Happy 2nd Sparkversary to Me!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I can’t believe 2 years have gone by. I would have thought I would have been further along, in fact I was hoping all of my weight would have been off by now and I was just maintaining. Alas I have only lost 60 pounds. I weighed in today as I only weigh in once a month because I have scale issues (more on that later) and as of today I am minus 60 pounds. Not good especially when last year I lost zippo pounds but in fact gained back almost all of the weight I lost. In fact my 1st year on Spark People I was down 73 pounds in 6 months.


Last year was the pits for me on so many levels, the main one being I was on steroids for almost the entire year. I just stopped weighing myself because I did not want to know how much the steroids were adding. I actually did not think it was that much because my clothes still fit. Boy was I wrong!

Figure that one out. When I did weigh in I was shocked I could not believe I had gained and gained that much. I was baffled because even though I wasn’t weighing myself I was staying within my calorie range. I pretty much following a vegetarian diet with occasional animal protein here and there. I kept trying to get back to 100% Raw but I kept failing. I would be good for a day or two and then I would just break down and eat a cooked whole grain or pasta. Yes it was still healthy but I wanted - NO I needed to go back to 100% Raw.

I finally got off the steroids at the end of November, I think (my memory fails me which is why I am now in an Alzheimer’s study). I had no excuse other than I chose not to to do it but I still didn’t go Raw. It was too hard at that time of the year; the Holiday season. I knew my willpower would not get me thru all of the goodies. My biggest downfall were the chocolates and egg nog.

I had a very bad case of shingles near my eyes for almost the entire year. In late October I had a car accident of which I am still paying for. I just had rotator cuff surgery on April 19th, this year . In late November I broke my foot. 2010 was not my year.

2011 rolled around and I told myself, Enough is enough!. I said I have to go cold turkey Raw because I can’t keep going on like this. Well I didn’t go 100% Raw by the 1st week but I think by the 3rd week I was 100% Raw. I was also losing a pound a day and that was terrific. I think what it was is that most of the weight I gained back had to be water weight due to the steroids because otherwise how could I lose so fast? Still doesn’t make me feel any better because it still set me back. I am no where near my goal.

So what have I learned in the past 2 years:

1. Spark People gave me my life back. I have never stuck with anything this long.

2. I have learned there are some really great people out there in Spark People land. I have made many friendships that I know will continue with or without Spark People. I treasure these friendships and all of the love, motivation, and support they have extended to me.

3. I have learned to love the Nutrition Tracker. I actually learned that in the 1st few months of my Spark People membership. I used to fight my doctor tooth and nail to use a food journal. Now if I don’t track it BEFORE I eat it, I don’t eat it.

4. I have learned to like (not love) exercise; as long as I can do it in the pool. I hate to sweat.

I have not been back to the gym since my car accident at the end of October or maybe I did go till the 1st week of November. My memory fails me here too but it is one of them and it is way to long. Now my Surgeon tells me still no gym till September.

I hate walking (sweating) but I have recently been turned onto Belly Dancing. It is fun and you don't feel as if you are exercising, you are dancing. It is still a little too much with my right shoulder even in its sling so I have to be real careful. You ‘d be surprised just what does and does not move your shoulder. I will only do about 30 minutes of Belly Dancing until I am able per my physical therapist to use my shoulder more. No lifting but just moving it. So walking it is that I must still do.

5.That the saying you can eat whatever you want in moderation is not true for everyone. Not for me, I have to make sure I stay away from my trigger foods. I no longer beat myself up by feeling bad that I can’t manage to be able to eat foods in moderation. It used to really bother me that I could not do it and I felt like I failed. I know me I just have to stay clear.

6. I am addicted to food. It kind of goes with the above line. I live, eat, and sleep and food is always on my mind. The thing I have learned how though is to make healthy choices. I may talk or blog about it a lot but the choices are nutritious and healthy alternatives to what I used to eat.

7. I have learned one of the best things I like about Spark People is sharing. It can be sharing knowledge, feelings, tips, motivation, recipes, etc. I believe in giving back and sharing what I have learned with other people. I enjoy writing my food blogs because it most cases it introduces something new that some of you may have never heard of or thought of preparing it in a certain matter. I don’t believe eating healthy is a death sentence; it can be really delicious. Now I have been told by one Spark member that my blogs are stupid but I have more people telling me they enjoy them and learn something from them.

8. I have learned to eat 5 or 6 mini meals a day and love it instead of thinking it is a chore. It keeps my metabolism burning and it is a great strategy for my Type II Diabetes. It works well for Raw too because most of your raw food is water and gets digested quickly by your body.

9. I do better by not eating out. # 1 I have greater control as to what goes into my body. I know exactly what all of the ingredients are and how it is prepared. # 2. It is much easier to stay on my food plan. #3 I save money that way.

10. It is true if your friends are overweight you are more than likely to be overweight. The Framingham Heart Study found that when a person becomes obese, the chances that a friend will become obese increases by 57 percent. Siblings of obese people have a 40 percent increased risk of obesity, and their spouses' risk increased by 37 percent.

I have a number of friends who have told me that I am no fun anymore because I am not their eating buddy anymore. Think about it.

11. I have learned to put myself and my needs 1st. One easy example is that for years I put off buying a food dehydrator which comes in handy with the Raw Food way of life. I couldn’t justify spending the money for one. This year I changed my mind. I was worth the expense and it was something I knew would keep me on my Raw Food because eating just raw fruits and veggies or salads all of the time would be boring. I needed to get into more of the recipes. I invested $169.00 in me for a Good4U dehydrator and i have never regretted it.

12. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I HAVE LEARNED IS THAT THIS IS NOT A DIET. IT IS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Sorry I am not shouting at you in anger. I am shouting to pound it into my head as well as yours. Until you realize this it will never stay off. It will just be on ongoing yo-yo process. You are not choosing a death sentence but you are actually choosing life.

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The quest for my watermelon.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Ok so this weekend is the official kickoff for summer at the Jersey Shore. One of the best things about summer to me is the produce. I love our sweet Jersey corn, our Jersey tomatoes, and watermelon. Watermelon is on sale for Memorial Day and I was going to make sure I got some.

Asked my physical therapist if I could pick up a watermelon. She was like are you crazy? Can't you just spend the extra money and buy a piece that is cut. NOPE! I said I would only pick it up with my left hand and arm then. Her answer was, yeah right. She knows me better than to know I would try it anyways. She said if I could pick it up with both of my elbows locked at my waist then I could carefully do so. She asked how I thought I could get it into my house from the car if I was able to get someone from the store put it in my car for me. I told her that if I could not pick it up with just my left arm I would leave it in the car or take a knife out to the car to cut it up.

So off to the grocery store I go after therapy. I went to the bins where they had the watermelon and I was able to carefully and awkwardly pick it up with my elbows locked at my waist. Those suckers are heavy.

Then it happened, I spied this huge watermelon. You know like the giant pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, well this was a watermelon. Of course it was at the bottom of the bin. Now I wasn't stupid to try to pick that one up but I did seek help. I asked the Produce Man if he would get a watermelon for me because I just had rotator surgery. He said no problem. Then I explained it was one at the bottom of the bin, he laughed and said no problem again and got it for me. He put it in the top section of the cart where we women usually put our pocketbooks. He said that one of the grocery cart guys would help me put it into the car.

I got it home but it is still sitting in the car till my neighbor comes home. I know I am a sick puppy! But I got my watermelon!

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Well I am still here. What about you?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

I was in Church tonight at 6 PM because I go to the 5 PM mass on Saturday night so I can sleep in on Sundays. Mass went a little over because 14 children made their First Communion. Our Church is so big that the Church needed to spread the First Communions over 6 different masses at different times.

I spoke to Father Mark before Church as I usually do and after we talked about my shoulder, he asks every week I made a comment about 6 PM. I told him I know he is not a betting man as he is a priest but I said," How much you want to bet Church is packed tonight because of "The supposed Rapture?" He laughed and said I was probably right. I was, Church was packed.

It was packed with so many faces I did not recognize. Usually the Catholics that only go to Church on Christmas Day and Easter are not that up on Church doctrine. As Catholics we believe that we will not know when the end of earth as we know it.

Matthew 24:36-44 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him

Trust me I think half of the people there tonight do not know this as they just make the 2 appearances each year. I think they were buying extra insurance. You can't buy extra insurance, either you believe Christ died for our sins and we are supposed to live like good Catholics 365 days a year and not their courtesy 2. Sorry my opinion. Yes I was happy they made it to Mass but I wished they loved the Lord enough to come every week.

Anywho back to I am still here, what about you? I am saying that in jest because I know today was not Armageddon. However tonight I am attending an After the Rapture party at my girlfriends. She is going all out. Djay and everything. Her backyard is huge with a pool but I think it is too cold to jump in the water tonight. the weather is beautiful tonight and kind of still warm out but not enough to jump in the pool. Who knows the partying may get so rowdy some idiots may jump in.

We are requested to come dressed as either an angel or the devil. I am going to dress as an angel and one of my girlfriends is going to help me with my costume since I can't do anything with my right shoulder yet. She'll just pinup a sheet to make it look like and angel's robe. This angel will have one broken wing though and I will wear my sling tonight as I don't want anyone to bump into my shoulder. We made our halos during the week as well as our wings. They are cute.

I banked calories so I can eat up to 700 calories tonight if I have to. I plan on drinking water so I am not going to be drinking the calories. I am hoping I don't even hit 500 calories so I can be at the lower end of my calorie range. It should be a fun party. it gave a really good theme to a party even though none of us believed the world was going to end at 6 PM.

Off to go to the party and to get into costume. It will be amusing to see who chose to dress as a devil.

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1st she was Napoleon, then a weathervane, and now a belly dancer????

Friday, May 20, 2011

You know this rotator cuff surgery certainly has brought a lot of changes in my life. I walked around with my sling looking like Napoleon for the 1st couple of weeks. It is now week 4 and although I do not have to wear my sling any more I still at times hold my right arm as Napoleon because it is still the most comfortable position. Sometimes I wish I could just unscrew my arm from the socket and put it in a self till it heals.

With all of this rain in the past 10 days or so I have felt like my shoulder/arm predicts the weather. It is especially painful when there are going to be thunder and lightening.

My doctor will not let me return to the gym until at least September so the big dilemma has been what can I do for exercise? I have been walking just starting this week and I hate it. The only thing I hate worse than walking is running and that will never happen. I need to do something that will keep my shoulder stable at all times and that is kind of hard to do.

Anglerpack posted a thread on one of the teams I am on about belly dancing. I had a moment; why not belly dancing as my exercise? It would at least be fun!
Not all belly dancers are skinny minnie because in the Middle Eastern cultures volumptous is considered the preference.



“Belly dancing exercise should help burn 250 to 300 calories per hour and practicing vigorous dance moves for half an hour daily will offer many health benefits that include strengthening the cardiovascular system fend off osteoporosis as well as improve stamina. In combination with a balanced diet, the belly dancing exercise would ensure weight loss and a better belly dancing figure.“

Health Benefits:

Improved posture and muscle toning
Weight loss
Stress reduction
Exercising the carrying muscles without impact
Belly dance is a low impact form of exercise
Building the back muscles evenly
Exercising the arms
Aiding digestion
Bone density increases
Belly dance helps in preparing for childbirth
Belly dancing boosts self-esteem
Belly dancing can help relieve PMS

Sources:
www.artofbellydancing.com/belly_danc
ing_exercise.php

www.atlantabellydance.com/Prospectiv
eStudents/ClassHealth.html

www.worldbellydance.com/benefits.htm
l

I am far from the above volumptous lady at the top of the page. I have quite a lot more weight to get there. I am closer to this:


sadly I bigger than I am still bigger than this.

Some day i hope to be like this:


I asked my physical therapist if she thought I could do this as exercise without hurting my shoulder. She looked at me like I was crazy, she thought I was kidding. I said , No really!
I told her what the doctor said and then I told I hate walking. First she said no because it is way too much arm movements. I promised her I would wear the sling so I wouldn't move my right shoulder or arms or just try to move my left arm only. We kept discussing it and she finally said I could try it slowly to see if it did not move my shoulder.

So home i went and did these videos:

The 1st and 2nd was a great beginners tutorial and the next 3 were an actual workout. I never realized how much you do use your arms for belly dancing. There was no way I could roll my shoulders or arch my back as in the video but I was able to do most of the other stuff with minimal pain to my shoulder. It was fun and now I have to go to the store to find a Belly Dancing DVD because there was too much of a break in time to switch each video on my computer screen.

Arabic Belly Dance Exercise Part 01 of 02

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UShXV4IzMU




www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7SRdzfsF5c&
feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfWuvyS_NkE&
feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mObWqoMxoDQ&
feature=related

I had a blast. I did use my left arm because you could not help but to do so. Good thing the surgery one was in the sling because I really wanted to use both AND a good thing I did not use that arm because I would have ripped all the internal stitches. I can't wait till I can use both arms.

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Why do we still import from China?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

I think we Americans are pretty intelligent on the whole but not so sure our government is on the same wavelengths as we are. Why is our government still allowing imports from China to enter our country. I am sure we have had countless scares from China but recent scares or abominations you pick the word was the milk laced with melamine that hit all of the headlines. I read this article with disbelief that the Chinese would paint sesame seeds black with a dye because black sesame seeds will yield a higher asking price. Was shocked to read that the Chinese fishermen inject mercury into fish to make them weight more at market. AND we buy this stuff because most Americans are none the wiser. I am sure China exports to other countries as well but if there government is still allowing the imports then they to have a problem like us. Now the exploding watermelons injected with growth hormones. Where does it end?

www.naturalnews.com/032442_exploding
_watermelons_Chinese_farmers.html
I can live on watermelons during the summer so now I guess I will only buy ones that have the stickers on them that show where they were grown. Not sure I have ever seen a watermelon with a grown in China sticker but I do not recall that the small baby watermelons carry labels so i guess those are off limits unless I buy at my local Farmer's Market and speak to the farmer myself .

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