No gluten, no sugar… meh no… problem?

I’ve been trying to write this post for a few weeks now, but finding time to do much of anything these days has been kind of hard. Little man is 7 months old now and MOVING! Oh man is he moving…. and FAST! Can someone please tell him to stop growing up so fast 😉

So back to this no gluten/no sugar thing… no problem! Yeah right! Who am I kidding??! Changing how you eat is challenging enough, but being told that you can’t eat ANYTHING that you used to eat daily is even harder! I started a new health class about four weeks ago called Juvenescence and it’s all about getting your groove back and learning how to live a healthier and happier life.

Robin is our guru health adviser who is leading us to a new and better way of living.

About Robin Nielsen, NC, BCHN®, Growing Younger Expert

“Aging is not about aches and pains and disease. It’s about joy, fulfillment, and living life to the fullest.” — Robin Nielsen

Robin Nielsen is a Certified Nutrition Consultant, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition and is Founder of Juvenescence, LLC, helping her clients to “grow younger.” She is an in-demand speaker and educator, motivating thousands to improve their health with the right mental and physical fuel for optimum performance in all areas of life. She is co-founder of Sexy Younger You, past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Silicon Valley Chapter, and past president of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals. Robin coaches functional medicine health care practitioners on creating high value programs to reach more people with their healing approach and message. Robin has attracted media attention including feature stories, radio interviews and television appearances. She was featured on the CBS television program Eye on the Bay CBS showcasing her life changing women’s retreats. She is a Certified Schwarzbein practitioner allowing her to help her clients feel fabulous and grow younger through hormone balance.

In the first week we learned about what “eating clean” is all about and how to shop for organic & cage free foods. We are supposed to be eating whole REAL foods. Real foods? Real foods is anything that hasn’t been processed and stripped from it’s natural state, i.e. white flour, pasteurized milk and so on.

Let’s recap – living a healthier life and being a better YOU means that we have to cut out all the crap that we’ve been feeding ourselves over the years. Basically we need to retrain ourselves how to eat.

What you CAN eat:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com

I’ve modified this list as the program I’m on does not allow most of the things 100 days of real food’s site allows such as dairy, sugar substitutes and wheat.

1. Whole foods that are more a product of nature than a product of industry
2. Lots of fruits and vegetables (we recommend that you shop for these at your local farmers’ market)
3. Seafood (wild caught is the optimal choice over farm-raised)
4. Only locally raised meats such as pork, beef, and chicken (preferably in moderation)
5. Beverages limited to water,  green tea and juice you’ve juiced yourself
6. Snacks like dried fruit, seeds, nuts and popcorn

What you CANNOT eat:

1. No refined grains/wheat/gluten such as white flour or white rice
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredientslisted on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

Phew! That’s a lot… But the benefits of eating clean are amazing! You’ll start to feel better, as I did, fast! I noticed a difference after about two weeks of being on the program. What’s more is that you can do this gradually. For instance the program I’m on is staged in weeks.

• Week 1: Learn about what it is to eat clean, make a buddy, gather resources
• Week 2: What is gluten and why is it bad for you? Learn about the state your body is in currently and WEIGH IN. Start eliminating processed foods from your diet. Only eat natural unprocessed foods.
• Week 3: No Gluten / No Sugar – eliminate breads, gluten and sugar from your diet. Given resources for what we CAN eat.
• Week 4: Rapid Detox! This is where we are right now

Week four is the game changer people. Up till this point we’ve been eating natural foods and eliminated sugar, gluten, alcohol and caffeine from our diets. Some of you are thinking NO WAY. But let me tell you… I feel great! After having my son, who is now 7 months, I can feel my waist again. I’m down 7 pounds and I’m not having aversions to food like I was before. After I eat I’m not running to the bathroom in pain… I’m enjoying my meals and feeling good about eating them. Honestly, if you’re looking for something to jump start your weight loss journey then this program might be just the right thing for you.

Now in week four we are going to get into a detox program. Starting tomorrow we are to upon waking drink a Lemon Liver Flush mix.

Always drink this on an empty stomach as this is an important step in the process to getting things moving. This is supposed to help us digest fats better and helps our bodies eliminate toxins more effectively.

After the elixir mix we are to journal, meditate and do light physical activity in the morning and then drink a shake. Well, this is going to be challenging for me because like I’ve said –> NEW MOM <– I’m going to give it my best college try though. After our shake we can have a planned out breakfast which our instructor provided us a list of approved meal plans for the detox. We’re also supposed to be drinking a mineral broth throughout the day and in between meals. The mineral broth is supposed to replace numerous trace minerals that are often depleted.

Rebecca Katz’s Magic Mineral Broth ~ Learn More here!

There it is! Are you ready? Who would like to come on this journey with me? I’m here to answer any questions you have and there is a wealth of information online speaking to exactly what I’m doing right now. This program is also very similar to a Paleo Diet so if you are looking for recipes just get online and PINTEREST your hearts out. So many great things to come and I’ll keep you posted of my progress.