Julien has been attending day camp all week. It has been a struggle to get him there everyday. Once he's there he's fine, but he cries before I drop him off. He goes there to play games, do sports, do crafts. Today they went to a big water park in Kitchener, Ontario. Initially he didn't want to go, but we talked him into it. I think it's important for him to do stuff like this because he's an only child and sometimes I think he's a bit too attached to us. He has never spent the night away from both of us. And either hubby or I have always put him to bed at night. Don't get me wrong, I love all the time I spend with him and I love that we're so close, but I want him to be more independent and more confident. He's happy that tomorrow is his last day of camp. I wanted to put him in for another week in August, but I don't think it's gonna happen.
So my lovely colleague from work, Adriana, suggested this question to me as a blog topic:
I do have a topic for you to discuss that might be interesting. Wondering whether you would still recommend doing the Poon diet or if you'd go straight to Paleo, knowing what you know now, why and why not. Is one better than the other? Maybe Paleo is too strict for someone starting out. It also seems that you're eating pretty much gluten free. Have you noticed any other benefits besides weight loss?
Great questions Adriana, and I'm gonna do my best to tackle them.
Knowing what I know now, I would still encourage anyone who needs to get healthy and lose weight to get a referral to Dr. Poon's clinic. I needed the bi-weekly doctor visits and the regular weigh-ins. There's just something more official and serious about having somewhere to go where there's a file on you. If you don't live in the greater Toronto area, you can order his book on-line and get your family doctor to monitor your weight-loss. When his clinic initially left Toronto and I couldn't make it there for regular weigh-ins, I went to my family doctor who weighed me and keep track of my blood pressure. I needed the accountability at that time, so Dr. Pitt stepped up! I know of a few people who have ordered his book on-line who live outside of North America. Good luck Anna:)
Dr. Poon's diet and Paleo are similar, especially in Phase One. Although there are things allowed on Dr. Poon's diet that Paleo does not allow (ie: sweeteners, dairy, legumes), I always limited those things when I was in serious weight-loss mode. I mostly stuck to fresh veggies, fruit, lean meats and seafood. I rarely bought anything from the Ontario Nutrition Store. Not because I didn't think they were good products, but because even though they were "allowed" treats, I knew I would over-indulge which would be detrimental to my goal. I know that I can definitely have too much of a good thing.
Transitioning to Paleo for maintenance was much easier than I expected. Cutting out the sweeteners, dairy, all grains, legumes and anything processed (sugar and carbs) wasn't too daunting considering that if I ate any of that stuff, it was in very limited quantities. Now Paleo has become second nature to me. It's just routine. I knew that moving forward from a 125 weight-loss meant that I was never going to be able to return my old eating habits. I wanted to eat as clean as possible and be the best runner I could be. So Paleo has worked out nicely for me. I haven't had any problems eating out (when I have to with clients) while following Paleo. I need to be just as strict now as I was when I was first starting out. I have come to the conclusion that this "diet" phase never really ends. I'll be on this diet forever.
As for being gluten-free, I have a ton of energy, and I have no problem completing long runs without "carb loading". I've been sleeping better because I've been going to bed earlier. I was really run down about a month ago, and I finally started to get myself to bed by around 11pm. That is early for me because I was up reading blogs till after midnight most nights. Also, I find that following Paleo has done wonders for my digestive system (read: everything works the way it should). The benefits of being Paleo definitely surpass the limitations. For me anyway. Although I don't eat certain foods, I also don't worry about measuring or serving sizes. I don't have to count calories and just eat until I've had enough. That being said, I'm not sure how it's going to work for me in the weight-loss department. I may just have to do a real basic Paleo/Poon version of Phase One. I'll make that call in about a week or so when I weigh myself again. That would be lean protein, leafy greens and veggies grown above ground. Phase one of Dr. Poon's diet, but still Paleo!
When I was morbidly obese, I hated the way my hair looked when it was up. That is because I had such a fat neck (which actually looked like no neck), and fat upper back hump. In the summer I still wore it up A LOT because I was freaking hot all the time. Weighing around 300 pounds in the humidity is not pleasant. Ironically, after Julien was born I had all my hair cut off which meant my fat neck and back hump were in plain view all the time. This summer I have been wearing my hair back in a pony tail and most recently, a ballerina bun on really humid days. I had to look at my reflection with my phone in the mirror to see what I looked like, and what a pleasant surprise. I actually look completely normal. I like the way my neck looks because I actually have a neck! And I don't have a fat upper neck hump anymore either. For the first time in my life, I can wear my hair up or down with confidence.
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| Summer 2004 |
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| Summer 2013 |
