New Weight Loss Programme – Hormonally Intelligent

Background

At the start of this year I was 10st 5 which was a little too heavy for 5″3 but otherwise ok and a respectable size 12 -14.  Then I got put on steriods for my eczema and I ballooned.

I went up to 12st3 in under 10 weeks was finding size 16 clothes too tight and I was thoroughly miserable.  On the drugs I had so little energy I was practially a zombie, had a period every 20 days (!) and felt like crap.

After coming off the steriods in April my weight went down on its own to 11st 9 and stabalised there (and to cap it all the excema came back worse than before!) I finally I feel that the drugs are out of my system – I have a lot more energy than before and feeling so much better that I think it is time to tackle this remaining weight.

So which programme to choose?

I have never done very well with any structured diet.  I follow them faithfully and barely lose anything.  Weight Watchers, Rosemary Connely etc did nothing for me!  I even tried Rejuva Slim a few years back and despite living on nothing but vegetables couldn’t shift the weight even though my friend who did the programme with me and cheated regularly lost 2 st!  I used to do loads of exercise and didn’t shift a bean.

Anyway I see an alternative therapist regularly and she recommended a book from the US that talks about changing your hormonal system so that you become a ‘fat-burner’ rather than a ’sugar-burner’.  It is very expensive at $29.99 and I bought the whole programme including the exercise information for $63.  However having read it, it is well worth the money as it is the most intellegent, well researched book on the subject that I have ever read.  The author shows how common assumptions and advice about weightloss are just nonsense and lead you to gain weight and ill-health!  The book describes how to manipulate your insulin and glucagon release by managing the carbohydrates that you eat, so that when you carb load, there is space in your glycogen stoes to put it so that is doesn’t turn to fat.  Insulin is released for its anabolic (muscle building effects) and doesn’t store the carbs as body fat as there is no overspill.  On the days when you minimise carbs glucagon is realised due to eating protein and fat regularly.  The glucagon breaks down the protein in what you have eaten, rather than your muscle stores and insulin is low so it isn’t converting everything to body fat.  The first part of the programme is the hardest becuase you are shifting from sugar-burning to fat-burning.

So this is the programme I am going to be following. www.hormonalfitness.com.

Here is a brief update so far:  I started on Sunday 27th August which went very well.  I found the low carb bit easy to keep too, however getting food whilst at a festival that evening wasn’t easy.  I ended up having a tray of roast pork for dinner which wasn’t very nice.  I felt quesy after eating that as I ate too much.  This diet stipulates ‘little and often’ and that is why!

Monday 28th August I felt dreadful.  This is the worst I have felt in ages.  I woke up tired with a headache and lay on the sofa all day as I felt so weak.  This is as a result of 2 things a) being a sugar-burner deprived of sugar and b) I have found out that my excema is caused by a fungal infection and the dreadful feeling is the die-off of the fungus (nice!).  However despite craving carbs I made it through the day ok.

Tuesday 29th August.  Felt much better, able to stick to the diet much more easily.  I went to see my healer Lynne in the afternoon and she checked my liver, and one of the enzymes was off because MSG had blocked a receptor in the pancreas.  She did a CKT balance and I am not allowed any MSG for a month!  This will make Friday’s evening meal a chinese interesting! – I need a low carb, MSG-free meal and no alcohol!  (On the programme you are allowed small amounts of alchohol but I can’t have any as it feeds the fungus).  So noodles and a gloopy curry are out!

Wednesday 30th August.  Really enjoyed the diet today – how can you not enjoy roast duck breast, with roasted veg for tea!  My H likes it as I am cooking lots of meat which he likes and as he is not doing the diet he gets the same as me with a few new potatoes or similar.  My carb cravings have reduced and my energy is much better.  I think at the moment might be undereating a little, so I will have to increase my food when I start to exercise.  I also need to plan my meals for when I got back to work next week otherwise I am going to struggle.  It has really made me realise how bad most convenience food is.

I am not going to weigh myself for a week – I started at 11st 9 and 44% bodyfat according to my scales.  My jeans are a US size 12 which is a UK 16.  I really do feel that this is going to work for me so I shall start saving for some new clothes!

Synchronisity and the Law of Attraction

I have been asking for guidance in how I can change certain things in my life to what I desire.

Yesterday in Waterstones I played a game I often play which is to ask if there is a book I should read and to locate it.  I use  kinesiology self-muscle-testing to get a yes/no response. 

e.g. I ask, “Is it this section of the shop – yes/no?” and keep asking till I find the section.
“Is it on this shelf – yes/no?” I keep asking till I find the right shelf.
“Is it this book, this book, this book?” I keep asking till I find the right book.

I then open the book and ask which chapter I should read.  Then locate the right page.  Then the right paragraph.

This is what I got yesterday – The book I picked out was ”Diary of a Psychic” by Sonia Choquette and this is the paragraph I was drawn too.

‘ “If we listen to our heart, he said, “and follow the laws of creativity, we can attract what we really desire.”  This was the point of our Earthly journey, to create and express our loving spirit.” ‘

I bought the book – I was so drawn to the message.

Today I clicked on stevepavlina’s site and – the article was called “Responsibility and the Laws of Attraction.”  It is all about how we have to take responsibiltiy for what we attract into our lives. 

Do you think the universe is trying to tell me something? 

I have to take responsibility for what is in my life.  I am pleased with many of the things I have attracted and can actually see how I have attracted my house, my friends and my husband.  Ne post I will list the things I have manifested and the things I still want to attract.  I agree with Steve that synchonisity can be spooky when it starts to manifest following a conscious decision to starting using your intention to manifest things. So freaky that the first time it happened I stopped intending because I was so spooked.

I feel much more comfortable with the idea now and want to play

Ten things I learned about life from Poi Spinning

1. You never get a move right the first time you do it. However good you are technically, when you learn a new move you look like a novice again. There is no dignity in learning a new move. Flailing arms, hitting yourself and tangled poi strings are an inevitable factor of learning. In life we make one mistake and beat ourselves up saying “look I made a mistake I’m clearly not meant to do that.” With poi you learn not to give up at the first hurdle.

2. You might not be able to do a move even after the 50th attempt. It takes a lot of practise to perfect some moves. Persistence is the name of the game – ( I will learn to do a behind-the-back weave, I will!). It’s frustrating, there’s no denying it. But if you give up you will never get what you want.

3. Love the dip, love the plateau. Sometimes you will pick up your poi and just can’t seem to do even the most basic moves. You plateaux and can’t progress or even more upsetting you get worse! This is inevitable. When this happens you need to put down the poi and go and do something else for a bit. When you pick them up again suddenly the move will click into place and you will be even better than before. This has happened to me so many times that I expect it to happen now. I’ve found that a dip or plateau in performance means that I are about to make a big leap forward so learn to love it when this happens.

4. It’s not the moves that you do it’s the way that you do them that makes the performance good. Moving your body in time to the music, smiling and having rhythm can make even the most basic butterfly look impressive. Sometimes the simplest things done with flare outperform the flashy technically good performance because they carry energy and enthusiasm which is what your audience connects with.

5. Take adequate safety precautions (e.g. protect your hair, be fuel safe and have a fire blanket handy) but don’t let fear stop you fire dancing. The swoosh of fire spinning past your ears is exhilarating. Fire spinning can never be 100% safe so minimise the risks as much as possible and then jump in enthusiastically and enjoy the ride.

6. To do a move well you have to be completely committed to doing that move. There are no half measures in spinning otherwise you hit yourself which isn’t nice even if the poi aren’t on fire (they hurt!). The problem is that if you are frightened of hitting yourself then you probably will because you won’t putting all your effort into a move when fear holds you back. Doubt hurts when it smacks you in the face!

7. It is fun being the centre of attention for a while. Even though I don’t normally like being centre stage, having all your friends watch you perform feels wonderful especially when they clap or gasp in wonder! Drink it up and enjoy the praise – You’ve earned it.

8. Keep learning, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. Watch others, read – share tips and tricks with others either online or in person. There will always be someone who has something to teach you. Keep experimenting. Once you have learnt a move, learn to do it in the opposite direction, split time, on a different plane. Invent new moves then share with others.

9. Spinning Poi raises your energy. There are essentially two moves in poi – spinning circles or spinning figures of eight. All moves are a variation on those themes. Spinning gets your chi moving around your body and is a great workout too. Who said exercise had to be dull?

10. It is big, hard and cool to play with fire! ‘Nuff said!

Poi Spinning

One thing I really want to work on is improving my skills at poi spinning. I have been spinning on and off for three years now and can do basic moves but would like to learn how to really perform with them. I’ve just started learning to do it with fire which is so much fun.  Getting the basis right when you are learning with fire are so important.  I have taught myeslf as much as possible from a book and now would like to watch and learn from others.  I haven’t ever found someone to teach me locally. There are classes in London but difficult for me to get to mid-week due to work. So a couple of weeks ago I had the brainwave of trying to organise classes where I live instead. I contacted someone who teaches in London by email but didn’t hear back. So I imagined the classes taking place (lots of poi being swirled around), imagined what the posters and flyers will look look like that advertise the event. Told some friends that I was organising the classes and asked if they know anyone who would be interested.

I heard back from the tutor a couple of days ago and she is really excited about the idea and suggested running an intensive weekend workshop after the summer. woo hoo – watch this space!

PS. If you would like to see a video of me doing fire poi – a friend has uploaded a video of me to youtube. Go to www.youtube.com type ‘nicci flaming poi’ into the search and that’s me! The video quality isn’t very good unfortunately but I love it because it is the first time I ever fire danced!

If you want to see what I aspire to – this guy is amazing!
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=…+smith+fire+poi

Took up an invitation today

When I arrived at work on Monday a colleague asked if I would run energy on them as she was nervous about a meeting she had on Tuesday. She also has ongoing neck pain that has been bothering her. Because there was no where private to go during the day I suggested that we came in early today and I would run some Quantum Touch energy on her first thing.

During the energy session I could see a greenish haze around me. I used a mixture of intuition, muscle testing and just simply asking where I should put my hands and when I should move them. I felt tears well up at one point which happens when I feel very connected to an essential truth or beauty and I asked in my head if I was connected to my spirit guides and I felt that the answer was yes I also did a quick muscle test check and the answer was yes too.

I did a lot of work on her head, crown chakra, and also with one hand on the front of her head and one hand on her heart chakra. She felt very relaxed during the session, said she could feel lots of heat from and hands and could see lots of golden light and felt that she was picking up some images from me (circuses, men on stilts – not sure what that’s about!) At the end of half an hour we both had to go. There wasn’t an immediate improvement in her neck pain unfortunately. If she is still up for more sessions I would work on her alignment and use muscle testing to determine the causes of the problem. I will ask her tomorrow if she felt calmer during the meeting.
Just as I am typing this, I got an email from a friend asking me to help her with releasing tension in her shoulders that her massage therapist thinks is caused by holding onto deep emotions. Is this another nudge from the universe? Yes I think so. How exciting

A funny thing happened in the supermarket yesterday

I keep replaying in my mind the conversation I had with someone at a supermarket till yesterday because I have been deliberately noticing any effect I have on other people. As I was packing my shopping I started chatting with the till operator and he told me, completly unrelated to what we were chatting about, that he had ulcer and asked what I thought caused them. I replied I thought it might be a lack of B vitamins or possibly stress. He said he took a multivitamin and then said that his back and neck hurt from working at the till. I just offered sympathy, but I wanted to offer more. My first thought was to recommend the healer that I see but somehow that seemed wrong. I also thought that I could help him by offering him some Quantum Touch energy or some EFT but for some reason I hesitated. I felt embarrased offering someone my services.

This is the weird bit: He looked at me with a really intense stare and said, “I thought you were about to say you were an aromatherapist or something. You could book me in for an appointment.” So I just said, “No sorry I’m not, hope your back gets better soon,” then walked away.

As I walked away I looked back and he was still staring at me with intense curiosity. He smiled and I smiled back. It was the intensity of the look and the direct invitation to book him in for a session that made me replay it over and over.

I think this is a message that I need to listen to. I have used intention setting before and a couple of days later something happened that synchronised with my intention (not the whole intention, but a nudge that things are moving in the direction I want them to). The direct invitation from the guy practically bashed me over the head with the message that I can help others by raising their energy but yet I turned tail and ran away from it.

This is what has prompted me to log my thoughts here as my intention is to work on my self belief, raising my own energy levels and raising the energy of others to. I’m going to keep on noticing and observing my interactions with other people especially where there are direct invitations. Next time I won’t run away (I promise).

A reading from my spirit guides.

I’m not normally the sort of person to believe in angels, spirit guides etc. but something about Erin Pavlina’s blog intriged me and given that I have been struggling with both my health and career for sometime I thought that I had nothing to lose by having a reading.

Funnily enough both of the questions were answered with the same answer in that I need to focus on raising my own vibrational energy and notice how I can raise other people’s.

This blog will be my record of how I raise my energy and the effect it has on my life.

This is the reading in full with the questions I asked.

1. My health

I have had a health problem for 5 years. I have seen a variety of ‘proper’ doctors which only made the condition worse. For the last year I have been seeing a wonderful healer yet even though she has cured me of other conditions such as asthma she is struggling to get this condition to clear up. I keep thinking I am turning the corner then having a reoccurrence. Am I on the right track towards wellness? Is there something that I am missing that I need to be doing / something I shouldn’t be doing? Is there something I should be learning from this? When am I going to get well?

Answer 1: When people try to rid their house of a poltergeist by having a priest or a psychic come and remove the ghost, what they don’t realize is that it’s the power of the priest or psychic that is removing the ghost, but if the person who owns the house doesn’t change their energy, then the poltergeist will simply come back. In other words, a healer cannot heal something permanently unless that person being healed changes their energy so that the condition doesn’t come back. Such it is in your case. The reason your condition keeps reoccurring is because you haven’t changed your vibration so that you are no longer a match for it. This is going to be really hard for you (as it is with most of the people on the planet including myself) but you have to reprogram yourself to no longer be a vibrational match for the condition you have. I hope that makes sense.

2. My life path.

I’m currently torn between learning as much as I can in my current job or setting off on my own. Not sure if the path I have chosen at work, or the alternative path is the right one. I feel lost about what my life purpose is. What do the spirit guides advise?

Question 2: Okay what they are saying to me is that your career is sort of neutral right now. It’s not what they are focusing on helping you with. In other words, you’re asking whether you should eat an apple or an orange and the spirits are saying, “It doesn’t matter because we don’t want you eating fruit.” Instead of focusing on the job you have and the one you are interested in, they are saying you need to do some work on yourself first. Work on finding your passion, your raison d’etre (I think that’s how you spell that) (reason for existing) and then you won’t have to ask this question. When you have a strong enough “why” then the “how” will take care of itself. Find your passion. Move towards it, with all great speed.

3. Is there anything I am missing or something else I should be aware of
that needs to be brought to my attention?

Answer 3: They’re telling me that you have a great sense of humor and an ability to raise other people’s energy. For now they want you to notice the effect you have on people and start to see it as a gift! Your reason for existing will be found when you do this.

Good luck! You have a great energy!