Month: January 2024

Lisa Hochstein’s Pink Tweed Dress / Real Housewives of Miami Season 6 Episode 10 Fashion

Lisa Hochstein’s closet is full of the perfect mini dresses, and her pink tweed piece at tonight’s Real Housewives of Miami Mother’s Day party was the perfect. Because in my opinion the only look that could have been better definitely involved some boxing gloves.

The Realest Housewife

Big Blonde Hair

Originally posted at: Lisa Hochstein’s Pink Tweed Dress

I was a roly-poly kid, a squishy teen, and a squashier young adult (ages 18 to 36). Like most of us, I’ve yo-yo’d through a bazillion diets and a million more workouts with the likes of Jane Fonda; Lilias, Yoga and You; and Jazzercise, but I never created a permeant loss for myself.

Never even came close.

But guess what? (You might want to sit down.) The world has moved on from ye diets of old. We’re in a new year – inside a young century – and we know a lot more about how to lose weight. And stay tuned, because there’s exciting news on the forever-loss front as well.

Quick Backstory

Even when I was little, I was big. I started to balloon around the age of seven.

I was teased in school, of course, but was bummed to see that even the adults got in on the action. From coworkers I’d hear, “You’d be so pretty if you’d lose weight.”

From a family member when seeing me in my new red robe at Christmas, “You look like Santa.”

Such fun.

But by my early 40s, I lost 55-pounds (with toddlers running around); fast-forward 17 years and I’ve kept the original loss off. (No yo-yo-ing and I’m currently 59.)

We Had to Figure It Out Ourselves

In a nutshell, it’s not in the diet-world’s best interest for you and me to figure out how to have a forever-loss. So, we have to figure it out ourselves.

And I think I’ve hit on it.

Over the last 17 years, I pieced together a map that details how to create a long-term, permeant weight loss.

Thanks to two masterpiece books, Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, along with a super cool study on habits out of England, we have a more detailed understanding about how successful long-term change happens and how habit is the force behind so much good in our lives, but especially for a long-term weight loss.

James Clear tells us, “We’re not human beings. We’re habit beings.”

Given that, let’s say that strong embedded habits – that’ll have our backs forever – are the foundation of our house. And that new mindsets and super skills are the well-built house’s frame.

So, based on our smart home, this is what I figured out: smart eating habits + powerful new mindsets + precision super skills put you and me on the path to a forever weight loss.

Let me give you a handful of examples.

My Go-To Costco Habit (One Smart New Habit)

The pain is real. Shopping at Costco is only for the most skilled shopper because it’s too easy to run in for red grapes and come out with a double kayak.

But I’ve created the habit of going to Costco two or three times a month for the following:

• Sweet Kale (found in cold section behind fruit).
• Baby carrots and tubs of salad (also in cold section behind fruit).
• Frozen Stir-Fry – I love the frozen veggies at Costco (a giant bag labeled “Stir Fry” next to frozen strawberries and blueberries which I also grab).
• Frozen dark sweet cherries (for my oatmeal).
• Red grapes if they’re in (I love to eat them with cottage cheese).
• Any and all of the other fruit.
• Dried plums (once called prunes until the marketing department got a clue).
• Plant based protein powder (I love vanilla).

Now, here’s the real trick: besides shopping at Costco, I made more habits for myself like I stay out of the bakery and candy aisle entirely. Haven’t seen them in years.

Buh-Bye Need for Willpower (One New Mindset)

As you might have noticed, our culture is riddled with come-hither food. So, save yourself by asking the strongest of questions (that I use all the time), “Do I want the donuts or do I want to be a size 10”? (This sentence whisks me out of inappropriate-eating land – cookies, candy, ice cream – in a blink.) Best of all, the more you use this question, the stronger it gets.

Relying on willpower to take us to our preferred weight is so last century. It went the way of yo-yo dieting.

And good riddance.

Annihilating Errand-Eating (One Precision Skill)

I always carry a cold-tote packed with healthy bites and take the tote everywhere when I’m out and about. In my cold-tote you’ll likely find a hard-boiled egg, mini whole wheat banana muffins, a sliced apple, a small yogurt cup and so forth. I usually take two or three of the tiny bites with me.

With your cold-tote’s riding shotgun, you’ll never succumb to the donut shop and the fast-not-food drive thrus again.

Instead of willpower (which never worked long-term anyway), we’re replacing the vintage method of yo-yo-ing with seriously upleveled habits, mindsets, and super skills.

It’s 2024 and we’re jumping in the brand-new chapter that’s unfolding in our lives.

Just begin.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you ever wondered why weight maintenance has seemed so elusive? Do you blame yourself for a “lack of willpower?” What do you think about creating strong habits that serve you? Do you think our understanding of weight loss grows from decade to decade?

Click Here for Additional Stock in Her Skirt

Originally posted at: Whitney Rose’s Green One Shoulder Crop Top & Skirt

Click Here for Additional Stock in Her Top

Originally posted at: Angie Katsenevas’ Red Embellished Cutout Midi Dress

The biggest chemical reaction that your body experiences in a day is from the food that you put into it. Therefore, quality counts. And so does the very first thing that you eat each day.

Eating a healthy breakfast does two things for your health. First, it keeps your blood sugar level stable, which in turn keeps you from being ravenous by lunchtime. Also, it helps you function at maximum mental and physical capacity because your body is running on clean fuel.

Grab and Go Breakfast Ideas

Some people don’t like to eat first thing in the morning, or they don’t have the time. For those people, I recommend keeping breakfast snacks in their fridge so that they can take the food with them. These may be:

• Baggies of nuts and dried fruit
• Yoghurt cups (get the kind without sugar)
• Hard boiled eggs
• Baggies of sliced veggies, like celery, carrots and jicama

Also, putting a teaspoon of coconut oil in your morning coffee or tea will stave off hunger and help you ease into your day if you are going to eat later.

Breakfast Salad

I love an energizing salad for breakfast. Chopped lettuce, chopped tomato, ¼ of an avocado, two medium boiled or hard-boiled eggs.

I prefer the medium boiled because the yolks and the avocado coat the mixture like a dressing when you mix it all up. If you use dressing, just use olive oil and a splash of vinegar.

Smoothies

Smoothies are a great breakfast, but only when you make them yourself. Smoothies from fast food places usually have added sugar or corn syrup.

In a blender, use blueberries, a can of low-fat coconut milk, 4 drops of stevia, a few frozen peaches, and a couple scoops of protein powder. Add ice to desired consistency.

You can use some natural fiber too, like one teaspoon of flax seeds. A tablespoon of almond butter will give the smoothie a crunchy taste and digest slower so that you are not hungry before lunch.

Eggs and Greens

In a skillet with a little oil, throw in some chopped chard and a small chopped yellow squash. Add a little water and simmer for about three minutes. Add two eggs and cook until desired consistency. Nutrition dense, low on calories.

Garnett Yams and Quinoa

Garnett Yams and quinoa is one of my favorite winter breakfasts. I do some food prep over the weekends, so that I always have something healthy and nutritious in my refrigerator and cupboards.

I cook up some quinoa and bake Garnett yams, which can easily be stored and used any time during the week for any meal.

Garnett yams

Cut off the ends and then bake on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for an hour at 350 degrees or until soft to the touch.

Quinoa

Put one cup dried quinoa in a saucepan. Pour 2 ¼ cups of water into the pan and bring to boil. Turn to lowest flame and cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar so that steam can escape. The quinoa should cook and fluff up in about 20 minutes. You can also follow the directions on the box.

For a delicious breakfast, put some quinoa in a bowl and ½ of a cooked & peeled Garnett yam. Mush it all together and throw in some almonds or other nuts and a little coconut oil, if you like.

The breakfast meal should be an energizing experience. Stay away from sugar and baked goods. Keep some vegetable juice on hand to wash down your meal.

Though I am not the biggest fan of on-the-go eating, you can have a nutritious breakfast with a cup of vegetable juice (V-8 style), a couple of hard-boiled eggs and a handful of nuts.

What you put into your body first thing is important and so is what you put into your head and your heart first thing.

Remember what Alice from the Looking Glass said: “Feed your head.” If you can make the time to get up a little earlier, greet the day with gratitude and sit down and share breakfast with a partner, great! Ask each other “What’s in your heart today?” That makes for beautiful conversation.

And if you are eating breakfast alone, like so many working people are, do it while reading something inspirational that will inspire you to be kinder to yourself and others throughout the day.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you have a favorite breakfast food? Or a breakfast routine? Please share with us in the comments below.