Yeah. This is a weird topic for me to be posting. Especially since I have been stuck at the same discouraging weight for about 3 yrs. Regardless of my sporatic exercising, or the various diets I have tried, my weight has not budged. Until now!
A friend of mine is on a very restrictive diet for medical reasons. But she is also in optimal shape. She told me that she only eats raw, living things. Basically meaning, only things that grow out of the ground. And she only drinks water. No coffee. No soda. Just water. That's it.
As summer approached, I decided to give this thing a try. So, I typically whip myself up a fruit and yogurt smoothie for
breakfast each day (yes, the yogurt breaks the rule, but it hasn't mattered in my weight loss), and I even add some flaxseed for
good fat. YUMMY! And I have given up my daily cup of coffee w/ creamer. (Kicking and screaming, of course, b/c I LOVE coffee). My
mid-morning snack is another piece of fruit, or a handful of mixed nuts, or a box of raisins.
Water. Water. Water. Lunch=a full salad, stuffed with all kinds of veggies, sometimes topped with chicken breast strips or cubed ham or shredded cheese (again, outside the rules, but makes the salad less monotonous), and absolutely no dressing. Water again.
Afternoon snack=broccoli stalks or a handful of grapes or carrot sticks, with NO DRESSING. More water. Then
dinner time comes, and that's tough, 'cause I'm cooking for the whole family. So I try to just eat salad. Or cooked veggies. Maybe some of the meal. But no carbs. And only water to drink. NO DESSERT!
Before bed snack=piece of fruit or yogurt or nothing at all.
No cereal, no bread, no processed or canned food. Only what comes fresh from the ground. I love to saute up zucchini and onions and garlic. Yummay! And water is pretty boring, so I like to squeeze lemon juice into my water bottle. It helps flush out water weight in addition to adding flavor. I've read that pineapple juice (or better yet, pineapple skin steeped in hot water like a tea) is the ultimate best in flushing out stubborn water weight in your body. It takes down that bloated feeling....which, by the way, I no longer have on this new eating plan! It's amazing! No more yucky gut feeling! Only flatlands!
I've stuck to this rule (eating only what grows from the ground), and have been walking
45 minutes outside every single day for only
3 weeks............and I have lost a
whopping 9 POUNDS!!!! Yes! And it's consistantly gone! My appetite seems so much smaller at mealtime. Maybe because I'm eating small portions frequently throughout the day. But, yes. This has worked! I don't have to pay for a gym membership or a costly diet plan. I don't have to count points. And I can even afford to cheat here and there. I had an icecream cone one night with the family. And later that night I felt bloated. Weird. But by morning, the bloating was gone, and I was back to my regimen. The pounds are still melting off. Lost another one today. Holy Smokes! I just can't believe it. Just had to post it!
So I guess this is the combo: eat only what grows from the ground, drink only water, and briskly walk 45 minutes a day. I'm so curious to see if this works for anyone else! I swear, it's worth the effort, if you have stubborn lbs that just won't move. xoxo
Every year I purchase season passes to Phillip's Aquatic Center, which is a waterpark with a huge pool, several waterslides, a kiddie area, and a humongous sand play area. It's the place my mom used to take my siblings and I when we were young. And it never gets old for my kids. We try to go several times a week, and we have so much fun!
Last summer was extra memorable for me. It was the very first time in my life as a mother that I could literally just sit at the water's edge and soak up sun while my kids played in the pool in front of me. I didn't have to stay 2 steps behind them, for fear that they would fall and drown. My kids were finally old enough to just go play!
Reese wears a life vest and is able to swim in deeper waters with Mark. They love to throw the football around and race each other to retrieve it. They are so cute! And Marina likes to play in the 3-inch water with her mermaids and ponies, while I sit there and bask in the warm sun. It's perfect! Many of Mark's friends from school and church also come to this waterpark. So he often finds a friend to accompany him on the waterslides. This is totally how I love to spend my summer with my kids!
