Wow! You’re back again … no wait, I’m back again with an update on the weight loss post-hysterectomy. I promised myself I would write my next post when ten pounds were shed.
Here goes!
May 1st marks my journey into eating healthy — NOT going on a diet — and getting more physically fit in attempting to lose weight and get more physically fit. I don’t believe in diets because they make no sense. I’m never been on a diet in my life. I’m not bragging, simply stating facts. I’ve always wondered why people go on diets. Does this mean they will do the diet for however long, lose the weight they want and then return to old eating habits? This doesn’t make any sense.
I am back to eating healthy (healthily?) which has been easy as pie (nice cliche analogy, no?) … AS LONG AS I AVOID ALCOHOL! Avoiding alcohol has been easy too. I made a plan with my change to eating healthier I would cut out alcohol (it’s mostly wine when I’m talking about alcohol) except for one day a month where I will have one to two drinks on that designated day.
ANNIVERSARY FLOWERS
My actual anniversary was the 24th and I broke down drinking one glass of white wine … it was already opened for a shrimp dish I made so of course, someone has to drink the opened wine! My husband and I had one glass each on our actual anniversary day. We have dinner reservations at one of my favorite restaurants where I plan to have a glass of red wine. I didn’t consider the dinner I made at home as celebrating our anniversary — I only count eating out.
So, not too bad, huh? Two glasses of wine this month. I’m thinking I can skip June and call it even … there are no special days in June for me.
Three of my girlfriends I’m going to hang out with soon don’t drink for the following reasons:
- Andi doesn’t drink because she doesn’t like the taste and gets inebriated even after a mere 1/4 glass of wine! Can you imagine?!
- Maleah doesn’t drink as of late because she’s doing the Primal/Paleo diet, has digestive and skin issues while also trying to manage her weight.
- Tunie doesn’t drink because she’s Asian whose genetics often don’t allow alcohol metabolization without ill effects as in her case turning bright red, experiencing nausea, getting severely congested and feeling like she has the flu — perhaps the wine flu to be exact!
I feel pretty lucky I won’t be tempted by these teetotalers. There won’t be any drink-pushing on either end. Also, I would never push a person to drink who doesn’t … not my style. I bring up my friends who don’t drink because I think it’s important not to put yourself in tempting situations when you’re trying to make a lifestyle change, and my friends being who they are make it naturally easy to avoid alcohol! Cheers to them! (Oh, is that the right thing to say?)
Teetotaler cat says …
I have now developed a bit of fear with the upcoming dining-out anniversary with wine consumption. I’ve lost ten pounds and while super satisfied about this accomplishment, feel trepidation about drinking! I’m worried if I have a glass of wine all kinds of cravings will hit the next day and the weight will be right back on.
For my anniversary dinner out I’m playing with a few scenarios:
- NO wine or alcohol at all waiting until next month, or the month after. (Ha ha ha! That one’s funny.)
- Have 1/2 a glass of wine giving the other half to my husband … of course, me the larger half … who says they have to be equal halves?
- Stick to one solid glass of quality wine.
- F-ck it … go all out and have 2 glasses! Although according to Madeline Puckette of Wine Folly women should have no more than 5 oz. (~150 mL) of wine per day and (men no more than 10 oz. or ~300 mL). I know some of you like GHBM are laughing at the thought of only 1-2 glasses of wine per day!
If you’re trying to stay slim be sure to monitor your serving size. A proper pour of wine is just 5 oz. (not the entire 20 oz. glass!)
The following 7 tips may help you enjoy a healthy diet that includes wine:
* Know wine’s calories
* Earn your glass
* Don’t drink before you eat
* Do drink dry red wine
* Don’t drink too late
* Do spend more on wine
* Drink wine away from home
from WINE FOLLY: Drink Wine & Stay Thin
How much wine should I drink?
The good news is you can drink wine every day just not quite as much as you might be accustomed. Also, it doesn’t seem to matter too much if you prefer red, white or rosé.
Moderate Drinking
Women: 1 glass a day
Men: 2 glasses a day
* A glass of wine is 5 oz. (~150 ml)
If you find that you drink more than this in a single day, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism advises that women should have no more than 3 drinks in a single day (a 24 hour period) and men should have no more than 4 drinks per day. They also suggest that consumption all week should be no more than 7 drinks per week for women and no more than 14 for men.
from WINE FOLLY: The Surprising Benefits of Wine All Require Self-Control
This cat, like most cats obviously has NO self-control! Just look at his irresponsible drinking … he’s going to spill that precious wine!
Robert Atkins (nutritionist) — ya know, the Atkins Diet guy says:
Here’s the problem with all alcoholic beverages, and the reason I recommend refraining from alcohol consumption on the diet — alcohol, whenever taken in, is the first fuel to burn. While that’s going on, your body will not burn fat. This does not stop the weight loss, it simply postpones it, since the alcohol does not store as glycogen (starch), you immediately go back into ketosis after the alcohol is used up.
While I’ve started to eat healthy I am also slowly incorporating physical exercise into my life. I’m embarrassed I’m not very physically fit or don’t exercise on any regular basis. While my friend Maleah and I discuss many nutrition topics and are often on the same page, we have never discussed physical fitness until just recently.
80% of your body composition will be determined by your diet. [my emphasis] Exercise is also important to health and to speed up fat-burning and muscle-building, but most of your results will come from how you eat. ~ Mark Sisson
Maleah introduced me to Mark’s Daily Apple where Mark Sisson not only discusses nutrition, but also writes about ways to incorporate physical fitness into every day life without running! I knew I could possibly take on Mark’s advice on fitness because he said running (daily, distance or marathon type) wasn’t necessary, there’s no need to join a gym and you use your own body! These are things I can do.
Humans did not evolve to be long distance runners. Our bodies didn’t evolve to run marathons. Instead we evolved to walk long distances, lift heavy things and sprint once in a while. ~ Mark Sisson
While the eating healthy part has been simple for the most part except for the one day I dug into a bag of melted chocolate truffles and ended up with a stomach ache later that night … the physical part has been more difficult because when I start things I tend to overdo them.
One day I spent 30 minutes going up and down uneven stone steps at a local natural reserve, walked on a trail for 30 minutes, had an intensive one-on-one hour and fifteen minute session with a yoga instructor, and then swam for 30 minutes that evening.
THIS WAS A MISTAKE!
While I felt good the entire time doing all of these things, I was hit with complete fatigue and screaming upper abdominal pain from the yoga core exercises the next day! All this over doing it has put me out of doing anything physical for three days as I recover. I’m telling you I’m really out of shape and it happened after my hysterectomy where I just let myself go.
I don’t think my plight of physical deconditioning is necessarily due to having had a hysterectomy because I believe it could be any surgery … mine so happened to be a hysterectomy. Getting into shape isn’t easy — at least not for me.
This is the FIRST time in my life where I’ve incorporated both eating healthy along with physical fitness.
My future goals include:
- Flat stomach — not necessarily a “six-pack” but at least getting rid of the abdominal roll.
- Be able to walk up 4 flights of stairs without feeling an ache in my thighs. As it is now, I’m able to walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing but my legs feel like lead … and then hypochondriasis kicks in as I begin to think I have peripheral artery disease (PAD). I don’t even have risk factors for PAD!
- Lose 18 more pounds with a goal date of late November — 6 months from now. This works out to losing 3 pounds per month which I think is quite doable. Although, I’m concerned if I gain muscle weight I may actually not lose weight and will have to rely on how my body looks and feels instead.
Rather than strive to lose weight, most people would be better off striving to lose only fat and to build or maintain muscle. ~ Mark Sisson
- Not have my thighs touch. No, no, no I’m not trying to have that “thigh gap” — I simply don’t like the feeling of my thighs touching. I often put baby powder on my inner thighs to create less friction. I used to have this gap (I have the a body type for this gappiness — click on hyperlink above for a great read on “thigh gap”), but as I got into my 40s and stopped being as physical my thighs started to droop (think muscle atrophy) and touch each other. AND no, no, no I don’t think the thigh gap is particularly sexy on women … I simply feel creeped out when mine touch — it’s as though a stranger’s hands are upon me. IF my thighs touched and it was due to muscular mass I would probably be OK with that … but no my thighs are currently droopy, saggy and baggy. That’s it on the soap box for the gap!
- Get back into Ashtanga yoga. I have begun one-on-one sessions with a yoga trainer and to my surprise she’s been a lifelong athlete!
She’s adept at running and other forms of physical fitness, not only yoga. When most people hear yoga they probably think the Hatha type yoga.
Ashtanga is a challenging lineage of Hatha Yoga focused on building strength and endurance that naturally leads to a relaxed mental state. This dynamic sequence of postures, known as the Primary Series, combines focus with continuous movement. Ashtanga is practiced in a warm room (78-84 degrees).
Ashtanga, which means ‘eight limbs’ in Sanskrit, is a fast-paced, intense style of yoga. A set series of poses is performed, always in the same order. This practice is very physically demanding because of the constant movement from one pose to the next and the emphasis on daily practice.
Types of Yoga
Currently the exercise I’m doing is:
- Swimming! I joined a gym for the pool and lucky me I got a discount through my work! I’ve used it twice. So happy.
- Signed up for one-on-one yoga instruction. Only had one session so far and she kicked my @ss … I mean my abs! I feel like I’ve had a hysterectomy again with the abdominal pain I’m experiencing. My husband, so cliche that he is says, “No pain, no gain.” I cry B.S. on that … sometimes pain is just pain! Frickin’ masochistic husband! Last time he went to yoga with me he was sore for days!
- Using the bike trainer. When my husband told me about a bike trainer I thought it was a person who helped you train on your bike. Wrong! (see photo below)
ME on the bike trainer!
- Hula hooping! I dusted off the hula hoop and have used it a couple times so far.
- WALKING! I have started walking 30 minutes for my lunch break away from my desk-death job and also around some local trails on my off days.
The reasons I started to make lifestyle changes:
- I weighed the most I have ever weighed in my life April 2016 and saw it only going up from there if I didn’t do something differently soon. The weight steadily came on after my hysterectomy (June 2014) and I’ll be damned if I blame that surgery for my weight gain rather than taking personal responsibility for my own health (or lack thereof)!
- I looked like a meatball in my photos from my vacation to Turks & Caicos. I like to eat meatballs but I don’t want to be one. I’m not trying to be vain because this change is more about health than looks. This added unnecessary weight is not from muscle nor is it good for my health longterm.
This is the beach at Turks & Caicos. Notice my meatball self is NOT in the photo — I didn’t want to mess up the beautiful beach picture. The trip was INCREDIFABAMAZIAWESOME! If you ever get the chance to go to Turks & Caicos go … go without hesitation … go, go, go, go. In fact go now! Book your hotel and plane fare this minute. Definitely bring sunscreen though! Of all the places I’ve traveled in the world the people of Turks & Caicos were the friendliest by far … they also have the best frozen pina coladas I’ve ever had too which I responded with the worst brain freezes of my life. I rode a REAL bike for the first time in 35 years (THIRTY-FIVE YEARS!) — Did you read that?! It has been 35 years since I rode a REAL BONA FIDE bike!!!! (A stationary bike at a gym does not count.) I snorkeled for the first time ever. We ate conch ceviche after the boat divers retrieved live conch from the ocean. I would definitely return without a second thought. AND as far as the Zika virus is concerned, there isn’t much to be worried about … my husband and I got only one bite each and aren’t even sure they were from mosquitos.
I’m on my journey to get heathy … please cheer me on! I need it because sometimes eating Cheetos and sitting on the couch still seem like the norm!
This is a cat doing the hula hoop! See how effortlessly the cat does this?
I’m often confused why some of you would choose to follow in the first place, but whatevs. My best stuff is behind me just so you know.
for hanging on, keeping up and commenting!
