Diet and Exercise: Options and Plans

   I mentioned in my last post that I had sat down and made a diet and exercise plan. Well, I wasn't lying-I really did. The exercise side of it is much more of a "plan" in the traditional sense of the word, while the diet side of more of a list of interchangeable options. While I'm losing weight, I'll be eating from the following list of items:

Breakfast Options

Fiber One Yogurt-50cal/per serving size

Light Vanilla Soy Milk-80cal/per cup

Egg whites-25 cal/per 1/4 cup

Luna Bar- 180cal

Oatmeal (Coach's Oats Brand)-160cal/serving size (1/3 cup, dry)

*Grapefruit-~50cal/per 1/2 grapefruit 

*Watermelon (Slices)- 36cal/per cup

*Blueberries-~35cal/per 1/2 cup

*Raspberries-10cal/per 10 raspberries

*Strawberries-5cal/per 1 Large Strawberry

Lunch and Dinner Options

*Carrots (Baby)-35cal/per 14 carrots

*Brocolli (Steamed)-44cal/per 5oz or 142g

Light String Cheese (Sargento) -50cal/per piece

Babybel Light (Laughing Cow Brand)-50cal/per piece

*Lettuce (Iceberg)-10cal/per cup

*Lettuce (Romaine)- 8cal/per cup

*Cucumbers- 45cal/per WHOLE medium size cucumber

Pickles (Mt. Olive Kosher Dill Spears)-~5cal/per spear

Matzo (Yehuda Brand)-125cal/per full square (I break them and only eat 1/4 at a time)

Condiment/Fixings Options

Salsa (Newman's Own Black Bean and Corn)-10cal/per tablespoon

Fat Free Ranch (Hidden Valley)- 15cal/per tablespoon

Fat Free Italian (Wish-Bone)-7.5cal/per tablespoon

Mustard (Plochman's Mild Yellow)-0cal

Banana Peppers (Mt. Olive Mild)-10cal/per 20 rings

Sicilian Pitted Olives (Lindsay)- 10cal/per olive

Taco Bell Hot Restauran Sauce- 0cal

Salad Spritzers (Wishbone)- 1cal/per spray

Beverage Options

Crystal Lite- 5cal/per 8oz

Coffee (Cafe Bustello, Black)-2cal/per 80z

Green Tea (Bigelow, with Lemon)-0cal

Water-0cal

*Denotes Negative Calorie Foods

   Most of the foods probably sound familiar from my second post with a few changes and substitutions. Basically, I have all of those options to work with and switch around and throw together for all of my meals. I know that when you look at it, it probably doesn't seem like a lot, however, you would be surprised at how many meals you can make out of those ingredients! I think in either my next post or the one after I'll post a few great low-cal recipes that are some of my favorites. 

   As for my exercising, I'm doing some things a little differently. Usually, I pretty much do the same thing every single day, which is some combination of treadmill, yoga, pilates, free weights, and ab work. HOWEVER, I have decided to try switching things up a bit and alternate exercises on different days, while also incorporating some new equipment. Speaking of new equipment, I have to tell you what the fuck I bought the other day. Prepare yourselves mentally for this one, guys. Are you ready?

I BOUGHT A MOTHER-LOVING SHAKE WEIGHT!!!!!!!! 

  Yes, THAT Shake Weight. Laugh it up, but I've used it two days in a row now, and you can really feel that shit! I may have been converted into a Shake Weight believer! It comes with this video that you can do the exercises along with, and its supposed to be 6 minutes a day, but I've been doing it once in the morning and once at night for a total of 12 WHOLE MINUTES! Haha, we'll see how toned my arms get!
   In addition to the Shake Weight, I also bought a jump rope and will be doing Hot Yoga once a week. So, here is the schedule:

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: 

1. Jump rope in the park, 30 minutes (10 minute intervals) 

2. Ab Work, 30 minutes (10 minute intervals) 

Tuesdays and Thursdays:

1. Treadmill, 45 minutes (alternating between 10 and 15% incline and 3 and 4mph)

2. Weights, 45 minutes (2 and 5 lb hand weights, and leg machine @ 45lb resistance)

Saturday:

Walk in park, 45 minutes

Sunday:

Hot yoga, 100 minutes

Everyday:

1. Shake Weight, 12 minutes

2. Swimming, moderate, 30 minutes

   So far, I've magically managed to stick to everything-although it has only been two days! I'll be sure to keep you guys updated, including if I have any slip-ups or binges. OH, I almost forgot! I made a Twitter account! Follow me at: http://twitter.com/FreeFromFood ! 

LM

Well, I did it!

   That's right, I actually went through with my colon hydrotherapy appointment yesterday morning! It was pretty weird at first, and I was definitely very nervous and even a little embarrassed in the beginning. I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to go through with it...ESPECIALLY when I saw the tube thing that was supposedly going in me!!

   Well, as it turns out, the tube really only goes in no more than an inch-and it is very very small in diameter, even smaller than a finger. I'm not sure how much of a comfort that sounds like to anyone who has literally NEVER had ANYTHING in that, ah hem, region...but it truly is not difficult to handle, and actually not even uncomfortable. There is an initial sense of discomfort, however, it is much more mental than physical. I think that the fact that I have done small, at-home enemas in the past may have made the process a little easier-just because I learned a while ago that the best approach, so to speak, really is to relax. 

   With all that being said, I'm sure that the only thing anyone actually wants to hear about is the result! Unfortunately, at the end of the 45-minute session, I didn't lose any weight at all. In spite of this, I somehow felt much lighter, and also much healthier. I'm not really sure how to explain the feeling, because don't get me wrong-I was VERY disappointed about the lack of tangible weight loss-and yet, I really did feel internally as though I were 5 lbs lighter. Without getting too gross, plenty of *stuff* came out during the session, and I think that although whatever came out may not of weighed very much, it had probably been taking up a lot of space inside of me! Just having it out felt really good, and actually, it helped lessen some of my cramping and lower back pain that I had been experiencing from my period. 

   I spoke to the "colon hydrotherapist" afterwards about all of this, and asked if it was normal for someone to experience no actual weight loss. She explained that while most people do experience at least some weight loss with their first session, it is not unheard of for someone not to. She then asked me if I had ever done an enema before, or a cleanse, and also asked about my diet. Obviously, I wasn't going to admit that I was bulimic-but I explained that I am a vegetarian, that I add fiber supplements to a lot of food, that I take Miralax daily, and that I have done simple home enemas before. She said that all of that explained why I hadn't experience the same results as most first-time clients. 

   Basically, she explained that most people have never and will never do any kind of colon cleanse or home enema unless it is doctor prescribed before a surgery (like a colonoscopy). Additionally, most people are not vegetarians, and do not get enough fiber in their diets. Combine those factors with the typical American diet that is high in trans fat, preservatives, chemicals, etc-and she said most people have a LOT of CRAP (haha, figuratively and literally) and toxins to get out of their system. Because I've been a vegetarian for close to 6 years now, and do try to keep my digestive system relatively regular with the aid of supplements and gentle laxatives, she said that the majority of my toxins and waste is probably much more impacted and deeper than what is removed in the first session. 

   With all that being said, I still don't know how much of that is total BS and how much of it is true. I did a lot of research before getting the procedure, and I've done some after regarding her explanation to see if it has any merit. While I've found some evidence that she was being truthful, a lot of it comes from other websites promoting colonics, which makes me question their credibility or whether they are all in on this scheme to convince people to pay up to $150 per session for 6 sessions by telling people that more will come out in the next session. Luckily, the place I had it done at is $75 per session-however that is still not cheap! 

   In evaluating my experience, I decided to book a second session. I figure, for one more session, I can see if she was BSing me or not about how the results would be better if I did it again AND worst case scenario, I still don't lose any weight-but I still feel better again. My next appointment is for June 2, as I'll be out of town next week and didn't really know about the safety issues in having two in the same week. I also tried to take some pictures, but they aren't very good quality as they were just with my phone!

   So this one I took while I was laying in the bed/basin thing...I actually don't really know what to call it. These are my legs under the blanket. I probably should have explained somewhere that there are two kinds of colonics, "closed" and "open." I had an "open" one. I'm not sure how to explain the difference without getting really graphic and gross-so I'll do my best and just hope that we are all adults! Plus, If you're still reading, then you probably aren't that bothered, right? So, a "closed" system involves a slightly bigger tube going slightly further in, and it basically blasts water inside of you and then vacuums or sucks everything out, and repeats. In an "open" system, its just the little thin tube that only goes in an inch, and nothing sucks anything out, it is allowed to just come out naturally. So when you look at that picture, the sheet is covering my bottom half which is basically on a big toilet. I don't know how else to say that...so the water goes in you, and you just release when you feel the urge, it is just constantly flushed away underneath you. 

   This picture is of the tube that you can watch everything come out of, if you so choose. In the beginning it was really intriguing and I was watching, but after a few minutes I decided to just lay back, relax, and not strain my neck trying to see everything. It's so strange how something can be both disgusting and fascinating at the same time! I never thought that this would be something I would even DO, let alone DO and WATCH...but its funny how our own bodies amaze us. As you can see, nothing was really coming out when I took this one. 

   Here you can see that I didn't lose any weight. They have a scale in every room for you to weight yourself before and after, which leads me to think that the woman was probably being honest about most people experiencing more dramatic results-because I don't think they would encourage you to measure it before and after RIGHT THERE unless they were relatively confident that you would be pleased. Anyway, as you can see, it is smack dab on 110, exactly what it was when I went to bed the night before.  

   And that about wraps up my post on my colon hydrotherapy experience! I meant to post this yesterday, but didn't have time to load the pictures from my phone until late last night-so I figured I may as well wait until this morning at that point! Today I am going back to my exercise and work-out schedule for the first time, and I spent about an hour earlier writing out a weekly diet and exercise "plan." It's kind of just a guide right now, but once I've fine-tuned it I'll post it! Have a great day everyone, and stay strong!

LM