Lisa's Quest for Fitness

Belly Dancing

Lisa — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:06:33 +0000

So after all this time, I finally did it…I signed up for Belly Dance classes at a studio very close to my studio. I saw their ad sometime last summer and went to visit the studio which was quite well done. It isn’t a huge place, but I love their Greek columns inside and their textured sandy colored walls with blue color roofing. I remember watching a bit of a class last year because I wanted to rent out their space and just loved it. It has taken me a while to go in and sign up because the times never fell on the days where I could actually go, plus I wanted to keep my teaching schedule open so that I could fill students in those places. They offer their classes in 10 week intervals and then start over again…so I figured that since the first class starts next week and my Tuesday nights are technically the free-er nights, I would go and check out this class.

I went yesterday for the first freebie class and brought along my coin shawl. I really like the instructor because she is friendly and very nice…and she teaches you moves with the easy way of description…so a thigh shimmy is really just fast front and backward movements in the thighs. She didn’t get all technical about it and just showed us the way and said what the benefits were. There were about 10 of us in the class and I was interested to see a mother come along with her 2 daughters that had to be maybe 12 and 13 years old. Not something I would promote to my daughters because Belly Dancing has this allure of sexuality to it and you gotta have hips for pete’s sake!!! But looking at the mom, coming in all high and mighty with her little yoga outfit and green colored toes with flowers…I got the sense that this wasn’t such a surprise! lol Look at me judging…I just don’t like snotty people-you know you sit there and make eye contact with them and smile…then you get the rude looks and the head turn aways. Niiiice!

At least one girl there was very sweet and introduced herself to me-a total stranger…anyways, we did a good 20 min warm up and then worked on a whole pile of different moved for about 45 minutes or so. I found that I could do all of them just fine and my back didn’t hurt…I did feel a bit tense in my neck with some of the shoulder rolls. Ever since my whiplash, my neck is permanently tense and tight, so I could feel the pinch. The only thing that stopped me and many other girls from time to time was the cramping!!! Oh man…I tried to breathe as much as possible but when you shake your hips side to side, holy shit…you get cramps!! They go away pretty quick but still!!

So the session was really neat and we were dancing away…it is cool because I am not that kind of person who will dance in public..at all…so doing this was neat. Then again, I was wearing long pants and a long shirt and not exposing anything that would make me feel skanky! lol The kind of gist I get from this is that we are learning belly dance as a way of working out and learning technique…I don’t see us as being in those costumes and being overly sexual-lol thank gawd for that. That is the only thing that got me a bit worried…gyrating and doing all those kinky moves like you see the real dancers do-so we are doing the watered down version without so much heat! Phew!!!

I think it will be a great workout for the abs and lower back though so I am excited about that! After class was done, I signed up for Tuesdays and was happy to know that I could basically go on a Tuesday night at 6:00 pm one week and then go the next week at noon…or even go on a Sunday afternoon or Thursday-especially since all the classes are going to be mixed level. So for the next 10 weeks starting official NEXT Tuesday…I will be honing my butt shaking, hip swaying Shakira skills and working on not dislocating my hip or knocking anyone else out of the way with my fierce-ness! lol

Until then, I will be using my DVD at home to practice during the week so I don’t look like a total airhead in class with other Hollywood wives and their 12 year old daughters!

Going Back to….

Lisa — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:55:07 +0000

Yes….for the first time in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG ass time (must be over a year or so!!), I finally made use of my membership and actually WENT to the gym. Let me tell you, I found many excuses NOT to go today but had to force myself. I decided last night that I really need to use my membership or just cut it short for once and for all. Because I get a really good rate (student rate even though I am no longer a student), it is REALLY hard for me to want cut my membership, but is it really worth it anyways if I don’t go? That is extra money I don’t need to waste, cheap rates or not!

A few weeks ago, the new Superstore location opened up very close to my studio. Probably under 10 minutes away in a nice remote area…I was happy to hear that my gym opened up in there too which meant there could NOT be an excuse for me not to go. The one up in Country Hills is my frequent area but I always complain that I have to drive 15 mins TO and 15 mins out just to work out for like, 30 mins…and then give myself extra time-so really, a short workout ends up being close to an hour and 15 mins. Yeah I know…waa waa waaa said the little violin on my shoulder.

But now…with the studio being so close, there is absolutely no possible excuse to go…today I even went to teach dressed in my gym clothes (lulu lemon stuff..not that bad at all) so that I would be motivated to actually GO to the gym. After the students were done and finally left, I decided that I really had to clean out my 2 very large fish tanks-with all the algae growing in, I know it had to be done..something I have put off for a long time. I managed to get that done in an hour but my back sure was hurting a lot. It really throws off my back to be lifting heavy gallons of water and then bending over to clean inside the bowl-my back is quite sensitive…and it was really stiff by the time the hour was done.

Should I really go? I mean…I got a workout already with the fish bowls…but I said to myself GET GOING!!! So I did…I drove up to the gym and decided to check out the new location. I was happy to find parking this time around and to find the gym itself upstairs. What I was surprised at was how SMALL this gym was. Usually they all have the same format since they are in all of the Superstore’s…but this one is pretty tiny in comparison to the Country Hills one-not sure why because the store itself is massive!!! There were only 4 ellipticall trainers, 6 recumbent bikes and maybe 7 treadmills…all cramped up to the front of the main entrance facing the windows that overlook all the food in the store. So you could be working out and watching whomever left the gym make their way around the store and even bust them in the junk food aisle! lol

The back area had a small circuit section and a large aerobic room…and the locker rooms. I didn’t really like the feel of the place to be honest-sure it has all the equipment, but I am concerned what will happen when you get a busy night with all the ladies showing up…you will probably have to wait in line to use equipment and THAT sucks! Luckily there were about 8 ladies around on different pieces of machinery so I didn’t have to fuss. I brought along my MP3 player and listened to INXS music while I walked on the treadmill for 7 minutes to warm up. I stretched a bit and then went on the elliptical for about 14 minutes. I made sure to push hard but not too much because I didn’t want to hurt my back even more.

The interesting thing is that my lower back wasn’t stiff while I was on the equipment-but after some time, I could feel the inside of my bones get sore…not the muscles, but the actual hip bones-that is when I knew to stop which was fine. So after 21 minutes of cardio, I stretched out and called it a day. Not bad for my first visit back to the gym….and I technically walked a km so that is ok too!!

The funny thing is that after I was done I was quite happy that I made the committment, BUT I felt reaaaaaaaaaaaally tired afterwards and feel tired now…tired and sore in my upper back and neck muscles. I didn’t use those too much but some nerves must be shocked that they got some use. I guess it shows that I didn’t have very much stamina today or energy, but the point is..I DID it.

At least I can fluctuate around gyms to go at the locations I like better but for now, I will use the one by my studio for the sake of it being closer…although I prefer the other location (much closer to the Yamaha studio where I work) for it’s size and privacy. I am going to try hitting the gym 2-3 times a week for strict cardio purposes and maybe some weights so this way I can at LEAST make use of my membership and not waste anymore money!!

I guess it all depends on how I will feel…tomorrow!!!

Carob

Lisa — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:10:08 +0000

Can you believe…about 2 years ago, I gave up chocolate-more like, I decided that I would try and see how long I could go without chocolate and this is how long it has been!!! I do miss it, especially around the holidays or the time of the month…but I don’t actually crave it. Long ago I remember trying a chocolate bar that was made entirely of Carob…and it sucked. Of course it sucked because I was eating the REAL thing….since my chocolate ban, I haven’t even thought of carob chocolate as a substitute-until I saw a show by Rachel Ray (annoying cook on Food Network) where she made some cookies for dogs with carob….so I looked up some info and here is what I found:

Many people the world over love chocolate in all its various forms: chocolate candy, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, etc. Often chocolate is associated with pleasure, happy times, and holidays. So how could anything be better than chocolate? Well, carob is better for you than chocolate in several ways.

Chocolate packs more than just good times. Chocolate contains chemical substances from the same family as caffeine, which is found in coffee and tea. These chemicals are caffeine and theobromine. The main chemical substance in chocolate (theobromine) is exactly the same as caffeine except for one atom; and like caffeine, it also affects the body in serious ways. This family of chemical substances (which include caffeine and theobromine) can cause or contribute to imperfect balance, racing heart, insomnia and sleep disturbances, bedwetting, fatigue, obesity, dizziness, irritability, agitation, anxiety, acne, and more. Some diseases and health problems, including heart disease, allergies, diabetes, stomach disturbances, and depression, can be exacerbated by these substances. Also, chromosome damage, birth deformities, and cancer have been associated to these chemicals, and resistance to disease is lowered. Some physicians also believe that they contribute to breast disease and prostate problems by stepping up cell growth in certain tissues.

Cocoa from which chocolate is made is naturally quite bitter. In order to cover up its bitterness, large amounts of sugar and fat (including milk and cream) are added, which gives chocolate its rich, velvety texture. But these things also lower resistance to diseases and hinders digestion. Other additives are also added before the product is finished.

For part of the process necessary to produce chocolate, the cocoa beans must be left out to ferment. During this process it is possible for cancer causing agents to form, as well as for insects, rodents, and small animals to contaminate the fermenting cocoa beans. These contaminants remain in the finished product. The FDA allows up to 10 milligrams of animal excrement per pound, or up to 25 insect fragments per tablespoon of cocoa powder.

The above points provide good reasons for an alternative. However, chocolate lovers are not left without a replacement. Carob is a wonderful substitute for chocolate. It tastes great with a chocolate-like flavor but without the health risks, additives, or contamination that comes with chocolate.

Carob is a legume that comes from the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean (it is actually a shrub that is trained into tree form by pruning). Today it is also grown in other warm climates including Florida and the southwestern United States. The tree is drought tolerant, does well in direct sun, and can handle temperatures down to 18 degrees F. It has a broad, spreading form that makes it an ideal shade tree and can grow to a height of 50 feet. The leaves are dark green, glossy, and leathery. The tree bears fruit (carob pods) after six to eight years of growth, and can easily bear 100 pounds of pods per year by its twelfth year, increasing to an average of 200 to 250 pounds annually as the tree grows older. It can continue to bear fruit for 100 years. The pods are reddish-brown and can be up to a foot long.

Carob has been used for food for over 5000 years and continues to play an important role in Jewish tradition. It is also called “honey locust” or St. John’s Bread as this was consumed by John the Baptist while he was in the wilderness (Matt. 3:4). The husks that were eaten by the Prodigal Son in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15:16) were discarded carob pods. Even today carob continues to be an important feed for livestock. The word carat, which is still used today to measure gold and diamonds, comes from the Arabic name for the carob seeds because of their uniformity in weight.

After harvesting, the long bean-like pods from the carob tree are cooked for a short time or roasted and then ground into carob powder (roasting enhances its chocolate-like flavor). Carob can be used to make such items as cakes, cookies, candy, pudding, icing, bread, beverages, shakes, ice cream, muffins, fudge, and brownies. Carob is naturally sweet and requires much less sweetener when used in recipes. When replacing chocolate with carob in a recipe, use 3 tablespoons of carob powder plus 1 tablespoon of water for every ounce of unsweetened chocolate called for. When substituting cocoa powder, use an equal amount of carob powder. Remember to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe because of the natural sweetness of carob.

In addition to not having the negative effects of chocolate, carob is very nutritious. Carob contains as much Vitamin B1 as asparagus or strawberries; as much niacin as lima beans, lentils, or peas; and more Vitamin A than eggplant, asparagus, and beets. It also contains Vitamin B2, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and the trace minerals iron, manganese, chromium, copper, and nickel. It contains approximately 8 percent protein and is a good source of fiber. Compared to chocolate, carob is three times richer in calcium, has one third less calories and seventeen times less fat.

Carob also has therapeutic uses. It is known to halt serious cases of diarrhea in adults, infants, and animals. Use 1 tablespoon of carob power in a cup of liquid, or make a paste of carob powder and water. It is also known to help with nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach. One French physician successfully reversed kidney failure with carob. Use approximately 2 teaspoons carob powder in unsweetened cranberry juice four or five times daily. A decoction of the leaves and bark has been useful for syphilis and venereal diseases, and seems to have a soothing effect on epilepsy.

Carob is a chocolate lovers delight as it is not only delicious, but low in fat and calories, caffeine-free, and lacks the health risks of chocolate. Please give carob a try. Different carob products taste differently, as some taste more chocolate-like than others. Therefore, try out several different carob products, and congratulate yourself on treating yourself to a healthy and delicious treat.

Carob Info

Day 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Lisa — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:03:43 +0000

Ok, so the last 4 days weren’t all that bad which is a good thing this time around. I did notice that on this detox, I found the herbal laxatives to be a bit stronger than normal. You are supposed to take 2 of those along with your 2 cleanse herbs and other herbs too, but I learned early on to NEVER do that unless I wanted to be sitting on a toilet anywhere I went. The past few detoxes have had me only take 1 lax at breakfast and 1 at dinner with no major problems. I decided this time around to take the lax’s in twos only when I knew the evening would be quiet or I didn’t have to be anywhere early the next morning. The thing with the laxatives (and I am SURE you wanted to read all about that) is that they don’t affect you right away…with me, it is usually the next morning when I take my number #2 right away.Then, about 20 mins later I have to go again-and maybe 10 mins later just a bit more.

And when I say go, I mean “you have about 15 seconds to find a toilet or else”!!! At least the good thing this time is that the actual liquid herbs you have to drink were not that strong. I find that each time I do the detox, I get different side effects-not always bad…sometimes I get nausea whenever I take the pills, other times I get headaches, other times nothing happens and after that…I am fine.

So the past handful of days have been pretty good to me-I successfully avoided going nuts over candy and anything that LOOKED good in a dish. I had some of my barley/veggie soup which really keeps well as I made a batch last week and it is STILL in the fridge. I had scrambled eggs with sliced scallions, red pepper and broccoli which was a nice switch, stir fried chicken with sides of veggies like corn and potatoes…basic stuff. I never did get to make my lentil soup but that is ok because I can still do it.

I only weighed myself once a few days ago just to see if things were going ok-I came in at 128 pounds which was a bit of a surprise…only because it must have meant that I was up in the early 130s again-a number I usually don’t like to see because it means that I am gaining weight. Ok to some people, 130 sounds like a fabulous number, to me it is an ok number, but having spent much of my life always stuck between 135 and 145….getting anywhere near there is scary!!! It was only until about a few years ago that I was ever able to reach 125 pounds at the lowest and be healthy. That has taken me a lifetime to get there it seems….so it proved to me that being 128 meant that I was definitely over the line…but 128 is a good number because it is pretty close to 125 and that is fine too!!!

If you remember, I didn’t weigh myself BEFORE the detox and I didn’t weigh myself the day after. I let my body tell me what is going wrong and when I am overdoing it….and now it tells me that I did a great job and to continue being very picky with what I eat. I will just press onwards with my healthy and natural style eating like I did for many months before the slight detour.

My focus will be to have more food that I cook at home-the number one danger for me is knowing that right beside where I work I can hit up a grocery store or a Vietnemese restaurant anytime-and with the prices they charge for the food you actually get, it is pretty much a rip off anyways!!! I will continue to have my proper protein with veggies for dinner and plenty of snack foods with fruits (finally I can eat the tropical stuff again!!!), and nuts….so it will be the same old story. I have way too many clothes that I need to wear and fit in to-especially in the coming months with potential bridal showers, music recitals and 3 back to back weddings in the summer!!

Hopefully I can hold off my yearly August detox and try it out sometime in October or even November, but I am glad that this time around I did a great job and will continue to do the same thing after!!

Day 4-5-6-7

Lisa — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:03:44 +0000

Wow the days sure have gone by FAST! The detox so far has been pretty good to say the least and I have been doing well to always bring along carrots, water, a piece of fruit (but I sure miss the tropical stuff) and nuts with me whenever I go out. I made some new discoveries in the past few days though….you CAN have pistachio nuts as part of your 80% diet…many nuts are limited but I was thrilled to read that!! The only danger with those nuts is that you can eat a whole bag and then end up wanting to drink a fountain of water! I also discovered that if you put apple sauce (the natural stuff you can find in baby food jars) in your oatmeal with cinnamon-it tastes like the inside of an apple pie!!

Mmmmm and Mmmm….I am still enjoying my Chickpea salad recipe that I have in the fridge for sides when I need something quick. I also cooked up some of my Barley and Vegetable soup in a big batch…I filled it with corn, peas, barley, turnips and different colors of potatoes for texture-and it tastes really good considering I used vegetable broth instead of the chicken or beef stuff.

Another neat find-Fingerling potatoes…they look like thin, yet fat long fingers but are yellow fleshed potatoes-you cook those up, add garlic butter and black pepper and they just melt in your mouth!!!

My dinners have been ok-chicken and bok choy with an array of veggies and of course more salmon in sesame ginger sauce with barley. Tomorrow I am going to make myself a kick ass Spanish omelet that combines tomatoes, peppers and potatoes….THAT should be good. I definitely feel much better and sleep better too-the only thing I noticed is that my face is breaking out a bit more. Not sure if that is from the toxins being released or just timing from the impending “time of the month” which should be here in a week…or just skin cream that I need to change. Either way, it is nice not to feel bloated or overly full-that is the funny thing with all the food on my plate, it looks like a lot, but 80% of it is vegetable based which digest in like..20 seconds…so I am usually wanting to munch a little later.

Other than my newer popcorn machine breaking down, I am definitely back to where I needed to be after taking a few months of a break from eating the good stuff!!!

Day 1-2-3

Lisa — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:22:26 +0000

So far it has been pretty easy to do the detox this time around-what a difference it makes to eat food that doesn’t bloat you, make you feel sick or thirsty!! That is why I like eating right, detox or not…but it sure is nice to go off track and enjoy all those forbidden fruits!! hahah I have made sure to have an apple every day as part of my 1 fruit-along with nuts for snacking and carrots. The first day I did the detox, I came up with a GREAT recipe-easy, healthy and yummy tasting!! Chickpea salad-I love chickpeas but don’t eat them often enough so I created a yummy salad of it with red peppers, cucumbers and spices…SO good. I liked it that much that I took a picture! You will have to see it soon when I upload.

Dinners have been good-asparagus (great sale on at Superstore for them and they are so nice and fresh!!!) with tomatos, peas and any other green that is interesting. My mom made up a great stirfry with bok choy and chicken but cooked in sesame (or was it ginger) oil….So good!! I guess when you have small options, you like EVERYTHING! Today I had a good lunch with barley and salmon in ginger sauce which is SOOOOOOOOOO good….(notice how I say that alot! haha)-it goes really well with barley and veggies and I love eating it.

Surprisingly I haven’t been craving any sugar at all which is good because that tends to be my downfall…then again, I ate everything I could possibly enjoy and think of so I wouldn’t cheat-and so far, it has been just fine!!!

And here we go AGAIN-

Lisa — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Ok-I know most of you don’t care about the fact that I am doing a detox so let’s just say that I am recording my daily entries here for my own purposes to help keep track. I went back and checked out my very first detox that I started recording on here back 2 years ago and checked all the other times I have done them as well. It is funny to note that my first detox I recorded down was in September 2005 with my 2nd one being recorded in March or 2006. Scroll ahead to 2007 and my 3rd detox was done in March with my 4th following that same year of September.

See a pattern? lol I obviously never really planned that to happen but can understand why-I liked doing my detox’s just before going back to school in September and March was great because I would just be finishing up University (almost) and needed that pick me up from the lovely stress eating!!

So today, I break that pattern starting my detox on February 27th!! I didn’t intend for it to happen but figured the time was right anyways since my last one was about 6 months ago. I like to do the Wild Rose usually every summer if I can, but since working with kids a lot, I figure that doing it twice a year is better so I can cleanse myself out and be healthier. I remember doing the Wild Rose detox about 7 or 8 years ago as a start and it was ALWAYS so damn hard. Over the years, as I have adjusted my eating habits (nixed the chocolate and the pop), it hasn’t been as hard. I have learned to do the detox as a health aide, not a weight loss gimmick which was worked well for me. In fact, I never weigh myself before going on the detox or after-I don’t want numbers to run my life-I will weigh in every now and then, when I am feeling slim, I weigh in….when I start feeling a little too voluptuous, I know it is time for something different.

Up until a month or two ago, I was eating really well then of course, you get Xmas and ALL that food-plus anything else after and well…it is a good time to start filling out. My mom and dad both got sick and so did Russ-but I have managed not to…surprisingly since I teach kids all the time and have dealt with a lot of sick students…but I always say to the Universe that I will NOT get sick because I take my vitamins and sanitize my hands all the time-so far so good…this coming cleanse was due though. I have gotten to a point where I am sick of eating all types of foods which usually means that it is time to get back to the healthy eating in a strict style and start enjoying REAL foods and FRESH foods at that!!

So here I go…my own menu so I can look back and see what I ate and what worked, what didn’t and what I should NEVER do again! lol I am going to try a few new recipes during this detox-one is Lentil Dahl…some sort of healthy lentil soup with curry in it…not a big fan of curry but maybe it will taste good?

I guess until then I will just look forward to my late lunch/early dinner that I have to eat and will wait to write about it then!!!

Done for another while!

Lisa — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:39:16 +0000

And so it is overrrrrrrrrrr and hooray! Actually not really hooray because I didn’t suffer at all during this round, ok there were some times that I just wanted a frozen dinner or have some pineapples, but honestly it went really well. I feel much better than I did when I got back from Toronto and now I am back to normal as well-no bloats or gas! lol Even on my first official day off from my detox yesterday, I had a good healthy dinner that Russ and I cooked up-we got butter chicken sauce (ok maybe not totally healthy but the ingredients were pretty natural) from a jar, cooked up brown rice and threw in some frozen veggies. We each had a nice bowl of rice with butter chicken and corn/peas/carrots and it was good-although butter chicken sauce should really go with basmati rice since it is more neutral and not so grainy tasting.

Other than that, I made sure to always have my proteins with a veggie throughout this detox-some grilled chicken with corn and tomatoes, or some brown rice with salmon and ginger/sesame oil…stuff like that really-oh yeah and my fave, rice cakes with sunny side up eggs accompanied with fresh tomatoes and whatever veggie is handy. I have to admit that a detox is really the only way I will ever actually enjoy eating veggies but I have decided that I just cannot love eating raw broccoli or cauliflower-there are some veggies that I cannot force myself to eat and those are it…steamed in Chinese food, no sweat, but raw? Pewww. Now that I am off the detox I will continue to eat as usual-nuts for snacks, home made granola (oats, nuts and dried fruit, no sweeteners) or my favorite Bran cereal from Superstore with rice milk….fruits for snack and a protein with veggies for dinner and perhaps some rice pasta (ironically it is not made of flour, just rice paste and tastes SO good!) or other rice dishes that are naturally made-and popcorn or Corn thins to munch on.

Sounds a bit boring, no? lol Well I have discovered that my digestive system works VERY good when it deals with boring food-it is when I eat some Chinese stuff (especially the kinds with a lot of sauce smothered in it) that I get so thirsty and uncomfortable…or when I eat heavy Italian food (lasagna) that I feel very full and stretched…or heck even Indian food when I eat Naan bread (ok it was only once in Toronto) and wanted to poop it out….I just find that even now Vietnemese food is something I can process very easily so long as I don’t have spring rolls or anything fried.

It is pretty funny how the body conforms to what you give it and then it goes against you once you have strayed from the bad stuff. When I eat healthy, my body hates it for the first few weeks but then gets used to it and works well-the second I eat something a bit odd, it gets upset and if I keep going, it gets VERY mad and I get sick and feel uncomfortable….BUT the interesting thing is, where I feel all stretched and gross, then my body starts to crave the bad stuff that made it feel worse in the first place and suddenly being healthy is a thing of the past!!

Just a funny way that the body reacts and goes with the flow….so you can see why I still haven’t eaten chocolate no matter how many people say it is now good for me (the dark junk)…I know that when I eat it, I will have a reaction that will affect me for a few days and then I will be back on a high and soon inhaling anything that looks remotely like chocolate! lol So yeah I may sound fanatical, believe me-I am sorta, but there is a reason to my madness. Until then I should be just fine now that I have everything back in check, and with the whole art of having to deal with several little kids, I am fully cleansed out and healthy so that I can build up a good immune system to deal with the snot nose cold producing germ infested children that I get to teach every week!!

Detox-4th Round

Lisa — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:38:52 +0000

Ok I feel like a pro with this whole detox thing now, I basically am that used to it that I don’t even need to look at the food charts to know what I am not allowed and allowed to eat!! I decided that it was time to do a detox in order to gear up for a hectic year of dealing with kids and being busy. I think my last detox was sometime after my birthday in February so this is pretty fitting to do another one-the max I do is about 2 times a year or just once depending on how I feel.

So far I have been at my detox for almost a week and it hasn’t been that bad at all….since I rapidly changed my eating capacity about 3-4 months ago, the detox is pretty much the same as what I have been eating. Once again, no pop, no juice, no white starches and no wheat/flour with very little (if any) desserts, cookies or candies. That was my routine with more proteins and veggies and voila…all has been well. Of course, scroll ahead to my trip to Toronto back 2 weeks ago-it started out ok but then got progressively worse…..I got $230 in cash to have as spending money for the whole week. With the way I eat, I knew I would come home with about $170 of it back at LEAST!

However, I forgot that this was Toronto and we didn’t have any daily grocery stores around us…just strips of fast food and restaurants-and no matter how many times you go to a restaurant and see salad on the menu, as IF anyone wants to waste their trip on something boring like that! lol. We all ended up trying out real Indian food (incredibly yummy naan bread!!!), then take out food, then restaurant food, then food court food and then salad bar food. You name, we ate it…but I didn’t have desserts or pop so that was ok-oh wait, scroll ahead to halfway through when I had that HUGE ass waffle dish with fruit-I wanted to throw up from it after!!!

Anyways, the impact all of that “normal” food had on my body was profound-after a few days, I was backed up (if you know what I mean), very bloated and not able to digest my food properly. Mind you, I wasn’t pigging out at all, but coming from a pretty strict and boring way of eating and then going to a freely eat anything normal diet, wreaked havoc on my body. A small change like that was enough to really make me feel uncomfortable. Luckily by about Day 5, my roomie and I both had enough of eating normally and feeling like total crap-we found a grocery store and would buy our food there, salads, meats and healthy ass stuff.

But you know what, by that point, the normal food tasted SO much better and our stomachs expanded that we were never quite satisfied after eating chicken and salad (something that would fill me up just fine before). So we would snack on healthy chips (made of real potato flour) and almond bars….then it graduated to a few cookies and some candy and then jelly beans. See the pattern?? By the time I got home, I felt WAY more bloated in 7 days than I had in 7 weeks-and my pants fit a bit tighter. I didn’t bother weighing myself because I am pretty in tune with my body to know when it has been overly abused.

If I DID gain weight, it would have been about 2-5 pounds which was no biggie, but honestly, I felt so horrible internally even though I was finally able to process food and poop out near the end of the trip. I took another week to really enjoy eating anything (frozen yogurt…MMMMMM) and then decided on the detox to cleanse everything out for good. Of which I have been doing with no problems-I always know when my body is ready for a cleanse, when I eat whatever I want and can, then have no idea what I want to eat…it means that it is back to the basics and you know, I have been doing GREAT on it!

I eat my usual grilled chicken with corn or peas, or veggies or a salad on one day, then do a nice set of eggs sunny side up with rice cakes, or steam some brown rice and put my favorite ginger and sesame canned salmon on top. No problems there-I have even snuck in some Vietnemese food a few times now…a few days ago I had the rice noodles (this is only made with rice, not actual white flour) with Lemongrass chicken and veggies, and ironically they loaded it up with beansprouts…mmmm…tonight I had steamed rice with grilled chicken, tomato, cucumber and egg from the Viet restaurant and it was YUMMY and wholesome!

I even tried a honey tangerine today which was absolutely YUMMY too!!! So it has all been working out fine and my body feels much better (except for my visitor who came along). That is what I needed after a big eating trip to Toronto. I just love this detox plan so much that I am grateful it is even around. I won’t worry about weighing myself after I done even though I know I will be back in my 120 pound range, I have learned not to obsess with the number…I just try on my clothes and let those do the talking for me.

I still have another week on the official detox and then I will be done-I already feel better and much lighter, so of course when I am done, it will be the same thing as usual except I wouldn’t mind some real yogurt or a few cubes of cheese every now and then.

Oh and that money in Toronto? I am very proud to say that I came back with close to $100 of my stipend which is pretty good…I am shocked that I spent $130 of it in one week, but then again, some of it went to cab fare which helped out.

So in the end, Toronto was a great way for me to understand my body even more and to remember that good food isn’t always easy to digest!

Fantastic Ice Cream

Lisa — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:49:29 +0000

Ok, I dunno if this is really healthy or not but this has got to be the BEST tasting sherbert/yogurt I have EVER tasted. I have tried various forms of sherbert before and they always come off with a very sugary flavor and an odd taste and texture. Of course for yogurt, NOTHING beats Yogen Fruz so whatever you get at the store just doesn’t top up. Not long ago I tried some of the Delmonte Peach and Mango Sherbert with Pineapple Yogurt ice cream and it was to DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE for…and potentially to DIIIIIIIIIIET for too! lol It had the best flavoring without tasting overly sweet or artificial-everything blends in so nicely because I find that anything with mango comes off very strong, but this was entirely different.

They have another flavor out that is Raspberry and Pomegranate but honestly, it tastes like all the other sherberts. The one I like is so creamy and smooth and feels very light…I think it is even really low in fat (like 2.5 grams per cup and believe me you can FILL a cup!!).

Try it out…it is a bit pricey but the absolute BEST combination out there!!! I found mine at Sobeys-not many other places carry them!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.