Bad Hair Week!

I have had a very strange week.  It's like there are two of me.  Yes, there may be enough surface area/ matter to create two human beings - small ones that is.  This past week there have been two emotional me's.  I have been great on the outside.  Got up, worked out, been chipper at work and in meetings. And I have truly felt chipper, not just putting on a front.  I must have been dealing with subconscious things that were different. I say that because if there is one things I've learned in my life, it's that junk food makes me feel like I can handle tough emotional situations.  That's one of the things that I am trying to change in my new lifestyle.  However, this past week there has been this inside part of me that has an uncontrollable craving for junk food.  I have a little something to satisfy the craving, then I have an uncontrollable crave for something else.  Of course these cravings are for starches, sugar, and dairy.  All the things that helps me stay overweight and zaps my energy.  It has been non-stop this whole past week.  I'm sure part of it is coming off my yeast detox improperly.  I was supposed to slowly introduce things back into my diet and hold off a few weeks on the starches and sugars.  Instead, I ate anything I wanted and then some at my birthday bash.  Now the yeast cultures are happy to be multiplying in my system and they need more starch and sugar to do that.  Now I have to do the whole flavorless food for three weeks again :( to kill them off again.  This time, I will be smarter and slowly reintroduce things into my system.
I'm not sure what else is going on emotionally.  We have all watched enought Oprah and Dr. Phil to know that chronic overweight is due partially to emotional wellbeing.  This past week I have put back on all that I lost on the detox and I feel horrible.  My clothes are tight - remember I got rid of all my 'fat' clothes so I wouldn't get back into them. My skin is broken out. I have low energy and I don't fell like being social.  Am I depressed, not really. But there is something going on, I just don't know what.
I am forcing myself to workout and I hope I quickly process whatever is going on so I can start to make progress again soon.
What helps you in times like this?

... And water parted the plateau

Hello again.  Water.  It's such a simple chemical compound. Covers the majority of the Earth. Makes up the majority of our body composition - in one way or another. Life is unsustainable without it.  We know these things. We know that water is necessary for the human body to function.  So why don't we over indulge in it? For most adults, if given the choice - no strings attached, we would always choose some other liquid to imbibe.  Studies have shown that drinking water is great for your skin, complexion, joints and mobility, and weight management.  As a makeup artist, I can attest to the first two.  As someone that has been in multiple knee casts and arm slings, I can attest to the third.  Now I can attest to the last as well.  I had a doctor tell me several years ago that studies performed with older people have shown a slight weight loss and significant health improvement by changing one thing.  They all drank - guzzled - water the first thing when they woke up.  They drank as much water as they possibly could first thing in the morning. This alone created an average of a 10 pound weight loss in 6 months. My current doctor is always telling me to drink more water.  The average adult should consume half their body weight in ounces (100 lb adult should drink 50 oz of water) per day.  If you work out, the water drank during and directly after the workout does not count toward the daily consumption.
The trick is to not guzzle.  If you guzzle, then your body just acts like a water pipe and it flows directly through your digestive system without doing any of the good stuff it can do.  The best way to consume your daily water intake is to sip throughout the day.  I had to set a clock for every 30 minutes and when it went off, I took 2-4 gulps of water.
I've noticed that even if I eat a chocolate truffle right before bed, it doesn't effect me if I've drank enough water throughout the day.  By taking in little bits throughout, the water is able to help your body flush toxins, improve complexion, reverse some aging, and flush fat from stored fat cells.
As I said before, I gained 5 pounds celebrating my birthday. I quickly went back to eating clean and working out daily.  The scale did not budge. I finally started drinking water throughout the day and enough of it and this morning the scale dropped 2 pounds from yesterday morning.  Water! Glorious Water!  It's hard to drink as much water as I have to with my weight but it's worth it.

The Detox/ Cleanse .... Over indulge

I decided to do a yeast/ candida cleanse for a few weeks.  I was noticing many symptoms that pointed to too much yeast in my body and I was asked to be a test subject for HcG injections.  The HcG diet is very extreme and although I had no intentions of of taking in only 500 calories a day, I did intend to stick to the limited choice of food and it was inline with killing off the overgrowth of yeast in my body.  It was VERY difficult.  Eating bland flavorless food for 3 weeks and eating the same thing day in and day out.  I will say that I was able to lose quite a bit of weight (17 lbs) in 3 weeks and I had so much more energy since I was only putting clean food into my body.  I also knew that when I started eating flavor again, it would be hard to stop.  Sure enough, I finished the diet right before my birthday and I chose indulge since it was my birthday.  Not only did the indulgence make me physically ill because of the sugar and fats and starches - I also gained 5 lbs in one weekend!  Like I said, I knew once I had yummy, it would be hard to stop.  So, a new day, a new week, and back to working on the new me :).

Binge and Purge ----- The Closet!

I have learned a bad pattern/ habit I have that contributes to my past "yo-yo" weight.  I have the habit of keeping the "fat" clothes and then getting back into them.  NOT THIS TIME!!!  I usually keep the bigger clothes for a few reasons: I spent good money on them, they are comfy - especially since they are loose and baggy and/or they are fashionable/ look good.

Truth be told, loose baggy clothes don't look that good and if something is fashionable, it should be worn properly including fit properly.  So, I just debunked the last excuse.

Now, comfort. Who can argue with comfort? But if they are comfortable because they are loose and baggy then somewhere in my mind it makes me feel good that you've lost the weight that made them that way. Since my mind is now all proud of me for losing weight, I think "Hey, I've worked hard to lose this weight, I deserve a cheat/treat" and I eat that late night dessert or order that yummy cheeseburger and french fries. Then the next day the clothes are still baggy because one cheat/treat won't change my weight loss. But then my mind is like "Hey, I ate it yesterday and my clothes still feel the same. I can do it again.... today"  That's where the pattern starts. Then before I know it, the "fat" clothes are fitted :(.  So, as I lose the weight, I will be getting rid of the "fat" aka too big clothes and getting comfortable but fitting smaller clothes.

Now, money.  No one wants to throw money away. And new clothes does mean spending more money so it's a double hit to the budget. First of all, I may have spent good money on the clothes. If I never wear them again, it doesn't matter because its like they are not in my closet anyway. If I spent good money on an item and I really want to keep it then I must really want to wear it. I can't wear it loose and baggy because I'll get back into it so I have to have it altered to fit properly or toss it.

Bottom line, my closet is binging and purging.  Better that my closet does it than me. I've tried weight loss that way and I still ended up overweight. I'm doing right this time so I will keep it off.

FYI - because I know I will also shrink out of the size I am currently wearing, I am sticking to the least expensive fitted clothes I can find.  I don't mean fitted like a glove, not only would that be unattractive on my current physique, it would have to be a stretchy material that will grow if I grow and that's not good (see 3rd paragraph). I mean clothes that fit nicely but don't have room for me to grow in. Thrift stores, friends, Ross, Marshal's, TJMaxx, Wal-mart, Target, Clearance racks, etc are where I'm shopping right now.  If I need something really nice for an event or occasion or just to feel good, I will spend good money and make sure it's something that can be altered down as I size down.

I am basically a poor college student. I have a full time job that I am technically underpaid at but I love my job and my boss is flexible enough if I want to take days to do a commercial or short film project.* Plus it allows me to further my college eduction. Between the cost of the education, the cost of living in Los Angeles, and the lack of high income I need to find a sugar-daddy or a sponsor. LOL.  Until the budget changes, inexpensive shopping spree, here I come!




*For those that don't know, I have had a career as a full-time makeup artist in the film industry for over 15 years. I recently decided to follow another life calling that requires me to further my education, therefore, I now do makeup more part time and nanny/ personal assist full time so I can go to school.

Smaller Jeans!!!!

Yes! I have gone down a total of 2.5 jean sizes since the beginning of this project.  How does one calculate a .5 jean size.  Well, as you all are probably aware, clothing manufacturers each make different sizes but put the same size label in their clothing.  For instance, Levis jeans in a size 18 are a bit smaller than Sonoma (Kohl's) jeans that come in a size 18.  It's actually very difficult to determine just how many sizes a person gains or loses in a given period of time because I have a pair of pants that say size 12 that I can wear just as easily as I am wearing my size 18.  So when a person says how many sizes they lost it's difficult to know if that's really how many sizes they lost.  A friend of mine wore Gap jeans in a size 6 and without changing her size at all, a year and a half later she wore a size 2 Gap jean. It tends to be more prevalent in women's clothing because we don't go by waist inches in getting our pants. And, lets face it, we will buy a pair of jeans that have a size smaller label in them just because we were able to get into that size. Manufacturers know this and trick us into buying their clothes.
So, my beginning jeans were Lee size 24 and they were tight on me.  A Lee size 20 is a little big but a Lee size 18 is still a little small on me.  Therefore, I have found a pair of Sonoma jeans that fit right, say they are an 18 but I know I'm still not quite an 18 so by my quirky math, I have lost 2.5 sizes  since the beginning of this journey.
Thank you for your love and encouragement.  I'm more motivated to get into a proper 18 soon.

Struggles and Victories

Happy 2013!!!!!!!!

My sincerest apologies for not keeping up with the blog/vlog.  The holidays were crazy busy, as usual, and the new year was kicked off with a major cold that turned into something worse.  All said and done, I am 90% better and ready to continue my journey.
I went back to the gym for the first time in a couple of weeks and since my last composition, I've lost 3.5 more pounds of fat!  I did my best to eat while I was sick so that I wouldn't starve my body and have the residual effects from that.  I am back to eating on a regular basis today and fingers crossed, I will continue to drop fat and progress toward my goal.

One month from today I have a birthday and I hope to be 15 pounds lighter.  Today I weighed in at 258 and my size 22 jeans are quite loose on me.  By my birthday i hope to be in my size 18 jeans and I will have broken the 250 barrier.

This process is very slow and my illnesses have set me back quite a bit.  I struggle daily. I don't want to work out anymore and I don't want to eat every 3 hours. I don't want to cook all the time. I don't want to eat tons and tons of lean protein and green vegetables. I want to sleep. I want to lay in bed in the mornings and enjoy the warmth of my flannel sheets. I want to eat my meals out and have someone else fix them and not worry about what is being put in the food to make it taste extra yummy.  I want to eat hamburgers, crunchy tacos, speghetti and meatballs, pecan pie a la mode and fresh baked goodies.
On the flip side, I want to wear skinny jeans. I want to shop in normal department stores and wear fashionable clothes. I want to participate in outdoor activities and extreme sports. I want to be able to keep up with a day full of chasing young children and still have energy to think and do adult things after they go to bed.
So....... I have to decide if the burgers and fries are worth the trade for skinny jeans. Are the fresh baked goodies worth not having the energy to be a mom, professional, and wife? Is laying in bed enjoying the comfort of flannel sheets worth it, if I'm laying there all alone dreaming of the life I want or do I get out of bed and work toward the life I dream about?
Today, I chose the later. I plan to make the same choice tomorrow but I won't know until tomorrow comes.
Wish me luck and keep cheering me on  - I need the help.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Inches!!!!

Yes, Inches!!! Size DOES Matter ......  for some things.

This week the progress I made was in inches! We did circumference measurements 2 weeks ago and checked up on them this week.  There was no difference in neck, chest, upper arm or calf :(
There was, however, differences in forearm, waist, hips and thigh.
In 2 weeks I got rid of ........
1 inch off forearm
1 inch off waist
1/2 inch off hips
1 inch off thigh ...... for a grand total of
3.5 inches off my body circumference!

That's a huge deal in just 2 weeks AND I ate what I wanted for Thanksgiving and even cheated throughout the weekend (the trainers are not happy about that).

Another learning this week, if you cheat all weekend long (especially a 4 day weekend) it's sooooo much harder to get back on the wagon. I've struggled all week and have noticed a difference in my the way my health feels, my body aches, and I don't have much energy.
One "cheat meal" is okay.  A weekend of bad food choices, and I pay for it.

I am happy to know that I now take up 3.5 inches less of my personal space :)

Have a great weekend and do as I say, not as I did and eat clean - you'll feel better if you do.