GETTING PERSONAL ABOUT CARBS..

So, here I am again and I have to say that today I can relate to all of my dieting clients who are feeling tremendous frustration. Don't get me wrong, I haven't binged or eaten anything not on my food plan. However, yesterday I ate two sweet potatoes as opposed to one, and two bowls of oatmeal today, as opposed to my one allotted 1 ½ to 2 cups in the morning--and I can already see it! Now I know that sounds like some major eating-disorder/ body-dysmorphia kind of talk. But my body fat’s relatively low generally, so when it does go up (or fluid retention occurs) I really do see it quite drastically. I'm practically a dress size larger than I was last week! This is mostly my stomach and hip area (big shock) and is most likely due largely to bloat. If I'm going up in carbs though, which is exactly what I've been doing, I put on weight quickly--water and fat. Yes, I too suffer from such maladies--and I too get pretty discouraged when it happens. The only saving grace is that I'm also aware that some of this water retention seems to take place in my brain, thus causing an overreaction/panic of sorts. : / I know full well that my feelings are just that--feelings. The weight will fall right off as soon as I tighten up my food again. And since I'm in the midst of seeing specialists for several physiological issues, I'm aware that my body is pretty out of whack right now. Until we get to the bottom of what's happening with regards to my health, I'm gonna to have to deal with this rather drastic water-weight gain…such a bummer.


Pay attention here--this is important: In the past this would have been the ultimate excuse to go off my food plan and binge, hence, truly sabotaging myself--which is then a great reason to feel sorry for me--which is then an excuse to binge, which in turn causes more self-pity...get the picture? Yeah--the circular thinking is far more the issue at hand. The point is I'm still eating healthy, I caught the beginning of what could have spiraled out of control very quickly, and I'm nipping it in the bud by, A) Telling all of you about it, thus holding myself accountable, and B) Taking responsibility for how I feel so as not to let my somewhat over the top adolescent feelings, drive my bus, so to speak. In other words, my challenge now is to change my thinking so that I can get to a better FEELING place, which will stop the cycle in its sabotaging little tracks. And so, I continue to work myself back up the emotional scale until I feel enough relief, thereby avoiding the cycle of self-pity and poor self-image, followed by more unnecessary eating.


I'll check in again soon--thanks for reading..


Pursue health--happiness will follow!

I just made a HUGE faux pas in my weight loss endeavor

...And thought it
apropos to share. OK, so I'm pretty experienced at this whole weight
loss/fitness thing--that's fairly clear. But even I'm vulnerable to
being "taken" when it comes to "healthy food." Let me
explain…

First of all, I know you're thinking "And why, in God's name, are YOU
losing weight, Vawny??" Well, if you've seen my Beachbody
Fitness site, you'll know that I gained ten to lose ten, so that you
could watch my progress and know that I feel your pain. I'm 50 years old, so
it's not a ridiculous idea to think I could hit a weight loss plateau. However,
I have a strict diet and I workout frequently and intensely. Needless to say, I
was a bit shocked when my metabolism seemed to stall out on me. Now, I'm aware
that I don't lose weight as easily as I did a decade ago--in fact, I've joined
the ranks of those who gain weight by virtually looking at fattening foods,
(such a bummer…) but this time, I was really mystified. Nothing seemed to be
budging my weight--cutting carbs, increasing cardio, etc., until a couple of
days ago, that is...

I decided to stop at the grocery store that carries the only ground turkey that
I truly love (oops--duhh--red flag Vawn) and since the price had gone
up, yet again, I started reading the labels to find a comparable product. Well,
guess what I found? Yeah...I'm an idiot. It said that right on the label--“Vawny
is an idiot!“ The reason I loved that ground turkey enough to go out of my
way to buy it?? The damn FAT CONTENT!!! I couldn't have been more shocked--or
incensed, for that matter. While the store “muzak” morphed and
hammered the Freddy Krueger soundtrack through my head, the words "17
grams of fat per serving; serving size 1 oz" jumped off the label like
a landed tuna. GOOD GOD! I had been eating about four ounces per meal!
Once I recovered from what felt like an impending apoplexy right in front of the
meat section, I was able to pull together some gratitude for the fact that I
didn't actually gain a bunch of weight--fat head notwithstanding…Whew!
So, I'm sharing this with you because I know how cunning, baffling, and
powerful the food industry can be, and I know how insidiously fat can creep
into ones diet. I can already see the difference in just a couple of days of
changing to a low fat ground chicken. But I'm sending out a warning to you
all--READ THE DAMN LABELS NO MATTER HOW HEALTHY YOU THINK WHAT YOU'RE BUYING IS!

The food industry in general, has one goal and that's to make a profit.
I thought I'd struck gold when I found that stuff--and I know better! That, my
friends is called "Denial" with a capital "D" and most of
us are vulnerable. To assume that “because it’s ground turkey, it must be
low fat“ is some weighty rationalizing. I'm embarrassed--hanging my
head in shame, (and from the fact that my head now weighs more). I need to
clean house. Confess. So that my blunder is not your blunder--and not in vain.
Is all this label reading/weight loss information driving you to near
psychosis? Contact me at Beachbody Fitness and liberate yourself from
guesswork with our unparalleled support! You are sooo worth it!!