Author Archives: Lashell Hoover

Diet Hype: Looking For the Next Fad

When you need to lose weight, it’s easy to fall prey to passing trends. The lure of quick weight loss is everywhere, promising a healthy, beautiful body with minimal effort. It’s sad to say, but there is a lot of money to be made peddling potions, pills, bangles, and devices to overweight people. Just the other day, I was scanning a mail order catalog. I came across an ad for a weight loss ring and this is how it’s supposed to work. Depending upon which finger the ring is worn, the pressure causes weight loss in a specific part of … Continue reading →

Switching the Order of Meals Causes Weight Loss?

I like chicken and fish. I can eat them at any time of the day. Baked, grilled, roasted, it doesn’t matter. According to the book, The Reverse Diet, I should start my day with dinner and for dinner have breakfast. It’s the strategy that Tricia Cunningham, creator of the diet and co-author of the book, used to lose 170 pounds. It has been seven years and she is still at her goal weight of 130 pounds. The concept of the diet seems simple, but there is more to it. At first glance, it looks like a new fad. However, according … Continue reading →

Recover From Sugar Addiction

Do You Have A Sugar Addiction? Take a moment to reflect on these questions. 1. Do you eat large quantities of sweets? 2. Do you feel a need to have them and avoid sharing? 3. Will you go get what you want, no matter the hour? 4. Do you have mood swings, suffer from depression, have unpredictable behavior, or have moments of aggression? 5. Do you have a short attention span or are you forgetful? 6. Do you have an eating disorder or a weight problem? 7. Have you tried to limit or eliminate all sweets, but failed repeatedly? 8. … Continue reading →

A Diet Without Restrictions?

I thought I had heard everything; and then, I read the story of Stephen Hawks who lost weight by keeping a stash of the foods he craved. The professor of health science, at Brigham Young University, lost fifty pounds and kept them off. In order to follow his plan, you have to be conscious of the choices you’re making. His concept is that binges can be avoided if you stock up on lots of the things you like to eat. If nothing is off-limits and you can eat sensibly, you will lose weight. My first thought was, “You have got … Continue reading →

The Scale Keeps Me Honest

The scale keeps me honest. I’ll admit that I’m intimidated by it. It’s not so bad catching a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror or window. I can handle that because that woman isn’t really me, or so I’ve managed to convince myself. Yet, when I force myself to stand on a scale, I can’t explain away the numbers. Believe me, I’ve tried. Keeping track of my weight helps me to have fewer indulgent moments. Those times when I’ve done more munching than I should have, I work that much harder to resist future urges. I guess that’s why … Continue reading →

Eating Healthy on the Run

Sometimes, I’m too impulsive. I’ll get a spur of the moment idea and run with it. That’s how I found myself in a classroom again. I wanted something to do while my kids were in school, so I thought it might be a good idea to take classes, full-time, at a university. My goodness, I wasn’t prepared for it. For eight years, I did what I wanted, when I wanted. Suddenly, I was studying for hours and I had no social life. It wasn’t long before I missed those afternoon naps I used to take… and it showed. I hadn’t … Continue reading →

Find Some Friends and Have Fun

Children know how to have fun. When my children were toddlers, they liked to run around my legs until they collapsed, climb onto my back for rides, and tunnel through my legs making car or train sounds. They constantly found something to climb on, hide behind, or jump over. The older they got, the more they played: swinging from monkey bars, endless games of tag, skateboarding, bike riding, and bouncing on the trampoline. At times, I was exhausted from trying to keep up. We can learn something from our children. Most children don’t worry about their weight, particularly when they’re … Continue reading →

Water Danger: Know the Risks

Water intoxication? I didn’t know there was such a thing and that it could be deadly. Water intoxication is also known as hyperhydration. Jennifer Strange died, recently, because of it. Just drinking water, moderately, doesn’t harm you. However, if you consume large quantities and hold your urine, that’s another story. It can result in hyponatremia, a condition related to water intoxication. Taking in more water than your body can release causes an imbalance of electrolytes. The imbalance occurs when the sodium level in the blood drops significantly (below 135 mmol/L). This eventually leads to swelling in the brain. A person … Continue reading →

Feel Great Not Fat

This really happened. My mother and I were getting ready for a day trip. I walked out of her bathroom wearing a polo top, jeans, and boots. My hair was pulled back and my face was naked, except for eyeliner and mascara. She stopped in the hall, looked me up and down, frowned, then asked, “Are you finished?” I looked myself over. I thought I was pulled together. Hey, I matched. She shook her head when I told her that we weren’t going anyplace special. She said, as she walked away, “But, you need to look like we’re going somewhere.” … Continue reading →

Weight Loss Slump? Five Tips to Motivate You

When you’re a parent, life can be hectic. Doctor’s visits, sports practices, PTA, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning…we spend lots of time in the car, standing in lines, and waiting. With so much going on, the last thing we might think of is exercise. Those necessary errands provide us with an excuse not to take care of our bodies when that is the very thing that we need to do. We tell ourselves, “I’ll get to that later.” However, we rarely do because the unexpected happens. When I get in a slump, I don’t want to do anything because I don’t … Continue reading →