Children and Fashion Choices….. Re-education!

In a conversation with a friend yesterday, she told me that I have lots in common with her daughter in that we both wear cotton and bright colors in winter. I could never understand why there is such a thing as Fall colors or Spring colors. It does make fashion interesting because it stimulates the need to get new clothes with the advent of each season but there is so much to consider with seasonal colors. Fashionistas love to talk about originality in fashion choices but in some ways it seems like one big ‘group think’ in my opinion. I guess there is uniqueness when everyone at a Fall event shows up in black, after all, a pair of black pants differs vastly from a black dress. Children don’t see things the same way. In their mind, they want to have fun all the time, they are instantly drawn to colors and they do what makes them feel good. They don’t care about what the person next to them is wearing, at least not until they grow up. They can wear a pink tiara with a red dress and yellow shoes knowing that their outfit does one thing and that is, it makes them feel great. Can we get back to that? No I don’t mean pink, red and yellow in one outfit but choosing to wear something because it makes you feel good, and not because it helps you fit in. I wear brighter colors in Fall because the season is already drab, and I want my clothes to brighten me up. I especially like to wear pastels in Fall because they are not too bright but mellow enough for Fall and Winter social occasions. Be YourFashionSelf even it is a little bit ‘rainbow-ish’. I said a little! Have a good one!

Make A Big Statement!!!

END OF YEAR FITNESS CHALLENGE

Sample log,

The Case Against Nature!

So I asked my cousin soon to be a doctor, how is it that cows can subsist on grass and get all their required nutrition without feeling weak and faint throughout the day. I found it odd because if I were to eat salads alone for an entire day I would surely pass out. She explained that cows are herbivores with mechanisms that sequester nutrients from plant sources in a way that human beings are unable to; hence we excrete a good portion of it unused. I think we would have been better off with grass as our food source as it is a waste on cows that don’t need to watch their weight. Why not make cows obese instead of humans since it is humans who need more meat to eat. I’m just saying.

The Dinner Thief!!

I hate when I have to give up dinner but that’s the reality of maintaining a daily calorie budget when you spend all day eating peanut butter from the jar. I consider Skippy peanut butter my dinner thief; yours might be something else. If I eat a spoon full or two during the day its fine but its when you end up binging an entire jar that you know, you just completed your 3 meals for the day. That is the perfect example of committing to your daily calorie limit. Its not about eating healthy, its about following through on your commitment. I am not encouraging you to abandon your commitment to 3 or 5 meals a day, I am encouraging to be flexible with your way of eating by committing to one thing only and that’s your daily calorie limit. This means, if by lunch time you’ve packed away 2 burgers, chocolate, crossants and fries, then become flexible enough to ‘fruit it out’ for the rest of the day. Just an itsy bitsy little strategy that has no medical basis whatsoever – (disclaimer alert lol!).

Blame It On The Rain!

Its not always our fault and folks I found the proof that even the ‘stars’ affect your diet. I was reading Sasstrology February 28 horoscope and there it was in black and white
“There’s a real temptation to eat everything in sight today. But how much can you realistically digest? No need to get all graphic, but human digestion can also be taken as a metaphor for being able to digest or process events in your life. You want it all? Careful what you wish for, honey. Sometimes you get it all at the same time, and then you don’t know what to do with it. (Or you end up walking bow-legged for days ‘cuz you went at it ‘til five a.m.) A recovery phase between … uh, meals (as it were) is good, babe.”
So there you have it you have not only genetics and social conditioning against you but astrologically you are just bound to say to hell with all diet. I’m with you! Maybe next week we will back on the wagon. It doesn’t make it any easier since my portable step mill broke – I don’t think I got that heavy. I will write about that next time. See you then!

The Secret To Weight Loss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no secret really. Everyone who maintains his or her weight has an individualized strategy that is practiced daily until it becomes apart of the daily routine.

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Yesterday I had a mid day appointment. I did not feel like eating especially since I had a good breakfast so I snacked on nuts before and after the appointment. I ended up spending the whole day running around and did not get home until late. I was determined not to eat from a fast food restaurant so I kept snacking on nuts and apples, about 800 calories or so. I spent a total of 5 hours on my feet. I calculate my calories burnt to be 400. I did not bother to work out when I got home because it was not necessary. I had a light dinner. This is how a diet strategy falls into place. I did not plan it but I know my own system and I do the checks and balances naturally almost like an accounting ledger.

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It does not take work, actually it requires that you go with the flow of your lifestyle and be ready to make adjustments. Basically this is how you develop a personalized system. It is crafting your own diet ledger that allows you to balance it daily based on your activities for the day. The great thing is that it is your formula and it is based on your lifestyle. Its not buying a new grocery list based on the fad diet that’s in nor, is it forcing yourself to commit to 3 or 6 meals a day, it is simply going with your flow. Make your ‘flow’ work for you. Turn your shopping days into work out time meaning, if you spend 5 hours at the mall; maintain your calorie level and burn calories. Don’t use it as an excuse to eat more. You do not burn more than 300 to 400 calories walking around for 5 hours. Use all your lifestyle activities for your calorie deficit, including laundry, shopping, dancing, etc. Weight loss comes from your daily activities more than it will ever come from an hour at the gym. All that is required is that you are consistently aware of what it takes to balance your own weight maintenance ledger.

______________________________________________Now there are some people who believe its ‘work’ if you always have to be aware. At first it may feel like that but later on when it becomes apart of you, you do not think about it, as it falls into place. One of the reasons it feels like work is that eating is about comfort and not just about the satiated feeling; we like our eating schedule more than the food itself. We want to eat the way we are used to and we don’t want to think that a 700-900 calorie croissant or a 1500 calorie burger can be detrimental and we also want to enjoy it at the times we choose to eat it because ‘meal time’ is the comfort zone not necessarily the food itself. Eating a bag of potato chips in the morning doesn’t taste as good as it does late at night watching ‘gone with the wind’. Timing has everything to do with our comfort foods so it does seem like work to even try to switch things around. But you can create a new ‘comfort’ pattern. You have no idea what it takes to stop ‘spoon binging’ half a jar of peanut butter, but I do the checks and balances. I keep the ledger, knowing that if I do that for a half a day, its light salads, soups and vegetables to balance out. You can do it too, even without kicking out your most comfortable foods. There are other ways my diet falls into place, such as when I go for a drink with friends. Because I am aware of my calorie expenditure, when I end up at a party where I have drinks, I do not think about it or go in overdrive the next day trying to burn it off as it is fully accounted for in the ledger. This is what you can achieve when you develop your own system. 

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The Diet Strategy – 4 Part Series – PART 1

SUPPLEMENTS
Lets explore the reason people take supplements. There is the need for appetite suppression, the need to prevent ailments such as bloating and fatigue during exercise and in general to achieve weight loss goals. We all know what caffeine is. I will never forget when I was 14 and my mom mentioned that when she was younger coffee made her slim. You have no idea how detrimental that new found piece of information was to me. I drank it cold, I drank it hot and I drank it with every meal possible. I quickly became very thin and my mom pointed out that I looked like a stick figure lying in bed. For my developing body, coffee was very effective. However as I grew it just didn’t work anymore, not that I ever got fat I was just obsessed with remaining thin. . Eventually I committed to one cup of coffee per day until I stopped drinking it all together. I changed my habits. I have a set work out schedule and eat properly everyday. I found freedom in committing to something that works. For one I did not have to obsess about dieting, I honored my routine and my basic calorie needs so it was no longer an issue. February 2010 will make one year that I have followed the routine of eating sufficiently and exercising at least 4 times a week.

PART II – Healthy use of supplements

If you are using stimulants keep in mind that if it contains caffeine it depletes magnesium and B6 hence the moodiness and headaches if you try to quit. Most supplements have 200mg or more of caffeine. Don’t just quit or else you will find yourself eating everything in sight, the reason people complain they regain their weight after taking supplements. What happens when you are taking supplements is that it suppresses your appetite so even though you deplete the vitamins in your body you don’t get cravings while you are on stimulants. When you stop taking stimulants, your body starts expressing its natural urges to fill up on what it lacks. You have to change your game plan. You can use two things to level your body out when coming off stimulants. First, move to green tea that has about 50 mg or less of caffeine in order to prevent the headaches and second, have a meal replacement shake in the afternoon each day to help replenish your vitamins and minerals. Most protein shakes contain vitamins that can help by eliminating cravings in two ways; restoring nutrition and making you feel fuller because of the protein component. If stimulants made you power through your workout without feeling the burn, the pain will return when you stop. One alternative to preventing muscle fatigue is msm. If you don’t know what it is then you don’t need to use it lol.

PART III – Milder alternatives to stimulants.

For those who are still trying to lose weight and are on stimulants.

Mild weight management supplements – Mega T drink mix – 50 gms of caffeine and green tea
Aqua full water mix – contains 4gms of fiber with 1gm of green tea.
Kellogs protein/fiber water mix with 5gms of protein and 5 gms of fiber.
Protein Shake with 20 gms or less of protein – There are protein shakes with 50 gms or more of protein, avoid these especially if you eat a lot of protein.

How to use protein supplements- Have a protein supplement at the end of your work day. This is key. Not only can it help you power through your work out if you go to the gym after work but it will nourish you at the time of day you want to go home and eat a large meal. It is guaranteed to cut the amount you feel you need to eat. A great mini protein shake by muscle milk has only 100 calories, 15 grams of protein and no added sugar. What you should achieve here is you cut how much you eat at the dinner table.

What happens in the 9 to 5 hours before dinner? This is where kellogs water mix and aqua full or a green tea mix comes in. Work is where we have the largest meal. Something happens at work that makes you feel drained by lunch time. At your desk I suggest a bottle of water mixed with kellogs protein/fiber mix, mixed and mega t drink mix or a supplement that combines both protein and green tea (aqua full water mix). If you are sipping on this concoction, it will reduce the amount you eat at lunch or it will prevent you from loading up on fatty stuff. Some have suggested having fruit before lunch. That works too even better when combined with green tea.

PART IV – What works for the long term?

Changing your habits. These are just some strategies to help you get there. Ultimately what works for me devoid of supplements is low carb breakfast, almonds snack, low carb lunch and dinner; all meals including variations of beans, fruits and veges and potatoes. On this diet, I lose my need to eat just because a bag of almonds is such an appetite killer. However I had to work my way down to beans, nuts and fruits. This is the diet that works for me without any supplements but with my unpredictable lifestyle where one day I am working a 9 to 5 then another I am on a set for 8 hours without eating, I invest in protein shakes and green tea to keep the edge off so I don’t eat massive meals after long work days.

Remember you have to make the best decision for yourself as only you know the part of your lifestyle that is sabotaging your diet. Maybe it is not what you eat for dinner or lunch, maybe its snacking in front of the TV on a weekend. Maybe you don’t need a fiber or protein supplement, maybe you need to invest in my foolproof TV snack – sunflower seeds and pomegranates.

Sometimes we don’t really need pop corn to watch TV we just feel the need to chew something. I assure you, if liver was the only thing that you had to chew on, in front of the TV, that you would eat it just because in front of the tv you are not looking to be full just to eat mindlessly. Here are some snacks you can try for the mindless chewing. Freeze dried fruit, sunflower seeds, and pomegranates. These snacks are apart of my pms strategy. If you see me with sunflower, freeze dried fruit, pomegranates, or whipped cream and sugar free jello you know what time it is lol.

Miscellaneous

Here is substitute for yogurt if you are die-hard dieting and don’t want to have it, yet still struggle with bloating – ‘Now Foods’ fruit and vegetable greens. It has fiber, fruit and vegetables, digestive enzymes and probiotics (the stuff found in yogurt).
A supplement that surprised me with its ability to reduce bloating, cramps and pms – Now Foods omega 3-6-9
It also prevents cravings and helps with fat loss over time.

Denise Austin Dual Stepper Wins!!!!!!!!!!!

I just received my Denise Austin Dual Stepper and man its amazing. Its better than the mini stepper because the stepper is set up in such a way that allows for higher stepping action, which greatly enhances the workout. In addition, I am really happy about the two handles that allow me to work my arms. I am so excited. I have something to look forward to…………skinny, eh eh eh!

City Gym Solutions

Everyone has that one piece of equipment that he or she believes in. For me its the stepmill. I believe in it with my whole heart because it works every part of my body, it makes me sweat and it ensures that I never gain a pound. However for the last two weeks I have not been able to workout because of my schedule. I was up late one night just browsing amazon when I decided to search for a portable ‘step mill’ .I was amazed at the variety of steppers available. I cannot believe that I could find a stepper that allows me to work my arms and legs, that I can store in the closet and for less than $100. I marveled at the fact that America is the most creative place on earth, because if you have a need, it is pretty much guaranteed that a product has already been created to fill it. In fact, I can bet someone has already found Big Foot. I digress. 

I decided to get the Denise Austin Phoenix Stepper. I did not know it would take more than a week to get it. I couldnt wait that long, especially since today my meal plan was decided on by someone else. In other words, nice friends decide to treat me for lunch an hour after I’ve already had several lunches by other people with the same intention. Oh dear! Its more like thanksgiving in the middle of January. So after work I just had to get to the nearest Modells to get the Mini Stepper. I am so excited by my purchase. I think I will build a mini gym with all these cool equipment that are so easy to move about and stash away if need be. Skinny, here I come…… Again!

Come hell or high water Im gonna be skinny lol!

Ok Im already skinny but, Im talking fatless, ripped, toned, and everything else in brackets. If you are with me please lets form the tightest underground diet society (http://www.dietsecretsociety.proboards.com/) . Goal for 2010 is consistency in the healthy eating habits I cultivated in 2009 and consistency in workout plan. For a weightloss plan to be solid, it must be centered on consistency, ease and flexibility. If its easy, meaning it fits into your lifestyle habits then it can be consistent and if you are consistent, then you being flexible wont be a problem.

So here is the breakdown on my way of establishing an easy diet. First of all you must get a feel of how many calories your body needs daily. This depends on your activity level. Two days per week I am in the office, which is pretty much sedentary, so I dont need as much food as I do on days I am running around with friends. If I am going to the mall, I definitely need more energy to shop. This is important because if you eat the excess food on your sedentary days you will defeat yourself in terms of the progress you are already making. Talking about diet and the office would take an entire blog but the short of it is, you need to plan your office diet.
1. Always eat breakfast but more importantly, take one snack to work. Commit to eating your snack before lunch. Make sure the snack is either a protein shake or nuts. If you dont do breakfast, commit to a protein shake. There is nothing more appetite suppressing like a protein shake followed by a cup of coffee. You wont feel like eating for atleast 6 hours, but dont wait that long.
2. People usually wait too long to eat lunch. Many like myself work past 2pm, after which we become so starved we want to swallow everthing in sight. Commit to having your protein snack at 11:30. You will eat less at lunch.
3. Never eat carbs at work and by that I mean, bread, pasta, or any other type of flour lol. Try using beans either in the form of soups such as lentil or split pea combined with a salad or some other combination for lunch. Carbs make you sluggish for the rest of the day anyway. Remember to include fruit especially apples. Eat a snack after work, it will prevent you from overeating at home.
4. Drink water (note to self)

Why doesn’t anybody ever tell the truth around here?

If you’ve had roasted chicken then you know that it is pretty much the same as grilled chicken, just protein with most of the fat sucked out. Why isn’t it the same for cashews? When you check the nutritional facts on roasted cashews, it will say it was roasted in canola or peanut oil. Now with my limited cooking knowledge, I know this can’t be right. If it was prepared in oil, it should be rightly called ‘fried cashews’. 2009 was certainly the year of revelations for me where food is concerned. Do you know how detrimental it was, to not know that I was eating ‘French Fried’ cashews while I avoided KFC? Come on people, let us begin 2010 with some honesty, starting with deep fried cashews. Next up is cereal. Why do manufacturers bother to list nutritional facts for an ounce of cereal? Do they even make bowls for an ounce of cereal ?

Hit the spot!

So today I went to two events. I didnt eat much as I try to eat only to satisfy my hunger. Somehow, at the second event I wasnt hungry. It made me feel blue. I have to say I feel ‘diet successful’ if i am able to eat out, satisfy my appetite but not feel completely full. Most people might view this is odd, that is eating for survival but it is the optimal way to eat especially when we are always on the other side any way which is ‘over stuffed’. One of the benefits of dieting for a long period is being able to identify when you are hungry and exhibiting control over satisfying that hunger. Most people cannot remember what its like to feel hungry or dont know how to separate hunger from thirst, myself included. This is because its easy to eat all the time. So if i have been eating from one event to the next especially in the holiday season, feeling a little hunger after eating is a way to keep calorie load in check. It also depends on what you eat but I will get into that later. Another thing is this; sometimes you eat so fast that it takes time for the food to ‘hit the spot’. Lets say food takes 5 minutes to begin sending fuel to your brain cells etc and you keep eating for 30 minutes, thats 25 minutes more eating than you might need in one sitting lol. Chewing slowly might help but I recommend picking the most nutritious foods, limiting the calorie amount and eating just that, then wait. Wait for what you might ask. Wait for it to HIT THE SPOT!

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SUPPLEMENTS
             Lets explore the reason people take supplements. There is the need for appetite suppression, the need to prevent ailments such as bloating and fatigue during exercise and in general to achieve weight loss goals. We all know what caffeine is.            
             I will never forget when I was 14 and my mom mentioned that when she was younger coffee made her slim. You have no idea how detrimental that new found piece of information was to me. I drank it cold, I drank it hot and I drank it with every meal possible. I quickly became very thin and my mom pointed out that I looked like a stick figure lying in bed.
             

For my developing body, coffee was very effective. However as I grew it just didn’t work anymore, not that I ever got fat I was just obsessed with remaining thin. . Eventually I committed to one cup of coffee per day until I stopped drinking it all together. I changed my habits.
         I have a set work out schedule and eat properly everyday. I found freedom in committing to something that works. For one I did not have to obsess about dieting, I honored my routine and my basic calorie needs so it was no longer an issue. February 2010 will make one year that I have followed the routine of eating sufficiently and exercising at least 4 times a week.

                 
            
                I started my body reinvention in March 2009. I wasn’t fat, i had a slight rise in my tummy but I didn’t mind it because I could still fit into my jeans even if I had a muffin top. I accompanied my girlfriend one day to her gym and she told me that she had been working out for 5 years. I thought of my work out pattern. It looked more like checkers, 3 months here or there whenever the fat panic set in. I admired her commitment and so it inspired me to create a fitness goal. I thought how amazing it would be to say after 2 or more years that I had been going to the gym every week.

             I decided to commit to 4 times per week. I set up my calendar to brainwash my mind believing that, if i read my fitness ‘commitment statement’ everyday, that somehow subliminal messaging would cause me to ‘automatically’ fulfill my weekly gym requirement.I made it through the first week. I marked every milestone. After a month, I would celebrate, knowing I was consistent for a whole month. After 6 months I knew 6 years of consistency was just as attainable.           
            The only weird thing about it is that, if i go to the gym for 90 days, there is only one day out of the 90 that I truly want to go. All the other 89 days I had to talk myself into it and even when I am there, I am tempted to leave after 20 minutes. So I made sure to commit to a minimum of 60 minutes for each session.Here are the exercise tips for the bare bones dieter. By the way, i do not support being fatigued and drowsy from not eating nutritionally this just means that sometimes when you are mapping out a new diet plan, you encounter these side effects when trying to figure out what works such as caloric needs or exercise frequency. Dieting is all about tweaking your lifestyle to make it livable while you achieve your goal weight.

Another thing is this; sometimes you eat so fast that it takes time for the food to ‘hit the spot’. Lets say food takes 5 minutes to begin sending fuel to your brain cells etc and you keep eating for 30 minutes, thats 25 minutes more eating than you might need in one sitting lol. Chewing slowly might help but I recommend picking the most nutritious foods, limiting the calorie amount and eating just that, then wait. Wait for what you might ask. Wait for it to HIT THE SPOT!

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              I had a conversation with an elderly man who recounted early lifestyle lessons in school on eating food for fuel only. Aye! I wish that were the case. It used to be, but somehow food is not just fuel these days, its comfort almost like a therapist on a couch. The minute you bite into your favorite comfort food, life is sweet again after a long tired day and that my dear is what’s real, at least for some. Do we even want to change our habits? Do we have to? At one point, my favorite past time was a cup of coffee and two chocolate laced biscuits, every morning at 10 am. For my sister, she confessed to having two large dumplings every night with butter. It showed in her cheeks but it was a ritual that she was proud of. It was her comfort moment. It made her happy. There is a way to have your cake and eat it too. Live life on more practical terms, meaning, you can embrace your bad habits and not feel bad about them.

  Food lifestyle or dieting is all about adjustment. If your vice is sweets, like cakes for example, have them in the morning. You still have to practice moderation but I suggest you adjust your lifestyle to include all your temptations while you plan your comeback lol. What is the comeback? Once you start scheduling your food timing, the second step after understanding your daily calorie needs, it will help you establish control. Reorganizing your food life will help you get back to eating for fuel even if you are including your temptations in that budget.