December 10, 2008

Do I sound like a broken record yet?  Because things are still going great over here!  Diet and exercise are staying strong as well as a positive outlook for my health.  My doctor reports that I may be able to go off some of my Lyme medications in February or March, and I am interested to see how that will affect my body. 

The Thanksgiving holiday was not difficult, and I remained vegan and almost completely sugar and gluten-free in the process.  I am grateful that there are so many good recipes and sites available to find good vegan foods!  I brought some food along with me to the family gatherings, and my mother-in-law was very considerate to make all of the side dish vegetables without added butter.  This is a big step!

I applied for my Yoga Teacher Training program in late November, and I got accepted!  I am so excited to start next month!  It is a 200-hour certification and the program spans from January-November 2009.  The teachers of the program are both certified Anusara Yoga instructors, but the class does not fulfill requirements for a specific certification as an Anusara instructor (maybe I can do that later!)  I like that it is a longer program (not as intensive as others that I have seen that try to cram all the instruction into full-day sessions over a month) so that what I am learning really has time to sink in and take root.  In the meantime, I started leading a small group yoga class at my office’s fitness center on Wednesday mornings for thirty minutes.  I have four regulars and I have had some very positive feedback.  We start with sun salutations, and I try to theme each week with different poses or intentions.  I am just so thankful to have the opportunity to “practice” my teaching with others. 

Total weight loss since August 2008:  39 lbs

_____

November 10, 2008

I had some great feedback and general interest in my diet and weight loss after my recent blog post on the subject (11/06/08 – What Color Are You?) and I wanted to answer some of your questions.  Like I mentioned in my post, I have been a strict vegetarian for about 14 years – I have not (intentionally) eaten any meat since that day, including fish and seafood.  So, giving up certain foods is not a foreign concept for me.  There were many years when I was not sure that I could make the vegan switch because I really did love cheese too much.  However, once I set my mind to it, it wasn’t exceedingly difficult.

On a regular day, my meals consist of either a breakfast smoothie (silken tofu, banana, almonds / walnuts, nut butter, soy milk/ almond milk, ground flax seeds, and some sort of berries) OR gluten-free hot cereal / oatmeal with added nuts and fruit.  For lunch – especially throughout the work week – I eat salad, or leftovers from the meal that I made the night before.  We have a great salad bar at work, so I combine the fresh veggies, making sure to add some protein in the form of legumes  on top, and make my own dressing concoction with olive oil, lemon juice, ground pepper and dill weed.  Dinners are often the most adventurous – Kris, although not a vegetarian or a vegan, is “on the same page” with me as far as diet is concerned.  We make a lot of stir-fries with fresh veggies from the garden, and several soups and stews – veggies + legumes + herbs.  We are also big fans of a variety of Asian foods, and we make Thai, Japanese, and Indian at home very frequently.  Several soy products, coconut milks, rice and rice noodles and copious amounts of seaweed (one of my personal favorites!)  For Indian dishes, we make ghee-less and paneer-less meals like Aloo Ghobi, Baingain Bharta, Rajma, Lentil Curries, etc.  I do miss the naan and chapatis, but I figure that as soon as I get better, I can reintroduce some gluten back in to the diet.   Throughout the day, I snack on nuts (almonds and walnuts are my personal favorites), and a variety of fruits.

The diet has been going steady since the last week in July, with very few hitches.  But, for me, it isn’t about craving those treats anymore… it is more about the tradition of eating them.  Sugar has a way of seeping into the brain!  I successfully turned down wedding cake at my sister’s wedding last month, and I didn’t eat a single candy for Halloween.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be interesting – I am assuming that I will be bringing my own meals to the family table.

Exercise is better than ever – I am effectively doing yoga every day whether at home (self-practice or DVDs) or at my local studio.  On Monday mornings, I often do a short routine in the gym – either the stair climber, the elliptical, or the row machine.  Tuesdays are my strength day.  I lift weights in the mornings with a group of people in class.  It is wonderful!  Wednesdays are my beloved spin days – a 50 minute high-intensity cycling class.  Thursdays are a yoga and strength day (some weights and resistance tubes).  Fridays are another 50-minute spinning class.  Saturdays are morning yoga (7:45am!) and often a walk/hike nearby.  Sundays are a yoga session in the mornings and allowing the body to rest.  Intense but wonderful.  According to my heart rate monitor, this regimen is burning an average of 3000-3500 calories a week (spinning is the most intense and calorie-burning exercise that I do) and accounts for a major part of the weight loss for me.  Since I have ramped up my yoga to a daily practice, the numbers will probably average higher in the future.  Depending on the sequences and the length of time, a 90-minute session is about 550 calories for me (sun salutations,  lunges, plank, angle poses, inversions, etc.) I have been keeping this regimen going for a month and have seen great success.

Total weight loss since August 2008:  33.8 lbs

___

October 22nd, 2008

The rapid weight loss has slowed a little over the past few weeks – and while I would have preferred for it to keep on going quickly, I realize that there are many other things at work in my body right now.  The biggest difference I have noticed is in muscle definition in my arms, shoulders, and my legs.  When I started to lose weight seriously back in 2006, the weight came off fairly quickly and easily on the top portion of my body.  My lower half didn’t change much, and it was slightly discouraging, considering that most of my weight is distributed in my midsection, hips and thighs.  While I still have a lot of work to do, I notice that my spin classes, my vigorous weight training and yoga are all helping to tone these problem areas.  Plus, there is the added benefit of increased stamina and endurance.

The vegan diet continues and I am still sticking to the gluten-free and sugar-free rules suggested by my doctor.  Just a few months ago, I would not have believed you had you told me that I would easily forego on cake, cookies, ice cream, and wine - but it was been three months, and none of these things have gone into my mouth!  If I have said no this many times already, I feel like the holidays will be relatively simple too.  I just have to stay focused.

Total Weight Loss Since August 2008:  30.5 lbs

October 2nd, 2008

Continued success with the gluten-free/sugar-free/vegan diet and lifestyle!  It has become relatively simple for me to turn away foods that used to cause me so many cravings:  ice cream, cookies, cake, etc!  It has been about 10 weeks since I last had a “sweet” treat, and I am happy to say that I don’t really miss them.  I do miss bread a little, but since my health depends on this diet, I stick with it!  There have been some minor slip-ups like soy sauce and/or vinegar with wheat in it, but I have not chowed down on rye or sourdough…

As for exercise, I am back to my regular exercise regimen.  My heart and my lungs are healthy again, and I may even feel better than I did BEFORE the Lyme!  I am lifting weights at least twice a week, doing two spin classes a week, as well as other cardio exercises (elliptical, hiking, jogging, walking).  Yoga has played a special role in my life for many years, but starting this week, I am doing three yoga sessions a week – two at a local studio, and one at work – to gain strength and the “yoga fitness” that I need to start my Registed Yoga Teacher training in January.  I can’t wait!

Weight Loss Total since August 2008: 27 pounds

September 5th, 2008

Since I got sick at the end of July, I adopted a very stringent diet for optimal health and energy.  Under advise of my doctor, I cut out all sugars (except for fruits) and gluten from my diet.  I also decided to go full vegan, cutting out dairy and eggs.  So, for the last six weeks, I have been keeping this up.  I credit this diet for making me feel so much better as I continue treatment for the Lyme.  And, it has the added benefit of weight loss!  I feel comfortable enough to be able to do moderate exercise, and I am practicing regular yoga, doing weight training, and light aerobics (cycling and walking) and may return to more strenuous aerobics soon (spinning and possibly running).   I feel great!  I still have 4 or 5 months of treatments ahead of me, but it feels so good to start off this way!

July 23rd, 2008

While training for the triathlon in June – doing a mountain bike ride through Pokomoke State Forest – I got multiple tick bites.  From the bites, I contracted Lyme disease and an associated co-infection called Babesia.  I am on a rigorous treatment plan and my doctor has advised that I postpone my triathlon training this season until I can regain my energy.  I am hoping to train well and be ready for the 2009 season…

–

On Yoga Teacher Training / Certification / Diet and Wellness

In February, after years of interest, I started to seriously research the yoga teacher certification process. I have practiced yoga off and on for eleven years, with the last three years being my most serious practice yet. I find great joy in yoga, and I feel that teaching would be a way to share this joy. I am researching teacher instruction schools in my area and also a few destination schools that offer Yoga Alliance RYT200 certification. Through the Namaste Knitters group on Ravelry, I have gained some wonderful information about programs, styles, etc. I will use this space to update my goals and the research process as I make decisions for the future.

Perhaps the most dramatic shift has been a shift of consciousness regarding the foods that go into my body. While I have always been mindful of the foods I ingest (this is part-and-parcel for most vegetarians) I have been greatly burdened by the many false promises of the “traditional” Western diet. I am bothered that too many meals come from boxes or from fast-food vendors, and not from gardens and fields. As a product of this culture, I am also very guilty of these things: I often sacrifice health for convenience in the form of a quickie boxed meal. However, I am in the midst of changing that. My influences on this whole food strategy are multiple, but the most succinct and available source of my information is from Michael Pollan’s research in both The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; two outstanding books that *need* to be read.

–

**NOTES ON THE DETOXIFICATION DIET: After many months of hard work and very little weight loss, I began to read more about the possible inhibitors and reasons. I came across some great resources on detoxification programs where the mission is simple: ridding your system of the toxins and allergens ingested and absorbed everyday.

The program developed by Dr. Mark Hyman appealed to me the most, and I bought his small guide, The UltraSimple Diet, which is an adapted program from his well-known Ultrametabolism plan. His proscribed program is seven days long and requires commitment and diligence. Recipes are included in the book, and each day, your diet revolves around fresh and natural ingredients, lightly cooked, with an emphasis on cutting out refined sugars and simple carbohydrates, increasing proteins by incorporating more healthy fats (nuts, olive oil, omega-3 fats like flaxseed) and boosting immunities.

Links to help you on your own journey:

1. Maximize Your Metabolism – great tips on what exercises to do, what time of day, and what to eat, to increase your metabolism, and your calorie burning.

2. Yoga Journal - the most comprehensive information on yoga, including a very helpful visual index of asanas (postures), articles, columns, and a particularly interesting section about fitting yoga in with other activities: Yoga and Cross-Training . I have found the Yoga and Cycling article to be helpful.
3. My Virtual Model – Make a computer-generated model of yourself, at your current weight and your goal weight. You can also “try on” clothes from various online retailers with your personalized model. An inspirational (and fun!) tool.
4. Polar Heart Rate Monitors – Commercial site for Polar USA, distributor of Heart Rate Monitor devices. Provides a lot of good information about why to use a monitor, as well as how to get the most out of your workout. I use the F6 model, and it is working so well for me!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS