Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 60

Diet Soda Doesn’t Cut It

Thinking the occasional diet soda is a good, calorie-free option in your weight loss attempts?

An innocent way to get a bit of caffeine and a good option for a ‘refreshing’ (really?) drink?

Not so much.

Apart from the fact that if you were to drink said soda, and voluntarily opt to ingest aspartame (do you actually know what this is?), don’t kid yourself by thinking it’s all that innocent.

In particular, did you know that the sweet taste in your mouth you’ll experience from the Nutrasweet will actually still trigger insulin to be released from the pancreas?

The US National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health cite on their website: “When subjects drank 240 ml of diet soda, serum insulin levels tended to be elevated…”.

Bottom line takeaway: drinking diet soda still causes your body to ride the insulin roller coaster, without having ingested real sugar.   This means you’ll be sending a message to your body all day long that you need to keep on eating more refined carbohydrates, most of which will be stored as fat, and not use any fat that you already have stored in your body as the refined sugar your infusing into your blood will be a much more readily available fuel source for your brain to use.

Bad, bad idea.  Not just for anyone trying to shed pounds, but for anyone interested in mental focus, being productive or simply feeling well!

There is absolutely no good reason to drink diet soda, or consume anything with aspartame, Splenda or saccharin in it…ever. 

Forego the Fruit & Fire Up The Fat

No, not entirely.

You don’t need to ‘not eat fruit’, but hear me out on this one (can I still write ‘hear me out’ for something written?  Not sure, but anyway…)

Consider:

Eating plenty of assorted, local, organic, seasonal veggies at each meal will ensure you’re getting plenty of fiber throughout the day.
Eating more healthy fat (avocado, coconut oil, olive oil and animal fat (from wild animals), egg yolks- basically all fats that are not trans fats) will help you to absorb nutrients, feel more satisfied, and therefore, less likely to want to snack mindlessly before the next meal.
Increasing the fat at each meal will also stave off the likelihood of functioning on that awful sugar/insulin roller coaster.

Keep the veg.  Keep the protein and try adding just a bit more fat that you’re used to.

Yes, athletes, I’m addressing you, too.

You’ll see some interesting posts coming in the near future regarding the changing approach I’m taking to training, so stay tuned and get ready to rethink some things as I share my own journey with you.

Don’t overthink it…start tomorrow by adding an extra egg cooked with extra coconut oil instead of adding a banana to your morning eggs with veggies and see if you don’t notice that you’re feeling more full for a longer period of time, more focused at work and less interested in the prospect of a milkshake and cake at 3 pm (a frappuccino and a muffin).

Let your body’s response be your proof!

Get Your Green Living Bundle Today

“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” 

And while we may mimic the food groups our ancestors ate by following a True Paleo regime, one thing that is vastly different now compared to back then is the environment we live in.  

While we may think we’re being green by recycling this, or not purchasing that, chances are we can each do much, much more. 

When we read stories of children developing asthma as a result of living in urban areas permeated by exhaust, or high rates of breast cancer of otherwise healthy women who just happen to be exposed to estrogen-like compounds in plastic, it should be pause for thought for all of us in terms of what we are doing to destroy our surroundings, little by little, each day.  

Eating a True Paleo diet is a great start, but we can all do more.

The time to act is now. We can’t wait for someone else to take action, and big business simply doesn’t care about our planet like you and I do. 

I want to tell you about an event that is going on right now called The Green Living Bundle.

A handful of very passionate authors have come together to do something extraordinary. We’ve combined their life-changing books and are offering them for one incredibly low price. In fact, you can get them right now, along with several other bonuses, for 94% off their value. 

Why? 

Because our mission is to help as many people as possible. Together, we can effect some very measurable and positive changes in our environment. 

You will learn to…. 

- Live healthier, happier and greener starting today 
- Save a ton of money 
- Dramatically reduce your carbon footprint 
- Easily grow your own food 
- Make eco-friendly skincare 
- Forage for food 
- Be more self-sustainable 
- Much more! 

Click here to learn more!

You’ll also get lifetime access to all of the Green Living Sessions: 4 video interviews with environmental experts and people who are walking the walk, and living sustainably. 

We have several other bonuses too including a video on how to grow spouts, my ebook on how to maintain a healthy, sustainable Paleo diet even in tricky situations, an interview about how to make healthy and safe skincare, and more. 

The eBooks and bonuses are invaluable but you won’t believe the low price that you can buy them for right now.   

Get the Green Living Bundle for 94% off!

Pay this forward to everyone you know. 

Gardening As An Art

Is your green thumb a bit too green?

I’m the first to admit it…mine is.

It seems so silly that as much as I love real food- preparing it, choosing recipes (or making them up) and presenting them that I don’t actually have a gigantic garden of my own.

Confession: I don’t know what I’m doing on that front!   So, I was incredibly pleased to have access to a great ebook, The Art of Gardening, Building Your Soil by Susan Vinskovski. 

From soil, to seed to site, this is a comprehensive guide that is sure to set you out on the right foot…or thumb(?)

Click here to learn more!

Paleo? Or Disordered Eating? Tune in Today to Learn More…

This is a topic I’ve written about before and it needs to be addressed much more often: when does the approach to what one eats cross the boundary from avoiding foods an individual determines makes them feel ill (for example, gluten) to a ultra-restrictive eating plan configured to lose weight, (and I’m not referring to someone trying to shed five pounds after having a baby)?

I’m writing about eating disorders.

I certainly won’t profess to have the training and expertise to write about this subject from a professional standpoint, but I can share that I’ve been close to this space before; with a few friends, relatives and clients.

A few months ago, when a friend and colleague chose to publicly speak out about her own issues with this illness, I found it to be incredibly courageous and I feel her talk today at Paleo Fx is something we all must watch.

Click here to watch the presentation given by Amy Kubal as she, in her words, “discusses the prevalence of eating disorders in the paleo world. I have a story to tell and feel that this topic needs attention. It’s out there and the victims are afraid to speak up.”

Paleo Fx Live In Your Home!

PaleoFX is happening live today!  

Not in Austin? Not an issue!

Don’t miss out on your chance to partake of the wealth of knowledge offered by experts on the Paleo diet, the Primal approach, exercise modalities and some new and exciting food options and cooking demos.

A little background: 

Paleo f(x)™ is an organization dedicated to advancing and promoting the functional paleo approach to health. Our mission is to show how theories of evolutionary health can be “made functional” — turned into real­ world practices that improve human health and wellbeing.

I had the opportunity to speak at this awesome conference last year; and while a scheduling conflict with another conference is preventing me from accepting the invite to participate this year, you can believe I’ll be there in spirit (as well as online when possible) to tune in to the latest and greatest.

Stream it live- starting today!

Click here for more!

It Starts At Home

Not just eating well…treating the planet well.  

You may have noticed a theme on some of my blog posts this month.  

With Earth Day just around the corner, I felt I should keep issuing subtle reminders about the importance of treating our planet with just as much respect as we treat our bodies when we follow a Paleo regime.

However, as my expertise is in keeping True to a Paleo regime, rather than reducing the carbon footprint we make, I would like to suggest you check out a handy little ebook, Sustainability Starts at Home, by Dawn Gifford, addressing such topics as:

How to save money by lowering your thermostat just a little
How to save water by checking out some different plumbing options 
How to save on organic produce and meat

Click here to learn more!

Healthy, Healing Soups Don’t Come in a Can!

If you’re thinking that package of miso soup mix is just the thing to address the sore throat and runny nose you’ve got, think again.

Miso, being soy-based product, is on the to-avoid list for all of us following a True Paleo regime, and anything in a packaged mix is far from full of health promoting compounds.

What to do, then, if you’re on a mission for something to prepare that is healthy, hearty and healing?

Make your own soup!

Start with some bones- any bones, preferably from pastured chickens or grass fed meat, add some water and then go to town with your choice of fresh or dried herbs and spices, vegetables and any natural salt free seasonings you can think of.

If you need a little more structure than the free-for all approach above, check out Will Forage for Soup by Amanda Rose, which is part of the Green Living Promo that begins on April 14th.  Click here to get your free video and to sign up for the bundle today!

Ever Feel Like You Want to Eat Your Soap?

Of course, if we think about eating soap, we are likely to conjure images of naughty children uttering words deemed inappropriate by their parents and getting their mouths washed out with soap.

This is SO not what I’m writing about today.

I’m often asked about what body care or face products are Paleo friendly.   I recently discovered one at Whole Foods that I just have to tell you about

Wildbath Exfoliating Shower Mud smells so good, you will honestly want to eat it. (Please don’t… it is still a soap!)

With contents including wildcrafted shea butter, coconut butter, organic sunflower oil, rhassoul volcanic clay, dead sea mud, glacial clay, vegetable stearic acid, vegetable glycerin, fine powdered volcanic ash, water, mineral tint, natural and essential oils and certified to be free of parabens, phthalates and sulfates, it’s completely natural and leaves your skin glowing and smooth.

Just make sure no one tries to lick your arm.

Ok, enough now…

Check it out here!

My Kind Of Nuts

I was out running errands the other day and stopped into my local Pharmaca (a chain of natural pharmacies we have in California).

As I glanced the contents of the shelf near the check out line, something caught my eye amongst the chocolate and ‘energy bars’.

A bag of nuts, with a label indicating BPA-free packaging seemed to jump off the shelf to me.  

I picked it up and read the contents; too good to be true!  Not only were the nuts ones I really like (pecans, walnuts and brazils), they were roasted in coconut oil!

Now, if you’re going to eat some nuts now and then, this is the way to do it!

A far cry from that vat you might see at Costco, roasted in peanut oil, doused in salt and left to sit on the shelf for who knows how long, this is a much better, healthier and tastier option!

Grab a handful and stick the rest in the freezer for next time!