Sunday, November 22, 2009

Losing Weight - Don't Diet

I know- I've been a member of the 'diet of the month' club for about 10 years now. I look at pictures of me from 15 years ago and wonder where that woman went. My changing body and energy lows were a big part of what led me on my quest for healing answers. I still search and the information I find seems to change daily.

Just yesterday I read another diet article extolling the virtues of  'saturated fat' for women who are trying to lose weight. WHAT! Yup. Saturated fat is in again. I am reminded of the Wood Allen movie, "Sleeper", where he is the owner of an organic health food store until he is frozen and wakes up 200 years later to find out that hamburgers are the new health food and no one is eating carrots anymore. : )

Well - Here is what I have been able to put together from the various research, studies and articles I've been reading. If you want to lose weight you need to change a few things. Start by getting a physical and a fasting insulin test. (not expensive) Figure out what your BMI is by using the cool calculator here. This will also give you a good idea where you want to be to achieve a healthy weight for your height. Just play around with the numbers a bit.

For this new way of eating - here are some general guidelines;
  • Eliminate wheat, rye and barley from your diet. Instead it is safe to eat rice, corn, millet, quinoa, and amaranth. So many people react badly to gluten which causes inflamation throughout the body. It takes 30-60 days for the inflamation to subside after quitting the gluten foods and up to a year to heal the intestines. We just eat too much bread, crackers and cereals. Time to explore some new foods.
  • Eat more vegetables and make 1/3 of your diet RAW food. You'll get the benefit of live enzymes and phytonutrients as well as vitamins that are killed by. (even steaming)
  • Make sure your vegetables are fresh and clean. Give them a 30 minute bath in water mixed with 1/2 cup of vinegar. Then rinse and store in an air-tight container with all of the air pressed out. Use them quickly.
  • Use good oils (olive, coconut, avocado) as well as organic butter for cooking and dressings. Women especially need these oils - you will lose weight faster and feel better when you add oils to your diet.
  • Cut the sugar. Yuck! I know - the holidays are coming but this really will make a difference and you can allow yourself a splurge if you need to.
  • Eliminate all artificial sweetners. We know they cause side effects - some pretty severe, but did you know that some of them actually make you crave sugar? Just get rid of them. If you need something sweet try Agave Nectar or Succunat. Both are natural and low glycemic.
  • Eat often - especially in the beginning, to avoid low blood sugar and hunger. Be sure to have a little protein with your veggies (hard boiled egg or a bit of tuna or turkey).
  • Use EFT to help curb emotional eating. This is very cool and easy to learn.
  • Make sure you are getting a digestible source of minerals (no longer available in our fruit and vegetables). Minerals are the spark plug of every cell in your body. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel when you add them. Of course I recommend Body Balance, but that's up to you.
  • MOVE your BODY. Do any kind of movement you like. Do short 10 - 15 min spurts  - even 5 min bits of jumping around, bouncing, running up the stairs, dancing, situps, walking.... will make a difference. You'll soon feel like doing more and more. : )
  • Drink lots of water and make sure it's pure.
That's basically it. You can find lots of information on this style of eating all over the web. But if you just want to get started, then use the guide here and go for it. Any one of these changes will make a difference so don't kick yourself if you don't get them all started. Take baby steps and pat yourself on the back for every little change you make. It will all lead to a new you.

Best of luck. Please share you results with me.
(maryslifeforce@aol.com, http://www.nomorepills.us/)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Julie Mares: How good nutrition cuts health care costs

Older Americans are concerned about their vision, and rightly so. Degenerative eye conditions, especially cataract and age-related macular degeneration, become increasingly common as we age.
About one-fourth of us over age 65 have early signs of macular degeneration in our retinas that place us at increased risk for progressing to advanced macular degeneration over the next 10 years. Advanced age-related macular degeneration, AMD, which eventually destroys central vision, is the most common cause of legal blindness and visual impairment in older Americans. The National Eye Institute estimates that 1.6 million seniors have advanced AMD and 8 million are at risk of losing vision from this condition over the next five years.
In addition, by age 75, most of us will have to deal with either cataract surgery or a vision-limiting cataract by curtailing activities, such as driving.
Treatments are expensive. AMD drains $570 million every year in direct medical costs; cataract surgery has been the single most expensive line item in the Medicare budget.
Fortunately, the past two decades of research suggest measures we can take to protect both our eyes and budgets. Payback could be enormous: Former National Eye Institute director Dr. Karl Kupfer estimated that slowing the development of cataracts by 10 years could cut the number of needed surgeries in half.

Read more  - click here.

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