_{Th. 7.01.10}

Beautiful cooler summer weather here in CT today, my 8th anniversary of being breast cancer free!

B: Toasted Zone multigrain bagel with ½ T almond butter, ½ package Zone peanut butter granola and a handful of  delicious organic “Rainier Cherries” from Trader Joe’s

1 hour yoga class

S:  1 Zone M&M cookie

Lunch:  ½ Zone pizza crust topped with trader Joe’s Bruschetta, Kalamata olives and shaved parmesan , Romano and Asiago cheeses (far less than 1 oz cheese).

S:  Zone sesame pretzel

Vestibular exercises.1

walk

Dinner: 1/2 recipe of Youvetsi  (a Zone recipe made with Zone Orzo, zucchini, tomatoes, olive oil and seasonings); a handful of those same cherries for dessert

Finished vestibular exercises

Upper body strength training

Good question Steven.  The exercises are varied and many, things like continuously doing sets of three 360 degree "twirls” in one direction for one set then the opposite direction the next se, etc. , sets of balancing on varied compliant surfaces for fixed amounts of time with the feet in various positions (surfaces like 1 inch foam mats folded on themselves several times, foam pads, pillows, etc. , various visual stabilization exercises like headshaking side to side while walking, continuously walking as fast as possible and coming to abrupt stops for 2 min each set, and my least favorite of all, the "B's". This consists of two 4 minute sets of repeatedly shaking your head side to side while keeping your eyes focused on a 1/2 inch tall letter B written on a post-it that is stuck at eye level to a huge sheet of shiny busy print  (polka dots and lines)  wrapping paper affixed to the wall (provides a lot of visual stimulation).  You do this for a minute, stop for 5-10 sec, then resume for another minute, etc.  Then you do the same thing immediately upon finishing the 4-5 min set, but while shaking you head up and down instead of sideways.   My family says it makes them feel sick to watch me do it.   It takes a minimum of 10-12 min in total to complete this one exercise because you rest a few seconds between each minute of headshaking, but only a few seconds.  It's tough.  Certain stretches are also a part of the plan, which is tailored to meet my specific need to improve visual stabilization.   I'm in the midst of another assessment of my progress, so my plan is being changed over the next few weeks.  I am going to be doing some things 3 times a day for now (ugh), which you'll notice as you read my journals in the near future, plus switching some of my current vestibular exercises to different ones.  

In a nutshell your vestibular system is the sensory system that provides input about your motion and equilibrium to your brain.  Your brain puts it all together and you are then able to stay spatially oriented, keep your balance, etc.   I had a neck/head injury during exercise 3 years ago last month which resulted in a vestibular problem, in my case really bad motion sickness 24/7, the inability to walk correctly in the dark or on elevators, or escalators and similar things, plus some spatial disorientation accompanied by head pain, and the inability to concentrate and maintain focused when in a moving vehicle, or when water or even a lot of moving leaves is in my environment in my field of vision...I couldn’t sit on a beach and look at waves without becoming very sick ).  My difficulty stems from my visual input getting scrambled within my brain.  For the first few couple months I was not even able to drive the car out of the driveway without feeling like I was on a bad roller coaster ride.  Fortunately my balance ability is excellent, in fact better than the average.   I've been participating in vestibular physical therapy (VPT) since July 2007, to habituate to my sensory input again, to allow my brain to form new pathways for the input signals from my feet, ears and eyes and put it all together correctly to eliminate the motion sickness and spatial disorientation.  The vestibular exercises are the daily regime I have to practice at home to accomplish the habituation (I think of it as VPT homework).  The good thing is it's working.  I'm not sick 24/7 anymore, I don’t get sick and disoriented when driving most of the time now until I've been driving about 1.5 -2 hours, but I remain unable to fly without taking 2 neurological meds to depress brain signals (not fun, but I do it...better than staying home!).  BTW, the injury occurred as I was doing a back bend and I told myself I needed to relax my next more to keep better form.  Relaxing the head when I was already so far into the bend resulted in a sort of backward whiplash and I totally lost my sense of balance for half a minute or so.  Who would have thought... 

_{Fr. 7.02.10}

B: Zone cinnamon bun with ½ T. almond butter; ½ package Zone peanut butter granola and a few raspberries

S: ½ package Zone peanut butter granola and a few raspberries

Vestibular exercises.1

Lunch: Youvetsi  (a leftover from yesterday) and a Greek salad on the side (lettuce, chopped cucumber and tomato, a bit of sliced olives, a dash of feta and dressing); a few cherries for dessert

Vestibular exercises.2

S: 2 Zone Health bar cookies

Vestibular exercises.3

Dinner: Zone multi grain bagel sandwich: bagel, turkey, light Havarti cheese, lettuce tomato, pickles, extra virgin olive oil; blueberries for dessert

_{Sa. 7.03.10}

 Today we had went to the annual extended family 4th of July day-long celebration at my cousin’s house on a nearby lake.  The weather was absolutely beautiful in spite of it being the first day of a heat wave.   Knowing there would be the usual BBQ fare of chicken, green tossed salad, and then tons of other salads and desserts  that  I wouldn’t choose to eat (and also considering that I did not want to chew a lot of chicken...still recovering from that recent tooth extraction surgery), I opted for bringing a couple sandwiches for lunch and dinner and some Zone cookies for an afternoon snack.  Around 6 PM, half of us there moved the party 15 miles away to attend the fireworks (the Annual Dutch Fogarty Independence Day Celebration in Manchester, CT, about 30,000 in attendance there, we go to it every year).   Had a great time, lots of fun!

B:   Zone original granola, soy milk and a small handful of cherries  

S:  Zone cinnamon bun, toasted, with almond butter

Vestibular exercises.1

walk

Lunch:  toasted Zone multigrain bagel with roasted red pepper hummus and olives; tasted a couple of potato chips with onion dip, salad

S:  2 Zone M&M cookies

Vestibular exercises.2

Dinner: Toasted Zone multigrain bagel with light cream cheese and smoked wild salmon, a small amount of peanuts and some blueberries and raspberries for dessert

_{Su. 7.04.10}

_{I haven’t mentioned my water intake lately, so today I kept track.  We’re in the midst of a week-long heat wave here in the Northeast which prompted me to drink a little more today than my usual 3.5 or 4 liters.  I had about 168 ounces which equates to a gallon plus a generous quart. This is more than the ½ your weight suggestion.  I’ve been drinking about 4 liters of water a day for the past 15 years.  I weight in the low 140’s and have about 113-114 pounds LBM.  I’ve always felt a lot better in the Zone when I’m drinking more water.} 

B: Zone cinnamon bun, toasted, with ½ T Trader Joe’s Almond Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds

Vestibular exercises.1

walk

S: 1 Zone Sesame pretzel, toasted

Lunch: Dinner sized Greek salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, Kalamata olives, a little bit of feta and Trader Joe’s Feta Dressing) and toasted Zone flat bread

Vestibular exercises.2

S: 1 Zone M&M cookie

S: 1 Zone herb pretzel, toasted

Early dinner: 1/2 recipe Orzo with squash (a Zone recipe) and sliced fresh local tomatoes

After dinner I went to another party at the same lake house (same as yesterday) with a different crowd of people, and stayed very late watching fireworks around the lake.  It was the perfect with of July evening, and lots f fun.   I had decided to eat dinner prior to leaving because I knew the food choices would be about the same as yesterday and the big dish of Orzo with squash (one of my favorites) in my fridge was calling to me more than the thought of putting together a Zone meal at the party.  I didn’t eat at the party, and instead drank a liter of Poland Spring Mandarin Orange Essence Sparkling Water throughout the evening. 

Vestibular exercises.3

_{Mon. 7.05.10}

_{Early this morning, while the temperatures were not too high yet, I made  some Zone 1-2-3 meals for the coming week. The less heating up the kitchen the better in this hot weather because I don’t have AC in most of my house.  I made several meals of Roasted Mushrooms with Fusilli, cooked up some orzo and some additional fusilli, and made several pizzas (my husband eats Zone food too, it’s not all for me).  Now I’ve got lots of my favorites ready to eat a moment’s notice for the next few days.  As for today’s water intake, I’ve had 1 less glass of water today than yesterday, putting me around 4.5 liters for today.}

B: French toast made with a Zone cinnamon bun sliced in half horizontally, 1 egg white and a little soy milk; olive oil in the pan, a few cherries on the side.

S: 2 Zone M&M cookies

Lunch:  ½ recipe of Roasted Mushrooms with Fusilli (a Zone recipe made with Zone fusilli)

S: ½ Zone pizza crust topped with Trader Joe’s Bruschetta, Kalamata olives and a little bit of finely grated parmesan

S: 2 Zone M&M cookies

Vestibular exercises.1

S: 1 Zone Heath bar cookie

Strength training

Vestibular exercises.2

Dinner: ½ recipe Zone orzo with squash

Vestibular exercises.3

_{Tu. 7.06.10}

B:  Zone original granola, raspberries, soy milk

Vestibular exercises.1

S:  Zone cinnamon bun (toasted) and peanuts 

Lunch:  ½ cold Zone pizza made with lots of tomatoes, garlic, onions, olives, olive oil, seasonings and a sprinkle of grated parmesan;

Vestibular exercises.2

Yoga class

S:  2 Zone M&M cookies

Dinner:  ½ recipe of cold leftover Roasted Mushrooms with Fusilli (a Zone recipe), with sliced fresh tomatoes on the side 

Vestibular exercises.3

_{Wed. 7.07.10}

B:  Cinnamonamon bun (toasted) and 1/3 peach

S:  Cinnamon bun (toasted) and mixed nuts (Planter’s Natural Harvest brand, "Pistachio Grove Blend") 

Lunch:  Side salad of Dole “Italian Blend” lettuce and diced fresh tomato, a splash of white balsamic vinegar and one “grind” each of S & P;   1/2 cold leftover pizza made with lots of tomatoes, garlic, onions, olives, olive oil, seasonings and a sprinkle of grated parmesan; a handful of raspberries for dessert.

Vestibular exercises.1

S:  2 Heant bar cookies and some peanuts

Vestibular exercises.2

Strength training

Dinner:  Orzo with squash (a Zone recipe) and raspberry sorbet(berries blended with yogurt and alcohol free almond flavoring)

Vestibular exercises.3

_{Th. 7.08.10}

B: 1/3 peach, and French toast (a cinnamon bun spit in half across the middle, 1 egg white, a little soy milk)

Vestibular exercises.1

Yoga class

S:  1 brownie with some peanuts

Lunch:  ½ pizza (tomatoes, parmesan and olives)

S:  almond butter sandwich on 2 pieces of toasted cinnamon bread

Vestibular exercises.2

Dinner:  Fusilli with roasted veggies and a splash of Balsamic vinegar; some peanuts

Vestibular exercises.3

sue

Lost 100 lbs 15 yrs ago, off BP meds, thanks to the Zone diet and Zone fish oil. ZoneFast 1-2-3 is the best!

Consultant of Zone Labs

View my Zone fast 1-2-3 meal photos here:  http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...3%20Meals/

View my classic Zone meal photos here:  http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...4/?start=0

xxxx  (This was a duplicate of my previous posting...my fast fingers keep submitting duplicates I guess...sue)

_{Sa. 7.10.10}

B:  peanut butter granola, soy milk and 2 apricots

Vestibular exercises.1

some yoga stretches

S: 1 M&M cookie

Lunch:  1/4 pizza with lots of veggies, and 1 M&M cookie

Vestibular exercises.2

S: 1 slice toasted cinnamon bread with a little bit of almond butter

S:  ½ sesame pretzel with a little roasted red pepper hummus

Strength training

Yoga

Dinner:  ½ package cold cooked fusilli tossed with diced tomato and cucumber, sliced olives, red wine vinegar, olive oil and 2 tsp of fat free feta

Vestibular exercises.3

_{Tu. 7.13.10}

B: French toast made with 2 slices cinnamon swirl loaf, 2 egg whites, unsweetened chocolate soy milk and a little olive oil; 1 ½ apricots on the side

Vestibular exercises.1

Yoga class

S:  ½ package original granola

Lunch:  toasted multigrain bagel with roasted red pepper hummus and lost of thin sliced tomato; fat free marinated mushrooms on the side.

Vestibular exercises.2

S:  cinnamon toast chips and ½ apricot

Vestibular exercises.3

Strength training

Dinner:  ½ package orzo with artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, olives and white balsamic vinegar; some peanuts

_{Wed. 7.14.10}

_{Rest day from workouts}

B:  peanut butter granola topped with unsweetened low carbohydrate chocolate soy milk and 1 apricot

Vestibular exercises.1

S: 1 M&M cookie

Lunch:  a big salad of mixed greens (romaine and baby spinach), diced tomato, purple green beans (they're purple on the outside only), diced cucumber, and smoked salmon,  with an extra virgin olive oil and golden balsamic vinegar dressing and a package of plain croutons. 

S:  ½ M&M cookie

Vestibular exercises.2

S:  toasted onion bagel with olive oil for dipping

Vestibular exercises.3

Dinner:  toasted multigrain bagel topped with roasted red pepper hummus and artichokes, fat free marinated mushrooms on the side and a big handful of blueberries for dessert

Yoga stretches

_{Th. 7.15.10}

B: peanut butter granola topped with unsweetened low carbohydrate chocolate soy milk and 1 apricot

Walk

Vestibular exercises.1

Yoga class

S: ½ sesame pretzel and ½ M&M cookie (leftovers)

Lunch: a big salad of mixed greens (romaine and baby spinach), diced tomato, purple green beans,  diced cucumber, and fat free marinated mushrooms, with an extra virgin olive oil and golden balsamic vinegar dressing and toasted multigrain bagel with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

Vestibular exercises.2

S: 2 chocolate chip cookies

S: 1 peanut butter chip cookie

Vestibular exercises.3

Strength training

Dinner: French toast topped with fresh picked blueberries.  1/2 raspberry popsicle for dessert (homemade, consisting only of pureed berries with a touch of plain yogurt). We like to have breakfast for dinner once in a while. The French toast: cinnamon bun, 2 egg whites, a splash of soy milk and a little olive oil.

_{Fri. 7.16.10}

B: toasted cinnamon bun

S: 1 peanut butter chip cookie

S: ½ package cinnamon toast chips a few almonds and a small handful of blueberries

Vestibular exercises.1

walk

Lunch: a toasted multigrain bagel with extra virgin olive oil for dipping; Greek Salad made of lettuce, diced cucumber, diced tomato, a little S&P, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil dressing, and a sprinkle of at free feta; ½ raspberry popsicle for dessert (ingredients : pureed berries and a little plain yogurt)

S: sesame pretzel

Vestibular exercises.2

Vestibular exercises.3

Dinner: ½ recipe of “Rice” and Greens (a Zone orzo recipe) with fat free marinated mushrooms added. A few strawberries and some black berries for dessert

sue

Lost 100 lbs 15 yrs ago, off BP meds, thanks to the Zone diet and Zone fish oil. ZoneFast 1-2-3 is the best!

Consultant of Zone Labs

Certified Zone Affiliate

View my Zone fast 1-2-3 meal photos here:  http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...3%20Meals/

View my classic Zone meal photos here:  http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/...4/?start=0

Hi maureen,

Nope.  Just the opposite.  They keep me in the Zone, with no hunger and no hypoglycemic symptoms, better than any of my strictest Zone meals ever did.  These foods are fantastic!  I had been in my normal weight range and maintaining around 25-26% body fat with the Zone lifestyle for 15 years before these foods became available. When I started eating the Zone 1-2-3 plan last year, to my surprise I quickly became even leaner and I'm weariing one size smaller.  I'm now maintaining at 22% body fat and I have not had hypoglycemic symptoms from eating Zone food.  In fact, today we decided to go to the beach for the day, kind of spur of the moment, so we grabbed a bunch of Zone  Foods (my husband and I, he eats them too) and a lot of water and had a great day at the beach.  I went swimming, did a difficult sort of water workout (I'll probably post here about it later) and even did my strength training workout when we got home.    I had plenty of energy and I feel fine, even though we're in the midst of a heat wave with high humidity here.   Also, I have a long history of being very sensitive to the carbohydrate I eat.   I used to have bad hypoglycemic symptoms every day before I began eating in the Zone.   To maintain satiety and freedom from my hypoglycemic symptoms I've had to practice very strict adherence to the Zone diet for the past 15 years, including eating favorable veggies for most all of my carbohydrate.  If these foods can keep me in the Zone, I'd say they will probably keep justa about anyone in the Zone.  Another big plus about Zone foods is that they don't contain omega 6 fat.  This makes them even better for inflammation lowering than classic Zone meals. 

You might be misunderstanding some things about the Zone foods.  They look and taste like real bread, pasta, cookies, etc, but they are not the same.  Here are two helpful articles by  Dr. Sears:

http://www.zonediet.com/t.abId/130/...volve.aspx 


http://www.zonediet.com/tabId/130/i...-Zone.aspx 

_{First thing this morning my husband and I decided to go to the beach for the day.  We wanted to get an early start to get there before all the parking spots were gone, so we ate a quick breakfast, and then grabbed some of our favorite Zone foods plus a lot of water.  We had a great time!}

_{Sat. 7.17.10}

(all baked goods, cereals and pastas are Zone 1-2-3 foods)

B: toasted cinnamon bun with almond butter

Swimming

S: peanut butter granola

Walk, mid-thigh high in ocean surf walking across the current...tough workout!  (lower body strength training and aerobic workout combined)

Lunch: original flavor granola

S: 2 milk chocolate chunk cookies

Vestibular exercises.1

S:   ½ package plain bagel chips and a couple strawberries

Upper body and core strength training

Vestibular exercises.2

Dinner: 1 Zone pizza crust topped with crushed garlic, Trader Joe’s Bruschetta, Kalamata olives, a sprinkle of both black pepper and finely grated parmesan cheese

Vestibular exercises.3

Posted By Marsha on 07/18/2010 6:45 AM


Good morning Sue:

 ...I just noticed that it indicates women should be having one Zone food snack per day.  I haven't been doing this....

...So get to the point already, you must be thinking, should I be having that snack daily and do you think by not having it, it's throwing my balance all off?... 

Marsha

Hi Marsha,

You're welcome, and thanks for asking about me and my daughter.  I'm fine.  Things are good for her at a moment...had a couple more glitches a few weeks ago.  She's very good at taking it one day at a time. 

Yes, you should be eating the snack.   You probably aren’t feeing like you need the snack because you’re not hungry, due to the excellent appetite suppression provided by eating the Zone foods, but it’s very important not to skip snacks.  Yes, not eating the snack can prevent weight loss progress.   In order to stay in the Zone and lose excess stored body fat, you must keep eating at intervals throughout the day, and you must eat your full protein requirement daily.   The Zone1-2-3 Plan, and the classic Zone diet, are both very calorie restricted eating plans to begin with. Skipping the snack means you're not supplying your body with the minimum amount of food it needs daily.  When you don't eat enough, your body senses starvation and then it adjusts to try to protect itself (referred to "starvation" mode in the earlier Zone books). Basically, when your body senses starvation, it thinks it will need to rely on its own fat stores to provide its energy during the period of famine, so it slows down the rate at which it uses calories, to prevent losing the stored fat it still has (the stored fat it thinks it needs in order to survive). 

Bottom line, eat that snack! 

 Have a nice Sunday!