I hope I can remember how I planned to sew it together. My sewing room is a mess so I'm going to have to clean up first. Since I didn't get any work today and there is a holiday tomorrow, I'm sure I can get it done.Another thing that has me preoccupied of late is my weight. Remember this post last January about weight loss? Last January I had decided that it was time to finally lose the weight. So what happened? I gained 10 pounds this year. I've been doing some real soul searching and decided that low calorie, low fat diets don't work for me. I've been on them off and on for years and years. And I've been getting fatter and fatter because of it. After running into a friend at an ASG meeting and seeing how much weight she has lost, I decided to try something new.
The Metabolism Miracle is a book by Diane Kress that extols the virtues of a low carb diet. As a vegetarian I have always shunned these types of diets including Atkins and The South Beach diet. However, this author makes some very valid points about excluding carbs from my diet. The most important being that my body doesn't process sugar well any longer. I'm hypoglycemic which causes me to eat way too often and always high carb foods that cause me to crave more high carb foods. This is a pre-diabetic symptom and that's a place I really don't want to go.
Since I started following the Metabolism Miracle eating plan, the hypoglycemia has totally gone away and more importantly, I'm sleeping again. I haven't had more than five hours of sleep in about five years. After the first three days on this eating plan, I can hardly stay awake after 10 p.m. and I am getting 8 hours of sleep regularly. I'm even dreaming again! What a difference getting a full nights sleep makes in my attitude toward life. I also lost 10 pounds in first two weeks. Who knew that was possible? OK, I'm sure it was all water, but still, it feels great not to be all bloated and puffy.
Because I don't eat dead animals (nor live ones!) I am depending upon soy, wheat protein, and lots of Morningstar Farms and Boca products for my protein source. I'm having to learn how to cook all over again like I did when I stopped eating meat. For now I'm not eating potatoes, rice, legumes, breads of any kind, and all fruit. Some of these high carb foods will be reintroduced back into my meal plans later, after my body gets used to not being flooded with all the sugar they introduce into my body. This meal plan puts the body into ketosis, which according to research, is what burns body fat. And I'm all about burning the body fat at the moment.
As I lose weight, I'm going to be facing a new challenge. Altering my patterns to fit the new smaller, fitter body that I'm expecting. That's a challenge I'm looking forward to.
Congrats on your weight loss - and, more importantly, finding what works for you! I wish you much success. :-)
ReplyDeleteI too gave up on low-fat diets years ago. I now shun low- and reduced-fat/calorie foods and eat anything I want but not *everything* I want. I do watch my portions and try to not eat too many carbs. Since they are essentially a sugar you don't crave them as much once you reduce your intake.
Good luck on the low-carb diet! I think they are really the way to go if you want permanent weight loss and they're much better for your health. Processed carbs are not natural foods for human beings and you'll continue to feel really good as you cut out the sugars. Yay for feeling good!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Sherril! I too gave up on "diets" and in June started on a similar higher metabolism/ low-carb/ exercise routine. I can't believe how easy it is to lose the weight and keep it off. I don't even feel like I'm dieting. It's a lifestyle change I think I can maintain. Good luck to you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have found what works for you. I started Weight Watchers on January 3rd of this year and have to date lost 53.4 pounds with 21.6 left until my goal (I'm a Lifetime Member from 1983). I finally made up my mind that this was going to be the year I made my goal and kept it off because I'm not getting any younger and I only have probably less than 40 years left on this earth and if I keep waiting, it would have never happend! I like a plan that lets you eat what you want but limit the portion size. Any diet that completely eliminates food groups, I can't do because just when you tell me I can't have something...that is exactly what I want! Congratulations on finding the program that works for you.
ReplyDeleteHi! Congratulations on your weightloss! I appreciate your sharing what is working for you,* as I may learn and incorporate it into my own solution for weightloss. I'm starting to chip away at my own situation. In any case, I do wish you the best of success and perseverance.
ReplyDeleteRose in SV
*I probably shouldn't be surprised, because I've learned a lot about pattern alterations from you, too. So know, I guess it's altering the body and not the fabric :)
I too have read this book and used this diet.. Have lost 15 lbs. and I never feel hungry or deprived of food. Keep it up! Only thing is altering all of my clothes.....I hate alterations.
ReplyDeleteYay Sherrill. I'm sending good vibes your way :)
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking about you earlier today. Glad to see you back! Looks like we both got the urge to blog on the same day =)
ReplyDeleteAnd I was smiling really wide when you talked about changing the way you eat. I've been struggling as well for the last year - I'd lost all the weight last year eating low carb, then tried to go the "healthier" route. Silly of me, bc I know low carb works for my body because I feel so much better - body, mind, everything. Thanks for inspiring me to get back at it. Welcome back! Oh, and my sewing room is a mess too... I don't even want to look at it...
Hum....? I need to check into that diet. None of the others seem to work for me. Well, Atkins did, but who can stay on that forever?
ReplyDeleteI love to read diet/nutrition books! I don't actually have any "luck" doing any of the recommended dietary changes, HA! (Someone else hit it on the head, tell me I can't have something and that's all I want!)
ReplyDeleteLife's too short, so I won't be cutting out any food groups or I'd feel deprived, but my "goals" are to have breakfast daily, increase fruits & veggies, cook dinner, and only eat out once a week at most. Oh, and I take a multivitamin too, just in case I don't get all the veggies & fruits in a day.
Good luck to your weight loss adventure though! Altering those patterns will actually be fun, right?!
I'm glad you've found a plan that's working! As a vegetarian as well, I sometimes find myself depending too much on starches to fill me up. After I gained several pounds on my trip to Spain I decided to cut out wheat products on weekdays (and go low-sugar, boy is that one hard for me!). My motto is "No Bread, No Snacks." I hate rice so I never ate it anyway. I still eat potatoes but not too much, and still eat tons of beans and fruit. It has been a fairly easy way to take off a few pounds.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've found what works for you. I, too, have spent my life dieting and have "yo-yoed" my entire adult life. I'm convinced that dieting makes you fat. It just makes you obsess about food. I've lost and gained enough weight to make another person. I haven't really lost any weight as a result, but I've found that eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm full works the best for me and has helped me maintain. I'm really starting to check in with my stomach and stop when I'm full--most of the time. Everybody has to find what works for them. There's no "one size fits all" way of eating. By cutting out carbs you'll probably lower you chances of becoming diabetic, too. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back and sewing again. I'm also happy to hear the new diet is working so well for you. Keep up the good work!
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