Lets get real about ourselves!

I wrote previously about the challenge of motivating others to make changes in their lives.  I stated that we need to recognize that there is a problem in the first place.  This study emphasises that we are NOT seeing ourselves in a true light.  We either beat ourselves up unjustly or think we are just fine when we are not. 

I do know that I am overweight right now so I am on the right path.  On a good note I have lost more than five pounds since starting my new job.  I am much happier.  I'm sleeping more and I am more active.  I have yet to workout on a regular basis yet but I am taking baby steps to get their.  I have been taking the stairs and I am parking on higher levels in the parking garage just to add another flight of stairs.  My next step is to get up in the morning.  I believe that I will be able to do this by next week as I am figuring out how to run my life on this new schedule. 

Read the article and ask yourself if you are seeing yourself correctly or do you need to look again?

1 in 4 Overweight Women Think They're Normal Size: Study


MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Almost one-quarter of young women who are overweight actually perceive themselves as being normal weight, while a sizable minority (16 percent) of women at normal body weight actually fret that they're too fat, according to a new study.



The study found these misperceptions to be often correlated with race: Black and Hispanic women were much more likely to play down their overweight status compared with whites, who were more apt to worry that they weighed too much (even when they didn't).



Although the study looked mostly at low-income women attending public-health clinics in Texas, the findings do mirror other studies in different populations, including a recent Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.



That survey found that 30 percent of adult Americans in the "overweight" class believed they were actually normal size, while 70 percent of those classified as obese felt they were simply overweight. Among the heaviest group, the morbidly obese, 39 percent considered themselves merely overweight.



The problem, according to study lead author Mahbubur Rahman, is the "fattening of America," meaning that for some women, being overweight has become the norm.



"If you go somewhere, you see all the overweight people that think they are normal even though they're overweight," said Rahman, who is assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMBG).



In fact, "they may even be overweight or normal-weight and think they are quite small compared to others," added study senior author Dr. Abbey Berenson, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health at UTMBG.



The new findings are published in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.



The study looked at more than 2,200 women who had arrived at a public-health clinic for reproductive assistance, such as obtaining contraceptives.



According to the study authors, more than half of these reproductive-age women (20 to 39 years), who were the subject of this trial, were above a normal body mass index (BMI). An even higher proportion of black Americans (82 percent) and Mexican Americans (75 percent) were overweight or obese.



Women were classified into one of four groups: "overweight misperceivers," meaning overweight women who thought they were normal-weight or even underweight; "overweight actual perceivers," who accurately perceived their size; "normal-weight misperceivers" who worried they were too heavy; and "normal-weight actual perceivers," meaning those whose perceptions were in sync with the weigh-scale.



According to the study, 23 percent of overweight women saw themselves as being smaller than they were, while 16 percent of normal-weight women worried they were too big.



Race seemed to play a role in self-perceived weight. Among overweight women, 28 percent of blacks and about 25 percent of Hispanics considered their weight within the normal range, compared to 15 percent of overweight white women. The trend was the opposite among normal-weight women, with more whites (16 percent) believing they were fat, compared to just 7 percent of blacks.



Women who had more education and surfed the Internet were more likely to be in tune with their actual body size, the researchers said.



Mistaken notions of one's weight status can have implications for behavior, and perhaps health, the researchers noted. For example, women who were overweight but thought they were normal size were less likely to try to lose any excess weight by dieting or other means. On the other hand, women who saw themselves as fatter than they were, were more likely to use diet pills or diuretics, to induce vomiting or to smoke cigarettes, often as ways to control or lessen their weight.



"Unfortunately, women can't do anything to lose weight if they don't perceive themselves as overweight. It does start there," said Keri Gans, a registered dietician based in New York City and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "If they don't perceive themselves as overweight, they're not going to adopt healthy behaviors to lose weight and prevent disease. Meanwhile, the normal-weight people who don't recognize they're at normal weight are engaging in behaviors that put them at risk for illness."



Women need to be aware of what "normal" actually is, in terms of numbers. And weighing yourself isn't the only way, and may not even be the best way, to monitor creeping weight gain, Gans said.



"I don't think the only way to maintain body weight is to weigh yourself," she said. "You know when your pants are too tight. You don't need a number to tell you that."



More information



To check your BMI



SOURCES: Mahbubur Rahman, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Abbey B. Berenson, M.D., director, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Keri Gans, R.D., spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association; December 2010, Obstetrics & Gynecology



Published: 11/22/2010



Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved

Fidgit to lose weight

I read this article years ago about a link between fidgeting and being thinner.  I am a huge fidgeter (I don't think this is a word but I am going to use it anyway) myself and often annoy those around me (sorry in advance).  Once I read this article I know I had ammunition to keep fidgeting.  One of the reasons this works is because you are moving! The concept that moving more causes us to burn more calories is not new.  What is interesting is that the hormone Bsx was higher in mice that fidgeted.  This hormone is supposed to help us regulate when we are hungry.  I don't know what came first the chicken or the egg but I am gonna try  to tap my feet more at my desk.  It might help me produce more of the hormone that will help me out with my hunger and at the very least I will be burning a few more calories.  Yes, every calorie does help you ward off those pounds and helps you live a healthier life.

Here is the link to the article if you are interested.

http://www.naturalnews.com/022249.html

Take the stairs!

Need I say more?  Take the stairs people!  Park far away.  Make your own cookies.  Years ago there was no such thing as "working out".  We just worked.  Now that we have all of these wonderful conveniences we have to workout.  Make it easier on yourself and add more movement to your daily life.  I would love love love to hear how you sneak activity into your life.  Please leave a comment so we can do it too!

29 Ways to Add More Fiber To Your Diet

I found this article about how to get more fiber in your diet.  I have no idea who Stealth Health is and the link lead to no where but I don't want to take credit for it.  While doing research I found that trainer after trainer use the same article as their own.  Hello plagiarism! The original URL is at the bottom of the article.  Enjoy!

29 Ways to Add More Fiber To Your Diet

Written by Stealth Health

How to plant more “good carbs” into your diet.

Fantastic Fiber

Virtually every weight-loss program — be it Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, or Dr. Dean Ornish’s — welcomes “good carbs” as part of a healthy, lean, long-term diet.
In the lexicon of weight loss, the term “good carbs” refers to complex carbohydrates. These are foods like whole grains, nuts, beans, and seeds that are composed largely of complex sugar molecules that require lots of time and energy to digest into the simple sugars your body needs for fuel.
One of the biggest benefits of foods rich in complex carbs is that they also contain large amounts of fiber. Fiber, in basic terms, is the indigestible parts of plant foods. It is the husk on the grain of wheat, the thin strands in celery, the crunch in the apple, the casings on edible seeds. Fiber protects you from heart disease, cancer, and digestive problems. Depending on the type of fiber (there is more than one!), it lowers cholesterol, helps with weight control, and regulates blood sugar.
Bottom line: This is one nutrient you don’t want to miss. Yet the average American gets just 12-15 grams of fiber a day — far below the recommended 25-30 grams. And that was before so many of us started cutting carbs for weight loss — and cutting fiber in the bargain.
Here’s how to sneak “good carbs” and extra fiber into your daily diet with a minimum of effort.
1. Eat cereal every day for breakfast. Ideally, aim for a whole grain, unsweetened cereal with at least 4 grams of fiber per serving. Just eating any cereal might be enough, however. A University of California study found that cereal eaters tend to eat more fiber and less fat than non-cereal eaters. Healthy, high-fiber cereals you might want to consider include Kellogg’s All-Bran Original, Kashi GO LEAN, and Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.
2. Eat two apples every day. Not just to keep the doctor away, but because apples are a good source of pectin, a soluble fiber that contributes to a feeling of fullness and digests slowly. One study found that 5 grams of pectin was enough to leave people feeling satisfied for up to four hours.
3. Make a yogurt mix every Wednesday for breakfast. Take one container of yogurt and mix in 1/3 cup All-Bran cereal, 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds, and 5 large, diced strawberries for a whopping 12.2 grams of fiber — nearly half your daily allowance!
4. Eat baby carrots and broccoli florets dipped into low-fat ranch dressing as you afternoon snack three days a week. You’ll fill up the empty space in your tummy while getting about 5 grams of fiber in each cup of veggies.
5. Keep a container of gorp in your car and office for the munchies. Mix together peanuts, raisins, a high-fiber cereal, and some chocolate-covered soy nuts. Allow yourself one handful for a sweet, yet high-fiber, snack.
6. Switch to whole grain crackers. You’d never think a tiny cracker can make a difference, but one regular whole wheat cracker has 1/2 gram of fiber. Ten crackers give you 5 grams of fiber. So next time, spread your peanut butter on whole grain crackers (look for brands that proclaim they’re trans-fat-free) instead of bread for a different taste treat.
7. Mix your regular cereal with the high-test stuff. Okay, we’ll be honest. We wouldn’t want to face an entire bowl of All-Bran either. But just 1/3 cup packs a walloping 8.5 grams of fiber. Mix it with an equal amount of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and you’ll barely know it’s there (but you will be one-third of the way to your daily fiber intake). Check out the Nature’s Path brands, which offer several truly delicious, high-fiber choices.
8. Add kidney beans or chickpeas to your next salad. A quarter cup adds an additional 5 grams of dietary fiber, notes Lisa Andrews, R.D., a nutritionist at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati.
9. Make sure that the first ingredient in whole grain products has the word “whole” in it, as in “whole wheat,” or “whole grain.” If it says multi-grain, seven-grain, nutra-grain, cracked wheat, stone-ground wheat, unbromated wheat or enriched wheat, it’s not whole wheat, and thus is lacking some of the vitamins and minerals, not to mention fiber, of whole grains.
10. Every week, try one “exotic” grain. How about amaranth, Bulgar, or wheat berries? Most are as simple to fix as rice, yet packed with fiber and flavor. Mix in some steamed carrots and broccoli, toss with olive oil and a bit of Parmesan or feta cheese, maybe throw in a can of tuna or a couple of ounces of cut-up chicken, and you’ve got dinner. Or serve as a side dish to chicken or fish. Make sure all grains you try are whole grains.
11. Once a week, make pearl barley (which doesn’t require any soaking before cooking) as a side dish. One cup sports 10 grams of fiber, nearly half your daily allotment.
12. Sneak in oatmeal.
13. Use whole wheat bread to make your sandwich every day. Even Subway and other such sandwich shops offer whole wheat options for lunchtime munching. If you want to gradually break into the whole wheat club, use whole wheat bread as the bottom slice of your sandwich and regular bread as the top layer, suggests Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical assistant professor of nutrition at Boston University’s Sargent College. Eventually, make the switch to whole grains.
14. Every week, switch from a white food to a brown food. So instead of instant white rice, you switch to instant brown rice. Instead of regular pasta, you switch to whole wheat pasta. Similarly, whole wheat pitas instead of regular, whole wheat burritos instead of corn, whole wheat couscous instead of regular. Within two months, you should be eating only whole grains, and should have increased your daily fiber consumption by an easy 10 grams without radically changing your diet!
15. Spread your sandwich with 1/2 cup hummus. Bam! You just got 7.5 grams of fiber in a tasty package. Lay some spinach leaves and a tomato slice atop for another couple of grams.
16. Make beans a part of at least one meal a day. They’re packed with fiber (15 grams in just a cup of black beans) and, since they come canned, so easy to use. Just rinse before using to remove excess sodium. Here are some tips for getting your beans:

• Puree a can of cannelloni beans for a tasty dip. Add 2 cloves garlic and a tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil to the blender. Use as a dip for veggies and whole grain crackers.
• Spread nonfat re fried beans on a whole wheat burrito and sprinkle with chopped chicken and shredded cheese.
• Use 1/2 cup black beans and salsa as a filling for your morning omelet.
• Make a bean salad with canned black beans, fresh or frozen corn kernels, chopped cilantro, chopped onion, and chopped tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of vinegar, salt, and pepper.
• Make your own special chili pizza. Top a prepared (whole wheat) pizza crust with some kidney beans, shredded cheese, and ground turkey cooked with chili flavorings.
• Start serving edamame (soybeans) as a side dish. You’ll get 4 grams of fiber in 2/3 cup of the sweet legumes, not to mention the cancer-fighting phytonutrients inherent in soy.

17. Add pureed cauliflower to mashed potatoes. You won’t taste a difference, but you will get some extra fiber, say the nutrition twins, Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D., and Lyssie Lakatos, R. D. The two are the authors of Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever.
18. Have a beet salad for dinner. These bright red veggies have virtually no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, quite a bit of potassium, and 2 grams of fiber. Try roasting whole, peeled beets for 45 minutes, chilling, then dicing into a summer salad.
19. Make rice pudding for dessert tonight. Only instead of white rice, use brown to, as Emeril would say, “kick it up a notch.”
20. Snack on popcorn. The microwave variety works just fine, but we prefer air-popped popcorn without the oil. Each cup of popcorn delivers 1.2 grams of fiber.
21. Switch to whole wheat flour when baking. You can start by going half and half, eventually using only whole wheat flour for all your cooking needs.
22. Throw some flaxseeds, wheat germ, or other high-fiber add-ins into batter. They add crunch to your cookies, muffins, and breads — and loads of fiber.
23. Eat the skin of your baked and sweet potatoes. Eating baked potatoes with the skin instead of mashed ups the fiber at least 3 grams (depending on the size of the potato).
24. Start every dinner with a mixed green salad. Not only will it add fiber, but with a low-calorie vinaigrette dressing, it will partially fill you up with very few calories, and thus offers great benefits in weight loss/control.
25. Always add lettuce and tomato slices rather than cheese to sandwiches. Not only do they add fiber, but they also reduce calories.
26. Use beans or lentils as the main protein source for dinner once or twice a week. A classic dish such as pasta e fagioli works well.
27. Make your fiber sources suit the seasons. A cold lentil salad, or corn and black bean salad in summer, then vegetarian chili in winter.
28. Snack on dried fruit every day. Tasty, chewy, satisfying, easy to eat on the go — and loaded with fiber. Try dried apricots, dates, figs, peaches, pears, and bananas.
29. Drink your fiber. Make your own smoothies by blending whole fruits (cut out the big seeds). If everything in the fruit goes into your glass, you’ll get the fiber from the edible peel, often missing from fruit juice.
Don’t Forget To…
Drink plenty of water. You need water to help the fiber pass through your digestive system without getting, ahem, stuck. So as you’re increasing the fiber in your diet, also increase the amount of water or other unsweetened beverages you’re getting.
Also, don’t up your fiber load all at once. That’s just going to overwhelm your system, leading to gas, bloating, and constipation. Instead, start slowly. Try one tip a week for the first couple of weeks, then two, then three. By week four or five, you should be up to the full 25-30 grams — or more.
http://www.bspcn.com/2009/03/31/29-ways-to-add-more-fiber-to-your-diet/

Negative effects of soda

Sorry I haven't blogged in a bit.  I just started my new job and I am getting used to everything.  It is great by the way!

My cousin Charlotte (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) just asked what is worse sweet tea or soda. I told her to go with the tea and add your own sweetener if needed so she knows exactly what she is drinking.  I just saw this on yahoo and thought it would be great to share.  I very rarely drink soda and feel like the worst mother in the world when I do let my kiddos drink it. Here are some solid reasons why you too should take steps to remove it from your daily diet.  Click on the title to be redirected.

To keep the pounds from coming back you need to eat this!

Fiber

A high fiber lifestyle of 25-50 grams of fiber per day has shown to prevent future weight gain and can help you feel fuller which may cause you to eat less.

Fiber protects your heart from Cardiovascular disease and improves survival rates better than antioxidants, beta carotene, and vitamins E & C.

Fiber is linked to reducing colon cancer.

Fiber can eliminate type II diabetes!  If you are a diabetic you need to take in 50 g of fiber per day.

Not getting enough fiber is thought to be the cause for 70% of appendicitis cases in children.

Can you see how good this stuff is for you?  You need it. I need it.  We all need it.  I will tell you how to get more of it into your diet tomorrow.  Who knew fiber could be so exciting?  I know I am a HUGE health dork. I can't help it I just love the fact that we can actually make ourselves well by living differently!  Let me help you!  I am jumping up and down here people can you tell?


Please send me your health and wellness questions so I can help you.


There have also been questions about how to become a follower.  There is a link button on the top left of the page and on the right margin.  Select either of them and then you will have to sign up through a group such as google.  You just select which one you want and then create a user name and password.  Once this happens you will get a confirmation email. Now you are a follower and get get my posts sent to your email. 

Adding fruits and vegetables to your diet

The next thing I did was to add more fruits and veggies to my diet.
  I started with veggies because they are a little harder for me but not by much.  My plan to have one veggie at every meal (two at dinner) and a veggie for one of my snacks.  Then I planned on having fruit at breakfast and as a snack.  It was easier for me to add things to my diet before cutting things out.  Adding the veggies and fruits then made it harder to eat as much junk because I could only fit so much in my stomach.  I tried this for a week and then reviewed what improvements I needed to make.  I didn't do anything else until I started doing this first. 

Some people find it easier to start by adding fruit because they hate veggies.  For those of you who HATE veggies I suggest finding ways to sneak them into your meal so you don't have to taste them.  Deceptively Delicious is the cookbook I use but I know of at least one other that deals with the same topic(I just can't think of the name).  Almost any vegetable can be added to spaghetti sauce and you can add small diced veggies to burgers and meatloaf.  Onions, carrots, celery are my big three that I commonly add.  You can also use vegetable purees to dip chicken in before coating it in breadcrumbs to make chicken nuggets.  These were actually the best nuggets I ever made!  Cauliflower can be added to mashed potatoes and spinach can be added to brownies!  Nuts I know but  I couldn't even tell. 

The main thing is that I had to start thinking about what I was eating in order to make changes.  What healthy foods are you going to add to your diet in the near future?  Everyone wants to hear from you!!

Are you ready to lose weight?

I lied
Ok, so I didn't lie about drinking water as my first step but after some thinking I realized that I did something prior to this. I was mentally ready to lose weight. If you are not ready to lose weight then no book, diet, exercise program or pill is going to help you. How do you become ready?

You have to be uncomfortable
If you are comfortable with your body then why would you put extra time and effort into changing it? I think that we should love ourselves but if I had been comfortable with my body then I would not have made healthy lifestyle changes. I remember going back to school after I had my first child and I was actually embarrassed to look in the mirror when I used the restroom, especially if a cute thin girl was in there with me. I could not stand feeling this way and wanted a change.

Visualize yourself (thin, strong, healthy)
You have to see yourself in your minds eye how you want to look and feel. Picture yourself exactly the way you would like to look and how you will feel when this happens. Try it now. How does it feel? I feel, strong, healthy and sexy. I have more energy and enjoy my life more. Now practice this on a daily basis.

Use positive self talk
I am the queen of beating myself up however, I knew that this would only stop me from being my best. So, I decided to say something positive to myself every morning in the mirror. I bet there is at least one thing that is absolutely amazing about you! The very first thing I said to myself was that I was incredible because I was able to make the most adorable little boy. What a feat! We would love to hear the good things you tell yourself so we can steal them for ourselves.

You will HAVE to change your life!
Many people want to lose weight but they want to keep their lifestyle. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Realize that you are going to have to make PERMANENT lifestyle changes. Please note that these should be done in baby steps so that you can maintain them and it is not traumatizing. 

You must make time in your life
Our lives are crazy busy! One of the main reasons people say they can't lose weight is because they don't have time. We are working 40+ hours per week, taking our kids to activities, volunteering etc. The list could go on and on an on... Well, we have to have a margin of time in our lives and this means we have to make some changes. For example I am currently working overnights and getting very little sleep and I have almost no time with my family. I can not start an exercise program right now. It will only cause more stress in my life. I have taken steps to change this because I have to feel good about myself. Next week will be my last week of overnights because I have found a new job! I am giving myself two weeks to settle in and then I will begin working out regularly. What are some things that you must change in order for you to make time for yourself?

Now your ready
Once you have your ducks in a row you will be ready to change your body by changing your life. Please share what things are holding you back and what you can do to change them.




Drink more water to lose weight

My First Step to Weight Loss!

The very first thing that I have done to lose my baby weight was to set a goal to drink more water.  This helped me in a couple of ways. 

 I often eat unconsciously.  I eat because I am bored, happy, sad , numb you name it and I can find a reason to eat.  So, my goal was to drink water instead of picking up food and to drink water before meals to help me feel full. 

 Drinking the water made me stop and think about why I was eating.  Often, I realized I was just thirsty.  Sometimes I really was hungry.  It was really hard for me to learn the difference until I slowed things down by drinking water.

Drinking water also made me feel full before I started eating.  It takes 20 minutes for our brains to register that we are full.  Drinking the water helped me eat less because I felt full sooner.  Here is an article that discusses the study in more detail. 

http://news.health.com/2010/08/23/could-drinking-water-before-meals-help-you-lose-weight/

Happy drinking (water that is)!

How I lost my baby weight

First I want to thank you for reading my blog Weight Loss Lies.  I hope that I can help you on your journey to be your best self.  It is always a journey with ups an downs.  Currently I am starting over with my weight loss endeavor as I have recently had my third child.  He is such a cute little chunk and thanks to the pregnancy so am I!  I was able to lose my past baby weight and actually get into better shape than I was before having kids.  So, I thought I would share my secrets. 

1.  It takes time!  I hate this part.  I am in a body that I am not comfortable with and it feels like torture.  So, I have to find ways to feel OK about myself.  I have done this by getting a cute haircut, getting a few clothing items that make me feel good about myself and painting my nails.  I just try to find ways to love myself. 

2.  I set small achievable goals.  These are going to be different for everyone.  With my first baby I set a goal to walk 5 days a week even if it was only 5 minutes.  Sometimes, I would cry while walking down the road because I just felt bad but I did it anyway.  Those were the really short walks!  Then I was able to add on to my goals by walking a little further, carrying the baby in a carrier, adding resistance training, doing kickboxing classes, then aerobic classes which finally led me into trying out kickboxing for real.  I would not have been able to become a pro boxer if I hadn't gone on those sometimes miserable walks.  Mind you, they weren't all miserable.  There were some wonderful days too where I would sing to my baby and I felt beautiful.  That's just how life is full of ups and downs.  We are successful when we push through those hard days and pick ourselves back up.

I will share more of the steps I have taken to lose weight in my life in my following posts this week.  In the meantime I would love to hear what you do to help lift yourself up and what small goal you are going to set for yourself this week.  Success starts with one step.  May God bless you on your journey!


Steps Christ walked up!

Foods that help you get rid of stubborn belly fat!

 
I just want to say thank you all so much for following my blog! I know a few of you tried and or are trying to follow but it hasn't worked yet so I am going to let you in on the food secret even though it doesn't look like I have my five followers yet.
 
The following foods have been found to inhibit estrogen and decrease belly fat.

Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, turnips (cruciferous vegetables), chamomile, bee products, citrus fruits, onion, garlic, and omega 3 fatty acids (found in fatty fish like salmon and flax seed)

I believe that it is easier to add things to your diet than to take away. Try adding some of these foods to your diet. My goal is to eat these tummy tightening foods at least five days this week. I'm having cabbage tomorrow!

What goal will you set in order to get more of these foods into your diet? I can't wait to hear from you!

Cortisol another cause for stubborn belly fat.

Well we only need two more followers for me to share what readily available foods will help you decrease your belly fat.  In the mean time I will share with you another factor that may increase belly fat. 

Cortisol is a hormone that we release in times of stress.  It causes our body to produce excess insulin and stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism so we will have a quick energy source for emergencies. The problems is that after the danger is over we keep the high levels of insulin which causes us to crave carbohydrates.  We are not sure why but people with higher levels of cortisol have a tendency to have more abdominal fat.  One thing that is certain is that no peer reviewed journal or study has ever been done to prove that weight loss pills claiming to decrease cortisol levels are actually effective. So, don't waste your money on these products.

What can you do to reduce cortisol?  Well, we can't take the stressors out of our lives but we can change how we react to these stressors.  In lam ens terms we are going to have to learn to let things go and not stress about what we can't change.  For me I turn to God to help take my stress away.  As soon as I think of something stressful and begin to worry I ask God to take it from me because it is too much for me.  I also visualize myself falling into his hands and comforting me.  I am not perfect and I do not do this every time but it has really helped me let go.  I am also learning to be OK with not being perfect.  None of us are so lets just all stop pretending and lower the bar a bit. 

Exercise!  This is not the first time nor will it be the last time that I talk about the importance of physical activity.  Our bodies were made to move and moving them will help release those stress hormones.  You don't have to go to the gym or be on a team.  Just stop what you are doing an do some darn push-ups (modify if you need to) and a few jumping jacks.  Something is ALWAYS better than nothing.

I would love to hear how you let go of stress.  I bet there are a lot of great ideas out there so please share with the rest of us!  I can't wait to learn from you.

God bless!

The secret to reducing belly fat that the fitness industry doesn't want you to know!

I have been talking about getting six pack abs this week and finally I am going to tell you the secret that the fitness industry doesn't want you to know.  You can start reducing belly fat by eating certain foods that are readily available at your supermarket and they are cheap!  No supplements, no weird ab machine that costs way too much and sits in the back of your closet collecting dust, but first I am going to tell you what your belly fat enemy is: Estrogen. 

Yep, this hormone produces adipose fat (especially as we age) and it is usually stored on our stomach, hips and legs.  Not only do we make estrogen but we are exposed to estrogenic compounds found in plastic, nail polish, soaps and our food (hormones in meat & dairy products) and men you produce it too!

Have you heard about BPA in plastics?  Yep estrogen is in there and linked to belly fat.  BPA is also found in canned goods.  Heating plastics causes the chemical to leach out into our foods which in turn exposes us to more estrogen. 

Making some simple changes in your life can help you decrease your belly fat just by storing your food in glass containers and only using BPA free products. 

Oh, I didn't forget about my promise to tell you what types of foods help to reduce your belly fat but first I am going to challenge you to become a follower and forward my blog to a few friends.  As soon as I get five followers I will tell you what foods you need to eat to start cutting that belly fat.  I can't wait to share the secret with you!

Upper, middle and lower abs

I was watching an infomercial and they talked about working your upper, middle and those hard to reach lower abs.  I don't know what anatomy classes they took but in my anatomy class there are only two types of abdominal tissue.  The rectus abdominals: these are the ones on the front of your body (the whole front from the top to the bottom).  There is no division between this muscle.  Then the obliques on the sides that help us twist.  The only reason why you don't see the lower section of the rectus abdominals is because they are covered in fat.  The leg raises that we do to help develop the lower abs actually work the hip flexor muscles.  This is what raises the legs.  What does happen is the abdominal muscles stabilize the legs as they are being lifted.  They do this by contracting.This is called an isometric movement.  Doing more ab exercises will not get rid of the fat on your stomach.  Keep reading and I will tell you more this week.

God bless!

Crunches & situps are the best way to get six pack abs

OK, here is a doozy of a lie.  It is just common knowledge that doing sit ups or crunches will give us those six pack abs that we are all dying to have.  This is a huge misnomer(another word for lie).  A six pack is being able to see the muscle definition that we (all of us meaning you too) already have.  It is just hidden behind fat.  So, believe it or not YOU are walking around with a hidden six pack on your body.  Doing crunches or sit ups only tears down the muscle then it heals and then the muscle  gets somewhat larger.  Do we want larger abs?  As a woman I want my waist to be as small as possible.  Plus, almost every single exercise or movement involves your abs as they are used to stabilize your body.

I will post more this week about our abdominal muscles and how you can really get six pack abs. 

Thanks for reading and please forward to all your friends.  I also will answer any health and wellness question.  Just post one on any of the comment sections in the blog.

God bless! 

Watching workout shows will motivate me to lose weight.

Hi all.  I just wanted to share an interesting factoid I stumbled across.  We have all seen those workout infomercials and how great you too can look in 90 days!  I am not downing the videos because I personal love the workout variety.  The problem is that if you are just watching a workout it will actually cause you to want to eat.  So if you are not going to do the workout turn it off.  The science behind it is that your body sees the "work" and thinks it is burning through the calories.  I found this to be a bit strange but now I turn the channel so I don't head to the fridge. 

The choices you make today will shape the life you want tomorrow!

Weight loss pills will help me lose weight.

There is truth to the fact that there are supplements that increase your metabolism and help you shed pounds. The only problem is that supplements are not tested by the FDA. An independent investigation on the true ingredients in these supplements turned out some pretty interesting results. Items such as illegal steroids, growth hormones and other ingredients were found. All of these can have a detrimental impact on your health and may cause you to pop positive on a UA. This is what happened with Mark McGuire.

What about products that are tested by the FDA? There is a drug (not a supplement) on the market that was approved by the FDA. Studies show that taking the drug significantly increases the incidence of aberrant crypt foci. What in the world is this you ask? It is a precursor to colon cancer. There is also a a significant increase in the number of people who get breast cancer while taking this product. The FDA is now considering taking the product of the market.

The truth is that we have not found a pill or supplement that really works without somehow harming our bodies in the process. If we are losing weight to be "healthy" then taking these items would be counter intuitive to our desired results. A worst case scenario is that taking these supplements or FDA approved medications could actually cause death.If you want to lose weight you are going to have to change your mindset. This is where and how true results occur.

Baby steps

So to update you about my weight loss journey. I did a mini workout yesterday and plan on doing another today. I kept it simple, adapted pushups (maxed out did them till I couldn't tollerate another. I used a desk to put my hands on. I like these better than the "girl" style push ups on your knees because it gives you a greater range of motion like you would have with the regular push ups. So back to my workout. It is so sad I hate to even call it that, but I have to start somewhere. Ok, then chair dips (maxed out), plie squats (feet very wide toes pointed slightly out) works inner thighs, normal squats. I maxed both of these with no weight but my own. Then I did 100 kegals. Ladies I can't tell you how important this is after having a baby. It helps with incontinence and helps with sexual performance. Hey, I am just gonna keep it real here. Then I did a series of booty exercises. The ones where you are on all fours and you lift your legs toward the ceiling. I repeated this two times. I tried jumping rope for a few minutes and realized that I should wear a sports bra for this endeaver. Needless to say this was the toughest. I only did it for five minutes. Mind you when I am fit I can jump rope for an hour. Crazy, I know but it is a big warm up and cool down exercise for boxing and I prefer it over jogging. I can't stand jogging by the way. So hooray for me for taking this baby step to my weight loss goal. Which by the way is to have 22% body fat. I hate the scale. It doesn't differentiate between fat and muscle. So, this is why I have a body fat percentage goal. On top of posting pics I will post all my measurements and my body fat. Believe it or not it is hard to share this info. Kuddos to all of those who have gone before me. It takes guts to show the world where you are at when you are at your worst. I am gonna continue with my baby steps so I can post those fun after pics! Can't wait.

What is the best time to workout?

There is a big fat lie that if you workout on an empty stomach in the morning you will lose the most weight. This is actually false because your body is already beginning to increase its metabolism for the day. Working out at this time doesn't significantly change your metabolism. The theory behind this is that you will use your fat stores since your glucose(sugar) or carbohydrate stores are usually low at this point due to the overnight fast. There is some truth to this because if your body is out of sugar stores your body then uses up fat. The only issue is that the key to weight loss is burning the MOST calories because eventually this will cause a deficit and cause weight loss (fat). You will lose the most weight if you work out before dinner. This is because at night your metabolism slows down and you begin to burn fewer calories. If you work out prior to eating you increase your Thermogenic effect (metabolism burning more calories) then you eat which also increases your metabolism. This increase in metabolism causes you to burn calories when normally your body is slowing down therefore you will lose more weight, BUT, and this is a big BUT (lol isn't that what we are trying to lose?) if you can only work out in the morning then workout in the morning. I am just trying to teach you the little details to make weight loss the easiest way possible. Who doesn't want easy?

Losing the baby weight

Ok, most of you already know that I just had Baby Ben. He is now just over two months old and such a cute little chunk! He is my third little guy and now I have to begin the journey of losing the baby weight again. I have decided to share my journey with you. I am dreading it but I will post before pics because honestly, it really is motivating to see others change their bodies. Since, my goal is to help you meet your goals I am gonna put my humility aside and bite the bullet. The first time I was pregnant my start weight was 135 and my end weight was 216. I was able to lose all of it and look even better. My boxing pic is after I had my oldest. During my second pregnancy I didn't gain as much weight. I think it was around 38lbs. It was more difficult to fit in exercise this time around as I couldn't just go for a jog because I had my oldest son to watch and no double stroller. I pretty much lost the weight through making healthy choices and staying active such as doing yard work, walking and jogging and simple exercise like push ups and chair dips. We were so broke that a gym was not an option. I did manage to lose it all again. This time I got up to 201lbs. I had gestational diabetes and this really slowed me down. I just could barely move and the diabetes caused me to gain more weight. At this point I am down to 172lbs. I can fit into some of my prebaby clothes but not most. I am a size 10/12. The biggest thing is that I have lost a ton of muscle and put on a ton of fat. Fun times! My first goal is to start adding exercise back into my life even if it is just 15 minutes per day. Getting into the habit is the KEY to changing your body. You must form new habits. I am also going to start a food log. I hate this more than anything! It is just a pain in my butt, but I know it will help me get back on track. I will try to get those pictures posted this weekend so come back and check them out.

Questions & Answers

I would love to answer your health and wellness questions. Please just become a follower and leave me a question under comments. God has blessed me with this passion for health and I am obsessed with learning every day and for some reason it sticks. Please, don't ask me if I know anything about movie producers, actors or one line movie quotes. I will just look blankly into space a stare hoping you will soon forget that you asked me a question. If however you need to know something about diet, exercise, fitness routines etc I can quickly find it in my cognitive Rolodex ( I just made that term up). I can't wait to answer your questions!

What is the best diet?

I get this question all the time. We all want to know what the best diet is in order to lose the most weight in the least amount of time. The answer to this one is simple. There is no "best"diet for everyone. Studies have looked at low carb, high carb, low fat diets etc. and found that over the long term they ALL have the same results. How can this be you ask? Because the body is an amazingly efficient machine. You may have great results on a certain diet for awhile but then the bodies metabolism will slow down because it actually thinks it is starving. Also, the bottom line with all the diets is to decrease your caloric intake. Meaning you will need to eat less calories than you are now to lose weight. They all do this one way or another. The perfect diet isn't a diet at all. It is finding the right healthy lifestyle for you. I HATE the term diet anyway. It makes me think of all the yummy things I can't eat like gooey chocolate brownies and crispy french fries. Then this is all I want to eat. Think about it. We will play a game. Do not think about the color green. Do not for any reason think about green. Didn't I say not to think about the color green? Wasn't that the ONLY thing you could think about. The brain is funny that way. Instead of thinking about what you can't eat I like to think about what I can eat. Lots of refreshing cool water, fresh fruit, veggies and lean protein that will help make you strong and healthy (this is a favorite catch phrase of mine). Interestingly enough, you can find healthier choices for almost every guilty pleasure food that you enjoy. It takes time learn what these healthier choices are but aren't you worth it? Once you do learn which foods have the highest nutritional value for the least amount of calories shopping and choices are easy. You are no longer dieting (ever). Instead you are making healthy lifestyle choices for life. Finally, the perfect "diet" for you.

Your fat because you are a failure!

Have you ever felt like a failure when you gave in to that hot fudge sundae or supreme nachos that have absolutely no nutritional value but just make you feel good at the moment? Well, you're not. In actuality we were made to over eat as a part of survival. The reason you feel hungry when you smell something delicious even if you just ate is to keep you alive. Imagine going days or weeks without eating fat or protein. Wouldn't you be ravenous? When we were hunter gathers this was the case. So, when we come upon a large kill we eat and eat and eat some more. This way we can fill up our fat stores until the next big hunt pays off (which didn't always happen). We were meant to crave the fat and the sugar as a means of survival. So next time you want to overindulge don't think you are a failure. Know that your body is only doing what comes natural and trying to store fat until the next hot fudge sundae comes along. The old saying "knowing is half the battle" plays a big role in you being able to resist this temptation the next time around. Since you now know that you are not a failure you can work on being a survivor in our new environment where food is plentiful. Give yourself 20 minutes and see if the temptation passes. If not indulge but set a limit like half the sundae. The trick is to throw half out before eating or split it with someone then celebrate your success at self control!