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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Volunteering at the L.A. Arboretum has opened up a whole new world for me – it has taught me to think outside the box and the bin. In learning to garden by way of permaculture, I went back and forth on how to build my own compost pile. In waiting for everything to be just right, I decided to just start piling on the ground. Wouldn’t you know, before long… I had my very own compost. No fancy bins, nothing! Here’s what worked for me:

I picked a site near the garden. A site near the kitchen and under the branches of a deciduous tree work well according to some gardeners. I just happened to start mine very near an orange tree. “They” say to alternate between brown and green ingredients for the ideal carbon/nitrogen balance. I didn’t so much alternate –  for brown ingredients… I’ve used straw, grass clippings, dead and broken tree branches, and lots of kitchen scraps. I’ve been told no potatoes or citrus, though, I’ve used the later simply because the citrus trees want it. A textbook of mine suggests layering 3” of straw, 1” to 6” moist green material, then a 1” layer of soil and repeat to 3-4 feet in height. The thickness of green material is dependent on the density of material. Loose open material, such as green bean vines or tomato stems can be applied thicker. Kitchen scraps and grass clippings are denser and can be applied thinner. The microorganisms in the soil help decompose organic matter.

Technical aspect aside – I merely toss my compost ingredients, mix thoroughly, and water almost daily. Pile sits atop the ground, so soil automatically gets mixed in. The soil underneath is where I scoop out my wonderfully smelling decomposed matter. It takes much less time than most people and/or textbooks state. However, temperature does play a role.

Happy composting!

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According to Dr. Mercola at Mercola.com, the benefits of laughing include:

• Relaxation and reduction in muscle tension.
• Lowered production of stress hormones.
• Improved immune system function.
• Reduction in blood pressure.
• Clearing the lungs by dislodging mucous plugs.
• Increasing the production of salivary immunoglobulin A, which defends against infectious organisms that enter through the respiratory tract.
• Aerobic effects that increased the body‘s ability to utilize oxygen.
• A rapid ability to disregard aches and pains or to perceive them as less severe.

In the book, Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins tell of his journey of being bedridden with a “death sentence” of a few months to his remarkable recovery with laughter and Vitamin C.

Laughter does more than help and heal you… it does wonders for your face value!

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