Click here to view the embedded video.

My munchkins wanted to jump on board and help with some health lessons! In fact, if you’re local and have the opportunity to visit our practice, you’ll notice a collection of Dr. J’s Healthy Living Tips posted throughout our practice these days!

I have no idea where she gets this. (ha!)

Anyhow, in this clip, the kids share their version of the importance of regular movement and exercise. The significance of regular movement and exercise goes WAY beyond the scales, the tape measures and the size of your jeans! It even goes beyond the tragedy of childhood obesity. All those things play a secondary role to the true importance of regular motion. Wow. Now that’s really saying something!

Enjoy!

(Oh, if you like these little people, you might also like the last post… http://drmomonline.com/kids-exercise-fitness-and-movement/happy-healthy-active-kids/ )

Click here to view the embedded video.

You’ve heard me say it a gazillion times – ALL (intentional) movement is a good thing. It’s SO very true with kids, too. They need to move, move, move in order to build healthy bodies AND high-performance, balanced brains. It’s not just about preventing childhood obesity. It’s about building healthy people who function at the highest levels – physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.

Regular movement = a healthier brain.

In this case, the movement in question wins no points for style or technique or grace… but it sure did make me smile. I was trying real hard not to bust out laughing while I was videotaping.

I call my son’s first-time snorkeling technique “The Sinking Frog”!!

If you like this little post, you might also enjoy this one:

http://drmomonline.com/kids-exercise-fitness-and-movement/another-example-of-high-intensity-interval-training-or-play-for-maximum-fat-loss/

In this article, I describe how powerful it can be to apply the simplicity and common sense of  The Wellness Formula to your fat loss and weight loss goals.

In fact, if you DON’T understand some of the core components of how this formula works – how health is created and how illness happens – chances are you’re sabotaging your weight loss efforts on a very regular basis.

Conventional thinking about food and nutrition will NOT get you where you need to be!

Check out the article by clicking on the link below… then share it with someone who’s trying to improve their body and their health!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-You-Know-the-Secret-Formula-For-Reaching-Your-Weight-Loss-Goals?&id=3884461

Enjoy!

Every few weeks, I let the kids “talk me into” having cereal for breakfast. I’m not a fan of breakfast cereal in general because of its lack of health-building components and the negative effect cereal grains have on our physiology, so it’s usually only every 3 weeks or more, on average.

I AM a fan of how easy and quick it is to prepare, however! I understand why it’s such an immensely popular breakfast choice. I have not seen any evidence that it is health-building, though. Man, my life would be SO much easier if it were! (Or if I didn’t know… or care!!)

The stuff’s expensive, though! Not much return on investment either.

This morning was a cereal morning. Honestly, it was mostly because we’re still in a Twilight Zone funk after our vacation – we were all up half the night; the animals in this house have all apparently gone nuts;  I haven’t gone “real” grocery shopping yet for all our healthy breakfast protein sources and healthIER grains; and I was in a space cadet place this morning! Cereal seemed like the easiest way to go!

However, we have some agreements surrounding “grainy” breakfasts in order to minimize any negative health consequences.

1) We add a protein and its accompanying fat, and some fresh fiber to the meal. Usually before the cereal is even served. This morning, organic free-range eggs were served along with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Once those were finished, the cereal was served. This way, I know we provided the raw materials for building health FIRST.

*** Brains function significantly better if you provide them with a nice dose of protein and fat in the morning. It helps us learn, focus and remember better. It helps regulate our moods. It helps maintain clarity and energy. Having a starchy, grainy meal with no balance of protein and fats tends to have the opposite effect.

*** This is the number one recommendation I make to parents whose kids are cereal junkies. ADD some protein (with its fat) and some fresh fiber!!! You don’t even have to take away the cereal, or toast or baked goods or pastries or whatever it is. Just add the good stuff first. You can slowly reduce the focus on the conventional refined grains… and/or you can serve the protein and fiber first. Either way, just by adding the good stuff, you’re dramatically improving the health and function of your child’s brain each day!

2) I choose a healthIER source of grains for the cereal. In this case, it was an organic, whole grain, very high fiber, very low sugar type of cereal. I’d prefer sprouted grains, but I haven’t re-stocked yet.

3) I use organic almond milk or organic rice milk – both diluted, and only brands that are NOT fortified with vitamin D2. (It’s inflammatory.) D3 is the ‘good’ kind of D. Also, we use coconut milk – again, only if NOT fortified with D2, or organic whole buttermilk. If we consumed milk with any regularity at all, I’d definitely choose organic,  raw, unpasteurized milk from grass-fed cows or goats as my top choice. It’s just such a rarity for our family, so I haven’t bothered buying a share of a happy, healthy cow or goat from a safe farm. (Safe, clean, nutritionally-beneficial milk is not sold in stores in Michigan, so you have to ‘buy into’ ownership of the milk provider!)

4) One serving only. No seconds.

5) The next snack or meal will not contain grainy foods. It will be protein and its accompanying fat, and fresh fiber.

There, everyone’s happy. The kids feel satisfied because they got to eat what “everyone else eats”… and mom doesn’t feel too bad about it because: 1) I made it healthIER and 2) the kids really do understand the negative consequences of regularly consuming something like cereal, and they understand how to go about making it a better choice. I think that’s pretty empowering for them.

By the way, I DO understand how tricky it can be to feed kids and FUEL them up with healthy choices that they actually like! It’s not that we don’t have grains for breakfast… it’s just that cereal grains are at the bottom of the list of options in our household. If it’s going to be a grainy option, I prefer to serve slow-cooked steel cut oats (to which I add eggs and nuts), or homemade waffles and pancakes (to which I add a LOT of eggs and nuts), or sprouted English muffins or bread served with grass-fed butter and almond butter.

You may have noticed that I didn’t post the work outs I was doing while we were on vacation last week. (I wasn’t being lazy… I had committed to writing an article about weight loss and fat loss each day for various publications and chose not to do BOTH, that’s all!)

In a nutshell, I did four resistance training work outs while we were gone: 3 in the gym doing full body work outs with mostly dumbbells; 1 in our hotel room using body weight for isometric exercises and peak contractions. These work outs were all 20 – 25 minutes long. On these days I also did 15 – 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training (sprinting). On opposite days, I either did an easy run or a long walk. One day, I just did several laps in the pool.

If you’d really like the details of these work outs, or the ones from the week before we left when I was crazy-busy trying to finish up several projects (!), let me know. I’d be happy to share!

Yesterday was the first work out back at home after taking the previous day off for travel. I came back from our trip with more injuries than before… so I’m experimenting with various exercises and seeing what exacerbates the problems and what I can get away with!

I started off with a focused 22 minute resistance training work out:

20 squats on the flat side of Bosu ball with 2 x 35 lb. dumbbells

25 decline push-ups with hands on flat side of Bosu ball, feet up on chair

20 Romanian dead lifts on balance disc with 2 x 35 lb. db’s

15 one-arm rows on each side with 35 lb. db – one foot up on Bosu ball

30 alternating lunges onto Bosu ball with 2 x 25 lb. db’s

24 alternating biceps curls with 2 x 25 lb. db’s, standing on Bosu ball

12 overhead shoulder presses with 2 x 25 lb. db’s – felt really weak… guess I must have forgotten to do these for the last few work outs… not sure.

Abs:

25 ’straight’ leg raises/pelvic lift with 3 lb. ball between feet

25 pelvic lifts with 10 lb. medicine ball between knees

12 “sit-ups” with a twist at the top while holding 35 lb. db on chest

15 butterfly crunches/full sit-ups with 35 lb. db on chest

Then, I went out for a nice, easy 4.5 mile run. No sprints. My legs were still feeling some jet lag!

(ALL exercise is good, and we physiologically require a variety of motion. But, certain types of exercise are superior for fat loss.)

Here’s the link to the article:

http://EzineArticles.com/?id=3881498

Enjoy… and pass it along to someone you know who is trying to shed some fat and get back into better shape!

Man made fats, toxic fats and highly processed vegetable oils & fats are the real problem.

A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last month reiterates this point.

I talk about the importance of healthy fats in “The 7 Essential Keys to Shedding Toxic Fat & Unwanted Pounds”. No, “healthy fats” are not the commonly recommended processed and refined commercial vegetable fats we’re told to consume to “watch our weight” and “protect our heart health”! I’m talking about real fat from real food! THAT’S what builds health, therefore, that’s what will help you reach your optimal body composition.

http://www.LoseToxicFat.com

The following article is from a newsletter I receive from U.S. Wellness Meats. It’s an excellent resource – they consistently provide top-notch nutrition information and tips, plus, they are a fantastic source of CLEAN, extremely healthy meats.

Saturated Fats Are Healthy To Eat

Finally, more evidence that points to what we already knew…

Dietary intakes of saturated fats are not linked to cardiovascular disease, so says a meta-analysis from across the world.

The conclusion that dietary intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increase in coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease was reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition this past February, 2010.

This study accumulated data from almost 350,000 subjects in twenty-one different studies. The data from these study subjects showed the development of approximately 11,000 cases of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) or stroke. However, there was no link established between the subject’s saturated fat intake and the incidence of CHD, stroke, or Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), and this did not change when the researchers focused their research to consider age or sex, or the quality of the study.

“Our meta-analysis showed that there is insufficient evidence from prospective epidemiologic studies to conclude that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr Ronald Krauss from the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California.

“[However,] nutritional epidemiologic studies provide only one category of evidence for evaluating the relation of saturated fat intake to risk for CHD, stroke, and CVD. An overall assessment requires consideration of results of clinical trials as well as information regarding the effects of saturated fat on underlying disease mechanisms, as discussed elsewhere in this issue. Nonetheless, a summary evaluation of the epidemiologic evidence to date provides important information as to the basis for relating dietary saturated fat to CVD risk,” the researchers said.

The study, funded by the US National Dairy Council, Unilever, and the National Institutes of Health, challenges the mainstream majority thinking that saturated fats are detrimental to heart health.

The old “lipid hypothesis” tried to show a direct relationship between the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet and the incidence of coronary heart disease. This lipid hypothesis for heart disease received a huge amount of publicity and public favor, in spite of the fact that other studies showed this hypothesis to not be true many years ago.

In the last 50 years, big food processing companies jumped on the bandwagon and pushed the lipid hypothesis even further into the mainstream. Oddly enough though, prior to the 1920’s, coronary heart disease was very rare in America. Americans ate lots of lard, butter, beef and cheese, but heart attacks and strokes were uncommon.

While vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats were pushed as the “healthy choice” over saturated fats for the next forty years, the incidence of coronary heart disease actually increased dramatically, so much so that today, heart disease remains a primary cause of death in the U.S. With the advent of the revised food pyramid, grains and carbohydrates pushed those numbers up even higher.

If heart disease had any connection to saturated fats in the diet, how could it be that the use of saturated fats has gone down, while the use of processed vegetable oils like margarine, shortening, and trans fats-as well as sugar and grain-based processed foods have increased dramatically?

Clearly something has been amiss here.

Oils like canola, corn, soybean, and sunflower have been pushed as the healthy substitutes over saturated fats. It is these oils, though, that contribute to inflammation in the body, and upset the ratio of Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6 fatty acids.

Diets high in vegetable oils -especially hydrogenated vegetable oils, cause a variety of health problems, including inflammation. This inflammation leads to an increased tendency to form blood clots, which leads to heart attacks and strokes, now at higher than ever levels in the U.S.

Most of the fat in our bodies and in the food we eat comes in the form of triglycerides, which are made of three fatty-acid chains attached to a glycerol molecule. Elevated triglycerides in the blood are usually linked to a higher than average potential for heart disease, but triglycerides do not come directly from dietary fats. Triglycerides are made in the liver from sugars that have not been burned for energy. Excess sugars in the body are from starchy carbohydrates, particularly refined sugar and white flour. It appears that triglycerides and vegetable oils and excessive Omega 6 fatty acids are causing much of the problem.

So you see, saturated fats are not the villains they have been portrayed to be, nor are they the cause of today’s diseases; in fact quite the opposite is true.

Saturated fats play an important role in the body in several ways:

• Saturated fatty acids make up at least 50% of the cell membranes. They give cell walls their necessary stiffness and integrity.

• Saturated fats are extremely important for bone health. For calcium to be effectively utilized in our bones at least 50% of dietary fats should be saturated–so skim milk will not help your bones.

• Saturated fats are vital to the liver and help protect it from toxins such as alcohol and other drugs.

• Saturated fats strengthen the immune system.

• They are needed for the proper utilization of other essential fatty acids – Omega 3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues and utilized by the body when the diet is rich in saturated fats as well.

• The fat around the heart muscle is actually highly saturated. The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of physical stress.

• Saturated fats lower a substance in the blood called Lp(a), or Lipoprotein(a), that indicates a tendency towards heart disease.

• Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have important antimicrobial properties. They protect us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract.

The scientific evidence is beginning to pile up and does not (and never did) support the assertion that saturated fats clog arteries and cause heart disease.

So while saturated fats have not yet been exonerated in the mainstream public, the tide is beginning to turn. You as an educated consumer, and your own health advocate know the truth about saturated fats vs. the evils of vegetable oils and refined foods. Enjoy your grass fed steaks, butter, cheese and lard and know you are doing your body good.

References:

Mary G. Enig, PhD, and Sally Fallon, “The Skinny on Fats”, Weston A. Price Foundation, Jan, 1999.

Stephen Daniells, “Saturated Fats Not Linked to Heart Disease: Meta Analysis”, Food Navigator.com, February 2010.

P.W. Siri-Tarino, Q. Sun, F.B. Hu, R.M. Krauss, “Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease”, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2010.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s another example of what interval training might look like… bursts of speed (or panic, depending on your perspective!) followed by short rest periods.

This is THE best type of exercise to incorporate in order to shed maximum fat and drop excess pounds.

I always say that when we let kids play like kids and provide them with healthy nutritional fuel (and a whole lotta’ love, support, joy and a spiritual foundation, of course), they can’t help but be lean, fit little dynamos!

Works for grown-ups, too! : )

Oops!

In my sheer glee from being on a real, live vacation with my family, I had what my kids would affectionately refer to as a
“brain toot”!

The other day I announced that my newest ebook and audio book, “The 7 Essential Keys to Shedding Toxic Fat & Unwanted Pounds”
has just been released.

You can check it out here:

http://www.LoseToxicFat.com

I had intended to offer a special introductory “Celebration Discount” for several reasons…

1) We’re on vacation in Hawaii!! Woo hoo! It’s long overdue and we are SO grateful for the opportunity that special friends of ours provided us by essentially ‘giving’ us this trip! I wanted to share our incredible blessings with you!

2) I celebrated my birthday last weekend… I’m happy to be here each and every day,  and I’m thankful for my health and my
ability to share what I know with others! It’s MY birthday present to YOU!

3) I certainly don’t mean for this to come across as overly obnoxious to many of you reading this… but I am Canadian! (Obnoxious is not allowed in the Canadian character traits anyhow! We’re too busy apologizing!!) Anyhow, I’m STILL buzzing about the Olympics! I’ve always been a huge fan of the Winter Olympics… and obviously this year was very special for Canadians. Originally, I was going to release the book right after the Olympics… particularly right after the final hockey game! It’s in my blood – I HAVE to celebrate that! My joy
over the Olympics is being passed along to you!

4) Finally, I’m excited! This is a fantastic book with highly successful strategies and tips that will transform lives. It’s jam-packed with extraordinarily valuable content that other fat loss/weight loss books and programs lack. I’m proud of it and can’t wait to help as many people as possible achieve their weight loss goals and get their health back!!

So, I’m offering a special Celebration Discount for the remainder of our vacation! As long as I’m on vacation, you’re gonna’ save
some big bucks!

We get back to sunny Michigan this coming Wednesday the 10th at 6 am. If you order “The 7 Essential Keys to Shedding Toxic Fat &
Unwanted Pounds” by 6 am Wednesday, you will receive an additional $10 OFF your order!!

Just type ALOHA in the coupon code box at check-out and receive an extra $10 off an already invaluable product!

http://www.LoseToxicFat.com

You’ve got to hurry though! This special pricing is only good until Wednesday morning at 6am

Click here to view the embedded video.

I always talk about the importance of moving your spine and all its surrounding tissues in order to fuel up your brain for health and happiness.

Sheesh! Just imagine how healthy and happy these young ladies must be! Lol!!

(Not to mention the nice abs, core strength and overall sleek physiques they have! Hula on, baby!)

Once you understand the key component of fat loss that I describe in the article, you will finally have a much better chance of achieving optimal body composition!

You can read the article by clicking this link:

http://EzineArticles.com/?id=3875982

If you like it, let me know… and please share it with someone who would like to shed some weight and achieve better health.

Some of you are aware that I’ve been working on this project for the last couple of months. I’m excited to announce that my latest ebook and audio book, “The 7 Essential Keys to Shedding Toxic Fat & Unwanted Pounds” is ready to roll!

This is THE last weight loss solution you’ll ever need!

You can check it out here: http://www.LoseToxicFat.com

Many people have asked me why I chose to write a book about weight loss, when my area of expertise is Wellness.

Well, that’s exactly why!

I feel that Wellness is the number one thing missing from the majority of weight loss products and programs.

We currently have more diet books,more celebrity diets and weight loss products,  more weight management programs, more low-fat & fat-free foods, more low-calorie foods, more sugar-free foods, more fitness ‘experts’, more gyms, more trainers, more exercise shows, more cooking shows, more diet pills and fat burners and more surgeries available to help suppress appetite and remove excess body fat.

BUT… the reality is that we still have a significantly more overweight and out-of-shape population with each passing year and
sky-rocketing rates of chronic illness and sickness.

Clearly, what we’ve been doing is NOT working! In fact, I find it pathetic that no one has stepped up sooner and done something about this.

I’ve witnessed this horrific trend in our Wellness practice for 15 years now. People are bouncing from diet to diet, fad to fad, gimmick to gimmick, surgery to surgery… and never getting or maintaining the results they desire.

Worse yet, I see people getting more and more sick as they make choices they think are going to help them get thin. No one is
telling them what’s missing. No one is pointing out the dangerous choices they’re making that are robbing them of a healthy future.

Enough is enough.

I wrote “The 7 Essential Keys to Shedding Toxic Fat & Unwanted Pounds” to serve as a practical, simple, scientific, wellness-oriented approach to creating a healthier body – inside and out, for life.

Healthier choices result in a healthier, leaner body. I know that in order to get results that last, you’ve got to have the right strategy based on a scientifically accurate paradigm. Then, from there, you need the right plan. I’ve got you covered! In this book, I lay it all out for you.

I wrote this book so that no matter where you are on this journey now, this WILL help. Whether you’ve got those last stubborn 5 lbs. to shed, or you need to shed hundreds of pounds in order to save your life. This WILL help.  No matter what you’ve tried before, this WILL help. No matter how many times you’ve been on this roller coaster and no matter how frustrated you may be feeling, this WILL help.

It’s simple. It’s science. It’s successful!

No gimmicks. No pseudo-science. No fads.

Just better health and a better body!

Check it out at http://www.LoseToxicFat.com

I didn’t realize until a few days into vacation that, back home, I don’t each much junk because I DON’T BUY much junk. If it’s not right there in front of me or easily accessible in my house, I’m not going to eat it! Duh. I keep my shopping list pretty simple and clean. Planning meals in advance of shopping trips has proven immensely valuable on many levels!

Vacation has proven that if someone makes tasty toxins easily and readily available to me, there’s a much higher likelihood that I’ll indulge! Duh #2.

I’m not too worried about it on vacation. We’re still getting what we need each day as far as nutrition is concerned… we’re just adding a few more things that we obviously DON’T need! Healthy choices are still winning by a landslide though!

Yesterday was a cheese and crackers day. Organic, yes. But, still not health-building as far as crackers are concerned. I was reminded why I will not buy crackers at home! Yours truly would secretly attempt to live on cheese, crackers, grapes and wine!!

I notice this ALL the time with our kids – I always say, “It’s funny what they’ll eat when that’s all they’ve got to choose from!” When they’re away from all the common snack foods they encounter in their social circles and in the media like chips and crackers and pretzels and cereal and bagels and pizza and so on, I see them happily munching on veggies and fruit and almonds and hard-boiled eggs. BAM! As soon as they’re back in the mix, seeing all the tasty toxins, they’re tempted… and whiney!! Lol!

Don’t buy it. You won’t have it. Your kids won’t have it.

That’s gotta’ be worth AT LEAST 5 lbs. and a few body fat percentage points in your journey to optimal body composition!

I’ve been taking mental notes of all things health-related since our arrival, which is pretty par for the course with me! I take it all in: healthy options on restaurant menus, healthier grocery store options, fitness rooms at hotels, people out exercising, etc.

This morning, I went out for a run along the beach walk. Rough, I know!

I was surprised to see the incredibly high number of less-than-fit bodies out walking. I was very glad to see so many people out moving… but I had a bad feeling that they may only be doing this because they’re on vacation in Maui!

I saw hundreds of people out today. BUT, I saw less than 50 who looked fit and trim. And, I only saw TWO who were really, really in fabulous condition.

I came upon this couple from behind… I spotted them from quite a distance. They were standing off to the side of the beach walk, in their minimal work out attire, on a large grassy area next to the beach. They stuck out like sore thumbs!  Gorgeous, lean, trim and fit bodies – not too muscle-bound… just lean and sleek. Ahhh… I love healthy bodies! They were easily the fittest bodies on the beach.

I had a feeling I knew exactly what type of a work out they were doing, based on how lean their bodies were.

I was right. As I came closer, they took off like lightening bolts, running at top speed along the grass! I looked back a couple times and saw that they were repeating these high-intensity interval bursts. Approximately 25-35 seconds of sprinting and then walking back to the starting point. I’m not sure how many times they repeated the intervals (’cuz I was a little busy finishing off a 5 mile run!), but it doesn’t really matter.

The point is, do intervals to burn the most fat!

That was a great visual reminder for me. I don’t see too many people in Michigan in the month of March out there running with as little clothing on as possible! This was fantastic reinforcement and motivation to continue including 2 or 3 of these types of running intervals in my weekly work out schedule!

Obviously it works!

Each time I was asked, I had to laugh! What a funny thing to ask!

The more I’ve thought about that during our trip, I’ve realized some of the differences in the way people think about health… and why choosing healthy things doesn’t feel like a “sacrifice” for me. I don’t feel “deprived” when I choose asparagus over french fries!

I truly enjoy choosing healthy foods – I like the way they make me feel, both physically and mentally. I feel energized when I eat real foods and keep things as “clean” as I can. It feels incredibly good to provide healthy food for my kids. Nope, it’s not always perfect… but it sure feels good when it’s close! I also love to move my body everyday. I’m no marathoner or fitness competitor… but I love to move what I’ve got on a very regular basis!

I crave real food, especially greens. I crave movement. For real! I just spoke these words to my hubby last night on our family walk: “I need a salad… or asparagus… or broccoli… I’ve gotta’ have some greens!” He thinks I’m strange, but he understands and loves me anyway!

I haven’t always been this way… not even close. I grew up with plenty of junk in my diet. Pop, chips, pizza, cookies, ice cream, candy, white flour, and lots of sugar. (Thank goodness I grew up in a small town that had NO fast food restaurants!! That wasn’t part of my life until my teens.)

My parents just didn’t know. Nobody told them how to BUILD health. They were only taught that when things aren’t feeling right, go to the doctor and get “something” for it! Sad. In hind sight, our family doctor knew nothing about “health”. He was a great drug trafficker, though!

I was always “FIT” because I was very active. But I was not healthy. You can’t eat toxic junk consistently, take drugs with any regularity whatsoever and be healthy. I had to GROW into that role of a “healthy person” as an adult! As such, I think differently.

It’s never, ever too late to become a healthier person.

On this vacation of ours, it’s pretty much the same deal as at home. We fill up – FUEL up – with health each day. We don’t ‘indulge’ in tasty toxins until we’ve given our bodies (and brains) an abundant quantity of the raw materials for health. The difference is, on vacation I can’t necessarily keep the purity levels of our food as high as I’m able to at home. Also, we enjoy getting caught up in the vacation ‘vibe’ and trying new foods and new flavors.

Not a big deal when you lay a solid foundation.

We are SO blessed to have accommodations that feature a full kitchen! We stocked up on nutrition essentials our first day here: fresh local eggs, “clean” chicken, grass-fed butter, raw nuts and nut butters, tons of fruit and veggies, wraps, whole milk organic yogurt, and fresh juice (not on the shopping list at home… but too tempting to pass up in the tropics!).

OK. We stocked up on a tad of local organic vino as well! Not exactly part of the health-building regime… just part of the vacation ‘vibe’ I alluded to!

Each day, we start everyone off with protein and fresh fiber (fruit) for breakfast; some nuts or nut butter and more fruit or veggies for a snack; and a healthy lunch and afternoon snack with more of the same. Then, we have some wiggle room for dinner! Funny, though… “wiggle room” isn’t all that different either. We still end up with a source of protein and veggies. Maybe there are just more tasty toxins in this meal than usual. Not too shabby though!

Yesterday, our highly enjoyable toxic choice was ice cream. Not a shred of remorse! It was dee-licious and we had filled up with healthy fuel several times throughout the day already. Plus, we ate it at the half way point of a 4-mile walk with the kids. Walking for 2 miles against high trade winds burned off any of the excess calories! (It’s still toxic… we just didn’t hang onto those calories!)

We move everyday, in one shape or form. We’re in the perfect location for all-day activity outside, so we’ve been doing lots of walking and swimming as a family. Hubby and I have continued with high-intensity interval work outs every other day.

It’s just part of normal life for us. It’s a lifestyle. That’s why it doesn’t feel weird, or like something we “have to do”, or a sacrifice… or any of those other things people said to me before we left! It’s just normal. We do healthy things because it feels good.

Again, that doesn’t mean we don’t do UNhealthy things from time to time! There are some really delectable tropical beverages that keep calling my name… I’ve answered a few times!

Anyhow, when making healthier choices is a fairly common occurrence in your “real” life, you tend to make those choices easily and without much of a second thought. It’s easy to carry this same line of thinking over to vacation as well. Each day includes healthy choices… not perfect, just healthIER.

Aloha!

We know that not everyone could make it to the presentation that night, so we’re bringing the presentation to YOU…

Now, you can download your own copy of the seminar!
http://tinyurl.com/yfz2d3y

You can listen to over 2 hours of LIVE audio and follow along with the accompanying outline slide presentation that we used during the seminar. It’s the next best thing to actually being there with us… and you even get to “pause” us whenever you need a break!

This is rich content… it’s a loaded 2+ hours!

This is what’s missing in “health” care.

This is what you’re not hearing anyplace else.

This is what will make a difference.

http://tinyurl.com/yfz2d3y

This is priceless information.

Why was this such an important seminar?

1) The timing is perfect – critical, in fact. We are living in a time when chronic illness like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, arthritis, digestive disorders, depression & anxiety, learning & attention disorders, reproductive & fertility disorders and so on, are sky-rocketing.

The leading researchers affirm that these conditions are preventable the vast majority of the time. We can DO something to prevent going down the path of chronic illness. But, you’ve got to know how! You’ve got to do something different than what the masses have been doing.

You must have a different understanding, a different strategy, and different actions or else nothing will change.

2) The “10 Steps to Transform Your Health in 2010″ seminar was jam-packed with solutions! We provided the scientific basis for how health is created, and outlined 10 of the most powerful action steps you can begin taking TODAY in order to start shaping your healthier future right away.

This is transformational stuff! Even implementing a couple of the steps can result in a dramatic shift toward better health and a better future.

Download your own copy today!

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No, I don’t do each of those every day, silly… I DO have a job and a family to take care of! I do some combination of spinal hygiene (stretching, proprioceptive moves and postural exercises) each morning, and the rest is sprinkled all over the place!

I’ve had a narrowed focus for the past couple of weeks – I’m doing a bit more of the high-intensity interval training right now. It’s a two-fold purpose. 1) My body just feels like it right now! And, 2) I very recently was informed that we’re blessed enough to be heading someplace very warm next week. Not much else can motivate you to step it up another notch than finding out you’ll be living in a bathing suit (in public) for a week… and that you won’t be able to totally escape being caught in a family photo or two!

Here’s what the last week has looked like:

Wednesday

This was sort of a “cardio intervals” work out. I couldn’t get away for a running/sprinting work out with the kids off school last week, so I modified the plan.

1 minute of Bosu ball “scoots” – kind of side skipping over the Bosu ball at a quick pace, going from side lunge to side lunge

1 minute straddle jumps onto Bosu, landing in wide squats when down on the floor, popping up onto the ball

30 seconds of reverse lunges off the Bosu ball

30 two-foot bench jump-ups

1 minute of alternating side bench jump-ups – same type of move as the Bosu scoot!

Abs: 30 recumbent straight leg raises off bench

30 two-foot bench jump-overs – *warning* – these can be dangerous little buggers! I had two more jumps to go, and was needing a little extra oomph, so I used my arms a little bit too much. I ended up gouging a dent out of my forehead with own thumb nail!! Duh! Tip – when you get tired, don’t use your arms for assistance tooooo much!

30 side-to-side parallel bench jump-overs

30 alternating swivel chair kicks – great for abs! Swivel kicks over a high-back chair. It’s surprising how heavy our legs are!

(I think this was about a 20 – 25 minute work out… forgot to write it down as I tended to an silly bleeding forehead before going in to the office!)

Thursday

25 squats on flat side of Bosu ball with 2 x 25 lb. dumbbells on shoulders

20 chin-ups

20 decline push-ups onto flat side of Bosu ball

alternating squats/front kicks for 1 minute

15 wide biceps curls with 2 x 15 lb. db’s

30 dips with feet on flat side of Bosu, ankles crossed

15 lateral shoulder raises with 2 x 15 lb. db’s

25 (each side) lunges with rear foot on chair, front foot on round side of Bosu ball – 2 x 25 lb. db’s

15 (each side) 1-arm rowing with 50 lb. Bowflex cable

20 chest presses with 80 lbs. Bowflex cables

18 biceps curls (ea.) with 30 lb. BF cables – held #20 for 30 seconds

20 overhead triceps French press with 30 lb. BF cable

20 dead lifts off the bench, 2 x 35 lb. db’s

20 side-to-side lunges, over the top of Bosu, 2 x 25 lb. db’s

30 alternating bench step-ups with 2 x 25 lb. db’s

25 jack knives on exercise ball

1 minute mountain climbers

Took Guinness for a long walk.

Friday

(usual morning routine)

Ran 3.5 miles. “Normal” run for the first 1.5-2 miles. 45-60 seconds intervals of sprinting/2 minutes of jogging/walking for the last 1.5+ miles.

Took Guinney-Bopper for a walk.

Saturday

Usual morning routine of stretching, proprioceptive moves + more abs work, calisthenics and yoga. Approx. 25  – 30 minutes.

Sunday

(morning routine – short one)

Ran 5 miles – normal run for first 2.5; intervals for the last 2.5. Did 6 or 7 intervals of 80-100% effort for 45 – 60 seconds, with recovery periods of 2-3 minutes for most of them… some longer if they included going back down to normal running pace.

Abs: two sets of 30 pelvic/leg lifts with medicine ball between knees, two sets of crunch variations with 35 lb. db on chest – 12 & 16 reps, 25 oblique crunches on Bosu ball (each side) with medicine ball on chest

Walked dog-breath, too.

Monday

This work out was supposed to be a high-intensity fat-burning work out, but I kind of ran out of steam by the time I got around to it! The kids were off school and we had been playing out in the NEW deep snow for a l-o-n-g time… my legs were whooped! The work out was still really good, just not as high-intensity as I had originally planned.

I’ve misplaced the details of the work out, but I can tell you the basic exercises I did…

squats on the flat side of Bosu ball

2-arm rows on ball

chest flyes with dumbbells while lying on ball

dead lifts

alternating lunges

biceps curls and reverse grip triceps kickbacks on Bowflex

lateral shoulder raises while kneeling on Bosu ball

a couple 1 minute “intervals” of kneeling on exercise ball

wall squats and wide squats

hamstring/glute curls with exercise ball

Abs: ab vacuums, plank poses – front and side, bent and straight arm

Tuesday

(morning routine)

45 minutes of Tae Bo

Abs: pretty much the same as what I did on Sunday, just added stwo sets of straight leg raises (15 each) with medicine ball between feet

Some days it’s not overly “special” on the surface – errands, housework and “work” work can cloud the “fun-ness” of the day. But today, I vowed to give him undivided attention for a large portion of our time. I got a nice big chunk of work done before the kids got up this morning, so I’m off-the-hook for a few hours, anyway!

We’ve played dress-up, pirates, dragon warriors, we’ve read lots of books, we’ve fed the birds… we even went through a bunch of his sister’s toys that she never let’s him play with! Shhh…

One of my favorite things about our special days together – in addition to NOT having to hear siblings bicker over next-to-nothing – is our lunch date time. It’s our special day to eat the yummy, healthy things that the other members of our family don’t love the way WE do!

(Oh, I can ‘get’ his sister to eat some of these things… but I need an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Role for her each time we go down that little road!!)

Today’s lunch:

Omelette with asparagus and broccoli

carrot slices

Brussels sprouts

We call each other “Brussels sprouts buddies” – we’re definitely on our own with that little tasty morsel!

It’s nice to have at least one meal where he’s not influenced by his big sister’s ever-changing taste buds.

Now, it’s on to word building and a bit of math, then we’ll do some Tae Bo together before heading back to school! Tuesdays rock!! : )

If I could just figure out how to clone myself and get a little more work done on these days, that’d be perfect! For now, the most important things have to come first. Work will wait – being four won’t!

When I have the presence of mind to step outside the situation and become an observer of my life for a little while, I find the whole thing pretty interesting! It’s providing me the perfect opportunity to practice what I preach on many levels.

Since I wasn’t 100% behind the decision we went with, of course I’ve experienced much stress surrounding this issue for the past couple months.

Sound familiar? How many times have I urged readers here, “Your beliefs and your actions/behaviors have got to be aligned with each other in order for you to have success… and less stress.”

Yep. I know this!

I keep trying to be OK with our decision… to embrace it. But since I haven’t done so fully, the gap between what I truly believe and want, and what we’re feeling we ‘need’ to do right now, is causing stress. My beliefs don’t fully align with our actions. Recipe for stress!

The challenge, of course, is that the other option wasn’t perfect either!! Figures. Either way, I would be experiencing some stress in the gap.

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me how we were doing with our decision and our big change. I moaned about it for awhile. Pathetic! That didn’t make anything better.

Then I resolved to saying, “Ah, it’ll be all right… I just need to get used to it. I’ll get used to it… just a little more time.”

On my way home after having that conversation, I was thinking about what I had said. I thought, “Well, that’s pretty lame! ‘I’ll get used to it’?! Right! I’ll get used to it once: (a) I lower my standards, and/or (b) I start caring LESS about the situation!!”

I pondered that for a few days, wondering if that’s how we all feel on some level, conscious or not, when we do things that aren’t necessarily our first choice. We lower our standards, or resign ourselves to less caring about the situation.

I don’t have the answer, by the way… I was just wondering! lol!

After a few more days of realizing these “in-limbo” feelings are really quite useless, I remembered that I always have a choice. This time around, I have a choice in how I’ll feel about the whole scenario, and what I’ll focus on the most.

It would be SO easy to focus on all the things that are clearly not ideal… are not as I wish they could be. Great. Where will that get me? I’ll continue to convince myself that “I’m right”… but I’ll also continue to be stressed out, negative and feel like crap about this decision!! Not health-promoting, to say the least.

In every situation there ARE blessings. I really had this lesson reinforced as I walked my mom’s breast cancer journey with her. Sometimes we have to look a little harder for those blessings than other times, but they ARE always there.

It takes intention.

In the weeks that have passed since this little self-help-talk to myself, I’ve shifted my focus… for the most part! I’m making the effort to intentionally choose to focus on “the good stuff” about our decision each day. Some days, it’s a BIG stretch to find the good stuff… but I find something! Our decision has caused some stress, some discomfort and some uncertainty… like most changes do, but it has also opened up some new doors that were previously closed.

I guess I’m just thinking about the various paths we can end up on in this little journey of ours. Some planned, some planned for us, some that completely blind-side us! We may take a little time to find our groove on the new path, but if we open up to the opportunity and the blessings, and keep an attitude of gratitude surrounding the situation, pretty soon we find a groove that can work for us… at least on some level!

A few days ago, the kids and I visited one of my aunts in the hospital after she had suffered a stroke. She has made enormous improvements and is back home now, thank God.

Anyhow, while we were visiting, I couldn’t help but notice the tray of lunch that had been delivered to her room right before we arrived. Overflowing with abundant nutrition, it was not! It was pathetic and displayed a complete lack of understanding of basic nutrition and the raw ingredients required for optimal physiologic function of the body.

The “low-calorie” lunch menu:

about 1/4 – 1/3 cup of low-fat cottage cheese

1/3 cup of fruit cocktail (canned!)

black tea… with an unlimited supply of refined sugar, Splenda and Nutrasweet to choose from

What?! Are you kidding me?

What’s my challenge with the menu, you ask?

1) The cottage cheese. Conventional dairy is toxic garbage. It’s loaded with hormones, steroids and void of much nutritional value whatsoever after it has gone through all the modern-day processing and pasteurization.

The biggest benefit dairy has to offer is the fat-soluble vitamins it contains in its whole fat form – they are vital for optimal brain function, hormonal function, mood regulation, as well as countless other functions throughout the body.Well, you can kiss the vast majority of those benefits good-bye once you choose low-fat or fat-free and process the stuff to death!

Without question, the most beneficial form of dairy is raw, unpasteurized and whole-fat.

2) The fruit cocktail. C’mon! You can’t be serious! Dead, processed, colored, sweetened fruit? That was pretty pathetic to see. Ohhhh, I understand that REAL fruit might cost more. Your point? Give me a flippin’ break! We’re talking about our health… and trying to help people get it back so they can get the heck outta’ that place. Canned food should be criminal in this setting.

3) The black tea. Not the greatest choice for someone trying to regain function and repair serious damage done. But, not as big of a problem as serving it up with “help-yourself-to-all-you-care-for” toxic sweeteners! I’m pretty sure that sending patients into the physiological stress response and providing inflammatory ingredients is not in their best interest for healing!

Ugh.This menu went far beyond “low calorie” – it was “toxic and deficient calorie”.

Even my daughter turned to me and quietly asked, “Mommy, this isn’t very healthy food, is it? How is she supposed to get better if she eats this?” Exactly. (Although, she may have just been testing me to see if there was any way on earth she could have a chance at eating something that came with bright red cherries in it!!)

Can you even imagine how disgusted I’d be if I had to look at the “meat” and pale veggies they serve?! Ewww!

Actually, I clearly remembering suffering through that exact philosophical battle when my mom was in the hospital for the last 3 weeks of her life. It’s brutal to witness someone you love being fed garbage as their bodies are just trying to hang on and get better. I did my best to bring her fresh food, but it didn’t “fit” with the system. Whatever.

A friend of mine whose husband was recently in a highly esteemed hospital out of state as he struggled to hang on to his life long enough to have a potentially life-saving surgery, was shocked to discover the same lack of pure nutrition available. This is a couple who has taken the personal responsibility of educating themselves about real nutrition and what it takes to re-build health. (The husband’s life-threatening condition goes back many, many years… long before they made this lifestyle change.)

My friend chose to pay a cab $60 per day to drive her to and from the Whole Foods Market that was closest to the hospital so that she could bring non-toxic, health-supporting food back to the hospital for her husband. She had spoken to doctors, nurses, even the head nutritionist of the hospital and was completely dumbfounded by the lack of accurate knowledge and the failure to provide physiologically compatible, safe and restorative nutrition.

It’s truly pathetic.

How are sick people supposed to get well when we feed them more garbage?

In all fairness, I know that some hospitals are attempting to improve things… their intentions are good, or so I choose to believe. Personally knowing a chef in one of these “new” hospitals that claims to offer real, healthy food, I know that  much of the nutritional knowledge is still based on inaccurate, outdated and flawed thinking that has been mindlessly passed down by the “diet dictocrats” (thank you, Sally Fallon – Nourishing Traditions!) for far too many generations now.

They ARE trying though… at least on some level.

I still think our best bet is to do everything we possibly can to stay as far away from hospitals as possible! Building health helps us avoid chronic illness.