Ups and Downs

Funny how I started off the week on a mental high... felt like I was soaring on Cloud 9 over my 9% body fat loss.  But then by Thursday,  I was in pain and just plain mad.  My back muscles hurt, could barely bend. My biceps hurt, could only do about three shoulder presses at a time.  Tried to tell Nigel, but somehow the more I talked about pain, the more he smiled.  About 22 minutes into the work out, I told Nigel, " I want to leave."
"You want to leave?" he asked.
"Yeah, I want to leave."
Without a beat he said, "Get on the treadmill!"
"Nigel! I--"
"Get on the treadmill!"
"Ok. Fine.  I'll do 15 minutes..."
"38 minutes"
"Nigel!!"
"38 minutes!"

I left the gym mad.

Yipeekayaykayay- Today is a lovely Day!!!

So like, OMG!  I've been depressed for the last few months because I have not been seeing a change on the scale.  Been 185 for a while.  However, clothes were fitting different, and I was getting comments from others about looking smaller... but still...  I had a hard time mentally.  Did a body fat analysis with Nigel on Tuesday of this week and I had gone from 33% (in July) to 24%.  What does that mean?  I lost 9% body fat and gained 6% lean muscle.  That's approximately 16.6 lbs of body fat lost and 11.6lbs of lean muscle gained.  It also means:

It means that my body fat is in the Fitness category for women!!! I went from being Obesity to Fitness!!!  How super duper cool is that??  Kinda hard to even associate myself with such a term but I'll take it for now!

"Belly Band"

Nigel told me to buy a "belly band" for when I'm doing my cardio.  I think it's supposed to help me keep my abdominal muscles tight while I work out.    It felt kinda weird going to the sports store asking for a "belly band" but I've since learned it can go by other names such as the "tummy sweat belt", "exercise waist belt" or the brand name of "belly bandit".  My "waist belt by weston" does not look as cool as this picture to the left.  My own is an odd blue on the outside and a bright red on the inside.  It also doesn't fit as neatly and smoothly as this one.  It came with no instructions, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to wear it under clothes or over clothes.  I don't think I've seen anyone at the gym wearing one, so I'm a bit reticient about wearing it.  Anybody ever used one or know somebody who used one?

Update:  It seems like a lot of versions of this belt target post pregnancy women...I'm thinking I'm 14 years late...

Goofing around at work...

Tryin' to work on posing like a Kardashian so as to get a better silhouette

Size 14 Suit... pants starting to have a little more room than when I first bought it...

My Goal: Skinny as the office skeleton...add some boobs, a colon and a butt and I'm good to go...

Well this is interesting...Food Cravings

If you crave this...	What you really need is...	And here are healthy foods that have it:
Chocolate	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Sweets	Chromium	Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans, calves liver, chicken
	Carbon	Fresh fruits
	Phosphorus	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains
	Sulfur	Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage
	Tryptophan	Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
Bread, toast	Nitrogen	High protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans
Oily snacks, fatty foods	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Coffee or tea	Phosphorous	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes
	Sulfur	Egg yolks, red peppers, muscle protein, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables
	NaCl (salt)	Sea salt, apple cider vinegar (on salad)
	Iron	Meat, fish and poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Alcohol, recreational drugs	Protein	Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, nuts
	Avenin	Granola, oatmeal
	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
	Glutamine	Supplement glutamine powder for withdrawal, raw cabbage juice
	Potassium	Sun-dried black olives, potato peel broth, seaweed, bitter greens
Chewing ice	Iron	Meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Burned food	Carbon	Fresh fruits
Soda and other carbonated drinks	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Salty foods	Chloride	Raw goat milk, fish, unrefined sea salt
Acid foods	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Preference for liquids rather than solids	Water	Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Preference for solids rather than liquids	Water	You have been so dehydrated for so long that you have lost your thirst. Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Cool drinks	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
Pre-menstrual cravings	Zinc	Red meats (especially organ meats), seafood, leafy vegetables, root vegetables
General overeating	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tryptophan	Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green, red fruits and vegetables
Lack of appetite	Vitamin B1	Nuts, seeds, beans, liver and other organ meats
	Vitamin B3	Tuna, halibut, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, seeds and legumes
	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
	Chloride	Raw goat milk, unrefined sea salt
Tobacco	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green and red fruits and vegetables

1. Lectures, Cheryl M. Deroin, NMD, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Spring 2003 (healthy food recommendations)
2. Benard Jenson, PhD, The Chemistry of Man B. Jensen Publisher, 1983 (deficiencies linked to specific cravings and some food recommendations)

WHOA!

Interesting Links

Found this while stumbling around online:

The 29 Healthiest Foods on the Planet

The World's Healthiest Foods

7 Foods That Improve Every Type of Bad Mood