When you are trying to lose, gain or maintain weight, it is important to understand and know what you are putting in and on your body. Food labels have become increasingly easier to read and more informative for even beginning label readers to know what they are consuming. Food labels provide all the information you need regarding the nutritional values of a particular food product.

Reading the labels will make it easier for you to judge what type of food product is good enough to put in your body. With labels, you can easily compare the food products and select the best option for your diet.
As necessary as it is, reading food labels can be a little tricky at first, but here are a few tips to get you reading them like a pro.

1. Servings                                                                                                                                                                  First things first. Check the amount and size of servings contained in a package because the nutritional values are written relative to that size of a serving. Serving sizes are mentioned to make it easier to compare similar amounts of food products. Every nutritional fact mentioned on the label is influenced by that serving size.

  2. The total number of calories:  
     
The next thing you should check is the number of calories. It will tell you how many calories you are consuming per serving. You can easily calculate the number of calories that you have consumed based on the amount of the food product you have eaten. Calories are very important because the number of calories you consume or burn determine whether you are going to gain or lose weight. For instance, if you consume or burn 3500 calories, you are going to gain or lose one pound of weight respectively.

3. Nutrients to avoid:  

The number and type of nutrients listed let you know how much energy you are consuming and how are the ingredients of this food product are going to affect or nourish your body. While reading the label, check for things like saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium; these are things you need to completely avoid if you intend to maintain your health or lose weight. These 3 nutrients are notorious for contributing to heart disease and various types of cancers.

4. Nutrients to focus on:  

On the flip side, look for foods that have high amounts of fiber, calcium, iron, proteins, zinc and a variety of vitamins. These nutrients will nourish your body and get you through your day without draining you of energy.
 
Most importantly though, is not the box with all that info, it is the actual ingredients.  This is what most people miss.  Most people focus on the front of the package, where it may say all natural, or whole grain……but what is really in the product.  The preservatives, fake sugar, names that you can’t pronounce, that is where the unhealthy stuff lies, both in food, and personal products.  Many of the preservatives are confusing our cells, and blocking cell receptors, and messing with our hormones……many times these are the things that move us toward weight gain, stubborn weight loss, or chronic illness.
 
5. Percent Daily Value, or % DV:  
This percentage gives you an idea of the number of nutrients that are available in a single serving. If you intend to avoid or limit a certain nutrient like cholesterol, sodium, trans fat or saturated fat, select food products that show less than 5% Daily Value. Similarly, if you want to start increasing the protein in your diet, look for food products that contain 20% or more of your daily value.
 
If you would like to learn more about understanding and reading labels, just click here and mention labels, or pantry, and bathroom cleanouts…..these can be done virtually.

Yours in health and wellness,
Theresa

Sugar is nothing but empty calories, the calories that only make you gain weight and do not provide you with any benefits because they do not contain any nutrients. Cutting out sugar can be very hard, especially when you have a sweet tooth. Here is are some tips to help you stop eating sugar.

​1. Start slow and take baby steps: If you try to cut out all sugar from your diet at once, you will fail, because those cravings will come back with a vengeance. It will feel more like a punishment than an accomplishment. Instead of completely cutting out all sugar from your diet at one time, start controlling the amount of sugar you DO consume. For instance, if you take three teaspoons of sugar in your tea or coffee, try cutting back to two for one week, then down to one. For that sweet tooth, start by just cutting out chocolate and candy before you abandon everything like baked desserts, or just save it for special occasions.

2. Use sugar alternatives: Instead of using sugar when you do want it, replace it with honey, or sugar alternatives like stevia.

3. Challenge yourself: Some people like to challenge themselves and love the feeling of accomplishment when they fulfill that challenge. If that is you, try to challenge yourself to not to eat sugar for a week (or for a day, if you have a serious addiction.) Gradually extend your time, and celebrate each milestone.

4. Try sugar-free gum: When sweet cravings strike, grab a piece of sugar-free gum. This will keep you occupied and satisfy the need to chew on something.

5. Choose fruits over desserts: Fruits are a sweet and a healthy alternative to desserts. If you feel like having cake or a favorite dessert, then grab some blueberries or another sweet fruit. The natural sugars in the fruit will help curb those cravings.

6.Know the benefits of quitting sugar: There are so many benefits of cutting sugar that if you educate yourself on them or experience the negative side effects first hand, you will cringe at just the thought of consuming sugar. When you cut out sugar, your cardiac health improves, your skin begins to glow, and your acne starts clearing up. Furthermore, cutting out sugar will boost your mood and you will stop feeling cranky, moody or tired all the time. Your memory will improve and you may be able to lose the extra weight you always wanted to shed.

7. Add fennel seeds to your diet: If you just can’t shake off your sugar addiction, try adding fennel seeds to your diet. You can either add them while cooking or you can chew them raw. Fennel seeds do not contain any sugar or empty calories but they have a naturally sweet taste.

8. Don’t start your day sweet: According to a study by Brown, if you start your day by eating something sweet then you will crave sugar all day long. So, instead of having something sweet, have a savory breakfast. Don't even use the sugar alternatives in your breakfast.

Sugar is an addiction, and it takes time, consistency, and determination to abandon it completely. Start small and take little steps toward removing it from your diet.


If you would like to learn more check out my Free Class on Learn it Live Wed 8pm EST here https://www.learnitlive.com/class/16421/How-to-Kick-the-Sugar-Habit


Check out also, my winter detox
Yours in health and wellness,
Theresa 

You

ou might be wondering what the difference is between a detox and a cleanse. By definition, detoxification is the metabolic process by which toxins are changed into less toxic or more readily excretable substances. You also might know of detoxes happening when people are getting off of addictive substances.
 
Cleansing is defined in the dictionary as making something clean, but when thinking in terms of bodily function, the term cleanse is used more often when a program is specifically targeted toward cleaning out and toning certain organs in the body, and most often the digestive system. Many cleanses and detoxes use properties from both in their programs.

Why Should I Cleanse?

​The reality is that we live in an increasingly toxic world. Now, we have a choice to bury our heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening or we have a choice to pay attention and do what we can to keep ourselves as healthy as possible.
 
We’re exposed to toxins on a daily basis, and our bodies are built to process a certain toxic load each day. It does this by flushing out chemicals and toxic substances through our colon, our lungs, our kidneys and even our skin.
 
We run into problems when we’re over-exposed to toxins and our bodies can’t keep up. Our livers are responsible for organizing the toxins that enter our system and then distributing them to one of the four channels of detoxification. In fact, if you notice that you have dull skin or breakouts, you’re likely in need of a detox because the skin is the body’s last-resort, and least efficient, detox organ. When things start coming out through the skin it’s because the body is starting to get desperate.

What about Stubborn Weight loss?
 
When the liver gets overloaded, its primary job is to keep you safe from the overflow of toxins because those, as you likely know, cause all kinds of damage to our bodies. The way the liver KEEPS you safe, however, is not so awesome: it actually wraps up those toxins in a ball of mucus and stores it in a fat cell. YUCK! The reason so many people have trouble getting rid of fat in certain places is because the fat cells can’t be burned while they are holding a toxin inside.
 
A detox or cleanse program helps by letting your liver activate those toxins that are stuck in your belly fat and other fat cells throughout your body. Once those toxins are re-activated they move into the blood stream to be dumped out of the body. This is great because the toxin’s been removed from your system, AND your body is now able to burn up the fat cell that’s been storing the toxin. It’s a double win.

Trying to Eat Clean in the New Year?
 
Finally, and this is actually the reason that I think is the most important, and that is that a detox or a cleanse can re-set your eating habits. Have you ever noticed how once you start eating junk it’s really easy to let yourself keep eating junk? It’s like when you have something not so great at breakfast, then at lunch you think, well, I’ve already ruined the day so I might as well keep going.

If you’ve EVER caught yourself doing something like that, then a simple detox could be a really good idea for you to get back on track with your eating habits. It’s something I do on a fairly regular basis – half-yearly to quarterly – to help me up my game when it comes to what I’m putting in my body. And it’s something I’m extra sure to be aware of as I’m heading into the long holiday season and cold and dark winter when sweet treats and fatty foods are more tempting than ever.

To learn about the 3 mistakes most people make when Detoxing......go to my facebook page, and watch the videos.

To check out my 5 Day Whole Foods Cleanse, go here
 
And to learn more about Clean eating programs, and coaching, contact me here

Yours in Health and Wellness
​Theresa Chabot
​
 

​Happy, Healthy 2021! 

New Year, New You, right?
Want to start this year of right, and also have it last?

Everyone wants to lose weight quickly, but there is no magic pill that can make you thin in a month.

However, there are several ways that you can jumpstart your weight loss by increasing your metabolism.

1. Keep yourself hydrated:
This is the most basic and easiest way to jumpstart your weight loss. Drinking a lot of water and detoxifying herbal teas will help you flush all the harmful toxins from your body, boosting your metabolism by improving the efficiency of your thyroid functioning. Drink five glasses of water daily at the very least to keep your body at its best. Drinking a lot of water and herbal teas, especially first thing in the morning and before meals, will also curb your hunger and prevent you from binge eating.

2. Get enough sleep:
Your diet, your workout, and all the water that you consume will go to waste if you fail to get enough quality sleep. Good sleep help to keep your hormones and your mood balanced. If your hormones and your mood are balanced, then your body will function more efficiently and will keep all your unnecessary cravings at bay. Make sure to give yourself a peaceful night of at least eight hours.

3. Hot lemon water:
Drinking hot lemon water early in the morning before breakfast helps fire up your metabolism.

4.Health shots:
Another way you can fire up your metabolism is by having a health shot of lemon, honey, ginger, and turmeric first thing in the morning. It might taste disgusting, but it has a dramatic impact on your metabolism.

5.Pre-workout hydration:
Drinking loads of water or green tea before a workout is an easy and efficient way to burn twice the amount of calories that you usually do.

6.Cardio:
Exercises that keep your heartbeat up are another way to burn a lot more calories and jumpstart your weight loss. You can add exercises like planks, burpees, and jumping jacks to get your heart pumping.

7.Fidget:
Some studies have shown that people who have a habit of fidgeting or bouncing their knees can burn up to 500 more calories a day.

8.Spice is the key:
Spicy food burns more calories during digestion because it can fire up your metabolism. Add a few more spicy foods, like hot peppers, to your diet. You can add jalapeno in almost any dish you like, even in your eggs. Spices also add a ton of flavor with little to no calories.

9.Graze throughout the day:
Another trick is to eat five or six small meals throughout the day instead of eating three large meals. If you keep eating small amounts, your body will be constantly functioning to break down that food into energy. Your body will learn to work more efficiently and will burn more calories.

10.Drink black coffee once a day:
Drinking pure black coffee at least once a day will boost the rate at which your body burns calories.
 
Losing weight is not meant to be an expeditious activity; your body does not function that way. These tips should be practiced along with a healthy diet and exercise for best results, but they may be able to give your body that little extra boost it needs to power into weight loss mode.
If you would like to learn more about my 1:1 Coaching, Click here, or 5 Day Whole Foods Detox, just click here.

If  you would like to learn more about kicking the sugar habit, check out my class on January 12, at 7pm EST

Yours in health and wellness,
Theresa