WHAT HELPS ONE TO LOSE WEIGHT

FRESH AIR FOR ME WHILE OUT AND ABOUT.  Getting out of the house for at least an hour a day is like a good medicine for me.  Good therapy.  When my children were little, I thought it some of the best advice for a very busy momma that had her hands full with three growing children.  Do yourself a favor and get out of the house an hour a day.  I didn't always manage this, but tried.

As I have aged, I still need to get out and about.  Today was one of those days.  Drove to Manhattan.  Clear blue skies to admire.
👉Made a donation drop.  That felt good.  Some more clutter disappeared from our ESTATE. 
👉Trenta unsweetened iced green tea picked up. 
👉Checked out the DOLLAR TREE store for greeting cards and shredded paper that makes filler for Halloween Goodie Bags.
👉Off to Wallie World for Halloween Candy.  Noticed as I walked along the sidewalk they were running a fantastic clearance on their pots for plants.  Selected two for $5 and some potting soil.  This made me smile. 😀  Once inside Walmart, a few groceries were purchased. 
👉Hubby was hungry by now and it was Cains Chicken for him and I only ate coleslaw as I am restricting my types of foods.
👉Menards was next for auto oil and windshield wipers.
👉Forgot to get some MATCHA TEA.  The grocery store did not have any so I'll need to go elsewhere on a different day to get some.  Instead I bought some Pomegranate White Tea.  Wonder how it will taste.

HOME I drove, unloaded and put groceries away.  RESTED some before proceeding to dealing with...you guessed it, P A P E R W O R K.  I made it through the tub.  Now to sleeve each piece that needs it.  Heavens...this is so much paper.  I have been working on thinning out for MONTHS.  Cheering myself on to keep up the good work.  Eventually it will be DONE and the seasons will change.  The weather as well as to what I tackle next.  Pretty sure it will be the COTTAGE.  The ideas are rolling in.  Being in a smaller house will have different challenges.  

Watching videos about how other people live in tiny houses, organizational videos to develop skills I will use, and decorating vids...will all help me be better at living on the prairie as an older woman in a smaller house hopefully with more manageable bills and less maintenance.  Besides I enjoy watching the youtube vids for entertainment.  They're educational and entertaining.     

AROUND THE HOUSE PLANS:  I'll be clearing off the upstairs desk so my work station changes for PAPER sorting making the living room and dining room HOUSE BEAUTIFUL again. 

HALLOWEEN CANDY BAGS will be worked up and ready to go to the lil ones.

Laundry.  Always present.  Blue jeans need washed and dried. 

I'd like to curl my hair for a change and see if I can make something of myself.  Make-up time. 

As I downsize, I am giving thought to different clothing to make or purchase that I like better than what is in my closet.  A change is due.   

OUTSIDE:  The wind is blowing harder than usual and I think chillier weather is coming in.  It may become HOT CHOCOLATE TIME and I can't have any until November 4th.  Working super hard at lowering my A1c, cholesterol and blood pressure and of course lose weight.  I will do my best to finish the 21 days on the Daniel Fast and then I get a dessert.  After I have celebrated, I will return to eating less calories and lots of veggies.  

I have hopes that by Christmas, I will have dropped 10 more pounds.  Can I do this?  Shall see.  This may be a pipe dream.  I was looking over old notes that indicated that I had lost 54 pounds since August 2020.  I plateaued in 2022 then started gaining some of the weight back.  Co vid hit and I did gain.  Whittling down the ten pounds I packed on.  Now, I have returned to where I was before the gain.  Good feeling.  Praying for additional weight to come off.

NOT HAVING A THYROID sure causes challenges.  Veggie on.  Don't give up.  The weight gained may be due to your thyroid not producing enough thyroid hormones.  Best to get this checked out to make sure your TSH is as close to the OPTIMAL range as possible.  Sometimes medicines we use cause weight gain.  Being aware of calorie intake is important.  Know what you are eating and the quality of the food is important.  Sometimes we overeat carbs and and sugars and don't pay attention to it.

The old FOOD PYRAMID was actually designed to put weight on people so that American citizens were not underweight, but had the appearance of being healthier than others around the world.  Especially during the World Wars era.  Times have changed and we can as well.  Eat less grains and dairy.  Eat more healthy fats such as avocado and olive oils.

HERE'S the LOW DOWN:

I can't eat like I once did nor should I.  That's a fact.  Part of me doesn't like that I have to eat differently.  When I eat the all American diet western style, I will pack on the pounds.  When I overeat it puts a hiccup in my LIFE.  The truth is, I don't like being heavy.  The territory that comes with being heavy isn't a great experience.  I feel better having taken off some weight and have to work at getting more off.  

A dessert once in a blue moon will have to be the norm.  Taking longer to eat the foods I shouldn't have as much of needs to be the norm.  Nibbling and savoring the flavor.  Chewing slower.  Feeling the crunch of the foods as they move about over my teeth as I chew is necessary.  

The Art of Chewing was never taught to me AS A CHILD OR YOUNG ADULT.  It wasn't until about 4 years ago that I watched a series about how to eat to lose weight using some techniques such as slow chewing.  In between bites we're to place the eating utensil down so it takes longer to eat.  Slow the process down.  The taste buds are in the mouth not in the stomach.  CHEW.  SAVOR THE FLAVOR.  FEEL THE FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH.  

If I'm gobbling food down in larger bites, I will overeat.  This particular series was not interested in nutrition.  SO with that in mind I have to encourage eating nutritionally dense foods that's in the family of CLEAN EATING.  More plant based foods.  

Smaller bites and more vegetables verses meat, dairy and grains.  

Skip the sweets and artificial sweeteners.  Artificial sweeteners can actually stimulate hunger and you'll want to eat more, besides the human liver cannot effectively detox these.  When a food is sugar-free this should mean it's void of artificial sweeteners altogether as well as sugar.  

Avoid MSGs as these chemicals were designed to fool the brain into thinking the food is extra good and you'll want to eat too much.  Read labels and become familiar with the names of chemicals being snuck into the food.  Natural Flavors does not mean it's good for you.  Avoid the ingredient.  The flavoring may have been created in a lab and we're not lab experiments.  

When selecting foods to eat avoid foods that have been treated with chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides.  Stay away from GMO foods and focus on eating ORGANIC.  

Use extra virgin olive oil that has come from one country such as Greece not from a group of countries as when you use these olive oils they are more likely to be a blended product of a variety of different oils. 

Use garlic that isn't bleached white with the roots chopped off.  Garlic from California is a good product.  No garlic from China and preferably not Texas as it is more likely to have arsenic. 

Better to eat grilled, steamed, or baked foods than fried.  

Late night eating should be taboo.  Don't do it.  

Don't use plastics to cook in.  Xenoestrogens are unhealthy as they add to being estrogen dominant.  Plastics can leach into the foods.  

When you do eat eggs it's healthier to eat soy-free eggs. Select grass fed beef over grain fed.  Wild catch fish verses farmed.      

When I do eat meat, I should cut the meat in thinner slices and eat slower.  The same with starchy vegetables and fruit.  Every thing should be eaten in smaller bites.  Thinly sliced food will be better than chunky pieces.

Hormone free milk.  I switched from dairy to almond. 

Go sparingly eating nuts as they are high in calories.  You can eat them, but consider chopping them up and using smaller amounts.  High calorie foods should be eaten less frequently and in smaller amounts.    

Do your best to eat foods that are in the closet form to how God created them verses eating highly processed foods. 

Eat three small meals with healthy snacks throughout the day verses three large meals.  Stay around a thousand calories a day and walk three miles a day.  I confess I have not been walking, instead I stay active in my home.  I hope to work my way up to walking three miles a day.  Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.  Eat colorful foods.  

What helps one lose weight?  It varies, but I have had the best results this past year eating the Daniel Fast/Diet and using supplements.  Also I gave up coffee with creamer and sodas.  I have gone easy on the meats, breads, pastas, potatoes, rice and sweets.

Drinking spring water and green tea.  Seldom do I have an alcoholic beverage.  Drink tea that has not been fried. 

Don't overlook cutting out of your diet High Fructose Corn Syrup.  This one is easy to read on the labels, but then other sugars can be disguised by other names.  Dextrose this, and sucrose that. 

Dextrose.

Fructose.

Galactose.

Glucose.

Lactose.

Maltose.

Sucrose.

 And more.

Drink a glass of water before eating.  Eat off of smaller plates.  Smaller portions.  Variety.  Take your time and chew.  Don't rush through the eating.  Be selective in what you eat.  Remember losing weight is a marathon and not a sprint.  It takes time.  Movement is important.  Stay prayed up.  Enjoy life and remember that you may have to talk to yourself with words of encouragement.  Journal what you eat.

You are not starving.  You are not deprived.  You are blessed.  Stay the course.  The weight will come off.  Pat yourself on the back and let the weight reduction begin.  Weight loss is HEALTH gained.

~d