21 Weeks To a New You

Get ready for my 21 weeks to a new you lessons! Right here on my page. Each week will will cover a spiritual principle for weight loss and overall wellness. Many people are going through the motions of life but their souls are screaming out for help, the time is now for grounding principles that will bring one back to the center.

lesson one: getting ready for the journey. When we take trips to far away destinations, we plan for them. Now, you can be that person who wings it, but preparation brings more peace of mind. This is the same concept as it relates to eating, and planning your meals and your day will ensure that you will not only be prepared, but have healthy snacks to tide you over. Understand this principle, moderation in all things is needed, anything in excess can bring harm. Take the time to reflect on why it may be that you eat so much? Or why is it that you choose comfort foods more than healthy foods? Is there something you are compensating for? Are there unresolved issues in your life? Taking the time to introspect is your first lesson on the spiritual journey. A healthy relationship with food must begin and the strongholds that hold you captive must come down...tune in next week for lesson two...tearing down the strongholds in our mind for wellness and weight loss.

Make It a Mindful Day

Peace of mind, joy and contentment are all difficult to come by in today's harried world. We are often inundated with appointments, responsibilities and an abundance of mental chatter. Many people do not know what it feels like to just be. Busy people often long for the freedom that accompanies inner peace, but they just don't know how to slow down, relax and listen to the small still voice inside. If you are one of those people who have heard how yoga can help you relax but still have not tried it, I invite you to explore.

 Yoga really will help ease your mind and soothe your body so that the connection to inner peace can be re-established. In practicing yoga, you will truly feel like that tree planted by the rivers of water firmly rooted and not moved by every negative wind that blows.  Today, take the time to reflect, to just be, take the time to slowly enjoy your breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Make time for a small break in the middle of your day just to reflect.  The importance of how powerful these mindful moments can be are often underestimated.  Studies show that over 80% of all doctors visits are stress related.  Stress can cause serious help problems if left unchecked, and often we remain unaware of stress effects until it is too late.  The good news is that we are often in control of how we react to the very stressful moments that arise in our daily lives.  For your own wellness, take the time for you and make it a mindful day.

I Am Back!

Greetings everyone!  What a pleasure to be writing here again.  I have had two pretty busy semesters and have been traveling through the summer, and in my travels I had the opportunity to uncover some pretty interesting education and information to share.  Life is truly a journey, and sometimes you must take a step back to really appreciate all that it has to offer. One of my trips this summer took me to a natural products expo where I was able to meet with people who are passionate about healthy living, pure and natural products and sustainable lifestyles.  I met cancer survivors, and people who have overcome various diseases, by making a personal change to their lifestyle in a positive way.

 I have come to the conclusion that we are in control of our wellness, and it is up to every individual to make healthy choices that will facilitate the process of health and healing.  Many times we turn our energies outward, looking for someone to fix us after the damage has been done, when the focus should be on self responsibility and prevention with a holistic approach.  As I continue the process of writing this blog, my passion will be directed towards motivating others to a wellness revolution!  Health and wellness is something everyone should enjoy, and it can be accomplished as we become more mindful to the activities and process that bring about a life of vitality.  Stay tuned, get ready, I have so much to share and share I will freely!  Namaste

Walking Into Holistic Wellness

Today I was thinking about what it means to be fit and well. Mosby’s Medical Dictionary defines physical fitness as the ability to carry out daily tasks with alertness and vigor, without undue fatigue and with enough energy reserves to meet emergencies or to enjoy leisure pursuits. The same dictionary defines wellness as a dynamic state of health in which an individual progresses toward a higher level of functioning, achieving an optimum balance between internal and external environments. I like both of those definitions because being fit and well truly means integrating all of who we are and having enough vital energy to function physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The title of this short article is walking into holistic wellness and I choose this title because I wanted to point out the benefits of something as simple as a daily walking ritual. According to a recent study conducted by the Ochsner foundation in New Orleans, African Americans are at particularly high risk of disease from lack of physical activity.


The major findings:

• On average, African-American men in the study were three years younger than the white men, yet African-American men's fitness capacity was 7% lower than that of white men. The difference is considered significant.

• On average, African-American women in the study were four years younger than the white women. Yet African-American women's fitness capacity was 3% lower than that of white women. This difference is not considered significant.

• African-American men were more likely to be obese than white men: 44% vs. 33%.

• African-American women were more likely to be obese than white women: 37% vs. 27%.

• African-American women were also more likely than white women to be severely obese: 19% vs. 11%.

The study notes that the best predictor for premature death is poor physical fitness. Developing a walking routine takes about 20- 30 minutes of your day and is a great way to start developing overall physical fitness. We must banish the myth that in order to be physical fit you must join the gym or work out with the latest equipment. Walking into holistic wellness is free but the rewards are worth much.

Let me take the time to point out a few of the benefits according to recent research. According to Active.com walking will tone your body, put you on an emotional high and melt away pounds. All you need is the correct technique, walk faster and longer and you will definitely see and feel results. Researchers at the University Of Massachusetts found that people who walked everyday had 25% fewer colds. According to Johns Hopkins University, walking will reduce high blood pressure; the reason for this is that exercise produces weight loss and increased sensitivity to insulin (a hormone involved in the control of blood sugar) which in turn decrease blood pressure. Unfortunately, hypertension in African Americans is quite common, it is something we have come to accept and I say that it does not have to be so. African Americans have a higher rate of death from stroke and kidney disease. My mother died from kidney failure at the young age of 57, but she also suffered from hypertension as well, she never drank alcohol, she never smoked, but she also never exercised and  ate the wrong types of food. Studies are now revealing that hypertension treatment can begin with a lifestyle change and for many that will be the only treatment that will ever be needed. Take the time today to walk into holistic wellness. It will definitely impact your body,mind, emotions and spirit.

Fateria Johnson M.A. CMBFS

Fateria is a NESTA certified Lifestyle And Weight Management Specialist and Holistic Wellness Educator. She welcomes any questions you may have on getting well holistically. She can be reached at naturalhealth@its4yourwellness.com

www.its4yourwellness.com

Soul food for your wellness

In our African American culture, we have a rich tradition of what we call soul food, golden delicious deep fried chicken, collard greens with fat back, white rice and plenty of gravy, plenty of bread, rich desserts and plenty of sweet, sweet drinks. This brings back a lot of memories for me, unfortunately, I cannot leave out the high rates of obesity in our communities, high blood pressure, diabetes and many other lifestyle diseases that can be prevented with just a few lifestyle changes. According to blackhealthcare.com, Diabetes mellitus is one of the serious health challenges facing the nearly 30 million African Americans.



African Americans with diabetes are more likely than white Americans to experience complications from this disease.

According to the office on minority health,

African Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. In addition, they are more likely to suffer complications from diabetes, such as end-stage renal disease and lower extremity amputations. Although African Americans have the same or lower rate of high cholesterol as their non-Hispanic white counterparts, they are more likely to have high blood pressure.

African American adults are twice as likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.
In 2006, African American men were 2.2 times as likely to start treatment for end-stage renal disease related to diabetes, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
In 2005, diabetic African Americans were twice as likely as diabetic Whites to be hospitalized.
In 2006, African Americans were 2.3 times as likely as non-Hispanic Whites to die from diabetes.

As a natural health professional, I understand that under the right conditions the body will function properly. When we provide our body with the proper fuel, we are also providing our cells the needed nutrients to sustain a healthy life. These warrior cells provide the defense for would be invaders. Like any army though, these cells must be properly fed, when we feed our body valuless foods highly processed and laden with refined sugars we make the process of eliminating harmful bacteria a tedious one, and the end result will be dis-ease. A weak immune sytem is one of the major reasons that people get sick, and foods high in refined sugars suppress our immune system function. There is a sugar that I have found and it is called sugar in the raw. It is a raw natural cane sugar, it is not refined.



The refining process removes the vitamins and minerals out and leaves you with pure refined carbohydrates, thats why it is so dangerous. It is an empty or naked calorie, it is pure sucrose. Raw sugar (sugar in the raw) Can be purchased at your grocery store (you may have to look hard) but it is natural and the nutrients remain intact. Sugar in the raw can be used to replace that pure cane refined sugar in your lemonade or ice tea recipes, also use fresh real lemons instead of processed lemon drinks or koolade as these contain hidden sugars and artificial flavorings as well. Lemons have beneficial health benefits that will last a lifetime.



Lets talk about bleached flour and cooking oil, most people when frying chicked use white bleached flour and lots of cooking oil, but there is a better healthier way. Replace that bleached flour with unbleached whole wheat flour, bleach flour is very poisonous because in the refining process, all the nutritous grain is removed. White flour also contains a diabetes causing contaminant called alloxan, alloxan is the chemical that makes white flour beautiful and clean, now is that worth your health?.


According to the Organic Consumers Association, Scientists have known of the alloxan-diabetes connection for years; in fact, researchers who are studying diabetes commonly use the chemical to induce the disorder in lab animals. In the research sense, giving alloxan to an animal is similar to injecting that animal with a deadly virus, as both alloxan and the virus are being used specifically to cause illness. Every day, consumers ingest foods made with alloxan-contaminated flour. Would they just as willingly consume foods tainted with a deadly virus? Unless they had a death wish, they probably would not. Unfortunately, most consumers are unaware of alloxan and its potentially fatal link to diabetes because these facts are not well publicized by the food industry.


Wheat flour is nutritous and I use it for my oven fried chicken recipe. I coat my chicked with the wheat flour, of course I use all natural sea salt and herbal seasoning, fresh garlic powders...no season salt with msg (monosodium glutamate) or table salt. I oil my oven pan lightly with olive oil, no need to drown the chicken, and then I cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes each side...delicious and good for you oven fried chicken and noone even has to know you cooked it in the oven! Taking the time to just replace refined sugars and ingredients in your recipes will greatly impact your overall health, and do not forget after that delicious meal, take a family walk around the block or make time in your daily shedule for some form of exercise. Now, that is soul food for your wellness, stay tuned as we discuss more topics for African American Wellness.



You can contact me @ http://www.its4yourwellness.com/