This is an update to my primary personal goal this year, health and wellness. I’m just closing my second week on the diet and exercise plan I got from my dietician, John Pierre. He told me I could expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. This week I lost 1.6 pounds, and my current weight is 193.4.
I found a protein powder I like: Nutiva Hemp Shakes, chocolate flavor. I’ve been drinking these in the morning for breakfast. I use 1 cup of rice milk, a small frozen banana and 2 tablespoons of the powder. The only problem is that the actual serving size on the container calls for 4 tablespoons which seems like too much to me. Consequently, in using just half the serving amount I’m getting only half the protein and fiber. I think it’s 3.5 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber. That’s not that high to me though, so if the purpose of drinking the shake is to get a lot of protein and fiber I think I can find other ways of doing it that are more effective. That’s something I’ll be discussing with John next time I talk to him. The other thing is that I’ve noticed that on the days when I drink the shake, around noon or 1pm I get diarrhea. This is a real bummer. On days when I don’t drink the shake I don’t have that problem. So we’ll see if this is just something I need to get used to or if this protein shake is going to have to take a hike in favor of something else. On days when I’m not drinking the shake I eat fruit for breakfast or brown rice and veggies.
What’s really going well is the amount of vegetables in my diet now. In the past, I was always limiting fat consumption and I found that eating veggies without some kind of fat wasn’t that appealing to me. But now I’m eating veggies with some fat, and instead I’m skipping most carbs. I’m eating a lot of salad, broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, carrots, cucumber, and onions. And loving it! I get pretty excited steaming my broccoli every day. I do use a vegan creamy garlic dressing for dipping.
I’m also eating more protein based foods. My favorite right now is a chickpea dish that I haven’t had for years but which I’ve always loved. I sauté some onions in oil, add 2 cans of drained chickpeas, then season with curry powder and black pepper. At the end I add a little salt. I love this. The beans I’m using have 21 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber in the whole can (I’m easily eating a whole can a day). I also eat black bean and vegetable soup, split pea soup, barley and vegetable soup, and sometimes a minestrone (but it’s not my favorite).
Exercise in the morning is going very well. After 9 days in a row I took a morning off. John told me to exercise 6 out of 7 days so it was high time. The one thing I haven’t found time to do is my afternoon calisthenics. Something always comes up or I simply forget. I’m glad I do my main exercise in the morning before things in my day pile on top of me. But you can bet John is going to reprimand me when he sees my logs. That’s what I pay him for though.
Blood sugar has been awesome. My fasting blood sugars are 89-108. And after meals I’ve seen numbers as low as 105-126. That’s very low for me and within normal ranges. So I am pleased as punch about my blood sugar situation.
I haven’t been perfect though. My in-laws sent our family a huge box of vegan chocolates for Valentine’s Day. There were more than 60 pieces in this box! Since Steve doesn’t eat vegan chocolate, that left 20+ pieces for me and the kids. I divvied up the pieces fairly, gave each person a bag, and put mine as far away from myself as I could. I ate 3 pieces a day until Emily found my bag and divested me of my last 8 pieces. Probably for the best, though I did growl at Emily a little. Kyle didn’t like his chocolate and gave his to Emily. So she ended up with quite a bit of chocolate in her possession.
John also told me that I could occasionally eat something “off plan” especially if I was out socializing, as long as it wasn’t a trigger food for me and as long as I was extra good the day before and the day after. This has been very helpful for me because I do like to dine with friends and there was a pizza incident yesterday.
Someone emailed me to ask if and how I’m using the Law of Attraction to help myself achieve this goal. Yes I am using the LOA to help me. With the LOA you have to first get clear on what you want. I want to lose weight until I reach my goal weight, I want to keep my blood sugar in control, and I want to feel well. Next you’ve got to become a vibrational match for your desire otherwise you won’t make it. To do this, I create in my mind’s eye a vision of myself losing weight, getting slimmer, and achieving my goal weight. If you can’t even imagine it, there’s no way you can achieve it. I tune in to the energy of the person I will be when I reach my goal weight and draw that energy into me. At the gym, I tune in to the slim people and feel what it must feel like to be in a slim body, then I pull that energy into myself so I can feel it too. It’s not stealing, more like a copy/paste function. 😉 I also commune with my food, “Hello yummy broccoli. Are you going to nourish my body today? Thank you and I love you!” Yes, it’s silly but no one has to hear the conversation except you and your food. Next you must take consistent action to achieve your goal. I do this by following the plan John gave me, exercising, posting updates so I have accountability, and reminding myself why I want to achieve this goal. Try it for yourself. In what way are you using the Law of Attraction to help you achieve your health goal?
I’m enjoying my diet and exercise plan and I don’t feel deprived. I concentrate on all the healthy foods I’m going to eat, but I allow myself to occasionally eat something off plan because it keeps me sane and it keeps me going. In the past, I used to have to convince myself to eat something like broccoli, now I look forward to my veggies every day. I’ve been seriously loving my sautéed cabbage. Sometimes I put broccoli and zucchini in there too. I ate a whole head of cabbage yesterday. 🙂 I’m also enjoying fresh fruit, but I’m not eating as much of it as I was last year, favoring legumes and veggies now.
So how are you all doing with your health goal? Share your strategies in the forums.
