Nutritional Therapy Workshop Weekend is over, here’s the workout I did on Saturday:

10 1-minute rounds on the eliptical/precor, level 9

10 rounds of burpees

10 rounds of squats with dumbbells – 15s, 20s, and 25s

10 rounds of shoulder press 15 and 20s

50 crunches on stability ball

30 minutes, very sweaty:)

I took Sunday off, because I usually take Sundays off from exercising.

This weekend was a LOT of sitting, short workouts, hotel living from Thursday morning thru Sunday evening, eating in my room except for one meal at Whole Foods, consuming TONS of fat (purposely – because it’s good for the brain), protein, and vegetables, a little chocolate and fruit, and I came out weighing the same as when I went in. Check out my What I Eat page, because I updated everyday.

Weekends and vacations don’t have to be a Weight Disaster!  There’s a post coming on that tomorrow, promise.

 For now though, have you heard that Twinkies are coming back, and that along with their “improved, longer shelf-life”, they’re increasing distribution to convenience stores,  and marketing to “Bros”? (seriously – that’s what they said in an interview to Time Business)  (That’s young males in their 20s for us non-marketing types.)  Has anyone read the book “the Deconstruction of the Twinkie”?  I did.  The author, Steve Ettlinger, doesn’t go into the scary side effects of the ingredients, so much as he explains where they come from.  Petroleum, waste products, and mines are heavily used to make synthetic vitamins, emulsifiers, preservatives, and additives.  There’s nothing good there. It’s cancer/disease in an attractive package. Train your kids, and work on your self, to eat Real Whole Foods.  Focus on your Health, and Weight Loss will be a side-effect.

How about some more Eat Right, Get Healthy and Lean Ammunition?  Because the more you know, the easier it is to eat for health, and when you eat for health, …..weight loss, if you need it, is a Side Effect.

You know what else happens when you eat Real Whole Foods and ditch the diet foods and low calorie food plans (that don’t work anyway)?  You improve brain function – really.

Did you know that Brain Fog is the Number 1 side effect of Gluten?  Seriously.  Studies show that for people who are “gluten sensitive” – and that’s MOST people, 1 person will have Gut Issues, and 8 people will have “other problems”, with Brain Fog being the most common.  Still eating flour products that contain gluten?  What about your kids?  Behavior or attitude issues?  Why don’t you just TRY to go without gluten for a couple of weeks?  What’s the worst thing that could happen?  A little sadness missing a sandwich, cereal, pasta or junk food?  Really?  There’s people all over the world who don’t have those, and they live.  Confusion about what else to eat?  Look at my What I Eat Page, or try any of the hundreds of Paleo, Real Whole Food Recipe sites out there.  It’s easier than you think, especially after you get used to it.

Go without starchy carbs/flours for a few weeks, and not only will brain fog, stomach issues, joint issues, and mood improve, but *** your stomach will flatten!***  Who doesn’t want a flatter stomach?  Carbohydrates attach to water molecules and cause “belly bloat”.  Go without and you’ll immediately lose some water weight – and size.  Keep going without, lower insulin levels in your blood stream, then the real magic happens:  when insulin levels are LOW, the pancreas releases Glucagon.  Insulin STORES calories,  but Glucagon taps fat cells and gets them to RELEASE their contents, and FAT IS USED FOR ENERGY instead of blood sugar.  Doesn’t this sound like a good plan??? (This doesn’t happen when you eat “mini-meals” all day that contain carbohydrates.)

Want to really get your body humming?  Include plenty of Traditional Fats in your meals.  Honestly.  Fat doesn’t make you fat!  Your body needs and uses TONS of fat to run correctly.  Fatty Acids are part of the “gas” that makes us go.  We use fatty acids for brain function(60% of your brain is Fat), our heart, all of our hormones, joints, our immune system.  Did you know that fatty acids from Traditional fats, like butter, animal fats, and coconut oil, also have Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Viral, and Anti-Microbial properties?

In light of that information, what happens to a body that doesn’t get the healthy fats that it needs?  For one thing, your liver has to MAKE a TON of cholesterol.  Cholesterol is an antioxidant and healing substance, and if you’re not consuming enough, the body/liver will make up for that.  Without enough fat, your immune system will suffer tremendously.  You won’t make sufficient testosterone or estrogen.  Your skin cells and connective tissue will become dehydrated and dry.   Fatty Acids are part of the “recipe” for thousands of functions in our body.  Fat doesn’t just get deposited in fat cells.  That’s inaccurate.

Want a trick for learning to LOVE vegetables, or getting your kids to love them?  Cover them with butter or olive oil and hard grated cheese, and real sea salt – Delicious!   Did you know that several vitamins and minerals can ONLY be absorbed and/or used in the presence of fat???  The calcium and vitamin D in Skim Milk?  Useless.  How are they going to help your bones or your immune system without the fat to transport them?

Consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol has plummeted in the past several decades, but disease and weight have skyrocketed.   More people are eating low fat, low calorie diet foods than ever, and disease and weight have skyrocketed. More people are eating trans fats and Omega 6 vegetable oils than ever, and disease and weight have skyrocketed.  More people are eating at restaurants, and eating processed, refined foods than ever, and disease and weight have skyrocketed.

Look at what HASN’t worked, and try a different tactic.

Being overweight, feeling depressed, having indigestion, high triglycerides, skin problems, joint issues, these conditions aren’t normal.  They’re brought on by Bad Eating Habits.  Want to be healthy, feel good, and lose weight if you need to?  Work on changing your Belief System.  You can’t lose weight by starving.  Diet foods, low cal/low fat for weight loss is a damaging myth.  You’ll destroy your health and your moods if you don’t eat real foods. Load your plate with traditional fats, tons of vegetables, good proteins, then some fruits, nuts and seeds, and some dairy (if those work for you).  These are the foods that contain the building blocks of nutrients your body and brain needs to function.

Choose today to make a plan, write it down, and jump off the Diet Roller Coaster to eating Real Whole Foods, 3x a day.  Quit snacking, shop, cook, pack, think about your week and make eating healthy the priority it deserves to be.

I’m on a mission to help people get healthy, and a big part of being healthy is being at a healthy weight for your body.  Food is EVERYTHING when it comes to your health, and your weight.  Unfortunately for so many of us, we’ve been conditioned to view food in just 2 ways:  (1) there’s the BAD food, that tastes so good, and makes us fat, and sick, and moody, but it’s addictive, and it calls to us, or  (2), there’s the DIET foods, like lean meats and steamed veggies and diet products, that don’t taste as good, leave us STARVING, but will make us skinny (not really).

THERE’S ANOTHER OPTION!!  Real Whole Foods.  RWFs taste DELICIOUS, trigger SATIETY hormones in your brain and stomach, and they allow your body to achieve or stay at your optimum weight.

Worried that RWFs will make you fat?  Convinced that pouring Olive Oil on your salad, roasting chicken with the skin on, eating whole fat dairy products, or eating bacon/liver/roast beef, will make you fat?? Because this is what I hear all the time, but it’s Not True.

You’ve fallen victim to years of brainwashing convincing you that you need to eat Low Fat/Low Cal, and exercise a ton, to lose weight and be healthy.  That paradigm is WRONG and if you look around, you’ll see that it’s a completely failed model.  70% of America is overweight, and facts are that Americans ARE consuming less calories and less fat, but their weight is continuing UP, and health is spiraling DOWN.

People are scared that eating RWFs will make them heavier.  That’s Not True.  RWFs, with plenty of Fats, Proteins, and Carbs from vegetables and fruits, will make you healthy – and when you give up the crappy fake foods or high starchy, refined carbs, you will lose weight!

Truly, when you start eating 3 meals a day – that AREN’T diet “portions”, but a nice size, and you’ve incorporated the Fat and the Protein that your body demands ( after water, they’re our 2 biggest building blocks), good things happen:

Blood sugar doesn’t rise, and plummet, rise and plummet, so Binge Eating or Starving is Eliminated.

The brain doesn’t send STRONG signals to search for more nutrients  – again, binging and starving is eliminated.

Indigestion problems, like BELLY BLOAT, are eliminated.

Obsessive, Compulsive thoughts about food and eating – DISAPPEAR.  You’re able to walk past the candy bowl, or the donut shop, or pass at the Starbucks counter.

Serotonin and Dopamine – neurotransmitters that help us feel NORMAL (bc these are MADE from proteins and fats),  can get to NORMAL levels, and our moods stabilize – which helps prevent binging or OCD thoughts about food.

I could go on and on, but you get the point.  Diets and Crappy Food/Standard American Diet BOTH leave your body starving, hungry, food obsessed, moody, and sick.   Want to get healthy, lose weight if you need to, and quit thinking about food all the time???  Eat Real Whole Food.  I PROMISE you, it works.  Need some help because you’re not sure what to eat or how to do it?? Get in touch with me.  A little guidance goes a long way to permanent changes.  It’s 100% possible, I promise.