Why is METABOLISM important?

I know many of you think that Metabolism is a buzz word or an excuse as to why you can't lose weight. I have heard people say, "It doesn't matter how much I exercise and eat because I have a slow Metabolism."

I want to tell you this is not true!!!!!! Bearing that you have no "abnormal" conditions like hypothyroidism, you can change your metabolism. It is never to late. In short, Metabolism means the rate at which your body burns calories. Your Metabolism is determined by the combination of hormones, molecules and all the cell messenger chemicals in your body. Metabolic pathways can either be Catabolic (Breaking down & Fat storage) or Anabolic (Building Up and Repair). We need both pathways but we need the correct balance between the two.

Things such as STRESS, Dieting, Processed Foods, Toxins and Chemicals, and Sleep can actually alter your Metabolic Rate. For instance, constant dieting, CRAP diet and calorie deficiencies can actually SLOW down your Metabolism. The less you eat, the slower your metabolism must work because there is no food to digest.

Stress and high Cortisol levels (especially relative to DHEA) can cause your body to hold on to a "tire of fat" around your middle. When you are continually on the go- you set your body up for the constant "fight ot flight" reaction that was only designed to be an emergency system in our bodies.

The fake food is also dangerous to you. Many of the chemicals added to our foods and the plastics and cookware we use can actually alter our hormones in a dangerous way.

Try to follow these few tips and see if you FEEl and SEE Changes in your body and your mood.
1. Remove all fake/processed foods form your kitchen. In other words, get rid of all the ANTINUTRIENTS

2. Add back as many whole, grown and real foods that you were designed to eat. These are the food groups that will help you to restore your FAT BURNING hormones and shut down your FAT STORING Hormones.

3. Eat at Regular Intervals and Learn what portion of food give you energy instead of lethargy.

4. Rebalance your body with the missing Nutrients you are still missing.

5. Reign in the Stress. learn to rebalance your life and find ways for Stress release that work for you. (Try walking, journaling, yoga, exercise, sleep, dance, nature, planting a garden, music or finding more ME time for yourself.)

Tip of the day:
Your health has been stolen form you by Big Pharma and the Food Giants. Take it back with clean food, sleep, exercise and local farmers. Know what you are eating and be able to pronounce every ingredient you put into your mouth.

You can even test your hormone levels with simple saliva tests.


Call me for more information...516-304-8466
Visit my website www.coreandmore-fitness.com

Get back to Nature and de-stress

Springtime is the perfect time to take advantage of the positive effects nature has on our psyche. When you feel stressed, take some time to step outside and notice the flowers, trees and plants. Listen to the birds and take some deep relaxing breaths. Just be outside and notice how beautiful and crisp the colors are around you. You can take a journal with you and record what your body and mind are telling you.

By surrounding yourself with the negative ions of nature (which have positive effects on your mood), you help your body to de-stress. Notice how your breathing becomes more relaxed and your body may feel lighter.

Try grounding yourself everyday. Walk barefoot on the grass for at least 10 minutes each day. The earth will help to balance you. Touch a plant and think about what they do for us each day. They help purify our air and add beauty to our environment.

Be thankful that Spring has Sprung! Take the time to be aware of all the beauty around you.

Take a News break for 3-5 days and Sit on your porch each morning after the kids have gone to school and drink some water or tea, while you soak it all up. You'll feel calmer than when you started.

Nature is a natural reviver, boost me up and de-stresser. It won't cost you a penny and yet the benefits are enormous.

Get some sunshine everyday and SMILE- then check in with where your Stress-O-MOM-oter is.

Magic Bullet reduces STRESS.. Get one Quick

I think the Magic Bullet is such a great marketing name. Wouldn't it be great if there was a magic bullet for everything in our lives? Well this Magic Bullet can help with parties, dinner prep, snacks and dressings, dips and frozen Margaritas and your SANITY!!! I recently bought the Magic Bullet blending system, but with a lot of hesitation. I have to tell you that this thing is great!! It comes with so many attachments that it makes food prep really speedy and easy. You can chop, dice and blend without having to constantly wash the big blender attachment. I have made the freshest dressings, smoothies dips and even Omeletes with it. Why am I talking about this Magic Bullet? I LOVE IT because it reduces External and Internal Stress!!!

You will save time and be able to prep your meals faster with much less MESS!!! Even better than that is that it will enable you to prepare fresher foods in no time with no more excuses. Your body and mind will thank you for feeding it foods with no chemicals and preservatives. The fresher the food, more of the nutrients can actually be used by your body. And... the more nourished your Body is the better you feel.

Here is a magic bullet tip for balancing your food each day!
Think about each day's food like you do your discretionary income. You Eat (or Spend) on the necessities first, then you have room to play. So, this means you start each meal with the naturally colorful foods and make sure you have protein, high quality fat (coconut oil, olive oil, butter, etc...) fruits and veggies for your meals and chew it slowly. Then if you are still craving the other stuff, have a bit of it last. Eventually, you will stop craving a lot of the processed foods, because your body will be nourished and satisfied from the real vitamins, minerals and proteins you have already consumed.

This Less Stress on your body tip works! I follow it and so do my clients. Enjoy and Eat in Season.

Try this fresh dressing (and use your magic bullet) took less than 5 minutes- it's
Fresh & Yummy!

Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup raspberries
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Place in blender and blend till smooth

add:
1 tablespoon of minced red onion
2 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)
Add to blender and pulse briefly

Vacation

How do you eat when you are away? What is your exercise intensity when you are away from home? Do you take advantage of the sunshine and warm weather and play as many sports as possible? Are you the person who lays on a chair all day and drinks margaritas, eats and soaks up the sun?

I think there should be a happy medium. I know lots of us may feel like we work so hard at home that we just need some time to do nothing. I agree with you, but this should also be a time to eat the foods from the region you are visiting and get some outdoor exercise. It can be hiking, skiing, golf, tennis, jogging, swimming or even surfing. How about basketball or climbing Dunns River Falls?

I hear so many people tell me that they can't wait to have some drinks by the pool and relax. Those drinks at the pool will change your cravings and usually for the worse. I look at a vacation (when so many meals are eaten out) as an opportunity to have someone else prepare any better option you have ever wanted but didn't know how to prepare. Think about it, have any type of chicken, beef or fish grilled, baked or broiled. Try fresh sauces and have extra vegetables. Ask for no bread on the table when you are out. The drinks you have before ordering actually stimulate your brain to crave carbs and sugar- so you eat the bread. Then you eat more bread. By the time you get dinner you have eaten empty crap and you are too full for the reason you picked that restaurant in the first place. If you are really hungry when you sit down, ask to order salads and appetizers immediately, so that as soon as the hunger hits you have something better to eat than bread.

Make a promise to yourself to get some form of exercise each day, but pick something you love. Then it's fun and not work. Try something you have never done before. You can even choose to walk all over the town you are in and enjoy what you see. You get it. Oh and remember to drink a lot of fresh water throughout the day. Usually, we confuse hunger with thirst.

Try these few tips and I bet you come back from your vacation re-energized and really rested. It will be hard for you to feel stressed if you try these simple ideas. A vacation can be a blessing and a good way to eliminate cravings. Remember you have access to healthy and fresh choices at every meal, so stay away from the sugary crap (since it only encourages you to eat more crap!) If you must drink, choose wisely as to not cause even more bad food choices. Oh and the heat and alcohol is a double whammy to your body. Love your LIVER and your LIFE and de-stress with colorful foods, and fresh air, sunshine and fun activities.

TIP of the day: You can look at your vacation as a time to indulge and sit around or as the opportunity it is to LIVE LIFE to the fullest and have every food option you could imagine at your fingertips. Choose your restaurants wisely and enjoy the palette of foods, colors and tastes that the world has to offer. Enjoy and please come back rested.

What's for Dinner?

I don't know about you, but my kids leave the house asking What's for dinner? I hear it again when they come home. What's for dinner? Do you find it hard to make everybody in your family happy? How many different meals are you preparing? My children got used to a buffet of choices because I would make 3 choices for 5 people, thinking each would eat what they liked, but they would usually end up trying most of it (except for my daughter- who is not a big taster.) My shopping list would be massive trying to get all the ingredients for the different dishes. This one meal was taking so much time each day for shopping and preparing it. As much as I LOVE COOKING, and I do! The process could be stressful. It took me a while but I finally got smart.

When I went back to school to study food quality, diet and nutrition, I learned that it takes humans between 5 and 8 times of tasting a food, for us to like it. Most people say they don't like a food when they have tasted it once. Of course they don't like it, because it is out of their comfort zone. Think about the first times you gave your babies food. They would scrunch up their face at something new. We are the same because of how our taste buds work. Give you and your family the gift of new foods and experiences by repeating it until they begin to change their opinions. It works!!! I did not eat any fish except tunafish salad, Nova and shrimp for 36 years because I thought I didn't like it. Now I love Wild Salmon, and other fish(I stay away from high mercury fish). I began by tasting fish other people would order and one day I began ordering my own Salmon. I knew I could not recommend it to my clients if I was unwilling to eat it. The same goes for your children. If you are eating junky, processed foods- then guess what, so are they. If you would serve more vegetables (raw or cooked), fruits and baked, broiled and roasted meats/fish AND PUT MORE OF IT ON YOUR PLATE..they will eventually EAT HEALTHIER TOO. Let's face it, most people become mini versions of their role models. Children raised on whole grains, fruit (for treats), veggies and organic proteins and dairy, still eat this way. They understand how good that food tastes because their taste buds did not get corrupted and addicted to sugars and refined carbohydrates and chemicals.

When you clean out your body and begin to eat healthy for at least a month, you realize the SAD (Standard American Diet) stinks and doesn't even taste fresh. Think about it, if a loaf of bread ( is meant to stay fresh only a few days), yet stays in the bag for weeks without mold, their must be some nasty chemicals keeping it looking fresh. Those same chemicals are hanging around in your liver, and lining your intestines.

Did you know that most people rotate 8 veggies, 8 favorite dishes and 8 exercises their entire lives. There are actually more than 300 veggies in the world and over 25 sources of protein out there.

To reduce my stressful shopping and dinnertime issues, I bought lots of cookbooks and cooking magazines and make new foods all the time. If they don't like the main dish- the eat more salad and vegetables to fill up. It has worked and I am proud to say that my family will now taste just about anything there is. We are all much happier people, and I am thriled knowing that their bodies and brains are getting the best fuel possible.

Tip: Remember your food is your lifeline. The nutrients in the foods you choose to eat are what grow your bone cells, replace your blood, and cells and nourish your brain. The more colorful and natural the food is- the better it is for you. The less chemicals you consume- THE LESS STRESSED YOU AND YOUR BODY WILL BE. Do it for you and your loved ones.

Remember to check in with your Stress-O MOM-oter to see how your decisions are affecting you.

Got Children, Paying Property Taxes?= Got Stress!

Stress is linked to disease and death. Stress is also known as a secret killer. Stress can be managed, but most people neglect to acknowledge all the stressors in their lives. I may sound like a broken record but Stress comes in so many forms and we don't recognize most of them. Start today to manage the forms of Stress that are within your control.

Here's what I mean-
Out of your Control: A daily commute, an emotional trauma, a type A personality spouse, too few hours in the day and a long to do list along with the upcoming April 15th date.

Within your Control: The quality and types of foods you CHOOSE to EAT, When you EAT during the DAY, How much you SLEEP each night, If and HOW you EXERCISE, Supplements you take, and your DETOXIFICATION system.

Stress can even stay locked up in your muscles, fascia and mind. Our bodies hold onto to past stress and traumas , even years after it initially occurred. Stress can leave you exhausted, feeling knots in your shoulders and neck, with low back pain, migraines, depressed, nauseous or with the feeling of a Need to EAT.

Talk about what bothers you and don't keep it bottled up. Try to pinpoint what gave you that clenched tooth feeling? Keep a journal by your bed or in your office and write down your feelings about things asap. Write things down before you go to bed, this helps get it out of your brain and out of your system. Try to slow down and take up Yoga (Yes! this really helps, on so many levels.) Find a type of Yoga that you can identify with. YOGA is HARD and will give you a good workout but more important it unwinds your soul.

Make it a point to try and eat FOODS that are not processed. The chemicals mess up your brain. When you eat poor quality foods, your body has to expend more energy to digest it then your body receives from it. This makes you tired and cranky and more hungry. The vicious eating cycle is adding more stress onto YOU and especially to your LIVER. Your LIVER adds to your LIFE by taking toxins away from your organs and blood stream. Your FAT holds onto the processed toxins and your STRESS. Your Muscles hold your STRESS and you may end up taking it out on the people you LOVE.

Live healthy, Eat Healthy and Enjoy every moment of your day. Hug your children! Tell your spouse and kids how much you LOVE THEM. Be Grateful for what you have and cherish your body. It's the only one you will ever have.

Do something nice for someone!!!!!

Check in with your Stress-O-MOM-oter everyday.

Why do we choose "bad" foods when we are stressed?

I hear that question all the time. Do you run to the refrigerator or pantry when you are feeling emotionally stressed? Do you pour yourself a glass of wine or a mixed drink to relax? Do you crave that cup of coffee for pep? Or maybe you need a bagel, pizza or a bite of candy. Do you drive through the fast food lane if you feel starved and just can't wait to eat?

Take some time to identify your emotional eating triggers. Begin to anticipate what scenarios make you want to eat. Think about what emotions you feel before you eat something that you may regret later. Once you know what may set you off, you will be able to change the outcome.

Take some time to have better choices of comfort food available to you. Try always having food choices ready to munch on. For example, keep cut up veggies in your fridge (get them ready on Sunday) with hummus, salsa or a honey mustard dip. Have some rolled up turkey or roast beef. Keep a good organic cheddar cheese (white) ready to have with veggies or fruit. Keep grapes frozen for a quick bite. Have guacamole with a few corn chips or sliced veggies. Keep almond butter/peanut butter ready to make celery boats. Keep pineapple, cantaloupe or watermelon cut and ready. Try having strawberries dipped in chocolate. Put tuna fish on some Mary's crackers or maybe have a sushi with brown rice. If you eat nutrient dense foods you will loose your cravings and feel satisfied.

Tip... Keep a food journal. Put what you ate and how you were feeling before you ate. Go back to your log 1 hour after eating and put down if you felt full or still hungry, energetic or lethargic, content or still harried feeing.

Most important!!!! Be a CONSCIOUS EATER and know what you are putting in your mouth at all times. You can do a lot to alleviate feelings of stress, just by EATING REAL, NUTRIENT DENSE FOOD. Your body will thank you forever....