The NO EXCUSES Zone

What I do in my spare time

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 13:19:00 +0000

I LOVE doing tie dyed shoes! To do this all you need are white canvas sneakers, Sharpie Permanent Markers,and eye dropper, and 91% rubbing alcohol. Color your design leaving a white border between each color, using your eye dropper liberally drop 91% rubbing alcohol in the colored areas and or along the edges of your colored areas. Let dry out for a day or two. Yes they will fade as tie dye is famous for. Wash your sneakers and dry them well first before you start coloring then wash again after the alcohol has dried. Don't forget to color the tongue of the shoe as well as the shoe strings for a cohesive look.

Tiered Cake Plates

The blue flowered plate wouldn't sit flat because of the scalloped edge on the candle holder but after experimenting food and other items are not affected by the slight angle and it is just a slight angle. This picture makes it look worse than it is

This is my personal favorite project so far. Simple, but oh so elegant. I gifted this to a sweetheart of a friend and he loves it! Will I make another one? I wish, but alas, Hobby Lobby only ordered them as a spring/summer item and they're all gone now. =(

Updates: I need a vacation and my hopes and dreams laid out for anyone who cares to read them

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 04:48:00 +0000

Things you may or may not know about me:

I really don't know if I'm coming or going of late.

I've lost 14 pound on keto not Atkins, though I think I may go back to Atkins, I just don't know yet.

I can't stand the sound of whistling. It makes me want to throat punch someone.

I've decided to start back to making soaps and sewing and crafting my heart out because I'm tired of keeping all that creativity in me. Now if I could just make a living at it things would be all kinds of rosy.

I would really love to open a coffee/gift shop full of antiques and shabby chic hand made items and musty dusty old books, but that takes money which is something I don't have.

I'd love to teach arts and crafts to middle schoolers who don't have anything to do in the afternoons or on weekends, again, the money thing. You know, there are all kinds of after school program for kids in pre-k through 6th grade, then nothing...no wonder we have such a time with kids between the ages of 13 and 18. There's no YMCA and if they don't play a sport then they're kind of left up to their own devices.

I want chickens and goats and pigs and cattle for my farm, but then again there are multiple gazillions of coyotes here. Time to have a coyote hunt.

I have 3 experimental raised beds, none of them are doing very well EXCEPT the birdhouse gourds. I have them everywhere but I can't eat those.

I'm all kinds of tired and restless.

My online job is playing out. I dont' want to go back to work in the real world. I'm too old for the nonsense that goes on there. LOL! Bet you never thought you'd hear me say that, huh?

My oldest son graduated from tech college today. My younger was accepted into the tech college but is on a 2 year waiting list. Seems to me it's time to build a larger campus or another campus, this isn't fair to kids who don't want to go to a traditional college but can't get in to get the skills needed to get a good job. Sure, they could go on to the 2 year college but they end up in debt. At least the tech school they can get in and get out without using up pell grants, scholarships, and taking out student loans.

I think I just need a warm tropical vacation.

Where's hotels.com and Carnival Cruise Line when I need them? Well, except I am pretty much unemployed, but hey, I can dream right?

To state the obvious And the things that stall weight loss

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 06:34:00 +0000

I've been away for a while, mostly on facebook because,well, it's an addiction. I feel important in my little corner of the Facebook world. I know about soap making, so I hang around the soap making pages offering help/advice to newbies. I hang around low carb pages too, sort of feeling like a stranger in this 'new age' low carb world.

I've had militant, and I mean MILITANT women tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about, of course they can have bread, sugar, and fruits, and veggies, not eat fats and keep their carb count around 100-200 a day and still lose weight. A week later they're whining that they've not lost gained on this diet, it's a gimmick, it's too much trouble, because O.M.G! They GAINED weight.

While their less militant friends pet and console them, I'm in my little corner, because that's where I let them shove me off to...muttering to myself I told you so....

Their biggest downfall is thinking they can game the system. That works out well doesn't it? Let's start with gaming the system.

Bread..sure you can have it. They all try the cloud bread which is just cream cheese, eggs, cream of tartar and they promptly hate it, it tastes, get this...too eggy.. Same for cauliflower bread. Personally, I like it but rarely make it because I'm simply not a bread kind of girl. So they all end up with the low carb breads made with wheat (stall number one) and pure cane juice...venture a guess what cane juice is? Certainly isn't rocket science and it's stall number 2.

What I don't get is this OMG I MUST HAVE BREAD!!! Mentality. I know why folks ate it back in the day, it was cheap. It was filling, and relatively easy to make. It also didn't have all the garbage ingredients in it that store purchased bread does have these days, like pure cane juice...also known as sugar. And there it is. My answer.

Sugar addiction.

Hi. my name is Melissa and I'm a sugar addict.

It's like a heroin addiction, damn near impossible to kick. It's the one thing I see repeatedly. The desire to lose weight, but not give up anything to do it and it's all just an addiction. It's the one thing I struggle with and these days my body has a lot to say about my addiction.

Every time I eat a carb laden treat, I end up with a yeast infection that has been known to spread along my inner thighs and under that lovely mother's apron that won't go away as long as I keep shoveling carrot cake and brownies in my face. Better yet I break out head to toe in psoriasis every time I pop a luscious brownie in my mouth, because gluten is a psoriasis trigger, guess what else feeds the psoriasis outbreak, candida. What feeds the candida? Sugar, wheat, starch.

Candida also causes bloat and swelling and stubborn weight gain. I now have eczema on my feet, guess what causes that (besides stress), candida, fueled by gluten, fueled by wheat and sugar. So I'm trapped in a vicious circle.

I'm itching just talking about it.

There's only 1 way out and I'm working on it, again.

Dear Lord, I'm back to 240 pounds, only 40 more and I'll be back where I started 6 years ago, only older.

Confession is good for the soul. I confess I've been a horrible blogger. I've been a horrible dieter. And it really is time to get over myself and get healthy again. I'll confess, the only thing even remotely motivating me is that I don't want to buy any more bigger sized clothing when I have a huge wardrobe of cute things hanging in my closet. The other thing motivating me is the infernal itching from hell! I had to cut my nails off because I itch so badly some days that I have actually drawn blood. I liked my longer nails.

I confess that I saw a picture of me from a Christmas party and thought OMG am I really that fat again!

I am the woman in the black and white blouse standing behind another woman in a red jacket in the Christmas picture. I am in the peach striped tee shirt in the picture under it. I've actually put on another 20 lbs since the striped tee shirt pic was taken.

I am singularly embarrassed by both pictures. This is not where I thought I would be by now.

SMH.

And now I get to start over....

The Three Best Workouts Out There

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 12:27:00 +0000

Keep in mind, I'm old school and I'm just plain old too...

Tiffany Rothe workouts,,,,short 10-15 minute workouts that leave you thinking "Is that it? I wanna do it again!" Find her on youtube

Suzanne Deason Pilates for Weight Loss, simple routine that is shown from 3 different stages in your pilates ability beginner intermediate and advanced

Suzanne Deason Stability/balance Ball for beginners

And there you have it, give it a try.

Gotta get my grove back

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 04:01:00 +0000

Are you ready?

Let's do this then!

I am 5ft 7. At present I am weighing in at 211 pounds. That is an eleven pound drop from 2 weeks ago. It's still a 13 pound gain from a few months back. So back to square one. No more eating out. I'm throwing my fat girl clothes out so I have nowhere to go since backwards/bigger will not be an option. Low carb and high veggie intake, easy on the sugar, and get back on the walking trail.

Do what I know. Diet and supplements.

Do what works. Low impact video workouts since my body can't take the stress of high impact anything, walking, weights, and pilates.

Do what it takes. Commitment and focus.

Dust my ass off since I fell on it then stayed there for a while.

Report back here with my progress so ya'll can hold me accountable and I can try to help you too. Deal?

Stuff n things

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 03:30:00 +0000

I applied to be a Train Dirty Fitness ambassador. Haven't heard back from it but that's okay. Working on a low stress low impact workout since my body is still not on remission from whatever is causing this flare of killer psoriaisis and the number of sundried afflictions that decided to tag along for the ride. My muscles more than joints are killing me but are steadily getting better as I reduce the gluten in my diet. I am turning slowly toward a more vegetable based diet, not necessarily total vegetarian because my body seems to require meat based proteins apparently to keep up with red blood cell production which is odd considering leafy greens are supposed todothe same thing. Go figure.

I am in love with bok choy to say the least. I use it in home made chicken noodle soup and learned to sautee it in butter or grapeseed oil and sea salt. Yummy, even if I do say so myself

Same for kale. I wish I had tried it sooner. That's my advice to everyone, branch out a little, give yourself permission to try something new. You might find a new favorite. Or not. But try it anyway.

Cough cough..ack!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 05:12:00 +0000

Whew.... look at all the dust and cob webs on this blog. eww...

F'AB'ruary challenge is well under way on my Facebook page. Click on over there and have a crack at the most sore abs and fun you'll ever have. Wohoo! Rock that body ladies and guys! Food suggestions soon!

Oh YES! IT WORKS! The Body Wrap Company that is.

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 28 May 2013 02:43:00 +0000

Results from the body wrap from IT Works

Before: 1 inch above belly button 39 After 37
At belly button before 42 After 38
1 inch below belly button 49 After 45

A total of TEN inches off just by using that one body wrap. I was shocked. I want to wrap my whole body in it for a week! That was on Monday. Four days later the measurements haven't changed all that much. My weight did not change but then it wasn't supposed to. My poor stretch marked skin where the wrap was placed is much smoother looking, the dark brown patches/scars on my stomach, from being burned by a piping hot bowl of chicken and dumplings being dropped in my lap, faded too and the stretch marks are much less visible. Yep. I'm sold on it! Dang, I'm even considering selling it myself.

That said, body wrap results are not permanent. They are not cure alls. They are not substitutes for real diet and exercise. Diet and exercise are where the permanent changes come in. It's up to you.

Getting your just desserts

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 28 May 2013 02:00:00 +0000

Are you ready for some GOOD FOR YOU WHILE ALSO YUMMY RECIPES? Then keep reading on!

The past few weeks I have been slowly transitioning to a raw diet. By raw I mean raw veggies, no meat, little to no sugar or oils, I did not give up boiled or scrambled eggs as I'm a die hard protein addict and all the fruit I can stand. No sodas or dairy. Today, I backslid a little, needing something to help me swallow some nuts and upon seeing that my sam's choice water had INGREDIENTS besides water in it I decided what the heck, it's that time of month I'll wash it down with some chocolate milk. BADBADBADBAD idea. I gagged. The milk came back up. (mmmm chemically fake chocolate milk second time around, True Moo my ass!) I can still taste the CHEMICALS in it. You know you're on the right track when you can taste the things in food and drinks that you couldn't taste before. You thought it was normal, even good. It isn't.
This s a tough lifestyle change; one you can't just jump into and expect to stick with it. I indulged once or twice a week on some sugary things or some bread, only a mouthful though, just enough to make me think oh...blech....and blech indeed it was. I can taste the bad stuff in my former diet.

It's unnerving.

My calorie count is much lower because it's an all you can each non-starchy fruits and veggies diet. However, I gained weight at first. Then I lost it plus and extra pound or two. I have more energy. I dont' feel full, but I feel satisfied if that makes sense?

I found all kinds of cookie and cake recipes that will knock your socks off. The carrot cake is not cooked at all, the banana cookies and chickpea cookies are baked. They do have a bit of sweetener in them, namely either Organic Maple Syrup or Dark(as dark as you can find it) Raw Honey.

Here's the banana oatmeal cookies,
Ready? This is a really difficult, I'm tellin ya.
Base recipe:
4 slightly over ripe banana
1/2 cup old fashioned (not instant) oatmeal
See, hard as it can be! Now start adding stuff (or not)
1 tablespoon either honey or maple syrup (optional)
1 dash cinnamon (to taste) (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries (optional)
Turn them into double chocolate chip cookies by ommitting the cinnamon and adding a tablespoon of cocoa and 1/4 cup organic chocolate chips

Mash bananas until they're kinda soupy, stir in oatmeal and any, or all, optional ingredients. Put on a parchment paper lined pan and place ina 350 degree oven no longer th an 12 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy.
If you need a bland diet then the banana cookies are for you. Experiment. Just look carefully at your add ins for things you can't pronounce. If you have no idea how to pronounce it or what it even is you don't need to be eating it. You certainly don't want to be putting it in your children or grandchildren's mouths.

Mmmmmmmmmm Carrot Cake!

Cake:

1 cup shredded raw carrot
1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw medjool dates, pits removed
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped raw walnuts
Icing:

1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (I prefer cashews)
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 tablespoon water, add more as needed
Carrot Cake:

Fine chop the carrots into a quick "shredded carrot" in the food processor, then scoop into a bowl. Puree 1 cup walnuts in the food processor. Add in 9 mejool dates into the pureed walnuts, and then blend into a sweet paste. Add walnut/date paste into bowl with the grated carrots, stir and mash in together, and add in dried coconut, vanilla & five spice. Then add in raisins, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts. Mix until well incorporated. Shape the carrot cake with your hands onto a plate, it will be easy to shape into a cake mold. Chill in the fridge to help firm up.

Icing:

Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender or food processor. It may also help to soak your cashews for an hour prior to making for easier blending, if you soak the cashews, expect to use less water in blending.

First: it isn't as easy as it looks. Second I added a tablespoon of honey to the cake part of the recipe, not a lot,but I felt it needed something. third, medjool dates are freaking expensive! I bought bulk dates out of a barrel at The Fresh Market for more than half the price of Medjools and had enough left over to nibble on. I'm almost willing to bet figs can be subbed for the dates. Fourth add a dash of cinnamon to the cake part of the recipe. Fifth: You absolutely MUST MUST MUST use a food processor for this recipe. I killed my blender. Poof! Up in a little cloud of smoke. (not a small one either!) Sixth: I bought and grated my own coconut, froze the milk in an ice cube tray for later use)

NO Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Are you ready for this one? My family ate every last one of them before they realized they were completely flourless and totally healthy for them. YOU MADE THEM WITH WHAT?

1¼ cups canned organic chickpeas or cannelli beans (whie kidney beans), well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 tablespoons organic almond butter (or other organic nut butter. I love almond butter, it's quite versatile)
¼ cup honey or agave or maple syrup
½ cup organic chocolate chips
I also added 1 tablespoon of chia seed and 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed

Directions
This is another blender killer. High powered food processorsonly need apply for this awesome recipe)
Preheat your oven to 350°F Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. (this line isn't kidding....it's a lick your fingers AND the bowl type recipe)
I just spoon dropped them then flattened out a little with the bottom of the spoon on a parchment lined pan. They don't do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. They will be a little soft so they're not milk dippin cookies, sorry, but I'm sure milk would still go well with them...if I drank milk that is.

This recipe called for salt and baking powder. I omitted both and the cookies were delicious and eaten within an hour or so.

So there you have it. My current favorite Just Desserts!

My journey so far

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 17:35:00 +0000

Fast Food Snobbery

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 17:33:00 +0000

I've been kindly silent of late with good reason; I dont have internet access from home. I'm home schooling my kids and time for blogging isn't high on my priority list. But I'm making time today because I just don't understand all the bashing being heaped upon McDonald's of late.

No one eats there out for their healthy menu. It's Fast (hence FAST FOOD) and cheap. They're not there to cater to your picky healthy snobby palate. One persons big mac is another's sushi. You leave my choice of food alone and I'll leave yours alone? Fair enough?

But let me point put my menu when I do eat at McDonalds. Side Salad 20 calories. Balsamic Vinaigrette (half packet 15 calories or whole packet at 35 calories) Unsweetened ice tea 0 calories. Sometimes I'll add string cheeseat 70 calories. Sometimes I'll add 4 count chicken mcnuggets at 190 calories. I don't care about the pink sludge...its ground up chicken parts and in my opinion protein is protein. As long as it's cooked it's bacteria free. I haven't heard of anyone dying from chicken mcnugget poisoning. I have heard of people becoming deathly ill from consuming sushi, undercooked chicken breast and so on.

While McDonald's isn't the healthiest choice out there, I pick them for price and convenience if I'm out and about because I can still make a few healthy choices from their menu and some other restaurants out there can't even make that claim.

Education can get you a long ways when shopping the fast food market. I suggest you fast food snobs try it. Just because health weekly or whatever publication of the week says it's so doesn't make it so.

Before and During as there is no after yet

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 04:59:00 +0000

What a difference 2 years makes

Wheee! Here I am!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:03:00 +0000

I bet you wonder where I've been. Still not recovering as well as I'd hoped to be from my not so fun health crisis last November, then an attack of (suspect) Trigeminal Neuralgia, talk about brain splitting pain, omg just kill me now, followed by a massive tooth/gum infection resulting in a root canal, that's where. I gained 25 pounds then lost 20,so there lol!

My measurements are in the basement again, but that's only because I've not been working out at all until the last week or so. My eyes are on a 5k run this fall for Susan G Komen, fitting since I have several friends and family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I've got to run again, it's in my blood shin splints, heel spurs, and all.

I've had plenty of time to read and reflect on what I'm trying to do here and in my life. I want to coach people, help them find their perfect healthy lifestyle because there is no one size fits all diet. People are unique so they have to have a tailor fit diet to meet their needs and lifestyle. I want to teach others to be self sufficient, take care of themselves and their families, and not be so dependent.

Have you seen the new food pyramid now calling itself 'myplate'? See what I mean? It's a one size fits all politically motivated scheme designed to try to make everyone fit into one mold, be dependant on the government to tell them how to eat and I don't like it one bit.

I searched around and found a school that shares my belief, Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I've seen a lot of good information on the program and a lot of bad so I'm hesitant. I like what I see in their brochures and a book I downloaded, but....there's still that little voice that asks what if you're wrong? Am I just trading on the 'myplate' scheme too? I would hope not. Just because I like to eat sushi doesn't mean all of my blog followers , right? I'm not sure where sushi would fit on that diagram anyway lol!

Where was I? DREAMS AND GOALS!

I want to become a certified Pilates instructor in matwork and Rhthym Pilates, but that little voice says 'you're too old and still a bit too fat for that too."
The same for the desire to study alternative therapy like aromatherapy, reikei, herbology, angelology(just because I'm amused that there is such a thing) acupuncture, and massage therapy.

Why all of that?

I want to open a practice that teaches people how to eat better, take care of themselves instead of relying the a doctor and a magic pill to take care of them, make a custom fit lifestyle that they can live with for the rest of their lives. I want to be able to help people relax without pills but that damned little negative voice is freaking annoying!

I want to dabble with body wraps and infrared saunas too just because they intrigue me as well.

SHUT UP annoying negative voice, eesh! lol!

I've even named my pracite RE: New U

So what is in my way besides a bit of fear? Money. I can't borrow it because I made some really bad mistakes in handling money in my younger more foolish years and my credit is shaky at best. Since IIN isn't a federal program they don't take federal money ie: pell grants or student loans so all I 've got right now are some really big dreams.

In the meantime I set goals for myself. I'm out of 14s and back in 16s. I refuse to gain any more weight. My goal is a 12 by the end of summer. Fortunately the 16s are getting a bit big on me.

YAY!

I signed up on Pilates Anytime so I can take all kinds of Pilates classes on demand over the internet and have found a program in Knoxville that certifies Pilates instructors in matwork. I can take a Rhthym Pilates certification course online after I get the matwork certification. So it's baby steps.
Found an awesome bread substitute for my carb addicts out there. Ezekiel 4:9 bread is pure plant protein bread. No eggs. No dairy. No flour. Gluten Free. No sugar. No oil. It does have to stay in your fridge because it has no preservatives, but it looks like bread, it tastes like bread only with a little more texture, it's low on the glycemic scale, and if you don't tell your family they won't notice the difference. It is a bit on the pricey side, but then so is a heart attack etc.

There are several manufacturers of this type 'bread', I've only tried Ezekiel 4:9 at this point so I think I'll stick with it for a while.

And what know you? It took manufacturers long enought o jump on the grapeseed oil bandwagon! Pompeiian now makes grape seed oil for cooking as do a couple of other companies, look at the ingredient label carefully when you buy to make sure it doesn't have added 'other oils' like vegetable oil or peanut oil. The liquid in the bottle should have a clear greenish tint to it.
I found Pompeiian Grapeseed oil at WalMart and Kroger but it's a smaller bottle than the Grapeola brand. I found GrapeOla brand at Kroger and Bi-Lo. Kroger had some kind of grapeseed oil in a much smaller gourmet 'tin' at a huge gourmet price so I didn't pay much attention to it. I think I'll have a less severe heart attack by avoiding that gourmet price while going for the WalMart Pompeiian price lol!

That's my update for now. Everyone please have a happy healthy Wednesday!

Silk Protein Shakes Review

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:50:00 +0000

I love the new Silk products. There's a flavor for everyone. What I don't love in the new Protein Shakes is all the sugar. C'mon guys, you make a no sugar added soy milk and coconut milk can't you figure out a way to do the same for y our protein shakes? There are diabetics and low/no sugar people out there who would otherwise enjoy adding a Silk Protein smoothie to their morning routine.

Pretty please? With low/no sugar on top?

AH HA!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:45:00 +0000

I think I got my Facebook page badge to work...or not. Grrrrrr!

Feel free to click the like button on the right of this page, please. Please?

YES

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:29:00 +0000

I get the following questions fairly frequently: do you exercise. Yes. Lightly. I had stopped pilates and running last November after nearly bleeding to death. My heart still doesn't like me much as a result, but it now just deals with it. I just slow down what I'm doing. I don't go full stop just slow and steady.

What do you eat? or Do you eat? Yes. I eat. The question should actually be what don't you eat?

Do you do those fad diet shakes? Yes and no. I don't push the diet shakes hard except as supplements or a quick breakfast. You can't re-learn to eat correctly by relying on diet shakes to get the weight off. They become old/boring quickly. They become expensive habits really fast. Once you stop using them the weight comes back. They're not really satisfying either.

The best shake out there (in my opinion only) is the chocolate shake by Shakeology. I add half a cup of diced avocado, 1 tbsp cocoa, and chocolate coconut milk to mine. Hits the spot when I have a chocolate craving.

How about weight watchers/lean cuisine etc: They're fine too, in the short term. Once again, these meals get old and boring quickly and you didn't learn anything except they're expensive. Once you go 'off' them the weight comes back.

Diet pills? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Diet pills are an invitation for disaster.

Fad diets like HCG, etc? You tell me, how do you lose weight? Getting some injection or just eating 500 calories a day. Call it the starvation diet, skip the injections/liquid drops, they're useless, and you'll still lose weight, simply because you're now borderline anorexic.

It took a while to get the weight on, some fad something or other diet won't take it off quickly. If it does, believe me the fat will return almost tenfold as quickly as it left. If it's a pill, listen to me, there is no magic pill, just a man or woman out there at the head of the company hawking this miracle pill who is laughing all the way to the bank.

If any of the diet schemes out there actually worked no one would be overweight and the 'diet' companies would be out of business.

If you SERIOUSLY want to lose the weight you'll do what it takes. You'll put in the SWEAT EQUITY. You'll EARN your body back. You won't line the pockets of the shareholders in Joe's magic weight loss pill company any more.

If you really and truly want the weight off, lemme hear a loud echoing YES!

Simple Things

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:41:00 +0000

I was thinking back on when I first started trying to lose weight. I made simple changes. Easy things that didn' t cause too much muss and fuss in my established lifestyle.

1) Drink more. I started drinking more tea, water and coffee. Sometimes thirst masks itself as hunger so ask yourself if you're hungry or thirsty? Always go for thirst first.

2) Warm lemon water first thing in the morning. Hydrate hydrate. Fresh lemons only. It acts as a mild laxative.

3) Cucumber water. About mid afternoon when you start taking on water weight/swelling. Wash the cuke thoroughly. Slice it into 1/4 inch thick slices. Squeeze slightly. Put 2 slices in 8 oz glass pour warm water over it. Enjoy. This has a mild diuretic effect on your body.

4) Skip the salt and sugar as much as possible.

5) Add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed into everything you cook. You won't notice it I promise. It's full of omegas and acts as fiber woud in you diet.

6) Enjoy a slice of avacado with your meals. Fiber and essential fats.

7) Make the switch to GrapeOla. It's grapeseed oil which is very good for you mixed with Canola, also good for you. Chock full of omegas.

8) Enjoy an egg or two for breakfast. (boiled, fried, over easy or however you like it.) Add a slice of avacado, your lemon water, and some cheese or a slice of fruit and you're set for the morning on protein and energy.

9) Have a cup of coffee it's good for you!

10) Find a way to get 10 minutes of exercise in even if it's playing with your pets, your kids, getting outside and walking laps around your house, heck walk laps IN your house. You don't have to have a tread mill to walk steps or make loops through your house. Just move, deliberately, wtih exercise in mind, for 10 minutes.

See. Easy stuff.

Make it a goal to try this for a week. Tell me how you did.

Have a happy healthy week.

~Mel

My Carbs Make Me Sleepy Post In a Nutshell

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:37:00 +0000

A while back I posted about how carbs made me sleepy. That particular post has had more unique daily hits (means new people who haven't visited here before) than any other post on this blog. Apparently my problem is not unique. Actually, my 'problem' isn't really a problem.

Carbs spike the blood sugar in your blood stream. It also has something to do with seratonin and insulin production. If you ingest a huge amount of carbs all those levels spike then drop precipitously kind of like a sugar high. The spike in seratonin triggers your 'relax button' and you become sleepy.

Now, for those of us who try to adhere to a low carb lifestyle, our bodies adjust to having lower levels of blood sugar/insulin/seratonin. If we decide to indulge in carb rich foods we shock our system and, if you're like me, you pay for it dearly. The girls at work have been know to say "You had carbs today didn't you?" Apparently I act like a kid who's had too much candy when I've been eating carbs I'm not used to and then I become quite grumpy when I crash. I've scared my husband a couple of times by sleepign so soundly I barely breathe or move for several hours. Could be why I steer clear of the carbs most days.

New Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:26:00 +0000

My new playlist is fun, Sexy, and ecclectic. (at least in my opinion)

Karmin Broken Hearted
Rhianna Take Care
Rhianna Talk that Talk
Kelly Clarkson Stronger
Rascall Flatts Banjo
Turn Me On David Guetta/Niki Minaj
Madonna Give Me All Your Luvin'
LMFAO Sexy and I know it
Kip Moore Somethin 'bout A Truck
Carrie Underwood Good Girl
Luke Bryan Drunk On You
Luke Bryan Country Girl (Shake)
Chris Brown Turn Up The Music
Jake Owen Alone With You
Jake Owen Barefoot Blue Jean Night
Justin Beiber Boyfriend (seriously? It's on my playlist? Yup.)
Enrique Iglesias Dirty Dancer
Dev Dancing In The Dark
Breathe Carolina Black Out
Jeremih Down On Me

New Product Plug

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:22:00 +0000

YUMMY! The 90 Calorie Brownies by Fiber One are awesome! Heat 'em up a few seconds in the microwave and enjoy with a cup of your favorite joe.

This Blog now has a FaceBook Page

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:59:00 +0000

You can find me on Melissa Motivation

Friend me please =)

Unusual Salsa Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:39:00 +0000

Forget veggie slices or pita chips, I like to sit down and eat this with a spoon straight from the bowl.

Avacado Salsa

2 Still green avacados
1 can jumbo black olives
1 can rotel (your choice of flavor/strength)
1 can black beans
1 large cucumber

Peel, seed and coarsely chop avacado. I prefer the still green avacados because they're easier to
handle. The ones that have gone soft slip slid and disentegrate in my hands or upon stirring.
Rinse and coarsely chop black olives
Rinse and drain black beans
Peel (seeding is optional) coarsely chop cucumber

Toss ingredients together then gently stir in rotel. Enjoy your way.
VERY VERY low calorie and very very high fiber.

I've been meaning to experiment with putting a spoonful of this in eggs to make an omelet. The things that make you go hmmmmmm.

UPDATE: What I did withthe leftover salsa. Why I added drained tuna to it and made a HUGE tuna salad without the eggs or mayo. YUM!

Get back on that horse

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:52:00 +0000

Fell off for a while, now I gotta get back up or I never will. Down for the count...not me.

Been down with a bad tooth and no dentist who didn't want to 'tend to it' without a preliminary check up xray and cleaning' first. Like that was going to make the current xray and diagnosis by my own personal dentist any better or perhaps make their own even worse????? I especially liked the dentist who said I can get you in on the 20th and then get you scheduled sometime in April with an endodontist? Really? I'm scheduled with an endondist on the 15th I was just hoping you could get to me quicker before I die...no big problem here right?

Add to that the suspect diagnosis of Trigeminal Neuralgia, yeah, look that one up. I'm supposed to see my doctor after the root canal for an MRI to have a look at that bad boy and get a nice prescription to hopefully control it. My husband said "Good I finally get a nice quiet compliant wife." Not on your life buddy!

So the trigeminal thing is not curable or beatable, it is controllable. Just so we get things straight here, I like control. And it will be controlled, damn it.

Friday is shopping day so I'll be back in the saddle, shopping for proper foods and getting ye old diet back on track.

"Real" health issues aside, there is no compromising otherwise, no excuses, Mrs. Murphy. No excuses at all. That nerve can cause all the pain filled probblems it wants, it doesn't mean I have to conusme a shamrock milkshake from McDonald's to make it go away because it seems to make matters worse and we really don't want to make things worse now do we?

Other than that, everyone have a safe healthy Wednesday.

Melissa

"Stand" - Rascal Flatts Official Music Video

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:24:00 +0000

Seriously?

noreply@blogger.com (Mel) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Just a short post.

I was waiting in line at a grocery store and overheard the following conversation.

Lady 1: My doctor told me I'm overweight. I told him I couldn't exercise because my knees hurt so bad I can't stand to walk.

Lady 2: Yeah mine said that too. Exercising is too hard when you can't walk.

Me: (sigh) To my credit I said nothing. Not a word, but I did eye what was in their shopping carts. Bread, icecream, snack cakes, chips, diet soda, chocolate milk, mac n cheese. Not a fruit or vegetable in sight.

You don't have to exercise to lose weight. I didn't exercise at first. I simply made better food choices. Is it really that hard to figure out? What goes in your mouth is what is on your hips, stomach and gut.

I don't understand what the disconnect is. All I want to say to people is "Seriously? You think you're going to lose weight by eating *THAT*?"

That's really all I have to say right now.

Have a safe happy healthy Sunday evening.