Phase 2 / Workout 6 - March-ing into a new month after Salad Week(s)

Oh! Hello. It has been a while since you've heard from me, hasn't it? Well, thanks for checking on me. Here's the update:


I declared "Salad Week" on Valentine's Day. Since then, on most days, I have had salad for one meal per day. Without so much exercise, I noticed the benefits right away. My feet are very happy as they have been wearing the cute boots! I can say I've begun the transition into new eating habits and regular exercise.


I tried each of the McDonald's salads. I figured: "they're on the menu so people must be buying them." The last time I had one was when they were promoting the Asian salad a few years ago (it is not on the menu anymore).


I like their Southwest Salad and the Bacon Ranch very much. Using the "plate method" of Glycemic meal evaluation (visually measuring portions from each of the food groups), I think both of the salads are low glycemic, especially if I manage the dressing portion properly. 


The Southwest salad seems lighter but still very satisfying. It comes with a lime wedge, corn chips, grilled chicken, black beans, carrots, lettuce and other salad greens, cheese, corn kernels and a dressing that is the texture and color of a french dressing.  The acidic lime juice is a good thing at the beginning of a meal or with every bite because it lowers the glycemic impact of the entire meal.


Now I am inspired to create my own salads. I imagine myself compiling a list of every possible ingredient I have seen in a salad then select the ones I think would work well in combination with one another.


My physical therapy breakthrough happened with a supplement! I tried a widely advertised brand name glucosamine sulfate preparation for the first time and noticed improvement immediately. I will be walking this week


I keep missing goals and giving myself a lot of grace, don't I? Why beat myself up? It seems that has already happened enough (with fork and spoon, my own words (self-talk) - and in some cases, my bare hands - Ooh - too much information). Besides, striving for instant perfection and the disappointment and stress of not achieving it pretty much got me where I am today, emotionally and physically, right?


       Pretty much.... 


My results for March 1st (Phase 2 / Workout 6) are:

Time: 20 min. 
Average Speed 14.2
Distance 4.5
Calories 123
Average Heart Rate 122
Watts: 65
Level: 4 (Program: Manual)

Do something beautiful for your heart today.

~ Cheryl ~

Phase 2 / Workout 5 - Back to the bike (again)

I hereby commit to workouts I can record so I have something to put here. Physical therapy and shoveling snow count for something but I cannot measure these activities. I have been going to PT and shoveling snow but not riding the bike. When I went out on Sunday to shovel, a neighbor across the street commented about my weight loss. People are noticing that my body is changing. I should weigh-in again soon.


My brother surprised us and took care of today's shoveling for us - Thanks Buck!


My results for February 11th (Phase 2 / Workout 5) are:

Time: 20 min. 
Average Speed 14.2 
Distance 4.5
Calories 112
Average Heart Rate 119
Watts: 64
Level: 4 (Program: Manual)

Do something beautiful for your heart today.

~ Cheryl ~

Phase 2 / Post 4: My GIGL To-Do List

  1.  Acquire and set-up my journal as instructed in the Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss (this has a to-do list of its own).
  2.  Create my GIGL "treasure map" (this is going to be FUN!).
  3.  Plan a week's worth of GIGL menus.
  4.  Write a shopping list based on those menus.
  5.  Obtain/organize equipment and utensils for measuring food.
  6.  Start a binder for printed resources from the internet. This will include: 
          - newsletters
          - menus
          - a copy of the food guide pyramid for weight loss
          - recipes (w/ GI estimates)
          - lists of food items and their GI values.
  7.   Dry clean the garment(s) I used to fit into at my ideal size (I will post a photo).
  8.   Schedule my daily meal and snack times (I may consider sharing this on-line).
  9.   Write my affirmations (personal - for my journal only).
10.   Customize my personal exercise repertoire (low impact, allows intensity, contains variety while protecting and supporting body parts undergoing physical therapy).
11.   Set my start date for eating according to Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load (GIGL).
12.   Develop a stress-management strategy.
13.   Empty and clean the refrigerator; reorganize with reserved shelves/drawers to accommodate my new plan.
14.   Reorganize the pantry similarly (actually they're kitchen cabinets).


You can see I have my work cut out for me. Some of these objectives will be completed before I start my GIGL eating program. Others will be finished later. 
I am hesitant to set a date in the near future because there is so much to do. But just as hotels and restaurants open before their "Grand Opening", I guess I could start my low glycemic eating before my official start date. I'll be just as committed but I might make a couple of rookie mistakes and follow-up with the necessary adjustments. That makes sense, doesn't it?


Do something beautiful for your heart today.


~Cheryl~

Phase 2 / Post 3: Getting ready to GIGL

The way it's worded in the book I've been reading sounds very awkward when I say it from my mouth: "eating the glycemic way" & "living by the glycemic index". Although that is what I am about to do, these phrases sound very clinical and promotional, like a health care program marketing campaign.


Am I supposed to be so excited about this that the words just roll off my tongue? They don't, despite my excitement about what I've read (those phrases notwithstanding). You've probably figured out that words are very important to me... so much that I had to do something most other people probably wouldn't do: change the words. Actually, I created a new one:


GIGL: verb  (pronounced "giggle")  sounds happy and fun, exactly what I want this experience to be. It creates the expectation in me that the hard work I have to do will be a joy. 


Of course the word is an acronym/acrostic (?) that comes from 

"Glycemic Index Glycemic Load" 

and it's a homonym, too. Right?

Do something beautiful for your heart today.

~Cheryl~

Phase 2 / Workout 4 - Beginning to appreciate my progress

I let a big gap develop between workouts. Physical therapy did happen last Thursday (and I do not record the details of those results). However, I can say my ankle is improving despite some continued but diminishing pain. My knee is definitely the more compliant patient.

My reading in the Complete Idiot's Guide: Glycemic Index Weight Loss has confirmed and clarified what I suspected about my progress. My doctor also alluded to it during my last visit with her. My metabolism has increased or become elevated... oh, it's just better. 


Although I didn't lose much weight in the first months of this project, my exercise did count for something. Muscle mass, more dense than fat, increased in my body. I am certain I lost fat and got somewhat smaller visually, the change on the weight scale was marginal because muscle is heavier per unit of volume (if you had a marble made of fat and a same-sized marble made of muscle, the latter would weigh more). All this to say, I lost some of my marbles and gained some better ones.


This also explains how I could be away from exercising with no change in my eating throughout the majority of December, and not gain weight during the entire holiday season.


I have finished reading through chapter 7 of my book and I've found some potentially helpful supplementary resources in line with my winter goals. One, I will mention here. On Facebook, the Glycemic Index page contains discussion and resources for people who are pursuing healthier eating habits using Glycemic Index/Load. 


My experiences at the University of Phoenix. where students are required to write and post substantive answers to instructor questions and responses of fellow students in the on-line classrooms, motivated me to look for a place where I could participate in constructive discussions on this topic. Although I joined the group a few days ago and the most recent posts were many days earlier at the time, when I checked in today, I found two fresh posts there. Both were questions, to which I knew a good answer from yesterday's readings. 


I initially returned to the page to see how vibrant the discussion was because I wanted to question a paradox I found in my reading concerning pH balance (I will explain in a future post). I didn't want my post to just sit out there unanswered. I observed that many people have been posting to this page but few recent posts had responses. So, I decided not to post my question there at this time. But...


Since the best way to prove that you know something is to share it with someone else, I wrote responses to two of the questions. This was easy, especially since I would not be  graded by a professor. Still I wanted to give it my best as if a professor was reading. In this forum, one or more probably will. With book in hand, I dove in and attempted to respond to the two questions posed. After all, these would not be my answers but what I learned from my studies. You already have enough information to find the page on Facebook. I am interested to see if you agree with what I wrote there.


My results for January 19th (Phase 2 / Workout 4) are:

Time: 20 min. 
Average Speed 15.2 
Distance 4.9
Calories 135
Average Heart Rate 126
Watts: 77
Level: 4 (Program: Manual)

Do something beautiful for your heart today.

~ Cheryl ~

Phase 2 / Post 2: My "Goals Post" for Winter and beyond

My short-term goals for winter are to:


1. Lose 5 lbs by Valentine's Day and another 5 by the first day of spring.
2. Do 5 workouts per week either walking 30 minutes or biking 20 minutes minimum.
3. Finish the Complete Idiots Guide: Glycemic Index Weight Loss book in the seven weeks beginning on January 10th and ending by March 1st.
4. Lower my somewhat elevated bad (LDL) cholesterol.
5. Increase my vitamin D levels and stabilize them within targeted limits (initiated and supervised by my doctor).
6. Take my measurements with my weight and track both as I progress.
7. Research and secure complementary and supplementary resources in print, on-line, audio, video, etc.


Do something beautiful for your heart today.


~ Cheryl ~

Phase 2 / Workout 3 - Weigh-in day (the first for the new year)

Originally I set out to bike and listen to the Daily Audio Bible on the iPod today but I ended up listening to music instead. 


My brother stuffed my cell phone's mp3 player with music from his collection that he thought I would like. When I couldn't get it to play on the phone, I transferred it to the iPod. He gave me so much, it will probably take me a few months to listen to it all and at least a couple more months to create playlists for my workouts according to each song's tempo so I can listen to them during my walks, rides and other types of exercise I may choose in the future.


Certain songs I picked helped me keep my pedaling at a targeted speed and motivated me to push when I felt like slowing down (regardless of the tempo). I am going into iTunes tonight to create "Bike Ride" playlist. Every time I hear a song I can pedal to, I'll add it. In a month or so I'll have accumulated a diverse collection from which I can mix and match to keep things interesting. I'll have to do my DAB (www.dailyaudiobible.com) at another time while multitasking with something else or in solitude.


Trusted Friend and I went back to the scale for the first time in months this afternoon and I am very happy to say that my starting weight for 2010 is my lowest recorded weight since I began this journey on Sept. 1st. So, I am picking up where I left off somewhere between September and November at my maximum net loss of 4 lbs.


Why am I so happy about this? Hello!? Look at the calendar! Two and a half weeks ago was Christmas. Nearly a month before that was Thanksgiving. In between, before and after were social events with lots of... you know... food and I didn't gain weight over the holidays (cue the Halleluia Chorus) despite the fact that I was limping to physical therapy and not doing much else with respect to exercise. Do you get it now?

I am still uncomfortable writing my weight for others to see. That is why I have a designated Trusted Friend who can look at the scale and verify the current weight and subtract it from the starting weight which she saw back in September to make sure I did my math correctly.

My results for January 12th (Phase 2 / Workout 3) are:

Time: 20 min. 
Average Speed 14.3 
Distance 4.6
Calories 125
Average Heart Rate 120
Watts: 66
Level: 4 (Program: Manual)

Do something beautiful for your heart today.


~ Cheryl ~