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Post by clueless on Dec 8, 2014 10:55:56 GMT -6
Mirror mirror on the wall who is the LCy-ist of them all?!? The evil Queen may have employed the mirror for purely vain reasons, and I certainly do that too, but quite apart from the unseemly amount of time spent admiring the results, modest as they may be, of the effort I've put into body recomposition, and on a much more cosmic level, I love mirrors because every day I get to see that I no longer have that huge belly thanks to LC. When I was fat I couldn't avoid seeing that fact every time I passed a mirror. Now there are very few times that I don't savor seeing myself slender when passing a mirror. Years ago I'd given up ever being skinny again. Really. I consciously had decided that being fat was a reality and nothing would ever change that. So it feels miraculous to not be fat. Out in public I don't usually just stand in front of a mirror joyous, even overwhelmed sometimes, about not being fat but at home I sure do and I thank my lucky stars for rediscovering LC. That is an awesome tribute to LC!
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
Plan:
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 8, 2014 20:17:18 GMT -6
I can relate to that one, Darin. We have this curio cabinet that sits at the end of our hallway. It has a mirror in the back, and though the image is partly obscured by the curios, I like seeing myself walk down the hallway, looking lean and lively and happy!
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Post by reddarin on Dec 9, 2014 14:14:50 GMT -6
Life's good because of grocery bills being so controllable!
Before LC I could never go into the store and just pick up a few things. It was impossible for me to make a list and stick to it. Even if I was in a hurry and just needing one or two things I'd get to the register one or more carbtastic items. Usually junk food type stuff.
Now a days I am in and out. I stick to the list I make and actual junk food never makes it into the cart. In fact, sometimes I walk around a bit just to look for extra stuff to get while I am there and most of the time I leave with only the listed items. Wow. That is an amazingly drastic change from before LC.
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rejoicealways8
State
Posts: 712
Joined: December 2013
Location: UnderTheBigBlueTexasSky
Stats: 151/129/115
Plan: Carnivory
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Post by rejoicealways8 on Dec 10, 2014 11:59:40 GMT -6
I am thankful that butter is a good thing!
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Post by reddarin on Dec 10, 2014 12:45:36 GMT -6
My LC life boon is about mental clarity. Sometimes I'm really struck by how much easier it is to solve, or at least effectively analyze, a problem since going LC. I've always liked troubleshooting stuff so the contrast is particularly apparent to me.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 11, 2014 18:28:53 GMT -6
LC life is good with my clean windshield.
Shortly after getting my new truck back in 2008 I discovered that the center of the windshield was unreachable. I was super annoyed. For years.
I started LC at the beginning of winter so it was quite some time before the weather was agreeable for a full hand wash and wax. Of course, by then I'd dropped quite a bit of weight too.
I was absolutely flabbergasted when, prepared to be annoyed for the umpteenth time at not being able to reach the center of the windshield - I reached it and then some with ease. I still appreciate that difference every time I have to reach across something.
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
Plan:
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 12, 2014 8:21:44 GMT -6
I've mentioned this one already, but since it's what I'm grateful for today, I'll mention it again. I've been sick the last few days, and while that's no fun, I know from much experience that I would have been sicker for longer if I had not been eating NK.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 12, 2014 10:07:30 GMT -6
LC life is good because I no longer see fat people as failures.
It is impossible to separate being fat from personal failure with the CICO mindset. Nothing else matters with that crap because, in the end, the victim of CICO that fails to lose weight has *always* failed because they personally were unable to control their eating or, in addition to that, they were too lazy to move more to absorb the excesses of their personal failures with culinary hedonism.
Considering the endemic nature of being overweight that is a huge burden off your shoulders. According to the CDC about 70% of American adults are overweight. Think about that! No matter where you go on some level you are negatively judging 7 out of the 10 people you see every day as being personal failures. *If* you believe the CICO ELMM poop.
Even the most superficial understanding of LC frees your mind from automatically seeing almost everyone around you as abject failures.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 13, 2014 13:16:14 GMT -6
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Post by reddarin on Dec 14, 2014 14:15:08 GMT -6
LC life! I have been trying to come up with something a bit different to celebrate LC every day because I want to whoever is reading to have their own aha moment. The benefits and boons of living LC is going to be different for everyone especially regarding the little things in life that are unique to every individual person. My daily affirmations do vary but some are an every single day thing because I notice it every single day. Like how my clothes fit, how I can see muscles because of lower body fat, I still notice the absence of headaches and heartburn most days, how enjoyable a high fat low carb meal is, how in control I feel with regards to hunger, etc. etc. I notice those things because they are noticeable. I note those things because I don't want to take them for granted. I think when I finally fell off plan after being stuck at 205 for so many months it was because I took what LC had done for me for granted. Sure, I was stuck and unhappy about not being able to break the plateau, which is a very reasonable thing for any human, but I let myself forget how far I'd come and how excellent I felt because I quit noticing and noting the big things and the small things.
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Post by clueless on Dec 14, 2014 16:05:43 GMT -6
:thumbsup:Great post Red. Made my heart sing.
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
Plan:
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 14, 2014 20:25:06 GMT -6
That was an epic post.
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
Plan:
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 14, 2014 20:30:07 GMT -6
Having HDL cholesterol > 90
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Post by reddarin on Dec 15, 2014 20:57:13 GMT -6
LC life is good because...
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Post by clueless on Dec 16, 2014 9:52:43 GMT -6
LC life is good because... Hey skinny, good reason. Lol!
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Post by reddarin on Dec 16, 2014 11:20:41 GMT -6
LC life is good because of my front porch.
Last year I tackled rebuilding the (free standing deck style) front porch. The existing porch was badly in need of being removed and replaced and had been for some time. In fact, when I went to tear it down it was almost as simple as just pushing it over - it was that rickety; downright dangerous to use.
The thing is, I'm no handyman by any stretch of the imagination. I like solving problems but when it comes to hand tools and building stuff I prefer to let the professionals do it because I've never been any good at it.
A big part of that, though, turns out to have been self-confidence and in no small part self-image. What does LC have to do with *that*, where building something is concerned, you ask? Success breeds success. Once I knew that the reason I was fat and stayed fat wasn't a character flaw I started to see how it could be possible for me to take on a job like that and get it done.
Granted, the new porch is not level and is out of square enough to make a contractor turn pale and possibly faint. But! It's my porch lol. I built it and I couldn't have done it without the mental success of LC and, indeed, the physical change of losing weight. I see the porch I built every day and I have a sense of pride that I did it. I know I couldn't have done it, I wouldn't have even tried, before LC freed my mind.
I think the mainstream seriously underestimates how damaging it is to blame the fat person for being fat by way of being a personal failure. It is impossible to avoid having that sense of personal failure color all facets of life. A bad day turns into an excuse to pig out. Why is that? How many of us have done that, throw in the towel and eat a crapton of unhealthy, even for the SAD way, carby crap with the thought 'screw it I am a fatso anyway'. I know I did that many times. What does being a fatso have to do with having a bad day? Absolutely nothing. Except that per the mainstream your failure at life that day has the same common denominator as your failure at being fat.
I wonder how many people fail to live up to their potential and miss opportunities because they think it is their fault that they are so incapable, so feeble, at life as to do something as simple as put down the fork?
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rejoicealways8
State
Posts: 712
Joined: December 2013
Location: UnderTheBigBlueTexasSky
Stats: 151/129/115
Plan: Carnivory
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Post by rejoicealways8 on Dec 17, 2014 7:21:19 GMT -6
Hey Darin, thanks for continuing to post on this thread. I enjoy reading about your journey and it is helpful in my own.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 17, 2014 10:53:24 GMT -6
LC life is good when it is stormy! Man oh man. Before LC/WF when the storm clouds gathered I cowered in fear of the coming sinus headache. Usually I knew it was going to rain before the rain got here because of that. That was one of the more startling changes to come about when I went LC and wheat-free. The sudden absence of sinus headaches was striking but immunity even with stormy weather??? I about fell over the first time I failed to get a sinus headache with bad weather. I wanted to run around and hug everyone. Actually, I still feel like that heh. Like the way giggling is contagious other people don't know why you are laughing but cannot keep themselves from laughing with you in joy. God bless you LC/WF
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rejoicealways8
State
Posts: 712
Joined: December 2013
Location: UnderTheBigBlueTexasSky
Stats: 151/129/115
Plan: Carnivory
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Post by rejoicealways8 on Dec 18, 2014 6:35:38 GMT -6
Great post Darin!
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Post by reddarin on Dec 18, 2014 10:05:07 GMT -6
Yesterday's foray into crowded spaces which inspired my new everyday attire also inspired my LC life post for today.
Colds! OMG! I know I am not immune to them but before LC/WF I got at least two bad colds every single winter. If I was around someone with a cold I'd catch it no matter what and no matter when because summertime colds happen too.
Since going LC/WF late in 2011 I think I have had one or two mild colds. Wow! 3 years and one or two *mild* colds! If you'd have told me prior to going LC/WF that just going LC/WF would make that a reality I never would have believed it. But it is one of the many benefits I've enjoyed that has nothing to do with the bathroom scale.
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
Plan:
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 18, 2014 15:46:00 GMT -6
Yesterday's foray into crowded spaces which inspired my new everyday attire also inspired my LC life post for today. Colds! OMG! I know I am not immune to them but before LC/WF I got at least two bad colds every single winter. If I was around someone with a cold I'd catch it no matter what and no matter when because summertime colds happen too. Since going LC/WF late in 2011 I think I have had one or two mild colds. Wow! 3 years and one or two *mild* colds! If you'd have told me prior to going LC/WF that just going LC/WF would make that a reality I never would have believed it. But it is one of the many benefits I've enjoyed that has nothing to do with the bathroom scale. I can relate -- in fact I've mentioned that twice now as the thing I'm grateful for, lol! My first LC book (Life Without Bread by Allan and Lutz) talked about this effect of boosted immunity with LC, but I didn't anticipate that it would be as powerful as it has been for me.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 19, 2014 22:41:36 GMT -6
LC life is good because you become better. If you eat the mainstream way there is only *one* check to know if you are doing it right - are you losing weight? That's it. Nothing else. Zippo. Nada. Zilch. Unless you are eating complete garbage before going CICO ELMM there's no change other than weight loss *if* it works for you. Even that change, from garbage food to more wholesome food, is a contrast that fades as the mainstream's way still challenges your biology and strength of will to accommodate it. But LC/NK? Ah. We feel better. We think better. We gain amazing control and our appetite is better. We typically don't suffer from the mundane afflictions of the grainy carby well-balanced suckers. Even when things are challenging, like Cheryl and Pam's battle with allergies other things are still awesome - appetite control and other boons of LC. We lose weight better. We maintain weight better. Everything is better. Like Khan but not evil.
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Post by clueless on Dec 20, 2014 7:03:22 GMT -6
"Like Khan but not evil"
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Post by reddarin on Dec 20, 2014 13:44:23 GMT -6
LC life is good because of the support we have. gretalyn mentioning JM's podcasts being motivational reminded me of a very cool thing about our way of life. We have some amazingly good sources of information and inspiration freely available in podcasts like Jimmy, Dave Asprey, Abel James, Relentless Roger and the Caveman Doctor, Chris Kresser, Robb Wolf, and whoever else I might have missed. All of them have positive messages that put you in charge of your health and wellness. Apparently Dave Asprey has unseated the ever so obnoxious Jillian Michaels for #1 on iTunes Fitness & Health podcasts which is awesome too. Not to mention the LC forums that are generally very supportive leaving aside the occasional miserable trolls that haunt some boards of course. I listen to LC related podcasts at least once a week if not more often. Good stuff.
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Post by clueless on Dec 21, 2014 6:36:32 GMT -6
I don't think so.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 21, 2014 14:33:32 GMT -6
LC life is good for exercise!
Once you recognize that exercise and weight loss are not tightly coupled it frees you to enjoy exercise because you are doing it for the right reasons with the right goals. You don't *have* to do cardio to lose weight so if you dread cardio skip it and play basketball or just go for a nice walk. Like yoga but don't want to beat the tar out of yourself with the rigorous 'calorie burning' forms? Wonderful! Do the sort of yoga you like because you like it rather than have some mainstream idiot dictate what you have to do.
The pressure is off! Going to the gym because you want to is night and day different than feeling like you have to or else. Want to tone your butt but not be stuck in the gym for hours because of exercises other people demand you do? Perfect! Go at your own pace and leave your worries behind.
You aren't going to beat a bad diet with exercise but you've already got that part down because of LC. All that's left is not doing stupid injury-prone type stuff and you are all set. Feel good. Look good. Be good.
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
Plan:
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 22, 2014 21:51:25 GMT -6
For three out of the five years that I was a vegetarian, I lived in a constant brain fog. It was awful. I'm so glad to be out of that!!!
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Post by reddarin on Dec 22, 2014 23:39:37 GMT -6
Life is good with LC because you find out what's possible. I'm gonna tell you what. Leading up to going WF/LC I was eating two loaves of french bread a week plus all the other mainstream carb based foods. Before LC's astonishing results I never could have imagined a life without bread. Right? When I started LC/WF I was already sold on it because of Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat and the evils of wheat thanks to Dr. Davis' Wheat Belly. But being sold on something and staying sold on something is all the difference in the world. Between going LC and WF I started losing weight and stopped getting headaches, heartburn, sinus headaches, aches, etc. A couple of years ago, about a year after going LC/WF and down 60 pounds to 205, I ran into someone I'd known 20 years ago. He'd acquired a fat belly. We chatted for a bit and I told him how I'd lost 60 pounds which made him go wide-eyed heh. How'd you do it, he asked?? I told him. Oh, I could *never* give up bread, says he. Really?!? Seriously?!? I didn't say it to him but I guess he doesn't hate being fat as much as I did and do. That is why I say LC lets you find out what's possible. It is possible to eat amazingly well without bread. It's funny. I don't miss that french bread at all and I never would have thought that was possible before I did it.
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gretalyn
State
Posts: 610
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 148/132/132
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Post by gretalyn on Dec 23, 2014 9:25:22 GMT -6
Oh, I could *never* give up bread, says he. Really?!? Seriously?!? I didn't say it to him but I guess he doesn't hate being fat as much as I did and do. This reminded me of one good thing that I picked up from that other message board that shall not be named. Low-carb is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard. Yes, exercise is hard. But suffering the effects of not exercising is hard. So pick which hard you want to live with. Maybe that sounds harsh to some people, but sometimes I need a good kick in the butt to wake me up and get me going. And that really helped me to remember that I am making choices every single day. I am the one in charge here. I get to decide AND I get to deal with the consequences of those decisions, for better or for worse. So many people seem to think that the food they eat and their activity are not something that they have control over. It's out of their hands and they're just along for the ride. But that's a delusion. We all need to take ownership of the choices we are making.
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Post by reddarin on Dec 23, 2014 17:40:05 GMT -6
This reminded me of one good thing that I picked up from that other message board that shall not be named. Low-carb is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard. Yes, exercise is hard. But suffering the effects of not exercising is hard. So pick which hard you want to live with. Maybe that sounds harsh to some people, but sometimes I need a good kick in the butt to wake me up and get me going. And that really helped me to remember that I am making choices every single day. I am the one in charge here. I get to decide AND I get to deal with the consequences of those decisions, for better or for worse. So many people seem to think that the food they eat and their activity are not something that they have control over. It's out of their hands and they're just along for the ride. But that's a delusion. We all need to take ownership of the choices we are making. I know the sig line you are talking about. It always struck me as as about as pragmatical as it gets. Also, I like to think of it as a refutation of the mainstream's silly assertion that ELMM CICO is somehow as easy as not eating pie.
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