Keto Diet not Working for You? Try this Secret to Make it Easy.

by Patti Huck | AGING, BABY BOOMERS, DEPRESSION, MEMORY, MIND & BODY, SLEEP

Keto Diet not Working for You? Try this Secret to Make it Easy.

What is a Keto Diet?

A Keto Diet, short for Ketogenic Diet, is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. A Ketogenic Diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. When there is less carbohydrate in the diet, the liver then converts fat into fatty acids and ketones. The ketones pass into the brain through the blood and replace glucose as an energy source. When there is an elevated level of ketones in the blood, you are said to be in a state known as “ketosis“. The goal of the Keto Diet is to get you into a state of ketosis.

What Foods Can I Eat on a Keto Diet, and What Food is Off-Limits?

You can search for Keto Diet and find hundreds of meal plans and recipes online. One site that I thought looked particularly good was Women’s Health. Since the Ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate diet, that means you need to stay away from sugar, pasta and bread.

Food You Can Eat (in general)

Fish, seafood, meat
Vegetables that grow above ground
Cheese and eggs
Natural fats
- i.e (butter, olive oil, etc.)

Foods You Should Eat Sparingly

Pasta, rice, potatoes
Fruit
Beer, Soda, Juice
Bread, Cakes, Donuts, etc.
Candy, Chocolate, etc.

What’s The Big Hype? Why is It Supposed to Work?

The body has three sources of fuel it can burn to get its energy: Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat. Just as a car needs fuel in it’s gas tank that it burns to enable it to perform, we need food to provide us our energy to perform. Sticking stictly to a Ketogenic Diet will eventually put the body into a state of ketosis. When your body is in a state of ketosis, it means it is now burning fat to fuel your body.

How Do You Know When You’re in Ketosis?

Urine test strips are available, like the ones below, that will give you a reading letting you know when your body has reached a ketogenic state, or is in “ketosis“.

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If It Sounds So Simple, Why Are So Many People Falling Off?

Because it’s hard!

The Keto diet’s original purpose was not for weight loss, but to treat epilepsy in children. Those on the diet had to be monitored strictly by a physician. So even if you think you’re following the rules of the diet, as it turns out, you may not be. According to my research, it is extremely difficult to get your body into a state of ketosis on your own through diet alone, and even if you do get to ketosis, you may not be there long enough to burn much fat.

So What’s The Secret?

Pure Therapeutic Ketones. You start dumping ketones into your body to get your body into ketosis faster. The video below shows how they work and what they do. It’s only 4 minutes and it’s explained very simply (no scientific language). Hit the play button on the man’s nose and give it a watch.

Oh, I Forgot The Best Part…

As I learned more about Pruvit’s Keto OS, one thing kept jumping out at me. Pruvit claims that Keto OS will get your body into ketosis within 60 minutes, (the state when your body is burning fat), EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT FOLLOWING A KETOGENIC DIET!!! Not saying that it wouldn’t help you and your body to follow the diet, but if you’re drinking Keto OS you don’t have to follow the Keto diet because ketosis will happen anyway. Yeah. I was ready to give this stuff a try.

How Do You Get Them?

I am one of the biggest skeptics you’ll ever find. In my next post I will be sharing what my experience has been with this product, but I’ll tell you right now that it’s basically changed my life. If you’ve decided to get better with ketones right away, and don’t want to wait to hear my story, I can help you. Choose your option below.

Want to Try Them First?

To purchase a 5-10 day trial, Just click the button below. Try all the flavors. Be reminded what it feels like to feel good.

Yes! Get Me Started!

Anxious to Just Get Started?

If you want to skip the trial and just get started, click the button below and let’s get you some ketones!

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A Note To My Readers:

When I started Women Over Fifty Network I made a promise to myself that if I found a product that made my life easier, or in this case improved it, I would share it with you in hopes of it making your lives better. This is hands down one of those products.

I will never recommend a product I don’t use myself, or a product with which I haven’t personally had results.

Stay tuned for my next post about my experience with pure therapeutic ketones.

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Somebody Said That It Couldn’t Be Done – A Memory From Catholic School

by Patti Huck | CATHOLIC SCHOOL, MEMORIES, NOSTALGIA

Somebody Said That It Couldn’t Be Done – A Memory From Catholic School

When I went to Catholic school, one of the things that the nuns put a lot of emphasis on was memorization. We memorized long-ass prayers. We memorized the Latin words to hymns for choir.

Every week everyone had to choose, memorize, and recite a poem in front of the class. When your turn came, you had to be prepared – the nuns didn’t tolerate anything less. There were days that I was sweating it out at my desk while I struggled with a particular line trying desperately to commit it to memory while waiting for my turn.

As much as I resisted most of the rituals I experienced in my eight years at St. Paschal’s, I have to give those nuns kudos for their teaching methods. Not only did this particular exercise teach me to appreciate poetry, and read about authors of long ago, but in an attempt to memorize a long poem, if there were words or phrases that weren’t familiar to me, it forced me to look them up. Those nuns knew exactly what they were doing!

Once I understood the word or phrase, the meaning of the poem became more clear making it easier to memorize. I was then able to inject a little emphasis and personality into it that helped me entertain some very bored classmates instead of standing up there in front of everyone, sweating like a mutha and just regurgitating words.

In sixth grade I chose a particular poem in Sister Mary Kathleen’s class that has stuck with me. I recited it often to my kids as they were growing up, and I’ve called on it repeatedly to help pull me up by my bootstraps throughout my entire life.

Some things never go out of style. I hope you find inspiration in this quirky little poem and that it gives you encouragement and determination at times you may need it, just the way it has me and still continues to…

It Couldn’t Be Done

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

At least no one ever has done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

1881-1959

Did anyone else go to Catholic school? Do you have any poems, quotes or mantras that get you through tough times? I’d love to hear them. Please share yours in the comments below.

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Sentimental Keepsakes: Keep Them Without Taking Over Your Storage Space

by Patti Huck | EMOTIONS, NOSTALGIA, ORGANIZING

Sentimental Keepsakes: Keep Them Without Taking Over Your Storage Space

NOTE TO MY READERS

I’m trying to live a more minimalistic life by getting rid of some of the clutter in my home. If you’re a sentimental person, you know how difficult that can be.

Instead of blowing through storage bins and quickly mucking out closets and drawers, I find myself sitting in the middle of the floor going through old photos I ran across, reading old letters, smiling and crying simultaneously as I relive old memories.

While searching for ways to help me let go of my treasures, I remembered the following article I wrote several years ago. I’m taking my own advice and wanted to share it with you.

Memories of Childhood

I went to a Catholic school through the 8th grade. Nuns wore habits, were strict, and enforced rules and punishment. It was a life of rituals, uniforms, memorizing prayers and poems. Education was taken very seriously and consequences doled out for falling short.

I learned piano. I made lifelong friends. I won a National penmanship award. I kissed a boy for the first time. We hid behind the church during recess and played poker on the church steps. We wore white lipstick (that the nuns roughly wiped off). I walked to and from school and rode my bike to meet friends. It was a childhood that isn’t typical these days. My rosaries, holy cards, report cards, class pictures, etc. are all saved in a cigar box.

I went on to public school and became social. I met new friends, fell in love (several times), played sports, was a cheerleader, went to prom. I loved those years. My mementos let me relive those years of being young, having a strong athletic body, not being able to imagine myself at the age I am now, and dreaming of a future that resulted in a totally different reality.

Memories of Family

My mom was my best friend. When i married and had kids, she was who I called first to share good or bad news, get advice, or just to gossip. We sewed together once a week in our BPFC (Be Prepared For Christmas) club. We shopped. We shared recipes.

Mom died on my 28th birthday, when my kids were 2 and 3. I was devastated and it took me years to feel halfway normal again. Holding on to some of mom’s stuff, in an odd way, is holding on to a piece of mom.

Memories of an Earlier Life

I married at 21. We had a good couple years of marriage that produced two great kids. His job took him in and out of town. We grew apart. The marriage ended 9 years later. That was years ago, we remain friends, and each of us are happily remarried, but the things I’ve kept from those years are tied to a marriage and time when my kids were part of a two-parent family. So I feel I need to save those things to pass on to them.

Memories of Children

I was a single mom for most of my kids school years. It was us against the world, creating memories, tackling life head-on, and living our lives to the fullest as best we could. Although those years were a struggle financially, they were some of the best years of my life. I’m proud of the adults my children have become, and I’m proud of myself for powering through some really difficult years that resulted in the relationship I now have with my kids. The “things” I’ve saved from those years are precious to me.

Are You a Sentimental Person?

So… how do you get rid of sentimental things if you’re a sentimental person? First of all, who says we have to? I’m a sentimental hot mess and have trouble letting go…of anything. When I love someone (or something), I love it hard! I cry easily.

My kids saying “I love you, mom” always causes a lump in my throat.
Seeing the 12th man kick in when watching a nail-biter Seahawks game (GO HAWKS!) makes me cry.
Holding a baby, ANY baby, brings tears to my eyes – every stinkin’ time!

So I’m sorry to all the minimalists out there who coldly advise getting rid of sentimental clutter because they’re just “things”. Yeah, blah, blah, blah. Maybe they are just things, but there are some things I just WILL not and CANNOT let go. I say, if you’ve got the room for it, and it means something to you, KEEP IT!

I do agree, though, that saving everything that holds a memory can get out of hand. So here are some ideas for choosing what things to keep, uses for the things you save, and minimizing the space needed to store those things you can’t let go of…

Sentimental Paperwork

Elementary school artwork and projects, report cards, detention slips, essays, etc. Letters, cards, and notes.

Pull out your favorite few, or one item for each school year. If you can’t dump what remains, pack them all in a storage container and label it. If you don’t revisit that storage container in the next few years, throw it away without looking through it again, or ask your kids if they’d like to have them.
Take pictures of your favorite ones. Store the pictures on a disc or jump drive. Make them into photo books and gift them to your kids.
Make a scrapbook or shadowbox.

Sentimental Clothing

Your wedding dress, the bunting your baby wore home from the hospital, the t-shirt you bought in Mexico, your grandma’s pillbox hat, your cheerleading sweater, your dad’s favorite belt buckle, your favorite jeans from four sizes ago.

If they make you happy, turn them into display pieces. Make a shadowbox with pieces of these items grouped with pictures of you/them wearing them. Turn all those memorable t-shirts into a quilt.
If you’re saving clothing you hope you’ll fit into again, GET RID OF THEM! Although you may be holding on to them for motivation, I don’t know about you, but if I get back down to that size, I’ll be celebrating by buying NEW clothes!

Sentimental Items

Your grandma’s china, your dad’s favorite belt buckle, the framed picture of your great-aunt, your mother-in-law’s wedding ring, your mom’s old cookie press.

Use it. If they’re functional, and will serve a purpose in your home, use them. Take a quick picture of them and put them in your drawer or cupboard. Everytime you use that item it will bring back a happy memory. So, use grandma’s china. If you break some pieces, it’s okay. Mom would get a kick out of you struggling to make spritz cookies using her old cookie press, and you KNOW she’d be okay with you eventually replacing it for a new one.
Display it. Hang that old picture of great aunt Hilda. Pull out other vintage photos of relatives and group all these together on a family wall.
Wear it. Have dad’s buckle shined and polished. Wear it yourself or give it to your brother, husband, son. Use it as an embellishment on a purse or clothing. Wear the ring on a chain, or take out the stones and have it reset in a more modern setting.

Give Yourself As Much Time As You Need

I feel that allowing yourself moments to relive and revisit memories can be healing. It can ground yourself by giving you a chance to revisit your past and pat yourself on the back for the progress you’ve made. It can remind you of plans you had for your future, and inspire and re-motivate you to attain those dreams. It can comfort you.

Are You Living In The Past?

I say that if you’re thoughtful about which items to keep, take steps to preserve them properly, organize and label any containers where they live, and if you have the room to store them, then do it. Who are you hurting? I don’t think it means you’re living in the past.

It’s true that these things are just “things”, but things, just like smells, taste and touch, can morph you back to a memory or a time that is close to your heart. My mom touched that sewing pattern, studied it over a cup of coffee, made notes on it, and was excited to start sewing it once we were all tucked away in bed.

My kids held the crayon that colored that picture of the three of us, carried it home from school and proudly handed it to me with their little 1st grade hands. I’ll be damned if I’ll let those things go.

Am I wrong?

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What Has The Younger Generation Done To Our Language? Take a Listen…

by Patti Huck | GENERATIONS, MIND DUMPING, PET PEEVES | 2 comments

What Language Are They Speaking?

Hey. I don’t want this to sound like a total bitch session, but I’ve got a major pet peeve, and I mean MAJOR. This slaughter of our language seriously makes me cringe – like nails on a chalkboard, duck my head and raise my shoulders around my ears kind of cringe.

Work with me for a minute. Do you mind? Say the word “button”. Say it out loud.

When you say the word, do you say it like “bu” and then press your tongue to the roof of your mouth, say “n”, and the “n” sound kind of comes out your nose? Your mouth makes two movements, right? Your mouth opens when your lips part, then when you push your tongue up your jaw moves.

The first sound is as if you were going to say butt, but you stop before you make the “t” sound. Then you quickly make the “n” sound as if you were going to say “nice”. Am I right?

I know. It sounds ridiculous to make this such a big deal, but for god’s sake. These words are being massacred. Please tell me it’s not just me that notices it.

“Button” is being said “bu-ann”. No “t”. Totally left out. Their mouth opens and says “bu” and doesn’t have to move again to slide in the “ann”. I don’t know if it’s laziness or if it’s some new slang valley girl thing that’s supposed to be cool right now. Except it’s not.

That’s the first version – there are two. Maybe one is lower valley version and the next is upper valley? Who knows.

The second version is an exaggerated, bouncy T sound. It’s like they’ve suddenly discovered the T, feel bad for having ignored it, and are overcompensating by emphasizing the hell out of it.

It’s being pronounced “but-ten”. It’s said like a 2-year-old just learning to speak. Or a pre-teen when they’re trying to be cutesy. Except these are adults speaking this way. I don’t get it, and I also don’t know why it bugs me so much, but it does. It hurts my ears.

Oh I know! I’ll record it so you can hear it. (To play the audio, click the triangle button on the far left).

“Button” – Pronounced Our Way.

“Button” – Both Versions Pronounced Their Way.

So there’s that. Is it being taught this way in school now? Are WE mispronouncing it? Whatever.

Uh-oh. Now They’re Getting Creative. The “T” Has Been Replaced.

In this new foreign language, there’s another circumstance where the “T” is being pronounced wonky. Well actually, it’s not being pronounced at all. It’s being replaced with an “h”.

Here’s an example. The word “stretched” is being pronounced “schretched”. The sound “St” has become “Sch”.

This audio is me attempting to replicate it. My tongue doesn’t like it.

They schrike out.

They walk in a schrate line.

They don’t talk to schrangers.

I was doing a yoga video the other day and the cute little instructor was telling us to schretch and then relax. We schretched and relaxed 10 TIMES! Any idea how annoyed I was by the time we hit 10? I was anything but relaxed.

This is really “Important”. Listen Up!

And yet another word massacre. This time in the middle of a word. Again, apparently the “t” is too much of a bother, so it’s being dropped. The word “important” becomes “Impor-a”. It’s like there is a half-ass attempt made at saying the second half of the word but apparently it gets too hard, so they just let it drift off into nothing.

Seriously, that’s what it sounds like. Listen ↓

Are “t’s” that difficult to pronouce? Do they take too long? Have they been dismissed as unnecessary?

What the hell? I’ve noticed this mostly in girls of the Millennial generation (Born 1977-1995).

I was looking forward to watching a webinar of an extremely successful young person last week. We were barely 5 minutes into an hour presentation when we were told the next section would be very “impor-a”. Aaaagh! 55 more minutes of this? I wanted to hit mute and just read subtitles.

Now I know what you’re thinking, and I can’t believe I’ve taken up an entire post about this either. I admit that my ears pick up on a lot of things other people’s don’t. If you haven’t noticed this, perk your ears up when you’re listening to 20-something yr-old women speak. Not all do this, but a lot do.

Thank you for letting me vent. Comment below and p-l-e-a-s-e shed some light on this for me if you know what this new speak is all about. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that must mean that at some point I’ve blown out my eardrums and my hearing is distorted. Tell me you’ve never noticed any of the above and I’ll go get them checked promptly.

Okay, your turn to vent. Tell me one of your pet peeves in the comment box below.

So until next time – Peace out, and hey, don’t be a schranger! (ugh)

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Baby Boomers: 9 Reasons to Love Us. 9 To Blame on The Years We Grew Up In

by Patti Huck | BABY BOOMERS, GENERATIONS | 4 comments

Who Are Baby Boomers?

If you were born between 1946 and 1964, you are a member of the Baby Boomer generation.

Why Are We Called Baby Boomers?

Almost exactly nine months after World War II ended, more babies were born in 1946 than any year in American history. 3.4 million little “boomers” were born in 1946, 20 percent more than were born in 1945! Guess those boys were glad to be back home aye?

This elevated birthrate continued through the next 18 years until it finally tapered off in 1964. By the end of the year there were 76.4 million “baby boomers” in the United States. We made up almost 40 percent of the nation’s population.

By 2030, about one in five Americans will be older than 65. Because of our generation’s size, we have a significant impact on our nation’s economy and growth, but at the same time there is concern that our aging population will also place a strain on social welfare systems. (“Baby Boomers” History.com)

How Could a Typical Baby Boomer Be Described?

Is there really any “typical”? We are a diverse group, but this is a general collection of our beliefs and character traits.

+ We believe anything is possible.

+ We are extremely loyal to our children.

+ We are ambitious.

+ We are ethical and loyal.

+ We are willing to take on responsibility.

+ We are competent multi-taskers.

+ We work efficiently and have good communications skills.

+ We are willing to take risks and are driven.

+ We believe in equal rights and equal opportunities.

I feel that the below traits that a lot of us Boomers share, although not all desirable traits, were borne from the music and culture of our times. With so many of our generation in VietNam, fear ran rampant.

“Make Love Not War“, “Give Peace a Chance” became mantras. We experienced Woodstock, free love, drugs, love-ins, the hippie culture, flower children and music to express ourselves and find peace.

We developed a fierce determination to create happiness and find peace in whatever way worked for us. To become your own person without judgement was the norm of our times. We ran with it.

> We have a “spend now, worry later”, “buy now, pay later” attitude

> We are competitive.

> We challenge authority.We become judgemental when disagreed with.

> We don’t like conformity and rules – we challenge the status quo.

> We tend to be workaholics – we invented the 50-hr work week.

> We expect everyone else to be workaholics.

> We can be self-centered – personal growth is important to us.

> We’re not great with finances (see #1 above).

Where We Fit In the Current Generations

Events That Shaped Us as a Generation

The events that transpire during our lifetime will naturally affect each of us in different ways. The Baby Boomers have had a lot to digest so far in our lives and whether it be subtly or drastically, these events will have an effect on how we look at life, raise our children, form our opions, and determine the lifestyle we will lead. Below are just a few.

1954 – McCarthy hearings begin
1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of the bus
1957 – First nuclear power plant
1960 – Kennedy elected President
1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis
1963 – Martin Luther King leads march on Washington DC
1963 – President John Kennedy assassinated
1964 – Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed
1965 – United States sends ground troops to Vietnam
1966 – National Organization for Women founded
1967 – American Indian Movement Founded
1968 – Martin Luther King assassinated
1968 – Robert Kennedy assassinated
1969 – First moon landing
1970 – Kent State University Shootings

We’ve been described as restless.We are sometimes referred to as the “Me Generation”. We were promised the American Dream growing up, and we’re still looking for it.

As with each generation before and after us, a lot has changed in our lifetimes. Some of it has been frightening, but most changes have been enlightening and exciting.

Personally speaking, computers and Google are two of the best discoveries that have happened in my lifetime! I can have an answer to my every question right at the tips of my fingers any time of the day or night.

As much as I embrace our new technological world, I always feel a little pang of loneliness when I think of my pretty little pink princess rotary phone with the party line. I loved that phone. It was the physical representation of my entry into my tumultuous teenage years. But shared memories of my childhood and teenage years from the late 50’s to the mid-70’s is for another day and another blog post.

As you read through the above summary of Baby Boomers, are there things that you’d like to add? I value any additional information or memories from your point of view. Please feel free to add them in the comment section below.

Until next time…Peace out.

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How to Copy and Paste on Facebook From Your iPhone or iPad

by Patti Huck | BABY BOOMERS, FACEBOOK, LEARNING | 2 comments

A few months ago I sent out a survey asking women over fifty what social media platform they used most frequently and to tell me the one thing they would most like to learn how to do.

The results showed that the platform they used the most was hands down Facebook. Statistics show that not only is Facebook the preferred social media site of women, but is preferred by all baby boomers across the board.

The survey results also showed that the one thing they most wanted instruction on was an overwhelming ‘How to copy and paste from my phone.’

This post is in response to that request, and prompted me to begin a new series called Facebook for Boomers. This is the first in that series. I will be answering all the requests I received from those surveyed first. If you have a Facebook frustration and don’t see your topic addressed, send your request to me HERE, and I’ll include your topic in the coming weeks.

Now, get out your iPhone or iPad and let’s get busy shall we? You are going to be so proud of yourself!

Copy and Paste Text From Within Facebook

Copy and Paste an Image From Within Facebook

How many of you have seen those posts on Facebook asking you to ‘copy and paste’ a syrupy poem professing your eternal love for someone in your life? The post is usually bedazzled with sparkly things, butterflies and multiple hearts. Annoying, right?

They remind me of those good old-fashioned chain letters when we were kids – remember them? Your instructions were something like: “Send the last person on the list your first born, re-write this letter, add your name to the top, remove the name from the bottom, send this letter to 100 of your friends and in 10 days something amazing will happen to you.”

Yikes. Writer’s cramp was the only amazing thing that happened to me after writing those letters. Good Lord! I haven’t thought about chain letters in ages! Did any of you guys do them?

Sorry ’bout that little detour down memory lane. Let me get back on track…

Point is, a lot of the time when you’re asked to copy and paste something on Facebook, it’s something that most of us would typically just scroll on past. But there are other occasions when copying and pasting can come in really handy and can save you a ton of time.

So let’s get after this and learn how. Ready?

Now see – it’s easy peasy isn’t it?, and there’s a big advantage to learning it. Not only can you copy and paste to and from you and your friends Facebook pages, Facebook messenger and Facebook business pages, but you can also get all fancy by copying from an outside source to Facebook and visa versa.

So let’s see how that works…

Copy and Paste Text From Outside Sources To Facebook

In the following example, I’ve gone into a horoscope app on my phone and copied part of my horoscope to a new post on my Facebook page.