My Healthy Pledge

I thought this was appropriate as our 90 Day Journey ends...

Vita-Nutrients for Optimal Health

Vita-nutrients for Optimal Health

Let's evaluate how vita-nutrients can offer you maximum protection and augment your body's ability to function. If you are on 5 & 1, your Medifast meal replacements cover these bases for you, but like we learned in our previous discussions on Habits of Healthy Eating, learning these concepts now is essential for your long term success.

THE MODERN SCOURGE OF NUTRITIONAL DEPLETION

Pesticides, preservatives, depleted soils, and processed foods all contribute to a diet that's nutritionally inadequate. That's why in order to harvest the great health benefits of proper nutrients, we really need to supplement our diet. 

Today, we are going to briefly discuss the vital nutrients that should be a part of your diet. This is a complex topic, and you might find it beneficial to refer to chapter 20 of Dr. A’s Habits of Health to get all of the details.

ANTIOXIDANTS

Antioxidants play a central role in health optimization by shielding us from the attacks of dangerous free radicals that can damage our cells. Antioxidants can come from a variety of sources, like red wine, deep green and brightly colored vegetables, as well as green tea and certain spices.

FISH OILS

The omega-3 oils in fish provide numerous health benefits, like boosting heart health, decreasing sudden death, lowering blood pressure, decreasing cancer risk, and decreasing immune activation and autoimmune disease.

VITAMINS

Vitamins are certain organic compounds that we need in tiny amounts as nutrients but can't synthesize in sufficient quantities by ourselves and therefore must obtain through our diet. Vitamins serve a number of functions, acting as hormones, antioxidants, growth regulators for tissue and cells, and precursors for enzymes involved in metabolism.

MINERALS

Minerals originate in the earth and can't be made by living organisms. Most of the minerals in our diet come directly from plants or indirectly from animal sources. Minerals support health in a variety of ways, from bone health to facilitating weight loss to heart health to healthy cell function.

Hopefully this very brief overview has shown you just how important vita-nutrients can be.

De-Stress and Practice Healthy Breathing

De-Stress and Practice Healthy Breathing

Stress is often a byproduct of a busy, dedicated lifestyle. It's a part of life for all of us in today's world. Left unchecked, stress can contribute to inflammation.

We need to work on decreasing our stress levels. To start, here are nine tips for de-stressing your life:

1. De-stress your job. Most on-the-job stress is a result of poor communication, so work with your colleagues and supervisor to improve your job satisfaction. Ask your supervisor about your performance, how you fit, what you can do better, and what chances there are for promotion. This concrete information will help you to fight feelings of under appreciation and unfulfillment. 
2. Exercise. Inactivity can directly raise your inflammatory state, while sufficient exercise is probably the single most effective way to lower it while also decreasing stress.
3. Get out and about. One of the best ways to decrease stress is to spend time with people we enjoy. If you are in a pinch, call upon your support network and schedule an activity together.
4. Go natural. Get in touch with your 10,000-year-old design. Take a walk on the beach and feel the waves on your ankles, rent a cabin in the country, or hike in the pristine air of a high-alpine region. Leave behind the madness of our high-tech world.
5. Treat your body. Try a light massage, deep structural therapy, or even acupressure to reduce stress and to lower inflammation.
6. Laugh. Laughter has been shown to reduce stress and lower unhealthy hormone levels. Watch a funny movie or tell jokes with your friends and family.
7. Focus on the Positive. It's too easy to slip into a negative self-image. Turn your internal dialogue into a running commentary on all the reasons you have to be grateful.
8. Stop, challenge, and choose. You remember this tactic from the earlier in this program, right?
9. Breathe deeply. You can't live without breathing, and it is one of the most powerful tools for reducing stress. Try the below exercise.

Optimal Breathing Exercise

Stand quietly with one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Take some slow, deep breaths, paying attention to the movement of your hands. If the hand on your chest is most active and your chest is moving upward, you are a chest breather. Instead, try to focus on abdominal breathing, which is associated with a relaxed state. Prolong your exhalation, so that your exhale lasts twice as long as your inhale, a 1:2 ratio.

In your journal, write down the sources of stress in your life and plan out how you are going to work to reduce the anxiety that they cause. This is important. Your health depends on it.

Take Action

Bottoms Up!

Bottoms Up!

How are you doing with your water consumption?  Do you know there is a direct correlation between what you eat and what you drink?  It's true!

The more water you drink, the fuller you feel.  But that's not all.  You FEEL better and you THINK more clearly, and those two things lend themselves to making better, healthier choices throughout the day.  

So, set a goal for yourself today!  Challenge: Can you drink a gallon of water?  Not that you HAVE to, but if you challenge yourself to do it, you'll drink FAR more water and be FAR more successful and mindful of your water consumption than if you didn't challenge yourself at all.

Make drinking water an event!  I recently threw a party and had my pretty drink dispenser out on my counter.  Instead of putting it away, I filled it with water.  Every time I fill my cup, it feels like a party!  I even put some ice and some orange circles in my water.  It makes me feel special.  

Don't forget all of the benefits of drinking your water!  Bottoms up!

DYOH Book Study: Epilogue

*A special thank you to Kathleen Bell for doing this book study and allowing us to benefit from it! 

Discovering Your Optimal Health Virtual Book Club - Epilogue: Taking Back Your Health

 Eliminating stress from your life/Organizing your life around what matters most

  v The things that matter to us can be categorized as

o   Extrinsic – material things

§  Wealth

§  Fame

§  Attractiveness

o   Intrinsic – internal aspirations

§  Autonomy

§  Growth

§  Relevance

What things are most important to you?

Are they intrinsically or extrinsically motivated?

Self-assessment

Occupation

·      Are you satisfied with your current position?

·      If not, are you in control of the ability to change it?

·      Is your position stressful?

Family

·      How would you rate your relationship with your family?

·      Are you spending enough time with your family?

·      Are you setting aside time with your family?

·      Are you attending your children’s events?

·      Are you involved in your children’s interests?

Use this assessment to determine what most matters to you.

Stress Reducers

·         Cultivate your spiritual life

·         Enjoy the arts

·         Meditation

·         Hobbies

·         Outdoor activities

·         Laugh

·         Spend time with friends

Health isn’t something that you create with one technique or skill.  It’s a lifelong process of thinking, momentum, and actions.  Today is the day to start!

5 Signs You'll Reach Your Goal

5 Signs You'll Reach Your Goal

Where to you have room to improve? How can I help you achieve your goals? What are you celebrating today?  I’m here for you!

If you monitor your weight loss progress, you probably look to your bathroom scale for feedback. Or perhaps you gauge pounds lost by how your clothes feel. While these visible indicators show you’re releasing weight, they don’t reveal the whole story. As any yo-yo dieter knows, these progress markers can come and go. Some other signs of success, however, aren’t so obvious, but once you achieve them they’re with you forever. A missing element in many weight loss approaches is developing your inner strength. You’ll reach your weight loss goal more easily when you erase negativity and doubt from your mind. Here are five signs that prove you’ve done so.

1. You Have Patience
Many people feel discouraged when they hit a plateau or the pounds don’t come off fast enough. They then give up too quickly. Permanent weight loss takes time. When you feel defeated re-evaluate your nutrition and exercise plan, and have patience. The longer it takes to release weight, the more time you have to change old ways of thinking that contributed to gaining weight in the first place. Patience helps you do that. You not only lose weight responsibly, you become a more confident person in the process.

2. You Persevere Through Set-backs
As you develop new lifestyle habits, you may falter sometimes. We all do. It doesn’t matter that you slip; what matters is what you do about it. Use set-backs as a valuable opportunity to strengthen your strong side. For example, if you missed exercising for several weeks, tell yourself with no judgment, “Tomorrow is a new day to keep moving forward.” Each time you persevere, you develop confidence. You weaken that taunting inner voice that says, “See, you can’t do this.” Perseverance responds, “Yes, I can”.

3. You Accept Your Body
Accepting your body doesn’t mean you tolerate being overweight. It means you honor your body as it is, while helping it become the best it can be. If it’s a big leap right now to “love” or even “like” your body, that’s OK. What’s important is to respect it. That means speaking to your body with kind words. It means giving it nutritious foods and movement so it thrives. You’ll reach your weight loss goals when you stop rebelling against your body. As you accept your body as the treasured gift it is, taking good care of it becomes your only option.

4. You Focus on Your Goal
Focus on where you’re headed instead of obsessing about where you are. You can’t move forward if your mind dwells on self-critical thoughts about being overweight. What we focus our attention on grows. Shift negative attention away from your current weight and concentrate on the positive lifestyle changes you’re making. This inspires you to succeed. When your desire to look forward overshadows the tendency to complain about where you are, you’ll reach your goal more easily.

5. You Make Yourself a Priority
To achieve weight loss success, your well-being must be of prime importance. This means setting boundaries. For example, if you plan to exercise after work and your friend asks to go shopping, what do you do? Do you skip exercise or do you skip shopping? If breaking promises to yourself becomes a pattern, you’re either not committed to your goals or you make other people’s needs more important than your own. When you make yourself a priority, however, you’ll not only reach your weight loss goal, your success will last forever.

~Diane Petrella, MSW

Weight Loss Plateau?

Weight Loss Plateau?

By Jennifer Christman, RD, LDN, Corporate Dietitian/Medifast-TSFL

What is a true weight loss plateau?

We generally define “plateau” as no weight loss for 2 or more weeks.

Some individuals who lose a large amount of weight loss in a very short period of time (i.e. 9 pounds in the first week) will find that some of that initial weight loss was water (in addition to fat) and that in subsequent weeks, it may be that the body is reestablishing the optimal cell hydration status (i.e. they may hold on to water slightly differently compared to the first week when much was flushed from their system). For these individuals, their bodies are still continuing to lose weight (from fat), but on the scale it may appear otherwise (as the scale does not differentiate where the weight is coming from and may not reflect as a “loss” on the scale.

What can “cause” a weight loss plateau?

There are many factors that affect a person’s weight loss efforts including fluid status, age, gender, exercise habits, genetics, menstrual cycle for women, medical conditions, medications and compliance with the plan. Some weeks are better than others. Sometimes after a period of rapid weight loss your body needs to adjust to the change and you might not lose for a period of time after that, or it might slow down.

What can you do if you hit a true weight loss plateau?

1.     Monitor your intake. Check out your compliance with the plan. Remember that grains, fruit and dairy are eliminated during the weight loss phase of the 5&1. Are you measuring or weighing your Lean and Green meal? This is a great way to ensure proper potion sizes. Journaling or recording your intake helps keep you accountable for your intake. A great resource is tsflsupportinmotion.com  This allows you to input your exact intake. It will tell you how many calories, carbohydrates, fat, sodium etc you have eaten in a day.

2.     Are you exercising? During the first 2-3 weeks, if you haven’t started exercising, we recommend to wait. This allows your body to adjust to the lower calorie level and the fat burning state. If you are not exercising and your have been on plan for at least 2-3 weeks, you may start to incorporate exercise. Sometimes changing exercise up can help to jump start your metabolism. Remember, you can exercise up to 45 minutes per day.

3.     You may consider up to 3 of our Essential One Calorie Burn product line. With 100 milligrams of caffeine (about the amount found in one 8-ounce cup of coffee) and 90 milligrams of EGCG (a potent green tea antioxidant), these products have been specifically designed to help increase thermogenesis, boost metabolism, and control appetite. You may drink up to three (total) CalorieBurn by Medifast products daily. (Consult with your doctor before use. Essential 1 Calorie Burn products may not be appropriate if you are sensitive to caffeine, advised by your doctor to limit caffeine, under the age of 18, pregnant or nursing.)

4.     If you hit a weight loss plateau, take a look at your medication list. Some medications, including thyroid medications, may need to be adjusted and can hinder weight loss. Consult with your personal physician regarding the need to medication adjustment.

5.     In addition, remember to stay hydrated by drinking at least 64 ounces of water. Eating every 2-3 hours will help deter hunger and keep your metabolism going.

6.     Also, please make sure to measure progress not only in pounds. Inches lost, how your clothes fit, your energy levels, etc are all measures of success that many people overlook.
Keep in mind also, that has you get closer to your ideal body weight the weight may come off a bit slower. Of course your ideal body weight depends on height and frame size.

Remembering Habits

Remembering Habits

Remember back when we first started?  We placed an emphasis on practicing habits.  How are you doing with practicing?  Not with being perfect...but with practicing?

“When we have the same thought again, the line of the original thought is deepened, causing what's called a memory trace. With each repetition the trace goes deeper and deeper, forming and embedding a pattern of thought. When an emotion is tied to this thought pattern, the memory trace grows exponentially stronger.” 
― Lysa TerKeurst, Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions

Remember

So true..remember this when tempted….

An Active Support Network

An Active Support Network

Do you have five people that could be members of your support network? Could you contact them to ask for their help?  

Once you have a support network in place, your first goal is to make an effort to spend time with the people you identified.

Tell them about this health transformation and consider asking them to join you! Surrounding yourself with like-minded people who practice positive health behaviors will help you to do the same. Now that you've identified your support group, how will you interact with them in ways that enhance your Optimal Health? Will you walk with one of them twice a week? Eat a healthy lunch every day with another at work? Come up with five of these interactions, and write them in your journal.

Remember, this process is reciprocal. You're an important part of their healthy network as well, and you're going to help them sustain Optimal Health just as they help you. You can interact in person with regular meet-ups, either one-on-one or as a group (like going to the farmer's market together or meeting up for a walk).

In fact, call a member of your support network today, and schedule a get together that promotes the Habits of Health. You can even interact via Facebook by sharing words of encouragement on each other's walls.

Don't Trust the Scale

Don't Trust the Scale

I read the below in Lysa Terkeurst's book Made to Crave.  It as a excerpt of a blog by a woman named Anne Jackson (http://flowerdust.net/2009/12/17/what-the-scale-didnt-say/)

Don't trust your scale!  One of the things Brandon [her trainer] said to me is most people will attempt working out and eating better for about a month; when they don't see a big difference on the scale, they give up.

Truth be told, if you don't see a big difference on the scale in your first month, it doesn't mean much at all.  My scale said, "All this effort and you've only lost a pound," and if I would have believed it, I would have given up.

Don't buy into what the scale says or doesn't say.  Trust the effort you are putting into getting healthy.  And keep going!

Not only are there changes going on in your body that you can't see, there are changes going on in your spirit - with your discipline, your courage, and your willpower.  Keep going!

DYOH Ch 15 and 16

Discover Your Optimal Health Virtual Book Club - Chapters 15 and 16

Chapter 15 – Discover the Habits of Healthy Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep?  Do you:

  v Wake up tired in the morning?

  v Need a nap in the afternoon?

  v Fall asleep watching TV?  

  v Have trouble focusing on the job?

  v Have difficulty falling asleep?

  v Have difficulty staying asleep?

On average, people should get approximately 6 – 8 hours of sleep per night

Improve Your Sleep

Step 1:  Figure out whether you function better in the evening or the morning and adjust your schedule to ensure healthy sleep.

Step 2:  Figure out what time to get up and make sure that you go to bet at the time at night to assure you are getting 6-8 hours

Step 3:  Plan your day and evening to ensure healthy sleep

- get out in bright sunlight as soon as possible in the morning

         - be active during the day

         - drink caffeinated beverages earlier in the day

         - avoid eating large meals late in the day

         - prepare for “sleepy time”

                  - review the day

                  - decrease stimulation

                  - minimize liquid ingestion

                  - avoid alcohol

                  - make the time before bedtime a “calm” time

                  - create an ultimate sleep chamber

Chapter 16 – Discover the Habits of a Healthy Mind

A Healthy Mind “is the single most important factor in creating and maintaining your optimal health.”

“Your mind is your greatest asset.  In order to succeed at anything in life, you’ve got to be all in.  The old way of thinking is gone.  In the past you let your circumstances dictate your emotion, your eating habits, and your responses to surrounding, but now everything is different.  You are the dominant force in your life.”  ~Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen

The way you think and choose will dictate your health path:

  v Be aware of your emotions

o   Stop

o   Challenge

o   Choose

  v Manage your emotions

o   Take time off to recharge

o   Unplug daily

o   Recharge on weekends

o   Take time off from work

o   Embrace activity

o   Embrace good food and the healthy eating

  v Healthy Self-talk

o   You are the one responsible for your health and your thoughts

o   Stop judging yourself

o   Treat yourself with the same kindness and good intention you would your children, friends, and those you love.

For further reading:  Dr. A’s Habits of Health – Chapter 17 – Sleep:  Nature’s Nurse

How is your Consistency?

How Is Your Consistency?

Prisons without Bars

Prisons without Bars

“Some prisons don't require bars to keep people locked inside. All it takes is their perception that they belong there.” 
― Lysa TerKeurst, Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions

Time to break out of the prisons that are holding you hostage!  BE FREE!!!!

DYOH-Chapters 13 and 14

Discover Your Optimal Health Virtual Book Club - Chapter 13 and 14

Chapter 13 – Discover the Habits of Healthy Eating

3 Fundamental Outcomes

1   .    Match your caloric intake to your caloric outtake once you are at a healthy weight, to maintain your optimal health

2   .    Eat mostly foods that optimize your body’s functions

3   .    Avoid most food that hurt your body’s functions

High weight:         BMI > 24.9

                           Waist circumference:

                           Women - >32 in.

                           Men - >37 in.

Weigh Loss

                  Slower weight loss (1 pound or so per week)

·      Portion Control – reduction by 25%

·      Lowering the glycemic index

Faster weight loss (1-2 pounds per week)

·      Meal replacements – a cost-neutral clinically proven, effective and safe way to lose weight quickly

·      5 Meal replacements & 1 Whole Food meal per day

Healthy Weight     BMI < 24.9

                           Waist circumference:

                           Women - <32 in.

                           Men - <37 in.

Incorporate the following

Eat breakfast everyday

·         Eat something every 3 hours

·         Use portion control

·         Eat mostly low-glycemic food

·         Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables

·         Approximately 50% low glycemic carbohydrates

·         Approximately 25% healthy, lean protein

·         Approximately 25% healthy fats

Manage and Maintain Healthy Weight

·          Find your set point – amount of calories to consume to maintain your healthy weight

·          Master Satiety – fullness

o   Eat healthy foods

o   Eat low energy density foods

o   Eat macronutrients

o   Drink lots of water

o   Be mindful of high calorie ingredients

Low Weight          BMI <20

The best way to gain weight is through an increase of healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and proteins like nuts.

Foods that Optimize body functions

·         Fruits and vegetables

·         Fiber

·         Fish oils

·         Bioflavonoids – antioxidants

AVOID

·         Fried/fatty foods

·         High-glycemic foods

Chapter 14 – Discover the Habits of Motion

Integrating Increased Movement

·         General activity

·         Scheduled exercise

*Before you increase your activity and start actively increasing your energy expenditure, you should visit your physician for an evaluation.

NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – passive movement

·         Walking

·         Just say no to machines – do things manually

EAT – Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

·         Scheduled exercise – 30 minutes/day

·         Weight resistance training

·         Stretching

Additional reading:

Dr. A’s Habits of Health

Chapter 11 – The Science of Healthy Eating and Weight Loss

Chapter 14 – First Steps:  Introduction to Dr. A’s Habits of Motion System

Chapter 15 – Dr. A’s Habits of Motion:  Part 1: NEAT System

Chapter 16 – Dr. A’s Habits of Motion:  Part 2: EAT System

Don't Give Up!

Don't Give Up!

When you know what you want, you will go to great lengths to get it!

"Get the cheese!  Get the cheese!  Get the cheese!"

DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS & GOALS THAT YOU SET WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED THIS 90 DAYS!!!!

DYOH Chapters 11 and 12

DYOH Book Study Chapters 11 & 12

Chapter 11 – Integrating the Habits of Health into Your Life

Create Your Master Plan

Where are you now? – Chapter 2

Where do you want to go? – Chapter 7

Creating a Structural Tension Chart

Step 1 – What is your desired outcome?

Step 2 – What is your current reality in relationship to your desired outcome?

Step 3 – Write the desired outcome and current reality on your chart and simultaneously visualize it in your mind.

Step 4 – Write down your action step or secondary choices that support your primary vision or goal.

Step 5 – Write down due dates that quantify when you will reach the different action steps or secondary choices that support your primary choice or desired outcome.

Cycle of Success

Action

Result

Review

Correct

Repeat

Fundamental Deal Breakers

Smoking

High BMI and Waist Circumference

Chapter 12 – Discover the Habits of Healthy Weight

Loss

Safe and Effective Weight Loss

Reduce the Energy You Put in Your Body

• ·      Count calories
• ·      Visually reduce portions
• ·      Use prepackaged foods
• ·      Use glycemic index
• ·      Use a combination

Increase Your Energy Expenditure

• ·      Mindful and purposeful activity
• ·      Add activity incrementally as you lose weight

Balance Your Energy for Life

• ·      Healthy Eating
• ·      Healthy Motion
• ·      Healthy Sleep
• ·      Healthy Mind

For further reading:

Dr. A’s Habits of Health

Chapter 7:  The catalyst to Reaching a Healthy Weig

ht

Chapter 8:  Dr. A’s Healthy Eating System