How to Lose Weight Without Even Thinking about It · Weight loss can be an emotionally painful and...
Transcript of How to Lose Weight Without Even Thinking about It · Weight loss can be an emotionally painful and...
How to Lose Weight
Without Even Thinking about It
By Tracey Kamm MH, RH(AHG), CR, NBCR(ARCB), CNT, CEHC
Clinical Reflexologist, Herbalist, and Nutritionist
Wyoming’s 1st and only Registered Herbalist (American Herbalists Guild)
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Hey, Gorgeous! I’m Tracey.
Weight loss can be an emotionally painful and difficult
struggle. I know, because I went through that myself
for years. But I was finally able to lose 90 pounds and
keep it off without dieting or even trying to lose
weight. And in this ebook, I’ll share with you exactly
what I did because it’ll work for anyone.
When I was a teenager, I discovered I could lose
weight very quickly by starving myself. Like many other girls in the 80’s,
I thought I needed to be pencil thin. At 16 years old, I just didn’t get the health consequences
of those choices, and it “worked” for me. So that was the start of about a decade-long
struggle with eating disorders that cycled between anorexia and being seriously underweight,
and binge-eating junk food and being very overweight.
Of course, years of this took their toll, and my health began to decline. During my two
pregnancies with my sons, I began to develop serious symptoms such as debilitating fatigue
and joint pain. When my sons were just 5 weeks old and 19 months old, I woke up one morning
in 1995 to a health crisis that would forever change the direction of my life. By that night I was
hospitalized, and eventually I’d be diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus.
The next few months were a nightmare as I was in and out of hospitals while the inflammation
spread to almost every joint and organ in my body. I could no longer walk, and even lying
down was impossible due to the extreme pain. The worst part was the inflammation in the
lining of my lungs. If I took a normal breath, it would feel like a thousand hot knives were
stabbing into my chest. There’s no way to describe the relentless pain.
And lupus was only getting worse, in spite of all the medical treatments. Eventually, after 9
months of high doses of prednisone and other heavy-duty meds, I was so depressed about how
I looked. I had terrible acne, my face was severely swollen, and I was about 90 pounds
overweight. Lupus had turned my whole world upside down.
So I courageously made a decision one day that I was going to do whatever it took to beat
lupus and get healthy again and be the mom I wanted to be for my sons. I had no idea how I
would make that happen, but I was determined to figure it out.
I turned to alternative medicine and started making lots of healthy changes – diet, lifestyle,
herbs, supplements. I made good progress, but I knew very little about how to do it right, so I
went through the same experiences that others often do including fad health diets, trendy
supplements, and spending a lot of money on things that didn’t really help.
At times it seemed like I took one step forward and two steps back. I was eventually diagnosed
with two more diseases – fibromyalgia and ankylosing spondylitis. I realized that if I were going
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to get completely well, I would have to learn alternative medicine myself. So I spent several
years studying holistic therapies with the best schools and teachers in the country. Reflexology,
herbs, nutrition, emotional healing, coaching.
Now I’m 50 years old, and in the best health of my life. All the auto-immune diseases I had are
totally in remission. I’m healthy, happy, fit, and strong. And I’m a 3rd Degree Brown Belt in
Kenpo Karate. I lost over 90 pounds without ever once thinking about it and have kept it off for
almost 20 years!
How did I do that? I realized that my weight, like all the other symptoms I was experiencing with
auto-immune diseases, was just my body’s way of telling me that different functions weren’t
working the way they should be. So rather than trying to focus on losing weight or beating
lupus, I completely shifted my approach and started working instead on becoming healthy,
physically and emotionally – a genuinely holistic approach to changing my life.
The beautiful thing I discovered as I started to take this approach was that it all began with
loving myself, something I’d never done before. I had to let go of the fear-based motivations
that had driven me in the past with eating disorders and unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices. I
started measuring what I should or shouldn’t do based entirely on whether or not it was loving
and nurturing and healthy for me. This changed my whole life!
It wasn’t something that happened overnight. It was consistent efforts - continually improving
one small thing after another every day - that took me down a healthy path and led me to
where I am now. And this is something I still work on. Because the course of our lives is rarely
determined by one single decision or action, but instead by all the many little forks in the road
that we face moment by moment every day and which direction we go each time.
So by choosing to intentionally make each micro-decision based on what’s loving and healthy
for ourselves, we begin to create a life that‘s healthy and vibrant! And through that, we also
discover our gifts and a passion for sharing them with others and the world becomes such a
better place because of it. What starts as a commitment to loving ourselves and being healthy
and whole creates ripples in the pond that spread out and touch so many lives.
And now I’d like to share with you the specific steps you can start making today to shift your
weight loss mindset and change your life, and, yes, even make the world a better place
because of it.
Imagine how you’ll feel, how different your life will be, when you’re healthy, energetic, and
vibrant. Making these changes transforms people’s lives! What will you be able to do that you
haven’t been able to do yet? What are your dreams and goals? Think of how it will touch the
lives of everyone around you as you get strong and healthy. Anything is possible!
You are worthy of the best self-care. Focusing on taking good care of you and your health will
help you lose weight effortlessly and naturally. And that’s what this book is all about.
With so much love,
Tracey –xx-
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It’s All About Calories, Isn’t It? What makes us gain weight in the first place?
This is so important to understand, but how often
do we actually hear about that? Almost every
weight loss program instead focuses on just two
things: reducing calories and exercising.
But how many of us have reduced calories until
we feel like we’re starved and exercised until we
can’t take it anymore without any weight loss?
The reason diets don’t work is that they seldom
address why we’re gaining weight. But in order
to lose weight and keep it off, this is one of the
key things to understand.
There are many reasons why we gain weight,
and they’re the source of the problem. Think of
this like a houseplant. We can tell a lot about
the health of a plant by looking at its leaves.
But if something’s wrong with the leaves, just
trying to fix the leaves alone will rarely take care
of the issue. The leaves are just pointing us to a
problem that’s going on somewhere else,
perhaps even underground with the roots - the
“root cause.”
Then What Are the Root Causes?
We’ll talk about a few of the more common
ones here, but there are so many of them. And
you can have any number of combinations of
these going on, too. And your special “root
causes” can even change from time to time.
It’s always unique to each individual. So the real
key to losing weight and keeping it off is
knowing which ones of these are issues for you.
Common Causes Just a few of the culprits to get us started:
Toxic overload
Nutritional deficiencies
Blood sugar imbalances
Hormones
Stress
Poor diet
Lack of sleep
Fatigue
Slow metabolism
Emotions
Side effect of medications
Too little exercise
Too much exercise (Say WHAT!!!?)
I’ll go over each one of these and give you
some really helpful tips for how to approach
them.
First, though, let’s get an understanding of
how these problems began in the first place.
Anyone else a “Princess Bride” fan? It’s one
of my all-time favorite movies, and if you’re a
fan, you know it’s one of the most quoted
movies ever.
One of my favorite lines comes from the
character Inigo Montoya, “When the job
goes wrong, you go back to the beginning.
Well, this is the beginning.”
So true! When something goes wrong in our
bodies, it’s good to go back to the beginning
as well, and that means understanding some
basics about how things work, a little
Anatomy & Physiology 101 so we can
troubleshoot what’s going on with these root
causes a little better and find solutions.
Why Do We Gain Weight?
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While the body has many organs and glands,
let’s just talk about the ones that most directly
influence weight.
Your Liver
I’m starting with the liver for a reason. This one
organ does more functions than just about any
other organ or gland in the body – over 500
known functions! If your liver’s unhappy, you
can experience a huge variety of health issues.
Here are some of its main jobs:
Produce bile which is necessary to digest fats
in the small intestine and helps carry away
toxins; bile goes through the bile duct to the
gallbladder where it’s stored until we eat fats
Store and release glucose (sugar) as needed
Store some vitamins and iron – a lack of iron
(anemia) leads to fatigue and other issues
Store blood – scanty periods?
Remove excess hormones like estrogens
Fight infections by producing immune factors
and filtering bacteria and viruses from the
blood
Take out the trash – removes impurities,
detoxifies
Produce cholesterol – did you know we have
to have cholesterol to survive and that about
75% of our cholesterol is produced by our
own bodies?
Emotions - In Chinese Medicine, the liver is
responsible for anger; the liver helps us to
“go with the flow” instead of feeling irritable,
frustrated, or stuck
Your Stomach
It makes sense that when dealing with a
function of the body like weight that is so
interwoven with what we eat, that the
stomach, the first place food goes when we
eat, plays a big role in all of that.
Here are some of the stomach’s tasks:
Stores and mixes foods, liquids, and
digestive juices, and then empties it into
the small intestine for further processing
Produces hydrochloric acid and
enzymes necessary to break down food
Emotions – in Chinese Medicine, the
stomach is responsible for feeling
grounded vs. experiencing worry,
anxiety, and overthinking; it does more
than just digest our food, it processes our
thoughts and emotions, too.
Your Small Intestine What in the world could our intestines
possibly have to do with our weight? Well,
quite a bit actually.
We have two different parts to our intestines,
and they have very different roles. When
the stomach is finished with its job in the
initial stages of digestion, it passes the
broken down and processed food into the
small intestine for the next phase.
The small intestine is basically like the
professional organizers you see on tv who
help people go through all their stuff and
figure out what’s worth keeping and what
should be discarded.
It receives even more digestive juices from
organs like the liver and pancreas to further
break down the food, so that all the
Easy Peasy Anatomy & Physiology 101
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nutrients from the food can be absorbed
into the bloodstream where they’ll go to the liver
for further processing, storage, and distribution.
Here are the small intestine’s main tasks:
Receive more digestive juices to finish
breaking down food
Sort the good stuff to keep and the unusable
stuff to throw away
Pass the nutrients to the bloodstream and set
the garbage out for disposal (passing the
waste on to the large intestine)
Emotions – in Chinese Medicine, the small
intestine is the sorter; it helps us have good
“gut instincts” to determine what’s good for
us and what isn’t; process the past and
move on
Your Large Intestine
When the small intestine is finished with the last
tasks of breaking down the food and has
passed all the nutrients and valuables on to the
bloodstream, it takes everything in the discard
pile, like the bulk fiber, and sends it on to the
large intestine, aka colon, for removal.
The tasks of the large intestine are:
Absorb water through the walls of the large
intestine into the bloodstream to be taken to
the kidneys for processing. (Did you know
that’s what hydrates you?)
Some vitamins such as K, B1, B2, B6, B12, and
biotin are also produced here by the gut’s
friendly bacteria that live in the large
intestine and are absorbed along with the
water.
Turn what’s left into poop and send it away
Emotions – In Chinese medicine, the
large intestine is associated with grief,
regret, and loss; letting go
Your Pancreas
The pancreas is an organ with two main
jobs that are tremendously important
when it comes to our weight:
Produce insulin -
- When your sugar level (blood glucose)
in your blood rises (high blood sugar), the
pancreas secretes insulin into the
bloodstream. The insulin moves the
glucose from the blood into muscles and
other tissues for use as energy.
- Insulin also helps the liver absorb
glucose and store it as glycogen in case
the body needs energy during stress or
exercise.
- Problems arise when the pancreas
either doesn’t produce enough insulin, or
the insulin receptors can’t handle the
overload of blood sugar anymore, and
they can no longer receive the insulin, a
condition known as “insulin resistance.”
- When your blood sugar level falls (low
blood sugar), the pancreas releases the
hormone glucagon which causes
glycogen in the liver to be broken down
into glucose to bring the blood sugar
levels back up to normal again.
Produce digestive enzymes – the
pancreas produces more digestive juices
that are sent to the small intestine to help
with the final breakdown of food.
Emotions – in Chinese Medicine, these
are the same as those for the stomach.
Easy Peasy Anatomy & Physiology 101
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Your Thyroid
One of many glands that all together make up
your endocrine system, the thyroid is one of the
major players in maintaining healthy weight.
An under-functioning or hypo-thyroid can slow
our metabolism way down, and we can gain
weight easily without having made any
changes to our diet or our routines.
And an over-functioning, or a hyper-thyroid,
can speed our metabolism way up which can
cause unhealthy weight loss and lots of health
problems, including some very serious ones.
You don’t want an over-functioning thyroid!
Here are some of the thyroid’s tasks:
Major player in regulating your metabolism
Body weight
Breathing
Heart rate
Muscle strength
Menstrual cycles
Body temperature
Cholesterol levels
Your Adrenals
Another component of your endocrine system,
your two adrenal glands sit one on top of each
kidney and are big players in so many
functions throughout our bodies including
metabolism and the “flight or fight” response.
Here are some of the hormones they make:
Aldosterone – maintains the right balance
of salt and water and helps control blood
pressure
Sex hormones – produces small amounts of
male and female hormones
Adrenaline – helps the body react to
physical or emotional stress, including
after the sympathetic nervous system has
triggered the “flight or fight” response
Cortisol – regulates blood pressure; helps
your body respond to stress; controls the
body’s use of fats, proteins, and carbs;
increases blood sugar, controls
inflammation and immune responses; can
decrease bone formation
Your Brain and Its Glands
The brain sends us signals regarding when
to eat and how much.
The brain is also where two of your
endocrine glands, the pituitary and
hypothalamus, are housed, which run
most of the endocrine system by
constantly looking at how the different
glands are performing and signaling for
them to speed up or slow down or to
release certain hormones.
The brain controls the sympathetic
nervous system which controls the body
during stressful times
The brain also controls the
parasympathetic nervous system which
controls the body during ordinary times
Your Sex Hormones
For us women, estrogen, progesterone,
menstrual cycles, and PMS play a huge role in
our food cravings, our mood, and our weight.
Easy Peasy Anatomy & Physiology 101
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A Closer Look at Those Roots
So on page four, we took a look at a list of
common root causes for weight gain. Now
that we’ve got some knowledge of anatomy
and physiology to draw from, let’s look at why
those roots matter and why counting calories
isn’t the answer for weight loss.
1. Toxic Overload
In our modern industrialized and polluted
world, it’s hard to escape having a toxic
overload to address. Our food, water, beauty
products, cleaners, fragrances, and homes are
full of toxic chemicals.
This puts a big burden on our liver which is
supposed to be helping us digest fats, process
and store vital nutrients, handle sugar, and
remove excess hormones, contributing to
dysfunction that causes weight gain.
Diets high in refined carbohydrates like sugar
white flour and low in fiber can cause a back-
up of waste in the colon which translates into a
bigger burden on the liver and kidneys.
2. Nutritional Deficiencies
One of the leading reasons why we can have
food cravings is that our body is sending us a
signal that it’s deficient in some nutrients –
protein, vitamins, essential fatty acids, minerals
– something is missing for optimal health.
Did you know that even if you’re eating the
most nutritious diet possible, full of organic fruits
and vegetables, whole grains, etc., you still
most likely have nutritional deficiencies?
Why? Because our soil has become
nutritionally depleted from many decades of
poor farming practices. So even the best
Additionally, though, we can put the best
nutrition there is in our bodies, but then we
organic food is nutritionally inferior to foods
grown a hundred years ago.
But even if you eat the most nutritious food
available and the healthiest possible diet,
and you’re getting all the nutrients your body
wants, your body has to be able to perfectly
process and assimilate everything it takes in.
And for most of us, there are aspects of our
digestive function and liver function that
need to be improved for that to happen.
3. Blood Sugar Imbalances
Think “Hangry.” Remember that the liver
plays a big role in blood sugar handling AND
is the organ responsible for anger.
Low blood sugar sends a signal to the brain
that the body needs a “pick me up.” This
causes cravings for sugar and other simple
carbohydrates. This isn’t a lack of willpower
or even something you can consciously
control.
Sugar or refined carbohydrates help release
a burst of serotonin, so you feel good for a
little while. But almost as quickly, you “crash”
and return to your low-serotonin state, and
the cycle starts all over again.
Unfortunately, the more sugar you eat, the
more you crave it because over-consumption
of sugar can lead to insulin resistance. Refer
back to the discussion about this under
“Pancreas.”
4. Hormones
The balance of estrogen and progesterone
and how they affect our menstrual cycles
and create any PMS difficulties for us, are big
factors in our weight.
This is about more than just how well our body
is
Get Back to Your Roots
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Is producing these hormones, it is also about
how well it’s disposing of them, one of the
liver’s jobs.
Imbalances of these hormones cause some of
the different types of PMS and menopause
problems, which can include cravings,
bloating, and weight gain
5. Stress
Stress triggers the body to go into “flight or
fight” mode which causes an increase in the
hormone cortisol. Your body believes it’s
expended a lot of calories to deal with the
stress and signals you to eat more. As the stress
becomes long-term and chronic, this turns into
poor eating habits.
The increased levels of cortisol also cause
increased levels of insulin which makes your
blood sugar drop. So your body calls for more
sugar which means that it’s already told you
that you need to replenish lost calories when
really you don’t. And as if that weren’t already
working against you bad enough as it is, now
it’s going to tell you to reach for carbohydrates
instead of vegetables or protein.
This is why stress makes us want high carb
“comfort foods.” Once we eat the carbs it’s
telling us to, it releases serotonin which makes
us feel calmer. But that soon wears off and the
cycle repeats.
6. Poor Diet
This one in particular can lead to just about
every other type of root cause on this list.
The nutritional deficiencies that go with this will
cause the brain to send signals that it wants
more food because it needs nutrients.
The chemicals in processed foods will burden
the liver and interrupt the hundreds of
functions it does.
A poor diet is almost always high in refined
carbohydrates and sugar and will bring about
the undesirable results we’ve talked about that
come with eating those foods, including more
sugar cravings.
Usually we get much less fiber in our diet when
we’re eating nutritionally poor foods, too, and
this causes additional toxic build-up in the
body.
7. Lack of Sleep
Naturally we won’t have the energy to keep
up a healthy lifestyle if we’re sleep deprived.
Sleep deprivation also causes our body to go
into stress mode, the “fight or flight” response
we talked about earlier which signals it to
release the stress hormone cortisol, triggering
that vicious cycle which promotes weight gain.
But also, the fatigue that comes with not
getting enough sleep causes us to reach for
the unhealthy foods and drinks that give us
quick energy bursts from caffeine and sugar.
8. Fatigue
This can cause weight gain because it feels
very stressful to the body and triggers that
cortisol stress response. Those pesky stress
hormones again!
But root causes like this one can start to look
like those nesting dolls that stack one inside the
other and inside the other, and here’s why.
Because we have to figure out, too, what is
causing the fatigue before we can really
address this.
Fatigue has many possible sources – chronic
Get Back to Your Roots
10
inflammation, viruses, sugar balance problems,
sleep deprivation, hormones, stress,
depression, anemia, alcohol or drug use,
medication side effects, etc.
9. Slow Metabolism
Our metabolism is much more than the rate at
which we burn calories. It’s all the chemical
processes that occur in our bodies to maintain
life.
It’s the buildup and breakdown of substances,
their assimilation, and their transformation into
energy which keeps us going. If any of these
processes become sluggish, it can result in an
undesired accumulation of body fat.
This is another area where those root causes
are like nesting eggs because if slow
metabolism is present, then you have to dig
deeper to find out what is slow and why. The
thyroid, for example, plays a big role in this.
10. Emotions
From my own personal experience and those
of the clients I’ve worked with, I actually
believe this is one of the beginning sources of
all the root causes most of the time. I had
weight issues because of my emotions and
past traumas. I believe those were the real
roots of my auto-immune diseases, too.
The emotional roots of weight issues really
speak to why weight gain is so much more
than how many calories we eat and burn.
Every ancient healing tradition takes emotions
into account when looking at what’s physically
wrong. We’re holistic beings, and all the many
physical, emotional, and spiritual parts of us
are constantly working together and
functioning together, and any disruption
anywhere affects everything else.
The common emotions that are associated
with organs are these:
Grief, regret, loss – lungs, large intestines
Anger, being unforgiving – liver/gallbladder
Fear, trauma – kidneys
Brokenhearted – heart, small intestines
Worry, overthinking – stomach, pancreas
While this is a little oversimplified, it does
illustrate the point that our emotions have
long been recognized as having a real
physical effect on us.
One of the most common examples of this
goes back to the stress hormones we’ve
been talking about. Now that you know a
little Anatomy & Physiology, as well, you can
look at this list and see how various emotions
begin to pull down the function of some of
the organs that play a role in healthy weight.
For example, if we have churning thoughts
that keep going round and round, and we
just can’t process them, chances are we’ve
now got the same thing going on in our
stomach -food churning round and round
and not getting digested. Why? The stress
hormones.
The “fight or flight” response developed as a
survival mechanism to get us humans away
from the saber-toothed tiger that was
chasing us on the savannah, so we could run
away and climb up a tree to safety.
Survival is the top priority to the body. If we
need to run fast from danger, the
sympathetic nervous system kicks into this pre-
programmed “flight or fight” response to get
us away from this immediate danger. At
Get Back to Your Roots
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that moment nothing else matters. The
sympathetic nervous system intentionally
shuts down any functions unnecessary for
escape and focuses every available resource
on the functions that are needed for escape.
Do we need to digest food while running
across the savannah from the tiger? Nope.
What about the immune system. Should we
worry about fighting off that virus that’s been
trying to take hold for the last two days? The
virus won’t matter if we’re eaten by the tiger,
right?
How about getting pregnant? Should we
send some energy to the reproductive organs
while we run? Of course not. Should we relax
and try to catch up on sleep? Most definitely
not!
What we do need is blood, oxygen, glucose
for energy - and lots of it! We need it going to
the muscles and every body part involved in
getting ourselves up that tree immediately!
We better be very hypervigilant, too, so we
know exactly where that saber toothed tiger
is at all moments and can adjust our direction
in a flash without even thinking about it.
Our body does all of this for us automatically,
and we safely get up that tree. We have to
wait a little while until the tiger gives up and
goes away, but when he finally does, we can
come down and go back to the safety and
comforting welcome of the tribe.
The body gets the message that all is well
now. The sympathetic nervous system which
operates to get us out of danger shuts down,
and the parasympathetic nervous system
which operates during ordinary times kicks
back in again.
If you haven’t already puked up your
breakfast during the run, the body resumes
digestion again. The immune system fires up
and continues to go to work on that virus
that’s been trying to turn into a head cold for
two days now. And you start to feel
exhausted from your ordeal. Your body lets
go, and you sleep deeply and recover.
Fast forward a few millennia to our modern
world. The saber toothed tiger is extinct, but
we have more perceived dangers now than
our ancestors ever did! We turn on the news
to see images of wars, school shootings, and
natural disasters.
Maybe we have a high stress job, and there’s
no shortage of the continual supply of
stressful situations there. Even when we come
home from work, we don’t really leave those
stresses. We worry about them all night long.
What does this ongoing stress do? It makes
our bodies think that we’re running from a
saber toothed tiger for years and years on
end without ever finding a tree to climb. It
stays in “flight or fight” mode and the
sympathetic nervous system’s stress response.
We never get the safe and comforting
reunion with the tribe and the peace of
knowing the danger is completely gone.
So the body keeps calling for more sugar
because it believes the muscles still need
glucose to get away. It keeps digestive
function to a bare minimum, and we begin to
have ulcers, heartburn, and mal-assimilation
of nutrients.
The immune system stops fighting bugs, and
Get Back to Your Roots
12
we succumb to every virus that goes around.
Reproductive issues begin to show up like
infertility, menstrual issues, hormonal
imbalances, PMS, and more. Insomnia
becomes the nightly norm.
All these things can happen from the body
being controlled by the sympathetic nervous
system’s response to perceived danger. And it
goes on and on for years without us ever being
able to feel the relief of the danger being
passed and letting the parasympathetic
nervous system resume the ordinary time
functions again.
So this is why our emotions can actually be the
prime root of just about everything that ails us,
including weight gain.
11. Side Effects of Medication
Many times when we pick up our medications,
we don’t read through the paperwork that
comes with it to learn about the side effects.
That’s a habit that we really should develop
just to be very informed consumers and really
be in charge of our health. And weight gain
actually is a side effect of some medications.
I always ask my clients if they are aware of the
side effects of their medications, and many
times, they aren’t.
Medications are outside the scope of what I
do, but I do recommend to my clients to read
up on each medication thoroughly and talk
about all of their concerns with their doctor.
If you’d like more info on your meds, there are
trustworthy medical websites where you can
learn all about them.
12. Too Little Exercise
So this one isn’t a surprise. We do know that
we need to move and get sweaty to be
healthy and manage our weight.
If you haven’t exercised in a long time, be
sure to check with your doctor before you
begin a new program.
But really, any new steps you can take (pun
intended) to make improvements will bring
results.
Start by walking to the mailbox every day,
then walk around the block every day, then
two blocks, and pretty soon, you’re walking a
mile. Consistency will get you there!
Most important, keep it fun. If I had to go to a
gym and work out in a fitness boot camp
every morning, there’s almost zero chance I
would be successful because I know already I
wouldn’t enjoy that at all. We’re so much
more likely to stick with something that’s fun!
For me, that’s karate! Find what’s fun for you.
13. Too Much Exercise
Ok, this one really is a surprise, right? But think
about it. Too much exercise is a stress on the
body, and we’ve learned all about stress,
and the troubles it causes.
So when does healthy exercise become too
much exercise? There’s no one-size-fits-all
answer for this. That tipping point is unique to
each person’s physiology and current state of
health.
One way to evaluate this is to check your
heart rate while you exercise. A target heart
rate chart can help you to make sure you’re
getting enough exercise to receive good
benefits, but not too much to cause stress.
Get Back to Your Roots
13
I spent so many years dieting and trying new workouts
or exercise programs, and I never once succeeded in
getting to a healthy weight and staying there. And I
have so many friends and clients who have ridden the
diet and exercise roller coaster.
There’s so much of a feeling of failure when we do that
because we think we’re either on the wagon or we fell
off of it. Why do we do this to ourselves?
I think it’s because our reason for doing it isn’t something
that makes our heart sing. It doesn’t feel right to us, and
so at a deeper, subconscious level, we’re not really that
into it, in fact, often times we reject it.
I know for me, my reasons were all things that were
outside of myself and very fear-based: how I would look
in a swimsuit, what others would think about me, and so
many other disempowering beliefs.
The change came for me when I decided I was going
to get healthy – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
And I was going to do it for me from a place of self-love
and because the greatest gift I could give to my sons
was the example of a healthy mom.
So that became something I could put my whole heart
and soul into, and I did! It became a joy and a passion.
I didn’t expect perfection from myself because
perfection isn’t a healthy mindset. I didn’t worry about
what others would think about how I looked, because if
I got healthy for me, why would that even matter? It
gave me freedom and self-respect.
One of the best things I did for myself when I chose this,
was I threw my bathroom scale away. I started to listen
to my body and my feelings and what they needed
from me and no longer paid attention to a number on
the scale or the size tag on my clothes. I wanted to feel
energized and excited about who I was again. And
that was all that mattered! And I began to lose weight.
Have you thought about why you want to lose weight?
What’s Your Why?
And I said to my body
softy, “I want to be your
friend.” It took a long
breath and replied, “I
have been waiting my
whole life for this.”
– Nayyirah Waheed
14
Self-Love
I totally believe that if we can begin to love ourselves, everything else in our lives will begin to
naturally fall into place, including our weight. Let’s talk about how the benefits of self-love can
set us up for success by putting us in the frame of mind we need in order to consistently make all
those little choices that over time help us naturally and effortlessly become healthy and fit.
Research has actually shown that extending love, acceptance, and compassion to ourselves
can bring amazing improvements in health and well-being. Should that really surprise us,
though? Plants, animals, children, adults…every living thing thrives on kindness and acceptance
received from others. It’s only natural that we would benefit from our own kindness as well.
But earlier experiences in our lives can condition us to believe that we are unlovable, that there’s
something wrong with us. Those harmful messages can have an equally negative affect on our
well-being, and especially our weight.
Those patterns have been programmed in us, but we’re in charge of that programming, and
self-love is a powerful tool for change.
You are worthy of everything good in this world including love and kindness. You can make a
commitment today to choose to love yourself like you deserve to be loved.
What is self-love and why is it good for us?
Self-love is giving the same kindness and compassion to ourselves that we would show to a dear
friend or family member.
And I want to emphasize this. Self-love is not at all selfish because it doesn’t seek to have
something at the expense of someone else. Instead, it can actually help us to be able to give
more to others because we can’t pour from an empty cup.
Self-love is authentic, kind, and compassionate, accepting everything about ourselves without
judgment, comparison, shame, or guilt. It’s about believing that we are inherently worthy and
deserving of all that is good for us and treating ourselves as if we believe that.
Self-love helps us make healthy choices
This one has been so important for me! I made so many choices that were based on reactions
to fear. But self-love helped me to recognize that and gave me a different way to think about
things. When fear and negativity started to take hold of my thoughts, I would make a conscious
decision to stop and repeat loving affirmations until I was more centered and calm again. Then I
could choose what to do based on what was healthy and not simply react out of fear.
We’re constantly bombarded with messages of everything we’re supposedly missing out on by
not being skinnier. It can be so easy to make fear-based decisions because of that, even doing
things to lose weight that we know aren’t in our best interest. It takes courage and strength to let
go of the fear and just focus on doing what’s good for us and becoming healthy.
15
Self-Love, continued
Self-love helps us relate to ourselves better
We hear about the importance of self-esteem, but trying to experience high self-esteem can
actually make us feel worse about ourselves because it usually involves evaluating ourselves
positively and feeling a need to be special and above average. This is where struggling with
weight can really hurt. I hope you can see that self-esteem and self-love are not the same thing.
Self-love is a kind, accepting way of relating to ourselves at ALL times, even when we feel like a
failure or inadequate or imperfect. It’s simply learning to love ourselves unconditionally,
including in our thoughts and self-talk. And self-love can actually help us be more emotionally
resilient and happier.
Self-love encourages self-care
Because self-love is a conscious choice to do what’s good for us, it changes our habits – eating
healthier, going to bed earlier, exercising, etc. - all become more natural. For the same reasons
that we wouldn’t let our kids eat a gallon of ice cream and stay up until midnight playing video
games, we make the same healthy choices for our own well-being, too.
It also allows us to take time to unwind and relax and do things to promote less stress and better
well-being. It allows us to enjoy the things that bring us pleasure and happiness.
Self-love lets us give ourselves permission to fail and make mistakes, too, setting us free to explore
new hobbies, make new friends, create, laugh, and have fun, all of which are so good for our
health and well-being.
These things are all important pieces of the different facets of our health and wellness, and
although often over-looked, they do indeed play a big role in our weight.
Self-love promotes healthy relationships
An 80-year Harvard study showed that the secret to living longer and being healthier and
happier was healthy relationships. A good measure of the health of our self-love is the quality of
people we have around us because they reflect what is going on inside of us. Are they angry,
toxic, disrespectful, manipulative, or critical? Do they drain our energy?
When we love ourselves, we aren’t shackled to a need to please others or a fear of
disappointing them or being criticized. We can set boundaries and keep out toxic behaviors
and experiences without fear or guilt.
The better we feel about ourselves, the more we will want to choose acquaintances and friends
who will support us, respect us, be loving and kind to us, accept us as we are, and help us grow
to be better. And the more we engage with these types of people, the better we feel about
ourselves and the less we will be willing to put up with disrespectful behavior.
16
How do we begin practicing self-love?
Begin with resolve
Place your hand over your heart or give yourself a hug and say, “I love myself.” Pause
throughout the day to assess how you’re doing and come back to this as often as you need. It
may sound cheesy, but I know from experience it’s very important!
Develop a habit of planning rather than reacting
Plan your week of healthy meals and snacks. Cook healthy foods ahead of time. Develop an
evening routine that sets you up for a good morning. Have a strategy for excusing yourself from
a toxic situation. Look for other areas where you can set yourself up for success by planning
ahead.
Control the messages you receive
Music, television, radio, and social media are filled with negative, unloving, and destructive
messages and images. Examine carefully what you’re taking in. Look for music, podcasts, or
audio books that are inspirational and uplifting. You might be wondering how this can possibly
help with losing weight, but it really does!
Remember the stress hormones? So much of what’s in the media is very stressful. Unplug and
purposefully choose what you listen to with all the same loving care and attention that you put
into choosing what you eat. It’s an essential part of mind-body wellness. And you’ll find it
contributes to self-growth, developing new hobbies and interests, and more!
Be mindful of your thoughts
The messages we listen to the most frequently, though, are the ones we tell ourselves, that go
around and around in our minds. Find some positive affirmations you can memorize and say to
yourself over and over to break those cycles when it’s happening. Change the programming. It
may take time and work, but you can retrain your brain to believe you are lovable and worthy.
You can even try music with subliminal messages which repeat positive phrases over and over in
a way where you can’t hear them but your brain can. I listen to music and meditations with
positive subliminal messages all the time!
Be responsible for getting your needs met
Many of us have a helpless child locked inside of us, unable to identify or express our needs,
feelings, desires, preferences, and interests. Learn to assert yourself. Make your own decisions,
especially about physical and emotional health. Choose what’s good for you. Becoming an
adult includes taking conscious control of our lives, claiming our power, and not feeling helpless.
Self-Love, continued
17
“Loving the self, to me, begins
with never ever criticizing
ourselves for anything. Criticism
locks us into the very pattern we
are trying to change.
Understanding and being gentle
with ourselves helps us to move
out of it. Remember, you have
been criticizing yourself for
years, and it hasn’t worked. Try
approving of yourself and see
what happens.”
― Louise L. Hay
Self-Love, continued
Make time for you
Give yourself a break. Go for a walk, take a hot bath, watch your favorite movie, cook a
special meal, get reflexology (my personal favorite), but the important thing is set aside
uninterrupted quality time for yourself. And believe that you are worth it, that you are important
enough to do that for yourself.
Make peace with old wounds and traumas
Although these will be with us for life, self-love can help us heal by changing our perception of
them. Much of what makes them so painful is the shame and guilt and feelings of unworthiness
we carry around because of them. Those stories may have their share of weakness, faults,
sufferings, and fear, but they are also filled with strengths, perseverance, joy, and courage. Your
story will be a powerful inspiration for others going through the same thing.
Practice meditation
Meditation is a great way to let go of stress, clear your mind, and get centered and grounded
each day. It trains our brains to quiet the thoughts and worries and to just be calm and still.
Guided meditations and meditations with affirmations are especially helpful, and there are
many free versions of both of these on YouTube.
I’ll talk about some of these strategies a little more and how they can help us lose weight, but I
want to emphasize how important self-love is and to encourage you to take some time every
day to work on this. This is where all the change begins! You can’t be healthy without it!
18
I’m about to challenge most of everything you’ve ever heard about food and dieting.
Nourishing, healthy foods are the best allies our bodies ever had! But dieting gives us the idea
that food is something that can be very harmful to us – causing diseases and obesity - and
therefore we have to mitigate the damage it can do by restricting how much of it we let in.
This is where I think the entire concept of dieting and many of the restrictive, healthy-lifestyle
type of fad diets have really gone wrong. I want you to think about this from a holistic
standpoint - how the body, mind, and emotions all work together.
Our thoughts affect every single cell in our bodies. If we believe food is bad in any way or that
we’ve done something to feel ashamed of or guilty about when we eat, how do you think our
bodies will respond to that?
I think that if we have those beliefs, the mind body connection will respond accordingly, and
it’s very likely that the digestive process isn’t going to work well when we eat. The food won’t
be digested and assimilated properly, and we’ll experience all the health problems that come
with that, including weight gain. Could this mind/body connection even contribute to why we
have food sensitivities and have to avoid more and more foods such as gluten, dairy, or meat?
I want to invite you to have a new relationship with food, to realize that the only foods that are
“bad” are those which really aren’t food at all, and that all the wonderful, nourishing foods are
your best friends for having a healthy weight. Let every cell in your body believe that and
know that you deserve to feel nourished, strong, and healthy, and that your body will thank
you by feeing and looking amazing. Focus on eating to be healthy and treat food as your ally.
“Fat isn’t the problem.
Dieting is the problem.
A society that rejects
anyone whose body
shape or size doesn’t
match an impossible
ideal is the problem. A
medical establishment
that equates ‘thin’ with
‘healthy’ is the
problem.” Linda Bacon
Our Relationship with Food
19
So What Foods Are Healthy? When it comes to what’s healthy to eat and
what isn’t, there are as many opinions out
there as there are books on the subject. And
quite a bit of it is based on old
misunderstandings about food and health. When I first was changing my diet and
lifestyle, I was very drawn to books that
advocated removing all sorts of foods from
the diet. Being a recovering anorexic, that
came naturally to me.
To hear that perfectly good foods were my
enemy made sense to me because I had an
unhealthy relationship with food.
I became a strict vegan for many years, and
even eliminated a lot of foods many vegans
would eat, all the while thinking this would
help me regain my health. But it actually
caused me a lot of harm including causing
chronic anemia, protein deficiencies, and
many vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
There are times when people really do need
to eliminate even some healthy foods due to
serious health issues such as inflammatory
conditions and food allergies. Their body has
developed a reaction to the foods for various
reasons.
But this is usually because something isn’t
functioning properly in the body, and not
because there’s something inherently wrong
with the food. This is often just a temporary
situation that can resolve once health and
balance are restored.
For now, let’s just talk about in general, what
foods are healthy and good for us.
Focus on Nourishing, Not Restricting I hope that you can see from the anatomy
and physiology and root causes that we’ve
talked about, that our bodies have to be
functioning optimally to easily and consistently
stay at a normal weight.
It’s impossible for that to happen unless we’re
well-nourished. This means eating foods that
are healthy, alive, and full of vitality, containing
ample amounts of protein, good fats, vitamins,
and minerals.
We can’t nourish our bodies with refined and
processed foods including the weight loss meal
kits that people subscribe to. There may be
some temporary weight loss from restricting
calories, but the body isn’t being fed, and this
will eventually add to the problems.
However, when we do nourish our bodies, not
only do we set ourselves up for naturally
maintaining a healthy weight, we can
experience all sorts of serendipitous side effects
we never anticipated such as improvements in
our hair, skin, complexion, and nails! Health is
beauty!
I can’t emphasize enough that success is
going to depend on developing this healthy
relationship with food, viewing food as the best
friend your body ever had.
Believe that you deserve to be well-nourished
and well-fed. Trust that food is what makes
you beautiful, healthy, and fit.
Get excited about indulging in healthy snacks
and treats, finding new recipes, and planning
delicious, satisfying meals. Pause before
eating to feel gratitude for your food.
Eat to be Healthy, Not to Lose Weight
20
content and makes great yeast breads. Flour
from the soft spring wheat, pastry wheat flour,
is lower in gluten content and works well in
quick breads, pastries, cookies, and other
baked goods.
Some will say that gluten is inherently bad for
health, but people have been eating gluten
for millennia and enjoyed good health.
There are some people who do have a real
disease that makes it impossible for them to
eat gluten, such as those with Celiac’s
Disease.
But for most people, it’s not the gluten that’s
causing them problems. Nearly every
product that contains wheat and other
sources of gluten has other issues that are the
real source of the trouble. Usually those foods
are highly processed, refined, non-organic,
and full of chemicals.
So when people eliminate gluten and feel
better, it’s probably because they’ve
cleaned up their diet which is the case most
of the time when people eliminate foods and
feel better.
Be careful when reading labels. Many
products will say, “wheat flour” on the label
which can look like it’s made from whole
wheat when actually it’s made from refined,
white flour. If it doesn’t says, “whole wheat
flour,” it’s refined.
And when it comes to refined sugar, the best
thing you can do for your health, if you can
only make ONE change right now, is to get rid
of the sugar - 100% gone, no more forever!
This includes other sweeteners like fructose,
high fructose corn syrup, and brown sugar.
The Qualities of Healthy Foods
Foods that are healthy, vibrant, and alive share
these traits:
1. Healthy foods are organic. Organic foods
are grown without toxic chemical pesticides
and fertilizers which add to our body’s toxic
burden and create health problems.
The same chemicals that kill bugs on crops also
kill the good bacteria and yeast in your gut,
and when the gut flora balance becomes
unhealthy, all sorts of problems begin such as
immune issues, poor digestive system function,
malabsorption of nutrients, emotional
imbalances, and mental fogginess.
And because organic foods are grown in soil
that is much more nutrient dense than the soil
that non-organic crops are grown in, they’re
more nutrient-rich than non-organic foods.
Organic foods are labeled as organic, and
almost all supermarkets carry some organic
fruits and vegetables. They cost a little more,
but you deserve to be well-nourished.
2. Healthy foods are whole. Whole foods are
still the complete package that nature meant
them to be. They haven’t had the fiber, bran,
or any other part taken away.
The most common types of foods that aren’t
whole is refined carbohydrates, especially
white flour and sugar, and they are at the root
of numerous health problems from diabetes to
heart disease. These aren’t food.
Fresh, 100% whole grain flours are full of all the
nutrients nature intended. Flour that comes
from the hard winter wheat is higher in gluten
Healthy Foods Made Simple
21
Now don’t panic! Desserts are still on the
menu. Lots of them! Sweets are just fine as long
as they are actually food and not something
nature never intended like refined sweeteners.
There are lots of yummy, wholesome
sweeteners, and you can make almost
anything with them that you could with sugar –
cookies, brownies, cakes, fudge, etc.
If you have a sweet treat that you like, just
Google to find a recipe for a healthy
alternative. Google, “Healthy Chocolate Chip
Cookies, recipe.”
Experiment with adding the word “paleo” into
your Google search. I’m not necessarily
advocating a paleo diet, however the
parameters of paleo eating often lead to
some great recipes for sweet treats that are
super healthy.
For example, “Paleo fudge recipes” can give
results for recipes that are so nutritious, made
with almond butter and other healthy goodies,
that you can eat them as a nourishing snack
any time you please!
Honey, stevia, blackstrap molasses,
evaporated cane juice, Sucanat (a whole
brown sugar) – are all sweeteners that are
good for you and high in valuable nutrients.
And please stay away from artificial
sweeteners. These aren’t natural, and studies
have shown how very toxic these are to us and
linked them to numerous health problems.
Now that we’ve talked about how healthy
foods are whole foods, let’s move on to the
next quality that healthy foods share.
3. Healthy foods don’t contain chemical
additives. Artificial flavors, artificial colors,
preservatives, MSG, and other chemicals that
are added to food are quite toxic and have
also been linked to numerous health
problems. It’s important to read labels and
avoid products that contain these. If an
ingredient on the label sounds like a
chemical and not a food, then don’t eat that
product.
4. Healthy foods are ethically produced. The
energy of the people and company who
produce a food definitely affect its nourishing
capacities. While it’s not possible to maintain
a standard of perfection here, there are
things you can do to get pretty close.
Buying local and at farmer’s markets can
help support small business owners, and more
care and TLC often goes into their farming
and food preparations.
Buy poultry and eggs from cage-free
companies. Buy beef and dairy products
from cows that are grass fed, no antibiotics,
hormones, or vaccinations, and if possible
processed by the humane livestock handling
standards developed by Temple Grandin. If
you haven’t heard of her and her work, I
highly recommend you read some of her
books. And if you’re a vegan or vegetarian
struggling with the idea of eating meat for
ethical reasons, I would really encourage you
to read her writings on that subject.
Look for foods labeled, “Fair trade.” This
means the foods were not raised by forced
labor or in poor working conditions for the
laborers. It also means the crops are
sustainably raised and non GMO.
5. Healthy foods are not GMO. Many studies
have linked health issues to GMO foods.
They’re not foods as nature intended.
Healthy Foods Made Simple, cont.
22
Allrighty, now you’ve got a good
understanding of what healthy foods are, so
let’s talk about how to use those to plan a
healthy diet that’s balanced and full of good
nutrition.
Fruits and Vegetables
This should be the main foundation of your
diet. A general recommendation is to have
twice as many vegetables as fruits each day
and to aim for nine servings. So that would be
six servings of veggies and three servings of
fruit.
Buying fruits and veggies fresh is best. Frozen is
also an acceptable option. Remember to buy
organic. I don’t recommend canned, though,
because most of the nutrition is destroyed in
the canning process. Dried fruits can be very
difficult to digest.
And this is just simple, single-ingredient foods
here, not fruits and veggies that are in
products containing sauces or any other
ingredients. This also doesn’t include white,
golden, or red potatoes and corn. Those are
starches, not veggies. Yams and sweet
potatoes are veggies, though.
Nuts and Seeds
These are great added to salads and other
foods or just eaten alone. Buy organic and
raw, or slightly roasted, nothing added to
them. Store them in a cool place to keep
them from going rancid. The freezer is great.
Chia seeds, hemp seeds, poppy seeds, sesame
seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower
seeds, flax seeds, almonds, walnuts, cashews,
pecans, pine nuts, almond butter, and tahini
are especially great.
Grains and Pseudo Grains
If you have any troubles with regular grains
like wheat, these can be a little easier to
digest. Two or three servings a day is plenty.
Quinoa, buckwheat, teff, millet, amaranth,
brown rice, oat, and wild rice are all good.
You can even buy breads made from these.
Legumes
Lentils, split peas, and other beans all fall in
this category. They’re a good source of
protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Meat and Eggs
Most women don’t eat enough protein. If
you have a drop in your energy in the
afternoons, protein is especially important.
Switching your meals around so that you
have your meat and protein in the morning
and your oatmeal in the evening can do
wonders for having more sustained energy in
the day and sleeping better at night.
Cage-free, free-range poultry and eggs, cold
water deep sea fish that aren’t farm raised,
wild game, and grass fed beef are great.
On average, it’s recommended to have at
least half your body weight in grams of
protein each day, but this can vary
depending on your age and activity level.
Nutrition
23
Fats and Oils
We’ve all heard that fats, especially those from
animal products, are the cause of heart
disease, high cholesterol, and weight gain and
that a low fat diet is a healthy diet. But good
fats and cholesterol are vital for health. Our
bodies have to have them to be able to make
hormones and for good brain health.
Our brain is about 60% fat, and we have to
have good fats for proper brain function. Fats
are also essential for absorption of fat-soluble
vitamins A, K, D, and E.
Thankfully just in the last few months
information that’s been known for decades is
finally being brought to the public’s attention -
that sugar and refined carbohydrates were the
real culprits in heart disease, and not fats. It’s a
myth that fats make us fat and that low-fat
diets will make us skinny.
What really matters for health and naturally
maintaining a normal weight is the types of fat
we eat. Processed, refined, hydrogenated,
and trans- fats are all very bad for our health.
You want to buy organic, extra virgin, cold
pressed oils.
Butter, ghee (clarified butter), avocado oil,
olive oil, and coconut oil are very healthy. Fish
oils are full of essential fatty acids vital for good
health.
If you haven’t had these healthy fats, or have
been eating a low fat diet, or haven’t been
able to assimilate fats due to digestive issues,
you can probably benefit from several
tablespoons a day.
Fermented Foods
These are some of my very favorite foods and
some of the best food allies we have for good
health! You can buy these in most natural
food stores, and you can also easily make
them at home.
If you don’t know what fermented foods are,
this may sound a little yucky, but trust me,
they’re quite tasty and very good for you.
And don’t worry, the fermentation process
that makes these foods doesn’t produce any
alcohol.
Fermentation has been around for thousands
of years and was developed because
people needed a way to preserve foods so
they wouldn’t spoil.
The fermentation process creates lactic acid,
a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying
bacteria. Starches and sugars in vegetables
and fruits are converted to lactic acid by the
many species of lactic-acid-producing
bacteria and yeasts.
But we have refrigerators and freezers now to
prevent fermentation, so why do we need to
ferment our foods to prevent them from
putrefying?
Well, we don’t need to ferment them to
preserve them, but we do need the digestive
and health benefits these organisms provide.
If you’ve taken antiobiotics or if you drink
chlorinated water or even if you eat foods
with pesticide residue, you can wipe out
these helpful organisms in your gut.
Even the effects of stress or acid-blocking
drugs can reduce stomach acid production
and can cause you to lose these valuable
organisms because as we produce less
stomach acid, the pH of our gut becomes
more alkaline, and that alkaline environment
kills the good microorganisms and causes the
bad ones to thrive and multiply.
Nutrition, cont.
24
The beneficial bacteria and yeasts that are
produced in the fermentation process help our
digestion by breaking down the starches and
sugars we eat and turning them into lactic
acid.
So when we eat these fermented foods that
are rich in these good bacteria and yeasts,
those organisms help our digestion by
processing carbohydrates and the lactic acid
creates an environment that promotes
absorption of nutrients and is unfriendly to bad
bacteria and yeasts.
A recent study showed that people who were
ridiculously healthy in their 90’s all had one
common trait – very healthy gut flora. (Gut
flora is the term used to refer to the
microorganisms in our gut, all the good ones
and the bad ones.)
So what foods are fermented and full of these
good bugs? Some of the most common ones
are kefir, yogurt, kombucha, cultured
vegetables like sauerkraut, miso, apple cider
vinegar, and sourdough.
Just be sure they haven’t been pasteurized
after fermenting because the heat of the
pasteurization process kills the beneficial
organisms.
Be sure to read labels when you buy these
products. Look for organic foods with no
added sugars or chemicals. Even most people
who are sensitive to dairy can handle
fermented dairy products because the lactose
has already been digested and turned into
lactic acid by the beneficial organisms.
And many people who have trouble digesting
grains or gluten can often handle sourdough
products for the same reason.
For thousands of years before the current
bread-making practices which use baking
yeast, sourdough was made with the
bacteria and yeasts of fermentation. This
process takes several days and breaks down
the components of the grain including
gluten, yielding a product that is much easier
to digest.
I hope I’ve been able to talk you into
including abundant amounts of these
fermented foods in your diet. It’s one of the
best things you can do for your health.
Spices
Far more than just flavoring for foods, spices
have loads of health benefits, especially for
improving digestion. Add these abundantly
to your recipes!
A few of the most common ones are – basil,
bay leaves, cardamom, cayenne, chili
powder, chives, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves,
coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger,
lemon grass, mint, mustard, nutmeg,
oregano, paprika, parsley, black pepper,
rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, and
turmeric.
I really encourage you to use lots of ginger,
onions, and garlic. In Ayurveda, the oldest
healing tradition in the world, these beneficial
foods are called the “trinity roots.”
Trikatu is an Ayurvedic blend of three
pungent herbs – pippali, ginger, and black
pepper – used in cooking, traditionally to
enkindle the digestive fire, aid in assimilation
of nutrients, support the digestion of fats and
the burning of body fat and a healthy
metabolism, and aid the elimination of toxins.
Nutrition, cont.
25
Apple Cider Vinegar
Since most of us don’t produce enough
stomach acid, taking a couple teaspoons of
apple cider vinegar with each meal is great for
our digestion and a good support for health. It
helps keep our gut pH acidic so we can
assimilate nutrients and have healthy gut flora.
Sea Salt Sea salt is the most nutritious of all salts and
contains dozens of trace minerals we don’t get
in the table salt from the grocery store.
Sometimes people think that because we hear
so much about reducing salt, that the healthy
way to approach salt is to just eliminate it
altogether.
Our bodies have to have salt. And salt is a
valuable source of iodine, which our thyroid
needs to function properly. Eliminating salt can
often lead to the development of a goiter,
hypothyroidism, and adrenal gland issues.
What about Dairy?
So many of the problems people are
experiencing with dairy really aren’t about the
dairy. If we’ve lost our gut flora, we’ve lost our
most important ally for helping us digest the
milk by turning the lactose in milk into lactic
acid.
And milk that isn’t organic can contain
hormones that were given to the cow it came
from, which cause us troubles. The processes
of homogenization and pasteurization change
the milk and make it harder for us to digest.
In general, healthy bodies can handle
healthy milk. Even those with some issues with
milk can often handle fermented milks like
kefir and yogurt because the lactose has
already been broken down.
If you can handle milk, I really support
including it in your diet. Most ancient healing
systems like Ayurveda make regular use of
milk.
If you know that you aren’t able to digest milk
well, then you might want to consider a dairy-
free alternative like almond or coconut milk.
Beverages
Water - A general guideline is half your body
weight in ounces of water every day. If you
live in a dry climate or at a high altitude, you
need more than that. I’m in a very dry
climate and altitude over 6,000 ft., and I find I
nearly have to double that recommendation
every day to stay hydrated. If you can use a
filter to get rid of the chlorine but still keep the
natural minerals, that’s best.
Coffee - I don’t think people have to
eliminate coffee for good health, in fact the
bitter nature of it is good for the digestion.
However, if you have trouble sleeping or your
energy crashes in the afternoons, it may be
necessary to eliminate it or greatly reduce it.
Green tea – This is super healthy and makes a
great weight loss support. The caffeine in it
doesn’t have the same effect on us nearly
like coffee or soda does.
Alcohol - An occasional glass of red wine is
ok, too. I suggest buying organic.
Nutrition, cont.
26
Healthy Food Habits
1. Plan a week of menus: I like to do this during the week after next week’s sales ads for my
favorite grocery store become available. This way I can have my shopping list all ready to
take to the store by the weekend.
2. Shop for a week at a time: If you have a refrigerator full of a week’s food, it makes it easier
to resist the urge to take shortcuts like eating out during the week.
3. Sign up to have recipes sent to your email every day: Find some blogs or healthy recipe
websites that you like and have emails sent to you every day. Try something new.
4. Don’t aim for perfection: Please let go of the idea that you’re either on the wagon or
you’ve fallen off of it. It’ll never be possible to follow a perfectly healthy diet. Just let it be
your goal to make the most loving choice you can for yourself every moment. Learning to
eat healthy is something we keep fine tuning and mastering our whole lives.
5. Include lots of desserts: Nearly every sweet treat can be made in a way that’s so healthy
and nutritious, that it could almost take the place of a meal. Find some healthy recipes and
enjoy them often!
6. Keep “healthier” processed foods on hand: Sometimes you just need crackers or ice
cream or snack bars. Instead of reaching for something really unhealthy at those moments,
find some healthy upgrades to your favorite comfort foods at your natural grocery store. Just
make sure the ingredients are in line with what we’ve talked about, and even though you’ll
be eating a processed food, you’ll still get some nutritional benefit from it and most
importantly, you’ll avoid a whole bunch of the damaging ingredients in the usual junk food
options.
7. Cook ahead: Plan for those days that you know you can’t cook. Make a bigger batch of
something else earlier in the week or put something in the slow cooker that morning.
8. Always support your digestion: Foods that are raw or cold in temperature are actually
tough on the digestion. Our bodies can’t handle a whole lot of them, and if we’re working on
being healthy to naturally achieve a normal weight, then we’ve probably already got some
aspects of the functions of our digestion that aren’t up to par. Slightly steaming veggies, using
plenty of warming spices, letting smoothies come to room temp before drinking them – all of
these ideas can help to counter this. (Tip: Add some grated ginger root or cinnamon to your
smoothies to really warm them up!)
Keep the seasons in mind, too. In the cold times of winter, we really can’t handle cold and
raw foods. We need warm, hearty, strengthening foods. However, in the hot days of summer,
our bodies like to have foods that are lighter, cooler, and even raw. Spring time is when our
body wants to lighten up, detoxify, and shed pounds. In the fall, it wants to store up for winter,
not detox. By working with these cycles, we can keep our digestion at a more optimal level.
27
Reducing your toxic exposure is an important lifestyle change to make for good health!
Most people have no idea that when it comes to their weight, chemicals count more than
calories! They don’t realize that the chemicals in their perfume, laundry products, and home air
fresheners are creating a toxic burden on their bodies.
The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine recently published a study that
claims that regularly using household cleaning products can have the same effect on your health
as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day!
The good news is that most of the products we use that have harmful chemicals in them can
easily be swapped out for greener products that are better for us and the environment.
Cosmetics, skin care, soaps, cleaners, air fresheners – even regular supermarkets are beginning to
carry greener alternatives to these.
Years of exposure to these take a toll on our liver especially, and we’ve seen the important role
that the liver plays in naturally maintaining a healthy weight. It’s important to do a little spring
cleaning on our bodies periodically to help get rid of the toxic buildup of chemicals. Remember
spring is when our bodies want to lighten up and do a little detoxing.
I have a toxicity questionnaire I have my clients fill out. It shows all the different symptoms
associated with digestion, ears, emotions, energy, eyes, head, lungs, mind, mouth and throat,
nose, skin, heart, joints and muscles, weight, and more that can be caused from a toxic overload
and looks for ways that they could be exposing themselves to toxins.
I like to use a 21 Day Purification Program for myself and my clients at least once a year. I love
the results from it which can include increased energy and vitality, better digestion, less bloating,
improved weight management, clearer skin, shinier hair, better sleep, and clearer thinking.
Studies have been done on people going through this program that show the benefits included
reduced weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, triglycerides, and more.
Toxins and Purification
“Health is the thing
that makes you feel
that now is the best
time of year.”
Franklin P. Adams
28
Exercise
The very word “exercise” can make us cringe. I think that we’ve gotten this idea wrong just like
we have with dieting. Why does it have to be something punishing that’s difficult to look forward
to? This is why I know I wouldn’t have what it takes to complete a “Fitness Boot Camp.” That
might be super fun for some people, but it wouldn’t be for me. And It needs to sound fun if I’m
going to stick to it. I absolutely LOVE karate, so it’s no problem for me to be consistent with that!
Bottom line, we just need to move and use our muscles and get sweaty. There are so many
different ways we can do that and have fun at the same time! And maybe after you’ve done
something you enjoy for a few months and feel like you’re conditioned enough to try something
a little more difficult. It might be easier to do some intense cardiovascular training. But start with
something you’ll really look forward to. Just get moving and stay consistent with it.
Think outside of the box here. Maybe you just can’t get motivated to exercise, but you love to
volunteer and help others. How about combining those two ideas? Sign up to help
organizations that build homes for low income people on the weekends. Building houses will get
you lots of exercise! What other ideas like this can you come up with?
There are many people who aren’t able to get out and walk their dogs. You could be a
volunteer dog walker for the elderly or those with handicaps. And it would be great for
everyone involved due to the friendships and connections you’d make with others.
Think of what your hobbies are or activities you always wanted to try and then see if there’s ways
to turn that into exercise opportunities. Find a photography group that hikes into the mountains
on the weekends. Join a yoga-in-the-park group. Learn belly dancing. Ride your bike at the
park with friends. Start gardening. Hook up with history buffs and walk through areas of historical
interest. There are endless possibilities! Get creative and think of something fun and exciting!
All that matters is, get some fresh air and sunshine and move around…preferably with others!
“Few people know how to take
a walk. The qualifications are
endurance, plain clothes, old
shoes, an eye for nature, good
humor, vast curiosity, good
speech, good silence and
nothing too much.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson
29
Rest and Relaxation
“It’s our collective
delusion that overwork
and burnout are the
price we must pay in
order to succeed.”
Arianna Huffington
Sleep is one of the most important but neglected aspects of good health and naturally
maintaining a healthy weight. If this is a problem for you, there are some things you can do to
set yourself up for a good night’s sleep:
1. Maintain a regular sleep routine - go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
2. Avoid naps if possible
3. Don’t stay in bed awake for more than 5-10 minutes – if you can’t sleep, get out of bed and
do something different until you feel sleepy again. This conditions your brain to associate
being in bed with nothing but going to sleep.
4. Don’t watch TV or read in bed
5. Drink caffeinated drinks with caution – you might need to avoid them at least after 2 p.m.
6. Exercise regularly
7. Keep your bedroom quiet and dark – room darkening curtains and white noise can help
8. Turn off electronics two hours before bedtime – screen time is very stimulating to the brain
9. Have a comfortable pre-bedtime routine - a warm bath, meditation, reading, or quiet time
Health is all about balance. We need downtime every single day to keep our bodies from
permanently going into stress mode like we’ve talked about. Taking 30 minutes each day to
do something relaxing and enjoyable is equally as important as making time to exercise.
One of my very favorite ways to do this is with meditation. We all get thoughts that play over
and over in our minds like chattering monkeys as we worry and stress and stay busy each day.
Meditation simply gives us a way to clear all that out and calm down our stress response.
Relaxing bodywork like massage or reflexology is great for this, too! The stress-relieving and
health-promoting benefits of reflexology have been well-studied. Getting healthy never felt so
fantastic! If you haven’t given reflexology a try, I highly recommend you do!
Hobbies, too, are a fantastic way to unwind. My favorites are crocheting and gardening!
30
Your Mindset Matters Most
“The thoughts we
choose to think are the
tools we use to paint
the canvas of our
lives.”
Louise Hay
I saw an optical illusion on Facebook recently that really illustrates how important our mindset is.
It was a train that speeds along either forward or backwards and changes directions when you
change your thoughts as to whether it’s going forward or backwards. So if you think it’s moving
forward, then you see it moving forward, and the instant you think it’s moving backwards, it
changes direction and moves backwards.
Amazing! But what a powerful reminder! Our mindset is everything, and it’s one of the most
important tools I used for beating lupus and losing weight and overcoming every other
challenge I’ve faced.
Taking charge of our thoughts controls what direction our lives take. I had to do this to pull
myself out of some dark places as I healed. Positivity and gratitude were key to changing the
direction of my train which went where my thoughts went. So I had to learn new thoughts.
I would carefully choose positive, empowering, and grateful mantras and affirmations and say
them over and over to myself when my mind wanted to go down a negative path. I found
something to be grateful for at every moment and would even say out loud how lucky I was to
have so many amazing things in my life. I’d list everything I could think of to be thankful for and
then repeat my positive and power affirmations over and over. That worked MIRACLES! I’ve
been able to get to the point now where I instinctively don’t allow one negative thought. The
instant one tries to take hold, without even thinking about it, my mind starts on my mantras.
I learned, too, that I had to set action goals rather than results goals. Focusing on losing 5
pounds in a month didn’t work. Instead, if I set goals on what actions I would DO to be healthy,
that was something I was in control of and could be completely successful with.
I also began living as if I already were what I wanted to be. So for losing weight and getting
healthy, I begin to live as if I were already fit and healthy, practicing all the habits of fit and
healthy people. This, too, reprogrammed everything! Here’s a power question: How would you
behave if you were already fit and healthy?
31
Using herbs and nutritional supplements was one of the most effective things I did to help regain
my health. I’m certain I couldn’t have healed and lost weight without them. These are known to
be some of the most powerful supports for holistic wellness that there is and for good reasons.
The use of herbal medicine has a history over 5,000 years old, and has been the world’s primary
healing modality.
Herbs are excellent support for the different “root causes” we’ve talked about. From toxic
overload to hormone imbalances to digestive dysfunction to food cravings to stress and
emotions to insomnia, or any of the health challenges that contribute to weight gain. Herbs can
help promote the body’s own innate ability to heal and restore balance.
I used herbs for several years early on, very ineffectively, which was my primary motivation for
studying to become a master herbalist. I knew I wasn’t going to get well unless I knew how to
properly use herbs and adjust them to my body’s needs at all times.
There’s so much misinformation on the internet about how to use herbs. There are abundant
articles, blogs, and even memes that promote taking this single herb for these conditions. But for
herbs to be effective you have to have the right herbs that are a match for your unique
physiology, energetics, and condition and your specific root causes for your condition.
This is why you can’t just look up in a reference resource and see what herb is the one to take for
a certain condition. Herbs also need to be properly formulated, or combined with other herbs,
and the quality of materials, dosage, and preparation are also important.
Whole food nutritional supplements give additional support by providing the missing nutrients
needed to help the body build and repair and function optimally in the whole food package of
all the other phytonutrients and trace minerals and other factors needed to maximize absorption
and utilization.
This nourishes the body and supports its functions at a cellular level, something that’s hard to do
just by eating right. It provides the nutritional building blocks the body needs to perform the work
that the herbs are helping the body to do.
A consultation with a qualified clinical herbalist/nutritionist like me can help you be sure you’re
taking the right herbs and nutritional supplements for your needs.
“A wise man ought to
realize that health is his
most valuable
possession.”
Hippocrates
Herbs and Nutritional Supplements
32
Well done! You’ve made it all the way through this e-book, and now you’re ready to start making
some specific changes that will begin to create better health and well-being and help you
achieve and maintain a healthy weight naturally.
This is a healing process that takes time and consistency. It can take years for chronic health issues
and imbalance to develop, so naturally it takes time for the body to become well again. It
doesn’t happen overnight. There are no magic bullets. This is a completely different approach
that works with your body by focusing on lovingly feeding it, nourishing it, and building optimal
health instead of dieting. The rewards are holistic and life-changing!
I want you to understand, too, that you most likely will notice an increase in weight when you start
working on becoming healthy because your body finally has the tools and building blocks it’s
been wanting for a while to rebuild and repair. You’re also probably going to start building
muscle, and that weighs more than fat does. This is exactly what you want.
This is why I really encourage you to get rid of your scale! That number is not a measure of your
health or your progress. Trust that when you take care of yourself, the results of those actions are
always for your greatest good. Healthy actions always yield healthy results. You will reap all the
amazing benefits.
If you’d like to have professional support, I do work with people one-on-one to help them save
money and time and build their health most effectively by taking the guesswork out of trying to
figure out which herbs, nutritional supplements, diet, and lifestyle changes can best support their
needs and goals. I help people locally in my office and long distance.
Please above all else, remember that you are worthy of all the love and care and nurturing that
you need to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually at your very best. I absolutely believe that
you are here for a reason and that you have amazing gifts to share with the world to make a
difference that no one else ever can! The world needs a strong and healthy you!
All my love,
Tracey -xx-
www.spiritofthebearllc.com
Tracey Kamm – Certified Reflexologist, National Board Certified Reflexologist (ARCB), Master
Herbalist, Registered Herbalist (American Herbalists Guild), Certified Emotional Healing Coach
© 2018 Spirit of the Bear LLC – No part of this document can be copied or reproduced.
Congratulations!