Are you struggling to lose weight...

Are you struggling to lose weight...or have you put on some extra pounds lately?

Most people don't know that one of the most common causes of fat gain and slowed fat loss comes not JUST from our food, but also our environment.

The problem is a build-up of toxic substances. Unfortunately, in this day and age we are surrounded by harmful toxins. They come to us through food in the form of artificial colors, chemical preservatives, pesticides, insecticides, and more. They get to us through some of the plastic containers and coated cans that our food is sometimes packaged in. But we also absorb them through our lungs and skin from the air and the water around us. Even the body wash or shampoo you use could be a source of toxins entering your body.

Gluten

You may not realize this, but the dangers of gluten are secretly hiding in sauces, salad dressings, soups, seasoning blends, and the vast majority of packaged foods (even if you think they're gluten-free)... not to mention all your favorites like bread, pasta, cereals, and desserts.  Even worse, gluten is virtually impossible to escape when dining out, even when ordering from gluten-free menus as cross-contamination runs rampant in most restaurant kitchens.

So why is gluten such a problem that you MUST avoid?  You see, gluten is extremely difficult for most people to properly digest, leading to digestive issues like gas, bloating and overall discomfort.  And even if you don't "feel" the side effects of gluten, rest assured it's still causing "silent damage" to your gut and immune system.  When ingested, gluten acts like shards of glass cutting into the intestinal wall, causing inflammation and compromising your immune system, overall health, and can even be the cause of slowed or completely stalled fatloss.

Belly Fat

This one hormone has a lot to do with your bellyfat.

"Ugh, I think my hormones are all messed up!" That's the statement I heard from my sister not too long ago.

After I asked her a few questions about what was going on, I proceeded to explain to her that there are no "bad" hormones. They are all there for a good reason.

Problems arise when your hormones get unbalanced, and bad things happen in your body.

There's one particular hormone that's directly responsible for adding unwanted fat around your middle. It's called cortisol and this was my sister's biggest problem.

Your body releases cortisol when you're under stress. It's part of the whole "fight or flight" response. It worked great for our caveman ancestors when they were being chased by a lion. But it isn't so great for us now...

You see, many of us are walking around with high cortisol levels all the time.

It happens thanks to everyday stressors, like a fight with your spouse or a rough day at work.

Even strenuous exercise like jogging can raise your cortisol to sky-high levels.

And these increased cortisol levels could be making you fat.

The kind of fat you're most likely to store from elevated cortisol is called visceral fat - the dangerous bellyfat that's linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels.

4 High Fiber Healthy Foods that Pack on the Pounds.

Did you know that one of the major contributors to a SLOW metabolism is the overconsumption of whole grains, even foods praised as being "high in fiber" such as:
 
1. 100% Whole Wheat Bread
2. Whole Grain Pasta
3. Bran flakes and other Wheat-based “Fiber” Cereals, and…
4. Whole Wheat Tortillas and Wraps
 
Despite having more fiber than their “white” counterparts, these 4 high-fiber foods destroy your blood sugar and give rapid rise to the fat-storing hormone insulin.  In fact, believe it or not, two slices of whole wheat bread raise blood sugar far higher than a can of sugar-sweetened soda or even a sugary candy bar.  This is because the wheat of today is nothing like the wheat of generations ago, having been genetically modified by the food industry, mutated, and exposed to the likes of industrial toxins and radiation to force an unnatural higher yield at the expense of your health.
 
These harmful wheat products, although praised by food manufacturers as healthy for their fiber and “whole grain” content, are a major cause of the raging obesity epidemic in western society today.  Even more, because they are so rapidly digested, these foods provide virtually no metabolic benefit during digestion, resulting in less than optimal metabolic rates, and ever-expanding bellies world-wide.
 
On the other hand, protein is much more metabolically complex, boosting metabolism and burning up to 30% of the calories you eat just during the digestion process, not to mention the fat-burning hormonal benefits of eating less wheat and more protein.  Simply put, by swapping out toxic wheat for fat-burning protein starting today, you’ll do wonders for your metabolism and your waistline to boot… highly recommended.

5 Essential Supplements You Should Be Taking Daily

We all want it: more energy and better health. And we know how to get it: a balanced diet.

But let’s face it. Most of us don’t eat right every day.

Even when we’re not eating all that “bad,” balanced nutrients are often in short supply. Experts agree that when we compare recommended nutrient intakes to what actually gets consumed, there’s a huge gap. Most adults are falling short on their vitamins and minerals. Over time, even small discrepancies can compound into bigger problems, so the right daily intake is important.

There’s a way to bridge that gap. Get these five essential nutrients, and you’re on the right path to feeling your best.

1. Vitamins

A reliable component of good health, multivitamins help fill in the gaps you might not be getting with nutrition alone. Choose one that includes these: vitamin A for eye health, a healthy immune system, and cell growth; vitamin C to help tissue and bone growth and repair; vitamin D3 for bone health; and vitamin E for strong immunity and healthy skin and eyes. B vitamins should be in there, too, to support the health of red blood cells nerves, the heart, and the brain.

2. Minerals

Minerals help your body perform essential functions, like building strong bones and teeth, supporting the blood and glucose levels, cellular energy — the list goes on. A good multi will include minerals for you. Look for things like iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, calcium and manganese.

3. Omega 3s

Your body needs a balance of essential fatty acids, essential meaning that you have to ingest it because you don’t just manufacture it on your own. The problem is, most of us get plenty of omega 6 fatty acids from meat and dairy, but it’s the omega 3s — the primary components of cell membranes — that are most commonly lacking. So get at least a weekly serving of cold-water fish, and supplement with a good omega-3 or something like Krill Oil as well. This will do good things for your bones, your skin, your brain, your heart, your joints, and even your moods.

4. Antioxidants

Antioxidants are the body’s natural defense against harmful free radicals. They scavenge them and get rid of them before they can damage your cells. There are great natural sources of antioxidants — most fresh fruits, vegetables and teas have them — and you can always supplement them as well. Find sources like green tea, mangosteen, curcumin, or acai berry.

5. Co-Q10

Cellular energy, cardiovascular health, and longevity have all been linked to taking co-enzyme Q10. This vitamin-like substance, present in every cell in the body, is required for energy production in the mitochondria of the cells. It is literally the fuel for most metabolic processes. Co-Q10 especially contributes to the health of the heart, kidneys, liver, and pancreas. It also supports already-normal-range blood pressure levels.

Can your body function without all of these fab five every day? Of course it can. But here’s the thing. By the time you feel like something’s out of whack, you’ve been at a deficit at the cellular level for a while. So why risk it? Eat the best you can, and supplement to make sure you’re not leaving any gaps.

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie Meal Replacement Shake

2 scoops vanilla SmartMeal

2 heaping T plain or vanilla yogurt

8 oz. orange juice

1 cup ice

Crash dieting?

Something you may have done a lot of:  Dieting.  Particularly in the form of "crash dieting" where calories are restricted for extended perdiods of time.

Both crash dieting and chronic dieting can and will wreak havoc on your metabolic rate, as is clearly demonstrated in numerous studies published in the prestigious research journal Metaoblism.

For example, in a study conducted at Rockefeller University by world-renowned obesity researcher Dr. Rudolph Leibel, the metabolisms of individuals who had lost weight via long-term chronic dieting and/or various "crash dieting" techniques were compared to those of individuals who have typically maintained a normal weight.

As expected, the metabolisms of those in the the "dieter" group were 25% lower than those who had not gained or lost significant weight in the past.  Even more, the dieter group had accrued so much damage to their metabolism over the years that their now battered metabolic rates were slower than those of normal-weight indidividuals two-thirds their size!

Other studies show significantly decreased levels of important metabolic, fat-burning hormones with crash dieting, such as theMetabolism study performed by Dr. Campbell at the University of Vienna in which thyroid levels dropped by a whopping 38% after just 2 weeks of consuming a very low calorie diet.

And yet another Metabolism study conducted by Dr. Gloria Dubuc and the nutrition research team at the University of California - Davis, showed a 50% reduction in the body's #1 metabolic hormone after just 7 days of following a severely reduced calorie diet.

Crave another cookie???

You swore it would be just one cookie.

And it was …

For all of about 5 minutes.

But your craving for just one more got the better of you.

You know how the rest of the story goes.

“Just one more” all too quickly & easily becomes 3 more, 4 more (I swear this is the last one …), or 5 more until you're seriously worried about finishing the entire box in a single sitting.

Sound familiar?

I'm guessing it does.

If you often struggle with overeating, if you ever feel powerless to control your food cravings, you need to understand two things:

[1] It's not your fault, and

[2] No amount of willpower is going to help you keep your cravings in check

You see, if you often:

[+] Crave food between meals (and especially around bedtime)

[+] Have trouble sticking to a diet

[+] Have a “spare tire” around your midsection that no amount of diet or exercise can seem to budge

… Then the problem is that some very specific hormonal “switches” have been flipped off in your body, and you'll remain at the mercy of your food cravings until they're flipped back on.

The good news:

As soon as you correct this hormonal imbalance you'll no longer struggle with uncontrollable food cravings.

Plus, you'll find it so much easier to achieve noticeable, sustainable weight loss.

The even better news:

Bringing these hormones back into balance is easier than you probably think.

Go HERE and get your hormone balancer.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

A local news channel covered a story just recently about Walmart Ice cream sandwiches. Yep. Random, and who really cares? Well, what they found out was interesting, But what they did next made me want to throw my remote at the TV screen. The story goes like this:   A woman gave her  8 yr old son an ice cream sandwich. It was 90 degrees outside and he wanted something cold to snack on. As all 8 yr olds do, he took a bite, got distracted and set his ice cream sandwich down on the porch. Mother came out the next morning and found the ice cream sandwich. The strange thing is, it didn’t melt. Well, the news channel caught wind of this and did a test. They took 4 leading brands of ice cream and put them out in the heat. The results? The ice cream that was made with the least ingredients melted in 10 minutes (Like ice cream should melt in 90 degree weather. )  Wal-mart’s brand of ice cream? Didn’t fully melt. Of course, the news anchor, trying to please her advertisers, went on to say that there was nothing wrong with Wal-mart’s ice cream and that it was completely healthy. (This was repeated and emphasized 3 times) WOW. Talk about mis-information and MONEY controlling the media. When eating ice cream, remember this: 1. If you are going to eat ice cream, make sure that your body has a line of defense such as a good probiotic . Probiotics have been shown in hundreds of studies to help you digest dairy, keep you from bloating, and improving overall digestion/stomach issues. 2. Ice cream is never healthy. It is a delicious treat, but don’t eat it and think it is good for you. 3. Ice cream that doesn’t melt is SCARY. If the heat and the sun have problems breaking food down, think about what it is doing to your body. (Artificial chemicals prevent the ice cream from melting)

Diet or not to Diet! Losing Weight for good... HOW???

Something you may have done a lot of:  Dieting.  Particularly in the form of "crash dieting" where calories are restricted for extended periods of time.

Both crash dieting and chronic dieting can and will wreak havoc on your metabolic rate, as is clearly demonstrated in numerous studies published in the prestigious research journalMetabolism.

For example, in a study conducted at Rockefeller University by world-renowned obesity researcher Dr. Rudolph Libel, the metabolisms of individuals who had lost weight via long-term chronic dieting and/or various "crash dieting" techniques were compared to those of individuals who have typically maintained a normal weight.

As expected, the metabolisms of those in the the "dieter" group were 25% lower than those who had not gained or lost significant weight in the past.  Even more, the dieter group had accrued so much damage to their metabolism over the years that their now battered metabolic rates were slower than those of normal-weight individuals two-thirds their size!

Other studies show significantly decreased levels of important metabolic, fat-burning hormones with crash dieting, such as the Metabolism study performed by Dr. Campbell at the University of Vienna in which thyroid levels dropped by a whopping 38% after just 2 weeks of consuming a very low calorie diet.

And yet another Metabolism study conducted by Dr. Gloria Dubuc and the nutrition research team at the University of California - Davis, showed a 50% reduction in the body's #1 metabolic hormone after just 7 days of following a severely reduced calorie diet.

Clearly both crash dieting and chronic dieting can do a number on your metabolism, but what can you do to begin burning fat again if your metabolism has been negatively impacted as a result of your past dieting efforts?

So as you can see crash dieting doesn't work.  Please visit HERE look up the INFORM WEIGHT LOSS PRODUCTS AND GET STARTED! 
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12 Habits of Heart Healthy People

There might not be anything more important than taking care of your heart. And doing so can be simple.

At least simple in theory.

It takes dedication and consistent habits to keep your heart healthy throughout your life. Here are some of the habits of those living a heart healthy life:

For heart supplements, go here.

Manage your health

It may seem like a broken record but maintaining all of those pesky statistics measured at your annual health fair and checkup will help maintain a happy and healthy heart. Proper management of items such as blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar and BMI are paramount in lowering your risk of heart issues. Knowing these numbers for yourself will allow you to establish a baseline to know if you are at risk; from there you can work to establish a plan to bring any risk factor into alignment.

Make smart, nutrient-dense food choices

Making smart choices at the grocery store will help ensure success in maintaining optimal heart health. If you have the tendency to be a little more carnivorous, try steering yourself towards leaner and alternative protein sources. Opt for fish first, then skinless poultry, choosing red meat sparingly. And there are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein packed with heart-healthy fats, like avocado, nuts and seeds. When deciding which fruits and vegetables make the most sense bulk up on colorful plant foods. Those that are rich in color are also rich in vital heart-healthy nutrients. Making smart carbohydrate choices are also key to maintaining a healthy ticker.

Eliminate unhealthy foods and ingredients

“Anything with more than two grams of saturated fat per serving will do the heart more harm than good. You should also avoid any foods that have more than 1 gram of trans fat per 100 calories”, according to Health.com. Minimizing your intake of other ingredients like sodium, which can contribute to high blood pressure, will also help. The Department of Agriculture recommends that healthy adults have no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, (equivalent to about a teaspoon).

Watch your stress level

When you feel stress do you find yourself eating and speaking quickly? Do you tend to work too much or do you put off doing things that need to be done? It’s important to know what triggers those palpitations and prepare your response. Learn to manage your stress through relaxation techniques and take a little time for yourself. Even if it’s only 20 minutes, sit quietly without an agenda and take a few deep breaths.

Exercise regularly (30 minutes/day)

Inactivity is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. The key to making sure you are keeping your heart healthy is consistency. Your heart is a muscle so it’s easy to reason that a muscle needs to be worked regularly to stay fit. Strive to get a minimum of 150 minutes of heart-pumping exercise in each week.

Get enough sleep

The American Heart Association recommends that adults get 6-8 hours of sleep per night. As with exercise, consistency is the key to making this habit work. Several recent studies show links between shortened sleep duration, defined as less than six hours of sleep, and increased risk of heart disease.

Stress less and don’t take on too much

Being predisposed to being over committed and over scheduled is no longer the exception, it’s the rule. In order to promote a heart-healthy lifestyle, it is recommended you make it a habit to focus on one thing at a time. Try dividing your day into buckets such as; sleep time, family time, exercise time, work and mediation time. Do only one thing during the time allotted for each of these activities and move on.

Take an Omega 3 supplement

According to Active.com, most Americans are deficient in essential omega-3 fatty acids. If you aren’t eating oily fish at least once a week you should consider supplementing your diet with high-quality fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are one of four basic fats that the body derives from foods. While many of the other fats are harmful, omega-3s benefit the body and are especially good for the heart. Super Omega-3 EPA is a source of two fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Supportive but not conclusive research shows that the consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The body uses omega-3 fatty acids as one of the primary components of cell membranes. Omega-3s are also beneficial to the structural system and to the skin.

Drink responsibly

Evidence suggests that one drink a day for women and two for men can raise HDL (good) cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and possibly reduce inflammation and help ward off diabetes. However, be warned that even a little too much alcohol can undermine the heart.

Stop Smoking

This is probably old, worn-out news. But any smoking at all significantly increases chance of heart disease and stroke – as much as 2-4 times that of nonsmokers. And according to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign, women show smoke are 25% more likely to develop heart disease than male smokers.

Cutdown on sugar and simple carbs

A sugar-laden diet may raise your risk of dying of heart disease even if you aren’t overweight, says a major study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine. According to Harvard Health Publications, added sugars make up at least 10% of the calories the average American eats in a day. But about one in 10 people get a whopping one-quarter or more of their calories from added sugar.

Over the course of the 15-year study, participants who took in 25% or more of their daily calories as sugar were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those whose diets included less than 10% added sugar. Overall, the odds of dying from heart disease rose in tandem with the percentage of sugar in the diet—and that was true regardless of a person’s age, sex, physical activity level, and body-mass index (a measure of weight).

You’ve heard it time and again, cut back on the sweets!

Enjoy life now!

It’s a hectic and stressful world constantly focused on what’s coming next, or the goals to reach in the future. That pressure causes us to live in the past and future, but rarely in the present. Try one of these activities to enjoy the ‘now and help take pressure off your heart.

• Laugh! Laughing can support blood pressure levels already in the normal range
• Start a project you are excited to work on
• Take up a hobby such as knitting, sewing or crochet
• Read a book or listen to music
• Watch a movie
• Spend time with friends having dinner, playing games, etc.
• Play a sport
• Take a nature walk
• Take a class (but not a stressful class)
• Be grateful for what you have

Strawberry Banana Meal Replacement Shake Recipe

2 scoops vanilla SmartMeal or Love and Peas

1/2 cup strawberry Greek yogurt

4-5 frozen strawberries

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup ice

1 banana

Lower your blood sugar...

Fact is, due to years of consuming a diet full of processed carbs and sugars, most people have grown quite insensitive to one of the most important hormones in our body—a hormone that can either be a huge asset to your body transformation goals, or a total fat-loss and health-derailing nightmare. 

The name of this hormone is insulin. 

And insulin's function is to help your body keep blood sugar at bay, clear it quickly from your bloodstream after a carbohydrate meal, and (hopefully) shuttle that blood sugar to muscle tissue for energy instead of into fat cells (driving up your weight). 

I say "hopefully" because that's actually the exact opposite of what occurs when most people eat carbs. Going back to insulin sensitivity and carbohydrate tolerance, due to a diet full of processed, insulin- and blood-sugar-spiking carbohydrates, most folks are suffering from some level of insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin is no longer able to efficiently remove blood sugar from the blood stream. 

The result? Dramatically reduced fat burning, increased blood sugar levels and increased fat storage. 

Even worse, insulin resistance can and often does lead to type II diabetes and an array of other health problems over time, such as an increased risk for Alzheimer's and other cognitive disorders, premature aging, heart disease, and even stroke…and it all leads back to insulin sensitivity. 

Ideally, when you consume carbohydrates, here is what you want to happen: 

1. Minimum insulin release. This occurs when your body is highly sensitive to insulin. When it is, only a small amount of insulin is necessary to effectively and efficiently clear glucose from your blood to its storage sites. This is great news because your body has an incrediblydifficult time burning fat in the presence of insulin. The less insulin you have floating around, the better. 

2. Quick and efficient blood sugar clearance. Again, this will occur when your body is highly sensitive to insulin. 

3. Maximum glycogen uptake. Glycogen is the term used for stored carbohydrate in muscle tissue and the liver. When these tissues are highly sensitive to insulin, the vast majority of blood glucose will be stored within them as an energy reserve, instead of being converted to fat. 

4. Minimum fat storage.When you increase insulin sensitivity, your body will choose to store your carbohydrate intake as energy, again in lean muscle tissue and the liver, instead of body fat. 

Simply put, your body's ability to process the carbohydrates you eat all comes down to your insulin sensitivity and your body's ability to quickly and efficiently clear sugar from your blood. 

Knowing that, and also knowing that you yourself are very likely suffering from too much blood sugar and some degree of insulin resistance due to the previously mentioned dietary and lifestyle factors, you’re probably wondering what you can do to improve your insulin sensitivity and make your body responsive once again to this critically important hormone. 

What about carbs?? Whats Good??

 I had carbs for dinner last night, too.  I even had a late night snack (that had some carbs) and I'm planning on eating some more carbs in just a little bit :).  Fact is, while there are plenty of BAD carbs out there, you don't have to completely eliminate carbs from your diet in order to burn fat fast, especially when you choose the RIGHT sources.

Having said that, below are my top 4 choices for belly-blasting carbs that'll leave you full and satisfied, while helping you toward your fat loss goals to boot!

#4 - Berries & Cherries

Berries like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cherries (although not technically a berry) are some of the BEST carbs you can eat. They are high in fiber, packed with antioxidants, and score extremely low on the glycemic index, especially cherries which come with a GI of just 22.

I enjoy fresh berries for dessert several times a week and it's an awesome, nutritious way to finish off any meal. Great as a snack, too! Try them on top of Greek yogurt... Mmm :)

#3 - Sprouted Grain Bread

Sprouted grain breads, like Ezekiel 4:9 bread (one of the most popular brands of sprouted grain bread) is a great way to include bread in your diet on occassion without all the issues associated with white breads and even 100% whole wheat breads.

Instead, Ezekiel bread is organic, sprouted, 100% whole grain flour less bread. A 2-slice serving even contains 8 grams of complete protein and 6 grams of fiber, so don't give up the bread, just choose the right kind!

#2 - Quinoa

While brown rice is thought to be the healthy grain, there’s one even better, and that’s quinoa.

Quinoa is a gluten free grain that contains double the protein of brown rice along with greater fiber content and a lower glycemic load.

Not only that, but quinoa is the ONLY grain to contain complete protein and the full spectrum of amino acids. It comes in several varieties, including “oatmeal-like” flakes and it’s wholegrain rice-like form.

Enjoy it as an oatmeal substitute for breakfast, in salads or casseroles, or as a wholesome whole-grain, high protein side item to any lunch or dinner meal.

#1 - Beans, Lentils, and other Legumes

Beans and Lentils, part of the "legume" family, just may be my #1 choice for a healthy carb. Packed with loads of fiber and protein, these guys come in so many different varieties that you'll never get bored: lentils, chickpeas, black eyed peas, black beans, red beans, kidney beans, navy beans, butter beans, lima beans, pinto beans...and the list goes on.

Because of their fiber & protein content, along with their versatility, I eat something from the legume family in at least one of my meals daily. I'd highly recommend you'd do the same!