Posts by pacifikate

Sometimes the balance of intestinal microorganisms (fungi, yeast, bacteria, etc.) becomes imbalanced when one eats too many processed foods, because refined carbs don't have the same immune-boosting nutrients as raw/unprocessed fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Processed foods also contain high levels of sugar, which feeds the naturally occurring candida in one's gut, sometimes resulting in candidiasis. Antibiotics are often the cause of such intestinal imbalances, because they kill off the good microorganism colonies in your gut and give the unhealthy ones opportunity to flourish.

For over a year now, I've been coming down with increasingly widespread and severe food allergies (recently, eating pretty much anything processed or containing flour/gluten, soy, or sugar caused me to feel itchy all over), and I've been tired, depressed, and been unable to concentrate at my previous levels. In spite of completely clear STI/HIV checks and re-checks, in the past four months, I've been diagnosed--by Western docs--with two conditions (shingles and lichen planus) which are closely tied to auto-immune disorders. Both these ailments had no Western medicine cure: the answer was to just "live through it" or take corticosteriods in the case of the latter. I've caught colds and flu bugs at a much higher rate this year than ever before, haven't been able to stay properly hydrated, and and have generally felt like my body is rebelling on me and *anything* I tried to do to fix it.

Taking two courses of doctor-prescribed Flagyl within a month of one another only made these problems worse after the medication was completed. I finally went to a naturopath, who was the only doctor to suggest making drastic dietary changes (even though I ate pretty healthfully before, I'm now eliminating gluten, dairy, soy, and sugar) and put me on a natural anti-microbial, which helps kill off the microorganism overgrowth in my gut. After about 3 months of super clean eating, I'll rebuild new healthy bacteria colonies by taking probiotics and slowly expanding my diet.

I've already noticed positive improvement after 2 weeks in being able to consume small amounts of 'restricted' foods (hey, everyone slips up once in a while) without the side effects I had before, and my general health and energy levels have improved dramatically after an initial (severe) die-off/detox reaction. Like OP said happens, my hair, nails, and skin are all in their best condition EVER, and my ailments have almost entirely disappeared.

I've gone the long way around the barn in telling it, but my experience is just one example of how antibiotics are sometimes *not* the answer. Processed foods are treated with chemicals and radiated to ensure "food safety," but this eliminates many of the nutrients that made the original ingredients good for you in the first place. The best source of nutrients is from fresh, unprocessed foods, even better if they are locally produced and therefore spending less time decomposing in between garden and plate.

Just because you haven't experienced these effects from antibiotics or processed foods, kisteel, does *not* mean they don't exist for the rest of us.

Crickets seem to chirp whenever this question is asked. I would also love to see an answer to it ... anyone out there have suggestions/tips?

Original Post by ningomes:

I have the horrid things on my arms too. So I joined a community and read something interesting one day. I haven't tried it but I thought I'd share.

http://www.keratosispilaris.org/general-discu ssion/4742-worst-case-keratosis-pilaris-treat ed-naturally-success-story-page-76-a.html

I recently went on a diet very similar to the one described in your link, and it has left me with the softest skin I've ever had. It's also reduced inflammatory weight I've been carrying for quite some time (8 lbs in 2 weeks, and I've struggled with ANY weight loss for over four years), and helped me to actually feel energized from the foods I eat. It was a HUGE push to make it through the first week (one of my biggest problems was a systematic candida infection, which causes major detox symptoms when you stop consuming sugar, milk, gluten, soy ... anything that yeast likes to munch on. It's easier now because I realize that eating those foods (at least for now) will make me tired, cranky, and put me into a major brain fog.

Good luck to all on your migrations away from KP!

Original Post by james_64:

Every kilogram I lose I get a reward, anything from a ride in a go-kart to buying jeans to a walk up a hill that has special meaning (I am allowed to go swimming each kilogram lost as well).  At goal, I get to go on an overseas trip (I'll book 5kg earlier), get new lenses for my glasses and start looking for a better job (one that I actually enjoy!).  The biggie is I will propose to my partner, I want to see that she is attracted to me at that weight.

My weight loss system means that I can go to the cinema, or buy coffee from the supermarket, but only if I am the lowest weight so far since 1st Jan 09.  It's working so far.

I follow the same practical-reward motivation scheme, but like your addition of the movie/coffee restrictions, James! It's simple, fair-minded, and clear--all great characteristics in a potentially emotional effort.

My current goal/reward schemes are as follows:

155 lb. (-5 from current, -20 total): get several pairs of pants altered to fit

145 lb. (-30 total): try indoor rock-climbing!

120-130 lb.* (-45 to 55 total, maintained for 6 months): Goal Weight! Spend a day at Title 9 Sports and give myself a rockin' active lifestyle wardrobe/makeover

*I've never seen myself or anyone in my family at a smaller weight than 150, so I'm going to analyze my goal range once I'm closer to it and determine from there what my final goal weight will be

I'm a Virtual Assistant. I do freelance administrative work on my own schedule. This includes doing scheduling for life coaches, bookkeeper/assistant to the director of a local farmer's market, creating and updating websites, data processing & desktop publishing, etc.

I started doing this when I decided to go back to school for graphic design, which starts in September. My goal is to overlap school projects with client projects whenever possible, to give myself a bit more free time and (gasp) get paid to do homework!

I thought I wanted to be a biologist/research scientist when I was younger, but realized I didn't want to be a lab rat my whole life. I've already gotten over being a corporate whore, so I'm hoping to work for myself (and employ others, potentially) in both virtual assistance and graphic design businesses.

I guess I was a pretty weird kid, or these shows might have slipped everyone else's mind (here's to hoping...)

David the Gnome

Get Smart (the only non-cartoon show were allowed)

Lambchop & Friends (This is the song that never ends...)

Duck Tales (awoo hoo!)

*sigh* I was (ahem, AM) such a dork... :)

Match.com. This was not TOO long ago, but by our second date we had decided to date exclusively, blown over by our compatibility and sudden adoration. Every date ended up lasting at least twice as long as scheduled, and it just feels RIGHT compared to both of our past relationships.

*fingers crossed!*

i have & use the f11, LOOOOOOVE it. i can't remember if the f4 has the "goal" programs to set up goals for maintaining, improving, and maximizing fitness, but i use this on a regular basis. the nice thing is, each week that i meet my set goal, a trophy pops up on the hr monitor, which is encouraging for the next week of workouts. the only bummer about the f11 is that the heart rate monitor strap, while coded (good for gym workouts, so i hear) is a bit more bulky and obtrusive than the non-coded straps that come with the f6 (and with the f4, i'd assume).

i've also used the f6, though, and from my experience, any polar hrm you buy is going to be well worth the money.

As many of my fellow Californians out there might already know, we have a bit of a smug attitude towards what we "need" and expect. I challenged my sense of superiority by moving to upstate New York (for several reasons that I won't go into here) for 1.5 years in November 2006. BAD timing.

Rochester, NY was already a blue collar town before the economy started to drop off, but shortly after getting there, I saw that I had underestimated the challenge and was drowning in debt each month, in spite of my seemingly low $370 rent (including heat). I just moved back to California in May after practically suffocating financially, and decided the best way (only way?) to be a full-time college student in this economy is to live at home.

I moved back in with my mom (a bit of a win-win since she now lives in a very progressive/green-minded community, with a house three blocks from beachside walking trails). That saves me $1000+/month in rent & utilities, but increases my mom's expenses. So, these are the ways our household is cutting down on costs:

• We don't run the a/c EVER, and turned the furnace and radiant floor heating systems off for all but the very coldest days.
• I take a 5 minute shower daily (and even set a timer).
• I've cut down the amount I shave my legs, etc. to once per week, or special occasions (whichever is longest), and turn the water off in the shower while doing so.
• I stopped eating beef for environmental reasons, and my sister is a vegetarian, so we eat veggie dinners. You'd be amazed how much cutting out meat of a diet brings the grocery bill down!
  
• Most meals are prepared at home, and I only buy ingredients that I can pair with other ingredients. Leftovers get "reinvented" and served another night in a new way. (veg-style tacos become tamale pie, etc.)
• Instead of getting an office job (with a 15+ mile commute and an inflexible work schedule), I market myself as a freelance Virtual Office Assistant and work from home. I also work throughout the SF Bay Area at client locations, but charge for both my time and mileage while commuting (there's notoriously bad traffic around here). I'll also be able to fit in more work hours with school, since I can work at whatever time of day I want instead of adhering to an office schedule!
• I have a set laundry day, Friday, where I do one load of laundry (clothing) and one load every other week of towels, sheets, etc. (Our front load washer helps us cram more clothes in per load, and saves money on water bills, too.) If any stains don't come out in that first wash, they are handwashed or just have to wait until next week for another try.
• I try to line-dry most clothing, and all sheets & towels. If the towels get too stiff, I'll just put them in on "fluff" for five minutes and they end up plenty soft.
  
• We walk to the Farmer's Market each Saturday and stock up on cheaper produce, and my mom buys the rest of the groceries near work (bigger city=lower prices, guh) whenever possible.
• We bought a treadmill for $225 on Craig's List and cancelled the gym memberships.
  
• I installed CFLs in place of all the incandescent ones, and we try to "sit in the dark" more instead of leaving lights blazing.
  

Trying to be "green" and to conserve energy has always been a part of my personal culture, and it's much easier to do now that everyone else has become so conscious of it, and it's so "fashionable". We're about to start a compost bin, and I'm nearly there on getting my mom to plant a herb garden (those suckers are expensive!) and a bigger garden next year.

how disappointing! :( i have a polar f11 too, and i actually can't get it to beep at all! (except, inexplicably, whenever i press the "ok" button). i know there's a way to change the upper/lower limits alarm in the settings (to off, low, or high, i think). i would, however, verify that there's no beepy-ness that will arise by doing a series of sprints/cool-downs and a few yoga poses in the comfort of your own home before bringing the dreaded/lovely thing back to yoga class. :)

good luck; i don't know what i would do without my polar strap to measure my workout!

you are amazing and therefore HOW COULD YOUR WEDDING NOT BE

have tons of fun today, smooch your man like tomorrow will never come, and DANCE

congratulations,

kate

Original Post by wildwildwes:

Original Post by cellophane_star:

Doing exercise after giving blood also puts you at risk of a re-bleed so no heavy lifting with your blood-giving arm!

 

"re-bleed"? What does that mean?

(I'm giving this afternoon and want to take a bike ride later today)

169.5! Down 4 lbs!!!! Yay!

(i was carrying a bit of water weight last week, per calorie deficits that weight loss should really be split over the past 2 weeks...)

oh my gosh! you didn't tell me about this, it's crazy! i'm so glad he didn't rattle you into bad-ness! he SWUNG at you? wow..... it's just so nuts. NUTS, i say.

I'm so glad that you're making such good food choices; i know with everything going on right now that it is tough.