Weight loss Page Two

February 27, 1999

 

I got on my scales for the first time since starting this journey to better health. I was very surprised! I have lost 6 lbs.

To be honest, I only did my work out with Richard Simmons for about three days. I hate exercising in front of people and my son is living with us. He doesn't go to work until 1:00 p.m and by then, I am fully into my work day. So, I have found it difficult to schedule it.

The weather turned bad for a few days and that kept me in. However, during the good weather I did get out in my garden twice to do some heavy landscaping, shoveling, tree hauling. And, we did do some walking inside the home and garden store and in several malls. Well.... walking is walking after all!

What I really think happened is I have changed my eating habits. I read a small pamphlet that came with a subscription to Dr. Andrew Weil's News Letter, "Self Healing", titled " Dr. Weil's 8 Week Plan for Optimal Healing Power". The Richard Simmons meal counter was great, but it didn't speak to me like Dr. Weil's booklet. The Simmons program is a marvelous program which I will use parts of here and there and incorporate into my daily regime, but it did not fully speak to my particular needs. For someone else, it may and has helped many people to lose their weight and change their lives! You have to try a number of things before finding the ones that work for you. Don't be afraid to take a little from all and combine the best of them into a tailored plan that meets your particular needs.

Dr. Weil advocates slow, steady, easy changes that are not earth shattering nor difficult. And it is not just about food or exercise. It includes a mind/body/spirit approach to healing our bodies, not centered on weight loss. I don't know about you but the word diet, no matter how it is packaged, creates a feeling of being deprived. This is why Dr. Weil's 8 week plan is working for me. It is not a diet. It is a way of living every day to the fullest and healthiest.

Dr. Weil explains, "...selenium and Vitamin E facilitate each other's absorption, so the two should be taken together, whereas vitamin C may interfere with the absorption of some forms of selenium and should be taken separately." This is one more valid reason for taking your vitamins separately from your minerals. (See article on this subject ). I have been urging people to separate their vitamins and minerals for years, so I was excited to find out Dr. Weil advised the same thing. Dr. Weil suggests 50 to 100 Mcg of selenium daily unless you have increased cancer risk. Research has suggested 200 to 300 mcg are more effective for those people faced with these risks. Dr. Weil warns that doses above 400 mcg a day may not be healthy.

With Dr. Weil's program in front of me, this is what I have been doing...

Nothing..........good intentions but not much action............ except that I have been doing some inner work. I guess the outer me will just have to wait, However.......

...I have made a point to have fresh or potted flowers in my home. They add beauty that doesn't just look good, it actually reduces stress and creates a more harmonious environment for your body, mind, & spirit.

I often walk in my woods, strolling down to the lake to listen to the croaking frogs and watch the wildlife that is in abundance there.

We have gone through our cupboards and removed all vegetable oils and margarines. We have always preferred butter to margarine after reading the results from the nurse studies. (Those eating margarine's had many more heart attacks than those eating butter). We use only Extra Virgin Olive Oil, & organic canola oil for baking.

I meditate once each day. We had already cut out our local and national news programs because they were filled with nothing but bad news. We are oblivious to all that is going on in the world, but find it quite healing and calming.

We are keeping track of what we do to heal ourselves. Most of our discoveries are trial and error. However, over time, we have discovered several things that do work for us and so we have incorporated them into our life.

We try and read inspirational books whenever possible and fill our book shelves with all manner of positive, uplifting, and educational information.

We have decided that since quality of life is important, we are picking our friends more carefully. We try and pick people who have things in common with us and who are fun to be around. It is draining to be around people who make us feel bad. We avoid those kind of situations and people.

We have looked at our bedroom and are trying to make it more comfortable and amenable to good sleep. We have also gotten an air filter/ionizer for our bedroom. It has helped our allergies tremendously!

We listen to music regularly. We like all kinds, so depending on our present moods we enjoy everything from rock to classical.

We have had to sit down and really ask ourselves what we require to be happy. Service is very important for a balanced life. This is the primary motivation for creating this website. We want to give back because of all the blessings we have had in our life.

Making amends and rebuilding the bridges between people we have been estranged from is also very important to welbeing. We are trying to incorporate this into our life. Forgiveness is paramount to good health!

So, these are the things I have been doing since writing the first article. Some we had been doing all along, others we just started. I still have issues and areas I have to work on. However, I feel very good about myself.

I am not setting myself up to fail by setting a time frame which I will never meet. I am just going to continue to live my life the best I can and do what makes me very, very happy. I guess it is really living the life we love that makes us truly happy.

(See book about doing what you love )

Chris

Weight Loss Three

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