Geneen Roth's workshop - Day 2

Grace and me at the Women Food and God workshop


I got a lot more out of this workshop than I expected. I don't even know where to start. I learned things I didn't expect to learn, and I didn't learn things I thought I would learn. The workshop isn't just about our relationship with food, it's about a lot more. It's about our relationship with ourselves.

I have a lot I want to write, but I'm exhausted. It was extremely emotionally draining. Looking inside of myself isn't exactly a fun thing to do. There's a lot of pain involved. I promise I'll write more details about this later. I've been jotting down notes all night, but can't quite get my thoughts together on it yet.

Also, Geneen isn"t "skinny", she's just a very small, petite woman. She's very healthy looking.

I loved hanging out with Grace all day. She's just a total kick in the pants, and she made what could have been an intensely emotionally unpleasant day into a fun day. I love her sense of humor and her laugh. We did get in trouble from Geneen about talking too much. I felt bad about that and didn't realize we were disruptive. I felt like I was in grade school again. Oh well, I'd do it again. We had a lot of fun (in between the crying stuff).

Chocolate is one of your Five a Day!

Chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.




To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.



Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.



If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.



The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.



Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you'll eat less.



If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves. (We're testing this with other snack foods as well.)



If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?



Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.



Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.



A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?



If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?



If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can't let that happen, can you?

The best part of the Geneen Roth workshop

It's midnight and once again, I can't sleep. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever sleep again. Insomnia sucks.

Tonight I attended the first three hours of the Geneen Roth "Women Food and God" workshop. Tomorrow is eight more hours. Remember I read the book last July and got on the G.R. bandwagon. Quoting the book. Saying it was the best thing since sliced bread.

You may have (or may not have) noticed I stopped talking about her and the book. I sort of fell out of love with the whole idea of intuitive eating and Geneen.

I almost didn't even go to the workshop. Luckily I was able to make contact with a fellow blogger that lives in the area. I knew she was also attending the workshop. We'd never met but had exchanged a few emails over the last couple of years.

Meeting Grace was absolutely best part of the evening! Grace from Grace's Notes (and formerly from 55 Alive and Losing It). OH. MY. GOSH. I love her! It's like I've know her my entire life. She's funny as heck, super easy to talk to, and it was just like I had run into an old friend. It was super cool. Plus she's gorgeous! Beautiful blue eyes that sparkle, gorgeous strawberry blond hair. Sweet smile. And she's thin, but in a good, healthy way. Other than Geneen (who I think is too skinny),  I think Grace was the healthiest looking person in the room of 800 women.

It's so funny to see pictures of someone on their blog, read about their thoughts and struggles with weight, read about their life and then to actually get to meet them in real life. Truly one of the best experiences of my life.

About the workshop, well, so far, I'm not sure what I think. Some of the things Geneen talked about make a lot of sense. Some of the visualization stuff she had us do made me cry. I think I sort of had a revelation about my compulsive overeating. All these years I said it was just because I love food. Something she had us visualize made me go holy cow! Okay, I really said "holy crap!" but I'm try to clean up my vocabulary. I think I know why I'm like this and have serious food issues. I'm still trying to absorb the whole thing and will write more about it later, once I figure out what it means and if having this new knowledge about myself is valuable. It's something I never thought about before, until tonight. Like I said, more on this later.

I guess I'll try to sleep now. I'm exhausted but not sleepy. I have to be back at the Seatac Hilton at 8am for the workshop. Hopefully I'll find a way to fix what is broken in me when it comes to my relationship with food.

Drew Carey's Shocking Weight Loss Pictures

Shocking, yeah that's right! Drew Carey's weight loss pictures have shocked every fans. Not only fans but it has inspired many weight loss strugglers. "The Price is Right" host said to people.com that he lost 80 pounds by being on strict "no-carb" diet. Well here are the massive and shocking before and after weight loss pictures of the comedian.

Drew Carey's before and after weight loss picture

"No carbs", he said. "I have cheated a couple times, but basically no carbs, not even a cracker. No bread at all. No pizza, nothing. No corn, no beans, no starches of any kind. Egg whites in the morning or like, Greek yogurt, cut some fruit." Carey also said, besides no-carb diet, drinking water only and cardio helped me a lot. "I don't drink anything but water," he added. "No coffee, no tea, no soda." "I like being skinny. I was sick of being fat on the camera," he told people.com. "I just got sick of it."
Although the 52 year old comedian used to have Type II Diabetes, he told the mag, "I'm not diabetic anymore. No medication needed." Good for him.
(see more on before and after weight loss pictures of celebrities)

oooh cheeky post

This is a quick post to just mention the fact that I am having serious guilt issues over my food.

I need some reassurance people!!

If I scrupulously add my calories, and I stay under the 2031 daily allowance this is OK right?

What I mean is... if I ate 2031 calories worth of Lettuce, its the same basic thing as 2031 calories of chocolate right?

It's still 2031 and therefore I expend more energy than I consume so I will still lose weight yeah?

Wow, I cant even believe I am asking this dumb question... but I just feel so GUILTY at eating some chocolate every day, even though I am way under my limit.

I mean, I lost 2.8kg this week but I still dont trust this basic maths... or believe it could possibly be this easy...

2000 cals of fish
2000 cals of plums
2000 cals of lard
2000 cals of pickled eggs
2000 cals of peanuts
2000 cals of celery

...they would all be in varying quantities - weight for weight they would differ... but they would all be 2000 cals!

2000cals of celery would be about a truck load but 2000cals of my favorite LaoGanMa Chilli paste would be only 280g whereas 2000cals of cod would be 2kg...

They would all be better or worse for you,
and better or worse in nutritional value,
and better or worse at filling you up and keeping you that way...

BUT they would still be 2000cals right?

Ok, I have satisfied myself that its all ok.

I am goign back to bed now.

:-)

2.8kg off! Yes!

I am so pleased with my weightloss this week. 2.8kg which is just over 6lbs. I havent had a loss like that for a very very long time. I am not normally one to lose big amounts and I can remember the times I have pretty well.

One of them was when I came back from France one year - actually it was the first year I started the Weightloss Expedition, way before banding - and I had put on 12 pounds in just 2 little weeks. I lost 6 pounds the week after that holiday, but it was then a big struggle for me, as I could not get past the fact that I had undone all the hard work I had done in the 3 or so months before that holiday. You can read about it here: 1st time I lost 6 lbs

The second and third times I lost big were in the 2 weeks immediately after having my band. I lost 8.5 pounds the first week #2 biggest loss and 5.5lbs the next #3 big loss just 12 days after banding it was an amazing amount in that first 2 weeks after having the operation.

Then the last of the biggies was 9 pounds after I had my re-do surgery #4 1 week after repair

So my friends... the last time I actually lost a big amount of weight under my own steam was back before I had the band - and I remember really really trying to lose that weight. This weeks, with little Albert in there, we have managed 6 pounds all our own!

Anyway, getting away from the pounds thing, as I really want to use Kg now, it means that I lost nearly 3kg in my first week. I am aware that this trend will not continue, but it was very satisfying indeed! Especially when it really didn't take too much effort - simply tracking what I was eating, staying away from junk until the end of the day and having some if I had calories to spare. Well that works for me!

My calorie intake allowance has dropped to 2031 calories per day now because I weigh less!!! haha! but I never ate that amount all week, so we are still on safe ground.

I think putting the fill off until such point that I am struggling to eat less is a great idea. I have only 5.5mls in my band right now, which is pretty low to be honest, and I guess will get harder to manage on as the weight comes off. So, I booked a fill for 6th November - by then I should be significantly lighter and probably ready for 0.5ml in little Albert. He's my friend at the moment. Long may it continue!!!!

Six Best Exercises To Lose Weight

Six Best Exercises To Lose Weight :
1. Plyometrics : Pylometrics, commonly known as "Plyos" is specially designed exercise training that combines strength, agility and speed, hence producing fast and powerful movements. Plyometrics increase the magnitude of force of our muscular contractions, thus it is useful for sports like football, basketball, track, tennis, and martial arts too.

Most of the common plyometric exercises include hops, jumps and bounding movements. One popular plyometric exercise is jumping off a box and rebounding off the floor and onto another, higher box. These exercises involves high intensity and increase your power and strength.
Many people refer plymetrics as "vertical jumping". A lot of calories gets burned while doing Plyometric exercises.

2. Squats: Squat is a exercise through which you can train primarily the muscles of your thighs, hips and buttocks. Secondarily, it strengthens the bones, stretches the ligaments and tendons throughout the lower body.

Squat mainly works out the large and heaviest muscles of the legs, thus improving our stability, mobility and empowering our movements.Also Squat increases the amount of energy that your body consumes, and plus you get to shape your buttocks and thighs too.

3. Cardio Kickbox: It's a cardiovascular or aerobic exercise that combines elements of boxing, karate/martial arts, and other aerobics thus providing overall physical toning of your body. According to a study conducted by the ACE, 350 to 500 calories can be burned off through kickboxing!! So, get out there and kick your way to fitness.

4. Yoga: Yoga without any doubt is the better way to ensure your health and fitness. Through Pranayams (breathing exercises), you may reduce your stress level (see more on weight loss and stress management). Yoga is full of benefits and has no side-effects too. It makes you fit and look good.

5. Pilates: Pilates is a controlled physical fitness procedure that helps to increase the strength,
endurance, and flexibility of your muscles. Furthermore, it also increases the blood circulation on your body ultimately improving the body's "core" or "powerhouse" (torso). An improved core gives you stronger and fitter body.

6. Swimming: Swimming could be as effective as most of the exercises. It's very common and helps you lose weight by improving your muscle tones and cardiovascular health.

(see more on Weight Loss Exercise)