top five weight loss tips

Virtually every woman’s magazine and ad on the right-hand side of your Facebook page advertises a quick slim-down “solution,” sure fire ways to melt the fat in… ONE week?  10 DAYS?  Nuh uh.  I’ll relate my weight loss story another time (size 14 to size 6!)… but, it started with a conscious decision to change my thinking around eating.

First of all — don’t expect a quick weight or body shape change ever.  You need a good 6-8 weeks of good eating and exercise…also gives you time to create a routine and good habits.  I have a few strategies to get you started – they are not profound and it’s nothing you haven’t read before, but if nothing else, these tips can get you going down the right path.

Here are DeirdreSpeak’s weight loss Top 5:

1. Drink H2O – aside from the hydration and cleansing benefits, drinking water keeps you away from sugary drinks and curbs your appetite.  Snacking (on junk food) is a huge weakness for me; water fills me up, keeps me satisfied until the next meal.
2. Become calorie conscious – this was something I never wanted to do — I couldn’t be bothered because it seemed like a hassle to calculate calories for everything I ate.  But, try becoming calorie conscious – simply flip over the packaging on whatever it is you’re about to eat and make a mental note of the calories per serving.  Your goal is approximately 2000 calories per day (I’ll talk to you about good, bad, and ugly calories later)
3. Reduce or better yet, eliminate simple carbohydrates – sugar, bread, potatoes, pasta, rice.  These foods break down quickly, and in the absence of high intensity exercise, get stored as fat.  Limit high GI fruit & vegetables (check the glycemic index website for a list).  Use a zero calorie sugar substitute such as Splenda.
4. Take small bites – you’ll send your brain the appropriate message about how full you really are.  If you eat too much too fast, your brain won’t realize you’re full until you’ve consumed twice the calories you should have.
5. Run or walk – I’m a firm believer in high intensity cardio coupled with a good weight training routine to really axe those pounds.  Customize with any other physical activity you want: yoga, pilates, swimming, hip hop dance, etc.  My best combo was ballet + running + weight training.  But, as a mom with limited time and a lapsed gym membership, a regular run (20 minutes, 3-4 times a week is great!) or long walk.

I want to talk about food as fat burning fuel – but, that’s another blog.

24 Hours: 0 Minutes of Exercise

Today has gone so quickly I can hardly believe it.  And, not a minute of brisk walking or other real exercise.  My body is feeling the lack.  My muscles are hungry for work.  Since it’s 9:30 at night, I think it best to let it go for tonight.  Exercise too close to bedtime keeps me awake.

What did I do with my day?  I gave my body its routine morning care including breakfast.  I spent a few hours working for money and talking with a friend.  Then lunch and off for an afternoon at my friend’s farm.  A couple of errands, dinner, a class, and now blogging.  All while being available for or engaged with my nine year old son.  A full day and, yet, nothing really unusual happened. 

This is how I lose attention to my physical body in the form of exercise.  The days are full -especially given my role as mother and earner of money, along with the regular stuff.  A whole day and no exercise.  I’m not complaining.  The choices of time allocation were largely mine.

On the plus side, I was fed by friendships today.  As I breathe through an emotionally difficult time, my soul needs the nourishment of Love from my friends.  In that regard, my being was well attended to today.

Tomorrow, I’ll see if I can have both.

How I did today:
1.  Sleep - 7.5 hours last night
2.  Exercise - none – just some low key farm work 
3.  Strength training - not yet 
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 10 minutes as soon as I finish writing
6.  Food – chili for breakfast and dinner, bacon, eggs and hash browns for lunch.  Not so good for veggies and fruits though I ate 3 apples!  2 servings of chocolate

Things i've learned on my weight loss journey....

This is for those of you who have been following me on my quest for a “Muffin-Top Free” life… (and anyone else who cares enough to read… lol! ;) I have reached my goal, (and then some) 4 months after my journey started…. i’ve lost close to 40lbs… I started at 165lbs+ and now weigh in at 128lbs and am a sz.4! This is the least i’ve weighed in almost 10 years!!!

To be honest with you, this is the very FIRST time i’ve ever lost weight the RIGHT way, the HEALTHY way, and made it a COMPLETE lifestyle change… i’ve lost weight before after having my kids I had to lose the “baby weight”, but did so by either barely eating, counting fat grams, food combining, strict rules, etc… stupid, stupid, stupid!! Well this time I knew I wanted to do it right and I needed it to become my lifestyle. NOT something I did till I lost the weight and then went back to “normal” eating again. This is the most amount of weight i’ve ever had to lose… after having my 4th I was tired, run down, and honestly, didn’t care enough about myself to put in the time & effort it takes to lose weight the healthy way. After stepping on my mom’s scale last Mother’s Day and seeing that 165+ (i’m thinking it was 168 in all honesty!) I thought to myself.. OMG! It’s now or never… i’d never let myself weight that much before, i’d actually GAINED weight since having my 4th child. UGH! I looked & felt horrible… I never had any energy, hated squeezing my ass into jeans that were too tight, and hated that my “muffin tops” stopped me from wearing the clothes that I wanted to. All my shirts had to be baggy to hide my muffin tops.

So I started eating healthy & exercising the very next day, NO excuses, no “I don’t have enough time”, “I don’t have enough money to buy healthy food”, “I’m too tired” blah, blah, blah. If there’s *ONE THING* i’ve learned throughout this process is that THERE IS NO EASY WAY & YOU HAVE TO ***REALLY*** WANT IT!! Not, sort of, not maybe, now when you have enough time, you have to WANT IT MORE THAN ANYTHING.

How did I lose the weight? For the first couple months I counted calories, every single calorie I consumed, and I exercised daily (usually 6x week) for 30-50 minutes. I used assorted DVD”s, The 30 Day Shred, Leslie Sansone DVD’s, Jillian Micheal assorted DVD’s, Kathy Smith DVD’s, really, anything I could get my hands on and would mix things up for me! Over the last couple months though i’ve been mostly using my Wii!! It’s my FAVOURITE!! Super fun & you don’t feel like it’s exercise… i’ve been doing the EA Sports Active for the last month and a bit on the high intensity level. Along with that I play Wii Fit (I absolutely LOVE Yoga now and try to get in 1/2 hr a day), and then I walk everywhere, and then taking care of 4 kids and a husband probably helps too! lol!!

After a couple of months of calorie counting and reading up on clean & intuitive eating, I stopped counting calories and trusted that my body would tell me when I was hungry and when I had enough. And it did! Go figure!  I no longer crave ‘crap’… I stay away from processed products, no fast food, have cut sugar out of my diet (save for a tsp or 2 in my coffee in the morning) and try to stay away from white flour products as well. My diet focuses on fruits (i’m an addict), veggies, whole grain products, lean meats & eggs, yogurt & full fat cheese! yum! lol! I’m lactose intolerant, so use rice milk instead. AND, I do still have the odd treat here and there, but mostly I don’t want crap. So I will have some dark chocolate almost daily… don’t kid yourself, i’m not a saint. lol!! I still exercise 5-6 days a week, and not to lose weight anymore, not because it’s the “right” thing to do, but because I WANT & NEED it.. my body craves it. I feel so good after getting in my daily workout! Even over the last couple days while i’ve had this head cold i’ve been doing 30 minutes of Yoga because it feels great!! So I do what I feel my body needs.. feeling crappy I wouldn’t do 45 minutes of high intensity exercise, but 1/2 hour of yoga feels wonderful when you’re feeling blah! Fresh air always does a body good too!

My best piece of advice is probably like the good old Nike saying goes… JUST DO IT! You can go full force 100% right at once, or you can take it baby step by baby step, whatever works for you!! For myself, I did everything at once, but I know for some a great starting goal is 8 glasses of water a day and a 20 minute walk, then next week add in eating your 3-5 veggies, then switching over to brown bread from white bread, etc… so do what you have to do to get there, but JUST DO IT! If you’re looking for some inspiration take a peek over at my Health & Well Being blogroll links… these are the women who have inspired & encouraged me through my journey! I’ve learned something from each and every one of them and they’ve inspired me in many ways!! So I thank everyone on that list!

And that’s my post for now… i’m feeling much better today, just stuffy today, I do love being healthy!! I know people who have been sick with this cold that seems to be going around for WEEKS… so 3 days for me, not bad! I can handle 3 days.. LOL!

Have a fabulous day & thanks for stopping by and reading!!

A quote for today:

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Acai berry pills - Reviews of Acai Berry Pills

Acai berry pills are gaining celebrity really fast particularly after being adopted by top stars for e.g. Oprah Winfrey. I am sure after knowing that Oprah has used and lost weight through Acai berry pills you all also wish to eat it but you need to first know what Acai berry is?

Acai berry is a berry having an almond shape, it is grown in Amazon. The people of Amazon call it their most dear treasure, as this small berry contains all the minerals and berries a human body needs.

Discussed below is the encouraging feedback that WSJ gave on Acai Berry Pills :

Xlent berry – These Acai berry pills are most advised by Dr. Perricone of Fox stories. These pills cut down the appetite ; they are a very powerful cleanser that assists in losing pounds and is an energy enhancer that increases the metabolism to melt down calories quickly . It also saves you from gas, constipation and bloating.

Learn more about acai berry pills

Acai Berry Power 1200 – These Acai berry pills are way more known to shed pounds excessively and boost metabolism, also they are a great system flusher, they flush out all the toxin from your body, making it energetic.

Acai Burn- These Acai berry pills are made from pulp and are considered awfully useful in weight loss.

All of these Acai berry pills have a hundred percent pure berry in them. The pulp utilized in them is natural therein ; assists in washing out bacteria from your body, making your body better and healthy. It’s a pure, flush, clear, and ultimate White Tea.

They also slow down the aging process. These Acai berry pills have a particularly delightful taste and can be taken into mouth with out any fear of bad taste.

To popularize the sales of Acai berry pills many companies give away free bottles as a no-cost trial. Once the users experience ultimate satisfaction they move to standard purchases. If you go to larger cities you’ll find them generally available in all big stores or stacked up fantastically to be sold in health food stores. If in case you can not find them in stores then you can definitely find them online .

There are plenty of ecommerce companies selling a variety of these products. Simply make sure before buying that no synthetic chemicals are included in them. Many online sites also offer free trials, you don’t have to pay the tablets price but you have got to pay the shipping cost. Read the terms and conditions properly to see that no further costs are included.

Learn more about acai berry pills

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My Journey

Since I can remember I’ve had a weight problem, I was born big…although I was my mom’s smallest- she made big babies. It has caused my to have issues with my self-esteem. I have tried any and every diet there is out there and have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on diet plans, pills, video’s, magazines, etc. Seems like I get on a diet and lose some weight then once I hit a plateau, I start giving up and thinking I can do it on my own. So I decided that 2009 was going to be a new year for me, I was going to take things serious, it was no longer going to be a “diet” but a life-style change for me. I had hit my highest weight not pregnant which was more than I weighed with 2 of  my pregnancies (full term) and decided to start exercising and eating right. So from January to April I only lost 6lbs. Realized that maybe I needed some help, since Weight Watchers has been successful for me in the past, I decided to rejoin, this time I would not stop attending the meetings and think that I would be able to continue the plan on my own. So since April I have continued to exercise 3-5 days a week and have incorporated ww as a way of life for me. However, it has been a slow, steady progress. Since April I’ve lost 20.8, so a total of 26.8 until tonight…… I weighed in and gained 1.9- what!?! I was shocked, disappointed, mad, angry, sad and all I wanted to do was come home and find something good to eat But instead, I looked at myself and said, “self, you can do this, you will do this, so what if it takes you till this time next year (btw self- it better not), keep your chin up and pressing on. So my weight loss journey hasn’t been as steady of decline as I would like for it to be but I’m closer to a new me than I was in January!

You are losing weight because you have cancer

You are losing weight because you have cancer…

Yes believe it or not that was actually told to me by a family member?!?! What do you say to that? So I was talking to said person, and I get the “how much do you weigh now?” comment that I’ve been getting a lot lately. I say 173 pounds I haven’t been on the scale in weeks. That’s how busy I’ve been. At this point i am beyond busy. Anyway that before mentioned person apparently didn’t believe me and tried to tell me that I was about 130 pounds. Umm no, I think I would have a better idea then some random guesstimate from a family member. So apparently since I’m a liar or delusional. This family member, now remember this is immediate family the only reason I’m not saying who is because it would make the situation seem even more crazy, then precedes to get a scale and make me weigh myself. Even though I was reaching the point of being majorly annoyed. I got on the scale, and it said 169. So granted i was 4 pounds off, but I haven’t been on a scale in two weeks. Waking up at 5 am to be at the hospital at 7 in the morning leaves no time to mess around with the scale. Then once again I get the same question that I got from the doctor that time I went about my anxiety(read back a few posts to see what I am talking about). This family member, she hits me with the, “are you trying to lose weight?’ What? Huh? Oh here we go again! So i say I am trying to loose weight. But lately I’ve been kinda slacking, no exercise and eating fast food often, well very often(Burger kings angry tendercrisp sandwich should be my new name). So even though lately I am a little off I am still mindful of my food choices and such. But apparently that comment wasn’t good enough because then she asks me if I got my MRI done yet (back when I had to have emergency surgery the docs recommended that I get an MRI on my pelvic bone because there are some scars/lesions there). But the doctor said it could just be normal from when the bones were growing, if it was serious I would be having lots of pain in the area. But they wanted me to schedule an MRI just to be 100%. So granted I haven’t got it done yet. The only days I have free are Monday’s and I haven’t even had a free one of those in a while. But back to the story. So i tell her I haven’t gotten the MRI yet, and she goes,  ”you are losing weight because you have cancer, you know cancer can cause weight loss!”. I just have to lol at that one. Sure not diet, not exercise but cancer?! WoW who knew?! Now if that’s not frustrating then what is? That’s just the most recent craziness that’s been going on in my life. I’ll be back later today to fill you in on what’s been going on while I was gone. Thanks to those who still visited in my absence.

The Full Catastrophe

Jon Kabat-Zinn refers to life, especially life with family, as “The Full Catastrophe.”  It sure can feel that way at times.  Under the best of circumstances, a family means lots of activity and a lot of love.  Under the worst, lots of chaos and conflict.  Hopefully your family is a balance between these two extremes.  Mine right now is not.

Still with the strong “wanting something more,” I remain committed to self-care.  Thus the two days off of blogging.  And I haven’t pushed myself to add strength training and yoga into my routine despite my intentions to do so this week.  My family is in crisis.  I’ve had little sleep in the last few weeks.  The future looks scary.  However, I am managing to maintain a reasonable diet and I’m keeping some time for exercise.  My body now complains when I don’t give it exercise.  Yay!

I think I finally get it that I am the only one whom I can count on to make space for me and to take care of me.  And so it is.

How I did today:
1.  Sleep - 9.5 hours last night
2.  Exercise - 20 minutes of brisk walking and 60 minutes of bike riding with a bike trailer, too
3.  Strength training - not yet 
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – 10 minutes as soon as I finish this post
6.  Food – lots of fruit and veggies and a little extra chocolate

How I did Friday:
1.  Sleep - 6 hours last night
2.  Exercise - none
3.  Strength training - not yet 
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – not today
6.  Food – don’t remember

How I did Thursday:
1.  Sleep - 4 hours last night
2.  Exercise - none
3.  Strength training - not yet 
4.  Yoga – nope
5.  Meditation – not today
6.  Food – light eating and two servings of chocolate