Right before bed!

It’s been a LONG week!  This lack of sleep has nearly beaten me.  But I am still in there strong.  I sort advice from the Metabolic Effect team and Dr.Jade Teta and following his advice there is progress in the sleep department!

My waking is due to low blood sugar as my body is learning to adapt to the lower intake of carbs.  To help with this I need to have a snack before bed – preferably a protein bar and a teaspoon of peanut butter.  I can reduce this as my body adapts.  Also I will stick to taking my L-Tryosine in the morning only and increase my Magnesium before bed.

As I probe more into the effects hormones have on your body fat.  I am coming to realise just HOW important sleep is.  I knew it was important but I am now understanding the impact it has on not only fat burning but also on your moods and health in general.  A good friend has loaned me a book called ‘Lights out’ by T.S. Wiley with Bent Formby, Ph.D.  He believes that a lot of our troubles began with the invention of the light bulb.  I shall be heading off to bed to read it soon so I will keep you posted on what I read.

Dying for Sleep?

Lights out – dying for a good night’s sleep.

Aside from the lack of sleep – my cravings are minimal – only due to tiredness and I still feel a whole lot calmer and relaxed.  But I know I HAVE to nail sleep else I will be fighting against will power the whole way!

Till next time….Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Jill x

Yawwwwwn!

It’s been a few days since I last updated you on my progress.  Despite 3 or 4 nights of really poor sleep I have felt surprisingly OK.  However, if this insomnia continues I am going to run into trouble!

So could it be the L-Tyrosine and increase dose of 5-HTP that are helping me to feel calm?  Is is the steady blood sugar from eating every two-three hours?  Is it the adrenal supporting herbs I am taking or perhaps the herbal teas?  I do believe the cocoa powder is helping immensely with my cravings as these have almost disappeared.  I am not craving carbs or anything sweet.  I am not having tea or coffee cravings and feel pretty motivated and optimistic again!

The increase of protein I believe is helping to suppress my appetite however, each night I have woken hungry – as I have already increased my protein and fibre, on the days that I teach more classes I will increase my starch bites by around 2 to see if this helps.

I have tried to work out what changes may be causing this disruption of sleep.  I struggle to get to sleep and then when I do I wake again around 2am and usually with a really growling tummy!  As I have increased my green tea consumption since starting the ME (The Metabolic Effect) program I decided yesterday to not have any.  By the end of the day I had a raging headache so assumed the green tea to be the culprit!  However……I have been awake since 2.20am so clearly the green tea was not the cause.

Tonight after a meal out (I had hoped that I would not wake hungry after slightly more starches) I have a decaffeinated coffee.  So could it have been this?  Maybe.  I will have to see if tomorrow is any different and eliminate any possible effects from caffeine.

If the same thing happens I will have to think about eliminating one of my supplements to see if this is having an effect.

Check back again to see how I get on!  Hopefully I might get some sleep now! (it’s 4.22am!!)

Jill x

71.1 kg (my heaviest in a few years!!)

15.7 % body fat (healthy range)

56.9kg muscle mass

3 kg of bone mass (for my body weight it should be around 2.4kg)

21.9 BMI (healthy range)

3080 recommended daily caloric intake (yay!)

My metabolic age was 23!!!! (I am 36 )

59.7% total body water (average for females 45-60%)

4 is my visceral fat rating (1-12 is considered the healthy range)

Despite not sleeping great the night before (even after my Yogi bedtime tea), I have managed to get through my early morning rest based weight training regime (more on this another time), my interval spin class and even knuckled down to some studying.  Something I haven’t managed to do for a long time.  Then finished my day teaching Body Balance – lots of stretching, breathing and balance work.

In just two days I have noticed a big improvement in my mental focus.  My energy has remained fairly constant all day too.  I didn’t manage a 60 min walk today but I did teach and train for over 2 hours!

In between my carefully planned meals I have drunk green tea, Cocoa to help banish cravings and of course – water.

Today I received a list of recommended supplements to help balance my brain chemistry and support my knackered out adrenal glands.  After a trip to the health food store I am now armed and ready to start.  I sat and watched my audio lecture on the diet overview which is a great re-enforcement of the book.

My supplement list so far:  Good quality whey powder and protein bars (following the label reading guidelines), High potency fish oils, 5 HTP and Tyrosine, adrenal supportive herbs and teas to name just a few – now I am just waiting for my fibre and Magnesium glycinate to arrive!  It sounds like a lot of supplements – but I had really burnt out and any extra support will help me on the road to recovery a lot quicker.

Check in for my progress over the next week – I just need to get myself 7-9 hours of sleep!  Nite

Jillx

After a difficult few months recovering from burnout I knew that I had to get back on track.  I felt tired most of the time, slept badly, had powerful cravings for all the wrong things and felt things had gotten out of control.

The New ME Diet

I have been following The Metabolic Effect on facebook for some months now and bought the book before the Summer.  In the past I had managed to follow a healthy, fat loss lifestyle and felt great.  I was fit, lean and in control!

It all started to go wrong over the Summer – classic symptoms of over-training were ignored.  I carried on teaching and training through injury and fatigue.  It was no surprise when my body refused to co-operate any longer!

A few months down the line I called upon the help of The Metabolic Effect Team and Dr. Jade Teta.  Today is my first day on their on-line fat loss program.  I want to document my journey back to full health and vitality and can’t wait to share my ups and downs along the way.

Day 1 has been a real day of reflection.  I know that not every day will be as easy and that it is the first step on a journey that will take as long as it needs to.  In fact, the journey of learning never ends!  My mindset is one of excitement and acceptance of full responsibility of the results that I get.

After completing my questionnaires and reading all my literature over the weekend I went out to stock up on all the necessary foods and snacks required.  I downloaded my workouts and checked in for the schedule of exercise over the coming weeks.  I purchased a body fat monitor and will be publishing the data as I go.

So be sure to keep checking in to find out how I get on and how I learn to get myself back on top!

Jill

Jill x

Jill at hate it? change it!

Follow my 49 steps and I will guarantee you will gain at least one dress size!

1. Go on any diet that is NOT a manner of eating you can adhere to for the rest of your life.

2. Believe you can eat cabbage soup every day for the rest of your life when beginning that diet!

3. Obsessing over counting calories.

4. Weigh yourself 10 times a day.

5. Don’t ever drink any filtered water.

6. Drink sugar laden drinks such as soft drinks, flavoured coffees, fruity drinks, and ALCOHOL!

7. Consume as much processed foods as you can and as often as you can.

8. Overcook what little vegetables you do eat – they will taste so awful that you hate them and are left with barely any nutritional value.

9. Have a negative and defeatist attitude.

10. Don’t have a plan or set any goals.

11. Don’t read labels and whatever you do don’t learn anything about nutrition.

12. Finish every last bite even after you are full.

13. Make sure you always go back for “seconds” or “thirds” at meals.

14. Eat out at “all you can eat buffets” and get your money’s worth.

15. Skip breakfast.

16. Starve all day, as it’s the best way to lose weight!!!

17. Binge after “falling off the wagon” and then start again “tomorrow” to get back on track.

18. You’re probably right that you are genetically destined to be fat.

19. Don’t believe you have the ability to change.

20. Think that “Fat” is a personality trait.

21. Tell yourself how unattractive you are.

22. Don’t live each day to the fullest because it will only happen “when you are thinner.”

23. Pills, powders or potions work.  There is a magic pill somewhere!

24. Think of exercise as a chore.

25. Don’t schedule exercise as a vital part of your schedule.

26. Indulge in alcohol on a regular basis and binge drink at the weekend (and then stuff yourself silly on junk with a hangover!).

27. Watch sports, don’t play any.

28. Watch TV for more than one hour a day.

29. Give in to temptation and resign yourself to being “fat”.

30. Finish the food off other’s plates while doing the dishes.

31. Taste and nibble on food while cooking.

32. Bake biscuits, pies and cakes more than often than at special occasions and them eat them all.

33. Always have sweets in for the kids but eat them before they do.

34. Go to bed late every night.

35. Don’t have vegetables and/or fruit with meals.

36. Think “dieting”, not lifestyle change, will lead to lasting weight loss.

37. Don’t visualise yourself actually living that healthy lifestyle.

38. Eat plenty of refined foods instead of wholegrain; eat fatty meats instead of lean; choose full-fat dairy instead of reduced fat.

39. Consume fast food on a regular basis.

40. Eat as fast as you can at each meal and barely chew the food.

41. Wait for Monday or after ‘that’ party to “get started” rather than RIGHT NOW!

42. Sit on your butt all day at work and in the car and then make as many excuses to not exercise as you can.

43. Join a gym and believe that you will one day use but actually never go.

44. Let your fat friends sabotage all your good efforts so you can stay fat with them.

45. Don’t learn how to cook and just eat ready meals and takeaways every day.

46. Always use the lifts and escalators and not the stairs.

47. Pay someone to do your garden and housework so you don’t have to lift a finger after spending all day on your butt at work.

48. Get you’re shopping delivered.

49. Drink loads of designer coffee (add sugar or syrups) with full fat milk, get stressed alot and eat sugary snacks to get your blood sugars spiking all day!

50. I am sure you have your own unique way of keeping fat – feel free to mail me your best ones!

So how many of those things are you doing right now?  How many of those things can you incorporate today to help you get you another dress size bigger?

Jill x

Exercise

Confused about exercise and how to keep in shape?  Maybe you find exercise boring? Or perhaps you are worried you won’t be able to keep up?

More than ever before, our lives are busy with all our work commitments and family life.  When it comes to exercise, it’s difficult to know what to do and how – Step, spin, aerobics, yoga, Pilates, boot camp, running,weight training?

If you are not willing to accept illness and disease in later life then start planning ways of incorporating activity and relaxation into your life today.    So are we agreed that exercise is not an option?

Good! Then let me clarify something.  Exercise needn’t be so hard that you dread it, or so time consuming that you will never fit it in.  In fact exercise is anything that gets your heart rate up and you moving your body through a healthy range of movements.

Gardening, 10 minutes of Yoga before breakfast,  walking the dog, housework, dancing, ‘bedroom activities’, playing with the kids in the garden, cleaning the car or simply taking the stairs and not the lift…..

Life in the fast lane soon starts to take its toll.  More than ever we are seeing depression, stress and back pain as a major cause of work absence.  Exercise can help prevent all of these.

With the right diet and attitude you will be fit for life and business.

Just in case you have forgotten………Exercise is NOT an option!

Starjumps

Click here to take survey

Thanks in advance,

Jill Gardner

Jill x

To diet or not to diet?  I can’t decide,
thin as a stick or all fat and wide?
Muffin top, belly flop, boobs on the floor,
this fat will NOT beat me I am waging my war!

Breakfast of coffee and a lungful of air,
too busy for lunch, I’ll just chew my hair!
Ignoring the biccies with afternoon tea,
I am secretly smug, my blub won’t beat me!

No carbs for dinner, it’s past 6 pm!
Keep this lot up and I’ll soon be size 10.
But why does the bread bin still call out my name?
1 slice, 2 slices?  OH GOD THE SHAME!

Bedtime arrives and not a moment too late,
if I can’t keep this up then I won’t lose this weight!
But midnight arrives and my belly is talking,
brain disengages to the fridge I am walking…….

There’s always tomorrow! I’ll just start again;
I’ve still got time to be a size 10.
This time I mean it, I’ll stick, I won’t cheat.
Hey wait…………………….. I must be allergic to wheat!

Jill x

• Don’t go on a diet!

This is fat loss disaster. If you want to count calories forever, never eat bread again or exist on shakes and bars then start one tomorrow (there is always tomorrow right?)  More than 90% of diets fail becuase they don’t address the real reason why the individual is overweight in the first place.  Everyone is different and therefore different approaches are necessary.  It’s a billion dollar industry yet the obesity crisis is worse than ever.  Diets ARE making us fatter!

• Learn to recognise the difference between emotional and physical hunger.

Physical hunger comes on gradually and can wait but goes away after eating.  Emotional hunger is sudden and persists despite eating.  Keep a food journal and learn your emotional food triggers.  Find others ways to deal with them or get some professional guidance.  Some people find it helpful to use NLP, hypnotherapy or CBT.

• Never Skip meals, especially breakfast.

You will never outwit your body’s powerful evolutionary ability to keep body fat using just willpower alone!  You will end up hungry, overeat and you’ll pile the weight back on faster than it takes to fry a mars bar.  Your body does NOT know the difference between dieting and starvation.  It detects a calorie defecit and immediately goes into self-preservation mode – it will do all it knows to keep body fat despite your best efforts!

• Plan and prepare all you own food most of the time.

If you don’t take responsibility for what goes in your mouth then it’s likely you will never be in control of your weight.  Simple cooking skills will serve you for a lifetime of health and vitality.  Ready meals will not.  If you can’t be bothered to prepare and cook fresh food for yourself then be prepared for illness and disease!

• Don’t eat too quickly.

Always sit down and eat.  Take time between mouthfuls and savour the food.  You are more likely to be full by time you’re finished and so satisfied that you won’t crave for something else.  Your mouth has teeth your stomach does not!  If you leave the table slightly hungry you will lose weight.  Leave the table comfortable you will maintain weight.  Leave the table stuffed you will gain weight!

• Move your body as often as possible!

Your body is designed to move – that’s why we have joints and muscles!  Sit on your butt all day and you will not sustain your weight loss. Worse than that, you will slow your metabolism turning you into a fat storing machine!  Think about what things you can do in your day that can add to your physical activity.  Don’t think that becuase you have been to the gym for one hour that sitting at your desk for 7 hours won’t matter.  It is proven that people who fidget are slimmer! Cup of tea anyone?

• Drink plenty of water

Approx 65-70% of you is water.  Every chemical reaction in your body requires water. Dehydration can cause constipation, headaches, hunger,fatigue, loss on concentration to name just a few.  It’s easy to check, just have a look at the colour of your urine.  If it’s dark and it smells strong your dehydrated.  Aim for a light straw colour throughout your day.

The ‘toned’ bottom line?

Don’t try to lose weight to feel good.  Aim to get healthy and feel fantastic.  Move your body and eat a wide variety of fresh wholesome food.  Get this right and your weight will take care of itself.

Jill x