the weight loss papers

Did you eat any Easter treats yesterday? I sure did! Not only did we get a couple of treats for the kids, my mom brought over a pound cake that was delicious. Yep, I had a piece and a couple of treats. My husband knows I like the Cadbury’s Mini Eggs A LOT so he got me a bag of them. I shared most of them with him and kids, though. In years past, I’d have eaten the whole bag myself - not all at once, though - but I wouldn’t have shared many of them.
I’ve said before that I think allowing yourself a couple of treats now and then is just as essential to weight loss as eating the right foods. If you don’t allow yourself a bit of wiggle room, you’ll fail more often than not. And probably crash a lot harder, too.

I like Easter - it marks the beginning of Spring and longer days which I really like. I like the decorations too. Cute little bunnies and chicks and brightly decorated eggs. Plus the kids always enjoy hunting for the eggs. Yesterday it rained, though, so we didn’t hide any but the kids didn’t seem to mind that.

We also had ham, potatoes, carrots, broccoli and rice. It was quite good! I threw everything into a dutch oven and cooked it at 250 in the oven for a couple of hours. Well, everything but the rice, that is. I cooked that in the rice cooker.

One of the highlights of my day was early yesterday morning - my 3 year old son came into our room when he woke up. My husband and I were laying there listening to the radio and I had forgotten my husband had taken him to get his hair cut Saturday afternoon. Almost didn’t recognize the little guy! He thought that was pretty funny and laughed at me for a while.

And then when grandma got to our house yesterday afternoon, she gave each of the kids a couple of candies. He then started racing around the house and as he got back to the kitchen where were standing, he began hopping. It couldn’t have been more on queue if he’d tried! Silly little guy!

Anyway, I hope your day was entertaining as ours and if you fudged a little on your food, don’t beat yourself up over it. Just get back on track today and remind yourself it’s all good.

Not sure what tips I’ll have in store for tomorrow but I hope come back soon anyway. Try subscribing to the RSS if you haven’t already. It’s a great way to stay up on the latest posts without having to check to see if there’s anything new.

Have a great afternoon!
Annie

Tags: Easter, food, fun, holidays, kids

One of the biggest things that has made a difference for me is ensuring that I drink enough water every day. Although the amount one should drink per day is disputed by doctors and other health experts, I’ve found that drinking at least four or five 32 oz water bottles full is about right for me. Personally I think it varies from person to person and what might be right for one, may not be right for someone else. So, experiment and see how you feel.

When I first started drinking that much daily, I went to the bathroom an awful lot! And this continued for a few days until my body got used to it. I also noticed that drinking bottled water did NOT help. I always went to the bathroom a million times a day no matter what. I eventually found out the bottled water isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

It wasn’t until we put a filter on our water line at home that I actually started feeling refreshed and hydrated and going to the bathroom less. I also noticed that my puffy ankles and stuff finally went away. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t retain water because you have TOO much, you retain it because you don’t have enough. And your body is trying to hang on to what it has.

This is the same thing with fat, actually - it’s the reason “starvation” mode diets don’t work. Your body hangs on to the fat because it thinks it’s’ not getting enough. The key is to eat regularly like I noted in some of posts previously - that’s why I started eating 5 small meals every day instead of the “normal” 3 that the FDA harps on.

Tomorrow I have a couple of recipes to share, one of which is my 10-grain bread recipe. I use a bread machine so if you don’t have one, you might have to adjust a few things but you’ll be glad you did because the 10 grain bread is delicious!

Bye for now,
Annie

Tags: food, health, water

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?

Tags: food, health, shopping

The past week has been a bit of a roller coaster. My husband was home on vacation, painting the house interior and such but 2 of the kids ended up ill so they were home as well. It was a bit hectic. As a result, I didn’t maintain my plan. Even so, I didn’t eat too badly but exercise - aside from helping paint an hour or two a day - was non-existent. Since the kids were home sick, I didn’t even get in my normal walking routine of before and after school.

Thankfully, I have a pretty routine grocery list I stick to so although I neglected to make a menu last week and my husband did the majority of the cooking, our meals were rather healthy. I just simply don’t buy junk to begin with (except the occasional cake or other sweet for someone’s birthday).

One of the things that helps, not only with eating right, but also on the food budget, is to make a shopping list. This is why creating a weekly menu is so beneficial - it makes writing out your shopping list ultra easy. It also helps cut down on buying junk especially if you follow a simple rule - if it’s not on the list, don’t buy it! Unless it’s something essential to your menu that you completely forgot to write in. However, this shouldn’t happen if you’re diligently following your menu for the week as your write your list out.

So, I’ll say it was a good week nonetheless.
I’ve got some cool recipes planned for later this week and tomorrow I plan to talk about some more tips that I’ve found useful. Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments. Don’t be shy!!

Let me know what you think - do you plan a menu? Use a shopping list? Why or why not?

To your health,

~ Annie

Tags: food, lists, plan, shopping

I apologize for being silent here this past week. My husband has been home on vacation, helping to paint the interior of the house and re-organize things. I spent a lot of time working on some of my other projects and totally neglected you! I am sorry!

But the good news is that I’ve decided to implement a new blogging schedule to help me stay on track and keep things organized over here. This is what I plan:

Monday - What I’m Doing - exercise, meals, and everything I’m doing to get in shape and stay healthy.

Tuesday - Tips. I’ll discuss healthy shopping ideas and other tips that I’ve found helpful and that I hope will be beneficial to you as well.

Wednesday - Fitness. This will be stuff I’ve learned over the years related to fitness and exercise, from how long one should exercise to general fits tips.

Thursday - Another shot of what I’m doing as well as what I plan to try.

Friday - Recipes and Cooking. I will post my favorite recipes, cooking tips, and thoughts on food, meal planning and all that good stuff.

Saturday/Sunday - General Stuff. I plan to change it up on weekends, maybe talk about some off-topic stuff.

So, that’s the plan for the blog. If there is something you would really like to see or have suggestions on what I should include, please feel free to post a comment. Like I said on my main blog, this isn’t just a site for me - it’s for you too and I care about what you think.

Get ready for tomorrow!

Speak soon!

Tags: ideas, outlook, plan, topics