For the past few years I’ve tried to maintain a carefree, non-judgmental attitude towards food and weight. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten lax about exercise and watching what I eat. The result? I’m 20 pounds heavier that I was 2 years ago and none of my pants fit.
To me, not fitting into clothes that were loose on me a mere two years ago and having a BMI (body mass index) a smidge over 25 (that’s in the unhealthy range) means something needs to change. I hesitated before blogging about this for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s boring. I’ve never wanted to be one of those women who are always talking about their diet or sugar intake. Second, body image is a touchy subject with lots of women. I can be a bit flippant when I talk about it and I don’t want to make anyone feel bad.
That said, guess what? I’m on a diet. Oops—I mean I’m changing the way I eat and exercise. Most of my new has gone straight to my boobs and belly, which is why I decided to try the embarrassingly-named Flat Belly Diet (FTB).
Get Sassy!
Confession: until recently diet coke was my beverage of choice. It may be calorie free, but the fake sugar in it makes you crave the real stuff. Plus, it’s loaded with freaky chemicals and makes you bloated. Not surprisingly, soda isn’t allowed on the FTB. Instead, we get “Sassy Water.”
It’s called Sassy Water for its creator, Prevention nutrition director Cynthia Sass. The sassy ingredients include fresh ginger to calm and soothe your GI tract. Luckily, I totally love it and don’t mind drinking all day. I’ve been off Diet Coke for 6 days and my tummy is definitely less bloated. If you’ve been looking for way to up your water intake and reduce bloat, this is it.
Here’s the recipe:
- 8.5 cups water
- 1 TSP Grated ginger
- 1 Medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 1 Small or Medium Lemon, sliced
- 12 Spearmint leaves
- Combine everything in a pitcher and let stand overnight
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
i feel the same on the topic of dieting… the main reason why i’m dieting (meaning eating much healthier food and exercising more) is because i want to to able to fit into the clothes i own… the mere thought of having to put away so many pieces of clothes just because of my careless attitude towards taking care of my body really riles me…
hope your ‘diet’ succeeds! (:
I hear you completely. I did a post on that very issue early on. I don’t know if you’d be interested in reading it but hey whatever works for you.
Personally, I drink mostly water and some herbal tea during the day. I start my day with a tall glass of warm water with apple cider vinegar.
As you pointed out, you shouldn’t be on a diet. You will want to change the way you eat. I gave up eating rice three times a day. (considering I grew that way it was a difficult one) I also don’t usually have any sweets (barring occasional dark chocolate and berries)
I lost over 10kg and never went back. I enjoy what I eat and don’t worry about calories.. etc. You just need to find what works for you.
Good luck and do it for a long term. Don’t give up.
xxx songy
Well I know what you mean, The other day I read an article called “how smocked dresses made me fat” and that happened to me, being totally my dress of choice. I only noticed I gained weight when none of my pants fitted anymore and for the first time in my life i started to worry about my food intake, because i used to be very skinny that was the last thing in my mind.
I still didn’t got my head around the healthy route but good luck on your “diet”.
thanks kezia for writing this post! i had no idea about the diet coke thing, and i’ve only not been drinking it because i haven’t been eating out as much… but i know it’s a hard habit to break. i always loved grape soda, but i think that’s diabetes in a can.
nowadays i’m drinking mostly water from the TAP! oh dear…
biba… oh my god, that happened to me too! that sounds like an interesting article…
It is always good to get tips from others, thanks for the healthy drink recipe!
I’ve been noticing lately that my stomach is unusually large. I know part of that is that I have been indulging in too much candy, but more than that I’m sure it’s the soda I have every afternoon with lunch. It’s so hard to resist it – I get sugar *and* caffeine! But a bloated tummy is not the best side effect of a daily soda. I brought tea in to work a few days ago, I’m hoping to start replacing it…
I always thought I was impervious to the idea of dieting, but lately it’s been on my mind a lot…especially as I begin to favour a slimmer profile. Sigh.
Thanks for all your comments! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one having trouble fitting into their clothes. thanks for the ideas/tips too. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
That sounds quite nice…
Ah it’s the story of my life. I have the worst metabolism and I have to work out everyday and eat like a rabbit just look like a girl who enjoys her food! I would love to hear your results on this diet. I do think you look lovely though… I’ve been reading your blog for about a year and I haven’t noticed a change in your weight. If anything I thought that when you moved to Germany you lost weight! But good luck anyways!
Lady Smaggle– I hear you on the metabolism; mine is a lot slower than it was in my 20s (and wasn’t very fast then, either). I agree– Jennine is very lovely and slim. However, I (Kezia) wrote this post. I’m kinda like The Coveted’s permanent guest-blogger. I write about beauty, skincare, etc.
Good luck!! You do look great though – I am suprised that you have gone up in weight as it doesn’t show. I totally feel you fight (it is the fight of my life!). You can do it!
I used to be so strict with myself about not drinking soda/carbonated drinks and now I’ve relaxed a little…still my favourite drink in the world when I’m feeling a little bit bloated/pauchy is just lemon and hot water….
Oh lovely recipe to give water zing.
oh dear… maybe we should do a post about kezia and show her lovely self???
thanks for the comments about *me* looking great… i did gain quite a bit of weight last year but i’ve seem to stablized… mostly b/c i’ve been excerising and eating like a rabbit… but i love rabbit food.
I love ginger, I will have to try this.
This sounds yummy. Must try it…I’ve no problem drinking water…I’ve never really liked fizzy drinks… but it sounds like it might be a nice way to mix it up a bit!
This seems more like a way to fight bloat than to loose weight – unless, say, the drink has the consequence of appetite loss.
I am eager to read how it goes though – cutting out diet coke couldn’t hurt regardless.
I had a different recipe…i left it as a comment on the prevention site http://buzz.prevention.com/jumpstart-your-flat-belly-diet-with-sassy-water/
How did the sassy diet work out?