In December I started trying to tweak my diet a bit. I knew that this was not the time of year to make any major changes because there would be too many cookies and treats around.  I read about The Flat Belly Diet and while I did not follow it directly, I did incorporate some of the key points into my diet. I added nuts, seeds, olives, and flax seed oil to my diet. These are the MUFAs that The Flat Belly Diet is built around.  Prevention magazine has a whole series on the Flat Belly Diet.

Self magazine has a whole jump start your diet and fiction section. It includes a workout from Jillian Micheals. Jillian Micheals is a trainer from The Biggest Loser television show and as a long time fan of the show, I can assure you that Jillian’s routines work. Her team has produced the winning contestant many times. Sign up for Self’s Jumpstart Challenge and you could win some great prizes, including a spa trip. 

Shape magazine has a lot of information available online. I picked up their special Shape: Make Over Your Body In 21 Days! issue. It’s full of menus and recipes and workouts and tips – a ton of information at your fingertips for only $4.99, much cheaper than the cost of any weight loss or diet book.

Michelle Smith blogs regularly at www.datingdames.com, www.thescentedlife.com, and www.veggiechic.com.

Post from: Blisstree

Flat Belly Diet and other customizations to a personal diet

Why’d I give up? Time — lack of it, really. No time to count my points, no time to cook healthy meals or plan ahead for lunch at work. I know that WW has a new Core program, which allows you to eat healthy without counting points — as long as you stay with a specific list of food. I have been a little skeptical of the Core program, for me at least, knowing that making the right food choices and using moderation are two of my biggest hurdles.

Well…as we get ready to head into a New Year, I’m thinking about trying out WW’s Core program as part of a “new me” resolution. Week after week I see that people find this blog by doing searches for the printable weight loss journals. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t even know what those are. It also makes me think there are WAY more people currently on Weight Watchers than I realized.

I do know that WW is most often recommended by doctors, and for good reason. Weight Watchers is based on sound nutrition, gradual addition of exercise into your lifestyle, and their program even attacks the psychological side of things. I’m not really in a position where I want to pay for meetings when I know literally NOBODY in this town (not to mention that I’m moving in February), but I do have all the WW materials up until Week 4.

What do you think? Should I give it a go? Are you on Weight Watchers…or on their maintenance plan? Would you follow this blog more often if I joined a program like WW and tracked my progress?

 I really want to hear your thoughts!

Post from: Blisstree

Weight Watchers: Are You With the Program?

For a few months now I have given you lots of weight loss tips and shared some disturbing and interesting videos and tidbits with you. It has occurred to me that I haven’t yet asked what is on your mind. So I’m opening the floor to you this weekend.

• What questions do you have about losing weight?
• What kinds of articles would you like to read here at Weighting Line?
• What do you find most challenging about losing weight and living healthy?
• How can I help encourage you on your weight loss journey?

Post from: Blisstree

What’s On Your Mind?

by Susan Daffron

Image: stock.xchng

Many people struggle with weight issues. I know that personally, I spent most of high school and college fretting about it. Yet I still gained weight. After I graduated, it seemed like every year, I gained a pound or two that just wouldn’t go away. By my late 20s, the pounds were adding up.

Everything changed when my husband and I became vegan back in 1994. I lost the 10-15 pounds that had accumulated, and he lost 20 or 25. I didn’t really know it at the time, but one advantage of being vegan most people don’t talk about is that you can eat a lot of food and not gain weight. In fact, many people lose weight when they switch to a vegan diet. I know I did. But probably the best thing is that I honestly can say that I never think about my weight anymore. All those years of obsessing about “being fat” in high school and college are gone.

The other misconception people seem to have is that veganism involves a life of depressing deprivation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I really LIKE to eat and I like good food. My husband and I eat better now than we ever have and really enjoy our meals.

Last night for example, I improvised an oriental veggie and tempeh meal that I served over rice. That was followed up by some strawberry rhubarb pie that I made over the weekend. It was all vegan, and all mighty tasty, particularly considering it was a quick throw-it-together Monday night meal.

Neither of my husband nor I are chefs, but we got so many compliments on our meals from people who visited our home, that we started writing stuff down. The result is a cookbook called Vegan Success: Scrumptious Healthy Vegan Recipes for Busy People.

Vegan Success serves up a bunch of easy, vegan recipes that anyone can make even after a long day at work. The recipes have no complex techniques or obscure ingredients. Many can be made from ingredients you already have sitting in your refrigerator or pantry.

The reality is that vegan cooking doesn’t have to be “weird” or unappetizing. In fact, a lot of tasty meals are vegan, even though most people don’t think about it. Simply incorporating a few vegan meals into the mix can help you lose weight. Plus, you might even save money on groceries, since vegan meals generally involve fresh ingredients from the produce aisle, instead of more expensive packaged goods.

At this time of year, including more fresh veggies into your diet is a great opportunity to take advantage of locally grown produce at farmers markets, too.

About Susan Daffron
Susan Daffron is the author of Vegan Success: Scrumptious, Healthy Vegan Recipes for Busy People, two books on caring for pets that have been adopted from animal shelters, and six other titles. She is also the Founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals, a membership organization that provides tools and information for those working to save homeless pets.

Image: Susan Daffron

Post from: Blisstree

Vegan Weight Loss

by Suzanne Monroe, Food Coach, Real Life Food

Do you anyone who is not busy these days? It’s literally impossible to find someone who says they have extra time on their hands anymore. While your life might be in high-gear, don’t let your food keep up the same pace. Many people try to eat healthy at home, but when they’re on the road, any thoughts about making a healthy choice are thrown out the passenger seat window. Avoid these common pitfalls when you’re living and dining on-the-go:

Mistake #1 – Failing to Plan

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not planning ahead. You know the old adage “failing to plan is planning to fail.” When it comes to eating on-the-go, the same rule applies. Knowing what you are going to eat at least 24 hours in advance will keep you from entering an “emergency hunger” state. You’ve been there before: you’ve gone hours without eating and suddenly you need food fast – so you reach for fast food.

When an “emergency hunger” state hits, most anything goes, and food becomes an object of your obsession. In these moments, you are more likely to choose the quickest option to cure your starvation, which can equal highly processed food full of unwanted ingredients.

Make time to plan ahead each week. I like to dedicate 30 minutes on a Saturday afternoon to planning what I will eat during the week ahead. I may plan in certain days for eating out and others for eating in, but I always know where my next meals are coming from.

Mistake #2 – Calorie counting

Most of us think calorie counting is the best way to limit our food intake. Don’t get me wrong, reading labels is a good idea, but solely choosing a snack based on its calorie content is an outdated method of eating. Calorie counting leads us to choose low-fat products full of sugar or worse yet, artificial sweeteners. Keep in mind, the longer the label, the worse it usually is.

Instead of nutritional number crunching, focus on eating for energy. Ask yourself, will this satisfy me for more than an hour? How much energy will I get from this snack or meal? Clearly a handful of almonds will give you more energy than a bag of fat free pretzels.

Mistake #3 – Confusing a snack as a meal

Eating on-the-go may mean eating smaller meals, more frequently. It’s important to differentiate between a snack and a meal substitute. A snack is usually one item, something that will tide you over in between meals. A meal substitute is more like a mini meal. It is larger than a snack and may substitute as a meal on-the-go until you arrive at your next destination.

Eating many snacks may not satisfy you, as you can easily skip some important nutrients. Mini meals can provide energy and satiate you, but should be chosen wisely. You want to make sure you are getting in essential energy boosters like protein, healthy fats, and whole grains. These are the foods that will give make your mini meal go much farther than your taste buds.

Try these mini meals for long-lasting energy: a fruit smoothie made with nut butter and yogurt, healthy food bars without added sugar, a hard-boiled egg, veggie sticks with humus, whole grain crackers with cheese, or yogurt with granola and nuts.

Mistake #4 – Leaving Veggies Out

We’re supposed to get in nine servings of fruits and veggies per day. Most Americans are hovering at about 2.5. Fruits and vegetables are antioxidant powerhouses, so make sure to include them as often as possible.

Eating fruits and vegetables on-the-go are actually the fastest of fast foods. There’s not much to crunching into an apple, peeling an orange or even tossing a salad with your favorite dressing. There’s no cooking involved, yet on-the-goers tend to skimp on the fruits and veggies. Bring some veggies sticks along for the ride or find stores that carry grab ’n go salads.

Learning the tricks of the trade of eating on-the-go is essential for staying healthy and losing those extra pounds. With a little planning and prep, you’ll be eating healthy in no time.

For more information on Healthy Eating On-the-Go, visit http://www.reallifefood.com/DoItYourselfCourse.html.

About Suzanne Monroe
Suzanne Monroe is a Food Coach and certified holistic health counselor. Her company, Real Life Food, helps busy people finally answer the question, What do I eat? For a free report on Eating for Energy, visit www.reallifefood.com.

Images: stock.xchng & Suzanne Monroe

Post from: Blisstree

Natural Weight Loss On-the-Go

I try to keep an open mind about many things. I don’t like to go off too far into left field, but I am almost always willing to try something new if I think it will benefit me in some way. EFT is one of these things that I am willing to give a try, if for nothing else, than just to see if it works or not.

Here is the video that captured my attention:

More articles and information on EFT to follow.

ROUNDTABLE

• What do you already know about EFT?
• Have you used EFT before? If so, what has been your experience?
• If you didn’t already know about EFT, are you interested in it now that you’ve watched the video?

Post from: Blisstree

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

Do you have a healthy weight loss story you’d like to share? Weighting Line wants you to tell your story!

• Did you have an AHA! moment that motivated you to lose the weight?
• Did you have serious health issues that resolved themselves after you lost weight?
• Did emotional eating ruin your life?
• Have you been a yo-yo dieter, but finally found the weight loss solution to keep the weight off?
• Did your weight loss surgery fail?

If you would like to share your story here on Weighting Line, contact me (Hope) at hope.wilbanks@b5media.com.

Photo: stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

What’s Your Weight Loss Story?

I’ve been reading up on Johnson’s UpDay DownDay, also referred to as JUDDD or Alternate Day Diet. I’ve never been one to try “sucker” fad diets. But I don’t believe this can be categorized as such, and I’m thinking this one could really work.

Much like Weight Watchers, JUDDD focuses on healthy nutrition and not just a diet plan to follow, whereby you can only eat specific foods. The plan is just as the name suggests: On the “up day” (UD) you can eat as many calories as you want, within reason. You can’t stuff yourself, or binge. On the “down day” (DD) you eat a very limited number of calories.

Your caloric intake on both days is calculated according to several things like your gender, weight, height, age, activity level, and restriction percentage. Most seasoned experts who have used the JUDDD method to lose weight and keep it off highly recommend sticking to a 500/2,000 caloric intake. (500 calories on DD, 2,000 on UD)

There seem to be many proven health benefits with this diet, like reducing or eradicating asthma and controlling diabetes. In addition, the website states:

“We have observed a consistent, measurable dramatic increase in energy level which is noticeable within 7-10 days which peaks around three weeks on the diet.”

Once you reach your goal weight, maintenance requires a 50% to 60% restriction of calories.

Roundtable:

• Have you heard of the JUDDD diet?
• Do you think JUDDD is healthy?
• Have you ever used a calorie-restricted diet plan to lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight?

Post from: Blisstree

Losing Weight With Something New

According to Trudeau, daily injections of the HCG hormone produces a pregnancy-like state in your body. Recipients of the HCG hormone claim they’ve never felt better and are shedding pounds every day.

ABC 4, in Salt Lake City, Utah, investigated this story and reported today as follows:

Dr. Mark Gibson is the chief endocrinologist at the University of Utah’s Center for Reproductive Medicine. He said there is a reason the procedure is not FDA approved — because it doesn’t work.

“Scam is the word that comes to mind. The belief is that, which is false, if you diet to lose weight the HCG can make the diet work better, make your hunger less and make your weight loss greater, but there is no evidence that that is true,” said Gibson. He added, “Any curbing of appetite that’s been reported is almost certainly a placebo effect.”

There’s a catch to this weird weight loss scheme–you pretty much starve yourself. Participants are restricted to a 500 calorie diet. Well, I guess if I cut my caloric intake to 500 per day I’d be shedding weight fast, too!

Here’s an interesting tidbit about Mr. Trudeau: He has a criminal history. Wikipedia has quite an informative page about his past, including an MLM scheme that cost him a settlement with Illinois and other states.

This story just stinks to high heaven with me. What do you think?

• Would you take HCG injections to lose weight?
• Do you think the HCG injections dangerous?
• Are the HCG injections causing weight loss, or the restricted diet?

Click here to read the full story from ABC 4.

Image: stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

Pregnancy Hormone Injections For Weight Loss

FYI: Currently there are two “bands” approved in the United States. The Lap Band, and the Realize Band (formerly known as the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band). There is not too much difference between the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB) and the (regular) Lap band. The way I simplify it for most people is I tell them one is a Honda and the other is a Toyota.

Here is brief band history of the two.

In 1985, the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB) was released within Scandinavian countries, but it was not done laparoscopic. In 1992, the SAGB was tested to be implemented using laparoscopic techniques in Switzerland, Italy and Germany. In 1993, The BioEnterics company released the LAP-BAND (Adjustable Gastric Banding System), and was quickly FDA approved. In 1994 the SAGB was done through-out Europe.

Around 2004, Johnson and Johnson began working in conjunction with the SAGB parent company. In 2007, the FDA finally approved of the SAGB – which by then was renamed by J & J to the Realize Band. My research showed there were fewer issues with the SAGB then with the Lap-Band (i.e. port inversion, inflammation, etc).

Post from: Blisstree

Casola’s Final Thoughts On Banding Surgery