 |
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
Avant-Gardening:
Insights
by Frank & Vicky
Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
The Divine Human
by Ornesha De Paoli
Awakenings
by Karen Johnson
Worshipping by Wondering with
Sankara Saranam, MA Founder of the Pranayama Institute
A Woman's Beauty
by Robin Rice,
Shaman & Author
Wisdom Walks
In Circles
Margaret Lewis,
Shamanic Practitioner
The Awakening Generation
by Ann Marie Judge
Divination Systems:
Be Your Own Oracle
By James Wanless, Ph.D.
Creator of the Voyager Tarot Deck
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
In Practice:
Juliet's Marketing Wisdom
by Juliet Austin, MA Marketing Coach, Author & Consultant
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah Revealed:
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Kabbalalist
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
News Briefs
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Life's Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Healing & Alternative
Health:
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
Lose Weight Permanently: Stop the Endless Cycle of Dieting
Rena Greenberg,
Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming & Hypnotherapist
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alternative Health & Healing: Lose Weight Permanently: Stop the Endless Cycle of Dieting
Healthy Fat for
Permanent Weight Loss
|
|
|
by Rena Greenberg |
|
|
Have you ever had the feeling that you were so ravenous you could just devour everything in sight? Most likely you’ll notice that you’re more inclined to have insatiable cravings when you have been “dieting” or depriving yourself. There’s nothing wrong with cutting back on your caloric intake, however, one very common mistake you’ll want to avoid is eliminating or overly reducing your consumption of fat. It may be wise to consume less saturated fat, especially the empty-calorie junk food that is often laden with hidden sources of oil, however your body needs fat—albeit healthy fat—in order to thrive. What is healthy fat? It is a combination of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids along with the more common Omega-6 fats.
One of the most important things you can do for your health and to maintain your ideal weight is to add Essential Fatty Acids to your diet. The benefits of essential fatty acids are numerous. They include normalizing your blood sugar (to avoid the big swings in mood and energy level), an improved immune system, improved brain, adrenal gland and visual functions, prevention of estrogen-related cancer, lowering of LDL cholesterol, lowering of blood pressure and improvement in hair and skin texture and appearance. Essential Fatty Acids also reduce any cravings for junk foods that are loaded down with excess fat.
Two of the best sources of Essential Fatty Acids are ground flax seeds and fresh flax seed oil. Both of these can be found at your local health food store. Ground flax seeds and flax seed oil are easy to use. You can sprinkle ground flax seeds on top of yogurt, oatmeal or cold cereal. Flax seed oil can be mixed with or replace olive oil in salad dressings. I like to combine flax seed oil with some organic apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and fresh herbs for a scrumptious dressing on salads and vegetables. Other sources of essential fatty acids are walnuts, seeds, seaweed, fresh salmon and other wild fish, and legumes.
It is very common in the typical American diet to see far more of the omega-6 fatty acids (found in corn, safflower, cottonseed and sunflower oils and saturated fat in beef, dairy and fried foods), than the much needed omega-3 fats found in seafood and flax seed oil. Studies show that diets high in omega-6 fatty acids alone produce insulin resistance, which is a major cause of diabetes. The healthiest diets consist of a combination of both types of fat, with a greater emphasis on the necessary Essential Fatty Acids found in nuts, seeds and fresh fish.
When we look back onto the times when we’ve been advised to cut out fat completely, or minimize fats, collectively, we can see that these are times when obesity soared in this country. Generally, when fat is cut out or minimized, we increase our intake of sugar. This can be deadly in terms of our health. It puts us at greater risk for diabetes, heart failure and stroke, and of course, obesity. When you read the labels of processed foods, you will see that when fat is omitted, sugar or sugar substitutes are often increased.
Many of the sugar substitutes are actually chemicals that our bodies cannot tolerate. They may not have calories, but it is doubtful whether they promote health and wellbeing. Aside from perpetuating the feeling that we need to ingest more sweet food, sugar substitutes have been linked to an increase in illnesses such as migraines, digestive disturbances and even multiple sclerosis.
When our health is compromised, we tend to have more cravings for sweeteners, caffeine, refined carbohydrates and alcohol. Often we are self-medicating with these substances. The only way to break this painful cycle is to eliminate the sugary, stimulating foods from out diets. Allowing ourselves to eat moderate amounts of healthy fat helps free us from the constant craving for sweet food.
Because fat takes longer to break down in the body, it helps to keep our blood sugar more steady. When the blood sugar is steady, we don’t feel as ravenously hungry and are more in touch with what our body actually needs in order to maintain a state of balance. In other words, when we eat sugar or sugar-substitutes, although we may experience a sudden spike in our energy level or concentration, the high-energy feeling is often short-lived and is followed by a low in our mood or energy level. This perpetuates the desire for more stimulating food and causes this negative cycle to continue. This in turn can lead us to feeling helpless and out of control, particularly when one of the very unpleasant side effects is unwanted weight gain.
Unfortunately, a next logical step is often the decision to diet, thereby cutting out fat. We may have the statement, “consuming fat equals fat on the body,” drilled into our psyche, and therefore wish to avoid it. This decision is what causes most diets to fail. We become so insatiably hungry, we throw the diet out the window and binge on the foods we are so desperately craving—typically high sugar and fat foods. This time, though, the fat we are consuming is not beneficial and only exacerbating our original dilemma of being overweight and craving fattening foods.
The way out is making healthy fat—flax seeds, flax seed oil, nuts and seeds (in moderation), wild fresh fish and olive oil—a staple in the daily eating regime. Ironically a couple of tablespoons of oil a day sprinkled on top of delicious, fresh, crisp and preferably organic greens, can be so satisfying—especially when combined with the necessary protein and complex carbohydrate—that you begin to lose the old cravings for empty calorie, high sugar or fat foods that only bog down your system and keep you wanting more.
Remember that what your body seeks above all is balance. Cravings for harmful foods are a sign that your body is not in a state of equilibrium. The best way to correct that is to eat water-rich, unprocessed foods from all categories, and restore your body to its natural state of health and vigor. At the same time, you have the wonderful benefit of enjoying the taste of delicious health-promoting oils.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rena Greenberg,
Author, Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, & Hypnotherapist
|
 |
Rena Greenberg is the Founder and Director of Wellness Seminars, Inc, which provides weight loss programs for over100 major corporations and city governments, including over 75 Florida and Michigan hospitals.
She is a graduate of City University of New York at Brooklyn College. Rena Greenberg’s wellness programs have been featured in many television and radio news features.
Ms. Greenberg holds two certifications in hypnosis from The Eastern NLP Institute and the National Guild of Hypnotists, as well as national biofeedback certification from the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. She is also a certified Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming and an ordained Minister.
Rena Greenberg is the author of The Right Weigh: Six Steps to Permanent Weight Loss used by over 100,000 People (Hay House, January 2006).
Email:
wellnessseminars@aol.
com
Web:
www.easywillpower.com
Read an excerpt
of Rena's new book:
The Right Weigh: Six Steps to Permanent Weight Loss
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
