Tuesday, July 27, 2010

What COLOR is Your Kitchen?

I have a whole new blog dedicated to weight loss, weight maintenance, and optimal health. You can check it out at:

http://whynotweightloss.blogspot.com/

But here is my latest post in case you are too lazy to blog hop! :)



Did you know that the colors RED and YELLOW have been shown to INCREASE appetite while the color BLUE has been shown to DECREASE appetite? So maybe I can blame my weight struggles on the fact that I've either had a yellow or red kitchen for the past 8 years! Because surely it was the color of my kitchen walls that led me straight into the arms of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream, right?

I've been reading this book:


It has all sorts of interesting facts on weight loss, weight maintenance, and achieving optimal health. Here are a few:

-30% of the time that we feel hungry, our bodies are actually signaling for water.

-Better (healthy) food costs more, but your body needs less of it to work well. And in the end, a healthy body requires much less medical attention, thus saving more money in the long run, too.

-Small amounts of nourishment at regular intervals (about every 3 hours) is better than the same amount of food concentrated in three big meals. Feeding the body at regular intervals sends a signal to the body that it doesn't have to store calories, thus having a positive impact on our metabolism.

-Restaurant portions are now as much as 8 times the standard serving size in the FDA's dietary guidelines!

-Americans consume an average of 135 pounds of sugar each year...an increase of 26 pounds per person in just the past 20 years.

-Surveys indicate that at least 66% of American adults are now overweight or obese, and that obesity is increasing at an even faster pace among children. As a result, the coming generation may actually have a SHORTER life span than their parents for the first time in American history.

-Over 90% of us will be overweight or worse by 2032 unless we significantly change our behaviors.

I lost weight by following low-glycemic, low fat, and lean-protein guidelines. Eating this way every 3 hours (during your wakeful hours) provides your body with a consistent supply of nutrients, which keeps it from using muscle as a fuel source, but rather uses your fat as a fuel source. That is why the pounds literally melt off because your body is turned into an efficient fat burning machine. And who doesn't want THAT???

When I first started losing weight, it was all about LOOKING good! But, the more I learn and incorporate healthy habits, the more I want to FEEL good, LIVE longer, and LIVE healthier. I know I am on that path to longevity and optimal health. And it feels GOOD!

Oh, and I might as well head on over to Home Depot to browse the BLUE paint section. Anything that helps, right?

Friday, July 16, 2010

California Vacation 2010

Top 10 Things that I Loved about our California Trip:
1) Going to the Beach (even though it was overcast)
2) Watching the kids play and have a blast at the beach. Even Cali enjoyed the sand in her toes (and hands, and mouth, and everywhere else sand can go).
3) Running and talking on the beach with Jen
4) Hanging out on the beach with Melanie and her kids
5) Hanging out with all of the Bryces
6) Heather and Nick's pool party
7) Taking the kids to Disneyland and being able to focus on having fun with just Bella and Ez thanks to Alana watching Cali all day for us.
8) Eating at In N Out
9) Eating a Corralles Burrito
10) Just hanging out and reminiscing on how awesome it was to grow up there.

A Few Things that Weren't So Pleasant:
1) Most of us catching a cold
2) Overcast beach weather
3) Having to leave (sniff, sniff)

















Aspen Grove Family Camp

Top 10 Things that I loved about the Hamilton Family Reunion at Aspen Grove this year:
1) Hanging out with my siblings and their spouses
2) Seeing all of the cousins having a blast together
3) Having free time with Blaine while the kids were at their camp classes. We played racquetball, shuffleboard, frisbee golf, swam, read books, hiked, paint ball, and high ropes course. It was great!
4) Knowing that the kids were having a blast at their day camp classes (even Cali went into the daycare classes very easily).
5) The beautiful mountain scenery
6) The family Nerf gun war. We all came ready to rumble...it was so fun!
7) BYU creamery ice cream (thanks Mom and Dad for treating us all to ice cream Monday night! Too bad you couldn't be there!)
8) Sneaking out of camp with my sisters and nieces to go see Eclipse on opening day
9) Eating at Cafe Rio and shopping with my sisters and nieces after the movie
10) The weather was great!

And a few things that weren't so pleasant:
1) The bed bugs (eew)
2) Half of the camp getting sick and throwing up, including Cali and Bella and all of my nieces and nephews.
3) The cost of camp