Weekly Weigh In: Not Gonna Do It!!

Yes, I know it’s Wednesday. No, I'm not gonna do  it; not gonna weigh in.

No, I'm not in denial. I know the truth...not only didn't I lose this week, but I'm up. And no, I'm not angry; a little tired but feeling positive.

If you read my weekly weigh in last week, you know that it was a rough week, but I still managed to lose a little weight. This week the rough got rougher. My hip got worse; some days I could barely walk. In an effort to preserve the joint as long as possible (because I'm so young) my surgeon asked me to try cortisone injections in my hip one more time before we replace it. I agreed. The injection was postponed from Friday to Monday. By then I was very inactive and frustrated because of the pain, so for Easter I made a dinner of some of my favorite things and enjoyed them. That really wasn't the problem; eating leftovers for the next two days was the problem!!

So, I did get the cortisone injection on Monday. My body always seems to have very unique responses to medical treatments. For example, whenever I have cortisone injections or anesthesia for surgery I don't sleep the first night. Yeah, it's real pleasant being up two days in a row when my body needs sleep to recover. This time was no exception; I received the injection on Monday and was up all night. I did go to bed and try to sleep, so at least my body is "resting"; it's a good time to catch up on all the blogs I follow while laying there all night. 

Tuesday morning I got out of bed at 4am with Doug; I like being up with him before he leaves for work. I worked from home yesterday and was very productive. I kept thinking that at some point I would crash and need a nap...never happened. Finally went to sleep at 11:00 last night and was up again at 4:15 this morning. I'm grateful for the 5 hours of sleep!! The other weird reaction to the cortisone is that the pain in the joint where I receive the injection intensifies a LOT for the first 24 hours (while I'm not sleeping). By last night the pain had subsided and I was actually feeling relief. It will take a couple of weeks to tell the full affect of the injection, but it is definitely much improved this morning.

So, back to my weigh in...I felt lousy all week, ate holiday food for three days (instead of one), didn't sleep for two days and was very inactive. I don't need to get on the scale to know that I'm up...I can feel it! I don't want to know how much and feel bad or discouraged for even a minute. It is what it is. Today I will do something about it. Today I will juice. If you are new to juicing, check out my Juicy Gossip page for information and recipes for fresh juice and smoothies. Today I will get myself back on track. Today I will take the opportunity to make a fresh start! And tonight I will get sleep!! Look for some good weight loss at my next weekly weigh in; I now have exactly 8 weeks to lose 28 lbs (plus whatever I am up this week) to meet my goal. Success is on the horizon!

Do you have a weight loss or health improvement goal? What steps are you taking to reach it? To leave a comment Click Here.

Weekly Weigh In: When The Going Gets Tough!

I have to admit, it's been a tough week. I'm having some serious issues with my hip (pretty sure I'm heading into my 2nd hip replacement surgery). I've spent a lot of time with Dr's and getting x-rays and MRI's this past week. Sometimes I think we forget how much everything in our bodies is connected to everything else. The worse it gets, the more it radiates into my back and down to my knees. I have been favoring my right hip since I had it replaced (not even a year ago) and now all of a sudden I am favoring my left. Limping is not good!! The worse it gets, the more difficult it is to get around and the more my back and knees hurt. I find myself needing more sleep, wanting to sit more (so difficult to walk) and consequently being less active. 


Don't misunderstand...I'm not complaining! Everyone has things to deal with, mine just happen to be health related. I have learned things about myself through my health issues (and yes, I've had a few (X10)). Related to physical activity and weight...


1) I have learned that I would prefer to be able to eat more and be very active to burn it off (I enjoy food & cooking). But that isn't always possible with health issues.


2) I have learned that I can still lose weight when unable to exercise AT ALL, by controlling what I put it my mouth (which means I don't have an excuse if I can't do #1)


3) I have learned that when I don't feel great physically, it is MUCH more difficult to control what I put in my mouth. (Which makes #2 more difficult). I'm not sure why it is that I want to eat unhealthy food when I don't feel great. Being aware of it doesn't make it easier, but it is the first step to controlling or changing it.


4) I have learned that if I have multiple flavors of juice prepared and waiting in the fridge I am more likely to drink some healthy, energy producing juice. (Which helps me overcome #3). We all like having choices of what we are going to eat. Choosing a flavor of juice is like choosing what fruits and veggies I feel like eating for that meal. It makes it easier to go to the fridge and grab something quickly and still eat (and drink) healthily.

Having said that, I managed to lose (only) 1.5 lbs this week. The positive side is that it's still going in the right direction. It also means I have 9 weeks and 27.5 lbs left to reach My Weight Loss Goal. And here's Why I Went Public. When the going gets tough, the tough get tougher!!


For more weekly weigh-ins Click Here.


What is your health goal and how are you working on it?

Weekly Weigh In: Unleash Your Sexy Beast!

This week I used a combination of juicing and eating. After a 7-day Juicing Jump Start, I felt so good that I wanted to continue it. Unfortunately, we had three days in a row with events, at which we ate some not so good food (and too much, considering how much we have been taking in).


The interesting thing to me was the contrast in how I slept and felt after eating vs. how I slept and felt the next day after juicing. When I was juicing only, I always felt energetic and alert. I fell asleep quickly and slept more deeply than I have in years. I normally require 8 hours of sleep to feel great. During the week of juicing I got 6-6.5 hours each night and felt wonderful. It wasn't that I set my alarm and only allowed myself that amount of sleep. I still went to bed expecting to get 8 hours, but I would wake up after about 6 hours, feeling fully rested, wide awake and energetic. I am still absolutely impressed with the incredible amount of energy I have when juicing.

I start every morning with a pint jar of fresh citrus juice. Citrus is full of natural sugar so it is instant energy. I never need caffeine or sugar. It's worth noting that since starting my 7-days of juicing I haven't craved sugar AT ALL! It is amazing how the body does not crave sugar when it gets plenty of natural sugars (fruit) and intense nutrition satisfying what our bodies really need.


Even though you may be eating a lot, if you are not getting the nutrition that your body needs, you are actually creating a malnutrition situation. We tend to think of malnutrition in the context of people who don't get enough food and are dying of starvation. The truth is, you can actually be overweight and suffering from malnutrition. The definition of malnutrition is: "Lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition". Your body has certain nutritional requirements in order to function properly. When those needs aren't met, your body starts craving. Without proper nutrition your body feels lethargic and tired and craves energy. In a nutshell, that's when you find yourself craving sugar for quick energy. If you notice that you crave food in general, and sugar specifically, when you haven't had enough sleep, that is what's happening. It isn't that you are extra hungry that day; it's that your body is craving energy and nutrition.

Back to the citrus juice. This time of year we have plenty of fresh citrus on the trees in Arizona, USA. In our yard we have oranges and tangelos. We have two trees of those little "cuties" you see ads for, enticing kids to eat them. They are really sweet and have great flavor. The only problem is that they have a lot of seeds. Because they are small and have lots of seeds, they are difficult to cut with this awesome Citrus Technique. They do make great juice however. I regularly juice them along with oranges and grapefruits (plenty of friends with extra grapefruits on their trees) so there is always a pitcher of fresh citrus juice in the fridge. Yes, mix all the juice together...equal parts grapefruit and orange. It makes the most fabulous fresh juice!

However, I like my citrus juice REALLY pulpy. So I will take a couple grapefruits and oranges (about 8 regular size oranges to 2 grapefruits), cut them up using the Citrus Technique  and then throw them in my Vita-mix on low speed. I fill my pint jars half way with this blended citrus and then fill them the rest of the way with regular citrus juice from the pitcher in the fridge. YUM! Super pulpy and filling. If you don't like all the pulp, then juice them regularly and fill your jars.


I have learned that when I go to bed with an empty stomach I sleep much better. If your body isn't spending all night trying to digest and process the food sitting in your stomach when you go to bed, it can relax and regenerate. It definitely makes for a more restful night of sleep.


So, what about weight loss this week? I did lose 2.5 lbs this week. I'm pretty happy to have lost anything considering all the events around food this week. I'm going to juice again for a few days. And definitely lay low this weekend (read:stay away from events which revolve around food!) I have 29 lbs to go and exactly 10 weeks to lose it to meet my goal by my birthday, June 7th. I'm on a roll!


I read this on the internet the other day: "They say you are what you eat. I don't remember eating a sexy beast this morning!" That's where we're headed friends! Find a reason. Make a commitment. Join in! Unleash your sexy beast!!






What is your health goal?

Why Do They Keep Saying I Need To Exercise?

Seems like every time we turn around we're being told we need to exercise more. Do you ever think, "Why? What's in it for me?"

Here is a list of 15 reasons to exercise regularly. It is definitely not all inclusive. Is there anything on the list that surprises you-maybe #5, #12 or #15?

1) Exercise reverses detrimental effects of stress.

**Just 20 minutes of exercise can erase the negative effects of stress. Physical activity helps to release stress and helps you handle stress better.  Stress will manifest itself one way or the other. Either you use it as energy to exercise or the stress finds a place to settle internally and will eventually cause dis-ease.

2) Exercise helps burn more calories by keeping your metabolism up.

**When we exercise, our bodies require more energy and our metabolism speeds up to supply that energy. Cardio exercise speeds up your metabolism for several hours after your workout. Exercise also teaches the body how to produce more energy, making it more efficient at burning fat.

3) Exercise helps you fall asleep and get better quality sleep.

**A daily dose of exercise can deepen your sleep and shorten the time it takes to drift off. If you find that exercising late in the day makes you unable to sleep it's because exercise causes an increase in your body's energy. Try exercising earlier in the day.

4) Exercise helps you think better and faster and improves learning ability.

**The same blood that is pumping sluggishly through your body is moving through your brain as well. Cardio activities provide the biggest brain boost. Complicated activities also improve our capacity to learn by enhancing our attention and concentration skills, according to german researchers who found that high school students scored better on high-attention tasks after doing 10 minutes of a complicated fitness routine compared to 10 minutes of regular activity. Those who hadn't exercised at all scored the worst.

5) Exercise slows the aging process and helps you live longer and better.

**According to a study from the University of California at San Fransisco, stressed-out women who exercised vigorously for an average of 45 minutes over a three-day period had cells that showed fewer signs of aging compared to women who were stressed and not active. Studies have shown that regular exercise can actually add years to your life, whether you start exercising at 15 or 50.

6) Exercise makes you feel better/lifts depression.

**Studies show burning off 350 calories three times a week through sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as anti-depressants.Studies show that exercise increases feelings of energy and lessens feelings of fatigue. Being fit includes keeping your muscles, bones, and joints as active and healthy as possible.

7) Exercise can prevent or decrease the effects of heart disease and stroke.

** Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.

8) Exercise can prevent or cure noninsulin-dependent diabetes.

**By reducing body fat, physical activity can help to prevent and control this type of diabetes.

9) Exercise can prevent or cure obesity.

**Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscles mass and improving the body's ability to use calories. Exercise alone is not enough to control weight, however when combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity. When you exercise regularly, your body burns more calories even when you're resting. Being active may also lower your percentage of body fat and increase muscle strength and tone.

10) Exercise can prevent or greatly reduce back pain.

**By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture and helping improve balance and coordination, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain or hasten it's departure.

11) Exercise can prevent or help osteoporosis.

** Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.

12) Exercise reduces the risk for memory loss.

**Research has found an association between increased exercise and lower rate of functional decline in older adults. Aerobic exercise improves reaction time, perception and math skills. Exercise for 60 minutes a week  improves the physical and emotional well-being of patients who already have Alzheimer's disease.

13) Exercise reduces the risk of certain cancers.

**A direct association exists between higher levels of physical activity and lower cancer death rates; there's also a strong relationship between increased physical activity and reduced colon cancer and lower rates of prostate cancer. Physical activity after a cancer diagnosis can aid recovery and improve outcomes.

14) Exercise lowers your risk of catching a cold.

**Women ages 50 to 75 who did 45 minutes of cardio, 5 days a week, had a third as many colds as those who did once-weekly stretching sessions, a University of Washington study found.

15) Exercise improves your vision.

**An active lifestyle can cut your risk of age-related macular degeneration by up to 70%, according to a British Journal of Ophthalmology study of 4,000 adults. This incurable disease makes reading, driving and seeing fine details difficult, and its the most common cause of blindness after age 60.

And here's a bonus...

16) Exercise improves your vocabulary.

**Exercisers who ran just two 3-minute sprints, with a 2-minute break in between, learned new words 20% faster than those who rested. (University of Muenster in Germany study)

I suspect you already knew many of the benefits listed here. Were any of them surprising to you? Which benefits are most motivating to you? Is #5 enough to make you exercise more frequently?