Time for some Detox

I am taking the next 5 days to detox. I will be eating and drinking ONLY "liver friendly" foods like leafy greens, cabbage and green tea to stimulate cleansing enzymes and getting enough fiber to get my digestive system functioning at it's peak. I will start with lots of healthy juices, such as vegetable juices (made at home) to provide ample nutrients while flushing the body and after 2 days of that will add in clear consommes and other detox friendly foods. (I posted my favorite recipes at the bottom of the blog.)
Why detox? It’s about cleaning up. Toxins enter your body through the air, water, conventionally produced foods, chemicals in cleaners, plastics … and the list goes on. Over time, these toxins build up in the tissues, organs, and blood faster than your natural cleansing organs (the kidneys and liver) can handle. That’s when your body benefits from an intentional boost: a detox. This kind of cleansing program can be anything from a full-on fast to a light eating plan that includes lots of vegetables and whole grains with nutrients that help your body eliminate toxic elements. Hard-to-digest proteins, fats, and refined-flour products are minimized, and sugar is all but eliminated to give your body a break from this nutritional pitfall. I am a healthy eater normally with a plant-based diet so I usually cleanse for one to three days. But after all of the jelly beans I ate over Easter, I feel five days will be perfectly sufficient. If your diet is less than healthy, a cleanse can be maintained with no ill effects for up to two weeks; even at its longest, it’s not harmful. When detoxing, you’ll soon find that you feel lighter and you’ll probably lose weight in the bargain; afterward, you’ll likely feel more energetic.

All the recipes here can be used at any time of day. I typically start with juices for a full day, then move to the consommé and solid food, with Detox Green Rolls as a refreshing snack any time I need an energy boost. And remember, any cleanse is temporary; before long, you’ll reintroduce foods like whole-grain breads, avocado, lean protein, olive and other oils, all worthy elements in a richly flavored and healthy diet.

All recipes are Vegan.


Green Rolls
Serves 6

After detox, add some good fats with a strip of avocado in each roll.12 long, thin carrot spears (1 carrot, peeled)

12 medium leaves Chinese (Napa) cabbage (14 ounces), rinsed and left whole

12 medium leaves collard greens (14 ounces), rinsed, stems removed

1 bunch watercress, rinsed, stems trimmed

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Zest from 1 lemon

Dressing

2 tablespoons flaxseed oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons hempseeds, chia seeds, or ground flaxseeds

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and separately blanch each vegetable in the order listed. Cook each until just tender (carrots, 1 minute; cabbage and collards, 30 seconds; watercress, 10 seconds); remove with tongs. Immediately plunge each into ice water to stop cooking. Drain well.

2. To assemble rolls, place 2–3 collard leaves on a bamboo sushi mat or tea towel. Top with 2–3 cabbage leaves. Then place a thick strip of watercress and 2 carrot spears on cabbage, closest to you. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and lemon zest. Roll, jelly-roll style, using the mat or towel as a guide. When completely rolled, squeeze gently to expel excess water and to seal the roll. Lay on a dry cutting board and slice crosswise into 1-inch-thick rounds; arrange on a serving platter.

3. Whisk together dressing, adjusting salt and pepper to taste. To eat, dip each roll in sauce and seeds.

PER SERVING: 82 cal, 55% fat cal, 6g fat, 1g sat fat, 0mg chol, 3g protein, 7g carb, 4g fiber, 71mg sodium



Daikon and Shiitake Consomme
Serves 4

This clear, hydrating broth is a great starter course for any meal, so keep this in your repertoire even after your detox is over. Deeply cleansing and relaxing, this delicate soup keeps your body at its peak.
You can add chile spice or cayenne to this soup to stimulate circulation and intensify your cleanse. Just a scant pinch while the soup is cooking does the trick. To make a heartier meal post-detox, add edamame, cooked brown rice, or tofu cubes. 4 cups filtered water

1/2 red onion, thinly chopped

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh daikon pieces

4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until tender, thinly sliced

1/2 cup finely shredded green cabbage

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Low-sodium soy sauce, to taste

3-4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1. Place water and onion in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add daikon, shiitake, cabbage, and lemon zest. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 7 minutes. Season lightly with soy sauce and simmer for 3–4 minutes more. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

PER SERVING: 22 cal, 2% fat cal, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 0mg chol, 1g protein, 5g carb, 1g fiber, 13mg sodium



Carrot Salad with Sesame Seeds
Serves 2

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons tamari

Pinch of white pepper

3 large carrots, peeled

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1. In a small bowl, combine ginger, oils, vinegar, tamari, and white pepper. Whisk to blend.

2. In a food processor, shred carrots. Drizzle about half of dressing over carrots and mix in parsley and sesame seeds. Serve.

PER SERVING: 118 cal, 53% fat cal, 7g fat, 1g sat fat, 0mg chol, 2g protein, 12g carb, 4g fiber, 237mg sodium


I have more recipes if you're interested in detoxing.
Thanks to Christina for the recipes. christinacooks.com

DIRTY OLD MEN

First off…FRIENDS…how do I know that you are reading my blog IF YOU AREN’T FOLLOWING ME! On Wednesday, 6 of you contacted me wondering why I hadn’t posted a blog in two days. It’s because I didn’t think you all were reading it! Silly people. Simply click “follow” and follow the directions. You won’t regret it! I promise!

Okay, let’s get down to business.

This blog is for all of you DIRTY old men who go to exercise classes and work out in the back of the room. HELLO!!! There are mirrors. We can see you staring at our butts!! Knock it off!! You’re going to have a cardiac arrest!! If you put as much energy into your workout as you do gawking, you wouldn’t be so fat!!!

Wow! I feel much better!!

Belly Fat! Let's get rid of it!

Having a flat belly or so-called "six-pack abs" is a dream for me and most of my adult friends. If you're middle-aged, have ever been pregnant, or sometimes indulge in too much food or one too many beers, you probably have a spare tire you'd like to get rid of or in my case, that little pooch on my lower abs that won’t go away no matter how many core exercises I do. So what's the best strategy for banishing belly fat? Is it as simple as adding certain foods to your diet, or doing particular exercises? I did some extensive research on the subject, maybe because I’m obsessed with this subject since I seem to have no control over my lower abs who won’t poke the last two-pack through and it’s making me crazy! I’m not giving up!! Anyway, here’s the scoop.
Flatter Abs (or at least a four pack since the last two in the pack never seem to make their way back if you have a uterus that has been filled once, or more, with baby)
Don't despair; you can lose that spare tire. But, so far, there's no secret formula that I could find.
"There is no magic bullet, diet plan, specific food, or type of exercise that specifically targets belly fat. But the good news is belly fat is the first kind of fat you tend to lose when you lose weight," says Michael Jensen, MD, a Mayo Clinic endocrinology specialist and obesity researcher.
Whether you're an "apple" shape with excess belly fat, or a "pear" with wide hips and thighs, when you lose weight, you'll most likely lose proportionately more from the abdominal region than elsewhere.
"Ninety-nine percent of people who lose weight will lose it in the abdominal region before anywhere else -- and will lose proportionately more weight from the upper body," says Jensen. (boobies are the first to go…that’s God’s sense of humor at work!…Thanks Eve!)
And why is that? Visceral fat, the kind tucked deep inside your waistline, is more metabolically active and easier to lose than subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have plenty of it. And the more weight you have to lose, the more quickly you're likely to start losing your belly fat, People who are significantly overweight may see quicker results in their belly than someone who has less to lose in that area.
What to do about it?!?!
A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a calorie-controlled diet rich in whole grains trimmed extra fat from the waistline of obese subjects.
Study participants who ate all whole grains (in addition to five servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy, and two servings of lean meat, fish, or poultry) lost more weight from the abdominal area than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains.
Eating a diet rich in whole grains while reducing refined carbohydrates changes the glucose and insulin response and makes it easier to mobilize fat stores.
When you eat refined foods (I told you all about this food in a previous blog) like white bread, it triggers a series of events, starting with elevated blood sugar levels followed by an increased insulin response, which can cause fat to be deposited more readily. But eating a diet rich in whole grains… (Haither, it doesn’t have to be in the form of wheat)… (which also tend to be higher in fiber) helps improve insulin sensitivity. This, in turn helps the body more efficiently use blood glucose, lowers blood glucose levels, and reduces fat deposition.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommends that half of your grain servings come from whole grains.
Eating whole grains exclusively may be difficult and unrealistic for many people so work toward consuming more whole grains, which satisfies hunger for longer periods and helps you eat less than refined grains. (do I need to blog refined foods or do we all understand that?)
A recent diet book called The Flat Belly Diet posits the idea that you can lose belly fat by eating a 1,600-calorie diet rich in monounsaturated fats.
Most people will lose weight on a 1,600-calorie diet. And there is little question that when it comes to choosing fats, the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAS) found in avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, soybeans, chocolate, olive and canola oils are among the best choices, with proven health benefits, such as reducing the risk of heart disease.
But these are not magic foods capable of targeting belly fat. While the MUFAS are healthy fats, they are still fats, with nine calories per gram -- more than twice that of carbohydrates and proteins, which have four calories per gram.
Fats have to be controlled! It’s easy to overeat nuts or guacamole -- which can undo the health benefits by packing on the pounds. Remember…everything in moderation!
How to flatten those abs
Hundreds of crunches each day won't flatten your belly if you need to lose weight. If your abdominal muscles aren't covered with excess fat, strengthening them can help you look tighter and thinner. But spot exercises won't banish belly fat.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you must eat a healthy, have a controlled-calorie diet and get regular exercise -- around 60 minutes a day of moderate activity, like brisk walking. And the harder you exercise, the more belly fat you may lose. Jensen suggests that people who engage in high-intensity aerobic exercise tend to be leaner around the abdomen.
Why is it important to lose belly fat? Carrying around extra pounds in your midsection is serious business. Extra weight in your midsection is more dangerous than fat around your hips and thighs, as visceral fat is worse for your health than the subcutaneous fat that sits under the skin. Extra weight around the midsection is associated with inflammation and a higher risk of health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and more. According to a recent study in Circulation, belly fat appears to boost inflammation (I read an article on body inflammation this morning before my exercise class. Very scary deal. I may blog on it in the future) and is linked to hardening of the arteries. (My wonderful, dear sweet sisters...read this again! We are all at risk, genetically! This is a big deal!)
Beyond the body mass index (BMI), http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/, waist circumference has been touted as a simple and reliable test to measure health, weight status, and hidden fat.
To assess your risk, use a soft tape measure. Lie down and wrap it around your natural waistline, located above your hip bone and below your belly button. Take the measurement without holding your breath or holding your stomach in.
If your waist is larger than 40 inches (for men) or 35 inches (for women), you have too much belly fat and are at risk for heart disease and other conditions. And one of the best things you can do for your health is to lose weight.
So what's my bottom line about belly fat?
Most scientific evidence suggests that a calorie-controlled diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meat, fish, eggs, and poultry is the foundation for a diet that provides all the nutrients you need while helping to whittle your waistline. (do not make exceptions! Keep the sweets and processed foods out of your mouth!!! Always!!!)
The real secret to losing belly fat is to lose weight on a balanced, calorie-controlled diet and exercise at least an hour a day. Get that heart-rate up. Don’t be afraid to sweat!!

For ab exercises, go to u-tube and search "ab exercises" and do what they do. Or I can blog my ab exercises everyday but I'm not putting them on video :) Whatever you want.

What's in my pantry?

My favorite girlfriend came over last night to drink some wine with me. A bottle later she gets a "genius" idea that I should bake something. While I'm pulling ingredients out of my pantry, smarty pants decides to comment on the contents in my pantry, noticing that there isn't a drop of unhealthy food in the entire kitchen (except for my nieces birthday cake in the freezer that hasn't been touched since her birthday party over a week ago). She then informs her children and myself that I will be doing the grocery shopping for her family from now on. Lovely. Not that I wouldn't love to do the shopping for her, but...NO. Instead, I'll blog it for you, my wonderful friends, so you can have a base-line for your own healthy cooking. Here is the contents of my pantry when it is fully stocked. Everything is organic if possible. (Let me remind you that I do all of the cooking from home. We do not eat out.)

This includes all the items you need to prepare healthy recipes plus a few other ingredients that will make unplanned meals easier.

Oils, Vinegars & Condiments
· Oils: extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil
· Trans-fat-free margarine
· Vinegars: distilled white, cider, red-wine, balsamic, rice
· Dijon mustard
· Ketchup
· Barbecue sauce
· Reduced-fat mayonnaise
· Reduced-sodium soy sauce
· Prepared pesto
· Salsa
· Hot sauce
Seasonings
· Salt
· Black pepper
· Dried herbs and spices: ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper, rosemary, thyme leaves, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning blend, tarragon leaves, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, garlic salt, onion powder
· Vanilla extract
Canned Goods & Bottle Items
· Canned tomatoes, tomato paste
· Reduced-sodium broths
· Canned beans: cannellini, kidney, chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
· Canned lentils
· Chunk light tuna and salmon
· Rotel
Grains & Legumes
· Assorted whole-wheat pasta
· Regular and instant brown rice
· Whole-wheat couscous
· Regular and quick-cooking barley
· Bulgur
· Rolled oats, quick oats
· Dried lentils
Baking Products
· Whole-wheat flour and whole-wheat pastry flour. (Store in the refrigerator or freezer.)
· All-purpose flour
· Baking powder
· Baking soda
· Unprocessed wheat bran
· Quick-rising yeast
· Cornstarch
· Brown sugar
· Granulated sugar
· Honey
· Wheat Germ
· Cocoa
Nuts, Seeds and Dried Fruit
· Walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, almonds
· Dried cranberries, raisins
· Peanut butter (natural)
· Soy Nuts
Refrigerator Basics
· 1% or skim milk
· Soy Milk
· Reduced-fat sour cream
· Fruit juice
· Large eggs
· Cheese: sharp Cheddar, feta, Parmesan, mozzarella
· Nonfat or light vanilla yogurt
Freezer Basics
· Frozen fruit
· Frozen vegetables: edamame (soybeans), broccoli, corn, bell pepper-and-onion mix, peas, spinach
· Low-fat ice cream, frozen yogurt and/or sorbet
· Frozen cheese ravioli or tortellini


Try this recipe for Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil and Salmon. My family loves it!

Ingredients
1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti pasta
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons capers
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the salmon from the pan.

Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the spaghetti mixture and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place 1/2 cup spinach in each bowl. Top with 1/4 of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately.

What exactly should I be eating??

Answer:
1.) Eat food. Not edible food-like substances
2.) Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. Your body starts craving the additive corn syrup therefore wanting more sweetness, fats and salts. Food processing induces us to eat more than is good for us.
3.) Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in their pantry. ~ethoxylated diglycerides ~cellulose ~xanthan gum ~calcium propionate ~ammonium sulfate
4.) Avoid HFCS. A highly processed food product. Is a sugar substitute. Still counts as sugar.
5.) Avoid foods that have some form of sugar listed in the top three ingredients. The ingredients on a label are listed according to heaviest weight. Sugar is sugar even if it’s a sweetener. Even if it’s organic, its still sugar…stay off top three.
6.) Avoid food products that contain more than 5 ingredients (this doesn’t include a recipe). However, chips are chips and ice cream is still ice cream. They may have 5 ingredients or less but lets use common sense and avoid these types of foods. (Pick your own healthy number. I shoot for 5)
7.) Keep ingredients simple. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third grader cannot pronounce.
8.) Avoid food products that make healthy claims. They’re usually packaged anyway and more than likely processed.
9.) Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the term “low-fat” or “non-fat” in their names. Sugar and salt amounts are usually boosted to make up for lost flavor. Therefore, the carbs are increased and can contribute to weight gain. Americans have been eating more than 500 additional calories per day since the 70’s campaign of “low-fat”, most of them in the form of refined carbs like sugar.
10.) Avoid foods that pretend to be something they are not. ~Margarine ~non-fat cream cheese (missing either cream or cheese which means added processed ingredients!) ~ soy based meats ~ artificial sweeteners ~fake fats and starches
11.) Avoid foods that you see advertised on television. These are healthy marketing ploys. Advertisers tend to be part of the rich, corporate America looking to sell cheap food-products. These food products are usually highly processed for shipping purposes and long shelf lives.
12.) Shop the peripheries of the Supermarket only and stay out of the middle. These outer perimeters usually contain produce, meats and fish, and dairy. Only get whole foods.
13.) Eat foods that will eventually rot. Processing extends the shelf life. Exception…honey. Don’t eat immortal foods.
14.) Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature. This will keep chemicals and food-like substances out of your diet.
15.) Get out of the Supermarket when you can. There is no HFCS at the local farmers market; no unpronounceable ingredients, no old food that’s been shipped in from far, far away sprayed with preservatives. What you will find is fresh, harvested foods picked at its nutritional peak. The kind that is alive and will eventually rot.
16.) Buy your snacks at the farmers market. ~fresh dried fruits and nuts, not chips and sweets.
17.) Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans. Corporations tend to use too much salt, fats, sugars…preservatives, colorings, and other biological novelties. Also, they tend to aim for immortality…that’s including restaurants.
18.) No foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap. Think about it…
19.) If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.
20.) It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
21.) If it’s called the same name in every language, don’t eat it. ~Big Mac, Cheetos, Pringles, etc.

Putting the sizzle back!

If I blog in the evening, chances are pretty good that I'm going to blog about sex. If it's morning, it'll be about fitness and if it's afternoon, it's going to be about nutrition. Time should help you filter through my blogs! It's seven o'clock at night. I'm blogging about sex.

Ladies, lets talk about the amazing power that we, as females, have the bedroom. If we play our cards right, our men will burst into flames in the middle of our rooms.

Men are simple. Give them sex, they’re happy. Don’t, they aren’t. Oh…that sounds so easy doesn’t it. For men, it really is. For women, it’s not so much

Let’s look at it like this. Men aren't going to notice your little pooch or your extra cushion on your cushion if you are confident and in control of situation. If you’re aggressively giving your hubby a blowjob, trust me, he is not thinking about your cellulite!

All women have some sort of insecurity holding them back when it comes to sex. I have spent the past year or more talking to women of all ages and situations and have found that there are two main reasons why women aren’t having sex. It comes down to the art of the female.

Excuse Number One: Insecurities with their body.
100 percent of the married women that I spoke with were insecure about their bodies. LADIES!! THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE! GET YOUR BUTT TO THE GYM!! You don’t have to make a huge deal of it at first. Start simple. Start by taking a class once or twice a week. Walk on the treadmill. Do some crunches. Turn it into a habit, and increase your exercise routine gradually. Don’t start out with this ridiculous, unrealistic expectation of losing 20 pounds in a week then give up when it doesn’t happen. Shaping your body takes time and lots of discipline. Stick with it. Besides, it’s YOUR body. You only get one. Take care of it! Not just so you feel comfortable in your own skin but because you want to live a long, healthy life. My motto in life is to do the best you can with what God gave you. Don't hide behind your insecurities. I have more confidence in myself knowing that I actually do try to do the best with what God gave me, even if it’s not perfect. And, trust me. A man will notice confidence above all else!


Solution to excuse number one:
Don’t use excuses. Excuses are for the weenies. Suck it up and do something about your insecurities. Go to the gym, get a bikini wax, get your hair done, get laser surgery if you believe in it, you can even do exercises at the gym that make your “sisters” larger and perkier (that’s another blog for another day). Whatever the insecurity is, don’t let it hold you back! Attack it!! (If you need help attacking it, I would love to help you and hold you accountable! I’m all about women with confidence! Wait, does that make me a partial feminist?? Hmmmm…. )

Excuse Number Two: I don’t really like sex. I’ve got too many other things to do.
FOR REAL?!?! Listen to me!! The more you have sex, the more you want it! If you haven’t slept with your husband in six weeks, no wonder you don’t like it. You FORGOT what it was like! Sex is NOT a chore. It is a gift! What other things do you have to do that’s better than an orgasm???? Can’t think of anything??? Didn’t think so! The dishes can wait. The kids will be asleep at some point. If not, call the neighbor, pull up pbskids.org and let them go to town, have them color a picture for grandma and grandpa. It’s not like you need two hours. Too tired?! Suck it up. You won’t be tired once your desire kicks in!

If you still don’t like it, try getting a little creative. Attend a “Slumber Party” or any other in-home party where professionals show you the latest sex toy, “how-to” book, or tingly lubrication. This will not only broaden your horizon with the pleasure market, but it will get you comfortable with talking about “sex things”. It may even turn you on a bit. But, knowledge is power, my friend! I read a book once on performing oral sex fifty different ways. I memorized a few at a time and then tried them. Holy Smokes! My husband was beaming for three months straight. I paid very close attention to what he liked and what he really liked and logged it away for future reference. These small things will make a huge difference in your marriage. We will talk more about slumber parties and sex toys in another blog. That’s another week’s topic for another time!

Solution to excuse number two: You may not like sex because it’s probably been a while or you’re just plain bored. Get after it! YOU provide the good sex, don’t wait for him to do it!

Still not enough?? Here is some research that I’ve done on women and the loss of their sex drive.

While male sex drive is easy to define -- and relatively easy to restore -- that's often not the case for women. Because the female sex drive is multifactorial, the desire to make love is not only influenced by physical issues, but emotional ones as well.

Part of the desire to make love is clearly physical, but part is also emotional – depression can make a difference, so can any emotional issue in a woman's life; female sex drive is very multidimensional.

While emotions are frequently behind a loss of sex drive in younger women, doctors say it is frequently the aging process itself that's causes changes in desire in women over age 45.

"The very fact that a woman is no longer ovulating regularly, or not ovulating at all, automatically takes her sex drive down a few notches," says Steven Goldstein, MD
Estrogen is a mood elevator, it works in the brain to maintain interest in sex, but it also works at the level of the genitals, helping to increase sensation and just making sex more pleasurable.Without it, she says, not only can desire take a dive, vaginal tissue begins to dry and shrink. As a result, intercourse can become uncomfortable, or even painful.Who wants to make love when making love hurts?
Avoiding sex because of pain only leads to more pain. The old "use or lose it" theory really does apply.

While estrogen levels are important, the latest research shows that the male hormone testosterone also plays a role in a woman's sex drive. Though present in only tiny amounts, some doctors say it's the seasoning that makes her sex drive sizzle.
Moreover, when levels become erratic, as they do at midlife, that sizzle can fizzle fast.

"There are a lot of physical reasons a woman can experience a decrease in sexual desire. But for many women who are otherwise healthy, a drop in testosterone that occurs at midlife is the reason," says Braunstein, who is one of the nation's leading researchers on testosterone treatment in women.
Complicating matters further, studies show that sometimes the very treatments women such as low-dose birth control pills -- can actually disrupt desire by robbing the body of testosterone.

"When these hormones are taken orally, they are metabolized by the liver, which in turn puts out a protein that binds to testosterone, causing a deficiency," says Braunstein. This, he says, can also be true for younger women using birth control pills for contraception.

Just because your sex drive is different, doesn't mean there is something wrong or that you have to try and fix it. If less sex isn't bothering you, your partner, or your relationship, more power to you.

Ladies! Let’s make our men happy. Have sex with them. If you have a logical excuse or even a not-so-logical excuse, deal with it! Fix it! Our jobs as wives is to make our husbands happy. Even if they don’t deserve it all of the time, hold up your end of the bargain. And once a month doesn’t cut it! I’m talking about a few times a week. Embrace your power as a woman! Enjoy it! Don’t be afraid to switch things up a bit. Do some research. Make it a priority. They’ll never know what hit them!

For more information on women with low sex drives due to medical or emotional disorders, see the following website.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/sexual-health/womens-sexual-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100186622

"Fast Food Diet"...Really?...Fast Food Diet??...Come On!

Let me introduce you to Dr. Stephen Sinatra, MD. Stephen T. Sinatra is a board certified cardiologist, nutritionist, and anti-aging specialist specializing in integrative medicine. He has written or contributed to more than a dozen books on cardiovascular health, nutritional supplementation, and nutrition, and he has appeared on national radio and television broadcasts, including CNN’s “Sunday Morning News,” XM Radio’s “America’s Doctor Dr. Mehmet Oz,” and PBS’s “Body & Soul." He is also the author of the monthly newsletter Heart, Health & Nutrition.

Dr. Sinatra caught my eye while I was doing some research. We are both extremely critical of refined sugar, which he has called “public enemy number one when it comes to heart disease, not cholesterol.” He believes the surges of insulin that occur when too much sugar is consumed create a “yo-yo effect” that, over time, damages the inner lining of the blood vessels. He also believes that sugar is linked to the proliferation of cancer cells. Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before Its Too Late (Wiley, 2006)

That being said, Dr. Sinatra, author of "Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before Its Too Late" (Wiley, 2006) wrote, released and bizarrely marketed a book entitled, "The Fast Food Diet—Lose Weight and Feel Great Even If You’re Too Busy to Eat Right" (Wiley, 2006).

Is it just me, or has Mr. Sinatra created a contradiction asking for ridicule.

I went to webmd.com recently and did a search for "The Fast Food Diet". As you can imagine, there was a lot of controversy, which I will cover shortly, but first I would like to mention the irony of the advertising that was on a page analysing Mr. Sinatra's book. Under Sinatra's last phrase "Healthier food choices lead to a healthier you. Begin making a difference today", there was a sponsored link entitled "Is there plaque building up in your arteries?"

With that, let's dissect this nonsense.

Essentially, The Fast Food Diet is a six-week guide for making the healthiest selections from virtually every major fast-food restaurant menu, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks. The book also includes tips for choosing healthy foods from mall food courts, sit-down restaurants, airports, and convenience stores


What You Can Eat...
Dieters can enjoy grilled chicken sandwiches, chili, baked potatoes, fruit parfaits, and even junior burgers on The Fast Food Diet. But don't think for a minute that french fries or sodas sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup are part of the plan. In fact, if you follow The Fast Food Diet plan, you won't get many unhealthy trans fats -- fried foods are not allowed.

But you may not miss them. Sinatra offers suggestions for healthier substitutions for fast-food favorites, along with easy tips for reducing fat and calories while still enjoying a diet primarily from fast-food restaurants.

For example, choose vinaigrette salad dressing instead of ranch for a savings of 130 calories. (Use less of the dressing and you save even more calories.) Order seltzer with lemon instead of a sweet soda, and you save 310 calories. Forget mayonnaise and special sauces, and you can save up to 170 calories per sandwich.

The Fast Food Diet also includes some simple recipes for nutritious meals that can be prepared in 15 minutes or less, as incentives for busy folks to eat at home rather than hitting the drive-through.

How It Works...
The plan is as simple as following the recommended food and beverage choices (totaling about 1,500 calories daily), and walking a mile a day"Shave 250 calories per day from your food intake and walk a mile, and the result is a deficit of 500 calories daily or about a pound of weight loss in a week. What could be easier than that?" says Sinatra.

If you consistently follow his plan, you could drop around 50 pounds in a year.
And you won't be hungry, according to the author. By making smart choices, dieters
can have their cake and eat it, too.

"Substitute a grilled chicken sandwich on a whole-grain roll, topped with lettuce and tomato, without the mayo, and you have a satisfying sandwich with fewer calories than the super burger," says Sinatra.

The truth is that it's difficult to meet the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2005 Dietary Guidelines when you eat all your meals at fast food-restaurants.

So Bonci suggests using The Fast Food Diet as a guide to making the best choices when you eat at fast-food restaurants, while always striving to eat more fruits, vegetables, salads, and whole grains. And to make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need each day, include a few home-cooked meals each week.
"When you prepare meals at home, you know exactly what ingredients are in your meals, and can control calories and fat and increase fruits, vegetables, add fiber and whole grains much more easily," says Bonci.
Bonci also reminds dieters that cutting back on sweetened beverages is an important part of the equation.

"There are so many empty calories in sweetened drinks and sodas that if dieters cut back on these beverages alone, they could easily trim calories for successful weight loss," she adds

For best results, use The Fast Food Diet plan to make the best choices at fast-food restaurants, and supplement with healthy meals at home.

Says Bonci: "The secret to making any diet work is sticking with it and making compromises that will add up to weight loss. Use this guide to navigate the choices at fast food restaurants, be very selective, and it will trim calories."
Need some incentive? Keep in mind that not only will weight loss make you feel better about how you look, but, more importantly, can improve your health by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain forms of cancer, and other chronic diseases.

I'm completely baffled. Here are some things that I would like to put in opposition as food for thought...not fast food for thought!


- Fast foods are filled with empty calories. Therefore they have the ability to make you fat without giving your body any of the nutrients it needs. So, even though you are putting in fuel, your body is not going to get the desired results.

- Instead of making you feel energetic and chirpy, eating too much junk food simply makes you sleepy and slow. In a study involving school children, researchers have found that kids who ate takeaway meals more than thrice a week actually dropped their scores in tests!

- Eating too much junk food can make the body insulin resistant and can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

- Since fast foods contain excessive amounts of calories, a regular diet of fast foods can lead to serious weight gain. This in turn leads to a number of health complications like coronary diseases, high cholesterol, stroke and high blood pressure.

- Fast foods are rich in food additives. Many of these food additives like MSG are very harmful for the body and can lead to long term health problems including cancer. Since these foods are rich in sodium, they can lead to associated health problems like disabilities and even premature death.

- This kind of food can cause liver damage.

- These foods contain little to no fiber. Therefore a diet rich in fast food can lead to elimination problems. Chronic constipation can lead to many problems like flatulence, bloating and weight gain.

- High volumes of these unhealthy foods can even kill your sex drive - now, that you don't want!

- The worst thing about this kind of food is that it's addictive. The food, the comfort, the instant high you get is really seductive. Therefore, eating too much fast food simply makes you addicted to more of the stuff.
Now you know why you should avoid eating too much fast food, don't you? What are you going to do about it? Healthier food choices lead to a healthier you. Begin making a difference today.

How To Quit Eating Fast Food!!!

First, you’ve got to realize just how much influence fast food giants have over you.
The first step in becoming immune to their marketing prowess is to recognize their marketing prowess. If McDonald’s can conquer France (a country with a rich culinary history of beautiful slow food meals), then you’ve got to admit the company must be run by a brilliant evil genius. These industries spend millions of dollars a year researching tastes and textures, formulating food in laboratories with enough sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats to keep you addicted. Then they spend even more millions figuring out how to advertise and present these foods so that you won’t care that they never live up to their promises. By deciding to give up fast foods, you’re fighting Goliath.

Next, you’ve got to give yourself grace. Your goal shouldn’t be to give up all fast food forever. It should be to get out of the habit of eating it.

For further reading on healthy eating, stay tuned for future blogs and check these out in the meantime!

http://www.foodrenegade.com/marketing-food-to-your-kids/
http://www.foodrenegade.com/eating-real-food-on-a-budget/