10 QUICK WEIGHT LOSS TIPS FOR 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

I can't believe how fast the past year went by. I hope you are proud of all you accomplished when you look back, if not don't give up, as long as you believe, are ready to work at it, you will be successful. Here are a few weight loss tips to aid you this year:

1. DRINK MORE WATER: 

-It makes you fuller faster

-Increases your metabolic rate

-Helps flush out toxins from your body

2. LIGHT BREAKFAST:

- Fruits and vegetable juices are great for breakfast, takes very little time to digest but keeps you energized and satiated.

Anti-oxidant galore YUM

3. SAY NO TO SUGAR & REDUCE SALT INTAKE

-Use fruits, dates, organic maple syrup, honey, stevia or agave to sweeten

-If you crave salt, use dulse flakes, braggs amino acids, or dried celery flakes, you can also eat strawberries or mangoes, they have enough sodium to soothe your cravings.
-Himalayan salt is the best quality salt I know and use, unlike regular table salt whose minerals have been bleached out, himalayan salt still has all its elements.

Raw vegan apple pie

4. AVOID DAIRY PRODUCTS (if you must then buy organic)

-Collard greens, broccoli, almonds are all great sources of calcium

-Have big salads with your meals
-http://www.notmilk.com/
-Get the facts on MILK...click here!

Veggie casserole

5. DETOX

-Excess weight is caused by excessive waste in the body and calories the body can't use

-Do a juice fast or the FYR 21-Day detox (ebooks available at top right hand corner of this site)

FYR 'Fire'

6. EXERCISE before you eat breakfast:

-Forces the body to burn fat as opposed to the body burning sugars from what you just ate

Doing jumping jacks with resistance bands

7. AVOID ALL 'WHITE' FOODS and foods that contain them

- White sugar, rice, breads etc

-Substitute that side of potato or rice with some steamed or raw vegetables instead

8. TRY NOT TO EAT AFTER 8PM OR EAT AT LEAST 3-4 HOURS BEFORE YOU GO TO BED

-Teas or water is fine

9. EAT AS MUCH RAW FOODS AS POSSIBLE

-One of the quickest and safest ways to lose weight is to eat more raw foods.

-You could do raw until dinner and then have some cooked food

-Raw-vegan foods include fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts

-Raw food contains live enzymes which are denatured by heat when we cook food

-Live enzymes help cleanse the body and get rid of waste

-Eating 70-80% raw will yield tons of benefits to your health, you only need to try it for a few days to know what I mean

Delicious spinach and banana smoothie

10. KEEP YOUR STRESS DOWN

-Please refer to my blog entry titled 'Stress, the silent killer'

-Most people respond to stress by overeating

LOOKING FORWARD TO READING MORE SUCCESS STORIES THIS YEAR.

EAT & DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH, YOU'LL THANK ME LATER!

The Days that Surround Thanksgiving

I went bowling the day before Thanksgiving for the very first time. Believe it or not, I did pretty good for an amateur. Rick,the perfectionist, did pretty awesome, Wanneh, the underdog, slowly made her way to the top while cool quiet Danielle impressed us with her sleek swipes. The top two battling for the game were David and Mark Jenkins but Mark swept the board by a landslide for all the games we played. I learned something though that might help you the next time you go bowling; walk really close to the left side of the flat surface on which you throw the ball and then swing your ball unto the surface, I noticed it almost always gets all 10 pins down or at least 9, lol. Little tip there huh? Let me know how it works for you.

Mark and Wanneh, Rick and I

Me and Wanneh

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning and went out for a 20 minute jog. The air was crisp and clean and it filled my lungs and gave them wings...lol. It was a great way to begin my day. No day is great without a tasty-nutritious green smoothie, you know, the green muddy drink that makes your body sing? Rick had the biggest glass, I like giving him more because he enjoys it so much plus I eat green throughout the day while he eats his vegan delights.

Thanksgiving wake-up smoothie:

1 head of green or red lettuce
3 ripe bananas

1 ripe pear

2 Tbsp flax seeds

1 Tbsp coconut butter/oil

1.5 cups of water

This is one of my favorite appetizers, that means I have to make more Apple-fennel-ginger juices so I can use the pulp. I am sure I can create one without having to make the juice but I tell you, the consistency might not be the same and also, I think I must want to keep making the juice. Anyone would love this juice even the most resistant SAD person. This, I took with me to the Thanksgiving dinner.

Here's the second thing I made, just assorted fruits, your choice of course. I then sprinkled it with crushed raw cashews and some unsweetened dried coconut shreds, ohhhhhhh YUmmama!!!! I was very happy that every kid at the party wanted some of this, they thought it looked 'so beautiful' and that was such a compliment, made me smile. There were no left overs with this one.

This, I made with lots of love. I could actually feel the love leave me a I prepared this salad. The colors made me smile and the variety of veggies hmm, I was salivating while making this. So what's in this?

Thanksgiving Grateful Salad

2 handfuls of mixed baby springs

1 cup baby spinach

2-4 cucumbers, thinly sliced

3 carrots, julienned

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow squash, julienned

1 zucchini, julienned

3 medium plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup of currants

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

2 tbsp sesame seeds, sprinkled on top

Mama Mia! that's what I said after I tried this with my very simple dressing;

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp dulse


This was the least touched dish on the table, and yes there was so much of it left over and I thought Yeah, more for me! I can't live without my greens any more, I just can't my body cries out for it.

Papa J, Mark, Rick and Chris Nichols

Around the table: Rick's Tofurky is right after those green sparkling celery sticks

Nina and Savi

We had such a fun time. The food was great and everyone ate to their fill. I hope they also ate to their health. There were smiles everywhere and I was so thankful that we have such wonderful friends who let us join them on this wonderful celebration. You can share a table with your non-vegan friends and family and get along great with everyone respecting each other's choice of food. That's what makes the world go round.

The evening ended with much more fun as we played the Family Feud game. It was the Jenkins against the Lakota-Nichols, can't remember who won this one but having the kids involved--even little Savi and Nina--made it so enjoyable.

The last rounds was for the adults and teens only and it was men against women and you know how this went down, women won!!!!! We have to give it up to our incomparable judge, Mark Jenkins, who constantly kept us on our toes with very intriguing questions. On the women's team Kyra, 14 and Danielle, 14 saved the day more than once. Kyra especially impressed me with her knowledge all the features on the dollar bill, without her the men would have stolen the game because my Rick--who is super-duper intelligent--was ready for the kill.
Let's not forget David, Danielle's father, who kept coming over to the ladies' side, his sense of humour was infectious. Thanks David! Mama J saved us once or twice and Papa J was the silent audience.

Thanksgiving is all about what the word stands for; giving thanks. Thanks for the wonderful friends and family. Thanks for life, for the breath we breath, thanks for the bounties of a very loving and mighty God, thanks for those things we miss each day, for our spouses and children, for our failures and accomplishments, thanks for good health, eyesight, speech, legs to walk, hands to work, ears to listen, a sane brain to discern and understand, thanks for being able to recognize the things we should be grateful for. That is what Thanksgiving is all about.

We should give thanks everyday!

~B~

Ready...Set...Go!

The human body is phenomenal. To think that with all the abuse it gets from us through living an unhealthy lifestyle, it can still be transformed to what we want it to become is simply phenomenal. Our bodies easily adapt to what we put it through--but not without consequences like in the case of not eating the right foods.

Pilates

We have all been to that place of fear, where you think you can never do what I am doing in the picture above. But I tell people they can, you can do it with persistence and consistence in your daily routine. No matter what we do we can find time to squeeze in a little exercise, if it is a priority of course. Ten minutes of exercise is better than a day of no exercise at all. By exercise I mean physical activity; it could be working around the house, walking, squats by the sink when doing the dishes or actually setting time to do it. Eating right without exercising could be as detrimental as eating the wrong food and exercising. Those two components, eating right and exercising are both beneficial to ones health and you can do it!

Nina and Mommy with their bunny aprons

It is always helpful to have a support system at home and at work. Let your family and friends know that you've made a decision to start living and eating consciously and if they are good friends and family, they will support you. My daughter, Nina, keeps me on my toes, when I have my lazy days and don't feel like exercising, she reminds me that I cannot give up on my myself and that I must keep my words. If you are a mom you know that alone is enough motivation to do something-- we want to be a good example. If you have no one at home or at work, keep a log book or a diary.

Our Youngest FYR member: Nina Lakota

I have heard people say "Yuck, green smoothie, never will i put that thing in my body." I know they say this because they don't know any better but my friends, ignorance can kill you. Ignorance can be the difference between living and dying. When I watch them eat hot dogs , I want to say " Yuck, do you have any idea what you 're putting into your body, how that was made, what it is made of and what havoc--overtime--it can cause to your system?" but most people would be offended if I said that. On the other hand, people have no restrain when you tell them how you've chosen to eat live foods as opposed to dead and decayed foods, they have many 'wise' things to say to you and you can imagine that they think you are a freak. I have had that before but all I felt was sympathy for that person...If only they knew better, if they only could accept the truth.

The New Year is almost here and many of us write long lists if resolution that we must keep, but after March most go back to doing what they used to do and it is not because they don't want to achieve everything on that list. There is only one main reason why people fail: Discipline is the main reason. There may be winners who aren't disciplined but there are no disciplined people who are not winners. By winners I mean in different aspects of their lives. You have to learn how to like reading, to be a leader you must be a reader.

Make friends with those whom you want to emulate. Be disciplined and tell you what, it is boring but it is those boring, redundant little things you do everyday that will get you to achieve your goals; little things like waking up and starting your day with a glass of water instead of coffee, eating fruits or green smoothies instead of eggs, bacon and sausages, choosing to go for the stairs instead of the elevator or walking to the corner video store instead of driving there. We must all make choices and those choices will determine your outcome.

I hope this gets you motivated to start this New Year right. I am ready to work with you, I am ready for another FABULOUS FYR year. Don't give up on yourself, your body rarely ever gives up on you except when you treat it wrong. Love yourself a little differently! Be the next FYR success story

Good things come to those who work hard, there are no free rides in life!

~B~