tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62582385486164142362024-03-13T11:32:35.223-04:00Grateful Hearts Don't Binge EatSingernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-45000523882611537022018-12-23T12:23:00.002-05:002018-12-23T12:23:40.300-05:00Almost Fifteen Months of Bright Line Eating<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9wZi9IzjD-U/XB-_k5digXI/AAAAAAAASdM/nfWRsCwutWo5Ni8SxBD51zUztlgr3_pEgCLcBGAs/s1600/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BBeth%2BDec%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9wZi9IzjD-U/XB-_k5digXI/AAAAAAAASdM/nfWRsCwutWo5Ni8SxBD51zUztlgr3_pEgCLcBGAs/s320/Before%2Band%2BAfter%2BBeth%2BDec%2B2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It really struck me a couple of days ago what I've accomplished and how I've changed in the past 15 months. I knew intellectually but all of sudden one day last week I really FELT it. I felt how enormous the changes were -- and I don't just mean my body which is 76 pounds lighter now. Many of the changes have nothing to do with my body or the way I look, or the way I eat. They are internal -- mental, spiritual -- changes.<br />
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<b>Meditation:</b> Part of what got me to sign up for the <a href="https://brightlineeating.com/" target="_blank">Bright Line Eating</a> Bootcamp last October was that it came with a daily meditation course from <a href="https://moniquerhodes.com/" target="_blank">Monique Rhode</a>s. I'd long wanted to incorporate daily meditation into my life. I did some of the meditation course during bootcamp but wasn't able to make it stick as a daily habit -- probably because there were so many food and eating related habits to build up. However I got back to the meditation course this Summer and this time it did stick. I meditate for 15 minutes almost daily. I'm still using the Monique Rhodes meditations -- I love her voice and the occasional reminder during the meditation to gently come back to my anchor or my breath. I also use an app on my phone, Insight Timer, for other guided meditations. I find that my day goes better when I meditate -- not that nothing bad happens -- but that my ability to respond calmly and from my highest self is much, much better. At first I thought 15 minutes was a VERY long time -- now there are many days when I want to sit quietly for longer!! I use the time immediately after my meditation for a short devotional time where I'll pray and read the daily reading from my Day By Day app. Believe it or not I am loving this practice so much that I get up 20-30 minutes earlier to do it before I leave for work -- and I leave for work at 7 so I'm now getting up between 5:30 and 5:45am -- that would have been just unthinkable a year ago when I would snooze as long as possible and finally rouse myself at 6:15 and run madly around the house to get out the door by 7 or 7:15 and then arrive 5-10 minutes late for work -- all agitated. Now I get to arrive by 8 and am usually much calmer (though admittedly at times the traffic gets the better of me).<br />
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<b>More space in my brain: </b>I now have freedom from sugar addiction and constant food thoughts. So, this is sort of about the food, but what's the most striking about this is the freedom part. I no longer have so much brain space taken up with thinking about when I'm going to eat my next sugary yummy food. We can have Christmas goodies sitting out in our work area all day and I hardly give them a thought. In the past they would have been calling to me all day long and I would have kept going back for more and more and more until I felt sick. I eat and enjoy three meals a day and in between those meals I don't think much about food at all and can get on with doing other things. I have to do more up front planning, so that I have the food I need, especially at work where the options are limited in our cafeteria. Now that I'm on maintenance I am hardly ever hungry -- just the good kind of hunger that I get before a meal that makes eating that meal more satisfying. If I am hungry in between meals I can have some herbal tea and that almost always makes me feel better and full enough. I mean sure I'm tempted at times, but I'd say that more than 95% of the time I don't eat between meals, I eat no added sugar or flour and I measure my quantities. My brain is still broken when it comes to knowing how much to eat to maintain my weight, so I like having the measurement and weight guidelines. These also make sure I eat enough fruit and vegetables to stay full and healthy -- I'm sure I wouldn't otherwise.<br />
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<b>Having to feel and to deal with my emotions:</b> I don't get to numb these by eating anymore so I'm having to deal with them and work on them. This is hard -- but a good thing to. I'm still very much learning how to do this.... to feel my feelings. This goes along with <b>Connection</b> which I'm also working on -- reaching out more, and not self-isolating. This means focusing on the people at an event and not the food -- this is uncomfortable for an introvert! Also, asking for help and support when I need it from my Mastermind group, or my Gideon Games group, or in the Bright Lifers website. This is still very much a work in progress for me.<br />
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I'm looking forward to whatever the next year brings me. This is a journey and a life style change -- it's not a diet. It's not that I <b>can't </b>eat certain foods, or quantities or at certain times -- it's that I <b>choose not to</b> eat certain foods, and to eat three meals a day without snacking. This is the BIG difference between the Bright Line Eating plan and other weight loss/diets. 1.) It's not a diet. 2.) There's a plan for transitioning to maintenance and for maintaining the weight loss 3.) It's a community that supports each other though this journey.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-id_NB-pKFNA/XB_C5ajHm-I/AAAAAAAASdY/ymU4fcnaSfEUulOE2_KEG7YlGtSdEP8TACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0106.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-id_NB-pKFNA/XB_C5ajHm-I/AAAAAAAASdY/ymU4fcnaSfEUulOE2_KEG7YlGtSdEP8TACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0106.PNG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My weight trajectory over the past year (starting December 2017 after 2 months of Bright Line Eating). You can see how I transitioned into maintenance and landed my "plane" smoothly. </td></tr>
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<br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-55037999997746413752018-09-12T11:34:00.000-04:002018-09-12T11:36:04.046-04:00Released the Weight, Now I'm Releasing the Clothes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JP5VdlMvrwI/W5kxC8nR89I/AAAAAAAARQ8/anEc-TwNTgo3XvX177tqrCPtuH68rTGLACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JP5VdlMvrwI/W5kxC8nR89I/AAAAAAAARQ8/anEc-TwNTgo3XvX177tqrCPtuH68rTGLACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8467.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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There's no going back now -- I'm about to take all of these clothes to <a href="http://www.stjohnsbarrington.org/encore-st-johns-consignment-shop/" target="_blank">ENCORE</a>, the consignment shop at my church. This is the second batch I've taken. Last Spring I took Spring/Summer Clothes that were already too big even before I reached goal weight. Now I am taking Fall/Winter clothes. I decided to keep one pair of pants from my highest weight. A pair of size 18W Talbots jeans (I wear a size 10 jeans now). I tried them on -- something I haven't done since I lost 70+ pounds. What an amazing experience! They were HUGE and fell off of me if I didn't hold them up. It was a very powerful visual reminder of how much I've lost. What also amazes me is how much in denial I was before. I mean, I knew I weighed 220 pounds which at 5'7" is obese but I didn't think I looked that fat. No wonder people keep commenting in amazement at how I look now. So, I'm keeping this pair of pants as a reminder that I never, ever, ever want to go back there.<br />
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I also tried on a couple of pairs of horseback riding pants I found in the basement, that I haven't worn since the last time I rode which was -- wait for it -- 22 years ago. They are in great shape and now fit perfectly again. So -- I must be thin enough to ride again without breaking the horse -- maybe my next challenge will be to ride again? I kept them of course.<br />
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<br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-58019957397236364592018-09-12T09:55:00.000-04:002018-09-12T09:55:59.559-04:00Almost a Year and 73 Pounds Gone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been doing the maintenance dance since May 23rd when I added my first additional component over the weight loss plan: 1 grain serving (4 oz of cooked, 1 oz of dry grain) at lunch. Yesterday I added my 5th additional component: Another 1/2 grain serving at lunch. My full food plan looks like this:<br />
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<b>Breakfast</b><br />
1.5 grain servings<br />
2 protein servings<br />
6 oz fruit<br />
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<b>Lunch</b><br />
1.5 grain servings<br />
1 protein serving<br />
1 fat serving<br />
10 oz vegetables<br />
6 oz fruit<br />
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<b>Dinner</b><br />
1 grain serving<br />
1 protein serving<br />
1 fat serving<br />
10 oz vegetables<br />
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<b>Extra on Days I do Weight Training with my Personal Trainer </b>(2x per week)<br />
1 fruit serving<br />
.5 protein serving<br />
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I lowered my goal range to 146-150 and am really comfortable at 147-148 as my weight. I haven't weighed this little since the early 90s before I had children. Most of my adult life I've been in the 150s or much higher so I originally set a very modest goal of 155. I made it into this new range as of August 8th -- after a week of vacation at my Dad's house -- so I've been maintaining at goal range for almost exactly one month now. So far so good. It continues to be miraculously easy!!! I just don't have the cravings to eat sweet foods that I used to have and am only very occasionally even thinking about them. We had our Fall potluck at Providence Singers last night where there is always a HUGE spread of food and desserts. I had to stand by the dessert table while I was in line for food and I looked at it and wasn't even interested AT ALL -- really compared to how I ate and how tempted I was at last year's potluck this really is nothing short of a miracle.<br />
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My next goal is to maintain this weight for a year so I can register with the National <a href="http://www.nwcr.ws/" target="_blank">Weight Control Registry</a>. You have to have successfully lost and kept off for a year -- 30 pounds or more -- and then you can join their Research study.<br />
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Now onto finishing my closet clean-out.Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-51414623422663076072018-07-14T07:52:00.001-04:002018-07-14T07:52:45.080-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I made it to my goal range of 148-152 pounds! YES!. At 151 -- that's a total of 69 pounds lost on Bright Line Eating and 73 pounds lost from my highest weight ever. I've been adding back in food per the Bright Line Eating maintenance plan since May 23rd. I've been going slowly and have added in 3 components so far: 1 serving of grain at lunch, additional 1/2 serving of grain at breakfast and an additional serving of protein split between breakfast and dinner. It may be time to add the 4th soon, but we will see. Loving this program because it works, it's flexible enough that you can still live your life while eating healthfully -- and for the amazing support being in the Bright Lifers program brings.<br />
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If you are interested, I updated my measurements and other Stats on the Statistics page, and there are photos in the blog post I wrote in June.<br />
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<br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-48487257131803331742018-06-22T10:30:00.003-04:002018-07-14T07:25:32.651-04:00Thanks Susan Peirce Thompson <br />
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The New England Bright Line Eating Group recently hosted Susan Peirce Thompson when she was in Boston. I couldn't make it to the event unfortunately, but decided to participate in the book that the group is making for Susan. Below is my contribution, photos and a letter to Susan. </div>
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<i>I found BLE totally by accident. I’ve been a binge eater and
emotional/stress/comfort eater my whole life, but the bingeing had been really
bad over the past year mainly because my job was so stressful – I have a toxic,
micromanaging boss. After about 8 years of remaining between 210 and 220 lbs I’d
popped up to 224 lbs. I knew something had to change and I wanted to address
the binge eating. I had come to terms with being heavy and made peace with my
body so losing weight was not my motivation. I’d given up on being able to lose
weight anyway. The lowest I’d managed to get in the last 10 years was 203 and
that was with so much effort, deprivation, and feeling bad about myself when I
cheated – it just wasn’t worth it. I saw an advertisement for BLE in my
Facebook feed and was intrigued. I watched the videos and decided to sign up
for a boot camp. The timing was perfect as my husband was going to be out of
town for 3 weeks so I could try this “crazy” plan without having to tell him
about it – in case it didn’t work. I had
tried not eating added sugar, and only 3 meals a day on my own before at my
Doctor’s suggestion and it lasted a month until my Birthday and a bunch of NMF
re-activated cravings -- so the concept wasn’t unfamiliar to me.</i></div>
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<i>I’d paid enough for boot camp (though not too much!) to be
serious about my commitment. After those first 3 weeks with unbroken lines I
had lost almost 10 lbs and my cravings were minimal to non-existent. It was a
miracle! At the end of boot camp I had joined my awesome Mastermind group, lost
24 lbs and still had little to no cravings. I’d navigated a visit from my Dad (a
serious foodie) and kept my lines except for one NMD. I could walk by a table
full of NMF at work and not be tempted and actually forget it was there. I
couldn’t believe it and kept waiting for it to end! I joined Bright Lifers
because I knew I needed all the support I could get if I was going to keep
living this new lifestyle – and especially to navigate maintenance when I got
there. I stayed in the Research program so I’d stay accountable as well. I started
believing that I could lose all the weight and get into a right sized body. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Now almost 9 months later I am in my right sized body and in
my goal weight range of 150-155. I’ve been working out with a personal trainer
twice a week for 5 years and am making great progress there now that I don’t
weigh so much. I still have some belly fat, so I may lower my goal range, but I
think what I need to do is work out more to target it. I’m also 54 and
post-menopausal so it might just be this way? In the last month I’ve regained
energy I haven’t had in many years and have added in a brisk 2 mile walk during
lunch most days. I’ve embracing the maintenance dance. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>What made the different for me with BLE is the community and
all of the support and tools, as well as understanding the brain science behind
why I do what I do. I begin every morning listening to the accountability call
on my commute to work which sets the tone for the day. This isn’t a diet or
weight loss program, it’s a lifestyle change for my body and my mind. Susan,
you understand the addict, and have designed the perfect program for those of
us with food addiction who can’t moderate our intake or curb our cravings just
by counting points or calories. We need a different way – and we found it with
BLE. </i></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-79768346457733333952018-04-11T19:34:00.003-04:002018-07-14T07:25:49.699-04:00Six Months Later<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So six months here I am. Down 52 pounds from the beginning of boot camp on October 4, 2017.<br />
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I have lost:<br />
6.5 inches in my Bust<br />
10.5 inches in my Waist<br />
8.5 inches in my Hips<br />
10.25 inches in my Stomach<br />
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Seeing those numbers in incredible to me. I really didn't see myself as I was before I guess, but I can see it now -- that I was heavy before.<br />
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Still not sure exactly why I am able to stick to this, when I could never stick to Weight Watchers or anything else, but it must be this program. I'm thankful.Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-92151947660267486682018-02-08T13:06:00.000-05:002018-07-14T07:26:04.960-04:00Forty Pounds Less<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My weekly weigh in was yesterday and I broke the 180 barrier and am now down to 179.8. That's a total loss of 40.2 pounds since I started Bright Line Eating (BLE) Boot Camp on October 4th. I haven't seen the 170s for at least ten years. I can't find any record of exactly what I weighed after I was pregnant with Sam but I do know that the lowest I got back down to was 168 pounds when we were in Italy in June 2004. I think I was in the upper 170s when we moved from Athens, GA to Rhode Island which is when I began gaining a lot of weight fast because of emotional binge eating of sweets -- because I was depressed about having to leave a job and friends I loved. Anyway -- this is a huge success and I'm going to pat myself on the back and take it. I've been losing weight lately at a rate of just under 2 pounds per week which is excellent. I think that my twice weekly weight training is helping this, but I could be wrong. I've been doing that for a couple of years before starting BLE. </div>
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<b>One Day At A Time</b>. I'm going to push all thoughts of future slower weight loss or future challenges out of my head and concentrate just on keeping my lines bright today. Simple but effective. The support and connection I get in the Bright Lifers community and from my Mastermind Group are essential and one of the major differences for me between BLE and other programs I've tried. I've been listening to the Daily Accountability call as I drive in to work and while I don't always relate to the questions asked being in this BLE community as I start my days sets me off on the right track. </div>
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<br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-30495327900591320392018-01-30T13:39:00.001-05:002018-07-14T07:26:18.463-04:00Half Way to Goal Weight!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Update almost Four Months in. I have been so much more successful than I had anticipated. I went into this wanting to get over binge eating and not necessarily to loose weight. I didn't think it was possible for me to loose 20 pounds let alone 35. I now believe that I can get down to my goal weight of 150-155. That's 30-35 pounds left to loose. My BMI is now in the overweight range instead of the obese range and my wireless scale can't tell if it's me or my husband standing on it -- so my weight must be close to his rather than a whole lot more than his.<br />
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For the most part <a href="https://brightlineeating.com/" target="_blank">Bright Line Eating</a> has not been that hard. It maybe that I was just in the right place and receptive to it -- but more likely it's the program itself and the fact that it emphasizes brain healing, overcoming food addiction, support, meditation, self-compassion, and other tools in addition to an eating plan that is simple to follow. I encourage anyone who is interested to <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Bright-Line-Eating-Science-Living/dp/1401952534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517337367&sr=8-1&keywords=bright+line+eating" target="_blank">read the book</a> or try a <a href="https://brightlineeating.com/start-losing-weight/" target="_blank">14 day challenge</a>. I finished my Boot Camp in mid December and have joined the Bright Lifers Group for this year so I can continue this journey. I know that I need the support and the community to do this. I love that the emphasis is on healing holistically not just loosing weight and overcoming food addiction. Learning to really be present for life instead of numbing and self-medicating with food.<br />
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Of the 4 Bright Lines the one that has had the most radical impact on me is eating only Three Meals per day. This is also the only Bright Line that I have not broken at all -- not even once in over 100 days. This one just took almost immediately and is so incredibly freeing. There are no decisions to be made about whether or not to eat something at any event that isn't at meal time. I just don't eat. Full Stop. Eating only three meals a day has made me very protective over those meal times. I don't want to eat standing up, or at my desk and I don't want to have to rush through the meal. This is my time to eat, and to enjoy my food and nourish my body. I now notice how so many people eat all of the time, and in a rush, and while doing other things.<br />
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I have been remarkably successful at not eating flour or sugar as well -- though I have broken those lines several times. The final Bright Line is to weight quantities which I have also done the vast majority of meals -- except when eating out and a bit while visiting family over the holidays. It still feels a bit ridiculous at times to cut a grape in half to get exactly 6 ounces of fruit for example, but it keeps me honest and my portions don't escalate and it is freeing -- no decisions to make and nothing to estimate.<br />
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I talk weekly with my Mastermind Group. A group of 5 women who are all on this Bright Line Eating journey. We are in five different States and talk for an hour on Monday evenings. This keeps me grounded and we all support each other. I've found the support in the Bright Line Eating community on Facebook and with this Mastermind Group to be so much more supportive and real than anything else I have tried (mostly Weight Watchers meetings and My Fitness Pal online).<br />
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As far as non-scale victories go -- I do have more energy. I haven't had any heartburn or indigestion. I don't wake up over full and groggy. Part of not eating sugar includes not drinking alcohol and while I miss my wine -- I don't miss the headaches and general yucky feeling I'd have the next day if I drank more than 2 glasses -- which happened quite a bit. My new favorite drink is La Croix sparkling water in a fancy hand-painted wine glass. My cravings for sweet things are mostly gone -- miraculous. Though I do occasionally yearn for some dark chocolate. I know I'm still a recovering food addiction though because when I think about eating chocolate or other NMF (not my food) I still want to binge eat it with no restrictions. Maybe some day I'll be able to have just one piece but not for now.<br />
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Before I conclude. Here are my before and after photos so far.<br />
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<br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-89141552752144061462017-12-13T21:42:00.001-05:002018-07-14T07:26:33.965-04:00Ten weeks of Boot Camp Later....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I thought I would write a whole lot more, but time got away from me. I've been so much more successful than I could have imagined. I only broke my Bright Lines a few times and in very small ways: one glass of champagne, grain at dinner and some asian food that may or may not have had some added sugar. Because I was able to follow the plan I managed to loose 25 pounds in 10 weeks which is pretty astonishing. For the most part my cravings were at a level of 1 out of 5 on most days as was my hunger and discomfort from hunger. Sure there were some days when I was hungry at the beginning as my body adapted to three meals a day and less calories, but on the whole I'm not hungry. I do feel more free and unless I'm planning my food for the next day I'm not thinking about food, or when I'll eat next or what I'll eat. I have a lot more to say about all of this, but don't have time right now. These are terrible photos, but here's what 22 pounds gone looks like, and that was 10 days and 3 pounds ago. At 191lbs I will officially not be obese anymore. That's the next goal -- since I've already made it to "Onederland". It is a fantastic things to write my weight starting with a ONE!<br />
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<br />Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-79676384882109482462017-10-05T14:15:00.002-04:002017-10-05T14:21:18.522-04:00Day Two of Bright Line Eating Boot Camp: Observations at Mid-Day9:00 AM: #Observations. Hello Everyone hope you are having a good BL day. I just finished breakfast on my Day Two. 1.) The oatmeal portion looked tiny to me. I made it with milk this morning which was better than yesterdays with water and had a half protein serving of nuts and a banana and added salt and cinnamon. So what I thought was too small was actually plenty and I was totally satisfied. This portion is about half the amount of oatmeal I had been eating when I ate oatmeal. 2.) I ate A LOT of vegetables yesterday and I like vegetables and already ate what I thought was more than average. I have some gas and bloating this morning (sorry if that's TMI) hopefully just my body getting used to this. 3.) No cravings at all yesterday even as I sat next to my husband drinking wine and eating dessert! 4.) I have to take this one day at a time because honestly I can't conceive of eating this way for a month let a lone forever! 5.) I forgot to do the Nightly check list.<br />
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1:15 PM: #Observations. I just finished lunch. I started getting hungry at around 11:30 so that's not bad. I had a meeting then but managed to put lunch off to 12:30 without much difficulty. I had egg salad made with two eggs and 1T mayo, a mixed salad of arugula, spring mix, spinach, tomatoes, red pepper and shredded carrot with balsamic vinegar, and 2 clementines and some of my favorite flavor of La Croix water (Peach-Pear). It didn't seem like much egg salad to me but so far so good. I made myself go up to the Cafeteria and sit at a table rather than eating in my office at my desk. I think that helps make the meal more of an event and not part of work. I am really tired though, and am getting a headache between my eyes. I don't now if that's a result of de-toxing or something else. It's not like I was never tired or never had a sinus headache before I started Bright Line Eating Boot Camp. It's a bit of a different though -- almost a bit light headed? One of my questions/concerns is that it's the exact same amount of food for all women who are on the weight loss maintenance plan. It doesn't take into account activity level, or the size of the woman. A reasonably active 5'7", 220 lb woman is going to need a few more calories than a sedentary, 5'0", 175 lb. woman both of whom have a BMI of 34.5. Or maybe I'm wrong and there's not that much of a difference in calorie needs. Maybe I will track my calories for a couple of days and see what it ends up being. I'm concerned that this plan is too calorie restricted. I don't want to loose weight too fast as I've always read that this is bad for you and leads to yo-yo dieting. According to this calculator from <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-many-calories-per-day" target="_blank">Healthline</a> here are the calories I need to maintain and lose weight based on my weight, height, and age. I checked several other calculators and got similar results. <br />
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After entering all of today's food into My Fitness Pal the total calories for today following the Bright Line Eating Weight Loss Plan exactly are: 1,288. That's pretty aggressive weight loss -- and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. It will be one of my questions at my first coaching call. I would sure love to add in one more healthy grain serving at dinner or lunch. <br />
For Reference look below and you can see that someone of my same age with a less active lifestyle, but who is much shorter, but at the same BMI needs 500 less calories a day to loose weight! <br />
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Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-1330117828855806002017-10-04T11:56:00.001-04:002017-10-04T12:05:28.629-04:00Bright Line Eating Boot Camp Day One Part One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is the day. To be honest I wonder if I can actually stick to something this rigid for even a month, but it's worth a try for the Boot Camp period and then I'll re-assess. I don't really have a problem with not eating sugar and not eating flour and eating only three meals a day -- it's the strict quantities and division of fats, protein's, grain's, fruit and vegetables at each meal and weighing everything that's a sticking point right now, as this just seems very inflexible to me and not adaptable to travel or eating out -- but I'm hoping to learn from other more seasoned Bright Line Eaters during the Boot camp. I like to cook things together in one pot or pan and this plan has us weigh things after cooking so I don't see how I can then separate out the protein, fat and grain to wright it, but we'll see. I'm one of those people who hates making special requests at restaurants so that may be something I have to get over. I'm also going to have to brace myself for a lot of prep work so I have good, healthy, plan compliant food ready to go.<br />
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Today's meal plan is:<br />
<b>Breakfast</b><br />
<ul>
<li>1 ounce oatmeal (before cooking) -- Grain</li>
<li>2 ounces chopped pecans -- Protein </li>
<li>1 Banana -- Fruit</li>
<li>Chai Tea with no sugar or milk added</li>
<li>Cinnamon on the oatmeal/nut/fruit mixture. </li>
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It was delicious and it's 11:45 now and I'm just getting hungry. Of course I went to the Gym this morning and have been busy and not bored, so not thinking of food.<br />
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<b>Lunch</b><br />
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<li>A big 8 ounce salad with arugula, spinach, spring mix, tomatoes, shredded carrots, and sliced red pepper -- Vegetable</li>
<li>
4 ounces tuna -- Protein </li>
<li>Salad dressing of 1 T olive oil and 2 T balsamic vinegar -- Fat </li>
<li>Apple -- Fruit </li>
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<b> </b>I'm on the weight loss plan so no grains at Lunch and Dinner for now.<br />
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<b>Dinner</b><br />
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<li>4 ounce Chicken garlic sausage -- Protein</li>
<li>6 ounces cooked brocoli (fresh steamed) -- Vegetable</li>
<li>6 ounces cooked green beans (frozen bag in microwave) -- Vegetable</li>
<li>1 T Butter to add to vegetables -- Fat</li>
<li>Mustard </li>
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I took my Measurements and photos this morning as well. [For a fun video of me walking on the beach for size reference scroll down to the bottom of the post!]<br />
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My measurements had only changed a bit since I last did them in 2013. In a few places I'm a tad bigger. I also recorded bra size and clothing sizes for another frame of reference. I plan to weigh just once a week and I'll take measurements again at the end of the boot camp.<br />
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So, this is what I look like in my workout clothes in bad photos taken by myself in the mirror at 220 pounds, 5'7". According to my BMI which = 34.5 I am obese. Now I do think of myself as overweight but I just can't see myself as obese. You judge from the photos. In order to not be obese I have to weigh 191 pounds. So I'm in the obese category by 29 pounds even!!<br />
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Here's what I look like in another recent photograph, watching the partial eclipse on August 21, 2017:<br />
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Here's a video of me walking on the beach a couple of months ago, so you can judge for yourself whether I look obsese -- in fact 29 pounds into the obese range.<br />
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A post shared by Beth Holmes (@bethgholmes) on <time datetime="2017-09-03T21:32:55+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Sep 3, 2017 at 2:32pm PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-61458266715518626062017-09-30T17:59:00.001-04:002017-10-04T11:17:53.122-04:00I'm a Sugar Addict<br />
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I've come slowly to the realization that I'm addicted to sugar. I don't want to be. I don't want to have to never eat refined sugar again -- just as an alcoholic can never drink alcohol again. But I just cannot eat sugar in moderation. Oh, it starts out just fine -- with a piece of cake for my Birthday -- for example. Maybe the next day will go okay too and I'll just have one normal to large portion of dessert. From there it goes down hill fast and on the third day I'm thinking about when I can have my next sweet thing. This requires planning because I know I'm going to eat way more than a normal portion so I can't eat it anywhere someone can see me. Some of my latest venues have been in my car on my hour long commute home. I'll stop at the food store and buy a bag of Mint Oreos -- one of my personal favorite binge foods -- and eat one after the other until I start to feel sick. Anyone who has a normal relationship with food is shaking there head and saying "Yuck! how in the world could you do that. How disgusting". Hey -- know, I have those same thoughts, but I do it anyway. The craving and the need, the urge, is overwhelming. Another personal binge favorite is finding a time when my husband and daughter are out, loading up one of my favorite murder mystery British detective shows and sitting down to enjoy the viewing with not one, but two pints of Ben & Jerry's. It used to be just one pint, but sometime a couple of years ago one pint stopped being enough and I moved on to two pints. The ritual requires that I eat them from the pint and not from a bowl -- I know, I know -- I am deeply disturbed!<br />
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In early 2017, my Doctor suggested giving up sugar for a month to see if that helped me feel lest tired. I'd been complaining of being exhausted all the time and was getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night. So, I stopped eating food with added sugar. It went pretty well, though I was had bad cravings for the first couple of days I told myself it was only for a month. I started craving sugary things a whole lot less pretty soon, and fruit and other naturally sweet things began tasting quite sweet. And then it was by Birthday and I was out to lunch with a friend and told myself I could treat myself to dessert for my Birthday. The next day I celebrated with my family and a friend made me a cake -- and that was all she wrote. It just took ONE dessert to set off all of those cravings again and I was bake into the binge cycle again. And this has been my experience for most of my life. 1.) Realize that my eating is totally out of control. I feel horrible. Food is driving my live. I'm gaining weight. 2.) Resolve to get a handle on this usually by counting Weight Watchers points, or tracking my food and limiting sweet things. 3.) Eat well for a time and then slowly slip back to the bad bingeing phase. Rinse and Repeat.This is why I believe I'm a sugar addict. I just can't handle added/refined sugar at all -- and that include other sweeteners that trigger cravings, including artificial ones. Like and alcoholic I'm afraid I'm going to have to not eat the stuff AT ALL. This makes me pretty sad because if there is anything that we are surrounded by more than alcohol it's desserts, candy, cakes and other sweet baked goods. They are EVERYWHERE, and we use them constantly to celebrate, to make us feel better, as a treat, as a reward, etc.... Honestly I think giving up alcohol might just be easier! I don't want to have to go to this extreme -- especially going from a family of cooks and foodies. We love our food too -- the savory food, and eating out and really enjoying a meal. My family are going to think I'm nuts and following some sort of fad. Oh well, I'm going to give it another try and get off of sugar. I just can't be controlled by this any more. My main motivation is that I FEEL BAD. The weight isn't even that big a deal for me at my age. Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6258238548616414236.post-66865882310089515542017-09-30T07:15:00.002-04:002017-09-30T18:14:30.778-04:00What's This All About?I'm so very tired of being a binge eater. Of being controlled by the need and overwhelming drive to sit on the couch and eat two pints of Ben & Jerry's at a time and then filling like crap afterwards. I've done a lot of reading and exploring about this over the last several years and frankly find that it's a bit overwhelming. There are so many views on how to loose weight, eat healthfully etc... On why people have brain fog and lethargy etc....<br />
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Thanks to a Facebook featured post of all things -- I encountered Bright Line Eating and signed up for their boot camp. I'm pretty skeptical about whether this will work -- in the sense that I wonder if I can actually stick to it for even the 8 weeks that the boot camp lasts. At any rate -- I thought I'd start this blog to document that journey/experiment.<br />
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I listed in the sidebar some of the books I've read or that I have on my reading list as well as links to people and organizations that have influenced me. Mostly this blog is for me -- I don't care if anyone else reads it and I'm keeping it separate from my regular blog because I actually don't want my family and friends to know about it unless they stumble on it. Singernahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15447104419481007410noreply@blogger.com0