Got my pies cooked.

26 11 2008
Turkey Lovin

Turkey Lovin

Today is a busy day for me. I just got my pumpkin and pecan pies out of the oven. I used a low carb pie crust mix from the Low Carb Connoisseur and am using both brown sugar splenda and white splenda. Along with this, the pecans are high in fiber as is pumpkin. Last but not least, the pumpkin is chock full of spices that have high antioxidant values, help with digestion, and act as insulin mimics helping to keep blood sugar more even.

This brings me to the real reason for this post. Some tips on keeping your blood sugar under control for the Holidays.

  1. Spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves (as used in pumpkin pie and spiced cider) are not only delicious, but they help with blood sugar issues. Use them liberally.
  2. Fiber is another big helper with blood sugar issues. Get as much as you can. Fill up on your veggies. I’m even going as far as to use Fibersure and Benefiber in my foods (adding them to mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc).
  3. Drink tea with your meals. Tea has been shown to blunt blood sugar spikes when taken with meals.
  4. Stay away from high amounts of caffeine (energy drinks and coffee), these will make blood sugar spikes much worse.
  5. Full fat is the ONLY way to go. The whole low-fat hypothesis is being proven false on an almost daily basis. People in the US are eating on average fewer calories (because of chemicals, corn syrup, and starch used in place of fat) per day but weigh more now than ever, and type II diabetes is through the roof. USe full fat, it makes your body release satiety hormones (i.e. it makes you feel full). Carbs do this much less than fat. Fat also slows down digestion when combined with carbs.
  6. Go as natural as possible. I’m kind of bing hypocritical here, because I’m using Splenda, but use real food as much as possible. Buy real whipped cream, not cool whip.
  7. Stay hydrated. 50% of heart attacks are caused by dehydration. Isn’t your life worth a few glasses of water? Seriously.

Last but not least, relax! Stress causes our body to release hormones that worsen inflammation and insulin resistance. If your family is highly dysfunctional (whose isn’t?), take a break every hour or two. Step outside for a walk around the block, or lock yourself in the bathroom for a bit. Take a few deep breaths and take time to get centered and calm. You and your family will enjoy the holiday much more.

This is a time for gratitude and love. Set your intentions on showing both of these and you will have a truly wonderful holiday!


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I’m a dirty cheater and the scale is a dirty liar.

20 11 2008

We make quite a pair, eh? Ok, so I expected the scale to be up a bit, but 5 pounds? I’m ok, though.

Last night, I remember thinking “wow, this chicken is REALLY salty”. The pizza ingredients were pretty salty, too. Plus the ham and olives on the salad are both probably high in salt.

So, some of the weight is food “in transit” and the rest I’m certain is water weight caused by all of the salt. I checked with my ketostix this morning, and they had the faintest hint of pink, so I think I’m still in ketosis.

Back to the joys of coconut oil and green tea supplements today. I feel good this morning, and I really enjoyed my meal last night. Plus, I got to hang out with my kids for a while.


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I’m a dirty cheater!

19 11 2008

Ok, so I’ve never cheated on a woman, but I do cheat on my diet. If I didn’t, I would go bonkers and start eating couches and whatnot. I plan my cheats and I enjoy them, dangit!

Tonight was the planned trip to Pizza Ranch where I had a giant Caesar salad sans croutons with lots of black olives, cheddar cheese, and diced ham thrown on top for good measure. I also had the toppings off of six slices of pizza (lots of peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, sausage, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese), and last but not least 3 pieces of fried chicken with the skin removed. It was a lot of food, but honestly, still far less than I used to eat. I would have eaten even more before and would have eaten the entire slices of pizza, all of the chicken, plus mashed potatoes and gravy, potato salad (my one true weakesses, it is my kryptonite, I almost gave in tonight but ate some cottage cheese instead!) and of course dessert pizza. I also partook in three glasses of *gasp* Diet Coke! Oh no he didn’t! Oh yes I did!

That potato salad almost did me in. I literally had the spoon in my hand, but walked away. You gotta count even the tiniest victories in the game of life, otherwise you can start to get a little down on yourself.

I expect to be 2 to 3 pounds heavier tomorrow morning but this is really just food in transit, and I expect to be down to 365 or 364 or Friday.

All in all, I’m happy. I do know that as my weight continues to drop that my intake of food, even on cheats needs to shift downwards. I am very conscious of this fact, because I know I have emotional eating issues. I’m happy because I ate until I was full, but not feeling sick. I look forward to the day when I can push away the plate when I’m just satisfied. I know that day is coming soon.


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Down another pound.

19 11 2008

I finally hit 366. That makes my total weight loss this go around 50 pounds so far! Weight loss has been slow, but steady. It will speed up, though. I’ve been having some digestion issues with the whey protein that I was adding to my coconut oil/water mixture in the mornings and it was causing “gastric distress” to put it nicely. I’m not sure if I was actually absorbing any of the protein from the whey at all.

As I don’t lift on Tuesdays, I decided to forego the whey and simply have coconut oil with Benefiber (a wheat dextrin based fiber product) and water. To my surprise, my appetite was completely blunted until 7:00 PM that night!

I need protein before I lift weights, I’m adamant about that, so I decided to go the Rocky Balboa route and add raw eggs to my oil shake. I did it for the first time this morning, so I’ll see how it goes. I’m definitely not hungry after drinking three raw eggs + three Tb of coconut oil + 3 Tb of fiber (9 grams total) + 8 ounces of water.

I’ve also added deadlifts back into my lifting routine. I had taken them out after hurting my lower back 9 months ago, but now that I’m doing yoga as a warm up before I lift, my back has been feeling very good, so I decided to add them back in. Needless to say, my quads are tore up! That’s a good thing, by the way.

Tonight, I’m having a low carb cheat meal at Pizza Ranch with my kids. It is a buffet type place that serves chicken/pizza/salad bar. I’m going to remove the skin from the fried chicken, only eat the toppings off of the pizza, and have the biggest salad smothered in ranch dressing you ever saw.

On a totally unrelated note, I’ve got all my Christmas shopping done! I’m also ramping up for Thanksgiving. Talk about the ultimate cheat meal. I’m actually stretching the cheat meal into a cheat two days, as one of the best parts about Thanksgiving is the left overs. I think I can keep the weight gain under 5 pounds. I plan on walking after every meal and taking advantage of the surplus of calories with a strenous weight training session.


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What the Bleep do we know?

17 11 2008

Before the secret, there was “What the Bleep do we know?”. An excellent movie and available to view online for free.

“‘WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW?!’ is a radical departure from convention. It demands a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown, indeed, not even dreamed of since Copernicus. It’s a documentary. It’s a story. It’s mind-blowing special effects. This film plunges you into a world where quantum uncertainty is demonstrated – where neurological processes, and perceptual shifts are engaged and lived by its protagonist – where everything is alive, and reality is changed by every thought.” -imdb.com

If this doesn’t shift your paradigm, then your paradigm ain’t shiftin’!


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Worship at the feet of a god called Cheese.

13 11 2008

I got this in my Men’s Health Daily Dose email today and I love cheese!

EAT MORE FOOD—WITHOUT GAINING WEIGHT
Adding dairy to your diet can help burn more fat


There are 15 days until Thanksgiving—which means it’s time to prep for the annual stress-inducing calorie fest known as the holidays.

One way you can avoid gaining weight? Eat more—dairy, that is, according to a new study in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism.

Researchers had 338 obese adults cut their calorie intake for 3 months. For 6 months after, half the group ate less than one serving of dairy daily while the others ate three servings a day.

Both groups maintained their weight loss, but those who consumed more dairy also ate more calories overall. So go ahead and reach for that cheese or yogurt as a snack. It will stop your stomach’s grumbling and hold you over until dinnertime.


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Low Carb pumpkin pie recipe!

13 11 2008

I’m looking forward to trying this Low Carb Pumpkin Pie recipe out (from Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb.

Most people tend to enjoy the holiday season for reasons that go far beyond the presents, the family, the parties, and the jovial atmosphere. For many, it’s all about THE FOOD, baby! Thanksgiving and Christmas certainly offer plenty of opportunities for you to eat, eat, and eat some more and it can drive a low-carber straight up the wall since most of that food is decidedly high in sugars and excessive carbohydrates. It can seem discouraging for someone new to low-carb when they feel they must deprive themselves of all these seemingly wonderful aspects of this time of year.

But those of us who have been doing this for a few years already know the secret to surviving the holidays–find adequate substitutions! While there aren’t always perfect solutions to your low-carb wish list of foods, the fact is there are plenty of ways to stick to your low-carb lifestyle and gladly so for holiday gatherings.

Now I’m desperately on the lookout for a low carb pecan pie recipe.


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Categories : Health

Low Carbing is dead. Long live low carbing!

13 11 2008

Low Carbing is not dead. Still alive and still kicking. Even Heinz has a new low carb product on store shelves called One Carb Ketchup. It’s tasty, too!

Check out Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb blog for a ton of low carb blogs. They are springing up all over the place!


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Fat Fasting and down 2 more pounds.

13 11 2008

Well, I’ve finally really gotten off my plateau. After being stuck for so long, I resorted to somewhat drastic measures. I decided to go with the 800 calorie fat fast that Dr. Atkins mentions in his book. I also decided to combine it with the Shangri-La Diet and the fat burning wonders of coconut oil. I have 6 TB of coconut oil per day along with a single serving of whey powder. This gives me 86% of my calories from fat.

Additionally, to keep my thyroid activity higher, longer, I’ve decided to add in two cheat meals per week. On Wednesdays I have a low carb cheat meal and on Sundays, I’m planning on having an unrestricted (as in macronutrients) cheat meal. I’m not sure about Sunday yet, I may keep it low carb because I like being in ketosis. We’ll see. But with my latest exercise regimen, I think that I’ll burn through most of the stored glycogen by Tuesday.

About my new exercise regimen. I decided to go for a walk last night (first time doing cardio in over 6 months!) and it felt so good that I decided to turn it into an interval workout. I went and did the same thing this morning. I’m planning on doing my interval workouts from now on on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (in addition to my lifting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). Sunday is a day of rest. It feels so good to be back out there running again. The last time I did cardio, I was over 415 pounds, so I felt much lighter on my feet this time around. It’s a great feeling!

I also wanted to mention my latest supplement regimen. I added two products from True Protein:

  • Green Tea Extract – This is an amazing supplement and had me feeling nice and warm about 30 minutes after I took it! Only 3% caffeine, over 98% polyphenols, 75% catechin, 45% EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). This green tea extract is the real deal!
  • L-Leucine – Check out the wikipedia entry on this awesome amino!

As a dietary supplement, leucine has been found to slow the degradation of muscle tissue by increasing the synthesis of muscle proteins.[3] Leucine is utilized in the liver, adipose tissue, and muscle tissue. In adipose and muscle tissue, leucine is used in the formation of sterols, and the combined usage of leucine in these two tissues is seven times greater than its use in the liver.[4]

Especially check out the external links on L-Leucine:

I’m adding L-Leucine into my whey in the morning. I take 5 grams.

Speaking of which, I’m running late (as usual!) and I need to take my protein.


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Categories : BodyBuilding, Fasting, Fitness, Health, Journey, Low Carb

Why Good Vibrations May Protect Mankind

10 11 2008

In his book ‘Power vs Force’, David Hawkins calibrates people’s emotions from levels 20 up to 1000. 20 being Shame which is perilously proximate to death. It’s destructive to emotional and psychological health, and makes us prone to physical illness.

At the other end of the scale at 700- 1000 is enlightenment. This is the level of the Great Ones such as Krishna, Buddha and Jesus. It is the peak of the evolutionary consciousness in the human realm.

All levels (which could be classed as vibration levels) below 200 are said to be energy draining, and below integrity. These vary from Guilt (30), Grief (75), Fear (100) up to Pride (175).

People feel positive as they reach Pride level. However Pride feels good only in contrast to the lower levels. Pride is defensive and vulnerable because it’s dependent upon external conditions, without which is can suddenly revert to a lower level.

At the 200 level, power first appears. Courage (200) is the zone of exploration, accomplishment, fortitude, and determination. People at this level put back into the world as much energy as they take; at the lower levels, populations as well as individuals drain energy from society without reciprocating.

Further levels include willingness (310), Acceptance (350) and Love (500).

This level is characterized by the development of a Love that is unconditional, unchanging, and permanent. It doesn’t fluctuate – its source isn’t dependent on external factors. Loving is a state of being. This is the level of true happiness.

Interesting facts from the book -

* The concept and theories behind these experiments were conducted over a 20 year period using a variety of Kinesiology tests and examinations.
* Kinesiology has an almost certain 100% accuracy reading every time. It will always reveal Yes, No, True, and False answers.
* Collective Consciousness: These experiments reveal that there is a higher power that connects everything and everyone.
* Everything calibrates at certain levels from weak to high including books, food, water, clothes, people, animals, buildings, cars, movies, sports, music etc.
* 85% of the human race calibrates below the critical level of 200.
* The overall average level of human consciousness stands at 207.
* Human consciousness was dangling at below the 200 level (190) for many centuries before it suddenly rose up to its present level some time in the mid 1980s. Hence Nostradamus’s end of the world predictions may have been avoided (he made his predictions at a time when human consciousness was at below the 200 level). For the world to stay at levels below 200 over a prolonged period of time would cause a great imbalance that would undoubtedly lead to the destruction of all humanity.
* The power of the few individuals at the top counterbalances the weakness of the masses.
* 1 individual at level 300 counterbalances 90,000 individuals below level 200
* 1 individual at level 500 counterbalances 750,000 individuals below level 200
* 1 individual at level 700 counterbalances 70 million individuals below level 200

In other words, as a co creator of the world, if you vibrate at 200 and above you will be helping to raise the consciousness of mankind, and be a big part in creating a better world for everyone.

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Get a free Alpha Mind Control mp3, originally created to help soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. This powerful audio will help you reach deep levels of alpha brainwaves, helping you to become more creative and aware. It’s good for your health too. It can help you sleep better, boost your immune system and make you feel good.

It will help also raise your consciousness levels…

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Just a note, this was not written by me, but I did enjoy the free alpha audio. It is very relaxing.


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