A Reality Check on Sugar – Jamie Lynn

On a recent Wednesday, I picked my kids up from school.  I met my daughter as she walked out of her classroom with a sucker in her mouth. Fairly normal for most kids, I know.  In my house we do not eat sugar, it is not considered a food.  I was a bit disappointed to find her eating candy. We walked to the car and I kindly asked her to put it away for another time. She asked me when she could finish it.

“Well,” I replied,  “today we have Tae Kwondo (the instructor does not allow sugar, and discourages the kids from eating it at all) and tomorrow is another school day, when do you think would be a good time?”

She thought about my answer for a moment, and replied  “maybe I should just throw it away?”

She then went quiet for a bit and we continued the drive home. Then she said, “Mom, I do not understand, why would my gym teacher give me something that wasn’t good for me?”

I was not sure what to say.  I could not come up with an answer and just said, “I don’t know.”

With the rates of childhood obesity at an all time high, why are teachers giving SUGAR to our children?  Did you know that children who are addicted to sugar have a higher risk of being addicted to drugs and alcohol as adults?  That is a disturbing thought.  The FDA listed sugar as an addictive drug over 30 years ago. In my eyes, it is not any different than drugs and alcohol. The brain does not discern sugar from hard drugs like meth or cocaine; they all create the same addictive patterns in the brain. Given that 1 in 3 American children now has allergies, ADHD, autism or asthma and according to a study in 2008 from the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 3 Fourth graders is expected to be insulin dependent by the time they reach adulthood.

Sugar is everywhere and hidden in many processed foods you would not expect, like salad dressing and potato chips. Children often begin their days with sugar cereals, followed by “healthy” granola bars, “fruit” snacks that have no actual fruit in them, and worse than that sports drinks and soda. Kids become sugar addicts before they even get to middle school.  Parents often opt for the school lunches due to convenience, however, under the USDA’s current budget for the National School Lunch Program of approximately $8.5 billion (in comparison the Pentagon’s 2009 budget $600 billion), less than a dollar is available per meal for the purchase of healthy food. Most of the food in our school lunches comes out of a can or package, with no fresh raw fruits and veggies available.

Let’s get back to my daughters question: “Why would my teacher give me something that was not good for me?”

It is time for us as parents and mentors to become more educated and become better advocates for the children in our lives.  We need to educate ourselves so that we can better educate and prepare our children for life.  They look up to us; whether we are moms, dads, grandparents, or most importantly teachers. It is our job to be sure we are living as an example and feeding them foods that will make them stronger and healthier, not adult addicts.

We do not need to bribe our children with sugar or to reward them for a job well done.  Children get excited when we get excited. A great reward is more time with our children; a special day out or an extra story at night that is even more special than a sugar treat. If we make a big deal out of it, they will understand the message.  When we give them sugar, we are setting up a reward system that ultimately will never serve them. Children want to feel good and have energy, when we feed them sugar, that all goes out the window.  Have you watched a child eat a piece of candy?  What happens within 15-30 minutes after consuming that candy?  One of two things usually, they crash and go to sleep or they are out of control.

I have been lucky enough to volunteer in my son’s classroom and educate his fellow first graders on healthy snacks.  The first week I went into the classroom, only 8 of the 22 children brought what I would call a healthy afternoon snack; a whole fruit or vegetable.  Today was week three of my healthy snack lesson, and we had 18 of the 22 children with a healthy snack, in just three weeks. My lesson is at 2pm in the afternoon, often a time when children crash just as we do. My son’s teacher shared with me yesterday that now that the children are eating healthy snacks, the energy of the classroom has changed, they are still able to focus and follow directions in the afternoon.  These children are asking for healthy snacks at home and taking the recipes with them to share with their families. Today we made banana blueberry smoothies – they loved them and had fun making them!

It is my goal as a parent to lead by example, and educate my children about how to make healthy choices in all aspects of their lives.  Give it a try, make a commitment to yourself and your family to eliminate all refined sugar.  The changes resulting from this small decision will astound you.A

Women’s Expo – Flathead Valley, MT

Jamie Lynn

Success at the Women’s Expo

In November we had our first ever Women’s Expo in the Flathead Valley, and it was a huge success.  Samantha and I had an opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with many new faces here in Kalispell.  Our task was to explain the GT process in 3 minutes or less, and as many of you know from your own attempts, this is not easy feat.  Our focus was on health based fat loss.

Our booth was situated in an aisle with many  “Diet” programs.  One woman commented on the before and after pictures we had hanging in the booth:

“There are at least 3 other weight loss programs here, with many before and after pictures.  But, I do not want to look like them, I want to look like you!”

What a complement to our program, we know we promote HEALTH, and it is always great to hear that from a total newbie to our process.  Our focus as Genesis Transformation Coaches is to promote health; we offer no special foods or pills; only real food and exercise.

A special thanks to Erin Sabin for helping us at the expo and also to all the GT Women who stopped by our booth to show their support.

Thrive this Holiday Season! – Courtney Townley

Holiday “TO DO” List
Rather than just “survive” this holiday season, may you “thrive” throughout it.  There will be, no doubt, a few stressors that blow in with the holiday cheer, but with all that you have learned during your Genesis Transformation process, you are well equipped to handle any challenges that may arise.  Below is a list of a few things “to do” this season that just may help you feel a little more sure-footed about stepping into the season.
•     DO take the time to recognize all that you have accomplished over the past year and hold firm to your commitment to the new lifestyle that you have adopted.  You have been working hard all year to instill new, healthier habits into your life – don’t toss them in light of a few holiday parties or family gatherings.

•    DO have some inspirational literature on hand to assist you in your “less than inspired” moments or before you walk into any situation that may tempt you to stray from your new found path.   The support forum is a great outlet for sharing frustrations and successes during the season.

•    DO manage holiday stressors with your favorite activities and workouts.

•    DO get creative with your family recipes.  Cooking cleanly is no reason not to enjoy prepping holiday meals.   Get your family involved, so they can learn by “doing”.

•    DO be prepared with a healthy dish that you can enjoy when attending social gatherings or be sure to eat a clean meal before you arrive.   No plan is a plan to fail.

•    DO give yourself a permission or two to enjoy a small serving of something you really enjoy that may not be on the top of the “clean eating list”, but set boundaries for yourself and stick to them!

•    DO be an inspiration to your family and friends by walking the talk.  Undoubtedly many of them have heard about your Genesis process, so now is the perfect time to show them what living this lifestyle actually means!

•    DO treat yourself with respect and love this season, which is really what Genesis is all about.  You SO deserve it!

Jamie’s 30-minute total body workout

This workout can be done at home with little or no equipment.  It is designed for all fitness levels.  Do each exercise 12 – 15 times, 3 sets.  Have fun with it and let me know what you think!!

Front Lunges: Stand with feet hip distance apart. Start on right side.

INHALE: step forward into lunge

EXHALE: return to standing with feet hip distance apart

Repeat 15 times on this side, switch sides

Front Side Raises: sit on stability ball if you have one, otherwise do this standing.

Bring feet hip distance apart, arms are at the sides.  Use dumbbells if you have them, 3-5 pounds are fine.

INHALE: prepare to lift arms to your sides

EXHALE: raise arms to shoulder height

INHALE: return to starting position

EXHALE: raise arms out in front of your chest, shoulder height

Repeat 15 times in each direction.

Reverse Lunges: Stand with feet hip distance apart. Start on right side.

INHALE: step back about 2 feet with right foot into rear lunge

EXHALE: return to standing with feet hip distance apart

Repeat 15 times on right side, switch sides

Push-ups: these can be done against the wall, on the floor on toes or knees.  Keep elbows at the sides.

INHALE: move toward the floor or the wall

EXHALE: return to starting position

Repeat 15 times.

Bicep Curls: sit on stability ball or stand, bring feet hip distance, arms at the sides, use dumbbells, 3-5 pounds is fine.  Full soup or bean cans work for dumbbells at home!

INHALE: prepare to lift lower arm

EXHALE: lift lower arm to contract bicep

INHALE: return to starting position

EXHALE: repeat

Repeat 15 times.

One Bite At a Time… – Jamie Lynn

As we move into fall and get ready to settle in for the long, cold winter, suddenly many of my clients are ready to get serious about their transformations again.  I am often asked, “How do I get back on track?” One bite at a time is where to start, and I am not just talking about food.  This includes your food choices, your daily habits, your workout habits and most importantly your mental choices and the words you choose to use about yourself and your present journey.

Start with being accountable on all levels. It is important to record every morsel that you put into your body.  If you walk

Jamie Lynn

by your kid’s plate and grab a bite of toast, record it.  It may not make a big change in the overall daily journal, but if you let that go, you will let the other stuff go too.   If you put an extra tablespoon of cream in your coffee, that will have an impact on your macronutrients.  Be accountable for your day.  It is only a perfect day in Genesis when you actually eat everything that is on your menu, and only what is on your menu.

Get on the scale. If you have decided that now is the time to be accountable to yourself, weighing yourself everyday is a must.  If you do not weigh, how are you going to know if the chocolate cookie you ate had any impact on your weight. If you wake up the next morning and feel fine, you may give yourself permission to do it again. The scale is a tool for you and for your coach.  We need to know and you need to know what impact your choices are having on your body.

Begin to increase the intensity of your workouts, no matter what your fitness level is.  I find the easiest way to do this is to join a small group or find a workout partner.  We will often find a thousand reasons why we can’t make it to the gym, but if someone is meeting you there, those reasons suddenly are not that important. If you are bored with your current workout routine, get online and find some new exercises, pick up a fitness magazine, or get a strength training video from Netflix.  Change is good!!

Change your mind.  Genesis Transformation is easy.  However, we sometimes make it hard.  Change your mind and your choice of words when talking about your journey.  When someone asks you if you want a glass of wine and a cocktail party, try answering with, “No thank you,” not “I can’t.”  You absolutely can, however you are CHOOSING not to.  Genesis Transformation is not about depriving yourself; it is about making better choices to help improve your overall health and wellness.

Health Reform Will Make Americans LESS FAT – Michael Pollan

By Michael Pollan, The New York Times.

LOOK OUT FAST FOOD; WHEN INSURANCE COMPANIES CAN’T DUMP THE SICK, THEY WILL HAVE TO SUPPORT HEALTHY DIETS, OR LOSE MONEY.

To listen to President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night, or to just about anyone else in the health care debate, you would think that the biggest problem with health care in America is the system itself — perverse incentives, inefficiencies, unnecessary tests and procedures, lack of competition, and greed.

No one disputes that the $2.3 trillion we devote to the health care industry is often spent unwisely, but the fact that the United States spends twice as much per person as most European countries on health care can be substantially explained, as a study released last month says, by our being fatter. Even the most efficient health care system that the administration could hope to devise would still confront a rising tide of chronic disease linked to diet.

That’s why our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on and reform a second, even more powerful industry: the food industry.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of health care spending now goes to treat “preventable chronic diseases.” Not all of these diseases are linked to diet — there’s smoking, for instance — but many, if not most, of them are.

We’re spending $147 billion to treat obesity, $116 billion to treat diabetes, and hundreds of billions more to treat cardiovascular disease and the many types of cancer that have been linked to the so-called Western diet. One recent study estimated that 30 percent of the increase in health care spending over the past 20 years could be attributed to the soaring rate of obesity, a condition that now accounts for nearly a tenth of all spending on health care.

The American way of eating has become the elephant in the room in the debate over health care. The president has made a few notable allusions to it, and, by planting her vegetable garden on the South Lawn, Michelle Obama has tried to focus our attention on it. Just last month, Mr. Obama talked about putting a farmers’ market in front of the White House, and building new distribution networks to connect local farmers to public schools so that student lunches might offer more fresh produce and fewer Tater Tots. He’s even floated the idea of taxing soda.

But so far, food system reform has not figured in the national conversation about health care reform. And so the government is poised to go on encouraging America’s fast-food diet with its farm policies even as it takes on added responsibilities for covering the medical costs of that diet. To put it more bluntly, the government is putting itself in the uncomfortable position of subsidizing both the costs of treating Type 2 diabetes and the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup.

Why the disconnect? Probably because reforming the food system is politically even more difficult than reforming the health care system. At least in the health care battle, the administration can count some powerful corporate interests on its side — like the large segment of the Fortune 500 that has concluded the current system is unsustainable.

That is hardly the case when it comes to challenging agribusiness. Cheap food is going to be popular as long as the social and environmental costs of that food are charged to the future. There’s lots of money to be made selling fast food and then treating the diseases that fast food causes. One of the leading products of the American food industry has become patients for the American health care industry.

The market for prescription drugs and medical devices to manage Type 2 diabetes, which the Centers for Disease Control estimates will afflict one in three Americans born after 2000, is one of the brighter spots in the American economy. As things stand, the health care industry finds it more profitable to treat chronic diseases than to prevent them. There’s more money in amputating the limbs of diabetics than in counseling them on diet and exercise.

As for the insurers, you would think preventing chronic diseases would be good business, but, at least under the current rules, it’s much better business simply to keep patients at risk for chronic disease out of your pool of customers, whether through lifetime caps on coverage or rules against pre-existing conditions or by figuring out ways to toss patients overboard when they become ill.

But these rules may well be about to change — and, when it comes to reforming the American diet and food system, that step alone could be a game changer. Even under the weaker versions of health care reform now on offer, health insurers would be required to take everyone at the same rates, provide a standard level of coverage and keep people on their rolls regardless of their health. Terms like “pre-existing conditions” and “underwriting” would vanish from the health insurance rulebook — and, when they do, the relationship between the health insurance industry and the food industry will undergo a sea change.

The moment these new rules take effect, health insurance companies will promptly discover they have a powerful interest in reducing rates of obesity and chronic diseases linked to diet. A patient with Type 2 diabetes incurs additional health care costs of more than $6,600 a year; over a lifetime, that can come to more than $400,000. Insurers will quickly figure out that every case of Type 2 diabetes they can prevent adds $400,000 to their bottom line. Suddenly, every can of soda or Happy Meal or chicken nugget on a school lunch menu will look like a threat to future profits.

When health insurers can no longer evade much of the cost of treating the collateral damage of the American diet, the movement to reform the food system — everything from farm policy to food marketing and school lunches — will acquire a powerful and wealthy ally, something it hasn’t really ever had before.

Agribusiness dominates the agriculture committees of Congress, and has swatted away most efforts at reform. But what happens when the health insurance industry realizes that our system of farm subsidies makes junk food cheap, and fresh produce dear, and thus contributes to obesity and Type 2 diabetes? It will promptly get involved in the fight over the farm bill — which is to say, the industry will begin buying seats on those agriculture committees and demanding that the next bill be written with the interests of the public health more firmly in mind.

In the same way much of the health insurance industry threw its weight behind the campaign against smoking, we can expect it to support, and perhaps even help pay for, public education efforts like New York City’s bold new ad campaign against drinking soda. At the moment, a federal campaign to discourage the consumption of sweetened soft drinks is a political nonstarter, but few things could do more to slow the rise of Type 2 diabetes among adolescents than to reduce their soda consumption, which represents 15 percent of their caloric intake.

That’s why it’s easy to imagine the industry throwing its weight behind a soda tax. School lunch reform would become its cause, too, and in time the industry would come to see that the development of regional food systems, which make fresh produce more available and reduce dependence on heavily processed food from far away, could help prevent chronic disease and reduce their costs.

Recently a team of designers from M.I.T. and Columbia was asked by the foundation of the insurer UnitedHealthcare to develop an innovative systems approach to tackling childhood obesity in America. Their conclusion surprised the designers as much as their sponsor: they determined that promoting the concept of a “foodshed” — a diversified, regional food economy — could be the key to improving the American diet.

All of which suggests that passing a health care reform bill, no matter how ambitious, is only the first step in solving our health care crisis. To keep from bankrupting ourselves, we will then have to get to work on improving our health — which means going to work on the American way of eating.

But even if we get a health care bill that does little more than require insurers to cover everyone on the same basis, it could put us on that course.

For it will force the industry, and the government, to take a good hard look at the elephant in the room and galvanize a movement to slim it down.

© 2008 The New York Times

******SHERI’S TAKE:

We’ve always said that Genesis Transformation is a revolutionary idea – we border on anarchy because we teach people how to live in a way that quickly brings about health and fat loss at a cost far lower than supplements, doctors visits, drugs and surgeries.

Getting healthy vastly improves the quality of your living – and the quality of our culture by setting an example to those around you.  Address the elephant in YOUR living room first, and others will follow suit.  Taking charge of your own health is not only a personal responsibility, but also a political statement.  Do you remember when as a culture we stopped supporting cigarette smoking?  As obesity surpasses cigarette smoking as a primary cause of death and continues to hit us in our pockets, we will, as a culture, stop supporting that as well.

EAT MORE, SPEND LESS! – Jamie Lynn

People say that it is too expensive to eat healthy. My response is, “It is too expensive not to.”  Have you compared the cost of high quality food to doctors bills, pharmaceuticals, supplements, and the price of disease?  How about lost work hours do to feeling poorly?

Aside from keeping you fundamentally healthy, eating healthier foods will satisfy you and therefore you will not feel the need to eat again in 15 minutes after you have just finished dinner.  Cheap, packaged and processed foods may fill you up for the moment, but then you’ll be looking in the frig in less than 15 minutes, often times reaching for sugar or salt foods to satisfy your cravings from the insulin ride resulting from all the crap in the packaged foods.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Buy your staple foods in bulk
• Get involved in a food coop or buying club (Azure Standard in the NW part of the country)
• When fruits and veggies go on sale, stock up and freeze
• avoid buying ‘healthy’ packaged/refined foods from the health food store!  just because the label says ‘organic’ does not mean a packaged food is better for you!  There is little difference between an organic potato chip and a conventional one.
• Buy winter storage veggies directly from your local farmers: potatoes, onions, garlic, winter squash
• Store bulk veggies in a cool dark place
• Buy local GRASS FED ORGANIC beef by the ½ or whole and freeze, same with local raised chickens
• stop buying bottled water and invest in a quality water filter and bring your water with you

Yes, organic foods cost more.  Here is a list of the top contaminated foods that MUST be purchased organic:
Apples                        Peaches            potatoes            spinach

Cherries            yams                        bell peppers            strawberries

Grapes            cucumbers            carrots            celery

Less contaminated foods that relatively safe if they are NOT organic:

Avocado            mango            onion                        banana

Pineapple            blueberries            plums                        broccoli

Whenever possible, I personally will purchase organic, it just tastes better. Try doing a taste test, bananas are a great place to

Jamie on a run in MT

start, or apples.    See what you think.

Eating healthy does not have to be expensive, nor does it have to be hard. Yes, it does take some planning ahead, but make it FUN!!  Enjoy getting healthy, enjoy watching your family thrive.

Keeping it About Me – Samantha Gilman

In my Genesis journey I have become very in tune with what my body needs to be balanced and happy. Some of my needs ebb and flow with my life and some are the cornerstones of my wellness. As a busy mother, wife, and coach, my cornerstones are to eat clean, drink my water, practice yoga, exercise, and get enough sleep. These cover the 5 Lifestyle Objectives we talk about in GT and are simple to integrate when things go as planned.

I don’t have to tell you that Life happens off-plan. Life can be unpredictable and that is part of what keeps me stretching and growing as a human. When things don’t go awry I choose to dance with life, not against it. This means not becoming a victim of life’s circumstances and instead being creative in finding ways to get my basic needs met.

I remember whining to my coach that I ‘don’t have enough time’ to prepare food or go to the gym, or that I felt guilty for taking the time to take care of my self. Deep down, I actually thought taking care of me was being selfish! Who taught me that? The reality is that if I don’t take care of myself, who the heck will? I’m a grown-up and I had to learn to be responsible for taking care of myself first and foremost. I learned that I cannot give away what I don’t have. Especially when life is happening – it better be all about me first so that I can help the person next to me.

When my head tells me I ‘don’t have time’, I need to re-evaluate where my time is being spent. I have discovered that often I feel like I ‘don’t have time’ because I’m actually busy worrying and fretting over things out of my control. I’ve figured out that what I ‘don’t have time’ for is not feeling my very best! The one key element that is a constant in my life that cannot be compromised is to eat clean food. Clean eating is what allows me the strength, clarity, and energy to keep up no matter what life presents to me.

The ‘feeling guilty’ piece I have learned to let go of. I am more patient and present with those around me when I feel good. I am grateful that I have learned the discipline it takes to respect and listen to my body. It is now a habit of mine to take care of my self and this in turn results in me having enough to give to my career, clients, and those that I love. I no longer view this as being selfish or warranting any guilt. Why would I when EVERYONE around me receives the benefits of a well taken care of Samantha? When it’s all about me, it’s a win-win for everybody!

Obese People Have ‘Brain Degeneration’

with thanks to Jodee McDowell

(Aug. 25) – A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.

Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged prematurely by 8 years.

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Jimmy Pozarik, Getty Images

More than 300 million people worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization.

The results, based on brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, represent “severe brain degeneration,” said Paul Thompson, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of neurology.

“That’s a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer’s and other diseases that attack the brain,” said Thompson. “But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control.”

The findings are detailed in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping.

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Obesity packs many negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. It’s also been shown to reduce sexual activity.

More than 300 million worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization. Another billion are overweight. The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods.

Obese people had lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes, areas of the brain critical for planning and memory, and in the anterior cingulate gyrus (attention and executive functions), hippocampus (long-term memory) and basal ganglia (movement), the researchers said in a statement today. Overweight people showed brain loss in the basal ganglia, the corona radiata, white matter comprised of axons, and the parietal lobe (sensory lobe).

“The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of those who were lean, and in overweight people looked 8 years older,” Thompson said.

Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI over 25 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30 as obese.

The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, and the American Heart Association.

***

Sheri’s Take:

What many of our Genesis clients notice as they drop fat and get healthier is that their thinking and moods improve, very quickly.  In other words, you can regenerate your brain just like other organs in your body.  IT IS NEVER TOO LATE to improve your health and lose fat.  You can see this externally with our clients – they reach their goal weights NOT looking gaunt, grey, and tired but exuberant, shiny-eyed, younger and more vibrant.  This is due to the improved state of health.  And guess what?  That doesn’t happen on the outside without a major overhaul on the inside…through proper nutrition.

This is Just Funny.

At Genesis Transformation, we’re into our shoes.  The shoes that allow us to ‘be barefoot’ are all the better, and we’ve got many references to this posted on our website (see the Useful Info section).

We’re also into our running – using our cores and a midfoot strike.  So in the vein of these two interests, an attentive reader found the following  youtube video of a Nike ’supernatural’ running camp. It’s a mockumentary worth the 2 minutes to watch:

http://womentalksports.com/items/view/16042/naked-nike

Hope you laugh as hard as I did!