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Life sucks, so change it up !

So what do you do when the going gets tough and you don't like the scenery ? Change it up ! Switch things around and add some new elements. And that is exactly what I am doing. I figure that if by some freakish chance that I have become a target for all of the lost weight floating around in the universe, then if I move and act differently it will no longer be able to find me.

One change I made is dropping coffee. (cue chorus of violins playing very sad songs). I have dropped it a couple of times in the past and it did make the scale move in the right direction, but I chose not to believe it to be the real problem and went back to it within a month. I blame Dunkin Donuts for this one. When I was 18 I worked the graveyard shift as a baker for Mister Donut ( a small donut shop in competition). There I learned how to handle yeast dough and an appreciation of serious coffee. When Dunkin Donuts started selling theirs to the public, it was more than I could resist. I have quit that cold turkey ( from drinking a whole pot every day) to embracing green tea. Why green tea ? If I am going to give up something bad for me I must replace it with something very good. Green tea is loaded with antioxidents and other good things. Plus, it seems to keep me from getting coffee withdrawl.

Second move is no diet sodas. These have not proven to be a factor in my weight loss stalls in the past, but you never know. I tend to drink 2 a day, but those two add up in the terms of cost, waste and exposure to strange chemicals. Instead we have switched to water with lemon or sparkling water with pommegranate juice. I read about another blogger doing this , and I waited to try this till I could find some of my own. Next change is comitting to exercise in the morning and exercise 3 -4 times a week in the evenings with my husband. Nothing gigantic here, but instead a simple walk together outside, without the boy in tow. Serves two purposes- one is the physical exercise and the other is a definate window of opportunity to have an adult conversation without interuptions. Because our son is autistic we do not do babysitters or much without him in tow. This is a window of opportunity that we both feel we can safely do.

In the meanwhile, I finally got the chance to try some new to me foods that others have blogged about recently. First is Smartfood Popcorn Clusters. I spotted them and decided to give them a try. They come to one point for a very small pack. I tried the almond cranberry flavor, and I found it WAY too sweet for my taste. It reminded me of carmel corn, which is something I have an odd relationship with. It is the first food I learned portion control with, and since then anything that tastes like carmel corn does interesting things to my head ( two bites and have to stop). The guys liked it a lot. I think if you are a carmel corn fan, this would be a good way to enjoy in a managed way. Second thing was Vitatop muffins. I have heard so many rave about these, but I never found them in any of our markets to give them a try. I found them at our Supertarget and eagerly bought them. I chose the oatbran cranberry ones, as we all love oatmeal cranberry type muffins. Sadly, I disliked these. I found them to be too dry and too flat tastewise for me. Perhaps I would have felt different if it was the chocolate ones. Then a gain, truth be told I have never been one who craves baked goods for some reason. I can walk away from birthday cake or ice cream and cookies, but show me chicken satay or a thick steak and I have real trouble ! That is unless it is next to a Hostess Snowball or Suzi Q- and then i would be hard pressed to make a choice . Or stop at eating simply one choice !
Posted by Di at 3:47 AM Marisa (Trim The Fat) said...

Ugh, I struggle with the coffee thing, too. I find I cannot drink caffeine anymore; instead of giving me a boost - it does the complete opposite. I feel sluggish and exhausted almost immediately after drinking it. Weird. Anyway, like you, I love it. I was wondering how do you find that it affects your weight?

I'm with ya on the diet soda thing. I have read so much negative press on diet sodas, so I gave that up too :(

Smartfood is crack!

I heart Cranbran Vitatops! Sorry you didn't like them :( I microwave them for 20 sec. and they are perfect. Don't like them toasted at all - dry dry dry.

April 28, 2009 at 6:54 AM The Incredible Shrinking Family said...

With me and coffee it is kind of complicated. I have something called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It does many things to your body, including kidnapping your endocrine system and making it react in not so normal ways. In the chain of command is your adrenal glands. This is complected enough, but add menopause ( or as I am coming to know it as Mr Toad's Wild Ride) and the functions of your ovaries are in certain ways taken over by your adrenal glands. Coffee puts a lot of stress on your adrenals, and when they are out of balance they start pumping massive amounts of the hormone cortisol into your system. This hormone relates to our survival urge, and it sees every meal as your last. In short it works very hard to try to convert everything to fat ( carbs are it's easiest job) and store that fat right around your middle. Dropping coffee cuts one of the triggers for this hormone flood. Diets lower in carbs also help. Certain herbs can nourish and relax the hormonal flood as well. Simply cutting out coffee can go a long way if you are struggling with weight loss it seems. Not because of what you add into it ( though that certainly does not help) , but rather because of what coffee does to your body.

If you are suffering from that coffee lag, you may want to try green tea as well as nettle tea. Green tea provides a lift that does not mess with your adrenals and nettles help to nourish and re balance them. Nettles can also help with anemia, thinning hair, nails and a lot more. It is a great little herb !

April 28, 2009 at 9:18 AM