I haven't written much about the way that we eat other than we make the choice to eat real organic food. Life-affirming food each and every day.

Today I would like to share some wheat-free living tips I have found useful! It is easier than you may think!
I say this because it took me a long time to make the choice to remove wheat, grains, and gluten. I thought it was going to be so hard to do and I would miss bread so much. This has not been the case.

I only know this because I have now been living wheat-free, grain-free and gluten-free for over 8 years. I began this part of my journey with a simple 30-day experiment. I made the commitment to myself to eliminate wheat and gluten for 30 days and then decide what the next month would look like.

The most exciting thing about this lifestyle change is in the first three or four days I began to see changes to how I felt. And food has never been such a joy!

After giving up the wheat, grains and gluten I felt so much better, feel great after meals, everything tastes are so much more amazing because of our real food, organic, pastured, grass-fed life-affirming meals.

Check out these wheat-free living tips for yourself

 Your body will thank you for switching to a wheat-free lifestyle.
 Choose a spaghetti squash to replace wheat pasta.
 Removing wheat-based products from your diet is a great chance to add in more whole foods.
 Don’t live in a fog anymore. Living wheat-free can help clear brain fog, acne and digestion problems.
 Wheat and gluten hide under many alternative names in foods, drinks and beauty products.

If you are going wheat-free/gluten-free be aware of them.

 Read labels carefully on a wheat-free diet. Wheat is found in soy sauce, condiments, ice cream, potato chips, rice cakes, and hot dogs. More info on the hidden sources of gluten https://health.clevelandclinic.org/spot-secret-sources-gluten-infographic/
 When switching to a wheat-free diet, introduce one new ingredient or recipe into your diet gradually.
 “I would classify the elimination of wheat as the most powerful tool for reclaiming health that I have ever witnessed” ~ William Davis, MD
 Coconut flour is a great substitute for wheat flour in baking recipes when used with almond flour. Don’t use more than 1/2 cup, though.
 How do you build a grain-free pantry? Fill it with whole foods like fruits and vegetables, and alternative flours.
 Dive into a wheat-free pizza like cauliflower pizza crust with yummy vegetable toppings and goat cheese
 Zucchini squash lasagna replaces wheat noodles with zucchini or pattypan squash.
 For a wheat-free hamburger bun, use large Portobello mushrooms as hamburger buns. Just grill or roast them first.
So, there you have it some great wheat-free living tips that I have used and found to be an excellent alternative to feeling crappy by eating wheat, grains and gluten.

If you are looking for alternatives to wheat and gluten you might like the Keto Bread Recipes http://bit.ly/2CO83da and Keto Desserts Recipes https://bit.ly/2VwdW8F

I hope you find them helpful. Share your wheat-free living tips in the comments area below!

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One of my favourite quotes to understand how vital eating real life-affirming foods are;

“You can't exercise your way out of a bad diet.”- Mark Hyman

You can take every available vitamin or supplement available, but nothing will ever compete with fresh, life-affirming real organic foods.

Having a healthy body is not about being thin. Rather, it's about having more energy and feeling awesome.

Your goal must be to feel good, be more energized and fight off diseases. You can do this by sticking to healthier meals.

Ideas to deal with cravings when you begin to take the steps to include much more life-affirming foods in your meals each day.

• Know your WHY. Why do you want to move toward a vibrantly healthy life? For me this began over 20-years ago when I watched my mother deal with having a fall, breaking her hip, lying in a hospital bed for 2 days for a full hip replacement and then 6 months of living in a rehab hospital to recover. I knew that night when I got the call to come to the hospital that if I didn’t change my life, my lousy eating habits, my couch potato lifestyle, being 100 lbs overweight, exhausted I would be my mother in a short 20 years. Today it is about 20 years from that night. I am healthy, vibrant, fit and I did reduce those 100 lbs and have kept them off all of these years later. Thanks to my mother and that evening in the hospital I have a WHY that keeps me going to this day. What is Your WHY?

• Occasionally, you may give in to some cravings and when you do don’t beat yourself up over the transgression. The idea is to begin to notice why you are having the cravings. What stresses are you living with that is taking you away from your WHY in that moment. You may give in to the craving and as you continue the journey eating more and more of your food that is life-affirming organic food cooked in your own kitchen with joy you will begin to notice that the cravings will decrease. When I first began eating higher quality food, I was a regular potato chip eater. They were my go-to craving food. Because I knew my WHY was to get healthy, reduce my weight and get fit it was clear that being a regular potato chip eater wasn’t going to cut it. But I craved them. So, in the beginning I decide rather than fight the craving and lose I would get the WIN. I would eat a few. I gave myself permission to have a bowl of chips rather than the bag. Over time that bowl became a smaller bowl. Then a handful. Well, you get the idea. Small steps to solid change.

• Find a healthy alternative to the junk food. Learn to appreciate whole foods that give your body life-affirming nutrients. This takes time to re-train your taste buds. Yes, you read that correctly. If you have been eating a highly processed, Frankenfood diet for a lifetime like I had there were many veggies I couldn’t stand to eat. Now, I can not even imagine not eating them. It took time. The biggest gift to all of this change in my eating a life-affirming real food diet is now the complete joy in eating from natures menu each and every day. All of our veggies come from a local organic farm. Delicious and amazing.

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Many people have this misconception that healthy eating means having to spend a lot of money on fresh, nutritious real organic foods. Totally not true!

While the thought of preparing delicious, healthy meals on a limited budget seems challenging, this does not mean that you have to buy substandard ingredients all the time. With these simple tips below, you can prepare tasty meals for your family on a regular basis.

Stop Buying Junk Food

Just because a bag of Cheetos costs less than a bag of apples it doesn't mean that you should go for Cheetos.

Sometimes people don't realize that the money they spend on junk food a.k.a. "food we can live without" could have been used to buy more nutritious foods.

Challenge yourself and do your groceries without passing by the processed food aisles and you'll be surprised how much money you are going to save.

Ditch carbonated drinks, candy bars, sugary cereals, potato chips and snack cakes and opt for healthier alternatives like rolled oats, plain yogurt, sugar snap peas and unsalted nuts.

Buy Inexpensive Proteins

Don't sulk if you can't afford to buy salmon or a nice cut of rib-eye steak all the time. Just reserve those for your birthday or anniversary. There are other good sources of protein out there that are less expensive and way healthier.

Some of the best proteins you can buy that won't hurt your wallet include ground beef, canned tuna (choose hook and line caught tuna), ground turkey/chicken when on sale or find a local farmer and share a box with a friend.

The thing is when you purchase pastured beef, pork, chicken etc. this is higher nutrient quality food and you will be surprised that less of these high-quality foods are really more.

Meaning you will eat less, get better nutrition from the food, and save money along the way.

For example -we purchased pastured chicken the other day. For 2 people this pastured chicken gave us 4-5 meals of delicious soup, 2 meals of breast chicken cutlet for dinner and 4 meals of the chicken leg for dinner and breakfast.

So, the purchase price of that chicken was $36.00 and if we count all those 10 meals the cost of that chicken per meal was $3.60 per meal. And we also had fresh organic veggies with each meal as well. In total, we might be looking at around $6.00 per organic meal cooked at home.

I go online and look at the price of a Big Mac Meal and it is $5.99 US dollars. What might the better choice be for your best healthy life?

OK, so I understand that you might say that I have to have the $36.00 upfront and that is hard to do sometimes. Without a question. This is where the planning comes in. Decide and plan ahead. What is the highest quality of food choices you can make? And then do that.

Think of your health and your food choices in the same way you take care of your car, your home, your expensive Smartphone, or Smart TV or name brand clothes. These are not investments.

It is always best to invest in yourself.

Practice taking small steps daily.

The Planning - Stock Up on Nutritious Foods Which Are Wallet-Friendly

Believe it or not, you can prepare gourmet-quality meals without the hefty price tag. There are thousands of recipes that you can find online that do not require you to spend a lot of money on.

Make sure you always have items in your kitchen that are easy to cook and budget-friendly like fresh fruits and vegetables, brown/black rice, dry beans, lentils, pastured eggs, pastured meat and wild fish (remember the highest quality you can afford).

Soups are a staple in almost everyone's kitchen because you can easily whip up a nice meal just by adding veggies and leftover meat. Watch out for promos and if you see any of your staple items go on sale, buy as much as you can afford.

What secret have you found to eat healthy on a budget?

Share your ideas in the comments below.

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You know that there is no cookie cutter solution to your best life, right? This got me thinking about dishes. 

The late family therapist Virginia Satir is reported to have done some research and found that there are more than 250 different ways to wash dishes.

Funny story about dishes. Many years ago, at the cottage, the dishes were done one way. There was no running water so we put a pail in the sink and then dumped the pail of dirty dishes water in another pail once the dishes were done.

The funny part was that the sink was a perfectly good sink and no reason not to do the dishes in it however until someone asked why we weren’t using the sink it never occurred to me to do the dishes in a different way than they had been done for years. From that day forward we never used the pail again.

This has changed how I think about doing things. If someone suggests a new way of doing something, I take a moment to think about it, realizing there isn't a cookie cutter approach to life and I might even experiment with their idea before deciding if it is something for me. And I always remind myself that there are more than 250 different ways to do the dishes as a way to practice keeping an open mind.

My point is simply this, although the majority of the people in your life will tell you otherwise, there are very, very few things in life that can only be done one way. All too often, we get into the habit of using the same method to address the same obstacle.

When using this logic on something simple, such as opening a jar, the process is usually successful time and time again.

However, when faced with more challenging issues that other people have unsuccessfully attempted to tackle, it is important to avoid taking the general opinion as gospel.

There will be times in your life where a new problem will require you to come up with a novel solution.

When those around you are all using the same tools and consistently failing, the same tool will probably not work for you either.

Try something different and get out of that cookie cutter way of thinking especially when it comes to your health and fitness.

Over the years I have experimented with different ideas around what foods are best for me to eat to feel my best. I realized that we are not all the same and that there is no one diet fits all. This has helped me to eat more intuitively rather than settling for a strict way of eating.

I began practicing intermittent fasting months ago. I like it.

There is lots of info on the benefits of Intermittent fasting and frankly, it was a challenge when I began.

More info on fasting here https://drjockers.com/best-intermittent-fasting-strategies/

Some days I fast longer than 16 hours because I am not ready to eat. Somedays I don’t fast at all because it feels like my body wants food earlier. Some days I eat less meat and some days more. Well, you get the idea, right?

The important thing is to find out what works for you. Now, junk food or Frankenfood must not be an option. A real organic food way of eating is the best option. Making the choice for pastured proteins and wild fish is a good option. Eat the highest quality of food available to you. Cooking your meals in your kitchen is a good practice because you know the quality of the ingredients in each meal and once in the habit, it can really be enjoyable.

The same goes for exercise. There are so many options when it comes to moving well.

Simply get out for a daily walk. Walking is one of our go-to forms of movement and yet it is not the only form.

We weight train, use kettlebells, bands, bodyweight exercise, body flow, Zumba, trampoline, hiking and we ride our bikes. You might find gardening a great option or yoga, mountain biking, skiing, martial arts for example.

Experiment and find a few solutions that you are happy with.

Practice daily and enjoy the process of finding what the best options are for you.

You might just find that your options are endless. Enjoy the journey.

Share your thoughts with us in the comments. ​

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“Mindset is a set of beliefs around what is possible in life.” – Tom Bilyeu

Cultivating a positive mindset can help you to feel happier, healthier, and more successful in life.

While it might seem easier for some people to have a more positive outlook on life, we are all able to develop a new set of beliefs and ultimately grow our mindset to be as positive as we want to be.

Over twenty years ago I was not in good health. I was a 100 lbs overweight, exhausted all the time, my eating habits were horrible in fact I outsourced my food intake to the local junk food shop almost daily, had little exercise in my life, poor sleep and stress was my middle name.

At that time I thought this was just how my life was going to be. Until the night that I rec’d a phone call that my mother was in the hospital and needed a full hip replacement. It was that night that I knew I needed to change, I needed to get my life in order, get healthy, lose weight, reduce stress or I was going to turn out exactly as my mother was that night. I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to make the changes necessary however I made the decision.

Mindset determines the quality of your life. And as I wrote above my mindset was poor and the quality of my life was completely in line with my mindset and I had a terrible lifestyle.

Here is the thing, what you think of as You is a complicated list of things:
• Beliefs
• Values
• Identity
• Frame of Reference
• In Born Traits – Physical and Emotional
• Repetitive thoughts
• Habits and Routines
• The Rules You Have In Your Life

There are 2 kinds of mindset, Fixed Mindset or Growth Mindset and once you can understand the difference in them and then learn and build a growth mindset while avoiding a fixed mindset you will have created the foundation to build any success that you want.

Believing in yourself is one of the most important things to understand and that your mindset is a vital piece into your perspective and perspective is everything.
The only belief that matters is that you can grow and get better. Once you can believe that everything unlocks for you.

This is exactly where I began. I decided that I would begin to exercise, and I borrowed a friend's Tai Bow video and started exercising 2 days later. When I started this Tai Bow program I could not do more than 10 minutes at a time. It took quite a while for me to go through the whole program. 

Mindset Matters because I just kept at it. Once that exercise program got too easy I joined a gym in my neighbourhood and workout there for many years. I continue to exercise daily and it is an important, joyful part of my day. 

I started to begin the practice of drinking water. Now, this may not sound like a big deal, but it was. At that time, I only drank caffeine. Lots and lots of coffee, and multiple bottles of coca-cola per day. I don’t think I had a glass of water in years. It was a hard thing to change my mindset on this one. Yet I had the belief that I could get healthier and this is what kept me going. I have not had a glass of cola in years and today I enjoy one coffee per day.

“Most people build their mindset by accident – it just happens slowly over time.” – Tom Bilyeu

It was that night in the hospital that I began the journey to build my mindset on purpose.

The idea is we have developed beliefs that might not have been our own when we were young and as we grow our mindset, we will endure and this is vitally important because life will throw many challenges at you.

Enduring each and every challenge will help you persevere and continue on and ultimately see things through to the end.

It has been years since I began this journey to grow and change my mindset. I am 61 years old, I have kept the weight off for years now, I am not on any prescription drugs, I live an active fit life, eat real organic food each and every day, I practice good sleep and gratitude daily.

Mindset is a subset of beliefs about what you are capable of and what the world really is at its foundation. Whether the world is working for you or against you all goes back to your beliefs and mindset about your life.

Are you working on your Growth Mindset or are in a Fixed Mindset state? Do you have the belief that the world is working for you or against you? Whatever you believe is exactly what is showing up for you.

The exact moment I made the decision to change my health life began to give me what I wanted more of. Courses showed up when I needed that information most. Life Coaching, Stress Management training, Personal Training, Wellness Coaching, Holistic Lifestyle Coaching to name a few. The article showed up for me and it always seemed like out of nowhere.

And I endured all the challenges, frustrations and more importantly all the adventures that have gone into improving my mindset and you can do the same. Decide on a growth mindset today.

Share your thoughts on mindset in the comments below.

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“Inch by inch it's all a cinch, by the yard it's hard. Go for it -- no matter how slow or long the process seems at first.”  ― Mardi Ballou
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When you want to change your life, it isn’t about the big, miraculous changes to your life. But instead the small changes, the daily habits, and the mindset shifts.

If you want to improve your life by improving your health and fitness habits or daily practices, here are some ideas that will help you get there, one small step at a time.

Daily health and fitness practices are not meant to be complex. They are nothing more than a selection of habits you do on a regular basis for your physical health, wellness, emotional health, productivity, and fulfillment.

Here are some ideas to simplify them so you don’t end up feeling more overwhelmed and stressed.

Be realistic with how much time you have and what is most important to you.

Simplifying your daily health and fitness practices doesn’t mean you have to cut everything out, but rather choose what is most important to you, and get rid of what is no longer serving you.

For example, if you feel like a failure because you have “do an hour workout” every morning before work, but almost never have time for it, stop adding this to your routine! Shorten your workout or move it to another block during the day.

Know Your Priorities

Begin by asking yourself the following questions.

• What is your biggest priority right now?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• Why do you want to simplify your daily routines?

Start here when figuring out what to include in your daily health and fitness practice, and what you must, therefore, leave out.

If you want to have a simpler daily practice because you feel overwhelmed, write down what you don’t like doing, don’t have time for, or just have lost interest in.

Start Slow To Develop Long-Term Health and Fitness Habits

If you are going from having virtually no daily health and fitness habits, to wanting a structured daily practice that you will enjoy, then you must start slow.

Pick just one or two things, to begin with, and start doing them every day until they become a part of your daily habits. Maybe the first week, all you do is make your bed every morning or drink a glass of water first thing when you get out of bed or get out for a morning walk.

The rest of your morning routine is up to you, however, make sure you always do that one thing you committed to.

Then, the next week, add a second task for the morning, like doing 5 minutes of stretching, sit in meditation for 5 minutes or write in your gratitude journal after your first practice from week 1.

Keep working on your daily health and fitness practices just a little at a time.

Imagine how many new healthy habits you will develop in a month and in your year if you make it a practice of making and sticking to new habits week after week.

Share your thoughts on habits and mindset changes you have developed over time

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Are you looking to find more inspiration to improve your life, or at least find some more satisfaction in your life?

This was me a few years ago. My mother had died, and I was going through the grief process and dealing with the stress of her estate. It was a sorrowful time and I was looking for some inspiration to move beyond the sorrow and stress to a more joyful life. I decided to do a few things to help me go through this journey and maybe these same ideas can help!

Go for a Walk to Find Inspiration in Nature

A really easy way to find more inspiration in your life is to head outside. Going for a walk provides some unique benefits, from enjoying fresh air and sunshine to helping the body move better to reduce stress.

There are fewer distractions, and you can often think in a different way when we are outside connecting with nature than when you are in the office or in your home.
You may not realize how great a walk can be for you until you do it. The fresh air, the new environment, and the clear mind put you into another mindset, allowing you to be open and ready for whenever inspiration strikes you next.

What I decided to do was find inspiration by practice noticing the beauty and humour of nature by taking a photograph each day of something I noticed.

The photos included flowers, statues, street art by the kids in the neighbourhood, a few coyotes, anything that caught my eye. Then I shared this photo on social media as a way to make myself accountable to get out each day.

Over that first year of walking, I took at least one photograph per day. That was 365 photos. The more I practiced this idea of taking photos the more I was inspired to take more photos and the more joyful it made me feel.

I continue with this practice of getting out for a walk a few times a week and take photos.

Surprising Benefits of Journaling for Finding Your Inspiration

My idea of journaling was to practice writing down my thoughts, feelings and dreams during my time of grief.

I found the first year after my mother died the best way for me to the journal was to write with pen and paper. At that time there was something powerful about the connection with my brain, feelings and paper.

Over time I have found that using an online journal is my preferred method of writing unless something comes up that is super stressful for me. Then I go back and deal with that particular life experience with pen and paper. It always helps me be inspired.
There are many ways to keep a journal. You can record the events of your days, write your gratitude each day, plan a vacation, analyze your dreams, or use a bullet journal to organize your life.

Journals can help you capture your thoughts and feelings or simply plot out your career.

As well as decluttering your mind, keeping a journal can have some surprising benefits to help you find inspiration.

1. Journaling helps reduce stress
2. Journaling can improve your mental health
3. Journaling improves your cognitive skills
4. Journaling helps you meet your goals
5. Journaling inspires creativity

I have found the practice of journaling is a private, safe space for me to explore ideas and feelings that I might not be ready to share with the world.

It has been a powerful experience for me that I only started as an adult and is something that I definitely recommend to anyone looking for inspiration to move through challenging life experience or if you want to make some big changes and not sure where to begin.

Where Have You Found Your Inspiration for Bettering Your Life?
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Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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It has been over twelve years since we were introduced to the idea of living more holistically and there has not been one moment when we have regretted diving in to make the changes necessary.

Moving well on a daily basis, eating real organic food that we cook in our own kitchen, expressing daily gratitude, eliminating as many toxic products from our home, using the best water that we can and hydrating well, focusing on good sleep (this is one area that we continue to work improving on) and we work on the balance between work and play.

Let me share with you a couple of ideas that you might consider for your health and wellness journey.

Maybe you are not sure why you might want to live a more natural and holistic lifestyle? Here are some of the ideas we believe make it a worthwhile practice:

Preventative medicine – Holistic living is often confused with never going to the doctor again. This is not true! Instead, it is more of a way to manage your health and prevent the need for conventional medicine. Our bodies are not pharmaceutical deficient and we must practice giving the body what it needs each day for good health.

Learning to live in a way to use the pillars of wellness to practice good health – move well, eat well, think well, hydrate well, sleep well and play well.

Fewer chemicals, additives, and artificial ingredients – The more natural you are, the fewer toxins, chemicals, and additives you are going to have in your food, cleaning supplies, and personal care products. You might be surprised how toxic most of these products are.

Overall wellness and health – Living a more natural and holistic lifestyle are not about being perfect, but instead just to improve your life. It is an amazing way to live a healthier life and work on overall wellness for your mind, body and spirit.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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The other day I was listening to a podcast with Sadhguru about the idea to stay active to stay healthy. Interesting person if you want to check him.

“Health is Life’s Way” – Sadhguru

This is one of the first things he talked about. We are supposed to live healthily and somewhere along the path, we forgot about this. Or maybe we have listened to the wrong experts.

In our Holistic Lifestyle training, we learn about the 6 Pillars of Health – Thinking Well, Moving Well, Eating Well, Sleeping Well, Good Hydration, Playing Well.

“Only by using the body, you can keep it well.” - Sadhguru and “The more you use it the better it gets.” – Sadhguru

Humans were at least 20 times more physically active 200 years ago than humans today. Most people today are underactive and struggle with health issues.

For those humans from 200 years ago that was 20 times more active we might suggest they take a rest for their good health.

Today the suggestion is we must use our body to keep them well. Moving more and moving more consistently is vital today for good health.

For your best physical health, you must, therefore, use your body more each and every day. This is simple.

Sadhguru went to say – “One of the simplest things about health is just to use the body.” And – “If you sufficiently use the body, the body has everything to create health for itself.”

Imagine if we just used our bodies the way they are meant to be used about 80% of ailments on this planet would just disappear according to Sadhguru. 80%

Now, the other 20% can be broken down to 10% of the food choices we make every day. The final 10% of ailments would remain.

“Out of all the sick people if 90% of them became healthy just by using their body and eating the right foods the 10% could be easily handled”. Sadhguru

Think about it this way. If you were to just use your body and move every day of a month you would see how well it works.

The idea is to practice moving well, thinking well, eating well, sleeping well, hydrating well and playing well and your health will come out of that practice. The challenge for most people is they quit way too soon.

“Health is not an idea, it’s not a medical idea” and the thing to realize “we are living in societies where we have built unhealthy lifestyles causing so many medical interventions.”

Because of our sedentary lifestyles, poor diets and lack of good sleep people are becoming more and more unhealthy

Some final words from Sadhguru,

• “Health is not something that you invent”
• “Health is not your idea”
• “Health is life happening well”
• “Health is life’s way”
• “If you allow life to function fully it is healthy”

So, I really found this information to be powerful, simple and I have have included some simple ideas to practice daily for your healthy lifestyle.

• Begin the practice of moving your body every day – begin by simply getting outside for a walk – Do this for 30 days and see how this practice makes you feel. And remember we can do anything for 30 days. Use this first 30 days to practice the habit of moving well. Once you have achieved that do another 30 days and repeat. You will be surprised what will happen for you with this healthy movement practice

• Begin the practice of eating well. Eat real food that you prepare in your own kitchen. Find the joy in making meals at home knowing exactly what you are eating to nourish your mind and body for your best healthy lifestyle

• Begin the practice of thinking well. Begin noticing what kind of thoughts you are having with yourself. A simple idea I learned a few years ago is to start by telling yourself – “I Am Enough” – This is a powerful thought that can be lifechanging according to Marisa Peer. Allow yourself to think that you are enough to feel healthy. Think that you are enough to eat the best food possible for you and know that organic is always best. Think you are enough to allow yourself to think good thoughts each and every day for your best life

• Begin the practice of hydrating well. Drink clean filtered water each and every day. Eliminate all the junk sugary drinks including pop, juice, energy drinks etc.
• Begin the practice of getting good sleep. Sleep is the forgotten or ignored pillar of health. Many people use their sleep deprivation as a badge of honour. Get to bed earlier, 10:30 PM is a good time to be in bed, sleep in a dark, cool room.

• And finally begin to practice playing well. As adults, we forget that it is OK for us to enjoy time doing the things that bring us joy. If you haven’t played well in a while this is an opportunity to try new things that you have wanted to do for a while.

Now you don’t have to do all of these things at once. Start with moving well and because most of us eat 2-3 times per day practice eating well with at least one real food meal in this first 30 days.

Practice this for 30 days and once you have the practice and habit of moving well and eating at least one real food meal a day add a new practice. And repeat.

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Today we are going to share how you can practice the deep squat for your best healthy life.

You see, this morning I was out for a short 19 KM bike ride in my neighbourhood. It is a beautiful day and I wanted to get some good movement practice in as I began my day.

Nice weather, sunshine and practicing moving well is something I plan for most mornings of the week.

As I was moving through the neighbourhood I went by a home where an elderly man was cleaning a few weeds from his beautiful garden.

Now this man looked to be in his late seventies or early eighties. One minute he was bent over pulling some weeks and the next minute he was down in a full squat. I was blown away. I had to turn around and go back to him and tell him how amazing he was being able to squat like that.

Why?

You do not want to undervalue the importance of being able to squat as you age because being able to squat becomes so important to do everyday simple tasks like getting out of a chair, getting off the toilet or just standing up which make it easy to undervalue the importance of being able to squat.

A number of years ago I realized that I was not able to do a full deep squat anymore. With years of sports injuries that never quite healed properly and a back that just wasn’t working well, I just could not squat. And I have always had a good squat up until that time.

I then read a blog post from Ido Portal on the importance of the deep squat and he had a 30 full squat challenge. Here is the blog post for the 30-day deep squat challenge if you want to practice this good movement for yourself. http://placeofpersistence.com/30-30-squat-challenge-by-ido…/

I took action. The squat challenge was to begin the practice of deep squatting every day for 30 minutes. Turn a timer on every time you went into a deep squat and off when you stopped the deep squat until you reached the 30 minutes.

Well, the first few days it was only seconds that I was able to stay in a full deep squat before I had to stop.

And happily, over the 30 days of practicing consistently each day and working on increasing the time I was finally able to deep squat for 30 minutes continuous.
This was a real eye-opener for me that if we practice good movement consistently, we can improve and feel healthier.

At 61 years old I continue to practice the deep squat. I am now practicing floor movements as a way to continue to stay healthy and strong.

What good movement are you practicing consistently to get and stay healthy?

Share your thoughts below
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If you are at all interested in practicing a holistic approach to life, then consider reducing toxic chemicals. Today we are living with so many toxic chemicals in our homes, personal care products, make up to name a few.
 
Here are some different ways you can reduce chemicals, including in your cleaning products, skincare products, and even your food.
 
 
You Don’t Need Fragrance
 
Alright, you might be as shocked as I was when I learned how toxic perfume is.
 
 And one of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of unnecessary chemicals in your day to day life is by getting rid of fragrance.
 
 In most cases, it really isn’t necessary.
 
Think of all the products you use each day that contain fragrance, which does nothing more than make things smell a little better for a very short period of time.
 
Do you really need them?
 
For example, the spray you use to dust your wood furniture probably smells like lemon or orange. Here is the link to the EWG.org site - https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/1395-pledgefurniturespraylemonclean/
 
This is an added ingredient that does not have a good grade on the ewg site, and also not necessary.
 
Fragrance is often found in skincare products, cleaning products, laundry detergent, and so many other items that don’t need fragrance. And once you get in the practice on not using these harsh smells you might just be delighted how much better you feel.
 
The other important thing about fragrances is the impact on other people. I know myself that the overwhelming smell of perfume, laundry soap and the dryer sheets is something I struggle with every day.
 
It is shocking when I am out for a walk and the toxic smell coming from homes doing their laundry polluting the environment and the neighborhood.
 
And think about it, that fragrance sits on your skin all day every day if all your clothes smell like the perfumed laundry soap or dryer sheets. It just isn’t necessary.
 
You can read more about toxic laundry soap here https://www.cleancult.com/blog/is-laundry-detergent-actually-toxic/
 
 Use Natural Cleaning Supplies
 
Speaking of cleaning your home, you can use natural ingredients to clean more efficiently or purchase over-the-counter natural and organic cleaning products. This is a great way to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals you are using.
 
In our Holistic Lifestyle Coaching program, we learned earlier on that many of the home cleaning products are toxic. We made the decision to get rid of the worst right away for our best health. And we understand that this is a personal choice.
 
So, instead of throwing away all your current cleaning products just to buy new ones – which is not good for waste reduction – start slow. When a cleaning product runs out, such as your all-purpose cleaner, just look for a more natural option or use natural cleaning ingredients like vinegar and baking soda.
  
Check Your Makeup and Skincare Products
 
We began using Certified Organic Personal Care products in 2008 and continue to this day. It is important to look at the ingredients of your makeup, hair, skincare, and beauty products. These might also contain some added toxins or chemicals that are unnecessary to help with your personal care routine.
 
Some ingredients to look for include sodium laureth sulfate and parabens. These are not going to improve your skin and hair, and in most cases, are completely unnecessary. A lot of companies make more natural and organic products if you are not interested in making your own from home.

Learn more about toxic personal care and make up here: https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals-avoid/
 
 Choose Organic Foods Whenever Possible
 
As far as what you put into your body, you want to choose organic real food as much as possible. This is going to reduce waste and allows you to support your local farming communities. When choosing foods from the grocery store, look for organic produce, don’t choose anything pre-cut as it contains extra plastic containers you don’t need, and make it a practice of not using  anything canned or boxed unless it has 5 high quality ingredients or less for your best holistic lifestyle.
 
Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
 
Have you considered reducing toxic chemicals in your practice of better health?

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If you have fitness goals and you are not progressing, you must figure out if you are procrastinating or you lack a clear WHY.

Taking the time to learn your WHY will help you to move forward with your fitness goals and stay out of feeling bad that you are procrastinating.

Whatever the reason may be, it is important that you figure it out WHY you want to include the practice of fitness in your life, so you can begin to move forward in achieving your fitness goals and put a stop to procrastination. This is a great place to be.

There are times during the week where the last thing I want to do is exercise.

My WHY gets me moving each and every time.

My WHY became clear to me many years ago when I watched my mother go through an emergency hip replacement and the months that it took her to recover.

I knew that night that if I didn't take control of my life I would be my mother in 20 years.

Happy to say it is now 20 years since I created my WHY and it has changed my life.
When I am stressed out and not wanting to go for a walk, once I am home I feel like a different person.

I have been able to improve my health, vitality and my energy and reduce my weight by 100 lbs keeping it off.

It feels great to know that I kept my commitment to myself to get and stay healthy by eating real organic food, moving daily, resistance training and more all because of my clear WHY.

Do you have a clear WHY? 

Get in touch with us if you have questions and be sure to let us know how we can help.

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Share your thoughts below.

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