OMG!! NOTHING'S WORKING...(Weight Loss Woes..)

GLYCEMIC INDEX & GLYCEMIC LOAD (As promised..)

OK, guys--here's the best, most complete list I've come across. USE THIS FOR YOUR WEIGHT LOSS FOOD PLAN! Due to copyright infringement laws, I won't attempt to post his rather thorough list, so here is David Mendosa's link with great information! You can also find him on Facebook! Click on the link below to view or copy the list for your own personal use.

http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

And contact me with your questions! Till next time..

GLYCEMIC INDEX? WOWY SUPERGYM?

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!!

HOW DOES ONE TRAIN FOR A RUNNING EVENT?

coachvawny@gmail.com

IT'S THE WEEKEND! FITNESS SURVIVAL TIPS..

DID IT! ONCE AGAIN I DIDN'T THINK I'D GET THROUGH IT..

That was AWESOME! Allergies were really bad by the time I got done with work tonight and I just wanted to sleep. I didn't, because I knew I'd be up all night if I closed my eyes as early as 7:00pm. It was of course, temping to "blow off" my workout, but as per usual, a very sweet Beachbody friend had sent me an invitation to work out in WOWY (the Beachbody virtual gym). As a result, and because I feel relatively bonded with these people at this point, I couldn't even consider skipping my workout. Now, you may think, "Geez Vawny! Why not just rest if you're feeling so tired? Isn't it unhealthy to push like that when your body's clearly tired?" My response to those of you pondering that question is a resounding "NO!" Not in this case. I've been doing this a long time now and I know when I'm truly sick and in need of rest, and when I'm struggling with my challenged immune system because it's spring, everything's in bloom, and it was hot and humid (already) today. Yes, I could succumb to the weather induced fatigue, but it becomes a never ending cycle of feeling worse and worse because I'm getting no exercise on top of everything else. My circulation slows, the allergic reaction doesn't move through me quickly, I become more bloated from lying around, as well as gain weight. All that to say that I actually get far sicker from letting the allergies run the show, so I do what I can do in terms of a workout as long as I MOVE and keep my metabolism moving the allergens through, and out of my body. I sleep better, I feel better in general and of course I'm not freaking out about my weight continuing to climb because I'm 51 years old and not doing any exercise. Am I happy that it's so challenging for me sometimes? Not particularly, no. I've had to guard against feeling sorry for myself right along with making sure I exercise almost daily--they go hand in hand. Is it worth it? You betcha! When I see others my age that aren't taking care of themselves through diet and exercise, they certainly aren't happier than I am--or happy period, for that matter. On the contrary, they tend to be downright miserable and in and out of the hospital with far more undiagnosable/fixable problems than I have.

Let’s face it--I'm 51. I'm a healthy 51 compared to most, but I'm not 25...or even 35 anymore, and that's ok! I don't have to try to be that age--only to work with what I have, what God gave me, and do the best I can. As a result, I feel good about me, good about my life, and hopeful for improvement--which by the way happens on a regular basis believe it or not! So hang in there, reach out for support. You're NOT unique--not where these issues are concerned, and there are plenty of others right here that wanna be there for you as well as NEED you to be there for them. Who wants to be alone in the end? Not me...

Thank you again for reading, supporting, caring; I'm eternally grateful to you all! : )

I COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU..

It never ceases to amaze me how much this kind of thing helps/works to keep me going--a bit like magic.. The funniest part is that I tend to fight it tooth and nail--ya know, the reaching out thing. Yes, even I struggle with that. But once I finally commit to it, get honest, and allow my humanity to show, it's like a thousand pounds is lifted—and that's because it is! Other people seem to take the weight for me with their encouragement--and support. Let me elaborate on the support aspect because for me, that's really the key. See, I really don't like being human to be honest. I'd actually prefer to be perfect, above it all, not "need" anyone. Sad, ‘ey? It’s very sad because that's the loneliest life possible. Once I let my guard down and say "HELP! I have chronic fatigue, food allergies, a crazy schedule, etc..," people come out of the woodwork to support me! AND they share their own struggles and humanity. I love how our struggles become our greatest bridge to friendship, intimacy and a feeling of belonging--a very cool and well thought out design, I might add.. ; )

I have such warm feelings for all of you who open your hearts and share with me, let alone support me. You're good good people and deserve to be acknowledged. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the richest woman in the world because my cup runneth over with outstanding people and their beautiful hearts. xo