The way you feel WILL change...and that is good.

Encouragement...

Ok so this whole food thing I encourage you to do every Wednesday.  I know getting your food consistently good is hard. For me it was the last piece of the puzzle to fall in to place. I had been exercising for 3 years with health gains and losing inches, but my weight really hadnt changed more than about 10lbs.  It wasnt until I mastered food that I got to a healthy weight for me.

Here is the encouragement, WHEN YOU REALLY master it, it will no longer be hard all the time.  I loved junk food and chocolate and everything you love as much, maybe even MORE than you and I was 50lbs over weight.

So how do you do it?

The first thing you have to do is get your head around it.  You HAVE ( cant emphasize enough how this is the BIGGEST thing) to have a reason for doing what you do ( eating and moving) that is NOT related to your size or weight.  I know I hear you

"So why else would I do that?  I dont want to give up a thing, but I dont like how I look -  that is the ONLY reason i exercise and try".

I know I used to think that way.  The fact is you HAVE to realize the deeper impact food has you your body, length and quality of life.  You have to be motivated to SAVE your life.  This isnt just the chronically obese, this is EVERYONE.  If you dont take care of your body with food and exercise by the time you are 50 ( assuming you live that long...I kid you not) your body will be so broken and run down you cant do anything you want.

That sort of thing happens to someone else right?  Think of how many people you drove or rode past in the past 24 hours.  To them YOU ARE SOMEONE ELSE.

I am not sure how old you are, but I was 35 when I started having health issues, knee pain, joint issues, low energy.  By 40 I had a weird pain in my side from time to time and re-flux, and I found out my liver was failing.  I was lucky almost no one gets pain from it - it is a silent killer.

I was pretty active until I was about 30.  I was a good weight until I was about 33 - maybe 10 -15lbs over weight.  My health went into the trash in about 8 years.  I was lucky, my youth carried me through with a good metabolism until then.   But as soon as that changed, my health deteriorated in 8 years.  EIGHT YEARS!

FIND a reason NOT linked to your size and weight to motivate you to start.  Your health, longer life with your kids, to see Grandkids, to do your bucket list....you ONLY get one body, you ONLY go around ONCE.  Dont you want to see and do as much as you possibly can in that one ride?

From there, you find a way to eat that you LIKE.  You dont have to love it, you just have to think,
"ok. I could do this except for special occasions".

DONT EVER START AN EATING PROGRAM YOU CANT LIVE ON FOREVER.

From there, you live it.  You remember that you want to LIVE BETTER more than you want that 2 second taste.

Here is more encouragement - commit to it for a year.  REALLY commit.  I promise you by the time the year is up you wont see food the way you do now.  You WONT think "oh I couldn't never go without X food"  You WONT feel like you do now about stopping eating certain things you now basically use as a drug.

The biggest thing I want you to take away from this is....EVERYTHING you think you cant live without and cant give up - YOU CAN and given time you WONT CARE.  How you see food and how you eat will change.  It isnt a life time of feeling sad about not eating X food every week.  THAT is why people dont like changing what they eat - and I get it, I was there it was why I didnt get the eating thing down til I was 43.  But if I can YOU CAN.  You ONLY feel that way when you start.  I fyou have a LONG RANGE GOAL and you see the bigger picture, the foods you choose to avoid wont bother you in a few weeks.

:) Start, keep going, NEVER GIVE UP!!  :)

Eating well all the time is hard...

I dont think anyone will disagree with me on this.  I think for some people it is harder than others.

I recently hit 900 days of healthy eating.  When I started I knew I had to change permanently; I hoped for success, I had a different plan than the last 73 tries at losing weigh, and I had a different mental view going.  I think the different mindset has been a key factor in making the change long lasting.

So what did I do?  I found a plan that made sense to me, that I WANTED to live by for reasons OTHER than weight loss.  Then I found a way to get my head around it, so it was something I WANTED to do, rather than had to do to be thin.

What do I do?  I am primarily vegan, but not fanatically. As in there have been rare occasions where I have had egg that was in something, broth that might not have been veggie, and I have had about 4 slices of regular pizza in that time because nothing was available, or some well meaning person "made" food for me and I didnt want to be rude. In general I will avoid meat and dairy all the time, just not to the exclusion of all reason and courtesy  I cant do it for more than a meal here or there, because it really impacts how I feel physically and how well my body performs over all. I put some pretty hard demands on my almost 46 yr old body, and I really want to be able to do all these things I love - so I dont like to eat off my plan for more than a meal here or there.

I have been 100% true to my zero sugar consumption. No candy, desserts, or chocolate that contain refined sugar, fake sugar, artificial sugar. I have had 4 muffins made with honey. 900 days. I am really proud of that one. I dont miss it, I do remember it fondly. I know I can never go back. Does this make me sad? Not often, and not for long - it just isnt my reality to be able to have a little. I am an addict. My choice is, eat sugar and die young, fat, diabetic, with low quality of life, or to avoid it and gain more quality of life than I ever imagined possible. I choose the second, every time, and move on quickly because what I have FAR outweighs the moments of taste I am not having. 

Anyway, I am hoping someone reading this out there who needs a boost or a kick will read this and be inspired, or helped, or spurred on. It is not an easy path, but just know as you sit there and think "oh I could NEVER give up............." it is no where NEAR as hard as you imagine.

You take one day at a time, one meal at a time and "TIME" will take care of itself. I have done this now for 900 days and I am living proof you CAN overcome food addiction and binges, and being controlled by cravings.

This is what works for me, there are MANY paths to health and fitness, this is just the one my body loves.  Yours could look different, have a look out there and see what there is you could LIVE ON FOREVER.

I know I hear you - some of you are thinking,

 "well that is nice but HOW, I need specifics on HOW to get in the right place mentally".

Message me, I am happy to help.  I can help you make a meal plan, I am happy to share what I learned.

Also, simple strategies to cope with foods you love that trip you up.

Here is one that works for lots of people...

The PUSH IT OUT PLAN..

...
If you are struggling with certain foods, tell yourself, yes i can have than ice 

cream or chips or cake, AFTER i have had some carrots or an apple Some 

piece of fruit or raw veggie you LIKE. You still get your junk food, but you wont

 eat as much, as you will be more full. it is win win.

Hopefully, some of this is helpful to you!

You are welcome to message me.  You can find me on FB click here and I will be happy to help you out.

A Case of the Mondays

So many Monday mornings people trying to get healthier, or thinner, or stronger, look back on their weekends and shudder.

Cue regret.  Cue self hate.  Cue a slew of things that wont help you at all.

Monday is THE day of the week most people PROMISE THEMSELVES they will...do better, restart, rebuild, make a change....just do something.

I am here to tell you, YOU CAN.  You just need a coupe of things to be successful...

1. A plan ( if you need help putting one together, message me, I am happy to help)
2. A goal NOT related to size or weight.
3. Support and accountability on the way.

I don't like the phrase "it is never too late" because honestly, if you don't take your health seriously there WILL come a point where it IS too late.  Not death, just being so badly damaged that you are trapped in a body that cant move and is a prison, and will drag you painfully to your demise.  ( so cheerful this morning...NOT!! )  Sometimes, some things happen with no warning and your body cant recover from them.  If you are NOT in that position as you read this, then you CAN start doing something.  Stop waiting, stop hoping you will slip through unscathed, and do something to help your body.  There are no guarantees, you could do all the right things and still have something in your body fail.  You will still die at some point.  We aren't avoiding death, we are just hoping to change the quality of the ride before we get there.  :)

YOU CONTROL NOW.  :)  So grab a friend or two who need to get working on this, and use this MONDAY!!

If you need help, message me here https://www.facebook.com/fighththefluff

I had that dream again last night....

no, no, no - not THAT dream about being under clothed and unprepared...I actually haven't ever had that dream!



I have a few recurring dreams, the flying like superman one - can't ever have that one enough!  I also have the dreams where something is out of place and I realize I am dreaming - at which point I then try to fly like superman!  But the one I am talking about today is the dream where I can do something physically that is virtually impossible to me in real life, and it is EASY.

The dream usually involves doing a pull up of some kind and not only can I do it, it is TOTALLY EFFORTLESS!!!  It is the best thing ever, just fantastic, and I get so happy about it.  ( I know I am strange!!)   This is VERY far from my real life, I can do about HALF of a single pull up.  I am constantly in awe of upper body strength, and working really hard at getting some, so I can do more fun things.  So when i can suddenly do it in my dreams it is like Christmas morning times 10!

So in last night's dream, I was near a ledge going down stairs in a house, and I grabbed the ledge and hung on it and it was easy, and I thought,

"wow this is really GREAT, I wonder if I can pull up".

So I tried it, and I did and it was SOOO easy.  I was actually able to pull up, and then keep going until I was actually pushing down on the ledge and was above it.  It is called a "muscle up" and it was magical - even if I could only do it in my dream!   THEN the funniest part was I looked around for something in the dream to be weird, or off, so that I knew I was dreaming....and I when I saw nothing out of place, I decided it was real and it was fantastic!!

Wish this was me!!




Of course, as with all good dreams, then next thing that happened could be typed like this....



...feeling REALLY happy and excited for a moment....but then the reality of my half pull up set back in!!  LOL

What is interesting to me is how my whole life is SOO different from 5 years ago.  I would never have had dreams of doing pull-ups back then.  I have always loved and admired physical skills and strength, but always thought it was too hard to achieve.

What changed?  I realized that all that time it would take to try to learn something - that would take TOO LONG was going to pass anyway.  It isnt like the clock stops when you think "well that would be nice but it would take to long".    I had NOTHING to lose by working a little on some things.  I either get there or not, but I am stronger, better and healthier for trying, not to mention the things I have picked seem REALLY fun to me.  So it all seems like fun!

FIND SOMETHING YOU LOVE, something physical, and chase after it!!  If you need ideas or help coming up with this - message me!  #fighttheflufffitness will get you to me, and FB, Google, Google+ Pinterest, and IG  :)  Just click the hashtag to get to FB and message me :)

Clearly my quest to learn and master those six moves from my last post,  is REALLY embedded in me!!  I have some progress reports to share later in the week, so stay tuned!!


:)

46 is coming....

So I am going to be 46 in November 2014.

Since reclaiming my health I get to do so many fantastic physical things that make me so happy.

Paddle boarding is my new found passion....love it!!!

Then, recently I started doing Silks 

And I also get to teach gymnastics to adults 3 times a week.  Gymnastics has always been something I LOOOOOOVED.   I was a gymnast for most of my childhood until college.  ( If you are local to Baltimore and want to take my class it is Monday nights from 6pm - 7:30pm  at  Urban Evolution )  It is for anyone who used to do gymnastics and wants to relive the fun - and for those who always wanted to give it a try and never had the chance.  

Soooo to that end - the point of my post, I am almost 46.  No matter how much I love gymnastics, there is only so much that is smart to do with my body.  As I retrain, I am getting stronger, so I will be able to reclaim much of what I used to do, but the super bendy spine stuff is not a good idea to do tons of when getting back into it.  

I decided in the realm of things I can still do easily....handstands, cartwheels, basic rolls, balances and a couple of flips I am going to work on control and strength, and as such, part of my blog is going to be to track my progress with things I want to learn....some are short term easier goals, and some are long term - at least a year away :)

Here is my list...

Hold a handstand for a minute or longer

Sloooooow controlled handstands and cartwheels

Floor straddle to handstand

Crow to handstand

Planche stand

What I am curious about is this....

Can a 46 year old woman learn to do these things?

Stay tuned!!  I am going to document my progress right here weekly.  :)

You are what you eat.....

... yes, yes I know, you have heard it.  I heard it my whole life and knew it just meant I needed to eat better....  then something happened.



I actually experienced what it was like to REALLY nourish my body, for a consistent amount of time, and it was like my body went from being an old junker car to a formula 1 racing car and I FINALLY got it.



In the space of 3 weeks my body changed.  Inside and out.  Inside my BP went from 118/72 to 99/68.  My Cholesterol from 183 to 127 in THREE WEEKS.  My liver levels from above normal ( bad) to normal.  Outside, my face and skin and hair and nails all looked younger and better.  I lost weight, I FELT AMAZING and I suddenly GOT IT....I am what I eat.  Before I was just surviving....now I was THRIVING.

Soooo I was recently on a day trip to the beach with my family.  This meant I was at the mercy of eating out.  I ate fruit for breakfast, but decided to enjoy some of these little beauties.  Nope, not at all healthy, but when you eat as cleanly as I do, the odd french fry here and there is an indulgence I allow....


Also in the interest of time and speed of eating with the family, I had cheeseless pizza.  Read here, picked the cheese off regular pizza and ate the sauce and crust....from a pretty decent pizza place ( small business, makes their own stuff from scratch).

Discovery...I dont actually like Thrashers any more.  Bit surprised, cos about once a month I do have a small serving of fries, which I generally enjoy.  But Thrashers were just icky to me and I USED to LOOOOOOOOOOOVE them.

So after the various deviations and making do with what was fast and available ..... Let me tell you, I felt WEAK.  Sooooo weak and sluggish.  I generally have 7 servings of fruit and veggies by the time breakfast is over.  It was just a day trip, so I didnt have my Shakeology and blender with me - which is how I start my day....

Vegan chocolate Shakeology with 7 strawberries, 1 banana, 1/4 cup raw almonds.

Then I move on to a snack of fruit.  Lunch is 2 cups of veggies and Non gmo tofu ( recent kick).  Another snack of PB and crackers, dinner is 2-4 cups various veggies and a protein of choice.

I was out of the house 48 hours and got home feeling like total crap - even though the only diversions were those fries, that pizza crust and some plain chips.  Tired, no energy, lethargic, and really WEAK!!  It STUNK.    It drove home the message, once more.  YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

My point?  So many of you reading this feel tired with no energy LOTS of the time.  You are caught up in how food tastes and you dont want to give it up.  I know.  I was there I lived it for 43 years.  3 things I want you to know....

1. If you change what you eat for a lifestyle you WONT always feel the same way as you do right now about "all those yummy foods" you wont be eating.  I promise what you want WILL change.  You will not always be pining for those cookies or cakes or cheese doodles or desserts.

2. YOU WANT TO THRIVE, not just survive.  Surviving ISNT living.  You thrive by focusing on putting GOOOD QUALITY nutritionally dense foods in your body, and that whole, being tired, no energy, feeling blah will GO AWAY!

3. Hear these words, and take in their meaning BEYOND "eat better"  You ARE what you eat.  Your life DEPENDS on what you put in your body.  Food is the SINGLE most important thing in your control as to your basic health.  Food, it is ALL FOOD.  

If this strikes a nerve for you and you want to change, but dont know how.  message me, email me, contact me, I am HAPPY to help you get started.  :)

Moments

90% of your life is lived in your imagination...

I read this about 3 weeks ago and it has stuck with me.  Initially I did a double take on it, then I thought about it, and it really is true. 

We live planning our great moments, dreaming of better moments, hoping for different moments, wishing moments away - but how much of our time do we actually focus on the moments RIGHT NOW, good or bad.  The moment of what you are doing now.   You know how time seems to FLY by, the older you get? Maybe this is why.

If you are here, your eyes are flitting across a screen, but where are you?  What do you hear?  What do you smell?  Can you taste something? Are you killing time before something?  Waiting for something? 

One of my more recent tags on my fitness posts is "add life to your life"  or #addlifetoyourlife because the LIFE I have added to mine after getting healthy enough to go and do anything I want is FANTASTIC.  But I often find myself "waiting" to be leaner, stronger, to the next time I can go on holiday, or paddle board, or have some me time.  

What I realized is that so many of my moments were just being shoved aside as I waded through the mundane to get to enjoy the lovely.  BIIIIIG WASTE OF MOMENTS.  ( We only have, but so many we are allotted).

Soooo my NEWLY invented tag is going to be MORE MOMENTS #moremoments to remind us that we need to stop pushing the "mundane" ( Monday morning, no coffee late to work, boss is mad) moments and just getting through them and look around and see where we are, what the world is doing.  While I agree some moments in life are profoundly painful and perhaps you dont want to soak in every detail of that one, but the rest of them....LOOOK at where you are, experience the moments.  If you are out of shape hoping for moments to come when you will be healthier, start really looking at the moments on your journey.  Yeah, it is hot and sweaty, and your muscles burn, and you are fighting your inner voices that say the couch might be comfier right now, and maybe you should start tomorrow.  But these are MOMENTS that will never ever come back - this is your life passing before your very eyes, RIGHT NOW.  If you look in these moments, maybe you will see more about yourself than you realized.  Maybe with practice you will learn to make the most of every moment - not just the lovely ones.  Maybe time will slow down a little.

I am not a person who is prone to stress.  I was blessed with a very laid back disposition, but since I started doing this, I smile even more, I have found myself just stopping and looking at leaves and branches swaying in the wind (like just 2 seconds ago as I looked up, out of my window to type this)

( yes those trees right there!!)

I find time going more slowly, I find myself enjoying the ride more, and noticing even more.  It is a lovely thing. 

I'm 45 and decided that I am not going to live 90% of my life in my head.  I am going to live in my MOMENTS :)  Anyone care to join me?

Dont just sit there!

In the last 5 years I have gone from my main activity being channel surfing, to a fitness trainer and it all started with ONE hobby.   If I can YOU CAN....

Get ACTIVE!!!  The easiest way to do this is to think about something that seems FUN to you.  Maybe something you always wanted to try?  Or learn to do.

Girls, I can tell you there is nothing more empowering than learning self defense or a martial art.  At Christmas I will earn my black belt in Shotokan Karate.  I will be 46.    Shotokan is a great form of karate because there are no tournaments or hard sparring, so you can take it up at any age or fitness level.  If you are in the Baltimore area, and want to know where I study, message me, $25 per YEAR.  Inexpensive, a great way to be active,  and you learn how to defend yourself, should the need ever arise.

Live near the water?  How about a water sport?  Paddleboarding, kayaking, surfing, body boarding, fishing, shell collecting, metal detecting, beach volley ball etc.  (that is my and my 10 yr old below)

Inland?  check out geocaching ( your kids will LOVE it) river tubing, hiking, biking, ropes courses, archery, shooting, golf, horse riding.
https://www.geocaching.com/

Dont like outside?  Yoga, dancing, bowling, exercise groups.

Find something, or remember the things you loved most as a kid.  Start with one thing, the list will grow.

My life before kids was work, playing pool and pinball, tv and movies.....that is how I started to get unhealthy.  It went downhill from there.  After kids I ate, slept, watched tv and was a parent.  My health really went downhill at that point.  I know, after kids, it gets hard, your life is not your own for a decade, but YOU have time for 1 thing for you.  YOU CAN MAKE TIME for one thing.  My girls are 10 and 14 now, so they dont need constant supervision, so it affords me some time to go and do things.  My awesome job, also affords me time to go and do things when I want.

I know when you are a busy parent, you can have very little energy.  When you haven't been active it is hard to get active.  Just find something small and fun to start with, you will gain strength and endurance along the way and you will be able to do more and WANT to do more. You wont be a 24/7 parent forever, and having something, some TIME, carved out for you will add life to your years, and make you happier all round.

My current hobby list started with one thing.  Swimming.  From there it became, swimming, karate, horse riding, paddleboarding, indo boarding, exercising.  I do these things multiple times each week.  On the "when i get a chance to"  I like to body board, geocache, do ropes courses, river tubing, play Bunco and other board games.

It didnt happen all at once.  Find just ONE thing.  For me it was swimming.  At the time I hated to sweat, and knew that swimming was low impact.  So I started swimming through a parks and rec program.  I got better, faster, stronger until I could swim a mile in the hour I swam.  Then could swim it in 52 minutes, then 45 minutes.  My best time ever was 38 minutes.   It all came from being curious about what i could do, and finding something that worked for me.

FIND SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR YOU!!!  It will add life to you years, and years to your life.  Having hobbies will pad the empty nest when it happens.  It will give you a bigger social circle, it will engage your mind and keep your brain younger, and if your hobby is active, it will make you stronger and healthier.

We have a local swim area with a fun slide near us.  There is a fellow who must be about 70.  Every day at 2pm he walks to the pool, then spends an hour climbing the 30 steps to the top of the slide, and sliding down.  This is his hobby and exercise, every day, all summer.  Find YOUR VERSION OF FUN and do that!!
( yes that is THE slide in the picture)

If I can do this ( I was 40, fat, and at the time had a 9 and 5 yr olds)  YOU CAN DO THIS.    From there I added karate WITH my kids, we did it together....after that, there was no stopping me, as my health improved, my energy went up, and now I am a force of nature!  YOU CAN BE TOO!!!

If you need any help, you are always welcome to message me.  I have a fitness community on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fighththefluff you can message me there any time.

Pure joy......

Really, pure joy.

So I was recently lucky enough to go on a holiday/vacation.  

On May 8th (so in 4 days) it will be 2 years I have been plant strong, and sugar, chemical, meat and dairy free.  In that time I went from being somewhat healthy in terms of how I ate and exercised; to MUCH healthier and stronger.  But it has had SOOO many additional bonuses that I had to blog just how WORTH getting fit and healthy is....

So I just spent 9 lovely days on this cruise ship ...

...and didnt even look at the desserts once.  REALLY!  It was magical.  You have to understand where I can from....I LOOOOOOVED eating and dessert and all food.  I used to battle with myself about how I would have just 1 and 6 cupcakes later STILL want more.  To honestly not care about dessert anymore has been the ultimate freedom.  Yes even better than dropping 40lbs and looking better - to not be a slave to food and cravings is the ultimate liberation :)  (If you want to know how I did it, or if I can help you, the answer is, I'd be delighted to help you and just email me: fightthefluff@gmail.com :) )

What was EVEN BETTER than not caring about dessert?  (and the point of this blog-isode) is that being fitter and healthier changes everything about how you experience your life.  We had a few lovely stops.  We went to Bermuda, to this lovely spot called Jobson's Cove where you have to walk up and down a steep hill to get to it, plus you can see amazing things if you are strong enough to climb some rocks...the hill was nothing, I wasn't even out of breath at the top.

 Jobson's Cove

 If you climb you can see some rock arches

 from the top you can see amazing clear water

2 years ago I exercised, so I could have climbed the rocks.  But I was 40lbs heavier, my endurance was not good, and the extra weight I was carrying made things hard on my knees - I would have made it, but not felt good at the top.  I would have been out of breath and tired.  This trip, everything I did was effortless physically.  To me, that trumps any cake or chocolate or 2 minute taste of any food EVER!!

We also stopped at a couple of Islands where I took my own ( inflatable) paddle board and got to enjoy the pretty water while basically standing on it.  

The last stop was Labadee ( Haiti) and in 6 hours I got to paddle board for about 2 hours, (with my 60lb child riding along!!)

swim for about 3 hours, 

walked a total of 8 miles the entire day,  and ride down one of the world's longest zip lines.  

At the end of it all I wasn't even tired.  THAT is MAGICAL.

I know if you want to lose weight, it is mostly about looking better and feeling better, but the REAL prize of it all is, honestly, the feeling better and the possibilities it opens up to you.  It is AMAZING what good nutrition and just 30 minutes of exercise a day can do for you...it can literally open up an entire WORLD of possibilities.

You only go around once in this life.....don't you want to make it a life full of EVERYTHING you can possibly do and experience?

As always, if you want help - I coach people for FREE.  :)  I want to inspire you to get fit and healthy and be able to do ANYTHING you want - it is FANTASTIC - and I think even sweeter, if you are coming from a place where there were things your size and weight were preventing you from doing or enjoying.

I'm 45, I have 2 children, and I can out run and outlast BOTH of them :)  Come and join me on the healthy side of things!!!!  :)

Debi

Oh dear a rant blog post.....

Misleading advertising and slogans on foods...   

Makes me feel like this

Alright, so firstly I am not a dietitian.  I can't dispense medically proven food advice, with the backing of a large degree of training.  I CAN find my own medically proven food advice and share it with you.  I have had training in the nutrition field, learned TONS on my personal journey to wellness, and I have eyes. You too have eyes, so this means you can become as well informed as you need to be.

Soo it drives me BANANAS that TV and print ads constantly bombard you, and your children with slogans like "Part of this good for you breakfast",  

"I was in a rush, but there was Nutella, full of hazel nut goodness" 

( um yeah, check that label.  Ingredients go from most used item, to least used item - the hazelnuts are almost LAST, and it has MORE SUGAR THAN A THREE MUSKETEERS CANDY BAR!!!!!  So yeah Nutella change that reality to,

 "I was in a rush, so I gave them a candy bar and sent them to school".  You get the idea...it is like those products that include "BEST" or "FINEST" on the label trying to bolster a not so hot product.  It is nt lies, but it IS based on the teeniest part of a tiny truth buried under a mound of usually, sugar, fat and chemicals.

You see I think, what must have happened in the advertising rooms is that they decided as long as a product contains things commonly believed to be healthy staples ( at this point I am not picking out the commonly believed healthy staples that aren't actually good for you - I will save that for another day), so eggs, milk, flour, meats etc...then they can CLAIM it is healthy because it has so called good for you things in it. But this is so far from the truth in SOOOOOO many cases.

Lets look at some labels... (which is what you need to be doing, NOT only the calories fat carbs etc, BUT THE INGREDIENTS.  In fact, you NEED to look at the INGREDIENT label FIRST!!

So we have Fiber One....CLAIMS to be healthy because it has Fiber.  Do we need lost of Fiber YES....should we be getting it from cereal?  NOooooooo!    Firstly count how many times that ingredients say SUGAR...go on I can wait....( tum tee tum)

FOUR TIMES.  PLUS it has HFCS ( high fructose corn syrup) which is ILLEGAL is Europe and several other countries because of the catastrophic damage it causes your liver.

Watch on Youtube Dr. Neal Bernard Chocolate, Cheese, Meat and Sugar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWi6dXCT7I  to see just how terrible the damage HFCS is to your liver.

Meanwhile.....back at the label, the sugar continues...sucralose, molasses, malt syrrup, honey...is there ANYTHING in there that ISN'T sugar????  Oh wait...lets seeeee Trisodium Phosphate.  Do you know what that looks like?  Do you know what it does?  Well it has the word Tri in it - so that is 3, it has sodium in it, so some kind of salt...salt was used as an early preservative, it is a pretty good guess - even to the non chemistry reader that it is probably a weird chemical preservative with 3 parts salt, to lengthen the shelf life of food (which lets remember at its BASIS is supposed to be BIO DEGRADABLE - INSIDE A BODY!!!!)

Sooo lets Wikki what that is shall we?

Trisodium phosphate (TSP) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na₃PO₄. It is a white, granular or crystalline solid, highly soluble in water producing an alkaline solution. TSPs are used as cleaning agent, lubricant, food additive, stain remover and degreaser.^[2]

The item of commerce is often partially hydrated and may range from anhydrous Na₃PO₄, to the dodecahydrate, Na₃PO₄·12H₂O. Most often found in white powder form, it can also be called trisodium orthophosphate or simply sodium phosphate. Trisodium phosphate was at one time extensively used in formulations for a wide variety of consumer grade soaps and detergents, but ecological problems have largely ended that practice, at least in the western world. Substitutes are not as effective.

Aaaand some how, someone on the FDA said it was ok for companies to make a product that puts that in us???!!!!  CLEANING PRODUCTS...IT IS PUT IN CLEANING PRODUCTS!!!!!!  Things that come with WARNING LABELS about POISON control and death if ingested!!!! 

Hmmm, look yummy Tripotassium Phosphate...

Tripotassium phosphate is a water-soluble ionic salt which has the chemical formula K₃PO₄. It is used as a food additive for its properties as an emulsifier, foaming agent and whipping agent.^[1] In combination with fatty acids, it is a potential antimicrobial agent in poultry processing.^[2]As a fertilizer, its proportions of N, P₂O₅, and K₂O are 0-33-67.

FERTILIZER???!?!?!?!!?  

Oh wait, wait, it can also be used a an anti microbial agent on poultry....well so it cleans as you use it...NICE.  Well that all goes back to salt being a cleaner and preserver.

The most terrible thing from all of this is, because it is EVERYWHERE, people now think it is food and it is normal.  How many times have you heard a news report saying X might not be good and someone will say - "phhhah, it is in everything, gotta die of something".

That is partly true it IS in everything but that DOES NOT MEAN YOU CANT AVOID IT.  It DOES NOT MEAN you should continue to eat the JUNK in boxes, just because they are what most people think of as food.  IT IS NOT FOOD.  It has just come to be thought of as food because it is the most common thing, most people eat.  But it is NOT what real food is!  If it comes in a bag or a box and you cant READILY identify each ingredient ( and ideally it has 5 ingredients or less, unless it contains 12 veggies or grains all listed) DONT EAT IT!!

Ok so here are the THREE things I want you to read, absorb and start doing NOW, TODAY, THIS VERY MINUTE.....because your life, health, fitness, size, and shape will ALL improve DRAMATICALLY just from doing this!

1. LEARN, KNOW, LIVE that 85% of what you see in the grocery store and have grown up eating IS NOT FOOD.  If it isnt in its natural grown state when you see it, DONT BUY IT!

2. READ the Ingredients labels first.  If it has more than 5 ingredients, OR you cant readily visualize what an ingredient looks like, DONT EAT IT - not ever.  Yes it may taste; what you have come to believe is lovely, but trust me, if you eat real food for 3 months, you can taste that boxed thing again and it tastes like poooooo!

3. If the ingredient label has ALL things you recognize, THEN look at ( in this order) sodium, fat, calories.  Sodium over 150g ( dump it), Fat over 7g ( dont eat it) calories...look at how much you get in a serving size.  If it is 200 calories for 1/2 a cup - ask yourself is that food is going to give you enough energy to make it to the next meal.  Make sure the amount of food in that serving size is worth the calories it is using up.

Just because it CLAIMS to be healthy, doesnt mean it is.  Real health is found in eating whole foods 98% of the time.  Really 98% of the time.  Check out this web page for amazing healthy ways to make foods you love - ALL from whole foods.  

www.100daysofrealfood.com

As always, if I can help you in any way with food, exercise, what to eat, how to make it, you are VERY welcome to contact me.  My help is always free :)
fightthefluff@gmail.com
fb.com @ Fight The Fluff Fitness

Ok rant over....I return you to your lives.... :)

The Power of now.

I honestly believe food is an addiction for many of us....

It is DO OVER Monday in my fitness world and on my fitness page.
https://www.facebook.com/fighththefluff

Whatever happened yesterday is DONE! OVER!! What you CAN CHANGE is now, today. You can exercise TODAY. You CAN eat well TODAY.....you can do those things RIGHT NOW.

One of the ways I conquered bad eating and bad habits was with focusing on the moment. NOT in 30 minutes time, or tomorrow or dinner, but RIGHT NOW. It was a conversation with a friend who has about 20 years sobriety in AA, that I learned the power of NOW. I was asking him how he managed to not drink because certain cheese salty foods were like an addition to me. No matter what I did, I couldnt stop when faced with them. Every night I would go to bed thinking,
"tomorrow I will do better" and every day I would have something that tempted me and give in.

After talking to my friend he said, you cant think TOMORROW you focus on right now, just this minute and you say "JUST NOT NOW", until the moment passes. You dont focus on forever and how hard that might be, you just take care of the moments and tell yourself JUST NOT NOW.

So I "just not now'd" my way from flabby and unhealthy to where I am today. I still have moments where I look at those foods, but I have an easy set of food rules I live by, because I WANT to, so I just remind myself that isnt who i am anymore and I dont want to put that crap in my body.

YOU CAN DO THIS!! Try "Just not now" today and see how it works for you. 

700 DAYS!!!

700, yes SEVEN HUNDRED Days!!! 

WOOO HOOOO IT IS CELEBRATION DAY!!!

700 days ago I looked like this...

I was, as the saying goes, "fat sick and nearly dead".  Well the latter wasn't true, but my liver was starting to die.  So to be technically correct I was fat, sick and dying slowly.  Full term pregnancy weight - NO BABY.  It was my rock bottom - and not in a good firm way!

I had stage 1 liver failure (was diagnosed with NASH aka NAFLD) which basically meant that my liver was surrounded by a lovely, not so delicate, layer of fat which was basically smothering its function.  The irony of this was even though I did eat some healthy food and I was exercising a little.  I was TRYING and nothing was working.  Even if I did everything right, I still didn't lose weight BECAUSE a side effect of NAFLD is - it is hard to lose weight!  And of course, losing weight is the cure for NAFLD!

Insert smacks forehead image of your choice!

I drank about 2 drinks a MONTH - which I had to give up, and was told to lose weight or I would be on a transplant list in 10 yrs...unless something else got me first.  It could have been any number of Russian roulette scenarios...high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, a cancer related to weight gain, heart attack, the list was full of the usual suspects.  So I had to do something.....else....

So 700 days ago today I started The Ultimate Reset after reading about how it helps get your body back to better functioning through high nutrition and organic food supplements.  Basically it is 21 days that takes you to a super simple way to eat, that is easy to digest, and your body then has to work less hard on dealing with the every day fatty, greasy, and chemical laden stuff we put in our bodies for taste and to stop hunger, that do nothing more than kill us slowly.  Turns out, when you stop putting junk in and REALLY support your body with excellent (and good tasting) nutrition, it has time to repair itself.  You are what you eat took on a WHOLE new meaning for me.

The short story is ( hmm, taps chin, we might actually be past the point for this to be short - oh well)  it worked.  I lost 14lbs and 56 cholesterol points in THREE WEEKS.  I kept eating simple whole foods and lost over 40lbs and this is me today - in a very classy bathroom selfie.  Those just getting to know me will soon learn I specialize in "awkward selfies".  :)

This is me upside down!

and this is me sideways - no I'm kidding!!

I am still a work in progress, but I haven't gone back on how I eat ( simple, clean whole foods, no sugar, mo chemicals, no meat, no dairy) because it works for me and I love how I feel so much, that I don't WANT to go back.  Not for a taste that lasts 2 minutes and turns into poop in 12 hrs.

Today marks 700 DAYS of eating that way, and I am looking forward to day 1000.  To celebrate, I am marking the occasion with a lovely blog post for you all, and I want to celebrate by helping others get healthy too.  As I typed this I Googled the current obesity statistic (34.9%) so out of the 313.9 million residents in the US ( and we are going to round up here, cos while I ROCK at helping people get fit and healthy - I STINK at math!) That is almost 110 MILLION people who are obese.  Plus there are more who aren't obese YET, just on their way there.  WHO WANTS TO HELP ME CELEBRATE BY LETTING ME HELP YOU GET HEALTHY?  Not the diet to get in a bathing suit, look good surface healthy.  The strong heart, disease resistant, can do anything you want, no longer a slave to food cravings best version of you you can be, with the side bonus of looking much better.

I help people for FREE!!

WHO WANTS TO HELP ME CELEBRATE??  Come and get healthy with me!!!

KIK:sharethehealthnow

Email: fightthefluff@gmail.com

Comment below and leave a message for me.

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I am better without television

April 10, 2014 9:21 PM

Today is Day 4 of the 21 Day Fix.  I decided I needed to blog more consistantly, so I will try to keep it interesting for those of you who stumble upon it!

Days 1- 3 have been easy with food, but I ate a very clean, veggie laden diet before - what vegan doesnt?!  The exercise has taken me by surprise though.  I just finished P90X3 and I am in good shape.  I have great stamina and strength, and days 1-3 of the Fix have had my muscles SCREAMING!  Not too badly during, but the next TWO days....wowsers!!  I am not accustomed to wanting to say rude words every time I ease myself on the the loo.....and off 

Let me just add that you NEVER EVER want to look for a FUN "ouch" icon on google by just typing the word "OUCH" without the word "ICON" after it - GASP those were some horrible images .....

Now, where was I?  Oh yes, my screaming thighs.  Dont get me wrong, I HAVE been that sore before - but usually it is after taking a break for a week or so.  NOT after just coming off of a hard workout program.  So I am VERY impressed at how the 21Day Fix is working me over - oh I mean giving me a good work out.  The good news is at the end of day 4 nothing hurts ( right now), so I am adjusting, gaing strength, and alrady have lost half an inch off my waist!

The other thing I noticed this week - which may actually be of some use to you - is that no matter how many times I THINK I can go back to snacking just a little in front of the TV in the evening; it is ALWAYS a lie.  Most of the time the worst thing I ever eat is popcorn with nutritional yeast, or 3 ingredient, plain potato chips.  I know, I know - life on the edge eh?!  You have heard people say it is a bad idea because it is mindless eating, and it makes a brain association of TV and food - all of which are true.  In the past, I have stopped all TV eating and after a few weeks thought,

"ok just on occasion is fine".  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH.  NOPE.  I have a problem a little always gives in to A LOT and it always ends badly for my progress.

So I have committed to not watching TV in the evening at all (I stil DVR my fave shows) and allow myself one show at lunch time while I eat my lunch.  No this doesnt break the magic of TV eating - which is another step I WILL conquor - but it is a step in the right direction.

Sometimes tricking the brain into thinking it is getting what it wants - when really it is just part of the regular day is good enough :)

Any way you can get there that brings progress is OK by me :)  If I can help you out, dont hesitate to message me :)

Oh and if you have no clue what The 21 Day Fix is - have a look here.  You could be having this much fun too! :P

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/Applezz?bctid=3124709772001

Debi