Drink more water – It seems that one to mean just leads to me never leaving the bathroom.  Salt is a no/no, but I just read something about iodine salt helping.  So yes or no to salt? To top it off if you watch Dr. Oz, he is advertising a different supplement to help daily!  Then to top it off there is the shred diet, the cabbage diet, the diet where you avoid everything to find what you are allergic to.

My latest source of information is the person at the vitamin shoppe.  My favorite question: What’s your biggest seller for dieting?

I’ve tried Fitbit to track my steps, Myfitnesspal to track my food, but what I learned is they are easy to avoid.  I get excited when I meet my goals, but it’s very easy to miss a goal by simply having too much to do.

I do use the Aria scale to weigh each morning and I have found out a few interesting things – like the morning after we have Pizza I gain 5 pounds.  I also have found that eating salt has about the same effect.  (Problem is that my families favorite meal is pizza and their favorite snack is pringles)

Snacking is the favorite thing for them to do! One article though said to eat every few hours to level your blood sugar – yet, snacking (eating more calories) seems against the face of all logic.

Part of my issue I think is age, as I have gotten older (and more sedentary) it gets tougher and tougher to maintain my weight, let alone lose weight.  I remember in my 20s and 30 doing everything from Tai Kwan Do to Aerobics.   Now it’s not that I don’t want to exercise, it’s that I have no energy and time to exercise. My days are filled with activity!  The most strenuous of which is cleaning the house….  I know there are a million possibilities of things to try….  Currently I’m planning to try the Vitamin Shoppe’s suggestion to start with…  I’ll post more on how that goes in a couple days…..

12 oz. BBQ Sauce
1/2 c. Italian salad dressing
1/4 c. brown sugar
2T. Worcestershire sauce

Place chicken in slow cooker. In bowl, mix rest of ingredients and pour over meat.

Cover and cook 3-4 hours High or 6-8 hours Low.

 1). We sleep all bundled up for the night which can lead to being too warm which prevents effective sleep which is bad news for digestion – and weight gain.

 2). With close quarters for the winter, colds and the flu are more common. Not feeling well gives you a great excuse to skip the gym.

3). Being cold causes us to eat more which helps us warm up, but the extra becomes fat, additionally the types of food we choose are more startchy and high in carbohydrates – with less exercise and comfort foods, they add up to more weight gain.

4). Stress!  Winter and holidays lead to more stress, family and money add together to equal more stress and more weight.

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On this Dr. Oz fan appreciation app, you’ll find:

video interviews
recipes
nutrition advice
supplements
exercise
photos

and much more. You can also use the app to register your interest in appearing in the audience of a Dr. Oz show!

Have trouble remembering all the recommended products on each episode? Then use the app to make notes or order products while you watch.

Dr. Oz video interviews recipes from the Dr. Oz show nutrition advice supplements recommended by Dr. Oz exercise Dr. Oz photos and much more. You can also use the app to register your interest in appearing in the audience of a Dr. Oz show! Have trouble remembering all the recommended products on each episode? Then use the app to make notes or order products while you watch.  I frequently want items that are shown on the episode and find myself searching for a pen and frequently jotting them down on my hand then struggling to get the spelling right.  This app solves those issues!

Reviews For this app include:  “This app is AWESOME!! Everything you need is right here, help/education, exercises, recipes, lots of people who are on a journey and mission to wellness just like me. You will be anxious to come here everyday, this is a phenomenal app!” “I love the app, especially the recipes”

“I watch the Doctor Oz show usually 3-4 times a week. I find this application very easy to navigate. I find the you tube videos most helpful for the segments of the show I missed or want to see again. The site has recipes as well to help you with eating healthier. It even has recommendations for supplements and a link to purchase as well as price! I will be ordering my vitamins this way now instead of Walgreen. I like this app and features!”

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Cup Flour, 1/3 Cup Cocoa, 1/4 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp Baking Powder.

You can put it in containers, ziplock bags or wrap it up pretty for a present.

Add: 2 Eggs, 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

White Chocolate Chips (Photo credit: frugalupstate)

White Chocolate Tiramisu

1/2 cup hot brewed espresso or strong coffee
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
Two 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
pint heavy cream
One Vanilla food Cake Mix
1 1/2 ounce piece white chocolate
1. In small bowl, stir together the espresso and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in 1/4 cup water and the coffee liqueur.
2.wish the mascarpone, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla at slowly. While wisking gradually pour in the cream, then whip until thick and billowy but not stiff.
3. Invert the angel food cake onto a work surface. Using a large serrated knife, trim the brown crust off the top of the cake, then slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place the widest layer cut side up in the bottom of a 7 -inch-wide trifle bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the coffee syrup evenly over the cake, then spoon 2 cups of the mascarpone mixture evenly on top. Finely grate one third of the white chocolate over the mascarpone. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 2 more layers. Cover the trifle and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

A Sandisk-brand USB thumb drive, SanDisk Cruzer Micro, 4GB. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’ve gotten a new computer recently you know the excitement you get when you first unbox it. A brand new computer, with a clean desktop, bright display and crumb-free keyboard! Now, if it just had all your files, music, photos, videos as well as personal settings and programs already installed it would be great!

I’m notorious for using my old laptops as backups for my old…. Of course I’ve never went back as I also keep a great backup of my current.  There’s a lot of different ways you can transfer everything from one computer to the next.  My favorite method is to use a MyBook.   I use it for back up the rest of the time.  (Actually I have two Mybooks and a 1TB external hard drive).  I have an excess of pictures and movies – so for a normal person one drive will suffice.  They are great for backup also.  With the right router you can even plug them into the router and share the drive. It’s a lot easier than my old standby of  e-mailing myself whatever it is I was looking for?

I also like to store things in online locations for files in progress, but I have both a desktop and a laptop (not to mention a few extras thrown in that I use for special purposes….)

Some traps we all fall into include:

Compulsive shopping as a hobby or sport

There’s nothing to do, or you’re on vacation or planning an afternoon with some good friends. You opt for shopping. Why is spending money such a rush?  I don’t normally even like shopping.  My favorite real method of shopping when I want or need something involves a computer and amazon. – But if a friend suggests a shopping trip, I’m out the door and somehow I always find several things I ‘can’t live without’.

Cruising for deals online

True shopaholics don’t quit simply because they can’t get to the store. I’m really bad about this one.  I have $10  in swagbuck amazon gift cards… What should I buy?  Next thing I know there goes another $100.   For me I have to wait until I really need something to shop.
Having to own the latest technology

If you’re the type of person who thinks nothing of standing in line half the night to be the first to buy a new gadget or software, then you’re stuck in one of the most expensive spending traps: having to own the latest technology.  I’m horrible about this one too.  I REALLY NEED, must have, want desperately cool technology.   I’m working through my issue, by adding the item to my when I have enough swagbucks list.  Right now I’m working on earning the UltraBook.  (I want the new pink one that I just got in an email ad.)  I don’t make myself get enough for the whole amount but it needs to make a significant dent.   I know that the price will come down and do I really need it now or just want it.  As soon as it becomes a need I break down.

Mistaking shortcuts for savings

Preprocessed food is actually way more expensive in most cases.  In the case of bulk too, check the per unit price.  It should be on the store shelf.  Somethings I break down and buy the preprocessed – actually quite often.  But I’m working on not buying things like chopped onions and sliced up watermelon. How long really does it take to slice it yourself?

Buying the brand

Sometimes it pays to buy brand names, and sometimes it doesn’t.  Personally I love Mountain Dew – Citrus Drop is a lot cheaper.  I’ve been trying to cut back on soda and my kids and husband don’t seem to notice – so we’ve switched to that route.  It’s cutting my calories while saving.

Give the non-name brands a try and see if you can live with them.  For me it’s a deal breaker on the Mt. Dew, but I found that for my kids it doesn’t matter….- and they are the ones drinking it.

Confusing ‘clearance’ with ‘necessity’

It’s on clearance, I must buy it now and stock up!  I finally got a hold of my impulse two years ago with the Christmas sales and found that I am still living off my card and wrapping paper stockpile.  I also have enough toothpaste and deodorant to make it to the next century.

Really how often have you bought something because it’s a GREAT deal?  I found myself almost buying a skylander the other day because it was hard to get and was available.  My mother still has a stockpile of Cabbage Patch kids (The were hard to get) and boy do we have the beanie babies!

Taking couponing to the extreme

Don’t buy something simply because it’s a good deal!  If it’s free have a plan for where to donate it before buying.  Just because you have a coupon doesn’t mean it’s a good deal.  I keep track of the best price for items and know my top limit of what I will spend – For Mt. Dew I won’t pay more than $1 for a two litre.  I’ve gotten them for as little as $.79. K-cups I try to stick to $.50 per cup.  Know the best price for you, especially if you are brand specific.

Mountain Dew (Photo credit: Wikipedia)