Size 14 and shrinking

I went on a trip to New Orleans for 10 days and walked around so much I had blisters, putting a few miles of walking on per day. I basically stuck to my diet plan, with two shakes a day, my "boost" pills, and occasionally a snack bar. When I came back, I only weighed maybe a pound or two less than when I left because I was eating somewhat over what I would normally eat and I didn't try to resist chocolate and creme brulee. But when I came back, I was squarely on the small side of 16 or a 14 stretch.

Now I'm a size 14 and shrinking. I've had to dig out old clothes I thought I would never wear again. I've been shopping at the thrift stores looking for suits and clothes that will fit. My metabolism changed to match my increase in muscle mass from so much walking, so I keep thinking I'm cheating on my diet -- I have a feeling it's just that I downright require more calories to stay out of starvation mode now. Pounds are still coming off, but since I'm so close to my target clothing size, I'm not being militant about watching what I eat.




I currently weigh 154 lbs as of this morning. I took photos on September 7th, around 157lbs (40 lbs lost!), so here's an updated photo. I'm wearing pants that are too large on me, and that shows under the tight shirt. I'll try taking more photos, my mom keeps asking me to show off :)

I had set my target weight at 135, but more importantly my target pants size at 12. I just bought 1 classic grey pinstriped pantsuit size 12P, and one dress size 12 -- thrift store purchases. I'm down from 1x and 2x tops to large, and I'm starting to look at mediums. I'm afraid to lose weight too quickly at this moment because I'm not ready to buy a whole new wardrobe. :) That's a terrific reason to both keep to my diet, and to relax a little on how quickly I lose weight. I'm also thinking that size 10 is quite possible if I'm going down to 135. If I add a little more exercise into my routine and that means I need at least two more wardrobes. Thank goodness I'm not buying suits at $100 a pop!

For now I'm collecting my larger clothes and considering either freecycling them or donating them back to the thrift stores.

The Science of preventing aging

[information from Dr. David Sinclair's live presentation at the Shaklee conference in New Orleans, LA]

Aging happens on the cellular level, and 4 things happen at the cellular level that contribute to the malfunction and death of the cell.

1) our DNA (or cellular blueprint) is under constant attack, and the DNA either can be damaged or can repair itself from there. Antioxidants protect our DNA from damage.

2) There are portions of our DNA blueprint related to the longevity of the cell, these genes can be triggered to increase the longevity of the cell. Resveratrol works to activate these protective genes.

3) Mitochondria are cells that live inside our cells, and they process sugar into an exceptional amount of readily-available cellular energy. As we age, mitochondria die off or misbehave, which lead to lower energy levels and eventual cellular death. Encouraging mitochondria to continue reproducing and remain healthy is vital to physical and mental energy levels.

4) As we age proteins and sugars link and become like sludge in our cells, interfering with cellular processes. Prevention of these cell-level "plaques" is vital to cell health.

Resveratol was found to help take care of #2. Antioxidants take care of #1. What if a single all-natural product would take care of all 4?

I can only discuss the product by name under a password protected website. Please join my mailing list so I can send you a password and reveal more details about this amazing product.

This product has been proven to work in clinical studies. It helps you feel younger, it will slow cellular aging processes, and you can live longer. It protects from health issues such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more. For example, fish lived 33-58% longer. Mice lived longer without diseases associated with aging. Works best with a healthy diet & lifestyle, but can even help mitigate poorer health and lifestyle.

I'm not a scientist, and I'll have even more technical information on this exciting product later, including a new page on my website to outline this amazing breakthrough in natural nutritional medicine.

No preservatives, no artificial anything. The main ingredient for this amazing product is a blend of super grapes grown in the SouthEastern US.

Make sure to sign up on my mailing list! http://yourgreenclub.com/Main/MailList and I'll let you know when it's available for distribution. [ed- it's available now at http://www.shaklee.net/yourgreenclub/vivix ]

Amazing Anti-Aging Product

We've found the fountain of youth, and it's north of Florida!

We've just released a fabulous new anti-aging product. It's all-natural, it's proven safe & effective, and no one else can produce it.

Delivers 100mg resveratrol that is 10x more effective than the resveratrol found in red wine, protects your DNA, gives you energy, and will protect you from aging.

And it's made from "super grapes" that grow in the south eastern United States. Yes, it's super grape juice.

A 30 day supply is $100 retail, members and autoship gets a discount (15-25% off). You take 1 teaspoon a day, each bottle is a 10 day supply, and a package is 3 bottles. It's so new it's not even in the online store yet! For more news and availability, make sure to sign up on my mailing list! http://yourgreenclub.com/Main/MailList and I'll let you know when it's available for distribution.

I'll write more technical posts when I have a chance. It's absolutely amazing! I have to run off and have a taste!

[Ed - product now available at http://www.shaklee.net/yourgreenclub/vivix ]

On my way to size 16

I haven't weighed in or measured this week -- my Week 2 weigh-in is tomorrow morning. BUT, I just had to say that I'm fitting into my size 18s better and better all the time. I'm not sure when I'll hit size 16, but it's not far off. My thighs were bursting the 18s, now they're comfortable. I bought 18 stretch because I NEEDED 18 stretch, now I don't need the stretch anymore.

I asked my partner if he'd still love me when there's less of me to love, and we had a good laugh. He's mimicing what I'm eating and taking a different brand of protein products -- he should be on an 1800 calorie diet, so his cheating here and there is probably OK -- and he said he lost a couple pounds too.

Here's a tip I wish I could follow: When you're bored -- exercise! :) Talk to you soon!

Weigh-in - Week 1

Here are the results of Week 1 of my Waist-loss plan :)

I weighed in this morning: from 197 I went down to 193lbs, My waist went from 40 inches to 38 inches, my hips went from 38 inches to 37. My size, instead of bursting the seams of a size 18, is much more comfortable. My winter coat, while not loose, is no longer bursting.

I'm very happy with the results of Week 1 on the diet! 4lbs and an overall 3" waist-N-hip loss, and I fit in my size 18 which is my first goal/milestone.

I'm required (legally) to say my results are not typical. My results may not be typical. But then there's many people out there with good results. For other disclaimed "results not typical" success stories, visit the waist-loss plan website's success story page.

I'm glad everything is working out OK, now if only I could work out more! I have 3 appointments in my calendar today for work. :/

Infernal TortureTrack

[forgive my basement!]

Ok, who invented this device? It looks like something out of an inquisition's nether chambers. But it's a NordicTrack, skithing. I'm not a skier, much less cross-country (or is that cross-county?) skier. I have this thing thanks to Freecycle. I got on it for 20 minutes yesterday. I attribute my lack of tremendous backaches to the leucine. I have a minor ache reminding me to warm up before exercising.

I like that the machine is very very low-tech. I don't have to turn on the heart monitor, which runs on 2 AAs (and I have rechargables anyway). I know I'm a computer geek -- see all the computers in the basement? -- but it's nice to know that I don't have to use any electricity to get my workout.

My iPod will be my sanity savior. I did 20 minutes without my iPod yesterday. Dumb. But at least I got some time in getting used to the motions to make on this thing, and I'm not sure if I was more sweaty and tired when I was "done" or just plain bored. To ease the boredom, I became a member of the Manager Tools website which is terrific for entrepreneurs, business people, and geeks who are wannabe managers to learn business etiquette and good practices. I usually listen to them while driving. Episodes are a 1/2 hr long or longer, which is perfect as a distraction from the fact that time is passing that I could be doing something else for my business while I exercise. I'll be actually doing something for my own professional development while exercising. Guilt-free exercise. Yay.

If you're not a business person, check out the choices of podcasts out there, whether through iTunes or other podcast directories (podcast alley, etc.) because there is tons of interesting programming out there -- probably even podcasting about weight loss -- that you can listen to while exercising (or driving, but I'm not sanctioning any activity that causes anyone to sit on their rump one minute more than necessary! If I spend a few extra minutes exercising for a show that goes overtime, it's ok....). If you don't have an iPod or other "Mp3 player" you can still make audio CDs from them, or maybe you exercise near your computer, then you can just play them over the computer speakers. I like an in-my-ear experience, so my iPod is great.

My other exercise-of-choice (and this one DOES use electricity) for the winter is DDR (Dance-Dance-Revolution, on the Playstation 2) which is fun, but I can't really listen to podcasts while doing DDR, I'm too busy listening for music queues for dance steps. However, that has it's own advantages, so I'll blog about that once I'm back on the dance mat....