Finally Progress on the Scale

After not losing for a week or two (atleast on the scale), I woke up this morning to find I lost another three pounds. My motivation is restored! Well, I was still motivated but the scale situation was really frustrating me. I knew I was losing, I just couldn't see it on the scale. Now I am very happy. To date I have lost about 15 pounds! Saturday will be the end of week 7 for me. I can not fully express just how wonderful Sensa has been for me! I do think eating right and exercising every once and a while is speeding up the process though. I'm haven't been perfect on this diet, but most of the time I make the right choices and that's what I was aiming for. And that Acai Berry has my energy level on high most of the day, so I think that helps as well (but I have noticed no real increase in weight loss since taking it, atleast on the scale anyways). For those of you who are already taking Sensa, what has been your expeirence with it so far?

More Benefits I Am Noticing With Acai Berry

I have been taking either Acai Berry Supreme or Acai Berry Juice for Brazil Botanicals and I have noticed some more pretty amazing benefits. First my sense of well-being is just amazing. I am always in a good mood and full of energy. Also, I noticed that the healing time for skin blemishes and irritations is much faster than normal. My skin has gotten softer and so has my hair. I have also noticed that while my weight hasn't changed much, I am fitting into clothes I hadn't worn before. I am going to buy a tape measure this Saturday because I really think I am losing inches rather than pounds. I'd much rather be leaner and fit into my old "skinny jeans" than be a certain number on the scale. I think the extract and/or juice combined with Sensa and better diet has really helped me out in that regard. The Acai Berry Supreme seems to give me a bit more energy than the juice, however it also contains white tea which may be the reason why. Irregardless though, even the juice seems to be packing a powerful punch. My workouts run a bit longer and it seems to take less effort. Well, maybe not less effort but it just seems a whole lot easier to get through. In fact, I have so much energy that I want to exercise or just go out and do something active. I just feel really great! I am experiencing such positive benefits from the green tea and acai berry that I think I will explore other "super fruits" or "super foods". I hope everyone is having a good week!

Comfort Food

For Halloween this year, I will be making my kids haystacks and pumpkin shaped grilled cheese sandwiches (I have a healthier version for dieters as well). I want to make sure they get a good meal in before eating all that candy and it also had to be something quick to make. Haystacks is essentially layered corn chips, chili and shredded cheese in a bowl. The ultimate comfort food before going out and trick or treating on a cold night. If you want to know how to make these yourself, here is the directions:

Heat up a couple of cans of chili on the stove (as many cans as your family or you would need) on med-high heat (until bubbly). Fill the bottom of the bowl(s) with a layer of corn chips, then layer that with some nice hot chili and then layer that with a topping of shredded cheese (we use Cheddar, but you can use whatever cheese you prefer). For the grilled cheese you would butter two slices of bread (times however many sandwiches you'd need), put cheese (like craft slices or velveta) in between the unbuttered sides of the bread and cut with a Halloween cookie cutter (I am using pumpkins). Cook on med-low until each side nice and browned.

For a healthier version: For the Haystacks: Substitute regular chili with a meatless chili and omit the corn chips. You can also substitute regular cheese for low-fat cheese.

For the grilled cheese: Use whole wheat bread, low-fat cheese and cooking spray instead of butter.

Happy Halloween!

The Scale Can Be Deceiving

Ok, I have heard people tell me before to throw out your scale and just do all the right things and the weight will come off. But how many of us really want to know if "doing the right thing" made any difference? I can tell you, I am one of them. When I wake up each morning and greet the day...the first thing I do is weigh myself to see if "doing the right thing" did anything for me. Anyone out there the same way? Well I am here to tell you that the scale is not your friend. If you have been following my posts you should know I have been losing around 2 pounds each week. Well this week I lost zero. And I have to admitt, I was scared to get on that scale after my piece of tiramisu and dark chocolate episode this week. But I had also been riding my bike all week and doing otherwise a good job of filtering out the junk in my diet. So I began with the usual, "oh this diet isn't working anymore. It's just like everything else". But was it? I decided to try on one of my old work shirts (this sadly is the reason I starting dieting, I couldn't fit into my favorite fitted work shirt). Last week it was still a bit snug but this week...it fit! I finally made it to my first goal! The scale was lieing to me!!! The thing is, muscle weighs more than fat. Most of us know this, but still we exspect to be a certain weight to fit into a, b, and c. So when we exercise and are "burning calories", we exspect the scale to go down, not stay the same and definately not to go up! This is how I think, and I am willing to bet I am not alone. What most of us can't get our heads around is that sometimes even if you gain a few pounds you can still be losing inches due to all the activity or the change in diet. So don't lose heart if your weight stays the same or even goes up a little...you could still be making headway towards your "skinny jeans" goal!

Update

I am not noticing more weight (than what I have been losing) coming off since using the Acai Berry but I do have more energy. I usually take my daughter to the bus stop in the morning and go back to bed for an hour or so before getting ready for work. Since I have been taking the Acai Berry I have not been doing this, actually I have been waking up earlier than normal. Then after taking her to the bus I have been going on a bike ride then coming home and cleaning. It's better than coffee as far as that goes! But I do notice that I always have that "hungry" feeling since I started taking it. I hope that does not get in the way of my weight loss efforts. If it does, I will stop taking it and continue on with just the Sensa and Green Tea. I don't know how well I will be doing in terms of weight loss this week because my husband brought home some Tiramisu for me and it was too good to refuse:). I also had some dark chocolate chips, so I really need to get back on track!

2 more pounds down

Ok, I'll admitt this last 2 pounds came off a little slower than it has been, but as long as the trend is downward I'm still game. For some reason I feel like my body had to adjust to the new Sensa sprinkles (for this month) and now that it has it's starting to pick up in weight loss again. Actually now that I think about it, I just switched out the new shaker last Saturday. I didn't really lose any weight the 4th week (before I switched out the shaker), but this week I lost 2 more pounds so I definately think they are on to something by having you switch out the shakers each month. I will post next Saturday to let you know where I am at then. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!

Canceling Acai Berry Orders

For those of you who posted about Acai Berry Supreme and needed to cancel, please read my response. If you call the number I posted (you'll have to keep redialing them), they will pick up. At least they did for me, twice. It is a horrible tactic they use and should not be allowed to do it but they will answer. It is one good reason I will not be doing business with them, not to mention the price they are asking. I can get a one month's supply from Dr. Tim's for 14.99, free shipping too if I order 5 bottles. Huge price difference. I will be reviewing it after I finish Acai Berry Supreme. My hope is that it is just as good or better.

Update on Acai Berry

I have tried now the Acai Berry Supreme and let me tell you I love it! It's just way overpriced! Almost 100.00 for a one month supply! But it gives me so much energy! I rode my bike with my daughter today and did not want to stop! I had so much energy to burn. I am usually a slow starter in the morning but after taking the Acai Berry I was up and moving! I love this stuff! I did order and receive Dr. Tim's Brazilian Acai Berry juice and it actually has a higher content of Acai than Acai Berry Supreme but I wanted to finish the bottle first to review it before starting the other. Acai Berry Supreme doesn't have too many extras. It does have white tea extract in it though but like I said, I loved it. I now have high hopes for the juice I bought. It's even more natural and my theory is with the higher acai content it should be even better. I have for a long time had problems with my sleeping, however users of Dr. Tim's Acai juice say they sleep better and wake up refreshed...so I am thinking I might actually be going from: ok but not for me(Pure Acai Berry) to great (Acai Berry Supreme) to hopefully even better (Dr. Tim's Acai Juice). But for now, I love Acai Berry Supreme. I will post again on it as time goes on to give a full review of my expeirence. I have 13 days left with it, then it's on to Dr. Tim's. Have a great weekend everybody!

Sensa update

I started on Shaker #2 yesterday and noticed a big difference. First, I had not realized that how much I gotten used to the sweet sprinkles until I tried the new ones. It tasted so wonderful and that was how the first month's tasted to me at first. I guess that it is true that your body gets accostumed to it. I also noticed that just before I switched out the sprinkles that my appetite was starting to come back. But after switching to month 2 I was back to not finishing my full portions. I told my husband that if I keep losing weight that all I want for christmas is new clothes. I am using that to motivate me. I love clothes...well, I do when I'm not overweight. To be able to go into a clothing department and like how the clothes looked on me would be awesome! Here in Florda they have outlets all over the place and Bealls always has this cute little silky shirts...but they are mostly made for really slender girls/women. That is my goal, to walk in there buy whatever strikes me. What are your goals?

My Thoughts so far on Pure Acai Berry

I don't think this product is right for me. For some reason green tea leaf extract makes me either gain actual weight or retain water and this product has that in it. I woke up with a 4 pound weight gain overnight, yikes! Why I don't know because drinking the actual tea works wonders for me, the extract just seems to do the opposite.

But the Acai Juice I bought (which should be here tommorrow or the next day) doesn't have all that junk, it is juice and pulp from the actaul berry with I beleive pineapple concentrate. I think the amount of actual Acai Berry is 85% of the total juice content. So I am really thinking it will have a more positive effect for me. I am not so interested in weight loss as I am about health benefits. I have been doing fine with the Sensa and green tea so far, no need to fix something thats not broke.

Pure Acai Berry

I received my Acai Berry pills today (though there is only enough there for 5 days), so we'll see how they work. For those of you who are not aware of what Acai can do for you, here are a few of the benefits that hooked me: Highest antioxidant concentration than any other fruit (even more than green tea), helps lower total cholesterol, helps fight/prevent cancer, protects you from the damage of free radicals which destroys your healthy cells and speeds up the aging process and other causes health issues such as heart disease. It also may help you loose weight by curbing your appetite and speeding up your metabolism. I read a lot of comments from people who have tried it mention that they slept better and felt refreshed in the morning. One user even said that she woke up 45 minutes earlier than normal!

One thing I am not sure I care for is the fact that the "Pure Acai Berry" has so many other ingrediants: 300% DV of B6, 600% DV of B12, "Organic Acai Berry" 200mg, green tea leaf extract 200mg, ginger root 200mg, rhubarb root 200mg. I am also testing "Acai Berry Surpreme" in pill form. I originally got upset about the trial offer of this pill as they automatically enroll you in a program to receive a monthly supply and bill your credit card that you used for the shipping of the trial bottle, however I spoke will the company who assured me I could cancel the autoship after I received it. I also outright bought Dr. Tim's Brazilian Acai Juice. It's a 32 oz bottle and 1 serving (1 oz) = 5 servings of fruit. It has no ridiculous additives or fillers, not even sugar or artificial sweetners. It has a higher concentration of Acai than other brands, look here for an example: http://brazilbotanicals.com/images/products/acai/acai_content.png .

I do really feel that the green tea and the Sensa has packed a powerful punch curbing my appetite. I probably do not need Acai Berry for that purpose at all, but the health benefits of it is too much to ignore. Anything that reduces your risk of diseases and other health problems is high on my list. Anyone have any expeirence with it?

Update

I am so sorry I having been writing in the past few days. I have been working my tail off, but I made it through the week. Friday's finally here once more! I have been doing extremely well with the diet. I am not weighing in again until next week, but my clothes continue to get looser. I am hoping that next week I will see some good results. I have become addicted to green tea! The Sencha green tea is what I have been drinking and I love it. I ran out of the evolution brand yesterday, but the new stuff my husband picked up is also the Sencha variety. I am hoping to get more of that Acai Berry green tea later this weekend. I went bike riding with my daughter yesterday and I am trying to do that every other day, but really ends up being whenever I can find the time. Also, I am going to try out Acai Berry by itself in the pill form and post on the results. It is supposed to be better than green tea as far as antioxidant content. My sister can not drink green tea, so I thought if the Acai Berry works similarly or better she'd be able to use that instead. I know that this goes beyond Sensa, but my weight loss has not been any more or any less with the green tea (however, my body does seem to be slimming faster with it, aside from the weight. I mean as far as getting into my clothes). I just needed something to replace the coffee. Do I miss my coffee in the morning? Yes I do! But after the 2nd cup of green tea I have lost my taste for it. I am not saying that ditching the coffee has helped, but things are going good and why fix something that's not broke? As far as food goes, I am learning that I have to be careful to get enough calories in. Between the tea and Sensa, my appetite is really small so if I don't eat enough I get really run down. So I eat something with "good fat" and that usually does the trick. I think that you have to be aware of that because eating too little isn't healthy either. Maybe I should cut back on the tea a bit. I am drinking between 5-8 cups a day. I am finding it harder to fall asleep at night; I think I need to establish a earlier cut off time for drinking it. I will be starting on shaker #2 soon. I have not even finished the first shaker!!! I finish week 4 tomorrow and will likely change out the shakers then. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Acai Berry Scam

Ok, as I was looking up information on antioxidants levels I came across a website for "Acai Berry Supreme". It had one of those free two week trials (https://www.acaiberrysupreme.com//checkout1.aspx?bid=dec6c887-6bd6-47cd-bb51-6a9eedcc1009 ). I fell for it hook line and sinker. I had been wanting to try some because of all the antioxidants in it, but I didn't want to pay the hefty price if I didn't like it or couldn't use it. The green tea I have been drinking has worked wonders for me and if Acai is even better, why not give it a try right?

However, after signing up the infamous light bulb came on and I realized they didn't list the regular cost of this product. So I did a little digging and found out that they enroll you automatically into an autoship program. Not only do they autoship the Acai Berry Supreme($90.57 w/ shipping for a 30 day supply) they also send you "free" bottle of "total cleanse" (which I would never use) and you are auto-shipped this product as well for the "super low price" of $84.51 (shipped).

So needless to say I called the company to tell them to cancel any shipments beyond the free trial and they told me that I could not do this until I received the shipment (however your "free trial" starts the day your product ships...which begs the question, how long does it take to receive the package once it's shipped!?) Here is all the "hidden" information you'll need to know about this product: http://www.acaiberrysupreme.com/cpage.aspx?name=termsandconditions
However, Acai is the number one superfruit right now. It packs 6 times the amount of antioxidants as pomegranate which holds the number two spot and surprisingly enough each has more antioxidants than green tea. I will be posting more on antioxidants and my expeirence with them soon.

I will now be testing the Acai Berry in pill form, since I now have no choice:). I will post about my expeirence with it in future posts. This might be an option for those who can't stand green tea, or want something better than green.

I will be posting this on another blog because I would hate someone to fall in the same trap I did. I can't be the only one who has fallen for it...atleast I hope not:).

New Teas and More Progress

The new teas I bought are awesome. The Acai Green Tea definately tastes like berries but it is not overbearing. The Chocolate-Orange Green Tea, oh man! Not only does it smell exactly like Chocolate and Orange, it tastes like it too with no aftertaste IMO. I also tried a new ceral "Post Selects Great Grains". Oh my, it is so good! It only has "good fats"....though I might have overdone it this weekend with "good fats", we'll just have to see what the scale says. I will do my next weigh in on the 15th, maybe sooner just to let everyone know (I am two more pounds down this week). I put on some clothes today and they were so loose compared to last week though I have only lost two pounds. Does two pounds really make that much difference? If so, maybe I should rethink my philosophy "I only gained 2 pounds" lol. I think I am the queen of that. When I know I am being bad, I find ways to tell myself it's ok and that I can always lose it later. Oh the lies we tell ourselves when we are enjoying good food! I am so glad though that I did all this research because I still feel like I am enjoying food. Because I refused to exclude carbs, fats, ect and instead replace them with the healthier versions, my body doesn't crave them. I tell you though, before I bought this tea today I was beginning to miss my coffee. Hopefully, I'll continue to find good tasting teas as it really curbs my appetite as does Sensa. I think Sensa works, while I'm eating and the tea works between meals. I am finding that I do not need snacks as much...hopefully that's not a bad thing. We shall see.

Shopping

Just got back from doing groceries. I had been looking at some Sencha green tea from Evolution, but I thought that the asking price was a bit steep for being online. I wanted to try the Acai Green Tea and the Chocolate Orange Green Tea. If you go here you can see the prices: http://www.revolutiontea.com/green-tea/ . But today I found the same exact tea at Target for 3.99! Needless to say, I snatched up both boxes and the Chocolate Orange Green Tea smells amazing! It literally smells just like Chocolate. I am going to try both teas in the morning as I am finding that the caffiene keeps me awake at night if I drink it after 2pm.

Today went well. I had Oatmeal w/ milk, Special K Protien Water, raspberries, a glass of wine and salsa w/ avocado and 0 trans fat tortilla chips. I also had Green Tea and Water, but that's about it. I was starving by the time we got home, but there wasn't really anyplace to stop except fast food joints, so I just waited to eat at home. Next time though I think I will take snacks with me.

Let me ask you all a question for those of you who diet. Do your significant others complain about the prices of "healthy food"? My husband buys the stuff anyways because he sees that is working, but he always mentions how the food bill goes up if I am eating healthy. Do you all notice the same? In my opinion, it costs the same because cookies and cakes cost as much as the "healthy" foods. The problem is when you have 3/4's of your family eating "unhealthy" foods and snacks and one who wants to eat healthy...then it ends up being a double whammy. I am not saying that twinkies cost the same as a fillet of Salmon...but do we really need twinkies in the first place? My husband would say yes of course, maybe me too if I wasn't dieting lol. But getting twinkies, cookies, muffins ect at the same time adds up and it adds no real nutritional value. So are health foods really all that expensive? Am I wrong? Anyone have the same struggle at home?

Benefits of Avocado

Friday is finally here and I thought I would write about my favorite fatty food since being on my diet...and yes I said fatty food! When the weekend hits and everyone around me is eating pizza and party foods, I break out guacamole and some tortilla chips that are 100% free of trans fat. Believe it or not, it does such a good job of filling me up that I count it as dinner (and with the amount of calories I don't know many people who would call me unwise). I do not have to eat a lot to get full, but it satisfies that craving to eat something rich and flavorful. On the weekend many of us want to let loose and feel unrestricted. Avocado's are one of those foods that make me feel like I am being bad, but the truth is that is down right good for me. Here is why:


Avocado's are full of the "good fats" They are completely saturated with monounsaturated fats which are not only heart healthy, the also are known to speed up basal metabolic rates. They also help to reduce fat levels in the body; yes I am saying that eating a little of this fruit might actually help with your weight loss goals! This seems contradictory since the average Californian avocado packed 731 calories and 30 grams of fat! Yes I know, holy cow! But because it is full of healthy fats, it can actually be useful in weight management if eaten in moderation and in conjunction with an otherwise low-fat diet. There are several reasons why this may be. Speaking from my own experience, when I shared guacamole and chips with my husband at the cheesecake factory (appetizer), I didn't even make a dent in my actual lunch entree. More over, when I went to a planned banquet 6 hours later I barely ate a thing because I was still full. Now the food they were serving, while fantastic, was full of the wrong types of fat! Fat that makes you want to eat more, not less. So that leads me to my next possible reason which is that if you are getting satisfied eating the "right" type of fat, you may avoid more of the "wrong" type of fat overall. We all crave rich flavorful filling foods, especially when we are being deprived of them!

There are other health benefits besides weight management as well. Diets that are overall low-fat that include moderate amounts of avocado and monounsaturated fats actually helps lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise HDL (good cholesterol). In individuals that have diabetes, it also lowers triglycerides by as much as 20%! Also Avocado's are rich in potassium, fiber, vitamin A and antioxidants. Eating foods rich in fiber and beta carotene (Vitamin A) is one way that you can help lower your risk to certain types of cancer. Antioxidants are also thought to help prevent cancer as well as help slow the process of aging and limit the negative effects of a fatty diet.

The one thing I would like to say though is that moderation is key. Eating too much calories of anything is not going to help you lose weight. Also, try to replace good fats with bad fats. Such as using guacamole instead of creamy dips or sandwiches with avocado instead of butter or mayonnaise.

So, if you are like me and are approaching this weekend with the thoughts of treating yourself. Why not search for recipes that include avocado in it's ingredients and do not include satuarated fats or trans fat. You will likely fill up quickly and feel that you have satisfied that craving for something rich, creamy and/or flavorful.

What I had today...

Here's what I had today:

Breakfast: 2 serving oatmeal with 1% milk

Lunch: 2 pieces baked chicken (skinless)

Dinner: 1 1/2 servings multi-grain pasta with 1/2 lb of shrimp (made with garlic, canola oil, cilantro, old bay seasoning, salt and pepper)

Drinks: Water
Green tea w/ vanilla soy milk (7 cups)
2 servings light vanilla soy milk

Yes I know, no vegatables or fruit or snacks at all. I was really busy today. I think I drank so much green tea I wasn't hungry...or maybe it was Sensa...who knows. Either way, it wan't intentional. Hope everyone is having a good week!

So far so good...

I know it's silly to get excited so early on, but I can't really help it. This morning I saw another pound come off (since Sat) and yes I am excited over one pound...but it's also how my clothes fit. Honestly, I think I am making more progress with the way my clothes fit than with the scale. You see, I have tried other diets before and I would lose a few pounds but then it would stop, plus I didn't really notice a difference (except with the hormone diet, that really did work...but was it healthy? I'm not so sure. It gave me blemishes and I was hungry all the time...how healthy is that?). But this diet I am experiencing no side effects and the weight is coming off. I actually feel damn good! I don't know if it's the eating healthier or the green tea, but my immune system is back to the way it should be as well. I eat whenever I am hungry and I am still losing weight. Anyway, this blog is to document the long term results and post everything I am doing and the research I have done or end up doing; I just wanted to share my excitement with it. So far I am really happy with the results.