Vestque

I was going to to make a reply comment in the “Simple changes to help kickstart weight loss” forum in the Healthy Living Support Group. But it got waaaaay too Long. So anywho I decided to Just make a journal entry. I’m sure others would appreciate as well, so Here we go!

I’m a Seventh Day Adventist and they, as a religion, teaches the health message. It’s always been proved through studies that because of their Lifestyles Adventist live longer than other Americans, Just an interesting fact :P

But I as well have a specific diet. I got fat cause when I was little I didn’t know sweets=pudge, so I grew up eating them all the time and even into my young adult hood. But a few months ago I made a life change. I don’t know how much I have lost (Our scale is broken and we have not bought another one yet, Plus for me constantly weighing is not good) but I do know I physically look different and soon I have to get new pants LOL. So I guess it’s going well. I’m still chubby but Not nearly as chubby and I even see it in the mirror, so I’m happy!

Alright, for me, The elimination of constantly eating sweets completely boot started my weight loss. I think thats due to other than sweets I was eating pretty well. Here is my diet/way of life. I’ve developed this for my self from Medical knowledge (I’m going to med school next year, I’m finished with college though) and just through seeing what works for me!

1) I don’t drink Milk, I drink soymilk. Here’s why – Milk was made for baby cows. Now I’m not saying that we’re raping the cows by taking their milk, or anything. (Im not a FEMA Hippy lol) I Just don’t understand the connection between Humans and Baby Cow Milk. (I mean we don’t drink Giraffe Milk or Chimpanzee Milk or Whale Milk…so Why Cow Milk, lol) I understand some people LOVE milk, I never did, but for those people I say stick with 2%/1% or Skim, The less percentage the better. And for those who wouldn’t mind doing the switch to soy, try the “Silk” brand. It’s a little more expensive than other soys but it tastes delicious! Plus soymilks always come in flavors (Original, Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate) The first two are good for cereals. Vanilla is delicious in general though :D

2) Stay away from cheese! Now this is hard, I LOVVVVE Mac and Cheese. However, you know how melted cheese sticks to everything? It does the same thing in your digestion track. So it takes very long to pass and sometimes will stick around and never really pass all the way. To stay away from that whole problem “Not eating cheese” works. But if your a Mac and Cheese fiend like me, Mac and Cheese is ok on your “eat what I want” day. (Thats comin up! Keep readin! :D)

3) Meats are another thing that linger around the intestines. Appendicitis is due many times to actual lingering meat that never passed getting stuck at the appendix’s opening. It results in an appendix infection which can lead to an operation for removal or the appendix bursting (worst case scenario) Now with that scary idea out of the way, I want to let it know I do still eat meat. However it is very rarely and not every day. You don’t have to eat meat every day!!! You really don’t! Now if you feel you must they also say that eat meats early in the day, and not at night. Eating your meats in the morning insures that the meats with at least semi pass through the system by the next day. However it also makes a different as to what meats you do eat. White meats are always better and easier on your system (Poultry). However redder meets will always linger longer, I eat beef very RARELY. Like Once or twice a year. It’s definitely something I’m sort of scared about the conditions they keep cows before slaughter, theres some horrible stuff that goes on behind our eyes, so I just stay away from it. Pigs are the worst though. Though my religion we don’t touch any pig substance. However, me being the way I am I can’t just do anything blindly, so I did research. Pigs are scavengers, (You are what you eat) Pound for pound pig meat carries more parasites seen and unseen than any other meet. Why do you think you have to cook the meat so much longer? Anywho I’m not here to force my own thoughts on you guys, but if you are a bacon fiend or you just can’t stay away…you can eat it on your “Eat what you want” day (It’s comin! :D)

4) Drink alot of water. It’s as easy as keeping a water bottle full by your desk or where you most frequent. You’ll end up sipping from it all day by default. You don’t have to kill yourself with the water or anything, just keep hydrated so your body can run smoothly (If you know what I mean) :D Also drinking water 10 minutes before eating and 15 minutes after is very beneficial. Water always flood the system, so eating afterwards make sense. However drinking before is also a neat trick since the water will help fill you up even before you touch the food. So when you do eat you end up eating less per meal! Always works for me.

5) Now, Here’s the dreaded part….I HATE Exercise…........HATE IT! But Me loosing weight so fast (Within two weeks my clothes was fitting looser) was all do to a simple activity we all do every day anyway….walking. Just walking! Not jogging, not jump roping, and definitely not running a marathon every week.

Just walking. Go for a walk! Clear your mind and walk briskly around the block. A 10-15 minute walk every day, Just 15 minutes, will make a HUGE difference. Believe me! 10 minutes of Jogging burns 300 calories, AND SO DOES 15 MINUTES OF WALKING! Doing it every day, even with one day break burns 1800 calories off the bat per week. And thats just from the walk! Being alive burns calories, any movement whatsoever burns calories. So it’s great, you’ll see a diff in yourself and how you feel in no time.

So just get up, and get moving. One step at a time :D

6) Also of course try and stay away from sweets as much as possible. I this was so hard for me!!! But I found a way to do it right without backsliding…

“EAT WHAT YOU WANT” DAY! – Ok, Now It’s impossible to say “Ok, for the rest of my life I’ll never have another cookie again!” I mean, how can you stay away from one specific food the rest of your life?! Thats Impossible. Yet does saying “I’ll stay away from cookies the rest of the week” sound better? Yeah it does! Well thats what I propose. I got the idea from a news caster I’m personal friends with. She used to be really husky and now she’s about a size 3-4 (She looks fabulous on tv!!!) One day I asked how she did it and this is what she told me!

Throughout the week you diet and exercise and do everything right, you keep your lifestyle clean. Say you do that Monday through Saturday, as a reward for yourself let Sunday be your “Eat Whatever you Want” Day. You crave Pizza? Eat your pizza! You’re and Ice cream fiend? Eat your damn Ice cream! Life is meant for living! If your spending your whole life wishing you ate this or ate that, there is no time left for living is there?! One day of splurging isn’t going to do much damaging if for the rest of the week your dieting goes well! Say during the week you see a piece of cake you want badly, its easier to say no if you know later on your “Eat what you want” day you know you can (and will!) have cake, LOL.

Also after a while you’ll find that your “Eat whatever you Want” day will happen less and less. It’s something I’ve noticed. Soon it will disintegrate into an “Eat What you Want” meal, then an “Eat what you Want” Snack. But in the beginning I think having that day will help ween you off of the bad eating :D

Alright! Thats all of my secrets and it works for me! But remember, don’t let your weight or pants size define you. No matter what your size you can be fabulous!!! (Helps me to remember that no matter what your size there’s always a man who will find it so sexy, LMAO) So act like it! Just cause your big doesn’t mean your not a great person or sexy :D! Loosing weight is purely for health reasons/ to have a healthy life style and not to “find yourself” or “Be more appealing to others.” If you don’t know who you are, losing weight will not help you find yourself. You’ll just be a skinny lost person, LOL.

Losing weight has to be only to please yourself, thats the ONLY time I found success! Of course I’m not at my ideal weight yet, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not fabulous! :D! LOL.

Thanks for reading everyone. Good luck on your weight loss!