MORE ONLINE HELP
In my quest to make myself and my family healthier in all
aspects of nutrition and housekeeping, I have found quite a few very helpful
sites. Not just buying and cooking the “right”
foods are important. So part 3 of "My Weight Loss Journey" will detail the sites that have taught me everything I know!
MY FITNESS PAL vs SLIMKICKER
I mentioned that My Fitness Pal was what helped me track
my calories. It encouraged me to keep
logging my food and exercise. Each day
you log your activity, it records it and tells you how many days you’ve logged
in a row. I’ll admit, though, that I’ve
been discouraged when I forget to log in just one day and the count that was
close to 100 goes back to zero.
Recently, I received word about a new program, very similar to My
Fitness Pal called Slimkicker! I started
an account, and plan to begin logging and using their site exclusively.
RAW MILK SITES
Almost two years ago, a dear friend of mine switched her
family (2 adults, 2 children) to raw milk, pastured eggs and grass fed
beef. I’ll admit…….I was intrigued. Honestly, I was a bit disgusted by the idea
of raw milk. I was also worried about
giving it to my children. Is it
safe? What if they get sick? How do I know it’s the right thing to
do? I trust my friend in that I know she
would never do anything to endanger her family.
So I started researching. I found
two great sites in particular that gave me all of the information that helped
me make my informed decision: Weston A Price and Dr. Mercola. Also,
there’s a great site (set up by the Weston A Price foundation) with very
specific information on “real” milk.
The two most important points that helped me decide to
switch to “real” milk:
1 – Raw milk is safe!
Conventional milk is pasteurized to get rid of dangerous bacteria. The dangerous bacteria is there because the
cows are not eating what nature intended them to eat (grass), and they are kept
in absolutely disgusting conditions.
Those cows are so sick from their unnatural diets and conditions, and
produce some pretty disgusting milk (pus and blood are in their milk!), so it
must be pasteurized. I would never drink
raw milk from a “conventional” dairy farm as that milk would not be safe. But, by knowing how the cows are kept and fed
at my local farm, I am confident that I am purchasing milk that is safe for me
and my whole family. Please be sure you
know the conditions your cows are in before buying raw milk. Check your state laws as well. Being informed is the best way to avoid
getting sick.
2 – Raw milk is healthy!
I noticed a 5 lb drop in only 2 weeks after switching from fat free half
& half to raw heavy cream daily in my coffee. I did nothing else different (consumed the
same calories and exercised the same) and my weight dropped quicker than the
1lb/week it had been. Also, I’ve noticed
our entire family seems to be healthier.
This is the first spring we have not suffered from allergies! I used to have asthma and suffer from pretty
bad allergies. But now that we are
eating healthier, combined with the great probiotics in our raw milk, we seem
to have been spared this season! Our
immune systems seem much stronger. The
only evidence I can give is that when the bad stomach virus was going around,
my kids only vomited once and felt sick for 6-10 hours when everyone else
seemed to be vomiting ever 20 min and felt sick a minimum of 24 hours.
Another important point to note about milk in general is
that it is one of the biggest causes of allergies and asthma in children and
adults! In my studies to become a
certified nutritionist, I’ve learned it’s important to do a 14 day fast from
dairy to see if allergy conditions improve.
If they do, you may have a milk allergy to some degree. But from the research, most people who are
lactose intolerant or have allergies, are able to handle raw milk. (Please seek the advice of your doctor or allergist
before consuming milk – raw or not – if you’ve been diagnosed with an allergy.) The problem with “conventional” milk is that
it is missing many of the beneficial probiotics your body needs to fight off
allergens (the good bacteria is killed in the pasteurization process). Also, the protein structures of the milk are
changed when heated which is what many people have the allergic reaction to
(allergic reaction can mean many different things, depending on the person and
severity). See this article here for more information.
Now, where do you get raw milk? It’s difficult to find unless you know
someone who is buying it. Unfortunately,
I can’t give detailed information on how to find it as farmers fear being shut
down by the government. My best advice
is to go to the Real Milk website and search your specific area. If nothing is listed, go to your local
farmers’ market and start asking. It all
depends on the laws in your state.
Aside from the controversial “real milk” debate, I have
found Dr. Mercola’s website to be extremely helpful in my journey to get myself
and my family healthy. He has educated
me on many topics from how to get rid of cleaning chemicals in my home (and use
natural essential oils) to how to cook foods properly to ensure the most
nutrition stays in the foods we eat.
LIVESTRONG
Usually when I find a topic on Dr. Mercola’s site, I go
over to www.livestrong.com to check
what they have to say about the same topic.
Many times, they are saying the same things, but this other site seems
more “conventional” than holistic. I
think many people call the holistic movement “crunchy granola” or “a little
crazy” but conventional sites like Livestrong seem better accepted by the
mainstream population. I would highly recommend doing research there
for just about any topic you want to know more about.
TEAM BEACHBODY
I guess this site is the most obvious…..yes, I’m a
Beachbody coach, so of course I would recommend our site! But it’s more than just that. I’ve found accountability there. I’ve found information there. And I’ve been challenged there! Just signing up for a free beachbody account
and logging your workouts in the Supergym (in real time) will get you entered
to win $500 daily! I have to admit, I
get frustrated with myself when I’m not working out because I know I missed a
chance to be entered to win real cash money.
If you become a Club Member, you also get the benefit of a discount on
all products plus personalized meal plans and shopping lists.
GCNM
The last website I’ll mention in this post (that is much
longer than I anticipated!) is the college I’m attending online: Global College of Natural Medicine. After becoming more and more interested in
understanding how natural foods can heal the body, I decided to become a
certified holistic nutritionist. So I
started searching for programs available.
It would have to be something online and affordable. There are many programs out there, but
nothing seemed doable until I found GCNM.
And the fact that 80% of my tuition could go towards a bachelor’s
degree, Holistic Health Practioner, really made the decision for me. Now, not only am I learning all of these
things to help myself and my family, but I will be certified to help others
officially and plan to continue my studies all the way to get my phd!
I have learned more in my Nutritional Consultant course
than anywhere else. Although I have
researched many topics on the other sites, I haven’t read through the
scientific research explaining the experts’ various opinions until
now. It makes sense. I see the science behind the
information. It’s shocking that the
knowledge I’m gaining is not the mainstream information available to
everyone. I hope to be able to educate
others, especially moms, in how to better provide nutrition and safe products
in their homes.
Stay tuned for Part 4 when I will
detail how I cleaned out our pantry!
