That Sabbath means rest, right?

Well today is Sunday and even though my doctor told me to exercise 7 days a week I think I'm going to chill out just a bit on Sunday. I'll start off by announcing that my body is NOT cut out for all the food I've been feeding it for the past couple days. Not to give way TMI but let's just say I've had to make several trips to the lady's room because of backlash. So I guess it's time to move forward into the land of 1200 calories. When I worked at Curves for Women, their diet plan actually had this 2-4 day "binge" phase where you were supposed to eat more than you normally would in order to speed up your metabolism so when you drastically cut off your calories your body is already burning at a quicker rate and thus avoiding going into the supposed "starvation" mode. I don't know if this has any science or merit but I'll buy it for a nice anecdote. I did do some research into this theory of starvation mode and learned a lot. I sometimes thought I was holding on to weight because I bought into this theory of starvation mode. Yeah, my research is not true research, but browsing the web for opinions on the matter and what I found might shock some of you. I was probably never really in true starvation mode. I did some reading in academic journals and found that in true starvation mode, 72% of patients have an extreme loss of subcutaneous fat. They also reported being chilly, fatigued, losing their hair, constipation, muscle loss, depression, difficulty concentrating, and preoccupation with food. I think that there is a difference between hitting a plateau and being in starvation mode. From what I read from academic journals, it takes severe calorie restriction over a period of time to reach a point where your body is conserving all it can to survive. In a plateau your body wants to take the path of least resistance. It would prefer to expend the least amount of energy to do any given task and so a body is constantly readjusting itself to input/output of energy. Eventually a body will figure out how to function on a calorie restricted diet, burning fewer and fewer calories to complete tasks. This makes dieting and exercising hard. Our bodies are designed to be efficient and survive during true times of famine. A plateau will require shaking up the groove- working new muscles, "muscle confusion" in the words of Tony Horton. In terms of diet I'm still not sure how to REALLY tweak yourself out of a plateau. I'm sure that switching up your diet might get things rolling, perhaps cleaning up your diet to the best of your ability is a good place to start. In my opinion, diligence, patience, and commitment will yield results, however slow they may be. However in my case, I've been 90% diligent over the last 10 months and have lost 0 pounds. In my situation, there is something at work internally that is interfering with my ability to lose weight at a typical rate. What is this mystery factor? I wish I knew. I'm sure there are several factors. I just learned I have low thyroid. It is probably a combination of very complicated and very sensitive factors. I'm convinced that if your endocrine system is off by just a little bit that can mean the difference between being at a healthy weight and being stuck in the land of permanent plateau. I recommend watching "Fat: What No One Is Telling You" on netflix. It's a great PBS documentary that really explores the intricate systems in our body and how they play a role in weight loss. Losing weight in my mind always comes down to "eat less, run more," and eventually you have to tip the teeter totter. I have not yet find what I have to do "tip my teeter totter" but am following the advice of my doctor by increasing my activity and decreasing my diet more than I ever thought would be necessary. Intuitively I know that there are other factors at work. I see an endocrinologist on Tuesday morning and really can't wait to find out if anything is off in addition to my thyroid. From what I understand a hypothyroid condition can result in up to 10% of your body weight in water retention. WOW!!! I also have learned that just taking thyroid medication doesn't reverse this process and it is still a long hard road to get back to a healthy weight. I am not letting up, in fact after a weekend of overeating I am feeling my body begging me to stop!!! These are my simple thoughts for tonight. Below is my food journal. I added up my calories for past couple days of doom and they were around 1850. Not as bad as I thought but still quite a ways away from 1200.

Breakfast: 1 whole wheat pancake, 1/4 cup fat free yogurt, sugar free syrup, 1 C skim milk
Lunch: 1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 slice extra lean ham, 1 slice mozzarella cheese
Dinner: 1/2 cup rice, 1 piece of awesome chicken that had some sauce (Sunday dinner, the place where things come in casserole dishes and you just eat it because it looks good), 1/2 cup salad, a few apple slices, chips, salsa, guacamole and for dessert, we had my amazing Martha Steward Red Velvet Cake that was the BOMB. Literally. It was the richest food I have EVER made, and I have a very high tolerance for sweets. I also had a fork full of pumpkin pie.

Workout:
Dan and I walked to church which is a little over a mile and up and down some big hills that made me sweat quite a bit both ways. I draw the line at that for exercise!!


I've perfected the spinach smoothie:

As much spinach as you can fit in your blender
4 cups of water
1 apple, cut
1 carrot, cut
1 tablespoon lime juice

Blend and continue to add water until it has the consistency of a beverage, not a smoothie!!! This should go down easy like water and remind you of drinking wheat grass juice, not a jamba juice. I've been drinking this for the past couple days because let's face it, spinach at Costco is so cheap and so good for you with all the vitamin C, iron, fiber and other good for you green stuff, AND it's a lot easier for me to drink this in the morning and at lunch when I'm not really in the mood for steamed broccoli. Give it a try. Try adding whatever you want, a little stevia, maybe a pear, get creative!