Tag Archives: Boston Health Coach

6 Steps to Take You When You’re Low

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At the Joanne Langione Dance Recital this past weekend, at which my 3 daughters performed, mother after mother told me that it was a very difficult week for them. What was in the air? Admittedly, it was an extraordinarily difficult week for me.

Fortunately, there was this little voice inside of me that said, “keep it together because this is going to pass.” I took 6 very important steps to carry me through it:

1. I went with the dark mood instead of fought against it. We often forget that emotions pass. Instead we make them our identity and become that emotion. No matter how painful it got this past week, I sat with it with the confidence that an important lesson would emerge from it. Instead of the painful emotional lasting many days, it only lasted 3, and I emerged learning a profound lesson: that no matter what anyone did to me, I’m still a sweet person who loves my children, friends, family and community dearly. 

2. I armored myself against the binge. As we all know, in our weakened states, we have a tendency to cause destruction to our bodies through smoking, drinking, taking drugs and/or binge eating, to name a few. Since my go to foods are those with a crunch, I made certain my cabinets were full of healthy foods, like Trader Joes Seaweed Snacks, Quinoa and Bean Chips and Falafel Chips, that would satisfy my desire in my weakened emotional state. As a result, I emerged without gaining a pound.

3. I increased my consumption of fresh, organic JOOS to 3 per day. Stress sucks the nutrients right out of us, which leaves us feeling even lower and depleted. I still had to go about my day taking care of my children and running our company, which made consuming the highest quality plant rich nutrients to combats the heightened stress essential for me.

4. I surrounded myself with loving people who supported me through it. I expressed gratitude to them daily.

5. I made certain to exercise daily, even if it was just for 10 minutes. My schedule is so busy with 4 kids and running a business that it can be very difficult to find time to exercise. Often, too, the last thing we want to do when we’re feeling low is exercise, particularly because we’re feeling so depleted. As we know, sitting around makes us feel even worse. Exercise stimulates endorphins and helps our moods.

6. I reread Lovingkindness by Sharon Saltzberg. This book helps put life back into perspective and reminds us that it’s all going to be OK. Other suggestions are books by Pema Chodron, Ram Das, Jack Kornfield, to name a few.

The good news is, the week is done and I’m back on my feet. I didn’t gain a pound, despite the temptation to binge, and I emerged feeling a little more wiser.

Feeling low? It is that much more imperative to consume a diet high in plant rich foods to get yourself back on track!

The Ultimate Satisfyingly Healthy Salad

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You can easily go to a salad bar, pour on the croutons, meats and other toppings, add the ranch or russian salad dressing and end up with a meal of over 1,500 calories.

On the other hand, you can also just add vegetables with no dressing and eat nothing else for lunch and wonder why you’re binge eating by mid-afternoon.

The fact is, all over the world, people eat salads with their meals; yet, we Americans eat salads for our meals. That’s fine if it’s for dinner, but for lunch, when we still need to fuel our bodies for the entire afternoon, evening and night, chances are that we need more than just a salad to fuel us properly.

I qualify by saying that during the spring and warmer weather, eating salad for a meal may be OK, but during the colder months, think twice. Salads are cold food and, in the middle of the winter when we need hot foods, eating a salad may actually be detrimental to our weight and health.

What is the healthiest way to eat a salad?  Load on the vegetables and add a healthy oil based dressing with vinegar, an unprocessed sea salt and perhaps some lemon and other spices.

Adding a bid of good fat, such as in olive oil, satiates you so that you do not have such a compulsion to binge. In addition, there are many health benefits to consuming olive oil and studies are actually finding that it can help you lose weight.

Suggestion: Throw in some sprouts and beans for an even healthier punch.

Add Olive Oil for a Healthy Salad

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Why add a high quality olive oil to your salad salad? Because it helps absorb the nutrients in the vegetables and has many health benefits. There are many studies that show the benefits of olive oil, including that dietary fats are needed for absorption of vitamins and nutrients, lubricates the colon, may help lower your risk of heart disease, normalize blood clotting and benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, to name a few.

Typically salad dressings are 3 parts oil and 1 part acid (a vinegar). You can cut some of the oil by adding orange juice, lemon and/or lime. I also love to add Dijon vinegar.

Here’s my favorite dressing:
1 cup cold pressed olive oil
1/4 cup high quality balsamic dressing
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp maple syrup
Pinch of Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of garlic optional

Mix together oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and mustard then add other ingredients. Mix in greens, shallots, chickpeas and tomatoes and whatever other vegetable and/or legume you love.

Secret to Weight loss? Be Authentic

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A mother emailed stating that she watched the movie Forks Over Knives and was confused why she should not consume olive oil.

While I highly regard Forks over Knives, I disagree with that view. There are many studies that show the benefits of olive oil, including that dietary fats are needed for absorption of vitamins and nutrients, lubricates the colon, may help lower your risk of heart disease, normalize blood clotting and benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control, to name a few.

I have seen many people shirk away from eating avocados, olive oil and/or raw nuts because they’re high in fat, but these same people eat protein bars, chew gum and drink soda, alcohol and copious amounts of coffee. It is not surprising that many of these people are overweight, constantly battling to keep off pounds and unhealthy.

Time to put the way we eat into perspective: We want to follow a diet that is feasible, practical and intelligent for us. An important part of this is consuming a moderate amount of good fats like those listed above.

Eating olive oil is not the end of the world. Drinking copious amounts of coffee and soda just may be…for you.

Remember the 90/10 Rule:
  • Eat 90% of your diet in whole foods with at least 60% of that in plant rich foods; and,
  • 10% whatever – cake, alcohol, etc.

Even more importantly, apply this rule to your entire family!

Getting back to the olive oil, here is a clip from Dr. Oz and the Mayo Clinic about the benefits of olive oil:

Unscramble Yourself To Weightloss and Health

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Why is it that we think we can skip breakfast and sometimes lunch, gorge ourselves at dinner and then wonder why we’re so overweight?

The reason why breakfast is termed “breakfast” is because we’re literally breaking a fast from not eating for several hours during the night. This means we should nourish our bodies with light, healthy foods to get our metabolism working. Typically this would include fruit, a JOOS and perhaps some oatmeal.

By lunchtime, we still have at least half the day left, which means we need the proper fuel in our bodies to get us through until evening. Many of you have heard me say that your lunch should be big enough so that you’re not hungry by dinner-time.

We wait until evening, the time when we’re supposed to be winding down, to fill our bellies with food, so essentially the food just sits there inside of us. No wonder why many of us wake up feeling bloated, constipated and irritable.

Fuel yourself the right way with a plant rich diet. You can still eat meat, if that’s what you want, but at least you’ll know that you’re nourishing yourself in a way that makes you feel energetic, balanced and in-control.

Get Your Children to Eat Greens!

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Susan’s husband had a great job offer in Spain. While it sounded like an exciting opportunity for the family, Susan worried what her 3 young children would eat there. Her children consumed the typical American kids foods: chicken nuggets, pizza, macaroni and cheese from a box, etc. Those types of foods are not readily available in Spain.

In the first week of their arrival in Spain, Susan’s children rebelled when the Spanish waiter would serve real food dishes such as chicken with rice and vegetables, tortilla espanola (an egg potato omelet), vegetable or seafood soups. Within a week, something remarkable occurred: Susan’s children started eating real food and even more, loving it! Even more, they slept better at night and were calmer and more alert during the day.

A friend asked me to come to her home to speak with her husband who had severe IBS. He was uptight and irritable, which didn’t make for a fun marriage. When I arrived, I noticed he was chewing gum. He also told me that he loved diet soda and ate a lot of animal protein. Naturally I brought a JOOS with me, but he balked at the smell of fresh, organic vegetables. My friend stated, “he has barely eaten a green vegetable in years.”

Unfortunately, he is not alone. There are many Americans who simply hate vegetables! As a result, they’re not eating the right foods and they’re getting sick.

I love when JOOS drinkers comment to me that after their children watch them drink JOOS, the kids start adventuring with it and eventually grow to like it. Our children emulate us. We eat healthy, they eat healthy. It may be a process, but eventually, they get it.

One note of warning: don’t force it on them. Instead, praise them when they do!

We can help you to develop a simple life-long habit that may ultimately save you: the love of dark, leafy greens!

 

Remarkable Story That Could Happen to You

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Michael showed up at my door for an interview weighing nearly 300 lbs. The right side of his lip drooped from Bells Palsy and his legs swelled from Type 2 Diabetes. He  thought I was completely whacked out when I told him I needed him to help me fresh press organic vegetables into juices and deliver them.

In the more than 3 years Michael and I have worked together, he lost over 80 lbs  (and has kept it off for over 2 years) and has no signs of Bells Palsy or Type 2 Diabetes. He is completely off any related medications. His doctor, once
incredulous that Type 2 Diabetes can actually be cured by a plant rich diet, is
now a firm believer. 

Michael, who is the Director of JOOS  Operations, still drinks beer and eats his mother’s home-made eggplant parmesan, but that has become an exception. Now he drinks JOOS and lots of water throughout the day and eats sensibly-sized, healthy meals. 

By now I hope you all have seen the highly compelling movie, Fat,  Sick and Nearly Dead, about a man’s journey to overcome his own auto-immune diseases and obesity through juicing.  

Unsurprisingly, sceptics believe the movie is over-simplified. My challenge is for them to try consuming a plant rich diet, even if it’s just for one week, so that they can see how powerful it is. 

Let our certified health coaches/cleanse experts support you through this week long experience of consuming a plant-rich diet so that you can see how energized, balanced and in-control you feel.

Here’s Why Fresh Juice Must be Organic

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The word is getting out about the multiple health benefits of fresh, unpasteurized juices, which is wonderful, BUT if it’s not organic, it can actually be poisonous. I actually know juice drinkers who have ended up in the hospital with high levels of toxicity.
The reason fresh juice is so powerfully healthy is because it’s filled with concentrated nutrients, but if it’s not organic, you’re actually consuming concentrated pesticides.
Some juice companies say that they use organic produce when possible and/or local produce. The fact is, if the company is located in a colder climate, like the Northeast, they’re obviously not able to find an abundance of local produce during the colder months.
JOOS is 100% guaranteed organic!
That’s why people fell so balanced, energetic, in-control and healthy when they consume it.

Plant Rich Diets Help Prevent and Perhaps Even Cure Type 2 Diabetes

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Just do a Google search on how  consuming a diet rich in plant rich foods can prevent/reduce and/or perhaps even  curing Type 2 Diabetes and you’ll see a number of primary studies from  prestigious institutions.

For example, you’ll see on by Harvard entitled:  Bottom Line Keeping weight in check, being active, and eating a healthy diet can prevent most cases of type 2 diabetes.

Another article published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by a number of institutions, including the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, the Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital, Boston to name a couple that stated:

Based on what is known of the components of plant-based diets and their effects from cohort studies, there is reason to believe that vegetarian diets would have advantages in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Here’s another by Leiden University Medical Center Department of Radiology in the Netherlands that found that cutting out calorific foods and eating healthier options for just four months is all diabetes sufferers need to do in order to beat their condition.

“It is striking to see how a relatively simple intervention of a very low-calorie diet  effectively cures Type 2 diabetes,” says Dr Sebastian Hammer from the study. “Moreover, these effects are long term, illustrating the potential of this
method. Lifestyle interventions may have more powerful beneficial cardiac
effects than medication in these patients.”

I often wonder, what is it going to take to convince people that they do not need to walk around with burdensome, unhealthy conditions – that indeed they can be
healthy and live full vibrant lives!

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/diabetes-prevention/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/29/low-calorie-diet-can-cure-type-2-diabetes_n_1118122.html

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/diabetes-prevention/

Cleansing = Stepping Back to Reclaim Ourselves

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A yoga friend said to me 6 years ago “You don’t know yoga if you don’t now John Friend.”

Now, 6 years later, John friend was forced to resign from the Anusura yoga movement he founded and has been accused of  sexual impropriety with female students and other charges.

Obvious message: Yet another person who mis-used power. Bottom line is that we’re all just human and no one is worth idolizing. The sad truth, though, is that we seek to idolize because we fail to see the greatness in ourselves.

Many of you ask me why I write about topics that seemingly don’t have anything to do with cleansing, but the way people idolized John Friend and his demise has everything to do with cleansing.

Cleansing is about taking a break in our own lives so we can find our OWN truth and what works best for us. In the context of how we eat, it’s about discovering what foods are best for our bodies and how and when we should eat them. For example, some of us with fast metabolisms may need to eat several meals per day, but those of us with slower metatobolisms, one meal per day may suffice. It means that for some of us, following a raw diet may be completely acceptable, but for others, we feel better when we eat animal protein every so often.

A few years ago just after a very painful divorce, someone who I deeply respected at the time told me that if I were to be raw, I would feel empowered. I was raw for one year and it was truly one of the worst years of my life. My stomach was distended and I was too skinny. After that year, I did a cleanse and the leader of the cleanse and simultaneously had my first Ayurvedic consultation, both of which had such a profond influence me that I decided to found a company, JOOS, based on both.

From the cleansing experience, I learned the invaluable lesson to slow down and be more mindful. When my life spins out of control, I now have this basis to return to in cleansing.

From the Ayurveda experience, I learned that every body type has differenent needs and that what is good for one may be highly detrimental to another.

I invite you to do a raw juice cleanse and see what emotional shifts you can make in your own life.