Hi Friends and Anyone who reads this,
On May 1st, 2014, I celebrated 6 months of keeping ALL of the weight off.
Quick recap, I lost a net 30 pounds in 60 days. The day that I mark as having "completed" my personal weight loss was November 1st. On that day I had lost all of the weight that I wanted. So, May 1st marks the date where I kept it all off for half a year.
Yahoo!! "And the crowd goes wild"...at least in my little head.
I still love telling this story. Since I travel a lot for my work as a consultant with schools and businesses to different locations all over the US, I find myself alone but easily meeting people. It's an easy thing to talk about. I find that it seems like new "friends" are happier to listen than share. Really many people are interested in weight loss.
30 day broth fast---The kick your ass but get it done weight loss method
I'll write more soon as so much has changed.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The Journey Continues --- Part 2
The Journey Continues --- Part 2
After spending about a week and a half on the road, I had a dear friend offer to allow me to stay in his home in Ocean City, NJ. This was a perfect location for me as 3 of the 4 schools with whom I would be working were within an hour drive from Ocean City.
Ocean City is November is not exactly a booming metropolis. It was very mellow and laid back. I liked my time there but found that most of the restaurants are seasonal thus limiting my choices significantly for food options. I did manage to find a great Chinese restaurant that made food from scratch and was willing to make great meals without starches, MSG, or even sugar. It was a very small restaurant with a total of only 3 tables. They were predominantly set up for "Take Out". I ate delicious spicy eggplant, duck, chicken and vegetables, etc. I think that I ate there 5-7 times while I was in town. The nice thing was that the food was healthy and good tasting and allowed me to stay within my diet.
As I was away for about two weeks at this point, I began to wonder about how much weight I had gained. I did not have access to a scale so it was really an unknown. I felt like I was eating a lot, especially a lot of nuts. I was eating properly, but I was quite sure that I had gained far more than 5 pounds. I told myself not to worry about it, but I did. After all that I had been through to lose this much weight, to just gain a great deal of it back was a disturbing idea for sure. I told myself that I would not weigh myself until I returned back to California. With only a week to go, I felt that I could wait until I returned to find out if this was successful.
We'll see.
After spending about a week and a half on the road, I had a dear friend offer to allow me to stay in his home in Ocean City, NJ. This was a perfect location for me as 3 of the 4 schools with whom I would be working were within an hour drive from Ocean City.
Ocean City is November is not exactly a booming metropolis. It was very mellow and laid back. I liked my time there but found that most of the restaurants are seasonal thus limiting my choices significantly for food options. I did manage to find a great Chinese restaurant that made food from scratch and was willing to make great meals without starches, MSG, or even sugar. It was a very small restaurant with a total of only 3 tables. They were predominantly set up for "Take Out". I ate delicious spicy eggplant, duck, chicken and vegetables, etc. I think that I ate there 5-7 times while I was in town. The nice thing was that the food was healthy and good tasting and allowed me to stay within my diet.
As I was away for about two weeks at this point, I began to wonder about how much weight I had gained. I did not have access to a scale so it was really an unknown. I felt like I was eating a lot, especially a lot of nuts. I was eating properly, but I was quite sure that I had gained far more than 5 pounds. I told myself not to worry about it, but I did. After all that I had been through to lose this much weight, to just gain a great deal of it back was a disturbing idea for sure. I told myself that I would not weigh myself until I returned back to California. With only a week to go, I felt that I could wait until I returned to find out if this was successful.
We'll see.
The Journey Continues Part 1
The Journey Continues --- Part 1
I know that I haven't written in a while, and wow do I have some updates for you.
So after I finished the second broth fast, I left for Chicago, Baltimore, Philly, and Ocean City, NJ. In total, I expected to be gone about 3 weeks.
The first thing that I needed to do was properly transition to a solid diet properly. Simply, I strictly stuck to nothing at all but nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and lentils for two full days. It was stressed to me the importance of this, and this time, I was committed to make this transition as smooth as possible. The last time it went ok but I would say that it was flawless, but I did not stick so closely to the recommended transition diet. That first time, I found that there was a little "rumbly in my tumbly" as Winnie-the-Pooh would say (stomach cramps). This time it went perfectly. Completely unremarkable.
Then the challenge came of eating well on the road. Dr. Saunders told me that if I ate properly, I could expect to see an increase of about 5 pounds. I really did not want to gain more than 5 pound. I lost a grand total of 35 and I was ok with a net loss of 30. That would give me a weight of 150 pounds which is a good weight for my height and bone structure.
In Chicagoland I found plenty of high quality, healthy choices. I had nice chicken, fish, and beef dishes and plenty of vegetarian options. I can't believe that I'm going to say this but I find myself drawn to good vegetarian options. That was not something that I expected to say. I was told that my taste buds would change and apparently they did.
After nearly a week in the beautiful town of Napersville, IL, I flew out to Baltimore to spend time with schools in southern Maryland, and 4 places in New Jersey. Eating on the road can be quite difficult, but doesn't have to be. At almost every restaurant there is some choice that fits my new eating plan. I can eat pretty much anything except starches and sugars. It's easier than one might think.
One thing I learned was that not all areas have readily accessible healthy food choices. It's there, it just was a bit harder to find. But I was determined to eat healthy food. I always found something.
I know that I haven't written in a while, and wow do I have some updates for you.
So after I finished the second broth fast, I left for Chicago, Baltimore, Philly, and Ocean City, NJ. In total, I expected to be gone about 3 weeks.
The first thing that I needed to do was properly transition to a solid diet properly. Simply, I strictly stuck to nothing at all but nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and lentils for two full days. It was stressed to me the importance of this, and this time, I was committed to make this transition as smooth as possible. The last time it went ok but I would say that it was flawless, but I did not stick so closely to the recommended transition diet. That first time, I found that there was a little "rumbly in my tumbly" as Winnie-the-Pooh would say (stomach cramps). This time it went perfectly. Completely unremarkable.
Then the challenge came of eating well on the road. Dr. Saunders told me that if I ate properly, I could expect to see an increase of about 5 pounds. I really did not want to gain more than 5 pound. I lost a grand total of 35 and I was ok with a net loss of 30. That would give me a weight of 150 pounds which is a good weight for my height and bone structure.
In Chicagoland I found plenty of high quality, healthy choices. I had nice chicken, fish, and beef dishes and plenty of vegetarian options. I can't believe that I'm going to say this but I find myself drawn to good vegetarian options. That was not something that I expected to say. I was told that my taste buds would change and apparently they did.
After nearly a week in the beautiful town of Napersville, IL, I flew out to Baltimore to spend time with schools in southern Maryland, and 4 places in New Jersey. Eating on the road can be quite difficult, but doesn't have to be. At almost every restaurant there is some choice that fits my new eating plan. I can eat pretty much anything except starches and sugars. It's easier than one might think.
One thing I learned was that not all areas have readily accessible healthy food choices. It's there, it just was a bit harder to find. But I was determined to eat healthy food. I always found something.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Day 14b and 15b ---- Almost there
Day 14b and 15b ---- Almost there
This post represents two days, the last two days of this fast.
I wasn't quite sure when I would end this fast. Well, that's not completely true. Although I didn't know what "day" I would end it but I knew that I would end it after I hit my goal weight of 145. I hit 145 on day 13b, so anytime after that was a fine time to quit. I hit my goal and then decided to throw in a couple of extra days for good measure.
The last time that I finished my fast was the evening before I was about to leave for the Northeast. This time I will also be breaking my fast on the evening before I leave on a trip. This time it is off to Chicago and then the Northeast.
After much consideration, we decide to go back to the same restaurant as last time and I had the same thing as last time, Sojourner Cafe's Indian Dahl. Again, it was super delicious and the company, delightful. I felt great to ear something solid. Funny to think of calling Dahl solid. It's basically mushed up lentil beans with a vegetables.
This post represents two days, the last two days of this fast.
I wasn't quite sure when I would end this fast. Well, that's not completely true. Although I didn't know what "day" I would end it but I knew that I would end it after I hit my goal weight of 145. I hit 145 on day 13b, so anytime after that was a fine time to quit. I hit my goal and then decided to throw in a couple of extra days for good measure.
The last time that I finished my fast was the evening before I was about to leave for the Northeast. This time I will also be breaking my fast on the evening before I leave on a trip. This time it is off to Chicago and then the Northeast.
After much consideration, we decide to go back to the same restaurant as last time and I had the same thing as last time, Sojourner Cafe's Indian Dahl. Again, it was super delicious and the company, delightful. I felt great to ear something solid. Funny to think of calling Dahl solid. It's basically mushed up lentil beans with a vegetables.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Day 13b ---- Lucky day for me
Day 13b is a lucky day for me
Please celebrate with me!! I hit my goal weight this morning!! How cool is that? Pretty cool, I'd say. My goal was to get to 145. Today I got on the scale and it read 145.0. I was pretty excited. Holly wagged her tail.
So what do I do to celebrate? Suzy is in LA and I'm home not feeling the best. My head hurts and I'm achey still. My head seems to be getting worse. I really hope not. I've been looking forward to being with Suzy and doing something when she gets home. Perhaps a nice sunset beach walk will have to do.
Today I am helping a friend, Christian, who recently lost his wife. Far too young. She was full of life and only in her 30's. To make matters worse, she leaves behind 5 wonderful children. He has to move out of his home a few steps from the beach, another challenge for him. This poor family. And I'm complaining about some aches and pains?
I have to keep this short but the main point is that I hit 145 today. Yahoo!!
Day 12b --- A day primarily alone
Day 12b --- A day primarily alone
We awoke and had a nice relaxing Saturday morning, until about 9:30 when we drove Suzy down to the train station. She will be gone until Sunday afternoon. She is visiting her sister in Los Angeles, a short hour or two train ride down the coast. It's a great way to travel to Los Angeles, relaxing, peaceful, and beautiful.
This morning I did lose a bit more weight which made me feel good of course. I've been more hungry lately but it's my fault for not consuming more broth. But that said, it isn't like I'm dying here. We've all been hungry before. After a short time we either eat something or we wait and it passes.
I've been really looking forward to eating nuts again. Kind of random, but they are sounding good these days.
For physical updates: I've been feeling a bit light headed at times. This is a first, well at least as often as I am feeling that way recently. Before it was only once every few days and it usually lasted only a few seconds to a minute at most. Now it has been two to three times a day. I really believe that it is the lack of broth and that good nutrition that I get with it. Also, I have found my lips very dry. I was at the hair cutter this morning and they actually were burning while I was in the chair. But again, this is my fault. I'm just not doing what I am supposed to be doing.
When I drink broth as my main source of liquids, I get nutrition and salt and needless to say fluids that eliminate dehydration. If I was be a "better patient", I'm sure that I would be doing fine, as I was.
I had a wonderful late afternoon and evening alone. Just me, and our sweet friend Holly. She is a very sweet and cute blonde who always greets me with loud barking whenever I come back home. She belongs to our friends Jay and Donna. Jay is a pastor at the church adjacent our property and we watch her whenever he goes out of town. She's a sweet dog.
I went for a nice walk on the beach by myself in the late afternoon and took in the sunset. I felt very comfortable being alone there. This is a very unusual way for me to feel in such a circumstance. Usually, I am restless and looking for people with whom I could speak. Some of you that know me, know this is be very true. But I was content. I am changing so much. My whole attitude has changed so much. I'm much more mellow and relaxed about things. Although I am taking only 1/3 the prescribed dosage of my anti-depressants, I feel great. Actually, I feel far better then when I was on 3 times as much. It makes no sense at all to assume consider the idea that maybe there is a link to the reduction in meds and how I'm feeling. I used to be on this dosage back about a year ago and it was unproductive. I needed a therapeutic dose and this current dose would not work back then. It's probably obvious, but I believe that it is the elimination of toxins and processed foods, that coupled with a significant reduction in weight.
I have been much colder lately, and it's not just the change in weather. Even at the house with the heat running, I find that I'm not nearly warm enough. I'm sure that losing 35 pounds has something to do with it.
Because I was chilly, I made a fire in the fireplace as I would do if Suzy and I were to spend an evening in for the night. Although I was alone, having all the lights on just seemed too much. So I dimmed the lights and lit candles as I would if my bride was with me. I like to make the environment romantic when Suzy and I are alone but I guess that I realized that I like it just for myself. Holly-the-Dog seemed to like it too as she slept soundly on the love seat nearby. I watched the news, watched some mindless youtube videos, and searched around on craigslist until it was time for bed. I have been a bit achey and headachy as well so I wasn't really up for anything more than that.
For the first time, perhaps ever, I am enjoying being alone and not afraid of having to be with myself. I have disliked myself for so many years. This is the first time, ever, that I can say that I like the person that I am. I can't believe the weight of those words. I have spent my entire life not liking myself, at all. I don't even like to look in the mirror. I take a quick glance to check my hair and then I'm out of there. I'm sure that at times that I have come across overconfident, but I think that I was over compensating for my poor self-image. My friend Ray up in North Dakota gave me a book, His Image, My Image years ago. It discusses this topic of self-image compared to how God sees us. I could never get far in the book because the pretext is that God loves me and I couldn't really start with that. I'm not saying that I have it all together. I'm sure that I have a long way to go. At least now, I'm pointed in the right direction and moving forward, even if it's slowly.
We awoke and had a nice relaxing Saturday morning, until about 9:30 when we drove Suzy down to the train station. She will be gone until Sunday afternoon. She is visiting her sister in Los Angeles, a short hour or two train ride down the coast. It's a great way to travel to Los Angeles, relaxing, peaceful, and beautiful.
This morning I did lose a bit more weight which made me feel good of course. I've been more hungry lately but it's my fault for not consuming more broth. But that said, it isn't like I'm dying here. We've all been hungry before. After a short time we either eat something or we wait and it passes.
I've been really looking forward to eating nuts again. Kind of random, but they are sounding good these days.
For physical updates: I've been feeling a bit light headed at times. This is a first, well at least as often as I am feeling that way recently. Before it was only once every few days and it usually lasted only a few seconds to a minute at most. Now it has been two to three times a day. I really believe that it is the lack of broth and that good nutrition that I get with it. Also, I have found my lips very dry. I was at the hair cutter this morning and they actually were burning while I was in the chair. But again, this is my fault. I'm just not doing what I am supposed to be doing.
When I drink broth as my main source of liquids, I get nutrition and salt and needless to say fluids that eliminate dehydration. If I was be a "better patient", I'm sure that I would be doing fine, as I was.
I had a wonderful late afternoon and evening alone. Just me, and our sweet friend Holly. She is a very sweet and cute blonde who always greets me with loud barking whenever I come back home. She belongs to our friends Jay and Donna. Jay is a pastor at the church adjacent our property and we watch her whenever he goes out of town. She's a sweet dog.
I went for a nice walk on the beach by myself in the late afternoon and took in the sunset. I felt very comfortable being alone there. This is a very unusual way for me to feel in such a circumstance. Usually, I am restless and looking for people with whom I could speak. Some of you that know me, know this is be very true. But I was content. I am changing so much. My whole attitude has changed so much. I'm much more mellow and relaxed about things. Although I am taking only 1/3 the prescribed dosage of my anti-depressants, I feel great. Actually, I feel far better then when I was on 3 times as much. It makes no sense at all to assume consider the idea that maybe there is a link to the reduction in meds and how I'm feeling. I used to be on this dosage back about a year ago and it was unproductive. I needed a therapeutic dose and this current dose would not work back then. It's probably obvious, but I believe that it is the elimination of toxins and processed foods, that coupled with a significant reduction in weight.
I have been much colder lately, and it's not just the change in weather. Even at the house with the heat running, I find that I'm not nearly warm enough. I'm sure that losing 35 pounds has something to do with it.
Because I was chilly, I made a fire in the fireplace as I would do if Suzy and I were to spend an evening in for the night. Although I was alone, having all the lights on just seemed too much. So I dimmed the lights and lit candles as I would if my bride was with me. I like to make the environment romantic when Suzy and I are alone but I guess that I realized that I like it just for myself. Holly-the-Dog seemed to like it too as she slept soundly on the love seat nearby. I watched the news, watched some mindless youtube videos, and searched around on craigslist until it was time for bed. I have been a bit achey and headachy as well so I wasn't really up for anything more than that.
For the first time, perhaps ever, I am enjoying being alone and not afraid of having to be with myself. I have disliked myself for so many years. This is the first time, ever, that I can say that I like the person that I am. I can't believe the weight of those words. I have spent my entire life not liking myself, at all. I don't even like to look in the mirror. I take a quick glance to check my hair and then I'm out of there. I'm sure that at times that I have come across overconfident, but I think that I was over compensating for my poor self-image. My friend Ray up in North Dakota gave me a book, His Image, My Image years ago. It discusses this topic of self-image compared to how God sees us. I could never get far in the book because the pretext is that God loves me and I couldn't really start with that. I'm not saying that I have it all together. I'm sure that I have a long way to go. At least now, I'm pointed in the right direction and moving forward, even if it's slowly.
Day 11b --- Doing fine, cruising along
Day 11b -- Doing fine and cruising along
No broth cooking in the kitchen today. I have a generous portion still from "Leslie's Kitchen". The week is ending and it's soon to officially be the "weekend". I always feel like the weekend starts Friday morning so that said, it's the weekend.
Today has been and will continue to be a busy day for me. But I like the busyness of the day.
Today I stepped on the scale and for the second time this week, I didn't lose weight. I'm looking forward to talking to Dr. Saunders about this when he calls or when I meet with him. I'm wondering if it is because I've been drinking a lot more water and less broth. It's just so easy to grab a bottle of water especially when I'm out and about. My guess is that I'm getting close to my proper weight.
I've felt a bit dehydrated lately but that is my fault. I just haven't been drinking a lot of fluids like I should. That and the fact that I'm not drinking water with electrolytes and less broth, hence less salt intake. Many people will tell me that salt is bad and they advise against putting it in the broth. I appreciate their concern but in my research and in what I am hearing from knowledgeable medical personnel, I need to add the salt to the broth.
Dr. Saunders specifically recommended it. I'm sure that if one was to eat processed foods all day with a few fast food meals, etc, their salt intake would be too high. But my salt intake would be zero if I didn't put it in my soup. I use sea salt. Our friends, have Himalayan salt. It probably tastes exactly the same, although I've never been to a "salt tasting" before. But certainly it is healthy, includes iodine which we all need, and best of all is pink!! How fun is that? What's next? White pepper? Oh, I guess they do have that already too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)