Lor’s Blog

This is a true story about finding the very first something that worked for me … and then everytime … no exceptions .

My son was almost 4 years old.
I was only around 10 lbs heavier than I was used to being at this point, lbs that werent budging no matter how I exercised .

My sister was getting married and I was exercising like crazy to fit into the slinky dresses she picked out.
The actual dress fittings werent going to be for another 10 days , and that was great because I was taking a trip to NewEngland and would’nt be back for a week .
I have me a wonderful trip , only to find out ( this is a true story … maybe my sis will read this a corroberate it… )
that my sister and my mother decided to fit for dresses early while i was GONE , and just HOLD a dress up and say ” yes, this is about the right size for Lori ” .
Matron of Honor.
Had her  dress guess-sized for her.

I was LIVID .

After crying alot ( which I just KNOW burned calories) I decided I could always hit the treadmill. I had time before the actual wedding, and the dress they picked out for me was (drum roll please …) a size 3 .  I was not a size 3.
I had found my claim to fame in this life when I began to plot the death of every woman at the dress-fitting . They were ALL going down. No one was going to look good in their dress, they were going to look dead in their dress.
I was soooo mad .

Another concern for me at the time was that my dad was suffering from diabetes in a big way, and I wanted him comfortable for the wedding .
I began to read The Zone: A Dietary Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently : Reset Your Genetic Code : Prevent Disease : Achieve Maximum Physical Performance , and how my dad could benefit from glycemic control . At this time, Mastering the Zone was a fairly new concept . I wanted dad eventually off the insulin .

The diet at first seemed complicated;
good eicosanoids v.s. bad eicosanoids …. 30-30-40 ratios …. good fat ?
I did my reading, and went on the diet with him.
I wasn’t changing a thing I was eating . I was only changing the ratios .
I found for me I wasn’t eating enough protein and I was not eating alot of fat ( wasn’t it all bad anyway? ) .
I wasn’t exercising anymore .
Anti-Aging Zone recommends it, but I was a working mommy frrreaking out over a dress .
Exercising was just another hated thing to do.
In the first week, I lost weight.
I lost enough to motivate me to eat this way for life, I thought.
By the second week my weightloss was enough for others to comment on. By the third week, the dresses were in .
I tried it on.
It fit. Perfectly.
Do I think I would have chosen that size at my fitting?  Hell no.
I wasn’t ready to quit eating this way.
The more I read, the more I realized I wasn’t exactly just losing weight.
This wasn’t calorie restriction.
I was eating way more fat , way more protein , and the same amount of carbs . I think the only difference for me personally was that I no longer made a meal out of only carbs ( a pasta dinner … baked potato and bread … ect.) .
After losing the original 10 lbs I wanted, I also lost an additional 5lbs that I didnt try to lose .
Here is why I sing the praises of The Zone-
the weight I lost seemed to be exactly what my frame needed to lose, and no more. You seem to plateau at the perfect weight .
Now, if you want to actually  omit desserts, I’m sure you could lose more. I was drinking alcohol occasionally and eating dessert everday like it was on the food pyramid . I gave nothing up. I did however have to add things to high carb treats to make them less likely to spike my sugar. So what .

Since then , I have been on it and off it.
I find the deciding factor in the staying power of eating this way for life is your INCOME.
When I have money, eating this way is effortless.
When I’m broke, fresh fruits and vegies take a backseat to cheap rice / pasta / bread meals .
Broke = weight , for me.

If anyone is even slightly curious about the diet, I encourage reading The Zone Diet by Dr. Barry Sears .
Its not temporary. You dont require suppliments like you do on the atkins diet ( my dad’s friend died on that diet. blood became acidic and had a heart attack ).
The Zone is natural, your original diet need not change much . You can eat this way comfortably forever. Perfect for children .

My attraction to this way of eating?
Other than every health benefit under the sun ?
Exercise was NOT necessary  and I genuinely didnt mind it after I began losing some weight and liking how I looked !