#lumen | MY PLACE - POETRY , AFFIRMATIONS & MORE

Svelte – Belly blast program

17 May 2024 Leave a comment

by Katz in Fasting Keto & Health Chatter, Rants and Raves Tags: #extremeweightloss, #keto, #lumen, #MEREDITHSHIRK, #metaboost, #svelte, #weighloss #weightlossmaintenance, inspiration

Yay!! Day 4 ..made it!

Day four of what you ask. Well I would say day four of clean, healthy eating, vegan, no inflammatory foods allowed, no caffeine …and today I feel great!

My previous post I detailed about a recent program I purchased by a fitness coach called Meredith , program Metaboost#metaboostconnection by #svelte.

There are many options offered by this online fitness coach, however the one that I chose involved a one-day fat flush followed by a 3-day belly blaster program…. Followed by another 7 days of clean eating.

This not a vegan program, however, in the first 4 days there are no dairy or eggs, yet you are permitted to have lean protein.

I just finished the first 4 days so I’d like to give a small review on that. But first let me do some whining.

It seems like lately this girls weight just wants to go upward and outwardm I’m almost feeling desperate as all my go-to’s are not working for me to get off these 20 lb I gained.

Skipping back through my life , my lifelong pursuit of working on a healthy weight and a healthy metabolism, I’ve been led down many roads.

What Ive learned is, I can take what I like from the programs, and leave all the rest, no regrets no real expectations.

Ultimately, I’m just working on learning about my own health and how my body works specifically.

So working towards eating a daily meal plan , after following an alternate day for 4 years, I realized I absolutely enjoy eating every day and maintaining my weight. And this is something that I’ve learned just this past few months

Truth is, I didn’t believe that eating daily and not gaining weight could happen; that I could leave keto or alternate day fasting and not blow back to that 330 lbs that I was 8 years ago. However, I’ve learned just since February it appears I can maintain my weight and eat everyday.

I will continue to enjoy fasting as well , so I’m learning to incorporate intermediate fasting with these different new techniques as I work on losing these 20 lbs.

In February this year , I began using the #Lumen device. This device helps measure your CO2 and determines whether or not you are in sugar burning or fat burning. The eating plan that came with this device suggested eating everyday to increase your metabolism and provides low carb, high carb and super high carb days based on your reading so that you can learn to carb cycle and challenge your metabolism.

I was very curious about what that device would tell me about my metabolism .

What I’ve learned and according to what I see based on my #Lumen readings is that I have a fairly flexible metabolism and I easily switch between fat burning and carbohydrate burning .

Bonus!! Some people using the Lumen have a very hard time getting the readings I get and I would have to believe it’s because I followed a keto low carb diet for so many years.

I admit, I gained those 20 -23lbs honestly over the last year.

Just after entering postmenopause, and with so much going on in my personal life, I became a weekend warrior last summer consuming ice cream and pie far more often than I should… which of course I knew was a bad idea at the time .

While practicing ADF (alternate day fasting ) I always chose one day on the weekend where I had had whatever I wanted, even if it meant getting severe bloating and inflammation . Foods like pizza, pasta and most complex or processed carbs seem to be really impossible for me to digest. In turn, what happens is my abdomen, ribs, back , legs and almost every part of me aches 4 days later as my mid section expands blowing out like a 9-month pregnant woman causing me almost unbearable pain… And doing this to myself every weekend for years it used to be everyday but now just every weekend for years, so I can’t even imagine what I’m thinking.

Brain screams “Oh I can tell you! I want to be normal. I just want to eat whatever I want. I guess just like everybody I want all that I want … Even when we know our bodies don’t agree”.

The inflammation typically lasts for about 3 or 4 days , or often until I eat like those foods again.

Ive maintained my 170lb weight loss allowing myself to gain 8 lb from my lowest weight because I felt too thin , and it seemed as long as I had only one naughty day a weekend to my weight maintained,

I felt I could manage and live with the inflammation that happened from eating carbohydrates & sugar . Each Monday the scale taunted me with an alarming weight gain of 10 lb (or more) however, my clean keto & ADF diet during the week , the scale would be back down on Friday and I would lose those 10 lbs of water weight, which is what it appeared to be…thus maintaining my weight and I was basically happy with this.

Yet my body had other ideas.

When I began using the #Lumen in February, I began eating everyday and I noticed that the inflammation response lessened. Yes The inflammation was still there however it was still there only when I ate processed foods or high carbs on the weekend . I began getting less inflammation as my weight only increasef about four or 5 lbs( instead of 10) over the weekend. I also began maintaining my weight and have maintained my weight despite the fact that I’m eating everyday and still having a cheat day on the weekend , so I’m pretty happy with that

Now let’s get back to this felt #svelte plan…..

So drum roll please !!!

After my 1-day fat flush the scale moved 4lbs !! Wow… That’s pretty good because what was happening prior to that was it was taking Monday to Friday for me to lose the 4 to 5 lbs of inflammation, this time it came off overnight!! Wow!

I also wanted to say that the recipes and smoothies that were offered in this program were absolutely delicious and it really made me excited to try something different.

The results offered as testimonials from #svelte program were reports that some lost over 8lbs overnight, with the average closer to 4 or 5 lb which is still pretty awesome as that’s where I was.

As I eat very healthy throughout the week, I really didn’t give a lot of hope to think that this change in eating would move any of the weight that’s been on my body stuck now for more than the past 6 months.

However, let’s have another drum roll please !!

Results are in from my 3-day belly booster!! Yes I’ve lost another 5.8 lbs which is pretty darn amazing!!

Yes, that’s a total of 9.8 lbs from Monday to Friday!!

Thanks #MEREDITHSHIRK, You are right, this program does work!

Typically I do lose a regular inflammatory weight of approximately 4 to 5 lbs each week between Monday to Friday, but not 10, not since I eat daily that is.

.So that means I’m down a net of 5.8lbs … Wow! I’m pumped!!!

A little secret I’ll admit is the sugar addict inside of me has been collecting chocolates as I plan my next cheat day!! I know I need to work on my sugar addiction and I know that I’m just hurting myself. So as soon as I get this sugar addiction under control hopefully I won’t have to deal with this inflammation anymore.

I sometimes try to tell myself that I’m self-harming when I’m eating chocolate and chips etc but I do look forward to cheat days as that’s when I comfort myself with the things that I grew up feeling comfort with.

I’m not sure if I can manage a fully clean diet at all times without having some cheat days.

However, for now, I will continue for the next 7 days to complete this #svelte because they are so many more tips & recipes then I’ve seen another program so I am still very curious.

I did not buy their fitness program or the connection to their live community as it cost an extra $27 Canadian per month to access and I’m already paying the $27 a month for the Lumen community to access which is ridiculous of course, but they are really helping me and part of my journey it seems, so I have some decisions to make in the future about which platform works best for me.

Well what’s ahead ..

The next 7 days is more clean eating still dairy-free.

I’m really missing my cheese and butter.. but maybe this is the way I have to go in order for me to at least get off these stubborn pounds.

For those that are using this #svelte #metaboost program, they report that they lose 10 to 15 lb and over the full 11-day program …and as long as I can keep fighting off the Doritos and chocolates that keep appearing in my life it looks like it could be possible to get my weight back under control.

Wish me luck !

Written by

Corrina

Lumen & Me

27 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

by Katz in Fasting Keto & Health Chatter, Rants and Raves Tags: #dietdoctor, #drfung, #extremeweightloss, #health #lchf, #keto, #ketolifestyle, #lchfchallenge, #lowcarb #diet, #lumen, #lumendevice, #weightloss #abundance #healing, health

Arggggg Still struggling ..ugh!

So here we go!. I think it’s important to provide some insight & personal reflection on this new metabolic device that I had recently purchased.

I call the Lumen device my accountability tool ; as it seems like all this tool is actually doing for me at this time is reading a printout of my current metabolism, and not that much more.

It’s been just over two months since I began blowing in the lumen and started as recommended the “eating every day lifestyle”.

I say eating everyday because I typically practice (ADF) alternate day fasting, a lifestyle I followed for approximately just under 5 years; a lifestyle which directly followed my 3year keto journey and low carb lifestyle. So eating every single day for these last couple months is quite a change for me, as I haven’t done that for many years.

Just in case anyone’s curious. Yes I have gained approximately 2lbs more, that’s not so bad considering I usually don’t eat everyday , and not so bad as I am trying to follow the Lumen guidelines.

Truth is , I purchased the Lumen on a whim ( like most things in my life). And it actually caught me off guard a little bit with the cost as it turned out to be much more expensive in CAD than I would’ve liked.

The Lumen also comes with an app in the form of a monthly membership ( I just received my bill and it’s approximately $26 Canadian a month, again more than I would like to pay).

I really believed upon purchase that this app part of Lumen( the plan basically) was optional, however, it turns out it’s Lumen recently changed their rules and the membership is no longer optional and you cannot opt out of the app support. It’s now a must have to go with the device or else the device is basically redundant.

So as it’s too late for me now, I would suggest reading all the fine prints before you invest.

On the day I purchased the Lumen device; my overly excited pointer finger punched that purchase button so fast I didn’t even realize at first that the product was offered from a US site, and a few minutes later I realized that the exchange rate would have me paying a much higher cost than I initially thought.
Even then when I realized the cost was in the U.S.funds, I was still curious and excited about the Lumen thinking that it was somehow a ketone reader.

I knew the cost would come through on my credit card soon enough and I would have to look at it; however, for now I soothed myself by saying that it’s okay to treat myself with the money that brother had given me for Christmas.

I have great hopes that this Lumen device would assist me with my health journey, yet 2 months later, I’m still not so quite sure of that.

The idea of an additional tool/device in my life was not really something I was looking forward to, however with that being said, I was still super hopeful that this device would give me some answers, answers to why my metabolism is such a jerk.

Every morning I blow into this little device and with the combination of the paid app, of course , it gives me a reading that provides me details of how my metabolism is operating and “tells me” if I’m in fat burning, sugar burning or a mixture of both. The numerical value on the breath reading represents where my metabolic system is at that time and based on your morning reading, the Lumen identifies which macros would work best for you and whether it’s a low carb, high carb or a boost day, which is super duper high carb day .

As a person who is definitely insulin resistant, I only realized after I purchased the Lumen, that it was not a ketone reader, but instead a metabolic reader. I was still very excited for the first month to see whether or not I had a flexible metabolism.

In some ways Ive learned to absolutely love Lumen because it is 100% accurate in telling me that I am not in fat burning and when I am in fat storage mode.. and of course, most people who have been following the keto diet or low carb diet also can tell when you are probably not burning fat because of your consumption of food, however, what I find very helpful is that being a keto low carb lifestyle person for almost 8 years, I always wondered how long it would take me to get back into ketosis once I stopped eating sugar or once I had a better day that was more low carb or healthy.

The Lumen device really surprised me in learning about my own metabolic flexibility, and I truly believe that the numbers and readings that it provides are 100% accurate.

There are many, many people who have been using the Lumen for many years to help them with their weight loss goals, metabolic flexibility and just overall health. I do believe that it provides all of these features and it’s not a weight loss tool. It’s just a reader that provides you with insight on what’s going on with your body and for sure I have learned a lot in the last 2 months.

But I also learned that my body is still very different from other people and even though I may be following the macros correctly according to their Lumen when it comes to protein and fat, I certainly can’t always eat the amount of carbs that it suggests because I know I’m insulin resistant. Some people may have a metabolic flexibility that when they are high in flexibility they can still burn fat easily, but because I’m insulin resistant it seems that my fat burning is not that easy and that in order for me to burn fat, I still need to stay either keto or really not eat anything after 4:00 p.m.

The end of the story of this story is that I do believe the Lumen is extremely helpful to my overall understanding of what’s going on in my body, which I really love. I’m also not regretful that I purchased this device , which turned out to be over $200 CAD. However I am pretty pissed about the fact that I have to pay $26 a month just to get a reading from this device. I’m going to do a little bit more research but I understand that it can’t be used without the app and it’s not really fair. If you already know what those numbers represent when you blow into the Lumen device, to continue to pay for the membership ongoing is really not really that inspiring, and I actually feel mad about it.

If you know that you’re blowing high numbers and you’re not in fat burning then naturally you would just reduce your carbs for the next few days until you blow a low reading, therefore not needing the app to consistently tell you what to eat because it’s based on the reading. Eating low carb usually means that you will blow a high fat burn and a high score means that you are not burning anything… Pretty simple science.

However even with knowing the science and how the Lumen works and how it can work for me without this app, I am still forced to be paying over $300 annually to use this app. And of course I’m going to have to keep investing in it for a little while because I paid close to that cost alone just for the Lumen device.

Knowledge is power but reading to fine prints is also important.

Written by

Corrina

One positive change I’ve made in my life

10 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

by Katz in Fasting Keto & Health Chatter Tags: # positivethoughts, #dietdoctor, #drfung, #extremeweoghtloss' #extremeweight lossmaintenance, #lumen, #meganramos, #weightloss #keto, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1904

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” William Arthur Ward

I can’t believe it’s almost been 8 years since I started my journey of Keto, low carb, alternate day fasting extended fasting and now recently adding in the Lumen device: which early stages appear to assist with managing and viewing my metabolic flexibility.

I will never be more thankful or grateful for the words of the famous #DrFung and the article that I read at work that one fine day in Toronto… A captivating article that 100% drew me in “Dr. In Toronto finds cure for obesity “; which of course led me to the first book that he wrote which was “#theobesitycode”; a game changer for me, the book that saved my life, the doctor that saved my life.

I can’t even say enough about how thrilled I am and how at times I still can’t believe that this actually happened…. What is that? Well it is extreme weight loss and maintenance that’s what it is!

Basically what I also believe is that this whole thing was a wee miracle being gifted to me after a prayer to ask for help with finding a cure for weight loss and health management. For those of you that keep a prayer journal then maybe you’ve heard of this sort of thing before. But this was my first experience and my first request in my prayer journal was to help me find a cure for my

Can’t believe it’s almost been 8 years since I began this journey; my prayers answered just one week after I penciled it into my prayers journal. But that’s a whole other story of miracles and help from the other side that I may come back to about another time. I will never be more thankful or grateful to find that article that day

This past year I put on a few pounds and now “unfortunately” I am still am struggling with a gain that has gradually reached a point of a full 20 lb but by bit adding since July 2023.

As a post menopausal over 55 female, I’m disappointed yet proud of myself to maintain at 158 lb loss and as disappointed as this 20lb gain is, I can still be proud of myself and should be still proud of myself. Yet there’s days that I’m beating myself up and saying the most terrible things about myself that I would not say to anybody else ever. So here’s some self-love and acknowledgment :).

Way to go!!! What you have done is no less than an absolutely, amazing accomplishment! With just some small direction from Dr. Fung’s amazing clinician Megan #meganramos, you manage this and did it all on your own. You just followed some guidelines and online groups ..you didn’t do what they told you to do ( the medical community ) which was to get a surgery for big gals like you…no I knew there had to be something else. I’m so damn proud of myself!