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A Diet For the Mind

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Your Ticket to Healthy Living

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One key to healthy living:

 

I cannot extol the virtues of turmeric enough! The healing powers of this powerful herb have been proven by countless research. Of the 6000+ studies referencing curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric. What is most interesting finding is that when turmeric is compared to conventional medicine its benefits equal that of many pharmaceutical medications.

 

In fact, a number of studies have even reported that using turmeric can be more advantageous than certain prescription drugs. I am happy to say I use not prescription drugs. We need to take responsibility for our health.

 

I personally use it in a drink every day that includes:

½ teaspoon of turmeric, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ½ lemon and ½ cup of water. The only problem with turmeric is finding a version that is absorbed by the body.
Turmeric has been proven to reduce or eliminate pain better than leading prescription medications. The reason is because it doesn’t just fight pain and inflammation, it does so much more. That’s why it is critical to healthy living.

 

Most researchers agree that the turmeric’s profound healing abilities can
be traced to its powerful anti-inflammatory action.

 

Full-spectrum turmeric (as opposed to an isolated curcumin extract) is especially effective because it operates by both mechanisms of anti-inflammatory action. What is unique about turmeric is that it combats inflammation through both of these mechanisms…. simultaneously! Its multi-pronged approach allows it to work wonders for aches, pains, and arthritis while boosting your immune system.

 

And because nearly all diseases and ailments can be traced back to inflammation and oxidative stress…turmeric becomes your best defense and protector.

But what I found was that not all forms of turmeric are created equal…

(It’s only absorbed if you DO this…)

Most of the turmeric supplements you see in stores come in the form of encapsulated powders. The truth is with turmeric powder you may be
getting very little actual benefit.

Because turmeric is hard to absorb, it must be formulated in a certain way allowing the body to absorb and utilize its entire spectrum of nutrients.

Otherwise it is not as effective… So here is My choice for healthy living…

 

Pura THRIVE Organic Turmeric Extract is an outstanding full-spectrum extract that’s formulated to be absorbed by the body and the liver.

 

This formulation takes all the amazing benefits that raw turmeric has to offer and presents it in a format that your body LOVES to consume and absorb.

 

You should really give this truly revolutionary product a try… you won’t believe how quickly you feel its effects. Once you do, you’ll wish you had heard about this sooner.

 

 

 

Weight loss tip: Why I am not losing weight

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Weight loss tip: The hidden cause of unexplained weight gain may be poor liver function
Here is an important weight loss tip that I discovered. I have been working for over 15 years coaching people to lose weight and keep it off. I follow what I teach and never gain weight. Then suddenly a few extra pounds started to come on that I could not lose. That is when I discovered this.

 

There is a hidden often unrecognized reason people do not lose weight. It has to do with an important aspect of weight loss which is the liver and how well it is functioning. There are a lot of reasons why your liver may be sluggish and it is the body’s primary agent for metabolizing fat and the primary way the blood gets detoxified in the body. If the liver is not functioning well, which means the liver gets fatty, we can begin to pack on the pounds and have difficulty losing weight even if we are trying to.

 

There are many reasons why the liver may not be optimally functioning that include:

  1. High fat diet primarily animal fat
  2. Use of artificial sweeteners
  3. Alcohol consumption that builds up over time
  4. Use of prescription and over the counter medications

With this weight loss tip, you have nothing to lose except weight. By doing some easy things that can help rebuild and detoxify the liver and its important function in the body.

 

Here is what I tried and recommend:

  1. A simple liver cleanse: ½ teaspoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ½ lemon and ½ cup water. This is excellent twice daily.
  2. Juice down: beets, carrots, lemon, ginger cucumber and wheat grass or spirulina.
  3. Take a supplement with milk thistle.

If you are working diligently at exercising and eating right but still struggle to lose weight have your liver function checked to shed light on this little-known weight loss tip that can really make a difference or try some of the remedies I mention. According to homeopathic medicine, poor liver function can also be a root cause of insomnia, waking up at 3am.

It is easier to follow healthy habits when your body is in good shape.

Breaking the sugar habit

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Breaking the sugar habit has everything to do with getting in touch with your feelings. I can’t emphasize enough how many people tell me that their real problem with food is about feelings and using food to fill a need it cannot fill. A big one is comfort. The usual food of choice for this need is sugar and starchy food which is also of course highly addictive. The two things go together. That is why the real goal is to learn how to unblock your feelings, identity your needs and find a way to get them met that does not include any addictive substances such as sugar.

 

Eating sweets can be a reward after a long day, a way to unwind, a source of what feels like a quick fix in a difficult world. What I suggest is that you start breaking the pattern which some equate with an addiction by identifying the pattern.

 

Once you do this you can be better prepared to deal with it when it comes up. When you get a thought to eat, changing or breaking the pattern starts with asking yourself if you are really hungry. This gives you a clue as to whether you are using food for its true purpose as fuel or using it to feed a feeling. There is a psychology to losing weight  that starts with understanding our relationship to food and eating.

 

Then try to unpack your feelings. Why do I feel this way? What is my feeling trying to tell me? What do I really need that I am mistaking for food and eating? If it’s a reward you need, something that feels good, you can identify other ways to fill that need.

Some rewards that work for me are: taking a walk, a delicious dinner made from healthy foods that I love and look forward to; going out to meet a friend after a long day; or buying myself a really great book to enjoy reading. Find ways to take feed your self-care in place of harmful foods that contain sugar and starch.

 

Research is showing that when tasting sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic. When we eat sugar it causes dopamine—the so-called reward chemical to spike and reinforces the desire to have more while sugar also fuels serotonin which is calming.

 

Most importantly if you take anything away from this, research shows sugar is toxic to your health and well-being. .

Studies are also showing that it is processed food that produces the changes in the brain that resemble an addiction to alcohol and other addictive drugs. This is the main reason why I advocate getting rid of the processed food… that means anything that comes in a box or package or anything that is not real.

 

When you look for things that give you the same comfort or feeling that sugar does, don’t turn to things like wine. All you would be doing is trading one for another.

 

If you are hungry or feel you need a pick me up, go for the healthy food. Berries are great, I love eating big juicy red strawberries or copious amounts of blueberries. They are low glycemic, meaning they produce very little sugar in your blood and body. They won’t trigger your addiction to sugar, and even if you ate a lot of them there are virtually no negative consequences and they contain valuable antioxidants.

 

The good news is if you eliminate sugary treats, after initial intense cravings you will find your cravings virtually disappear and you feel quite content without them. Some people are very sensitive to this. One day, you might be tempted to try a dessert and you will find that you will be back in the cycle. The next day, your body is craving sugar again, so you give in, just this once. The next day it happens again. And then again.  So it goes until you find your clothes are tight and you feel terrible.

 

That’s because most people do not realize that sugar truly is a highly addictive substance for many people. Studies with rats have shown that the brain changes created by heroin are similar to those created by sugar intake. This includes artificial sugar which works on the brain the same way as actual sugar.

 

I cannot impress on you enough how misled we have been in terms of sugar and processed foods. More than anything understands getting out of this is a process and sugar is one of the most addictive unhealthy substances out there.

 

If you need support I recommend you try one of the hypnosis series I created especially Ending Emotional Eating and start taking back control.  Breaking the sugar processed food habit is one of the most important things you can do for your health and well-being.

 

If you have some tips on how to break the sugar processed food habit please share it below.

The psychology of weight loss

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There is a psychology to weight loss, eating and food. It’s called your weight/health story. If you have an emotional relationship with food and eating you need to change your story.

Take the Emotional Eating Assessment to find out more.

Research shows the first step you need to successfully change, lose weight AND keep it off, is to identify and change your (weight) story. Stories are how patterns and behaviors are wired into the brain.

We all know how to lose weight, go on a diet… simple eat less and exercise more. The problem is, as soon as the diet is over, we go back to our old ways because the diet is viewed as a short term fix and does not deal with the underlying cause of the problem (changing the self-image and the programmed behaviors).
In order to lose weight successfully you must re-program and install new habits that you begin to prefer that then become your new default way of eating. To do that you must change your story this includes the limiting beliefs that hold the story together and keep you stuck.
The problem is the decision to change is a conscious one, but unless you create coherence and alignment between the conscious goal to change (lose weight) and the unconscious stories, the old story wins out all the time.
Using guided meditation and  hypnosis you can program the new identity (you thinner, fitter and happier) and manage the emotions when the brain realizes the discomfort (cognitive dissonance) of the change. If you don’t know what guided meditation is download and check out Letting Go one of the many you will be using.
New research in neuroscience is showing how using guided visualization and meditation we can create new neural networks, strengthen the part of the brain most involved in making changes, increase positive emotions and reduce stress. All of this is critical to your success.

Richard Davidson PhD using functional MRI (fMRI) technology identified that the left side of the frontal lobe – known as the left prefrontal cortex – is more active when people feel happy and the right prefrontal cortex is more active when people feel sad.

This research shows how learning how to meditate stimulates the left prefrontal cortex and helps to train people to be more focused, experience more positive emotions and makes the actions to change come easier. Check out Buddha’s brain and neuroplasticity.

In order to really create this alignment between the conscious and unconscious mind, you must do the preparation work that will begin to change your weight story. This is done with personalized sessions with me along with the guided meditations that will set you up for success… coherence between what you want and what you do. Skipping this step can make the difference between succeeding or not.

Getting control of your weight and health is the most important thing you can do… it is the foundation for everything.
To find out if The Diet for the Mind, the foundation for lasting weight loss I have created is right for you, schedule a free consultation.

Doing this foundational work can make the difference in finally losing weight successfully.

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

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Avoid Holiday Weight Gain and Still Be Merry

Tis the season for overeating… are you ready to gain some weight?

Here we go, the holiday dinners, office parties and celebrations with family are coming!!

All that holiday cheer and good will piled high in the form of mashed potatoes, gingerbread cookies and your favorite sugary, fattening foods is about the get under way. But how do you avoid holiday weight gain.

 

How are you going to enjoy the holidays without losing your commitment to living a healthier life?

Oh you tell yourself….“Just one little bite,” you tell yourself, as you reach for another one of your favorite Christmas treats.

 

But you know… it never stops at just one.

Research shows the average person gains between seven and ten pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ouch… Before you know it, your pants feel a little tighter, your belly sits heavy and the “spirit” of the season settles in around your mid-line.

So you decide you’ll make some hard and strict New Year’s resolutions in a few weeks and lose the extra weight then, so no point holding yourself back now!

 

I say if you don’t change the way you think and act… you get the same results. *So don’t it!*

Don’t buy into a bunch of clichés about “everything in moderation” and letting yourself appreciate the “good things” and “live a little.”

You’ll live a lot more and a lot longer and a lot better if you put in some healthy lifestyle habits RIGHT NOW–before the holidays hit in full force!

 

There are so many better things than overeating and packing on extra weight over the holidays!

 

With some of the healthy recipes developed by my daughter Hunter at her Healthy Kitchen, some self-encouragement and support you can make this your healthiest and happiest holiday season ever!