For years I've been aware of the fact that I have to eat healthier and take better care of myself, especially with my family history. I have a history of cancer on both sides of my family. Some of my relatives have diabetes and/or have had heart attacks or strokes. Despite knowing all that, I rarely exercise or watch what I eat. Although I didn't exactly take proper care of myself, in the past I rarely ate red meat, never consumed alcohol, ate most of my meals from home and pretty much stayed away from chips and soda. I was relatively healthy. All that changed in the past five or so years after meeting my boyfriend. Since then, I've gained about 30 pounds over my ideal and prior weight, mainly due to unhealthy eating habits. (We used to eat out at restaurants or have fast food at least 3-4 times a week!)
I'd previously made some attempts at managing my weight, running/walking occasionally and "dieting." Since I used to work full-time and was currently working part-time with full-time school I've been too busy (or tired, sleepy, lazy, have too much homework, etc) to exercise and try to eat healthy.
I recently heard/learned of the Flat Belly Diet, mainly because I came across an article about sassy water. While I haven't yet made any effort to begin the strict four day food regimen I have been drinking the sassy water. It's basically a combination of 8 1/2 cups filtered water, 1 medium lemon and 1 med cucumber thinly sliced, and a small handful of mint leaves (I left out the grated ginger as I'm not fond of ginger and we didn't have some anyway). The ingredients in the water is supposed to help reduce bloating and water retention while getting you to drink water more frequently. I've read that some people, my youngest sister included, detest the taste of the water. To me, and my dad who drinks it sometimes too, it tastes like unsugared, watered down lemonade. While I haven't noticed any weight loss, not that I'm currently expecting any, I have noticed that I'm not feeling any bloating, no matter what I eat.
Now that I've finished with school, I'm going to make an effort to start eating healthy and exercise more. No more excuses! I plan on following a stricter meal plan (I detest the word "diet" and never go on one) and will make an effort to cook my own food instead of buying it. Not only will I be doing myself a favor by learning to cook and eat healthier, I'll also be helping out my wallet! New SLR camera that I've been craving for forever here I come! =D
