Dukan – Days 261 & 262 – Epiphany

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Well, it’s been a couple of days since I wrote a post. Mostly because it’s very difficult to write posts on my iPhone… which I have to do at my flat. C–hina has a problem with ba—-logs and 😀 -book 🙂 And blocked my V — P — eN on my home IP. So the only place I can use it is at Werk 🙂  Talk about paranoid… hehe. So on my days off I only have access through my iPhone. Anyhoo…..

Saturday was a half day at work and a PV Day 🙂
Sunday was a day off from work and a PV Day 🙂

Over the course of those two days I GAINED 1.1 pounds/0.50 kgs
Total Weight Loss: 90.7 lbs/41.21 kgs

Not worried. I ate everything right, so it wasn’t that. And I’ve gotten plenty of exercise, so it isn’t that… I think it’s just a fluctuation. I do have to say that these last 10 pounds are going to be the hardest to lose… oh wait… i’m getting the fat sucked out this week… YAY! 😀  Liposuction is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, I have to do a marketing event for the hospital in Wenzhou in the morning… gotta “pay” for that free plastic surgery.

So, after Thursday morning’s weigh in, I won’t weigh myself for 10 days. I don’t want to freak out. I know that with the natural inflammatory response of surgery, I will gain, that is the bottom line. Kitty (who will be with me throughout my surgery and recovery, bless her heart) has already said I want the fat that they take out of me WEIGHED… LOL. Kitty will also be taking pictures through the entire surgery and after AND she’ll write the post for Friday and possible Saturday… with pics. She’s such a good doobie!

The bad news 😦  Sadly, May 15th will be Kitty’s last day with me. As per Chinese tradition, she is “old” at the ripe age of 25 for not being married. Her mother is making her go back to her village and hook up with this guy she met over Chinese New Year. She promises me she won’t marry him if she doesn’t fall in love with him… and I believe her. She’s a smart girl and has learned a lot from her American momma (me)… LOL  I am going to miss her like crazy. Vivi (not to be confused with Vivien aka ViviMokaLaka) is my new personal assistant. Nice girl, lots of experience, rolls her eyes at my sarcasm, because she gets it… she’ll fall in love with me… they all do 🙂

Saturday… INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE MIDWIFE. Since I was being a right shit about the fact that the Director of Nursing canceled our activities, I boycotted morning handover and rounds, did some PowerPoint work and left at noon to go hang out at the Vineyard with ViviMokaLaka and watch Aussie Football. I am a Geelong Cats fan, by association. And I really enjoy watching the game. I’ve stopped yelling things like “offsides” and “that was holding”… because those silly rules DO NOT APPLY!

Me on International Midwives Day:

I AM A MIDWIFE 🙂

I spent so much time at the Vineyard on Saturday that I ended up having lunch and dinner. Reuben, the chef, is from Boston and he reminds me of my son Nick. He also makes me whatever I want to stick to the Dukan Diet, which is awesome. I had an amazing grass-fed steak on a bed of gorgeous greens for lunch and then for dinner he made me a hamburger with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a wee bit of low-fat mozzarella… YUM!

**Added after post was completed, but before I published it… Ironically, while previewing my post, Reuben and his wife came in to my office! So we took a pic:

Notice the Chinese soda in his hand… he didn’t bring me anything 😦

Sharing lunch with the Vineyard cat:

She lives in the restaurant… I think it’s pretty cool… other people, not so much.

It’s all about the presentation… look how gorgeous this burger plate is!

Simple burger… plated perfectly 😉

Made it home around 830 and went out for a 35 minute run… in bed, sound asleep by 1030!

Sunday was my day off. I woke up bright and early at 535 a.m… WHAT THE HECK??? Tried to tell myself that this was a day off… we could sleep in  until like 630, but nope, I was up. I hit the ground running. Made a cup of coffee and went nuts in the house cleaning. I finished up organizing Lucy’s boxes, which she is shipping back to Dubai, put my refrigerator magnets and pictures back on my fridge, LOL. Packed up two big suitcases full of stuff I don’t need here in China, to take back to the States in June when I’m home on vacation, cleaned out my closet… AGAIN… I barely have any clothes left, NOT COMPLAINING, did every piece of laundry in my house, including the sheets on both beds and remade with fresh “summer” linen (anyone want to come hang out? There’s clean sheets on the bed!!), packed up for my trip to Wenzhou this week (most underwear and PJ’s since I’m going to be down… and hey, PJ’s on the train ride back are appropriate in this country… lol). I also packed up my wok and the stupid hot plate I used for the first 4 months I was here, until I realized the gas stove worked… lol. I will use these to cook for myself in the hospital in Wenzhou… yes, I’m sticking to my damn diet! I swept, mopped and wiped everything down… and that was all BEFORE 9 A.M.! I slipped down and bought a few tea eggs from the tea egg lady and went back upstairs to check emails and FB. Phew! What a morning. In the afternoon my groceries were delivered from Shanghai and I separated out the meats, cut them into chunks for stir frying, and packaged up some for taking to Wenzhou. And at 430 Kira and Dan came over for a visit with the kids and Velina and Robin popped in with their baby, too. Kira and Dan are headed back to the States in a few days and I’m trying to get my fill of them before they go! Soren totally wrecked my immaculate house, lol, but he’s so stinkin’ adorable, I don’t care… here he is after drinking down his 2nd yogurt of the evening…

So cute I could eat him!

Soren… Momma Sandi’s gonna send you the Ayi bill for this week, buddy 🙂

After they left, I checked emails once again before bed… I had 2 emails from people who follow my blog (I AM SO AMAZINGLY HUMBLED THAT YOU ALL FOLLOW THIS BLOG). One of them was asking advise and the other one thanking me privately for a “put on your big girl panties and stop making excuses” comment I put on one of their blog posts. And this, is what I went to bed thinking about… excuses. And a long-time friend talked about starting her hcg injections AGAIN and I told her to start eating and stop using injections. And then this morning, a fellow blogger MJ, from emjayandthem, wrote this quote on a post from a couple of days ago: “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always had.” And then one of my favorite momma’s I delivered a million moons ago had this to say on Facebook:

Edited…. Sue sent me this link to the article that this quote comes from:
“Fat looks on the surface as though it is about a failure of restraint. It isn’t actually any more an issue of restraint than it is for many thin or medium-sized people. Most eating problems don’t show. Fat, which may or may not mean an eating problem, does. That doesn’t make it immoral or contemptible. It doesn’t mean the fat individual has faulty judgment or inferior leadership skills. It certainly doesn’t sanction discrimination. What it does demonstrate is that cruelty and stupidity arises when we are pressed to make our bodies into uniform shapes. This creates widespread body anxiety, and makes us search for a scapegoat to feel secure. We know from other forms of discrimination what a fruitless and lousy deal that is.”
And my reply was this:
“I have to disagree with this, Sue. Having lost more than 90 pounds over the past 8 months from learning restraint, I have to say that fat is just that… FAT. It comes from improper eating and from improper movement. When I started my journey to get rid of the fat I walked just 20 minutes a day. I hear people use the excuse all the time, that they don’t have time… my answer… shut off the computer for 20 minutes and take a walk. That was MY answer. My friend John is a life coach, we had a serious talking in August, before I started my quest to lose the fat and the one thing that I took away from his teachings is that we just use excuse after excuse for the way we look… how unhealthy we are. Fat is Fat… Fat is not healthy. A certain amount of fat is healthy, but not obesity. We get fat from poor choices. And once we stop making excuses and recognize obesity for what it is, instead of coddling each other to make us feel better, our nation will get healthier. Love you and hope you’re feeling better soon ♥”
And collectively that should be an epiphany to all us… FAT IS NOT HEALTHY. OBESITY IS NOT HEALTHY… STOP MAKING FRIGGIN’ EXCUSES AND DO JUST TWO SIMPLE THINGS… EAT BETTER AND MOVE! It really is quite simple! The first person who really, really pointed this out to me was John Geraghty, in August, during my life coaching session with him. And at the time it made sense… but now… 90+ pounds later… IT MAKES SENSE! REAL SENSE!
The bottom line is you have to realize that being fat and obese is not healthy and stop making excuses… NOPE, it’s not your thyroid, NOPE, it’s not your diabetes, NOPE it’s not PCOS or any other malady you have… it’s your life style. It’s the crap you eat and the fact that you aren’t MOVING. And if you simply… SIMPLY change those two things, it will make all the difference in your world. Stop saying you DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME to cook… I cook every single meal in UNDER 15 MINUTES… stop making excuses you DON’T HAVE TIME TO EXERCISE… get off your butt and walk out the door and get in 20 minutes… that’s ALL you need. 20 minutes… Turn off your computer and go do it… that is after you’ve finished reading my post… LOL.
SIMPLY…. STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND GET HEALTHY!
Ciao!
I’ll leave you with this quote from Mel at wwangel… she inspires me to get off my ass and run… Thank you, Mel for pushing me harder than you probably know you do 🙂 I am proud to know someone who is running the NYC marathon this year… You Go my Kiwi Friend!

S.T.A.R.T.!!!

32 thoughts on “Dukan – Days 261 & 262 – Epiphany”

  1. I offended someone yesterday that deleted me from her facebook because she had an opinion on something that i didn’t agree with. No healthy debate, just she is right and that is the way it is and apparently she is seething with me…i am to old for all of this 🙂 so what i am really saying is stick with what you believe in no matter who it offends. Life is too short and it’s impossible to go through it without upsetting someone no matter how hard you try. Can’t believe you are having surgery! I have been waiting an eye bag removal for years but am too scared to go have it done…will be very interested to see the pics..i love a good operation piccie 🙂 Carry on the good work…you should be so proud of yourself!
    BTW i will stop making excuses for my lack of any exercise at all when this silly cough goes as i can’t even walk upstairs without a 10 minute coughing fit 🙂
    Take Care

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks, Caroline 🙂 I do have to stick with the thinking. It makes so much more sense to me now! And my life is less short now, since I’m healthier 🙂 woo hoo!!!

      I’m glad I waited to have this surgery. There are just a few bits here and there that gravity is leaving behind. Doesn’t matter how much yoga, running, sucking in I do, it’ll stay. I am SO HAPPY I did NOT have bariatric surgery. That’s a band-aid and I realize that now. The key is simple… good eating, good moving… simple.

      I’m sorry to hear you are still coughing 😦 Damn desert! Feel better soon xoxo

      Reply ↓

  2. Sandi – a wonderful blog post and not just because you mentioned me 😉 Shame about the IT issues you have in China. We don’t appreciate our freedom of speech until we have it taken away from us. You must be excited about the surgery!! I will miss Kitty, its kind of weird that I feel like I know her – you obviously write well to make us readers feel like that.

    I am sure the surgery will go well and it must be comforting having Kitty’s support.

    The last 10 pounds will be tough but you are such a determined woman that I know you will make it. Your level of focus and persistence is enviable – I really need to get a good dose of your focus. But I am maintaining and I am happy with my weight which probably does not help me lose those last 3 pesky kilo’s.

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks, Mel… you really have been my running inspiration! The IT issues make it difficult, but being able to say you lived in China, pretty much makes up for it, lol. We definitely do take our rights for granted!

      Kitty has been an integral part of my life here in China. I was just reading the post to her… she told ViviMokaLaka that she feels guilty leaving me, hehe. Having her with me for my surgery will be very comforting.

      Argh, that last 10 pounds… what a booger! But it will go and I know that this journey has completely changed me in so, so many ways. I think it has to “click” in your head. Kind of like quitting smoking. I had to do it when I was ready. I’m so glad I finally lost this weight! Your pesky 3 kilos will go… I bet it’ll go training for that marathon! 😀

      Reply ↓

  3. Sandi, I remember you often while I journey on my weight loss. More so now that I feel like I am failing, or my body is. Recently I thought well maybe she is having so much ‘luck’ because she gets to have all the ‘chinese’ cuisine, the chinese influence, the stir fry. Excusing. I have taken on eating healthy also, guided by Isabella Del Arosa -Flat belly. Low carb, no sugar healthy eating. Did really well, I thought, until I saw your success, until the holidays- It was not over indulgence, just a small slice of pie or a hot cocoa, and I adjusted my intake days after. But still slipped some poundage back on. -I started a new exercise program, with friends at church led by a physical trainer, and of course I am still stuck in the poundage area of doom. Muscle mass they say.
    I am quanderying(word?) I have changed up a bit of my eating, I am watching the calories to see what is going on, why not coming off. My logic just can not understand why my body must have snacks, 6 small meals a day. Why can’t I eat my calories in 3 meals and lose weight? Seriously I don’t want to eat all day everyday- sometimes I do, but BIG exercise days I don’t. Skinny ninny’s do not eat all day, anorexics starve themselves,people lost at sea starve and come back skinny- I don’t understand why oh why I am not losing any weight. Is it Dukan works and Flat belly’s don’t? I don’t think so, I average 1100 calories a day, and not a lb comes off, and I guarantee you I am eating way less, at least half.
    Ahhh, you are my encouragement in my discouragement. I tried to challenge myself the first of april, I was going to lose 40 lbs in 2 months. I KNOW a push, but that was the point. NOTHING, and as I said I have pulled many more ‘tricks out of the bag’ — Maybe I will get the book– run back months on you blog and steal some meals–

    I know somewhere I am failing. There is no magic pill, magic order of eating, magic calorie intake amount. I am trusting not in my strength but His, because mine don’t worky. I really am making no excuses, just wondering “What gives!?”
    You are an inspiration to me. Thanks, So excited for you upcoming surgeries. One of the things I see in your pictures that I love love love and am so envious of is your collarbones, I know it can be done, you are doing it.

    Do you think your last 10 may be in your lipo and your tuck?

    Reply ↓

    • Christy, I love your posts, too!
      The Dukan diet works for me because I follow it pretty much to the letter. The only time I have a little cheat is to add fat and not carbs.
      The Dukan diet ONLY works if you follow it to the letter. Why? Because it gives you results by keeping you in mild ketosis which uses fat for energy since you have reduced your carbs.
      One cheat and you’re back to square one. It takes 3-5 days to get in ketosis. I eat 5-6 times a day. I EAT A LOT : )
      When I get hungry between meals I have a tea egg (recipe on Day 142). It fills me up. The other thing that fills me up is water. I was NEVER a water drinker. Now I drink about 3 liters a day and it’s rare I have a diet soda.
      The key to success is not quitting! I tell myself all the time… Pull up your big girl panties and keep going! Quitters never finish (said that about 40 times tonight while running my last 2 miles out of 5… Lol).
      Buy the book… READ EVERY WORD. Back in August I posted the menu for my first 2 weeks on Dukan. I also have the recipes and grocery list. If you’d like email me at flamidwyfe1@aol.com and I’ll email them to you 🙂

      Reply ↓

  6. Sandi I commend you on working past all the computer issues you have in C hIna ….no small feat I’m sure.
    If I had taken to heart the advice of the ‘well meaning’ medical staff that said simply, “oh, honey…you poor thing being on femara is life saving, so what if you’re fat…don’t be so vain” Honestly, I’ve heard it all ~!~ I would still be pushing 200# at a mere 5’4″ ! It wasn’t until I said to myself & my oncologist, “Look, I don’t want my headstone to say…’beat cancer but took an early heart attack'” That things really changed. The taking of responsibility for my situation was the first step toward a lighter, much healthier life. Excuses are easy. Change can be hard, scary and frustrating to name a few. Some people will always choose easy.

    The growing DM2 epidemic that is sweeping the US is a s symptom of the underlying issue you speak so clearly about…BAD FOOD CHOICES and a bad/non-existent exercise ethos. Finding out/knowing you have a medical issue that leads to weight gain is what some people use as an excuse to remain/get fat. That is where I stand in utter solidarity with you…nothing, not even a medical condition like DM2 is an excuse to be fat. It may be a reason why getting leaner will take longer, but it is not a get out of exercise and eating responsibly card 😉

    *anna

    Reply ↓

  7. Those aren’t my words, Sandi they are a direct quote from the article. The article was actually about fat shaming and prejudice against fat people, not about anyone saying it was their thyroid’s fault. I was a size 3 before I had Chloe and then dropped down after each child until I became hypothyroid. I do exercise, I do eat healthy, i do not consume too many calories nor do I make excuses. But until I started the thyroid hormone none of that hard work paid off. Once I started that I lost fifteen pounds in 4 weeks and the weight is coming off. But even if I were still a size three and had no issues with my weight I would never condone fat shaming or prejudice against anyone for their appearance, I feel it is wrong and will always feel that way. I just wanted to clarify to you that the quote you at attribute to me is not mine, but the author of the article’s, and again that the article was not about weight and excuses but rather how we treat people.

    Reply ↓

  9. You have found yet another niche. Motivational speaker!! I love that you call it like you see it. It’s either black or white. I look forward to your posts, read every single one and pass it on to people I think will not only enjoy it but benefit from it. You rock and I am SO thrilled you are my friend!!!

    Reply ↓

  11. This is a great post!!! I love it! It is true – we tell ourselves all the excuses in the world so that we don’t have to get off our butts and take care of ourselves. It may sound strange, but my whole family – three boys and husband – are happier since I started taking better care of myself!!! Taking care of our bodies radiates outward to everything that we do. Good luck with your surgery, I’m sure you will be overjoyed with the results! 😀

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks, Carla! It is amazing how much you radiate on the outside when the insides are healthier 🙂 It doesn’t sound strange to me, at all, that your family is happier. I think from a subconscious level we are happier that our family member is healthier and will live longer! How awesome is that!!! And a great example to be setting for your boys!

      Reply ↓

    • Thanks, Anna! I have a lovely helper here in Australia. A budding IT professional. He’s helped me get things cleaned up. He designed the header for me 🙂
      I’m missing my grandgirls while away. Glad it’s only a temp job! xo

      Reply ↓

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