The Coddling of Obesity

The coddling of Obesity 

Before I offend everyone let me first state that in my lifetime I have lost a total of 227 pounds. 84lbs at 14 in an unhealthy way, 100lbs in a healthy way at 19 and after my pregnancy in a healthy way, 43lbs at 40 . I understand the intricacies of eating disorders first hand but also the development of disease through nutrition through multiple certifications in nutrition. My outlook is my perspective through my studies and personal experience and while it may be hard to swallow it’s intent is to promote health in longevity, respect of the world and the betterment of the human race as a whole of individuals. 

As I write my 4th book, nutrition during pregnancy through early child development, during a Pandemic, I start to read a lot about the co-morbidities of those succumbing to covid-19.  Its interesting the worlds perception of health. It’s apparent from what’s being reported that taking pharmaceuticals to control someone’s blood pressure and cholesterol or on fertility hormones isn’t classified as unhealthy or co morbidity but status quo. 

I am 40 years old, I weigh 149 pounds, I’m 5’8, my resting blood pressure is around 60/90, my cholesterol levels are exactly where they should be, I take no medications, have no gastric issues, no hormonal or fertility issues, had zero pregnancy symptoms and my only health issues are from being hit by a car.  If I died from covid-19 it would legitimately be from the virus. 

I see a lot of people protesting being lockdown because they say they’re healthy and shouldn’t have to sacrifice for those that are at risk. I see many people scared of dying of covid-19 but not enough to realize that their obesity and reliance on the medical industry to keep their body alive instead of making the changes they need to in order to not be at risk. Now I understand there is always an exception to every rule but point blank the medical industry wastes a lot of its time and funding to develop ways for people to remain obese while their body gives clear signs its failing. Being overweight is a symptom of disease. If you do not have a healthy BMI and fall into your weight/height recommendations you are symptomatic. The symptom is excess fat storage. How much money has been spent to create pills for blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiovascular issues as well as procedures like gastric bypass and fertility. Imagine the natural diseases we could cure if every person took responsibility for their health instead of letting western medicine keep them alive in spite of their lifestyle. 

Before the pandemic there were people dying of diseases because of the selfishness of people who don’t want to be held accountable for their choices. There have been multiple pandemics at the hands of eating animals yet nobody has altered their consumption. To see people want to deny protestors medical care if they contract covid-19 while the whole reason this lockdown exists is people eat animals which causes pandemics and the over consumption of animals leads to most diseases that waste modern medicines time.   I do not see the reflective reaction that their choices to coddle obesity put them at risk and  now they want everyone in world to bend over and coddle them some more. 

To watch people post pictures of their quarantined food which is why they’re more susceptible in the first place and the reason for the pandemic is a new low of selfishness that is hard to swallow. 

I understand the struggle to get on the path to health but I don’t understand the wallowing in the struggle without seeing significant immediate results. I lost 100lbs and kept it off for 20 years until i had a baby then got myself right back into a healthy weight. I want to live and I understand that if pills control my body and if an organ isn’t functioning properly or I’m emotionally struggling that I need to do something to remedy it. That is the accountability I see lacking in the world.  The reality is that when you live in good health you affect everyone and everything around you. Your body being self sufficient because you make good decisions, it creates health that spreads. It takes each individual striving to be a good accountable person that allows us to create change as a whole. All of this would help the environment, the economy, all industries and child development to ensure the future evolves in good health in a flourishing environment where nobody suffers at the hands of man made disease. 

Pandemics and Animal Agriculture

I’ve never been one to go along with the masses & at 11 years old, I didn’t like the texture or taste of eating animals so I became a vegetarian. It was about health for me.  

As I, a 25 year vegetarian/vegan, sit in my house quarantined with my 2 year old who was suppose to start pre school, I watch the world point fingers with blaming President Trump, hating China & people bashing other people for not staying at home. People are hoarding toilet paper, cleaning products, meats and junk food. There are people protesting, people losing their ability to support their family and people getting sick all because of a pandemic. 

The thing I don’t see people taking responsibility for is their contribution to how a pandemic even comes to be.  If people didn’t eat animals most pandemics wouldn’t exist. It’s not something that you can debate about. It’s a fact. Each pandemic above originated because people eat animals. 

Instead of using this pandemic to see the errors in our ways people do everything but & create blame & hate for any reason because they’re afraid of dying, losing family & friends, losing their jobs but all of this wouldn’t exist if they didn’t eat animals. If you remove eating animals and animal agriculture from this world, pandemics wouldn’t exist along with 82% of the pollutants that are destroying the environment & more than 50% of diseases wouldn’t exist either.  

The burden placed on the medical industry, financial industry, the environment and the general good and health of people all stem from one single thing, the fact that people eat animals. 

Why aren’t we taking this time to figure out how we as individuals can stop the cause of these things in the first place.  We shouldn’t chastise others when it’s a time to become enlightened, grow & change. 

I didn’t contribute to this happening but I’m using this time to see how I can further contribute good in the world. I preach accountability to see change. I know my opinions aren’t popular but I’m not living my life to be popular, I’m living it to help create health & well being in a world so selfish it would rather point their finger at anyone or die than change. 

Immunity Booster and Holistic Cold remedy

To boost my immunity or fight a cold, I eat and drink specific things so my body has a chance to defend itself! 

1. Orange Juice: 

Immunity Booster: Adding High levels of vitamin c to my nutrition boosts the bodies ability to fight free radicals

Holistic Cold Remedy: Drink 32 ounces of Orange Juice daily 

2. Probiotic: 

Immunity Booster: Digestive health is imperative to the bodies ability to fight disease. Adding additional Probiotic supports & aids in digestive health. 

Holistic Cold Remedy: Drink 16 - 24 ounces of a non dairy probiotic daily

3. Nutrient Rich Juice: 

Immunity Booster: Increasing fast digesting & easily useable nutrition feeds the body what it needs to properly function, defend illness & maintain good health. 

Holistic Cold Remedy: Drink 16-24 oz of cold pressed juice. (Greens and Fruit based)

4. Spices & Herbs (Cold/Flu Herbal Tea): 

Immunity Booster: add Echinacea, Holy Basil, Black Pepper, Turmeric, Ginger and Star Anise to your cooking or drink in a tea.

Holistic Cold Remedy: Combine all spices to make a tea & Drink 64oz daily

5. Antioxidant & Nutrient Rich Foods: 

Immunity Booster: Foods rich in antioxidants help protect the body from disease and support every bodily system. 

Holistic Cold Remedy: Eat citrus, berries, &

dishes spiced with Habanero or Cayenne to help push out the cold

6. Water: 

Immunity Booster: drinking more water keeps the body hydrated & will help to flush out toxins more frequently and faster! 

Holistic Cold Remedy: Drink a minimum of 64-80 ounces of water while fighting a cold

7. Steam Shower/Bath: 

Immunity Booster: The more we continue to push toxins out the stronger our defense can be. 

Holistic Cold Remedy: steam up your bathroom or take a hot bath with a towel around your neck & rub eucalyptus oil on your chest & sweat for 10-15 minutes twice a day

*

*

Using #holistic #nutrition to boost your immunity you are less likely to get sick in the presence of free radicals, bacteria and airborne disease.  If you catch a bug & up your intake of each part of this Immunity Booster & are consistent daily, you can fight off a cold within days! This is how food and lifestyle can truly be your medicine! 

Parents, it’s your time to shine

Parents. I mean me! Now is your time to shine! 

Yesterday I realized the tole this isolation is having on my 2 year olds emotions. When I’m frustrated and at a loss for a creative activity, she thinks I’m mad at her. Mad. At. Her. A 2 year old. She’s internalizing what’s going on as something she did wrong. If that tells me anything it’s that I need to put on a happy face no matter what I’m going through. Why?  What about my feelings. Who cares about me to be honest, I’m an adult and I realize that this experience can be a mind fuck or I can do what I’m suppose to do as a parent and selflessly put me aside completely.  

There are specific moments I remember from my childhood that shaped me for life and this experience will shape part of your child’s psyche for life. Now is your time to shine and dig deep.  It’s not hard, it’s challenging and your goal is to keep your cool and use humor and creativity to show your child that it’s easy to make the best of things when you’re together. Show them that sitting and listening to music and singing and dancing and making faces does make being stuck in the house better. Take away the iPad and engage. Get on their level. 

I keep hearing about the children’s resistance to school and only wanting to sit and stare at tv.  Many of you didn’t stay at home with your children when they were young and now is your chance. All those people fighting for longer maternity leave now you have it. You have the gift of time with your child. You can complain that it’s hard or you can use this time to shine in the eyes of your child and let them be the center of your world with your full attention. We all have moments where we need to get that email out and our kid is jumping on our lap or tugging at our shirt wanting our attention and now is the time to give it to them. Put the email aside and plan a time when your child won’t need you to do it. Set up an art project and as it starts send an email. Work around your child’s needs and now you’re given the luxury of time. 

I have to spread out our day over 15 hours because that’s my daughters typical awake span. I know from 5:30 am - 8pm my priority is  to make the best of this for her. I know I won’t be perfect and I’ll have my moments but knowing that my child is internalizing this and could think this is her fault, makes it all that more important that I work harder to make her feel special, amused, busy, engaged and productive instead of like a burden adding

to the stress of this situation because they aren’t. 

Children are the most wonderful part of life. First you have your childhood which you cherish the wonderful memories of and then if you’re lucky you get to give someone theirs. This is your baby’s childhood and they’re the most wonderful part of your life and now is your time to shine. For them. For you. Be silly. Be positive. Smile. Give extra love and keep your stress and complaints to yourself. Shine! 

Rocket Fuel Libido Juice

Rocket Fuel Libido Juice
.
.
5 Carrots
1 inch Ginger Root
.
.
Best cold pressed! (1 Serving)
.
.
Before you go reaching for a little blue pill give Rocket Fuel Libido Juice a try.  You can literally feel it work within 20 minutes and if you add it to your daily routine, you’ll feel like a 16 year old again!  The combination of carrot and ginger helps to reduce the cause of Erectile Dysfunction!
.
.
.
Ginger: Helps to increase dilation in blood vessels and improve circulation.  According to the “Physicians’ Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines,” the active compounds in ginger are gingerol, shogaol and zingiberene. Gingerol compounds have been shown to have positive effect on blood vessels health! .
.
.
Carrot: Helps to treat erectile dysfunction because low potassium level and reduced level of Vitamin E are associated with the advent of ED. The constriction of blood vessels that hamper the smooth circulation of blood can also be one of the reasons behind this condition. A diet rich in potassium and vitamin E can help to fight these issues and carrots contain significant amounts of potassium and Vitamin E. Drinking carrot juice is a concentrated way to help to supplement your diet with these vitamins,reducing the effects of ED. Antioxidants in carrots also slow down the aging process which help in age-related erectile dysfunction.
.
.
Eat well.  Live Well. Play Hard. Naturally!
.
.

Individuality in Holistic Nutrition

The more I relate nutrition to individuality the more it’s evident that there is always an exception to every rule and an argument for every study. It’s forced me to adapt how I apply nutrition to the individual.  While one person may be able to smoke and drink to live to 101 another may succumb to disease at 35 to that lifestyle. I truly believe to each their own when it comes to nutrition.  The key is for people to take accountability for how their body is reacting to their lifestyle.  If you have no complaints then what you are doing is producing health!  If you’re complaining or there are symptoms to disease developing then you need to use nutrition to adapt your lifestyle to alleviate the results of your current lifestyle. 

After a year and a half of trying to reduce the fat I put on my mid section during my pregnancy, I realized that my high-carb, low-fat, low-protein plantbased lifestyle wasn’t producing the immediate results I needed to feel better. Carrying extra weight causes issues for me with my hip so in order to reduce my pain levels and help with my mobility, I needed to lose at least 6% of my body fat. Along with changes to my physical therapy and fitness routines, I would need to change my nutrition to a restrictive diet for a short course of time. I tried doing plant based low carb but the amount of soy that I would have to eat would not be good for my long term health since my family has a history of estrogen based cancer. While reducing the fat on my body is for health, I always have to take into consideration genetics. After doing research on different types of protein and what diseases they’re linked to, I decided that an 8 week course of:

   1. adding egg; 3 times a week

   2. soy protein; 2x a week 

   3. vegetables high in proteins 

This change to my nutrition, as well as reducing my carbs, would still keep my risk levels of developing disease low, produce the desired result with the nutrition and hopefully not add any inflammation to my body.  

Now I completely understand the backlash I may receive for my choice not to be completely plantbased in my nutrition!  I only added eggs and no dairy or any other animal product which I don’t feel has any relation to the development of cancer and disease, if only consumed 3 times a week. As someone who has lost 100Lbs twice and recently 41 pounds I can tell you my focus is human health and well-being through nutrition and lifestyle. 

I am 8 weeks into the manipulation of my nutrition and changing my fitness routines. I have completely controlled my nutrition by not eating out. I know exactly what I’m eating with zero variables except for what I prepare. I have reduced my body fat by 6% and have lost 14 pounds. While I am seeing the weight loss results and do feel lighter on my joints, I am starting to see an increase in my inflammation.  I am starting to have issues with my mobility and pain so now that I’ve accomplished my immediate health issue, I will need to manipulate my nutrition back to completely plantbased to help combat my current issues because that is the only way for me to achieve improvement. 

     I’m very fortunate to have amazing doctors who work with me to slowly work on what we can do see improvements where we can make them using east meets west!  What’s most notable for me during this is how easily we can control our health by using nutrition and holistic means. We truly are what we eat and our health is definitely in our hands, we just have to do the work. 

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger

*

2 cups cooked/mashed sweet potato 

1 cup cooked unsalted black beans, rinsed and well drained 

1 - 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup finely chopped Walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup finely diced green onion

2 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper (to taste)

1 tsp Liquid Smoke 

1 tsp Chipotle Powder

2 Tsp Maple Syrup (optional | for added sweetness)

1/2 cup Walnut Meal

*

*

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

*

*

Prep: Bake Sweet Potatoes at 400 for 30 minutes and Cook Brown Rice at the same time. Each take approximately 30 minutes to make.  Once the potatoes are cooked reduce oven to 375 degrees.

*

*

Mash the black beans and sweat potatoes together well, then mix in the remainder of the ingredients. If the mixture is too wet add more Walnut meal. It should be a little moist but able to hold how you mold it.

*

*

Lightly grease a baking sheet with expelled coconut oil and line a 1/4 cup measuring cup with plastic wrap. Fill the measuring cup with mixture and pack down, then lift out and transfer to the baking sheet and gently press down to form burgers. The thinner the burger, the faster they’ll cook. A gentle press worked fine.

*

*

Bake burgers for a total 30-45 minutes, flip carefully 20 minutes in for even cooking. Bake them longer for a firmer and drier texture. Mine were perfect at 40 minutes!

*

Serve on a whole wheat bun with endless topping options!  I went with a spicy sweet Jalapeño Mustard, Lettuce, Tomatoes, avocado and marinated red peppers!

*

*

This is a very versatile recipe. You can leave out the Maple Syrup and add some Green Curry Paste and top with Cilantro and Onions for a spicy burger or add the Maple Syrup and take out the chipotle Powder for a sweeter burger. Use this as a base recipe and make all types of delicious plant based burgers!

.

.

.