the weight loss papers

Well, hello! Long time, no speak. I’ve had sick kids - one with allergy and sinus problems, one with a toothache, one with a stomach flu and a pre-schooler with a serious case of attitude. And I have had another sinus infection (allergy related, too).

Anyway, I wanted to briefly update my plan and talk about some things I’ve been doing lately that I’m really liking a lot. The last few times I posted, I mentioned Blended Salads and I’m still drinking those - I really like them and I can even get my husband to drink them. That’s always a bonus. I’ve found, though, that although I love avocados, I don’t really like them in the blended salad.

My favorite blended salad is a couple handfuls of 50/50 Spring Mix (lettuce variety with spinach) and a handful of extra Baby Spinach blended with 12 oz of water, 2 tablespoons of flaxseed, 2-3 cloves of garlic, and a splash of fresh lemon juice.

I like to drink the blended salad in the afternoon and I’ve been making a quart size container of it which lasts 2-3 days in the refrigerator and still tastes fresh and great.

Now, breakfast is the hardest meal for me because I’m either allergic to, or just plain don’t like a lot of traditional breakfast foods. It’s one of my biggest struggles food-wise - what to eat for breakfast. I’d just as soon not eat it at all. However, skipping meals is not a good idea especially for a person intent on losing weight and maintaining it.

So, in the mornings, I’ve been drinking a fruit-berry smoothie - once at breakfast and then again for mid-morning snack. My favorite blend is 1/2 cup of raspberries, a medium banana, 1/2 cup of mangos and about 20 oz of water. It makes a couple of 10-12 oz servings. (Make sure to cut the banana up into 1-2 inch chunks for easy blending.)

I love oranges but I’m allergic to them so I can’t eat them. But I’ve been adding some extra fiber to my meal plan (and some orange flavor) by using an orange-flavored, powdered fiber supplement (like Metamucil). Sometimes I add it to my morning smoothie and sometimes I just drink a glassful mixed as per the package directions. I also generally have a slice of a good whole grain or oat bread with the smoothie.

You know, I’m the kind of person who could pretty much eat the same things day in and day out and not get tired of them. But part of a good, healthy eating plan includes a variety of foods and combinations of foods. Lunch is one of the things I have the hardest time with in getting a good variety because I don’t really like to eat sandwiches and such. As a result, I often eat soup - lentil, black bean, split pea or tomato. Sometimes I will eat beef stew or chicken noodle or some other variety.

Sometimes I’ll have a blended salad or tuna on whole wheat pita bread with a little spinach and fresh tomatoes for lunch. That’s pretty good. I don’t put anything on my tuna other than sometimes a bit of mustard or some roasted red pepper vinaigrette. I also have some tomato basil vinaigrette that’s very good on with tuna or I’ll put my tuna in some lemon spinach couscous.

One of my favorite dinners is a plate with a couple handfuls of baby spinach, some green beans, a couple tablespoons of chickpeas, some diced tomatoes, a couple minced cloves of garlic and a splash of tomato basil vinaigrette. I briefly warm the spinach, green beans and chickpeas in the microwave (just enough to begin to wilt the spinach - 45 seconds or so and warm the beans) and then add the rest. Once in a while, I’ll crumble a bit of feta cheese on top or add some chicken breast pieces.

Other vegetables I really enjoy are broccoli, zucchini, carrots and peas. I’ll often stir fry them with some peppers and onions and put them over warmed spinach with a baked salmon filet. Very good. Salmon also tastes great with couscous.

When I follow the six small meals per day plan, I don’t get hungry and I don’t have to eat as much. I think that’s where most people have the problems - they let themselves get too hungry. And I know when I do that, I have a greater tendency to load up on things like rice or bread and stuff like that or to eat things like sweets or quick boxed meals. I think the biggest key is to eat enough to feel satisfied throughout the day. It also helps keep metabolism up and thus burns more calories.

And lastly, I continue to exercise. Now, I’ll admit I haven’t been working out in the mornings. Since I got sick back February, I just can’t get up that early. I’ve never been a morning person and I think trying to push myself to be one, really was more harmful than good and is what lead me to getting sick in the first place. So, I haven’t been working out in the morning - other than my daily walk (1.5 miles in the morning and 1.5 miles in the afternoon) - and I still need to find a good time to get that in. Once I get the kids up for school, though, everything becomes a rush and I find it’s lunch time or after school before I have a chance to even think about working out.

I might have to get the little kids settled into an activity when we get back from walking the kids to school and do it then. That might just work. The key will be finding something to the occupy them long enough to get a good workout. I like to aim for 20 minutes at the least and 30-40 at the most so if you’ve ever been around pre-school age children, you know finding something for them to do for that length of time can be quite the challenge!

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough for now. I hope you haven’t gotten bored!

See you next time, (hopefully tomorrow)

As I mentioned in the post on candida, I planned to try the suggestions made by the article I read and then Steve from Gold Flax Seed posted a tip in the comments about flax seed so I think I’ll try that as well. I do take an Omega 3 fish oil supplement already but I’m wondering if I should up that dosage or just add the flax seed. Will research that.

I generally eat Bob’s Red Mill’s 7-Grain Cereal for breakfast and it does already have some flax seed in it. I could likely add a bit more - a tablespoon, perhaps? - and that would increase the Omega 3 also.

As for the veggie juice, I’ve been drinking about 3 glasses a day for the past few days of the Isagenix HealthyGreens. It’s got kind of a licorice flavor which is ok but it can be overwhelming sometimes. Still not real sure if it’s helping yet. I’m sure it’ll take the full 10 days that is recommended in the info I found last week.

Also been eating/drinking tomato soup prepared with water. It’s also an Isagenix product that I had sitting around. It doesn’t taste that great so I only mix in one scoop instead of two as directed but it does taste considerably better that way. Add a little cayanne pepper for an added kick.

Speaking of cayenne pepper - have you ever followed the lemon juice cleanse? I don’t, but I do drink the lemon juice (using the recipe in the Detox Diet by Elson Hass) with a bit of cayenne once a day. It actually tastes pretty good.

If you have followed the cleanse, let me know what you think of it and if it helped you any. I’ve heard mixed responses.

Til next time,

~ Annie

It’s been my experience that shopping is often the bane of weight loss and healthy eating. There’s so much junk out there, it’s difficult to shop efficiently and effectively. And I’m sorry to say, you can’t always trust what the FDA says about whether or not something is good for you, either.

Shopping is one of my biggest challenges. Over the years, I’ve learned to be diligent in checking food labels, keeping up to date on what “filler” ingredients are harmful and which ones to steer clear of. I’ve learned to buy organic and natural foods as much as possible.

You probably know that food affects your waistline, but did you know that food affects your mental health as well? Studies have shown that children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD do much better when they follow a diet that eliminates processed foods, sugars (including high fructose corn syrup) and foods with naturally high sugar contents (like apples and apple juice). If this is true for such children, wouldn’t it be possible that it’s true for adults?

And studies have shown that people are getting heavier a lot younger than they used to as well as that diabetes is growing rapidly - even in children. Do you think all of these things could be related?
Frankly, I wouldn’t doubt it. How could they not be? This means that it’s in your best interest to not only watch the carbs, the fats, the calories and such but also pay attention to ingredients, specifically fillers like high fructose corn syrup, “natural flavors” and additives like MSG.

I don’t always buy organic or natural foods but I do try to balance those with other things I’m buying. I do not buy soda and other sugary drinks, chips, candies, donuts, ice cream or other treats and I seriously watch ingredients in things that one would think would be good for you or at least things that aren’t generally considered junk - bread, cheese, oatmeal and some convenience foods. Often, these are laden with exactly the stuff we’re trying to stay away from.

Paying attention to organic and natural foods is critical too. Not all of them are what they claim to be. In fact, did you know that many of the products touted as organic or natural are owned by parent companies like Coca Cola and others? What do you really think goes into those so-called “natural” products? How are they processed? Are they processed in the same facilities where the “junk” food is produced? It’s possible, I’m sure.

One of my favorite natural brands in Bob’s Red Mill. They have all kinds of grains from quinoa to couscous to 10 grain cereal. Flour like wheat, gluten free, rice flour and many others. Their line of products is pretty broad and I can usually find something equivalent to other brands. (I’ll post my modified version of their 10 grain bread later this week. It’s very tasty!)

I also tend to buy products aimed at the vegetarian market because they often have less filler ingredients and crap in them than their counterparts.

What is your experience with shopping? Do you find it difficult to shop well?

Mindset plays such a huge part in the success of ones life in everything and maybe even more so in weight loss. So, let’s talk about a weight loss mindset.

Now, in the past year and a half, there has been A LOT of hype about the law of attraction due mostly to the documentary movie “The Secret.” While the movie has some good basis and merit (and I do like it), it’s not the end-all, be-all that some would claim.

Mindset is much bigger than just the law of attraction. It encompasses more than simply asking, believing and receiving. One must do some work. Take action. You can’t just sit on your rear end and expect change to occur. Certainly visualization and focus are imperative to the whole process, but they alone aren’t enough.

It’s a lifestyle I’m talking about. And includes healthy eating habits, healthy mind habits, healthy spiritual habits and more. All areas of your life must be in congruence, in alignment. Having one thing out whack will make your efforts lopsided. They’ll be hit or miss and inconsistent.

Your mindset is what helps bring everything else together. Just like you can’t eat junk food all the time and expect to be healthy, you can’t put garbage in your mind and expect your life to be the way you want it. You can’t not brush your teeth and expect them not to all fall out eventually. It simply doesn’t work that way.

I’ve done an experiment on myself and my results using LOA for the past 6 months or so. And I’ve come to the conclusion that it does matter. It does make a difference and it does work. However, there are some huge misconceptions and important pieces left out of “The Secret.” (That, however, is a post for another time and for my main blog.)

But I do believe one can use the law of the attraction to lose weight.

Yes, I do eat healthy. Yes, I do exercise. And yes, I do use The Secret. All of these things have helped me lose over 80 pounds in the past year. I still have 50 to go before I’m at the weight I really desire - which is about what I weighed at age 18 - 110 pounds.

Every day I visualize myself at the weight I want to be. I spend a few minutes imagining that and thinking about what it feels like to be so healthy and in alignment with myself.

I am not an LOA expert by any means but I do know it has worked for me. I highly recommend anything written by Esther Hicks and also by Bob Proctor if you want to learn more about it and put it to use in your own weight loss mission.

Until next time,
~ Annie

For past few weeks I’ve had a very bad sinus infection and haven’t felt much like doing anything. The medicines I tried didn’t help relieve the pressure, congestion or pain I’d been feeling. And if you know me, you know I don’t take commercial medicine unless it’s absolutely necessary.

I have not done well sticking to my daily plan as a result of feeling poorly. Nothing tasted good. I was nauseous from the gunk going down the back of my throat and I just plain didn’t feeling like eating much. The good news is that I did manage to still eat more healthy foods when I did eat and take my daily vitamins.

Though not quite normal, I am finally feeling a lot better. Which is nice and I’m very happy about because I was thinking of resorting to seeing a doctor. And because it’s supposed to be somewhat sunny this weekend. The weather is finally getting a bit warmer and I’d like to spend some time outside.

My intention is to get back on my plan. Although I’ve done fairly well eating good foods, I haven’t stuck to my 5 mini meal plan nor done much exercising (besides walking) since I got sick. That will change here as I continue to feel better and better. By Monday, I should be back on track.

I really think my plan is working too. My clothes continue to fit differently and in fact, I think I’m going to have to buy some new pants soon! That, or a belt.

Bottom line - you CAN find ways to eat healthy even when you don’t feel well. In fact, it’s MORE important than at any other time that you do eat good food when you’re sick. Since getting plenty of vitamins is essential for your body, it’s a good idea to eat the foods that will help replenish your body and help you get well.

Eat right, get plenty of rest, drink as much liquids as you can, take some supplements like Vitamin C and Zinc and you will be on the road to wellness.

~ Annie