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Several years ago, Dr. Oz made a guest appearance on Oprah and made her a "green smoothie". She said it tasted like a glass of "fresh". I'd say that's pretty accurate. When he demonstrated it on the show he used a blender but you could tell it had been filtered when it was in the glass. Anyway, I have this every morning…

If you wait till you feel like it, you'll never do it. I'm a morning person, so I usually get up and workout first thing in the morning because if I wait until I get home from work I am tired and don't care anymore. I never regret a workout and you wont' either. Start by doing something you like. Do you like to walk? Ride…

I also get shin splints, mostly if I walk too fast or when I run. I have noticed that if I push myself too hard too fast that i get them worse then if I start out slower and allow my body to get used to what I'm doing. It was suggested to me to do exercises to build my calf muscles and that helps to aleviate shin splints.

5' 1 1/2", 140 lbs and a size 8 mostly--occassionally I can wear a size 6-- a really big 6, LOL.

According to Tosca Reno of the Eat Clean Diet, weight loss is 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. I realize that you do have limitations at the work place, but you have tons of personal choices. For example, (and I mean no offense if this is not the norm for you, I jsut mean for it to be an example : ) You can choose to turn…

Yes, it very well could be too low, especially if you are trying to build any muscle tone. Personally, I find that 40% protein is much better for me. I am more satisfied and satiated longer and have much more energy to do intense workouts. If I were you, I would google a website that explains metabolic typing, take a test…

1200 calories doesn't do it for me, either but I also notice that if I don't get enough fats that I lose my energy. You might try upping your intake of healthy fats such as coconut oil, raw nuts and avocados.

Green tea is also a natural diuretic and will help to flush out the extra fluid in your body caused by eating high sodium foods.

I have been using Bare Minerals for 5 1/2 years and I still love it. I have tried other brands of mineral make up and nothing is like Bare Minerals. I use the Warmth very sparingly, just to give my face a sunkissed look. They have other shades of all over face color. One is kinda peachy and one is rosey. Maybe warmth isn't…

I make a recipe for sweetpotato fries that I am addicted to! I peel and cut the potatos into wedges roughly 1/4" thick (think homefries) and put them in a bowl. Drizzle some olive oil over them and generously sprinkle on chili powder, chipotle chili powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, a little sea salt and just about 1 tsp.…

I find that incredibly interesting and not illogical at all. I know people who have lost weight just by cutting out their after dinner snack or switching out the baked potato for broccoli, etc. That can only be a calorie deficite of a couple hundred calories. I am about 5'2" and 140 lbs. and when ever I drop my calories…

I am very proud of you for making the decision to improve yourself! And, good for you for running that half mile!!!!!! I have just recently started running myself. I just turned 42 and probably never ran a consecutive mile in my life and today I ran a 5K on my tredmill. I also started out running and walking. Soon you will…

What an awesome thing you are doing for your baby! The La Leche League says you burn 500 calories a day nursing. Many women lose tons of "baby" weight just nursing. I was never that lucky. Be very careful about how many calories you give up becasue your body really needs them to make milk. Your body will steal what it…

I use stevia all the time. I haven't tried it as a substitute for sugar in baking as I'm avoiding those kinds of foods all together, but you can't use it in the same measurements as sugar since it is tons sweeter. You'd have to find a substitution chart. Some people say it has a bitter aftertaste and I notice that in some…

Sounds like you and I share similar type lives, lol. I workout 4-5 times a week and my workouts are usually 300-500 cals each and often I will so a 500 cal circuit workout and then run 2-3 miles on the tredmill right after. I am a very busy mom and I hold two part-time jobs. I am always looking for opportunities to get in…

I have read similar studies other places but I actualy experience being "fat starved" if I limit my fats. I literally become spacey, depressed and totally lose my energy. It's crazy because sometimes other people can tell something's "off" with me when it's happening. Just one spoonful of coconut oil for me is like the…

Sometimes you have to also look at the amount of sugars foods have in them. 4g of sugar is equal to 1 tsp. If I remember correctly, regular Cheerios only has 1g of sugars and Multi Grain has somewhere around 8g maybe? That would mean that if you ate one serving of regular you are getting almost no hidden sugars in them but…

Yes, I am annoyed at that, too. It is discouraging to think you are going to celebrate a weight loss with a new pair of pants, only to find that the new pair is the next size up from the ones you just tossed on the "too big" pile. What I really hate, though, is buying a pair of pants that fit beautifully in the dressing…

Wait a minute. A pound is 3500 calories. You would have had to have over eaten by 14,000 calories to have gained those 4 lbs. What might be more realistic is that eating on the road limits your ability to limit your sodium intake. When I eat restaurant food, even if I'm within my calorie limit, I usually blow up because of…

I eat quinoa quite often. I am sensitive to wheat and bored with brown rice and somewhat adventurous with food so I decided to try it out. I was a little surprised the first time I tried it because the flavor is a little strong. I guess I expected it to taste like rice since I was told you can substitute quino where ever…

I'm planning on just doing the best I can. I'm not too tempted by my children's Easter candy but the dessert table will be calling me before I'm even done eating, lol. For right now the plan is to eat within my limits and if I splurge then I splurge, oh well. It is one day and I'm not going to beat myself up over one day…

I have found alot of natural, nitrate free meats at Costco. I've gotten Jones brand brown & serve style sausages, Coleman hot dogs and bacon, and Aidells and Amylou's chicken sausages.

Congrats you guys! I know how hard it is and everyday you don't smoke is a day to celebrate. It gets much easier after the first week. Just hang in there and before you know it, you'll be celebrating your first year of not smoking. You can do it!!!

Thank you so much! You are just awesome!

Hi Charlene, we're happy to have you with us. I hope that your weightloss journey is successful.

I think it's interesting that we all love Sam and don't want to see him go.

Hidden Valley makes a dry mix that you can add anything you like to it: lite mayo, yogurt, buttermilk, etc.

I get quinoa from my local healthfood store and recently got the best price on it at Costco of all places. You will need to rinse it in a fine mesh sieve before cooking, as it has a bitter coating that is removed with rinsing, and then cook it as you would brown rice (about 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups water, simmer covered…

You very well may not have needed to curb nearly as many carbs as the Adkins diet directs. And, you probably did go thru carb withdrawls and felt crappy. I did the Maker's Diet program and after the first two days I had a headache and was nauseaus like I was hungover, lol. I did feel better by the fourth day but one of the…