May I Suggest.....Coconut Water?

So who is down three (3) more pounds????? THIS GIRL!!!! Yep. Tis true. I have lost another 3 pounds and am continuing to watch the scale head south. Granted....in the big scheme of things (meaning my behind)....there is much work left to do, but just knowing that I have gotten below my nemesis number and I am continuing to lose makes me very happy. The truth is though....I have done little to make these numbers happen. Apparently I am still not completely well as I was put on more antibiotics yesterday. They are hoping that a Zpac will finally do the trick. So my loss is actually from my inability to stomach food. Nothing sounds good and when I do eat....after just a few bites I am done. It always sounds better pre-consumption than it tastes during consumption.

All this being said.....I am fighting this whole not eating thing with everything I got. I live in fear that this gift of weight loss will magically disappear the minute I am back to 100%, so I am taking advantage of my current situation by forcing myself to eat mainly healthy food when I do eat. Luckily....the healthier foods such as raw fruits and veggies are what is most appealing to me right now. Last night I added some humus to go along with my veggies and it was delish until.....it wasn't. Such is my current life. Sigh.

I have also been trying to do a lot of reading about foods and such of late. Tea has been a staple throughout my sickness and most all tea has some kind of healthful property in it....and if it doesn't...then it is at least not harmful. My issue is that with my hot tea...I always reach for the diet sweetener. One day though....when my throat was raw....I decided to try honey instead of the sweetener. I had heard about honey not only being a more healthful choice than sweetener or sugar, but also that it had a healing effect on the throat when added to tea. After one cup I was hooked. Since....I have made a considerable effort to drink my tea either plain or with honey. I am good with either right now and I am saving my body from a whole lot of additives.

Sadly.....I have not completely kicked the diet soda habit yet....but there is major effort going into cutting way back. At first I decided I would switch to Crystal light.....only to find that it is no better for you and it also contains artificial sweeteners. So I was doing only tea and water......and my desire for something different nearly killed me. Feeling that man cannot live by tea and water alone...or at any rate this woman can't, I started doing my homework. I noticed that something that was being talked about a great deal was Coconut Water. Having never heard of it.....I had no idea what it was. On further investigation....I found it to be just that....coconut water. It has fresh coconut water that I assume comes straight from the coconut and the only additives are pureed fruit (if you get the fruit flavored kind) and Vitamin C. That's it. There is no fat and very little sugar. For a 16.9 oz container there are two servings and each serving is 55 calories. The biggest thing though is the taste. I LOVE the taste. To me...it is far more thirst quenching than soda, but it is not just plain bland water. Also....I would gladly deal with 55 calories and no additives or chemicals over 0 calories and a laundry list of ingredients I can't even pronounce correctly let alone metabolize.

The only draw back to the coconut water that I have found is it's price. I usually purchase mine at Dillon's (Kroger) and it runs about $2.35 per 16 oz. carton. For my budget it is a bit pricey to have on hand as an everyday drink, but as an every once in a while treat.....it is awesome.  I have to say that this is one of my best finds in awhile.

We all need to remember that when you are on a weight loss program.....even if you lose every pound you want to, the only way that you will keep it off is to change the habits and unhealthy food choices that put you there in the first place. You cannot lose 60 lbs and then expect to go back and eat burgers and fries and sweets and junk and keep the weight off. This is why it is so important to change up how and what you eat while you lose so that these new foods become your go to foods, even after you lose. When I was going to Weight Watchers (WW) they had one leader who would challenge us each week to eat a fruit, veggie or healthy food choice that we had never tried before. It was an act of brilliance as it taught us to step outside our food choice boxes and it also gave us a bigger variety of healthy foods to choose from. It was at this time that I also started making myself eat foods that might not always be my first choice, such as green peppers, radishes and fresh spinach. By doing this.....I started finding that foods I thought I didn't like were actually turning into foods that I really did like. It also gave me a much wider variety of foods to choose from when I cooked.

So Coconut Water is my suggestion for you. If you haven't tried it....do so. I would love to hear your thoughts. My other suggestion is to try something different. Your produce section has a plethora of items and I am sure there are at least one or two items you have never tried. Next time you go to the store try something new. Not sure how to fix your new find? Google it or search Pinterest. Before you know it you will have ideas galore right there at your finger tips and you will be on your way to a tasty lifestyle change.

Let me know what you think about Coconut Water and feel free to share any recipes, food ideas or comments. Until next time....