Category: General Weight Loss Tips

Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

Blogging, Spinach and Discovery

I’m embarking on a new journey of self-discovery.  I know this because my thoughts and wants are more clear, yet I’m having a hard time articulating it.

I’ve been asking myself lately: why do I blog? why will I continue to blog? what can i share? what will i get out of it?

This has been the longest project of my life. I started not knowing where I would arrive and five years later I’m still not sure. The only thing that I keep coming back to is to inspire. I don’t even know what that means, but I share because I know I’m not alone. I share because I may say something that might help someone else. I know it’s a big thing to believe about myself, but at the end of the day, I write because my words inspire me. I’m able to see who I am through my writing.

I don’t plan my posts. Which I’ve heard is a blogger mistake. But, I write what I feel, and along this journey I’ve gotten lost in that desire. I’ve seen other bloggers doing things that I wish I could do. I’ve seen them count, track, photograph and document every inch of their lives. I’ve wanted so bad to be other bloggers, that at times, I’ve forgotten who I am and why I’m here.

So there’s a lesson in that. To follow who you are, to follow your gut and not to punish yourself for not being like everyone else.  Because the world needs more people becoming and embracing who they are. There is someone, if not just myself, who needs me to be here just as I am. Saying what I need to say. And so in this realization, I want to continue to share whats important to me, regardless of the content. At the heart of this blog, I’m trying to live a healthier life. But, for me, this is not an isolated action. Being healthy is not just important for my body, it’s important for my relationships, my career and my belief in who I am. My life is about making things happen.

When I eat too much, I get depressed and my work suffers. When I eat well, I am productive and clear.

In all of this, I want to blog more about my process and my journey, regardless of what that looks like.  My journey isn’t just about following blogging tips and tricks, it’s about sharing where I’m headed. Where I want to be and what I know to be true.

So here’s the thing. I’ve completely stopped dieting. A concept I’ve tried before and got too scared. And I want to share this, but sometimes it doesn’t look like it should. It’s not ideal, but, it’s wonderful and eye opening. I’ve been “un-dieting” for several weeks now. I’ve purchased “taboo” foods at the store. Food that is just sugar and comes in wrappers. I’ve openly eaten what I desire in public, in front of my husband and for the world to see. I’ve stopped hiding food. I’ve stopped feeling guilt over food, mentally calculating calories, tracking, and measuring. Punishing myself for not making ideal choices. I’m trusting myself around food. I’ve never trusted myself around food. I’m celebrating that I can live with triggers in my life. That I can have candy in the house and not eat it for breakfast.

I’ve been actively stripping away all guilt around food. Removing the notion of good food or bad food and just being. I’m bridging the gap between unhealthy lorrie and healthy lorrie: they are the same. My choices are not isolated.  Healthy lorrie is just as present and open and ready as binge-eating lorrie. Healthy lorrie  is not a future goal she is who I am, all the time, every single day. Unhealthy, binge eating lorrie has her place too. I wish I knew how to articulate it, but I’ve become okay with the outcome. I’m trusting that I will get there, if I’m open. There have been days when I’ve done exactly what I feared: I ate too much. I turned to food when I stopped trusting myself. But, I embraced the action, and realized it was a choice. I am owning it.

Before, I treated these actions as though they were not a part of me. Habits are choices that I make everyday. It’s a big deal, to trust that I can stop. That eventually I will stop on my own and make another choice. I am making better decisions on my own because they are not future parts of my life. They are now. They reflect what I want and where I’m headed.

Un-dieting is not without goals, I have them, but they are different. This week, my goal is to eat fresh, raw vegetables as much as possible. I purchased a huge container of organic spinach and kale, lots of squash, apples, oranges, and bananas. My goal is to eat it all this week. To eat them first, not because I feel like I have to, but because I genuinely want to.  I like how I feel when I eat well, I need to feel good to complete all my goals. Not just the ones that result in a lower weight on the scale.

It’s been huge for me to let go of worry and possible outcomes. I’ve let go of the fear of the unknown. The fear of eating until I weigh 400 pounds. The fear of never stopping. The fear that I can’t control what I eat without a regulated system. I trust that I will stop and that I know how to hear what I really want and need. There are days when I shock myself with how soon I stop eating. And it doesn’t happen because I think “I should stop”, or “how many calories am I at now?” it just happens because I’m done.

I had a glimpse of myself recently. A glimpse of where I’m headed and it’s incredibly beautiful.

 

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Free Weight Loss Studies & Diet Clinical Trials

Have you ever wondered where Universities and Drug Companies find people to participate in their weight loss clinical trials? By utilizing the internet, companies and universities open these studies to a wide audience. Trying all types of weight loss programs, pills, and diets can be very costly. All these clinical trials are available at no cost. Some of these studies even pay you to participate.

The University of Kentucky has done/do all types of studies. They did clinical weight loss study which was quite impressive. They completed a 44 week weight loss study where the average weight lost was 134 pounds. WOW!!!!!

The University of Kentucky is located in Lexington. They have various studies available in which you can participate if you meet the criteria. The study on diet programs: You can also put your name on a list for upcoming studies.  You can check out the U of Kentucky program here.

Weight Loss Study.
There is another site in which offers various clinical trials. They cover a multitude of conditions as well as weight loss. All you have to do is type in what type of research you are interested as well as which area and it will research clinical studies available in that field for that area. The site is called Clinical Trails.gov.

A site which does clinical research on various types of cancer is the, National Cancer Institute. At this site you can find a clinical trial in which to participate. At this site, Yyou can also read the results of studies done on various types of cancer.

Another site which recruits people for various clinical research is clinical connection. At this site, you can sign up for type of research that meets their criteria. If there isn’t a clinical trial available when you are research, you can sign up using key words (eg: obesity, weight loss, gastric bypass surgery, diet, hypertension) for a study in which you are interested. When a clinical trial becomes available that meets your needs, they will notify you. They have an introductory video called Clinical Trials Guide. It will walk you through how to use the site.

Clinical Connection also has a message board in which you can discuss health as well as clinical trials. Presently, there are over 100,000 clinical trials going on in the United States. There are also over 100,000 international studies available through out the world.

Last but not least is another site in which you can apply to be a participant in various clinical studies. This site is called Center Watch. This site covers a multitude of studies, ranging from weight loss to breast cancer. The studies are carried out in all parts of the country.

If you have a local university near your home, check with the research department to see what type of studies they are doing. You may find one you are interested in participating.

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Semi-Perfect Day

Krissie gave me a challenge that I couldn’t refuse. To recreate my perfect day, write about it and then do it again. The thing about my perfect day is that it’s not fancy or extravegent. It’s a day where I get things done that make me proud. Things that, I assume, are second nature to most people.

And yesterday was that day. It was not perfect as the house still needs lots of organizational work to get to that maintenance stage. I’m okay with that. It was also not perfect because I still had to deal with life and a schedule that changes almost hourly. Again, I’m okay with that. Setting it up as a “go get em'” day, really transformed how I dealt with my feelings. If something minor upset me, I would brush it off because I didn’t want it to taint my perfect day. I also purposely and publicly have candy in the house (my next post) and I didn’t dig in when I felt unsteady.

The day started with a little last minute work at the computer. I put my exercise clothes on and was ready for the sun to rise. I made a quick trip to the bank and came home to wake the husband up. We went out for our first run in a very long time. I want to call what I did a jog, but it wasn’t. I was pushing myself. I also walked a lot too. It was so fun and freeing. I also loved that I did this without numbers. All I knew was that I needed to be home before a nine am meeting. Other than that, I would run, and walk when I needed to.

When I exercise, numbers distract me. This is why I rarely step on a treadmill or elliptical. And when I do I have to cover up the time clock because it distracts me and I don’t push myself. The same when I’m outside exercising. During C25K the challenges were great, but I hated knowing the time. I hated waiting to be told to run or stop. I know why this is, but I was more obsessed with that than anything else. So it was nice and freeing for me to just be outside and push myself on my own terms. I know that probably sounds silly and wimpish to numbers people. But, goodness I hate time. I hate knowing how long I have to do something, how many minutes I have left, or how far I went. I want to go until I can’t. And that’s what I did.

I’m seeing a trend as far as numbers go in my life. And it’s funny because my husband loves statistics and gets satisfaction from that. The numerical value of time spent, and comparing it to the next time and then the next. Calorie counting, numbers on the scale and minutes spent exercising are all distracting to me. They take away from the heart of what I’m trying to do. And for a long time, I’ve fought against my natural instinct by forcing myself to use numbers to gauge my actions. And on top of that, I would judge myself harshly for not liking it or sticking with it, thinking, I was  flawed. My point is, because something works for seemingly lots of people, doesn’t mean it will work for you. It doesn’t mean anything other than a need to find what does work for you to get the same results. That is all. It doesn’t make you lazy, unfocused or not dedicated. It just means you need another method. I digress.

I came home and put some bacon in the oven and went to answer a few emails. I burnt the bacon. Which was not part of my perfect day. I then decided on an orange and some toast with butter and jam. I got lots of creative work done and then headed out for a few more work related tasks. I came home and ate a bowl of vanilla bean greek yogurt and made dinner. Vegetable tortilla casserole. After dinner I watched The Office and passed out on the couch at 8:30. It seems that my 5-6 hour nights of sleep caught up with me.

How was the day perfect? I went with the flow. When I burned the bacon, got semi-annoying or upsetting emails, when my schedule changed, or when things just weren’t perfect. I didn’t drop the ball on the day. I realized and implemented what I already know to be true:  it isn’t want happens that matters, it’s how I react. 

I also took time to do things that make me happy. Simple stuff makes me happy. I went for a run. I took time to cook dinner. I made time to relax. I journaled throughout the day. I also made time to do lots of laundry and clean.

And finally, I realized that I work really well with a core plan for the day. And what I mean by that is, I have goals for the day that I do no matter what such as: don’t overeat, exercise, get work done. And everything else can move and shift as I see fit.

How was the day not perfect? I should rephrase this all and say that I know a perfect day doesn’t exist. This is fact. There will always be trash to take out, people will always be annoying, and there will always be dirty clothes to wash. But, I understand that I deserve the attitude and actions that bring me as close as possible to that day, on my terms. And when something goes unplanned, I’m ready to deal with it from that perspective rather than, “the sky is falling! the day is over! what’s the point? bring me candy!” .

I’m ready to continue figuring out how to make each day as perfect as possible for me. I find that what I love most is freedom. Freedom to choose how my day goes. Freedom to do what I love: design, create, cook, clean, exercise and be social. Being productive is a huge component to my happiness. I’ve found that relaxing time only feels good to me when I have work to back it up. Otherwise, I feel depressed and lazy.

And finally, I need  flexible daily plans for myself. I need daily reminders of my goals. I need journaling throughout the day. I need core, unwavering goals. Every day can be treated as a perfect day and can plant the seeds for even better, more ideal days down the road. As in, today I can get caught up with my design work and this weekend I can do something really fun. Or today I will take the time to make delicious and healthful food, so that in a year I can have a healthier body. I love the idea of being in the now and working for the future at the same time. Today I love cooking, tomorrow I will be thankful that I cooked. Today I will exercise, tomorrow I will be thankful that I did. Today I will be the clothes away, tomorrow it will be nice to pick out an outfit in two minutes rather than twenty.

And finally, I want build up days. Next Monday looks like a really good day for another ideal day. And not that today can’t be ideal, it will be in it’s own way, because truly, that’s all I have. I don’t know if I will have Monday. But, today, I can make that happen. I feel like each day I can give my chance to build and improve my days. I’m still mulling this all over. Ultimately I want to be the best version of myself that I can. I want to treat myself and act as if I deserve the effort, because I do.  I’m trying to be okay with living without rocks in my shoes.

 

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