Jump Start

My husband and I have finally found a diet plan that we are both willing to try. Its a vegetarian plan, starts with a 7 Day Cleansing Plan.
Its called CHIP - Coronary Health Improvement Project and is designed by Dr. Hans A. Diehl.

We start on Sunday officially. We did all our shopping today. We have also planned health meals for the next 2 days leading up to the cleanse.

For lunch today we made Portabella mushroom burghers.
Tonight we will have a baked potatoes with tuna and white sauce and vegetables.

The first two days of the Jump Start plan consists of Fresh Fruit and Wholes Grains (Brown Rice/Rolled oats)

Just should help me switch to a low salt and low sugar diet which should not only help me loose weight but also control the symptoms of Meneire's Disease.

Now the question is what exercise will I do today?

Improving

I am starting to feel better.

I have managed to walk quite a bit over the last two days. Body is a bit sore but its a good sore.
Now if I can just keep my eating in hand I will have a good thing going.

My husband and daughter are enjoying the walks and happy to see me out of bed. Still feel a bit unsteady but walking through it.

The Chair Workout

The Chair Workout

Update

Starting to feel a bit better - had a really rough weekend.

Weighing in at 114.6kg/250.4 pounds - but that can be due to waterloss over the weekend not keeping much down. Be great if I can maintain the weightloss. Been off coffee for 5 days due to feeling sick so who knows.........

Meniere's Disease

I have been just diagnosed with Meniere's Disease. It makes sense I have had the systems before with no diagnoses or resolution and then they just went a away and I moved country and forgot about it.

Now it's come back and I finally know what's wrong now I feel I can learn to deal with it instead of getting depressed and stop exercising. Which is what my natural inclination would be to do. As I am typing this I feel like I just want to curl up in bed and sleep.

So excuse now I am going to do some indoor walking as its too cold outside.

"Exercise helps the balance system recover faster. The exercise must involve walking or running in order to improve coordination; stationary bikes and treadmills will not help..........
Exercise, ........ is the single best therapy for these symptoms. Initially it may cause increased vertigo but that is not harmful. Occasionally, physical therapy is recommended for patients who can not exercise enough on their own." Lahey Clinic

Here is our definition:

• "Classic" (typical) Meniere's Disease is the term given to the condition having the following four symptoms, after thorough testing has determined no other cause:

  • Episodic, fluctuating hearing loss.

  • Episodic, fluctuating rotational vertigo (a form of dizziness).

  • Episodic, fluctuating tinnitus (a sound heard when there is no sound).

  • Episodic, fluctuating aural fullness (a sense of air pressure in the middle ear, as if descending in an airplane; however, it is *not* actual air pressure in the middle ear; Meniere's Disease does not affect the middle ear). http://www.menieresinfo.com/start.html

Just Sitting?

Act and Thought for today:


Have you tried correcting your posture? I find it very uncomfortable and eventually it slips my mind. Today I am going to make a conscious effort to think about my posture.
In fact right now my shoulders are complain and i feel a slight awareness in stoach - its hard to explain. I know yoga is recommended to help but I have tried some videos and I can't think how an overweight person can most of those poses.

Pillow Posture

Place a pillow behind your lower back while you’re sitting at your desk to avoid slouching, decrease lower-back pain, improve posture and increase abdominal strength. Even better, it sounds so comfy. Who ever said you couldn’t get in shape just by sitting there?

(From article: Got 5 Minutes? It's All You Need to Get Fit: http://www.neversaydiet.com/slideshow/5-easiest-exercises-ever)

"Good posture makes one look taller, slimmer and more confident. From a health perspective, correct posture has been shown to speed recovery from episodes of low-back pain and help prevent recurrence. In fact, there may be nothing more important than good posture to prevent many aches and pains resulting from undue stress on joints and muscles." (http://www.orthone.com/one/services/spine/posture.cfm)

Hellloooooooooooo

Yeh I am back

Its been a hectic few weeks.

Dream come true - I visited France!! Spent 5 days in Paris - walked myself to the ground by the fourth day I could not feel my feet anymore.

I have now rested for 9 days exactly (after ironing for an hour my feet start to complain!)- tomorrow I start to exercise again. Saturday we have 2.5mile ramble planed hopefully the weather will not work against us.

Current Weight:115.9kg

Quote for the day

Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands- and then eat just one of the pieces.
- Judith Viorst

Chocolate Banana Coins

Bananas contain all eight amino acids that our bodies cannot produce themselves. There you have it—eight reasons why you should eat them. If you have a sweet tooth, add a little chocolate for a melt-in-your-mouth dessert with all the health benefits of bananas.

Chocolate Banana Coins

By Sophie Pachella
May 13, 2009

Ingredients:
1 banana, cut into coins
1 ounce dark chocolate, melted in microwave
1 tablespoon crushed almonds

Directions:
Using a fork, dip one side of the banana coin into the chocolate, then into the almonds, and place on wax paper. Do this with all remaining coins and freeze for an hour before eating.

Tips for the week

Cinnamon has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice – and even more than many foods. You'll find as many antioxidants in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon as a full cup of pomegranate juice or ½ cup of blueberries.

Beyond antioxidants, cinnamon is also rich in natural compounds called polyphenols. These compounds appear to act like insulin in our body and may help regulate blood sugar levels. That's especially good news for people with diabetes.

• Perk up your morning coffee with Ground Cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon over ground coffee before brewing.

  • 

    Cinnamon Coffee

• For lightly sweetened, cinnamon-spiced yogurt, mix 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon and 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey into 1 cup plain yogurt.

  • 

    Cinnamon Yogurt

• Keep a shaker of Ground Cinnamon handy to sprinkle over everything from hot cocoa to oatmeal and fruit salad.

• 
  

Some Humour

FAJITA FIESTA

Two 5 A DAY portions per serving

Serves 4
Prepare 15 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Costs £1.88 per portion

For the fajitas

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow pepper (chopped)
• Handful of mushrooms (roughly chopped)
• Packet of fajita mix
• 8 soft flour tortillas
• 1 chopped onion

For the salad

• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Lettuce

---

1. Heat the oil in a large pan
2. Add the onion and diced chicken
3. Add the other vegetables to the heat and stir
4. Stir in the fajita mix
5. Meanwhile prepare a mixed salad of tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce leaves
6. Warm the tortillas in a heated oven for 3 mins or a microwave for 1 min
7. Serve all together

Vegetarians

Swap the chicken for more veg

Extra twists

1. Serve with a tomato salsa for exra flavour
2. Carrot stick dips with hummus or guacamole makes a great starter
3. Use leftovers as sandwhich filler or with a baked potato

From 5 a day tips

4 Day Challenge

For the next 4 days i am challenging myself to eat 2 or more fruits.

I don't unconsciously choose fruit. I generally have a banana in my cereal or on toast, eat a few grapes (not enough for a serving). I need to therefore consciously choose to eat fruit and veg.

So taking one small step at a time.

I will check in later to report.

Healthy Sangria

Kids' Sangria

Rather than using the traditional sangria ingredient of red wine, this kids' recipe calls for cranberry/raspberry juice.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	4 cups cranberry/raspberry juice
	3 oranges
	2 limes

1. Pour the fruit juice into a large pitcher. Slice the oranges and limes thinly, remove any seeds, and add the slices to the pitcher. Serve in tall glasses filled with ice. Serves 4.

from Disney Family Fun

5 Ways Your Workout is Killing the Environment (And How to Change) | Never Say Diet

5 Ways Your Workout is Killing the Environment (And How to Change) | Never Say Diet

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Popcorn?

61 Calorie Popcorn Recipe


You can make popcorn in your own home that tastes just as good - without all the extra fat.

This is a recipe from the book "YOU:On a Diet" by Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. (A great book, in my opinion, for the recipes alone).

You need:

* 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
* Flavored cooking spray (butter, olive oil, garlic)
* Garlic salt or cinnamon

Place the popcorn in a two-and-a-half quart microwave safe bowl, microwave for four to five minutes (don't burn it!) Pour it on to a baking sheet, coat with spray, and follow with the garlic salt or cinnamon. The nutritional breakdown for this is 61 Calories, fat - .8 g, carbs - 5 g, protein - 1 g, and sodium - 0 g.

Make sure you use about 1-2 seconds of spray at most - with Pam, that's 14 calories. If you use 1/3 second, I really doubt you'll cover the popcorn.

I recommend using olive oil spray for the garlic variety, and butter spray if you're using cinnamon. From: Diet Blog

"Believe it or not, you can make your own delicious, low-fat microwave popcorn using standard popping corn and a brown paper lunch bag. It works perfectly."


DIY Microwave Popcorn For About $0.10 - More free videos are here

Calories: 137 Microwave Popcorn

What you'll need:

* 1/4 cup of popping corn
* 1 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
* To taste - popcorn salt (It has finer granules than table salt with the same taste.)

And these tools:

* A stapler
* A teaspoon
* A measuring cup
* A brown paper bag
* A microwave

Link for the Week

http://eatseasonably.co.uk/

What’s awesome in August? Raspberries.

Red, ripe, juicy and eminently squishable, these furry little numbers may well be the finest tasting of all the berries and are a real summer crowd pleaser.

Our quick and tasty tip:

* Try lightly crushing some raspberries with a little icing sugar and orange juice, then folding through softly whipped vanilla cream and serving with freshly baked shortbread.

Some Good Resources

Hi

I am back. Its been a busy and exciting few weeks. Ended with me getting a cold/hayfever - still recovering from that.

No Tv Week: http://www.screentime.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
Depression: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_tips.htm

Fruit and Vegetable Recipes they WILL Eat

Quote for the week

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw quotes

Nutrition in disguise

From Health Recipes. com

Secret ways to hide nutrition in foods kids love!

Now that we’ve seen the importance of including fruits and vegetables in our diet, how can we make sure that our family will eat them? By playing a game called, trick or treat; emphasis on the word, trick. Vegetables can be a treat if they are part of a favorite meal. Example: tacos (stuffed with veggies), pizza with vegetable toppings, hamburgers with sliced tomatoes and lettuce, raw vegetable sticks with a favorite dip, cauliflower with cheese sauce, etc. But we may likely rely heavily on the trick aspect of introducing disliked vegetables.

If you take the time to learn what healthy foods your children do love, it will make your job easier. Print the Favorite Healthy Foods and Meals template in the Schedules and Templates section of this book and assign a sheet to each child and/or husband. Write their favorite healthy foods on their assigned sheets. You may be surprised to learn that they actually enjoy quite a few healthy foods. Once you’ve learned what their favorite foods are, you can serve these foods openly. The next step will be to secretly add disliked vegetables into their diet. Here are ways to trick your family into eating nutritious food.

Nutrition in disguise

~ Most children will eat vegetables if they are a part of homemade soup.

~ Pass cooked vegetables in a food processor and add to hamburger patties, meatballs or meatloaf.

~ Finely grate zucchini or carrots and add to pancake batter.

~ Add finely chopped cooked vegetables to canned or packaged soup.

~ Add freshly juiced carrot juice to canned vegetable or tomato juice.

~ Add grated zucchini to square or muffin mixes.

~ Puree vegetables and add to chili or spaghetti sauce.

~ Add grated carrots to tuna or chicken salad.

~ Hide veggies in casseroles and main dishes.

~ Mix fat-free sour cream into a favorite salad dressing.

~ Serve raw vegetables with a favorite dip.

~ Mix regular peanut butter with freshly ground peanuts.

~ Use whole grain bread for grilled cheese sandwiches ~ the toasting will hide the color of the bread.

~ Go from white bread to 60% whole wheat for one month, then introduce whole-grain bread. You can make a sandwich using one slice of the 60% bread and one slice of the whole-grain bread. Serve with the lighter bread slice facing up.

~ Most children will eat a meal that they helped to prepare.

~ Let them make cookies with you. Use whole wheat and carob chips and they won’t know the difference, especially if they are the ones making the cookies. There aren’t too many children who will not eat their own baking.

~ You can create a desire to eat healthier treats by designating a new healthy treat as, mommy’s treat. You can say something like, "these are mommy’s very special yummy cookies, and you can’t have any, okay?" You can even place the cookies in a fancy cookie jar to increase the appeal. Let a couple days go by before ‘reluctantly giving in’ to their requests.

~ Sneak some whole-grain cookies into a bag of favorite mixed cookies, and eventually replace unhealthy cookies with healthier cookies.

~ Use cookie cutters to make fun sandwiches with whole-grain bread.

~ Mix whole-grain noodles into regular spaghetti or macaroni and cheese dishes.

~ Mix soaked soy bits in the ground beef. Slowly increase the soy/ground beef ratio in meals over time and they won’t notice that they are eating soy bits instead of ground beef.

The 48-Hour Weight-Loss Jump Start

The 48-Hour Weight-Loss Jump Start

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The 7-Day Canyon Ranch Spa Diet: Spa Tricks That Melt Pounds

The 7-Day Canyon Ranch Spa Diet: Spa Tricks That Melt Pounds

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Weigh-In

I have gone down more !!

from 117.1 kg to 115.5 kg

YAY

My body is so from the cleaning up and decorating I did yesterday...........

Recipe of the week

Potato Cases

400g potatoes, peeled and grated 3/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese 1 egg 1/4 cup fat free soy or dairy milk 1/2 cup corn kernels 1 tablespoon chives	15 min 40 min 24 Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Lightly spray two 12 x capacity mini muffin pans. Squeeze potatoes of excess moisture then firmly press into pan to form cases. Spray with oil and bake for 20 minutes. Place cream cheese, egg and milk in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Fold in corn and chives then spoon into potato cases. Bake a further 20 minutes.

This recipe contains 1g of saturated fat per serve.

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted" Aesop

Articles of Interest

Five Ways to Cut 100 Calories from your Diet

How to Prevent Freezer Burn

How to Stretch Your Food Budget (still eat healthily)

Tip for the Day (from igoogle page)
Eat several small meals each day instead of three big meals. Your metabolism will stay high and burn more fat

Need to Lose to Win

Well all this walking is starting to pay off - I have lost 2 kg.

Today is a rainy day - so I will do the indoor walking exercise.

Poem about Weight Loss by jen4sexx2

I hit the ground
and I turned my life around
I used to be fat
now the guys think I'm all that

Yes, I did defeat it
but sadly there's no secret
it took a lot of work
(not tryin' to be a jerk)

Yes, bad genes suck,
I know 'cause I have them too,
But don't let your bad luck
get the best of you

'Cause I ate a healthy diet,
you should really try it
I worked out every day
now my hotness' here to stay,

And, yeah, it was hard,
but I got rid of my lard,
And the guys all think I'm hot
when I show up at their yacht,

I lost the weight,
and you can do it too,
and have a fun date,
'cause I am here for you!

If we work together
in any type of weather
We can both win,
We can both be super thin!

Report

I am happy to report that my exercise program is going. My husband is pushing me........ otherwise i may have been tempted to stop again.

In the last 8 days I have walked for 6 of them. YAY


“Too many people overvalue what they are not and
undervalue what they are."
Malcolm Forbes

Walk Off 10 Pounds This Month: Your Lose-10-Pounds Plan

Walk Off 10 Pounds This Month: Your Lose-10-Pounds Plan

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Enjoying exercising

I have been enjoying walking indoors and outdoors.

The Leslie Sansone dvds is the answer to my indoor walking here in Northern Ireland.

Sense of Humour

Beginners Guide to Exercise

Snack attack

1 small banana with 1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter 188 calories

Update on my day

The day didn't start off well but ended on a good note.

The progesterone tablets for pcos do agree with me - but I didn't take any today and I am now starting to feel better.

We out for a walk as family - got some fresh air and sunshine - great way to end the day.

Looking forward to a good week

Routine is one thing I have found difficult to maintain. I generally can stay focused on project and complete it. Maybe even go on for a month.

The one routine I have maintained is that I routinely try to make and keep a routine.

Its many times a mind battle - not allowing life's challenges to throw off the path you have chosen to follow.

I feel like I am getting into the right "mind space" to keep at making healthy choices.

This past week I took out books, CD's and ipods - for learning French, on Photography, health issues, murder mystries. I have also been working on other projects.

My aim for the next 4 days is to make time for family, for learning, for helping others and for me.

By
1. family worship
2. listening to the French CD's
3. Sending encouraging letters and e-mails
4. Relaxing by reading, exercise and implement one idea from the health book each day.

Plan in effect for this week

I sad to report that I did not succeed - so the plan is to put the same 4 days into effect from today.

mmmmm to find the book and read it again ..............

Thought for the Weekend

"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win, by fearing to attempt" Jane Addams

I am back on with the program

Corbet Lough

If I am one thing, I am persistent. Can't tell how many times I have thought of deleting this blog because I don't seem to be succeeding.
Its become a symbol of something I will overcome - at the moment it reminds me that I need to develop healthy habits and when I have achieved this I can look back at my struggle and proudly say I didn't give up and I will persevere.

So what am I up to?

I have started a one year long swap on Swap-bot called Weight-loss penpal.
I have bought two more exercise DVD's to add variety to my exercise program.
We have started Geocaching as a family, a fun way to get walking done and keep my daughter motivated.
I have gotten the Newry Canal Way map to plan a walking project for this summer.

for the next four days I want to:
1. Exercise for 20min
2. Drink 4 glasses of water
3. keep a food diary
4. Sleep for 7 hrs

REWARD: Self-pedicure - the full treatment.

Light Chocolate Mousse

Serves 4
Prep time: 5min
Cooking time: 5Min
from: http://www.sanitarium.com.au/

2 egg whites 1/4 cup caster sugar 1/4 cup reduced fat soy or dairy milk 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 2 tablespoons arrowroot 2 cups reduced fat vanilla yoghurt 10g chocolate shavings, to serve Place egg whites in a clean bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until dissolved. Place milk, cocoa powder and arrowroot in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, whisking continuously. Remove from heat and fold in yoghurt. Gently fold egg whites into yoghurt mixture. Place into four serving dishes. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Decorate with chocolate shavings and fresh fruit. Per serve: 945 Kilojoules (225 Calories). Protein: 10g. Fat: 3g. Carbohydrate: 41g. Total sugars: 35g. Sodium: 130mg. Potassium: 400mg. Calcium: 245mg. Iron: . Fibre: <1g.

5 min 5 min 4

This recipe contains 2g of saturated per serve.

How to Exercise While Sitting at Your Computer - wikiHow

How to Exercise While Sitting at Your Computer - wikiHow

Self- Massage

Self Massage Techniques for Hands -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Sinus Relief Through Self Massage -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Internal Dialogue

"It is natural for me to be slim, I now move easily towards my ideal weight. I choose to eat light, nutritious food, I respect my body and give it only the best." Fiano Harrold

My own:

I have all the tools necessary to make the transition to a healthy, fit an slim me. I have the knowledge and the motivation. I believe in me.

Exercised today

I am crawling back from under a stone - did a i mile walk with Leslie Sasoon walking DVD

Sticking my head in the sand no longer

I have been avoiding the scale. I too scared to get on it because I know I have gone off my program once again.

Today I got a letter about taking my daughter to her follow visit to the dietitian. Most the sport activities she has been involved in has come to an end and today a childrens Aerobic DVD via Lovefilm has arrived. I have to be a better example to her - she is my motivation - when she gets back from school this afternoon we will exercise together and start recording what we are eating.