My very first Blog Post!

Okay people. I'll admit...I've avoided (like the plague) starting a blog due to my busssy schedule. I've had SO many friends tell me to start one and I always said maybe someday...So here it is :) I am going to have a little extra time this Summer to share many great things on this blog. I have a lot to share/say on many subjects and it is my hope to inform and inspire. I am new to the blog world so be patient with me. :)

I'm going to have 2 blogs-one for chit chat and the other for my family (Sam and I)...I will be starting that one here shortly.

Today I would like to share some information I learned from a FANTASTIC book I just read.

DISCLAIMER: I am not perfect. I eat fast food sometimes ha.ha. :) I just hope to inspire and inform on what I've learned--

Master your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels
What a life-changing book this is!It is all about naturally balancing your hormones for a hot and healthy body.  I reallly enjoyed reading this book. Many people (women especially) have lost and gained the same five, ten, or twenty pounds over and over again and wonder whyyy? According to Jill, this is because of our nutritionally deficient dieting, stress-dominated living, and toxin-filled eating culture which has abused our endocrine systems, hormonal balances, and metabolisms to the point where weight loss is nearly impossible.

Why do people diet?? They go on these ridiculous fad diets and continue to eat nonfat and carb-free foods that don't satisfy. It not only wrecks your metabolism with all the wacked diets out there but many of the diets feed you chemical-filled non-foods.

According to Jill, when we starve ourselves on these yo-yo diets, when we eat processed foods, surround ourselves with toxins, work beyond the point of exhaustion, all of these choices influence the way our metabolisms process food, burn calories and regulate weight. "We have to understand how our hormones have already been manipulated to our detriment."

Here are the 3 most important things I learned from this book:
REMOVE antinutrients and toxins, which are slowing your metabolism.
RESTORE natural whole foods to your diet-foods that will rally your fat-burning hormones.
REBALANCE your hormones by sleeping, dealing with stress, and exercising in ways that will manage them best.

It is all about training your hormones to automatically burn-not store-fat.

Here are some scary statistics from the book:
* 24 million  Americans have diabetes (1 in 4 don't even know it yet).
* 57 million Americans have prediabetes.
* People who report job stress have a 73 percent higher chance of developing obesity and a 61 percent higher chance of developing abdominal fat than people who report none.
* For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person's risk of obesity goes up 41 percent (WOW - what a ball-buster!Ha! I am a diet-soda drinker and I struggle with quitting).
Interesting stats from the book:
* Children who play sports are 80 percent less likely to be overweight than kids who never played any.
* The average American woman has tried to lose weight at least 10 times.
* After age 20, basal metabolic rate drops about 2 percent per decade; after 40, it slows down 5 percent per decade.
* Women's testosterone and progesterone peak in their twenties, then decline for the rest of their lives. Growth hormone secretion declines by about 75 percent after age 35.

This book made me see a lot of things differently & change many of my ways. I will continue to share more from this book. HIGHLY recommend buying it. I truly believe MODERATION in all things. I believe if you do your best to eat healthy (whole foods) and exercise frequently then you're doing pretty good. I am not perfect at doing either but I do know that I feel GREAT when I am eating healthy and exercising.

More to come - - - - - - - Natalie