the wonder food= weight loss, anti-aging and prevents disease

I am a huge fan of the olive, especially the Kalamata. I love the taste but there are many more exciting benefits to olives than just the flavor. Here are some of the miraculous benefits:

1. Weight Loss: Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat. Studies have shown that people who eat monounsaturated fat eat less. The "British Journal of Nutrition" published a 2003 Australian study of eight overweight men who lost a significant amount of body weight when on a diet high in monounsaturated fat as opposed to a diet they had been on that was high in saturated fat. In "Diabetes Care" a Spanish study published in 2007, they found that a diet rich in monounsaturated fat discouraged distribution of fat at the belly as compared to diets high in other fats like saturated. 

2. Beauty and Anti-Aging: The oil is not only good for cooking but women have been using it for years in the Mediterranean on their skin as an anti-aging moisturizer. The olive oil can protect the skin from free radicals and is high in vitamin E which is a great skin enhancer. You can also add olive oil to your lips for a shiny lip gloss. Sophia Loren claims olive oil as her beauty secret. 

3. Overall Health: Olives are full of vitamins and antioxidants such as Vitamin B1,2,3,5,6, E, K and beta carotene. All of these vitamins do great things for the body; they combat stress, create energy, enhance the skin and smooth wrinkles, fight free radicals, prevent cancer, strengthen eyesight, and bring overall health and wellness.

4. Herbal Remedy: Olives leaf can be made into a potent herb for healing. Olive leaf extract is an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It was the first medicinal use of herbs recorded in the bible. God sent an olive leaf to Noah by a dove after the rain. 

If you don't like the taste of olives, try olive oil but get this amazing fruit (yes it's a fruit) in your diet!

Stop the 3 "S's" for weight loss

Losing Weight is pretty attainable. Eat less and workout more. The unfortunate problem is that maintaining weight loss is not so attainable for many people. I've lost and gained more weight in my life than I'd really like to count. If a person focuses on changing habits and not losing weight quickly, then that person is much much more likely to keep the weight off. Do you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare in his quickness didn't win the race but the turtle even though he was slower crossed the finish line first. There are many promises of "get thin quick" but choosing healthy habits will bring long term weight loss. One of the best benefits of choosing health is being slim and trim. Stop chasing the benefit and go for a healthy life. Here are 3 "S's" to stop when choosing healthy habits.

STOP:
1. Snacking: We've been taught that to have a mid-morning or afternoon snack, to keep us from over eating at lunch and dinner. This is true if we do two things. One, choose a small portion; and it needs to be real food like a half a piece of fruit or 8 raw almonds. The sad fact is, people underestimate the calories in snacks and they tend to overdo, especially late at night. Snacking can add anywhere to 200 to over a thousand extra calories. That's fine if your are a body builder and you need the extra calories, but if you are trying to lose weight this will blow your plan daily. Your body will adjust to not snacking and then when you've reached your goal weight then you can reevaluate snacking and see if that's something that you want to add.

2. Sugar, refined. The average American consumes about 2-3lbs of sugar a week. Refined sugars like sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar) and high fructose corn syrup are being added to most foods in the American diet, such as ketchup, bread, peanut butter, chips, mayo, spaghetti sauce and a ton of other processed food. You have to make a conscious decision to avoid refined sugars or you will eat them without knowing. Sugar spikes your insulin, so after you eat it, you just get hungry again; which starts a vicious cycle. Spiking your insulin also causes your body to store fat. There are also scary health issues with eating sugar such as aggravated asthma, type 2 diabetes, mood swings, it increases the chance for high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, and refined sugar suppresses the immune system.

To clarify, I'm not saying take out all sweeteners in your life but become aware. Honey is a great sweetener full of minerals and nutrients. It still has calories so be careful about portions. Stevia is natural, has fiber and zero calories and best of all tastes great. Xylitol is used around the world to sweeten gum and mints (except the U.S.) and has great health benefits such as fighting tooth decay and it tastes great as well. You don't have to live a sweetless existence but know your sugars. Avoid all chemical sugar free substitutes too. Your body doesn't know what to do with it, so it processes it as toxins which is stored as fat.

3. Seconds. Choose to weigh out portions and then chew slowly when you eat. Going back for seconds can double your calories for that meal. If you eat slowly your stomach will register that it is hungry and you won't overeat. I hate this one because I am a fast eater. I really have had to make a conscious decision to put my fork down between bites and try to chew fifty times. Sometimes I make it to fifty, sometimes I don't, but I do notice that I take longer to eat and feel fuller at the end of the meal. Stop when you're still hungry if you need to. your stomach will catch up and signal to the brain that you've eaten and the hunger will go away after about twenty minutes or so. Enjoy and savor the meal in front of you and drink plenty of water when you are done eating.

It takes a while to develop a habit. There are studies that show that habits are developed somewhere between twenty one days and six months. Don't beat yourself up in the process, just don't give up either. Renew your mindset to live with healthy habits and you can excuse yourself from the yo-yo diet, the starve yourself and gorge lifestyle.

coconut oil not only great for cooking but for skin, weight loss and hair too

Over the last few years I have discovered coconut oil and its many health benefits. Many of the Health Guru's like Jordan Rubin and Dr. Mercola have been saying that olive oil is great on vegetables but too delicate for cooking, and suggest coconut oil instead. In fact Dr. Mercola says, "Coconut oil is the smartest oil you can use in cooking" and Jordan Rubin calls it the healthiest unprocessed cooking oil. I do all my cooking with coconut oil but here are some other great reasons to buy extra virgin coconut oil:

1. Hair: Coconut oil is one of the best nutrients for hair. I have tried it and it makes my hair silky.

2. Skin: It is a great moisturizer and delays wrinkles. Polynesian women have been using coconut oil for centuries as a great skin beautifier.

3. Aging: It's full of antioxidants and helps prevent degenerative diseases and premature aging

4. Metabolism: It increases the metabolism by taking stress off the pancreas, by burning out more energy.

Coconut oil also has a ton of other health benefits including lowering stress, aiding the healing process, is great for weight loss and best of all it taste great.