Herbal EVERYTHING?!

I have started some personal research on a very touchy topic. Infertility. My sister recently lost twins at 5 months. This sparked my interest to find out how this happens. I myself have lost 3 pregnancies, 4 years apart each time, and each before 8 weeks. So what causes all these problems? The answers are varied greatly. Each individual can have just as many individual reasons for not being able to either conceive and or carry a pregnancy. Now while I do understand that Chinese herbal remedies have been around for centuries, some of these are not safe during pregnancy. In fact many everyday things are taboo for those who are high risk. Caffeine, smoking, alcohol, certain foods, strenuous activity, the list goes on. So how do you sort it all out? The very first thing to do is get yourself as healthy as you can prior to trying to get pregnant. If you are overweight, you need to change whatever it may be keeping you this way. Whole food nation offers several different plans to get you to your goal weight. This goes for those who are underweight as well. Having to much body fat or not enough can put a fetus at risk. If you smoke, as you probably already know, you need to quit. Smoking causes ovulation problems and can prevent pregnancy. The chances of becoming pregnant are only about 20% each month in a healthy woman and each of the other factors involved can decrease those chances even further. The steps you take to prepare yourself prior to trying to become pregnant are just as important as what you do after you learn you have in fact conceived. It often takes 2 weeks before you suspect it has occurred, therefor making sure your body is ready before can prevent any drastic life changes after you receive the good news. Caffeine with drawls are terrible, so easing off it slowly is best. Try switching up 1 soda a day for water, after about a week replace another. Changing to low caff coffee is also a small easy to handle change. Health care pros say it is relatively safe to have 1 cup of regular coffee a day during pregnancy. So if you can't live without your morning pick me up, remember to limit it to just one. Working out is also vital to your health but don't overdo it. If you plan to have a baby, discuss your routine with your physician and see if you need to change it up. Yoga is a great alternative that helps to relieve some stress and minor aches and pains. There are some poses that cannot safely be done, and you need to consult a pro before starting any new workout regime. Videos can be found almost everywhere that focus on prenatal workouts. The food you eat can also sabotage your body in many different ways. In this fast food, instant gratification society, making good choices is often hard if not impossible to do. Clean out your fridge, make that extra few mile drive to the local farmers market, buy organic produce. The drive thru window is not the way to be healthy. For you or your baby to be. Think of it this way, would you feed that to your child? If you are pregnant or trying to become that way, that is exactly what you are doing. Do you really want your kids eating a double quarter pounder? Another huge issue is vitamins. You need extra nutrients during this time. The pops are an easy to use way to get your servings of veggies and fruits as well as other essential nutrients. Calcium, and iron are found naturally in veggies and fruits and getting them in their natural state is much more nutritious. Also the Pops have zero additives. No dyes, binding agents, or gels. If you are taking a prenatal, good for you, but please make sure you understand what is in them. (previous post about lake #40) As with anything you take, eat, or do, be sure to inform your physician. While there is a multitude of free information on the web, only you and your doctor can decide what is best for your situation.

To learn more about the Pops, or the ER Fat Burn check out my website.
http://www.vitamingirlshop.info

You can eat what you want

I say this for one reason only. It is possible to eat what you want if you do it the right way. Let me give you some facts about me. I am 28, 5'5" and weigh 107. I do have a small frame, and am in some peoples opinions thin. I wear a size 1 in pants. No my skin does not hang on my bones. I have curves, and am very proportionate. Now, I take whole food vitamins everyday. I do not eat right. I don't eat fast food very often either though. Most of what I eat is carbs. I love red meat and potatoes. I eat can foods, all the time. Now the way I stay the size I am, I eat small portions. I eat when I want, all day long. I only eat enough to get full. I eat slowly. Snail slow. Doing this allows you to know when you are full and helps to keep you from eating to much. If you sit down and have 3 full meals a day, your metabolism is not able to keep up. By eating several small meals a day your metabolism is always moving. I never eat breakfast. I have to be awake at least 2 hours before I can eat. My dad is the same way. He eats a little all day long. At 51 he is 5lbs heavier than he was when he got out of high school. Now yes it could be genetics, but I'm my opinion it has more to do with how we eat, what we do after we eat, and how much we eat at one time. My husband is a prime example of proof genetics is not the cause. His mother and 4 sisters are all very overweight. But he is 38 and 165lbs. He eats like a horse. He eats fast food most of the time, and is on the road 3 weeks at a time. But he is active. He works outside 12 hours a day and is always moving. His sisters all work desk jobs. They rarely do anything more active than walking to the refrigerator. After you eat, get up an moving. Sitting in one place is not going to help you at all. If you work at a desk, make it a point to leave the desk to eat. Get up. Go outside and sit. Go to a different part of the office and stand while you eat. Just get up and move. And NEVER eat so much you feel like you cannot move. The more you eat, the more your stomach stretches. This means you will require more an more food to feel full. By eating small amounts more often it will take you less to feel full. You are better able to digest a smaller amount than a large amount. It is better for every aspect of digestion. You are less likely to experience indegestion, gas, and heartburn this way as well. If you are trying to lose weight, my first suggestion is to get up and moving. Second, eat less more often. If I were to eat 3 big meals a day, I would certainly weigh 150 or more. I have been 135lbs, and on my frame I was heavy and very unhappy with myself and my appearance. I changed what I did, ate more often, but less at one time, and in a matter of 8 weeks lost 20lbs without dieting. Yes your weight problem is in many ways your own fault. Make a chart for yourself. Everyday for a week write down what you eat and drink. Every bit of it. At the end of that week look it over. How much of it was junk? healthy? what could you have done without? Does it amaze you yet how much you eat in an average week? I have a friend of over 15yrs. He is obese. He is almost 550lbs. He blames it on his family. His family is all heavy, I give him that, but in the last few years his eating habits have gotten worse, and his activity has slowed to nothing. He has a desk job. And he eats in one meal what I eat in 2 days. But it's not his fault he is fat. I hate excuses. Everyone has some control over what they look like. Yes genetics has some impact on it, but the majority of it is you. I know this is mean and rude, but if you are overweight, do you blame yourself or do you blame your parents? Do you blame McDonalds? They offer salads. Do you exercise? Do you sit at a desk 8 hours a day and in front of the tv the other 16? So, it's your jobs fault? If you have made a resolution to lose weight this year, good for you. Now how are going to do it?

Jump start you weight loss, ER Fat Burn Program

ER Detox Program

Detox movie- Will I be hungry??

What is it?

A 4-week jumpstart on weight loss. Plus a body tune-up. So your body can handle the holiday cheer

Do I have to do Fat Burn first?

No. Detox is a great way to start a weight loss program. It’s designed to get rid of “false fat” caused by toxic buildup. It makes it easier to develop brand new eating and drinking habits.

If you’ve done Fat Burn, a Detox tune-up makes your body more efficient in burning fat. Helps break through weight loss plateaus.

Either way, Detox takes your body on vacation. It:

• Helps release the toxins caught in tissues and fat cells..
• Cleans out metabolic waste - like cleaning out your fireplace at the end of winter...
• Helps pinpoint food sensitivies...
• Helps you let go of addictions. Gets rid of false fat brought on by toxic buildup
• Rejuvenates skin and other organs

Will I be hungry?

YOU will be in control of what you eat and drink. Most people are amazed that they never feel hungry, even during the juice fasting part.

You’ll eat so that your body feels light, not hungry. It’s a rejuvenation plan that restores the body. NOT calorie restriction that depletes the body.

How long is the fasting part?

The fast is optional. It’s a 5-day guided juice fast – after you have prepared your body during the previous ten days. Vegetable and fruit juices during the day, warm broths at night. With superfoods as necessary.

Juice fasting is a pretty aggressive cleanse, but the rewards are commensurate. It gives you the opportunity to reprogram your cells to create a new blueprint. Replacing sick, tired and addicted with fit, strong, and in control.

Here’s an overview:

Days 1-10:	Solid food cleanse – primarily vegetables and fruits. Protein and fat as necessary. Some grain if appropriate. Elimination diet to begin to pinpoint food sensitivities Preparation for fasting
Days 11-15	Optional juice fast Alternative toddy cleanse Adjunct therapies like skin brushing, baths, etc.
Days 16-30	Transition to next cycle Adding back foods to pinpoint food sensitivities

You overdue for a new you? From the inside out?

Go to little spa to sign up

Click on ER Detox

Food Resitance

Food resistance? What's that?

A movement to resist the industrial food that jams supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.

Yes, I have joined the Resistance. So have others. The inspiration of the real food drive is Dr. Heidi, whose ER Fat Burn program, rooted in real food instead of industrial fare, is changing lives before my eyes. And in weeks, not months or years.

You might be surprised at what you're eating - that you thought was real food - but isn't. Eating real food has brought "believe it or not" kind of results.

One gent went from 8 beers/day to 0 beers/day in 10 days.

One gal lost 24 pounds in 6 weeks and was never hungry. Still isn't.

Other tidbits from members of the Food Resistance:

"Sexual energy up. - after one week.

"Hot flashes finally gone.
I can sleep through the night again
I'm off Diet Pepsi" - two weeks.

"No more gas and bloating
No more diarrhea
Depression gone." -two weeks.

"Energy for sports back up
Sexual desire back up
Belching almost gone" - two weeks

What are they doing?

Resisting the industrial foods they used to eat everyday. Industrial foods from supermarkets and restaurants.

Instead, they're eating real food: Learning what it is and where to find it.

This clan of folks is happily foraging for their food in all kinds of places, online and off. And that, apparently, has helped all manner of ailments - in as little as 10 days to two weeks. They also have private weekly consultations with Dr. Heidi, the nutritionist who created ER.

Want to join us?

New ER Detox/Cleanse program starts October 25

The ER Detox/Cleanse is the second cycle in Dr. Heidi's Extreme Regime Weight Loss program. You alternate between Far Burn and Detox to achieve healthy weight loss.

In Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program, based on real food, 95% of the participants have

1) lost weight and so far, kept it off;
2) have watched their daily harmful habits fade away...without the usual suffering and feelings of deprivation; and
3) feel like new people from the inside out.

"Everything I believed (about the industrial food they sell us)," Lulu whispered, "was a lie." Posted by Kim Klaver at 12:55 PM

To sign up for one of the programs visit The Little Spa here

From Robin- About the ER Fat Burn Program

This is a post from my aunt, I thought it was great and felt I should share it, I am hoping to start the program soon myself. I share a lot of the same views, I also do not have a weight problem, am to thin in fact, but have similar issues with food.

Why the ER Fat Burn wasn't for me...

"I didn't need to lose weight. I audited the program because I wanted to make sure my ten-year-old son was eating right." -Robin.

"I was eating right, mostly plants, and no red meat, not too much fat and rarely ate sweets. (ok I thought I was eating right!)

"I did drink a lot of Alka Seltzer because my stomach was always upset. I was always bloated and couldn't get rid of the 10-year-old baby belly fat. I didn't have energy to play with my son or stay awake with my husband after our son went to sleep.

"I didn't sleep well, always woke up a few hours after falling asleep tossing and turning for hours. I didn't make a connection with how I felt and the food I ate.

"A little voice kept telling me the ER Fat Burn program wasn't for me because I don't like meat, I've never heard of kefir, can't drink milk, don't like fish or cod liver oil, and didn't know how to find or afford the foods on the ER list.

"It wasn't as hard to find the real food as I thought it would be. I've become a regular at the St. Paul Farmers Market. This is where I found pastured eggs, pastured chicken, and grass-fed beef.

"I found raw cheese, uncured bacon and ham, real butter from grass-fed cows, Himalayan salt, sprouted bread, Kombucha and many other ER foods from my local Mississippi Market co-op. It was fun foraging for these foods. I didn't have to eat things I didn't like – fish, yuck. ( I am using lemon Cod Liver oil and drinking non-homogenized whole milk)

"The best and most unexpected thing was how my 10-year-old has grasped what I've learned in the ER program and has changed the way he eats.

"He tells all his friends what we eat now and why. He's on his own mission to help get his friends off the chicken nuggets, fast food and even low-fat milk. He will only eat eggs and meat from pastured sources. He helped me make butter a while back and loves the whole milk (I admit I haven't found raw milk yet - but I will).

"It's priceless to know I'm teaching my son how food affects health. The timing was so perfect to involve him in the things I was learning from Dr. Heidi. The entire ER group has helped shape the future of my son, so Thank you all!

"Also, my family loves grass-fed beef, that's huge for my son and me, we've never been red meat eaters.

"I haven't used Alka Seltzer in 10 weeks, no more upset stomach, bloating and the baby belly fat is gone.

"I enjoy playing with my son (and husband) again. I have energy again.

"Most nights I sleep through the night. If I do wake it's not all the tossing and turning like before.

"Thank you Dr. Heidi for showing what real food is and helping my son get on the ER food plan. Maybe when he has his own family our Extreme Regime food will be normal...

Thank You Robin!!!

Food Fight Round 2

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Food fight. Round two.

In Food fight. Round One, we discovered what, contrary to some people's beliefs, does not make most people fat.

Here's the second surprise from the food fight front:
What food DOES make a person fat?

One journalist spent five years looking into this full time. He reviewed tens of thousands of pages of research findings, and interviewed numerous doctors and nutrition folks. Here's his second (of nine) conclusions about what DOES make a person fat.

"2. The problem is carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis - the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body.

"9. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be." Taubes, p. 454

Before you gasp in disbelief, here's what Andrew Weil, the well known MD said about Taubes' stunning and revolutionary book on Larry King Live:

“I think this is a very important book. I’ve been recommending it to my medical colleagues and students. There are some very big ideas in this book…[Gary Taubes] has done a meticulous job of showing that many of the assumptions that are held by the conventional medical community simply rest on nothing…

"It’s very important to get these out to the medical community because a lot of the ways we try and prevent and treat obesity are based on assumptions that have no scientific evidence.”
-Dr. Weil, speaking on Larry King Live, 2008

Gary Taubes was as surprised by this conclusion as you might be right now.

[Carbs: bread, pasta, legumes, grains, cereal, chips, rice, sugar & sweets, donuts, muffins...]

"Hey," you say, "doesn't that sound like Atkins? But he's been been vilified in the professional community, hasn't he?"

Yep. Millions of people have lost weight using his approach. But Atkins today has many detractors. Here's a surprise reason...

Food fight. Round Three, next.

Posted by Kim Klaver at 12:11 AM

Dr. Heidis ER Program Observations

Friday, October 10, 2008

5 things I learned from ER Fat Burn

It's nice to know when a way of eating works for you. But it's nicer still when that same strategy works for lots of others, too.

Dr. Heidi has just run two ER Fat Burn 5-week programs. I know everyone in it because all were customers and readers of my stuff (about 50 active participants and more auditors). Here's what I learned while taping the group calls and from the many emails I received.

1. The experienced dieters in the group report that losing weight by eating ER real food works better than calorie counting, starving or pills. WAY better. Plus they were never hungry.

2. Eating real foods has a big side benefit: it regenerates bodies and heals ailments that most people thought they'd have to just "live with" for the rest of their lives. From acid reflux to scaly skin.

3. Eating specific real foods helps people reduce cravings for sweets and bread. Suddenly they don't feel deprived and sad about not having it.

4. Most of the participants thought they were eating pretty well. But they were stunned at how rejuvenated they felt after a week or two of eating ER real food. And love to go foraging for it.

5. Half of the group of July ER Fat Burn actives signed up for the Sep Fat Burn, and nearly half are already signed up for the October Detox/Cleanse program. In a time of "recession" someone laying out $500-600 for such a program several times over 4 months is a statement of its effectiveness all by itself. Think? NO ONE is rich here.

Dr. Heidi's October Detox/Cleanse 4-week program starts Oct 25. It's the second major cycle in the ER Real Food Weigh Loss approach. ER Fat Burn is not a prerequisite. You can start with the Detox/Cleanse. You will be able to sign up for it soon.

What if these neat things happen to you when you put some real food into your body?

Posted by Kim Klaver at 4:30 PM

Are Your Vitamins Safe?