My Progress So Far...

So, how are YOU doing on your New Year's Resolutions? (If you made any, that is!)


Well, since 2009 year is almost half over I figured I would take a moment to reflect on those resolutions that I was oh-so-passionate about back in January...


First, the obligatory "Lose Weight". LW has been a faithful companion of mine for years, even during those (brief) years when I weighed in at a whopping 110 lbs (as an adult, I mean....technically my lowest weight as a human being, post umbilical cord severance, was 8 lbs. 3 oz.). Foodie at heart, my weight has plagued me for as long as I can remember, and these days as a (gulp!) middle-aged woman, evil hormones are jumping on the bandwagon. Sheesh, why don't they just slap a beard and a furry chest on me while they're at it?!? (Psst...just kidding! No, really...BACK OFF, guys!!)


ANYWAY, guess what? I've lost weight! Not a lot, but it's noticeable. I may even browse through me closet inventory and start trying on new (old) clothes. It has, however, been a bumpy ride...






I started out strong, carefully picking healthy foods, exercising regularly...then I'd level out, gain, lose a little, gain some more, two steps forward, one step back, one step forward, three steps back. I actually almost gave up - I was hovering between 7-10 pounds down, and really frustrated by it. As I look at this little graph, I can see where I sort of backed off on the exercise, I see the cake we had (which I ate most of), the occasional overdoses of chocolate, the beginning of ice cream season (if such a thing ever actually begins or ends! We New Englanders eat more ice cream, per capita, than anyone else.) and even the Monkey Bread incident (which, again, I ate most of).


A couple weeks ago, I gave up. Just flat out didn't care.


My epiphany came the day we registered my daughter for pre-school. We went for the tour, met the teachers and even some of the kids that will be in her class this fall. We were told what their schedules would like, what some of the special events would be, and when the director mentioned "Parent Visit Days", I shuddered. And I remembered one of LB's blogs over at The Muddy Runner, talking about why he does the things he does to stay in shape. And this is what went through my head that morning, standing amidst a group of happy, chattering preschoolers being dropped off for school:


I don't want to be the fat parent in my daughter's class.


And I won't. I flat out REFUSE.


So, I pondered my weight loss options. Everything from buckling down and doing what I know I should be doing, to diet pills, to any one of those "cleanse" programs. Ew. Sorry, I have certain digestive issues and familial history that force me to do that once every three years for exam purposes...that is NOT something I would ever choose to do on my own! And frankly, it's not the answer to my problem.


Now, if you refer back to Exhibit A (aka the rollercoaster ride that has been my weight), do you, um, notice anything? Like perhaps, the last week or so??? :D hehehe! I have found something that is not only working, but I'm actually happy with it! It's not something that I'm going to do for 30 days and see what happens (er, um, even though it is a 30-day detox program...)


My wonderful friend, Gitano, has been on TrueDetox, and was so kind to share it with us. When I first heard of it, I thought, "Oh gee, another quick-fix, cleanse thing" But it's really not. You do drink the Master Cleanse drink (lemon, hot water and a little honey/maple syrup/agave, and or slice of ginger and/or cayenne...), but it's not meant to sustain you. It's a four-stage plan where you eliminate high-glycemic index foods form your diet - no flour, white rice, potato, pasta (not even whole wheat pasta in the beginning), no processed sugar, no processed food, no red meat, no dairy (OUCH!), no coffee (well....try. I actually DID give it up!) and no alcohol (I cheated there too - just once. Sorry, I had previously commited to drinking that glass of wine, so there was no getting out of it. O'Connors Restaurant would have filed a lawsuit - I just KNOW it!). It is a well-balanced eating plan, geared toward giving your liver and kidneys a break from all those toxins we keep sending their way, and creating/maintaining a healthy digestive system.


This is what you eat - fruits, healthy grains, raw or lightly steamed veggies, and lean protein like chicken and fish. Sound familiar? Yeah, I think I heard of it before...it's called "GOOD NUTRITION". Timing is important, too, as they want you to focus on eating things at the right time, and not combining certain foods (like starch and animal protein, not combining your fruit and starch until later phases).


This is what my Phase One week has been:

• Master Cleanse drink (it's like a nice cup of herbal tea!)



• Half hour later: Fruit (berries are the best! I've been partial to bluebrries, fresh cherries and strawberries)



• Half Hour later: Grains - My choice was steel-cut oatmeal. Made a batch Sunday and kept it in the fridge. I alternated between adding a little plain unsweetened almond milk, agave or natural sugar (from organic evaporated cane juice)



• Mid Morning snack: TWO servings of fruit



• Lunch: 2 starches (such as, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup chick peas with some sauteed onion, garlic, cumin, etc) and a big salad (You want to eat as much raw veggies as you can) with a healthy oil-based dressing



• Afternoon snack - raw veggie (carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, etc)



• Dinner: Grilled chicken or salmon, and a big plate of steamed veggies.



• Water, lemon water, herbal teas - as needed throughout the day.

After dinner? Water, herbal or green tea. This was a tough one for me, because I'm an evening snacker, but green tea has been my savior. It's really important to fast for 12 hours, meaning at night, because your body detoxifies during that time. Phase One is supposed to be 1,200 calories a day....I track my food over on Livestrong/The Daily Plate, and I never even made it to 1,000, but I know what I ate, and I know nutrition - what I ate, along with my normal vitamin supplements, are well within proper nutritional guidelines.


The results? I'm down 3.4 lbs at the end of my first week. That makes 13.3 since January 1st. I'm not exactly thrilled, because this is NOT where I wanted to be (I was planning on about 20 more pounds), but the important thing is I'm happy, I feel good, I'm not hungry, I DO NOT miss coffee, and I have not had any real chocolate cravings, not even when I caught a whiff of that Hostess Cupcake my hubby bought. I do miss my yogurt though, and am looking forward to re-incorporating healthy dairy into my diet. Pasta does beckon me, although if I want I will be able to start whole wheat pasta again soon. And I may be excommunicated from The Pioneer Woman club, because the longer I'm staying away from red meat, the less I seem to have the desire for it. It may become the next "pork" for me (remind me to tell you about Thelma, my uncle's pet pig, who went to live on a farm twenty-five years ago, and is now 32 years old and probably 7,000 lbs.). But I am so comfortable with Phase One that I've opted to stay here for a while. That's the thing about this TrueDetox - it's really something you could follow forever, because it's that well-balanced!


I shall return with more on my New Year's Resolution progress (and anti-progress!), and I'm looking forward to having you all watch my rollercoaster plummet.


I just hope the other kids' dads don't all hit on me come September. That can be soooo embarassing!


P.S. Unless, of course, Benicio Del Toro has children???

P.P.S. Don't get all hoity-toity on me - my husband has a crush on Wonder Woman, and I am fine with it! ;)