I've been between 10 and 40 pounds overweight for probably 10 years. Before that, I like to think that I was curvy in a sexy way. Nice full boobs, a small waist and nice sized hips. Proportional and sturdy. Healthy and curvy. Snuggle-able.
I'm not sure when the moment was, but there was a point when I went from sexy curvy to fat curvy and I don't like it.
Some people, when talking about their struggles with their weight, say that they "tried everything." Grapefruit diets. Fat farms. Boot camps. I honestly didn't.
For the past 25 years, I've been doing basically the same thing. It just used to work better for me. I'm a vegetarian, and I work out. For me, being a vegetarian means that I don't eat meat, chicken or fish. I do eat eggs and cheese. I became a vegetarian for purely ethical reasons - nothing to do with health. I do believe that there are health benefits to being a vegetarian. I don't ingest all the toxins that we give to animals. However, in our society, I think the negative part about being a vegetarian is that you are relegated to social situations filled with carbs and no protein.
Regarding my exercise, there have been times in the past 25 years when I worked out a bit more than others, but I've generally been an active person and I enjoy working out. My recent workout routine has been to power walk 2-3 times per week and do Dailey Method 2-3 times per week. I like this routine a lot. The walking clears my head and makes me sweat on the hills, and Dailey Method makes me feel strong. In the Dailey Method, I'm surrounded by beautiful women who have wonderful long limbs, strong, but feminine, muscles, and a nicely curved butt. Even though I like this routine emotionally, it's not working on my body. I'm still the fat girl in my Dailey Method classes.
I am ready to admit that this pattern that I've done for 25 years is no longer working. I want to be healthy for myself. I want to be healthy for my daughter. I want to feel comfortable when my husband takes a picture of my daughter and I together. I'm sure I will always be "flawed" in various ways, but I'd like to get to a healthy weight.
To be of "normal weight" according to BMI calculators, I need to be 140 pounds (and that's only if I enhance my height a bit). Honestly, this feels quite unmanageable, so I'm going to ignore this number and just aim to lose weight. I'm not sure I have a realistic goal weight at this point.
Somehow, I found out about Wheat Belly and requested both the original book and the cookbook from my local public library. The cookbook became available first, so I read it. I went wheat free on Wednesday, June 5th, 2013.
Detoxing from wheat is no joke; it sucks. Here's what my journey has looked like so far.
Day 1 - I cried at a work meeting. This is not my norm.
Day 2 - I felt like I had a horrible flu. I was freezing in bed at 6:30pm with the heater on. My daughter brought me one of her stuffed animals to snuggle so I could feel better. I peed about every hour throughout the night.
Day 3 - Flu like symptoms persisted. Foggy head. Huge headaches. Chills when it was warm. Stinky sweat. Peeing a lot. Horrible night of sleep.
Day 4 - Still had headaches and a bit woozy. Sometimes it feels like I just swallowed something huge without chewing (when I hadn't) and it was fighting its way down my digestive track. I have a dry cough. But things were finally beginning to feel better - I was beginning to feel human.
Day 5 - We went to Ikea which always makes me feel a bit sick and overwhelmed. I felt woozy, but way less. I ate meals and snacks, but my appetite has decreased substantially. I no longer have chills or sweats. I seem to have more energy.
Day 6 - My main negative symptoms right now are a dry cough and sometimes the weird lump in my throat/chest thing.
My husband and I talked, on day 5, about this new eating plan. He's supportive of it. We agreed that I would try it for 30 days and then evaluate how it's going. He asked how I will evaluate success. I said that this will be successful for me if: (1) All these negative flu like withdrawal symptoms are gone. And, (2) I'm losing weight.
I highly recommend the book Eat to Live, by Joel Fuhrman (google him for more info). It was recommended to a relative by their doctor after they had a heart attack. He is a doctor and uses a lot of scientific research to back up his statements. I've changed my diet some based on the book and have already felt positive changes with how I feel, my energy, cravings, some of my clothes that didn't fit before are fitting again, etc. (although I'm a hardcore sugar, carb, anything junkfood junky and I haven't cleaned up my act 100%). His basic premise is that you can eat as much as you want to feed "true hunger" as long as you are eating nutrient dense, unprocessed foods (fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes). If you are trying to loose weight, he says to cut back on the higher fat ones like nuts, avacados (I know you can't eat those), etc. He talks about "true hunger" and "toxic hunger," which relates to the withdrawal symptoms you've experienced after removing wheat. Sorry you've had such a rough time with it! Congratulations on sticking with it, though. That takes some serious willpower.
ReplyDeleteInteresting book recommendation. Thanks, Felicity! I've been wheat free for almost 2 weeks now and doing well!
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