3 Important Weight Loss Tips

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So for the last month and a half I have been off the wagon a bit.  Although we had lots of birthdays and events in my family this is no excuse to slack off when you have as much weight … Continue reading →

Goat Cheese Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Plantain Chips

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This is a recipe I came up with myself based on other recipes on the internet for Paleo and Vegan versions. I am not full Paleo, I eat goat cheeses and yogurt.   For this reason I couldn’t really classify … Continue reading →

The 7 Foods I Eat Every Day and I’m Smaller For It

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kişisel resim Ελληνικά: κηρήθρα

kişisel resim Ελληνικά: κηρήθρα (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

There is no real fast fix for major weight loss. That’s just the way it is. It took me 25 years to put so much fat on my body I could hardly walk.  The truth is that it will take time, probably a couple years for me to lose all of my excess weight.  I’m fine with that because even though it is small amounts, waking up every day a little smaller than I was before is such an incredible feeling and I know I will be able to keep it off due to the slow rate.  Although I have fought and clawed for every single pound of weight loss I have achieved, I have noticed some foods (in addition to avoiding processed foods) that are showing up regularly in my diet  I’m pretty sure they are helping.

 

1. HONEY

 

Raw, local, regular, whatever, any kind of honey I buy seems to be helping. I barely measure it too.  I measure the honey I put in my tea, but the honey on my sweet potato for instance, I just pour until it looks right to me 🙂 Check out this site for more info on the amazing benefits of honey and even how they claim you can lose weight in your sleep by eating honey at night! I hope it’s true!

2. GOAT CHEESE

I LOVE goat cheese and yogurt.  I could have never dreamed that finding out I was allergic to casein would be such good news for me. An excuse to eat ONLY goat cheese! No problem! I use crumbled, soft chevre, goat cheddar and goat mozzarella.  So do my husband and kids. Turns out it’s actually good for you too.  Check this article for more info on the health benefits of goat cheeses.

3. RAW SPINACH

I buy Organic Girl Baby Spinach in bulk at BJ’s. and we use two giant containers of it a week.  It is used for salads, smoothies and cooking. Spinach is one of the most vitamin and nutrient-rich foods you can eat, look at this article! Happy dance!!!

4. AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR

When I started eliminating processed foods from our diet, I found out that even salad dressings had tons of processed and chemical ingredients. I was the kind of girl that couldn’t eat a vegetable unless it was drowned in ranch dressing!  This made salads a very boring and sad food choice for me.  Until I discovered the joy of a good organic aged balsamic vinegar and equally quality olive oil!  I make my own balsamic dressing that is just 50/50 vinegar and olive oil each week and put it into a squirt bottle and keep it on hand for salads and marinades all week. I love the stuff! Check out this article about olive oil benefits and this one on balsamic vinegar.

5. ONIONS

I buy tons of onions. Whatever is on sale for $1.99/bag comes home with me. We eat them every single day. I put them in so much.  Turns out they are great for you too! Not only are they good for you, but they make almost every food taste better.  Okay, I wouldn’t add them to dessert or a smoothie!

6. FRUIT

I have heard lots of people say eat fruit, but be careful not to eat too much.  Hoopla I say! I eat at least 3 servings of fruit a day in addition to vegetables.  They are an absolute staple in my home and without them I’d have very unhappy kids!  Here’s a great article from Harvard on the subject.

7. WATER

No brainer on this one.  Check out this Web MD article on why it’s so good for you.

 

I have lost 32 lbs since December 5, 2012.  I’m happier and healthier.

 

 

 

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A Good Look In The Mirror

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It’s no secret that eating too much food, especially the wrong kinds of  foods (the ones I’m speaking of actually are not food) and a sedentary lifestyle can get you a gargantuan body.  Another huge factor in weight gain, one that isn’t talked about much and really does the most damage is denial.  This past week I realized I am an expert at it.

I started getting chubby when I was 7.  I became extremely self-conscious and began to dress in ways that covered up every nook and cranny of my body.  I was 120 lbs in 5th grade.  Although I was a bit larger than the other kids, my parents had raised me well enough to know I was a complex person and that there are many ways people are beautiful.  I knew my hair was nice, I was pleasant-looking  enough and had a good personality.  These things were on my mind most of the time when I thought about myself, even until recently.

However, underneath it all I was keeping a secret from myself.  I just found out about it recently. I had never really assessed myself physically.  I had never allowed myself to notice just how big I was.  I never let myself look lower than my neck in the bathroom mirror.  I was downright angry when people took pictures of my whole body and even would be quite blunt about them not doing it in the first place.  I was lying to myself and I wasn’t going to have anyone mess that up with an unflattering picture. I was so deep in the lie that every time I had begun to lose weight, I would stop around my 10% mark and think “okay great, you obviously look great now, you can go ahead and take it easy on eating right”. What a LIE!

Last week I reached my 10%.  I still felt really fat.  I looked at my body in the mirror.  Really looked at it in the mirror.  All the way around and seeing it for what it is.  Not what I wish it was.  Not focusing on the things I like about it.  Just seeing it. I was surprised to notice that I am still really big.  I shared with my husband how upset I was about what I saw.  I’m blessed to have a husband that truly loves me the way that I am and he offered words of encouragement that kept me from breaking down completely.  But the sad truth is, I’m VERY overweight and I need to keep going.

I have lived the last 25 years only trying to look at the good things about myself and pushing the truth about my body away.  This is not a pity party.  This is me knowing I need to go all the way.  I will not be satisfied until I am a normal and healthy weight.  Sometimes it’s so hard to really look at yourself and see the truth.  I am happy for the awakening and am sure this is my last time ever trying to lose this weight.  I’m just so done with being big.

 

Higher calories on Paleo Diet=Significant weight loss this week!

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Secret to my weight loss success, berry smoothie

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Food Journaling saves the day!

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This is me in April 2011. I am my biggest here. I can't even say the number out loud, it's so high.

This is me in April 2011. I am my biggest here. I can’t even say the number out loud, it’s so high.

This was taken Feb 16, 2013. at least 30 lbs lighter than the first pic.

Feb 16, 2013, nearly 30 lbs lighter than I was in the first pic.

I’m going on 3 months of changing over to a more healthy lifestyle.  The shock has worn off and I love living this way.  I feel better every single day.  However, I haven’t lost weight in at least two weeks.  I keep fluctuating up and down about the same 6 lbs.  This is with a whole foods mostly PALEO diet and regular vigorous exercise and light weight training.  The weight started coming off quickly in the first two months, now I seem to be at a dead stand still. I’m ready to pull my hair out!!!

Now the question is, how do I jump-start my weight loss again? Thank God I kept a food journal on my “My Net Diary” app on my phone because now I can go back in and see what I was doing to lose the first large amount of weight and do that exact thing again.  Sometimes I will eat the same meals for two or three weeks, then I’ll find some new recipe or two or three of them and then my diet shifts again.  Something I am eating now, or maybe not eating is keeping me from losing.  I just know it!

So today, I will do my exercise, and I will fully evaluate my food behaviors to get this party started again.  I do have to give myself some props here.  Number 1 for tracking my food, I feel relieved to know I can go back in and see what worked for me.  Number 2 that I didn’t just give up at this point and go back to my old ways! Finally Number 3 because my mind is really changed! I will never go back to an unhealthy lifestyle and I am so happy to say that, once and for all!