MY HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PLAN -By Trina

My Healthy Lifestyle Plan

A number of resources were used to create this plan including - “Eat to Live, “The Conscious Cleanse”, Healthy Habits Meetings with friends Patti and Renee and various other books.

The Basics

• Eat whole foods that exist in nature
  
• Eat raw and living foods as much as possible
  
• Eat when hungry
  
• Eat foods you like and be flexible
  
• Keep it simple, and constantly experiment.
  

                                                   from The Conscious Cleanse

UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want):

All raw vegetables (goal: 1 lb. daily)

Cooked green and non-green nutrient-rich vegetables (goal: 1 lb. daily)

(non-green nutrient-rich vegetables are eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower)

Beans, legumes, bean sprouts, or *tofu (minimum 1 cup daily in total of these)

*Fresh fruit (at least 4 daily).

Spices and Herbs (except salt which can be used in limited amounts – see details below)

*Consume Vegetables and Fruits in a 3:1 ratio
*Beans should be eaten daily; tofu should be eaten less frequently or not at all.

 

LIMITED

Cooked starchy vegetables OR whole grains - soaked  

(not more than one serving or 1 cup):

(examples of starchy vegetables include butternut or acorn squash, winter squash, corn, white potatoes, sweet potato, brown rice, cooked carrots, water chestnuts, parsnips, rutabagas, turnips,yams, and pumpkins. Whole grains barley, buckwheat (kasha), millet, oats, quinoa, brown rice, and wild rice;  whole grain breads*, whole grain cereals*)

Raw nuts and seeds - soaked (1 oz. max. a day)

Avocado (2 oz. max. a day)

Dried fruit (2 Tbsp. max. per day)

Raw honey (up to 1 Tbsp. 1-2 times a week)

Ground flaxseed (1 – 2 Tbsp. a day)

Animal protein (up to 5 oz. day)

Oils and organic butter (up to 1 Tbsp. a day)

*Sea salt and Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Nut milk (up to 8 oz. a day)
Condiments: a little mustard and lower calorie, unsweetened ketchup is ok
*Avoid breads and cereals as much as possible
*Work on decreasing sea salt and Bragg's until minimal amounts are used)


OFF-LIMITS:

• dairy products
• fruit juice (except lemon and lime juice and small amounts of other juices to make salad dressings)
• sugar and artificial sweeteners

Healthy Habits:

1. Drink at least eight 8 oz. glasses of water (64 ounces) a day. This includes 16 oz. Dr. Berg Cranberry Drink. (“The 7 Principles of Fat Burning”)
2. Eat at least 1 lb. raw vegetables daily.
3. Make eat a conscious act/schedule eating times, and eat only when hungry,
4. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables - 14 different – during the course of a week  
   (I typically eat broccoli and/or green beans almost every evening and there are over 100 different kinds of vegetables and fruits so since vegetables and fruits will be a large portion of my diet I am pushing myself to try all that are available to me. I will try and eat vegetables and fruits from each of the following color groups on a weekly basis – red, purple/blue, orange/yellow, green, white/brown.)
   
5. Eat sitting at the table, not in front of the TV or in the car. God has given me enough time in a day to sit down and have at least 3 meals.
6. Have an eating cutoff time - 8:00 pm.
7. Make a commitment to exercise regularly! (At least 30 min. cardio or strength training days a week)
8. No TV unless I'm doing or have done my exercise.
9. Get enough sleep by going to bed by 10:20 pm nightly.
10. Eat breakfast every morning by 9:30 am

Feast Days – Day(s) when I will enjoyed food that may not be included as a part of my normal diet. (max. of 1 day a week except on special occasions then max of 2 days a week).
Guidelines:

1. Continue to drink designated amount of water and 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
   
2. Continue to eat vegetables (goal - 1 lb. of raw vegetables)
   
3. Have at least 2 fresh fruits
   
4. Journal everything I eat.
   

Thanks Patti for opening your home for our Healthy Habits meeting and all your wisdom. I love your Feast Day idea.

Thanks Renee for the laughter and all the interesting stories you bring to our meetings. Thanks for introducing me to "Eat to Live".

A list of other books I've read can be found here

Have fun now while you're on your way

to accomplishing your goals!

Trina 

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"

        

The Conscious Cleanse - "What I'm eating." by Trina

Tonight will end day five of "The Conscious Cleanse" and below is a list of the foods I've been eating over the past five days.
Fruits:  blueberries, watermelon, peaches, bananas, mini plums, pineapple, unsweetened dried coconut and lemon juice
Vegetables:  Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, onions, celery, kale, green beans, jicama and cabbage
Fresh herbs:  Ginger, cilantro, Italian parsley, and garlic
Protein:  Black beans, organic chicken breast and wild caught fish

So far the cleanse is going well, but it would be better if I were a little more organized.
One thing I'm really pleased about is how my cravings for certain foods have almost completely disappeared. Sometimes I think about a specific food, but my desire to have it is minimal. For example my daughter makes a very good semi-homemade chicken potpie and I usually just have to eat some. In fact she made it for dinner tonight, but I had brown rice cooked in mushroom and onion broth with kale instead. I've also been able to cut back on the amount of meat I eat which is a big deal for me because I am definitely a meat lover.

Kale, purple cabbage, broccoli and organic chicken breast

Romaine Salad with jicama and lemon, ginger, cilantro dressing. Looks a little messy as I had already began eating then remembered that I wanted to take a picture.

Romaine, carrots, pineapple and blueberries with a pineapple dressing. To make the dressing I put 1/2 cup of pineapple with juice, a small chunk of avocado, sea salt, black pepper and a little water in a blender.

Chicken Vegetable Soup - Organic chicken breast, onions, green beans, carrots and parsley. I marinated the chicken breast overnight with minced ginger, garlic and 1 tsp EVOO. I also added a little sea salt and black pepper.

New find:  I've been wanting to try coconut milk. I found this at Winn Dixie. It was $2.99 and has only 1g of sugar compare to 5g in Silk Original Coconut milk. Once I try it I'll post what I think.

Dinner tonight - Brown rice cooked in mushroom and onion broth with some kale on the side. I made the mushroom and onion broth to eat as a soup, but decided it would really be good as a base for brown rice. It was really good!

What I'm Doing by Trina

June 1, 2013, I attended my last Weight Watcher meeting. 

Why? I was no longer excited about attending my weekly meeting and my weight continued to fluctuate. I would be up a pound or two when everything in my tracker suggested that there should have been a loss. Then there were the weeks when I ate cookies and other junk and the scale would show a loss. Also I was having difficulty resisting certain foods like dairy. Although I was eating what is consider to be the healthy versions - plain greek yogurt and lowfat milk, I found it very difficult to not have them everyday and multiple times a day.

I started reading books on perimenopause and discovered that I needed to work on being more in tune with my body instead of being consumed by the number of points in my food. So I decided that since this journey is all about developing healthy habits then I should really focus on what that means for me. In order to do that I need to find out which foods are truly healthy for me. 

I found a book call "The Conscious Cleanse . . " by Jo Schaalman and Julie Pelaez at the library and it seems like a good place to start since my children and I all have at least one known food allergy. 

The book takes you through a gentle 14 day cleanse where you avoid foods that are known allergens for many people. You avoid the following: alcohol, dairy, caffeine, chocolate, corn, eggs, grapefruit, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers), oranges, peanuts, shellfish, soy, squash and sweet potatoes, strawberries, sugar, wheat and gluten products and yeast for 14 days then you add them back one at a time noting any problems you notice. 

What you can have includes: other vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds; oil, vinegars, herbs, spices, legumes; grains and seeds like amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, wild and black rice; Animal protein - cold water fish, organic free range chicken, turkey and duck; see the book for a more detail list.

I like this book and how it encourages you to pay attention to your body because even some of the permitted  foods could pose a problem for some people. Also journal writing is a big part of the program.

The areas where I think the book could improve include: more recipes ideas especially for breakfast just in case you're not a big fan of green smoothies and more details concerning the foods you avoid. For example, wheat and gluten products are on the avoid list, but when you research this you find that all grains contains some form of gluten.

All in all I think it's a very good book, and if you can afford to do the cleanse along with the authors you would more than likely receive answer to any questions you have. The cost to participate is about $200. Here's a link to their website:   http://consciouscleanse.com/

I'm doing the cleanse on my own and I started yesterday, July 5. Yesterday was not too bad except I didn't do a good job of planning my meals, but here's what I ate:
-  Before breakfast: The required 1 quart of warm lemon water. I added 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseed to the last glass.
- fruit and nuts for breakfast
- for lunch: a large salad with homemade lemon, ginger and cilantro dressing
- black beans prepared with a little extra virgin olive oil, red onions, garlic and cilantro over
brown rice for dinner
- snacks: peaches, and some watermelon 
- and more water
A link about gluten:   http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-theres-no-such-thing-as-gluten_02.html

I also started The Vice-Busting Diet with my eldest daughter because doing things with a buddy somehow makes it seem easier. This book encourages getting rid of diet vices and replacing them with good habits, one at a time. More on this book next time.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I did manage lose and keep off a total of 27 pounds with Weight Watchers.