Sunday, April 17, 2011

DOES THE SACRED HEART DIET WORK FOR RAPID WEIGHT-LOSS? RESULTS ARE IN!

If you haven't' read my previous post CLICK HERE to read that first and get more details including THE SACRED HEART SOUP Diet Recipe, then checkout the results here.   

DAY 1: The official first day of the 7 day soup diet. Well what can I say about today. I'm not weighing myself yet until the last day which will be Day 7 but I must say today was a good day. Yesterday I got all the ingredients for the soup and I stocked up with fruits and veggies and juices (no sugar added) This morning I started with a black cup of coffee with a teaspoon of Splenda sugar (I don't know if the Splenda is allowed but I'm using it anyways) and a cup of grapes. 


I started cooking the soup before I left for school. It took awhile to cut everything up but since it was a large quantity, I don't mind since I know I'm not going to be cutting anymore of it this until I run out of soup. As the vegetables were cooking I couldn't help but notice how good the soup looked and smelled. After it cooked, I tasted it and decided to sprinkle Mrs. Dash seasoning to add some flavor and a dash of salt. "Mmm yummy now its just right" I thought to myself. To my surprise the vegetable soup tasted pretty good but I couldn't help but wonder if I was going to withstand eating the soup for one whole week. 


I put some soup in the fridge and put the rest in the freezer to use for the following days. I took an apple to school so I could munch on while in school and extra water bottles. After eating soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and fruits all day long, I realized I have never felt like this since I was a kid. I didn't drink coke all day and that is unusual because I'm usually addicted to caffeine but it always drags me down after the effects wear off, but today I did just fine without it and I didn't even crave it. I do admit though, that I drank some cran-energy juice drink. I don't know if this is allowed with this diet but I'm going to customize it to my needs to see how it goes. 


My energy levels were incredible today. I even went for a one hour jog after my soup dinner and my knees didn't even hurt. I haven't felt this amazing since I was a kid and my Acid Reflux seemed almost non-existent today. I have been singing all day and my voice is improving and its only the first day! I can't wait for tomorrow!

DAY 2:  Surprisingly today I woke up feeling rested. I usually wake up dragging, tired and desperate for caffeine but nothing hurt today. My knees were not in pain like they usually are and once again my Acid Reflux was mild and seemed nonexistent. I ate soup again for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I ate fruits. I don't know if I'm allowed to have fruits today because it doesn't specify but I decided to add fruits today. The drinks I had today were black coffee with Splenda sugar, apple juice, orange juice, 1 small can of cran-energy juice drink and plenty of water to keep hydrated. 


I didn't go running today but I figured I got my exercise with today's busy day running errands everywhere, running around with my kids, and taking care of my domestic duties at home which had me sweating like if I had just run a marathon. 


The only negative issue today was watching everyone else eat regular foods and rubbing it in. At one point one of my kids even said "mmm yummy I"m eating this delicious hamburger; too bad you can only eat soup mom" LOL!! Other than that, I felt great and I didn't even miss my Coke (not that coke..lol)!

DAY 3: I woke up this morning and decided to weigh myself to see if there was any difference in my weight. I know I said I wasn't going to do this until the end of the week but I was eager to know. To my surprise I weighed 210 lbs. which means I lost about 9 lbs. and its barely the third day. I'm almost halfway towards my shorter goal for this week. 


I feel more motivated than ever. Not only did I feel great, I was losing weight too. I have to keep this up at least until the end of the week! I had more soup than I usually did today. I had seconds for lunch, breakfast, and dinner since there's no limit to the amount of soup you can have.

DAY 4: I should of known it was to good to be true, my Acid Reflux is back and I had to take my medicine to help but its still been a victory since before I wouldn't of last 1 day without my medicine. Other than that things are looking up and I still weigh 210 lbs. Today is a day of eating mostly bananas, soup, and drinking skim milk but I can't help but be excited for tomorrow when I finally get to eat meat..yum..can't wait!

DAY 5: I decided to eat red meat for tomorrow in which I'm planning on doing a FAJITA cookout since I can eat all the meat I want tomorrow. YUM..LOL! I ate soup for breakfast and lunch and cooked some more chicken for dinner. My drinks consisted of 100% apple juice, 1 cup of black coffee in the morning, and plenty of water. 
Today I'm planning on jogging with my daughter after my kids speech therapy only because I haven't done it since Day 1 and I have some catching up to do concerning my exercise. 


As soon as the afternoon arrived, I was not feeling so well so I didn't go jogging. My head hurt so bad and I was feeling a bit weak and my throat seemed to have some inflammation. Maybe I'm catching a cold or something. I know what your thinking that my symptoms are caused by the Sacred Heart Diet, but I don't believe this is the case. I did some research and found out that I could be suffering from caffeine withdrawal. I mean this is an extreme diet that makes you cut out almost all of your caffeine drinks such as soda. I went from drinking several Coke drinks to none and I was fine at first but by the end of this 5th day, my body is missing some caffeine and its responding negatively because its not in my system anymore.


DAY 6: Woke up this morning and decided to weigh myself and to my surprise I weighed 207. I didn't expect to lose any more weight since I ate more yesterday,but I guess the more you eat, the more weight you lose.This means I have lost a total of 12 lbs so far. Today is CARNE ASADA time!! Fajita Time!! But I have to figure out when I will be able to do the cookout since I go to school today and don't return until nighttime. OK so I decided maybe I will cook the FAJITAS in the oven or the pan. I decided to pack some fajitas and fruits with me to college in case I got hungry later on. I felt great today but it was a busy day which didn't leave any time for jogging like I would of liked but its all good; I'm still happy with the results so far.

DAY 7: FINALE DAY YAY! Today was a good day. I had soup for breakfast with a cup of black coffee. For lunch I had soup again with a bowl of brown rice and strawberries on the side and baby spinach and orange juice to drink. The brown rice was prepared Mexican-style just like I like it with Knorr consume and pimienta (Black Pepper) and garlic and comino and green pepper and onion..etc..For dinner, I had a small bowl of soup and 2 bowls of rice. I had apple juice to drink and ate watermelon and cucumber with salt and lemon for desert. the final weigh-in  205 lbs. I lost 14 lbs. Not exactly my goal but close. Just as I realized the week and day was over and so was my diet, I noticed there was no more soup left. I thought to myself  "I did it" .


THE RESULTS: 

I started with a weight of 219 lbs.. and I am now at a weight of 205 lbs. Even though I did not lose 20 lbs., I feel it was a success because I still lost 14 lbs. and I gained more energy than I used to have. I definitely got the jump start I needed towards a healthier me!


OTHER BENEFITS I HAVE NOTICED:

My skin has improved and my acne is practically gone which means less makeup needed. For a mom like me that's super busy and doesn't have time to wear makeup everyday, its amazing to feel confident and not have to worry about getting breakouts or using makeup to cover it. I can just focus on other things in life that are more important such as being a mom, college, my career goals and dreams. 


My teeth seem cleaner and whiter. It could be the fact that I'm not drinking any soda, eating candy, or other junk food that can make teeth stain. In addition, I noticed my energy levels skyrocketed. One of the main reasons I was hooked on caffeine soda drinks was that I needed the energy to function as a busy on- the- go mom, but all the extra vitamins I got from the vegetables and fruits gave me just the energy I needed to focus and to be honest I will never go back to COKE..lol..Coca Cola  people..now don't start any rumors..LOL!!



WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS DIET:

You should consult you doctor or nutritionist before you start any extreme diet or 7 day soup diet if you have some medical conditions as every person is different and although it is beneficial for most it can be risky for others who need to eat certain foods or drinks or who may be allergic to certain foods. 


I am not a physician; I am only stating my opinion based on my personal weight-loss results from the SACRED HEART DIET also known as the 7 day soup diet and nothing more. In my opinion, I would recommend this soup diet only for short-term results and to get you jump started towards a healthier you. I like that it cleanses your body from the inside out and is a whole lot safer than taking any diet pills or starving yourself because you can eat as much soup as you like during the course of the week. 


The main reason you lose weight with this 7 day soup diet is because the soup contains low calories and absolutely no fat, therefore, if your calorie intake is lower and you burn more than you're taking in, of course you're going to lose weight. However, as I stated before, you should consult your primary doctor before starting any diet especially if you have medical conditions that would be severely affected by rapid weight loss or dietary changes. 


In my opinion, I do not recommend this diet at all for women who are pregnant because pregnant women need to eat a variety of food to be healthy, keep their baby healthy, and obtain all the nutrients and vitamins needed for a successful pregnancy.



OVERALL EXPERIENCE:

Overall I feel amazing and proud of myself for being strong even if it was for just one week. I proved to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to do and I am more motivated than ever to be healthy and follow my dreams and share what I've learned with my family and others because I feel like LIVING my life not standing on the sideline waiting to lose it. 


There is also a personal reason why being healthy is so important to me. I lost someone very special in my family to heart disease at such a young age without any warning. I know that one day we will all be together in heaven above but I'm still young and I want to live a long life with my family. I love my family and I love my temple that God gave me so I must take care of it and treat it right. 


So how about you? Have you decided to LIVE! Whatever your goals or dreams are, follow your heart and stay committed. We only have one LIFE so we must LIVE it to the fullest!


Still have more weight to lose after your jumpstart weightloss diet, checkout my friends gym at CROSSLEAN PERFORMANCE CENTER and get a FREE SESSION & a road to Firmer abs!!!  


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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

IM LOSING 20 lbs. IN ONE WEEK-LEARN HOW IM DOING IT AND WHY




A HEALTHIER ME  
Easier said than done right?   

Losing weight is one of the hardest thing someone can do but its more difficult after becoming a mom or people who have a very busy lifestyle. Stress, anxiety, hormones and a variety of things can make a person overeat. Over the past years I have seen stress take control of my life and my weight and now my weight is taking control of my health. This is why I decided to work towards a healthier me and lose weight.

On top of that I was recently diagnosed with Acid Reflux otherwise known as GERD which is a condition in which liquid from the stomach backs up into the esophagus inflaming and damaging the lining of the esophagus. The liquid produces acid that is produced in the stomach. Now I know everyone gets heartburn every now and then but people with Acid Reflux is more severe and can even affect your quality of life if the symptoms are severe enough. If left untreated it can even damage the lining of your esophagus making it extremely difficult for your stomach to digest food and in extreme cases in can cause other conditions leading to death such as internal bleeding in the esophagus. Yes its that serious!! Believe it or not Acid Reflux is more common than you think and some people don't even know they have it cause not everyone will get symptoms.

Some examples of symptoms of Acid Reflux include

-Cough
-Laryngitis (loss of voice)
-severe heartburn occurring everyday 
-abdominal pain
-body aches and weakness
-regurgitation
-nausea
-ulcers
-strictures (scarring)
-esophageal cancer
-asthma
-inflammation of throat and voice box (larynx)
-fluid in sinuses and middle ears

While not everyone gets the same symptoms the internal damage to your body can be the same if left untreated. There is no cure for Acid Reflux but the Good News is that the symptoms can be treated and stop most of the damage it causes. While doctors prescribe medication that help the symptoms, they also encourage alternatives such as losing weight and changing the way you eat and of course exercise.

My main reason for wanting to kick Acid Reflux in the a** is my beautiful children. They need me to be around to help them grow into amazing individuals. Another reason is that Acid Reflux is not only affecting my health, its affecting my Dreams and my Goals. Im the one who gets very severe symptoms even when I take medication everyday but Im sick of depending on meds and frankly Im sick of Acid Reflux controlling what I do. Everything I do has to revolve around my condition. "I don't know if I can do that , I'll let u know if my voice comes back"  "I can't sing today because my symptoms are causing inflammation in my throat and my voice is raspy but I can sing tomorrow" ugh I hate that it controls my life and to tell you the truth in this cold world no one cares. You get replaced just as fast as you blink your eyes so I decided to take back my LIFE because according to Drake Everybody dies but not everybody LIVES and I decided to LIVE!!

Im hesitant to give out my current weight but I will do it for purposes of this challenge and to help people going through the same situation as me or just people that want to be healthier.

About 3 months ago I weighed 235, since then I lost  16 lbs.. leaving me at a weight of  219 lbs…My short-term goal is to get my weight below 200 lbs… Long-term goal is to get down to a weight of 135 lbs which is what Im supposed to weigh according to my height 5 "3 

I managed to lose 16 lbs at first by adding more protein to my diet such as fish and chicken. In addition, I added more vegetables and fruits plus eating apples helps with some of my symptoms not to mention I've been more active lately. You might be thinking "If thats working for you, why don't you just keep doing that and you will continue to lose weight?" Wrong..See the thing is YES I started eating healthier and YES I'm getting some exercise but lately I haven't lost any weight or gained any, its just stays the same which is not encouraging at all. It makes me want to go back to the old days of munching out on junk food..lol

I know I should be glad that I managed to lose some weight but the realization that I'm still in the obese category and over 200 lbs keeps ringing in my head like a song that you hate but you can't stop singing it because its always in your head. Yeah, like that!  Besides, another issue with being overweight is joint pain and loss of energy. I will do anything to get my energy back and be the fun active mom my kids loved. Like I said before its time for me to LIVE and I want to live my life with my family not just for my family! 

I've come across some diets such as the Atkins, the grapefruit diet, the protein diets, slim fast diets but none of them seem to work for me or if I do lose weight it will come back faster than it took to lose it. I think its the fact that we keep calling these diets DIETS!  Of course, I know we should call them for what they are but I believe our brain sends out some signals to our body to store food whenever we are on a DIET! Sort of like a psychological thing that if we consciously know its a diet, there's a possibility it might not work but if we see it as a healthily lifestyle or just healthy eating then maybe things can be positively different.  

Anyways, one diet that I've come across and I haven't tried yet is called "SACRED HEART DIET" (DIETA DE EL SAGRADO CORAZON) but Im going to call it " SACRED HEART HEALTHY EATING". I heard this 7 day soup diet also known as heart healthy diet is sometimes prescribed by doctors to patients with heart conditions 1/2 weeks prior to surgery. Supposedly you can lose up to 20 lbs. in one week. Really? Wow! This will satisfy my short-term goal! This 7 day diet is not meant for long-term goals but it can certainly give you a great jumpstart. Plus it also helps to cleanse your body from the inside.

The SACRED HEART HEALTHY EATING (sacred heart soup diet) consists of 7 days of eating mostly vegetable soup and fruits and tomatoes (Im not going to use too much of these for my plan since tomatoes makes my Acid Reflux worse), black coffee, no soda/carbonated drinks or alcohol, unsweetened fruit juice, tea, cranberry juice, etc..

The Ingredients for The 7 day SOUP DIET are as follows:

2 cans of chicken broth
3 green onions
1 package of fat-free soup mix
1 package of celery/a bunch
2 can green beans
2 lbs carrots
2 cans of stew tomatoes (I will only use 1)
1/2 cabbage (this is not part of the recipe but Im adding this since I love cabbage, its optional)

Directions:

Chop all vegetable into pieces and cook in water along with the soup mix until boiling then simmer until done.
You can add some salt and pepper to season but I recommend using Mrs Dash. It adds taste but without the sodium 

THE PLAN:

DAY 1 - As much Soup as you want, fruit but no bananas, preferred fruits are watermelon and cantaloupes (less calories than other fruits)

DAY 2- As much Soup as you want, vegetables but no beans or corn, baked potato for dinner w/butter

DAY 3- More Soup and as much vegetable as you want w/out any dressing/dip, no potato today

DAY 4- As much soup as you want, Skim Milk and Bananas (Im gonna go bananas today..lol)

DAY 5-  Soup again ( of course..lol) 10-20 ounces of beef and tomatoes (tomatoes can be canned or fresh)

DAY 6- Soup again (YEY! not :( ) but you can have as much beef as you want and vegetables (this I like :) )

DAY 7- Soup again, veggies, unsweetened fruit juice, brown rice


Ok so I have all I need to start right? Nope.. I still need to go to the grocery store to buy all my Veggie ingredients for the soup diet..this should be fun..lol..so today is DAY 0.. as the week progresses I will add more to this post including my weight loss if any and my energy levels. Once again my current weight is 219 lbs and my short-term goal that I plan on obtaining with this meal plan is under 200 lbs. (199 lbs. or less)

DAY 0:

Im going grocery shopping to stock my fridge with vegetables, fruits, unsweetened fruit juice, water. etc..&crossing my fingers. This meal plan will definitely test my will power and I will see how strong I am if I survive since I will mostly be eating veggies&fruits for one week..YIKES!! I don't know if this is even healthy but 1 week isn't going to kill me besides its healthier than taking diet pills or prescription drugs to lose weight.


DOES THE SACRED HEART DIET WORK? CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE RESULTS!


Friday, April 1, 2011

THE ROCK v. STONECOLD & SNOOKY ON WRESTLEMANIA XXVII


Many have asked themselves "Is THE ROCK aka Dwayne Johnson really here to stay or is this another way of promotion for an upcoming movie?"

He clearly points out he's not back to promote an upcoming movie. He's back for the Fans. I hope so because ever since THE ROCK and STONECOLD LEFT Wrestling it left many Fans like myself wondering if it would ever be the same without them.

Most of us even stopped watching while WWE did their best to attract new fans by bringing in John Cena but people are getting tired of hearing CENA ask us if we can see him..lol!!



We know that STONECOLD STEVE AUSTIN 3:16 will be hosting a new reality show called "WWE TOUGH ENOUGH" airing the night after wrestle mania on Monday 4-4-11..Ummm this should be exciting. I wonder if he's going to be toughening people up with whoop ass cans on their head!!

Whatever their reasons for returning to WWE its definitely bringing some excitement and has people everywhere talking.

Its about time these new fans appreciate how great wrestling was before and thanks to "STONECOLD" and "THE ROCK" we can get things shaken up again. Its about time we get some ELECTRIFYING action and the new cats get a can of WHOOP ASS all over their face!!! CAN YOU SEE ME NOW!!! "CAN YOU SMELLL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING" Can I get a "HELL YEAH"!!



Oh I almost forgot reality star "SNOOKI" from the Jersey Shore will also be appearing on Wrestlemania XXVII!! Maybe she will show up Drunk or maybe ANGELINA will show up..u never know what may happen SNOOKI v. ANGELINA!! CANT WAIT!!

Wait even better they should have THE SITUATION aka THE SNITUATION v. SAMMI!!! It would be fun to watch Sammi do a STONECOLD STUNNER on THE SITUATION!!