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8 PRIMARY CAUSES OF CRAVINGS

By Jessica | Published: December 26, 2009

Dehydration The body doesn’t send the message that you are thirsty until you are on the verge of dehydration. Dehydration occurs as mild hunger, so the first thing to do when you get a strange craving is to drink a full glass of water.

Lifestyle Being dissatisfied with a relationship, having an inappropriate exercise routine (too much, too little or the wrong type), being bored, stressed, uninspired by a job or lacking a spiritual practice can all contribute to emotional eating. Eating can be used as a substitute for entertainment or to fill the void.

Yin/Yang Imbalance Certain foods have more yin qualities (expansive) while other foods have more yang qualities (contractive). Eating foods that are either extremely yin or extremely yang causes cravings in order to re-establish balance. For example, eating a diet too rich in sugar (yin) may cause a craving for meat (yang).

Inside Coming Out Oftentimes, cravings come from foods that we have recently eaten, foods eaten by our ancestors or foods from our childhood. A clever way to satisfy these cravings is to eat a healthier version of one’s ancestral or childhood foods.

Seasonal Often the body craves foods that balance out the elements of the season. In the spring, people crave detoxifying foods like leafy greens or citrus foods. In the summer, people crave cooling foods like fruit, raw foods and ice cream, and in the fall people crave grounding foods like squash, onions and nuts. In winter many crave hot and heat-producing foods like meat, oil and fat. Other cravings, such as turkey, eggnog or sweets, can also be associated with the holiday season.

Lack of Nutrients If the body is getting an inadequate amount of nutrients, it will produce odd cravings. For example, inadequate mineral levels produce salt cravings, and overall inadequate nutrition produces cravings for non-nutritional forms of energy like caffeine.

Hormones When women experience menstruation, pregnancy or menopause, fluctuating testosterone and estrogen levels may cause unusual cravings.

De-evolution When things are going extremely well, sometimes a self-sabotage syndrome happens, where we suddenly crave foods that throw us off balance. We then have more cravings to balance ourselves. This often happens from low blood sugar and may result in strong mood swings.

Article from Institute for Integrative Nutrition

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GREEN VEGETABLES

By Jessica | Published: December 23, 2009

Vegetables are the most missing food in the typical diet, and leafy green vegetables are lacking most of all. When many people think of vegetables, they have bad memories of their parents making them eat all of their Brussels sprouts or peas before leaving the dinner table. Can you relate?

Truth is, veggies are not scary and are seriously good for you. They are crammed with vitamins A, C, E and K, fiber, folic acid, and many other micronutrients that help with blood purification, cancer prevention and improved circulation. They’re like a miracle food!

When thinking about vegetables, be adventurous and go beyond traditional greens like, broccoli or lettuce. Kale is a great, green leafy vegetable that has more nutritional value with fewer calories than almost any other food around. Better yet, it is in season from the middle of winter through the beginning of spring and can be enjoyed in many ways. Some people prefer to eat it raw, while others like it steamed. See what works for your taste buds.

Here is a simple recipe to get you started: KALE CHIPS

Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cooking Time:
10 minutes
Yields:
10 servings or more
Ingredients:
1 to 2 bunches kale
Olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove kale from stalk, leaving the greens in large pieces.
Place a little olive oil in a bowl, dip your fingers and rub a very light coat of oil over the kale.
Place kale on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until it starts to turn a bit brown. Keep an eye on it as it can burn quickly.
Turn the kale over and bake with the other side up. Remove and serve.

Notes:
Try different kinds of kale or collard greens.
For added flavor sprinkle with a little salt or spice, such as curry or cumin after rubbing on olive oil.
*Article from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition

In addition to great recipes like this, consider adding the cancer-fighting nutrition of kale to your diet everyday with Juice Plus. It’s whole-food nutrition – 17 colorful vine-ripened fruits and vegetables (including Kale) in a capsule for just $1.39/day. http://www.valeotraining4juiceplus.com

Ask Mike or me for more info today! We’d love to share with you why we support this!

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WHY?

By Jessica | Published: December 23, 2009

As I was sharing and listening to a client the other day, I was reminded of a statement made by our pastor at Engedi Church. It struck me as so powerful to many facets of life, including physical fitness improvement and weight loss. Let me know if it resignates with you, too…

Change only happens when the reason TO change is greater than the reason NOT to change.

or, stated another way:

People only change when the cost of NOT changing is greater than the cost OF changing.

So…what’s your “WHY”? What’s your reason to change your habits, your daily routine, your weight, your mentality, your endurance, your drive, your choices, your food, your sleep, your heart?

Forget the surfacy stuff…dig deep. It’s not just to “look good” or “lose weight” or “feel better”. Identify what that means exactly to you, what that looks like, feels like, tastes like for you, your family, your coworkers, your friends…Write it down and put it somewhere you can see it, to remind you what you’re striving for, why every little choice points you one step closer to your “Why”. If your WHY – your reason to change – doesn’t mean MORE to you than your reason not to change – trying to change will feel like torture.

It’s a choice you make every time you face a challenge, a temptation, apathy or unmotivation. Your WHY will change occasionally; expect it to. But know that if it is spoken, written and known deep inside you, it will drive you forward, propelling you one small step at a time closer to your goal.

How do you see yourself in 6 months if you keep holding on to the same negative behaviors? How do you see yourself in 6 months if you did make those positive changes in your life?

Keep pressin’ on!

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THE SENSIBLE EATER

By Jessica | Published: December 23, 2009

Valeo/Personal Training and Nephew Physical Therapy have teamed up in an effort to provide good, solid health, fitness, nutrition and therapy information to anyone interested. These FREE events will be held the 1st Tuesday of every month from 6:45 – 7:30pm at Ultimate Fitness and Health. Keep an eye out for us each month!

Mike and I gave a presentation last night called “The Sensible Eater: How to Prepare Yourself for the Holiday Season”. We had a great turnout! Let me know if you weren’t able to make it and would like to sit down and chat about what we discussed.

I love this definition of “Sensible Eater”….this is the kind of eater I want to be; how ’bout you?!

THE SENSIBLE EATER

• Someone who lets the Food Guide Pyramid guide his/her choices. Emphasis is placed on foods with highest nutrient quality (like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lean poultry, fish, low fat milk products, nuts and unsaturated oils). But, sweets and high fat foods are also enjoyed in moderation, and without guilt! These people sometimes eat too much and sometimes too little as a result of environmental influences. But most of the time, they listen to their body’s internal cues for hunger and fullness and maintain a proper energy balance.
– Sheri Barke, MPH, RD
UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center

Here are some Take-Home Points, as discussed last night:

*Eat breakfast (ex. 1 whole grain, 1 lean protein, 1 sm. fruit)! And small meals every 3-5 hours after that.

*PLAN PLAN PLAN! Create a new habit of packing a cooler with your lunch and snacks for the day. Keep one in your car for long errand runs or road trips. Stock it with nutritious fruit and vegetable munchies, lean proteins, lean dairies and healthy fats. See notes for examples.

*Drink lots of water; often what you interpret as hunger is really thirst.

*Add nutrients and bulk to your diet with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables (Volumize that meal!) Check out http://www.valeotraining4juiceplus.com/ if you aren’t reaching the recommended 9-13 servings a day, according to the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.

*Be a MINDFUL holiday eater. Fill up on the good, nutritious foods and don’t feel guilty for indulging on goodies occasionally!

Check out the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid. The food pyramid has changed over the years; are you up-to-date? I love the emphasis on fruits and vegetables. With the amount of cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes in our nation, we need to be getting whole-food nutrition in our bodies like never before! Food is fuel and medicine!

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My Food Diary

By admin | Published: October 19, 2009

To fully understand our philosophy, you must first understand what we are not. MyFoodDiary.com is not a crash diet; we do not promise that you will lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks; we do not push dangerous diet pills; and we do not force you to adopt a completely new menu of foods. These methods of weight loss have proven to be ineffective in the long run and they can even cause lasting damage to your body.

Natural Weight Loss – MyFoodDiary.com

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