Summer of my Mediterranean Diet

  Day - Final Blog Post Good morning, my dear friends & family who actually read my blog.  I had every intention of continuing my blogging ritual and working on Phase II starting this morning.  As fate would have it, simultaneously, I am involved in an 8 week self-care challenge through an acquaintance who recently started an Ayurveda practice.  I don't really know what Ayurveda is right now, to be honest, but I am interested in learning. Today marked the start of the first week's challenge.  Among other things, we (the participants in the group) were to begin our day with a 5 minute meditation or breath awareness exercise and then drink a cup of hot (or room temperature) water.  There are supposed digestive benefits to this practice and since that is sometimes an issue for me, I was game to try.  I have a special tea pot that I never use, but always thought would be nice for a ceremony or spiritual practice.  I filled the pretty tea pot with hot water and sat on my

Day 40 (41 & 42) - Guess what?  The scale finally moved.  I knew it would, which is why I weighed myself again after only one day.  172 lbs.  It finally gave me the 2 ounces I complained about yesterday.  How I knew?  Because I went to bed starving and could feel my body "eating itself".  That is a joke, but I could feel something different (in addition to being hungry).  I have to say that the protein was my missing component. Yesterday was a very rough day in the midst of a very rough week.  In addition to my protein epiphany and subsequent resistance-attack, then the huge learning curve of trying to understand the correct way to go about this and the overwhelm with trying to track and monitor myself, I have also had a rough work week and difficulty finding balance in my personal life with all of this. When I woke this morning, I realized that if I don't want this blog to turn into "The Summer of My Public Mental Breakdown", I need a Time Out!  So, t

Day 39 1/2 -  This is the first time I've posted twice in one day, but I honestly don't think there is any way possible I could consume 150 grams of protein in one day!  For lunch I had a small salad with 1 tbsp dressing, a tuna packet, 1/4 cup of shredded cheese, tomatoes and cucumber and washed it down with a vegan protein powder and strawberry smooothie.  That was 411 calories and 41 grams of protein.  I thought I was going to hurl while I was eating/drinking my lunch. By the standards in my original post this morning, that means I still need to consume 92 grams of protein TODAY.  Simply not gonna happen. Surprisingly, many sites I've looked at appear to concur with those numbers.  And maybe it is because I am so far in the other direction?  Or because I have too much default information in my brain that wants to eat a mostly plant-based diet?  Whatever the reason, I just can't quite climb this mountain of information and follow it blindly. I came across ano

Day 39 - Oh the ironies in life!  I spent a couple hours working on my bedroom, both yesterday and the day before.  Cleaned it out, moved the bed, hung the curtains, hung the sheers underneath the curtains to help block even more light, ironed the bedskirt and put on the new sheets and blanket that I bought over a month ago.  For good measure, when I was all done, I smudged my bedroom with sage.  When I got in bed last night, I covered the light emanating from the cable box to create total darkness and I put my noise machine on ocean sounds to block the distant highway hum.  Then, I couldn't sleep!  Go figure! I tossed and turned all night and woke completely exhausted, fatigued and quite a bit fragile.  I called "time out" and reached for my robe instead of my workout clothes this morning.  There is a part of me that thinks it was "Resistant Rita" who kept me up all night, throwing an absolute tantrum in my subconscious mind.  She is quite the Queen-Bee and

  Day 38 -  I started this blog as an experiment to follow a Mediterranean diet to lose weight over the summer.  It is not going well.  My scale is stuck at 172.2.  It couldn't even give me 2 ounces of progress over the past few days.  I gave up the Mediterranean diet portion of my experiment.  I have been counting calories.  I have been eating super healthy.  Truly.  No (added) sugar.  Whole wheat and grains, not refined white products.  Talk about "feeling pressure".  I sure hope I turn into a diamond like the quote above instead of simply imploding when all is said and done. So now, I must tweak again.  I do not enjoy this part of the process.  Stubborn Suzy and Deprived Debbie are just waiting to pounce on me as I make my newest declarations.  (Please refer to Days 23 & 24 if you are new to my blog) .  However, if something(s) is not working and we continue to do the same thing, we are now part of our own problem.  I so sincerely want to be part of my solution

Day 37 - Tuesday.  There was a full moon last Friday, so the waning moon is still quite large and bright in the sky.  It is beautiful.... except when it is shining into my bedroom so brightly that it disrupts my sleep.  We recently took down our bedroom curtains to paint and the rods never made it back up yet.  Today it is at the top of my priority list when my husband gets home from work. I am an introvert.  I don't concentrate well when there is too much chaos or people in and out of my work space.  Right now my living room is full of teenage boy/man energy, as my son's friend spent the night and they sacked out on the couches.  I am wearing my headphones as I write, so I can listen to the sound of soothing water bubbling instead of hearing them and all of their sleep breathing. Yesterday everything took its toll on me and I climbed into my bed and put my eye mask and ear phones on, before pulling a pillow over my head and calling a time out.  I stayed there, falling in

Day 36 - Monday morning.  Sometimes I feel like the little engine that could, sometimes I question my sanity.  I am never quite sure of which end I will land, on any particular day, but I always know it will eventually seesaw to the other side, so it doesn't really matter. I am tired and sore from my extremely active weekend and I have a 10:30am appointment today, so I skipped my morning workout.  I did weigh myself though and was absolutely beside myself that the scale hasn't moved from 172.2.  I haven't eaten more than 1700 calories in a day since I began counting calories.  I hiked, I kayaked, I swam and I rode my freaking bike.  It is so hard not to feel defeated by how slo....w.....ly this weight is coming off.  Deep breath. As I was getting dressed, I pulled on a pair of capris that I haven't worn in a couple weeks and could see and feel how noticeably smaller I am in them.  This encouraged me to take my waist measurement.  I am down another half inch in my

Day 35:  Sunday.  Today, I am writing from underneath the shade of a big maple tree, on a bench seat someone was nice enough to place here at the trail head (along the Montour trail) .  Sweat is trickling down my back and I am wondering why exactly I thought this would be a good idea.  I decided to tag along with my husband for his long bike ride, to go at my own pace and just wait for him once I was done.  I brought my journal and a few books in my backpack to keep me company. I rode what felt like 50 miles, but in reality was probably not even 4.  He just texted me he was 10 miles out and would be back in 40 minutes.  I do feel good that I pushed myself as far as I did, especially riding with my backpack strapped on but, it is Hot!  I hate to ever complain about warm weather, but.. wait - maybe I will take this moment to turn it around - I am thankful for the shade of this tree and for some time to be alone and just "be" for a little while. Yesterday, on my big "

Day 34 - Saturday.  I woke with a deep restlessness this morning.  My husband had to work overtime, so my Saturday morning companion won't be home until after 11am.  I began to reach for my workout clothes and consider my morning workout, but instead chose to eat breakfast in my pjs and savor a cup of hot tea.  I don't just want to do a morning workout today.  I want to go into the woods and hike or kayak at the lake.  I need to be "not here" today, but "there" - somewhere out in nature, being active and completely in my body and not in my head. Counting calories has been good for me, in my weight loss efforts.  I can feel it.  Knowing I can eat a quarter cup of whole, raw almonds for 170 calories makes me happy.  Not reaching for more almonds (or pistachios or walnuts or cashews) for the rest of the day wasn't too hard of an adjustment.  I did add in some popcorn to mix things up, turns out I just really enjoy crunchy food.  It is on my mental to-d

Day 33 - Room with a view.  There is nothing more soothing to my soul than trees bursting with rich green leaves.  The picture doesn't do justice to how the greenery inside and out somehow merge together.  This is my big living room window, with a smaller window on either side (not shown) .  It is also the view from "my office", the corner of my living room that I claimed for that purpose. I am moving slowly this morning.  I crashed last night not long after 7:30pm, after a bike ride in the park.  I didn't work out yesterday morning because I had a very busy work day and I knew I was going to ride my bike after dinner.  I noticed that because I wasn't active in the morning and sat all day, it was 10x harder to ride my bike, like I was wearing cement boots.  I hypothesize that it is important (at least for me) to get some movement in early in the day, regardless of what the rest of my day may hold. I am still deciding this morning's workout.  Sometimes I

Day 32 - In her phenomenally successful book, Simple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort and Joy (released in 1995), Sarah Ban Breathnach takes her readers on a journey of self-discovery from Jan 1st through Dec 31st .  She describes six guiding principles for cultivating our "authentic self" and creating a life that will bring us contentment and joy.  She begins with gratitude and writes an essay each day to expand upon her insights and understanding, woven with a delightful narrative of interesting tidbits and thought-provoking ideas.  Gratitude gives way to Simplicity, then Order, Harmony, Beauty and Joy. I have read this book several times over the years and recently, pulled it from my book shelf with tender affection to read a few pages.  I am never disappointed.  There is so much information packed inside its lovely pages.  I highly recommend it. The other day, I took pause when I read her May 4th essay on "The Personality of Your Home".  She quotes Jill R

Day 31 - I am so out of sync today.  I woke up a bit later than normal.  Yesterday's workout really lingered in my muscles, in addition to the hectic day I had after that.  It is almost lunch time and I've barely accomplished anything and my mind is scattered.  Breakfast, hot epsom salt bath, quick chat with my boss while he dropped some papers off for me, dropped my daughter at a friend's house for the day (which was a 40 minute round trip) , helped my son print out new insurance cards for his parking permit at school (which took way longer than it should have) and I am finally sitting at my desk to start my "work day". I feel a bit like that little bird perched in the tree in the picture above .  I took that picture a couple weeks ago, while walking with my husband, but it could have been taken today because the gloom-factor is similar.  57 degrees in early June, even in Pennsylvania, is a stretch.  That bird caught my eye as we walked that day, because it

Day 30 - Today has been a rough day and I am exhausted!  I did a long cardio and strength training workout this morning with yet another of my Leslie Sansone Walk-Away-The-Pounds videos.  (Can't recommend her videos enough)!  I feel it in my thighs every time I sit or stand and my arms are pretty sore, too.  However, it was my hectic day that really drained me. I don't know what I was thinking with my big fantasy of the kids being home for the summer.  I don't know if I was imagining I was going to magically be a kid too?  Long, lazy days swimming and relaxing?  I forgot all the chauffeuring I would be doing, the constant disruptions, the endless dishes and the difficulty completing tasks with so many distractions. Today, I had to take my daughter to volleyball practice, then pick her up two hours later, grocery shop and spend several hours on the phone with different work issues (most of that time I was on hold).  Luckily I was able to multitask and get some computer

Day 29 - Monday morning.  Yesterday, I finally got my ever-elusive period.  Please know I only share this because it is relevant to my experiment (and the entire female population), not because I am "period-centric".  Our periods affect our weight.  Our hormones affect our periods and our weight.  It is all connected.  I haven't had a period since April 15th, but rather been stuck in a weird limbo with my cycle.  Normal cycles are 28 days, give or take, so essentially I have been late and stuck in premenstrual syndrome for 24 days.  Yes, I did say a quick hallelujah! As predicted, when I got on the scale this morning, my weight had gone up to 174 lbs.  However, I don't care one bit about that because I know my entire system is going to be more balanced and healthy in few short days and hopefully then my weight loss efforts will be more productive. Yesterday, I mentioned considering doing Weight Watchers and my reluctance to make that commitment to all of that co

Day 28 - Sunday.  One full month of following this/"my" plan and not making much progress on the scale - how's that for brutal honesty?  If at first you don't succeed, try and try again!  Those positive little sayings, although usually truly helpful, can sometimes sound like stupid little bothersome assholes mocking me. I mentioned Geneen Roth the other day.  Her website describes her as "one of the first to link compulsive eating and perpetual dieting with deeply personal and spiritual issues that go far beyond food, weight and body image".  During her interview with Oprah she was confiding that she and her husband lost everything they had invested with Bernie Madoff. She was recalling that a friend (who she was sobbing to during that time, as it was unfolding) told her "that nothing of real value has been lost", (or something similar to that) .  And her response?  "This is not the time to be spiritual"!  While she was sharing th

Day 27 - Saturday.  This morning, after taking my daughter to get her sports physical for school, I took her bathing suit shopping.  She is 12.  That is stressful enough for a mom, but I decided maybe I should try a few two piece suits on myself, while we were there.  We left with a very cute bathing suit, age appropriate, bikini-style for my smiling daughter and a pack of gum to soothe myself from all of the trauma that occurred in my dressing room.  My husband later asked me about it and I said, "of this we shall not speak". So recently, I honestly can't remember if I saw this on facebook, read it somewhere or watched a video - I have the feeling someone was talking to me about it, but for some reason it is wiped clean from my memory.  So, if anyone knows who to give proper credit to for this idea, please post a comment and I will certainly do so! The directions for this watermelon icy are so easy and uses only one ingredient - watermelon.  It said to cut th

Day 26:  Friday.  Back to basics after my emotional meanderings.  Yesterday was an emotional day.  I spoke with several women (who I don't normally talk to) who were in some way struggling.  I wondered if it wasn't because I put a kindness beacon out into the Universe.  If it was, then I am ok with that.  Connecting with people in a REAL way on a very AUTHENTIC level, that is a worthy endeavor any day of the week. I finally worked up the courage to get on the scale this morning, after having skipped my Week 3 Weigh In. To recap: Starting:  178 Week 1:  173.2 Week 2:  174.8 Week 3:  couldn't weigh myself Week 3.4:  173.2 I would be lying if I said I was happy about this.  But I won't get anywhere crying about it.  Now, it's time to accept it and make peace with the reality of it and ask myself some tough questions. What am I doing right?  What am I doing wrong?  What can I do better?  What are my greatest challenges?  Do I still believe this is possib