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Can Love Make You Thin?

Christine Sachse - Urban Mom   When I first started writing this article I thought I would add in a funny little intro, essentially making fun of how many calories I have read you can burn while having intercourse.  It was always such a high number that I was forced to ask myself if my bedroom play with my partner in life of over 10 years was a little less acrobatic than what these experts were claiming to be normal.  I just couldn't imagine what these people were doing to be able to burn 400+ calories.  I would have to jog, quickly, on a treadmill for at least 45 minutes to get that kind of burn! That said I did a little Googling on 'calories burned during sex' and found an incredibly precise website that actually measured the calories you burn not only during sex but it varied depending on the position used, the particular motivation you had to have sex and even the bed you were using.  Are you surprised that you burn the most calories while doing 'it' in a hammock?  No either was I.  All that said, I wasn't really planning on writing about sex.  The topic is not actually about calorie burn at all, and has nothing to do with sex.  The whole point of this is that in order to be slim you have to make love to someone unexpected - yourself.   And whether you are in a hammock or not while you do it makes absolutely no difference to your results! 

The reason the actual bed doesn't matter is that we are talking about the kind of love that doesn't actually burn calories but instead motivates you to not buy garbage food when you’re in the grocery, to exercise in a healthy way and to listen to your body’s intelligence; stopping eating before you are full and going to bed when you first feel tired.

Just drinking enough water and leaving work on time helps you manifest this love in your life too. It is really very simple to make love to yourself. You just do the things that will make you deeply happy. The side benefit is that usually these are the same things that make you slim and healthy. Each time you eat processed food, stay up late, work too long, don’t exercise or forget to drink enough water you are telling your body, “I do not value or respect you. I do not want to listen to the intelligence that magically heals my cuts and bruises and keeps me alive each day.” 

That continual lack of respect causes your body to feel rejected and unloved, which then triggers specific emotional and chemical responses. When we experience an emotion, hormones and neurotransmitters are released. In less than a second, the bloodstream carries these chemicals to every one of your 100 trillion cells, flooding your body with an emotional cocktail. When you experience a negative thought about yourself or decide not to act in a healthy way, the chemicals produced send a newsflash to every cell – and the headline is that you do not love them. This lowers immunity, rapidly increases physical aging and breaks down muscle tissue, slowing your metabolism. Ultimately this causes you to gain fat, look older than you need to and get sick - quickly. Quite the opposite of what you want!

In a nutshell, every positive thought has the power to make you slimmer. Most of us experience between 57,000 – 100,000 thoughts a day. How many of yours are positive?  

Happy Valentines Day to All of You!  Remember to love yourself this February 14th and enjoy all the side benefits that this type of love can bring!

xoxoChristine

Christine is a nutritionist, yoga instructor and personal trainer who specializes in weight loss and womens health at Four Forty Fitness for Women in Burlington, Ontario.  Check out the website at www.fourfortyfitness.ca

Posted at 08:28 PM in Team Urban Moms Nutrition Expert: Christine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: health, health, love, nutrition, self esteem, sex, weight loss, wellness

At Your Next Available Moment...Make a Safe U-Turn

Profile_pic_urban_moms  I am in the middle of running a group Detox and I have 22 amazing ladies (and some of their husbands) participating.  Each has put their time, energy, money and faith in me as their coach to guide, support and motivate them through this.  To better support them I always participate in the Detox myself so that I can send them my menu plans, empathise easily with their cravings and hopefully be a role model for them, showing them that this can be done...no problem.  Problem.  I got invited up north this weekend to a beautiful resort called Greenestone in the heart of the Muskokas (the indoor pool is shown below) www.greenestone.net GreeneStone_Muskoka_winter_wellness

You would imagine that this would be a beautiful place to spend a weekend, eating healthily and relaxing.  I had planned the menu so that I could easily stick to the plan (there were kitchenettes I made sure).  There were also kids with us of course so along with the salads and fish I brought along the ingredients for making pizza's and pancakes for breakfast (neither of which are on the detox). 

After a day of snowshoeing (that is hard work!), tobagganing and general outdoor fun we came in for dinner and I felt great.  We made pizzas, I ate my salad and fish.  Clean up time arrive and before I even knew what happened the leftover pizza was in my mouth and there was nothing more I could do about it.  I had failed.... The next morning came and as I prepared the pancakes for the kids I thought, I already went off track, may as well keep going.  But then a familiar voice came into my head.  "At your next available moment, make a safe U-turn."  It was my trusty in head GPS.  So I had gone a bit off course, this friendly voice was letting me know that I wasn't lost.  I knew where I was going, I just needed to get back on track.  And so I did.  It was just a wobble.  

Next time you feel yourself heading off course, whatever your goal, don't berate yourself, don't use it as an excuse to keep going.  Just reset your sights on your destination, and at your next available moment make a safe U-turn. 

Perhaps it is time you invested in your own internal GPS; an internal, impartial navigator to help you find your way, even in the tough times. 

Happy travels, Christine

Christine is a nutritionist, yoga instructor and personal trainer who specializes in weight loss and womens health at Four Forty Fitness for Women in Burlington, Ontario.  Check out the website at www.fourfortyfitness.ca

Posted at 12:48 PM in Food and Drink, health, Team Urban Moms Nutrition Expert: Christine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: coaching, detox, goal setting, health, nutrition, weight loss, wellness

Soulfood- Getting your mind right!

Andreapage_3  When we make bad choices we all know we dont feel as good. Being greatful is a choice to see the cup as half full , that in of itself is a choice. While it may be hard WE ALL know that there are some people , even in the most adverse circumstances still choose to live life  richly .But how? Are some of us simply wired differently?   One thing that we need to master especially in this culture of endless temptation is feeding our emotional selves properly.Soul food is the stuff that is good for your mind. For some people this may come in the form of religion for others others incorperating practises and boundaries that help them to feel good.

Just imagine for a minute that you thought more carefully about the stuff you put in your mind and spirit. You looked closely at content like television for example and looked at the shows you watched and decided to really think about how each choice of content served you. How about alcohol? ( of which I do drink ) Im far from a saint. It relaxes you but how do you feel after?

"Soulfood" is  veggies for your mind and what I call "holefood" is the doughnuts.....they taste good but dont have lasting value.

Taking inventory and tracking progress  the soulfood way is simple. Take a day once a month where you rate your actitivities throughout the day.

It can be as simple as brushing your teeth to your food intake. It can be the time you go to bed and the time you get up. Do this monthly . Why? Because an investment in removing yourself from autopilot will have the benefits of feeling better and being more productive and  serving your purpose.

Soulfood/Hole Food Inventory

Holefood  -5____-4____-3____-2____-1___+1____+2____+3____+4____+5  Soulfood

Make your list of daily activities from insginifigant to insiginifigant

This  list and judgement system are only determined by you. For example you might rate wine a +2 (sort of good for you activity and someone else's values may rate it a -5) that does not matter. You are your judge no one else. As you grow, evolve and get to know yourself better values may change. That is okay too!

Here is a sample list

Went to bed late /woke up late

Brush teeth

Ate eggs and waffles for breakfast

Drove kids to daycare and listened to news

Got to work had a coffee

Started day

Took call from angry aunt sally

Met a friend for lunch

Got kids after work

Made dinner

Gave kids baths

Worked 9-11

Did 50 situps

Watched news

went to bed


While obvioussly this list is random and is not an example of perhaps anyones day,it is just some items that can go on in a day and  if you look at them and acknowledge their value you may feel differently. You might think something that feels good needs to be done more often. You  also might question why you do some things at all and realize that you do have time for things you know help you to feel good.

Take great care all

Andrea


Andrea Page , is founder of Fitmom and www.newmom101.com  Andrea and the FITMOM company have worked with over 10,000 women nationwide during the childbearing years and beyond. Motherhood inspires greatness.

Posted at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Set Your Intention...Say It Out Loud!

Christine_sachse_urban_mom Perhaps you've attended a yoga class where at the beginning of class your teacher may have asked you to set your intention for class. What is it that you're wanting to gain out of your practice, a calm mind, a stronger body?  It is a wonderful way to find focus and centre yourself on the next hour.  Here is a thought...what about taking that concept off the mat and bring it into your daily life?

Setting an intention is like an archer aiming the bow directly towards the target.  Creating a clear intention for your day can be very powerful. Why not choose a simple one-sentence intention this morning, say it out loud, and then follow it throughout your day. It can be something like taking 5 minutes out for yourself today or cleaning the house.  Smiling more.  Exercising for 10 minutes.  Eating in moderation.  The choice is yours.  Whatever your intention is allow yourself to follow it. At the end of your day, take a moment and check in with yourself just as you would in class. No judgement, just check in.

Tips for Setting Intentions

  • say it out loud
  • be reaslistic
  • be positive
  • be hopeful and optimistic

Set your intentions and say them out loud!  

Have yourself a wonderful day!

Christine
 

Christine is a nutritionist, yoga instructor and personal trainer who specializes in weight loss and womens health at Four Forty Fitness for Women in Burlington, Ontario.  Check out the website at www.fourfortyfitness.ca

Posted at 08:09 PM in Team Urban Moms Nutrition Expert: Christine | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: intention, intentions, motivation, yoga

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