You could GAIN WEIGHT in the first few weeks.  Does this mean you are a failure?  NO WAY!  The main culprit is when you start exercising when you have been sedentary in the past.  The reason:  MUSCLE.  You are building your muscle back up to a normal level during this time, and muscle weighs more than fat!  This is very important to remember.  You see, you WANT more muscle, because the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns all day long, even when you aren’t doing anything!  Consider this your secret lose-while-you-sleep weapon.  This also means your body will need more calories to maintain its weight, which means you can eat more, and really should, to maintain the extra energy your new muscle needs.  This is why Weight Watchers advocates adding points to your daily intake according to the amount of exercise you have done that day, but only up to a certain amount.  For example, you shouldn’t add more than 200 calories if you’ve burned 200 or more while exercising.  Your goal at this point is to keep losing, after all!

You could lose weight very rapidly the first week or two, then slow down to a more reasonable amount.  Don’t be disappointed, nor expect that rapid weight loss to continue.  This is ENTIRELY NORMAL.  Especially if you are drinking the proper amount of water, and getting a decent amount of fiber in your new diet plan.  Some may experience it because they have reduced the amount of salt intake; today’s fast food diet is shockingly high in salt content.  Your body is losing its “water weight” as your system flushes out.  As you drink enough water for your body to stay hydrated, you will retain less water in your tissues.  This is also a good thing; consider it a bonus if you lose those fast pounds at first!

You COULD stay the same.  Despite following your new diet and exercise plan to a T, you are not losing!  Easily explained:  See both reasons for gaining and losing above.  What has happened, is that both of these processes are happening at the same time.  Fear not; stick it out for at least a month before determining any changes that need to be made.  The weight WILL start to drop at a reasonable amount after the first few weeks, if you are on an appropriate plan for your weight, age, and lifestyle.

What is reasonable?  Anywhere from one to three pounds per week lost.  Losing any more than five pounds a week is not healthy; it is likely you are losing muscle as well, and it will be way too easy to gain it back.  If you are losing too much, you aren’t eating enough to keep your body supplied with the nutrients it needs.  The old saying is true:  You didn’t gain it in a day, and you won’t lose it that fast, either.  Slow and steady wins the race to keep your body healthy for a lifetime!

I used to refuse to weigh myself except once every week or two. I can understand why this is important for some people, to keep from feeling bad about the numbers, and to be really happy with being able to see the progress.  I know many diet gurus advise this, since most people are so hooked on the scale.

But it just didn’t work for me. I know that my weight fluctuates based on how much I’m working out, how much water I’m drinking, even if I had a really salty snack the day before. I could show a two pound increase over the last week, yet still be losing overall, based on what time of the day it was!

So I started to weigh myself every morning. Of course, I still saw fluctuating, but it kept me motivated to keep that early morning weight down. If I was a bit up that day, I would watch what I ate more, and maybe exercise a little extra.  I’m never concerned unless I see an increase of two pounds over my best weight the week before.

Then, for about two months, I started weighing myself every time I entered my bathroom. It was really interesting to figure out how your weight changes throughout the day, anywhere from three to four pounds!  It varies before and after meals, workouts, and showers.  It was  kind of fun, and educational, too.

I don’t really need to do this, so I returned to weighing myself each morning. It seems my weight is lowest after waking up and moving around for about half an hour. And it is so much fun on days when I see new low numbers, when I dance around the room and announce to everyone what I weighed!

My mother will be trying the diet, too. I’ll also be feeding a 1-year-old, as well as my husband. The whole staff is involved!

Preparation

Today I spent some time preparing the shopping list for The Amazing Soup Diet. Some things have me going, eeww, but I plan on sticking to the diet as closely as possible. Nothing repeats, so I can handle a meal that may not be my favorite, and keep in the spirit of the test. It will only be a week, after all. I can already see some problems with the bread, since we have to make it all homemade due to soy allergies. Well, not really a problem, just a lot of prep work. That just keeps us busy so there is less time to snack, right?

I’m cleaning out our main fridge and freezer so I can have everything for the week in the kitchen ready to go. The “working pantry” will need a bit of work, too – some things need to go into the basement with the rest of the food storage items. I’m happy to see that many items on the list are things we already have in our freezer, which means they were bought on sale. Most of what is left to buy is the fresh fruit and veggies, which happens every week, regardless.

I did throw together a Cajun Seasoning Mix, and will make some homemade hummus tomorrow.

Shopping List

These are variations on the original The Amazing Soup Diet shopping list, providing some adjustments for allergies. You’ll have to click on the link above to view the full list, since it is copyrighted, after all. I have noted my changes below, according to their categories.

Staples:

•Cajun seasoning (I made my own mix since I am allergic to black pepper)
•Ground cumin (I personally do not like cumin and use oregano to substitute)
•Ground red pepper (this is cayenne pepper)
•Hot sauce (this is for eggs, so I am going to use taco sauce rather than Tobasco)

Fruits and Veggies
•Green beans, 3/4 lb. (2 cans of green beans are much easier, or a quart of home-canned)
•Lemon, 1 (If you have lemon juice in the fridge, you won’t need to get a lemon)
•Snow peas, 1/4 lb. (I’ll be using frozen, which I keep on hand, fresh are almost as much trouble as green beans)
•Tangerines, 3 (Substitute one of these for a can of mandarin oranges, unless you like peeling and sectioning an orange. For the second, just buy your favorite type of orange, we like navels. I can’t find where the third orange is used.)

Fresh Herbs
•Garlic, 1 lg. head (I keep fresh minced garlic on hand in the refrigerator, which is much easier)

Grains
•Bread, whole-grain (we have to make our own because of soy ingredients)
•Brown rice (I didn’t know you could buy pre-cooked, we will cook our own)
•English muffins, whole-grain (Another bread product we can’t eat due to soy ingredients, will substitute bagels)
•Pitas, whole wheat (Again, making our own, seeing a trend here)
•Tortilla chips, baked (hard to find without soy, we will substitute flour tortillas)

Dairy
•Eggs, 1/2 dozen (we use egg substitute, due to egg yolk allergy)
•Yogurt, plain, nonfat (we got Greek style, it is very yummy)

Meat and Fish
•Bacon, 1 pkg. (we use a beef bacon due to pork allergy and turkey bacon is just nasty)
•Turkey, smoked, deli-sliced (got chicken due to turkey allergy)
•Turkey breast, ground (using 93% lean ground beef)
•Turkey kielbasa (Mom gets the turkey version, I will use a beef/pork version, yes allergies again)

Grocery Items
•Chicken broth (we got two big cartons for the soup, I like it better than just water)
•Egg noodles (No Yolks version, due to egg yolk allergy)
•Hummus (made our own to avoid soy and nuts)
•Tomatoes, whole, in juice, 2 28-oz cans (we use diced tomatoes, no smashing needed, and seeds can add a bitter taste)
•Walnuts, 3 oz.

Frozen Items
•Corn kernels (we’re using canned)

The Soup

The Good Housekeeping Recipe can be found here. I actually doubled my own vegetable soup recipe and added the zucchini and spinach. Here are the differences: I used 2 onions (about 3c chopped) and 2 large leeks. I also used 12c chicken stock and no water. Due to a black pepper allergy, I left that out, but added a teaspoon of thyme. The nutritional content remains the same as the original.
Here is the Better Homemaking Network’s version of the Basic Soup for The Amazing Soup Diet, complete with precise instructions and pictures.

Before

Okay, I’m not posting pictures, but at least my weights and measurements will be here. I don’t expect a huge change, since we will only be testing this diet for a week, but you never know. When you first start a diet and exercise program, weight loss could go fast or slow, depending on how much water weight you lose, how much you increase your exercise, and how much muscle you gain. (See Weigh Your Way to Losing Weight.) We should definitely see an improvement in body measurements, no matter what.

Pyrrh’s beginning measurements:

Weight: 170 lbs
Arm: 13.5″
Stomach: 33.75″
Waist: 33.5″
Hips: 41.5″
Thigh: 23.5″
Calf: 15.5″

This was right after a workout, but I can’t blame my hips on that! Ugh!

So, here we are, your Guinea Pigs for a week. We will start the diet on Monday!

But in the dream, my immediate answer was, “Make it fun.”

The subconscious can get right to the bottom of things, can’t it? You HAVE to make it fun, to make it part of your life. Anthony Robbinsonce said that successful people got up early in the morning out of sheer excitement for life. I find myself looking forward to my workout in the morning. And I’ve really had fun tracking points on all the food I eat. I’ve got a record of everything I’ve consumed since January 3rd, without fail. That wouldn’t have happened had I approached it grudgingly. I love finding out how to work in my favorite foods, some of which aren’t so healthy, into a healthy lifestyle. Yes, it CAN happen! You can’t eat junk food all the time, and certainly not in the serving sizes promoted today, but it certainly is possible. And I don’t feel deprived. I still eat lots of ice cream and chocolate, and periodically get things like pizza, fried chicken, and buffalo tenders. I’ve even had fun getting my water in. Admittedly the first couple of days that 64 ounces wasn’t that easy – but on that third day I discovered the skin on my face was so baby-soft that I was excited to see what else drinking water could do!

So how can you make it fun? Even if it is a simple thing like buying some cute exercise clothes, do it. I now have five outfits I can wear, so I can put a fresh one on every time I work out. Exercising is way more fun when I can wear a cool outfit! Yeah, I still bulge in weird spots, but Maya does, too – just look at her plie! Only my family will see me, anyway, and they are very supportive and know what I’m about when I have the proper attire on.

Of course, periodic rewards are really great, too. I cleaned out my wardrobe, including a TON of “skinny clothes” (you all know what I’m talking about!) that were SO out of style it was embarrassing! Or at least it would have been had I worn them again! Would you believe I donated over ten pairs of pants with pleats! I’ve refused to buy any REAL clothes until I’m at my initial goal of 120. I have plenty of items left to wear in my closet that are relatively stylish, except for needing some jeans as I lose sizes. I’ll be getting those at the thrift store, since I won’t be wearing them for long, if the past few months is an indicator of how I’ll be dropping sizes. But that doesn’t mean I can’t replace and update my other basics – shoes, accessories, purses, exercise equipment! And, most importantly, the exercise clothes I mentioned before!

So, here’s to making it fun! *toasts with her water bottle*

Originally written on July 6th, 2007; I found out a few weeks later that I was pregnant with my first child.

The biggest factors that make your immune system stronger are: exercising regularly, eating nutritious foods, getting enough sleep, and maintaining proper weight. I’m sure you’ve heard those phrases a million times, but they are very true. I’d like to share some specific tips that have helped my family.

1. Maintain your proper weight. Determine what you need to lose (or gain), discuss your ideas with your doctor, and get started on a program right away. The Better Homemaking Network is currently developing a meal plan that can be used for weight loss and is Weight Watchers compatible. Stay tuned! In the meantime, these tips for your immune system are all ideal beginnings for weight management.

2. Walk 30 minutes a day. More activity is always good, but this the threshold where the benefits really start to kick in. Try wearing a pedometer and get yourself over the 10,000 mark every day.

3. Vitamins – take a good multi or do some research and put together your own regimen. 500mg Vitamin C every 12 hours is a great place to start. I keep a bottle of chewables in my nightstand and munch on one when I get up and when I go to bed.

4. Eat fruits and veggies! At least five servings, but seven to nine is preferred. Be sure to wash them really well – just think about how many times they have been handled before getting into your kitchen! Wash all of it, even the items that you peel. Dry them off with a paper towel instead of letting them air dry. There are more things in fresh food that prevent disease, many of which we haven’t discovered yet, that we just can’t reproduce in a pill. (Or juice!)

5. Drink water! It helps flush out body waste and anything else that shouldn’t be there. Here are some tips to get the most out of your water.

6. Wash your hands frequently, and avoid touching your face. Sanitizing wipes are a big help. Keep some in the car, and every time you come out of a store or doctor’s office, wipe down your hands, the door handle, the gearshift, and the steering wheel. Remember after pumping gas, too. I try to wipe the baby’s hands since they usually end up touching the floor somewhere!

7. Get enough sleep; an average of 7 hours a day. Your body needs sleep to regenerate itself. Another very interesting thing that happens while you sleep, is the replenishment of certain chemicals in your brain. If you don’t get enough sleep, your brain doesn’t get enough of these chemicals, and it wants them so badly it will trigger hunger cravings! Food can only provide cheap substitutes for these chemicals, however, so it can become a vicious cycle if you do not catch enough of those zzz’s.

8. Chiropractic Care – this can be a controversial option, although I can say that I have personally documented improvement in my own immune system since I started getting adjusted regularly. Imagine your spine as a huge switchboard, relaying all the information your body needs from your brain. So when you are out of alignment, nerves get pinched, switches turn off, and those organs can’t get all their messages back and forth, which impedes healing.

I’d like to note that I used to get sick all of the time.  Since I started doing these things I have only been sick two or three times a year, and I recover very rapidly; usually in less than twelve hours!