I've Got An App For That!

www.myfitnesspal.com

My Fitness Pal App for Smartphones|Ipads|Kindle Fire

Did you know they had an app for that? Counting calories is going to be key in my weight loss goals. Even though I did a post "Stop Counting Calories Now", I like to do it to help me eat more. My Fitness Pal not only counts calories, but it's the easiest thing in the world to use. Guess what? You can even look back on it to help you in your journaling! You know? In case you forgot it at home, left it on the bus, burned it in the bathroom (I get disgusted sometimes too). 

The best part, first of all - IT'S FREE! 

Second, you can just type in what you ate and it gives you a list of foods, brand names and all, to add to your list of foods that you ate for breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, and even drinks. Heck, it even has Vanilla Iced Coffee with cream & sugar from Dunk'n Donuts! HA! 

It counts your calories and you can see when you reach your calorie count. My problem, I never reach it cause I have a bad habit of not eating enough. My calorie count is supposed to be 2400, but I dropped it to 2000 because I'm having a hard time meeting that goal. Something to work on, I know. 

Have you tried it, or are you going to? I'd love to hear your thoughts - comment me.

You can also join me on Facebook, I'd love to see you there.

Are Low Carb Diets Good or Bad for Weight Loss Success?



Everybody has heard of “low carb" diets -- since they are emerging as the newest trend in dieting.

But do they really work? ...And if so, are they the solution to weight loss that everybody is looking for?

We don’t think so, because most low carb diets have several problems which make losing weight very difficult for the “average” dieter.

For example, if you follow the Atkins diet (a popular low carb program) then the restriction on carbs for the first couple weeks is very severe (by almost any standards). 

The Atkins program allows just 20 grams of "net carbs" per day during the first phase of the diet (which usually lasts for 2 weeks).

Just to give you an idea of how few carbs that really is – even a large apple has more than 20 grams of "net carbs".

This low level of carbs is often too severe for the “average” dieter to tolerate for 2 weeks straight, and in fact eating such a low level of carbs can make a person feel “weak” and “miserable” all day long (because your body needs more carbs than that for energy). 

Other low carb diets (such as the South Beach Diet) are not quite as severe as the Atkins Plan, but in our opinion even the South Beach Diet is not as easy to follow as it could be. 

We believe that a successful diet needs to be easy to follow – because that’s the only way that people will stick to the diet and lose weight. 

We believe that diets should not make average people feel “miserable” and “weak” all day long, because if a diet makes people feel miserable and weak then it’s going to be very difficult for average dieters to adhere to such programs. 

We’re not saying that all low carb diets are as restrictive as the Atkins Diet is, but we're saying that most low carb diets are so hard to follow that “average dieters” will probably wind up feeling hungry and weak all day long (which is not a good thing for dieting success in our opinion).

We believe that “low carbs” is not the answer to losing weight, since your body needs a reasonable amount of all 3 types of calories to lose weight consistently (protein, carbs, and fat). 

The truth is that your body needs a reasonable amount of protein, carbs and fat calories too. 

To lose weight quickly you must eat all 3 types of calories in the right proportions, and that’s why most dieters fail. They fail because nobody knows what the right proportions of calories should be.

To begin losing weight fast we recommend using the new Fat Burning Diet shown below -- since there are no specific "portion limits" at any meal (and dieters can eat as much as they need to at each meal).   Also, unlimited amounts of certain condiments can be eaten with every meal. 

This is a brand new type of diet never seen before.

You can begin this new diet right here.

Artichoke-Scrambled Eggs Benedict

INGREDIENTS

8 canned artichoke bottoms, (1 1/2 cans), rinsed (see Shopping Tip)

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

3 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, divided, plus 4 sprigs for garnish

1/3 cup chopped pancetta

2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon water

6 large eggs

• 4 large egg whites
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchâtel)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Toss artichoke bottoms with 2 teaspoons oil and 2 teaspoons oregano. Place them top-side down on half of a large baking sheet. Spread pancetta in an even layer on the other half. Roast until the artichokes are just beginning to brown and the pancetta is crispy, 12 to 14 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice and water in a small bowl until smooth. Beat eggs and egg whites in a large bowl.
4. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and cook, folding and stirring frequently with a heatproof rubber spatula until almost set, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in cream cheese, the remaining 1 teaspoon oregano and salt.
5. To serve, divide the artichoke bottoms among 4 plates. Top each artichoke with equal portions scrambled egg, crispy pancetta and creamy lemon sauce. Garnish with oregano sprigs, if desired.

http://www.eatingwell.com

Fat Loss for Idiots - Can it be that simple? Really?

Low Fat & Fat Free Foods Will Get You NOWHERE...


If you walk down the aisle of any grocery store you’ll see dozens “low fat” and “fat free” food items nearly everywhere you look.

The whole world has gone “low fat” crazy -- and most people think that if they just begin eating low fat foods then their bodies will have less fat too.

Sounds logical right?

Wrong.

You see, the problem with this type of thinking is that there is no “direct” relationship between fat calories eaten and fat tissue on a person’s body.

The truth is that your body can convert ANY type of calorie to fat tissue, not just fat calories.

For example, if you eat 2 lbs. of sugar every day then you’ll probably gain some fat tissue after a while – but yet sugar has ZERO FAT CALORIES in it. So eating 2 lbs. of sugar every day is a “fat free” diet, but yet you’d still gain fat.

Likewise, if you eat a huge bowl of white rice at every single meal then you’d soon gain fat tissue on your body – but yet this is a fat free food too.

So what does that tell you about eating fat free foods?

Not only that, but there are plenty of low fat cakes, cookies and desserts sold at every grocery store. Yet, do you honestly think that these foods are “healthy” merely because they are low in fat?

Of course not, and you’ll gain extra fat if you eat too much of them.

In fact, our entire society has been eating low fat foods in greater quantity over the last decade – but yet our society is still getting fatter and fatter. So that should tell you something about low fat diets.

You should stop thinking “non fat” and “low fat”– since those are just buzz words designed to make you feel as though such foods are healthy.

The truth is that you don’t need to worry about “fat” calories so much, and you also don’t need to worry about total “carbs” so much either...

What you need to worry about is the exact types of foods that you combine together at each meal, so that you get the proper portion of fat calories and carbs at each meal – which will maximize weight loss.

To begin losing weight fast we recommend using the new Fat Burning Diet from Fat Loss 4 Idiots -- because it's not based on "low fat" foods.

In fact, it's not based on "low calories" either, and it's also not based on "low carbs" (since low carb diets don't work very well)...    This is a brand new type of diet never seen before, so give it a try and watch the pounds come off fast.

You can begin this new diet right here.

Foods to Avoid in Your Healthy Meal Plans to Lose Weight

People get excited about a lot of things, but I have never in my life met anyone who’s thrilled about being overweight. I have however, met folks who are sick of the up and down rollercoaster of so-called healthy meal plans to lose weight. Rather than deal with more dieting disappointments, some of these people conclude that living “large” is simply in the cards for them.
Throwing your hands up in defeat and deciding to spend the rest of your days (unhappily) overweight is no way to live. A decision like this can beat your self-esteem into the ground and shave years off of your life. C’mon, you owe yourself and your loved ones so much more than this.
There’s no magic formula to losing weight – if there were, everybody and their mama would be slim. The best way to achieve successful weight loss results is to know what types of foods to keep out of your diet.

Just Say “No” to Processed Foods

Processed foods are cheap, convenient and easy to prepare. Unfortunately, these foods are bad for your health. Of course, you’d never know this by watching those hyped up television ads. Since manufacturers aren’t going to give you the dirty on the ingredients they use in processed foods, I’ll gladly do it for them.
Let’s start with trans fat. This ingredient lowers good cholesterol, raises bad cholesterol, and can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Considering heart disease is one of the leading killers of men and women, trans fat is one ingredient you want to steer clear of.
If you’re wondering where that double chin came from, the high fructose corn syrup used in some of your favorite processed foods may be partially to blame. This ingredient has been getting a lot of press lately because it is believed to be a major player in the rising obesity epidemic.
Don’t even get me started on the chemicals manufacturers use in processed foods. If I tried to name some of these chemicals, I’d be tongue tied for days. Besides, you’d probably think I was reading the label on a can of bug spray instead of the ingredients in your favorite microwavable meal.

Send Sugar Packing

The average person consumes about 150 pounds of sugar per year. When you think about the fact that sugar is in almost everything, it’s easy to eat tons of this stuff without even realizing it. So what’s the big deal? There isn’t enough time in the day for me to tell you about all the damage sugar can do to your health. However, I can give you a quick rundown.
Sugar contains nothing but empty calories. When you eat this stuff, a large portion of it gets stored in the body as fat. If your goal is to slim down, being heavy-handed with the sugar isn’t going to help. This is not even the worst of it. Sugar can also depress the immune system, feed cancer cells, contribute to heart disease, raise your risk of osteoporosis and make you look decrepit.

Give Artificial Sweeteners the Boot

Before you run out and stock your fridge with a bunch of those zero-calorie diet drinks, there’s something you should know. The artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks and other low-calorie products are lab-created. Yep. You heard me right – mixed up in a lab like something out of a Frankenstein movie.
These chemical sweeteners can cause or contribute to a laundry list of neuropsychiatric disorders and chronic illnesses – depression, anxiety, migraines, mood changes, panic attacks, vertigo, memory loss, Alzheimer’s, brain tumors – should I go on? And if you think you’re going to shed a few pounds using artificial sweeteners, think again. These sweeteners stimulate your appetite and make you eat more food.
When you’ve tried diet after diet and not one of them delivers results, it can certainly make you want to give up. But you owe it to yourself and to your family to live the healthiest life possible. Processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners are the main culprits of weight gain. When you eliminate these foods from your diet, you greatly improve your chance of losing weight.
Make dieting disappointment a thing of the past. Let the Diet Solution Program arm you with the tools you need to create effective healthy meal plans to lose weight and live healthier.

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How to Lose Belly Fat in 4 Simple Steps

 

Embarrassment is not the worst part of having a flabby midsection. That spare tire around you tummy can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes (yikes!). Thankfully, you don’t need a complicated diet plan to learn how to lose belly fat. Stomach flab may be stubborn, but it’s no match for proper nutrition, hydration, exercise, and a can-do attitude.

Believe in Yourself

The way you feel about your ability to lose weight will play a major role in your success. If you’re plagued with self-doubt and negativity, you won’t see the point of sticking it out when things get tough. In order to achieve your weight loss goal, you must truly believe you have what it takes.
Losing weight is not just about vanity; it’s also about living healthy and feeling your best everyday. One thing that will help keep you in the right frame of mind is to think of your fat burning journey as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. If you focus on healthy living instead of dieting, you’ll maintain momentum and it will be easier to shut down those negative feelings.

Eat Nutritiously

Eating a healthy diet will keep your metabolism operating properly so you burn stomach fat more effectively. If your eating plan lacks essential carbohydrates, protein, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals, it’s not nutritious. To ensure you get adequate amounts of all of these nutrients, incorporate a variety of healthy, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, poultry, lean meats, raw nuts, legumes, beans, seeds and whole eggs into your diet.
As for counting calories to lose weight, I don’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very conscious about what I put into my body. However, I refuse to spend my life keeping tabs on every crumb I swallow. When I get hungry, I’m going to eat—and trust me, I won’t be thinking about calories while I’m doing it.
I’m living proof that if you eat the right foods, and stick to reasonable portion sizes, you can lose belly fat without counting a single calorie.

Drink Plenty of Water

Water is often overlooked in nutrition plans. But this element is crucial for burning fat and maintaining proper health. Water helps metabolize stored fat and rids the body of excess fat and toxins. Water also prevent bloating and constipation, and helps curb your appetite.
Most people underestimate how much water they need, so they don’t stay properly hydrated. For optimum health, drink half of your body weight in ounces of water daily. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink at least 100 ounces of water per day.

Get Up and Exercise

When you start your healthy eating plan, you’ll automatically reduce your caloric intake and start to shed some weight. However, unless you add exercise into the mix, your metabolism will eventually slow down and ultimately reduce your ability to burn stomach fat.
There’s no way to target specific areas for fat loss. Crunches, sit-ups and other ab-specific exercises only work to tone the muscles. The only way to get the svelte tummy of your dreams is to burn the fat off. If you don’t, any muscle tone you achieve via abdominal exercises will be buried under the flab.
If you combine 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to intense cardiovascular activity with proper nutrition, the fat around your belly will melt like butter. If you’re out of shape, doing a 30 to 60 minute workout may be too much at first. It’s okay if you start off exercising for 5 or 10 minutes. Simply work your way up as your fitness level improves.
Don’t try to change your lifestyle overnight; Start by making small tweaks. In the beginning, you might try drinking more water, increasing your fresh vegetable intake and exercising three days a week. Once you get used to these adjustments, gradually build on them. Remember, small steps can lead to big results.
Sitting and wishing won’t help you get the trim tummy you’ve always wanted. Let the Diet Solution Program teach you how to lose belly fat and improve your overall health.

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Fruit Pizza

This is a great snack idea from two of our DSP members!

Ingredients
Crust
* 1 3/4 cups raw almonds (or 1 1/4 cups almond meal)
* 1 TBSP Coconut Oil
* 5 fresh dates pitted
* pinch of nutmeg
* 2 tsp of cinnamon
* pinch of sea salt
* 1 TBSP raw honey (you might need a little more to form dough)
Filling
* 16 oz of Greek Yogurt
* 1/4 cup Steviva Blend or Steviva to taste
* Strawberries
* Blueberries
* Raspberries
Directions
1. Finely chop the nuts in a food processor (skip this step if using almond meal).
2. Add the oil, pitted dates, and the spices. Run all this through the food processor with the chopped nuts until it’s crumbs.
3. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl, add honey, and mix to form a dough ball. Add more honey if needed.
4. Spread the dough into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, greased with coconut oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to brown.
5. For filling, mix Greek yogurt with Steviva blend and spread into a cool shell. Add your fruit in a pattern and place on top of yogurt. Chill and serve.
*Serves 8.

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How to Eat Great and Lose Weight

Snacking on dried out rice cakes and wilted lettuce leaves is no way to spend your mealtimes. You don’t have to eat bland, boring foods just to trim up. It is possible to eat great and lose weight all at the same time. If you choose quality foods and have a willingness to try new things, you can get down on delicious meals and shed pounds too.

Choose the Right Foods

You can’t possibly lose weight if the foods you use to prepare you meals are unhealthy and loaded with calories. When you avoid processed nonsense and stick with fresh ingredients, you can’t go wrong. Anything boxed, frozen, jugged or canned is considered processed and has no place in a healthy diet.

Foods that should be staples in your healthy meal plans include fresh fish, naturally raised meats, organic poultry, organic whole eggs, raw nuts, fresh herbs, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Natural foods are better for you because they are low in calories and filled with plenty of nutrients your body can use.

Also, natural foods aren’t loaded with a laundry list of additives that contribute to weight gain, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and other health problems.

Experiment with Recipes, Flavors and Cooking Methods

I love grilled chicken, but if I had to eat if every day, I’d go bananas—I imagine you would too.  Free yourself from the bondage of humdrum, tasteless meals by experimenting with recipes. Thumb through cookbooks, surf the Internet and use your imagination to whip up meals you can’t wait to sink your teeth into.

When you come across recipes that have unhealthy ingredients, simply swap the bad ingredients out for healthier ones. For instance, if a recipe calls for milk, you can replace this ingredient with coconut or almond milk. Also, don’t be afraid to switch out spices and seasonings to add a new flavor to a dish.

Vary your cooking methods to keep things fresh and give food a different taste. For instance, if you always broil your steak, try sautéing it, or covering it with olive oil and dropping it on the grill. All of these cooking methods are healthy and easy to master.

Sample Recipes to Help You Eat Great and Lose Weight

Healthy French Toast:

• 2 slices of Sprouted Grain, Spelt or Rice bread
• 1 tablespoon of real butter
• 2 whole organic eggs
• maple syrup
• cinnamon

Directions: Mix the eggs in a bowl. Dip the bread in the egg mixture until it is completely coated on both sides. Heat a pan on low to medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the egg coated bread and cook each side for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the toast with cinnamon and serve it with 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.
Baked Chicken a la Isabel (one of my creations)

• 1 whole baking chicken
• extra virgin coconut oil
• your favorite Italian spices (I use thyme, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a small pan and melt it over low heat. Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of each of your spices in a small bowl and pour in the melted coconut oil. Mix all the ingredients together. Let the spice and coconut oil mixture cool.

Rub the spice and oil mixture under the skin of the chicken with your hands. Once the chicken is completely coated, place it breast side down in a glass baking pan and pop it in the oven. Let the chicken cook for 1 to 2 hours until it’s done.

There’s nothing boring or tasteless about the above recipes. If you’re creative and are willing to experiment with new recipes, you can chow down like this everyday and look fantastic doing it.
Your dream of permanent weight loss is just a reach away. Watch this video to find out how The Diet Solution Program can help you eat great and lose weight.

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