Begin in the Beginning

The past few years have been quite impactful on my life.  Turning 50, getting divorced after 23 yrs with my ex-husband, living alone again for the first time since I was 24. And the start of perimenaupause.

NOTE: This is me trying this for the second time.  I managed to make it through a short week last time 2 years ago, so since it is basically the same, I am just repurposing and editing my original text as needed.  New stuff when I get past the lamb test I guess!

I used to do spinning classes at least twice a week and I do vinyasa yoga about the same.   A knee injury I suffered while trying to keep up with 30 somethings in cross-fit classes really sidelined me for a long year and it was only after 6 mos of intense therapy that I can start to exercise again the way I want to. But the motivation is hard as the habit has been broken.

I eat way more vegetables and good quality proteins than most people I know. I even started working out with a personal trainer twice a week recently because I thought  I needed to build muscle mass like I keep hearing.  I really am not a lazy or overindulgent person...I promise!  But still....I am clearly doing something wrong.

At 51 I have reasonable expectations about my weight.  I might be able to weigh what I did 20 years ago, but with much, much more effort than I had to put in back then.  Watching carbs strictly, not enjoying my wine or cheese, working out and lifting weights with a trainer 3 x a week and cardio the other 3, taking fat burner drugs...it is doable.  But do I really want my life to be all about what I put into my mouth and making my next work out?  Not really anymore.

At the same time, I have my vain side.  When I look in the mirror I want to like what I see, and unfortunately, that does tie back to my weight.  My comfortable 6 of a few years ago has inflated to an not-so comfortable 8 or maybe even 10 again. And while that is not considered terrible by most people's standards, when your clothes no longer fit well, it doesn't matter if you are a 6 and 8 or a 14 - they just don't fit properly anymore.  Jumping on the scale this morning I am up 20 lbs. now from where I like to be.  Not something I am very happy about at all.

But I have decided to do something about it.  And me being me I can't just upload an app from iTunes and do this in secret.  I have to take pictures of it and write about what I am doing.

So I decided to try the The Plan by Lyn Genet Recitas which I keep hearing about.  A friend completed their 20 day plan recently and says she lost 8 lbs. and she is a skeptic like me.  So I pick up the book and start reading and it makes a lot of sense.  For many of us, especially those over 40 losing weight is not as much about eating well and exercising as it is about chemistry. Things we think are good for us like salmon the wonder food might be making us fat due to chemistry.  It doesn't say don't eat salmon....just don't eat salmon if it doesn't work for you and when you do, know what it does to you.

A lot of people at work are getting bloodwork done to find out about food sensitivities.  They are coming out with readings like balsamic vinegar, salmon, asparagus and other items I would have thought fit well in a healthy diet.  They end up with a list of items to avoid but no plan to do it...enter this book.  I connect that my friend who has issues with wine, vinegar and cocoa is because they feed yeast.  She says he has always reacted to wine and vinegar but never knew why.  Now she does.

So there is enough evidence for me to start doing this but it does seem like a lot of work.  As a certified kitchen dork I am determined to make this manageable and walk you through it as I do whether you like it or not...so here we go.