**Throws confetti & does a little dance** HAPPY FRIDAY!    I know I disappeared for a couple days — no, I was not sucked into some vortex, no I did not join a cult or commune or decide to go “pre-tech” and avoid all technology.  I simply needed time.  It came to the point that I [...]

I love black beans.  It’s a total Costa Rican thing. From gallo pinto – the quintessential dish of the Country — to black bean sandwiches as a beach outing snack, Costa Rica is all about these delectable morsels.  And here’s the plus – black beans are super nutritious! If you have the time and desire [...]

It’s the kitchen, silly! You know…that place we hardly seem to frequent. That place where we store our take-out containers. Oh brother!  I used to spend a lot of time in the kitchen; but it was usually a Friday night and I was usually baking chocolate chip cookies for “everyone” while watching TGIF nights on [...]

I’ve blogged here before about how to calculate how many calories you should eat a day depending on your body and your goal.  I realize that once you have that info., you might not know what to do with it!  Calorie content is listed on the nutritional labels of all packaged foods you eat.  For [...]

Consider me your little cookie monster to guide you through the labyrinth of pre-portioned snacks you can buy (mostly in the variety of 90-140 calorie “packs”) and the snacks you can easily portion out yourself. Pre-portioned snacks are great for people who are on the go and people who count their calories. Here are my [...]

Blame. It’s a slippery slope thing because it seemingly absolves you of personal responsibility. Does blame fit into the whole weight issue? Sifting through old photos and looking at myself as an obese teenage girl I feel so much remorse. I feel so bad for the old me because she just didn’t know what she [...]

Oh family. Your mother will be the first to stuff tamales down your throat and also the first to tell you that your butt is filling out your jeans a little much. I have mountains of stories on how my family worked for and against my weight loss, but I want to hear your stories. [...]

If you want a suggestion on what to eat when you go to Claim Jumper, I suggest this!

You know how they say, “tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”? Well, while clichés get old and annoying fast, I think this one applies nicely to the realm of health. I am more apt to keep up my healthy lifestyle when I am surrounded by others who do [...]

At nineteen years old, my twin brother Chris and I had enough with our personal “status quo” of obesity. Of course, we had had “enough” countless times before and danced the hokey pokey on the weight-loss bandwagon. But getting fed up and ignited to change something within us seems to be a recurring theme (see [...]