There Are No Limits and There Are No Excuses...

A mantra that I have adopted over the past year, as you can tell by my blog name, is "The Power to do." Many of us do not realize we all possess the power to do many things in our lives. Some of us come to this realization more quickly than others. Some may not realize this power, but we all have it. Health is powerful and becoming healthy is contagious. This has been the case in my family. I have two brothers who have both lost a substantial amount of weight, an active husband who became 25 lbs lighter due to healthier eating and three daughters who are willing to try new things. This post is about my brother who has experienced the most drastic weight loss out of everyone in my family.

My middle brother, Darren who is 44 years old, has gone up and down with his weight over the last decade or so. In our family, the males have a history of heart issues. My grandfather, great uncles and my dad have all had problems with their hearts. When Darren's weight skyrocketed to approximately 275 lbs, he decided that something had to be done. He slowly started to lose weight by eating in moderation and being more mindful of what he was eating. As the weight started coming off, he made a discovery. He found that he could MOVE again. He began cycling on a regular basis and using the treadmill as well. It would be no shock to anyone these days to find Darren riding 35 miles in a single day and stopping mid-way for a morning yoga class (taught by his sister, of course). While vacationing in Hawaii, and without a bike, he decided to run. That day he ran an amazing six miles. He has now added some road runs to his routine, even though cycling is his first love. He may be taking on the role as cross country coach at a local high school. His main fitness goals are improving his cardiorespiratory endurance in order to maintain a healthy weight and a healthy heart.

He has cut fast food from his diet which once was what sustained him. He has a fabulous garden with chickens that roam through it and produce high quality free range eggs. Fruit and lean protein are now a mainstream part of his diet. He now eats to live instead of living to eat and truly feels that moderation in one's diet is key. Food is his fuel and not his comfort. He commented that losing weight is painful but now he is through it and he is finally living. He also commented recently that "There are no limits and there are no excuses." This is a motto we should all focus on each and every day.

Now, be inspired and "get living." :)

Darren- before his weight loss.

Darren today. More than 100 pounds lighter.

Monday, May 31...

...is Memorial Day. There will be no yoga class at Brookfield Park due to the holiday. This class will resume on Monday, June 7 @ 11am. If you are local, I urge you to take advantage of these free sessions. The format is casual and if you have children, they are welcome to play at the park while we practice. It's a good idea to either bring two yoga mats or bring a blanket to place under your mat to protect your good mat from moisture and grass stains.

Women's Health Day

Women’s Health Day

Friday May 21, 2010 6:30-8:30pm

Featuring…

Dr. Laurie Blanscet

I am a board certified family physician. Being a family physician, I am experienced in treating the entire family - from newborns to grandparents. Licenses & Certifications: AOA Board of California, AAFP Board Certification, DEA, ACLS Recertification
Hormone Balancing

This is great for women (and men) of all ages. If you are having irregular periods, heavy periods, PMS symptoms, infertility, mood issues, menopausal symptoms, bone thinning, prostate problems, insomnia or other issues that may be related to hormonal imbalance then come to this class. This class will also deal with some every day health issues.

You may have heard about Arbonne but not fully understood the advantages that Arbonne’s products have over other products on the market. Many people comment on how good I look or how much energy I have. I truly have to attribute that to using a complete line of Arbonne products along with a healthy life style. Because I want you to live a healthy life, I have chosen to share with you what I have learned about these products

http://www.drblanscet.myarbonne.com/

Stephanie Holloway

Stephanie Holloway is a certified group fitness instructor through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America with an emphasis in yoga. She has a passion for nutrition and is an avid researcher in this area. Stephanie struggled with weight for much of her adult life. Once she acknowledged to herself that she had to make a change she developed her own diet and fitness regimen that would become a permanent part of her life. A healthy life requires daily attention and a mindset that no obstacle or excuse should get in the way of ones health. Through a strict vegetarian diet and a commitment to fitness, she lost over sixty pounds. Yoga has been a consistent part of her fitness program from the beginning as it was the seed to her success. The rigor, discipline and tranquility of yoga helped her maintain her focus throughout her journey. Due to her success and overwhelming physical change, she became a magnet to others in need. The need to help others was obvious as she understood the pain that is often associated with being overweight. She began a website blog to answer the many questions that she was overwhelmed with and began instructing her own yoga classes to spread the joy of a healthy lifestyle. Yoga was the instrument of her success and she wanted others to discover its possibilities. She feels it is her calling in life to help women understand that they too have the power within them to be healthy through natural methods and can affect the lives of their entire family.

http://www.thepowertodo.blogspot.com/

Can’t wait to see you there,

Cecilia and Debra

RSVP: Belle Handbags 39530 Murrieta Hot Springs Road Ste. 206

Murrieta, CA 92563 (951) 461-8567

Belle Handbags and Accessories: Local Business Review

Located in Murrieta on the corner of Murrieta Hot Springs and Margarita Road in between Fresh and Easy and Affordable Fitness is a fabulous boutique full of treasures to make any girl smile. I have been a customer of Cecila Becerra ever since her boutique opened a few months back. With chic decor inside and the theme of Paris all around, you will find jeans that mimic the "True Religion" style, dresses, hats, handbags and authentic jewelry made with swarvoski crystals that will give you that perfect look all while fitting your budget. I always get compliments when I wear clothing from Cecilia's store. The best part about this boutique is the personal service I receive. I also love the fact that buying from this boutique keeps money within our community and supports a local business owner.

Dress up and accessorize with Belle Handbags and Accessories where you will find
the latest trends and style purses, jewelry and clothing at affordable prices.
New shipments arrive every week.

Cecila makes a visit to her store exciting by hosting many different types of events. Her latest event is "Women's Health Day." There will be guest speakers talking about women's health and I will be speaking about the benefits of yoga. Women's Health Day will take place on Friday, May 21 in the evening. More information to follow.

Thirsty Thursday- Homemade "Gatorade"

Being the mom of a very talented athlete, I try to provide the best possible nutrition for my young sprinter to perform well. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade are filled with yucky ingredients and have no real fruit juice in them at all.

Give this one a try....

1/2 cup orange juice or 2 oranges juiced

1/2 cup apple juice or 1 apple juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1 limed, juiced

1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid (vitamin c powder)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tbsp raw honey

8 ice cubes

Juice all ingredients and then blend everything in a blender. If you are not juicing and using commercial juice, try to get organic and unpasteurized if possible.

You may dilute with water to taste as it is quite salty. You can store this drink in a sports bottle and keep in a cooler for those long days.

Oatmeal, Walnut and Dried Plum Cookies

I cannot take credit for this recipe. It came from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet, and I am a huge fan of her book. I feel the need to pay this one forward. I was surprised at how wonderful these cookies tasted. The lack of nasty ingredients made them even more appetizing. My picky four year devoured two and had to be cut off.

Makes about one dozen cookies (thank goodness that's all)

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup maple sugar (I have yet to find maple sugar, so I used organic cane sugar)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 safflower oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp molasses
1/4 cup chopped dried plums (or other dried fruit)
1/4 finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, bakig soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the syrup, oil, vanilla extract and molasses. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir. Fold in dried fruit and nuts.

Roll tbsp size scoops of dough into balls. Place on a baking sheet....I used a pampered chef stone. Press the tops of the balls down slightly to flatten. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. I let mine cool on the stone until they hardened. So delicious!

Variations: Replace flour with gluten-free baking mix as long as it does not inlcude baking soda and baking powder. You may also use braley or spelt flour and if you HAVE to unbleached all purpose flour. Throw some other types of nuts in or carob chips.

Deodorant: A Stinky Situation

For the past few months, I have been on a quest to find a natural deodorant that works. The key word here is “works.” Why buy a natural deodorant? Because what you put on your skin is absorbed directly into your bloodstream. Now we don’t want to put any harmful ingredients in our bodies now do we? Especially when we are doing all that we can to only eat good and natural foods. Why mess it up by putting harmful things on our skin. Some ingredients that you want to avoid when choosing a deodorant are any aluminums and parabens which also go by the aliases methyl, ethyl, propyl, benzyl and butyl. You also want to avoid triclosan, talc, and propylene glycol.

Here is a brief heads up as to why these ingredients are harmful.

Aluminum- it accumulates in the body. There is also a possible link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Parabens- are toxic. They may also cause reproductive harm. Notice all of the problems with women having fertility problems? Umm yeah.

Triclosan- this can irritate your skin. It kills harmful bacteria but here is the catch, it also kills healthy bacteria. Triclosan may contain carcinogenic contaminants. FDA classifies it as a pesticide. What?!

Talc- may contain asbestiform fibers.

Propylene Glycol- is a neurotoxin and may cause kidney or liver damage. The EPA says it's not fully investigated for carcinogenic potential. I have found this ingredient is many products from sunscreen to margarita mix. Crazy, I know….

So what do we do? Well, I tried a natural deodorant from Nature’s Gate. It did NOT work. I notice when my diet is higher in raw foods, I don’t even need a deodorant. However, grains tend to make me stinky so going without help is not on option. I am a frequent reader of Healthy Bitch Daily and finally found the answer. It is La Vanila Laboratories Healthy Deodorant. I kept going on and on about how I wanted to buy and try this product (sold at Sephora) so a friend of mine surprised me with the product as a gift. She wanted to me try it out and give the feedback. She had been on a quest for a good deodorant as well. Well, it worked! I decided to really put it to the test when I ran four miles and then taught a 60 minute yoga class outside on a warm day. It allows you to sweat and you do want to sweat to get rid of toxins in the body. The good thing is there is no nasty smell- not even a hint. I have the vanilla grapefruit and am sold on being a regular customer to this product. It is really expensive ($18) but I think that it will last. I’ve had deodorant last me six months or more.

Here are the ingredients:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Aloe Juice, Water), Propanediol (Corn Derived), Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Sodium Stearate (Coconut Derived), Silica, Carrageenan (Seaweed Derived), Stearyl Behenate (Coconut Derived), Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon Peel Oil), Inulin (Artichoke Derived), Saccharomyces Ferment, Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide (Sugar Derived), Yeast Beta Glucan, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Valeriana Officinalis Root Extract (Valerian), Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal) Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract (Goji Berry), Botanical Fragrance Blend.