Thin Blog

You want to lose weight and you are trying to lose that 20 pounds or that 100 pounds. You are doing pretty well in your weight loss attempt and then it happens. Your group wants to go out and eat and you pull into a McDonald’s fast food restaurant. You think all is lost for your diet but that is not true. We are here to tell you that you can go to a McDonalds and eat some food and not have to blow out your diet. If you think this is not true then chances are you are not doing too well on your “diet” and have been struggling for quite awhile to lose the weight. If you fall into this category then read on and learn how to break away from the diet madness and get off the merry-go-round of trying to lose weight.

If you think you cannot walk into almost any restaurant and order healthy food then you have not fully grasped the entire driving elements of true and pure healthy weight loss. If you truly want to lose the weight you need to change your mind set. You need to break the pattern of all your prior “diets” and stop looking at losing weight as something that happens only during a set time period on the calendar. You need to stop thinking that you need to lose those 20 pounds to go to that wedding or go on that vacation. You are hesitating to go to that reunion because you have gained too much weight and now you want to lose it fast. This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding how weight loss really works. If you were to go on a weight loss crusade and starved yourself into losing 20 pounds you will end up gaining more than 20 pounds after you end your diet. The reason is basic human physiology. Your body has a defense mechanism that when your body is starved for food it will stop burning the fat and start burning muscle. Sure you will reach your short term weight loss goal but when you start eating normally again you will not only gain the weight you lost, but will pack on a few pounds to help you if you are to experience the issue of starvation again. This is when your body will think it has to overcompensate in case the reasons for your prior drastic weight loss were to happen again. This is one major reason why you keep gaining weight slowly over the years. This is an issue of yo-yo dieting.

If you want to really lose the weight you can eat at McDonalds or pretty much any other place you stop at. This is because one meal is not going to make you gain 20 pounds. The 20 pounds you are trying to lose have been gained by months of poor eating choices. If you really want to lose the weight then you need to skip the “diet” and start a “live-it”. This may sound corny but it is the truth. If you were to embark on a life long journey you would be able to enter a McDonalds and eat decent food choices that will not cripple your weight loss.  If you entered McDonald’s and ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and a parfait and water you would only consume 580 calories.  If you went further and asked for no sauce and used ketchup you would even have less calories.  You could also choose a salad and have an even healthier meal choice.  If you are now sitting in front of your monitor thinking I do not want to choose that I want (need) to have a burger, fries and a soda.  If this is how you think then you may have revealed your true cause of your weight problem.  You just may not be ready to commit yourself to weight loss.  If you are not ready then do not beat yourself up over the issue.  If you truly want to lose the weight you must know that in order to really be able to lose the weight you need to lose no more than an average of one or two pounds a week.  This way your body does not really notice it is happening.  This way you will lose the weight and you will be able to keep the weight off for the rest of your own personal forever.

If you are really on a weight loss journey then you know it is not going to happen in a month or two.  You must commit yourself to exercise and you must commit yourself to eating better choices.  If the majority of your choices are healthy and good for you then if you strayed from your path every now and then one meal will not matter enough to cause you to “blow your diet”.

A true desire to lose weight will push your commitment past a week or two.  That commitment will empower you to shed the weight for the long haul and not just to go to a wedding.  A true desire to lose weight will empower you to stay the course month after month until one day you wake up and you are healthier.  One day you will wake up and notice the change.  Through perseverance and determination you will be able to hear someone out of the blue comment that you look like you are losing weight. 

Make the correct choices in your life and when you want to eat that cheese burger at McDonald’s it will have little effect on your life. One meal will not matter when the majority of your meals are healthy and mixed with exercise a few times every week.  If you need support in your cause then we recommend eDiets as a support group.  They are awesome and if you need a nudge there are a ton of people there ready to offer real help.  When we say people we mean real people just like you.  If you have had trouble in the past losing weight change your mindset and join eDiets.  If you do, your chances for success have just tripled! 

I Choose Thin, what do you choose?

 

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Is Medifast a fad diet?

If you are here trying to decide whether or not Medifast is a fad diet…you have come to the right place because I have been using Medifast for one year and have learned quite a bit about what Medifast is…and what Medifast is not.  What I will say is that Medifast is not a fad diet in any way what-so-ever.  To qualify this answer let me first take a definition of what a fad diet is all about.  The definition of what a fad diet is as follows;

“a reducing diet that enjoys temporary popularity”

What you need to know about Medifast is that it has been around longer than almost any established diet plan on the market today.   A well worn Medifast statement is that it has been recommended by more than 20,000 doctors since 1980.  Since it is a very simple statement that can be verified anywhere, it is quite evident that Medifast has been around way too long to be classified as a fad diet.  Since the definition of a fad diet involves a diet that is short-lived, and since Medifast has been around well over 30 years…it can hardly be even remotely considered to be a fad diet.  In short, Medifast has an established history i

Although the Medifast Diet has been in existence since 1980, the knowledge and experience behind the concept of this meal replacement program goes as far back as 50 years. Medifast is owned by Jason Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Owings Mills, MD and was originally founded by William Vitale, MD.

 

The Medifast method is simple meal replacement. It is not like any other other diet on the market.  Medifast provides life changing behavior modification programs (it has changed the life of my wife and I)  and products that support their customers through weight loss and into weight maintenance. The Medifast program teaches people how to lose weight and keep it off for life. That is why the diet is more successful for significantly overweight people, like I used to be, because the longer you are on the diet, the more you learn about healthy eating habits, meal preparation, portion control, nutritional information and weight management.

So…without going into anymore detail about whether or not Medifast is a fad diet, let me just leave you with the definition and a few more Medifast facts that will dispel any doubt you may have remaining.

• Medifast is clinically proven
• Highest weekly weight loss offered of any program on the market today (Check out the chart)
• Approved and used by Johns Hopkins

I could go on explaining how Medifast is not a fad diet, but I think you get the idea.  If not you can check out my personal story, or if you need anymore information, call me.  850-449-0121.  That is my cell number, call me and I answer.  I work in retail, so my calendar can be crazy, but I will answer the phone or call you back.

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The Medifast diet has been clinically proven to be safe and effective

I have had my BodyBugg for about one year now and I think I am about as good a source as anyone to review and spout forth an opinion about how well it works and what I think is good and what I think is bad about the way it works.  I have written this brief article in tandem with a video that I have placed on YouTube.  Please feel free to watch the video and read this as the two go well together for the purpose of reviewing what I think about how well BodyBugg performs overall and what the wireless wristband has to offer when using BodyBugg.

Overall BodyBugg has performed as well as could be expected with only a few very minor issues.  First off lets set a few things straight for owning and using BodyBugg.

• You need a personal computer with the ability to upload and download
• You will need to buy a BodyBugg to make the whole thing “work”
• With your purchase price you receive a 6 month subscription to your own personal BodyBugg website.
• Yes, there is a cost to subscribe to the website after the 6 months, but that cost is very, very minimal. For a review of all subscription costs: Click Here
• BodyBugg provides the user with information only and does not cause weight loss in and of itself merely by using the device
• You do not NEED the wristband wireless digital display to be able to effectively use BodyBugg
• Yes, the digital display is a simple time keeping device also. (Yes, it is also a watch that can tell you what time it is)
• Yes, there is a button on the face so you can read it in the dark.  The face can light up at night

Once you have your BodyBugg awhile you will soon learn that it is a pretty cool thing to have, simply because it works.  The sad part for many BodyBugg users is that it works too well and they soon realize that in order to lose weight there will need to be a lifestyle change.  Once the reality sets in that in order to lose 40 or 50 or 100+ pounds a person is going to have to commit themselves to a lifetime of changes.  Whether or not those changes are made will be reflected into the results that flash across your BodyBugg website and now also will have the ability to flash across your wrist band wireless digital display.

I had my BodyBugg for awhile and I have been impressed with it since day one.  I must admit that during the times that I made the poor choices I shied away from even wanting to see the results BodyBugg holds for my review, at my request.  If I chose to spend the day active I eagerly would plug into the USB port and relish the fact that I sweat-ed and shed some weight.  Then there were the days that I did not eat well or did not exercise and I would wait a day or two to upload the results.  Despite anything I did or did not do….BodyBugg was there recording the results as the ever vigilant spectator that it has become.  It records my footsteps (pedometer) and also how long I have been active and it provides the most important number of the day…how many calories I have burned.

 

The wristband is removable and can be worn on a clip, which is really the way most people use the device.  The actual wristband portion is more than durable and yes the wireless digital device is water resistant.  The plastic wrist strap is so durable it could last the user forever and for that reason I rarely use it.  It is big, bulky and causes my wrist to accumulate sweat, which I hate. (Imagine in the world today the wristband is a product that is TOO durable) I always keep the wristband in the desk drawer and just attach the wireless digital readout unit to the BodyBugg strap.  It is very safe and comfortable there.

What I must tell you is that the digital readout or “wristband” as most call it provides a very essential bit of information that is vital to not only beong able to lose weight, but also being able to gain weight or simply maintain a certain weight.  Everyone associate BodyBugg with weight loss but if you are just trying to maintain a certain weight and not have the pounds creep up on you, BodyBugg is for you also.  If you want to gain weight because you are too skinny it will work great for that purpose also.

What you need to know about BodyBugg is that it works, if you are willing to use the information it receives in a positive way.  If you are accurate in the information you key in about the foods you eat and you pay attention to the information that is on your computer monitor, you will be able to achieve your weight goals.  What you can see on the chart, which  is a sample from a page I had stored away, (from last year) is the progress being made.  The BodyBugg is like an ever present and vigilant sentry that is always paying attention to what you are doing and how much of it you are doing.  It counts your steps and it counts the amount of time you have been active and it also counts how many calories you have burned today, yesterday or any period of time you wish to single out.  The BodyBugg wireless digital display merely takes the technology out into the world where you need it most.

Now when I am out living my life and I get the urge to venture off the path of trying to make a lifestyle change I just glance down and my calorie burn for the day is visible.  Now that I know I burn about 4,000 calories on a good day, I find it hard (literally) to swallow my once typical Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (740 calories) witha soda (310 calories, but quickly becomes 620 calories with the free refill) and the fries (500 calories) continued with the ketchup to add another 60 calories.  Now that I have BodyBugg wireless digital readout staring me right in the face I choose to avoid the  unbelievable 1,920 calorie meal.  (Click here for McDonald’s USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items)

I have really learned to appreciate the calorie content of food at Subway where I can now eat a large Ham sub sandwich with water and only eat 580 calories. (Click here for Subway’s Nutrition Chart) Sure I had water but now I am aware of what I place in my mouth because of BodyBugg.  What has occurred in my life is that eating is about more than just filling up the old belly.  Eating has become an experience that is wrapped up into my fitness because I now UNDERSTAND the benefits of healthy food choices and exercise.  If you are thinking…”no duh, of course losing weight is about that”, I want you to appreciate that it is the BodyBugg experience that kept me on the right path?  I have struggled for years and those struggles never made me the accountable one to lose weight.  It used to always be about this diet pill or that diet plan and those days are over.  BodyBugg has taught my wife and I that we can live in the real world and eat at real places and make real choices.  In all fairness, the other day I DID eat at McDonald’s.  I ordered two burgers and a bottle of water.  It was delicious and it was only 500 calories.  BodyBugg has opened my eyes to what it takes to not only lose weight, but learn what it will take once all the weight has been lost.

What I have learned from BodyBugg is that weight loss is all about calories in and calories out.  Sure that sounds simple enough to understand but if it really was that simple there would be no overweight people in the world.  Since there are overweight people and the sad fact that there is an obesity epidemic happening right now, wearing BodyBugg with the digital readout gives me a tool that allows me to see right then and there what impact I can expect from the food choices I make throughout my day.

BodyBugg has become an integral part of my weight loss experience.  I have lost the first 48 pounds and the digital display has once again renewed my desire to lose the rest of my weight.  With the addition of the BodyBugg Digital Wristband Wireless Display I have no doubt that I can drop the next 50 pounds to end up below 200 pounds for the first time in over half my life.

BodyBugg has always been what I called “in your face weight loss” because you could upload all the information to your computer and see the results of your weight loss efforts.  Now with the BodyBugg wireless digital wristband display the “in your face weight loss” is now always in my face.  I just need to look down and see where I am with regards to calories burned, steps taken and how many hours I have been active.

The wireless digital display gets a double thumbs up and it is more than worth the cost.  If you are serious about weight loss and money is tight, BodyBugg will work without the wireless display.  Do not wait to get BodyBugg is you can’t afford the digital display because you really just need to get started.  If you have to order it later, like I did, but do not delay ion at least getting started.  If you can afford the digital display when you order the main unit, then go for it, you will not be sorry.  It is also suggested that you order at least ne extra strap also as they get kind of funky when you start to sweat alot.

BodyBugg works well for my wife and I and it can work well for you also.  Good Luck in all that you choose to do!

When we first ordered our BodyBugg units about a year ago we did not have the option for c0lored replacement straps.  Today there is quite a selection of colored BodyBugg straps that a person can order from 24 Hour Fitness.  No longer does a person need to just settle for the original black and black color because today the selection has improved greatly because of popular outcry from BodyBugg users world-wide.

What a person must realize when ordering a replacement strap for their BodyBugg and are looking to get a different color, the color they get will only be on the plastic ring that holds the BodyBugg in place on your arm.  When speaking about colored replacement straps most  people make the assumption that the entire strap will be chrome or blue or hot pink or camouflageor even the zebra black and white color.  That is not the case!  When you order a colored replacement strap you will still be able to make a selection from a list of colors, but those colors will only be contained in the plastic that holds the BodyBugg unit in place on your arm.

If you take a glance at the photographs we have included from our own personal BodyBugg collection you will see the traditional BodyBugg strap that comes with the unit when it is purchased.  The photograph to the far left shows the entire BodyBugg with the sensor in place in the strap.  There are no colors other than black in the original unit that you receive and as you can see it is just black and…..well, black.  There really is nothing wrong with that because for the most part the unit is not visible when it is worn.  The photograph to the far right is my lovely wife wearing her BodyBugg with a tee shirt being worn.  Yes, there is a BodyBugg beneath that sleeve and you can’t see it can you? 

The photograph second from the left shows a BodyBugg armband without the main sensor and it is obviously hot pink colored.  The photograph second from the right is the more masculine camouflaged colored replacement band.  There are other colors that you can order from 24 Hour Fitness that are available, but the ones pictured are the only colors we have purchased so far.  The next time we need to get a replacement armband we will choose a different color just for the heck of why not?

We have realized that there is not much need to have a different color strap because they all do the same function and they are all the same price when ordering.  The funny thing about it is that despite the fact that the unit is seldom visible my wife says she still loves her hot pink BodyBugg Replacement armband and will never go back to just having the basic black color.  We hope that one day soon the entire strap will have a color choice also.  We will keep you posted if it ever happens.

To see what color BodyBugg replacement straps are available today just click on any 24 Hour Fitness or BodyBugg link.

When you land on the BodyBugg site after clicking the banner below:

• Type “Bodybugg strap” in the search field at top right of page.
• then on the left hand side of the page, about 25% down, click on “Products” to see ALL the straps available.

This blog has grown in popularity quite a bit. We have no official connection with The Biggest Loser at all, other than the fact that we think it is an awesome show. We love to watch Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels do their thing and watch the weight fall off the contestants. We have been getting a lot of questions about what are the things that are on the arms of the people on The Biggest Loser. We get asked the question at least 50 times a day. The question may be different, but the theme of the questions are the same.

People ask what is the thing on their arms? What do they wear under the sleeves? Where do we get the device they wear? We are overwhelmed with the question so we have decided to get make an entry for all to see and read. We have tried the product and we actually use it every day. That product is called BodyBugg and it is a state of the art weight loss product that will help your weight loss attempt enter the 21st century. BodyBugg records how many calories your body burns in the course of a day. The system is simple and so easy to use with your home computer.

We are not here to tell you how much we love to use it and how it helps us keep track of our calories or how it interfaces with our home computer. We are not here to pitch it to you, we are only here to tell you that what they are wearing on their arms in The Biggest Loser is a device called BodyBugg, which Bob and Jillian use to help their teams lose weight. If you want all the techno info. and all that just click on the box below to take you to the official 24Hour Fitness and learn about BodyBugg.

(An update/addition to this BodyBugg article can be found at this link.)