October 30

breakfast: oatmeal, banana

lunch: tofu with carrots and sesame seeds, pickled cucumber, rice

dinner: vegetable soup

workout: Callanetics 10/10

I'm really starting to get some nice definition in my legs. I haven't really been paying attention to changes in them because I'm more interested in my stomach. But it's nice to see cuts developing, inner thighs toning up, etc. I'm becoming a whole new person.

How to Be Naturally Thin by Eating More

breakfast: stewed fruit

lunch: tofu salad

dinner: vegetable biryani, dal, rice

snack: baked tortilla ships, salsa

I've eating dinner around 4:30pm the past couple of days. I keep getting hungry for a meal around then. It's been leading me to have after-dinner snacks, which I normally never want. I don't feel bad about it since I'm eating such an early dinner.

I remember reading a book a few years ago How to Become Naturally Thin by Eating More by Jean Antonello. It's the book that convinced me to stop dieting. It presented a lot of evidence on what diets do to the body, why they don't work, as well as explaining how to be naturally thin without dieting. I will admit I wasn't very good at implementing the techniques on how to be naturally thin. I'm finding myself doing them automatically now and I am getting thinner.

But back to my story. Jean spoke about how as you become naturally thin you'll begin to want dinner at around 4 pm with just a snack afterwards. My body is doing that. Also, as she mentioned, I've lost all desire for sweets. I just don't want them anymore. It's strange to go from wanting something sweet several times a day my entire life to not wanting any at all. Even if I see something that I enjoy - brownie, cookie, whatever - I don't care. I pass because I don't want it.

She also spoke about how when you're dieting, you can lose all desire to exercise. But when you get out of the dieting cycle, you'll just naturally want to move more. That's so true for me. I used to hate to exercise. Now, I can hardly sit still. I'm constantly finding things to do because I want to get up and move. It's really kind of interesting to think back on her book and how it's all coming true for me.

I've lost 15 pounds since starting this blog. I eat what I want when I want it. Since starting Callanetics, I can tell I'm gaining muscle and toning up. It's just nice to know that I can be thin by eating to my heart's content. It really feels good. I wish had the words to express this feeling better.

I recommend Jean's book if you're looking to change how you look and feel too. It's out-of-print so you might have to get a used copy of Amazon. She came out with another book - Breaking Out of Food Jail: How to Free Yourself from Diets and Problem Eating, Once and for All. Personally, I think her first book is better, but that could just be because I read it first.

October 27

breakfast: brown rice cereal with cashews and apricots

lunch: baked tofu, rice, cucumber, sauteed cauliflower

dinner: brown rice tortilla pizza, napa cabbage

snack: raw milk

workout: Callanetics Evolution

I know Callanetics Evolution is supposed to produce faster results than 10/10, but I really think the instruction could be better. For example, on one of the standing leg moves, two of the demonstraters have their legs at completely different angles and the instructor never tells you which way you should be pointing your leg. Both angels work different muscle groups.

I also feel like it's really taught as if it's expected that you've attended a class. Form isn't really discussed. It really just leaves you to figure out what to do. And they don't even tell you how many reps you should do for most of the moves. I really think it could be better. Give me bad 80's clothes and production with an understanding of what I should and shouldn't do, over a pretty set and confusion any day.

Whole Foods Prairie Bread

breakfast: Whole Foods prairie bread with peanut butter, banana

lunch: pasta primevera, salad

dinner: 2 taquitos, avocado, carrots

I tried Whole Foods' gluten free prairie bread today. Big Mistake! I can only imagine that eating it is just like eating a sponge in terms of both taste and texture. I thought that since it had sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc. it would have a nice flavor. Boy was I wrong!

Whole Foods carries a lot of brands of gluten free bread. The store brand looked like people bought it the most. If that's so, I really can't imagine what the other brands must be like. If real bread even remotely resembled Whole Foods' bread, bread wouldn't be so popular around the world. It probably wouldn't have taken off at all.

Lemon Tarts

breakfast: apple

lunch: cucumber maki, inari, 1/4 gf lemon tart

dinner: salad, buffalo mozzarella

workout: Callanetics 10/10

I tried Crave Bakery's gluten free lemon tart today. The filling was tart and lemony - not the best I've had, but it worked. I suppose that for gluten free the crust was okay. The crust was as thick as the filling and seemed more like a sweet cookie, almost a shortbread it was so dense. It really competed with the filling in terms of flavor, and simply disappointed me. I think the tart might do better if the name was changed to lemon bar.

Japanese Cooking

breakfast: protein drink

lunch: teriyaki tofu, potato, napa cabbage

dinner: corn tortilla, chickpea and potato curry, cauliflower

I really like Japanese Cooking - Contemporary & Traditional by Miyoko Schinner. It has the best tasting and easiest to make teriyaki sauce you can imagine. I've never really cared for bottled teriyaki sauces because the flavors can be so thick and cloying, too overpowering for the food. But Miyoko's is great.

I found her cookbook several years ago when I was trying to learn how to make vegetarian Japanese food. It's the only vegetarian Japanese cookbook I've found by someone who is actually from Japan. It really makes a difference in the recipes.

Everything I have tried is so good. From the Carrot and Tofu Scramble (not a Japanese version of scrambled eggs made with tofu, but a dish the author grew up eating as a child) to the Roasted Asparagus with Lime Ponzu Sauce. Her salad dressing recipe is my absolute favorite.

I hadn't picked this cookbook up in a couple of months and I don't know why. As I'm flipping through it now, I keep finding recipe after recipe that I truly love. I think I'm going to have to start using this book more often.

October 21

breakfast: brown rice spaghetti with brie, broccoli, and walnuts

lunch: smoothie

dinner: hummus vegetable wrap in a brown rice tortilla

workout: Callanetics 10/10 through stomach

Weird breakfast today, but it's what I really wanted. I added some more brie to the pasta and it helped. The broccoli still tasted a little odd in it.

I meant to do more Callanetics today, but it take me 1 1/2 hours to get that much done. I think once I started working out everyone decided to call me. I finally just gave up. I worked out for less than 20 minutes, but once I decided to quit the phone stopped. Who knows if it would have continued if I had kept working out, but I suspect it would have.

Brie and Walnut Bread - How I Miss Thee

breakfast: fruit

lunch: chickpeas in a mint sauce, salad

dinner: brown rice spaghetti with broccoli, brie, and walnuts

I love brie, especially on walnut bread. It's one of my favorite foods that I can't have anymore. So tonight I decided to try to throw together something that might come close to being a gluten-free version. I sauteed the broccoli in olive oil with garlic, then threw in some cooked spaghetti, toasted walnuts, and brie. The brie melted and formed a really nice sauce on everything. The broccoli was a little strong flavored for the dish. While it didn't come anywhere close to brie on walnut bread, it did turn out to be a fairly descent dish.

October 19

breakfast: protein drink

lunch: ribolita

dinner: baked potato with broccoli and vegan cheese sauce

I'm shrinking

breakfast: protein drink

lunch: chili, cucumber, salad

dinner: vegetable ragout

workout: Callanetics 10/10

My clothes are looser. My weight has stayed the same. I'm not counting calories, carbs, fat, tablespoons, or anything. Yet, my pants are looser in the thighs and waste, and my shirts are looser all over. I don't need to go buy new clothes yet, but I can see how that's eventually going to become a possibility. I've never cared for shopping for clothes. Darn Callanetics.

October 14

breakfast: protein drink

lunch: tofu salad

dinner: chili, steamed cauliflower

workout: Callanetics warm-up

The interesting thing to me about the warm-up to Callanetics is that even though it's called a warm-up, it's a full body workout that takes less than 10 minutes. You work your legs, waist, back, arms, and even neck. The moves in the warm-up alone can cause tightening and toning.

I've also noticed that the longer I do Callanetics, the more difficult it becomes. It makes me wonder if the impact I now receive from the warm-up is equal to what the entire workout gave me when I first started. I know I do the movements better, relax more, stretch more...everything more.

It makes me wonder why Callanetics disappeared over the years. It's effective, easy, and fast. Maybe people really just want to spend endless hours in the gym. I don't know... I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

October 13

breakfast: oatmeal, apple

lunch: rice, tofu, pickled vegetables

snack: peanuts

dinner: pasta primavera

October 11

breakfast: sope

lunch: gordita

dinner: sushi

workout: Callanetics 10/10

I really didn't feel like cooking today and it shows. The sope and gordita were made with several servings of vegetables so I still got in a pretty healthy diet. Vegetarian sushi never really seems to contain enough vegetables to really count like anything to me. I think you just end up filling up on rice, but it sure does taste good when made well.

October 10

breakfast: gluten free pancakes, raw milk

lunch: sweet potatoes and cabbage in ginger-garlic sauce

snack: popcorn

dinner: vegetable soup

October 9

breakfast: cereal

lunch: sweet potatoes and cabbage in a ginger and garlic sauce with a banana-carrot salsa

snack: popcorn

dinner: unstuffed shells, zucchini, broccoli

workout: Callanetics 10/10

My posture has improved so much in the last week. It's weird because I can't think of any Callanetics move that really focuses on muscles in the back or shoulders. Something has to. Maybe it's just a cumulative effect of all of the exercises.

Off Topic

A close friend of mine was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. I think she's the only person I've heard talk about wanting to be 40 - an age most people despair of reaching, but something she's depressed about because she doesn't think she'll ever see it. It's weird the things you think of some of the time.

She had a lot of options medically, but doesn't want to take any of them. It's like she's already decided to die. It's kind of weird to think about actually. On the one hand you hope of living longer than your expectant life, and on the other hand, you've decided it's all already over.

I wish the doctor hadn't told her how short of a time she has left. I think it would be nice to just continue living your life, not thinking about how many days you have left. Maybe you'd cherish things more if you did know it could be your last, but to have that black cloud hanging over you...to be thinking about how this is the last...I don't know. That's just me.

Food Rant

breakfast: protein drink

snack: 3/4 peanut butter cookie Larabar

lunch: poorathi chana, rice, mixed vegetables

dinner: brown rice tortilla pizza

workout: nothing - I think my body needs a day of nothing after everything

I think I'm almost back to normal from the wheat episode. My heart sometimes feels a little sore, but I suspect that what I now feel could just be related to it's insanely erratic behavior the past couple of days. I'd be tired and a little bruised if I spent days doing what it did.

I still can't believe a couple of bites of wheat did that to me. I've cut it out of my diet before and my worst reaction was gaining a clothing size in less than an hour. But now the effects from having it after cutting out gluten? It goes to show how even just having a little bit of something in your body can help cover the adverse effects of it. No wonder so mnay people eat foods and never realize that it bothers them. Wheat - one of the top allergens - is usually consumed by people every day. I wonder how many aches and pains and other "illnesses" would simply disappear if people knew what they were allergic/intolerant to and stopped consuming. How would it affect the medical industry? Would most of the pharmaceutical drugs in people cabinets suddenly become obsolete? I can definitely imagine sales of anti-depressants plummeting given how often depression is caused by food. It would just be interesting to know...

October 5

breakfast: gluten-free pancakes, raw milk

lunch: tofu and vegetables

dinner: chickpeas and split peas in a mint sauce, salad

workout: Callanetics 10/10

I can breath normally today. My heart is maybe 50% better. I'm hoping tomorrow it'll be back to normal.

October 4

breakfast: apple

lunch: pasta with marinara, broccoli

dinner: vegetable soup

Still feeling sick today from the wheat. No change in symptoms.

Wheat is Trying to Kill Me

Okay, I screwed up. I went out to lunch with some friends and had a panini. It was so good and I was so tired of saying no to bread - it's my ultimate favorite food, always has been. Now, I'm paying the price.

I think cutting out gluten has made me so much more sensitive than I ever was before. I never been this nauseous, etc. Before I was even halfway done with the sandwich, I began to have problems breathing, my heart started racing and beating so extrememly hard. If I had known that there was an extremely remote possibility that eating gluten again could do this to me, I would have gone to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack. It's been hours now and it still hasn't gone away. It's pretty scary. I know it'd be a lot scarier if I hadn't known gluten could do this, but the chances were so extremely small and I had so very few symptoms to begin with, why would I think I'd be hit with such a whammy? I think this has scared me enough to never intentionally eat it again. I never thought that eating something I love so much would end up with me feeling like it's trying to kill me.

Hopefully, it won't take too long for the sickness to go away. In the past, when I've ate wheat it would take 7 days for all symptoms to disappear. But I've never cut out gluten before. Even when I wasn't eating wheat, I still had spelt or barley every day. I just hope my heart and lungs feel better tomorrow.

October 2

breakfast: protein drink

lunch: vegetable minestrone

dinner: kichiri, kale, carrot, and tomato

workout: rest day

You know, today made me realize another thing I love about Callanetics: rest days. I had forgotten how nice it is to only have to work out 3 times a week for less than an hour to lose inches. I couldn't imagine going back to 5-6 days a week for 2 hours a day. It seems like utter nonsense now.

Happy, Happy, Happy!

breakfast: protein drink (banana, raw milk, raw protein powder)

lunch: mushroom and tomato omelet, salad

snack: granola with yogurt

dinner: polenta and broccoli

workout: Callanetics 10/10

My stomach's smaller! :) My clothes are looser. What's not to celebrate?