Change, You Can!

Remember when you were 20? You thought you'd live forever. Have you ever said to yourself "gee it seems like yesterday I was dying to be 21" and now here I am in my 40's (50's etc)". Wow.

How does that happen? Time flies. It's a blink of an eye from "gee I need to lose 10 lbs" to "gee I need to lose 50, 80 or 100 lbs".

And then there is the familiar "gee I didn't lose weight this year either." Is that you? Have you looked in the mirror and not recognized who you saw? Not been happy with what you see in the mirror? There's a beautiful person inside that person you see in the mirror. I hope you know that. But I can tell you being overweight is costing you. I know on some level you understand that.

It's a lot easier to be unhealthy than healthy. It's always easier to keep doing what you're doing. But when your lifestyle includes poor eating and lack of exercise it sets you up for lifestyle diseases. Hospitals are filled with folks suffering with unnecessary ills stemming from an unhealthy lifestyle. Mother Nature won't let you cheat forever.

Are you tired of being tired, fat and depressed? Tired of having to pass up the cute clothes and head to the Plus Sizes. Are you worried about your health? Diabetes, heart disease, etc. I have a tip for you. Successfully changing to a healthy lifestyle starts in your head. Change starts in what you tell yourself.

Change. It was the election year buzzword. Change. We expect our elected officials to bring about change but when we are the ones needing to make change it suddenly becomes different. We don't have time. We hate to drink water but we guzzle six packs of soda and imbibe daily $4 coffees. In fact, many of us drink coffee throughout the day "to keep going". We consume loads of preservatives, dyes and neurotoxins in processed foods and reach for tobacco products to calm our stress. We worry about herbs which have been used for thousands of years, but reach for the next best pharmaceutical without giving it a thought.

Here's some facts for you:

1. Each year prescription drugs cause 1 million injuries so severe they require hospitalization
2. Each year 2 million drug-related injuries occur during hospital care
3. Approximately 100,000 Americans die annually from taking prescription drugs CORRECTLY as prescribed.

Yet we never question taking a drug and most of us never look for an alte
ative. There is an alte
ative. You can live a healthy life with much less or no need at all for pharmaceuticals. And the good news is some of us are starting to realize this and take charge of our health. Take for instance this question from one of my clients:

"OK, I already drink over 64 oz water a day, I work 10 hours a day doing physical stuff, not sitting at a desk, and have quit eating fried foods. I eat more fruit and veggies.. what else can I do?"

I read that and was in heaven.Wow! I was thrilled with the question. It made my day! This person is working hard at gaining a better quality of life. She has a family and a job outside the home, has made changes and wants to know what else she can do!

Here's the suggestions I gave her:

1. You say you work 10 hours a day doing physical stuff, not sitting at a desk. Is it the kind of physical that builds muscle or the kind of physical which builds cardio? Cardio exercise is important but you also need physical exercise which builds muscle. Not only does muscle burn more calories but muscle is important for joint health. Physical exercise (ie strength training) which builds muscle is also important in building bone mass and has been shown to improve psychological health. So think about the kind of exercise you get at work. You might get the book called 8 Minutes in the Morning by Jorge Cruise take a look at either the original 8 minutes in the Morning or the one for Real Shapes Real Sizes. Either book would be a good way to get into a daily routine of strength building exercise. Everyone has eight minutes and you'll be surprised how easy it is!

2. You're eating more veggies and fruits. That's terrific! I don't know what "more" is though! A serving is 1/2 cup. Are you eating 7 servings a day (men should eat 9)? What percentage of your veggies are eaten raw? A % should be eaten raw because your body needs the enzymes from whole foods in their natural state. Enzymes are destroyed when you cook food. Thats one of the reasons we see so much chronic disease these days. Many health issues are tied in with enzyme deficiency.

3. I would heartily recommend you get a juicer and make yourself a good green drink everyday. A tip on that; I've found adding an apple makes homemade juices taste better. If you can't or don't want to spend a lot of money go to Walmart and get a Juiceman juicer. Folks who are avid juicers will cringe at that suggestion. However, that's what I started with and its plenty good to get a start at juicing. You have to start somewhere and everyone doesn't have $400+ for a super juice machine. (Not me, yet!) My prediction is you will soon want to step up to a better juicer though! Your kids will get into it too! My great nephew Brayden loves to come over and make carrot juice!

4. Green drinks are loaded with nutrition! Here's a green drink recipe: Juice together papaya, banana and baby spinach. Or you might try: celery, carrots, kale, parsley and apple. Only make enough juice for you to drink right then. (Though if you add a chunk of ginger when you are juicing you can keep the juice for 24 -48 hrs). Or juice together an apple (cored), 1 handful of spinach, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1 celery stick, chopped, 1/2 inch length of ginger root, 1 lemon (juiced), 1/2 cucumber and 1/2 zuchini.

This client is making changes and seeing results. By changing her diet to one with more fruits and vegetables she is eating a more alkaline diet. This will help decrease inflammation in her body. There's a common thread between cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and autoimmune disorders. That common thread is INFLAMMATION. You can directly affect the level of inflammation in your body thru what you commonly eat.

Because she has changed her diet to one more plentiful with veggies and fruits she will naturally lose weight. She doesn't have to be tied to her scale. No one should be. You, like this client, can make healthful changes, feel better, have more energy, and perhaps, decrease the amount of medication you take (with your physicians assistance). There's no time like the present to get started. So what are you waiting for?