Motivation Detox

Colonics

This is an, obviously, un used colonic scope.. say what??

You knew it was coming as a part of my detox series :)  If you have followed, or know me, you know that I have given colonics for 9 years with my business and also personally received them. I obviously believe in them and find them to be beneficial.  They have offered great success for my nutrition clients who have chose to do them along with my cleanse and detox programs. 

I get what your first thought is... Gross, poop, butt, nasty.  Hey I get it, but not going to the bathroom and having food trash left in your body is gross and nasty. This is what is happening to most Americans.  Over consumption of toxic foods, environmental contaminants, stress, lack of sleep are aiding in a host of digestive disorders.   Were we tolerable of gluten many years ago? Did you and all your neighbors have IBS or were on an anti depressant ?  Probably not.  Gut related issues are at an all time high and its time we solve it by taking out the trash.

Imagine you buy an old home to remodel, or you have watched HGTV.  They start by ripping up some carpet, then there is tile, after the tile the original hardwood is revealed.  This is how our colon is over the years. Mucus, bad bacteria, parasites, and yeast all take up camp in your/our gut. 

I am not trying to scare you but give you a visual of where you are personally. Take yourself back to being a newborn, being fed by breastmilk (I was not) is the optimal thing for your still forming body to receive.  Our gut is established by the breastmilk and the good bacteria it provides.   Now think if you were on antibiotics as a child (i was).  Then with your good bacteria went the bad. As you continue through life, stress, poor eating and lack of sleep continue to contribute to your digestion not working properly.  Colonics allows you to chip away at the layers on your colon wall, and with proper nutrition, rest and quality bacteria your digestion can begin to restore. 

A good colon therapist is not going to try to force water in your gut to flush you out.  Gentle warm water is inserted into the colon and is to aid in whatever may released.  As this continues to happen our colon responds with a natural peristalic action (like contractions to get a baby out, but not as intense). It is like a workout for your colon, it makes it stronger.  

How many someone may need is different with every person.  Unfortunately,  there is a lot stored in there.  We should average a bowel movement for each meal. IF you are not having one with each meal then that is a meal that has been stored.  Even more so if the meals we are eating has no nutritional value.  If it is not nutritious the body will use none of it and it will be stored.  I recommend starting with three and then moving forward with what you and your therapist decide.  I talk more about colonics here on my website .  I also have attached below a couple products that will aid in repairing your colon and with constipation if you are not quite ready for colonics or they are not in the budget.

What are your questions? Have you had colonics before or even practice enemas?  

Probiotics are great for building back gut flora with proper good bacteria.  The cape aloe will boost the immune system along w soften the bowels. It will not act as a laxative or become habit forming.  

Oil in your Ears

One of the first thing I will recommend to someone that calls or texts that they may have an ear infection or congestion in their nose, is to put warm oil in their ear.  

Often times, when the weather is cold outside and you have the warm air going in your car and home, our bodies have a hard time adjusting.  We begin to "dry out" from all the warm artificial air.  When this happens our body wants to help us, by lubing up our sinuses.  When this happens and we can not properly drain or release this extra "lube"  then we begin to get congested and stopped up by the extra mucus.  It sucks, but it is our bodies way of helping us stay hydrated in our sinuses. As things begin to drain it can go into the ears and if it does not drain from there we will get a back up and pressure. This can lead to an ear infection.  One way I work on my ears not getting backed up is to go to the Chiropractor, and I follow this easy tip for myself and the kids, ear oil. 

It can be as simple as warm quality olive oil, just a couple drops. You can also purchase an actual ear oil. It can come with garlic and other herbs that will help to lubricate, but also fight any bacteria or infection that can be there as a result of the back up.   Adding oil to each ear nightly will let the body know that it is not drying out and it will not create more mucus for your nose. Not only does it work but it feels really nice.

This ancient Ayurvedic technique  is one that I am sure you will be grateful to have this winter season.  Don't wait for you to get backed up, prevent it now.  Below I have included one of my favorite ear oils.  

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Detox: Misson Monday

Activated Charcoal.

I am about to let you in on a wonderful secret, especially if you are a drinker, or will be throwing it back during the holidays.  Activated charcoal is a must for your supplement cabinet.  It is great for bad breath and body odor, food poisoning, digestive discomfort and for hang overs. 

Activated Charcoal is extremely absorbent and can attract and bind to toxicity 100xs its weight. It has a  very porous surface that is negatively charged and attracts positively charged toxins and gas.  It "captures" these toxins and pulls them out of the body. 

If you choose to purchase Activated Charcoal make sure it is food grade. I have attached a link below to a quality coconut charcoal carried by Bulletproof.  I take charcoal when I am traveling to remove environmental toxins, we use it when we niacin cleanse and on the rare occasion I do drink I will take 3 or 4 capsules with water before bed to aid in moving the alcohol though my body.  Externally you can open a capsule and make a face mask, clean your teeth, or rub it on areas of your body that tend to be sensitive to breaking out.  Bulletproof sources their charcoal from coconut shells.  Other brands will source from wood or other environment materials and the term "activated" means it is made into a very fine powder for easy absorption. 

If you use charcoal, how?  Do you think it is something you can incorporate into your cleansing routine? Let me know below in the comments :)

Detox: Water

I know it's so simple, yet it is often not being used.  Our body is made of water and hydration is part of survival.  

When it comes to detox water obviously flushes toxins, but I want to speak about its role with the colon. In a simplified version, when digestion takes place and the body has fiber present, the water mixes with fiber and "bulks" it up so it can push through your colon, thus creating a bowel movement. 

If you are drinking coffee, wine, or pop, and not getting enough water then what little you do have is being used and is not hydrating your bowels. If you are not hydrated you are not pooping. If you are not pooping you are not detoxing.  

Our skin needs water, our hair needs water, our entire body needs water.   My suggestion is to begin your morning drinking water.  Before you allow yourself any other beverages have a liter of room temperature water. Drinking room temperature water will allow your body to not be shocked with water way different than your internal body temperature. 

 Set the goal for your day to drink half your body weight in water, after doing it for a week let me know what positive changes you notice :) 

Detox: Mission Monday

It is Monday, everyones favorite day of the week, right? Let's detox that thought to. I am going to give you are reason to look forward to Monday and give you a mission for the week. This mission will open up your bodies pathways to get all the junk you have been holding on to, OUT!

I will start with simple tips and then move into ones that might require a little more work.  The important thing about detox is that it does need to go slow if you are fairly toxic. It allows the liver to not get overburdened and have you feel more toxic.  

Todays Tip:  Dry Brush

Dry brushing is a very easy way to remove dead skin cells, open up your pores and increase blood flow and metabolism in your body.  It is done with a brush that has harder bristles than your standard bath brush. Some even use a vegetable scrubbing brush.  

Our skin is our largest organ and is a pathway from toxins to come in and, with dry brushing, to go out.  What we put on our body it eats. If you are using a lotion with parabens, dyes, and artificial scents, your body is absorbing all of this.  If you can't eat it or would get sick from eating it, do not put it on your skin.  By the time things are getting to your skin it is a sign your inner body is needing to release.  Psoriasis, eczema, yeast, pimples, all manifest from the inside wanting to come out.  

First, you need to purchase a brush as your local drug store online or Whole Foods. You want to make sure the brush is firm and not soft. Most will say dry brush on the label. When waking up, or before your bath, you brush your body in long strokes toward your heart (always).  You will need for your skin to get pink or red and your will feel more energized and clean as you are doing it. Your pores will feel open, like when you are wash your face really good.  

If you have poor skin tone, cellulite or any skin conditions you will begin to notice improvement after a week.  If you do this in conjunction with reducing and removing toxic chemicals from your skin you are successfully helping to detox your skin.  

Have you dry brushed?  If you try it this week let me know how it goes! 

#FF I lost a lot, but I also gained

It has been one year since I chose to tackle a long time goal I had (when I was 22) to do a figure competition.  When I set the goal it was about being bad ass as a trainer and being, what I thought, was the top of the game for that field.  As I explained the story after the show, I had so many hurdles to pass through since that time and wanted to do it at 33 for other reasons.  

Of course I wanted to look good, but I also wanted to face my fears of being in a bikini and why not do that in front a huge audience in a pair of hooker heels.   I also was/am a mom of two kids and had gone through a lot of fight and tears and was ready to put myself first. 

Now what glitters isn't always gold as the saying goes right ?  It's easy to look at a fitness model with a tight lean body and think she is healthy.  What is the case, most of the time, is they are not!  They have yo yo dieted, they have leaned out and bulked up and a lot of the times is it with poor quality food.  Calories in calories out is not accurate but the fitness industry plays that game over and over again and continues to put artificial sweeteners and food dyes in their programs. girls think they have to starve themselves or run that last cookie they ate off in treadmill miles and its total BS. 

In the 3 months I hauled ass for this competition I lost pounds.  Not a ton because I gained muscle. I lost my period for a month!  I am the period girl everyone wants to be :). Regular, normal bleeding, no cramps.  I lost it one month because my body was malnourished and craving fat! I lost 10 pounds of water in ONE NIGHT.  Think about that, imagine if your scale would tell you that your weight is water or fat, how different that would be.  

The good thing I lost and most important, I lost my idea of what the perfect body was and how it should be achieved.  Hallelujah  

it isn't mass amounts of cardio daily. It isn't eating fish, chicken and egg whites (I knew that part). It isn't eating 1100 calories and burning 1200 of it. 

So what did I gain?  I gained confidence. I gained a since of completion, knowing I had these awesome babies and chose to do something for myself and that was ok. I gained a perspective on how I wanted my exercise to be for me.  

I am an athlete. I want to have stamina, strength and flexibility. Not just a tight butt and some muscles.  I also want to set an example to my daughter that health and exercise is not a gym selfie with your ass popped out in the right stance.  

Rememeber, if the long term goal is to feel the best ever, to not be sick, to have babies, to THRiVE, then re evaluate what it means to get there.  I'm glad my 22 year old self didn't reach that goal and my much more mature self did, so I could recognize the difference.   

*link is to my initial story on this subject on Kristin Cavallari's App. 

Thank you Tom Brady

Did he mess w the ball or not. I don't give a shit. I'm a Giants fan and always hope we win.  I can put aside football and agree with him on this for sure.  So if you want to debate his morals on the field... I DONT CARE. 

Brady openly opposed Coca Cola and referenced it as poison for kids. You can read more about it here, womanist.com .  

Regradless if he endorsed them before or not, he is now, by-passing an endorsement deal, (im sure) to stand against a product that is recking havoc on our youth and adults health.  

Coca Cola who has a large PR firm and Registered Dieticians that enjoy the pay check, standing to their defense and mentioning their healthier options. 

“We offer more than 200 low‐ and no‐calorie beverages in the U.S. and Canada and a wide variety of smaller portion sizes of our regular drinks. As a responsible beverage company and marketer, we prominently provide calorie and sugar information for our beverages so people can choose what makes sense for them and their families."

"All of our beverages are safe and can be enjoyed as part of a balanced lifestyle," the representative added. (womanist.com)

Please re read that!!  If you are bad you are bad, there is no sugar coating.. pun intended.  Why don't you address the poison reference. Not about calories, about the toxins contained in your beverage and what it does to the body.  Full of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) which leads to obesity, cancer, and a host of other diseases.  4-MEI, caramel coloring, a known carcinogen. BPA, lined aluminum cans.  BPA, is full of phyto-estrogens that are stored in the liver and adversely effect our hormones. These stores lead to infertility and cancer.   

It is about time more celebrities and athletes stand up against promoting crap food.  I wrote about it on my old blog in 2011, Titled:  Athletes, Please Endorse Health .  Everyone from the beloved Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, to Olympic athletes and LaBron James who used to promote McDonalds.  I would love to see them live off the products they endorse and see how their body holds up during their career as an athlete.   

I understand there is big money in the endorsements they receive, but there is also big responsibility in the public position they hold.. Why not use your platform, much greater than mine, to stand up to big companies poisoning us with their food?  

Best Day Ever

This past week I was in Costa Mesa, Califonia. I flew into LAX on Wednesday and stayed until Monday. I was embarking on a magical epic week at David Wolfes Women's Wellness Confernce. 

It started w really cool things happening w my flight.  Having a delay out of Nashville and 5 min to make my connecting flight (I got there just in time)  I then sat between two ladies on the flight one who I barely spoke to. Upon realizing uber didn't pick up at airports the one I hardly spoke to offered to drive me into Beverly Hills and drop me off at Erewhon Market where my friend Sarah was.  Her name was Tanya and she was amazing and made the drive so enjoyable. I remember thinking how great it would have been to have a friend pick me up... Well I made a new friend that drove me. 

Erewhon is like an even more awesome Whole Foods.  Raw doughnuts, all kinds of pressed juices in glass bottles.  

Organic green juice along w ice coffee

A tonic bar that served tonic elixirs and shots, made with tonic herbs and medicinal mushrooms. 

When sarah arrived we stocked up on goodies and made our way to Costa Mesa for the conference.  ​

David Wolfe speaking on activated charcoal  

If you have ever heard David Wolfe speak he always references that it's " the best day ever" it's a phrase that speaks the best into existent and makes everyday the best.  His events are a reflection of his language.  

April was my first event and I chose to be a volunteer. I stepped out of my leadership zone and decided to just follow. I made amazing friends and had the best time ever.  This event was no different.  I was asked to come back as staff (same job just got paid) on the tonic bar.

Our tonic bar is set up on Thursday and closes down Sunday night.  We logged 60 hours in four days behind that bar, with little time to stop.  We were able to partake and serve drinks and elixirs that most people do not even have access to.

Tonic bar rock stars with David Wolfe.  

We came together for this cause and rocked it (most of us only see each other at these events) .

it is an amazing thing to be a part of something that is changing so many lives. Some people come to these conferences because they are into health like myself. Others come because they are trying to save their health. Guests battling disease, cancer, or have had a family member die and they want to be in a place w some answers.  

i have realized as my years of practicing holistic nutrition, I can either bitch about the problems or I can be a part of the solution. Being at these events is being part of the solution.  I learn an emince amount.  I have my heart busted wide open with all the love I receive and I get to bring that back to Tennessee, a place that is so in need of what I learned.  

Health is something we all deserve. We are meant to feel and be amazing. To have everyday be the best day ever.  It is my mission to make that happen for as many people as I can.  

Setting up the bar with my friend Sarah