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DIVA TAUNIA’S CARMELIZED & GRILLED BRUSSELS SPROUTS (You will LOVE them!)

23 Apr

I know that brussels sprouts get a bad rap, and I think that’s why I avoided them like the plague for most of my adult life.  What I didn’t realize is that they could be DELICIOUS and super-duper easy to make.  I’m going to give you two versions:  one low-calorie and much healthier, and another with, you know, BACON.  :)

ImageDIVA T’S CARMELIZED & GRILLED BRUSSELS SPROUTS INGREDIENTS:

  • 8-10 large/robust fresh brussels sprouts
  • 3 tablespoons of good olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of Splenda or other sugar substitute
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and pepper

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Take the brussels sprouts and cut them in half, width-wise
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, salt and pepper
  3. Toss the brussel sprouts until they are well-moistened
  4. Grill the brussel sprouts for about 10 minutes, turning frequently to get even carmelization
  5. Enjoy the hell outta these!

BACON(!) VARIATION:

  1. Follow the recipe from above, then set aside grilled brussels sprouts when done
  2. In a pan, crisp up one half package of small diced/cubed pancetta.  You can usually find this pre-packaged in the salami and deli meat section.  Fresh pancetta is best, but in a pinch you can use the packaged.   It will be about 1/4 cup of pancetta total.
  3. Take the pancetta out of the pan to blot from the oil. Toss pancetta into a bowl, and then toss in the sprouts and mix well.  Enjoy the hell outta this even more!  The salty and sweet are a really killer combo!

If you make this, please let me know what you think!  :)

BRUSSELS SPROUTS NUTRITIONAL INFO (FROM WIKIPEDIA):

Brussels sprouts are a cultivar of the same species that includes cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi; they arecruciferous (they belong to the Brassicaceae family; old name Cruciferae). They contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fiber. Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, because they contain sinigrin.[5] Although they contain compounds such as goitrin that can act as goitrogens and interfere with thyroid hormone production, realistic amounts in the diet do not seem to have any effect on the function of the thyroid gland in humans.[6] Brussels sprouts also contain high levels of erucic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid.[7]

 

 

GUEST BLOGGER DAGNY KIGHT: PART 3 / POST-OP EXERCISE

7 Apr

WLS Post-Ops—Beginning a Lifetime Exercise Habit: Part 3 of 3
by guest blogger and author Dagny Kight

Ready to start exercising after weight loss surgery? Got clearance from your surgeon? OK, time for a plan. Hold on! Don’t rush out to a gym! For most folks who have WLS, it’s probably been awhile since you got any significant physical activity. Maybe you’ve never really exercised at all. That’s OK. I’ve created a Three-Part Plan for getting started with effective exercise.

1.  Develop a regular habit.

This is the challenge of getting started! Even if you begin with a minute of exercise, doing something every day at the same time each day is the best way to establish that critical habit. Saying they’ll make time during the day is how most people find their plans fall apart. Pick a time of day that works for your schedule and stick with it. I highly recommend going for first thing in the morning! If you don’t already have to get up before dawn, get up a little earlier, have your clothes and equipment laid out from the night before, and kick start your day! Even if you’re only able to do a minimal workout at first, prepare as if you’re putting in a full session. Those details will be integral to establishing the routine.

2.  Connect with your body.

A lot of us who live many years at a high weight become disconnected from our physical presence. Becoming aware of your body and connecting with how it responds can be a powerful component of your overall transformation. A heart rate strap will not only give you a quantifiable means of learning how your body is functioning, it will guide you to gauge the intensity of your workouts.

If exercising has previously felt like a chore or worse, an ordeal, simply exhausting yourself or feeling reminded of your physical limitations, connecting with the beating of your heart and the rhythm of your breathing will allow you to put the focus on improving your fitness. Using a heart rate strap lets you see improvement by the numbers. You’ll feel the changes and you’ll be able to track quantifiable proof it’s happening and that’s so exciting!

Connecting with your body will begin to influence how you feel about your physical self. It gets really difficult to hate your body when you experience improvements and feel your ability expanding!

3.  Challenge yourself.

You achieve results when you continually push your limits. Whether you start with thirty seconds or thirty minutes of physical activity, tracking your heart rate will guide you to identify how to challenge yourself. Working with a heart rate strap, you’ll be able to see how quickly your heartbeat pops up with exertion and then recovers to a normal pace. You can make note of your heart rate when you reach the point that your body and breathing are telling you to stop. As time goes by, you’ll feel your breathing become deep and rhythmic and you’ll see proof in the numbers, confirming that you are achieving an improvement in your cardiovascular efficiency!

Get Moving!

So how should you begin an exercise regimen? Any way you can! For my clients who have not exercised in a long time or for those who wish to keep it simple and develop a sense of physical confidence, I start them with a High Step. This is an inexpensive piece of equipment with a small footprint. Place it anywhere in your home where you want to step and adjust the height. Then just step! Step forward, step backward, go side to side, add a little jump, modify your speed to do intervals, add a riser—The High Step lets you mix it up while getting your heart pumpin’! You could even place it next to something sturdy to hold for balance if you need to, at first.

A High Step and a heart rate strap represent a minimal investment to start building a regular exercise habit aimed at conditioning your heart.  Once you’ve developed a sense of physical confidence and feel connected to how your body is changing, I hope you’ll want to be adventurous! Get out of the house to walk, get a bicycle, play a sport, jump in a pool, or give a gym membership a try if you think you’ll make the time to go consistently. I highly recommend that you choose a locally-owned independent gym where the trainers are less likely to be pushed to sell class packages. Be sure to ask about any trainer’s certification. NASM is the top certification required by the best gyms; ACE is popular among trainers who lead exercise classes. If you’re interested in trying kettlebells, get the proper instruction from a trainer certified by RKC or IKFF.

Powerful Hunger by Dagny Kight

Powerful Hunger by Dagny Kight

Visit the Equipment & Tools page at PowerfulHunger.com to find well-priced heart rate straps and the High Step.

BOOK BONUS for Diva Taunia Friends & Fans! Download an excerpt from the book, Powerful Hunger, to get detailed information about baselining your heart rate to begin an exercise regimen.

http://www.powerfulhunger.com/bookpages/Powerful_Hunger_Fitness.pdf

 

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CUSTOMER SERVICE PROS: THE LASH COMPANY

25 Jan

I write a lot of reviews here on my blog, on my Yelp Page, and on my YouTube Page.  When I like a product or service, I generally post about it right away, but it’s rare that I  write more than one review.  The Lash Company is the exception to that rule.  Their customer service and business model is so stellar, that I am writing about them twice.

THE LASH COMPANY

I am a customer-service stickler.  I get really disappointed by a lot of businesses that don’t place enough value and emphasis on customer service.  To me, it’s truly the backbone of the company’s success, and I’m always amazed at how many companies lack even the most basic elements of good customer service.  The Lash Company & Skin Care Boutique doesn’t  just provide good customer service, they offer STELLAR customer service, and other small (and large) businesses should take note.

My experience with them started with a phone call, answered by Jeremy, who was very friendly and polite, and we even connected in conversation after finding out we’re both East Coast transplants to California.  He had to check on a time for me, but called me back promptly to offer me times and also followed up our conversation with an email confirmation for my appointment (which I LOVED because I’m incredibly forgetful and that reminded me to put it in my calendar).  I was booked for an electrology appointment with Rosie.

When I walked in, I fell in love with the decor – pinks, leopard prints – totally my type of place.  The gals there were super friendly, despite obviously being very busy with their customers.   Rosie came out, introduced herself, and then brought me to the back room and took lots of notes to make sure she knew about my medical history, my concerns, my previous experiences, and my future “wants.”

She immediately put me at ease with great conversation, and she worked really efficiently with minimal pain (which is to be expected, at least a little bit).  I was really pleased with the end result, and the price is very comparable with my east coast treatments ($60/hr).    I just found her to be so personable and professional, I’d highly recommend her to anyone looking for an electrologist.

That appointment was yesterday.  Today in the mail, I received this little note card:

thank you

It was a lovely hand-written note from Rosie thanking me for coming in.  Prompt and incredibly thoughtful, this is the way that customer service *should* be.   I am so impressed with the way they regarded me as a customer, and it’s obvious from their other Yelp reviews that others agree.

Other businesses would do well to follow their lead here:  they showed me that they valued my business, and in return, they’ve got it.  I’ll definitely be returning there regularly, and as shown by my TWO reviews now, I’ll definitely be spreading the word about how great I think they are.

These were small, easy to do things that make a HUGE difference in retaining customers.  In a fast-paced world where customer service is so often neglected, The Lash Company & Skin Care Boutique really stand out as top-notch.  They’ll be getting tons of repeat business from me, and hopefully others!

The Lash Company & Skin Care Boutique
205 N. Glendora Ave
Glendora, CA 91741
(626) 260-3786

http://www.thelashcompany.co/

Electrology:  Rosie

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MY 1637 DAY POST-OP, WEIGH-IN UPDATE! (With ♥LOVE♥ added in!) (And COSTUMES!)

17 Sep

MY 1637 DAY POST-OP, WEIGH-IN UPDATE! (With ♥LOVE♥ added in!) (And COSTUMES!)

Just checking in with a weigh-in update, talking a bit about the love of my life. :) Also letting you know about the costumes that I have for sale on my Facebook page here:

FACEBOOK COSTUMES FOR SALE

Want to keep in touch online? Find me at these places and say hello! :)

My Website: http://www.divataunia.com
My Blog: http://www.divatauniablog.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/divatauniamusic
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/divataunia
Klout: http://www.klout.com/divataunia
My Music: http://www.soundcloud.com/divataunia

ALSO, PLEASE VISIT MY SPONSOR FOR YOUR LIQUID BARIATRIC VITAMINS!
http://www.wellesse.com
Use coupon code DIVAT for $5 off!

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CELEBRATE MY MILKSHAKE

11 Jun

“My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, damn right it’s better than yours…”

Come on, I couldn’t resist.

So, it’s officially summer-ish here in the Boston area, and when the warm air starts coming in, people go absolutely crazy around here for ice cream.  Me too, except ice cream makes me sick.  It’s one of the only things that I can have literally one single bite of before my body revolts, so I just don’t have it.  But I crave it every now and then – particularly milkshakes.  And of course, every fast food restaurant sign in town and showcasing milkshakes right now, so it feels like torture at times.    But I found a way to get my shake on:  Celebrate Vitamins ENS Vanilla Cake Batter (Milkshake).

www.celebratevitamins.com

I’ve long been a fan of this Multivitamin/Calcium/Protein shake drink, but realized it could totally curb my milkshake craving too.   I threw about 6 small ice cubes in a blender and from the directions, replaced water with 1% low-fat milk.  I also keep mugs chilled in my freezer, so after I blended this up and threw it in an icy mug, I was in milkshake HEAVEN:

Here are the nutritional details, since I know you’re clambering to know how awesome this milkshake is going to be for your bod:

Next up:   more milkshakes including fruit (particularly bananas and pineapple), PB2, and other flavor change-ups.  But honestly, the straight-up Vanilla Cake Batter is rockin’ my milkshake world right now.

And also because I can’t resist out-dated pop culture references:

Video

THE WATER BOTTLE CONTROVERSY

6 Jun

I am so glad that there is respectful discussion happening about this, because I think it’s a really important issue.

I want to remind people that in order to make progress, we talk. We discuss. Please do not take this as an opportunity to openly attack any individual, let’s talk openly and honestly about the *topic*. Thanks for watching! :)

DEAR JOHN

25 May

My self-esteem took a massive hit this week.  I’m no stranger to internet trolls and negativity, and I can generally ignore the occasional nasty remark that I get on one of my YouTube videos or posts.  Overall, I don’t get many negative comments, and I’m pretty thankful for that.  I know stuff like that comes with the territory when you’re “public” about your life, and despite being incredibly sensitive, I can usually shrug it off.  Except this week.

As you probably already know from an earlier post, I was on ABC’s “The Revolution” with Tim Gunn.  It was a pretty amazing experience, and I was super-excited to see how it all came together when it aired this past Monday.  What I wasn’t prepared for was the “oh.my.GOD” moment of seeing my extra weight and roly-poly midsection plastered across the screen for all the world to see.  I mean, I knew they were going to show that, but I just didn’t realize exactly what I looked like.  It wasn’t pretty.

I watched the show with my mom and she immediately told me that I looked much bigger on TV than I do in person.  That made me feel slightly better because my mother does NOT sugar coat things, and wouldn’t have said it if she didn’t mean it.  But still, the camera is only adding so much, you know?  I watched it over and over again – becoming more and more disgusted with myself.  Why the HELL did I agree to do that?!  And more importantly, how could I NOT know how crappy it would be to see myself like that on TV?

After a day or two of beating myself up, I checked the comments section on the video page – which was an even bigger mistake.  This is what I saw:

johnjr3339: She is so fake. In my world she is still considered obese. If I were her I would not brag about losing 150 pounds when you still look like a cow get a clue. Someone else would have been more deserving them her to have used come on people wake up. I Google her first name and now we see she is a stripper why pick a fat stripper. I hope you gave that cow a crap load of the shapewear she needs it did you have anything for her face maybe

Rationally, I know this is something that I should just ignore and normally, I’d actually feel sorry for someone that is wallowing in such a pit of negativity. Honestly, who DOES this?  Who takes time out of their day to insult someone – in such a cruel and hurtful way?  As my friend Linda succinctly pointed out:   “Happy people are not cruel:  end of story.”  (She also said, “ That is the type of person that should never wear seatbelts or helmets or anything – keep Darwin’s theory workin’!” – which cracked me up.)

Oddly enough, the fat comments didn’t really bother me.  I’ve had a lifetime of dealing with those types of remarks that I’m practically immune to it.  Plus, I was already beating myself up about that enough on my own.  It was the “she’s so fake” comment that really got me .  It’s affected me all week, and I’ve just retreated and kept to myself for the past few days – trying to pull myself out of the funk that this put me in.   Is that how people really see me?  I think I’m pretty genuine for the most part, and I try to be “real” while keeping a sense of personal privacy.  Hell, an attack on my character is far more damaging than fat comments.  And the fact that the comments are from some asshat that doesn’t matter – yet I let the comments matter – that just makes things worse.  ”No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  Damn you, Eleanor Roosevelt!

And for the record: I am not a stripper.  I would have far more cash on hand if I were.  Yes, I run a burlesque group – but the group exists exactly for this reason. Every woman is beautiful, unique, sexy, and talented – no matter what their shape, size, background, etc.  And our audiences celebrate that.  In fact, it’s the compliment that I most hear about our group.  Every woman is welcome in our group and we have an open-door policy.  It’s one of the things that I am most proud of in my life, because the women in this group express to me how much it’s done for their confidence and self-esteem, and I love that.  And I truly DO see the beauty in each and every one of them.

I’m not writing this in some lame attempt to get compliments or confirmation:  I just needed to get it all out, and to be a little more “real.” (For those of you who commented so nicely – and humorously – on Facebook:  thank you.  I really do appreciate the support.) Honestly, I just realized that maybe in my quest to protect my privacy, maybe I have become “fake,” in a way.  I’m a person – an extremely sensitive one at that – and this stuff hurts.   A lot.  My general rule of thumb is to take the high road – don’t respond and don’t engage.  Maybe that’s part of the problem.  Maybe that just makes me an easier target when I don’t fight back.  I don’t know.  I’m still trying to sort it all out.

Image

I don’t suck nearly as bad as I thought!

12 Apr

I don't suck nearly as bad as I thought!

I’m only $80 away from my fundraising goal! This is pretty amazing considering I really *am* the world’s WORST fundraiser. I’m going to give it one more go after this with a video on my YouTube channel (“Hi! It’s me! Begging for money from you!“), but I’m hoping that I may actually meet excede my goal. That would take me right out of “suckage” to “not too shabby.” Plus, my charity would be rockin’ with a few extra donated bucks.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by obesity, please consider making a tax-deductable donation that will raise funds and draw attention to obesity and the need for treatment and prevention efforts, as well as sensitivity training.

Many thanks! xo

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Video

VIDEO: Weight Bias in Health Care (Bravo!)

11 Apr

Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has a REALLY powerful video exposing the bias and prejudices that are experienced by overweight patients in the medical community.  This video was posted in 2009, and still applies (if not more) today.

What I love most about this is that rather than just address that bias and discrimination exists, they expose the how their preventative care is compromised by being affected by bias within the medical community. Even better, the Rudd Center provides a very simple list of ways that medical practices and professionals can help provide a more comfortable and welcoming environment for overweight patients in addition to questioning their own assumptions and personal attitudes towards overweight patients.

“The medical community offers great opportunity to help address the issue of weight bias because with positive attitudes, people will get better care, not only that but it will be modeling for the world about how overweight people should be treated and what weight *is*.”

From the Rudd Center For Food Policy & Obesity:

Overweight and obese patients frequently feel stigmatized in health care settings, and face stereotypes and prejudice from health care providers.
These stigmatizing experiences (also called ‘weight bias’) jeopardize patients’ emotional and physical health. The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University (www.yaleruddcenter.org) has released this new video in response to a growing concern about weight bias in health care. The video, hosted by celebrity and activist Emme and featuring Rudd Center experts including Dr. Rebecca Puhl and Dr. Kelly Brownell, uses expert commentary and dramatic representation to increase awareness of bias and stigma that overweight and obese patients encounter in health care. Equally importantly, the video presents a range of practical strategies to help providers reduce bias in their clinical practice, and to optimize the health care experience for their overweight and obese patients.

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Aside

YOUR story!

13 Feb

Dr. Connie Stapleton (who is a sweetheart and works pretty tirelessly with and for our community), is writing a book and compiling stories from weight loss surgery patients that will help to inspire, inform, and educate others. 100% of the profits from this book will go to the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America so that others can receive the gift of weight loss surgery, paid for by contributions to the WLSFA. From Connie:

“This book will be a compilation of the experiences that you, the weight loss surgery patients, have experienced along the road to having WLS. The purpose of the book is to encourage others to talk about their stories; both the good parts and the unpleasant parts of the journey that led to being obese, as well as the decision to have weight los surgery. It was suggested to me by a wonderful and wise woman (named Laura Lee Preston) that perhaps a form might serve as a helpful guide for those of you who wish to contribute to the book, but don’t know how or where to begin – hence, the creation of this form (link below).”

Want to contribute your story? Read more about the book and how to submit your story HERE.

Please post this on your blog/wall/twitter to help get the word out about this great project!


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