April Challenge

[mishela2008]

I'm game, but I still have to much to learn by April. I will start small... just trying to figure out what that is. OH, chocolate milk. That's what I'll give up!

[alivenwell]

Sounds like a good idea. I'm in.
I'm cutting out diet soda. I did that a few years ago, and ate a lot of healthy stuff. Within one month, I lose 10 pounds and a few inches off my waist.

I belong to a weight loss group. They say that dieting can slow metabolism down to the point where weight loss stops because the body is trying to hang on to its energy.

I'm simply cutting out caffeine, diet coke and eating crustless pumpkin pie for a while (reduced sugar). But, I'll also eat a wide variety of healthy stuff to stave off boredom.

If I cut out chocolate, I'd easily lose the weight. That's my challenge!

[RobinN]

Michelle - even if you just use April to learn how nutrition effects your system and can set you up for seizures. Or if you just learn about how your anti-epileptic drugs are creating an imbalance of your bodies vitamins and minerals, I think this will be a good use of your month.

Also, I can't seem to find my thread on the connection between chocolate and magnesium deficiency. You might check into this interesting fact.

Here is one to begin your search: Magnesium

[RobinN]

http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-3/issue2/sweet.html

According to the studies, doctors world-wide have misdiagnosed Aspertame poisoning as multiple sclerosis (MS), a fatal neurological disease with very similar symptoms. Aspertame poisoning can also mimic or worsen fibromyalgia, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, lupus, multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, birth defects, chronic fatigue syndrome, lyme disease, attention deficit disorder (ADD and ADHD), panic disorder, depression and other psychological disorders.

[alivenwell]

http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-3/issue2/sweet.html

Wow! I heard that horror story about aspertame, but wondered if it also applied to sucrolose or Splenda. I've been heavily drinking diet coke (40 oz daily).

I bought a book from Amazon mentioned in this site about excitotoxins, but didn't read it too thoroughly yet. That's an inspiration for me to quit the diet coke again.

Why does the lack of a diet beverage cause weight loss? Is it caffeine, artificial sweetener, sodium, or something else?

I'll gradually wean myself off the caffeine or drink black tea for the healthy flavenoids.
Cutting out the caffeine gives me a major headache.

[stilldancing_98]

It's my birthday to this month. 43. I will cool down on my shots of coffee. I do 6 shots of esspresso over ice. oops. I drink green tea. So does my son. Diet has every thing to do with seizures. Its your whole body! Bone head Dr. I have to lose about 25 pounds to. Except on my birthday. he he

[RobinN]

I am not sure what you think of Dr Mercola, but I think he hits the mark most of the time

http://www.sweetdeception.com/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...30139708093168
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA106654
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...reactions.aspx
http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/splenda-adverse.txt

as for the weight loss,

With diet soda the brain may be tricked, ABC News medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard says. "The taste buds taste sweet, but there's no calorie load that comes with it. There's a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way."

http://www.injuryboard.com/national-...googleid=29544

It isn't going to be easy to change this habit, but remember that it takes (I believe this is correct) 21 days to change a habit.

I have been able to change Rebecca's need for an occasional soda by asking her to drink fresh squeezed lemonade. We use sugar though.

[brain]

It's my birthday to this month. 43. I will cool down on my shots of coffee. I do 6 shots of esspresso over ice. oops. I drink green tea. So does my son. Diet has every thing to do with seizures. Its your whole body! Bone head Dr. I have to lose about 25 pounds to. Except on my birthday. he he

SEND ME YOUR WEIGHT!
I NEED IT DESPERATELY!

[Danielle]

Okay Robin, I'll give it a shot. But, I'm sorry I just can't give up Chocolate!! No Way!!

[Eyes_herself]

I lost 8 lbs this weekend!?!! Is that healthy? I think it was just bloated weight. My work noticed. Craazy! I also fit better in my jeans.

Raw food isn't tooo easy to adjust to, especially since I have not had added sugar or salt-I miss pizza soooo much. I eat constantly! Grapes, spinach, mangoes, avacados, tomatoes, cucumbers, almonds, raw fish (reputable supplier), and raw organic free range eggs...etc. Sooo I'm not eating unhealthy. The sudden weight drop made me double take. Oh Hormones! :P What sucks is that I don't have a dehydrator So I cheat a bit and have about one-two servings of carbs a day. ALSO I am a poor college student who really cannot afford to buy all of the seeds and such to be making my own dehydrated bread. I'll live. haha.

At work they were TORTURING me. Free pizza, fried chicken and french fries!! But I was strong and ordered vegetarian raw middle easter food.

Keep it up everybody!

[RobinN]

Wow I am impressed Eyes...
I begin in the morning.

Danielle - I was told of a good healthy way to make the chocolate without all of the bad additives. I have yet to try it, but it is in the recipe section of CWE. It is using stevia. I also read somewhere that adding coconut butter to it works well. I think I will try it just for an experiment. I haven't tried stevia yet.

Any more joining the health bunch?

[Bernard]

[PSA]I hope everyone taking on the April challenge is keeping a diary/journal to monitor how any changes are affecting them. It is possible to overdo things.[/PSA]

[Danielle]

thanks for the advice Robin! I'll have to try that out. Although, this is probably a stupid question, but what is stevia? I've never heard of it before.

[angel]

for the atkins diet it says "Fats (e.g., 36% heavy whipping cream, oils, butter, mayonnaise) encouraged" Im thinking this diet is way to fatty for me.....

btw Ive cut back to three cups of coffee.... & I havent cut back on smoking yet

[RobinN]

Good girl Angel, every little bit helps.
I would stick to the good fats, and not the man made ones. Encouraged meaning that you don't need to shy away from them like you do on low fat diets. There is a lot of controversy on cholesterol and what we have been led to believe lately. Check out Dr. Mercola's site and read some of what is being discussed.

Danielle - Stevia is a natural sugar substitute. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

[BuckeyeFan]

Its April 1st and we're off!!! (birdy cheated, she was already off)

I am going to try some of the Atkins ideas - had already discussed this with my Primary.

Best of Luck to all ...

[brain]

Its April 1st and we're off!!! (birdy cheated, she was already off)

I am going to try some of the Atkins ideas - had already discussed this with my Primary.

Best of Luck to all ...

TOMORROW IS APRIL 1st!!!

[Bernard]

TOMORROW IS APRIL 1st!!!

Anyone remember that old Muppets Show?

[BuckeyeFan]

Is Florida on a different calendar than Ohio???

It's Tuesday Brain.

[RobinN]

April (cough) Fools... (cough cough)

How did you all do today? I have to say that I thought quite a few times about bread, but I turned that voice off.