Pesticides in our Produce

With the BC Home and Garden Show just finished, it seems that the season is upon us for a discussion about home gardening.

And as the weather in the Lower Mainland gets milder, the crocuses and narcissus are starting to emerge from the soil.

Let's start with FAB - a marketing term that means Features and Benefits...why should we garden?

Would it surprise you to know that pesticide residues on some fruits and vegetables can exceed safe limits for children?

According to a recent study of 27,000 food samples , most were found to be within the established U.S. legal limits for pesticides on those foods. However, legal limits do not define safety, and residues of some chemicals on some foods would frequently expose a young child to a dose greater than the government's official estimate of the 'safe' daily intake of those pesticides.

The foods found to have the highest levels of pesticide residues were domestic and imported peaches, grapes, apples, pears and spinach; U.S.-grown green beans; and U.S.-grown winter squash, both fresh and frozen.

Of these, peaches and frozen winter squash had the highest residue quantities, about 10-fold higher than the other "high scores", according to the study.

Foods with the lowest levels of pesticide residues were frozen/canned corn, milk, U.S. orange juice, U.S. broccoli, bananas and canned peaches.

Slightly higher, but still within legal limits, were frozen/canned sweet peas, U.S. and imported apple juice, Mexican frozen winter squash, Canadian tomatoes, Brazilian orange juice and U.S. wheat.

U.S.-grown foods were just as likely to contain harmful pesticide residues as foods from other countries. In fact, 11 of the 12 highest residue scores were found on U.S. grown foods, according to the study.

This is a list of fruits and vegetables, rated by pesticide levels :

1. Fresh Peaches
2. Winter Squash
3. Apples
4. Pears
5. Fresh Spinach
6. Green Beans
7. Grapes
8. Celery
9. Lettuce
10. Soybeans
11. Potatoes
12. Tomatoes
13. Carrots
14. Oranges

c 2001 The Vegetarian Site

Your best defense is to buy organic, whenever you can, and to consider a home garden.

This spring, watch for my posts on Gardening 101!

Live healthy and prosper...Billie

February is Heart Month

Research suggests that women may be more sensitive to certain risk factors for heart disease. In particular, obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure) stress, depression and smoking all appear to have a greater impact on women than men.

So what is heart disease?

Heart disease is a broad term that describes various conditions, from high blood pressure to heart attack and stroke.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common occurrence of heart disease, and is the leading cause of heart attack. CAD occurs when plaque, a fatty substance made from cholesterol, calcium and waste, accumulates in the arteries or blood vessels that lead to the heart, narrowing the artery walls. Obstruction of blood flow through the arteries can cause chest pain (known as angina) and, if left undiagnosed, heart attack.

Stay on top of your heart health.

• Make your heart health a priority. See your doctor regularly and ask him or her about your risk factors. Inform your doctor about any family history of heart disease and have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked as part of your annual checkup. If you are feeling unwell insist on testing—don’t shrug it off.

• Exercise regularly. Physical activity reduces bad cholesterol, aids in losing weight and helps prevent high blood pressure. Aerobic activity makes your heart stronger and more efficient.

• Don’t smoke. Smokers are 2 to 6 times more likely to have a heart attack than women who don’t smoke. Smoking also boosts the chance of stroke.

• Pay close attention to your body. Don’t dismiss symptoms like excessive fatigue and chest, neck or shoulder discomfort. Heart attack and discomfort can be indicated by a variety of symptoms including: chest pain, neck and/or shoulder pain, shortness of breath, nausea and stomach upset, clammy hands and skin, dizziness and fatigue.

• Make better food choices. Eat a low fat, high fibre diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Choose olive oil for cooking, eat fatty fish like salmon and mackerel; eat small amounts of nuts and legumes. These are all heart healthy foods, so make them a part of your diet. Avoid trans fats and saturated fats, white flour, and sugars, found in almost all processed foods.

And when you want to remove the nutritional question mark from your plate, invest in quality nutritional supplements, like the ones I recommend from Body Wise in San Diego, CA.

For the month of Feb, I am offering a free CoQ10 with your purchase.

For more information on these and other heart-healthy supplements, contact me at billiesinclair@mybodywise.org

Is It Just Me, or Is Food Getting Sweeter?

If you’ve gotten the impression that more and more sugar is being added to common supermarket foods – you’re right.

A report in the May 6, 2007 London Sunday Times, based on an examination of an industry handbook on food composition, found that food companies have doubled the amount of sugar they add to their more popular products since 1978.

For example, in 1978, Kellogg’s Special K cereal had 9.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams. This has now nearly doubled to 17 grams. Some canned soups have shown a similar increase.

Interestingly, even fruits and vegetables are now sweeter, probably due to market pressures forcing growers to breed hybrids with higher sugar content. Between 1978 and 2002, the sugar in a banana rose from 16.2 grams per 100 grams to 20.9 grams; pears and carrots got sweeter by a similar percentage.

Is it any wonder that obesity and diabetes are becoming worldwide epidemics?

The only rational response to this situation is to bypass the industrial food complex as much as possible.

1) Buy unprocessed foods from farmer’s markets and health food stores, and, if possible, select non-hybrid, heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables over modern hybrids, which are quickly becoming analogs of sugar beets.

2) Best choice of all: grow as much of your own food as you can.

Thank you, Dr. Weil, for these important points on my favorite subject - food!

The night before you compete in a Body Building show, they hold an Athlete's meeting. All of the athlete's that plan on showing up for the show the next morning must be there to register.

What a sight; buff, tanned, and gorgeous, about 150 athletes showed up for the meeting in November. And one of the most notable features of body builders, each athlete had, in tow, their food cooler! I love body builders!

Anyhow, the couple sitting next to me had elaborate salads, with fancy dressings and toppings. Me, the Natural Nutritionist, could be seen eating green salad right out of the bag, stringless snap peas, and mini-carrots, without dressing.

They asked me how I could stand all those veggies with nothing on them...I replied that I didn't even notice that I was missing anything. I have learned to love the taste of raw veggies, chopped and munched on the spot!

After reading Dr. Weil's words above, you may just want to give it a try.

Take control, people, before the food industry, completely takes control of you!

How I'm Learning About the Raw Food Diet

I have slowly changed my eating habits and lifestyle over the last 10 years. In 1999, when I discovered the supplement company that I now consult for, a whole new world of nutritional understanding opened up to me.

Since then, as many of you know, I have virtually stopped having colds and the flu, I've shed 30 pounds of body fat and, at age 48 competed in my first Body Building contest.

Here we are in 2008, and I am researching a possible new avenue of change for my life...the Raw Food Lifestyle.

From her book and website (www.rawnutrition.com), here is an article by Carol Alt about the process of learning and adopting the Raw Food diet. My diet is already about 50% raw, in the way of salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, and nuts. Now I plan to go a little further and see what else is in store in this, apparently supremely, healthy lifestyle.

Just a reminder about my disclaimer that my messages are not meant to replace the advice of a competent healthcare professional. Please don't undertake major changes to your diet without consulting your doctor.


Getting Raw: Ten Steps to the Raw Food Lifestyle

Maybe you’re the type of person who can make radical changes in their lifestyle overnight. Take my boyfriend. When he met me, he’d never even heard of raw foodists. But he was intrigued, and one day – boom – he made the switch. Four years later, he’s still at it.

But if you’re like me, it’s going to be a more gradual process. You’re going to have to help your body (or at least your taste buds) acclimate from the cooked food you’re used to, to the raw food you were meant to eat. Don’t get me wrong, when I say “acclimate your taste buds,” I don’t mean to imply that a raw food diet isn’t delicious. It is – and I wouldn’t go back to cooked foods if you paid me. But being a Westerner, it’s virtually guaranteed that your body is addicted to sugar and starch. The best way to stop craving those foods is to remove them gradually. Eventually you’ll wonder what you even saw in them!

So here’s your own personal roadmap for going raw, based on my experience and broken down into ten easy steps.

1. Reflect on your diet

Turn off the radio, find a comfortable chair and think about your diet for a moment. What do you eat? Not in your ideal world, not if you had time to eat healthy – in your real life. What did you eat over the past three days? Think about everything: the meals, the snacks, the beverages.

2. Track what you really eat

Recalling gives you an idea of what you eat, but tracking what actually goes into your mouth can be an eye-opening experience. So for the next three days, write down every thing you eat and drink. Write down the time you ate it. Just carry a list and keep it with you at all times. Don’t change your diet – we’re trying to get a realistic picture of what your body runs on. Why? Because any change you want to make in your life depends on awareness of how you do things now. Once you’re aware of what you eat and when, you’ll be better equipped to eat the way you were meant to.

3. Notice what’s already raw

It’s been three days and you have your list. Now take a highlighter and highlight everything on that list that’s raw. Maybe you already eat a lot of raw food. Maybe you love salads, or fresh fruit, or sashimi. Or, you could be like I was and subsist on a diet of nearly 100% cooked foods. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you want to make the change to a raw foods diet.

In addition to the highlighted foods on your list, think about other raw foods that you maybe didn’t eat in the last three days but do enjoy. Add those to your list. This is your starting point, no matter how short or long your list.

4. Find creative substitutes

Here’s where the fun starts. People assume that if they eat raw, they can’t have the things they love. But finding creative substitutes allows you to eat the way you like – without feeling guilty!

If you eat a bowl of yogurt and granola with fruit on top for breakfast, it’s easy to switch to raw. Trade your regular yogurt for raw, unpasteurized yogurt, switch out your cooked granola for raw granola made with dried fruits, nuts and seeds (you can find pre-made raw granola or you can make your own), and top with fresh fruit as usual!

If you’re more partial to a bagel with lox and cream cheese, then go for raw, marinated salmon (called gravlax ) instead of lox, substitute raw Camembert for cream cheese, and pile it all on sprouted Ezekiel bread. The bread isn’t technically raw, but it’s made from sprouted grains and is cooked at low temperatures, so it’s the next best thing.

Start thinking creatively and you can find raw substitutes for just about all your cooked food favorites.

5. Adopt the 2:1 ratio

I don’t expect you to go raw overnight the way my boyfriend did. So follow this easy rule: eat a 2-to-1 ratio of raw to cooked foods. In other words, eat twice as much raw as cooked and you’ll be well on your way to better health and better looks.

I recommend you follow the advice Dr. Brantley gave me when I first started out: make breakfast and lunch your mostly raw meals and dinner your mostly cooked one. Why? Because breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. You want your healthiest, most nutritious meal first thing in the morning so you can have the energy you need to think and work.

Eating raw for lunch carries that energy on through the rest of the day. Most of us don’t really need that much energy after dinner – our day is winding down. So save your mostly cooked meal for the end of the day.

6. Think about each meal

After you’ve gotten accustomed to eating raw, take that 2-to-1 ratio and apply it to each meal. So every time you eat, aim for two-thirds raw to one-third cooked.

Remember, you don’t have to stick to traditional breakfast foods and traditional dinner foods. I love to have a salad with seared tuna for breakfast. You could have a cooked egg for lunch with a raw broccoli salad, accompanied by some raw cheese and crackers. Dinner can be a baked potato with seared steak. When you follow the 2-to-1 ratio at every meal, you are making sure that at all times, the health-giving, vital foods outnumber the depleted, dead ones.

7. Identify your cheats

A stumbling block for a lot of people in the conversion from cooked to raw is that they don’t want to lose their favorite cooked foods – those foods they feel they can’t live without. My answer often surprises them: Don’t!

Look, we’re not aiming for perfection here. We’re aiming for a mostly raw food diet. So identify which foods will be your “cheats,” and then consciously decide – and this step is crucial – what they are and how often you “need” them. Write them down and write down how often you can eat them. Otherwise, you’ll be making exceptions left and right.

Once you know that it’s okay to cheat every now and then, it makes sticking to your guns much easier. And most people find that they only actually want to eat their favorite cooked foods about once or twice a week. Totally doable.

8. Stress the right meals

In America, we’ve got it all backwards. We eat light for the most important meal of the day, grabbing a muffin or cereal to keep us going until lunch, and heavy for the least important, stuffing ourselves with calories right before we go to bed. It doesn’t make any sense!

Follow this advice instead: “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, dinner like a pauper.” In other words, if you want consistent energy, make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, then lunch, then dinner. Think about it: If you eat a small breakfast – or worse, skip it – you’re giving your body very little fuel when it needs it the most. After all, it hasn’t been fed for over 12 hours! Skimp on breakfast, and you’re more likely to grab whatever’s available once you start to crash.

9. Become a hunter/gatherer

Back in our species’ raw food days, we hunted and gathered our food. We never knew what we’d find on that particular day so our diet was naturally varied. These days, we likely shop in the same supermarket, going down the same aisles, buying the same foods and cooking the same meals.

Get back to your hunter/gatherer roots! There are so many different places to shop for raw foods – in your regular supermarket, yes, but also in natural food supermarkets, small health food stores, farmers’ markets, local farms, produce markets, food co-ops, raw food specialty stores and the biggest treasure trove of all: the internet.

10. Trust your body

As time goes on and you experiment with different foods, the list of raw foods that you particularly like will grow. You won’t like everything – I’m sure you don’t like all cooked foods – but you’ll keep adding new and different foods until your list is quite long.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy at first. You’ve been eating cooked food your whole life – of course making such a drastic change is going to have its challenges. But once you make the switch, once you allow your healthy, beautiful raw self to bloom, you’ll be so pleased with the results you won’t want to go back.

And then an amazing thing happens. You get back in touch with your body’s real needs and real desires – not the ones it’s been trained to have, not the things it’s addicted to. Your desire for cooked food will most likely just fall away. And when you do eat cooked foods, you’ll notice your body doesn’t actually like them. You’ll actually feel bad after eating them. Congratulations! At this point, you will have crossed the threshold. Your body will now naturally choose what it knows will nourish it. And you’ll never go back!

Let's gradually go raw together...Billie

February 1st is Wear Red Day!

The American Heart Association and the National Lung and Blood Institute have websites dedicated to your healthy heart. On February 1st, people across North America will be wearing red to support these initiatives.

Go to www.goredforwomen.com and http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth for information on National Wear Red Day.

Reduce your risk of heart attack by following these tips:

Incorporate Omega-3 fatty acids:

Omega-3 fatty acids support a healthy cardiovascular system by reducing LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, plaque build-up, inflammation and blood clots while increasing HDL (the "good" cholesterol).

Incorporate low glycemic index (GI), high fiber foods into your diet:

Individuals with diabetes and metabolic syndrome have a 400 percent risk of having a heart attack. Low GI, high fiber foods decrease cholesterol and modulate blood sugar levels which help to reduce inflammation, a known risk factor underlying heart disease.

Minimize saturated fat and trans fat:

Avoid saturated fat and trans fat by staying clear of the center aisles at the grocery store where pre-packaged baked goods with long shelf-lives are found. Stay clear of those packages containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which often contain significant sources of trans fat. According to the Nurses Health Study, women who consumed 2 grams of trans fat per 1000 calories of food were shown to be at greater risk of developing heart disease.

Incorporate Antioxidant-rich foods and Anti-inflammatory herbs and spices:

Fruits and vegetables, dark chocolate (70% cocoa), and red wine (1 glass for women) all contain heart-healthy antioxidants. Anti-inflammatory herbs like curcumin and ginger have been shown to decrease the release of inflammatory molecules by inhibiting the COX-2 enzyme, which is the same way many anti-inflammatory drugs work.

So with those tips in mind, you can get the additional benefit of a partner in health by joining me in my 90-Day program, Get Your Body Back. Over the next 90 days, we'll incorporate healthy habits in the grocery store, the kitchen, and at the office. Then we'll add physical activity to strengthen your heart muscle (which is your most powerful involuntary muscle).

The coaching relationship then insures that you follow the plan we've designed for you. When you know you're being held accountable for your actions, you tend to do what you said you would!

The Get Your Body Back program helps you improve three important facets of your life, which contributes to heart health, but also overall well-being, as you reduce your excess body fat.

1) What you eat.
2) What you do.
3) Your consistency.

So wear red today and support these important heart-healthy initiatives. And for more information on heart healthy habits and the Get Your Body Back 90-day program, e-mail me at billiesinclair@mybodywise.org Let's get you started on your way towards optimal health!

Disease Prevention

The fabulous Dr. Mercola has been a great influence on my health practice. Here is a review of his recommendations for disease prevention.

What are the underlying causes of most, if not all, disease? I strongly believe it boils down to three basics of equal importance:

Your emotional and mental state
Making poor fuel (food) choices
Lack of physical activity (exercise)

All of my advice essentially falls under one of these three basic necessities for optimal health.

Dr. Mercola believes that you can VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE your risk of cancer and chronic disease, and radically improve your chances of recovering from cancer, if you currently have it, by following these relatively simple risk reduction strategies.

You won’t read or hear much about them because they have not been formally "proven" yet by conservative researchers. However, did you know that 85 percent of therapies currently recommended by conventional medicine have never been formally proven either?!

There are twelve simple strategies that you can easily adopt to improve your health right now, whether you are ill or not.

Here are the twelve strategies and, over the next twelve posts, I will elaborate on each one of them:

1. Reduce or eliminate your processed food, sugar and grain carbohydrate intake

2. Control your fasting insulin and leptin levels.

3. Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats.

4. Get regular exercise.

5. Normalize your vitamin D levels and vitamin A levels.

6. Get regular, good sleep.

7. Eat according to your nutritional type.

8. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

9. Limit your exposure to and provide protection for yourself from information carrying radio waves produced by cell phone towers, base stations, phones and WiFi stations.

10. Avoid frying or charbroiling your food.

11. The CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. Have a tool to permanently reprogram the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes.

12. Eat at least one-third of your food raw.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at each of these strategies over the next twelve posts. In the meantime, consider how you can begin to adopt some or all of these strategies into your own life...

Whatever the Mind of Man (and Woman) Can Conceive...

I have written at length about the body systems and why it requires a consistent, no-nonsense plan to achieve your weight loss goals.

Today, we're going to look at body weight and weight success from a different angle - the angle of the mind.

We're going to look at the role of the thoughts we think on our success in achieving the body we desire.

In the early 1900's, James Allen, from As a Man Thinketh, wrote "They themselves are makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance. As they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain, they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness."

While "the inner garment of character" would be a very worthwhile topic for a blog, we're going to focus here on "the outer garment of circumstance", the body we are walking around with.

As a Life Skills Coach, I have focused much of my work on helping people get from where they are to where they want to be. And, in my experience with hundreds of participants, most people don't make a connection between their thoughts and where they are at in their lives.

In Step 4 of the Get Your Body Back manual, we look at your "Why"... the strong reason that will propel you to make the changes that you know you'll have to make in your lifestyle and habits, in order to see the changes you want in your body.

Stay with me here and we'll walk through a fairly typical scenario.

Jane is unhappy with the way her body looks. She figures she's gained about 40 pounds in the last ten years. She's not sure how that many pounds crept onto her 5'4" frame but, by the way her clothes fit, and the size she is now buying, there's no escaping the extra body fat that she's carrying around with her.

Depending on how she feels on any given day, Jane may berate herself for over-eating at a recent party, she may blame her weight-gain on her desk job and her lack of mobility, she may struggle with the demands of being a single mom with no time for herself, or she may decide that she's just too tired to care today.

Consider the possibility that, with each of these scenarios, Jane is thinking thoughts, and her thoughts are keeping her stuck.

Now either you're still with me and ready to keep reading, or you think I'm a bit nuts, and you're ready to move onto another blog, where the writer is blessed with a little more sanity.

Let me take you back to a few years ago when I had reached my highest weight - 150 pounds. At 5'1", this was a lot of weight for me to carry around. From time to time, I would think about what had gotten me to this place. I added up the logical reasons:

1. I had recently ended a 5-year relationship, where the fella and I had spent every weekend dancing at the club until our clothes were drenched with sweat.
2. The new boyfriend was fairly well-to-do and we spent at least 3-4 nights a week eating at fancy restaurants (and he didn't dance).
3. I had just given up a job that had allowed me to make my own hours and completely control my own schedule, and I'd stopped going to the gym.
4. I had started full-time school and was sitting at a desk from 9-5, Monday to Friday.
5. Between homework and getting the kids and myself off to school in the morning, I couldn't make it to the gym and still get to class on time.

Obviously, these reasons were clear proof that I was not in control of the circumstances, and I had no power to control the state that my body was in.

But I wasn't happy with my body and dissatisfaction can be one of our greatest motivators.

When I first saw Bill Phillips' book, Body for Life, I was inspired by those before and after shots. I was sure that, if they could do it, so could I. Then I got my before-photos back from the drug store, and I was horrified at what I saw. I collapsed in a crumpled heap, in tears, on the bed.

Some time later, I heard an ad on the radio about a local company that was hosting a Body Transformation Challenge. I went to the info session, signed a monthly contract, and started again. The before pics didn't upset me quite as much that time, I was a little more determined.

But, as life often does, my circumstances changed and I felt that I couldn't afford the monthly fees any longer, so I dropped out of the program. An important thing had happened in that time, though; I'd seen myself lose about 7 pounds of body fat, and I knew I wanted more of that.

Time passed by, the weight had returned. I was in California at a Nutrition conference and the company announced a Body Transformation Challenge. They suggested a program of lifestyle and behaviour change. I liked some of what I heard, and I found myself feeling angry about the rest. But the prize was a share of $40,000...and a chance to be featured on the website and in the company promotional materials.

Armed with the new plan, I headed back to Vancouver. What did I do differently this time around?

I decided what my new weight was going to be. As Linda Proctor (wife of Bob Proctor) would say, I made the decision in advance.

My new weight was to be 125 pounds.

I wasn't thinking about losing weight, I was focused on weighing 125 pounds.

How I was going to accomplish that, I had no idea.

I went through a few of my favorite magazines with scissors, cutting out "125". I placed my cut-outs all around me. On my computer screen, on my fridge; I even wrote it on my hand in ball-point pen.

Most of the time, it felt completely impossible that I would achieve a body weight of 125 pounds. It had been twenty years since I had seen that weight on the scale.

But I kept the number 125 in front of me at all times.

You can probably guess what I weigh today - that's right, 125 pounds. Sure, for the contest, I even weighed-in below 125 but, guess where my weight settled out, after everything was said and done...

Yup, 125 pounds!

So back to James Allen...and, in fact, back to Bob and Linda Proctor, Napolean Hill, U. S. Anderson, Shakespeare, Rhonda Byrne, John Assaraf, Jack Canfield, James Arthur Ray, Joe Vitale, Denis Waitley, Neale Donald Walsch, John Kehoe, Michael Losier, George Winslow Plummer, etc, etc, etc...you get my drift?

"Thinking makes it so" (that's from Shakespeare's Hamlet)...and, "What you think about, you bring about" from another wise source.

Don't ever doubt that your thoughts are creating your reality. When you're ready to see yourself at your desired body weight, you decide what that number will be, and you fix that number in your mind.

Then, and only then, can you and I get to work...

Luv ya...

See you at your ideal weight! Billie

A Goal is Just a Good Idea Until You...

Over 66 percent of adult North Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies, so it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions.

I have been setting goals my whole life.

I'm sure I had a goal in Grade 5 that went something like, "get Johnny to take me to the school dance".

And in Grade 12, "get elected as President of the Student Council".

While my dating and political aspirations have changed over the years, setting goals is still a part of my life.

But a goal is just a good idea until you...

1. Write it down. What exactly are you going to have happen? I am going to weigh 125 pounds. Why is writing it down important? You may have heard this a hundred times or this may be your first introduction to the now famous quote by W. H. Murray...
   "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself,then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would not otherwise have occured. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way." What more reason do you need to get that pen and paper?
2. Determine what you are willing to give for the achievement of that goal. In order to weigh 125 pounds, I am going to follow a plan of healthy food choices and regular exercise. If you think that you're going to achieve a new goal, without "doing something different", you're fooling yourself. Whatever you've been doing in the past has gotten you where you are today. There's no way that doing the same old things will get you to a new place or a new result. I highly doubt that you've been following a plan of healthy food choices and regular exercise, so this is an excellent start!
3. Determine "by when" this is all going to come together. It's January now. It will take some time to implement your new strategy. You might come upon some resistance along the way; you might have to re-group and re-strategize a little here and there. By June 30, 2008, I will weigh 125 pounds and I will weigh within 2 pounds of that weight for the rest of the year. Give yourself time to get to your goal weight but, once you're there, hang on to it. If summer means fun and frolicking to you, use the excitement of the coming season to motivate you. Go bathing suit shopping. Decide what you want to look good in. Envision yourself on the cruise ship, looking sexy, healthy and strong. You have 6 months to accomplish this and it's entirely possible. A strong reason why will be crucial to your long term success.
4. Make your plan. This is where it gets specific. No one loses weight with a little effort here and a little effort there. Everything in your life that works does so by a system. Your body is a system and burning body fat requires a plan. Write it out - this is what I will do on a daily basis... If you're not sure what to do, that's where your coach comes in. I will help you devise a strategy, based on energy in and energy out, whereby you will see results on a weekly basis. We start by taking measurements and a body fat reading. We look at your current lifestyle and food choices. And then we go to work, creating a plan that takes into account some of your favorites. We put this together like pieces to a puzzle.
5. Put your goal and your plan together, preferably in a new journal that you'll use just for this purpose. Choose a journal with a colorful cover. Write in it daily. Know where it is at all times. Never leave the house without it. Make a collage with images and words that conjure up happy, excited thoughts about the achievement of your goal. Find pictures of exotic warm locations, sandy beaches, trim figures, beautiful clothing. Use words and phrases of inspiration - whatever inspires you personally.
6. Review your plan frequently. Do you think that CEOs get to review their business plan now and again? Of course not, they are on it every day. They are looking at each action they are taking. Is it leading them towards or away from the goals that they've set for the company? Your body is no different; remember I said it was a system. Repeat your goal and review your plan twice a day, preferably morning (when you first wake up) and evening (just before you go to sleep). Gaze at your collage, feel happy and excited, and imagine that you're looking at your life and your body in those happy circumstances.

This is the strategy I adopted to help me lose over 20 pounds of body fat. As I've said in this blog before, I Did It, So Can You!

For a more personalized look at getting from where you are to where you want to be, send me an e-mail at billiesinclair@mybodywise.org .

Let's make this the year that you achieve the body that you've dreamed of for the past few years!

The Future of Food

Let me introduce you to The Future of Food, an 88 minute film, produced by Deborah Coons Garcia.

Please take a few minutes to view the trailer and consider purchasing the full length film to show to your friends, family, and colleagues (there is no financial benefit for me, if you do that).

Learn about the creation and planting of genetically engineered crops.

The following link is from Dr. Mercola's site. Watch the You tube version and then go to the website: www.thefutureoffood.com

The You Tube short...

http://www.mercola.com/2007/jan/11/the-future-of-food----you-need-to-watch-this-video.htm

It's never too late to start making changes...

How Long Will your New Years Resolution to Lose Weight Last?

It's a familiar routine...the list of New Years Resolutions. "This year, I'm going to spend more quality time with the kids, I'm going to save more money, and I'm going to lose some of this weight." A familiar refrain...

According to Devlyn Steele, Life Coach, "everyone wants to get in shape, lose weight, meet someone, get a better job, save money, quit smoking, quit drinking and more. So we start out the year no holds barred and go for it!

Unfortunately the results we want don't come as fast as our initial enthusiasm and when we don't see quick changes we lose our motivation. As the weeks go by the crowds in the gym disappear and soon everything is back to normal activity levels as we all slip back into our routines.

Then we stay there until another failed attempt next January. The result is that 2008 will be yet another year where you failed to achieve the changes you wanted.

The New Year motivates us to start, but we need to develop a habit of successful behavior. As Jim Ryun puts it, "Motivation is what gets us started. Habit is what keeps us going." And Ryun might be someone to listen to; after all, he became the first high school runner to break the 4-minute mile, in 1964, and held the high school record for 36 years.

You can develop success habits and remedy lack of or diminished motivation with a life coach technique called "ABC."

A = Action. Start taking action today. We don't achieve change through thinking about it, but by doing something.

B = Bite size. Reduce all your new activities to small daily actions. It truly is amazing how doing something small doesn't overwhelm us and produces amazing results. When we take on too much we either don't start or can't keep it up. Work out 10 minutes a day; send out one resume a day, save a little money every day and the results will materialize over time.

C = Consistency. Through the accumulation of small actions, we get big results. Do your bite size action activities daily!"

So let's get back to our original topic, and my favorite subject. You want to lose weight this year, don't you? You want to have more energy, you want to look better in your clothes, and you want to feel good about yourself when you step in front of a mirror.

The attrition rate for gym members hovers at 35 percent a year, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), and the latest estimates show that almost half of exercisers give up on a new routine within the year.

Using Steele's life coaching model, here are my suggestions for keeping your weight loss goal alive, from the beginning of the year, all the way to the finish line...

A. Action
I had three children in four years. Not only was that a challenge for my body's appearance, but I was kind of busy by then. There wasn't a lot of time to work out. Being an early riser, I sometimes went to the gym while my husband and the kids slept. But I wasn't consistent.

A few years into the project, I became a single mom. If I was busy before, hectic was an understatement now. My body was very low on the priority list. Every year, I reached a new high weight for me and, as a short person, that wasn't a pretty sight.

Once the oldest was able to watch the youngest for a few minutes, I decided to take action. We lived in a small apartment block. I began by running around the building. I told the kids that, if they needed something, to stand out on the balcony and watch for me to run by. I would run around the building a few times and head inside. But I was on my way. As the months went by, and the children became very comfortable with the new routine, I extended my run to encompass the block, and then the neighborhood.

B. Bite size
It all began with a bite-sized goal; to run around the building and get a few minutes of consistent exercise. It worked. I could always squeeze in a few minutes.

C. Consistency
Some days, it was too rainy to feel good about running outside. But I had started a new habit; I wanted and needed to keep it up. The building had four storeys, with a nice wide stairwell. On rainy days, I ran the stairs. Sure the neighbors looked at me like I was a bit of a kook, but I wasn't there for their approval. I was in the stairwell for me. The kids were fine, and I was achieving what I set out to do, keep up my new habit of running for a few minutes.

As they tend to do, the years went by, and the kids got older. I continued running and, at age 46, I ran my first half-marathon. Three years later, using the same habits that I'd developed in those early days of running, I competed in my first Body Building competition. That was a goal I wanted to accomplish before I turned 50 and, at age 49, I look pretty damn good (if I may say so myself).

I encourage anyone that sets a weight loss New Years Resolution this year to follow the same simple plan.

1. Take some action
2. Make it bite-sized
3. Be consistent

And for additional support, send me an e-mail at billiesinclair@mybodywise.org My 90-day program is called Get Your Body Back. It's affordable, effective, and safe.

As a guide on the side, my job is to support you to get from where you are to where you want to be. And having been through many of the challenges myself that you will likely face, I'm very good at supporting others to achieve their weight loss goals...

Let 2008 be the year you finally start...and finish! Billie

Is Your Scale Stuck?

A plateau can mean your body is fighting to hang on to those last 10 or 15 pounds as a buffer against future starvation, especially if you've recently started cutting calories.

You can get better results — in the same amount of time — simply by increasing your intensity. Remember I don't recommend counting calories per se but, rather, making different food choices...that add up to better fuel, and less calories and fat!

Vigorous workouts signal your body to release those extra fat stores for energy.

To rev up the healthy way, try a 50-50 workout:

If you work out outdoors, do your usual activity, such as walking, but for only half the time; then finish with a new activity like bicycling, jogging, or jumping rope.

If you work out at a gym, try two diferent cardio machines (maybe a treadmill and an elliptical).

By switching exercises mid-workout, you'll stay fresh, challenge new muscles, and burn more calories because you can give 100% all over again.

In addition to bumping up intensity, check your food intake — you may be eating more calories than you realize.

Unconscious nibbling throughout the day can mean insidious calorie-additions — grabbing a few M&M's from your coworker's desk or taste-testing while you prepare dinner — it can all add up.

I suggest keeping a food diary to rein in excess calories and get the numbers on your scale moving in the right direction. Keep track, hire an accountability coach (I just happen to know one), and stay on track!

Lastly, put some new music on your i-pod playlist. Make sure your new songs have a good, strong beat that will inspire you to pick up the pace!

I like to save my new songs for the last half of my workout. I look forward to them and, when I'm halfway home, they give me the energy I need to finish my workout strong, instead of sauntering to the finish line!

As Tom Venuto would say, "Train hard, Eat right, Expect success!"

10 Ways to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain Re-Visited

Last year, Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N. (http://health.yahoo.com) shared these ten tips, which bear repeating for this year!

1. Exercise religiously
Regular physical activity throughout the holiday season will burn calories, tone your body and empower you to make smart food choices. Aim for 5 days each week and at least 30 minutes per session.

2. Recycle edible gifts
If you're watching your weight and can't resist the temptation of decadent sweet treats in the house, send them off! Recycle fruit cakes, date breads, chocolates and homemade cookies. You'll save your body thousands of unnecessary calories (and the generous gift giver will never know).

3. Never go to a party hungry
Eat something that will take the edge off your hunger and keep blood sugar levels steady -- you'll have better resolve at the party. The perfect pre-party snack should combine high quality, complex carbs with protein.Three examples (each approximately 200 calories): • Apple + 8 ounces nonfat plain or flavored yogurt• One cup of lentil or bean soup• 2 ounces turkey or ham piled on one slice whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato and mustard

4. Wear something fabulous and fitted
You're less apt to eat when you feel good about how you look (and of course, your clothing is snug).

5. Hang out with the talkers vs. the eaters
Eating is contagious. You don't want to surround yourself with people pigging out. Remember that a festive party is about great conversation and holiday spirit - not just food.

6. Go easy on the hors d'oeuvres
Don't use up your calories at the beginning of a party. Select THREE of anything you want... and after that, stick with less caloric pickings (cold or grilled shrimp, chicken on a skewer, and crudités)

7. Load your plate with the right stuff
Fill half your plate with vegetables and divide the rest between protein and starch.

8. Eat slowly
Nutrition scientists at the University of Rhode Island recently found that slow eaters take in fewer calories at a meal than people who eat quickly.

9. Be selective with splurges
Decide which special foods you really want and enjoy them. Go out of your way to skip the rest.

10. Alternate alcoholic drinks with club soda or ice water
Alcohol contains many calories, and also stimulates your appetite and reduces your willpower. If a drink is a must, cut the calories in half and have more control over your food and actions by alternating each drink with a seltzer or mineral water (add a twist of lime or lemon).

If we can all follow Joy's tips into this holiday season, we'll enter 2008 with a few less pounds than we might have. And our healthy intentions for 2008 will be off to a great start!

Happy Holidays and Healthy Eating!
Billie Sinclair
Body Transformation Coach

5 Top Anti-Aging Tips for 2008

Is Growing Old Optional?

In 1996, William Regelson and Carol Colman (The Super-Hormone Promise) wrote...
"Science has actually demonstrated that we humans have the capacity to live twelve decades. The reason that we almost never achieve this full life span is that we have not known how to stop the aging process, which leaves us vulnerable to diseases that rob us of our strength - and ultimately of our full life expectancy."

The new field of longevity medicine is focused on turning back the clock for men and women – and scientists are already revealing amazing new anti-aging techniques that are simple, do-able, and can help you live a longer life in much better health!

The following are 5 Breakthroughs That Will Add Decades to Your Life (see Billie's notes after each breakthrough):

1. Eat less -- Make every meal count by getting high-quality nutrients, especially protein; watch your starches. And don’t overindulge. Imagine waking up feeling energetic, alive and hungry...that's what happens when you didn't overeat the night before! My favorite light evening meal is a protein shake, made with a few berries and water. Try it; I'm sure you'll like the feeling!

2. Exercise -- Physical activity can prevent or delay the onset of hypertension, obesity, heart disease, falls, and osteoporosis. When you eat right, you have the energy for intense physical activity. It feels so great to just go for it - running in the neighborhood, jamming on the elliptical, or pumping some iron! Put on your headphones, play that funky music, and let it rip!

3. Add antioxidants –- Antioxidants help prevent free-radical damage. Best food sources of antioxidants are: berries (dog rose, sour cherry, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry, crowberry, blueberry, black currant), walnuts, sunflower seeds, pomegranate, and ginger. Eat foods that are rich in antioxidants whenever you can. Read on and I'll discuss supplementation.

4. Take vitamin C -- At least 1,000 mg twice a day. Best food sources of vitamin C are: guava, red sweet pepper, kiwi, orange, green pepper, strawberries, brussel sprouts, cantelope, papaya, broccoli, and sweet potato. Eat foods that are rich in vitamin C whenever you can. Read on and I'll discuss supplementation.

5. Add CoQ10 -- CoQ10 has been called the Wonder Nutrient. It is your armor against heart disease. High CoQ10 and low homocysteine levels are huge factors in keeping you out of the hospital. CoQ10 is a naturally-occuring compound found in every cell in the body. CoQ10's alternate name, ubiquinone, comes from the word ubiquitous, which means "found everywhere." CoQ10 plays a key role in producing energy in the mitochondria, the part of a cell responsible for the production of energy in the form of ATP. As we age though, our CoQ10 levels naturally decrease.

Supplementation:

Proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins are an essential part of the body's metabolic processes, playing a vital role in its enzyme systems. Deficiencies in any of these essential nutrients can have serious implications on our health, so to maintain optimum health we need to ensure that our bodies always have an adequate supply of these important substances.

Because the body is unable to manufacture most vitamins by itself, we need to ingest them from outside sources. Ideally, we should obtain these vitamins from consuming a healthy diet consisting of a wide variety of foods.

But modern life has conspired to interfere with the quality of the foodstuffs that are available to us today. A recent Canadian study shows that the nutritional value of our fruits and veggies has decreased dramatically in the last 50 years.

As Tim Lang, a professor at the Centre for Food Policy in London explains: "We have to eat eight oranges today to get the same amount of vitamin A our grandparents got from a single orange."

There is a direct correlation between the declining nutritional value of our food and the growing prevalence of certain illnesses, and the medical community is beginning to suggest that we take action.

In an article published in 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) states that, "...it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

Regarding the anti-aging suggestions above, I have the following supplements available for free shipping throughout North America:

Protein Powder
It doesn't have to taste bad to be good for you...I started using this protein many years ago because it tasted great! For some reason, it's hard to get my clients to consistently eat something that tastes bad...I wonder why! This protein mixes up beautifully with water and a few berries, for a fantastic breakfast, a mid-day snack, or a light evening meal.

Antioxidants
Super Cell is a world class antioxidant, rich in Beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. It includes Pycnogenol and green tea.

Vitamin C
BetaC is an enhanced C complex product with 19 different nutrients in the formula. Most importantly, the daily dose equals 2000mg of vitamin C.

CoQ10
Coenzyme Q10+ is a unique formula that combines CoQ10 and vitamin E to deliver maximum support for energy production, cardiovascular function, and antioxidant protection. It also contains Quercetin, known for its anti-inflammatory properties.

For pricing and information on these and other supplements, send an e-mail to billiesinclair@mybodywise.org. I would be pleased to help you with your anti-aging plan!

10 Snacks That You Thought Were Healthy

Every now and then, I find an article that says almost exactly what I would have said myself. The following article from http://www.thesoko.com/ came co close, that I didn't have the heart to edit it. I recommend you follow this advice and be careful when you're choosing your snacks for the day!

Snacking – we all do it. Sometimes the interval between meals is just too long and we need a little pick-me-up during the day.We are a snack food nation and the snack food industry is a huge market with potential for huge profit. And indulging in snacks can either be a good habit or a bad habit, all depending on the choices that you make.

When choosing snacks, it’s important to choose foods that provide more than just a quick burst of energy. For example, sugary candies and chocolate bars may provide you with an immediate boost, but that will soon wear off and leave you feeling worse than you did before.

On the contrary, you also have to watch out for those snack foods that most of us think are quite healthy choices. Some of these nibblers may contain ingredients that are actually quite unhealthy. This may have a lot to do with the marketing of that product and the fact that these snacks are packaged to look healthy. So the next time you're in the “healthy snacking” aisle, watch out for the following.

Salads
Many fast food chains are jumping onto the “health bandwagon”. They are coming out with salads that are actually quite appetizing. But buyers beware! Although a salad can be a healthy snack, the dressing you top it off with can contain lots of calories, especially the creamy types such as ranch and caesar.Instead, try packing your own salad with a low fat Italian dressing or mix your own with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.

Beef Jerky
Meat puts meat on your bones, right? Well maybe, but the process used to cure and season the meat packs a ton of sodium into beef jerky. The excess sodium will only end up dehydrating you. Instead, try a soy substitute. This imitation beef jerky usually tastes just as good as the original.

Snack Bars
Granola bars, breakfast bars and low-carb bars – they all sound like super healthy choices. But watch out! Most of these snack bars are made from refined flours, which means all the fiber and nutrients have been removed from the grain during processing. Therefore, you aren’t getting the nutrients you think you are getting. Also, most of these snacks are riddled with fat, hydrogenated oils, and sugars. For a real energy lift, look for bars that are made from complex carbohydrates, such as oats and make sure the fat and sugar is minimal.

Bagels
Grabbing a quick bagel on the go is very convenient. But, bagels contain refined, white carbs as well. One bagel is roughly equal to six slices of white bread. As an alternative, go with wholegrain and skip the butter and cream cheese.

Muffins
A tiny little muffin looks quite innocent, but is full of empty calories. One muffin can contain up to 600 to 900 calories. That’s because of the large amount of margarine used to make the muffin moist.

Pretzels
Most of us believe that pretzels are a healthy alternative to chips. But again, they are full of refined carbohydrates. They have been stripped of fiber and that’s probably why we can eat and eat them and never feel full. Replace pretzels with a wholegrain, low-sodium, baked tortilla chip snack. Tortilla chips can also be spiced up with salsa for extra oomph.

Popcorn
Popcorn is one of the top culprits when it comes to unhealthy, artery clogging, hydrogenated oils. Substitute with seeds and nuts that are packed with protein. Walnuts are a good choice, as they contain healthy fats and omega-3 oils.

Rice Cakes
Okay, I know what you’re thinking: Why are rice cakes on the list?! Alter all, they are low in calories and fat free. That’s because rice cakes are just puffed rice – full of air. There are no vitamins or minerals to be gained from snacking on a rice cake. In this case, while you may not be hurting yourself, you’re certainly not filling your body with vitamins and nutrients.What’s the alternative? You’re much better off eating a bowl of brown or wild rice, which is rich in fiber. So pack some in a ziplock bag and be on your way!

Fruit
Actually, fruit is a great snack and, of course, it is good for you. But first, you have to debug them of all the pesticides and the germs from processing and handling. As a consumer, you have to be careful about cleaning the fruit before eating in order to avoid ingesting the potentially risky chemicals and germs.Blueberries, raspberries and cherries are exceptional choices. They are very potent in antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Juices
Manufacturers of fruit juices tend to pump the products full of extra sugars. Now it may be more time consuming, but try blending your own fruit juices in the morning. It will be well worth the work. In addition to being the healthier choice, homemade juice often tastes better. And you can be creative with your juices, mixing any combination of fruits, depending on what you are in the mood for. So invest in a juicer, and be creative with the drinks you create.
________________________________________________
Make good use of snack time

Now this article may cause you to give the practice of snacking a second look, but take it with a grain of salt – (no pun intended). Snacking is not a bad thing at all, as many diet fads have made it out to be. Furthermore, snacks can often help you meet your health and nutrition goals, if you make the right choices.

Many of us may neglect to eat the daily-recommended servings of vegetables and fruits so, as a general rule of thumb, use snack time to get your daily intake of veggies and fruits. Just make sure you wash them!

Overall, avoid most processed foods, and if you do eat them, learn to read the food labels.

A Cold- and Flu-Free Winter? Is This Possible?

As Christmas approaches, so does the chill descend on North America. And, with the chill, cold and flu season...

Can you imagine making it through this winter without a cold? If it's too late for that already, I have good news for you.

You can start making a few changes today, that will strengthen your immune system for the coming year (and next winter)...

We have become indoctrinated into a philosophy that suggests that, when we want to correct a malady of the body, we must use drugs.

Well, let's back up a bit... first let's admit that drugs are amazing science. But before we resort to drugs, we have the natural means to strengthen our immune system, to keep it from becoming depleted in the first place.

And that starts with our lifestyle and, of course, my personal favorite topic - our nutrition!

Eat as many natural, unadulterated foods in your daily diet as you can! This means fresh vegetables, free-range eggs and meats, and whole grains (brown rice is awesome!).

My favorite foods for nourishing the immune system include yams, beets, carrots, garlic, medicinal mushrooms, seaweeds, and dark leafy greens.

Carotenes strengthen and activate all parts of the immune system, especially the thymus (the "master gland of immunity"). A cup of greens, a small baked yam, or two large cooked carrots or beets is a "dose;" but ten times that much can be consumed safely. Repeated doses provide a cumulative effect starting about a week after you begin.

Selenium is a trace mineral with special abilities for building a healthy immune system. Best sources are organic garlic, medicinal mushrooms, and astragalus.

Zinc helps build energetic white blood cells (which eliminate bacterial infections). Best sources are Echinacea, nettles, and seaweed.

The B-vitamin complex, especially B6 (pyridoxine), is critical to immune system health. Best sources are potato skins, broccoli, prunes, and lentils.

Protein

Your body needs protein to produce antibodies because they help fight infection. Look for protein sources in meats, legumes and soy.

A whey protein supplement is an especially effective way to strengthen your immune system, as it is more readily absorbed by the body.

Daily Dose – Blend whey powder with berries, yogurt, and ice cold water into a smoothie. It is a simple and delicious way to add more protein into your diet.

Candace Pert (of The Secret), visiting professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University, has proven that every cell of the body participates in the immune system through an integrated network of chemical, electrical, and hormonal signals. The immune system is a network, she says, which resonates with the vibrations that surround it. It is as affected by emotions as by bacteria, as impacted by thoughts as by drugs.

With a strengthened immune system you will not only enjoy better health, but you will be less likely to be susceptible to infection and possible death from bacterial and/or viral invasions.

Faith in your body's ability to protect itself will continue to bolster and reinforce the immune system as your mental well-being improves. Enjoy the upward spiral of health.

And last, but not least, let me share a few words from Jay Robb...
How To Overeat At Special Occasions And Holiday Dinners and Not Get Fat

If you know you will be consuming a large meal in the evening, such as a dinner engagement, wedding, special holiday occasion or even a pizza blow-out, you must prepare for the dinner by consuming very low carbohydrate foods for the entire day.

Your carbohydrate intake should not exceed 20 grams for the day leading up to your evening meal, then try to eat your evening meal in 60 minutes or less to reduce the insulin response.

By limiting your carbohydrate intake during the day you will be depleting your glycogen levels, thus providing room for the excess of carbs at your evening meal to convert to glycogen (muscle starch) instead of fat.

And when you want to remove the nutritional question mark from your plate, you absolutely must supplement your diet. This is not in place of eating well.

But high-quality nutritional supplements work with your good dietary choices. If you'll start to incorporate more natural foods into your daily diet, and supplement with Body Wise Nutraceuticals, you will be well on your way to a healthy, cold- and flu-free winter next year.

For more information and your free sample of Body Wise products, send me an e-mail at naturalnutrition@live.ca .

Live healthy, happy and long! Billie

Legal Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material contained herein is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment by seeking a second opinion.

Prenatal Nutrition

While good nutrition is important for everyone, it becomes vital when you're eating for two.

Those of you who regularly read my blog know that, as a Natural Nutritionist, I am in favor of eating food that is prepared in your own kitchen. When that's not possible, and you have to eat out, always try and make choices that are as close to natural as you can.

Today's Parent has created a handy fridge chart to help you keep track of your servings and nurtients throughout your pregnancy. Go to http://www.todaysparent.com/ and look under Pregnancy & Birth, and then go to Prenatal Nutrition. You will be guided to their Prenatal Nutrition Guide, which can be printed and hung on the fridge to help you keep track...

Canada's Food Guide recommends the following (and Billie adds her personal touches!):

Grain Products: 5 - 12 servings per day (eg. 1 slice of whole grain bread, 3/4 c. of hot cereal, 1/2 c. brown rice) Billie's notes: Go easy on these carbohydrates, and only select those that are whole grain products. If you would like a recipe for a Homemade Granola that I heartily recommend, please send me an e-mail.

Vegetables & Fruit: 5 - 10 servings per day (eg. 1/2 c. of fresh peas in the pod or baby carrots, 1 c. fresh salad, or 1 medium size apple) Billie's notes: Go easy on the fruits, and concentrate on increasing your selection of vegetables, both fresh and lightly steamed.

Milk Products: 3 - 4 servings (eg. 50g of cheddar, or 3/4 c. yogurt) Billie's notes: there are many natural sources of calcium, such as pink salmon, spinach, white beans, clams, and rainbow trout.

Meat & Alternatives: 2 - 3 servings (eg. 1-2 eggs, 1/2 c. of canned white kidney beans, 50 - 100g of baked chicken breast) Billie's notes: It's time we stopped being afraid of meat products. Choose boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts when you can, ground salmon, basa fillets, turkey, and once-a-week, have a little red meat.

Snacks: Snacking between meals is the best way to keep your metabolism high, and prevent you from over-eating at meal times. As your baby-bump grows, you'll be more comfortable with more frequent, smaller meals. Good choices for snacks include nuts, dates, figs, cheese strings, any of the above vegetables and fruits, whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter, yogurt, and protein shakes with berries.

Other foods: eg. salad dressings, toast toppings, and sauces. Eat these foods in moderation, even though taste and enjoyment are important.

Finally, remember that each and every mouthful counts, so make it a healthy mouthful, each and every time!

For more info on Prenatal Nutrition, send an e-mail to wellness-unlimited@hotmail.com . I'll forward you a number of recipes, tips, and techniques that successfully worked for me with my three happy pregnancies!

How Does Watching TV Affect Your Health?

Again, I'd like to share a few words from Dr. Mercola...

"Every year between the food industry and drug companies well over $50 billion is spent on marketing messages to U.S. consumers to influence their food and medication choices.

The majority (75 percent) of commercial network television time is paid for by the 100 largest corporations in North America. Some of these companies even have budgets in the billions, and not surprisingly these budgets have the power to influence TV producers to create television that suits their agendas.And, frequently, these agendas are not aligned with your best interests.

If you do choose to watch TV, even the network news, you must constantly ask yourself who is trying to “sell” you something. But be warned, these corporations are spending large amounts of money to seduce you, so even the most conscious person may not be immune to the messages.

TV itself is not intrinsically evil, and there clearly are many great shows out there, but the KEY is to NEVER watch the commercials. So if you have a TiVO or only watch DVDs you will radically reduce the media’s influence over you.

I (Dr. Mercola) have been doing this for the last 15 years, and it is one of the reasons why I have been able to get so much done. I simply do not waste time in front of the TV. As I said earlier, I probably watch less than five hours of non-commercial TV or DVDs per MONTH; typically an hour once a week provides enough passive entertainment for me.

If Not for Yourself, Turn Off Your TV for Your Kids.

As an adult, it’s up to you to decide how much time you want to spend in front of your TV (if any), but if you have kids I suggest you set a good example and dramatically limit it.

A growing number of experts agree that allowing children under the age of three to watch television can impair their linguistic and social development, and also put them at risk of health problems including attention-deficit disorder, autism, and obesity.

Older kids are also at risk from watching TV. Too much time in front of the tube may:
Change your child's views and food choices
Make your kids fat
Make your kids more materialistic
Cause your children to go into more debt as adults
Cause your children to be more aggressive
Lead to smoking
Increase your child's risk of becoming seriously injured

The good news is that one study found a great majority of parents -- 72 percent -- are worried about their kids' exposure to the media.However, only 23 percent actually took the step of restricting their kids’ TV and video game time.

Although giving up or limiting TV may seem like a drastic step, I suspect that once you do it you will be thrilled by the new activities you and your family will begin to take part in… and I doubt you will ever look back!"

From Billie: I've just watched a short video (3 minutes) on how the brain is affected by watching TV. If you'd like to see it, just send me an e-mail and I'll forward it to you. Now, turn off the TV, and get out there and live your life!!!

Sugar: The Enemy

Once again, Dr. Mercola has a few thoughtful words to say on a subject near and dear to my heart: the damaging effects of simple sugars.

Limiting glucose (sugar) in your diet is a well-known key to longevity. In a study on worms, cutting down on this one element increased their lifespan the equivalent of 15 human years, which is a major improvement.

If you avoid glucose in your diet, does this mean that you’ll live for another 15 years? It’s impossible to say, but what I can say is that you may very likely live quite a bit longer.

Your blood glucose levels actually rise slightly every time you eat. This is natural. What is not natural is that, with the average American now eating about 2.5 pounds of sugar every week, your blood glucose levels may very likely become excessively elevated, and then stay that way.

It is a well proven fact that sugar increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones.

This can lead to:
High blood pressure and high cholesterol
Heart disease
Diabetes
Weight gain
Premature aging

The problem lies in the vast amounts of processed sweets, such as soda -- which is now the number one source of calories in North America -- that men, women, and children are now consuming, along with the large amount of refined carbohydrates.

When you eat these low-quality carb foods -- things like white bread, sugar, pasta, pastries, cookies, and candy -- your blood sugar levels rise. This, in turn, causes your insulin and leptin levels to rise as well, which will accelerate the effects of sugar.

Avoiding sugar, on the other hand, helps you to control your insulin and leptin levels, which will help you to feel and look younger for longer.

The Facts on GI

So what is GI? The Glycemix Index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrate containing foods, based on their effect on blood glucose levels.

Foods with a low GI keep you satisfied longer and provide a longer lasting source of energy. They are the complex carbohydrates. They do this because foods with low GI take longer for the body to process and digest, which results in more steady blood sugar levels.

Research has shown that low GI foods can have benefits for health in a number of ways, including the following:

• Feel full for longer
• Maintain concentration levels
• Contributes to a healthy heart

Choose foods at each meal that contain complex carbohydrates, such as less-processed whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Your body will love you for it!

Pesticide Levels in Vegetables and Fruits

Once again. Dr. Mercola has done what he does so well, he has highlighted the importance of making informed decisions when it comes to your vegetables and fruits. This recently updated research, from the Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org/sites/foodnews/release.php )
scores 43 common fruits and vegetables for pesticide levels.

I have listed the top 20 (foods that have the highest pesticide levels) and the bottom 10 (foods that have the lowest pesticide levels).

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK *** FRUIT OR VEGGIE *** SCORE

1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65
11 Spinach 60
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 55
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 46
19 Oranges 46
20 Grapes-Domestic 46


39 Asparagus 11
40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41 Mango 9
42 Pineapples 7
43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44 Avocado 1
45 (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)

Note: A total of 44 different fruits and vegetables were ranked but grapes are listed twice because both domestic and imported grapes were sampled.

From the EWG website:

If you're concerned about food safety, you probably already look for organic produce at the supermarket. But if you can't always buy organic, you can still dramatically lower your family's exposure to chemical pesticides by choosing the least pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables with the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

The Shopper's Guide is a handy, wallet-size card that lists the "Dirty Dozen" most contaminated fruits and vegetables, as well as the 12 most "Consistently Clean" items. It's available for free download at http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php The newest edition of the Guide comes in both English and Spanish versions for the first time.

We are wise to minimize our exposure to pesticides. Go to the site and download the entire list of 43 vegetables and fruits, and start making informed, educated decisions on your fresh produce! Get Your Body Back!