FucoThin Brown Seaweed Diet Pills are all natural and natures way to lose weight faster!

I’m not a big fan of diet pills because they all seem to have some kind of crazy side effect, and over the last few years it seems like even FDA approved diet pills have been subject to class action lawsuits and recalls. Earlier this year my wife read in Women’s Day that “FucoThin” diet pills were available and the main ingredient was “brown seaweed”. All natural weight loss pills? I was a bit skeptical for sure…

FucoThin pills contain “Fucoxanthin”, which comes from edible seaweed. Chinese and Japanese have been using this natural ingredients for centuries! The brown seaweed promotes fat burning! You can get brown (and red) seaweed from eating sushi, but the levels of Fucoxanthin are far too low to get measurable weight loss results.

From the About page on Fucoxanthin:

Fucoxanthin is being explored for weight loss. So far, only animal studies have been done. Japanese researchers have found that fucoxanthin (isolated from wakame) promotes the loss of abdominal fat in obese mice and rats. Animals lost five to 10% of their body weight.

Although it’s not fully understood how fucoxanthin works, it appears to target a protein called UCP1 that increases the rate at which abdominal fat is burned. Abdominal fat, also called white adipose tissue, is the kind of fat that surrounds our organs and is linked to heart disease and diabetes. Fucoxanthin also appears to stimulate the production of DHA, one of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish such as salmon.

I can tell you that for the month I took FucoThin pills earlier this year, my wife and I both did lose more weight than by diet and exercise alone. In addition, neither of us had jitters, or other nervous side effects associates with many other diet pills on the market. These are “all natural weight loss pills”!

You can find them in health food stores, but we found that the best bargains were from merchants on eBay:

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It’s hard to find good lunch for “weight loss”, so today I tried Caeser Salad. The thing about salads is that they can be very, very tricky if you don’t pay attention. I guess this is common sense if you think about it - but if you have to eat out, take McDonald’s for example. You’re on a diet and you want to get something to go quick. You get up to the drive-through and immediately salads look like the most healthy option. If you get the salad with “crispy chicken” - you just infected your “weight loss” with more than 20 grams of fat (from the fried chicken) and 430 calories (probably without the dressing or croutons) according to McDonald’s Nutrition facts. The same page says that the Caesar dressing has 18 grams of fat alone and is 190 calories. So now your “healthy salad lunch” is 620 calories with a whopping 38 grams of fat. Guess what - a entire Big Mac has only 29 grams of fat and 540 calories. That’s right, an entire Big Mac sandwich is actually healthier than a McDonald’s Caesar salad with crispy chicken and Ceasar dressing. If you get that in a combo though - that’s another 38 grams of fat and another 500 calories. It’s strange to think that if you’re trying to eat 2,000 calories per day - that just a Big Mac and fries is half that isn’t it? It kinda puts things in perspective a bit.

So today at lunch, I had to get my glasses fixed. One of the screws fell out, and wearing them lopsided on my face isn’t one of my favorite things to do. Wearing prescription sunglasses, I went to get them fixed at lunch, and Boston Market happened to be in the same shopping plaza. I was thinking at the time - I had to get back to work and they have chicken and turkey, I should be able to get something. When I got inside at the checkout they had a big sign “summer healthy lunches”, and I thought - we’ll that’s gotta be better than eating turkey with gravy and stuffing (yum!), or the meatloaf with gravy I “used” to get when I ate at Boston Market.

So I ordered the “Caesar Salad with Chicken”. It looked pretty good, and I figured that the only bad thing was about it was the dressing. If that was the only fat I had for lunch - how bad could it be, right? Well, after lunch I checked the Boston Market web site, and another shocker. The salad itself wasn’t that bad, and the large helping of (non-breaded) chicken on the salad only has 1 gram of fat (glorious!). However, the little tiny little cup of dressing you get with the salad (an eigth of a cup maybe?) has (are you ready for this?) 38 grams of fat and 340 calories!! Just for that little cup of salad dressing!

It just goes to show ya - don’t look at things at face value, and just because something is advertised as “healthy” doesn’t mean it’s truthful at all. Granted I had a lighter lunch, but the topping made it no better than eating an entire Big Mac! If you want to lose weight, read labels, do research, and check things out in advance. I think I’m going to do a little research and find out (from all of their web sites) which fast food places (if any) have decent things to eat for people trying to lose weight on a diet!

Can you lose weight with “wheat pasta”? Sure you can!

We all love pasta! I’m part Italian and I would probably eat pasta every day if I could. But I’m also diabetic, and white pasta (and rice) converts to sugar in your blood pretty quickly. That’s why after eating a big bowl of pasta (or lots of Chinese food) - I tend to feel like crap for hours on end. The pasta or rice (when converting to sugar) raises my blood sugar levels and makes me feel tired.

What to do? You can lower the “glycemic value” of a meal by adding foods with a lower glycemic load. That means exchanging your traditional white pasta or whole wheat pasta. Lower glycemic index eating plans will help you promote fast and healthy weight loss. Whole wheat pasta actually lowers your risk of both heart disease and diabetes. Since whole wheat pasta is high in fiber - you get full faster too (and eat less)!

There are all kinds of shapes, sizes, (and flavors) of whole wheat pasta now available - try several different kinds to see which you like best!

DeCecco Whole Wheat Pasta, Penne Rigate, 16-Ounce Units (Pack of 10)

DeCecco 2007, Grocery, $22.90

Bio Nature Organic Pasta, Whole Wheat Spaghetti, 16-Ounce Unit (Pack of

Bio Nature 2006, Grocery, $28.16

Wheat-Free, Worry-Free

Danna Korn. Hay House 2002, Paperback, 416 pages, $7.35

Whole Wheat Veggie Rotini Pasta, 1 lb

Barry Farm, Misc., $2.99

“Go Vegetarian” one or two nights per week to lose even more weight!

One way to lose weight faster is by “going vegetarian” one or two days per week!  I could never be a 100% Vegetarian or Vegan, but I see no problem going meatless a day or two per week.  You can cut out so much more fat by doing this and it’s very healthy for you!  Cutting down on your red meat is great too, but some days a big huge bowl of salad is all I need.  I love my Super Healthy Salad Recipe!

Salads aren’t the only way to go vegetarian though.  Try my Creme of Vegetable Soup Recipe for example, the entire family cleaned their bowls (including the teens) and everyone was full for hours.  The previous week the Broccoli Bake Vegetarian Casserole was the same way!  Once you get used to cooking this way a day or two per week (like we have) - you’ll have a stockpile of vegetarian recipes you and the family love in no time at all!

So, since I’ve been losing weight I’ve been trying to drink less diet pop. That means for me, a lot of water, sugar free kool-aid, sugar free lemonaid - and lately I’ve been trying to buy “Vitamin Water” for something new and an alternative to soda.

One day I was in the carry-out and I saw this Vitamin Water, and I read the label. 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar. I drank it and life was good. The next day I tried another flavor. For 3-4 days I had a Vitamin Water and a banana. I figured this was much better than the diet pepsi and hot dog I used to occasionally get.

We saw a report awhile back on TV that said all the water and fruit drinks that were now the rage at the gym actually hurt you because they had a few hundred calories, and pretty much defeated the purpose of working out in the first place - because you’d have to exercise a couple hours to burn the calories from that water off. Talk about canceling out your own workout!

So when I was in the store I naturally checked the label to make sure Vitamin Water wasn’t like those other evil waters and fruity drinks. Like I said, 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar. Then….today I came home with Vitamin Water in my hand - and my wife grabbed it. She said “this has 125 calories and 32 grams of sugar!“.

My jaw dropped….whaaaat?!? Yeah, it says that this (20 oz bottle) is 2.5 SERVINGS! So, when you buy a 20 oz pop, that’s ONE serving, but if you get a 20 oz Vitamin water, all the sudden (it’s so filling) that it’s 2.5 servings?!? Talk about label manipulation to get people to buy something AND make them feel good about i!

Screw you Vitamin Water - you lied to me, and I will never buy you again! You may as well have been selling me a fake Rolex on the street corner!!

Everyone knows that if you exercise and work out you lose more weight. Year ago I had a membership at them gym (now closed), but that’s the only time I ever had a “membership” to something like that. Well, we had a family membership for the YMCA once, but I never went - the kids just went swimming. And that’s one reason that a monthly type membership for a gym or the “Y” just doesn’t seem to work out for me. With kids, and work, and blogging…I just don’t have enough time to devote to going somewhere to work out and exercise. With the price of gas now - who can blame me?

My wife and I decided last year we need a way to work out at home whenever we wanted to, and we bought a “total gym”. That’s right - the one with Chuck Norris and Christy Brinkly that you see on TV all the time (go ahead and make fun). I’m guilty of not using it for the last 10 months or so - but at least it hasn’t become a place to hang our drying clothes (just yet). It’s still setup in our basement and ready to go.

I have to say, last year when I worked out on the Total Gym at least 5 days per week - I had more energy, I slept better, I was more alert, I felt more confident, and I could feel muscle building in my body daily. When I flexed my arm I actually had muscle and not flab! I’m going to start working out with our Totaly Gym again this week to see if I can help meet my goal to get down to 250 lbs this month!

Surprisingly enough, when we compared the Total Gym to that rediculous costing “Bowflex” it was waaaay cheaper - and we’ve been very satisfied. We just have to use it more. Explore your options for affordable ways to workout at home. Save your time and gas. Use the link below to go directly to the Total Gym web site, or below that see if you can find a good deal on a “used Total Gym” on eBay. I will say - at least if you go direct you may be able to save on shipping charges.

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My sugar free zucchini bread recipe is a great snack when your on diet!

We have a garden, and it hasn’t been as great this year because there were so many cold days in May and June, and torrential rains just before July.  So it seems as if a lot of the plant growth has been stunted a bit, but I did manage to pick a pretty good sized Zucchini yesterday!

It seems like kind an annual tradition to make Zucchini Bread with a zucchini from the garden, but this year my wife and I are on a diet.  So - what to do?  We decided to make it sugar free with Xylitol.  Last year the Zucchini bread had a bitter aftertaste because we used Nutrasweet (which stinks for baking).  I have to say - that this recipe with the Xylitol tasted EXACTLY like it had 100% sugar in it!  This was the first sugar free dessert or snack I ever tasted that was actually better than the real thing.

You’ll need the following ingredients -

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts are great)
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups Xylitol sugar free substitute
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp margarine
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup canola oil
• anything else you might like, such as dried cherries, raisins, etc.

Grease and flour 2 standard size loaf pans.  Pre-heat oven to 325.  Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon) in large mixing bowl.  Beat the eggs, vanilla, Xylitol, and mararine together, then add the sifted ingredients to it and beat well.  Stir in the zucchini and nuts until it’s all mixed.  Split the batter between the two loaf pans.  Bake 40-60 minutes depending on your oven and location, ours took the entire 60 minutes.  When a knife comes out clean (just a very little bit on it) you know they’re done!

The oil and the eggs do add some fat grams to this of course - it you wanted to play with the recipe some and take out the oil and substitue with applesauce and something else you probably could, but it just wouldn’t be as moist I don’t think.  If I only get a treat once a week or so on this diet, then a little oil won’t kill me.  I used our 50/50 Canola and Olive Oil blend and it worked great.  Even the next day - the very little that was left was moist and unbelievably delicious!

It’s been a month since I started this diet blog, and in the last 30 days I’ve lost 22 pounds.  That’s not bad since I haven’t exercised one second (shame on me!) and that’s an average of 5.5 lbs per week.  I haven’t posted a lot (or as much as I should have) on this blog about what I’ve been doing, but the post I HAVE made to indicate the framework.

I wrote a diet plan (that included a meal plan), a found healthy recipes to use, I replaced junk food with healthy snacks, and I found a better sugar free substitute.  I’ve been trying to cut down how much pop I drink, and I think I’ve done that by about half maybe.  Now I drink 2 - 20 oz diet pops per day, and I was up to 2+ 2 liters per day or more.

I cut down the amount of red meat I eat by 80-90%, I have no cookies or snacks in the house, and only occasional “sugar free” snacks.  Mostly I snack on cucumber, grapes, strawberries, bananas, occasional sugar free ice cream bars or fudgesicles, a few pretzels, sugar free kool-aid or lemonade, and that’s about it.

Each morning I have granola cereal (sometimes with fruit), I drink a few cups of water everyday, and I’ve replaced some things with healthier alternatives (like regular pasta for wheat pasta).

I’ve gone from a size 44 inch waist, to just about 41 inches now, I just barely too big for the size 40 pants in my closet.  I anticipate that the next part will be much harder, because the first month and first bit of weight are ALWAYS the easiest to get off.  It’s water weight and the initial garbage in your body from eating bad.  After 15-20 lbs EVERYONE I’ve ever known hits a wall where they don’t lose as much and it takes seemingly forever to get past that hurdle!

The most I ever weighed was like 308 I think, and the lowest I’ve been down to (that I can remember) in the last say 15 years is in the mid 250’s range.  At that time I was able to get comfortably into size 40 pants (I know - I still have them, it was just a year ago).  But I’ve never gotten down to bottom 250’s - or actually 250 itself.  My goal this month is to (somehow) get down to 250 lbs.

That’s only 10 lbs in one month,  the goal is half of last month!  I may have to just break out the exercise equipment for this one.  That’s probably going to be my next post!

You can Lose weight with Xylitol, which is a sugar free sweetener you can add to your food. Xylitol has been around for more than 40 years and is very popular as a sugar free sweetener in chewing gum.

Xylitol is a “one-for-one” sugar substitute, meaning for every cup or teaspoon of sugar you use instead one cup or teaspoon of Xylitol. This is unlike other sugar substitutes that require different amounts to substitute in recipes - like both Stevia or Splenda. Xylitol is a natural sweetener because it’s found in fruits, vegetables, and even mushrooms.

When I first found Xylitol I was very surprised, because I’d been using Splenda for years and had very poor luck using it to cook and bake with. Splenda has a distinct aftertaste that nearly ruins anything you bake with it. I first tried Xylitol because I was told it didn’t have any aftertaste at all. My daughter baked some chocolate brownies with it and they were absolutely incredible! I’ve never tasted something sugar free before that was so decadent!

I’m a type II diabetic, so I’ve probably tried or eaten just about everything sugar free there is in the grocery store. Besides Nutrasweet or Spenda, the most popular fake sweetener I’ve sen used in cookies and candy is “Sorbitol”. It’s not only not the greatest tasting sweetener, but Sorbitol has an unwanted after-effect. In many people if you eat too much it gives you diarrhea. When I go to the store I now stay away from any food that contains sorbitol in the ingredients. It has different effects on different people, but if I eat just one piece of candy or one cookie containing it I’ll start having massive gas for hours. If I eat half a dozen pieces….well - we just won’t talk about that.

The difference between Xylitol and other sugar substitute sweeteners is the fact that it has a real health benefit that none of the others do. It was found in the 70’s that Xylitol actually kills bacteria. It not only kills bacteria, but over time in strengthens the enamel on your teeth - which is why Xylitol was in the very first chewing gum in the world in Finland in 1975.

Nowadays you can find Xylitol in all kinds of things, such as nasal washes and mouth care products. When you use Xylitol it doesn’t change your blood sugar or glucose level in any way, and that coupled with the fact that it tastes nearly exactly like sugar with no aftertaste means that it SHOULD be manufacturers first choice for sugar substitue. I believe since it’s more expense - they choose cheaper substitutes at our expense.

The first time I bought Xylitol was in a health food store, and I paid $8.99 for a very small bag - I think a half pound? Since - I’ve found that you can buy it on eBay from reputable health suppliers in larger quantities at less cost.

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It’s hard to eat breakfast cereal when you’re on a diet - isn’t it? It’s hard because of the ridiculous portion control. If you’re fat (like me), then for years you’ve probably been used to grabbing a medium-large sized bowl and filling it to the brim with sugary breakfast cereal. Then, after years of doing this and needing to lose weight you finally read the box, only to find out that you’ve been eating enough (portion wise) for 4-6 normal people. I’m not here to argue whether or not their portion sizes are correct or not, but I do know this…on a box of “fruit loops” they say there’s only 14 grams of sugar….FOR 1 CUP OF CEREAL!!

Diet or not, I don’t know of anyone who wants to eat only 1 cup of cereal for breakfast. I’ve read other boxes where (to get the grams of sugar and bad stuff lowered) the portion was 3/4 cup!! Here’s my solution….pick a breakfast cereal that’s good for you - like corn flakes, total, or Special K. Then at the supermarket pickup some fresh fruit, like bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. At your next breakfast fill your (regular sized) cereal bowl half full with fresh fruit by slicing a banana, several strawberries, and adding a handful of blueberries. Fill the bowl the rest of the way with cereal, add milk, and enjoy!

If you’re like me, you’ll wonder why you never did this before! You cut down your cereal intake by about half by filling the bowl half full with fresh fruit. Eating the cereal with fresh fruit removes the need to add any kind of sugar or artificial sweetener, AND the fruit with the cereal will keep you full longer than the cereal would alone!

Do you have any special breakfast routines when you’re on a diet?