Want to lose stubborn weight? Show your bod who's boss!

I wrote Expedition: Eat ! because no one should struggle with losing weight.

For years I tried to get fit and hated myself for failing. Making things even worse, I felt responsible for my husband and baby girl's weight problems too.

Being lectured by my daughter's pediatrician was mortifying. My health was declining, my husband had terrible gastric reflux and nothing we tried worked.

Then I figured out how to show my body who's really in charge! Without denying favorite foods and without starving, this system transformed my whole family. I lost 70 lbs, my hubbie lost 50 lbs and my daughter is a healthy size for her height. The weight has not come back for any of us.

Expedition: Eat ! is a fool proof method to make your body and brain do what you want them to do. It really works. Check out my before and after shots...

Buy the book and change your life. Get it today. Click the link or go to Amazon.com and type "Expedition Eat" in the search bar.

Follow the expedition on Twitter and Facebook. Post your transformation pics during your weight loss journey. Road trips are always better with friends.

-Dina

Did I really just publish a weight loss book?

I lost a lot of weight a few years back and everyone asks how I did it. In hallways, on the street, in passing at work...as hard as I tried, I couldn't come up with a 1 minute elevator speech that explained it. There was too much to it.

And there is so much mis-information about weight loss and fitness in the media that I feel bad for folks who are really trying to take care of themselves and can't lose weight permanently.

So, I wrote this book...that way I can tell people to download it from Amazon if they want to lose weight forever like I did. Safely, permanently and without fad diets, expensive food/supplements or feeling hungry all the time.

My style is very NJ and I've got a thing about honesty so I'm apt to cheese off some folks who won't like what I have to say. Oh well, maybe they shouldn't be telling people fibs just to make money on their weight loss products. It's a mean thing to do...the diets and products don't work and they know it. They convince folks who really are trying to get fit to spend money and then the customers think they didn't follow the plan right when the weight doesn't come off or comes back.

For a very brief overview, check out my previous post on How to lose 70 pounds forever . Hopefully, I can use this book to spread a little truth and help folks figure out what works best for them.

-DK

Sexy Summer Salad

This sweet and savory little number has it all. Crunchy nuts, softly roasted root veggies, snappy greens, sweet cherries and a salty kiss of feta. Don't blame me if you fall in love after the first bite.

2 T Walnuts, chopped
1 C Hakurei Turnips, peeled, cut into half moons
6 ea Baby Carrots, sliced longways
1 T Walnut Oil, divided
Pinch each kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cracked black pepper
2 C Turnip Greens, washed, chopped
9 ea Cherries, fresh, pitted, quartered
2 T Feta Cheese, crumbled
1 t Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used Pink Himalayan Salt from Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread walnuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast util medium brown. They burn quickly - as soon as you can smell them they are usually just about ready. Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss turnips and carrots with 1/2 tablespoon of walnut oil. Add kosher salt, onion & garlic powders and cracked black pepper. Toss to evenly distribute the seasonings. Spread turnip and carrot mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until the vegetables start to brown on the edges and are tender. Set aside to cool.

Once the walnuts and vegetables are room temperature put them both in a mixing bowl. Add turnip greens and cherries then toss to evenly combine everything.

Add feta, reserved walnut oil, balsamic and salt/pepper. Carefully and gently mix everything together.

Makes one entree sized portion, two side salad portions or 4 something healthier instead of chips with a sandwich portions.

Nutrition info is for the entree portion, cut numbers in half for the side salads; divide by 4 for the sandwich platter portions:

Calories: 472
Fat: 32g
Sat Fat: 7g
Poly Fat: 17g
Mono Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 43g
Fiber 13g

How to lose 70 pounds forever

After gaining weight slowly over the years, I tried doing what I did when I was younger to lose weight. I did a lot of cardio - which achieved nothing now that I was in my late 30s. After a few years of trying this unsuccessfully, I had put on even more weight which caused recurring bouts of bronchitis so severe I was incapacitated. Not to mention the abject distain I felt when looking in the mirror. At 5'4" and almost 190 pounds, I was almost wider than I was tall...

My degree is in clinical dietetics and I held multiple certifications in the field. How could I be in this situation? Was I stupid? Lazy? Neither was true so I used my knowledge of clinical dietetics as a starting point and began my quest to find out exactly what needs to happen to achieve weight loss permanently.

Turns out almost all the information and lifestyle we are surrounded by is WRONG! Here's some examples...

3 squares a day - great way to gain weight
Cut down on snacks - pack on the pounds
Give up your favorite food - recipe for disaster
Eating low calorie - great way to make sure we stay fat forever

Many weight loss plans reduce calories by 500 to 1000 calories a day to lose weight. But doing that is a guarantee we lose muscle instead of fat which will lead to the weight coming back on.

Going on a diet means someday going off the diet. Once we start eating the same way we used to, the weight comes back and is even harder to lose. Any diet plan that actually puts you on a diet is lying to you. They want you to fail so they keep you coming back.

Running healthcare kitchens for over a decade has taught me to systemize anything to achieve maximum performance with minimum input. Using the information I learned combined with my systemization technique produced amazing results...

70 pounds of fat lost in a year and a half! 
And it's still gone!

I lost weight without going on a diet, buying expensive tasteless foods or taking weird supplements. (Who knows what's really in those diet pills?) Eating more frequently and understanding how much water, activity and nutrition my body personally needs got me where I wanted to be.

Many plans preach insane amounts of water but my body only need 7 cups a day. The weight came off (and stays off) eating 50% carbs, 20% protein and 30% fat. I still like to bake and continue to take my coffee with half and half so I don't give up out of self depravation.

Activity is not hours of cardio but is a balance of cardio and some weight training. And making sure I don't sit on my keister for too long at work without moving. Same at home - can't spend too much time blogging without some movement.

It's about understanding the needs of our individual bodies and eating to meet those needs. Losing weight really is all about the food.

-DK

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

....and performance is all about....you guessed it....FOOD!
Fueling up 5-6 times a day is the best way to keep the ol metabolism cranked and burning excess calories even when we're sitting still. But it can be overwhelming to try and eat healthy that many times a day without some forethought. Plus, life is crazy busy - who has time to cut up veggies, make salads and grill chicken on a week night between picking up the kids and softball practice.
Get stuff ready when there's time, put in the fridge and freezer and it's goodnesspalooza every day. On a weekend or, in my case a random weekday off, take a little time and:
-chop & clean greens
-clean and cut celery & carrots into sticks
-rinse some sugar snap peas and cut off those pointy ends
-wash all the fruit from food shopping
-cut up fridge fruits like pineapple & kiwi
-clean and cut up peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and onions
-break down a head of broccoli...cut and wash florets; run stems through a grater blade of a food processor (great for broccoli slaw)
-grill off a family pack of chicken
-boil off noodles, rinse in cold water and toss lightly with olive oil
Time spend achoppin' and acookin' burns calories - hey, it's activity so it counts!
Tossing together a salad for lunch at work is a breeze. Fresh fruit for school lunch boxes is ready to go. Fresh veggies for a dinner side is a splash of water and a short nuke from ready. Stir fries almost put themselves together what with the ready to go noodles and veggies. Smoothies for breakfast: done! The possibilities are as endless as they are easy.
Scheduling food prep increases veggie and fruit consumption and reduces the chance a stressed you will stop for fast food between obligations. It's like being your own private chef.
-DK