Week 19 Updates (Den)

What a week! Goodness, I came off my cleansing and went nuts eating! On a positive note, I kept up with my exercise, and I have lived a fulfilling vegan week. I have to buckle down now, though, so that I don’t gain weight eating so much yummy food. Even good food can make ya fat. It’s a good thing that I don’t have weigh-in right now.

I think I would like to officially move my weigh days to 5 days after my “monthly, you-know-what” thing. That seems like it would be the most consistent, accurate time to weigh. So, instead of the 15^th of the month (an arbitrary date), I may take another month or so hiatus from the scale. I just feel a lot better not relying on my scale numbers. I get a little scale withdrawal every now and then, but overall, it’s just better this way for me.

Oh, and, Kudos to my boys! They have lived with vegan dinners for 9 days now. They have been good sports…trying a variety of mysterious foods (at least to them). They have had tempeh, green apple chili, lentil loaf, mashed cauliflower and potatoes, pad Thai and kimchee, aloo gobi, and zucchini balls. Surprisingly, they have actually liked everything!  Next week, I will be introducing them to seitan, bean burgers, quinoa tabbouleh, polenta, and falafel pitas. I know they had pepperoni pizza for lunch one day, but other than that, they have been surprising good about eating vegan supper. The problem is – dinner has been so delicious. Can anybody remind me about that thing…you know…uh…portion control…yeah, that’s it!

Look at Us! (Den)

I just love to load up our blog and see these two side by side photos of our new, improved bodies! Look at my best friend! She looks AWESOME! Not just in the body, but in the smile and the clothes and the self-confidence. That's beautiful! It's not always easy to stay on the straight and narrow...even when our health is at stake, but we have done well and that's something that we can be proud of. Kori: you keep it up, because you are so worth it! Even when it is rediculously busy, don't forget that you have to put yourself first in order to keep giving all of it away. The more energy you have, the more productive you can be. Hang in there. I'm super proud of you!

(Kori)Saturday weigh in

I have been feeling complacent the last couple of weeks. I have had my middle daughters graduation, a friends wedding and many changes at work. I also signed up for school again. I have had to put a lot of energy and effort into keeping up and excercise and eating really well have fallen by the wayside a bit. I know that in the past I would used this hectic time to eat myself stupid, which would have made me ill. I did maintain good habits and I have lost weight but only in ounces. I feel the stress on my body and my mind and I am ready to refocus and get busy. I also have found that now that all of my clothes fit and I can purchase clothes in the store again, it is easier to not be so focused. I decided to purchase an adorable outfit that was 2 sizes smaller so that I have other goals and I will continue to do this. It's helps in two ways, expense; now that I have lost weight and all of my clothes fit, I will need to begin purchasing all new clothes from here on out, motivation; my reasons for wanting to be fit are morphing a bit. I have gotten my numbers under control but now I have fitness goals I want to attain. So here is to a new, less stressful week and getting a grip!

Week 18 Update (Den)

It’s been a pretty good week. I finished up with my cleansing on Wednesday, and I found out how much I had lost. But the euphoria has faded, and I am ready to buckle down and integrate certain foods back into my life. I tried coffee, but it really upset my stomach for about 4 hours. So, I am not going back to it…I’ve switched to tea in the mornings. I am not purchasing any additional quick veggie foods like Boca burgers and Chik’n patties.  I am making my own stuff – bean burgers, seitan, falafel, etc.

My stomach hasn’t been pleased to be back on “regular” foods, despite my trying to be careful. My Thai food restaurant adventure produced a whole lot of gastro-instestinal troubles the next morning (and I only had stir-fried veggies with tofu cubes). My tempeh “TLT” sandwiches (although very tasty) upset my belly, too. The sourdough might have been the culprit on that one! At any rate, I think it will take some time for everything to normalize.

I won’t weigh again for a month, and I’m hoping that I can produce a 5 pound loss in that time. I’m not too worried about it, though. I feel a huge sense of relief not having to confront my scale too often. Mostly, I just want to keep up with my workouts, continue to eat good food, and not let things bother me mentally. I think that the weight will release if I just follow that plan. 

Weigh Day!!! (Den)

Boo-yah! Sabotaging, negative, pessimistic mind needs to shut-up once and for all! My restart was a success! Technically, I am still going for 2 more days, but I want to put my weigh days on the 15^th of every month, so I weighed today. I am really excited to keep moving forward, and even more excited to bring the boys on board with my new vegan dinner menus. I have to say that this experiment with myself was very insightful and motivating, not only because I lost weight, but because I feel pretty darn good. Here are some of my results:

-          Lost 20 pounds…I’ve lost 46 pounds altogether!

-          Shrank into my size 18s

-          Lost 2.5 inches off my waist

-          Lost 3.5 inches off my hips

-          Lost 1.5 inches off each thigh

-          No more insomnia meds

-          Fasting Blood Sugar was 79 (Doc said I was prediabetic a few years ago)

-          No more high blood pressure

-          Very reduced abdominal pain

-          Donated a ton of clothes to Goodwill

-          Went from 0 workouts to over 200 minutes of cardio per week

I have to say that I was pretty darn surprised to lose that much. I really wanted 10 pounds, and I was nervous to get on the scale because I wasn't sure if I would get it. I had to get on the scale a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing the numbers wrong. I'm really happy with all the results, not just the weight loss. Yay!

Week 17 Updates (Den)

I cannot say how excited I am that I have nearly finished 6 weeks of food elimination & cleansing! Wednesday will be my final day, and I am going to have Thai food at my favorite little restaurant on Thursday. They make a wicked bowl of veggies and tofu cubes that I am craving…I have not eaten at a restaurant since I began this reset, and I am looking forward to the treat.

I’ve been doing really well, but I still feel a little hesitation about getting on the scale and seeing if I made my goal or not. I am looking for that digital read of 224. I have really worked hard these past few weeks, and I want the proof in the numbers! Despite not knowing, I did see myself in a full-length mirror yesterday and I was surprised at my reflection. I actually saw a difference in my shape. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I’m pretty sure that I look different than I did a few weeks ago.

I have no reservations about the last 6 weeks. I’ve done everything that I could, and I’ve met all my goals for the reset. I’ve worked hard physically, stuck to my easting plan, and given it everything that I possible could give. Still, I’m ready to begin bringing back certain foods into my life. I’ll make a mid-week post on Wednesday to announce whether or not the scale cooperated with my reset plan! Regardless, I feel great and I’m proud of my accomplishment.

Kori Saturday Update

Wow lot's has been happening. My oldest daughter starts college in two weeks so I have been helping her down this path with all the extra paperwork etc. I have registered for my summer classes and I have been helping my two youngest finish up their year. It is official Abby has all her credits and will graduate May 15th 1 year early!!!! Now I only have 1 child in high school! Also Becky will be 21 this month, I am amazed and awed at the journey we have had with her and the awesome person she has turned into. My youngest Hailee started the year behind in credits and has managed to recapture most of what she needs and is looking forward to joining the other two in college.
I also have had a major change at work that opens a huge opportunity for me to advance, so I am looking forward to what transpires from this.
Through all of this I have managed to continue to lose weight and staybalanced in my eating. Exercise is the one thing that I have still been unable to master on a regular basis, I have added in things like taking the stairs, parking farther away, walking every day at lunch, which I know are all major improvements but what I crave is that exercise you enjoy and sweat and come out of feeling great. I will continue to search for it.
All in all, I feel great and I am so enjoying sharing this experience with my oldest friend. Den, you inspire me. Keep up the great work!!!!!!

Week 16 Update (Den)

This has been another really good week for me. I’m in control of my eating and my exercising. Since I knew I was doing a six week “reset” plan, I have incorporated small goals that build upon each other each week. This week, I brought my exercise up to 50 minutes. I wrapped my bad knee and added an upper body cardio boxing routine. I’m feeling pretty tough!

I only have about a week and a half left of my cleansing diet. I’m ready to be done! But it’s a bitter-sweet feeling. I haven’t had any refined products, and I think I’ll keep going with that decision. I like the whole-foods concept of eating. I’m anxious to get the boys eating vegan dinners. They are not planning to go vegan in their lives, but just eat vegan for supper. They are surprisingly excited to try some of my recipes!

Not weighing has been difficult at times. Colton has lost a couple of pounds, and he keeps telling me, “Mommy, I can tell that you’ve lost weight, too. You are gonna be so happy when you get on the scale.” That kills me! But I really want to achieve my goal, so I’m staying off of it. I can see my mini-finish line…just 12 more days.

Blood Pressure (Den)

The time has come for me to reduce my blood pressure medication. I’ve been keeping close tabs on it the last couple of weeks, and it consistently runs about 100/60 with a pulse at 60 BPM (the low side of normal). Normal BP used to be 120/80, but I know the experts have reduced that a bit; anyway, low is considered 90/60. So, I’m approaching the low end.

I take a small dose of beta blocker, and I’m a little anxious about withdrawing from it because it also controls my tachycardia and migraines. I’m going to begin (next week) by dividing the dose, and hope that I don’t have those problems return. While I recognize that the advice of a doctor is recommended, I know that she would tell me to do the same thing (as I have withdrawn from this medication before under doctor supervision).

Yet, it can be hard to let go of things that we cling to like a security blanket. For example, I’ve had insomnia for years, and although I have prescription drugs for it, they freak me out and I just take OTC pills. Well, I quit taking them about two weeks ago, and to my surprise, my insomnia seems to have gone the way of the do-do. I’m still leery about its return, but for now, it seems to be under control. I’m hoping I can get those same results as I step down from my HBP pills, too.