So….you want to lose weight? Well…you’ve got to change your mind first!

Over these years (and years) of thinking about weight issues, studying nutrition, food, body image and diets….I have met many people who are unhappy with their weight. And I was often amongst them.

Then, I changed my lifestyle and my diet…a few years later I started incorporating fasting into my regimen as well and the rest is history. Or is it?

Since then I have found my biggest struggle is still with these patterns, habits and tendencies – that all exist in my mind! Our minds really are the majority when it comes to overcoming any negative patterns in an effort to create new ones.

Of course, as a Clinical Nutritionist, I also know that each cell in my body contributes to my overall mind (mood, emotions, intuition, thoughts etc.). Everything works together inside and outside – with each system and function forwarding something towards the whole being….

My gut is as much involved with creating my thoughts as my brain is. And this includes what I think about my body, my food – and especially 'what I am thinking (about my body/food) when I am eating it'.

Fasting has allowed me to explore my mind (through my body) in a new and realistic way. By going into these new places and spaces, I have found and made the deeper connections to weight, body image, eating and food.

If I have found out anything over these past few years….it’s this; to lose weight permanently, you have to re-build your mind from the inside out. This entails diet changes (food, fast and feast), exercise, emotional work (getting at the patterns) and for me, making the important spiritual connections with the food I eat.

Not one part of this is complicated, in fact having food days, fasting days and feast days has made my life so much simpler and easy to manage. It also allows me to have control over my mind (approach to food) in a new way.

Changing your mind about food involves eating the foods that assist in this process as well….we need to choose (and make) food that not only nourish our bodies, but also help to reset our body metabolism.

I have found many of these to be fermented foods as well as quality proteins…and for me, my diet consists of homemade, home grown, free range, wild harvested and organic produce as much as possible.

You are so much more then what you eat….you are the energy of the food you eat. Change that energy to something better (raise the vibration) and you do the same with your body and your mind.

April

 

Make Up Your Own Mind, BUT.....

I have been keeping a bit of an eye on the articles that come out this time of year - you know the ones - 'how to lose 10 pounds by next week' or 'how to detox completely by cutting back on wine 2 nights a week' or the old standards 'Don't detox, don't exercise, take this pill'....

So, you may have already guessed what I think and feel about some of this total load of rubbish being sent around the internet. There is one new one these last couple of years though, which completely dismisses water fasting as a form of detox.

And that one sends me into a bit of a rant...LOL

Yesterday I was reading a not very insightful article written by someone who talked with 2 dietitians to gather information for their report. Of course, one recommendation for a New Years detox was to cut back on alcohol to only drinking 5 nights a week (I am so not kidding) - leaving me wondering if she was thinking how low were her expectations of the people reading the post.

The other piece of sage advice was to keep things in moderation - but to include everything. Right. Well, I can tell you from a lot of personal experience that is how most people set themselves up to fail in the first place.

I don't know many people who can eat one square of chocolate or one cookie or one crisp - walk away and not hear the bag calling their name for the rest of the day.... And, what about the fact that this is the problem - these 'foods' and their poisonous ingredients (sugar, caffeine, alcohol) are addictive?

Of course, then there is the dismissal of fasting and using water to cleanse your body. Imagine! How could anyone do such a thing - what on earth does water have to do with cleaning, clearing and removing the built up debris from the inside of our cells?

Just because it is the universal solvent, has a somewhat neutral pH and we use it to clean everything else, doesn't mean anything....Perhaps you can tell, these so-called experts have never done a detox, altered their diets and at least one of them is an alcoholic....

Nuff said

If you are ready to do a fast, change your diet and get your life back - here's a great place to start

Detox -- Have a Plan

To detox means something very specific, it is the removal process of years of built up toxins, grime and chemical residues from the tissues and organs of the body. This is not a quick fix, nor is it something to be entered into lightly- yet this is the most important health choice you will probably ever make.

Your body has been inundated with poisons from every place imaginable, and non worse then the very food you are eating – while believing that it is nourishing you; body, mind and soul. This is no longer the case as the foods we are eating, what has been made available on the supermarket shelves are no longer clean, wholesome or handled with care.

All together this has left our bodies in a sorry state and this is just from the food! The other aspects of eating the way we have been encouraged to eat, is that we are making very wrong choices for our spiritual and conscious selves. There is no way that you can follow a nutritionally depleted diet and expect to grow and develop in any spiritual manner. 

Healing and detoxing also takes time- usually a lot of time as your bodies tissues when fed properly will only release discreet amounts of toxins that are easily broken down and handled by the organs involved. By detoxing as you eat and taking your time with it, your liver and kidneys are not stressed and burdened further and your body is repaired and rebuilt at the same time.

The quick fixes and 10 day food/supplement detoxes on the market are pretty much a scam- your body cannot possibly detox in such a short space of time. Nor is this a safe way to approach health and healing. 

During the first few months eating, fasting or making lifestyle changes, energy will be spent on healing, replenishing, absorbing and stabilizing body tissues- only after this is done will the body start to detox and then one component at a time; again as your body is ready and the conditions are right.

If all you want to do is heal your health condition and reclaim your life- this is still the way to do it. By following a balanced and healthy lifestyle regimen you will recondition your body and uplift your spirit- whatever your intention. Once toxins are safely removed from your plate the work begins in earnest and changes will take place.

To detox and cleanse was my early intention- then as my own body healed itself of cancer, arthritis and inflammation, I watched so many things shift in my daily life because of the way that I was eating- I no longer considered it a cleanse- it is a way of life. One that has continued to unfold more deeply into myself and lead me into a greater awareness of what it means to move to higher ground.

Whatever your plan and no matter what your state of health, this is the way for you and your family- heal your body, mind and soul and change the things that are no longer working in your life. 

April

Creating a food legacy.... The Change Starts with You

One of the things I hope I am getting across here is the fact that we can enjoy great food which doesn't cost too much - but saves you plenty in the end because your health improves. Another point I hope to be making is how easy it is to remove processed foods, sugar, chemicals and other unnecessary nasties from your food chain.

As human being living on this planet never before in our life times of millions of years have we been faced with so much food, and nothing decent to eat. But what is worse 'now' is how so many of us go blindly forward eating all the rubbish shoved into our faces. 

Seemingly without question.

The funny thing is I remember the days when I just ate what was in front of me, or convenient easy to prepare food. Without giving it much thought - I can't even remember if I tasted anything. It seems to me now that everything tasted the same. 

Perhaps because now I have a clean palate and can actually taste and smell very precisely the dishes I am preparing - my food tastes very different to me. Things are sharper, sweeter, crisper or something along those lines. 

Once I had removed the stimulants such as sugar and caffeine - my body calmed down enough for me to make some more rational decisions about the rest of my life. Then once I removed medicated foods such as cow's milk, tap water and meats - my digestion changed almost as fast as my outlook.

I am a person who believes when something is removed something better should be replacing it - when you take sugar away from the diet, other healthy sweet options take their place. Caffeine is a drug and I do not choose to be under the influence of anything - when this went out I found dandelion coffee and have never looked back.

Making significant changes to your diet is no longer a matter of choice - this is an issue of health, well-being and commitment to pursuing a higher path (for those going that way). But just because you should take diet and lifestyle more seriously doesn't mean you will compromise on taste or eat lettuce for the rest of your life.

I have never eaten better food, been so well nourished, felt as fit, healthy and well or been as tuned in to myself and my family as I am at this moment. And I know without a doubt it all comes down to my faith in the food I eat.

It has taken me years to get here - because I did not know enough to eat better and from years of living like that (even at an early age) I could not discern any difference. The best part of living this way, is my children are learning how and what to eat and will grow up to be fit and healthy adults.

 Can't beat a legacy like that! 

April

Me and my daughter

There's Nothing To Eat

I remember this!!! Yes, those were the days, come in the door from work and immediately be thinking to myself - there is absolutely nothing to eat here. And to be looking around the kitchen (tired, drained, weary) for something to prepare - in a mindless haze from the outside word.

In. A. House. Full. Of. Food. 

Does any of this sound familiar to you? The fridge would be full, the cupboards bursting and still - there was not one thing that was formulating inside of my head to make as a meal for my family. Many times I eventually came up with something (and surprised myself that a meal could be made from few ingredients) other times I ended up getting something else.

It was just too convenient to order a take away or get a ready meal - there is something on every corner and it is a 'treat' after a long stressful day following someone else's dreams. We are put in a position where someone else is in charge of our food, nutrition, tastes, portion sizes and then (through this  virtual reality) became a part of the family.

Of course, many years ago I left all of this behind - however I have my moments every now and then where I remember full well what it was like to 'think' that way. It was a mind set, a frame of mind that I would fall back into as if someone had pushed a button and I could no longer think clearly enough about what to feed myself.

I knew then and I know it even more clearly now, a reset button needed to be pushed where food was concerned and my eyes opened to the fact that we need very little to make a decent meal and there is always potential.

So, let's see - in the cupboard at the end of the week I have onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, a leek, pumpkin - add to that a few lentils and rice and I have a balanced meal. Or, if you only have an onion, rice and a tin of fish - stir-fry the onion, toss with the cooked rice, add in the fish and you have a tasty dish.

Need some other ideas? How about a sandwich (bread, tuna, lettuce, mustard) and a bowl of lentil soup that can be made in minutes...with lentils, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, sweet potato and a carrot? There is also pasta (we like spelt or rice pasta) and a quick stir-fry of onion, sugar snap peas, garlic, grated carrot tossed with pesto - all made from vegetables and herbs growing in the garden.

Or, how about being more organized and prepared where your meals are concerned? Novel idea that it is, when you guess at the end of the day you might be home looking for something to eat, perhaps beans or lentils could be soaked ahead of time. Veggies chopped or a few ingredients left out to remind you of what you had planned to prepare? 

This thinking - 'there is nothing to eat' used to make me feel so frustrated, tired and then disappointed with myself because I would often end up eating the wrong types of foods and too much of them. It was an immature attitude toward feeding myself (food was a reward and I deserved all these 'treats') like giving a baby candy. 

Changing my attitude towards food, diet, eating, nutrition and my entire approach to cooking has been more then a lifestyle change, it has been a coming of age. 

Enjoy your day,

April

Spelt pasta - stir-fry with veggies from the garden and homemade pesto

April