I think this was the shortest and coolest summer in Chicago that I can recall. But we certainly made the most of it and enjoyed spending time with family, friends and traveling. Because our social calendar was so busy, I decided to “ease up a bit” on strictly following Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live plan until Fall started.
I can hear some of you asking, “So how’d that work out for you?”
Answer: Not so good.
For the first time since my teens, I decided to not step on a scale for the entire month. As I reported in the July Eat To Live report, I was able to eat pretty much what I wanted on the weekends and then spend the following week eating “clean” to erase any damage. The result was that I didn’t gain or lose any weight that month, which was my goal. So I thought I had a good grip on how to maintain my weight without compromising my social schedule.
August Gone Wild
I really thought during August that I successfully navigated the waters between eating well and letting loose when the opportunity presented itself. It wasn’t until I stepped on the scale at the end of the month and found I gained back 3 pounds (ARRGH!) that I realized I simply ignored the signals my body threw out indicating I was getting too far out of balance again.
The most obvious and immediate clues were that my asthma symptoms steadily increased, I started getting congested and coughed a lot, my eyes and nose were constantly running, those tiny bumps on the back my upper arms reappeared (what are those anyway??), and – surprise, surprise – my clothes and rings started feeling a bit tight. I convinced myself I could blame that last part on the excessive humidity we had all month. D.E.N.I.A.L.
Foods that Messed Me Up
Looking back at the month, I have to admit that I over-consumed foods I know are my nemesis, like cheese, eggs, bread, yogurt, and pasta. I have experimented for many years to see how my body reacts to various foods, and I know these in particular mess me up every time. Even in small quantities. But I can’t claim that my consumption of these foods as “small” after adding up my total intake of these foods over the entire month. I know most people consider those foods to be healthy, but they wreak havoc on my body. Cutting them out of my diet is actually what caused me to start the process of reversing my asthma years ago (see this post and that one).
So why am I drawn to these foods even when I know they are bad for me? Why do they hold such sway over me? Why are they the first things I want to go back and eat right after I just lost weight? For me, the answer is lifelong habit – read food addiction. Dr. Fuhrman actually gives a good explanation about this in his book, and if you fall into the same patterns that I do, you might want to check it out.
Back on Dr. Fuhrman’s 6-Week Weight Loss Plan
As I mentioned in this post, after 4 weeks on Dr. Fuhrman’s weight loss plan, I lost 14.5 pounds. The only reason I didn’t do the full 6-week program in the first place is because I went on vacation. But as a result of/after vacation, I put 6 of those pounds back on. And now I gained back 3 more, so in reality, I only lost 5.5 pounds.
I don’t blame the diet at all. In fact, I found losing 14.5 pounds in 1 month to be fairly easy (see this post). Had I stuck to Dr. Fuhrman’s life plan as discussed in his book, I’m sure I would have maintained the loss and, who knows, maybe even taken off a few more.
So I’m back on the wagon to complete the whole program. I will have to jump a couple of hurdles during that time as we have house guests for 2 of those 6 weeks. However, if I wait for a slot in my schedule when I have absolutely nothing going on for 6 weeks, I’ll never get this done. So I’m just going to put my nose to the grindstone and do the best I can.
Why Bother?
My friends ask why I’m doing this – why don’t I just stop watching everything I eat, throw caution to the wind and let the chips fall where they may? There are 3 very good reasons: 1) eating well keeps my asthma and allergies well controlled so I don’t have to take a boat load of pharmaceuticals and injections; 2) it puts me in a great mood, I feel great and have tons of energy; and 3) I want to enjoy life free from aches and pains, and try to age as well as possible. I think I’ve tried just about everything and I believe this is the best way to accomplish that.
So I’m going on Dr. Fuhrman’s plan this month and into next month. My initial goal back in January was to lose 20 pounds, but since I cut the program short by two weeks, I didn’t quite get there. Now I’ll try to go the whole nine yards.
Check back next month to see what happens!
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