V-8, it's a beautiful thing!

V-8 is one of the most perfect drinks available in the modern world today.  I find myself getting a little shaky if I don’t have at least three 5.5 ounce cans of it per day — thus, the addiction.

That amount equals over three servings of vegetables per day — I love it!

Besides also being tasty, V-8 is low in calories and has zero fat grams.  This makes it the perfect food for living the thin lifestyle!

V-8 is chock full of seven different types of vegetables, and is full of lycopene — which is mostly found in tomatoes (V-8 is 87% tomato juice).  Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that  protects against cell damage.  In an 8-oz. glass of V-8, there is four times as much lycopene as is found in a medium-sized tomato. An 8-oz. glass of V-8 also contains as much potassium as a medium-sized banana.

My favorite snack is a 5.5 ounce can of V-8 and about 15 almonds — low calorie and heart healthy, and extremely satisfying.  Perhaps this is why my blood pressure is only 112/62? 

Consuming V-8 can also make up for a less-than-perfect diet, and still let you stay thin and healthy, as seen in this YouTube V-8 commercial:

V-8 offers a low-sodium version for those trying to cut down on salt;  70% less.  There is also Spicy V8, V-8 fruit drinks and now V-8 soups.  And, V-8 is completely gluten-free!

Enjoying the tide pools in La Jolla, CA, with husband, Paul

At 30 calories per 5.5 ounces, V-8 is really quite a bargain dietwise.  I buy my V-8 by the case at Sam’s Club for around $10.00, which lasts me over a week.  Not bad for a V-8 addiction!

Stay active, stay thin!

I always used exercise as part of dieting to lose weight, because it made me lose weight faster.  That’s why I did it then, so why do it now that the 50 pounds are gone? Well, lots of reasons! 

1) Makes my skin glow.

2) Sleep better at night.

3) I get to eat more.  I like food! Exercise burns more calories, 1) while it’s happening, and 2) later on.

4) Exercise tightens up  my muscles, and gives my body a nice shape.

            a) Look better in clothes.

                                                    b) Look better out of clothes.

5)  Look younger. Feel younger. (for fun, take Dr. Oz’s “Real Age” test, to find out your “real” age).

6) A gazillion health reasons (lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, live longer, less pressure on joints, less chance for diabetes – way too many to list).

7) Helps with losing weight.

8) Helps with weight maintenance.

Swimming is a fun way to stay active!

The good news is that you don’t have to do tons of exercise, like some people think. Take a walk around your neighborhood, or on your lunch break at work — 30 minutes is great, but 20 minutes is fine, too.  I like to do things that are fun, so it doesn’t even seem like exercise — like swim, ski or hike. I have a treadmill and some handheld weights at home that I use about two to three times a week as well.  I’m also a big fan of countertop push-ups, and will do 10-20 of those whenever the mood strikes me since they work everything on my body from the waist up.

What do you like to do for activity? For exercise?

Keep it simple — which is the only way to “live the thin lifestyle!”

Stop eating when you reach "Full"

Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full. 

It eating were that simple, everyone would be walking around with svelte bodies, and there would be no obesity epidemic.

“But I don’t know when I’m full,” a recent Living Thin blog reader confessed to me. “And I’m terrified to start eating normally when my diet is over.” This reader had already lost over 50 pounds on her recent diet.

What are the magic “full” signs?

a) Listen for a quiet “sigh” during a meal, signaling that your body has had enough (it’s subtle, so you have to pay attention).

b) Remember that your stomach is only fist-shaped when it’s completely empty, so full is not that much food (i.e., 4 oz. of protein is the same size as a deck of cards).

c) If food doesn’t have as much flavor as it did in the beginning of a meal, then it’s time to stop.

Leptin is the “full” hormone that signals the brain that the body has had enough to eat.  It’s the body’s natural appetitite suppressant.  Ghrelin is our “hunger” hormone.  When we don’t sleep well, leptin levels go down, so we don’t feel as satisified after we eat.  Sleep deprivation can also cause overstimulation of ghrelin, which can leave you feeling constantly hungry.  This can cause overeating and weight gain.

Scientists are developing injections and pills to inhibit ghrelin (hungry), and encourage leptin (full); however, if you want to avoid a lifetime of shots and pills, try to practice learning the signs on your own.  And maybe work on getting a good night’s sleep.

Sonja, Living Thin at Kartchner Caverns, Arizona

I’d love to hear from other people how they learned to recognize the sign’s of “full,” especially if their Full-O-Meter broke for a while after a lifetime of dieting.

Good luck!