Dieting and What I'm Eating/Drinking this Week

I don't like to think of myself being on a "diet", but I feel like I have been on a "diet" for the last 10 years or so. Oh the whoa's of womanhood... I have joined weight watchers at least three separate times (it always works), I have run two half-marathons, and one full marathon (lost only 1 f-ing pound), I completed maybe 15 out of 90 days of P90X, and I have tried like every other diet you can think of (South Beach, Atkins, blah blah blah). In college my roommates and I even tried a juice fast! (I do not recommend it, but more on the Master Cleanse below). Am I making it clear what a sucker I am for new products or diet ideas??

Ok, but I'm a smart girl and I am a HUGE fan of the Biggest Loser, so I know that the only real way to lose weight is to move more, eat less. It's weight loss 101 - obviously easier said than done. My best weight loss success was a summer in college when I did weight watchers and didn't exercise at all. For some reason, I seem to do better if I don't exercise a ton, cuz exercising seems to really increase my appetite. So I am trying this again, counting WW points (not actually going to meetings or anything) and not feeling guilty about not exercising. I am still active, love going to yoga and hot yoga, golfing, tennis, any chance I can get to play volleyball, but I don't go to the gym and I don't make myself go running anymore.

For those of you who haven't noticed the "Tweet Tweet" to the right - I recently joined Twitter! I know, me and everyone else on the planet right? I mostly like following the celebrities and by following Giuliana Rancic I was led to her website which led me to her Meal Plan. This woman is tiny, but she is dedicated and has definitely earned it. Which I appreciate cuz I feel like I have to eat sooo healthy just to not gain weight and the people who eat like crap and are still tiny make me furious. I have taken a few of her recommendations and this leads me to....

What I'm Eating/Drinking This Week!!!

The first new habit I have adopted is drinking 16 oz of water with the juice from half a lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. G drinks this early in the morning to get her metabolism going, but I just try to drink it as early in the day as I can. It tastes pretty good, and hey why not? This may sound familiar to the Beyonce version of the Master Cleanse. I did some research on this and the Master Cleanse includes the above recipe plus maple syrup and you drink like 16 glasses a day or something crazy. Based on the book I looked at, it is recommended that you do the Master Cleanse for 10 days to see results. I love food, so I'm gonna pass on trying this one (did I mention that the college juice cleanse was a disaster? Have I ever mentioned that my college roommates once had a bake-off and went to Skyline Chili afterwards?)

The second recommendation is drinking a kombucha everyday. What is this you may ask?

"Kombucha is alternately known as a Chinese tea, a plant, or a mushroom. But it's not really any of these. It's a living culture of beneficial microorganisms, and in Kombucha's case, the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts! Kombucha is delicately cultured - some liken it to fermentation - for 30 days. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality."

This is a much pricier habit than lemons and cayenne, but I have been drinking it this week and I feel great! It is a little strange tasting, and smells like vinegar, but so far so good!

The third recommendation has been the largest change. G claims that coffee makes your body hold on to fat. Well, I'm not really convinced that true, but I do think I was getting a little addicted to my morning cup and I was using way too much non-dairy creamer which I'm sure isn't a good thing. So I have stopped drinking coffee and switched to tea. Mostly green and oolong, sometimes black. I have also tried to stop using splenda or eating any artificial sweetener (read: no more diet pop) I bought that new truvia sweetener made from the stevia plant, and its not nearly as sweet, but I'm sure its better for me overall. This is not to say I have completely given up coffee or pop, I'm just trying not to have them on a daily basis anymore.

So that's what I'm drinking this week. I have been loving eating oranges and grapes this week. The pickled grapes I mentioned in the last post were not really worth making, but the flank steak recipe I provided a link to is AWESOME and totally recommend it - thanks to Ruby!