Author: Elizabeth

What are you putting in your grocery cart, your mouth, and your stomach? When is the last time you read the labels? I was watching a show recently and one of the commentators, Dr. Alejandro Junger, was discussing the “food like products” that we typically buy and eat today.

It amazed me to learn how much of what we buy is engineered to be addictive. Combinations like that of aspertaime, and caffeine have been proven to be highly addictive. Yet, they are found in lots of food like products such as colas.

In fact, many of the ingredients I see on labels are difficult to pronounce. These ingredients are created in a chemistry lab somewhere and in no way resemble food. Yet, we are eating them!

One of the chemicals mentioned is propylene glycol. This compound is used as the main ingredient in the chemicals we use to winterize an RV. However, it is also a popular ingredient in blueberry muffins. Better read that label!

Dr. Junger also says that the main motivation of food companies is to “make you buy it, last long and make a profit for the company producing it”. Realizing this, not nutrition, nor the consumers health may be their main focus, should make us stop and evaluate our desires and motives to purchase and eat the products.

I am not going to tell you that losing weight is easy. It is a journey that is sometimes difficult but always rewarding. One of the main rewards is better health.

Since losing weight, I no longer take any prescription medication. I have less aches and pains and several health problems are no longer a concern.

I also have clients that have reduced or eliminated their insulin intake for type-2 diabetes. Many have eliminated knee and back pain. Many have eliminated medication for high blood pressure.

Losing weight has helped lots of individuals reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke. Yes, the benefits of eating a nutritious diet and maintaining a healthy weight are numerable.

Are you ready to fight for your health? If so, we are ready to stand at your side along with your primary health care provider to get you the optimal health.

Myself, doctors, nutritionist, and weight loss coaches will all tell you that drinking water is important. A great way to make sure you drink enough water is to keep a glass of water with you everywhere you go.

Have water at your desk. Have water with you in your car. Have water on your nightstand. Have water before you cook and before you eat a meal.

There are lots of portable water containers available and ready for purchase. When you buy one, make sure it has the features you need. Look at things like:

• Is it insulated to keep your water cooler longer?
• Does it fit in your vehicle cup holder?
• Does it contain BPA (a carcinogen)?
• Is it easy to clean?
• Is it easy to carry, in case you want to take it on a walk?

Finding the right container is important to insuring our success. The more our container fits our life, the more we use it. Have you found a favorite container?

It is easier to feel good about where you are when you know how far you have come. For example, when I started walking I could only go 1/4 of a mile. At that short of a distance, I was exhausted. Yes, I was walking up and down halls but it was hard for me. I tracked my progress and increased my distance day-by-day. In only a few months, I was walking over two miles.

I kept increasing my distance until I was going over 8 miles at a time. Now, I am back down to 1 mile. Currently, I am working on speed. My goal is to get a 10 minute mile without feeling exhausted or winded. Once there, I will increase my distance until I can go a 5k in 25 minutes or less.

I have to keep track of my time and distance to know if I am making progress. This also allows to set goals and celebrate victories. WAVES provides you with a variety of tracking forms to help.

Do you have a way to track your progress?

With over 2/3 of the U.S. at or near obesity level, it is safe to say a tremendous amount of people want to lose weight. Yet, only a few people actually work to reach their goal.

Many individuals put off losing weight again and again. There is a birthday party, an anniversary, or some other celebration that they want to overeat at. These events are used as an excuse to delay something they feel they should do.

Stop! Don’t use an excuse to delay something that is important to you. Pray and then start today.

God will give you the strength you need to say no at the food filled events. God will give the energy you need to finish a workout. God will give you wisdom & guidance to cross the finish line.

Don’t wait for a bad report from the doctor. Don’t wait until your family tells you, you’ve went too far. Don’t wait for an accident or an embarrassment.

Don’t delay any longer, get started and reach your goal. We are here to help! You can decided to take the first step and go to the final step.

n a major study conducted by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente, more than 17,000 people shared personal information about their childhood. The study found that obesity is actually the result of eating being a coping mechanism for negative childhood experiences.

Obese participants had suffered everything from neglect to molestation. Eating does cause our body to release certain hormones, especially when we eat those “comfort” foods. Turning to alleviate our stressors, depression, anxiety, and boredom only provide a fleeting relief while adding a permanent problem.

When I finally started to lose weight, I had to deal with many negative feelings. I hated myself. Yes, I hated everything about myself. When  looked back, I had to deal with things that happened to me from a young age.

My mother had been very emotionally abusive to me as a child. I was put down hundreds of times a day. Yet, I worked hard to try and please her. I had to have straight A’s in school, my room had to be perfectly clean. I also cooked meals and cleaned when I was not studying. I didn’t get to have friends over and I didn’t get to stay with my friends.

My father died when I was young and my mother got much worse after his death. She isolated and estranged us from others. My abnormal way of life had me hearing and believing that “I was not good enough”. Yes, I believed it nothing I did, nothing I said, nothing I achieved was good enough.

When I turned 18 I was married and moved out of my mothers house. Yet, this did not free me from the abuse. I called her every day to get my dose of put downs. Sometimes several times a day. I was programmed to honor my mother and according to her that meant I had to obey her all of my life.

For those of you that grew up in healthy, happy, well adjusted homes, this may seem crazy. I hated listening to the negative things my mom said to me. Yet, I kept the communication going.

When I had children of my own, things escalated. I was told what a horrible mother I was. I was told how I wasn’t living up to her standards. I would love to tell you that I finally stood up one day and broke free. However, it was not me that broke the relationship, it was truly God that brought about the events that freed me.

A rift that led to my mom not speaking to me for 3 years. At first, it hurt. I cried and mourned over the loss of the relationship for weeks. But slowly, God brought healing into my heart. It was tough and it was painful.

I had to work through every negative thought I had about myself. It was so gut wrenching because my thoughts at first were just as negative as ever, even more so. You see, I was now telling myself that I was so unlovable that even my own mother hated me.

My life became worthless to me. There was nothing I wanted to do. I assumed if I tried, I would fail. No one loved me, I was unlovable.

God stood by me through all of this and turned my thinking around. God taught me and showed me that I was loved by Him. God created me for His purpose and it was Him that I was to please with my life.

God brought me through every negative memory I had. God brought things in my mind, not to make me relive it, but to help let go through forgiveness.

No, I am not perfect, Christ had to die for me just as He did for all of us. Yet, God showed me how to love myself and everyone else. I can love others more now because I can see myself as lovable.

I am an imperfect child of God that will make mistakes and need forgiveness. Yet, I can move on with my life and be fulfilled by letting go of the past by forgiving those that hurt me. Forgiveness takes the power the past has on us and frees us!

I shared all of this with you to simply let you know the process I went through. Once I forgave my mom, I was able to start my weight loss journey. It doesn’t matter if she ever admits to the pain she caused me nor apologizes. The negativity and evil it brought me are gone and over with. Do you have someone that you need to forgive? No matter how horrible the things you went through were, forgiveness can set you free. I pray that you all find that freedom!

In this economy, few of us have money to waste. Yet, thousands of us run to the nearest gym the first week of January and sign a contract. Then, we end up going 2 or 3 times for a week or two while paying for an entire year.

I recommend for anyone considering a gym membership to get a trial membership for two weeks or a month. Most gyms offer a free trial period. This way, you can learn if the gym fits your lifestyle.

Things to consider when picking a gym include:

• Hours of Operation. Do their hours fit your schedule?
• Personal Trainers. Are their employees certified personal trainers?
• Classes: What classes does the gym offer? Do their classes match your schedule?
• Equipment. Does the gym have adequate equipment for all their patrons? Do they have equipment to workout all of the muscle groups you want to work?
• Personal Training. Do they properly train their patrons to use the equipment safely?
• Co-ed or Unisex. Does the gym allow members of both sexes or is it only for men or women?

• Atmosphere. Will you be comfortable working out?

As you can see, there are a lot of points to consider. Checking out all of the gyms in your area will help ensure you find the right fit for your lifestyle. That will get you a step closer to your goal because you will enjoy working out more and visit the gym more often.

Here,s a diet for you. Every hour on the hour, go into your kitchen, grab a teaspoon of sugar and eat it. You can take off 2 hours at night while you sleep but that is all.

Ok? Does that sound like a good diet to lose weight on? Not a chance. Yet, the average American is doing just that. We consume about 150 poundsof sugar a year and that averages out to about 22 tsp. every day.

My grandparents generation on the other hand only consumed about 5 pounds of sugar a year. Sugar was a luxury and used only for special occasions. Fresh, home grown fruits and vegetables along with fresh meats were the staples of their diet.

Our challenge to you for the day, track your sugar. Look at the labels and see how much you are eating, then share your total. Let us know how you did.

Why drink water to lose weight? Many people hate drinking water, but here is another great reason to drink up, every day. As you probably already know, our bodies work hard to keep us safe and sound. When we ingest, inhale, or absorb a toxin, our bodies do what they can do to eliminate them.

If we exercise and eat right or even detox, our body can free us of these harmful substances. To get rid of them fully we sweat them out or eliminate them in the restroom. In order to do either of these, our bodies need water.

The more water we drink, the more toxins we can eliminate. When these toxins are freed and our body is trying to rid us of them, they are moving through our bodies. If we don’t give our body enough water, those toxins can simply get reabsorbed. When this happens we have to start the process over. So help your body out and drink the water you need.