Hi,
When I read the article at this link: http://www.drbenkim.com/articles-orthorexia.html#comment-10281 I just knew I had to share it. Enjoy!!
Ever been a nut about the specific things you eat? Been there. Done that. Maybe you did, too.
Read it!! Good one!!
Love you,
Be back soon,
Marcia
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Lots of Different Programs...
Hi,
Been gone a while. I've been off wandering around in the Diet Program world checking things out, trying things out, and getting motivated and inspired. I have a new doctor now because my old one does not take Medicare (which I went on at the first of last month). I am actually seeing a Nurse Practitioner but I really like her and she uses a lot of the same supplements and things my old doctor did, so I am pleased with her.
I've maintained my current weight loss but have not gone down further, yet. My blood work from the new doctor was much better than my last one at the old doctor. So I have proof that I've been eating right for the most part.
The thing I am most pumped about is that my uric acid level has gone from 8 to 4.8 by using the Allopurinol -- this while eating a high protein diet. I got a lot of very good information from the book "Beating Gout" by Victor Konshin ($16.95) who has been advising both regular people with gout and their doctors for quite a few years. He has a blog where he shares good information for gout sufferers (he is one) and he also sells his book: http://www.beatinggout.com/2009/03/hello-world-2/ The book is jam packed with good advice and plain, easy to read explanations.
From Victor's book I learned about when to take Allopurinol and when to take Colcrys and how and why they work. I learned why I got a gout attack two weeks after I started to take the Allopurinol and why I no longer get them. He points out that by changing your diet you can usually only reduce your uric acid levels by about 2 points if you are really dedicated (I'm not) but taking Allopurinol will lower it to a safe level. My personal experience confirms this.
I now keep Colcrys in the cupboard in case I get one of the painful attacks. If you get an attack you only need to take this stuff for a few days... until the pain goes away. My doctor (the old one and the new one, both) confirmed that this is the proper way to use the two medications. Take Allopurinol every day, attack or no attack, and take Colcrys only at the time you have a flare up and only until the pain is gone. This strategy has worked for me and I've not followed any of the standard gout diet guidelines at all. (They are the complete opposite of the Diabetes guidelines and I can only follow one or the other, not both.)
The diet programs I've been checking out include: Unleash Your Thin, The Fast Track to Weight Loss, 14-Day Rapid Fat Loss, and Thrive! Weightloss. I've been looking into them because the weight loss program that I've come up with works but I don't seem to be able to stay on it.
The Unleash Your Thin program by Dr. Jonny Bowden the "Natural Health Sherpa" (http://naturalhealthsherpa.com/ Price: $97) has the easiest eating directions to follow and also has some CD's with hypnosis routines that are meant to help you stay on the program. That is why I initially bought it. I felt I needed help staying on track. This one is focused on the food and not the exercise, but they don't leave out exercise. They have an entire preparation week section in which you look at your own attitudes and feelings and habits. The focus of the program is motivation -- to help you stay motivated to get to your goal.
It is set up to do the workbook in seven days, but it took me three weeks just to be able to do them. They are confrontational and just a little "heavy" and I would have to set them aside until I could come back and work on them again. I was keeping track in my journal of what day it was and when I got to day 21 of week one, which obviously should have been done in 7 days, I began to really wonder about myself. But I did get through them and got to the part where you listen to the hypnosis recordings.
For me, things completely fell apart at this point. I've had some very scary experiences with hypnosis in the past and hoped that would not occur with these, but I could not even finish the introduction session without a panic attack, so have given up on that one. I really think that if someone who has no trouble with hypnosis sessions were to try this program it might be the last one you would ever need. It is thorough and well written... I'm just not able to do it. It does not pay to be "wacky", but that is how it is for me. Hope it goes better for you.
The next one I investigated was "Fast Track To Fat Loss" by Kim Lyons a trainer from the TV program "The Biggest Loser." (There is a presentation done by Melody Thompson [a success story] at this site: http://fasttracktofatloss.com/presentation-simple.php ) I was impressed with this program because it can be customized to the individual. They give you five meals per day broken down with how much protein, carbs, vegetables, and fat to consume at each meal. You choose the actual items per meal that suit your tastes and customs.
The thing that did not work for me on this one is that they include starchy carbs and simple carbs at the first three meals of the day which is way too much carbs for this prediabetic to handle. There is a large focus on exercise with this program, but it is probably doable for most. I say "most" because, in my estimation, if you've not gotten off the couch for the last 20 years you need a different kind of exercise to begin with. Walking is usually the best option for the really obese and unfit to use until they get some strength and endurance built up from the walking. One thing for certain: It is easier to do it, than to think about doing it. If you do it, it is over and done with in a short period of time, If you don't do it, you just worry about it. One of these is productive and one is not. LOL.
I really liked that a large part of the instruction manual is vignettes of different successful dieters: what they ate, how they exercised, and how the program worked for each one of them, with before and after pictures. This one has a great web site that helps you to figure everything out and get it down pat, too. This is truly a customizable program and I recommend it for that reason, even though I am not doing it for the stated reason of too many carbs for my particular body situation. They even have a seven dollar, 30-day trial offer for the whole program, if you click off of the website. You know, they ask you to stay on the page and then give you a deal. It is worth it and will allow you to investigate before paying for the rest of it to make sure it is a true fit for you. I did the trial offer and when I decided not to do it, they cancelled the future payment and were real nice about it. I don't think $7 is too much to pay to get all the info and access to their web site for 30 days. It is a good deal.
The 14 Day Rapid Fat Loss program was created by Shaun Hadsall who says he is an author, fat loss coach, and body transformation expert. I think his program may be one of the better ones out there, but, again, is a little difficult for me, a prediabetic, carbohydrate addict to follow. He does what he calls "Macro-Patterning" which is a system that attempts to keep carbohydrates from spilling over into fat in the body. The body has a need for carbohydrates which it uses for energy and which also affect our moods. But if we eat them too much or too often they can spill over and become body fat. He also has a large focus on exercise. His 14 Day program is simply an introduction to a more permanent system of eating but he does alude to the process of how to maintain and control the fat spillover on a more permanent basis. It is a little complicated but not so much that it is not doable. Basically you alternate days: day 1 you don't have many carbs, day 2 you have a sensible amount of carbs at specific times and intervals. By alternating back and forth he states that you will keep your carb under control. It's great if you are not wacky and have a hard time controlling carbohydrate eating. Also the exercise section is a little overwhelming for me. But I still think the program is a good one. If you are interested here is a link (http://www.14dayrapidfatlossplan.com/index2.php) to a video where he explains it before you buy it. He also offers a "trial" period for a lesser price. It is currently on sale for $20 off -- You pay $29.95. Or if you click off the web site he offers you a 21-day trial for $14.98. On day 21 you will be charged for the rest which is another payment of about $14.98. You get a lot of good information for not too much money.
The last program I want to share is called Travis Martin's Thrive Weightloss (http://thriveweightloss.com/) (Not to be confused with the "Thrive, Vegan Nutrition" book available on Amazon.com which is a no-meat program.) Travis Martin allows meat on his system of weight loss. I would not have gone with this one on my own, but the ladies at my church are all starting to do it, as a group, and I'm kind of tired of doing things alone, so I am, more or less, going along with the program for the group support from people I know.
This one is complicated and confusing. You have to listen to long presentations that give you the information piece meal, and many people walk away shaking their heads. But it works. This one is focused almost entirely on the food and only mentions exercise in passing (so far). At the link above they have a video of Travis Martin explaining the program and he is a country boy who finally got a handle on his own weight loss after doing the necessary research to come up with the help he needed. He began sharing it with people who kept insisting on knowing what he was doing. He started off explaining it but his friend had trouble understanding it, so he gave his friend a personal grocery store tour and as he walked down the aisles explaining things to his friend a crowd began to gather... so he shared with them, too.
He has food broken down into eight categories from lean meat to freebies. He uses his hands as the portion control measurement. It does not matter whether you have big hands or little hands, your hands are the perfect size for your body. Half of a 7-inch plate is vegetables and the other half is protein. He even sells a plate marked off in the correct portions or recommends one that Tupperware sells. He talks about "the fat bus" and uses MCT oil that has been chemically processed to contain only medium chain triglycerides. He also provides daily timing rules which demand that breakfast be eaten within one hour of waking and then you eat every three to four hours during the day after that. But you do not eat a meal three hours before bedtime, although he allows freebies to be eaten at that time. Or if you get in late he recommends which categories to eat from.
He focuses on eating vegetables and lean proteins and "low fat" is a big part of it. I'm not sure I agree with the low-fat part of it, but he has been successful and I have not. I do have some strong beliefs about the MCT oil, though. The oil he uses is processed coconut oil that has had some of it's good properties stripped out of it. I simply prefer to use the whole food extra virgin coconut oil as God made it, because I know it is healthy. I don't trust the processed stuff.
He pays a lot of attention to drinking water and giving acceptable substitutes for normal everyday foods like peanut butter and pancakes which is a blessing to most Americans. It is like he has taken the Standard American Diet and pulled out the bad high fat, high sugar stuff and replaced it with familiar low fat, high fiber things that can be found in any grocery store. Personally, I don't feel I need this "substitution" hand holding, because I've not eaten the SAD for a while but this would allow me to begin to eat carbs that would be better for me, when I do eat them.
I went to the first meeting this last Saturday and they served a Thrive approved lunch which was extremely filling. In fact, for me, it was rather like a brick in my stomach. They had high fiber tortillas that would not hold the food but tasted good, none the less. It had a bunch of chicken, a little onion and green pepper topped with rice and low fat shredded mozzarella cheese. To this I added a little low fat sour cream and salsa. I would have liked some salad or other veggies, but none was offered. And we all drank water.
Later that night after I had gotten home, I noticed that I had an uncharacteristic feeling or sense of well being that I had not had for a long time. I thank God for it. I believe it may have been the starches that I had eaten at that meal. So now I have the idea to stick to my own original eating plan but to add a few high fiber carbs to the menu. My plan is looking more and more like the Carbohydrate Addicts plan but without all the hampering rules and regulations. If I start the day with a protein and starchy carb (like eggs and french toast on the right kind of bread, or eggs and oatmeal) and then move on to the veggies and protein for the rest of the day, that may work for me. I hope so.
Be back soon,
Marcia
Been gone a while. I've been off wandering around in the Diet Program world checking things out, trying things out, and getting motivated and inspired. I have a new doctor now because my old one does not take Medicare (which I went on at the first of last month). I am actually seeing a Nurse Practitioner but I really like her and she uses a lot of the same supplements and things my old doctor did, so I am pleased with her.
I've maintained my current weight loss but have not gone down further, yet. My blood work from the new doctor was much better than my last one at the old doctor. So I have proof that I've been eating right for the most part.
The thing I am most pumped about is that my uric acid level has gone from 8 to 4.8 by using the Allopurinol -- this while eating a high protein diet. I got a lot of very good information from the book "Beating Gout" by Victor Konshin ($16.95) who has been advising both regular people with gout and their doctors for quite a few years. He has a blog where he shares good information for gout sufferers (he is one) and he also sells his book: http://www.beatinggout.com/2009/03/hello-world-2/ The book is jam packed with good advice and plain, easy to read explanations.
From Victor's book I learned about when to take Allopurinol and when to take Colcrys and how and why they work. I learned why I got a gout attack two weeks after I started to take the Allopurinol and why I no longer get them. He points out that by changing your diet you can usually only reduce your uric acid levels by about 2 points if you are really dedicated (I'm not) but taking Allopurinol will lower it to a safe level. My personal experience confirms this.
I now keep Colcrys in the cupboard in case I get one of the painful attacks. If you get an attack you only need to take this stuff for a few days... until the pain goes away. My doctor (the old one and the new one, both) confirmed that this is the proper way to use the two medications. Take Allopurinol every day, attack or no attack, and take Colcrys only at the time you have a flare up and only until the pain is gone. This strategy has worked for me and I've not followed any of the standard gout diet guidelines at all. (They are the complete opposite of the Diabetes guidelines and I can only follow one or the other, not both.)
The diet programs I've been checking out include: Unleash Your Thin, The Fast Track to Weight Loss, 14-Day Rapid Fat Loss, and Thrive! Weightloss. I've been looking into them because the weight loss program that I've come up with works but I don't seem to be able to stay on it.
The Unleash Your Thin program by Dr. Jonny Bowden the "Natural Health Sherpa" (http://naturalhealthsherpa.com/ Price: $97) has the easiest eating directions to follow and also has some CD's with hypnosis routines that are meant to help you stay on the program. That is why I initially bought it. I felt I needed help staying on track. This one is focused on the food and not the exercise, but they don't leave out exercise. They have an entire preparation week section in which you look at your own attitudes and feelings and habits. The focus of the program is motivation -- to help you stay motivated to get to your goal.
It is set up to do the workbook in seven days, but it took me three weeks just to be able to do them. They are confrontational and just a little "heavy" and I would have to set them aside until I could come back and work on them again. I was keeping track in my journal of what day it was and when I got to day 21 of week one, which obviously should have been done in 7 days, I began to really wonder about myself. But I did get through them and got to the part where you listen to the hypnosis recordings.
For me, things completely fell apart at this point. I've had some very scary experiences with hypnosis in the past and hoped that would not occur with these, but I could not even finish the introduction session without a panic attack, so have given up on that one. I really think that if someone who has no trouble with hypnosis sessions were to try this program it might be the last one you would ever need. It is thorough and well written... I'm just not able to do it. It does not pay to be "wacky", but that is how it is for me. Hope it goes better for you.
The next one I investigated was "Fast Track To Fat Loss" by Kim Lyons a trainer from the TV program "The Biggest Loser." (There is a presentation done by Melody Thompson [a success story] at this site: http://fasttracktofatloss.com/presentation-simple.php ) I was impressed with this program because it can be customized to the individual. They give you five meals per day broken down with how much protein, carbs, vegetables, and fat to consume at each meal. You choose the actual items per meal that suit your tastes and customs.
The thing that did not work for me on this one is that they include starchy carbs and simple carbs at the first three meals of the day which is way too much carbs for this prediabetic to handle. There is a large focus on exercise with this program, but it is probably doable for most. I say "most" because, in my estimation, if you've not gotten off the couch for the last 20 years you need a different kind of exercise to begin with. Walking is usually the best option for the really obese and unfit to use until they get some strength and endurance built up from the walking. One thing for certain: It is easier to do it, than to think about doing it. If you do it, it is over and done with in a short period of time, If you don't do it, you just worry about it. One of these is productive and one is not. LOL.
I really liked that a large part of the instruction manual is vignettes of different successful dieters: what they ate, how they exercised, and how the program worked for each one of them, with before and after pictures. This one has a great web site that helps you to figure everything out and get it down pat, too. This is truly a customizable program and I recommend it for that reason, even though I am not doing it for the stated reason of too many carbs for my particular body situation. They even have a seven dollar, 30-day trial offer for the whole program, if you click off of the website. You know, they ask you to stay on the page and then give you a deal. It is worth it and will allow you to investigate before paying for the rest of it to make sure it is a true fit for you. I did the trial offer and when I decided not to do it, they cancelled the future payment and were real nice about it. I don't think $7 is too much to pay to get all the info and access to their web site for 30 days. It is a good deal.
The 14 Day Rapid Fat Loss program was created by Shaun Hadsall who says he is an author, fat loss coach, and body transformation expert. I think his program may be one of the better ones out there, but, again, is a little difficult for me, a prediabetic, carbohydrate addict to follow. He does what he calls "Macro-Patterning" which is a system that attempts to keep carbohydrates from spilling over into fat in the body. The body has a need for carbohydrates which it uses for energy and which also affect our moods. But if we eat them too much or too often they can spill over and become body fat. He also has a large focus on exercise. His 14 Day program is simply an introduction to a more permanent system of eating but he does alude to the process of how to maintain and control the fat spillover on a more permanent basis. It is a little complicated but not so much that it is not doable. Basically you alternate days: day 1 you don't have many carbs, day 2 you have a sensible amount of carbs at specific times and intervals. By alternating back and forth he states that you will keep your carb under control. It's great if you are not wacky and have a hard time controlling carbohydrate eating. Also the exercise section is a little overwhelming for me. But I still think the program is a good one. If you are interested here is a link (http://www.14dayrapidfatlossplan.com/index2.php) to a video where he explains it before you buy it. He also offers a "trial" period for a lesser price. It is currently on sale for $20 off -- You pay $29.95. Or if you click off the web site he offers you a 21-day trial for $14.98. On day 21 you will be charged for the rest which is another payment of about $14.98. You get a lot of good information for not too much money.
The last program I want to share is called Travis Martin's Thrive Weightloss (http://thriveweightloss.com/) (Not to be confused with the "Thrive, Vegan Nutrition" book available on Amazon.com which is a no-meat program.) Travis Martin allows meat on his system of weight loss. I would not have gone with this one on my own, but the ladies at my church are all starting to do it, as a group, and I'm kind of tired of doing things alone, so I am, more or less, going along with the program for the group support from people I know.
This one is complicated and confusing. You have to listen to long presentations that give you the information piece meal, and many people walk away shaking their heads. But it works. This one is focused almost entirely on the food and only mentions exercise in passing (so far). At the link above they have a video of Travis Martin explaining the program and he is a country boy who finally got a handle on his own weight loss after doing the necessary research to come up with the help he needed. He began sharing it with people who kept insisting on knowing what he was doing. He started off explaining it but his friend had trouble understanding it, so he gave his friend a personal grocery store tour and as he walked down the aisles explaining things to his friend a crowd began to gather... so he shared with them, too.
He has food broken down into eight categories from lean meat to freebies. He uses his hands as the portion control measurement. It does not matter whether you have big hands or little hands, your hands are the perfect size for your body. Half of a 7-inch plate is vegetables and the other half is protein. He even sells a plate marked off in the correct portions or recommends one that Tupperware sells. He talks about "the fat bus" and uses MCT oil that has been chemically processed to contain only medium chain triglycerides. He also provides daily timing rules which demand that breakfast be eaten within one hour of waking and then you eat every three to four hours during the day after that. But you do not eat a meal three hours before bedtime, although he allows freebies to be eaten at that time. Or if you get in late he recommends which categories to eat from.
He focuses on eating vegetables and lean proteins and "low fat" is a big part of it. I'm not sure I agree with the low-fat part of it, but he has been successful and I have not. I do have some strong beliefs about the MCT oil, though. The oil he uses is processed coconut oil that has had some of it's good properties stripped out of it. I simply prefer to use the whole food extra virgin coconut oil as God made it, because I know it is healthy. I don't trust the processed stuff.
He pays a lot of attention to drinking water and giving acceptable substitutes for normal everyday foods like peanut butter and pancakes which is a blessing to most Americans. It is like he has taken the Standard American Diet and pulled out the bad high fat, high sugar stuff and replaced it with familiar low fat, high fiber things that can be found in any grocery store. Personally, I don't feel I need this "substitution" hand holding, because I've not eaten the SAD for a while but this would allow me to begin to eat carbs that would be better for me, when I do eat them.
I went to the first meeting this last Saturday and they served a Thrive approved lunch which was extremely filling. In fact, for me, it was rather like a brick in my stomach. They had high fiber tortillas that would not hold the food but tasted good, none the less. It had a bunch of chicken, a little onion and green pepper topped with rice and low fat shredded mozzarella cheese. To this I added a little low fat sour cream and salsa. I would have liked some salad or other veggies, but none was offered. And we all drank water.
Later that night after I had gotten home, I noticed that I had an uncharacteristic feeling or sense of well being that I had not had for a long time. I thank God for it. I believe it may have been the starches that I had eaten at that meal. So now I have the idea to stick to my own original eating plan but to add a few high fiber carbs to the menu. My plan is looking more and more like the Carbohydrate Addicts plan but without all the hampering rules and regulations. If I start the day with a protein and starchy carb (like eggs and french toast on the right kind of bread, or eggs and oatmeal) and then move on to the veggies and protein for the rest of the day, that may work for me. I hope so.
Be back soon,
Marcia
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