Day 175

Thoughts: FAT THOUGHTS Make You Fat was yesterdays blog, today we look at THE ANATOMY OF A FAT THOUGHT with Mary Sue Abernethy.

WHY THEY HAPPEN
You think when you look in the mirror and feel self hatred or disgust, if you hate yourself or the fat on your body enough it will force you to stop eating and loose weight, when in fact most often fat thoughts make you eat more now or later. Yo-Yo Diet Cycle

1. OUR FEELINGS SOMETIMES ARE LESS THAN IDEAL
We each have a particular self-image. We would prefer to strike from the record any thoughts or feelings which run counter to our ideas about who we are. It makes us anxious to think of ourselves as not living up to our ideals. Instead of experiencing the letdown and dealing with the possibility that your expectations of yourself are unrealistic or that circumstances have simply prevented you from having something you want and day by day that can change, you eat.

2. FORBIDDEN FEELINGS
These have to do with notions we developed as children. It is about the power of our wishes, where a wish is equivalent to a deed, a thought equivalent to an action.
Some compulsive eaters fear the forbidden emotion of anger, others fear lust, and still others fear jealousy. The list is as endless as the variety of emotions you can feel. Regardless, we continue to fear what we consider to be unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and wishes, and compulsive eaters attempt to erase these thoughts with food before even realizing that you have them.

3. STRONG FEELINGS
Some of us are less concerned with the permissibility of the thought or feeling than with the intensity, fearing we will be overwhelmed by them. "If I feel sad, I'll never stop being depressed." "If I get angry, I'll go out of control." Compulsive eaters also fear a change in the status quo. Any strong feeling or change results in the reach for food. We are in need of a carefully controlled atmosphere or a better method of having feelings come and go and experiencing the fact that we are still here, we are “ok”.

All of these situations occur because we make food magic - we give it magical powers. This is much the same way that a child's Teddy Bear represents all the care and support that its’ owner has known or wanted. Food represents mother, father, family, love, safety, strength, comfort, power, support, and on and on. The problem is that food is not mother, father, family, love, safety, strength, comfort, power, support, and so on. While these are symbols, with the power to make us feel safe, food is not the same as any of these other symbols. When food is used for comfort, its proper function is neglected entirely and it becomes addicting instead of enabling. A Teddy Bear helps a child make the transition from dependent care, to the knowledge s/he can ensure her/his own well-being. The Teddy Bear is eventually left behind and becomes no more special than any other stuffed toy. Food, however, keeps us stuck, unable to get the real needs taken care of. When that happens compulsive eating stops being the problem, fat thoughts lessen over time and you will translate them more rapidly.

THE ANATOMY OF A FAT THOUGHT

1. YOU BEGIN WITH AN UNLABELED DISCOMFORT
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2. YOU EAT TO DISTRACT YOURSELF-usually without true belly hunger- AND TO TRY TO FEEL BETTER
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3. AFTER YOU FINISH EATING YOU FEEL ANXIOUS and physically uncomfortable
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4. YOU TRANSLATE YOUR ANXIETY INTO A FAT FEELING!
The uncomfortable feeling turns into a Fat Feeling AND fat thoughts & feelings don’t help you, they just re-create the problem…… eating to soothe rather than for belly hunger!
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5. YOU EXPERIENCE PAINFUL THOUGHTS...
ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST ATE, YOUR WEIGHT, OR HOW YOUR BODY LOOKS.

You have just made the TRANSLATION from the language of feelings into the language of FAT! Compulsive eating is a way of coping with discomfort and a low Sense Of Self by translating complex concerns into an obsessive preoccupation with eating, weight and body size.
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You are telling the truth, but in TRANSLATION!

You are referring to something else that you feel bad about. You eat through the difficulty or yell at yourself about your size and weight, and then you say the problem is fat on your body (it didn’t appear overnight!), instead of recognizing what you are really needing, thinking/believing or feeling that needs to be addressed.

WHY WE KEEP THE "FAT THOUGHT" CIRCUIT ALIVE- and what you can do differently.

1. It is simpler to reduce all life's problems into an eating/weight problem.
Having fat thoughts, thinking about dieting, staying busy counting fats and calories is all MUCH EASIER than dealing directly with the sophisticated issues in our lives! If you stop the fat thoughts, you break the circuit and can stop calling all your problems a fat problem. Then you can really discover what you are needing, meet the need, and feel calmer while you practice conscious eating, and Responsive Eating

2. It could feel scary to stop translating all problems into an eating/weight problem.

If you stop your fat thoughts you will be challenged to come up with real solutions to life's challenges. It can be overwhelming to begin trying to solve issues around relationships, parenting responsibilities, job security, financial needs, or emotional needs. It feels so much easier to say the solution to dealing with my life is just simply to stay busy hating my body and thinking about dieting. Until you take a look at the real issues nothing can change. It is not as hard as it seems, many have “been there done that” and are free of eating and weight issues and have lost weight while translating Fat Thoughts.

3. You have grown accustomed to hating your body
While having fat thoughts and hating your body is painful, it is for many of us the only way we know how to be with ourselves. In a strange way keeping with the familiar...even when it is painful...can seem comforting. And, most of us have very little information about how we might relate to our bodies' positively: we live in a culture where the sole theme is the suggestion that you should be very dissatisfied with your body.



Dieting, compulsive eating, and Fat Thoughts function as a way to keep people fat and from having their feelings. If you can stop dieting & interrupt your fat thoughts you can begin to identify the feelings & issues that lie beneath and take care of them. Once you do that you are on your way to understanding yourself better. You will feel calmer, you will think more clearly, and you will be better able to direct your life in a way that optimizes your happiness!

What you can do differently.

Once you notice the “Fat Thought”: Remember the body is listening to you are thinking!
1. Apologize to yourself for insulting yourself.
2. Ask: WHAT AM I NEEDING/Wanting? I know you want weight loss it is coming ☺!
WHAT AM I FEELING?
WHAT AM I THINKING/BELIEVING?
And Stay Fascinated, say with delight......I am so fascinating, I am translating feelings into “fat thoughts”. I can figure this out and meet my real needs.
I have to if I want to really lose weight and keep it off.

Mmm mmm mmm that was beautiful Mary thankyou, it resonated with every measure of my spiritual heart.

Copyright © Mary Sue Abernethy 2009 www.weight-loss-choose-inner-wisdom.com

Challenges: Well only this word to my left, this word challenge, well that is my challenge and I am challenged every day and night and that is my challenge, that I like to be challenged why do I like to be challenged and then that is just more of a challenge. Do you get my song?

Triumphs: People love my little !!! !!!! !!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!!!!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A grapefruit.

Lunch: Thai Curry potatoes, that we cooked last night carried into todays lunch mm mm mm mm mmm mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mmm obviously it was mmm mm mmmmmmm

Dinner: Walnut patte wrapped in lettuce with avocado. They are VERY creamy, kind of like a warm syrup, like a ludge of creem cheese in your mouth for you cheese lovers, like thick moist coconut! Recipe below!

Dessert: Chocolateballs with peanut butter!!!!! Extra !!!!!! Recipe as always on blog day 115!!!

Snacks: Sweet sweet pineapple! And a beet and carrot and ginger and celery juice!

Recipe:
- 1 handful walnuts or brazil nuts (1/2 to 1 cup)
- 1/8th to 1/4 cup young coconut meat
- tablespoon of fresh rosemary

Process above together in food processor. Pulse until nice chunky paté mixture (not too smooth, or the brazil nuts start to get really oily)...

Scoop in to bowl and add a handful of cut wakame seaweed (available at Asian markets), and himalayan salt and season to taste...

Slice up cucumber rounds and put the paté on top like on a cracker...

Or wrap in lettuce with avocado and tomato slices...

Recipe from www.thegardendiet.com

Exercise: Walking around, laying around, practising loving and trusting myself

190 days to go!!!

Day 174

Thoughts: Unhealthy people think unhealthy thoughts. Fat people think fat thoughts. This is not good or bad, it is as it is.

There is a old saying “ Every thought that you think is a little hammer blow on the lump of iron which our bodies are, manufacturing out of it what we want it to be. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. So take care of what you think.”

How do we do that? How do we take care of what we think? We all know that we have a past and our past shapes our present and out of our present evolves our future life. Why are we stuck up in our life? Why don’t we have the ability to convert our dreams into reality? What is stopping us?

For long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin, I thought. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life....

The supreme obstacle is the doorway to ultimate fufilment. This is the highest truth. Your past is a fact. It is not a reality. Your current circumstances do not reveal your true nature. It only reveals your current state of thinking. So despair not. Your current circumstances can quickly be altered by changing your nature of thoughts. Look what I said. I said “by changing your nature of thoughts” .

Pay close attention to the lives all the great men and women, all the success stories and you find a common thread amongst all of them... “ That which you seek you already own. Acknowledge it and everything that you deeply cherish will manifest itself in abundance...” And most of them were believers.

What is the greatest mistake we make in reaching out for our dreams? We start with the assumption that we do not possess the fruit(goals). That we are lacking something and we focus more and more on the fruit and less on the abilities(seed and environment) which can help us grow the fruit.

What is the difference between a seed and a fruit?


The effect is nothing but cause in another form. There is no difference between a seed and the fruit. The whole intelligence of the fruit must be in the seed. The seed cannot grow into a fruit unless the intelligence of the fruit is embedded in the seed. You might not be able to see the fruit in the tiny seed but that doesn’t mean that the intelligence of the fruit can’t exist in a subtle form in the tiny seed. The cause has to contain the intelligence to produce the required effect.

Why am I telling you all these things? Because you have all the abilities and causes to attract and produce all those fantastic things you dream for. All you got to do is meditate on the seed which you own, which you possess and then watch as the universe works its magic filling you with the choices of love, light, abundance and joy.

You have every right to benefit from a healthy body and mind.

You have every right to enjoy the best of relationships.

You have every right to become rich.

All the good things in life should come to you. Should that is the word and if they do not there are ways and means for allowing them to come to you. - Vish

You think when you look in the mirror and feel self hatred or disgust, if you hate yourself or the fat on your body enough it will force you to stop eating and loose weight, when in fact most often fat thoughts make you eat more now or later, the Yo-Yo Diet Cycle.

http://www.vish-writer.com/recommends/SoulPowerMagic
Dr Alfred Dsouza

Challenges: Allowing abundance to come to me.

Triumphs: My body is getting confused between orgasims and my chocolate ball recipe!

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon juice. Strawberries. A cucumber.

Lunch: Left overs from last nights eggpant basil dish with brown rice and avocado.

Dinner: Green Thai curry potatoes with green beans and brocoli! Recipe below ;)

Dessert: chocolate balls (Recipe on blog Day 115)

Snacks: 6 chocolate balls

Recipe: The recipe for my Green Thai that can be either raw on a salad or cooked as a curry, vegetarian or not vegetarian, is on blog Day 21!

Exercise: I went for a skateboard to the park and almost went arse up! I was thinking for a different word to use then arse, nothing else fit right! My skateboard went into the gutter out of all things! So then I did some jumps up onto the park benchs, and some stretching and push ups, or I should say half push ups! Come on chest muscles you can do it hoooigghhhaaa! Hehe! And I skateboarded around some more and then skatboarded home!

And Meditation. I always thought meditation was an activity. It is not an exercise that I choose to do during certain times of the day. Meditation is like breathing. If I stop it I lose my awareness and connection with the life force. It has got nothing to do with sitting in one place and closing my eyes. Meditation is simply a medium to convert powerful thoughts into reality.

191 days to go!!!

Day 173

Thoughts: Meet Jinjee, "I've been raw vegan for 13 years on and off and 100% raw (not including a few slip-ups) for 5 years!". Jinjee is 39 years old.

Here are some photos of her fourth pregnancy - which she says "Painless birthing and rapid recovery with a Raw Vegan Diet!"



And this is Jinjee just 10 days after giving birth!!!


Jinjee didn't always look like this. This is her, before a raw vegan lifestyle, at 24years old, in 1992, at 180 lbs.


This is Jinjee after, at 34 years old, in 2001, after three babies, at 135 lbs. She looks younger here than she did at 24! It is obvious that weight certainly ages a person.


Jinjee's story: I was 25, overweight and tired, starting to feel pains I knew I was too young to be feeling. Then I met Storm! With his influence I began to eat a mostly raw diet with a few simple vegan dishes like rice and beans and began to lose weight and feel better. After about a year I went 100% raw and after a few months I began to feel the most incredible health! I quickly and easily dropped to my ideal weight and became filled with energy. The difference between 100% raw compared to 75%was like night and day!!

I LOVE food! My Father was a Hungarian-Jew and raised me on rich deli food. I teethed on Hungarian sausage, fattened on cold cuts, cheeses, Westfalian ham, lox, cream cheese, Swiss chocolate and German nougat! When I was 15 I started my battle with weight and overeating, a battle that raged continuously for 11 years! Every day of my life I promised myself that "tomorrow" I would control my eating, and I meant it. But no matter how hard or consistently I tried I wasn't able to overcome my eating problem. I prayed, meditated, and worked out furiously. The workouts helped somewhat with my weight during the year or two that I went to the gym daily. But by then I had also become a complete junk food junkie. I ate chocolate bars every day! I was a big fan of milkshakes, ice cream, pizza, nachos and cheese, bagels, pastries, chips, burgers and fries, chocolate chip cookies, anything with meat sauce, and quite simply anything that tasted good!

Looking back in my journals they are filled with the normal and not so normal events of growing up, but the common thread that runs through each entry over the years is my battle with food. One day I'd tell myself that tomorrow I'd eat no sugar, the next day that I'd eat only 3 meals a day, or that this month I'd loose 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 15 pounds, that I'd stick to a certain meal-plan, or try a new diet I'd read about. But nothing worked. My skin began to break out. I tried cutting out chocolate but it didn't help. My face was starting to scar up, ravaged by junk food. My Father, who was overweight and a very disciplined concert pianist, told me to give up, that I was going to drive myself around the bend. But this only made me more determined to win this battle. I was going to vanquish the forces within me that sought my destruction.

Pursuing a music career at 25 I enrolled in College in Santa Barbara California. I was 180 lbs., my heaviest ever, at 5'9", and young and free. Storm (now also known as "Nutman") was also in the music program and we met in the practice rooms and started playing music together. I noticed there was something special about him, an energy, - he glowed. He was very lean, very muscular, very athletic. He was captain of the fencing team and he was on crew, and also took jazz dance and tennis. Later I also discovered he was a martial artist, sailor, and mountain-climber. Although he wasn't on the track team, he spent a lot of time at the track and would often work out with the college's top track athletes.

I was stunned and appalled when I learned that this man, who I thought was in his 20's, was 47 years old! He never talked about his diet, but I noticed he often walked around with a bottle of water. When we started spending more time together playing music and hiking in the mountains, I observed that when he ate, it was usually plain shepherds salad, sprouts, or grapes that he got at the Farmers Markets, which were large gatherings of farmers who sold their produce twice a week in stalls on State Street in downtown Santa Barbara. It was there that I discovered the joys of fresh organic avocados, tomatoes, sprouted humus, fresh squeezed orange juice, dried apricots, raisins, pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds, guava pineapples, strawberries, bananas, smoothies, wheatgrass juice, seaweed, melons, peaches, sprouts and Tom Shepherd's delicious pre-washed salad mix that I could eat right out of the bag. I was caught up in the sensuality of eating these foods uncooked, in their natural fresh state. And I suddenly found myself rarely eating anything else. Between Santa Barbara and surrounding areas Goleta, Montecito, and Carpenteria, there was a Farmer's Market nearly every day of the week!

I was feeling really good and loosing weight, but then I started to get sick. Very sick. I developed a killer migraine, and I had a flu that wouldn't go away. One night, at the worst point of all this, I was vomiting, shaking and very frightened. I thought I might be dying. I called Storm. He asked several questions about my condition and then explained that I was going through a de-toxification of my system. Because I had stopped putting junk food into my body, my system was finally able to begin cleaning house. He said I could slow down the detox process if I ate some rice. But now that I knew what was going on I didn't feel as afraid. I was still a little unsure of the safety of this way of eating. I worried about becoming anorexic and about getting all the nutrients a body needs. But I decided I'd rather die than go back to my former battle. So I kept to my new habit of eating all-live foods.

And then, after a few weeks, something happened! It was like I had passed through some invisible barrier, and had come out on the other side! I felt like my body had been born again. I had reached a level of health that I had never felt before. I was tingling. I was completely in touch with the sensuous universe. Colors, sounds, leaves, smells, thoughts, every vibration had a profound effect on me. I was very clear, very aware, very at peace, very energized. I relished just moving, just breathing. I felt so thankful for each moment of being alive in this incredible living and vital body. The pleasure of it was so intense that the cravings that would soon resurface had very little power. The pleasure of junk food was incredibly small in comparison to the pleasure of my new sense of being truly healthy. I was glowing and high with energy. I was floating on air, walking 10 feel above the ground, running effortlessly up mountains, swimming across lakes, things I'd never dreamed of!

I had gone from eating whatever I wanted to living on a diet consisting exclusively of raw fresh organic vegetation! I still ate large quantities of food and enjoyed eating as much as ever if not more, but I lost 20 pounds in the first two months and another 22 pounds over the next three months. I'm holding now at my ideal weight of 135 pounds. The intense pleasure of good health just gets stronger all the time and I'm finally enjoying my youth.

One of the things that really helped me to never go back to my former eating habits was Storm's gift with recipes. He was able to replace any food I might be craving with an all-live version. For instance, if I craved meat, he made a nut-loaf out of ground nuts (usually pecans and almonds ground up in a meat grinder), with red peppers, tomatoes and onions, with a sauce made from raw tahini, lemon juice and garlic. He replaced milk shakes with nut-milk. He replaced apple pie with raw oat cobbler that tasted better than any pie I had ever had. He replaced rich deserts and sweets with fruit salad texture-blends from heaven. He made Sushi from ground nuts and avocado wrapped in dried seaweed, nut pizzas, smoothies, salads with dressings of avocado, vinegar and honey. For almost every junk food craving there was an even better substitute from the world of living foods.

Since being on this diet, which I now know is called the "raw vegan" diet, I am seldom depressed or irritable, my PMS and menstrual cramps have completely vanished, and I sleep 5 hours a night instead of 9.

The Doctors themselves also disagree as to the right diet. Some say that we eat too much protein. Some say that vegetarian diets don't have sufficient protein. Some say that high protein diets are dangerous. There are so many conflicting opinions coming out of the medical community, that I think we need to start thinking for ourselves. I think when considering a diet, you should always look at the author and ask yourself "Would I want to look like that?".

When it comes to knowing what foods to put into our bodies, perhaps our inner knowing is farther along than science. I believe we all know in our hearts that there is a right way to eat, and that the foods that the forces of nature put here on this earth are good, in their natural uncooked form that they were put here in, and that everything else is suspect. People just don't believe that it is POSSIBLE to eat an all-natural diet in today's society. But it is!!! And once you grab hold of that "golden ring" , as I have come to think of "good health", it becomes the easiest thing in the world. The raw-vegan diet is the only diet I have ever been able to stick to, - and I've tried everything from "Aroma-trim" to "The Zone". With this diet, I went off it one time and tried to get back on it for two years. I had had a major lifestyle shift, moving into a different climate, and didn't think it was possible to maintain a raw diet in Canada. So I went "off the wagon". But fairly soon I knew I had to get back on it as soon as possible. And I promised myself that next time I got hold of the golden ring, I would NEVER let go!

To visit Jinjee's website go to www.thegardendiet.com You can also see photos of Storm, when he was 53 years old with a body of a 20 year old! They have 5 beautiful children, and I must say some of the healthiest, glowing looking children I have ever seen! You can also see a photo of Storm from my yesterdays blog.

Challenges: I too was like Jinjee and every day of my life I promised myself that "tomorrow" I would control my eating, and I meant it! But no matter how hard or consistently I tried I wasn't able to overcome my eating problem. I would eat extremely healthy and then binge on junk food. Thinking I was not in control of myself and what went in my mouth was the worst! I hoped it would someday end and worked out furiously. It was a tiring mess! I know there are a lot of other people out there with this same thing, I know it because I get emails from people about it, plus if I can think it, so can any human being. Most human beings are operating from the one frequency, therefore I can assume that anything I think, you are probably thinking it, or have thought it before, or will think of it someday. The hardest part of being stuck in this food trap is thinking that you will never get out, or that it will never end, and that you will be like this and live like this for your entire life. I thought this. And since The Earth Diet no longer think this. I am free from it. The same as Jinjee. Try eating more raw foods, it will shift your consciousness.

Triumphs: Wow Jinjee's transformation is inspiring and it is undeniable that a raw vegan diet works! I live 75% raw and have absolutely noticed a transformation in my body, health and energy. It absolutely makes sense to eat live foods rather than dead organic matter. Well it does if you want this, "Colors, sounds, leaves, smells, thoughts, every vibration had a profound effect on me. I was very clear, very aware, very at peace, very energized. I relished just moving, just breathing. I felt so thankful for each moment of being alive in this incredible living and vital body."'Wow.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. Beet, carrot, celery and ginger juice.

Lunch: Strawberries, black berries and a cucumber!

Dinner: Eggplant with brocoli, garlic, chilli, onion, zuchinni, walnuts, spinach, green beans and basil, with brown rice and avocado!

Dessert: Black berries... mmm mmm mmm my new favourite fruit!

Snacks: Peanut butter, crushed peanuts :) And some peanuts. They are so much fun to crack open and the reward is the peanut in my mouth! Hehe! Yep pretty much an elephant today.

Recipe: Recipe is in blog day 172 although today I included avocado, it is such a smooth, soft and cool compliment to this dish, as it has a lot of flavours, spice and chilli. The more chiili you put in, the more avocado needed to cool your mouth! ;)

Exercise: A workout in the park! I get very easily bored with exercising if it becomes to repeat machine like. So I like to mix it up and have fun with it! I went for a skateboard, did some sit ups using the park equipment, and some jumps up onto a platform. I sat at the top of the slide and did some pull ups. Did some squats around the outside of the park. There was also a balancing cylinder so I practised balancing and falling off that! Then I did some stretches on the comfy grass! Oh what fun :)

191 days to go!!!

Day 172

Thoughts: I got a daily inspirational email today from Jinjee who is the creator of The Garden Diet. The Garden Diet is home to father Storm and mother Jinjee and their five children! Storm has been eating a raw-vegan diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in their natural unheated state for over 30 years and is known for his body builder's physique. At 61 he looks far younger than his years. Jinjee started eating a raw diet 17 years ago. Her before and afters show her weight loss transformation. Their family is 100% raw-vegan and thriving! On their site they share experiences through photos, blogs, and videos. The children all look so healthy, shining and glowing, clear pure skin and bright white eyes. It is very inspiring. www.thegardendiet.com

The email from Jinjee said "I was talking to an older wiser friend today, and we got to talking about our ego and how incessantly it can chatter to us, usually about negative things. She found that even better than pushing the thoughts away and trying to think positive thoughts, if she just observed the negative mind-chatter from her mature center, her essence, her core, looking at them without judgment but with just mild interest, then they would soon fade away.

Patience with ourselves is very important. Anger at ourselves just gets us more angry with ourselves. A lot of addiction, including food addiction, stems from trauma, and trauma is just a part of life. We have to really love and be patient with ourselves, as we would with a child we really love. And through this patience, we will be able to heal and grow in to better choices. Our emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health is healing and growing as we attend to each of these areas, and when we grow in one area it affects all the others to create balance and harmony in our being."

Storm Talifero, below at 53 years old, raw vegan for 31 years! Workouts include yoga, weights, martial arts, swimming, mountain climbing, bicycling, running, hiking.


Challenges: I'm good at finding something wrong with this moment. I take myself out of the moment by thinking. And the thinking has self indulgent thoughts of "This moment would be better if I had some more nectarines. If I had water im really dehydrated. If I wasn't so full. If I wasn't so bloated. If I wasn't so puffy. If I hadn't of put on the weight I just did. If my career was going exctly the way I want it to. If I had an abundance of money". I have been being aware of this and then reminding myself to be in the divine moment and to give up that there is something wrong.

Triumphs: The more people that think yes we can, the more people will think yes we can and then YES we can.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon juice. A cucumber. Peanut butter (pure crushed peanuts). Chocolate Balls.

Lunch: Brazil nuts. Brown rice, I love just plain rice, it's so simple and so fufilling.

Dinner: Eggplant with garlic, basil, tomato, and green beans and brown rice. Recipe below mmm mmm mmm!



Dessert: Blackberries! Mmmm I love them, they are so squishy and bouncy in my mouth and then they pop and fill my mouth with a sweet sweet sweet taste, and sometimes a little sour too!

Snacks: No snacks.

Recipe: Eggplant and Basil

Ingredients:
-Eggplant
-Garlic
-Tomato
-Fresh basil or dried basil (Fresh is always best)
-Walnuts
-Baby spinach
-chilli
-green beans
-brown rice

Directions:
Pre cook some organic brown rice
1. Chop all your veggies. Small pieces if you like delicate mouthfuls, or chunkier pieces if you like a whole mouthful ;)
2. Fry garlic and chilli in olive oil
3. Add eggplant, let it cook for a few minutes until the eggplant has soaked in the juices
4. Add the tomato, beans and fresh basil. Put a lid on and let it steam for a few minutes so the smells and tastes can whirl around together.
5. Add the baby spinach and walnuts. Put a lid on it and let it steam until the spinach is soft and read to eat
6. Serve with rice ... Enjoy!

Exercise: Practising presence while doing menial tasks!

193 days to go!!!

Day 171

Thoughts: Is there mercury in the fish? There is mercury in all fish.

In spite of the health benefits provided by omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils, people are decreasing fish in their diets due to high levels of mercury found in some fish. Elevated levels of Mercury, a toxin affecting cognitive development in unborn children, is being found in many species of fish raising health concerns from eating mercury laden fish. In America one-in-six children born every year have been exposed to mercury levels so high that they are potentially at risk for learning disabilities and motor skill impairment and short-term memory loss.

What is mercury?
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal, which has several forms. The metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white odorless liquid. This is the type of mercury used in thermometers. If heated, it is a colorless, odorless gas.

It is a metal found in various forms such as volcanoes, undersea vents, forest fires, and weathering of rocks all release it. It has been identified on the sun as well as in meteorites and moon rocks. Since mercury is an element, it is not biodegradable. Once it enters the environment, it stays there. There are three forms of mercury that exist today. The silver mercury found in thermometers, barometers, batteries, and dental fillings is metallic mercury. It is also used in gold mining and the production of chlorine gas. It stays liquid at normal temperatures but evaporates when exposed to atmosphere. From there, it can return to the soil and water through precipitation. Mercury combined with non-carbon elements such as chlorine, sulfur, and oxygen is called inorganic mercurials. This type of mercury is used in some skin-lightening creams, topical antiseptics, disinfectants, and antibacterials. Lastly, mercury that combines with carbon is organic mercury. It is the organic form, methylmercury, which has led to the fish consumption warnings.

Mercury is what was in my immunisation that the doctor told me if I got pregnant within 3 months I would have to get an abortion. Mercury is what is believed to be the cause of autism. (Read my blog Day 163 on mercury in vaccinations)

One government analysis shows that 630,000 children each year are exposed to potentially unsafe mercury levels in the womb. If the government and its scientists know about the mercury problem, why do so many people continue to be poisoned?

What happens to mercury when it enters the environment?
Methylmercury builds up in the tissues of fish. Larger and older fish tend to have the highest levels of mercury. People can breathe in small amounts of mercury metallic if a spill occurs at home or at work.

Why is there mercury in the fish?Primarily it's due to contaminents in bodies of water, whether in oceans, lakes, streams, etc. The majority of this pollution comes from manufacturing or agricultural industries either through dumping contaminents illegally or through the process of run-off, i.e. crop dusting plans spray crop fields with herbicides and the chemicals drain into lakes, streams, etc after it rains. From a manufacturing standpoint, the Mercury is released through smoke stacks, and when it rains, the rain carries the Mercury into the lakes, streams, oceans, etc.

Bacteria convert the Mercury into a form that is easily absorbed by small insects and other organisms. When fish eat these, they absorb the Mercury. When a bigger fish eats a smaller fish, it absorbs it's Mercury as well and this is how it moves up the food chain to humans.

What areas of the world are affected?
The entire world. There is not one place, not one fish and not one ocean that does not contain mercury. The study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, tested fish from nearly 300 streams across the country for traces of mercury, and found that every sampled fish contained the substance.

What about farm raised fish?
Farmed fish have more problems. Not only do they contain mercury, the conditions in which fish are farmed may be the reason infections such as columnaris disease are becoming increasingly virulent, as aquaculture creates selective pressures that encourage the most lethal strains of disease to thrive. That is the conclusion of a 23-year study conducted at a fish farm in Finland. According to the research, led by Dr Katja Pulkkinen of the University of Jyväskylä and published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, the high density of fish, the stress of the animals and even the treatment administered to them have acted as selective pressures favouring the more virulent strains of the pathogens.Columnaris disease, caused by the bacterium Flavobacterium columnare, leads to skin lesions, fin erosion and gill necrosis and has become a serious problem in aquaculture. In the US, it is one of the biggest causes of death in farmed catfish, costing the industry millions of dollars a year.


What are the effects of mercury on my body?
The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Methylmercury and metallic mercury vapors are more harmful than other forms, because more mercury in these forms reaches the brain. Mercury in the mother’s body passes to the fetus and may accumulate there. Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults. Exposures to high levels of mercury can permanently damage adult organs, including the brain, kidneys, and a developing fetus. Effects on brain function in adults may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems.

How do you tell if mercury is present in fish?
Mercury is odorless and colorless. There is no way to clean or remove mercury. It can’t be cut, cleaned or cooked out.

If I shop at a fish market, how do I know if the fish sold there are safe to eat?
Most fish contains safe levels of mercury, however, pregnant, nursing, women planning a pregnancy in the next year and small children should not eat:

•Swordfish
•Shark
•Bluefish
•Striped Bass
•Freshwater fish caught in RI (other than trout caught in stocked waters.)
•Tile Fish and King Mackerel (Although not regularly caught or consumed in Rhode Island, these species are included in FDA Advisory.)
What fish are safe to eat?

Is there a way of measuring mercury in a fish? What level, if any, is safe?

The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA has collected fish and sent them to a laboratory for analysis. This analysis is costly and takes time. (If you wanted to analyze the fish you bought, by the time you got the results back your fish would be too old to eat). RI adopted the EPA Ambient Water Quality Criteria of 0.3 parts per million (ppm). Fish found to have this amount of mercury or less in them are deemed "safe".

Is there a medical test to show whether I’ve been exposed to mercury?
Tests can measure mercury levels in the body. Consult your doctor or other health care provider to see if this is right for you.

How long has there been mercury in fish?
The Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about mercury in swordfish since 1986. The problems of mercury in fresh water fish were discovered more recently.

Have humans have artificially raised the levels of mercury?
Mining and industrial applications of mercury have increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution. Due to its ability to conduct electricity, measure pressure, act as a biocide, preservative, and disinfectant, mercury has become a commodity. During coal combustion, two forms of mercury are released: oxidized (ionic) mercury and elemental mercury. Mercury originally produced in one area can deposit in another country or region.

What about fish sticks and fast food sandwiches?
Fish sticks and "fast-food" sandwiches are commonly made from fish that are high in mercury.

Should I eat fish at all?
You make your own mind up after reading this statement from the worlds richest, billion dollar company, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), "Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and children's proper growth and development. So, women and young children in particular should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits. However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury."

Is There Mercury In Fish Oil Capsules?
A study published in 2005 in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, concluded that fish oil capsules may be indeed safer than fish meals when it comes to mercury pollution.

Do companies purify their fish oil?
Companies use purification methods such as molecular distillation to ensure that their fish oil has been purified from environmental contaminants. And many are independently certified safe from the point of view of having safe levels of mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other compounds.

Will our fish ever be mercury-free?
“This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. So unless the Earth has a huge transformation and reduce pollution, machinery, factories, then no.

An article I saw on the net today:

The country continues to fish at-risk species that its population doesn't even want to eat:
Over the past few weeks, Japan has once again been spotlighted as a great villain of sustainable fishing. "The Cove," the documentary about illegal dolphin fishing off the Japanese coast, won the Academy Award for best documentary. Its producers staged a sting on a Los Angeles Japanese restaurant that served illegal whale meat (the restaurant has now been closed). And now Japan has managed to keep a proposed international trade ban on the Atlantic bluefin tuna from being passed at a United Nations conference in Doha, Qatar.

The bluefin, which can grow up to 150 pounds, is widely believed to be in danger of extinction -- its population currently hovers at about 15 percent of its historical size. Last week's attempt to protect the fish pitted the United States and the European Union against Japan, which, according to the Times of London, managed to convince enough countries of the potential economic dangers of a ban to keep the motion from going through. (Japan consumes 80 percent of the world's bluefin tuna catch, largely as sushi and sashimi.)To read the full article go to www.salon.com

http://www.health.ri.gov/environment/risk/fish_faq.php
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_there_mercury_in_fish
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/environmental/200511mercuryvsomega-3fattyacids.html
http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/foodbornepathogenscontaminants/methylmercury/ucm115662.htm
http://www.pbs.org/now/science/mercuryinfish.html
http://www.ktradionetwork.com/tag/fish/page/2/
http://www.salon.com/life/sustainable_food/index.html?story=/food/feature/2010/04/26/usda_testing_end_local_meat
http://theearthdiet.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-163_13.html

Challenges: There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all. ~Robert Orben

Triumphs: Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A apple. A cucumber.

Lunch: Salad, green lettuce, spinach and avocado.

Dinner: Eggplant dish. Recipe below!

Dessert: Chocolate balls!

Snacks: Chocolate balls!

Recipe: Recipe for chocolate balls in blog day 115.

Eggplant Recipe:

1. Chop into pieces, brocoli, eggplant, zuchinni, garlic, chilli, and tomato.
2.Fry zuchinni and garlic in the olive oil until it has absorbed the oil (you can also use macadamia oil, coconut oil and avocado oil).
3. Add the rest of the vegetables and turn heat off and put lid on fry pan. This wil steam th vegetables and flavour together. Add fresh basil.
4. Serve mmm mmm


Exercise: Went for a walk to the library today to hire the film "Ghandi" and a walk to the post office to send mothers day cards!

194 days to go!!!

Day 170

Thoughts: Fish, cereal, yogurt and other basic food can be very healthy, until it is corrupted in the hands of food manufacturers. The more food is processed, the unhealthier it becomes. The healthiest foods have no list of ingredients. They are what they are. Here Christopher Wanjek presents 10 healthy foods gone bad:

1. Fish Sticks
The fish part is usually pollock, rather healthy. The stick part seems to be the remaining 20 ingredients listed on the box, which aren't so healthy. Doctors have been advising people to eat more fish for years, because they are high in healthy fats and low in unhealthy fats compared to beef and pork. Yet when you buy processed fish products or when you order deep-fried fish from a fast-food joint, the bad starts to outweigh the good.

2. Yogurt
Armenians in my neighborhood when I was growing up used to make their own yogurt, which is essentially milk fermented with certain bacteria. This is high in protein, calcium and vitamins and can be eaten by adults, who generally cannot digest milk well. What is sold in mainstream U.S. supermarkets under the name yogurt is really a dairy dessert loaded with sugar and processed fruit, disguised as a health food. Try plain, fat-free yogurt and add your own fruit.



3. Canned Soup
Soup is remarkably healthy, inexpensive and easy to make. A lunch of hardy homemade soup and bread, cooked in bulk and frozen in individual containers for the week, will cost less than a dollar a day. Canned soup, on the other hand, is a miserable concoction of salt, fat, artificial additives, preservatives, water and maybe part of a carrot. One serving typically contains 1,000 milligrams of sodium, about half your daily allowance. Save your chicken and beef bones and vegetable tops and make you own broth.



4. Green Tea
Green tea is widely consumed throughout Asia and is nothing short of an art form in Japan. The tea contains antioxidants and other healthful components shown in clinical studies to possibly prevent cancer, heart disease, senility and other diseases associated with aging. But most Americans don't like the taste, so what you get here is a green tea drink loaded with sugar and other additives, sold under the disguise of a health drink. Any ingredient after the words "green tea" on the bottle chisels away the health benefits.

5. Russet Potatoes
At the risk of pissing off Idaho, the Russet varieties of potatoes, with their brown skin and white flesh, are only marginally healthy to begin with. Cheap and hardy, yes, with a few nutrients, they serve some purpose as a filler. But their starch is quickly converted by the body into blood sugar, called glucose, and raises the risk of diabetes and obesity. And because they are arguably the least flavorful of the hundreds of potato varieties in the Americas, we have to do things to make them tasty. We boil and mash them and cover them in butter, or we cut them into strips, deep-fry them and cover them with salt.



6. Popcorn
Popcorn today rarely resembles the healthy treat it used to be. Popcorn is, well, corn. It's high in fiber, low in calories, and contains only nominal traces of sugar, salt and fat. That changes, of course, when you add sugar, salt and fat. Microwave popcorns are the biggest offenders with their long list of ingredients to enhance flavor. Try buying popcorn kernels in bulk for pennies a serving and control the amount of salt and (real) butter.



7. Sliced Bread
The most common form of bread in Americaethe mass-produced white, soft doughy bread in plastic bags with a shelf life of weekseis likely a major component of obesity and diabetes. True bread is flour and water with a pinch of salt and yeast. Packaged white bread contains flour plus sugar, corn syrup and often a dozen other ingredients. The processing creates a food product that, once eaten, is quickly converted to blood sugar, called glucose. This causes the pancreas to work overtime and ultimately destroys the organ. Even mass-produced whole wheat breads are unhealthy because they are made palatable by some evil means: the unholy trinity of sugar, salt and softening additives.



8. Breakfast Cereal
True cereals---the likes of wheat, barley, rice and oats, to name a few---are and have always been the most important food of the human race. The combination of protein, healthy fat and vitamins is unbeatable. The word "cereal" has been hijacked, however, by food producers who make tiny, crunchy breakfast cakes out of true cereal with the addition of sugar, corn syrup, salt, food dyes and preservatives. Try oats with raisins, or barley with 100-percent fruit spread. These are far healthier and far cheaper.



9. Commercial Organic
It started as a brilliant idea. Dedicated farmers would become stewards of the land, shunning the toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers that had proliferated after WWII. They would raise food naturally, cultivate diverse crop varieties native to their soils. Animals raised for food would be treated with care and dignity. And for 30-some years, this has been the case. But organic food is so popular that its value system is in jeopardy. Big players such as Wal-Mart and Kraft want part of the profits, and their demand for cheaper production methods undermines what it means to be organic. And so we now have organic milk from caged cows force-fed organic grain. And we have organic junk food with organic ingredients flown in from around the globe, disguised as health food by virtue of the organic label.



10. Pizza
What a pity that most Americans have never eaten pizza and confuse it for the junk food advertised on television. In Italy there are laws defining pizza, which set allowances on the type of flour, tomato, mozzarella, olive oil, basil and oregano. Pizza is inherently nutritious and filling. Street corner pizza shops in Philadelphia, New York and other large cities kept close to the original idea of simple, fresh ingredients. Then came the pizza chains, which put most local shops out of business. Fresh ingredients were replaced with preservative-laden, cheap and fatty ingredients that could be mass-produced, frozen and shipped across the country. Commercial pizza is now a high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium, low-nutrient food.



GOOD FOOD GONE BAD http://www.livescience.com/health/top_10_good_food_bad.html

Challenges: The bottom line is that it is environmental conditioning that really affects 99% of our actions, and all diligent behavior studies have proven this time and time again.

Triumphs: People become alcoholics not because they have a genetic predisposition, but because of the influence of their parents or friends. If you abuse a child, very often they grow up to abuse other children. When the mass media promotes a certain idea in society, such as "terrorism", the public is conditioned into believing this is true and a real threat, regardless of reality. The fact is, we are emergent, vulnerable organisms and always undergoing influence, conditioning and change to a certain degree. - The Zeitgeist Movement .com

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. Apple. Peanut butter, crushed peanuts.

Lunch: Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts. Apple. Cucumber.

Dinner: A salad, with 1 avocado, lettuce, green spinach and cucumber.

Dessert: Chocolate balls with peanut butter.

Recipe: Recipe for chocolate balls blog day 115!

295 days to go!!!

Day 170

Thoughts: Chemicals.

(This blog thanks to Diana Mitchell and Catherine Friend)

The Hazards of Household Cleaning Products, by Janice Hughes - Share Guide Publisher

Many of us use toxic chemicals in everyday life. Sometimes we are aware of it, sometimes not. Many actions which appear to be harmless actually involve the use of harmful chemicals. Household cleaners, garden pesticides, paints, batteries, detergents, even flea powders can be hazardous to our health and the environment
Detergents, degreasers, stain removers and pesticides have made our homes miniature chemical factories. Hazardous chemicals endanger the environment by contaminating our groundwater, lakes and oceans. If these hazardous products in the home are ingested, absorbed through the skin or inhaled they can cause illness that may only appear years later.

One of the biggest culprits in ocean pollution is phosphates, common in laundry detergents and some cleaning products. The average consumer nationwide uses about 30 pounds of laundry detergent a year; all together, Americans use about 8.3 billion pounds of dry detergent and a billion gallons of liquid detergent each year! High phosphate levels can kill life in rivers, streams and oceans by causing "algae blooms." Algae slimes dense enough to suffocate marine life have been swelling around the world, especially in coastal bays. They are largely caused by fertilizing pollutants called "nutrients" in human sewage and farm runoff.

Some marine experts call this type of ocean pollution a silent, global epidemic that if unabated could destroy American's most scenic and commercially valuable waters. From Long Island Sound to the Santa Monica Bay, nutrients have devastated many popular fishing spots and shellfish beds. Many coastal bays have turned the hue of pea soup, and some have regressed to "dead zones"--water so depleted of oxygen that only primitive creatures such as bacteria and algae can survive.
Some progress has been made in tackling this problem. Phosphates have been banned in many areas. But some supermarket varieties still contain them. In addition, many other household cleaning products contain harmful solvents and harsh chemicals that destroy the natural processes involved in wastewater treatment. In addition, hazardous waste products should not be disposed of in a septic system. These materials kill valuable bacteria in the system. This includes even small amounts of latex paint rinsed off of rollers and brushes.

Many of us tend to think anything sold in a supermarket must be safe, but often labels do not contain complete and accurate information. Many common household cleaning products are actually classified as hazardous waste! You should not dispose of them in the trash; please take them to your county's hazardous waste collection center.

There is another side to this issue besides the pollution of our environment--our health, and the safety of our children. Chemical levels can be up to 70 times higher inside the home that out. Over 100 chemicals commonly found in homes have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, psychological abnormalities, skin reactions, headaches, depression, joint pain, chronic fatigue, chest pains, dizziness, loss of sleep, asthma. . .the list goes on. Housewives have a 55% higher risk of getting cancer than do women working outside the home. This most likely has to do with the products they use on a daily basis.Nervous disorders and respiratory problems have also been linked to hazardous substances in the home.
Every year thousands of household poisonings are reported. Many are fatal. Approximately 70% of all poisoning accidents occur in children between the ages of one and five. Almost all childhood poisonings are caused by unsafe storage and handling of household cleaning products and medicines. According to Poison Control, dishwashing detergent accounts for more accidental poisonings than any other household substance. Dandruff shampoo, if swallowed, causes vital organs to degenerate. Household ammonia, when mixed with bleach is a deadly substance. Bug spray can remain active and airborne in your home for up to 30 years.

Seniors are also at risk. With increasing age, people become more vulnerable to the harmful effects of environmental chemicals due to the deterioration of physiological and biochemical processes, which include certain age-related biochemical, morphological and functional changes associated with the nervous system. For example, the elderly are likely to suffer more than younger people from exposure to carbon disulfide and to certain pesticides and chemicals.
The most common ingredients in household cleaning products include alkalies, acids, detergents, other toxic chemicals. Alkalies are soluble salts that are effective in removing dirt without excessive rubbing. Alkalies vary in strength; the stronger one cause burns, and if swallowed can cause internal injuries and even death. Acids are beneficial in removing hard-water deposits, discoloration and rust stains. Acids can irritate and injure the skin and eyes. Oxalic acid, used in some toilet bowl cleaners, is extremely poisonous.

Caustic household cleaners can cause severe burning if swallowed or put on the skin, Symptoms of poisoning include redness around the mouth, drooling and difficulty in swallowing. Never make someone who has swallowed a caustic substance vomit or give a "neutralizing" agent, as the chemical reaction can cause further burning.) It is best to give water (about a cupful) and seek emergency advice from poison control.

Many of the chemicals found in our homes are used to make our lives easier. But we don't realize the consequences of using many of these substances. Think before you pour waste down the sink. Only natural substances should be disposed in our sewer systems. Be wary and read labels. And whenever possible, use alternative non-toxic products that will curtail the destruction of the environment.

www.chemicalfreeparenting.com

Check out this Earth Choice Add, it's awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5IM1iCPYp0



Challenges: Where are we going?

Triumphs: When we think of sustainability, often we think of durability, longevity and environmental respect. In general, a sustainable practice is a practice that takes the health of the future into consideration. However, this idea isn't just reserved for the physical, material world- it also applies to thought, belief, human conduct and society as a whole. - The Zeitgeist Movement www.thezeitgeistmovement.com

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A green apple. Brazil nuts.

Lunch: A green apple and cucumber and ginger juice (good for the gallbladder). Brazil nuts. Peanut butter (pure crushed peanuts) mmm mmm.

Dinner: A salad with spinach, green lettuce and avocado. A completely raw food day :)

Exercise: A walk around Amityville :)

195 Days To Go!!!

Day 169

Thoughts: Acne.

(This blog thanks to Stephanie Long Lomenick)

This blog goes:
1) Acne
2) Acne Cure Myths
3) How Acne is caused, the root cause
4) How to get rid of your acne for good and forever
5) The Quick Action Plan for Acne

Acne is a skin disease. About 60% of people in the world are suffering from less or severe forms of acne. Who hasn’t encountered the dreaded ‘zit’ at some point in their life, making acne one of the most common of all skin disorders.

Acne is NOT normal and should NOT be happening at ANY age.

Acne is NOT hereditary. And you will NOT have to have acne for the rest of your life.

If you've ever spoken to a dermatologist, they commonly say that acne is a natural thing because of genetics. This is not true. Acne is a sign that something is wrong with the body, and unless you do something about it now you may get other health problems later on in life.

So it is best to deal with your acne now rather than wait.

Don't spend money on expensive treatments or creams...not needed! The acne industry makes millions of dollars off your acne!!! They love it!

Here are some natural cures that you can do to rid your acne, fast and forever!

First of all here are some acne myths that we need to understand do NOT work! Basically any 'product' that they are making ALOT of money off you, is not the cure.

Acne Cure Myth : Cleansers, gels, lotions, creams, acids and others topicals are extremely unlikely to clear up your acne. The reason why they are useless is because they don't get close to handling the CAUSE of acne. The simple fact is that using something like baking soda, which only costs pennies, is more effective than most of the cleansers on the acne market.

Acne Cure Myth : Antibiotics kill the bacteria on the skin involved in the last stage of the development of acne. The bacteria on the skin mutates and becomes resistant to the antibiotics. But the healthy bacteria in the gut doesn't mutate, and they get wiped out. This can mean you get worse acne than normal.

Acne Cure Myth: Accutane. It boggles the mind that paid professional doctors prescribe this dangerous drug to their patients. Avoid.

Acne Cure Myth: Overwashing and Underwashing. If you overwash your face your skin will get dried out. This can worsen acne, but obviously overwashing isn't the cause of acne. Likewise if you underwash your face your skin will get oily and this can worsen acne as well. The best thing to do is wash your face twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening or before bed.

The only real way to cure your acne is to handle the ROOT cause of acne.

The root cause is the simple underlying reason you get acne. And no it's not
bad genes or anything to do with hygiene.

And guess what: the greedy acne companies don't want you to know what it is...

YOUR BODY IS TOXIC!!! It is acidic which creates too much acid for the body to handle and so it pushes it's way out through the skin. And can you imagine the smell of the arm pits and the poo from a body with acne. Acne is showing you on the outside how upset the inside of your body is. And the more agressive the acne, it is saying "abort abort abort body is toxic and needs a clean out!!!" so it forces you to do something about it. And then you don't do anything about it, and you instead put a creeam full of chemicals on it in the hope that artificial atoms can clean something that is pure. It makes it worse, activtates the body, and the body pushes back even harder to see that NO TREATMENT OR CREAM WORK and the only thing to do to prevent this skin disease forever is to look inside. Now do you see how putting cream on top of your acne does no good?

Blackheads may suggest the need for better hygiene, or magnesium and vitamin A. Chronic, numerous whiteheads can also form during acne outbreaks, suggesting vitamin B1 deficiency or absorption problems (that's why a colonic is heaven, it sucks away the sludge stuck to your bowel walls and allows your digestive system to do it's job and absorb the nutrients). Consistent raised spots on the outside of the arms and sometimes even the thighs, resembling "chicken skin," may suggest need for magnesium, vitamin A, or essential fatty acids and the need to avoid foods that inhibit the absorption of these nutrients, such as trans-fatty acids found in margarine and hydrogenated oils, such as cottonseed oil and palm kernel oil.

Chemicals that cause acid in the body which creates Acne:
-facial creams
-soaps
-shampoos
-makeup

FoodS that cause acid in the body which creates Acne:
Certain foods can also aggravate acne conditions because of their high-acid forming effects on the body, stay away from all acidic foods
-fried foods
-trans fats
-iodized salt
-alcohol
-all processed foods
-chocolate
-fruit juices
-carbonated beverages
-caffeinated beverages
-all dairy products
-meat, Pork, Lamb, Beef, Chicken, Turkey
-Excessive long-term intake of seafood or other high iodine foods may also cause acne in some people.
-Vinegar
-White Pasta
-White Bread
-Wholemeal Bread
-Biscuits
-Soy Sauce
-Tamari
-Condiments (Tomato Sauce, Mayonnaise etc.)
-Artificial Sweeteners
-Honey
-Drinks
-Fizzy Drinks
-Coffee
-Tea
-Beers
-Spirits
-Fruit Juice
-Dairy Smoothies
-Milk
-Traditional Convenience Foods
-Sweets
-Chocolate
-Microwave Meals
-Tinned Foods
-Powdered Soups
-Instant Meals
-Fast Food
-Fats & Oils
-Saturated Fats
-Hydrogenated Oils
-Margarine (worse than Butter)
-Corn Oil
-Vegetable Oil
-Sunflower Oil
-Peanuts
-Cashew Nuts
-Pistachio Nuts

THE CURE TO ACNE FOR EVER (Are you really ready for your acne to go for ever?) Eat alkaline foods to alkalize your body, your body organs will rest and the acne will dissolve and then disapear. Acne can NOT survive in a alkaline body. Read my Blog Day 34 on Alkaline and Acidic.

ALKALINE FOODS:
-Vegetables
-Asparagus
-Artichokes
-Cabbage
-Lettuce
-Onion
-Cauliflower
-Radish
-Swede
-Lambs Lettuce
-Peas
-Courgette
-Red Cabbage
-Leeks
-Watercress
-Spinach
-Turnip
-Chives
-Carrot
-Green Beans
-Beetroot
-Garlic
-Celery
-Grasses (wheat, straw, barley, dog, kamut etc.)
-Cucumber
-Broccoli
-Kale
-Brussels Sprouts

Fruits
-Lemon
-Lime
-Avocado
-Tomato
-Grapefruit
-Watermelon (is neutral)
-Rhubarb

Drinks
-'Green Drinks'
-Fresh vegetable juice
-Pure water (distilled or ionised)
-Lemon water (pure water + fresh lemon or lime).
-Herbal Tea
-Vegetable broth
-Almond Milk

Seeds, Nuts & Grains
-Almonds
-Pumpkin
-Sunflower
-Sesame
-Flax
-Buckwheat Groats
-Spelt
-Lentils
-Cumin Seeds
-Any sprouted seed

Fats & Oils
-Flax
-Hemp
-Avocado
-Olive
-Evening Primrose
-Borage
-Coconut Oil
-Oil Blends (such as Udo's Choice)

Others
-Sprouts (soy, alfalfa, mung bean, wheat, little radish , chickpea, broccoli etc)
-Bragg Liquid Aminos (Soy Sauce Alternative)
-Hummus
-Tahini

General Guidance:
Stick to salads, fresh vegetables and healthy nuts and oils. Try to consume plenty of raw foods and at least 2-3 litres of clean, pure water daily (ideally enhanced with pH drops).

mmmm bliss the fruits and veggies chillin at my place

The Quick Action Plan for Acne

1. Massage your skin, where needed, with bergamot, camphor, geranium, juniper, lavender, or neroli essential oils.

2. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend making a paste of ½ tsp each of turmeric and sandalwood paste with enough water, and applying to pimples. Also, drink half a cup of aloe vera juice twice daily until acne clears.

3. Eat an organic whole foods diet, with plenty of organic cooked and raw vegetables, and whole fruits. Eat alkaline foods like I have suggested above.

4. Drink eight glasses of pure, filtered water daily. Also, daily have two glasses of raw juice, combining carrot, beet, and celery juice, or, carrot, cucumber, and lettuce (not iceberg), and spinach, with carrot predominating.

5. Combine the tinctures of herbs such as sarsaparilla, burdock, and cleavers in equal parts, taking ½ tsp three times a day. Drink an infusion of nettle several times a day and apply tea tree oil topically. An infusion of calendula mixed with equal parts of distilled witch hazel can be used as a cleansing wash. Steam sauna your face with red clover, lavender, and strawberry leaves.

6. Useful homeopathy remedies are Pulsatilla, Silicea, Berberis, Ledum, Sulfur, Arsen alb., Belladonna, and/or Carbo veg.

7. Enjoy full body immersion hydrotherapy treatments such as steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, colonic irrigation, hot and/or cold compresses, and steam sauna your face with red clover, lavender, and strawberry leaves.

8. Useful supplements are vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin B complex, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc. Also include omega-3 fatty acids, brewer's yeast, chlorophyll, and pancreatic enzymes with meals.

9. Expose your face to sun and air at least 30 minutes a day, and exercise daily. Get sweaty. Waste and toxins are eliminated by the skin through sweat pores. Keep your skin clean by washing your face three times a day with soap made from the herb calendula officinalis, or using other alternatives to soap. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. Squeezing pimples or whiteheads may cause infection. Keep the skin free of oil. Get sufficient sleep.

10. Make facial masks from natural products; leave on overnight to help dry the skin if acne is caused by excess oil.

11. For long term relief and health be sure to do a colon cleanse. This clears out the toxins in the blood and excess waste in the body. Colon cleansing will healp clear up a lot of issue, expecially acne. It's time to get healthy! No one with acne has healthy bowels. There is an accumulation of toxins in the bowels.Thus, constipation or irregular bowel movements worsen the problem. Get a colonic!

12. A tea can be made from equal parts of Oregon Grape Root, Dandelion Root, and Burdock Root. Brew 1 teaspoon of this mixture per cup of boiling water. Simmer 5 minutes, then steep for 15 minutes. Up to 6 cups per day for 12 days are taken, or less if nausea or an upset stomach occurs.

13. A tea of Vitex has often been considered useful, especially when premenstrual symptoms and hormonal imbalances are involved.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080120164532AAuujJS
cureremedies.org/natural-acne-solutions
http://www.naturalcures.com/
http://www.thesecretacnecure.com/

Challenges: The cure to anything is the root cause. - Liana (hehe)

Triumphs: All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? - Buddha


What I ate today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A beet, carrot, celery and ginger juice.

Lunch: Ginger tea (Cut up ginger with boiled water). Green apple. Brazil nuts. Peanut butter (crushed peanuts).

Dinner: A patch of veggies! Brocoli, carrot, garlic, brown onion, spring onion, zuchinni, basil, potato and green beans oh and a sexy smooth yellow chilli! Cooked in olive oil. With brown rice mmm mmm mmm!

Dessert: Blueberries.

Snacks: Another green apple.

Recipe: A Patch Of Veggies:
1)Chop all your veggies, potatos, garlic, onion, fresh basil, carrot, zuchinni, brocolli, chilli, and grean beans.
2)Cook the potatos, onion, chilli and garlic until potatos are half firm.


3)Add the rest of the veggies.
4)Put the lid on it, cook until your desired softness mmm I like to pretend I am in snowing France and I leave it cook until the veggies are soft and smooth. Mmm it's like an explosion of sweet energy in the mouth!



Exercise: A walk to the library and to Walgreens to buy my mum a card for Mother's Day! I got her the coolest card! MUM IF YOU ARE READING STOP READING it's of a little girl on a toilet seat and you open it up and it sings, like it's actually a recording in the card, "Don't ya know that your some kind of wonderful?!" and it reads 'Years of potty training and you still know how to handle all the crap". And I'm going to print a photo of my head and replace it with the random 2 year old on the front. Like Hi mum heres a card with a photo of someones baby on it. Ha! Lame. I know, but my mum will get a laugh and that's all I care about!

196 days to go!!!