Sticking with it in 2011 – Week 3

This is for most people the toughest week. Cut out all sugars, fast foods and candy as well as chocolates and sweets. I understand how this is a big one to conquer but you have no choice, you have to do it.

Cravings will challenge your will-power for a couple of days until they completely disappear. You can fight the lingering craving-monster by drinking lots of water or tea during the day. Sugar makes you want more sugar, it’s a scary merry-go-round to be on. Cut the sugar habit with fresh fruit or chew some sugar-free gum with xylitol. Don’t be surprised if your body reacts to sugar-detox with a day-long headache. It’s absolutely normal and medically nothing to worry about. If the headache becomes to overwhelming, a small aspirin is known to help.

You hear a soft voice screaming for carbs or sweets – answer the call with water or herbal tea

ADD an Enzyme Supplement

There is no breathing, no digestion, no growth, no blood coagulation, and no reproduction without enzymes. Each enzyme has a very specific job and one job only. Enzymes are made by the body and are involved in all body processes, including breathing, thinking, talking, moving and immune function. Our body manufactures digestive enzymes, which are mainly manufactured by the pancreas but also in the mouth, stomach and small intestine. Enzymes are very critical for digesting food properly. For more info on enzymes, visit www.theenzymerevolution.com

Your body will learn to adjust and cope with the changes.

Time for a well-deserved water break…

Monika Baechler

Sticking with it in 2011 – Week 1

Introduction:

You will learn how to eliminate:

• sugar, fast food and candy
• breads, pastries, cakes
• TV and PC after 10pm
• eating after 8pm
• your coffee/caffeine habits

And you will also learn, how to add these important habits/supplements to your daily/weekly routine:

• weight training at least once a week
• take multi V’s
• take green food supplement
• take enzyme supplement
• 5 meals minimum (three main meals and two little snacks)
• more water intake
• juicing at least once a day
• incorporate cardio (cardiovascular exercise)

I know how this can seem like a lot to master, but if you take it one week at the time it’s going to be manageable.

The most important thing is not to be overwhelmed by the task at hand. Compare it with a scale – realizing that you have some 40 pounds to lose at once would terrify anybody! Isn’t that true? How many times did you put resolutions off, thinking that the task at hand is simply too overwhelming?

I’m going to break it down in manageable weekly tasks, which makes this plan “procrastination-proof”.

Every week you will learn a new habit and by the time you completed this easy to follow 8-week program, you will have developed healthy, skinny-jeans habits. Or wash board abs if you’re a guy.

Week 1 – Add More Water and Multi Vitamins

This week you will learn to program your system to accept more water and you will start taking multi V’s – Multi Vitamins. How much to drink and when is always the big question. Have a bottle of water at hand at every given time. I have multiple water bottles ready in almost every room in the house. You will find a bottle in the kitchen, one in the bedroom one in the office and for sure, you will find one in my car and bag.

Just after getting out of bed, drink a big glass of water. Room temperature is best. Try it with some fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice starts to alkalize your body and makes your bowels move.

Never drink with your meals because the water will dilute stomach juices and inhibit proper digestion. Enjoy a glass of water 30 minutes before your meal or 30 minutes after your meal. Drinking between meals and snacks is highly encouraged.

Hydrate also at work, leave the bottle as close to you as possible. Leave it by your phone and every time you check your emails or pings, drink some water.

until next week, keep up the great work!

How to Raise a Healthy Child (page 3)

How involving children in kitchen activities can help them eat healthier.

Even small children can help out in the kitchen. Always remember to tell them about some kitchen safety lesson first.

• Wash your hand with soup before working in the kitchen
• Don’t run with utensils, don’t run in the house! Period.
• Stay away from the hot stove

Cooking with kids can take longer than cooking alone, especially when you just start introducing the basics. Keep in mind the various benefits that children will be developing, from an increase in fine motor skills, to advances in math, measurements and direction taking, as well as a sense of confidence in the kitchen. Cooking together is also a great time to bond for parents and children, take advantage of the fun and the laughs. (7)

Start with simple tasks like mixing and measuring baking ingredients, pouring liquids and washing fruit. Older kids can graduate to harder tasks like chopping fruits, vegetables and preparing salads.

Just remember to be patient with children. Give directions as often as possible and let them know how well they’re doing. Spills can happen if children help in the kitchen and it’s a welcoming opportunity to teach them how to clean up. (7)

Kids who get to touch and prepare foods are more likely to sample it. For that reason, why not let them pick out a new vegetables at the market and figure out a way to cook it together? I bet he or she will be excited to try the weekly vegetable.

Having family meal times can prevent unhealthy eating habits in your children

For many families, eating together has become a lost tradition. The facts are on the table: eating dinner together every night keeps the doors of communication open. It’s the perfect time and place to reconnect and to show your kids that they are your priority. Find out more about your children’s likes, dislikes, and daily life. Having this information can help you guide your children toward positive activities and behavior. (8)

Why are family meal times important?

1. Having sit-down dinners and taking time for your children shows that you care and that your children are important to you
2. Girls who have five or more meals a week with their families are one-third less likely to develop unhealthy eating habits, which can range from skipping meals to full-fledged anorexia (9)
3. Family dinners are a perfect time and place to get involved in your child’s activities and learn more about friends.
4. Parental involvement and influence is an important role in preventing substance abuse (8)

How to put this into a workable plan?

• Limit computer and all media types to 1-2 hours a day
• give them a chance to play outside for at least 30-60 minutes daily
• make sure they get enough exercise 30 – 60 minutes
• monitor their water and fluid intake
• limit their sugar intake
• provide their meal with sufficient whole foods, raw and steamed or broiled
• Let them help in the kitchen

• plan a sit-down meal at least once a day

I wish you and your family good health. If you enjoyed this publications, please don’t forget: Caring means sharing, please share with your friends on Facebook. Keep in touch by subscribing to my eNewsletter.

Stay Healthy and Keep Juicing!

Monika Baechler

1. kidshealth.com
2. Water.org.uk Wise-up Children!
3. Dr. Mercola’s article “This Addictive Commonly Used Food Feeds Cancer Cells, Triggers Weight Gain, and Promotes Premature Aging”
4. Nancy Appleton, PhD, author of the book “Lick the Sugar Habit”
5. Professor Gary Null “Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing”
6. “Enzymes: The Fountain of Life”, by D.A. Lopez
7. National Network for Child Care – NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National Extension Service
8. American Dietetic Association. Making the Most of Mealtime, last referenced January 31, 2008.
9. The Importance of Family Dinners IV, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, September 2007.

previous 1 2 3

The “30 Day Juice Fast” eBook is available!

Finally the “30 Day Juice Fast” eBook is available for download.

Thank you for the pre-orders and I hope you enjoy reading and fasting with the eBook as a detailed guide. This 52 page eBook about fasting and juice fasting is written with you in mind. No nonsense info you don’t need and all the detailes you always wanted to know about fasting and detox.

Special Content you will appreciate.

• herbal supplement list to relieve your detox symptoms and support your body, all explained in detail and with added links if supplement is not available in regular health food stores
• Shopping list, recipes for transition days and build-up days
• tips on how to eat after you end your fast and how to stay on track

I hope you’ll enjoy reading the eBook as much as I loved writing it for you. Try the guide for 60 days, if you’re not 100% satisfied, I will refund your full purchase price, no questions asked.

Download the “30 Day Juice Fast” eBook! (don’t forget to add your pre-order code!)

Stay Healthy and Keep Juicing!

Monika Baechler

How to talk to My Health Care Provider about Alternative Medicine

We all agree that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is nothing new to North Americans. Do you also agree that we are not utilizing CAM sufficiently enough?

How to talk to your Health Care Provider about CAM

Key Points!

• Ask your health care provider how he/she feels about complementary and alternative medicine
• If you find out that your health care provider doesn’t support CAM – you need to find yourself a new, more advanced health care provider even if you have been with your current doctor for years or decades.
• Once you both agree about complementary and alternative medicine you can move forward and tell him/her about all the supplements and therapies you’re incorporating into your own health management. Give him/her a list of all the supplements and the amount that you are taking so if there is a interaction or allergic reaction he/she can address that issue promptly.
• Be proactive! Don’t just sit on your bum and wait for your health care provider to first bring up CAM!
• Be  prepared! Go see your HCP (Health Care Provider) with a note pad. Make sure you put all your questions and key points on paper. You only have a couple of minutes at the time to chat with your HCP, so be prepared with questions ahead of time and note all his/her answers

Why do I need to tell my health care provider about the alternative treatments I’m considering?

1. Some herbal supplements, acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation and other CAM treatments could have an affect on the medication you are taking. It is vital that you inform your HCP about all CAM practices.
2. If one of the treatments work for you and you do feel more energetic, you can go back to your HCP and discuss and evaluate the positive outcome. With that information your HCP might suggest your successful treatment and approach to other of his patients.
3. Your research and involvement in your own health will make you more powerful and more involved.

What could be some important points to note on your list for the HCP

• My reason to take the supplements
• The research I have done
• Is it safe to take and how will the supplements interact with my current medication
• Will I have to reduce my current medication
• Is there something else I could try
• Do I need to do more research or ask somebody else

If you are not a fast writer you could take a tape recorder with you. Some newer phones have voice recording as well. Let the conversation with your HCP play out and listen back to it at home. If your HCP doesn’t have the answer to your question he/she will direct you to another HCP or a source on the internet that could help you with your answer.

Be proactive and take control of your own Health!

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

My Personal Story of Transformation

Let me say, that I was never a skinny teenager. Growing up in Switzerland, I always had to work hard to keep my figure in check. You could always find me close to the bakery or sweets. With that said, heart break was the best diet when I was 16 years old. Couple of month later I met my husband. Lucky me!

We got married in 1996. As Newlyweds we moved to the US and had our first son in 2000.

I gained some weight during pregnancy. In my third trimester I got diagnosed with borderline gestational diabetes. With keeping meals balanced, I was able to control my blood sugar naturally.

Pregnancy was a beautiful experience for me and I had enough time to study for my Nutritionist Certification.

After having a healthy little boy in 2000 – with the doctors OK in week 6 – I started to hit the gym. The baby weight came off surprisingly fast and I was back in shape in a couple of months. Thinking that I did the work and now I’m safe, I stopped working out – not sure why.

On a 2002 Asheville summer vacation, I realized that I gained close to 20 pounds. I was so mad and unhappy. My husband and I decided to try the EAS Transformation Challenge. Just days after getting back from Asheville we got ourselves into the gym again and started eating balanced meals.

The EAS 12 Week Transformation Challenges

Placing in the first 6% of all competitors was a great personal accomplishment.

The Nutritionist Certificate was a great idea and I loved helping others like me. Everything was going great and I was never happier in my life.

Then in 2003 we decided to have another baby.

This pregnancy wasn’t going as smoothly as I hoped. I developed gestational diabetes again. This time they had to give me oral blood sugar lowering medication. Most of my third trimester I felt sick and low on energy. As a side effect, I gained lots of weight, the scale showed 221 lbs.

My second son had to be delivered by C-section. We are very thankful that the little guy was as healthy as can be, even though I had medical problems during pregnancy.

The baby weight put me in a dark depression and I couldn’t really cope with being overweight. At the same time, my dad was diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer.

Even though I was miserable, I managed to lose 20 something pounds for a beach wedding in Key West. After attending the wedding, my weight kept creeping back up again and I didn’t have the strength to stop it from happening. Meanwhile my dad was getting worse.

It wasn’t until the end of 2005 that I realized my dad is losing the fight with cancer and I needed to get my act together. At this time we were traveling in Australia and decided to cut our journey short – I had to see my dad. I was so depressed, sick and miserable that I bought a juicer and started a 30 day juice fast in Australia. The fresh fruits and vegetables were abundant in Perth, so nothing was stopping me! For two weeks, I couldn’t get off the couch, I was expelling mucus from everywhere, my nose, lungs eyes and places and couldn’t believe. Everyday I thought, it only can get better than yesterday. Well some days it did, other days it got worse. Nevertheless, I pulled it through and after two weeks my body started to clean out and I stopped coughing up mucus.

The rest of my 30 day juice fast, I felt pretty strong and I even went for jogs, walks and did Tae- Bo. I lost about 31 pounds, gained 4 pounds back after I started adding smoothies and pureed vegetable soups and salads. I felt mentally ready to face the thought of losing my father.

Sadly, 10 days after we arrived my dad died in the hospital and nothing could have prepared me for what I felt that day.

Nothing made sense after that and nothing was important anymore, not even my health. It took me about two and a half years to get out of that funk.

Slowly but surly, I kept reducing my weight and started to see the end of the tunnel. During hard times, Tae-Bo and Chalene’s Turbo Jam kept me motivated to stick to my workouts.

With my Personal Trainer and Nutritionist Certificate, I felt ready for almost anything that would come my way.  Just before moving back to North America in 2007, I managed to get back to my healthy self.

This is me from pregnancy in 2004 to 2007

You see, I went through every possible hurdle you can imagine.

• Death of a Parent
• Depression
• Moving (two times)

The most important things I learned:

1. Never give up!
2. Even if it might take years to come around!
3. The Knowledge alone doesn’t mean success – determination is the key!

Now, I wish you all the success and determination you need to make it through your weight loss challenge.

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

P.S. everybody has a story, what’s yours!

Who Else Wants a Fit and Healthy Body?

“You take a small pill, one a day, and all your weight issues are gone. All you have to do is not to forget to take the pill. It’s very easy, just continue to eat what you want and sit around all day and not move your butt. We promise, in 30 days you will have lost 20 lbs or more.”

That sounds like the absolute best thing in the whole world. Healthy and slim by eating what you want and not having to move at all.

Slap…Wake up!

This dream you have set up so nicely in your head is not going to happen – EVER!

• Your body is not made to eat crap and junk.
• It’s not made to do “nothing”!
• Not made to sit in the same spot all day long!

Your body is a very precise engine that needs tuning and fuel and maintenance as well as tender loving care.

• Listen, are you just waiting around until somebody comes up with the newest and latest in weight loss drug?
• Are you waiting for the most technological weight loss machine on the planet?
• A weight loss machine, where you get hooked up and sit on the couch and lose inches?

Don’t wait any longer. There is no magic weight loss pill and for sure no magical machine that is going to help you lose weight without “sweat-equity”! I just saved you hundreds of dollars and years of yo-yo dieting.

Do you want to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

• In order to lose body fat you have to eat whole foods and exercise!

There it is, this is the real plan to lose weight. I know it’s nothing new but people are always willing to spend hundreds of dollars every month to lose weight fast. Every time a new bottle of magic pill hits the weight loss market people just give up their hard earned money and buy into it. Most of the testimonials are fake or bought from other companies that actually had results with exercise and diet! Don’t be fooled by these people and companies. People who do lose weight do it with nutritional changes and adding exercise to their daily program. Sometimes they do supplement with weight loss aids to keep hunger down and energy up, I get that, but the real outcome is because they added exercise and changed their eating habits.

You don’t need any manufactured products or Over-the-Counter Drugs to lose weight!

Do this:

1. Clean, Healthy, and home cooked whole foods (80% of your success)
2. Exercise three times a week – maximum five times (20% of your success)
3. Socialize with like minded people!
4. cut out people who criticize you for who you are or for who you want to be!

I sure hope, I helped to open your eyes about weight loss pills and diets in general. It took me year and lots of money to finally give up my hope for a magic-pill and to realize that I had to hop onto the nutrition and exercise train.

After years of riding the nutrition – exercise express, I have arrived at pit stop “Health”, and I’m well on my way to destination “Lean and Fit “

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler

Scientific gibberish, How to read Food Labels

Identifying “funny” things that are added to your food is hard work. For many people all that gibberish on food labels sounds like a different language. Many people wonder if calcium propionate added to our bread is necessary or would potato chips be potato chips without BHA. If you never had to read or understand the food label, you probably never had reactions or allergies to food additives. Food additives are used in food manufacturing to make food saver for consumption, improve color and flavor as well as texture. Some individuals are sensitive or even allerigc to some of the additives, like my mom: She is sensitive to all preservatives and some colors in foods. (her skin on fingertips crack and peel off)

Did you know that some people are so sensitive to sulfites that the individual can get deadly asthmatic reactions to the food? Watch out for restaurant foods as well. Some restaurants prepare their potato dishes with soaking them first in a sulfite solution before cooking.

I’m including an additive list with its functions in foods and an example list where it would be used Download!

If you think you could be sensitive to some food additives please contact your medical professional.

Monika

Welcome to the Baechler Health and Nutrition Blog

Do you care about living a long healthy life, getting degenerative diseases, saving your children and grandchildren from obesity and illnesses, getting cancer and paying healthcare? Because if you don’t, then this blog is not for you! Thanks for visiting.

If you do care about those things – then read on:

Sadly and ironically in a land of plenty, on a continent of excess, many people are so highly deficient in vitamins and vital minerals as a horrific result of our food productions and processing methods. These deficiencies will lead to all sorts of horrible degenerative diseases, because dead food leads to dead cells. The question is not if – the question is when.

So you are telling me that you eat whole grains and organic foods and make sure you only buy whole wheat bread and so forth. Now consider this, most maufacturers make exceptionally poor-quality organic foods available, for example the organic white sugar and various organic cane juices and cane juice powders, which are simply refined sugar – unless it specifically says “unrefined”. Most of the time the word “organic” is used to mask an unwholesome food. Only because it says “organic” that doesn’t mean it’s good for you or your children. Manufacturers use the highly obsessed over big “O” to lure consumers to buy bad foods and it nearly fools everyone and it is one of the most deceiving and sickest marketing games today.

Even harder to metabolize and worse for your health than white sugar are the refined oils. If the product is not labeled with “unrefined,” then they are refined and these commonly used canola and other oils are the worst foods that can be eaten.

There is no Right- for- all- Diet, and with diet we always refer to the daily foods you eat not a calorie or fat reduced way of eating. Some people need to be vegetarians because of the love for animals or are even vegens.  Others prefere to eat raw-vegens or just raw. Not every body is suited for one kind of diet and every body has to figure out for themselves which diet is right for them. You can also be in between raw and whole foods, for example if you eat 60-80% raw but sometimes like to eat some broiled fish with steamed vegetables or some organic broken bone and vegetable soup.

All you really have to remember is this: 100% Whole Foods or at least 95%.

1. Eat a varied and abundant organic vegetables and fruits (organic most of the times or all the times)
2. Eat organic, range-fed animals without antibiotics added and grain fed animal products, about 4 ounces daily (animal protein is optional)
3. Choose a variety of plant seeds like roasted pumpkin seeds, ground or soaked flax meal and legumes
4. supplement with sea vegetables and micro-algae, including chlorella, wild blue-green algae, and spirulina
5. add healthy exercise every day

The perfect balance in your body is one of the most important things, the balance between acidity and alkalinity. Let me give you an example: Meat, fish, sausage, eggs, noodles, white bread, processed foods and sugar are very acidic to our bodies, but most veg, salads, tofu, fresh herbs, fruits and many more things are very alkaline (acid neutralizing) to our bodies.

Many people don’t pay attention if they have heartburn or a sour stomach, but they really should. That is a very specific sign that you are in deed acidic and need to change your diet and lifestyle. Yes I now, I’m preaching about the healthy lifestyle again and eating right blah, blah, blah…

But listen, do you want to end up like older friends and relatives, sick with all kinds of industrialized illnesses like, gout, arthritis, migraines, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity…? No? I didn’t think so. If you’re experiencing some or more of these symptoms you can reverse them with a whole food diet.

If this or an other article helped you and you enjoyed it, please share this with your family and friends.

Stay Healthy!

Monika Baechler