3 May

It Is Never Just About Food!

By Darci In Anxiety, Darci, Health, Life Coaching, Stress, Weight Loss / 2 No Comments

What are the biggest things that help someone stick to a weight loss program/lifestyle change?

1. Food journal/diary. Those who keep detailed notes of what they eat and drink each day are at least 60% more likely to succeed in their long-term health goals. Unless you lie in your own journal, it works as an accountability partner and a history that you can review to determine changes you need to make at different points or when something isn’t working.

2. Simplicity. Those who believe they need lots of variety and complicated recipes often overwhelm themselves in the process. While it’s great to make foods you enjoy and avoid boredom, it seems at least in the early stages, most people are more successful when they have fewer choices to make and less time to spend on a daily basis preparing food. This is why the next piece is so important…

3. Food prep. While most people do not enjoy the time and effort it takes to prep food for a healthy diet, the willingness to do this work not only reduces The time to prepare meals throughout the day or week, but it also makes it much more convenient and motivating to make healthy food choices once the prepped food is ready and/or packed up. If you are eating mostly vegetables and fruits and simple meals, food prep really doesn’t have to take that long. You can even shorten the time by breaking up food and pulsing in a food processor or using the slicing blade to make the prep time shorter. YOU CAN ALSO PREMAKE DRY SALADS BY ADDING SMALL AMOUNTS OF EACH INGREDIENT TO THE PROCESSOR, PULSING LIGHTLY AND THEN PACK IT UP. DO THIS A FEW TIMES AND YOU WILL SEE WHAT A TIME SAVER IT IS.

Yes, there are other important aspects to staying on track to lose weight and improve health, such as family/friend support, cooking skills/practice, regular blood tests, vitamin/mineral supplementation when necessary, exercise…But these top three can take you a long way all on their own and especially in addition to the other aspects.

Need a health/life coach to take you to your goals using a holistic approach to food and behavior? Hire us! It is never just about food! Learn how to change habits, use tools such as delayed gratification, visualizations, how to approach new food choices, the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle, reduce inflammation and pain, fight anxiety with food and psychological tools.

24 Apr

Sleep, Health and Weight Loss

By Darci In Anxiety, Darci, Health, Life Coaching, Stress, Weight Loss / 1 No Comments

If you feel tired, you automatically grab a cup of coffee or many cups, along with a sugary snack to get fast energy. Then when you get hungry later, you might be tempted to go for some fast food and bring home a pre-cooked meal for the family instead of feeling the desire to cook a healthy meal at home. By the time you lie down in bed, you can’t fall asleep due to the sugar spike. So you sleep little and wake up tired again the next morning…and so the cycle continues. Or maybe you have inordinate stress due to say a pandemic or normal stress from work, finances, or family.

The short-term result is that you may have the ability to get through the day, but in the long term, you gain weight due to less than stellar food choices in combination with none or minimal exercise.

If you keep adding on to your sleep debt, you will pay dearly with your health, weight, and emotional well-being. Eventually, you will crash – possibly in a literal sense. Those who are sleep-deprived are more likely to cause a car accident than a drunk driver.

This article is not suggesting that if you get enough sleep, life will be perfect; however, when you do not get enough sleep on a continuous basis, your body does not function correctly. The result is a lot more than just the weight gain that comes from hormone imbalances, but for those reading this article, let’s focus on that for a moment.

The recommended sleep is about 7-8 hours per night. Sleeping more will not equate to dropping the last 10 pounds of our weight goal – but if you are currently sleeping around five hours at a time and you increase it to 7 or 8, you will likely drop some of the extra weight in a reasonable timeframe. You will also potentially improve your blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and other health indicators – but you should check with your doctor to see where you are today and how proper sleep might impact your medical concerns and any prescriptions you are taking.

There are two important hormones (besides cortisol) that affect our weight management – ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin determines your hunger. Less sleep causes your body to produce more ghrelin and in turn to eat more. Leptin decides when to stop eating. When you sleep less, your body produces less leptin.

In addition to the above, metabolism slows down quickly when you don’t sleep enough. While slower metabolism in a healthy nutrient-dense lifestyle is a good thing (to be discussed in a future article,) sudden metabolism drops due to sleep loss is another cause of weight gain, even without increasing your intake of poor food choices.

How do you resolve your lack of sleep?

Avoid caffeine after lunch.
Exercise regularly to improve the quality of sleep. It’s up to you when you exercise but it is suggested that most people should not exercise close to bedtime.
Cut out junk food at night – high-calorie, processed foods or “heavy” foods can cause indigestion, bloating, and cause your body to focus on digestion instead of healing when you are sleeping. This impacts the quality of your sleep and body functionality and can result in quick weight gain.

If you are getting a full night of sleep most nights and still wake up exhausted, you may need to evaluate your current stress and anxiety levels. There are many exercises you can use to reduce anxiety and stress for short-term and long-term needs. On the other hand, there may be underlying conditions, and you should seek your doctor’s advice for further examination.

Need someone to help you put down that ice cream or pick up those vegetables? Hire a coach. @darcikingry is available via Zoom, phone or other media to help you with tips and tricks and the facts. It’s never just about the food. That’s why hiring a coach trained in holistic life and health coaching can make a difference in your success.

Darci has been on The Doctor Oz Show, highlighted in the 2015 PBS special with Joel Fuhrman, M.D., interviewed by Elisha Lee of Eat to Live Daily and the popular Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/eattolivedaily/ and is included in the book Legends of Change by Rebecca Frith. Follow Darci on Instagram at @darcikingry or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/eatforlifesupport and https://www.facebook.com/SimplyNutritarian.

12 Apr

Weight Loss Quick Tips

By Darci In Darci, Health, Life Coaching, Weight Loss / 1 No Comments

There are more myths than truths out there about weight loss. Most people are desperate for a quick fix and become victims of fad diets, dangerous surgeries, and useless pills. But you can save money, your life, your time and heartache by following some simple rules to get started. You don’t have to do everything at once! Do what you can and stick with it no matter what comes your way. Start over when you fall down -immediately – and don’t let the insecurity of others pull you into their downfall and drama.

There are are some strategies that work. But like anything worth it, you have to do the work – there is no safe magic pill that guarantees thinness and health forever unless you do the work and practice the discipline to get there.

1. Eat mostly whole-food plants and vegetables and fruits. Cooked, raw, both…I don’t care. Just eat them and eat them more than anything else!

2. Drink water – and pretty much only water – most of the time. Tea and carbonated water are ok too. Avoid large glasses of juice (even pure fruit juice) and most definitely avoid sugary drinks filled with chemicals. Every cell in your body thrives when infused with simple water – start with at least 8 ounces first thing upon waking and keep it going with every meal and break.

3. Eat only when truly hungry – call it intermittent fasting or just listening to your body. Real hunger is felt in your mouth, not in your stomach. Most of the noises and feelings in your stomach between meals are actually your body’s process of digestion – not preparing to eat every few hours. Our bodies can’t focus on healing when we are constantly digesting food. So let’s give our bodies a break between fill-ups.

4. Avoid processed sugar – it is not only unnecessary, but there are also hundreds of reasons to stay far away. From blood sugar spikes to liver damage to cancer. Look it up! Or message me for how sugar ruins us – a little is ok but few people have the discipline to stop at a little.

5. Exercise – Yes, food is about 80% of weight loss success; however, exercise is still important for a healthy body and mind. So break it up by doing things you enjoy such as riding a bike, playing with your kids, walking, lifting some weights (fill up some gallon containers with sand or water!), or going for a run. Anybody movement is good body movement. Aim for at least 30 minutes per day.

6. Sleep – and sleep some more. We tend to underestimate our body’s need for rest. This is when our bodies can truly focus on healing and not much else. For those trying to lose weight, a healthy 8 hours sleep each night is vitally important to reduce fat-inducing hormones, such as cortisol.

7. Chew slowly – two winning outcomes here: you will likely eat fewer calories AND your body may have an opportunity to increase the hormones that aid in weight loss.

8. Practice delayed gratification – most (yes, I know it is not everyone) people in our society have a lot of emotional attachments to food, as well as a lot of temptation and family and friends who enable. Food addiction in the USA is REAL. To combat this, you must practice delayed gratification exercises but waiting 30 minutes when you are tempted to eat something that does not do your body good. Read, exercise, watch TV, play a game, talk to a friend or eat something healthy and filling. If this doesn’t work, FORCE yourself to wait another 30 minutes. Still no? eat half of what you want and wait another 30 minutes. The more your practice, the more your mind and body will begin to change habits and lose the addictive compulsion. But you have to be consistent. Most people lose their “craving” within 30 minutes. And yes, I know it can be physically painful that emptiness in your stomach and brain for feeling deprived of that ice cream or grilled cheese. But you can do this!

Need someone to help you put down that ice cream or pick up those vegetables? Hire a coach. @darcikingry is available via Zoom, phone or other media to help you with tips and tricks and the facts. It never just about the food, that’s why hiring a coach trained in holistic life and health coaching can make a difference in your success.

Darci has been on The Doctor Oz Show, highlighted in the 2015 PBS special with Joel Fuhrman, M.D., interviewed by Elisha Lee of Eat to Live Daily and the popular Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/eattolivedaily/j and more. Follow Darci on Instagram at @darcikingry or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/eatforlifesupport and https://www.facebook.com/SimplyNutritarian.

30 Mar

Anxiety and the Food We Eat

By Darci In Anxiety, Darci, Health, Life Coaching / 1 No Comments

Did you know that what you eat affects your anxiety and stress levels AND how well you emotionally deal with the anxiety you are experiencing? I know personally how this happens because I spent my whole life waking up with anxiety EVERY day. Nothing had to be wrong, but my body and mind disagreed and caused me to “worry” about things that I had no reason to worry about. It created an anxious person. It wasn’t until I found Eat to Live and changed my diet drastically that, in addition to all of the chronic health issues, pain and overweight, it simply went away forever. Now, I only feel anxiety when there’s actually something stressful going on – you know, like a pandemic! Fortunately, I have the education and training to know how to fight the symptoms of anxiety so I can get back to focusing on life, clients, family, and my own health without letting the tendency to “freeze” and have my whole world on hold.

While for me, the number one thing that brings back the physical and emotional anxiety symptoms is dairy – cheese, milk, eggs, ice cream – you name it – other foods can also cause an anxiety trigger, while even other foods can help reduce anxiety. The best solution to anxiety, whether in the short term or long term, is to eat a diet that is micronutrient-dense, filled with leafy greens, colorful vegetables, cruciferous vegetables and beans, here is a list of some foods to say yes or no to when anxiety has a hold on you. Do you have a story to share or solutions of your own? Share in the comments!

Increase

Increase tryptophan, vitamin B (all), and magnesium to help with the effects of anxiety and stress.

This is not a complete list, but it gives you a good idea of how food really is medicine.

Increase tryptophan levels without animal meat or by-products (dairy). Some foods to try are: bananas, oats, soy, nuts and sesame seeds.

Increase vitamin B foods: leafy greens, legumes (such as lentils), citrus fruits, avocadoes, rice (wild, black), and nuts. Note: for vitamin B12, a regular supplement is recommended).

Increase in magnesium: leafy greens, seaweed, avocadoes, nuts, seeds, tofu, legumes, bananas, wild rice

Increase phytonutrients: blueberries, black rice, peaches, blackberries.

If you are under unrelenting stress or anxiety, consider taking a supplement that floods your body with magnesium quickly and flushes out any excess without concerning side effects. It comes in a variety of flavors. https://www.naturalvitality.com/products/naturalcalm/unflavored

Avoid

Candy and sugar-filled sweets: Initially, you may get the rush from the blood sugar spike, but when it crashes, your anxiety may be worse than it was to begin with and cause you to go on a sugar binge.

Alcohol: It is a depressant and it gives you the same sugar rush, ultimately causing a myriad of health issues if you drink large quantities of alcohol on a regular basis.

Processed Foods: One of your favorites is like to be a highly-processed treat – deli meats, hot dogs, cakes and cookies…Processed foods tend to have the trifecta of health sabotage waiting for you: saturated liquid fat, processed sugar, white flour. All of these ingredients do nothing but add fat to your hips and poison your blood. Limit these foods and reduce anxiety quickly.

The Final Word

There are a lot of non-food ways to address anxiety in the moment. But the best way to treat chronic, long-term or excessively-high levels of stress and anxiety is to control the food we eat. During these times, we cannot control if we will lose our job, our home or who will get sick. But we can control the food we eat to reduce anxiety, increase immunity and have a better quality of life for today and the future.

Need someone to help you put down that ice cream or pick up those vegetables? Hire a coach. @darcikingry is available via Zoom, phone or other media to help you with tips and tricks and the facts. It never just about the food, that’s why hiring a coach trained in holistic life and health coaching can make a difference in your success.

Darci has been on The Doctor Oz Show, highlighted in the 2015 PBS special with Joel Fuhrman, M.D., interviewed by Elisha Lee of Eat to Live Daily and the popular Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/eattolivedaily/j and more. Follow Darci on Instagram at @darcikingry or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/eatforlifesupport and https://www.facebook.com/SimplyNutritarian.

30 Mar

Hello My Name is Anxiety

By Darci In Anxiety, Darci, Health, Life Coaching / 1 No Comments

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has left the world scared, worried and deeply stressed out. However, our world today is full of anxiety on a normal basis, so the heightened worry is a level many people don’t know how to handle. But there are ways to reduce your anxiety, even during this terrible event – eating more vegetables, greens, and fruits; exercise; medication; prayer; fun hobbies; proper sleep habits.

We feel anxiety for many reasons – lack of confidence in the subject matter or specific situation we are facing, previously perceived failures, upbringing, or even one really traumatic experience. The reality is that almost everyone second guesses themselves. The problem comes when you walk away from a discussion or situation replaying the scene over and over in your mind, beating yourself up about saying the wrong thing or making a poor decision. The anxiety comes because of the repeated visits to what is now a past experience.

People cannot hear you thinking unless you let them: Those who second guess can hear themselves loud and clear, but no one else does unless you show it. As long as you aren’t saying it out loud, no one else probably is even thinking about what you said or did once it is over. Unless you say it out loud you are the only one questioning what happened.

You are going to make mistakes, say things you regret. The truth is most decisions are irreversible. But you can learn from it and move on. Stop pressing rewind on the conversation or decision. Remember that you cannot know everything and no one says or does the right thing every time.

When you are about to say something, pause and ask yourself how what you are going to say matches to your values. If it doesn’t disagree with your values, then follow your instinct. Later on, if you find yourself evaluating what happened, remind yourself that it’s already in the past and refocus on how you might handle that particular situation in the future instead of wasting time focusing on what you can’t change.
If your anxiety results from what other people say or do, it’s still the same outcome. You can’t change the past. It’s done and most likely, you are the only one worrying about what happened. Do you think the other person(s) are still replaying the same conversation over in their mind?

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is generally an unwarranted fear about something that didn’t happen yet or a perceived negative experience at a future event. Most people are fearful of public speaking, but they feel immense relief once they complete the speech or presentation. It is in learning how to anticipate the feeling of relief and knowing that nothing horrible is going to happen before, during or after the event.

Even when anxiety is warranted, it’s still a useless emotion. Holding on to anxiety simply causes you to be more likely to make a mistake, speak incorrectly, or otherwise result in making your worst fears a reality.

Anxiety can also occur after an event. This type of anxiety is generally caused by self-doubt and has no real value to you. It is exacerbated by replaying the recording in your head and looking for what you or someone else did “wrong.” The truth is, as mentioned above, you are probably the only one reliving the event. Learning how to turn off the broken record is key to reducing your anxiety and can be a game-changer for someone who deals with this issue on a chronic basis. You have to rewrite the script in your head that causes this repeated behavior.

Exercise

This exercise is an initial low-level anxiety trigger reducer. What does that mean? It teaches you how to reframe your fear, which is often based on past experiences or your imagined future experience.

Pre-Anxiety

Sit or lie down in a comfortable and quiet location (if possible).
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in and hold it as long as you can.
Repeat two or three times.
Now, imagine you are about to enter the scenario that you are feeling anxious about. See yourself in the location or on the stage or with a group of people. Feel the anxiety. Rate it on a scale from 1 (mild) to 10 (severe).
Next, visualize yourself performing or speaking or in the situation that is causing your anxiety.
Finally, see yourself completing the scenario. Focus on how you feel after it is over. Sit with this feeling for a few minutes. Really step into this moment. Do you feel your anxiety lessening?
Repeat this exercise as many times as you have to until you feel calm. Focus on the feeling of relief.
You can use this exercise prior to any anxiety-promoting event or even do it daily, imagining your day from start to finish. The key is to consider, what is the worst thing that can happen? You fall or say something wrong during a speech? You share incorrect information during a conversation? The worst thing that can happen is truly not severe, and once it is over, you know your anxiety resolves immediately.

Post-Anxiety (second-guessing a something you said or did)

Sit or lie down in a comfortable and quiet location (if possible).
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in and hold it as long as you can.
Repeat two or three times.
Now, replay the scenario in your mind. Imagine everything with full detail. Visualize your awareness leaving your body and seeing yourself from a short distance, close enough to hear and see what is happening.

Observe the situation objectively. Have compassion for the person speaking or doing something (you). Do you see yourself relaxing and your anxiety lessening? Do any of the other people look bothered or upset about what you said or did? What would you say to yourself that would make a difference?
o Now, feel your awareness going back into your body, bringing that compassion and sense of calm with you. Do you notice a difference in how you feel? What was the worst thing that could happen as a result of what you said or did?

The above exercises are ways you can change your perspective and therefore learn to release anxiety over daily or common scenarios you might experience. A life coach can work with you one on one to walk you through these and other more in-depth exercises to reduce chronic or severe anxiety.

The biggest secret in resolving anxiety disorders is to retrain your brain to focus on the end result versus the anxiety-inducing experience. When you learn to focus in that way, your body and mind naturally manage the fear of the pending experience or the possible result of an experience in a positive way. Once you get your head wrapped around the idea that the worst thing that can happen does not warrant the stress you are putting on your emotional and physical state is unnecessary, you will begin to experience less anxiety.

25 Feb

Is a Health or Life Coach for you?

By Darci In Darci, Health, Life Coaching, Nutrition, Weight Loss / 1 No Comments

How does coaching help those trying to solve constant anxiety, lose weight, improve health and have a better quality of life, and what is required for the coach/client relationship to be successful?

The clients who get the most out of coaching are those who make the time to speak with a coach and are committed to making changes in their life. They recognize that they need someone to guide them through the process to reach their goals and improve their mental, emotional, physical and sometimes spiritual health. A successful result comes from a client who understands that the best approach is for the coach to elicit a plan on a partnership basis and not simply dictating everything a client must do with no room for flexibility. No matter how strict the program needs to be, it is vitally important that the client participates in the planning and the entire process beyond just following the “rules.”

This only works if the client understands what changes need to be made in order to reach their desired goal(s). We all understand that too many calories and no exercise does not aid in weight loss. We all know that we must eat a significant amount of vegetables to take in enough micro-nutrients to bring on improved health and a feeling of well- being. A coach helps a client to take knowledge and desire and turn it into action with achievable results. Even a client with the best intentions can have trouble sticking with a particular way of eating or exercise for more than a few weeks before falling off the wagon. The trick is that a coach can help you stay accountable and keep you moving forward, even when you do fall down. A good coach uses tough love and positive reinforcement, along with factual guidelines and sincere support to keep a client motivated. A good coach also has a great foundation from both education and experience to share so that a client can eventually become a better coach to themselves and sustain the health improvements, weight loss and quality of life that is gained during a program.

Discipline is one of the biggest challenges for people who want to make lifetime changes. Why is it so hard to stick with a plan or routine? Because humans are not naturally disciplined. It takes repeated practice to develop discipline even when you are determined to lose weight or change your habits in other areas. A coach helps you by teaching you exercises and holding you accountable. When we have to tell someone the truth about what we’ve eaten or how many times we did (or didn’t) do our anxiety exercises over the past week, we are more likely to make things happen. This is true because humans in most cases do not want to disappoint the person they have made a promise to or who has committed time and effort to help them through a desperate time. Often people find discipline strength for short sprints in our lives – saving money for a vacation or a new car or that engagement ring for a new bride. But when it comes to our health and wellness, we often decide, “It’s too expensive,” or “It takes too much time.”

The ultimate responsibility of a health or life coach is to ensure that a client understands their particular health, weight loss or emotional or other needs and how the process must work to make permanent and positive changes; but also refers a client to a licensed medical professional when necessary. Coaches can help a client through advanced psychological practices, advice on succeeding on a particular food plan, dealing with anxiety and how to reduce or eliminate it. More and more people are turning to coaches who specialize in specific areas and often have personal transformations or other experience beyond their education to help them better relate to their clients.

If you have tried time and time again to make changes in your life to better your physical or emotional health through coaching, healthier eating habits and best practices and have failed, consider hiring a coach to get you on the right track. Ask yourself these questions: How many times have I tried on my own? How many different programs and diets have I tried? Have I committed fully to a plan for more than a few weeks? Do I know the basics but still can’t seem to make it work? Do I have chronic pain, overweight or anxiety that is holding me back from a happy and peaceful life?

Change your health, change your life!

Think Intentional is not a replacement for your doctor and will not direct you on making changes to your medications or medical treatments. A holistic health coach is a compliment to medical care and can guide you to live your best life.

For medical or mental health emergencies, always consult your doctor or other licensed medical professional or dial 911 on your phone.

19 Nov

Are You a Good Listener?

By Darci In Darci, Life Coaching, Listening / 2 No Comments

Knowing How to Listen is the Key to Success

Listening is an art that most people have not mastered. This is true because we live in a hurried world where instant gratification has become the norm. We want fast food, fast cars, fast computers, fast answers and fast solutions. Surprisingly, it is quite easy to be a good listener if you take the time and can change your life personally and professionally. We need to learn to listen to our bodies, our families, our friends and our coworkers – even our neighbors and strangers.

Everyone wants to be heard. People love to be listened to. Some of our best health improvements and emotional healing begin when we feel like someone is listening to us with an open heart. It gives us the opportunity to speak our truth and to connect with other people. Our stress levels even reduce when we feel truly listened to.

So are you a good listener or just a good talker? The best relationships thrive when two people listen to each other with genuine love and interest. And we are not just talking about romantic relationships either! EVERY relationship benefits when we all have the opportunity to speak freely and without interruption or judgement. Most of us tend to self-criticize enough on our own. People are drawn to those who really listen to them.

What constitutes good listening?

Focus your attention 100% on the other person (friend, spouse, relative, children, client.) Do not let your mind wander to another person, task or obligation.
Don’t think about what you want to say or should say. Your presence and full attention are more important.
Ask questions instead of imparting advice. Do not redirect the conversation to yourself. Try to avoid “why” questions as it can cause some people to go on the defensive, especially if they are really confused about what is going on in their life at the moment. Ask questions, such as “What do you think would happen if you…?” or “When do you feel that way?” or “How will doing “x” make you feel?”
If they stop speaking, don’t feel compelled to speak right away. Hesitate before you respond or ask a question to give them time to reflect on their thoughts. Moments of silence let them know you hear them and that you value what they have to say.
Listen to their worries, beliefs, and goals.
Pay attention to their body language and tone of voice.
Repeat what you heard to make sure you understand what they have communicated to you.
Trust your intuition and remain empathetic. If you feel a hug is warranted or a touch to the shoulder, give it to show your compassion or support. If the other person seems to be distancing themselves physically, give a warm smile and break eye contact to allow them to regain their comfort.
When the moment is right, offer constructive feedback or suggestions on how the other person might make positive changes or get closer to making a decision with which they are struggling. Don’t overwhelm them with more than three to five suggestions. They will need time to absorb what you are saying, especially if their situation is stressful or life-changing.
Be sure to let the other person know you appreciate their willingness to talk to you. This opens the door to a deeper trust and lets the person know you are there for them.

Practice active listening

The above suggestions are part of what is referred to as “active listening.” The more you practice, the better you become at it. Being a good listener empowers you and lets others know you care about what they have to say.

Ways to practice might include the following

Start a conversation with clerks and salespeople when you shop, doormen, delivery drivers, police officers, cleaning professionals at your office, your neighbors, and even people on the phone such as customer service agents who help you with a myriad of services. You’d be surprised how few people even bother to ask how their day is going or to smile at them and wish them well.

Need someone to listen to YOU?

Hire a life coach. They have the skills and the passion to help others find solutions to everything from how to make a decision to how to eliminate anxiety to how to create healthy habits.

29 Jun

The Sugar Facts

By Darci In Darci, Health, Nutrition / 1 No Comments

A Quick Guide to Why You Should Limit Sugar

Sugar tastes oh, so sweet…but your body is not meant to eat the amount of sugar we eat today; nor was it meant to eat it in a processed food full of fat, oil, additives and preservatives. Here’s a starter list of why sugar ruins your health…and good reasons for you to avoid it.

Make some changes today to improve your health!

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral balance in the body.
3. Sugar causes hypersensitivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and crankiness.
4. Sugar produces a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infections.
6. Sugar can cause kidney damage.
7. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, intestines, prostate and rectum.
10. Sugar increases fasting levels of glucose and insulin.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar weakens eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of neurotransmitters called serotonin.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
17. Sugar can raise adrenalin levels in children.
18. Sugar mal-absorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity.
23. High intakes of sugar increase the risk of Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in persons with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar can cause Candida Albicans (yeast infection).
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
36. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
39. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
40. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
41. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
42. Sugar can cause migraine headaches.
43. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
44. Sugar causes food allergies.
45. Sugar can contribute to Diabetes.
46. Sugar can Cause toxemia during pregnancy.
47. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
48. Sugar can cardiovascular disease.
49. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
50. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
51. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
52. Sugar can cause cataracts.
53. Sugar can cause emphysema.
54. Sugar can cause arthrosclerosis.
55. Sugar can promote an elevation in low-density proteins (LDL).
56. Sugar can cause hunger pains and overeating.
57. Sugar contributes to Insulin Resistance markers.
58. Sugar contributes to obesity
59. Sugar feeds cancer.
60. Sugar contributes to weakened mental health.

15 Jun

Plant-Based While Traveling

By Darci In Darci, Health, Nutrition / 2 No Comments

How Do You Stay Healthy While Traveling?

A few years back, Sergio and I were in an intense life coaching program that meant we were in a hotel for almost three weeks with a mini-fridge and our determination to stay on track. Of course, this was in Miami, Florida, so eating out was not attractive anyway at an average of $20-$30 per person per meal. So how did we do it, and how can you travel while plant-based?

There are a few different approaches depending on if your travel is for work or pleasure and also the location and type of hotel or motel you will be living in while away from home.

What you can bring with you depends on how you will be traveling, your finances, and your willingness to pack and carry some supplies with you on your trip.

We were blessed to be at a resort on the beach, so we had some advantages, like full hotel service and a mini-kitchen in our room. They automatically provided things like a microwave, dishes, knives, and some other basics. But we were on our own for the rest. Here’s how we prepared.

How Did We Prepare?

We did not want to get out of control, but since we were driving to our destination, we had the luxury of bringing a ginormous cooler on wheels. We filled it up with pre-cut vegetables in containers, pre-made chickpea salad, fruit, almond milk, and the basics we eat daily at home. We brought along canned beans, precooked packaged rice (for Sergio), dried fruit, old fashioned oats, a can opener, sharp knife and a cutting board. I wish I had thought to take pictures back then! We planned a budget ahead of time for how much we would spend on filling in our food inventory during our training. We also limited our restaurant outings, so we could stay on our plan but still enjoy some meals out with the rest of the group and get a break from eating in our room.

While we had to make a few trips to the grocery store and it wasn’t a trip filled with fancy nutritarian recipes, we were able to make our meals quickly for breakfast, on our lunch breaks and for dinners. We enjoy what we ate and felt full after each meal.

Recommendations

Here are some recommendations for you – but don’t be afraid to get creative and make it work for you.

If traveling on by airplane, you can bring premade soups or meals frozen in tightly sealed mason jars in your suitcase, as well as a can opener, knife (if you are checking in your suitcase), small cutting board, a collapsible bowl for making salads, ground flaxseeds or chia seeds, some seasonings.

When you drive your car, your options are a lot more flexible – you can bring all of your dry foods and fruits in your car, along with the above-mentioned supplies and even your dishes if needed and a case or two of bottle water or your refillable filter bottles.

If you plan to bring the minimum supplies due to airplane travel or for convenience, here are the items to bring and to buy when you arrive at your destination.

Bring

Can opener
Chopping knife
Cutting board
Collapsible salad bowl
Seasonings, flax or chis seeds (ground)
Supplements, water bottle if not purchasing bottled water
Dried fruit may be cheaper at home as well. Y
Premade salads such as bean dips or chick pea salad
Steamed or roasted vegetables
Precooked bean-based pastas that you can cold from the refrigerator or cooler

Buy

Variety of pre-chopped vegetables or whole vegetables to chop (cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, peppers, greens, including Romaine, kale, spring mix or others, onion)
Canned(BPA-free) or precooked beans
Avocados
Nuts/seeds
Canned (BPA-free) unsweetened pineapples or other favorites
Fresh fruits: bananas, apples, oranges, nectarines, papaya or mango
Frozen veggies that can be eaten thawed in a salad or heated up in a microwave with seasoning.
Case or two of BPA-free water bottles (optional)
Lemons and/or limes for adding to morning water – stay hydrated and detoxing while away from home.

To microwave or not to microwave: There will always be debates microwave safety, but no legitimate study has proven that they are dangerous or lessen the nutrient quality of our foods. If you have a microwave or access to a microwave at your hotel, enjoy the option for oatmeal or heating up vegetables.

Eating Out

Don’t avoid eating out a few times if it’s in your budget. Be clear to the server about your health requirements and customize a salad – if it’s on the menu, they can add it to your salad. Be assertive about no oil or sugar in your meals. Ideas for ordering:

Salads with your own custom requests
Baked potato with steamed broccoli and a side salad
Fruit salad
Vegetable soup (watch out for oil)
Sweet potato fries if baked with no oil,
Raw vegetables with a side serving of brown rice
Roasted veggies and onions.

Summary

You don’t have to be perfect if your trip is a rare occurrence. Do your best to prepare and be as disciplined as you can when you are on your trip. If you have a slip or get lazy for a meal, get back on track at the very next meal and don’t beat yourself up. This is a way of life and you have to make it sustainable. If your travel makes it difficult to bring or prepare food in your hotel room, be vigilant about your food choices at restaurants or as a guest at someone’s home. Your health and your happiness are dependent on it.

Need an accountability partner or a health coach who can help you with the behavioral challenges of a plant-based life? Contact me today for a complimentary consultation. Change your health, change your life!