready to get back to my normal boring life! lol!
I hope you are all doing well and making progress. I made a commitment that I was going to get in the pool everyday, weather permitting, and do my laps and resistance and stretching, as well as my recumbent "bike" laps using my inner-tube. I have kept that commitment and I'm feeling the benefits of it. I'm pretty happy about that!
Check in and let me know how you are doing, good or bad.
Truth be told... but I am still trying, haven't given up fully that is.
Re: Doing terrible..
Posted by Pam T on 8/2/2019, 3:29 pm, in reply to "Doing terrible.."
What seems to be your main obstacle Sonali? I know you've mentioned your family lifestyle plays a part. Unfortunately we often tend to put other's needs and expectations ahead of our own.
So what's your typical day like? For example, you get up in the morning...what is your mind set? Are you motivated, or dreading the thought of trying to get through the day? If you are feeling motivated, what is typically the first challenge you have to face? Is it pretty much the same most days? I know you have a very active social life and that has been difficult, but on a regular day, do you see a pattern? When you make that decision to go off your plan, what is the dialog going on in your head? Having been through this myself, I know the bargaining and justifying and denial would be going like a tornado in my brain! lol! Sometimes it was an almost out of body experience. I would see myself reaching for something while in my head I was screaming "NOOOOO!". Or..do you get through the day ok, only to cave in to cravings and stress eating at night? We all tend to have patterns and repeat behaviors when tired or stressed or just feeling like we need some comfort. The challenge is to find a substitute that can fill those needs in a positive way. That doesn't necessarily mean exercise. Exercise can be effective for some physical stress or anxiety relief, while something calming like knitting or a repetitive activity might be for winding down and comfort.
The mental aspect of weight loss is important and really determines how successful you end up being. It all begins or ends with our thoughts. Action follows. If you can stop the thought it in its tracks before taking action, you will develop the new skills and patterns that will set you up for long term success.
If you wake up dreading the day and fearing falling off plan, then you need to do something to change things up a bit. I recommended something a while back to the members here. I suggested adding a meal of protein and fat. I know it sounds crazy, but a meal of moderate protein and healthy fat will not disrupt ketosis and will actually help. I'm talking something like a couple of eggs and 2 or 3 slices of bacon. Or maybe a small ribeye steak or a piece of salmon cooked in butter or olive oil. This will keep you in fat burning mode while giving you something to look forward to and make it easier to say no to everything else. I know we were all taught to fear fat, but that has now been proven to be unproven and in fact, a big contributor to the obesity epidemic as it forced us to all turn to carbohydrates to take it's place. Carbohydrate drives up insulin, the fat storing hormone. It is the catalyst to insulin resistance and eventually all the diseases we are trying to avoid. I would recommend having your 3 Cambridge servings a day and add one protein/fat meal either every day or alternate days would be even better. This may be your answer.
Hi Pam, It is great to see your post. So happy to see you are able to stay on plan and do the things you intended to do.
Now for the bad and the good. The bad news is I don't feel ready to commit to full SS. Also, the Lymphedema is a chronic condition so will require daily attention for the rest of my life. In all of my 66 years for any great length of time I have never put myself first. That is probably one of the reasons my weight loss is at a stand still. Now I am forced to commit to taking care of myself: daily pumping, sleeping with feet elevated nightly(can't sleep well), wearing compression garments(hate them), water intake and hydration, skin care, proper exercise and diet & supplementation are required in order to avoid infection or having the condition turn to a more advanced stage.
The good news is for the first time in a long time I am able to walk without a limp and feel very little pain from the Lymphedema. I do feel ready to do 2 Cambridge shakes and 1 meal every day. The Clinic connected to the hospital advocated for me so that my medical insurance would cover part of the cost of a Lymphedema pump. It will be $900.00 to $ 1200 out of pocket. I use it 2 hours per day on my lower torso and both legs.The left leg still swells but has improved a great deal- Even the color looks better on both legs.
I'll hoping to start back on Cambridge very soon. Everyone take care and best wishes.
MaryL, I am happy to hear of the improvements to your situation. You have such a difficult illness to deal with. I've had many clients over the years who have also struggled with lymphedema and cellulitis infections. I'm glad you are able to get some help with it.
I know you didn't ask for any advice, but if you don't mind, I would still strongly recommend that you avoid any and all forms of carbohydrate in the meal you are adding. Getting your insulin levels lowered will go a long way in assisting your body to deal with the issues you have. This can be accomplished by only adding a good protein and healthy fat. It will keep you in ketosis and that will keep your body adapted to using stored fat for its needed energy source. The human body can burn either sugar (carbs) or stored fat to supply needed energy. It can not do both at the same time. Deprive it of dietary carbohydrates and it will do what nature designed to do, go to fat storage. No seed or processed vegetable oils. Just butter, olive oil, avocados or their oil, and other non chemically processed natural fat sources. Proteins like eggs, salmon, beef, pork, chicken (dark preferred) cooked with the fat of choice. This will stabilize hormones (especially insulin and glucose) and keep you in fat burn mode. It is also very satiating and will not trigger or stimulate your appetite as consuming extra carbohydrates will.
