My client Alaina is feeling ecstatic lately. The first week she joined my program, she immediately lost four pounds in a way she called “not trying.” No exercising. No calorie counting. No banning carbs. No fasting. No restrictions. And not one iota of stress.
Hear Alaina sharing her amazing experience by clicking here, or if it isn’t convenient at this moment, here’s the abridged version of what she said:
Achieving sustainable weight loss takes a more nuanced approach to your diet than “calories in, calories out.” The reality is that you need to eat the right foods (fresh produce, legumes, nuts and seeds, and intact whole grains), avoid the weight gain-promoting substances (salt, oil, sweeteners), and address food addiction to achieve excellent health and optimal weight.
Mother Earth is a common representation of our planet that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature, the source of every life and health. This analogy offers insights into health’s deeper meaning.
As women, we are the nurturers of human life. Many of us wheel the shopping cart around the supermarket, cook and feed the family, take care of the home, and at the same time, run a business. We are multi-taskers and the epitome of devotion when it comes to caring for our family’s health and wellbeing.
In this series of articles, we have seen that our brain makes constant trade-offs between rewards and pain. It also trades off one reward and against another and old reward pathways against new ones. You have more power over these trade-offs when you understand them. Food trade-offs and choices can help you recognize your thought habits because the rewards are tangible instead of being abstract. Food seeking interrupts negative thought patterns, and that’s a valuable tool in some situations. But if you rely on this tool too often, you do yourself harm. You must keep assessing the trade-offs to get what you want.
Fasting has become a popular trend in dieting and health. You have probably heard a friend or two say: “I am doing intermittent fasting.” This article will discuss why this term needs to be abandoned. I will also offer a more accurate description of all the common fasting protocols.
Fasting is consistent with our evolutionary history. The thrifty gene hypothesis describes how we experienced brief moments of abundant food punctuated by long moments of scarcity. Our bodies adapted to this environmental stimulus and used it to enhance health – growth during abundance with recycling, regeneration, and renewal during scarcity. This cycling back and forth is considered by many experts to be an ideal way to maintain health.
Walking for most people is the most underrated form of exercise. But each one must make one’s own health decisions. As Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, a Professor of Clinical Medicine, said, “You have the right and obligation to self, to participate in decisions that affect your health.” For me, walking has contributed immensely towards making my life healthier and happier. Regular walking for health became a part of my routine only after retirement. All through my professional career as a doctor, there was neither the time nor inclination to take long walks. Free time was meant for catching up with sleep or doing essential chores that had been neglected.
Isolated protein, especially soy plant protein powder, is popularly blended into shakes and smoothies, but is this a healthful way to build muscle?
Protein intake, especially animal protein, is known to be the major dietary determinant of circulating IGF-1 levels. When we consume animal protein, the body increases its production of a hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1). IGF-1 is one of the body’s important growth promoters during childhood, but later in life IGF-1 promotes the aging process.
Seasonal cycles, shifts in the weather, and even the move from night to day are not external artifacts. The environment is in constant flux, and we are in flux with it. In the animal kingdom, this shows in cycles of fertility, migration, and many aspects of behavior. These shifts in the environment have influenced human activities, physical and cultural, for millions of years. Our bodies still dance to the rhythm of natural change. Macrobiotics is built around the simple insight that learning to cooperate with natural cycles is productive for health. It is a plant-based diet with non-perishable foods, such as whole grains and beans at the foundation, that is the hope for the future. Macrobiotic nutrition advocates regional and seasonal eating to reduce food waste and to lower the environmental effect of food transportation, both serious issues in the discussion of food choices.