Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…………..

Seriously – it’s quite aggravating and I mentally understand it but cannot emotionally detach myself.  I just love Coke.  Original Coke, no diet, no zero, no caffeine free.  Good, old fashioned, original Coke – okay, minus the actual cocaine, but with 100% calories, sugar and caffeine. 

This is not helping my diet efforts.  However, since I don’t really eat a LOT of junk, I allow myself this indiscretion.  Yesterday, twice.  I’ve begun keeping a food diary so I can review my intake and compare it with what I should be eating.  YES, I understand that this is pretty much a trial run and that I don’t eat enough of the good stuff and too much of the bad stuff. 

For instance:  yesterday’s total intake was this – 6 fig newtons, 1 blueberry Activia yogurt, 2 – 20oz bottles of water, tuna salad in a spinach wrap, 20 oz Coke, 1 small biscuit, 2/3 of a chicken breast, 1& 1/2 cups of spaghetti with alfredo sauce, 20 oz Coke, and another 12 oz of water. 

While this combination of food was yummy to my tummy, it was not nutritionally balanced.  While I may have consumed enough protein, there is a severe lack of fruits and vegetables….. 

TIP – it can be especially helpful to keep a food diary and track your food intake.  It allows for a comparison to nutritional guidelines and lets you know just how bad your diet may be for your efforts to lose, and can enable you to make adjustments where necessary to maximize your intake.

It’s almost Thanksgiving folks, and I’m flat lined right now.  I’m not mad, and I’m certainly going to eat me some turkey and all the fixin’s with the Pash clan, but I will definitely be hitting the gymand getting some great day-after exercise.  Enjoy yourselves, try not to over-indulge, and if your family’s making you crazy, leave.  Hard enough to do, but honestly, it’s possible.  Traditionally, I check out a movie or something.

Ciao!! 

Water is good for you in many different ways and is essential to good health and great when you’re dieting.  Why?

Water gives you a false sense of fullness.  Experts say that a majority of the time that you think you’re hungry, it’s really just your thirst mechanism.

Water cleans out your system of elements it doesn’t need and gives your cells the water they DO need to function at their highest level, metabolically.  The reason you feel hungover after a night of drinking is because your cells don’t have enough water because your body’s process to break down the alcohol (carbs) you drank used it all.  It’s called your Krebs Cycle, bitches.  Know it and love it.  Feed it with water.

It’s great for your skin, as it clears away the yuckies mucking that up as well.  Expect clearer and healthier looking skin with your eight glasses a day.

Doctors recommend you imbibe 8-12 glasses of water a day, minimum – more if you’re sweating out at the gym or in some other physical activity.

Some tips to sneak in more water into your diet:

1. Take a bottle in the car with you.  I know when I am bored, I’ll drink it just because it’s there.
2. Have it at your desk while you work.  It’ll give you something to do, again, just because it’s there, and with the need to get rid of it (potty breaks) you’ll have an excuse to get up and stretch your legs.
3. Drink a glass of water before you eat each meal.  It takes up a good amount of space in your stomach so you eat less.
4. Always have it on hand while you’re working out.  I know I drink a lot more water when I have a bottle in the cupholder on the elliptical than if I have to wait until my 20 minute workout is up.  Then you can drink when you want, as much as you want, without the skeevy guy breathing down your neck, waiting behind you for the water fountain (or “bubbler” if you’re from Wisconsin).

Hopefully these ideas and tips will get you into the habit of drinking more water.  Do you guys have any more tips for integrating more water into your day?  Leave your ideas after the jump.