Just a momentary observation [health]

[vawitch]

Recently, I've made the conscious decision to drink more water-based beverages. Such as Iced Tea, Water w/ either Koolaid singles or Crystal Light, etc.

And other than Iced Tea (which doesn't have enough to faze me most times), cutting back on the caffeine when not on guard-duty.

Have been doing this for about 5 days - and have already noticed some pants that were snug, fitting better - and for not having the caffeine, I'm not as tired as I have been during the workday.

Let me clarify - I can't stand water by itself. must.have.flavor (and no seltzer *shudders*) When pregnant, my Dr had to be happy getting me from zero servings/day to 4 (rec'd is 8-10). Partly cuz I'm at the front desk & couldn't go pee every 30min for 5 mins, partly cuz eww-water. I've been a take-any diet soda-over-water gal all my adult life.

I shoulda done this months ago. Has my caffeine increase over the past few years (single being single mom & broke, w/ addl 2-3jobs) really caused that much fluid to retain? O_O

Some of ya'll who've been on the weigh-coaster longer/more than me - thoughts?

eta: until about 6 mo ago, I also was drinking regular/sugar sodas - then switched to Coke Zero or Diet/Regular mix. I am hypoglycemic too.

Comments

[cheyannew.livejournal.com]

It's not the caffeine, it's the water intake.

The more water you drink, the less toxins your body holds onto, and when hungry, a good trick is to drink water (or Crystal light, sometimes I get bored w/ a gallon of plain water and toss in a packet of that stuff), the colder, the better, and then, if after that, you're STILL hungry, then eat. Assuming it's not one of your normal 6 eating times (remember, you should be eating 6 small meals a day, and no, Twix and hershey's kisses do not count as a meal).

Also, as for the diet soda, there is research coming out that's suspecting the diet stuff is actually WORSE for weight loss, as it's not natural and therefore the body doesn't process it properly.

You can NOT beat water for health and weight loss. It'll also help your skin and whatnot; why do you think my skin's so clear (minus stress)? It's not just luck of the draw; I eat well and drink almost a gallon a day.

It sucks at first, but suck it up, and get used to it. Make sure your water is cold, warm water is nasty IMO.

The caffeine would also affect your blood pressure, sleeping habit, etc. All of which will affect how you feel. For some people, diet sodas spike blood sugar (regardless of them having "no sugar"). Remember the whole "low glycemic" conversation when I brought the bars over? If your blood sugar's getting spiked constantly (and it generally DOES when you eat like crap), you're going to be tired, caffeine or not, due to the inevitable crash.

None of this is rocket science; you're already online, so go research various things. You *CAN* lose weight without having to do an hour of cardio a day, just by altering your diet. Cardio and strength training merely accentuate that - the more muscles you have, the more calories you're burning at any time.

So there you go, there's your book/life lesson of the day.

[okami-myrrhibis.livejournal.com]

Also, as for the diet soda, there is research coming out that's suspecting the diet stuff is actually WORSE for weight loss, as it's not natural and therefore the body doesn't process it properly.

And that's what I'm beginning to think may be my problem (well part of it haha). For so long, while I could tolerate diet/Nutrasweet sodas, I seldom drank them. I drank regular soda or 100% fruit juice (if I'm gonna suck the same # of calories, better choice, according to WeightWatchers). Then I switched both to Diet/Zero soda, as well as stopped taking my gall-bladder medicine (which causes fat molecules to bond to it vs irritate my GI system & I would think also cause improper absorption by the body too). And the weight slowly came on.

Other than the medicine & soda switch, not a lot else has changed in my diet, nor my lifestyle.

TY for the info & thoughts.
eta: I eat about 4 times a day. 5 if counting a later-night snack, which I try to limit to a couple handfuls of crackers/chips/etc in a bowl rather than eating out of the bag, or veggies & dip/dressing if I have on hand.

[cheyannew.livejournal.com]

"eta: I eat about 4 times a day. 5 if counting a later-night snack, which I try to limit to a couple handfuls of crackers/chips/etc in a bowl rather than eating out of the bag, or veggies & dip/dressing if I have on hand."

Try 6, ensuring you're getting plenty of protein. Protein makes you stay "full" for longer in a healthy way. Also try converting from whites to wheats, pasta, bread, etc. If you start early, Kian will get into the habits as well, and live a better life for it. Not that I think he's in any danger of being one of the many obese kids in the US but still, better to get the habits going early.
For your late night snack, skip the chips and crackers and have the veggies. Celery, if naught else, is cheap and makes a great snack, as it's crunchy so it can replace your chips. The veggie chips they sell, by the by, aren't all that, as they toss a crap ton of sodium into them.

Basically, research proper dietary needs for your activity level, weight etc. Remember the conversation at the rifts game? Yeah, that's valid. My caloric/protein intake differs from yours as I'm heavier, but more importantly, I have a lot more muscle from lifting (though I stopped after the layoff so it's going byebye and I really need to work on that lol).
I'd do better if I could actually stay on the Usana stuff, I've just never been a "shake for meal" type of person LOL.
Also if I ever got off my ass to do my cardio hahaha

But that's all on me, and I'm incredibly healthy otherwise....
Specially now that the migraines are gone.

Diets Suck

[vermilionbird.livejournal.com]

Usually caffiene work as a diuretic and pulls water out of your system (unless you are used to, say 3 cups of coffee a day, then it shouldn't phase you.)

Water does hepl regulate your body and keep things chugging along in your digestive track for a more efficient process. There has ben some evidence that people who consume artificial sweetners have more wight issues than those that don't. I don't know, I love my sweet-n-lo. I have always wondeered what the chemicals in soda actually to the body over the long haul, which is why I rarely drink it. It scares me.

Could it be that your are starting to try and take better care of yourself and have been making a lot of little changes that are starting to add up. Good heatlh and weight losss doesn't have to be a major, earth shattering, event. It is small decisions every day, like I'll have a small piece of cake as opposed to a big piece. (I don't believe in cutting any item out of my diet, the bible said "all things in moderation" and that is good enough for me)

No matter what the reason your are getting results, so keep it up.

Re: Diets Suck

[okami-myrrhibis.livejournal.com]

Yea - I recall vividly from my time attending Weight Watchers pre-baby (which I don't follow anymore - but am still more aware of WTH i'm eating/drinking than I was) that completely nixing certain things you enjoy will usually just make you hit them harder when you fall off the wagon.

So I too do the moderation thing.

As for S&L - there was a more recent study that all the "carcinogen" worries was apparently due to flawed science - at the time, the poor rats where getting like 10x the amount of typical human would *in a human's lifetime* - in which case no wonder the poor things mutated or keeled over. Myself, if I drink tea that wasn't sweetened when warm, I prefer Splenda or S&L. Nutrasweet is nasty to me.

Thx for the feedback

[mmouse15.livejournal.com]

Listen to the sister, she speaks sooth. I would merely be echoing her. *hugs* good luck with all this!