tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51664383570175277812024-02-06T19:12:55.591-08:00Life in the LabIt started on a WednesdaySarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-68385868642553822372012-08-17T22:17:00.002-07:002012-08-17T22:17:54.548-07:00Where Am I?<span style="font-size: large;">Now blogging over at <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.com/">Fit to Blog</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-54721078532037649402012-06-06T18:21:00.000-07:002012-06-06T18:30:58.878-07:00Test post for the print this buttonThis morning I woke up to a super-hungry and grumpy little fluff ball (she's feeling better!) and... a white world.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS6S89Ly1OYbi6Hg-130XLv7RGj-S_LKAwy-bjBxn1VBmmTm0MbaGZ5H7cVkfdNKv7kbS4ydVIPgYr5ds6oTtK-o8cAMmtrbiXvz6oD4J_P2YzXHrszUU5Nn2J1edGYW9NVuQ79Xvi0v-/s1600/snow_jun_2012_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS6S89Ly1OYbi6Hg-130XLv7RGj-S_LKAwy-bjBxn1VBmmTm0MbaGZ5H7cVkfdNKv7kbS4ydVIPgYr5ds6oTtK-o8cAMmtrbiXvz6oD4J_P2YzXHrszUU5Nn2J1edGYW9NVuQ79Xvi0v-/s640/snow_jun_2012_4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I've heard lately that Christchurch is actually <b>inside a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_globe" target="_blank">snow globe</a></b>, and it just takes a little shaking to make it snow. It could be true. Who am I to say? It's definitely abnormal for us to have snow this early, or two years in a row. Last winter it snowed<b> <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/global-warming.html" target="_blank">not once</a>, but<a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/is-this-canada.html" target="_blank"> twice</a></b>, which caused old timers to muse that this had surely not happened in living memory. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTtV3PnGQrAl-2pi4txI4JWAVTJid9WDuUeDzhmFqjbNOwc0rra_9ACNHOntZO8Jtt32RQARnX5hxDchYkKVIF3WfD8mZju7JAsMeVlUJj7ASTX-sWmmjkPursfwkLg3k8vzb_ucl-98J/s1600/snow_Jun_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTtV3PnGQrAl-2pi4txI4JWAVTJid9WDuUeDzhmFqjbNOwc0rra_9ACNHOntZO8Jtt32RQARnX5hxDchYkKVIF3WfD8mZju7JAsMeVlUJj7ASTX-sWmmjkPursfwkLg3k8vzb_ucl-98J/s640/snow_Jun_2012.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Can it be merely a coinky-dink that since we started having big quakes, we are also getting the white stuff? (file under:<b> things I'll probably always suspect but never know for sure</b>).</div>
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Also this morning? The first weigh-in since I <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/shopping-and-other-bad-habits.html" target="_blank">got a grip</a>. After a week or so of good, hard training and sensible eating (more or less), I'm down 1kg (58.7kg today). I was surprised. Very surprised, considering that yesterday I made a delectable <b>Gluten-Free, Vegan, Coconut Cake</b>, and consumed.. mmm...<b> quite a lot</b> of it.</div>
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I believe that my friend Sara (from <a href="http://foodfitnesslifelove.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Inside and Out</a>) would refer to this as <b>vegan yum-diggity</b> (she's Texan: and probably thinks snow is just a myth).</div>
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This is a super easy cake, it takes approximately 5 minutes to throw together and then it can cook while you are eating dinner, or doing your workout.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;class=print">Easy Peasy, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Coconut Cake</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYghv4jV-diwt3sOdHcGpcpSEKNnUgM0McRIDdkD6C7a-M_t4Ay7S5yMjdsLDs9UFD1ydtjQ_RBLZKP_jD3dj-ifX0reqc16koJ_QBJHVYUhTQIGxzZpH69ASOJTjq6u41OiS78QCrpgn6/s1600/cake_vegan_coconut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYghv4jV-diwt3sOdHcGpcpSEKNnUgM0McRIDdkD6C7a-M_t4Ay7S5yMjdsLDs9UFD1ydtjQ_RBLZKP_jD3dj-ifX0reqc16koJ_QBJHVYUhTQIGxzZpH69ASOJTjq6u41OiS78QCrpgn6/s320/cake_vegan_coconut.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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Ingredients</h2>
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1 cup dessicated coconut (for a more textural cake you could add some shredded coconut)</div>
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1 cup sugar (or for a lower-sugar version replace some or all of the sugar with erythritol). I used 1/2 demerara sugar and 1/2 erythritol.</div>
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1 cup coconut milk</div>
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1 cup rice flour or other gluten-free flour</div>
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Half cup almond meal (or leave this out and just use 1.5 cups rice flour)</div>
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either: 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder or</div>
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½ tsp baking soda and ½ tsp ascorbic acid or citric acid (you need an acid to activate the baking soda, even a tsp lemon juice might do the trick).</div>
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Pinch of salt</div>
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Tsp of vanilla essence</div>
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Method</h2>
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Pre-heat the oven to 180<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">°</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Grease a loaf pan (or use a silicon one like I did) or small cake pan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until there are no dry bits left</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pour the mix into your pan and bake for approximately 1 hour or until a knife inserted into it comes out clean.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">This cake is lovely warm, but gains firmness as it cools.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope you enjoy this cake! Let me know what you think!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8v91FnXdHTFPOoXjimGlTy8RVw_fcqhfgCqxAlG667jBCNh232YsVz6vixUC1pp150fCazCJlLQso2HT1K4He2iZYD_IClgIPLZug8UT7JcSyjS7ZISUxw5rT5STnSkbi4LyQaEwbWWV/s1600/cake_vegan_coconut_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8v91FnXdHTFPOoXjimGlTy8RVw_fcqhfgCqxAlG667jBCNh232YsVz6vixUC1pp150fCazCJlLQso2HT1K4He2iZYD_IClgIPLZug8UT7JcSyjS7ZISUxw5rT5STnSkbi4LyQaEwbWWV/s640/cake_vegan_coconut_2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-5744645876640466252012-05-11T18:04:00.002-07:002012-05-11T18:04:20.358-07:00Testing Expanding Photo's<title>Expanding Photos</title>
<style type="text/css">
img.mini {border:none} /* no border around left column images
*/
div#minis a:hover {background:White} /* this seems to be
necessary for it to work properly in IE6, I'm honestly not sure why */
div#minis a img.big {height: 0; width: 0; border-width: 0} /*
hide the big image by making its height and width 0 */
div#minis a:hover img.big {position:absolute; top:18px;
left:120px;height:375px;width:500px;border:none} /* make the big image
appear in the same space as the frame at right when the visitor hovers
over one of the image in left column */
#frame {position:absolute;
top:16px;left:118px;height:355px;width:480px;border:2px solid
White;font: 1em "Trebuchet MS", Verdana,
sans-serif;color:White;padding:10px} /* create an empty frame so that
visitors expect something to go there */
p {margin-bottom:26px} /*add bottom margin to p elements so
that they are (roughly) aligned with the big image frame */
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<a class="photo" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34322852" title="Name"> <img alt="Name" class="mini" height="75" src="http://www.sana-direct.co.nz/sana/images/cookiedoughmatrix_1.jpg" width="100" /><img class="big" height="75" src="http://www.sana-direct.co.nz/sana/images/cookiedoughmatrix_1.jpg" width="100" /></a><br />
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<a class="photo" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34322852" title="Name"></a><a class="photo" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34322852" title="Name"> <img alt="Name" class="mini" height="75" src="http://www.sana-direct.co.nz/sana/images/cookiedoughballs_4.jpg" width="100" /><img class="big" height="75" src="http://www.sana-direct.co.nz/sana/images/cookiedoughballs_4.jpg" width="100" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-50439058922221440502011-10-15T19:42:00.000-07:002011-12-20T02:20:41.127-08:00Testing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxViIsEFgzG7dKTMMCd2DGM90pYYth6LpRuAPHVNpv6ttcoupIsmEdjkRXl8kaIj87nVPvln21LvbhQxAwSV9iYWuKh1u_MlomZpCr8pIE_zAHmjCkyimqIfrHIu6mhmsA5rfLy6lGyVo/s1600/0109111_431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxViIsEFgzG7dKTMMCd2DGM90pYYth6LpRuAPHVNpv6ttcoupIsmEdjkRXl8kaIj87nVPvln21LvbhQxAwSV9iYWuKh1u_MlomZpCr8pIE_zAHmjCkyimqIfrHIu6mhmsA5rfLy6lGyVo/s320/0109111_431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
For my main blog, head over to <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.com/">Sanaworld.</a><br />
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I'm just using The Lab for a bit of blog design testing at the moment. My skill with templates is.... astoundingly absent.. but I'm working on it!<br />
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I'm hoping this will show up as a sort of post summary and you can click for the full post.<br />
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Which will be here:<br />
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With delicious and inspiring pics and so on:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmaah6YNRJeEN8QcVNPRQG39K_5SbbCRhNUpSvQprFMerWKzD9PRsUAJxi28Q9-R6ACWdQDCYVDtm6fA8ECoodugz00Ra5sfrytT7aqVQACXqP1RzjDz9oG0OQtEGDjm1GovqAsdnqGU/s1600/0109111_433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZmaah6YNRJeEN8QcVNPRQG39K_5SbbCRhNUpSvQprFMerWKzD9PRsUAJxi28Q9-R6ACWdQDCYVDtm6fA8ECoodugz00Ra5sfrytT7aqVQACXqP1RzjDz9oG0OQtEGDjm1GovqAsdnqGU/s640/0109111_433.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEioIW5Ayvmn46xgeafvnDrGAzm1jsGoBW07-UwJEk08Wenba_zjqIyThMDpiJLjKtOQQonPf7BEGJuXZ0VhFMu0HdPMXjNERbXx49SNi2xAPJKppc3c9j8kxVqRYEGvra-Gm3lCU6lE/s640/afterdark.jpg" width="640" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-66541909407014992212011-03-24T22:24:00.001-07:002011-03-24T22:24:30.406-07:00Breakthrough!Ok, well it took .. about a year, but last week I finally cracked the 57kg barrier. I never said this was one of those fast fatloss blogs... ;)<br />
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I'm mostly blogging over at <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.com/">Sanaworld</a> these days, mostly about <i>my earthquake</i> and everything that eventuated from that. Once life is a bit more normal, I will pop in now and then for a purely weight and food related rant.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-55883131332635277372010-12-14T12:53:00.000-08:002011-10-08T02:10:13.256-07:00No news is good news.<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">When last heard from, four and a half months ago, our heroine was vainly trying to squish 6 weeks worth of girly necessities into her overly-small trolley bag and feeling slight trepidation about the possibility of maintaining her weightloss in the land of apfelstrudel, kaiserfleish and (possibly) bridezilla ...</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
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</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fast forward six-point-five weeks from lift-off and I was back in NZ and ready to assess the damage. I had been nervous about being without any empirical method of monitoring my weight while travelling. I even considered packing my scales before a rare common-sense moment made me realise that this bordered on lunacy, given the compactness of my trolley bag. It turns out that all that fretting was just wasted energy - the morning of departure I was 57.6kg, and at the post-travel scale showdown I was an even 58kg. I may have allowed myself a 'heroine returns victorious "<i>woohooooooo"'</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since then, my weight has remained solidly in the range of 57.5 to 58.5. Yesterday it was 57.8; today, after last nights carby dinner, it's 58.2. In 2010 my weight did not exceed 60kg, although it got perilously close after I got recklessly over-confident with the easter eggs. I have not yet managed to break the 57kg barrier, however, it's not as if I've been <i>trying very hard.</i> My approach while travelling, and generally, trends toward a loose mix of relaxed eating followed by slightly more controlled eating. In other words, I exhibit the signs of being a common, garden-variety <i>normal eater. </i>One thing which has definitively separated the past year from other times when I have flunked weightloss maintenance 101, is an almost complete absence of high volume or recurring binge eating episodes. Not that I haven't overeaten, or binged. I have, many times, and every time I panicked a little, fearing it was the beginning-of-the-end of my eating sanity. But, every time I managed to set myself back on my wobbly feet and start immediately making steps in the right direction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The weeks surrounding my sisters wedding were particularly challenging, with some days being a cycle of mini-binge, pull myself together, mini-binge, forgive myself, journal it down, deep breaths, mental agitation, edge-of-tears, mini-binge.... Until that point, it had been smooth sailing, mostly because The Programmer and I were travelling as a duo and I could set the schedule, e.g. sharing the most perfect apfelstrudel at my usual afternoon snack time after a day of perfect, butt-moving sightseeing exercise. Once in Liechtenstein, there was a full-house of excitable relatives, all of whom I love dearly but whom can drive me bonkers in that particular way that only family can manage. The schedule was out of my control, there was more sitting around, far more alcohol consumption, constant presence of delicious carby stuff, it was sometimes very stressful, I was anticipating shortly leaving my niece and sister behind again, and generally it was just a whole lot harder to keep things on track. I quite often found myself using the 'give it three days' thought control process. That is, if I had, for example, had too many wines and woken up with a disturbing memory of having ferociously attacked the bread basket, I would avoid indulging a state of defeat by determining to refocus and <i>see how I felt in three days.</i> Even if I only managed two good days, this was usually enough to de-bloat and feel in control again. The only seriously out of control eating day was the actual wedding, but I don't really count that as a binge because, for a start, the food was truly indulgence worthy. Secondly, I had been practically force fed more than a little extremely expensive champers, was drunk to the point of being cross-eyed and, well.. I wasn't standing at the dessert table eating with my hands or anything. ;)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once home, just as I was settling back into my normal routine, the city where I live was thrown into chaos by a 7.1 earthquake, which was widely reported as 'massive' and which tipped me into immediate food insecurity and a state of feeling ridiculously vulnerable. Indeed, being without power (no coffee machine!) or running water, and knowing the the supermarket is closed while they mop up the wine aisle, was very worrying. However, to my surprise, I managed to more or less keep things on track, even with limited food options. In fact, it was good to feel in control in that one area, when everything else was, quite literally, very shaky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even in the middle of all that, I had time to reflect that the relationship between me and comfort eating is definitely changing. There were times when I've subjectively recognised myself in 'that state' where in the past I would have binged. The 'I need something' phase of pre-binge. A couple of times I even started what could have been a binge but stopped when I began to feel physically full. I recall one incident when I was sleep-deprived, stressed by a large aftershock, running drastically late on my university work and had just argued with a family member. I had just consoled myself with a large buttery sandwich and was getting started on the nut butter jar when I began to feel.. a bit silly. Almost as if I was watching myself and finding it all a bit ridiculous. I was full and didn't want to keep eating. I wasn't getting anything out of it, it clearly wasn't going to stop aftershocks or cause assignments to write themselves, and I just... stopped. Therefore, it was overeating, even comfort eating, but definitely not a binge episode. It didn't have a huge impact on my weight, I felt mildly annoyed but not devastated by my behaviour, and it didn't open the door to further binge eating. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Digging into the 'how' of getting to this stage, and of being able to manage situations like travel, family drama, stress and intense emotions will be the subject of future posts - this one is already quite epic! The main things, I think, are fronting up to problems/negative emotions and learning to look after myself when I'm dealing with something stressy. I've also gleaned some insights from my recent academic research into Binge Eating Disorder which I intend to edit into something vaguely readable and post it on The Lab. In the meantime, I wish you all a fantastic christmas. My terribly complicated plan is simply to keep my head screwed on and focus my mind on the possibility of maintaining this hard earned weightloss right through the *danger zone* of red wine, brandy snaps and free chocolate. And, if I can do it (with my acknowledged fondness of all things foodie and celebratory), then so can you! Good luck, fellow heroines! Let's raise a glass to being fabulouser than ever in 2011!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</i></div></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-46053796371182731942010-07-24T23:37:00.000-07:002010-07-24T23:47:01.344-07:00Goal? Uh - not quite<div style="text-align: justify;">This morning I finally got on the scales, knowing it will be the last time that I'll be able to do that for five weeks - <b>57.6kg. </b>I was hoping to have been below 57, but don't feel disappointed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm feeling good. I have been eating regularly and normally, have managed one party and several meals out (including one where the options were, pasta, rice or pasta and rice) and I'm only feeling mild anxiety about the uncertain food situations which will be the reality of every meal while I'm travelling. The next three or four days will be the toughest, with random sleep, jetlag and airport food. I have packed snacks for the first 10 hour flight, but as we stop in Korea for a day, I'm not too sure if I'll be able to keep what I don't eat on the plane. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm focusing, and will continue to focus on eating for the lifestyle that I want, and the body that I want - healthy, lean, fit. I'm eating as the person I want to be, rather than the person I currently am, physically. That seems to be working, so I'll stick with it. Tonight I looked at the pork I was about to cook and thought 'what would 52kg me choose as a portion?'. I chose the smaller piece, rather than the larger one I would usually have eaten, and I still feel full.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, wish me luck and I'm on my way! 3.30am wakeup call, I'm all yours!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-19685478673603080682010-07-16T21:00:00.000-07:002010-07-16T21:21:37.599-07:0057 -6 Meeting the Challenges<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Today has been one of those days which is great on one level (spending time with family, going to the movies) but desperately challenging when it comes to managing my food. It would have been easy to just give up.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For a start I am sleep deprived. I slept last night on the floor in my brothers lounge and, although comfortable enough, I didn't sleep that great. I'm not actually a great or deep sleeper even under ideal conditions, so this is nothing unusual. Except that, come morning, my niece (10 months) and nephew (3 years old yesterday) came in to open his belated presents and it was all over, rover, for the sleeping attempt. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I knew that we were in for the movies at 12 noon so had a bigger than usual breakfast (banana on toast), but even before the movie started I was super hungry. Telling myself that another couple of hours wouldn't make much difference, I stayed calm and got through fine. However, after the movie, there were things to pick up and groceries to get and it was about 2.30 by the time we finally found somewhere to have lunch. By then I was feeling really grumpy and a bit shaky. I was, by that point, just trying to prevent myself throwing a toddler-like tantrum and bursting into tears! (very unattractive in a grown woman). The selection at the only cafe near the supermarket was dire, from a Sara point of view. Everything seemed to have tomatoes, potatoes or peppers in it (all nightshades) so I settled for a chicken and cranberry panini, leaving about half the bread. I also ate an apple from the grocery haul. I gave my lara bar to my brother because, being completely gluten free, there was literally nothing that he could eat. Cafe food is always the hardest challenge for anyone on a 'special' diet. I had another apple once we got back home. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now that I've regained sanity, I'm pretty much 'home and hosed' for the day. I offered to cook dinner, which takes care of the unknown factor (it will be fish and veges + bread for the bread-eaters). I focused on sticking to my schedule and keeping my head on. Panicking always makes me irrational. The thing is, a bit of bread won't actually make me fat, or cause my arthritis to flare. It's constant, or excessive, consumption that causes an issue. 'The dose makes the poison', as the </span><a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">wholehealth source</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> guy likes to say. Sometimes, in the real world, realism means making the best choice possible and concentrating on enjoying the company, even if I'm not being 'perfect'. That's life. ;)</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-79537939290267412422010-07-14T03:49:00.000-07:002010-07-14T04:10:26.453-07:0057 -9M<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; ">All good.. well, apart from the glass and half of wine that I had yesterday with dinner.. and today.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, everything else has been on schedule. I did my cardio yesterday and my weights today. I find exercise to be essential, not just for my body, but for my mind. In fact, more for my mind than my body. There is something about training that just puts me in an 'I can cope' mood. The annoying thing is that when I'm in an 'arrrrrgh, I can't cope' moment, it's hard to motivate myself to exercise. That's why I'm trying to do it as soon as I get up. When I look back on times when I did successfully lose weight there are two things that are consistent. 1. I was exercising on a schedule and 2. I was on <i>some sort</i> of relatively sane eating plan. And, by 'plan', I don't necessarily mean anything really difficult. I did the zone diet for ages before I read the book. I just skimmed through it at the library, got the idea and started combining protein and carbs at each meal without much thought to quantity or quality. That worked. I did Body for Life, that worked, I did Atkins, that worked. I did calorie counting, that <i>really</i> worked, except I took it too far and wigged out into starve-binge land. So now I'm kind of on the Sara plan, which is a bit of everything I've learned. Lots of veges and fruit, proteins and fats, some nuts and beans, a little sheeps milk cheese (really my only dairy) and .. everything else in extreme moderation, when I feel like it, with control. I've de-caffed down to a sane level (although I did go a bit woo-hoo on the mate tea today - then Googled and found it is packed with caffeine and theobromine.. oops) and my alcohol consumption is pretty average. I'd say I'm 90% where I want to be, just working through the last of the stress and distress eating.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As part of my studies I am reading through <i>tens </i>of binge eating studies, to decide on which ones to include in my report. It's been distinctly helpful. The thing I'm onto now is <i>mindfulness. </i>That is centering myself. Dealing with what is right in front of me, realising I do have choices, right here, right now, realising that my automatic thoughts are not necessarily true and that I can choose to think and act in a different way to usual. I used it tonight. It was an hour or so from dinner and I was a little bit hungry. My first reaction to hunger is always a bit of panic - <i>I have to eat, now.</i> Instead I took stock. I told myself that I wasn't really super hungry. That dinner was just an hour away and that I'd enjoy it much more if I didn't spoil my appetite with a snack. I relaxed my mind and decided to get a bit of work done while dinner cooked. And, look! I didn't even starve to death between that moment and dinner time. Amazing. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The weekend is coming. I'm looking forward greatly to seeing my brother and family,but also mildly daunted by the prospect of managing my eating in an out-of-home situation. Good practice for the upcoming trip around Europe. At least since I started eating more fruit and got less anal about having to eat protein six times a day, it's all gotten a lot easier... I'll be fine.. breathe.. breathe...</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-16611647245624555652010-07-11T23:22:00.000-07:002010-07-12T01:13:29.217-07:0057 -11Today has been one of those very borderline days. It was an 'almost binge' day. A good chance to look at those things that make me want to stuff my face. Now what could it have been?<div><br /></div><div>1. Well, there was the having a sudden rush on WPC, right before I'm going away and running out of stock.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Then there was the mad calling around trying to get some more in quickly, even more than I already had on order.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. And finding out that my usual supplier won't have any more until October.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Then paying out over $1000 for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Then organising things with the new manufacturer</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Then getting an email from the NZFSA asking for some last minute amendments on some documents I thought were finished.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. And having a real problem locating suitable articles for my Health Psych assignment.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. And, just, TIME PRESSURE because I'm flying out in a fortnight and I'm not at my goal weight and I've got so much to do and I don't know if I can get it all done and I'm freaking out.</div><div><br /></div><div>And, so, what happens? Mid afternoon I got an outrageous urge to snack, and did. I also got the urge to have a big glass of wine, but didn't. In retrospect, that may have been the better choice ;-/ Considering the outrageous eating behaviour that followed, I could hardly have done worse with a glass of vino in me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Obviously, if I'm going to get to my goal weight, random attacks of overeating are not going to help. I need to find a better way to manage those icky things like stress, tiredness, pressure and, did I mention stress? I also need to not skip my training like I did today and yesterday. I'm not sure what this would have done to my now 11 day goal, but will see on .. well, 11 days from now. Still heaps of time, at least for THAT. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ironically, the final straw which sent me to the icecream today was researching binge eating disorder. I'm having issues finding the studies that cover the issues I want to cover and I was getting really, really antsy. I know what THIS is. It's perfectionism, and my studies at least have taught me that perfectionism is a personality trait that predisposes one to binge eating. I've got heaps of studies to chose from. If I only used the ones I've already printed, I'd at least get a 'B', but no, I have to find the perfect ones, and because I can't, I lost it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Losing it meant some icecream, some chocolate. a banana and some marshmallows (all in a bowl together.. that was delish). Then a larger than normal dinner, including a bread roll, and a muesli bar for dessert. I could definitely eat more, but I'm not going to. I'm using this blog post as catharsis and getting back to myself. A splurge on Friday and a splurge on Monday is not going to get me where I want to be. My goal now is to get through the next 11 days without incident. I'm also resetting my goal to 57.3, which is equal to the lowest I've been in the last 6 months and somehow, seems achievable.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-72885235937956380312010-07-10T03:47:00.000-07:002010-07-10T04:07:44.500-07:0057 -13<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; ">Last night, being Friday, I let myself off the leash a little. I had a couple of wines, a bit of chocolate and some naan bread with cheese melted in it, but otherwise it was a normal day. I was too scared to get on the scales this morning, and I did notice the slight, very slight feeling of 'can't be bothered-ness' and burbling anxiety that is always there the morning after alcohol. I'm beginning to think that I'll just go alcohol-free. I don't miss it, really. It's certainly a long way from a couple of months ago when the most exciting part of the day was 'wine o'clock'. I'm not going to say 'never' though. I'd like to be one of those people that has one 'now and then' and doesn't think anything of it. Same with coffee.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; ">Today I got up.. nope, that's not quite right. I <i>woke </i>up, played on my computer for a bit, in bed, then got up and did a wii-fit workout, with weights added. As I said, I did not weigh myself, and I'm not going to for the next 13 days because that's what I did last week and it was better. I focused instead on the process - getting my head straight, managing my time, eating well, exercising, drinking that water, relaxing. I've got a lot to do over the next few weeks and the last thing I need is being distracted by the inevitable ups and downs of the scale. I'm motivated enough to reach my goal by the firm fit of the dress I bought today.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; ">At lunchtime we headed out to shop with my mum. My goal was to get a dress, and quickly, no pissing around. I tried on at least 10, they all fit in size 10, some better than others. The size 12's were all too big, even though the shop assistant told me I looked fabulous in everything *rolls eyes*. Finally I found one that didn't make me look top heavy. The 12 was definitely too roomy, and the 10 looks 'quite good' but feels much closer fitting than I'm used to. Dressing room lights are never kind, and I did have some negative body thoughts, mainly about my arms, which are not at their most toned.. <i>yet</i>. I just kept up the positive self talk. <i>It's only a matter of time, Sara. Most things take longer than you think they will.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; "><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; ">I'd made a point to eat lunch before we went, but after dress shopping, and shoe shopping, was feeling ravenous! To my surprise, when I checked the time it was nearly 4pm. We ended up at Starbucks and I tried something called a Protein Cookie. Blecch, one bite was enough. I should have checked the ingredients. As the Programmer said when I made him taste it, 'it's like they tried to make it taste of food'. I ate a small amount of my mothers berry pastry (trying to choose the most 'berried' bits!) and then had an apple when we got home. Dinner tonight was a lean beef loaf and veges, probably too much roast parsnips and kumara, but I'm trying not to dwell on that. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; ">At the moment, structure is working for me. Four meals, no nibbling. I'll need this guideline for when I'm travelling, and there's a lot of that coming up. As long as I can keep my head on, I'll be fine. ;)</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-23569949904928644762010-07-09T05:44:00.000-07:002010-07-09T05:46:33.383-07:00Goal 57, -14<div style="text-align: justify; "><b>58.1 kg</b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>(note: I've no idea why there is highlighting on certain words in this post. I accidentally hit some random keys on my laptop when I nearly dropped it and can't figure out how to remove it!).</b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">I've actually had a really good week. No alcohol (apart from tonight, it's Friday dinner with mum), only 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); ">caffeinated</span> beverages, nearly daily exercise, no serious food deviations - only non-neurotic ones. You know, the sort where you think about adding some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); ">sheeps</span> milk cheese to your salad, wrestle with the idea for 30 seconds and then decide to do it, in spite of the fact that it's a non-dairy day.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">I've decided to get to 57 in 14 days from today, and it's totally achievable, albeit, with a bit of application. The 57 barrier has been eluding me for a while! It's like that slippery fish that keeps escaping through my fingers. However, I remember when 60kg was that fish, therefore I know I can do it. It's a matter of adjusting my eating and lifestyle a little more in the direction of the body I want. I'm thinking .. simple adjustments like not indulging quite so much on a Friday night, reducing portions slightly and, for sure, being a little less.. erm... <i>liberal</i> with the olive oil. Realistically, the last one is probably most important! I'm very free and easy with fats and oils. Olive oil, coconut oil - these are my favourites.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">One thing I have noted is that my hip, knee and ankle are playing up. This week I have eaten far more nuts and more dairy than usual (including a cheese-heavy omelette today at lunch), so it's probably some sort of reaction to those. It's not a serious flare up, but it is bothering me slightly, especially the right knee. The joint pain I have, as per the MRI scans I have had, is caused by fluid pockets that form - apart from the hip, which is osteo-arthritic. Fluid is inflammation. Inflammation is a reaction to an allergen. So, I'll cut the dairy and nuts for the next week (which includes my Lara bars!) and see what happens, then I'll add back one or the other and try and figure out which one is the devil in disguise.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Today I found the most amazing cafe. They don't even have an internet site, but are located next to Piko wholefoods in Christchurch. They seem to make everything from scratch and the chef works in the shop. This is a major find for someone like me that avoids nightshades like they were arsenic. She was able to answer all my questions, informed me that the lentil patties contained tomato paste and that the soup had some potato in it, and served up a perfect lunch. Nightshades seem to be a real problem for my joints and for my body. Last time I accidentally ate some, in the form of a seafood chowder, two things happened. First I noticed immediately an overwhelming, <b>bitter</b> 'potato' taste, which The Programmer could not detect when he tasted it. Second, I felt ill to my stomach, hot, nauseas. This tells me.. <i>don't eat that.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Ok, buckle up. It might be a bumpy ride but that 57kg barrier is going down! Then I'm only 5kg from my ultimate goal weight, where I'll suddenly be rich and gorgeous, motivated and perfect in every way. ;-) <b>Obviously.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><b>*rolls off the couch laughing*</b></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-2435620553498240242010-07-02T22:16:00.000-07:002010-07-02T22:38:37.261-07:00Goal 57.. bleh...<b>58.3 kg</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Actually, I should be pleased that it's not more! Having achieved quite well in my University exams, I embarked on a flurry of celebration which was definitely not what my weight goal required. And, so I see the return of that stubborn 500-600g - the same ones that keep turning up like the worlds most annoying door-to-door Jehovah's witness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, again, I'd expect to deflate over the next couple of days and I'm resetting my '57' goal to the 15th July. Seeing as I'll be away that weekend, I want to get there by then. I also actually took some progress photo's today to get a check as to where I am, looks-wise. I think I'm doing 'ok'. Definitely an improvement on last year. I'm not far from my goal, but would like to have less flabby bits - in common with nearly every developed-country female on earth. Sometimes I think, why not just settle where I am? I'm 'normal', I can shop and find clothes, I'm leaner that I was at 20, why not just be happy where I am? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today I was thinking this over and realised something cool. I <i>am</i> happy where I am. I'm fine. I've been up and down the scales enough to know that my life will not be improved in any real way by losing the last 10 lbs. But, I still want to be a bit leaner. I can tell that I'm still carrying some excess, by bodyfat% is still about 27%. I'd prefer not to have overly lumpy bits when I wear a bikini or a no-sleeves top, my joints feel better when I'm lighter, my cholesterol still hovers on the border of normal/high, and, for many reasons, I want to be fitter than I am. My *big goal* is 52kg, but if I reach nirvana at 55 or 54 that will do. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today I went shopping and, in the middle of trying stuff on, it gently occurred to me how far I've come. I used to absolutely hate shopping. Nothing ever fit right and usually I'd leave the shop, having bought nothing, feeling like I wanted to die. Then, usually, I'd console myself with something yummy, mentally berating myself for having a defective body shape. Today I was just like all the other girls. I was in 'Cue', a shop with notoriously small sizing, and we were all trying on dresses, some fit, some didn't. Some fit round the top but were voluminous at the bottom, one bagged out at the back. But, in all that time, I only had one body conscious thought and that was when I tried on an 'almost too small' size 10 and it gave me unattractive lumps under the arms. I thought 'ewwww, look at that fat', but quickly adjusted my thoughts to accommodate the fact that the cut of the dress was just too tight around the arms. Bodies come in all sizes and so do dresses. It's not the fault of the body if the dress is the wrong size. What a concept.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-92185649723734770452010-06-29T23:12:00.000-07:002010-06-29T23:32:06.957-07:00Goal 57, day 9<b>57.7 kg</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ok, well, that's better, and surprising, considering that last nights dinner was beef stroganoff - minus the noodles for me. I've been eating a bit more dairy (stroganoff has sour cream in it) and haven't noticed any ill effects at all. It certainly doesn't seem to affect my <i>weight. </i>During yoga this morning I did notice a bit of lower back pain, not severe, but there. I wondered if it could have been a reaction to the almost daily dairy consumption. My back pain is, according to the MRI, due to a buildup of fluid in the SI joint. As fluid accumulates with inflammation, I've noticed that food does affect my backpain. At first I thought this was just me being a bit crazy, but then I met a successful bodybuilder whom has suffered a similar back injury to myself and he told me that part of the reason he finds it easy to stick to his diet year round is that refined carbs make his back twinge. Not just me then.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, I did have 1.5 glasses of wine last night. Beef Stroganoff also has red wine in it and it was just the thing. It did not lead to a splurge though, possibly because the fat in the dinner prevented it going to my head. Caffeine is turning out to be remarkably easy to manage since I found decaf beans. In the morning I empty out the caffeinated beans from the hopper. I can't get them all out, so there are maybe 10 left in the burr. I top it up with decaf beans and then use the machine as per usual during the day. So, psychologically, no change at all. The first espresso of the day is probably a half strength caff, but I'm not going to get freaky about that. At end of day I turf out the decaf beans and fill it up again with caff'd ones so that The Programmer doesn't miss his caffeine hit in the morning. I hate to think what would eventuate if that happened!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've started back on my creaky joints mix of MSM and n-acetyl-d-glucosamine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eating today was:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. banana</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. leftover beef stroganoff, salad</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. lara bar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. citrus marinated makerel, steamed swede, salad (+ erm, glass of vino).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-50186744770559241152010-06-28T23:44:00.000-07:002010-06-29T01:03:37.481-07:00Goal 57, Day 8<div><b>58 kg</b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've had a little setback. On Saturday night, it <i>seemed </i>like a great idea to have a few vino's before heading out to the movies... Predictably, I then felt quite free to indulge myself in an enormous dinner + dessert. It was not a binge, but I did gain 600g overnight and am just de-bloating now. I'm not too worried. If I eat certain things, particularly wheat or a really high-sodium meal, I do tend to gain a lot of weight which generally takes three or four days to diminish again. Tomorrow should look better, although I may need to adjust my goal. Maybe. Tomorrow I'll decide on that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As my weight comes down I'm finding it easier to deal with the inevitable weight fluctuations. I've been doing a lot of reading lately on Binge Eating Disorder (abbreviated to BED) for a university assignment and was surprised to find that the research tends to suggest that weightloss seems to reduce the incidence of binge eating episodes. The reason this was surprising is that everything I'd read to this point suggested that you should forget about losing weight while recovering from BED. From my point of view, losing weight has had a positive effect because when I DO overindulge and gain a little weight, it's just not so distressing. Which, in turn, reduces the anxiety which makes me want to binge. So, if I munch a huge slice of ciabatta and bloat up to 58.2kg, well that's still a hell of a lot less than a year ago when a 'fat day' was 64kg or more. I can handle it with more decorum. It doesn't throw me into a panic. It feels manageable. I think also, the aspect of having more 'wiggle room' in what the scales might say does reduce the urge to splurge. For example, I can indulge myself a little, knowing that I'll still be within my 'mentally acceptable' weight range the next day, even if I gain a bit. Contrast this from the days when I would <b>deny, deny and deny </b>myself anything which might make me gain even a little weight. The ensuing mental struggle of 'I<i> want it but I CAN'T have it</i>' would most likely stress me out so much that I'd eat it anyway, then feel like a failure and probably binge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The mind is a very funny thing...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, today and yesterday, eating was on-plan. I'm still doing 1 espresso every second morning and alcohol consumption has been more or less.. ok. ;-/ </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday I did 20 mins cardio, today I got on the Wii-fit and tomorrow is yoga class. All good.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-44848622965270502652010-06-25T20:31:00.000-07:002010-06-25T20:47:12.447-07:00Goal 57, Day 5 (trying to get there in 14 days)<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>57.6kg</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last night I did behave myself, mostly. One glass of wine (good), but after dinner I did raid the crackers and cheese (not great, but not tragic). This morning, weight is down another 100g and the goal is in sight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately I woke up feeling very grumpy and still-tired. I'm not sure what that's about, just 'one of those things' that goes along with being me. It could also be that the vino messed with my brain chemicals after having practically none for two weeks. Today I was out shopping, it was past lunchtime and, for whatever reason - maybe because of the grumps - I decided that lunch was going to be a handful (8) chocolate covered strawberries. I thought about it. I <i>really, seriously</i> felt like eating some. I was exactly in the mood for the sweet, tangy, full of additives chocolate strawberries from the bulk bin section. I scoffed them in the car on the way home, then had a pear and a spoon of nut butter to.. erm.. balance it all out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apart from a very minor moment of anxiety about the additives and the calories, I have not really fretted over this deviation from the norm. I think the anxiety I feel when I 'go off track' is because, in the past, this would always herald the coming of a binge. Now I can (almost) accept it as just a slightly unusual meal. I'm getting there, slowly. Then I had my <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.com/">almond butter fail</a> and my mid afternoon snack was three nut and dried fruit balls. Again, the minor freakout, then mentally slapping myself on the cheeks and telling myself to get over it, already. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dinner will be a full o'veg soup (with a bacon hock in there) and then we are going out to see Eclipse - the movie, not the actual Eclipse. No exercise today. Having a lazy one.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-36760579888211904322010-06-24T18:34:00.000-07:002010-06-24T19:08:15.005-07:00Goal 57, Day 4<div style="text-align: justify;">As per last elimination diet, my weight is dropping steadily even though I feel like I'm eating a lot. In fact, every day I feel like I've eaten enough to probably gain weight, but it's not happening. This morning I was <b>57.7kg</b>, so just 700g to my next goal. <b>Yessss!</b> I've got dinner at mums tonight, so let's see how that works out for the currently happy relationship between me and the Tanita scales.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have also noted another big improvement in my arthritis, which has already improved outta sight since I was diagnosed about a year and a half ago. Yesterday I flopped myself on the floor in a cross-legged position and didn't even notice a twinge. This morning I did yoga and again, that little twinge that remained in certain positions, is even littler. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've started an 'exercise first thing' schedule, but it's hardly strenuous. I did 20 mins of cardio on Tuesday, 20 minutes of bodyweight exercises on Wednesday, skipped yesterday and half an hour of yoga this morning. Getting moving first thing is a good way to set myself up for a great day, and seeing as I'm no longer into self-inflicted torture, I actually enjoy it. I used to put myself through workouts that were hell from start to finish and that involved hours of pre-workout dread. No more! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My eating schedule goes something like this:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Breakfast: usually a banana</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lunch: Today it was a mega chicken salad (not a boring salad, but with lots of different veges), heaps of steamed kale and a fig with almond butter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mid afternoon: fruit and probably some nuts, or a lara bar, or some chocolate. ;)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, and this is why I've been feeling like a glutton, about 5pm I've been getting a hunger attack and indulging it, usually with another lara bar and some more fruit, or leftover lunch. Yesterday It was a lara bar and an apple.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dinner: Some form of protein and more veges. On Wednesday I also had a slice of bread because it was all warm and organic and delicious and I'm trying not to be a food nazi. I was very, very tempted to scoff half a loaf of it and had to pull myself together with the 'how will I feel about this tomorrow?' cognitive technique.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then: before bed I've been snacking on fruit if I get hungry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">See... lots of food. It's all good stuff though. I'm just going with my hunger and staying relaxed about it. I've been having one real espresso every second morning (and numerous decaf espresso's). I had half a glass of wine on Wednesday night and will undoubtedly have one tonight. Maybe two.. no, one. More than one and I'll have my head in the freezer, salivating over the cheap, nasty, maltodextrin-boosted icecream. Nobody wants to have to hear about that tomorrow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-78902036699686239742010-06-22T02:08:00.000-07:002010-06-22T02:14:54.779-07:00Goal 57, Day 1This morning I was 58.2kg. A staggering loss of... (ta daaaaah) 100g!!! Still, short term weightloss wasn't really the point of the elimination diet. My next goal is only 1.2kg away and I made a good start today, getting up early(ish) for 20 mins cardio and making sure that lunch and dinner were vege-heavy. Dinner was also slightly fat-heavy - it had bacon as an ingredient. I'll post some food pics over on the <a href="http://sanafit.blogspot.com">Sanaworld</a> blog.<div><br /></div><div>One espresso, pre-cardio. I figure this is a good use of caffeine. If it's going to crank my adrenals, at least I can thank my body for the buzz by putting it to good use!<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-67728188172368769022010-06-21T00:49:00.000-07:002010-06-21T01:41:18.335-07:00Done!<div style="text-align: justify;">This morning I woke up much earlier than usual, feeling perky. I didn't actually <i>get up </i>earlier, but it's a step in the right direction. It is the dead of winter here at the moment and it doesn't take much to encourage me to keep my toes warm.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I started the day still feeling a bit unmotivated, but at about 4pm I had what you might call a motivation attack, set down and few goals and got a bit of Sana stuff done. I was packing the cacao beans for dispatch to customers and, without thinking, opened a packet and munched a few. I considered getting back to the elimination diet for dinner, but ... nah. I've done well enough. Dinner was a beef curry, with an enormous salad. Weightwise, I don't feel like I've dropped a lot of weight, if any, but I'll get on the scales tomorrow morning to see.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My immediate weight goal is to get to 57kg, so I'll know where I am in relation to that goal tomorrow. I've had a think about how things are going for me, in terms of health and goal achievement and decided that, apart from the time management, I'd like to focus on more veges, particularly raw and to make more of an effort to exercise, even when I feel I can't spare the time for it! Actually, <i>especially</i> then, because that's when I most need the stress release. I'm going to keep my caffeine consumption at 5 shots a week (two completely caffeine-free days) and alcohol to one or (on special occasions) two glass/es a week. I also want to learn some techniques, such as fermentation, to allow me to eat more grain and nut products, just to jazz things up a bit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dinner:</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJeYht-1h3KIDaf8amgA8qB6HMd3pZYDFTUOwmsxfa76Enhe3ZLd7KceVqmG4ut1mNTuEJL9N9qWFEU-UAHHAostpF0E5SK4-4GAwivNkIxj4XcVmNkR8SJmE5Z4wNGPVgTSF2x655gA/s320/curry.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485143532958430562" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-40943329360944328072010-06-19T23:02:00.000-07:002010-07-07T01:21:21.994-07:00Day 5 of 6<div style="text-align: justify;">Today was much, much easier even though I've been having persistent, but not overwhelming, coffee and chocolate fantasies. I've noticed is that I'm sleeping much more heavily - probably due to the progressive systemic decaf. As a lifelong insomniac, I'm hoping for further improvement in this area if I stick with the lo-caf lifestyle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been reading in health journals that it can take up to two weeks to start feeling normal after giving up coffee. Great. Just great. I've also been reading that once decaffed I should have more natural energy, so I'm holding on to that hope because, right now, my energy isn't anything worth blogging about. That is, unless you want to hear about how many hours I sat on the couch reading magazines.. I've been plotting a few improvements to my lifestyle, including some achievable (rather than over-ambitious) time management and more regular exercise. I've also been having some revelations about the many ways I still use food to soothe my anxieties about.. all of those things that worry me - and I'm a very, very accomplished worry-wart. I can lie awake at night worrying about the possibility of an asteroid hitting the Earth. You know, those kind of 'can't do anything about it' worries. But then, I can also worry myself into a frazzle about the possibility of something happening to someone I love, or even get into a tizz with the pressure of deciding which direction to take my studies or my business. Of course, right now, I can't really trust my brain anyway, with anxiety being a side-effect of caffeine withdrawal and all.. so maybe I'm just exaggerating my usual level of worry. I'll let you know in a week or so. Perhaps we will see a whole new Sara ;)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today my food has been much the same as other days - fish, kumara, parsnip, pears. Peaches are also on the allowed foods list, but they are out of season. Again I used a tsp of olive oil, which is not 'on the list' but as I'm feeding my food to other people too, I make small concessions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last day tomorrow!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-29054990112801901762010-06-18T22:11:00.001-07:002010-07-07T01:21:49.520-07:00Day 4 of 6<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I think the worst of the caffeine withdrawal is over. I did a bit of reading last night and pretty much concluded that the problem is/was severe addiction to caffeine. I also noted that I have for quite some time exhibited symptoms of a condition called 'caffeinism' (insomnia, anxiety etc.) which can result from long term consumption of high levels of caffeine. I also read that it's a better idea to wean yourself off, rather than just go balls-to-the-wall, but you know.. it's done now. Just some minor aches and pains today and the 'blahness' continues, but I've also had moments of feeling pretty great. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My plan, post-elimination diet, is to really minimise my problem foods, which are chocolate, coffee (both high in caffeine) and alcohol. I think moderation would be one cup or less of real coffee a day, with a few non-caff days, and one or two glasses of wine a week. Chocolate, can be a kind of once or twice a week thing too. So that the new regime is not such a psychological shock to my system, I've bought some of this: </div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYNvWRY5nmvTuummbSWDq4NXMZNctVDssv50y5tK39RqZm7TylToxF1HLQGK4f5X3e1-bTaZw92hnLQ83ridgv_5MPq8HOPZEDAvkdMDd51IXip7lhMs-plj87IayOSTGlTGi3vnklrZ0/s320/decaf.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 203px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484348706787260082" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure my coffee machine will be insulted, but at least this way I can still have my espresso without going nuts. It would take 45 decaf espresso's to equal the caffeine in just one regular espresso. I tested it. It's not bad, and seems to behave well in the coffee machine. I could not find beans, only grounds, so it won't even contaminate the bean hopper and grinder mechanism on my beloved Saeco Royal Professional <i>with</i> cup-warmer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today I kept busy with brainless, fun tasks, like taking photo's to send to my niece overseas. I was definitely not feeling up to anything that involves my brain. I visited The Programmers parents (his mum is witnessing my new passport application) and I was certainly feeling a bit brain fogged when it came to conversation. I also left my application form on the table on the way out and forgot where the car was parked. I'd say not quite firing on all cylinders. I munched on pears, grilled up some fish and kumara for lunch and dinner will be a lamb soup seasoned only with salt (let's see how that works out).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now I'm settled in for some net surfing and TV watching - really all I feel capable of tonight!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-90386653298266061112010-06-17T23:57:00.000-07:002010-07-07T01:22:27.239-07:00Day 3 of 6<div style="text-align: justify;">Last time I did a six day elimination diet, day 3 was horrendous. I was aching all over, particularly in the lower abdominal area, and had hardly slept because of shooting pains down my legs and total inability to find a position that didn't hurt. I ended up taking some panadol just to get some sleep. And then, the sensation persisted for most of day 3. I had trouble believing that such symptoms could be attributed to a simple diet and so concluded that I'd probably had a coincidental attack of the flu'. Imagine my surprise when the exact same cluster of symptoms started late last night. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Again, I hardly slept and again I resorted to painkillers just to get some sanity. This time I also lay awake thinking what the hell I could possibly have eliminated from my diet that could cause such a dramatic reaction. It has to be something I eat a lot, and that's not IN the elimination diet. Unless I'm reacting to apples, broccoli, onions, garlic or olive oil (all unlikely), it pretty much comes down to wine, chocolate or coffee.. and out of those three, coffee is definitely the most often consumed - as in every day, lots of it. After spending most of my unexpectedly busy day in pain and, I must admit, in a supremely negative frame of mind, I cracked and had one espresso. I'm going to write it off as<i> experimental. </i>Within a few minutes I noticed a major improvement in both my mood and the pain in my legs/back/abdomen. Could this really be just caffeine withdrawal? It seems almost unbelievable, but perhaps it is. Post-elimination diet, I seriously need to moderate my caffeine intake. I managed it quite well after the last elimination, but slowly my espresso intake crept back to my usual 7 ish shots a day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, after my little caffeine hit (practically a homeopathic dose compared to my usual consumption.. or your average Starbucks) I got all excited about the possibility of having another one, possibly followed by a nice, big glass of wine at dinner. However, I managed to reign myself in and finish the day without blanking out into lalalala-I-Don't-Care-What-I-Eat-Now land. I had my mother over for dinner and, as the cook, it was pretty easy to make a compliant meal. I haven't actually told anyone that I'm doing an elimination diet. It's just regular food anyway, not like I'm walking around slurping up protein shakes instead of eating meals. Tonights meal was swordfish fillets with veges roasties. I did use a little olive oil on the roasties. Then for the other diners I made mashed potatoes and everyone was happy. I avoided the wine by claiming a 'funny tummy' (not even a lie). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Half way done and hopefully I'm past the worst and heading into the fun stuff ;)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-12937186958430143822010-06-16T19:15:00.000-07:002010-07-07T01:23:05.935-07:00Day 2 of 6<div style="text-align: justify;">About 10pm last night I developed a raging headache, which persisted all night. I woke up numerous times and realised it was still there, but luckily, by the time morning came by, it had evaporated. I'd say that's the evil caffeine beast just parading rampantly through my neurons on it's way out of my bloodstream.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mostly I've just had a feeling of extreme 'unmotivation' (the opposite of motivation). You might call it '<b>The Blahs</b>'. You know.. it's taken me hours just to unload and load the dishwasher. I had a few Sana Direct tasks to do, but otherwise put off everything today in favour of.. sleeping in and doing nothing. After the complete madness of last week (exams!), it's good to chill for a week anyway before going headfirst into the next semesters workload. I do have a bunch of other tasks to deal to, particularly updating the Sana site, but it can all wait 5 days. I'm sure nothing drastic will happen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The one thing I'm not is hungry. The elimination diet does not involve calorie controlled deprivation, although I do note that last time I did count calories as I was still living the calorie-nervous lifestyle. On day two last time I developed a backache that was pretty extreme and only scrawled a few words in my diary ('ugh, backache, kidney pain, hip pain... ugh'). None of that this time, in fact I really haven't suffered backache this year, possibly due to the cleaner diet, or the MSM or maybe even because I'm training with less intensity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not taking my usual supplements for the six days of the elimination, but will get right back onto those next Tuesday. Some people think that the elimination diet is about identifying food sensitivities, and it does help with that, but the main point of it is to provide a healing experience for the digestive system, which can take a pounding under the insults of daily life. The basic idea is that if the gut is damaged and not fulfilling it's role as regulator of what enters the bloodstream, then naturally occurring substances, such as certain food lectins, are more prone to 'get through' and cause havoc by, for example, binding to glycoproteins in the joints. This is the 'dummies' version of how the gut-joints connection works. There is also some research suggesting that lectins may hinder the leptin receptors (similar name, but different thing), which results in increased appetite. It's all very interesting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Todays eats on the Elimination Diet</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Breakfast: grabbed a pear</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lunch: Baked makerel and kumara</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Snacks: Leftover lunch, raw carrots, another couple of pears</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dinner: Lamb chop, baked kumara, parsnip mash, carrot sticks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll probably have another pear before I go to bed. I know.. it's all too exciting.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-91553821588589683522010-06-15T23:24:00.001-07:002010-07-07T01:23:35.369-07:00Day 1 of 6<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXwqv34zpiP_fUxRCerynAhgDoDsIX7nGXsp033S08wPUlcrnDBpt4VQ0LbwzuneKSiPxJ3aVBdrmt9qLHoAdB7GSi_t0hZjuYOvnFByTtwcCkmc2ONGpYFisK5MvQI0pMXvOiCkQgi_o/s1600/veges.jpg"><img style="text-align: justify;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 121px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXwqv34zpiP_fUxRCerynAhgDoDsIX7nGXsp033S08wPUlcrnDBpt4VQ0LbwzuneKSiPxJ3aVBdrmt9qLHoAdB7GSi_t0hZjuYOvnFByTtwcCkmc2ONGpYFisK5MvQI0pMXvOiCkQgi_o/s320/veges.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483253865087777890" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My first mission of the day was to get everything I'm going to need over the next 6 days before the caffeine withdrawl kicks in! I got everything except the courgettes from my local organic shop. Courgettes are not in season and I got some Australian ones from the supermarket. Then I headed to the fish market for makerel and Akaroa cod. I also got some swordfish for Friday because I'm supposed to be going out for dinner with my mum. My plan is to have her over here for dinner instead so that I can stay on plan. Then I headed over to the butcher to get organic lamb chops. I also got some fizzy water and some Argentinean Mate tea - er.. I know there is caffeine in that. It's my 'just in case' purchase (just in case I have to be on-the-ball and don't feel up to it).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I grabbed a pear on the way out the door, grilled a fish and baked a kumara for lunch, grilled up a lamb chop mid-afternoon (eaten with some raw carrots) and am doing a mix of veges and makerel (baked) for dinner. I don't imagine there will be a lot of culinary inventiveness over the next week, but it doesn't have to be awful. I'm thinking of making a meaty soup tomorrow. It's winter, the season for soupiness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm feeling fine. Well, a bit more fragile than usual, but it's easy to handle when I know why I feel that way. Today, of all days, the supermarket decided to completely change their layout. Everything is not where I'm used to finding it and I was feeling unreasonably angry about it. Then I reminded myself that I can expect to have a short-fuse for the next few days and got over it. So, why I am I doing this to myself?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The main reason is because last time I did an elimination diet it had a lasting positive effect on both my arthritis (which I actually never notice anymore) and my weight, which continued to drop over the weeks after the diet and settled at about 3kg lighter. Post-diet, I had nil food cravings and since then I have not had the overwhelming urges to eat sugar or binge that I used to have. I've also managed to maintain a far healthier diet, so it's all good. It seems that, for me, doing an elimination diet once or twice a year should be a good health maintenance habit. The fact that my arthritis has improved so noticeably has given me a lot to think about in my Health Scientist brain. I'm veering toward the theory that arthritis (even osteo-arthritis) has a metabolic component and is not just a case of wear and tear. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My brain feels a bit 'foggy' and I intend to take it really easy over the next two days especially, which are supposed to be the hardest. This may involve a large amount of dedicated lazing around. ;)) </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5166438357017527781.post-85066014841893469992010-06-15T01:57:00.000-07:002010-06-15T02:18:24.796-07:00It's been a while!<div style="text-align: justify;">Gosh, I cannot believe that it's been more than 6 months since I updated the lab. That's life, huh? At last weigh in I was 57.9kg and yesterday I was 58.3, a few days before that I was 57.8kg, so I'd call that <i>maintenance. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It hasn't all been easy sailing, but generally I'd say that I've beaten the binges and developed what I'd call a fairly normal, slightly edgy, relationship with food. I'll never be able to just eat whatever, whenever, but I can do what I'm doing. Exercising is a little bit random. A bit of this and that. Over the last three weeks I've been studying for exams and exercise has been very random. One day I did a few yoga stretches, another day I jumped on the bike for 20 minutes, and yet.. I'm not turning to flab. I do still struggle with urge to binge sometimes, but the very strange this is, I usually eat a bit, then stop. It is always after a few wines. Today is Tuesday and Sunday was a near binge. I'd been studying hard all day and about 5pm I decided to have a glass of wine.. on an empty stomach. I knew it was a fatal combination - stress, wine, no food - but I did it anyway and an hour later I raided the cupboard, fully thinking that I was about to binge. I scoffed a few muesli bars, total calorie count about 650. Then I was uncomfortably full. I think the non-bingeing has had a definite effect. I cannot handle that 'too full' feeling anymore and just stop eating. The binge is gone. However...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I now want to lose a little bit of weight, without ressurrecting The Binge. What worked last time was a short elimination diet, followed by six months of regular, but healthy eating. I've been reading http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com and, although it seems a fringe theory, I think that the six days of elimination I did somehow altered my metabolism or did something to my leptin receptors. Since then I have been pretty consistent with my paleo diet, adding in some dairy and occasional grains and the even more occasional real splurge. I'm consistent without being 'anal'. The difference from times when I dieted down using reduced calories is that I have not had terrible rebound hunger. In fact, at the end of the six days 'dieting' I was less hungry than usual and <i>that has remained.</i> I'm just thinking. I'm not saying one thing or the other, but, as a budding health scientist I am thinking about hormones and lectins. You know... just speculating. And, you'll be hearing more about that. It's not all about hormones though. I'm just eating less than I used to, because I'm less hungry. So, it's calories <i>and</i> content. The content makes the calorie control an automatic thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I'm intending another elimination diet starting tomorrow and this time you'll get the blow by blow account. The hard part is giving up the coffee and I think it's necessary, as coffee is a bean. So, the next six days is my elimination diet as per <a href="http://www.frot.co.nz/dietnet/reviews/mcferran07_elimination.htm">diet.net.nz </a> . So, I'll be off to the fish market tomorrow then!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Life in the Lab. Fun, Food and Fitness!</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13047019163857835364noreply@blogger.com0