Need a 5 month miracle! Advice-givers invited!

www.bodybuilding.com - they have awesome 12 week plans -- i would suggest you check them out - I am on week 11 of one of them and I have had great results...

I can speak highly of strength training - I've been doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women program and seeing some great results (not on the scale, but with the tape measure). I have a friend who uses an insulin pump and she has been finding that working out hard in the evening has led to some pretty stable blood sugar levels through the overnight. It was unexpected, but she's been thrilled.


Personally I would avoid the "Body by Vi" challenge, just because so many of the people pushing it are pushing it just for the sake of getting their own products for free. It doesn't convince me that people really believe in the product, vs just trying to sign people up to get free product so they can try it themselves. That, and shakes are not FOOD.

Thank you for your advice. I have heard so many people talking about that Lifting for Women thing; I'm going to research it more. Do you have any links you can post that you've found helpful with that program?

There is a group here called NROLFW, and there is a website as well - www.thenewrulesoflifting.com - where you can get a lot of questions answered.

My friend who has Type 1 Diabetes and an implanted pump suggests seeing an endocrinologist on a regular basis along with/in addition to your nutritionist. He/she will design a detox program based your individual specific needs and probably offer something right in his/her office. After she starting visiting her endocrinologist for regular detox, she was able to maintain her bloodsugar levels better and get in better physical shape, because she had more energy and even swore she had clearer thinking after a session.

The same friend also got in terrific shape using one of those little trampolines (36" wide?) that burnes more calories than many types of exercise, but be sure you get the one that can tilt (see included instructions) - you can find them used on craigslist all the time with all the DVDs/instructions included for $20 - $65. If you have small children, I recommend the kind that folds in half that you can store in the hall closet. It's such a fun way to exercise on a rainy day! And if you put it in the living room, you can hop on for 10 mintues while you watch TV, take a break from reading, catch up with neighbors when they stop by unexpectedly, blast your favorite CD while no one is there, brush your hair before bed. I saw her do all these things on her mini-trampoline. However, she does not recommend hopping on while you brush your teeth, clip your nails, or read a book. She's crazy enough she may be speaking from experience. I'm never quite sure with her. : )

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH "EAT LEAN, CLEAN AND GREEN!" I am over 40 and have rheumatoid arthritis. I've never felt better both physically and mentally than I have after adding these basic things to my lifestyle:
1) only consuming things with total sugars of 9g or under (not total carbs - that's different, but you probably already know that) 2) cutting out all artificial sweeteners (there are so many reasons why, not the least of which is fluid retention)
3) stop drinking sodas
4) stop consuming caffeine (1 8 oz beverage reduces your ability to absorb vit B by 30%)
5) eat organic as much as possible, most especially dairy products (the non-organic ones tend to be loaded with hormones, antibiotics, etc.) and meats
6) stop eating prepacked foods from the grocery store or fast food altogether
7) before consuming anything, ask yourself these questions (steps to eating "greener" make you tremendously healthier):
a) Did it grow in the earth or exist in nature the way it is now, or has it been cooked/alterned in some way (other than those things that were alive and are now dead)? Was it bleached or enriched? If so, why?
b) Does it have more than five ingredients? If it does, there's probably a better choice I could make.
c) How far did it travel to get on my plate? The longer it takes to get on your plate, the less nutritional benefits it provides.
d) Is there a local farmer, rancher, grower, or organic farm I could have obtained this from instead of the way I did?
f) Was this seafood caught wild and come from the nearest ocean? This industry is hurting badly. Read the labels on your frozen fish. If it comes from a country other than ours, I suggest not eating it. The reasons are many and the internet is loaded with educational information about why. I'll let you check that out.

It's a good idea to join a local food co-op. Try to find one that is connected to an organic farm or farm co-op. You can search the internet to find a local farm near you that participates in a program that drops the vegies (and sometimes meats) right off to you or can be picked up locally. There is usually a co-op you can join. As a member you may go pick your own vegies or receive a box/bag once a week/biweekl/month for you and your family. In the box, there will be vegies, grains (sometimes breads baked by others in the coop), and maybe even meats depending on the coop you join along with recipes of the things you can make with the items included. So even if you don't know what to do with star fruit, spaghetti squash, and pickling cucumbers, you won't be working without some guidance and ideas loved by those who grew the food. You might even get to know some new "neighbors" in your community you didn't know before. You might even learn to grow a few things and want to have a "share" in growing a small portion of the food for the co-op in the community garden. It's a great way to teach children how to appreciate the earth and what farmers do for us. Here are some websites to help guide you in your search:
- www.localharvest.org/organic-farms
- www.pickyourown.org
- www.eatwild.org
- www.localorganic.net.

If you can't locate a farm within a reasonable distance, then try to find a local organic grocer, egg grower, or pasturizer. Here are some websites to help with that:
- www.organicstorelocator.com
- www.thegoodhuman.com

If you must dine out, which is essential to most of our modern lifestyles, search the internet to see if there are restaurants that buy local, buy organic, and buy wildcaught fish/seafood (that is also local if you are near a local source), and make things from scratch. Don't be afraid to ask for things without sauces/gravies/fried items when going to these places. We experience that the love us locals (especially those they know support the local farmers/ranchers the same way they do) and will bend over backwards to accomodate our nutritional needs at all our local favorites. The website will be called something like: Local First, Go Local, Be a Local/Buy Local, Locals Supporting Locals, Locally You, Local, etc. If nothing else, visit your chamber of commerce for a list of businesses that grow foods/meats/seafood or prepare them to sell.

Beware of things labeled "diet, low calorie, low fat, heart healthy, light, and no sugar added." The food marketing industry is cashing in on our unfortunate obesity problem as a way to make money. They've been doing it for so many years. The majority of those items contain other forms of sugar. For instance, one top-selling "light" yogurt maker (I will not say the name) loads it's prodcut with high fructose corn syrup. I don't consider that "light." Another famous "baker" loads it's "light" breads with high fructose corn syrup (her bread did taste good, though). Most of the products out there with llabels touting that there is "no sugar added" either have high fructose corn syrup or other things that cause blood sugar changes (even sucralose causes this with some people). Any food with any form of sugar or any form of sweetener can make you retain fluid and halt weight loss faster than just about anything you could do. AND I don't have to explain that it can cause insomnia just like a big cup of coffee can if consumed late in the day.

Some specific food suggestions:
- substitue sweet potatoes or blue potatoes (they have fewer carbs and more nutritional benefits) for white potatoes
- substitute brown rice for white rice (there are even quick cooking kinds and steam in the bag kinds without bad stuff in them)
- substitute cereals high in fiber AND without corn syrups
- substitute any corn product with a brown/whole grain rice or pasta product (stay away from corn tortillas & corn bread)
- substitute whole grain or multigrain pasta for white pasta (our favorite is Barilla Plus, because it's high in protein and made mostly from bean/legume flour - it helps maintain glycemic balances)
- make sure every bread, pasta, tortilla, flat bread, hamburger bun, cereal, etc. (or any other grain-based food item that doesn't come to mind just now) has less than 10g sugars and more than 4 grams fiber

Your husband sounds like a really great guy. He will be so happy you have made lifestyle changes that make you healthier and be in his life and grow old along side him. Try not to get caught up in hype of the numbers and unreasonable goals that can make you sick in addition to being overweight, especially with Type 1 Diabetes. It's not worth the risk...especially to the man you are trying to impress. Concentrate on getting strong, getting healthy inside your body AND mind. Gaining weight (150 lbs extra) was the worst pyschological damage I ever did to myself. Losing it in an unhealthy way would only be punishing my body twice as much and my mind ten-fold. Technicially, both are forms/kinds/levels of self-mutulation. If you already did one of them to yourself, please don't do the other. Besides, if you set unreasonable goals, you'll be disappointed, feel guilty, and punish yourself by either eating something that makes you gain more weight or foregoing calories you need to function and heal the damage the extra weight has done as you shed pounds. There's no reason to punish yourself or treat yourself badly just because you already did it to gain the weight. Forgive yourself for gaining the weight you did, forgive yourself for disfiguring your body the way you have, forgive your self for the stinkin thinkin that got you to an unhealthy weight. Live with the body you have. Accept for what it now is: a temporary house for your innards while you are building the beautiful temple where they will eventually reside for the rest of your life. Be grateful you have it just the way it is, because it gets you from point A to point B every day, doesn't it? Look in the mirror every night before bed and every morning when you wake up and thank the girl who stands there staring back at you for loving you enough to do something healthy about your situation. The one in the mirror loves you for what you are doing. Let the one staring in the mirror love her back for waking up before it was too late to fix it.

Lose the weight by healthy means no matter how long it takes and never go back to the lifestyle that allowed you to gain it (even if you and husband plan future pregnancies - never lean on that for an excuse since you know you have issues with gaining weight), and you'll never have to do this EVER again. I know this is the last time I ever will no matter if it takes me the rest of my life to undo what I have done. I will find a way that makes me the healthiest and fitest I can be. In the end, that's the goal that's going to count way more than what size dresses we wear or what or measurements are or how much we weight. Let's find it together for ourselves and those we love who want to have us in their lives for as long as they can! I buried 3 friends/family members in the last 4 months who were all obese and were at risk for the diseases that killed them because of it (breast cancer, lung disease, colon cancer, stomach cancer, and heart disease). Last year, I had to be beside dying or ailing friends younger than 35 who probably wouldn't have been where they were if they were not obese. I don't want to see anymore beautiful, young women (yes, I mean you) have their lives cut short because of obesity or dieting.