All Good Things Must Come to an End...

The title of this blog is actually a bit misleading. "All good things must come to an end" is more a reference to the end of my participation in Genghis Grill Health Kwest, rather an end to all "good things". The good things that I have changed about myself throughout Health Kwest will never come to an end. However, today is the final day of the competition and my last social media task for Health Kwest.

I wrote a blog a while back explaining a lot of the physical and emotional things that I have felt throughout this 60 day journey. I don't wish to repeat myself, because I already put it all out there, but I will recap some of the major changes that have occurred and how I feel now that Health Kwest is ending.

After a very rough year in 2013, and being prescribed several different medications for a variety of reasons, I gained a tremendous amount of weight. In January of this year, I knew things had to change immediately. I will never forget the feeling of disgust and shame as I stepped onto a scale at one of my elementary schools, and read "200.6". How could this have happened? As someone who has always been thin and athletic, and someone who has recovered from Anorexia Nervosa, this day was devastating, and I will never forget it.

I go into detail about my physical changes in my blog titled "How Do I Feel Today?", but I'll summarize some things that I have either overcome or accomplished. 

• I no longer take daily acid reflux medication or antacids.
• I cut out gluten entirely from my diet, and have come to the conclusion that I am gluten intolerant. Would not have tried that had it not been for Health Kwest.
• After giving up gluten, I no longer have digestion issues.
• I no longer take a daily (or twice daily) steroid inhaler for my asthma (adult-onset).
• I rarely use my rescue inhaler.
• I can exercise for over an hour without fatiguing.
• I have more energy throughout the day.
• I gave up artificial sweeteners.
• I used to have severe migraines. Those went away when I gave up diet coke.
• I used to be completely sedentary. Now I exercise daily.

All of these things listed above are wonderful benefits of my new lifestyle, which promotes healthy eating and daily exercise, but this contest primarily focuses on weight loss. I will say that I am a little disappointed in myself, as I thought the scales would go down a little farther than they did. However, when you look at weight loss from what is recommended by medical professionals, I lost weight in a way that was healthy and will not cause any long-term harmful effects to my body. 

And here it is...

1st Weigh-in: 196 lbs - 02/07/2014

2nd Weigh-in: 180 lbs - 03/12/2014

3rd Weigh-in: 173 lbs - 04/11/2014

So, I lost a total of 23 lbs since February. Not too bad for 2 months. I don't really feel that I look like I'm that heavy, but I know that I've always weighed more than I looked. I remember my first weigh-in at the doctor when I was 2 months pregnant with Elias, and I weighed 153 lbs - but I also wore a size 5 jeans. The technician at EMSI said that everyone carries their weight differently and that is nothing of which I should ever be ashamed. My goal in this journey originally was to lose at least the weight that I gained last year, which was 37 lbs and to be able to wear the size 6 jeans I bought last year for my birthday. As you can see, I did not meet my personal weight goal, BUT I can wear my jeans again! Woohoo! Plus, I feel better than I have felt in many years, and it's only going to get better as I maintain this lifestyle and get healthier and stronger.

On Facebook this morning, I left a word of inspiration to my fellow khantestants as I bid them adieu in this journey. I would like to end this blog with a quote from that post.

"This experience has been life-changing to so many, and I know for me personally, the end of Health Kwest is only the beginning of a healthier and happier me. Although I am not walking away the grand prize winner, I am still walking away a winner, and I want every single one of you to keep that in mind through Wednesday. Never be discouraged about your efforts here; what we did during these 60 days has been amazing. You know that scene in Titanic where the ship is sinking, but the musicians keep playing on? That's a crazy analogy, but that's what I feel is happening today. The boat is sinking (Health Kwest is coming to an end), but I'm not going to stop playing."

And I now I will leave you with those much-anticipated before-and-after photos:

1. Photo submitted with Health Kwest application / Photo taken before my final weigh in today

2. Photo from application / Photo from today, wearing the same dress

3. Application photo / After drinking my bottle of TY KU sake (I was feeling very sexy afterward)

4. Initial weigh-in photo (02/07/2014) / Transformation Tuesday (03/18/2014)

5. First weigh-in / Second weigh-in (same shirt)

Thanks for the journey Genghis Grill!!!

Sake It To Me...

Today's social media task for Genghis Grill Health Kwest is to write about why sake is healthier than some other alcoholic beverages. I will have to admit...I used to drink a lot of sake, but then again, I used to drink a lot of everything at that time in my life. As a matter of fact, I believe that the last time I drank sake I was buying it by the "teapot", and sharing it with everybody at the sushi bar. I was tore up, but then again, I also drank a bunch at happy hour before going out for sushi. Those were the days, but fortunately for me, those days are long gone.

Ok, I digress....So I never really thought of sake being healthy. I know from working as a bartender of craft beers for almost a decade that sake is a rice wine, that is actually brewed and fermented more closely to beer than wine. Yeah, that's right! It's basically rice BEER instead of wine. The yeast converts the sugars in the rice into alcohol during the fermentation process, just as yeast converts barley malt into alcohol. But I guess calling it a rice beer doesn't sound nearly as classy, or maybe it makes people think of cheap beer, as the big 3 domestics primarily use rice because it is cheap and mass produced.

Again, I digress....I suppose to be writing about what health benefits have been linked to drinking sake. Here is what I have found from the research provided by several internet sources:

* In countries that consume sake, such as Japan, less cases of liver failure, liver cancer, and cirrhosis have been documented.

* Just as other alcoholic beverages, sake helps to relieve stress and promote social facilitation.

* Drinking sake helps to increase good cholesterol, which helps to carry away the bad cholesterols back to the liver to be excreted, and it helps to reduce plaques and blockages in the arteries.

* Sake consumption (in moderation) helps with circulation of the blood and helps to expand blood vessels.

* Drinking sake is easier on your stomach and digestive system than other liquors, such as whiskey.

* Sake can help reduce the risk of strokes by increasing blood flow in the brain.

All this time, and I thought it was just a good compliment to sushi. I would like to give a shout-out to TY KU for gifting me a little bottle of sake for my participation in Genghis Grill Health Kwest.

And I had a long day at work.....

Lori

Little Black Dress

For today's Health Kwest task, I was asked to post a photo of either an outfit that I would like to wear again, or an outfit that I aspire to wear. Since the majority of my weight gain happened during the past year, then I wish to rock my little black dress that I wore on New Year's Eve 2012. I originally bought the cocktail dress for my husband's 20 year class reunion, and I rocked it out! I would love to have more options from when I was really REALLY skinny (pre-mommy/bartender phase), but I gave away all of those clothes a LONG time ago.

Alright, here is a picture of me holding up the dress, I have about 20 lbs left to lose before I am the weight I was when I first wore it...

And here is a picture of me and hubby the last time I wore it....New Year's Eve 2012....

And here is a picture of me the first time I wore it....

I khan do this!!!

How Do I Feel Today?

Today's social media task for Genghis Grill Health Kwest is to write a blog about any physical and emotional changes I have felt so far during my kwest. This kwest has most certainly had its ups and downs of each for me.

My own personal kwest actually began at least a month before Health Kwest began. When I first saw the email for Health Kwest, I was actually eating at Genghis Grill for my birthday bowl in January. My birthday was January 9th, and on that day I had made the decision to join a gym. I signed up to LA Fitness that day and was determined to lose the weight that I had gained the previous year.

Backtracking a bit to explain my weight gain....Just after Christmas, I had visited my PCP for a sinus infection/strep throat, and was shocked when I weighed in at 199. Especially after recalling how the Christmas before, I had asked for gift cards to purchase new jeans, because mine were all too BIG! For my 2013 birthday, I went to the mall and bought 2 pairs of size 5 jeans!!! And less than a year later, weighing in at close to 200 lbs! Things had gotten out of control. In disbelief, I asked the nurse to check my file, to see what I had weighed my previous visit (less than a year before) and she had me at 160. I gained over 40 lbs in a year! Being that my sister had been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder the previous year also, I demanded that the clinic run complete diagnostic bloodwork on me to determine if I had a medical condition. Nothing came back irregular with my bloodwork, and my doctor said that I was perfectly healthy and just needed to work hard to get it off. My doctor and I decided together that my weight gain occurred for the following reasons: 1) I quit smoking in October 2012 and got off of the E-cigarette finally about June. 2) I began taking antidepressant medication at the same time. 3) My grandfather became very ill, staying in the hospital for 6 months. As a result, my mother and grandmother came to live with me. 4) I am highly allergic to everything environmental, and was experiencing very severe asthma symptoms over the summer. An allergist prescribed me a steroid inhaler to use twice daily - and I ballooned up.

This weight gain was devastating for me! I had always been thin and athletic my whole life, and it seems like since I gave birth to my child 4 years ago, I just can't get it under control. So like I said, on January 9th, 2014, I took control of me again. When I signed up for Health Kwest, I thought it would be cool and just be a continuation of what I was already doing, with the added bonus of potentially winning the grand prize - $10,000! I didn't really think much about it after filling out the application online, but continued my pursuit of getting healthy and losing the weight. When I received my phone calls and emails that I had been selected, it was a surreal moment for me. I never get chosen for anything! The possibility of winning the money became real to me, at that point. I had it all planned out - how I would spend my $10,000 of course. My allergist had told me that I could absolutely not live in a house with carpet, so I would spend a big chunk of the money replacing my carpet with hardwood and remodeling. The idea of being able to breathe in my house was honestly the most motivating factor for me to compete in this contest.

When the contest began, I was excited, anxious, nervous, really just a whirlwind of different emotions. I really couldn't wait to get that first bowl! After about three days of eating the same thing, I started to get really bored of the food, so I got adventurous from my normal bowl and began trying new things. Trying new sauces, starches, and veggie combinations worked for a bit, but then I decided that I wasn't approaching it in the right way. I studied the nutritional guidelines, cut out anything that contained gluten, and measured sauces and meats out to correct portions. Cutting gluten out from my diet, even the sauces that contain gluten, changed my health drastically. I was taking daily acid reflux medication, sometimes multiple times per day, and could go through a bottle of antacids in a week. I had the worst heartburn and digestive problems imaginable. Cutting out the gluten eliminated those problems immediately, and I am happy to say that I am saving tons of money on prescription GERD medication. (And I thought it was all due to my very stressful job!!!)

Although the elimination of GERD medication is HUGE, I was also able to eliminate a medication that I did not anticipate at the beginning of this contest. When I first started going to the gym, I carried my Albuterol inhaler with me as I worked out. I could not exercise for a couple of minutes without needing my rescue inhaler. And of course, I was still taking the steroid inhaler twice per day. After a couple of weeks of daily cardiovascular exercise, I did not need my Albuterol during my workout, only directly before my workout. A couple of weeks after that, I cut back my steroid inhaler to once per day. Now that I'm at the end of my kwest, I have cut out the steroid entirely, and rarely use the Albuterol. So, by doing regular cardiovascular exercise, I have improved my asthmatic symptoms significantly. I can do 30 minutes to an hour with no wheezing! I still have horrible allergies, of course, and I have to continue to take allergy meds along with my rescue inhaler, but I feel wonderful! In fact, my lung capacity has improved so much that I began playing flute again semi-professionally with a community band. I had not played my instrument since 2006, when I quit my music degree (that I spent 5 years on).

My physical stamina has improved tremendously. At first, I was unable to go for 5 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical, or any other cardio machine without stopping. Now, I can go for 30 or 45 minutes on the machines. I also began doing Zumba classes a few weeks into the kwest, and try to go to classes at least twice, sometimes three times per week. Those classes are INTENSE and last for an entire hour. I get through them with ease at this point. Another physical improvement, of course, is my weight loss and change in my physique. I have lost over 20 lbs so far, but I feel like my body looks as if I've lost more. People who haven't seen me in a while always comment on my weight loss, but I don't feel that it's actually coming out in pounds so much as it is appearance. I guess I'm just really super buff now or something. I haven't quite lost the pounds that I gained last year, but I'm not stopping after this Kwest is over. I will get back into my size 5 jeans, and I really hope to wear a 2-piece bathing suit again (High hopes, I know).

As far as emotional changes during my kwest, I have experienced joy, empathy, frustration, boredom, elation, sadness, jealousy, and anxiety, just to name a few. I am proud of where I am, but I wish I could be further. However, I know that I am losing the weight in a healthy way, and there is no amount of money in the world that I can substitute for my health. I have to be here for my little boy, and I plan to continue my healthy lifestyle to ensure that I will be here for him. I have also taught my son the importance of eating well, and that no matter how busy you are in your life, that there is always time for exercise. We used to come home from school and sit on our butts, watching TV until dinner time. I do not wish to go back to that lifestyle EVER, although I do miss cooking big meals. I am also proud that I have experienced the best support group ever for getting my life back, and I am so fortunate to know all of my fellow khantestants. We are in this together for our health, more than we are in it to win it. Although I'm sad that I won't be 2014 Health Kwest winner, this experience has been such a good one for me, and I am so happy that I was chosen to participate.

And finally, a picture of me a day before weigh in, versus today....

Much Love,

Lorianne

Pump Up the Jam!

Today for Genghis Grill Health Kwest (www.genghisgrill.com), I was asked to make a playlist of songs I like to work out to, and also to write a blog listing the song titles, links to the artists' pages, and what exercises I like to do while listening to them. As you can probably guess from my list, I was definitely a teenager in the 90's, but I have learned to love some modern dance music too. Here is a link to my Workout playlist on Spotify:

http://open.spotify.com/user/12134474718/playlist/4BEptKpWE15epzQ0WYHn1n

And here is a list of my workout songs!

1. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses (my favorite band in the entire world) - elliptical song http://www.gunsnroses.com

2. Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake - obviously because I am bringing sexy back, duh!- cardio song www.justintimberlake.com

3.  Just Dance - Lady Gaga - Need I say more? - cardio/eliptical - www.ladygaga.com

4. Thrift Shop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Zumba song! - www.macklemore.com

5. Dark Horse - Katy Perry - Another Zumba song! - www.katyperry.com

6. Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes - Ah! RIP Shannon Hoon. Did you know Shannon Hoon did 
the background vocals on "Don't Cry" by GNR. True story.  Good cardio song/jogging song too. www.vfemmes.com

7. Get Lucky - Daft Punk - Good cardio/jogging song too, and good for weight lifting and core training. - I have been a fan of 
theirs for YEARS; we go way back to my rave days.
www.facebook.com/daftpunk

8. Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO - We do this in Zumba a lot, getting our wiggle on! www.lmfaomusic.com

9. The Distance - Cake - This song always revs my engine! - I love doing this with cardio. It has such a nice stride. 
www.cakemusic.com

10. The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails - Gotta get back to my 90's rockstar roots - This is my angry, pent up, releasing 
my stress song.  www.nin.com

Hope you enjoy my playlist!

Inspiration on my Kwest

For today's Health Kwest task, we were asked to interview a person who inspires us or someone we admire. I had originally asked my Zumba instructor, but she did not respond to my messages on Facebook for an interview :( So I racked my brain all day thinking of someone to interview. I got killed at work, and had no break all day long. I had emailed my boss Carla earlier in the day, because there was no possible way that I could get all of my work finished next week before Spring Break, and she willingly offered to take some of my testing load next week. She is seriously the best boss in the entire world!

So as I'm driving to Carla's office, I again start thinking about who I could interview. Duh! I would interview Carla! She is not only my boss, but she has been such a good friend to me over the years. We met when I was in graduate school. She just began working for the Little Rock School District, when my practicum supervisor (her boss) dumped me off onto her. So she had to learn a new job and have a clueless student bugging her all the time. I learned so much from her that year, and I can't imagine anyone else training me to do my job. We cried on each others' shoulders (a lot) that year, as we were both going through a lot of stressful things. I helped her with her testing load, and she was my advocate when an ugly professor at my university started attacking me. When I was applying for internships, she used her connections and landed me the perfect job, at a school I loved, which encouraged me to continue doing psychology in the schools. Then, she helped me get hired with the LRSD by writing me a glowing recommendation (after I applied to about 25 other jobs requiring her to send 25 recommendations out). And when Carla wanted to quit the LRSD, I encouraged her to stay. Of course she DID, and 3 years later was hired as Coordinator of School Psychology for the biggest school district in the state of Arkansas.

Carla has always been my go-to-girl, not just in my professional life, but in my personal life too. She is always so calm, as opposed to my anxious nature, and she keeps me in check. As psychology specialists, we are given a lot of stress, and she stays cool and collected with a smile on her face. So, you know, I think it was meant to be that my Zumba instructor did not respond back to me, or I wouldn't have realized what a great inspiration I had right in front of my eyes.

Aside from Carla's hard work ethic and pleasant demeanor, she has overcome many obstacles in her life. One of her biggest obstacles was her transformation into becoming active and healthy. When Carla was my practicum supervisor, she had always talked about being heavier, and one day at lunch, showed me her picture on her driver's license. I could not even recognize her from the picture, which was just two years before. She looked amazing! Carla worked hard and was persistent, losing a total of 60 lbs over a two-year period! We've talked about it before, but I wanted to ask her again today exactly how she did it.

The following is a paraphrased transcript of our interview:

Lori: So, tell me again how you lost the weight and what encouraged you to do so?

Carla: I had already made the decision to get healthy and lose weight, the day that my doctor prescribed my blood pressure medication. I ignored my mother's advice for years that I should lose weight, but it really sat in when I had to go on heart medicine. Looking back, it would have been wise to prevent that from happening because I still take blood pressure meds to this day. I started out really slowly, losing only 20 lbs in a year when I worked for the Pulaski County Special School District. Then I moved to Florida for a year, and maintained the 20 lb loss during that year. When I returned to Arkansas, I was hired as an Academic Coordinator for student athletes at ASU (Arkansas State University). As an advisor for athletes, we were given a one-hour break per day to work out at the gym. It was a little embarrassing working out in front of all those very in-shape healthy athletes, so I worked out at home a lot too.

Lori: How much weight did you lose that year at ASU?

Carla: I lost 40 lbs when I was at ASU, and had lost 20 lbs before moving to Florida. So 60 lbs total.

Lori: And how long did it take you to lose the 40 lbs?

Carla: I lost that over a period of about 6 months.

Lori: What kind of exercises did you do?

Carla: I started out really light, like doing the Wii fit, but once I built up some strength moved onto cardio and weight lifting every day.

Lori: Besides daily exercise, what else did you change about your lifestyle?

Carla: I began watching my calories in what I ate, and I cut out snacks between meals.

Lori: Any advice you have for me during my personal Kwest?

Carla: Give yourself an occasional break, or a cheat day to eat what you want. Try to look at the big picture of what you're doing, instead of just day-to-day.

Like I said, I love Carla! She is the best boss in the whole wide world, and she is one of the best people I have ever met. I'm so glad that she volunteered to take some of my testing load next week, or I may not have ever realized the great inspiration I had right in front of me. And then I made her take a selfie with me, and we were both wearing pink! Great minds think alike, you know!

For a Limited Time Only!

My task for Genghis Grill today was to try one of GG's limited time only ingredients, and then to write a blog about my opinions. Our GG's limited time ingredient was Pulled Pork! I am a HUGE barbecue fan, and I'll be honest that I have tried the pulled pork at GG before. During my first week of the competition, I tried to get different ingredients each day, thinking I would get bored of having the same meats, veggies, sauces, etc. But actually, after the first week it got easier. I also buckled down and decided to really study the nutritional information of each ingredient and plan my bowl accordingly each day. So, I ended up cutting any sauce which contained gluten (as I have cut gluten completely from my diet), and I only eat the leanest of meats (chicken and turkey, but primarily chicken). Well, to make a short story long, I have been eating chicken and a variety of the same veggies each day with minimal sauce - but today I splurged. It may be that I just did my 2nd weigh-in and this was my healthy way of "bingeing". I don't know. But what I do know is that the pulled pork is the BOMB.DOT.COM! I even splurged and got Mongo BBQ sauce, which contains gluten, but was a perfect compliment to my pork. I was one happy lady when I got my food. I snarfed it down as quickly as I possibly could, while chatting with my GG staff, then ran to the gym just in time for Zumba. AND I didn't even barf on myself at the gym. I will recommend that bowl to anybody who asks. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!

See, don't I look happy? My bowl has the following ingredients: pulled pork, steakhouse blend, ginger, garlic, cabbage, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, pineapple, cilantro, and Mongo BBQ sauce. MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmMMMMM!!!!!!!

*My participation in GG Health Kwest is endorsed by Genghis Grill, which provides me with one free meal per day.