Category Archives: Health

Any post about health related topics such as: weight loss, vitamins, etc.

Health

Walking Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone Review

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Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone

Hi! Beauties! As my last post said, I just turned 50. I am feeling better now than I have in a long time. I believe along with losing the weight I did since 2012, this Walk Away the Pounds Ultimate Collection DVD has a lot to do with it. If you have followed this blog and read about my weight loss journey (Health Category) you know that I was an avid outdoor walker during my weight loss journey, I was up to walking 6 miles most every day. Then once I reached my goal and life happens as it always does. I got a way from my exercise. A friend of mine recommended this workout to me. So one day while on the phone with her, I ordered it. For your convenience, I will leave a link that you can use to review or purchase this DVD on the bottom of this review.

Like I was saying, I was up to walking 6 miles most days. Then life happened, then weather turned cold, etc….. you know the excuses. I did join the closest gym to me, 17 miles away. That did not work out for me because I didn’t want to drive that far every day to work out. When I received this in the mail after ordering it off of Amazon, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased. Leslie was not some personal trainer who spent the whole video trying to motivate you by yelling at you. She gently but effectively motivates you. I have only done the first 2 workouts and to be honest, I do the first one the most. It is not a real long workout but it is a good one. You are not just walking in place either.  She and the other people on the video uses some soft round two pound weights during part of the workout, which helps the short workout to be more effective and help you burn more calories. She does give you the option in the video during the workout not to use them, so you don’t have to.

Two Pound Workout Weights

I did not have the above pictured soft weighted balls at first. I found the ones above at a store in Rockwall, TX. I will leave the link to purchase these online, on the bottom of this review, so if you do not want to wait until you have time to shop around for them like I did. I just happened upon them. I did however have the two pound weight bars and I used them until I found the soft round weighted balls. They worked fine, I will say I do prefer the soft ones since I have tried them. You don’t have to have either kind of weights to do the workout, you can do it without weights.

I can say, I did not realize until doing the 4 simple movements you do while participating in this workout how quickly you do lose your coordination, muscle or strength by not doing some kind of exercise daily or even just 3 times a week. So long story, short, I would definitely recommend this exercise DVD no matter your age. Like she says all you have to do is move and you can’t do the workout wrong. This is not a sponsored blog post. I bought this program along with weights myself. Some links are affiliated links.

Here are the links to the products I mentioned. I hope you will at least go to the website and check the DVD out and even read more reviews about it before you make your decision whether to purchase or not.

Leslie Sansone: Walk Away the Pounds Ultimate Collection

Champion Barbell Hand Held Fitness Ball, Red, 2-Pound

SPRI Deluxe Vinyl Dumbbells (Lt. Purple, 2-Pound) (Set of 2)

Thank you and hugs!

xoxo

Health

My Gastric Bypass Journey Series: Part 5(final), Stages 4-6

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Funny Cow Diet Picture

Hi! Beauties! Today is the final article of My Gastric Bypass Journey Series. I will be covering the last 3 stages. As the above picture shows, I thought we would end this series with some humor! Seriously, though, the most important thing I have learned through my journey is not to look at the way I eat as a diet but as a change to a healthier way of eating and thinking. The way I should have been eating all along. I am not going to sit here and tell you that I don’t have to fight cravings just because I have had this surgery. That would be a lie. The second most important thing I have learned is what the doctor told me on my first visit, to lose weight is a simple process it is calories in verses calories out, this is what it all boils down to. Not so simple to do, but in theory and actual truth it is simple. Okay, last time we left off at stage 3, the post-op full liquid diet. Today we will cover stages 4-6.

Healthy Plate Portions

The above picture is what the nutritionist showed me what is considered a healthy plate for everyone. The amounts of each category might be different for someone who has not had the Gastric Bypass but the way the plate is divided  into 3 sections is a healthy plate. This has replaced the old pyramid system they use to go by. A tip she gave me is to not eat off of a regular sized plate but to use a white salad plate and visually you will see a fuller plate. Don’t laugh, it does work!  Now, on to stage 4. This stage lasts for 7 days and it is a pureed/soft diet. The consistency of baby food or applesauce. The purpose of pureed textures is to prevent blockages at the opening leaving the stomach. These are the tips for stage 4:

  • Slowly increase portions to 2 ounces (4 Tbsp) or 1/4 cup semi solid or 1/2 cup liquid per meal.
  • Eat slowly, it should take 30 minutes to consume 2 ounces of food.
  • Focus on proteins first, produce and then the starches.
  • DO NOT EAT AND DRINK AT THE SAME TIME, wait at least an hour after eating before you drink something.
  • Continue to take your chewable multivitamins and calcium citrate daily.
  • Now you should be in the habit of exercising at least 20-30 minutes 2-4 days/week. I chose walking.

Stage 5: Soft Low Fat Diet, starts six weeks after surgery. Your portions at 6 weeks will be 3 Tbsps – 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) total, at 3 months your portions may be closer to 1/2 cup (6-8 Tbsp) total. These are the tips for stage 5:

  • You must chew your foods 25-35 times before swallowing.
  • You must cut your meats to the size of a pencil top eraser.
  • Eat slowly and chew your foods to a mushy texture.
  • DO NOT EAT AND DRINK AT THE SAME TIME, stop drinking 30 minutes before you eat and wait an hour after you eat before you drink again.
  • Continue to take your chewable multivitamins and calcium citrate daily.
  • Continue exercising at least 20-30 minutes 4-6 days/week. I still chose walking.

Stage 6: Healthy Lifestyle. Your pouch may soften and expand after 6-9 months after surgery. Your regular appetite may return and you may be able to tolerate larger amount of food. This is natural, but it’s vital that you continue to keep control of what and how much you eat. Eat 3 times daily. These are the tips for stage 6 and hopefully from then on:

  • Eat 3 small meals per day. Over eating can cause nausea, vomiting and stretch the pouch.
  • Take 20-30 minutes to eat each meal. No Grazing!
  • Make sure to get at least 65 grams of protein a day.
  • DO NOT EAT AND DRINK AT THE SAME TIME, stop drinking 30 minutes before you eat and wait an hour after you eat before you drink again.
  • Sip on fluids between meals. Aim for 64 oz of fluid per day from non-caloric, non-carbonated, non- caffeinated fluid daily.
  • Watch your snacking or grazing in between meals. Try not to do this at all.
  • NEVER skip meals.
  • Take all recommended vitamin and mineral supplements.
  • Exercise on average of 30-40 minutes, 4-6 times a week. I was up to walking about 6 miles before winter came. I will be returning to walking as soon as weather permits.
  • Sleep approximately 7-8 hours per night.

You will need to at least once a year have labs drawn by your weight or your primary care doctor to check your “Vitamin Laboratory Protocol”.  If you choose your primary care doctor and he/she is not familiar with what lab tests that needs to be done, have him/she to contact your weight doctor to learn what lab tests are needed. This is very important to avoid any health issues.

I hope I have helped someone who has followed this series with their decision process for whether or not to have this surgery. If not with that, hopefully I have helped someone with making healthier food choices. If you want any further articles giving you examples of the different proteins, vegetables and starches just let me know below in the comments.

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