Forks Over Knives

Have you seen the documentary, Forks Over Knives?

Forks Over Knives might be just the prescription you need to lead a long and productive life. The book was written by the same authors who created the revolutionary documentary about how eating a plant-based diet can prevent diseases and premature aging.

Within the book you’ll find all the information and encouragement you need to transition your diet by consuming whole-foods and plant-based meals rather than meat. The Forks Over Knives plan is one that is recommended by Sanjay Gupta to prevent the onslaught of modern diseases.

The Forks Over Knives concept is one that promotes using food as medicine, both preventative and healing to keep from succumbing to what much of the population is plagued with. Obesity and chronic diseases are rampant today and the proper diet plan can help keep them at bay.

This plan with also ignite your energy level, so you will naturally move your body more and get the exercise you need to stay balanced and to keep your mental acuity intact. It’s not a secret formula, but one that most people have eschewed for the more popular way of eating such as fast- and processed-foods.

The authors, Dr. Alona Pulde and Matthew Lederman are considered pioneers of what will become our future in medicine and healing. The guide, Forks Over Knives and the documentary by the same name teaches you how to completely turn around your eating habits and your lifestyle in a mere four weeks.

By the end of the book, you’ll have a much better understanding of how food is affecting you and our entire population. You’ll feel better, look better and some of your problems such as digestive issues will vanish by the end of the four weeks of the Forks Over Knives plan.

The recipes contained in the book focus on a variety of whole, plant-based foods, some of which might be new to you. But the recipes guide you through the process and you’ll find some new ways to make meals exciting and delicious.

When you take control of your eating habits a strange thing occurs…you feel more in control of your life, empowered and more prone to make the decisions you need to make to improve your life.

You’ll find that actually eating more leads to weight loss and that you’ll gain an entirely new understanding about how your former diet has made you feel and brought your health and well-being down.

Forks Over Knives provides recipes for every day of the four week transition plan, so there’s nothing to guess at. You’ve got all the information you need to transform your life into a way of living that is designed to bring healthy and vitality into your world and help you enjoy it more.

You can grab the Forks Over Knives book here. There’s also a cookbook here.

Or, watch the original documentary here.

Low Calorie Recipe Ideas

I’ve had several comments about recipes that are easy and healthy.

If you’re constantly on the lookout for tasty and nutritious, but low calorie options for yours or your family’s meals, The Skinnytaste Cookbook is for you.

Gina Homolka, the author of The Skinnytaste Cookbook, is a popular and trusted cook in America.

This book is full of recipes that will delight your palate and you’ll have a hard time convincing people that they’re low calorie. Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli is creamy and filling, but only has 420 calories for each serving.

Cookies that are indulgent but low-fat and low-calorie can make your day sweeter without adding fat to the fat cells. Since the Skinnytaste Cookbook was first published, Holmolka has gathered followers that she listens to and finds new ways to please with her brilliant cooking ideas.

There are recipes for vegetarians, gluten-free meals, meals you can easily freeze and those you can cook in a crockpot or grill. The calorie count is there and so is the carb and nutrient information.

If you’re anything like me, seeing pictures of the actual recipes in a cookbook is a must. Holmolka has a done a great job of including beautiful pictures of these delicious meals.

All the recipes make great meals for family and those who would never diet a day in their lives.

The recipes in The Skinnytaste Cookbook aren’t meant for just dieting, they’re all healthy as well as satisfying and delicious. You may recognize some old unhealthy recipes that have been transformed with healthy ingredients and that taste even better.

A sampling of the recipes in her book includes French Bread Pizza Supreme, Pear and Brie Grilled Cheese, Silky Chocolate Cream Pie, Loaded Nacho Potato Skins and Lasagna using zucchini strips instead of pasta.

If those dishes don’t whet your appetite, nothing will. There are approximately 350 pages in this cookbook that are filled with recipes and photos of the finished dish. If you have a seasoned or aspiring cook as a friend or family member, The Skinnytaste Cookbook is a wonderful gift idea.

Homolka is the author of many cookbooks and her blog, Skinnytaste.com is an award-winning blog that caters to an audience who loves low-calorie, easy and healthy meals that taste good.

She has millions of readers who consistently visit the Skinnytaste blog to learn about and try some healthy recipes to cook for themselves or their families. Her creative work has been featured in magazines such as Oprah, Fitness Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Glamour and many media outlets.

If interested, check out The Skinnytaste Cookbook and let me know what your favorite recipe is in the comments.

Master Your Metabolism

If there is one confusing topic out there that has a lot of misinformation, it is how to boost your metabolism.

I ran across this book that can help…

Master Your Metabolism is a book that will challenge your thinking about food and how to lose weight. It’s a three phase plan that will get hormones such as insulin, cortisol, HGH and estrogen in check and put you on track to losing weight and enjoying life.

You may remember Jillian Michaels from the hit television show, The Biggest Loser. She’s a no-nonsense trainer and wellness expert who knows how to whip your body back in shape and master the ruler of your body weight and health…your metabolism.

Jillian found that she’d been clueless when it came to metabolism and it directly affected her endocrine system. When she found a way to rev up her own metabolism, Jillian went about formulating a plan to share with others.

You’ll learn how hormones affect your metabolism and how it can all get out of whack. It’s not hopeless though, you can get your metabolism back to its efficient self. When your metabolism is restored, it resets itself and begins to process food as it should.

Master Your Metabolism is a three-step plan that removes, restores and rebalances nutrients that your body needs to run properly. You’ll be getting rid of anti-nutrients and replacing them with powerful nutrients to help with fat-burning.

Then, you can adjust and rebalance the system by eating foods that act as fuel to have the maximum impact on your metabolism. Lifestyle strategies are necessary to keep your metabolism and health on track.

For example, Jillian advocates removing toxins from your home, add the nutrients you’ve been missing to your diet plan and keeping stress out of your life by revamping your energy.

When your hormonal disorders are fixed and your metabolism is running at normal speed, you’re ready to begin the process of keeping your life balanced by sticking to the program for the rest of your life.

Weight loss naturally occurs on the Master Your Metabolism plan because it isn’t about calories, it’s about feeding your body what it needs to help your metabolism burn fat rather than store it.

You’ll notice that Jillian emphasizes natural and organically grown foods to give you the best results. Processed foods must be avoided and the pollutants that we take into the body on a daily basis for water and air should be minimized.

Mastering your metabolism can’t be achieved in a day, but as you continue with the plan you’ll begin to notice differences in your weight, energy level, appearance and even self-confidence.

Your digestive system will be able to work at peak performance and you’ll begin to look at food as a medicine to heal rather than something you need to fight off hunger. Master Your Metabolism can help you change your life, and add years to it.

You can check out Master Your Metabolism here.

There’s also a cookbook that goes along with it here.

What’s your greatest struggle with metabolism?

Intuitive Eating

One of the more interesting topics around healthy eating I’ve come across is a book called Intuitive Eating.

Consider this…what if your diet plan consisted of being able to eat all the foods you love…any time you want?

Intuitive Eating was created by two authors, Evelyn Tribole M.S. R.D and Elyse Resch M.S. R.D. F.A.D.A., and it lets you do just that.

This common sense approach to dieting is specially formulated for those who have dieted and failed so many times and feel caught in a web of diet programs that don’t work. The authors call it, “Hitting the Diet Bottom.”

Most diets zap your energy and require a lot of planning, measuring and special ingredients. After dieting and feeling deprived for weeks or months it’s just too tempting to gorge on all the foods you’ve missed on the diet you were on.

That’s when the weight creeps back on your body with even more veracity and all those new “skinny” clothes you bought no longer fit. With the IE plan, you don’t have to focus your entire life around shopping and preparing of diet foods and eating such scant amounts that you’re never satisfied.

The Intuitive Eating program operates on three basic rules; 1.) Eat the food you’re hungry for whenever you like, 2.) Eat only because you’re truly hungry and not for emotional reasons, 3.) Learn your inner hunger and satiated cues and rely on them to figure out how much to eat.

The hard truth is…those who struggle with food issues usually struggle with other areas of their lives; relationships, self-esteem and other issues. The Intuitive Eating plan helps you gain control over food, causing a domino effect of getting control in other areas of your life.

For those of you who thought your taste buds and stomach were the main reasons for overeating and cravings, you’ll learn in Intuitive Eating that the mind has even more to do with your weight loss success.

The tips and suggestions in the book are designed to lead you to a new way of thinking about your weight. In fact, the authors suggest you should not even think about your weight, but pay attention to your hunger cues.

After reading the book, you’ll get extra help from the appendices which consist of a question and answer portion and step-by-step guidelines to get you started on the Intuitive Eating program and your new life, free of food issues.

Intuitive Eating was originally released back in 2003, but received an update in 2012.

The latest printing of Intuitive Eating has changed a bit. There are no longer statistics such as weights and heights because time and research have determined that it leads to self-sabotage.

There are also two new chapters added to the book. One is designed to help children become Intuitive Eaters and the other provides scientific evidence that IE can really work to help you get your weight and eating habits under control.

If this sounds interesting to you, check out Intuitive Eating here.

A new Intuitive Eating Workbook was released last year as well, which can help you be even more successful with Intuitive Eating.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments…

A Cool Little Gadget For Healthy Eating

One of my biggest challenges is…meal prep.

Even with detailed instructions or videos, how can I know that I’ve accurately prepared a meal?

I suspect this is a common problem, especially when trying to eat healthy or dieting.

Well, I ran across a cool little gadget that can help you and I make sure we can easily and accurately measure our ingredients and control our portions.

It’s called a Digital Kitchen Food Scale.

It’s designed to focus on the main elements you need to prepare meals and can quickly and accurately weigh ingredients to let you know if you’re getting a healthy portion size. The weighing surface is 6×6 inches and is also able to let you measure ingredients that must be in a bowl.

You’ve got the option of switching between pounds, grams, ounces (including fluid ounces) and milliliters and the accuracy of measurements are within 1 ounce and 1 gram.

Greater Goods manufactures this handy little scale and they back all their products with 100% satisfaction guarantee and a 2-year warranty that takes care of defects and damages. You can also speak to a specialist if you have any questions or concerns about the scale.

Those who have purchased and reviewed the scale love the slimness of the product and the fact that most bowls and measuring cups fit nicely. There are also many comments about the taring or zeroing out feature that lets you subtract the weight of the container before weighing the food.

Its appearance is clean and streamlined and easily fits on your countertop. Cleaning is easy and it shuts off automatically when you’re finished weighing an item. There are only two buttons: one to turn on and off and one to reset the scale to zero.

Besides weighing your own food for diets or cooking purposes, you can use the scale to measure the portions of food for your pets that are on a diet. It couldn’t be easier and you have confidence in knowing you’re getting it right.

Besides being an excellent product for dieters, the Digital Food Scale is also a great choice for culinary experts who desire accuracy and a fast calculation. It’s also easy to carry if you’re preparing or cooking outside your kitchen.

You’ll feel much more confident in your kitchen measurements when you can weigh accurately. Batteries are included and you can rely on the experts at Greater Goods customer service to help you solve any problems you may have when using the scale.

Perhaps the greatest pleasure in purchasing this handy kitchen gadget is the fact that Greater Goods sets aside a portion of all purchases for the Global Orphan Project. It’s an organization that helps orphaned children by providing necessities and support.

So, you’re protecting others as you’re protecting your health and well-being by being able to measure your food portions. It’s a win-win.

You can grab the Greater Goods Digital Food Scale from Amazon for under $10. Not bad…not bad at all.

 

My Thoughts on The Red Tea Detox

Besides reading, another thing I like to do is provide my thoughts on healthy living products I run across.

One such product is called The Red Tea Detox.

Before we look at The Red Tea Detox, let’s answer the question…what is a detox?

There is often a lot of debate in the medical and fitness community about whether we really need to detox. One camp believes that a good detox has many beneficial effects, while the other camp believes that the body is capable of detoxing on its own. That’s what the liver is for.

So, the question is…who is right?

The answer is that both groups are right. The body is capable of detoxing on its own. That is indeed true. So is the fact that products such as detox tea and patches do help the body cleanse itself.

The fact of the matter is that our polluted environments, poor diet choices, water intake, etc. add toxins into our system. While the liver can get rid of the toxins, it doesn’t hurt to give it some help to speed things up.

What is The Red Tea Detox?

The Red Tea Detox is one of the leading detox tea recipes available. It’s a bestseller and has sold thousands of copies. The ingredients used in this tea are easy to obtain and contain a lot of antioxidant properties and fat burning benefits.

Created by Liz Swann Miller, the recipe is said to have come from Africa. Apparently, Liz got the recipe from a shaman there. I’m a bit skeptical of this story, even though it’s interesting and does make for effective marketing.

The Positives:

1) The book is detailed and is written in a clear and concise manner that is easy to understand. The instructions and invaluable tips are on point and the information is reliable. This is not untested theory.

2) The Red Tea Detox has sold thousands of copies and is an online bestseller. It has been there for quite a while and there are websites filled with positive testimonials from actual buyers. That’s enough social proof to reassure anyone that the product works.

3) If you follow the detox program, inflammations in the body will subside. It’ll be much easier to lose weight. People have reported feeling lighter and more energetic after the detox. It has also been found to improve your sleep quality.

4) While the first part of the book covers the importance and merits of detoxing, the second part of the book will explain the 14-day detox and what you need to do. The plan is laid out well and all you need to do is follow it.

The third and final part of the book will give you a 21-day eating plan to follow. This will help you to burn more calories, shed the excess fat and maintain hormonal balance. The 21-day duration will also help you to form healthy eating habits and teach you how to make good food choices.

5) The detox tea has several health benefits such as:

* Prevents growth of fat cells
* Stabilizes blood sugar levels
* Helps to de-stress the body
* Reduces bad cholesterol levels
* Gets rid of intrinsic and extrinsic toxins
* Has antioxidant properties
* Reduces food cravings and appetite
* Improves blood circulation

6) You also get an exercise plan to help you lose more weight and get fit. Liz included a little motivational guide to keep you focused and on track. That can be helpful when you’re feeling down while trying to make positive changes.

7) The product is backed by a 100 percent money back guarantee. No questions asked.

The Negatives:

1) The book is only available online. Once you access it, you can print out a physical copy for easy reference.

2) While The Red Tea Detox works, it’s not a miracle cure. After the detox, you’ll need to adopt a clean diet so that you do not add toxins back into your system. Consistency and disciplined eating is required.

Should You Get It?
If you’ve never tried a detox before, but you’re looking to cleanse your body, lose weight and feel better, this book will help you achieve those.

There are many types of detox teas, detox patches, etc. that are commercially sold. You’ll not need to spend a cent on all these products if you have The Red Tea Detox recipe. This is a one-time investment that will reap rewards for many years to come because every 6 months or so, you could do a detox and get rid of the harmful toxins with this tea.

The Red Tea Detox can definitely be used to improve your health. You’ll look and feel the difference once you use it. I think it’s definitely worth a try.

You can learn more about The Red Tea Detox by clicking here.

Let me know what you think…

Eating The Moment

Thanks again for your replies to my previous post.

One of the responses I saw several times was the topic of mindful eating…why you make the choices you do about when and what you eat.

It made me think about the book, Eating the Moment.

Eating the Moment is a book by Pavel Georgievich Somoy that includes 141 mindful practices to overcome overeating a single meal at a time. It’s a thoughtfully crafted guide to help you overcome problems with eating.

The act of eating tends to be problematic because most of us seldom eat from true hunger but because food comforts us when we’re emotional, bored or when our cravings have been triggered.

But, eating often leaves us with feelings of guilt. We don’t listen to our bodies, but give in to our minds that are tricking us into thinking we’re hungry. This mindless type of eating can cause obesity, health issues and loss of self-esteem because we’re out of control.

In his book, Samoy offers no less than 141 activities to help you get into the habit of mindfully listening to your body and realizing why you eat. With these tools you can also take control of cravings which lead to mindless eating.

As you read this book, you’ll soon know if you’re eating from habit or because you’re emotional. What you won’t read about in this book are the typical diet tips included in every diet plan. Mindful eating is not a diet.

Environmental situations also affect the way and the amount we eat. For example, you may go to a good movie and grab a bag of buttered popcorn and a large drink like you always do. Throughout the movie, you’ll eat and drink, probably not even paying attention to the taste.

The clever exercises presented in the book make you think about why you eat and how you can take control of your eating habits. You won’t feel deprived, but you will begin to eat healthy and feel satisfied and full the entire time.

You’ll gain practical tools for eating mindfully. These tools can transform your life if your mind is open to the process. It may be difficult to grasp that you’re not limited in what you eat or the amount you eat, but with the practice of mindful eating your relationship with food will change for the better.

Performing the exercises will lead you to other truths about yourself other than harmful eating habits. You don’t have to do the exercises all at once. Try some that you’re comfortable with and that peak your interest and then move on to others.

While other diets and diet books tend to be judgmental if you break the rules, Samoy makes it clear that there are no rules in mindful eating. It’s simply practical advice for eating mindfully rather than unconsciously.

Samoy’s expertise is based in research and therapy and he’s a therapist who knows how to read his clients and help them in one of the most difficult areas of life…losing weight and keeping it off.

If you’d like to learn more about mindful eating, Eating the Moment is a very practical and helpful read. You can pick it up from Amazon here.

Thank You

I just wanted to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to everyone that responded to my last post.

The answers you provided will be tremendous help on my upcoming posts.

If you didn’t get a chance to respond, simply click here to go back to that post and leave your answers.

Thanks,
Kristen

Quick Question

Hi,

Do any of you struggle to stay on track with your fitness or dieting goals?

I know I do!

I want to make sure I’m writing about things that help all of us move forward and attain our goals.

Can you please take a moment to answer these two questions in the comments?

1. What is your greatest struggle when it comes to healthy living?
2. What healthy living topic would you like to learn more about?

I super appreciate any and all feedback.

Thanks!!!

Kristen

The FastDiet

Sorry for the delay in posting…just been a busy week.

If you can’t tell yet, I love to read about health. Another really good book on fasting is called The FastDiet, by Dr. Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer.

FastDiet may sound like a fad, but it’s actually a well-thought out and scientifically documented way to revive your health, lose weight and live a longer and healthier life. Intermittent fasting gives your body a much-needed break and lets it restore itself so it works much more efficiently.

If you combine fasting with a good diet that lets you re-introduce foods to your system that won’t bring the weight back, you’ll be able to keep it off and stay healthy. Co-authors, Dr. Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer present this updated version of The FastDiet with great new recipes and the latest information on fasting.

Much has been discovered recently about dieting, fasting and the effects on your body and mind. You can read about the science of the process in the first chapter of the book.

The remainder of the book deals with how to see the results and gain the most benefits from fasting, new menu plans and even a calorie counter to help you along. Motivation is imperative when you fast and The FastDiet book gives tips on how to get motivated and keep it through the fasting and diet experience.

The authors both agree that exercise is an important part of any diet and have expanded the book to include and explain how you can use high intensity workouts to get more out of your fasting experience.

You can fast two days per week on the FastDiet plan and reap tremendous benefits in weight loss and health without feeling deprived. Skeptics of fasting are now realizing through scientific evidence how this type of dieting can heal and prevent diseases.

If you’re looking for weight loss, you’ll get results if you follow the plan. Your metabolism will be jump-started, your body cleansed and your appetite and cravings will diminish. You will be in fat-burning mode and the fat will melt off your body.

One problem many people experience with dieting is that when they stop the diet plan the weight comes back on like bees to honey. It’s your body trying to load you up with fat again so you won’t starve.

The FastDiet book also gives a perspective on fasting from a woman and a man’s point of view. Men and women are different in the way hormones and insulin levels affect their bodies and Mosley and Spencer help you understand the difference and how to manipulate them with diet to make them work for rather than against you.

A recent study found that intermittent fasting can rejuvenate stem cells, an incredible find. Stem cells can produce more white cells as you age which will result in a more active and healthy immune system.

Finally, we all want to live a long life free from any major problems or diseases. The FastDiet book explains how fasting can increase your lifespan and keep you free from the chronic diseases that are age-related.

It’s definitely worth the read!

Check out The FastDiet book here.

And then let me know what you think.