Confessions Of A Dieter

I work my way through dinner so I can get to dessert. I enjoy a good meal, and I love to cook, but if I'm honest, the prize at the end is my goal the whole time.
My dessert habit caught up with me after the birth of my third child and my 40th birthday.
The biggest problem? At 4'11" people automatically thought I was thin and petite. I wasn't. People said they would kill to weigh what I did, but I was the only one who knew that my weight was 10+ pounds higher than it should have been. My clothes didn't fit. My shoes didn't fit. My rings were tight. Remember, I'm not even 5' tall.
Ideal Protein got me back to a healthy weight and I've finally come to terms with the fact that I will never again weigh the 96 pounds I did in high school. But the 107 of my of my thirties was attainable and manageable, and is healthy for me at 43.
But my habits haunt me.
I love dessert and anything sweet. All. Day. Long.
I also happen to love fruit, but would prefer ice cream cake to berries with sugar-free chocolate sauce. Even in Phase IV, with all the liberties and "treat day" I fight every other day of the week for the will power to avoid dessert.
What keeps me going? My clothes. My thinner arms. The fact that with so much less sugar in my body, my Restless Leg Syndrome has taken a back seat. But I know that my dessert battlewill remain for the rest of my life. Every day I will have to answer the question, "is it worth it?" even if I already know the answer. And every day when my clothes fit, I will be thankful for being strong the day before.

Today's guest post was from Tracy B.

Rhubarb- It's Not Just For Dessert

In fact- since it's a vegetable, it's a little strange that it's so often a dessert.

 

As a member of the celery family,

and an IP friendly vegetable,

it should not be overlooked!

Since the season for rhubarb is very short, this is one of those moments we have to embrace.
Be Inspired this weekend to try something new!

Add a little Rhubarb to your salad

Make a Vanilla Rhubarb Smoothie!
1 cup frozen diced rhubarb
1 vanilla ready-made drink
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
*Place everything in a small blender and blend away!

A few rhubarb tips:
When you find it in the store, buy a bunch and freeze the extra if you don't have plans to use it all at once.
If it gets a little wilty, do the same thing you would do with celery- stick it in some cold water and it will get crispy all over again.
Also like celery, it is stringy on the outside. Feel free to peel before cutting, cooking or freezing.

Go Ahead..... Share!

Sharing is good, or at least that's what we're told in kindergarten. I like sharing. The month of May feels like a good time to share, doesn't it? Where I live, we finally have some warm weather, the leaves are peeking through and the sun is setting later.
Of course, this all means that summer is approaching. Quickly. So.. it's time to share and I've got a couple of ways to do that.

The first, and one that I really love this time of year, involves sharing in a Girls Night Out kind of way. Whether it's you and your mother, daughter, sister, aunt, best friend or college roommate, getting healthy is always more fun with a girlfriend. So, in May for any two women who join together, we are splitting the Coaching Support Fee (a $125-$175 value). Think of it as buy one, get one FREE, or halvsies, or sharing, but either way the fee is split between two of you. Great Mother's Day gift, right???

The second is that since we like to share the love and don't want to limit the May happiness floating around the office to women only, if you refer anyone in during the month of May, you get a free box of food. That's 7 meals! Just think, where would you be if someone hadn't shared Ideal Protein with you? I know where I'd be, and it's not a pretty place...I would be 50 pounds heavier and very unhappy with myself.

So share the Inspiration to Win with a friend and join us in May!

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Did you know that you still have time to lose 25+ pounds by summer? We still have room for you to attend our complimentary Ideal Protein Open House this Monday, May 5th at 6:30pm.  You will have the opportunity to meet our team of coaches, taste our gourmet protein foods and learn how simple and fast the Ideal Protein Diet can be.  Call (973)777-9404 to reserve a seat for yourself and a friend!  See you there!

www.njcenterhealth.com

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

Yes! That annual announcement used to get me very excited. Now, my kids get excited and I do all I can to brace myself for knowing that every time I walk past the dining room table, they will be there. Staring at me. Begging me to have a cookie a box.
Right?

No one has just one Girl Scout cookie; you have a tray of Samoas or a sleeve of Thin Mints.
There was a time when a sleeve of Thin Mints was something my body could handle, but that was about 3 decades ago. Have you ever had them frozen? Delicious!

Girl Scout cookies aren't going away any time soon, so it's time for me to be the adult, not the Girl Scout, and prepare myself with this.....

That's right, people! Ideal Protein Chocolate Mint bars are here and they taste just like Thin Mints. Even better, you get to eat the whole thing. So, while your kids are enjoying as many cookies as they want, now you can have something too. Enjoy the weekend!

Just Hide It!

I used to joke about my Halloween to Easter 10 pounds. 
Then it became more and more difficult to get them off once April rolled around.
Now, it's not so funny.

But Halloween and Easter still show up every year, and every year I plan ahead to make sure I get the best goodies for my kids. This is also known as buying candy early and eating it. Then of course, I buy more to replace what I ate and eat that with the kids. See where this is going?

So, here we are, about two weeks away from Easter and Peter Cottontail's goodies are here. Everywhere. In every store. I'm waiting for the PMS attack to give an excuse. It could get ugly. What's a dieter who wants her pretty Easter shoes to fit supposed to do?

Hide It! Hide It! Hide It!

 

Seriously-- the basement, someone else's closet, the trunk of the car, anywhere not in your every day viewing. Just don't forget where you hiding place is. Then-- go do something else.

Now, you have the best of everything: the best selection of candy and other trinkets as well as knowing that you haven't let yourself down by diving into a whole bag of jelly beans.

The Balancing of Life

Step with care and great tact, and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.

-Dr. Seuss

We do our best to balance everything every day. The weekend is just about here, but that can be a challenging time of rushing and taking care of all those things that piled up during hte week.
Feeling a little off balance? Take a moment, close your eyes, and take a deep breath... or two.  The balance will return and so will your strength.

Everyone's Irish On St. Patrick's Day!!!

Keeping it all together when surrounded by Green Beer, Irish Soda Bread, Guinness Stews, and just about anything with a little green added to it can make for a tempting St. Patrick's Day weekend. The old saying goes, Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and while that may be true,  "being Irish" doesn't mean you can't make smart choices and stay on track to reach your goals.
This weekend, remember that St. Patrick's Day is a fun day to celebrate, but it's just a day, and you are working for a healthier version of the rest of your life!

What It Really Means To Win

The simplest definition for the word winning has to do with triumph, victory and success, according to the very talented people at Google.
But winning isn't just about triumph, victory and success any more than losing is just about being deprived of something.
Winning is about crushing bad habits, building new skills and pushing through every moment when you just want to give up.
It's about stepping up, not walking away.
It's about jumping in, not sitting out.
We win because we take control, even when we want to give up the most. We take control because that's the only way to be victorious. When we love ourselves enough to take control, we win.
You have an opportunity every day to create winning moments leading to victory.
Be victorious this weekend! Take control! Love yourself and live your ideal life!