PART II - FINDING MY PATH TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE By Trina

After changing the date I would begin my healthy lifestyle plan multiple times, I finally feel ready to post Part II - Finding My Path To A Healthier Lifestyle.

The Reason for my delay -

At the end of every school year I vow to reassess how I allocate my time. Then prior to the start of the new school year I make plans to spent more time taking care of me. Well the start of this school year has not been different then the others. The issues may be different, but the results are the same; I am very busy. Therefore finding the blocks of time I want for me are difficult. 

This year my time has been divided between dealing with a number of extended family issues, help my daughter with transportation during her third year in college, homeschooling my youngest, various homeschool volunteer positions and my normal wife and stay at home mom responsibilities. 

But this year I finally realize that I have been using how busy I am as an excuse not do what I know I need to do. It's much easier to blame my lack of determination to reach my goals on the amount of time I spend helping others then on my lack of commitment. I may not have all the time I would like to devote on myself, but there is more than enough to work on reaching my goals. So I began MY PATH TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE AT 3 PM TODAY ! No more excuses, and no more waiting for the perfect day because it will never come. Today is the day!!

Here are the components of my plan. . .

 

*The Conscious Cleanse by Jo Schaalman and Julie Pelaez

I previously completed about one week of this program. I felt better and 

was able to resist eating my trigger foods.

There are a number things I really like about this book including:

    - Part 2: The Conscious Cleanse, begins with a welcome and then is divided  

    into sections, Day 1- 14. Each day you are given a suggested menu, information on  the 

    ingredient of the day, a quick tip, and questions/ideas to help you complete your journal writing.

    Here are some quotes from the book:

        “No two people are the same. Our bodies are intricate pulses of energy, each one

          unique in so many ways.”

        “This 14-day journey you're about to embark upon is a guide to designing your own

          path to vibrant health.”

        “We created the Conscious Cleanse for ourselves first, while on our own quest for vibrant 

        health, ideal body weight, and personal healing. As we share it with you, our goal is to help 

        you design your own perfect diet.”

        “Eat foods you like, and be flexible.”

        “ . . . the Conscious Cleanse is not really just a 2-week program. It was developed as a

          means to give you a clean slate, a fresh start, a blank canvas upon which you can design   

        a “food lifestyle” of your very own.”

I am really excited about this book and have chosen it as the foundation of my Healthy Lifestyle Plan. Find the website here.
 

*The 7 Principles of Fat Burning by Eric Berg, DC 

What I like:

- The book provides guidelines for eating and exercise based on your body type. There are four: Liver, Thyroid, Adrenal and Ovary.  To determine your body type you take a short quiz that's in the book. My scores indicated that I am the Adrenal Type.
- Everyone begins with the 14 Day Liver Enhancement, the purpose is to get your body into a fat burning mode. 
- The 14 Day Liver Enhancement is not that different than the Conscious Cleanse. The main differences are: Conscious Cleanse really encourages journal writing and this book does not; the Conscious Cleanse suggests beginning the day with 4 cups of water; this book does not, but does encourage you to drink Dr. Berg's cranberry drink 3 times a day. Also on this plan you would avoid any sweeteners until you have loss a significant amount of weight, including sweet fruits like bananas, raisins and dates. This plan does allow some dairy, specifically low-fat cottage cheese and plain low-fat yogurt.

I plan to incorporate the following from his program:

          - the cranberry drink

          - the exercise plan for my body type

          - soaking beans, nuts and seeds before eating

          - increase the amount of cruciferous vegetables in my diet, especially sprouts

          - eat more apples

          - Also I will significantly reduce the amount of natural sugar in my diet.

This is also a great program and I really love his videos. He is the medical professional I wish could answer all my questions about health/diet – he gives straight forward answers explained in layman's terms. You can access his videos here

*Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

What I Like:

          - Dr. Fuhrman's Six-Week Plan seem straight forward and simple. 

            - Unlimited vegetables (goal of 1 lb. raw and 1 lb. cooked) and fruits  

            except cooked starchy vegetables and dried fruits which have daily limits. Starchy   

            vegetables and whole grains are limited to one serving per day. Also allowed on the plan  

            1oz of nuts and seeds,  2oz of avocado, 2 Tbsp dried fruit and 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed per 

            day; beans, legumes and tofu are also allowed.

            - The book is filled with information.

 This book is different from The Conscious Cleanse and The 7 Principles of Fat Burning in that you do not consume salt, oil or animal protein.

I plan to incorporate the following from this program:

          - eat approximately 1 pound of raw vegetables a day

         - make salad the main dish: eat it first at lunch and dinner

         - reduce (not eliminate) my daily intake of salt

         - reduce (not eliminate) my daily intake of oils

         - eat beans everyday

         - have a tablespoon of ground flaxseed every day

         - Dr. Fuhrman's Food Pyramid (after finishing 14 – 21 days of the Conscious Cleanse)

The Conscious Cleanse, The 7 Principles of Fat Burning, and Eat to Live all suggest eating unlimited amounts of vegetables. Both The Conscious Cleanse and The 7 Principles of Fat Burning recommend eating vegetables and fruit  in a ratio of 3 to 1. Both also allow small amounts of certain  animal protein if you feel you need it, with one exception - The Conscious Cleanse suggest avoiding eggs during the cleansing phase.

*Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover

What I Like/What I plan to incorporate:

          - information on “Building a Sound Emotional Foundation”

          - the Five Simple Eat Rules

          - the Fitness Program

*The Vice-Busting Diet by Julia G. Havey

What I Like/What I plan to incorporate:

          - eliminate a diet vice ( “any habitual action that is keeping you from reaching and  

          maintaining a healthy weight “) weekly

          - replacing diet vices with healthy habits and implementing additional healthy habits

          - daily affirmations

This plan correlates with my list of Healthy Habits, but includes 

suggestions and other information that make implementing these habits easier.

*The New! Abs Diet for Women by David Zinczenko

What I Like/What I plan to incorporate:

          - the workouts

          - information on BMI and the perfect weight

          - the nutritional values of common foods at the back of the book

*Faithfully Fit by Claire Cloninger

What I Like/What I plan to incorporate:

          - the faith based affirmations

          - the faith based information

          - the scriptures

          - the prayers

*Jenny Craig's What Have You Got to Lose?

What I Like/What I plan to incorporate:

          - Module 1 “the five fundamental skills that will enable you to effectively adopt a new style 

          of  living (set smart goals, accept your humanity, talk to yourself, self-monitoring, and self-reward)”

          - Jenny Craig's Message of Motivation

          - Module 5  Planning for F.I.T.T. -ness/Module 6:  Mastering Your Environment

          - Module 7  Eating as a Pleasurable Necessity/Module 8 :  Relapse Prevention

          - Module 9 Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Eating/Module 10:  Stress Management

          - Module 13 Socializing Without Overeating: Preparing for the Unexpected, Dining Out 

*The Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman

What I Like/What I plan to incorporate:

          - Dr. Parcell's recipe for the food bath 

          - recipe for cranberry juice using fresh or frozen cranberries

          - "Long Life Cocktail"