Monthly Archives: April 2012

Good morning!

I hope you all are having a good week. The ovulation/appetite wave seems to have finally passed and I’m eating normally again, thank goodness. I’m glad I thought to look that up otherwise I would have been bashing my sweet self for eating way too much for 2 days, which really does nobody any good, amiright?

Something I’ve been meaning to mention is that I’m on Daily Mile, so if you are on DM also and want to be my friend, you can find me at http://www.dailymile.com/people/JillA15#ref=tophd. I have sort of taken the off from running this week, so I don’t have a lot of activity to show for this week. Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do for your body is SLEEP and I’ve been trying to do more of that this week. I feel better, so I think I made the right decision. I’ll get back on the treadmill starting Monday. Pinky swear.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about some online programs I was doing in relation to binge eating disorder. As I said before, I haven’t been diagnosed with BED and I don’t know if that’s really even what I have, but I am finding the treatment for it very helpful. I wanted to wait until I went through each program before I let you all know what they were in case they didn’t work out. I’m happy to report that I was please with both programs and am now ready to share them with you.

The first program I went through is at http://bingeeatinghelponline.com/.  Chrissy Cee has created a 12 day program to help you get started with your weight loss, and she has also come out with an ebook as well.  This program uses a lot of confidence-building techniques – in the 12 day program, you get a video and a worksheet every day for 12 days that gives you a lesson to complete for that day – it’s short and sweet and doesn’t take a lot of time, but it keeps you on track for almost 2 weeks, which is what I really liked. The ebook has you write a few sentences every day for 30 days – also quite effective.  The 12 day program is $40 (with a 30day money back guarantee), plus you get several bonuses, and the ebook is just $7.  I printed out all the materials and put them in a binder and found it really helpful to look through the binder every day to help me stay on track.

The second course I took (and just finished yesterday) can be found at overcome-binge-eating.com and you can find the specific ebook here. The ebook is $24 plus you get an audio workshop and workbook that complements the ebook. The author of the site and the ebook is Stefanie Nielsen and her site is loaded with information on how to tackle binge eating plus she has a ton of Youtube videos where she does a Q & A once a week. I think I would characterize her method of fighting binge eating as “brain training”.  Haven’t we all said at one time or another that weight loss is such a mental thing, so doesn’t it make sense to start with the mind? I’ll probably do a whole post about this later because I really feel enlightened by this process.

I really enjoyed both programs and feel that I learned something from each one. I think either one of them is a great starting point in this journey and definitely put me in the right direction. I felt that they were both affordable considering what you have to pay for private counseling these days, and it was definitely worth my time and money. I am starting to realize some things about myself that I thought I could not control, I absolutely can  control and turn around. Like I said, I’ll probably do whole ‘nother post about this soon (oooooh the suspense!!).

In other news, I was contacted by Everyday Health and asked if I would feature one of their videos from their Youtube channel. When EH mentioned that the video featured Joy Bauer (not to be confuse with the acerbic Joy Behar), a top nutritional expert I was more than happy to say yes. I’ve read some of Joy Bauers books and I really like her sensible and practical approach to healthy eating. The Everyday Health/Joy Bauer videos are called What the Heck Are You Eating? and a new one runs every Wednesday at 1pm EST. The latest video is called Give Me Some Sugar:

Isn’t Joy cute? There are 4 other videos in this series right now and they are all very entertaining and informative. The Everyday Health youtube channel has lots of videos, but I’ve only had the chance to check out the WTHAYE segments. If I have some down time this weekend, I’m going to check out the other stuff as well.

One last thing – you might have noticed the ads on my post. Through the magic of technology, there’s a chance I can make a little money having these ads on my site, and since I’ve been writing this blog for nearly 5 years I don’t think it’s a bad thing to earn a little revenue from it. I apologize if the ads bug you, but I wanted to try it and see how it works out.

Sheesh!!  That’s a lot of info to cram into one post!! I wanted to give you something to do while you leisurely enjoy your weekend, so really everything I do, I do it for you. Because I’m a giver that way.  ;)

Have a great weekend!

Posted by Jill in fitness

I’ve been doing really well with my BED courses and feeling good about my progress, until yesterday. I woke up feeling puffy and bloated and hungry. I felt unusually hungry at lunchtime, eating more than I typically do which resulted in having less to eat for my afternoon snack. By the time I left work I was really hungry and still had to run some errands so by the time I got home I was ravenous. I won’t go into detail about how much I ate but trust me, it wasn’t pretty.

This morning I got up and got in a half-hearted run and it was all I could do to make breakfast and eat it ASAP. Then when I got to work, I STILL wanted to eat more. For the last couple of weeks or so, I really haven’t had these urges to eat so much. And then it dawned on me…a quick check of monthlyinfo.com confirmed my suspicion – I’m ovulating. I wondered if there is a correlation between ovulation and increased appetite so I did a quick Google search which returned several hits. Most of the hits I got were forum threads which asked the very same question I had, and the positive answers were plenty.

AHA!! It wasn’t just my imagination!  I’ll admit that I did not find one definitive study on this, but then again my Google search lasted all of 15 minutes, so there might actually be a study proving that appetite increases during ovulation, I just did not happen to stumble upon it. I’m relieved though to have found other women who have experienced this increase in appetite – it makes me feel more normal and less anxious about it.

So what say you all? Has anyone else experienced this? Do you all keep track of your cycles online?

Posted by Jill in fitness

Yesterday afternoon I was set to meet up with a friend of mine for a little decadent dessert and some much need girl-talk. On the way there, I had a little fender bender. No one was hurt, thankfully, but my pride suffered a serious blow. I was completely bummed out which sort of ruined my afternoon (and evening…and morning). I talked with the insurance folks and based upon point of impact alone, the fault was determined to be mine (I don’t dispute that – I wasn’t paying enough attention) and our liability insurance will pay to repair the other person’s car. My car had very minor damage and thankfully my next door neighbor is an auto-body guy so hopefully he can work his magic on my car.

I’m not sure I can handle any more “fun” for awhile.

Remember the I’m so stupid conversation I had with myself over the stupid face cream? Well the I’m so stupid tape started playing in my head again right after the accident, along with why did I do that? tape. It just wouldn’t stop this time. In fact, it’s still sort of playing today even though I’m really trying to fight it off. Apparently I have this deep-seated belief that I’m stupid because that’s usually the first thought that comes into my head when I do something wrong. Definitely will have to work on destroying that tape.

Overall, and except for my Sunday afternoon, I had a very nice weekend although I will admit I packed too much into it. Saturday I got to meet with a group of friends I hadn’t seen in a while, then I had some good bonding time with my youngest while we ran errands, then Saturday night the hubs built a campfire in the back yard and we all sat around it and just relaxed – but then I had to stay up late finishing up laundry and cleaning up the kitchen. Got up early Sunday morning, went to church, came home to finish a sewing project, had lunch, went to meet my friend, had the fender-bender, come home, more laundry, more sewing, more kitchen cleaning, then fell into bed exhausted but had a very restless sleep.

Over the weekend, my intention was to eat small portions, which I did, but the quality of my food was pretty awful. My meals were at irregular times and when I did eat, it wasn’t healthy, nourishing foods at all. Plus I drank very little water which is probably why I had a headache all night last night. So when the alarm buzzed this morning, I just didn’t have it in me to get up and run. I was tired, I was sad, and I knew my body didn’t have the fuel or hydration it needed to get me through a run. So I hit the snooze and dozed for another 45 minutes before I had to get up and get ready for work. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow when I get up  - I definitely think a yoga day is in order!

I’m going to spend the rest of the day trying to turn my frown upside down. Hope you all are having a good Monday!

Posted by Jill in fitness

This article has me throwing my hands up in the air and wondering when all the madness will end. If you don’t want to click on the link, here’s the rundown: apparently there’s this diet called the KE Diet where a doctor inserts a feeding tube UP YOUR NOSE and into your stomach for ten days AS A WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT QUICKLY.

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

According to the article, it’s a popular way for brides-to-be to lose weight so they can fit into their wedding gowns on that glorious day. The article profiled one woman and said this:

Slipping into a wedding gown for a dream wedding is a moment of truth for most brides, but as many say that there is a real fear that it will not quite fit. That’s how Jessica Schnaider says she felt with a June wedding approaching and 10 pounds she says she couldn’t lose. She was desperate for a quick fix.

“I don’t have all of the time on the planet just to focus an hour and a half a day to exercise so I came to the doctor, I saw the diet, and I said, ‘You know what? Why not? Let me try it. So I decided to go ahead and give it a shot,” she said. (emphasis mine)

She goes on to say that emotionally, the diet was hard, but she wasn’t hungry for those ten days. That’s just what you want to be, is an emotional wreck right before your wedding. I’m sorry but I feel like this is a really shallow thing to be thinking about before your wedding. I mean, your fiance thought you were beautiful enough as you were to ask you get married in the  first place, right? I wonder what all the fiances are thinking during all this – I mean wouldn’t you think your significant other was a little nutty if they did something this drastic?  And I’m sure her friends and family had to think she was off her rocker. She even says she had to keep convincing people she wasn’t sick:

“And sometimes I had to give excuses to people who were asking are you sick? And I was like, ‘No, I’m not sick, I’m not dying, I’m fine.’

This would be enough to make me NOT want to do this. I can’t imagine running into someone at WalMart and having to explain to them that “hey I’ve got this feeding tube shoved up my  nose so I can lose ten pounds – don’t I look great?!?”

This “procedure” costs approximately $1500 for the ten day treatment and what struck me as odd is that this woman had this done recently, but her wedding isn’t until this summer. Her wedding is in June and it’s now April – plenty of time for her to gain ten pounds back, especially since she lost it so fast! I would think if someone were going to have this done, they would do it right before the wedding, but that’s just me.

I thought the HGC Diet was whack-a-doodle, but KE Diet takes the top place in my list of Crazy Fad Diets.

I don’t begrudge anyone wanting to look their best on that special day, but at least give exercising and eating healthy a try before you go do something as drastic as this. I feel that she had plenty of time to lose the weight the old fashioned way. And I know how hard it is to lose those last ten (or twenty or fifty) pounds, but a feeding tube? Really?

What’s next?

I don’t even want to know.

Edited to Add: Upon re-reading my post, I realize that I sound really judge-y and that is not my intention. I am a big proponent of Finding What Works For YOU, but I just think this K-E Diet sounds dangerous and unhealthy.  The fact that it is even an option is what I have such a hard time accepting. I don’t think the women who do this are horrible, stupid people – I think it’s sad that they feel such pressure to go to such lengths. I have felt that quiet desperation myself a time or two, so I understand WHY it sounds desirable to them, but I also feel that there are safer, healthier ways to go about losing those vanity pounds. 

Posted by Jill in fitness

I was a week late for my Lady Time. I am never late. Ever.

My tata’s are tender even though Lady Time ended a week ago.

I’m weepy as sh*t.

I’ve got a crazy mad Peeps craving.

My husband didn’t kiss me good night one night and so naturally I think he’s having an affair with a 28 year old Victoria’s Secret model.

I ate 5 Pillsbury cinnamon rolls yesterday.

My middle is expanding like Homer Simpson’s beer belly.

I’ve got a crazy mad chocolate bunny craving. 

I have been alternately sad/mad for many, many days now.

I’m 41. I think I’m a little young, but eh, whatever. 

And before you even say it, no I’m not pregnant. The husband got snipped after #3 was born (and yes, I know that sometimes it grows back or whatever. Shut up). So that leaves menopause or crazy. Flip a coin because really, it could be either one at this point. 

Posted by Jill in fitness