The Diet - if I feed my dogs so well, why not do the same for myself?

I just wrote a note to a friend about my diet, and thought, maybe I will post it here, because I have received a lot of feedback on my journey. Yes, I think many of us put a lot of focus on what our dogs eat, but not on our own nutrition. We don't even understand our own bodies as much as we know what is going on with our dogs! So here is some of the stuff I am doing. It works for me - everyone has to find their own path of course...

THANK YOU to all of the people who have written me privately or privately commented on my blog post. I deleted it - curious - I got self conscious about putting it out there. But maybe my journey can inspire others. Lord knows there are a lot of us who keep our dogs in prime condition, but not ourselves. If WE are in better shape, it is great for our dogs too. We are more active, and will give them more of ourselves. It's always good to have motivation. I always wanted to run with my dogs - and NOW I do! I nearly want to cry when I do it. I ran 5 K last week - in intervals (walk, run, walk, run). It was like a dream, and the dogs were so happy too.

I followed the Belly Fat Cure (Jorge Cruise) religiously but lately am amending it to eat more 'pioneer style' - using two books, The Hormone Diet (awesome and Canadian - recommended by a naturopath I see) and Eat Clean by Tosca Reno - all about eating wholesome food you make yourself - stop buying stuff pre-made. Go back to the basics. Plus I am working out with a personal trainer, and have a treadmill at home. I do lots of resistance training, as it burns more calories by making your body work harder even after you are finished a workout. I am trying to do 30 minutes of cardio at least 4 times a week. This will help make a leaner body in time (I am banking on it!)  I detox regularly now, and I take healthy supplements to support all of this - all recommended by an awesome Naturopath - Nurse Practitioner I have found in Red Deer who promotes the Metagenics line of supplements.


I feel like a different person but the more weight I lose, the more self conscious I am of my body. I used to 'ignore' it, lol. I am really amazed at what I've learned about eating and how the body works. I have to say, it's been Wayne Dyer who inspired me as he talks all the time about reducing sugar and eating healthy - you only have one body! Even if your spirit is who you are, the body is the home for it in this lifetime.

I was privileged to attend a retreat with Dr. Dyer in Maui last fall, and admire him so much. The movie The Shift is a MUST HAVE for inspiration. The book Excuses Be Gone also gives a great program to shift your mindset. Jorge Cruise interviewed Wayne Dyer about Excuses, and this is good listening, even for dog training!  Here are other places you can hear his message. You can even call him on HayHouse Radio, as he counsels people on a live show every Monday. I called him in November 2008 after moving to Alberta, and was really touched by his message as we chatted - about forgiveness and moving forward in my life being key to achieving goals of weight loss, happiness and peace. I KNOW this sounds like marketing for Wayne Dyer, but I truly believe his messages are so important to getting everything in balance, which is a key to weight loss.

Jorge Cruise's book basically says we eat too much sugar - even naturally occurring sugar in tomatoes and apples, etc. So he says no more than 15 grams a day of it - and no more than 6 servings of healthy carbs (5-31 grams = 1 serving). And have healthy carbs and healthy proteins. So I use the numbers 15/6 for my Eat Clean diet now - and I calculate my meals and snacks, prepare them ahead of time every day and don't eat anything I did not plan to eat that morning. I have a good friend, Shannon Boyce, who recently shared her journey with staff at work, and learned this last bit from her!