LL Cool J Loves “Cheat Meals”

Oh, ladies… we do love “Cool James” don’t we?

Men, you know you love him too – just more of an envious kind of love, eh? ;)

LL Cool J recently released a new program called Platinum 360 which involves an eating plan and workout schedule. He claims that it’s helped him get in shape while working on NCIS: Los Angeles. (I’ve been on sets before… Craft Services tables are a total nightmare for dieters!)

So last week, he was on one of my favorite shows, The Doctors. He was there to talk about his new diet and exercise plan, LL Cool J’s Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle: A Full-Circle Guide to Developing Your Mind, Body, and Soul .

Sounds to me like it actually takes the whole “common sense” stuff and breaks it down in a way that’s easier to “digest”. Ha. I kid.

Carbohydrates, Fat & Protein

CARBOHYDRATES
Bad Carbs = Simple Sugars (soda, candy, white rice, white bread).
Good Carbs = Whole grains, natural (fruit) sugars in moderation, veggies.

Seriously, kids. I mean, we all know that we need carbohydrates for fuel. We all know that we should be eating real oatmeal and not “Sugar Crunchies” for breakfast (or donuts, for that matter).

Eat a whole grain bagel with some peanut butter. Better still? Shmear some Laughing Cow Cheese on that baby. I SWEAR it’s just like cream cheese! I’m partial to the French Onion flavored wedges. One per bagel half and I’m in total breakfast heaven.

FATS

Women especially need fat in their diet, to facilitate hormone production. But everyone needs fat (a total fat-free diet WILL make you sick). Many vitamins and minerals are fat-soluble only, meaning they’ll only be absorbed into the body when broken down by the fat we eat.

Think of traffic lights. Red, yellow, and green.

Red = Saturated fats like deep fried foods, lard, some oils, full-fat dressings and sauces.

Yellow = Use caution, these are fine in moderation. We’re talking eggs, milk, cheese, stuff like that.

Green = Unsaturated fats. Think salmon, almonds, avocado. Yum!

PROTEIN

You must remember this from 7th grade health class, right? We need protein because it’s the building block for all your body’s cells, but especially muscle. Yes, your HEART is a muscle. Think about that. We’re not talking about you eating a whole chicken every day so you can bulk up and look like LL Cool J. This is basic body function type muscle strength.

Protein also helps prevent sugar spikes in your blood. Hello!!! Diabetics! Pay attention! Eat up the white meat turkey and chicken (skinless, please) and add in some tuna, nonfat Greek yogurt, low-fat cheeses. Stay away from the Atkins ill-advised bacon and fatty steak, okay?

Check this out: If your body doesn’t get protein in food, it’s going to steal it from your body’s muscle. Do YOU want to be sitting there 10 years from now with pain and weakness in your body? I don’t!

LL’s Number One Tip

Mix up your food based on your workouts. Shock your body. Confuse it, eat carbs then don’t. Eat fat, then don’t.

This isn’t a new revelation, people. Back when I was on Weight Watchers, with their POINTS system, there was a member-derived plan based on one woman’s success with it called the Wendie Plan. The POINTS system basically told you that you had a certain number of POINTS you could eat each day. POINTS basically were an easy way to count calories. Once you met your POINTS, you were done. Well, the Wendie Plan said that instead of eating say, 30 POINTS a day, you’d take the 210 POINTS you got each week and mixed it up. Have ONE cheat day a week.

Example:

Sunday – 25 (Low)
Monday – 30 (Normal)
Tuesday – 22 (Low)
Wednesday – 41 (Cheat Day – Super High)
Thursday – 27 (Low)
Friday – 35 (High)
Saturday – 30 (Normal)

You can do this with daily caloric intake just the same. LL adds in that you should vary up the actual types of food you eat, based on carbs, fat, or protein. So say on your cheat day, you’d have that double cheeseburger or the 2 pieces of fried chicken. But you need to workout extra on that day. On your light days, where you stick mainly to fruit and veggies or something, you’d take it a little easier on the workout.

I simply love this idea. Shocking your body keeps it alert and not knowing what’s happening next. The Wendie Plan works like a charm (when I did it, I consistently lost 2-3 pounds per week). I can’t see why this idea wouldn’t work too!

The Bottom Line

It boils down to common sense and portion control. I’m sick of hearing people whine about not being able to lose weight. It’s basic, people. Eat right, move your body, and damnit, walk tall!

Yes, this makes the assumption that you’re not on medicine or have a health issue that prevents you from losing weight. If that’s the case, talk to your doctor and a nutritionist. But if you’re a reasonably average human being, with lots of desire and no medical reason behind your excessive weight, then laziness (which yes, I’m quite subject to myself) is your only cause.

You know how. It’s just a matter of doing it.

Diabetes Update: May 2009

Okay so yes, it’s been a bit since I’ve posted an update with this, but here we go…

If you remember from the last Diabetes Update, my blood sugar level was 194, and I’d lost 7 pounds. The doctor had put me on Januvia, and told me that he needed me to lose more weight, faster.

Well, May 27th and my FBS (fasting blood sugar) had dropped 24 points to 170! I was so excited about that, though the doc said it was good, but that had I lost more weight it would’ve been a better number. Yep. The weight thing.

I’m not struggling with the food, I promise you. I’ve been doing very well, not completely excluding anything, but rather focusing on adding the good stuff to replace most (seriously, 99%) of the bad stuff. It’s really, honestly, with head hung in shame… the exercise.

So I bought Core Rhythms. Yes I did. I’ve been ridiculously busy and haven’t had time to try it for more than 15 mins since it arrived, but I can already tell I’m going to love it. Likely much more than the treadmill, that’s for sure. I feel like a gerbil on that thing.

So anyway, while the weight is steadily at 245 (yes, actually a 4 lb. gain from my lowest since starting this trek) I’m hoping that by continuing the good eating and incorporating the workout DVDs, I should finally start to see some serious weight droppage.

I’m madder than hell at the producers of The Biggest Loser… let me just share that with you. Bitter? You bet your big fat butt I am.

Okay, so my next appointment is mid-July, on the 14th, right before the three-month mark that I’ve been on the Januvia. So that means I’ve got another 6 weeks to do some serious damage control. I know what you’re thinking: “But Lara, more than 1-2 pounds per week isn’t healthy.”

Guess what? The contestants on TBL weigh in every week and a half (10 days, not 7 as the show would make you think), and if they are being medically supervised (as I am) to lose that enormous amount of weight that they do, I think I can handle 3-4 lbs per week without fear. My goal for July 14th is 20 lbs. which would put me at 225. I’ve done it before without even trying, and now I’m going to do it again. I think once I do that, I’ll have a good jump start behind me and I will be able to continue this without giving up.

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I’m Droppin’ Babies Like Hot Rhymes…

Alright, I know that title is completely corny and stupid, but hey… It’s Spring and I’m feelin’ corny and stupid.

So on my last post about my diabetes battle, where I mentioned that I’d “only” lost 7 pounds, a beautiful reader by the name of kirwin left a comment that totally put some things in perspective for me:

I know it’s not the numbers you were hoping for but seven pounds is seven pounds. Consider this: that’s a newborn baby. You did AWESOME, and you are heading in the right direction.

Keep it up. It’s the tortoise that wins the race.

To that end, because I’ve never in my life thought of measuring weight loss to the weight of your average, healthy baby… and because one of my dreams in life is to be a mom… I’ve decided to add the “baby meter” in a way that’s unlike any other baby meter you’ve seen!

I’m going to be naming these babies… and sending them out in the world to live outside my body! Once you give birth, you can’t put the baby back in. You have to name the baby. I see it like I’ve been nurturing these babies far longer than a normal pregnancy… in fact, it’s been about 18 years, so they’re due to get a life of their own, outside my body!

I’d like to introduce you to my first born…

Meet Elardabeth! She was the first 7 pound baby born during my battle against diabetes. Thanks kid, but you’re on your own now!

So for those of you who got to this page by clicking on the “What’s with all the babies?” link on the home page, now you know! I’ll be updating this page with all the babies and their names, every 7 pounds I lose!

Babies I’ve Set Free

Elardabeth

Diabetes Update – Januvia Prescription

First I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to send personal emails to me, comment on my posts, and reach out to me via Twitter… I love you all!

As you might recall, this morning I had my 6-week check-in with the doctor regarding my diabetes diagnosis that I got on March 9, 2009. I’ve got a few things to report, some good, others not so much.

• I did lose 7 pounds since my last visit, 6 weeks ago. It’s not the numbers I was hoping for (or that my doc was hoping for) but it did prove to him that I’m taking this seriously, so that’s a good thing. He said a pound a week was okay for a normal person trying to lose weight, but he wanted to see a big initial drop, which I didn’t have.
• My fasting blood sugar (FBS) was 194. That’s about 10 points higher than it was the last time, so I’m really kind of upset over that. I’ve been doing really well with limiting carb intake, despite a few wagon trips.

Because of the above two points, he’s put me on a prescription diabetes medicine called Januvia. It’s supposed to suppress the appetite, lower blood glucose levels, and all around help when used with diet and exercise to lose weight.

I’ve read about drugs like Metformin and Janumet (a combination of Januvia and Metformin) used as oral prescriptions for those with Type 2 Diabetes who are having troubles with just diet and exercise.

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been 110% perfect with the diet or the exercise, however I’ve got another appointment in 5 weeks for another blood sugar test and a check-in with the doc (May 26th). I’ve also set the appointment with the CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) for May 6th.

I’ve re-dedicated myself to using SparkPeople to journal my food consumption – It’s got to be a permanent factor in my life right now, because when I don’t use it, I can pretty much safely assume that I’m going over the 1200-1400 calorie limit.

I’m also going to be forcing myself to get on the treadmill every day. I don’t care what it is that has me “busy” – there’s nothing as important to me as getting on that damn machine. Period.

So there you have it – Maybe I should be going to the doc once a week, for a weekly motivation boost?!? LOL

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Diagnosis: Type 2 Diabetes. Now What?

March 9th, 2009 will forever go down in my life history as the day my health kicked my ass. No, I’m not dying. I’m actually feeling more alive and motivated and inspired than ever before in my near 32 years.

A Little Back Story

Two days prior to the “Day of Dawn” for me, I’d been sitting at my desk and noticed that my left hand had these weird, jerky twitches going on. Not like your everyday eyelid twitch or that rhythmic thumping twitch, no… it was the fingers on my left hand moving around in strange, unbalanced movements. I got a little weirded out so I called the doctor’s office and they set me up for a 2pm appointment.

Now, I need to explain here that prior to all of this mess, I’d never EVER been much of a breakfast eater. I’d wake up around 6 or 7 and drink coffee with 2% milk and equal until about noon-thirty before actually putting something in my mouth that required chewing. I had a feeling they were going to draw blood, so I didn’t even eat that day until after the appointment.

So by the time I got to the doctor’s office and the subsequent lab for a blood draw, I had gone 21 hours without anything but that day’s coffee in my gut. More on that thought later…

The next day I get the call that my doc wants to see me to go over the bloodwork results. Okay, so there’s clearly something wrong, since if everything were okay he’d have called to tell me that and told me to keep an eye on the twitching stuff and let him know if it gets worse or more frequent.

I go into the office and the PA comes in and asks me why I’m there. (In case you’re wondering, I’m not a big fan of any of the PA’s at this office, but whatever…) So I tell her and she leaves and comes back with that finger pricker thing but never says a word. I see her putting it together and I mention that I really hate it. Like, I have a ridiculous reflex against it, have since I was a kid. It’s uncontrollable by myself alone, so I’m hoping she can hold my hand steady enough.

She couldn’t. Or rather, she didn’t even bother to really try. She kind of cupped my finger in her hand like she was holding an egg.

I wound up with an inch long gash on my finger that wouldn’t stop bleeding for hours after I left the damn office.

Doctor comes in and tells me that my cholesterol levels are “perfect”, my proteins and all that other stuff are normal, but my blood sugar was really high, at 183. This slash test just now (also about 18 hours since the last time I’d eaten, by the way) showed 186. He was sending me for a Hemoglobin A1c, which tests for the percentage of sugar bonded to proteins in the blood, and which is a defining test for Type 2 Diabetes. He said that 6% or lower was normal, 6-7% was borderline, and 7% and above was definite T2.

So back over to the lab I go, pulling up the sleeve of the other arm and since I know the hematologist, having a discussion with her about how I’m now officially nervous.

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

I came home and my mother came down to spend time with me. I made a stir-fry dinner with brown rice and we talked about all the things the doctor said. Basically what he told me was that right now, regardless of the test results, the only thing he wants me to focus on is a 1200-1400 calorie per day diet, low in carbs and zero refined carbs, and 30 minutes of exercise every day. Heart-pumping exercise that is, to get the heart rate up.

I’m thinking, “Okay, I can do this. I’ve been wanting to do this, and now I have to do this, and I can do this.”

So the next day I get a call from the doctor’s secretary or PA or whatever, and she tells me that my A1c came back at 10.6% and she is going to make me an appointment to see their CDE (Certified Diabetes Instructor). Um, but the doctor said he doesn’t want me on a meter, doesn’t want me stressing over anything at all, just to focus on calories, content, and exercise. I tell her this, and she says, “Well, let’s set you up with the appointment anyway and if the doctor says no, we can cancel it.”

That, folks, is another long story, but the bottom line is that I didn’t see the CDE, and when I spoke to the doctor about it the other day, he was fine with it.

So Here I Go

I’ve been tracking every morsel that goes into my body with SparkPeople and have really tried to get on the treadmill every day. I’ve not succeeded, but every single morning I tell myself that I’m going to do it. It’s been over two weeks, and I’ve lost 4 pounds thus far.

I’ll be writing about this whole process in great detail of course. My next appointment with the doctor is on April 21, 2009 but don’t worry, I’ve got lots to say even before then… ;)

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