Category Archives: weight Loss

Mid Life Wake Up… Are you listening to the Universe’s whispers?

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”I think midlife is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear:
I’m not screwing around. It’s time. All of this pretending and performing – these coping mechanisms that you’ve developed to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt – has to go.

Your armor is preventing you from growing into your gifts. I understand that you needed these protections when you were small. I understand that you believed your armor could help you secure all of the things you needed to feel worthy of love and belonging, but you’re still searching and you’re more lost than ever.


Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. You can’t live the rest of your life worried about what other people think. You were born worthy of love and belonging. Courage and daring are coursing through you. You were made to live and love with your whole heart. It’s time to show up and be seen.” Author: Brené Brown

I think for me, one of my greatest fears is I will die without ever becoming the IDEAL ‘me’ that I set out to be when I was born.

Perhaps this is why I take “healthy” chances in life. I move around, don’t stay stagnant in any one place. It is also why at mid-life I began to embrace myself….the real me, with a different kind of appreciation. Wow, if only I had started that form of self love and appreciation earlier on in life.

It’s never too late to embrace the life we are living. What do YOU do to keep things fresh and moving in the direction of your life dreams?

 

 

Since I am a woman I gear this from a female perspective but I imagine it is similar for men as well.

 

 

Cheers to all of us who are ready to listen to the Universe!

Joy Edgerton

802-846-7530

info@DaveandJoy.com

www.DaveandJoy.com

Looking for a way to connect with other like minded people? Enjoy helping/ training/inspiring others? Enjoy earning income as you live life and listen to the whispers of the Universe? If so, let’s chat.

The “Joy” of the Body Image Movement: from Loathing to Loving your Body!

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I recently stumbled upon the Body Image Movement on Facebook, founded by Taryn Brumfitt, and I am now reading her compelling and humor-filled book, “EMBRACE”. Taryn also wrote her opinion on Weight Watchers now targeting their advertising to include their moms and daughters.

I’ll share how the word ‘diet’ has shaped my life. In high school my mother and I went to – you guessed it “Weight Watchers” together. She was not really over weight but may have wanted to lose 10-15 lbs. As for me, it taught me healthy eating and I did drop some weight….but did I really need to? I thought so, now I am not so sure.

Being on Weight Watches then was a secret….I was embarrassed to tell anyone (except my best friend) as none of us ever discussed dieting back then. (Thank God)

Weight Watchers became an obsession, especially in my teen years. (Thinking about meals, preparing, then measuring and weighing everything I ate) – and I guess the question is, is that normal and OK? or was it setting a girl up for future dieting???? and the feeling of not being enough?

I embraced the Weight Watchers lifestyle and lost 16 lbs. in 6 weeks, not deviating one crumb from the rigid program that it was back in the 1970s…. I went from a healthy teen with a little extra body fat to a very lean young woman. (But could it be maintained? Certainly not when I went off to college!)

Was it positive? Yes, in some ways….but damaging in others… as it set me up to feel like I was never quite the size or shape I wanted to be. Looking back I rarely have felt I am OKAY as I am…. esp. back then when the media starting idealizing Twiggy and stick shape models and talking more about celebrity bodies.

I did get into body building in my late 20s…. which had its pros and cons…..Pros in that I was building muscle in a healthy way and embracing my athletic God gifted body, but negative in other ways. Example, much like Taryn in the book Embrace describes, after a body building competition there is only way to go….and that is ‘down’ from your goal. Yes even though I got down to 8.5% body fat, sculpted my body the way I wanted and WON my division… How did I feel???? As I look back I still didn’t feel the success or HAPPY, I thought I would or think my body was ‘perfect enough’.

OMG, that is so sad…. maybe why this ‘movement called Body Image Movement hits so close to home today.

For those who do fitness or body building competitions (or other athletic endeavors) perhaps you can relate. Even though you know intellectually it is not possible or even healthy to stay in that physically lean condition….it truly became hard for me returning to what was a ‘normal’ body and honestly it devastated me.

How did I handle it? I remained fit and worked out religiously in my 40s and 50s- warding off any middle age bulge that I was told would surely and eventually find me… and then in my mid-50’s I went through menopause. Fortunately I didn’t experience drastic mood swings, but I did have the ‘hot flash’ symptoms and put on belly fat…which I called my “men-o-pot”. For the first time in my life, I truly hated my body. I didn’t think it was fair that God would create this ‘widening’ of the body at the time when we women stopped being able to create babies.

Today, at 61 years old- it’s about time to embrace how I am and how I look. I finally get it and want to help others with The Body Image Movement. I think part of my motivation is I have a daughter, 2 step- daughters and daughter- in- law, who thank GOD all appear to have healthy body images….and I also have 4 granddaughters (add 2 more from my step-daughter)…that is 6 young females in our family tree. There is no way I want them to obsess with their body image….I want them to believe they are beautiful and talented HOW THEY ARE…and that they are capable of doing and becoming anything they want in life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heck, wouldn’t you agree that there are far more important things in the world to worry about than what number is on the scale or the size of your belly, butt or thighs? LOVING YOUR BODY FROM THE INSIDE OUT IS TARYN’S MISSION! (I bought her book, Embrace, off Amazon and am finding it hard to put down!)

Who else can relate? I’d love to know.

This is just the beginning for me….and it’s interesting as the company I work with has an entire division dedicated to weight loss.

For me, MY focus is the health benefits of being at a healthy weight, versus sliding into ‘skinny jeans’ or wearing a bikini. But along with this I also love it when people are empowered and have confidence as when they do, they become unstoppable…. It may not happen overnight- but beginning to love our body from the inside out is a movement that is happening around the world.

I believe the key is to love your body no matter what size you are and to strive to embrace health as a habit, not an event.

Let’s just say, people who are confident in their own ‘skin’ also have a different “PEP IN THEIR STEP” which in turn attracts a higher vibration to them. Ultimately isn’t that what we want? To live, create more in our lives of things we want and deserve.

Comments are welcome.

Joy Edgerton

802-846-7530

info@DaveandJoy.com

www.DaveandJoy.com

Below you can learn about the Body Image Movement from Taryn herself.

 

 

 

 

My Love for Vermont Maple Syrup & The Master Cleanse….

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As a native Vermont gal who grew up next to my grandfathers sugar house (we called it a “Sap House’ back then) I know my maple syrup! (Just ask my husband who had no idea the many ways to enjoy MAPLE!!!!)

I didn’t taste the fake stuff (Aunt Jemima, etc.) until I was around 8 years old and it was FAKE…blueberry or strawberry choice???? That was at a Pancake House in Michigan.

….and by me stating that I am a native Vermonter, I mean I was born and raised in Vermont, a state where were once more cows than people! Few people these days can say that…. and even my mother who grew up in Rhode Island and has been in Vermont more than 63 years can never claim the “Native 802”. Vermonters are tough with being ‘Native’.

Yes, I know my syrups …. From Fancy to Grade A- to Amber- to Grade B… which fortunate for me is my favorite ‘grade’ and the suggested syrup in the Master Cleanse Recipe.

Memory Lane….

As a young girl I used to help my father and grandfather collect sap from the tapped trees (before ‘tubing’ we had to collect sap from the buckets hanging on the tree….with me it was by tractor, but my father remembers it with his horses pulling the ‘sled that held the sap) and when the syrup was boiled to perfection I’d take a shot glass off the shelf and help myself to a ‘shot’ of hot maple syrup. Imagine, a tank of hot syrup and putting my ‘glass under the tap’ and voila….hot maple syrup! I can still smell the boiling sap to this day!

Like many people I have enjoyed a variety of ways to use syrup. I put maple syrup on ice cream, in coffee or tea, in oatmeal, on pancakes and even in scotch! Yes, my husband is still in disbelief (and agrees it tastes pretty good) but now he has to share his scotch!

So….beginning a cleanse with anything that includes MAPLE SYRUP is not a bad thing or a difficult thing to do – I love my MAPLE and I crave this nutritional cleanse called the MASTER CLEANSE 1-2x per year!

Master Cleanse Benefits

The first time I was introduced to this ‘concept’ was when I was heavily into whole & raw foods. A friend I met through Hippocrates Health Institute gave me the original book on the Master Cleanse, written by Stanley Burroughs. Thank you John…. from here my interest in cleansing grew… but I always come back to THIS CLEANSE over the past 20 years.

OH MY, there are so many cleanses on the market and I have tried several – not too many- but enough to always come back to this one. Many, or most are expensive, deliver weak results, and several I have tried are ones where you choke down HUGE pills and plug your nose for 7-20 days drinking their potion.

Once or twice a year I enjoy this cleanse to support and rejuvenate MY BODY and by doing so my body comes back into balance and is alkalized. Did you know that disease can not live in an alkalized body?

(I also have a few GO TO products that help)…message me. Surely there is one for you!

SO… why am I (and why do many?) resort to the Master Cleanse? Over and Over again? not a biz/ not an MLM….just a good ol’ fashion CLEANSE!

I googled this as I really don’t care WHY but perhaps others will….. so this is cool info and easy to follow…..

Why should you do the lemonade diet?

Here is why I do the ‘cleanse periodically’ and many of my friends do too.

The master cleanse diet is essentially a mix between a juice fast and a water fast. So the master cleanse benefits are very similar to going through a regular fast. On a juice fast, your body gets more nutrients. On this type of fast, your body really gets a chance to rest as it is not digesting anything (but still does get cleansing nutrients from the lemonade recipe). It rests and cleanses only.

Many people experience these positive effects as a result of going through the lemonade diet: (and FYI some products from Tavala have similar benefits…)

Normalize appetite
Energy levels will increase
Cleanse and detox entire body
Pounds of built up waste will be expelled
Reduces inflammation, easing painful joints and muscles
Normalizes metabolism
Restores body to a normal healthy state

In this writings, Stanley Burroughs states the purpose and master cleanse benefits are:

Eliminates toxins and congestion that have been accumulated within the body
Purifies glands and cells in the body
Builds a healthy blood stream
Promotes youth and elasticity
Relives irritation in muscles, nerves and joints
Cleanses the entire digestive system and kidneys
Eliminates hardened waste in joints

The lemonade recipe has special properties that creates a cleansing and loosening action within the body.

The potassium strengthens the heart, and stimulates the kidneys and adrenal glands. Oxygen and carbon build life and act as a stimulant. Hydrogen activates the nervous system. Magnesium alkalizes blood, the sodium encourages cell building, silicon aids the thyroid, phosphorus heals bones, and stimulates the brain for clear thinking. Iron, copper and calcium, carbon and hydrogen helps in building and elimination.

The reason why we need to cleanse

Our bodies are sick and polluted, similar to a car that isn’t tuned and hasn’t had an oil change. Even if you eat a good diet now, have you always? If not, its very likely that many of those pollutants are still built up within your body.

Many of us live in and around polluted environments. Houses and furniture off gas, factory towers spew chemicals into the air….I don’t have to list it all here. You know how bad our air and food can be. This all builds up inside of us and over time, reeks havoc on our bodies.

Stanley Burroughs believed, as well as many other naturopath physicians, that a toxic body that is not eliminating properly is the root of all illness. The only way to heal this and turn your health around is to cleanse it. There are many ways to cleanse, from juice fasting, to raw food detoxes to water fasting. The Master Cleanse is one great option that have worked successfully for many people.

There’s no magic to the master cleanse. It simply flushes out internal waste that puts a burden on your organs in your body. Once you cleanse, your body can efficiently work in the way it was made to, without being sluggish and toxified by pollution and gunk.

When your body becomes so polluted, it will slowly begin to poison itself from the inside out.

That’s why you do the master cleanse. It rids your body of internal waste that cakes up on the intestinal walls of the colon. The master cleanse benefits will make your body eliminate pounds of waste, in a weeks time!

The reason I do the Master Cleanse is all of the above but also ‘new beginnings’…. more energy and less ‘bloat’.

Me speaking here… Just so you know….

END of the INFO I googled. I suggest Googling into, buying the original Stanley Burroughs book that was generously shared with me to change my life many decades ago…or others….

LEARN TO MAKE THE MIX.

Mix these ingredients together: 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed “organic if possible” lemon (this is about 1/2 a lemon) 2 tablespoons organic maple syrup, Grade B (the darker the better, do NOT get the fake stuff.) 1/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper, gradually increase through the cleanse. Ten to Fourteen ounces pure water.

Mix, and drink 6-10 lemonade drinks per day. Some recipes stay medium hot water, but typically I only have a warm or heated beverage in the morning. (unless I do the cleanse in the winter!)

Many suggest drinking a salt water ‘flush’ in the morning and an herbal laxative tea at night, but I won’t get into that now as it is subjective. This will help flush the system and improve how you feel.

COME OFF OF THE FAST SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY.

Today is only Day 1 but when I have finished my 10 days I’ll ease my system back into eating normal foods….most likely plant based, which is my preference. Many people suggest starting with diluted orange juice in small amounts the first day. Day 2 I’ll move to more orange juice a little less diluted and vegetable broth in the evening. By days 2 or 3 I’ll then add in vegetables and organic fruits.

Difficult? Not for me. I love feeling hydrated, not having to think about food preparation. I think the most difficult thing will be eliminating my evening cocktail but I’ll hold the vision of a healthier, cleansed body with less fat and bloat. Typically I lose many inches and some fat weight too.

I encourage you to explore the Master Cleanse and if you have any questions feel free to ask. It’s a great way to JUMP START your body and begin to lose unwanted pounds. From here we then suggest the Tavala Transformation Pack.

802-846-7530. info@DaveandJoy.com

Joy Edgerton

802-846-7530

info@DaveandJoy.com

www.DaveandJoy.com