Diets Cause Rebound Binges and Slow Metabolisms, and We’re In The Huff Post!

June 14, 2014 / / Comments Off on Diets Cause Rebound Binges and Slow Metabolisms, and We’re In The Huff Post!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAExciting! Mark and I have been published in the Huff Post! Check out our article and click us a “like” and a “share”:) We’ve been invited to be Regular Bloggers, and asked to write from the perspective of normal working parents who’ve stayed fit and healthy at 49 and 50. We can do that!

Moving on, I’ve got a series of emails, from one reader, who actually answers her own question about Dieting. When I say Dieting, I mean: counting calories, caloric restriction, and using computer programs to determine protein/carb/fat ratios. Even writing that sentence causes me Stress, as it did during all my years of Restricting/Binge Eating.

That’s because Diets Do Cause Stress, in many different ways. One, it’s such an unnatural way to eat, that our body and mind rebels; which is stressful. Two, hunger and deprivation always cause stress. ( Have you heard the saying, “sorry for what I said when I was hungry.”?) Three, plugging numbers into a program to figure out the ratios/percentages/amounts of our protein, carbs, fats, and/or total calories, is a pain in the butt, that’s stressful. Four, caloric restriction slows down our thyroid, which means our cell turnover, cell “house-keeping”, and cell communication is IMPEDED; our metabolism slows down, that’s stressful.  That also guarantees future weight gain.

Diets don’t work long term. Well, maybe for about 1 – 4% of everyone who loses weight. That’s a horrible “success” rate.

Ask yourself, with such an abysmal track record, why is it so easy to be lured back, time after time, for another Diet attempt?

Here’s the email chain I received, I love her reasoning development!  (When she refers to IIFYM, that’s a Diet Program that induces Caloric Deficits by counting your grams and percentages of Fat, Protein, and Carbs and Total Calories.  You can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT, as long as you stay within your numbers.)

Hi Debbie!

I was just wondering what your thoughts are on the IIFYM ( if it fits your macro diet). I was wondering if I could count macros while also eliminating grains/processed food? I just like the structure of IIFYM. Does that make sense?

I only had time for a quick response, here it is:  “Short answer: diets that let you eat crap ( which the IIFYM diet does as long as you stay “in the macro ratios”) keep you craving junk. Period. Always. It’s enough right now to start weaning yourself off grains and processed foods. Just focus on eating Real Whole Foods!!”

Why do I say it’s enough to just wean off the grains and processed foods for now?  Because for most people in 2014, eating Real Whole Foods is so far removed from their Norm, that it’s almost incomprehensible.  I get asked, ALL THE TIME, what I eat if I don’t eat grains.  Pasta, frozen foods, fast foods, and restaurant foods have become so ingrained into the American Culture as NORMAL, that eating Real Whole Foods, feeding the family Real Whole Foods, and sticking to that belief system when traveling and eating out, seems incredibly hard.

Eating Real Whole Foods isn’t a Diet Program (although you will lose weight when you quit eating Sugar, Grains, and processed chemical foods, and quit the snacking); it’s eating 3 decent sized meals a day full of the nutrients our body needs to build, repair, and run (metabolize) well.  When we run well, we get lean and healthy, when we diet, we don’t – again, statistics. Unfortunately, the Diet Industry is a Billion Dollar industry with an amazing Marketing Machine that successfully convinces us, over and over, to give it another try.

Switching from a Diet Mentality after a lifetime of eating Sugar, Grains, and Processed/Chemical Foods, to eating Real Whole Foods every day, takes effort, and a plan.  There’s 2 addictions that have to be overcome to be successful.

One, the addiction to sugar, grains, and chemicals – it’s powerful.  You know what I’m talking about.  It’s well researched.

Two, the addiction to the ease of eating sugar, grains, and chemicals – there’s no effort involved with stopping at McDonalds; picking up a pizza; or boiling water for pasta.  However, this ease of eating pure crap HAS LED TO 70% OVERWEIGHT AND SICK, WITH NUMBERS EXPECTED TO CLIMB.  There’s a common sense element I’m talking about here, right?

Here’s the next email this reader sent me:  “ I have done IIFYM with good weight loss results while eating junk! What I am wondering is if it would be good to do the same macros but not eat the junk and grains.”

No!  That’s just counting calories and percentages, hoping for the magic weight loss formula.  I’m telling you, ditching grains, sugars, and chemical processed foods will take off your weight without the stress of dieting.  As a matter of fact, you can ADD MORE FAT, feel genuinely full, become healthier, and LOOSE WEIGHT.

Here’s her last email ****** LOVE IT!! ******: “Also, just wanted to mention that the reason I stopped doing iifym despite some weight loss was because it was taking up too much space in my head to count macros. I guess I don’t really want to do it again when I think about why I stopped!” 

Exactly!  Diets Make You Crazy and Obsessed and Compulsive about food, eating, restricting, and compensating; and it’s disturbingly Self Perpetuating.  The Diet Craziness just begets more Diet Craziness. Eating Real Whole Food ELIMINATES THAT.

I’m living proof, my husband is living proof, my kids are living proof, there’s so many examples in the Real Whole Food/Paleo/Primal Community who are living proof that this way of life makes you lean and healthy, without the Diet Craziness.

The best part?  You can start today, because this starts with your Mind.  Honest.  The Food isn’t nearly as big a problem as your Mind is.  Remember that the Brain wants to avoid stress, it wants what’s comfortable and familiar.  The Brain doesn’t guide us according to what’s best for us long term.

Thank Goodness the Brain can be Changed.  Your thought patterns, your habits, your “familiars”, they can be changed.  I thought I was so addicted to pizza, ice cream, and protein bars that I would NEVER be able to live without them.  Now, I don’t even eat the “paleo versions” anymore.  I’m OVER IT.  You Can Be Too.

Focus on becoming a Normal, Healthy, Real Whole Food Eater.  Not a Dieter.  Not someone hoping for a gimmick that takes off 10 pounds in 10 days.  Use your common sense; or use Google!  Google: Diets Don’t Work, or Weight Regain After A Diet.  You’ll get MILLIONS and MILLIONS of studies, articles, and posts substantiating those facts.

If you struggle with how to begin, how to change, how to have a life that involves cooking and packing w/o stress, get in touch with me.  It’s all about planning, and sticking to the plan.  Pretty soon, there’s no effort, instead, it’s a habit.  When our life is about habits, stress is gone.  Eating Real Whole Foods means hunger is gone too.

No Stress, No Hunger, a body you’ve always wanted, being a Normal Eater, doesn’t this sound good?

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Eat on Vacation, Fats, Mind/Body, Paleo Diet, Psychology of Eating, Reader Question, RWF, Sugar, Weight Loss / Tags: , , , , , ,

High Fat Diet for Weight Loss? It works, and it’s Healthy. Get Over Your Fear!

June 11, 2014 / / Comments Off on High Fat Diet for Weight Loss? It works, and it’s Healthy. Get Over Your Fear!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAReady for another Reader Email?  See who doesn’t relate to this one:

Dear Debbie, Thank you for your blog, I’ve been reading you for over a year now.  I know you say that we shouldn’t start a “diet” on a certain date, or count calories, or go low fat, but I did.  I’ve gained so much weight this past winter, that I thought I needed to do something drastic to get a jump start before our July 4th beach vacation.  Every year, I’m the biggest one in our group, and I’m sick of it.   I started a diet on June 1, and, it lasted 3 days.  

I’ve already been derailed by one of my kid’s Field Days, a end of year soccer party ( at a pizza restaurant), and a graduation party this past Sunday.  This is the story of my life. I’m ready to try something different. 

I’m stopping there, because you get the picture.  Maybe this is your picture?  This lady also has daily headaches, miserable periods and PMS, and has carried extra weight since she’s had kids.  She’s also lost weight on Weight Watchers, twice; and is on prescription migraine meds along with a whole lot of Advil.  She’s 40, with 3 kids still at home.  She had planned on eating 1200 calories a day to lose the weight.  That lasted from Sunday til Wednesday.

Reality: if you want to lose weight, sticking to a Low Calorie, Low Fat food plan NEVER works in the long run.  Statistically, between 95 and 99% of EVERYONE who loses weight on that kind of plan gains it back.  It’s hard enough to stick to a plan with soccer games, work, parties, and weekends.  It’s even harder to stick to a plan when you’re starving!  Most people won’t last but a few days; for those who can tough it out longer than that, the body and mind will only allow self imposed starvation for just so long before the dreaded “Rebound Binge” happens. “Diets” just perpetuate a Cycle of gaining/losing, gaining/losing, and then eventually, JUST GAINING.

What to do if you need to lose weight? First, you have to eliminate all grains and sugars. Second, you must eat more Fat, Protein, and Vegetables; especially Fat. I’ve learned that this is the sticking point for most people.  It seems counterintuitive, because we associate Fat in our foods with Fat on our body, but that’s not how it works, honest.  Read this to learn how our body makes fat.

Our body is made mainly out of water, fatty acids, and amino acids.  We need to eat accordingly.  (Minerals make up about 4% of our body, and sugars and vitamins both come in at 2% of our body comp. ) We’ve had decades of Low Fat dieting advice based on the assumption that the fat we eat goes straight to our butt, stomachs, or arteries.   That’s just not true, and there’s plenty of science to prove it.  But who needs science?  Look around.  We’ve got 70% both Sick and Overweight in this country.  The Low Fat Paradigm is so obviously not working.

For Sarah, who wrote this email, and for anyone struggling to lose weight, here’s my advice:

Take a chance, step outside your box, and just for a few weeks, try a different way of eating.  Nix your grains and sugars, and anything “fat free or low calorie”; instead, load up on plenty of  FATS:  good butter, olive oil, coconut oil, egg yolks,  chicken skin, the fattier and nutrient dense animal parts, like liver and kidneys, and switch to whole dairy products (yogurt and keifer).  Add this to tons of vegetables, some good protein, some fruit, some nuts, seeds, and diary if they work for you.

Push past your fear that fat will make you fat, and try eating this way.  I guarantee that if you can make this a lifestyle, not only will you lose weight, but issues like migraines and PMS will disappear.  How can I confidently say that?  Because migraine’s and PMS are from nutrient deficiencies, not medication deficiencies.  Fat is LOADED with nutrients.  Low calorie, low fat diet’s aren’t.

Did you know God made at least 500 fatty acids?? That’s not an accident; fats have numerous purposes.  Our hormones are made from fatty acids, so are our cell walls; saturated fats protect the liver, they play a crucial role in our immune system, and a vital role in our bone health. Fats make up about 60% of our brain matter, they build our glands, and they’re our hearts favorite food; I could go on and on, but you get the picture? Fats Are Important and Vital to Our Existence.

Just as Important:  Eating Fat Can Make you Thin if you eliminate the grains and sugars.  Honest.  Just try it; what do you have to lose, except weight.  What do you have to gain?  Your health, your self confidence, and a great body.  Not sure how to live the Low Carb, High Fat lifestyle?  Work with me.  Even if you have kids, a job, and a busy life, you can do this.

Category: Carbs, Fats, Hormones, Question of the Week, RWF / Tags: , , ,

Tough Mudder, Here We Come; Do You Have Low Thyroid?

June 8, 2014 / / Comments Off on Tough Mudder, Here We Come; Do You Have Low Thyroid?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOh Yea, my sweet husband has “won” us a position in the Richmond Tough Mudder, in 7 days.  We just “won” this a few days ago, so training and preparing for this is going to be…… minimal?

Here’s a link to the course,   I’m a little scared of the Arctic Enema, and the ElectroShocks,  they sound dangerous and unpleasant.

If anyone has ANY advice as to what to do, what to wear, or how to conquer an obstacle, I’ll listen:)  I’m all ears!

Has anyone been listening to the Thyroid Summit this week with Dr. Brownstein and Susie Cohen?  It’s FREE, it goes through June 9, and it’s loaded with Doctors and Scientists giving us the latest Thyroid info.  Considering how many Americans have low thyroid function or a full disorder, this is invaluable information.  And most likely much more information than you’d ever hear in a 10 minute appointment with your regular doctor.

For instance, the standard test any of us would be given to determine the health of our thyroid is called the TSH, that’s Thyroid Stimulating Hormone.  Here’s the problems with just looking at TSH:  1) our pituitary makes TSH, not the thyroid.  2) our Thyroid actually makes a host of other hormones, the primary ones are called T4 and a little T3; and these often aren’t tested. Or if they are tested, the “Free/Unbound/Useable T3 isn’t tested.

T3 is THE ONLY HORMONE THAT ACTUALLY GETS USED IN OUR CELLS.  Our T4 is SUPPOSED to be converted to T3 in our liver, kidneys, and heart.  It takes many different nutrients and enzymes to make this conversion, it also takes perfectly functioning organs.  What if you’re missing those nutrients or enzymes, or you have fatty liver or poorly functioning kidneys?  That conversion could be compromised.

Thyroid hormone ( T 4 and T3) are made from the minerals Iodine and Selenium, and the amino acid Tyrosine.  What if you don’t eat enough of the foods that contain those nutrients, or you don’t have great gut function and you don’t ABSORB those nutrients?  ( do you really think you get enough Iodine? That’s a tough one!)

Do you see where I’m going with this?  Our thyroid function is far more than taking a pill, whether it’s a synthetic, like Synthroid, or a desiccated natural thyroid like Armor.   That said, I take a supplement by Biotics called GTA FORTE II.  It’s desiccated thyroid with no T4 or T3, and it’s worked wonders for me.

Statistically, it’s pretty “normal” for a woman my age to have hypothyroid.  I’ve had my TSH, T3, T4 and RT3 tested, plus an antibody test,  and it’s confirmed: low thyroid function.  I started supplements last year, and saw a big difference in my energy levels.  That said, I also pay very close attention to my nutrients and digestion.  It matters that I give my body what it needs to MAKE and ABSORB the hormones.

Here’s another important issue to keep in mind:  thyroid function will ALWAYS come in second to ADRENAL function.  In Nutritional Therapy school, they constantly repeated ” the adrenals pull on the thyroid”.  It’s true.  When we’re under a lot of stress, both mental and physical, our adrenal glands are making extra adrenal hormones.  Hormones get made from nutrients;  limited nutrient resources are always going to go to the Adrenal glands first.  After all, our body can EASILY slow down the thyroid if it needs to, to show more support to the adrenals.  Adrenal hormones are our Fight and Flight hormones, and our body prioritizes them over just about everything else.  You can ask for a Saliva test to see what your Cortisol levels are, but you’re probably going to need to see an Integrative or Alternative doctor to get one.

What’s one sure-fire way to slow down your Thyroid?  Go on a Diet and Reduce Your Calories.  Your body will slow down your metabolism Every Single Time you do this.

Looking for a doctor who’s tuned into how important good thyroid function is to overall health, and willing to do all the right tests?  Try here and here.

I thought this was interesting:  one of the doctors on the Thyroid Summit said when she started doing Cortisol Testing in 1999, 17% of her patients had abnormal cortisol levels; in 2014, almost 99% of her patients have abnormal cortisol levels! Wow! That’s pretty shocking!  I’ve talked about the dangers of excess cortisol before, it’s scary. That’s probably the result of us rarely ever unplugging anymore, right?

What’s my end advice?  Eat Real Whole Foods, and take action steps to manage your Stress.  Iodine, selenium, tyrosine, and all the other nutrients we need to make and rebuild our body don’t come from crappy, processed foods, which often are COMPLETELY devoid of any nutrients ( how many vitamins or minerals do you think are in a box of Fat Free Cereal or Crackers?); or have “nutrients” added, as in vitamins and minerals made in China?  It matters what we put in our mouth.

Decide today that you’re going to take control of your health, your energy, and your food.  Make a plan, write it down, shop, chop, pack.  Stick to your plan.  If this isn’t your norm, work on making it your norm!  You can do this, other people have. If you want to learn more about your thyroid, listen to the summit while you drive/workout/clean/cook/ etc; or read this post from Dr. Mercola, it’s really good!

Category: Hormones, RWF, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My Exercise Week, and Food Pics

June 5, 2014 / / One comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI get a lot of questions about what I eat, and what my favorite workouts are, so here’s my 2 cents.

I really, truly do stick to a Real Whole Food plan that completely eliminates breads, pastas, crackers, cookies, chips and anything else that’s made with grains, sugar, and chemicals.  That means all grains, including “healthy whole grains”, which I think is a contradiction in terms.  I don’t believe any “whole grains” are healthy for most Americans at this point.  We’re all too metabolically damaged.

I’ve been on this path/journey for years now, and have pretty successfully converted my kids and husband over from the Dark Side.  My youngest (17) is still slightly resistant, but…. she’s been drinking Green Smoothies with basil and lemon balm from my garden most mornings for the past couple weeks, she eats more vegetables than ever, and she’s made some great comments about the SAD (standard american diet) diets that she’s seen some little kids eating lately- and it causes her concern! Yes!  I do eventually get in their heads.

Moms, quiet persistence and consistent role modeling wins every time.  Stay strong.

I’ve been a Packer for all my life, and I’ve trained my kids to be Packers, of both our food and drinks.  Have you ever noticed that stopping at a a gas station/convenience store for a drink can lead to impulsively bad food choices?  Set yourself up to succeed, bring your drinks with you when you’re on the road.

Here’s a couple of recent meals:

eggsThis is eggs, avocados, spinach, and leeks cooked in probably 4 tablespoons of good butter.  I’ve been using a LOT more fat since I got back from the Low Carb Cruise, a lot more.  The more I learn about fat, the more I realize how critical it is to our optimal functioning and health.  FAT DOESN’T MAKE US FAT – GRAINS, SUGARS, AND CHEMICALS DO.  I haven’t gained a pound with all the extra butter, coconut oil/butter, and olive oil I’ve been adding either.

This next picture is my new OBSESSION:  slowchickenskin cooked Chicken Fat.  OMG.  This is honestly one of the most delicious foods I’ve ever eaten.  In. My. Life.  Here’s what I do:  I only buy chicken with bone-in, skin-on ( the minerals and nutrients from the bones and joints leach into the meat, and the skin, which has serious anti-microbial properties, keeps the chicken super moist).  After it’s baked, I remove the fat, eat the chicken, and then put the fat back in the oven at 170 for 24 hours.  If you try this, prepare to cry.  Honestly, I’ve never tasted anything so delicious.  And it’s HEALTHY because fat is healthy; make sure you salt and pepper it before the slow cook.

lunchmondayLast, here’s a packed lunch:  chicken ( always cook extra!)  avocado, and Annie’s seaweed snacks ( it’s just dried seaweed – salty and delicious and full of Iodine).  I always pack my lunches when I’m cleaning up after dinner.

Next, the exercise question.  In addition to being a Nutritional Therapist, I’m a Group Ex Instructor and Personal Trainer.   I work out – a lot.  I always have.  I’m fit, I’m very used to a high level of performance and exertion, and it’s very normal and stress relieving for me.  I taught and trained through 4 pregnancies, 4 babies, 4 teenagers ( that was the hardest), and all the ups and downs of life.  I rarely ever take more than one day off a week.   That said, if EXERCISE IS STRESSFUL FOR YOU, FOR WHATEVER REASON,  you’ll need to approach it differently than I do. Walking and yoga are more than enough exercise to stay healthy.  What’s my normal week look like?  I teach a couple Boot Camp classes, and a couple yoga classes; I take Bikram once a week; I lift 4 times a week, heavy and/or hard; I walk and do yoga with a couple PT clients and friends and I do at least one plain old cardio session each week on a machine (reading time).  I’ve really cut back in the past few years the hours that I exercise per week.  One, I’m doing more nutrition counseling and less personal training, and two, I’ve become convinced that overtraining leads to inflammation, no matter how fit you are.

I use a lot of supplements too, but that’s a whole different Post:)

So that’s me!  I’m always on the look out for information and motivation to stick to the Path and improve the Path.  If I were to describe my diet for the past 27 years of adulthood, I’d be describing pretty different eating patterns every year as I’ve morphed from “Healthy Means Skinny”,  to “Healthy Means Great Cell Repair and Turnover, and Low Levels of Inflammation”.    The more I learn, the more I learn I have a lot to learn!  Who knows what I’ll be eating 5 years from now.  I never thought I’d be loving liver, chicken fat,  and green smoothies, but I do.

Our health, our energy, it’s really truly in Our Hands.  Everything we eat has either a negative or positive consequence.  Make the time to invest in your health, and the health of your family.  What’s that old saying?  You can either invest in your Health NOW, or you’ll be investing in your Illness LATER.

 

Category: Carbs, Cooking, Fats, Mind/Body, Paleo Diet, RWF, Sugar / Tags: , , ,

Reader Question, and What Causes Food Addiction

June 2, 2014 / / Comments Off on Reader Question, and What Causes Food Addiction

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Mark and I had some pictures done, and we got Air-Brushed!  I LOVE being airbrushed!  Can it follow me around everywhere?

I’ve got a great Reader Question here that I think many people will relate too.  She wants a plan to “get her back on track”  ( I’ve cut and pasted so we can just get to the meat of the matter).

Hi Debbie,

I’ve been reading your blog and have learned so much from you.  I’m trying to cut out the sugar, and cut back on what you call “the grains” too.  It’s hard.  I run, and on my running days I do better when I have some healthy cereal, like Kashi.  But I’ve realized my running days are also my hungriest days, and I eat things I shouldn’t.  My husband thinks I need to eat more carbs like whole wheat spaghetti, and that I’m starving myself.  After reading what you say, I’m not sure if he’s right or not.  

More than anything, I want to lose 20 pounds.  I’m a good runner, I usually place in my age group, but I don’t look like a runner at all.  Now it’s summer, and I’m still in the same place I was when I started reading your blog and following your advice.  I think I need a food plan to get me on track. Can you help me?

I really appreciate this lady’s honesty, because I know she speaks for many.  Yes, I can help, but when there’s an addiction, and there often is with processed carbohydrates, it really comes down to us HAVING A REASON TO STOP, THEN MAKING A PLAN, AND STICKING TO THE PLAN BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN THE REASONS.

Our actions stem from our beliefs.

I know I’ve written about this before, but do you all remember me telling you that several years ago, in the midst of my Carb Addiction and Binges, I joined an on-line Binge Eating group?  I was only on it ONCE.  When I read comments from women in their 60s and 70s who have been in full blown binge/purge modes for decades…… that had a HUGE effect on me.  I decided right then and there, that wasn’t going to be me. I wasn’t going to waste any more years of my life eating crap and then regretting it.  What a waste of mental space and precious time; and the physical damage that happens from those binges is dangerous.  What happens when you try to restrict your sugars and grains to just once or twice a day?   Just like with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, you can’t “limit” your processed carbs; it won’t work.  You have to “eliminate” them to break the addiction.  And going “gluten free” and eating “gluten free carb products” doesn’t work either.  Those addictions centers are still being triggered.  It’s sad, I know.

Let me tackle a few more issues in this email.  One, “I’m a runner, so I need cereal.” No. You. Don’t.  You don’t.  I’m living proof that anyone who works out – a lot – doesn’t need sugar and grains to fuel their workouts, or build and maintain muscle, for that matter.  Do you need carbs in the form of vegetables and some fruits, for energy?  Yes, but if you need to lose weight, you’re going to need to watch the fruits, and make sure that heavy, starchy vegetables, like potatoes, are used WISELY.  That would be individual, and she and I will talk about that.  There’s a method…

Besides, processed carbs – and yes, Kashi is a processed carb, 100%, – break down so quickly, compared to protein and fat, that you’re hungry again very quickly!!  Why? Processed carbs from grains and sugar SPIKE HUNGER;  they don’t quench hunger, it’s a hormone thing.  Sugar and wheat trigger opioid, or pleasure centers, in the brain.  The Gliadin Proteins in wheat specifically stimulate appetite, always.  Insulin resistance, Leptin resistance, the natural controls put in place to regulate our appetite?  Ruined by processed carbs. That’s why it’s so easy to over eat them.  When was the last time you overate beef or chicken?

Next, of course her running days are her hungry days; long endurance workouts always make you hungry. That’s one of the reasons why short “burst” workouts are better for you.

Let’s talk about running.

Many people run because they absolutely Love Love Love to run, they get a high from it, they use it to clear their head, it makes them feel great.   Many other people run to lose weight, or to try and keep weight off.  That’s very different from the first reason, there’s a lot of cortisol and stress associated with running as a weight loss tool.  Let me be real clear:  neither running, nor ANY exercise, helps you lose weight or keep weight off.  I’ve worked in a gym for 27 years, there’s plenty of overweight members who exercise regularly.  I’ve done at least 100 races in my life.  Seven of those races were half-marathons; have you ever been to one?  In the front holding pens, you’ll see all the sleek, skinny, super fast runners; in the hind pens, you’ll see the un-sleek, un-skinny runners, and there’s plenty.  A lot of them are fast too!  ( I was always in a way way back rear pen – I’m not super sleek or fast! I’m just consistent.)

My point: you don’t have to be skinny to be a good runner, and conversely, running doesn’t make you skinny.  Our body is meant to move and exert energy.  If people from my classes are reading this, what’s one of my favorite lines at the end of a class?

YOU DON’T DESERVE A TREAT AFTER THIS.  IT’S JUST EXERCISE.  WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT.  Somehow, completing an exercise session has become another reason to celebrate ourselves.

Last, I want to address the “get back on track” thinking.  If I had a dime for every time I heard this, I’d be rich.

If you fell off track in the first place, that’s proof that you eat according to calories, not health.  As long as you believe Calories In/Calories Out, you’re doomed to “falling off track”.  One, those carbs stimulate and trigger appetites and hormones so strongly, that as long as you’re putting them in your mouth, the addiction continues.  Two, if you fall off track, and eat the grains and sugars with the thought that you’ll redeem yourself starting tomorrow/Sunday/the 1st, you’re just perpetuating the cycle in the deepest neural habit centers of your brain.

Remember a while ago I went to that Behavior lecture, and learned that the Brain Doesn’t Want To Do What’s Best For Us, THE BRAIN WANTS US TO DO WHAT’S EASIEST FOR US.   

If we want to be successful, we have to Set Ourselves Up For Success.  This means we have to have a REASON for sticking to our plans!  My reasons?  I think sugars and grains are killers!  Honestly!  I think Fats and Proteins and tons of Vegetables make my cells healthy, make my skin good, give me great energy, and keep my immune system strong.  I believe this stuff, because I’ve invested time and effort learning it and drilling it into my brain.

If you’re struggling, you need that brain drilling too.  Build a little time into every day to either read a book or listen to a podcast that helps solidify healthy thinking and healthy behaviors.  It’s always about our day to day actions, right?  Our actions stem from our beliefs.  Create a belief system that allows you to feel and look at great as possible, and never stop working on it!

Here’s a few suggestions:  my blog:);  the podcasts at www.livinlavidalowcarb, and the podcasts at www.undergroundwellness.  Want a great book suggestion?  Read Wheat Belly.  He lays out the science against grains that’s impossible to argue with.    And as always, eat Real Whole Food.

 

Category: Carbs, Fats, Hormones, Mind/Body, Psychology of Eating, Sugar / Tags: , , , , ,

Am I Scared Of The Norovirus? No. Am I Scared Of Anti-Bacterial Soap? YES.

May 31, 2014 / / One comment

norovirusI’ve got one more Post in me about the Low Carb Cruise, but it’s not info I learned from the doctors and speakers, it’s about the Norovirus, and this will apply to YOU, I promise.

Mark and I have gone on six cruises now, and we’ve both been asked, several times, “aren’t you afraid of getting sick?”,  or,  “have you ever gotten sick on a cruise?”.  The answer: no.  I used to worry about the Norovirus; how could I not after hearing news reports that hundreds of people on the same ship would get sick with it.

What is this odd virus that thrives in Cruise Ships?  Would it get me?  Our latest ship had “Purell Liquid Gel” stations everywhere, with crew members standing by them, encouraging everyone who walked by to use it.

We didn’t, not once.  That stuff’s dangerous – seriously, and useless, as I’ll explain.

As a matter of fact, I haven’t used a commercial soap product in 3 years now, and that includes two Nascar races ( do you know how many people go to those things?), Verizon Center, 4H shows, the gym, airports, trains, etc.

Why?  Me not getting sick has more to do with the strength of my IMMUNE SYSTEM, than any soap or alcohol-based hand gel.   That’s 3 separate issues:  Purell gel, anti-bacterial soaps, and the immune system.  Read this, because this applies to our kids also.

One:  studies on Purell’s effectiveness against the Norovirus actually show it’s IN-effectiveness against the Norovirus.  Check out the research done at Emory University, School of Public Health, here.   Obviously, Purell didn’t fund this study.   The results:  Purell doesn’t work very well against the Norovirus;  soap and water were more effective.
What I found most interesting?  30% of everyone PURPOSELY INFECTED WITH THE NOROVIRUS – DIDN’T GET SICK.   Now that caught my eye.

Two: studies on commercial anti-bacterial soaps that contain the agents “triclosan” and “triclocarbon”  show some pretty damning evidence.  An expert panel convened by the FDA determined that there’s “insufficient evidence” that anti-bacterial soaps actually offer any more protection than soaps minus the anti-bacterial agents.

Here’s the REAL bad news on anti-bacterial soaps: our skin is actually SUPPOSED TO BE TEEMING WITH BILLIONS OF BACTERIA.  It’s a line of immune defense put there from God.  Studies show that when these bacteria are exposed repeatedly to triclosan and triclocarbon, Genetic Mutations Happen.  This is bad. I can’t even link to one study – there’s too many.  Google it if you’re interested.

Studies also show that triclosan disrupts thyroid function, muscle function ( your heart is a muscle), and imitates estrogen ( a xenoestrogen). So, it slows thyroid, muscles, and imitates estrogen? Hello body fat, fatigue, and moobs!

Want further reason to stay away from antibacterial soaps?  Triclosan was introduced in 1969… as a Pesticide;  and today it’s still registered as a pesticide, although aside from this and its uses in personal care products, it’s also widely used for industrial uses, for instance it is incorporated in conveyor belts, fire hoses, dye bath vats, or ice-making equipment as an antimicrobial pesticide.  ( More reason to read the labels.)

We rub this stuff on our CHILDREN!!

Okay, point 3.  Our Immune System.  30% of people PURPOSELY infected with Norovirus in the study DIDN’T GET SICK.

WHEN WE GET SICK IT’S NOT BECAUSE WE’RE DEFICIENT IN CHEMICALS OR PHARMACEUTICALS. EVER.  We get sick when our immune system is weak and can’t fight pathogenic virus and bacteria. 

What do Most people do on a Cruise?  Drink EXCESSIVE alcohol, eat EXCESSIVE amounts of immune depressing foods(sugar and processed carbs), and stay up way too late.  This is the PERFECT RECIPE FOR DEPRESSING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.  Seriously, it’s perfect.

How do we keep ourselves strong and resistant?  Eat Real Whole Foods, stay away from grains, sugar, and chemicals, SLEEP, practice stress reduction,  and exercise.   Simple.  As for handwashing, use pure soaps, like Castile soap, or Dr. Bronners.  Want to know more?  Read this.

Again, our health really is in our own hands.  Pun Intended.

 

Category: Eat on Vacation, Looks Healthy But Isn't, RWF, Sugar, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , ,

Links To Low Carb Doctors, and What I Learned, Part 2

May 28, 2014 / / Comments Off on Links To Low Carb Doctors, and What I Learned, Part 2

us on shipWe’re home from the Low Carb Cruise – and missing it! If you read my blog and you’re on a weight loss mission, I highly encourage signing up for next years Cruise. If you’re a Health Nut, like me!, I highly encourage signing up for next years Cruise. The speakers were fantastic, the people were wonderful, and then there’s the whole “cruise” part of it – I LOVE CRUISES!!! Theme cruises are the best!

Today I want to give you the blogs of the doctors who spoke to us (information = power over your own health), and some of the facts I learned at the lectures.  Most of the doctors who spoke are members of the American Bariatric Physicians ( not bariatric surgeons, that’s different).

Jimmy Moore is the leader and creator of the Low Carb Cruise, and this is the link to his site. You’ll find hundreds and hundreds of free podcasts loaded with information from top doctors and scientists who are literally at the forefront of Real Information ( as opposed to Pharmaceutical Sponsored Information).

Dr Eric Westman, from Duke University led the lectures, he runs a weight-loss/ketogenic clinic at Duke that I’ve been invited to attend and “shadow” this summer – YES!!!  Dr. Westman is the current President of the American Society for Bariatric Physicians.  Link to his clinic and information here.

Dr. Jeffrey Gerber is Denvers Diet Doctor, check out his blog here.  His May 26 blog post contains the pdf link to the Power Point on Cholesterol he presented at our conference.

Dr. Adam Nally hails from Arizona, check out his blog here.  I loved this guy and will definitely be following him.  He’s incredibly passionate about health, God, and Country.

Col. Phillip Blair, MD, is in Florida. He was a Family Physican for his first 20 years, but now specializes in Chronic Disease and Kidney’s. Read about him here, and then click on the HOME PAGE for the Space Doc site – wow. This one is jam packed with information on cholesterol, fat, the latest studies, etc.  Got a question about a statin, your ratios, or what something means, go here.

Dr. Michael Fox, Reproductive Endocrinologist/Fertility specialist, doesn’t have a blog, but here’s a link to a podcast with him.  He talks about diet’s role in fertility, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), and hormonal health.  Hint:  hormones are made from fat and cholesterol !

Dr. Jayson and Myra Carlton run Carlton Nutrition, with an ENORMOUS focus on food quality, and how to do the Real Whole Food lifestyle. Find them here.

There were a few presenting docs who don’t have sites:( , and some professors who didn’t either:(, but these 7 provide more than enough resources to make a difference in your health, or the health of someone you love.  I hope you check out their blogs; the only way to make an improvement in your health is by treating the root cause of your symptoms.  Band-aiding symptoms with drugs DOESN’T EVER SOLVE A PROBLEM; DRUGS MASK PROBLEMS AND ALLOW THEM TO QUIETLY CONTINUE.  These doctors aren’t Main Stream/Pharmaceutical Driven docs who just treat symptoms with drugs.  They get to the ROOT OF THE SYMPTOMS!

What I Learned, Part 2.  Here’s some bullet points:

– Dr. Blair talked a lot about Glycation; or the dangerous effect high blood sugar has on the proteins in our blood and our body ( proteins form our brain, kidneys, thyroid, joints, etc).  He said to picture the outside crust of a grilled cheese sandwich and apply that to the proteins that make your body.  FYI, glycation in a nutshell is when sugar/glucose IN-APPROPRIATELY attach to proteins (cells), damages them, and then ruins their ability to function and communicate.  Example:  Our skin is protein (collagen), the Wrinkles and Age Spots you see?  That’s Glycation.  That’s happening on the inside too.

– Cancer Cells are LOADED with INSULIN RECEPTORS.  If you’re eating carbs, you’re feeding your cancer.  That’s simplistic, but accurate.

– Cancer cells LOVE sugar/glucose; and they’re morphed/demented ( what’s the right word?) in their formation so that they absorb MUCH more glucose than normal cells ( thanks to the excess Insulin Receptors).  Apparently, we have cancer cells in us all the time, we either feed and nurture them, or we don’t.   We have some control over this. Take control. 

– Ketones suppress tumor growth.  ( from me:  Ketones also have “anti-seizure” effects.)

– Every single group in America, the young, the old, different races, the rich, the poor, and the middle class, have GAINED WEIGHT since our government instituted a Low Fat, High Carb paradigm.  Despite Unbelievable Failure, the policies continue.

– Number 1 Cause of Obesity:  Insulin Resistance  ( and what makes the pancreas release Insulin?  Carbohydrate.).   Number 2 Cause:  sedentary lifestyle.   Number 3 Cause (5 – 10%):  metabolic deficiencies, i.e. thyroid, cortisol, etc.   THIS IS SO IN OUR CONTROL.

– Fat Cells make at LEAST 100 Hormones; and the bigger a fat cell gets, the sicker it gets.  Some of the hormones?  Estrogen, and Inflammatory Cytokines.

– If you are Insulin Resistant, (and there’s a good chance you are if you live in America and eat carbs several times a day),  Insulin stays in your blood for up to 12 hours!!  When Insulin is in your blood, ZERO FAT BURNING HAPPENS. ZERO. ZERO.

– Alcohol.  There’s just no way to make this come out good for us; we’re not French Women or Italian Men.  We’re Americans, and we’re metabolically damaged:(  Alcohol ALWAYS induces insulin, even if it’s glucose and fructose free;  ALCOHOL becomes ETHANOL in the LIVER, the ETHANOL is converted to TRIGLYCERIDES (triglycerides are Fat), and the triglycerides are stored in the liver and fat cells.

– Eat a lot of fruit,  or drink fruit juice, or worse, High Fructose Corn Syrup?  Fructose always induces Insulin, raises the bad cholesterol, raises the bad triglycerides, and raises blood pressure.  This applies TO OUR CHILDREN ALSO.  They’re not immune to damage just because they’re young or skinny.

Whew.  That’s enough for today.  The take away:  our health is in our hands.  When we get sick, we’re not drug deficient; we’ve messed up our cells.  Our body wants – and can – repair and rebuild; but if we’re destroying our body faster than it can fix itself, we’re in trouble.

Repeat to yourself: Real Whole Food, Real Whole Food.

Category: Carbs, Fats, Hormones, RWF, Sugar, Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Does Our De-Stressing Cause Erectile Dysfunction and Belly Bloat?

May 24, 2014 / / Comments Off on Does Our De-Stressing Cause Erectile Dysfunction and Belly Bloat?

st thomasThe Cruise is Great, the lectures fantastic and I promise a synopsis soon, but today I need to write about something different: De-Stressing. And I’m glad to be writing this Memorial Day Saturday, a weekend that’s typically associated with a lot of excessive drinking and parties, because….. it’s Memorial Day, and that’s what we do, right? Party on a holiday because we need to and deserve to and it’ll make us feel better.  Right?  Wrong!  I think we’ve all been hypnotized into believing that we need to remedy our stressful days, weeks, and lives with alcohol, bad food, and staying up late. This belief is very apparent on a ship more so than in real life, because a ship is a FishBowl. You see everything.

Over the past few days I’ve heard moans and groans about weight gain, hangovers, and exhaustion – on THE CRUISE SHIP. The food’s free, the alcohol’s not but it’s unbelievably plentiful and available, and the entertainment and fun literally don’t stop.
But that doesn’t mean we should do it to excess. If our forms of “de-stressing” actually makes us feel stressed, guilty, anxious, depressed, and tired – later – that’s not real de-stressing. If our forms of “de-stressing” cause us to gain weight, harden our arteries, have erectile dysfunction, belly bloat, and feel like a bomb went off in our head, we’ve done NOTHING to de-stress in the Real Sense. We’ve just made ourselves more tired, more adrenally depleted, more hormonally off balance, and more set up for INFLAMMATION AND EVERY DISEASE OUT THERE. We age faster; who feels happy about that?

I know everyone’s plans are already set for this weekend, but entertain this thought for me: maybe all the over eating and excessive drinking is a HALLUCINATION OF PLEASURE. Not the real thing.

Real Pleasure, real De-Stressing – makes us feel great afterwards: no regrets. Zero, zip, zilch. Relief, energy, calmness, strength for upcoming challenges, that’s de-stressing.

Eating Real Whole Foods means examining our habits and thought patterns; we need to apply that same principle to our Entire Life. What’s really good – long term – for our body and soul? Long term. Long term. Remember these words this weekend and meditate on them: The Hallucination of Pleasure. Is that what we want?

Category: Eat on Vacation, Mind/Body / Tags: , ,

Obesigens, Weight Gain, & Sex Hormones, and Sexual Urges! Oh My!

May 21, 2014 / / Comments Off on Obesigens, Weight Gain, & Sex Hormones, and Sexual Urges! Oh My!

shipCruise Day 3 – WOW!!! The Low Carb Cruise Lectures Have Begun!
Oh My Gosh, did I learn a lot today at the seminars! I hope you’ll read each of these synopsis, because I guarantee you’ll see information that applies to you.

Have you ever heard of the site, www.liveto110.com? It’s run by Wendy Myers; she gave a great talk on Obesigens and how they make you gain weight. What are obesigens? They’re chemicals in our food, personal care products, cleaning supplies, water bottles, and more, that absorb into our body and mimic estrogen. Except they’re not really estrogen, so instead of the benefits of estrogen, we get the hazards of “pretend estrogen”: cancer, disease, hormone disorders, thyroid issues, and weight gain.
Two take aways: (a) Yes, organic products are more expensive, and homemade products take time and effort, but the regular stuff we buy in the store? It’s killing us. Start one by one replacing what you’re using with NON-TOXIC options. Just one product at a time, don’t stress, but it matters, it really does. (b) Detoxing these chemicals out of our body is IMPORTANT!!!

Next up was Dr. Eric Westermen, Internal Medicine Doc at Duke, and President of the American Bariatric Society. He’s a huge believer, researcher, and practitioner of the Low Carbohydrate, High Fat diet. He’s got the studies and experience to back it up; and we got to hear some of them. What he mostly talked about though, was that, “Research Is Politics”, his quote; and getting funding for anything that’s going to upset the Big Food, Big Business, Big Pharma Apple Cart is almost IMPOSSIBLE. ( my term for that is “Big Phuvernment) In other words, the funding necessary to do expensive studies testing Food as Medicine, is incredibly difficult to attain.   (not a lot of profit there for anyone)

Then we heard from “Reproductive Endocrinologist”, Dr. Michael Fox. He explained himself: he did an OB/Gyn residency, then followed it up with a fellowship that resulted in him now working in Reproductive Endocrinology, or, sex hormone problems. FASCINATING!! For all my clients who are struggling with infertility, PMS, menopause difficulties, low sperm counts, ED, PCOS, etc, listen up! He says after decades of work with men, women, and hormones, he finally realized that there was a link between all of it: the male and female infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, PMS, lack of libido, gestational diabetes, menopause symptoms, and pre-clampsia: Insulin Resistance! Why does anyone get Insulin Resistance? From TOO MUCH INSULIN, which gets released in response to CARBS. He takes all his patients off carbs and puts them (even the pregnant ones) on a ketogenic diet. He said the pregnancy/birth rates in his clinic have skyrocketed to 90% success!!
More gems from Dr. Fox: He thinks Aerobic exercise is HORRIBLE for humans, both male and female, because it screws up their hormones so badly. He says that STRESS must be controlled, because CORTISOL has BAADD effects on INSULIN, which has bad effects on sex hormones.

He thinks VEGETARIAN DIETS are worse than AEROBIC exercise!

He says physicians today are taught “Cookbook Medicine” and practice “party-line protocols” that have nothing to do with solving the root of the problem.
Oh, one more gem from Dr. Fox: for patients who have difficult pregnancies with hypertension or gestational diabetes, he said that they’re looking at themselves in 10 to 15 years if they don’t get off the Insulin/Carb train. This guy had a lot of energy and passion – I loved him!

We ended the day with two Evolutionary Biology Professors from Austin College in Texas; these two were a hoot! And just as passionate as everyone else. They threw several interesting facts at us ( don’t miss the Sexual Urges – Vegetarian connections), let me bullet-point:
*Starvation Diet Studies conducted after WW2 had participants reducing their intake to 1570 cal/day. It worked – they starved, you should see the pictures! Odd that TODAY, 1570 calories is NORMAL for a lot of people, but they GAIN weight, instead of lose weight. What’s happened?
*At 1570 cal/day, people in the study lost their libido, their thyroid function, their mental focus, and they became weak and lethargic. Hmmmm. Sound familiar?
*Japanese Samurai ( the warriors) ate diets of meat and fat; the peasants were fed a diet of rice.
*Monks have always used a Vegetarian Diet, with SOY, to suppress sexual urges.
*Reverend Graham, who came up with the Graham Cracker, was an Avid ANTI-SEX crusader. He preached a Vegetarian Diet to suppress sexual urges.
*Dr. Kellogg (yes, the Cereal Kellogg) was another Anti-Sex crusader ( and sadistic in his experiments on suppressing sexual urges – google them), he also promoted a Vegetarian Diet to suppress sexual urges.
Hmmm.
*We looked at ingredients lists of several dog food brands, and saw over and over pure crap: sugar, grains, artificial colors and flavors, and chemicals. No wonder our pets are fat and sick.
*We talked about the Defense Mechanisms of Plants, which illustrated that the High Carbohydrate/High Insulin value of grains isn’t the only problem with them.
*Grains contains “anti-nutrients”, actually, all plants do, it’s their defense against being eaten.
*These anti-nutrients contain: TOXINS, DIGESTIBILITY REDUCERS, and HORMONE MIMICKERS.
*The result? Grains, make us sick, fat, affect our brain, ruin our gut ( leaky gut and nutrient deficiencies), and pretend to be estrogen. (soy, flax seed oil)
*They ended reminding us that BIG BUSINESS SPENDS BAZILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO MAKE PRETEND FOOD “SUPER STIMULATING”, and incredibly addictive.

What a great day!
Oh, food and workouts!
-30 minutes shoulder and chest (the lectures started at 8:45am and went to 4:15, so not a lot of time for working out)
-whey, greens, and flax seed, 2 big carrots
-detox pack
-lunch: fish, turkey burger, on watercress and vegetables, lots of olive oil and balsamic
-detox pack
-dinner: seafood ceviche, spinach salad, roasted chicken, broccoli, bite of chocolate bar
-detox pack
& 7pm show “the Platters”, 10 pm bed. Sounds early – but we’re rarely tired – that good, right?
We’re getting off the ship and exploring St. Thomas today; I think our phones are supposed to work there, so I’ll take pics and put them on Facebook!

Category: Eat on Vacation, Hormones, Sugar / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Cruise Details, Detox Report, and What I’m Eating On A Ship:)

May 20, 2014 / / Comments Off on Cruise Details, Detox Report, and What I’m Eating On A Ship:)

freedom of the seasCruise Day 1
-up at 3:25am, out of the house by 3:42, and on the road to National Airport
-no food, no water, no nothing, too early
-airport by 4:45am, on board the plane by 5:30 ( I don’t like the way SouthWest is first come – first seated!!)
-morning pills ( systemic enzymes to combat inflammation, l-tyrosine for energy, GTA -which is a Biotics porcine thyroid glandular with no t3 to t4, all these are my normal pills/not detox) at 5:45
-a bottled water on the plane
-Jay Robb bar and carrot at the Atlanta airport, 8 am, another water
-a bottled water on the second plane ( I always drink a LOT when I fly)
-Jay Robb bar and carrot while standing in the ship boarding line, 12:15
-napped, walked the ship, napped, walked the ship
-dinner with our fellow Low Carb Cruisers at 5:30: coconut based seafood soup, spinach salad, cod, broccoli, carrots, and baked potato
LOVED our table mates! None of them are professionals, they’re all seeking weight loss, direction, and motivation. What an investment they’re making in their health! There’s over 200 of us here for the Low Carb lectures. Saw Jimmy Moore, Wendy Myers, and Dr. Gerber; the cruise is Jimmy’s baby, and the other two have their own websites, and are two of the week’s lecturers. Our lecture days are Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, the days we’re at sea. The topics sound FANTASTIC, here’s a few: Keto-Adapted Diets; Obesegens:Chemicals that make you fat; The importance of building muscle and becoming strong; Busting saturated fat myths: the biggest health blunder in history. There’s several more and I’ll be sure to give you the details for each 🙂
-7 pm Show ( a cirque-de soleil routine that was amazing followed by a great comedian); walked the ship
-first Detox Pack – they were in my luggage, which didn’t arrive til after we got back from the show
-asleep by 10 ( we’re early-to-bedders!)

Cruise Day 2
-up at 5:30 ( if you’re a client or a friend of mine, you know by my emails I’m an early riser; hopefully, we’ll sleep in a little longer each day)
-morning pills ( enzymes, tyrosine, GTA)
-hot lemon water, black tea
-breakfast: Jay Robb protein ( I’d ordered Mercola, but it didn’t get shipped in time), mixed with greens powder and flax seed, and a couple carrots, DETOX Pack

(We travel with a lot of food, supplements, and Raw Milk – yes, Mark brings that ON THE PLANE, and ON THE SHIP.  )

-gym ( OMGosh you should see the gym! It’s got to be a few thousand square feet at least, biggest one I’ve ever seen on a ship): legs for 30 minutes, vinyasa yoga 1 hour, SAUNA 25 mins. ( sweating removes TOXINS).
-lunch: salad with fish and chicken, DETOX Pack
-pool all afternoon
-dinner: we skipped the Formal Night in the sit down restaurant (we’re SO NOT into formal nights), and went to the buffet instead: fish, chicken, TONS of vegetables in every way you can imagine! Even watercress! DETOX Pack. Had a bite of Mark’s dark chocolate bar afterwards.
-7 pm show, Broadway Night!
-water all day with a little Apple Cider Vinegar in each cup ( gotta have good stomach acid on a cruise ship to kill any bugs!)
-asleep by 10
Met a few more Low Carb Cruisers today – they’re definitely a weight-loss group, trying to figure out what will work for them. Nice, nice people! We’re all looking forward to the lectures tomorrow, I think there’s 8? I’ll be doing synopsis of each one. I know the info will be great!

p.s. we’re ONLY taking the stairs – and this ship is 13 stories – GREAT leg workouts!!

p.s.s. Internet costs a FORTUNE!!  Posts are going to be brief!

Category: Eat on Vacation / Tags: , , , , ,
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