Live Long Naturally

Not sure what constitutes a serving size? Super sized servings have practically become the norm these days. However, when real food is eaten, it takes a lot less real food to feel satisfied than it does processed food. The later leaves you wanting more – the chemicals in them were designed to not only make you fat, but get you addicted.

Ann Louise Gittleman, author of best selling Fat Flush Plan, has a clever way of eyeballing serving sizes. These are given to her clients as a way to recognize average sized portions. A deck of cards is the example she uses to approximate chicken, beef, or fish. The size of a tennis ball is used to imagine serving size for vegetables and starchy foods, such as corn, potatoes, or pasta. A three to one ratio is suggested for vegetables to starchy foods. Oil used in cooking can be seen as the size of a quarter being equal to one teaspoon. These visual estimates become second nature in helping a person eat a balanced meal.

And whatever you do when planning/serving your meals, aim to balance them with complex carbohydrates (the healthy grains), fat, and protein. A good rule of thumb and overall average based on several sources is 40-30-30 ratio to carbs, fats, and protein.

Bon Apetit!

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Ann Louise Gittleman, author of bestselling Fat Flush Plan refers to yo-yo dieting as a schizophrenic eating habit – Scientists have referred to it as the yo-yo syndrome. Syndrome or schizophrenia, it is not healthy and can actually make a person fat. Many people, some of my clients included, weight themselves e-v-e-r-y single day. I’ve seen it drive them absolutely crazy, despite their clothes fitting perfectly well.

When a person makes a habit of dieting, the body cannot distinguish between dieting and famine, it reacts to protect the individual by slowing down their metabolism and becoming more efficient at storing fat. Another end result of yo-yo dieting is that it increases the risk for heart disease. Heart disease, by the way, is the #1 killer among women. And who are the ones that diet more often than not? Women.

Our best bet is to simply strive to eat healthy most hours of the day and days of the week. When we eat healthy, weight will never be an issue!

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PHARMACEUTICALS… and so the vicious cycle go!

In May 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that overweight and obese individuals are at an increased risk for many diseases and health conditions, some include:

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
• Dyslipidemia (examples: high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Coronary heart disease
• Stroke
• Gall bladder disease
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon)

A colored pill can kill! Our food can be our pharmacy and an ongoing source to weight loss and vibrant health. Saying farewell to fast, processed fake foods and hello to real food and balanced meals is a start! Don’t allow the vicious cycle of obesity, disease, and pharmaceuticals to literally stop you dead in your tracks. Obesity as we know, has not yet been labeled a disease, but IT CAN LEAD TO ONE of many.

Medicine cures 3/10, diet cures 7/10  ~Chinese Proverb~

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Do you know what ingredients lurk in your favorite snacks and foods? The list is long and their consequences are many – for time sake, I will cover 3 common so-called ingredients. The Oh-h-h McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are far from chicken. Aside from the lighter fluid ingredient that is used, several of the other 38 ingredients used are corn. The actual chicken was fed corn, cornstarch is then added, corn flour is used in the batter, then they’re fried in corn oil… and finally washed down with Coke or Pepsi, which also contain corn by way of HFCS.

High fructose corn syrup is a cheap, fattening, and versatile sweetener that was introduced in late 1970’s after the government gave corn farmers subsidies to grow it – it did save SOMEBODY millions of dollars, however… it was at the expense of a 100% increase of obesity in children and adolescents.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that also goes by the names of Equal and NutraSweet. It is commonly added to sugar and fat free products. This artificial sweetener actually causes an increased craving for sugar and carbohydrates.

Various health concerns have been raised about aspartame since it was introduced in 1981. In 1984, six months after it’s “debut” in sodas the incidence of brain cancer and brain tumors increased 10% in U.S., Diabetes 30% and Lymphoma 60%. A 2005 study has also shown it to cause leukemia in rats.

MSG also known as Mood Swings Galore… I mean Monosodium glutamate. It was created to make fake food taste real and tasteless food tasty! For more info on MSG… see April 9th post.

Aside from all 3 of these ingredients being cheap, they are NUTRIENTLESS, which leads to more and more overweight malnourished people from all walks of life. Take a minute to read labels – it will save you a lifetime of misery and prevent dying a slow suicide.

“Corn sweetener is to the republic of fat what corn whiskey was to the alcohol republic.”

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