The organic Oranges that I've been eating lately taste absolutely amazing!  Chew Your Oranges, don't drink them!  

Drinking OJ is a quick way to sabotage your health goals due to the amounts of sugar found in the juice.  It also takes more than 1 orange to make up that glass, which means extra/added sugar.  The average glass of Orange juice purchased from the grocery store contains 22-24 grams of sugar.  Note, this does not account for those brands that have more added water or 0 calorie sweeteners to make them taste good.  This is your standard Orange Juice with or without concentrate. 

The difference is, if you just eat an orange, it's a lot less sugar, and you actually feel fuller (about 7 grams to be exact).  Eating the fruit means your getting the most nutrients because you're getting the fiber which actually helps slow down how quickly the orange you ate is converted to sugar for energy consumption. Why is this important?  To keep it short and sweet, lol - your liver has to decide what to do with the food/carbohydrates that you consume, and when you don't flood your body constantly with simple carbs, it decreases the likelihood that that sugar will be stored as fat.  Your liver decides what to do with everything you eat and drink, and what's not used is stored in fat cells.  

When you chew them, you get so many of the great health benefits:

• 1 orange = 130% daily value of vitamin C - antioxidant power
  
• Soluble fiber - which is great for managing cholesterol
  
• Limonoids - studies show help prevent cancer among a host of other great things
  
• Full of potassium - potassium helps regulate the heart
  

Overwhelmed with figuring out what's good for you and what's not?  Maybe you want to shop in the regular stores and not the speciality stores you've been shopping in.  Or simply maybe you still have those favorite pants you miss wearing.  Schedule a complimentary online session with yours truly to find out how working with a Health Coach can benefit you.

Yours in Health,
Davon  

Happy New Year!!
How are you doing?  I hope that you had a memorable 2014 and are ready to start 2015!  Yesterday is in the past, tomorrow is not promised, and the present is a gift :)

I pray that all that you hope and desire for 2015 you receive.  In today's blog post, I want to share my top 4 tips for not sabotaging or ruining all of your hard work in staying healthy. Without further ado, here we go!

Tip #1: 
Stress - find a positive way to deal with or manage your stress. How do you know when you're stressed?  There are a number of signs, your mood, lack of sleep, weight gain, unexplainable aches and pains are all signs of stress. There are a few effective ways to manage stress.  Meditation, deep belly breathing, walking, massaging your ears (watch a video on how it's done here), use lavender essential oil topically and aromatically, and regular self care - I personally love doTerra Essential Oils - you can purchase lavender here if you'd like.  If we don't manage our stress, it wreaks havoc in our lives, becomes chronic, and destroys our immune system, causes weight gain, and a host of health illnesses (including cardiovascular disease).

Tip #2:
Get Organized - If you have anything that is clutter in your life, whether it's your car, your desk at work, your home, focus on getting it cleaned and organized.  Having things in order eliminates a great deal of stress and helps you think more clearly.  Don't get overwhelmed, choose 1 project at a time and focus on completing that organization project, then move to the next.  The prior project that you completed, stay on top of it by not letting the clutter accumulate in that area any longer.  This is also a good time to reflect and write out your goals, getting those written down and on paper gives them validity, life, and allows you to organize your thoughts to work towards those goals.  Organize your goals using the S.M.A.R.T (strategic/specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time based) method.  With my clients, I always want them begin with thinking of the end in mind.  If you have a really large goal, break it down into smaller, easier to manage pieces over time, that removes the stress and overwhelm with trying to reach your goal.

Tip #3:
Get Up and Move - If you aren't active at all, start with walking.  A good way to measure your activity is to get a nice quality pedometer.  Most smart phone apps do not really track your steps as well as a good pedometer does.  The target that you want to aim for is 10,000 steps daily.  Warm up a little bit, then do some stretches.  Clip your pedometer onto your body at the start of your day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, also park further away from the entrance to buildings on purpose.  If you aren't a beginner, but find that you're usually stressed, try incorporating a low impact fitness workout into your routine that do not cause additional stress - pilates, yoga, tai chi, and Piyo are a few options.

Tip #4: 
Nutrition - this is last but not least, this is ground zero, the foundation, without this critical piece nothing else matters because food influences your mood, how well you think, and feel.  Food is the fuel for your body and brain.  When you sit down at each meal, use the following quick tips to stay on track 

• Where is the protein? For women that's the size of 1 palm, for men that's the size of 2 palms. 
  
• Where are your vegetables? This should fill half of your plate.  
  
• Where are your complex carbohydrates? - these are optional, if you aren't working out and you're looking to maintain or lose weight, you may want to just double up on your servings of vegetables,  if you are active, then this should be roughly 20% or less on your plate.  
  
• Be aware of your food experience, no distracted eating
  
• Take your time to chew your food savor it, mealtime should take a good 15-20 minutes, if it's a lot shorter slow down

Struggling with getting healthy and staying on track? Maybe you're simply overwhelmed with all of the information on the internet, and talk shows and need some help with navigating to find what works for you.  Schedule a complimentary online session with yours truly to find out how working with me as your advocate Health Coach can benefit you.

Yours in Health,
Davon  

    

If a pill actually existed that would help us to just obliterate that fat around our bellies, the inventor of that pill would be mega rich! It's just not that easy though.  Even though spot reduction is a myth - yeah it's true, you cannot lose weight/fat in just one area, like the belly.  Other body parts will also change as well.  That's not such a bad thing though.  

1) Dehydration - we often mistake hunger for being dehydration.  Drinking enough water helps your body determine when it's truly hungry, along with flushing the excess toxins out of your body (kidneys and liver).  Your liver is the vital organ that helps you burn fat/calories.  If the liver and kidneys are congested, then so is the rest of your body and that shows up as fat over time.  

Fix that - Aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily or more - if you are on water restriction due to medical reasons, do not exceed the daily intake of water recommended by your physician.  

2) The wrong work out - you're doing cardio, you're the crunch master-  if you're killing it on the elliptical thinking you're going to lose fat - think again, cardio is great for your heart, but it's not going to help you lose inches. Crunches are good for muscle definition, but you need to get rid of that basket full of laundry in order to see those washboard abs.  

Fix that - Strength training, resistance training, weight training and plyometrics all help to develop your muscles which will help you burn and lose fat. 

3) Stress - when there's too much of it, it's very difficult to get rid of the fat period.  Excess cortisol, which is a direct result of excess stress causes us to gain that extra layer of fat around the midsection. Women are especially prone to being stress eaters, and will turn to comfort food to combat the feeling of anxiety and angst when stress shows up. 

Fix that -  Diffuse environmental stress by incorporating an essential oil diffuser with lavender, vanilla, or rosemary essential oils. (Any one of those will do, or you can try combining them for the smell that is most appealing to you).  

Try meditative relaxation breathing techniques such as deep belly breathing, or 4-7-8 meditative breathing.  

Auriculotherapy - with your forefinger and thumbs, gently massage the lobe and edge of each ear for 2-3 minutes until you relax.  The ear is rich in nerve points that can influence how our bodies function.  

Like and share this post.  Also, click here, if you'd like to get a free report outlining 3 simple strategies to lose unwanted weight.  

Yours in Health,

Davon, CHHC, AADP, Holistic Health Practitioner