Label Reading = Avoiding Poisons

This past Sunday was the big day to go grocery shopping for foods that qualify under the Katelyn-gf diet. The first step was to go through the kitchen and throw out everything that had sugar (not natural), HFCS, and Hydrogenated oils. This was an extensive cleaning I must say, almost everything went from jellies to cereal. It took a lot of label reading as well. Finally, once our kitchen was rid of all its poisons we went to the grocery store, and there we spent countless more time reading labels. It was easier in Publix because if you haven't noticed, and I never did either until Sunday, that if it has a brown self label then it is considered organic, for further explanation click here.

This made it easier on the inside aisles with all the canned and boxed things to spot the brown labels and then check for the poisons, and for the most part that strategy worked well. One of the things that I did enjoy was the fact that I got to buy lots of fresh fruit that I normally don't get, even though I love it!

A quick note on my adventure into Earthfare, to try and scope out some sales and even though I have been in there several times, I was thrown for a complete loop. It was like I had Organic Food Shopping Disorientation (OFSD for short). I was wandering around the store, up and down the aisles, looking at all their product but not processing a single thing I was seeing. I felt like I wasn't in a human grocery store, and I got freaked out, wondering what I was even doing there in the first place. After a couple of laps around the store, I started noticing some things that were on sale, but I just couldn't quite get to where I needed to be to tackle the OFSD. I bought some Cape Cod chips and called it a day, determined that next time I go in there I will either take Alex with me or have a plan of attack.

Meals this week so far have been pretty simple, and the hardest part for me is making myself cook. We have enjoyed some chicken stir fry which consisted of boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh California vegetables with soy sauce and sesame seeds. I even made a pot roast last night with carrots and potatoes, which I will probably leave to cooking in the crock pot from now on, it wasn't very moist. Also we even had pizza which I made a homemade sauce, which is exceptional if I do say so myself. We have also been cooking breakfast every morning which means we have to get up a little early, but the protein and fiber are doing a great job at holding me over until lunch time. Overall we have been trying to make sure we have protein, fiber, and a little fat with every meal, the only sugar I am consuming is the natural sugars found in the fruit that I eat.

I did find a wonderful article in the August issue of All You magazine about sugar in your food. It was a nice little read and I am going to do a little side blog about it within the next week or so. It will help me give you a little bit more information on how to look for sugar in your food, as well as what they suggest as some guidelines on the amount of sugar you should eat per types of food. So look forward to that soon!

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions for me please feel free to ask them!

K8ers

"The Katelyn-gf Diet"

After spending almost a whole week with according to gf, who scolded me about my non-blogging as of late, he inspired me to start writing again and to take on a whole new challenge. The challenge started out as what gf calls, "The Katelyn Diet," which is eliminating sugar from your diet. Then we are going to implement "The Katelyn Diet" with "The gf Diet," which eliminates Hydrogenated oils and High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS) from your diet as well. You can read a brief explaination on the whys in gf's blog here.

When I say "diet" I mean the term loosely, because as we have discussed before it is not a "diet" but more a lifestyle change. It is not something you can do for a couple of months and lose the weight you want and then quit. This is something that you will have to remain conscience about for the rest of your life. This is a long term commitment. While it may seem difficult, which I am well aware the the first few weeks will be just that, I am told that you will get to a point where when you eat a "poison" it will totally jack your GI tract up.

The Katelyn-gf Diet as it will now be referred, will follow this basic principle: If you cannot grow it, pick it, or catch it, you shouldn't eat it. Now I know there may be some confusion in this so I will try and break it down the best I can.

•  Grow It:
• This refers to your basics, such as fruits and vegetables. Yes fruits are a sugar, but your body recognizes this sugar and can break it down. Plus many fruits also contains fiber which is good for your body. This category also includes the means by which you get your flours and other basic dry goods. These dry goods however must be 100% whole grain and when looking at your label not have anything in it you do not recognize. Au Natural if you prefer.

• Pick It: 
• This is things such as spices, oils, and anything else you might find in a garden or on a farm. This does not include however HFCS or Hydrogenated Oils. Your body does not know what the hell this stuff is and it does not know what to do with it, so don't put it in your body. Once again look at your labels, make sure it is stuff that you know what it is. Also try to avoid things where the first ingredient is sugar.
• Catch It:
• This of course refers to the meat aspect of the diet. Now I'm not saying you have to go out there and catch your own chicken if you want to have chicken, but what I am saying is to pay attention to the meat you buy. Most of the meat that is on the shelf at the grocery store is packed with antibiotics and growth hormones that we don't need in our systems. I'm not saying it is going to be possible for everyone to buy organic meats but if you see it is on sale then maybe you should purchase than instead. But meats aren't bad, just try not to eat as much red meat if you eat it a lot.

I have decided to fully commit to this diet and I have the full support of my boyfriend who will be doing this lifestyle change with me. According to gf started out with "The Katelyn Diet" and lost a good bit of weight and then discovered the poisons of HFCS and Hydrogentated Oils and proceeded to cut those from his diet as well. In a little over a year he has lost over 50lbs, because he now pays attention to what he eats. And you will be surprised too of what you can find this poisons in. I have been under his tutelage for almost a week now with very in depth conversations on the matter, and Sunday I plan on putting all of this knowledge into action and take my first trip to my local natural food store. Wish us luck, and I promise I will let you know how the process goes! I hope that I have inspired you to start something new, and maybe you can give it a try with me.

K8ers

Feeling Flabby and Frumpy

Apologies for not writing in quite some time. I promise I didn't give up on you are anything. I just have been really busy. School and Work...and School and Work some more. I actually will probably have even less time in the next 6 weeks. So as far as the weight loss goes, everything is going good. I have only lost 4 pounds since the last post. But 4 pounds is better than nothing. I am also in between sizes right now. I can fit into some 18s but not all of them but the 20 fits me in the legs but is loose around the waist area.

Generally I lose weight in my face first and then chest but this time I am losing it on my true waist first.. you know between you chest and hips. The smallest portion of you abdomen if you will. I am not complaining at all, but I hate when my face looks fat. I know I probably shouldn't be doing this but I have been standing in my undergarments in front of the mirror telling myself how fat I am... not good for the self-esteem. Sometimes I just wish I could take a scalpel and just cut it all off. If only it were that easy.

I was looking at the picture to my right a few minutes ago and if you have never met my family before.. these lovely ladies are as follows: left to right: Brandi (my sister), Rain (Cousin), Amanda (Cousin), and Kristin (Cousin). As you can see that we aren't an bad looking family. I think my father is very handsome as well as my brother. But I just don't fit in with them right now. They are skinny and beautiful, and well I'm sure I would be if I were skinnier. You may think that I am just feeling sorry for myself, but this is how I constantly feel when I am around them. I just feel like I don't fit in. I love them to death, they are my best friends, but my self-confidence really lacks at family get-togethers.

I just wish I could get down to the weight I was before I went to Paris I was almost to the 180s then. That would be nice. I need to just get outside and sweat everything out. I just hate sweating. I know that doesn't help. I just do. This blog is starting this get really random. Gah. I will post my stats for this week below.

Thanks for sticking with me by the way. It is most appreciated.

Weight: 253.2 lbs.
Fat: 45.5%
Water: 35.2%
Muscle: 22.1%
Calories Suggested: 1801

Katelyn

Don't Count Me Out Just Yet

I know its been 3 weeks! Please don't hurt me! Things have been pretty crazy, but I promise I have been still weighing myself. 

Moving is not the most fun thing to do, and for at least 2 of those weeks that is what I was doing. Moving things from the house to the apartment, which I am still excited about, but I hope I don't have to do any more moving anytime soon.  And then this past week on Sunday I had a candle party so I had to get ready for that. We had to get a washer and dryer moved in and that was my Saturday. But I am here now! 

How are things going? Well I have found that when you are trying to save money, eating out is not the best thing for it, so now that we have groceries in the house maybe that will occur a little less. I have been watching what I eat as far as the sugar thing goes, and trying not to eat to much fat or calories. I think for about a week I had my old appetite back, and I blame that on all the diet sodas. Water is your friend. Remember that. We finally made a visit to our fitness center this week where we discovered that 2 of the 4 pieces of equipment has parts broken on them. Isn't that lovely? But I discovered how out of shape I really am when I could only go 20 minutes on the elliptical. I was pouring sweat grant you and my heart rate was way about where it should be, but I used to be able to go for an hour at a time on that thing. I will just have to work my way up to it.

If anyone is wondering how school is going, I am happy to report that I have all A's so far and only 2 more weeks left! I am learning in my wellness class about nutrition and of course weight loss. I am hear to tell you that mypyramid.gov is an excellent place to track all your food intake with their food diary. It gives you a daily breakdown of what types of nutrients you are eating and you can personalize it so you can lose weight. It will tell you if you are eating too many carbohydrates or fats as well as proteins.  So check it out, it has every food in it! That is the best way to watch what you eat because you can actually see how much you consume in front of you, and you don't really realize how much you are eating and how bad you are eating until you see it in front of you. 

This entry is going to be short and sweet and I am going to put the past 3 weeks stats on here as well. The last one will be for this Friday.

 4/16/10

Weight: 259.2lbs

Fat: 46.7%

Water: 34.0%

Muscle: 21.4%

Suggested Calories: 1871

4/23/10

Weight: 259.2

Fat: 46.1%

Water: 34.5%

Muscle: 21.7%

Suggested Calories: 1871

4/30/10

Weight: 257.4

Fat: 46.3%

Water: 34.5%

Muscle: 21.7%

Suggested Calories: 1880

Starting Weight 10 weeks ago on 2/19/10:

Weight:275.4lbs
Fat %:49.7
Water %:31.6
Muscle%:18.7
Suggested Calorie Consumption:1726

Totals Lost so far:

Weight: -18 lbs

Fat: -3.4%

Water: +2.9%

Muscle: +3%

Whoop whoop! 18 lbs in 10 weeks is not too bad!

Katelyn

A little Stressed this week. (Week 7)

Here we are at the end of week 7, and I have to say that I have been a little stressed out. Why? Well it has nothing to do with losing weight I can assure you that. It was because Alex and I just signed a lease on our very first apartment! And as wonderful as it is, it is still very stressful! I hundred things are going through my head a minute. What happens if one of us doesn't get the hours we need? What happens if something unexpected comes up? Things like that keep me stressed. Right now we are painting before we begin to move in and its a job on its own! The stress of all this and keeping busy at the apartment with no food hasn't given me much of an appetite this week. And even before we even thought we were getting an apartment this week I haven't eaten much. I don't know if my stomach has just shrunk or what. A half of a sandwich fills me up now, and that is pretty crazy.

Did I ever start my exercise program? No. I'm a slacker. I have just had so much stuff going on. Not a very good excuse I know, but it will have to suffice. We do have a fitness center in our complex now that I can go too, and its just a walk away. We also have a pool, tennis court, volleyball court, and a pond for fishing. So I have all these activities outside available to me just a walk away! I have no excuse not to use them after all. Hopefully it will save me a gym membership! So don't give up on my yet about the no exercise thing.

I just wanted to note for a second that last night at work I had a lady call me and was explaining to me that she had diabetes and that she really needed to lose weight, but the exercise apparel that she owns made her really self conscious at the gym. So I told the lady to come up to the store and we would find something suitable for her to wear. When I finally met the lady, who was really nice, we were struggling to find her some clothes. She weighed less than me yet she was bigger than me. I'm not really sure how that works but I will trust the lady's honesty. Unfortunately, we only have one 4-way of plus size athletic wear, which really makes me angry because most people who need to lose weight are larger than an XL. Then again most people who don't need to lose weight are the ones who buy the athletic clothing, hence that is why they are skinny and healthy. So I had to well this woman a $60 pair of Nike pants and a $40 Nike shirt that would make her more confident when she was at the gym. I really hopes she succeeds at what she is trying to achieve because she was a pleasant woman, and I can relate to what she is going through.

No sugar this week, okay well I had 2 Starburst because they were in the apartment goody bag we received.
I think that has helped me cut back on the food intake as well. From what I have heard and read that sugar intake makes you hungrier in general because you burn off that sugar rather quickly instead of something like carbohydrates which your body has to break down into the sugars it needs. So try and stay away from the sugar people! And drink lots of water!

I am cutting this one short today, I have to go an paint some more! So below will be my stats for this week!

This week:

Weight: 258.2lbs
Fat %: 46.6
Water %: 34.2
Muscle %: 21.5
Suggested Calories: 1886

Last Week:

Weight: 261.4lbs
Fat: 47.0%
Water: 33.8%
Muscle: 21.3%
Calories Suggested: 1861

Difference:

Weight: -3.2lbs
Fat: -.4%
Water: +.4%
Muscle: +.2%

Woo! Almost too my first 20lbs! Hopefully next week I will hit that mark!
Is anybody out there with me? Need to ask me some questions? Feel free! I promise I don't bite!

Katelyn