Surviving the Holiday Bulge/Binge

They say that the average American gains anywhere from 7-15 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. Wow! That’s a lot of weight in a short amount of time! I thought I would give you some tips that I have found that might help keep you from eating more than your body needs during this holiday season.

- Only eat what you really like best at each gathering that you attend. Why bother with the rest?
- If someone gives you more food than you want or you get too full, you’re allowed to throw it away. Whether you eat it or throw it away it will still go to waste.
- Be polite, but remember to say “No thanks, I couldn’t eat another bite.” Put that one in your repertoire and practice it before you go anywhere :)
- Don’t buy candy and sweets for the kids. It’s not good for them and it will help keep you from snacking on it when they’re not around. Keep fruits and nuts (including raw almonds) on display and think of alternative treats that can be as much of a tradition as sugar. You can even cut up Isalean bars into bite-sized pieces to put in your candy bowls.
- Drink ½ an IsaLean Shake before leaving for a holiday party so you’re not as hungry when you get there and can truly say “I couldn’t eat another bite!”

Fuel or Food?

I recently came across a book that I didn’t actually read. I just skimmed over the content and sample pages online. Here are some things I found in the book that helped me:

The reason people are overweight is that “you eat more than your body requires for fuel.” We all know that, but do we view the food that we eat as fuel or are we attaching more emotion to our eating than that? We should really view the food we eat as fuel for our bodies. I have found myself walking around the house lately, saying to myself “fuel, think fuel”. It sounds silly, but I think this concept can help us make healthier food choices.

The author goes into many of the emotional reasons that we eat and helps people work through those. She also talks about how much food our body requires. She says to ask it and honor it’s signals. I think many times we have so much junk that we eat or have eaten that we can’t tell whether we are full or not. I know after I did my 9 day body cleanse I could really tell when I was full and felt more in tune with what my body needed.

The book is called “If I’m so Smart, Why Can’t I Lose Weight?” There is a link to the book right under my picture. Let me know if you get it and read it. I’d love to hear any comments you might have.

Total Health and Wellness

If you’re looking for a system that you can use to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the cost of a Starbucks Coffee per day, check this out. It’s all you need to lose weight and feel great. http://greatfit.isagenix.com/us/en/nutrition_maintprog.dhtml . Remember, again, that these are the retail prices. Contact me for how to get the wholesale price.

Better Than A Candy Bar

At our house we LOVE the Isagenix Isalean bars. We fight over them, beg for them and generally desire as much for ourselves as we can. I took them to ball games this summer and had those instead of frequenting the concession stand. I desired it more than anything the concession stand had to offer anyways. Some of my children enjoy them for breakfast but all of us enjoy them as a snack anytime, especially in the car. They can also be used as a meal replacement when you’re too busy to eat a sit-down meal. They have the perfect balance of protein, carbs and fat so I don’t even have to think about what to eat. Here’s a link to some more info about the bars. The price listed is retail. I would definitely recommend using mine or your own membership to get these bars at a discount. http://greatfit.isagenix.com/us/en/cleanse_isalean_bars.dhtml

The 80-20 Rule

Remember the 80-20 rule
- It’s what we do 80% of the time that will lay the foundation for our overall health. There’s room for the occasional treat or nutritional compromise some of the time when we make wise choices the majority of the time.

Fill Your Plate Club

We’ve all heard about the "clean plate club" during the time we were growing up when our parents were trying to get us to eat our dinner. I propose that we have a "Fill Your Plate Club." Here’s how it works. At lunch and dinner you fill 1/2 your plate with fruits and vegetables (potatoes don’t count), then fill in the rest of the plate with a protein and a multi-grain carbohydrate. I think if we all started our meals this way and stuck with it, we wouldn’t have too much trouble losing and maintaining weight. If you can use as many organic fruits and vegetables as possible, then that is even better. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Did you know?

Here's some interesting information I just read:

Did You Know?

*90% of money spent on food in the US is for highly processed food.

*Sugar in soft drinks is the #1 source of calories in the US.

Wow!

Hot off the presses - How to Lose Weight When Nothing Else has Worked or Stayed Off!

Start your health and weight loss journey here by reading my new ebook How to Lose Weight When Nothing Else has Worked or Stayed Off.

I've been working on this baby for a few months and have finally finished it! This is my step by step advice on what you can do to improve your health and lose those pounds that won't leave. You'll find out how to help your body function at it's best so it can do what it was designed to do. This is how I lost my weight and maintained it. It's is a simple plan that anyone can follow and understand. The best part is that I'm there to help you. Does your doctor know what you can do to lose weight or does he just tell you to eat a low calorie diet and exercise? Here's the scoop in simple language. To get your copy just go to http://www.hjresources.com/loseit and get your copy now.

The largest organ in your body - Your Skin

Don’t think your skin absorbs much? Try this experiment.....Take a piece of garlic and cut it in ½. Rub the cut section on the bottom of your foot. I’ll bet in about 15 minutes you will taste garlic in your mouth!

I say all this to encourage you to pay attention to what you’re putting on your skin. If you can’t eat it, you might want to reconsider putting it on your skin. I don’t know if you have ever heard of propylene glycol. It is used to make most cosmetics, lotions, toothpastes, flavorings and more, including “as a base ingredient in aircraft deicing fluid and some automobile antifreezes”. Yes, you read that right. For more info check the encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol. Here it states that it is basically illegal to use this substance for cat food, but we lather it all over our bodies, use it in cooking and in our mouths which is the most readily absorbed spot in our bodies. We have found alternatives to these products at our house, but I don’t want to bore you with the details. If you want more info on what we use, just email me and I’ll be glad to help you.

Healthy Eating

Once people start the Isagenix body cleansing program, they tend to desire foods that are better for them. Sometimes they ask me what they should eat to adopt a more healthy lifestyle. Here are my recommendations:

1. Read Labels -Avoid MSG (monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed soy protein, autolyzed yeast extract - just to name a few of its’ names), partially hydrogenated oils and artificial sweeteners. I would go so far as to say that if you see something with one of these items listed in the ingredient list - don’t eat it! MSG causes your body to crave more food and hold onto fat. Some doctors even call these items "fertilizers for cancer".

2. At lunch and dinner, (since you’re having a shake for breakfast :)) fill your plate ½ full with cooked or raw vegetables (potatoes don’t count here). Then fill in the rest of the plate with a fistful of protein and a multigrain carbohydrate if you like. If you eat just a salad for a meal, then you run the risk of being hungry pretty quickly or, worse yet, setting your metabolism too low so that it starts storing fat again. Eat foods closest to their original form as possible. Instead of apple pie, eat an apple.

3.Keep your high temptation foods out of the house. If you have foods or drinks in the house that you know you shouldn’t be eating - KEEP THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE. If you’re concerned that the other people in your house will be upset if these food items aren’t in the house, chances are it is something they shouldn’t be eating either. You might risk some mutiny for a few days, but they will get used to it if you have enough alternative choices available.

For me, I love brownies and cookies. If they are in the house, I eat them. I KNOW that, in large quantities, they are bad for my body, but if they are there I eat them anyways. Can you believe it? You can have 10 different kinds of chips or nuts in my house and I can walk by them 100 times a day and not be tempted by them. I suppose there are a few of you that can have those high temptation foods in the house and not eat them. Good for you! For the rest of us, don’t have them in the house or office!

One thing I have noticed is that if children eat good foods their behavior is much better. Food has a powerful affect on our moods and general well being. You would feel lousy if you ate cookies and chips all day. Do you think your body would respond better to fried bologna or chicken and vegetables? Your body craves nutrients, not calories.

Remember the 80-20 rule. It’s what we do 80% of the time that will lay the foundation for our overall health. There’s room for the occasional treat or nutritional compromise some of the time when we make wise choices the majority of the time.

Healthy Ideas Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

Did you ever think about why diets are called "diets?"

What are the first 3 letters of the word "diet". D-I-E. I wonder if the founder of that word knew what he was implying? As many of you know, diets are designed to deprive our bodies of calories in hopes that we will lose some weight. We also lose lean muscle tissue which is very hard to get back.

How many calories can your body handle in 6 hours?

I have heard recently that your body can only handle 600 calories in any 6 hour period. Anything more than that is stored. According to the Zone books by Barry Sears your body can only handle the amount of protein that fits in the palm of your hand. Any excess protein at a meal is converted to fat. On the other hand, he stresses the importance of balancing your protein, carbs and fats. He says to divide your plate into 3 equal sections. One section low-fat protein and 2 sections fruits and vegetables with a dash of unsaturated fat like olive oil, slivered almonds, guacamole, or macadamia nuts. That's what makes Isagenix such a great program. It is formulated to completely balance protein, carbs and fats. I don't have to even think about it!

Here is an interesting article - Cleansing is being talked about all over the news:

"Weight Loss Is Almost Guaranteed with Internal Cleansing"

"There’s an important added benefit to internal cleansing that most people experience: weight loss. With a sluggish, toxic digestive system, metabolism slows down, the energy level drops and we’re simply not strong enough to start burning off stored fat through exercise or other means. An internal cleansing program can help restore balance in the body and increase the metabolism, reactivating the body’s fat-burning mechanism. Plus, after a thorough detoxification program, you’ll find yourself much more inclined to make healthier dietary and lifestyle choices. Through a detoxified system, improved digestion, balanced metabolism and a healthier diet you will have no trouble maintaining a healthy weight."

Other Benefits

"High energy and weight loss are just some of the many benefits you can achieve through a comprehensive cleansing program. In her excellent book, The Detox Solution - The Missing Link to Radiant Health, Abundant Energy, Ideal Weight, and Peace of Mind, nutritionist Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald lists the following added benefits of an effective detoxification program:

- The Prevention of Illness

- An Improvement in Physical Appearance

- A Boost in Emotional Well-Being

- A Sharpening of Mental Capabilities

- An Enhancement in Digestion

- The Elimination of Unhealthy Food Addictions & Allergies

- The Attainment of Ideal Weight

- A Minimizing of the Effects of Aging

- Spiritual Renewal (11)"

The secret to great health


"In my opinion, we are not going to change the catastrophic situation where every second person is chronically ill until we place as much emphasis on internal cleansing as we do on external hygiene, such as brushing our teeth or washing our hands. If you are middle-aged, you’ve taken about 15,000 showers in your lifetime, and you’ve brushed your teeth close to 30,000 times. Still, you won’t stop doing that just because you’ve done it so many times. Here’s an interesting question: If you have to keep cleansing your skin and teeth daily, then wouldn't you think it makes equal sense to clean the inside of your body at least periodically?"

"Of course detoxification should not be limited to the colon. It is just as important to detoxify the liver, kidneys, arteries, and in general, every cell in the body. But internal cleansing must start with the colon, because if this region is kept unclean, it will contaminate every other part of the system."

(Edited to add: Isagenix cleanses ALL the organs and cells!)

"The importance of internal cleansing can best be summed up in the words of Dr. Paul Bragg, one of the fathers of natural medicine in the U.S. and the author of dozens of highly successful health books:

The secret to great health can be described in three words: Cleanse Your Body! Engrave these three words permanently in your memory."

Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Hardy is a Naturopathic Doctor and Certified Nutritional Consultant. She is the Director of the Global College of Natural Medicine and a member of the American Naturopathic Medical Association and the American Association of Nutritional Consultants."




Health Journal TV

Here is a short video you can watch that was produced by Health Journal TV. Several doctors including Dr. John Gray (Mars/Venus author) are interviewed. http://tinyurl.com/2lv7zd



Do you like yogurt but feel guilty about all the sugar you're eating along with it?

I could never eat cottage cheese or plain yogurt without adding a bunch of sugar to it. Now there is a powder that contains 30 of the world's best fruits that contains only 30 calories, 1 gram of sugar and 1 gram of fat! I add it to my yogurt and cottage cheese and it tastes great. You can even use it to make popsicles - just combine a teaspoon with 8 oz. purified water and freeze in popsicle trays or add it to your Isagenix Shake (especially vanilla). It has NO artificial sweeteners or chemicals. It is sweetened with stevia which is an herb that does not affect insulin levels. This powdered fruit is called IsaFruits and is a great product to have on hand in your pantry.

One-Size-Fits-All?

Lately we have been modifying our health and weight loss coaching to accommodate people’s needs more fully.

If you want:

Gentle/mild cleansing we suggest 1 shake a day and 1 oz cleanse drink at bedtime. This would be for someone that has some health challenges, or doesn’t need to lose weight, or just wants to cleanse at a slower pace.

Moderate Cleansing - 2 shakes a day and 1 cleanse day a week.

Accelerated/Aggressive Cleansing - 2 shakes a day and 2 cleanse days a week. This is the traditional 9 day program and would be for someone who wants to jump start their health and weight loss or someone that wants to lose a large amount of weight on a more accelerated pace.

I hope you all have a wonderful month! Let me know if you have any questions for me.



Heidi

Nutrition and Wellness Coach

May Healthy Ideas Newsletter

Hello Everyone!

Spring is finally here! I just love seeing all the flowers in bloom and growing. I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. Of course, we need the rain to make the flowers grow. I’m not sure we need hail to make the flowers grow though:))

I have some more goodies for you this month, so here we go....

Blood Sugar Issues - Just for Diabetics??

I received a magazine advertisement from Prevention magazine selling their book The Sugar Solution. The ad magazine had some good information so I thought I would share these with you.

If you take control of your blood sugar, you also take control of your mood, weight, energy level, mental alertness and hunger. Our goal is to keep our blood sugar up but not too high. A key tool used in the process of controlling blood sugar is the hormone insulin. I never knew that insulin was a hormone. Watching blood sugar is not for diabetics anymore. When your insulin spikes it triggers your body to store fat.

Your waistline and not your weight is what gives you a determination of your risk of diabetes. The risk factor starts at a 40" waist for men. They don’t tell what the risk factor is for women (I guess they want you to buy the book!).

If your blood sugar stays too high for too long it can affect your eyes. The excess glucose in your bloodstream damages the tiny capillaries in your eyes and makes them swell and burst causing your vision to be impaired possibly leading to blindness.

Too much sugar in your bloodstream can change the chemistry in your bloodstream making the arteries sticky as flypaper. Then the blood clots traveling through your arteries stick to those walls and before you know it you have a blockage.

Did you know that a bowl of instant rice contains almost as much sugar as a bowl of jelly beans? There are some foods that release sugar into your blood stream more slowly and gradually. They encourage people to eat those. So basically they endorse the Low Glycemic Index as a guide. They suggest to eat at least one low GE food with every meal. Here are some suggestions - Popcorn is better than pretzels, oatmeal cookies are better than vanilla wafers, roasted sweet potatoes are better than mashed potatoes.

One of the most powerful blood sugar stabilizing foods is cinnamon! "According to Dr. Richard Anderson, PhD, a chemist with the US Department of Agriculture, taking just 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon every day may be enough to keep your blood sugar in check."

I’m don’t think that a low GI diet would give you the weight loss you desire without Isagenix, but it can sure give you the motivation to avoid letting your sugar levels get too high for too long.

More Sweet Information -

Here are some interesting websites about aspartame for those of you that are interested - especially if you drink diet sodas or use aspartame, Equal or Nutrasweet.

http://www.sweetpoison.com/

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

Need Some Energy?

Add some protein to your diet (not necessarily meat). I’ve started adding ½ scoop of Isapro (unflavored protein mix from Isagenix) to my shake every morning. I’m amazed at the extra energy I have in the morning and I’m NOT a morning person.

The Case for Water

In his book What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You, Dr. Don Colbert states "Your body can exist for about five weeks without food, but the average person can only live about five days without water. Here are some amazing facts about water:

Your body is about 60% water

Your muscles are about 75% water

Your brain is about 75% water

Your blood is approximately 82% water

Your bones are approximately 25% water.

The average-sized human requires about 3 quarts of water a day. To determine your water needs, take your body weight in pounds and divide it by 2.

Think for a moment about your brain. Now think about a plum. Without water it shrinks and becomes like a prune. In the brain, cells may become dehydrated due to lack of adequate hydration. Without adequate water, the brain may not obtain nourishment, and it may not be able to properly eliminate waste matter. Thus I believe that long-term dehydration may contribute to Alzheimer’s Disease."

Here’s an interesting quote from Donald Trump -

"If you want something done you’ll find a way. If you don’t want something done you’ll find and excuse."

I hope you all have a wonderful month! Let me know if you have any questions for me.

Heidi

Little Known Secret About Why People Aren't Losing Weight

Ever been around someone who did everything right when It came to healthy eating and exercise yet still didn’t lose weight? I was one of those. I ate well. All my friends thought I was a health food nut. I exercised and was very active. I have 4 children that I chased after each day and didn’t sit down much. Yet I couldn’t lose weight, or worse yet, the pouch that I carried around at my waist was still there. Then you have people (like your spouse) telling you that you’re just eating too much. Now THAT’S helpful!

There were lots of other people out there that I saw who ate like birds and exercised religiously, but didn’t lose weight. Or they would lose 30-40 pounds and look worn out, saggy and tired only to gain it back and then some.

Why do people hold on to weight and why do those that lose end up not being able to keep it off? Well, the culprit is fat. We all know that, but do we know the scientific reason why fat stays?

I’ll try to explain it as simply as I can. We all know that toxins are all around us. They show up in our air, water and food. One hundred years ago cancer wasn’t even and issue that doctors dealt with. Pesticides weren’t used on crops and factories weren’t prevalent. Food came from your own land and you didn’t mix chemicals together and call them food like we do now.

When toxins come into our bodies they attach themselves to our organs. Fat collects around the toxins to protect the organs. Fat cells won’t leave the body unless the toxins do because the fat cells are doing their job. That’s why most people carry their weight around their midsection because that’s where the fat cells, organs and toxins are.

So the key, before you start any health or exercise plan is to get the toxins out of your body so that the fat cells will leave too. Then you can really see some results in your eating and exercise plan.

For recommendations on the best way to release these toxins from your body check out the links at the side of this blog.

Some Weight Loss Tips for You!

Weight Loss Tips -

Weigh yourself daily, preferably first thing in the morning. You will weigh the least at this time which will encourage you and you will have the motivation to eat correctly if the weight is higher than you expected. By weighing each day you can keep a better handle on what causes you to gain weight and helps you cut back a little that day if you have gained some.

Make sure you’re drinking at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day of water. If you drink coffee, make sure you drink extra since coffee is a diuretic that will deplete the water in your body. One last thing to mention about water is to drink it 1/2 hour before a meal since water can dilute your meal and flush out the enzymes.

Stalled weight loss? You might want to try eating 4 small meals a day for a week instead of 3 to set your metabolism higher. You can also use 1 scoop IsaFruits, 1 scoop IsaPro, and 1 scoop IsaLean Shake for your daily shake to help your body reset it’s metabolism. (Let me know if you have any other questions about this topic.)

Has anyone read The Weight Loss Cure by Kevin Trudeau?

Someone recently asked me to look over their copy of The Weight Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau. She was a little confused by it because the "cure" he alludes to is not available in the US and needs to be prescribed. I have only had a chance to read a few chapters. She said he basically said that he recommends cleansing our bodies from toxins (which Isagenix would do) and eating healthy. Anyone have any comments to share about their review of the book. I'll let you know when I get through the whole thing. I enjoyed his "Natural Cures" book but, of course, can't do everything that he recommends in there. We try to eat as much organic as possible but that is very limited in this area. Hope you all have a great week!

Heidi

Exercise - Who Wants it?

Of course we know everyone should exercise, but who wants to? I know lots of you probably enjoy exercising, but not me! Whenever I remember to exercise I always think of at least 10 other things I need to do and put off the exercising. Here are some tips I think we can use to help us exercise more often.

1. What kind of exercise do you like to do? Do you like to walk, run, sit, use a machine, swim, workout on the floor, watch a video, etc? Think about when you have exercised in the past and what you stuck with the most. Did you do a video only twice but took walks for a month and then gave it up? Chances are, the type of exercise you enjoy is the type that you will stick with. I like to walk and run. I don't stick with videos. The people on there get on my nerves after about 15 times of watching. I don't mind swimming but when you live 1/2 hour away from a pool it just isn't a reasonable choice. In the summer when our above ground pool is open it's a great choice for me. I get to spend some fun time with my kids while I'm exercising too.

2. Where do you prefer to exercise? In your home, a gym, at a friend's house, etc? Some of us don't like to leave the comforts of our home and others won't exercise unless they leave the house. If you know you won't exercise at home and need to get a membership somewhere, then that will work for you. It's even better if you can agree to meet a friend at the gym or meet at their house. Then you're both accountable to get there and aren't tempted to put off exercising for another day. I'm the home body type. I love to be home and know I would never use a membership to somewhere when I have to leave my house.

3. What time are you most likely to be able to exercise? It's best if you can make exercise a natural part of your day so you can develop a habit of it. If you can fit it into one of the time blocks of your day like before lunch, after work, when you're waiting for someone in your family, while dinner is in the oven, before breakfast, etc. You'll be more likely to stick with it if you know to expect it at a certain time each day.

4. Do you need variety in your exercise? Some people can run 6 miles a day and never tire of doing that each day. Others do a video 2 days a week and then swim the other 3 days of the week. And still others need to do something different each day. I recently went to walk at a local recreation center. They have a nice indoor walking track and I walked it one time and ran most of the way the next time. I thought I ran about a mile and a 1/2 because I thought for sure it was 1/4 mile around the track. Much to my chagrin, I found out later that it was only 1/10 of a mile around the track! Now THAT can get monotonous. So while I enjoy walking or running outside or in my home, walking around a 1/10 mile track over and over again is just too much boredom for me. My mini trampoline was looking really good at this point. At least I could watch TV while I was doing it.

Have you ever tried exercising with a preschooler? (Especially a boy?!) Well, it's a lot of fun. We added on to our house and now we have a good amount of space to run around. So as often as I remember and have the time to exercise I have what I call "running time" with my 5 year old son. I set the kitchen timer for 8-10 minutes and he is my "leader". He guides me all over the house and I try to keep up with him. This gets me going and keeps both of us in shape (like he needs to get in shape!). Then I usually jump on my mini-trampoline after that and finish up my work out.

To start and keep up an exercise program I think you need to answer the above questions for yourself so that you get started and stay consistent. If you don't enjoy it, it doesn't fit in with your day, and is in the wrong place, you won't keep doing it. Consistent exercise is the goal in my book. Find your niche and go out and have fun!

Why do people have so much trouble losing weight and keeping it off????

There's the question of the hour..... If diets worked we wouldn't be switching to another diet every other week. You think of the person that has lost 40-50 pounds. Do they look healthy to you? Usually their eyes look tired and their skin is baggy. And how many times do we see those same people just turn right around and put that weight right back on again? Makes you not want to lose weight to begin with.

Here's my theory and scientific knowledge of the process of how our bodies work. When toxins come into our bodies they attach themselves to our organs. Then the fat cells collect around the toxins to protect the organs. Have you ever heard of someone with a fatty liver? Where do most people carry their weight? They carry it around their mid-section where the organs are. So it makes sense that that is where the toxins and fat cells are. No amount of diet or exercise is going to get rid of those fat cells until the toxins are released. So how do you get those toxins to leave so that the fat cells will go too. I know it sounds strange but when we flood our bodies with nutrients (the proper kind, of course) the body can quit holding on to those toxins and release them along with the fat cells. I don't know exactly how it works - I just know it DOES work. The links over on the right give you my recommendation for the best way to get rid of the toxins in our bodies. The best part about getting rid of toxins is that the side effect is weight and inches loss! Now that's multitasking at it's best.

Welcome to the Weight Loss Coach

My goal is to give you as much information as possible to help you pick and choose what you can use to help achieve your health and weight loss goals. Let me know what you think.