Are You Pouring on the Pounds? Top 5 Worst Drinks In the World

           

  About a year ago I was walking home when I saw an eye-catching campaign titled " Are You Pouring On  The Pounds?". The ad displayed the top 10 drinks Americans consume on a daily basis and the amount of sugar each drink contains. You don't quite realize how much sugar you are consuming until you see it displayed in a form of sugar cubes or packets.  So without any further delay let's introduce you to the Top 5 Worst Drinks in the World, consume any of these drinks often and you will become obese in no time.

#1 Cold Stone PB&C

2010 Calories

131g fat (68 grams saturated)

153 Sugars

    #2 Smoothie King Peanut Power Plus Grape (large, 40 fl oz)

                                                                    1,498 calories

                                                             44 g fat (8 g saturated

                                                                   214 g sugars

                                    Sugar Equivalent: 20 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

                            #3. McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake (large, 32 fl oz)

                                                                      1,160 calories

                                                       27 g fat (16 g saturated, 2 g trans)

                                                                      168 g sugars

                                         Sugar Equivalent: 13 McDonald’s Baked Hot Apple Pies

        #4. Così Double Oh! Arctic Mocha (gigante, 23 fl oz)

                                                                  1,210 calories

                                                            19 g fat (10 g saturated)

                                                                    240 g sugars

                                                      Sugar Equivalent: 41 Oreo Cookies

    Yes my friends, that number is correct. A whopping 240 grams of sugar in one drink. Mindblowing!

#5.Krispy Kreme Lemon Sherbet Chiller (20 fl oz)

    980 calories

     40 g fat (36 g saturated)

              115 g sugars

                     Sugar Equivalent: 16 medium-size chocolate eclairs

            

  A lot of you are probably reading the list and saying "that's okay because I don't drink milkshakes but the truth is sugar is hidden in almost all drinks except water. Pure clean water, not those "artificial flavored waters" . Snapple's Antioxidant water contains 33 grams of sugar.

  SunKist soda has been named the worst soda in the World. One bottle of Sunkist contains 84 grams of sugar, that's the equivalent of 6 Bryers Oreo Ice Cream sandwiches. In general all sodas are bad for your health but those "fruity" sodas such as Sunkist or Fanta carry more sugar than a regular Coke or Pepsi. As for SoBe's Green Tea which is marketed to consumers as a "healthy-clean" choice contains a total of 61 grams of sugar which is equivalent to 4 slices of cherry pie.  So think twice before you buy your next sugary drink.

                           

                  Before I began my weight loss journey I was extremely addicted to sugary drinks, I would consume almost a liter of Sunkist or Pepsi per day.My favorite guilty pleasure till today are milkshakes.Yummmyyyyy! I love Baskin Robbins Praline n' Cream milkshakes with caramel and whip cream on top. Unfortunately, those shakes are drenched with nothing but pure sugar. Currently, I am looking for a replacement that is as equally as good and contains zero sugar. 

                   Weight loss is not something that comes easy, but it can be achieved with small changes to your diet. You will be surprised at the amount of weight you lose by simply starting to replace your daily bottle of soda for a glass of water. Try it and see !

REMEMBER FRIENDS, DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES 

                                                 

Lose 6 Lbs in 4 days Through Juice Fasting!

Current Weigh in: 153 Lbs

    Wow !!! I am still in shock, I couldn't believe the scale when I stepped on it this morning and the scale read 153 Lbs. All I can say is juice fasting is one of the most difficult things you can do, you will crave fatty foods like you have never craved them before. You will be faced with temptation. It won't be easy, but it's sure worth every single day you sacrificed.

 The first question many people ask me is :" isn't that unhealthy to go so many days without eating?" .The answer is no, juice fasting is one of the best things you can do for your body. It can be dangerous for those that do not know how to fast in a correct way. My method for fasting is very simple, I drink four large glasses of authentic vegetable and fruit juice . What do I mean by authentic? I am referring to home made all natural juice. So grab your blender or your juicer and let's get juicing . A lot of people assume the "vegetable" juices you buy at the supermarket are all natural. That's completely false, those juices tend to be filled with so much preservatives and not-so-fresh ingredients. The best time to drink your juice is within 20 minutes of making it, in some cases when you are using the proper juicer and have a good glass container you are able to store the juice for 2 days maximum before it has lost all of its nutrients. So why would you buy a juice that has been sitting in a refrigerator for weeks?

       The second most important thing about juicing is drinking plenty of water . You should always drink large amounts of water whether you are fasting or not. Water will help you feel a bit full and make the fasting process much easier.


The biggest mistake a lot of people make is not consuming protein. Protein is essential for your body. During your juice fast, you should try to consume one glass of protein shake, and I am not talking about those sugar contaminated Special K ones. I highly recommend Lean Body and Muscle Milk. If you buy the bottle version of it, split the servings into 2.

Please stay tune for my next post on the benefits of fasting. You will be shock what fasting properly can do for your body.

Day 1 of My 30 day Extreme Fitness Challenge

                                                Day 1 : Weigh in at 162.6 LBS

    My current measurements are 36GG- 28 at the smallest part of my waist, 36 by the belly button and 40 inch hips. My goal is to be 140 Lbs, 34F, 26 at the smallest part of the waist and 34 inches for the hips. I also want to lose my flabby Bingo wings.. During my weight loss I was so focused on just dieting and doing cardio that I completely ignored the importance of weight lifting. Now I am paying the consequences for my actions.. I feel like I can fly if I flap my arms, my wings are simply ridiculous  I've tried hiding them with long sleeve clothing but that doesn't work during the summer time. My only option is to do something about it. I don't care if I never achieve the results of a body builder, all I need is to lose the excess dead skin beneath them. 

You can see the excess fat around my arms !

I want to get rid of the pouch and reach a flatter stomach.

The 30-Day Extreme Fitness Challenge

                                      Can You Transform Your Body in Just 30 days?

                 

        For the past 11 months I have been dancing around the finish line. I am always in the high 150's or low 160's but I have never quite reached my goal weight of 140 lbs. Every time I reach 155 lbs I start to feel comfortable and start telling my body "it's okay to have a few cheat meals and gain 5 lbs" . I have been able to maintain my body under 165 lbs for the past 11 months even though I eat soooooo many  cheat meals per day .Thanks to that 1 large glass of vegetable juice I have per day my metabolism is super fast.

Here is my breakdown of  cheat meals the last few days:

Tuesday: Honey Fried Chicken with Fries    
Wednesday: Large Domino's Bacon/Pepperoni pie , 3 bowls of Cinnamon toast crunch
Thursday: BBQ spare ribs with french fries, 1 bowl of Cinnamon toast crunch
Friday: 1 large Snickers Milkshake from Baskin Robbins
Saturday: 2 bowls of Cinnamon toast crunch, 1 large bacon cheese fries, buffalo wings, Butterfinger deluxe milkshake
Sunday: BBQ pork ribs from Pig Heaven, 2 slices of pizza, 1 bowl of cinnamon toast crunch
     
       Total Weight gain for the week: 2.1 Lbs 

   First  of all I want to say  I don't promote or suggest this type of eating to anyone. I've been eating like this for the past few months.. I eat large quantities of cheat meals, eat healthy for  2 days and lose the weight from the cheat meals instantly.  I'm tired of being so close to my goal weight and not reaching it due to my bad eating habits. Losing the first 65 lbs was the easiest because I wanted it so bad. But once you are 15 lbs away from your goal weight it becomes so difficult because you become comfortable with your new body.  I realize that in order to reach 140 lbs I am going to have to put the same amount of effort and determination that I once did when I first began this journey. This reason has led me to begin the 30 day Extreme Fitness Challenge.

What is the 30 day Extreme Fitness Challenge?
           I am doing my own version  of the 30-day challenge, I am not following any books,guides or particular diet plan. My fitness challenge consist of doing things that have worked for me in the past, not something that has worked for someone else....The 30 day challenge is about becoming the best you can be. Giving fitness and health a 100 % . I am really curious to see the amazing changes that can be done to my body with  eating extremely healthy and working out . So let's break down the plan just in case you want to follow it at home:

• No Sugary drinks-  I always say it's best to eat your calories than to drink your calories. A small can of soda can contain up to 48 grams of sugar. ( No store bought juice, no iced tea, lattes, milkshakes, energy drinks ) If drinking coffee for you is a must then use Splenda. In other words , You can only drink water,  skim milk or tea without any sugar.

•  Drink plenty of water- It's not only about drinking water, it's about drinking the right amount of water for you. Use the suggested water calculator to know the amount of water you should consume Water Calculator . According to the water calculator, I need to consume 81 ounces of water for weight loss
• Fruits and Vegetables - Since I don't eat fruits and vegetables in solid form I will continue juicing them. The best way to juice for weight loss is to stick to green vegetables, the greener the vegetable the better it is for you. I will use cucumber, kale,spinach ,carrots and celery  For fruits , I will only use a small amounts of fruits since I don't want to consume too much sugar, so a slice of pineapple and a green apple is enough for me. I plan on drinking a cup of my "Life" juice (my veggie/fruit juice) with lean protein for every meal. 
• Lean Meats/Fish only- Start off by throwing out your cooking oil because there won't be any frying for the next 30 days . You can broil, bake, grill or steam your protein. Nutritionist suggest eating 2 servings of lean protein per day. You can eat chicken , Fish or Turkey. Red meats such as Pork and beef should only be consumed once a week. For those that plan on doing weight lifting during their journey I suggest purchasing a good protein shake powder such as Muscle Milk Light ( if it's not light then do not consume it).  There are other plenty of other good protein products in the market just do your research.
• Avoid Salt-This is a lesson I learned the hard way. You will be surprised at all of the items in your kitchen that contain hidden salt. One day I decided to take a look at the nutrition label for some of the seasoning condiments that I was using for cooking. One of them contained 1000 milligrams of salt per teaspoon , no wonder I wasn't losing weight fast enough.  Sodium will give you that bloated look and make your body retain water. By cutting sodium from your diet you can lose up to 5 lbs of water weight.
• Low Carbohydrates- If you feel the need to eat carbs then try to stick to whole wheat .Whole wheat turkey sandwiches are very healthy and are easy to pack for work/school. 
• Healthy Snacks- It's important to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day to speed up your metabolism . Between meals you can consume fruits, low fat yogurt, protein bars , nuts or even munch on vegetables.
• Salad Dressings- One of the greatest mistakes people make when dieting is to add poison to your salad.. Yes, Poison, that's what dressing really is.  You are eating this great bowl of healthy vegetables and then you add this unnecessary excessive amount of calories and fat to your veggies. If dressing is a must for you then switch to low-fat dressings or use vinegar  If you continue pouring on the bottle of Ranch dressing to your salad you will never see results. The great thing about juicing is I don't have to worry about dressing, the juice itself is so sweet. 
• Exercise- I plan on lifting heavy weights since I am more focused on toning than losing and running 4 miles a day 4 times a week 

      Overall, my goal is to lose 22 Lbs, tone my arms and thighs as well as see "some" type of abs and a flatter stomach .