Before I go on with my posts, I want to make sure that it is very clear that before starting any weight loss diet, that you first consult your doctor and find out what works for you.  If you decide to do the HCG diet, you really need to research it to it’s entirety because it is no easy feat.  There are a lot of things involved with it and reading Dr. Simeons Diet Protocol is a good place to start.  This diet was discovered in the 1950’s and has been around for a very long time.  However, there are many companies that are creating products that are not truly HCG.  This means that they are adding many other preservatives, which can cause some pretty violent side effects. The FDA is currently going after these businesses to shut them down.  Please be sure that you are obtaining HCG from a doctor or preferred source.

I had a baby in October of 2010.  He is now 15 months old.  I was definitely that pregnant lady that ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and gained 75 pounds.  Yep, you heard me.  So, the normal 30 pounds fell right after after the baby came out and the rest was mine to own up to.  I worked out like a crazy woman, ate as clean as possible, worked out with an amazing trainer and lost the rest.  It was hard work and it sucked…plain and simple.  I got to the point where working out and eating so clean was becoming a chore and I just stopped doing everything when I got to my “comfy weight” in the 140’s.  With working full time, being a mom, and having a husband with an unpredictable work schedule, the workouts have become non -existent and I have not been eating very healthy.   And it has been that way for a while.  Slowly but surely the weight crept up a little and now I’m feeling gross again.  Still in the 140’s, but gross.  So, when my friend that works for a doctor told me about the HCG diet, I was very intrigued.  At first I thought it sounded like the most unhealthy diet to ever enter the planet but the more I researched it, the more I understood it and the more I thought that this is really something that can work for me.  So, I’m giving it the ol’ college try and documenting it for the I AM MODERN readers to see.  Here goes nothing……

 

When my oldest boy was just a baby, I'd buckle him into his car seat conversion stroller and take him for long walks in the woods near our house. Over time we graduated to the front carrier, and finally to the off -road jogging stroller.

Just as his little legs began to carry him on longer walks, his little brother came along and we were back to square one. Now, as my boys approach three and five, we’ve finally been liberated from strollers loaded down with diapers and toys. We’ve freed ourselves from the shackles of pacifiers, snacks, and sippy cups. At long last, we’re free to just follow the trail to see where it may lead. I’ve waited a long time for this.

Women are nurturers. We take great pride in our ability to cheer up a friend in distress (a little wine, a little conversation…everybody feels better). But sometimes even we gals are at a loss for words when a friend is in need of advice. This column gives suggestions – from actual women who have been through each of these situations – on what we should and should not say to our friends during these times.

At the time that this article was written, the nation was still in the midst of dealing with the impact of the Penn State and Joe Paterno controversies. Mr. Paterno has since passed away.

Most of what there is to say about Joe Paterno and the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State has already been written about and discussed by journalists and sports pundits around the nation. Now, weeks aft er the story first broke and the frenzied media attention is perhaps beginning to die down, many are left wondering what it is that Paterno is really leaving behind in the wake of this series of mistakes. If we look at Paterno’s coaching success as a mutually exclusive venture from the ethics of his actions off the field, it could be said that he was an excellent, innovative football coach who made unethical and misguided personal choices. But it feels impossible for those things to be separated, because so much of his reputation as an amazing and inspiring coach was qualified by the fact that not only did he win Penn State a lot of football games, he also acted as a role model to the young men on his team (and other young people, campus-wide) at a pivotal point in their lives. When we look at the life coach responsibilities infused in Paterno’s actual job title (a role that he himself chose to take on and embellish in that way), then it becomes trickier to simply say that he was a great coach who did a bad thing.

I will never be an extreme coupon mom. I’m envious as hell when I see my friends’ Facebook posts about how much they saved at the grocery store, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that it will never be me.

The reason for this is simple. I barely know what I’m having for dinner an hour before I eat it let alone grocery shop for the week ahead. I’m an impulse buyer. And because I lived in a big city for so long where I didn’t have any storage, I still go to the grocery store every single day despite the fact that I now live in the ’burbs. Can’t. Quite. Let. Go.

Planning a wedding can stir up many emotions like excitement and stress. But imagine trying to plan a multicultural wedding. A wedding is primarily about the bride and groom, but it is also about the two families coming together. Of course, let’s not forget that you want to make your families feel special and enjoy your wedding day, too. It can be very tricky planning a wedding that unites two different cultures. The key is discussing how to incorporate the cultures into the big day. It’s all about planning ahead and determining which cultural rituals or traditions you want to include. Multicultural weddings have been going on for ages now, and they make sense when you think about the melting pot that we live in.

Winter has always been a time of reflection and bonding for me. When the clouds roll in and the temperature steadily drops, I find that the most enjoyable thing to do is to get cozy with my husband in front of a fire and talk about life’s many beauties, hardships and divergent paths. Since beginning I AM Modern Magazine over four years ago, so much has changed in my life. I have so much to be grateful for and know that I still have so much yet to accomplish. Winter is a wonderful time to contemplate, make plans and steady your course towards better, more fulfilling days ahead. Speaking of which, we are featuring some women who have taken the bull by the horns and made the changes they needed to realize their true potential in life. Th uy Casey decided in her 40s that she would not only get into shape, but that she would sculpt her body, perfect it, and bring it to its absolute optimum. Tosca Reno is a national fitness celebrity who not only changed her life by getting into the best shape of her life, she shares her secrets in her Eat Clean series of books with the rest of us. We also bring to you the stories of women who have taken adversity and life’s most difficult challenges and learned to not simply deal with it but to shine in the process. Life is a complex, beautiful thing. We should use this time to think about the good in our lives, and find the courage, perseverance and dedication to alter those aspects that are not as perfect as the others.

Hulya Aksu

PROFILES:

BLOGS:
A Multicultural Wedding Guide by Rosanna Akhavan
Coupon Schmoupon: Not Every Woman is Cut Out to be a Supermom by Adina Kalish Neufeld
What Joe Paterno is Really Leaving Behind by Kirsten clodfelter
What to Say When ... You Suspect Domestic Abuse
by Chris Croll
The Stroller Liberation by Matthew Kaiser

GURU:
Wedding Venues in Nova by Ashleigh Dorfman, CSEP
Obesity & Oral Health by Mary Gharagozloo

PARENTING:
Name Brand Kids by Molly Fuller
Compassionate Kid by Molly Fuller
What If I Forget to Breath? by Angie Mazakis
Let Your Kids Enjoy Their Youth by Angie Mazakis
Your Daughter's a Lesbian! by A.E Checkley
A New Era: The age of the Tween by Rosanna Akhavan

HEALTH & BEAUTY:
A Year of Happiness by John Cassidy
Growing up Fat by C.E Checkley