Tuesday, March 30, 2010

FREE - FRUGAL ALERT

Ikea is giving away free breakfast again!  What a nice thing to do for the holiday weekend.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 2-4, 2010, Ikea is giving away one small breakfast with a cup of coffee for free!

It says store participation varies, so call your local store first to make sure.  You can check it out here.

Enjoy!

Monday, March 29, 2010

EXERCISE IS A DIRTY WORD

Hi, I hope everyone has been finding some information they could use.

Today my topic is the "E" word. lol  I know most people don't like to exercise, and every time we hear we must do it to lose weight, keep it off and stay healthy, I think it adds to the irritation.

Walking Is The Best Medicine

I personally think walking is best.  It is something that most people can do if they are mobile.  Someone who has been very sedentary needs to start slowly, and walking is perfect, because it is simple and easy.  Just put on a good pair of walking shoes and start walking, but start slowly.  Many years ago when I first started to walk a few months after I started my diet, I could only walk a few blocks before I would start breathing heavy, and sometimes I would get chest pains if I continued.  So I know from experience, start out just walking a little and walk slowly, and gradually you will developed stamina and your health will improve and you will gradually be able to walk longer, further, and faster.

Again, I want to remind everyone to check with their health professional before starting any exercise,  even simple walking.  But once you have the ok, start slowly, but be consistent, it is very important to do it every day or at the least every other day even if only for a few minutes to start.

Get Moving

I don't recommend any other exercise except walking when first starting out, and walking is even enough if that is all you want to do.  But if you want to add other things as you go along, like yoga (great for balance and flexibility) Tai Chi and Qigong are terrific (I do a little Qigong) weight lifting, is great to build and strengthen muscle and increase metabolism, or choose something else that you like.  Just make sure it is something you enjoy, because then you will stick with it.

I don't recommend running, as it is too strenuous and results in many injuries and unnecessary wear and tear on the body, walking is better.  Always, when exercising make sure you are safe, and listen to your body. I know most people won't do stretching before walking, and if you don't, make sure you start out very slowly to warm up your muscles, and cool down after the walk by walking very slowly to cool off the muscles.  It's better for the heart too, and I've heard that alternating walking at a quicker pace and slow pace actually helps you lose more weight.  Just make sure you start and end with the slow pace.

Many people think they have to join a gym, but I really think it isn't a good idea, unless you are really dedicated, as usually that doesn't seem to last.  Then people get down on themselves and lose confidence and give up.  Sometime they think by not going to the gym they've failed again, and give up completely. And why not do something that doesn't cost you any money?  Just get moving, park far away from the stores, and walk.  I'm always amazed at some people circling for a close parking spot or sitting with the engine running adding more pollution, just to get a parking spot a few yards closer, and they're usually the people who could benefit the most from a walk.  Think how nice and relaxing it will be to park far away from everyone else not having to "find" a parking spot, and then taking a nice walk to the store.  Just be careful and watch out for the other drivers fighting for the close open spot when walking to the store.  It is a little comical, but with all the other distractions, one being the phone, you always need to be extra careful around drivers.

Why not fire your cleaning lady and tackle the cleaning yourself, it's great exercise and it is very frugal.  If you feel you can't do that, have her come less frequently and you do it in between her visits.  The most important thing is to keep moving, and if you are mindful of that you will discover many ways to fit more activity into your schedule.  Like getting up from your desk and stretching, or walking a bit during commercials on TV.  Add steps to your day every day.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.  Just keep moving.

Make It Fun

The best exercise is the one that is fun.  Try to walk in a nice environment of nature, parks are the best.  That's a good stress reducer and you stay further away from the auto pollution as well.  You don't want to be walking on the street during rush hour traffic as that is not healthy.  Why not take up tennis or badminton or try it again after years of not playing.  Table tennis is good too, and all three are great for brain health as well.  Try going bowling instead of out to dinner or the movies.  It a great family activity also, and can be lots of fun.  The point is to do something that gets you moving, and is a lot of fun.  Just start thinking that way, instead of always thinking that food has to be involved in every social activity. Have a good time with it.

Good Health and Wealth,

 Jeanne

Thursday, March 25, 2010

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM FROM FOOD

Hi, today I want to tell you about a simple effective procedure called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

Simple Yet Powerful            

Yesterday I talked about how sometimes emotions influence our eating, and sometimes even control it.  There are many ways to address this, some of which I mentioned, and while they all take work (doesn't anything that is worthwhile) some are quicker then others, and some work better for some people then others.  But why limit yourself, why not take advantage of everything?

Which brings us to EFT.  Some people are not open to it at all, and that is a shame.  It has proven to work, but many folks, who don't have a complete understanding of something will close their minds to something new.  I challenge you to keep your mind open and do the research and try it out for yourself before you close your mind and say, "that simply cannot work."

A number of people think that something so simple cannot work.  But in actuality, history has shown us that the best remedies and things in life are the simplest. That is the way that we are made, for instance if we have an intestinal infection, the best treatment is to take probiotics, since an infection is often cause by an overabundance of bad bacteria, the best thing is to repopulate with good (pro) bacteria (biotics) because you need a balance to maintain good health.  The good bacteria keep the bad bacteria in balance.  These "fixes" also stay with us for the long run since they work well.

The History of EFT

EFT is like that.  It is based on energy meridians.  Similiar to acupuncture, which is finally gaining acceptance in the west, it uses tapping on meridian points as opposed to needles.  Acupressure is another similar energy meridian based treatment.

We can all thank Gary Craig for EFT, he adapted the procedure from Dr. Roger Callahan's Thought Field Therapy (TFT).  Dr. Callahan, a psychologist, was treating a woman for a severe water phobia, and she wasn't getting better.  He had been studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, and when the woman came in to see him and had a stomach ache he decided to tap on her stomach meridian point to see if he could cure her stomach ache.

After he did that, she exclaimed "It's gone," and ran outside to his pool.  He at first thought she was talking about her stomach ache, but she meant her phobia of water. Her water phobia was indeed gone, and it never returned.

Dr. Callahan's TFT continued to work well, and he used it for many emotional problems. It's difficulty was it took a lot of training and only professionals could administer it, because first the offending meridian had to be discovered by diagnosing the nature of the emotional problem, and then tapping was done in a specific sequence, and each one was different for each problem.

This is where Gary Craig came in. He figured that if he just tapped on all the meridian points he would hit  the right one and anyone and everyone could do it, since you didn't have to find out which was the right point.  This was a very important step.

It shows the importance of continued improvement of all things, and how they can be just as important as the original discovery.  It reminds me of the first computers which were actually developed in the 1940s, but they were the size of a large room.  When integrated circuits were developed it led to a much smaller size of a computer which we know today as the PC or personal computer.  We know that that developmental improvement led to an enormous change in many aspects of our daily life.

Personal Experience

I can attest to how quickly and efficiently EFT works for phobias.  Before I ever took any class for EFT, and before I had any experience at all with it.  I used it on myself, and in less then 1/2 hour I cured myself of a phobia I had my whole life.  The strange thing was like Dr. Callahan's client, I also knew immediately that I was cured.

Since that time, I've been a student and practitioner of EFT.  I've used it on many things for myself, and on others.  I never get over the look on people's faces when I've taken them through an EFT sequence and they feel the difference, it is a look of combined surprise, disbelief and amazement.  It is great.

Phobias can usually be resolved with one session, and I discovered that is because it is usually a single level issue.  Other problems can take a number of sessions, depending on how deep the issue is.  Often there are many levels to a problem, and to resolve the issue completely you have to address each issue.

Try It

It was discovered that EFT works on many other things, not just emotional problems, and it is suggested that you try it on everything.  In fact a movie was made about it called "Try It On Everything" and is worth getting; it's a great movie to watch.  But you don't have to buy the movie or the book as you can get the basic procedure for free.

We have Gary Craig to thank for giving out the information for free, and you can go his website www.emofree.com and download the manual for free, totally free. There is also a lot of other information on the site that will help you.

Additionally, you can go to www.youtube.com and many generous people have downloaded vids that will lead you through the procedure.  Some are trying to sell their products, but you never have to buy, just go and watch and listen, and learn as much as you can about EFT, you'll find many uses for it. As a matter of fact, that is how I got rid of my phobia the first time I used EFT.  I will upload a video on youtube for everyone leading you through a losing weight, keeping it off and getting healthy sequence as soon as I can get my camera to cooperate, and learn how to upload a video to youtube.  I not very computer literate so I wanted to get this out there for you to get started, and not make you wait for my video as there are many videos that can help you just as much.

I'll be speaking about EFT again, and if anyone has any questions let me know.  It is harder to do it yourself, but it is certainly very possible.  Many people have better results with an EFT practitioner, and it is easier in many ways that way, but please don't think you need someone to do this.  You can do it alone, and it can still work, just stick with it and you too will be surprised and amazed at how well it works.  If anyone does want assistance and lives in the South Jersey area near Philadelphia, I'm available to assist you personally for a nominal fee, just contact me.

Best of luck, and let me know how you are progressing.

Good Health and Wealth,

Jeanne

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

EMOTIONS ARE GLUTTONOUS

Hi, today I want to talk about the root of almost all weight problems. This may be the most important page I have on my blog regarding weight loss.

IF YOU'RE NOT FEEDING A TRUE PHYSICAL HUNGER, WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING? You've all witnessed people, in the media and in your personal life, who've lost a lot of weight only to gain it back again. This is because they never got to the bottom of their harmful eating practices, and revert back to their old habits.  They need to uncover what emotions are fueling their eating.

When I started this blog, I told you that you can be at your ideal weight without ever being hungry again, and that is true.  But in reality, especially for people with weight issues, physical hunger doesn't usually drive their eating.  Emotional issues of all kinds do. If at any time you are eating when you're not really physically hungry it is usually emotional eating.

The Roles That Food Plays 

Now occasionally we all do that and it isn't terribly harmful if it is done on a few rare instances.  Our bodies are amazing and they can compensate for occasional lapses.  Almost everyone has been to a party where their favorite food is on display and everyone else is eating it. We eat it not because we are hungry, but just because it is there, we like the taste, and want to be a part of the group.  But for most people with a weight issue, eating when not really hungry is a substitute for something else they really want.

We even label some foods as comfort foods.  For some people food has become their companion, comforter, friend, lover, entertainer, or therapist.  People often say, "I eat when I'm upset",  "when I'm lonely", "when I'm sad", "when I'm angry", or "when I'm bored". Movies and television even make references that when your boyfriend breaks up with you, just get yourself a pint of ice cream and a spoon, and you'll feel better. It has become so ingrained in our society, that it has now become a learned response.

It makes sense; let me give you another example.  Say your favorite aunt, when you were  growing up, would make you a chocolate cake every time you came to visit, and she would let you eat as much as you wanted of it, and maybe even encouraged a second or third piece.  She just wanted to make you happy, which she did, and no harm was intended.  Maybe you would tell her your hopes and dreams, and troubles and she would show you love and support and you would feel loved, validated and comforted.  Just like Pavlov's dogs, in the future when you had a problem and your aunt wasn't around,  you may have turned to chocolate cake for comfort and condolence because your mind has linked the two together. Advertisers know about this connection and use it all the time in their ads.

Let me give you another less happy example.  Imagine a young girl who is molested or sexually violated in some way.  It would of course be such a terrible experience she would want to do anything she could to prevent this from happening again.  She may feel powerless in many ways, but one thing she would have power over is her eating.  And she would begin to eat and eat to bloat her body to where she feels she might be less desirable and perhaps lower her chances of this ever happening to her again.  This usually isn't done consciously, but this is all on an unconscious level.  As a matter of fact, a higher percentage of overweight woman have a history of sexual abuse.

I've just given you a couple of examples that I made up to show you how these connections can occur,  but these are only a few of the ways it can happen.  If you are struggling with this problem you know that when a stressor occurs you often turn to a particular kind of food.  Your choice could be sweets like desserts, or maybe salty like chips, perhaps fatty and sweet like ice cream, or perhaps it is all food. And when you indulge it becomes difficult to stop at a single serving.  Add to the fact that the food sold nowadays is loaded with chemicals and substances to encourage appetite and urges for that food, and you can see why we have this problem today.


Help Is On The Way

Don't despair though, because there are ways to deal with this, and once you have identified what emotions you are feeding there are ways to correct it.  Unfortunately, this is where there is the most resistance. Many people are in denial and will often state they just love food, but it usually isn't a love of food.  Sometimes they don't have enough self love and have been discouraged or hurt in life.  Often during these emotional eating times they don't even taste the food and don't realize how they could have eaten so much, sometimes it is referred to as mindless eating.

Trust me, when you really start eating a clean and healthy diet and shed all the emotional baggage (no pun intended) that is when you will really begin to taste and enjoy food as never before. In my opinion, what you need to do is examine why you are creating this emotional eating. Try to figure it out. That really is half the battle, you've often heard it said admitting something is half the battle, and that is true.  Therapy can help, I don't believe in taking medication, but talk therapy can be very helpful.  Unfortunately that takes a lot of time, but it is a good way to discover things about yourself. If therapy isn't for you, you can try and figure it out by being honest with yourself. If you've looked inside and can't seem to grasp why it is you don't have control, there are techniques that can help you bring them to light.  These same techniques can help you remove the triggers and responses, too, once you uncover them.

In tomorrow's blog I'll talk about a very important yet simple technique you will be able to use on yourself, and it is totally free and you don't have to sign up for anything.  You will still have to change your ways and eat a healthy nourishing diet, but once you have cleaned up your diet you will come to love your food as well as your new lifestyle.

Good Health and Wealth,

Jeanne

Monday, March 22, 2010

FREE - FRUGAL ALERT

Hi,  I know ice cream isn't the healthiest thing to eat, but for those who indulge in an occasional treat Wednesday is Free Cone Day at all participating Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops in US.


Date:       Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Time:       12:00pm - 8:00pm

FREE!

FAT IS WHERE IT'S AT

Hi, today I want to talk about fats. Fats are a very important part of a healthy clean diet, but of utmost importance is the kind of fats you ingest.


EAT FATS IN A HEALTHY DIET, BUT EAT THE RIGHT FATS. Unfortunately, in this country and elsewhere, during the last few decades misinformation has been disseminated in the media.  Through no fault of our own we have been taught the opposite of what is correct.

Healthy Fats

The only fat you should be cooking with is organic cold pressed coconut oil There are many reasons for this, but the main one is when heated it will basically remain stable and not oxidize (become rancid) and cause free radical damage. It is composed primarily of medium chain saturated fatty acids. If you don't want to use the coconut oil, organic butter would be the next choice for cooking. Cold pressed olive oil is fine, but not for cooking and flax oil is fine if you don't have any thyroid issues, and you are assured it is cold pressed and not rancid and never use it for cooking.

One of the best ways to obtain healthy fats is from organic raw nuts and seeds, you don't want to eat the roasted or salted ones.  The problem with roasting is it can render the fats contained in the nuts and seeds rancid, which cause all kinds of diseases. Salted you want to avoid, because healthy salt isn't used.

We have been taught that saturated fat is bad for us, but it isn't.  When people stopped eating saturated fats, and started eating polyunsaturated fats, that is when many of our health problems started. Saturated fats are very stable, they normally don't go rancid even when heated.  A number of excellent books have been written on the truth about fats, I recommend checking out these two expert authors, Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

When eating dairy, always go for the full fat versions, but make sure that it is organic pasture fed.  This fat is beneficial as long as it isn't homogenized, it also contains Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) naturally with helps to control weight, and has anti-cancer properties. Stay away from all low fat, reduced fat and non fat items they are very unhealthy and actually cause weight gain.

Monounsaturated fats don't go rancid easily so they can be gently heated, but it is best to eat them unheated.  These include olive oil, peanut oil and avocados. Olive oil and avocados are great, but I don't recommend peanut oil as most of it is refined (processed).  Best would be cold pressed organic virgin olive oil.

Unhealthy Fats

Polyunsaturated fats go rancid easily so always avoid heating or cooking with them, I recommend not using them at all.  They are highly refined, dangerous and usually rancid. Eating them has caused a lot of health problems, and because they are used prolifically, they have added to the imbalance of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids.

The ratio in this country is quoted as being 22:1 in favor of Omega 6, when it should be between 6:1 to 2:1 in favor of Omega 6.  I favor the 2:1 to 1:1 ratio.  The imbalance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is partially blamed for the numerous health problems we have presently.

If, though, you still want to eat the polyunsaturated oils for their Omega 3s please choose organic flax or hemp oil.  It is always better to eat the whole food though so why not eat the flax and hemp seeds, where the oils are more protected from rancidity, and walnuts and pumpkins seeds are a great way to get the Omega 3s, plus the eating and chewing will satisfy you more.  A handful of nuts or seeds are a great addition to a healthy diet and weight control. You should, though, always avoid corn, soybean, vegetable and especially canola  oils.

One very important fact that is hardly ever addressed is that you can also have too much Omega 3 fatty acid.  Remember the correct balance is approximately 2:1 in favor of Omega 6, but with the popular push for people to take Omega 3, I predict we will now start seeing problems with too much Omega 3.  I speak from experience, as I used to take a lot of flax seed oil without using much of any other oils.  Luckily, I recognized the problem after some very disturbing blood test results.  So remember a balance in this and all things is of the utmost importance.

Trans fats or partially hydrogenated fats are the worse.  Avoid them like the plague. They are also responsible for many of the present day health problems. This is another good reason to avoid processed food, because they are very often used in many processed foods because they have a long shelf life.

Healthy Fats Are Not The Cause Of Obesity

I know this is contrary to what most people think, but the truth is eating healthy fats doesn't make you  fat.  Sugar causes obesity.  It is the high spikes in glucose that carbs (sugars) especially the bad carbs that cause weight gain. They also cause high cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels.  Healthy fats and cholesterol don't cause it, in fact eating a little healthy fat with a healthy carb (fruit) helps to reduce the level and speed of glucose fluctuations. And eating a little healthy fat with all healthy carbs (vegetables, fruits, whole grains) helps the body to access their nutrients.

Remember healthy fats are an important part of a healthy diet.  Just make sure you are eating the right fats and enjoy them, as they can help with weight loss. Not only can some fat help reduce cortisol levels which leads to weight gain and retention, but fat is more satisfying and takes longer to digest. This leads to a better level of satiety and more control of your appetite.  Enjoy.

Good Health and Wealth,

Jeanne

Saturday, March 20, 2010

WATER - THE PERFECT BEVERAGE

Hi, it's another beautiful day here in Jersey, I hope everyone is having a beautiful day too.

Today I want to talk about water, and offer another important aspect of our goal to a  healthy clean diet:


DRINK ONLY PURE FILTERED WATER, NO OTHER BEVERAGE. Water is really the best and only thing our bodies need. Why waste calories with any other beverage?  Eat your food, but drink only water. It is filling also, many times thirst is misinterpreted as hunger, so when you feel hungry drink a glass of water first and wait a few minutes to see if your perceived "hunger" has vanished.  Oftentimes the hunger we feel is a hunger for water.  Also, try to wait at least a half hour before and after eating
when drinking anything even water.  It is better for digestion.

Coffee, Tea or Milk? 

When I say drink only water, many say I can't possibly go without my coffee. So if you are one of those who can't possibly go without coffee, have only black coffee, certainly no sugar.  And if you are going to drink coffee make sure it is organic, as most conventional coffees contain an inordinate amount of pesticides and chemicals.  Pesticides and chemicals also make you fat.

Another important fact to take into account is that coffee, since it is roasted, contains a lot of acrylamides.  If you aren't familiar with acrylamides they are substances that are formed in some foods when they are grilled, roasted, baked or fried.  French fries and potato chips have been identified as having some of the highest levels, but coffee, depending on the roast, is very high as well.

Acrylamides are carcinogenic, and that isn't a theory, it is a fact.  I believe it was in 2002 that Swedish scientists discover this alarming fact. Mostly carbohydrate containing foods that are exposed to high temperatures form this carcinogen.  Yes, that includes cookies, and bread too, and almost any carb that is cooked that way.  It does not form when foods are boiled or steamed though, and that is one of the reasons I only eat boiled and steamed foods. I'll have more about acrylamides in a future post.

Acrylamides have also been detected in tea, but to a lesser extent then coffee. Tea, as everyone knows, also has many health promoting benefits as long as you drink it plain.  The health benefits vary with each variety, but choose the one you like.  Occasionally I do have a cup of green tea or even a herb tea that I like, on rare occasions.  If you feel you want to drink tea then have it also without anything added, and organic.

Outside of those two exceptions, don't drink anything else, ever, except water.  Many people believe that 100% fruit juice is a healthy beverage, but it is not, for many reasons. I mentioned in yesterday's blog,  how fruit juice has a high glycemic load and causes surges in blood sugar and increases in  insulin levels.  It is loaded with sugar, some estimates as high as 8 teaspoons in one cup.  For children who drink fruit juice there is a high correlation with being overweight.  Again, eat your fruit, do not drink the juice from it.

Additionally, commercial fruit juices are usually loaded with mold, yes mold.  Many of these juices are made with damaged fruits.  Think about it for a minute, and you will understand since one would expect the worst fruits to be used for juice.  If they perfect fruits they would be sold as the whole fruit. It makes sense to realize for costs purposes that the worst damaged fruits are made into juice.

Let's not even think about the chemicals and pesticides that are in these juices either, especially if they aren't organic.  Bottom line, avoid all juices, but if all my advice falls on deaf ears, at least only drink the juice that you squeeze from organic fruit and drink it immediately without storing so that mold can't form in it.

Milk is another no-no.  Pasteurized, homogenized milk is not a healthy drink, and I'll blog on that in the future.  Organic non-homogenized plain whole milk yogurt, with live cultures, would be a great food to eat though.

Soda doesn't even deserve a mention. If you doubt how awful it is for your health please do the research, and remember that if there is anything worst then sugar laden soda it is sugar free soda, just avoid it all, always.

Filtering Is Critical

It is important to drink enough water since so many of our bodily processes depend on water.  Just make sure it is pure filtered water.  The chlorine in water must be remove and if you have fluoride added to your water make sure to get a filter to remove that also.  The Berkey Water Filter is a really good one. As an added bonus with the Berkey Water Filter, if you are ever in a water alert because of the weather, or electrical outage or some other reason and you can't drink the water the Berkey actually cleans non potable water into clean water for human consumption. You don't have to keep buying replacement filters either as the filter are cleanable. This is the water filter used by relief organizations like the Red Cross, UNICEF, World Health Organization and Peace Corp.  It isn't that expensive so it is great to have for everyday, and perfect for a true emergency.


Chlorine is really very damaging to our bodies, and so is added fluoride.  Fluoride is especially harmful to your thyroid gland.  I have issues with my thyroid as well, so I make sure when I'm visiting someone that I know if fluoride is added to their water to avoid it. There are many informative books written about the dangers of fluoride and why it was added to our drinking water. When I hear people say fluoride being added to our drinking water can't be harmful, because "they" wouldn't do that if it was harmful, it reminds me of the lead that was added to our paint, and the mercury that was added to our silver fillings. Nuff said?

Gratitude 

Water really is a gift from God, and has many health providing benefits.  I believe we need to develop a reverence for water.  We are very lucky in this country to be blessed with what seems to be an endless supply of it, but many people on earth are not as fortunate.  Please remember that when you turn down that glass of water for some other beverage. To me it truly represents the best drink there is.  I am very grateful for a beautiful glass of pure filtered crystal clean water, more grateful than anything I could ever imagine to drink.

I hope you too will look at your next glass of water in a different way. We need to get away from the mind set that we are depriving our children when we give them water to drink as opposed to anything else we could give them. On the contrary, it is the best, healthiest, most life giving beverage we can give them, and we need to pass on this message to our children.

Good health and wealth,

Jeanne

Friday, March 19, 2010

CARBS ARE US

 Hi, I hope everyone is feeling great today, and I hope everyone had as beautiful day as it was here today (70 and sunshine).

I have so many things I want to tell you that my dilemma is where to start. I guess I'll continue with yesterday's post about losing weight and keeping it off and getting healthy. I'll probably go off on some tangents from time to time, but just bear with me as it will all have meaning in the end. lol

I consider a person's diet about 80% responsible for them being sick or healthy. Yes, it is that important. Other things matter too, of course, but if you think about it for a moment food is what we are actually putting into our bodies to keep them alive. Without food and water we cannot survive, and the past has shown us all what happens when we don't eat what our bodies need. They either waste away and get sick and die without food, or they get fat, bloated and sick and die with the wrong food. Diabetes is prominent in the news nowadays, because diabetes is rampant including affecting our children as never before in the entire history of man.

This is very telling, and when we look back over the kind of foods during the last couple of generations that we have been eating it is very clear as to why and how this is happening.

Before I go any further, I must state that I'm not a medical person. I used to be a nurse, but after I got sick and couldn't work any longer I let my license lapse so I am no longer a nurse, and could not give medical advice even if I was. So I must state that any diet changes you decide to take you need to discuss them with your health professional, and that the changes I will be speaking of at any point in my blog are my opinion based on my personal experience, observations, education and continuous study on a daily basis.

Anyone can lose any amount of weight and keep it off, and that is the truth. But there are a few things that one must do for that to happen, and I do mean a few. The trick is how to do those few things and maintain them for the rest of your life. You can count the important ones on one hand and all of them on both hands.

One thing I can promise you is that you never have to be hungry again, you can't continue to eat junk and be healthy of course that's why it is call junk, but you never have to be hungry again.


Carbs Are Good

EAT ONLY COMPLETE COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES, NOT REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. Refined carbs are terrible for you because they actually make you hungry. Refined carbs include all the "whites". White rice, white flour and white sugar, and any refined carbs, and any of the foods made with any of these. One of the reason that they are so detrimental is because they raise glucose levels quickly which wrecks havoc with your blood glucose levels, and taxes your pancreas. Which in turn makes you very hungry.

Did you ever notice how you can't stop eating the white bread the restaurants puts on the table, or how you can't stop eating the pasta dishes, and then you are hungry again shortly afterwards? A lot of it has to due with the glycemic index or glycemic load of foods. Add to that the fact that most of the fiber has been remove, and fiber helps control glucose levels, and you can see why there are problems. Why would you want to eat only a part of a food especially with the beneficial part gone? Make sure all the foods you eat are "Whole Foods".

You don't have to give up those good tasting foods, but instead eat the whole grains, there are many delicious whole wheat breads, and while you are at it try to eat ones that are made from sprouted whole wheat berries. I no longer eat bread, but when I did I liked one that was organic and made with that. It honestly was the best tasting bread (outside of homemade) I ever tasted. If anyone wants to know the brand I liked just let me know, as you can buy it now in most supermarkets.

You can get delicious whole wheat pasta as well. The Whole Foods and Trader Joe's brand of organic whole wheat pasta is great and I defy anyone to tell the difference if covered with sauce and if you don't tell them. Go ahead and try it on your family and see. Just make sure you get the ones made with only organic whole wheat flour and water and nothing else. A couple of brands that have added extra things to them do taste terrible and kind of ruined it for the good tasting ones, but please trust me and try either of the ones I mentioned in one of your favorite recipes.

There are many other delicious foods to eat in place of the "whites".   Brown rice is one (although I wouldn't go overboard with this as it has a higher glycemic level). Wild rice is great and so is quinoa (pronounced keen wa) and amaranth as well. These are eaten as grains, but they are really seeds, and loaded with protein. Quinoa and amaranth are said to be a complete protein, and best of all they taste delicious, they are actually my favorites, I prefer the organic Arrowhead Mills brand.

A Great Recipe

A really good way to prepare it is to boil the pasta el dente (don't overcook it), and boil or steam a lot of broccoli, then cut the broccoli up a little, meanwhile saute lots of chopped garlic until tender in a healthy oil (olive oil or better yet unrefined coconut oil) lower the heat under the garlic and add the cooked pasta and cooked broccoli and a little water to heat all the ingredients together, and stir in some parmesean cheese and/or serve it on top. Try to use organic cheese and use lots of broccoli as compared to pasta and adjust amounts of the oil and garlic to your taste. Kids love it and it is healthy simple, inexpensive and most of all delicious. Let me know if you try it.

Sugar Is The Enemy

Finally we come to white sugar which goes above and beyond in its addictive qualities. I no longer eat sugar, but I know all about its addictive qualities from personal experience. The best place to get your sugar is from fruit. I know that to people who have been eating junk food, fruit often times doesn't even taste sweet to their palates. That's how it was for me, but now fruit tastes very sweet to me, and many of them are my favorite foods of all. All the chemicals in processed foods ruin your taste buds, but the good news is they come back again after you are eating a clean diet.

If you need to use sugar to bake with try to use the lesser processed ones, perhaps the evaporated whole cane juice granules, molasses, or maple syrup and try to make sure they are the organic varieties. But it really is best to try to avoid sugar at least for a while since most are processed to some extent at least.

At this point everyone has probably heard about HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and how especially detrimental it is, so of course avoid this, but unless you give up most processed foods and read their labels it is impossible to have a healthy clean diet.

Sugar comes in many forms, but the only healthy form is in the whole food, which is the fruit. Some fruit is high in sugar so one needs to be careful with fruit as well if you have diabetes, but eating fruit in the whole food form helps to keep the glycemic load down, since fruit contains fiber and other nutrients. Eating it with a little healthy fat or cinnamon helps to keep the glycemic load down even more. Also, never drink fruit juice, contrary to what most people think it is not healthy for you for many reasons, again eat the whole food. For example, orange juice has a higher glycemic load then a whole orange. Plus I consider it wasted calories, eat the fruit which will fill you up much more.

Processed Means Poison

You need to know that a lot of the processed foods contain chemicals to appeal to your taste buds. Let me repeat that, THE PROCESSED FOODS YOU ARE EATING CONTAIN CHEMICALS. I realized that some things we hear over and over again lose their impact, so that is why I want you to think about that statement. It is the truth. Now let me ask you, "Why would anyone agree to eat, ingest, swallow, partake of, put in their mouth, take into their precious body any kind of chemical at all"?

Please everyone, for your own health and the comfort of those that love you stop the processed foods. There are many simple recipes like the one I mentioned above that don't take much more time then the junk foods so many buy and pop into the microwave. Maybe, some of you will be kind enough to post some truly healthy, simple, quick recipes. One of the most loving things you can do for someone (including for yourself) is to cook them a healthy meal that is filled with love.

Tomorrow I'll cover another important aspect of a healthy clean eating lifestyle.

In closing, I would like to say, please don't take my word (or anyone else's) for anything I tell you. Check out what I'm telling you, google it, research it yourself, hopefully I'm giving you the leads to do that. And most important "listen to your body". One of the reason I believe in muscle testing is because our bodies have this amazing ability to know what is good for them. Your body will tell you if you will look, listen and learn. Our minds are amazing too, trust your intuition. Some of us have honed our intuitive skills to a high level, but I believe we all have it. It is that little voice inside us that speaks to us when we take the time to listen. Take care all.

Good health and wealth,

Jeanne

Thursday, March 18, 2010

GETTING STARTED

Hi. That's my usual greeting so that's how I'm starting this blog.

About 8 years ago I had another start, it started this journey I'm on to improve my health. I had been getting sicker and sicker for many years, and I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. It turned out that I had fibromyalgia among other things. I was also overweight and not taking care of myself at all.

The first thing I decided to do was to lose all my extra weight. I didn't know then what I know now so I just did the typical dieting, with cutting down portion sizes, counting calories, and limiting deserts to organic vanilla yogurt. It took me about 1 1/2 years, but I lost over 100 lbs. Unfortunately, I didn't have the knowledge I have now so I did it with sheer will power, and I can remember many days with hunger pains and going to bed hungry.

Since I was on a journey I started educating myself and learned much during that year and a half, and with my knowledge and perseverance I have kept the weight off all these years. That's not all though, I have learned and incorporated many things into my daily life that has changed my life and has me on this road to health. I'm not totally there yet, but I am much much better then when I first started. That brings me back to the title of my first post, "Getting Started". Getting started is the hardest thing of all, trust me. If you want to do something just take the first step, even if you think you won't continue, just take the first step. It only has to be one small step and it doesn't have to be perfect or even correct. Just take it.

I'm taking my own advice and starting this blog. I'm very computer illiterate, and not able to set up a website, so I'm doing a blog. You see, I used to be a teacher, before I got sick, and a nurse, so I really want to pass on what I've learned. It's the teacher in me, but I'm still a student too, as on a daily basis I research and test out many things. I'm my own guinea pig, as many things have worked beautifully, but a few have failed. As a nurse, I worked in the Alternative Medicine field for over seven years, but most of what I've learned I acquired after I left nursing and was sick myself.

Lastly, I'll be blogging on how I managed all these years to survive on a meager income since I can't work any more, I have become a minor expert on frugality, lol.

I hope many of you will return frequently to check out my posts, and let me know what you think. My goal, my wish, is for us all to become healthy, wealthy and wise.

Good health and wealth,

Jeanne