Weight Loser Blog

I know a lot of new moms and soon to be moms read this blog, so I thought I would write a post just for them! I recently came across this site that is offering a chance to win a year supply of free diapers. It is 100% free to sign up.

Once you sign up, you will automatically be entered to win the year supply of diapers. Plus you will get access to other goodies like free baby product samples, grocery coupons, videos, newsletters, and lots of other great stuff.

Click here to check it out!

I just read an article on HowStuffWorks and it is very interesting. Here is a quote from the article:

Let’s figure out exactly what you’re burning when you drink a 16-ounce (0.5 liter) glass of ice water:

• The temperature of ice water can be estimated at zero degrees Celsius.
• Body temperature can be estimated at 37 degrees Celsius.
• It takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.
• There are 473.18 grams in 16 fluid ounces of water.

So in the case of a 16-ounce glass of ice water, your body must raise the temperature of 473.18 grams of water from zero to 37 degrees C. In doing so, your body burns 17,508 calories. But that’s calories with a little “c.” Your body only burns 17.5 Calories, and in the grand scheme of a 2,000-Calorie diet, that 17.5 isn’t very significant.

Basically, because the ice water is so cold, your body has to burn calories to heat it back up. This is probably true with any ice cold drink, but water has no additional calories. So if you’re on a diet, drink more ice cold water!

Counting calories correctly can be really hard, especial when eating out. It’s almost impossible to find the calories in a meal when you eat out, but there a number of websites that have all this information listed. This will allow you to count your calories, even while you eat out.

I searched around and found a number of these websites, but this one seems to be the best. They have a huge database of resturants and other food items. You don’t have to sign up and there aren’t a million ads all over the pages, so it works really well.

The site is: http://www.calorie-count.com. Check it out if you are having trouble counting calories.

Update: A reader just informed me about CalorieLab.com, which is also a website that provides great and detailed info on calories. I have seen this site before, but forgot what the URL was when I posted this article.

Check out this awesome success story by Jason Adnerson who lost  a total of 70 pounds on the Medifast diet!

As a father of two wonderful boys, I wanted to be certain that I would be around to see them grow up. But, at 34 years old and 260 pounds, it didn’t seem promising. For motivation I joined a bet with five co-workers, who are also significantly overweight, to see who could lose the most weight in a year. I’ve tried Weight Watchers, Atkins and weight-loss medications prescribed to me from a physician and none of them worked, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to win this bet.

My wife showed me an article in People magazine about a group of people who had lost weight using a range of different diet techniques. At the end of the article the table showed that Medifast compared to the other products had the largest weekly weight-loss claim and the method seemed pretty straight forward. So, I gave it a try. While the other guys who were on NutriSystem only lost a few pounds, I lost over 70 pounds with Medifast in 8 months and left the others in the dust!

Click here to check out the Official Medifast Website

I started Medifast in January weighing 260 pounds. Within two weeks of the program I already lost 15 pounds and was able to fit in to my dress shirts again. After 8 months I currently weigh 190 pounds! I have lost a total of 70 pounds and I feel and look fantastic!

Being overweight affected my personal life in many different ways. As I steadily gained weight over the years, there were fewer and fewer clothes that would fit. I was constantly fatigued and before I lost weight, I would blame it on my grueling travel schedule. I average about four flights a week and I was the guy no one wanted to sit next to on the plane. I was miserable until I started Medifast.

Since my weight loss I have more energy with my children and around the house then I ever have before! Home improvement jobs have been a breeze and I even attended a swim party, and didn’t hide myself!

My favorite story to tell was when I was two months into the program and I went out with a group of college friends, and one of the guys yelled, “Hey look! It’s half of Jason!” I think I smiled for the rest of the night.

I believe Medifast works with any lifestyle because it is easy, and it works fast which helps you stick with it. My most significant accomplishment was the change in my lifestyle. I know that Medifast has given me the opportunity to change my eating habits and succeed through long-term weight maintenance.

Thank you Medifast for offering what I call a ‘no gimmick’ product. It is simple nutrition and eating habits that set the stage for a lifetime of success with weight management.

Click here to check out the Official Medifast Website

There was an article in the latest issue of Ladies Home Journal that had a few tips from woman that have been very successful on a diet and changing to a healthy lifestyle. I thought I would share some of the tips because I think they are really sound advice. Check them out below:

• Do not eat snacks at work
• Do not check your weight every day on the scale
• Eat with manners: Chew slowly, take small bites, drink sips for water between bites.
• Eat before you go out, particularly before going out to the movies or shopping. If you are full when you go out, you will be less tempted to get buttery popcorn or a pretzel at the mall.

I always try to have apple juice, orange juice, or at least tea before I pop open a can of soda. Lately I have been slacking a little on that :P But I just read this interesting article over at CNN. Here is the basic outline of the article if you are too lazy to read like I am sometimes!

• Vegetable juice provides vitamins and minerals.
• There could be interactions between your medications and juices.
• Some nutrients are removed from the fruit or vegetables when they are turned into juice.
• Some juices contain potassium which can help balance sodium in a diet.

Click here to check out the full CNN article.

CookingLight also has some top fruit recepies that you can check out.

I saw this interesting news story about a diet that Briteny Spears has been on to lose some pounds.

• Steamed fish and edamame beans
• Goji berry juice and seaweed shakes!
• Starts each day with a cup of hot water and lemon

I don’t know about you…but a seaweed shake sounds really gross!

Although it does not sound appetizing at all, sources say it has helped her get from a size 14 to a size 10.

Here is the story link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1024924/Slimline-Britney-Posh-beans.html

With the economy heading south and lots of home owners losing their homes to foreclosure, debt is a rising concern for a lot of people. According to an AP and AOL poll, people with a lot of debt are more likely to report health related problems. So does this mean that your debt and health are directly realted? Well, of course not, but the high levels of stress that come along with debt can really affect some people’s health.

Check out these interesting stats from the survey:

• 27 % had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 % of those with low levels of debt stress.
• 44 % had migraines or other headaches, compared with 15 %.
• 29 % suffered severe anxiety, compared with 4 %.
• 23 % had severe depression, compared with 4 %.
• 6 % reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress.
• 51 % had muscle tension, including pain in the lower back. That compared with 31 % of those with low levels of debt stress.

According to these stats, it is pretty obvious that debt has numerous health impacts on people. Sure some people handle debt much differently than others, but overall debt and the stress that comes along with it can negatively impact your health.

If you are in debt yourself and it is stressing you out, you need to do a few things. First you need to understand that a lot of people are in the exact same spot, and it isn’t just you. Releaize that it isn’t a big deal and you will eventually get out of it if you keep trying and don’t give up.

It is easy to get out of debt on your own, however there are many debt consolidation companies out there that will consolidate your debt and help you pay it off. We have looked at a number of these companies and we have found that Credit Solutions (http://www.creditsolutions.com) seems to be the best because of what they offer and the number of awards that they have won for their service.

Good luck to those trying to get out of debt and remember not to let it stress you out!

The AP is reporting that McDonald’s has just pulled tomatoe slices from all of their sandwiches due to an outbreak of salmonella. This precaution applys to all locations in the United States. The CDC says that 23 people have been hospitalized.

This is a reminder that you should always was your fruit and vegatables before eating them. Also, during salmonella outbreaks you should stay completely away from the affected items because washing them may not completely remove the contamination.

AOL has a new interesting article on their site about popular drinks that include too many calories, sugar, and fat. If you are on a diet, you should definitely stay away from these drinks as they could easily through your diet way off. Here is the full list of drinks they listed:

• Red Bull
• Sunsweet Prune Juice
• Hawaiian Punch
• Hershey’s Chocolate Milk
• McDonald’s McFlurry
• Wendy’s Chocolate Twisted Frosty
• Glaceau Vitamin Water
• Starbucks Frappuccino
• Cappuccino Blast Caramel
• Dunkin Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta
• Jamba Juice Green Tea Blast
• Godiva Milk Chocolate Mocha
• Gatorade
• Fuze Green Tea
• Topicana Fruit Smoothie
• Arizona Rx Energy Herbal Tonic

Check out the full article and images as to why these drinks were selected:
http://body.aol.com/diet/basics/unhealthy-drinks

Everyone knows that large amounts of junk food is bad for you. But it just seems impossible to resist a chocolate bar or other sweet candy sometimes. Eating a little junk food here and there isn’t that big of a deal, but when you get in the habit of eating junk food, it can be bad.

The key is to rarely eat junk food, and when you have to, eat healthy junk food. Healthy junk food?! What? Not all junk food is the same. For example, baked potato chips are much healthier than Doritos. And pretzels would be a much smarter choice than a Twinkie! Check out this list of healthy junk food from AskMen.com.

• Baked Potato Chips
• Low Fat Cheese Puffs
• Low calorie and sodium pretzels
• 1 Kit Kat stick instead of a full Snickers
• Low Fat Cookies

Check out the full article and more details about these foods at AskMen.com:
http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_150/169_eating_well.html

AOL has a cool article on their site that ranks the worst foods in American restaurants in terms of healthiness.

Here are the top 5 worst foods:

1. Restaurant: Outback Steakhouse
Food Item: Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing
Calories: 2900
Fat in grams: 182

2. Restaurant: Chili’s
Food Item: Awesome Blossom
Calories: 2710
Fat in grams: 203

3. Restaurant: On the Border
Food Item: Stacked Border Nachos
Calories: 2740
Fat in grams: 166

4. Restaurant: Macaroni Grill
Food Item: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Calories: 2430
Fat in grams: 128

5. Restaurant: Uno Chicago Grill
Food Item: Classic Deep Dish Pizza
Calories: 2310
Fat in grams: 162

My biggest disappointment on this list is definitely #5. I love pizza and although I have only had an Uno’s pizza a few times, they are sooo good! Too bad it’s 2310 calories…

Here is a link to the full article and list:
http://body.aol.com/diet/basics/worst-food

I saw this story on CNN and thought it was so awesome I just had to write about it! It is really amazing because it shows that no matter how big you are, it is definitely possible to lose a dramatic amount of weight. This story should be a good inspiration for everyone wanting to lose weight.

His name is Muata Kamdibe and at his heaviest he weight 310 pounds and had a 44% body fat percentage. His goal was to lose weight and get his body fat percentage under 10%. Check out the progress he made over a few years:

• In 2003 he first tried the Atkins diet and lost 60 pounds in 6 months.
• In 2004 he only lost 5 pounds and realized he needed to change something.
• He started to count his calorie intake very closely and when he worked out, he used his own weight as resistance.
• He started a blog (link at the bottom) to post about his progress and to help keep himself accountable.
• By July 2007 he lost a total 133 pounds, weighed 177 pounds and reached 6.5% body fat.

Here is the full story on CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/30/weightloss.muata.kamdibe/index.html

Here is Muata Kamdibe’s blog where he talks about his experience: http://mrlowbodyfat.blogspot.com/

Check out these images of Tricia, who tried out the Nutrisystem diet program and had huge success! She says, “I’ve never seen a diet plan work like this. It’s truly amazing!”

Before                        After

Click here to check out our Nutrisystem Review and Special Offers!

Check out this awesome success story by Jennifer on the Medifast diet:

I am so excited to share my Medifast success story. Medifast has changed my life and every day I wake up no longer dreading to get dressed!

As I think all weight-loss stories begin, I tried every “miracle” diet out there. I took the energy pills, tried the no carb, the more carb, the no food fad diets and nothing worked. It took me going on Medifast to realize that weight-loss doesn’t come in a bottle and doesn’t come without hard work but it can be done! And it can be so easy! One just needs to believe in his or herself.

I am a 32-year-old wife and mother of a beautiful 5-year-old girl, Kaitlyn. I have always had a weight problem, ever since I can remember and struggled daily with my self-image. I would blame my weight on stress, hormones you name it, but never on my poor eating habits. Although I would exercise daily, I would still wonder why I wouldn’t lose the weight. But I was eating fast food, snacking on high carb/fat snacks, soft drinks, candy etc.

Click here to check out the Official Medifast Website

Last summer I hit my all-time low. Standing 5′3”, I had ballooned up to a size 14/16 and weighed nearly 185 pounds. I couldn’t stand to get dressed in the morning. I didn’t like how tired and sluggish I felt every day — and I was only 31!! As the summer went on, I found myself taking my daughter to our neighborhood pool at 8 am, while it was empty, just so no one would see me. Like all 4-year-olds, Kaitlyn wanted to play with other kids in the water, but I couldn’t stand myself being seen by others in a bathing suit. My husband would take her later in the afternoon. As a family, we would never go together. Not by their choice, but my own. I knew I wanted more for my family and myself. My weight was controlling our life.

Then, I saw an ad for Medifast in a magazine and thought I could do this.

On October 10th, 2005 I started the Medifast 5 and 1 plan. From day one, something clicked. My cravings, my need for “snacks” and fast/fatty food all went away. Medifast chose my foods for me. I was committed to this diet and to making a change. My mind set was simple; whatever I was craving would still be there when I reach my goal weight. Would that piece of pizza really make me feel better? The concept was simple and for some reason, it clicked in my mind with Medifast.

I enjoyed the shakes and oatmeal, would try new recipes with the chili. I loved the chicken noodle soup and of course the bars were a great treat! I would save my daily lean and green meal for dinner with my family. My husband kept the list of approved veggies and meats and would surprise me by making the meals for me, creating new sauces and adding variety. It was fun for us. And I really needed that support. Although I never felt hungry, it wasn’t easy saying “no” to co-workers for lunch outings but I hung in there.

I also made it through my first Thanksgiving without bread or stuffing. By Christmas, I was down 30 pounds and feeling great! People started noticing–and I liked that. But even with the weight loss, I still felt self-conscious being in this new skin and was always second-guessing my willpower to get down to my goal weight of 140.

But on January 22nd, 2006, I achieved my goal weight and I thought I would pass out! None of my clothes fit anymore. I had some skirts and pants just falling off of me, which 4 months prior, fit snug and others barely buttoned. I would just stand there in the mirror wondering who this person was staring back. My daughter called me skinny. My husband, although always supportive, called me sexy and beautiful. But this time it was different because for the first time, I felt sexy and beautiful.

I decided to transition off of Medifast and started the transition/maintenance plan on February 10th. I was scared of piling back the pounds. But again, I just incorporated the ratio set forth in the Medifast Meals and went with it. And since I wasn’t use to eating breads and fast foods any longer, my biggest vices, I knew I could do it. I also started back exercising every morning with a 45-minute walk. During Medifast, I was only walking 2-3 times a week.

Today, I am down another 5 pounds and am successfully holding my own at 135 and a size 6! For this first time, I am looking forward to bathing-suit season and going to the pool at high noon with my husband and daughter on weekends. I thank Medifast every day for giving me the courage and willpower to succeed with my weight loss. The message boards and website gave me the confidence in myself that it could be done. I still go on the boards from time to time and read other successes and have posted there as well in support to the “newbies”.

Now, I stand in the full-length mirror and no longer wonder who the person is staring back at me. I am Jennifer–a confident wife and mother, no longer being controlled by my weight but instead empowered by my loss and all that I have gained in return!

Thanks Medifast!

Click here to check out the Official Medifast Website