Archive for February 22, 2015

Weight Loss, Heart Disease, Sugar Addiction, Plus, How I Stopped My Cravings.

I received some good emails this week that I want to address in the blog.  In one, a 43 year old man described himself as diabetic, overweight, hypertensive ( high blood pressure ), and on a blood thinner (from thick, sticky, blood).  He needs help losing weight, and doesn’t understand why I would say he has Heart Disease.  He’s gained 14 pounds in the past month.

Another email was a plea for help with sugar addiction, from a woman who has chronic fatigue and depression to the point of not being able to get out of bed for 7 weeks.  She’s also gained 28 pounds since September.

While these 2 people seem to present different problems, honestly, their issues are the same:  they’re incredibly nutrient deficient; their cells haven’t received the vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins they need to function normally, and now their bodies are breaking down.

How can you be nutrient deficient and overweight?  Easy.  Just because our fat cells are stuffed, doesn’t mean we’re getting the nutrients our body needs to run correctly.

Imagine putting water in your car’s gas tank.  It’s a liquid.  The tank would be full, but it wouldn’t run. That’s not the right fuel for the car.

Sugar, grains, bad fats, and chemicals aren’t the right fuels for us. Food is medicine, or food is poison.  That stuff is poison and it’ll kill us eventually, after making us sick for years.

Resources and suggestions will be at the end of the Post, but first:

Robert wants to know why I said he has Heart Disease when his doctors have given his heart a clean bill of health.  I’m so glad he asked, because this applies to so many people.

The causes of Heart Disease are being re-identified by modern science.  Inflammation ( anywhere in the body ) that’s persistent or chronic ( i.e., not just a response to a cut or injury ) is damaging, and a huge cause of Heart Disease, the number one killer in the US.

Diabetes causes inflammation from high blood sugar and high insulin, that’s because blood sugar(glucose) and insulin do a lot of damage when they zip too long and too often through the blood stream. Diabetes causes heart disease.  Heart disease and stroke are the #1 cause of death among Type 2 Diabetics.  Think you’re okay because you’re on diabetes meds?  You’re not.  In the studies determining who died of what, the diabetics who died from heart disease were on meds.  Besides that, meds all come with a long and dangerous list of side effects.  Medications address symptoms – not causes.  Diabetes drugs cause pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, kidney problems and more.  These diseases take years to manifest, just like diabetes takes years to manifest, and while it’s “manifesting”, damage is happening.

Other clues to Robert having heart disease:  high blood pressure (HBP) and thick blood.  This means the arteries are either narrowed or stiff, which makes the heart pump harder, and thick blood is also harder for the heart to push around.  HBP is the #1 cause for Cardiovascular Disease.  Thick blood is on that list too.  Medications mask the symptoms, but the REASON for the symptom isn’t solved by meds, so the problems persist all the while the side effects of the medications are building.

Natasha, you ate a healthy diet and ran 20 miles a week before you fell ill.  I thought that I ate a healthy diet, but I still got blood clots, asthma, fatigue, and horrible IBS ( inflammatory bowel syndrome ). That’s because I actually just “dieted”:  low calorie, low fat foods, many of them processed.  Luckily for me, I’ve always eaten a lot of vegetables, and I’m going to assume you did too.  Unluckily for me, thanks to keeping my fat grams to 20 or less a DAY (except for the days I’d binge), I absorbed very little of the vitamins or minerals in those vegetables.  I also consumed an enormous amount of trans fats and hydrogenated oils in all my fake cheese and dairy products, protein bars, and frozen diet meals. To add insult to injury, I was a big “healthy whole grain” believer/ addict, and did my best to get the 6 to 12 daily servings our government recommended.

I was at a lecture yesterday by the Weston A Price foundation, and the speaker – Sally Fallon – called this kind of diet a Diabetes Starter Kit.  I love that!!

Anyway, Natasha’s struggle with fatigue and depression are the result of her brain, her heart, and her mitochondria/ fuel burners in her cells, NOT getting the fuel they need to function optimally.

Luckily, our body wants to be normal, and our cells are constantly renewing themselves.  For most of us, we can fix what’s wrong.  Robert and Natasha can. I did, you can too.  All we have to do is eat a diet that supplies the nutrients our body craves:  healthy fats, good proteins, tons of vegetables, some nuts and seeds, and a little fruit.  Whole fat dairy, preferably raw, if you tolerate it.

Try this:  Buy Kerry Gold Butter, a good Olive Oil, and unrefined Coconut Oil.  Start using these in Every Single Meal.  For me, this is the #1 key to stopping cravings, losing weight, and changing our cells for the better.  What do you have to lose???

Eggs/sausage/bacon/veggies for breakfast?  Fry them in 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil.  Or add Coconut oil to your smoothie.

Cover your lunch meats and veggies and cheeses with olive oil – and I mean cover.

Make sure every dinner is cooked or covered in these fats.

No more tiny meals either, on small plates with baby forks, THAT’S JUST DUMB. Small meals of insufficient calories slow down your thyroid, something NOT conducive to losing weight.  Use a grown up plate and eat a serving size that makes your brain relax and not go into starvation mode.

Make your own salad dressings, again, using those good fats.  Go through your pantry and THROW OUT all your crackers, cereal, breads, cookies, and junk food.  Anything “snackie”;  this might include NUTS.

Here’s my opinion on nuts (which I literally get asked at least once a week):  nuts have a TON of nutrients.  Unfortunately, for so many, they’re a trigger food, and most people, and ALL ADDICTS, can’t stop at a handful.  Trigger foods in your house will ALWAYS rule you, ALWAYS.  This is a fact, so get rid of your trigger foods today.

Make a shopping list, then shop, chop, prep, and do power cooking ( cook in big batches ) if you need too.  Take your weekly schedule into consideration when you make your list and then make a food plan of when and where and what you’re going to eat in the coming week.  Got a bunch of kid’s activities in the evening?  Put food in a crock pot that morning.  Need to pack lunches but know your morning is going to be rushed?  Do it the night before.  Bake 10 potatoes at one time and refrigerate them.  Make a batch of broth ( another great source of fats and nutrients ) and use that like water in your food all week.  Make and refrigerate chili’s or stews or soups, their flavors intensify after a few days.

The more attention you give to making Real Whole Food work in your daily life, the easier it gets, and the healthier – and leaner – you get.  You can do this.  I met a woman yesterday who, at age 55, lost 70 pounds by switching to Real Whole Foods, and she’s kept if off for 8 years.  After years of dieting, she now eats a ton of fat and is thin.

You can be too, I promise.  Please investigate the resources below; fill your mind with the why’s and how-to’s of feeding your body the nutrients it needs to remake and repair itself every single day.

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/want-to-lose-weight-reduce-inflammation-gain-energy-and-look-younger/

http://www.heartmdinstitute.com/health-topics/heart-disease/424-heart-disease-risks-is-your-doctor-covering-your-bases

http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/fat-makes-us-lean-fat-makes-us-smart-fat-gives-us-energy-step-out-of-1980-and-into-2015/

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/?s=heart+disease

http://www.drugwatch.com/2014/05/12/increasing-side-effects-diabetes-drugs/

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/

Cruises, Vacations, and Holiday’s Don’t Have To Mean Weight-Gain; and a Recipe

20150218_073710Mark and I just got back from our fourth Marriage Cruise. I call it “The Love Boat”, but it’s really the Family Life Love Like You Mean It Cruise, and it’s fantastic!  The lectures, meetings, and services are all focused on being a Godly, loving, couple, and we so believe in it we’re committed to going every year for the rest of our lives.  Plus, we love cruises:)

I get asked, “how do you eat well on a ship?”  Everyone know that cruise ships are Food Central,  food (seems) free, and it’s everywhere, 24-7.

Mark and I weighed ourselves the day we left, and we weighed ourselves the day we got back,…… we both weighed the same.  No weight gain and I didn’t expect any weight gain, so no surprise either.

I don’t gain weight over the holidays, on vacation, or – and this used to be a problem for me for years – over the weekend, ever.  I don’t diet, and I eat enormous amounts of fat, and big hearty dinners.

I’m not bragging, I’m not lucky, and I’m not special.  I just know that I’m not a Calories In – Calories Out body, I’m a Chemistry Set.  My body is full of cells and hormones and enzymes and I need to put food in that allows everything to run like God intended.

Here’s the secret when it comes to food:  3 meals a day of Real Whole Food: plenty of healthy fats, TONS of vegetables, clean and lean meats, a little fruit, a little nuts and seeds, and whole fat, raw dairy.  I never snack, neither does Mark.  We don’t need to because we’re not hungry between meals.  It’s actually really easy to eat healthy on a cruise ship; nothing’s organic or local, but there’s a great selection of meats and vegetables, and olive oil galore; our plates are stacked!

When we get to a holiday or a vacation, we STICK TO OUR PLAN, here’s why.

(1) We’re scared of gluten and chemicals. They cause cancer and chronic diseases.  (2) We shy away from causing ourselves Food Hangovers or Bloated Stomachs.  (3) We remember we love feeling awake, alert, energetic, and healthy.

In other words, we’ve trained our brains when it comes to food.  Most people don’t.  Most people – and we’ve been here – struggle with wanting grains, sugar, and chemicals.  These substances create the same addictions – in the brain – that drugs and alcohol do.  You might not think of yourself as a food addict, but if you eat foods that trigger addiction centers in the brain, you are.

You either need to wean off the bad foods, or go cold turkey, but if it’s just about weight loss, and if you don’t have a plan, it’ll never work.  That’s why almost 100% of everyone who loses weight on a diet, gains it back.  50% of those people gain back more than they lost.

You don’t have to give in to food addiction; you’re not doomed to be sick, overweight, or tired, honest.  Get in touch with me, think where you could be in a year if you weren’t controlled by bad food.  Think what your life could be like if you got to focus on living instead of your weight or managing your illnesses.  Think of the positive changes you could create in your children’s lives if your home was healthier.  

Other people change; we did, you can too!

On that end note, here’s our dinner last night: venison sausage, collards, onions, and garlic cooked in butter and coconut oil and brie cheese, and a side of sautéed plantains in coconut oil and butter, with plenty of salt!  SO DELICIOUS!

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All About Poop, Because Constipation is Epidemic, Abnormal, and Unhealthy.

Did you know that Constipation is the #1 digestive complaint in the US?  In 2010, there were 48,459 hospitalizations for constipation, up from 21,000 in 1997.  Wow!  The medical establishment defines constipation as fewer than 3 bowel movements a week.  Many in the medical and scientific community disagree and consider moving our bowels at least once a day normal.  Put me in that camp.  If I only went 3x a week I’d be miserable!  Besides, I eat 3x a day, I want the left overs out, not packed in my 100 degree colon, rotting.

So many of my clients deal with constipation that I thought I’d devote a whole Post to what normal poop is, and how you too, can be a normal pooper.   For all my clients with diarrhea or any type of Colitis, the situation is different, but the solutions are the same.

What we all need and want is to be NORMAL, right?  Drugs don’t make us normal, drugs often make situations worse in the long term.

Normal poop comes from normal digestion.  Normal digestion comes from Real Whole Food, good sleep, exercise, and stress management.  Same things that cause Normal Weight and great health.  Let’s break that down, but first, a little science about our gut.

We eat food, and it goes to the stomach, where enormous amounts of stomach acid should be present.  That stomach acid, aka HCl, stimulates the protein digesting enzyme Pepsin, kills pathogens, and triggers digestive enzymes and bile.  What depletes the necessary amounts of stomach acid?  OTC and prescription drugs, stress hormones, sugar, grains, and chemicals; aka, the American Diet and Lifestyle.

Next, the food, now known as “chyme”, goes to the Small Intestine to become tiny molecules that can be absorbed somewhere in the 20 or so feet of the small intestinal tract.

Finally, undigested fibers, resistant starch, and sloughed off cells, and a teeny bit of water, move into the Large Intestine.  The first part of the large intestine, the ascending colon, goes “upwards”, then it goes across, then down.  It’s between 5 and 8 feet long. We should have hundreds of trillions of beneficial bacteria in our large intestine, and they have MAJOR jobs to do, here’s a few: make B and K vitamins that go on to nourish other body parts, make fatty acids that go on to nourish other body parts, they make serotonin and dopamine for our brain, and they compromise the largest component of our Immune System.

Those bacteria also, via their fermenting of the fibers, make poop.

Our large intestine, where the constipation ( or diarrhea ) happens, is responsible for our immunity, our mood, our heart health, our metabolism, and I could go on and on. Bottom line (pun intended), it matters that we keep it in great health.

Digestive disorders aren’t a signal to take medications, they’re a shout out from our body that we’re messing up, and need to correct the situation.  Our body wants to be normal, and healthy.

How do we become normal?  The above list: Real Whole Food, Good Sleep, Exercise, and Stress Management.

1) Real Whole Food (RWF)- Our digestive system literally falls apart in the face of the Standard American Diet (SAD).  White flours, sugars, grains, trans / hydrogenated fats, and toxic chemicals wreck havoc from our mouth to our butt. There’s not one thing in that list that promotes or nourishes anything good in our gut, all those substances do the opposite:  ruin stomach acidity, cause leaky gut, destroy beneficial bacteria and feed pathogenic bacteria.

Parents – this is happening to our kids when we let them eat crap.  Skinniness is NOT indicative of health, ever.  Quit telling yourself that a little McD’s or frozen pizza doesn’t matter, because it does.  Every bite matters.

RWF in the context of remedying constipation:  if high fiber and a ton of water ( along with laxatives ) have been your fix, ask yourself this:  How’s that working for you?  Because everyone I work with STILL has constipation despite YEARS of that plan.

It’s time for a new plan.

Back off the fiber supplements; sometimes they work initially, eventually though, they make stool drier and bulkier, which makes them even harder to pass. Just like GERD meds, laxatives are ONLY supposed to be used occasionally, and briefly.  To quote one of the best scientists I know of on this subject ( resource at end of Post ): ..”herbal laxatives are actually contributing to constipation and colorectal damage because they irritate the intestinal mucosa, damage the nerve endings, kill intestinal bacteria, cause painful cramping, and may provoke severe diarrhea.”    and  “Cleansing” with insoluble fiber, such as bran, is even more dangerous, because undigested fiber keeps piling up on top of already impacted, hardened stools. This may lead to obstruction, fecal impaction, and other complications, such as diverticular disease, megacolon, prolapsed hemorrhoids, or colon perforation — which is a mostly lethal condition.”

What does work?  Fat’s essential, here’s why.  Fat is the ONLY nutrient we eat that stimulates the expression of BILE into the small intestine.  Bile not only breaks down fatty acids ( so we can use them – and YES, we need those fatty acids to make ourselves! ), but bile stimulates the intestines to contract and move.  Low fat/no fat diets, or diets that have crappy fat like trans and hydrogenated?  They screw up the process God intended.  It’s that simple.

Cholesterol’s also vitally important.  The cells that line our whole digestive tract, including the large intestine, have incredibly fast turn over times.  Cholesterol is a major component of EVERY SINGLE CELL IN OUR BODY.  It’s also an anti-oxidant that our body uses to repair damage.  Eat a SAD and there’s a lot of damage.  Good cholesterol from healthy fats is broken down and used to make our digestion normal, as in, a good poop every day.

Finally, you know my RWF list:  a TON of vegetables, clean meats, healthy fats, some fruits, some nuts and seeds ( for constipation and diarrhea: a tablespoon of flax seed, chia seed, and hemp are ideal), and some real, whole fat dairy – if you digest it well.  These foods contain the nutrients that our body uses to be NORMAL.  A normal, healthy body is a body that’s a normal, healthy weight.

2) Good sleep.  Our body is a beehive of activity when we sleep, that’s when Repair and House Cleaning happen best.  It matters that we get to sleep BEFORE midnight; the hours before midnight, and also between 12 and 3 are crucial.  Our body runs on a Circadian Rhythm whether we honor it or not.  If we don’t give our body the sleep it needs, we’ll suffer the consequences.

In addition to repair and upkeep, when we’re lying prone our gut has the best chance at moving our waste UP the first part of the large intestine.  That’s why so many people go to the bathroom in the morning.

3) Exercise.  No, exercise doesn’t make up poop.  Exercise makes us NORMAL.  Our body needs and wants the physical stress that exercise causes.  Exercise doesn’t make us thin either, like I always say in my classes, ” it’s just a few hundred calories, we’d burn the same amount walking, cleaning the house, or working in the garden.”  Our body was created for movement, and not moving is the “new smoking”.  Several recent studies have conclusively linked inactivity and sitting too much with increases in colon, endometrial, and lung cancer.  

4) Stress Management.  Excess flight-fight hormones aren’t good for anything, ever.  While a little jolt of cortisol here and there can cause diarrhea in some, chronic excess cortisol messes everything up.  Here’s why:  if our brain perceives stress-danger, then “living” becomes the priority.  Not pooping, not digesting, not making sex hormones, not all the normal things we’re supposed to be doing.  When excess cortisol or adrenaline or any of the other stress hormones are in the blood, the body is in a survival mode, which is very different from a everyday normal mode.

One more BIG CAUSE of constipation:

5) Drugs.  Both OTC and prescription meds come with a long list of side effects, and “causes constipation” is a common one.  Pain killers, mood drugs, ANTIBIOTICS, cold medications, cholesterol drugs, etc etc, they’re a pill for a symptom that just causes MORE symptoms… constipation ( and diarrhea ) are a symptom that we’re doing something wrong.

If constipation or any gut issue is your problem, get in touch with me.  You’re fixable, no matter how long you’ve been dealing with it.  Here’s some great resources so you can learn more:

http://www.gutsense.org/gutsense/transition.html

http://www.gutsense.org/constipation/main.html#13

http://undergroundwellness.com/podcasts/306-5-steps-to-permanent-gut-healing/

http://undergroundwellness.com/podcasts/286-belly-fat-gut-bacteria-and-obesity/

http://www.brendawatson.com/

Fat makes us Lean, Fat makes us Smart, Fat gives us Energy. Step out of 1980 and into 2015.

20150201_071721These candies have 2 names: Fat Bombs and Brain Candy; and OMGosh are they delicious, and easy!  Scared of the them?  Thinking that maybe a low calorie treat would be better for your weight?  You’re wrong.  After this recipe, I’ll tell you why.  Here’s the ingredients:

1/4 c coconut butter
1/2 c coconut oil
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 heaping spoonful of Nuttzo/favorite nut butter
a few turns of your salt shaker
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBSP of MCT oil (not crucial to flavor, just for brain)
Heat gently then whisk in
2 TBSP  SWERVE – confectioners kind (if you only have granulated, run it thru your coffee grinder to make it powdery)
Or use stevia ( big dropper full)  after it’s cooled for a moment and off the burner.   Pour into mini muffin cups and freeze.
More recipes at the end of the Post.

We’ve all heard that EATING FAT MAKES US FAT, and CHOLESTEROL IS BAD BECAUSE IT CAUSES HEART DISEASE. The science disputing these false premises has never been louder or more clear, yet it’s hard to change course.

I’m telling, you need to change course. Now. Our bodies want and need fat and cholesterol to thrive.  Healthy fat makes a healthy body; healthy bodies are healthy weights.  Here’s a short science list, followed with recipe inspiration. The more we know, the less stressful good choices become.

1) fat and cholesterol make up the cell membrane of every single cell in our body

2) fat and cholesterol make all our sex and adrenal hormones

3) fat and cholesterol make up about 60% of the dry matter of the brain

4) cholesterol is an anti-oxidant and a healing molecule

5) there’s a direct link between low cholesterol and suicide, depression, and violence

6) saturated fats allow minerals to be absorbed into our bones

7) fats are an essential part of our immune system

8) fats have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties

9) fats allow fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) to be absorbed and used

10) Pretty skin, good hair, great energy – FAT FAT FAT.

That part’s easy to absorb; this isn’t: when you eat MORE fat, and nix the grains and sugars, you get leaner and leaner and healthier and healthier. When you eat MORE fat, and nix the grains and sugars, your appetite becomes normal, and being controlled by hunger is a thing of the past.

I emphasized the “MORE” part because for many, that’s what’s missing. It’s not enough to just eat a bunch of vegetables and lean proteins with a drizzle of olive oil. You’ll still be hungry because you’re skimping on a key constituent of your bodies make-up:  fat.

Mark and I, and our daughters, are amazed at how much fat we eat (in the absence of grains) without gaining weight.  I can’t say we eat like Grandma ate, because Grandma only ate seasonally and locally and didn’t have near the options we do.  But Grandma would LOVE the food in our house, because it’s just Real Whole Food, with a ton of vegetables and fats, good meats, a little fruit, and some nuts and seeds.

Eating Real Whole Food with a lot of fat satisfies – physiologically and mentally – our body and our brain.

Here’s some of our meals from this past week:

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Twice Baked Potatoes:  bake whole at 425 for an hour/til soft, scoop out, and in a bowl mix the potato with broth and butter.  Put that back in the skin and flatten with the back of a spoon.  Top with sausage or bacon ( I did both), onions, chopped kale, garlic, oregano, tomatoes, and more cheese.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  These keep in the fridge perfectly for about 5 days and are easy to reheat.

MOMS:  kids LOVE these.

YES, these are white potatoes.  They’re not the devil unless you’re pre-diabetic or diabetic.

 

 

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This is Nameless:  mushrooms, garlic, and onions sautéed in 2 cups of broth and 6 tbsp of butter w Italian herbs, cauliflower, 3 left over meatballs, collards, and bacon – this was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Right here you’re looking at all the ingredients for Kale Chips:  about a quarter of the bag of kale (remove all the big stems), massage (with your hands) on: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp of garam marsala, 1/2 tsp of salt, and a sprinkle of pepper.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven to 170 and let them stay in there for about an hour, longer if you can.  Shelby eats this whole thing by herself, with it resting on her lap. She’s amazing.  She eats with one hand and texts with the other.               20150126_174444

Finished Product

 

 

 

I get emails all the time about not being able to stick to a healthy eating plan, questions about tricks and secrets to keep on track.

Here’s my answer:  Add Fat now.  Force yourself to drop your fear of fat.  Make yourself act and think differently.  Grab ahold of your thoughts.  Read the following links for more science:

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/the-skinny-on-fats/

http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/beyond-cholesterol/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Fat-Surprise-Healthy/dp/1451624425

How to make bone broth for your recipes:http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/working-man-parts-weight-loss-youthful-skin-joint-pain-what-do-they-have-in-common-they-all-benefit-from-bone-broth-and-gelatin/