Good News...

Today I noticed that my clothes looked better on me than they have in a while!  Wooo - hoo!  I will keep that in mind tonight as I indulge in party foods, and will try to resist the urge to stuff my self to the max.

What to eat?

Greens
Onions
Mushrooms
Beans/berries
Seeds

The acronym rhymes with combs.  Retrain your taste buds to prefer these foods, and you're well on your way to a healthier you!  These foods are nature's way of providing us with the nutrients our bodies need to repair themselves and return to healthy states of being.

What are some of your favorite varieties of these foods? I love spinach and turnip greens, all types of onions, raw or cooked, and sauteed mushrooms are completely yummy!

My favorite beans must be green beans, but I also like pinto beans, lima beans, navy beans, and kidney beans. Don't get me started on berries! Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries -- i love them all! I'm thinking of getting a juicer to make some tasty juices that incorporate these great berries.

I'm not so big on seeds.  However, I was watching Dr. Oz yesterday and he was proclaiming the new super seed to be -- hold on to your hats -- chia seeds!  Thinking that chia sounds familiar, but can't quite place it, think Chia Pets.  Yes, they are one in the same!  Except you'd want to get your chia seeds for consumption from the health food store.  Apparently the chia seeds expand in your stomach making you feel full and limiting your ability to over eat.

Fat -- A Six Letter Word

Ever eat a full meal, yet still have that hungry feeling tugging at your tummy? Leptin may be the root cause.

Leptin is the hormone that controls weight gain. Not insulin, not cortisol, not metabolism, but leptin.  Apparently leptin sends a message to the brain that the stomach is full.  Whether the brain is able to decode the message or not is the reason you become overweight.

Typically, your body is very good at receiving the leptin message when you're young because of a lack of exposure to the message.  Over time, however, your brain becomes apathetic to the signal and begins to ignore it. Think of it this way, when your nose first smells a pungent odor, it sends a strong message to your brain that something stinks.  But the longer you are exposed to the smell, the less aware you become of it. Leave the room for some fresh air for a while and return, the signal is as strong as it was initially.

Similarly, leptin sends a message to the brain when there is a spike in the level of glucose in the blood. After years and decades of hearing the message daily -- endless feasting on french fries, snack cakes, sodas, and other sugary foods --  the brain is unable to detect the urgency of the leptin message, resulting weight gain.

Want to lose weight? Forget counting calories, reset your leptin signal.  How? According to Doctor Ron Rosedale, it takes the following:


"Eat fat…good fats, as long as sugars, and sugar forming foods such as rice, potatoes, cereals, most breads and pasta, are avoided that would  otherwise raise insulin and leptin and prevent the burning of that fat.

What are good fats?  Nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine, and macadamia nuts; all good, preferably raw or dried with low heat.  Peanuts are not nuts (they are legumes, beans) and they therefore have a different (high omega 6) and unhealthy fat content. Olives and olive oil, avocados and guacamole, coconut oil, ghee; all great.

Eat these along with non sugary vegetables and a moderate, not high, amount of protein, and leptin’s messages will remain clear; live long and prosper.  My guess is that Mr. Spock was on my diet."

The full article may be found here: http://training.tonyrobbins.com/1513/the-truth-about-weight-loss-hormones-prescription-drugs-and-your-health/

Will today be the day

I change my life?  Probably not.  Each morning I have a new opportunity to make better nutrition and exercise decisions. Yet, each morning, as if on autopilot, my car drives me to the donut shop to get my daily cinnamon roll.  I literally go EVERYDAY.  No really, the nice shop keeper knows me by face and order.

...and exercise, what's that?!?!  I seldom make time to exercise.  Yes, I realize that most people who exercise, simply make time for the activity, but I insist on using the old "I don't have time" excuse.  In the recent past, I've quickly become discouraged when I venture into the "workout zone" AKA, the gym because the amount of effort I give far out weighs the return that I get. I mean really?  I rearrange my schedule, secure care for my kids, rush to the gym, spend at least an hour there, and for what?  Nothing changes, I'm still FAT!  Okay, I know exercise makes a difference over time, and not just in appearance, but in overall health.  Some genius should invent something, anything that would allow me to see immediate results for exercising.  Maybe then I'd be motivated to stick with it for the long haul.

So, how do I know today won't be the day that I change my life? It's simple, actually -- basic grammar offers a clue.  The idea is presented in the form of a question.  Things don't happen until one makes a decision and takes some action steps toward making them happen.  I'm standing at the starting line, the official has fired the gun, everyone else has taken off, am I'm still trying to decide if I want to run the race. Nope, today will NOT be the day!

Jealousy...

does not look good on me.  Yet, I am so very jealous, happy for my friends, but jealous all the same.  It seems that everywhere I look, people just can't manage to keep pounds on their bodies.  They're running around looking like skinny minis and I'm stuck in this same over-sized body.

Kudos, though to a high school friend, who when asked, gave me the ugly truth of how he lost his 35+ pounds in three months.  "Lots and Lots of Water, walking so much that my ankles hurt, and amongst other thing LOW Calorie diet..."  His honesty was very kind and appreciated. Especially since most of the time I meet the "Oh, I'm not doing anything special, the weight is just falling off by itself" response.

Now that I've got that off of my chest, on to a progress report of sorts.  I logged in to my My Fitness Pal account last night for the first time in 3 months.  Didn't plan any meals, but I logged in!  No exercise today, and over indulged a bit by having a cup of hot chocolate to accompany my daily cinnamon roll for breakfast. Not to mention that at 9:56 pm, I'm having my FIRST cup of water for the day. 

I need a swift kick in the pants to dive into this weight loss thing. Or at least a nudge in the direction of dipping my toe in the water, so I can stop being jealous and start being me again!

Oh no, I'm fat!

Okay, okay, it's not a surprise.  It's not as if the fat cells multiplied over night.  I've known for a while that I'm overweight.  The BIG question is what am I going to do about it?

I've threatened to start a nutrition and exercise plan a hundred times.  I've actually started down the straight and narrow path a few times.  Counting calories, infusing more fruits and veggies into my menu. Heading to the gym 3 to 4 times per week. But hear me on this... THE PATH IS VERY NARROW, AND CROOKED, AND SLIPPERY SLOPED!!!

So, here I go again. Hoping that by tracking my thoughts and feelings here, in addition to counting calories, infusing more fruits and veggies into my menu, and heading to the gym 2 to 3 times per week, if nothing else, will reduce the amount of time I have available to EAT, thus resulting in weight loss!

Here's to happy shrinking!