Achieving Total Wellness Now

People who live much longer lives than the average person eat sparingly, control their weight and remain active throughout their lives.

Most of the research on aging has centered on how to make old age more bearable.  There has been very little research done on just what causes us to age.   This is starting to change.  Of course, most of what is known from studies comes from animal research; but empirical knowledge of aging (observation) seems to show that what is true for the animal kingdom is most likely true for us.

Laboratory animals that are put on subsistence diets (just above starvation) have had their lives extended by 30%.  Human beings who eat very small amounts of food tend to live much longer than people who really enjoy feasting. 

My grandparents on both sides were never fat and ate small amounts of food only when they were hungry.  The men both lived until age 85 and the women lived until 94 and 95.  None of their children did as well. 

The factors that are now known to be important are the standards that are preached all the time.  They are:

• Weight Control- People who are thin and do not have big stomachs tend to live longer…in many cases much longer.   It is important to control your impulses so you can control your weight.
• Insulin- Insulin is what your body produces to metabolize carbohydrates…sugar.  Your ability to control your sugar intake in the form of simple carbohydrates (sweets of all kinds, pasta, rice, potatoes and breads) is critical to a long life. 
• Active Lifestyle- Couch potatoes just move from the couch to the coffin.  Get a hobby like gardening, walking…do something that gets you moving on a regular basis. 

If you need to lose weight and do not know much about nutrition then you should get on a formal diet and nutrition plan so that you get proper nutrition while losing weight.  Contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

Almost everything we do in regard to the health and well-being of our minds, bodies and souls involves a process…a series of steps that we must take to get to our goal.

The birth of a new life is treated as an event; but if you ask any mother she will quickly agree that it is a process, a nine-month process.  The ending of a long life is also treated as an event but in most cases it too is a weeks or months long process.

This is true of anything worthwhile that we wish to accomplish in our lives.  It is going to take time and effort.  The problem for most of us, I think, is that we have a difficult time reconciling future time with effort.

You see, future time is indefinite and seems to stretch out to infinity; whereas past time is compressed in our memory and seems much more manageable.  Therefore, when we want to start a new “project,” or set and accomplish a new goal it is difficult, if not daunting, to calculate the amount of effort it will require to get there in an uncertain time in the future.

That is why goals must be very specific and always have timetables and deadlines so that the uncertainty of future time and effort can be calculated and managed.  Why do brides always manage to lose weight before their weddings if that is their goal?  Of course, they are unusually motivated; but they also know that they are dealing with a finite amount of time and effort.

If you know that you need to improve your health and should start a good nutrition and exercise program, then lay out your plan for a certain period of time with a goal to reach a specific weight within that period of time; then do it one day at a time.

We can help you in many ways.  Look at some of our other blogs and educate yourself on how to go about reaching your goals and download our free e-book, The Path to Wellness.

How do you eat an elephant?  You eat it one bite at a time!

Sincerely,

Joanne & Paul

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So many overweight people feel that their lives are a choice between being thin and miserable with hunger or fat and green with envy.

We have stated it here so many times before (after all, it is what we are all about) that losing weight and staying slim or “where you want to be” does not have to be a titanic struggle.  It is more about planning and due care with the right diet and nutrition plan than about suffering.  Of course, a small amount of self-discipline goes a long way too.

Remember the man we had over to dinner a couple weeks ago who had lost 25 pounds since the 1^st of January.  He called yesterday, March 2, 2010, and said that he is now down 32 pounds.  Up until the last couple of months he had been carrying around this extra weight for at least a dozen years.  He called to order another round of diet shakes, cleanser and stress supplements from us.

Before going on this diet plan he could eat most people “under the table.”  When in a nice restaurant he would sometimes order as many as 4 appetizers, plus drinks and an enormous entrée; and laugh at Joanne and me for the way we eat.  Now he tells us that he feels so much better, has more energy and has no desire to eat like that anymore.

If you are sick of being “green with envy” and are ready to make a life-changing decision, contact us. We will show you how you can still enjoy food and your life while eating much healthier.

Our weight-loss program works without a lot of pain and stress. More importantly, the results can be permanent. Every time I go up a pound or so I can pull myself right back down in a day or two; and as everyone knows who knows me, I still like and eat cookies, brownies and dark chocolate on occasion.

Joanne & Paul

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In mid-February most people have already forgotten their New Year’s Resolutions regarding diet, exercise and weight loss.

Here it is mid-February and I am sure that most people have forgotten what they promised themselves that they would faithfully do this year in the weight loss department.  Why is that?  They find it much easier to envision doing than to actually do it.

We have a 46-year old client who went on a strict diet right after the New Year.  At the beginning he weighed 245 pounds.  Last night we had him over for dinner to congratulate him for his progress.  What did we serve?

We had salmon fillet on a bed of spinach sautéed with tomatoes, garlic and Italian spices along with pork tenderloin stir-fried with fresh vegetables.  The starch carbohydrate was rice.  Dessert was fresh fruit.  This man’s comment was that everybody would live to 100 years old if he/she ate like this.

That is really our goal.  George Burns said years ago that he wanted to make it to 100 because not many people die after 100.

In a little over six weeks our client has lost exactly 25 pounds and expects to lose another 5 before easing up a bit and going to maintenance for a while.   He admits to being hungry quite often but says he actually feels good being hungry because he knows it is a sign of progress.

When I dieted and I lost 18 pounds last fall I was not nearly as strict as this man has been; and I have had no problem maintaining it with the program that we use.  Yes, I still eat cookies, potato chips, pop corn (almost every night) and dark chocolate once in a while.  The difference is that I eat less of these things and not as often; and I do not feel deprived.

Sincerely,

Joanne & Paul

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A study started in the late 1990’s by the Diabetes Prevention Program of 3,200 people who were at risk for diabetes dramatically demonstrated the positive effect of exercise on delaying the onset of diabetes.

If you are overweight or obese and have a fasting blood sugar level of 95 mg/dL you are at risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes, which is a fasting blood sugar level of 126 mg/dL or higher.

The people were divided into three groups.

1. The people in the intensive lifestyle group were encouraged to lose at least 7% of their body weight and to exercise for at least 2 ½ hours per week.
2. The drug group was given an oral diabetes drug twice a day.
3. The placebo group was given lookalike but inactive pills.

The study was stopped in 2001, a year earlier than planned because the results were so clear.  The risk of diabetes was 58% lower in the intensive lifestyle group than in the placebo.  The oral diabetes drug cut the risk by 31% versus the placebo group.

A follow-up study over the next six years showed that the people from the original intensive lifestyle group maintained their lower risk of diabetes from the original drug and placebo group.

How much proof do you want?  Lose that excess weight and get moving. 

{Note: This article was taken from the “Nutrition Action Health Letter” published by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.}

Sincerely!

Joanne & Paul

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The first real day of the New Year is here. The holidays and the New Year’s weekend are behind us. We now need to buckle down and actually begin to practice those wonderful resolutions we made a few days ago. We have the desire, we really do; and we want it to work this time so for many of us today is the first day.

We are absolutely, positively going to lose all that weight that we have been dragging around now for however long it is. We are going to exercise, eat healthy and not overindulge in all the bad stuff. The big question is: “How can we do this so we are not setting ourselves up for failure?”

The answer is:

1. Get committed to a professionally designed program that gives you excellent nutrition so that your body is getting the best of everything that it needs. This program will also keep you from feeling starved and eliminate most of your cravings.

2. Follow this program religiously. Do not try to redesign it or reinvent it. It works fine the way it is right now.

3. Read some of our blogs posted here on ways to control your eating.

Questions? Email us at: totalwellnessteam@gmail.com

Best of Luck!

Joanne & Paul

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 The Christmas holidays are the time to get together with our families and friends.  It is a special treat when the host prepares a flavorful high quality tea with a platter of delicious cookies or scones.  This tea is a loose leaf tea, not the tea dust in a paper bag.  A loose leaf tea is tea in its highest and purest state.  This tea provides significant health benefits to our bodies and our souls, especially in the cold wintertime.

• Green Tea- Green tea contains the most vitamins among teas and has an anti-oxidant index 100 times more powerful than Vitamin C.  It has the potential to stop bacteria growth in the gums, reduce the risk of skin cancer and reduce the risk of heart disease.
• White Tea- White tea is picked young from the twigs and is lower in caffeine than other teas.  It is often used in traditional Chinese medicine to reduce fever, calm an upset stomach and increase energy.
• Red Tea- Red tea has the potential to prevent cardiovascular disease, lower the risk of cancer and balance the system.  It is especially good for people who want to warm their stomachs in the morning.
• Oolong Tea- Oolong tea is a natural beverage that will help you lose weight and enhance skin beauty.
• Black Tea- Black tea has the potential to lower cholesterol levels and relieve diarrhea.

This information was given to us by Helen Grzelak, owner of Lotus leaf Tea.  Do not be fooled by the name.  She is a lovely woman, born and raised in China, just as her friend Joanne Zhang.  She now resides with her husband in Connecticut. In our next blog we will give you Helen’s instructions on how to properly brew tea.

Happy Holidays!

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Most of us do not want to hear diet and or weight loss during the holiday season.  However, there are many of us who do not want to lose all the progress we have made in the last year either.  Here’s a little secret to help you get through to the New Year with a minimum of damage.

Do two simple things:  Drink three cups of good Green Tea during the course of the day; and drink two ounces of cellular cleanser in the morning and another 2 ounces in the evening with a water chaser.  You will be amazed.

I love good dark chocolate truffles this time of year (or any other time of year for that matter.)  My favorites come from Harry & David, the online and mail order Company in Oregon that sells fruits and goodies.  They are fat and calorie rich and I cannot resist them.  As long as I drink my Green Tea and do my Cleanse I have no problem.  It seems that the goodies magically lose their calories.

We have more advice for you on maintaining your weight right on this page and in previous blogs so feel free to look around.  Whether it is weight maintenance, weight loss or an excellent nutrition plan to get and keep you healthy we can help.

Here is where you can get the best Green Tea:

  and the best Cellular Cleanse:

So go ahead and enjoy yourself (within reason) and we will compare notes in January.

Happy Holidays!

Joanne & Paul

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Tea

Everyone who knows me knows that I love good tea.  I am not talking about the stuff you get in most restaurants or in the grocery aisles; but good tea straight from Asia.

Have you ever experienced a Chinese Tea Ceremony?   A few years ago Joanne took me to visit her Chinese friend, Helen, who led us through a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony.  Using a beautiful tea set that she had brought from China, Helen showed us how to make perfect tea and how to distinguish the subtle flavor differences in the teas.

Sitting with Joanne and Helen and experiencing the very kind and calm style of these Chinese women plus the beautiful traditional Chinese Zither Music, the visit was imprinted into my mind and became unforgettable. Since that wonderful experience I only enjoy the real taste of Chinese Tea and I no longer drink our “dust” tea bag teas any more.   Even when I travel I bring my own tea with me and just order hot water for my tea.

There are so many benefits to tea that we cannot list them all here; so here are some of the major ones:

• Tea has anti-oxidants
• Tea has one third of the caffeine of coffee
• Tea keeps you hydrated better
• Tea can create a calmer but more alert state of mind
• Tea lowers the chance of cognitive impairment
• Tea lowers stress hormone levels
• Tea eases irritability, headaches, nervous tension & insomnia
• Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack & stroke
• Tea protects your bones
• Tea can help lower your blood pressure
• And so much more…

Tea is the most popular drink in the world; and because of its health benefits is becoming increasingly popular in the United States.  Consider it for a special gift for someone.  It is unique and will be appreciated.  Here is the link for my favorite place to buy it:

http://lotusleaftea.com

Happy Holidays!

Paul

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Image from ehow.com

The holiday season brings together family, friends and lots of food and drink.  It is the biggest party time of year for most families.  The days are short, the weather is cold and yet the atmosphere is so festive.  There are beautiful decorations to see, lots of events to go to and a wonderful sense of anticipation.

Mostly, there is so much good food to eat and so little time to get it all in.  You want to enjoy it all; but you do not want to blow 11 months of effort to get or keep yourself in good shape.

Here is the answer: A 30-day diet plan- not a crazy strict diet- just a sensible plan that is organized for you and easy to follow.  This is what to do!

1. On the days that you can control your food intake all day, plan on eating smaller meals of no more than 400 to 500 calories per meal.
2. If you need a snack, go for a piece of fruit or something no more than 100 calories.
3. Avoid heavy meats with gravies, pasta with cream sauces, breads and desserts.
4. Salads with fish or poultry are great so long as you do not eat the creamy dressings.
5. Stay away from the exotic coffee drinks or high calorie alcoholic drinks.

If you don’t know a calorie from a shoe lace, then drop us a note and we will guide you toward a controlled nutrition plan.

On those occasions when you know you are going to feast, follow our recommendations in our blog for Thanksgiving.  Feast with your eyes, take a little bit of everything you want and eat very slowly so you do not overeat.  Remember, it’s about portion control and slow eating, very slow eating.  It works.

Follow this program and you will enjoy your holidays even more because you will be in control; and that is a very nice feeling.  Plus you will come out the other side on New Year’s Day with your weight intact or even lighter.

Happy Holidays!

Joanne & Paul

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