Diet Progress and Country Cottage (WIP)
WIP=Work In Progress
Warning
Every Person Is Different. This Is My Personal Journey
The month of June has been a busy time with family. Everyone was sick except me, so I did most of the cleaning and cooking. I had very little time to work on my painting and research (read books) for my Buddhist articles. After everyone started healing up from the flu, I came down with the blasted virus! However, I was only sick for 48 hours. I guess a restrictive diet and intermittent fasting does improve one's immune system!
I am working on the fence and my cat Cleo today. Everyone is gone doing something and I am left alone in blessed silence. I feel great, I think catching the cold or flu forces the body into a cleaning and healing mode. I always feel so much extra energy after I get sick. Like my house is clean and I can move around without bumping into anything.
I am 58 years old, 5'7 inches tall, I weighed 167lbs, two months ago, from May to June I lost 10lbs
I weigh around 150lbs, my doctor's scales don't lie, he asked if I wanted to lose any more weight. I think 10lbs would make my feet and joints happy! I've gotten the green light to start lifting weights. I have a ruptured L5 (lower back) that has healed, but I can still experience sciatica symptoms if I don't keep my core muscles strong. My weight lifting routine will be focused on strengthing my back, stomach and hip muscles.
I was 5lbs heavier in this picture, but I have also gained some muscle mass from walking 4 miles a day. The weight loss has slowed down. If you want to know about my diet, I included links to my first post, which go into calories and intermittent fasting. I am on a strict restricted diet of 800 calories a day, and I eat 2 meals a day between 10AM and 4PM. When I start weightlifting, I will add another meal and up my calorie intake to 1200 calories.
I don't like counting calories or weighing myself, so I figured out my portion size and only eat whole foods, veggies, fruit, and meat. I love sweet potatoes and have avoided eating plants from the nightshade family because I have an autoimmune disease called fibromyalgia. The condition is an inflammatory problem and foods that cause inflammation for me are grains, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.
I have experienced some hunger pains, but after a month on this diet, my body has adjusted, and I don't feel hungry all the time. I still want to eat a snack in the evening. Mostly out of habit, instead, I juice a lemon and add it to water. I drink around 3 quarts of water a day with a little lemon juice, and I add aloe juice, which cleanses and soothes my digestive system.
- Art And Writing Projects For June 2018.
- 1. Cottage And Butterfly (WIP)
- 2. Cottage And Butterfly (WIP)
- 3. Cottage And Butterfly (WIP)
- 4. Cottage And Butterfly (WIP)
- 5. Cottage And Butterfly (WIP)
A link to My Blog
Is the painting is complete? It's beautiful! Seeing it after two weeks and looks completely different from the last post around two weeks ago.
Coming back to the main topic of the post. You really have a lot of strength @reddust. You've stuck to the regimen of a strict diet and walking all on your own for all these months - I doubt that I'll be able to do that.
You also mention that everybody caught a bug in June and you had to manage and help everybody through it. Although I am in Europe at the moment but I and my roomie too have caught a bad case of infection in our throats. We both are running a fever and croaking like frogs. I wonder if it is like a global thing - everybody getting sick in June.
Apart from this I never knew that your sciatica symptoms might have been related to an L5 injury and I am really sorry to hear that. Glad that it healed up nicely. Although you still experience sciatica symptoms - back injuries have this weird way of staying with you........
PS: As usual you look great in the photo :-)
No @hascash the painting isn't finished. The picture in my head does not go with the painting, I need more details...hahaha.
If you want to stay healthy as you age you will need discipline and the ability to change habits. What works for you when you are younger may not work for you as you age unless you can modify and adapt to your aging body. My age group is dying before they are in their 60s from all sorts of sedentary disease they could have avoided spending fortunes and avoid needless suffering from a little research and staying active. My strength and energy have diminished, but I move and workout no matter how I feel. I don't wait until I feel like working out, I have a routine I stick too no matter what. It works for me!
The L5 put enough pressure on the nerves that control the reflex in my lower colon, and I couldn't poop, I could have died! Plus all the reflexes left my right leg, and I had to drag it along, lifting the leg with my hip muscles. I was very poor at the time and couldn't afford to go to a doctor for rehab, they wanted to operate on me. I did some research and found out operations on our backs disks have poor outcomes. This was back in 2003, and I could get online and do some in-depth analysis, I found walking meditation and yoga helped me rehab my back and also bring back my reflexes in my gut and leg! I am almost 100% healed, but it took ten years to become pain-free. I can use pain as a meditation object without breaking out now. Life is mostly painful from my experience, and I don't want to react to it negatively anymore. That's where meditation has come in handy.
I look great? hahaha, thank you I am feeling great too. <3
Holy shit! That is too much pain for me to understand. I can only try to guess............
I understand that graveness of your injuries and illness will obviously force you to be more serious about your health but in the end it would take more resolve than most can muster.............. RESPECT!
The only thing worse than this kind of back pain is having a kid (18 years of suffering) I had 3 plus a bonus kid I didn't have to push out into this world (stepdaughter) hahaha
Pancrase and gallbladder attack are the worst, way worse than a migraine, which is part of the attacks (I drank too much homemade wine). I made my own wine back in 2013, like 12 gallons and became a functional drunk for one year! I also gained a lot of weight. That's when I figured out alcohol and sugar are not my friends. We had a bunch of blackberries and grapes on our little hobby farm, and I became an expert at making wine and gardening while drunk. I had 1/2 acre garden and sold about 100 pullets a year from incubator to a young hen. My chickens paid for themselves, and we had at least 70 roos we butchered and canned for the winter.
I am an expert on how to deal with pain and not go crazy.
Live and learn that's all we can do here on this freaky planet and life is very painful so learn how to deal with it correctly! Don't do drugs <3
June month probably the most effected month for disease to attack human. Here is also people get sick due to heavy moist and humility with rise temperature. When you starting a diet plan, you will feel more hungry and continuing to strict on your plan help to adjust your body needs.
June here in Oklahoma usually is dry and hot, temperatures are around 90 degrees night and day. This year it has been hot and wet. I am from colder climates, and the heat sucks out all my energy so I can understand why you all get sick from the heat. Thank you @sheikh27
Counting calories don’t work very wel for me either. When you focus on the food too much, counting, timing etc it becomes stressful. I think it’s better to eliminate certain things, and then eat as you feel of that which you can eat.
I tried the Keto diet for a while and it worked really wel because I can still eat as much as I want, just stay away from Carbs
I use the keto diet (Atkins) when weight lifting, I've done that before and got down to 12% body fat back in the 90s. However, today I am not 30 years old ...hehehe!
I like to keep things simple and break everything down into small steps. This stops my mind from going crazy because its habits aren't being fed. Habits need to eat too and changing my diet means I have to change my eating habits. I think habits are sneaky demon bastards!
I think habits are sneaky demon bastards! Agreed LoL
I'm starving them to death!
Well sometimes we feel immune only to fall sick when everyone was starting to recover, Im glad it didn't take more than 48 hours though, because I know you study a lot for you Buddhist articles and lessons however there are big difference in the images though, I think you've done well in the last three months of your exercises and diet as well, I only think it's a matter of time and you may not need to lose anymore weight
Well what do you still need to do to finish your art? It looks almost ready.
The painting will be finished by the end of the month. All I have to do is add shadow and detail to the foreground and middle ground, and I am finished @jasediccus. Thank you kindly for your support. I know getting sick is no fun, but it is odd that I feel like my body has been cleaned up after I get over the flu.
I'm very pleased to know about your happy life. I know life is difficult as we follow many rules like you. But we get pleasure when we get success. You are 58 years old but still fit as i say God gives you a better life. And i'm very happy that you spent your valuable times for Buddhist articles. Many many blessings for you. Have a nice day @reddust.
Most people would be bored silly with my life. But I find a simple, quiet life makes me happy, and I found a husband that feels the same way. My family is happy, and that makes me feel happy too. I plan to keep up my exercise and diet routine until I pass away from old age. Sometimes I forget and slip back into old habits though, and this is one of those times...lololol
I have to pay for eating too much = cause and effect =karma
It's good that you're already better in health. I congratulate you for your achievements with the diet and that you feel good about it. I hope to see soon the end of the watercolor, although I can already see that it is being great, with very good details. I really love to enjoy these works, especially this technique of painting. regards!
@sony-albornoz, I've been adjusting my body throughout my life. As I age from teenage years to adult, have children and age, I have had to change. Plus I suffer from an autoimmune disorder, I am sensitive to chemicals in our food and certain foods, along with hygiene and cleaning products. I keep my diet simple eating whole organic, and I only use natural hygiene and house cleaning products.
As soon as my energy levels start going down and I start getting sick more than once or twice a year I look at how my diet is going and altering up my exercise program. One thing I can count on in this world, it is always changing, and that includes me.
I don't know why I paint, it's not fun a lot of the time, it is something I have to do, and when I finish a painting like this one, I feel like I've finished a long distance run.
I have noticed that many people get sick so that they can take a break.
Its like the only excuse they will take to blow off all those important things they are supposed to be doing.
Since i haven't gotten sick in decades, i have sorta lost touch with the rest of humanity. However, i cannot force myself to do anything. It appears that i use most of my energy healing childhood trauma and dealing with the flows of emotions from the world. Which often leaves me wiped out without any real work to blame it on.
Having your muscles all toned really makes for a better feeling body.
Let us know if weight training in your arms helps in painting/steady hands.
This has happened to me all of my life as a mother. You may be right @builderofcastles. I figure this also may be why women are tough, we must take care of children no matter what happens to us because the man could be off hunting or working.
Building and maintaining muscle mass ups my energy burn and keeps my bones from becoming brittle. When women go into menopause, we stop making so much estrogen which helps our metabolism and the body function correctly.
This body is now operating on another system, and I've had to figure out how to feed and maintain the body system. I found walking also helps keep a healthy stable mental state. I've read the body produces all sorts of mood-elevating chemicals when we walk. Even the endocrine system gets a vigorous workout, the little glands that cover our muscles contract and expand with the muscles, sweeping up debris and cleaning out the body. A clean body offers no food for pathogens.
I will keep you all updated on how I am surviving old age...hahaha.
I am very happy to read this post, without a doubt you are a very creative person, I follow your work since I started working on the platform, I always cause pleasure to visit your blog, congratulations for all your achievements and continue your success !!! !
I remember you and I am greatful for your support @aflatunnisa. I will be on this plan for a couple years until my body changes again. Absolutely no fun...whaaahwhaaahwhaah lololol
To be honest I must say it is really hard to believe you are at that age.You sure are doing great by following the routine diet .
While sorry to hear about your family I hope they are all well now.While Good to hear about you by the way .Though it was a little time off .
The painting does looks really great as well.
Everyone is doing well and healthy @rehan12, thank you. One of the most significant ruts, well-worn paths, habits I've found I get stuck in is my diet. I saw this clearly at a meditation retreat. I had to sit and watch myself get hungry or crave food that is not allowed at the retreat. Vipassana retreats given by SN Goenka's center is vegetarian, and we only eat twice a day. One meal in the morning and one meal around 12pm, watching my cravings and habits come and go without doing anything, without reacting breaks the habit like breaking a link in a chain. But the eating habit is deeply ingrained, and I still fall back into old habits like eating when I am bored, or I eat more food than I need because it tastes so good!
The painting is slowly coming along, which suites me just fine right now, I don't want to work fast and furious during the summer. Winter has always been the best time for me to push out tons of paintings.
Will sure keep those points in my mind and like you said yes sure good habits are indeed needed for us and it shall guide us to the right path on our health.Changing habits especially the eating ones are really hard that is without a doubt.For better good we should indeed make it healthy.
While everything is going to be great in summer as well :)
Stay well and hoping to see great paintings on the way :)
I'm going to recommend Yoga and ONLY Yoga.
I was active and lifted weights for decades but found out that this 5000 year old science appears to be WAYYY better than any modern training methods ... just my opinion however ; )
@frankbacon I am doing yoga, I could save some money and avoid gym time. I will think about it and research if I need to add some other kind of yoga, I do Yantra Yoga from the Tibetan systen,
Remember that you're Perfect ; )
This was over a year ago and was 3 years into my struggles with Spinal paralysis. I had lost about 80-90% of my leg use at times. I could probably do something more impressive today but this was miraculous enough for me at the time. Standing straight was a struggle for over a year... standing on one leg could cause me to black out from discomfort. So I just started following some Yoga Channels on Youtube and walked a lot. The walking became VERY useful... Painful but useful. Cannabis use was also incredibly useful for dealing with the somatic releases and chronic cramping.
Ultimately, Yoga helped me to learn my bodies systems from the inside and direct the corrections at times. In fact that I haven't seen a Doctor in 20 years and don't EVER plan on volunteering myself into Allopathic Medicine ever again. My issues began 20 years ago when I was treated for a nasty car accident but "The System" was all about big bills, stupid pills and no real treatment for the damage.
OMG, you are good looking too, although you look young enough to be my son. So weird how we see people online when we are communicating through words and then see a picture of that person. I saw your face as older because your communication skills are excellent, except when you talk in the Frank Bacon Mason Illuminate code, then I see you in that Frank Bacon outfit...hahaha
We have similar stories, we both walked through fire and came out with only singed hair...hahaha
I learned my energy channels by scanning the body through the SN Goenka vipassana system when I was going to lots of retreats I could manipulate the body systems with my mind. The satipatthana course takes you through the internal parts of the body instead of just scanning the surface.
I can't smoke pot or eat it, all my sense doors open up and I get overwhelmed with too much sense data, and that was the pot back in the 1970s. I hate the stuff, but I don't judge, everyone reacts differently.
Bless you! I turned 45 yesterday : )
Sorry the cannabis is not an option. I didn't start using until just years ago when it became legal in Colorado and I had a massive existential crisis... I used it for my pain but soon found it more useful for treating the PTSD caused by my Government lying to me about Cannabis.