Continue reading »]]> This is probably one of the most embarrassing posts I will ever write.   Obviously, I’ve been taking a little time off from blogging, but I’ve also taken quite a lot of time off of dieting, exercise and anything remotely healthy for me.   I’ve let the pounds creep back on and am pretty angry with myself!   I gave myself a good talking to and decided that the first thing to do is get back to blogging–which would hopefully motivate me to get with it on diet and exercise!

During my time of being a lazy slug, I became obsessed with Pinterest.  Yes, I know…should have gone to yoga instead.   However, while checking out all kinds of beautiful fashions that I felt too fat to even try on, I noticed a post by Jennifer Williams about her terrific business and the amazing body wraps that she sells.   Jennifer claimed that by wrapping myself I could lose inches off my waist in just 45 minutes.

Before and After Body Wrap

Given that I’ve tried so many things that are total scams, the scam detector in my brain started screaming!   The pictures that she posted looked good but I couldn’t imagine how an all-natural product could possibly make me lose inches in that short time frame.   Besides, I told myself, those pictures probably aren’t even the same people!

I wrote Jennifer, told her about this blog site and asked if she would be willing to send me a free wrap that I could try out and then blog about the results.   She immediately called me and was one of the most bubbly, positive people I’ve talked to in a very long time.   Her enthusiasm is absolutely infectious and by the time our conversation ended, I was actually feeling hopeful that the product might be as good as she claimed.    But the “proof is in the pudding” so to speak, and I’ve definitely been eating too much pudding.   If you are what you eat, my stomach had taken on a definitively pudding-like texture.

A couple of days later, Jennifer’s package arrived.   It included one body wrap, a brochure about the It Works! company and samples of one of of their nutritional products called Greens.  With trepidation, I tried the Greens .   When mixed with water, Greens gives you the complete nutrition of the eight daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.   It helps to detox the body and alcalyze acids.   Surprisingly, once I got past the green color, it tasted fine–kind of like  watered down Tang.  Well, that is a step up from any green liquids I’d tried up to this point.    I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks that as a result of neutralizing acids, my problems with acid reflux have improved drastically.

Then came the true test, the Ultimate Body Wrap.   It is a simple cloth wrap that has an all-natural botanically based formula lotion infused on one side.   I took my measurements and sure did not like the number!    It was easy to use… unwrap it, place it on the area you want to wrap (it can be used on stomach, sides, legs, back, arms and even chin and neck!).   Then, I did the finishing touch and wrapped myself in Saran wrap, put on a pair of sweats and lounged around reading a good book for 45 minutes.   It felt great.   There was a pleasant tingling sensation on my skin and it smelled nice.  It just seemed too easy!   How on earth could it possibly do anything?

After my 45 minutes were up, I cut the Saran wrap and got out the measuring tape.   I had no expectation of success.   However, I had lost an inch and a half!   I was glad that I’d taken a picture before.   Then I took an afterward picture and found that there was even a visible difference.  I kept watching and measuring and after 72 hours, it was two inches of loss.   I became very excited and ordered more of them.   Again, my expectation was that after the first one, there wouldn’t be a great deal of success.   I forgot to measure on the second one but I did wrangle more photos with my Iphone and again, it was visible.

It’s embarrassing but I am posting the results photos here for all to see.   No, the photos were not touched up.   Yes, all the pictures are of my “ginormous” belly.   Yes, all the photos were taken by me by holding my Iphone out away from my stomach.   The difference in skin tone is pretty much from the differences in lighting and what I was wearing and how difficult my phone camera wanted to be that particular day.    Embarrassing but true results.   Wow!   I can’t believe“It Works!“

My Results from three wraps….and I’m not planning on stopping here!   Now that I have a kick-start, I’m back to trying to develop more healthy habits!

Results--before 1st wrap to 48 hours after

Results of the second wrap

Results of the third wrap--what a difference from the beginning!

As you can see, this product made a huge difference for me!   I got so excited that I signed up to be a distributor of  It Works! products.   If you’re interested in learning more, click here!

Continue reading »]]> Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, a member of the mint family that grows abundantly in southern Mexico. It is a super food that have been shown to suppress appetites while providing protein, calcium, and omega-3s. Try adding  ground chia seed meal to your oatmeal, shake or smoothie for a longer fuller feeling.

Benefits:

-Lose Weight Without Starving
-Cuts craving
-Balances blood sugar
-Adds age-defying anti-oxidants
-Increases energy
-Healthy omega-3 fatty acids (more than flax seeds)
-Heart Health
-Relief From Rheumatoid Arthritis
Reduces Menopause Symptoms

Continue reading »]]> Weight Loss Network Review of:   I Can Make You Thin: The Revolutionary System Used by More Than 3 Million People (Book and CD)
Paul McKenna’s book, I Can Make You Thin initially appealed to me for two reasons.  Number one was that it was a thin book and wouldn’t take long to read. (Hey, I’ve always admitted to being lazy!)   Secondly, it had appeal because it also included a CD for guided meditation.

Quite some time ago, I had a weight-loss CD that helped me lose weight which stayed off for years!  Unfortunately, during those years that I didn’t need it, I lost the CD and now can’t remember the name of it.   As a result, I have tested out many weight loss meditation CD’s that didn’t work very well.   I skipped ahead and tried McKenna’s CD at bedtime that day even before reading the book.

At first, I was put off by McKenna’s voice and accent.   Actually, for some reason it struck me as funny.   His voice has a bit of a growl at times so I lay in bed smiling for a little while….but pretty soon I was relaxing.   I woke up the next morning and I can’t tell you what was said after a certain point!   I listened for about five nights with pretty much the same result…snore!  However, I DID start noticing some differences in myself.   The desire to snack out of boredom seemed to have lessened.  I actually got on the treadmill a couple of times.  Hmm…    I kept it up, still being too lazy to pick up the book.   After a week, I stepped on the scale and I’d lost two pounds without really doing anything.   Another hmm…

Now that I’ve finally read the book, I found that McKenna advises not to get on the scale for a certain period of time.   Oops!   Too late.  The horse is already out of the barn on that one for me.   However, the purpose of this site is so that others can learn from my errors and won’t make the same mistakes!

There are four “golden rules” to McKenna’s diet plan:

• When you are hungry, EAT.
• Eat what you want, not what you think you should.
• Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful.
• When you think you are full, stop eating.

McKenna explains his premise on each of these and how to go about them properly.    It’s not rocket science, he’s teaching moderation.  But somehow, his system seems to make it easier to be moderate.   Additionally, he adds a “hunger scale” to the plan to help dieters understand their limits, when it is important to eat and how much they should eat.  The hunger scale ranges from number one being so hungry that you are physically faint to number ten having eaten so much that you are nauseous.

All in all, I would recommend trying this system.   It’s inexpensive ($14.99 on Amazon.com) to buy the book/CD set, you don’t have to resist eating foods you enjoy and replace them with foods that you dislike, as well as setting you up with good future habits.   If you wish, you can buy the book here…

Continue reading »]]> My New Year’s Resolution this year was NOT to make any resolutions!   Like many other people, the ubiquitous “Lose Weight” is always at the top of my resolution list.   Every year I swear that I’m going to work out and I’m going to watch what I eat and I’m going to accomplish all kinds of miracles.

Within about two weeks, all my resolutions are broken and my feelings about myself have suffered a blow that was not necessary or needed.   This year, no resolutions, no pressure, no timelines.   When my mindset is right for dieting, I will.  Right now, it isn’t.   So, instead, I’m just going to try to be moderate for a while and try not to gain any weight.  Heck, just being moderate after the holiday indulgences turns out to be a big cut-back.  So, not to be cliché but I’m just taking baby steps.

As for exercise, one of my friends has started the Couch to 5K program.   She has an app for her Iphone and highly recommends it.   The idea is to start running 90 seconds, then walking for a while, then running 90 seconds, etc until you build up the strength to run continually.   It sounds like a great idea!   But, even 90 seconds sounds like a long time for me at this point..   Maybe I’ll try it.   I probably won’t.   I already know that I hate to run.

I have, however, bought a hula hoop.   I feel like a little kid which is actually a really fun feeling!   I put on some lively music and just hoop to my heart’s content.   It’s terrific ab exercise and I enjoy it.   Like New Year’s resolutions, I’ve decided that the key to all of this is to figure out what I enjoy and will actually do.

What about you?   What do you enjoy?   What will you do?

P.S.  I bought my hula hoop from Lindsay Follett who is known as “The Siren of the Circle.”   Her Facebook page is www.facebook.com/SirenOfTheCircle. You can watch her video below.  Next I’m going to take a class to learn how to do some of those tricks!  Right now I’m just happy to keep it up on my waist!

Continue reading »]]> I adapted this recipe from one featured on Just a Pinch Recipe Club’s site.   My adaptions include substituting light butter for margarine to eliminate trans fats and adding in some white flour to keep the cookies from being too heavy.   You may prefer to check out the original recipe instead.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light butter softened
• 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose white flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp  salt
• 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts…optional.

Continue reading »]]> I mentioned in earlier posts that the FDA hates the HcG diet.   On December 6, the FDA and FTC sent warning letters to the main manufacturers of HCG.    They claim that it is the “first step” in halting the sale of HcG products.  T he letters warn the companies that they are violating federal law by selling drugs that have not been approved, and by making unsupported claims for the substances. There are no FDA-approved HCG drug products for weight loss.

I take issue with the FDA on this.   First of all, they may not have approved it, but I can tell you that the claims for HcG are NOT unsupported as they say.   It works!   I am not one who can go without food.   I have a huge appetite.   However, when taking the HcG drops, I was not hungry.   The diet had its ups and downs but I feel that the FDA has been unfairly targeting the US  homeopathic producers of HcG.   Now, they’ll just take their labs to another country and sell them on the web from there.   The FDA has stated that the claims that HcG helps with weight loss are fraudulent.  I’m here to tell you that they aren’t!   Perhaps they should be cracking down on other manufacturers like Th-121 or those dreadful cookies!  They make the same claims and aren’t effective.

So, what am I going to do now?   I’m going to go get a prescription for HcG and do the diet anyway!     A Boston area pharmacist has created a prescription strength HcG nasal spray along with a supplement plan.   I plan on testing it out and I’ll write more next month.

Continue reading »]]> Snacking can be a killer for a diet! We’ve all heard the admonitions of “eat celery” or “have a handful of almonds” but let’s be honest here. Sometimes the thought of those just seems downright yukky! We want to eat something that feels normal. We get tired of dieting! So, when I tried the Bistro MD plan, I was delighted to discover a couple of very tasty snacks to keep in my repertoire.

The one I love the most was baked lentil chips from the Mediterranean Snack Company.   Inspired by the balanced lifestyle of the Mediterranean diet (as is the Sonoma Diet), this all natural, gluten-free snack is made from high protein, nutritious lentils, garbanzo, and adzuki beans. Bistro MD sent them with a small serving of hummus, which is a dip that I’ve always enjoyed.   Since that time, I’ve eaten them with bean dip, Greek yogurt dill dip, Tatziki, and just straight out of the bag.    They’re salty and crunchy with a great taste and fulfill my cravings for things like potato chips as well as cheese and crackers.   You really can’t lose with a snack that is all natural, gluten-free, GMO free, a good source of fiber, celiac and vegetarian friendly and has 70% less fat than regular potato chips!

The other snack I discovered was a beef jerky type treat called Simply Snackin.   The flavor they sent me was Beef Sirloin with Apples and Cherries.    At only 50 calories, it was a meaty, salty, chewy snack that tasted better than any beef jerky I’ve ever had.   With the addition of fruits, it changes the flavors subtly and adds additional nutritional value.  They are lean and tender at only 1-2g of fat, these high protein snacks feature 8-10g of protein each! No MSG, no trans fats (not even a milligram!), all natural fruits and meats.  The Simply Snackin line features savory gourmet dried meat snacks that begin with fresh,  all natural (no artificial ingredients or added color) 100% beef sirloin or 100% chicken breast meat. Next, tantalizing combinations of fruit, spices, and cheeses are added to produce satiating flavors. Finally, a leisurely roasting process, featuring a light smoking, finish them off.    The end result is really great taste.

I don’t often find foods like this that I’d give the thumbs up to, but both of these snacks really helped with the cravings and actually created enjoyable moments of dieting.   It doesn’t get much better than that for a dieter!

Continue reading »]]> This is another of Ellie Krieger’s genius holiday recipes.   This has all the flavor but pares down the calories of pumpkin pie….as long as you keep it at one serving!   For more from Ellie Krieger and The Food Network, click here.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup solid-pack pumpkin

Directions

Continue reading »]]>  

Ellie Krieger of the Food Network always has some fantastic healthy recipes!    Last year, I made her  recipe for turkey roulade, served with roasted brussels sprouts, parsnips and sweet potatoes.   I’m not a very good photographer, but the photo below is the result of my healthy Thanksgiving effort. This recipe has all the flavors of the holidays without the calories and fat.    Click here to find this recipe on Food Network.

Turkey roulade with roasted vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 (2 1/2-pound) skinless turkey breast, butterflied
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups), plus 1 cup sliced onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 5 slices day-old whole-wheat bread, crusts removed, cubed (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1/3 cup lightly toasted chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh crumbled sage or 3 teaspoons dried, divided
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup apple cider
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water

Directions