Secret to Wellness #4 – Movement

“Movement is a medicine for change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.”  Carol Welch

I hate the word exercise because it often brings with it a negative connotation. Something that is hard, draining, boring and just something awful that most people, including me at one point, would rather just avoid!

I like the word “movement” better because that is what our body was designed to do; move.  When you think of it like that, it doesn’t sound so bad. It should sound like something that hey, maybe you might even WANT to do.

Variety of Movement = Variety of Benefits

It’s important to try and get a variety of movement into your routine because each one brings it’s own benefits.

Stretching: challenges the tissues, ligaments, joints, and circulation, allowing the natural flow of blood and elasticity.

Aerobic – Increases oxygen intake. Endorphins are secreted from the systems, helping with depression and giving you an overall blissful feeling.

Resistance – Building and strengthening of the skeletal and muscle systems, preventing osteoporosis. Also helps to burn more calories.

Additional Benefits

Weight loss

Work out frustrations from life challenges

Increased energy

Increased confidence

Improved sleep

Increased mental clarity

Better focus

Reduced stress

Reduced anxiety and depression

Greater sense of balance

At Hippocrates Health Institute, movement is an important part of the program and some of the things I participated in, included: mornings at the fitness center, many classes (like, yoga, stretching and resistance training), Qi Gong, bike riding, and my personal favorite… belly dancing!

The important thing is to find something you like and get moving.

There are so many ways you can move your body: swimming, walking, dancing, hiking, yoga, running, sports etc. Just keep trying different things until you find something you like and will stick with.

For me, I really hate lifting weight but I know how important it is to strengthen my muscles and bones, so I found a local gym with a very reasonable monthly fee and started participating in the different classes offered.

Also, don’t underestimate how beneficial seemingly little things can be. Parking your car further away from stores, and walking up stairs instead of taking the elevator etc. all adds up to help keep you fit and healthy.

Start Where You Are

Feeling discouraged because you have a long way to go? Don’t let what you can’t do, interfere with what you CAN do!  At HHI, I’ll never forget this one woman who couldn’t do much movement because of her illness, but every morning I saw her walking a few times around the pool.  She could have made up an excuse on why she couldn’t move, but instead she did what she could and went from there.

Lately, I had been feeling a little down on myself because I had stopped a running program I really loved and enjoyed a couple of years back. Then I realized that I was wasting time feeling bad about it and decided to just get up and going again. I signed up for a few 5k’s with a friend and enlisted help from my friend Joan who coaches triathletes.

Trust me, it gets easier. And with all of the benefits I mentioned above, why would you even consider living a life that doesn’t include movement?

What is YOUR favorite way to move? Leave comments down below. And if you enjoyed this article, please “like” and “share” with your friends.

Naturally yours,

Marisa

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.

Nourish Your Skin and Bring Back Your Glow

I’m pretty embarrassed to be showing you a few “before” pics of my face in this post, but if I can help you to realize how harmful some of the products you use on your face are, then it will all be worth it!

My History With Acne

Like most of us, as a baby I had beautiful, clear, smooth skin and rosy cheeks. It wasn’t until I got older that things really started to get ugly. In high school I never had horrible acne, but my skin wasn’t as smooth as many of my friends and I always felt self conscious about it.

I think I tried all of the over-the-counter acne remedies out there but nothing seemed to work. My face only broke out more.

In college, I came across Proactive and thought it was a miracle. Here was a product that really did help to clear up my skin. In the back of my mind though, I always was a little weary about using it because I noticed that whatever chemicals were included, were bleaching my face towels. Something told me that it wasn’t really a good sign!

I also intuitively knew that I shouldn’t have to rely on a product like Proactive to keep my skin clear. Whenever I stopped using it, my face would break out again. If my body was working properly, my skin would naturally be clear. Our skin is our biggest organ, and I think sometimes we forget that what we put on it is being absorbed into our system.

So one day I decided to just chuck the stuff and figure out how to nourish my body so that I could have clear glowing skin naturally.  It wasn’t an easy road though because my face really started to break out and I was tempted to go back to using it.

But I kept at it and started experiment with eliminating and adding in certain foods as well with using more natural face products. Here is what I found.

Results of My Experiments to Have Clear Skin

1) If I remove processed sugar, dairy products and especially gluten, my skin is better, but I also need to make sure I do not over do it on poorly combined foods like nuts and dried fruits. A few years ago when I was eating too many fruit and nut combination, my face became too oily and started to break out.

2) Stress is also a factor for me. When I have a hard time managing stress, it is more difficult to keep my skin clear even if I’m eating well and using natural products. It never gets as bad as my before pics though. Only the occasional blemish.

3) Adding in lots of fruit and greens in the form of juices, smoothies and salads helps to hydrate my skin and gives my body the nourishment it needs.

3) But by far, the biggest help has been eliminating the nasty chemicals I used to use, in the form of face wash, creams, blemish zappers etc. Once I removed all of those harmful products and began using natural ones, I noticed a HUGE difference!

It Truly Changed My Life In So Many Ways.

I have more confidence, am not spending money or time searching out acne solutions, and I know that I’m not just masking the symptoms. I’m getting at the root of the problem so that my face can have that natural glow.

If you have tried everything and your skin is still not glowing. Or if would like to learn more about the harmful ingredients that go into a lot of beauty products and  how you too can begin to take care of your skin naturally,

Check out Tera Warner’s Free 10 Day Natural Beauty Makeover.

Naturally yours,

Marisa

5 Secrets to Wellness Plus Back Stage Pass to Hippocrates Health Institute

A couple of weeks ago, Jennifer – a fellow Health Educator, and myself presented a lecture at Catch a Healthy Habit, an awesome raw foods cafe in Connecticut. The title of the lecture was the 5 Secrets to Wellness – A Behind The Scenes Look at Hippocrates Health Institute. Since we had such positive feedback, and I realized that I didn’t share as much about my experience at HHI this past summer with you as I had wanted to, I thought I would take the time to share some of the ideas presented in the lecture.

Today, I’m going to talk about the first secret and each week I will discuss a new one with you.

The 5 Secrets are what Jennifer and I felt were the most important lessons we learned after attending HHI for 9 weeks. Even though it’s not all about weight loss, if you follow these keys, you will most certainly have success with becoming healthier, and if you need to lose weight, that will be an added bonus. Plus, here at Dishing Natural, we are not just about helping you to lose weight, we want you to live a life of optimal wellness!

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Ok, so on to Secret #1 – Transformation

“The only thing constant is change.” Francois de la Rochefoucauld

We know that things are always changing and secret #1 is to accept and allow it. To flow with change and create change that is lasting. That last statement is an important one because many of us have been on countless diets or weight loss plans only to regain the weight. It’s important to see things as lifelong changes and not quick fixes.

The best thing that I did at HHI was not to go in with the mindset that I was going to be perfect with my diet and then to carry that perfection over to when I got home. Let’s be realistic now! BUT… I did arrive there planning to transform, and as a result I ended up transforming  in more ways than I was expecting. (More on that as I share the rest of the secrets)

It’s also important to look at the following 3 factors when it comes to healing and transforming the body: Physical, mental and emotional. Each one is equally as important, but sometimes one of these factors can be easily overlooked. Are you someone who eats impeccably well, but doesn’t move your body or engage in weight-bearing exercise? Or do you work out so that you can eat more? How about not getting enough sleep, or working too hard? We want to make sure that we are nurturing all aspects of our lives in order to be truly healthy and fit.

At Hippocrates, all areas of your mind, body, and spirit are tended to. Their life transformation program is 21 days because it takes 21 days to break a habit. What you will find at Hippocrates is support for your whole body and the power to achieve vibrant health and well-being.

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In the next post I will share with you Secret #2 and go into more detail into what is offered at Hippocrates Health Institute. In the meantime, if you have any questions about my experience or about the Life Transformation Program, please email me or post down below.

Also, if you know anyone who is suffering from a health challenge or you think would benefit from a trip to Hippocrates, please send them the link to this post, or “like” and “share” with you friends!

Naturally yours,
Marisa

Product Review: Raw Generation Juice

Green juices rock! There is just nothing that compares. When I’m feeling blah, green juices pick me up. When I’m sluggish, they energize and hydrate me. Knowing that I’m getting so many nutrients in an easy delivery system is priceless. That’s why when I read an article a few weeks ago about Raw Generation juices, I had to check them out!

Raw Generation is owned by Bill and Jess Geier, a father – daughter team, who found out about the amazing benefits of drinking green juices. Their mission is to share their passion for health and wellness with others by supplying the public with freshly pressed dark green leafy vegetable juices. You can read more about how they got started at their website www.rawgeneration.com

What makes Raw Generation juices unique is that they are made primarily from dark green leafy vegetables. If you are a fan of freshly squeezed juices like myself, you know how difficult it can be to find juices that are mostly green and not sweetened with lots of fruit. Juices get absorbed quickly into our system, so we want to consume more green juices because without the fiber, fruit juice can easily spike blood sugar levels. Also, leafy greens are full of immune building chlorophyll, very alkalizing, contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals and are high in protein.

When I saw that their optimum blend was made with kale, spinach, swiss chard, collard greens and wheatgrass, I knew that I had to try them. Besides the nutritional benefits, making juice can be time consuming and messy so it would be nice to have juice ready to drink right out of the refrigerator. I contacted Jess and she generously agreed to send me some of their juices to review at Dishing Natural. I was beyond excited to try them and couldn’t wait for my package to arrive.

On the website, it mentions that the juices are juiced and then flash frozen to preserve maximum value so I was curious as to how they were going to be packaged. My curiosity was satisfied last week when my package arrived and I found that they were packed in dry ice. Very cool, since I had never seen dry ice up close before. I was apprehensive because I didn’t know how to handle it, but it couldn’t have been any easier. All you have to do is use gloves to remove the bag and then place it outside where it eventually evaporates. You could say that I’m a bit of a science nerd, so again… very cool.

The only disappointing thing was that I needed to keep the juices in the refrigerator for 3 days to thaw, but let me tell you, it was totally worth the wait! Once I opened up my first one and tried it, I knew I was hooked.

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There are two kinds of Raw Generation juices, and my box contained 6 – 16oz bottles of recipe #2. It consists of 50% wheatgrass, kale, spinach, collard greens and swiss chard and 50% apple and lemon. Even though it contains high amounts of dark leafy greens, which can be a bit bitter, the small amounts of apple and lemon really elevated the taste to a new level. They were just sweet enough to make the drink taste great without it being too nauseatingly sweet.

And the best part is how you feel after you drink green juice; hydrated, energized, and focused. As I sit here writing this review, I’m drinking my last bottle and am already thinking about when I’m going to purchase my next shipment!

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Even though Adam and I make our own green juices because it’s optimal to drink them fresh, this is the next best thing. Raw Generation gives you the option to have someone else do it for you and because they are frozen, they will last for up to 6 months in the freezer until you are ready to drink them. Once defrosted, the juices will then last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. I think it’s a great idea to have a bunch on hand for those hectic days when your body is crying out for a juice, but you are pressed for time.

At first glance you might think that they are expensive, but if you think about it, it’s not much more than purchasing a daily cup of coffee, and much better for you. Or if you buy trays of sprouts, the cost of a tray is pretty comparable to a 6 pack of juices. To keep the cost down, only the wheatgrass is organic, but all their produce is homegrown and washed using a water and vinegar solution. You can visit their website to find out about their plans to make an organic line, as well as check out other FAQ.

So if you are looking for an easy, fun and no mess way to get your greens in, I definitely recommend trying Raw Generation juices. I’m already thinking about inviting some friends over for a mocktail birthday party in November. 

Naturally yours,

Marisa

p.s. If you found this information useful, please “share” and “like” with your friends!