Know Your Numbers – Plan your Strategy!   Have your cholesterol checked as part of your physical or health program. Once you know your numbers, Cholesterol, HDL, LDL – you can plan your strategy. Medication does not have to be your first line of defense. Lifestyle is the problem, 90% of the time! There are effective natural supplements that can balance your numbers!

 Walk  Exercise improves the body’s ability to manage carbohydrates and increases fat burning. The cholesterol problem is not because you have a shortage of Lipitor in your body! The high cholesterol is a REACTION of you … (read more)

This is the second article in the series on Weight Loss and Dirty Tricks Your Mind and Body Play on you.  Your mind probably has convinced you that fiber is not that important. You may even tell yourself you get enough and that you are regular, after all you have a bowel movement every other day.

The need for adequate fiber is really understated. Most people get half of what they need.  Fiber is necessary for a healthy digestion, elimination pattern and for a stable blood sugar.  This article focuses on the benefits of fiber and your blood sugar.

Why … (read more)

Have been working, I mean really working at weight loss only to stall out and have nothing happen? Nothing at all. No more pounds come off, and you become increasingly frustrated and less motivated.  

There are several reasons for this. We are going to do a series of articles to help you understand what might be happening.

In this first article, we are going to talk about something that is probably the cause of most people giving up their tremendous efforts at losing weight.

We do have several options available for you to jumpstart weight loss, detox and lose … (read more)

Are you stuck in a vicious cycle of cravings, reward, guilt and weight gain? Do you beat yourself, get angry, depressed and then just eat more because you feel so bad? This short article is going to help you look at your relationship to food.  Just like with any relationship, it takes trust and a little effort to make the relationship work.

First, stop beating yourself up over your “lack of will power,” binges or other behaviors related to food. This only fuels the vicious cycle that says food is the enemy and the answer. It is a no win … (read more)

Among other things, addictions have three components: Binging, withdrawal and cravings.  The pleasure that comes from eating sugar can set up a reward signal similar to an addiction and make it hard for willpower to effectively limit your intake. There are also metabolic factors that make it difficult to resist sugar once you get started. We are going to take a look at the power of sugar and how to beat cravings.

Sugar has become one of the biggest health hazards today.  Many public health experts including Dr. Willet of Harvard Public Health,  say that sugar may be the biggest … (read more)

Losing weight  ideally is about eating fewer calories than your body needs so your metabolism burns fat. Today it is not that straightforward. If you have a history of dieting, struggle with food allergies and sensitivities, have been under chronic stress or have an aging metabolism, then weight loss can be frustrating and even impossible.  Chronic inflammation interferes with fat burning so a detox is often the best way to help your body breakthrough the barriers to weight loss.

Let’s review the 4 barriers to weight loss then look at a few detox options for weight loss.  One of the … (read more)

Wheat gluten is the protein that exists in this commonly consumed grain. Today wheat has been modified so much that it doesn’t even resemble the grain your grandparents ate. Wheat allergies are at the top of the list of allergy producing foods right next to casein and milk. The current diet of fast processed foods overemphasizes the intake of wheat. This increases the potential for allergic reactions or sensitivities to processed grains, contributing to many health challenges like migraines, weight gain, joint pain, rashes, mood problems, focus and concentration to name a few.

Vary your diet. Your body does well … (read more)

It took Harvard researchers to identify foods that contribute to weight gain.  Here is a list of the “fattening” foods:

• Potato chips  
• Potatoes loaded with butter and sour cream
• Sugar-sweetened beverages  
• Unprocessed red meats  
• Processed meats  
• butter
• refined grains
• sweets and desserts

When I read the research article, I laughed because most people would agree that these foods cause weight gain. Ok, if it is so obvious,  why do people eat from this list? I do not think people really intend to get fat or gain weight. I believe the choices for these foods are made … (read more)

Fatigue is an epidemic today with younger and younger people complaining of not having the stamina to get through the day. There are many reasons for this not the least of which is diet.  Most people do not make the connection that the way they feel is because of how they take care of themselves and what they eat – diet and lifestyle. I believe this is because people generally do not feel they can make the changes necessary. Cleaning up your diet is not an all of none. It can be a gradual shift and EVERY change you make … (read more)