Welcome to the first blog post of Carol’s Corner in our brand new year, 2015. Let’s raise a collective glass to making 2015 the best and most successful year ever. I spent my New Year’s Eve dancing the night away. I’ll put my picture toward’s the end of this post, for those who might not have seen it already. Today’s picture is all about layering our looks. The winter season is well underway now, and dressing for it is always important. I don’t like to wear sweaters every minute, but always have to be prepared for when I am somewhere that just isn’t warm enough . My look for today is kind of fun and looks good either as a total look , or by removing the top layer and revealing a whole new look. And since I had this lightweight gray topper , I decided to go with my gun metal flats and this cool long necklace , silver earrings and bracelet. Love the whole outfit. On a funny note, hubby wanted to frame this picture to show a peek into the powder room and it’s Christmas look , and since he isn’t big into decorations like I am, I found it to be amusing . Guess he’s thinking about my blog readers. He does support me in this endeavor, and knows how important it is to me. So now let’s see what all we can come up with for this edition of Carol’s Corner. The first thing I’m going to do is link you to an interesting read I came across on how to manage three hormones that can affect weight loss. Never know when something like this could be helpful to someone here, and it sure could’t hurt to check it out. So here it is. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/12/30/how-to-manage-3-hormones-that-can-influence-weight-loss/. Let me know what you think about it. Loving that I found how to create links here on my blog. Glad I came across the Blogsy blogging app for I Pad , for use in publishing to WordPress. Still more to learn when time permits. I think I can even post video’s when I have time to figure that out. Think I’m going to use the rest of our time here today on breakfast, the importance of it, and breakfast ideas for you to use. First I am going to link you to some materials on Web Md and the importance of breakfast and weight loss. There are many other useful links right there to explore. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast . The next thing I’m going to use is some material from an article on the seven secrets of the perfect weight loss breakfast. I’ll do a little overview and then link you to it, so you can read more about each one. You’ll also be able to go to other links right from there. The first secret is to keep it balanced. A great breakfast includes a serving of protein, a serving of fruit, and a serving of whole grain carbs. Secret 2. Consider switching from coffee to green tea. Secret 3. Choose homemade granola over store bought. Secret 4. Aim for at least 5 five grams of fiber each morning. Secret 5. Decorate some plain yogurt. (Yogurt lovers will like this one) Secret 6. Skip the latte. And secret 7. Forget breakfast foods. Here’s the link to the start of this article. http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/diet/7-secrets-of-the-perfect-weight-loss-breakfast. Now let’s talk about five healthy breakfast foods for weight loss. Again I’ll give an overview and link you to the site where there is much more to explore. The first healthy breakfast food is one I actually love: raspberries (yummy). A cup of raspberries has a whopping 8 grams of fiber, double that of strawberries, and about the same as a cup of some type of beans. Read the study in the link I will provide at the end of the overview , about fiber. Food 2. Oatmeal. This is one I personally don’t like but many people love it. Too bad I don’t like it. Two benefits are: It is loaded with fiber and helps keep you feeling fuller longer, both a big plus. Food 3. Yogurt, funny another thing I don’t really like, can eat it in small amounts, but don’t love it. You can read why it’s a good breakfast food in the link. Food 4. Peanut Butter. Now this one I love, just can’t overeat it for two different health reasons. In our house we use Smuckers Natural, the kind you have to mix. It does have the least amount of sugar grams, which is a plus for me. I usually have it toasted , on a piece of nine grain bread with my Earth Balance Butter Replacement and then the Peanut Butter. One slice would be an ok breakfast for my blood sugar. Food number 5. Eggs. Eggs provide protein, which keeps you satisfied longer. An interesting study showed that dieters who ate eggs for breakfast, felt fuller longer and lost twice as much weight as those who ate the same amount of calories from a bagel. Here’s the link to the full site. http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/healthy_breakfast_foods_for_weight_loss. I’m going to end today’s segment with a link to another great read on what to eat for breakfast if you want to lose weight . Lots of great information here and in the other links. Hope you find lots of things that will help you personally in your continued journey, a journey not just for today or tomorrow, but one for a lifetime. http://www.caloriesecrets.net/what-to-eat-for-breakfast-if-you-want-to-lose-weight/ As usual I would appreciate your feedback, either positive or negative. I do all of this to benefit you, the best way I know how. So let’s all start out 2015 , using every tool at our disposal to make it a rip roaring success. And don’t forget to get out there and get moving. As Leslie would say: walk, walk, walk, walk. Till next time God Bless. Oh the picture I promised you.