Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Healthy Mentality

The hardest thing for me to realize was that I had to change the way I looked at food. No amount of dieting or exercising was going to last long term unless I made a mental switch. It started for me by not eating for pleasure but eating for life. Robert's brother often said, "nothing tastes as good as thin feels". He may be right, however that's not going to do the trick for a lot of people out there that are addicted to the sugar, MSG and other ingredients in the food that's out there these days. The switch for me was made when I watched the movie Hungry for Change. They make mention of a mental switch from, "I want it but can't have it" to "I can have it but I don't want it". What a paradigm shift! Try that on for size and see what it can do for you.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Exercise

Very important when losing weight to add in some exercise. Just a half an hour 3 times a week is a great start. Walking, jogging or running. Indoors on a treadmill or outside. A couple of my favorite exercise videos are "the Butt Bible" and "Weight loss Yoga". There are also tons of free exercise videos on the internet if you can't afford to buy them, or like me, you can't afford a gym membership. Don't let a tight budget stop you from getting fit.  Slowly build up from 30 mins on up, depending on your physical fitness level. Gradually build from 3 times a week to 6. Best to alternate different routines to work different muscles whenever possible. This shocks the muscles. Like I found in the P90X program you will here about later. My new favorite workout videos. As the weight comes off, the inches will too. You want to build your muscle as you rid the fat. Never over do it. A little soreness is fine but not hurting so much you have an injury. Be kind to yourself and take it easy in the beginning. But most importantly get your body moving!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Portions

I've covered the foods to eat, reading labels, the importance of water and health benefits of ACV, now lets talk about portion control. I went to a nutritionist in Mississippi who taught me a valuable lesson on the size of our stomach and how limiting your intake of food is key in losing weight. Did you know that your stomach is about the size of your fist? That's right. Now look at the size of your average plate and bowl you use each day. Not the same size is it? I have found the perfect size portion for us is a 2 cup pyrex bowl. Not only is it the right size to fill us up but it is also glass which is great if you want to avoid the unnecessary chemicals in plastic. That's another topic all together though. Back to portions. Once eating smaller portions you will also find that you can now add in a few snacks of veggies or fruits into your day. Several smaller meals and snacks a day help raise your metabolism as well. All told we eat 6 times a day. Here I thought not eating or drinking slim fast was the way to go, but no, that actually makes your body store fat. As well as starve your body and mind of important nutrients for proper function. Try it and see!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar, otherwise known as ACV is my next topic of discussion. Our preferred brand is Braggs for continent and flavor. ACV has many health benefits. We have been taking it daily now for quite some time. Just a cap full in 8 oz of water every morning helps with bowel movement, weight loss as well as aids in digestion and that's just a few benefits. The taste is tough when you are still addicted to sugar. I recommend adding a bit of honey to those just starting the regimen. I myself had to start with a very small amount and work my way up to a cap full. It's also good as a pick me up throughout the day as well as a natural gas reliever. We've recently come across a book that tells the health benefits of vinegar that was published in 1994, titled The Vinegar Book by Emily Thacker. An interesting read. Here's to your health!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

WATER

Now that your home is free of toxic food and restocked with health food you begin your journey to a new you. One important word of advice is to drink plenty of good clean water. Not tap water or bottled water (chlorinated) but filtered if not reverse osmosis water. You don't want to put any new toxins in your body when trying to rid it of the years worth that are already in there, would you? Probably not. You are supposed to drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day or half your body weight in ounces minimum. I highly recommend giving up coffee, soda and high sugar fruit juices all together and just drink water and decaf tea. You can add slices of lemon, lime, oranges, strawberries or even cucumber to the water if that helps get it down. Also try not to drink anything while eating, it dilutes your stomach acid, which could lead to digestive problems. Drink at least 20-30 minutes before meals. I try to get a third of my fluids first thing in the morning. Which also helps move things along, if you know what I mean. I also want to mention that we do not store our water in plastic which is full of harmful chemicals. They sell tons of great bottles these days in steel (like the one in the photo) or even glass. If you have to use plastic try to find one that is BPA free.
So go grab some fluids and get hydrated today!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Reading Labels

 So I mentioned what a chore it is to read labels in the previous post. It does take more time to shop when you are eating healthy and trying to avoid any harmful ingredients. The easiest thing is to stock up on veggies and low sugar fruits, which by the way have no ingredient labels to read, yea! Try to pick organic whenever available. Back to label reading. An important website to check out is http://www.truthinlabeling.org/. You'll be amazed by what is in the foods that most people eat. It's really bad at most major grocery stores, but by all means don't think that by shopping at the health food stores you are safe. You still have to check the labels. The fewer ingredients the better. Don't be discouraged. Don't give up. Your health and well being are worth the effort! Here's to your health!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Making the Switch

The decision was made to begin on this "diet",  a word which I use lightly these days, in November 2008. It's more like a new way of eating, really. We, as in Robert, went through the whole house and pulled all the food that we were not going to eat anymore, (best to do this before you restock your house), and put it in boxes to distribute to the local food bank. If you don't clear your pantry completely, you'll set yourself up for failure. Next,  make a list for the store of healthy foods to replace the junk that you just got rid of.

Keep in mind the first several trips to the store will take much longer than usual with time spent reading labels. Oh yes, labels. You would not believe some of the ingredient lists out there. Ugh. It's a chore, but well worth the effort when you are trying to avoid several harmful chemicals that they are putting in food-like-products these days. This was a process for us, mind you. I had to be gradually weened off all of the sugar, yeast and simple carbs that I was used to consuming. This was so that I didn't feel deprived. I was addicted to sugar! Seriously. I still have a hard time in the coffee aisle and sometimes the bakery section. Dang if they don't smell good. Its like a drug folks.

One thing that has really helped me stay focused is making the mental switch from, "I want it, but I can't have it" to, "I can have it, but I don't want it". It will happen over time. The more healthy foods you put into your daily meals the more the bad food gets pushed out. If you have to just cut back on the sugar like I did, cutting down to things that were less than 10 g per serving is a good start. The more you cut out sugar, the more your taste buds transform. Real food started tasting sweeter. An example, grapefruit. In the beginning you couldn't get me to eat one. Robert had to squeeze the juice for me to drink for quite awhile and he would eat the fruit. Now I eat 1/2 a grapefruit everyday along with the cuticle of the skin. It's full of vitamin P, which is good for healthy gums and teeth (http://www.pittmandavis.com/articles/citrus/grapefruit/eat-grapefruit/grapefruit-benefits/the-many-benefits-of-the-grapefruit.html.)
Woo hoo. What a long way I've come. You will too. Just give it time.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Diet Guidelines: Beginning a Healthy Lifestyle

My fiancee Robert was the one that truly guided us onto this path of healthy living. I am so grateful to him and appreciate his support in this endeavor. Through internet research he was able to find a diet that we would begin that November 2008. It was called the "Candida Diet". You may be suffering from Candida overgrowth and not even know it. Do you have chronic yeast infections? Crave sweets all the time? If so you may suffer from this common affliction. This diet is not only for Candida sufferers however it is a great starting point for clean eating. Here are the guidelines we would follow for many years and still do to some degree;

BREADS: Brown rice, Kamut, Millet, Rye, Spelt and yeast free sourdough

CEREALS: Oat, rice bran, Rice, Millet and Quinoa

DAIRY: Soy milk, Nut milk, yogurt (if tolerated) and eggs

FLAVORINGS: without alcohol, sugar or salt

FLOURS: Amaranth, buckwheat, garbanzo, millet, potato, rice, soy (all wheatless and without gluten)

FRUITS: Grapefruit, granny smith apples (peeled), all berries in the beginning and then the others can be added once sugar cravings and weigh loss is steady

MEATS: Natural red meats, poultry, pork and fish; organic if possible

NOODLES: Bifun, soba, rice and buckwheat

NUTS: all in moderation including nut butters

OILS: 100% pure cold-pressed olive oil, safflower, sunflower, sesame, coconut and flax oils, clarified butter

POTATOES: all in moderation

RICE AND OTHER GRAINS: Brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa and wild rice

SEEDS: Chia, hemp, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, etc

SUGARS AND SWEETENERS: stevia or honey in moderation

TEAS: herb and decaffeinated in moderation

TOMATOES: fresh, packaged, pastes and sauces without citric acid or sweeteners

VEGETABLES: all; organic and fresh when possible

VINEGAR: Apple Cider Vinegar


The main thing is to avoid white flour, white sugar, corn syrup,  and MSG as well as hormones and antibiotics

200+ lbs

The year was 2008 and I had become the largest I would ever be in my life. How? Eating way too much over-processed foods, sugar, yeast and gluten. As well as 6 years on highly toxic medications. What to do? Find a better way to live!
Thus November 2008 will mark the start of my weight loss journey. Here is a before picture