Thursday, June 05, 2008

An Angel in our Midst

Fellow Wicked People -
We have an angel among us. His name is Eric Gamble. He wrote to Erin and I with a request for some help. After reading his email, and then scoping out his web site, we decided that he deserved a coveted spot here in our wicked playground. You see, Eric is on a weight loss journey. Not only that, he is going to make it a personal challenge. And you all know how much Erin and I love challenges, right?

So here is the deal: Eric is trying to lose 25 pounds in 14 weeks. He wants people to donate 1 dollar per pound which he is going to donate to a great charity - Angel’s Place. Angel’s Place is a charity that offers help and support to children with terminal illnesses and their families. You can read more about this great charity here.

Since Wicked Weighs is all about health and weight loss and Erin and I love to help people, we are going to keep his cute little banner up until his challenge is over on August 20th. Not only that, we are pledging $1 per pound to him to start his journey. That is only $25 bucks people. We would love for you guys to jump in on the fun and help Eric in any way you can. If you would like to donate funds, simply head on over to his site and make your donation via paypal. If you would like to offer verbal support, you can do that too. The most important thing here is that we show him our enthusiasm. We all know how hard it is to drop poundage. Right?

Thanks Bunches!!!!!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Hydroxycut - The Real Story

Jasmine wrote in a comment that she was now using Hydroxycut and she then said that before we put her down because of it (which we totally never would - we’ve all done our own types of diets!!) that we review it and see what it is all about.  So I did just that

This is what I have come up with…

The answer to the question if hydroxycut is effective is difficult without taking a look at its ingredients to see if it is comprised of effective fat burners.  Perhaps you are aware that hydroxycut has undergone a recent major change in it formulation. This is because it used to contain ephedra (along with other ingredients).  Ephedra has been banned by the FDA. And, therefore, the makers of hydroxycut had to revise the product’s formula.

Here are some of the key ingredients in the new formula that are very promising:

green tea leaf extract
guarana extract

Both of thesee will help boost the body’s metabolism and help burn fat.  Caffeine is naturally present in both guarana and green tea. Therefore, there is caffeine in it as well.  Now, guarana is very promising as a fat burner.  Guaraná contains, among many other things, a high concentration of a compound called tetra methylxanthine.  This substance is nearly identical to caffeine.  Now, the really interesting property of this herb is that its caffeine-like compound is released slowly, over the course of many hours, thereby producing an enduring energy boost, which continues to escalate over that time.  My speculation is that perhaps it has an ability to keep the body’s metabolism burning at an elevated rate over time, leading to greater fat burning effects and weight loss but I am certainly not a doctor.

There are a couple of other good ingredients to the new hydroxycut formula such as alpha lipoic acid and l-carnitine.  Some of these nutrients are not just good for losing weight and burning fat, but just good for the body’s health overall.  For example, alpha lipoic acid is a powerful antioxidant; it enhances effects of other antioxidants (such as vitamin C and E) and fights free radicals in the body and enhances recovery.  It also helps to increase lean mass, and reduce body fat.  Green tea, too, not only helps speed up the metabolism, but has been shown to possibly have strong anti-cancer properties. It is also a powerful anxtioxidant.

My Verdict:

Does the new hydroxycut work? Probably - but I think we should wait and see what happens with Jasmine There are a lot of people who say yes and a lot that say no.  I think mostly if you are interested in it you can try it.  We here at OWW are not advocating it - I reiterate that I am just doing a review on it mostly because of curiosity and to see if Jas is on to anything.  Hydroxycut is not a substitution for healthy eating and exercise… This is merely a review

But if you’ve taken the original formula before ephedra was banned, you might be less than satisfied with the new formula.  However, like everything in life, there are tradeoffs. You now get a safer product that is still effective, but not just as effective as the original.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

The Fruit, The Veggies - The Legend

Gypsie recently posted that she wanted to know why I became a vegetarian. I really don’t recall if I posted the WHY’S about this topic before, I only recall posting that this is what I am doing. This is going to be a long one people. I apologize.

Back in October (2007) I weighed 207 pounds. I felt like total crap ALL THE TIME. I was suffering from panic attacks and had MAJOR issues with low blood sugar. In my family, there was heart disease, diabetes, and cancer running rampant. I was scared. I had tried every diet on the planet - except the grapefruit diet because I can’t stand grapefruit. But everything else, been there, done that. I had watched my friends do the yoyo thing on Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig for years. I knew there had to be a way to “fix” myself and get my life back. In waltzes Wicked Weighs. Yep. This place.

I came in here to read a post that Erin had written about Weight Watchers. Then found Jasmine’s post about a lovely little book that she read called Skinny Bitch. I went immediately and ordered my own copy. Skinny Bitch is blunt, raw and very much an in your face book about food. I have to admit, most of what they had written, I had read at one point or another but for some reason, it all made sense this time. I realized that I was pumping my body full of crap that was making me fat, miserable and unhealthy.

I didn’t give up meat overnight. I made a list of the things that I knew were not healthy for me (sodas, processed sugars, red meat, coffee, cheese, ice cream, chocolate - the list was pretty big) My ultimate goal was to cut down to chicken & fish - NOT to become a vegetarian. I dropped 35 pounds from October to December. That wasn’t the impressive part though. Nope. I felt fricken amazing. I took my last Zanax the first week in October and have not had one panic attack since. I have not had one single issue with my blood sugar dropping and almost passing out. I have had exactly one cold since October too. Through flu season....one cold. It lasted for three days. I finally was getting my life back. The better I felt, the more this whole “giving up animal products” seemed to make sense. So I just kept re adjusting. Until December 29. I was setting there on my 37th birthday going “I am really going to do this”. On January 1, I gave up meat. Quietly, just stopped eating it. No parades, no soapboxes. Just stopped. I haven’t looked back. I do still crave it on occasion. Mostly when my family is slurping away on juicy steaks. I know that seems contradictory to what I believe in but..the fact is, I was a meat eater for 36 years. I love food. I still recall how good it tastes. BUT - I also recall how horrible I felt in October. It’s just not worth it to me. My decision. My choice.

This covers HOW I did it. But the why’s are a different story. I want to tell you all that I am not an animal activist. I do not parade around the meat packing plants tossing blood on people. I do not show up at the fur trade meetings and scream at people. We are a meat eating nation. I can not change that. Nor do I want to be one of those people that people hate to be around because I always am spouting off about my agenda. BUT...you knew that was coming right? But, I do believe that our nation is very political. I believe that the meat industry has it’s hands in the government’s pockets and I believe that the FDA is a big crock of shit. Let me elaborate.

Point #1 - Have you noticed how our 12 year old girls are looking more and more developed now? Have you ever wondered why we seem to suddenly be dealing with diseases and illnesses that weren’t around a couple of decades ago? Have you thought about the fact that more people are keeling over from heart attacks now than ever before? Why the airlines suddenly decide that their seats need to be bigger? The meat industry. Stop and think about it. The cattle farmers are all out to make their money. I can’t blame them. They are growing cattle to sell to the meat packing plants. Well, if they have small cows, they don’t make as much as they would if they had larger cows right? Makes sense. So Joe Farmer finds a way to keep his cows healthy looking and grow fast so he can profit. Still makes sense. How does he do this? He pumps his cattle full of growth hormones and vaccines. The growth hormones give him more cow, faster and with less overhead since it doesn’t take him so long to grow a cow to maturity. Vaccines are simply viruses in small form. Well, what happens to those hormones and vaccines when that cow heads off to the slaughterhouse? They can’t clean that stuff out of the meat. The only thing we cook out of meat is bacteria. The rest? It all stays put. So when we buy those beautiful red steaks at the market, they are also packed full of growth hormones and vaccines. Then we bring them home, slap them on our grill, and feed them to our families. Hey look momma, I got boobs for my 12th birthday. We no longer have to wonder how THAT happened anymore huh?

Point #2 - Do you know that our bodies don’t naturally make cholesterol? Nope. We produce the cells that our bodies NEED. That yucky, stick to your arteries stuff...the only way to get that in your bod is to consume it. Do you know what the ONLY source of that cholesterol is? Animal products. Can’t be any more blunt there can I?

Point #3 - Have you ever taken a look at our teeth lately? Compare them to say....a tiger. A bit different huh? That is because tigers are carnivores. THEY EAT MEAT. Our teeth are more like an elephant in structure. What do elephants eat? Ummmm plants. Elephants, cows, horses...all herbivores. All have teeth like humans. I really believe that humans were not created to eat meat. If you look at the oldest history book we have...it says that the first humans were put in a GARDEN. Not on a ranch. Right? Hmmmm. ( This is the only time that you will hear me mention that book btw. )

Point #4 - How many of you chew your food the way you are supposed to chew in order to digest it? Do any of you have a clue HOW you are supposed to chew your food before you swallow it? It is supposed to be liquid when it goes down your throat. This allows your body to immediately begin to pull the nutrients out of it that your body needs to function. When is the last time you tried to chew a hamburger or a piece of chicken to the point of being liquid? Yeah. Me either.

I made the choice to not put anything into my bod that I can’t pronounce, or that I don’t know what it is. I made the choice to switch to a mostly plant based diet. And recently, mostly a raw diet. I am still in that process. It’s not easy. You have to get very enthusiastic about the choice. You have to arm yourself with knowledge so that you can not get knocked down by everyone on the planet that is going to tell you that it’s not normal and that it’s not healthy. They will even tell you that humans are SUPPOSED to eat meat. THAT alone makes me insane. I do still eat fish. Mainly because I live in Miami. I don’t get farm raised seafood here. My seafood comes straight from the ocean. Not from a controlled pond or pool where they are swimming in antibiotics or treated water. If I ever leave this area, I will also toss seafood out of my diet.

My family does not share my views on food yet. So, I often cook “adjusted” meals for myself. Yes, it makes me insane to see my kids scarf down a burger. Yes, I wish my hub would make this choice too because I know it would keep him around a while longer. But the fact is, I can’t not make their choices for them. I am choosing to educate them to the best of my ability and then set back and let them make their own decisions. My hub will never wear the label of being a vegetarian. He is not a label kinda guy. He has just about kicked meat from his diet though. My kids as well. At some point, they will get it. I know that. So for now, I eat like a cow (hehe) and enjoy the benefits. A. LOT.