It's been 59 days today

Unthinkable really.

On day 1 when we first cleaned out the kitchen cupboard and fridge I wasn't sure how I was going to survive it.  All I knew was that I didn't want to live the rest of my life sick and I didn't want to have further complications.  So went cold turkey.

Naughty, naughty cravings
The first real cravings for rice and sweet happened over the last couple of weeks.

It was my birthday last week, we a guest for a few weeks before that.  Life goes on and you can't just get off the train and say 'sorry, I'm on a healthy eating plan so you all go ahead and I'll stay at home and be a hermit.  See ya in a year when I've lost all the weight I need to lose. Bye for now!'.  Life doesn't work that way.   We went out of town for the weekend and visited this highly recommended patisserie. I had to eat the apple crumble.  It was divine and so wort it.  For the first five minutes.  Soon after that I started to get a headache and I basically had a headache for the rest of the afternoon.  I kept eating it anyway because it was there and I haven't had dessert in weeks.  It was a good experience as it made me realise I really don't need to eat things like that right now.   The side effect was not worth it.

A week later I thought I'll have a cheat weekend for my birthday weekend.  I ate brown rice on Saturday night and then a full (largish) bowl of white rice.  The first ten or 15 minutes of my meal was just amazing.  I can eat an even bigger bowl of rice - hell, even a pot of rice - at a drop of a hat.  Giving it up was really hard but I had to.  After about 15 minutes I started to feel bloated.  I went home feeling blah.  Was it worth it? For the experience of eating rice again to satisfy my craving, yes.  But the side effect wasn't worth it.  Opening up my palate to such cravings again was harder than I thought.  It was like opening myself up from unnecessary 'danger' that I didn't need to subject myself to.   So in that sense the cheat weekend was worth it.  After that I was more determined to eat healthy.

Oh and I also had about three glasses of champagne.  A girl's gotta celebrate right?! Celebrate and cheated, I did.  I don't think I'll need to drink again for awhile.  That was my quota for this season (however long this season lasts).

I'm sure I will have cravings again but now I know what to expect.  It was like a little experiment.

And that damned thing called exercise 
I've also done more walking that I've ever done in about six years.  I try to fit it in as much as often as I can and I don't mind it anymore.  I'm still not exercising every day as it's just not possible with my schedule but I at least walk 3-4 days a week.

Tomorrow I am aiming to go to Bikram Yoga for the first time in about six years too.  That's the aim anyway.  I would like to have done a class before the end of the year :)  Yes, my goals are very realistic.


Omg I've lost weight!
On another good (actually great!) note, I now weigh 69.8 kgs.  I started off at 76.1kgs.  I'm just amazed at how much weight I've lost.  'How much' is a big statement for me.  I know it's only 6.3 kgs but ONLY 6.3 kgs is a massive achievement for me.   I've been carrying that extra 6.3 kgs for the last few years and I've felt worse for the wear.   Now I feel more energetic and awake.  I'm not as fuzzy in the head.   I haven't needed my asthma inhaler (until today as I think I'm coming down with a cold) since I started on that eventful day.  I am also sleeping much better and not waking up in the middle of the night with a sore tummy or just feeling unwell in general.

Friends (can be weird)
Not everyone has noticed the weight loss.  Which is ok by me because those who have noticed really appreciate the challenge of changing one's lifestyle.  I find they are the ones who are also working on their own health.

The response from friends have been a little mixed.  We went out to dinner with a friend a few weeks ago and my friend was quite negative when I said I am not eating rice as I am on a low GI diet right now as I need to lose weight.  Same friend who has been giving me a hard time about my eating out.  It was very strange.  Funny enough, another friend just told me that morning to keep it quiet as not everyone will understand.   So it prepared me for that evening's incident.

Eating out (what used to be my favourite past time)
I now also find eating out a challenge, a nice challenge.  Initially it was quite a difficult challenge but as I discovered different types of flavours that I enjoy, food options that I would not normally order but now enjoy, choosing healthy instead of choosing what I would normally eat, I realised that eating out is not going to be a major problem.  It's quite doable!

So there.  Life has changed significantly.  One day at a time.  One good meal choice at a time.  It hasn't been a perfect journey but I am not aiming for perfection.  I am aiming for a lifestyle change so I am being kind to myself.  It may take me a year to get there but I prefer that better than a drastic change that I won't be able to sustain.

This is me 59 days later.  Oh how life has changed one kilogram at a time.

Search: what do fit people do instead of eating out

I came home after that post on the train and thought I'm really interested to know what fit people do.  I 'used to' eat out as one of my most favourite activities.  Realising I need to change my mindset I figured I should at least find out, so I thought I'd google it.

I came across this article http://agrad.hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Things-That-Fit-People-Do

Insightful article on some of the basic principles around what fit people do - the article talks about exercise, eating healthy and balance.

That's it for now.  I'll chew this over the weekend - while i eat almond nuts.

Changing my mindset one day at a time...

It's been seventeen days. I never thought I'd ever survive more than a week without rice. 

I'm feeling lighter and my trousers are fitting better. My weighing scale at home says I've lost 4kgs since buy I'm waiting till my weigh in with my doc to see what his weighing scale says.  Either way I'm happy with the outcome so far.

The challenge for me now is changing my  thinking pattern. Fun and relaxation equates to eating out. Friday night treats usually mean eating whatever food I'm craving in a cafe or takeout.  This afternoon I found myself thinking 'Oh no! I've worked so hard but I can't eat out'.  It was interesting to hear myself think this - and then pausing to think why and coming up with an alternative solution.  That was quite empowering.

So I'm going to cook my favorite dish and eat it with lettuce. Nice crisp lettuce instead of rice.  This way I get to satisfy my craving while meeting my dietary requirements.

Fun activities will need to change now. Eating out will need to be replaced by non-food related activities like going to the theatre, galleries, walks, reading...

This is definitely a lifestyle change.

Whowoudhavethunk! 

SEVENTEEDN DAYS of eating well.

Tomorrow we're going to add exercise into the mix. Let's see how this goes. I figured I could spend the first two weeks getting my eating sorted before I add another new thing to the plan.

I'm actually quite looking forward to the big walk planned for tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

It's been ten days

I dreamt of ice cream last night.

I has massive cravings yesterday. I left work feeling really hungry during the commute. I had images of burgers, pizzas, chips, Reuben sandwich and many more. It was my 9th day on the low GI food plan. So it's not surprising that ice cream featured in my dreams.

I thought maybe we can eat out and choose well. We decided to cook at home instead. These kind of choices were always hard pre-diagnosis. My choice would always be to eat out- to celebrate the end of the week, to celebrate...anything!

The surprising thing was after taking my first and second bite (and commenting on how yummy the vanilla/cookies and cream was) I thought 'oh no, wait, I'm not supposed to eat this!'. It was like I had a momentary lapse of memory and forgot. I remember pausing before we bought the ice cream but wasn't sure why. 

I think in my dream I ate the whole two scoops of ice cream in a cone.  I felt sick when I woke up.

And was relieved to realize that it was oh a dream and that I haven't broken my plan.

Phew.

Office tip: walk to the printer

This article is worth a read. I'm going to do this from Monday.

"Their study indicated sedentary workers would reduce their glucose levels after eating "by regularly getting out of their chair and briskly walking up and down the corridor outside their office". They urged changes be made to the physical and social set-up of offices to provide opportunities for regular breaks from prolonged sitting, such as moving the printer further away and going to talk to people in the same building rather than emailing or phoning them."

Read the full article here:

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10895090

How carbs can trigger food cravings

Reading these type of articles now make a lot of sense to me. 

http://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/8856420/How-carbs-can-trigger-food-cravings

In summary:

A more helpful message than “eat less,” he said, may be “eat less refined carbohydrates and more whole foods”.- Dr Christopher Gardner, Stanford University

'Going on a diet' has taken on a new meaning for me in the last couple of days.

The Triad to Beat the D Word

I've always been averse to calorie counting because I never understood how to track it and when I tried to I got grumpy and irritable.

I have tried a number of weight loss programs but have never really had the discipline nor the patience to stick with it.

I've also had personal trainers and it would work for about six months and then I'd be back off (not on) the treadmill again.

Everything seemed so hard.  It always felt like I was having to give up my life - eating out, eating what i like when i want it, setting aside time to exercise and limiting my ability to have fun.

That's the thing.  When it doesn't seem like 'fun', it felt like it was too hard.

My doctor gave me some guidelines on what to eat and what minerals to take to supplement my deficiencies.   It came down to four basic things

- Food - give up carbs and eat more protein and vegetables
- Exercise - 7 days a week
- Minerals - take my recommended supplements

I will call this 'The Triad to Beat the D Word'.

I don't know what happened but somewhere between being told that I have diabetes and being given a framework to help me hopefully reverse it - the penny dropped.  I got excited as I slowly realised that it's actually maybe quite doable.

I work well with frameworks.  This framework seems simple.

When I looked at the food options on the list it included all my favourite types of food (seafood, lean meat, vegetables -tell you more about my shift in attitude about vegetables later).  My biggest worry was giving up rice until he showed me the SlendierSlim range.  Pasta and rice made from konjac.  Visit the website and read more about it.  I tried it last night and it wasn't bad at all.

Whatever it was that shifted my attitude, thank you.

I'm only on day two but I feel like I have a roadmap and it's a road that I'm looking forward (even excited) to travel on.  What will life be like in a year if I follow this change of lifestyle?

Oh.  I haven't mentioned that I do need to lose 20 kgs.  I have weighed 55kgs since I was in my teens.  that was over two decades ago.

I saw this on Facebook today and thought it's worth watching - 'Just how much food is 200 calories?'.  Just to get an idea about what our food choices mean in reality.

It's 9.38am and I thought...I think I'm hungry.  I read somewhere (and someone wise also told me) that if you're hungry, drink water.

So signing off now to get myself a glass of water...

...and that's exactly what i did

i had an appointment with the doctor today after some blood tests.  he told me i have type 2 diabetes.

i didn't quite expect that but then i am not surprised.  for the last two years i have been commuting about 4 hours per day on the train or 3 hours by car.  i am also working in a sedentary job.  so basically i am at my desk for about 7 hours and then on the train for another 4.  my routine was

6am wake up
7am take the train
7-845am travel to work
8.45 - 4.30pm work
4.30pm - 6.30pm train ride
7pm dinner
9pm bedtime

and then i'll do it all over again the next day.  i did this for over two years.  with no exercise.

28 months later, here i am writing this blog.

of course i can't blame all that on my job and lifestyle.  i have also come from a family with a strong history of cardiovascular issues and diabetes.

so as i was told i am already pre-disposed to this.  so i needed to fight it - and didn't.

i've also gained about 11 kgs in five years.  it doesn't seem much but if you put it all together, it had all the makings of a disastrous lifestyle.

so i started today.

we spent a few hours clearing the cupboard with anything and everything that wasn't included on the list of food that are not good for me.  i will post the photos later.

so i thought i'll blog about my journey.  more for myself so i can track my progress.  i could use a physical diary but i'm a quicker typist.  i am hoping that i can also mobile-blog (if there is such a word) while i'm on the road or as i experience, see and think of things.

so here it goes.  day 1 started today.  i started taking all the vitamins and minerals recommended by my doctor.

i'm starting today because i want to be alive tomorrow.

this is where my journey to wholeness and healing begins.