Dr. Jonny Bowden

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  • Lemon Honey Melon Salad with Chevre and Pistachios

    Lemon Honey Melon Salad with Chevre and Pistachios

    The following recipe is just for readers of this newsletter, “In Step With Jonny”—it’s from the just-released book, “The Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth” by myself and my co-author, chef extraordinaire Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy!

    Lemon Honey Melon Salad with Chevre and Pistachios

    In my humble opinion, great chefs and great musicians have a lot in common.

    Great musicians take the same twelve tones that exist in the Western scales and rearrange them in constantly surprising, novel, interesting ways that ordinary mortals would never think of. Chefs do the same with ingredients. I love honeydew melon (and cantaloupe, too) but never in a million years would I think of pairing it with goat cheese and pistachios. (That’s why Chef Jeannette is the chef and I’m the nutritionist!) What a burst of flavor and texture! Fresh, light, and sweet, this dish is got something for everyone—the sweetness of the melon, the tartness of the cheese, and the crunchiness of the nuts. It’s surprisingly reasonable in calories too, largely because the salad is mostly water by weight. And pistachios- like most nuts- are high in minerals (potassium and phosphorus) as well as being a good source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat  Note: Get melon at the peak of the summer season so it’s bursting with flavor!

    –Dr Jonny

    Lemon Honey Melon Salad with Chevre and Pistachios

    3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

    2 tablespoons raw honey

    1 teaspoon lemon zest

    1/4 cup roasted, salted, shelled pistachio meats

    1 ripe cantaloupe or ½ large ripe honey dew melon, unpeeled, seeded, and cut into 4 slices

    2 cups ripe strawberries, stemmed and halved

    ¼ cup chevre

    In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, honey, and zest until well-incorporated.

    In a sandwich-sized plastic bag, lightly crush the pistachios with a mallet or rolling pin.

    Lay out the melon slices and fill with even portions of the strawberry halves. Dot evenly with chevre and drizzle dressing over all, to taste. Top with crushed pistachios.

    Yield: 4 servings

  • Why I Don’t Believe in “Cheat Day”

    There’s a ton of diet programs that suggest you take one day “off” from your diet program- a “Cheat Day”– when you can eat whatever you like.

    I can’t count the number of personal trainers I’ve worked with who advocate this– it’s even a hallmark of the new best-selling book “The 4-Hour Body”.

    It sounds good in theory. After all, you’re “deprived” all week, and if you know you can satisfy that gnawing urge for a Krispy Kreme on Sunday, it may make it easier to “stick with it” the rest of the week, knowing that relief is only a few days away.

    Oh, that it were so simple.

    If you’re perfectly healthy (metabolically speaking) and you simply put on weight because you eat a bit too many desserts, then allowing yourself a “treat” or two one day a week is probably not going to kill you and may- as the theory suggests- even make you more motivated to stick with the program the rest of the time.

    And that’s fine if you’re one of those folks who can take a bite of chocolate and put the rest away “for later”.

    I’m not one of those people. Maybe you’re not either. To me, the portion of ice cream is finished when the spoon hits the bottom of the carton.

    I’m hardly alone. Many people- if not most- who struggle with weight year after year know exactly what I’m talking about. For us, “having a little” is like telling an alcoholic to drink moderately. And- to keep the analogy going- cheat day would be like telling that same alcoholic to go ahead and get wasted one day a week.

    So that’s the first reason I’m not a fan of cheat day. It simply doesn’t work for a lot of people for whom certain foods are addictive. It whets the appetite for more, starts the whole craving cycle going again, and generally ends in disaster.

    But there’s another reason I don’t like the concept of “cheat day”, and it has to do with metabolism.

    As much as 25% of the population by conservative estimates have a condition known as insulin resistance which is at the root of both type ll diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome (a kind of pre-diabetes). These folks simply don’t process carbs well. Their blood sugar goes up too high when they eat them, and the pancreas oversecretes insulin—the fat storage hormone- in response to the increased levels of blood sugar. Low-carb diets correct this within a few days. One big “cheat day” will undo that good faster than you can say “supersize me”.

    And- as many people know all too well—a “cheat meal” can easily turn into a binge.

    And that ain’t good.

    Some recent research seems to support the idea that a period of overeating can have some serious negative consequences. In a study published in Nutrition and Metabolism, 18 subjects were specifically told to consume way more calories than usual for four weeks, mostly from fast food. The researchers wanted to find out what effect (if any) such overeating would have on long-term body composition.

    During the four-week intervention, folks gained weight (no big surprise). Six months later, they had lost about 50% of the weight gain. But a full year afterwards weight was creeping back up again. Measurements of body composition showed that the subjects had the same muscle mass (lean body weight) but that their fat mass had increased.

    The scariest part is that after 2.5 years the increase in body weight of the subjects had gone up even further, compared to a control group who did not participate in the “overfeeding” part of the experiment. According to an interview given to WebMD by the lead researcher, Asa Emersson, a PhD candidate at Linkoping University in Sweden, the average weight at the beginning of the study was 149 pounds and rose to 160 after 2.5 years. Not only that but the increase in body fat was larger than predicted.

    “Based on this, it can be recommended to avoid very high food intake that may occur during shorter periods”, Emersson told WebMD.

    Now none of this means you can’t have an occasional dessert if you’re trying to lose weight. Nor does it mean you should swear off “recreational food” forever.

    But in my opinion there are three very good reasons not to program regular departures from healthy eating into your weight loss program.

    One, it can undo a lot of good in a very quick period of time.

    Two, it can stir up the cravings you’ve tried hard to tame. (Think having just one cigarette after you quit for a week. Bye bye “non-smoker”.)

    Three, it can lead to long-term consequences if you overdo it.

    Four, telling an addict to have “just a little” is like telling someone who’s allergic to peanuts to “just eat a few”. It doesn’t work. (See cigarette example, above.)

    Of course if you’re one of those lucky people who truly understands the word “moderation” and can put the rest of that ice cream back in the freezer after you’ve had your half-cup portion, then you can disregard my warnings.

    If you’re not, maybe you should rethink the “cheat day” concept.

  • This Supplement Really Does Help Prevent Heart Disease

    Fish oil helps prevent heart disease.

    There, I’ve said it, no disclaimers, no “these statements haven’t been evaluated by the FDA,” no ”results aren’t typical” in small print, just a clear, measured opinion statement based on literally hundreds of studies showing the overwhelming benefit of omega-3 fatty acids for just about every organ and system in the human body, especially the heart.

    Of course, this is not just my opinion. In a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reported that women who consumed fish two to four times per week reduced their risk of heart disease by 30 percent. (Women who consumed fish five times a week or more had a whopping 45% less chance of dying of heart disease over the next 16 years compared to healthy women who ate fish less than once a month!) Another study, also in JAMA, found that men who had no evidence of prior heart disease but consumed omega-3 fatty acids from marine sources had a significantly reduced risk of sudden death.(2)

    Fish oil cannot only help prevent heart disease; it can also help you survive it. Italian researchers reported in the journal Circulation that consuming 1 gram a day of omega-3 fatty acid supplements translated to a significantly reduced risk of sudden death among heart attack survivors. Heart attack survivors who took one gram (1000 mg) of fish oil supplements daily were 53% less likely to die of sudden death than the men who didn’t take the fish oil supplement.

    As long ago as 2002, two distinguished professors at Harvard Medical School, Frank Wu, MD and Walter Willett, MD, examined a massive amount of research in the area of diet and heart disease, reviewing 147 studies to try and find out the basic principles of a heart-healthy diet. Though they ultimately came up with five, the number one principle was this: Increase your consumption of omega-3 fats from fish and fish oil supplements and even plant sources (such as flaxseed). (Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are the number one source of the only plant-based omega-3, alpha linolenic acid, and is a good option for those who cannot or will not eat fish or fish oil.)

    Then there’s metabolic syndrome, a nasty constellation of symptoms that increases the risk of heart disease. Metabolic syndrome occurs when you have three of the following five conditions: abdominal obesity (apple shape), high triglycerides, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol and high fasting glucose (sugar). (At least 25% of the population has three of these symptoms.) A recent review of 21 studies found that individuals with metabolic syndrome had over 50% increased risk for heart disease and an incredible 74% increased risk for stroke!

    Enter fish oil. Research published in December 2010 found that men in the top 10 percent with respect to intake from the fatty acids found in fish (median intake of 786 mg/day) had a 47 % lower risk of developing the metabolic syndrome as compared to those with lower daily intakes.

    But wait, there’s more!

    Omega-3’s from marine sources (fish oil) also reduce the risk of stroke, lower triglycerides (an independent risk factor for heart disease), reduce blood pressure and improve blood-clotting mechanisms.

    A recent study in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that increasing the omega-3’s from fish and fish oil reduce the risk of heart failure by 25%. Those who had the highest intake of these valuable omega-3’s had a very significant reduction in the risk of heart failure of 25 percent. That study came on the heals of a previous study by the same research team- a study that is one of the largest studies investigating the relationship between omega-3’s from fish and heart failure—found that the omega-3’s in fish reduce the risk by a remarkable 33 percent.

    So here’s the deal. Cold water fish like wild salmon and fish oil capsules like Barlean’s Fresh Catch fish oil products contain two different omega-3 fatty acids: EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) and DHA (docasahexanoic acid). These two important fatty acids have somewhat different but overlapping impacts on health. Both reduce one of the biggest contributors to degenerative disease on the planet- inflammation. When you take fish oil, you are consuming both of these vital and essential fats and protecting your heart- and your health- in a myriad of ways.

    But it’s not quite as simple as just taking fish oil. It’s important to remember that the quality of the fish oil you consume depends on where it comes from. Fish oil from fish found in the Hudson River in New York, or from some contaminated river in another country may be cheap, but those fish are basically inedible and their oil has a high likelihood of being contaminated with heavy metals. Moreover, many of the big commercial chains like big box stores and drugstores buy in enormous quantities and keep their bottles sitting on the shelf for as long as a year, collecting dust and very likely going rancid.

    In addition, it’s important to remember that the part of the fish oil you’re interested in is the EPA and DHA components; not the “total” fish oil. EPA and DHA are like the nuggets of gold found in the prospector’s tin. The rest is sand. Cheap fish oil supplements  trumpet “1000mg of fish oil per serving” on the label but that’s useless information. You want to know how much DHA and EPA is in each serving. One teaspoon of Barlean’s Fresh Catch Fish Oil contains a whopping 850 mg of EPA and 540 mg of DHA, a perfect ratio of the two fatty acids.

    Every 2-capsule serving of the Signature Fish Oil Capsules contains 360 mg of EPA and 240 mg of DHA, just the amount recommended by most health organizations. Even better, the high-potency version (Ultra EPA-DHA) which is my personal favorite and the one I take daily, contains a whopping 783 mg of EPA and 400 mg of DHA per serving of two capsules.

    Barlean’s Fresh Catch fish oil is made in small batches under rigorous quality control. Each batch is rigorously tested by independent, registered labs that verify the purity, freshness and potency. Barlean’s Ultra EPA-DHA even won the prestigious Five Star Rating from the IFOS (International Fish Oil Standards).I’m often asked what the most important supplement for heart health is. It’s an easy question and I have a ready answer: Barlean’s Fresh Catch Fish Oil.

    I never miss a day of taking this important supplement, and recommend that you do the same.

    Your heart will thank you!

  • Teenagers and Heart Disease: The Number One Culprit

    Teenagers and Heart Disease: The Number One Culprit

    United Press International: Teenagers who eat a diet high in sugar — mainly due to sweetened drinks — may have a higher risk of heart disease later in life, U.S. researchers suggest.

    Study author Jean Welsh, a nurse who is a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric nutrition at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, says overweight or obese teens with the highest levels of added sugar intake had increased signs of insulin resistance — often a precursor to diabetes.

    “Adolescents are eating 20 percent of their daily calories in sugars that provide few if any other nutrients,” Welsh says in a statement. “We know from previous studies the biggest contributors of added sugars to the diet are sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, fruit-flavored drinks and sweetened coffees and teas.”

    The study of 2,157 teens ages 12-18, published in the National Health and Nutrition Survey, found the average daily consumption of added sugars was 28.3 teaspoons or 476 calories — 21.4 percent of their total calories.

    Teens who consume the highest levels of added sugars had lower levels of high-density lipoprotein levels, the “good” cholesterol, and higher levels of triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins, the “bad” cholesterol.

    Dr. Jonny Comments: Look for all the big soda companies to spin this in the usual way: “no one food causes obesity”, “soda can be part of a healthy diet”, “consumers have the freedom to choose what they want” and all the other same old corporate PR claptrap designed to take the focus off the single, politically incorrect truth which is that sugar is the major culprit in the American diet and they’re in the business of selling sugar water.

    I see this latest study as one more blow to the “fat causes heart disease” hypothesis (known technically as “the lipid hypothesis”), as we begin to confront the fact that consuming a high-glycemic diet contributes to every one of the major causes of death on the planet.

    Cutting back on sugar- from all sources, but especially from processed carbs and soda- might be one of the most important action steps you can take to improve your health immediately.

  • A Reversal On Carbs!

    This article has been adapted and condensed for this newsletter from a superb article by Marni Jameson which originally appeared in the LA Times.

    Fat was once the devil. Now more nutritionists are pointing accusingly at sugar and refined grains.

    Most people can count calories. Many have a clue about where fat lurks in their diets. However, fewer give carbohydrates much thought, or know why they should.

    But a growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbs — not fat — for America’s ills. They say cutting carbs is the key to reversing obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

    “Fat is not the problem,” says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. “If Americans could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases.”

    It’s a confusing message. For years we’ve been fed the line that eating fat would make us fat and lead to chronic illnesses. “Dietary fat used to be public enemy No. 1,” says Dr. Edward Saltzman, associate professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University. “Now a growing and convincing body of science is pointing the finger at carbs, especially those containing refined flour and sugar.”

    Consumption of carbohydrates has increased over the years with the help of a 30-year-old, government-mandated message to cut fat.  And the nation’s levels of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease have risen.

    “The country’s big low-fat message backfired,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. “The overemphasis on reducing fat caused the consumption of carbohydrates and sugar in our diets to soar. That shift may be linked to the biggest health problems in America today.

    “(O)ver time, as our bodies get tired of processing high loads of carbs, which evolution didn’t prepare us for … how the body responds to (carbohydrates)  can change,”  says Dr. Stephen Phinney, a nutritional biochemist and an emeritus professor of UC Davis who has studied carbohydrates for 30 years.

    When cells become more resistant to those insulin instructions, the pancreas needs to make more insulin to push the same amount of glucose into cells. As people become insulin resistant, carbs become a bigger challenge for the body. When the pancreas gets exhausted and can’t produce enough insulin to keep up with the glucose in the blood, diabetes develops.

    In a 12-week study published in 2008, Phinney and his colleagues put 40 overweight or obese men and women with metabolic syndrome on a 1,500-calorie diet. Half went on a low-fat, high-carb diet. The others went on a low-carb, high-fat diet. The low-fat group consumed 12 grams of saturated fat a day out of a total of 40 grams of fat, while the low-carb group ate 36 grams of saturated fat a day — three times more — out of a total of 100 grams of fat.

    Despite all the extra saturated fat the low-carb group was getting, at the end of the 12 weeks, levels of triglycerides (which are risk factors for heart disease) had dropped by 50% in this group. Levels of good HDL cholesterol increased by 15%.

    In the low-fat, high-carb group, triglycerides dropped only 20% and there was no change in HDL.

    The take-home message from this study and others like it is that — contrary to what many expect — dietary fat intake is not directly related to blood fat. Rather, the amount of carbohydrates in the diet appears to be a potent contributor.

    “The good news,” adds Willett, “is that based on what we know, almost everyone can avoid Type 2 diabetes. Avoiding unhealthy carbohydrates is an important part of that solution.” For those who are newly diagnosed, he adds, a low-carb diet can take the load off the pancreas before it gets too damaged and improve the condition — reducing or averting the need for insulin or other diabetes meds.

    Americans can also blame high-carb diets for why the population has gotten fatter over the last 30 years, says Phinney, who is co-author of “The New Atkins for a New You” (Simon & Schuster, 2010).

    “Carbohydrates are a metabolic bully,” Phinney says. “They cut in front of fat as a fuel source and insist on being burned first. What isn’t burned gets stored as fat, and doesn’t come out of storage as long as carbs are available. And in the average American diet, they always are.”

    “At my obesity clinic, my default diet for treating obesity, Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome is a low-carb diet,” says Dr. Eric Westman, director of the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic at Duke University Medical Center. “If you take carbohydrates away, all these things get better.”

    As nutrition scientists try to find the ideal for the future, others look to history and evolution for answers. One way to put our diet in perspective is to imagine the face of a clock with 24 hours on it. Each hour represents 100,000 years that humans have been on the Earth.

    On this clock, the advent of agriculture and refined grains would have appeared at about 11:54 p.m. (23 hours and 54 minutes into the day). Before that, humans were hunters and gatherers, eating animals and plants off the land. Agriculture allowed for the mass production of crops such as wheat and corn, and refineries transformed whole grains into refined flour and created processed sugar.

    Some, like Phinney, would argue that we haven’t evolved to adapt to a diet of refined foods and mass agriculture — and that maybe we shouldn’t try.

  • Fructose Turns to Fat Faster Than Any Other Sugar

    Pretty much everyone is aware of the fact that high-fructose corn syrup is bad news. But not everyone really understands why.

    The politically incorrect truth is that high-fructose corn syrup is only marginally worse than regular sugar, a fact that the corn growers association has repeatedly hammered home in their PR efforts to get you to think of high-fructose corn syrup as a relatively benign substance (it’s not). Once you understand what fructose does in the body, you’ll understand that whether it comes from HFCS or regular sugar, it’s still one of the worst things you can ingest. Here’s why:

    Ordinary table sugar (technically called sucrose) is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. (High-fructose corn syrup is 45% glucose and 55% fructose, not an enormous difference.) But the “bad” part of either substance is the fructose part.

    Fructose also turns to fat much more easily than other sugars, a fact demonstrated by recent research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Researcher fed healthy people breakfast drinks containing three different “sugar combinations” followed by a carefully controlled lunch. They did this over several weeks. In one test, the breakfast drink contained 100% glucose; in another the drink was half glucose, half fructose (which is what you’d find in ordinary sugar). In the third condition, the subjects got a drink that was 25% glucose and 75% fructose.

    The researchers were interested in two things, both of which should interest you. One, they wanted to measure how fast the sugars in the drink turned to fat in the liver. Two, they wanted to see how that morning sugar-meal influenced how people metabolized foods eaten later in the day (for example, lunch).

    The findings were disturbing. For one thing, the researchers found that fructose got “made” into fat way more quickly than other sugars. And for the second thing, they found that when fructose was eaten with fat (for example in any junk food snack you can name) the fat was much more likely to be stored rather than burned.

    “Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose”, said lead researcher Elizabeth Parks, PhD.

    So what about fruit?

    Good question. Some low-carb proponents point out that people with weight problems caused by insulin resistance may be sensitive to even the relatively small amount of fructose found in fruit, and therefore suggest limiting fruit in the diet, if not cutting it out completely.

    But remember that the fructose in fruit is relatively small compared to the amount found in any sweetened processed food. Fruit also comes with fiber and nutrients. The breakfast drinks served in the study had as much as 65 grams of fructose. (An apple has about 11 and a cup of strawberries only 4.)

    (On Diet Boot Camp we allow a small amount of fruit during the two week period after prep week. For most people this doesn’t present a problem.)

    The damage done by fructose isn’t limited to weight gain. Recent research from the Journal of the American Society Nephrology shows that people who eat a diet high in fructose in the form of added sugar (of any kind) are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

    The researchers found that people who consumed a diet of 74 grams or more per day of fructose (corresponding to 2.5 sugary soft drinks per day) had a 26%, 30%, and 77% higher risk for blood pressure levels of 135/85, 140/90, and 160/100 mmHg, respectively. (A normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.)

    Fructose also causes insulin resistance, a key factor in both diabetes and metabolic syndrome, both of which increase the risk for heart disease.

    So whether it comes from high fructose corn syrup, plain old sugar, or—I’m sorry to say—agave nectar (which can be as high as 90% fructose, dwarfing even the amount found in HFCS), fructose is bad news.

    Limiting your intake of fructose to it’s original source- fruit—and eliminating the rest of it from your diet as much as possible may just be one of the best health decisions you can make.

  • Trans Fat Free Foods? Don’t Believe the Label!

    Trans Fat Free Foods? Don’t Believe the Label!

    NEWSWISE:

    Did you know that when you pick up a product promoted as trans fat free, you may still be ingesting a significant amount of this potentially harmful substance? An article by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine student Eric Brandt, published in the January/February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, reveals that misleading labeling practices can result in medically significant intake of harmful trans fat, despite what you read on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved labels. Indeed, consumers’ inability to identify high-risk foods may cause individuals to exceed the daily recommended value of 1.11 grams of trans fat from processed foods and lead to adverse long-term health side effects.

    Ingestion of trans fat is a known public health concern. Top national health organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and American Heart Association, suggest trans fats be ingested in limited quantities. However, current FDA labeling protocol and policy prevents the public from accessing the true amount of trans fat contained in their food products.

    Current law requires that fat content of greater than five grams be listed in one gram increments, less than five grams be listed in .5 gram increments, and lower than .5 grams as containing zero grams of fat. Meaning, if a product has .49 grams of trans fat, the label can list the trans fat content as zero, thus masking a significant amount of trans fat that can exceed recommended limits and potentially lead to various adverse health effects.

    Trans fat consumption has been linked to increased risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, and sudden cardiac death. Because the daily recommended amount of trans fat from processed foods is only 1.11 grams, one would only need to consume a few deceptively labeled trans fat foods to exceed the healthy recommended intake. As few as three deceptively labeled trans fat items would exceed the healthy recommended intake; for example, consuming three serving sizes each with .49 grams of trans fat, totaling 1.47 grams. Despite what seems to be a small amount of trans fat to ingest, research shows that increasing daily trans fat consumption from .9% to 2.1%, or from two grams to 4.67 grams, will increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease by 30%.

    In an effort to adhere to its mission and responsibility in “helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to maintain and improve their health,” Brandt recommends the FDA revise its labeling protocol in order to prevent misleading the public about the amount of trans fat they are consuming. He recommends the FDA require food labels to report trans fat content in smaller increments, enabling consumers to recognize significant levels of trans fat in food products and allow one to properly manage their consumption. The suggested change will increase awareness of accurate food trans fat content, empower informed food choices, and improve public health outcomes.

  • Using Guided Imagery as a Weight Loss Tool

    Using Guided Imagery as a Weight Loss Tool

    Guided imagery is a program of directed thoughts and suggestions. It’s a way to help you harness the power of your subconscious mind.

    And it’s an incredibly effective tool for weight loss.

    Here’s how it works: You listen to the gentle instructions and allow your imagination to take you to a relaxed and focused state. This can be done in person with an instructor, or, more commonly, with a taped audio program which can help guide you through the process. (The six Guided Imagery mp3’s are the latest addition to the all-new 2011 version of Diet Boot Camp.)

    Generally, guided imagery has a specific purpose—such as helping you stop smoking, or helping you lose weight. (It’s particularly helpful with both of these challenges.)

    The concept behind guided imagery is that your body and mind are ultimately and powerfully connected. It’s also based on the well-documented fact that what we imagine appears “real” to the brain, and sends important (subconscious) messages that help us put what we visualize into practice.

    Our bodies often respond to what we imagine as if what we are seeing in our minds eye is completely real. Here’s an example:  Imagine an orange or a lemon in great detail-the smell, the color, the texture of the peel. Continue to imagine the smell of the lemon, and then see yourself taking a bite of the lemon and feel the juice squirting into your mouth. (Many people salivate when they do this.)

    This exercise demonstrates how your body can respond to what you are imagining.

    You can achieve a relaxed state when you imagine all the details of a safe, comfortable place, such as a beach or a garden. This relaxed state may aid healing, learning, creativity, and performance. It may help you feel more in control of your emotions and thought processes, which may improve your attitude, health, and sense of well-being.

    What is guided imagery used for?

    You can use guided imagery to promote relaxation, which can lower blood pressure and reduce other problems related to stress. But you can also use it to help reach goals (such as weight loss or quitting smoking), manage pain, and promote healing. Using guided imagery can even help you to prepare for an athletic event or for public speaking.

    Is guided imagery safe?

    There is nothing safer than guided imagery. It has no known risks.

    Guided imagery is most effective when the person teaching it has training in guided imagery techniques. (The new guided imagery audio mp3’s for Diet Boot Camp 2011 were designed by Anja Christy, one of the top weight loss coaches in the country and a certified Guided Imagery Practitioner.)

    Remember the old saying, “Seeing is believing”? You can use guided imagery to “see” yourself in a desired state (like being at your perfect weight) or to “see” yourself doing things (like public speaking). The message sent to your subconscious is very clear: “She can DO this!”

    Why not harness the enormous power of your subconscious mind to help you achieve your goals this year? Remember, in weight loss- as in everything else- your brain is your greatest ally. Guided imagery is a terrific way to harness its power and achieve incredible results!

  • Top Ten Ways to Jump-Start Weight Loss

    Top Ten Ways to Jump-Start Weight Loss

    These ten tips for jump-starting weight loss will serve you well!

    They are simple and easy to follow. Give them a try and watch what happens!

    1. Eat protein at every meal, including breakfast.
    2. Eliminate wheat– and flour-based products for the time being. And yes, that definitely includes bread and pasta.
    3. Eliminate “food products”. Ninety percent of what you eat should be food that could have been hunted, caught, gathered from the ground, plucked from a tree or grown
    4. Reduce starch. When you do eat starches, choose from “real” carbohydrates. Best choices are oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans and legumes.
    5. Don’t eat unlimited amounts of fruit and be careful with the extra-sweet, extra-ripe variety. For now, keep fruits to two a day, and choose the low-sugar, high-fiber variety. Apples, grapefruits and especially berries all are good choices. For now, fruit should be eaten alone or with something light like nuts or a little cheese. Lose the fruit juice.
    6. Reduce or eliminate dairy for the time being, especially cow’s milk. Exceptions: reasonable amounts of cheese and occasional portions of yogurt, but not the fat-free kind (it contains way too much sugar).
    7. Try eliminating alcohol. You can always go back to moderate drinking later on if it works for you.
    8. Stop using vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower and corn. The supermarket kinds are highly refined, and oxidize easily when heated, contributing to arterial plaque.
    9. Worry less about the amount of fat you eat and pay more attention to the kind of fat you eat. The worst are fried foods, margarine and foods that contain hydrogenized or partially hydrogenized oils. The best is omega-3, found in fish and flaxseed oil.
    10. Drink at least eight or more large glasses of pure water a day. Every day. No excuses.
    This is just one of the “Top 10 Lists” that is included with my Diet Boot Camp

  • 4 Stress Relief Tips for Any Season

    As the holiday season approaches, many of us find the stress of commitments and activities can become overwhelming.  This excellent article is condensed and adapted from an article first written by Dr. David Williams in 1990 and it is still as relevant today as it was then. David Williams is one of the great healers of our time. Thank you Dr. Williams, for a wonderful article! 

    Let me outline 4 simple steps to relieve stress, and an order in which you can follow them.

    There are probably endless methods and sequences for doing this, and if you want, you can easily modify these to suit your needs.

    Relive the events of the day as you lie in bed at night.

    If there were instances where you expressed any anger, bitterness, ill will, hatred, or other negative feelings (verbally, or even if you just had these type thoughts), visualize the situation in your mind and picture yourself handling the situation in a positive manner.

    After doing this for several weeks, you will gradually begin to automatically handle real-life situations in a positive manner.

    This review serves a second important purpose: Mentally “transforming” the negative attitudes and feeling swill allow only positive and constructive thoughts to flourish in your subconscious mind.

    Forgive both yourself and others.

    Regardless of how guilty you might feel for a past action, you must come to grips with it. Forgive yourself for those actions and the losses that resulted. Move on, knowing that you are making changes and will become more positive as a result of those past experiences.

    Forgiving others begins with truth.  Recognize the fact that you’ve been hurt, experience the sadness. Being totally honest is the only way to allow for forgiveness and start the healing process.

    Unresolved hurt grows like a cancer; it can destroy you both physically and mentally. True and total forgiveness doesn’t mean you’re letting someone off the hook. Instead you’re letting yourself off the hook, and you set yourself free.

    If you don’t believe it, try it a couple of times and see for yourself.

    Give thanks for all of the wonderful things in your life.

    If you can’t find anything at first, keep looking. If nothing else, you should feel extremely positive that you’re going through this process to make things better from this moment forward.

    Relax and get rid of the physical stresses that have accumulated during the day.

    Start by lying flat on your back with a pillow to support your neck and head and with your hands at your sides.

    Beginning with your toes, first tense the muscles then allow them to relax completely. From there, move to your feet, lower legs, thighs, etc., until you finish with the neck and head area. Don’t leave any area until it is totally relaxed.

    Relaxing may be difficult at first, especially when you reach certain areas (like the neck or shoulders). With practice, it will become easier and you may be able to use a quicker technique. In the same position, imagine that you are lying in a warm stream of water that runs from your feet, up your legs, thighs, etc., and as it moves up the length of your body it relaxes every muscle. Don’t be surprised if you fall asleep the first few times!

    Imagine your entire body encompassed by a bright white light.

    Next, picture yourself as you would like to be.

    For example, you might see yourself as extremely happy and healthy enjoying a walk on a beautiful morning.

    Picture situations with loved ones or friends in the surroundings you would like to experience.

    Visualization can be a very powerful and positive tool. The key is to use your imagination not only to “see” circumstances you would like to occur, but also to develop the ability to imagine how to touch, feel, smell and even taste these situations. The more detailed your visualization can become, the more powerful a tool it will be.

    Visualization may seem strange to some people, but each of us use it every day in the form of imagination and daydreaming.

    With a little effort and practice, you can now make the most of it.