Ruby My Way

I heard about Ruby probably 3 years ago. I think I chose to not watch because of how close to home it it. I didn't want to deal. Well, I'm dealing now and for some reason I heard of her again, maybe a promo on YouTube or something. I decided it was time to watch.

I'm not as big as Ruby but I'm not super far off. A lot of her problems are similar to my own. Man, I HATE HATE HATE being this size. It is so humiliating, and Ruby has stated the same. She doesn't fit anywhere and breaks everything she sits on. I know the pain. :( But also like her, I'm doing something about it.

I do have some problems with this show (at least the first season) and don't think I won't tell you! hehe

First and foremost, I think talking about food as an a addiction is not necessarily a good idea. I don't the medical world will agree with me, but what I think is missing is the quality of the food. Making it the person's fault but not the food. I have heard before that "we" need to "behave" not make the food behave. That is all find and good as long as the food is good.

Here's the thing, if we are not getting the right foods and we are not feeding our body right, then in order to survive our body desperately keeps the weight so it doesn't die. It wants to survive.

So when we eat these foods that are fake foods we can't help but always be searching for something else. I believe that if she were to eat good balanced foods we will be able to eat the right amount of food with no cravings.

Another thing about the prepackaged foods is that Ruby can't eat if her food isn't around. She needs to be able to have choices outside her meal plan if the meals are not around. Or if she is unable to pack them when she is on vacation, etc.

Secondly, I don't like her mental health professional. I think he's WRONG. Plain and simple. haha! I know, who do I think I am!?! lol I think that he doesn't want her to cook is totally wrong. She needs to learn this stuff. She needs to learn to enjoy and enjoy eating healthy foods. And food she likes. With prepackaged meals, she is not learning anything she is just following someone else plan. Those other folks are not going to be around forever and she will have to do it on her own. I think it's important to do that on her own with guidance.

Then her friend... OH MY WORD! I think they are missing a big opportunity for themselves. Ruby's friends are her life and they really love her. I think what they can do for her, which they do a little, is to learn to eat better and feel better. I think the fact that they go to fast food or eat sweets is not fair to her. I think she needs more support. I think they do what they can but they can take an honest look at them selves and really help her out. However, I think her cravings would be lessened if her food was better.

The thing I like best about Ruby, she's a winner! She conquers her fears and does things she doesn't think she can do. For that, I keep watching. I'll tell you more when I'm done with season 1 or as the mood strikes. :)

Get Back Up Again

I'm not sure if TobyMac meant this video about a journey toward wellness but it sure is my theme song for this adventure I'm on. I will get knocked down but I will have to get back up again!

This past week, I got knocked down. :( But I got back up again! I think that's the key. We will all get knocked down from time to time but we need to get back up again!

Since I go to Nutrition4Weightloss on Thursday my week goes from Thursday to Thursday. I like to take a look back at the week and see what went well and what didn't so that I can keep doing what went well and try to avoid what didn't.

This week wasn't so good. I was going to try to quit drinking Caribou. It is my big crutch and the sugar is AWFUL for me. Actually it's bad for all of us but I'm not trying to be preachy or judgey right now! (I'll save that for a later post. hehe)

Friday I had a "no good very bad day" and I did exactly what I shouldn't have done, I turned to Caribou. I didn't think about it at the time but this is the one thing I should, under no circumstance, avoid. I shouldn't be turning to food, I should be turning to other things. The best option would be God but if for whatever reason I don't do that I could take a nap, read a magazine, play a game, exercise, etc. All too long I have been turning to bad for me things, what a hugely destructive behavior.

Friday came and went. I knew the Caribou wasn't a good idea but I was ready to restart right away. Saturday and Sunday were a mess. Mostly with not taking my supplements but also not eating well. On Saturday we have a "fun" dessert. This week it was Sof'ella gluten free chocolate cupcakes. OH MY WORD, guys, they are so YUMMY! I had way too many. I don't even know how many. Maybe 2 Saturday and 2 Sunday. I don't even know... that might be too many because there are 5 of us in the family and we all had at least 2 and there were only 12 cupcakes. None-the-less, I didn't just have 1. Next time I will freeze them right away so there are no temptations.

I got back on the wagon on Monday. I was able to control my food again. I think it is because I was on my supplements which include one designed by NWW crave control that helps with cravings. Then yesterday, Wednesday, I had Caribou again. ARGH! What was I thinking??? Actually, I was thinking that I needed to run to Kohl-Carter's appointment, the roads were bad, and I wanted to have a coffee and didn't have time to make one at home. I should have just done it! WAAAA! Next time I will!

This week I did get knocked down, but I did get back up again. I also have a plan to have these things not happen again. This is what I'm going to do... 1) Instead of seeking out food/Caribou when I'm having a bad day, I will spend time with God. I can do that ANYWHERE. 2) Instead of leaving treats out, I will put them away right away to help limit my serving of treats. 3) Make coffee at home, NO MATTER WHAT! :)

Even though I "got knocked down" I stepped on the scale and I'm down another pound! YAY!

Week 2

Week 2 of Nutrition4Weightloss was GREAT! It was an explanation of the program which I already knew after seeing a nutritionist a few times. However, I learned some new things.

First, I learned that I love avocado with a lot of yummy salsa. Our teacher eats that for a snack before bed. I don't know if I would eat it then but I like to save that for my dessert at this point.

I also learned that non-organic oat meal has bugs and pesticides in it. GROSS!

I also got some more tips on food choices and where to get my foods. We pretty much shop mostly at Trader Joe's and Super Target with little trips to the co-op, Cub and Whole Foods. Groceries are costing us about $250/week. That seems like a lot but it really is only $50 per week per person. We each eat 21 meals each week so it comes out to be a little over $2 per meal. I don't think that is much to feel well and stay healthy.

I learned that Vitacost.com is an inexpensive place to buy discounted but good quality supplements, like Source Natural. I have been using Amazon.com to buy a lot of my organic hard to find products. I have to buy in bulk but I have it now for a long time so it works out pretty slick.

Other links that I have been looking at lately: glutenfreeda.com and gfree.tv. Since I'm gluten free I have also been looking to a lot of websites for recipes. I have mostly just used allrecipes.com.

I stepped on the scale again and I'm getting down lower. I haven't been able to do that forever, like 4-5 years. It is so fun and feels so good!

Well, I did it...

Well, I did it! I finished GFree Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck. It was a good book. I loved the first half. It was full of information about gluten and celiac Disease. I believe much (if not all) of what was written is useful and true.

Hasselbeck did her homework and knows her stuff. She also had doctor co-write with her. I loved that it was an easy read. I think that for people just diagnosed with celiac it's a great first step. The second half of the book was still ok, but only ok. I think what it did a great job of is giving resources. There are a lot of restaurants, foods, websites, beauty products, etc. that are gluten free and friendly. This is huge for someone who has to do a complete 180 in their lifestyle.

What I don't think Hasselbeck did well was throw a bunch of gluten free products at people, almost like product placement. What I think would serve people better would be telling people how to go gluten free by eating things that are naturally gluten free. I'm quite thankful for all the great gluten free products out there because sometimes it is nice, even necessary, to have those products but let's not forget to eat whole foods, just the way God intended!

I’m now onto Eat Fat Lose Fat by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. So far so good... and boy does this book make sense!

Well, I did it! I joined a weight loss class. I have mentioned Nutritional Weight and Wellness before which is the company I'm going to for the class. It is basically teaching us about the Weight and Wellness way (like all weight loss places do -- teach their way of doing it) along with a class so I can get accountability. I love it! My teacher Oralee is the greatest!!!

Being a Nutritional Weight and Wellness groupie that I am, I didn’t learn a lot the first night but I’m excited to see what else they have to say as we go along. I go Thursday nights so I’ll post more after the second class. One step in the right direction is that I’m doing the homework. I normally don’t do the homework, because I’m a pill and I just don’t do it. But I have looked forward to doing the work this week. YAY! I love those small successes! However, this success isn’t only a weight loss success it’s a personal success. :)