Last Day of 2015 - habits and behaviors I'll keep in 2016

Okay, so it's the last day of 2015. 

Some things will stay the same in 2016, and I'll be changing up somethings in the new year. 

Keeping what's working the new year:

1. Weight maintenance - because once you stop focusing on the habits of weight maintaining , I promise you'll find weight gain, if you gain weight easily in the past. 

This will be my 4th year of maintenance in 2016, I've kept 65-66 pounds of 70 pounds lost. I'm stronger physically than I've ever been. I like fitting into my size 6 jeans every day. Zip-Zip hooray.

Tracking my food intake, daily weighing, interacting with other maintainers, TOUGH not moderate approach. Sustaining the Refuse to Regain principles. Read that book, no trying, no "hoping", no "wishing" DO. Adjust, refine. No excuses. Just problem solving.

Simple concepts, take time to implement. 

I'll still be blogging monthly with my progress and graphs and current photos.

Current. Emphasis on current photos, graphs, and outcomes. Transparency is a currency. Very valuable.

2. Eating Paleo/ Low Carb/ modified Wahl's Paleo Plus/Abstaining from sugars & grains.

It works for me, binge eating switch is off, glucose is normal. All because I chose a food template that works with my body's genetics. Or did the food template choose me? Hmmm... ;)

I'll still be doing small n=1 experiments as the months go.

3. Blogging about weight maintenance using a Paleo/Primal/Low Carb/ NSNG approach.

We need more tools and more people sharing their success stories so that others with similar genetics can have some support- in my opinion.  PaleoFx, NSNG, Primal groups are are very informative.

Please, if you blog, post some current photos. Update your progress, what's working for you? What didn't work?  Those who have lost weight and are seeking to keep it off need a variety of maintainers, long term. Look beyond 1-2 years. Look at the 3+ years and longer. 

Seek out the long term maintainers who use methods that are similar to your own genetics, age, template.

I still believe a no sugar (or super low)/ no grains approach is underused in long term health and long term weight maintenance for many, but not all.  And that is okay. 

4. Reading, learning, exchanging ideas. 

I'll still be hanging out with the NSNG, Paleo, Low Carb crowd. They are my people.

There is no one right way, but there 2-3 ways that will work better for your health and genetics. Find what works, practice that. 

Tomorrow, a post on a few new things for 2016, nothing earth shattering. But a few things that will strengthen my 4 year maintaining habits.

Here's what didn't work during my failed attempts at weight loss/maintenance

1. Failing to adapt practices and address root causes that even got me to maintaining for a few months. Hoping, wishing, I don't know (yes I did know!), supposing were all ineffective magical thinking words I used.

2. Moderating low fat, low calorie junk food because it fit my calories/WW points

3. Not adapting a low inflammatory, glucose stable food template based on my lab work and genetics.

4. Not continuing my education long term.

Safe travels to you all as the sun sets on 2015

Low King Tide 12/26/2015, Carlsbad Cliffs

 

 

Merry Christmas 2015 and Happy Holidays- 5th year abstaining

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Safe Travels
Peace
Rest
Play
Time with Family
Time with Friends.

Please know, if you choose to abstain from your trigger foods, you are not alone. This will be my 5th year. Each year gets less stressful and more relaxing.

Because I choose to make it that way. The things I can change, I continue to simplify.

Every meal, every bite, every day. Onward.




Whats' working
1. Abstaining from sugar, grains, preservatives. Being tough, NOT moderate.
2. Keeping the holiday's simple- decorations and gifts.
3. Keeping my regular routine with walking & gym.

What did not work in the past
1. Eating everything, every where- and lots of it.
2. Over decorating, stress over gifts.
3. Not walking and not working on strength at the gym

Take care and best wishes. Karen P.

3 years, 10 months in long term weight maintenance, tougher times post gluten exposure

 Starting weight 187.4 lbs
Current Weight: 121.6 lbs
Goal weight ranges 
(113-117) and/or (119-121)
Time in weight maintenance: 
3 years, 10 months
Age 49
Height: 5'1"
Menopause: 2 years
Auto-Immune Hashimotos: 
1997
Food Addict in recovery: 
May 2011

Current food template:

 LCHF/ modified Wahl's Paleo Plus/modified AIP protocol

This has been one of my tougher months in weight maintenance. I had an un-intended gluten exposure on 11/17/2015. I've not been easily able to shake the extra 2 pounds, like prior gluten exposures.  Gluten is no joke for me. 

The root cause: Even just a tiny bit off a grill where the cooks were grilling buns and a hamburger patty that place placed into a warming container with other burgers really effected me

The struggle is real. My goal is to get back to the 120's to 119 by the end of the year and drop into my lower weight range by March 2015. OR rock some good body strength and stay around 119-120.



Non celiac gluten sensitivity, it's real.  At least it didn't trigger any binge eating. The facial flushing, throat blisters, lip irritations, deep acne were bad enough. Sigh. I fell out as a normal histamine blood donor even before the gluten exposure. Ouch!

The next time I have a gluten exposure, I'll be asking my doc for some blood work. It used to be just belly bloating and binge urges. The blistering has me a little more concerned. Plus I had to tell everyone I wasn't drinking due to the facial redness- several people commented about it.... LOL. I stopped alcohol in 2001. Most of my friends know I don't drink.

6 months weight maintenance, gluten exposure

That being said, I'm feeling okay. You know what's working?














1.Good old fashioned food tracking- yes for me calories as well as food types count. If I overeat on Paleo foods, I do gain weight. Simple. Easy. I'm not starving, let me tell you. I feel pretty good.

 2. Exercise tracking.
3. Sleeping well
4. Keeping Christmas simple. Batch cooking meat and veg.

What didn't work in the past

1. Not tracking, just gaining and eating what ever the heck I wanted.
2. Not setting even easy exercise goals.
3. Staying up late watching TV.
4. Doing all my old habits for the holidays that were stressful and not enjoyable.


Onward. Here's to staying safe, well, and within your chosen food plans this holiday. Even if you have unexpected illness or plans, here's to navigating plan B, plan C, etc.  Be boss of what you put into your body. Always.

NSNG Vinnie Tortorich I was featured on the 12-5-2015 podcast! Genetics and Restaurants

Vinnie Tortorich, podcasting live, NSNG meet -up LA 2015

Wow!!!  I had a great posdcast interview with Vinnie Tortorich. We talk about genetic reports, where we like to eat out for NSNG in Southern California, the first NSNG LA meet up, weight maintenance, and more. Be sure to download my interview and explore the other guests on this podcast.

*There's no language in my interview, so if you have little ones or other family with tender ears, this episode is okay to play out loud.

I really did enjoy the NSNG meet up in Los Angeles. Read more about it here 

Anna Vocino, podcasting at the NSNG meet-up, LA 2015

I forgot to give a big shout out to Anna Vocinco, Vinnie's podcast co-host. Anna's gluten free cookbook will be published soon.  Be sure to sign up on her email list. 

Valley View from the NSNG group hike, LA 2015

NSNG group hike, LA, no grains or sugars for this fat adapted group!

 Meeting Vinnie, Serena, Anna, Andy, and the super fans (shoutout to the Beauchamp brothers for all their work and Anna S.'s work on the meet up). My mind is continually blown by our stories and were we are today, and were we were before NSNG. Really, the weekend was fantastic and I'd highly recommend any future meet ups. Real people, getting real healthy with NSNG, no sugars no grains.

Sometimes it's tough living grain and mostly sugar free in a commercial product, fast food world. I applaud Vinnie and his team for his podcast, his time, his message. Knowing there are other, regular folks people like me who have lost weight and kept it off by going NSNG and sometimes putting  a little LIL (life into living).

Onward & thank you for all your hard work. Awesome people. Awesome health results.  Here's my theory: If more people explored no sugars, no grains (NSNG), then there would be more folks in long term health and weight maintenance. Just saying. Boom, y'all.  ;)

Karen P.

Are you an "Easy Keeper" of weight, post menopause

2015- leaner and stronger in menopause and weight maintenance

Be sure to read Dr. Berkeley's "Easy Keeper" of weight article. Any thoughts? I can tell you, when I don't eat

1. Grains

2. Processed sugars

3. Xantham Gum/ Guar Gums

I'm not an Easy Keeper any more. I have a normal body weight and shape. I still have a few binge urges here and there, but I'm typically not overly hungry, I do have decent muscle mass. This is all post menopause.

Grains cause me to keep weight pretty easily.  It's not my fault, but it is a reality I have to deal with meal in, meal out.

It's amazing I'm about 2.5 years into menopause and I'm leaner than I have been most of my whole life. 

2009- easy weight keeper pre-menopause, lots of whole grains

       When I eat grains

1. I carry lots of visceral fat
2. I have diabetes level glucose
3. I have many binge urges from emulsifiers in foods.

I know I'm not alone.

I'm not weak willed
I tracked like a champ.
It's not my fault, but my bodies Easy Keeper genetics.  Obesity genes, ghrelin genes. Diabetic risk. All genetic risks are increased when I ate grains.

Easy concept, no grain living. Great out comes. Very well worth a few people looking down their nose at my no grain life style. Sad because it would help so many people. So much drama and myths. I hear this all the time

Oh, I could never not eat whole grains, I would:

1. Die without bread ( so much drama)
2. Binge eat without eating grains in moderation (grains triggered my binges)
3. Cause themselves to be XYZ disease. ( it was genetic for me, going off grains did not cause my gluten sensitivity.)

Glad I tried it myself. Not one of those things were true for me. Like cattle, horses, cats and some humans, life without grains is pretty good. Life is a lot easier in 2015 without massive binge urges and keeping off 65-70 extra pounds.

If you can eat grains and be well an happy, well good for you. So many of us can't.
Onward and I hope more MD's get the no grain message to more people who struggle with Easy Keeper of body fat.

Keep your eyes wide open and keep your menopause food template options open to change.  Glad to be an easy keeper of my size 6 jeans.  ;)  Zip-Zip hooray!!!!!

 Kudos to Dr. Berkeley for blogging about the effects of grains on many.

Thoughts?