Losing Weight Staying Getting Healthy DIE-Ts

SO many women I know have recently begun (or re-begun) to eat healthier, exercise and take better care of themselves.  I am so glad.  I've been working on this over the last several weeks myself since I was basically a sloth over the summer.


Here are some of my favorite tips:


1. Drink lots of water.  I am a big visual aid person so I keep a little dish with 8 "marbles" in it by my water glass in the kitchen.  Every time I drink a glass, I put a marble by the glass.  Silly, I know, but it really helps me drink the water I  need!  I usually start with 2 glasses as soon as I get up and aways end the day with at least one glass before I go to bed.

2.  Keep track of when you exercise.  Another visual aid for me--my kitchen wall calendar. The stars are on the days when I walk carrying weights.  I strive for 5 days a week.

3.  Always keep a healthy snack IN SIGHT during the day.  Here is a bowl of red and green apples on the kitchen table.  It's even better when you really LIKE apples, as I do.  :) For me, it needs to be something chewy and crunchy.

4.  Keep track of what you eat.  I have never been one to keep a journal but this handy app from iTunes is excellent.  I have it on my iPod Touch.  It's called (what else?) LOSE IT!

5.  Start measuring your food--at least until you get an idea of how much is actually going into your mouth.  I honestly have never done this before but doing so, I am shocked how much I was eating.  I am equally as surprised at the fact that once I measure it and then eat it, that it's really enough (with snacks later, of course). :)  Portion control is the key.

6. Speaking of portion control, that is the bottom line in this entire book The Weigh Down Diet by Gwen Shamblin.  You don't need the class, just the book.  Some of the statements made in the book are a bit quirky, but the portion control is what needs to be focused on.   A dear friend of mine used the tips in this book to go from  weighing 200 lbs. to about 115 AND has kept the weight off for about 10 years or more.  She is one you would never believe had ever been overweight.  An easy way to do portions is to put food on your plate and then remove half of it.  When eating out, cut the meal in half as soon as it is served and take the rest home with you for a later meal.

7.  Read through other healthy cookbooks until you get the hang of NUTRITIOUS food, good healthy food practices and portions.  No need to only cook out of these, but they are helpful to get your started.  I like this author, Pam Smith, and  have heard her myself at a local church. She used to be the nutritionist for the Orlando Magic and has created menus for Seasons 52.  I remember hearing her say once that DIE is in the word DIEt.  How true...

So a good tips... but use whatever works for you.  The main thing is to get started on getting your heart healthy and unfortunately for most, that includes losing weight.  Keep yourself motivated, again by using visual aids in the form of weights.  I posted about that once before.   When you lose pounds, get something that weighs that amount and put it somewhere where you can see it, remembering that you used to carry that around ON you.  It really helps keeping you motivated.  :)

Philippians 4:13 

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Losing Weight New iPhone iPod Touch App LOSE IT

I find so many interesting things in the newspaper.  Yes, I do skim through the real hand-held paper every other day or so.  You would be surprised how many coupons, special offers, newsworthy items and activities are in there.  

Two weeks ago I stumbled across this new FREE iPhone / iPod Touch app called Lose It!   in the technology section of the Sunday paper.  

I'm fairly short (5'3"), so every pound counts and I had wanted to lose about 10 lbs. before the holidays begin.  All those bulky fall/winter sweaters and jackets can make you look  heavier than you are but we all love that cozy feeling when we wear them.   And a girl has to have a few desserts over  Thanksgiving and Christmas.  :)  Plus, my annual physical is today and I had wanted to look a little leaner for that, too.   

I have never been a calorie counter, mainly watching portions and trying to exercise at least 5x per week.  During the summer I was swimming but now, I walk   for 30 minutes 4-5 mornings a week and go to the YMCA with my son 2x a week.    I've heard that keeping a food diary was a very helpful way to lose weight but thought it was far too much trouble to do. This app lets you do just that and it's SO easy to use.  It has also been very educational for me as many foods that I thought were low in calories actually are not.  Sometimes I just check it to see the nutritional value of a food before putting it in my mouth.  Did you know that a tall pumpkin spice latté with nonfat milk at Starbucks is still 200 calories?!  or that an egg roll is 284 calories?!   

You can also list the ingredients from a recipe and indicate how many servings it is so get the calorie and nutritional info.   I was glad to see that a slice of my homemade bread is 114 calories.  Not too bad.  It's a great tool for making good food choices.  You can also log in your exercises to see how much you have burned (or how much more you can eat).  :)

I've been using it for two weeks and have already lost 2.5 lbs. which was my goal (one pound per week).  I can already tell that my clothes fit a bit more loosely.  Download it today and see if you like it, too.  I highly recommend it.  Did I mention that it's FREE?  4-star rating at the App Store.


UPDATE 5.29.12:
I've been using this for the month of May + walking carrying weights and have lost 5 lbs.   since May 3!   My clothes fit so much better already!   :)

Staying Motivated when Losing Weight

As you know, my husband and I started seriously working on fitness and weight in August. Since August 1 I've lost 9 lbs; he has lost 13 lbs. How to stay motivated? I saw the cutest commercial on TV last night with Valerie Bertinelli holding a huge pumpkin to illustrate the 40+ lbs. that she lost on Jenny Craig. I tried that for us tonight and got out our hand weights for examples of how much we have lost.

Here is mine (10 instead of 9 lbs.)--I didn't have a 1 lb. weight:

Here is my husband's: 13 lbs.

We each held the weights that represented what we had lost and were amazed that we had carried that extra poundage around with us in just the last couple of months. It was all we needed to help us stay on track. If you don't have handweights, I believe that a gallon of milk or water weighs 8.4 lbs. so a half gallon would be 4.2, a quart 2.1...Try this for yourself. You'll really want to stay on track with this handy visual aid.

FAMILY & FRIENDS: Exercise

Proverbs 31:17

She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.

I've started walking in the mornings (Monday-Friday) again. I had stopped several months ago when my left knee was quite swollen and sore (a little bit of arthritis already!). I figured that if I can walk in this Florida heat, I can walk any time of year. I try to get out the door between 7:30-7:45 a.m. on weekday mornings before the sun gets too high. I wear my iPod shuffle so I can listen to my favorite podcasts. This week my husband and I started walking at 8:00 p.m. as well. His doctor has told him he has got to lose 30 pounds over the next year so I am trying to help him by getting out and walking with him (a second time for me this week).

For the month of August I lost 6 pounds. My doctor wants me to lose 12 pounds this year so I'm halfway there already. My BMI was slightly higher than it should be (Normal weight = 18.5-24.9). I'm also following the Fit For Life routine of eating only fruit or drinking fruit smoothies until noon to help my digestion which seems to be working very well for me. My metabolism is quite slow normally and it gives my evening meal longer to digest fully before putting more food on top of it. My younger son and I also go to the YMCA 2x a week where I use the FitLinxx weight machines. I probably wouldn't go except for him and the fact that we have a family membership. Once I'm back home I'm always glad I went.

I encourage everyone reading this to get a little physical exercise every day. Encourage your family and friends to do the same. Even if someone is thin, their heart still needs some exercise. I don't believe in "no pain, no gain" but I do believe that every small amount of exercise you do all adds up to strengthen your heart and keep your weight under control. We don't know how long we will live but I'd certainly like to live well without medication and be able to stay active in my later years.