Changes, on your terms.....

All weekend I have been thinking about how when we start on a journey, be it health, wealth, weight loss, or whatever the goal, we seem to have the hardest time committing, even though the outcome could be life changing, or life saving. I am not sure if it is because we have been so unsuccessful in the past, or because we are not ready to do all that is needed for the changes involved.

I think about how many times I have wanted to, said it publicly, and planned for a life change, and after a short time I was off the path, and not just for a day or so, permanently. Knowledge is and always will be very important, and doing your homework to make sure you are ready for a change is essential, but I am not sure that these are the most important things needed. I have always said both on a one to one, and on my shows, that being prepared is number one when change is occurring, but I think I may have been wrong, or maybe I did not see what was staring me right in the face.

I talk to thousands of people monthly through social media, email and in person, and my radio shows are listened to by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. When people correspond with me and tell me they thought they were ready for a change to occur, they picked up the right foods, the right supplements, they had their goals clearly stated and they were prepared and yet still were unsuccessful, my response has always been maybe you missed something in your preparation. But now, I think I have been wrong and overlooked the most important thing, going through the process of being mentally ready and Wanting a change in the first place.

Every day people are told by advertisements, television, friends, family members and spouses that they should do this, or try this and we do it. Then, we fail because we never wanted to do any of those things, and we should not have gone along with the herd. The only changes that will ever be successful, and the only goals that will ever be achieved, appreciated and benefited from is or are the goals and changes You want for yourself, and nobody else.

Take time to see what it is that you want as you move forward in this life. What will give you the best health, or pleasure or what will be of importance to you. Learn what things will make your life better for you, and how making this change that you alone fully support will be life changing for you.

Time zooming by

Lately time has become an issue that has been on my mind, and has me wondering. Not time in itself, but how fast time seems to be going. I have always heard that as we get older time can seem as if it is zooming by so fast that you fell as if you are missing life, and I am beginning to think it may be true.

I remember when I was younger, time, and the speeding up of time was something every kid I knew used to celebrate the parts of the years we wanted most to be in at that time. Summer vacation, holidays, spring break, new years, birthdays, vacations and of course the last day of school every year. I know I myself would count the days down to each and every one of these events throughout the year.

We could do the things we wanted and the things that needed to be done never seemed urgent, but today, procrastination can be life altering, and in some cases may kill you. Today, everything from paying bills, being on time for work, getting the trash out, celebrating events all have time restraints that need to be met. Even if you do not want to be held to a time period in your personal life, too bad, we are. The other thing is how we cannot, as adults put things off, that when we were younger we never would have thought about twice. Doctors visits, check ups, Dentist visits, picking up medication from the pharmacy, staying stocked up with your nutritional supplements are all now things that need to be first and number one on our priority list.

Today when things are urgent, they are urgent for a reason, and we should pay heed to them or suffer the consequences. How many times have you attended a funeral, or been sitting in a hospital waiting room when someone, who should and did know better did not follow the urgency of things like diet, exercise, stress reduction, supplements, check ups, weight loss, getting enough sleep? The same person who always said, I will get around to it, and didn't, and now may be in a bad life altering situation.

I feel that as we get older, and life is zooming by, and we are overwhelmed with the day to day things that loom over us every day, we need to stand back and take an importance inventory. We need to rate all the things on this overwhelming list of things to do by urgency, importance, necessary, would be nice if it was done, and of course, pipe dreams. This simple technique will force you to become a priority in your schedule, will remind you to stay on top of THE most important things, eliminate the must do today cloud, space things out to cause better life balance,and hopefully keep you on the most important path, Great health!

The last part of the year downward spiral!

So hard to believe that school is back in session and that we have begun the last four month of the year downward spiral. Holiday, flu and cold season and between trying to stay healthy, shopping, and doing the normal daily requirements it is no surprise that we get sick. A few great easy tips that may allow you to get through this season in a healthy manner,no matter what your history has been in the past. Some of these may sound like common sense, but many of the things that are life changing are small, consistent basics that we forget about along the way of life.
1- Drink water. The summer months bring on the visible signs of dehydration with sweating and exhaustion, and visibly being red faced and tired every day. The winter months bring cooler weather, lack of sweating and heat exhaustion is not as common, but dehydration is far from gone. Honestly, water consumption is more important in the winter months and the signs of lack of water reach far beyond exhaustion. Urinary tract and bladder and kidney infections are more common in the winter. Constipation, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, and rises in blood pressure are some more conditions that come about from lack of water.
2-Fiber consumption. Roughage or bulk as many people call it is important not only for digestion, but for keeping the elimination tract moving. Back ups and constipation can make you feel sluggish and leave you open for bacterial infections and can impair your digestive tract. Although we gravitate to sweets during the holiday season, try increasing fruits, vegetables and even adding more legumes, flax and chia seeds.
3- Sleep.- Something that seems so easy, and would be a no brainier, may be the missing part of many peoples healthy puzzle. Sleep not only gives you next day energy, it boosts the immune system, restores balance, helps to rejuvenate the body and helps slow down the aging process by recharging our batteries. Remember, although drug store fixes and prescriptions are available, try the natural remedies for better sleep. They work better, you feel better upon rising, and they are much safer for you.

Although these three things are mostly common sense, you may ask yourself these question, and do not be surprised by your answers.
1-Do you drink your 8-10 glasses of water every day?
2-Do you eat 30 or more grams of fiber every day?
3- Do you get restful 6-9 hours of sleep every night, and are you rested upon rising?

Like I said, simple common sense tasks that most of us do not do like we should. I guess getting back to basics is more important that we think!!

Today's kids

Have you ever wondered where all the kids are during the day? I do not mean during the school part of the day, but after. I see them getting off the bus sometimes, and I never see them again. I think back when we were kids and you could not get us in the house, and after chores and home work we could not wait to get out until it was time for dinner, and after dinner outside again until night fall.

 Now you may say back then we did not have cellular phones, x box, televisions in our rooms, computers and ipads, and I would totally agree. I have said often if I would have had all that technology at my fingertips life and school would have been a breeze. But may like the kids today I would have played on them as high priced toys rather than the tools they were meant to be. Are the kids of today truly any better for all of the technology and for having information at their fingertips, I would say no. They are, not to stereotype, but commonly lazy, over fed, overweight, rude, uncooperative and socially hooked to the world only through electronic devices.

They talk about the obesity problem, the ADD- ADHD problems and the lack of respect of children and the lack of focus most children have today. Almost daily I hear from parents frustrated about the lack of respect their kids give them and how they cannot get them to follow tasks, do chores or stay focused. The first thing they always say is we have had them to the Doctor and the Doctor said they need something to calm them down and keep them focused and paying attention. Pharmaceutical drugs, of course because that is what is used as a cookie cutter solution to all of these child hood problems. It seems like the common protocol is to quiet them down and numb them down at the same time. Is this getting to the solution? Rarely, but instead putting a blanket of the problems but keeping the annoying symptoms out of sight. I understand after being at your wits end as a parent every day, desperation takes over for many and for teachers as well. I see it with friends and clients, and I feel their frustration and lack of support from both school and the medical establishment.
So what is the solution, I am not sure, but I can bet having a healthy balance in your kids life is step one along with activity, a good diet and plenty of exercise and spending time with them would be a step in the right direction

Change can take some time...

Are you one of the people that when starting a healthy way of living expects dramatic results by tomorrow? Many of us want the results, and we will openly express our frustration when it does not happen as fast as we want it to happen. The thing is we have no sense of urgency the entire time we are living in an unhealthy state, but the day we start eating vegetables and drinking water, we want everything that is wrong with us to change.

Patience is a virtue that many of us were absent on the day they passed it out. The hardest thing to understand and wrap your head around is that getting healthy is neither fast or easy, but it is worth the time involved. Changing and relearning healthy ways to do many of the things you now do in an unhealthy manner is a process that takes time. I always feel starting the healthy journey while you are still healthy is the best way tio go, but whenever, even after finding out there are health issues can still make dramatic luife changes.

Remember to set your healthy life changing goals lower and attainable so you can meet them and reset the next goal. An example would be if you had 50 pounds to lose, the number 50 is overwhelming to most of us and most people will never get close to that staggering number. But break it down to 5 pounds monthly and start satisfying the goals today. We tend to set out of reach goals and then give up because we get no where close to satisfying them. When you set goals in an attainable manner you will soon be satisfying goals and feeling great. Also, small  baby steps in a healthier direction make the journey easier and much more attainable.

Back to basics..

Today we live in a climate where the chance of getting or knowing someone that has or will acquire a health condition or serious disease. The factors that play into this phenomenon have to do with things we can control like diet, exercise, sleep, water consumption, stress balancing and immune building to things we cannot control like environment and chemicals in about everything we use, touch or come in contact with.

One thing, different from in years past is we now have better technology, better alternatives and more choices on both sides of the fence. Nutrition and supplements have made strides in every direction to allow us a plethora of choices that we have not had in the past. The hard part is doing your home work and asking the right questions to people that have the correct and honest educated answers, and depending where you live, it make take some trial and error.

I hate to say that a quality of life is all about a "back to basics" philosophy, but when the basic bases are covered, your chances are better for the life we want, you know, the one where we feel good more than just a few days per week.

Get the best sleep you can, if you have trouble, look into the amazing herbal formula choices that can help you relax and get the sleep you need. Balance your stress, learn to relax and try to avoid the things, and the people in your life that are stressors. Keep the diet clean and avoid as many of the processed food choices that most of us tend to gravitate to without thinking about it. Increase your activity level, this does not mean running a marathon, it just means getting up and getting moving. Of course no quality life today in our stressfull, unhealthy and toxic world would be"quality"  without supplements. Always shop at stores that carry only the highest quality supplements with a staff of passionate knowledgeable people that can help you on your healthy journey. These basics,  along with a great diet, more Mediterranean based and clean fresh water will surely put you on a path that will be well worth an effort you may have to put into it.. In no time at all you will feel so much better that you will be sorry you waited so long to get started.

A letter from a child.

I received a letter this week from a little girl and it about broke my heart. She was 13 years old, and her Mom passed away from breast cancer around March 15 th of 2013. She asked me in her letter a question I was not prepared to answer. Her question was, Do I think that Mom died because she would not eat healthy, not take her vitamins and because she was always stressed out?

First of all most adults will not ask a question like this, or most likely ever think of the reason why, as adults are usually thinking about the "now what" scenario. The letter went on to say that she used to always tell her Mom to slow down and relax, and how she would run her a bath to have her soak after a long day at work, but her Mom was always too busy. She said she had started cooking to make things easier at home, as I am sure there was no father in the picture, and the cooking was to help her Mom out. She said her neighbor would take her grocery shopping when she went, and she said she always tried to get healthy food as her Mom was so tired and stressed out. She would cook, but Mom wanted her coffee and sweets and never really seem to eat anything that was good.

It took me a while to respond to the little girl whose name was Mya. When I finally had my thoughts together, I sent her the following response.

Dear Mya,
I am so sorry for your loss and I hope you are able to understand some of the things that I am bringing to you in this letter. First of all, you sound like a wonderful daughter, and so mature for your age. You are a caring and supportive young lady, and I am sure your Mother lived a lot longer due to your outpouring of love that you gave her every single day. To answer your question yes, diet and stress are large factors that can cause disease to spread and manifest in the body, but they are not the only reasons. Many times it is in the blood lines and is genetic through out family blood lines. Sometimes it can be environmental where once again we may not have a chance to prevent it. I think the answer is yes, taking better care of ourselves is always number one in priorities and yes, a positive attitude and being able to relax and deal with stress are also very important. I would like to wish you the best in your future, and my thoughts and prayers are coming to you as we speak.