Secret to Wellness #3 – Nourishment

Let me start off with a funny story…

When I first got to Hippocrates Health Institute, I would pile my plate so high at every meal. One of my first days there, I sat down next to a gentleman who immediately inquired, “this is your first week here hu? I replied with asking him how he knew that.

“Well, I’ve been here a few times and love to observe all the new guests. What I’ve noticed with them and with myself is that the first week your body is still detoxing and getting used to all of the nutrients its getting. All the guests who are in their 3rd week have much smaller plates.”

I quickly looked at his plate which was about the 1/4 of mine and smiled. Part of me didn’t believe him that I would require less food as the weeks went on but he was right.

The Third Secret to Wellness – Nourishment

In all possible circumstances, we really want to make the best choices and eat the most nourishing foods we can get our hands on.

Whenever we eat anything, our cells start searching for all the things they need to thrive; vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc. If we are not supplying those important nutrients with the foods we are eating, we will continue to be hungry until we do.  We end up gaining weight because our body is constantly searching for nourishment in order to achieve optimal wellness.

At HHI, they believe that alkaline, enzyme rich foods are what we should be using to fuel our bodies every chance we get. This includes:

• Sprouts
• Organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds
• Green juices
• Blue Green Algae
• Wheatgrass
• Reliable Supplements

Sprouts are really the cornerstone of the HHI program and twice a day we were blessed with an abundance of green juice, drinking to our hearts content.

This nutritious beverage was made with 50% sunflower and pea sprouts and 50% celery and cucumber.

The amazing thing about these juices was that if I made sure to drink just 2 – 8oz. glasses twice a day, I really wasn’t hungry. It was truly unbelievable! It was actually difficult for me to eat the meals. No joke! Especially if you are used to being hungry all the time, to think that these green juices can sustain you for hours sounds almost like a miracle.

Nourishment is not only obtained from what we eat.

Nourishment in the form of love and support is really instrumental in becoming healthy and in your weight loss efforts. It begins with self love. Often we think that if we are taking time out for ourselves we are selfish, but there is a huge difference between being selfish and self love. It’s also equally as important to surround ourselves with people who support our healthy choices.

So what can you do?

I’ll be spending more time going into the specifics of different ways you can nourish your body in future posts, but for now, one of the easiest way to get the most amount of nutrients to all your cells in the quickest way possible is to juice or make smoothies. And you don’t need sprouts to do that either.  There are many great recipes out there. One of my favorites is Make Juice Not War by Kris Carr. You can find that recipe HERE. If you don’t have pea sprouts, you can omit them and it will still pack a nutritious punch!

I also just tried the Sweet Greens from her new book, Crazy Sexy Kitchen and found it to be exceptionally good. It’s a little sweeter than what I’m used to but perfect for those just starting out. And it holds up in the refrigerator really well too so you can enjoy it throughout the day. And if you are pressed for time, there are great green juice companies out there. If you haven’t already, make sure to read my review of Generation Juice.

Naturally yours,

Marisa

p.s. If you have any questions about juicing or about Hippocrates Health Institute, you can contact me HERE. Also, if you found this article useful make sure to “like” and “share” with your friends.