Diet Guide Info - Diet and Health Blog » Weight Loss

Helping Hands for Weight Loss

admin — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:39:47 +0000

Moving more and eating less is the weight loss mantra, but sometimes it’s nice to have a helping hand to keep you on the straight and narrow. Here are three ‘helping hands’ for weight loss that can help you reach your goal. Diet Pills Taking slimming pills can be a bit of a weight loss minefield as some can be dangerous and even approved medications can have side effects. If you do feel like you need a boost it’s best to talk to your physician or a chemist about the options available to you. One popular weight loss pill is Alli, which you can buy online from Lloyds pharmacy . This pill is only available for those with a BMI of 28 or above and unlike some medications that aim to speed up your metabolism, it works by stopping fats from being absorbed into the body. The side effects of eating fatty foods when taking this pill are rather unpleasant and lavatory related. Some users report losing weight with minimum changes to their diet, but unlike some slimming pills it does encourage you to change your eating habits simply because of the unpleasant results you experience if you do eat fatty foods! Weight Loss Clubs Sometimes, just knowing someone is on hand to help you out or give you a push when you are losing momentum can be the boost that keeps dieters on track. For this reason, slimming clubs like Weightwatchers and Slimming World remain popular. While clubs work for some, others feel restricted in the diet they are encouraged to follow or are put off by the time and financial commitment that go with club membership. Of course, there are other community-based options that can help you on your way, such as chatting on weight loss forums or following blogs like The Token Fat Girl and if you do need the extra guidance of food tracking, you could try a smartphone app such as Myfitnesspal . Exercise Goals Buddying up for exercise can help you stay committed – it’s far harder to cancel an activity if it’s a planned social event. However, if you do prefer to exercise alone, setting a goal can help you to stay on track. Enrolling in a charity race or some kind or sponsored event can force you to train – after all, you’ll want to make sure you are healthy enough to take part. If you do sign up as one of these events in aid of a charity you will also want to give your best performance possible, which is a great motivator to persuade you to put on your sneakers for a Sunday morning jog.

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Helping Hands for Weight Loss

Lose 26 Pounds Eating at Home

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:10:13 +0000

Does this sound like you? “I am so frustrated with my ability to lose weight. I exercise 5 days per week, and still can’t seem to lose weight. I make all the right choices when eating out, too.” Think about how many times you eat out. As simple as it seems, eating half (or more) of your meals at restaurants can make it extremely difficult to lose weight even if you “make the right choice”. We often lose track of how many meals we are eating out, and then seem mystified as to why we can’t see the pounds drop. Cut Calories in Half Restaurants sneak in extra oils, butters, and mystery sauces creating high calorie foods. By cutting 2 tablespoons of butter or oil, you can save 200 to 300 calories. That equals half a pound of weight loss every week! Serve Your Own Portions At restaurants, you don’t have as much control over the portion that is on your plate. When at home, you can easily follow the half plate vegetable rule. However, the restaurants will serve up double or triple what you need to eat for a meal, and likely, not enough vegetables. You can also use smaller plates at home. Plan, Plan, Plan Make sure to plan out your grocery shopping list and the meals that you will have for the week. When we fail to plan, it is easy to resort to take-out food. The extra 10 minutes is worth it—for your health and wallet! You will be trimming your waistline and your budget. The key to succeeding is to be committed. Stick to the rule of eating from home, and your health will improve. Here are a few of my favorite healthy recipe websites for home cooking: Skinny Taste Spark Recipes Eating Well Do you have any tricks for eating at home more?

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Lose 26 Pounds Eating at Home

Why Alternate Day Dieting is Disastrous

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:00:28 +0000

Try eating over 2000 calories one day, and then depriving yourself to 1000 calories the next day. This is another form of yo-yo dieting. Some are saying that alternate day dieting will help to keep you satisfied, but ultimately result in a calorie deficit and weight loss. After all, Dr. Oz uses this technique for himself, so it must be effective, right ? Don’t Mess with Metabolism The big problem here is that you are playing with the metabolism . You would put your body in starvation mode one day, and then at a more normal calorie diet the next day. This could set you up for overeating and defeat the purpose of the diet plan. Plus, studies have shown that long term yo-yo dieting over the years can slow the metabolism . The creators of this diet thought that by never staying consistently low with the calories, one would be able to avoid the “starvation mode” metabolic slow-down. You would be able to eat low calorie one day, and then the next day, rev the metabolism. This is a great idea, but the metabolism is not that sensitive. It takes years of following a specific calorie level to change the metabolism. Instead, Find Your Perfect Calorie Level If your goal is weight loss, finding the perfect calorie level is the key. It is tricky, but if you create a calorie deficit that is not too low, you can trick the brain into thinking you are not dieting. You will not get as hungry, will still stay satisfied, and keep the metabolism revved. This type of calorie level usually results in .5 to 2 pounds of weight loss per week. The One Positive Following the alternate day diet can actually keep you satisfied with your food intake. Knowing that you can have a normal calorie level some days and only have to deprive yourself a few days is a relief for many. However, the positive does not outweigh the negatives. Have you ever tried this high calorie, low calorie diet?

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Why Alternate Day Dieting is Disastrous

Feeling Funky

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:46:22 +0000

I’m in a funk. I’ve stopped myself from many times from going full on Debbie Downer here, and so far so good, but I can’t keep it in any longer. I can’t recall ever feeling like this, I feel like I’m not connecting, not fitting in, not understanding anything that’s coming my way. I feel like I’m trying to walk in very thick sand. I’ve lost the twinkle of hope, that passion for making things happen. That spark to stretch myself and try something new. All I want to do is retreat. And this has been going on for months. I’m hesitant to even put this out there because, really, does the world need more words about sadness? Loss of hope? And then I realized that I know it will come back and this too shall pass, but I feel an itch to share, regardless of how vulnerable it makes me feel. And you want to know the weirdest part about this funk? It has nothing to do with weight loss. I’m losing, and lately due to loss of appetite, rather rapidly (13 pounds in one week.) Normally I would jump for joy to see these numbers on the scale, but lately, I’m indifferent. I have a few ideas as to where these feelings are coming from. For starters, I’ve become scared to try something new. In the past four years I’ve tried a little bit of everything…design, catering, jewelry, clothing design, blogging, e-book writing, and a few more other things that I’ve forgotten along the way. Each time I start out with this hope of what I could become. I fall in love with the potential of a new business, a new idea, a smaller version of myself. I have great desire to “do big things”, but sadly, I’ve come to realize that I was more in love with the result rather than the process. And because I believe everything in life is connected and related, I know that deep down, what I do and how I make a living has a lot to do with how I feel and care about myself. And somewhere along the line I never figured out or changed my perspective enough on any given thing/business/idea/project to fall in love with the process (a line I’m stealing from The Biggest Loser.) And I want to get there. To be in the love with the process of taking care of myself rather than the result of being thin, or doing things because I love the action and not because its a defined direction or path. I find myself worrying so much about things I do and don’t have control over. My mom emailed a quote to me recently, “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Harvey S. Firestone The last line is the one that hit me the most “accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself”. I’ve come to realize that I haven’t defined who I am or who I want to be. I’ve been waiting on other people to tell me who I am, or who they want me to be or who I can be. That path can be very unsteady. I’ve realized, that I’ve been relying on my past experiences to define who I am. These experiences from junior or high school where I never felt good enough…my clothes, hair, makeup, body, personality…always fell too short. In the days when opinion flowed out of mouths so freely, where everything on the outside was the measure of a worthwhile person, those days still linger too many years later. I want to give myself permission to define who I am, who I want to be, and unapologetically become that person. I want to move forward even when fear starts screaming in my head. Fear that my efforts are lost, that they won’t get me anywhere, or that it’s pointless to try. Recently, I’ve had strong desires to start painting and illustrating again, a skill that I picked up in college and loved. I let it go because I didn’t let myself get good enough. I feared the work that was involved in getting good, I worried that I would spend all this time and never arrive. That I could never feed myself off of it. That it wouldn’t matter. That I’d never be good enough. And the realization that I stopped doing something because I was both in love with and afraid of the result, rather than the process, knocks the wind out of me. And I understand deeply, where this trend pops up over and over again in my life. Silly little things and the big stuff too. I’ve put so much weight in these imaginary outcomes, that I’ve stopped myself from ever starting or even being in the process. What if I lose weight and I’m still ugly, or have a loose skin? What if people resent me? What if I get unwanted male attention? Why both lose weight? What if I start painting, but never sell a print? What if I never wrap my own canvas? What if I’m never taken seriously? Why bother painting? What if I never make a good living doing what I love? What if my businesses stop growing? What if I can’t keep up with the growth? What will I have to give up in order to make more income? What if I start marketing my design…what if I fall short? or make a mistake? or ruin my reputation? What if I’m never credible? What if I fall short or miss a deadline? Why bother design? And I do this with everything, cleaning, exercising, work, meeting new friends, staying in touch…on and on and on. I can play the “what if” game for so long that I wake up at 29 and realize that I stopped it all before it got good. Update: This post is good timing for the Things I’m Afraid to Tell You series of blog entries that are making their way around the blogosphere.

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Feeling Funky

Hand Me a Tissue

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:20:24 +0000

I don’t want to start this blog out by saying “I’ve been sick”, because that’s just not fun. It’s April and like clockwork, I’ve got a stuffy nose, itchy ears, piles of tissues everywhere and a cough to come. I haven’t tasted or smelled food in days. Many, many days. It takes the fun out of eating. Lately I just eat because I’m hungry and I have to. That’s a concept! Last week I started emailing my daily food and calories to my dear friend of a million years and it felt so refreshing to say to someone “guess what? I had two smoothies and a subway sandwich today” without a return comment about balance, or how I should be eating more of this or less of that. Sometimes that’s all I want, peace with imperfection and less justification. I know that for me, as soon as I start creating rules and rituals about what I should and should not eat, I get into obsessive eating trouble. Not that I don’t aim to have better eating habits, it’s just that so often I find that I create them more out of the approval of other people rather than my own belief system which is balance and moderation. And that’s that. Moving on. Edit: And of course, after writing this I go and read this wonderful post by Andie from Can You Stay For Dinner? Her post is so good, and so well written that I want to go to Seattle and give her a parade. Read: The Weight Loss Dilemma. My favorite line: “Please know that there is nothing wrong with eating as cleanly as one can. (If you do and if you strive to- I applaud you.) There is similarly nothing wrong with having Skinny Cow ice cream bars in your freezer beside organic frozen vegetables. (Tell me you have Cool Whip?) There’s nothing wrong with any of it and my bottom line remains: Judging others’ eating styles and deeming food choices as inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ only leaves us feeling and looking ignorant and unenlightened. The point of this post, as always, is to let you know that there’s middle ground. And also that I don’t want this blog to exclude anyone who’s hungry. My table serves Kit Kats and kale chips in varying amounts.” Thank you Andie!

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Hand Me a Tissue

Plant Bliss

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:45:20 +0000

I’m having these moments where ‘m realizing and truly understanding that I’m in control. Not everything that happens per say, but of how I react, what my days look like. I can choose my next move. It’s all up to me, not the day, not my location, not time, not money, not the weekend, not next month or next year or when I retire… Before moving to Floyd I had this vision of what my life would be here. I would work from home, spend my days being creative, creating a nice home, belonging to a community, going to the farmer’s market and green house, planting flowers and a garden. Creating my own little world. We knew our expenses would be minimal and could choose a different life for ourselves. A life that wouldn’t require a nine-to-five schedule, a gray office or a long commute. A life where most of our time was spent living rather than working for someone else. We didn’t want our best days to start at 5pm on Friday and end at 11pm on Sunday. And for the most part that is happening, yet, not totally. I haven’t given myself total permission yet (see my previous posts) to dive into the lifestyle that I was craving. The lifestyle that made me want to leave the metro and city behind. I’ve been so worried, scared and fearful of what bliss and control would look like that I’ve only skimmed the surface. I hear the familiar voices in my head saying… what will people think? they will think I’m having way too much fun, that I’m not miserable enough, the I’m not responsible, or serious, or deserving of such a relaxed life. That I’m not contributing. That I’m lazy. That no one will get it or respect me. That I’m not legitimate or professional. That just needs to stop. Sometimes I have to say out loud, SHUT UP, WHO CARES! And then I get in the car and drive to the local garden center because I can. Because I choose to stop making excuses and worrying about who thinks it’s self-indulgent to take a break in the middle of the day to go flower and plant shopping. Who cares if I’m a plant killer or I don’t really need plants to exist. But to live, I do. One of my favorite quotes is by Mother Teresa… People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you; Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight; Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten; Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway. I read this every single day. Because I want to be more like that. Do. It. Anyway. Other stuff that is contributing to my sanity, gratitude and happiness lately? Less social media . I don’t get on twitter throughout the day anymore. I just can’t. It’s too much mind-clutter and I find myself frustrated with all those thoughts. They aren’t adding anything to my life. Less facebook, it’s the same. I go on, tell anyone who cares that I made a blog posts and I immediately log off. I worried that my online relationships would suffer, and perhaps they will, but I can’t worry about that. Less email checking. I still check as soon as I wake up, but then I go away. I eat breakfast, alone, at the table or on the couch. No mouse in hand, not scrolling screens. Being present. I never really understood this until recently. When I realized that my head space was consumed with worry, fears, thoughts, planning, on and on and on. I was spending time running words through my head, thoughts, and just plan craziness. And then I just decide in that moment to be there. It helps me to make a mental note of what I’m touching or smelling or physically feeling to help me zero in with the present. And once I’m there, all the mind clutter fades out. More time outside. This morning I planted flowers, yesterday I mowed the lawn. The day before that I dug out a walkway. I need to be outside more than I ever thought. It clears my head and my heart. I want my mornings to be spent with sweet basil and dirt. And while a good chunk of my time is spent sitting in front of my laptop working, I like to know that I have these other foundations to keep me balanced. I believe that you can have your work, whatever it may be, and these pockets of bliss too. These moments when the TV, cellphone and computers are off and we do something just because it feels good. Because it makes us who we are. ***** Yesterday I finished my day of eating with couscous and a salad for lunch, shrimp and vegetables (with homemade salsa and guacamole) for dinner and a drumstick ice cream for a treat. I was around 1,800 calories for the day and I did 35 minutes of push mowing and 45 minutes of walking/jogging for 2 miles. I burned 700 calories. This morning I had a breakfast burrito with two scrambled eggs, salsa, and guacamole for 350 calories. Yum!

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Plant Bliss

Self Plan

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:04:17 +0000

I do love magazines, I’m not gonna lie. I know the models are airbrushed and unrealistic, the information is regurgitated, but that doesn’t stop me from picking them up on occasion as a treat. I haven’t read Self in a really long time, and in a fit of needing inspiration I bought this, Health and Fitness when I was in WV the weekend before last. I do find inspiration in them, just having them around the house, in the bathroom (haha I know) or the coffee table, it’s like a reminder of what I’m doing. Where I want to be. Anyhow, the point of this is to share with you that the April issue of Self has (in my opinion) a really good and realistic weight loss plan. I’ve tried a lot of diets in my pre and post blog. Some that require counting calories or restricting carbs and they all work, it’s just about consistency and for me, the more down to earth it is, the more likely I am to stick with it. As soon as I decide I can’t have something for the sake of weight loss, that’s all I want. Even if I don’t really want it. The Drop 10 (and more, they talk about losing more weight) is pretty straightforward: 1,600 calories a day, with a 200 calorie treat a day that can be carried over to other days when you may need them more (like plus points with weight watchers), the only catch is that you can only stack 800 together at a time. So say, you are planning to go out for a celebration this coming weekend you can use up to 2,400 at one time and still lose weight. They also provide a daily exercise plan, recipes and a check off list to keep track of your progress. And for those wondering, I wasn’t paid or asked to promote this magazine or plan, I just really liked how simple and doable it is. I think having structure with the principles of Brain Over Binge (breaking bad habits) will be a winning combination. I’m traveling to WV again this weekend for a baby shower and plan to save some of my extra calories this week for that. Today’s breakfast: One Ezekiel cinnamon raisin english muffin with less than 1 T butter, 1 T cacao (cacao!) bliss and a cup of strawberries: 367 calories

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Self Plan

Me Vs. The Lawn

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:42:49 +0000

You know, I kind of love the idea of exercise that gets something done in the process. And that’s why this year (after two years of living in this house) I’ve taken on our yard work as my new chore. Usually we just pay someone to keep up with the fast-growing grass, but it’s kind of expensive. I have to tell you though that me and Josh are not “handy man” material. Computer people, yes, but not the do-it-yourself type. I’m convinced that keeping up with the yard myself will help me with my weight loss goals. I don’t know many overweight landscapers or gardeners, do you? Pushing this mower was hard work. There is one big hill on our lot and its crazy steep. I chose the push mower for a few reasons, 1. its old school and I’m always nostalgic for times I never belonged to 2. it’s harder than a gas or riding mower 3. it’s cheaper 4. it’s easier. I honestly can’t imagine me and josh purchasing and storing gas. The thought of going to the gas station and putting gas in a container and then figuring out how to put it in the mower without the fear of blowing myself or the house up and then finding a place for it, is just not going to happen. 5. it’s better for the environment. I did have the yard man do one round of mowing for me so that I could start fresh with short, easier to cut grass. I read a story recently about a woman who stays in shape by push mowing her lawn for an hour every day. I can believe it. I looked up the calories burned and it’s anywhere from 450 per hour (for an “average” size person) and closer to 800 for me. Not only will I be taking care of the grass, but I will be doing things like trimming these wild hedges. I’m not 100% sold on having bushes in front of the house, but I can’t think of anything better right now, and think they are fine for now. My other project is building a new walkway in front of the house which I started digging out last night. Digging is hard work! And I used the old heavy step stones like weights, doing sets above my head several times. This work makes me feel satisfied and happy in the strangest of ways. I love planning out my ideas for the yard and then getting my hands dirty and making them happen. This is such a foreign world to me. Growing up, my Dad took care of the yard and then after that I just lived in apartments where I had little more than a few potted plants. Today, I’m planning a special trip to the local green house to get more plants! Pinterest is helping me gather my inspiration. Want to see? My biggest inspiration is the yards I saw on the Venice Beach Canals in California. If you’ve ever been, you know what I’m talking about. It’s incredible what these people can do with a small space. Click Photo For Source Click Photo For Source Click Photo For Source Click Photo For Source Of course, I don’t have the California weather to support most of these plants, but I’m inspired by the arrangements more than anything. Ah, I will live there, if only for a month, once in my life! That would be a good time. If you’d like to see more of my outdoor inspiration in pinterest, you can view them here and here .

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Me Vs. The Lawn

Spring Cleaning

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:44:16 +0000

Happy Easter!! I bring this photo to you as a gift. It’s pretty cute, right? Please note the socks with sandals! There was a little packet of seeds sewn in a plastic pocket on the leg of this outfit. I remember wanting to get it out soo freakin’ bad! My mom’s note about this picture “I was so worried about your ears”. Luckily, I now have a large head to match. I’m spending Easter weekend with my family, which means I got to do some deep discount shopping at Gabriel Brothers (hello $4 cacique bra!), and a couple of slices of grape pie. Which reminds me… During our visit to Pies n’ Pints (in Charleston) me and Josh were seated, he was facing in towards me and I was facing out. Our waitress who could only see my husband’s very curly hair, but not his face, says to us “Can I get you ladies something to drink?” I laughed hard, like hand clapping, tears streaming down my face for a good five minutes. I’m laughing now as I type this. Bless him and his curly hair. This morning I’m making a pineapple upside down cake, either using this recipe or this one . This cake always seems so kitschy, 1950′s to me, which is even more reason to make it! Today I worked out a little personal “blogging manifesto”. I’ve had trouble blogging these past couple of weeks, a phase that I’ve encountered frequently in the past six years. Sometimes it means I’ve fallen off the ol’ wagon, while other times it just means I don’t know what to share. And lately it’s the latter. I’m doing good, very good in fact. Publicly announcing that I’m leaving obesity behind for my 30th birthday in a year is a lot of motivation for me. But sometimes I don’t know how to share my story. And then I realized that it’s because I still struggle with my voice and letting it shine no matter what other people think. I get a lot of emails from people asking me about blogging and sometimes I just don’t feel like I can give that kind of advice. But, from experience, I would say more than anything, do what feels right for you, not what you feel like you should do. I rarely get negative or preachy comments, but when I do they make me retreat. They sting because my blog is a part of me, and it reflects some small portion of who I am. If I showed everything, I don’t think I’d make it out alive. I’m sure I’d crawl in a hole and never come out again. What would people think if they knew I had an Arby’s sandwich on the road to WV? All that processed meat, white flour bun and *gasp* at a fast food restaurant!??! What would they think if they knew that I work in my pajamas and spend the day designing right on my couch? That I almost always have a sink full of dirty dishes? What will they say when I tell them that I never eat low-fat dairy? And in fact, I find it completely offensive and disgusting? That occasionally I choose white over wheat pasta? Or that I sometimes put too many toppings on my frozen yogurt? What would be left when I showed the truth, that looks so similar to the truth of other people , especially when people were seeking a higher ground with me? My blog is not a refuge or an escape. This is not the place for perfection or noble eating. I have no desire to “one-up” anyone with morals, ethical or clean eating. I try not to place my judgement on others, virtual or not because people and lives are more complex than any opinion I could ever dream up. I write all of this to say that, I’m giving myself permission to be whoever it is I choose to be today. To celebrate that person, her life and all of the happiness it holds every day. And I hope you will too. I’m giving myself permission to share my life virtually (and in real life) regardless of the words others bring to my little space on the internet. Regardless of what I assume they are thinking, but usually aren’t. There is nothing you can say to me that I don’t already know about myself. No bits of wisdom that I haven’t already lost sleep over. I won’t allow my blog to translate into my interactions with people in real-life, because the truth is, nobody is thinking that much about me. No one is losing sleep over my bad habits or inconsistencies. I’ve found myself heading down that path recently and it’s not pretty. This life is just too damn short to make apologies to other people for living a full life or making a lot of mistakes. Am I wrong? Anyway, that’s what the title “Spring Cleaning” means to me. Just celebrating my life and what I want to share and being proud of who I am and who I’m becoming. No apologies or justifications. My spring cleaning is about letting go of what I assume people are thinking about me. It’s about letting go of those who don’t want us to grow or change. Letting go of opinions or judgement. I always like to say that there is no one I admire who hasn’t had negative words thrown at them. And I’m so thankful they kept going anyway. That they didn’t give up on their mission or fall off their path because someone called them out or stamped them with their opinion. We’ve all been on both sides.

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Spring Cleaning

Collecting the Hours

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:51:50 +0000

When I’m not feeling well, my acceptable food list gets very narrow. This morning, I woke up with the worst migraine I’ve ever had. A migraine where light and the slightest movements hurt. Nausea was my only response to pain. Nine hours later and I’m feeling back to normal. I ended up eating a bowl of grapes in the bed this morning while sipping water. And then when the headache was gone, about 45 minutes ago, I ate two bowls of angel hair pasta very ravenously. This Seeds of Change sauce is so good: Pasta and sauce with feta was not on the meal plan for today, but I’m glad to be full and feeling better now. Dinner will be a salad and maybe some fish and I’m already looking forward to our evening walk/run. Time to make up for the missing morning hours.

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Collecting the Hours