Category / Healthy Weight

Tips for a healthy lifestyle to assist in with maintaining or attaining a healthy weight. Drug free, toxin free, and craving free. Contact us for your consultation to get started living life on the lead lap and having the energy to finish STRONG!

by tessbrennan

Resolutions: A Healthy, Happy, New You!–January Calendar

It’s almost 2013 and time to begin making your New Year’s Resolutions. 

The Healthy Grease Monkey wants to be sure this is a resolution you can keep.  Here are a couple of excellent opportunities to kick start your Healthy New You in 2013.

 

Support Group Kick Off January 17, 2013 6:30-8:30

Feel Good Fast Walking Banner

Take the first step to a healthier happier you!
Join us for this healthy lifestyle presentation and make a plan for 2013.

Feel like you’ve been there before and given up?

What if…

  • This time you begin by telling yourself “I’m worth it” & “I can choose differently this time.”
  • You weren’t alone this time.
  • You had a team of supporters.
  • Little victories mattered. 

We are here to support you as part of the Feel Good Fast Movement.

This event kicks off our monthly support group meetings.
$5 donation to be paid at the door.

 

Walk for Health & a Cure January 26, 2013 10:00 AM

Moving_Towards_a_Cure_Banner

 

Literally, walk for your own health and the health of others.  My grandfather died days before my 13th birthday of his fourth brain tumor.  Here is an opportunity to improve my own life while raising funds to support others as well.

Join our Team, Feel Good Fast, just click on the photo for a link to the event information and details.

  • 1 mile walk or 5K walk/run
  • Entry groups for children
  • $20 entry fee increases after January 12 to $25
  • Walk with others who want to Feel Good Fast in the New Year!

I will keep my ear to the ground for more exciting opportunities to attain and maintain a Healthy, Happy New You.

by tessbrennan

Water alternatives–how to drink tasty water

I run into people all the time who tell me I don’t like water. I have to ask:

  • Why?
  • What is it about the water you don’t like?
  • What water are you drinking?
  • Do you know what is or is not in your water?
  • What do you drink instead?

We’ve all heard that we shouldn’t drink soda-pop. Or diet soda-pop. How about why not to drink “energy” drinks. (Because people are dying from drinking them?)

I would rather focus on what you CAN drink.

  1. Begin with Cool, Clear, PURE water. Bottled water is much less regulated than the tap, however we know from many reports, the tap frequently misses the mark as well.  An answer:Get_Clean_Water
  2. Add a little “spice” (I recently heard something that resonated with me. God made fruit juice so we would eat the fruit.)
    1. Sliced strawberries & lemon
    2. A few, fresh spearmint leaves
    3. Sliced cucumbers
    4. A splash of your favorite (no sugar added) fruit juiceFruit_infused_water
  3. or Add a straw of Energy Tea with Nothing artificial and only 5 calories.Energy_Tea

    1. Never more than 2 straws in a day.
    2. This product uses natural extracts of EGCG to boost your metabolism and your energy levels.

So, there you have it.  3 different ways to “like your water” and drink it too!

Contact me for more ideas and ways to begin to Feel Good Fast, improve your health and increase your energy!

by tessbrennan

Don’t gain a turkey in your pants for Christmas.

Oh, the memories of all the Holiday meals. Thanksgiving turkey, homemade noodles, mashed taters, gravy on it all, green been casserole, the feeling you get as you unbutton the top button of your pants to get in that last bite of Pumpkin or Pecan or Butterscotch pie…

DSC00763

Then you have the knowledge that you will get to do this again in 1 month for Christmas.  PLUS… you get all the food at all the Christmas parties and celebrations leading up to the big day.

Top it all off with New Years Eve when we over indulge in liquid calories as we make promises to ourselves we don’t keep.

This equals 2 months of eating to gain (whether intentional or not).  Many people end up gaining 7-11 pounds over these two months.  This makes keeping those New Year’s Resolutions that much more difficult to keep. UNLESS… We start today, by making healthier choices and even Just One Change!

No_more_skinny_jeans

cinch has been rebranded under the Shaklee180 name.

This is a system I have used for over 8 years now. (2015)  I used it to drop 55 pounds and have continued using it as part of my daily lifestyle choices to maintain that weight loss. (8+ years now AND 60 POUNDS LOST…)

As the Holidays approach and you have difficulties slipping into that festive New Year’s dress or those dress pants, if your dress shirt seems to have shrunk in the dryer, contact me.  I can get you starting to feel good fast, and keep those close fitting and looking “Oh, it’s so sexy”

by tessbrennan

Size matters! What does your dinner plate look like?

Health begins with the foods we eat, how much, what and how often.

Tonight, I was especially hungry, so I filled my plate!

Feel Good Fast - Full Dinner Plate

Grilled chicken boob (still moist and juicy), a baked sweet potato with Greek yogurt and fresh cut chives (not shown), roasted Brussels sprouts in grape seed oil, and a few peas that hubby wouldn’t eat.

It was a lot of food packed with nutrition, and I am full.  But why do I bring this up?  I am reminded of an Ice Cream Study. (It is time for desert)

What this study showed was very interesting.  The size of the dish and the size of the spoon.

Ice_Cream_Study_Conclusion_-_Feel_Good_Fast

If we were to take anything away from this study it would simply be this:

If you tend to over eat and always clean your plate, try using a smaller plate.

Suggestions:

  • Buy a smaller plate. Not a dessert plate, a 10 inch plate rather than today’s standard 12 inch. Leave the same amount of space you normally would.
  • Make it a “pretty plate” something you would enjoy eating off of, perhaps a piece of Grandma’s China – make eating special, not mundane.
  • Load your veggies up first, then only take enough meat to fill the small portion left on your plate.  1 serving is 4 ounces NOT 16. Smile
  • Use a smaller utensil. When it takes you longer to get the food to your mouth, your stomach has time to catch up with what you are eating and allows your body to receive the signals BEFORE you’ve over eaten.
  • Think, think, think… Before, during and after each bite, and talk kindly to yourself.

Before you know it, you can make new eating habits that are a positive step toward a healthier you!

If you would like more information on healthy choices, recipes, health based support groups, educational seminars, or personal in-home consultations to take your life in a healthier direction, just contact me.

by tessbrennan

I Have a Favor to Ask of You-Kindness to Yourself

When you have a favor to ask a friend, how do you approach them?

If you would like your friend or a stranger to do something for you, how do you ask?

(Even in the case of my closest friends) I, personally, am nice to them. I know that by treating someone with kindness, they are more likely to cooperate with me, to help me achieve my task. (That’s not to say it’s the only time I’m nice to them – Julie Hollingsworth) Smile

Why then? When we want our bodies, or our minds, to do something for ourselves do we insist on being mean, and rude, and hurtful?

arguing

Do we think that by calling ourselves stupid, ignorant, goofy, wrong, or other mean names that it will actually convince ourselves to maintain the behavior we are trying to attain?  Would it work if you were calling someone else those words?  (Probably not for long.)

I know many a person who has sabotaged their own success by such negative talk.

Try instead to use a kinder approach with yourself.  “I slipped up, yes, and now I will remember to do the way I want it done the next time.” It doesn’t matter if its weight loss, healthier eating, exercising, or changing careers.

My friends at Integrative Mindfulness and Shift and Wake Up do an excellent job and teaching others to be kind to themselves, and I have been amazed at myself and those around me in the things we have accomplished once we began being nicer to ourselves.

So, do me a favor. Be kind to yourself, be patient, and treat yourself as you would treat anyone else you would like to do you a favor.

by tessbrennan

4 Ways to Begin to Feel Good Fast

When you feel blue, out of energy, glued to the couch, and unable to move, stop for a moment. You aren’t dead yet and you have a choice.

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Take a deep breath, focus on that breath, as my friend from Integrative Mindfulness taught me.  Center yourself for a moment, then choose a different path.

Some ideas to begin down the new road…

Snail_Mail_lifeinbonitasprings

Move.  You don’t need to run the Boston Marathon, just begin to get some exercise.  Walk to your mailbox, park a couple spaces farther away from the store, do some leg lifts while you sit on the couch in the evening.  Just move.

Dress_it_up_lifeinbonitasprings

Grab some WATER. Say you don’t like water?  Try adding some mint leaves, a dash of no sugar added fruit juice, slice of lemon, or sliced strawberries.  Dress it up, put it in a beautiful glass, and enjoy this life giving treat.

More_Veggies_lifeinbonitasprings

Eat more veggies. I don’t want to hear, “I don’t like them”.  You’re a grown up, you can find ways to make veggies that you like to eat. Try new recipes.  I prefer http://AllRecipes.com they have a TON of recipes, lots of reviews and we rarely fail when we choose a recipe to try.  Don’t be afraid to doctor them up a bit to fit your tastes.

THERE. YOU. GO.

4 WAYS YOU CAN BEGIN TO START FEELING GOOD FAST.

For more information, or a personal consultation on getting yourself to feel good fast, just contact me.

A very special thank you, to my friend Chris Griffith of Life in Bonita Springs for the photos in my blog!

So, apparently I cannot count… here are 4 NOT 3 ways to begin to feel better.

by tessbrennan

Pico de Gallo–Our weekly version

Pico de Gallo
I use this stuff on EVERYTHING! It is important that we increase our raw veggies so we have more fiber in our diet and raw so we haven’t cooked the nutrients out of them!

I like to make a big batch once a week and then eat it on everything from omlettes to burgers, chicken, anything else that could use some relish or some kick!

Pico de Gallo

  • 3 good sized tomatoes (preferably organic – I prefer big uglies) Sliced and diced very small.
  • 1 large onion minced or diced very fine
  • 2-4 jalepeno peppers minced. (this can be adjusted to your liking, we also use our organic, home grown chili peppers for this as well.
  • 1/2 a large bunch of fresh cilantro (leaves only) minced up

Mix it all in a big bowl and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour for the flavors to meld.  FABULOUS stuff!

Stores well in the refrigerator for a week to a week and half. I eat it on everything!!!

by tessbrennan

Simple Movement can make a BIG difference!

Just give it a try!

Walking_Visual_-_Feel_Good_Fast

Contact me for more information on getting your 180 to better health started today!

by tessbrennan

Movement is Key to Sustained Good Health

When my health was at my worst, my depression its worst, was when I was not moving. I was in a spiral and things just kept getting worse, until I chose to begin moving.

I moved a little at a time and gradually increased my duration and intensity. Today, I am a walker. (I don’t run, Zumba, or cross fit, I just walk and make smart healthy choices.)

Today, I want to offer to you, the choice to begin dancing like no one is watching.  Whether that is on the dance floor all night or just in the comfort of your own living room, or at the beach…

Once the movement begins, the healthier choices begin, the spiral makes a 180 and you discover more energy, fewer aches and pains, and in my case no more pharmaceuticals. (I’m down 55 pounds and off 6 prescription meds for good.)

If you’d like more information on how to Feel Good Fast then subscribe to my blog, or contact me to get your health 180 started.  We can get you facing in the right direction and help you to Feel Good Fast too!

by tessbrennan

I want to Feel Good Fast

A few tips on how to begin to Feel Good Fast.

In today’s society, everyone wants everything FAST! NOW! IMMEDIATELY! LIKE YESTERDAY!

If your goal is to Feel Good Fast there are a few things you can do to begin getting there.  Here are a few tips.

  1. Focus on what is good.  No matter how tiny the detail. Focus on SEEING what is GOOD.  Allow yourself to let the not-so-good pass away.
  2. Think about what you are putting into your mouth before you put it there. 
    • dirty hands – wash them, its cold and flu season
    • junk food – there are better fast food options
    • soda pop – water, herbal teas, even A cup of coffee is better
  3. Think about Moving. Move your body, begin making a conscious decision to take the stairs one floor rather than the elevator.  Park 2 spaces farther from the store. Walk to the mailbox and back TWICE.   Just get moving.  Add a bit more to your daily grind, and make it a pleasant choice – NOT a requirement. 
  4. Invite friends to join you in the journey.
  5. Be patient, you didn’t get to the place you are over night, it takes time to get out of shape and develop degenerative diseases, and time to get that health back.
  6. Ask for help. We are here to support you through:
    • Support Groups
    • Education
    • Personal Consultations
    • Resources

Power of 7

Contact me for additional information on how you, too, can begin to Feel Good Fast