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Perfection

As I was driving home the other day after running some errands (one of which was to pay a bill that would otherwise be late) I was thinking…. Why do I do that? Why would I wait until the last minute to pay a bill that I could easily have popped into the mail a couple of weeks earlier? The silliness of it struck me. And then, a memory jumped to mind. Many, many years earlier, in elementary school, we were learning about Native American Indians. There was a tribe, the Navajo I think, that were famous for their exquisite weaving. But, they would always make a mistake in the weaving; if not by accident, then on purpose, because to be perfect was considered arrogance, or impertinence, towards the gods. It must have stuck with me in some corner of my mind for all of these years. Is this why I do silly little things that make my own life more difficult; because I don’t want to “be too perfect”? Because if I were it would tempt disaster?

I see this tendency in myself and others all the time. Life can be going along smoothly and fabulously then suddenly, like the emergency break just got yanked, there is a senseless act of self sabotage that interrupts the wonderful fluid forward flow. There is a term I have heard used for this phenomenon. It is “de-evolution”.

Why does this happen? Is it because it takes so much energy to keep “it” all together; like holding multiple beach balls below the surface of a pool? Is it because we somehow fear being perfect? Or maybe because we want to be seen and recognized and loved for who we are as people rather than for what we look like or the job we do. Most likely it is some combination of these, and other reasons. We are all so unique, so different….and I will hazard a guess that the “cure” for this phenomenon is as unique as the experience.

For me, maybe the cure is to slow down, smell the flowers, enjoy the sunshine, and to get more joy out of the little things in life, including paying pills. As for any lingering fears of perfection (ha ha), now that I am aware of that idea, I can use NLP to rewrite that, up ’til now subconscious, internal dialogue.

Overcoming Food Allergies –My Personal Experience

I recently had the ALCAT Food Intolerance test done and the result was mind blowing. I discovered that perfectly healthy foods, that I thought of as “safe”, were responsible for many of the symptoms I had been experiencing like chronic fatigue, weight gain, skin problems, and trouble concentrating.

Over the last 2 years I had become more tired than usual. It happened gradually so there was no one day that I felt like everything changed or even particularly took notice. Looking back to 2 years ago I see that a lot had changed. I used to workout regularly and enjoy it. Since then I have had to make myself go and it was always a drag. As a result of all of this I rarely did it and gained weight. I used to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, not sleep for 8 hours or more and wake up feeling tired and hung-over –even though I don’t drink. Even the healthiest of meals left me feeling lethargic, unfocused and sometimes even dizzy. I don’t l know why it took me so long to notice, or to think of getting retested for Food Intolerance (a.k.a. food allergies), but it did.

The foods I have eliminated over the past month since getting the results of the test read like most peoples’ “healthy foods” list. They include: apples, onions, garlic, ginger, eggs, lamb, pepper, lemon, and turkey, and more –I won’t list them all.

I had this test done 25 years ago and it dramatically changed my life. I had been dragging around, feeling totally exhausted for more than 2 years before I was tested. It followed a bout of Mononucleosis, which had lasted for an entire year before being diagnosed. I had gone to doctor after doctor looking for answers as to why at the age of 20 all I wanted to do was sleep. The best any of them could do was to tell me I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. All that meant was that I was tired all the time and they couldn’t figure out why. My mom finally took me to a Holistic doctor in the city, who my uncle, a doctor, called a quack.

Among the many tests he did, was the ALCAT Food Intolerance test. This is a blood test that looks at the immune response of live blood cells to different antigens. The result was that I was “allergic” to things I was eating every day. They included: corn, tomato, potato, bakers yeast, and shrimp. I stopped eating them immediately, and within 1 week was feeling dramatically better. After 6 months I had lost 20 lbs and was back to my energetic old self. I was also able to start putting those foods back into my diet on a rotational basis (not more than once every 4th day). Keeping to that rotation I was able to enjoy all of those foods and feel fine.

So, this “quack” cured me in 1 week where all the different doctors had failed. The cure was giving me the vital piece of information I was lacking; that there were a few foods I was better off not eating. It was that simple.

And now, one month after my re-test, since removing the newly discovered offenders from my diet, I feel significantly better. My energy is coming back and I have lost 5lbs already. I don’t have the new regimen completely down to a science yet, but it gets easier every day. I have been here before and I know the benefits of abstinence strongly outweigh the inconvenience of avoiding foods I enjoy.

I should note too that the foods that were troublesome for me 25 years ago no longer showed up as being problematic. I am sure if I had been retested earlier they would have come up as “safe”. This is because our bodies change throughout our lifetimes. We can become over sensitized to things with which we are in constant contact. Frequently it is a bout of illness or extreme stress that precipitates food intolerance.  Additionally certain cosmetics, sucralose (Splenda), and amalgam filling have an effect on the mechanism behind it. Continual exposure to problematic foods does not give the body a chance to break the inflammatory cycle and heal.

Food Allergies and Intolerance

In order to help you kick off your best year ever, I have decided to spotlight food Sensitivities, and Intolerance

Did you know over 80% of the population experiences food sensitivities at some level and they don’t even know it! True allergies are very different than sensitivities and intolerance –only 5-7% of the population suffers from true allergies. Still, food intolerance can wreck havoc on your health, energy and block fitness goals.

Symptoms can include:

  • Chronic fatigue/low energy
  • Migraines
  • Obesity
  • Difficulty losing weight
  • Persistent cravings
  • Aching joints
  • Skin disorders
  • Digestive disorders
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Mood disorders
  • And many more…

Food sensitivities have been in the media headlines a lot lately and many folks have even tried elimination of the usual suspects like wheat/gluten and dairy… But what happens when the culprit is something you would never suspect –like lettuce, almonds, carrots and celery… What happens when the foods you think of as “safe” are really the root cause of your most troubling symptoms?

I had this test done 25 years ago and it changed my life! I went from being constantly exhausted (for 2 solid years) back to being my old energetic self with in a week of eliminating the 4 offending foods I was eating every day.

Because I am so excited and proud to now offer this vital screening I want as many people as possible to benefit from it. So for the remainder of January ONLY I am offering the tests AT MY COST!!!!!! (40% below list price.) You may even qualify for more savings since many insurance carriers will cover the bulk of the cost.

Contact me and I will help you pick the best test and follow up protocol for you.

 

Fast Track to Healthy Weight Loss – Results guaranteed!

Have you ever set a health or fitness goal for yourself and failed to reach it? Even though your commitment level may have been at a “10” on the day you started, the flow of your daily life may have distracted you from your focus.

This is something I hear a lot as a health coach. Despite peoples’ best intentions, life gets in the way of, well, health.

This, combined with a “flying by the seat of the pants” approach to diet and exercise, leaves people not too far from where they would be without ever having set a goal in the first place –only with a lot more guilt.

This is a conundrum I have pondered long and hard: how to help people achieve the goals they set for them selves with a degree of certainty, and finally, I have come up with a solution!!

I am SO excited to announce the brand new Linda Living Fast-Track program.

This revolutionary one-of-a-kind program is designed to speed up the time it takes to lose weight –in a HEALTHY way!

It is completely compatible with other all weight loss programs and designed to support you by ensuring you get the results you are seeking.

Here is how it works:

  • Laser Targeted Nutrition – Testing enables us to know exactly what foods make weight loss more difficult for each person. Targeted Supplementation supports the body’s ability to metabolize fat to turn it into fuel.
  • Commitment –Fast Track keeps participants committed on a level that will ensure success –despite the ebb and flow of a busy life.
  • Overcoming Stumbling Blocks – These can be physical, habitual or emotional. The intensive nature of this program allows for an unparalleled insight into what is working and what is not. Once we know, solutions are possible.
  • Tools for Success – Changing the way we think is every bit as important as changing the way we eat and exercise. Fast Track uses NLP and EFT to “reprogram” our patterns creating great change in a short amount of time.

Where diets, gym memberships and grand plans have failed before, this program will work. (find out more)

The Fast-Track program puts it all together for you! This program will work –I GUARANTEE it!

I invite you to have a conversation with me to see if this program is right for you. Email me at Linda@lindaliving.com.

***I am currently looking for Beta Testers to participate in this brand new program. Please spread the word and have anyone interested contact me ASAP. Thanks!

The Pros and Cons of Dieting

tape measure

I always cringe when I hear someone say they are planning to go on a “diet”.

It usually means that they are planning to adopt some radical and restrictive eating strategy for some period of time that will most likely not give them the results they desire, and most likely lead to even more weight gain.

Statistically 95% of people who diet to lose weight put it back on within two to three years. A series of researchers at the UCLA looked at a number of dietary interventions – they discovered that most dieters gained back almost all their weight. While they could not put an exact figure on it (e.g. 95%) – they concluded that most efforts at calorie restriction result in only very short-term weight loss, and, could even ultimately lead to weight gain. I have seen this repeatedly and experienced it myself.

I went on my first “diet” as a young teenager. I realize now that it was a somewhat arbitrary idea that I “needed to go on a diet”. But dieting was in, my friends were doing it, and I wanted to look like the models of the day; wearing Jordache jeans –which were all the rage in 1980. In hindsight it was stupid. No diet would have changed my basic body shape, which was curvy even back then. Dieting created more problems than it solved. After that I did have a weight problem!

In reality, we are all on diets every day of our lives. What we eat, even if it is without forethought, IS our “DIET”. We don’t usually give it much thought though until our pants get too tight, we experience negative health consequences…or we have a budding romance.

Now, much older and wiser, and as a professional Health Coach, I strongly advocate making small, sustainable HEALTHY changes over time rather than “dieting”. Habits and preferences that took a lifetime to establish rarely change overnight. Diets that promise miraculous results, especially quick ones, are usually not very healthy, are often ludicrous, and always unsustainable.

Still, there is a healthy place for “Dieting”.

Cleansing is a “Diet”, of sorts, since it does include a defined eating protocol (thoughtfully designed for the purpose facilitating detoxification). Any weight loss program that is going to be successful must include some element of detoxification. Fat is not just functionless flab only there to make your life miserable; it’s an organ with more than one job. One of its jobs is to keep toxins; environmental, chemical, and biological, away from vital internal organs. “Cleansing” gets rid of toxins and is a great way to loose weight quickly and safely. It also results in feeling better faster, becoming more energetic, and the weight staying off longer.

There are other benefits sensible “Dieting. The exercising of discipline and willpower is one. Like a muscle, it gets stronger with use and weaker with disuse. It is a wonderful thing to occasionally give it a workout. There are many cultural and religious traditions around temporarily limiting food consumption including Lent, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan to name a few.

Another advantage of putting some temporary restrictions on consumption, and of course it does depend on the specific restrictions, is that it refreshes the palate. Eliminating sugar, salt, refined, processed, and over seasoned foods, and overeating in favor of lighter and more austere fare makes all food taste so much better afterward. It also makes a little seem like a lot and makes it rapturously more satisfying.

Last but not least, limiting food can really make you check in with yourself on how you are ‘using’ food. Sometimes without even knowing it we can begin to “use” food/eating as a coping mechanism, as entertainment, and as the filler for anything and everything that is missing from our lives. Removing the excesses of food from the equation can really put us back in touch with ourselves in a way that is very difficult to do with the distraction and crutch of food.

A well-conceived “diet”, one that emphasizes cleansing, can be a good thing. It is not a solution for poor eating habits, but it can be very helpful in putting food, and [mis]use of it, back in prospective.

For real and lasting change basic daily eating habits have to change. The behaviors that lead to wanting to diet in the first place will lead right back to the same place again, and as research shows, the weight will come back –with friends. So while a diet can be good, it is not a solution. Solutions only come with altering the day-in day-out diet. That takes an appropriate and sustainable plan, new strategies, and real commitment, not shortcuts.