Nutrition Archives - Balance8Life

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020

Weight Loss Versus Fat loss: The Basics

Understanding the difference between weight loss versus fat loss could be the solution to a successful weight loss journey.

I recently decided I wanted to take my fitness to the next level. I want to be ripped again. And that includes getting rid of some . . . weight.

Or, perhaps, fat?

The reason I decided that I wanted to take my fitness to the next level is the difference between looking like a regular, “healthy” mom that isn’t overweight but doesn’t necessarily look like she works out, to a ripped and obviously fit mom.

That’s what I used to be.

And I know it ’cause every time I went anywhere, people used to ask me, “are you a trainer?”

Now, I just don’t get that.

Knowing the difference between weight loss versus fat loss can help when beginning your weight loss journey, even if it is more of a toning or trimming journey.

If you don’t know the difference before you set out on your new goal path, you could be throwing away valuable muscle or simply eliminating water.

It can also be difficult to reach target weight goals when you’re already close. Sometimes it’s even more of a struggle to knock off the last few pounds than it is at the very start of your journey.

It is a little more complex than just getting on the treadmill to burn some fat. Sometimes those last few pounds just don’t want to go away!

If you’re trying to knock off a few extra pounds, wanting to change your physique, or at the beginning of your weight loss journey, it helps to remember that muscle weighs more than fat, and it also helps to know the difference between overall weight, and actual fat.

WEIGHT LOSS DEFINED

Understanding the difference between weight loss vs. fat loss is important when beginning your weight loss journey.

When you are are focused on weight loss, you’re focusing on a decrease in your overall body weight. You’re also focusing on the numbers that stare you in the face when you jump on the scale.

At this point, you are seeing the weight loss of muscle, fat, and water.

If you don’t know the difference between weight and fat loss, the fluctuation in numbers can be very confusing.

FAT LOSS DEFINED

Fat loss is specifically talking about your body fat.

You might not completely understand it yet, and that’s okay. Depending on your diet, workout program, and water intake, depends on how the numbers read on the scale and what it is that you are actually losing.

With a lot of sweating also comes dehydration. Dehydration equals water loss, which isn’t helping you reach your goals. As soon as you hydrate, your “weight” will be right back to where it was.

You have to learn how to target fat for successful fat loss.

CALORIE RESTRICTION AND WEIGHT LOSS

When you restrict your overall calorie intake, the misconception is that you are also restricting a needed amount of macronutrients. (Protein is often the biggest concern).

When people get caught up on these technicalities, it is easy to fall into a weight loss yo-yo of fad dieting, not being able to lose weight, or losing too much of the wrong weight too fast, and then gaining it all back.

Yes, your muscles need protein. But it is a myth that working out breaks down muscle tissue that can’t be built back up without large quantities of protein in the diet. You don’t need any more protein than you’d eat in a regular, balanced meal.

Working out simply inhibits the naturally occurring breakdown of muscle tissue.

Restricting caloric intake along with exercising and a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes, is (in a nutshell) all you need for successful weight loss (and muscle gain).

To maintain proper macronutrients to gain muscle and lose weight is as simple as making sure you’re eating until satisfied, but not stuffed.

More information and references:

If you are living a sedentary lifestyle or training moderately, the recommended protein need is: 0.8 to 1.2g/kg body weight.

Protein sources and requirements for different activity levels: 8 Best Protein Sources for Vegans.
Vegan muscle growth and protein: Vegan Powerlifting.
Weight loss techniques.
Required portions for a balanced diet: MyPlate.gov.
Vegan plate: Plant-Based Food Guide.

CALORIES: GOOD VERSUS BAD

Calories come from all sorts of foods, healthy and unhealthy, empty and complex. Even from foods labeled healthy that really are not.

Counting calories is not necessary for weight loss or maintaining healthy weight. (The only time I suggest counting calories is for extreme situations, and even in this case, it is best when suggested by a registered dietitian.)

Empty calories don’t have nutritional value and don’t supply good energy for your body to function at peak performance. Foods with empty calories simply have loads of calories with zero nutrients. Since empty calories don’t have any nutrition for your body, they leave you hungrier and less satisfied and you’re more likely to eat more, more frequently, more of them, and put on more weight.

For example, whole wheat bread is high in fiber and is nutrient dense, which makes you feel fuller, so you eat less and get fuller quicker, and will stay full longer, which limits your need to consume more and more frequently.

White breaded foods can contribute to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. The white flour is highly processed and filled with additives that don’t show up in your homemade 100% whole wheat bread.

Calories aren't the issue. It's the type of calories you 
need to concern yourself with.

weight loss verses fat loss — Photo by Drew Hays

Stop and consider where you’re getting your calories from. They should be from this list of foods:

whole grains
nuts
seeds
lagumes
fruits
veggies

I realized that when I moved into the city and began making more money, I options. More options can be a lot to manage and, if you’re not careful, it is easy to start adding unneeded calories.

Back when I was very fit and looked like it, I had very few options. I basically had two. Eat very unhealthy, because it’s cheap. Or, in order to eat very healthy, I had to cook from scratch. I chose the latter.

Recently, as I got to thinking about how I ate then vs. how I eat now, I started to realize that my lack of money and also living in the country, actually prevented me from buying junk. Now, I live 3 minutes from Whole Foods. That means a quick run for a tasty treat (healthy as it may be) is a lot easier than grabbing a can of beans out of the cupboard.

Quality is always better than quantity.

Pre-packaged items and the beautifully labeled boxes of some so-called healthy foods, are most often higher in fat content and calories, than if you cook from scratch.

When you make your own food, and when you start measuring out cups of oil or sugar, you start to realize just how much is actually going in your food. And then, you have the option to substitute!

Cooking from scratch is a glorious opportunity to really take complete control of your health.

WEIGHT LOSS VERSUS FAT LOSS: WHITE LIES

Just because food labels say low sugar, low carb, low fat, doesn’t mean it’s healthy and good for you.

There are a lot of vegan foods that are still processed, fattening and unhealthy!

Back when I was ripped, I made all my own food from scratch. I also had a garden, and we ate a lot of homegrown, fresh foods.

Eat the basics and you can't go wrong.

When you eat whole foods, which equals quality caloric intake, you don’t have to look for the lies. There are none.

When you are buying pre-packaged foods, things can sneak into your diet

without you even knowing. And how clever packaging can be, to help you sneak the bad into your diet.

Labels tell white lies. Vegan and vegetarian foods can be real fattening, just like any other foods.

When you make your own food, the devil is in the details, and it is in your control to take the devil (errr, the sugar & fat) out, when you’re the one making the food.

Vegan means no animal products. Vegan can still be white, fried, full of sugar, and absolutely fiber free, and full of empty calories. So read labels and watch for the lies!

Keep it real. Keep it basic.

THE RIGHT FITNESS

When you are building muscle and losing weight while building muscle, the numbers on the scale can be very tricky and quite frankly, frustrating.

It is not only important to be aware of how you are eating, but it is also a good idea to make sure that your workout routine is matched to help you achieve your weight loss, or gain, goals.

When you are building muscle while also losing weight, you may see that your weight doesn’t decline as quickly as you would like, and that can be frustrating.

Keep in mind that muscle weighs more, and is more dense therefore, if you are losing fat and gaining muscle, your weight loss may be a little slower, simply because your fat (weight) is being replaced by muscle (weight).

SIDE NOTE:

Use measurements instead of a scale, to monitor your weight growth and loss. You can gain weight and lose inches at the same time. When you see you’ve not lost the pounds you wish, but also see you’re an inch smaller in your waist, it is easier to swallow the slower weight loss.

Weight loss versus fat loss can be “seen” in measurements. You can actually see the inches lost, yet see that your weight hasn’t dropped too much, indicating that you are gaining muscle, not losing it!

WEIGHT LOSS VERSUS FAT LOSS DOESN’T MEAN MONEY LOSS

It is not true that you have to have more money to eat healthy to maintain healthy weight.

In fact, the more money you have, the more you visit specialty grocery stores and boutique restaurants.

Whole Foods and True Foods Kitchen aren’t even that special but they’re special enough that their prices are especially high. You can’t go there when you’re low on money! When you’ve got dough in the pocket, you simply get lazy, cause it’s easy to do.

And, it’s easily disguised as healthy with these fabulous organic, “low calorie, low fat” labels on your . . . already made, pre-packaged foods you can afford to buy!

WEIGHT LOSS VERSUS FAT LOSS: THE BASICS TO WEIGHT CONTROL IS BASICALLY BASIC.

Photo by Markus Spiske

Learn how to simplify your taste preferences, and your grocery shopping. Keep in mind the difference between needs and wants. And keep it whole! 🙂

If you have more questions, please reach out to me! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

October 7, 2020October 5, 2020

A Detox for Your Mind, Body and Soul

Happy (early) green drink Sunday! Yup – I’m already ahead of the week and almost through my weekend making that statement. Are you ready for a detox for your mind, body and soul? You don’t have to wait for Sunday.

I have a loose tradition of making green drinks every Sunday morning for the whole family. (I say loose because I don’t do it every week but I do it more often than I don’t). Sometimes I make smoothies, sometimes I juice.

I don’t do it with the intent of detoxing. I do it simply to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

If you’ve never known differently, I would imagine that the idea of a detox for your mind, body and soul sounds like a great idea!

It is. However, why would you ever need to detox? It is popular, so therefore it should be done?

I live in a great city that offers so many healthy options for restaurants and grocery shopping. Also, as a result there are several small businesses that advertise detox bowls, detox smoothies, detox juices, detox this and detox that, but have you ever just thought about why?

WHAT DOES DETOX MEAN?

Detox defined means: a process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances.

Detoxing also goes so far as to reference ” . . . a period of medical treatment, usually including counseling, during which a person is helped to overcome physical and psychological dependence on alcohol or drugs. . .”

So detoxing can be quite a process, it isn’t always just as simple as a Sunday green drink tradition.

Our bodies are always dealing with toxic substances, so are our minds. Even our spirit, our soul.

Toxins just permeate the air, our foods, the clothes we wear, the homes we live in and the beds we sleep in. Toxic information infiltrates our social media, our conversations and our thoughts.

You would think that we’d need to detox regularly!

Detox for your mind, body and soul — Photo by Truong Dat

Humans ingest about 5 grams of plastic per week. They drink an average of 9.5 alcoholic drinks per week. Over 80% of Americans eat fast food daily, and fast foods comes with a lot of toxic ingredients.

We also are exposed to toxins in perfumes, plastic bottles and containers, cleaning products, air fresheners, furniture, makeup, fabric softeners, non-stick cookware, bug sprays, canned foods, TV and game consoles . . . and guys, the list just keeps going!

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY AND IT TAKES CARE OF YOU

The good news is, we have awesome bodies designed to get rid of these awful things that hurt us, and they’re designed to do this naturally!

Our lungs, kidneys, liver, and large intestines are our bodies natural way of getting rid of toxins.

Here’s the kicker guys! If you live a balanced lifestyle that includes a good night of sleep, sunshine, fresh air, water, proper nutrition, exercise, meditation and moderation in all things . . .

Guess what?

. . . You’re helping your body do what it is meant to do on a regular basis on it’s own!

This is how you live a lifestyle of detoxification, or prevention from toxic build up. This is balance8life.

SO . . . IS DETOXING BAD THEN?

There are a lot of intense detox methods that can actually be harmful for our bodies.

Some things that are marketed as liver and kidney cleansers can actually strain the organs they are intended to help.

“If you’re thinking about a detox, think instead about the underlying problem,” Dr. Nancy Reau MD advises. “If you just want to be more healthy, good diet choices and exercise are best. And some symptoms, such as weight gain or fatigue, should be evaluated for causes that can be addressed.” ~ The Truth About Toxins.

Staying healthy is a very important part of a balanced lifestyle, and doing things that help our bodies stay healthy is essential. As I mentioned above, balancing all 8 methods of health is how you keep from ever needing to do some drastic detox to your body.

A detox for your mind, body and soul doesn’t have to be thought of as a yearly New Years resolution.

Your body can actually remain in a detoxed state of being when you take care of it properly.

A legitimately needed detox should be determined by a doctor and that is out of my expertise.

However, eating (or drinking) healthy foods that are labeled as a “detox” is safe and good for you.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DETOX AND DAILY HEALTH

I met a woman who was asking me for advice for her toddler who had a lot of trouble having consistent bowl movements.

As I began asking her what she was feeding him, it quickly became apparent to me that there was no fiber in his diet.

I suggested she add fruit to her sons diet. Her mouth dropped and she stared at me and said, “bad idea! fruit gives him diarrhea. He simply cannot handle fruit.”

Fruit became a detox for this child not because fruit is a detox, but because he was unhealthy. His body wasn’t used to a healthy, balanced diet that included things his little body needed to function at peak performance.

This is the same with adults who eat poorly, and then one day decide to have a green drink, or go through a juice cleanse. They may be in the bathroom more than usual.

This reaction is because the diet is imbalanced and the body is missing vital nutrients to function properly, and is reacting to the sudden change in nutrients.

This does not necessarily mean bad (or good) things are happening. This just means there is a lack of proper nutrition and the body has to go through a process of balancing out before it can regulate again.

If you take care of your body, there is no need to do a classic “detox” where you go to drastic measures to rid your body of toxins.

Instead, feed it healthy and treat it well. All the time.

DETOX SIDE EFFECTS

The side effects of detoxing are headaches, cravings, digestive problems, fatigue, nausea, etc.

Detoxing is a big deal to a lot of people, and for a lot of people it truly is very important.

Let me just remind you once more:

You don’t have to regularly detox your mind, body and soul if you live a healthy lifestyle and eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Instead of a yearly green juice cleanse, incorporate something like I have done, a green drink Sunday. Do this regularly as part of a healthy diet and your body will thank you.

You won't have side effects 

if you're already maintaining a balanced,

healthy lifestyle.

ACCIDENTAL MIND DETOX

Monday morning I went to make an Instagram post and realized I had started to make a Green Drink Sunday post and literally forgot, midway through.

I set my phone down and didn’t even look at it for hours! It was great!

a detox for Your Mind body and soul — Photo by Zoo Monkey

Green juice detox is a fantastic way to turbo boost your body with an assortment of essential vitamins and minerals. But have you thought about putting any time into detoxing your mind?

Our bodies are naturally made to detox on their own when we take care of them properly, but our minds are a whole different ballgame.

We can’t just eat right for our minds to function properly. We also have to make sure we’re feeding our mind with good information.

For the average person, phones have become permanent extensions of our bodies.

Phones hold all our private information, the good, the bad, the ugly. And without them, most people have serious separation anxiety.

A mind detox has side effects, too.

If I try to set my phone down for an hour during the week when the kids are gone at school, or my boyfriend is at work, I struggle.

At first, my mind goes into a scramble mode of not being able to focus on any one particular thing – almost as if it’s got a peculiar case of personal ADD.

We’re all so used to instant information, we don’t know how to slow our minds down.

I have children who struggle with ADD and when I started learning about how to help them deal with ADD naturally, I found that anything electronic (TV, gaming, computers, phones, etc.) should never be a part of their day. Period.

Well that is a complicated situation in todays society. No electronics equals being left behind.

So how do we detox our minds, set our anxiety at ease and truly allow our minds to slow down and detox from the constant need to always have instant information?

LET YOUR MIND BREATHE

Detoxing your mind from the constant information overload take conscious effort (sometimes).

Sometimes it’s almost like telling yourself to breathe, intentionally. You have to remind yourself that people survived without a permanent metal attachment decades. You can still survive without it today.

When the quiet sets, and I allow myself to be okay with the disconnect, my imagination kicks in and that’s when art happens.

That is also when my mind is given time to process my self. A lot of introspection and self evaluation time kicks in and things get a little better; clarity brings new perspectives to life.

A detox for your mind, body and soul includes introspective evaluation.

Evaluating your self is not selfish. Or – it shouldn’t be. It’s a time to think about all of the things you’re giving to others. Or all of the things you should be giving to others.

We all give off vibes that communicate many things to those around us.

How are you silently communicating to those around you? Have you ever thought about it? It can simply be a look. Body language. The lack of, or the presence of, a smile.

If you’re constantly on social media, checking emails or taking in other info that is flooding into your mind at 100mph, your personal evaluation time gets toxic and effects your vibes, your attitude, and effects how you treat those around you.

We give gifts of kindness as well as uncaring, impatient gifts when we don’t care for anybody but our own self.

This happens when our internal evaluations become toxic and self centered vs. self evaluative and introspective in a way that looks to bless others.

Become aware of who you are and what you communicate to everybody in your vibe frequency.

Take some time to detox your mind and your body this week. Set a goal to lower your screen time. Hand write something and memorize it; a saying, a prayer, a Bible verse, a mantra . . . anything positive and up lifting. Something to remind yourself that you are amazing and there’s no reason not to share your amazing self to someone who needs a smile.

WAYS YOU CAN DETOX YOUR BODY

Green drinks, as I mentioned, are an amazing way to give your body an immune boost, as well as help to rid your body of other toxic waste that might be hanging out.

Juicing is my favorite way to feel vitamin and mineral charged on a Sunday morning. If you do not have a juicer, green smoothies work, too.

Juicing is also a way to energize and minimize fatigue naturally.

There are an abundant amount of vitamins and minerals that are hidden within dark, leafy green vegetables.

When you make a juice or drink with these foods, you’re getting chlorophyll, which helps control inflammation, increases red blood cells, and more.

You’re also getting vitamins A, C, E, K, antioxidants, and calcium. Plus, your heart, will thank you.

One drawback is you are taking out all of the fiber (if your juicing). So be sure that you’re also eating your veggies, too.

Other ways to detox your body is exercising as well as drinking plenty of water, getting plenty of rest, getting out in the sun, fresh air, and staying on top of a healthy diet for continued, balanced nutrition.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT. LITERALLY.

Believe it or not, our brains need proper foods to work at peak performance, too.

A detox for your mind, body and soul is only effective if you eat to live, not to live to eat.

When you eat to live, your focus is on eating the foods that keep your bodily functions working at peak performance.

When you eat to live it also keeps your mind, your emotions, and your self-control in check. As a result, you can better control bad emotional eating habits and avoid late night cravings.

“Food as medicine should become a mantra of living.” Detox Your Brain by Center for Healing Neurology

Here’s a couple (non-scientific) basic examples.

Take someone you know that has been out partying all night long, most likely made bad food choices and had little to no sleep. In the morning, how likely are they to be bright eyed and bushy tailed? Are they going to be kind? Happy? Patient?

Not likely.

Let’s create another scenario. Your aunt, who’s had a full night of sleep, woke up and went running. She had a great breakfast before 9am. She will probably be full of energy, have a big smile on her face, and be a lot more patient.

The point is, what we put into our bodies and how we treat them also makes a huge impact on our brains. In turn, this effects how we act.

KEEP TOXIC INFO OUT FOR THE ULTIMATE MIND DETOX

I know that you know that we all know, that this is a thing. The social media onslaught of toxic information.

A detox for your mind, body and soul means giving the mind just as much attention as our body and spirit.

Did you know that there is such a thing as internet addiction disorder? And a legit gaming disorder?

“Problematic social media use, also known as social media addiction or social media overuse, is a proposed form of psychological or behavioral dependence on social media platforms, also known as Internet addiction disorder, and other forms of digital media overuse.”

“Video game addiction, also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, . . . results in significant impairment to an individual’s ability to function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time.

“Such disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in gaming activities at the cost of fulfilling daily responsibilities or pursuing other interests without regard for the negative consequences.” – Internet Addiction Disorder

Not only are there actual acronyms for legitimate social media, internet and gaming disorders, but now we have a problem that we didn’t have before the mid 2000’s.

The (easy?) solution is to put down the phone, computer, gaming consul, iPad, iPod, (wow, there’s a lot of devices).

It just isn’t easy. Let’s be real. It ain’t easy.

I get anxiety when I put my phone down sometimes. I have asked myself why several times. My first thought is, someone special to me might need help and I may not be able to get to them in time and I’ll feel so guilty . . .

Funny thing is, I survived in the 80’s and 90’s and early 2000’s without a phone.

Experiment and test yourself. Give yourself a timer and turn your phone off for a set amount of time. Allow your mind to imagine and think without social media and the constant scrolling feeding your brain junk.

By setting your phone down for 1-2 days a week, it can result in a lower, total weekly screen time.

I choose to set my phone down on Saturdays and Sundays. Those are my creative days and I do much better not having my phone on me.

Try it.

Can you survive without it for a few hours in your day or a couple days a week? Let me know in the comments below, how you are managing the world of social media and internet addiction.

A DETOX FOR YOUR SOUL

The soul. Last but definitely not least.

A detox for your mind, body and soul cannot be complete without giving the soul equal attention.

Give your spirit a rest by getting away from it all and take some quiet time out in nature.

This is not just taking a break from social media and other media sources. This includes other people, and all other artificial stimuli.

Get out in nature and breathe.

Meditate on the goodness in your life, the things you’re thankful for, the people you are thankful for, and the life that you have.

I’m not talking about focusing on the things you hate about your life. I mean simply focusing on the fact that you have life!

There are a lot more things to be grateful and thankful for in our lives than we give credit to.

Somehow, the negative things always seem to sneak up into the center of our focus points and we forget that our focus has the ability to go in other directions.

Train your mind to focus elsewhere.

Give your spirit and your soul a detox by remembering to be grateful.

LETS CONNECT

So, now that we’re done talking about detoxing from social media, please follow me on my social media pages! Hahaha

I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

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September 23, 2020October 14, 2020

How to Overcome Late Night Cravings

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How to overcome late night cravings, the topic of the day. For days.

But, ohhh the cravings though! The need for a yummy snack at ten PM and then . . . the disappointment the next morning when you step on the scale.

And the vow that last night was the last night.

Again.

How to overcome late night cravings — Photo by Edward Franklin

Why on earth do you keep going around and around, and around . . . ?

Because, emotional eating and stress eating are all about weakness, not logic or strength.

So let’s figure out how to build the foundation to a strong fortress of saying no.

I CAN TELL YOU HOW TO OVERCOME LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF.

RECOGNIZE YOUR EMOTIONS

Once you understand that late night cravings really are just emotions nagging at you, not true hunger, recognizing this is step one.

Emotional eating is using food to make yourself feel better. You are eating to placate emotional needs rather than to satisfy actual real hunger.

Emotional hunger can’t be filled with food. It feels good to eat in the moment, but the feelings that triggered your need to feed your face are still there. The worst part is, you make yourself feel even worse later, because you now feel guilty. It’s a vicious, vicious cycle that only you can stop.

There is a difference in using food occasionally as a reward, or to celebrate. That isn’t bad. When my kids get good grades, sometimes I take them out for vegan ice cream or a rare treat as a reward.

When eating becomes an emotional coping mechanism this is when it is a problem.

Once you recognize that you are eating simply to cope with stress, you can then take step two.

I recommend talking with your doctor and finding a good counselor to help sort out your emotions, if you are unable to do it alone.

DIG DEEP AND DEAL WITH IT

Journaling is somewhat of an old fashioned hobby I suppose. I used to keep a diary when I was younger. Now, with voice text and even with typing, slowing down with a pen and paper gets a little annoying. Buuuutttt . . .

When you slow down, it forces you to process what you are thinking, and in the process of slowing down, you can really start to assess your feelings and figure out the why behind what you are doing.

It also takes up time you would otherwise be eating.

Face your emotions, sort them out, decide what you want to do with them, and confront them.

Once you have done this, you can go about doing other things to fill the void.

A nutrition coach can also help. A nutrition coach is someone that can hold you accountable, as well as help you start new, healthy habits.

MAYBE IT’S NOT EMOTIONS

There are also cravings that can be linked to bad food choices, food sensitivities and lifestyle habits.

“Some foods promote indefinite cravings. Unfulfilled longings or unrest cause cravings.” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine

Doctor Agatha M. Thrash also goes on to say that, “Many individuals who are sensitive to various foods taken even in small quantities get their cravings aroused.

“Sugar is a very common offender in this regard. One innocent appearing teaspoonful can do much damage in the sensitive person.

“Milk and all dairy products represent a common source of cravings.

“Salty foods irritate the stomach lining and produce thirst. Much of the mechanism of cravings is related to unrecognized thirst, causing the individual to try to satisfy his thirst by indulging his craving. If the thirst is eliminated, the craving can be handled with much greater ease.”

Full article here.

OVERCOME LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS WITH TEA

Now, I realize this sounds a bit trite and boring.

At night when I want something to snack on, and when I am trying to break a habit of grabbing something to nibble on during a show or while doing something before bed, I make tea.

When you fill the void with something it makes it easier to overcome the craving.

The options for flavors are endless when it comes to tea. Which makes it so fun!

Just be sure your tea is white or red, not black or green. Black and green tea have caffeine in them and aren’t good for late nights.

Rooibos is a South African red tea, and it is full of antioxidants and naturally a bit sweet.

Chamomile tea is also a bit sweet and floral, and a great calming, night time tea.

Sleepytime tea is another great evening tea!

Explore herbal, white and red teas and share with me in the comments below. Tell me what your fave herbal tea is!

When you’re making tea at night, leave out the sugar and milk. Learn to appreciate the pure flavor of the herb. Your waist will thank you later and your guilt will be set free.

For other options, read my article “Five Ways to Yummy-Up Your Water”.

WHAT BETTER WAY TO OVERCOME LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS THAN TO READ A GOOD BOOK!

Nope. Snacking during reading can’t be a thing anymore . . . but make you some tea and find a book that draws you in sooo deeply that you can’t even think about food.

Escape from your stress, drown your emotions in far, far away, and allow yourself to fall asleep dreaming in another world.

I would recommend a list of books here, but I write more than read, so I am going to let you list a few for me below in the comments! 🙂

If you prefer to write, like I do, it keeps your hands too busy to eat, and it works as well as reading for those who love to write.

OVERCOME LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS WITH CHORES

I doubt there is a person in the world who does not have a tub that could use a scrub, a carpet that couldn’t use a vacuum or some laundry that needs to be folded or ironed.

Evenings are great times to get some small house chores done and curb the appetite at the same time.

Plus, you’re getting yourself off the couch, burning a few calories, and let’s face it, you can get your heart rate up if you’re vacuuming stairs, and also, who doesn’t love a clean house when you go to fix a bowl of granola at breakfast time? Clean dishes anyone?

OVERCOME LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS WITH BREAKFAST

If you’re truly in it for the long haul, ready to lose weight, gain self control, eat healthy and feel amazing. . .

Begin with breakfast.

With the right foods, you will notice less cravings.

Typical breakfast foods aren’t actually good for you. (Bacon, grits, white biscuits, donuts, pastries, etc.)

Breakfast needs to be filled with unrefined foods and should equal to a third to a half of your food and take for the entire day.

This results in a sense of well being, which will help with emotional eating!

A good breakfast filled with unrefined, low to no added sugar, and complex carbs, also equals better work performance. This “feeds” your emotions positively by fulfilling the need to feel accomplished.

When I say no added sugar I mean it literally. For example, grapefruit, don’t add sugar to it! Cereal, don’t add honey, sugar or any other sweetener. Add banana or fruit if you want more sweetener. Dried fruit is another way to add sweetness without adding extra sugar.

When your morning starts with a fantastic breakfast, you have less desire to over eat later on in the day and less need to eat between your meals. Which of course leads to better weight control, which results in less emotional eating as well.

OVERCOME LATE NIGHT CRAVINGS WITH SLEEP

It’s evening or night time. Go to bed.

As I have mentioned before when talking about weight management and losing weight/belly fat, eating at night adds fuel to your “car” just as you’re about to “park it in the garage.”

These are bad habits that put weight on fast.

I’ve used this scenario before, and I’ll use it again. When you’re about to go on vacation, you pull the car out of the garage and before you leave, what do you do?

You take it to the gas station and fill it up! ALL the way to the top.

Why? Because you don’t want to have to stop any time soon! It is a waste of time. You don’t drive it to the gas station, put $5.00 of gas in, then carry on down the road and do this your entire trip.

Imagine doing this, then arrive at your destination, purely exhausted. Then filing up and parking your car at the hotel.

What kind of logic is this!?

This is what most people do to their bodies. They start off in a hurry, grab a cup of coffee and maybe a pastry or a granola bar and go to work. An hour later, you’re starving but it’s not lunch time. So what do you do? You eat a snack.

This happens all day long until dinner. Then you consume the majority of your calories (or over half of what you should have your entire day) right before bed.

On top of consuming a too big dinner, an hour or two later, late night cravings set in.

This is a very bad habit that adds so much weight to your waist for no good reason.

No matter how much you want to just sit and snack, if it is too tempting, and you know that you’re tired, just go to bed. A good night of sleep on an empty stomach is the best night of sleep you’ll ever have.

MORE RESEROUCES

A healthy lifestyle is all about balance.

Balance8life in motion is simply that.

Balance8life is actively engaging 8 expressions of health to our daily routines for true completion. It will always be in motion, and you will never stay in one place for too long, or the balance will slip away. So don’t get discouraged when you can’t maintain for one day. It is the overall daily routine that makes the balancing act go ’round!

The trick is to learn how to set goals that last. There are steps to setting goals that last, that make all the difference in the world when you are beginning your health journey!

For more on where to start begin your health journey, visit my blog!

And that’s it friends! I love it when the balance8 community shares and invites! Join me on my social media platforms, share my articles and tag me! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

September 16, 2020October 14, 2020

6 Ways to Stay Healthy Naturally

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

There are several ways we can stay healthy naturally, and do our best to keep sickness from entering our homes and bodies. Waiting until you think you might be getting sick is not the time to figure out how to keep from getting sick though.

6 in 10 adults in the US have chronic disease. 4 in 10 adults have 2 or more chronic illnesses.

Heart disease, cancer, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, are some of the top diseases that are the most common.

The biggest cause of these diseases are lifestyle. Lifestyles that regularly use tobacco, excessive alcohol, poor nutrition and are sedentary, are the lifestyles that can cause the above mentioned diseases.

Lifestyle choices effect our health for good and for bad. To try to avoid getting the common cold, the flu, or even more life threatening diseases it is good to follow a healthy lifestyle of wellness.

This is not to say you will never get sick, but the healthier you live your life, the less likely you will be to catch something, or for it to hang around long, if you do!

“Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.” Center for Disease and Control and Prevention.

If we take care of our bodies and keep them in great shape, we are living a lifestyle of health, strength and wellness.

HEALTH BEGINS FROM CHILDHOOD

Mental, physical and spiritual health all starts when we’re kids. How we are raised shapes our future.

When we take control of our own health as adults, or even as teens, we can alter our health destiny by changing how we live our lives, and the lifestyle choices that we make.

One of the top lifestyle choices that can alter our wellness and health is our nutrition.

SET YOUR CHILDREN UP FOR SUCCESS

If you have kids, what are you doing to set your own children up for success with a healthy lifestyle?

Are they eating fruits and vegetables or mostly sweet, fast or fried foods? What are they drinking? Have you been able to get them on an eating schedule loaded with a rainbow of colorful fresh foods?

As a server, I have personally witnessed parents sitting down to eat with their children. I’ve seen these parents order junk for their kids, while they sit there and have a salad.

Children can eat salad, too. If their taste buds are used to good, wholesome food from the very beginning, they will love healthy foods.

I’ve got 5 of my own children, and from the first time they ate food until they were in their pre-teens, they never tasted a soda, any kind of meat, any sort of pastry or pre-packaged food. I made everything from scratch, whole grain and vegan, and that is what they ate, and still prefer. (Mostly).

What is the future of your children? As an adult, what habits will they have developed from childhood?

BREAK THE CYCLE

Parents raise their children the way their parents raise them. It is a cycle that goes on for generations and it can be a set up for success or failure, depending on the habits taught and developed from childhood.

I am extremely blessed. I was raised a vegan and I am 40 now and have never once had meat.

I’m very grateful for how my parents raised me. And I remember as a kid, them catching a lot of flak for it, too. It wasn’t easy! Especially in the 80’s. I had juice on my granola because soy milk wasn’t readily available.

I feel lucky though, because I never had to give up anything on my plate or change my diet to lose weight or combat years of health problems.

My mom set me up for success, and because of her and how I was raised, I have never had to deal with excessive weight or health problems.

This is what we do for our children when we set them up with healthy habits starting at babyhood.

As adults, if we were not raised with good habits, and want to be healthy, we have to change our lifestyle habits and it will not be easy.

I know that not everybody knows what to do or where to start to make lifestyle changes. And that is why I am here. I want to be there for you as you start your healthy lifestyle journey!

(See below for beginners guides on how to start your healthy adventure!)

1. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH WATER

Water cleans us out on the inside. If you leave the inside “unwashed”, the likelihood of getting sick is higher. For best results, drink at least 8-12 glasses of water a day. Not fluids. There is a difference. This needs to be actual water.

Let me just give you a quick example of a few health problems that can be turned around with just 96oz of water in your day: Kidney stones, fatigue, lack of energy, bad breath, poor sleep, urinary tract infection, dry splotchy skin, lackluster hair, sore muscles, muscle cramps, elongated sickness, digestive problems, weight gain, and so many more pain in the butt problems, can be kept at bay simply by drinking plenty of water.

If you think drinking 96oz of water a day is impossible, I’ve got a few tricks for you right here! How to Drink 96oz of Water a Day. And if you don’t like water and can’t stand the taste, here’s a little help with that, too. Five Ways to Yummy-Up Your Water.

I am not a doctor, and of course, as always, if you’re not sure, it never hurts to ask your doctor what he/she advises for your daily water recommendations.

2. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH HERBS

“Herbs such as milk thistle, bilberry, hawthorn, evening primrose oil, garlic, Siberian ginseng and ginkgo are some of the most powerful food grade items medicine has ever seen. These herbs and others are entirely safe and very effective.” Dr. Agatha Thrash M.D. Preventive Medicine.

For more details on why these herbs are so good and how to use them read her article Designer Foods, Herbs & Disease Prevention

When I was in high school, I lived in a dorm, and for some reason this one particular year, I remember getting sick. A lot. Unusually often. One thing that the dean always made for us girls when we got sick was the shot of death. I hated it, but now, I use it for my kids.

It is a combo of grapefruit juice, fresh cloves of garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, honey, and ginger. You blend this up into a shot, and literally shoot it. It burns, but it will take away a sore throat fast.

I grew up on herbs, they do actually work, and a lot of times, in my past experience, are a lot less invasive than going to a doctor and work even better.

It is important to be well educated when using herbs. I suggest doing a lot more reading on the use of herbs if it is something you want to use more of.

3. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH NUTRITION

One of the best ways to stay healthy is to eat a lot of fresh foods. Not just when you’re feeling yucky, and not just here and there. This needs to be a daily habit.

The saying prevention is better than cure is one I take seriously. And nutrition is the best way to put that saying into action.

Green, leafy veggies are on the top of my list, which is why I have “Green Drink Sunday” almost every Sunday! Habits like this make green things easy, fun and tasty. Even when my kids have friends over, they all get green smoothies or juice. It’s just how we roll!

Stay away from sugary foods like pastries, candy, ice cream, sodas, sweet tea, etc. (This doesn’t include fruit).

Sugar kills white blood cells which are our disease fighters. Increase fresh foods like citrus fruits, red and green bell peppers, kale, broccoli, kiwi, pineapple, spinach, etc. because they are high in vitamin C and they also help to increase production of white blood cells.

5. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH SLEEP

Proper sleep is essential to keeping your immune system strong and healthy. As soon as you start having late nights, disrupted sleep schedules, and then over sleeping, you’re creating the perfect playground for viruses to grow.

Getting too much sleep and not enough sleep are equally bad for your body. An adult should get at least 7-9 hours of rest per night.

For more on how to get better sleep, read 8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep. And, 7 Things That Ruin Your Sleep.

6. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH WEIGHT CONTROL

I realize this is no quick or easy fix, but it has to be done for healths sake.

Weight control goes hand in hand with exercise, nutrition, and wellness. People that are overweight are more likely to have heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and depression. These are some of the very same diseases I listed in the beginning of this article.

Excessive weight causes so many problems. Aside from disease, it is hard on your joints, your mental health, and your ability to enjoy life.

I have written articles specifically to help you begin your weight loss journey. They show you how to lose and maintain weight naturally and healthfully. Here are a couple articles for starters: Lose and Maintain Healthy Weight with Carbs and How to Maintain Healthy Weight After Dieting.

Sometimes weight loss is just something you need a little extra help with, alongside your nutrition and exercise program. I highly recommend the PhysIQ System, in combination with the Nrf2. I am a vegan so I myself won’t use the whey protein in the PhysIQ System package, but you can purchase the Fat Burn and Prebiotic separately and replace the protein with the Nrf2 for a complete package!

7. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH EXERCISE

Getting exercise has to happen. Exercise keeps us younger longer, keeps our weight in check and presents aches and pain. It can also help keeps us healthy from disease, depression, and many other things that nobody should ever have to deal with.

“As exercise is increased, degenerative diseases of all kinds are decreased, life span is extended, various minor infections such as colds are reduced . . .” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine

When you exercise, you’re breathing deeper and this helps to flush out your lungs and helps make you more resistant to respiratory infections. Do this outside and it is a win-win!

Exercise also increases white blood cells. Remember earlier how I said white blood cells are our disease fighters?

Exercise balances out our hormones. Including stress hormones. Stress makes us more susceptible to disease. So exercising brings us to a better, balanced state.

Below are some resources for beginners on how to change your lifestyle to one of wellness and health.

Beginners Guide to Healthy Living

Beginners Guide to Weight Lifting and Gym Life

What is a Vegan

5 Meals Under 500 Calories

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

I don’t know about you, but math really isn’t my thing, and neither is counting calories. But for those of you who are looking for low calorie foods and meals, I have picked some of our top family favorite 5 meals under 500 calories for you to enjoy!

There are more than 5 meals under 500 calories that you can make and enjoy with your fam, but I’m going to keep it simple and introduce just 5 to you today!

500 calorie meals — Photo by Caitlin Greene

Keep in mind that, if you are eating whole foods, plenty of fruits, veggies, (raw and cooked) and legumes, nuts and seeds, there is not really any need to count calories. Your calorie intake will be just right if you eat the right foods and don’t over eat.

Eating too fast, eating too much and eating too often are where your calories will start to add up. Also, keep it simple. The trick to keeping your calories down are keeping it real simple.

PANCAKES

Every Sunday morning, it is tradition for us to have pancakes. I make them from whole wheat flour, and everybody has about 1-3 each. I make about 12, which allows for 2 per person.

 2 homemade pancakes equals 217 calories!

That leaves plenty of room for your favorite vegan (or nut) butter and fruit, or 100% pure maple syrup topping. Our favorite is all natural peanut butter and applesauce. I also like to slice up bananas, add ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, chia seeds and walnuts. This of course is going to up your calorie and fat intake, but for a breakfast, it is not so bad. You want your highest calorie meal (or your “biggest meal”) at breakfast anyway. So go ahead and add the nuts, seeds and fruit! You’ll be full nice and long, and snacking won’t even cross your mind!

The trick to low calorie, vegan, pancake meals is making them at home, from scratch. My recipe makes 12 pancakes, and that’s 217 calories and 30.3g of carbs per serving (2 pancakes). (More for recipe info below!)

I know – it seems odd. But trust me, pancakes can be one of the most fat-free-est foods you’ll ever enjoy and not even know it’s fat free-ish! You can even omit the oil and you won’t notice. I do it sometimes when I’m out and don’t feel like going to the grocery store. Some foods do taste awful when you omit oil, but pancakes can really taste great without. It cuts down on fat, plus, it’s less expensive, and so . . . why not?

For more on what a vegan is, go here! (But wait until you’re finished reading). 🙂

POTATOES

Oh my goodness, the biggest myth ever, potatoes make you fat. Guys, no. Nope, potatoes are not fattening. Get that out of your head. They taste delicious, stop depriving your body of this amazing food!

This is one of our favorite meals under 500 calories.

Here’s the breakdown in your potato:

Calories: 87.
Water: 77%
Protein: 1.9 grams.
Carbs: 20.1 grams.
Sugar: 0.9 grams.
Fiber: 1.8 grams.
Fat: 0.1 grams.

Did you see all that fat? (I’m still looking).

The reason potatoes are known to be fattening is because most people fry them (French fries) add loads of sour cream, butter, bacon, and other fattening toppings.

Another trick to making your potato extra nutritious is to scrub all that dirt off, and eat the skin. The skin is where most of your nutrients are, so if you peel it, you’re missing out on loads of good stuff!

We top our potatoes with vegan butter, salt and pepper. Sometimes we buy vegan sour cream, but that is more of a “treat”. I grew up with extra virgin olive oil in a small hand held bottle. We used as our topping, still do most of the time. That and salt is great. Not much else is needed. But, if you’re looking for a loaded experience, steam some broccoli, or make a homemade, cashew nut gravy. Obviously the potato itself is under 100 calories, so you’ve got room to explore your with healthy toppings.

Just remember that your sauces and butters are where your fat and calories add up.

meals under 500 calories — Photo by Nick Bratanek

QUINOA

There are 222 calories in 1 cup of cooked quinoa. When I make it, I don’t cook it with butter, only salt and water. I have made casseroles with it by adding mushrooms, onions, and other veggies. (Pinterest is great for finding quinoa casserole recipes). With being such a low calorie food, you’ve got room to explore your options. Serve it with a sweet potato and broccoli. I prefer my quinoa with tofu or beans, just so I have something relatively dense to “hold me over” for the next 5 hours (or my next meal).

Fun fact: Did you know that quinoa is actually a seed? And, did you know that it is a complete –vegan– protein? This basically means that it contains all of the nine essential amino acids required to build and repair protein tissues in the body.

To put your mind at ease, having a complete protein in one meal is not necessary, so don’t run out and buy it for the sake of having complete protein.

If you eat enough calories from a healthy meal with plenty of variety throughout your day, (even if your calories come only from plant-based foods) you will get enough diversity to make up for the essential amino acids within a day. So fret not if your other proteins aren’t complete.

CHILI

Sadly, I rarely make chili anymore. My boyfriend is allergic to nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant). I tend to cook for the whole family at once, and don’t really enjoy spending extra time that isn’t necessary in the kitchen. So I don’t make chili much. But, it used to be one of our staples in our home.

My recipe is from scratch, and 168 calories for 1 bowl of chili. That also leaves plenty of room for a veggie and some fresh homemade cornbread! Delish!

This chili is made from the dry beans, with onion, garlic, tomatoes and peppers and plenty of herbs and spices. You won’t miss the meat, and don’t forget, don’t top it with any sort of fattening cream or sauce. Cilantro or parsley, and some cornbread crumbs are all you need for great flavor.

FRUIT

Yes, this is another one of our “meals” under 500 calories. I wouldn’t even bother counting calories here. Just eat up. Fruit has so many great things for your body, your body will thank you for it.

I know this isn’t a traditional meal, but for us, it is our dinner. We often eat fruit soup, fruit salad, or just a variety of fruits cut up as our “dinner”. Remember, dinner (or the last meal of your day) should not be a big meal, nor should it be a high protein high calorie meal.

Fruit is mostly water, so it doesn’t take your body hours to digest it like proteins and fats.

And that’s it folks! If you want any of my recipes, just give me a shout out and I’ll send them your way! You know where to find me . . . But if you don’t, I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

September 2, 2020October 14, 2020

How to be Vegan on a Budget

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

Have you ever wondered how you can possibly be a vegan on a budget? Or be a vegan on a budget and still feed a large family? The fake meats, cheeses and other vegan foods are so expensive!

Let me show you how I have fed my family of 7 on $600.-800. month. You can seriously save money on a vegan diet.

vegan diet on a budget for a large family — Photo by Khamkeo Vilaysing

NUTRITION SHOULD ALWAYS BE IMPORTANT EVEN ON A BUDGET

Nutrition shouldn’t suffer when you’re low on cash, but often it is one of the first things to go.

For example, let’s say you’re grocery shopping. . . buying jelly and peanut butter. Sounds simple. You have options. Too many options if you live in the US. Jelly can range from under a dollar to ten bucks, depending on where you’re shopping. So, on a budget, what do reach for? The 97 cent squeeze bottle of strawberry jelly, of course.

Here’s where things fall apart. Your jelly isn’t made of real fruit, real sugar, real colors, real flavors, or real . . . anything. You’re buying a 97 cent bottle of fake food. It is better for your health to completely omit jelly, than to buy a 97 cent bottle of counterfeit food. (Or just make it a peanut butter and banana sandwich). 🙂

Part of being healthy is eating healthy. Part of being vegan, is to be healthy. But, not everybody is rich, and not everyone can afford to buy pre-made vegan mayo, meat substitutes, 7-grain bread, vegan, frozen pizzas and Kashi ready-made vegan bowls.

If you are unfamiliar with what a vegan even is, and are just now learning, please check out my blog post “What is a Vegan?”

When you are on a budget, and especially with a large family, you have to get basic with your nutrition.

Vegan on a budget — Photo by Alyson McPhee

LEARN TO COOK FROM SCRATCH

If you don’t know how to cook, learn. It is not really impossible. It is just like any other type of hobby or skill, it takes time, you’ll burn yourself and your biscuits, but in the end, there are too many YouTube videos and Pinterest tutorials for the, “I can’t cook” excuse to be a valid excuse for years and years. You may never be a chef or a genius in the kitchen, but even those who hate cooking can cook some pretty tasty, basic, vegan food.

Cooking from scratch opens doors to all sorts of inexpensive.

I made a meal for 8 people the other day with $30. I also got food for a group of 20 people and fed them all on $49. worth of groceries.

When you cook, the trick to “inexpensive” is to utilize (brown) rice, beans, and potatoes, etc. These items are not expensive, are filling, wholesome, and can be used for a base in a lot of recipes.

Fresh foods are good for you and should be eaten daily, but go sparingly if you’re trying to feed a large family on a budget. Carrots, cabbage, spinach, collards, and veggies/fruits in season are the best way to go when cooking with fresh foods on a budget.

BUYING IN BULK IS EASIER ON THE BUDGET

There are a few things that are best bought in bulk. Wheat, oats, cashews, other nuts, and seeds are best bought in large quantities. It cuts down on cost in the long run, and provide less trips to the grocery store.

A 50LB bag of wheat can cost you $50. – $85 bucks, but if you make 2-5 loaves of bread a week, that one bag of wheat should last you 3-4 months. This also depends on how much baking your’e doing in regards to other things that use flour. But, you’re probably paying less than a dollar for a loaf of bread that is fresh, homemade and taste better than any loaf of bread you could ever buy on a shelf. (You can buy nearly brand new bread machines from goodwill for 6 bucks and it’ll do all the hard work for you!)

Same goes for oats. I make granola about once a week at most, sometimes every other week. We eat granola regularly for breakfasts. I usually buy a 25lb bag of quick oats and sometimes a 25lb bag of rolled oats, and my oats will last me 4 months. A times I only get one 25lb bag and that bag still lasts forever! But buy granola at Whole Foods, or another grocery store, and you’re looking at maybe two bowls of granola for ten bucks? Try feeding a large family on that and you’ll go broke in a week!

Here are some must-have items that make cooking from scratch and using bulk foods, much easier:  A blender  Wheat grinder    Bread machine  Crock pot/Instapot or Slow cooker.   Food processor

MONEY SAVING TIP: Believe it or not, scratch cooking isn’t as popular and therefore these expensive items can be purchased at a second hand store, typically brand new/never used, for under 20 bucks! So look there before you go to Amazon and spend $100-250. on each item!

A VEGAN ON A BUDGET HAS TO SIMPLIFY

Your meals don’t need a lot of variety to be healthy or even taste good.

Choose 3 items for a meal. Your main dish, (lasagna, beans and rice, potatoes, etc.) a fresh food, and a cooked or steamed vegetable. That is it. Choose vegetables and fruits that are in season, (corn on the cob in season is $0.25 a piece in the summer!) and you can feed a large family of 7 plus people on ten bucks.

When you bake muffins, cut the sugar and make it less of a dessert and more of a main meal. Make a quadruple batch, and cut up a bunch of oranges and you’re set for one meal. All you need for breakfast is a bunch of muffins and a fresh fruit. If my kids are still hungry, I always have granola in the cupboard. This might cost you $5-10 bucks, max.

Simplifying what is served saves so much money. I always cut corners on appetizers and desserts. This also helps with portion control and weight control, as well as money control.

Nobody needs dessert. Nobody needs an "appetizer".

What you need is your main dish, your fresh food and a cooked or steamed veggie. Maybe add a slice of bread, but that’s a complete meal. And that meal should feed the family of 7+ easily on $5-15.

CUT THE GREASE AND CUT THE COST

Vegetable, coconut, olive, peanut and other oils are expensive and unnecessary. I don’t like my food to taste bland, so I don’t omit when I know it’ll change the flavor extensively.

Sautéd veggies in water not only cuts on cost, but cuts on trans fat and weight gain. For healths sake, no sautéing should ever be done in oil, and frying should just never happen. Ever. So making the change from sautéing in oil to water sautéing could save your life and your budget. Make up for the flavor change with herbs. Allow time for your taste buds to change. It can and will happen.

Pancakes, waffles, muffins, some cakes, biscuits, and similar items can be made substituting applesauce and water instead of oil and milk, and the taste doesn’t suffer, and you’ve just cut down significantly on your budget. When I am trying to save money (or milk) I use water in place of milk, pretty much always. And honestly, it’s more of a mental thing than a taste thing anyway. Water doesn’t make pancakes, muffins or biscuits taste much different. In fact, usually when I don’t say anything, the fam prefers how biscuits turn out best with water.

Go here for more on how to lose and maintain healthy weight.

DON’T DRINK AWAY YOUR CASH

Juice, milk, and other beverages are just a waste of your health, teeth and money, and what I call a “treat”.

In our house, we drink water. Always. That’s it. I buy a filter and use water from the tap. We save the environment by cutting out plastic and our health by hydrating strictly with water form the tap in a nifty filter pitcher.

On special occasions, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays or movie nights, we’ll buy a bubbly drink or I’ll make apple cider, but typically, we don’t drink anything with our meals anyway. If we do, it is water.

Drinking with your meals isn’t good for your digestive system. Juice and other drinks aren’t a “need”. They are simply a “want” that the budget doesn’t need to suffer from.

PASS ON THE SUGAR

Sugar is expensive, especially when you buy organic, raw, cane sugar like I do. (Which is the healthiest option for baking). There are few things that really don’t need sugar at all. Experiment with this and save money. A few things I have added and omitted sugar in, are waffles, pancakes and cornbread. Muffins you can cut back on, but they are tricky and it takes a little tweaking. But pancakes don’t need sugar, and cornbread doesn’t need much (if any) either. Same goes for bread. I make 5 loaves of bread with less than a cup of sugar.

Sugar in excess will put weight on you, so for weight management, leave the sugar out where it is not a “need”.

TO BE A VEGAN ON A BUDGET, PASS ON SNACKS

Snacking adds a significant amount of calories to your daily diet and weight to your hips. They are generally pretty expensive and generally non-nutritious

and full of preservatives. So, leave those for the weekend. Or for holidays.

At our house, we have “snack night” every Saturday night. That is our tradition and has been for years. It is the only night we ever have chips, crackers, and other snack-like foods. If I am not careful, I can drop a hundred bucks on snacks for one night!

Eat your meals at regular times and fill up on whole foods and complex carbs. Don’t snack between. You’ll save money and extra weight.

For more info on how cutting down on snacks helps reduce belly fat, read my article, How to Reduce Belly Fat Naturally!

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A NEED AND A WANT

When grocery shopping, cooking and feeding your family, keep in mind that there are wants and there are needs, and often the expensive things tend to be wants. Expensive things are either salty, sweet, fast or unhealthy. So use these items for special occasions.

For more on how a vegan diet is the best diet for weight control and health, read Why is the Vegan Diet one of the Best Diets?

CONDIMENTS, CREAMS, CHEESES, AND TOPPINGS

Mayonnaise, butter, nut butters, cheeses, dressings, dips, whip creams, and other extras are very fattening and expensive. I used to make my own mayo, mustard and ketchup. I still make my own whip cream. Dips we just don’t use. For two reasons, one, I don’t make appetizer, and second, we just aren’t used to it so it’s not something we miss. It saves so much time in the kitchen, money in the pocket and fat on the body.

STORE BRANDS, COUPONS, BUY ONE GET ONE

Look for store brands instead of name brand labels, it saves a lot of money. Just be careful when buying store brands. Read the ingredients. Sometimes store brands aren’t even real foods. Often these brands also have high fructose corn syrup added. I pretty much know what does and doesn’t have added sugars and salts in it, and this is something you learn as you go.

Coupons can save you about $20. a trip. Look for coupons in your junk mail (I know this isn’t food, but get toothpaste and deodorant coupons in my junk all the time).

At my grocery store, they often have buy one get one free, so I always look for these items, and I tend not to buy them when they aren’t having the special. Most likely, it’ll happen “tomorrow.”

DON’T GO SHOPPING WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY

I think we all probably know this but here’s a reminder, don’t go shopping when you’re hungry! You are more likely to buy something fast, something expensive, and something unhealthy.

For more help on how to grocery shop for healthy food, check out my blog post How to Grocery Shop for Healthy Food.

PLANT A GARDEN

If you live in the country, plant a garden. I used to have 2 raised beds. It was a small enough garden that it was easy to manage and not too much of a headache to weed, but big enough that I had plenty of squash, cucumbers, herbs, and most used in-seasonal veggies, for free.

If you have a garden your spending is going to go down significantly. Fresh food costs the most on my grocery shopping trip. I usually spend anywhere from $40-$75 on fresh food per week. When I have a garden that drops significantly!

As a side note, gardening is fantastic for several other things, too. One is earthing, which has shown to improve sleep. I write all about that, here. 🙂

I would love to hear how you have become a vegan and are doing it on a budget! 🙂 Or maybe how you want to and your ideas on how you plan to make it work.

If you have any questions, I would be glad to answer to the best of my ability! And if I don’t have the answer, I’ll either find the answer or someone else that can give you an answer. So please don’t hesitate to ask! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

August 5, 2020August 31, 2020

How to Eat Healthy

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If you’re wondering how to eat healthy and never diet again, you’re in the right spot.

If you want to eat healthy, you’re probably thinking about food. Eating healthy is not just the food you eat though, it also includes how you eat.

EAT HEALTHY LIKE YOUR CAR

Let’s pretend you’re going on vacation, and your car is your body. If you’re planning to leave at 9am, and you know that your car’s gas light is on, do you get up at 8:55? Of course not. You need to make time to fill the gas tank. But, let’s say you’re in a hurry, so you whip into the gas station and put 5 bucks of gas in the tank. How far would that get you? You’re in a hurry to get through your day, or to your destination, so every few miles, you’re stopping to put a gallon or two in your car, and that is it. Once you arrive at your destination, does it make sense to then stop, fill up, and park for the week while you’re on vacation?

This is how people often treat their bodies. They get up late in the morning, don’t have time to eat a meal, so they have a snack, or nothing at all. With no time to eat because of not getting up in time to allow for a large breakfast, you will either starve or end up snacking throughout the day because you are hungry. You’re hungry ’cause you didn’t “fill the tank” with quality fuel for the day. So you’re constantly feed your body with . . . snacks. Not enough to actually fill your tank and fuel your day. But when the day is over, most American’s sit down for a large dinner, then shortly thereafter go to bed.

You’ve just filled your “gas tank” and then “parked your car” in the garage, or gone to bed.

EAT HEALTHY BY EATING BACKWARDS

I don’t care if you like it or not, breakfast is important. This doesn’t mean you
have to eat breakfast food! In fact, your first meal should be your largest. Meaning, the highest protein, and the most calories. Dense, complex carbohydrates need to be on your plate and in your belly!

I grew up eating this way. I grew up eating chili, cornbread and collards for breakfast.

This is how you need to eat: dinner, lunch, and if you eat a third meal, breakfast.

Breakfast should be dinner, lunch should be lunch, and dinner should be breakfast.

It looks like this: Breakfast, your “meat (beans) and potatoes” type of meal. Lunch, your usual lunch in size; your granola, salad, sandwich, etc. and then, breakfast for dinner. Your green drink, smoothie, yogurt or “quick, light snack”. And this is IF you eat at all. I typically don’t.

EAT HEALTHY BY NOT EATING

The new thing is intermittent fasting. Guess what? This ain’t new folks! I was fasting at a year old. Yup. My mom brought me up on a 2-3 meal a day kind of day. I never had a single snack, not even juice, milk, apples or crackers. It was water between a 5-6 hour “fasting” period.

Now you might think this is crazy, but it is not. Neither is it bad for kids. Kids brought up like this will have less health issues and weight problems.

Here are a few reasons why it’s good not to eat all day long, whether that is a snack (literally a singular celery stick) or 6 tiny meals a day.

“Allergies are more common among people who snack between meals [or eat frequent small meals]. Not only is the variety of possible allergens greatly multiplied, but the likelihood of producing toxic chemicals in the digestive tract by inefficient digestion is also increased by eating between meals.”

“The more frequent the between-meal snacking, the greater the number of cavities that one has at each new visit to the dentist.”

“Snacks are usually of poor quality food. Those who eat snacks are more likely to use fried foods (the poorest way to prepare foods), to use food of inferior quality, sweets and “empty calories.’”

“Eating between meals, even nibbling a few peanuts, causes stagnation of food in the stomach. X-ray studies done years ago using contrast media showed that a little eating between meals delays stomach emptying by many hours, even up to 14 hours or more.” ~ Dr. Agatha Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine, “Snacks and Eating Between Meals”

EAT HEALTHY EAT CLEAN

Clean eating doesn’t necessarily mean clean meat. Eating clean and lean simply put, is eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and healthy fats. Limit or omit, highly processed snack foods, sweets and other packaged foods. Raw food is the cleanest and purest way to eat clean.

Sugary, oily foods can be vegan. They are also fattening and simply not nutritious. When one eats nutritious meals with complex carbs and whole grains, it is easy to wait 5 to 6 hours between each meal, because you’re consuming dense foods that take longer to digest, which keep you full longer.

EAT HEALTHY AND NEVER DIET AGAIN

Many times I have said before that dieting is temporary. A diet is specifically designed to get fast results, whether for competing, for losing weight fast, or gaining weight fast. But after dieting, you should be able to maintain your weight without having to continue to ride the up and down scale of weight gain and loss from dieting, returning to old habits, and dieting again.

Changing eating habits as a lifestyle is a way to maintain healthy weight and never again having to diet. A vegan diet is the best diet for optimum health and weight control. You can actually diet by changing your regular eating habits to a vegan lifestyle, gradually, and then maintain the lifestyle forever afterwords. It is one of the only “diets” that you can healthfully maintain after reaching your targeted weight loss or gains!

Bodybuilders and powerlifters have amazing results on a vegan diet as well, and people have been able to compete and win championships on the diet.

EAT HEALTHY AGE BACKWARDS

The fountain of youth is actually legit. Well, I’d call it the “raw foods fountain of
youth”, because eating a mostly raw and vegan diet has shown to add years, energy and youthfulness to your life.

I have had several people tell me they don’t want to live a long life. The reason is because they just don’t feel good. If one feels lethargic, low on energy, achy, slow and in a brain fog all day every day, why would someone want to live longer?

The best part of being a vegan is that you age backwards, or slower. It takes away the brain fog, the drowsiness, fatigue and provides more energy and alertness. Also, your skin will be clearer, your hair shiner, your body will smell better and you’re all around just more happy, and who doesn’t want that?

EAT HEALTHY FEEL HEALTHY

At the end of the day, if you eat healthy, you will feel healthy. Feeling healthy is worth the extra celery sticks, trust me.

Please stop by and follow me on my social media so we can be friends! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to hang out best, you can find me!

July 8, 2020August 31, 2020

How to Maintain Healthy Weight After Dieting

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How to maintain weight after you’ve reached your goal weight is a bit of a conundrum for some. It can be tricky, but it is not necessarily hard.

Maintaining your targeted weight after spending hundreds of dollars on a program or product is a big deal. You’ve reached the desired weight, but now your program has ended. Your diet can’t be maintained. It helped you lose weight, but now what?

It really shouldn’t be so difficult to stay at your desired weight. But for so many people, the weight creeps back up. Why? Because the program didn’t teach you how to live a healthy lifestyle. They didn’t tell you what to do to maintain your weight after the product ran out. And you’re stuck with no more program, no more product, and no direction.

There is a way to maintain your weight, set new goals and stay where you need to be without products. It’s called Balance8life. Learn to use self control to balance your nutrition, rest, exercise and more, for a balanced lifestyle that keeps you where you need to be, forever.

HOW TO MAINTAIN WEIGHT WITH PROPER NUTRITION

The first thing to pay attention to is your nutrition. It was your old diet and eating habits that put the weight on. So going back to your old eating and nutritional habits won’t magically work any differently than before.

When you find yourself at the end of a “diet”, it is easy to feel lost. Most diets are just that, a diet. Meaning, they are only there for a specific purpose, to help you lose weight. They aren’t healthy, and definitely not sustainable. But their purpose is to get you where you want to be, and fast.

At the end of it, you’re left with your after picture, and a “what next?” because dieting isn’t a lifestyle.

Or is it?

Through Balance8life, I promote a very balanced, nutrition-packed lifestyle of eating healthfully. Not counting calories or measuring portions (though portion control is definitely important). It is all about balance. A balance of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, seeds and legumes.

Maintaining healthy weight means maintaining healthy habits.

This isn’t a diet, it is a balanced, nutritional lifestyle.

The best way to keep the weight off is the vegan, plant-based diet. It is sustainable, healthy, balanced, and complete.

VEGAN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – RESOURCES:

Though I say being a vegan is the best diet to follow, it is easy for me to say because I am a vegan and have been for years. But for most people, it is new, and foreign. But don’t worry, many have gone before you into the plant-based world! Here is some help for you though, in case you aren’t sure where to begin.

What is a vegan? Why is a Vegan Diet one of the Best Diets? Some common misconceptions about veganism. Where do you get your protein if you’re a vegan? Should you go gluten free? You’ll find a link to part 2 in the first article. And, can you actually bulk and gain muscle on a vegan diet?

MAINTAINING WEIGHT WITH EXERCISE

If you did an exercise program to lose the weight, you can’t stop exercising after you’ve lost the weight. Trust me, if you quit, those pounds will catch back up. You may need a new or different program, somebody else to coach you, or a little self-help on YouTube and Google. Quitting is not an option.

You have to look at exercise as a healthy habit. It is a daily must-have like showering and eating. Weight gain is not just from loving food. It is also from loving a sedentary lifestyle. We were made to move. So move daily and often.

Forming habits, good habits, keeps you on your forward journey to a successful healthy lifestyle.

MAINTAINING WEIGHT WITH HYDRATION

Water. Your new fave drink. Even if it isn’t your new favorite drink, tell yourself it is. Here’s some help to make it tastier if you really can’t stand it.

Your tea, soda and other sugary drinks cannot return to your refrigerator. You’ve got to keep them out of your grocery cart, out of reach, and not in your house at all. Water should remain your number one go-to for hydration. Always.

Be careful with “zero cal” drinks and “no sugar” drinks. A lot of these drinks are still loaded with artificial flavorings and colors and have very little water which makes them even worse than a natural drink that contains sugar and calories.

HOW TO MAINTAIN WEIGHT WITH SLEEP

Your body needs a break. A full 7-8+ hours of good sleep is a must to keep weight off. No midnight snacking. In order to rest well, you need to be sure you do not eat before hitting the hay.

Your last meal should end at least 5 hours before you go to bed. Your stomach needs to be empty and you literally need to give your digestive system a break. It’s called fasting to some, and to others its just simply sleeping.

If you struggle with sleeping, there are also a few great things that can work, and they work naturally.

Here are 8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep. Also, check out my favorite supplement, Nrf2! This supplement is 100% natural and plant-based. It isn’t exactly made directly for sleeping, but as a result of the age-reversing process of ridding free-radicals, I went from not sleeping for over 4 years, to sleeping like a baby every night. (It took being consistent for 3 months before I did finally sleep that well. I first experienced enhanced mood, zero fatigue and over-all great energy).

MAINTAINING WEIGHT MEANS NO SNACKING

Not even celery sticks or apples.

Yes these things are healthy. No, they are not making you healthy when eaten between your meals.

Don’t do it. Ever. 
Period.

More on why fasting and no snacking is best below.

CURB YOUR APPETITE WITH SUNSHINE

Sunshine benefits you more than you would think. Sunshine is actually a natural appetite suppressant. Have you ever experienced a day out at the beach and realized you hadn’t eaten anything all day? Sunlight is also a mood
enhancer. Often people eat, not because they’re hungry, but because they’re sad and lonely, or just bored. Go find something to do outside instead of eating, and you might find you aren’t really hungry.

MAINTAINING WEIGHT WITH A SET MEAL TIME

Make meal times regular. When you do this your body settles into knowing what to expect, and therefore doesn’t get as hungry between meal times. (Providing that you are eating foods that have dense, complex carbs and healthy fats, that is.)

It is easier to wait to eat when you’re used to eating at a certain time every day.

There is a common misconception that eating 6 small meals a day is better because it helps keep your metabolism buzzing.

(INSERT “WRONG” ALARM HERE)

“A lot of times people think they’re going into starvation mode when they skip a meal or fast for a day, and that’s truly not the case. Unless someone has a prolonged, dire lack of access to food or an eating disorder like anorexia, it’s very hard to go into complete clinical starvation mode.” Dr. Joy Dubost RD, CSSD Registered Dietitian, Board Certified in Sports Nutrition, Food Scientist.

“Fasting is an excellent way to treat disease. A day or two of fasting each week would do most people more good than any amount of medical advice or treatment.” – Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine (Full article here)

Fasting allows the body’s enzyme system to focus on detoxifying. If you’re constantly eating, you’re not giving your body the proper time it needs to eliminate toxins, and therefore your body is more susceptible to disease.

MEASUREMENTS OVER SCALES

Don’t weigh yourself every day. When you’ve finished your program or diet, measure and weigh yourself, write it down, then put it aside.

If you are exercising or changing your diet, keep track in 4-6 week intervals. Measure and/or weigh, but don’t worry so much about your weight as much as your measurements.

If you’re measuring good in all the right spots, understand that muscle weighs more than fat, and could potentially throw off your “healthy weight expectation.”

GUT FEELINGS AND GUT HEALTH

When your gut is healthy, you’re going to be feeling a lot better about life. When you feel good, it is easier to stay on the journey to better health. Having a healthy gut is core to healthy success. A healthy gut also helps keep you from being sick.

The bacteria in our gut not only play an important role in digestion but it can also play a major role in your ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Maintain a healthy weight by maintaining healthy habits. You’ve got this!

If you would like some face-to-face coaching with Sabra, email me and let’s talk. 😉

Please feel free to comment below, contact me on social media and follow me here! I love hearing from my readers. 🙂 I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

March 28, 2020October 14, 2020

Boost Immunity at Home: 8 Secrets to Staying Healthy

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A great way to boost immunity at home is by thinking ahead before you or your family start to get sick. Below are 8 techniques that work for us, and I figured I’d pass them along to you!

Right now more than anything, we need our immune systems strong and ready to rock and roll!

So let’s get right into it! Here are 8 things that you can do (at home!) that will boost your immune system and help fight off sickness.

NUTRITION

Diet is an extremely powerful tool in fighting diseases and boosting our immune system.

As soon as flu season hits, there are three things I do with my diet to boost my family’s immune system.

Cut out all sugar (but keep fruit!)

White blood cells are what fights disease. Sugar kills white blood cells. Math isn’t my strong point, so I’ll let you do the math here.

More fresh fruit and veggies

I increase my green juicing and fresh fruit and veggie intake.

“There are sufficient vitamins and minerals in the food that we grow to supply all of modern man’s needs.” ~ Agatha M. Thrash, M.D.
Preventive Medicine

I eat a variety of colors to make sure I’m getting efficient vitamins and minerals, but especially things that are naturally high in Vitamin C. (Citrus, kale, broccoli, kiwi, bell pepper, strawberries, pineapple, etc,)

Emergen-C or Airborne

Boost your defenses at home with a little C.

Maybe not the “healthiest” of supplements, but it is (usually) easy to get my hands on and my kids like it, so we use it and it works. If I even get the tiniest whiff of somebody getting sick, we drink an Emergen-C packet 1-2 times a day, and often it (a common cold) blows over without hanging out for too long.

However! Right now, I have not been able to find vitamin C, Airborne, or Emergen-C anywhere! so here is another way to accomplish the same thing. (Just slightly a little more complicated).

Increase your whole grains, nuts and seeds, (these are high in zinc), and eat more citrus fruits and raw veggies! Juicing is the best way to get large quantities in a smaller amount. (List of some things high in vitamin C above).

EXERCISE TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY AT HOME

Get your peaches moving!

“As exercise is increased, degenerative diseases of all kinds are decreased, life span is extended, various minor infections such as colds are reduced . . .” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine

When you exercise, you’re breathing deeper and this helps to flush out your lungs and helps make you more resistant to respiratory infections. Do this outside and it is a win-win!

Exercise also increases white blood cells. Remember earlier how I said white blood cells are our disease fighters?

Exercise balances out our hormones. Including stress hormones. Stress makes us more susceptible to disease. So exercising brings us to a better, balanced state.

From my personal experience, the more working out I’ve done on a regular basis, the less I’ve gotten sick. #facts!

FRESH AIR

Fresh air actually helps strengthen our immune systems. Deep breathing helps purify the blood and increases oxygen to various parts of the body. You don’t have to spend your entire day outside, just 10-20 minutes is all you need. (Of course more won’t kill ya).

WATER

Water cleans out the internal ick. If you leave the ick inside, the likelihood of getting sick is higher. Get it out, drink at least 8-12 glasses of water a day!

A little trick I have done that works is, if I start to feel a little off I drink one 8oz glass of water every 10 minutes for an hour. Weird, I know. The toilet becomes your hangout spot and you feel super bloated. But, it actually works. It’s called flushing out your system.

REST

Boost immunity at home with simply by getting proper sleep. Sleep is essential to keeping your immune system strong and healthy. As soon as you start going for late nights, disrupted sleep schedules, and then over sleeping, you’re creating the perfect playground for viruses and bad things to have a party. Lack of sleep also effects recovery time.

Sleep at least 7-9 hours.

SUNSHINE

Sunlight kills germs and strengthens the immune system, too. It also heals. A little bit goes a long ways, so don’t stress about not having time to lay out on the beach for hours. 10 minutes is all you need.

MODERATION

Less is more . . . errr . . . unless it’s not enough.

Think small(er) size. Especially if you’re inside and sitting a lot more than usual.

Portion control is a big deal and even bigger when fighting disease. Over eating, eating frequently and eating late at night does no good for strengthening your immune system. Quite the opposite, in fact.

This applies to all things ~ too much sleep, too little sleep, too much sun, too little sun, etc., etc., is not healthy or good for building a strong immune system.

Be moderate with your work, your diet, your exercise, your inactivity, your thoughts. Stay balanced. Stay strong.

MEDITATION

Meditation brings balance to the body’s system and reduces stress and anxiety. It is like a massage to the soul, and is good for our emotions. When our emotions are out of whack our body tenses up and everything just isn’t balanced.

Fear is very palpable right now. Constant talk about what is going on around us is causing a lot of fear and tension for millions of people. Fear and tension increases weakness. Now is not the time to feed weakness in any way.

Our mental health is the beginning to our physical and emotional health. Now more than ever we need to find positive things to focus on, minimize our time obsessing over the news, limit our conversation of negativity and increase positive conversation patterns. The less fear we allow into our minds, the stronger our bodies will be.

I wish the best of health on all of you and would love to hear what tips and tricks you do, to strengthen your immune system! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

Definitely hit me up or email me and let’s chat! Seriously. We’ve got nothing better to do, right? (Said no mom of 5 doing remote-schooling ever). Haha

Until next time! 🙂

November 27, 2019August 31, 2020

Lose and Maintain Healthy Weight With Carbs

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Did you know that you can lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight and still eat carbohydrates? And, did you know that carbohydrates should be 45-65% of your daily calorie intake?

Whereas protein should only be 10-20% of your daily calorie intake and fat should be around 20-35%. As you can see, your carbs are pretty important for a balanced diet.

But everybody says you should cut carbs to lose 
weight, why is that?

**Unfortunately, majority rules regardless of whether or not the tale is actually true, and carbohydrates are bad is a very commonly understood “fact”, that is in fact not a fact at all.**

When I studied for my personal training certification, the above percentages of daily calorie intake were in my textbook, and all personal trainers that are certified should have learned the importance of a balanced diet of carbs, proteins and fats.

The problem is, it’s such a common-knowledge statement: “cut carbs to lose weight”, that even the educated tend to jump on the bandwagon of no carbs.

The reason everybody says carbohydrates are bad is because (without further digging and true knowledge on the subject) it is understood that carbs are low in fiber; carbohydrates are linked to a lot of health problems such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

This is partial truth. This statement is based on one side of the story. This side of the story is talking about a certain kind of carbohydrate.

There are two different kinds of carbs. There are complex carbs and simple carbs. It’s important to understand the difference between the two before you throw out carbs in an attempt to lose weight.

Throwing all carbohydrates into the rubbish bin is like saying drinking is bad, and throwing water, soda and alcoholic beverages all in the same category.

Water is very healthy and the others aren’t. See the difference? This comparison may seem weird, but this is how drastic of a difference there is between good and bad carbs.

It’s not the carbs that are putting the fluff over your body, covering your gorgeous figure, it is the kind of carbs you eat and drink.

So let me make it simple for you. These are the carbohydrates that make you fat:

Simple carbs are:

White (table) sugar
Corn syrup
Candy
Ice cream
Cake
All baked goods with white flour
Bread with white flour (you should eat a lot of 100% whole wheat/grain bread!)
Pasta made with white flour
(Most) packaged cereals
ALL sodas
etc.

These are the carbs that don’t make you fat, the ones you need for energy and the ones that should be 45-65% of your balanced diet. Daily!

Complex carbs are:

Fruit
Veggies
Whole Grains (All grains that are not white)
Legumes (beans)
etc. (read How to Get Gains When Gains Are Hard to Get for more on carbs, good and bad.)

Carbohydrates, at the chemical level, contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. And yes – they take the form of sugars, starches and cellulose (fiber).

Your body needs sugar for energy and brain function. Sugar is essential for your body to create energy to survive.

The catch is, it’s not necessary to include sugary foods (simple carbohydrates) or added sugars (again, simple carbohydrates) in the diet in order for your body to make energy. For our bodies to be healthy, we need to feed it healthy food, that includes healthy sugars. A diet with adequate complex carbohydrates (from whole grains and legumes – list above) as well as foods containing natural sugar (fruit) will fulfill this role.

In conclusion, all the fun sugary sweet things we like to eat and drink, are the bad carbs.

Potatoes, pasta, whole grain bread, fruits, brown rice, etc. are the good carbs and will not make you fat nor should you take them out of your diet. You need these for fiber and energy!

If you’d like more information, please reach out. I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.