Healthy Living Blog

I've never been good at the Rubix Cube as hard as I try to master it. The same goes for my diet and exercise. Obviously, if you know me, you'll recognize that I've struggled with this mind-teaser of a problem for many years. Yet I still can't figure it out - even with professional help!! (and I can say that because I don't think Chad reads my blogs any longer!! lol)

I'm definitely in better shape. My endurance, strength and physique have all changed for the better. I'm more confident both inside the gym and outside in the real world.

I'm definitely not losing any weight. I've been stuck at this 30 pound weight loss for roughly 6 weeks now. How frustrating is that when I lost most of my weight in the first 6 weeks of exercising and eating healthy.

Something has to change. I'm working even harder in the gym, extended my training sessions with Chad and that's not making a difference - at least not yet. My diet is pretty good! I'm not perfect by any means and I'll never eat the perfect diet 365 days a year. But I'd have to say that 90% of the time I eat a healthy diet and the other 10% is not as healthy but emotionally pleasing! :)

I've been up since 3:30am trying to figure out this problem. I've decided that I need to change the type of carbohydrates I'm eating in my diet. Remember, I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) which is complicated and I don't process glucose well. Therefore, I think I'm going to have to change my diet from "healthy" to "diabetic healthy". I need carbs. We all do! But I need to alter my carbs into other sources besides whole grain, high fiber breads. There are low-glycemic, complex carbs I can eat other than whole grain breads, pastas and cereals so I think I need to focus on those sources of complex carbs and try my best to leave out the breads from my diet.

Here is a list of low-glycemic, complex carb foods:

apples, cabbage, celery, cherries, cucumber, lettuce, parsley, peaches, pears, plums, radishes, spinach, turnips, watercress, bran cereal, corn bread, oatmeal, wholemeal pasta, beans, lentils, peas, milk, nuts.

Now, I'm told, that this list of foods is great but the first steps are as follows:

1. Identify whether something is healthy or not (low in trans and saturated fats, low sugar, high protein, high fiber, whole grains, etc.)
2. Then use the GI index principle to choose the BEST carb out of the choices for your meals.

For example: I'm hungry for a piece of fruit. I have a choice between a banana and an apple. Both foods are considered "healthy". But when you look at the glycemic index of both foods, you can make a more informed choice. Apples have a glycemic index of 39. Bananas have a glycemic index of 62! I would choose the apple over the banana if I'm trying to keep my insulin levels as stable as possible through the day and avoid the spikes that are keeping my body in flux during the course of a day.

Something has to change because it's not working for me right now. I literally need to forget about the scale altogether (not just throw out my scale like a previous post) and learn to live with the fact that I may never be "skinny" or else I'll frustrate myself out of my exercise program and give up. I need to feel comfortable with who I am....skinny or not. Hopefully then the weight loss will occur.

If you have any additional ideas, please comment and let me know! I'm feeling like I'm on my own now to figure all of this out once again. So your feedback would be very helpful to me!!!