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Thursday, April 14, 2016

An Ounce of Wisdom – 20 pounds of Baloney

Last year I was perfect! I was so dedicated to that health race track; nothing unhealthy touched my lips.
My main exercise was walking. I was walking all over, even one day in the excess of 30,000 steps. My vivofit counting every steps of the way. If there was no where to walk, I would go to Walmart and walk around and around, never looking back, never looking at what was on sale. I would bypass the bakery, didn't need to get those aroma to hunt my resolve.
At night, around the fire, I would have vegetables and enjoy a nice bottle or two of water. Meanwhile the pigs my friends would stuff their face with food that were off the chart calories wise. The pigs my friends would keep opening wine bottles and draining them down like they were a bottomless well.
I was so successful, I lost in excess of 50 pounds. Yes I was perfect. But there was an inner voice murmuring: “Richard you are a fraud, soon you will be back to your regular bad habits, you'll see.” I kept shutting down that voice and tell every one that it was a lifestyle change.
In the fall, I started to release my grip on my lifestyle... a little bowl of chips in the evening, a small portion of dessert, a glass of wine, once in a while won't hurt, right? After all now I had so much wisdom, I could manage something call MODERATION, couldn't I? Any way those small treat would be burn the day after on the pickelball court.
In insight I can stated that I thought I had so much wisdom, but the reality is that it was probably less than an ounce of wisdom and I can say I was full of baloney as a matter of fact I took about 20 pounds of baloney in less than 6 months.
Today I'm at one of those fork on my health road, do I need to get back on the lean wagon or do I want to ride the chips wagon?
I don't know! Last year I was addicted to pills... maybe addicted is not the right word :) I was taking a pill for cholesterol and one for blood pressure. I know I don't want to take those any more. That is all I'm certain of at this point.
On a less self-doubting subject... the sun is up, it's going to be a gorgeous day. Probably there will be some melt down of the white cold substance that is hanging around so late this year and I 'll be sitting front and center to keep an eye on the whole spring process. Youppi!


10 comments:

  1. This is a tricky one because I still hope that one day in the future I can have chips and chocolate in moderation. Just occasionally won't hurt me, right? But I know occasionally can turn into every day and then the weight comes right back. Do we need to say "never" to some foods? Usually if I tell myself that I go into a panic and eat and eat. So for now I'm going to still tell myself "sometimes".

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    1. I get that “never” trigger an obsession, I'm the same way. One thing I can tell you, last year there was no obsession and the main reason is if you do something because you 'need' it, you do it and then some more.
      It was so easy to give up anything because I didn't became obsess by it, I was obsessed by my need of getting healthier. It doesn't matter what that need is, if it's important to you, it will motivate you like a truck pushing a fly out of it's moving way. Do you still want to get rid of your mask? Do you need to get it off for ever... it's what will made a big difference, I think!

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  2. It all comes to to individual choice ... no-one else can make the decision for you.
    Looking back eight years when husband Eddie was diagnosed a Type 2 diabetic we knew something had to change and after a lot of research, looking around blogs and forums we discovered the LCHF lifestyle. It is a lifestyle and all these years on one that we don't question. We decided to drop 'the big six' which are the main 6 foods that are responsible for post meal high blood glucose levels in nearly all diabetics.

    Even if you are not diabetic you will still experience a blood sugar spike, and all the highs then lows perhaps don't do your body any favours ... is it better to keep things at more of an even keel?

    The big six consists of Potatoes or other tubers such as sweet potato,pasta,rice,fruits with a high fructose content such as apples,bananas,grapes,pineapples,peaches etc,breakfast cereals and lastly bread and pastry products.

    Replace these with vitamin and iron enriched fruits,vegetables and natural sat fats sourced from meat such as Chicken with the skin on left on,fresh beef,lamb,duck and then dairy such as cream,eggs,cheese, nuts such as walnuts and macadamia nuts, fruits such as blueberry’s,raspberry’s,strawberry’s and plenty of dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach,savoy cabbage,curly Kale,watercress and brussel sprouts.

    Many have found that making this switch has resulted in vastly improved BG numbers,cholesterol levels and ratios,reduction or sometimes elimination of prescribed medications,weight loss when required and a good HbA1c level.

    I would encourage anyone to think about this lifestyle perhaps give it a try and see the rewards for themselves,what is there to lose but inches off your waistline and much improved blood glucose levels?

    This way of life can be so beneficial to all but you must get the balance of higher (healthy) fats, moderate protein and lower carbs to suit.

    Nothing in life is certain, we all have to make our own choice ...
    I know what path I would choose, I love living life to the full and enjoying my grand-children ... if you are at a fork in your path, pause and think what path really is the better one.

    Hope I've not gone on too long ...

    Enjoy the day

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment Jan.

      Since last year, because of you, I put back cream in my coffee, I eat bacon, eat more almonds and other nuts type. I completely changed... to me fat was the enemy to my health, and I was avoiding as much of it as possible. I will come back to your comment in some other posts, I know you don't mind, you told me so last year :)

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  3. Aww, you'll get back on the bandwagon! Small changes, one at a time.

    There is a calendar of every day of the month on our fridge, every day divided into two. My awesome boyfriend puts a green check mark for a 100% healthy food day, and one or two check marks for "went to the gym" (two for extra great workouts).

    Days that slip through get a red X in either category. It allows him to still have cheat days, but makes it VERY obvious when he's gaining some bad habits!

    -WWE

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    1. I would rather put drawing from my kids on the fridge LOL

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  4. I think you will do well, Richard. You have the motivation and even the self discipline. There is a lot of temptation around us and it's not easy staying focused, but I do find that when I eat 'real food', I feel so much better. I've made many changes over the years. For example, I'm not a huge chocolate lover but I do enjoy some now and again. But I've switched to dark chocolate, which I've learned to love. It takes getting used to but our palette is something we train. A long time ago I used to add sugar to my tea and coffee, now I add none. I cut off half a teaspoon every couple of weeks until I got used to drinking tea and coffee without sugar. Now putting sugar into these drinks tastes terrible! If I want something sweet, I'll munch on raspberries or blueberries or a couple of dates, etc. All these and other changes took time and they weren't always welcome, but they became habits that led to a certain lifestyle. We all have to find our way and pave our own road.

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    1. "our palette is something we train" Boy you hit the nail on the head with that one. Most of the bad habits we took over the years is a resulted of bad training. We trained our brain of 'enjoying' the sweet taste of chocolate, or the filling satisfaction of chips, but we didn't train our palette to healthy choices. Probably something to do with laziness... it's so much easier to open a bag than peeling a carrot. Right? I need a lot of training! LOL

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  5. You have my email so email me any treat or goodie or even meal and I bet your bonkers, that I can suggest a substitute in both method and ingredients that will be yummy and nutrient-dense.

    It's what I do, so don't hesitate to drop me an email.

    As for your mental outlook, I know you'll get it, you'll change your lifestyle rather than living in extremes. You can do it. I believe in you.

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