Things I Love Thursdays...

These new Nabisco 100 Calorie Oreo Candy Bites are awesome!!!
They taste just like the real thing (actually I think they're better), and it's just 100 calories per pack. And you get a nice handful in each pack. Perfect for those sweet cravings, yet completely figure friendly. They have been tested in my house by myself, my daughter and my husband. Everyone loves them (hubby says they're better than regular Oreos too)!
I can't wait to try the 'Chips Ahoy' ones next week.

No Soda - An Update

So, I'd thought I'd give an update on my "no soda drinking" excursion to my faithful readers (Bryan, D and Mom, that's you!).
Since December 20th the only regular soda that I've had was one small glass of Sprite at a friend's graduation party a few weekends back. Besides that it's been tea sweetened with artificial sweetener, diet coke (and only a few of these) and water.
I'm very happy that I've actually started to nip this habit in the bud. It's something that I've really struggled with since my early teen years. I'm a soda-holic!!
I've definitely noticed a major difference in my stomach size since I quit drinking regular sodas and limited consumption of diet sodas. All the carbonation was making me, well, bloated. And that is just no fun!

I'll update again, probably next month, and let you know how the trek is going.
Peace!

So I'm Finally Doing It!!

I'm actually breaking my soda addiction. Tomorrow marks two weeks with NO sodas!! Well, except for one sip I took of Bryan's when I was choking. I have struggled with this "addiction" for a VERY long time now. And when I drink any sort of beverage I don't sip, I gulp. I'm a VERY thirsty person!! So I always order large drinks if they're available. And I could easily go through 2-3 cans/glasses of soda during a meal. VERY bad, I know. But I decided to kick this nasty habit! I don't want to be ensnared by it for the rest of my life. And I don't want Audrey to pick this up from me as she gets older either. One of my focuses this year (not resolution!) is to make small changes in my eating habits. I don't want to get into the habit of denying myself of having certain foods or drinks (Lord knows, if I deny myself I ended up giving in later with a vengeance), but I want to be healthier. For myself and my family. I know that one of the MAJOR side effects of changing my eating habits is weight loss (YAY!) which is good for me and my husband and even my daughter (in certain ways), but I want to be able to encourage my daughter (and any future children) to have a healthy lifestyle as they get older. I don't want them to have the same "issues" with food that I have. I want them to love food and enjoy it, but not obsess about it. I don't want them to have to struggle with their weight for years on end like I have. I want to instill in my daughter a healthy self esteem and I think, no, I KNOW, that starts with mommy having one. The old "Practice What You Preach" thing. I know that my insecurities are going to eventually rub off on her and I don't want that to happen.
So here's to healthier living in 2008!!!

If You Want A Few Reasons To Stop Drinking Sodas....

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant.

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
• 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
• 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
• >60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
• >60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
• >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you’re a smoker.) But, hey, have another Coke, it’ll make you feel better.

from healthbolt.net