Monday, February 26, 2007

Day 6...Sort Of

So, today is sort of, kind of, day 6 of the Shangri-La Diet. I say "sort of" because it's been very difficult to get all 4 servings of the oil or sugar water in every day.

For example, yesterday was a total diet bomb. Not that I ate a lot. Actually, the total opposite happened. I had to work at my crappy PT job and had planned to bring a little bag of sugar and a measuring spoon so I could do the sugar water thing. Before leaving, I managed one dose of oil, but then as I was driving in I realized I'd forgotten my sugar. So, no oil and no sugar for the 5-6 hours I was to be away. But, as it turned out, I wasn't that hungry and did really well all day. I had an okay breakfast and just had some low-fat yogurt and a few cheese sticks while at work, my lunch essentially.

Then it hit me - About 4pm (with an hour left of work to go), I got the most intense headache. Granted, I could blame it on the lack of food, but it wasn't like I felt hungry or I was shaking, which is usually what happens when I'm hungry - I get the shakes. Also, it hit right after a patron was giving me grief. Since I'd worked there all day the day before, this was patron pain-in-in-a** number 9,999.

"Is that book age appropriate for my child?!!" She screeched at me across the reference department.

And, GAZ-ING! - a pain just shot through my brain. That was it for me. I had one nerve left and that woman took it. I felt sorry for the next innocent patron that was going to ask me for the millionth time if the paper went face up or down in the photocopy machine.

Here's another issue with the sugar/oil. You have to have a one hour window before and after taking it in order to eat or drink anything that has flavor. That means if you are sipping an ice tea, for example, you can't take any of this stuff while you are sipping or it won't work. So, if you figure I need to take a total of 4 tbls a day, and the window is a total of 2 hours, 4x2 = 8 hours of no food or drink other than water.

It has made me wonder if that is really what this diet is all about.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Day 3 in Shangri-La

Today is day 3 for me on the Shangri-La diet. The past few days have been weird, gulping down olive oil and sipping my hot sugar water throughout the day. One thing that has been difficult is just remembering to do it b/c the books says to try to do one or the other an hour before and/or an hour after you eat. You should not take the oil or sugar while eating.

Also, I notice with the warm sugar water that it takes awhile to drink it down. He says, in fact, to try to make it last and digest it slowly. So, while I've been doing that, obviously, there's not be a lot of time to eat in between meals. Yesterday was not a typical day, so we'll see how it goes today b/c I'm home more.

Of course, my husband thinks I'm totally insane and that this is a bunch of BS, but after reading so many people on line (though many are men, granted) that this has worked for, I still feel like it's worth trying.

One thing I've noticed too before doing all of this is that I am basically a bottomless pit when it comes to food. Unless I eat a huge amount, say, for example, I go to a buffet, which I rarely do, then a simple meal does not fill me up. I just don't feel like I've had enough to eat. If I go out to lunch with coworkers, they are all holding their stomachs and complaining about being too full. I may eat the same thing and I could eat it all over again. So, that is my hope for this diet approach, I just want to eat and feel satisfied. Is that too much to ask?

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Starting with Surgar Water

Okay, I've read some more of The Shangri-La Diet, and I think I'm going to give it a go. Today is grocery day, so I can get some ELOV today. After my Pria bar and tea breakfast, I downed 1/2 cup of warm water with a 1/2 Tbs of surgar. It wasn't as disgusting as I thought it would be.

According to the book, if I want to lose 20lbs, I need to take 1 Tbs of sugar and 1 Tbs of ELOV every day. For 20-40lbs (which is really what I need to lose), I need to double that. I'm going to first see if I can tolerate 1 Tbs of each a day and go from there. The book also says it takes a few days to kick in, so since this is Weds., I need to see if I can at least make it to the weekend, preferably through the weekend.

I'll keep you posted....

Monday, February 19, 2007

The Shangri-La Diet

My latest discovery is a book called The Shangri-La Dietby Dr. Seth Roberts. Basically, this book claims that you will be able to eat anything you want and lose weight. Of course, the reason for this is because you won't want to eat anything because your appetite will be diminished. How does he do this?

He suggests drinking small amounts of flavorless oil (such as extra light olive oil) and sugar water throughout the day. The result (he claims) will be that you will not get hungry. In fact, he goes so far as to say that you won't even be that interested in food at all.

Part of me thinks this is a great idea, and actually, I have often wanted to find something that would keep me from getting hungry, that magic pill if you will. One of the reasons I have trouble with a very low calorie diet is because I just don't feel like I get enough to eat. Therefore, Roberts' diet seems like a possible answer to this, and it's using regular things like oil and surgar, not some weird0 pill you get from the drug store.

On the flip side, I'm a foodie. I really like good food and good wine (as my spare tire can bare witness to). I'm not sure if I like the idea of not ever being interested in food again. I'm not even sure this could really be possible for me or if it a good thing. My tough-as-nails side says that I should be able to control my eating without the use of tricks like Roberts suggests.

But, I'm thinking about trying this. I asked a friend of mine who used to be a personal trainer (C.M. I'll refer to her from now on), and she confirmed that it will supress my appetite. So, I'm adding extra light olive oil to the grocery list.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Back to Counting

Okay, okay, I'm back to calorie counting starting today. Obviously, the work out like a maniac thing didn't work. Since getting sick, I'm still back to trying to get my stamina up enough for multiple workouts each day, and even a 30 minute one has not been all that easy. I'm doing it, but I can tell a difference from before getting sick and now.

Plus, stepping on the doctor's scale yesterday didn't help much. The news was not really anything worse than I already knew, but still - sobering.

Today is grocery day, so that means it is a good day to stock up on vegies and fruits that will hopefully keep me full and happy. The fruit this time of year is pretty sad, but I'm thinking, maybe, apples? It is fall, so apples should be fairly decent this time of year.

I'm going to start at 1800 calories and go down from there. I know that sounds high, but considering I eat at least 2000 to 2500 when I'm not dieting, then it's at least something, and it's not so daunting.

Other than my weight, which my doctor didn't even mention, I had a good bill of health. Of course, she is on me about getting a mammogram, which I didn't do last year. I know. I'm so bad, but you know how everyone tells you they aren't that big a deal, that they don't hurt? Well, that is the biggest line of BS I've every heard in my life. I would love to see a man get his you-know-what squished between two piece of glass like a waffle iron and then say, "Hey, that was no big deal." Oh, and I love how you get through it all, you're trying to think happy thoughts through the whole thing because soon it will be over, and then finally, you're done and the nurse says, "Don't get dressed yet in case we have to do it again." "Again!?!...F-----???!!" So, you sit there freaking out in your little paper shirt praying to every God known to mankind that the darn thing worked.

Ah, medical science! Gotta love how they think of ways to torture your who-haas, but can't come up with that magic pill to keep us all young and thin.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Back to Normal!

Finally, I think I'm over this stupid cold. Yesterday was the first day I really felt "normal." I did my Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds - Walk and Kick DVD and felt really good.

This is actually kind of a weird DVD because the first 10 or so minutes seem way too easy and I start getting kind of cocky: "Hey, I could do this for at least an hour. I'm not even breaking a sweat!"

Then somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes into the thing, I'm feeling it big time. I still think I could handle more than the 30 minutes on this, but it's a good workout just the same.

Today, I also managed to get in 30 minutes of aerobics before heading off to the library, so now I need to concentrate on getting back to my 2xs a day routine. If it weren't for the fact that my DH had a beer ready and some burgers on the grill when I got home, I might have made it too. But, after having literally 70 patrons up stairs in the Reference Department five minutes after we opened today, well, let's just say I really needed the beer and burger!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

I'd Rather Be the Pope

I'm back, and yes, as I suspected, I was getting sick, have been for a good week now. At this point, I'm at the cough here and there and constant throat clearing stage, but I'm feeling a lot better, almost normal again.

Needless to say, this put a huge dent in my exercise routine. However, tough as nails as I am, I'm proud to say that I still managed to get some exercise, even on days that I was feeling punky. I say "some" as in doing 20 minutes of cardio and 9 minutes of pilates abs, but more than that I just couldn't handle most days.

Today is my first day back to my multiple daily exercise routines. I did 30 minutes of cardio this a.m., and while I wasn't fabulous at it, I did manage the weights a little. I had to hold back a tad, but not that much. Tonight, I'm going for another 30 minutes of cardio and my pilates abs.

Now, for some really "this sucks" news, at least to me. Next week I have my yearly doctor's visit. Ugh! I really don't need to go in for a few more months, but getting into see her is like getting in to see the Pope ("Ya, Ya, You can be the President; I'd rather be the Pope"...Love me some Prince!), so I had to take what I could get because she's booked solid for the next three months. Yes, that means, ugh, I'm going next week! This also means I have to step on the dreaded s-c-a-l-e!

I knew I had to go see her in a few months, but my plan was that by then, even if I hadn't lost that much, I'd be solid as a rock from all my exercising. Now, I've got neither going on - bupkiss. (Is that how you spell bupkiss?) Normally, she's pretty low-key about my weight, but I would be really surprised if she doesn't say something since I'm sure I'm a good 10lbs heavier than I was last time she saw me, and back then I needed to lose 20lbs. I'm already envisioning her eyes bugging out when she sees that 3-digit number on my chart.

To top it off, this woman is a stick. She's a very nice stick, but just the same, he's about 6 feet tall and probably about 120lbs, maybe. So, it's hard for me to really talk with her about weight issues because, obviously, she doesn't have any. The few times I've attempted it, she's pretty much said to eat less and exercise more. Ah, yes, duh. I know she's right, but it's hard to hear that from someone who you could probably kill if not really injure by simpling sitting on her. I'm sure I could at least crack a rib or two.