Just What You Need for Your Summer Slimdown

By Gabriella Marin

Breads. Cookies. Pastas. Ice-cream. Chips. It’s all so good, yet, so bad for you.

Staying healthy isn’t the only reason why you should stay away from these foods. Let’s face it, many of us just want to look good and feel better about ourselves, especially when the summertime comes around. But we all know that staying away from “fatty foods” isn’t always easy. We’re surrounded by them every day…

·         The fast food joints on the way to work

·         Those glazed donuts in the break room

·         And the yucky (but yummy) over-processed and hard-to-digest foods in the pantry that we like to think is “for the kids”

Some people find it easier than others to resist those “not-so-good-yet-delicious” goodies. But many of us need that little boost; a little help to get us through the day eating right and not undoing our day in the evening when those chocolate cravings kick in.

That’s why Total Family Healthcare and the weight-loss medical staff recommend Trim+ from the TFH PLUS line. Trim+ has a unique, high-quality formula that curbs appetite, diminishes cravings, and increases the metabolism safely and effectively.

The Total Family Healthcare weight-loss program recommends that patients take this dietary supplement to aid their in their weight loss and help with their cravings. Best part is: you don’t necessarily have to be a weight-loss patient to take it.

Anybody who is looking to lose a few pounds this summer can order Trim+ online: http://www.totalfamilyhealthcare.com/

If you are interested in the Total Family Healthcare weight-loss program, you can schedule your FREE, no-obligation consultation online or by calling (352) 394-4237

And if you're already part of our program, you can receive $25 off your next visit when you refer a friend. They, too, will get a $25 discount when they sign up.

Stay fit, slim, and healthy this summer!



Beat the Heat and those Summer Cravings!

Summertime! Shorts, tank tops, swimwear...lot's of skin showing.

Now is the time we wished we were at our ideal weight. Not only to look good, but to be able to take part in all the activities summertime has to offer. It should be easy to lose a few pounds right now, with all of that motivation! Not so much.

Summer is a weight challenge. Just like every other season! Summer means cook-outs, vacations, school breaks, long days, no routines! All of these things add up to dieting disaster. Just when we want to get slim, be slim, stay slim...the summer crazies open up the door to icecream!

Summertime is not when you want to gain five pounds! Well, is there ever a good time for that?

It's mid-June. That means there is still time to gain control of your summer weight. "No school" means less routine and structure for most families. Structure makes it easier to stick to a plan of any kind! Make sure you are eating your meals and snacks at the same time each day. This keeps your blood sugar levels steady and your belly full. You'll be much less likely to binge this way.

The days are longer. But that shouldn't translate to more meals! Save a snack for the evening-time if you need to, but be aware that more daylight does not increase your need for calories.

Make sure you are not skimping on your sleep. That will make it even more difficult to stay on your plan. Get your eight hours of shut eye!

It's hot outside. Exercise might be the last thing on your mind. Those daily walks you were taking in the spring seem like torture now that it's 95 degrees! Time to switch up the exercise routine. Break out the old exercise DVDs or the Wii Fit. You will be much more likely to exercise indoors this time of year.

Did you know that moderate exercise is a natural appetite suppressant AND releases all those feel-good hormones we love? Don't make any excuses! Make it a priority to stick to your good eating habits this summer.

You May Not Be as Healthy as You Think

Why Multi-Vitamins are Essential to Your Health
By Gabriella Marin

My dad was an avid reader, his favorite topics being nutrition and healthy living. He made sure that every morning before school I’d take my daily vitamin… those Flintstones ones, remember those? Of course, I didn’t really understand why I had to take the vitamin; it looked like a little candy so I'd happily eat it without asking questions.

But for some reason, as I got older, I found that I slowly stopped taking my multi-vitamins, and slowly began feeling less alert. Actually, I know of a handful of people who used to take vitamins as a child but stopped as they started to grow older.

So what makes us think it’s okay to stop taking our daily multi-vitamin once we reach adulthood? Is it because we think we are now big and healthy? Big? Yes. Healthy? Don’t be so sure.

Many Americans don’t realize that the foods today are not providing all the nutrients and minerals their bodies need to stay healthy. Even if a person is eating a balanced diet everyday and eats the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, there are numerous things that affect and prevent our bodies from absorbing the necessary nutrients it needs, including:

·     Farming; modern-day farming practices are not the same as they were 200 years ago. We use pesticides, synthetic chemicals, herbicides, and more! The use of chemicals affects the way produce grows and naturally develops its natural nutrients.

·     Cooking; did you know that if you cook food over 118 degrees, all of its nutrients and enzymes are practically destroyed? The enzymes in “live” foods aid in digestion and can help prevent diseases such as arthritis and cancer.

·     Processed foods; the worse of all. How many isles would you say a grocery store has? 15? Maybe even 20? If you’ve noticed, most of the refrigerated section goes around the store, and most of those foods are the less processed ones. Think of the grocery store's layout as a "U" with a bunch of lines in the middle. The "U" is the refrigerated section; the lines are the grocery isles (or pantry foods). So guess what types of foods are stocked in all of those isles that are not in the refrigerated section. Processed foods that are filled with chemicals to keep them from going bad in your pantry.

When I do my grocery shopping I try to stay away from the isles as much as possible because I know that the freshest foods are OUTSIDE the grocery isles; in the "U". Fruits, veggies, deli meats, cheese and dairy, etc.

But you might say, “Apple sauce is inside the grocery isles, and it’s healthy, isn’t it?” For the most part it can be. But unless “apples” is the first ingredient on the ingredients list and it is not packed with sugar, you're much better off eating a fresh apple (preferably organic) from the produce section, or the "U".

I’ll be the first to admit that I have no time to make myself a healthy and wholesome breakfast in the morning. It’s so much more practical to grab a granola bar (which is likely full of sugar), a breakfast sandwich in a drive-thu, or skip breakfast all together. During lunch break, 30 minutes is not enough time to go home and create a healthy meal, so I go with a sandwich or last night’s leftovers I brought from home. And for dinner, sometimes I’ll cook, and sometimes it’s just easier to pop in a TV-dinner in the microwave.

And like me, there are many others. Keeping a balanced diet and making sure you get the necessary vitamins and nutrients your body needs to stay healthy is a lot harder these days than it may seem. That’s why it is so important that we keep taking our daily multi-vitamins even after childhood.

Just like children need vitamins to grow healthy and strong, adults need vitamins to STAY healthy and strong. Nutrition though our diets is simply not enough anymore, unfortunately. It is recommended to take a daily multi-vitamin every day to:

·         Keep our defenses strong

·         Prevent sickness and diseases

·         Get the Recommended Daily Allowance of nutrients

·         Activate enzymes essential to cellular function

·         So much more!

Dr. Cara Jakob at Total Family Healthcare recommends COMPLETE+, a complete multi-vitamin from our TFH PLUS line of vitamins and supplements. It delivers more than 60 well-balanced nutrients that benefit:

·         Brain and nervous system

·         Liver, heart and vascular system

·         Immune system

·         Musculoskeletal system

·         Energy production

·         Digestion, metabolism and antioxidant defense

You can purchase any of our vitamins and supplements at our Clermont or Orlando office, or order online at TotalFamilyHealthcare.com

The REAL Food Challenge

I love a three day weekend.  Memorial weekend is the big kick off to summer and we had a cook out at the Beckett house.

My whole weekend was based on burgers and chips and ice cream.  And guess what?  I woke up the next day feeling achy, bloated, and gross.  My skin had broken out and I had a headache.  I can tell you why.  It was the poison I fed myself all weekend.  I had a junk food hangover!

For the most part, I eat real food.  By "real food" I mean food that I have to cook myself.  Nothing boxed, packaged, frozen, or processed.  Think a-hundred-years-ago food.  I usually eat meat that I season and cook myself.  I eat eggs and veggies and fruits and nuts.  I soak and boil beans for soups and salsa.  I do eat cheese...someone else makes that!  But for the most part I prepare my own food.  So when I eat the packaged stuff, I feel terrible.

Worst part is... the packaged stuff is EVERYWHERE!

Chips and hamburger buns, cereal and crackers, ice cream and cookies, pizza and tortillas, frozen meals and canned goods...the list is long.

These foods, fast foods and convenience foods; they aren't really food at all.  They are so filled with preservatives, added colors, flavor enhancers and other chemicals our bodies hardly recognize them as food. That is why I woke up feeling so crumby.  I'm full of junk.

Why do I eat this stuff?  The same reason everyone else does.

They taste good!  They are convenient.  They are cheap.  But I am paying the price!

I did not feel great.  I wanted to feel great.  So the next day I was back on the real food challenge.  No more junk.

I put my time in the kitchen woke up feeling good.  I know it is expensive and time consuming.  But how much would you pay (in time and money) to be fit, thin, healthy, and feel great?  Most would be willing to pay a hefty sum.  You just have to pay in advance!!!

The fit, thin, healthy, great feeling gets delivered at a later date :)

And... have you heard about Total Family Healthcare's Detox+ vitamin?

If you've been indulging in unhealthy foods and are ready to begin a new, healthy way of eating, then try Detox+ for healthy liver health, function, and detoxification. It will help with fat digestion, bile production and balance blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Detox+ is 100% doctor recommended and pharmaceutical grade.
Log on to http://www.totalfamilyhealthcare.com/ to order your vitamins today!

B12, The Energy Vitamin

Why B12?  This is a question we get often from our weight loss patients.

B12 is critical to avoiding fatigue.  Who isn't fatigued these days?   Every vitamin in your diet, including B12, plays a role in keeping you healthy.  

Vitamin deficiencies make it harder for your body to do the basics.  This is what leads to fatigue.  We want you body to work optimally.  Ideally, we should be able to get all of our essential nutrients from the foods we eat.  But that doesn't often happen.  We need an insurance policy...supplementation.

B12, along with folic acid, is a key factor in how effectively the body absorbs food and therefore replenishes its energy supplies.

For a person trying to lose weight, every little bit of help HELPS!!  We want to keep enery levels high while restricting our calories.  Nothing sends people to the cookie isle faster than a mid afternoon slump.  Being tired makes us seek out a sugar fix!

Try our Total Family Healthcare blend of B12 to keep a bounce in your step!

You can order them from TotalFamilyHealthcare.com or purchase them from the Clermont or MetroWest clinic.

I Gained a Few "Grapefruits" After my Marathon..?

I did it! I ran the Cap City Half Marathon yesterday.
It took me 2 hours and 47 minutes to do it but I finished! It is a bucket list item for me that I can now cross off!
Will I do it again? Maybe.

Twenty-four hours ago I was running the first mile of 13.1 miles so it's a bit too soon to tell. I do want to tell you what I learned from this experience though.

I did not lose weight. In fact, I gained weight while training for 4 1/2 months. Seven or eight pounds. And NO, it was not muscle. I can assure you, it was fat. One pound of body fat is about the size of a big grapefruit. And I was carrying EIGHT grapefruits! Two in my belly, two in each cheek (you know the ones), and two in each thigh. How can that be? Yes, I was running an average of twenty miles per week. You would think there is no way I could gain. Wrong. You still can't eat whatever you want even when you exercise. I was eating like a teenage boy. I burned an extra 800 calories per day running for an hour but I was eating an extra 1500. In the end, it is all about calories in vs calories out. And I was definitely taking in more calories than I was expending.

Why couldn't I cut back on my intake?
It sounds so simple doesn't it?
Why can't all of us just cut back our intake?
I've confirmed through 4 1/2 months of self experimentation that we have a few mental roadblocks on the journey of "just cut back.".
The first one is called self discipline. We have a small bank on this stuff to use everyday. When it gets taken up on other things, like running, there is none left for stopping at one serving! This bank of discipline gets drained by work, kids, school, you name it. We only have so much discipline to go around.
The second roadblock is a close cousin to discipline, it is called entitlement. "I ran 6 miles today." I am going to eat what I want. But it could just as easily be, "The kids are driving me crazy" or "It was a rough day at work". There are times when we think we deserve it. But we deserve the grapefruit size glob of fat that goes with it!

I know for sure that I like being fit. And I know everyone out there can be fit, too. Health and fitness are not reserved for the special. It is within every one's power to become fit (or more fit.)

If I can do it, you can too. It does require a bit of your daily discipline bank and maybe forgoing an entitlement or two :)
But in the end it's worth it. Grapefruit and all.

Finding Your Inner Warrior

I've been keeping a secret. 
At Christmas time, while I was busy putting on those 5 pounds that I still haven't managed to take off, I agreed to run a half marathon with my fabulous and fit sister-in-law in May.  Now, let me tell you, I agreed to this AFTER two glasses of wine.  Plus, I was feeling all smug and invincible because all of my Christmas shopping was done.
"Sure!  I'll run a half marathon with you!  How hard can it be?" 
Well, it's 13.1 miles of hard to be exact.  After I registered, paid my entrance fee, and the wine and holiday high wore off I asked myself, "What have you gotten into?"  Too late to back out now.  The commitment has been made.

Why didn't I tell you about this earlier?  Well, some part of me didn't really think I would do it.  I didn't want to expose myself as a QUITTER!  I thought that if it was too hard I could just slink away unseen.  Not the best attitude to have for a big physical commitment, right?  The attitude I wanted to have was something along the lines of, "I'm a capable and powerful 45-year-old lioness!  I can do this.  I can be fit and fabulous just like my sister in law!"  HA!  Too bad I only felt this way part-time.  Self doubt being right there on my shoulder saying things like..."Maybe you will hurt yourself and have to back out!  Hope for an injury!"

Starting in January, I followed a beginner training schedule on the Cap City Half Marathon website.  I only had to run a mile to start.  Only a mile.  It was the longest mile of my life!  I thought my lungs would explode and my legs would buckle.  After that first run I had serious doubts on my ability.  But for some strange reason, I did it again two days later. 
I won't lie, it felt just as bad.  I said I would give it one more try.  And I did.  I think it might have been just as painful. 
But something clicked.  It wasn't that it became easier in just three attempts, it was that I learned I could take 15 minutes of heavy physical exertion.  I was strong enough mentally and physically to take 15 minutes of exertion 3 times per week.

The following week I did the same thing.  Guess what? It did become easier, physically.  But the mental battle was already won.  In my head I could do it.  Each week or two the schedule added another mile.  In the beginning I couldn't imagine ever getting up to 10 miles.  But that's what I ran this weekend.  10 miles.  No stopping.  It took me an hour and 50 minutes.  I am the same woman that could barely run a mile and was hoping for an injury just 4 months ago.  I can't believe I've come this far. 

The race is in 4 weeks and I'm actually ready.  That is why I'm sharing this today. 

I found my inner warrior. 
I am going to finish a half marathon in a few weeks.

Practice What You Preach

Do I practice everything I preach?  UUUH....EErrrr.  No.  Don't tell my kids! 

OK.  There are a few things I recommend to those trying to lose weight that I don't do myself.  I am going to lay it out there for you to scoff at me.  I weigh myself every day.  Sometimes more than once!    There.  I said it.  Just saying it out loud (blogging)  makes me feel better.

Why not weigh every day?  If you are losing 1 or 2 pounds per week it stands to reason that there are going to be days when the scale stays the same.  Or heaven forbid, goes UP!!!  ACCCKKK!  Like all humans, we get frustrated when we are working toward something and we don't see results.  Intellectually, we know that our weight-loss results don't always immediately follow our good behavior.  When we step on the scale after a stellar day of healthful eating and see no change, it's a recipe for frustration.  Frustration equals cookie binge.

Our bodies are a fluid universe.  Daily fluctuations in hormones, body temperature and other factors can influence our fluid retention.  This fluid can show up on the scale after a day of fish and vegetables and exercise just to aggrivate you.  Your aggrivated self just might not make the same effort it did the day before just out of sheer frustration.  Do yourself a favor, save yourself the aggrivation.  Weigh youself once a week so you can see the scale move!

Vitamins?

I get many questions about taking vitamins.  The most common one, "Should I?"  The short answer is yes.  But you know I'm going to give you the long answer. lol.  Let me start by reminding you about my deficiencies.  Remember the ones I learned of on myfitnesspal.com?
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies?  I'm still flabbergasted about my remiss.

Remiss:  Lacing care or attention to duty; negligent.

I love food.  We have a close relationship.  Obsessive even?  Maybe.  I cannot think of one food I don't like.  Not one.  Brussels sprouts?  MMMM.  Halved and grilled to a caramelized deliciousness.  Yes.  Lima beans?  Soft and buttery sauteed with a bit of spicy sausage.  I'm in.  It is not hard for me to get my servings of veggies in every day.  I love them.  Just this morning I threw baby spinach, red bell pepper, and green spring onions in my scrambled eggs and loved it.  With all these veggies flying around you would think I was meeting my nutritional needs.  WRONG.

What I'm getting at is even with the best diet, there are nutritional gaps that need to be met.    You don't want to be running around with deficiencies!  Why?  Disease prevention, heart health, mental well being to name a few reasons.  So a good daily multivitamin in essential.  I would recommend a good omega 3 for everyone too if I had my druthers (my grandpa used to say that! ) And you want to get the good stuff.  Talk to Dr. Jakob or Dr. Murphy about what they would recommend for you.  

Part II

Part II of the I can't get enough of my app series...lol!  MyFitnessPal has you enter your exercise for the day (if you did any) AND the amount of time you spent doing it.  No.  You don't have to log 0 minutes of jumping rope!!  The app then tells you how many calories you burned doing that exercise.  It takes into account your age, gender, weight etc.  Why?  Because everyone is different.

My husband and I went on a 30 minute bicycle ride...he burned 350 calories.  I burned 265 calories.  FOR THE SAME BIKE RIDE!  Yes, I know he weighs more and has more muscle mass and he has to work a little bit harder to peddle that additional 50lbs around...but come on...almost 100 more calories worth?!!  UUUUGH!  Men, you don't know how lucky you are.  By the same token, I'm 5'6" and burn more than my friend who is 5'1" and weighs barely a buck 10.  I guess we all have our crosses to bear.

So not only do we all burn at a different rate, we don't burn as much as we think.  Or at least as much as I think we should!  Walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes burns 166 calories for me.  Jogging 12 minute miles for 30 minutes burns 265 calories.  It really isn't all that much.  Don't get me wrong.  We should still do it.  Cardiovascular health, muscle tone, stress relief, bone density are just a few of the reasons we should exercise.  Just don't use it as a license to eat what you want.  That will certainly backfire!

The key is to exercise AND eat right.  Don't we hear that all the time?  lol.  It sounds so easy.  But if it were easy we'd all be doing it...super fit and trim.  For all of us normal folks trying our best, each day is a new day to eat right and exercise.  And tomorrow, and the day after that too. 

Fooling Myself

You know I love my new app for iPad, MyFitnessPal. It has been a real eye opener for me. I have been working in the weight loss and wellness field for several years and thought I couldn't learn anything new..I was so wrong ( I'm choking again...that seems to happening a lot lately)!   Two things struck me right away when I started using my app so I'll have to write this in two parts. Part 1 is called "I need to take my vitamins!"

I've always been hit or miss when it comes to taking vitamins. I keeps them in a kitchen cabinet and when I open it I'll take them! The operative phrase here being "when I open it!". If I feel a cold coming on, I'll take my vitamins. If someone reminds me, I'll take my vitamins. I've always thought I was OK because for the most part I eat very well. I eat my veggies. I eat fish. I eat a spinach salad almost every day. I'm good. Or so I thought.

After a week of food journaling on my new app, I clicked on the nutrients icon and low and behold...I was DEFICIENT. The app calculated everything I had eaten for the week and gave me the nutritional profile and then had the nerve to compare it to the USDA recommended amounts of key vitamins and minerals. Yup, I came up short. Not just in one area either. I was missing calcium. I was missing fiber. I was missing vitamin D among a few.  So much for that daily spinach salad.

So now I'm not just an app convert. I'm a vitamin convert also. I've taken my Total Family Healthcare vitamins out of the cabinet and put them on the counter where I can see them. And take them. Every day!  This is something so many of us want to do, and somehow it just gets away from us.  Don't let it.

Build It

We all have goals, right? Or at least we should. Goals help keep us focused on what we want, which is a good thing...sometimes. I've had weight loss goals since...well, since forever. An endless parade of New Year's resolutions, swimsuit seasons, high school reunions, the list doesn't end. The goal is always the same. Lose weight. I've wondered what I would work for if not for losing weight?! I've had to revamp my goals and my thought process to get off the weight obsessed bus. Trust me, it has been a process.

The first thing I did was minimize my goals. Of course I still wanted to fit into my high school jeans and look fabulous but that goal was rather daunting. I've switched to small manageable pieces. For example, for my daughters choir performance on March 1st I would like to be two pounds less so I can sit comfortably in my jeans and not cut off my air supply...because you know that gym is going to be hot and crowded!!! This kind of goal I can manage. Plus I get to pat myself on the back on March 1st because I'll be successful. AAH Success. How sweet it is!

Not only did I make my goals smaller but I've had to dive into the byproduct.  What?!  Let me explain. If my ultimate goal is to fit into my high school jeans and look fabulous, the byproducts of that goal would be; a good fitness routine,  eating wholesome foods and getting decent rest etc. Instead of setting my goals on the weight, I set my goals on the byproducts. Thinking small, manageable pieces again, my goals are; exercise 3 times a week (mostly), get to bed by 10:30 at night (mostly), eliminate junk food (mostly).  You get the picture.

I am simply building the background set for the best version of me.  Once I get the background details built...I figure the best version of me will be in my high school jeans and looking fab.  It is a building process, a project.  But on this project I get to pat myself on the back for all of my successes and take the focus off the weight. So try it.  Build a better you.

Diet Tech

I'm a bit tech challenged.  So it goes without saying that I don't have a smart phone and all the doodads that go with it.  Yeah, I said doodads.  I am so out of it but my keen sense of denial allows me to call it retro...or old school:)  I turned 45 last week and my sweetheart of a husband gave me an Ipad for my birthday.  Well, for a tech nerd this was the equivalent of getting a vacuum cleaner.  "What am I suppose to do with this?"  I said this to myself, of course.

OMG.  Within 24 hours I was converted.  Crazy.  I am app mad.  For all of you that are like me (tech stunted), an app is a program you to download to your device to help you with....well, with whatever.  There is an app for EVERYTHING!  There is even an app for managing your apps.  I love it.  My new favorite is My Fitness Pal.  It's free.  They even have it on the web.  Myfitnesspal.com.  You KNEW it had to be a health and nutrition app, right?

First I'd like to say to all my tech savvy friends out there, I know I'm about 3 years behind and this is old news.  Diet apps are everywhere.  I know.  I just didn't think they could help ME!  I consider myself conscientious and diligent about what I eat.  I AM conscientious and diligent about what I eat.  But wow, what a difference having an online food journal makes. 

I am all about the food journal.  Every time we give a patient a food journal to fill out for the week, they nearly always lose weight.  It works.  But writing out a food journal can be time consuming and frustrating.  But with my new app it's a snap.  It has all types of food to click on, from restaurant selections to grocery items.  It adds them to your daily log and keeps track of calories and nutrients for the day and for the week.  It also includes exercise selections and tells you how many calories you burn for each and adds them to your daily calorie allowance.  Who knew?  Well, everyone but me apparently!

So I was wrong.  (I'm choking as I say those words!)  There is an app for everyone...even me.

Shake it

I often have patients ask about the use of protein shakes.  Usually because they want something quick and easy for breakfast and they cannot stomach another egg.  An ounce of protein in the morning is all it takes to level out your blood sugar.  We want you to eat first thing.  Why not a protein shake?  Well, I'm not a fan of the protein shake and here is why...

• I think we should chew our food.  Not drink it.  If I drink a meal replacement or a protein shake, I still want to eat.  And sometimes I do...right after I drink a meal replacement.  I've just had 2 breakfasts...FAIL!
• Protein shakes almost always contain sugar and carbohydrate along with the protein.  The body will burn those sugars and carbs first before going to fat stores for fuel.  I don't know about you but I want my body to use up my fat stores...the sooner the better.
• 1 ounce of lean protein from meat, eggs or cheese has about 100 calories.  Sometimes less.  Most protein shakes START at 200 calories and go up from there.  

 All that being said, if you still want to use protein shakes, do so at your own risk.  Shop around.  You want a shake that has 25 - 30 grams of protein (the equivalent of an ounce of chicken), low carbs (3 grams or less) and low sugar ( 2 grams or less).  If you find yourself hungry within an hour or two, don't be surprised.  Our minds don't tend to register calories we drink.  If this is the case for you, put down the shake and pick up a fork :)

Where am I?

Where have I been?  Two words for you.  Writers. Block.  OK, truly the two words should be Dieters Block cuz that's where I have been!  You know what I mean.  Everyday you start out with the best intentions and by dinner your heart is just not in it.  Every day since the first of the year I have been meaning to take off the 5 lbs (RE: 8 lbs) I put on through the holidays.  Every day I start out great, but I get no farther than dinnertime.  My blog has been the same...I start out great.  But after the first paragraph I come up blank!!!

The good thing, if there is one, is I have stopped GAINING weight.  Here is my new theory, it took me 5 or 6 weeks to put on the 5 lbs (RE: 8 lbs).  It will take me 5 or 6 weeks to stabilize and stop the upward trend of gaining (where I am right now.)  THEN, it will take me 5 or 6 more weeks to take the 5 lbs (RE: 8lbs) off.  I'll have you know that this entire process will take more than 4 months of my life....one third of a year.  Gosh, what a waste.  It is beyond frustrating.

For those of you trying to lose weight, this is not a good route to go.  It's a defeating path.  One that leads to nowhere and take months to get there!!!  A dead end.  How can you avoid it?  Don't put on the weight.  You know the adage about smoking, "The best way to quit is not to start."  The same is true for weight loss.  The best way to take off those holiday lbs is not to put them on.  Remind me next year, will you?!