ORGANIC FOODS

I have found that I absolutely LOVE Organic food! There is a difference in taste and I have to say it taste so much better. And not to mention it is alot healthier. I know that Organics can be expensive but here are a few tips that will help you save money. As we know, organic foods are all natural foods, meaning they have no pesticides, no artificial ingrediants, and no added hormones or preservatives. Which is a good thing. All those chemicals are not good for our bodies and it has been researched and studied that alot of the foods that we eat that have these things in them can cause many diseases and cancer. So with that in mind, I have switched to organic foods. Some foods that are not organic you can get away with, such as fruits with the hard shells such as bananas, coconut, oranges, and watermelon. Those are ok to eat without them being Organic. The three main foods that you really should eat that are Organic are Milk, Tomatoes and meat. Grass-fed meat and eggs are what we should eat. So if you dont eat anything else organic at least opt to have those 3. I am posting a link to a website that talks about Organic Foods. http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/ It also is a shopping guide..So with that in mind Organic Foods are a great alternative for getting and staying healthy..

WORKOUT SCHEDULE

WEIGHT TRAINING- Arms - 5lbs and back exercises doing 30 lbs, leg exercises at 40lbs . Kettlebell training for core workout.

CARDIO FITNESS- Cardio for 90 minutes, Walking and Jogging 60min, elliptical machine 30min. Dividing my cardio workout with walking and jogging in 2 to 3 minute intervals. Doing light sprinting.

Monday- Weight Training, cardio off

Tuesday- 90 Min Cardio

Wendsday- Kettle bell workout, Cardio for 60 min

Thursday - 90 minute cardio

Friday- Weight Training- arms and back and legs and Kettlebells

Saturday- 60 min cardio

Sunday- Off

WEIGHT LOSS TIPS AND RECIPES

WEIGHT LOSS TIPS:

1. Eliminate all processed foods, refined sugar, white flour, wheat, such as white bread and wheat bread, baked goods and pastas. Drink plenty of water and incorporate more fruits and vegetables, and begin exerciseing. If your just starting out always check with your Dr. to get their approval before starting any diet or exercise program.


WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH CANADIAN BACON

1Tbls Olive Oil
1 1/2 C. Chopped Yellow Onion
1/2 C. Chopped Carrots
1/4 C. Celery...
1Tbls Chopped Garlic
1 Tsp Thyme
5 C. Fat Free, Low Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Broth
3 C. Cooked white beans 6oz lean, nitrate free canadian bacon cut in cubes

In a 3 Quart Saucepan Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the Onion, Carrot and Celery and cook for 5 min or until veggies are soft. Add the Garlic and Thyme. And cook for a minute longer without letting the garlic get browned. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the beans and bacon Simmer for 5 minutes and serve.. Only 180 calories per serving (1 Cup)

Weigh In

Well today is Monday. I had a pretty good weekend. On Saturday I did a 60 min walk and jog and i felt pretty good. On Sunday I could only do 30min because the weather was so nasty and I was feeling really tired but i figured that it was better then nothin. I went to church on Sunday. It had been along time since i went so i was really glad that i did go. It was much needed.

So today I am feeling GREAT! I weighed in today and I have lost a total of 20lbs. I am so ecstatic that I did the Happy Dance! lol. So a huge pat on my back for the great accomplishment that i achieved.. :) I will so be keeping up the good work i have been doing. I also have been doing some physical therapy for my back. I have alot of tightness in my muscles in my back and they have been working to get them lose like they are suppose to be so that has been helping alot. Not to mention i get some weight workouts done along with the therapy so it really works out great.
I have kept within my calorie range today. I actually added a new food to my diet which is called Quinoa. It taste ok. It is something i really am going to have to aquire a taste for but its not to bad. But it is extremely healthy so i will stay focused on that...Well that is my accomplishments for today. So next I will be posting a delicious Recipe that is great for colder days and I have some great weight loss tips that will guarantee weight loss. It has worked for me so It will work for you.

*See Under Weight Loss Tips and Recipes..

A New Start

Today I am going to write alittle bit about myself and share alittle bit of my background. Its not that I am getting to personal but shareing my experiences so that I may help someone else get through whatever it is they may be going through. Alot of times there are people who have been through the same things we have but just may have a hard time reaching out to someone or they dont know of anyone that can relate to them so they dont get help. So I am here to tell my story and hope that it will let someone know that they are not the only ones going through. I use to think I was the only one with the problems I had. But through the years when i was so longing for help I began to talk to people and found out that I am not the only one and It really made me feel a sense of relief. Just knowing that I wasnt the only one. So now that you know you are not the only one maybe now you can experience some relief just as i did. Now for years I have struggled with Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder and General Anxiety Disorder. I also have autoimmune disorders and am dealing with fibromyalgia. It has been a difficult struggle but I am determined to beat it and to be able to enjoy my life without letting these things affect what I do or who i am. Its hard I grant you but with determination, sacrifice and a strong will I am able to get through anything. As I was on my run today the one thing that came to my mind was "Sacrifice" I realized that you can not succeed at any goal unless there are sacrifices made. For my weight loss I am making the sacrifice to give up certain foods, sacrificing time to workout and to prepare healthy meals. I have given up alot of foods I love to eat but I know they are not healthy and I know that if I dont give them up I am going to have much added ailments affecting my body later in life such as heart disease, diabetes, high risk of heart attack and stroke and many other things, but i am willing to make the sacrifice to better myself and my children. Alot of people dont realize that when you are in poor health you affect those around you. Especially your children and family. Your children learn your bad eating and unhealthy habits. When I was eating fast food all the time not only was I eating it but my children were eating it as well. What I ate I fed to them and so I was starting my 6yr old on a path to destruction because I was only giving her very unhealthy food. Sure I would give her fruit and veggies and a cooked meal but it wasnt very often i did that because I have such a busy life that i never took the time to cook like i should because i was to busy. And if i wasnt busy I was either too tired or feeling sick. And i felt sick ALOT when i was eating that junk. Now when i look back i cant believe i was doing that to them. I was teaching them very bad habits. And yes shame on me!
I was an emotional eater and so i looked to food for comfort. I was depressed, had relationship problems, was dealing with anxiety, and food was there and was very easy to get. So i found my comfort in food. As a teenager I was very athletic and fit. I never struggled with my weight until after i had my older daughter. That is when i started packing on the pounds. I was depressed and at times i just wanted to die. So much bad was happening in my life that i just wanted to escape somehow and food helped. So i just ate and ate and ate till I nearly hit almost 300 lbs. I gave birth to my last child and after i had her it just put me to the limit. I was thinking I really need to do something but it was always filled with excuses. I will start tomorrow or This will be my last time i eat out, this will be my last pop etc..it was everyday that i was going to do something and never got to doing it, just made excuse after excuse. I was in and out of the ER for panic attacks thinking i was dying and haveing a heart attack, I wasnt able to bend over and tie my shoes anymore, I couldnt sleep at night, i developed sleep apnea and my blood pressure was begining to get high. I was having problems with my sugar and not to mention my cholesterol was thru the ROOF! My triglycerides were extremly high and my HDL was very low. So i knew that if i dont do something about this now I am going to be in serious trouble later. So I decided in my mind that I am not gonna continue on this path to destruction. If i dont do something I will Die. And i am not ready to die yet. I have a purpose and I will live the life that God has set before me. So that day i decided I am going to do this, I am going to change. The first year I gave up pop (soda). I was drinking a 2 liter or more a day. It was aweful. I was addicted to Coca Cola it was my favorite. So I just quit drinking it cold turkey. That was hard! And I did experience withdrawls from the caffeine and sugar and it was not fun! All i could do was just keep drinking water. I drank ALOT of water and I would drink alittle bit of juice when i would want the sugar. In 2 to 3 months i dropped 30 lbs. I couldnt believe it i was so estatic. (Pop will make you gain weight. It really is very bad for you). So i dropped the 30 lbs and was pop free but i still struggled with fast food and sweets. I did manage to start exercising but because i was so big all i could do was walk. So i started walking some but i really wasnt dedicated to it because my life was still busy and i still made excuses for that. I was either to busy or to tired. So i would only walk when i really felt like it. I noticed that i wasnt loseing any more weight and i knew it was because of still eating the fast food and sweets and other processed foods and junk that i wasnt getting anywhere with loseing more weight. I still had over a 100lbs i needed to lose but I knew that i just wasnt motivated enough. Then i decided that i would try out for the biggest loser. So one weekend I packed up and headed to chicago to see if i would be able to get on the biggest loser. Well unfortunately I didnt get chosen and so that set me back in my thinking because i really had my hopes up that i would be chosen. So i came back home and still continued in my bad habits. But i still felt good about accomplishing my achievement on giving up pop. I kept telling myself that is step number 1 but it just wasnt good enough. Well I began to frequently have more anxiety and feeling sickly all the time. I was always tired and i wasnt sleeping well. In the back of my mind i knew why i was feeling this way and it was because i was putting so much garbage in my body that my body was trying to fight to work properly but was only begining to shut down. Altho i knew this in my mind i just didnt know how to get out of the state i was in. I thought I just must be sick. I will go to the doctor and see how sick i am. Well I began going to see the Doctor alot for my autoimmune disorders. I told them how i was feeling and so they ran alot of tests. They ran tests on my heart, my thyroid, Kidneys, Liver you name it they ran it. Tons of blood drawn. So after all the test were done they all came back normal and my autoimmune disorders were under control so Im thinking to myself if everything is normal then why do i feel so sick all the time. I knew in my mind that it was my diet and lack of exercise but i just wasnt wanting to face the fact that I was the one doing this to myself. So i kept going back to the doctor trying to convince them that something is wrong with me. So they ran more tests and everything kept coming back ok.
So i just began thinking on it and then it was like it hit me. No one else is going to do this for me. I need to do this on my own. I began to get the dertermination and the will to do something. I thought if i can give up drinking pop then there is no reason for me to not be able to give up the other stuff. I prayed and I asked God to help me and to give me the strength i needed to get through this. I would look at my little girl and cry and tell myself I need to raise her, I do not want to leave her. I dont want to suffer a heart attack or stroke, i dont want her to take care of me at such a young age and i dont want her to lose me. So i began my new journey by giving up fast food, processed foods and sweets. The foods i really enjoyed eating. I began to keep a food journal, counting my calories and paying close attention to the sodium, fat and cholesterol. I began tracking the foods i ate. I went to the doctor and got cleared for exercise and i have begun to work out every day. I started with just walking and now i am gradually moving up to where i am able to jog now. It was hard at first because of the cravings and hunger pains but over a week or two they do go away. I began my new journey Jan 1 2012. As for my Autoimmune disease which is Antiphospholipid Syndrome and MitoChondrial Antibody (Primary Biliary Cirrohsis) are under control. So i continue to pray for healing.

I will be shareing my weightloss progress as well as tips on how i am overcoming things such as cravings and so on. I will be shareing how I am beating the depression and anxiety and borderline personality disorder. Im looking forward to shareing my journey with you and hope that my experience can help you...

If you follow these 3 rules…you could lose at LEAST 10 pounds in the next 14 days. 1. Don't eat anything that’s white. If a food is white. White Bread, White Rice, Pasta, Sugar and Most Dairy Products. You shouldn’t be eating it. Healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, and fish are fine to eat and they are exceptions to this rule. But for the most part WHITE means that the food has been processed, refined, and bleached. More specifically it’s been REMOVED of all healthy qualities. It’s been processed and anything that’s nutritious is most likely gone. 2. Try to only drink water throughout the day! Sure, a small cup of black coffee is okay. But skip the sugar and sweetener. Also skip the sodas, juices, and ANY other drink but water. After a while, you won’t want anything else but water. 3. Don't eat anything with WHEAT in the ingredients list. And that even includes whole wheat! But trust me you do this and you will lose..I have been following this rule for almost 2 weeks now and I have lost a total of 10lbs. You can do it. You will get thru the cravings. The best thing to this is by eliminateing all the WHITE you will have a normal glucose range..Its great for Diabetics. If you are one that has to have bread or pasta in your diet then i strongly recommend getting Sprouted Grain Bread which is alot healthier (I will have a topic on that soon) and Sprouted Grain Pastas. So if your looking to get healthier it is recommended that you eliminate these foods from your diet. Being healthy is about putting good things in our bodies that nature intended for us to have. Not man made products..