exercise and meal planning.
 | Hi, Donna. How long have you been on the program? Are you using the Menu Planner application or the Express Meal Plans? Where are you seeing salty foods? |
 | I hold my water in my |
 | Spongy, that Zevia cola you’re referring to at Walmart. It’s not 4 for $49 it’s 6 x 4 which is 24 for that price. You need to read more careful. |
 | Stevia is found in “Coca Cola Life”, it’s in a green bottle and can be bought in the UK although at the moment it’s exclusive to Morrisons because it’s just been released and it’s only 75p for 500ml or £1 for a 2 litre bottle. It’s sweetened from natural sources from the leaf of the stevia plant. |
| | Hi, Spongy. Zevia is sold on Amazon for less (about $1 per can http://www.amazon.com/Zevia-Natural-Cherry-Ounce-case/dp/B00DXOR4W2/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1411760995&sr=8-10&keywords=cherry+cola+flavor). You can also try to mix plain carbonated (i.e. soda) water + a good natural sweetener + cherry cola flavoring/extract (also available online at $24 for 8.4 fluid ounces http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Fair-Soda-Syrup-Flavors/dp/B00K8ZPL9M/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1411760995&sr=8-14&keywords=cherry+cola+flavor) + almond extract. |
 | Thank You. I found a diet soda online made with stevia but the price is absolutely ridiculously high. $46.48 for a 4 pack at walmart. I wasn’t able to find any other variations. Any suggestions? |
| | Hi, Spongy (and wheatno). Your husband may be referring to a rodent study on saccharin that was recently released – however, it does not address other sweeteners. Stevia is indeed natural, though some manufacturers do feature processed versions that may not be much better than options such as aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin. Natural Stevia has generally been found to be less harmful metabolically than artificial sweeteners. If you are interested, you can read this study, which evaluates latter in comparison to processed components of Stevia http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410280/?report=printable. |
 | I was reading Spongy’s message about Stevia being bad for you. To my knowledge,stevia is not an artificial sweetener or is it? I use stevia a lot so I would be interested in knowing more about this study. Should I limit my regular use of stevia? |
| | Hello Ossie-sharon and community, I posted a message in reference to artificial sweeteners to include stevia. According to my husband who is a biology researcher, he read that a study proved that the ingestion of these products are actually worse than consuming regular sugared drinks. Our gut bacteria processes it as extreme amount of sugar. The ratio between sugar users and sweeteners users showed that there is an immense danger of becoming diabetic if sweeteners are consumed. Have you read or heard about this study? I am trying extremely hard to quit drinking diet sodas. I cannot get water down unless it is with light coffee(no sugar, nor milk) You recommended drinks with stevia. What would my other options be besides water with lemon? I have cut back on my daily consumption of food and will reduce my intake of pickles. Thank You for your advice. |
| | Hi, Spongy. Artificial sweeteners go against your efforts in two ways: With regard to your previous post, by all means feel free to cut back on your breakfast – try to focus on the protein and fruit, if possible, with much smaller portions of carbohydrates and fats. Your body is trying to tell you something, and by all means, listen to it. |
 | Hi Spongy, If you know anyone who sells a good quality lemon essential oil you could add that to your water without any sweetener. You can also add fresh squeezed lemon to your water or tea. I do this every afternoon around 3:00 to give me the energy I need to finish the day. The lemon is a great pick me up. It will also help to settle your stomach. I drink about 80 oz of fluid a day and by 2:00 my pouch says whoa girl, no more water. So I trick it with lemon and it settles my stomach down. Good luck with finding a good replacement for the artificial sweeteners. I and fighting the battle to eliminate them from my life but it’s like I’m addicted to them. I was able to cut out 90% of sugar easier than the artificial sweetener. Not sure why but I’m determined to. We can buddy up to do that if you want. |
| | Thank You, Ossie-Sharon. How does the intake of artificial drinks go against my efforts? Please also reply to the following message that I posted 5 days ago/ I edited some portions of it since you did answer some of my questions in your last message. Hello OssieSharon, I am extremely full for breakfast therefore most of the time I feel as If I want to vomit. I am not able to have my first snack. Later, I would say from lunch-dinner, I do feel hungry. I am drinking plenty of water(6 glasses as well as 4 mugs of black with very little decaff coffee) and eating mostly pickles, asparagus and broccoli as a “free” food. My clothes fit a tiny bit tight and I am swollen. Too much water or food, perhaps? *I am attempting to lower my intake of diet drinks:( but I really like them specially, Diet Dr Pepper. Thanks for your patience. I look forward to your professional advice. |
| | Hi, Spongy. That looks great, assuming your soy milk is calcium-fortified. The only thing I would recommend is to get a little more dairy or similar – the equivalent of 1 cup of vitamin A-fortified milk or 6 oz plain yogurt as a swap for half the tuna, for example. I would also suggest finding alternatives to your diet beverages that don’t use artificial sweeteners, as these can work against your efforts here. Thinks like Diet Coke and Crystal Light don’t have many calories, but they can still make your body act like they do. You can make your own similar beverages by steeping cut fruit or berries or squeezing fresh lemon or lime juice in plain or soda water, then adding a natural sweetener such as monk fruit, xylitol, or Stevia. If you don’t progress with your goals, please do repost here, and I would be happy to troubleshoot with you. |
| | Hello OssieSharon, I changed my menu a bit today. Please let me know if I did well. Breakfast:1 Cliff Bar(Oatmeal Raisin), 4 mugs of extra light decaff coffee(No sugar nor milk. Mostly water) Snack #1: 1 cup of organic soy milk and one red apple. Lunch: 4′ sub from Subway. Honey oat bread, 1 slice of cold cut turkey, 1′ of provolone cheese, vinegar, extra black pepper, green and banana peppers, pickles, cucumber, red onions, black olives, spinach and lettuce. 32 oz diet coke and 3 glasses of water. 1 red apple. Snack #2: 1 tbsp red fat peanut butter, 8 multi-grain wheat thins crackers and 1 plum. “Free foods”: Asparagus and pickles. 16 oz crystal light peach tea beverage. Dinner: I will have 6 oz of canned tuna in water, 1/2 cup of pico de gallo, 1/2 cup of pinto beans and 3/4 cup of wild rice. Snack#3: 2 cups of watermelon, 2 mugs of decaff coffee(prepared as the morning ones) Thank You again for your time and professional advice and assistance. |
| | Hello OssieSharon, I am extremely full for breakfast therefore most of the time I feel as If I want to vomit. I am not able to have my first snack. Later, I would say from lunch-dinner, I do feel hungry. I am drinking plenty of water(6 glasses as well as 4 mugs of black with very little decaff coffee) and eating mostly pickles, asparagus and broccoli as a “free” food. I enjoy having a turkey salad from subway which includes mostly lettuce. Other veggies include: Spinach, tomatoes, purple onions, green peppers, banana peppers, pickles, cucumbers and black olives. Other items: 1 slice of cold cut turkey, 1 tsp of shredded mexican blend cheese, 1 tbsp of regular ranch dressing, black peeper and a bit of salt. As a beverage I like to drink *diet dr pepper. Is it ok to eat that for lunch every other day? My clothes fit a tiny bit tight and I am swollen. Too much water or food, perhaps? *I am attempting to lower my intake of diet drinks:( but I really like them specially, Diet Dr Pepper. Is it ok to drink 32 oz with my subway salad every other day? Thanks for your patience. I look forward to your professional advice. |
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