Fasting & a Cold

This week I have had a bit of a cold. Ever since I started fasting I have noticed that my colds are few and far between and I recover so much quicker than before. Before fasting, I would get a cold and it would knock me out for almost a week. I would be in bed and miserable. I would sleep for days, so exhausted.

Last year, after I started fasting I noticed that I would be able to function through my cold, something that I saw other people doing but never could seem to do myself. I also noticed that I would recover much faster, after just a couple of days. I have now been practicing intermittent fasting for over a year and so I can see that this is now a trend rather than a fluke. I have successfully got through three colds without a day off work or a day wasted in bed.

I really believe that fasting is the reason for this. I think that my immune system is stronger because my body has the time to focus its energies on healing rather than having to spend all it's energy on digesting mass quantities of food.

This is a significant change for me and among many other positive changes I have noticed because of fasting!

Naturopathic Help

So far the advice I have got and the treatments I received from the Naturopath have been helping. I have never had such good digestion in over 5 years. Ever since I got my gaul bladder out it has been a constipation nightmare. Now with probiotics and a digestive enzyme along with some colonics treatments, I have been happily non-bloated for a few weeks now.

Very big difference and well worth the effort!

I have been keeping up with my Gabriel Method meditations and visualizations and doing my Venus Index workouts along with the ever present 19 hour fasts every day. I am still in the 170's, and haven't been able to get back in the 160s just yet, but I am just going to be patient and stick it out because this happens every 10 Lbs. I just have to keep it up and eventually I will be stuck in the 160s for a while...and so on.

Today is my all day fast. I finished eating yesterday at around 9pm and will break my fast on Monday at 12 noon, which will be a 39 hour fast when I finally have my "break-fast."

I am really looking forward to meeting my goal this year but I have to say that I am also very happy with how I look right now as well. I feel great too, and that is all that matters.

No Wheat, No Dairy, No Thanks

Well, I tried. I did it for a week and it really sucked. It really felt like I was on a diet, and we all know how I feel about diets. I really don’t do well when I deprive myself of the foods I love. That is why I have done so well with intermittent fasting. I can eat what I love and still lose weight. I am sure that a wheat free, dairy free diet is very good for you but it just doesn’t work for me.

I don’t really feel bad when I eat wheat and dairy, at least I didn’t when I put it back in on the weekend, so I really don’t see the benefit of it for me. I will certainly try to cut back on my wheat intake though where I can, buying rice pasta and 100% rye bread as I like these options and they don’t taste any different to me so why not?

I had a good weekend and enjoyed the food I ate, wheat, dairy and all.

After the Big Fast

This morning I weighed in at 168.7, almost 4Lbs down in two days! That is very good progress...almost back to where I was in mid November when I hit the 50Lb mark but went back up again.

Although it is after a big long fast that I weighed in this morning...I fasted for 44 hours. So some of that will certainly come back on. I am having a hard time with the no wheat, no dairy thing...haven't cheated yet but I am having cravings for sure. I really want to go out and have a hamburger with mayo and cheese and onion rings!!!

I really realize doing this that I don't do well when I deprive myself of something. That is why diets never worked for me and why Intermittent Fasting DOES. I am going to keep trying but I really don't know if this is for me. The scale results are helping me stick to it though, as I haven't seen those drops in a while and so I am thinking no wheat is helping me with that.

It isn't like I plan on cutting wheat and dairy out of my diet all together, no matter what they say at the Naturopath, the most I will do is cut back...

We will see how I do during the weekend.

Seem to be going down

Well, since I have been back to work and back to my schedule I seem to be going down again. I was up to 174 during Christmas and this morning I was 170. Seems as though my regular schedule has put me right back on track.

I think the no wheat no dairy thing has been helping too, even though it has only been a couple of days. I do feel a bit less bloated during the day which is nice, so hopefully this change will help kick start my loss. I really want to meet my goal in 2011! 135-140 Lbs and a size 8. I can do it!!!

My workouts have been on hold because of the holiday season, and this first week back at work has left me kind of exhausted...so I haven't been working out, but on Monday, I plan to go right back to that schedule too and keep working towards my Venus body!!

Today is my first day back for the all day fasts. I finished eating yesterday at 4pm and plan to break my fast tomorrow at 12 noon for lunch with a yummy shepherds pie that my hubby is making, that should make a 44hour fast when I eat my "break-fast" tomorrow at noon.

Been doing really well with the water today which is great, I usually drink one cup of tea and then around two bottles of water in my glass container that I have during the day. Today I am on a third bottle of water so I am ahead of the game today.

Saturday I have my first appointment at the Naturopath to get some treatment for my digestive issues, so hopefully I will feel really good come Monday morning for my workout.

So Far So Good

Well, so far so good with the no wheat, no dairy diet. I have completed two meals without any wheat and I feel pretty good. The only thing I seem to be having a hard time with are sweets. I usually eat chocolate every day, I love it. Dark chocolate is not my favourite, and so I am going through a bit of a chocolate withdrawal. I am trying not to eat too much sugar, but it does help to curb the chocolate cravings.

I found these amazing ginger cookies that are wheat and dairy free and they are really good because they totally kill the wheat/sugar craving without that much sugar and no wheat. Yummm.

On Saturday there is a birthday party for my niece, there will of course be cake and ice cream...I hope I can find a way to stay away!!

No Wheat, No Dairy

Well, today is the first day of my New Years Resolution to eat no wheat, no dairy month of January. I have committed to cut these items out of my diet for one month. My naturopath suggested it (as I am sure they suggest it to everyone they see, but anyway) and I decided to give it a shot.

Yesterday was the shopping day to hunt for non wheat and non (cow) dairy items. I am allowed goat dairy items. I found some 100% rye bread with no wheat flour and some corn tortillas for bread. I got some yummy looking goat cheese and some soy yogurt. I haven't even really started yet but I am feeling confident that it is something I can do. I am pretty excited about it really.

My whole life all I have eaten is wheat really. Aside from some cheese and meat, wheat was the main bulk of my diet. To go a whole month without any will be a great accomplishment for me.

The second part of my resolution is to eat more nutrients especially Omega 3s. I eat almost NO fish at all, so I know it is important for me to get my Omega 3s. I have purchased a high potency fish oil that is lemon flavoured and you just take a teaspoon everyday. I have also purchased some flax seeds and a coffee grinder so that I can add fresh ground flax seeds to my salad every day. This is part of my new plan to follow the Gabriel Method.

I am also taking a probiotic every day and a digestive enzyme to help with my digestive issues caused by my gaul bladder being removed 5 years ago. I am really looking forward to looking better on the inside. I am confident that these changes will help that happen.

My lunch today consists of:

Corn tortillas for fajitas that will have:

Ground Chicken cooked with corn salsa

Goat Cheese

Avacado

Beans

Spinach

A salad with:

1 Omega 3 enriched egg

Spinach

Broccoli coleslaw (shredded broccoli, cabbage and carrot)

Cucumber

Goat Feta

Fresh ground Flax Seeds

Sesame Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

Corn Chips

Home made Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing that I made myself.

Dressing has:

Sesame Oil

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Dijon Mustard

Sesame Seeds

Garlic

Ginger

Pure Maple Syrup

Peanut Butter

Snack:

Soy Yogurt with frozen strawberries and blueberries

Rice Crackers and goat cheese

Looking forward to my yummy lunch...SUCH a difference from the plain white bread with cream cheese, mustard and turkey slice sandwich that I used to have with chips and chocolate as a snack...I've come a long way baby!