More Progress

My apologies for not posting sooner. This was my week to go into the hosptial to complete my yearly requirement to be on site for work. The drive is about an hour and a half, so my online presense was unfortunately non-existant. But, even after that week of being at the hospital, I still managed to lose 2 inches off my waist. No weight loss on the scale this week, however. But my goal here is to fit better in my clothes...you know...fit into clothes I haven't worn in seemingly forever.

The goji berries I have been eating are godsent! They are even chocolate covered...and boy are they addictive. I ordered plain ones though so I can get away from the extra calories. They give me so much energy it is hard to sit still. I have pretty much settled into a routine of cleaning the house or going out and exercising after eating them since my energy level is so high. I have been sneaking goji berry juice into my daughters juicy juice when she's not looking and I have noticed a few things. First, she sleeps soundly and wakes early (we used to have to pry her kicking and screaming out of bed each morning, now she is up before we are!). She is also concentrating better in school. I got a note home from the teacher noting the change in her work habits. I've noticed it as well when I help her with her homework. I also bought some acai berry pills from an online store for my son and it totally cleared up his acne! He also seems to have a more positive outlook on life...not that there was a problem before. He just seems more happy go lucky. So I am now a big believer in antioxidants and superfoods. I see now how much it impacts our health and how we feel.

Sensa has been great as far as keeping my hunger in check. I just have to remember to sprinkle it on my food. If it is not out where I can see it, I forget.

Sense of Well-being

I don't know what it is, or if it a combination of things but I feel so good! I got another order from brazil botanicals of the acai juice and I thought I'd also try goji berry juice (which is WONDERFUL!) I like the goji berry juice so much that I am going to try dried goji berries (from a different place) and as gift my husband ordered me some dark chocolate goji berry clusters. Anyways, all of this is just doing wonders for my mood. It is more than likely a combination of things, all that good nutrition. But going into this, I think I underestimated the power of eating well! I don't think I will ever go back! I think this will be a lifetime change for me. Try it, if anything even for just a week or two...see if you don't feel better at the end of that allotted time. I know I did.

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!