Today I am joining the local gym! It's a self-serve type place, just small but perfect for this little town. With the weather being so unpredictable and then when it's been nice, the kids were sick, I decided that I'll pay my $40 and go at my convenience.

I'm feeling decidedly weak and out of shape and a few pounds have crept on making my size ten jeans tight again.

I've decide to use the Body For Life Workout. It's intense, short and easy to follow. For years I followed Body for Life and it worked well and kept me fit for a long time.

I'll also run on the treadmill because I'm simply not getting out there now!

The best thing about this gym is that it's open 24 hours so I can go any time. No excuses now!

Does anyone have any favourite exercises, gym tips etc.? I'll be mostly on my own so any tips for a new weight trainer would be fantastic!

Affirmation: Hard work becomes easy to perform when you stop making excuses for not doing it! I will do the work!





My Writing Blog

Today I welcome Nancy Telfer as a guest blogger. Nancy lives in the same area of Ontario that I live in and I've been following her work for a while. Please feel free to use the comment section to ask any questions and I will make sure Nancy has the opportunity to provide the answers for you. Welcome Nancy. We conducted this as an interview so I'll just post it in that format for clarity.


Breeze: Tell me about yourself and your credentials.

Nancy: I have studied & practiced various health 'diets' throughout the years. Food Combining was the first. It involved not eating starch with protein. With that change in my diet, I lost 15 pounds, but it didn't seem to be the perfect 'diet' and I continued to research. I, then, became a vegetarian and ate no more meat. I lost more weight and yet, didn't feel healthy. Then, I discovered the 'Living Food' lifestyle. I have have been a 'rawfoodist' or 'living' for almost 5 years now. I am a Certified Raw Lifestyle Coach/Nutritionist and coach one on one as well as teach about the benefits of Raw & Living foods in a class. I am the manager at Nutrition House, Festival Marketplace Mall in Stratford, where we carry books on Raw & Living foods.
I have also studied energy work. I have studied Reiki, Reconnective Healing, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and more recently BodyTalk. I am an EFT Practitioner as well as a BodyTalk Practitioner. It is my passion to help people heal their bodies.


Breeze: What is a raw food diet?

Nancy: A raw food diet is only eating what is living, It is a vegan diet that opens up your taste buds when you discover just how delicious your food can be. It includes sprouts, greens, fruits, veggies and fermented foods.

Breeze: Are you vegan or just raw? For example would you drink raw milk?

Nancy: Vegan. I do not drink any milk raw or otherwise. I don't believe that our bodies need milk except from our mothers.

Breeze: What are the advantages of eating raw foods to your body?

Nancy: You have so much energy, need less sleep (so you can get so much more done in a day); your skin will tighten, your hair will change for the better and you will look younger than what you are. You no longer have digestion problems as your food digests on its own from the foods enzymes. You will have the enzymes in your body that will produce oxygen to heal your body and bring it back to its natural state. Pain & dis-ease free.

Breeze: What does cooking do to foods?

Nancy: It destroys the foods enzymes and minerals making it foreign to your body. It will therefore, be harder to digest and need more energy from your other organs to digest the food.

Breeze: Do you miss hot food? How do you avoid feelings of deprivation?

Nancy: I am currently eating a 90-95% living food diet. When I was 100% I did not miss the hot food at all. For every food that you cook there is a raw alternative. There are amazing dips & pates, lasagnas, pastas, soups, and even desserts. I make amazing chocolates - I call them 'Sensational Chocolates'.

Breeze: Does it take a lot of time to eat raw?

Nancy: You have just as much time to create raw as you do a cooked meal. Most of the dishes are created in very little time. You can make what I call 'gourmet' raw dishes that can take lots of time (but worth it) or you can simply whip something up. That is up to you and how much time you have.

Breeze: Is it hard to buy raw foods beyond produce? Where would you buy raw nuts and chocolate for example

Nancy: Raw foods are not hard to come by, but it is just produce that you need. I do focus on organic foods though. We have Gentle Rain & Pfennings which both have a huge variety of organic foods. Zehrs even carries some organic foods. You can buy crackers and cookies online through a few different websites. It is much easier to buy your own dehydrator and make your own. With a dehydrator, you can make crackers, bread, muffins, cookies and so much more. Raw nuts are available at Gentle Rain, although they are not considered 'raw' to most rawfoodists. The nuts are from California and they passed a bylaw where ALL nuts are now heated to kill bacteria in them. This bylaw was fought but still passed. True raw nuts are available online but is quite costly. I continue to use the 'raw' nuts available at Gentle Rain.
Chocolate?? My favorite. In my 'Living the Rawfood Lifestyle' class, I discuss the amazing benefits to eating raw chocolate, otherwise known as cacao. You can purchase raw cacao powder, nibs & beans at Nutrition House (we currently only have the powder in stock) to make your own chocolate treats. There is also a couple of companies that have a chocolate bars that is 70-80% raw - both delicious (and available at Nutrition House). I am currently discussing with the owner of Nutrition House, putting together a 'chocolate' package. This package will include everything that you need to make your own chocolates, including my 'secret' recipe. Stay tuned for more information on my website.

Breeze: Can you provide us with a recipe of something yummy that is easy to make

Nancy: Here you go!
Italian-Style Zucchini Pasta Pesto
For the pesto:
1 large bunch basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp sea salt
Another Variation of Pesto:
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cups basil
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until well blended and smooth

Pasta - peel a zucchini; discard the peel; continue to use the vegetable peeler and make 'noodles' . You can also add chopped mushrooms and chopped soaked sun-dried tomatoes to this dish.

Breeze: Where can we learn more about this lifestyle and if we are considering it where would we start?

Nancy: I have a practice where I help coach people to get started with this amazing lifestyle. I also hold classes that will give lots of information to get you started. Information is handed out at Nutrition House and posters are posted at Gentle Rain. Information on up & coming classes are also on my website www.rawsomenutrition.com

Breeze: Do you have to be 100% raw or is it advantageous to be even 80% or 90% raw?

Nancy: Your body will tell you what is best for it, you just have to learn to listen to it. Right now, I am doing very well at 90-95% raw. There was a time that I needed to be 100%. Either one is about choice. You choose what works best for you. You will even reap the benefits of adding more living foods to your existing diet.


Breeze: Thank you Nancy for your informative post! We look forward to your next installment on EFT!



My Writing Blog

The children seem to have kicked the virus! They still have a cough, the little one in particular but we're much better around here and just in time for Halloween!

During the course of being housebound I fell into a conversation with a friend of mine, Darleen Degrieck. Darleen is a yoga instructor and a practitioner of ayurveda. I had posted that I believed the body is a self-healing organism and that it wants to be well and wants to return naturally to a state of wellness and that if allowed to it will do that. I also apply that to weight loss. If we allow it our body will naturally return to its optimal weight. We just need to feed it and nourish it properly both with the foods we give it and the thoughts we think.

She sent me a quote from a draft she is working on with some colleagues about influenze from the Ayurvedic perspective. I could apply this to general wellness as well as weightloss and I thought I would share it here with you.

"For me the gem of Ayurveda is that it is a practice of self-love and self-care. Disease is dis-ease, lack of ease, lack of flow, and it begins in the mind (hence the usefulness of Yoga, which teaches us how to manage and control the modifications of the mind). Nourishing thoughts and beliefs serve to nourish the body. Destructive thoughts and beliefs have the opposite effect. (I can honestly not say if the vaccine is effective or not, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not terribly interested in engaging in the debate, except to reiterate the obvious that worry, anxiety and fear are not nourishing emotions.) If anything, I believe it's a question of choice. And we have the choice to believe and even rejoice in our inherent wellness and the cellular intelligence of the physical body. We can engage our minds in this practice of well-being by steering our focus towards the things that we love, laughing as much as possible, having fun with our children, removing should from our vocabulary, singing, dancing, caring more about what we think about ourselves than what others think about us, being in nature, trusting, releasing judgment, developing deep appreciation for and understanding of what we've already lived. Loving the body that carries our soul on this journey is paramount. To choose our thoughts and intentionally direct our focus is the ultimate practice of self-empowerment. Thus, if you choose to vaccinate, be firm in your belief that it is the best possible choice.

For us in the northern climates going through a period of seasonal transition, with weather conditions that are erratic, cooling and drying, the natural inclination is to nourish the body with foods that are comforting, wholesome and grounding. The season of eating clear, fresh, raw foods for balancing heat is passed, and we are now wanting to cook stews and soups, and eat nourishing grains. This is the best time of year for eating meat, if you choose to partake. Taking time for "cocooning" follows the natural and environmental cycles. Alignment with nature is a very nourishing and grounding practice."

If you are interested in reading more from Darleen's point of view you can see her blog. and she also recommended a book by one of her teachers Dr. John Douillard, The Three Season Diet.(click link to purchase on Amazon)










My Writing Blog

When the flu is in the house my eating habits become erratic however that is the time when I'm most likely to focus on eating super healthy foods. I had started to drink a lot of green tea for the metabolic benefits and it did seem to be helping but since my children have been fighting this flu bug I've taken to researching foods that are antiviral and of benefit to fighting off those types of disease.

Who would have guessed that the green tea I've been drinking lately has added benefits of having antiviral properties ! Maybe that explains why I've been able to keep it away so far!

And I've been making a smoothie and sneaking good things into it because, let's face it, vitamin D tablets, vitamin C powder and green tea aren't all that appealing to healthy adults never mind sickly kids.

So being the sneaky mommy that I am, I've been adding good stuff to a very delicious smoothie that the kids love. Here is the recipe...adjust it to your taste and needs.

1 cup orange juice
1 cup frozen fruit(any kind)
vitamin D tablets crushed(amount recommended for whoever is drinking it)
vitamin C powder or tablets crushed(amount recommended for whoever is drinking it)
strong green tea steeped and cooled.
honey or other sweetener to taste.

Blend in blender and enjoy!

and of course..add whatever you want to make it yours...but avoid dairy which increases congestion in many people which isn't a chance to take when avoiding or battling the flu!

Stay Healthy!



My Writing Blog

Healing vibes are requested today. My two youngest children, Sophia and Martina have influenza which is likely H1N1! Right now it's uncomplicated and I am trusting their young healthy bodies will fight it off and let's hope we avoid the complications that cause all the problems.

The odds are on our side but I think some added healing vibes from the blogosphere couldn't hurt so please aim them towards my babies.




My Writing Blog

Today I found an interesting article on Spark People! I love it!

You can find it HERE!
Please read this. It's fabulous!



My Writing Blog

It has been a busy time! I am about 3 chapters from a completed first draft of my novel! Such an exciting time for me! I have several stories for the television news show to shoot including one today and my days have been full and exciting.

And I've neglected this space and I apologize! I've also neglected myself so you are not alone.

When life is so busy it's hard to find time to cook properly, exercise, meditate, just be and it's easy to fall back into the habits that are easy...quick food, junk food, sugar, too much caffeine. And it's easy to gain weight.

Then along comes pms. Oh yeah, cookies good, vitamins suck..that was me last week. But this week I'm back again.

Yesterday I made a huge crock pot of vegetable soup and today I made a meatless shephards pie and it feels great to eat foods full of the stuff a body needs to be well and fit.

Now if the weather would accommodate comfortable walking I'd be completely back on track.

I always find the seasonal adjustment a challenge so I'm looking for a non weather-dependant activity that is free and doesn't involve a video..I hate working to videos...it's just unnatural!

So that has been my challenge lately and I'm afraid I haven't held up well. I do find that my committment in real life corresponds with my committment to this blog..so I guess I'd better hang around!

I may just walk up and down the stairs ten times a day or something odd like that!

Also, I am toying with the idea of starting a local support group based on my ideas here. It wouldn't be a "weightloss" group but instead focus on the behaviour that leads to weight issues and eating issues. What would you like to see in such a group? Suggestions are appreciated!

If you have any vegetarian recipes that are easy and delicious I would appreciate a link as well. I think I'm in a rut and need something new! I try to eat seasonal so something hot and winter vegetable-ey would be perfect!

Affirmation: I adjust to change well and I am flexible, eating the best foods as they are available.





My Writing Blog

A multitude of diet plans promote a "eat a lot of food, lose weight" or something along those themes. Lately I've been wondering if that is one of the problems with the diet industry. We all know that the formula for losing weight MUST have a eat fewer calories/burn more energy aspect. That's simple biology, it's how it works. So most people, in an effort to not be deprived want a program or a diet that allows them to eat more food with fewer calories. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if the lower calorie foods are the highly dense nutrient packed type like spinach and other fruits and vegetables.

The problem with this is that it is catering to our need to be eating large and frequent meals. We want to eat because of the emotional satisfaction we get from eating.

My hypothesis is that we have to reduce our emotional need to eat large amounts of food. We have to eat smaller, delicious, rich, filling meals. We need to work on reducing our need to fill ourselves up with food to tamp down our emotional issues. We have to work on minimizing our compulsion to eat when we are bored, we have to eat smaller meals.

So large huge massive salads may be jam packed with nutrients however realistically they take more time to eat than many people have. If the program doesn't fit in your life you won't do it. Plus we don't want large amounts of salad, we want large amounts of the comfort foods, the junk foods, pasta, icecream and chocolate.

What if instead of finding the diet that allows us to eat the most while still losing weight, we focus on eating until we are satisfied, eating even the nutrient dense foods in moderation and picking up our activity level.

This is where we need to find tools to work on ourselves not on our diets. Let's face it, we all KNOW what we need to do. We need to work on setting ourselves up to do them.

I believe the the key lies in our subconscious and that the only way to have success retraining the subconscious so that it helps us on our path to optimal health and ideal weight.

My suggestions are hypnosis, affirmations(particularly as you fall asleep), energy work, meditation, stress management, adequate sleep, hormonal balance, and regular activity and exercise. A complete lifestyle change is in order that focuses less on food, less on diet, more on self fulfillment and balance.

Affirmation: I will focus on retraining the voices in my subconscious to accept that I am filled up by life and not by overeating.



My Writing Blog

Sometimes life gets busy. And during the busy time things that you've learned often gets tossed aside in the doing of life. Often that's when the gains we have made in our lifestyle changes fall back somewhat. This is when there comes a time that either makes or breaks you, whether you forge forward or slip back into old, self damaging habits.

Sleep seems to be a contributor to over eating. In the heat of exhaustion a person will turn to food for fuel and often during that times, an emotional eater will turn to food easily because fatigue weakens the resolve to learn and grow and move away from old patterns and in comes the old self-defeating habits again.

The first step is to not beat yourself up! You are human, you will do things that are not necessarily good. No matter how much you train the conscious mind to know what is better to do, when you are tired, when you are busy, when there isn't as much time to be conscious and mindful of your habit your subconscious mind takes over. Because the subconscious mind has all the old, prerecorded messages that set you up for your eating disorder in the first place, skewed your body image and messed up your sense of normal when it comes to food and weight, when you are busy your subconscious mind takes over and then of course you slip back to the old ways. Until the subconscious can be retrained through energy work or hypnosis, there is always a risk of slipping backwards during stressful and busy times.

One of the biggest failures of the diet industry is their neglect of real life. Most diet programs cannot be fit in to the real lives of real people. It also does not take into account that the subconscious mind is in charge 95-98% of the time. Without retraining the subconscious, 95% of the population cannot lose and maintain a significant weight loss. This is why willpower doesn't work, why diets don't work and why people get fat, stay fat and get fatter once they start dieting. It's a vicious cycle.

Work to maintain equilibrium in your life but when life takes over and you are swept along, back into the old ways, plan new ways to bring yourself back into mindfulness and don't allow a set back to influence you to quit. The journey is long but well worth the effort. Get back to exercise, get back to healthy foods, toss out the junk food that you gathered for that party, those visitors and toss them out! Try a new activity and keep the faith.

Remember to add subconscious change work to your routine and if possible slip this into your daily practice even in the busy times.

Namaste





My Writing Blog

Note the button on my right sidebar! This blog has been entered in the Wellsphere Healthblogger competition!

Also, I have signed up to become a featured blogger. This is from the information about that!

Health2.0 conference starts tomorrow
The Health2.0 conference is set to get underway tomorrow (Tuesday), and promises to be an amazing two days of presentations and discussions of the latest in online health and technology by dozens of prominent and influential industry and blogosphere luminaries, plus discussions and interactions among over 1,000 attendees who are involved in the latest developments in online health.

If you signed up to be a featured blogger for the conference, the articles you post to your blog on Tuesday and Wednesday will be displayed on a special giant monitor during the conference. We'll send you email updates with information about topics discussed and events announced during the conference, so you can write posts on the topics of interest to the conference attendees, and have those posts reach the attendees during the conference!

So it's very exciting! Please click the button and let's see how it goes!

Breeze



My Writing Blog