Day 14

Another .7 lb. gone! Honestly, I'm amazed at the consistency. I like it better than the up-and-down that I know usually follows, but I am surprised at it. Of course, I'd love one or more of those 1 or 2 or 3 lb. days like my husband has, but I'll take slow (comparatively) and steady. He's not even on protocol, and he lost 3 lb. today! He did that last week too. He's only 1 lb. away from a weight he hasn't seen for probably 30 years.

I guess that's a logical segue to a subject I've been meaning to blog about...

Considering I've been doing this for about a year, I've encountered many people who are also trying to lose weight (and I'm making the distinction between that and people who are releasing weight). Some of these people are friends who know what I'm doing, but for whatever reason are hesitant to do it. I don't quite understand it: if you are a woman who has been pregnant, you have spent months of your life with far, far, FAR more hCG in your system for far longer periods of time than what is used in this program...and you lived to tell the tale. But hey, to each his own.

In any event, one innocent comment by one of these people shed some light on another thought: Some people consider this 'cheating'.

Now, the person who made the comment I'm about to share didn't say it in malice, and I took no offense; mainly because a big old light blub going off in my head was distracting me.

She was looking wonderful from the hard work of diet and exercise she's been doing for months and I told her so. I asked how it was going, and she said, "Well, you know, it's hard work. It's slow. I see you making quicker progress and I wonder if I should do what you are doing. But then I think, at least I'm doing it all by myself."

I'm positive that she didn't have a clue that the implication was then that I wasn't doing it myself; that I was receiving an undeserved reward that I did not earn.

There are several assumptions in such a comment. And I could have chosen to take offense, BTW, but like I said, it sent wheels churning in my head so fast there wasn't time, but also I know that my own feelings are my own, and I have a choice to read something into that or not. I chose not because this young lady is a sweetie, and even if she wasn't her assumptions, beliefs and perceptions are not my problem.

But I digress. Ok, the assumptions are:

~Diet and exercise always work for everyone, and the current traditional 'wisdom' is a sustainable solution for everyone (this one is a two-fer, because underlying this thinking is that people who are fat just eat too much and don't exercise...a lie that even active overweight people buy into when they know they are not eating too much or are not eating junk...it's drilled into our heads)
~This is a 'short cut', or even a solution for slackers because...
~Anything worthwhile requires hard work and sacrifice.

So, taking each one of these assumptions alone, let's explore, shall we?

We are an obese nation. What we 'know' isn't so, as evidenced by the fact that we keep doing the same things and expecting different results...which is the definition of insanity.

Do we eat crap? Yes. Most people do not have clue one what real food actually is. They eat stuff out of boxes or from fast food places that make them fat, no doubt. Do we move less than our ancestors? Absolutely. Kids don't play outside any more. We watch too much TV. I won't dispute any of that. But the origins of fat go much deeper. We know that the roots of obesity lie in the womb and early childhood nutrition choices. Lack of diet and exercise in childhood just adds insult to injury. Then as adults, we compound the problem with all the bad advice and poor decision making on a whole host of stuff that would seem unrelated...like stress management and over medication. (But that is an entirely different post.)

Thus, coming from a place where we are pre-programed to be fat, we can see that while our choices and ignorance about nutrition pack on pounds, it's not always simply fat people are lazy, gluttonous, out-of-control folks. I won't argue that some people got fat for exactly that reason, but not everyone.

For those people who have remained active, who have eaten reasonable portions...sometimes even smaller portions than their thin friends...who eat healthy foods, this is the solution to their problem. It fixes what was broke and keeps it fixed as long as the person continues to make good choices. Will it will work for those people who eat massive amounts of junk and sit in front of the TV? Yes...for those that stick to it for the duration of the program. HOWEVER, if they go back to what they did before, they will get what they got before. Will it work for people who just need to lose that last 10 or 20 lb.? Maybe. Maybe not. It is a self-limiting process. The hypothalamus will not allow a person to release more than about 10-15% of their body weight, or go beyond a healthy weight, no matter much the person wants to.

For these people, like my husband, who have never had to think about calories, or who drop 3 lbs. from a night of basketball, it is cheating to try this, so I understand why people would look at it that way. People who create advertising for weight loss supplements know that people think this way, that's why they 'warn': this product is ONLY for people who are seriously obese and have at least 20 lb. to lose". They know that people will think, "If it works for really fat people, it will work even better and more easily for me." The difference is that it really is true with this program. But hey, if people want to throw their money away and give it a go, it's just 3 months out of their life. That's none of my business.

So, going back to my husband. His entire life, he never once thought about what he put in his mouth or how many calories or fat he consumed. If he gained a little bit, he exercised more...and off dropped the weight. Simple.

He saw me struggle for years. He'd exercise with me and eat the things I ate...and drop weight so fast (while I remained exactly the same) that he finally stopped trying to 'help' me by being my weight loss buddy because it only served to send me into a tailspin.

Fast forward a few years through stress and a sedentary job with lots of travel that requires eating out a lot. He's about 40 lb. heavier than the weight he's comfortable with. He's 54 years old, and for the first time in his life, losing weight isn't so easy. He struggles for a few months and loses 5 lb. and then decides maybe he should see what I've been experiencing for 9 months. He begins the protocol, learns more than he ever thought possible about his body, about calories, and about food. He loses about 30 lb. (The total was 40, but he's guessing how much was lost before, during and after.) Once he stabilizes at what is now much closer to his optimum weight, he increases his exercise and watches what he eats. He loses 5 more lbs. on his own. His body is working like it did before. He's got his hummingbird metabolism back (or his tapeworm, as his friends used to joke). However, he's more aware now and feels that even when the tapeworm is sleeping ;-) and the pounds want to slip back on, he can maintain this new size. As a matter of fact, he knows immediately after eating something if he's going to need to add some time to his exercise routine, because he can feel it wanting to deposit in his belly.

Finally, the idea that if we are to have good things we must suffer and sacrifice. This one is a cultural thing, and it isn't limited to just weight release. In our culture, a person who has success, prosperity or successful weight release easily is cheating or lucky, with the implication being that perhaps they are undeserving because you shouldn't get something unless you pay the dues.

Bluntly, I believe that's horse shit.

The universe is generous and abundant. I accept the gifts of the universe and follow where I'm led. That is not an 'air fairy' denial that bad things happen or that the world is anything other than it is. Good and bad are judgments we make...the world just is. But I do believe that we have the ability to manifest the reality we want and it doesn't require sacrifice. It does require effort, and the willingness to see and recognize opportunity before us, and sometimes patience. But my reward of fitting into a rockin' outfit is no less sweet because I didn't deprive and nearly kill myself to do it, although some might say the last 20 years I did that WAS my dues. I don't look at it that way. I see it as I finally found out how I could fix what was broke and did it. Period. While it was the easiest thing I ever did, some might not find it so.



Now onto daily concerns...

Last night I came home and had a big salad with chicken and Asian Walden farms, along with a grissini, followed by a cup of strawberries. Later I did have chocolate delight. I also got 1/2 hour of Wii in.

I went to bed around 9:30 and slept for TWELVE HOURS. I do love my sleep. I always have.

This morning I've had coffee and 1/2 grapefruit. I'm about to have another salad with different Walden Farms...maybe. Or I might do the cabbage with mustard and lemon. I haven't decided. Tonight, we feast on the steak and asparagus we were going to have last night. Boring I know. I have a small repertoire that keeps me happy most of the time.

Someone called me 'tiny' yesterday! :-) I also had to put a bunch of stuff into the Goodwill pile. Some things I really liked, but they just don't look right anymore because they are so big. Some stuff was on the edge, but I know by the time I would wear it again, it wouldn't fit.

That's it in a nutshell I suppose.

5 pm

We just ate early so that DH could go take pictures of the full moon rising. We did have the steak and asparagus and I had a bread stick. I'm saving my 1/2 grapefruit for later (I'm pretty sure that's what I'll have for my fruit) since we ate so early.

We went out for a walk as it was a balmy 14 degrees and sunny. We probably walked about 3 miles. It felt good, but damn it was cold! Now I'm not sure if I want to Wii for my 1/2 hour tonight (or try to beat Dave at some Wii games...though he's getting really good!) or take a hot bath with a good book, which I would guess would put me out like a light. Not that I mind sleeping at all. :-) We have a couple of movies we could watch too. When he gets back we'll see what sounds good to him.

I've probably had all my water at this point, but I'm drinking extra because I've also had coffee all day, and since it's a diuretic you need more water. I'd prefer a glass of wine, but that will have to wait about another 2 months.

I dreamed of food again last night. I'm not sure if I mentioned that. That's two days in a row. Last night it was about strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, and half way through one I thought, "Oh shit! I can't have this! There's hCG in my system! It's going to set me back a week or more!" and then I woke up, and was very glad I hadn't actually eating something.

Oh, and the infrared sauna felt heavenly yesterday! I only stayed in for 15 minutes because I wanted to see what my tolerance was. I didn't even break a sweat...and then just barely...until the last 3 minutes, so I'm thinking I can go a full half hour. I'll try next week. In any case, I'm going to suggest this luxury to everyone I know!