Clean Up Your Act Giveaway

Mama Making Changes is happy to bring you another great giveaway!

Prize:

2 Herbal Life Shakes (Flavor of Choice), 1 Bottle Cell Activator, 1 Bottle Energizing Herbal Tea + 1 Month Online Nutrition and Fitness Coaching from Indpendent Fitness Coach Amanda Luba
(A Ladybug on the Go Review)

ARV $250+

Hosted by:

A Ladybug on the Go
and 

If you are looking for a Health and Wellness coach that is compassionate about you and your wellness - Amanda is your girl! Amanda empowers your mind and soul to keep you going through any obstacle.

"Over the past year and a half I’ve been building my own health and wellness program after noticing the manner in which I approach total health and wellness – REALLY gets life changing results. My relationship with health and wellness has been evolving since childhood; I played division 2 women’s rugby, was a cheerleading coach for 7 years, cheerleader for 11 years, race car driver for 8 years, and am finishing my master’s in bio-medical engineering with a concentration in injury/sports biomechanics.  As a health and wellness coach I am a firm believer of 80% nutrition, 20% fitness, and 100% mindset."

**If you are a company and would like to see your brand advertised in a M.O.O.N. event similar to this please contact MakeOurOwnNetwork@gmail.com
This giveaway is open to the Continental US only (because of shipping costs) and will end on October 29th, 2013

Entry-Form

"Make Our Own Network" solely organized this event and I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are 100% my own and may differ from your own or even those stated in this post. MAMA MAKING CHANGES is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.

Shopping for Health

I was thinking today about something I heard once ... maybe it was Weight Watchers, but I'm not sure. The advice was to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store for food. Great advice!

I mean think about it...

1. The produce department should always be the first stop in the grocery store. Grab your fruits and veggies, preferably organic. Maybe you can even find locally grown. The healthiest part of the store! You can often find veggie meats and tofu in this department, too.
   
   
   
2. The meat department is next. Unless you are a vegetarian. Many grocery stores are now carrying more "natural" meats, but buyer beware. Know what you are getting and read the fine print. Natural just means no artificial additives. You may still being buying grain fed and factory farm raised and it may still have gone through a large meat processing plant. However, choosing the lesser evil is still better than buying that Smithfield vacuum packed meat. 
3. Next you have the frozen food department. If you stick to healthy foods like fruits and veggies this department isn't so bad. It's actually full of healthy choices. And frozen fruits and veggies retain more vitamins and minerals than canned ones. Just don't cook them in a big pot of water. Many of the nutrients leach out into the water. Buying prepared foods in this department is not such a good idea, however. Typically, they contain tons of additives and preservatives and are highly processed.
4. Last but not least is the dairy department. This department is full of protein and healthy fats. Remember that non-fat versions often have other added ingredients to enhance flavor so read labels carefully for carbs and artificial ingredients if choosing low-fat or fat-free. Whole milk, cheeses, and butter are good for us in moderation. I prefer to choose organic and choose free-range whenever available. In health food stores you may be able to find local raw milk in the dairy section, which is what we drink.  The taste cannot be matched by supermarket milk. 
5. Then there's the rest of the store. Think about this: the shelf life on some of that stuff is years. That's not natural. Food spoils. If it doesn't spoil fairly quickly, be suspicious. Most of the center store is NOT healthy and DOES contain artificial ingredients like preservatives and sweeteners. Most of it is highly processed and much of it is high in saturated fats and low in vitamins and minerals. This is the icky part of the store. Not convinced? Download the app Fooducate and try scanning some items in the center part of the supermarket. You may be shocked at what you discover! And remember that these overly processed foods have negative consequences for your health and the health of the planet.

Of course, I still recommend and personally prefer buying from local farms. We are in a small-ish city and I am able to get fresh, local, organic products including free-range grass-fed meat, sustainably farmed veggies and fruit, raw or low temp pasteurized milk, eggs, and even honey, jams, and jellies. We also could get grains but we don't eat many grains. I buy soap from a local farm, too! 

If you aren't sure where your local organic farmers are, check localharvest.org. 

Questions or comments? Please leave them below! I love to read them! Find this information useful? Share it using the buttons below for Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ and let your friends in on it!

Kickin' Butt or Gettin' a Butt Kickin'?

The team is picked and the training has begun. I, my friends, will be doing the USMC Ultimate Challenge Mudrun in Columbia, SC on October 13, 2013. The Mudrun is a 6 mile course with 36 obstacles designed by Marine Corp drill instructors to be hard as hell.

Why am I excited about this?

If you've read before about my weight loss journey, you know from whence I have come. I come from obesity. I come from an ankle injury that took two years and surgery and pins to be mostly okay now. I come from an atrophied leg and week muscles all over. I come from aching knees and back and neck. I come from high blood pressure.

So, I really have come a long way, baby.

 Before:

Now:

I'm doing circuit training equipment three days per week and cardio three days per week. I met with a personal trainer and put a plan on paper so that I have specific tasks to complete each time I work out. And I'm working hard. I'm eating right of course, too. Sometimes I feel like the training is really kicking my butt, but I know it will be worth when I complete that course in October. When I decide I'm going to do something, I don't do it half-way. I'm gonna do the thing! I'm nothing if not determined, and it will feel so good to cross that finish line!

It really helps me to have a goal and a specific date by which I need to meet that goal. I also have found that I having a workout partner really is great motivation to get to the gym and to get busy while I'm there. And the more I see results, the more I want to keep going.

Eating the right foods is a great basis for keeping yourself and your family healthy, but physical fitness is important to overall health, too. I'm feeling great about the new healthier me and my daughter is following my lead without any coersion! Yay!

What helps motivate you to stick with your health or fitness routine? Have you ever done a mudrun or similar challenge? Or considered it? If you're in the great state of South Carolina, get together a team and sign up! Just click here for more info. 

Pass the Cocoa Please!

Tis the season for sweets! We all know how difficult it can be to walk by the desert table at those Christmas get-togethers and not get at least a little taste of everything! I truly believe that's why we pack on the pounds. It isn't the real food that gets us, but rather those delightfully sugary deserts! 

But there is hope for us yet! Before you get to the deserts, have a cup of hot cocoa! Drink it when you're baking, too. Believe it or not, cocoa is the one sweet you should not pass up this Christmas!

The latin name for cocoa means "food of the gods." Understandably! Chocolate is so amazing! Ever wonder how it's made? When cacao beans are pressed and 1/2 to 3/4 of the cocoa butter has been removed, the remaining solid is processed into the fine powder that we use to make chocolate. Dutch processed cocoa has been washed with a potassium solution that neutralizes the natural acids in the cocoa. I recommend natural cocoa powder, or cacao powder, which will give you a darker color and richer, fruitier taste anyway. In recipes calling for dutch cocoa, natural cocoa can generally be substituted, but not the other way around. 

Even though it tastes sweet, pure cocoa powder is low in caffeine and sugar free, and it's also high in antioxidants! So you can skip the guilt! On a diet? 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder has just 20 calories, 1 gram of fat, and only 2 grams of carbs. The only guilt is in the milk, but it's so good for you in moderation! If you prefer milk alternatives, I'm betting almond milk would make delicious hot cocoa, although I haven't actually tried it.

When mixed with whole milk (we prefer raw milk, which still has the cream!) and simmered on the stove-top, this delicious treat will satisfy your sweet tooth and leave you feeling full. Thus, the other sweets won't be so tempting! Of course, we'll still have to try a few things on the desert table (like the homemade butter mints), but maybe we'll show a little more control!

Do skip the packets of instant cocoa. They include sugar and dry milk and additives and often chocolate flavor. Even organic hot cocoa mix will typically include sugar and dry milk.

Instead, look for organic fair trade cacoa powder.  1 teaspoon per cup of warm whole milk makes a great cup of cocoa! There are several different brands available on Amazon.com, including the one I use, Dagoba.

Do you indulge in hot cocoa during the winter? Will you feel a little less guilty about it this year?

Short, Fat, and Proud to be an American

Did you know that in 2010, America was the world's fattest country? Our people are ranked 9th in the world in height. So we are all getting to be short and fat. Great. 

I watched the United Stats of America tonight on the History Channel. (I happen to love this show. I rarely turn on a TV, and when I do there are only a few shows that I will sit and watch. This is one of them.) Tonight's numbers really hit home hard. Tonight's episode focused on obesity in America, which I have blogged about previously. Not only am I personally working to change the fact that I fit into the obese category, but more than 30% of Americans are right there with me.

In the United States, unhealthy food is easier to get and often less expensive that healthy food. The government subsidizes major factories that produce processed foods and corn growers who sell to major factories for over-processing. It isn't natural! 

The most popoular food in America is french fries! And the average American eats more than 4 pounds of potato chips per year! Many Americans don't even know how to cook a potato at home! Fast food burgers often contain enough calories meet a persons caloric needs for an entire day! A wide variety of foods eaten in their basic form made early Americans the tallest and healthiest people in the world. A diet of fast food and overly processed food has made modern Americans the fattest people in the world!

The average male waist was 33" in the early 1900s, but today it's 39.7"! But we changed the way we eat starting in the 1950s with the advent of fast food restaurants. Also,  people started working less actively. Technology has reduced the number of farmers to 2% of the American population and 80% of Americans now work in offices. In 1790, more than 90% of Americans were farmers! They ate healthy food and got tons of exercise. 

America has adapted, though. Instead of calling attention to the problem, since the 1980s furniture has gotten wider, movie theater seats have gotten wider, dinner plates have gotten bigger, and even standard coffin size is now wider!

I am learning to eat fresh, made from scratch, and homemade. When I do all of this, I eat healthier! And guess what? I've started losing weight! I have a long way to go, but I am finally learning that when I make healthier choices I can eat more food without gaining more weight. When I get more exercise, I work up more of an appetite. But I can eat more because I burned more calories. 

Sounds simple but it's harder than you think to put into practice. Why? Because unhealthy food is easier to get and less expensive! You can't get steamed spinach at a drive-thru. But you can get potatoes dipped in sugar then deep fried in oil and tossed with salt for only $1.19. No wonder our nation is short and fat.

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