Food food food....

Why does food have to be my enemy?  I HATE it but LOVE it and I gotta have it.  Doesn't this truly just suck? haha literally, finding the balance between what we should eat, when to eat, what we can eat, it the balance question of life.  I have been doing lots of research recently on food being medicine.  It really only makes sense, because like I have said before, real food is living just like us.  So lets heal our bodies the right way!!  I could be on a dozen meds right now with all the doctors diagnoses they have given me over the years, but slowly I have eliminated almost every one.  Meds just mask the true issue and usually just give you more problems which leads to more meds.  Just take the right route straight to the source and get rid of it forever!  Sounds good to me but many of you probably are saying well its just not that easy.  Of course it wont be easy, but its a heck of a lot easier than living an unhealthy miserable life!  So check this out, this lady at the gym was talking to me about some health issues she has.  First thing that comes to mind is a hormone imbalance.  Immediately I start telling her more symptoms she is probably showing and sure enough she had them.  If you really want to find out what is wrong, do your research!  There are tons of different supplements, herbs, oils, and natural remedies to cure many issues we all face today.  They usually are looked at as weird or underground voodoo magic but really most of them have been around for thousands of years but are over looked by what we think is an easy route to the cabinet.  Food can be our alley but it is also has us figured out.  Food cravings have been shown to release the chemical called dopamine which we know is the "happy" drug.  I was watching the show the doctors a couple months ago and they were saying food cravings are a serious thing.  If we don't act on them we could end up binging which is way worse.  They said instead of trying to avoid them, give in but if it isn't healthy don't go crazy.  When we see food it can trigger old memories we have had that have made us happy in that moment.  Like me, growing up we always ate pizza friday nights, so when I see it I usually get all excited and remember those family nights together.  Just embrace it but don't let it control you!  Watch when you eat.  Many many studies have shown that eating at the wrong time of day can not only cause weight gain but it can double it!  Anything I have ever heard says to not eat after 7 pm.  Personally, I think it depends on when you go to bed.  I try not to eat a couple hours before so its not just sitting in my gut.  If I know I am going to be up late there is no way I can just not eat for hours!  Thats just me though, it wakes me up at 3am if I haven't eaten and I am starving, no bueno.  I have heard of people losing crazy amounts of weight just by changing the way they eat at certain times of the day.  NEVER ever skip breakfast.  It makes your metabolism slow way down and it goes into fat storing mode.  The Ayurvedic diet, which I have blogged about before, says your metabolism is the highest during noon hours so thats when you should consume most of your calories.  Makes sense, thats usually when I get the hungriest.  But, if you are a late night eater, which I tend to be, just snack wisely.  Thats usually when I bust out my gallon size bag of veggies or dark chocolate so I feel like I am treating myself without packing on the pounds like I would eating chips.  I could go on and on about what food can do for our bodies or what it isn't doing.  Bottom line is, you are what you eat.  Obviously you won't literally turn into broccoli, like I thought I would as a kid, but the longer the shelf life the shorter yours will be.  3 out of 4 Americans are obese.  It is a choice to change and not be part of that statistic!  Good health is priceless so arm yourself with it and there is nothing you won't be able to do =)

FINALLY DID IT!!!!!

Look at what the scale showed me today!!  Finally hit my pre pregnancy weight and a little under.  I am not telling you to brag but to show that you CAN hit your goals and anything is possible when you eat right and exercise!  I gained 45 pounds with Gage and 45 with Talon and I started at 140 with Gage and 111 with Talon so for having a 10 pound and 9 pound baby I am pretty proud of myself for weighing 110 again!!  Push yourself and don't let anything get in the way of what you really want most!  Remember too, its not always about what you see on the scale.  120 pounds of fat and a 120 of muscle looks a lot different!  Keep a measuring tape close so the weeks you don't see the weight coming off it might just be the inches instead!  =)

Cut the crap, bury the fat. Emotional healing inside and out!

It's time to dig deep and find the root to the madness!  Everyone has a reason why they hold their extra weight.  Most of the time it is because of something long ago that triggered some cell in your brain to start holding on... on to weight you never wanted but that is hard to lose.  We all have a reason but most of us don't know why, where, or when it started.  If you never find that little trauma you will never be able to make a full change and better yet, maintain it for life!  Everything in life worth having is hard to find, hard to get, and hard to maintain.  For example, I searched and searched for the love of my life.  When I  finally found him I knew it wasn't going to be easy.  I was in such a horrible, low, dark place in my life I knew I had to change in order to get him and KEEP him for life.  Since I did that 180 change I find myself wondering why?  Why did he choose me over everyone else, especially when I was so broken.  But, because he could also see my potential he knew it would be worth the fight!  This event in my life changed me forever.  Joe and I will always have to maintain our strong relationship but it wasn't easy, and at times it might be easy, but there is always that force pulling the opposite direction and you have to find your weaknesses before it does!  You need to find your own strength to overcome ANYTHING negative, ugly, or broken that will try to tear you down.  Being healthy is most definitely an emotional, spiritual and physical battle daily.  You have to be strong in all areas to constantly succeed and continue day in and day out.  Once one starts slipping something else will.  So with me, I had to sit down and really evaluate what was broken in each of my areas.  I am not trying to preach here and say I am perfect at any of them but I am learning how to balance and keep the 3 strong.  The 3 referring to emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of life.  Start with one, dig deep, and FIX IT.  Only you can do this, only you know what will push you.  Keep moving forward to mend and heal one area at a time to where it is balanced for your life.  But I am telling you from personal experience and talking with so many others who struggle with being fit for life, all areas have to be working together so you feel your best.  I have always been a very confident person, but that doesn't mean I have always "loved" myself or felt like I deserved certain things in life.  I still look at myself in the mirror, as most women do, and ask myself if it will ever be good enough?  Will I ever be thin enough?  Gorgeous enough?  But for who... I truly have found that once I eliminated the X factor of what everyone else might feel about me, I could move forward with how only I felt about myself.  Make sense?  I truly only care about how I look and feel for me.  Obviously my husband and those I love play into it but at the end of the day its all me and what I want.  Find that confidence in yourself.  Tell yourself you ARE worth it, you CAN do it, you will be that person you want to be.  Because without the self love, you can't truly love yourself let alone others!  Being fit and healthy doesn't mean we all have to look like models.  It means we have to look in the mirror and see ourselves as one.  Even with the stretch marks, even with the moles or scars or gray hair.  There can always be that day you love the beautiful reflection you see.  Start healing yourself now and find your broken links in the chain of life.  Nothing can stop you but yourself.  As I tell my sisters when I want to get super pumped up.... OORAH!!!!!!  Do it, you can I know it =)

Calorie and food comparison with BLUNT honesty!

This is a huge deal I tell you what!  Sooooo many people have it all wrong when it comes to justifying what they eat.  For example, I was talking to a loved one of mine who proceeded to tell me why eating a twinkie like cake was good for them.  "It has eggs, flour, whey, low fat and carbs.." etc.  I was blown away by the seriousness of this person.  So I pulled the package out and said, "Ok, now lets really look at all these ingredients.  Yes there is flour but its bleached processed flour.  There are artificial colors, flavors, high fructose corn syrup, saturated fat oils, shortening, and all these other ingredients hardly anyone knows what they are!  Now please tell me how this is good for you..."  I still can't wrap my head around peoples rationalization for PROCESSED ARTIFICIAL foods.  Around 75 percent of americans are obese.  Nearly 20 percent of children are obese which has doubled since the previous year.  Diabetes is rapidly growing and heart disease.  It KILLS me to hear all these facts and statistics on our blessed country killing itself with food.  We all love food, who doesn't.  It is time we all start educating ourselves on how our body should be getting taking care of.  There is a huge misperception I think of the health food world.  We all know that eating right is what we should be doing, yet those that live this life style are so heavily scrutinized?  Why?  Its because so many are afraid to dive in and dedicate themselves for life so they mock it.  Just like anything else.  But its time to start living what you know to be right!  Educate yourself with as much knowledge as you can for yourself and your family.  I believe it is one of the most important tools you can pass on to your kids.

  KNOW what you are eating.  Read the labels and ingredients.  Just because it is in the health food section doesn't mean its good for you!  Recognize the difference between processed and whole food.  Here are some simple little things that companies are making a killing off of.  Make sure your food is WHOLE grain.  Whole grain is better for you then multi grain because it is not processed.  Unless of course it specifically says whole grain of the multi grains in it.  Zero calorie drinks and food are packed with crap to keep it tasting good like aspartame, artificial colors and flavors.  Real sugar and butter are better for you then fake sugar or butter.  Just because it might have that stamp "Just good for you" or "heart healthy" doesn't mean it is!  There might be a few things in it that are but most are packed with preservatives and artificial crap once again.

  Like I have said before, if you are calling this a "diet" then you are not ready to lose the weight and keep it off for life.  Make the commitment to eat like this forever so you stay healthy and live longer so you can be around and do things with your family!  Like I said, everything in moderation.  I still give my son candy because if I don't when gets older he will hoard it and have issues with it because he never had it.  It is a treat or to keep him quiet lol but I buy him organic suckers and fruit ropes.  I still give him gummies or mm's but not very often.  Just give and take and find a healthy balance for you and your family.  Make MOST of the foods you eat each day the crazy healthy ones and once a week you get a bad day so you don't feel like you are depriving yourself of old foods you love, portions are everything!  Small people eat small amounts throughout the day.  It is the quality of the calorie!  A 100 calories of veggie soup is obviously way better for you on many levels then a 100 cals of oreos.

Keep exercising daily and find fun ways to do it, involve your family and most of all your kids!   Rarely do you see obese children without obese parents... lead by example and they will follow!  You don't have to look like an olympian to be healthy!  Push yourself hard and the work will show.  GOOD LUCK!!!!!