Skinny fat…

Sounds like a major oxymoron, doesn’t it?  And you’ve probably heard, read or even used that term before.  But what exactly does it mean?

Well, skinny fat is what a LOT of people are.

Skinny fat is what I am – though I’m gradually changing that!

Skinny fat is basically when you have a small‘ish frame but you are flabby and have excess fat on your body that is usually carried in the midsection, but can be on other parts of the body such as the hips/buttocks, thighs and arms as well.

People look at me, for example, and they see my small frame; but when I say I need to shed about 10-15 lbs, they either laugh, roll their eyes or both.  But according to the BMI (Body Mass Index), if my weight goes above 145 lbs, I am considered overweight… that is IF I have excess body fat (which I DO) as opposed to being 146+ lbs of lean muscle mass – that would be a totally different story if that were the case.

But it is very common for a lot of people to be skinny fat now-a-days.  Too “fat” to be considered “skinny” and too “skinny” to be considered “fat”.  I’ve learned from others as well as my own personal experiences that:

• There are a lot of small people who are out of shape and get winded easily
• There are a lot of small people who have illnesses,  are in poor health
• There are a lot of small people who are actually overweight

Why Is Being Skinny Fat A Cause For Concern?

Well for one, it is or can be a first step to becoming obese.  Second, if someone is relatively thin everywhere except for the midsection, this could either mean or lead to visceral fat which, unlike subcutaneous fat (right below the skin), is deeper where the organs are.  Too much of that fat surrounding the organs can be taxing on those organs and lead to worse problems such as: type 2 diabetes, issues with the reproductive system and other health challenges.

So What Can Be Done About It?

You will definitely want to begin making gradual changes toward being healthier, fit and toned through diet and exercise.

- The first step is to recognize and acknowledge that you are skinny fat.

- Next, you need to identify where your “problem” areas are (butt, hips, tummy, arms, thighs or all of the above) and then from there pinpoint the root cause of WHY you’re that way.

- Once you’ve done that, then it’s time to sit down and plan out what changes need to be made, set some realistic goals and then work towards reaching them!  Figure out if you need to change your diet or not and if so, what you need to change.

For example, if you realize that you are eating an excessive amount of carbs, you need to figure out what do you can do in order to cut back on them or how can you stop your body from craving them.

But another scenario could be that you’re eating very healthfully, but the missing part of the equation for YOU may be exercise.  Or…

Perhaps you may already exercise but your body doesn’t give any indication that you do – in that case, there could be other factors that need to be altered such as diet or maybe even a change in HOW you’re exercising, believe it or not!

But again, you have to sit down and really examine yourself and what’s going on with you that has you where you are right now.  And please do not get caught up in thinking that just because your frame is small, all is well because a lot of people that are now obese did not necessarily start out that way!  A lot of them started right where you and I are…skinny-fat.

Take the necessary measures to, not necessarily become skinny…but to become healthy, trim and fit!

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1. Losing Weight Isn’t Always About Being Skinny

Well, it’s been an “interesting” week!  Here in WA state we had a little snow storm.  First we were pretty much snowed in (schools and some businesses closed due to snow and icy roads); then our cable/internet went down; then a power outage that left over 200,000 people without power for anywhere from 2-5 days if not more.

So, needless to say, I didn’t have a chance to post this update last week.  But it’s here now!

I’m not posting my whole list of measurements this time around, but since my last check-in (two weeks ago) I’ve lost another 3 inches for a grand total of 9.5 inches lost thus far – this is off of my entire body, not just one area specifically.  The great part is, the inches were lost from the areas that (to me) count the most – waist (1″) hips/butt (1/2″) and thighs (1 1/2″)

I am currently 142.5 and apparently I am losing weight at a rate of 1 lb. per week.  And while that may or may not seem like a lot, there are  a lot of credible, reputable sources that say is actually healthiest and best.  In fact, if you “Google” the phrase, “1-2 pounds per week healthy weight loss” you’ll see just what I mean.

Anyway, I thought you’d like to see some before & afters that I took.  I was a bit embarrassed to post the “before” pics…but if it will help and inspire someone – especially those out there who are like me (“skinny fat” trying to lose that last 10-20 lbs, which is typically the hardest to lose) then so be it…I will post them.

(click each image to enlarge…then, click again to enlarge even more)

As you can see, I am slimming down in the waist, back and my daughter mentioned my arms although I didn’t see “much” difference except perhaps a little bit more muscle definition in the “back view after” pic.  I am just so thankful for a program such as 7 Minute Workout that has been helping me to get fit and toned and doesn’t require me to work out for a long period of time or to have to bear a lot of pain and angst in order to get a good workout!  If it weren’t for this program, I’m telling you the truth…I probably would NOT be working out at all because I hated working out and the feelings that come with it!

So, “THANK YOU” Joel and Chris for putting something like this together for someone like me!

And of course, I am also grateful for the Pure Trim Ultimate Weight Loss System that is teaching me to have better eating habits, helping me to shed lbs and inches, causing me to become more “regular” & cleansing/detoxifying my body and helping me to become healthier with wholesome, natural ingredients.

I KNOW I have found the perfect combination for safe, healthy, long-term weight loss and overall health, period!  More updates to come as I progress along…

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1. Should You Utilize Weight Loss Products?
2. Why Are Meal Replacement Shakes Helpful With Weight Loss

I remember as a kid eating salads, burgers and more and there was only one kind of lettuce that was used all the way around…iceberg lettuce.  Yep, good ‘ole iceberg with its crunchy, moist goodness.

Then, I got older, I got more into nutrition and healthy eating and all of a sudden, I found myself buying green leaf lettuce…romaine lettuce…red leaf lettuce…baby greens… and poor little lonely iceberg got no more attention from the King household.

Why?

Because somewhere, someone told me that iceberg lettuce had absolutely NO nutritional value whatsoever

It was implied that eating iceberg lettuce was like eating… air, basically.  So I stopped buying it, figuring it was a waste of money.

Heck,  some people even discredit lettuce, period!  In fact, the reason I wrote this blog post/article in the first place was because I  recently read something on a popular Facebook group where women find support to get and stay healthy and in shape.  One of the participants of that group posted a recipe for a creamed tuna/salmon tartar and she stated, “I topped it on a bed of spinach (lettuce has no nutritional value)…”   I mean come on, it’s one thing to say that a ‘certain type’ of lettuce has “no” nutritional value…but lettuce, period?

But anyway, I figured I’d write about iceberg in particular because part of me believes that the woman who made that statement about lettuce may have been ignorant to other types of darker green lettuces that truly DO provide nutrition.  Not only that, but iceberg is the lettuce that seems to get the most ridicule and the least amount of kudos.

I’ve recently started back buying iceberg (in addition to my other lettuces and greens) after having done more research on it and having learned some things about it…not to mention my daughter LOVES it and getting her to eat ANY lettuce is a great thing!  So here is my “Ode To Iceberg Lettuce” – just kidding, but I will be sharing some things that may cause you to take another (more favorable) look at these little white-green heads:

• Iceberg lettuce DOES have nutritional value.  Perhaps not a whole heck of a lot, but some…
• Fiber – 4%
• Vitamin A – 9%
• Vitamin C – 4%
• Calcium – 2%
• Iron – 2%
• Protein – 1%
• Trace amounts of potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous, folate and Vitamins K
• It is a low-calorie (only 14 calories per 100 grams) food
• It contains 0 grams of fat
• Iceberg lettuce is cholesterol-free
• It’s low in sodium
• Slightly sweet iceberg lettuce is cool & refreshing (great for summertime) and has a crispness to it that other lettuces just can’t compare with!  And if nothing else…
• It is HIGH in water content – 96% water to be exact according to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture! (www.ca.uky.edu)  Some people complain about not getting enough water or not liking to drink water…well, consuming iceberg lettuce is a great way to increase your intake of water!

So there you have it!  Reasons to continue buying iceberg lettuce.  No, you can’t survive on it alone and yes, you should incorporate other lettuces and green leafy vegetables into your diet…but why not mix it up and add some delicious iceberg lettuce to the mix?

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One of the biggest complaints for many people today is that they have digestive issues.  Heart burn, acid reflux, gas, belching and more plague many of us on a daily basis.  The sale of pills for these conditions are on the rise as more and more people seek relief.

But how can digestion be improved more naturally without all the harsh drugs?

Here are a few tips that, if followed, can possibly prevent and  help improve your digestive problems:

1. Do What Your Mom Always Told You To Do!  Remember as a kid hearing, “Chew your food!”  Well, mom was right.  Think about it, how many times have you caught yourself gobbling your food down in 2-3 huge gulps?  But keep this in mind…DIGESTION BEGINS IN THE MOUTH…not the stomach.  When food enters your mouth and you start chewing, your body sends signals for saliva to increase and digestive juices in the stomach to begin flowing as well.  The more thoroughly you chew your food (at least 50 times per bite), the easier it is for your body to digest and break that food down once it enters the stomach.




2. Drink Before or After But NOT During Your Meal- As indicated in Tip #1, digestion begins in the mouth with your saliva; which contains important digestive enzymes (amylase).  Therefore, when you are constantly drinking something during the process of eating, you are causing your mouth to limit the amount of saliva it produces and possibly causing those important digestive juices in the stomach to become diluted, causing your food to not be properly digested and setting yourself up for excessive burping, heartburn and more.  So get into the practice of drinking (water) before you eat and then once you’re done eating.

 

 

3.  Eat Pineapple or Papaya – Both of these fruits contain high amounts of enzymes that can aid in digestion as well as other things such as bone and joint health.  So enjoy a few pieces of one or the other before and after meals to aid in improving digestion.  There are also commercial papaya enzymes that are available in stores, but be careful of the ingredients as many of them contain sugar, fillers and other ingredients.




4. Chew Gum! – You may remember old commercials touting that chewing a particular brand of sugarless gum after every meal was recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists for the benefit of protecting your teeth.  But there is another possible benefit that they didn’t mention and that’s the production of saliva to aid in digestion and reduce the acids in the esophagus.  Now don’t reach for the sugar-filled gum…and not necessarily any and all sugarless varieties either. The BEST kind of gum to chew is any that contain Xylitol – a natural sweetener that actually fights plaque and doesn’t have the harmful side effects of other sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, etc.  Your dentist office will probably carry Xylitol-containing gum and mints; but in a pinch, the best choice is Trident® or Stride® as they have higher levels of Xylitol and lower amounts of aspartame than other brands you’ll find in stores.

So those are some tips to help digestion!  Try one or more of them and let me know how they work for you.

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Well, I have made it through my first 10 days!  I’m a couple of days late posting this because I wasn’t feeling too well (PMS symptoms) and I’ve been resting the last couple of days.  I’ll give my measurements FIRST this time around and then I’ll share my thoughts:

Day One:

Weight – 146.5
Body Fat – 35%
Neck – 13
Arms – 10 1/2
Chest – 34
Rib Cage – 30
Waist – 34 (YIKES!)
Thighs – 22
Hip/Butt – 38 (WHOA Nelly!)

Total Inches: 181.5″

Day Five:

Weight – 144.5
Neck – 12 1/2
Arms – 10 1/2
Chest – 34 1/2
Rib Cage – 30
Waist – 32
Thighs – 21
Hip/Butt – 37

Total Inches: 177.5
Inches Lost: 4″

Day 10:

Weight –145
Neck – 12
Arms – 10
Chest – 34 1/2
Rib Cage – 30
Waist – 31 1/2
Thighs – 21
Hip/Butt – 37

Total Inches: 175.5″

Total Inches Lost from Day 1 to Day 10: 6″

So as you can see, I lost a couple of pounds in my first 5 days and then “miraculously” gained a pound within the next 5 days after that! LOL!  Well, it wasn’t all that “miraculous” how that occurred.  See…what had happened was…my little boy had a birthday celebration on Saturday and there was this pizza and there was candy and…well, you know the rest!  Yes!  I slipped.  I allowed the “Oh it’s a celebration…go ahead and eat it” voice speak louder than the voice telling me it was gonna come back and bite me in the butt.

BUT… I will say this for myself…the next day I got right back on the bull and continued on with my shakes and the foods that are healthier and everything else.  So when I jumped on the scale on Sunday morning, yes…I went right back up to 146 (ugh) but THEN…as you can see I dropped that back down and as I’m writing this today (which is technically day 2 of my SECOND 10 days or…day 12 period depending on how you want to look at it) I’m now (at the time of writing this) down to 143.5!  YAY!   And thinking about it, I also truly believe that part of my weight gain was from ‘good ole’ PMS – bloating and water retention!

But aside from the scale weight, just LOOK at those inches lost!  I lost a total of 6 inches off my entire body in a 10-day period!  That’s freakin’ AWESOME if you ask me!  The inches lost in my waist alone were reason enough for me to do a happy dance!  And that leads me to something VERY important I want you to take note of…

TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS!

OMG that is so important.  It’s important to have more than just the scale to “tell” you how you’re doing!  If I hadn’t taken those measurements and seen that although the scale said one thing, inches were being melted off, I would have felt very frustrated and defeated.  Wouldn’t you?

So make SURE that you measure yourself before and after as well as do other things like taking a before and after photo, having a pair of jeans or something that fit tight or you can’t get into at all and use that as another gauge as to your body making a transformation!

So what I learned was that…weekends are a weakness for me.  But in talking with my coach, we’re going to come up with a weekend plan to help me get through them, for example – making my OWN pizza with lots of veggies and my own ingredients, period so I don’t feel deprived and I stay on track.  But let’s look at something because I believe this is something that MANY people go through.

Why did I eat that pizza?  Why did I, despite the fact I was NOT hungry, stay up late and end up eating late over the weekend?

Because it was there.  I believe that there is something it’s psychological to feel as though you MUST eat what is being served at a party/event or to “treat yourself” on weekends after a week of “being good”.  I’ve even seen some plans where you are actually encouraged to have a “cheat day” and maybe THAT was in the back of my mind as well…”Well, they said it’s okay to have a ‘cheat day’ so that’s all this is” and who knows…it may not have done as much harm as I think it did.  I mean after all, it didn’t send me into a downward spiral and, the weight came back off so…something to think about, I guess.  But I don’t wanna “play with fire” until I get down to my goal weight!

But Susan (my coach) has been really great and she said to DEFINITELY not beat myself up about it.  She said that I did very well and reminded me that I am making a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, which is true.  This is NOT a temporary “diet” for me…this is me creating new eating and exercise habits for life!  I was sitting here comparing myself to my husband and one other thing that Sue told me was that men tend to lose weight faster than women, so don’t judge my results based on his (which his weren’t all in 10 days either).

So, as I said before…this is NOT the end for me.  I will persist until I reach my goal and then even afterwards, I am still going to use every single product that I have for health, well-being and maintenance.

Oh yeah!  One last thing…

I was able to fasten those jeans!  Before, even with sucking in my gut, I STILL could not fasten them.  But, after 10 days of the Pure Trim System,  doing my 7 Minute Workouts and losing those 2 1/2 inches in my waist, I was able to close ‘em on up!

NOW to get rid of that “souffle” hanging over the top of the pants and create a bit more room in the thigh area!  We’ll see what happens when all is said and done!

‘Til next time…

Click here to read day 5|Click here to read week 4

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Well, it’s been 5 days now since I started this “10-Day Lose Weight Feel Great” Challenge and so far it’s going well!

I’ve been eating pretty good although I DID have a couple of spoonfuls of mac & cheese that I made for the family on Wednesday and Thursday and I’m trying to slowly wean myself off of dairy products.  Milk is simple because I don’t really drink milk anyway…I mainly use it in cereal (Great Grains with raisins, dates and pecans…SO good!) so I’ve began making almond-cashew milk.

Butter is going to be the most difficult to give up because I LOVE REAL butter and I’ve heard from a few sources that it is, in fact, better than margarine.  But when I DO use margarine, I use Smart Balance which I “guess” is okay…but I may just stick with my real butter.

Cheese is not really a huge deal as I’m not a cheese person much either unless we’re talking about pizza (even the healthier versions) or macaroni & cheese.  Maybe I’ll come across a good, healthy, GOOD-TASTING (that’s important) substitute.  If not, then I’ll try my best to either forgo the cheese altogether or just have it on occasion – yeah, probably the later unless my body tells me otherwise.

But other than that, things are going well.  One thing I’ve noticed is that, the first two days I was REALLY having cravings for sweets and I ate like FOUR of the Pure Trim Chocolate Truffles each night to stave those cravings off!  BUT…by the third day and beyond, I only “needed” one or two…mainly in the late evening or late night.

But now, my cravings for sweets are GONE! *YAY!!*  But I do still at times (again, mainly a night) crave something salty.  So what I did was had my husband get me some of my favorite “healthy” chips – Honey Dijon Kettle Brand Potato Chips and Lundberg Rice Chips Honey Dijon flavor.  I remember I used to see those in our local food co-op and be like, “Ugh!  Honey mustard chips??  YUCK!”  But one day my husband got “brave” enough to try them and so I tried a couple of his and could NOT stop eating them!  They were so good!  So I have a couple of bags of those and when the salty craving come on strong, I have a truffle, drink my water and then eat a handful or two of the chips and put them away.

I’ve been drinking a LOT of water – which will happen by default with this system because it’s just part of it.  But I’ve also noticed that, although there is juice and pop (which I don’t drink anyway) in the fridge, I have not even WANTED anything other than…water!

But I’m following the system, for the most part, to the letter – taking my Daily Complete Liquid Vitamin and my Experience Colon Cleanse – and I’ve been rubbing the Pure Gardens Skin Cream on my stomach, thighs and butt, though not daily as I probably should.  But it is going to keep my skin toned and tight so that as I’m losing weight, I don’t end up with that sagging skin and I THINK it’s also supposed to help diminish these stretch marks, which will be a HUGE blessing if it does!  But all of those items I just mentioned are part of the whole Ultimate Weight Loss Starter Pak…along with the shakes and truffles.

Okay…so let’s get to the measurement part, shall we?

Here are Monday’s measurements (day 1):

Weight – 146.5
Neck – 13
Arms – 10 1/2
Chest – 34
Rib Cage – 30
Waist – 34 (YIKES!)
Thighs – 22
Hip/Butt – 38 (WHOA Nelly!)

And here are Friday’s measurements (day 5):

Weight – 144.5
Neck – 12 1/2
Arms – 10 1/2
Chest – 34 1/2
Rib Cage – 30
Waist – 32
Thighs – 21
Hip/Butt – 37

So…as you can see, I’ve lost 1/2″ in my neck; nothing on the arms – which I don’t expect because I’m working out and building muscle in my arms…they’ve always been okay, just need to be toned and tightened up;  GAINED 1/2″ in my breast/chest area! LOL!  I “may” tell you more on that later if I feel like sharing; ribcage still the same; lost 2 pounds in my waist!!  Now THAT is exciting; lost an inch off my hips/buttocks and lost an inch off my thighs!

And my weight…I’m down 2 pounds less than when I started.  I also forgot to mention that I took my body fat (our scale does that) on Tuesday and it was at 35%…did it again yesterday and it was at 31%

So this is surely working well…the Pure Trim Ultimate Weight Loss System along with the 7 Minute Workout Program!

Let’s see what happens in 5 more days…

Click here to read day 1|Click here to read day 10

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