Last week I participated in a great event called Ladies Who Launch, it is a group of women that have gathered to help other woman launch their dream business. It is such a genius organization filled with tremendously inspired and inspiring woman. I spoke about my book HEALTHY LIVING FROM THE INSIDE OUT and my personal journey and was overwhelmed with the positive response. Women that are movers and shakers are so eager to live healthier happier lives today. When I merely gave them permission to take care of themselves first and be nice to themselves & that it would actually be a tremendously empowering thing for everyone in their lives there was a palpable sigh of relief. “I can take care of me, still get my job done and not piss everyone off?” and my answer is yes. Caring for yourself first is the only way to help others. So today in my fall blog I am addressing many new readers of my site.

Firstly Someone from LWL mis-heard me, I think, about my husband’s cancer…I said that we battled his cancer through the concepts in Healthy Living From the Inside Out. We took a holistic approach and absolutely did not fall prey to any doctor’s terminal diagnosis. Zeem (my hubby) is in remission for four years now and he is happy and super healthy. Sorry if I poorly communicated that FACT.

When someone does the thirty day program from the book, especially an obsessive personality, this book is designed for you because I am (or rather I can say was) an obsessive and addictive person. I had to figure out how to do things so that I wouldn’t trigger that obsessive quality in myself. The key is going slow not making big statements of, “I am changing everything I eat, do, feel and say in my life.” Instead “I am changing my breakfast and taking a twenty minute walk today” etc… Start there…start small a place where you are not throwing your life into upheaval. The very nature of the book is to get away from the all or nothing approach to life. Another Key is anything you do well or badly (what you think is bad) don’t make it wrong. Just see it and say “I ate crap for a snack, so be it. I did it and that is that”. Label it and see what it is you are doing and be done with it, and make no judgment one way or another. Don’t make it a bad thing otherwise it will always come up in your mind and create a road block to making good choices. And if you have lost track of your good health use the same principal…see it as done and move on, make a different choice for that moment. Our loved ones put pressure on us to stay the same because our human animal nature doesn’t really like change. So if you are taking care of yourself and it creates tension in the home don’t take it personally, they will love you and benefit from your staying on course, everyone wins from you being good to yourself.

Someone asked me if there is someone I emulate and I wouldn’t say I emulate anyone in particular. I think it is important to be open to many ideas and incorporate a variety of spiritual and health ideas into your life. Those ideas and paths come from so many we come across in our lives. The important thing to remember is that we need to follow our intuition, we need to learn to rely on it as healing tool that is just for us. We have gotten away from who is the best guide in the world for us and that is YOU and our personal connection with God or The Divine (something that is “bigger than me”). I have a spiritual guide and others in my life that I admire and absorb information from. I am so grateful for their help, but when it comes right down to it, I am the only one that really knows what serves me best. When your life begins to really feel good is when you embody the person you are and realize your powerful connection with the Spirit inside (and that Spirit has all the answers for you) you begin to live your best life possible.

I am not a psychiatrist or doctor but I know that, for me personally, taking care of my life through the principles in the book: food home exercise and silence, I have enhanced my mental well being. I have all the genetic coding that would, if I were not so driven towards health, lead me to a life of depression or worse. I know that lifestyle plays a KEY role in dealing with our sense of happiness and well being. That is not to say that serious mental problems should not be addressed with pharmaceuticals but one needs to address our habits as well. In regard to worrying about whether or not you should tell your kids about the mental health of your family? I am a believer that knowledge is power. I have always told my girls everything. I want them to know that they need to look at their lives differently because of my genetics and family history of suicide addiction and depression as well as cancer and heart disease. It has meant that I have warned them that drugs and alcohol will likely have an enormously detrimental effect in their lives as a catalyst for mental depression or even suicide as was the case for many members of my family. My being honest with my girls has been instrumental in them being uninterested in drugs and alcohol. Depression is so prevalent in most families and the fact is we need to be open and talk about it because the only way we can prevent it is by communicating with others about this important reality.

Bravo to the woman who beat breast cancer with HEALTHY CHOICES…I commend you!

Sugar is an addiction and the reason is it is, it reacts in the system just like a drug. It raises insulin and causes you to want more sugar. Just like with alcohol it raises seratonin in the brain so for a short time so we feel good then we are dropped like a bad habit and we feel like crap. It is simple; sugar is the first thing that cells eat and it is also the first thing that gets stored as fat. It sends the wrong message to the brain that you want it and screws up the hormone leptin’s signaling to the body about metabolism and satiation. It just is a deceptive way to make us feel like a victim to our food. If you can limit sugar and treats to once or twice weekly then you will overcome your addictive nature. I believe it is a place where one needs to find discipline to stay away from sugar on a daily basis and make sugar a treat. That is when you have learned moderation and then you begin to feel great about yourself!

If you suffer from an eating disorder and you are scared to give it up because you think you will gain weight. I understand this completely. Eight years ago I had to begin eating fat and protein on a regular basis and I was freaked out because it sent my body into a healing crisis and I gained weight. Not a lot, in fact to my friends I didn’t look different but to me it was horrific. I thought I looked obese and I was terrified and I mean terrified that I would lose control of my body altogether. Here is the real issue… the whole thing was about control. The fact is that I had to learn to give up control. I needed in that time to know that my body is intelligent and that when you make what is going on wrong the healing is slow and full of suffering. But if you see what is happening label it (and don’t make it wrong) then your body finds it’s healthy ground again, hence your body will find it’s perfect weight naturally. You have to trust that your body is doing the right thing for you and that giving up the old habit is crucial for your health. If I had known that all I had to do wasto accept my body’s intelligence and let it heal then my suffering would have been a quarter of the time. The more I made myself wrong and hideous in my mind the worse my weight and body was for me. When I learned about acceptance, labeling what was happening and how I felt, without any judgment, just feeling then I was fine. My body since has never been anything but just right for me.

If you’re struggling with ten pounds and do all the right things here are some things to check into: are you eating too much dairy? Dairy for women is almost always fat gaining. Are you eating too many high carbohydrate nuts such as cashews? Are your nuts raw? Oil roasted nuts are bad for you and cause fat. Are you eating too much protein? Too much is bad, moderate is great! Are you really eating no sugar? Sugary processed carbs or even whole grains are fattening. Do you eat any gluten products? Gluten causes weight gain and body aches, frankly it is bad for you on every level so check out the labels. Finally are your hormone levels good?

Speaking of hormones…I have mentioned bio-identical hormones and I believe in them but I do believe that your practitioner must be good. I do not think that what I do is the same as Suzanne Somers it’s my understanding that she does one protocal for her age group and I think I follow a different system. I think finding a good bio-identical endocrinologist is a good idea. I am not sure that is an easy task but I do believe there are naturopaths and endocrinologists that are very good with bio-identical natural hormones so check it out.

My solution for TMJ is Sacral occipital therapy SOT which is a form of chiropractic that address the jaw and the sacrum and it has been life changing for my jaw and back problems. Personally this works best for me it is not the hippest form of chiropractic treatment but it makes the most sense for me. It basically teaches your body how to adjust itself, therefore empowering you to heal yourself over time! I am always first to be the concert master in my own health so I love it!

If you love my dogs they are Maltese and I love them too. They come from different breeders.

You can buy MBT’s through Bliss spa or MBT.com

A green Halloween is genius!!! How did you do it?

My Blissquits recipe will be on line as soon as the cookies are on the grocery shelf and they are coming soon.

It is cold season and a great way to prevent colds is with a nedi pot. You pour a saline solution into your nostril and it flows out the other and it clears the nasal passages of germs. It has saved me many a cold.

I didn’t vaccinate my girls and it is important to have a holistic doctor back your decision as this can cause a lot of controversy for many parents and in schools. You need to feel supported but I am sure there are others whom too don’t feel vaccination is good for there kids so look to your community for support.

I smoked socially a bit and then I realized it gave me get a headache. It is so bad for you and the issues to look at are…. what is the smoke screen that you are putting up? What do you want to avoid? Those are the questions I addressed and when I realized what it was I was trying to hide, the desire just dropped away.

Green sauce:

Basil

Spinach
yellow mustard

Kalamata olives and the juice

Olive oil

One Sweet leaf stevia packet.

I have no recall as to exactly how much of each but I will say a lot of spinach and basil a 1/4 to 1/3 a cup of olive oil, ten olives and a splash of the juice, then squirt a lot of french’s yellow mustard in it and the Stevia packet and taste after thoroughly blended.

LAST BUT ABSOLUTELY not least…a young girl named Mariel wrote to me and I am thrilled because you are the first Mariel I have known that spells it our way. I am honored to share the name with you!!

journal, your letters