My Weight Loss Pictures

Probiotics

2009-05-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

I know this will sound gross to some, but our intestinal tract has some friends to entertain your food's digestion. This friendly bacteria also helps in fighting or protecting against harmful bacteria. Some feel that antibiotics and many of the chemicals in our water and food kill off these helpful microorganisms and we need to replenish them. Others feel that we do not eat enough food with these friends so they do not prosper in the intestinal tract.

Whatever the reason, there are several foods that can help you build an effective team of creepy little creatures inside your body. Yogurt, miso, and Activia are some to name a few. You can also take probiotics in a capsule format.

I'm going to start taking them in pearl format because if I even attempt to keep yogurt in the house the kids will scarf it up like there is no tomorrow. It's only $3.99 per box through the source I get it from so I'm sure it won't be a waste of money. The product has high reviews too. Considering the yogurt itself is almost a buck a serving that means I will be saving a lot anyway and saving time and room for the foods I like much better.

255

2009-05-04T07:52:00.001-07:00

I'm at 255 now. That's a big sigh of relief considering I bloated up to 258 yesterday after a migraine. I knew that would happen.

I don't know if you've ever felt the woosh effect, but every time I weigh less I've felt it. The woosh is a strange thing. I used to think people were crazy when they talked about it, but I know it's true because one time my body felt like the insides were falling and it felt like a woosh! of the tide sliding back into the ocean. Being a beach girl I know what this feels like, but I know not many have so let me think of another way to say it. I know. When you let the bath water all drain while you're sitting in it, it's not quite as fast or effective, but the feeling is the same.

I remember reading about it on a forum and laughing and then one day it happened. When I stepped on the scale the next morning I was 3 pounds lighter. Is that a scientific answer as to what it is? No, but I can tell you that every time it happens I am down more than one pound the next day. Coincidence? Maybe. Interesting? Yes.

I've been listening to the self talk CD every night. I have no clue if it's helping. I do find it annoying that I wake up when he shifts programs but then I quickly fall back asleep while listening. If we can just put on a helmet and listen then I'm going to put on headphones of my kids with their school studies. haha. Actually, I used to do that with my oldest with times tables and he's off the chart intelligent so who knows. I think it's inherited. haha

Jon Gabriel says to eat a big breakfast so I did this morning. I think I did have too many eggs though. I am still hungry (grr) but I couldn't take another bite of eggs. I didn't have anything else but an orange. I don't have much else in the house. It's really hard to stay on a healthy diet when you're broke all the time, yet I will survive and lose. People in the desert do it, so why can't I?

Adding Essential Fatty Acids to My List

2009-05-02T14:00:00.001-07:00

256 this morning. Probably because I ate some food last night. It's hard to not eat at night when you work at night. The book I'm reading recommends to eat a large breakfast, a nice-sized lunch, and a nice-sized dinner then drink water for the rest of the night. I'm not a good water drink, but maybe his idea of squeezing a lemon in it might help. I'm one of those "water is boring" people, but I guess fat is boring too so which would rather have?

All this time you've been told that eating fat is bad for you when you need to realize it is the kind of fat you eat. Essential means that our body cannot manufacture these to keep us healthy.

I'm going to start adding essential fatty acids once per day in a capsule format. I'm also going to try to find sources that include them in the foods I eat. I might grind flax seeds and put them on salads if I like the taste. Everyone always recommends having Omega 3, 6, and 9 because they supposedly help with so many processes in the body like heart health and burning fat.

Here are some sources where to find essential fatty acids:

Omega-3: herring, salmon, mackerel, flaxseed, walnuts, eggs, pumpkin seeds,

Omega-6: borage oil, evening primrose oil, eggs, sunflower oil

Omega 9: Olive oil and many other sources.

Evening primrose oil is supposed to help the body during those annoying times of the month for women so hopefully having all of this will get rid of the cramps and bloating I get. That is at least one thing to look forward to. I'll have to check to see if it is the Omega-6 in the product or something else.

I suppose I will be hitting the big M word in about 6 to 10 years so these should also help with some of the symptoms or at least keep me somewhat healthy during the change.

I would give you a link to flaxseed, but you're probably better off buying it fresh from the grocery store. I buy mine in bulk in the organic bins and grind it myself with my Magic Bullet blender system.

Sources:
http://www.womentowomen.com/healthynutrition/differencebetweenomega369.aspx
http://www.womentowomen.com/healthynutrition/omega3benefits.aspx

255 lbs This Morning

2009-05-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

My picture was terrible because I think my shirt washed out the color in my face so I didn't post it. Don't worry, it looks the same as the others. I'll probably do it later when I change out of my jammies.

I've been reading The Gabriel Method and the concepts are pretty good. For some it might seem like hocus pocus, but it really does look like it will work. I can think of some things that would cause weight gain using his theories so I'm going to try and work those out in my head. If anything, I need to do it anyway because they bug me.

My Atkins diet is pretty much what he suggests anyway. I don't usually crave junk anyway when I'm on Atkins. I just need to learn how to make it a way of life. Atkins is not a diet actually, it's just sound common sense and so is Gabriel's method. I don't know why he compares his plan with the original Atkins plan because they're almost the same except for the first two week of Atkins. Gabriel recommends eating what you want as long as you eat more of the non processed meats, veggies, and fruits and Atkins tells you to eat just the veggies and the meats for the first two weeks. The primary difference is that and Gabriel tells you the science is in your head and in your body whereas Atkins bases it primarly on your body.

I guess that means if you have a problem staying on something like Atkins then apply the concepts in the Gabriel Method.

I have been listening to his bed time recordings and I always fall asleep. I suppose that is a good thing. Besides night time pills, it's the only thing that does put me to sleep before 2 AM. He suggests using it in the same place at the same time every night. I rarely go to bed at the same time every night, but I guess this is a time to try it out. I always feel like I'm missing something when I do and plus I do have a business that I do at night sometimes when I don't get enough time during the day. I don't know how that will work out.

He also says not to weigh yourself every day, but I'm doing this for the benefit of a few people who cannot see all the results. I don't mind weighing myself daily even when the results are not what I expect because I know about plateaus and all that. I guess this is also why I'll take the pictures, too.

I'm going to try and figure out how to get full body shots. I don't think the cam on my computer will work well unless I stand really far away but then you can't see the details. Not that you want to--hahahaha. Actually, even though I am probably considered "morbidly obese' (haha) I still have a hot body so put that in your tea and smoke it. I could probably be a really good bbw web cam milf girl, but I'm not going to do that. LOL

What I will do once I get a full body shot is to modify that image to show what I will look like when I'm at my desired weight. I think that will probably work well. I have Photoshop and all that jazz so it won't be too hard.

Weight Loss Status - 256 lbs

2009-04-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

Finally! I'm at 256 now. I'm a little excited.

I bought the book last night. So far it's good. It talks about why your body has been tricked into being fat for survival. It also came with a limited time mp3 with a recording on it for bedtime. The recording has nice music, probably theta waves or whatever you use for sleepy time, and is actually pretty nice. I had to use it twice because I fell asleep during the first one and my son came in and tapped me on the shoulder to ask a question.

The mp3 is free with the purchase of the book so I suggest that if you want it then you should probably get one now (see sidebar for the link.)

With the way he talks doing a low carb diet isn't necessary although it sounds like you end up doing it anway. When you think about good eating you realize that is what low carb is because unlike the popular belief that you only eat meat and fat, you end up eating fruits, veggies, meat and fat. Low carb just gets it's bad rep because of the lack of bread. Well I'm sorry, but bread makes me feel icky and I'm sure there is a reason for that.

I should probably start taking supplements soon. I just haven't thought about which ones to take. If there only was a one answer for all of it because they're really expensive.

My scale this time showed 256, 257, 256 so I went with 256. If anyone is out there who has the same problem please let me know what you think about that or what you have done to make it better.

258 Again

2009-04-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Good grief. I have never taken so long to loose a pound. I did step on the scale four times:

1. 256

2. 259

3. 258

4. 258

So I don't know. Perhaps I should get a better scale or use my son's iPod to see if it's level. It is frustrating being stuck on a plateau right when I begin. This is why they tell you to weight yourself weekly.

I also have the added stress of getting the kids off to school. Mine are almost unbearable in the morning so perhaps that has something to do with it. They say that stress is a big cause of weight gain or no weight loss and I have so much stress that you could shock me and I wouldn't notice.

They also now say that brown fat cells that help you lose weight when it's cold (isn't this the complete opposite that they've been telling us for decades?). Now, I lived in freezing weather all winter and our heat source wasn't the greatest. Our house has cracks and crevices all over the place and doesn't stay warm. When heated the house stays 59 or 60. It's impossible to keep the place warm. I didn't lose a damn thing. In fact, I think I gained weight. Perhaps I have less brown fat cells? Why are so many women overweight where I live then? I'm not arguing with the studies, I'm just making a few obvious points. Maybe since I grew up in a warmer climate I have fewer brown cells and my body evolved as a warm temp person?

Or maybe the theory of where your ancestors lived is true. Some people think that where your heritage lies is how you'll lose weight. I believe that I am a good majority of western European plus some American Indian. But which Indian because the United States is made up of different climates.

WHO KNOWS? WHO CARES?

I just want to lose weight and low carb is the only one that works for me. Figure that one out. If you can come up with a reason without telling me it's losing water or muscle then you're on to something. If you're just going to tell me that 1. you haven't lost pounds because you eat too much fat or 2. you have lost pounds because it's all water weight then I'm going to laugh because those are the two big excuses people throw in your face when you haven't lost or you lose too quickly because they want you to join their program.

I haven't bought that book yet either. Soon.

258...still

2009-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Ha! It's still 258. I don't put the ounces, although I probably should. I expect a drop soon.

I just realized that I can get a copy of The Gabriel Method from Amazon (shown to the right on this page) for ten bucks. I wasn't going to buy the book because I didn't want to spend all that money on it, but ten bucks isn't bad.

Total control this morning. I think all I had to do is tell myself I don't like them. My son had a chocolate long john this morning. I used to get all worked up and get a custard filled one even though I don't like the taste of the actual doughnut itself, I did love the custard and chocolate. Although I do still like chocolate, I like it in different forms. That long john would have been way too sweet and I'm suddenly not liking sweet any longer. (yay!)

If you're following me on Twitter then you will have an idea of what I've been eating. I try to record everything whenever I eat something. It's easy to do when I tweet--easier than blogging it. So, if you want to know what I eat then do the Twitter thing with me too.

I'll start taking body shots once it warms up enough here for me to stop walking around in a blanket.

Still 258

2009-04-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

I suppose that is a good thing. I know there is going to be fluctuation and they say don't weigh daily and I think it's because your weight changes throughout the week. I do it daily so I can post and show the changes here and maybe be able to tell what makes me gain, stall, or lose.

Some people think that it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you eat less calories and I beg to differ. I'm sure that if you eat less calories that you will lose, but you will also lose muscle mass. I am living proof that you can eat a lot of fat and protein and not a lot of carbs to lose weight. I am also living proof that you can eat a lot of carbs and fat and little protein and gain a lot of weight fast.

To figure out how many steps I take per day I bought a pedometer. The hard part is remembering to wear it. I'm supposed to get 10,000 steps in there? I don't know where I will do that. It's raining today and I'm working from 10 am until 8 pm. I suppose I could get up every half hour and step, but what a drag. I don't know.

I put in whatever I eat in my Twitter--at least I try to remember to do it. That way you'll see what I'm eating. I'll try to put it in this blog as well, but I'm not sure if blogger has a widget.

Weight Loss Status - 258 lbs

2009-04-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

I just woke up so please forgive me if I look a little tired. I stayed up real late last night watching movies. I heard that wasn't good for weight loss and then turned around and read somewhere that it didn't matter what time you went to bed as long as you did sleep a certain amount of time.

I don't think anyone really knows.

I'm at 258 today. Yesterday I ate two grilled chicken salads with carrots, cheese, and caesar dressing, four hamburger patties, a ToGo Acai Energy drink, and I think that's it. I can't tell you when I ate these, I just did it when it I was hungry.

I tried the acai berry drink because it is supposed to give you losts of energy and help you lose weight. I didn't really notice a boost of energy, but since I was out of coffee and it has 66 mg of caffeine I think it helped in that department. Oh, and I drank some instant Lipton tea too. Gross, but I can't stand plain water. Bad, I know.

I didn't exercise nor did I walk at all with the exception of chores and going places. I really need a pedometer though as it would be very helpful. Still searching for a free one. lol. It's something that isn't in my budget at the moment.

I didn't do my meditation either. I know, bad thing. It's not easy for me as my schedule is always insane. I don't have a schedule really. I don't like going to bed any certain time and my 3 kids are 8 through 19 so they're all up different hours. Oh, and I don't have a bedroom of my own until my son heads off to college. Finding a quiet time to meditate is almost impossible here. It is important to lowering my stress which is benefial in losing weight so I have to figure out some way to do it. Maybe headphones and a recording of my favorite place in the world will do it. An mp3 of the Northern Californian coast.

Weight Loss Status - 261 lbs

2009-04-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

I think to make my life easier I'm going to just do the face shot. I wish I had a better camera or I'd do a full shot. Doing it this way will make it easier to make that daily photo thing.

I did very well yesterday and I think my body is paying for it at the moment. Whenever I eat fewer carbs for my low carb diets my body goes through this horrible transformation even after the first day. With most people it usually takes a week, but mine is almost immediate. It's starving for the sugary garbage I eat and rebelling. I know this because once I accidentally drank took the wrong soda and my body then felt at ease. Sad, but true.

I haven't done any meditation or NLP today which is really dumb because I need to do that to keep my will power going. Maybe I'll go do that now.

I know the jump from 267 to 261 in one day was kind of high. I have this really nice scale that suddenly went on the brink. I don't know if my floor is crooked or what. I got on it 4 times and it read 261 twice today, 267 once, and 259 once. Perhaps either something is wrong with it, but I really do think our house is crooked. I'll just do the best I can with it.

My First Weight Loss Picture 267 lbs

2009-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to lose weight. I've lived with weight problems since my early 20s. I don't eat a ton of food. I don't exercise as I should so I'm going to try and walk at least 10,000 steps a day. I've heard that works. First I need to get a pedometer. I'll start walking anyway, but it's going to be difficult finding 10,000 places to step because I work a lot. Maybe I'll figure out how many miles that would be. I don't know.

I'm going to use NLP to force my mind to not like the foods my body doesn't process well. Those foods are things like sugar filled cereal, bread, processed food, etc. This means I will eat meat, eggs, veggies, nuts, and fruit. I'm not sure how I will like salt free nuts, but why not try it?

I'm also going to use NLP to force myself to see how I want to look in the future. That will be easy because I used to be thin.

I don't know if I want to do this daily or weekly. I thought about one of those silly face changes over a year pictures but maybe once I get a few pictures in then I'll build a movie.

If you want to join me then you're welcome to respond with your own pictures in a comment. You'll need to host the picture on something like flickr.com or some other place.

I hate being fat but it's really hard to do this while my kids are home. No, I eat just like you do so I'm not eating tons of junk all the time--I just do not process my carbs well. I don't eat a ton of food like you're thinking either so don't tell me that portion control works better.

I'm sick of people who aree already thin telling me all of this because they don't have a clue what they're talking about. They're thin and probably eat more crap than I do. Go figure.