the Skinny...or better yet, the STRONG!

I just realized that I haven't posted on my blog in almost a month. For SHAME! Well, I have been a might busy, what with trying to become a Yoga Goddess-like Instructor and trying to give my health and fitness biz a make-over...oh and there's being an awesome mom 24-7...but enough with the excuses!!!

So, one of my self goals recently, to parallel my biz's new look, has been to push myself training wise the hardest ever. I have been fit for many years but it was time to get ripped. Now mind you, I do not want veins popping or to look like a dude. I want to be sleek, muscular, sexy-woman-roar... like I'm about to enter a fitness contest. That is something I've always thought of doing, so here is the trial run. Since there is no fitness show to prime for I decided to set a photo-shoot date instead. :) March 25th is judgement day! Plus new pics for my revamped site!

I just finished week 1 of 5 and I'm feeling great. My diet is cleaner and getting cleaner as we go. I still have my square of dark vegan chocolate every day and my glass of wine twice a week, and one day where I cheat one meal if I so choose, but come week 4 all that will be gone. Eating clean is pretty easy for me as a rather clean eating vegan already, but there have been some things cut out. My daily diet includes a ton of veggies and fruits, nuts, nut butters, hummus, vegan protein shakes, oatmeal, tea, and a ton of water. This is no hunger diet because the point is not skinny or weight loss, it's muscle and strength and healthy goddess!!

Health and fitness is my life so I get pretty amped about it. I know not everyone is as crazy gung-ho as I am but I do encourage you to get amped about getting healthy, whatever that definition means to you. I guarantee that you will feel lighter, happier, and better about yourself. You may not have a crazy goal like mine (or maybe you do and want to join me in my madness), but goals are important and motivating, so I encourage all my friends and followers to set a goal for health and go for it. Could be as simple as getting more greens in your daily diet! GO FOR IT!!!

*if you would like help discovering a more happier & healthier you email me @ lovelightandwellbeing@gmail.com

The Self-Love Remedy

You have heard it before, "in order to truly love someone else, you must first learn to love yourself". What does it mean to love ourselves? Why is self-love so important? It's an easy thing to say to someone , "love yourself more and things will work out better," but it is a far harder thing to accomplish when you don't understand the true meaning of self-love.

"Self love is not conceit or vanity - it is the unconditional love and respect that you have for yourself that is so unwavering, so solid, that you only allow into your life situations and relationships - including the one with yourself - that reflect that same respect and unconditional love."

Self- love can not be bought in a store. It grows from actions that support your psychological, physical, and spiritual growth. When we take actions to improve our self-love we begin to find self acceptance in our weaknesses, pride in our strengths, a willingness to learn from our mistakes, and a confidence that keeps us from constantly belittling ourselves or letting others do so.

So how do we improve our self-love? I encourage you to try these steps listed below.Start with focusing on 1or 2 of the below, and then continue to try more.

1. Be aware. It is proven that those who have more self-love in their lives have a much better idea of what they think, what they want, and what they feel. That means that YOU are much more likely to NOT worry about what others think or want from you.
2. Focus on what you need, NOT on what you want. By focusing on what you need you are less likely to fall into bad habits of automatic behavior, which can get you in trouble...whether that is eating away your feelings or choosing the wrong mate.
3. Self-Care! In order to love yourself, you must first take care of yourself. Feeding yourself good nutritious foods, exercising, getting enough sleep, and spending time with positive people all aid in self-care.
4. Friend filter. Especially now in the age of Facebook, we are surrounded by hundreds of “so-called” friends. Unfortunately, with so many friends there are bound to be those that care little about your best interest or well being, and often there are those who feed off of your pain and loss instead of celebrating your happiness and success. Filter these people out of your life and you will find it easier to self-love.
5. Keep Boundaries. Learning to say no is often easier said then done. You are only one person and sometimes you may spread yourself too thin or put yourself in situations that deplete or harm you physically, emotionally or spiritually. Learning where your boundaries are and learning to say no to those depleting things is key to protecting yourself and self-loving.
6. Learn to forgive yourself. You are your worst critic, but it's important to remember that you are also human, and we as humans make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up over it. Brush yourself off and try again.
7. Set goals and live with intention. When you visualize your intentions you are more likely to succeed in anything you chose. Set short term goals and then when you complete them, reward yourself and then set new ones. Visualize where you want to go, what you want to do, and what you see yourself being and doing. There is nothing impossible if you put positive visualization behind it.

Once you are able to incorporate all of these above tips, I encourage you to take note, not only the difference in yourself, but the difference in the people around you. Self-love is contagious. When you begin to take care of yourself, other will follow. They will begin to treat you better and begin to treat themselves better. What a wonderful ripple effect!

Stop Dieting and Start Living!!!

Ahhh, a new year is here. I'm still reveling in it. Hello 2013!!!
I went to the bookstore the other day to entertain my daughter with puppets, train tables and books and had to do a drive by the new books display. Of course the new book display is loaded down with shiny new diet books just in time for everyone's New Year's resolutions.

Step AWAY from the shiny diet books!!

If you want to lose weight in 2013, STOP dieting and START living! Did you know that about 95% of people who go on a diet gain the weight back? 95%! You know why? Because going ON a diet implies that you will eventually go OFF the diet. The only true way to lose weight and keep it off permanently is to make a "LIFESTYLE CHANGE".

There is no magic pill, no amazing diet, no exercise regime that is going to make you lose the weight and keep it off if you don't address the real issues that are keeping the fat on. It's not JUST about the food you eat, or the miles you pound on the pavement. It's about YOU!

Here's a couple of reasons why diets don't work:

Most people think diet and think about cutting calories. However, if you start cutting calories too much your body and brain begin to think you are starving and so they start holding on to fat. Now I know you have heard it a million times before, "DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST". Well, let's use this as an example. If you skip breakfast, your tummy starts growling sending messages to the brain. The brain begins to believe you are in starvation mode and sends messages to the body to hold on to fat so that you might survive this starvation period. ACK! No good! But if you continue to provide your body with healthy, whole food throughout the day, your brain takes its hand of the panic button and you stop holding on to fat. YAY!

Plus, many of those calorie cutting diets may also have you unknowingly cutting precious nutrients. This works against your weight-loss efforts. In order to receive the necessary nutrients your body needs, you must provide it with high-quality whole foods full of nutrients and vitamins. Then, and only then might weight-los be permanent.

Further more, diets don't address the toxic waste in your body and perhaps in your life. If your organs are bogged down with toxic waste and not functioning smoothly, or if you have toxic things in your life that you have yet to resolve, chances are that no diet will work permanently. You must first learn to detox your body and your life!

So, if you would like to lose weight in 2013 the right way, and keep it off, forget about dieting and commit to a "lifestyle change". A healthy new you awaits!!

email Ellie @lovelightandwellbeing@gmail.com

A Bright Year Ahead

A new year is upon us. As we reflect on 2012 it is good to remember the moments that brought us joy and happiness, the moments that challenged us but were worth the struggle, and the moments that brought us some sort of enlightenment.

For myself this past year has been filled with all the above; Struggling to sell my Brooklyn apartment, wondering if I'd ever get out of financial turmoil, celebrating the sale, celebrating my kids transition from diapers to underwear (hallelujah!), finding myself a little more at a beautiful yoga retreat, opening my heart more to a loving boyfriend...

So, now the time comes for me, and for you, to shed this skin of the old. Like a snake, there is a new you underneath that is ready to take on the world, to take on the day, to learn more and be more, for yourself and for the loved ones around you. A new year is a new chance to be the greatest you. So what's stopping you?

Fear? Mark Twain once said " courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." We all have fear. Most often that fear is fear of failure. How will we ever know success if we do not try with the chance of failure? And if we fail, then we pick ourselves up and try again. Each time we will get stronger and learn from our past failures.

I am excited about 2013. I feel great things are possible in making this year magical. I am not one to make resolutions. Instead I take a different approach, and like one of my clients said today, make intentions. What intentions do you have for the new year? And how will you make those intentions become real?

So, as you reflect, perhaps you take out a pen and paper and start a list of your intentions.

I wish you all a Happy Healthy New Year!

* If you wish to start your new year off right and would like my guidance, please contact me for a FREE health history @ lovelightandwellbeing@gmail.com

Tragedy and Compassion

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. In the wake of this crazy Frankenstorm I haven't had much time to sit for more then 5 minutes at a time at the computer. I am so grateful that my hood of NYC did not get much damage from the storm. Unlike most of Manhattan and neighboring boroughs  we never lost power or saw flooding. So many people have been displaced or lost homes. Downtown looks like something from 'I am Legend'.

There are so many people who need our help now, especially with a Nor'easter fast approaching the already beaten down NJ and NY area. So, below I am making a list of links where you can find out how to help.

http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/

http://www.treehugger.com/culture/12-ways-help-hurricane-sandy-relief-efforts.html

http://www.bobbiandthestrays.org/
This is an amazing shelter in Freeport that was hit badly and needs donations or volunteers

http://www.foodnotbombs.net/

I am Jack's raging liver...

Did you ever stop to think how many toxins your body puts up with every day? If you are like me, living in a busy city, you are taking in thousands just walking down the street and breathing the city air! Then there is the food we eat. The food world is filled with all kinds of toxins; chemicals, carcinogens  heavy metals, antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, and additives.

Lucky for us our bodies are designed perfectly. They are naturally built to combat against and resist damage from toxins by naturally detoxing through our skin, through sweat, sneezing, and eliminating. The king-daddy of all detoxifying is our liver.

However, our body can only handle so much! Our chemically driven, antibiotic ridden world is throwing so many toxins at us from every direction it is nearly impossible to avoid over exposure unless you lived in a bubble...and that's no fun for anyone.

So what do we do? How do we protect ourselves?

Well, the best way to go about this is to follow two simple plans:
A) Eat lower on the food chain. This means to move towards a more plant-based diet. The biggest health reason for this is that you will be less likely to eat contaminated fat. Many chemicals are created for industrial use (meaning for the thriving meat and dairy industry). PCB's, flame retardants, dioxin, and DDT just to name a few, wind up in the animals that are then bought in every grocery store in the US and then end up on most American's dinner tables.

B)Help your liver by enhancing it's ability to detox efficiently

There are many foods that enhance your liver's detoxing capabilities. Make it a daily habit to add this delicious foods to your diet, and viola, you are ahead of the game!

Garlic & Onion
Cruciferous Veggies
-broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, brussel sprouts, bok choy, watercress
Whole Grains
Berries
Turmeric
Green tea
Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds
Non-GMO Soy
Organic Red Grapes

Bon Appetite and Cheers to a good Liver!

To learn more about a healthy and happier you, email lovelightandwellbeing@gmail.com for a FREE consult!!

Authentic Self, Where Art Thou?

In between clients and on one of my longer commutes I began reading an article in my Yoga Journal about mistaken identity and finding your "true self". I thought this was a wonderfully written article and it touched on so many important points that I feel inclined to share.

What's True Self?  If you were to take away the exterior elements, like looks, status, gender, job title, sexual preference, age….that would be your true self…your authentic self. But that is easier said then done. For most of us, our "training" in who we are and who we are supposed to be starts at a very early age. We learn the importance of wealth, looks, socially acceptable behavior and gender approval. These things are important to most of us, sure, but they don't define us. So what does? How do we find our true self under all the weight of what we have been brainwashed to believe is who we are?

If you peel away the exteriors, calm the buzz of voices that surround you, and look deeper within yourself for that something that is unchanging, that voice that is crystal clear to you and only you...then you have found your true self, your authentic self. If you can recognize this, if you can feed this part of you love and good energy, then no matter what you will be okay with YOU.

Reading that article and in writing this blog I recognize that I, myself have struggled with this. I believe we all do. I believe that many of us can state that they know who they are...I know I have made that statement in the past too, but I wonder how deep that really goes. If someone were to ask me who I am my initial reaction is; 33 year old, single mom to a beautiful 3 year old, vegan, personal trainer, yogi, holistic health counselor, living in NYC. Ha! That's the right answer, right? Yes, all this things make up the beautiful coat of who I am and what I have accomplished, but if you take them all away...I still exist. I am still searching for my true self, my authentic self. I have started to learn what that is for me, but I don't think I have all the answers yet, and that's okay. I am still working on calming those voices, finding the quiet where I can reach within. Yoga helps with this. 

I encourage you to take time each day to find some quiet, some calm, where you too can breathe and start to peel away the layers and look deeper into who you truly are. The True You, the Authentic You. I wish you all the best in your venture.

Namaste

*If you wish to read the Yoga Journal Article mentioned above, here it is: http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2643