Coconut Oil... the new Wonder Drug?

So over the weekend as I was waiting in the check-out line at my grocery store and I saw this teaser on Woman's World magazine about coconut oil and weight loss. I took just a few moment and found the article and read the bold points before the checker finished scanning my items.

Interesting... after doing a Google search, and reading a bunch of different articles, it does seem like it's the new (or rather the old) wonder drug.

Check out all the things that coconut oil is good for... "The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc."

They say to have 3-4 tablespoons of coconut oil a day. Now, I don't know if you can just take it off a spoon like they did in the olden days with castor oil, or if it comes in capsules. It would be amazing if it did come in a capsule!

"Coconut oil has been used throughout Asia and the Pacific for thousands of years as both a food and a medicine. Even today it holds a highly respected position in the Ayurvedic medicine of India. Only recently has modern medical research confirmed the many health benefits traditionally attributed to this remarkable oil.

Another incredible fact about coconut oil is that even though it is a fat, it actually promotes weight loss!! The reason is again because of the healthy medium chain fatty acids. These fatty acids do not circulate in the bloodstream like other fats, but are sent directly to the liver where they are immediately converted into energy, just like carbohydrates. So the body uses the fat in coconut oil to produce energy, rather than be stored as body fat."

I think that I might actually be seeking this stuff out and adding it to my arsenal of weight loss weapons.

Coconut oil has been called "the healthiest dietary oil on earth". If you're not using coconut oil for your daily cooking and body care needs you're missing out on one of nature's most amazing health products.

First Goal

So my first self weigh-in was today. I had been weighing myself every couple of days since I first started my journey on January 28th. Earlier this week I was down 4 pounds, and my goal of losing 5 pounds by today was within my reach. However, during the course of this past week I had an affair with some home made cookies and at one point I had gained 2 pounds back. Then there was the Valentines cupcakes that one of my co-workers brought in to work!! CUPCAKES ARE EVIL!!! So, when I weighed myself this morning, I was down 4 pounds. This is not a failure. Two steps forward, one step back.Four pounds is pretty good for just over 2 weeks. It's four less pounds that I weighed 2 weeks ago! Anything is better than nothing, right?

For my next 5 pound goal, I'm giving myself a little bit more time. My next goal deadline is March 15th. If I reach that goal before that date, then I'll set the new goal from the new date. To reach this goal, I need to be as motivated as I was when I first started this journey. I personally think that this goal will be easier to reach as we're getting into pads soon with football which means that I'll be working harder and sweating more which means more weight loss... provided that I don't have one-night-stands with "evil"!

I'm not drinking a full 8 glasses of water, but I am drinking more water than I had in the past. I've been pretty good with eating more fruits and vegetables instead of bags of chips and trips to the dark side. This isn't easy and I didn't expect it to be. Little tiny baby steps equals one giant big step over time.

Obseity "virus"

So I heard on the news last night that there is an obesity "virus". I apologize that most of this is a 'copy'/'paste' - but it's still an interesting read. What I also find interesting, is that the article is dated August 2007, but I heard this for the first time on the news February 2009. Why such the delay in getting the news out to the people. In any event, here's the story.

Infection with a virus linked to human obesity ups fat-cell production and makes fat cells fatter.

"Infectobesity" is the term coined by Louisiana State University researcher Nikhil Dhurandhar, PhD, and colleagues to describe the phenomenon. Their research strongly links a common human virus -- adenovirus-36 or Ad-36 -- to human obesity.

Previous research showed that nearly 30% of obese people, but only 11% of lean people, have been infected with Ad-36. Monkeys experimentally infected with Ad-36 gain significant weight.

Now Dhurandhar's team finds evidence that Ad-36 has a direct effect on human fat cells. Infection of adult stem cells from human fat triggers their transition into pre-fat cells. And these virus-infected cells hold much more fat than normal pre-fat cells.

The end result: more, fatter fat cells.

"We're not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections". "We would ultimately like to identify the underlying factors that predispose some obese people to the effects of this virus and eventually find a way to treat it."

It's not entirely clear how the virus acts on fat stem cells. But Pasarica reported a major clue: One specific Ad-36 gene, called E4Orfl, is responsible for the virus's obesity-related effects.

The researchers are now trying to figure out why some people seem to become obese after Ad-36 infection while others don't.

How is this virus spread? I read that it can be spread as easily as the common cold! "The condition has been linked to a highly-infectious virus which causes sniffles and sore throats. Spread by dirty hands, the adenovirus apparently attacks tissue and causes fat cells to multiply - leading to massive weight gain."

So while not all obese people have this virus, and not all skinny people don't have this virus... it's just one more thing to consider if your typical diet and exercise aren't working. You have one more tool in your toolbox that you can take to your Doctor to try and find a solution to the problem.

Butt N' Gut

Oh, the dreaded standard "on your back" sit-up! Who doesn't like these?! It seems that the only way to workout your abs is by doing hundreds of sit-ups. But I found that there are a whole bunch of "off your back" exercises that you can do to work your abdominal muscles. Exercises that you can do while at work, and not look like a dork by lying on the floor. Can you just imagine doing some upward hip thrusts only to have your boss walk in on you in your office? And forget about it if you have a small little cubicle-hole.

If you're super lazy, have you seen those machines that do your ab workout for you? Little electrodes that make your muscles contract and relax at pre-set intervals.

And what about those saddlebags? How do you really work those out? The only workout that I've seen is by lying on your side and swinging your leg way high up in the air. Of course, you can add some resistance bands to help tone the area. Roller blading might also work out those areas as well, but first you've got to get used to being on those in-line roller skates! In my younger days, I could blade for miles. Now I feel like a 5 year old getting on a pair of "quads" for the first time. Taking little baby glides. Not gonna workout the ol' saddle bags with baby glides.

Another study shows that by turning off the AC will help the saddlebags. Maybe this is why I feel thin and skinny during the summer months when I ride my motorcycle.

Water, water and MORE water

It's recommended that you drink 8 glasses of water a day. They also say that the first 5 pounds of weight that you lose is "water weight". Can someone explain that to me please? How can you lose 5 pounds of water when you're drinking a gallon of water a day?! When you do the math... let's say you lose 1-2 pounds a week, so losing 5 pounds is going to take roughly 3 weeks. 3 weeks, 7 days per week, a gallon of water a day... that's 21 gallons of water! Holy cow, how can anyone get any work done when they drink that much water in a single day? I'm still nursing my third glass of water and I've already gone pee 7 times this morning! (sorry TMI) But seriously - How?

Epiphany! You lose the weight because you're too busy drinking water and going to the bathroom that you don't have time to eat! Brilliant! But, how are you going to get out of a speeding ticket on your way home from work after drinking that much water in a day?

But I digress...

I did a little more research on this "water" theory. Experts say to have a glass of water before each meal, and after each meal as 1) it'll help suppress your appetite so that you don't eat as much, and 2) drinking a glass of water after a meal helps you burn those calories faster. I also read that by drinking 8 glasses of water a day, it'll reduce your caloric intake by 20%... which makes sense now since if you have a glass of water before each meal, you eat less. It's interesting that they say to drink cold water, as that helps burn more calories as your body has to work to warm the water up. I also read that if you currently don't drink enough water now, then you body is storing water (thus the water retention). By drinking more water a day, not only are you releasing toxins out of your body, but you're also telling your body that it doesn't have to store it like a camel.

I also found that eating more water-rich foods will also help you lose 33% more weight. Doctors always tell us to eat more fruits and vegetables, but they never told us why. Or if they did tell us why, I wasn't paying attention or have since forgotten since 3rd grade. The fruits and veggies are just as, if not more, filling and have less calories. So you're eating less, feeling more full, less calories and getting more water all at once. Talk about multi-tasking!

My journey is still going strong. Still watching my caloric in-take, working out either by going to the gym, or with football practice and trying my hardest to stay away from the sweet stuff.

"Get Slim Quick"

What's up with all these "Get Slim Quick" scams? I mean, do they really work? I know they have the disclaimer of "results not typical", but why not show us what the "typical" results are? I recently saw an ad for some herbal supplement type thing, where you take these two supplements for 30 days (or whatever) and you'll lose 25 lbs of belly fat (in 30 DAYS!). How is that safe? Don't Doctors recommend that you only lose 1-2 pounds a week? This burns just under 1 pound A DAY! These people don't mention if they got the jitters or if their heart was racing a million times a minute or even if they were supervised by their Doctors. I guess so long at it's endorsed by Oprah, then it's all good.

But what happens when you stop taking these supplements? You still have your same old bad eating habits, and will probably gain the weight back... unless you keep paying the $70 a bottle to stay on them.

And then what about that other "pill" that you take and it will 'melt away pounds of belly fat'? The ad says that all you have to do is take the pill and the pounds will "melt away". But have you ever read the fine print? The typical weight loss is like 3 pounds over 3-4 months. They say that diet and exercise is recommended... but isn't it always recommended on any kind of weight loss program? How can someone eat In'N'Out every day, take this pill and still "melt away pounds of belly fat"? Come on, get real people! There is no substitute for good old fashioned hard work! Unless you've got the bucks for liposuction.

Come to think of it, didn't some Doctor get in trouble for using patients 'fat' to run his own bio-fuel car? I think that he's on to something there. Sell your fat to 'fuel' companies! Lord knows that over 50% of the American population is over-weight! What a great way to lose the weight, stimulate the economy and help America go green!

I also found this interesting article on the true costs of losing 30 pounds, which is the amount of weight that I want to lose. It says; "Do your homework, and remember that there are no shortcuts or magic shakes or bars that will be your ticket to Slimville". How true is this?? Of the 4 different programs that they source, losing 30 pounds could cost you anywhere from $100 to $5000! I'm sticking with the program that has the price tag of "free".

Who doesn't want to lose weight quick? I'll be the first to raise my hand to say that I do. However, I once heard that I didn't gain all this weight at once, and I'm not going to lose it all at once either. Getting fat was a journey, as will be getting fit and skinny (once again).

Welcome to my journey

Welcome everyone to my journey. My current journey is a plan for weight loss, eating better and looking better. My name is Becky and I'm a 37 year old female who wants to lose about 30 pounds. I had finally gotten to the point where my pants weren't fitting, and my shirts didn't look so good. So, instead of buying a whole new "fat" wardrobe, it's far more economical to just lose the weight!

Yesterday, January 28, 2009 was my first official day on my new path. I watched what ate and wrote down the calories. I ended up consuming 1408 calories.

This morning I rolled out of bed at 4:40am and spent 20 minutes at the gym doing some circuit training.

Today's plan is pretty much the same as yesterday with watching my calories. I have football practice tonight so there's a few more calories which will be burned off by the end of the day.

To help reach my goal of losing 30 pounds, I took a dry erase marker and wrote my starting weight on the bathroom mirror. My first short-term goal is to lose 5 pounds by Valentines day. This, too, is also written on my bathroom mirror. Valentines day is only 16 days away. I hope that I can obtain this goal.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. As soon as I get a chance, I'll get some "Before" pictures taken and posted.