Tag Archives: health

6 Ways to Make Healthy Resolutions That Stick

2019

It’s basically December already! This month and next are probably the best months for new gym memberships, nutrition plans, and health classes because of all of the enticing discounts that hope to get you to commit to a healthier version of you in the New Year. We all say we want to make changes come January, but then what happens? For many, by mid-year their resolve to stick with that new diet or workout regimen is completely gone and they are back to square one, right before bikini season. Below are a few thoughts on how you can make some resolutions that you will stick with in 2019. -XoXo Raw Girl

Use Whatever Word Works for You. I personally don’t like the word resolution. I usually set goals for the New Year. Having a goal for me, is more activating than having a resolution. That’s just me and how the words affect me psychologically. Figure out what works for you and use the word that motivates you to make something happen, rather than just dream about it. Here are some other words you can use if you don’t like resolution: goal, objective, target, intention. Many people are afraid to even begin the process of resolution setting because they accept defeat from the beginning. Give yourself permission to dream but obviously don’t make your goals too far of a stretch so you don’t loose heart before you begin.
Make The Resolutions Measurable. Avoid the tendency to set vague intentions for the New Year. Don’t just say, I want to lose weight, say I want to lose 10 lbs and decrease my body fat percentage by five points. Use numbers, use a time limit if you want, just make sure your goal can be easily quantified. If you want to go plant-based or eat more vegetables, maybe you set a goal to eat completely vegetarian three or four days a week. You get the idea. This is super important because without the specifics you cannot know when you’ve reached your goal and should be celebrating, or what numbers or data you should be tracking on a regular basis to obtain the goal.
Find Someone to Hold you Accountable. It’s so much easier to fall off the healthy bandwagon if you have a goal an no one else knows about it. Then you can slip right back into your bad habits with no one to shame you but yourself. Having someone hold you accountable, whether it be a workout buddy, a trainer, a nutritionist, or your bestie may help you feel more motivated to stick with the plan. The trick here is that the person must be understanding but tough enough on you when you fall off so that you feel the need to get back on track. Don’t pick friends who will listen to your lame excuses for missing the gym for two weeks and tell you it’s OK.
Have a Plan. As the saying goings, vision without perspiration is hallucination. Don’t say you are going to loose 10 pounds but not have a strategic plan. Write down in detail what you need to do daily and weekly to see that goal through, and be willing to seek advise of someone more seasoned in whatever area you are trying to change if you need pointers on how to go about it. Having your plan is also a way to hold yourself accountable to whatever actions are outlined in it. It saves you from being vague and missing your mark altogether.
Write it Down and/or Visualize It. Apparently most people skip the essential step of writing down their goals. There is magic in writing it down, it starts the process of creation. It’s just on paper but its a start, now you can work from there to create steps to achieve it or even better let them come to you. As someone who is intense about goal setting, I have learned that it is possible and perfectly OK to have the goal and have no idea how to make it work. Just holding the intention can be magical and you will run into the right people or situations that point you to your final destination. However, that can only happen when you have a clear, written objective. You can also do something I love to do and vision board it. Cut out images that correspond to your resolution, collage them, and put them in a place you will look at daily. If you are extra about your boards and want to go beyond cutting out images with scissors use Canva, and easily collage your board online, or if you are fancy and graphic design savvy you can use Photoshop.
Track Your Progress. So you have the goal, you wrote it down, you visualized it, and maybe you also have a game plan. You are way ahead of the crowd, but still in danger of waking up mid-year wondering where the resolution went if you do not track your progress. A personal example I can use, is that I have workout goals I am trying to meet, so I track my workouts weekly and monthly. I have a calendar in my room and for each day I workout a sticker goes on the day with a brief description of what I did. This gives me a very visual evaluation of how I am doing. If I look at the calendar and its virtually blank by weeks end I’ve missed my mark. Find whatever methods of tracking work for you and make sure they are fun and not obsessive. For me the sticker on the calendar thing is fun and I feel awesome when I see a month where I really put in work.

4 Ways to Be a Healthy Living Rockstar in 2019

fitness

Hope you all had a very happy holiday and somehow made it through the weekend without overdosing on refined sugar and booze. Tis’ the season for sweets, apple cider, cocoa, and reflection on whether or not you actually achieved those health goals you set last January. We all know “those people” who get gym memberships at the beginning of the year, start cleanses, and become yoga natzi’s only to fall completely off the wagon come spring. We know them because if we took a good look in the mirror we’d realize that at some point we have fallen way short of the mark when it comes to our health. Oops! But as the late great Maya Angelou once said, “When you know better, you do better.” Here’s four quick ideas for ways to ensure you do better, and wrap 2019 a healthy living rockstar.

Stop Settling. You need a goal that will get you up in the early AM or make you want to put in a workout after a long day at work. Instead of making specific goals about weight loss or body fat percentage try imagining the kick-ass new and improved version of you at the end of the year. Get a clear vision of you at the end of the coming year. What is he or she doing? Is she entering a body building competition? Running a marathon? An expert fitness pole dancer? Stunting on folks with your catwalk in the office thanks to reformer Pilates? If you can dream it, you can achieve it.
Track Your Progress. There are so many apps nowadays that can help you keep a food diary, log workouts, or even track your daily steps. No excuses my friend. In order to keep the beginning of the year pep going a great way is to have a tried and true tracking system that works for you. When you start tracking, it helps to have an accountability partner or bff who calls you out on your cheat day. My favorite calorie tracking app is Lose It! and I have a few clients who love My Fitness Pal.
Celebrate Your Wins. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our goals that we forget to take a moment a do a happy dance when we’ve hit the mark! As you create a plan for your health in the upcoming year, make sure you give some sort of treat or reward on the road to achieving the goal.
Invest in a Trainer or Coach. We’ve all done a double take at some point in the gym at the random guy in the corner doing strange exercises with even stranger form. Just like you need a check up with your doctor or dentist every now and then, if you are looking to achieve health or fitness goals it cannot hurt to check-in with a health coach, nutritionist, or trainer. There is power in the meeting of minds and agreement. Not only will having a Sensei egg you on when you want to give up on that last rep, it may propel you much further than you can go on your own, and save you some time in the gym with more effective workouts. If you’ve hit a plateau or are in a food rut diet-wise, a nutritionist (like yours truly) or health coach may get you excited about new recipes to spice things up. Make sure you get referrals for health professionals you work with so you can ensure your investment will reap dividends. Interested in working with me? Check out my new site, and message me only if you are ready to transform your health! -XO Raw Girl

6 Benefits of Eating Seasonal & Local Produce

farmers market

As the weather changes, because we are all used to shopping primarily in conventional grocery stores, it can be hard to know what fruits and vegetables are in season. If you have never tried eating seasonally or buying local produce, you may be wondering why should I care? The wonderful thing about the seasons changing is that if you can find out what local farmers are growing you can get access to fresh, nutrient dense produce, at a bargain price. Some of the benefits of eating seasonal and local include:

More Flavorful Produce. If you have ever experience the glorious sweet and juicy taste of a tomato that was plucked from a local garden you will understand this point completely. Local and seasonal produce just tastes better, hands down. This is primarily because farmers aren’t pulling the produce before it’s ripe. The other difference between local and seasonal vs. produce in the grocery store is that the local produce is not transported from far away. In order to transport crops, they must be harvested early and refrigerated so they don’t spoil during transportation, and chilling will reduce the potency of the flavor. When the crops arrive to their destination some vendors will then heat them to artificially ripen them before the produce hits the shelves. The chilling process followed by heating greatly reduces the flavor, texture, taste, and nutritional density.

High Nutritional Value. As mentioned in the last point, there are several factors that can effect the nutritional density of produce. The produce may be picked before it’s ripe, and chilled and heated before it ever hits the shelves. When fruits and vegetables are stored for long periods of time, they will have a reduced amout of phytonutrients. In addition to this, some antioxidants such as vitamin C, folate, and carotenooids will rapidly decline when stored for long periods of time.

Cost Less. When there is an abundance of a particular vegetable or fruit, farmers need to get rid of them and so the price will go down. Another reason you may get local season produce at a bargain price is because travelling expenses and storage are not required therefore reducing the production costs that are usually then passed onto the consumer.

Supports Seasonal Nutritional Needs. Nature really does know best. In fact nature offers us produce during specific seasons that complement what we may need nutritionally to be at our best. For instance in winter we are provided with citrus and fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C; perfect for boosting immunity and proventing the onset of a cold or flu. Winter vegetables are also perfect comfort foods and are great in warm meals like soups, stews or roasted to give us a warming effect. Summer foods provide us with extra betacarotene and other carotenoids that help protect us against sun damage, provide more natural sugar to give us more energy to beat the heat, and vegetables that are great for cooling meals like salads.

Reduces Exposure to Contaminants. When you can look your farmer in the eye at a market to find out whether or not the produce is pesticide-free you are bound to get a more accurate answer than trying to research information about produce that was transported thousands of miles away. Some countries have different standards for the growing of produce, and the farther the fruits or vegetables come from, the more likely they are sprayed with a variety of pesticides before they ever hit the shelves in order to keep them fresh. For instance, produce such as garlic is irradiated, bleached and sprayed with methyl bromide to withstand quarantine and long periods of travel. This is the story for most fruits and vegetables shipped by sea that have a long journey to remain puchaseable by the consumer.

Supports Your Local Economy. The last but not least benefit of buynig seasonal and local produce is that you are supporting businesses operating in your local economy and allowing them to flourish. Buying local reduces the overall cost, emissions, and time involved in the transaction and means less transportation, less refrigeration, less hot houses, and less irradiation of produce.

Below is a short list of some fruits and vegetables that are available in the winter season. If you have never tried eating local, you can look out for your local farmers market, or also look for produce marked local in specialty health stores. – XO Raw Girl

Belgian endive
Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash
Cactus Pear
Cherimoya
Clementines
Collard Greens
Date plums
Dates
Delicata squash
Grapefruit
Kale
Kiwi fruit
Leeks
Mandarin Oranges
Oranges
Passionfruit
Pear
Persimmons
Pumelo
Red banana
Sweet Potatoes
Tangerines
Turnips

Two Delicious Thanksgiving Side Dishes

health

Happy Almost Holidays! It’s that time of year again to bond with friends and family, and hopefully count your blessings and all of the wonderful things you are grateful for. Tis also the season to make sure you are eating mindfully, and getting in a good amount of vegetables to balance with all of the other goodness at Thanksgiving. To celebrate I’m re-sharing some past posts with recipes that are guilt-free! The easiest way to add more nutrient dense vegetables to your table is to make really great side dishes. Below are two delicious and veg-friendly recipes for Whipped Ginger Sweet Potatoes, and Rosemary Green Beans with Shallots that you can add to your table next week. -XO Raw Girl

Mashed Ginger Sweet Potato with Fresh Nutmeg

4 cups peeled and cubed sweet potato or

yams

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoon organic unsalted butter

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon maple syrup

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and salt and cook until tender about 25 minutes. Drain, reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid, and return the sweet potato to the pot.
Add ginger, maple syrup, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg and some of the cooking liquid.
Use a potato masher or an immersion blender to mash the potatoes.
Taste; you may want to add a pinch or two of salt.
Serve & Enjoy!

Adapted from One bite at a time by Rebecca Katz pg. 72

String Beans with Caramelized Shallots, Rosemary and Garlic

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 lb string beans “tails removed”

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon diced shallots

2 tablespoon minced garlic

teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

teaspoon grated lemon zest

Spritz of fresh lemon juice

Fill a 4 quart pot with water about ¾ full bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Add the string beans and blanch them for 3 minutes.
Drain the string beans and place them in ice bath to stop cooking and to preserve the color
In a sauté pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 3 minutes, until shallots are golden, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds
Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of water. Add the blanched string beans and a pinch of salt. Taste to see if cooked through.
Add the rosemary, lemon zest and spritz of lemon juice
Serve & Enjoy!

Adapted from One bite at a time by Rebecca Katz pg. 46

References:

Katz, R., Edelson, M., & Tomassi, M. (2009). One bite at a time: Nourishing recipes for cancer survivors and their friends. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.

5 Tips to Maintain Your Weight During the Holiday Season

christmas

So we’ve survived summer, and fall is upon us! You may be feeling great, getting in your weekly workouts, hitting your target calories, and have shed some weight or hit your body fat percentage. Just when you’d love to get comfortable, the holiday season threatens to derail all of the progress you’ve made and leave you back at square one at the beginning of the New Year, making yet another resolution to shed some unwanted pounds. The holiday season is supposed to be a time of good cheer, connecting with loved ones, and gifting, but it is also the time of year that excessive overeating can become the norm. The great news is with a few precautions you can make small adjustments that help you maintain, if not lose weight over the holidays.

BYOF – Bring Your Own Food! If you are traveling to visit family, and know for sure that there will be nothing green on the table, but an abundance of peach cobbler, sweet potato pies, cornbread and other high carb sweets, it’s always a good idea to get into the holiday spirit and prepare something to share with the ones you love. Make sure you prepare one or two options you know will work for you so that you aren’t left with a less than full plate at the table due to the scarcity of options.

Increase Your Physical Activity aka Earn Your Meals. Eating more is never an issue, the biggest problem is that we do not increase our level of activity to compensate for large holiday meals. It’s a wonderful idea and can be great to get some quality family or friend time to exercise before your meal! If you set yourself up already by burning what you may consume you are less likely to wake up the next day and notice an increase on the scale.

Pick Your Cheats. If you are currently reducing or eliminating certain foods from your diet, or limiting alcohol intake to hit a certain number of calories, it’s a great idea to decide before the meal what you want to indulge in and how much. When we set limits beforehand and give ourselves some room to enjoy, we are less likely to allow that one bite to become the gateway to overeating a lot of our restricted foods.

Find Healthy Substitutions. Making healthier choices should never be about complete deprivation. Most of the holiday foods you love can be enjoyed; it’s a matter of finding substitutions for ingredients to increase the quality of the nutrition. Instead of white flour you could do almond flour, instead of sugar you can use fruit without added sugars to sweeten desserts, if you are reducing carbohydrates rice can be substituted for cauliflower rice etc. Keep in mind that any dish you enjoy should be available to you, it’s just a matter of finding a good recipe with modifications.
Eat Mindfully. During the holiday season some of us can find that we save up our appetites for one big meal, and then end up overeating. Mindful eating is the practice of staying present while eating, pausing between bites, and really listening to your bodies’ cues so that you don’t end up too full. When you feel you have had your fill make sure you stop eating. If you still need to get in dessert you can wait a few hours until the rest of your food has properly digested. Keep in mind that leftovers will be around for you to indulge in the days after, so you don’t have to go overboard at dinner. If you have dishes available you know are triggers, you can actually give away those leftovers so you don’t have that temptation in your house for days afterwards.

Fundamentals of Change: Kill Your Excuses

athlete

To continue our series this week on change, I wanted to share with you another powerful interview from Impact Theory that features Rich Roll, the vegan endurance athlete. You may have heard about him from his ultra-endurance athlete feats like completing a double Iron Man, all while eating a vegan diet. What you may not know is that not too long ago Rich was overweight and addicted to alcohol, and after having an epiphany he took steps to completely transform his life and health. If you need motivation to get into gear before 2019, with any of your goals whether they be health or career, I think you will find this inspiring. One of my favorite quotes: “Pain is truly the only thing that’s ever gotten me to change. So, it’s been my growth accelerator as well as my reminder of when I’ve gone astray.” -XO Raw Girl

5 Steps to Break Unhealthy Habits

habits

Maintaining optimal health can seem daunting, but when you examine closely the lifestyles of some of the world’s healthiest people, it becomes evident that small daily rituals can make a very big difference. If you have the daily ritual of exercising vs. the daily ritual of binge eating while watching television, the trajectory of your wellness over your lifespan will be drastically different. Because habits can be formed unconsciously, it is important every now and then to examine the habits you engage in, and actively change any habits that are derailing your health. Below are some steps that you can engage in to help you break old habits that no longer serve you. -XO Raw Girl

Recognize that your actions are not supporting your overall health goals. The first step in making a change is to have the pain of where you are, surpass the pain or fear of making a change. If you are overweight, an addict, and can’t get up a flight of stairs without severe pain that feels like a heart attack, like the endurance athlete Rich Roll once was, you too have the opportunity for an epiphany. But what if things are okay but you just don’t feel your best? Your health challenge may not be as severe as his was, but even with smaller things it’s important to take notice. Maybe you no longer exercise, and although you have maintained your weight, your energy is much lower during the day. Or perhaps you have stopped meditating, and this has several encumbered how you deal with stress at work and at home. Whatever it is, hone in on it until you can make the firm decision to set a new habit.

Deal with the emotions that are keeping you tied to the behavior. My latest fascinating read is Dr. Joe Dispenza’s “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself,” where he discusses how we can get addicted to emotions. Without knowing it, us humans are frequently switching into fight or flight mode when there is no real life threatening danger present. Whether it be a difficult boss, or angry commuter cutting us off in traffic, we tend to memorize emotional states and program them as default when a similar situation arises even if there is no real threat. Our emotions can also be scary to us, and in order to avoid feeling them we may use food, alcohol or other substances to avoid moving through the emotion. It’s important to become aware of what emotions are tied to your unhealthy habits and find healthy outlets for them to address the root cause. You may need to journal each night, get a boxing bag and throw some rounds, or find some other outlet for your feelings.

Practice Mindfulness to change your mindset. At this point, once you’ve recognized that your actions are out of alignment, and you are also addressing the emotions that keep you tied to the unwanted behavior, it is time to change your mind. Changing our mind is literally easier said than done, but thankfully, mindfulness techniques, especially meditation have been scientifically proven to build new neural pathways, reduce reactivity, stress, and help us engage with our environments in a new way. It only takes around 2-3 weeks of meditation to begin to see changes. After meditating for over 5 years and going through the process of falling off and getting back on it again, I’ve noticed changes even after a few days.

Find Healthy Substitutions. Some people believe in restriction to change habits, but that can backfire easily. Most of us when restricted can yo-yo back and go crazy on the exact behavior we said we would stop. Instead of working against your cravings or behavior, work with it by finding healthy substitutions. If you are trying to give up fast food, perhaps you start by making whole food versions of some of your favorite junk food and begin to train your palette to adjust to less refined sugar and salt. If you are working with a behavioral change sometimes substitutions aren’t relevant or are not enough. For instance giving up drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes can be very challenging. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help or join a support group. When struggling with addiction, knowing that you are not alone and having accountability are both key to forming new habits and completing recovery.

Implement a new plan of action for a minimum of 21 Days. There is much debate about how long it takes to form a habit. Some say a minimum of 21 days, some say longer or shorter. At the end of the day you are going to need to give yourself at least a few weeks of repetitive action to adjust and form the new habit. You will know that the new habit is formed after you spend a consistent period following through and you are presented with the old option – food, behavior, etc. and the desire to indulge is gone. When you reach this stage, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate yourself for the progress you’ve made.

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Need support, a personalized meal plan, or check-in about your health goals? Click HERE to learn more about a one-on-one session with yours truly.

References:

Dispenza, J., & Amen, D. G. (2015). Breaking the habit of being yourself: How to lose your mind and create a new one. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.

7 Preventative Supplements and Herbs for Transition to Fall

cold

The seasons are changing. Last week when I arrived in New York it was freezing and raining sideways, (making umbrella’s utterly useless) and the following day the sun was beaming down so hard it felt like summer. As the weather shifts if we are caught in a hectic work cycle and over stressed and not sleeping enough, or simply get caught out and about in a summer outfit on those days when it feels more like fall, we can leave ourselves susceptible to getting sick. Below is a list of seven preventative supplements and herbs that I love to have around as we transition into the colder seasons. If you’d like to join me and group of wellness professionals tonight in DC to chat more about transitioning your wellness practice to fall, check out my last post and RSVP for the FREE event. See some of you all very soon! -XO Raw Girl

A Good Selection of Herbal Teas. Nettles, Green Tea, Gypsy Cold Care, and Egyptian Licorice are just a few of my favorites that can help ward off a cough, provide awesome nutritional benefits, and soothe the throat.
Slippery Elm Bark Powder. This amazing herb soothes and coats the throat, has expectorant properties so it can help to expel mucus, and is also a great supplement to include in your regimen for gut healing. I like to add 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon to my tea if I have a cough or want to prevent the onset of one.
Ginger will never go out of style as a preventative measure and a remedy in the event that you find yourself under the weather. You can make fresh ginger tea, take ginger shots, and also cook with it or add it to your favorite vegetable juice.
CALM is a powder supplement that is essentially magnesium citrate and can help wind down if you are dealing with regular stress and anxiety while also giving your elimination a boost too. I generally love to add a teaspoon in place of sugar to a relaxing cup of herbal tea at the end of a long day.
Vitamin C is something you can never go wrong with having more of. In fact it is perfectly healthy and acceptable to take up to 16,000 mg of vitamin C daily without any adverse side effects. Want to read more: check out my past article on how taking vitamins can change your life. When it comes to vitamin C, we can also include foods such as oranges, papaya, camu Camu powder and more.
Vitamin D is not just a vitamin, it’s a hormone responsible for many essential reactions in the body and also helps to keep our immunity high. Many diseases can actually be prevented with adequate supplementation and monitoring of vitamin D levels. It’s not necessary to take vitamin D separately unless you have a deficiency. For most, taking a multivitamin with at least 2000 IU of vitamin D is adequate.
Umcka Cold and Flu is my favorite homeopathic cold remedy when and if the onset of sniffles begins. I learned about it years ago from my primary care doctor who knew I had a strong aversion to taking medication and actually had some knowledge of holistic medicines. You can find it online and at general health food stores in tablet and cough syrup forms. It can help with cough and congestion and works pretty rapidly to help the body get back to one without any side effects.

DC Event Alert: Wellness Market, This Wednesday October 3rd!

Dacha Loft, Athleta and Yoga Sihnuu are so excited to team up and host the first Wellness Market on Wednesday, October 3rd! They’ve rounded up some of their favorite health professionals (including Yours Truly) and business owners from many walks of life to answer your questions, offer insight and share health and wellness tips. With topics ranging from fitness and nutrition to reiki and other natural healing modules, panelists will answer the questions around how to transition a wellness practice into the new Fall season. Athleta will also offer us tips on how to prepare our fitness wardrobe for the Fall!

The chat and shop will be held at Dacha Loft from 6:30pm – 9pm. Light refreshments by Calabash Tea and Apothekary will be available for purchase. Select beverages from Dacha Beer garden will be provided. Participation is FREE with RSVP. please visit this LINK to reserve your spot. I look forward to seeing you there!

-XO Raw Girl

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How to Achieve Lasting Weight Loss

diet

At some point in our lives, most of us have struggled with losing or maintaining weight. If you have not, personally, it is likely that you know someone that is overweight or trying a new fad diet to help shed unwanted pounds. One of the common misconceptions is that weight loss is simple. The truth is that it can be much more complex than we think, and requires mental, emotional, and physical toughness depending on how large the task. Weight loss is also complex because your body is different from mine and vice versa. It’s important that when you come up with a plan of action it’s one that is based on your body’s needs. Besides eating less calories, working out effectively, and changing the quality of the food you eat, below are tips that will help you lose weight and keep the pounds off long term. -XO Raw Girl

Focus on doing deep emotional work. Weight loss is actually more mental and emotional than you think. Our bodies’ store trauma, and for many but not all people struggling with weight, it can be a physical manifestation of a buffer to the outside world because of sensitivity or past hurts. In order to lose weight and keep it off, we have to be ready to face our fears, set healthy boundaries with others, and come to the deep realization that we deserve to put ourselves first. This may take therapy, support groups, affirmations and more, but releasing emotions in a healthy way and acknowledging them can transform your self worth, and demand that the outer change begin to manifest in the form of weight loss.

Program and visualize new lifestyle habits. Your mind is more powerful that you may know, and research has shown that when you visualize or practice something in our mind the body does not know the difference between the daydream and reality. In a sense our body is tethered to our unconscious mind, and if we can lead it to think new thoughts and imagine new realities we are more likely to take the steps necessary to reach our goal and eventually have that imagined reality come to pass.

Incorporate some form of Fasting and develop a new relationship with hunger. Fasting has been scientifically proven to regenerate the body, increase longevity, and can have a profound effect on weight loss. The body cannot full detoxify when we continue the cycle of constantly eating. Although going a full day or two without food may be too extreme for most, in order to give your body a break you can try intermittent fasting or eating within a certain window. To get the benefits, it does not have to be extreme, it can be a ten to twelve hour window, for example eating from 8 AM to 8 PM. Research on mice showed that when two groups that were fed the same amount of calories, with one group able to eat as much as they wanted throughout the day and the other was relegated to a specific window, the group eating all day gained weight, while the mice eating within a time window lost and maintained their weight. In one human study conducted on a group of obese patients, one group had their eating restricted to an eight hour window for a 12 week period. The researchers found that body weight and systolic blood pressure decrease in the time restricted group when compared to the control group which ate at whatever time of the day they pleased. Another important benefit of fasting is it can teach us to really listen to and get acquainted with our bodies’ cues and distinguish when we are truly hungry rather than eating from boredom, negative emotion, or dehydration.

Key into your motivation and place visual cues in places that you can see them every day. What motivates you? I mean what REALLY motivates you? Whether it be the sense of freedom you will have to move freely, the confidence you will gain in social situations, the new wardrobe you may purchase, you must get to the core of your why. Sometimes your why is bigger than you. Perhaps you have young kids, and you want to be alive well and set healthy examples for them in the long term? Or perhaps everyone in your family has struggled with weight and dis-ease and you are determined to break the cycle. Hone in on how it will make you feel to achieve your goal and find an image, mantra, or visual cue that you can look at every single day. Use that to keep you motivated as your push towards your goal.

Work with your cravings, and not against them. Most of us are taught to deny their cravings and diet in order to achieve weight loss. It’s important to note that not all cravings are equal. Some “cravings” are actually addictions, and we can feel as though we “Crave” certain things because we are addicted to the high we get from refined sugars, flours, or salt. On a deeper level other cravings can signal the bodies’ need for specific nutrients. When we are trying to lose weight we may have more of those “superficial cravings,” and it’s important to acknowledge them and find healthy substitutions. When we work with our cravings and substitute out harmful ingredients for whole foods, we slowly but surely retrain our taste buds to adjust to new ingredients that become as fulfilling with time, and form new habits that will help us sustain healthy choices and keep weight off long term.

References:

Gabel K, Hoddy KK, Haggerty N, Song J, Kroeger CM, Trepanowski JF, Panda S,
Varady KA. Effects of 8-hour time restricted feeding on body weight and metabolic
disease risk factors in obese adults: A pilot study. Nutr Healthy Aging. 2018 Jun
15;4(4):345-353. doi: 10.3233/NHA-170036. PubMed PMID: 29951594; PubMed Central
PMCID: PMC6004924.

Wilson RA, Deasy W, Stathis CG, Hayes A, Cooke MB. Intermittent Fasting with
or without Exercise Prevents Weight Gain and Improves Lipids in Diet-Induced
Obese Mice. Nutrients. 2018 Mar 12;10(3). pii: E346. doi: 10.3390/nu10030346.
PubMed PMID: 29534545; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5872764.

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