For about six week now, my husband and I have been on an extremely healthy diet kick. We experiment with being Vegan for 3 weeks last November and loved how we felt. We started again at the end of March but have made a few adjustments to the Vegan diet so we could live with it longer like adding eggs and fish. I have been gluten free for almost 5 years and only this year has my husband starting asking for gluten free bread!
So have hope that if you want your kids to eat healthier- it has to start with you. Be the example you want them to model. Here are a few snack ideas that you can start experimenting with to see what works for your family. [Read more...]
Quick Healthy Snacks for the Family
May 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The “in moderation” myth
April 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
You’ve heard it before: “everything in moderation”. Well maybe not so true.
I am going to compare food and the physical and biochemical response it has on your body with drugs. I don’t think most of us would tell an alcoholic “everything in moderation”, right? It’s actually very similar to food.
When you are attempting to create new habits, new relationships with food and a new, improved body, I am going to say that everything in moderation is not the best way to start. It might be the best way to BE but some healing has to occur in the body before that is successful.
Foods like gluten and sugar are inflammatory- your body craves them to keep the “addiction” going. Think of it like bacteria. Your body might not have the enzymes present to break down certain foods so your body is reacting to that like bacteria. The more you feed it, the more it grows (and the more you crave it). This cycle will continue and you will think you are an emotional eater because you have these strong, physical cravings. When actually it’s just your body responding to something you are unable to break down with ease. [Read more...]
Children, Asthma and Exercise?
March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Having asthma does not mean you should avoid exercise- it’s actually quite the opposite! Just like keeping healthy muscles and bones, exercise can help keep healthy lungs. Children especially need to create good habits of exercise at an early age to avoid childhood obesity and early diabetes. We are finding more and more that children are suffering from these preventable diseases because they lack exercise and good nutrition.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that being overweight is a serious health concern for children and adolescents. Data from two NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2004) show that the prevalence of overweight is increasing: for children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 13.9%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 18.8%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.4% Since the mid-seventies, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased sharply for both adults and children. Data from two NHANES surveys show that among adults aged 20–74 years the prevalence of obesity increased from 15.0% (in the 1976–1980 survey) to 32.9% (in the 2003–2004 survey). [Read more...]
How Dinner Can Determine Your Mood
February 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I am always looking for ways to communicate the very real facts that what you eat determine how you feel, your weight loss or gain, and more importantly your emotions and mood. At the end of last year, a good friend of mine (a McDonald’s eating mother of 2) posted an article on Facebook that was written by a mom titled “The gluten made her do it: How going gluten free saved my daughter’s mental health.” As a mother of two, this article got her attention. [Read more...]
LOVING YOUR BODY, LOVING YOURSELF
January 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
It’s that time again where people look at the beginning of the year and want to make changes in their body and weight. I have the privilege of working with my clients over the course of several years so I get to know them pretty well and witness their patterns and habits when it comes to eating and exercise.
Even before writing Fit 2 Love, I became very clear that the root of most of the struggle with emotional eating and lack of exercise comes from a lack of love for yourself. Without addressing this issue, your results will only be temporary. “ Lose Weight Fast!” “ Drop 10 pounds in 10 days!” – these are very exciting and marketable statements that emotionally hook you into buying the quick fix that often times provides you with results but with results you cannot sustain or live. [Read more...]
5 Steps to Making Effective Weight Loss Resolutions
December 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Do you always make similar resolutions EVERY year? Do you wonder why you have to keep doing it year after year? Lasting change comes from 5 things:
- Beliefs
- Plan of action
- Tools
- Support
- Accountability
Most of us get gung-ho about New Years and say things like “I am going to lose 25 pounds in January” or something crazy like that. Is that possible? It might be but not for most people. But the bigger question is why do you keep making the same resolution every year? [Read more...]
5 Common Health and Weight Loss Questions
October 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
#1: Do you have to follow a particular diet to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle? I don’t “follow” a diet; all my choices are supported by the question “is it worth it?” I 
have been gluten free since 2008 and been dairy free off and on as well. Calories count but so does quality of the food you eat so we try to stay as organic, local and GMO free as we can.
Fun Facts About Your Amazing Body
September 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I think we all take our bodies for granted from time to time. And as both a teaching and motivating tool, facts about your body are fun to post on the refrigerator, share with your family and friends.
Did you know that……?
- Your brain triples in size between birth and adulthood until it weighs as much as the heart and lungs put together?
How to Speed Up Your Metabolism
July 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
1. Eat more Protein at every meal especially breakfast: For most women and men this would contain about 15-25 grams of protein in the meal. For example, 2 egg veggie omelette…or a smoothie made with one scoop of egg white or protein powder…or ½-1 cup of Cottage cheese or plain yogurt, ½ C. frozen berries with 1-2 Tbsp flax seed meal or walnuts would do the trick.
My Child Has Recurrent Ear Infections…What Can I Do?
July 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Ear infections can be excruciatingly painful, especially in children. With 10 million new cases every year, ear infections (otitis media) are the most common illness affecting babies and young children and the number one reason for visits to the pediatrician—accounting for more than 35 percent of all pediatric visits.
There are two main sources for otitis media, either bacterial or viral. This is when antibiotics are typically prescribed, hoping the infection is due to bacteria. If the infection is viral in origin, antibiotics will only make the problem worse as they kill off part of your child’s natural immunity
