Discovered a new favorite salad dressing!

Mmm.  Asian dressing.  I have eaten plates and plates of fresh homemade salad (NEVER buy bagged salad, it's nasty, and it always goes bad in my fridge) dressed with a little Asian dressing. 

And apples!  I've rediscovered apples.  Fresh, sweet, cold, juice apples.  Sometimes I forget how good real food is!

Water makes such a difference!

"Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink." 

Seems that way at my house.  I'm not drinking nearly enough water! 

Water is an amazing substance.  My friend Michael, owner of Clear Water Solutions here in Utah, is constantly reminding me that "The solution to pollution is dilution!" And he's right.

Especially on a weight loss plan.  Water carries away waste products, and when we're actively losing releasing weight, we're also releasing extra waste products, or toxins.  When you don't drink enough water, your body holds on to it.  Drinking plenty of water helps release the water weight! 

Water also helps with those nagging aches and pains - lower back pain, PMS, headache, and general grouchiness, 

Most of us just don't drink enough water.  We substitute soda, coffee, or tea.  And that's not good enough

Nothing quite beats pure water.   Make sure you drink plenty of it.

Now, you don't want to try to drink all of your water at once,  That's as harmful as not drinking it at all!  You want to be drinking plenty of water throughout the day. 

Find a beautiful glass that you love drinking out of and keep it full.

I like my water ice cold (like cold enough to make my teeth hurt!), so I make sure I have plenty of ice.  Or I'll freeze a bottle of water (or several) and sip on it throughout the day.  It keeps my skin young looking, helps me avoid backaches, and helps me release both pounds and inches.

Yeah, you might need to go to the bathroom more often, but really - that's a good think.  I often visualize the extra weight going down the toilet! 

Did you drink your water today?

Working at Home - A Mixed Blessing

Yup, I'm back to my home office.  Hurray!  (I like change.)  And as I continue my journey to 125 pounds, I can see that this is a mixed blessing.

Up in Alpine, there were no close restaurants.  So at work, either I brought food from home, or I was stuck in the office with my Diet Coke and bottled water.  At home....well, the fridge is right there. 

On the other hand, it's stocked with healthy food choices.  I've got my leftovers from last night waiting for me.  I'm close to the grocery store - and it makes more sense for me to purchase there and choose better foods. 

All in all, I'm having better success (so far) at home, since all my cooking stuff is here, and with a little forethought, I can choose better lunches that I might have when I was in the office.

Finishing my break, back to the protocol

I'm going back on protocol again, and (since I use homeopathic) I'll stay on it until I've reached my goal weight.  I'm adding protein powder and vitamins this round, as I think I've depleted my nutrient stores pretty badly.  I'm also emphasizing drinking more water. 

So -- off we go!  35 pounds to go!

Preparation and Low Carb

Yes, low carbing can be done.  I used to think it was too hard - before my first round of HCG and having my eyes opened.  You know what?  When you know what you CAN eat, and how to cook it so it's tasty, low carbing is easy.

Restaurant out?  I always explain to the waitress that I'm on a low carb diet and would she please hold the rolls, croutons, and potatoes?  I've had the wonderful staff at Texas Road House bring me 2 side salads - because salad was the only side I could have, and i was entitled to 2 sides.  (I only asked for one.  Texas Road House in Lehi, UT.  The waitstaff there is awesome.) And grilled steak is fine, yum!

The tough times for me are when I am out with the kidlets - who are hungry - and I need a quick snack.  I want to avoid the drive through in any case - so I tend to bring apples, grapes, and raisins for the kids to snack on.  It really just takes a little forethought.

I also like Saving Dinner.  Leanne takes the thinking out of menu planning.  And she has a low-carb option - but all the options are healthy!  Again, just a little forethought - ordering the menus, going to the store once a week - and the payoffs are delicious meals and a slimmer, healthier you!

Not to mention more cash in your bank account from the money saved on junk snacks.

9/11

Exercise is Indispensable to Effective Weight Loss

I would love to be the one to tell you that you can achieve your ideal weight and keep it without exercise.  I'd love to lay on my couch all day, reading books and eating eclairs and always weight 125 pounds. 

But it ain't a'gonna happen. 

As important as diet is, exercise plays an important role in achieving and maintaining weight loss. 

For one thing, muscle is much denser than fat. That means that with weight training to build your muscles, you can gain pounds AND lose inches, ending up at a smaller clothing size but a heavier weight.  Over time, the more muscle you carry, the easier it is to release extra fat stores from the body. 

Fat doesn't burn calories, either.  It just hangs around, making the rest of your body work harder to live.  Muscle is active, and simply gaining muscle means that you are burning more calories by sitting on the couch than a fat person is.  Pretty snifty, huh?

Then there's the fact that working out daily has important after effects all day long.  A weight training session in the morning can help you burn more calories all day. Exercise relieves stress, too.  I've gone back to my habit of walking when I'm angry instead of inhaling bonbons.

I don't advise anyone to begin a strenuous exercise regimen on the HCG protocol.  During active dieting, start with a walk around the block, and ease into a more strenuous program after the maintenance portion is completed.  I recommend an interval approach, like that used by EXL Fitness.  (And if you're in Utah, come down to EXL Fitness for a 2 week free trial.  Tell Mat that Donna sent you.)

Car is broken down

One of the accidental fallouts of having no car over the weekend is that I've walked and walked and walked.  7 miles yesterday.  5 miles today.  Walking is a great form of exercise - more so when you're hauling little kids along, and lugging bottles of water!

It's hard to believe that last year I was struggling to walk a mile, and now I have hiked to the summit of Mt Timpanogos (about 9 miles to the summit, one way - about 17 miles round trip) on August 21 and after that,  a little jaunt into American Fork on flat roads is nothing.

So today, I ate whatever I wanted.  I don't foresee a gain in the morning.  But I do need to drink more water - I have a headache from dehydration.  And I'm sunburned.

It's been about 3 weeks since ending my last round.  I'm beginning to think about starting another.

Does Homeopathic HCG Really Work?

It forever amazes me that people are willing to post idiotic things on the internet.  Things like, "Homeopathic HCG cannot work, because there's no HCG in it."  "Homeopathic HCG cannot work because hCG is a hormone...."

And yet, it does.  How ironic.  How many people are being deprived of an excellent method of weight loss due to cost, when homeopathic is available at a fraction of the cost, all because a few people, with no knowledge of medicine (let alone homeopathics) are claiming this does not work - based on, what, ten minutes of research on the web?

Homeopathic medicine does work.  And it works very well.  I've had tremendous success with it - not only for weight loss, but for other things too. 

Dr. Kendra Pearsall routinely uses homeopathic HCG in her practices, and in this article discusses the effectiveness of it.

Addicted to Weight Loss?

HCG is amazing.  I've never lost weight so quickly, so easily, in my life.  But I've been thinking about eating disorders, and how quickly the HCG protocol (or any regimen for that matter) can turn to addictive behavior.

While on protocol, the daily weight loss  (up to a pound per day, sometimes more) and the rapid changes in the body are amazing.  However, the diet is stringent - only 500 calories a day - and that extremely low intake in and of itself can be addictive.

The body image may be distorted.  It's so easy to think, "Just a few more pounds, and I'll be happy."  It's easy to keep seeing yourself as fat when you're not.

During this, or any other diet, it's important to consider WHY you're on a diet.  I want to reach a specific goal - 125 pounds, 36-24-36 - and when I reach this, I will stop.  Period.  I am dieting, yes, partly because of appearance, but also because of health concerns.  I do NOT want to look underweight or emaciated.  I like my hips and my chest.

But oh, it is so addicting to see those numbers on the scales go down so much every day!

What does stress do for weight loss?

I'm asking because I'm curious.

My day has been strange all day - beginning with the power going out at my place this morning (it actually made for a peaceful morning), going to the Salt Lake Agile group this afternoon (very nice group, I like them), and ending up with car trouble along I-15.

Sometimes when I stress out, I gain - other times, the extra weight just slides right off. 

I've heard both theories - stress causes the secretion of cortizone which creates more belly fat, and stress causes you to lose your appetite so you end up losing weight.

I've almost decided that the correct answer is "We don't know, so we're going to make it up and get you to accept our authority." 

Surprise!

Yesterday was just generally stressful.  My day started at 6am, with a client appointment at 8am.  (I am NOT a morning person.)  I had an apple at the office, a Diet Coke, lots of water, and then spent the evening with Krista since the man I'm breaking up with was coming to my house to get the scooter he "gave" me - and I didn't want to see him.

I ended up having Wendy's for dinner instead of the dinner I had planned (grilled steak Parmesan with broccoli and a salad).  Ick.  Fast food is quickly losing its appeal.  Then I had a couple of glasses of water before bedtime, while I was reading to the kids.

I was down nearly 2 pounds over yesterday, though - and I'd braced myself for a gain. 

Losing weight is always a multi pronged approach.  I had a great workout this morning at EXL Fitness. And I followed that up with a delicious breakfast burrito - 2 eggs, cheddar cheese, and salsa wrapped in a flour tortilla.  Yum!  I'm drinking a ton of water at the office again today, and saving my Diet Coke for a treat or for the caffeine - too much sweet isn't good for you, even without calories.

And I'm looking forward to dinner with my kids tonight!  Family dinner will do wonders for me and for the kids.