Sleeping it off...

Well, it's been a long while. Life happens...you know! So I've been working on this story awhile in my head. For some reason, it never seems to come out quite the way I planned it. But that's OK!

As many of you know, I finished my HCG Diet Round 1 in late May and embarked on my Maintenance Phase. I say Round 1 because I still have at least 40 more pounds to go to a weight that is healthy and comfortable for me. I say comfortable, because I do believe that the presence of the mind plays an important part in your health and well-being. You can do everything the doc tells you to do and be skinny as a rail, but not feel "yourself." YOU are your own BEST health advocate. What you think matters.

David and I at Sterling Vineyards. We had such a fun time!

So I went on vacation and I struggled to stay away from eating out at national chain restaurants. We had trouble eating the way we should. We tried. We really did. And it wasn't all that bad. We found local Sprouts and Trader Joe's in California where we were visiting family. So for many of our meals, we ate our usual fare.

It's like my naturopathic physician says ...if you hit your mark 80% of the time, you are still much healthier than if you did nothing. (You can find a naturopathic doc in your area here.)

So what's sleep got to do with it? Well, there's a lot of research out there to support the role of sleep and obesity... and many other disorders for that matter. When I returned from vacation and we resaddled the hoss, I began to see my HUGE slight increase (a little over 6 lbs to be exact) begin to decline as we embraced our healthier eating AND the Arizona Summer HEAT. We returned to temps blazing at the 114 to 115 marks, which are not the most exciting times of the year here in Arizona. At least they are short lived.

So one morning I was awakened by my precious dog, Sandy, who never seems to be able to "wait" until the family is up to go out for her business at the ripe hour of 6:30 am. Mind ya, I am NOT a morning person. Well, I can be ...just a couple hours after 8 am! So I did my usual routine of weighing in. I continued the weigh in part of the HCG Protocol as that was part of the instructions for maintenance phase by my doctor. I continued the measuring phase for my own retentive yearnings. And, it was helpful to see as I went through my "gain" just where the fat was coming back. It was interesting to see how it could creep up on you, and it's no wonder that we suddenly feel like our clothes no longer fit anymore. Because seriously, we hardly notice when our blouse becomes a little too tight (unless, it's in the arms for me ...). But...did I say BUTT ....let those pants get a little too tight and we go ballistic! Or at the very least, we beat ourselves up about our gain. I no longer do this as much, and I think it took the "gain" of vacation to teach me that. And, I have to honestly say, if I were still operating on the "old" thinking that the weight couldn't possibly come off ....I might still feel that way.

Me on my 10th Wedding Anniversary (June 25, 2011).
I had to buy a new dress to wear. I am now
TWO sizes smaller! 

HCG changed that thinking for me. I had struggled with weight loss all of my life. Now, I know I have a tool to help me return to a healthy state for my body.

Ok...I digressed...back to the sleep thing. What I observed, was that 1) I still "felt" tired at 6:30 that morning. So I weighed myself and skipped the measuring. I figured I would still be the same size when I awoke at a decent hour. I can always tell when I haven't properly rested my body. The first thing I notice is the bottoms of my feet hurt. It hurts to move. When you have rested your body properly, your body provides the energy it needs to move. That morning, I noticed. So when I awoke a couple of hours later, around 8ish, I went through my routine again. WHAT????? REALLY?!?!?!? I had lost a HALF POUND just by sleeping? I'm serious.

So I thought. Well, it's just one day. So I tracked this situation over the next several days. As usual, one of the dogs generally wanted to go out before we awoke. EVERY morning that I returned back to bed IF I did not feel rested, I LOST at least something. One day it was a FULL pound!. It has kind of trailed off to a steady decrease, about 0.2 pounds per day. Today, I lost nothing. But, I was relieved after all the carbs and beef I had put into my body over the last two days. Bottom line here ... SLEEP IS IMPORTANT! 

If you want to really address your health issues, including being overweight, make sure you get the proper amount of rest. Seriously, this doesn't mean "what's right for me" or the "I can get by on 5 hours" stuff. I mean REALLY REST YOUR BODY. The body needs anywhere from 8-10 hours of restful sleep to recharge (I would say +/- 2 hours is still healthy). Kevin Trudeau speaks to this in his book The Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About. Trudeau talks about the body systems going through a cleanse process between 11 pm and 2 am. If you aren't going to sleep until after that, your body cannot heal itself!

All in all, I do believe that my body has arrived at a new set point. The body constantly tries to keep itself to a homeostasis ... an even keel. So I'm good. I'm letting go of a lot of things I used to think about weight loss and eating. I now eat to give my body energy. Does that mean I forgo the occasional fare of chocolate? NO! Are you kidding ....that would be blasphemy!

To your health ...

'Til next time .... Just let go... Edna

Creeping .....

It happens. Creeping. Creep ...creep ...creep. And then WHAM!! How'd that happen?

Well, I can tell you EXACTLY  how it happens. You eat a little too much here. You eat the WRONG things there. You're off track. But...but...butt...yeah, it goes there too! I'm on vacation.

Excuses? I dunno. I have tried really hard to MAINTAIN while on vacation. The first couple of days ...eh....not very disciplined at all. There's something about a "road trip" that demands "road snacks." Or is there?

I've been trying to reconcile it all in my mind...trying to figure out the WHY behind my munching habits. I haven't really come up with anything beyond...it's a habit. And maybe, it's not a good habit. So how do we change this?

While traveling, it has been exponentially difficult to adhere to my Maintenance Plan outlined by my doctor. One of the reasons is that the restaurant industry in this nation serves up J U N K! Our food system is infiltrated with chemicals galore. It's difficult to eat out anywhere without having processed, chemically-laden food. It really is a very SAD ordeal (which also stands for the Standard American Diet). (For more info on this, see Kevin Trudeau's book, The Natural Cures THEY Don't Want You to Know About.)

And money ...We probably carved out this vacation a little too tightly without properly planning for the costs of food ...REAL food. And where we would get that REAL food. We've done alright. I was able to locate both Sprouts and Trader Joe's here in California. That was a HUGE bonus! The only snag was that the Trader Joe's in Monrovia did not have organic apples available. Seriously? No organic apples at TJ's? I ran into the same problem in Fremont. Luckily, my awesome sister-in-law asked the produce clerk who was restocking if there were more...and there were! YEAH!!

So, while on vacation, I watched the creeps. My weight would creep up ...and up ...and up ....Then I watched the inches creep up ...and up ...and up ... Not big creeps...not really. But enough that I know I will have to loose that weight again during Round 2.

So I've decided that I will ENJOY my vacation. That does NOT mean that I have to just let go and throw caution to the wind. I think that you can enjoy your food and indulge once in awhile without totally throwing in the towel. Just like I did last night when we visited Cold Stone Creamery for their wonderfully, delectable, smooth and creamy ice cream. Black Forest Dream never tasted sooooo GOOD!

I didn't let myself think for very long ...about all the JUNK in that ice cream. I just enjoyed the moment...ok...it was a loooooong moment since it was a LOVE it! Next time, I think I probably could change that to a LIKE it ...and ENJOY it ...just as much. So there are a few things you have to just let go of to create big changes ...and just maybe ....you can let go of the creeps too!

'Til next time...

Just let go ....Edna