New Website & Blog Site

My new website has tons of recipes - healthy & delish!

It also contains my new blogsite & pins for pinterest.

The new site is www.whyweightlifestyle.com  and my facebook page is Why Weight Lifestyle

Check out the new Why Weight Lifestyle facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WhyWeightLifestyle?ref=hl



Visit me!

NEW Why Weight Lifestyle - Launched!

After late nights and long hours, the first Why Weight Lifestyle program is about to be launched!  And it’s NOT “just a facelift” to the Why Weight Program that I have taught for the past 13 years (the last 5 years at Searcy Athletic Club)!  It is an entirely new menu of sessions that takes you from text to table - I’m about to burst at the seams with excitement!!  

Why Weight Lifestyle Menu:

1)    Why Weight ME (for individuals and small groups)

2)    Why Weight FAMILY (for families of Why Weight ME Graduates)

3)    Why Weight CHALLENGE (for larger groups and corporations)

4)    Eat Yourself Beautiful – Emotional Eating and Eating Disorders

Why Weight ME & Why Weight Family will be launched in January!

Why Weight ME consists of 4 one-hour sessions:

Session #1

The Nutrition/Fitness Interview helps us to identify those obstacles that are keeping you from your goals. We define Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats, exploring how the body uses them for the BEST impact in achieving weight goals.  All the hoops of Hormone Imbalance & Risk of Disease will leave you in awe!

Session #2

We will “take a ride ” together and learn to make healthy choices as we GO! We will cover healthy restaurant choices and leave you with great ideas for your own “fast food”! In this session we will learn the difference between keepers and losers in each food type as well as the importance of water and fiber!

Session #3

You will want your shopping shoes as we tour the isles of a local grocery store, learning to read product labels and clueing in on healthy, money saving shopping tips! We will also explore healthy substitutions for preparing food and delicious recipes!

Session #4

“You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes and you can steer yourself any direction you choose”, as Dr. Seuss would say, but this meeting is more than a send-off. You will leave equipped with a personalized “Nutrition Prescription” and exercise guidelines complete with built-in rewards and check points.

Why Weight FAMILY – Why Weight ME graduates have access to the Nutrition Nanny! It’s hard to refrain from saying more, but I’m leaving it as a surprise for now.  Let’s just say that Nutrition Nanny has come to town and she will take your family from couch potatoes to baked sweet potatoes!

Why Weight CHALLENGE and Eat Yourself Beautiful are on the drawing board - right along with my own website!

Nutrition and Fitness is more than a career for me, it is a deep rooted passion that is stemmed from my own experiences and the strength I gained through our Savior.  I too, just like most of you, am surrounded by a family history of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancers – all of which are highly influenced by our choice of lifestyle.  My passion and Purpose is to “pass it forward.”  To help those who have allowed the emotional eating take control and to help others understand in a simple way how to fuel their body to be at their peak best!  I invite you to join me on this journey!   I’m only taking 8 clients in January, so call or write me today!

christiebrooksrd@gmail.com

501-281-5546

Why I Do What I Do???

It's not about the latest diet fads, it's not about comparison of self to the magazine cover, and it's not about being consumed so much by the physique.  It's about our ONE blessing God gave us to be stewards of... our ONE engine in life... our one body that houses our soul.  Eating healthy & working out to me is glorifying Him in so many ways.  It is being a good steward and being physically & mentally fit to meet the needs of others when He sends them my way.  I can NOT help others when I myself am sick.  I can NOT love others when I do not love myself as God loves me.  I can NOT be fruitful for His Kingdom if I myself is in desperate need of repair.
A healthy lifestyle is not about "diets"... it's not about spending 2 hours in the gym either!  It's about asking Him to guide you before your feet hit the floor in the morning.  It's about making healthier choices ONE bite at a time.  It's about staying fit so you can always be ahead of Satan who loves to chase you!  It's about a CHOICE of the mind every day.  Satan loves to fill your head with lies about yourself!  Why do you fall for it?!  God did NOT create you for such nonsense!  He created you in the most perfect & loving form!  He loved you and has molded you in so many ways... isn't it time to listen to Him instead of Satan's lies?  
Start your day off with healthy choices...ONE bite at a time and ONE step at a time!  YOU CAN DO IT!!   I believe in you and so does He.

Super Moist Healthier Choice Pumpkin Bread

This is my son's favorite recipe!   I have tried this recipe with both canned pumpkin and with cooked/roasted pumpkin.  My son prefers it from a roasted pumpkin (me too and it's much healthier!).  You can experiment yourself and see what suits your fancy.   I've tried a Paleo version, using almond flour & coconut flour instead of regular flour... they just didn't pass my little man's test!

INGREDIENTS

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1-1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 to 2/3 cup honey

2 cups pumpkin puree

2/3 cup applesauce (this replaces your oil)

2/3 cup Coconut Milk (I purchase mine in a can in Asian Isle at grocery store)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground Nutmeg

1-1/2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon

4 tablespoons ground flax seed

Optional: 1 cup toasted chopped walnuts (I don't use this for my son's muffins/loafs, 

but the rest of us eat it with the nuts - see pic above - the bottom right loaf has walnuts)

Optional: 1/2 cup flaked coconut (I've only used this once)

DIRECTIONS

If you want to go the real pumpkin route, YAY!!!  It's really easy!  If you have never done it before, here's a great website that shows illustrated instructions on how to do it:

http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkincooking.php

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Spray oil onto 8x4 inch pans, or go smaller like me and use 6x3 inch mini loaf pans (mine is a Pampered Chef brand in case you are wondering). I also do muffins for my little munckin too!
2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, ground flax seed, brown sugar, honey, pumpkin puree, applesauce, coconut milk, baking soda, sea salt, nutmeg,and cinnamon.  Mix up until you can't see any more "white" flour.  If you want to do the optionals (nuts or coconut), go on and fold those in at this time.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
3.  Bake for 1 hr/15 min OR until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Smaller loaf pans (like mine) or muffin pans will take less time!!  Remove from over and cover the bread/muffins with foil tightly to keep steam in.  Allow to steam for 10 minutes (this is what keeps it moist inside!).  Remove foil and turn out onto a cooling rack.  Lay the foil back on top of the bread/muffins loosely like a "tent" until they have all cooled completely.

They are super moist!!!   I bet it would taste great with mushed bananas in it instead of applesauce (another great healthy alternative!).  There are several healthy versions you can do; however, you tend to lose the taste if you do more than 3 substitutions.  My philosophy is... I won't eat cardboard, but I will go as healthy as I can without giving up flavor!!  Just eat smaller portions!

I have to share with you my Little Man Taste Tester....

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Stretch Pants Santa!!!

Well WELCOME HOLIDAYS!  And on comes the food!  GRRR!  I know it’s that time of year that everyone centers conversation around food and the table.   It’s the time of year that is full of thanksgiving and blessings too.   

Here’s where my pet peeve falls in (you knew it was coming)…  When did the mindset of  “must have all this food” become the main objective for the holidays?  Why not make it easy on everyone and do something simple & light so that the focus lies on visiting with family and friends… and focusing on our blessings?   It’s like a twisted mindset that everyone has to cook for an army with surplus of food (which could easily feed a poor family … whom would appreciate it at this time of year)!   

Then the meal comes ….   We feel like we have to “try” everything so we don’t hurt poor Aunt FeedOurEmotions’ feelings;  and then we nibble for hours afterwards to stay awake.  And that really tired feeling we get… that’s from the turkey we just overstuffed on(yep- tryptophan sends a hormonal signal to our brains making a chain reaction which eventually makes us feel “tired”).   It’s taking all we can to keep from falling asleep in the chair while Cousin GottaNibbleMore is talking to us.   Our top button has already popped on our britches, or if they haven’t already, they are screaming at us to relieve the pressure!   We just should have worn stretch pants!  Seriously, what are we thinking??!

Then Cousin AllOrNothingThinking feels like he’s blown it already for the day so he decides to continue blowing it that night too.   And since it takes a week to finish off all the pies & turkey (turkey salad, turkey sandwich, and the infamous “turkey surprise”), that will leave us with only 3 weeks away from Christmas.  Oh the self-control!!!!     The chocolates and desserts at all the Christmas Parties we will be attending is just too much to bear!  Cousin AllOrNothingThinking has given his disease to us so we just give up before we even start trying!!  It’s too stressful anyways, shopping for everyone… just a little fast–food while on the go will just keep us satisfied…Seriously, no biggie.  Then Christmas arrives (thank goodness for stretch pants!) and we continue our pattern; why not?!?  We just have a few more days until we have to start our new year’s resolutions, right?  So lets eat, drink, and be merry while it lasts because we know we have to stop the madness beginning January 1^st with our annual “new year’s resolutions” of weight loss attempts.    

That being said, I hope you have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!!   …Oh,  and don’t forget to ask Santa for some stretch pants!

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I do wish everyone a very blessed Holiday Season.  Spend time with family and friends focusing on our blessings of thankfulness.  He has given us Free Will... the power of choice.   We are made to crave… but not food.  We are made to crave Him.  You can do all things through Him who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13).  Our bodies are His Temple.  Are you fit for the King? Don't wait until the new year.

Sharpen that Saw!!

Who are we kidding, right?  Juggling kids, ball practices, homework, housework, cooking, bedtime baths... oh, and I almost forgot ... the job that actually brings home money too!  You live by the clock keeping everything on schedule and by the end of the day, you have NOTHING left for you!  Whew!  It's a whirlwind!  Then when you get to be mid-30's you might say... I will start working out & eating better tomorrow.  Then 40 knocks and your hail damage has hit the thighs because your "tomorrow" just hasn't arrived.  Before you know it, 45 comes and you've been diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease, and you discovered that hail damage grows!     And men... you work so hard to make a buck in your early years in spite of taking care of yourself, then when you finally realize all your money you've made is going right back into your medical bills that could have been prevented if you just took a little time out for you!

An ounce of prevention will help avoid a pound of medical bills!   Even Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, states you "MUST SHARPEN YOUR SAW!"    Quite bluntly, you can give me excuses all day for delaying "tomorrow" but NONE are true reasons.  If you can sit 15 minutes in front of a computer, then tell me what is soooo important on that computer that you can't put it away and go for a brisk walk?  And what about you devoted TV watchers... there are 3 minutes of commercials every 10-12 minutes during your show.  Get down in the floor and do some pushups, situps, and leglifts!!

Our problem in society today is that we love to make up excuses because we can't find true reasons! They don't exist!  Our minds limit us ... we make ourselves "incapable"just by telling ourselves excuses! When in reality, we have limitless possibilities between our ears!  You just got to dig deep and find it!   First step is to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  You can't love yourself until you believe in yourself.  You can't love others deeply until you love yourself.  But it all starts with believing in you!

Why Water is KEY ingredient to Weight Loss

Water

Next to air, water is the most essential element for survival.  Our body is 60-70% water so it is very important to obtain enough water daily.  Plain water is the best because caffeine-containing beverages are diuretics that remove water from your body.  Decaffeinated beverages are better; however, they contain strong oils that are irritating to the stomach lining.

Water is used for many different functions including breathing, perspiring and urinating.  Water loss in a day averages 10 cups and water accumulated through food and metabolism averages only 4 cups.  Therefore, we need to drink at least 8 cups(8oz) a day to make up for the deficit  (The “8x8” rule).

Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

·      If you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.

Water & Metabolism:  When a person is dehydrated, it is common to feel sluggish/sleepy around 2pm each day.  At this time, most people either grab up caffeine or sugar... or BOTH just to get that energy surge again.  Herein lies the destructive problem:   caffeine dehydrates you even more... and sugar gives a quick 1-2 hour energy surge with a following up increased insulin release.  Insulin is the hormone that takes sugar from your blood & transports it to cells in the body for energy... but too much sugar consumed (which is common during fatigue) is actually stored IN FAT CELLS, thus the weight gain!  And to add a double whammy on that, once the sugar surge drops in 1-2 hours, you will be hungry & even more tired again, which usually leads to the ongoing domino effect of consuming MORE sugar to start the process over!    We also must consider our metabolic organs: adrenaline gland, pancreas, pituitary, etc.  When these organs are not properly hydrated, our hormones gets way out of balance... thus, high risk of weight gain!  Our stress hormone is also effected!  When we are tired & sluggish, we tend to stress out more quickly, thus promoting cortisol release... which LOVES to deposit in the mid-section!  Yes, the innertube of man-handles that just keep getting in the way of looking great in our favorite shirt!

Many ways in which our body utilizes water:

·      Quenches thirst – thirst diminishes with age so it is important that the elderly drink enough water even when not thirsty.  BIG PROBLEM: When we think we are hungry, it's usually our thirst mechanism screaming for fluid, but the signals seem to come in as "hunger."  Try drinking water first before diving into some unnecessary calories!  

·      Aids digestion-it is vital for chemical reactions in digestion and to carry nutrients in the blood.

·      Cools your body during exercise.  When you don't sweat, that means you are dehydrated!

·      Flushes out wastes – kidneys require water to dissolve uric acid and urea to be removed.  If there is not enough water, these may build up as kidney stones. It also flushes out toxins that can promote cancer. If not enough water is consumed, the toxins are easily stored in fatty tissues (thus the cellulite!).

·      Breathing –out lungs must be moist to take in oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide.  It is possible to lose a pint of liquid each day just exhaling.

·      Decreases premenstrual bloating and water retention – if you don’t drink enough water, your body may retain water to compensate.

·      KEY INGREDIENT in promoting WEIGHT LOSS – water is needed to metabolize fat adequately.  Since your body is mostly water & protein, the body won't function at it's peak when the organs are "dehydrated."  It prevents the hormone producing glands to be sluggish!

·      May relieve headaches caused by dehydration.  (Takes just 24 hrs to dehydrate yourself, but even longer to re-hydrate yourself!)

·      Promotes good skin tone.  (Helps with the wrinkles and decreases cellulite!)

·      Lubricates the joints.
 

Caffeine

Caffeine is a diuretic, promoting water loss.  It also appears to increase the excretion of calcium, a mineral needed for healthy bones.  Caffeine can be mildly addictive. Even when moderate amounts of caffeine are withdrawn for 18 to 24 hours, one may feel symptoms such as headache, fatigue, irritability, depression, and poor concentration.  It is safe to limit to 1 cup of coffee, or 85mg, a day.

Food/Beverage	Caffeine (milligrams)
Coffee
Espresso coffee, brewed, 8 fluid ounces	502
Coffee, brewed, 8 fluid ounces	85
Coffee, instant, 8 fluid ounces	62
Coffee, brewed, decaffeinated, 8 fluid ounces	3
Coffee, instant, decaffeinated, 8 fluid ounces	2
Tea
Tea, brewed, 8 fluid ounces	47
Tea, herbal, brewed, 8 fluid ounces	0
Tea, instant, 8 fluid ounces	29
Tea, brewed, decaffeinated, 8 fluid ounces	3
Chocolate Beverages
Hot chocolate, 8 fluid ounces	5
Chocolate milk, 8 fluid ounces	5
Soft Drinks
Red Bull (8.2oz)	80
Mountain Dew, 12 oz	55
Diet Coke, 12 oz	45.6
Dr. Pepper, 12 oz	41
Sunkist Orange, 12 oz	40
Coca Cola Classic, 12 ounce can	37
Ginger ale, regular or diet, 12 ounce can	0
Root beer, regular or diet, 12 ounce can	0
Chocolate
Milk chocolate bar, 1.55 ounces	9
M & M milk chocolate candies, 1.69 ounces	5
Dark chocolate, semisweet, 1 ounce	20

The caffeine content of coffee and tea depends on the variety of the coffee bean or tea leaf, the particle size, the brewing method, and the length of brewing or steeping time.

How much caffeine do YOU consume in a day??___________

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Food For Thought:

We are called to be good stewards, when are you finally going to start making some changes?? ______________

We are giving ONE body, ONE "engine" in life....   are you taking care of it? _________

How much water have you drank today?  How much caffeine?  And how much sugar?

            I challenge you to drink at least 90 ounces of water a day, limit the caffeine to 2 cups max, and avoid the processed sugars!  Go natural... go Paleo Diet!