Diet Power!!!

I just downloaded a two week trial package from Diet Power.com and have watched all of the tutorials and logged my foods for today. It also allowed me to log my intended foods for tomorrow as well as my exercise. What a powerful tool! It minds not only your input, but your output, your water intake, your nutrient quotient, and calorie deficit/excess for each day. Seems like a lot of work, but could become pretty routine over time. I'm not sure I want to buy the program yet, but I plan to utilize the tool over the next two weeks to see how difficult it is to use. I also want to watch what it has to say about my nutrition. It will be interesting to see what is has to say about my weight loss goals (and how long it may take me to reach them).

I think this program may be a good tool to keep me accountable for what I plan to eat, and then what I actually consume. Sort of like O/A?

It's getting pretty late, so I'd better turn in for the night. After all, sleep is a very important component in this whole equation.

When life gets in the way......

It's amazing how many social situations come up when you're trying to work a new program! I can sometimes go MONTHS without a single social obligation. But, just let me try to start a diet -- and WHAM! -- several invitations per WEEK!!!

I must say that my mind has been in a good place in spite of the various outings that I have had since becoming a "Ricer". When I have a situation that is not "Rice friendly", I just eat what is served, and go back to Ricing at the next meal. I simply refuse to give up on this new plan. But I am realistic enough to know that it is nearly impossible to follow Phase I in social situations. So, I just try to stay sane around the non-Rice foods, and pick up where I left off the next day.

The only really negative thing that has happened is that I tend to hold fluid for a day or two following the non-Rice meal. I find it a little disappointing to break Phase I for any reason, because I wanted to see just how effective this plan would be for me. And, I had planned to do a solid three weeks on Phase I. So far, this Phase has been broken three times! Not that I've gone crazy or anything, it just messes with the whole induction to the dieta.

I kind of have a plan in the back of my head to keep up with Phase I until I finally add up 21 consecutive days. No breaks, no cheats. Wonder how long that will take? My son's birthday party is tomorrow, and the 4th of July is only 13 days away, which will mean another break! I hope I can get a solid 21 days by the end of summer break!

Should be an interesting summer! Happy solstice to you! Is anyone else in a radical place like me?

One week down.......forever to go!

One week into the Rice Diet, and I'm feeling pretty good! I've dumped ten ugly pounds (of mostly water) and have reigned in my appetite. There has only been one occasion where I could not eat "on plan" and I chose to have a simple grilled chicken salad with some dried fruit and nuts. I must say that it was one of the most delicious salads I have had in some time.

Because I have been eating nothing but fruit and rice, my taste buds seem to have been "re-booted". When that first bite of grilled chicken and salad hit my mouth -- POW!!! Did that ever taste good! It was so satisfying, and stayed with me for a very long time (mostly thanks to the nuts and protein). Today, it was back to rice and fruit, and did not seem overly difficult.

Tomorrow night, I must attend a function for one of my children which will include dinner. They are having grilled chicken and baked potatoes, so as long as I take off the skin, and eat the potato "naked", I should be alright. Hopefully, there won't be any desserts to tempt me!

This is harder than I thought.....

So, for those of you who read me out in blogosphere, you know that I have been fooling with the Rice Diet for a couple of weeks now. School has been out for a week, and I haven't had any planned outings which would be impossible to follow this new way of eating. I've been eating rice and fruit for the past four days, and I feel just exhausted. I think that all of the illness from the past school term have really taken a toll on me.

A little back-up in history for the uninitiated.......My first grade class was especially challenging in the health department this year. Before Thanksgiving, I had six major respiratory infections. The "cold machine" was out of commission for a while, but fired back up by March. Luckily, I only caught one cold between Christmas and Easter, but did manage to get a rip-roaring vomiting illness. April ended on a high note with Fifth disease burning through my classroom like the plague (again, I avoided this little slice of heaven). May marked the final death knell with a massive outbreak of respiratory infections, capped by several cases of pneumonia. Unfortunately, I got the last round of plague, and have been fighting my way back for the last twelve days! My head was so congested that I actually perforated my right eardrum!

Now, back to the Rice Diet. I ordered two books about this diet back in April or May, and read them as soon as they arrived. The premise of the diet is very, very good! Detox your system from all of the salt/sugar/crap that you have been eating. Then re-learn how to eat in a moderate, healthful way. Well, that sounds just like peaches and cream, doesn't it? What they don't tell you is how bloody awful you feel while all the salt/sugar/crap that your have been eating makes its way out of your bloated over-fed body!

I have felt like sleeping constantly for the past two days! Some of that may be the residual effects from the cold, but mostly it is from the nature of the foods I have been consuming. You know -- salty/sweet/fatty/salty/sweet/fatty and the cycle could go on endlessly if I didn't try to nip it NOW!!! I also think it's my t/o/m so the binging and bloating are par for the course.

This actually is a very simple, clean way of eating. It totally derails the love affair I have with food. There is no room for guessing, and it is very regimented in what is allowed at this stage of the diet. Literally, all I am allowed to eat is fruit, rice, and rice equivalents. This is especially hard because I still must cook for the rest of my family. There has been some unrest among the natives. Eldest child thinks I am "starving" myself. (I put the kibosh to that one by giving her a large fruit salad, and some brown basmati rice, and she was very satisfied. So no more talk of starving.)

I am dumping fluid like Niagara Falls, and already feel "lighter" despite t/o/m. The food is very basic, but since breaking the salty/sweet/fatty cycle, I find that it is very tasty. It will be interesting to see just how long I can continue this phase of the diet. My plan is to try for at least three weeks. I've made it four days so far, and feel pretty confident right now. We'll see at the end of this first week how I feel about continuing on!

Rice Diet

So, I just finished reading The Rice Diet Report, by Judy Moscovitz, and have visions of pounds magically melting into oblivion, dancing through my head. And yet, I am still eating horribly. You know -- we've all been through it a million times -- gotta get it in NOW, or I'll never be able to eat it again!

I really like the premise of this program. Eat moderately, eat whole foods in their natural state, and drastically reduce calories. The most difficult thing for me will be the sodium restriction. I am an absolute FREAK when it comes to salt. I LOVE IT!!! When I am premenstrual, I will go from salt to sweet to salt and back again! Perhaps with some diligent re-training, I will be able to kick the salt monster to the curb, along with his bastard sister, high fructose corn syrup.

I am also curious to see what happens with my GERD symptoms when I cut out all of the high fat, high sugar crap that I've been eating. It will also be interesting to see how long it takes someone in the family to try to sabotage me.

My commitment to this regimen will be for three weeks initially, just to give it a fair shake. If I feel good, and it is not absolutely killing me to continue, I may re-think my goals at that point. I figure I can do ANYTHING for three weeks, right? (ha ha) The school term is coming to an end, so I will have some major time to devote to this endeavor over the summer break. Wouldn't it be absolutely fabulous to return in the fall, having dumped some major excess tonnage? Not to mention the improvement in my physical health and stamina!

There are several events that have been planned that I simply cannot opt out of at this point. They are not rice diet friendly at all! But instead of waiting until they have all passed at the end of the term, I plan to start this program now, with the exception of these three individual event meals. I figure, it beats binging for the next two weeks, and can help me to get into the program somewhat more slowly than I might have otherwise. It also may help me to control my intake at these events in ways I might not otherwise be willing to.

BE the change you wish to SEE

I have been doing quite a bit of thinking since last Thursday night. You know, one of my favorite sayings is: Comparison is the root of all dissatisfaction. Soooo.....to that end, and in keeping with all of the other change that has been happening since the beginning of the year......I am beginning to see that some more change needs to take place! Oh boy! I SO like to shake things up!

I think, that in order to change my life in ways that will benefit me in the end, I am going to HAVE to make some changes in my thinking. I really must own up to MY part in the things that I am terribly dissatisfied with. AND to decide that IF I want to see change, I must first start with my own disordered thinking. Stay with me here -- if I'm not rambling too much!

Starting with this book group I have been attending on Thursday nights, and adding a walk afterward have been REALLY good for me! It's getting me out -- making me think -- allowing me the time and freedom to really examine some of my thought processes. It's also confronting some bad thought processes that I have had my whole life. Kind of exciting, and kind of scary all at the same time. Thank you, thank you, thank you, God!

BE the change you wish to SEE. Isn't that catchy? Doesn't seem as daunting as: Eat less, exercise more. But in practice it would mean the same thing! Somehow, though, BEING the change seems less overwhelming to me.

A shift in thinking. A shift in being. The thing that scares me about this shift, is that it would require me to be more selfish than I have been in years. My focus would have to shift to my own needs for a time as I sort out what changes need to be made. How will I need to sleep? How will I need to eat? How will I need to move? What do I really want? I rarely EVER ask those questions of myself because I have been so consumed with how my children/family should sleep, eat, dress -- oh, and if there is any time left over before we have to be somewhere -- think about myself. Needless to say, I'm barely put together half the time -- not to mention under-rested, over-fed, and over-stressed. Hell, I haven't even had a professional hair-cut in five years!

Well, things are going to have to change. I feel like I've been moving in a very positive direction since the beginning of the year. And this just seems like the next logical step. So hang on baby -- it's gonna be a bumpy ride!!! (Not for you, of course, for ME!) You know, that whole "change back" thing???

Hope this wasn't too rambling for you. I've had entirely too much free time this weekend to think. Strange how that opens up the possibilities.

Bit 'o the doldrums.....

How is it possible to weigh over 200 pounds and be invisible? I feel that way, you know! I KNOW I'm here, because I've been cooking, cleaning, shopping, working, tending children, entertaining my husband's friends, and on and on and on. One would think that those things might render someone as quite visible. Particularly one with my height and girth! That's where you are mistaken -- it seems that somewhere along the line, I have disappeared, and I don't know when it happened.

It's almost hard to articulate the how and when I first came to this realization. I think it has been a process of degrees, beginning when I left the workforce to have children. I did not return to work until my youngest was in first grade, three years ago.

So much of our self-worth is derived as a human being from what we "do". I would stress here that we are human "beings" NOT human "doings". In the absence of a paying profession, there is often a void which is difficult to fill. Certainly, I was not without occupation! Anyone who is a parent can tell you that the full time act of child rearing is something for which none of us was ever prepared. The intensity of the calling is 24/7/365 with no parole for good behavior.

My aunt often told me that anything worth doing is worth doing right. This type of thinking permeates my family, and so I have always had quite a perfectionist streak. After the children were born, I was convinced that there was nobody on the face of this planet who could love and raise my children but me! I was also told by my parents that "we raised our children, and we don't intend to raise yours". So......not wanting to put them in daycare (EVER) I chose to stay home until they were both school aged.

Somewhere along the line, I lost my "self" and have been struggling to reclaim my identity for the past thirteen years. Quite a long time. Recently, I have been doing a lot of "navel gazing" (read living in my head) and have come up quite sad at the loss.