Thursday, August 21, 2008

Chocolate is Addicting

Just about everyone you know loves chocolate and they are probably close to being addicted to it, or they are flat out addicted to it. I know I love chocolate and so does everyone in my home. My youngest can not have chocolate though, he is allergic to it. Chocolate is a huge culprit to gaining weight. So if you stop most of your chocolate eating you’re going to lose weight in the long run. This does not mean you should give it up, because when you do that, you are just going to set yourself up to fail.

How many time have you herd someone say, don’t think about it and you wont want it. I hate when people say that. When you try not to think about things, what happens? You can’t get them thoughts out of your head no matter what you end up doing. Who can blame you, you’re only human. Research has shown that you will eat less when you think about it. Trying to avoid it only makes you consume twice as much when you get your hands on it. So instead of avoiding the thoughts, go ahead and think about it, just don’t give in as much.

A tip for you chocolate lovers out there. If you are going to eat chocolate then dark chocolate should be your choice. It’s better for you then milk chocolate. I found a great product at Walgreen’s the other day. Chocolate sticks. They are just think long bars of chocolate. They are near the 100 calorie packs. They contain 60 calories per stick. They have different flavors. I have the dark chocolate. Place this box of dark chocolate in the freezer. When you get a craving, have a stick. Since it’s frozen, it will last long and you will enjoy it better. I have found, eating one stick will cure my sweet tooth for a few days. And at 60 calories, I don’t feel guilty about it.

Friday, August 15, 2008

More Helpful Weight Loss Tips

So you liked the last round of tips and you’re itching for more? No problem there. I can help you out with that.

Support groups- Joining online support groups always seems to help. If you have people routing for your, and on your team, then its going to be a lot easier. I have found a wonderful forum, that really motivates me. We have challenges and team up, so it makes you want to really try, because I don’t want to lose my challenge. It also gives me people to talk to who are struggling just like me, and know how my daily challenges can be.

Tell people- You’re more likely to succeed if you tell people in your family or even friends what you are doing. Letting them know what you are doing and why you are doing it, makes you feel like you really have to see this thing through. I noticed the few other times, when I told just a select few, I fell off the wagon within a week. I have been going strong now for 5 weeks and I have lost 25 pounds. Now some of you may think there is no way I have lost that much. But I am a pretty big girl, and still have a very long road ahead of me, so it’s nothing but the truth. Telling people, has made me stick to it, because I can see how many people are proud of me, and I have a LOT of people telling me where they can tell I have lost weight. That just makes me feel so much better!

Pictures- I would never let anyone take my pictures. I got grossed out. I couldn’t believe I was so big. So I avoided the camera as much as possible. Well when I joined this forum 5 weeks ago, they all begged me. One of the challenges I wanted to join, it was a requirement. So I did it. I had my daughter take some pictures of me, and then I sat her on the computer and just cried as I stared at them. Four weeks later, I had my daughter take another set of pictures. I was in the same outfit, posing the same way. I could see small changes. My face, neck and my sides were a lot thinner. So every month I am going to keep taking pictures. On the days I feel like I just can’t do this anymore, I then come back and look at that first set of pics. It really motivates me.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Simple Tricks to Help you Lose Weight

I thought, giving you some simple tricks to lose weight, will help you along your journey. These are things you can do everyday, while you are doing your daily routine. So you wont have to take any time out of your day for these. If you don't have time to exercises as much as you should (like most of us) then changing some things in your routine, will help you out. Now you still have to find some time to exercises, so don't try and use this as an excuses not to.

While out shopping park further away from the door. This will make you walk further and when you think about it, can save you some gas money. Because your not driving around in circles trying to find the closest parking spot.

When shopping in a store, try taking the stairs to get to the next level instead of the elevator. This will get you in some extra walking time, and walking up stairs is better then just plain walking.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. A lot of time we think we are hungry when we are actually dehydrated. Also before each meal, down a glass full of water. This will help fill you up, so you wont eat as much food.

5-6 small light meals, instead of 3 heavy meals is the way to go. This gives your body better time to process what its taking in. Make sure you don't skip foods, you want your body to get use to eating at certain times. This way it doesn't go into starvation mode, where it stores all your fat.

Stop eating when you are full, not stuffed. When you eat until your stuffed, you are slowly stretching your stomach out. Thus, next time you eat, it will take more food to fill you up. Get into a habit of this, and the results are not going to be pretty.

Turn music on when cleaning your house. This gets you moving faster and your heart rate up higher. Chances are you will be more active with the music on. I always have the music on when I clean. I can get things done faster, when I am singing and dancing along to some good tunes.

These are just a few changes you can make to your daily routine and it will help you stay fit. Its not going to make them pounds pour off, but it will help you out.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The Atkins Diet- What is it?

The Atkins diet was created by cardiologist Dr. Robert Atkins. It didn't take long for the entire world to adapt to this new fad. But is it just a fad? Or could it be something that you might be able to benefit from?

I have tried the Atkins diet myself, and while I started losing weight on it, I don't think it was for me. Not that I couldn't do the whole low carb thing, but it just got a little to pricey for me. I do feel though, this diet can help you lose weight, while teaching you how to change your daily eating habits. Which is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.

The Atkins diet is basically a low carb diet with phases. During Phase one, you have a short list of food items that you can have. You basically eliminate every carb for two weeks here. It has been said now, that phase one is not a must, but an option now. However, I feel if your gonna do it, then do it right. So phase one you can not have any carbs. There is a list of items that you can have. Let me warn you now, that list is not all that large. I'm sure you can handle it for two weeks.

Once you have completed phase one, you will then move on to the next phase. Over a period of time, this diet slowly introduces carbs back into your daily eating habits. While doing this, it teaches you portion control. You can have carbs, just small amounts. This is also a good thing to learn. Remember, once you lose the weight, you have to know how to keep it off. So learning how to change your lifestyle of eating is key.

By eliminating the most of the carbs in your daily intake, your body will learn how to use other things, such as fat cells for energy. Thus, you start losing weight, because your body is using up everything that you have ate that day, and also some left over fat in your body.

For me, when I first started this diet, I was pretty tired. When you go from eating a lot of carbs daily, to eating none, it is gonna mess with you a little bit. So don't worry, if this happens to you, it will pass. In my personal opinion, I feel this diet is a really good diet, I just don't think its the one for me. It may or may not be the right one for you.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Diet Pills- Do or Dont

This conversation can bring up many arguments on so many levels. So what should you do? How do you know if you should choose a diet pill, or if you shouldn't? And if you choose to take one, which one should you take?

First let me say this. There is no magic Diet pill out there. NONE. So now that you know that, we can actually think about this a little bit more. How do you know which pill to start taking? That answer is simple, you don't. You don't have a clue as to which one you should be trying, and lets not talk about how much money you will waste trying to figure it out. Try going to your doctor and asking for help. They might suggest something to you. I believe there are diet pills out there that are safe to use. There is just very few of them, so the bad outweighs the good, and people start to assume all diet pills are bad. You cant really assume this. Asking your doctor will help you.

Now ask yourself, why do you want a diet pill? Your probably over weight and would like to lose weight. This is fine, but do you know, your gonna be over weight for the rest of your life, unless you make changes. These changes need to be what you eat, portion control and exercises. Even if you find a pill that helps you lose the weight, you have to make these changes so you don't gain it all back. Otherwise you will be starting right back at the beginning.

I'm not trying to say that all diet pills are bad. I just think you should really look into it, and maybe find one that will help suppress your diet, more then fill you with all these promises to make you lose all this fat. Finding one under your doctors care that helps suppress your diet will be your best choice. Then , with the help of these pills you can learn how to change your eating habits and your daily activities.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Healthy Food that help Reduce Illness

Eat an apple a day, keep the doctor away. How many times have you herd this saying? I know my mother use to say this all the time. I was never sure if she meant it, or was just trying to scare me a little. There is some truth to this saying though. Along with that apple, there are a number of other foods that can really help you with certain things.

Does your skin look dull during the day? Even with lotion you cant seem to get it glowing the way you would like it to? Try eating berries that are rich with antioxidants. Berries such as blackberries or raspberries. These are both really good choices. Try switching your food to whole grain food. This will help keep your blood sugar normal. When your blood sugar spikes it can damage collagen. Hence, making your skin look not so young and pretty.

Do have a hard time falling asleep? A lot of people in the world suffer from Insomnia. I have one that lives here, my Husband. It’s a horrible thing to suffer from, and something that you never really get use to. Try eating a banana every day. Since bananas are filled with vitamin B6, your more likely to get on a schedule. You should eat one every day though. B6 helps your internal clock. Which is the thing that tells you when you should fall asleep and when you should wake up again.

Cure that headache, or try and prevent it from even coming around. Headaches are one of the worst things you can get. They can prevent you from doing so many things. When your head hurts, seems like everything hurts as well. Black beans are great for headaches. Black beans are high in proteins, fiber and magnesium. All which can help you with your headache. Tuna which is loaded with omega-3s can also help your headache. Eating tuna just once a week, can help prevent them headaches from even showing up.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Walking for your Exercise

We all know that walking is the easiest exercise for just about anyone. Everyone seems to walk places. Which is really a good thing. But do you know why waking is good for you, besides for burning calories?

It’s free! Should I say anymore? Okay, I guess I can. Along with being free it helps your heart, lungs and helps your bones. So why wouldn’t you want to walk? It’s easy and makes you healthy, there is no reason why you can’t walk a few times a week. Here are some ways to help you walk better, longer and sneak in some extra walking.

Shoes are the most important factor here. And I don’t mean go out and buy the most expensive pair you can find. Cost does not mean they are any good. You need to get a pair of shoes that fit you well. Some that are not too tight and not to lose. Making sure you have a little room for your toes, so they can move. Having a cushioned heel is a plus.

Taking an Ipod or something to that effect to help keep your mind busy is also a plus. Upload some upbeat music, and have fun while walking. If you don’t have anything to do while walking, then walking is going to become pretty boring. If you like to talk, then grab your cell phone, call a friend, and tell the friend you’re going walking to talk to you for a while to keep your mind busy. You will be amazed at how far you have walked while your mind was busy on something else.

The next time you go grocery shopping, park as far away from the door as you can. This will sneak in a little extra walking time. Walk around the store a little more then normal. I walk around the skinny women’s clothes every Thursday while I am out shopping. This gives me a little more incentive to keep it up. Then I go get all my groceries. This gives me even more walking time.

If you have gas stations or restaurants near your home, start walking there instead of driving. We have a restaurant that is a few blocks from us. Me and the kids walk up there for lunch or dinner once in a while. We always walk there, get some food, and then walk back home. Making sure you don’t eat anything to bad. I typically eat a chicken salad there. But that choice is all yours.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Some Awesome Foodie Articles

A great friend of mine is a awesome foodie writer. She loves writing about food and this girl, really knows her material, which really shows in her articles. Here are some previews of her material that would really help you get on track with your weight loss.

How to Make Baked Goods Healthier by Amy Brantley is a new favorite of mine. She explains to us, some great ways to make your favorite foods, and make them more healthy. Who would have thought this was possible. So if your looking to make some baked goods like cakes and cookies, but your trying to lose weight, then this article is a must read!

Maybe your speciality is Fried Foods. If you love fried foods, and you have a hard time letting go of them, then I have the perfect solution for you. You must read How to make Healthy Fried Foods by Amy Brantley. She explains how you can still eat the fried foods that you love, without all that extra fat. Now while I don't think this should be an all the time thing, this would be a great way to have your fried foods as a treat and not get all the fat!

How many of you love chocolate chip cookies? I know that I love it! Being on a diet, means I cant eat things like these. I could, but I choose not to cheat on my diet, for the most part. But with an article like How to Make Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies by Amy Brantley , Means you can not only have an all time favorite, but it means you wont have to cheat as bad! Now this is something I would not feel guilty about!

While this next and last article I am about to show you, is not a foodie article, It still fits in perfect. Low-Impact Exercises: Get the Exercise You Need Without All the Pain by Amy Brantley is a great read. There are some people out there who can not do things as well as other. Maybe your really overweight, or you have some sort of difficulty that stops you from exercising like you should. This article shows you some great ways to exercise without all the pain you would normally have.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Low Calorie Snacks to cure your Sweet Tooth

Have you decided that you would like to venture on this long road of getting healthy and losing weight with me? It’s defiantly going to be a long road, but it’s going to be completely worth it. I'm three weeks into it, and I tell you, I really feel good about myself. I have almost reached my first mini goal of 20 pounds lost, and I am starting to feel great about myself. I still have a long road ahead of me though. Still have 61 pounds to go to reach my ultimate goal. Then once I get their, I have to learn how to maintain my weight so I don’t end up on this path again. As you have read in my previous entry's, you have learned that I am on a low calorie diet. With the low calorie diet , its suggested that you eat small frequent meals and have a few snacks throughout the day. This is so your body does not go into starvation mode. So what are some snacks that you can have? Well, First let me just say this. You can not deprive yourself of all the things you love. The key is moderation. I still eat some sweets, I just don’t eat as much and not often. Here are some of the snacks that you can eat, and still enjoy your food.

100 calorie packs are the new craze. Its easy to see why they are. I am obsessed with these things. They give me the sweet food I want, and they are portioned just right. You can grab the whole pack, and you know its only 100 calories. Some of my favorites are The mini cupcakes. Just like the regular cupcakes. They have the cupcake, frosting and the cream filling. Its not diet food. It’s the same ingredients they use in their regular ones. These ones are just bite sized. You get three in a pack, which is just about perfect. I also enjoy their chips. I often eat a turkey sandwich on light wheat bread and grab a pack of the chips. It’s perfect for me, and that lunch really fills me up. This way, I don’t over eat on the chips. Some other things they have are cookies, crackers and mixes. They are good and really help you stay on track.

Apples seem to be my kick also lately. I cut up an apple and for around 70 calories, I can eat the whole thing. Not only does this have a lot of good nutrition for me, but its also naturally sweet, which helps my sweet tooth at times. Its also a good side, when you cook dinner and cant eat everything the family does. I often make my family a normal dinner and I just eat the meat and vegetables and then a cut up apple. I skip any potatoes or pasta that is made with dinner. Of course there are times I just cant eat what the family is having (still have to give them variety) so I will just make myself something different.

Before my diet, I use to love eating a special treat at night. It was hard for me to break this habit. While I realize eating at night is not the smartest thing to do, its actually something you should do while on a low calorie diet. Its just what you eat at night can be the problem. Because you are eating small frequent meals so your body does not go into starvation mode, you should still eat something small at night. I have found that I love eating either the apple or weight watchers ice cream. Their ice cream is really good, much to my surprise. I have had their fudge pops, which are awesome and I have also had a few different kinds of their single serving cups. The fudge pops are huge and have 110 calories In them. These single serving cups which are a pretty large serving, end up with 120-140 calories in them. Last night I tried the chocolate chip cookie dough in the single serving pack. I was very surprised at how good it actually was. So as long as you have the calories left, you can still eat some foods like this. Just make sure you figure these into your normal calorie count.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Tips for your Low Calorie Diet

Eating small frequent meals is something that you should be doing while your on your low calorie diet. You don't want to feel like your starving all the time. Having this feeling is not going to help you lose weight. You are just setting yourself up for a huge fall here. If your starving, chances are your body is also thinking that its starving. Meaning, your body is going to go into starvation mode. So everything you place into your mouth is going to be stored into fat and wont be turned into energy as it should be. In order for you to lose weight, you need the food going into your body, turned into energy, so you can in turn burn off the extra fat. Now you may have lost some weight in your first few days of this, but its not going to continue this way. It will take your body a few days to realize whats going on, and when it does, it wont be pretty. Eating 5-6 small frequent meals a day is the way to go. You must do this every day, so your body will know its going to be fed when its hungry.

Watching what you eat and reading nutritional facts are very important. Don't eat something that is high in calories, because then you wont have enough calories to eat the rest of the day. Choose foods that are lower in carbs, sugar and calories. Eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grain are the way to go. While some whole grain and still have a higher amount of carbs, these are what we call good carbs. These will turn into energy and not store into fat.
Pre Plan your food. Once I started to watch what I was eating and changing my eating habit's, it started getting hard to eat 1200 calories. This coming from someone who could have easily ate 3000 a day and not even thought twice about it. So then I started to pre plan my day. I would write down breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks. This way, I knew what was going in my mouth already and I didn't go over or under my calories. So pre planning my food really helped me out, and made me keep my body use to a certain amount of food and usually right around the same times.