Day 3 – National Health Blog Post Month

Todays’s blog prompt… “I don’t know about this, but I’d like to.”

The effects of a high protein-low carb diet on running, exercise and training for a triathlon.

There is A LOT of conflicting information out there in regard to eating a Paleo/Primal diet and how it affects your body during and after high impact exercise. Even some of the most hard core Primal supporters like Mark at Mark’s Daily Apple says its nearly impossible.

Mark says:

So, how does an endurance athlete go as “primal as possible”? Here’s my take. When you go for endurance training, you face (among other physical strains) the necessity of increased carb intake and all its negative results (e.g. inflammation, AGEs, impaired immune function, etc.). Myself, I had a half-gallon of ice cream, loaf of bread and cereal habit going to refuel every day for years. At the time, I didn’t see an obvious impact on my performance, but I later realized I was causing long term damage. A better, more Primal approach to a training diet includes meals full of veggies (universal recommendation, yes) as well as the judicious use of fruits and tubers for added “healthier than grains” carb sources. (Of course, your diet should include a hefty supply of protein and natural fats.)

So his suggestion is to add tubers, lots of veggies and fruits to boost the carb intake during events and training. I’m going to work on that this week.

What health info would you like to know more about? Or what health info would you like featured here? Working on doing research everyday to continue improving my life 🙂

Ciao!

My colleagues went to Bali and all I got was this very cool outfit…

On a side note, I am 3 pounds over my “5 pound window”, which is 143-148. I was 151 this morning… ACK 😦

I totally know what caused this, lol! Halloween and Disney. They should both be banned! Going to do 3 PP (pure protein) days to knock it out. I’ve also not been getting in my flaxseed meal (I use that instead of oat bran) on a daily basis, so need to be more mindful of that! I’m back to running and it feels so good and I’m back to near daily yoga, even if its only 10 minutes!

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Day 2 – National Health Blog Post Month

Day 2 is Write about the weirdest thing about your health…

I’m going to start off by saying I’ve had a couple of amazing days this weekend up in Orlando with my friend Cathy and her daughter Sarah. I also want to type a nice long paragraph so that the weirdest thing about my health doesn’t show up on Facebook… LOL, you’ll have to click on the link to read it… Now on with the topic 😉

For the most part, my body has responded amazingly well to the Dukan Diet and now Paleo Diet.

So, this is something we’re not “suppose” to talk about, but I’m going to. The weirdest thing about my health, now that I’m on a wheat and gluten free diet is…

I DON’T FART 😀 Yup, I don’t pass gas, I never get rumbly tummy and I never get the “oh my God I’m going to die IBS pain. Who knew that by cutting the wheat, you would cut the cheese no more!?!

What’s weird about your health? My weird thing is a good thing, I’m sure!

Ciao!

It’s Magical!

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Photo Bomb on Thunder Mountain

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Cathy and Me!

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Me, Cathy & Sarah…

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Travel – Life’s A Beach

Life really is wonderful. The way that things come together always seems amazing and miraculous to me!
My bloggy friend Mona is in Miami Beach for a conference and invited me for a night at the Eden Rock Hotel. I met Mona when she was in China this summer and now here. I love how blogging has introduced me to so many awesome people!
We went for a walk on the beach as the moon rose and I didn’t get a single picture, lol. Left the iPhone in the room. We had a lovely dinner beachside and I got this pic of the moon light glittering in the rough surf…
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Then a long chat about all the taboo topics and then a wonderful nights sleep listening to the waves crash and the winds blowing in through the open slider.
Up before the sun and down to the beach…

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Here comes the sun little darlin’…

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And finally, it doesn’t matter how much crap life throws at you, sitting on the beach makes it all better!

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Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 165

Today is the 165th day of Dukan Consolidation for me… I will be in this phase for 500 days and the point of Consolidation is to teach your body that this is the weight it is suppose to be. And I have to say I’m duly impressed with how well this phase works!

I’m following the principles of the Dukan Diet, but eating Paleo, as I do not want to add wheat or any other gluten back into my diet. I also am eating more good fat in my diet (from nitrite free bacon, coconut and macadamia oil, etc) and dairy (full fat) which isn’t technically allowed on either diet, but I’m a cheese girl. The result? My weight has maintained between 143 and 148 the entire time I’ve been in Consolidation!! I’m having celebration meals once per week, but keeping wheat out. Most of my celebration meals consist of a teeny bit of sugar, my one treat. And most weeks, it’s a normal healthy dinner and a dark chocolate bar for dessert. I have no cravings for crap food… Except for the 3 minutes I mourned the loss of crispy spicy KFC chicken. I whipped out my trust iPhone pics and looked at the KFC me and decided I am better than that!

I strongly recommend reading the book Wheat Belly, Mel from NZ recommended it to me in January and I devoured every word. It explained A LOT! And the subject has come up on a couple of my favorite blogs this past week (Shannon and Sonia) 😀 I never want to have that OMG my stomach is going to explode feeling again. EVER and since quitting wheat, I don’t! It’s that simple.

In regard to exercise, I’m still restricted from running for another 5 days, but I’ve been walking daily and last night did my first yoga class since my surgery, hoo boy did those over the head stretches feel tight! Speaking of surgery, I’M LOVIN’ my arms!!!

Here’s a peek at what I had for brekkies and dinner this week. Pretty typical of my daily intake. Lunch has been broiled chicken or meat and cheese roll-ups.

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Bacon and eggs with veggies 🙂

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Sirloin Steak and stir-fry veggies… Mmmmm!

Now I’m off to practice a tricep move mentioned on Anna’s blog. Kaye has challenged me to take a pic and post it 🙂

How is everyone else doing weight and fitness wise? Happy hump day 😀

Ciao!

Goodbye Flabby My Old Friend

I can’t believe it’s been 21 days since my arm surgery! I’ve been a very bad blogger 😦 Coming home has been amazing and overwhelming.

The surgery on my arms is called a brachioplasty or arm lift. It removes the excess skin from your upper arms.

I have to say that the pain is less than the liposuction I had in May. It’s different, but not as bad. The first 3.5 days I have NO recall of. The anesthesia used was Valium and Ketamine. The Ketamine causes amnesia and it sure worked for me!

So here is a before and after. This “after pic is Day 12 post op:

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And this is a close up of my left arm. There is still some swelling, but I’m very pleased with the results. My surgeon is Dr. Donato Viggiano. He is awesome and I highly recommend him.

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How is everyone else doing? I promise to get back on track with posts about Dukan, Consolidation, Paleo and running (which I can’t do until next week) 😦

Ciao!

Crazy 3 weeks!

What a crazy 3 weeks! I don’t even feel I’ve been home that long, but on the other hand I feel like its been a whirlwind!
Lots of ups and downs and all arounds!
I got home after midnight on a Friday, surprised by my daughters who both came to pick me up!
I left Saturday morning and drove across the State to Sarasota to pick up BeBe…

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From there I drove north to Tampa for lunch with my friend, Tammy and then another 2 hours north to my mom’s for an overnight.
We left early the next morning for North Carolina. My mom’s best friend Sandy was our first stop and I left her there and went to stay with Sandy’s son Mark and his partner Eric. We had 3 days packed with mountain hikes, shopping, awesome food and hanging out.

So I’ll end this post with a gazillion pics of that trip…

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Gluten-free chocolate torte!!!

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Now rushing out mom’s door to head across State to see friends and then back to Stuart… Waiting to get off the roller coaster… WEEEEEEEE!

Update and Standing while Eating

So, I’m wiped out, as a lot of you have noticed (thanks for the emails) and I’m still healing. My arms hurt, but look awesome… I’m pleased with my decision. I’m still too exhausted between recovery, working my new job and homeschooling my amazing granddaughter Sydnie, to blog. I’m hoping to get a good blog in. I haven’t run since my apparent 13 km run in the middle of the night my first night post-op… I’ll post that story, as well… Sigh.

In the meantime, here’s some interesting info from one of my favorite Paleo blogs… She advocates sitting and eating while thinking about what you eat… I don’t necessarily agree. I KNOW what I’m eating and I stand while I eat. Good food. My last meal was stir fry organic chicken breast, sautéed in coconut oil with squash, mushrooms, onions, peppers and asparagus. That was 5 hours ago and it was delish and colorful and healthy… eaten while standing 🙂 I believe if you are being intentional and aware of what your are eating, standing is good… Burn more calories, lol.
Ciao!

Paleo RD Tip of the Week
By Amy Kubal, MS, RD

Get off your feet when you eat
Quick – what was the last thing you ate? No really – what was the VERY LAST thing you put in your mouth? Most of you are probably envisioning the last meal you ate; the one where you were sitting down and actually aware of the food on your plate and going into your mouth. Now, think about it again; what was the LAST thing that you ate? Were you sitting down?

image credit: guardian.co.uk

These days much of what we eat is actually consumed ‘in motion’ – standing up, running between appointments, on the way to work, you name it. Sometimes we just grab a bite of something, (or a piece of candy from the office candy dish), on the way to or from somewhere. Maybe we have a couple bites of something we’re putting into a meal, or into the kids’ lunches. Don’t forget the grapes you grabbed when you opened the refrigerator or the leftovers you nibbled on while clearing the table. How many meals, snacks, bites and samples have you eaten all while on your feet? Do you even remember all of these ‘foot feasts’? Did you actually taste or even enjoy the standing snacks?

My guess is that we are ALL (yes, even me) guilty of mindlessly putting something into our mouths without really even realizing we did it. One of the rules that I made for myself and my clients (because I’m mean like that), is that if you’re not sitting on your butt you can’t eat it. I don’t care if you are mid-way through a bite – sit down – right there on the floor, until the food is chewed and swallowed. Let me tell you, it makes you think. After having to pick my butt up off the floor about 20 times (I’m a slow learner) I figured it out and I’m betting you will too.
If you want to eat – you must take a seat! Are you sitting down?

Amy Kubal is a Registered “Paleo” Dietitian and the ring leader of Robb’s RD consulting team. She works with a wide range of clients from competitive athletes to those dealing with complex health problems. Check out her bio and consulting options, and her blog Fuel As Rx to get your Paleo nutrition fix.

And to finish things off, this is my new baby… BeBe. She’ll be 5 October 21. She’s a cat poo eater, so now she’s mine. I’m so glad her former mom and dad picked me 🙂

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Goal – 150 km in September – MET

I set a goal at the start of the month to walk, run and hike 150 kms the month of September, and I met that goal… More than met it AND 7 miles (11.26 km) aren’t on here from my mountain hikes in NC last week. So here are the results…

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160 kms + 11 = 171 kms!!

I’m very pleased with meeting this goal. Goal for October 165 km with a minimum of 60 kms of running 🙂

Ciao!

Dukan – High School Skinny

I found this in my email tonight…

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A high school friend pointed out on Facebook the other day that I weigh less now than high school… Not only is that a cool thing to say, but after thinking about it, it’s true 😀 When I became pregnant with my son at 17 I weighed 155, I was 146 this morning. I didn’t do it, however, with magic coffee beans, hormone shots or diet pills. I ate lots of good, wholesome food and never counted a single calorie 🙂 Good food and exercise… The key to successful weight loss and keeping it off 🙂

Ciao!

Home

Well, I’m home! Met by both daughters at the airport and so happy to be on home ground!

Its now 530 a.m. And I’ve been up for an hour… Readjusting back to U.S. time can be rough, but worth it!

My first day back was full of hugs and cuddles and phone calls and text messages and love. It feels awesome to know that I’m not getting back on a plane in a couple of weeks… I’m home 🙂