Maggi's Lo Carb

How I Became a Fan of Chiropractic

2008-10-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Seven months ago, I was 60 pounds overweight, in extreme pain from fibromyalgia, unable to sleep, having trouble keeping up with my three-year-old grandson, miserable and depressed. Today, I am 45 pounds lighter, pain free, sleeping well and life is good. What made the difference?
It was my friend Jan. She works for Dr. Riffel and she encouraged me to give Chiropractic a try. I had always scoffed at the notion of visiting a Chiropractor. I felt it would be a waste of money and I didn't want to have to do weekly or more frequent visits. So I resisted the one thing that was to make a major difference in my life.
For fifteen years I visited a rheumatologist who had me on Celebrex and Elavil for my fibromyalgia. The combination of those two drugs did help take some of the edge off of the pain. Then warnings started coming out about the risk of heart attack with the use of Celebrex so I discontinued it. After a few months, I developed shooting pains in my legs and a recurrence of restless leg syndrome. I also began to get something new: a sharp jabbing pain in my hips at random times throughout the day. It got to the point where I was crying from depression and frustration.
The pain kept me up night after night and often I could only get to sleep by eating myself into a stupor. Over several years my weight ballooned, which contributed even more to the problem. I had no desire or motivation to exercise for fear that the pain would intensify. It was difficult for me to run after my grandson at the playground and I certainly couldn't participate in the activities he wanted me to do with him. My general physician could only recommend Cymbalta, an anti-depressant which would mask the pain, but carried the chance of side effects which included possible thoughts of suicide, restlessness, sleeplessness and anxiety. I didn't want to turn to yet another pharmaceutical.
It was at this point that I decided I had nothing to lose by visiting Dr. Riffel. I was skeptical, but willing to give him a chance. I had already tried everything else. I immediately felt at ease with Dr. Riffel. His hands were cool, soothing and gentle, and his demeanor friendly and kind. I was unfamiliar with the process but he was patient in explaining how the nerve system works as a message highway to all the organs in the body.
After my first adjustment, I was amazed that the sharp jabbing pain in my hips disappeared almost the first day. The pain decreased in intensity and frequency until suddenly, I realized that it was completely gone. It was a miracle! Slowly, while keeping up my periodic appointments over the next few weeks, the shooting pains in my legs subsided as well. My newfound sense of well being caused a desire to get healthy in other areas of my life and I started to visit the gym daily. That led to a desire to lose weight, which resulted in dropping 45 pounds in five months time!
Today, I am happy to report that I am feeling well, with no use of medications. I am still exercising almost daily. My grandson and I run around all day without Grandma getting fatigued. I am so grateful to my friend Jan for introducing me to Dr. Riffel seven months ago and I have been a fan ever since.

Vitamins and Supplements

2008-07-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Years ago I was a distributor for Shaklee Vitamins. Like everyone else, I'd take vitamins for awhile and then stop. After some time I began to notice pattern. I'd start to feel better and then forget to replenish my supply and stop taking them. Shortly after that, I'd get the flu or a cold. When I finally made it a part of my daily routine, like brushing my teeth in the morning (in fact I keep a bottle of water and my vitamins in a weekly pill organizer next to my toothpaste) I began to notice a huge increase in my energy level and a decrease in the frequency of illnesses. I think we all can benefit from a good multi-vitamin and extra C every day. The rest of the supplements I take are things I added along the way from reading I've done and specific to my needs. That may be different for every person. I don't do Shaklee anymore, I buy Nature Made and Kirkland at Costco and other sources. They're cheaper and seem to work well enough for me. Here is a list of what I take each morning (one of each):
Kirkland Mature Multi Vitamins and Minerals
Kirkland Vitamins C 1000 mg
Kirkland Fish Oil 1200 mg Fish Oil, 684 mg Omega 3
Nature Made Calcium 750 mg + D + K
Nature Made Organic Flaxseed Oil 1000 mg
Nature Made Vitamin E 400 I.U.
Neo Cell Collagen Type 1 & 3 + C

Exercise

2008-07-08T11:42:00.001-07:00

On any diet, regular daily exercise is key. I lose weight faster if I do it and I try to go to the gym every day, 6 days a week. Mainly I'm on the treadmill for 45 minutes to an hour, then do the exercycle 15 minutes and some upper body weight training. Even if you haven't lost weight you look 10 lbs lighter when you exercise. If you don't have a gym membership, walk outside and/or ride a bike. Don't be deterred by the weather. Dress warm, use an umbrella, walk a dog. Use large soup cans to work out your upper body. I walk a 15 minute mile. Use the car to map out a route and stick to it. Use an MP3 or an Ipod, or take that time to pray and meditate. Make it a priority! Make yourself and your health a priority!

Getting to the End of Your Rope

2008-06-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

In December my physical health had reached an all time low. I was heavier than I'd ever been. I was having trouble keeping up with my three year old grandson. Walking up the stairs was an effort. Shooting pains in my legs and hip plagued me at night. I couldn't sleep which led to more eating to anesthesize myself. I developed acute acid reflux. In addition, I didn't want to walk out of the house in the morning because I was ashamed of my appearance. Buying and trying on clothing was a humiliating experience. I had to compensate by spending hours on my hair and makeup just to feel presentable. My 38 year marriage suffered, mainly because I felt unloveable.

I had gotten to the end of my rope. Many diets have come and gone in my life. I did remember one being successful, at least as long as I had the will power to stay on it. That was the Lo-Carb diet. I decided to give it one last try before I got too old to care anymore.

December 15th was D-day. Today is June 4th and so far I have lost 46 pounds. My pain is completely gone. I walk three miles a day on the treadmill at Bally's. I'm able to run after my active grandson, my acid reflux has disappeared and I'm sleeping through the night, every night. Here is how I did it.

1. No starches or sugars. This includes rice, pasta, potatoes, bread. I do allow myself two Wasa Fiber Crispbread crackers a day. After awhile, I will introduce back a little brown rice, whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread. But for right now, I don't have it.

2. No pop, regular or sugar free. Carbonation makes your tummy bigger.

3. No sweet or starchy veggies, i.e. corn, peas, carrots, squash (spaghetti squash is OK). I limit my tomatoes (they are technically a fruit). Steaming veggies is healthiest, or eat them raw with a little hummus or ranch dressing.

4. No fruit right now.

5. No milk or cottage cheese. Whole sour cream, cream cheese, butter and whipping cream are OK.

6. I eat lots of salads. (Ranch dressing is OK, but I watch how much I put on.)

7. All meats and fish are OK, as long as there is no filler such as bread crumbs. Pecans can be finely chopped and used as a "breading", when fish or meat is dipped in egg first.

8. I use butter, grape seed oil, or olive oil.

9. A few (10 or so) almonds a day

10. Drinking alcohol or using artificial sweeteners will impede weight loss.

11. I eat every 4 to 6 hours. If I am hungry I eat, but only until I don't feel hungry anymore. Sometimes this only takes a few bites.

12. Drink plenty of water. Sometimes thirst masquerades as hunger. If you are hungry, drink water first. If you're still hungry in 10 minutes, eat something.

13. Pinpoint when you are most likely to snack when you aren't hungry. My time is at the computer. I keep a pack of gum at my computer and chomp on it when I need to chew on something.

14. Some nights I make myself a cup of Oolong tea (supposed to aid weight loss) and on the side I have a tablespoon of Almond butter stirred with a tablespoon of honey. If you eat a little something sweet, eat a little protein with it.