A Healthy "You"

11/18/2017

Synthetic and natural chemical exposure can contribute to hormone imbalance.

Shampoos, lotions, perfumes, soaps, etc, are products that often contain chemicals that are "xenoestrogens." These chemicals imitate estrogen.

So many women have an estrogen dominance. Our hormones balance each other out. Estrogen imbalance is quite common in women, especially women who are over 30.

American lifestyle is a major contributor to estrogen imbalance.

Stress, busyness, poor diet, etc. etc. can also aggravate hormone imbalance.

The best solution for estrogen dominance is lifestyle change. Slowing down, improving the diet, cutting chemicals, therapeutic physical movement are all a few items that can dramatically improve you life and help ease estrogen dominance.

If you are wondering about estrogen dominance, examine the symptoms checklist at this site and see if you could be experiencing it:

https://www.johnleemd.com/hormone-balance-test-symptom-checker.html

06/15/2017

You likely have heard of Intermittent Fasting. It's based on new science. Your body can benefit from this practice. Dr. Phoenyx gives you the lowdown in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmRNHfNkmwQ

Video Topic: How to do Intermittent Fasting for Beginners (FitBeauty Shop: http://bit.ly/2lblZHj) Today we’re discussing intermittent fasting, which is a ver...

06/03/2017

Have any of you heard of the Hallelujah Diet by George Malkmus? It is a mostly raw food diet. I was on antibiotics almost a month ago and those did a job on my gut flora. Now my digestion is out of whack.

This happens easily to me since celiac disease has affected my small intestine and made it more sensitive to irritants. Antibiotics will decimate a lot of the good bacteria in the gut and render the digestive less effective.

I have been trying to restore my digestion with pre and probiotics as well as with digestive enzymes before meals and betaine hcl caps after meals. I am also drinking freshly-squeezed lemon juice in water before meals to stimulate the liver.

I am slowly recovering from the antibiotics, but further intervention is needed. Most gut problems can be addressed nutritionally, so I am trying the Hallelujah Diet.

This morning I juiced 4 carrots, 1 rib of celery, and 1 apple for breakfast. The Hallelujah Diet warns not to eat any foods with fiber in the morning, and juicing helps eliminate the fiber from those ingredients so that the nutritive juices can be isolated for consumption.

If you've seen or or heard of the YouTube sensation "Good Mythical Morning", you will understand how I felt consuming the juice. It was a beautiful orange color and went down okay. However, the celery aftertaste prompted me to put a drop of peppermint oil on my tongue to cover it. I figure this will be an acquired taste!

If you are having gut or digestive issues as well as other maladies, consider the Hallelujah Diet as an option. You can't lose with raw foods as well as wholefood options.

http://www.myhdiet.com/

05/12/2017

How much extra weight are you carrying around?

Excess weight causes a myriad of problems for the body and the mind.

You likely don't realize how tough it is on you. You have learned to live with it gradually. Sore joints, poor digestion, foggy brain/thinking, shame, etc. are only a drop in the bucket of troubles extra body weight brings.

Curious about how you can break free from the cycle of gaining and losing? Do diets often fail you and the scale doesn't move downward but upward?

Stay tuned. I will be hosting an info session about The Fat Flush Plan as well as a description of a weight loss accountability boot camp that is coming soon. The info session is FREE.

04/30/2017

Looking forward to serving ladies at the next Women of Hope Spa Night at Living Hope Church (across from Walmart on South Airport Rd), Tuesday, May 23, starting at 6pm in Traverse City, MI.

I will be doing free personal training consultations regarding body alignment, body aches and pains, core training (including pelvic floor muscle recruitment), as well as Trim Healthy Mama information.

Hoping to see you there!

03/26/2017

I am excited to share that I will be reviewing Trim Healthy Workins (from the Trim Healthy Mama authors Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett). This will be a 6-week process, and I will post input regarding my weekly experience with THM Workins.

So far, I am a bit sore...ouch. I love this workout because it is geared toward a busy mom. Workouts take 20 minutes.

Their concept of "Feminine Fit" is fantastic and could revolutionize your exercise life! There are different levels and modifications for the exercise moves. If the word "incontinence" or "I p*e when I cough and sneeze" rings a bell with you, stay tuned for more info!

Here's a video of Serene and Pearl talking about "Feminine Fit":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwhxM9y-si0

©2017 Trim Healthy Mama LLC Available here: https://store.trimhealthymama.com/product/workins-9-dvd-comprehensive-exercise-healing-program-designed-just-for-...

03/15/2017

For women, exercise can some times be tricky. Our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our frame is so different than a man's. If you look at it like a physical science lesson, we carry load differently.

It is important for us to work on our internal musculature layers and then progress to the outer layers. Most exercise today is not geared that way.

Too much exercise can cause too much cortisol release. If you are feeling stressed, going through menopause/perimenopause, or recovering from birth, heavy exercise would even be detrimental.

If you are unable to lose weight and are exercising heavily, consider transitioning to a slower-paced exercise that involves deep breathing, yoga/stretching, or body weight resistance.

Stress is one of those things that can make you gain weight, especially around the middle. We release cortisol during heavy exercise. Cortisol is not the friend of a middle-aged woman's waistline.

02/27/2017

Weight gain. Ugh. We know we can gain weight when we eat too much food without adequate calorie expenditure to use up that consumed food energy.

But what about those of us that are making every attempt to lose pounds, but the scale DOES NOT move...or the number even increases. Talk about frustration!

There are many possibilities and reason for weight gain from thyroid disease, hormone imbalance, medications, and glandular disorders.

However, an interference and/or damage to hormone receptors is also a consideration. How many of you have had surgeries on female organs? Some have had sterilization procedures or uterine dilation and curettage (D&C). Did you know these can interrupt hormone receptors? Many modern OB/GYN physicians may not come into agreement with this information due to lack of scientific study by the American Medical Association.

There is actually a Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome associated with Tubal Ligation. If you have had this procedure, and you are or have been experiencing unpleasant changes in your body, you may want to take a p*ek at this link: http://www.tubal.org/symptoms-of-pts.htm

02/14/2017

Who has a physical issue that is causing pain, discomfort, and movement limitation?

Do you have something that is stopping you from pursuing exercise or even living without pain each day?

Feel free to post your issue or questions here anytime, and I will do my best to find a solution or direction for you.

Blessings!

02/05/2017

Greetings to all of you! Hope you are all finding ways to move your body during these winter months.

Maybe some of you are experiencing pain in a certain region of the body. Personally, I have intermittent shoulder pain. After a bit of research, I determined that my shoulder pain was attributed to imbalance in my right and left sides and that the movement of my shoulder was dependent on the recruitment of the trapezius muscle when it should be more involving the deltoid and the rotator cuff muscles.

This was creating pain and weakness in my shoulder. The head of the humerus bone in my upper arm was not sitting correctly in the glenohumeral joint. Remember it is muscles, tendons, and ligaments that are relevant for joint mobility. Sometimes our daily, repetitive activities will sneak into our muscle memory and we begin to use the incorrect muscles to move the joints.

Dr. Peter Egoscue, exercise physiologist, has a series of videos on how to address joint pain. Please keep in mind that these exercises will not solve joint problems due to injury. However, they can be a helpful aid in the healing process to address imbalance as well as alignment problems that tend to lead to injury.

Here is Dr. Egoscue explaining and addressing a woman's shoulder pain. This helped me with my shoulder pain immediately.

(this exercise may also help those with neck pain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXIMKv1jK4

Often the cause of neck and shoulder pain is a result of habitually misaligned movements. In daily life, even the simplest activities, like brushing teeth or...

11/28/2016

As our bodies grow older, crazy things happen. Some of us may feel that our bodies are our enemies, as they don't usually cooperate with the normal means of attempting weight loss and health maintenance.

We mustn't forget that as we age, our body systems and cellular functions are not as efficient as they once were. Time and environmental factors will wear away at these systems, thus rendering them less efficient. That's why we can't get away with eating certain foods in various amounts like we once did.

If this process has been overwhelming and frustrating to you, take heart! Put down that therapeutic bag of chips and take a listen.

It isn't easy, but you can use food and exercise to coax your physiology into cooperating. But it takes intentional work and discipline. I can show you how to make it work in your life and unique circumstances.

Ask me about our upcoming "Healthy Lifestyle" 6-week accountability group.

We will be exploring the following:

1)The Fat Flush Plan: a liver-kickstarting, cleansing eating method that produces immediate results in just one week. There are few recommended supplements for this program, but it is doable even on a limited income.

2)Physiology and Exercise. What plan is best for your individual needs and time? What will be possible for you?

3)The value and benefits of choosing natural health options. Foods and preparation techniques (budget-friendly), lifestyle recommendations,natural medicine, essential oils, etc.

4)Hormone health and how and ways to address it.

5)Stress management.

6)Assessment and accountability for improved, long-term success.

Start your 2017 year off by changing your life! Message me for more info.

Blessings!

11/21/2016

Hi, everyone! This is extremely last-minute and I apologize, but my friend Shelley is teaching an Essential Oils 101 class tonight at her home in the East Long Lake Rd. area of Traverse City. It starts at 6:45. If you are interested, let me know so I can get your RSVP to her.

Also, Shelley is teaching another Essential Oils 101 class on November 28th, if that is a better day for you.

Essential oils can be a vital component in your health arsenal. Personally, I use essential oils on a daily basis and would not want to be without them.

Blessings!