My Top Dieting & Weight Loss Fails

Posted On July 14, 2016 By admin In Blog, Health / No Comments

Restaurants are training us to be an obese society, by serving double and triple portions of what a person should eat in a day in one meal.

If you go to a place like Disneyland where there are an abundance of people walking around it’s amazing how many of us are overweight.

Personally I’m looking for sustainable weight loss, because obesity leads to a tremendous number of health problems not the least of which are diabetes and heart issues.

I’m looking for sustainable weight loss, because obesity leads to a tremendous number of health issues.

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We have been talking about dieting the last couple of weeks, and next week I plan to talk about the Fitbit and update my weight loss progress the week after that.

(My posts often contain affiliate links to products or information that I believe will be useful to my readers.)

But this week I thought some of you newbies might want to see some of the dieting efforts that I have wasted money on that did not have long term results (some of them did not even have short term results!)

In no particular order–and keeping in mind that your personal results may differ from mine–here are my top dieting and weight loss fails:

NutriSystem

I have tried Nutrisystem which I consider to be very expensive and not the healthiest food choices.
You eat one pound of food per day. I did have some weight loss but do not feel the program is a good
choice expense, health, or long term weight loss-wise.

Sensa

I have tried Sensa which used to advertise and average of 30 pounds lost but I didn’t come anywhere close to that although it did work a little. You sprinkle it on your food so it’s easy to use and costs about $50-100/month.

Garcinia Cambogia

I have tried Garcinia Cambogia, which are natural weight loss pills.

Hypnosis

I also spent several hundred dollars on hypnosis for weight loss with no improvement.

21 Thin Down Pills

I also tried 21 Thin Down pills that promised 1 pound of weight loss per day and I got zero.

Diet and Exercise

I have tried diets with and without additional exercise. I have tried many gym memberships and did not get weight loss from them. You always get the lecture that you are gaining muscle and that muscle is heavier than fat.

(I’m pretty sure that one pound of fat, one pound of muscle, one pound of feathers, and one pound of lead all weight the same even though they may have different mass…)

But I will confess that I work at the computer all day and lead a pretty sedentary life except for the exercise I do in the morning and dancing when I can make the time.

Liposuction

I’ve spent several thousands of dollars on liposuction with mixed results. The first session resulted in some improvement on one side of my front. There were two incisions and one got infected and took months to heal. I would say I was 25% happy the look. The doctor realized he didn’t do a good job and repeated the procedure, with additional improvement but still less than perfect results. At this point I would say I was 50% happy.

Oh, you should have seen me on the meds. The first procedure he didn’t give me anything for pain because I’m allergic to it so he gave me something to relax. The second procedure he gave me the pain meds even though I told the nurse I was allergic to them. Turns out she wanted me to have them so she could steal some from my purse during the procedure.

But the truly funny part of the story is apparently they got me pretty loopy as I went online the next day and bought $950 dollars’ worth of stuff. Someday I will blog about the full story, but it was bazaar to see the crazy
things coming in the mail for weeks afterward like leather corsets. I remember thinking, where was I planning to wear this, church or work?

So the doctor still realizing that he had not done a great job, and getting to charge me another $300 plus talk me into doing another area (which also needs to be redone) for another $1,800, did his third procedure on me. This time, I’m 90% happy. My stomach is really flat for the most part except at the top and two pouches.

Here’s they thing they don’t tell you about liposuction and he failed to mention until after the 3rd time,
unless you start eating less, your body will start storing fat on another part of your body. So while I had
maybe 15 ounces of weight loss from the surgery, I look better, but have gained 10 pounds and my thighs
are starting to look like thunder thighs which was never a problem before and why I started the HCG diet
again.

Fat-Melting Radio Waves

Since my liposuction doctor still knew he had not done a great job and because one body can only take some many surgeries in one year, and because he needed a guinea pig for his new equipment, he offered me 6 free fat melting sessions.

He said the machine used radio waves. But he also called it “cooking chicken” so I wondered if they were micro waves. He promised it was safe and he promised results.

I did lose two pounds after one session but my belief is that it was just water weight from dehydration. I feel that if there was any true fat loss as he promised that I wouldn’t sill have the pouches.

Overall, I would not recommend that anyone spend money on the fat melting radio waves.

Overall, I would not recommend anyone spend money on fat melting radio waves.

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So with all of that said, I’m happy with my 8+ pound loss so far and am buying more HCG supplies and going to continue on restricted calories. And I have started using a Fitbit and will share about that next week.

I don’t share any of this because I have a deep and burning need to let everyone see into my personal life, but rather to help you choose what may or may not be best for you and steer you clear of something that may just be a waste of money.

I’d love to know which dieting methods have and have not worked for you, please share in the comment box below!

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Please consult a licensed medical professional before embarking on any new health regimen.

Establishing Traditions: Why My Partner and I Eat off the Same Plate

Posted On May 24, 2016 By admin In Blog, relationship / 2 No Comments

Establishing rituals in your relationship or in your family can become beautiful traditions that carry on.

After our first couple of dates where we sat across from each other in a restaurant, my boyfriend and I began to sit next to each other. We just enjoyed it that way.

One day we were in a restaurant and an older man came up to us and begin to praise my boyfriend. I guess because we weren’t wearing wedding rings the man instinctively knew that we were dating, and he praised my boyfriend for sitting next to me. He said that if he wanted to keep me, he needed to continue doing that for the rest of his life.

We have another tradition that I think is not only romantic, but brilliant.

It came about in an unusual way.

We both lost our mothers when we were 12, and neither of us had been raised directly by our parents (we had both been sent to live with relatives–me at age four and a half and him at age five).

I had asked him one day what things he remembered about his mother.

He thought long and hard and then responded that she always prayed before dinner, and that she and his father ate off of one plate with one set of silverware.

We have no idea what their reason for doing this was–it may have been as simple as not having enough plates and silverware because they had many children.

He thought long and hard and then responded that she always prayed before dinner.

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But I thought about it and came back to him the next day with some thoughts.

While I really love God, I was never raised with the habit or tradition of praying before my meal. I know a lot of people do it and a lot of others don’t. But I suggested that we adopt that into our relationship. It’s another level of gratitude and I can see the wisdom of that.

Additionally, whenever he came to my house for dinner, I began to serve him the meal on one plate. Unlike his parents we use two sets of silverware but one knife.

So the tradition has grown into me praying before the meal, and him cutting the food and us feeding each other.

I think it’s romantic but let me assure the deeper wisdom here. Like most of you we lead very busy lives and have many things going on in our brains. It’s a nice way to sit down and focus on each other.

I know that you’ve seen families in a restaurant sitting across from each other and not even talking.

Picture your family, what was your dinner like last night?

I know that when we begin to have children the children need our time and attention, but do you realize that your husband often feels left out?

When the children are grown and gone, it’ll just be the two of you. So having and maintaining a beautiful relationship now will give you a strong foundation to stand on later.

Something as simple is adopting this romantic way of focusing on your husband in between giving the baby bites of food may be a way to strengthen your relationship.

I can tell you that when we’re eating that way in a restaurant people often look at us in envious ways.

When we’re having a dinner party I will admit that it makes some people feel uncomfortable because they don’t understand it.

But when I explain the tradition people are always blown away and seem to have their opinions reversed.

Having and maintaining a beautiful relationship now will give you a strong foundation to stand on later.

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People are different, and your spouse may not be comfortable with something like that, but what traditions or rituals can you add to your relationship to strengthen it?

Can you fall asleep holding hands or each other? Can you go for a walk after dinner?

Let me know in the comment box below some of the traditions that you have or would like to start.

7 skin care products for acne-prone dry skin

Posted On May 18, 2016 By admin In Blog / No Comments

We’re all looking for the perfect skincare regimen and I must confess to being a bit of a skincare and makeup junkie. Alright, fine… hair care products too. I was shocked when I moved and it took 8 moving boxes to pack the products from my bathroom alone.

Stop, Drop, and Practice Self-Care

Posted On May 13, 2016 By admin In Blog / No Comments

I stopped and cleaned my eyeglasses today. That is such a mundane thing, and I know you probably can’t imagine it being worthy of writing about. But the reality is that the glasses sitting at my desk in my office have needed cleaning for at least two weeks. And I just haven’t stopped to take the time, even thought I could have much sooner.

Which Kind of Duck are you? Life Lessons from the Bird-Brained

Posted On May 13, 2016 By admin In Blog / No Comments

This past week three ducks have taken up residency in the parking area behind my house. There is a street with a tiny bit of water and they have been huddled right next to it, dangerously close to a stream of ever passing cars.

This tiny body of water is just run off from a sprinkler and isn’t even half an inch deep or as big around as one entire duck body, but these three act as though they have found the holy grail.