Now I know, I’m not supposed to make guarantees about your health. But here’s the thing: when you start fueling your body better, you’ll feel better and it will improve your health to some degree (though I can’t predict how much.)

A quick analogy: if you put cheap gas in a Maserati, it’s not going to perform as well as if you put the high octane premium stuff in, right? 

Your body is the same way.

The trick with your body is understanding what’s high octane and what’s garbage. Sometimes we can be misled.

But what IS high octane for the human body?

It’s not the rich stuff that makes up much of people’s diets today. It’s not the concentrated fat & protein in cheese. That’s high octane for a baby cow!

It’s not large amounts of animal food. You’re not REALLY a carnivore. Just look at your teeth compared to your dog’s or cat’s; the difference is obvious. That stuff is high octane for Rover but not you!

High octane for the human body is whole plant food. It’s the stuff our cells need to make all the healthy things to fuel our bodies. It’s the stuff our gut microbiome needs as well. Does that make sense?

I could pretty much end this blog with that and it would be complete, except that I wouldn’t have given you the 5 rules!

So here they are:

1. Always keep fresh and frozen fruit in the house.
You can use this in a variety of ways.

I like to use fresh fruit in my oatmeal in the mornings. In the summertime, I eat berries of all types; blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and more. In the wintertime, it might be apples or pears.

I eat fresh fruit with a cup of tea for dessert after dinner. It satisfies that urge for something sweet and keeps me away from chocolate, my nemesis.

I also eat fresh fruit for my afternoon pick-me-up instead of junk food or candy.

2. Increase your fiber intake.

What IS fiber anyway? Fiber is that part of plants that we don’t really digest well. And that is the beauty of fiber. It fills up our tummy and keeps it working so we are satiated with fewer calories. All plant foods contain fiber.

Fiber also feeds the good-guy bugs that make up your gut microbiota. Now I know you’re hearing more about the importance of your gut bugs lately because we’re learning more about them daily.

Basically plant foods help feed the healthy ones and animal foods and processed foods help feed the bad-guys. So you choose!

To get more fiber, just eat more plants! Plants at breakfast (cereal). Plants at lunch, plants at dinner (vegetables, beans, grains).

3. Put things together that you normally use together in advance to save time.

Here’s an example: I use ground flax seeds & chia seeds together for a couple of different things so I grind about ½ cup of each and put them together in a mason jar. Every couple of weeks, I need to grind more.

What do I use flax & chia for?

(i) I add them to my oatmeal for protein and omega-3s.

(ii) They can be used as an egg substitute in cooking and baking. Mix 1Tbsp. With 3 Tbsp, of water and let sit for about 5 minutes. Use as 1 egg.

(iii) I add them to smoothies to thicken and add nutritional value.

If you find yourself using the same things together all the time, mix them in a container & make it easier.

4. Use spices or fruit instead of sweeteners.

Some examples: I have a mix (see #3) of cinnamon, ginger and cardamom that I use in my oatmeal. I also use it in baked sweet potatoes and other places where I might want a little hint of sweet flavor.

You can use mashed up banana, applesauce or crushed pineapple in place of both sweetener and oil in baked goods. (I’ll publish some recipes soon.)

5. Don’t be afraid of whole-grain carbs.

Perfect example: I was talking to a potential new client yesterday. She mentioned that she didn’t eat avocado toast for lunch because of a concern about the calories in the toast. Two pieces of toast are about 180 Calories. Add the 1/4 avocado; probably 280 Calories total. Meanwhile, she had resisted getting herself a fast-food burger when she picked one up for her husband at his request. (Refusing to do that might also be a conversation!)That would have been closer to 600 calories.

Of course, better than that would have been a bowl of intact whole grain like quinoa, millet, or brown rice. It could have been made in advance and simply warmed up. Add some beans (whole canned beans are fine) and a ½ cup of frozen spinach. Throw it in the microwave and top it with some salsa and you have a hearty lunch for just a couple hundred calories with virtually no fat.

The point of any of this is NOT Calorie counting. It’s Calorie and nutritional AWARENESS.

Here’s what calorie awareness looks like:

A cup of most vegetables contains less than 50 Calories
A cup of most fruit is about 100 Calories
A cup of starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, etc.) about 100.
A cup of most whole intact whole grains (cooked) 200-300
A cup of ground beef is about 5.3 ounces and has 617 Calories with 40 gm fat

Conclusion: When you fuel your body with mostly plants and you don’t add liquid oils (at 270 Calories per OUNCE!), losing weight is much easier.

With weight loss comes decreased inflammation. That leads to easier movement which helps fitness, energy and a host of other things.
Like I said. . .improved health.

Want more specifics for your particular health issues?
Join me in my new Empowered Wellness Membership Program.

Your first 30 days are free with no obligation. Check it out here. If you have any questions, I’d love to talk with you.

The post 5 Simple Ways to Advance Your Health Today appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

It had been a solution that seemed easy; I was having physical symptoms of menopause (hot flashes, night sweats, etc.); mental-emotional symptoms too (feeling stressed, flying ‘off the handle’ at insignificant things, etc.). Bio-identicals, I reasoned, should be less dangerous than commercial preparations, should have less side-effects, should keep me more even-keeled and handle the physical symptoms as well. A local M.D. who is into “Anti-Aging Medicine” concurred that this was a good choice. 

But truth be told, I hadn’t done the research I now recommend my clients routinely do (or hire me to do) to get all the facts on the table before making a decision about medications or procedures. When I later DID the research I found that (1) There is some limited information that suggests bio-identical hormone creams MAY be less hazardous but there are no large research studies proving it is so. (2) There is little or no science to support what is considered to be a ‘therapeutic level.’ (The levels are really only a guess, based on blood tests. However, there is NO level that could be considered correct since  peri-menopausal and menopausal women have naturally occurring hormone levels that are far lower than what doctors are trying to achieve to control symptoms.). Thus the amount I was getting MAY have been too high but there was no way to know if lowering it would make a difference or if I’d maybe even continue to gain weight and have the symptoms return too! (3) Research indicates that many of the “minor side effects,” such as the 20 lb. weight gain I experienced, also happen with bio-identical hormone creams.

Long story short, I stopped the therapy. It was also during this time that I made the decision to stop eating poultry and dairy and convert to the whole-food plant-based eating I now recommend to others. Over the next several weeks, my symptoms initially returned when I went off the hormones but then abated, for the most part and I began losing the weight I had gained and my hormone balance began to return.

I also had more “side-effects” of my new diet: (1) My cholesterol level decreased from 205 to 137 in just about 6 weeks. (2) Chronic congestion & post-nasal drip was eliminated when I went off of dairy. (3) The natural hormone balancing effects of being off of dairy and almost all animal feeds (all of which have naturally occurring estrogens) also helped relieve some of the mental-emotional symptoms I was having. (A large portion of this was also related to family & business stressors. This needed to be, and was addressed in other ways.)

I can’t say that losing the weight was easy but I can say it worked. Here are the bullet points of what got me through and what I now recommend and coach others in:

1. Whole food plant-based eating with emphasis of minimal fats.
2. Increasing exercise.
3. Working to restore gut microbiome (thus the hormone balance it brings).
4. Working on the causes of mental-emotional stress along with the use of meditation or mindfulness strategies.
5. Eating some specific foods to naturally balance hormones.
6. Specific tweaks to the diet to keep it low calorie, high energy.

The great thing about all this is that this way of eating is far easier to maintain than a diet like Keto or ultra-low calorie where you’re either starving yourself or changing your diet so much that you can never maintain it. People typically can only sustain keto or other diets over a finite period and often regain the weight afterward. In contrast, this way of eating can become a way of life that is far easier to maintain. At this point, I’ve been eating this way for more than 8 years and have not regained significant weight.

Intrigued about all this? Would you jump in & try it for just 5 DAYS?? NOW; before the holidays & get yourself set up to look FABULOUS this holiday season?! Join my FREE “Jumpstart Your Weight Loss & Hormone Balance” 5 day program October 7-11! You can do ANYTHING for 5 days. Give it a try. Watch for more upcoming info here on my blog and on social media SOON!

The post “How Did THAT Happen?” A Story of Weight-Control appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

Does this mean I have diabetes? Or I’m likely to get it? Can’t I just take a pill?

‘No,’ ‘not necessarily but maybe’ and ‘you can but. . .’ are the short answers. You COULD take a pill for ‘pre-diabetes’ and you could take a pill (or a shot) if you get the full condition. But most people don’t realize that medication will not make you ANY less likely to experience the negative consequences (or sequalae) associated with the disease. And there are NO studies that show that taking medication at the pre-diabetes stage will help avoid the full-blown condition! Only diet and lifestyle change can do that.

The major consequences of diabetes are diabetic neuropathy; leading to unrelenting pain, circulatory problems; leading to amputations of toes and more, kidney disease; leading to dialysis and possible necessity for transplant, diabetic retinopathy; leading to blindness, and heart disease; leading to heart attack and commonly, death. If THAT list isn’t enough to get you to pay attention for yourself, maybe the idea of putting your family thru all that is something that might concern you.

So now, what do you do? Many people try to address this thru a keto or paleo diet but I’m going to suggest that this isn’t the best approach. Heart disease is already the #1 killer in this country and it’s unlikely that such a diet, made up of mostly animal foods and some veggies, will diminish your chances of cardiovascular issues. (Actually, just the opposite is far more likely).

Many people are surprised when I tell them the latest research; that diabetes happens because there’s too much FAT in the cells and because of that, insulin is unable to escort the sugar in! If you picture a cell like house during a crowded house party; your escort (Insulin) brings you to the party (you are sugar) but there are so many other folks (fat) blocking the door, you literally can’t get in & neither can you other (sugar) friends. You have to wait outside until they leave. (And the sad truth is that Insulin is trying to lead you into the house so you can refresh the snacks, clean things up & keep the party going but FAT is the drunken neighbors & frat friends that are making a royal mess and won’t leave!)

In fact, the latest meta-analysis (a study that reviews other studies) showed that INDEPENDENT of body mass index (BMI) people who had the highest plant-based food intake had a 23% -30% lower risk of developing diabetes than those who ate more animal foods. That means that obese people who adopt this diet have a likelihood of being able to avoid diabetes that is nearly the same as that of their thinner counterparts.

People are also shocked by the rapidity with which pre-diabetes and full on type 2 diabetes can be reverse with diet. My clients who start a low-fat plant-based diet are often discontinuing medication (with their doctor’s consent) in 2-4 weeks! In addition, because they are eating low fat, plant-based; significant weight loss is common as well.      

So what foods are these folks eating?  Another thing that surprises people is that they can eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other foods they think of as ’forbidden’ as long as they’re NOT slathering them with butter or sour cream. I regularly eat baked potatoes with mushrooms sautéed in wine or concentrated veggie stock & garlic (you can also add nutritional yeast to give it a buttery flavor). Whole food starches, it turns out are NOT pro-inflammatory. (If you doubt this, look up what the Okinawans eat. They are the longest living people in the world.) The beauty of eating this way is that you can eat all you want & still lose weight.                                                  

Another thing I love about this diet is the simplicity of throwing a meal together with little or no forethought. My dinner tonight consisted of Japanese black rice (AKA forbidden rice or emperor’s rice) and a veggie & tofu saute of onions, garlic, fresh basil, summer squash and broccoli. Those happen to be what was in the frig, so that’s what got thrown in. It was sauteed in concentrated veggie broth (I use “better than bullion” concentrate & water). The tofu was the pre-cooked stuff with sriracha spices. The spiciness of the sriracha tofu blended really well with the fresh basil, onions & garlic to give the veggies a  yummy savory/spicy flavor that went well with the nuttiness of the black rice. A simple unplanned meal was on the table in about 30 minutes.

So if the idea of losing weight while diminishing your likelihood of getting diabetes, heart disease or a number of other chronic diseases appeals to you, watch for upcoming info on group programs I’m putting together for the fall.

The post My Doctor Says I Have Pre-Diabetes. . .Now What or SO What? appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.