What's so fascinating and
frustrating and great about life is that you're constantly starting over, all
the time, and I love that.
Billy Crystal
I have to admit that I have been slow in writing here. I
confess, I thought that you all might be tired of hearing that we are starting over
again. We have not been doing that well.
I think that we join most Americans in falling off their eating
plan and having to start again.
It is discouraging. We have learned a lot in the past
(gasp!) two years. We are at least not starting from scratch but it is hard to
get back up on the horse time and time again. There is a fair amount of “What
is wrong with me” that accompanies having to start again.
As you may have noticed, I have been doing a little research
on the concepts of the glycemic index and the glycemic load. The glycemic load
diet really stresses the ill effects of breads, rice, and potatoes. I don’t know if you have tried, but it is
hard to give those things up. Add in cookies, cakes, and brownies and life
looks a bit bleak.
We started last week. I have had to, once again, give up my
friend Coke. It is certainly my downfall. I have now made it 8 days without a
Coke. A friend suggested a product
called Zevia, which is a diet soft drink that is made with stevia rather than aspartame.
(I can’t use products with aspartame. Aspartame seems to be a trigger for my
migraines.) I tried it on Sunday. It really has that diet drink taste. I tried
to add some lime to see if it would help but I added too much. I might work on getting used to the taste but
I think I will just use it occasionally. I have been back to decaf green tea
and water. They are fine but sometimes you just want something more.
The only cereal that is allowed is All Bran. In truth, I wasn't
eating cereal before but I find that I want something that has some crunch to
it at breakfast. I have been adding it to my cup of yogurt.The yogurt should be plain
no sugar added and instead I have Greek yogurt with fruit. I have found that
the combination works well. I am still modifying my choices. I am working
toward it. Really, giving up the coke first thing in the morning is hard enough
right now. I have also cut back considerably on the bread, potatoes, and rice.
One of the things that is (AMAZINGLY) allowed on the diet is
a handful of candy. It seems (although I would agree that it doesn't sound
right) that peanut M&Ms have a very low glycemic load. So, in the afternoon
after lunch, I will treasure my handful. You can get that feeling like you are
cheating but you aren't!
The other important part of the program is to exercise using
your slow twitch muscles. The exercise talked about the most is walking. The
recommendation is for 40 minutes of exercise 4 times a week. And it does not
call for huffing and puffing exercise. It is much more just get out and move
for 40 minutes. Somehow, I had kept up
the exercising and then last week when it mattered, I had a hard time getting
to the gym. Well a new week has started and I will begin again.
I hope you are doing well. I will let you know how this
goes.
Thanks for reading!