Beyond Willpower

Forks Over Knives  (skip to the last heading to read the review) So, as some of you know from my previous blog, Joey and I went to see Forks Over Knives yesterday in Cleveland. Here is the trailer: Check out the website for info on showtimes in your city. So we hopped on a megabus and rode up to Cleveland, our friend Jocelyn picked us up and was nice enough to show us around the city, I took tons of pics and did a little recap of our trip, you can read about it here  on mine and Joey's adventure blog ;) hehe. Warning: This movie could save your life = spot on! A Weight Loss Plateau  Well, as most of my regular readers know I've been stuck at the same weight for 3 weeks now, and I've been on plan and exercising and yet the scale won't budge. This movie and the book, Omnivore's Dilemma got me thinking about the biodiversity of my food choices.  Perhaps I'm holding on to my weight because when you are only eating 1300-1500 cals, and you are trying...

" Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it." So have any of you been stalling out? How are you dealing with it? For those of you who haven't yet, how are you planning on dealing with it when that time comes? I've given it some thought, and have decided against doing the juice fast. I realized it made me cranky and with my unhealthy dieting history it had the potential to take me to a bad place. I have accepted that I'm stalling out. I've reduced my cals (after first trying to increase them also with no results), increased my exercise....nothing is happening and I've decided that is okay. I've had a steady 8-9+ lb loss every month for the last 7 months or so. This happens, stalls and plateaus, they happen and they are unfortunately a part of the process. I'm glad I lost almost 70 lbs before it happened, I'm trying to be thankful for that at the very ...

So, I'm still 230. :( I've decided to do a 3 day juice fast in hopes of switching things up and kick starting my loss again. I'm very sensitive to low protein so I will be adding frozen banana flax smoothies made with water and protein powder to the days as well. The rest will all be fruit and veggie juice. Will try and add at least 1-2 veggies with each juice. Speaking of fruits and veggies, Joey and I are both off on Monday so we're going to Cleveland to see Forks Over Knives, which I'm VERY excited about. Here is the trailer: and here is the website. See if it's playing in your city !

Making changes I know that everyone says "You have to do it for you" regarding lots of changes we make in life, including weight loss. I also know this is an unpopular opinion to many, but I have been in a place in my life in the past with other issues, where I was just not strong enough, nor did I care ENOUGH about myself to make the necessary changes. I'm bipolar and when I was younger (around 19) and my current bf (now of 16 years) moved in, I saw how the bipolar was terrorizing him, I sought treatment, I spent 5 years trying meds that DID. NOT. WORK. and caused me tons of suffering all because I had to at least TRY. I tried numerous therapies, medications, hell I even tried to meditate. Hard to do with manic racing thoughts though. ha. Don't stop believing Anyhow, the point is, today I am here, 31, an age I never thought I'd make it to due to my bipolar. Every DAY after 30 is a gift. The fifth year of my med trials and treatments, I was taken off all ...

So I watched a couple episodes of season 4, I think it was 8-9 and 10. It is so difficult to watch her backslide. If any of you are not familiar, google ruby gettinger, she has a show on the Style network about her journey from a high weight of 700+ lbs. She's now down to about 359, but she was down to 302 at one point recently. I see her struggling and I can FEEL it. I feel the way food has so much control over people like us, with a clear addiction. I can see this past week when I was pmsing and even as I feared for slipping back into old bad habits I still ate things I shouldn't, I pictured myself ending up back at 299 lbs or more and wondering how I got there, but still I ate. Luckily for me it was only 1 week of maintenance instead of a few months and a 50 lb gain, but to me it was enough to scare me straight back on track. I'm looking to the future, seeing myself riding roller coasters this summer with my sister and bf and other friends at Kennywood,: I hope ...

So, this is my 100th post. I'm glad I'm still here. :) I've had PMS. I've had cravings I could not control, I've tracked half-assedly, I didn't exercise barely at all this week, I've eaten more to maintain than to lose, and maintain I did. augh. Now, the PMS seems to be gone and I'm ready to get back on track. Counting calories proper, exercising, juicing, eating more fruits and veggies and DRINKING WATER AND TEA (I've been very dehydrated lately). Everytime I snuck a handful of almonds (craving crunchy saltiness) I felt like my control and resolve were slipping away. But I didn't eat candy bars or junk food in general. I only ate out twice and the second time I brought home leftovers. The worst I really did was overeating nuts and I had some tortilla chips, although addmitedly more than I should have, but also WAY less than I used to. "overboard" doesn't mean the same to me as it used to, but I saw just how easily I could sl...

A fellow weight loss blogger is hosting a weight loss/exercise challenge, there is a 10$ entry fee (payable by check/paypal, paypal has a guarantee so your money is safe, NO CASH) and the more people that enter the higher the value of the gift cards will be awarded the winner. Gift cards for places such as target, dick's sporting goods or itunes or you can make a suggestion for a gift card too. There will be 3 winners at the end, check out all the info here:   Diary of a mad fat woman I'm entering! My other challenge just wrapped up and I think this is just the thing I need to keep me going!

I had a rough night last night. It involved a really bad familiar pain flare that left me feeling like this: all night. Then, I ate a taco salad after my calories for the day had already been used up. I was having insane cravings. I required salty crunchiness. Augh. That is the second time this week I slipped up. The first time was due to eating too early one day so I ended up eating extra that day cuz my schedule was a mess. I haven't been exercising much this week either. Pain was creeping up on me and I've spent my days off in bed just trying to prepare for what hit last night. I wanted to do the cardio max dvd but that was not happening because my hips and joints were on fire. I slept a lot last night, and I woke up feeling quite a bit better. I think I'll be doing c25k today, MAYBE cardio max, depending. I do have a very long day tomorrow and don't want to kill myself the day before it. Yeah, I think c25k will be all I do. and LOTS of pt today. Lots and lots...

So, last week was my big test week. I had to work 6 days in a row and I did it, and I am fine. There was a time just a few months ago that I couldn't work two four hour days in a row,  now I can work 6 4-6 hour days in a row? Insanity. How did this happen? I had an amazing physical therapist who did myofascial release on me, gave me pt to do at home, (which I do, pretty religiously), I've cut out gluten, gotten off pain meds, I exercise regularly, I wear my bra straps criss crossed (this helps a lot with back pain)...I've made a lot of changes in the last year and I'm finally seeing some rewards. I feel good. I feel great...I can't remember a time in my life that ever went as well as this year. It's just getting better and better. Which is of course scary in it's own way....but I'll stay positive as long as I can. As you can tell from my lack of blogger presence I've been very busy, but it's a good busy. Full of work, exercise, reading, spend...

So, it's been about 3 weeks and until the last few days I had only lost about 2 lbs. The 230's have been a real pain, very difficult to get out of. My body is testing me, as it is known to do. This is generally the time I feel like I'm getting nowhere and give up. Not this time. As a friend says, "a plateau is maintenance in training." and that is how I'm trying to look at it. It doesn't matter if it's not coming off as fast as I'd like because it's coming off, I know what I've done to myself is tragic and it will be difficult to undo all this damage. I FEEL amazing though, I don't ever want to go back to feeling how I did before. As of today, in under a week I have lost 3 lbs. I'm down to 230 and once I lose 2 more lbs I will have officially lost more than I ever have before. In 2004 I lost 70 lbs. When I gained it back I also regained an additional 40 lbs, so even though I'll have made it back, it isn't back to where I...

Well, I haven't had much of a social life this year. I told myself during new years that this was going to be the year I focused on myself. That I would just work on self improvement in my health, my relationship with my family, lots of things. I had no idea this meant I would be doing these things to the exclusion of all others, which seems to be the way it's working out. I'm trying to just stay positive. Although I do need to make more time with my friends. I'm getting lonely. I've had physical therapy, doc appts, this study I'm in, now working two jobs, exercise and eating right (which means being home/cooking for myself), all things that NEEDED to be done, some are finally coming to a halt now. I've been discharged from PT, I'm doing so much better, the study appts are cutting down to once a month, it'll get easier soon I think. I'm feeling that fire again in regards to being on plan. I guess I was getting down because my losses have fina...

So, the daily spark blog posted this article the other day asking if people would be willing to give up a year of their life in return for the perfect body.  16% of women who were normal or underweight answered yes.  WHAT?! This is more than a bit upsetting. Someone made a really good point in the comments section, they said: " Too bad people aren't willing to give up poor self esteem, a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy amounts of unhealthy food for a "perfect" body. 'cuz then they'd get to KEEP that year, and likely earn more of 'em...   Just sayin'  " (I couldn't find the original poster of the quote so I couldn't give credit.) There really isn't much more to say than that on the subject, it's so true. Some women would have given up graduate degrees, promotions and college degrees with honors for a perfect body. Some reason I doubt men would be willing to make these bargains. Although the pressure on them is getting worse...

Here's what I gotta do:  Thank and link to the blogger who nominated you Thanks to Faith over at I'm to sexy for this fat for the award! • Share seven things about yourself 1) I often find one album I love and listen to it for a month straight 2) I'm an optimistic and hopeful person 3) I've discovered I love yoga! 4) Silly little "motivational tools" totally motivate me 5) My sister is 9 years younger than me. She just graduated college 6) I love cartoon movies, Bolt was fabulous 7) I love documentaries • Award 15 bloggers and tell them you have done it. 135 by 2012 jassi's adventures in weight loss land Ann is livin' large no more; a weight loss journey Change is good, changing for good  Diary of a former food addict Fat like me Finding my fabulosity Get skinny, go vegan Healthy dreaming I go through life in inches and pounds Midlife train ride My weighting place Ruminations and uncovering: toward a new me The daily green bar Veggin my way to s...

Going to my sisters college graduation! I'll post when I get back!

So I've been struggling with trying to figure out just what to write about the last day or so and even as I struggled I've been talking to my boyfriend, Joey, about his eating habits. I had stopped cooking him dinner because I was eating earlier and he works late, so he would eat at work (he's a cook) and then have cereal before bed. He's been VERY cranky lately. Sleeping poorly, feeling very run down and constant headaches. This sounded familiar to me from my first month vegan, (he's vegetarian) Then I asked him what he's been eating. In his answer (fruit and salads) there was very little mention of protein. Like a lot of new veggies, he's neglecting the need for protein. His daily requirement (weight x's 0.36) is about 71 grams. Although he's vegetarian he doesn't eat eggs or much dairy. We both use daiya and the only dairy he currently eats is sour cream, but he's going to try a vegan one soon. There are plenty of protein sources out ...

I wanted to share this video, what to eat? <p><p><p><p><p></iframe<center><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OwLg2r91TYc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&a...

So, the documentary Forks Over Knives , which is about choosing a plant-based diet to prevent and reverse chronic diseases caused by the Standard American Diet, is coming out soon. I am trying to go to the opening on friday, but I'm not sure if that'll happen.  *EDIT* I'll most likley not be going to the nyc opening I will probably go to the Cleveland opening weekend, it's better for Joey's work schedule most likely, cheaper by megabus, and we have a friend that lives up there we can see it with, and her sister who lives here might come too. Good times shall be had. Anyhow, I wanted to spread the word about this film as I think it is going to be very eye opening for a lot of people and I feel like we have to educate ourselves about the benefits a healthy diet can have on our overall well being. Here's the trailer, and there is a listing of showings on the website as well.