You know what my new little secret is for losing weight? It's to measure your waist on a regular basis, but either with a cloth tape measure
, or measuring tape...whichever term you like the best! lol!
,Or make a cloth tape measure, yourself (which is what I did), with a piece of ribbon.
I like the ribbon the best, because you're not looking at any numbers, since it's that whole business of looking at the numbers, when you are trying to get to a smaller size, or lose a certain amount of weight... that's too hard on your soul, for God's Sake - don't do that to yourself, or let your mate get on you about that, if that is happening in your own house... forget it, that's their problem, don't let it be yours, too... we all love you just the way you are, and when you're ready to make the changes you want to make, you'll do it. that's always how that works. Numbers on a scale, or numbers on a measuring tape, can sometimes just cause you to get upset, can really do a number, so-to-speak, on your hole day, right? lol!
So, don't let numbers rule your life! Relax, do what you know is the right thing for your body, be gentle with yourself in thought and how you treat your whole self... really, it's a 'Whole self' matter, ain't it?? lol!
The goal for your waist is to be under 35", if you are a woman (maybe 36" for a man?? Who knows... sorry, men!! lol!). My goal waist is 28", and now I'm down to 29", so I'm really happy with that...
(Well, I have changed my 'goal waist', after measuring my 15 year old son's waist for this modelling thing... anyway, he's a 27" waist, sooo, how me get back down to that?? that seems a'cwazy, now... I'd be happy with anywhere under 35", now... that seems more reasonable, right?)
I am NOT a fan of weighing in, every day. To me, that seems like a very bad idea, and that doesn't make anyone feel any better, for the most part... I think it is far too easy to get caught up in how many pounds you have lost (or, dammit, you haven't lost... lol!), and that number can easily influence your whole day, and who needs that, right? But, the little ribbon makes you feel okay! No problemo! It's nice to you, and doesn't say anything but 'keep trying', or 'wow, look at you, you hot thing, you!!" hahaha! (Clearly, I really like the 'Ribbon Method'... think it might really catch on with the Catholics! hahaha! yuff yuff!) (I'm just amusing myself, now! lol!)
So it's very, very easy to make your own wee piece of ribbon. As you can see in the very professional pictures, you take a piece of ribbon and a tape measure. Measure out however many inches you might like, and mark down the inches with a dot of permanent marker for each inch, all the way to your goal 'inch'. I am, frankly, thrilled with any number hovering around 30"! I am ecstatic when I hit 29" (it fluctuates, of course), and I can't imagine the sheer number of drinks and/or treats I'll have if I ever get down to a 28" waist!! WooHoo! I call that 'a pipe dream'! haha!
Measure yourself in the morning, or whenever you're feeling at your very slimmest(!), and just keep a mental note. I never write anything down. You'll remember. And when you have a morning when you've gone down an inch, you will feel sooo proud of yourself, it'll make it all the more fun to go down another inch, and another inch... it's all very exciting. It's like a gentle way to lose weight!
Here's what I've been doing, lately, that's really been helping me drop the pounds, and the inches... I am absolutely addicted to the most delicious granola in the world... it's a Chocolate Granola
. Well, I found the Archer Farms Granola link for you, but it's the Chocolate Granola I am addicted to... I have it with a sliced banana every day (oooh, sooo deeelicious) (sometimes, accidentally, twice a day). Oatmeal and fruit is the way to go when you are trying to lose some weight, inches or pounds... I still have my Apple Crumble for One, since I will always love that, but, man, this is definitely my new favourite. Usually I get this Archer Farms Chocolate Granola at Target, and I buy 3 boxes at a time... and I am constantly back at the store to get more bananas, because I only like them when the bananas are nice and firm (and then I make Banana Bread from any bananas that have escaped me for more than a couple of days! lol!) I'll post my favourite recipe for Banana Bread, too, since it's a real crowd please, and is a no-fail recipe, which I love!
We swim a lot, of course (we're in sunny California, and there are 3 lovely pools where we live), and I jog in the pool. have some exercise equipment in the livingroom, right beside my favourite chair, so I'll pop on that whenever I happen to walk by, even if it's only for a few minutes at a time... every minute of movement helps, so don't wait 'til you have an hour and a half to go to the gym... who has that kind of time?? (I used to, but I'd rather go swimming, now! lol!) I have a 12 pound weight I keep under my bed, and whenever I feel like it, I'll pick it up with two hands and do some light squats, and some 'side to sides -- hold the weight in both hands, at chest height, and literally, go side to side with the weight... ). I don't have time for a set schedule for exercising, anymore, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only woman too busy to carve out a huge amount of time to be away from the kids, and everything else, to get that much exercise in (although, it's fantastic if you do!!), and eventually I'll get back to the gym on that level, again, but in the meantime, these few changes in my eating habits and 'tiny' exercises are really working... give it a try, see what you think!
I'll get Cara, my lovely daughter, to take some pictures of me measuring my waist, mostly for a laugh, but you'll see exactly waht to do... should I wear my pink bikini, or me yellow one?? haha! What's that you say, one of each?? haha!
The Scottish Diet. Or, as I like to call it, my Apple Crumble Diet....Maybe I'll call it The Oatmeal Diet, since it helps you to lose weight AND lower your Cholesterol... I designed this Apple Crumble Diet after my second child, Aidan, was already 2, and I still had all that baby fat, and much, much more, so I desperately needed to lose at least 30 pounds.... ugh! Stooopid fat! This Diet works, and it cheap and easy (like me! lol!), and I ended up losing 35 pounds in about 6 months, and have kept the weight off of 9 years, now, so I'm living proof that it works! :) http://buildyourownhousebodylife.blogspot.com/2010/10/scottish-diet-it-really-works.html
You know, I didn't used to be such a fan of 'the granola', becasue after I did my training all about Diabetes
, and discovered how much sugar (carbohydrates are sugar, so always look for that on the labels of your food) was in granola, I stopped eating it, entirely. I switched to low-sugar cereals, which I still like like Special K, Chex, anything with a crunch that I could have with my favourite fruit toppings... blueberries, strawberries, bananas...), but here's the thing about the granola I loove so much, now... it stays with you all day. I'm never hungry. I drove right past the KFC!! Yahoo!! (I feel you are proud of me, too! lol!) (Oh, and for the record, it's OKAY to have a piece fo KFC every so often... there are no forbidden foods on this 'diet', because as soo as you 'forbid' anyone to do anything, what is the very first thing they want to do?? That's right, whatever is forbidden! The proverbial Forbidden Fruit, as it were... lol! So don't do that to yourself, just eat in moderation... move whenever you can... and try that Chocolate Granola with a sliced banana, you'll go ape for it! (I sorry, but can you believe I lasted that long without making ONE banana joke?? And I've got lots of them, too, many of them slightly inappropriate... see how I'm learning to be moderate, too?? hahaha!)lol! Okay, I'll get those new pics for you asap!! xox!
This prolly isn't gonna be all that helpful for a slimmer waist, but it will make you very happy - lol! Maybe that's more important, sometimes?? A nice wee treat, in the middle of the day? Yum! #GoodIdea!
Oh, and here's a little recipe I was thinking about while I was watching #BigBrotherAfterDark last night - lol! Now I'm trying to figure out how I could make this so it would be like Churros, for my son, who really, really misses all the delicious Churros we used to get in California - no good Mexican restaurants, up here in the North - booo! Come on up, El Pollo Loco or Chipotle, or both!! We would looove some delicious Mexican Food up here in Canada! : ) (Pweeease!!)
#BBHaveNots - So, it looks like the BB Have Nots have a lot more options than they used to have, right? And you know how the HaveNots have Hawaiian Buns, this week? I wonder if they could slice them, thick slices, fry them in a pan of a little oil, then toss in cinnamon sugar?
Man, that sounds deeelish, right? Now me wants to try that!
(Cinnamon Sugar, in case you haven't made it, yet, is just a nice mix of , say, a couple of tablespoons of cinnamon, and maybe about a half cup of sugar - you can add more cinnamon, to taste... is a good sprinkle for all sorts of wee things! lol!)
Okay, here's some other stuff me haz been a'thinkin' about, this week - lol! Ailsa : )
And here's where you can get some REAL Hawaiian Buns! lol! By the time you're done laying out on the beach in Hawaii, you'll have some Hawaiian Buns of yer own - bah'hahahaha!
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