Are you really serious about losing weight? If so, read this blog to see if this is you...

Please tell me if this is you - or similar to you?

We wake up in the morning in a rush. We run to Starbucks for a cup of coffee? Maybe a muffin? We rush around all day with scheduled activities to work out, take our dog to be groomed, business meetings, etc. We may grab a quick snack during the morning, but is it nutritious or is it some processed, fortified bar? A donut?

Maybe a salad for lunch? A piece of pizza? A lunch with friends where we order the lightest item on the menu to show that we're watching our weight?

By the afternoon, we're so tired from running around and not eating enough - or not consuming the most nutritious foods - that we're flat out of energy and then what do we do? Another coffee? Another sweet?

For dinner, we're famished so we binge. Forget portion control. Inevitably, something happened during the day that disturbed us so we emotionally sneak in an extra cookie, and then, in anger or frustration that we consumed the first, we eat another.

If we've had a drink or two to loosen up our senses, where does that lead? Free fall. Forget about mindful eating at that point.

We go to bed and what happens to that big dinner we just ate? It sits around all night long in our bellies fermenting because we haven't had time to allow it to digest properly.

We wake up in the morning feeling nauseous (wonder why?) with no appetite, except for that coffee and we wonder why we feel groggy? Irritable? We wonder why we keep that weight on despite that we're not eating that much?


Try this, even if it's just for 3 days:
Plan a night that you're not going to eat anything after 4 PM. I promise, you'll survive.

The next morning, hopefully you'll wake up hungry. Eat something healthy that will sustain you: a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of fruit or a healthy muffin (e.g., joosbites). If you crave your coffee, go for it, but have it after you eat something nutritious and satiating.


Yes, of course, drink your JOOS. That's your insurance policy that you're consuming enough nutrients. That's why JOOS is so satiating.

For lunch, go for it. No wimpy salads with high calorie dressings, unless you feel just having a salad will satiate you. Instead, have a meal! What does that look like? A starch (make it the size of your fist), a protein and tons of vegetables. Maybe you want a small dessert afterwards (but please, nothing with high fructose corn syrup). That's what people eat for lunch all over the world! They eat salad before or after the meal. You can do that, too.

By dinner, you shouldn't be hungry if you've consumed a big enough lunch. If you are hungry, you will know to eat a bigger lunch the next day. At dinner, though, eat a small meal. This is when you can have just a salad.

Going to a restaurant for dinner? You can still order what you want, but WATCH YOUR PORTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not eat anything 2 hours before you go to bed.

Try this for 3 days and see how you feel. I'd love to hear!

We would love to support you on your road to a more fulfilling lifestyle, which means, in part, to stop the bingeing and learn sustainable healthier eating habits.

Indulge you boredom, sadness or anger with these easy to grab foods

Life isn't always a pleasant ride in a boat. We all inevitably fall off track and, during those times, many of us turn to food. Excuse the vagueness, but someone did something very hurtful to one of my children that deeply bothered me. Thank G-d I had just purchased several packs of Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed Snacks and I must have eaten 5 packs of them.

Believe me, if I hadn't had those in my home and had some unhealthy, processed snack, admittedly I probably would have eaten that instead and you know where that would have led.........The next morning I would have woken up feeling M I S E R A B L E. In contrast, I woke up feeling light and attended the 6AM yoga class, which is exactly what I needed.

Here are a few suggestions of snacks you should have readily available, which you can quickly turn to in an emotional jam:

joosbites
Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed Snacks
Sunspire grain sweetened chocolate chips
Joellyn Cooney's Banana Peanut Butter Treat (cut bananas into chunks, smear natural peanut butter on one end and roll that end into flax seed. Freeze)
Jonathan Meizler's Chocolate Sorbet (Place unsweetened chocolate almond milk with sliced bananas in Tupperware in the freezer. Can add a tsp of agave. After frozen, place in blender. Can also add other types of fruits.)
Erehorn Cereals (with almond milk)

I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Add a 1/4 of health in your next batch of chocolate chip cookies

Trade Joe's struck it healthy again with their new peanut flour product. Only 1/4 cup contains 16g of protein, 4g fiber, 65% of dv for folate, 80% of dv for magnesium, 25% of dv for niacin and 60% of dv for phosphorus. I wish we could add this to joosbites, but I don't want to add a food in which so many children have allergies.

I was hesitant to write this as the tip because of the allergies, but for any of you with children who do not contain allergies, just add this 1/4 cup to your next batch of chocolate chip cookies (Fia just did this and they were delicious!!!) or banana bread.

Check out this blog for great recipes that contain peanut flour:

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103622828010&s=2&e=0013ltlUZVVbdFeDmtqDhELtVFv78exsqJb_TCkff-rdY2Fv8n8Wjscd6NyD2mQBGmFmCyaCUE63wSrS2XD-ZEK8X0DEv_qIq-2vRXXEjm1guehUXYQbd67C0vswKRwVVyGSWVrOTLpjxkF-u6tOmbkvgt7NoVUXakutLWPBJmFMG6x1dArIC4yFQMwMHG5ktYw

So do you REALLY want to lose weight permanently. Debunking the perfection myth (with pictures of Sasha in Seusical)

Why do we all believe that we have to be perfect when we diet?

The JOOS Cleanse is about stepping out of perfection and learning which way of eating is best for your body-type so that you can develop sustainable, healthy s
Time to debunk a couple JOOS Cleanse myths:

Myth: "I just broke the JOOS Cleanse because I've eaten the wrong foods."

When I ask someone who tells me what they've eaten, they typically respond with a list of foods that are totally acceptable on the JOOS Cleanse, such as Larabars, raw nuts, Mary's Gone Crackers with hummus, brown rice vegetable sushi, corn tacos loaded with sautéed vegetables and tofu, a falafel sandwich with brown rice tortillas to name a few. Sometimes they've even gone out for a glass of red wine. Frankly, so what if you've snuck in a piece of chicken or a sip of coffee? Just make it the exception and go back to the cleanse the next day. There are so many foods that are acceptable and delicious on the cleanse.Your Lifestyle Counselor can help you with this.


Myth: "I only ate one meal and I'm starving."

I just spoke with a woman who is doing the cleanse and did a very intense workout. She thought she could only have one meal and was feeling starving and deprived. Ideally, part of the cleanse is having one meal and unlimited fruits and vegetables throughout the day, but some people may need more. If you work out intensively and/or have a busy lifestyle, you may need a bowl of oatmeal in the morning or a Vega shake with a banana and almond milk afterwards. Again, your lifestyle counselor can give you suggestions.


The JOOS Cleanse is NOT about starvation or deprivation; it is about learning mindfulness and how to pace yourself. If you are genuinely hungry, then you need to
eat more. If you are not hungry, but eating out of habit or boredom, again your Lifestyle Coach can give you strategies how to deal with that.

I can assure you that the JOOS Cleanse is not complicated, unless you allow it to be. In fact, once you get the hang of it, you may find that you will be able to follow the principles of it for months to follow. Sure you will probably fall off track. We all fall off track if we don't practice anything regularly, such as exercise...and healthy eating habits. So the key is to plan ahead


Most of you are familiar with the 90/10 rule in your daily eating: 90% whole foods and 10% whatever. This also should be taken into account when you plan your year; that is, know that 10% of the time you are going to go "off track," such as periods during the summer and holidays.

My recommendation is to do a minimum of 3 cleanses per year and plan when you're going to do them at the beginning of each year. That way, if you fall off track, as we all inevitably do, you know you have a schedule in place to help you regroup.

The line below is an insightful blog by a woman from Healthworks who just finished a one week cleanse last week.

http://livewellwomen.wordpress.com

Remember, this isn't about perfection, which is an illusion in our minds; it's about learning how to incorporate sustainable healthy eating habits into our daily lives.

New JOOS Depot at Bodyscapes Brookline

We're excited to announce our newest JOOS DEPOT:

BodyScapes
1285 Beacon Street (Coolidge Corner)
Brookline

As a reminder, orders may be placed at orders@drinkjoos.com.
For questions or comments please contact us at info@drinkjoos.com or call 617-942-JOOS (5667).

How important is it for you to minimize stress and reduce chaos? Here's a way out of it...Maxine Gautier to the rescue

What do you do to be organized and minimize chaos?

Some people may consider hiring a professional organizer as a discretionary item, but I consider this a necessary expense, especially in the case of Max Gautier. With the rare exception, no one works well in chaos. Simply put, chaos adds stress, and in many of our cases, a lot of stress. When we're stressed, we don't function well, can become ill, and are uptight with our loved ones.

When I feel like my house is whirling out of control with mail piling up and papers scattered in every direction, my first call is to Max. She is non judgmental, efficient and a master mind at developing easy-to-use systems.

For more information, go to the link below:
http://ofuorganizing.com/
or contact her at:
978-857-5513
info@ofuorganizing.com

My Daughter Fia and The Night We Lost Electricty: The little lessons in life can teach us so much, especially about mindful eating!

Our neighborhood lost our electricity for approximately 7 hours on Friday. As I took a walk with my 9-year old daughter, Fia, in the evening, we marveled at people sitting at their dining room tables huddled around candles eating take-out. There were more people out walking than usual and we all greeted each other with warm smiles. The energy in the neighborhood seemed more relaxed than usual.

When Fia and I arrived home, we sat on the living room couch and had a long conversation about her week at camp, friends, anything that came to her mind. Typically, I'd be running around the house doing yet another load of laundry, attending to never ending emails, making beds, etc. I actually had a good excuse to take a breath and give my daughter my undivided attention. Sadly, it felt like a luxury.

For dinner, since I couldn't cook. We had raw nuts and fruits and vegetables I had purchased that day at a farmers market. When I asked Fia if she wanted dessert, she said, "No Mommy, I'm really full." I was, too.

This experience underscored for me how the more stimulus we have around us, the more absent we become because we're so distracted. Less truly is more, particularly when it comes to being present and mindful in the way we eat and deal with the relationships around us.

How many times do we say something we regret because we're over-tired or anxious? How often do we beat ourselves up for turning to food for comfort because we feel so overwhelmed with life?

One of the biggest goals of the JOOS Cleanse is to enable us to regroup. I do the JOOS Cleanse at least 4 times per year, in each season, because inevitably, life creeps up on me and I need to get back on track.

JOOS would love to support you on your road to a healthier lifestyle!

Looking for a Fabulous, Fun Workout? Try Zumba with Alexa at Siagel Productions

This past Wednesday, I attended my first Zumba Class with Alexa at Siagel Productions at 94 Rowe Street, Auburndale! My friend Suzanne wore her Polar watch and it registered she burned 900 calories in one hour. If you want to have so much fun, see friends and have a terrific work out, this is the class to attend. Every Wednesday at 10am. Hope to see you there next week.

For more information, please go to: http://www.siagelproductions.com/