well folks,

Water- Sleep – Greens.

while “I love you” are three little words that we all adore hearing they will not help your body run with vibrancy and efficiently. Water, Sleep and Greens , however will not only make you feel loved they are the kind of unconditional love that we all deserve. please read on for information on how these “three little words” can change your life…

SLEEP:

I have heard people brag that they can get by on less than 8 hours of sleep – I find this so silly. When we sleep the body regenerates and gets ready for the big day ahead. When you get less sleep than you need it is like charging your cell phone half way and we all know how much it sucks when your cell phone battery dies in the middle of a busy day.

What to do before bed?

Shut the TV off!

Read only nourishing pleasant things.

Journal, take a lavender bath

Use lavender creams

Sip some chamomile tea (not too close to bedtime!)

Stay off the phone and tell your friends not to phone late (or shut the ringer off)

Lay off the emails (you can do it tomorrow).

Stop eating by 8 p.m.

Stop drinking by 9 p.m. (you can take sips but no full glasses)

Get horizontal by 12 a.m.

Be gentle with yourself.

WATER:

Everyone always thinks that they are drinking enough. We have all heard the “eight glasses a day” rule, but, really, do you think that someone who is 330lbs., Shaquille O’Neal for example needs the same amount of water as Madonna (98lbs.)? Of course not! Here is a great formula for figuring out your body’s needs. Half your weight in ounces, so, 120lb. woman needs 60 ounces of water a day. I read in a yoga journal nearly 14 years about the powers of “Morning water” it literally pushes the toxicity out of the body through the first urine of the day. Simply drink 2 glasses of room temperature water upon rising. Make sure that it is room temperature because the body is at a cozy 98 degrees and first thing in the morning ice cold water can be too shocking to the delicate digestive tract. Also it is important to drink high quality spring water or filtered water- not tap crap! Drinking water before meals (10 minutes) and NOT during will assure you a nice strong digestion. Drinking with meals actually dilutes stomach acid and slows down digestion. You might notice times when you need more water like if it is particularly hot outside or if you are engaging in more physical activity. It is essential that you listen to your body and give it what it needs.

EAT MORE GREENS:

I mean more DARK greens like collards and kale, they contain powerhouse immune building vitamins and minerals including – calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, and Vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll (a natural deodorizer –think fresher breath here) and many other micronutrients and phyto-chemicals. Learning to cook and eat greens is essential to creating health. When you nourish yourself with greens they naturally crowd out the less healthy foods. Greens help to strengthen the blood and respiratory systems as well as promote emotional stability and creativity.

Simple greens:

1 bunch organic dinosaur / Lacenato kale or collards – washed, separate spine from leaf chop both.

2 teaspoons organic tamari

2 teaspoons organic toasted sesame oil

Place stems of kale in steaming basket with an inch of filtered water – bring to a boil, cover for about 1 minute or until stems become a vibrant green color, lower flame to medium, toss in leaves and cover for another couple of minutes or until done, check for doneness. Using tongs transfer greens into a large bowl, add tamari first then sesame oil.

ENJOY!!!

With these tools you are well on your way to being the best version of you and definitely “Thin for the Camera!” for more great tips visit www.getthinforthecamera.com

Or email Donna at donna@getthinforthecamera.com / 917- 941-5045

Dairy –What the heck is wrong with it anyways???

1. Dairy as baby food – dairy is a highly concentrated food, it helps a calf grow to a cow from 50 – 1500 lbs- in about 6 months.
2. The Enzymes- toddlers 3 years of age and under (babies) have an enzyme that aids in the digestion of dairy, around the time that they turn 3 years old that enzyme goes away and dairy is much more difficult to digest.
3. Pasteurization –when dairy comes out of the cow it actually has an enzyme that helps you to digest it (when dairy is raw) when we pasteurize that dairy that enzyme gets killed by the high temperature making it difficult to digest, many people who label themselves as “lactose- intolerant” are really just having a reaction to the lack of the raw dairy enzyme.
4. Absorption of vitamins / minerals – when dairy is made low fat or skim The body can’t handle it, fat is what helps the body to absorb vitamins and minerals, when the fat is removed there are far too many nutrients and not enough fat to assimilate those nutrients so the body “throws out” the excess in the form of – bunions, calcium deposits, skin tags, raised moles, etc.
5. bovine growth hormone – a normal grass fed cow makes enough milk for its own babies or the equivalent of about a family of 5 – when dairy is factory farmed – farmers add bovine growth hormone to stimulate the cows mammary gland so that cow produces enough dairy for 30 people ! the result is horrific – as we ingest what ever that cow ingests the result can be children developing breasts at a very young age or what I call “ man boobs” in men who drink too much dairy- an over all “baby fat” body is to be expected when there is too much dairy in the diet.
6. antibiotics – as a result of the hormones, the cow udders get engorged with milk (7 times the amount that they are meant to hold) the udders drop down to the ground and rub against the floor of the pen – often the pen floor in a factory farm is a mettle grate and this scrapes the udders – the udders then become inflamed and infected – in order for the farmers to continue to make their money they pump the milk cows with strong antibiotics to make the infection go away , again if the cow ingests it – so will you, result of antibiotics in humans – weakened digestion and Candida among many other problems.

7. Treatment of dairy cows… no sunshine, life in a tiny pen with no room and no fresh air – think prison here. Normal cows live 15-20 years cows on hormones/ antibiotics in a factory farm pen- sometimes only 3 years… so sad.
8. Feed of factory farmed cows- cows are meant to be out in the sunshine, they are meant to consume grass NOT grains or feed – in a factory farm the feed often consists of stale bakery waste – that’s right, old nasty fried donuts! Not very healthy for them, the cows often develop huge gastrointestinal problems and many other health problems including acid reflux and arthritis.

What can you do?

· Only buy grass fed, organic, no hormone/ no antibiotic, non homogenized, free range dairy.

· Look for fermented dairy – yogurts and kefir and always opt for full fat versions.
· Look at dairy as more of a fun food that enjoy on occasion
· Find calcium where cows find it in dark greens, other calcium rich, non- dairy foods include: sesame seeds (1160mg. per 3.5 oz), sardines (371 mg per serving) collard greens (250mg per serving) and almonds (234 mg. per serving)

-Donna Sonkin H.H.C., A.A.D.P.
917-941-5045
www.getthinforthecamera.com

Hello healthy people !

well yesterday went well… did not have any chocolate , black tea or black licorice, instead I opted for some organic apple sauce which did the trick.

I took a 30 minute run in the park – which was beautiful, then did some stretching , crunches and push ups… the weather made it easy as did the fun music in my ipod.

I did not watch T.V. while eating even once – which was a challenge- I just stared at my cat and he looked away occasionally looking at me as if to say ” what the hell are you looking at? “

I finished most of the food that I made accept the brown rice, I have a sweet potato in the oven as I write this and am about to steam carrots and make Dikon radish salad for nori rolls, some more kale and of course that YUMMY lemon -ginger tahini dressing.

my cleansing activity yesterday was to go over some old paperwork, today I will do laundry and donate old and unused items to the housing works thrift shop.

I went to whole foods last night after a delicious dinner last night at Souen ( nori roll, maze rice with nori, grilled black bass and some kale, steamed carrots , dikon radish and squash) to pick up some more apple sauce (glass jar) kale, carrots, sweet potato and dikon.

going to hit the park again today, maybe a yoga class …

many hugs!
xo-Donna

we all get sick sometimes. it can be too annoying, you have plans, you are looking forward to things and then bam! your body ‘fails you’