Healthy by Choice. Not by Chance.
There are many people who are ‘healthy’; who do nothing special to get that way. In fact, there are also many people who seem to go out of their way to do things that are considered to be unhealthy, who are seemingly healthy. They have no symptoms or signs of disease or infirmities even though they don’t try to eat right, they don’t exercise, they smoke or drink or have other unhealthy habits. Most people refer to them as “Lucky”. They are healthy by chance.
Some people who take chances with their health don’t do as well. They fail to do the things that are necessary to be healthy and end up with diseases and a shortened life expectancy. These are the people who smoke and end up with cancer, who overeat and refuse to exercise who get heart disease. They are the unfortunate people who get sick whenever a new bug passes through town.
There is a third group of people who pursue health in a different way. They have chosen to do everything they can to ensure that they are healthy. This group of people eat the right foods to give their bodies the nutrients it needs, in the right quantities and combinations for health. They maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise and maintain their heart health. They learn about meditation, yoga, massage, and chiropractic care and choose to do the right things whenever possible. They have decided to seek health by choice, not by chance.
Then, there is a fourth group who does everything they thought was healthy, as in the third group, yet, through consequence, they end up with some health issues – genetic or environmental.
Which type of person do you want to be? You get to decide if you will choose health or leave it to chance. Your decision can make all the difference in your life.
Personally have always been a fan of food and eating. Anything sweet really and in my 30’s the combination of salty-sweet became my favorite.
30 years ago, shortly after my mom suffered a stroke, I began to look at eating in a different way. Although I thought I was cooking and eating healthy foods, the truth is, I was missing out on the big picture.
I was diagnosed with Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia) since I was in my late teens. Something I thought was strange because my family history is all about diabetics, on both parent’s side. In fact, my maternal grandfather died from complications of diabetes – he passed before I was born. This was something drilled into my brain but I was given mixed signals because I was given unlimited amounts of sweets – especially Nestle’s Crunch and M & M’s – as a child. All these memories came flooding back when I found out I became diabetic. My body made the switch and I ignored all the symptoms.
A few years back I completed a health and nutrition course to help me better understand the entire process. I did this for me – as part of my own personal development and self love journey….and like most things, I was feeling great so I stopped implementing everything I learned.
Food changes everything. Your health is determined by much more than just the food you eat. You also need to nourish other areas of your life like your soul – find joy and purpose in your everyday life, foster positive relationships, enjoy a fulfilling career, feed the areas of your life that can bring you bliss!
My mission here is to improve your relationship to food and bring your health to the next level including mine.
I am so excited to share my knowledge with you – here we go!
LOVE Yourself in 90-days
October 15 2022 – January 15 2023
Disclaimer: The Information, Meal Plans and recipes I am sharing with you are designed for generally healthy individuals. As with any nutritional program, you should consult your licensed healthcare practitioner before beginning. Nothing shared through the LOVE Yourself Project and Live Fresh Plans should be misconstrued as medical treatment or advice. The participant understands that undertaking these plans is their own responsibility and not that of the provider of the plans. Be advised that the recipes are not intended as a prescription for any illness or any disease.
Not all foods are tolerated by everyone equally. If difficulties or discomfort arise due to your inability to digest, tolerate or utilize any foods suggested, discontinue use until the reason for the difficulty can be addressed. If necessary, seek appropriate medical care.
4- Step Guide to Get You Started
- Get informed – Take the time to read through this entire section.
- Download and Review all of the material that we send to your inbox.
- Shop – Follow a shopping list and collect all of the items on the list. If you are only making the recipes for one person, you may need to reduce the amount indicated for dinners. Likewise, if you have a larger family you may need to multiply the ingredients required. Each recipe indicates the serving size.
- Prep following the guidelines. This will help you get ahead if you are new to making food from scratch and/or have limited time in the kitchen.
Depending on your schedule, you may want to prepare a full day of meals the previous day or have a meal prep day once a week. A lot of the meals can be prepped ahead of time for ease and practicality.
Best Time to Eat
For best results, your day should look something like this:
1. Drink your warm lemon water as soon as you wake up, or as close to your wake up time as possible. Click here to read about the benefits.
2. Have your breakfast about 20-30 minutes after you finish your water.
3. Eat your lunch when you feel your breakfast has fully passed through your stomach. Generally
give yourself 3-4 hours between breakfast and lunch.
4. Enjoy your afternoon boost when and if you feel hungry. Again this plan is about abundance not deprivation, so never feel like you have to go hungry!
5. Try to finish your dinner 2-3 hours before you go to bed. This will facilitate a deeper, more restful sleep, and will ensure that your body is not busy digesting food during the night. As you sleep, your body should be focusing its energy on repairing and healing your body, not digesting your dinner!
Portion Sizes and Mindful Eating
I encourage you to eat these “Live Fresh approved” meals until you are satisfied. In order to get back in touch with your natural hunger cues, you need to practice mindful eating.
Mindful Eating: If we are distracted or stressed as we are eating and digesting our food, the body is not able to completely activate our digestive system. This results in poor digestion, overeating and not feeling satisfied. By focusing on being fully present when eating and resting or lightly moving the body (walking) after meals, our health will improve significantly.
Amount of Food: We want to make sure we are getting an adequate amount while also honouring our full signals. When we feel comfortably full, this is the time to stop and honour your body. Overeating is very hard on the digestive system and causes havoc on our whole body.
Meal Frequency: Make sure you are giving enough time for digestion to occur between meals.
There is a common belief that eating 5-7 small meals a day is healthy. The truth is, that can add stress on the digestive system by always having it “fired up”. This, of course depends on the individual’s idea of ‘small meal’. It is more beneficial for most people to eat 1-3 moderate sized meals a day. For in between meals, drink liquids (juices – fresh with no added sugar, water, smoothies, tea).
Importance of Chewing: Fully chewing your food into liquid is important for mechanical and biochemical digestion.
Practice and patience are key – chew at least 20-50 times per bite! This may be a challenging habit to form but crucial for better digestion.
Intention/Appreciation/Grace: This has nothing to do with religion. It is about being thankful for the food that is on the table which allows for more appreciation and time to consume it. This will give your body a chance to get back in touch with its natural hunger and full signals.
Top 10 Healthy Eating Habits
- More home-cooked food, less eating out.
- More fresh fruit as snacks.
- More fresh vegetables as snacks and with meals.
- More beans/pulses as side dishes or in stews.
- More dense chewy bread, less refined white breads and bread snacks.
- More fish, skinless chicken/turkey, less red meat.
- Smaller servings of red meat, larger servings of vegetables.
- Eat low fat dairy foods.
- Add less fat – less butter, mayo, sour cream, to the food on your plate. This is a huge source of excessive (empty) calories.
- Stock up on healthy snack foods to keep hunger in check. If you fill up with healthy, nutritious calories, you won’t want the junk food that you might end up eating when hungry. Hunger is your worst enemy when it comes to weight management.
Celine
Eating Lifestyle – Available on October 31.
Below are the types of eating lifestyles that are in alignment with my personal values on healthy eating and sustainability. I will be sharing information provided by our Conscious Mentors – meal plans, recipes and exercises.
Mediterranean Diet & Lifestyle
Plant Based Eating
Ayurveda Diet & Lifestyle
Keto Diet & Lifestyle
Meet the Founder of LOVE Yourself Project
Directions:
Fill a cup or mug with 300ml – 500ml of warm filtered water, or lightly boiled filtered water.
Juice 1⁄2 of a fresh organic lemon and add to the water.
For a milder taste, just add a few lemon slices to the water.