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.

Diet and Exercise are mutually inclusive in a healthy lifestyle.  Each is good but without the synergy and balance of both we cannot come close to maximizing our potential.

If you had to choose between a sedentary lifestyle of a consistently good diet versus an active lifestyle of vigorous exercise and a so-so diet, which would you choose?   Personally, in the past I would probably have chosen the vigorous lifestyle with a poor to mediocre diet.  It was my “addiction” to sweets that would have swayed me in that direction.

I hate to tell you all the people I know who are active with terrible diets.  I know a lot of them…or I should say that I have known a lot of them.  Many of them are now dead, mostly before age 70, some even before age 60.  A few have made it longer in spite of the odds.

On the other hand, I know plenty of people who do not exercise but eat very healthy, watch their weight and seem to be doing fine.  What most people do not notice about healthy people with good diets is that they are a lot more active than even they realize.  They feel good, have good energy and therefore are more inclined to be “on the move” than people who neither eat well or exercise.

This is not an argument in favor of our choosing between diet and exercise because what we all know we should be doing is both.  Then the benefits to us increase exponentially.  We mentioned in a recent blog that our life spans are increasing three months a year right now.  In other words, every four years we are gaining, on average, an extra year of life.

If we do not drink to excess, stop smoking, eat right and exercise we can increase our life spans by twelve (12) years over those that do not heed this advice.   People who live to 100 use 2/3 less health care than people who die at the average age of 78.

It’s definitely not all in the genes, folks.  For most of us it’s about how we choose to live our lives.  If you haven’t done so well up to now, change your outlook, then your habits and start living well.

Sincerely;

Joanne & Paul

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The sum total of our well-being resides in the ability of our immune system to fight off disease.   Strengthen and support your immune system and you will win the battle.

There are endless supplements, herbs, concoctions and medicines to help our bodies fight the daily battle against the agents of disease and death that are constantly on the attack. 

Some people think that our success or lack of success against these diseases is all preordained by the genes that we inherited from our parents.  Others feel that if we take the right combination of wonder drugs and supplements we can ward off anything.

There is some truth to the gene theory.  Genes very definitely have a marked influence on certain things happening at particular points in our lives. There are also some good supplements out there that help ward off diseases.

As we look for that wonderful “bottom line magic bullet” the fact remains that it is the strength and well-being of our immune system that determines how well we fight off disease and how long we will live a healthy life.  How do we build up our immune system?

Good living habits such as proper diet and nutrition, exercise and enough sleep help a lot.  The elimination of bad habits such as too much drinking of alcoholic beverages, smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet help a lot also. 

If your genes are not the best, and some of us do have some unfortunate pre-cursors for some diseases, then there are medicines and natural supplements available to us.  There is a natural product available in most western countries that most people know little to nothing about that when taken regularly boosts the strength of the immune system by a large factor.

If you wish to receive more information about this product, email us at this site and we will send it to you.

Sincerely;

Joanne & Paul

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A recent British study of 5,000 people measured four factors in their lives and then followed these people over a number of years.

We talk all the time about what each of us must do to increase the quality and length of his life; but rarely have we found something that actually can put a number on the length of our lives.

In a British study of 5,000 people, the subjects, both men and women, were categorized and analyzed for four (4) lifestyle factors and then observed over several years to see how these four factors played into the length of their lives.

The four factors were: alcohol consumption (men more than 3 drinks/day and women more than 2 drinks/day), steady smoking, dietary habits and level of activity (exercise).

There were many subsections to the study depending on the level determined in an individual’s analysis; but here is the basic conclusion.

People, who regularly drink too much, smoke on a consistent basis, have poor dietary habits and do little or no exercise die on average 12 years sooner than people who only drink on occasion, do not smoke, eat healthy and get 2 to 2-1/2 hours of exercise per week.

If the average life span in America is 78 and you are shortening it by up to 12 years due to your bad habits, turn your life around and start getting on the track that is going up, not the one going down.  Here is why- It is estimated that due to better information about healthy living and better medical care, the life span of the average human being is increasing approximately 3 months for every year right now. 

That means that on average we are getting another year of life every four years.  That is much better interest on your investment in healthy living than banks are giving you on your money.

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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I have a friend who does not eat chocolate because he has type-2 diabetes; but when we go out to dinner he loves his bread and pasta in an Italian restaurant and his fried rice in a Chinese restaurant…let’s not mention the beer he enjoys.  I cannot seem to get him to connect the dots that all these things are carbohydrates and turn to sugar in his body.

He is quite overweight and still refuses to exercise at all.   The reason I say this is because it is overwhelmingly obvious that the keys to preventing and/or treating type-2 diabetes are diet and exercise.

Few people love dark chocolate more than I do.  If I do not start on them I can usually resist them.  Once started, resistance is futile; so I stake out my times and places and keep my other carbohydrates to a minimum.  When I go out to dinner or even at home I also love bread, pasta and other carbohydrates but I eat them in strict moderation; and I do not have diabetes.

Years ago Joanne and I both realized that when we ate Italian we usually left the restaurant feeling stuffed and uncomfortable.  So we decided that what we really liked about Italian foods were the salads, the soups, the interesting breads and the sauces.  Now we tend to order only the soups, salads and shell fish appetizers off the menu; eat a little bread and rarely order the dinner entrée.  We spend as much, we enjoy it more; and we avoid the big servings of pasta.

Joanne, being of Chinese heritage, does love her rice.  When we eat Chinese, which is quite frequently, I eat all the vegetables and protein but very little rice.  She eats more rice but not a lot more.   We both do exercise regularly so that helps also.

If you want to avoid type-2 diabetes, try doing it our way.  You will feel better, probably lose some weight and not have to worry about it.  We hope you will like it.

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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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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by stuartpilbrow

Chronic canker sores are still little understood by the medical community because only a small subset of the population suffers from them.  We are not talking about the occasional small canker sore most people get.  We are talking about people who get three, four and even five of these nasty, painful little monsters at a time; and who suffer from them on a near constant basis.  The kind of canker sores these people get are much larger than an occasional one and last for up to 10 days or longer.

People who suffer from the recurrent or chronic canker sores rarely get a break.  They may get two or three days free and then the sores come back in different parts of the mouth.  It is hard to sleep and even worse to eat because they are so painful.   Believe me, I know of what I speak.  I am one of those people and I suffered from them for over 20 years; could get no information from doctors or medical resources.   Now I rarely get one and it usually goes away within 24 hours before it gets painful.

Canker sores are not caused by the herpes virus so they do not respond to lysine, an amino acid.  Yogurt does not work either.  Believe me when I say that I tried them all.

Here is what to do-

1. Eliminate food triggers- Here are some common ones- vinegar, apples, & dates- you may have some of these and/or others
2. Keep your mouth clean.  Brush your teeth after every meal with toothpaste that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate- almost all toothpastes have this detergent in them.  Recommendation- CVS Pharmacy’s “Maximum Strength Sensitive Toothpaste” or Biotene Toothpaste. Biotene has a good mouthwash also.
3. On salads use olive oil and lemon instead of the vinaigrette dressings.
4. Avoid spicy foods.  I cannot tell you all that you may react to but some of it is in spicy foods.  Contact us and I can tell you more.

Joanne and I want to help you.  If you have any questions or comments related to this blog or any other matter, please contact us and we will be happy to answer your questions and discuss with you. Our email: totalwellnessteam@gmail.com

Best Wishes!

Paul Mulready

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