Eat Dessert for Breakfast?

Casey Chan submitted an intriguing article at gizmodo.com. A new study reported people who eat sweets for breakfast loss weight. Crazy, right?


Scientist put 144 obese people on an identical low carb, low calorie diets (1400 calories for women,1600 calories for men) with one exception. One group had a diet consisting of a protein packed, high-carb breakfast with a choice of cookies, chocolate, cake or ice cream. This is definitely not Mommy approved, but it would earn a two-thumbs up with Daddy or at least it would at our house.

I know what  you're thinking. Really? Yes, really! Interestingly, both groups weight loss (averaged 32-pounds) was the same after the first 16-weeks. What really is astounding is the 16-week follow-up results.  The group who was allowed to have the dessert for breakfast lost an additional 13-pounds, but the non-dessert eating group gained all, but three and half pounds of their weight lost back.



Let's join Patrice at

for her weekly Chit-Chat on a Farmhouse Porch


This week's discussion...

1. What's you favorite kind of salad? I like a simple salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, & onions, but I'll throw in other veggies if I have them on hand such as fresh broccoli, carrots, and green peppers. Sometimes, I'll toss in some black or green olives and I use left over meat for my protein portion. I usually dress my salads with a low-calorie, fat-free Italian dressing or a reduced calorie three cheese dressing. The best salad I ever had can be found at the Cooper Cellar restaurant here in town. Oh! Heavens, this is to die for! All their veggies are so fresh and crisp. They make this fabulous cheddar cheese dressing (not low calorie) which will send you out of this world. Mmmm,good!
2. How old were you when you learned to cook? I dabbled in cooking when I was teenager, but nothing really serious. I learned a lot by watching. My real education in cooking didn't come until after I was married and that didn't truly begin until after I got out of college. Several couples from our Sunday School class formed a monthly dinner club where one couple would host the entire meal. This is when I learned the most. I was in my early 20s.
3. What's your favorite kind of store? (grocery, garden, department, cooking, bookstore, etc) My favorite kind of stores are craft stores such as AC Moore or Hobby Lobby.
4. If you could have lived during another time in history, what time would that have been? In all honesty, I don't know if I would want to live in the past. I love modern conveniences too much. Let's face it life was really hard for women 50 plus years ago and in some parts of our country things we take for granted aren't always luxuries. For instance, my in-laws do not have city water. Hopefully before the year is through city water will finally be provided up the mountain where they live in rural West Virginia. All of their lives they have had to be extremely careful about how much water they use. Can you imagine living this way for 85 - 88 years? 
5. I'm looking forward to the end of winter and the return of spring's gentle warmth and beautiful colors.

Thanks for letting us all know you're kiddos are doing better. It's not fun when the family is down. Lets hope everyone remains healthy the rest of the winter.

Today, I'm linking up with Joyce in...


Today's questions are:
1. February 22nd is National Be Humble Day...what makes you proud? What keeps you humble?

God, country, and family are three elements which fill me with a sense of pride. I'm humbled when I hear of stories of immigrants who come to our country, leaving everything they were comfortable with to see the same opportunities so many Americans take for granted.  This country owes no one anything. It's up to the individual to work his/her tail feathers off to get it. 

I'm thankful God blessed me by allowing me to be born in a country where I can serve Him freely from persecution. I am humbled to think there are countries where practicing your Christian faith is forbidden and can be fatal.

Naturally, I'm proud of my family. These are the people God has placed in my life for a reason and I love each one dearly. I hope I can be the example in their lives God would have me to be. It gives me comfort when they mimic things from life. This is when a swell of pride and gratitude fill me. I'm thankful for the opportunity to stay at home.

2. Where is the catch-all (aka dumping ground) in your house?

Our dining room table has to be it because this is where we do our schooling. One day soon, I hope to have my dream house where we can have a lovely den where the computers and art project can be kept. I can envision everything having it's own special place in our dream house and nothing ever out of place again.

3. Do you make it a point to visit State/National Parks when you travel or even in your own hometown? What's your favorite?

Travelling...vacationing is a limited thing for us. We have only had the pleasure of doing this a handful of times. We do love National Parks, though. The Smoky's and Blue Ridge Parkway are a stone's throw from us, as well as a number of National Forests and state parks. We are indeed blessed!

When we visited Maine in '97 and '04, we built part if not all of our vacation time around Acadia National Park. It's absolutely beautiful! Of course, I love coastal Maine so you can understand why I'm so fond of this part of the country. I can't wait to go back again someday!

We have dreams to see the National Parks out west someday, but every time we have an opportunity to vacation, then it's hard to not pick New England as our destination. Maybe one day we'll make it out west to see the landscapes spectacular. While our experience is little, it would be hard to imagine any place topping the Smoky's. The Appalachian mountains will be pretty darn hard to beat!

4. How would you define honor?

Honor is a composition of respect, dignity, fairness, and trust worthiness.

"Our own heart, and not other men's opinion, forms our true honor." 

 ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"Let honor be to us as strong an obligation as necessity is to others."

~ The Elder Pliny

5. Angel's food or Devil's food-which cake do you prefer?

I will not pass on either dessert, but my preference is Devil's food only because I LOVE chocolate!

6. What's the most recent road trip you've taken? Where did you go and how many hours did you spend in the car? Do you like to zoom to your destination without stopping or leisurely wind your way there with stops along the way? What is your car snack of choice?

Our road trips are usually comprised of day trips to the mountains, which we enjoy driving leisurely. Sometimes, we get early in the morning and stay gone all day. At times such as this, I'll pack our cooler with sandwiches and sodas for our main meal, then I'll take a bag of finger foods like mixed nuts, pretzels, por otato chips, and always cookies.

7. Recent headlines told how a preschool child in NC had their packed lunch from home taken away and a school lunch substituted by a school inspector who deemed the homemade lunch unhealthy. Reportedly the parent was then billed for the school lunch (chicken nugget meal) although an update to the story says the parent was not billed. The inspector was conducting a routine inspection of the classroom-he/she was not there solely to peek in the lunchboxes.

The packed lunch contained a turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple juice box, a bag of chips, and a banana. You can read the story here. Your thoughts?

This child's lunch not only sounds good, but is healthier than chicken nuggets. Deep fried chicken over a turkey sandwich, really? Where's the logic in this kind of switch? What bothers me is this teacher over-stepping the parent's job. It's not up to the teacher to decide if a child has the right food or not.  I wonder about kids who come to school without any lunch at all, would the teacher rush to the cafertia and put a meal in front of these kids? You know there are kids who probably don't even get lunch from home nor have money to buy food, too.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The same school Nazis trying to control kids' lunches are the same ones who have all, but removed recess in schools.  The school board harps on healthy guidelines in the cafeteria, but what about physical activity?

• Jumping rope builds bone density, playing tag is a fun cardio exercise, and being active in general optimizes the brain's performance. It goes without saying outdoor play burns unwanted calories. 
• Recess allows kids to work off stress and helps to boost their ability to stay on track with class work.
• Children need sunlight to regulate their biological clock, increase their immune system, and it makes them feel good.
• Children learn  how to better interact with one another with unstructure socialization on the playground and it helps to combat common health concerns such as obesity and childhood diabetes.

Think about it, 40+ years ago kids weren't faced with these issues. We were not stuck inside during recess, we were made to endure PE class, and we were not chauffeured to school by our moms. We had to walk to the bus stop or to school. Kids who were truly over weight were few in number. We can't say this today. Did you know the average weight of a 10-year old girl in 1963 was 77.4 pounds whereas in 2002 the average jumped to 88? That's astonishing!

Yesterday's winds reminded me of March. It was wicked. In fact, a large pine tree in our backyard fell. Looks like my boys have their job literally cut out for them. Is it a stormy Wednesday in your neck of the woods? I hear the distant boom of thunder. It's gonna be a wet day.

 Happy Wednesday!

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