Yoga is the Poetry of Movement

So I have always been intimidated by Yoga. I've always wanted to try it but my two main concerns were: 1) It’s too slow for me, 2) I don’t want to look like an amateur compared to the other people in the class.

I eventually was able to work up the courage to go to a class. There is this lovely little studio about 10 minutes from my house. They are THE nicest people in the world and I immediately fell in love.

I started off with a beginner’s class and quickly began to understand what all the hype was about. Yoga is amazing for the body and for the soul. Just FYI, this is not cardio. It’s slow movements and lots of stretching. One of the many benefits of Yoga is that it builds muscle mass. Especially for women, Yoga can help prevent Osteoporosis.

Yoga is also beneficial for healing, the body and the soul. Most studios offer a restorative class where you uses props to support the body so that you can hold poses for longer, allowing you to open your body through passive stretching. Some other physical benefits are flexibility, strength, muscle toning, balance, breathing, joint health, and pain prevention.

One of the really cool things I've learned from yoga is that it detoxifies the body.  A simple twist can remove the toxins sitting in your body, think of it like wringing out a sponge.

Yoga heals the soul, as well. Some of the mental benefits of yoga are mental calmness, stress reductions, and body awareness.

At the beginning of class, your instructor will tell you set your intention for your practice. What are you here for? What do you want get out of this class? Who in your life needs a little positive energy thrown their way? Those are some questions to ask when you set your intention.

One of the last poses the instructor will tell you to go into Savasana, or Corpse pose. It’s every yogi’s favorite pose! Savasana is where you lay flat on your mat and reflect on your practice. Sometimes the instructor will lead you on a journey, sometimes it’s just quiet time to focus on breathing and being in the now.

At the end of every class, the instructor thanks you for allowing them to lead you in your practice and says “Namaste.” You’ve all heard this word before, but does anyone actually know what it means? At the end of one class I took, the instructor actually read us the definition and it really stuck with me. Yes, it’s a way to greet each other or say thank you, but to Yogi’s it means much, much more.

I could go on and on about Yoga, but this post is long enough as it is, so to you I say ‘Namaste.”

Of all the DIETS, in all the towns, in all the world...

Diet (noun): the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.

Diet (verb): restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.

There a million different types of diets out there. Talk to a bunch of different people and they all tell you something different. It really depends on the person and how motivated they are. In this blog post, I’m going to list some of the pros and cons of just some of the diets that are out there.

1) Atkins: Atkins has actually come a long way since it started becoming big in the late 90s and early 2000s. Atkins is all about low net-carbs and high in protein. There are 4 phases: 1) Finding the maximum number of grams of carbs, known as your personal carb balance, that you can consume while continuing to lose weight, keep your appetite under control, and stay alert and energized. 2) You will slowly start adding different foods—think nuts, seeds, strawberries, blueberries, melon, cottage cheese, yogurt and more. 3) Pre-Maintenance (Fine-Tuning)-  you will gradually see how much you can raise your daily Net Carb intake. 4) Lifetime Maintenance- not so much a phase as a permanent lifestyle. In general, the foods you eat in this phase are the same ones you’ve already been eating.  (Atkin’s website)

When you go on a very low carb  diet with more fat, your appetite is diminished and you feel fuller (because fat is more satiating than carbs). Which is a benefit to low carb. You just have to have a plan once you are off it.

2) Medifast: This is one of the roughest diets out there, folks. It is EXTREME low calorie. You eat about 6 times a day while eating no more than 1000 calories a day.<---- what I meant when I said rough.

You get to eat five (5) of the 100 calorie Medifast products which can be a shake, bar, oatmeal, soup or the cheese puffs that do not taste like Cheetos. The sixth meal, which can be eaten any time of day, is what they call “lean-and-green.” 5-7 ounce of lean protein and three servings of non-starchy veggies (they have a list of meats and veggies when you start.)

When you start it, you lose a ton of weight really fast, mostly because you’re taking in like no calories. I know a lot of people who have tried this and weren’t able to finish because of how hard it is. When you have reached your goal on Medifast, you need to wean yourself back on to food. Like I said before, you need a plan.

3) Juice: This is veryyy popular right now. My boyfriend does it. “Juicing removes the insoluble fiber from vegetables and fruits. While fiber is an established, important part of an overall healthy diet, removing the insoluble fiber allows for increased absorption of specific health promoting phytonutrients including enzymes, while the soluble fiber persists into the juice.  By removing the fibers and consuming fruits and vegetables in liquid form, we are providing a nutrient delivery system to our bodies that allows individuals who would otherwise have difficulty consuming whole vegetables, the opportunity to reap the numerous benefits vegetables have to offer.” (Reboot with Joe) Juicing diet was featured in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead documentary.

First way to juice is through a cleanse.  It can be anywhere from 1-7 days. It is short term. A cleanse gives you liver a chance to rest. You’re detoxing your body. This is a good way to give your body a kick start before you start dieting. A lot of celebrities do this before a photo shoot or before an awards show. It really cuts down on bloat. There are companies that sell cleanses for 3-10 days.

The second way to juice is through a diet. This can be for an unlimited amount of time, usually about a month. All you do is drink juices 3-5 times a day. It’s rough to get through, but if you have the determination to get through it, good for you. It’s cheap because all your doing is buying veggies (after you buy a juicer, of course). And you can lose a ton of weight. But of course, it all comes down to how you treat your body once you finish with the juices. You need a plan of attack once you start eating normally again.

4) Military Diet: I don’t know if military people actually do this, but that is the name. It’s interesting to say the least. “The diet is a combination of low calorie, chemically compatible foods designed to work together and jump start your weight loss. And because the diet is 3 days on and 4 days off, the Military Diet doesn’t slow down your metabolism like other diets.” (The Military Diet)

I can see why people are into this. You have 3 harsh days of extreme low calorie, than 4 days of eating healthy. This is not a lifestyle, it’s a quick diet. It should not be done for the rest of your life. You will need to figure out how to eat afterwards.

5) Paleo: This diet “based upon eating wholesome, contemporary foods from the food groups our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era, the time period from about 2.6 million years ago to the beginning of the agricultural revolution, about 10,000 years ago. These foods include fresh meats , fish, seafood, fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and healthful oils (olive, coconut, avocado, macadamia, walnut and flaxseed). Dairy products, cereal grains, legumes, refined sugars and processed foods were not part of our ancestral menu.” (The Paleo Diet)

In this diet, you’re eliminating a lot of the bad food like bread, sugars, just real man-made crap. This is mostly organic and is great for gluten-free lifestyles, too. I mean, this is a great way to maintain after any of the diets listed above and it is completely feasible. This is very popular right now. I see a lot of people doing it.

6) Mediterranean: If I had to choose a diet for the rest of my life, it would probably be this. I love Mediterranean food. “The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating — plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps even a glass of red wine — among other components characterizing the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.” (The Mayo Clinic)

This diet is known to reduced the risk of heart disease. Here’s the highlights: Eat your veggies and fruits — and switch to whole grains, eat nuts, use olive oil, herbs and spices can be your best friends, eat fish, limit red meat, choose low fat dairy. And it’s Doctor Oz approved, so you know it’s good! Like I said with Paleo, this is a great way to maintain after any of the diets listed above and it is completely plausible way to live.

These are just a handful of the diets out there. I am always curious to hear about the latest trend and what people are currently doing.  But all of these diets should be done WITH EXERCISE! There is no miracle diet. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR BOOTY MOVING!

Guess Who's Backkkk?!

Hello all!!! Guess who's back?? That's right!! It's meeeee! 
Okay, so after a looooong hiatus, I am back, with a vengeance. It's been a long time, I know. After a super busy spring and summer, I am ready to start kicking some ass again.

So what has happened since my last post? I am still doing the 17 Day Diet. I am currently doing my 4th time around and my body seems to love it! It's an amazing feeling when you find something that works for you. 

In other news, I finally hit my 60lb goal which feels AMAZING!!! When I first started on this #weightlossjourney, my original goal was 30lb and 60lb. Well, I succeeded in both. It was a loong journey. It took a total of  17 months.

 

My goal along this whole journey was to get healthy. It wasn't to be skinny. If I continued to go the way I was going, who knows where I would be.... probably diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and taking medication every day. 

I had my monthly appointed with my nutritionist the other day and we got to talking where I want to go next. I want to lose another 20lbs, but I have my qualms about it. My entire life, I have never been skinny. I have always been a chunky thing. By being over-weight my whole life, I have had to compensate with a sense of humor and a good personality. In my honest opinion, I do not believe I was meant to be "skinny." It was never something that mattered to me and I don't know if I would look right being "skinny." All I know is that I want to be healthy. I want to live a long life with no health issues.

Another concern I had is the fact that I LOVE seeing the scale go down. A lot of people who lose weight tend to never want to stop. Luckily, I have a lot of great people surrounding me so I know they will tell me when I start to be ridiculous. 

So that's what is new on my side of the Internet. I promise to be back with new updates and interesting blog posts! #PINKYPROMISE

Milestones

I haven't posted in a while and that was because I was waiting for this to happen! I hit another milestone. 

When I started on the 17 day diet, it was to help me get over my plateau. Not only did I get over the plateau, but I was able to get to 40 pounds! 40 POUNDS!!! 

This is a truly exciting moment for me. The last time I was this weight was probably around senior year in high school. 7 years... 

So we are currently halfway into the second cycle of the 17 day diet (Activate). This is where you add red meat and natural starches to your diet. But you can only eat it every other day. The other days you eat clean like in the first cycle. I have put a list of the additional items you are allowed below.


THIS WAS NOT EASY. It's a great way to shed some weight, but it's not easy. There is a ton of thinking, prepping and sacrifices. I spend hours prepping food on the weekends and it barely lasts through the week. 

Since being on the 17 day diet, my weight hasn't gone up (only a couple of ounces) and I have lost a total of 6.4 lbs and I still have another cycle to go.  :)

Proteins: Same as Cycle 1, but add in the following:

Seafood:

Shellfish**
Clams
Crab
Mussels
Oysters
Scallops
Shrimp

Lean Cuts of Meat:

Flank Steak
Top Sirloin Steak
Top Round
Eye of the round
Beef round tip
Beef top sirloin
Beef top loin
Lean ground beef
Pork Tenderloin
Pork sirloin chops
Pork boneless loin roast
Pork top or center loin chops
Lamb shanks
Lamb sirloin roast
Veal cutlet

Natural Starches (all to be eaten  prior to 2pm)

Grains: (1 serving = ½ cup)
Amaranth
Barley, pearled
Brown rice
Bulgar
Couscous
Cream of wheat
Grits
Longer rain rice, such as basmati
Millet
Oat bran
Old-fashioned oatmeal
Quinoa

Legumes: (1 Serving = ½ cup)

Black beans
Black-eyed peas
Butter beans
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Great northern beans
Kidney beans
Lentils
Lima beans, baby
Navy beans
Peas
Pinto beans
Soy beans
Split peas

Starchy Vegetables:

Breadfruit (1 serving = 1 cup)
Corn (1 serving = ½ cup)
Potato (1 serving = 1 medium)
Pumpkin (1 serving = 1/2 cup)**
Sweet potato (1 serving = 1 medium)
Taro (1 serving = ½ cup)
Winter squashes (acorn, spaghetti, butternut, etc) (1 serving = 1 cup)
Yam (1 serving = 1 medium)

Pleasant Surprises

March 1st, 2014 was the day. Oheka Castle was the place. My cousin was was getting married. I have been wearing the same dress to almost every wedding I have gone to since 2010. --> Mostly because the dress is adorable and it fit. 

So I decided to buy myself a new dress. I ordered a cute dress off Macy's and when it came in the mail, I just hung it up in my closet. I didn't try it on until 2 days before the wedding, which was a bad idea because it was too big.

In July, I went to another wedding and my mom had bought me a new dress which was a size smaller then my go-to wedding dress. I was so ecstatic when I fit into it. I have lost another 15 lbs since then, my go-to dress wasn't going to fit and the one I bought for the wedding was a summer dress. I rummaged around and found a dress that I had bought for a different wedding in 2005 (9 years ago). I tried it on and to my surprise it fit! I tried it on, showed my mom and with some help from Spanx, it was a done deal. 

Saturday at 4:30, I start to get ready and put the dress on. As I'm getting ready, I realize the dress keeps falling down my back and I am showing major side boob (curse of small boobs). I did not feel comfortable in it and I couldn't wear it.

It was LITERALLY 10 minutes before we were leaving. I didn't know what to do. So my sister asked me what size the dress was. I told her and she said hold on a minute. Now the only clothing I have really been able to borrow from my sister in recent times was a cardigan. Nothing else really fit. She then comes out with this dress and told me to try it on. 

It fit... And looked AH-MAZING, I might add. I could not believe it. Neither could my mom, sister or boyfriend. Of course, everything was sucked in with the Spanx, but it still fit. 

So we made our way to the castle, had an amazing time, drank wayyyyyy to much vodka, and dance my butt off my with family. A month later, I am still riding the high of fitting in that dress! 

The moral of this story is: don't give up! There are days where I feel like I just can't do this anymore and I just want to have a cheeseburger, fries and a brownie. But then there are days like March 1st, 2014 and I can't imagine going back. It is a journey. I have been doing this for over a year now and the progress I have made is honestly shocking. I did not think I could do this and there were a lot of people out there that thought the same. But I keep chugging on because I can't go back. 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

So for the past three weeks I have been bouncing between the same three numbers. I haven't hit a new low for almost a month. At first, I was extremely frustrated. I started to do a food journal which I sent to my nutritionist every day. Usually when I do a food journal, something clicks after day 4 and everything goes back to normal. After day 5, nothing had changed. I was still bouncing between the three numbers. I even changed AND increased my work outs. I started yoga, so I would go to the gym 2 days a week and now I am doing yoga 2 days a week. STILL NOTHING.

I decided to just let it be till I saw my nutritionist. When I went to my appointment yesterday, she asked me for my weights for last week. I told her I still haven't hit a new low and I don't know what else I could possibly do. She decided it was time for a change. 

The 17 Day Diet: It is a book by this guy Dr. Mike Moreno.The diet is centered around four 17 day cycles:  Accelerate- which is the rapid weight loss portion, it helps flush sugar and fat storage from your system. Activate- which is the metabolic restart portion,  alternating low and high calorie days to help shed body fat. Achieve- which is the phase that involves learning to control portions and introducing new fitness routines. And finally Arrive- which is a combination of the first three cycles to keep good habits up for good. (http://17ddblog.com/overview/)

As of Monday, I will be starting the Accelerate cycle. When you hear people talking about "eating clean," this is what they are talking about. You are allowed unlimited lean proteins and cleansing vegetables (there is a list). You must eat 2 servings of low sugar fruit and 2 servings of probiotic food. Friendly fats such as olive oil and flaxseed oil are fine. But only certain condiments are allowed... in moderation. 

In the first 17 days, you should be able to lose 10-12 lbs. That will not be the case for me because I am not changing my eating habits very drastically. I am doing this because my body has just become accustomed to my lifestyle and it needs to be shaken up! 

Here is a the list of foods you are allowed:

Protein- Unlimited

Chicken breast, turkey breast, lean ground turkey, Salmon, Sole, Flounder, Catfish, Tilapia, Tuna, whole eggs (but no more than 4 yokes per week), egg whites and egg beaters. 

Cleansing Vegetables- Unlimited

Artichoke, Artichoke hearts, Asparagus, Peppers, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Spinach, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Green beans, Green, leafy veggies, Kale, Tomatoes, Carrots, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Scallions and Watercress.

Low Sugar Fruits- 2 Servings Daily

Apple, peaches, pear, blueberries, plums, raspberries, grapefruit, orange, blackberries, prunes, strawberries, RED grapes, prickly pear cactus. You cannot eat any fruit AFTER 2 PM.

Probiotics- 2 Servings Daily

Low-fat yogurt, greek yogurt, Kefir, low fat acidophilus milk, Yakult, Breakstone Live Active cottage cheese, Tempeh, Sauerkraut, Kimchi.

Friendly Fats

Olive oil, flaxseed oil.

Condiments

Salsa, low-carb marinara sauce, lite soy sauce, low-carb ketchup, fat-free sour cream, Truvia, sugar-free jams and jellies, vegetable cooking spray, fat-free cheese, fat-free salad dressings, salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, herbs and spices. These are allowed in MODERATION.

So, as of Monday, this is what I will be doing for the next 17 days. I will report back before the 17 days are up and let you know how it is going!  

The Average Pants Size for American Women

Okay, let’s first start off with the fashion industry saying a size 8 is “plus size.”

I think the first time I heard this was when I was watching America’s Next Top Model marathon on VH1. In season 10, we see this FAB-U-LOUS girl Whitney Thompson hitting the mark every episode, but they don’t think she’s “right” because she’s a size 8 (“plus size”). Like WTF? I can’t even remember the last time I was a size 8. 

I keep hearing this statistic thrown around that says the average American woman is a size 14. I don’t know where they got this statistic or who came up with, but according to this New York Times article, it is true. “...even the women who came in on the small side in the SizeUSA survey look more like what the longtime clothing industry standards would consider a size 14 -- the size at which ‘plus size’ clothing begins.”

When the average pants size is 14, why don’t more store accommodate that? The Huffington Post made this chart of some stores and what size they sell online and in-store. It’s very interesting.

Being plus-size for majority of my life, I’ve grown accustomed to buy my clothes online. It’s also super annoying. Sometimes I need to buy one pair of jeans in two different sizes, then ship the one that doesn’t fit back and waste money in shipping. Or I have to measure my chest and waist to make sure the size I buy is correct. Then I have the issue of it being too big in the chest and perfect in the belly, or the opposite. Anyway, it sucks.

The point of this post is that the media and the fashion industry make it hard for almost anyone that has a little chunk on them. If you’re 5’4” and weigh about 140 lbs, you’d be around a size 8. According to BMI charts, that’s a healthy weight for someone of that size.... so why does the media and fashion industry consider it plus size?