Gripes, McDougalling and Yoga-ing (?)

Fresh from my first Yoga self-taught lesson I felt a blog coming on. :)

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about some used books found at the thrift store here. One of them was a Yoga book I recently finished reading. Molly Fox's Yoga Weight Loss Program was very informative for a wannabe Yoga-ing (is that a word?) person like me. I'll quickly add I didn't buy this book for the 'weight loss' part, but was impressed by the illustrations when thumbing through the pages. There are different regimens to follow: energy, strength, and calming. These are all laid out step-by-step and are pretty easy to follow along to. I love that the models are real women and not runway models in spandex thongs. :) This part of the book with the routines/lessons/illustrations, and really the reason I bought the book, were perfect.

There is also a section on self hypnosis and some exercises to encourage positive thinking in exercise/dieting. All were a bit too much like going to the shrink, but I'm hyper sensitive to that mumbo jumbo. However it was the section on diet that makes me hesitant to recommend the book. The co-author of the book, a certified nutritionist, advises against vegetarianism using a really vague 'humans always have/were meant to eat meat' reasoning. Yuck.

Anyways, even having very limited space (a 2'x5' area) to work in, I was surprised at how I could feel all my muscles slowly working. Sometimes I had to lay/recline diagonally, but it worked. The baby cat found all this bending with my hair dangling (it's going in a clip next time!), and laying on the floor much fun. :) Overall, the exercise felt good. And after I was done, a sense of happiness or possibly even peacefulness filled me. Actually, with each breath and movement I could feel my mood changing.

Also, today is my first day attempting the McDougall diet. Agnes, who has a veg*n blog Kari Cooks, left a comment on a previous post recommending checking the McDougall site for low-cost recipes. I took her advice, and found some useful recipes. However when delving further into the site, I found some great nutritional advice and a diet plan that will help me lower my triglycerides and cholesterol. For those that are familiar with the McDougall diets, I'm doing the Mary-Mini and then switching to the MWL for at LEAST the first 20-25 pounds of weight loss. After that I'll switch to the regular program.

My lunch today: roasted potato wedges served with catsup,
pepper salad with Dijon mustard & balsamic dressing
and mushroom/onion/carrot soup.

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Edited to remove griping. I didn't want this on my blog if/when I ever read my old posts-- a written reminder of a bad memory. Thanks again for everyone's comments. :)