Saturday Weigh In

Woo Hoo, ...I lost 1.6 lbs. this week, now I am at 152.6 lbs. oh, and I lost 2.5 inches!

Bring on the 140's, I'm READY!!!!

Ditch the Diet Soda

 

Sorry, soda lovers - even diet drinks can make you fat.  That's the word from authors of two new studies, presented Sunday at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

"Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised" Dr. Helen Hazuda, professor of medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in a written statement. "They may be free of calories, but not of consequences."

Consequences like weight gain.

For one study, researchers at the center followed 474 diet soda drinkers, 65 to 74 years of age, for almost 10 years. They found that diet soda drinkers' waists grew 70 percent more than non-drinkers. Specifically, drinking two or more diet sodas a day busted belt sizes five times more than people who avoided the stuff entirely.

And as waist size grows, so do health risks - including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions.

Just how does diet soda make you fat? The other study may hold the answer. In it, researchers divided mice into two groups, one of which ate food laced with the popular sweetener aspartame. After three months, the mice eating aspartame-chow had higher blood sugar levels than the mice eating normal food. The authors said in a written statement their findings could "contribute to the associations observed between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans."

But how?

"Artificial sweeteners could have the effect of triggering appetite but unlike regular sugars they don't deliver something that will squelch the appetite," Sharon Fowler, obesity researcher at UT Health Science Center at San Diego and a co-author on both of these studies, told the Daily Mail. She also said sweeteners could inhibit brain cells that make you feel full.

So if sugar soda is no good, and diet soda isn't either - what should we be drinking?

Dr. Hazuda told the Daily Mail, "I think prudence would dictate drinking water."


Credits:   cbs.com, istockphoto.com

Goodbye Diet Soda - 1 Year Anniversary!!!

Today, I am celebrating my 1 year Anniversary of being "diet soda" FREE!!!

Many of us face addictions and being able to conquer them is always our desire, ...but sometimes having the desire is not enough.  It starts with a desire and ends with a commitment to yourself!

So "cheers" as I hold my water glass up high in celebration of all of you who have made it to the other side like me and for those who are still struggling with giving it up, know that YOU CAN DO IT ...because the other side is pretty refreshing and I promise you will feel and look so much better and above all you will become HEALTHIER!

Tuesday's Tip:

Skip the french fries and processed foods for side dishes and go for colorful, nutrient rich vegetables like broccoli and sweet potatoes. To retain the cancer fighting phytochemicals ...only steam your veggies for up to 3 minutes.

It's coming ...in October!!!

I am so excited, ...cause I am sooooooooooooo doing this 5K Race!

This is going to be amazing!

Hmm, now to think up a "team" name?

Almost there ...

Wow, ...just 17 more days until I will celebrate my 1 year Anniversary of being "diet soda" FREE!!!

Saturday Weigh In

Yes, yes, yes!!!

I'm so happy, I lost .8 lbs. today and finally, yes, FINALLY have gone below 155 lbs.!!!!

Goodbye Plateau...it's time to leave, I'm expecting my perfect scale weight to show up!

5/26/12 - 154.8 lbs.

A little about Quinoa

Okay, so I've never really fell in love with Quinoa, ...and if you have tried it and feel the same way then I have something for you!

YOU just have to give this brand a try.  It was so quick and easy to prepare and the taste was very good.  This reminded me of comfort foods.  The seasoning reminded me of eating stuffing or a home-made soup.  I know the two are completely different but they are both comfort foods and this ranks right up there with them.

Definitely, two thumbs up for this one!

And, it was convenient to find at my local grocery store, I purchased it at Kroger in the rice aisle.

Quinoa (Garden Vegetable)

Sweet & Spicy Tuna

Lemon Pepper Tuna

Lemon Fish Oil

Lemon Burst Protein Shake

Ingredients:

8 oz. - water

2 scoops - Whey Isolate Protein Powder (Vanilla Bean)

1- small Banana

2 tbl. - Lemon Fish Oil (Barleans or The Vitamin Shoppe)

1/2 cup - fresh Spinach

6 tbl. - egg whites

ice cubes

Procedure:

Put all ingredients into a blender, whirl (blend until smooth) and Enjoy!!!

Grilled Chicken & Asparagus Salad

 

Caramel Banana Oatmeal Protein Shake

Ingredients:

8 oz. - water

2 scoops - Whey Isolate Protein Powder (Vanilla Bean)

1-  medium Banana

1/4 cup - Oatmeal

2 tbl. - Caramel Almond Butter

1 tbl. - Pina Colada Fish Oil (Barleans or The Vitamin Shoppe)

1/2 cup - fresh Spinach

ice cubes

Procedure:

Put all ingredients into a blender, whirl (blend until smooth) and Enjoy!!!

So fresh and CLEAN

Dole Field greens, grilled chicken, avocado, with summer tomato vinaigrette.

You gotta dream like you never seen obstacles

If we choose to see the obstacles that lie in our paths on the road to becoming who we truly want to be, then that is all we will see. We will fail before we even try because we will allow ourselves to be set up for this failure. Remember that your problems are only as big as you allow them to be.

When we are going through the toughest times in our lives we have to make the decision to continue to follow our dreams no matter what, and keep going. The strength of all the obstacles that we are able to conquer during our lifetime is the strength that we will receive to help us get past the obstacles that still lie in our path. So become as strong as you need to become by never running away from your problems. Rather, seek out the obstacles that seem to seek out to destroy you and your dream, take the strength you get from overcoming this adversity, and use it to continue to beat whatever may try to burden us in the future.

By J. Johnson

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