The DDP Workshop, June 22nd, 2013

I just wanted to take the time to write about my experience at the June 2013 DDP Yoga Workshop!

You can see pictures I took from it on my video here at this main blog - and also at my member page at http://www.teamddpyoga.com/profile/ChristineBurcham

First - I had no idea what to expect...I just knew I was SUPER EXCITED to go - because I FINALLY would get the chance to MEET so many people that had been supporting me over the phone, email and facebook throughout my DDP journey so far.  Jake Roberts had personally sponsored me so I could go! But sadly, he was not there. I'm sure I will get the chance to meet him another time. :)

I was especially nervous and excited to meet DDP himself! The funniest part about that is.... I had never heard of him before I found DDP Yoga. I actually had to google him to see who he was and what the wrestling thing was all about. And when I finally actually saw him wrestle - I LAUGHED OUT LOUD - because I don't know him in that kind of persona - not in that way. It just hit me as funny. I mean no disrespect by saying this - I just don't know him in that way - so it was shocking to me.

So....My hubby and I ate lunch on the fly - and finally made the workshop. We had to walk quite a distance from our car to get to the center it was held in - we were cutting it close time-wise...

We went inside after my friend Lesley found me in the parking lot and showed me where to go inside - (Thanks Lesley!) LOL.
When I got to the door of the room it was being held in - I met TERRI LANGE for the first time in person - I was so excited! I also met DDPs girlfriend, Brenda K. :) She signed us in and gave us our T-shirts.

I was putting my pen (or something) away in my purse - when all of a sudden, I heard this familiar voice say - "Hey,  How ya doing?" - I looked STRAIGHT UP (the man is TALL!) - and saw that DDP had SNUCK UP on me!! So.....you know how you "rehearse" something to stay cool when your nervous? Well....FORGET ABOUT IT!! I LOST ALL THAT! LOL!!!
I just screamed "HI!!!" and DOVE on him and hugged him - then.....as cool as I am....
started to CRY!! (OMG Embarrassing!!!)

So then....I didn't want him to see me crying....so I ran into the room where we were going to work out and Terri ran after me to ask what was wrong!! I was SOO EMBARRASSED!!! LOL!!

This is me after I was done crying, getting ready to work out -

I finally composed myself - LOL then DDP chatted with us all and then we had the workout - It was great! I had SO MUCH FUN!!! DDP took turns going to different sides of the room so he could give everyone attention and workout with us all - and he helped adjust us too if we needed to improve our position during the workout.

At one point, he went to adjust me - and I giggled my head off - It was HILARIOUS!!!!

After the workout, we had a chance to take pictures with him and the belt - which was AWESOME!

Then we hit the showers....where my worst nightmare reared its UGLY HEAD!! LOL!!
There was only ONE OPEN shower for everyone, with like 5 showerheads in it! There were NOT individual showers! YIKES!!
I think I took the fastest shower in my ENTIRE LIFE - LOL!! I was lucky that I was alone the whole time and not needing to share what God gave me with everyone - THANK GOD!!!

I was also the LAST ONE to finish up (figures right?) and then the YOGA DOC - Craig Aaron himself (How cool is THAT!) Drove us to the second half of the workshop over DDPs house!

The food was YUMMY!! DDPs family is WELCOMING, WARM and WONDERFUL!! Everyone there is sweet, caring and attentive -
We ate yummy things, chatted about food, took more pictures, got an autograph and then it was over.
:(
But.....I was greatly honored to be welcomed into his home and that he was willing to open it up to us like that - and had a FANTASTIC time! I HIGHLY recommend that EVERYONE checks out a workshop if you get the chance. The one on one experience and workout is REALLY GREAT!

Did I mention it was FUN too? A GREAT TIME!!!

Christine :) :) :)!!!

Back on the horse - Strapped in!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick update.

First things first - I just want to THANK EVERYONE who has visited my blog and has taken the time to read what I have written. The inspirational comments underneath my video on You Tube is WONDERFUL and I am blown away by the number of hits and the support.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!

This especially means a lot to me because all of my family and most of my friends live up North, so it is just my hubby and my kids here living in the south. I have very few friends here - so the support really means A WHOLE LOT!!! <3 <3!!!

My husband and I are getting prepared - he is having surgery on his neck on July 17th, and so we are very nervous. It has been a busy time. The kids are home from school on vacation and we have been trying to sell our other car. A trying time financially. But I have faith that God will see us through. :)

So....on July 4th, we had a few friends over, and I made gluten free brownies, and gluten free pasta salad with veggies in it, made with gluten free, diary free ranch dressing.

Both items came out REALLY YUMMY! The problem? I had too much carbs in one day...
Results! :( I gained 3lbs back! YIKES!!!

Summation! - Simple carbs ARE NOT your friends when it comes to weight loss! Gluten free or not!
Lesson learned! There are better carbs to eat if you are craving carbs - such as brown rice, yams, sweet potato, beans and Farina (a kind of oatmeal) - but even those need to be eaten in moderation - only a 1/2 cup a day!

So....I blew that one!




But TODAY!! After being really good and not having any carbs at all since then - I am back down to my 19.2 lb weight loss.  HOORAY!!!

I took all my measurements for my 90 day results and I have lost a total of 16.75 inches off my entire body so far! YAY!!!!

A typical day of eating for me is like this:
Breakfast - a veggie and fruit smoothie made with - tons of spinach, 1-2 carrots, 1 navel orange, and a hunk of ginger root (size of your thumb), and one apple. Sometimes I put Stevia in there to sweeten it up a bit. Then....I have a protein - which is either - 2 eggs fried up with oregano, sea salt and pepper - or 2 oz of sea salted cashews.
Or - a 3 egg omelette with mushrooms, green peppers and red onions, with sea salt, pepper and oregano - and 1 oz or less of creamy white goat cheese folded inside of it. YUM!!!

Lunch - usually some left over meat from dinner the night before or turkey breast on a large bed of spinach, carrots slivers, green peppers and diced onions.
Or - two hardboiled eggs mushed up with a fork and a tiny teaspoon of mayo mixed in it - either with or without the bed of greens above. and sometimes a piece of fruit.
Or - another smoothie and eggs.

Dinner - This varies the most. I make stuffed green bell peppers a lot. These are super yummy! I make portabella mushroom pizzas with goat cheese and gluten free pasta sauce.
Most times if the rest of my family is eating something with carbs, I will just take the protein part of the meal and separate my portion out and put it on a bed of spinach greens. - Delish!!

I also really like the DDP Kale Salad that DDP showed me how to make at the workshop.
That recipe will be posted this week. I have been gradually putting in those recipes a little at a time.
I hope that you have had a chance to look through them and enjoy and make some of them.

I've been doing a diamond cutter workout once a day - really working it.

Thank you AGAIN for visiting. I hope that you will follow my blog and my EXCELLENT JOURNEY to health with DDP - God Bless!

Day 1 to Day 90 - history and the latest :)

Hey kids! :)

So.....Since this blog is relatively new.
Just a quick back history of what I did and where I'm at between Day 1 and Day 90!!

First things first!!!
It's been an EXCITING week as I hit my 90 day mark July 1st!

ALSO.......This week - I broke 200lbs!!!!!
It was SO SWEET to NOT see the "2" in front of my weight any more!
I am currently down 19.2 lbs as of today, July 2nd, and I have lost 4 inches of fat off my waist alone!

Here's a quick picture for comparison. This was taken ON July 1st. :)

Pretty cool huh? :) I am currently weighing in today at 197.8 lbs. :)

I have to post my new 6 picture poses on my TeamDDPYoga.com page, but this one really says it all.
This picture was also in my video which I hope you enjoyed.

As you can see...my kangaroo pouch is noticeably smaller and my butt too. :)
My pants are falling off now which is pretty funny, but not when I'm in the middle of Walmart.
I'm afraid I may end up on one of those "People of Walmart" websites if I'm not careful. LOL

So....the quick BACK History is....

When I started, I was confused on how to eat because this program doesn't lay out specific foods to eat. It just categorizes what to do and not to do.
I made another post here explaining what to do if you are confused - like I was. I hope that is helpful to you.

So....I fell on and off the right eating path over the first few months - April 1st to May 31st.
But still lost 10 lbs during those two months. That was a cycle of doing the right thing, and then eating badly out of convenience or depression of not having enough results that week.

I had to work my way up slowly to eating more towards phase 3 eating - (explained in my other post I just spoke about).

On May 31st - I spoke to DDP himself who cleared up some remaining questions I had and I hit the ground running on June 1st and since then, have lost another 9.2 lbs (in ONE month instead of 2).
Breaking the bad habit cycle was not hard after that. It was actually pretty easy once I figured out what I was doing wrong.

I bought a juicer and made some really yummy juices - I drank the juice as a meal though, if I decided to juice - but made sure I had a protein afterwards too - whether it was 2 oz of Cashews or 2 eggs. It worked really well. I put the juices that I liked in my recipe section here in my blog.

I also bought a Nutri-bullet and was replacing meals with smoothies too. I don't worry too much about counting calories when I have a smoothie or a juice. Instead I use a default 300 calories so I don't drive myself crazy counting up what I just blended. Veggies are a "free" food, so I never count those calories in anything I eat.

I am on phase 3 eating now with no problem and enjoying it immensely which is HUGE for me - because I LOVE food. But there is sooo much you can make and really enjoy. I'm never hungry or disappointed - like AT ALL.  :) :)

THE WORKOUTS
I am currently doing the Diamond Cutter workout and I do it at a minimum of 4-5 times a week, sometimes more. If I wake up and am super sore, I make it a rest day. But I found the more I workout, the less sore I am the next day - Weird huh? :) I don't wake up sore very often anymore.
But....I can always tell I worked. :) and it feels GOOD.

OK - that's all I have for now!
I will be posting my recipes tomorrow (July 3rd).

Goodnight and sweet DDP dreams - LOL!  Christine

Eating on the DDP Plan - What to do if your confused

OK - You're signed up - you have your DVD's and your guide....and now you need to create some kind of eating outline to follow....

NOW WHAT???

*Please note - my caps are for emphasis only - not yelling - ;)

I didn't really know what to do at first either. I was confused by the eating plan because everyone had their own thing that they were doing, and I had to give myself time to find the things that were going to work for me.

A few things you should know about the DDP plan:
You're not going to stay eating healthy if your not eating things you LIKE
You're  not going to stay working out if your not have FUN
You're not going to stay working out if your not getting RESULTS
and....Your CERTAINLY not going to stay on ANY program without SUPPORT!

SOOO....LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.....and don't just PRETEND you can only work out and fudge the eating and get results! It will ONLY delay where you're trying to go.

Here's my suggestions:
1.) Make a list of all the kinds of foods YOU ENJOY eating
2.) Get a marker
3.) Put a line through ANYTHING that -

• is not a plant or a meat (if you eat meat)
• is not gluten free, cow diary free or wheat free

4). Try not to cry - LOL!! (just kidding)
5.) BELIEVE and KNOW NOW....that there are PLENTY of YUMMY recipes that you can make that you will ACTUALLY LIKE. They are in my recipe section of my blog....and....
There are plenty of other members that have more!

EXCEPTIONS to the plant and meat rule - that you CAN eat!

• Agave sweetener
• Stevia sweetener
• Sea Salt
• any spice that does not contain REGULAR IODIZED SALT. I especially like Mrs. Dash spices
• Nuts - unsalted or sea salted only. Nothing smoked or roasted
• Canned or Jarred ORGANIC, GLUTEN FREE things like diced tomatoes and sauces
• Boxed GLUTEN FREE and DAIRY FREE mixes such as Organic pizza dough, Brownies, etc., This would be name brands like Namaste, Bobs Mill, & Pamela's
• Olive Oil Butter by Earth Balance
• Goats milk and sheeps milk, almond milk, coconut milk
• non diary yogurts and ice cream - again - all gluten and diary free - it should SAY this on the label or don't eat it!

 EXCEPTIONS to the plant and meat rule - that you should NOT eat!

• Corn - because its almost ALL GMO now (Genetically altered! You may as well eat RoundUp weed killer because that pesticide has been genitally placed inside the corn seed itself!)

When eating Bananas and watermelon and berries. Its best to eat them earlier in the daytime so that the natural sugars don't jack your sugar levels up in your body and you can have them all burnt up by bedtime. :)

6.) Things to look for in the produce section - that are better than not:
Try to eat all ORGANIC - If you can't afford it, or can't find it because it is not available to you -
All you can do is the best you can! Some ideas are - Find a local farmers market. You'd be surprised if you really look in the area - there usually is one that you never knew about. :)

7.) NOW!! Your probably saying to me - Christine!!!! What about CARBS!! Bread etc!!!
Well....I have GOOD news....and BAD news.....
The GOOD news is.....you can have carbs!!!
The BAD news is.....you can only have SOME carbs and they are in MODERATION.

I can only speak for my own body. YOU know YOUR body better than I do (or my husband would divorce me! LOL!) So....You have to ask yourself....
Do you gain weight if you eat carbs??
Most people DO - SO.....
What you need to know is....
If you are trying to lose ALOT of weight -You need to say GOODBYE to the carbs - FOR NOW
It is NOT a forever thing - it is only a FOR NOW thing....
Once you get to your goal....you will learn how to reintroduce the RIGHT carbs in moderation back into your eating.

MORE GOOD NEWS; If you are totally craving the carbs  - You may OCCASIONALLY have
a 1/2 CUP ONLY of:

Brown rice
Quinoa
Yams
Sweet Potato
Beans (any kind)
Farina (a kind of oatmeal)

8.) BEVERAGES - Say goodbye to Diet Cokes, and Regular Cokes, manufactured juices, and anything else that comes pre-canned or pre-bottled.

EXCEPTIONS to this rule - ZEVIA soda - HONEST Iced Teas - Natural Fizz sodas
if you find another one that you are not sure of - READ THE LABEL - No ASPERTAME or NUTRISWEET. Drink sodas only sweetened with Stevia.


Now....everything I have told you here - can be hard to build up to. - this is Phase 3 eating.

So what you need to do if you are a person who is used to eating a lot of other things
is you have to gradually work your way up to eating like this.

How do you do this you ask?

Well, first off, try to stop snacking on sweets.
If its a cookie, cracker or other thing that you KNOW is not good for you - Throw it out!
anything processed - made and preserved with chemicals.
You need to start weaning yourself from these things.

Switch from regular bread to the Gluten free bread in the freezer section. My suggestion is Rudi's bread. It is not as bad as some of the others. Gluten free bad can be pretty bad, but not if you know the kind to buy.

Switch from baked goods in the grocery section - to baked goods that are GLUTEN FREE in the freezer section.
Try to eat less and less of these kinds of things gradually.

If you are addicted to chips - Switch from regular chips - to POP Chips brand chips.
Again....train yourself to eat less and less of these as time goes by.

Switch from morning sugary cereal to Oatmeal or eggs.
Try the unsweetened oatmeal and sweeten it with Agave or Stevia instead

Switch from Cows milk to Goats milk or Almond or Coconut Milk. You want to stay away from Soy based products though. Please no soy milk as soybeans are very GMO processed!!
You'd be surprised how sweet even the unsweetened almond milk is! :)

Have a piece of fruit instead of candy or a cookie.
Smoothies are an AWESOME way of having a meal and keeping full for a long amount of time.
I have a Nutri Bullet and a Magic Bullet - or just use a blender! Try adding different fruits and veggies together to get a YUMMY mix of what you like. Trial and error on this for me!
I used Stevia on the mixes that don't come out as sweet as I'd like - YUM!!!
Again - try to eat any fruit earlier in the day so you can burn it off by bedtime.
Remember - a smoothie is a meal replacement, not a snack - unless it is the smallest smoothie on earth!

Juicing is also a great way to replace a meal and get healthy and TONS of energy REALLY FAST!
I dabbled in this - and LOVED IT!  There is a juicing group on the team ddp yoga website.

Switch from regular pasta to any pasta that is made COMPLETELY from RICE. You can find these in your healthfood section. Tikiyada is my favorite. DeBoles is OK but kinda sticky. you have to stir it ALOT while cooking so it won't stick together.
When you eat this pasta - limit your portion to only 1/2 cup!

Fill up instead on leafy greens or other veggies you like.
- or.....raw, unsalted almonds are a great snack to keep you from being hungry!

Switch regular peanut butter to Organic nut butter. Limit your intake on this! Nut butter
is VERY HIGH in calories!!

Again - moderation and portion control are the key here.

WICKED IMPORTANT NOTE!!!! - NEVER mix Carbs with a protein during phase 3 eating!!
This will slow down and stop your weight loss!!! (example - pasta and meat)

Remember! Phase 3 eating is NOT FOREVER - It is only during weight loss time.
Make sure you remind yourself that any time you want something that you shouldn't have right now.

How do I know my limit on what I can/can't eat a day you ask?

Well...what I did - I downloaded an app on my smartphone called "LOSE IT"
I chose to lose 2lb a week and the app automatically told me how many calories a day I could eat.
I used this as a successful guide to help me learn to NOT overeat!

Or - ask your doctor how many calories a day you should eat for safe and effective weight loss.

I started at 217lbs. So I went with 1300 calories a day. Worked like a charm for me! :)
If I ate too much, I would either maintain or gain. That's how I knew it would work.

A note about this - If I am having a smoothie for a meal, I don't usually worry about the calorie counting on these because it is only a couple of hundred calories and I count it as a meal.
I usually use a default 300 calories for a smoothie as a default for myself so I don't drive myself crazy trying to figure out how many calories I just blended and drank.

9). MOST IMPORTANT!!! Drink 64 oz or MORE a day of Water!!
Water is the thing that cleans you out and pushes the excess you don't want  - ie. fat....toxins OUT of your body!! The more water you drink - the more cleansing you will have -and...it will kick start your metabolism and ability to burn fat - FASTER!!!

10.) CHEESE!!!!!!!

I saved this for last, because if your anything like me - this was the hardest thing for me.
But I have GREAT NEWS!! You can still have cheese!!!! :)

Cheeses you can have are -

• any veggie based cheese like Daiya cheese
• Goat Cheese - They have Mozzarella, Regular white creamy goat cheese and Cheddar
• Manchago Cheese - (Sheep's cheese) - there is Parmesan and regular.
• Pecorino Cheese - Romano

Now....you may be gagging right now with the idea of eating cheese from a goat or a sheep - but let me tell you! These cheeses are GREAT!! If you find the taste hard to handle at first - try cooking with them - Combining them with things instead of eating them plain.

White goat cheese is my favorite so far - it is like cream cheese to me - LOVE IT!!!!!

A note about choosing MEAT:

Try to get the leanest cuts you can get.
I use 90% lean ground beef or bison/buffalo
Don't eat high fat meats. If you want sausage - eat Chicken sausage. It is DELICIOUS!!
Obviously, if your lucky enough to have a butcher shop nearby and can afford it - Eat the best kind of meat you can get - Hormone free!!!!
Chicken - Air chilled is best

OK so there you have it!!!
This is what TOTALLY WORKED for ME - and I hope it does for you too.
Every one is different and you may tweak this a bit to work better for you.
That is part of "OWNING IT" and "MAKING IT YOUR OWN"
I hope it clears up any questions you may have. If not - email me and if I don't know the answer, I will find someone who does. :)

HAPPY COOKING!!!