Access the whole Gabriel Method Series of articles
A little over a week ago I started The Gabriel Method
Jon Gabriel used to weigh over 400 lbs and he spent years of his life dieting and regaining the weight, spending thousands with Dr. Atkins and continually forcing himself to lose weight only to gain it back and even more. He took it on as his mission to figure out why his body wanted to be fat.
He attended Wharton School of Business, studying biochemistry as well while he was there. He also studied at the VA hospital in Philadelphia. He has researched and read hundreds of research reports, learning everything he could about biochemistry, neurobiology, psychology, nutrition, and much more. He also studies meditation, neuro and psycho linguistics, field of consciousness research and even quantum physics. Even more importantly he started studying his own body.
What he found is quite remarkable and his own weight loss is just one example of it working. He lost over 200 lbs in 2 1/2 years.
I am not usually one to write about something personally unproven, especially when it comes to diet and health, but I really want to document this process so I don’t forget everything I’m learning.
I am feeling really great and enjoying the new foods that I am trying. I am generally in a better mood and sleeping really well. This after only a week with just the smallest of diet changes.
This is a really new program so there isn’t a lot of information about it our there. I am very curious about the process and the outcomes and hope that sharing my experiences will be helpful to others exploring this approach.
It also includes incorporating a lot of new foods that I was generally unfamiliar with, so creating and sharing recipes will be fun.
All of the posts related to my experiences will be gathered under the Article Series tab at the top of the page.
I was especially panicky about this because I had the same thing when I was little and it took my mom until I was five to get rid of it. By that time, I was picking at it and pulling off the scabs. My scalp was so damaged that I still have bald spots where the cradle cap used to be. I was totally freaked out and determined not to let this happen to Ada, so I scoured the Internet for any ideas.
My pediatrician, although wonderful and I love her dearly, was really useless with this. She just kept saying to put olive oil on her head and then scrub as I washed it out. Well, this didn’t work worth a damn.
What finally worked for us was The Original Little Sprout – Moisturizing Baby Shampoo (4 oz)
This shampoo is especially made for gently getting rid of cradle cap. It comes in a 4 oz and 16 oz size. It is very concentrated and it only took one 4 oz. bottle to get rid of Ada’s cradle cap. You have to use very little, the size of a dime is plenty, especially for a small child. I would recommend starting with the small bottle and don’t be alarmed by it’s small size, just use a little bit.
When washing the hair, I recommend letting the shampoo sit on the head for a few minutes if you can. I know this can be difficult with small kids in the bath, but if you can manage it, letting it site for even just a minute will help.
This will take a little while to work, but I started seeing results quickly and within a month or so it was completely gone and has not even threatened to make a reappearance. And, the biggest thing for me was there was no scraping or scrubbing, which my daughter simply would not tolerate. It is a gentle and natural product that I felt good about.
There are a couple minor downfalls. It is pretty spendy, but you will likely only need one bottle and I believe well worth the price tag. The other thing is that it isn’t tear free so be really careful around your child’s eyes. I find that putting a washcloth over her eyes worked well. She was old enough to hold the washcloth herself, which gave her a sense of control during an activity that she absolutely hated.
Another great product that I discovered for hair washing is the Lil Rinser Splashguard
I took him to the doctor and they made me go in the back door where they send the really contagious kids. I was a little freaked out. What did they think it was? But, it was a simple case of eczema. Ok, now what. She recommended that I lotion him up twice a day and if that didn’t work I could call and get the prescription cream.
At the time Ada was taking a class at The Little Gym (a wonderful place by the way, especially for the toddler age group). I was talking about this with the other moms there and one of them popped up. Her son had also had eczema and she recommended
Cetaphil Cream
She said that she had tried everything, even the prescription cream and nothing had worked very well until another mom had recommended the
Cetaphil Cream
Well, it worked like a charm. I lathered him up twice a day and within a couple of days there was significan improvement and then it was gone and hasn’t really been back. I continue to apply the cream after every bath and then when I see I little patch I go back to twice a day and it never even gets going.
I recently recommended this to a friend who was going through the same thing and was about to start on the prescription cream and she tried it and it worked great for her too.
If your child suffers from eczema, this is definitely worth a try. It is very inexpensive and overall a great cream. I now use it as a body lotion because I have pretty dry skin.
Mom Tip – Recommended Product for Eczema – Cetaphil Cream
This is the kind that comes in a tub, not a tube. There is a lotion and a cream. Make sure to get the cream.
I also use the Cetaphil cleanser
Do you have experiences with eczema, cetaphil or other words of wisdom on this topic? Please share by adding a comment below.
There is definitely something to be said for the peaceful, all consuming loudness of being alone with my mp3 player. It’s almost as good as the silence below the bath water. Very restorative and the sweat and chemical release is great too.
I am also counting and logging my daily food and exercise, but I will cover all that in another post.
For me, saying things out loud helps me to keep myself accountable. With that, here is my exercise routine.
Finding the right environment
The first thing I did was change what gym I went to, or really changed gyms so that I would start going. My old gym was one of those neighborhood jobbies and although the equipment was really nice and it was never busy, it also wasn’t very inspiring and they didn’t offer any classes.
I was also paying an extreme amount for two yoga classes a week at an Iyengar studio near my house. Although I really enjoyed these classes, I just wasn’t sure that Iyengar was the style of yoga I wanted to pursue long term. Also, although challenging I didn’t feel like it was really contributing to my weight loss, which at some point just needed to take priority.
So, I joined a gym very close to my house (one of the major chains) that offered yoga and other classes included in the price. In the end we are paying a little more for the gym but a lot less for yoga and in this economy and with my weight loss goals for the year, I think this is the best fit.
I do miss taking yoga classes at a studio. It is a totally different experience and much more serious and I fully plan on finding a studio to join after I have reached my weight loss goals that is more aligned with the style of yoga I would like to pursue going forward.
Vinyasa Yoga Classes
I attend 2 Vinyasa power yoga classes a week and would like to add in one more on Sunday mornings, but realistically this will most likely be an on and off thing as weekends are really family time and that needs to take priority. But, if we are just sitting around doing nothing on a Sunday morning, then I will try to hit this class once in a while.
I have done a bunch of research about how many calories are burned during a vinyasa yoga class. I found varying numbers from 300 to 500 calories and hour. It would be significantly more if this were a hot class, but alas it is not. The class I take is 90 minutes and so I usually log 500 calories for the class.
Cardio
My cardio machine of choice is the treadmill, but I would really like to add in some biking as well. Maybe even a spinning class one morning a week if I can ever get Ian to stay in the child care room there.
Anyway, I have been good about getting two additional hour long cardio workouts per week, but this really needs to be three. Maybe as the weather gets nicer, I can take this one outside – A long walk with the dog or a heavy duty landscaping work day or a bike ride on the Burke.
I do interval workouts alternating between running, walking, hills and sprints. An hour gets me about 450 calories, but this should increase as my abilities increase and I can up the intensity.
10 minute mini workouts
My next step is to add a quick 10 minute mini workout at some point each day. This is an opportunity for me to target a certain area or get in an extra strength builder or do some of the yoga poses that I no longer get to do taking an all levels gym based yoga class (mostly inversions).
Some of my options for this are….
Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer
Bosu Ball Daily Dose – I really like the Bosu ball and am looking for more ways to use it. The Daily Dose is a set of three exercises repeated in circuit and can be modified to increase or decrease the intensity. It’s pretty fun and a good workout.
Core Workout - I really like the Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer
Quick Yoga Series – I am really missing head stand (Salamba Sirsasana), shoulder stand (Salamba Sarvangasana) and plow pose (halasana). These were some of my favorites, but in the gym class environment it just isn’t possible to do these poses, so I am going to try and incorporate them often, hopefully daily at some point.
Just a note, my old yoga instructor said that it is very important to do shoulder stand after you have done headstand – something about balancing things out and such. They go hand in hand I guess.
Combining these with a forward bend, a mild back bend and a twist would make a lovely little restorative sequence.
So to get down and dirty with my year long resolutions, by the end of the year I would like to be consistently taking 2 yoga classes a week and a spinning class. Ian starts preschool in the fall so that will open up a morning a week to take a spinning class. I would also like to be doing 2 additional cardio workouts and 5 mini workouts a week.
With all that said, I also want to keep in mind this years overall goal of not getting overwhelmed by the enormity of the task at hand. I will push myself strongly, but also be forgiving. If I get overwhelmed or start feeling bad about my results or not going to the gym some night, I will give it up and that just simply can not happen. So as I have been telling myself over and over and over and over again lately “remain calm and think positively” and hopefully I will learn that it is ok to give myself a break sometimes.
Note: The titles and wording that I use may be different than the official video. Please don’t hold it against me.
Daily Dose – 10 min Total Body Bosu Workout
Sit Down/Get Ups
- Stand in front of the ball. Tighten your abs, square your legs, arms out in front of you.
- Sit down on the ball and lean back until just before you would tip over
- Use your hands on the ball by your hips for support if you need it, otherwise arms stay out in front
- Using your abs and hips pull yourself up to a squat and then use your legs to lift you to standing. Be careful of your knee position to avoid injury.
Open Down Dog to Push Up
- Stand behind the ball with your legs spread wide. Place your feet on the ball in front of you. A down dog with an open stance.
- Stretch your tailbone toward the sky and support yourself strongly with your arms, shoulder moving towars your waste and into the shoulder blades.
- Move one knee to the ball walking your hands out in front of the ball and do a push up.
- Return to open down dog then alternate with the other knee.
Stand on the ball
- Stand with both feet on the ball, hip width apart. Hands at your side.
- If this is difficult, stay here and move on when you feel ready
- Lift your hands and arms slowly out and over your head then bring you hands down through the center of your body, breathing in on the way up and breathing out on the way down.
- When you have mastered this try looking up at your hands at the top of the movement.
- When you have mastered this, try the whole thing with your eyes closed
The goal is to do four sets of 15 reps of each exercise in curcuit.
Watch the full video for detailed instructions, form essentials and beginner and advanced variations and modifications.
I discovered many women there discussing important issues and sharing their voices. I have contributed to these conversations on several occasions and was looking through my posts there the other day. I found an old comment I left on a thread about doulas and felt like this may be an important story to share here.
This is my birth story. Giving birth is one of the most rewarding and empowering things we can do as women. But this story also reminded me how important it is to remember that it is our inner power that gives us the strength to complete such a wonderful and trying journey.
We must always remember to nourish this inner strength so that we remain these incredibly powerful women throughout the rest of our lives. Raising great kids is going to take all the energy, courage and fortitude we can get our hands on.
Please excuse any spelling or grammer errors in the story below. It was written in haste and without editing.
With and Without a Doula
I have had two completely different birthing experiences, one with a doula and one without.
The birth of my daughter was one of the most tramatic experiences of my life. For my entire prenatal period, I had a doctor that I loved and we had a very detailed plan that we had worked out together for months. Unfortunately, nothing would go as planned.
This is a good lesson in itself. No matter how well you plan, be just as prepared for nothing to go the way you think it will.
The thing is, when you go to a doctor that is part of a group, the chances that that doctor will deliver your baby is very low, unless you go into labor during office hours. I’m sure this has worked out fine for many women but for me, it was the middle of the night both times.
The doctor that was on call when I went into labor with my daughter was really unfortunate. My water had broke and labor was slow to start. I had had my appendix out six weeks earlier (yeah, 34 weeks pregnant and a totally different story) and she basically told me that I was high risk and would be treated as such, even though my doctor had told me as long as I had gone six weeks past surgery, I would be considered normal.
What this meant is that I was monitored the whole time and she only gave me a short period for labor to begin before she gave me pitocin. I just felt rushed and unsupported by her for my entire labor. I felt like she was just chomping at the bit to cut me open, not the most nurturing birthing environment.
My doula was very good at keeping me as calm as possible through this whole thing and keeping me informed of what was going on and why certain decisions were being made, but my anxiety level was very high and the pitocin contractions were extremely painful.
The short version of the story is that eventually, during pushing, my daughter started to dcell and then they lost her heartbeat. Then there was panic and rushing around and throwing of scrubs and I was screaming, it was terrible. When we got to the operating room, they hooked her up to the monitor and she was totally fine, but the doctor insisted on continuing with the c-section. While they were upping my epidural to the correct levels, I continued to push (as you can’t stop), with the help of my nurse and eventually, I took control and demanded that she let me try to push her out before she proceeds with the c-section as she was fully crowning and her heartrate was fine. She gave me three pushes and I was luckily able to push her out. The whole operating room broke out in cheers.
Although having a doula was a nice additive to my experience, she was not allowed in the operating room and was able to do little to prevent my bad experience. I am in no way saying that doulas can’t be a great help and I felt like my doula did a great job given the circumstances, but when it comes down to it, it is all about your own sense of power and peace and the relationship with your doctor.
I also give a ton of credit to my nurse. She was amazing and stayed with me through the end, even though her shift had ended. She empowered me and from working with that doctor (who it was pretty clear that most of the nurses didn’t like working with) many times before, she was knowledgable about how to deal with this doctor and helped me to get what I needed in spite of her.
In the end, my daughters birth was very empowering and she was healthy and beautiful and that is all the really matters.
When I got pregnant with my son, I took a totally different approach. I was determined that if I had anything to say about it, that doctor was never going to come anywhere near me again. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to leave my doctor, who I totally loved.
Having several experiences in the maternity ward at my hospital (my daughter’s birth and I spent a week there after my apendix operation), I was confident with the nursing care and quality of the facility.
For me, it really came down to finding the right practice. All the doctors in the practice must be on the same page as you when it comes to your needs during labor. With a group of doctors who share on call duties, you will never be sure of what doctor will be there to deliver your baby.
I was fortunate that I found a doctor I trusted and who would for sure deliver my baby the second time around. He has an individual practice and delivers 97% of his own babies. He goes on vacation once a year and as long as you aren’t due during that time, you can almost be certain he will be there with you.
My first birth was so dramatic and stressful that the second time, I just wanted calm. I wanted to enjoy the birthing experience and embrace motherhood in a way that I was denied the last time. I did end up choosing an epidural, but was not pressured or deterred in any way. This time around the decisions were mine, with the understanding that if things got really bad, he would have to take over. That I could live with.
I am very narrow through my pelvis and my babies are big and therefore, they have a little trauma coming through the birth canal. My son’s birth was no different in this matter, but I didn’t even really know anything was wrong. My doctor was calm and cool through the whole thing and found the perfect balance of telling me this was serious and I had to push with no resting, without making me feel scared at all.
My son was born healthy, happy, huge and in a hurry.
I am so glad that I have that experience as the freshest and most prominent in my mind.
I agree that birth done the wrong way can be increadibly tramatic and with lasting effects. I was so jumpy and scared going into it the second time.
But, I am glad that I took charge of my pregnancy and birthing experience and did what I needed to make sure I wasn’t in the same situation again.
My advice, find a doctor you trust in a practice that as a whole gels with your belief system and what you desire from your delivery. Take every opportunity you can to meet with as many of the doctors in the practice as you can and also make sure that the hospital you are going to has practices and rules that you agree with and a top notch nursing staff. If having your plan followed through on and your doctor there with you, then do your best to choose someone who delivers a very high percentage of their babies.
Ask questions, be up front with what you need and don’t be afraid to change course if necessary.
As far as doula’s go, after having one with me the first time, I didn’t feel it was necessary the second time. But, my husband was amazing during labor and I was confident enough the second time to be my own advocate and I trusted my doctor implicitly.
I think every birth and every individual is completely unique and doula’s can be an excellent resourse and a great help.
The Redesigned Mom
A Stay at Home Mom’s Journey to Self Fulfillment
Submitted by redesignedmom on Sat, 10/04/2008 – 14:40
Yesterday I thought I was getting sick. Weirdest thing, my nose ran non-stop causing a barrage of sneezes that I thought were going to drive me out of my mind. Then I popped a 101 fever with terrible aches and pains for about an hour and then it was gone. Totally bizarre.
Today, Ian tripped and conked his ear on the coffee table, which threw me into my injury panic and now I am feeling so run down. My flight instinct kicks in. I just want to crawl into a hole. Hmmm.
I also received what I hope is the final final email exchange. I thought that had happened a couple of weeks ago but my email filter failed and there it was in my inbox. I guess she just had to have the final word.
I’m not really feeling sad about the whole situation anymore though. The email was just one more reminder why my decision was the right one.
I am still having a hard time controlling the physical anger reaction I get when i think about the whole thing, though. Even though I rationally know and understand my feelings and what the situation means to me, my body just isn’t there yet.
I think my body is overloaded with it’s own response chemicals right now. My response? Wallow and eat.
Joy, aren’t I inspiring.
Until a better day…
You see, I pass out. I pass out when I hurt myself. I pass out when other people hurt themselves. I pass out when people on TV hurt themselves (no ER – the TV show – for me). I pass out when other people talk about hurting themselves. I pass out when I work too hard and eat too little. I even pass out for no apparent reason.
It is some function of my low blood pressure, I think. I don’t really know. I am definately going to bring it up with my therapist and my doctor though because after yesterday, I need to do something.
Because of this, my worst fear as a parent is that something will happen to my kids and I won’t be able to help them.
And this fear is not unjustified. I have been lucky up until now that there has been someone there to help me.
But yesterday, I was all by myself.
I am not going to go into details about what happened because it just isn’t important to this story. The short of it was that he hurt himself badly enough that I felt we needed to go to the ER and that he is just fine. An x-ray and an ace bandage and he acts like nothing ever happened. While he flirted with nurses, I quietly tried to calm myself and fight back the tears.
But I did it. All by myself, without anyone to help me and without actually losing conciousness. I did have to pull the car over once to avoid passing out and wrecking the car, but we got there.
I called Karli right after it happened and he left work immediately to meet me at the hospital. I can’t even tell you how much I needed him right then. I just kept telling myself that he would be there soon and I just had to make it a few more minutes. Little did I know that he was stuck in traffic and wouldn’t arrive until we were leaving the hospital two hours later. There was no phone service in the hospital so I wasn’t getting his calls and couldn’t send a text message. I can’t imaging sitting in traffic, not knowing what was going on. He was so scared.
But, the fact that it took him two hours to go a distance it should have taken him no more than 45 minutes to go in the worst traffic confirms that I was meant to go this one alone.
Although I think I passed the test, this was minor and there was no blood. I can’t help but think what might have happened if…
What I do know is that it is time for me to figure out why I do this and try to fix it if I can.
The work never stops or even takes a break, huh?
Often when we think of women suffering from post partum depression we think of Andrea Yates drowning her poor children in the bathtub, but it’s not like the the vast majority of the time. There is a spectrum and I am very grateful that mine is on the mild to moderate end and feel greatly for those, including those I know, who are suffering or have suffered from more severe encounters with this ugly thing.
Mild to moderate postpartum depression can be hard to identify. You are already exhausted and overwhelmed by the state of your life and so in the beginning you think that the symptoms are normal and you ignore them and this is just what I did and then it morphed into something more debilitating and which eventually resulted in a mild breakdown.
I couldn’t really see the depression for what it was at the time. I even remember saying that I just didn’t understand why I felt the way I did, I wasn’t a depressed person. But I was. As I look down the list of symptoms, it seems so obvious now.
I find it really intriguing that looking back at the past year, I can see it all so clearly and how relieved I feel to finally have a name to put on what’s been going on with me. Yet, when you are in the middle of it all, you just feel horrible and don’t for the life of you know what is causing it.
To talk about how I could barely get through the day, feed the kids and manage the minute by minute is a difficult and somewhat embarrassing thing. But it was what it was. It took every ounce of energy I had to do the most basic things and everything beyond that just didn’t get done. This is how it started and then it progressed into paranoia and self-loathing of the sort I have never really experienced. I felt like I was terrible at everything, that nobody cared about me and that I wasn’t worthy of anything positive.
As things started to get worse and worse, I knew something was wrong, but I just couldn’t fight my way out of it. I tried to commit to things that would help me heal, inspire me and help me to reengage with the world, but I just couldn’t do it and then I would feel guilty and helpless and like I was letting everyone down, including myself.
As a strong, intelligent, independent woman who has overcome and crawled out of some pretty dark spots in her life, it was very difficult for me to ask for help and I think this is why it went as far as it did. But, sometimes a little breakdown is the best thing that can happen to a person.
There were a few things that finally broke the cycle for me and got me moving in the right direction and asking for help. I ended a destructive relationship, which empowered me to stand up for myself and understand and communicate my needs. I sought out therepy and was very picky about who to see. I waited for the right person, connecting and being on the same page is really important. This is the person you need to share your darkest moments with, you better trust them implicitly.
I also made a personal choice not to medicate. This is a very personal decision and for me it was about finally facing my demons head on. There are many things that I have learned to deal with or pushed aside throughout my life, but never really faced and integrated and learned from. I felt that now was the time to do that so that I could move forward in my life on a more meaningful path. I felt that medication would only impair the process for me.
My therapist discuuses my journey as two parallel paths. There is the current situation with the depression and this involves a lot of talking and learning of tools to deal with the day to day. And then there is the deeper issues (the demons so to speak) that I am trying to face and deal with. For the latter, we are using a technique called Lifespan Integration. This is where the timeline of my life originated and I will talk more about this technique at a later time.
My goal is that those two paths will meet down the road and that I will be able to use all of the tools and knowledge to find a way to live a more fulfilled and full life, to become the person I want to be and to establish more meaningful and healthy relationships.
I have days now when I think to myself ‘wow, could it really have been that simple, I feel great, I must be cured’. And then I have a day that reminds me that this is a journey and a process and that although I am feeling much better, there is still a lot of work to do.
Today is a bad day. I am tired and uninterested and easily irritated and counting every minute until I can have just a minute of quiet to close my eyes and reflect on what is happening. The good news is that I haven’t had one of these days in several weeks and that I can see it clearly for what it is. That doesn’t mean that I am not fighting it and managing it every second, but I can own it and know that it will pass and that I will feel better when it does.
A few months ago this day would have been the beginning of a downward spiral that may have lasted days to weeks and ended in my sobbing in the shower and scaring the crap out of my poor husband as I am reduced to puddle of self pity. I’d say we’re making progress.
at one point. I’m so ashamed. It’s a good thing my house isn’t bigger or things might get ugly.
I have made a vow that at some point I am going to create the ultimate workout, incorporating them all. Maybe it will make me millions. I could make quite the circuit workout using the circular floor plan of my house. Hmmm, that’s a thought.
In the meantime, I have just discovered an alternative and fantastic use for all this crap. This morning I pulled out the mini trampoline
By the way, have you caught the The Starter Wife
Anyway, I digress. So, I am making lunch for the kids after preschool today and all of a sudden the wining for food and milk and crackers and “I’m hungry” and “When’s lunch” etc. came to a halt and all I could hear was laughing coming from the living room.
This, I had to check out. What did I find? Ian was happily bouncing on the mini trampoline and Ada had turned over the Bosu Ball
This stuff may go to good use after all. See, I live in Seattle and if you know nothing else about Seattle, you probably know that it rains a lot here. And I mean a lot. It is cloudy and dreary and a stay inside day here more days than not. Why do we live here? You got me? No really, there are lots of really great things about living in Seattle, the weather just isn’t one of them.
Anyway, heading into the winter months with small kids has to have all Seattle moms a little nervous. Without the backyard or neighborhood park at our disposal, how do you keep the kids and yourself from going completely stir crazy? Well, I think that I may have just found myself a solution.
The exercise equipment playground has erected itself in our living room. A little messy? yeah. A little rambunctious? Yeah, but just for a little while and the tired satisfied look of children that just had a good romp and now are ready for a nice long nap is priceless and worth an hour of chaos any day.
And you know the best part? I can’t wait to play with them. Exercise and family fun for everyone. Ahhhh.