I read this article over the weekend and it spoke to me: http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1170137,00.html?nid=8515060315-1173006
I am a thin person but not without some effort. Last year I was not careful and gained 20 lbs. I lost that extra weight in about 6 months.
I was one of the smallest girls in High School and college. In fact I used to loathe the word 'skinny'. I was 110 in college (not weighing enough to donate blood) and I was so active that the freshman 15 did not hit me. I was 119 when I got married (at 23). Now that I'm pushing 30 I find it a struggle to stay under 125 (my goal as it's perfect for my height of 5'5"). My doctor is proud of me for losing the 20 extra lbs as it landed all at my middle and made me out of proportion. It was also not healthy for my system to put on that much weight really quickly.
Recently I read an article about how diet soda really makes adults gain 10 lbs per year. The reason is because your body craves REAL sugar and if you drink 3 diet sodas per day it makes you hungry. Very hungry and you consume an average of 100 extra calories/day. 100 calories per day adds up to 10 lbs per year (I'm not kidding). I've noticed that diet soda fans are larger than the non-diet soda fans. You are fooling your body by drinking fake sugar. Okay, if you have a medical reason to consume fake sugar than that's fine. Try the real soda. It will not kill you and will satisfy your craving so that the 3pm cupcake fix will not happen. The fact that pilots are banned from eating fake sugar is really interesting, don't you think? I'm probably just more interested in facts about fake sugar than the normal human because I get major headaches when I consume it. And that can't be good, right?
The tips in that article that are tried and true is eating breakfast every day and the fact that people that fidget weigh less (my husband's secret to weight maintenance). Check it out, it's not preachy in any way and some of those tips are really true.
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Comments: 32
Thank you.
I love the cupcakes too. The good thing is my work moved away from the place with the cupcakes so now it would be a 40 minute walk to get the cupcakes.
Big fan of the cherry sodas I am. And you have inspired me to have a water now. :)
I liked this piece. Very "matter-of-fact" and well written. I was a HUGE Diet Coke fan and now I'm into water. Boy do I feel better and I'm starting to lose some weight that I recently had put on. Age really sucks when it comes to trying to manage our weight in our current culture of fast, fast and faster! Nice job, Darlin'!
P.S. I answered you last comment on my "Kowboy's Big Idea" article. Thanks for stopping in and allowing yourself to be heard.
I used to be a big Diet Mt. Dew freak but now can't stand the taste of any type of soda. Water is all I drink. Great informative article.
Leah, you get major headaches when you consume fake sugar? That is not good. What did the doctor say about that? I have headaches when I consume oily food;( And the doctor didn't even know what caused that!!!
My coworker and also my husband said, "Pilots can't have nutrasweet"
Yes you will gain 10lbs a year if you have an extra 100 calories per day. And that's a fact. So if you have the 100 via cupcakes then so be it, at least that's real sugar and what nature intended. I mean, cancer in rats and Americans drink it like it's going out of style. I think there's a song that goes "sipping coca-cola like it's champagne"
As for weight, age has a huge influence for the majority of people. I've been to the mountaintop, weight-unwise, but now I'm back to college weight thanks to common sense eating, elimination of my old friend (and best man at my wedding), beer, and joining a local running club. That's all it took. Heh.
Keep preaching the message about breakfast, Leah. It's my favorite meal of the day, but then I've always loved cereal with raisins added (I'm raisin-crazed) while reading my morning paper (avoiding the front section, natch). In fact, I can't eat without reading. Hmn.
There are so many fake sugars out there now. For example Splenda is "made from real sugar". Yes, that's what the scientists start out with in the lab but what they get in the end is far from it. I agree though, it's all about moderation (which is why I only had 1 piece of pie last night)
You have inspired me to make cupcakes today for a party. :)
Glad to know I was not alone in the blood donaton problem!
I've gotta say that any of my friends that battle their weight also skip breakfast.
I find that FOR ME the occasional diet soda actually satisfies my craving for carbs. But I do not use diet soda to hydrate, I do that with iced tea. Anything (probably including iced green tea) taken in excess is harmful.
There's scientific proof on the matter of the diet soda leading to fatter people (not to be rude) but it's not my argument. I'm just airing the truth.
I've heard that the older you are the harder it is to maintain but now that I've lost the extra 20lbs I'm gonna try my hardest to keep it off.
For each decade of adulthood we lose 2 lbs of muscle and gain 10lbs of fat and that's the challenge because that's fat burning muscle.
Have you ever tried the iced green tea at Panara Bread, it's excellent!
The part about "doing what works" is pretty timely. I had been a member of those 30 minute workout places and the thing that I loved the most was the support I got there. So now, I am starting a local group of friends who check in with each other regularly to discuss goals and to hold each other accountable to them.
BTW, this picture of me is 5 yrs. old. I have a current one under my member profile called "fat joy", and this older picture is my goal. Good luck to all with this struggle.
It is great to have a support group (friends, family) in place. And great photo, btw!