Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Last night Jorge had a pre-video for us before the meeting and he talks about the blogging that several members are doing. While I have an honorable mention on his site, I am not one of the blog sites shown in the video. I think it is worth your while to go to meandjorge.blogspot.com and the other blog sites he mentions.




I've already consumed 15 g of fiber this morning and have my tracker at my desk. I really believe that Being healthy is a Divine gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it right now!

Monday, November 9, 2009

I just finished watching the live stream of Jorge's Week 4 class. I am NOT getting enough fiber and water. I also quit filling in my tracker because I thought I had a handle on how to track without it.

I was already doing 2 teaspoons of benefiber and pro-biotic pills twice a day. I didn't realize I was supposed to be counting that as a carb and I haven't been. While I've lost a little weight and inches it is not the 10-13 pounds per week. And as I mentioned before, I have more than 60 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight.

I told myself it was because I had been counting carbs since September 16th, so I was not losing the same big amount other people were. This is what I learned tonight:

1. Since I have 30-60 or more pounds to lose, I could be losing 10-13 pounds per week unless I am not following the program or I am sabotaging myself.

2. I was not paying enough attention to fiber. For some reason I thought that if I consumed 6 carb servings a day and had the 2 daily servings of Fiber and Pills that was all it would take for my belly fat to shrink before my eyes.

I am not discouraged though. I have learned how to count sugars and carbs and not feel deprived; I feel more free actually. Now, it is time for me to pay more attention to the fiber. My husband definitely has what Jorge calls false belly fat; that's probably what 90% of his is. I am sure I have both. When I mentioned to Mark that the benefiber takes a carb he was pretty pouty about it and made the following statement; Too bad we opened this new Benefiber we could take it back!

You see, he has only recently swapped his coveted Dr. Peppers for Zevia and Fuze. We both like our carbs and he is currently not wanting to give up a carb for the fiber. He is on his own on that one, because I am definitely continuing with the fiber and I am going to also up my intake of pro-biotic pills.

While I was writing down notes in class and after I realized that I am not losing as I could, I decided I am going to renew my commitment to keep the daily tracker. Added to that is a resolve to increase my daily fiber. I'm not sure what I think of Jorge's Big Green Drink, which is pre-biotic and will help my pets remain healthy (BGD for the BFC!) but I think it is worth a shot. I am pretty sure that I destroyed every pet bug I have in my stomach over the years because of the amount of sugar, diet drinks, healthy juice and bananas I've had almost all of my life.

The other thing I am going to do is to follow a week's worth of menus from the 4 sets of menus we have, incorporating as much fiber as I can and still feel satiated. I will state now that I do love animal products!

If you want to have a healthy immune system and daily bowel movements and think you probably don't, I suggest this 3-step tip:

1) Drink 1 oz of water for every 2 lbs of body weight (I haven't been doing this one)

2) Eat at least 30 grams of fiber every day. (Probably been doing more like 25-30)

3) Re-establish my stomach's pet bugs. (I've been working on this with benefiber and pro-biotic pills; I am going to step it up!)

Be sure and check out jorgeandme.blogspot.com for great information about food products and for more encouraging information regarding the loss of belly fat.

Being healthy is a Divine Gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it!

Oh - I have another tip. Be kind to yourself this Holiday Season and find non-food ways to pamper yourself!

Sunday evening 30 minutes later - November 8, 2009

I figured it out and it didn't take until tomorrow. Not everything is about food and I tend to think it must be about food.

So, I feel blue and figured out I don't feel deprived, so why so blue. It is because we have an opportunity to get 8,000 from the government if we sign for a home by April 10th. So, what is stopping us? Our credit score and a down payment.

I love my girls and want to continue to help them out until they are on their feet and I want a home. However, it seems we live from paycheck to paycheck and never get around to saving money for a home. And, that is why I feel blue. I think there is someone out there that can help navigate us through our options and the process of purchasing a home. We make a 1720 rental payment now and that is more than enough for a home payment.

I tell myself it will be better after the first of the year. I hope so. I'm glad it is not about the food.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I've been to a soup swap and to watch the Giants - San Diego game at 2 different friends' home. What I do know, is that I really didn't go prepared. The hostesses of the Soup Swap picked up healthy enough looking food, but quite a bit of fruit and dips. And, not knowing the S/C values of items, while aware, I didn't know if I was for sure making good choices.

When we went to see the Giants' game today, Dona fixed popcorn. Since Mark and Joe turned it down, I ended up eating 1 or 2 carbs worth of popcorn. We did turn down wings and came home to a bacon and egg sandwich which did hit the spot.

I want to watch my sugars and carbs. I do know that it is easier to do when I control the food purchases and servings. While I think I made good choices, I still feel blue tonight. When I attempt to discern why, the only thing that comes up is the fact that I HAVE to count anything. I want it to be effortless. I am being pouty and feeling sorry for myself. I hate feeling sorry for myself. It sucks. I want to embrace getting healthy and the choices and energy it takes to take care of myself, so why so blue? I'm unsure. Maybe I'll have more insight tomorrow.

Cowboys look good so far.

Tip. Take your own drink when you go to your friends'. You can also take your own protein and other items to take care of yourself. If you don't, then make the best choice you can and don't beat yourself up, get back on the program when you get home.

Being healthy is a Divine gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Hey all. Mark and I visited with a co-worker tonight. Although Jorge contends that you can follow the BFC when eating out, it is much harder for me to remain within the carb guidelines. Our friend had ezekiel bread, cole slaw, soup with beans, corn, celery, etc., ham, cheese, hummus, and chips.

It was delicious. I had only 3 carbs left tonight, so I'm pretty sure I went over it by some. I had 2 glasses of wine, 1 piece of ezekiel bread, 2 slices of ham, 1 slice cheese, soup, cole slaw, lettuce, hummus, 10 Garden of Eatin chips (which are fabulous by the way). I'm pretty sure it was more like 4 carbs, instead of 3. I feel a little discouraged, but don't want to. I was aware of what I put in my mouth and made sure I only used 1 piece of bread, not 2, and counted my chips. I need to remember that slow and steady wins the race and that I do not like feeling deprived, so I made good choices and put good food in my mouth. Nothing high in sugar!

I think an important thing for me at this point is to realize that all is not lost if I continue 15/6 in the morning, instead of throwing in the towel and thinking I can't do it. I enjoyed my meal and time with my friend and the weight will eventually come off if I am 15/6 95% of the time.

I have not turned my kitchen into a fat burning station yet. There are chocolate chips, jellies, and a few other items that need to go. I struggle with getting rid of food items that are still good.

I leave you with Jorge's modified mantra:

Being healthy is a Divine gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it.

Thursday Evening, November 5, 2009

Here is my weight loss visual. I will periodically put it out here to show my progress. I began my weight loss journey September 16, 2009 when I first visited my nutritionist, Shannon. I lost 17 pounds while working with Shannon and I've lost another 5 pounds since I began the BFC program.

Someone mentioned in a blog that there must be some really obese people on the BFC to have the results they've been sharing. I don't know how many of them are obese, but to answer the program member's question, I am obese. I weighed 270 pounds on September, 16 and now weigh 247. I have a short term goal and a long one. The short term goal is 199. The longer term goal will be set when I reach the short term goal.

The gray sticks of margarine are the pounds I lost with Shannon. The blue sticks of margarine are the pounds I've lost on BFC program since October 23, 2009. The yellow sticks of margarine represent the weight I still want to lose and I look forward to many more blue sticks replacing the yellow ones.

Being Healthy is a Divine Gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it!

.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

I finally received 2 of my books from Amazon; Excitotoxins and Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess. I have not done much weight lifting and did not realize how much you use your knees. Immediately I thought that maybe it was one more book that I purchased that will sit on the shelves. Then I reconsidered. I can start slowly and work my way up. I still have one more book on weight lifting coming and I believe it is geared more toward a slightly older crowd.

Look at the following clip to understand how the knees are involved. It is in slow motion so you can really get an idea. I still want to do the weight lifting and know that as I lose weight, my knees will not have as much weight body wise, so I hope to be able to lift it in weights instead.
Enjoy!



I still want to find the My Virtual Body link and have an idea about showing my weight loss visually, since I am a visual person. If anyone knows where the My Virtual Body website is, please let me know.

Tip for today is to purchase multi-grain bread products and stay away from white highly processed products. A word of caution is to always look at the sugar and carb count, we found a tortilla that was way higher in sugar and carbs that was labeled as multi grain, while a one labeled as wheat allows for 2 tortillas per 18 grams of carbs, no sugar, so that is a 0/1.

Being healthy is a Divine Gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I woke up this morning and didn't have an experience of putting out a Tuesday post. And, sure enough I didn't. I missed coming out and reporting about BFC Program and my progress. It helps me and I hope it is helpful to you.

I love the passion and energy Jorge Cruise has regarding helping others get rid of their belly fat. Several people have had amazing results and I am having good results as well. Later on this week I am going to post a visual of pounds lost and hopefully a virtual shrinking Dale will appear as well!

I had Jay Robb's whey protein with water and coffee this morning. I have a Cuisinart blender that is really cool. It is not blender, just a hand blender, but it is powerful. I am not usually a coffee drinker but I wanted to try a semi-Jorge recipe with a little bit of coffee. The only things missing were the redi-whip and chocolate shavings. I will have to prepare better. I liked my protein drink and have felt good this morning. We had hamburgers, left over from last night's dinner with Arnold Select Sandwich Thins 3/2, with a tomato slice (not Mark), mustard(free), lettuce, avocado (also free) and pepper jack cheese with a Zevia for drink. That is all a 4/2 and is absolutely delicious.

As I go back to work, I feel satiated and happy that I am making a lifestyle change. We've been following 15/6 for 21 days. I've heard that is takes 30 days for a ritual to become a habit. 9 more days and this program will seem more like our regular lifestyle than the overload of sugar and carbs.

I may have already shared this but I want to repeat it as my Tip for the day.

When making food choices 1) Choose your protein, 2) Choose your fats, and 3) consider and choose your carbs and be sure they are rich in fiber. If they are not, then be sure and add fiber and pro biotic pills to your daily regimen twice a day.

Stay strong and treat this lifestyle change as an adventure. Think scavenger hunt when you go to the grocery store. Take trips to GNC or other nutrition stores to explore what new and exciting products they have out to help obtain your goal of 15/6.

Being healthy is a Divine gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Tonight we covered Turning your kitchen into a Fat Losing Station. I feel very comfortable that Mark and I are following the program and not considering this a diet, but a lifestyle change. That is the difference; we are more aware and can make better choices and cut down our sugar intake.

I absolutely love orange juice, cran-raspberry, cran-grape, grape, juices of literally all kinds. Over the past 3 weeks it has really been brought homee to me how bad those things are for me. I was unaware that drinking juice was even worse than drinking a coca cola. Then I turned back to diet drinks, only to find that artificial sweeteners are eally bad for me as well. I had already figured that out when I worked with Gary in Austin at Enlightened Weigh, but I started being aware and realized that my body ached more after consuming a diet cola. I have now made the switch to Zevia, which is sweetened with stevia, a natural sweetener that has 0 grams of sugar in it.

It's been easier to make the choice of non-sugar items and the reason why follows. Take a few minutes and listen to Jorge with Dr. Oz. I do not want to shave 15 years off of my life; and I was headed that way. Everytime I think of a candy bar or coke, I think of a killer lurking.

If watching this video isn't enough of a wake up call, I believe the next wake up call will be much more serious and maybe even tragic. Eat Belly GOOD foods and not Belly BAD! I love it when Jorge says that. I am still having fun finding different types of food that is Belly GOOD.

Tip for the Day: Keep chocolate out of reach of small dogs that can climb on a chair that is pulled up to the table and retrieve treats that are not good for them.

Being healthy is a Divine gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I've had a good day. This weekend is the first weekend I've eaten out since I've been on the BFC program. I believe I made good choices, but still feel fairly full. I do know that I want to put more greens in my food plan.

Since Jorge gave us a brownie recipe, I had this great idea that I would do a makeover on the Kane family Devil's Food Cake recipe for Charisse's birthday. For the most part it was a success, with the exception of the icing. I am unsure how to get the smooth texture of Kane Cake icing. Mark just tried one and said it tasted fairly good, but the icing was grainy. I've put up a post on our comments page to see if someone can give me a suggestion.

I thought I wanted to put together a cook book with original family recipes and the healthy alternatives for me and all 3 of my girls. However, I'm going to have to improve on my understandings of appropriate substitutions for things like powdered sugar.

Tip for today. Remain aware of what you are eating and as a rule of thumb 1) choose your protein, 2) choose your fat, I love butter, olive oil, avocados, and 3) determine what carbs you are going to have and make them rich in fiber!

Being healthy is a Divine gift from my Higher Power and I gratefully accept it!

I still feel motivated and empowered. I hope this is a telling week. I already know I feel better sticking with the BFC program. Later.