Is Body Image Everything?

I was looking at some old photo’s of myself today and I got to thinking about the way I viewed my body growing up. I was never  fat but I was always about 10-20 lbs over weight and I was obsessed about my body image and how people viewed me. I think this had a lot to do with the images I saw in magazines and on TV. I never looked like the people I saw and I would compare my body to the images I was and never felt good enough in my own skin. I was always on a diet or starting a diet, and I would fail miserably and vow to do it all again the next week. I had a bad view of myself and the image I saw in the mirror. You could say I had an obsession with Body Image and Dieting. Now, looking back at those photo’s I wish I knew then what I know now about self love and acceptance. As I got older I realized that body image really has nothing to do with my size or shape but really it has more to do with the way I see and view myself.

We are constantly bombarded by images and messages that set the standard of what is beautiful. The social pressure to look good is what drives so many of us to develop eating disorders and in severe cases, even disease. I realize as an adult that those body images I wanted to emulate were unrealistic and would never be a standard I could meet.  Our bodies come in different shapes and sizes and we need to have self acceptance and love for ourselves.

Building a healthy body image takes practice, time and patience. If you focus on these 5 steps you can greatly improve your body image and learn to love and accept yourself. Today I can say that I truly do love myself and I am working to improve my weight and health. Read more »

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I love shrimp, it’s really my favorite sea food other than crab. I made this delicious recipe today for Dinner. It was a hit at the dinner table and it is healthy and lite. This recipe is easy to prepare it took me about 7 minutes from start to finish. I have included the Weight Watchers Points at the end of the recipe.

Spicy Srimp with Vegetables

2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Hot Chili Paste ( You can use less, I lovee spicy foods)
1 Whole Red Bell Pepper ( Chopped)
Handful of Cilantro (chopped)
4 Stems of Green Onion (Scallion)
12 Raw Shrimp
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Cup Boiled Basmati Rice or Brown Rice

Mix Soy sauce, Sesame oil, Hot Chili paste in a medium bowl for the dressing, set aside.
Put the shrimp on a Hot pan with 2tbsp oil ( Not the Sesame Oil) on Medium heat. Turn Shrimp over once while cooking.
Cook for 4 minutes add cilantro, bell pepper, and green onions, cook for 1 minute more.

Remove shrimp stir fry from pan and pour sesame mixture over Shrimp and vegetables

Serve hot over bed of Rice Delicious!

Point Calculation

Points for Rice Not Included

Recipe Serves 3

Entire Recipe is 18 Points

6 Points per serving please remember to include the points for the rice you use. Enjoy!

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should not be skipped. Researchers from the National Weight Control Registry, a database of more than 3,000 people who have lost at least 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of 6 years, found that eating breakfast every day was a weight control strategy for 78% of the people in the registry.

One food I highly recommend having is Oatmeal, because of the added health benefits associated with this food.

Oatmeal, or Porridge for those who live outside of the Us or Canada, can play a major role in our diet but many people don’t know the true health benefits from eating Oatmeal.

Oats contain soluble fiber that binds with and helps remove some of the cholesterol which can clog your arteries and lead to heart disease. Another benefit of eating oats is that it is also low in sodium which helps to maintain healthy blood pressure.

Another proven fact is that adults who eat oatmeal instead of bacon and eggs have a lower body mass index.

If you are watching your weight or are on weight watchers it has been proven that eating filling foods in the morning can suppress your appetite later in the day and this makes oatmeal an ideal breakfast for weight-watchers.

My husband created a fun recipe for oatmeal that I wanted to share. It’s a twist to the traditional oatmeal porridge mix and it’s delish!

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive Oil
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick cooking Oatmeal mix
1 1/2 Cup of water
3/4 Cup complete dry pancake mix

Instructions
In a bowl whisk pancake mix with water
Add Olive Oil and whisk again
Add Oatmeal mix and mix together
Microwave in a Microwave safe dish for 5 1/2 minutes
Slice cake into 4 pieces

Serve with sugar free jelly or peanut butter Or any of your low fat or fat free spreads

26 Weight Watchers points TOTAL!
6 Weight Watchers points per serving

Confused by this Recipe? Here is a Video for you!

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It is important to set realistic goals when trying to losing weight. In the past I have set many unrealistic goals and failed miserably.

If you put a little planning into your weight loss program before you start you’ll have a better opportunity to succeed. A healthy weight loss goal is to lose about 1-2 pounds a week. Studies show that any thing more than this could be quite unhealthy.

Before you start any weight loss program I suggest you stand in front of the mirror look at your body while visualizing how you want it to look.

It is also a good idea to take a photo of your body at the start of your weight loss program because we often forget the progress we make and looking back at those photo’s can be handy to offer encouragement at times when you feel like the going might be a little difficult.

Document your progress, create a weight loss journal of your progress from week to week and review it from time to time for added encouragement.

Here is my Weight Loss Journal:

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