Coconut Water Reviews

I'm going to give you my personal review on a few store bought coconut waters, and I'm pretty certain if I was given a taste test right now on all of these that I'd be able to tell them apart because they are all fairly different. Also keep in mind that while a product may state "concentrate" on the label that this does not mean it has bad additives/ingredients, as concentrate can mean that only the healthiest parts of the fruit were used to create the product. The ones I reviewed below are listed from my top fave to least (I typically found these at either Target or Martins), and I think coconut water tastes better cold but these are usually found unrefrigerated at stores.

#1 Harmless Harvest: I feel like this one tastes the way a lot of other coconut waters strive to be in terms of taste as this one does seem to offer the most in terms of flavor. This one did not come in the typical paper carton as most do as it came in a plastic bottle in the fridge section of the grocery store and generally most are on the shelves. I did find this to taste like one of the sweetest coconut waters on here which was a little overkill for me at first, and it was a little off putting that this was a clear pale pink shade of coconut water but apparently that's a good thing since the pink means it contains beneficial phenols.

Ingredients: 100% Natural Coconut Water

#2 Naked: This one doesn't have a lot in terms of flavor so if you aren't fond of the way most coconut waters taste than this is probably a good option for you. It appears to be unaltered (claims no added sugar, no preserves, gluten free, Fair Trade Certified, pasteurized, and vegan) but does not state it's organic, it's slightly milky in color and doesn't appear to have any big coconut particles floating in it.

Ingredients: Coconut Water (contains coconut).

40 Calories (240ml), 60mg Sodium, 450mg Potassium, 10g Carbs, 8g Sugar, 4% Magnesium.

#3 Purity Organic: This one taste great and I found it had no weird after taste, although I feel that not all cartons of this taste completely consistent in terms of flavor (which is a bummer because I personally crave a good carton of this stuff at times). This one does seem to have more floating coconut pieces in it compared to Harvest Bay's, and it's more clear in color.

Ingredients: Organic Coconut Water (water and organic coconut water concentrate).

45 Calories (250ml), 80mg Sodium, 550mg Potassium, 11g Carbs, 11g Sugar, 15% Magnesium, 6% Calcium, 6% Phosphorus, 2% Iron.

#4 O.N.E.: Color wise this looks closest to Naked's but has more fine particles although it has slightly more in terms of flavor than Naked's. This product claims it's not from concentrate, fat free and gluten free. I'm rating this higher than Zico because the additional flavors this comes in are much better tasting (such as the splash of pineapple coconut water). The packaging on this does state that you should drink this within 2 days of opening it which could be a downside for some people.

Ingredients: Coconut Water (Contains Coconut).

45 Calories (240ml), 45mg Sodium, 440mg Potassium, 10g Carbs, 8g Sugar, 4% Magnesium.

#5 Zico: The color of this one more closely resembles Harvest Bay's, and the flavor tastes a tiny bit sweeter than Purity Organic but has an almost caramel flavor to it. Zico also has some pretty interesting additional flavors available such as chocolate (which isn't the greatest tasting in my opinion). Although I do feel Zico is more consistent in flavor in comparison to Purity Organic.

Ingredients: All natural coconut water from concentrate, natural flavor.

70 Calories (414ml), 180mg Sodium, 610mg Potassium, 16g Carbs, 15g Sugar, 4% Calcium, 2% Phosphorus, 10% Magnesium.

#6 Harvest Bay: It's fair in taste but a bit salty and nutty. This also has a yellow hue to it much like Zico's. This one is the lowest in calories compared to most the others on this post.

Ingredients: Coconut Water

40 Calories (250ml), 130mg Sodium, 510mg Potassium, 10g Carbs, 4g Sugar, 4% Calcium.


#7 Vita Coco: I didn't care for the way this one tasted, it has a weird sweetness to it, and the other flavored varieties I found to taste fairly repulsive. Although this product claims it's not from concentrate it does have added vitamin C to it.

Ingredients: Coconut Water, Vitamin C.

60 Calories (330ml), 40mg Sodium, 680mg Potassium, 15g Carbs, 15g Sugar, 230% Vitamin C, 5% Calcium, 5% Phosphorus, 10% Magnesium.

#8 C2O with Pulp: This one tasted the least like coconut water and had an odd taste and smell which I believe is caused by it being in a metal pop can. The "pulp" is actually coconut meat and the non-pulp variety had the same nutrition but was pulp free on the ingredients. I thought Vita Coco was fairly bad but this one takes the cake as my least fave thus far.

50 Calories (240ml), 75mg Sodium, 300mg Potassium, 13g Carbs, 12g Sugar, 2% Calcium, 2% Iron, <2% Phosphorus, 4% Magnesium, 2% Folic Acid, 42% Maganese, 2% Zinc, <2% Niacin. 

Ingredients: 100% Natural Coconut Water, Young Coconut Pulp.

----------A few others I'd like to try-----------

Trader Joe's Pure Coconut Water with Vitamin C
Taste Nirvana

Week 21 - Lowest Weight Again

This week I've been busy with remodeling around the house, and living out of hotels recently makes it hard to stay on a diet. However, I did manage to get down to my lowest weight but perhaps having been sick and still having a loss of appetite has helped bring it back down. So although I haven't been able to really diet I did manage to get my weight back down so... not too shabby.

Week 20 - Extremely Sick

Last Tuesday was the first week I didn't do a post because I got extremely sick with a horrible case of Strep C. I had a fever over 100F for 5 days straight (it was a total killer!) which got up to 103.1F the 3rd day when I finally went to the ER. By the 5th day I was still miserable and I finally got a prescription for Amoxicillin (used to treat things like Anthrax) from Urgent Care which honestly helped out significantly by the next day. I am now doing much better although my tonsils are still swollen and the glands in my cheeks have some blockage or something going on (which is really weird feeling). That aside I did drop 2lb during that time, I got to where I felt starving but then would hardly eat, plus it hurt so much to swallow anything (like a burning dagger to the throat).

Hoping that the worst is now behind me in terms of being sick, my blood pressure reading was 127 (fair) right before I got sick, but by the time I went to the Urgent Care about a week after it was down to 101 (good). I really want to start losing weight again since I have been maintaining my weight within 5lb of the lowest weight I have reached so far this year (202lb). I feel like since I have maintained my weight under 207lb that it may help reduce any big weight gain spikes. Another challenge for me has been my parents going off of their strict diets, and with my dad gradually gaining weight my mom is still wanting to lose more weight. So, hopefully I can find the strength to get my healthy lifestyle back on track once again as I do want to lose another 20lb by August.

Week 18 - Friendly Competition

First off I did skip 'Week 17' as I had mentioned trying to maintain my weight for a bit, although I wasn't eating very healthy and I honestly starting feeling a bit 'blah', bloated, and having acid re-flux issues (probably from eating out a bit more than I should have). However, I did actually meet someone this past week and as it turns out he is also on the weight-loss bandwagon... although we both have a few slight differences in terms of how we go about losing weight as he tends to workout more, while I tend to diet more. We are both very close in terms of weight as he is currently 211lb at 5'9 in height and I'm 206.8lb at 5'4 in height, and we are only like a year apart in age. So while he claims his weight hasn't really changed in 3 months and I haven't been very strict on my dieting recently I feel like we are almost closely matched. So I asked him to a little friendly competition to see who could try and lose the most weight over the course of a week (woot, motivation!!) and he accepted my challenge.

Here's a rough idea of what my daily diet looked like this week...

Breakfast
Overnight Oats (Natural Oatmeal, Maca Powder, Ashwagandha Powder, Crazy Richards Peanut Butter, Golden Raisins, Organic Saigon Cinnamon, All-Bran Cereal, Organic Honey, and 1% Milk)

Lunch
Sweet Potato (Sweet Potato, Olivio Butter, and Pink Salt)
Ezekiel Bread (2 Slices)

Dinner
Salad (Baby Spinach, Bacon Ranch Dressing, Mozzarella Cheese, Avocado, Pink Salt, Chicken, and White Pepper)

Snacks
Choco Love Dark Chocolate (A few pieces)
Lite Chocolate Soy Milk (1/2 to 1 Cup)

After a week I still didn't eat overly healthy and in the end I had only lost like 0.3lb although after the first day of dieting I had dropped 2lb, and my friend maybe dropped a pound but it really didn't seem like either of us tried that hard. Always next week... but my blood pressure did go up to 127/76 so I really do need to get back on the healthy train.

Week 16 - Blood Pressure

This past week I decided to venture over to my local Walmart to check my blood pressure levels on one of the SoloHealth machines. To my surprise Walmart's blood pressure machines have become much more advance than I remember, as it can not only can check your blood pressure but also your vision, health risk assessment, and weight management. The main reason I wanted to check my blood pressure was because on at least two occasions last year while visiting the doctor I was told my blood pressure was a little high (Prehypertension stage), and now that I have been eating healthier this year I decided to see if I had any changes. To my surprise my readings came back as 111/73 (Systolic/Diastolic) with a heart rate of 62, which is completely normal. My vision is good, my BMI is 35 which isn't good but that's what I'm working on with my diet, and my health risk was a level 3 which is apparently good but leaves room for improvement.

I decided to take a photo of my body this week since having lost 20lb so far this year (my jeans are too big on me). I don’t see myself losing anymore weight this month to be honest so, I am just trying to maintain my weight for a while since it has been jumping all over the place lately.

Week 15 - Little Weightloss

This month has been a bit frustrating for me so far as it has been hard for me to lose weight (I did finally drop 0.7 lb today, woot!). My energy levels are still all over the place and my sleep hasn't been very consistent. I haven't had time to walk more than once a week really, and I feel hungry a lot more often which causes me to eat before bed (I believe that is a total killer for my weight-loss progress). I question if I'm finding this months weight harder to lose since I had been around this weight for several long years before putting on all the weight I have now lost so far this year. I am hoping my weight will start dropping off more frequently again, and I definitely need to find the motivation and time to do my walks.

At two different times this month I must have cut out around 800 calories from my daily caloric intake and my weight had only barely dropped the first time, but the second time around was what resulted in today's weight loss. Generally during these long lulls I don't mind this happening because it gives my body more time to tone up... while I would generally workout more, but it has definitely becoming frustrating at this point. I feel like people around me are also questioning if I'm even still dieting anymore (even though this isn't a diet at all for me but a lifestyle change) which is probably why this feels more frustrating to me than usual but I can't let those little things get to me, especially when I have come this far.

As for other news I decided to measure my body this week since I hadn't done so since January 1st this year. I have now lost 2 inches around my chest, and 1 inch around my waist and hips (my co-worker even mentioned to me "oh wow, you have a waist again", haha). I didn't measure anything else but I can tell my upper arms are smaller (my sleeves no longer stay up) and lately I feel like my legs have a little as well. On that note I definitely need to buy some new clothes this week (not trying to go overboard though since I am still trying to lose a lot more weight) as I'm tired of my pants practically falling off of me and my t-shirts looking like pajama tops (I will be donating some of my old clothes very soon).

Week 14 - Basic Meal Ideas

I wanted to share some of my basic everyday meal ideas (sorry no actual recipes today) and you can definitely make these basic meal ideas all your own by adding additional herbs and spices, powdered super-foods, using more or less of certain ingredients, or altering your cooking technique for certain dishes if desired (nothing deep-fried though). Not everything I eat is super healthy to a "T" as I tend not to give up much for certain condiments I enjoy as I feel like this helps to reduce/eliminate cravings while not having my diet be tasteless/mundane, but I do try not to go overboard on condiments and I also watch my portion size.

Breakfast

Banana Sandwich

Banana Sandwich
Ezekiel Bread + Organic Almond Butter + Banana + Organic Ground Cinnamon + Organic Honey

Shake
Carnation Instant Breakfast + 1% Milk (or similar) + Fruit

Oatmeal
Whole Grain Oatmeal + 1 % Milk (or similar) + Organic Honey + Organic Ground Cinnamon

Omelet
2 Eggs + BellPepper + 1% Milk (or similar) + Himalayan Pink Salt (or Celtic Sea Salt) + Organic Ground Cayenne Pepper + Low Fat Cheese + Salsa

Lunch

Spinach Pizza

Spinach Pizza
Ellios Cheese Pizza + Raw Baby Spinach + Organic Garlic Powder

Wrap
Whole Wheat Tortilla + Raw Baby Spinach (or similar) + Low Fat Cheese + Mayonnaise + Sriracha + Lean Sliced Turkey (or similar)

Soup
Progresso Beef Stew (or similar) + Spring Water + Herbs and Spices

Cheese Quesadilla
Whole Wheat Tortilla + Olivo Butter + Low Fat Cheese

Dinner

Asian Fusion

Asian Fusion
Brown Rice + Avocado + Liquid Aminos + Sriracha + Toasted Sesame Seeds

Catch of the day
Fish + Steamed Veg

Salad
Raw Baby Spinach (or similar) + Salad Dressing (of choice) + Fresh Veg + Low Fat Cheese + Meat

Pasta
Whole Wheat Pasta Shells + Pasta Sauce (of choice) + Low Fat Cheese

Side Dish
Steamer
Steamed Veg + Low Fat Cheese + Himalayan Pink Salt (or Celtic Sea Salt)

Toast
Ezekiel Bread + Olivio Butter

Dessert

Dipped Banana

Dipped Banana
Banana + Organic dark chocolate + Organic Almond Butter + Raw Organic Extra Fine Shredded Coconut

Frozen Yogurt
Greek Yogurt + Monk Fruit Sweetener + Berries + Vanilla Extract

No-Bake Almond Balls

No-Bake Almond Balls
Organic Almond Butter + Organic Honey + Cinnamon and Spice Instant Oatmeal + Ground Flaxseed + Raw Organic Extra Fine Shredded Coconut

Snack
Veggie App
Cucumber + Avocado + Sweet Pepper (or cherry tomato)

Fruit and Nut
Organic Almond Butter + Apple

Chips and Dip
Tostitos Crispy Rounds (or similar) + Salsa (of choice)

Yogurt Crunch
Yogurt + Granola

Beverages

Coco Melon Juice

Coco Melon Juice
Coconut Water + Seedless Watermelon

Sweet Tea
Tea Bag + Hot Water + Monk Fruit Sweetener

Week 13 - Life Happens

So now that I have lost 100lb this year... APRIL FOOLS! I totally wish though, haha.

This past week has honestly been a super stressful one for me with work and a school presentation I stressed about for weeks. I did eat out about 3 times this past week and didn't get around to doing my daily walks. My weight-loss did teeter a tiny bit but nothing drastic, and interestingly enough I haven't experienced any type of facial breakouts since starting this diet this year. So through all the stress, dark chocolate, fast food binges, and womanly issues... its pretty cool my skin hasn't suffered. I have actually been receiving compliments this week on how glowing my complexion has been looking (which may be due to some minor makeup routine changes rather than diet, although I still get told my face looks slimmer).

Now that my school presentation is over I am definitely going to get my diet and workouts back on track, I wish I was losing more than roughly 4lb a month but some weight-loss is better than none at all. My parents dieting is also going well as my dad has now lost over 30lb (it definitely shows!) and my mom is now on the fast track to catching up with him. My main goal for April is to at least reach 200lb but I am aiming for under that mark.

If you want to checkout a recent recipe I did on Swai then 'click here' to go to my other blog.

Week 12 - How to be Slim

This week I wanted to try out some of the methods I saw from a YouTube documentary I recently watched on "How to be Slim". The day before I did this I ate a fatty fast food cheeseburger which made me put on just over a pound the following morning.

After putting on a good pound of weight I started my day with a fair amount of 1% milk in my All-Bran cereal after taking my 2 One A Day gummy vitamins (and I did not workout before or during this diet experiment). For lunch and dinner I had made a big pot of chicken and vegetable stew (which had chicken broth, water, chicken on the bone, mushrooms, green beans, stewed tomatoes, sriracha, pink salt, thyme, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, and black pepper just to name a few of the ingredients), and I did consume all of it by the end of the day (it was surprisingly filling). I also ate 2 slices of Ezekiel 4:9 bread (which I found a bit chewy, healthier, and denser than your average bread), drank some water throughout my day, and had a tiny bit of vanilla muesli to snack on. When I got home I had about half a glass of 1% milk with about a tablespoon of raw shredded coconut with a few tablespoons of milk chocolate carnation instant breakfast. Then I got plenty of beauty sleep, and the results the next morning during my weigh-in... unchanged.

The next day after eating normally on my diet again... I dropped a pound. In my opinion, even if you're consuming low-fat dairy the people in the study consumed a liter a day so to me it seems they aren't really losing extra fat but rather all the fat from the dairy. No one in the video study noted having lost any weight during the dairy consumption and unlike the rest of the video they didn't show a before and after x-ray of their body fat. I personally use to consume mass amounts of dairy before this year and it noticeably didn't contribute to any significant weight-loss. Not to mention when women in Africa want to get bigger before there wedding day (unlike most Americans who want to be slimmer), they seriously sit around in hiding drinking gallons of milk (whole fat I'd wager), and it seriously does work to make them bigger. Also if it's the calcium helping people to consume less calories, than people on multivitamins with calcium should also experience weight loss, and I don't recall seeing those pill bottles claiming to help anyone lose weight or reduce fat. Not to mention I have met people who switched out milk for non-dairy options and they actually started losing weight.

Overall I don't think I'd go out of my way to consume more dairy but I feel a regular healthy diet with proper portions and a normal amount of dairy consumption should allow for weight-loss in general.

Week 11 - Q and A

This week I wanted to take time to answer some questions on my new lifestyle, and if you have anymore questions feel free to drop me a comment below.

Q: How often do you workout?
A: I workout 2-3 times a week which happens right after I wake-up and before I eat. I like to have at least a day between each day I workout, nothing consecutive thus far.

Q: Do you workout your upper body?
A: I am going to start getting into this very soon and do around 5-10 minutes of lifting before I do my walking. It is actually important to lift before walking.

Q: Do you eat before, after, or both on the days you workout?
A: I've read it's actually better to workout when you wake-up and do it before you eat, otherwise you're just burning off the food you just ate. I also find I sometimes get tired after eating or get indigestion if I eat before I workout. I do however drink a bottle of water during my workout/walk. If I did eat before I exercised then I would just eat a small piece of fruit or granola bar.

Q: What do you eat after you workout?
A: I'll usually have a breakfast shake since it can be quickly digested after a workout and contains lots of vitamins and such, or I like to have some type meal with a lot of protein like eggs, meat, etc.

Q: Do you take any pills/supplements?
A: I do currently take 2 One A Day gummy vitamins a day, and if I didn't have trouble swallowing large pills I'd prefer taking them in pill form. I should be taking an iron, D3, and thyroid pill daily but I've yet to get a blood test done this year. I am hoping since I now eat healthier and I'm taking some form of multivitamin that my blood test and blood pressure will have improved.

Q: Do you ever have any cravings?
A: I didn't have any real cravings until this week to be honest and I was craving things like... chocolate, coconut water, almond butter, and diet coke. I eat all of those things now but on a healthier level (whole food type almond butter and dark chocolate), with the exception of soda as I try to stay away from that.

Q: Is there anything you can't eat?
A: I'm allergic to sour citrus fruit and it's seriously hard to avoid lemon in foods because people throw lemons into your glass of water, squeeze it on your seafood, sometimes its hidden in processed foods like tv dinners, salsa, guacamole, chips, teas, etc. I've also noticed I can't drink tea or wine, but it's because I have GERD.

Q: Since you can't eat sour citrus fruits (lemon, lime, orange) how do you get Vitamin C?
A: I do take a multivitamin as I mentioned before but lots of other healthy foods contain Vitamin C in general. I do buy some organic canned papaya in pineapple juice as papaya actually contains more Vitamin C than an orange. I've found that Camu Powder is an awesome superfood if you're really lacking in Vitamin C (although I'm not lacking in it).

Q: Is there any organic packaged/pre-made health food you don't like?
A: Fruit juices. They always taste kind of stale to me so, I'd much rather blend together fresh fruits (it's more beneficial that way).

Q: How do you stay motivated?
A: Just keeping a blog like this one or even being on a site that allows you to track weight or share your weight-loss results can help give you motivation. Looking at photos of slim figured people or seeing stylish clothing being worn that I could never wear because of my size. Being single for a long time now and questioning if it's really because of my weight. Wanting to take better care of myself on the inside. Not wanting people to look at me assuming that I'm lazy just because of my weight. Overall I stay motivated to do this because I want to be healthier and be the best me that I can.

Shamrock Shake

I have seen a ton of shamrock inspired shakes trending this year, and this one is an old simple recipe of mine for creating a healthy mint "shamrock shake" which is absolutely perfect for St. Patrick's Day. This recipe is even tasty if you have the Carnation Instant Breakfast in milk chocolate. You could also try using just any type of powdered vanilla protein shake mix if you don't happen to have what I used to make this one.

1 Packet -  Carnation Instant Breakfast, french vanilla
1 Cup - Milk (or similar)
1/2 Cup - Ice, crushed
1/8 Tsp - Pure Mint Extract
10 Drops - Food Coloring, green *Optional*

Add all the ingredients into a blender, blend until combined, and serve in a glass. I topped this drink off with a dusting of raw shredded coconut(extra fine) and a sprig of fresh mint.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Week 10 - Learning Process

These past few weeks have definitely been a learning experience for myself. Now that I eat healthier I do feel that my taste buds have perhaps changed a little bit, but I also find lots of organic foods which I enjoy eating and combine into my daily meals. I don't eat completely organic and personally I think it's a lot of non-sense to an extent, but I do mainly try to eat wholefoods and also incorporate some amount of superfoods into my daily diet.

Having lost over 15 lbs now, I feel like most of the weight-loss I've gone through this year has been because I don't really eat fast food and drink soda anymore. The little bit of exercise I do every week I do feel helps the weight-loss move along. I'm not in a contest to lose weight rapidly and this is not a fade diet for myself, and I feel the slower you can lose weight the slower the weight tends to creep back on which is why I mainly aim to lose 1-2 lb a week now, but I don't strictly force myself to really lose a definite amount regardless of what goals I may try and set for myself on here.

I knew about calories and counting them before, but I didn't take much into consideration of the quality of foods I would eat in order to provide my body with real nutrition. For example, a person can eat 2000 calories from fast food cheeseburgers while another person can consume 2000 calories from vegetables. A body that eats healthier is going to process foods more efficiently, where a fatty diet is going to cause poor bodily function and fat buildup overtime. Although you can still gain weight from either diet it's how your body is gaining this weight that really transforms it internally. You also shouldn't stress over the scale everyday, weight fluctuates constantly whether you just ate, had a lack of sleep, went to the bathroom, worked out, etc. If your weight hasn't changed at all within a months time, than you probably do need to make some more changes to your life to get results and/or seek help from a doctor, and I would recommend getting a blood test and testing your blood pressure just to make sure your body is getting the vitamins and such that it needs.

Some movies that helped change my outlook on food last year was one available on Netflix called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" which my cousins had told me about. The movie "Food, Inc." is another interesting food movie on the meat we eat. A popular movie for those that eat fast food is "Super Size Me" which shows a healthy fit guy turn his life into a fast food diet. One last movie I want to mention that isn't completely about food is the movie "The Cove" which is based in Japan (what's really in that can of tuna?). If anyone has any other interesting health or food related movies then drop me a comment below.

Skin Detox Bath

Skin is the biggest living organ on your body so it's very important to treat it with care. If you have a yellow coloring to your skin this can help to remedy that, and it can help to detox the body. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (make sure you use RAW Apple Cider Vinegar for this) has cleansing and skin healing properties, and it works better for detox when combined with epsom salt. Epsom salt contains the magnesium which our bodies need but don't always get, and it can help with minor aches and pains. I like to use Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap in lavender (although they do have the mild unscented variety for those with allergies and/or sensitive skin) because this is made up of natural oils which breaks down dirt and body oil on the skin. I usually like to do this detox right after my workout as the pores are more open from sweating. I like to do this detox bath at least once a week, but you could probably do it up to 3x a week if you wanted although try to only exfoliate once every week or every other week to allow new skin cells to heal and redevelop after exfoliating. Also, if you suffer from a few lingering pounds than this may help you sweat a little bit more off and help to tone up your body.

1/4 Cup - Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 Cup - Epsom Salt
1/2 Tub - Hot/Warm Water

1-2 Tbsp - Dr. Bronners liquid castile soap

Add all the ingredients to a hot running bath and close the shower curtain or door to try and retain heat and steam from the hot water which will further open the skins pores. Cleanse/soak for around 15-30 minutes (or longer if you like). Submerse as much of yourself as you can in the tub water, you may need a cup to pour tub water over yourself. Use a natural loofah with some more of the soap to exfoliate the body and remove dead skin cells. Massage your legs and such to help relax the muscles. Drain tub and shower off with cool/cold water to seal the skins pores closed, and then dry off.

Try to avoid too much sun exposure after the detox bath. If skin feels too dry after the cleanse use an organic skin moisturizer like olive oil, coconut oil, etc.

Week 9 - Goals

For the past two months now I have been setting weight-loss goals for myself and it was a little bit of a downer to not meet my February goal, but I do feel it is important for myself to continue to lose some amount of weight every month. That being said I think this March is going to be my last official big weight-loss goal because I do want to get down to my ideal "fat weight" (as I call it) since that's the weight I was at for many years until these past few years had taken its toll on me (and I am going to do my best to meet that goal this month). By April I think I am just going to try and set permanent weight-loss goals, which will be me trying to lose 3-4lb every month but ultimately I'd like to lose at least 40lb this year.

From my heaviest weight I'm actually down about 18lb now, which puts me around 5lb away from my ideal "fat weight" goal. Honestly until I get under 200lb (which really shouldn't be much longer now) I don't feel like I have really lost any weight. That may not make sense to anyone but I feel like when you're a certain weight for so long that people just get use to seeing you as that weight, so for me I feel a bit unchanged still. Maybe that's because I can now go back to my old clothes fitting properly and it's my old self... which isn't where I want to stay in terms of my weight-loss because according to my BMI I should weight at least 145lb to be considered "healthy".

Do I ever see myself weighing 145lb? Definitely not, I guess because that weight seems very far away from where I am now. I also realize that a lot of people no matter how hard they feel they work toward their weight-loss goals they may never actually reach their calculated BMI. Even if I weighed 145lb, I am a fairly curvy woman (hourglass type shape) and at 5'4 I would probably only get down to a size 12/14... unlike most people who seem to get down to a size 6/8 generally (and I'm currently an 18/20). I don't think I have weighed 145lb since I was probably 14 years old, and I have never been considered slim or skinny through my entire life really. If I ever did reach 145lb that would be amazing, and the least amount I should ever weight would be no less than 124lb.

By now you're probably wondering what my exact heaviest weight was, or perhaps you can already figure it out by this post. So I tell you what, when I reach under 200lb (or 199.9lb to be exact) I will share with you my heaviest and starting weight of 2014. Until then, keep coming back for more of my healthy lifestyle changes for 2014!

Happy Fat Tuesday Everyone!

Banana Oat Pancakes

These thin pancakes taste a lot like banana bread and make for a tasty breakfast option. Credit goes to AlishaMarie on Youtube for the original recipe I based this off of (although I did make some minor changes).

100 g - Banana
1 Large - Egg
1/4 Cup - Whole Grain Oats

1 Pinch - Cinnamon, ground
1/4 Cup - Berries *Optional*
1 Tbsp - Organic Honey *Optional*

Add the banana, egg, cinnamon, and oats into a blender, blend until combined. Set stove to a low-medium heat. Pour about 1/4 Cup of batter into the heated skillet. Flip pancake over using a spatula once the edges look matte (pancake should be golden brown on the underside) and allow the other side to cook until golden brown. Once cooked plate the pancakes. Top with some honey and garnish with some berries of your choosing.

Nutrition Info without berries or honey added.

Week 8 - Choosing Unhealthy Foods

I wanted to talk about how I have been choosing foods from stores, and by this I mean the foods that aren't exactly super healthy. I also wanted to share a few of my choices because not everyone has super health food stores near them and I know as common as Walmart is in the US that they don't exactly have an extensive isle of organic and healthy foods (outside of the produce isle) like a typical grocery store may have. In some cases you have to go down every isle and pick the best food option, and reading labels can become time consuming (which is why I don't drag anyone with me to the grocery store right now) so you may have to set a little time aside for yourself when grocery shopping. Below you can find a few of my unhealthy healthier food choices, while not having to give up a lot in terms of flavor or your waistline...

Tostitos Crispy Rounds - I picked these chips in the store because they're actually lower in calories than most tortilla chips or even organic varieties of chips that I've came across. They're 140 calories in 13 chips (so about 11 calories a chip), and most chips I have found to be higher in calories with a serving of around 7-9 chips.

Kraft Reduced-Fat Shredded Cheese - When it comes to picking out a cheese you do have your healthier options such as cottage cheese, but sometimes you just need a different variety of cheese to go with what you're making in the kitchen. I found it surprising that Kraft actually seemed to offer the lowest calories for shredded cheeses that I came across which was 45 calories in 1/4 cup. Also note that reduced fat cheeses seem to generally have lower calories than other varieties, and also lower calorie cheeses do not always taste that great (like some of the Kraft cheese singles I did not care for). I also feel like when it comes to dairy products you're usually just getting a more watered-down food option which can make for a blander taste. This cheese isn't going to be good for melting purposes since it lacks oil, but I find it fine for salads or tacos.

1% Milk - Sure there are tons of other dairy-free products on the market like soy, almond, rice, etc. (none that honestly come close to tasting like regular milk in my opinion) but when it comes to those who aren't lactose intolerant... milk seems to be a perfectly fine option to getting some Calcium and Vitamin D. After having done some research on good ole fashion milk it seemed 1% was the popular way to go, and I've noticed a lot of people I have came across in person have left soy milk in their past.

Kombucha

When in doubt on unhealthy foods to pick-out look at the nutrition labels to check the calories, ingredients, or you can even look for information online. If you take time to compare items now, it will become easier to make choices that are more beneficial to your health down the road. The real test is usually just tasting the foods and seeing if it is something you actually like and would purchase again in the future, and you may be surprised on what new items you enjoy eating (for goodness sake I now drink Kombucha, haha).

Week 7 - Start Planning

To start monitoring my calorie, etc intake I have been trying to put together a daily diet plan for a week. I also noticed I haven't had much time to do my workouts so some days I have been having to cut them down to 19 minutes rather than 35 minutes but I'm still trying to get in at least 70 minutes a week, although I think it's better to hit over 30 minutes per workout to burn fat better (according to a semi-pro baseball player friend of mine who has 'buns of steel'). These past 2 weeks my weight really hasn't changed much. I'm still feeling unsure that I will meet my weight-loss goal for this month.

As for other news my step dad just completed his first week on a very strict diet given to him by his doctor, and he lost 11 lb! Since he is diabetic he can't have sugar or carbs so his new diet basically consists of green vegetables and some meat, but it also comes with a few pre-packaged food items. He also has to add 1/4tsp of 'ideal salt' to each meal, drink lots of water, and no cheating. At some point though he will of course hit the weight plateau and he also got sick at the end of his first week (we're talking a temperature of 101°F). My mom will also be going on the same diet this week and it's very common for her to get sick while starting a new diet as well.

Regardless of my parents being sick on strict diets, my diet is more of a lifestyle change as I've mentioned before and I have not gotten sick while having lost around 13 lbs in 7 weeks now. The main thing I feel I need to work on now is increasing my energy level as I have not been feeling very energetic or motivated really. I also wish I could balance my mood to be more level as it always seems so up and down. I'm definitely going to try some more new superfoods and such. Thus far I haven't really noticed any changes from the EarthShift products I bought before which I posted about previously. The places on my body I feel I've lost weight at thus far is my arms (as my pleather jacket fits loser there), my face (according to a co-worker), and my butt/waist (my mom even pulled out her magnifying glass wondering where it was, eep).

Earth Shift Haul and Review

This past week I made my first purchases from Earth Shift online (they are part of Ultimate Superfoods online) which specialize in various health products (they do accept PayPal, which is the only online payment method I trust to be honest). I placed my order Sunday night and received my order Friday, ground shipping was free and I did not get taxed (kind of unusual). ES is a company based in Ventura, CA. The products I ordered were all products from other countries... the salt was from Pakistan, the maca was from Peru, and the raw coconut was from the Philippines. I kind of wish this came with some free samples of other products that they'd think I might be interested in but unfortunately it doesn't.

My Earth Shift purchases and overall cost.

The Raw Organic Himalayan Salt I got is almost similar to sea salt although it's a bit pink in color, it definitely tastes like a salty ocean, it contains trace minerals (which I suppose makes it more beneficial than sea salts, etc), this one is stone ground, and it's not really as crystallized in comparison to sea salts texture. I bought the 'fine ground' variety in this which is still a bigger grain than that of table salt, but not as big of grain when compared to fresh ground sea salt. As far as nutritional value mentioned, it's mostly just a sodium source although I've read online that this salt is suppose to offer some health benefits. This salt can be easy to find in select stores (often referred to as Himalayan pink salt) as I've seen it at kitchen stores at outlet malls or even TJ Maxx, but I'm not sure the exact quality you'll find in these stores and you might not have much in terms of variety to chose from.

Raw Organic Maca Powder is something I have never tried before and I actually found it hard to find in-stores that I frequent (occasionally I do see it at TJ Maxx) but you'll probably have better luck finding it online in pill or powder form like I did. To me it has an earthy mildly bitter and burninsh root type of taste although it has a slightly sweet smell to it I don't find it tastes sweet. I honestly find the powder best mixed with milk products rather than water as this does have a certain creaminess to it (I like it in my breakfast/protein shakes but I could see someone adding it to coffee along with their creamer).

The Raw Organic Coconut Shavings did taste like coconut a bit but it's not super sweet in comparison to sweetened store-bought varieties and this 'extra fine' variety I got doesn't really even add much in terms of flavor so, if you were looking for a coconut product but maybe you don't care for the taste of it than I would definitely give this one a try. I do regret getting this in the 'extra fine' variety because it's basically like a powder which makes it fine for smooth shakes but you don't get the coconut texture with this and topping a drink off with this for decoration probably wouldn't look that appealing if you were to believe coconut was on-top of it. I may attempt to make my own coconut water with this since by chance I came across this recipe for it.

Week 6 - A Dieting Hiatus

I feel like I took a bit of a hiatus this week in terms of dieting as my weight had bounced around, but come Friday my weight had unexpectedly dropped 1.6 lb, which actually helped put me back on track for my weight loss goal this month. I'm still not sure I will meet my goal this month, but it will be surprising to see and hopefully I can get my head back in the game. I did manage to stock back up on my groceries, and eating spinach salads at least once a day definitely seems to help my weight loss goals although it's making me feel a bit "green around the gills" so to speak, and I actually did a little research on the side effects of spinach. I will be posting up some more of my own recipes, although I'm not saying they're the healthiest, but in moderation (and limitation) I'm sure I can still meet my weight-loss goals.

Pretty Chunky Chili

I was originally inspired by Crackers On The Couch 4-bean chili recipe, but I worked with the ingredients I had in my house and this is what I came up with. I think this was actually my first time making my own chili, it came out looking quite pretty (as far as chili's go) and it definitely has a little kick to it. If you decide to eat this the next day (or days to come) I find the thyme and chili oil in this seem to tame down a bit. This recipe has fiber, protein, healthy oils, vegetables, herbs, and spices to help kick start your metabolism, YUM. Looking for a bit of music to cook with? Then click here for my playlist.

1 lb - Lean Ground Beef
1 Can (15.5 oz) - Dark Red Kidney Beans
1 Can (16 oz) - Garbanzos AKA Chick Peas
1 Can (6oz) - Tomato Paste
1 Medium - Tomato, diced
1 Medium - Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp - Sea Salt
1-2 Tbsp - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, certified
1/2 Tbsp (add more for spicier) - Red Chili Hot Oil
1 small sprig - Thyme, fresh

-Season to your liking-

Lawry's Chile & Garlic Seasoning
Cayenne Pepper, ground
Black Pepper, ground
Ginger, ground

Put the kidney beans in a large pot on low heat. Once the kidney beans come to a low boil add in the paste, garbanzos, sea salt, ginger, chili oil, thyme, and tomatoes. Stir occasionally.

Fry up the onions and olive oil on medium-low heat until they start becoming a bit transparent. Add in ground beef with the onions and season to your liking with chile & garlic, pepper, and cayenne. Break apart meat as you cook using a spatula and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Once cooked add in the mixture to the kidney bean pot. Cover pot and allow to simmer on low heat 15-20 minutes (or a bit longer if you choose) stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat, remove lid, and allow to cool 8-10 minutes, stir again before serving.

*You can garnish this with a bit of shredded cheese (like cheddar) on top if you like. Serve this along side some thick scooping chips, crackers, or even corn bread.

This recipe makes around 7 Cups of Chili.

Week 5 - Groceries

As I mentioned previously February was going to be about making healthier changes to my diet so, I went out this week and purchased a few things. Honestly it gets a bit more costly when you start shopping for quality foods rather than for the cheapest prices available. I did end up doing a bunch of research on some of the healthiest foods you can get, although I'm not saying everything I bought was researched and some things I just felt were possibly going to be more beneficial for myself. Most of these products I had never even tried before so hopefully I can post a few product reviews up, and I will continue to find new products to try out.

Groceries from Martins and Target

Healthier SuperBowl Snacks

For those looking for healthier SuperBowl snacks today checkout these tasty and unique recipes.

Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
Vegan Nachos (perfect for Cinco De Mayo)
Quinoa Cornbread (great for Mardi Gra next month)
Chipotle Roasted Chickpeas
Banana, Almond, and Chocolate Ice Cream
Feta Stuffed Mushrooms
4-Bean Vegetable Chili

Week 4 - Things Change

This week was honestly my hardest week thus far which may be because I felt more mentally prepared for the miseries of the first week and it possibly going into the second week, but for some reason this fourth week was a ***** for me. I was losing weight fairly fast overall but steadily as I had tried to set a 2 LB weekly weight-loss goal for myself, which was good but at the same time between the possible lack in calories, workouts (on average I've been working out twice a week this month), winter blues, stress, and school starting again I just went off the hinges. Which reminded me just how important it is to not just take care of the inside of your body but also to take care of the outside of your body, and your mentality. At least once a week I would definitely recommend taking time out for yourself to just chill-out.. be it an hour or two relaxing to nature sounds in a hot lavender scented Epsom salt bath like I did after my 35 minute walk (keep in mind that at least 15 minutes of exercise can help reduce stress and even panic attack type symptoms).

A warm bubble bath with some dried lavender

By now you may be wondering what type of changes I've made from the way my dietary lifestyle was like before this year. The main things that have changed is that I was eating lots of fast food and on average it was probably twice a day of combination meals (meals I'd bring from home never really felt that filling enough) with greasy salty french fries, and drinking mostly diet soda. Exercise also didn't have much part in my life and I rather loathed it (and still do at times). I even did Zumba for about the last 4 months out of the last two years now, but it was only once a week and a session of that lasts 50 minutes with brief pauses between dance songs. Don't get me wrong, Zumba is a good workout but only once a week wasn't giving anyone in the class real weight-loss results on its own. Based on that experience I honestly feel that if you took that class, chopped the time almost in half, and then did that for 2-3 times a week along with eating better, that you would definitely start seeing more results physically and in weight-loss.

The most weight I had ever lost in the past was almost 15 LB in 6 weeks, and that was several years back. It consisted of a grilled chicken salad, a lean cuisine, and only drinking water (and I think I was also using an elliptical on occasion). The problem with this diet was obviously it was a mundane repetitive daily diet which was getting tiresome, my body wasn't getting the variety of nutrients it really needed, and I basically wasn't eating enough calories for what I had weighed (it takes calories to lose calories.. as odd as that may sound at first). Anytime I'd eat something outside of that diet regime that new food item tasted like heaven on earth to me, which ultimately made me stray off that diet permanently. This is why I feel it's important to mix up the foods you eat, because not everyday has to consist of salads or eating super healthy. My diet now is a lifestyle change and to me that's about making smarter healthier choices for the most part, and not over indulging and over-eating on a daily basis.

Is Your Olive Oil Real?

I recently read a few articles online about olive oil and how more than half of the olive oil sold in the US isn't even real olive oil, and it's the real stuff that has all the healthy benefits. There were also articles showing how to tell if your olive oil is real or not, but the fridge method isn't actually legit. A few brands that are suppose to be the real deal... California Olive Ranch, Cobram Estate, Lucini Italia, Kirkland Organic (be sure you get the Organic and not the Signature in this, and some are put off by its clear container and stating that it barely passed the FDA), Lurcero (Ascolano), Corto Olive, Trader Joe's California Estate, and McEvoy Ranch Organic. As for brands that failed the olive oil test... Pompeian, Filippo Berio, Bertolli (the light version was what I had been buying), Star, Carapelli, Mazzola, Mezzetta, Safeway, Whole Foods, Colavita, Newman's Own Organic, and Rachel Ray.

Shopping for Olive Oil at Martins

$6 on sale at Martins

I have also read that real olive oil does not come in clear containers, but rather in green containers (or perhaps just non-clear varieties), and Extra Virgin is apparently better/more-beneficial than plain Virgin varieties. Generally the cheapest olive oil on the shelf is not the best choice as olive oil is actually pricey to make. The bottle should have a harvest date and the oil should be consumed within 2 years of harvest so, don't trust "bottled" or "best by" dates, and olive oil quality does deteriorate over time. California olive oils actually have tested better quality than those overseas so look on the bottle from where the oil actually came from. Real olive oil also has layers of flavor (nothing neutral or greasy), and may be bitter or peppery at the back of the throat. Also be sure to check the COOC for updates on certified olive oils as these can change overtime (and the COOC list gets updated weekly).

Week 3 - Daily Meal Ideas

Starting off my third week of dieting I was only 0.1 LB away from meeting my 2 LB goal for the week (as I'm trying to lose at least 8 LB total in 4 weeks). Three days into my 3rd week and I was down 7.7 LB so I had practically met my 1 month goal about a week early, and it met my first small personal goal on my weight-loss journey which was pretty exciting. By now you're probably wondering what type of meals and such I've been eating and a lot of these things can be made healthier which I'm going to try to work on for next month.

Often the days I work consist of meals like...

1-2 Nature Valley granola bars (these are nice to have on hand on my hour commute)
1 Can of Beef vegetable soup (with 1/4 can of water added in and some herbs).
Around 4 Cups of baby spinach salad mix with a few tablespoons of blue cheese dressing (I generally add a bit of shredded cheese, some tomato, baby carrots, etc).
1-2 Slices of bread/toast.
A cookie or piece of chocolate on occasion with a small glass of milk.
I try to drink mostly water or tea, but a few times a week I may have a glass of diet coke.

Not everyday is a super healthy day as I do have meals like...

Carnation breakfast shake (with added fruit and such).
A slice of pizza
A cheese and chicken quesadilla with salsa (and sometimes fried beans).
A tall glass of diet coke.
A few cookies and some milk.

Everyday I have an unhealthy day I try to make up for a bit by doing my 35 minute walk. By the way I do have a music playlist I like to workout to available on YouTube, it consists of mostly hip hop and Latin type music with a few other genre's thrown in (you can create your own playlist though). I know one day last week I didn't have time to pack my lunch for work so I got some late night fast food at Taco Bell...

3 supreme crunchy taco's.
A side order of cheesy nachos.
A bottle of caffeine free diet coke.
2 Nature Valley granola bars.

So while my dieting definitely needs some tweaking to make it healthier and I do have my not-so healthy days I think in some ways it's good to curb your cravings at times and keep your body guessing what the next day will bring, I think this can help with some weight plateau's as well. If you still struggle to lose weight and such I'd recommend trying out a website like LiveStrong (there's also a phone app available) it can allow you to track your calories, exercise, and weight better. Also, feel free to send me a comment or two if there's anything you'd like to know about my weight loss. Life may get busy for me after next week since I'll be starting my spring semester at college again so, my posts may start to slow down a bit on here.

Energy Bar - Recipes

As luck would have it I was in search of some granola bar recipes and came across a few in the latest redbook magazine. These claim you can make them in up to 10 minutes.

Date-almond energy bars: In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cups unsalted almonds until finely chopped. Add 2 cups pitted dates, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp salt; process until combined. Form into 12 bars and refrigerate.
Baklava bars: Sub walnuts or pistachios for the almonds in the recipe above, and swap half the dates for dried figs. Add 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.
Pina colada bars: Swap half the almonds for macadamia nuts and half the dates for dried pineapple. Add 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut.

Week 2 - Scales do Lie

At the start of my second week I found it odd to wake-up, weigh the same as I had for a week straight, go eat, do my 35 minute walk, weigh-in again, and then BAM... drop 2.4 LB. This is why it's important to keep pushing forward on your healthy lifestyle no matter how frustrated you may start feeling at weigh-in's ("hard work pays off"). As for other news in my weight loss journey I think my new Weight Watchers scale may be imperfect at times (so that probably explains my odd weigh-in miracle). At one point during the second week I had almost lost a total of 6 LB, but then I only exercised twice (in total I burned 513 calories walking 3.46 miles), and cheated on 3 different days. Regardless, I still lost weight over the entire week and I mostly aim to lose 1-2 LB a week (preferably 2 at this early stage of losing weight).

Week two has definitely had its 'blah' moments and dieting can have its negative side effects which can be different for everyone and sometimes consist of multiple symptoms. To name a few negative side effects... migraines, irritability, moody, gassy, hunger pains, stool changes, cravings, dizziness, and even illness. However, these things should hopefully start to pass overtime and in some cases you may want to get medical attention. It's hard to diet when you aren't feeling that great but try to stay focused on your nutritional goals and don't dive back into eating tons of fattening comfort foods (I did over indulge at movies with buttery popcorn and nachos.. and again while eating Chinese.. and once more when I didn't have time to pack my dinner for work thus eating fast food this week). Your body is probably just detoxing itself from being malnourished for so long, and now adjusting to eating healthier and getting the nutrients it needs.

If you've been eating less food than normal than you may want to try to eat around every 3-4 hours, this can help keep your body from feeling like it's 'starving', and also help give you continuous energy throughout the day. The stomach is capable of stretching to eat mass amounts of food, by eating smaller portions your stomach starts to retract and in some negative ways it can basically eat itself (or so I've heard). So when you start cutting your proportions your stomach starts to adjust, and then you may start to feel fuller a lot sooner than you would back when you were eating mass amounts of food (although the stomach is capable of expanding back again). Eating every couple hours is also good for those like myself who suffer from acid-reflux (or even diabetes) as from my experience it helps keep the acid occupied basically as it gives it something to breakdown instead of the acid irritating you at the surface, and it helps keep sugar levels from plummeting.

People that have undergone weight-loss surgery to get their stomachs shrank down to size can still find ways to cheat and not lose weight. In my opinion weight-loss surgery should always be the very last resort anyone should take. I know it may seem like a dream come true to some but realize you will generally be taking lots of vitamin supplements, only being able to eat around a cup of food at a time, possibly get sick a lot, and your bowel movements will probably get pretty disgusting. Also, you're generally losing weight so rapidly that you end up with a lot of extra skin overtime, which means you'll possibly want to go through more surgeries down the road to get it removed. All that excess skin in some cases can cause bacterial growth, fungus, etc to form if you aren't cleaning properly. Take that advice from someone who has gone to enough NAAFA related meetings to know.

Snake Oil?

My family recently posted about this chart and I found it kind of interesting and decided to share it. Do you agree or disagree with the items that do or don't really work on this chart?

I can definitely say that 2000IU of Vitamin D3 made a difference when I found I was low at my doctors (periods don't lie, heh). I feel Iron pills also help a bit if you perhaps have anxiety and/or facial twitches. Vitamin C is questionable to me, I like it on my skin but I have an allergic reaction in my throat from consuming sour citrus fruits or C tablets which can in turn make me sick. My mom and I both feel that Aloe Vera doesn't do much for us and we grew up with an extremely large aloe vera plant in our backyard, although I don't find I've consumed much of the stuff. Royal Jelly tastes disgusting and I'm glad it made the bottom of this list to be honest. I had wondered about the power of Noni awhile back, but when I asked a knowledgeable lady at a vitamin store about it she basically told me it didn't really do anything (guess she was right!). I don't really buy into the Green Tea bandwagon personally, I feel like there are so many different variables to the quality of green tea you buy and then how you prepare it, and I don't care for the taste personally. Coconut Oil is something I've been trying every now and then, and even recently on my hair. I do like cooking with it but I do question if its really better than some other types of cooking oils, and sometimes coconut products tend to breakout my skin. I didn't notice any changes in terms of hair growth from Biotin, Zinc or Folic Acid pills which was why I gave them a go. Some people swear by Vitamin B12 and I never really noticed any changes from taking it, maybe a tiny bit more energy but not enough for me to continue taking them (one of my friends who worked at a pharmacy says they give her heavier periods). Honey, Cinnamon, and Ginger are typical things I add to my breakfast shakes when I make them and I think the ginger is the most effective of the 3, but you should only consume small amounts of ginger as too much is said to not be good for you. As for honey and cinnamon be sure you get the raw organic variety of honey so that its not stripped of nutrients as with regular honey, and with cinnamon be sure its not mixed with sugar or other additives. Lavender is a scent I do enjoy relaxing to in the tub, but I find it's usually the artificial lavender scent I like better than the real lavender scent, and to eat lavender well... it tastes like soap to me.

Week 1 - Beginning Tips and Advice

The first week of any new diet or lifestyle change can often be the hardest, but knowing this helps motivate me to keep pushing forward. The first day of the new year marked me finally trying to stick to the ever famous resolution of "losing weight". Mind you I had to spend a week or two prior to New Years just preparing myself mentally and gutting out all the junk food around the house for the possible struggles that would be ahead of me with this resolution. As it generally turns out my fellow housemates who were the ones who initially wanted to do this resolution ended up stocking up on more junk and not attempting to lose weight with me. I suppose that means I'm just going to be stocking up on plenty of salad and putting away any snacks lingering in front of me on the counter tops ("outta sight outta mind", right?).

I've been trying to eat salads almost everyday.

My first day of dieting basically consisted of Progresso beef vegetable soup with some added canned green beans and thyme, drinking water, eating salad with some blue cheese dressing, a slice of toast, and some Nature Valley granola bars as a snack. It allowed me to lose 2.2LB by the next day and after a week of dieting my weight didn't budge from there, which is fine it just means I'll be more tone later. You'll probably want to aim to lose 1-2LB a week, anymore and you may risk starving your body to an extreme and/or losing too much water weight, losing more than just fat, and often I find your biggest weight loss usually happens within the first week or two of dieting so, don't get discouraged if you don't lose as much weight or any in the week/s to follow (your body is adjusting to change so just remain calm and keep working toward your goal). Keep in mind that soups may be low in calories but can be full of sodium; fresh vegetables are always going to be more nutritious than canned, frozen, dried, etc; creamy dressings aren't going to be as healthy as vinaigrette's generally; granola bars can often be full of sugar. That being said there are almost always ways to try and improve your diet, but take baby steps to reach your goals. Don't overwhelm yourself with too drastic of changes and a ton of things you don't even like to eat (find healthy foods that you actually enjoy), or you're probably going to feel pretty miserable, irritable, and deprived really quick.

There will be days where you're probably going to want some of that chocolate candy on your kitchen counter, or a nice burger and some fries. This is where you have to be mindful of what you're consuming, don't overdue it, ask yourself if it's worth your weight-loss success, and watch your proportions if you do cheat a little. Maybe just eat 1 piece of that chocolate candy and then walk away, maybe opt for a nice healthy veggie burger and eat only a few french fries. Don't make your new healthy lifestyle a miserable experience for yourself, and keep in mind how great you're going to feel and possibly look down the road. If you do fall off the healthy bandwagon (and you possibly will here and there) then just pick yourself up, dust your booty off, and get back on-board.

Sport Train setting done at 3.2 MPH

When it comes to exercise I'd rather not tell myself that I have to workout everyday; or even several times a week; or that I have to do a ton of different and complex exercises to achieve weight-loss success, especially when working out was not a real ritual for me before. For myself just accomplishing 35 minutes at least once a week was a start, but often when you're cutting back on food and working out you can often start feeling extremely hungry or feel like you deserve that glazed doughnut (ditch that doughnut mindset!). A healthy diet is about 80% of losing weight, while exercise is about 20% (or so I've read), and honestly it's the eating that helps me lose weight the most while the exercising helps gain muscle to burn more calories down the road, feel more physically fit, and get toned up. This first week I actually managed to do my 35 minute walk 3 times, which added up to me burning 777 calories and walking a total of 5.9 miles, and lets not forget that muscle weighs more than fat so don't fret about the scale too much.

You will probably have aches and pains with exercise so be sure to stretch (you don't want to hurt yourself or feel really sore and stiff), go easy on yourself, and know that some muscle pain is normal especially when you haven't been working out. Pain generally starts to become a bit less overtime if you workout regularly, although harder or new exercises may cause new pains, but some pain is good pain ("no pain no gain"). If you question if you're getting all the nutrition you need seek medical advice, and try taking some multivitamins or possibly get a blood test (it helps identify the vitamins your body may require, which changes all the time). Be sure to drink plenty of water (it helps hydrate you and flush your body out) and try to get a full 8 hours of beauty sleep (which is often hard on new diets from my experience).

Don't be discouraged if no one around you is on your healthy lifestyle bandwagon, this is your life, your dream, and only you can make it happen.