Happy foods!

Don't worry, be HAPPY!!! :-)

HaPPy! happY!  HAppY!!!! 

Ok, are you ready to throw up yet? 

I actually have a cheerleader suit on and I'm jumping up and down with Happiness! Yaaaaayyyy ME!!

(finger in the mouth yet?)

You're probably thinking this cheerleader needs to stuff her pom poms right down her big smiley mouth, and I don't blame you.  Or maybe your saying I want some of whatever she's drinking!  Ahhh, how smart you are....

Am I really that happy????........well, lets just say I'm excited about getting HAPPIER by DRINKING more foods that support feeling Good. 

The movie FAT, SICK, and NEARLY DEAD was a great reminder that I can do so much better with my feel good food intake, even better than I am doing now, which is usually in the ball park of 75/25.  It was a huge reminder of the POWER of juicing, which provides dense amounts of phyto-nutrients (nutrients from plants) for our happy wellness of being.

Do me a favor, imagine yourself drinking a wonderful tasting freshly juiced beverage with both fruits and vegetables in it.  The rainbow..... take a moment to experience actually drinking it, tasting it, feeling it nourishing your body.

Ok, how do you feel?

I swear when I did it peptides started marching throughout my body singing hallelujah!

Now let me ask you this:

On a scale of 1-10 how happy were you today?  Were you as happy as you would like to be?  If not, does the reason have to do with:

your state of health?
your fitness level?
body composition?
tiredness?
level of stress?
sleeplessness?

Read on my friend...........happiness is only a green drink away.

It's true, you cheerleader you, the foods you eat can actually affect your mood.  As a matter of fact, 80% of our serotonin (that wonderful "feel good" chemical our body produces that helps us to be happy) is actually produced in the stomach! And, the stomach actually has it's own nervous system!  No wonder foods affect our mood so much.  Doesn't it make sense that we feel uplifted when we consume foods that are full of nutrients that help make serotonin??

Conversely, how do we feel after we eat a few slices of pizza or a burger and fries?

Try keeping a diet log and marking down how you feel after you eat certain things.  Listen to what your body is saying....your body will tell you if it doesn't like something, I can assure you.

Here's some Body Talk for you.....try protein from something that had eyes and TONS of veggies and fruits daily. A great way to get lots of nutrients from fruits and veggies at one time is to try juicing.

.........I'm ON IT folks.   Let the cleanse begin! 

This time it's a quick, 4 day deal, ending with my husband's b-day on Friday, but I will still keep it clean through the weekend, just not perfect.   More like 80/20 over the weekend, per usual.

Here's what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow.........

1 clove garlic
1/4 avocado
1/2 lime juice
bunch of kale
pinch of salt
2 cups of water

all blended into frothy yum.........

Hello Cells!  Love ya!  Here's comes some yummie green stuff for your nourishment pleasure!

And lunch......

kale, feta, red onion, olive oil salad, with 4 oz. citrus poached salmon (not juiced :)

Dinner......

My favorite chocolate protein shake:  almond butter, banana, chocolate protein powder, almond milk, water, ground flax seeds.

Try it, happy foods.  Fruits and veggies from the colors of the rainbow as your main food staple.  Add in some lean organic protein and healthy fats and you are going to be one HAPPY (and hot looking) CAMPER.

QFTD:  Whoever is happy makes others happy too.  -Mark Twain

Yours in happy food delight,

Heather

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead!

Heads-up Body Talk fans!

The Sonoma International Film Festival is here and I will be first in line for one of it's featured films, FAT, SICK, and NEARLY DEAD. 

The Director/Executive Producer/main subject of the film, Joe Cross, happens to be a friend of a friend, but that's not the only reason why I am rolling out the red carpet for these folks.....

I am all over this for the simple reason that these people share my passion to educate people on why America is so FAT and SICK.

Part road trip, part wellness manifesto, FAT, SICK, and NEARLY DEAD chronicles two men's lives who were diracstically changed when they changed the way they ate.  By giving their bodies the proper nutrition they were designed to have, and by removing fake, processed junk, they both experienced dramatic improvements in their health and body composition.....now that's what I'm talkin about, Sonoma!!

Another healthy living convert, Sonoma's own City Council member/ former Mayor, Ken Brown, will have much to talk about with Joe as he will be interviewing him on his radio show, Mornings in Sonoma, this friday, April 16th at 9:15 a.m.  This can be streamed live at SUN FM 91.3 KSVY, Sonoma.

Ken Brown has recently experienced the benefits of healthy living by making important lifestyle changes himself.  He felt it was time to make his health a priority and has openly shared the experience with his town hoping that others will step up and follow in his foot steps along the path to healthier living........a step in the right direction for already pretty savvy Sonoma.

As his Nutrition and Healthy Living Coach, I have seen the sacrifices Ken has been willing to make short-term in exchange for the long-term benefits of adding more quality years to his life.  This is not easy to do.

Sonoma should be proud to have a leader who has his priorities in the right place. The goal is to get education in place so that the future generations of this town do the same........

QFTD:  Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food. -Hippocrates

Yours in good health,

Heather

Food Revolution!

Ok, people, I have two words for you.......

J a m i e  O l i v e r 

I NEED to know this man.

He is the host for the new ABC show on Friday nights, Jamie Oliver's FOOD REVOLUTION.  Heard of it?

Someone tell me, please, before I blow a gasket.........why on earth has it taken this long for media to turn their attention to the absolute absurd eating habits in this country???.....and what's worse......it took a Brit to do it!

Embarrassment, people, embarrassment.

If you have not seen this show, you need to.

You will laugh, cry, throw-up, clap, and praise God all in the same hour. :)

THANK YOU, Jamie Oliver, for having the golf balls to stand in your purpose.....if I had a glass of wine in my hand I'd be lifting it as I type.

Basically, Jamie Oliver, a healthy chef, has taken on what is supposedly the unhealthiest town in America and has infiltrated the school lunch system as well as people's homes and other levels of society only to be challenged every step of the way by unhealthy, negative, byproducts of the SAD (Standard American Diet) way of being in America. 

Tricky thing, telling people they are unhealthy and doing it all wrong.......

As a healthy living coach, I have the good fortune to help change the lives of those who are ready, willing, and seeking change......but this poor man is thrown into situations where many of the receivers of his message are not ready to make the change........my hats off.

It's hard to look at ourselves and take responsibility for our health because our health and physical appearance are in part the result of our lifestyle habits and our emotions......not always easy things to own.

And, like a book, our habits and emotions write the chapters of our lives and our physical appearance becomes the story teller.  What story does your physical appearance tell?  I'm packing an extra 7 lbs. I like to call my Sonoma 7, which is the most recent chapter of my life. 

It is a beautiful thing when someone is ready to step out of the comfort zone, let go of the poor habits, stop the self abuse, and replace it with habits of self love. 

I pray this show goes BIG because we are in trouble, people.  Look around.

The media is a powerful tool for change, and this could be a big step in the right direction, so please visit the web site, sign the petition, and join the revolution.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution.

QFTD:  "Be the change you want to see"......anonymous.

Yours in revolutionary change,

Heather

PS. Wendi and Sarah, thanks for joining my Blog!

The State of our Health

I love this town. It's no secret.

I spend quite a bit of time in the Plaza at my office, the El Dorado kitchen Cafe :) working and observing people.

I am impressed with the way the people in Sonoma take care of themselves......fresh, local, organic, farmers market, people exercising and making good choices in the cafes......Still, I see people (every where I go, not just Sonoma) who wear their lifestyle stories on their faces AND on their bodies.........and for the most part, the story is the same........

Yea, their bodies are talking, sometimes SCREAMING that they are out of healthy balance.  Our bodies don't lie.  I am personally packing an extra 10 and there's no denying it, trust me....no baby doll smock, skinny jean, designer belt, sassy haircut, pitcher of margaritas can mask the extra ten and imprint of stress mileage donned here.

So here are my thoughts about the STATE OF OUR HEALTH today.......

Personally, I THINK PEOPLE FEEL LIKE CRAP AND THEY DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT.

Yep, clueless consciousness I like to call it.  Thinking we are healthier than we actually are.


COULD THIS BE YOU?

Of course not.  Me neither.  I am a Health Coach people, come on!!

After all, you eat Kashi cereal, exercise 4x a week, and cut out the diet sodas, right??.........you are ON IT!

Well, brothers and sisters, do you want the bad news or the bad news?

I would venture to say that most of us, including YOU and ME, are somewhat clueless when it comes to being fully conscious of the TRUE state of our health.  WE are, most likely, less healthy than we think we are and could ALL benefit from a hot soak in a bath of Reality while enjoying a shift in perspective for dessert....uhm...Yum, I think??

Reality CHECK PLEASE! 

1)  Are you on any medications?
2)  Are you on birth control pills?
3)  Do you sleep less than 8+ hours of uninterrupted sleep beginning by 10pm nightly?
4)  Do you have stress related to finances, relationships, work, children on a daily basis?
5)  Do you work out less than 4x per week?
6)  Do you eat less than 5-7 serving of fruits and veggies each day?
7)  Do you consume coffee daily?
8)  Do you consume processed sugar daily? (Careful with this one, it's in almost everything you drink besides water)
9)  Do you consume alcohol 3x a week or more?
10) Do you smoke or breathe in environmental toxins on a regular basis?

You know the deal, the more "yes" answers, the bigger the reality check about the state of your health.

I love this........

I review clients' health appraisal questionnaires and it amazes me when they score PERFECT on the score sheets. It's partly because people are so OUT OF TOUCH with the true state of their health that they don't even notice the symptoms after a while. They become DEAF to the language their BODY is TALKING.

Mind you, these are people who come to me for HEALTH COACHING, yet their questionnaires say they are healthier than Jack Lalanne. :-)

Me:  OK, so your score is perfect.   Fantastic.

Me:  Compared to WHAT?

Me:  Ahhh, your co-workers who drink Red Bull and play games on the computer all day and the ladies at Curves??  I see.......

Me:  You are on 4 pharmaceuticals, including BC pills and you answered that your menstruation and female cycles are perfect......can  you explain a little more??

Me:  Oh, so you went on the pill because your PMS was so bad you needed to be locked up one week out of the month???  I see......so PMS really IS an issue??  Got it.  Thanks for the clarification.

Uhmmm, yea.  OK.  Whatever.

Moving on then......

The simple fact is that most of us don't know what optimal health looks or feels like.  We live high-pace, high-stressed lifestyles that prevent us from looking and feeling our best. We are designed to feel generally optimistic when our body chemicals are in healthy balance.  We are designed to be lean and energetic, to desire to have sex, to rise with the sun feeling ready to conquer the day......... without coffee.

Now THAT'S what I'm TALKIN about.

Look around you........ do people look happy, healthy, vibrant?

Do you look and feel the best you can be?  The days are going by........are you going to settle for feeling 1/2 and looking1/2 of what you could and should?  Or do you feel you are already close enough.

And now here is the biggie.........

What are you going to do about it?

Resource for you - Book - How to Eat, Move, and be Healthy, Paul Chek

PERSPECTIVE, baby.

QFTD:  Sometimes your body is smarter than you are.   - Author unknown.

Yours in healthy perspective,

Heather

PS, JD, you rock, thanks for joining in!

Hey everyone! How goes it?

Living 80/20? Feeling 80/20? Funny thing, when you live 80/20 you feel 80/20.

If you are not feeling 80+%, you are probably not achieving 80% healthy living.

For those of you who need a refresher on the 80/20 rule, it's basically based on the fact that EVERY TIME YOU EAT OR DRINK YOU ARE EITHER FEEDING DISEASE OR FIGHTING IT. You are either supporting your healthy living goals or sabotaging them......

By living with the 80/20 rule, you are making sure that what you put into your body is HEALTHY 80% of the time. The other 20% is reserved for those moments when we want to enjoy things we would not consider to be fighting disease.

The best way to live this is to BE PREPARED with your calendar each week. Be clear on what events and activities in your schedule might tempt you to tap into that 20%. Plan accordingly by making sure the rest of the week is disease fighting activity.

Guys, THE RULE adds years to your life and improves your quality of life greatly. Like anything else, it takes practice, but when you master it, your golden.

This rule goes for all healthy living habits. Eating, exercise, spiritual practice, you time, loving relationship time, etc.


The KEY - being prepared, planning out your week and having the foods ready to go daily.


Truly, you are WHAT you eat and WHEN you eat.

Yeah, WHEN you eat has a huge impact on what your body looks like.

You literally WEAR your eating and lifestyle habits......there's no hiding em!

Eat balanced in the a.m., balanced in the afternoon and light (and early) in the evening, your body will look and feel balanced. If you don't eat in the a.m., eat more later in the evening, your body will reflect that by being heavy in those unwanted areas.

Is this you? What are your eating habits?

I am currently leading a nutrition seminar called Weight Loss Boot Camp.

These guys rock.

I am so proud of the participants for their honest, open, sharing and HARD WORK.

Besides the EDUCATION component, our fearless warriors are getting real with their lifestyle habits and the 80/20 rule.

L I F E C H A N G I N G.

I will be launching a Weight Loss Boot Camp on line via webinar in May, along with another one here in Sonoma in June, so it's not too late for those of you who want to get ready for summer.

Stevy, Thanks for joining my Blog!

QFTD: Yet this is health: To have a body functioning so perfectly that when it's few simple needs are met it never calls attention to it's own existence. - bertha Stuart Dyment

Yours in 80/20,

Heather

Hi everyone! Haven't left me, have you?

I wrote a post last week and did not send it because it was just a bunch of pity party whining.

Now, the subject was of great value for us all, my son, his ADHD, and how we are addressing it, and I will post on the subject soon, but I couldn't subject you to listening to my feeling sorry for myself, so after I shamed myself for whining I put my big girl panties on and deleted it.

I was just too over myself to sit down and start all over after that, so here I am, back in the seat talkin' body.

Oh, and did I mention it was a certain time of the month when that all went down?

Thank God I held on to that post and had the good sense to wait until I was of sound mind before deciding to post it.

Be glad, I saved you. :)

PMS :O

Lets talk about this. Shall we?

I think I can help you, Sybil.

The only thing worse than feeling out of your mind that time of the month is your husband pointing out that you are out of your mind.

Am I right, or am I right?

Here's some advice to help you go with the flow baby..............

MonaVie.

The "Active" formula is the bomb when it comes to reducing PMS.

WHY?

Anti-inflammatories.

Many of the uncomfortable symptoms of PMS and Menopause are related to inflammation.

MonaVie is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties. Drink it for a month and you'll see what I am talking about. Now I don't want to plug my own business, because that's not usually how I roll, but I am going to anyway because it will help you..... So there you have it. www.acaistory.com/morgans.

What else is good for PMS?

Keep a clean diet with lots of organic fruits and veggies and lots of lean PROTEIN.
Avoid bad oils and fried foods, coffee, alcohol, as well as starchy breads and pastas which can also cause inflammation.

Take your fish oils and load up on calcium, magnesium, and Bvits too.

Oh, and don't forget plenty of water and always, SLEEP.

Are you starting to see a theme in my posts?

Water, sleep, whole foods, get rid of the toxic food and drinks, and exercise! :)

I need to talk more about I N F L A M M A T I O N.

Why?

Because it is present in all of us and it can be dangerous for our health. It is present in most disease processes and can make us more vulnerable for various diseases.

What is inflammation?

Well, just as it sounds. It can be anywhere from your joints all the way down to the cellular level.

What causes it?

toxins from the environment
over-consumption of packaged, processed foods, fried foods, bad oils, alcohol, coffee, sugars, chemicals preservatives, cigarettes, etc.
repeatedly eating foods we are sensitive or reactive to such as gluten or dairy
cleaning products, household paints, synthetic furnishings and carpets, and more.

GO GREEN, protect yourself from inflammation at the cellular level. Seriously.

Listen to me.

Inflammation is an epidemic and a big reason our bodies are breaking down.

My friend has lost 60 lbs over the last 10 months by COMPLETELY cutting out all forms of sugar (except from fruit) and flour, both of which are pro-inflammatory.

I know, I know, that's an old one, no sugar, no white flour, been there, done that.

Have you?

She looks AMAZING, feels AMAZING, and has greatly reduced all ups and downs related to depression, anxiety, PMS and sleep.

Think you can do it? Avoid all sugar and flour?

I have done it for 27 hours. :)

I plan to continue as much as possible.

Let me define what than means for me.

It means whenever I am not having a weak moment, I will make the right choice.

Well, in all fairness, I am a little better than that, but I must admit, I was tested for food sensitivities and I came up highly sensitive to both, as many people are...... It is actually much harder to avoid foods you are sensitive to, believe it or not. We crave them more.....

trust me.......ain't nothin good ganna come from eating (and drinking) any form of sugar, even the fake sugars) and white flour on a daily basis.

Can you say AGING???

Want to age gracefully? Reduce inflammation. Limit toxic exposure and get lots of Antioxidants in the diet.

UNDERSTAND sugar feeds disease....... flour feeds inflammation, bleached flour has chemicals bad for breast health.

BIG TIME.

KEEP a journal of everything you eat and drink for a week. What, you don't have time? How much time do you spend on facebook?

Thought so.

I promise you, you'll be surprised and the many ways sugar and flour sneak into your diet........let me know how it goes!

A great book WORTH reading: Inflammation Nation, Floyd Chilton

QFTD: Our bodies are apt to be our autobiographies, Frank Gillette Burgess

Have a good one! :-)

Yours in anti-inflammation,

Heather

Well??

So, how was it? Good Valentine's day?

I got chocolate and a card from Whole Foods. ;)

Did I call it or what?? (ok, not flowers, but I was close!)

.......on the 13th though, because he thought Valentines Day was on Saturday. I guess with all my hint dropping I forgot to tell him what day it was. ;)

Love that guy.

Annie, Suzan, Tom, Laureen, thanks for joining my Blog!

Well, my weight loss goal is happening as it should, in all fairness, sloooooowly...... I have not been the best student of myself and the 80/20 rule.

Now I am going to finish what I started. If I can't do better than what I ask others to do, then shame on me.....

Oh, and the fact that I have to get 1/2 naked in a salsa dress for a benefit ball in 3 weeks might have a little to do with it.........I am desperate to look killer!

Speaking of Salsa, do you ZUMBA?

For the love of God, people, Zumba!!

It's the funnest, most exuberating, humiliating experience of my 40's so far!

O U T OF C O N T R O L

My exercise club is big into Zumba.

Yea, we shake, mambo, cha cha, salsa, slide, squat, gyrate, spin, thrust, drink, sweat and secretly imagine ourselves as being in a performance seen by all our old high school friends. .... or is it just me? Come on girls........... :)

Lisa, one of our group, goes with me a lot. She could basically teach the class. She is the sassiest 40 (something:) year old you'll ever see on Zumba floor. Talk about inspiring. She also works, donates a ton of her time, supports local causes, networks like an ant, exercises faithfully, goes to church, is good to her husband, and so on.........you get the picture. Easy Breezy.

Why is it that some people can get 50 things done in a day, and some people 5?

When you find out let me know.

Not like I only do 5 or anything........

Zumba,

I must admit I felt pretty good about myself in the beginning, until I looked in the mirror and realized i did not look AT ALL like the instructor, or Lisa, or anyone else for that matter. I do fine if I don't look at myself. I FEEL my way through it and pray I won't hurt anyone. :)

What else is going on with the "club"?

Well, we are going to Tanya's house next week to watch "Food Inc." and to eat healthy appetizers.

What am I bringing?

Mini tostada bites:

round organic tortilla chips topped with healthy organic shredded cabbage and chopped spinach, spoonful of my fish taco recipe (in other blog), mango salsa, cilantro. Everything fresh and organic.

Oh, and Vanessa, another one of our gals, is planning an ADVENTURE weekend for us!

How cool are we??!

Quick tip for busy moms (as requested by my friend Cristina)..... drink your nutrition instead of trying to get it all through your diet. Often we do not get enough nutrition from the foods we are eating, so smoothies are a great way to get loads of nutrition if done right.

Killer smoothie recipe:

1 scoop choc. whey protein powder
1 tblsp almond butter
1 tsp ground flax seeds
1 c choc almond milk
1 banana
1 c water
2 c ice

blend into a yummy choc nutty smoothie and carry out the door!

Awe man, 9:30. Past my bed time.

A Book worth reading: Never Be Sick Again, Raymond Francais

QFTD: "If the label has words you cannot pronounce, don't eat it!" Paul Chek

Yours in Zumba addiction,

Heather