It wouldn’t be 4th of July without some red, white and blue goodies. Rather than a super-sweet flag cake or a mayo-drenched potato salad, I’m trying out a new recipe for breakfast parfaits from So Festive.
According to the author, they only require 5 minutes of prep time and are made with yogurt, berries and granola. Sounds good, right?
Normally, I would use strawberries. After seeing how pretty the raspberries look in her picture, I’m definitely using those this year.
The predicted temperature around here will be 90 degrees, with high humidity, so a cold dish sounds like heaven. As a side note, local fireworks have been canceled, which makes me sad. I LOVE America and I love this holiday in particular. We’ll watch the Macy’s show on TV, but it’s not the same as in person.
If anyone has a good 4th of July recipe, please share!
This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own.
After a month on the program, I’m ready to offer a final review on Joel Marion’s book, Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight.
From my first post, I mentioned how bad my eating had been lately and that I wanted to lose weight. Sticking to diets in the past has always been really hard for me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. After working my way through the unique steps, I can definitely say that Joel Marion’s Always Eat After 7 PM program makes dieting easy and eliminates 90% of reasons for resistance.
With this program I learned a lot about common diet myths. (Post 2 explores the science behind the system.) Other diets demand restriction, both food and eating schedule. Because that’s something I just can’t do consistently, it wouldn’t work. Or, I should say, wouldn’t work for ME—other low-carb plans do work, if you can follow it to a tee. Most of us need the wiggle room.
Because of conflicting “expert” advice, I was constantly trying diets that didn’t work for my preferred eating style. Always Eat After 7 pm actually encourages eating late. One interesting thing the book discusses is how eating carbs at night induces deeper sleep:
“A research paper published in Sports Medicine in 2014 showed that people who eat the majority of their carbs at dinner actually sleep better. Carb-induced, quality sleep decreases cortisol (a fat-storing hormone) and ramps up the production of your sleep hormones, serotonin and melatonin. Restorative sleep increases fat-burning hormones—the main one being growth hormone—overnight.”
By flipping the script, I was able to follow a new way and lose weight, which was my goal. My constant cravings have diminished, plus my sleep is a little better too. Overall, I just feel healthier, less tired and less anxious.
Over time, I simply began to crave less sugar. I was able to eat some desserts (see my favorite recipes in this post), but it was a treat, not 24/7. If you are also struggling with super-strict diets and/or intense sugar cravings, this plan can work really well.
As for the big question, how much weight did I actually lose? I am down 5 lbs already, with no plans to stop!
Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase. Learn more about the book here.
This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own.
This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own.
The Always Eat After 7 PM journey progresses. Today, I’m going to be discussing what I’m actually eating on the plan, specifically desserts.
Yes, I’m trying to lose weight, and yes, I’m eating desserts. Sounds bizarre, right? Guess what, it’s working! Based on surprising science, Always Eat After 7 PM debunks popular diet myths and offers an easy-to-follow diet that accelerates fat-burning and allows you to indulge in your most intense food cravings: Eating the majority of your calories at night.
In my first post in this series, I mentioned my struggle with emotional eating. A lot of us tend to “eat” our emotions—sadness, boredom, stress, etc. For me, when I’m on a really restrictive diet, I tend to be even more anxious which just makes the vicious cycle continue.
Trying a new way of eating, where I can eat late and indulge has been amazing and it’s helping me with my weight loss goal (I don’t have a certain number in mind, just lighter/leaner).
The most challenging times to curb hunger are just before bed and in the morning. By following the Always Eat After 7PM program, you have the most willpower to stay on the diet because you are eating during the hours when you are most hungry. If you’re not hungry during regular meal times, just skip it (like intermittent fasting, which increases testosterone and your metabolism).
During the 14-day Acceleration Phase, I was introduced to 3-Minute Fat-Burning Morning Rituals, one of which is drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice in water. This drink provides all the benefits of regular drinking water with a zero-calorie flavor kick. Having a full glass right after waking is so refreshing!
Whenever I have a sweet craving, I can pick through the book’s recipes. My favorite two are the Fruit Tarts and the No-Bake Salted Caramel Bars.
In post #2, I shared Joel’s interview that details how it’s possible to eat dessert and still lose weight. Trust me, I’m living proof it works.
So I can eat my beloved sweets, late at night even, not have to feel guilty, and still be able to button my jeans? How cool is that!
The other reason why I like this book is the chapter on mindset. Joel Marion believes that there are 10 essential mindset strategies related to the success of his program and to life as a whole. Mindset is key; don’t skip this must-read chapter of the book, even though it’s not about food.
Believe you can and lose the excuses
Excommunicate negative people from your life
Live in the present
Redefine who you are
Start now
Develop a simple morning routine
Allow yourself bad moments, not bad days
Recognize failure as a teacher, not a final destination
Own your results
Briefly celebrate success, then move on
Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase.
This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own.
This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own.
As I continue my diet journey with Always Eat After 7, I thought it would be fun to share some info directly from Joel Marion, the best-selling author, fitness expert and nutritionist who developed the revolutionary weight loss program.
Here is a portion from a recent interview:
Q: What gave you the inspiration for this book?
A: “After authoring 6 best selling books it was glaringly obvious there were 2 huge misconceptions about dieting that needed to be exposed. The first is that you can’t eat late at night or before bed, which science now shows is NOT true. And second, you can’t eat large portions that satisfy your natural instinct. This book solves both these problems by providing an evidence-based, enjoyable approach to dieting that can be used by any person to quickly achieve their weight loss goals.”
Q: What was the most surprising discovery when you were researching scientific data for the diet?
A: “That almost everything my college education and certifications taught me was NOT grounded in published scientific research.”
Q: How difficult is the Always Eat After 7 PM plan to follow?
A. “It’s not. And that’s exactly why I wrote the book. While any diet is never truly easy, it can be more enjoyable and much easier to adhere to when you understand how Always Eat After 7 pm works because it caters to our bodies natural instincts.”
That key phrase, “Natural Instincts,” really speaks to me. Most diets totally discount our normal hunger patterns and that’s why they’re so hard to follow.
Joel really gets it, adding: “Fact is, most diets are extremely narrow with regard to food choices and variety, and many even limit entire macronutrients altogether over the course of the entire program (think low-carb and low-fat diets). Three months with no carbs? No thanks. Such practices not only are entirely unnecessary, but make for a miserable, unsustainable experience.”
OMG, how true is that! I HATE diets that eliminate entire food groups, have complicated rules, and/or emphasis eating only at certain times of the day. In Joel’s book, there is a whole chapter on the power of the late night snack. One of the foods suggested is berries. I really enjoy strawberries, especially when I can have them as a treat before bed. By allowing myself to eat what I want (within reason), at what ever time I want, I can follow the plan perfectly. I am not hungry or cranky at all.
Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available. Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.
This post contains sponsored content. All opinions are my own.
