Finding a New Primary Care Doctor

A Big Thanks To Leslie at Wellparents.com for this great advice Thanks to Leslie at Read more

The Rollercoaster of Life

Grandma: "I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like Read more

Sheltering at Home/Covid 19

Never in the last two decades of my career as a physician would I have imagined that we would be using the same mask to see patients all day and then sterilizing/recycling them at the end of the day. Read more

Turmeric Health Benefits

Have you ever wondered what the paste is applied to the bride and groom's faces and arms in Indian weddings?  It's actually the spice turmeric.  Turmeric is the ingredient in curry that gives it a vibrant yellow color.  Actually, Read more

COVID 19 Precautions

With the scare of COVID here in the USA now, I wanted to post a little info about boosting immunity to prevent contracting the virus. Here are some important facts about Covid-19 It is spread by contact with Read more

Natural Tips for Avoiding Colds

This cold and flu season is still upon us and unfortunately, many patients are still being plagued by these nasty viral symptoms.  Here are a few tips to try if you feel like you are coming down with something. Of Read more

Sherry's Story

Sherry has a great story.  She has been diabetic for years and she has made some massive changes!   "I have been on a lifestyle change. It has been a year following a ketogenic food plan.  When I started this journey Read more

Pharmacy to Farmacy

Many of you may know Erin-- the fabulous Pharm D that worked in our office a few years back.  Erin is a phenomenal gal and we embarked on the journey  into natural medicine around the same time.  As we both Read more

dee

STAY THE COURSE

Recently, I have been teaming with some co-workers for a series of one-month challenges to lose 10 pounds a month. At the end of the first month, one person lost 12 pounds, which is fantastic. The rest of us did well but then gained some of the weight back toward the end of the month. I have to admit it was discouraging to lose 9 pounds then gain back 5. I can tell why I did well, and then went backward. I stayed very strong for the first three weeks, counted calories and felt encouraged. At the three-week mark a couple of things happened. 1) I let my guard down. By reaching a good weight and feeling motivated I thought to myself “this is easy, I don’t have to keep working so hard.” I lied. Although it was pretty easy to follow the program, I DID need to keep at it. 2) I caught a cold and got off track. With a sore throat and feverish feeling, I gave into cravings for salty snacks, comfort foods like mashed potatoes, and ice cream. 3) I slacked on tracking. My daytime routine stayed pretty consistent but by the end of the night I got lazy in recording my calories. Writing it all down is very important.

Anyway, the point is that as long as you are moving in the right direction and don’t give up, applaud yourself. The only way to fail is to quit!

 

 Thank you Dee–we all need a little cheerleading every now and again!  Don’t quit!!!  Guilt and self-punishment aren’t options and tomorrow is always a new day!  We all need some lessons on being our own best cheerleader–not enemy!  Keep on keeping on my friend.
For more great advice from Dee visit her SITE
Have a great weekend!!!!!
Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Weight Loss Leave a comment

Roller Coasters are Fun but YoYo Diets are Not

Thanks to Dee for sharing a very important point—

Diet should not be a hobby.

 

So many times we go head on into a diet to lose weight based on willpower and determination.  We do well for a while and since we’ve  chosen a habit that isn’t sustainable, we fall back off the wagon only to gain the weight back.  It is so much better to focus on changing one small habit at a time.  Pick one little thing to change at a time.  Start by drinking more water, eliminating soda, or adding breakfast into your routine.  Those aren’t overwhelming and are certainly sustainable changes once they are accomplished.  Then after it becomes a regular habit, it’s time to pick the next small step.  Soon enough, the well deserved side effect of effective weight loss ensues.

 

Dee shares:

Vintage YoYo's

Vintage YoYo’s

 

Roller coasters are fun!

Metaphorically speaking that is. I am not an amusement park roller coaster fan at all. I’m a chicken. There is nothing about a churned stomach and reckless body motion that is at all amusing to me. Control issues perhaps.

But a diet roller coaster is really not bad — provided that you end up on the ground with the ride is over. Some people diet by weighing themselves every day. I do, because it’s kind of fun to see how scientific the numbers can be. For example, I have been steadily losing a bit of weight all week. Yesterday, after getting to my 1200 calorie limit and not eating more until bed time, I blew it and ate a piece of pepperoni pizza at 11:00 pm. It was homemade and I served it to the kids for dinner without even trying it. But as I was cleaning the kitchen before going to sleep the pizza jumped off the counter and into my mouth. There was nothing I could do. It wasn’t my fault.

Sure enough, I woke up knowing that this morning’s scale would not show a smaller number but a larger number. The number went from 181.5 yesterday to 182.5 today. Bummer! But, overall, my weight has gone from 187.5 last Thursday to 182.5 today. You can’t let a single scale reading count for much. It’s the big picture that counts. AND, don’t let great results let you think you can slack either. That’s the mistake I made at the end of February when I had lost 20 pounds in two months. I thought I could relax on the diet for a while. That “while” ended up being five months and the return of ten of the pounds I lost.  Having chosen a habit that isn’t sustainable, we fall back off the wagon only to gain the weight back.

For more of Dee’s journey visit her  SITE

 

 

 

Posted on by Angela in Diet, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Ten Steps to Better Health

Dee’s Update:

There are thousands of diets, with a thousand different strategies for how to reach the goal of optimum weight and physical health via exercise and nutrition. Because people are different with so many variables on how much physical activity they get in a day, age, bone structure, height, blood type, chemistry, there could not possibly be one solution that fits every person.

It is important, instead, to look at the most successful weight loss programs to see what they have in common. After that, each person can start with these tried and true fundamentals and modify them to keep whatever works and change the parts that don’t. Throughout the past few months I have volunteered myself to be a human experiment and I’ve assembled the top ten things that I’ve found to have worked when implemented. Start with one or two things on the list. After three or four days, add another. The scientific statement about “it takes 21 days to form a new habit” is actually an unfounded fallacy. New habits really take quite a bit longer to become ingrained to where they are second nature. The good news is that it takes one day to make up your mind to change your routine to incorporate good choices. For example, let’s say you usually drink a glass of orange juice every morning while you’re getting ready for work/school. If you decide today to substitute your OJ for water and an apple, you have just changed your habit. It will take a while for that change to feel like an automatic tendency, but when your refrigerator is full of whole fruit instead of bottled juice you will have some reinforcement to rely upon.
In no particular order, here are my top ten recommendations:
  1. Eat veggies at every meal
  2. Drink three 16 ounce glasses of water before each meal
  3. Don’t skip breakfast
  4. Don’t eat too few calories
  5. Eliminate sugars and starches
  6. Plan, plan, plan – think ahead
  7. Learn to be OK with hunger
  8. Eat to live instead of living to eat
  9. Find someone to partner with
  10. Cut out fried everything (see below)
OK, about number 10. This may be the hardest one to implement. Fried food simply tastes great. Growing up in the 70s with a Southern Baptist family, my mother fried everything from pork chops to potatoes to green beans. We used to cook with lard and bacon grease so it’s in my genes. As impossible as it sounds, cutting out foods can be done. Don’t tell yourself you can never eat it again; just know that eating fried food (and any fast food) has to be the exception not the rule. Fried food is not only unhealthy because of the amount of fat and calories, but usually the food itself (potatoes, hamburger, dough) is low on a nutrition scale. Equally important is the reduction of processed foods. Health benefits are found abundantly in whole foods, produce and grains in their most natural form.

 

For more on Dee’s journey to better health–visit http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Uncategorized, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Dee’s Race! On Your Mark!

I’m sharing Dee’s latest post.  She is building a tribe to help with accountability which is so great!.  Look forward to more posts coming once school starts.  I have great posts coming on water enhancers, sustainable farming, and autoimmune disease.

On Your Mark, Get Set

See, even in a race you get to mentally prepare for the sound of the starting gun. As much as I love food, and I mean really love food, I can’t believe how exciting it is to think about not eating food tomorrow. Of course I’ll eat, but smart choices make me feel so much better.I’ve recruited some friends to join the challenge to lose 10 pounds in August. Even though we all know a lot about what to do to be healthy and fit, there is an extra difficulty in trying to achieve this goal alone. Accountability to one another will be the key to success this month. Just get your head in the game and realize that you have a bunch of other folks going through the same exact steps. Most importantly, make sure you realize that this is ultimately about a lot more than extra weight. Getting to a healthy weight is REALLY about better health. So many illnesses can be stopped, stalled and even reversed through diet alone. Hippocrates:  “Let food be thy medicine…”The first few days are the hardest because your body will go through some change. Don’t let your brain trick you into thinking that you’ll die of starvation if you don’t eat more at night. You won’t. Get to your magic number of calories needed and then stop eating. Period.You will wake up feeling better and by the third day you will notice your tastes changing, leaning toward healthier food.

Visit Dee’s site at http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com

Posted on by Angela in Body, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss Leave a comment

Breaking Habits

I spent some time with Dee this weekend!  She looks great and is feeling confident and down 15lbs.  She is keeping it off and doing it the right way.  Here is one of her great posts on breaking habits.  Happy Saturday!

Dee writes:

Breaking a Habit

When you are in the middle of a challenge, it’s hard to imagine coming through the other side. If you are looking at getting healthy this year, you may remember all of the times you’ve failed. But take a moment and remember other major obstacles that you’ve encountered and conquered in life. When you are in the midst of the crisis it seems insurmountable. But you lived, the crisis is behind you and you probably learned that you are stronger than you thought you were.

Remembering those triumphant times will help you know that you have the strength to do this too. My downfall has always been at night. I can normally spend all day eating well, including a decent dinner. After dishes, some laundry and household chores, I tend to sit down for television with my family for an hour or so before bed. Sixty minutes can undo 14 hours of hard work.

To substitute this bad habit with a good one, I’ve come up with some ideas to keep from snacking on junk food at night.

  • Skip TV if it’s associated with food (plus commercials showing food make you want to eat)
  • Pamper yourself and get to sleep earlier than normal for a well-rested night (sleep aids in weight loss plus you won’t be around temptations)
  • Brew hot decaffeinated tea and read a good book
  • Light a candle and listen to favorite music

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Wholistic!

My sentiments exactly!  Thanks for the share Dee–check out her blog at http://www.gettingthebestoffood.com

You may remember that I started this blog because I am an overweight diet authority. Oxymoronic, I know. But food and health have always fascinated me so I’ve been watching shows and reading books and learning about wellness for as long as I can remember. The sad thing is, that until I am able to successfully make my outside form match my inside genius, no one will (or should) believe that I know what I’m talking about.
Part of what I set out to prove to myself and everyone around me is that I am just an average person with a job and family and food cravings and an extra 40 pounds. People who have never been challenged with weight issues, really can’t coach from the same perspective as people who have overcome the challenge. They still have powerful advice to offer on the benefits of exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Wholistic medicine is particularly fascinating. I read this today and wanted to share with you what Plato had to say about overall health: “the greatest mistake that physicians make is that they attempt to cure the body without attempting to cure the mind; yet the mind and body are one and should not be treated separately.”

 

Posted on by Angela in Body, Guest Blog, Mind, Spirit Leave a comment

The Domino Effect

You all remember our dear real, honest, dedicated friend, Dee who has shared her weight loss/health struggles with us over the past few years.  She has done amazing and lost quite a bit of weight by making simple lifestyle changes.  Unfortunately, (like me and I am guessing everyone) life gets in the way of prioritizing our own bodies and health and we fall off the wagon.  Dee and I had an unusual circle of events this last week.  I sincerely believe they were signs from the Universe telling us not to lose site of the mission at hand.  Yesterday, Dee’s blog post read as follows——-
dominos
 
THE DOMINO EFFECT:
 
Today started with a call from my sister on my way to work. I should preface this story to say that I’ve felt isolated in my attempts to take care of my health and isolation equals failure to eat well and exercise. So at 8:20 am my little sister mentioned that her friend commented on this blog, something about someone being helped with the right message at the right time. Before looking into the message, I received another little jolt of encouragement from my friend who is also my dentist. She is a beautiful woman (inside and out) who is determined to get the best of her health through exercise. I know she has adapted a routine of walking regularly and has been successful at weight loss (congratulations Dr. M!) Before I left her office today, she instructed me to walk for 30 minutes when I get home. I like a challenge so I halfheartedly mumbled “OK”. Then when I was half out the door but still close enough to hear she said, “if you don’t you have to do double tomorrow.” And — because I had no other choice — I replied “deal!”Here’s the fun of that story. I did come home and walk two miles. Without her direction to do so, there was a zero percent chance that I would have exercised. I invited my husband to walk also, and he did. He commented that he has been wanting and needing to get back into the routine of exercising and this was just the push he had been hoping for. So some stranger in Indianapolis, who encouraged my friend Angela to remind me to keep going prompted a discussion with my dentist who challenged me to exercise which involved my husband who in turn prompted me to continue to walk the next day. What a great chain reaction. You never know who you might help or impact. Sometimes the right people are in the right place at the right time saying the right things.

Visit her site at http://www.gettingthebestoffood—she may be “still a small voice”–but, a powerful one indeed!

Thanks Dee for sharing

 
Posted on by Angela in Diet, Exercise, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Dee knows what to eat

Here’s another great post from Dee!!
As promised, here is an expanded narrative on focusing on what you can eat, instead of what you can’t. Let me start with an example of how one’s day goes on a diet. Let’s say there was a family gathering over the weekend and your neighbor’s half-eaten chocolate cheesecake was leftover in your fridge. You go to work on Monday with your cooler of veggies and mid-morning you start saying to yourself “I won’t eat that cheesecake, I won’t eat that cheesecake, I won’t eat that cheesecake.” After a nice, lunch of spinach salad and berries you start to think of your evening plans and again recite your directive of “I won’t eat that cheesecake…and on, and on. Guess what happens when you walk into your kitchen that night! You have practically brainwashed yourself on NEEDING to eat that cheesecake because it has been incessantly imprinted on your brain all day.

Right now, in order to gain better health, I have decided to not eat sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, pasta, fried food, fast food, high-fat food. That said, I cannot eat some of my favorite happy foods: Buffalo wings, pizza, egg rolls, baked Brie, loaded potato skins. (See where the need to change eating habits came from?)

Sounds like there’s nothing left to eat if I take away all of my favorite comfort foods. But let’s be honest. For the short list of what has to go away as I adjust to some better choices, here are some great things that I can eat: eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, pineapple, bananas, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, apples, blueberries, grapes, pomegranate, pecans, almonds, cashews, wheat tortillas, wheat pita, salsa, hot sauce, marinara sauce, spinach, avocado, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, tuna, turkey, chicken, salmon, ginger, tilapia, shrimp, lobster, filet Mignon.

True story: yesterday I had nothing planned for dinner and started thinking that maybe my kids would like a pizza because when Mama diets the whole family diets. That pizza notion turned into thinking maybe I would make a homemade flatbread pizza with turkey pepperoni. Then I thought maybe a turkey burger instead, no wait, a black bean burger on a bed of lettuce and tomato. By the time I pulled into the drive, I was actually craving a black bean burger and that’s what I had for dinner. It was delicious! Lucky for my kids and husband they had all gone out for Mexican before I got home.

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Good Beginnings

Thanks Dee—

I love this post-E_Chinese_Symbols_Proverbs_Beginning

Dee writes:

As we enterred into a new year, many of us lookeded forward to the opportunity to begin things with a fresh, clean slate. Starting over allows us to be energized with the hope of finally tackling our hardest challenges. In the way that a new year sets the tone for the weeks and months to follow, a morning routine also stages the foundation of a person’s day.

When we were children, we lived on sugary cereals, breads, pastries and jams before a school day. As adults, our tastes and cravings for these things don’t change, but our metabolism and nutritional needs do. It becomes much more difficult for adults to consume high levels of sugar and baked goods made with processed enriched flour.
Whole grain options have become popular in recent years because health experts tout that true whole grain products are more time-consuming to digest. Because the grain hasn’t been broken down in manufacturing, it is not as readily absorbed into your bloodstream. Instead of machines processing the parts of the grain to make it smoother and more refined, your body has to put in a bit more effort with a whole grain product. That extra time and effort results in decreased sugar spikes, fewer cravings throughout the day, and diminished hunger until the next meal. Avoiding sugar will benefit the body in the same way.
And remember to eat a real breakfast! Breakfast means breaking a fast. When you start your day with breakfast, your body’s natural metabolism kicks into gear and starts to burn fuel. If sitting down to eat is a challenge, a fruit/veggie smoothie can be a good option.
All smoothies are not created equally. Making them yourself will ensure that you’re not getting a lot of extra sugar and processed foods. A basic recipe can include berries, bananas, yogurt, water, ice. It is best to skip the fruit juice. The sugar content in juices is often very high and — just like the processing of grains — you’re consuming something that is already broken down. If you like orange juice, try substituting eating an orange instead.
Coffee and teas can be added to your breakfast list, but don’t substitute them for water. Just because they are a liquid, doesn’t mean they count in your daily goal of drinking eight full glasses.
Being prepared is the key to making good choices, so be sure to have whole grains, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt on hand the night before. A few other good tips to start your day on the right foot:
  • Prepare clothes for work/school the night before
  • Make a short list of things to do the night before
  • Prepare a lunch or healthy snacks to bring (cut up veggies, nuts, fruit)
  • Give yourself enough time to avoid rushing
And the most important part – if you start your day with sugar and starch, you will have an extremely difficult time avoiding it the rest of the day. Trust me, I took my daughter to a Chinese buffet today. I didn’t overeat and mostly ate the veggies and noodles with a small bit of dessert. Nevertheless, I’ve been eating carbs and sugar all day long.

Follow along Dee’s journey at http://www.gettingthebestoffood

Posted on by Angela in Body, Diet, Guest Blog, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Whole Food Leave a comment

Mindset Matters!

I love this new post from Dee!  Visit her site at http://www.gettingthebestoffoodmind_over_matter
When my daughter was little, she was terrified of going to the doctor for shots. After the Kindergarten series, she started asking me all throughout the year when she had to go back for more. She would always cry at my answer, even if the next round of shots was years away. She agonized over them, cried and begged me to get her out of it. One doctor appointment stands out very clearly in my mind. As we waited in the outer lobby, she started to get tense. Then, inside the exam room, her temperature rose, body shook and her sobs turned from a whimper to hysteria. The nurse came in to wipe her arm with alcohol and my daughter, sitting in my lap sobbed “tell me when they are going to do it.” She was so worked up and delirious she didn’t realize the shot had already happened. When I told her it was done, she opened one eye in disbelief. Sure enough, the agony and torment she created for herself was more excruciating than the pain of the shot.How many times do we, as adults, create the same experience for ourselves. I know that in the past I have worried myself sick over something that might happen, and many of those fears never came to pass.

Research has shown that stress and worry can be major contributing factors to heart disease, fatigue and depression.

Lighten up? It’s easier said than done. But there are practices that you can implement into your weekly schedule that will help alleviate worry and stress.

1) Start a prayer or gratitude journal. If you begin writing down the people and things you pray for and then go back periodically and re-read them, you’ll see that you’ve made it through to the other side of the trouble and it’s now behind you. By keeping a gratitude journal nightly, you will keep your mind focused on the small things for which you are thankful every day.

2) Exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise pumps your endorphins. It also improves your mood, provides mental clarity and lowers symptoms associated with mild depression and anxiety. Exercise also can improve your sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression and anxiety.

3) Volunteer or Pay it Forward. Volunteering is an amazing way to take your focus off yourself and to give to another person or group of people who appreciate your time and talents. Speak to someone who has gone on a mission trip to “serve” and you’ll find that they always feel like they are on the receiving end of the gift. Even something as simple as a Random Act of Kindness can give you such a great feeling of warmth and compassion.

 

Posted on by Angela in Diet, Nutrition, Whole Food Leave a comment