Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!  We’re heading out to my mom and dad’s  for Turkey and the fixin’s later today.  Woohoo!

And, looking at the  chart below (which – in spite of how drastic it looks is only .3lb weight gain! – but still….SO frustrating!) I’m glad I’m going this afternoon.  Many of my friends had their Turkey yesterday.  If I had had mine yesterday, this chart would have looked very different, I’m sure!  :)

I’ve been doing some great reading in the book The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing* and discovering all over again the role that stress plays in weight gain. I can see that I’ve got to work on this very seriously, and get my hormones balanaced again.

Ok, on to happier things:

What?!!! What is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a supergrain seed that is considered a complete protein because it contains all 8 amino acids, making it an excellent protein choice for vegetarians.

Quinoa is high in:

• magnesium
• manganese
• fiber
• copper
• Riboflavin

If you compare Quinoa to other grains, you’ll find that it is higher in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley, or corn.

Quinoa has shown to help reduce symptoms in migraine headaches, asthma in children, gallstones, type 2 Diabetes, and heart disease.

Quinoa is also known as an “endurance food”.  It gives energy and helps you go for the “long haul”.

You can replace most grains (rice, couscous, etc.) with quinoa in your recipes.  If you need more help, here’s a link for How To Cook Quinoa, Easy Quinoa Recipes

If you found this article helpful, please “like” it below – I’d sure appreciate it!

Oh, and the little * next to the book title lets you know that if you purchase this book from the link I provided, I get a small “Thank you” in commissions from Amazon. Just FYI.

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Get your own graph at skinnyr

Ok, stayin’ steady is better than going up! I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of days thinking through this whole weight loss thing. Right now, it’s all about grace (I’ll talk a bit about that on Wednesday) but I’m feeling the itch to push into high gear here. There are some things I need to wrap up, first – which are being wrapped! – and these things will free up a chunk of my time, which is great. When that time is freed up, I will be able to do some serious focusing here, and I’m looking forward to that! Watch for that over the next couple of weeks.

So, changing the subject….

Let’s take a look at this week’s superfood:  SPINACH!  Now I LOVE spinach, however you want to serve it – creamed, raw, steamed, tossed, chopped, whatever.  I’ve loved spinach my whole life, and was a HUGE fan of Popeye when I was very young.

Let’s see why spinach is so very good for us:

Spinach is loaded with

• calcium
• folic acid
• vitamin K
• iron
• vitamin C
• fiber
• carotenoids
• lutein and
• bioflavanoids

It helps to:

• control cancer (especially colon, lung and breast cancers)
• protect against heart disease and
• prevents cataracts, as well as age related macular degeneration

Now, that’s not bad!

Need some great ideas for serving it?  A friend shared this recipe with me on Facebook – hides the spinach really well, I hear:

Spinach Smoothie!
2 C fresh spinach
1 C frozen blueberries
1 banana
1/2 C yogurt
1/4 C pineapple
1/4 c frozen cherries (or not, if you don’t have them!)
1/4 C orange juice (or an orange, for more fiber)
mix it all up and top it with fruit if you want, but nobody will ever know there’s spinach in it!
(Oh, and apparently the recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens, but I don’t have any other details on it – sorry! They have more smoothie recipes here)

Now that sounds yummy!  Give it a try and post your comments below!

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Get your own graph at skinnyr
Here we are again, things are lookin’ good!  I’m quite happy with my progress considering I have so little time right now to pay that much attention.  I’m also too busy to be bored or to snack, so that helps, LOL!

I continue to research effective ways to lose weight and get healthy and on our next shopping list I’m going to be putting those items I need to follow Tim Ferriss’ food plan: How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise.   Looks yummy, is very doable, and is incredibly easy.  Lots of yummy food, too.  I will, of course, be doing exercise with it.

We’re now finally back to walking, again!!  This time, I need it to stay without injury or hassle.  I really miss my walks!  This has been a long hard season!  The sun seems to have arrived for summer, though, and we’re hoping the snow will now stay away until December at least!!! (yes, folks, this is Calgary.  It can snow any month of the year – I’ve seen snow in August…)

Ok, so what is today’s superfood?

Rhubarb!

This one’s kind of cool, because we don’t hear about it often.  I LOVE rhubarb, but my husband hates it, so we don’t eat it often.  I love it stewed with a little sucanat and mixed with natural yogurt.  Mmmmm.  We usually think of rhubarb as a fruit, but in fact, it’s a vegetable from the same family as sorrel and buckwheat.

So, why is it good for you?

• It’s high in dietary fibre
• rich in potassium and vitamin C.
• possibly plays a role in helping menopausal women deal with hot flashes!!!  Researchers believe there’s something in the root that mimics a form of estrogen, but they’re still looking in to it.

How to eat rhubarb:

• this article lists 7 options for different ways to try rhubarb
• You can find some healthier recipes for rhubarb here – just use a better sugar than standard white.
• Here are some that have slightly less standard ingredients, but much healthier results: Spring Rhubarb and Strawberrries

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A couple of weeks ago I wasn’t feeling very well.  It was dinner time, and I was “nibbly” but not too hungry.  I wanted something quick, nutritious, and satisfying.  My choice?  A plate of fresh, homemade sweet potato fries.  You can hardly beat a sweet potato for its nutritional content, and it sure doesn’t need any flavour enhancements – though I do like mine tossed in some fresh-squeezed lemon juice!

However, don’t be conned into thinking that purchasing frozen sweet potato fries is a simple, healthy alternative.  For comparison, check out my ingredient list:

Sweet potatoes, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, raw unrefined sea salt, fresh squeezed lemon juice

Now check out McCain’s Sweet Potato Fries ingredients list:

Sweet potatoes, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following oils: Canola, Soybean, Cottonseed, Sunflower, Corn), potato starch – modified, rice flour, dextrin, sugar, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate), salt, malt powder, malted barley, wheat flour, dextrose), natural flavor, dehydrated sweet potatoes, maltodextrin, molasses, spice & coloring, xanthan gum, corn starch –modified, triglycerides, annatto (color), sodium acid pyrophosphate added to maintain natural color.

Not quite the same thing…

Fresh ones take about 10 minutes to slice, and 30 minutes to bake at 400.  Not that difficult or time consuming.  Make a large tossed salad to go with them, and you have a simple, highly nutritious, ultra-satisfying  meal.

Try it out and post your comments below!

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In the face of all the rage about eating several small meals per day instead of three big ones, comes some interesting research on the benefits of fasting.  Still a little controversial, one of the most popular explanations is found in the e-book “Eat-Stop-Eat” by Brad Pilon, and there is another version of IF running around called “Fast-5” (a free download when you register for a free account), and it’s a large component of paleolithic nutrition, which is also becoming quite popular.

Brad’s version is, by far, the most researched and comprehensive, but the “Fast-5″ is also an interesting twist.  The basic premise is that short-term intermittent fasting is a healthy lifestyle choice not just for weight loss, but for overall health.  The idea is to have 1 or 2 short fasts (ideally 24 hrs) every week, and to structure them so that you still eat every day.  For example, in “Eat-Stop-Eat” you fast from 6pm-6pm – so after dinner to right before dinner the next day, once or twice a week.  In “Fast-5” it’s recommended that you eat only from 5pm -10pm every night, and fast 19 hours a day.

Brad Pilon also recommends regular resistance training – like weight training, to avoid the loss of muscle.

There are many benefits to fasting:

• Decreased body fat & body weight

• Maintenance of skeletal muscle mass

• Decreased blood glucose levels

• Decreased insulin levels & increased insulin sensitivity

• Increased lipolysis & fat oxidationIncreased Uncoupling Protein 3 mRNA

• Increased norepinephrine & epinephrine levels

• Increased Glucagon levels Increased growth hormone levels. (Eat-Stop-Eat, page 44)

There is a lot of fear wrapped up in fasting – like muscle loss, lowered metabolism, etc. not all of which is based on science.  Several months ago I came across this interesting podcast “Metabolism Myths” which started me thinking about the benefits of fasting, and of not living in a permanently “fed” state, and in researching IF I also came across this interesting article – a little hard to read, but very informative: An Objective Look at Intermittent Fasting.

All in all, an interesting journey.  The jury isn’t out yet, but it’s definitely worth taking a good look.  I mean, let’s face it, we Westerners are simply too “fed up” in every area.  A little abstention really can’t hurt, now, can it?

Happy Walking!

Darlene

PS – don’t forget to check out my two new programs:  Walking Clubs and Total Body Radiance!

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On the weekend we got visited by the Girl Guides and their addicting cookies.  I wasn’t home, so my husband (bless him) bought two.

There are many things in this life I can easily resist.  Vanilla Girl Guide cookies aren’t one of them.

On my long walk on Sunday I was listening to an excellent podcast called “Get Fit!  Stay Healthy!”  Tina Anderson, the host, talked about a quick way to deal with cravings: splash cold water on your face and brush your teeth.  I thought that was a great idea.

I came home and did some more research on dealing with cravings, and look at this cool page I found:  Food Cravings

So, keep a travel toothbrush in your pocket, and arm yourself with the RIGHT food from that list, and you should be set!

Oh, and don’t succumb to the Girl Guide Cookies!

Happy Walking!

Darlene

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It’s a whole new look for PraiseWalker!! What do you think?

My beloved daughter Tina designed it (she used this template as her base) and then my wonderful VA from England put it all together (there are still a few kinks to work out, but we’re getting there!) We’ve done it in celebration of a new (and incredibly exciting!) launch I’m doing. Details later…

I had the immense opportunity to go on an Alaskan Cruise this past summer with my siblings and my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary.  Along with great fellowship, lazy days, stunning scenery, and the fun of hanging out with members of my family I don’t get to see often, we took in some great classes.  One of the classes we took was on weight loss (Sigh – on a cruise ship full of the most amazing food…)  Anyway, I learned something there that totally surprised me.

Your liver is responsible for weight loss.  Who’da thunk it?

I discovered that your liver has two main functions: it detoxes the body and metabolizes fat.  The problem is that with all the C.R.A.P. (Caffeine, Refined Sugar, Additives and Preservatives) we eat, the liver is so exhausted and overwhelmed with its detox job that it has no time for the fat metabolizing.  It then sets up a situation that actually prevents your body from using the fat, and so it just sits there until the liver can get to it (much like the paperwork on my desk…)

Doing a detox is also not always the best answer.  This tends to release too many toxins into your system, and the liver gets totally overloaded trying to keep up (much like the kids adding the piles of paperwork from the kitchen onto my desk…) and then you really get behind.

The trick is to detox slowly and surely, changing your diet to support the liver function and strengthen its ability to work well.

When the liver is functioning well, and you are not stuffing your body with C.R.A.P. you can’t help but lose weight – how cool is that?!

So, how do you know if your liver is the cause of your weight gain?  If you have the “spare tire around the middle” syndrome, it likely is.

What can you do about it?

Tune it tomorrow and I’ll show you, step-by-step.

Coolio.

Darlene

I’m always collecting great ideas for better health. The following is something I collected, but neglected to write down the credit information. If you know where it’s from, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

‘Tis the season to eat junk food! I love the chocolate, the sugar cookies, the shortbread cookies, good quality fruit cake, and butter tarts! Yum!!!

My clothing, however, is not so fond of it, so I try to limit it somewhat. Unfortunately!

Anyway, as I mentioned above, I found this interesting little tidbit on giving into – or not giving into – your cravings for junk food:

If you are going to break your diet and eat junk – go for it – let yourself have it – BUT promise to do this procedure first before you do:

a. Drink a glass of water …

b. Wait 10 minutes …

c. If you still want your junk, eat a big garden salad (with very little dressing – just enough to make it taste good) and a bit of protein if that’s in your diet.

d. Wait 10 more minutes …

e. If you still want your junk eat it.

In most cases, this will prevent you from even wanting it and at worst you’ll eat much less. Further, the greens and protein will lessen some of the negative impact from the junk. The beauty of this is that it eliminates the “I can’t ever have this” desperation that sets in from extreme dieting.

So, some great tips – try them out and let me know how they worked for you!

Darlene