Tag Archives: detox

All hail, Kale!

Posted on July 24, 2012 | 2 Comments

Kale has been getting more and more attention these days as a food powerhouse…you might say kale is the new black on the salad shelves.

All hail Kale!

Kale gets 3 gold stars from me because it is jam packed with nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants.  Make sure to read right to the end for some awesome recipes.

The deets on kale:

Kale is super low in calories (one cup = 35 calories) .  It’s a good source of fibre, Vitamin K (which helps with bone growth & regulating blood clotting), Vitamin A, which helps tissue repair, vision, red blood cell production and is a great source of Beta Carotene and Calcium.

Kale has cholesterol-lowering benefits if you cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they’ve been steamed.

It is showing promise in lowering the risk of cancers including cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate.

Kale is also great to help detoxify your body systems at both the cellular level and whole organs. (Blood, kidney’s, liver, bowels).

What the hale do you do with kale???

Kale can be added to salads or made into a salad all it’s own(recipe below).  You can add kale to your boot camp protein shake (recipe below) or make up a batch of kale chips.  Kale is an easy add on to your grocery list, give it a try, be adventurous!! Sneak it into a boot camp smoothie and your family will never know!!

How to buy Kale

Kale should be firm, deep colouring to the leaves (green is the most well known) and moist strong stems.  Avoid any that is not stored with your super markets other green leaf produce, chilled, spritzed with water, stems lower.  Smaller leaves will be more tender and have a more mild flavor than the bigger leaves.

Kale chips

  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • ¼tsp salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F  Remove kale leaves from the middle stem and tear leaves into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves.  In a mixing bowl toss the leaves with the olive oil and salt.  Place the kale out on baking sheets and bake until the chips get crispy, careful not to let them burn (about 10-15 minutes.)

Mediterranean kale salad

1 cup dry quinoa (quinoa is the only whole grain that is a complete protein)

  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1.5 – 2 cups chopped tomato
  • 1.5 – 2 cups chopped cucumber
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives (about 20)
  • fresh mint, parsley and chopped garlic (to taste)
  • lemon juice (to taste)
  • 3tbsp olive oil

Directions: Prepare 1 cup of quinoa as directed and toss with the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Add chopped mint, parsley and garlic to taste creating a tabouli flavour. Chop the kale and add to your quinoa mixture with additional lemon juice and 3tbsp of olive oil. Toss the salad until the leaves are coated. Add chopped tomato, cucumber and Kalamata olives. Enjoy!

Kale boot camp smoothie

  • 2-3 leaves of kale
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1 cup blueberries or any fruit of your choice
  • 1 cup water or unsweetened almond milk
  • ice (optional)
  • 1 scoop vanilla boot camp protein powder

Blend and enjoy

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Are you full of it?

Posted on March 2, 2011 | 6 Comments

What constitutes constipation?  Well, depending on the study or research you read, being constipated seems to be a little different for everyone.  I’ve read a paper that said it’s normal for some people to only need to have a BM a few times per week.  Others say it should be an event that interrupts your day three times!  Holy crap!! 3 times a week to 21 times per week??  I know where I stand with that…if it only happened three times per week I’d be calling Roto-Rooter!!

So what’s normal?

It’s hard to say.  We all process our food differently and some of us are more efficient users of nutrients than others.  There is also the thought that if there is a lot of crap going in…then there is a lot of crap coming out.

Are you getting enough?

One of the most common reasons people have a hard time with “number 2″ is that they are dehydrated. If your colon is not absorbing enough water, it will not be able to push the bad stuff out.

You know what happens to this bad stuff? It stays inside you, making you extremely uncomfortable, fatigued, can lead to disease and prevent you from losing weight!

WHY???

Think about the explosion in recent years of “cleanse” or “detox” programs.  Clear the colon; lose weight.  Millions of dollars are literally flushed down the toilet.  I am all for a clean colon, but not at the price of a box of colon blow pills, laxatives or liquid diets.

Yes, if you have a toxic build up inside your colon, it makes it extremely difficult to absorb nutrients and burn bad fat off your body…but the cure should never be potentially as damaging as the problem.

Here are some easy and natural ways you can combat the old Pooping problem:

1. You need to be drinking water each and every day. You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.  Forget the 8 glasses of water or the drink till you aren’t thirsty ideas.  Half your body weight in ounces spread out over the day. Have a little extra after you exercise and before your meals.

2. Look for great and simple options for adding fiber to your daily nutritional plan.  Ground flaxseed on your oatmeal or in your protein shakes.  Add more insoluble fiber to your meals. Celery, nuts, seeds, apples.

Eat your cleanse

3. Introduce more raw foods into your diet.  Not only are they great for optimizing vitamins and minerals, but your digestive tract gets a better workout of it’s own processing the raws.  No, I don’t mean steak tar-tar or bacon still oinking….I mean raw vegetables, salad, fruits.  Every meal should have a serving (or two) or raw food.  Most of the time, the natural ‘good stuff’ in raw food is lost when those foods get heated.  Almost always, raw food tastes better.  And here is one of those head scratching thoughts.  I have never taken raw beans, carrots or celery and had any desire to put salt on them while I’m eating, but I challenge you to find a recipe or chef that doesn’t ensure salt is all over everything.  (Back to the dehydration problem)

4. Start each morning with this great “digestive tonic”: 2 TBSP lemon juice in one glass of water. I prefer mine a little stronger.  I use a mug of hot water and the juice of a whole lemon.

So, I now this was a bit of a “crappy” post, but I hope you understand that in the “end”, a clean colon allows for easier weight loss and a healthier constitution.  Your output can be directly linked to your, well your …“output”.

Before you turn to crap for your crap…turn, again…to food.

Also…I am looking for some customer service feedback for my local Boot Campers.  Could you please take a minute to fill out this very short survey so I can be sure that I am delivering you the best possible program I can.

 

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Cleansing: What’s all the crap about?

Posted on January 14, 2011 | 1 Comment

I was asked about a particular, we’ll call it a “weight loss product” for lack of a better term recently.  Fortunately I knew about this product, so it was easy to say, “AVOID.”

But, I hadn’t paid any attention to it so I thought I would take a look again, just in case it had changed.  First place I went on the products website was the legal area.  Here are the first two lines that I found.

DSHEA Disclaimer

The statements (appearing on this Web site) have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. XXXXXX products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Weight-Loss Disclaimer

The weight loss testimonials presented apply only to the individuals depicted, cannot be guaranteed, and should not be considered typical. An unpublished 2008 university study showed a statistically significant weight loss of 7 lbs during the first 9 days of the Cleansing and Fat Burning System.  As with any health or fitness program, a sensible eating plan and regular exercise are required in order to achieve long-term weight loss.

Wow…if those aren’t two statements that say, “We really have no clue if this really works or if it’s safe but give it a try.  Oh yeah and well, it won’t work with lasting results unless you eat sensibly and exercise.”

I’m not done.

“The XXXXX cleanse is unique because it not only removes impurities at the cellular level, it builds the body up with incredible nutrition. Besides detoxing the body, XXXXX teaches people a wonderful lesson that they don’t need to eat as much as they are accustom to and eating healthy choices are really important and also a lot of the food we are eating is nutritionally bankrupt.”

I’ve been saying part of that for a long time.  We don’t need to eat as much as most people do.  That is about the only thing I can agree with on this product.  It may also leave you as financially bankrupt.

Any weight loss product that is set up as a multi-level marketing system should also make you think about credibility.  You’ve probably guessed it by now, the product, or more accurately product line, is Isagenix.  But, it isn’t even so much this particular product I have a problem with as much as I do with the idea of a cleanse or detox in general.

If you really need to, uhm, clean yourself out, I would suggest fiber, anti-oxidents, multi-vitamins and water.  If you want to clean out your wallet, give it to charity…it will do more good there.

And yes, somewhere out there, someone is going to tell me, “You’re wrong!! I’ve lost 5 million pounds using a cleanse.”  OK, so you did…how much have you gained back and I’m willing to bet you gained it back faster than you lost it and congratulations, in the process deprived your body of some necessary vitamins and minerals in the process.  Of course you will lose weight on a cleanse.  It’s calorie deprivation.  We’ve talked about that before, remember?  Not enough nutrition, your body starts to eat it’s own muscle for protein, you lose muscle, can’t burn fat as well…and let the weight gain begin, again.

Gotta Go!!!

Another interesting thing about poop products, yes I said it, one of the statements is that it doesn’t contain caffeine, but on the ingredient label, it’s right there…green tea.  Yes green tea has caffeine.  Honestly, the claims made by these products are full of crap.

The essence of these products is simple.  Replace a couple of meals (real food), with some sort of liquid mess or chewy tablet (not real food), followed by calorie deprivation and a path straight to cravings and bingeing.

Keep it simple everyone.  Eat real food.  Exercise sensibly.  Rest and repeat regularly.

If you are looking for simple quick tricks and short cuts to get healthy, you’ll find yourself forever looking for those answers as you bounce up and down on the scale for the rest of your life.

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November…Countdown to Christmas

Posted on November 2, 2010 | 7 Comments

I am a firm believer that you don’t talk about Christmas until after Halloween.  Well, November 2nd is after Halloween so let the chatter begin!  I will ask my American friends to forgive me.  I know that we are supposed to wait until after the US Thanksgiving, but if Target can have Christmas stuff on display in October…we can talk about it now.

Let’s recap what has happened recently:

1)   Thanksgiving (Canada)

2)   Halloween

And that’s just the introduction to the binge festivities.  Next:

3)   Christmas Baking

4)   Christmas Parties

5)   Christmas Cheer

6)   Christmas

7)   New Years Parties

8)   New Years Resolution!

By my figuring, we are 7 weeks away from Christmas and 8 weeks from promising yourself (again) that you will lose weight, get healthier, join a gym, feel better, look better, blah, blah, blah and blah.  You are then about 12 weeks from destroying all your New Years Resolutions.

Now that we have that straight, make a choice right now.  You are seven weeks away from Christmas.  You could be 15 pounds heavier, 15 pounds lighter of somewhere in between depending on the choice you make.

Here is your choice.

Eat properly, exercise smartly and rest effectively

Or

Eat crap, forget exercise and sleep when you can.

That’s it…simple right? No? Sure it is.  Do you have to stick your hand inside the kids Halloween Treat Bag? NO.  Do you have to sample every Christmas treat you bake? NO!  Do you have to drink alcohol on amounts that you never would normally, just because you are at a dinner or party? NO!

You do have to choose…fat or fit.  Sick or healthy.  Tired or rested.

So what are you going to do?  Excuse your way into the holiday season and promise yourself (again) that next year will be different?  Or are you going to run into Christmas healthy, happy and fit and save your News Years Resolution for something fantastic that you really want to do?

Make November your MOVEmber! Get yourself going.  Take a brisk walk, do a bedroom boot camp, try the 6 minute move it, show up to Boot Camp!!!…do something!  The more you move, create resistance for your muscles and strengthen your heart and lungs, the happier you will feel! So try it, get MOVING in MOVEmber!

 

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How you feeling? HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Posted on May 26, 2010 | 1 Comment

"Is it hot enough for 'ya?"

Hello Summer!!  I don’t care if the calendar says May 26 and its only spring.  I am absolutely loving this weather.  The hotter the better.  Even my kids are loving it…after school ritual is now change into bathing suits and into the pool.  Only three days since we filled the pool with cold tap water the sun has made it 85 degrees.

The hot weather is great…BUT, it requires that when you are exercising, you need to adjust what you are doing to protect yourself.  Don’t worry, hot weather work outs actually have advantages but I need to make you aware of some of the draw backs as well.

Exercising in the heat is a catalyst to improving your fitness and exercise tolerance.  It builds your bodies self protective systems to heat tolerance making heat comfort easier and protects you as you age from heat related risk.

You increase blood volume, improve cooling, detox through sweat and improve circulation.

Heat adaptation occurs fairly quickly and even after one week of exercise in heat your body says, “Hey thanks…I needed that!” Aerobic fitness sees the most benefit with heat tolerance.  So, no crying about the heat…”There’s no crying at Boot Camp”.  You will get used to it really fast and be able to handle it sooner, faster.

OK, so there is all the benefits…now the protection.

"Water. It does a body good"

WATER, CLEAR FLUIDS, ‘WET’ FOODS.  Bottom line, you have to intake larger volumes of water to offset the loss of fluids that will occur from exercising in the heat.  I always recommend lots of fluids but now it is even more important.  Drinking water when you are thirsty is necessary, but you should never get to the point of being thirsty.  Thirst is one of the symptoms of dehydration…very bad.  You should never allow yourself to get that low on fluids in your body.  Other symptoms of dehydration are:

  • Thirst
  • Loss of Appetite
  • Dry Skin
  • Skin Flushing
  • Dark Colored Urine
  • Dry Mouth
  • Fatigue or Weakness
  • Chills
  • Head Rushes
  • Light headed

Protect yourself and enjoy exercising in the heat.

Never use heat as an excuse not to exercise…unless its just ridiculous heat, like Arizona in the summer.  But then I’ll let you know not to do it. Warmer weather doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show up to Boot Camp, it means you should show up!

“HOT BOOT CAMP RULES.”

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Wait…put down the cup and step away from the coffee!

Posted on May 19, 2010 | 7 Comments

This is an email question I got a couple of days ago.

Hey Carrie. I read today that coffee is really bad for you but a few weeks ago I read that it is good for you.  What’s your opinion?

It’s a great question and one I have received before.  It’s like saying red wine is good for you.  Or, red wine is bad for you.  The answer is, yes.

I want that mug!

I love my morning coffee, so I do know the answer to this one, since it is close to my heart.  Mr. Burrows has no interest in the answer, “Coffee is what it is…nearly as important as blood!”  Seriously, don’t try to come between him and his coffee, especially in the morning.  We are both believers that coffee is to be enjoyed, hot, strong and with nothing in it, except maybe espresso!

So, I will give you both sides of the equation and let you decide for yourself.  First thing that you should know;  It’s not coffee that is the basis of the debatable argument…it’s caffeine.

In the name of love:

In coffee, tea, chocolate, caffeine tastes great!  That’s it, no need to say more!  But, I will.

Studies have shown that caffeine can aid in the treatment and prevention of several high profile diseases.

  • Some cancers
  • Diabetes
  • Liver
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Parkinson’s
  • Gallstones
  • Heart Disease
  • Lung Disease.

The history of the coffee bean is deep and rich.  Some ancient civilizations used the coffee bean as medicine.

It also goes beyond just mere rumour that it is effective at taking the edge off a headache, it can boost your mood, gives you mental focus and prevents cavities.

And at last…. drum roll, one of the most important benefits…it’s a thermogenic fat burner!! Amen, caffeine is perfect!!

I should also say that some of the studies have indicated that the amounts of caffeine change radically from study to study.  One I read talked about more than 6 eight ounce cups and the benefit was for men, not women.  Tim read that one…thus why he orders coffee by the pot, not the cup.

Caffeine, the not so pretty side

Remember the commercial with the egg, “This is your brain.”  Then the frying pan with melted butter is shown and the egg gets dropped in and boom! “This is your brain on drugs…get the picture?”  Well, caffeine is a drug and like all drugs it targets specific parts of your body in different ways.  The central nervous system and brain function actually do get hit with adverse effects.

Skip you morning coffee for a couple of days.  How’s that brain feeling?  When you go without a drug that you have become dependant to, your body has a revolt reaction.  Other negative affects of caffeine include:

  • Headaches
  • Irritability
  • Mild insomnia
  • Increased heart rate
  • Increased blood sugar
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Mild stomach upset

It can even have some really bad problems associated to it:

  • Panic attacks
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Continuous stomach problems
  • Prolonged depression
  • Sleep disorders

Caffeine can also mess with your adrenal gland and is an acidic classed beverage.  That mean it messes with your bodies pH balance.  (That’s bad).

Ok, I quit coffee right now…. never mind, I just read the good side of caffeine again.

So, there you have both sides, like I said, you make the choice that you can live with.  Here are a couple of bonus thoughts to help your decision.

1. Limit your coffee and tea intake to 2 or 3 cups per day.

2. Replace one of your normal cups of coffee with a green tea.  Yes still caffeine, but less and will help you through detox.

3. Drink coffee in its best state…clean.  No sugar, honey, milk or cream.  Is it coffee you want or the stuff you put in it?

4. For every cup of coffee you drink, take in an equal amount of water.

5. Like a lot of things in life…moderation is the key.

So, that’s it.  Thoughts? Have you stopped drinking coffee for health reasons? Do the risks matter to you? Let me know where you stand on the issus.

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Are you Toxic?

Posted on April 20, 2010 | 5 Comments

It really isn’t fair that the last couple of posts have been about telling you what you should avoid or minimize in your diet. (Remember diet means the nutrition you intake in the form of food, supplements and water…not the removal of foods you eat.)

So to be fair, here is a post not about what you need to avoid, but instead how you can clean the junk out of your body….DETOXIFICATION!!

I know what you’re thinking “Woo hoo.  Carrie’s going to talk about bodily functions…I think I’ll leave now.”  If you know anything about me, you know that is a road I’m not going down.

A lot of people have a preconceived notion about detoxing.  But I’ve noticed that not too many really know what it’s all about.  You take some pills, some powders, some potions, go to the bathroom for a week and, “TA DA” 20 less pounds of rotting meat gone from your bowels.  What you just read is called marketing, sales copy or smoke and mirrors.  It doesn’t happen like that and have you ever noticed the disclaimer, “Results may vary.” That is about the most honest part of those infomercials.

Detoxing is so much more than that and here is the surprise…it can’t truly be done!!!

Breathing? You are creating toxins. Moving? You are creating toxins.  Alive? You are creating toxins.  You are a carbon based life form.  Everything you do creates a toxin within you one way or another.

Sure, you can be sold on expensive products that claim to detoxify you.  You can try all sorts of potions that make promises that just can’t be kept, OR, you can make some sensible choices, that are good, good for you, easy on your wallet and can be easily integrated into your life.

The Fabulous Five Steps to Cleaner Living

  1. Pump up the morning coffee by drinking a cup of green tea before or after it.  Make your tea and coffee with distilled water.  Repeat the tea 3 times per day.
  2. Make all your snacks in the raw…no not that kind of raw…without cooking them.  Veggies, fruits, nuts, lentils, etc – unprocessed, organic and colourful.
  3. One meal of your day should be a large leafy salad.  Spinach, broccoli, kale, with sprouts, berries, fruit, etc.
  4. Three high quality, lean meat proteins per day with a supplement of a protein shake. (Insert product placement here) Health and Fitness Systems Protein, formulated by and only available from ME!!
  5. Water, water, water.  One glass of water every time you eat.  Thats 3 snacks and 3 meals = 6 glasses, (normal size…not one liter jugs or gallon mugs)

That’s it! Pretty simple right?

Anyone can handle that. You will lose weight, clean tissues and feel better…ok and yes, you will spend quality time in your bathroom!

These last few reminders really go without saying, but I’ll say them.

Reduce: Sugar, processed carbs, unhealthy fat

Eliminate: Alcohol, Tobacco, Stress

When you do the Fabulous Five and compliment that with Boot Camp or sensible exercise, I will guarantee your results.  The more committed you are, the greater the results are that you will experience.

Have you ever tried a Detox Program.  Were the results all that you were told they will be?  Let me know, I’d love to hear about the experiences.

Clean and clear!

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