5 Reasons you can't lose weight

5 Reasons You Can't Lose Weight (from MSN)

Even if you skip breakfast, drink too many calories, or just don't have time to plan, you can still fix your weight-loss problems.

You haven't had a bite of pizza or a lick of ice cream in, like, forever, but you still can't lose a pound. What's up with that? Here's the real what, plus some expert fixes.

1. Consciously or not, you're clueless

"Very few Americans tell the truth about what they eat," says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. In one USDA study, more than 80 percent of women underestimated their daily food intake by a whopping 700 calories! Part of the problem is visual: Most people don't have a clue about what a true portion looks like, Somer says.

The fix

Find your measuring cups and spoons. And if you don't have one, buy an inexpensive kitchen scale.
Measure out the recommended portions of everything you eat for a week. You'll quickly learn to accurately identify a 1/2-cup serving of pasta, a 2-ounce muffin, a teaspoon of butter, a cup of cereal, or a 4-ounce portion of chicken.

2. You skip breakfast

Successful dieters share a common habit: They eat breakfast, say University of Colorado researchers who monitor people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a year or more. The benefits are big. As well as preventing 10 a.m. attacks on the vending machine, eating breakfast boosts your mood, memory, and work performance.

The fix

Adopt the gold standard: Top 1 cup of whole-grain cereal with berries and fat-free or low-fat milk. Add OJ and coffee and you'll be good to go for hours.
Try the make-ahead version: The night before, put these into a preheated wide-mouth thermos: 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal, a few chopped dried apricots, a pinch of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, a drop of almond extract, and 1 cup of hot fat-free or low-fat milk. Close tightly. In the morning, just open the thermos, sprinkle with slivered almonds, and spoon out a warm, delicious, ready-to-eat breakfast!

3. You eat without thinking

Do you nibble off the plates of others? Constantly taste while cooking? Feed small fry in "one for you, one for me" bites? Each mindless nibble averages 25 calories, and with only four mindless bites a day, you gain a pound a month!

The fix

Turn mindless eating into mindful eating, says Somer, by keeping a food journal and writing down every single thing you eat. You'll be amazed.
Eat food only when served on a plate to avoid overindulging.
Eat sitting at a table, not watching TV, driving, or flipping through magazines. And don't rush meals—enjoy each bite.

4. You drink more calories than you realize

Sugary sodas, teas, and juice drinks don't fill you up, yet they pack on pounds. So do happy hours. For example, a bottle of sweetened green tea has 140 calories, the equivalent of a chocolate chip cookie. And a large margarita can have up to 800 calories—more than four cake doughnuts!

The fix

-Can't give up regular soda? Make it an occasional treat.
-Nix supersized cocktails and drinks made with high-calorie mixes or cream.
-At parties, alternate a glass of wine with a glass of sparkling water.
-Make your own iced green tea, and sweeten lightly (1 teaspoon of sugar has only 16 calories). The plus: Home-brewed tea usually has more healthy antioxidants, which often get lost in commercial processing.
-Cut juice calories by mixing 1/3 cup of OJ, apricot nectar, or your favorite juice with 2/3 cup sparkling water.

5. It's not you, it's your life
You swear you want to eat well, but in the next breath lament how hard it is to find the time, money, or mental energy to make it happen.

The fix

Try tough love: Stop blaming others, the weather, your job, your life, the dog, etc. Focus on reaching your goal. "People lose weight every day, often despite overwhelming odds," Somer says.
List your excuses, and then brainstorm solutions. Lack of time? Cook large quantities and divide into single portions to eat throughout the week. Keep meals simple, and buy prepared foods, including sliced veggies and fruit.

In Health!
Demi

So no one is perfect...

I can prove that (::snicker::)..I had my usual for breakfast this morning-Shakeology-but instead of the "usual" morningstar veggie sausages to accompany it, I chose to scarf down 3 sugar cookies left over from my daughter's Friday field day! Great pairing, eh? ::shakes head down in disbelief::

My point is-Is that I'm not really that upset about it. I know alot of people will mess up sometimes, whether its your diet, skipping workouts, or other daily living things..and when this happens, they just say "Screw it! I'm having 10 more cookies, and some ice cream too. And then tomorrow, I'm going to do it again. And you know what, working out is a chore. I'm not doing that anymore either!" I call it, 'The All or Nothing' approach. I penned that, because that USED to be me, dead on. If I messed up even once, I would stop working out for months, and pay no attention to my diet, even stop taking my multivitamins. The point of this, is that we need to give ourselves some grace, cut ourselves some slack, and know that we can pick up right where we left off. Self doubt is an evil little sucker, and it can zap your joy faster than anything. We have to be realistic, I know that those cookies I ate will probably give a good ol' fashioned sugar crash later, but I'm still going to workout today. I'm still going to watch what I eat today. And tomorrow, and the following day, and so on. And heck, there will probably be morning cookie day again, and maybe some pizza and icecream thrown in there. Point is: we all screw up, we all fall down, BUT we.keep.moving!

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone! Enjoy the sun (if it's shining in your town!) and enjoy your friends and family. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others! :)

In Him and Health-Demi

Festival of Lights, combined with Cheating

Ah yes, you read right..a wonderful spirit filled evening with my family..and I cheated. With 2 HOTDOGS. Granted, they were organic, turkey on wheat, but STILL. Doubles again tomorrow!

Here are some great photos from the night. We went to the Festival of Lights where they have TONS of lights EVERYWHERE, and a bunch of fire pits where you can roast marsh mellows. These pics seriously crack me up. Alana, the glorious one that she is, with her lips all bugged out so attractive and lady like, LOST HER FIRST TOOTH TODAY!! And that's what she is trying so hard to show you in that pic. She's pretty awesome.

Isabel was just in awe of all the lights. It was pretty amazing I must say. James Island county park does it bigger and bigger every year, and the traffic jam gets a bit longer. We were fancy though and thought instead of being like everyone else and just bring marshmallows, we'd bring hot dogs. That's right Mt. P yuppies, I brought hotdogs. And all your kids were j-e-a-l-o-u-s. Isabel even had a couple bites and loved it! She did so good, didn't cry once, and enjoyed every minute of it all.

My parents of course joined along and they had a great time. I swear though, Alana is still attached at the hip of my father just like when she was a baby. So cute.

Have a wonderful night..off to bed..so tired, and I go to bed with a sense of complete fulfillment. There are just some days when you sit down..look around, and think that things are exactly the way they should be. And they are.