Belated Blogger THM Comes to LIfe

after 22 pounds lost

     I know, I know, it's been like forever since my last blog. Life seem to sweep me along a fast moving current, where making time to blog was more of a chore than a purging of thoughts and happenings.  With the encouragement of friends and promises to follow through I am writing this day.

     Where do I start, or better yet, where did we end off. It was nearing August in Michigan and our visit with the grandkids was coming to its end and I was trying to knock off a stubborn 12th pound.  Wow! Time flies. Today I'm happy to report I am down 22 pounds.
     To recap my last  few blogs, I was learning how to properly combine foods for better digestion, thus more vitamin and nutritients in. Suzanne Somers "Slim and Sexy", Mark Hyman's "Sugar Solution", and Gillian McKeith's "You Are What You Eat" were on my summer reading list. Each of these books lean towards some form of food combination for better health. I am not looking for the starve myself, carb myself, protein myself "diet." Been there, done that. I need one that is a sustainable way to eat, long term, where the end result is not just weight loss but a much healthier me inside and out.
 

Leah in July wedding

While I was busy learning food combining I watched my daughter Leah melt off all the baby fat from the birth of Charlotte nine months earlier. She was following a program referred to on their  Facebook pages as THM. She quietly hinted that THM is food combining at it's best. It was the obvious results on her sexy little body that convinced me into buying yet another book. "Trim Healthy Mama" by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett. It took sometime to read it. Took time to get motivated and even longer to get the hang of it.
 
     It may seem confusing however after a few weeks of following it, it becomes habit. Basically it is as follows. Your body is fueled either by fats or sugars. When meals are made up of huge amounts of both kinds of fuels, your body doesn't know how to metabolize them. It can not break down or use the excess "energy" so it either sits for long periods of time waiting to get chimed up into something it can expel or it gets stored as fat. 
     THM meals consist of either Fats with few sugars OR sugars with few Fats. Fats need an acid environment to dissolve. Sugars need an alkaline environment. When eating the THM way, the enzymes needed for good digestion are not competing against each other but, working at full capacity in using food for fuel, nutrition, cell rejuvenation rather than storing as fat. The THM main objective is to control healthy insulin flow. Instead of the huge spikes and drop offs that the American diet promotes. Spikes in insulin levels cause Inflammation. Inflammation is the main cause of sickness and disease.That's another blog page.
     So the "diet" or new way of eating goes something like this: Meals are made up as S meals, E meals and FP meals.
 
S = Satiated. Meals that fill you up. Includes fat and proteins, little carbs.   up to 45 grams of fat / less than 10 grams of carbs.
E = Energy. Meant to give a boost in energy. Includes more carbs, less fats.
      up to 45 grams of carbs. 
      Less than 5 grams of fat.
FP = Full Pull.  Where fuel is pulled from the fat stores of your body.
     Less than 5 grams of fat
     less than 10 grams of carbs.
 
     Yes, it means getting to know your foods intimately. It means chucking overly processed foods for food with lasting sustenance value. It has meant relying on my ability to use quality ingredients to create more nutritious meals. Eating healthy in a system where food at it's best is mediocre, is not easy. It takes a real desire, effort and self control to want to feed your family and self in a way that is optimal for health and longevity. It's a journey of reeducating and forcing a deletion of long held bad eating habits. It is a battle from within to train and except a healthier lifestyle. Even though I do very well at times, at times I fail to follow the program. But, we (my husband and I) just pick up where we faltered and get back on track. There will always be the family gathering or girls nights out where food choice is limited. In time we will  learn to prepare for these.
 
     So, this is what I've been doing since August. Weight loss has been stable at about a pound a week, give or take. It's been fun making new recipes. If you are on Facebook check out the THM pages. There's thousands of participants of THM, the transformations are inspiring. From what I understand Amazon can not keep the book in stock but it is available on the THM website.

Until next time,

Julie
     

I'm Not 25 Anymore

     I have heard through the years that when a woman hits 50, habits are harder to break, pounds are much more difficult to shed and your stamina rapidly declines. But, I have also heard that it's Nifty to be Fifty. I held out hope for the latter to be my fate however, now that I'm smack dab in the middle, age 55, I see both sides very well.
     What makes The Fifties so Nifty in my eyes is the confidence gained as a matured individual. I've grown in spiritual knowledge which lends to a strong belief system.  After 25 years of marriage to a wonderful man I feel a solid sense of security. I'm content to be alone with my thoughts, a book, or a beautiful day. At 55, my friendships have deepened, where friends are more like family.  I love being fifty and the maturity that comes along with it.
     The flip side; although I have not hit menopause yet, I have experienced what they tell me is Peri-Menopause for what seems like twenty years already. I won't go into all the details but suffice to say, I've definitely had the hot flashes, the cold flashes, the migraines, the moods, the crying jags and whatever else goes with the female body shedding the ability to bare children. Hormones that have
played such a significant role in my life are declining, and from what I understand that is a main reason that makes losing weight at this age so difficult, and as much as I hate to say it, those same hormones play a large part of why my energy and stamina has declined.

     I finally understand the words that hurt so much 30 years ago when my mother in law said, "I raised mine." when asked to babysit. It's darn right exhausting to go from the solitude and comfort of our house of two, to a home filled with childhood pranks and proddings and constant movement and chatter from sun up until the last little dude goes down. It seems that most of my patience was spent on raising my own five kids, because I don't have much in reserve for the Grands.
    
     What does this have to do with my eating habits? Friday will be two months that I decided to start my NoMoreExcusesDiet by cutting out any unnecessary processed foods, breads (because of the gluten) and sugars. After years of be driven by school schedules, children's wants and needs, eating on the fly, slapping quick and easy meals (not particularly healthy) together for the brood, it feels good to take control of my life and what I allow myself to eat. I know I'm feeding my body foods, real foods, that help it thrive and heal itself. Rather than aimlessly snacking, bingeing or woofing down whatever smells or look good.
     I wish I would have known then what I know now about healthy eating because, breaking the old bad habits of process foods (which are full of sugars, sodium and msg to enhance the real taste) is difficult. Processed foods are meant to get you hooked, so that when you have something healthy, your palate registers it as boring or bland. Changing that thinking and learning how to use herbs and spices to jazz up a menu, is a journey that takes initiative, hard work and a real desire. Food affects every part of life, including mental clarity, hormone disruptions, mood and energy. Implementing the wealth of health knowledge available in a way that addresses all the above in a balanced way, takes forethought and creativity.  
     As far as weight loss? It's seems a bit harder to take off the unwanted pounds but, they are shedding slow and steady. Yesterday I reached 12 pounds lost. May not sound like much but, when I think of it as a pound or so a week, in just eight more weeks I will have lost approximately 25 lbs. That excites me. Motivates me. Side note: My husband Larry has been loosely following this with me and has lost 15 lbs.
    I'm working on energy and stamina. I have noticed naps are no longer a daily necessity. I am eating to fuel my body and it's responding accordingly. With real foods. I feel better. The days I get a little more exercise in, the more energy available. I need to work in a exercise schedule each day. Working on it.
    I am also on a quest of knowledge to better understand how and what foods have the greatest ability to balance hormones. Suzanne Somers books are updated and insightful info about hormone balancing. Another book making the diet circuit is Trim Healthy Mommas, which is the THM Diet or way of eating. How to balance insulin levels which will balance hormones to. Making meals that combine well for the best result. Can't wait to get started. 
    I will keep you informed as my journey continues as it has become a lifestyle.  

Pictures taking Feb. 2013 at our 25th Anniversary.

Let's Talk Water

     The one thing as humans we can not live without, for any period of time is water. Our bodies are made up of 70% water, our blood 80%, our brains 75% and our liver a whopping 96% water. We can not produce our own water, it must be replenished, by us, everyday, if we are to remain healthy. Our bodies will die without water within 3-5 days. It is essential that we give our body what it needs.
  
     There are 5 vital things water does in your body: 
1)Water helps remove the dangerous toxins floating around inside you taken in from the air you breathe, the food you eat and the chemicals taken in by using various products on your skin and hair.
2) Water transports oxygen, vitamin, nutrients and glucose to all your cells.
3) Water also helps regulate your body temperature. Allows the body to sweat.
4) Water helps cushion your joints as well as acts as shock absorbers for your eyes, brain and spinal cord.
5)  It is also involved in the chemical and metabolic reactions in your body. Helps to break down the foods we eat.
     You need water to keep your metabolism working properly. In order for this to happen, there is a certain level of water in each of our bodies that we need to maintain. If we don't keep that amount,
our bodies will start to dehydrate. We've all heard we need to drink 8-12 glasses of water a day. I hear what you're thinking, "OMG, you've got to be kidding, I'd be running to the bathroom every five minutes." Don't get your undies all in a bunch. If your body isn't used to getting the correct amount of water, you will make several more trips to the potty than you're used to. But, that will only last a couple of weeks, while your body, kidneys especially, get used to being bathed in the right amounts of water. However, that will settle down.
      An easy way to think of it is to think of your car's need for oil. If your oil level gets too low, your
engine will start to run rough. If you totally deplete your oil supply in your car, your engine will seize up. Same with your body. We NEED to drink at least eight glasses of water a day for our bodies to run right.
     For a time our amazing bodies will find ways to adjust to the lack of water. At first it will start retaining water to compensate. But if it isn't replenished regularly throughout the day, dehydration sets in. Not drinking enough water stymies' the body ability to function well, in all facets.
     Signals that you NEED TO REHYDRATE are swelling in hands and feet, low energy, lethargy, mental confusion and joint pain. Your blood pressure can fall to dangerously low levels. Blood clots form easier. Normal kidney function is impaired. You may get terrible constipation. Lesser, but no more healthy signals when you don't drink enough water is very dry skin, urinary tract infections, recurring headaches and constipation.
     Don't wait until your thirsty to drink water, by then many of your bodily functions have been affected. What happens then is you gulp down 1 -2 glasses all at once, which isn't good either. You're liable to get a belly ache. Drinking through out the day, replenishing as it is getting used, is best.
     And just so you know, drinking coffee, tea (iced or hot), juices, pops and energy drinks do NOT react or do the same job inside your body as water. Even if their made with water. They are full of sugars, sodium and a host of other stuff that make the bodies systems work at breaking those down, rather than doing the function of keeping everything cleansed, balanced and running right.
     Soooo....stop what you're doing and go grab a refreshing glass of water and drink. Your body will thank you.

Down 2.5 pounds... Yeee Hahhhhhh!

     I mention in my last post I had started loosely following the "combination" diet way of eating a week ago last Thursday evening. I was getting a little bummed that after 5 weeks of eating very healthy I had only lost 6 pounds. Today after one week of tracking my calories and eating in combinations In a week I lost another 2.5 more pounds. I hate saying lost because I know exactly how it left and where it has gone. I hope never to return. It has only been a week and a half of eating in combination (protein and vegetable OR carbohydrate and vegetable but NO protein and Carbs together in same meal.) so, I hesitate to say that eating in combination is the answer for me, but I will. I can tell by the way my body feels, or doesn't feel, after eating in correct combinations.
      I don't have the familiar stuffed gut. After meals where I previously mixed carbs, proteins, fruits and veggies I could go the rest of the day not eating another thing and still feel full. Reason: I believe all the food just sat in my gut, while my stomach tried to figure out what to do with all of it. Should it make acid or alkaline juices? Hmm! Should the pancreas send out protease and lipase enzymes to break down the proteins and fats or amylase for carbs?

 

     Literally after the first day of correct combining, I began to get hungry after 2-3 hours of eating. The real eye opener was waking during the night and feeling very hungry. By morning I was famished and my stomach was flatter than normal. I forgot how good it feels to feel hungry.
     The best thing after getting up and moving around a bit...and this might be TMI, but I had to poo. On this morning, it was stinky as all get out and dark as chocolate. Why tell you this? Even after eating healthy for 5 weeks, I still have some constipation issues. Or having to go several times a day but just a few pebbles each time.
    My explanation for this is, by allowing my stomach, pancreas clear understanding (by foods combining) of what they needed to provide to churn the food into nutrients I could use, the job was done well and with efficiency. Moving along the track it ran into the backend of a lot of stagnant, not so well digested meals previously eaten. Like a caboose pushing a train, the well digested foods pushes the old, half digested sludge on through. When the sludge comes to it's final destination, elimination, they STUNK.
    I guess I tell you this because IF you have Really stinky poo's a few times a week, you're probably have digestion problems and have foods left undigested and rotting in your gut.
   So at the end of 6 weeks I've lost approximately 8.5 pounds.  I'm happy with that. I feel better because of eating better. My digestion is 90% better. I know immediately when I've eaten something I shouldn't. I also know pretty quick when I eat the wrong foods together.

Food Combining. Is It For You?

     So, I had some quiet time to look up some information to refresh my memory about just what food combining is. I liked what I read so on Thursday last week I started following the program, although somewhat loosely. Tomorrows post I will give you the update if I think it works or just another opinion.
     In yesterday's post I summed it up something like this: bad combinations of food impedes your metabolism, making it nearly impossible to loose weight. Since some foods need an acidic environment to break them down, others need a alkaline one, your stomach can not be both a the same time. When we eat foods that oppose each other in the stomach, it makes for unhealthy guts. Food ferments and goes undigested for hours, when it should be out of you stomach and ready for elimination.
     The proponents of Food Combining say it's important not to eat certain groups of foods together at the same time because it hinders good digestion. Resulting in incomplete digestion, leaving stagnant foods undigested in your stomach. You know you've combined opposing foods because you're gassy, bloated, feel stuffed, have indigestion, heartburn, crampy, constipated or the opposite, soon after eating. It also causes malabsorption of nutrients which leaves you drained of energy. Over time you can become very sick.
     
  From what I understand there are 4 Groups of foods. Some digest very quickly like fruits while proteins take much longer. The idea is if you eat your foods in the right combination, you maximize your digestive capacity and ability to break down foods more effectively.
# 1:  Proteins (meats, poultry, cheese, fish, eggs, milk, nuts) These all produce ACID juices for their digestion and digest very slowly.
# 2:  Carbohydrates- these are grains and the foods made from them (breads, pastas, cereals, flour, etc) and starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweetcorn) which all produce ALKALINE juices. They digest quickly and require different enzymes than proteins.
     If you eat group 1 and 2 together, the competing enzymes and juices will neutralize each other. The result is food doesn't get digested properly and rots or putrefies in the gut causing the ills listed above.
# 3:  Salads and non-starchy vegetables, roots vegetables and seeds.  These can be digested with either Group 1 or 2.
# 4:  Fruit. Is the fastest food to digest. Fruit uses completely different enzymes to digest than the above groups.

     Don't over think it. It's really not that complicated.

DO NOT eat foods from #1 and #2 together in the same meal. They oppose each other.
#3 foods can be eaten with #1 or #2.
#4 foods must be eaten alone, at least 30 minutes before or after other foods. If you eat fruit after a meal it can't go anywhere because it gets stuck behind foods that require much longer to digest.

     I'm sure that's why salads are eaten before the entrée, too. Let those nutrients get on their way into your system before packing on the heavier, harder to break down foods.
     Makes good sense to me. Even if you don't try this, at least try noticing what you have eaten prior to having gassy episodes. Or attack of heartburn. Maybe there's a correlation.

I have heard from others that proper food combining is a very effective way to lose and control weight.  I figure it sure can't do any harm to try. So far,  my results have pointed to the positive. Tune in tomorrow. .

For more Information on Food Combining read Fit For Life or do a Google search on Suzanne Somers Food Combining, The Hay Diet, Pete and Donna Thompson "All you Want to know About Food Combining.

Figuring Things Out

     I'm sure my audience is wondering, "With all your healthy eating, have you lost any weight?" The fact is I started at 198, as of today I am 192.6. I bing bong a pound or two, depending on what I eat, always coming back to 192. something. I have been excited with the many food changes and how the changes have help ease many of my gut issues, helped quell the mucous that has been in my chest and breathing for years, cleared up the constant stuffiness in my nose, which by the way has led to much deeper sleep however, last week I started to contemplate why I've only dropped 6 lbs. in 5 weeks. I don't hesitate to continue eating better, but, feel the need to find out why. And, let's face it, it would give me a boost.
    Consequently, with the prodding of my daughter, I have signed up for My Fitness Pal. This will help me track my eating to understand exactly what the food calorie counts are, while being a little more conscious of portion size. I started adding my foods Friday the 19th of July. It may take me a few days to get the hang of the site. But, so far, it has been a nice source of information. Not only does it keep track of everything you input, it has a list of foods available like I haven't seen on any other website. They have many chain restaurant foods listed, almost all grocery store brands listed, and what isn't on their list, you can scan product info into your smart phone that will be added to the list. If its something you eat often, you can put it in your personal list, so you don't have to look it up more than once. I've made up a few meals of my own. For example: My Caprese No Bread Sandwich, my cucumber roast beef no bread sandwich and a no gluten banana pancake. When I eat these I no longer have to look up each ingredient when logging. I'm hoping by tracking I might see a few pounds fall from my hips and give me a better picture (caloric intake, carbs, proteins) of what really passes through my lips.
 
     I have also read in a couple of Suzanne Somers books, Gillian McKeith's "You Are What You Eat" and several recent articles about food combining and how bad combinations of food impedes your metabolism, making it nearly impossible to loose weight. I am going to try harder at combing the right foods so as not to stress my already stressed gut.
     It makes a lot sense since certain foods need an acidic environment to break them down, while others need a alkaline one. Your stomach can not be both a the same time. When we eat foods that oppose each other in the stomach, actually neutralizing the juices, it makes for unhealthy guts. You know you've combined opposing foods because your gassy, bloated, feel stuffed, have indigestion and heartburn soon after eating. As I learn more I will include my findings in another post
     In the meantime I would love to be joined by any of you and you who are already taking advantage of My Fitness Pal. Look me up and friend me. I need all the encouragement I can get. Your input helps me help you. You can find me under NoMoreExcusesDiet.

Surviving the Heat

     The heat has not relinquished it's grip on what seems like most of America. What do you do to quench your hunger and stay cool?
      Wherever we are, we must all bare with the exhausting rise in temperature, especially the 93% humidity. It has kind of squelched my urge to cook over the weekend so, I relied on God's gift of fruit and salad delights, chilled of course. I single handedly devoured a whole watermelon, over the

course of 3 days. So sweet and juicy this time of year.
    I took 2 of my grandkids to see Despicable Me 2 and lunched at Buffalo Wild Wings after. Had a side salad and the Buffalito chicken wrap (mostly lettuce). So I behaved. However, was surprised that the calorie count for the lunch was almost 500. Had I known the thin little tortilla and a tsp of sauce would add so much, I may have ordered it without. Oh well, I know now. I'm not huge into calorie counting but do need to have an accountability.
     Most summer fruits are at their peak, so tossing grapes, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and melons together, adding a little water, a drop of stevia and let chill for an hour, blends the juices to make a wonderful light syrup.
     Tomato's are abundant and perfect for slicing. Add some fresh mozzarella , avocado and fresh basil for a easy breezy lunch.
Instead of plain water, add sliced lemon, limes and celery in water. Makes for a refreshing drink. 
     My son in law was kind enough to stand in the soaring heat and grill our supper while we chilled inside.  I brought over a couple free range grass fed steaks, my daughter made a beautiful salad and veggies for roasting and a side of quinoa. Can you say "Yum!" I can barely, because I'm stuffed.
     I'm hoping by the time you read this Monday that we have a break in the weather. Until then, keep cool. Side note: People tend to be more irritable and short fused in hot weather, especially these extremes. So, drink plenty of water. Do not get overheated. Stay out of direct sun as much as possible. Leave plenty of time to get where you're headed and know that this heat is temporary.    

I wanted to let readers know I have join fitness pal online and are looking for friends for support. If you are a "Pal" please friend me.

*  My blog is written a few days ahead of the day of being published. We have had a nice break in the weather to have a couple perfect summer days here in Michigan.