Coming Soon! Chocolate That Won't Hurt Your Waistline!

Think you can't ever enjoy the mouth-wateringly delicious taste of chocolate ever again? Think again!

Scientists for one of the world's largest chocolate company have created a new chocolate that contains 90% fewer calories than normal chocolate! They are calling it the Vulcano, because although it will melt in your mouth, it won't melt in the sun.

Belonging to the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut, this chocolate is light and crispy. According to this article at Guardian.co.uk, the Vulcano resulted from a mistake, the results of which were then developed further. This chocolate manufacturer has achieved something no other chocolate manufacturer has managed before.

"Developed in a laboratory under top-secret conditions by an international team of food engineers, it not only has 90% fewer calories than the average chocolate product, it is also heat-resistant to temperatures of up to 55C (131F). Most chocolate starts to melt at 30 degrees."

It's not expected to be available for purchase for another two years. The question is, can you wait that long?

10 Tips For Eating Healthy

1. Write everything down that you eat, keeping an ongoing total of your daily calories. Some days your calories will be a little higher than your maximum, and other days they will be lower, but try not to ever go below 1,200 calories.

2. If you're counting calories, don't count the calories in most fruit and vegetables, so you can eat as much of them as you want. (I love, love, love strawberries.)

3. Try and have 2-3 fat-free yogurts a day (not the layered kind), and at least one egg a day if not more.

4. Limit your breads and flour products, but when you do have bread or burrito shells, go for wholegrain ones. That also is true for pasta and rice.

5. Do have desserts, but get creative in cooking up healthy desserts, or buying low-cal versions of things you hate doing without.

6. If you're buying low fat products, check the ingredients. Sometimes "low fat" just means "high sugar."

7. Eating things like bacon, ham, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, etc is fine as long as you go with lean versions or extra lean versions.

8. As often as possible, cook your food from scratch. This way you know what's in your food. The more processed something is, the less healthy it probably is.

9. Don't obsess. There will be times when you eat something bad for you. Do not see yourself as a failure because of it and then go on to eat more junk. See those times as a momentary blip in your healthy eatng plan and go right back to eating healthy.

10. One of the best tips: Fill your plate 2/3 full with vegetables/fruit, then add your meat & whatever else to the space that's left. If you are really hungry and need seconds, that's okay, but do the same thing again (filling plate 2/3 with vegetables).

Weigh-in & New Personal Challenge

I lost 2.5 pounds this week for a total loss of 109 pounds!

I also found out that there is a competition coming up at Slimming World. It's for Woman Of The Year, and the winner will be voted on from however many women fit the criteria. One of the criteria is that I have to have lost a minimum of 4 stone. Since I've lost almost 8 stone now (7 stone 10.5 pounds), I meet that qualification. But the other one is trickier. Based on my height of 5'2", I can only have a maximum weight of 10 stone 10 pounds to qualify. (That's 150 pounds.) Right now, I weigh 11 stone 9.5 pounds.

The competition is being held on August 24th. It only gives me 7 weeks to lose 13.5 lbs. Now that means losing about 2 pounds a week, which sounds reasonable, except that I am not losing that quickly anymore and I definitely am not able to lose that regularly anymore either.

Still, I'll give it a shot. Wish me luck?

Sigg Bottle Give-Away!

This summer has been a hot one for us here in England. I suspect it's been hot for a lot of places in the US and around the world too. When the weather gets this hot, it's important to remember to drink enough water. Are you drinking enough?

My on-line shop Fyfe Photography & Design recently aquired a partnership (through it's printing supplier) with Sigg bottles to sell designer versions of BPA-free Sigg water bottles. In honor of this, I've decided to have a give-away.

Win this Summer Flowers Sigg Water Bottle!

All you have to do to enter is comment on any post in this blog between now and August 5th. You can get up to 4 entries by commenting on 4 different posts. Winners will be selected by a random number generator on August 6th and announced in a new post at Skinny Dreaming. Contest NOT limited to just the USA. (The winner will then have one week to respond and e-mail a mailing address. If the winner is not heard from one week after he or she is announced as the winner, a new winner will be selected by the random number generator.)

I reserve the right not to publish or enter comments I deem as spam.

Slimming World's Top Target Member Award

Tonight, my Slimming World group was having a party. It was to honor the Top Target member of the group. Everyone who reached target would be up for the award and then we'd vote on the winner. There were no target members last week. Robert thought he had 5 pounds left to reach his target weight, but he must have put down a lower weight on his forms because Sharon told him he had 7 pounds left.

He decided to go all out this week to try and reach his target weight in time for the party. Halfway through the week, he weighed himself and told me that he didn't think there was any way he could reach it in time.

We weighed in. I lost 2 pounds for a total loss of 107 pounds! I only have 30.5 pounds left to reach my goal weight! I have gone from weighing 272.5 pounds at my highest weight to weighing 165.5 pounds.

Robert lost NINE POUNDS! He not only reached his target weight, but he passed it by two pounds! He now weighs, at 6'8" tall, 194 pounds! He was the only member at target, so he won the award! He got a sash, a paperweight and pen set and a certificate.



The theme of the party was a beach one. I wore a white summer dress that I had recently bought. This is significant because I have not worn the color white in many, many years. I tend to always wear black and other dark colors. Robert bought me a lei set which came with the neck lei, leis for my wrists and one for my head. He also bought me some really silly sunglasses. He wore his swimming trunks, a Hawaiian shirt, a lei and some equally silly sunglasses. We brought two beach balls and a giant inflatable shark to help add to the ambience.

Because this was a party, we were all supposed to bring some syn-free and low syn food to share. Robert brought some Herby Egg Pancake Wraps. I brought a Mexican Egg Casserole. There was a lot of other really nice food there tonight, and we had a fun time.

(I have other photos to post from the night, but I am still waiting on our Slimming World consultant to e-mail them to me as they were taken with her camera. When she sends them to me, I will add them to this post.)

Eat Eggs To Help Lose Weight

After writing about the connection between dairy and weight loss, I started thinking about the connection between eggs and weight loss. Eggs are another food that is “free” (meaning we can eat as much as we want of it) on the Slimming World plan.

So are eggs really good for weight loss or is Slimming World wrong and its members’ weight losses just unrelated flukes?

According to the studies, eggs are an excellent source to aid in fat loss. And this is great news mainly because I enjoy eating eggs, but also because eggs don’t cost much to buy. They are also, apparently, good for eye health.

According to this article in Medical News Today, eggs are helpful to weight loss because they contain an essential amino acid called leucine. The article references a study which found that leucine

“potentially provides a weight loss advantage during dieting by helping reduce loss of lean tissue, promote loss of body fat, and stabilize blood glucose levels.”

This article on the website Bio-Medicine references a study that promotes eggs eaten for breakfast as aiding in weight loss. It even mentions that the egg-eaters had higher reductions in their waist circumferences. (Loss of belly fat is always a good thing for those of us who need to lose weight!) There also seems to be connection between eating eggs and feeling full, as this article states,

“This study further substantiates the findings of a previous study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition,2 which found that an egg breakfast induced greater satiety and significantly reduced short-term food intake compared to a calorically equivalent bagel breakfast.”

This article on the website Weightlossresources.co.uk found a connection between eating eggs and satiety too,

“According to new research from the Rochester Centre for Obesity in America, eating eggs for breakfast could help to limit your calorie intake throughout the rest of the day, by more than 400 calories.”

A reduction in daily calorie consumption by 400 calories a day could result in a weight loss of a pound every 8 or 9 days. (Results, of course, vary for individuals.) If eggs make you feel fuller for longer, then it corresponds that you would find it easier to reduce your calories throughout the day after eating them for breakfast.

This article on Food Product Design states that not only do eggs aid in weight loss but they also help to increase energy levels. It states that this is because eggs are a good source of high quality protein. Too little high quality protein is bad for the body as this article states,

“In May 2008, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a special issue on the value of protein in the diet. A major finding was that getting too little high-quality protein may contribute to obesity, muscle loss and increased risk of chronic disease.”

This article by Feedstuffs Foodlink continues making the connection between egg consumption and weight loss and energy levels. It references a study done at the Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center with lead researcher Dr. Nikhil V. Dhurandhar,

“The women who consumed eggs as part of a diet plan lost "significantly" more weight and reported "significantly" higher energy levels, Dhurandhar said.”

The studies show that eggs really do aid in fat loss. This fact, in addition to all of the other health benefits to be gained by eating eggs, makes them an ideal choice of food for anyone trying to lose weight (barring any egg allergies).

Slimming World suggest having your eggs, boiled, scrambled, deviled, made into an omelette, poached or dry fried. (Dry frying eggs means spraying the pan lightly with a low calorie oil spray and frying the eggs in no more than that.) I enjoy my eggs in all of these forms, but my favorite way to eat eggs is to make an omelette stuffed with bell peppers, spring onions and sprinkled with a little low fat grated cheese.

What's your favorite way to eat eggs?

Weigh-In

I had my weigh-in at Slimming World tonight. I lost 4 pounds! (I gained half a pound last week. I was adjusting the amount of exercise I was doing, so it was expected.) I have lost 105 pounds (7 1/2 stone) in total now, and I have gone from a weight of 272.5 pounds to 167.5 pounds. I only have 32.5 pounds left to lose to reach my goal weight! I got my 7 1/2 stone award.

Robert lost 4.5 pounds this week and is getting really close to his goal weight!

What 100+ lbs Weight Loss Looks Like

Before:


After (with my youngest son):


I still have weight left to lose, but I'm starting to like what I see in the mirror more now than I used to.

Dairy & Weight Loss

A friend of mine wanted some tips for losing weight. I mentioned that, on my Slimming World plan, I am allowed to eat as much fat-free yogurt as I want. Another friend who is following a Weight Watcher’s plan, chimed in that some yogurts are really high in “points" and that she should be careful how much yogurt she eats.

As you know, following the Slimming World plan has been working quite well for me, so I decided to do a little on-line research to determine why Slimming World has decided that the benefits of eating yogurt to weight loss are worth any risk from the calories eating the yogurt brings into the body.

I actually found quite a lot about dairy and weight loss. According to an article on Virgin Media, calcium binds itself to fat which makes the fat less digestible, so the body excretes it. It is obvious how this can aid in weight loss.

A study done in 2003, according to an article on About.com, people who consumed three servings of fat-free yogurt daily lost over 20% more weight than the dieters who consumed less dairy, despite similar calorie intakes. Even better, the yogurt consumers lost a significantly larger amount of belly fat. The article quotes a lead researcher, Dr. Michael Zemel about an added benefit for the subjects who consumed more yogurt.

“They were about twice as effective at maintaining lean muscle mass. This is a critical issue when dieting -- you want to lose fat, not muscle. Muscle helps burn calories, but it is often compromised during weight loss."

Another article on the website Peak Performance mentions another study done in 2001. According to them,

“The results of this study showed that the density of the diet was inversely linked to changes in body weight and body fat – ie a high calcium density predicted weight loss and body fat reductions, and vice versa.”

This article mentions several different studies which all support the idea that a high intake of calcium helps to increase fat loss, especially in the abdominal area. There was even one study done on rats who had high blood pressure. The rats with a higher calcium concentration in their diets didn’t just lose more weight than the control rats but they also improved their blood pressure.

According to another article at Weightlossresources.co.uk, researchers at Purdue University in Indiana conducted a study which had similar results to the other studies about calcium and weight loss. In most of these studies, the subjects with the higher density of calcium in their diets are either consuming 1,000mg daily of calcium or they are eating three helpings of fat-free yogurt daily.

Another great thing about yogurt is that it can sometimes be beneficial to healthy digestion, and it also tends to have a decent amount of protein which can help keep a person feeling full for longer.

So in light of all of the studies which have found a link between the consumption of dairy and an increase in fat loss, I am going to keep eating my fat free yogurts, as well as using them in my cooking. And most likely, I am going to continue losing fat.

100+ Pounds Lost!!!

I lost 3 pounds this week, and I now weigh 171.

My total loss so far: 101.5!!!!

reaching 100 pound slost was a huge interim goal for me, and I am so glad to have made it this far! I only have 36 pounds left to lose to reach my goal weight and a healthy BMI!

You Owe It To Your Loved Ones To Get Yourself Fit!

I'm tired of seeing parents who can't be bothered to get fit. These people have children who need and depend on them, yet they still complain that dieting is too hard, they don't want to give up their favorite foods, and they can't find the time to exercise.

Now, before one of these parents who can't be bothered gets up in arms about my saying this, I will state that I was one of those parents! I gained a bit more weight with each child and became so completely obese that it was a struggle to get off of my fat ass and do anything. Even worse, I have seven children who depend on me. And I like to think that my husband needs me too.

Yes, exercise is hard work. And resisting the opportunities to binge on sweets and junk food can be challenging. Losing weight and getting fit is definitely not easy! But it is worth it. I am doing this for myself, but I am also doing this for my family. Remaining fat and not doing anything about my deteriorating weight would just be selfish of me.

My kids did not choose to have me as their mom. They're stuck with me. I did, however, choose to have kids. So I owe it to them to make sure that I have energy to be an active parent for them and to keep myself healthy enough to stick around and be in their lives for a very long time.

And for older parents who's kids are grown, don't kid yourself into thinking that this doesn't apply to you. If you love your children, then remember this: There is never a time when your kids stop needing you to be there for them!

If you have anyone in your life who loves you, whether it's a brother, sister, spouse, child, parent, grandparent or a really close friend, you owe it to them to take care of yourself. So stop making excuses and do whatever it takes to make yourself as healthy as you can be.

Three More Pounds Lost!!!

I lost three pounds this week! I was so happy to see three pounds off on the scale!

I have now lost a total of 98.5 pounds. I hit another mini goal (losing 7 stone), and I am only 1.5 pounds away from my next one (losing 100 pounds).

I really hope I can reach it by my next weigh-in!

39 pounds left until target!

Robert lost half a pound this week and has now lost 49 pounds (3 1/2 stone) since joining Slimming World.

Needing A Break?

Ever feel like you need a break? Like, although you know this is a lifestyle change, and you have no intention of giving it up, you'd like just ONE WEEK when you could stop counting calories, eat what you like and not do any additional exercise?

Yah, I'm feeling that way. I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I give in to the urge, I'll gain some weight back. And right now at this point in my weight loss journey, I am having to work so hard for every pound lost that I cringe at the very thought of gaining even half a pound of it back.

I'm 4 1/2 pounds away from being able to say I've lost 100 pounds. Maybe when I get there, I'll give myself a 2-day vacation from my new lifestyle. I've always been able to recover from 2 days of bad choices in the past, so it shouldn't be too harmful if I don't go crazy with it and slip back into binge eating patterns during that time.

It's not so much the eating as the cardio I want a break from. I just want to take more than my one day a week to rest from having to do my cardio exercises. Maybe I feel this way because I have caught a cold that's making me feel rough and very tired. Or maybe I am feeling this way because I've been over-doing the cardio exercise lately.

Just musing out loud here.

What do you do when this feeling hits?

Weigh-In & Mississippi Mud Pie

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was having computer issues.

I went for my weigh-in tonight and I've lost another 2 pounds. That puts me at 95.5 pounds lost and weighing 177 pounds. I haven't weighed this low since a couple of weeks after my third child was born. (She'll be ,15 in September, so it's been a long time since my weight has been this low.)

It was the Slimming World's Man Of The Year contest, and Robert was up for it along with one other guy. The other guy won. It was based on votes from the group. Unfortunately, a lot of the friends we've made in group who would probably have voted for Robert did not make it to the meeting last night.

However, the man who won, Ian, was very deserving of the win too, and Robert and I were both happy for him. He's lost a bit over 42 pounds (46, I think?), and he's been at Slimming World since 2007.

Robert lost 4.5 pounds this week, and his total weight lost is now at 48.5 pounds (3 stone 6.5 pounds). (He's actually lost a lot more than that, but that is the amount he has lost since joining Slimming World.) He won Slimmer Of The Week this week!

Tonight was another "Bring & Try" night. Robert made his Scotch Eggs and also made a second batch of them that had chopped up bacon mixed with the sausage coating. I made a Mississippi Mud Pie. There were some delicious food brought, from quiches to sausage stuffing, and from Toffee Cream Dessert to a strawberry trifle type of dessert. The Potato Cheese Pie that our Slimming World consultant Sharon made was particularly filling.



It was a fun evening, and even though Robert didn't win Man Of The Year, he'll always be my "Man of A Lifetime."

Down Another Three Pounds

Last week, I lost one pound. I was still very frustrated with only losing one pound a week. This week was better though. At my weigh-in last night, I lost two more pounds!

My total weight loss so far is 93.5 pounds. I've gone from weighing 272.5 pounds down to weighing 179 pounds.

Yesterday was Robert's birthday. I made him a healthy mandarin cheesecake for us to have at home. I also made two Banana Scan Bran cakes with chocolate "frosting" which we shared at the Slimming World meeting. Robert cooked our meal and made his favorite, Beef Madras. (Recipes will be added to my recipe blog later).)

Early in this weight loss journey, my husband lost his wedding ring due to losing so much weight. His birthday present from me was a new wedding ring. Despite him having gone into a jewelry store earlier in the week to find out his ring size, the ring was still too small. I returned it and am now waiting on the delivery of the new one.

I still wish we had found his original ring. It had a lot of sentimental value for us.

To top off his birthday fun, at his weigh-in, he found out he'd lost three pounds this week.

Yesterday's Weigh-in & My New Mini-Goal

I lost a pound this week and Robert lost half a pound. I've now lost 90.5 pounds.

On May 12th, I will have been on this weight-loss journey for a year. I'd like to reach 100 pounds lost by then. It will not be easy, because my body seems to be quite happy to be losing lately at the rate of a pound a week. But it can't hurt to try, so I'm going for it. I have three weeks to lose 9.5 pounds.

Winner of the "Do Something Different" T-shirt!

The random number generator picked a winner and the winner is MizFit! Please get back to me with a mailing address and size, so I can send you your shirt!

Did You Do Something Different This Week?

Did you do something different this week? Share in the comments what you did for exercise that was different from your normal routine. How did it feel to do? Did you enjoy it or hate it? Will you be doing it again?

I mentioned in this post that I would be in-line skating this week. True to my word, Robert and I dug out some in-line skates from our closet and tried them out today.



It was fun despite the fact that I was a bit unsteady. I realized that I prefer roller skates to in-line skates, so I've decided to buy myself a pair of roller skates along with elbow pads, knee pads, wrist guards and a helmet. Robert and I will definitey be doing more skating in the future!

Another Weigh-In

I got tired of losing only a pound a week for the past few weeks, so I increased my exercise just for this week, and it worked. I lost 4 pounds! :)

My total weight loss so far is 89.5 pounds. I only have 48 pounds to go to reach my target weight! :)

It's starting to look like I'll actually get there this year, and that is really exciting for me!

Robert made some delicious and healthy dishes for our dinner tonight. He made homemade scotch eggs and Breakfast Vindaloo.

Both recipes and others can be found in my recipe blog Skinny Dreaming Recipes.

Do Something Different! (and a Give-Away)

I've read many studies that show that it is helpful to weight loss to change the way you workout. Doing the same thing all of the time means your body gets used to it and stops burning calories as efficiently during that activity.

I am guilty of always doing the same thing. I get into a routine and find it very difficult to change it. I suspect a lot of people have this problem.

So this week, I am making a challenge to you. Do something different. For just two exercise sessions this week, do something that you don't normally do.

For example, this week, I am going to do some in-line skating. Something I have not done in many years.

Now for the give-away:



The prize: A value tee from my shop that says, "Do Something Different!"

Share in my comments what you plan on doing. Then come back after you've done it and
share in my comments again how it felt to do. You have until April 14th, 2009 to enter. A random number generator will pick the winner on April 15th.

Not limited to just the US. Anyone can participate.

Extra entry: You may get one extra entry by linking me to or e-mailing me a picture of you doing the activity. (Pictures may be used in a future blog post.)

One More Pound!

This week's weigh-in has me down another pound. It can be frustrating to lose only one pound each week, as I have done for the past three weeks, but at least my weight is still going in the right direction! I've now lost a total of 85.5 pounds (6 stone 1.5 pounds).

Robert lost 2 1/2 pounds this week and is now at his all-time lowest weight since starting our weight loss journey! We're both very focused on having terrific results this week too!