So we are heading down the final stretch. Tomorrow is the weigh in and measurements and the blood test. We already have plans to celebrate (a little).
But first Day 9; the back pain was significant so I didn’t do all the outdoor or indoor work I was planning. I did walk but at a more deliberate pace. About 2/3 way through the walk I could feel a slight loosening of the muscles in the back and the walking became easier. The walk wasn’t easy but I called it a success.
Observation; going to the supermarket has been so different for me in these 10 days. As I walk in the Real Canadian Super Store (RCSS) I am now ‘seeing’ the sugar. It’s in the cases of pop, in all the items for sale that you must walk past on your way in. I know what the good doc means when he says sugar is everywhere. I ‘see’ it now even though I’ve seen it before many times. Call it what you like; a paradigm shift, a ‘Road to Damascus’ experience, but I am transformed in mind and body. I won’t be able to easily slide back into my old eating habits. That’s not to say I will stop eating everything I had eaten in the past, it’s just that I will be mindful. Yes, that’s the word, mindful.
The other thing I notice as well is how overweight to obese we all are (notice I said ‘we’ because I am too). And I remember the good doc’s word’s that on the one hand we aren’t to blame, it’s the food industrial complex (Big Sugar, etc.) that has got us to this point. But on the other hand we can change. But it is an addiction. We all are addicted to sugar. I have been. So when I see overweight people I now wonder if they can break free of their addictions. It’s so hard when sugar is everywhere. I hate that. No regulations. I can see a future day, within a generation, when the government will bring in regulations or prohibitions on sugar like they did with tobacco or alcohol or illicit drugs. Sugar is killing us. It’s not the only thing that is making us ill, but breaking the sugar addiction would be a huge 1st step in the right direction.
So here’s my favourite smoothie recipe, Strawberry-Almond-Coconut. But I put seeds and nuts in that are in another recipe (walnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin, hemp and chia seeds). The strawberries and coconut milk give it a rich, creamy taste. So I am now a smoothie person! Just not sure if I will have them for breakfast or lunch in the future. Yesterday I didn’t follow the plan and made another omelet with onions, garlic and black olives. Not the tastiest (missing out on green peppers and cheese!) but still acceptable. Last night I made a tilapia soup. Actually the recipe was called “Coconut Curry with Fish or Tofu”. The problem was that it called for 4 cups of vegetable stock which turned it into a soup. It was to be poured over steamed vegetables and topped with finely chopped almonds. I made and it was good. At least good enough to save and eat as a leftover. Two ingredients went missing, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds (where do you find those? Not at RCSS). Another recipe that could pair well with rice. But I need to be careful going forward. I continue to lose weight, another pound from yesterday so it would be wonderful to get down to my weight goal.
The night ended with a soak in the bathtub. If the toxins are going out I’m quite happy to sit for 20 minutes. I suppose they are. Now it’s off to a day of activities on this final diet day.
amstutzfamily5 