My #1 rule for weight loss...

Loosing weight & excess fat is an exhilarating process! The first time you step on the scale and see a lower weight it produces such excitement that the happy dance is always done and your motivation & determinatio are strengthened! This cycle continues until, life happens! Life happens to everyone! Injury, illness, a vacation void of workouts & filled with high fat foods, visiting company & the loss of routines, emotional or financial hurdles that dry up your well of determination.

The most important rule for a healthier, happier life is to get back on the path! Time & time again life will happen. That's why we try to be healthy! We want to live longer to experience life in all it's glories, adventures, misfortunes, and relationships! When life happens or you make bad choices always, always, always get back as quickly as you can.

I have not recorded the number of times I've backtracked or been sidetracked in my two year weight loss adventure. The one thing I always tell myself, "Well, at least I never give up!" The fight is worth fighting, Friends! No matter what happens, or how long it happens, get back up! How do you get back up?

I keep fitness magazines in my home so I can stumble across them and absorb their energy! What is more motivating than reading an excellent article or seeing a beautifully scuplted athlete?! I post quotes around my fridge that inspire me & help direct me to better things than eating when I'm bored. I never buy bigger clothes. If I'm starting to gain weight & my pants get tight I know choices are to get back on track or to suffer the concequences because I am NOT buying a size I just worked so hard to get out of! Set your eye on an adventure like a mini triathalon, 5K, hike, etc. There are so many wonderful adventures out there to get in shape for! Live life & let it inspire you to being active! Remember, life happens. Your job is to get back on track!

"Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th." - Julie Andrews

What is emotional eating & 3 tools to help you!

When you're at your weakest point emotionally, the strongest cravings for food often happen. Food has become a temporary escape from stress, worry, difficult problems, deadlines, and frustrations in relationships. Sometimes, you're just looking to keep yourself occupied! Your emotions heighten and you turn, consciously or unconsciously, to food for comfort & relief.

Your weight-loss efforts will be sabotaged by emotional eating. Emotional eating leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods. There is good news! You can learn & follow the steps to regain control of your habits and achieve your weight-loss goals!

For me, learning about emotional eating & how to regain control has taken a year. It was challenging to realize that my weight-loss journey had come to a stand still because I was giving in to emotional triggers. What do you do if you find yourself at a party & even though you appear to be enjoying the party & mingling with friends the majority of your focus is on the dessert table. You can be smiling happily at a friend, laughing at their wit, while thinking of the moist, warm, chewy texture of those chocolate chip cookies, or velvet chocolate cake! Can you tell I'm a chocolate girl? The strong emotions of the party, a feeling of celebration & joy can be enough to trigger your emotional eating.

What if you're at home, frustrations are high because the house is a war zone, dinner is boiling over, and your children are not behaving like in Leave it to Beaver! Sometimes, without ever consciously choosing to do so, I've found myself in the freezer, spoon in hand, drowning my woes in that carton of ice cream!

The first thing I recommend for you is to get your hands on "the End of Overeating" by David Kessler. Here is MY experience! This book will help you understand what is going on inside your brain, and for me that has been a priceless lesson!

My second recommendation is for you to realize that nine times out of ten getting caught in a "mind storm" is what leads to emotional eating. Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert describes it as "getting caught in a "mind storm" of worst-case scenarios, projections, misinterpretations, and all the emotional overreactions that come with these thoughts. This "storm" turns a manageable challenge into something that makes you feel helpless, overwhelmed, ashamed or afraid—and sends you to the kitchen to find something to stuff those extreme feelings."
Anderson says staying grounded during moments of stress presents you with options.

Here's how to stay grounded & in the present.
BREATHE! Calm yourself down mentally & physically with a trick I learned from a counselor, Rita Cowen. Breathe in while you silently, slowly count to a certain number. Exhale slowly as you count to the same number. Do this several times until you have calmed down. Stress & anxiety reside in the frontal lobe of the brain. She explained that counting uses the left side of your brain which pulls the focus from that frontal lobe. When we are stressed our breathing automatically becomes very shallow which naturally increases our anxiety. Breathing will calm us down physically & help you return to the moment.

NOTICE! Notice the physical sensation you are experiencing. Oh, how this has helped me! Recognizing specifically what I'm feeling and realizing that food cannot solve my problem or take away the sensation I'm struggling with aborts my mission to the pantry. In fact, I'm quite turned away from food when I remember that if I indulge I'll have the additional problem of knowing that I've acted against my goals, and strengthened the habit of emotional eating. Not good!

PERSPECTIVE! Whenever you feel overwhelmed, break the daunting task down from the mountain to manageable molehills you can handle one at a time. Anderson suggests asking yourself, "Will any bad things happen if I postpone thinking about this until I have more time to figure things out?" I love this suggestion! When I am calm, collected, & out of the kitchen I can sit down & evaluate the task & conceive solutions. I love that feeling of accomplishment & victory! I'm solving my problems effectively instead of turning to food to temporarily escape.

These are just a few tools for your emotional eating tool belt. Most importantly, do not give up or give in to discouragement! Victory will be yours! Of course, you'll occasionally stumble. The important thing is to get back up!! Everyone falls, everyone fails sometimes. Victory comes from getting back up & learning from your falls!

Congratulations on stepping aboard the weight-loss train! It's definitely an adventure! And, it's definitely, 100% worth it! I'm here to help you every step of the way!
Here's to your health & happiness!

Emotional eating in check!

Emotional eating is the most common & difficult challenge among weight loss hopefuls. I am preparing some posts specifically about emotional eating & tools that have helped me. Tonight I would just like to share with you that I am doing very well. I've realized achieving your goal physique is similar to putting a puzzle together. I've enjoyed success with each new puzzle piece and sometimes temporary frustration when another piece can't be found or doesn't fit. But with persistence all puzzles can be completed & enjoyed!

Our lives move at an unprecedented speed. The stresses, demands, ambitions, needs, responsibilities, etc all play havoc on our emotional state. When we are so worn down by the mere speed of life and something delicious enters our view we feel grateful for the reward! "I need this!" and "I deserve a treat!" runs through our mind as we begin to enjoy the mere anticipation of such pleasure!

I admit most of the times I've over eaten or over rewarded myself have been in moments of frustation related to parenting. When it feels like all hell is breaking loose a carton of ice cream can be so satisfying, until my escape is over & I feel worse than before. Brian Tracy, one of my new favorite authors, says that bad choices are easy to make, but hard to live with. Successful choices are hard to make yet easy to live with. How true this is! It is so easy to choose to throw caution to the wind & go out to Chili's, ordering whatever our appetites demand! But, when the scale won't lie to you, you feel sluggish & unproductive, and those pants are cutting of your air supply, life is harder & you're frustrated with yourself for making that choice.

I support the occasional trip to a restaurant or bowl of your favorite frozen flavor. However, those of us who have to jump the hurdle of emotional eating have to discover tools to help us navigate these opportunities. My friends, never stop working on your puzzle. Each mistake is a valuable lesson to learn about yourself! I promise life is much easier to live when the right choices are made. We can achieve our goals and we'll be healthier & happier in the process! Here's to your health & happiness!

What is the Bodybugg?

This is a fantastic time to be alive and on the quest for weight loss! If your goal is weight loss you've probably read or heard enough to know that cabbage & water is not the effective trick to try. You may also have learned that counting the calories you eat can be a powerful instrument in your weight loss tool belt. Here's a quick review of facts.

Calories is another word for energy. We eat to fuel our bodies. When we consume more fuel than our bodies can use that extra fuel is kept in a fat reserve. That fat reserve was helpful to cavemen & nomads who couldn't foresee with certainty when their next meal would be. The way to rid your frame of this extra burden is to consume less calories than your body uses, which allows your body to use the stored fat for the extra energy it needs. Those are the facts.

Apex has designed the Bodybugg to help weight loss participants gain a better estimate of how many calories their body is using. Through many different sensors it estimates how many calories you are burning. By wearing the bugg & keeping a food journal you can easily make sure your calories expended & calories consumed stay within the desired ratio.

My six month experience with the Bodybugg was a great personal education. I am a fitness instructor by trade. I love to workout as hard as I can, even though I wasn't always that type of dedicated exercise enthusiasts. I lost 45 pounds with the help of a life changing company called, Beachbody. This process brought with it the realization that we are all capable of experiencing our own physical transformation! We truly can achieve weight loss & realize our fitness goals! Since fitness has become my passion & profession my goal is to achieve the physique that is a singing business card, to surpass average and become unique. The bugg was intended to aid my progress.

The Beachbody trainer I love, adore, and aspire to emulate is the lovely & unique Chalene Johnson! Her review of the bodybugg was so exciting I got online, credit card in hand, and went shopping! I waited in the front window, nosed pressed against the glass, straining my ears for the deep rumble of the delivery truck. I met him at the mailbox, ripped open the package, flew through the easy set up, and was off to count my calories. The bugg includes 6 months free of the online subscription. You simply plug the bugg into your PC, log on to the bugg website, and suddenly you have access to personal graphs, reports, meal plans, fitness plans, etc. It's a beautiful masterpiece of individualize information. Like my own, personal fitness & nutrition Bible! How could success not be realized with such a tool?!

The next six months were filled with unrealized goals, mounting frustration & panic, and a personal realization. I was not in the correct frame of mind to count calories. I could tell I was reaching that unhealthy obsession with the numbers. I knew my problem was emotional eating and until I solved that equation the bodybugg was helpless to help me. I carefully boxed it & sold it on ebay. The bodybugg is an innovative tool & has helped thousands, but it wasn't a weight loss tool that fit with my unique situation.

My present hurdle of emotion eating is the most common problem weight loss hopefuls encounter. Look forward to future posts on that! There definitely are tools to help us happily clear that hurdle! With emotional eating counting calories was ineffective. I have since adopted Tosca Reno's opinion that focusing on appropriate portion sizes is the way to fuel my body. I'm happy to report I am healthier, both physically & mentally with this practice.

Thank you for reading! Your weight loss quest is a fabulous puzzle with the pieces strewn across the living room! You walk through the process picking up different tools that work for you and discarding ones that don't. There is joy in putting the puzzle together, not just in admiring the finished masterpiece! Feel that hope and keep your thoughts positive!

Surviving the Desk Job: How to Stay Healthy at Work

Extra calories can be burned just by being creative! Challenge yourself by seeing how many extra steps you can take each day. Take the stairs - not the elevator! Park as far as possible from the office door or supermarket! Between phone calls hit the cubical floor & give me 10 push ups! You're energy will be replenished & your concentration will also be restored!

Surviving the Desk Job: How to Stay Healthy at Work
By Stephanie S. Saunders

When we started school, oh so many years ago, no one had to explain to us that the human body was not designed to sit in a chair for 8 hours at a time. Somehow, we inherently knew that we needed recess, physical education, lunch, and even naptime. Even that walk uphill, both ways, in the snow, barefoot, was just part of what we needed to do. So we worked all of those years, graduated to our dream job, and ended up sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours without moving. Sure, we use the facilities, maybe go out to lunch, but mostly we sit on our backsides with horrible posture and stare at a computer screen. At around 4 PM, we begin to search for a pick-me-up, and end up eating candy and soda from the break room. Sure, at age 12, we thought free junk food was like winning the lottery. But as adults, we end up feeling flat-out yucky. We vow that tomorrow will be different, but we are so exhausted from a sedentary lifestyle, that change seems impossible.

The good news is that a desk job does not have to be so stagnant. If something in motion stays in motion, then we need to find ways to keep moving. And with a bit of food preparation, we can actually avoid the Snickers^® bar. Let's look at some ways to stay healthy at work.

Get Out of that Chair

Sometimes it seems impossible to step away from your desk. People in Hollywood get fired for missing a call, an email, or taking too long a lunch. Here is the deal: They cannot fire you for standing up, going to the bathroom, or getting more water from the cooler. If your workplace is not completely rigid, switching your chair out for a Swiss ball a few times a day can make a huge difference in your posture. Even just standing up next to your desk can give your back the break from compressing that it desperately needs. So stand up, roll your shoulders back a few times, and breathe deeply. Go fill up a water bottle, which will give you even more reasons to stand up, as you will need the restroom. And set a timer to go off once an hour, so that you remember to do it. Sometimes that Excel^® spreadsheet is so fascinating, we forget about everything else. (Yeah, right.)

Speaker or Tweaker?

Did you realize your phone can be dangerous? No, this is not a lecture on driving with cell phones. Cradling a phone to your shoulder for extended periods of time can actually lead to misalignment, strains, and slipped discs. They still make fancy phones with a cradle for your shoulder, but they don't extend quite high enough. Try a wireless or corded variety of headset, which sometimes can be less expensive than their Bluetooth^® cousins. Forty bucks on a headset is better than multiple trips to the chiropractor. Or if what you are discussing is not sensitive, put the person on speakerphone. The coworker next to you might not appreciate it, but your neck will.

Stretch

You can stretch your entire body in a cubicle—a lot of it while sitting down. Here are some stretching options, which will release lactic acid buildup and help with structural alignment.

• Neck: Lean right ear to right shoulder until you feel a stretch along the left side of your neck, hold for 10 seconds, switch to the other side. Lower chin to chest until you feel a stretch along the back of your neck, hold for 10 seconds. Lift chin toward ceiling, until you feel a stretch along the front of your throat, hold for 10 seconds. Look over your right shoulder, hold for 10 seconds and then over your left.
• Shoulders: Extend both arms over head, interlace fingers, turn palms, and push up. Then interlace fingers with palms up behind back, lean forward slightly from waist, and lift arms away from your body.
• Arms: Extend arm straight across your body, grasp forearm, and pull extended arm toward your body. Repeat with other arm. Then sit up in your chair, open your knees, and place your palms flat on the chair between them, with your fingertips facing you, and thumbs toward your knees. Push down on your flat palms.
• Chest: Lift both arms out to the side, creating a "T" with them. Bend at the elbows, so your hands are going straight up to the ceiling, and you resemble a football goalpost. Pull your elbows back and hold.
• Back: Sit up as tall as you can, and pull in your stomach muscles to your spine. Extend one arm across to the opposite arm of the chair, and twist. Hold for 10 seconds, and switch to the other side.
• Quadriceps/Hamstrings: Stand at your desk. Bend one knee behind you, lifting your foot off the floor and catching it with the same hand. Don't lock your supporting leg; hips tucked under, and both knees together. Switch to other leg. Then place one foot on the desk in front of you, keeping the foot flexed and the knee straight. Put fingertips on leg, or desk, and with a flat spine, lean forward. If that isn't possible, flex one foot on floor in front of you, and lean forward with a flat spine.
• Calves: Stand arms' length away from your desk, both toes facing the desk. Step forward with one foot, and bending the knee, keeping the back knee straight and pushing down in the heel. Switch.
• Feet: Remove shoes if possible. Stand in front of desk. Form a "V" with your feet, heels together and toes pointed out at slight angles. Bend knees first, then lift up your heels, and hold for 5 seconds. Straighten knees and lower heels. Repeat 5 times.

Exercise Your Options

The following office exercise options are chair-based exercises for our more modest readers. If you are less aware of the stare, try adding some push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, dips, and squats to this routine. If you have an office with a door that closes, get yourself INSANITY^® right now and skip this entire section. For the following exercises, you'll need an exercise band, like the flat Thera-Band^® variety, which can easily be stored in your desk. And if your chair wheels easily, put the brake on now.

• Chest press: Place band around back of chair, looping the ends of the band in each hand. Sit on the edge of your chair with abs pulled in tight, and straight posture. Press arms straight out in front of you, keeping them parallel to the ground. Hold for 2 counts. Fold elbows in and bring back of hands to chest. Repeat 10 times. Can also be used as chest fly, by slightly bending elbows and bringing hands together in front of you, like you are hugging a tree.
• Row: Wrap resistance band around the leg of your desk. Sit facing it, both feet on ground, and abs pulled in. Grab one end of band in each hand; bend your arms and slide your elbows back, grazing the sides of your body. Hold for 2 counts, and return your arms to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.
• Lateral raises: Sit on the edge of your chair, place both feet on the center of the band, and take an end of the band in each hand. Keeping a very slight bend in the elbow joint, bring both arms out to your sides creating a "T" with them. Hold for 2 counts, and lower your arms back to the sides of your legs. Repeat 10 times.
• Posterior deltoid exercise: Hold band, hands 9 to 12 inches apart. Extend arms straight out in front of you, chest level, rolling shoulders back and down, keeping elbows as straight as possible. Open up arms to your sides, hold for 2 counts, and return your arms to the straight position. Repeat 10 times.
• Curls: Sit on edge of chair and place both feet in center of band, or wrap band under the legs of the chair. Grab one end of band in each hand. Keeping elbows glued to your sides, bend both elbows and bring hands up toward shoulders. Hold for 2 counts, and lower your hands. Repeat 10 times.
• Tricep extensions: Wrap band low around desk leg, and face away from it. Reach behind you, grab ends of band in each hand, and extend both hands to ceiling, with thumbs facing behind you. Hold for 2 counts. Keeping your elbows exactly where they are, let elbows bend slowly until hands reach ears. Extend arms straight toward ceiling again. Repeat 10 times.
• Knee abs: Sit on edge of chair, tuck pelvis under slightly, and draw abs deeply into your spine. Lift your heels off the ground, and lift one knee at a time. For a super challenge, lift both knees at the same time, making sure to maintain a C-curve in your spine (keep your abs firmly tucked in). Repeat 10 times.
• Leg extensions: Tie one end of band around the base of your chair. Tie the opposing end around your ankle. Sit firmly on chair, keeping backs of legs pressed into the chair. Extend wrapped leg out in front of you until knee is straight. Hold for 2 counts, and lower your leg. Repeat 10 times for each leg.
• Hamstring curl: Wrap one end of band under leg of desk, up as high as it can go with other end of band tied to your ankle. Sit facing desk, on edge of chair, and extend leg toward desk. Bend knee and pull foot underneath you. Hold for 2 counts, and return to straight leg position. Repeat 10 times, and switch to other leg.

Chew on This

An ounce of prevention might be a pound of cure, but 4 ounces of carrot sticks will never be as tempting as that bowl of M&M's^® on your coworker's desk. So how do we avoid it? A handful of nuts, a protein bar, or some low-fat trail mix might not remove the craving, but they'll make your hunger dissipate until your next meal, and they don't require refrigeration. You can keep them in your desk at all times. So instead of the bowl, five M&M's might be enough.

Keep Water on Desk

Besides the previously mentioned reason to drink water (getting you out of your chair), hydration in an office setting is sorely overlooked. Your body requires a lot of water, even if you're stuck in a chair. Being well hydrated keeps you mentally alert, flushes out toxins from air conditioning, and will sometimes help with food cravings. So drink up.

Get out

This next tip totally depends on your employer. Most offices have at least a few smokers in them. How come they get to go outside and talk about their weekend, in the sunshine, several times a day? Just because you don't spend 8 dollars a day on cigarettes doesn't mean you can't take a moment and get some fresh air in your lungs. If your boss complains, scream discrimination against nonsmokers. Or you could pick up some candy cigarettes and pretend, as long as you avoid eating them.

It is no surprise that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 67 percent of the population as being unhappy with their career choices. Is this because we all have chosen the wrong careers? Or is it simply that most office workers would rather be outside playing tetherball? As you are well aware, it's difficult to pay the mortgage unless you go to work. But there are many things you can do, while remaining at work, that will keep you feeling better than a Snickers will. Maybe if we all take a few minutes a day to take care of ourselves, that workplace contentment statistic might drop a little. And if that doesn't work, at least we can avoid the horizontal spread of our back ends. Now that is something to be happy about.

How I Overcame Compulsive Overeating

One thing I LOVE, LOVE about Beachbody is they truly are here to help us learn what we need to learn to become healthier & happier! Their products are phenomenal, and so are all the educational articles they write. This article is written by one of their famous trainers, Debbie Siebers. We are all struggles. This happens to also be mine! But, with education & encouragement we can all overcome whatever our hurdles are!
"Eating words has never given me indigestion." Winston Churchill

How I Overcame Compulsive Overeating

By Debbie Siebers, creator of Slim in 6^®

My biggest challenge in life so far has been conquering my compulsive eating habit. I remember so clearly the hopelessness I felt because I had no control over my impulses. I would literally sit down to a pint of Häagen-Dazs^® every day and swear that tomorrow I would start my diet. There are also vivid memories of me downing an entire bag of Chips Ahoy!^® chocolate chip cookies and an entire big bag of Doritos^®! I had those moments of sitting in my car, opening a jar of peanut butter, and polishing off almost half of it, and then driving to a fast food place for a burger and fries. And let's not forget the CHEESE! I am a Cheesehead, after all, and I would eat blocks of it at a time.

When I think of that now, it truly makes me sick to my stomach. How could my poor body handle that? No wonder my digestion was so screwed up and I have cellulite so bad—even now. You can't possibly expect to abuse your body like that and put such demands on your digestive system and not have major issues. I remember jogging around my block at 4:00 AM, desperate to burn off those calories, and then dropping down to the ground into a heap of tears praying for control and the strength to get my life on track. I do know that I was eating out of emotion—not knowing how to cope with certain feelings I was having.

I knew I had to confront my demons head on and figure it out. I'm not sure of the exact moment I decided to change. It was an accumulation of emotion and just being fed up with feeling and looking bad. Enough was enough! So, I joined a support group and through that program I learned how to eat properly. I learned about portion control.

Growing up, I was never taught any of those things. My mother had been severely overweight when I was growing up, and she loved to bake. And I mean BAKE EVERYTHING you can possibly think of. I would wake up every Saturday morning to hot chocolate chip cookies, gooey brownies, pies, homemade bread, you name it. I would stuff myself until I couldn't eat another bite. Having that support group made me accountable and got me on track. The first 12 pounds came off pretty easily. Then, it was a bit slower, but because I stuck with the program, it consistently came off.

When I moved to Los Angeles at 21, I was on my way to better health and felt more in control. I was a secretary at that time, so I sat most of the day. I definitely had bumps and challenges along the way, but I was determined to get the once lean, fit body back that I had when I was in high school as a cheerleader, gymnast, and sprinter! It was when I joined a gym and began working out with weights that I really started to see the changes. Unfortunately, I made a lot of the mistakes that many women do when they don't really understand how to exercise properly. I worked with heavy weights and didn't do enough cardio. So I got really strong, but I was very bulky! Also, I still was in the bad habit of eating three big meals a day instead of small little mini-meals throughout the day. It really wasn't until I was in my late thirties that I figured it out.

The last thing I needed to get control of was my love for sweets, and it wasn't easy . . . I decided to just starve myself of all carbs and sugars for about 2 weeks. It was truly amazing what happened. I sincerely didn't crave them anymore! I would never have believed in a million years that I would actually desire a delicious piece of fish with vegetables over a pizza!

I think having so much energy and feeling my body toned and lean also gave me extra incentive. Then, when I became a personal trainer at the gym I was working out at, I was literally exercising with my clients all day long doing ab and midsection routines with them. Before I knew it, my waist was tiny and my abs were ripped. I had a six-pack for the first time, and I was pumped!

Now if I really want to have a chocolate chip cookie, I'll have one . . . but only one. And sometimes, I don't even eat the whole thing. I am satisfied with a bite or two. For me, it was a major shift in the way I associated and looked at food. Also, the more educated and aware I became, the easier it was to treat my body with respect. I got into "right-thinking" mode and didn't want to sabotage myself anymore. Some of the tools that helped me along the way were thought-provoking, motivational, and inspirational books and tapes that would put me in the present moment. Now, there is such a wealth of extra support at your fingertips. Beachbody^® has developed such an amazing community that you're crazy if you don't take advantage of it.

Get involved in the live chats and the Message Boards. Join the WOWY SuperGym^®. Keep that journal every day to help you stay accountable. Empower yourself with knowledge and invest in YOU! You deserve it. You deserve to be happy and healthy! I know if I could do it, you can, too . . . we are all here to help cheer you on and support you to live your best life!

Now . . . GO PUSH PLAY!!

XXOO,
Debbie

The first 8 Eat-Clean Principles can change your life!

I wanted to share/review some clean eating principles. By clean eating I'm talking about God provided foods, non-man "enhanced" or processed.
Principles:
1. Eat 5 to 6 small meals every day. This is the best way to provide fuel for your body. It takes a bit to get used to eating smaller meals! You're used to seeing a large plate that is full of food. I really like to use smaller plates/bowls, that way it still seems full!
2. Eat every 2-3 hours. This keeps your blood sugar levels stable. When your blood sugar levels drop you get too hungry & almost always eat more than your body needs.
3. Combine lean protein & complex carbs at every meal! They go together like spring & rain, Houston & humidity, and Utah & Mormons! They are the optimal combination so your belly gets the perfect fuel & the food gets digested the slowest possible, which is awesome! It gives you energy for longer periods of time & keeps you full.
4. Consume adequate healthy fats each day. Your body, especially your brain needs essential fats. Sources of healthy fats are: almonds, avocados, cashews, flax seed, hazelnut oil, olive oil, pecans, pumpkinseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower seeds, and walnuts. About 15% of your diet should come from healthy fats from fish, nuts, seeds & healthy oils. This works out to be about 25% of your daily calories. TIP - when reading nutrition labels remember the word "hydrogenated" means trans fat, so stay away!
5. Drink at least 2 liters or 8 cups of water each day. Many times when your brain sends a craving or a signal to eat, we are miss reading that signal. The body is really just needing water. When your belly is full of water you will eat far less each day & still feel wonderful satisfied!
6. Never miss a meal, especially breakfast!
7. Carry a cooler loaded w/Eat-Clean foods to get through the day. There are many stylish coolers nowadays that look like purses. I love to carry a cooler!
8. Avoid all over-processed, refined foods, especially white flour & sugar. You'll discover these foods often make you feel gross, unmotivated, moody, irritable, and lethargic shortly after eating them. And, may I mention they are addictive.
Love to hear your thoughts!