Lifestyle Change– Correct Assumption, Wrong Approach

Posted on March 15, 2013 by

e_chinese_symbols_proverbs_freedom1

            In almost every credible article regarding weight loss and nutrition, the term “lifestyle change” is often used. Although making lifestyle changes is the necessary approach for weight loss, I’ve found that it’s not the best attitude when it comes to achieving your goals.

            The problem with approaching what you eat with a mindset that it has to be a lifestyle change is that it can induce, well… panic. Suddenly you’re thrown into a situation with deliciously unhealthy foods and you begin thinking of how you’ll never get to eat them. Ever. Again. You think of your new lifestyle and the more you resist your old favorite foods, the blander your healthy new lifestyle seems. Doubt creeps into your mind as you imagine your future Self trying to resist every single future temptation yet all that comes to mind is how amazing that salty, sugary, fatty taste would be on your taste buds.

So you cave.

            Somewhere in between your resisting and your imagining, a dessert ended up in your mouth and while you already betrayed your “new lifestyle” you figure you might as well stuff your face with every dessert on the tray and just begin a new life tomorrow. Then tomorrow becomes today, so today gets pushed until tomorrow and the cycle repeats itself.

            All the magazines, books, articles you’ve read have insisted that your new diet needs to become your whole life, but you’re new life has only made you more stressed about food than you were in the first place. So what’s the wannabe healthy you supposed to do?

            Chill out. Live life. Have fun. Every time you become hungry or simply want to eat is not supposed to be a moment to prepare for war with yourself. It’s simply a chance for you to make a decision. Whether you want to become healthy/lose weight or not, you are always free to decide. Chances are you most likely won’t be able to give up sweets or processed foods for the rest of your life. If you attempt to create a new lifestyle for yourself with a bunch of rules, you are setting yourself up to break those rules. Life is not meant to be lived with your mind constantly consumed by the calorie or fat content of your food. I don’t think anyone would want to follow a lifestyle that drags them down with worry of how they’re no longer going to eat what they want. So if you are ready to be healthy, if you are willing to sculpt your physical and internal Self into the individual you’d like to be, then stop panicking and start making your own decisions. The temptations will always be there. This isn’t a bad thing; constant temptation does not have to mean constant resistance. Instead, a constant temptation means that you will always have a chance to give in to it. If you can decide to choose the healthy over the unhealthy, just for today, you will always have tomorrow to give in to your cravings. Use the days you feel mentally focused and physically strong to your advantage, and continue choosing the healthy path that lead toward achieving your goals. All of your healthy choices will make a difference, and should grant us understanding when we choose to get off track every now and then.

            Just remember no matter what kind of life you choose to live, it is always a choice to live that life.

            The power is within you. Use it.

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What Your Hunger is Really Growling

Posted on March 6, 2013 by


The average American eats 3,800 calories a day. This is twice the average daily requirement.
Obesity has reached the epidemic status, with about 65% of U.S. adults overweight.
$100 billion a year is spent on treating obesity-related disorders.
300,000 U.S. citizens die from disorders caused by excessive eating.

… So who’s hungry?
Hunger is defined in my Biopsychology book as “the motivation to eat.” According to this textbook (which is cited below, and used for all of the facts presented throughout this post because it’s the most amazing textbook I’ve read) the goal of hunger is to increase the probability that we will eat. Eating is conducted in order to supply our bodies with the energy, vitamins, and minerals it needs to survive and thrive! Thrive as in, compose our healthy hair, skin and nails, rid our bodies of toxins, support our immune function, etc. So my question is—why the hell has our hunger seemed to have turned on us?

Three Phases of Energy Metabolism- Our bodies are constantly using up energy, aka burning calories, just to keep us alive. Even as you sit on your ass right now to read this your metabolism is getting put to work, which is understood in three phases.
1) The first is the phase when you become consumed by the sight, delicious smell, and taunting thought of your favorite food, known as the cephalic phase. The sensory info (sight, smell, thought) of food is sent to your brain to signal you are about to eat. Your brain then sends signals to your body to prepare you for the future meal. It tells your pancreas to release insulin.
Insulin…
-Insulin encourages your body to use glucose (blood sugar) for the energy it needs, rather than utilizing amino acids or fatty acids.
-Since your body is using sugar for fuel, it can then convert its other sources of energy, such as your amino acids and fatty acids, into their storage forms known as protein and fat. Excess glucose during this time is converted to its storage form of glycogen or fat.

2) After you have been tempted by food and the sugar levels (glucose) in your blood are low, your metabolism enters the Absorptive Phase. This is when your body absorbs the energy from the fuels of your newly eaten meal into your bloodstream to use for energy. The excess energy (or calories) gets stored.

3) When all of your unstored energy is used by the body, maybe from exercise, studying, cleaning, etc., your metabolism enters the fasting phase. This is when your body needs to use its stored forms of energy for fuel, such as glycogen and fat.
-Low levels of insulin are present during the fasting phase, but a hormone known as glucagon is. Glucagon is what converts your fat to ketones, a usable form of energy!
-The fasting phase ends with the temptation of food once again in the cephalic phase.

Now that you know the basics, you should understand that cycling through all three phases is the happy, healthy way to eat. Although the fasting phase will turn your fat into energy, if you stay in there you will slow down your metabolism, act like a bitch because you’re starving, and will hate your life/ become diagnosed with an eating disorder.
Weight gain occurs when you switch from the absorptive back to the cephalic phase. In other words, if you eat before your body is actually hungry for the food, you are going to gain weight. No secret there.
Well then how can you know if your body is hungry?
There are two theories about hunger—one that’s a comforting lie and one that’s the simple truth.
The 1st theory of Hunger: The Set-Point Theory. This is the idea that we’re hungry because our bodies need the energy that comes with food. But physical hunger and becoming hungry at the sight of a cinnamon roll are two different things.
This leads us to the Positive Incentive Perspective—the idea that humans eat because eating brings pleasure! Even if humans were to skip one meal, they would experience a state of malaise which involves headaches, nausea, and difficulty concentrating. Face it, no matter how guilty you may have felt sometime after a meal, you love to eat.
Unfortunately, you don’t always need to eat, but the positive incentive value of food has become so high in today’s world of sugar and artificial tastes, which is why obesity is currently becoming an epidemic, and, paradoxically, anorexia is on the rise. Our views of food are so distorted because the food itself is distorted. We’ve tricked our minds into developing unhealthy eating patterns without even knowing it, but understanding our body is the first great step in learning how to listen to it:
1) “Appetizer Effect” – when we eat a small amount of food, we only ignite the cephalic phase of metabolism. Therefore, eating appetizers is preparing us to eat a meal, which means our feeling of hunger will increase even though our actual hunger is getting fulfilled.
2) Serving Size- the larger the serving, the more we will eat. The bigger our utensils, the more we will eat.
3) Social Influences- According to one study, participants consumed 60% more of their meal when eating with others. Only a few ate less. Recognize which group you identify with and use this knowledge to take control of your behavior.
4) Sensory-Specific Satiety- Feeling full, “satiety”, is specific to certain senses. When we eat one food, such as chips, our positive incentive value for those chips will increase until we are sick of eating them. Once we are full from chips, however, our positive incentive value will increase for a different food, because we have not become satiated from anything other than chips. Therefore, keep your meals full of variety and color!
Always remember: you are a product of what you do. Go after your goals and dream on!
Xoxox.

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Craving Dream Bodies ruined by Cravings-what?

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

It’s been TOO long since I’ve written a post! There’s been so much going on that I haven’t been able to find enough free time to do enough research on the nutritional topics I want to write about. However, today is a new day and I decided I am going to make writing in here a definite part of my week. Therefore, I’ll have at least two new posts per week.

Anyway, today I want to talk about something that has been on my mind since, oh, I don’t know—the fifth grade. I want to talk about this:

damn

damn


Abs. (Jump to the bottom of this post for specific foods that help metabolism.) Well, the physical body in general. Humans were born to be strong. We have everything we need internally to look however we want to look. Ever since fifth grade, when I read an article from my sister’s magazine applauding Britney Spears’ abs, I needed to get myself a pack. Or six (ha ha haa). You think after ten years of wanting something, I’d have those abs of steel by now.

The thing about humans and their bodies is that we don’t know whether we are a prisoner to our bodies or if our bodies are a prisoner to us. We pass by a bakery, and without our choosing the smells ignite our sensory neurons—we’re hooked. Our eyes see a cheesy pizza and already our ghrelin hormones (the hormones responsible for our appetite) are making us crave the damn thing. We eat our favorite deserts and our taste buds get greedy for more and more. So how in control of our eating habits are we really? Are we simply products of involuntary chemical processes, or are the chemical processes products of us, of our choices?

Set your mind to something, no, really set your mind to it, and I think the answer will be clear. Our minds are so much more magical and powerful than we give it credit for, and that’s the problem—we don’t give our minds credit. If you are reading this post and you are currently unhappy with the way your body looks—whether you downright hate it or you would just like to improve it—then all I have to say is… what the hell is stopping you? Sometimes dreams/dream bodies seem so out of reach that you don’t even want to put in the energy to try. You would love to look a certain way, but you know it’s going to take a lot of time and energy. Time you don’t have. Energy you already use up to get through your day. So you may get motivated for a couple of days, maybe weeks, but then those hormones start signaling, those neurons begin firing, and you give in to your cravings.

Cravings take away our control, at least that’s how it feels. This is why so many people give up and turn to diet pills or other weight loss poisons to reach their goals; they lose trust in themselves. They can’t believe that they will stick with any lifestyle change or exercise regimen, so they pop a pill to turn off the part of themselves they don’t like, and hope for the best. After all, life is short. We get to a point where we’re sick of trying, and because we failed ourselves so many times before, we don’t want to waste more time relying on ourselves to reach our goals again. What you don’t realize during the process of giving up on your Self is that… you can’t. No really, you can’t. You have to live with your Self every single day. Instead of taking the shortcut, or giving up entirely, that will only weak you as a person, why not confront your Self head on?

Here’s what you gotta do:
1) Recognize what parts of your body you love, and what parts you’d like to take control of.

2) Apologize to your body for giving in to all of the unhealthy cravings and tell your body that you understand the cravings are just from our ancestors’ spirit running through us. When humans evolved, sugar and fat was a prized possession since it was rare and they needed its high calorie (energy) content for their active lifestyle. Therefore, I like to view our innate desire for fats and sugar as a little message from our ancestors trying to help us. When you stop resenting the cravings and identifying yourself with them, you’ll realize they don’t feel as strong.

3) Recognize that you have a power to choose every single day. Just because you’re going after your dreams doesn’t mean you’ll never eat Doritos again. When you’re deciding what to eat, don’t panic. The mucus-inducing ice cream will always be there for the days you just need to give in. But is today really one of those days? Eh? … Eh?

4) Before you do a daily activity (shower, brush your teeth, etc.) do some sort of exercise routine. Pinterest is all about this shit, go get pinspired.

5) If you get sick of eating healthy… then you’re just lying to your Self. Eating healthy provides us with energy, prevents us from breaking out, gives us a good mood and, at the end of the day, makes us proud of ourselves. It unites our Mind, Body, and Spirit. If you don’t like filling your body with colors, abundance, and showing your internal self how much you care about it, then your issues have issues. Now go make yourself a smoothie and stop whining about having fun.

You need to realize that getting your dream body would become more than just looking/feeling good; the problem in industrialized countries is that everything happens so fast that we have become accustomed to getting the results and answers we want without having to wait very long. Cultivating your dream body for your Self is making the decision to experience something bigger than yourself. It is learning patience. It is regaining trust in your Self for all the times you feel you failed. It is learning how to truly forgive yourself when you get off track and learning to never lose sight of your dream. It is proving something to your Self—that you are the one in control, and you can do it.

You might be hundreds of pounds away from your dreams or just a few. When you feel too drained to try for the impossible, just remember that your mind, your brain, is composed of something magical. It is composed of matter that scientists can’t even truly understand. Use your magic, achieve your dreams.

You are already all that you want to be. It is simply up to you to clear away the clutter and let your inner light shine!

Help your Metabolism with FOOD! :
1) Always eat when you want to. Food isn’t the enemy anymore; in fact it will help you become all that you were born to be as long as you are choosing foods that would make me proud (think fresh, full of color, juicy, not made in a laboratory). When we eat, our metabolism speeds up to keep up with the foods we’re consuming. Don’t overdo it, but always fulfill your appetite.

2) If you like to spice up your life, buy Cayenne Pepper. Try sprinkling it over whatever you’re eating. I like it on tuna, in my morning tea (with lemon), on whole wheat pasta, in an omelet—just try it! Apparently this pepper increases thermogenesis, which is a process that releases the calories/energy you consume from foods into heat (livestrong.com). In other words it speeds up your metabolism!

3) Lemons! If life threw me lemons I’d be happy, they’re so good for you. The packaged, processed foods abundant in America tend to make our internal environments more acidic than our bodies would like. This can lead to a variety of diseases, but lemons have an alkalizing effect on the body to counteract the acidity. Lemons also help cleanse the liver. Since the liver is an organ that metabolizes fats, it is important we keep our livers healthy if we want to shine. When I’m at home, I sprinkle lemon on everything I can think of.

4) Take water with you wherever you go! When I realized how beneficial it was, I trained myself to fall in love with H2O. The body becomes dehydrated before the symptoms even show up, and when the body is dehydrated its metabolism will slow down. Staying hydrated not only keeps our metabolisms functioning optimally, it cleanses our organs so we can use the energy from foods efficiently.

5) Sip some green tea. Green tea not only contains antioxidants which prevent cancer-causing agents, such as free radicals, from causing harm, it also has been studied to increase your metabolic rate for a short period of time after drinking.

6) Celery. We’ve all heard this one before. It takes more energy for your body to break the bonds of cellulose (the fiber in the celery) than the calories the food provides. I usually eat mine with hummus.

I’ll write more tips on my next post.. have a fun day!

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New Year’s Resolutions: Why Lose Weight?

Posted on December 31, 2012 by

New years
Happy New Year’s Eve everybody! A new year means a chance to start fresh. People grow each year as they develop different attitudes, conduct new behaviors, and discover life’s experiences. New Year’s means lots of laughter, hopes, champagne and, of course, New Year’s resolutions.

My question is, are the New Year’s resolutions we make for 2013 really new? When I hear people sharing their resolutions with one another I hear the “I want to lose weight” all too often followed by the “I want to get in shape.” These resolutions are made usually by the same people every year. Shouldn’t they have resolved it by now and moved on to fulfilling another dream? My point is, clearly the “I want to lose weight/get in shape” resolution isn’t working. And why should it? Where is the hope behind that sentence? Where is the confidence?

If you are someone whose resolution was just attacked above, I want you to really think about that desire. Why do you want to lose weight? Are you truly overweight or just self-conscious with yourself? Whatever the answer is, think deeper. What is making you overweight? Bad habits? Restricted access to nutritious foods? Hormones? An overpowering sweet tooth? and What makes you self-conscious? Other people’s opinions? Your own opinion? Certain areas of your physical body? In order to achieve a goal, you need to get to the heart of why you want what you want. Perhaps it is waking up with energy every morning and not having to rely on coffee to get you through the day. Maybe it’s achieving softer skin, shinier hair, and stronger nails. Or maybe what you really want is just to get those pre-baby Britney Spears abs. I know I do. When you find out what is really causing the desire, then you will be able to discover a solution.

I do not think wanting to lose weight is a negative thing. In fact, I think the focus and desire to be skinny in our society stems from us being animals wanting to be healthy. That’s not to say society has taken it too far. All I am saying is that while beauty is in EVERY individual, health is not. We need to really sit with ourselves and recognize what we are doing to our bodies. If we were blessed enough to be born healthy, and privileged enough to know better, then I think we deserve to treat our Selves with love each and every day. This New Year’s I want you to really think about your resolution. Whatever it is, whether it has to do with your weight or not, I want you to make a goal for your Self. Don’t make it based on other people; decide to become all that you wish to be.
Possess your potential, and live your life.

Happy 2013!!! Make it an internally good one. xoxoxo

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My thoughts on 12.21.12!

Posted on December 21, 2012 by

Good morning! How are youuu all celebrating this day? We’re going through exciting times, and I feel so grateful I get to be alive during this day many ancient cultures were anticipating. To sum up how I feel about this day, I’ll let one of my favorite youtube series do the explaining, Spirit Science. It’s a very uplifting, sometimes funny, thought-provoking series that keeps me feeling positive. Hope you enjoy!

To sum up: I don’t think anything physically major is going to occur just because it’s December 21, 2012. I simply think there’s an energy in the air that those who want to tune into it will and those who don’t want to, don’t have to! All around me it seems people are waking up. Once again people are interested in the connection between mind, body, and spirit. We’re questioning, exploring, discovering, and loving. We’re giving ourselves knowledge and acting upon it. There’s still problems occurring in the world, some so profound they even seem irreversible, but I choose to be hopeful. I choose to view this day as the beginning of an awakened era.
So do some meditation, if you have an unresolvable question ask it, and just let yourself feel the peace today.
Thanks! enjoy!!

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The Scales we Measure Ourselves by

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

Words to Live By

 

No matter what we’re trying to accomplish, it seems as if humans always need a scale to measure themselves by. We judge our intelligence by the scores we receive on a test, we define our bodies by the numbers on a scale, and, whether we think we are beautiful or not, we base our perception of our beauty on images that are not us. Last night (or rather, early this morning… finals week) I wondered what would happen if grades, scales, and social media didn’t exist. How would we measure ourselves, our success?

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not implying that these methods of measurement are “bad” for us. There is always room for improvement and growth, but as of now I think grades, scales, and the media can be the best external tools to push society toward such improvements. Instead, I am simply trying to encourage you to reanalyze the way you define, view, and feel about yourself. If there were no external scales, we would have no choice but to measure ourselves with our internal scale. I believe everyone has one, this internal scale, and I believe that as long as we are trying our best and growing upon our full potential, then we are fulfilling it. Why is it so heartbreaking and frustrating for us when we try our absolute best but don’t get the outcome we were working for? Are we hurt because we feel as though our best isn’t good enough—that we aren’t good enough—or are we frustrated because it forces us to realize that no matter what we do, not everything is in our control?

Life as I’m learning it has made me realize two things: 1) There are things in this world we can control and 2) There are things in this world we can’t control. This is how the Universe maintains balance; if you had the ability to control all of your outcomes, you wouldn’t be pushed todiscover. Life would be easy—there would be no need to search for and recognize the very power you possess. I think maintaining happiness is easiest when you take control of the things you can and let go of the things you can’t. Trying your best in every situation is taking control of the things you can. It can be as simple as studying your ass off for finals or going to the gym every day for the body you want yet complex as attempting compassion toward those who have hurt you. Your best is not a constant; it is bound to change as you do. Experiences will shift your beliefs, your beliefs will shift your experiences, and you will face many emotions and feelings that will alter what your best can be. Just try your best in each moment, and that is all you can do.

Your best may or may not give you the outcome you desire. When you don’t receive what we had worked, hoped, or expected for, it will probably hurt. However, that doesn’t mean you have to attach to this feeling of pain. It is easy to find solace in knowing that you fulfilled your internal scale. So next time you feel down about your grades, your weight, your Self, just remember that as long as you tried, you did all that you could. You are already fulfilled. The rest is up to the Universe to decide. You are taken care of. And if you feel guilt because you know you could have applied yourself more, don’t. Guilt is a wasted emotion. Every experience in life is an experience we can truly learn and grow from; every experience in life is a chance to further discover just who You were meant to be.

So HAVE FUN ALREADY!

explore discover grow learn enjoy laugh live breath accept be kiss love hurt feel experience …. And the rest is up to you.  

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And I thought Pink was the color of Love

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Image

yummm!

People are prejudice against color. Don’t believe me? Present a pink, yellow, even purple smoothie next to a green one and see which color people don’t choose. If you’re like my sister, even the sight of a green smoothie will make you recoil. Why is this so? Why is drinking a shit brown colored drink (I’m referring to you soda guzzlers) more appetizing and socially normal than sipping a refreshing green smoothie?

Who knows, and as long as you don’t give in to your initial reaction toward the healthy drink, who cares. The purpose of this blog is to make you consider at least trying one, as they can be very delicious and always nutritious!

There is no mathematical equation when it comes to making green smoothies. Here’s what I do:

1)      Look in my refrigerator.

2)      Gather every vegetable I can find (carrots, cucumbers, celery, kale, broccoli, etc.)

3)      Select a few pieces of fruit that contain a strong taste (berries, kiwi, banana are excellent)

4)      Toss everything into a blender, along with some ice.

5)      Pour into a glass, toss a little umbrella in it, and drink up my internal body’s version of paradise.

Sure, green smoothies may look weird after growing up in a world full of artificial dyes, but that doesn’t mean they taste weird.  The first sip of a green smoothie I took involved me holding my nose with a chaser nearby. I was prepared for utter disgust. Yet I found myself pleasantly surprised to find the taste delicious. As it turns out, the taste of the fruit added into the green smoothie dominates over the taste of the vegetables. Now don’t overdo it—the point is to make a green smoothie. All you need is a few pieces of fruit (too much fruit=too much sugar + bloating!) to satisfy your taste buds.

Green smoothies are packed with fiber, phytochemicals, nutrients, minerals, and enzymes. Since the fruits and veggies are presented in liquid form, all the nutrients travel to the cells of your body faster since liquid is easier for your body to digest. For those of you who don’t normally snack on vegetables or incorporate those into your meals, green smoothies are an alternative way to ensure you are getting the foods your body needs and desires. Just try it for yourself! I’ve never heard of such a thing as eating too many vegetables. The fiber of the smoothie will also keep you feeling full longer than an average breakfast would. After a few weeks, perhaps even a few days, I even guarantee you’ll look forward to beginning your day with a green smoothie, since all of the health benefits will help reconnect your mind and body’s cravings. Once you start filling your body with health and love, the biochemistry of your body will begin to rebalance itSelf since you will no longer be deficient in nutrients. Rebalancing your body’s chemistry means reducing sugary, salty, fatty cravings, feeling in control of your portion size, and most likely a brightened mood. It’s about time you let your inner light shine!

Not to mention… green is the color of the fourth chakra, the chakra center of the heart. It is believed to be the body’s center for Sharing, Trust, and Love. Ancient Chinese cultures believed we “feed” our chakras when we eat a food containing the corresponding color. So if you didn’t put it together already, drinking green smoothies feeds and balances the energy of our heart, our center for love.

And who doesn’t want more love in their life? Cheers to that.

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