Pre Thanksgiving Blog

Ta Da! I figured it out. You wont over eat on Thanksgiving if you do not over cook. I have this bad habit of thinkig I have to be able to feed a small army or 1/2 of Dragon Con. This year I am cutting back on the amount of everything but still have enough variety and get in my requirement that I cook something I have never tried to cook before.

So here is my menu

Ham
Turkey Breat (I refused to by a 20 pound turkey)
Dressing (down to one 13x9 pan from 3 pans)
Fresh Sweet Potatoes (plain, no marshmellows, etc)
Fresh Green Beans
Black Eye Peas and Butter Peas from my Mom & Dad's Garden
Corn From my Mom and Dad's Garden
Potato Salad
Deviled Eggs (I don't eat them but Dave love's them)
Cranberry Relish (this years new addition)
Tea

Pecan Pie
Apple Pie or Skillet Apples (I am not sure which I want to do yet)

and I have a real pumpkin to cook down. If I don't make a pie, I will make puree and freeze it.

I start tonight. Wish me luck. My kitchen will be a crock pot farm.

5 down and gone

I am happy to say that I have maintained my five pounds during this dreaded 3rd week of the lunar cycle. I have compiled a short list of my favorite habits that I have incorporated into my daily routine. I wanted to share them and where I found these lovely gems.

1. Cut Out SODA - Dr. McBarron, Dr. Oz and my Dr. (I see a pattern)
2. Walk 10 minutes a day; if it's raining you get wet! - Dr. McBarron
3. Do not eat snack larger than your fist - Dr. Oz
4. Weight your self every day for accountability - Dr. Oz
5. Eat 3 whole fruits a day - Dr. McBarron (I added 3 Veggies too!)
6. Do not eat after Dark (Dr. McBarron) or 3 hours before bed (Dr. Oz)
7. Drink Water, not soda, tea or coffee - Dr. McBarron. I cheat and have one cup of coffee in the morning but I off set it w/ an additional 20 oz of water.

If you would like to search for tips and tricks that will help you, I suggest you start here:
Dr. McBarron's 100+ Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss is all in your Mind.

Sometimes Weight Loss is all in your mind. It is all about what you THINK you CAN do. You make decisions to eat better, drink water and exercise. It is all about the decisions you can make every day. Sometimes no matter how much positive self talk you give yourself every day, it just does nothing to motivate you.

I want to be healthy. I want to be under 200 pounds. I want to have a smaller waist line. Good health is my goal.

My last blog chronicled my hopeful restart of my weight loss, again. I just finished my 21 day post vacation cleanse. I am very pleased with my results. I have not made 100% great choices but I have lost 5 pounds. The last week was all maintaining those 5 pounds while I took a break from my Fat Burning Shots from Georgia Bariatrics to let my arms heal a bit.

On the day that I felt the worst, I happened to be able to speak to Dr. McBarron at a store event. Just having her listen to me helped. I can not tell you how close I was to crying that day. Dr. McBarron offered me some simple advice. Eat 3 pieces of fruit every day. Take a 10 minute walk every day. I said to myself I CAN DO THAT. So for two days I have done just that. 2 good choices lead to more good choices.

I promised myself a pedicure for 5 pounds lost. I will post pictures. Thank you Dr. McBarron

Teaching Spooky

I finally got to teach my Spooky Two Page. Click here for the original post.

I had four very wonderful ladies who were all very excited to take my class. I am not your typical designer for my shoppe so when I get a nice big class, I get excited. I sorted out the ladies and had them all use the Sparkle Mod Podge first. They had quite a few pieces to glitter up, so I wanted them to get started with all the glitter goodness. Only one lady (Debby Jones) had used the product before and everyone loved the product.




After their pieces dried I moved them over to another set of tables to assemble the pages. Once again, I always enjoy everyone making my designs their own. Making changes to the layout to make theirs unique.




A resounding success for the introduction to Sparkle Mod Podge. The request has already been made for more classes using the products.

Post Vacation Cleanse Plan

After my recent trip home, I felt so bloated and tired that I decided I would try a post vacation cleanse. Truthfully I had no idea what to expect or go purchase so I called the manager of the Airport Thru Way Peachtree Natural Foods. After speaking with Jamie,I stopped by the store and she helped me pull a plan together that would help stop the sluggish feeling, eliminate the bloat and help my overall tired feeling.

One of the questions Jamie asked me was - "how was your diet?" And here you really have to be honest. My vacation diet was full of pork, red meat, sweets, cola and beer. Not good for an already chunky waist line.

I want to say up front, this program will not work if you do not clean up your diet. You have to practice some kind of portion control and reduce your meat intake to 1 or 2 times a week. You need to eat vegetables and fruit and you MUST at least double your water intake. (for me that was 128 oz a day)

So Here are the supplements:

Natural Max Bloat-X - 2 capsules before each meal
IHL's Seven Strain Probiotic - 2 in the morning
IHL's Triple Action Acai Step 3 Maintenance Cleanse - 2 - 30 minutes before bed w/ at least 8 oz of water

on my own I added in the Fat Burning Injections from Dr. McBarron's Practice. Two a week, which is Dr. McBarron's Minimum Recommendation.

I am into my second week and am feeling better. My trips to the restroom have increase but that will happen with the increase in water intake. I did have to back the Maintenance Cleanse down to 1 a day because I my stool was too loose.

I have lost 4.5 pounds but the better result is the improvement in how I feel and how I sleep. This plan has given me a way to refocus on my 'change of lifestyle' and 'eating better'.

All of the supplements can be found at Peachtree Natural Foods,either on line or in any store.