Walking with a New Twist

I am finally back to my workouts and doing it with a vengeance. Why you may ask? I recently had a job interview and when I tried on what I thought were my "impression making clothing" I ended up looking like Elmer Fudd. My belly was a round little pot and I could not even button my jacket. My blouse kept popping open because the buttons would not stay closed due to the stress my belly was putting on them (sigh).

So to motivate me into getting into the workout groove, I purchased 2 new DVDs to kick start my plan. ShapelyGirl: Walking Fit with Debra Mazda is one of them.

The DVD focuses on Plus Sized Gals, but if you ask me, they are for everyone. I love inviting the creator (leader of the exercises) Debra Mazda, makes you feel; all warm and fuzzy, while encouraging you to keep moving. She also is an advocate that size does not matter, but health does.

I have tons of DVDs by the walking queen, (dare I say her name? oh hell, why not) Leslie Sansone; she has gotten as boring to me as watching paint dry in a dungeon, while sitting in the dark. All her stuff seems to be the same, and that chatter she goes into is like having honey poured into your ears; sticky, sweet and annoying.

Give the Shapelygirl series a try, there are 4 DVDs in all from Debra Mazda and let me know what you think. Check her out on http://www.collagevideo.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/

TTFN
Dietdiva 4 Life

Missed Me?

I know it seems like I have been MIA for some time. I had to take some time off from blogging to concentrate on school. Thankfully, I have completed my degree, while working full time I might add, and now will be able to post more often. So if I had any followers out there, keep an eye out for me, I am ready to rock and roll.

Unfortunately, along with concentrating on school, I failed at my workouts as well. Not to worry, I have a bunch of new DVDs sitting on the shelf, waiting to be popped into the DVD player so I can rate them. I plan on blowing the dust off of them and getting back into my workout rhythm as well.

Baby...I am back!!

Bootylicious

Divas,
I am finally better from my death bed flu, (yeah) and am ready to rock and roll. While I was recuperating from the flu, I could not do a whole lot of anything. So I did what I could do, which was checking out new exercise videos on line. The Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian, you now the one that is famous for having a big booty and a sex tape has released a video series called “Fit in Your Jeans by Friday”. The titles of these workouts are as follows: Ultimate Butt Body Sculpt, Amazing Abs Body Sculpt and Butt Blasting Cardio Step.

I read the reviews on http://www.amazon.com/ as that seems to be the only place one can purchase these DVDs and they got rave reviews, so me, being a big sucka, I broke down and purchased all 3 of these bad boys, head’s up, they run for around $14.99 a piece. I have to say that I am disappointed in what I have seen so far. Now mind you, I have only completed the Ultimate Butt Body Sculpt, but just from doing it, it didn’t do much for me.

Each work out is broken down into two parts; a 15 minute workout and a 20 minute workout. Each DVD incorporates a Step in the workout, so if your step from when you did Jayne Fonda workouts years ago is being buried under Christmas decorations, winter clothing and God knows what, you may want to dig it out that is if you want to keep your figure looking like Kim’s. (She claims these are the workouts she does to keep her famous booty in shape)

Oh, almost forgot, the workouts are not being lead by Kim, she does not appear to be that coordinated and even stated in one of the workouts that it was only recently that she could jump onto the Step (hmmm) but rather by other exercise professionals such as Jennifer Galardi, well known from the “Crunch” exercise series and Patrick Goudeau who has his own workout DVDs.

Now please don’t get me wrong and think that I am bashing Kim’s efforts, because I am not, I just don’t think that for someone that is at an advanced level of exercise that these may be worth it. But if anyone else gives them a try and feel like adding what I have already said, whether you agree with me or not, I will be happy to listen and you can even post your review on the blog, I won’t delete; scout’s honor (can you see me holding up the “scout” fingers?)

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Water World

Hey Divas, I know I have not written anything in a while, but truth be told, I was as sick as the proverbial dog. I have had the flu for almost a month and was barely able to stand let alone sit at the computer and form a coherent sentence to post on my blog. Today is one of the best days that I have had in a very long time, so I decided to post something.

Well, as I was so ill, I was on tons of medications, all of which made me drowsy even if the label or the doctor said that it shouldn’t, hey, what can I say, I am a delicate exotic flower that can’t take heavy narcotics, Advil is about as heavy as I can go without adverse side effects. During all this of course I had to keep myself twice as hydrated as I normally do to aid in keeping my fever down as well as flush all the toxins out of my body.

As I was doing the flushing, I was drinking copious amounts of water and my boyfriend bought me vitamin water as a good gesture to help me “get well”. I started to wonder, is vitamin water better than plain water?
As I was looking at the colorful water that resembled the jeweled colors not unlike the colors of Kool Aid, it looked appealing enough, but as I read the label of this particular brand, it was loaded with sugar. Now why would I want to consume anymore sugar than I already do? There is so much hidden sugar in lots of unsuspecting products such as ketchup etc, why would I want to add more to my diet, besides, last time I checked, I was sweet enough already.

The average bottle of vitamin water has over 100 calories plus sugar for the flavoring so you may as well go ahead and have that can of soda, so what is the point? I think I will stick to plain water and if I need to “punch” it up, I will add a twist of lemon. If I need vitamins, my multivitamin will suffice and do the trick.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Pump it Up

Hello Divas first let me apologize for being away for so long. Life started happened while I was busy doing everything else and I had an overabundance of things on my plate, but I am back.

In our quest to keep fit, we may do lots of cardio, Pilates, yoga etc, but are we including strength training in our routines? Please, please, please stop thinking that strength training is for the bulky, top heavy gentlemen that you see in the gyms or the (ahem) ladies that you aren’t quite sure if they are male or female when you look at them because they have “strength trained” to the point that they have built up those large muscles, and you stop and go “hmmm”.

Anyway, strength training for women is a good thing. Why you ask? Because women in particular, see remarkable benefits from strength training. Strength training increases resting metabolism and women who are trying to reduce body fat will do so more easily. You will increase muscle fiber, and we all know that old saying “muscle burns fat”, well that saying is actually true.

I know we don’t want to dip our toes in the lake of “middle age” but let’s face it; it comes upon us like a thief in the night. One day you will wake up, look in the mirror and see your mother’s face staring back at you. But I am trailing off to another thought and topic (I have ADD sometimes). For women who have traveled to the land of middle age, strength training is the secret for helping to keep the middle age “spread” off.

Try Rubber Resistance Bands for strength training as opposed to weights. They are light, portable and you have very little chance of breaking your toes on them if you happen to drop them on your feet. Work all major muscles and do repetitions that produce muscle fatigue, maybe 10 -15 reps for both your upper and lower body. There are lots of strength training DVDs available. Try http://www.collagevideo.com/. They are an online retailer for exercise videos for all forms of exercise. They even take returns on opened DVDs if you purchase it, get it home and find out that you hate it (you know that you can’t even think of returning an opened DVD to your local sports & fitness store) and you get a chance to view a snippet of the DVD before you buy it as well; pretty cool.

There also is a new strength training DVDs designed especially for women from Pink Fitness. These exercises are lead by a woman and explained in detail. This set comes with a 5 lb weight bar & 10 lbs of weight plates, plus 12 total body power training workouts, and an eating guide. Check Pink Fitness out at http://www.pinkfitness.com/

Ok, I have to go. I feel like 10 miles of bad road today, body achy, headache, sore throat, combination of runny and congested nasal packages. Now I am not a doctor, so don’t quote me on this, but I think I may be coming down with a cold.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Walk This Way

Something that we do everyday without even giving it thought is one of the best exercises and best ways to lose weight. Yes, Divas, WALKING. We learned to walk as toddler with lots of determination. First we started crawling and once that was mastered then we moved up to the next level, walking. Of course walking did not come easy then. Some of us had lots of falls, unsteady knees, and then let’s not forget the “plop” we made on the floor as we got unsteady and fell. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I was a genius even at the toddler stage or so my mother tells the story. (I am sure I have shared that with you before, if not, I am telling you now). According to my mother, I never crawled. One day she sat me on the floor and I just got up and started to walk, just like that. No trial an error, no scrapes from the falling, none of that nonsense. I just mastered the skill right from the start.

Ok, let’s stop gabbing about me and my brilliance and get back to my intent for this blog. It is then no wonder that to this day, I find walking the favorite exercise out of everything that do for fitness. If you have been following my postings, you may recall that I have mentioned that I have a vast collection of exercise DVDs. Within my hoard, I have 18, (no I am not a pack rat) yes, 18 Leslie Sansone “in home walking” DVDs.

For those of you that have never heard of Leslie Sansone, she is the queen of walking, literally. She has created dozens of indoor walking exercise DVDs/videos. Some of the titles are Walk Away the Pounds, Walk Away Your Hips and Thighs, Walk Away Your Waistline and the list goes on and on. Leslie has DVDs geared towards teens and older adults as well. The DVDs can range from 1 mile up to 5 miles and come with chapters so you can do all the miles or chose to do only a few.

What the workouts consists of is marching, (walking in place) kicking, side steps, grapevines etc., all to the beat of music. She can make you work up a sweat with a 10 minute mile to some kick butt fast paced music. Leslie has even incorporated strength training in her workouts to help you build muscle with rubber resistance training. (OMG, please stop thinking that rubber resistance training is training to resist the use of condoms, don‘t make me laugh). You can choose Faith Walks as well with Christian music.

If you are interested in learning more about Leslie Sansone, check out her website. There you can find an array of her workouts and get to play clips from the DVDs, just to see what I am going on about. www.Amazon.com is also a great place to find her DVDs at great prices.

If you would rather walk outdoors, grab Fido or Twinkie, or whatever it is that you have named your pooch and take a walk. Researchers (here we go again with the people that get paid to do the cool jobs) have found that people that walk their dogs 20 minutes a day, lose an average of 14 pounds a year.

So whether you do in home walking or walk your pet (remember he needs exercise too) get up and walk. It is easy, you have already gotten over the learning curve, and one of the cheapest forms of exercise.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Warning, This Can Be Habit Forming

Up late, as usual, watching infomercials or as they call them these days “paid programming”. No, I don’t want the Colon Cleanse, I eat enough fiber, and no, I don’t want to buy a course to teach me how to sell on EBay, I do that already for free without your course thank you. But of course what always catches my eye are the exercise infomercials, oh sorry “paid programming”.

I sat through Slim in 6, Michael Thurmond’s Six Week Body Make Over and Kettleworx. They all were including, free of charge of course, a six week workout guide. I began to wonder why six weeks. Why not two, three or four weeks?

The idea behind the six weeks is that any activity, performed over and over and over again soon becomes a habit. Experts (how do I get on one of these expert panels, anyway?) have discovered that it takes six weeks of repetitive action to successfully form a habit. I guess this also applies to things that are bad for you so if I were you, I would not start any filthy repetitive activity that I don’t want to become a habit.

Now if you did not happen to be up late watching infomercials (damn, there I go again calling them infomercials) and did not get sucked into buying any of the fantastic exercise programs or the zero percent body fat models that were the “after” results of the program didn’t seal the deal for you to add another expense on your already close to maxed out credit card, then this means that you do not have the free six week workout guide that comes with said program.

Oh well, here is a trick, and I promise I don’t have many tricks in my magician’s hat anymore, but this trick is to take a regular calendar and choose a date that you want to begin your exercise program. Mark a BIG X on that date and an even BIGGER X on the date that is six weeks from that date. Make sure that you do your activity at least 3 times a week for the six weeks. Each week, mark that week off to show how much closer to your six week goal you are getting.

After you create your habit even if you take a break from it, you will find that picking it up again, is much easier than if you hadn’t established it at all, though taking a break from exercising I am not recommending (remember, you started this to become healthy not just to lose that stubborn ten pounds and then quit). This will be like riding a bike, even if your bike is buried in the garage under tons of crap, if you pull it out, you will get back on it and ride it like a pro.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Do The Split

Yeah, I know, you don’t have time to work out. I hear it all the time. I have to admit that I too have used that sentence and sometimes way too often in the past. I figured that I had to put in at least a full 30 minutes of body pounding, heart racing, and sweat drenching exercise to benefit from the exercise at all. Guess what, and this does not happen often, so mark this on your calendar people, for it may not come around again in a long time…I was wrong (I won’t repeat it either so I hope you got that)

While doing my research I came across a few articles that stated “short bouts of exercise throughout the day can have the same benefits as continuous workouts.” How come I never knew this before? Why didn’t the PE gym teacher, the one that we all suspected used Old Spice (the female gym teacher, you know the one, yeah her) not tell us that we did not have to spend the actual full gym period doing exerting ourselves? (I wonder if she still smells of Old Spice or upgraded to Axe.)

Ok, moving on. A study was done on non exercisers and people that either did the full 30 minutes or split their 30 minutes of exercise up in two 15 minutes sessions or three 10 minute sessions (you don’t need a calculator, it all ads up to 30 minutes, trust me). The results were that the only group that did not see a change in their weight loss or an increase in their endurance was the group that did nothing, yes the non exercisers.

So, stop saying that you don’t have time to exercise, do the split and split your 30 minutes a day up, you may be amazed at the results.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Do Women Need Special Workout Clothing?

Maybe you have never thought of this, I know I never did, but looking good while you get fit can actually motivate you and give you confidence. No, I don’t mean piling on the makeup like our beloved and departed Tammy Faye Baker or having your hair perfectly coiffed, I am talking about wearing the right clothing. Yes, the right clothing can give you that boost to keep going, almost like some sort of drug free high, a sprit lifter if you will. (Hmmm, maybe this is why I have lulls in my exercise routines).

I for one have been wearing the same old sweats that I can remember buying back in 1999. They have been washed so many times that to tell you what the original color was, is next to impossible. But then again, I don’t go to the gym to workout, I do all my workouts at home, in my basement, but even so, even if no one can see you like at the gym, you still need to have the right clothing.

One of the most important piece of clothing to put lots of thought into is your footwear. Get footwear compatible for whatever exercise(s) you plan on engaging. This may mean that you end up with several different pairs of sneakers but trust me, you will thank me for letting you in on this secret. If you walk, get a good pair of walking shoes, if you run, you will need shoes for that as well, if you are the fitness fanatic that dabble in various forms of exercise, then a pair of cross trainers may be the best bet for you. The different shoes have different levels of shock absorbers for the different type of exercise, but you already knew that right? Oh, one thing that most people forget, when trying on athletic shoes, take the socks that you plan on wearing with the shoes with you, this lets you see how the shoes feel with the socks and ensures the best fit. I only just learned that, and boy I could have used this piece of knowledge years ago.

Divas, lets go to the “girls.” We need a GREAT not good, sports bra. The last thing we need is to be knocked unconscious when running or doing jumping jacks. (Hey, is that considered a sports injury?) Besides, last time I checked “flapjacks belonged in a diner. Invest in a bra that pulls moisture away from the skin like a moisture-wicking fabric, minimizes jiggling and bounce (you don’t need to be bound as if you are wearing duct tape though) and last but not the least important, is comfortable. Don’t forget adjustable straps to reduce the possibility if chaffing on the shoulders.

Let’s not forget your underwear, yes, we can talk amongst ourselves about that topic, it is not a secret anymore. Please, please, please do not wear cotton underwear., cotton gets wet quickly and stays wet longer. Quick drying, moisture-wicking fabric is best. Last thing you need is something that holds in moisture, that can only promote “other” health issues that we all know are unpleasant and even more uncomfortable.

As for pants or short and tops, again I am going to tell you NO cotton for the same reason as NO cotton in your underwear, it will get wet faster and stay wet longer, which will only make you uncomfortable and cut your exercise time down. Try clothing that is blended with spandex, this gives you some flexibility when moving, again, moisture-wicking fabrics are best. The same suggestion stands for your socks when it comes to the moisture factor, cotton will not be a friend to your feet, moist feet can only lead to foot fungus later down the road (yuk). Does color matter do you ask? No, not really, but my personal choice would be black, after all, black is slimming and looks good on any shaped body.

To cut this long story short, check out your local sports stores or online stores for your clothing, I am sure you will be able to find a knowledgeable sales person who isn’t sixteen years old and looks at you with a dead starfish look in his eyes when you ask questions. For your shoes, I would definitely do the in person store thing, you really want to try on as many pairs of shoes as it takes to get the proper fit.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

She Can't Keep a Secret

Ok, I will admit it. I read the Hollywood gossip. I get in the especially long lines at the supermarket so that I can read at least the hottest tidbits from one of the most popular gossip rags ( I wont say the name but it starts with E and rhymes wirer) without having to actually buy the thing. I mean, I can’t buy my favorite cheeses and the gossip magazine as well, the Diet Diva must make sacrifices you know.

Until I go to the supermarket, I get my fix of gossip from the internet. I was reading www.dailymail.co.uk when I happened to stumble upon an article on this year’s Oscar sweetheart Kate Winslet. You remember Kate, the chick from Titanic who threw that diamond into the ocean and Leonardo had the hots for? Well, Kate has finally revealed the secret to her envious figure. She says she owes it all to just “20 minutes of Pilates a day”

When asked, Kate dismissed she engages in grueling exercise or “faddy” diets, she insists that Pilates done in her home to DVDs no less is the culprit for her knock out body.

Did you know that Pilates was developed and inspired by Joseph Pilates, a prisoner of war in the Second World War about 75 years ago? (you guessed that’s why it is called PILATES huh and not named after someone else huh; you are a genius) It is a non strenuous exercise that stretches the muscles of the body to make them more long and lean. I like it because what other exercise can you do that consist mostly of lying on your back? (come on, get your filthy mind out of the gutter for a few minutes please) Rather than building up muscle, Pilates is most effective at toning the muscles of the buttocks, stomach and thighs, the plight of most women alive.

If you live under a rock in some undiscovered country, and have never even heard of Pilates and want to discover what Pilates is all about, I suggest that you first pick up a DVD and check it out. There are tons of DVDs available on this exercise. There also may be some community centers in your neck of the woods that offer low cost classes, look into those options as well.

So if you are looking for a new change in your exercise routine, give Pilates a try, you just may like it. It will not result in bulky muscles, but will have you on the road to a long, sleek toned look and you may just be a rival for Kate.

What else do you have to do in 20 minutes?

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Stupid Cupid

Sigh. Here it is again, Valentine’s Day has made its arrival. Damn that diaper wearing cherub who has nothing to do all year but fly around shooting his poisoned arrows into the hearts of the pathetic and feeble. (Can you detect that I find folly in Valentine’s Day?). So it is very likely that your beloved will take you out for the obligatory meal that does not include a super size option or a pick up window.

Already you are salivating like Pavlov’s pup because you have been waiting for this day since January 1st, when you vowed that you would become a convert to a healthy lifestyle and a sensible way of eating. The cream sauced covered dishes are floating in your head like the objects you see in the balloon above the head of a cartoon character that has just gotten bonged on the head with a heavy object, most likely an anvil. But in the back of your head, like a piece of shredded wheat caught in between your teeth, (annoying but not enough to spend all day concerned over) you are a tad bit concerned with the progress or the lack there of that you have made so far this year in your diet.

The Diet Diva’s advise should you choose to accept it? Go out and enjoy your Valentine’s meal. Order what you like but remember to eat only half of what is on your plate. When the tuxedoed waiter (if you are lucky enough to go to this class of a restaurant) places your plate in front of you, immediately ask him for a take away container. Of course this may cause him to look at you like you have just grown the snake filled head of Medusa and have him whispering to the bus boys and size 2 hostess at the front entrance who looks like she never gets to take home any leftovers, but who gives a rat’s ass what they think?

My point is, if I shut up long enough to make it, is that you don’t have to forgo social functions or spend all your time eating lettuce leaves and washing it down with purified H2O, you can still enjoy yourself but do it sensibly, and besides, taking home the leftovers mean that you won’t be wondering what you will have for lunch the next day. Just image how green-eyed and inquisitive your co-workers will be when you whip out this fancy smanchy leftover meal for lunch instead of the normal dried up microwaved cardboard meal you normally chow down on at lunch time.

Happy Valentine’s Day Diet Divas

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Yeah, Sort of Like the Tooth Fairy

Hello Diet Divas,

Remember when the tooth fairy left spare change under your pillow when you lost a tooth and how excited you were to find it when you woke up? (I hated those kids that got $, all I got was a note saying to brush well). The exhilaration was so fanatical that you spent all day in the mirror wiggling each and every tooth for additional monetary compensation, you wanted the tooth fairy to drop the mother load of dimes, nickels and quarters all at once (no pennies please, even at that young age, you felt pennies were not worth the effort to lose a tooth).

Well back to my point (must keep focused). Losing a tooth back then gave us our rewards, losing a tooth today will just make us look silly so don’t attempt it (on purpose that is). So why not take an old habit and make it new again? Why not reward ourselves for the weight that we lose? No, I don’t mean rewarding yourself with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream for losing 5 lbs., that would be pointless now wouldn’t it? I mean a reward like a pedicure, a new handbag, pair of shoes or a mini spa day for a facial? Or better yet, place a fiscal value on every pound that you lose, let’s say $5.00, and for every pound that you lose, tuck that $5 bill away to save for a bigger purchase, perhaps that Tiffany bracelet that you have been eyeing for close to two decades now (and here you thought you were never going to afford that shiny piece of bling)

Diet Divas, pamper and reward yourselves for losing, don’t let the tooth fairy be the only Diva giving rewards, besides unless you are in your twilight years and ready to be fitted for your dentures, she is not going to be visiting you any time soon anyway, so in the meantime, become her, and bestow the rewards upon yourselves.

TTFN
Diet Diva 4 Life

Pssst...Diaries Are Not Just for Your Dirty Little Secrets

Hello Diet Divas,
One of the most successful tips for getting and staying healthy is to maintain a food and activity diary. I mean, most of us, at least those of us who want to look like we are organized, keep a schedule of the things we plan to do either on a daily, weekly or monthly in some sort of organizer (there are some anal retentive Divas that do it on an hourly basis…bless you if you can do this and may I add, you need to see a professional for this sickness)

Write down the foods you eat or plan to eat, the activity you plan to do (walking, running, which DVD workout, etc) and how much of it you will do as well as the goals you plan on reaching for that day, week or month.

If you do this on a daily basis, make sure you do it the night before, this way the next morning you will know exactly what your meals and activities are. If you think that doing it a week at a time is your choice, then I suggest that you draft your schedule every Sunday night.

Now, please don’t write down what you know that you can never accomplish, that is setting yourself up for failure right from the start. Your behavioral goals should be simple and something that can be accomplished with few major changes in your life; example- cutting out excessive use of salt or sugar, or whatever behavior you want to change to make your life a more healthy one. Small changes can lead to bigger changes later on. Write it down and make it happen! (kinda like the movie, Field of Dreams..build it and they will come)

Remember to list EVERYTHING you eat, even snacks (don't try to lie and say you don't have the snacks Diet Divas, you know you do and you have to list them.) At the end of he week, sit down and review the past week. You may be surprised at the stuff you consume and the foods you can eliminate from your diet. I betcha didn't know that by cutting just 100 calories per day from your diet, you can lose ten (10) pounds a year. Yes, this is true.

So Diet Divas, in addition to keeping your diaries of “dirty little secrets,” keep a FOOD and ACTIVIY DIARY as well, believe me, this is one diary you won’t mind if it falls into the wrong hands or your mother reading if she happens to be spending her vacation with you and decides she wants to give your bedroom a quick cleaning (can someone please tell me why moms feel the need to still use that cleaning line? We all know they simply want to snoop)

If any of the Diet Divas out there do this already please give me some feedback, if you plan on doing it or have any other suggestions to add, give me feedback as well, I welcome it.

TTFN (TA TA FOR NOW)
Diet Diva 4 Life

You Can Ring My Kettle Bell

I am a collector of exercise DVDs and Videos (don't know whey some people still refuse to put their workouts on DVDs, please get into the 21st century) I have such an assortment that if I chose to workout every day for a month, I would never do the same workout twice in that month. Recently I found a new workout called Kettlentics that I have found to be my workout staple of the moment. Kettlenetics uses a weight that is called a KETTLEBELL or KBELL that is used for the muscle shaping benefits of resistance training, "Kettlenetics is a totally unique, dance-inspired exercise program that swings, slims and sculpts your entire body strong and slender, with easy, flowing moves set to incredible, upbeat music, for fast and fun, total body slimming!"

Though it is dance inspired ( a Miami City Ballet dancer by the name of Michelle Khai is the leading the workouts) you don't have to have rhythm to do it, so if you have been known to step on your own feet while doing the twist, don't let that scare you off. It is just lots of flowing movements while holding the kbell which increases the resistance and in turn burns fat without giving you bulky muscles like Arnold back in the day when he was in Conan the Barbarian, when he was looking like beefcake (not beef jerky like he is beginning to look now.) You can purchase the kettlebell kit which includes DVDs from the Kettlenetics website or pick it up from Amazon for much less than what the official website sells it for, that is if you think that it will be something that you might be interested in adding to your collection to use (or to give you one more thing that you have to blow the dust off of when you are cleaning).

Almost forgot, since KETTLEBELL workouts are the new craze in fitness now, the ever popular company known as THE FIRM also has a kit on the market. Again, you can find it for cheaper on Amazon if you look.

I want to hear your feedback on it if you do give it a try. Take care for today Diet Divas.

TTFN (ta ta for now)

Diet Diva 4 Life

Am I being SENSA-ble?

If anyone knows me, they know that I am a home shopping junkie. I rarely shop in retail stores and the mailman and UPS dudes know me by name and even wave to me if they see me outside their tours of duty. So a few weeks ago, as I was watching HSN, they had their TSV (Today's Special Value for those novices) of this new spectacular-amazing weight loss product called SENSA.

First let's get to what SENSA is. Sensa is a weight loss system that comes in a container not unlike that of dental floss, only larger. It has 2 compartments, a "salty" compartment and a "sweet" compartment. These compartments are filled with what they call "taste testant" which by the way, if you read the container, the "testants" are still patent-pending. The testants are supposed to send messages to your brain to release the hormone to tell your body that you are full and it is time to stop eating. You are supposed to sprinkle these on EVERYTHING that you eat that is either solid or semi-solid (sorry, can't add them to your frothy mug of beer) but you can sprinkle them on your gummy bears, your pork rinds, your sticks of butter, your candybars, your tub of butter drenched popcorn when you go to the movies, whatever you eat that is again "solid or semi-solid." This means that you have to carry SENSA with you wherever you go. For this reason they send you 2 containers per month, one to keep at home and one to carry around with you, just in case you have to nibble while running errands at the post office or grocery store (yes, when sampling the grapes to see if they are just right at the supermarket, pull out that SENSA and sprinkle baby)

The claim was that you can continue to eat your favorite foods, all you had to do was sprinkle SENSA on your foods to "safely and effectively curb your appetite and lose weight without feeling deprived."

Well, after hearing the presentation on HSN and re-watching it throughout the day, I knew I had to have this product. If all I had to do was "sprinkle" my hips, belly and butt away, man I was hooked. My fingers quickly dialed up HSN, (now you know I have their number on speed dial in all my phones) I placed my order and even signed up for automatic shipment which meant I would be getting SENSA shipped to me without fail every 2 months, (now why would I want to be without this miracle diet if it was the answer to all my prayers?)

I could not wait to get home every day hoping that the mailman or UPS had made my delivery. Anyhow.... I get the "miracle sprinkles" and by this time, I have done additional research on the product while I am waiting for it to arrive. Turns out this product is questionable. The claims that Dr. Alan Hirsch, the creator of the Sensa Weight-Loss System, have not been verified. Here are 2 links to reputable sources that provided information on the product; 20/20 Sensa expose video and another to an ABC News article also about Sensa.

I think I will be packing this baby up and shipping it back pronto, and please do not ask me what I paid for the miracle sprinkles, I am now embarrassed to even say it, but YES! I WAS HOOD WINKED. Nothing gets the fat off your bum like good old fashioned hard work, now I have to turn off HSN, QVC and all the other shopping channels that have attributed to the butt spread from the hours of sitting and viewing the presentations and truly work out, there is no miracle in healthy weight loss.

TTFN (ta ta for now)

Diet Diva 4 Life

Happy New Year Diet Divas!

Ok Diet Divas, so I rang in the new year, you know, Auld Lang Zine, watching Dick Clark on television and wondering why the heck he was not home in bed resting like I was. Of course I rang in the new year just as I sent the old one out, with food being shoveled into my face. The meatballs, the seafood quiche, the kabobs, the bacon wrapped chicken bites, need I go on? With each bite I was saying to myself, “tomorrow brings a new me.” I was thinking that I was going to start my new year off w/a bang, blow the dust off my workout DVD collection do at least 3-4 workouts per week and eat a sensible assortment of grain, fruits and vegetables and let's not forget, load up on the vitamins and water.

Here we are into the second month, I have done maximum maybe 5 workouts, eaten less than sensibly and still have not taken the plastic off my brand new bottle of superwoman vitamins. Why pray tell me am I still wondering why I have a side body profile not unlike the famous Elmer Fudd in the Bugs Bunny cartoons?

Where are you on your quest for the new year?? Have you done better than me? Do you want so show off and tell everyone how much you have accomplished? Come on Divas, share..

Hope to hear from you soon

TTFN (ta ta for now)
Diet Diva 4 Life

Hello, is it Me You're Looking For?

Hello Diet Divas,

How many of you out there are on the eternal quest for the body of your dreams? That perfect body? No..not the air brushed body of that glossed up model on the cover of the latest fashion magazine that looks like she had a 1/2 a bowl of air krispies for breakfast, but the body that doesn't make you unzip or unbutton your pants or take your pantyhose off the moment you get into the driver's seat, especially when you think that no one outside of your tinted car windows can see you.

Well, I am on the eternal quest. This blog is for all those who have tried the herbal teas, the fat flushes, the cabbage soup, the pills that would quite possibly choke Mr. Ed if Wilbur forced him to swallow them, and all the other crazes that we happen to see while up late at night watching infomercials or flipping through the magazine at the checkout. (For the record, you can buy that magazine and take it home with you you know, the checkout is not the free library)

Bring your stories, your humor, your new findings on dieting the healthy way, your exercise tips, your sure fire tasty low cal, low fat recipes, your encouragement and most of all your wit to this blog..let all the Diet Divas 4 Life unite. Almost forget, guys, you are welcome to drop some postings as well, we just won't refer to you as DIVAS.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
Diet Diva 4 Life