How to lose 5 to 10 pounds in less than 14 days.

Follow three simple rules for 14 days, YOU will feel great and lose those unwanted pounds.  Get ready to FEEL amazing!

1. Don't eat white bread, pasta, sugar, white rice, tortilla's and most milk products. 

2. Don't eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. Even if it's whole wheat, absolutely no Wheat Products ZERO, ZIP!  It's only 14 days you can do this.

3.  Only drink water, and herbal teas without sugar or dairy products added. You create a total imbalance in your body when you use these empty calories.
Stop Drinking Soda Pop and unhealthy energy drinks!

You know that soda pop isn't good for you...and yet you still drink it. I understand that plain water gets boring – especially when you're having a party or gathering.


Use the recipes for "Spa Water" below and quickly turn plain water into an exciting and refreshing treat without added sugar or chemicals:

• Citrus: Slice an orange, lemon, and lime into a large pitcher of water. Add ice, allow to chill for 1 hour before serving.
• Raspberry Lime: Slice a lime into a large pitcher of water, add a handful of raspberries. Add ice, allow to chill for 1 hour before serving.
• Strawberry Basil: Slice 10 strawberries into a large pitcher of water, add 5 leaves of basil. Add ice, allow to chill for 1 hour before serving.
• Watermelon Rosemary: Place 1/2 cup of small watermelon chunks into a large pitcher of water, add two sprigs of rosemary. Add ice, allow to chill for 1 hour before serving.
• Pineapple Mint: Place 1/2 cup of small pineapple chunks into a large pitcher of water, add 15 mint leaves. Add ice, allow to chill for 1 hour before serving. 

Guilt-Free Strawberry Ice Cream

Here's a recipe that allows you to indulge in something sweet, cold and creamy without the sugar rush. Non-fat Greek yogurt is packed with protein, which makes this delicious snack even more beneficial. Feel free to add Stevia In The Raw to increase the sweetness as described below.
Servings: 4

Here's what you need...

• 20 organic strawberries
• 2 cups non fat Greek yogurt
• optional *1/4 cup Stevia In The Raw*

1. Wash and hull the strawberries. Mix in a blender until smooth.
2. Add yogurt (and Stevia In The Raw, if using) and blend well.
3. Pour into an ice cream maker and run until yogurt is frozen and creamy.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 87 calories, 0g fat, 53mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 13g protein. 

Saying “Sugar is bad for you” is an understatement.

Sugar is considered empty calories because it doesn't have any vitamins and minerals. It is no wonder you feel so sluggish and heavy all the time when this lifeless ingredient is found in so many of the foods you eat.

Sugar is rapidly converted in the blood to fat (triglycerides), which increase obesity, risk of heart disease, and diabetes. Sugar greatly increases the risk of dental decay. It is devoid of vitamins, minerals, or fibre; it is an empty food.

Here's what happens to your body when you eat sugar:  First the body goes into a "sugar shock" spiking insulin levels and creating a brief energy rush. After the body recovers from the shock, it starts working furiously to recover its internal balance by the raiding of vital nutrients in order to process sugar. This can lead to our bodies becoming acidic. In other words... sugar can alter our entire blood chemistry research shows that just two teaspoons of sugar can throw off your chemical balance.



Fitness Tips, Stay Healthy and Fit

   

It's important to remember
 YOU are in charge of your health.

It's NOT the doctors, it's NOT the government, and it's NOT your spouse. 
YOU can change your health....only you can choose to eat healthy and exercise.

A healthy lifestyle is a choice...

Are you using exercise as an excuse to eat more?

Unfortunately, exercise does not burn as many calories as we might think. What you may not realize is that thirty minutes on the elliptical, for example, cancels out only one Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Key to weight loss is to EAT SMALLER PORTIONS at least 6 times a day!  Make an effort to control your desire for junk food by eliminating it entirely.

If you’re training for a sporting event, you may need to eat more to fuel your workouts—otherwise, consider regular exercise a keep-it-in-check tool, not a free pass to eat whatever you want.

Fuel your body with healthy eating.  The right combination of proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables—as well as adequate hydration with water—can also add a kick to your energy levels.

While cardio exercise won’t completely burn away a weekend binge, it does benefit health by increasing energy and lowering your risk for heart disease.

4 Steps To STOP Eating Sugar.

What happens to your body when you eat sugar?

First the body goes into a "sugar shock" spiking insulin levels and creating a brief energy rush. After the body recovers from the shock, it starts working furiously to recover its internal balance by the raiding of vital nutrients in order to process sugar.
This can lead to our bodies becoming acidic. In other words... sugar can alter our entire blood chemistry research shows that just two teaspoons of sugar can throw off your chemical balance.




4 Steps To STOP Eating Sugar.

Step 1   You need to decide to what extent you want to remove sugar from your diet. If you remove all sugar it will, after a few days, stop the cravings. If you choose to keep eating some sugar like fruit juice and dried fruit you will still better your health because you’re eliminating refined sugar, but you will still have the cravings for sugar.

Step 2   Remove all sugar from your house, everything. Go to the store and buy meals enough for 3 days. Do not go back to the store once you have bought your weekend of groceries. You will want to go sugar free on the weekend because there will be no temptation around. It’s a good idea not to go anywhere where you will have the opportunity to buy any sugar. Stay away from the mall, friends houses etc…

Step 3   Day one might be easy. Day two will be anything but easy. You will find yourself going through all the cupboards looking for any kind of sweet that you can find. I hope you got rid of the hot chocolate, flavored yogurt and everything else, if not you WILL eat it. It is an addiction; you will not be able to control yourself.

Step 4  Day three will be easier but don’t think that you’re off the hook yet. One slip up and you’ll have to start all over. Keep eating healthy. Keep drinking lots of water. If you have trouble drinking lots of water then drink some green tea. You can drink a flavored tea but please don’t slip up and add sugar to it. If you have decided to completely stop eating all sugar you will notice that after a few weeks if you have a sip of fruit juice you will think it’s too sweet.


Refined sugar contains no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no fats, no enzymes, only empty calories. What happens when you eat a refined carbohydrate like sugar? Your body must borrow vital nutrients from healthy cells to metabolize the incomplete food. Calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium are taken from various parts of the body to make use of the sugar. Many times, so much calcium is used to neutralize the effects of sugar that the bones become osteoporotic due to the withdrawn calcium.

Likewise, the teeth are affected and they lose their components until decay occurs and you lose teeth!

...Refined sugar is void of all nutrients, consequently it causes the body to deplete its own stores of various vitamins, minerals and enzymes. If sugar consumption is continued, an over-acid condition results, and more minerals are needed from deep in the body to correct the imbalance. If the body is lacking the nutrients used to metabolize sugar, it will not be able to properly handle and rid itself of the poisonous residues.


Sugar feeds cancer. Cutting out sugar cuts food supply to the cancer cells.

Soda is a significant contributor to obesity.
Drinking a single can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month.

Diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more -- it may sound counter intuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks actually don’t lose weight.

Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.

Stress Can Cause Weight Gain & Effect Your Health Here's How.

Today’s life is faster than ever, filled with constant change, uncertainty and stress.





Because of the constant demands placed on us at work, at home, or we may really be in danger, our bodies respond like we're about to be harmed and need to fight for our lives. Our bodies respond to this need with a burst of energy, shifts in our metabolism, blood flow, and other changes.

STRESS not only affects your weight, but your health.

The stress hormone called cortisol is one of the reasons. While under stress, the fight or flight response is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of various hormones.

We've known for a long time that depression and chronic pain are closely related in many ways. Both conditions share some of the same underlying biochemistry (related to stress hormones such as cortisol and inflammatory compounds such as cytokines) and people with depression tend to experience more episodes of chronic pain (and vice versa). Indeed, physical pain can undoubtedly make psychological pain (depression) worse - likely due to the finding that inflammation is known to worsen and perhaps evencause depression in many people. You might find it interesting to know that cytokines (inflammatory hormone-like chemicals produced in the body)

Conventional wisdom would suggest that controlling depression might also help to control pain - and that reducing pain would help to alleviate depression. However, the research findings in the PNAS article suggest that painkiller drugs may actually interfere with the activity of antidepressant drugs - potentially making depression worse.

4 ways Chronic stress can raise cortisol levels which contribute to weight gain and effect your health are:

Metabolism -- Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism, causing more weight gain than you would normally experience. This also makes dieting more difficult.

Blood Sugar -- Prolonged stress can alter your blood sugar levels, causing mood swings, fatigue, and conditions like hyperglycemia. Too much stress has even been linked to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health concerns that can lead to greater health problems, like heart attacks and diabetes.

Fat Storage -- Excessive stress even affects where we tend to store fat. Higher levels of stress are linked to greater levels of abdominal fat. Unfortunately, abdominal fat is not only aesthetically undesirable, it’s linked with greater health risks than fat stored in other areas of the body.

If you remain in the state of chronic stress for a long period of time your health becomes at risk. One being high blood pressure, a potentially dangerous health condition.
“Stress can actually cause weight gain, particularly around the tummy,” Why? Because physical and emotional stress activates the release of cortisol, a steroid that slows metabolism


When your body is under the stress response, your cortisol and insulin levels raise. These two hormones tend to track each other, and when your cortisol is consistently elevated under a chronic low-level stress response, you’ll likely notice that you have difficulty losing weight or building muscle.


Food Cravings -- People experiencing chronic stress tend to crave more fatty, salty and sugary foods. This includes sweets, processed food and other things that aren’t as good for you. These foods are typically less healthy and lead to increased weight gain.

Other Ways Stress and Weight Gain are connected.

Emotional Eating – Not only can increased levels of cortisol make you crave unhealthy food, but excess nervous energy can often cause you to eat more than you normally would. Have you ever found yourself scouring the kitchen for a snack, or absently munching on junk food when you’re stressed, but not really hungry?

Fast Food -- One of the big reasons we’re seeing more obesity in our society today is that people are too stressed and busy to make healthy dinners at home, often opting to get fast food a the nearest drive-thru instead.

Too Busy to Exercise -- With all the demands on your schedule, exercise may be one of the last things on your to-do list. If so, you’re not alone. Americans live a more sedentary lifestyle than we have in past generations, yet our minds seem to be racing from everything we have to do. Unfortunately, from sitting in traffic, clocking hours at our desks, and plopping in front of the TV in exhaustion at the end of the day, exercise often goes by the wayside.

Today’s so-called solutions including prescription drugs, energy drinks, coffee, etc. aren’t combating the problem, they’re compounding the problem.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to reverse the pattern of weight gain and actually reduce your stress level and waistline at the same time. I recommend you take a yoga class 3 times a week, meditation on a regular basis and lots of good deep breathing.

A natural solution without side effects, Eleviv is NOT A DRUG
Learn more about Eleviv click here.

Eleviv is a combination of 4 herbs that work synergistically together to bring your body back into balance. Not a false energy, like many energy drinks or stimulants Under Stress Your Cortisol and Insulin Levels Raise.

Change Your Life, Just 20 Minutes of Exercise a Day,

Just 20 minutes of regular exercise every single day can have a profound effect on your life, your health and your lifestyle.

With just 20 minutes a day, you can promote weight loss.
With 20 minutes a day, you can decrease how much stress you experience.
With 20 minutes a day, you can achieve the goals you set out for yourself.

Changing Your Life

Making a change in your life is about exerting a form of control over your life and your choices. 20 minutes a day is one of those changes that you can make and it's one that most of us - even at our busiest can find 20 minutes for.

"Our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it." -Unknown Author
5 Ways to get motivated to walk!

1. Get a Walking Buddy

Keep each other motivated no matter what the weather or other excuses is imperative. The conversation and protein smoothie after are great ways to make even a boring walk a lot of fun.

2. Get New Gear
Nothing is more motivating then getting some brand new walking shoes, a great outfit, that new ipod to make the time go quickly. Pedometers, speed and heart rate monitors can also get you moving because we all want to know how far we walked, what our target heart rate is and how many calories we burned. Walking gadgets can make walking a little more fun and give you a reason to get out the door to achieve your next goal.

3. Get committed!
Register for a Charity Walk or sign up for a fun run (no one says you need to run, you can walk instead) so that you have a goal and a commitment. By telling others you will ten be more likely to stay the path and will be more motivated towards your goal knowing that you must train to endure the event.

4. Keep a Walking Journal
Keep track of your walking minutes, steps, or mileage in a journal. Total up each week to see how you are progressing. Set yourself a reasonable goal and you will find that attaining that goal will motivate you enough to maintain your walking schedule. There is even various software applications available to do all the calculations for you.

5. Choose the Right Time and Have Fun!
What is the best time to walk? Many people find that if they commit to early morning walks, there are fewer distractions as may commonly pop up in the afternoon or evening. But if you hate mornings and feel most energetic later in the day - that should be your walking time. To stay motivated, analyze your habits and choose the time that will work best for you. Keep it realistic and most of all fun, and you'll find walking the best route to good physical fitness and health well into your elder years.

Why Starvation and Yo Yo Dieting Doesn't Work!

STOP STARVATION AND YO YO DIETING

Here's why:
The body reacts to weight loss as if it were starving, in response, slows our metabolism.
When your metabolism slows, you burn fewer calories -- even at rest. So it makes it almost impossible to lose weight.


If you continue to take in fewer calories, you will either stop losing weight as quickly as you have been, or you'll stop losing weight altogether.


After starvation diets, eating under 1400 calorie per day diets, when you increase your calorie consumption, you may actually gain weight more quickly than you have in the past.  The most devastating effect of a very low calorie diet is the loss of muscle tissue. Once the starvation alarm is triggered, your body begins looking for ways to conserve energy. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. Getting rid of it is the body's way of decreasing energy expenditure.

The solution is to increase your physical activity and eat 5 small nutritious meals a day. (Skip sugar, white flour and empty calories that don't fuel your body)


Doing so will counteract the metabolic slow down caused by reducing calories. A regular schedule of exercise raises not only your energy expenditure while you are exercising but also your resting energy expenditure -- the rate at which you burn calories even when the workout is over and you are resting.


With each repeated bout of dieting, your metabolism becomes less and less efficient and you can actually become progressively fatter while eating less food.

Don't be fooled by miracle weight loss, magic pill, etc. No Quick Fix to Weight Loss,

“There is no quick fix”.

Overeating brings fat and fat brings regret and makes us feel less about ourselves. Feeling this regret can then bring extra efforts and most possibly over training with all its consequences. It's a kind of a vicious circle.  Learn to control your food intake.

The most important thing you can do is to "believe in your self, believe in the process, stay the course, and you will look the best you ever looked before!"





8 important things you can do daily for your good health.

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Don’t skip breakfast.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, eat less food that is processed and manufactured.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

6. Sleep for 7 hours.

7. Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily.

8. Smile more!