Update on Health challenge

Now that it is February, I'm going to really focus on the Health challenge. I haven't done as much in that regard as I'd hoped to up until now, but in terms of updates...

- I wiped my cell phone off, um, once. It probably is germy again, I'd imagine.

- I tried to find pomegranate stuff that didn't cost an arm and a leg (One small jug of pomegranate juice is $8 at Giant Eagle! I could drink that in one day.) I'm still planning on purchasing this though: http://usa.weleda.com/our-products/shop/7270.aspx

- I have been eating tons of fish - which is high in antioxidants. So score there!

- I have been eating a henhouseload of eggs so that is good. They do fill me up so that I don't crave much else afterward. I like eggs. From my head down to my legs!

- I have done yoga most every day, but haven't practiced the Tree Pose each time. Will work on that one even though I fall over every time. Timmmberrr!

- I took Health's advice and have been following the South Beach Diet. I cheated a teeny baby handful of times, but for the most part have been fully ensconced on South Beach. I've lost 5.5 lbs and hope to continue to chip away at the muffin top.

- I got the grapeseed oil and have been putting it on my scrunch lines on my forehead and my crow's feet every morning and night for 3 days. I'm sure that it takes longer than that to make any difference, so that will continue. Mike is into this and makes me apply some oil to his crow's feet when he sees me doing it. He heard Dr. Oz mention it once so he is a firm believer since he read a couple of the Oz's books.

- I failed at the comedy club one. We will be missing Brian Posehn. I'll try for another show this month. I'd still like to get some good belly laughs while sipping on an overpriced drink.

- No kettlebell purchased yet. Those things are pricey. I was going to order one from Amazon, but I was afraid of the shipping cost. Them are heavy.

Pretty much dropped the ball on everything else, also. But the month is young so stay tuned for more updates. Happy February, everyone!

Motivated

So I decided to stick with the South Beach Phase 1 and continue on as if I didn't cheat. There must be some motivation there because I can't bring myself to cheat again. I got it out of my system and feel like I can make it. I'm still cranky and hungry, but it is only for 6 more days so I'm gonna try. The little engine is chugging up the hill again. Chugga chugga...

Welp...

I caved. I had a bowl of cereal and a glass of wine today. Not at the same time, mind you, 'cause...eww.

So, yeah, I have been doing really well on the South Beach Diet, but it has been getting harder to stick to Phase 1 each day. I have just been soo hungry and veggies, tuna, chicken, and eggs were just not cutting it. I have been SUPER irritable and stabby towards Mike. I have been weak and sooper hungry. I don't know how I did this before. I must have been really motivated to be beyootiful at my wedding. I have a lot of motivation now, but it just seems SO hard. I am cranky and sad right now about it. I don't know what to do at this point. I just find it hard to have all of the fresh foods prepped and ready to go all of the time. And I'm really sick of just having veggies and protein. I don't like cheese nor can I digest it easily so that isn't an option even though the SBD relies heavily on it. I do like to be told what to eat and follow a plan, but this one is just so *#@*# hard.



I have the number for a UPMC health coach that will work with me to reach my goals. I put it off since I got the number, but I'm going to call tomorrow. It's covered by my insurance so that's a plus. Maybe she can help me figure this out. And make me unstabby. Maybe I can go back to South Beach if I can figure out what else I can eat or what I'm doing wrong, but for now...

...grumble grumble sigh.

Today's FAIL!

Haven't had one of these in a while. This was said by a work study student while she was reading up about strep throat on the web.

"Did you know that a symptom of strep is white pus on the toenails?!"
...pause...
"Oh wait, that says tonsils."

LOVE it.

Day 2

Day 2 of the South Beach Diet is proving to be soooo hard! I am cranky and tired and want to just eat something simple like a bowl of cereal. Or oh I don't know... a king sized Snickers or three. I know it'll get easier. I've done this before, but man this part is haaaard.

Waah.

Saath Beach

Tomorrow I start Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. Even though it is as much fun as eating paper for 14 days, I'm excited to get going with it. I know that it works since it helped me to lose 20 lbs before the wedding. I am definitely NOT at my fighting weight right now. Unless I'm going to fight Snooki. Fist pump! I'm uncomfortable with the extra lbs and sure that it is causing a lot of my back pain and carpal tunnel issues. Not ok.

So, two weeks with nothing but basically eggs, fat free dairy, low fat lunch meat, and loads of veggies. Oh, and I can have some nuts everyday. (twss) Worst of all though...no wine. Siiiigh. Everyone say a prayer for Mike that he can deal with me for these next two weeks. Luckily he has his dude room to which he can retreat when I start wanting to fight someone. Unconditional love test... take one. Well, or two or three, I guess. :P But I'll be in a great mood once I look cute in jeans again. I'll make it up to him then.

Health mag experiment: Jan/Feb

So, I'm ready to move forward with my Health magazine experiment. I was going to do it for one month, but since January is already almost over (wha?!) and I need to see how it goes for the first experiment, I'm giving myself a little over one month.

I also spent some time looking through different issues of Health magazine and found the most do-able things in the Nov. 2009 issue, so that's what I'm going to use. Again, these will involve exercises, recipes, products, self improvement tips, and -um - other. (Although the recipes part may have to wait because I'm going to be doing a 'session' of South Beach to kickstart my metabolism.) So, by February 28th, I will try the following:

1) ...protect myself from sneaky germs: I'm waging war on germs, y'all! I will:
- turn the pockets of my jeans inside out before washing in hot water so as to kill germs that are on things that get lodged in my pockets.
- buy wireless phone wipes and wipe down my phone each day.
- gently clean my debit card with a bleach-based disinfecting cleaner since I hand it over to lots of people to swipe through the card reader.

2) ...be loading up on anything anti-oxidant related:
- Get as much pomegranate as I can to fight free radicals. This will involve drinking pomegranate juice and also trying this product:

http://usa.weleda.com/our-products/shop/7270.aspx

- Eat as much fish as possible.

3) ...be eating lots of eggs. Health says that people who eat eggs every day for breakfast whittle their waists down more than those who get their calories from AM foods like bagels. Luckily the South Beach Diet is all about eggs.

4) ...practice one yoga pose every day to relieve stress and become more (um, maybe not more, but just) graceful. The tree pose is supposed to improve my balance and "make you feel more lovely." I like lovely.

5) ... be taking Health's advice for my diet plan. They recommend that people who like to be told what to eat, need coffee, and don't always want to cook from scratch to try the South Beach Diet.

6) ...compliment someone as often as possible. It "gives them and you a lift." I'll blog about this. I wonder how many women will say something to negate the compliment. I hate when we do that!

7) ...try to erase some of these dang-blasted wrinkles by smoothing a little grapeseed oil onto said wrinkles each night before bed. Grapeseed oil is rich in antioxidants and fatty acids.

8) ..blast fat by using a kettlebell. I need to find one, but when I do I can burn tons of calories. It "incorporates explosive movements. ...uses multiple muscle groups simultaneously, which burns more calories."

9) ... "shake up date night." Health suggested going to a comedy club so we're going to go see Brian Bosehn next month. Fun! Consider us shaken! :P

10) ...melt away stress with Johnson's Body Care Lavender & Chamomile Body Wash. You don't have to tell me twice to try an affordable body wash/lotion that gets rid of stress. I'm in!

11) ..."work the bicycle crunch." My PT wants me to work my core more so as to stabilize my back so this should help.

I said that I'd do 12 'experiments', but with the South Beach being a HUGE challenge, I'm going to shorten that by one this time.

I'll update when things are worth mentioning. This should be fun!