Superfoods And How To Incorporate Them!

by Dian Leave a Comment

Superfoods And How To Incorporate Them! Dieting is one way to try and get your health in order. But, I feel like it’s more important to change your eating and lifestyle forever, not count on changing your diet to lose and can’t wait to get back to eating the way you always did.

When I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and decided to get rid of it. I knew I had to change my diet and lifestyle, so I looked for a change I could live with for the rest of my life. For me, that didn’t include exercise – I know myself well enough to know I would not do it for the rest of my life and if I lost the weight that way it would come right back when I quit. I ended up changing my lifestyle and losing over 100 lbs and have kept off off over 5 years now.

I found what worked for me, and I encourage anyone that asks me how they can lose their excess weight to look at themselves and their life and decide how they could change and not go back.

Once avenue you could explore is nutrient rich superfoods. It’s hard to escape the buzz about superfoods. By now, you’re probably aware of their health benefits and may even have a list of superfoods you want to try. Eating more of these uber ingredients, which pack high levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, makes a lot of sense, but where to start?

Superfoods And How To Incorporate Them!

1. Make a Superfood Salad

Perhaps one of the simplest superfood recipes is a tasty superfood salad. Begin with a base of spinach, an excellent source of vitamin K, then toss in chia seeds, raspberries, broccoli, and avocado. Top it off with some grilled salmon and a dressing made with heart-healthy olive oil for a powerhouse lunch or dinner.

2. Snack on Atkins Superfood Bars

Sometimes whipping up a superfood recipe from scratch just isn’t feasible. Atkins’ new superfood bars provide a shot of superfoods in a pinch. Stash them in your purse or desk for a healthy, on-the-go snack. Available in tasty raspberry-chia, almond-coconut, and mocha-almond flavors, each bar packs 15 grams of satisfying protein and comes in at under 200 calories and 4g net carbs. Get a $3 off coupon and FREE quick-start kit here.

3. Whip Up a Smoothie

A smoothie makes an easy, nutritious breakfast when you add superfoods. Start with yogurt and/or milk (you can use non-dairy versions if you prefer) for creaminess and protein, and then whip in a mix of your favorite superfoods. Blueberries and pomegranate seeds add color and sweetness, while flax seeds, coconut oil, and avocado provide healthy fats. For a burst of vitamins and minerals, toss in spirulina or kale.

4. Stir into Soups

Kale has become one of the most widely touted superfoods, but the fibrous leaves and stalks that make kale so good for you also make it a little tough to cook with and chew. Here’s an easy hack: take your favorite homemade or store-bought soup, toss in some chopped kale, and let simmer. The leaves will become more tender and bulk up your soup without a lot of calories.

5. Get Sneaky

Rich in carotenoids, spaghetti squash offers a tasty, low carb alternative to pasta. So does spiralized zucchini. Get creative and swap superfoods in for traditional ingredients—you’ll add vitamins and cut carbs. Here’s another pro tip: grated cauliflower can substitute for flour in pizza dough.

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The Worst Staples In Your Fridge/Pantry For Healthy Living!

by Dian Leave a Comment

The Worst Staples In Your Fridge/Pantry For Healthy Living! Hubby and I eat sugar free, grain free, and carb free, pretty much a Ketogenic diet. We feel very good with it and we recently put my 89 year old Mother on it and she said her hands have stopped “drawing up”, so she is feeling good, too.

The Worst Staples In Your Fridge/Pantry For Healthy Living!

Our Pit-Boxer Molly recently was diagnosed with Bells Palsy, we have just put her on this diet to see if the lack of grains make the swelling go down and relieve the stress on the nerve that is causing it (as we understand it). We are very hopeful.

But, we know that many people aren’t into going all the way Keto, but, are looking at ways to eat better and try to be more healthy. So, here are some ideas for you in the kitchen.

When we think of homemade food, most of us tend to associate it with food that is good for us and nutritionally “safe”. Especially when compared to the likes of drive thrus, take away, and eating out. Cooking at home is generally seen as the healthier alternative.

However, there are some common food items that we keep in our pantries and refrigerators that may not be all that good for us. Let’s discuss some of the worst food staples and some of the healthier alternatives that we can replace them with.

The key to maintaining a healthy diet comes down to the types of foods and ingredients used in our cooking. By having the right foods in our pantries and fridges, we can find it much easier to eat healthy.

Table Salt

“Surely not!” I hear you all saying… Now I’m not trying to tell you that ALL salt is bad as sodium (a.k.a. salt) is a mineral that we need in our diet in small amounts. What I’m trying to say is that some are better than others, and unfortunately generic table salt doesn’t top the charts.

While white table salt originates from sea salt, it is often stripped of many of its naturally occurring minerals during processing. This can include being combined with additives, heated to high temperatures, and being bleached white. So what we’re left with is a very refined product that doesn’t have as much to offer in the way of nutrition.

Table Salt Alternatives?

The best alternatives for table salt are ones that are as close as possible to their natural form. Some great examples include Himalayan salt and Celtic Sea salt. These salts can come in rock formation and you can choose to grind them yourself or use them whole depending on what you are cooking. The price point of these purer salts may be a little higher, however for the sake of the nutritional benefits, I think this is a staple worth the extra price!

Bottled Sauces

You can’t go to a barbecue without there being bottled sauces on the table! Bottled sauces can be a staple for many dishes, especially if you are at a party or social gathering. The issue with sauces such as barbecue, tomato, sweet chili, Asian-inspired sauces and the likes is that they often contain a large amount of sugar and salt.

This can also be true for things such as pre-made pizza and pasta sauces. As well as their high sugar and salt content, many bottled sauces may also contain preservatives to prolong their shelf life and/or artificial colors to make them look more more vibrant and appealing.

While it may be a great convenience to grab them from the pantry, you might think twice once you check out the label!

Bottled Sauce Alternatives?

If you’re someone that has a small dollop of bottled sauce on your meal from time to time, then there’s no need to be concerned. However, if you’re a regular “saucer”, then you might want to consider finding an alternative!

I think that a fresh, homemade sauce is always better than one pulled off of the shelves in terms of both nutrition and taste.

Check out this barbecue sauce my Hubby created:

Low Carb, Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce

However, if you are in a situation where you are pushed for time and can’t make your own, then I recommend choosing sauce varieties that are as low in added sugar and salt as you can find.

Fruit Yogurt

Fruit flavored yogurts may market themselves as using “real fruit” but this isn’t necessarily a lot of fruit and can be often misinterpreted. Instead of using ACTUAL fruit pieces, some manufacturers could actually just be using fruit juice, fruit puree or fruit juice concentrate.

While the origins of these things may well be fruit, most of the nutrients that it would usually contain are often lost during processing. So essentially all you’re left with is the fruit sugar, and something that was intended to be a healthy snack has become more of a dessert!

Fruit Yogurt Alternatives?

Rather than going for store bought fruit flavored yogurt, I recommend that you stick with good old plain varieties of yogurt. “How boring..” I hear you all say… Well, it doesn’t have to be!

If you’re after fruit flavored yogurt, try adding in your own fruit instead. Some of my favorites are berries cooked down into a coulis or grated apple with a touch of cinnamon. This is also means you can buy just one yogurt but have multiple flavors whenever you want.

Next time you are going grocery shopping, try swapping out some of your regular staples with the ones I have mentioned above. They can make all the difference in how you feel, not just your waistline! What are some of your favorite swaps? Comment below!

* Results may vary. Strict adherence to the nutrition and exercise guide are required for best results.

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What Happens After The Weight Is Gone?

by Dian 2 Comments

What Happens After The Weight Is Gone? When you lose a lot of weight there are some physical issues you might have to deal with. Let’s just say… things “fall down”… My stomach is no longer huge, but, that skin didn’t disappear… and the same goes for other areas, my arms, my backside, and my chest. When you stretch your body out like that it’s hard to pull it all back in! lol

In my case the Dr. told me that no amount of exercise would change most of these areas for me. I sure thought losing 100 lbs would make me “look” better, but all I see in the mirror is loose skin, when I was fat at least it was tight and things were …firmer…! 🙂 I know I am healthier and I know I am better off now, I just wish there was a little physical reward… Ok, so no it’s not all negative – I quit snoring, I don’t have heartburn anymore, I can walk for longer periods of time, I have more energy, and with the right undergarments I can hold it all still and in the right places! lol

What Happens After The Weight Is Gone?

I remember when Kate Gosselin had her plastic surgery donated to her to remove the extra skin she had in her stomach after having the sextuplets. I am not up for plastic surgery, that is not something i think I would want to do. Although I had thought about implants until a friend told me you have to have them replaced every 10-15 years – did you know that?! I didn’t, that changed my mind and quick!

image courtesy: Hollywood Life

But, more than physical there are mental things to deal with. Even now, and I lost over 100 lbs about 4 years ago, I buy clothes that are too big for me. I shop in the wrong size section. I am looking for ways to hide my belly and backside. All things I did when I was fat. But, when I look in the mirror and when I am shopping I am still that fat girl.

It’s hard to switch gears. A few years ago, pretty quickly after I had lost the weight, I was at a blogging convention and a blogger friend of mine told me my clothes were too big and I needed to go have someone measure me and tell me what size I should be wearing. So, I went to buy jeans, and I did that very thing, I thought she might be right. I was totally shocked and still don’t believe it, but, I walked in wearing a size 10 and left with size 2 jeans! That’s nuts! I was seriously buying clothes that weren’t my size, it was in my head that I was still fat and a size 10 was AWESOME!

Even four years later I still struggle with the same thoughts and feelings. When I think of styles and things that will flatter me, I think of the same type clothes I wore when I was trying to cover up all the weight.

Has this happened to you? Can you relate to what I am saying? I wanted to write about it because I heard someone on TV that said this very thing and I said “YES!” because I KNOW that feeling and those thoughts. Gaining weight not only makes you unhealthy it affects you emotionally and mentally. Just some of my thoughts…

My Best Weight Loss Advice!

by Dian 2 Comments

My Best Weight Loss Advice! This week a friend told me she had started a new diet to lose weight and had kinda not been sticking to it so well. I mentioned it to Hubby and he told me he had heard that diet only had a 1% success rate in people who lose and keep it off over time. So, I thought I would share My Best Weight Loss Advice.

If you need to lose weight to better your health and your life, I am not sure that there’s any tool that I am opposed to in helping you make that change. But, all too often what I see with friends and family is they do this or do that, or try this for a while and then that and lose weight and maybe get fit… and then they stop. Which means the weight comes back and they eventually start all over again.

My Best Weight Loss Advice!

Everyone knows that “yoyo dieting” isn’t good for your body, and I can’t imagine it’s good for your psyche either. I have told you before that I lost over 100 pounds a few years ago and I have kept it off. I have a lot of advice as to how to lose it and tips on keeping it off, as well. But, if I could only give one piece of advice and that’s all to anyone it would be this:

Choose a new lifestyle. Don’t “get on a diet”. When I had to get the weight off I knew myself enough to know that if I lost it by exercising it wouldn’t stay off because I HATE exercise – yes, I know I should and at times I do, but, if maintaining my weight is dependent on my exercising then I am doomed before I start. No one is more interested in your weight loss/gain or health than you are. The doctors were more than willing to give me medicine and treat my Type II Diabetes. I said no, I didn’t want it and I wasn’t keeping it. I would do what I needed to get rid of it. Take charge of your own life and health, be good to yourself – don’t put yourself in a place where you might not be healthy enough to play with your kids or worse yet to see them grow up, get married and have kids of their own!

If you are on Weight Watchers, which has a 6% success rate according to one article I read, are you going to stay on Weight Watcher’s for life? If not, are you sure you can keep the weight off? That goes for any “diet” or “weight loss” method. Can you maintain it for life to ensure you won’t regain the weight once you discontinue it?

My point is whatever avenue you choose to lose weight needs to be a complete lifestyle change, not just something to drop the weight because it inevitably returns and sometimes more.

You can go Paleo, do Zumba, eat Sugar Free, start running, eat smaller portions, whatever you think will work for you, but, it should be something you can realistically see yourself doing for life. I truly believe that was the key for me, I made sure I worked it all out the way I KNEW I could live for the rest of my life without feeling deprived or cheated out of anything.

I hope that advice helps in some small way. Don’t give up, just think it through and make sure this is something you can do for life. Think about your family life, your income, and your habits and how all that will work with your new lifestyle and choose what will work for you and then be confident and succeed!

6 Things That Helped Me Lose Over 100 Lbs And Keep It Off Over 4 Years!

by Dian 4 Comments

I want to share 6 things that helped me lose over 100 lbs and keep it off over 4 years. I know I have mentioned my weight loss before, but, I wanted to revisit it and offer these suggestions that worked for me to lose my weight and get healthier.

I know many people right now are struggling with their weight and with leading a more healthy lifestyle and cleaning up their diet. Hopefully my story helps motivate someone to take their health more seriously.

The beginning of the new year is always filled with ways to improve on our lives. So we always look at how we can save more, eat better, lose weight, exercise, and so forth. We often start off strong but then life gets in the way, we slowly but surely lose our drive to make those new found goals.

6 Things That Helped Me Lose Over 100 Lbs And Keep It Off Over 4 Years!

A few years back I was over 100 lbs overweight but thought I was healthy as a horse. I ate what I wanted which included many carbs for me, sweets were not my problem, carbs were. I could eat a potato mashed, fried, run over with a car, I didn’t care, I just wanted them!

One day I had to chase a dog as she flew out the front door in pursuit of another dog. In the next few weeks I felt like something wasn’t right with my foot and I began to notice it had a small protrusion on one side. I finally went to the Dr. who told me I have torn my Achilles Tendon almost completely in half and would need surgery to repair it. Great! That’s what I wanted to hear! (insert sarcasm here)

I was sent to get my pre-surgery blood work done, and that’s when it all came crashing down. All of the carbs, extra weight, and no exercise came to a head when a few days later the phone rang and the nurse told me I couldn’t have the surgery because I had Type II Diabetes. I was in shock. You see I had lost a husband to this disease years before and I know how devastating the disease can be and what it can do to your body.

I went back to the Dr. to see if they made a mistake. Here’s a dramatic recreation of the conversation.

Dr. – “No mistake, you have it.”
Me – “No, I don’t”
Dr. – “Yes, you do.”
Me – “Well, I am not keeping it!”
Dr. – “Ok, let’s do that.”

My determination was far more than just a “New Year’s Resolution” type determination. This was a “Oh my goodness, I have let it go too far!” determination.

The first thing I did was read everything I could get my hands on and began to use all of that knowledge to try and formulate a plan that worked for me. I feel that the most important thing I did was find something that worked for me. Something I could essentially do for the rest of my life without feeling like I was losing out or not “normal”. I wanted to be able to hang out with friends and family and not feel like I “couldn’t” have something or couldn’t enjoy myself because of restrictions.

With dietary changes and Diabetic medicine the Dr. gave me, I was able to get my blood sugar under enough control that I was able to have the surgery. After the surgery I had to be in bed for quite sometime, AND lose weight. I knew the weight loss was key to allowing my body to function the way it was meant to in the first place.

I knew it had to be a lifestyle change to get rid of the Diabetes and weight and keep them both at bay. I also knew if I chose to lose it with exercise I wouldn’t keep it up for the rest of my life, so it would end up coming back. That meant an exercise routine was out. I know I NEED to exercise I just don’t, and I know I wouldn’t do it with any regularity, so again that was out as part of the solution for me.

Portion sizes were a big thing for me, I chose to eat correct portion sizes. So, I bought a food scale and weighed the protein for my meals and made sure I didn’t overeat or snack between meals.

One thing I read was that when your brain tells you you’re hungry, be sure to check with your stomach and make sure your brain is telling you the truth. lol When you pass a bakery you may have just filled up on lunch earlier, but the smell from the bakery makes you say “Ohhhh… I am sooo hungry…” When in fact you are quite satisfied. You smelled the fresh bread and your brain told your stomach you were hungry, but if you stop and think and listen to your stomach you would find that while you could probably eat more, were you actually hungry? No.

Here are 6 things I learned that helped me lose over 100 lbs.:

your waist should be no more than 1/2 your height in inches. So, if you are 5’5”, that would make you 65” tall, so your waist should be no larger than 32.5”.
don’t be fooled by your sense of smell into thinking you are hungry when you’re not.
it takes 2 weeks to make a new habit, you can teach the brain anything new in 2 weeks.
belly fat is called Omentum and it squeezes your kidneys and that causes high blood pressure. It poisons your liver and causes high cholesterol, it also blocks insulin which causes Diabetes. All of that is caused by belly fat!
a growling stomach isn’t a hungry stomach, it’s just your stomach acid digesting what’s in there! So, truly – don’t laugh – but how many times in my life have I sat there and heard my stomach growling and said “I MUST be hungry!” lol What a joke! I didn’t feel hungry, but, if my stomach was “talking”, well then I MUST be hungry and just don’t know it! lol
watch a skinny person eat. They don’t eat it if it doesn’t look good – what?! lol That one helped me a ton!

Side note: one day after my surgery my sons got some fast food and came over and sat with me and ate and talked. I watched one of them (they are both thin, but, one is really thin) like a hawk, and then something incredible happened! One of my sons bit a piece off of a french fry and threw the other half in the trash! I stopped him mid-sentence and demanded to know why he would throw away a perfectly good fry! He said because the other side was brown… WHAT?!! I saw it, it was brown, but it wasn’t molded or dirty or stepped on (I’m not sure, in the past, that any of those situations would have kept me from eating it!). I was shocked! I have watched him closely now when he ate and basically if it is not pretty, he won’t eat it! If it doesn’t taste good he won’t eat it! ANDDD… if he isn’t hungry, he won’t eat it! What?! all of this was foreign to me! I mean I HAD to clean my plate! Bad, good, or ugly, the job had to get finished and I was your girl!

Using what I had learned in 6 months with a good portion of that time spent in bed recovering from my surgery and unable to exercise, I lost 60 lbs and was able to stop taking medicine for the Diabetes. It’s been 5 years and I have maintained my weight loss of over 100 lbs and I don’t have Diabetes anymore (my Dr.’s words), and I don’t feel deprived of anything!

Whatever your health goals are make realistic changes to your lifestyle, ones you can maintain without feeling deprived. You’’ll be less likely to give it up!

My Sugar Free Story!

by Dian 6 Comments

Have you ever tried going sugar free? It might be easier than you think! Here’s My Sugar Free Story.

I have mentioned before that about 4 years ago I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes when I was preparing to have surgery on my Achilles tendon. I lost over 100lbs and was able to quit taking the meds and have been since then living almost carb and sugar free. It has worked great, all of my numbers are great. Except I gained 20 lbs over the last 8 months and have NOT been able to get it off no matter what I tried. I was eating less and less trying to get it off and it wasn’t working and I was becoming more and more frustrated about it.

Recently, Hubby began to explore a no fructose lifestyle. He immediately started losing weight as he removed fructose from his diet, I was shocked. Then again, men lose faster than women… :/ The more he studied it, the more convinced he became that it would be good for me, as well. I always wanted him to eat carb and sugar free so we could eat at the same places, the same way and buy the same food. So, I thought ok I will try it and keep an eye on my blood sugar to be sure it didn’t go up. So, I did. I have been on it for a week now and I am beginning to lose weight – yay! I am eating MORE! That was shocking. I am also eating carbs – I had mashed potatoes one night and hash browns one morning… it may not seem like much to you – but, go 4 years without and then tell me! lol My blood sugar responded well to the carbs. this whole thing is blowing me away!

My Sugar Free Story!

Another nice side benefit is that hubby and I are spending more time in the kitchen cooking together and trying and creating new recipes to fit this new lifestyle. I feel great, my body is functioning better than I feel it has in a while. Hubby, as I said, has studied it more than I, but in a nutshell – your body doesn’t really know where to send fructose when you eat it. It knows how to deal with all of the other things we eat because they are food. Fructose is added to almost EVERYTHING and it is definitely harder to find the fructose free foods, but they are out there.

The other day at Whole Foods we looked through about 15 different packaged bacons AND the ones at the butcher counter and found exactly 1 that had no fructose (or sugar because there’s fructose in sugar). To give you an idea of how Fructose or sugar is in EVERYTHING – we were cooking the other day and Hubby grabbed the Garlic Salt and seasoned something and then looked at it…. it has sugar in it – why? I don’t get salt needing sugar.

We bought dextrose to use for a sweetener, it is pure glucose and the body knows where it goes when we ingest it. It’s much less sweet than sugar, so you use more. But, after a few days not eating fructose EVERYTHING tastes sweeter! I had a tomato in a salad the other night that I could have sworn had sugar on it!

So, I will be sharing my journey here,as well, if you’re interested – stay tuned! Hubby has started a site all about his journey. It’s new but, he will share what he learns and experiences along the way! He is also trying to provide lists of what is fructose free at restaurants to better help us determine what and where we can eat. So far, restaurants have been very helpful in telling us what has fructose/sugar and what doesn’t.

Here’s his site if you want to check it out: My Sugar Free Journey

Are You Taking Care Of YOU, Mom?

by Dian 6 Comments

Are You Taking Care Of YOU, Mom?

As Moms one thing we are good at is ignoring ourselves, our needs, and our health. After having children we say that the weight is baby weight and it’s the hardest weight to get off. Well, that’s true, but, not why you’d think. It’s the hardest weight to get off, because we are really too busy to put any real work into it.

We are taking care of multiple kids, sometimes babies and toddlers and school aged all at the same time – that running back and forth and changing diapers is a lot of work. Cooking meals, cleaning house, being a maid, a taxi driver, a nurse, a playmate and a wife. We eat poorly and rarely exercise so it’s no wonder we don’t have time to really work at our weight – so, what’s the real big deal? I am still moving, my husband doesn’t mind, I am healthy as a horse, right?

Well, that’s what I thought… I gained weight didn’t try very hard to get it off, I was busy doing all of the things we do. But, one day it all caught up to me. The dog ran out the front door, I chased it and a few weeks later finally went to the Doctor about my foot pain. I spent more than a month dealing with the inconsequential pain I was feeling in my foot. I thought it would go away, or it was nothing, I didn’t even realize the pain was due to the earlier dog chase.

When I finally saw the Doctor I found out my Achilles Tendon was torn almost in half…., so, I had to have surgery to repair it. I got a call the day before the scheduled surgery to tell me they would have to postpone it. They said I was a Type II Diabetic! You could have knocked me over with a feather!

You see, I was married to a Type I Diabetic for 15 years, he died at 35 from normal Diabetic complications. I KNEW the ramifications of this disease and I wanted NO part of it. So, I set out to get rid of the weight – I knew if I lost the weight, chances were I could go off of the meds and live a good life. My Doctor was in agreement with that. So, with much prayer and a little help from my friends I lost over 100 lbs and no longer require meds.

Now, I hear so many people say – “…well, I am on the meds and I adjusted my diet, so that’s good”. Well, not necessarily, you see Type II and Type I eat away at your organs. Just because it’s Type II and you don’t take shots, doesn’t mean it’s not just as lethal a disease as Type I. Weight is a HUGE factor in this disease and that is why I wanted to write this and tell my story and hope that it resonates with some of you and you take the time to take care of yourself now. Trust me, it’s easier to lose the weight and get back in shape in your 30’s than it is in your 50’s!

4 Things I Learned About Weight Loss From Watching TV!

by Dian 2 Comments

4 Things I Learned About Weight Loss From Watching TV!

I have told you How I Lost Over 100 lbs And Kept It Off, and my 5 Secrets To Losing Weight Without Exercise, now I want to share 4 Things I Learned About Weight Loss From Watching TV.

I have already shared with you that my weight loss happened mostly while I was recovering from surgery and unable to walk or exercise. Well, I watched a lot of TV during that time and Dr. Oz was a show that was very helpful to me!

I really had no idea how to start this journey other than the ideas I learned from the book that I told you about in my post “5 Secrets To Losing Weight Without Exercise”. So, the information I gained each day from the Dr. Oz show really helped me carve a path to my own weight loss plan.

Here are 4 Things I Learned About Weight Loss From Watching TV:

1. Your Waist Size Is More Important Than Your Weight.

Dr. Oz said that your waist should be no more than 1/2 your height in inches, and my Dr. agreed. He said that you see people who are large on top or bottom but have tiny waists, and that they are at less risk of weight related issues than those who have larger waists. So, if you are 5’5”, that would make you 65” tall, and your waist should be no larger than 32.5”.

2. Your Brain Will Tell You You’re Hungry When You’re Not

When I was in bed after my surgery, trying to lose the weight, my daughter and son in law were visiting and he is a fantastic cook! One night I was in bed and I smelled something he was cooking and I said to myself “that smells so good, I am so hungry!”. Right then, I stopped and thought about it, and realized I wasn’t hungry at all! I had eaten already and was comfortably full, but my nose smelled something good and that told my brain I was hungry! Think about it, how many times have you passed a bakery or coffee shop and smelled the bread or coffee and thought “Oh, I need coffee” or “Oh, I am so hungry!”? So, remember next time to stop yourself and really examine if you are hungry or not.

3. Shave Just 100 Calories Off A Day To Start Losing Weight

Dr. Oz also said the entire obesity epidemic is about eating or drinking 100 calories a day too many. Can you believe that just 100 calories a day can make that big a difference? That’s like 1 soda a day.

I was shocked to learn I was obese! I thought for sure I would have to be like 500 lbs or more to be considered obese. That is not the case, just 20 – 30 lbs can put you into the obese category. I was completely thrown off guard when I read that I was obese. That word just makes you think HUGE and it’s not that huge – or maybe I was! lol

4. Belly Fat Is The Worst

Belly fat is called Omentum and it squeezes your kidneys and that causes high blood pressure, it poisons your liver and causes high cholesterol, it also blocks insulin causing diabetes. All of that is caused by belly fat! When your belly is too fat, the omentum presses on your organs and makes it difficult for them to do their job. This goes back to the waist size too, I think. It all made sense once Dr. Oz explained the omentum and the pressing it does on your organs and the health problems it causes.

Those are 4 Things I Learned About Weight Loss From Watching TV. There are many more things I have learned on this journey and I will share those more later. These are a few things that might help you get started or stay motivated, give you a direction or goal.

5 Secrets To Weight Loss Without Exercise!

by Dian 3 Comments

5 Secrets To Weight Loss Without Exercise!

People sometimes ask me to tell them my secret to losing over 100 lbs without exercise. I have used exercise to lose weight in the past, but, I just gained it back when I quit exercising. I don’t like to exercise, so, it’s not really anything I can use to lose weight. I finally realized in order to lose weight AND keep it off I have to be able to do whatever got me there for the rest of my life. So, when I set out on the journey to lose the weight, I knew exercise wasn’t the way for me.

So, let’s back up a little. A few years ago I tore my Achilles tendon in half and had to have surgery. When the Dr. did the pre-surgery blood work they found type II Diabetes. I knew I had to change that and quick. So, as soon as my surgery was over I set out to get the weight off. Now, even if I had wanted to do it with exercise, I couldn’t because I was in bed for months after my surgery and couldn’t walk.

I read a chapter or two of a book that helped and I watched A LOT of Dr. Oz! Here are 5 Secrets To Weight Loss Without Exercise I learned from both:

1. Stick With Portion Sizes
When I started weighing out my meat to 4oz for each meal I was really shocked that it wasn’t more than that. Not that I needed more, but, it was less than I had ever eaten at a meal! Restaurants offer a 6oz steak as the smallest, most even more than that. I read packages and eat the sizes they call for now. When I eat out at a restaurant, I generally eat 1/2 and take the other half home for another meal. Sometimes Hubby and I share a meal which makes us happy when the bill comes! So, just be aware of portion sizes.

2. Watch A Skinny Person Eat
I read this in a book, that skinny people only eat what looks “good” and they stop when they feel full, they don’t clean their plate! So, while I was still in bed from the surgery my oldest sons came over and brought their lunch to visit me while they ate. So, I watched them eat. One of them threw a french fry in his trash bag! Now, let me tell you potatoes were my downfall – I could eat them friend, mashed, run over with a car – it didn’t matter I was eating my potatoes and ALL of them, at every meal! So, I stopped him and said; “Why did you throw that in there?” He said “What?” he didn’t even notice! I said; “That French Fry!” He looked in the bag and said “Oh, it had black on the end.” WHAT?! lol I couldn’t have cared less what my french fries looked like or how old they were I would eat them anyway! So, watch a skinny person eat! It is eye opening!

3. Don’t Eat Unless You’re Hungry
Now, the book I read said that many people have never felt hunger before. So, Hubby and I discussed it and he said he never had, he just ate “when it was time”. I now wait until I feel hungry. Another thing I learned was that your mind will tell you you’re hungry when you’re not. When was the last time you passed a bakery and saw or smelled the bread and desserts and didn’t say “Oh, I am so hungry.” It just kind of falls out of our mouths. During the time I was sick my Son in law would cook, and it smelled delicious wafting up to my room. One day I smelled something he was cooking, after I had already eaten, and I thought “Oh, that smells so good, and I am so hungry…” I stopped and thought about it. I wasn’t hungry at all! I had just eaten. I just enjoyed the smell of the food and my brain told me I was hungry! So, next time you feel that way, stop and check and see if you’re really hungry or if it’s just the sight and smell that is tricking you into thinking you are hungry.

4. Stop Eating When You Are Comfortably Full
This one sounds like common sense, right? Well, I have decided I am a food addict. If you take food from my plate it really disturbs me, like there won’t be food later, if I need or want to eat! So, I had a hard time not “cleaning my plate”, as many of us were taught growing up. For years I ate until my stomach hurt and would be in pain later because of it. I had stomach aches and never knew why, now when I look back it was from me eating too much and stretching my stomach out! So, eat calmly and not so fast you can’t tell when you are comfortably full, and then quit when you feel full, but not over full. There will be more food when you get hungry again, whether it’s 2 hours or 5, there will be more food. Sounds silly, but, it was something I had to realize about my thought process with food.

5. Don’t Deprive Yourself
When you’re eating you want to eat your favorite foods first, so that when you ARE comfortably full you can stop and you ate what you liked best! Now, I don’t eat carbs, or at least I eat very little, same with sugar. That was a choice for my life, but, I don’t “deprive” myself. When there’s sweets or carbs and I really feel I have to have some, I just eat 1 bite and I am satisfied. For instance over the Holidays this year, I would just eat a bite of Hubby’s dessert and then I got to taste it, and I was satisfied. I honestly don’t miss the sweets, I wasn’t a sweet eater, really. What I am shocked about is how easy it has been to not eat potatoes, pasta, breads, etc. I don’t miss it – it’s been over 3 years now since I began this journey and I have to say, it’s just part of me now. I don’t have to put a lot of thought into it now, it’s just who I am . Sometimes people will say, “You’re still doing that no carb thing?”, it makes me laugh.

So, those are my , nothing too hard. My advice? Find out what will work for you, for the rest of your life, that you can live with and not feel deprived!

Weight Loss Help: How I Lost 100 Lbs And Kept It Off!

by Dian 14 Comments

Weight Loss Help: How I Lost 100 Lbs And Kept It Off!

I wanted to help you start the New Year off with some Weight Loss Help! I am going to share with you a few of the tips I found that worked for me and How I Lost 100 Lbs and Kept It Off for about 5 years, now.

So, with the New Year comes plans to make changes.

Changes to our lives and lifestyles. Have you made any resolutions? Maybe to lose weight, get in shape, save money, earn more money, get organized?

Y’all know that 5 years ago I had a bout with Type II Diabetes – which I no longer have, Thank God! But, I lost over 100 lbs and have kept it off. I have researched and changed a lot of my eating habits and still adjust them even now to add or remove things as I notice my weight change or the way I feel change.

I found a few things that helped me – whether real or in my mind! Hey, mind over matter, right? I thought I might share them with you, in case they might help anyone else.

I have people ask me all of the time how I lost the weight. I tell them by eating 1 portion instead of 3! lol Which is true – if you started reading portion sizes and only eating 1 portion size you would be surprised at how the weight would fall off! Remember, I WON’T exercise – so, I lost the weight without doing ANY exercise.

Here’s why: I KNEW I would never continue on any kind of exercise regime if I started it. So, the weight loss wouldn’t “stick”. I had to find what worked for me.

That is the second thing I tell people who ask me how I lost it – you HAVE to find what works for you! It can’t be anyone else’s weight loss path – it has to make sense to you and work for you FOR LIFE! We hear that it HAS to be a lifestyle change and that sounds so daunting and hard that we can’t do it and maintain it. Again, it HAS to be what works for you!

What works for me: No exercise – that was #1! lol Also, due to the fact I had just been told I had Type II Diabetes and I didn’t want it – I had to cut out things that affected that. So, I cut out almost all sugar – I drink 1 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee every morning – I used to use 4!! I was able to slowly cut back and now if I accidentally put a little more in it – it is awful! Funny how that works. I also cut out almost ALL carbs! Oh that was a killer for me! I could potatoes – fried, mashed, baked, run over with a car! It didn’t matter – I would eat instant mashed potatoes with almost every meal, too! But, I haven’t had a potato in a couple of years now and I survived and honestly do NOT feel like I am deprived at all.

Again, I HAD to find what worked for me. As I began to lose the weight – I stopped having reflux – I would jump up in the middle of the night with reflux so bad I thought I was going to choke in my sleep! My husband told me I stopped snoring, I had more energy, of course – my knees didn’t hurt as much when climbing stairs, I didn’t get out of breath – so many things you just don’t connect with your weight. I mean yes, we all know that weight will do that – but, we don’t really connect it to US and OUR weight!

Here are a few other things I found and believe to be true:

Bacon and lunchmeat – among other things have Nitrates in them and Nitrates inhibit insulin production in your body – leading to Diabetic issues. (I buy Bacon with no nitrates)
Margarine is worse for you than butter and it also inhibits insulin production
Side Note: I stopped drinking soda from cans – “they say” the aluminum gathers in a certain area of your brain and it increases your chance of Alzheimer’s.
When counting carbs – on the Nutritional panel you can subtract the Fiber content from the Carbs to get the actual carb count.
Your brain signals your stomach when it’s hungry if it SMELLS something good. So, always stop and consciously determine if you are really hungry or if it just smells good. think about it next time you pass a donut shop or someone baking bread. You will say, “Oh, I am so hungry!” But, really stop and think to yourself and see if you actually feel hungry or if it’s just your brain telling you that because you smelled it!
If you wait a few minutes after you feel hunger pangs they will go away for about 30 – 45 minutes – and nothing disastrous happens! lol That’s not to starve yourself but, know that you don’t have to have a snack an hour before a meal, just because you “feel” hungry.
I pay attention to when my stomach feels full and stop when it is “comfortably full”. I used to overstuff and be in pain and not realize it was because I had eaten too much!
Moderation – in all areas of life. Eating, drinking, everything – if we could have self control in the way we behave in all areas – life would be easier!
Dr. Oz says your waist needs to be 1/2 of your height in inches or less. He also says that it doesn’t matter if your “rear” is ginormous or your chest – it’s all about your waist because the Belly Fat presses on your organs and makes it hard for them to work correctly – that’s one thing that causes Type II Diabetes, too.

So, this is just my little talk about how I lost weight and kept it off and got rid of Type II Diabetes in the process – I hope it helps you to feel confident that you can find what works for you in your life and make it happen – whatever it is you need to do!

Happy New Year!!

Read all about my journey and how I lost over 100 lbs.

GSFF

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