Running

A few weeks ago I started thinking about running. I was improving rapidly in yoga and figured I need to do a cardio, that like yoga, I would be able to do often. I am practicing yoga almost every day now, 20 minutes one day, 40 minutes another, and I can see how much easier I am going into each pose now compared to when I started. However, my hour of cardio at the gym has stayed as agonizing as the first time I went to gym.

In the past month I went to the gym for cardio exactly 3 times, lol. Each time I did half an hour on the elliptical and half an hour on the stationary bike, and what a long and agonizing hour it was!

My schedule and the hours I can go to gym gaves me six times to go to gym: Monday and Wednesday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday all day. Even though I went on Monday mornings but since I had a meeting with my advisor in the afternoon I really didn't wanted to go, instead I wanted to make sure I was ready for my meeting. So it was a struggle to convince myself to go. Wednesdays I work all afternoon and I am on my feet most of my 8-hour shift, I knew my legs could not handle an hour cardio in the morning followed by 8-hour shift in the afternoon, so Wednesday was out! Tuesdays I met with my grandmother in the afternoon and Thursdays I wanted to go grocery shopping and prepare meals for the next three days that I had to work. You see I had an excuse for each time slot I could go to the gym. I figured I could never improve my cardio this way. 

Thankfully my schedule is improving; my advisor has moved our Monday afternoon meetings to Wednesdays, freeing my Monday completely. Hopefully I would take advantage of this and go to the 90-minute yoga Monday morning starting next week.

Thus I was considering running more and more seriously.

This past Friday I started looking for bloggers who had to lose as much as I have and had started running regularly from the beginning. Somehow I ended up at Runner's World and saw their Summer Streak announcement, run one mile a day from Memorial Day to Independence Day, I got intrigue. I figured I could spare time to run/walk one mile a day. Of course as their roles the one mile should be run, I knew I couldn't run the entire mile and decided that I want to quietly participate, take advantage of reading tweets from participants and stay motivated. The only thing that concerned me was that I am very out of shape and heavy and am scared of injuring myself. But the pros are too many and cons too little, so I had to start.

Pros:

1. I like running.
2. I had lost rapidly before when I was running regularly and so I was hoping I would lose rapidly again this time if I start running.
3. Running relaxes me, keeps me calm and serene.
4. Running makes me happy. Seriously, running acts like a happy pill for me, lol.
5. While running I become the best problem solver, lol. When I first started working, I was one of the eight people in our group, all with at least 7 years of experience. We were all working on the same project and I was intimated to ask them any questions, thinking they might think I don't know anything. So I tried to figure things on my own. One day I spend the whole day trying to figure something out with no luck. I went home late defeated. Probably was thinking about the problem while commuting, while having dinner, while sleeping, probably dreamed about it too, lol, put for sure the next day while running. Toward the end of my run suddenly I thought why I didn't try this approach! I got home and couldn't wait to get to work to try my solution. And what do you know, it worked! From then on, I never spent too much time trying to figure something out, lol. If I couldn't solve my problem in couple of hours, I would do something else, then later on, or the next morning I would go for a run and think about my problem. Two out of three times I had an idea for a solution before my run was over, lol.
6. I sleep better when I run regularly.
7. I eat better, make healthier choices.
8. If I run in the morning I know I would have a good day.
9. I can go for a run anytime I want to, weather permitting, I don't have to wait for my gym hours.
10. My parent's neighborhood is very nice and safe for runners. There is actually a nice running path if I wanted to run longer, but one mile paths are also OK.
11. Running outside, I can set my own speed. On the treadmill I force myself to run at a certain speed and certain incline that I might not be ready for yet. If I don't set it to the high numbers I want I would be disappointed and if I set it to those numbers, it would be hard for me to keep up and I probably want to quit soon.

Pro of Summer Streak

1. It is only one mile, and I think it would take me less time to go for the run/walk, then to try and talk myself out of it.
2. Seeing how many others are running, in humid weather, on the boring treadmill, with little kids in the house that might need their attention at any moment, but somehow they try to complete their run, no excuse, and so they are a great motivator for me to also complete my run.

Cons

1. Injuring myself.

You see 13 pros against 1 con, it is a no brainer, lol. Plus I figured if I run smart, if I start easy and listen to my body, I can prevent injury. Plus I have decided to weight train, at least my lower body, to make my muscles stronger and thus prevent injury.

So I started! Saturday morning I woke up around 6 am, it was before my 12-hour shift at the gym, but I put on my running shoes, and before I could think twice about it I was out of the door. The weather was great. I walked for about two minutes and then I started running. Slow. I knew the path perfectly. I know where the quarter mile, half mile, and 3 quarter mile are. I run past the half mile mark and walked to about the 3 quarter mile mark and then run home. It felt great. I was out of breath. I could hardly walk up the stairs to get ready. I took Advil with me to take for when my legs started hurting too much. At work the first couple of hours were hard, but then my tiredness went away.

I have gone running/walking 6 days out of 6 now. Some days had been better than the others and I run more past the half way mark. Some days I had a hard time making it to the half way mark while running. But over all I am enjoying my morning one mile run/walks.

I am participating in the Summer Streak with two modifications, one is that I run/walk the one mile, and two I started 2 days earlier so that I have 40 days. My goal is to be able to run the entire mile without any walks in a few weeks, and then I can start improving my speed and maybe increase the mileage a bit.

Month one evaluation.

Yesterday was one month since I started my diet. As of Friday I have lost 9.2 pounds. I am disappointed at these losses! I was hoping to be out of 190s or within a pound or two of being out, by month one, but I am nowhere close to that point. I used to lose a lot faster. Oh well.

My goal was to eat right and exercise. Well there is much room for improvement.

I have taken high sugar and high fat food out of my diet, half way through the month I eliminated bread, but I think I still eat too many bars/shakes. I like to keep those for the days that I don't have time to prepare a meal. I like to eat more whole foods.

I have been thinking one way to replace my morning bar is to have a smoothie. I like to make smoothie with Almond/Coconut milk, a small banana, one tablespoon peanut butter, and ice, very delicious and satisfying. That shall be my breakfast starting tomorrow.

On the exercise front, I am very satisfied with my yoga improvement. My first class I was tired and ready to leave half way through the class, and seriously if I was not embarrassed to face my friend/instructor afterward I would have left. But I am glad that I stayed. I am glad that I started practicing at home, at first for five minutes only. I am glad that I kept at it until now that I comfortably go through the 60-minute class. This past Friday I didn't look at the clock until we were sitting down for the cool down. That is how easily the hour passed for me. Of course there are poses that I can't get to the way I want to because of all the layers of fat in my middle, but I think my muscles have woken up and realized that they do remember these poses, lol, now I just need to lose these fats so that my muscles could go as far as they can. My next goal is to add a second class, Mondays, which is 90-minute class.

Which brings me to cardio. I have done cardio exactly three times in the past month, for about an hour each time. I am finding the elliptical and stationary bike too boring. I love spinning classes but they are offered only during the peak hours and my membership is off-peak hours, which means I can't attend spinning classes. My previous gym had passes that they periodically send to their members to give to their friends and family encouraging them to join the gym. I have been wondering if they have day passes here, and if I could use one or two to go to one of their spinning classes. That is the kind of cardio I like.

I had been thinking about running too. First off I like running, and secondly I lose weight a lot faster when I run. For example a few years ago my best friend talked me into running a 10K with her. We trained for 6 weeks. Of course I was running before we started training, but only once a week, rarely twice. At that point I was in the high 140s, was not losing weight fast and so I had decided not to weight myself. Two weeks into our training, when I felt my cloths were getting lose, I weight, and was down to 141. Four weeks later I was at 133. That is how fast I was losing, so close to my goal weight. If I remember correctly, we were running 3 days a week, running between 2-4 miles a day. We also had a long run that we started with 4 miles, increased every week until we were running 7 miles, and then cut back down to 5 miles, the week before the race.

Friday night, at the gym, when it got quite, I started surfing the net looking for experience of bloggers who were my size and had decided to run. As I was looking around I came across a challenge at Runner's World. The challenge is to run from Memorial Day to Independence Day, 38 consecutive days, one mile a day In their FAQ they are advising only people who have been running regularly for the past six months to participate. I think that is kind of extreme! I think people who have been running 4-5 times a week 3-6 miles a day for a month could easily participate. I decided I want to challenge myself. Of course I knew I couldn't run a mile but I thought I could start slow like with yoga. I want to write a separate post for my plan to run in this challenge, so stay tuned, lol.

Here are my goals for the second month on diet:

• Drink smoothies for breakfast instead of Atkins bar.
• Grill on weeknights that I am home early. Grill more veggies so that I could have as snack the next day instead of Atkins shake.
• Have at least 4 grain free days a week.
• Go to two yoga classes a week, one a 60-minute and the other a 90-minutes class.
• Run-walk one mile a day, everyday.
• On Fridays, after the yoga class, weight train lower body at least.

Week 4 weighing ...

197.2.

Loss of 1 pound even! Not surprised but disappointed!

I am disappointed not because I just lost 1 pound, but because I ignored my school work for two weeks that I had to work 17 and 16 hours on Monday and Tuesday to catch up and as a result I eat a lot on those days, and thus didn't lose much.

At least I went to the gym yesterday morning for cardio instead of Monday. I am happy about that.

This morning I went to my fourth yoga class. It went by so fast. I am starting to enjoy yoga again. What a difference four weeks make.

My parents are going to be in town for the next 10 days. They are arriving late tonight. I actually have time to drive to the airport after work to pick them up. My dad said to get there right on time so that I could park on the curbside instead of going to the parking. Parking in the airport parking is such a hassle. So yes I am happy to have my parents home.

My sister and brother are driving in tomorrow. So yes, full house, lol. I am so glad I shall be working the majority of the time they are here. My sister is very critical and bossy. My brother is so full of himself and can't stop praising himself. So yes they are both annoying in their own way. I am looking forward to Monday when they are leaving.

Oh by the way I am not imagining things, lol, seriously I can feel the bottom of my feet again. The tingling is completely gone. I am confident that my feet problem was inflammation. Apparently it wasn't that serious since a few Advil taken in the past few days has almost fixed it. You know I had this issue for over a year! That is for having a good doctor, NOT! I made an appointment with my old-new doctor, lol. I shall be seeing him in 2 and half weeks. Even if my feet are completely fine by then I am going just to get a conformation.

I am off to work. I want to post more but don't have time. I see if I can post from the gym once it got quite tonight.

Changing my doctor!

I did mention that since last year I have been experiencing tingling and numbness in my left foot. Then when I started working at the gym, standing on my feet for 4-5 hours at the time, I felt the tingling and numbness in both feet.

When I looked up what could cause these symptoms, I found diabetic and Hyperthyroidism listed.

Last year my doctor eliminated the diabetic as the cause and so while I was waiting for my first week of July appointment with her I decided to start reading on Hyperthyroidism.

I got Living Well with Hyperthyroidism by Mary Shomon and have been reading it. I have learned a lot about Hyperthyroidism and if I shall be diagnosed with it I feel more prepared to deal with it. But I am hopeful that the cause of numbness and tingling in my feet is something else, as in inflammation.

Last week I was looking for something that I came across The Hormone Diet by Natasha Turner. This book is also very informative and I have learned that inflammation could be caused by diet. Turner states that poor diet, diet high in fat, sugar, white flour, and processed food could cause inflammation in body.

I was under the believe that inflammation is caused by injury, but not so. That is why when I saw one of the causes of tingling and numbness in feet is inflammation I didn't even give it second thoughts. I thought I was not injured so no inflammation.

Saying that I am pissed at my doctor is understatement. Last year she just wrote the blood work that I went to see her for (diabetic) and told me, without any tests, that I had compressed nerve in my back and that is the cause of the numbness in my foot, and advised me to lose weight. I am thinking she must of known that one of the other causes could be Hyperthyroidism, so why didn't she also order Thyroid tests. I was having a blood test anyway, why not draw more blood and do more tests. I have also learned from Turner that there are blood tests to determine inflammation in body. Again why didn't my doctor ordered that test.

Needless to say tomorrow morning I am calling her office, canceling my appointment and I am going back to my previous doctor, the doctor that saw me from my late teens to when I switched to this doctor. So why did I switch, because of the stupid health insurance rules. My health insurance at work required me to have a GP in their network. My old doctor was not in their network, so I picked this new doctor since she was accepting new patients and since she was conveniently located near work. But I never liked it from the start. I am so glad I can go back to my old doctor. I completely trust him.

I am not sure if it is my imagination or the numbness and tingling in my feet has been reduced!

Friday night I came home with excruciating pain in my feet. I wanted to cry. I took couple of Advil and iced them. Thankfully, the pain got reduced so I could sleep. Saturday morning I still had a bit of pain and so I decided to take more Advil. Then at work my neck started hurting so I took more Advil. Sunday through today, every 6-8 hours, I have been taking Advil for my neck pain and thankfully I am feeling much better now.

I think the anti-inflammatory Advil might have cured my feet! Seriously, I can feel my big toe again. I shall let my old doctor diagnose it, lol.

Hopefully I shall be done with my vicious cycle. You see, I eat badly, ice cream, fast foods, several diet cokes a day, vending machine chips and chocolate, and I not only gained weight, I developed inflammation. According to Turner, inflammation in body prevents one from losing weight. So last summer, after my doctor's advice to lose weight, the more I tried the less successful I was. So I gained more weight and my feet started bothering more probably because of more inflammation.

Could it be the pain I have been living with for the past year be cured this easily? I am so hoping. lol.

No Drama.

Almost four weeks ago when I decided that I needed to lose weight, I decided that I needed to get drama out my life, so that I could minimize my emotional eating episodes. Thus I disassociate myself from anyone that I thought was getting on my nerves and tried to reconnect with friends and family that I knew are kind and supportive. In this way I thought I could prevent drama. Little did I know that I was creating another drama on another front, lol, ignoring my school project.

After the semester was over, I gave myself a long weekend to recuperate from my finals and the fiasco that was my roommates situation. Than the following week I half hardly did some school work, but the following two weeks almost nothing! Last Monday I even cancelled on my advisor with the excuse that I was very tired. But I know if I had something to show him, I would have gone to our meeting no matter how tired I was. Couple of cups of coffees and pastries would get the tiredness out of me for a few hours, wouldn't it, lol! But then I got an email from him Saturday afternoon that he was pushing back our meeting this week from Monday to Wednesday. I didn't read much to it when I first read the email, but then I panicked. I thought to myself what if he drops me as his student, what am I going to do? Obviously, I would have dropped me too seeing that I was slacking off.

I am not sure if it was because of the stress or did I pull a muscle or something but my neck started hurting and it went to my head. Beautiful I thought. So I popped more Advil, more on that later, and continued my work at the gym in a panic mode.

Sunday night I decided that I needed to get my act together. I decided that for the next two days I was going to concentrate on my school project and only that. No more visiting websites, no more reading about diet, illness, recipes, chick lits. No more sewing, checking out patterns and fabrics. No more watching TV, or raiding my parents DVD collection. I decided I wasn't going to the gym on Monday for cardio as I had been doing in the past two weeks, and I was not going to have lunch with my grandma and sewing lessons after that on Tuesday. I skipped gym and rescheduled with my grandma for today.

I woke up just before 7 am on Monday and started working. I went nonstop until midnight; seriously, worked 17 hours straight. Didn't even cook, but eat every couple of hours. Yes, I must have eaten close to 2000 calories, but I didn't care. I needed to be able to function, so I eat. What was important to me was that it was no emotional eating. When I eat it was real hunger. Anyhow I survived on Atkins bars and shakes, banana, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, Cheerios, watermelon, and omelet.

On Tuesday I woke up before 6 am all excited. Sometimes I find it hard to start working on a project, but once I got into it, it is hard for me to stop, I just lose track of time. It was the same when I was working. My ex knew when I had gotten into my project and he made sure he called me everyday around 6 pm reminding me to come home; otherwise I would have been at my desk until 9 or 10 pm.  Anyhow, Tuesday I worked from 6 am until 10 pm and I felt all cut up on my project. No more drama for me hopefully.

You see, I am the kind of person that if I can do something today I wouldn't leave it for tomorrow. Most of the time I carry a notebook with me, habit I developed while working, most of the time on multiple projects, went to lots of meetings, and hated when people brought their laptops and clicked their keyboards all through the meeting, I thought it was very distracting. Anyhow, in my notebook I always have a to-do-list, and I can't wait to finish a task so that I can cross it off my list; it is very gratifying.

Once in a while the little kid in me takes over, lol, and prevents me from checking my to-do-list, adding or crossing off items. That is what happened in the previous few weeks, but thankfully I am all cut up now.

I had my meeting with my advisor this morning, it went well. I am very relaxed and happy now. I don't know it is because I started my day off with 45 minutes yoga this morning, or because of my good meeting with my advisor, or because I had lunch with my grandma (she always put me in a good mood), whatever the reason I am happy and relaxed now.

Anyhow, I got my notebook out, and made two lists, side by side. One itemized task I have to do for my school project, I feel that the more specific I am with my tasks, the easier it is for me to do them. If I just say work on your school project, it backfires, lol. And the other list is everything else, including cooking, sewing, exercising, watching TV, hanging out with my best friend, visiting grandma, calling/texting/emailing my parents and friends, posting to my blog, etc. My goal is to cross off the same number of items from each list.

How I love crossing out the tasks I accomplished from my to-do-lists.

Good Advice: How Nutrition Affects Your Feet

Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/foot-health/nutrition-and-your-feet.aspx

Some foods, like those with lots of sugar, can cause inflammation. And inflammation can impact the health of your feet.

When most people think about nutrition and their health, they have no trouble associating the foods they eat with weight loss or heart health, says Sherri Greene, DPM, a podiatrist in New York City who practices holistic foot care. However, your diet affects many other parts of your body, including your feet.

"When I explain to people that your feet are connected to the rest of your body, and what you put into your body is what makes up your body, they're like, 'Wow!' When they feel better after they change their diet, then they get it," she says.

Feet and Nutrition: Fighting Off Inflammation and Pain
One problem linked to nutrition that can affect your feet is inflammation, Dr. Greene says. Certain foods can increase chemicals in your body that cause tissue inflammation. This inflammation could appear in your foot as plantar fasciitis, which causes pain in the thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot, in your heel, or elsewhere in your foot.

Many common foods in the American diet encourage inflammation, such as the refined grains, sugar, and trans fats in many baked goods and junk foods; the saturated fat in red meat; and the omega-6 fats found in many commonly used vegetable oils, such as corn, soybean, and sunflower oils.

In addition, some people may have increased levels of inflammation in their bodies due to chronic allergies to common foods such as wheat, Greene says. Another factor that can contribute to inflammation is eating too many foods that cause your blood sugar to rise quickly, such as sweets, white flour, and pasta.

As a result, the nutritional approaches Greene discusses with patients to reduce inflammation include:

Eating more omega-3 fats. Fatty fish such as salmon, as well as fish oil supplements, are good sources of omega-3s, Greene says. Omega-3s help reduce inflammation, and nutrition studies suggest they should be properly balanced in the diet with omega-6s. Most people's diets provide far more omega-6s than omega-3s, and a fish-rich diet can address this imbalance.

Doing a general diet makeover. Following an overall healthier diet can provide anti-inflammatory benefits to your feet and your total health. This includes eating more green vegetables and other fresh plant foods, and cutting out refined grain foods and sugary treats, Greene says.

Feet and Nutrition: Other Health Connections
Two common conditions that affect millions of Americans' feet are peripheral artery disease and diabetes. Each of these conditions can harm your feet by damaging arteries that bring blood to your lower extremities.

Good nutrition can also help protect your feet from these conditions. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a diet low in saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium and rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce your risk of peripheral artery disease. A 2008 study in the Journal of Vascular Surgery specifically found that omega-3s were associated with a lower risk of peripheral artery disease.

If you have diabetes, a healthy diet can help protect your feet from complications of that condition, too. In general, the NIH recommends a diet rich in whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits, lean meats, and a limited amount of fats and sweets for people with diabetes.

Whether you eat more healthfully to counteract a medical condition or to avoid one, following the NIH’s recommendations will help ensure that your feet, along with the rest of your body, continue to serve you well.

Good Advice: The Effect of Inflammation on Weight Loss

Source: http://www.lisanelsonrd.com/blog/the-effect-of-inflammation-on-weight-loss

If you are to successfully lose weight you will likely focus on eating fewer calories and increasing your activity to burn more calories. It’s important that you also address inflammation on your journey to lose weight.

Research on mice has shown a “switch” controlling inflammation in the hypothalamus (region of the brain that regulates energy) becomes “flipped on” in response to high fat diets. It also shows that “overnutrition” (i.e. eating too much) turns on this inflammatory switch.

An increased level of inflammation leads our cells to become resistant to insulin and leptin.

Insulin plays a messenger role in that it tells cells it is time to take in glucose (sugar). If cells become resistant to insulin, they ignore the message that it is time to take in more glucose, glucose is converted to fatty acids, and is stored by our fat cells. If insulin resistance is persistent, eventually the fat cells will no longer respond and increased levels of fatty acids will remain in circulation.

Leptin is a hormone that triggers satiety. This is your body’s way of telling you you’ve had enough to eat. When production of leptin is hindered, we do not feel satisfied and tend to eat more.

As inflammation causes the cells to ignore the messages of insulin and leptin, you are more likely to consume more calories (because you still feel hungry) and potentially store increased levels of fat due to the increased level of circulating fatty acids.

So, if you are ready to change your ways and a heart healthy diet, with a reasonable caloric intake to promote weight loss, you need to take steps to “flip the switch off” in the hypothalamus that is controlling inflammation.

If the inflammation continues, you’re journey to lose weight will be an even bigger struggle because you do not experience satiety and the body is in mode to store fat.

How to Reduce Inflammation
You want to restore the cells sensitivity to insulin and leptin. This means eliminating inflammatory foods from your diet. Inflammatory foods include sugar, refined grains, saturated fats, and any foods you may be allergic to.

You need to switch to a diet high in anti-inflammatory foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

You’ll also want to add foods contain nutrients known for their anti-inflammatory properties, such as omega 3 fatty acids and curcumin.

Nothing new
This is not a new concept; however, it’s important. If you think you can lose weight by simply eating less of the foods you love and exercising more. . .it likely won’t work. Cutting back to one cheeseburger, small serving of fries, and small soda equals fewer calories than a super sized meal, but it is still an entire meal full of high inflammatory foods.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
http://lisanelsonrd.com/

Future!

I have been very sad lately. My 10th year high school reunion is coming up and needless to say I am not attending! We have a facebook page and lately more and more people are posting what they have been up to. It is fun to hear from people whom I had not heard from for almost 10 years. But at the same time I get sad. Not because I am jealous of their accomplishments, but because my past accomplishments are in the past and I am just hoping for a bright future. You see, my former classmates are bragging (well not really, but …) their jobs, their recent promotions, and their satisfaction with the work they are doing. They post about their fulfillment of their contribution to the society and mankind. Some are bragging about becoming engaged recently, how happy and in love they are, or how great their partner or spouse are.  We also have one couple, both in our class, who have a little boy. Some of my former classmates are posting pictures of recent vacations, with their great tan, fit body, in cute little dresses, and with big smiles. Others are posting pictures of their new homes, and post how proud they are of their renovations and decorations. I can't compete!

Yes, I have pictures of my vacations but they are over a year and half old. Yes I am very happy in those pictures, smiling, having my ex by my side. But we are no longer together, so what is the point! Or I could tell them about my accomplishments at my job before I started back at school, but again what is the point, I am not there any longer! Or I could tell them about my love of antiques and how I have bought old chairs or tables and have restored them into amazing unique pieces, but what is the point, they are all carefully packed and stored in my parents basement!

My life right now, from afar, looks very pathetic! I am working as a front desk person at a gym, scanning members cards, handing them towels, wishing them good workout, answering any questions they might have, answering phones, and giving tour to people who want to become members! I am living with my parents! I am 73+ pounds overweight. I have no significant other to speak of, not even dating! But I am hopeful of my future. In 4 to 5 years I am hopeful that I have graduated and am working in a great company, satisfied and proud of my job. I hope to meet and fall in love with my future husband. And I daydream that we will be living in our beautiful home. So yes, I feel that my future in bright, lol, no but seriously.

I am in a very good PhD program, with amazing prof/mentors. I love my project. This field is fairly new and every once in a while I see an article on Yahoo.com stating its potential and growth in the next decade and asserting that the graduates in this field should not worry about not finding a job. They are predicating this field is one of the fastest growing fields in the next 10 years. So if I get this sadness out of the way and not mess up at school I know that I have put myself in the right track to success. Everyone who has defended his/her dissertation recently or are scheduled to defend in the next few weeks, either are working fulltime now and loving it, or have an offer they have accepted and are just enjoying some downtime.

The reason I am staying at my parents is to take care of our cats. Even if I had my own place I would still be here while my parents are away. Another reason for me staying here, and working at the gym is to save money. I have bought an apartment, well not really bought yet since it is being built now. They have given me the approximate completion time of next summer. It is in such a great location, in the middle of the city, close to everything, with a great view. When they first advertised that they were building this building I was so excited and announced that I was buying a unit. Then I decided to go to school fulltime and was about to give up on that. But my parents encouraged me and said that they would help me financially. They said they lend me money and I can pay them back later. When I got accepted to school with funding I went for it. So next year around this time I would be pound co-owner, lol, the other co-owner being the bank, of two-bedroom, a study, two and half bathroom, and a large balcony condo. I want to save as much money as I can now so that I wouldn't have to ask my parents for help. I know that whatever they give me they wouldn't let me pay them back and that is not right. I am 27 years old. I shouldn't be a burden on my parents any more. Well if my mom wants to buy me a new wardrobe once I lost all the weight, I won't protest, lol, but paying portion of my mortgage, that is another story!

I have been criticizing myself for letting myself go and gaining 40+ pounds in eight months, but since I started reading about Hypothyroidism I have been thinking maybe it was not all my fault and maybe there is a underlying health issue I am straggling with. I guess I will find out soon. But in the meantime I keep reminding myself that I am trying to correct my past mistakes and I am trying to lose weight. In fact I have lost 8.2 pounds in the past 3 weeks. Hopefully by next week I would reach 10 pounds loss mark in almost a month. I know that is slow, but I am on the right track. I have challenged myself to be at or below the weight I was when I started school last year by September. I know I can do it.

Not dating and not having a boyfriend is by choice. When my ex broke up with me after 5 years, I was devastated and embarrassed and I didn't tell too many people. I really thought we were getting married. After I left my job and started school I kept in touch with my former coworkers. There is this guy that I liked at work. We were good friends. Couple of months after I left my job I finally started telling people that my ex and I had called it quits. My coworker had also broken with his girlfriend around that time and so he asked me out. We went out a few times, but the stress of school and being embarrassed by my rapid weight gain, prevented me to continue that relationship. I wanted us to just be friends. We still exchange emails and I know he is still interested in me. But I just can't convince myself to date him, or anyone else in that matter, at my current weight.

So yes, I don't have a great job, but I know by our 15th year reunion I am going to have a great job. I don't have a place of my own, but I know by next summer I would have a great apartment and I am going to decorated beautifully with my unique furniture. I will have home I could brag about, lol. I might not be thin and fit now, but in nine months I am going to be at or close to my ideal weight. I am going to try my hardest to get there. And I might not have a boyfriend now, but I am hopeful of my future with a great man.

Week 3 weighing ...

198.2.

Last week I was 199.6, so 1.4 loss for the week. I guess I'll take it!

I haven't been too serious about weight loss in the past two weeks and it shows! Last week I lost 1.2 and this week 1.4. At least I still had losses! But I want to be as serious and dedicated as I was the first week when I lost 5.6. Of course the first week losses is always more, but I was hoping for 2-3 pounds per week.

I have been reading more about Hypothyroidism and as a result I want to blame myself less for my weight gain since this weight gain could be the result of my sluggish thyroid rather than my carelessness of eating poorly and not doing any exercise.

My goal for this week is to get my head back to where it was during the first week and hopefully I see a loss of 2+ pounds next week.

Recipe: Causa Rellena

If I don't think about what I am going to eat between Fridays and Sundays on Thursdays then I have to consider getting a sandwich from the cafeteria which I found not to be too appetizing and so I have been thinking/planning my weekend meals ahead of time.

The first week that I was working at the gym, I got lucky and my grandmother gave me leftover vegan eggplant Parmesan for the entire weekend. Last week I made chicken salad with rotisserie chicken, celery, walnut, fresh basil, and for dressing I used Newman's Own Ranch Dressing.

This week I am planning to make Causa Rellena, a Peruvian chicken salad with potato and avocado.

Here is the recipe that I took from http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/fusionfare/r/causa.htm since I am too lazy to type it up myself, lol, but I am making small changes.

Ingredients:

• 8 yellow potatoes (about 2-3 pounds)       I am going to use 4 potatoes only since I don't want the potato layers to be too thick.
• 3 fresh yellow chile peppers                      I am skipping this,
• 2 gloves garlic                                          and this,
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter         so don't need this.
• 3 limes                                                     I use juice of two limes for potatoes and the third one for the avocado.
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise                                 I use instead 6 tablespoon Newman's Own Ranch Dressing.
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 ripe avocado
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Black olives for decoration
• Parsley for decoration

Preparation:

• Cook the potatoes in salted water until soft. Peel the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer (or mash them), then set aside.
• Remove the seeds from the chili peppers, and saute them in vegetable oil with the garlic until softened. Place them in a food processor or blender, along with the juice of the 3 limes, and salt/pepper to taste. Process until smooth. Stir lime/chile mixture into the potatoes.
• Poach the chicken in water seasoned with salt, pepper. Shred the cooked chicken, and mix with the mayonnaise and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• On a plate (I use Pyrex dish which makes it easier to construct the layers and keeps the salad fresh), shape half of the mashed potato mixture into a square or rectangle. Cover with the chicken in a smooth layer. Layer with slices of avocado. Layer the other half of the potato mixture on top and smooth with a knife. Decorate the top with parsley leaves, slices of hard-boiled eggs, and olive halves.

Serve chilled.

When you spread the chicken and avocado over the first layer of potato it gets hard to shape the second layer of potato smoothly on top of them. So I smooth the first layer in the dish, then remove it and use it for the top layer. To easily remove the layer from the dish I lay a plastic wrap sheet in the bottom of my dish, and make it a bit longer so I could hold the end to remove the potato layer easily from the dish without touching it.

Also instead of slicing avocado, I mash them and combine with the juice of one lime before spreading them on top of chicken.

Then I take the potato layer I made first, and turn it over the chicken with plastic wrap still attached on the other side. This way other than the fact that I am storing my salad in Pyrex dish, there is a plastic wrap over the potato on top which keeps it fresher.

Nutrition Info:

• 4 yellow potatoes has 400 calories, 0g fat, 104g carbs, 12g fiber, 12g sugar, and 16g protein.
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts has 404 calories, 16.4g fat, 0g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, and 60.2g protein.
• 1 avocado has 276 calories, 27.64g fat, 1.4g carbs, 4.3g fiber, 0g sugar, and 1.4g protein.
• 3 limes has 60 calories, 0.3g fat, 21.3g carbs, 5.7g fiber, 3.3g sugar, and 1.5g protein.
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard has 3 calories, 0.2g fat, 0.3g carbs, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, and 0.2g protein.
• 6 tablespoon Newman's Own Ranch Dressing has 450 calories, 48g fat, 6g carbs, 0g fiber, 3g sugar, and 0g protein.
• Make 6 servings, each having 265.5 calories, 15.4g fat, 22.2g carbs, 3.7g fiber, 3g sugar, and 13g protein.

Off to the grocery store.

Because it makes me smile ...

I have been feeling sad lately and so tonight I challenged myself to come up with 18 things that puts a smile on my face! Here is what I came up with: thinking about my future, our cats, my birthstone, sunrise, hiking, mocha coffee with whip cream, cruise vacation, fresh pomegranate juice, perfume of any kind, ice cream of any flavor, visiting my favorite aunt in Switzerland, chocolate covered strawberries, floating candles, butterfly, red wine, mountain biking, margaritas, and Lilacs.

Watching TV.

I miss my younger self, lol, that could watch a TV show year after year. I don't think I ever missed any episodes of Dawson's or Buffy. But lately I can't make it to the second season no matter how much I like the show during its freshman year!

For example I discovered Covert Affairs just before its second season premiered. USA was running a marathon of the first season one weekend, I watched all the 11 episodes, lol, and then when the second season started a week later, I couldn't wait for the new episodes. That is how much I enjoyed the show. But then, when they went on hiatus at the end of the summer I was done with them! They had a few more episodes in the fall, but by then I was completely bored and so I stopped watching!

Last spring I enjoyed Fairly Legal. Again was very excited to watch each episode. I read that they wanted to make 13 episodes but run out of time and just made 10. I was very disappointed. Anyhow, I was so looking forward to the premiere of the second season. I think we are up to the 7th or the 8th episodes and I actually forgot that it was on Friday night. I remembered last night and didn't even bother checking VOD to see if the episode is available! I think that is going to be it for me for this show!

Which brings me to Suit; that was my favorite TV show last summer and I am so looking forward to the second season premiere in a few weeks, I think June 2nd. I checked out the show because of the two main characters played by Gabriel Macht, and Patrick J. Adams, but I stayed because of Louis played by Rick Hoffman. This character is so much fun to watch, one minute he is such a despicable person that would go into any length to win his cases, at any cost, and another minute he is such an incredible kind and considerate person that you can't hate, lol. I hope that they don't change the characters and have new stories so that I could continue watching and enjoying the show. Because I LOVED it last summer.

But just as a backup show, lol, I am planning to watch Hart of Dixie from the beginning. I like Rachel Bilson and when I found out that she had a new show I reminded myself to watch it. Never did until last Monday! So I have seen the last two episodes of the season and they have been renewed for the second season. I figured if I don't like the new episodes of Suits I can watch Hart of Dixie from the beginning and in order.

The reason I want to find a show to watch and enjoy is because I want to keep myself happy since when I am happy I don't eat for comfort, and I am finding myself eating out of emotion.

For example, last week while working at the gym, when it got quite, I decided to read an article for my research project. As soon as I got the article out I wanted to have a chocolate. I am behind in my research because of reading a lot about healthy eating and diet, having fun with sewing, and working 40 hours a week at the gym. And when I try to catch up, since I know I am way behind, I want to comfort myself with food. I need to replace my 7+ hours per week fun time sewing with an hour of  fun time TV watching. I really need to spend more time on my research or I will be in big trouble. But at the same time I don't want not to have a fun time, something to look forward to every week.

Oh, I made another blouse, and wore it today. I shall take pictures and post soon.

Yoga, my second class!

I made it to my second yoga class this past Friday. I was a bit early so I got to talk to my friend/instructor. I asked her if she sees that I am doing the poses wrong to please let me know. She said that she actually was watching me a lot last week, since I was the only new student in the class. She said that she could tell I was very tight and couldn't go into the poses, but she said I was doing the modified poses very correctly. I was happy. She told me to give myself a month and I should get comfortable by then.

So we started and I decided up until I am not tired to push myself and go into the poses as much as I can. I was tired around half an hour mark and was trilled. And this time I was not concerned if I was able to finish or not, I knew that I would, I just took it easy from that point on and the class was over before I knew it.

After the class I take, my friend has another class to teach, so I didn't wait to talk to her. As I was getting into my car I got a text from her. She said that I should forget about waiting for a month to get comfortable. She said she could see how much easier I was doing the poses. I was ecstatic. Both Saturday and Sunday I woke up earlier to be able to do 40 minutes of yoga.

Monday I went to gym for cardio. I had planned to go today, but just didn't have any energy. So far, for the past two weeks I have gone to the gym 4 times, twice for yoga, and twice for cardio. If I can add another cardio day I should be happy.

Hypothyroidism!

Last spring I felt numbness in the bottom of my foot, the left one, under my toes. I was talking to my mom and I casually mentioned it to her. She right away made me call my doctor and make an appointment. She was concern about diabetes which runs in my dad's side of the family.

My doctor had my blood tested and concluded that no I am OK. She then told me that since it is only one foot, it is most probably the compressed nerve in my lower back and she told me that I should lose weight, I was around 160 pounds. I did listen to her, NOT, and instead gained 40+.

I had gotten used to the numbness and tingling sensations, but the days that I have been working at the gym, standing a good 7, 8 hours, I have been feeling some pains and more numbness, moreover, now it is in both my feet! So I made an appointment to go see my doctor, but in the mean time I decided to check to see what could cause it.

Apparently one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is numbness and tingling in feet! I started reading about hypothyroidism, and I have a few of the other symptoms, including weight gain in a short period of time (i.e., 40+ pounds in eight months), feeling cold all the time (my feet and hands are freezing all the time), hair loss (well my hair has tined a bit), fatigue (I feel tired a lot, especially lately. I called my advisor and cancelled our weekly meeting this week, since I was so sleepy on Monday; slept from 1-4 pm).

Anyhow, if I have hypothyroidism, I am in big trouble! Lots of people are complaining that their doctors have not been able to control their issue with medications. They feel lousy, not themselves, depressed, etc. And most reported weight gain after staring on their medications. That is very discouraging.

So that is what I have been doing in the past two days, reading about hypothyroidism and hoping that I don't have it!

Good Advice: 6 Benefits of Staying Hydrated

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/does-drinking-water-smarter-plus-6-benefits-staying-142300937.html

Water accounts for 60 percent of our body (or about 11 gallons or 92 pounds inside a 155-pound person) and is essential to every cell. So it's not to surprising that new research-reported on at the recent British Psychological Society Annual Conference in London-found that college students who brought water with them into an exam scored higher marks than their counterparts who didn't have water.

Unfortunately, the researchers didn't look into whether the students actually drank the water. Nor did they investigate the reasons behind the study findings. But the researchers hypothesized that drinking water could improve students' thinking and/or help students stay calm and quell their anxiety-both of which could hinder their test performance.

Their thinking makes sense to me: other research has suggested that staying hydrated keeps your memory sharp, your mood stable and your motivation intact. You can also think through a problem more easily.

Staying hydrated doesn't just impact your brain, though. Here's how water benefits your body's health, as previously reported in EatingWell Magazine.

Water Benefit #1: Prevents dry mouth Water keeps your throat and lips moist and prevents your mouth from feeling dry. Dry mouth can cause bad breath and/or an unpleasant taste-and can even promote cavities.

Water Benefit #2: Promotes cardiovascular health Dehydration lowers your blood volume, so your heart must work harder to pump the reduced amount of blood and get enough oxygen to your cells, which makes everyday activities like walking up stairs-as well as exercise-more difficult.

Water Benefit #3: Keeps your body cool Your body releases heat by expanding blood vessels close to the skin's surface (this is why your face gets red during exercise), resulting in more blood flow and more heat dissipated into the air. When you're dehydrated, however, it takes a higher environmental temperature to trigger blood vessels to widen, so you stay hotter.

Water Benefit #4: Muscles and joints work better When you're well hydrated, the water inside and outside the cells of contracting muscles provides adequate nutrients and removes waste efficiently so you perform better. Water is also important for lubricating joints. Contrary to popular belief, muscle cramps do not appear to be related to dehydration, but, instead, to muscle fatigue, according to Sam Cheuvront, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist.

Water Benefit #5: Keeps skin supple
When a person is severely dehydrated, skin is less elastic. This is different than dry skin, which is usually the result of soap, hot water and exposure to dry air. And, no, unfortunately, drinking lots of water won't prevent wrinkles.

Water Benefit #6: Cleanses toxins from your body Your kidneys need water to filter waste from the blood and excrete it in urine. Keeping hydrated may also help prevent urinary tract infections and kidney stones. If you are severely dehydrated, your kidneys may stop working, causing toxins to build up in your body.

Week 2 weighing ...

199.6.

Last week I was 200.8, so 1.2 loss for the week. I am so happy that even with two days of above 2000 calories, no water, and no exercise, I still managed to lose some. But above all I am back to under 200. That makes me very happy and motivated.

Here is to a good week.

Grain free diet.

I have been reading the 17 Day Diet book! There are 4 phases in this diet. The first phase, lasts 17 days, and is grain free. Actually knowing that this phase lasts only 17 days is promising, since I can tell myself, certainly I can follow any diet, no matter how different it is from what I am following now, for 17 days. However, I was curious to know how successful people who have tried it have been.  But more than that, have they changed any habits, are they good habits, and have they hold on to these new habits.

I shall be following S's progress from for the love of the jeans closely. She has decided to give the 17 Day Diet 34 days and has started this week. Couple of her friends also have gone through it with good results; so all very encouraging.

What I am curious to know is that has any one stayed on this diet for while, losing over 50 pounds, and have they been able to keep their weight off for a while.

So I searched for a grain free diet and came across Amber's blog. She is following a diet called Belly Fat Cure.  People following this diet try to keep their sugar and carbs low. For each meal they keep sugar to under 5 grams and carbs to under 20 grams. And they make sure that for the whole day their sugar consumption is under 15 grams and their carbs is less than 120 grams. A variation of diet, for people who want to lose weight fast, is called Fast Track where they too eliminate grains. Amber has followed the Fast Track program for few months at a time and has lost weight but more importantly she has kept all the weight she has lost off for over two years now.

So yes I too want to give a no grain diet a try. I am sold, lol. I just haven't decided when I am starting! I have the companion cookbook for the 17 Day Diet and have found a handful of recipes I like to try. So I shall start from making grain free recipes and proceed from there.

I love reading weight loss journal. While going through Amber's blog I came across this recipe for pizza using cauliflower to make the crust. Sounds very delicious and so I am going to give it try tomorrow.

I can't believe the weekend is already here and I am going to be working three days in row again.

Recipe: Butternut Squash French Fries

Source: http://www.laaloosh.com/2008/12/04/butternut-squash-french-fries-recipe/

Made this for lunch.

16 oz. uncooked squash has 204 calories, 53 carbs, 9g fiber, 10g sugar, and 5g protein.
2 tbsp EVOO has 240 calories (used EVOO instead of cooking spray).
In addition to salt, I also sprinkled them with rosemary.

Made it into 3 servings, each having 148 calories, 17.66 carbs, 3g fiber, 3.33g sugar, and 1.66g protein.

So I guess I didn't cut them all the same size, lol, even though I thought I did. They came out OK, but I think I need to make them couple of more times so that my taste bud gets used to them. I had them with reduced sugar Heinz ketchup and roasted chicken, healthy lunch.

Diet: Day 14!

Well it didn't take long now did it?

I have been in a destructive mode since Tuesday afternoon. I have been eating uncontrollably, not drinking water at all, and no yoga to speak of.

My cousin who is in an ugly competition with me called our gram and when she found out that I was visiting her that day she invited herself over. I have no problem with her visiting our gram, but couldn't she pick another day for her visit, so first I wouldn't have to put up with her, and second gram would have visitors on multiple days! Oh no, she had to come the same day I was there and basically ruin my day! Of course I myself continued to rehash everything she said and did all day yesterday and thus ruined another day all on my own! My cousin was at gram's maybe for just a couple of hours, thankfully she had to go to work in the early afternoon, but that short time cost me two days and its effect is going to cost me more days I am sure!

I woke up this morning and told myself today is a new day and it has to be a good day. Tomorrow shall be two weeks that I am on my diet; I have to get back to my healthy routine again.

I have been reading and researching the 17 Day Diet. I am going to write about it soon so that I can push myself further to the right frame of mind.

Here is to a great day followed by many more great days.

Sewing: shirts one and two done.

I finished both my shirts and wore the red one today. I felt both comfortable and good.

Here they are:

For the red shirt I wanted where the sleeves attach to the front and back to kind of stand out as it is in my inspiration shirts (see the burgundy and white tops below). I think in my inspiration shirts they have some kind of decorative border attached between the sleeves and the front and back. My grandmother told me to sew the seams in the right side, a thick seam, and she then opened the seam and tucked each border underneath and hand stitched them. It came out real nice and it stands out. Also I hemmed both the bottom and sleeves using double stitch, it came out real good.

My other shirt, the two-tone shirt, came together even faster. First of all I cut it about a seam smaller. It turned out because of the fabric clings to the body maybe that was not such a good idea. I don't feel comfortable wearing it by itself because of my bulges, but maybe by September I would be able to wear it and not be too embarrassed. Also I left the bottom and sleeve as is, no hemming. My mom told me that the skirt she made using the Mauve color one, she didn't hem it and didn't think it needs to be hemmed, so less sewing for me.

I am meeting with my grandmother tomorrow for more sewing lesson.

Yoga: my first class after a long hiatus

I went to my friend's yoga class on Friday. I hadn't gone to yoga forever and so I knew I had to take it easy. I did all the modification poses and didn't go into the poses that deep, but still after only 40 minutes I was shaking. I told myself to hang on another 15 minutes and then it would be cool down, but it wasn't easy.

I am so jealous of all the people who could do the poses so gracefully. That was me not too long a go! I am really hoping in couple of months I would be comfortable with yoga poses again. Seriously, I used to do 90 minute classes and would then go out for at least half an hour run. But now I couldn't wait for the 60 minute class to be over. That is how out of shape I am.

So Friday night when I got home I found this image and decided to for just a few minutes at a time, maybe just before sleep and when I woke up, do the poses and go into them as deep as I can. I told myself as soon as I got tired I quit. I also decided not to keep the time. I probably did five minutes Friday night (did the first two lines of poses several times); I think a bit more Saturday morning, and even more Saturday night and Sunday morning. Last night I timed myself and when I got tired and quit I had done 17 minutes. I am up to the worrier pose (4th line).

This morning since I was going to the gym I didn't do any yoga, but I plan to practice for maybe 20 minutes before I turn in tonight. Hopefully, by Friday I would be able to go through the entire 60 minute class with limited shaking. That is my goal.

No weekends for me until September!

I worked at my second job, Friday afternoon until closing time, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Here is the breakdown of my weekend, lol. From 1 pm Friday until 8 pm Sunday there are 55 hours. Of these 55 hours I worked at the gym 32 of them. Seriously! The other 23 hours I slept 18 of those hours. I suppose I was very tried, lol. The other 5 hours, consisted of commuting to and from the gym six times. Depending on how many red lights I hit, it takes somewhere between 15 to 20 minutes to drive each way, so that is about 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours. The rest of 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours I was getting ready to go to work! Lol. So yes, from Friday afternoons until Sunday evenings I shall either be working at my second job, commuting back and forth, or getting ready to go work and nothing else, until September.

I like my second job. It is OK. It fills my week. I am grateful that I am not home all the time thinking about diet and losing weight. At the gym, when we are busy, time goes by real fast, but it could get a bit boring when it is slow. On Saturday and Sunday I took my Kindle with me to read chick-lit, lol, which made the not so busy time OK too.  But Friday night dragged on. The last hour I got myself entertained with making the above banner. You know, I had no idea there are all sorts of "Calm Down and ..." images available. Anything I wanted to say someone else had already said. So I just collected them. I kinda think they look cute, lol.

Food wise I did OK all three days. I had lunch with my grandmother on Friday. She had made vegan eggplant parmesan. She used vegan cheese, Daiya. I had never heard of it before. It came out real good. I got the recipe from my grandmother. I have to give it a try soon. As I was leaving my grandmother gave me five containers of leftover with my name written on them. lol. She told me to take them to the gym for my lunch and dinners the next 2 and 1/2 days. Good thing the fridge at the gym was pretty empty, lol. My thoughtful grandmother, how lucky I am to have her, she helped me eat real healthy food all weekend.

I did keep up with my water as well. All three days I drank the 12 cups I was shooting for.

All in all, a good weekend.

Diet: Day 11.

Well I guess seeing all those gym goes in the past three days motivated me to head for the gym with no protest this morning. That and the fact that I knew my best friend and I were going to a Mexican restaurant tonight.

At the gym I first used the elliptical for half an hour and even though I was dying afterward, lol, I hit the stationary bike next for another half an hour. My legs are killing me now. But it is a fun pain, lol.

I decided to have a low calorie day and save my calories for dinner. I had an Atkins bar for breakfast and a shake after my workout. I had watermelon for lunch and another shake in the afternoon.

To help staying low calories I drank lots of water all day to keep me full, about 104 oz.

At dinner I had 2 margaritas and ordered Chicken Guadalajara. Just checked the website of the restaurant we went to, but they don't provide nutrition info. So I checked other sites. Apparently, each margarita has approximately 160 calories and the Chicken Guadalajara has about 500! So today's calorie intake is about 1470 (bar 180 + 2 shakes * 160 + 3 cups watermelon * 50 + Chicken Guadalajara 500 + 2 margaritas * 160) too high. But I did burn 327 calories at the gym. So the combination is not bad.

I am hoping I can go to the gym again tomorrow, to maybe just walk on the treadmill. Or maybe I just go around the neighborhood for a quick walk. I should do something some kind of exercise and drink lots of water of course to hopefully not see a gain on Friday.

Also I am meeting my grandmother for lunch tomorrow and we have planned to do a bit of sewing in the afternoon.

My grandmother and sewing.

All day Wednesday that I woke up with pain in my side I thought about my grandmother. She is in her mid 70s, very active and healthy, knock on the woods, but she lives alone. Of course she lives in an apartment building with 24 hour security and there are many retirees that have become like a family to each other, checkup on one another, go out to lunch, etc, and my social grandmother has befriended most of them. But still I was wondering if she feels lonely and thought I should go visit her and not just call her.

Right now I am house-sitting for my parents, taking care of our pets, while they are traveling for work, for the next few months. My mom is my grandmother's oldest and she visited with her at least twice a week when she was home. My uncles and aunts are satisfied with calling my grandmother a few times a week, making sure she has a ride to the grocery Saturday mornings, or that someone is going with her to her doctor's appointments. That is the extent of their involvement with their mother! So I thought since my mom is not in the states for the next few months I should become her surrogate and visit my grandmother often.

I called my grandmother on my break on Wednesday and she asked me to have lunch with her yesterday.  While we were talking suddenly it occurred to me to ask her to teach me how to fit a sewing pattern to my current size.

The women in my family, from my mother's side, are all great seamstresses. My mom has designated room for her sewing and sews about 75% of her outfits. My aunt has made all her daughters' and her nieces', including mine, amazing prom dresses that made everyone in awe. I too can sew but with pattern and without any adjustment!

Last year for example, when I was house sitting again for my parents while they were on vacation, on a rainy Sunday, I went to my mom's sewing room and look in her leftover fabric bin. When I found two fabrics that felt the same and there were about half yard of each I decided to make the Zara dress that I had been wanting to buy, but couldn't find in the shops and since Zara didn't have a online shop for the US customers at that point yet, and I had to pay too much for posting to order it from the UK site, not to mention the currency exchange fee, I gave up on having it. See it was a simple dress, but last year I was very much into Pippa Middleton's style and wanted to have a style just like hers, lol.

Anyhow, when I found a dark green and black jersey type fabrics in my mom's leftovers and then she told me that she has the same fabric, not yet used, in cream and it is mine if I wanted it, I was so excited. Of course I only took a half yard from the cream fabric and made my dress.

It came out OK. It has flaws but I was very comfortable wearing it and thought it looked nice on me. Needless to say with over 40 pounds weight gain I wouldn't even dream of fitting into it anymore. Hopefully sometimes soon!

I want to sew now that my mom's sewing machine is at my disposal, but the vogue patterns that I like to make don't go up the size I am now.  So I thought I could ask my grandmother to teach me how to adjust the readymade patterns for my current size. She told me that she could draw a few basic patterns with my current measurements, which hopefully is shrinking rapidly, and I could start from there.

I found couple of tops that I have been dreaming of having! Of course even if I had the money for them, they don't come in my current size!

 

Anyhow my grandmother took my measurements and draw me the pattern in matter of half an hour. We then went to a fabric store and I found a nice dark red knit fabric for $5. It is almost 2 yards and has a width of 60". I also got a matching thread for $1. We then went back to my grandmother's and cut the fabric. I assembled it in matter of few hours and before dinner I tried it on.

It looks good. It is loose as I wanted; hide my bulges. I like the color. I like that it is longer and covers what needs to be covered, lol.

When I came home last night the first thing I did was to look in my mom's leftover fabrics again to see if I could find more fabrics to work with. I found four similar fabrics in different colors. Later my mom told me they are Bamboo knits. I had never heard of this knit, but it is so soft that I am in love with them. I think I can used them with my new pattern to make something like these.

I shall post pictures later. Now I am off to attend my friend's yoga class.  I am going to my grandmother's for lunch again and then back to work at the gym all afternoon.

Have a great day.

Week 1 weighing ...

200.8.

I started at 206.4 last week, so 5.6 loss for the week. I am happy.

Diet: Day 6.

Well tomorrow shall be one week that I started my weight loss diet.

I stayed the same this morning. So no losses for the past two days, but I have lost close to 5 pounds in the first 4 days.

I think after tomorrow I am going to reduce the number of days I weigh myself. I feel better if I don't weigh every day. Last time that I lost a lot of weight, I was following Weight Watchers and I only weigh at the center. I think I would feel better if I see my weight only once a week.

As planed I did manage to reduce my sugar alcohol and artificial sweater consumption yesterday. I had one bar and one shake, no Jello, no Mio. Good for me, lol. Instead I had more Cheerios and almonds.

Cheerios is low calorie but a high carb food, almonds is the other way around. So one serving of each, 1 cup Cheerios, 1 oz almond, has 100+163 calories, 20+5 grams carbohydrate, 3+3 grams fiber, and 1+1 grams sugar. Combining one serving of Cheerios and almond as a snack once a day I think is going to be pretty good, but yesterday I had two servings of each and so my calories where on the high side, 1163.

Starting tomorrow I am going to keep track of my carbs and fiber in addition to the calories.

I did manage to drink 12 cups of water seamlessly yesterday. I had one bottle of 24 oz before I went to work, and took three with me. I decided to play the drinking game, water drinking that is, lol. Every time I noticed no one was in the lobby I drink water. By 8 pm I was done with my three bottles.

I made zucchini soup yesterday and had half of it for lunch, but didn't like the taste and even though I took the other half to work with me I didn't eat it. Instead I got grilled chicken, with tomato and a pickle, no mayo, on whole wheat. I usually stir fry both chicken and zucchini separately and then cook them in water with lots of spice. Yesterday I wasn't in the mood of stir frying so I just boiled the chicken and zucchini together with the usual spices but it didn't turn good. Or maybe it was because I didn't have it with yogurt or sour cream that I usually have it with. In any case the soup just didn't taste appetizing.

Didn't weigh this morning!

I woke up with a pain in my left side just below my rib cage. I thought I was having a heart attack.

Searched the internet for the cause and according to this page one of the causes, the first one listed I might add, is heartburn or acid reflux! So I took two anti acid and after 15 minutes I felt a bit better.

By the time I felt better and wasn't scared anymore I had already drank half of my cup of green tea and just remembered that I had not weigh myself. Oh well, losing weight is in my mind 24 hours and then I forget to weigh in the morning, lol.

I think the cause of my pain is heartburn or acid reflux and I think it is because of too much artificial sweetener and sugar alcohols I consumed especially yesterday.

I consume Atkins bar and shakes, that are full of sugar alcohol, everyday. But yesterday on top of those I consumed the full package of sugar free Jello, 2 cups. Plus I got MiO water enhancer yesterday hoping by flavoring my water I would be able to drink more water. I think I pour MiO in all four bottles of water I drank yesterday! So consuming all that much sugar alcohol and artificial sweetener in one day is a big mistake.

I feel much better now, but still when I breathe deep I feel the pain!

I am going to try and eat real food today. I just got half chicken breast out of the freeze which I am going to cook and make zucchini soup. I shall eat half and take the other half to work for dinner. No more MiO in my water today and no more Jello for dessert tonight. I already had an Atkins bar for breakfast this morning, but I am going to snack on Cheerios this afternoon. I shall try to see if I can reduce my two Atkins shake a day to one. Hopefully no more pain for me.

Diet: Day 5.

On of the girls in our program got engaged this past weekend. To celebrate she brought in chocolate cake today. My first instinct was to avoid it with all my power! But then I convinced myself to have a small piece. I thought if I deprive myself from this cake I might binge the entire day. So I asked for a small piece, maybe 1/3 of what others were having and eat it very slowly.

It really is true that if you eat slowly you eat less. I have to keep reminding myself to do that. All of us finished our cakes about the same time, but I eat about 1/3 of what the others eat, and enjoyed every bite.

I am glad that I didn't deprive myself. Actually I came home and read the article about emotion eating (I posted it below) that suggests "let yourself enjoy an occasional treat ".

The rest of the day I decided to have lower calories, had roasted veggies for dinner and then when I added up my calories for the day I saw that it was less than 800. I want to consume about 1000 calories a day and not go any lower to slow down my metabolism. So I had 2 cups Cheerios and brought my calorie intake close to 1000.

I am still very pathetic in the exercise department. I really have to get motivated to go for a walk or ride my bike. But there is hope for me maybe! I am starting my second job, at the gym, tomorrow and they are giving me an off peak hours gym membership; basically weekdays mid morning, mid afternoons, and late evenings. Hopefully seeing all the gym goers tomorrow afternoon shall motivate me to go to gym to workout on Friday.

My friend, who found me the job, teaches yoga on Friday mornings. Hopefully I shall go to her class.

8 am: Atkins bar and coffee
11 am: Atkins shake
1 pm: Small piece of chocolate cake
3 pm: Atkins shake
6 pm: Roasted veggies (mushroom, cauliflower, and asparagus) and 2 cups Cheerios
8 pm: Sugar free Jello

Consumed calories: about  965 (bar 180 + 2 shakes * 160 + Small piece of chocolate cake 160 + Roasted veggies 65 + 2 cups Cheerios * 100 + Sugar free Jello 40) good.

Water: 13 8 oz!

Exercise: none!

Emotional eating.

I am trying to learn how to control my emotional eating.

According to the Mayo Clinic article I just posted below couple of the trigger factors of emotional eating are unemployment and financial pressure. Thankfully I am employed at school and also for the summer I shall be working as a front desk person at a gym near my parents, where I be living for the summer. Neither jobs pay much, but since I am not going to have to pay a rent I shall be financially worry free until further notice.

Other trigger factors are health problems, bad weather, and fatigue. Again thankfully I am in good health, knock on the wood, and trying to lose weight to prevent future health problems, thus this is not an issue for me.

I live in the upper hemisphere, lol, where currently there is spring and shall be followed by the summer, so bad weather is not going to be an issue for me until further notice, lol.

As for fatigue, I have every intention of sleeping at least 8 hours a night, because one of the reasons for weigh gain is sleep deprivation. So I doubt that fatigue is going to be an issue for me until the classes start again in September.

So the factors that are going to affect me are work stress and relationship conflicts. For me work stress translates into school stress, which I really can't do much about, I think! For example yesterday when I was stressing over my grades, for nothing, I was very nervous and no amount of pep talk calmed me down. But thankfully the school stress situations are not that many and there are far in between, so I should be OK in that regard.

Which bring me to relationship conflicts; that effects me big time. Currently I don't have a boyfriend and have no desire to date, but there are friends/acquaintances that get on my nerves. So I figured I should declutter my life and give up on those friendships.

I have one best friend that I text/email/call a few times a day and meet a few times a week, even if it is just for a few minutes for coffee. That should be enough friendship for me for now.

I do have lots of good friends that I haven't kept close touch with lately. So I am going to reach out to them and bring them closer to me.

Hopefully these reconfiguration in my relationship should eliminate my emotional eating because of the relationship conflicts.

I actually think the reason I have gained a lot of weight in the past eight months has been because of my relationships with my school roommates! I opted to live on campus with three other first year graduate students from different disciplines. At first we were very civilized and friendly. We hangout together often, ordered pizza and watched movies. Then one met a boy and started spending all her free times with him. The other two became buddy buddies, started running together in the afternoons, became health conscious, and started making catty remarks about my eating habits and choice of outfits. That bothered me a lot that I finally told them to only tell me their opinions of me if I asked for it. I am not a confrontational kind of person so it took me a long time to bring myself to tell them off. After that things went from bad to worse. They didn't even make eye contact with me or replied when I said hi to them. I started going home late and left very early to avoid running into them. I eat outside, didn't buy any groceries for home anymore, and kept a few things I got like cereal and fruits in my school office. So it was a horrible situation. I couldn't wait for the semester to be over. I am so glad that is all behind me. I just wish I could stop rehashing all their comments and behaviors towards me. Oh well time is going to erase all that I am sure.

Good Advice: Gain control of emotional eating

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/MH00025

Sometimes the strongest cravings for food happen when you're at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when you're facing a difficult problem, stress or just looking to keep yourself occupied.

But emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods. But the good news is that if you're prone to emotional eating, you can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals.

The connection between mood, food and weight loss
Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Both major life events and the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts. These triggers may include:

• Unemployment
• Financial pressure
• Health problems
• Relationship conflicts
• Work stress
• Bad weather
• Fatigue

Although some people actually eat less in the face of strong emotions, if you're in emotional distress you may turn to impulsive or binge eating — you may rapidly eat whatever's convenient, without even enjoying it. In fact, your emotions may become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a sweet treat whenever you're angry or stressed without stopping to think about what you're doing.

Food also serves as a distraction. If you're worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The emotions return, and you may also now bear the additional burden of guilt about setting back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle — your emotions trigger you to overeat, you beat yourself up for getting off your weight-loss track, you feel badly, and you overeat again.

Tips to get your weight-loss efforts back on trackAlthough negative emotions can trigger emotional eating, you can take steps to control cravings and renew your effort at weight loss. To help stop emotional eating, try these tips:

• Tame your stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as yoga, meditation or relaxation.
• Have a hunger reality check. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don't have a rumbling stomach, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving a little time to pass.
• Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you may see patterns emerge that reveal the connection between mood and food.
• Get support. You're more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends or consider joining a support group.
• Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you're not truly hungry, distract yourself. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, surf the Internet or call a friend.
• Take away temptation. Don't keep supplies of comfort foods in your home if they're hard for you to resist. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until you're sure that you have your emotions in check.
• Don't deprive yourself. When you're trying to achieve a weight-loss goal, you may limit your calories too much, eat the same foods frequently and banish the treats you enjoy. This may just serve to increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Let yourself enjoy an occasional treat and get plenty of variety to help curb cravings.
• Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a low-fat, low-calorie snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with fat-free dip, or unbuttered popcorn. Or try low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.
• Get enough sleep. If you're constantly tired, you might snack to try to give yourself an energy boost. Take a nap or go to bed earlier instead.
• Seek therapy. If you've tried self-help options but you still can't get control of your emotional eating, consider therapy with a professional mental health provider. Therapy can help you understand the motivations behind your emotional eating and help you learn new coping skills. Therapy can also help you discover whether you may have an eating disorder, which is sometimes connected to emotional eating.

If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and make a plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you're making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that'll lead to better health.

Weight this morning …

201.6. That is a loss of 0.8, same as yesterday, which makes the sum of losses of yesterday and today a respectable 1.6. So for the past four days I have lost 3*1.6=4.8. I am very satisfied.

Even though I consumed more than I wanted to, but I think since I had 12 cups of water I still had some losses. So I am going to aim high and try to drink 96 oz water every day. Hopefully, this ensures that I drink at least 8 cups.