Have You Ever Experienced The Perfect Storm?

As I was out power walking this morning in this GORGEOUS fall weather, I began to reflect on the past two weeks in my life.  It has been a huge learning or shall I say RE- learning experience for me. Here is why.

In the past 2 1/2 years I've really learned so much about health, more than I ever dreamed I would!!!  Because of this knowledge I live in a very, very different way.  I used to skip meals, eat all kinds of processed foods, sugar was my best friend, junk food was a staple in our home, and kool-aid and soda pop were what we drank with most meals.  I fought with weight and balloon out to close to 200 lbs then I would lose weight only to gain it all back again.  The thing I was thinking about this morning is what my body has been going through in the past 2 weeks, a PERFECT STORM just raging inside.  With all this wonderful knowledge I've learned and even implemented into my life, the last several months I slipped back into some of my old bad habits and my body communicated with me in a HUGE way that what I was doing to it was harming it.  I have Candida (an overgrowth of yeast in my system) and it just went wild, creating all kinds of problems.  I got a yeast infection, on top of a bladder infection, I felt just AWFUL, I had a foggy brain and had a hard time focusing and thinking clearly, plus much, much more.  I KNOW it all started with the junk I was putting into my body!

This morning I just marveled at what a perfect machine our bodies truly are!  What we put in them REALLY is a BIG deal, it REALLY matters!!  It's like taking a brand new car that runs perfectly on gasoline but instead we decide to put diesel in it?  We would ruin the car!  That is what is happening to SO many people here in America.  Our bodies can only take so much abuse and then it communicates to us in a BIG way like a heart attack or cancer, or 200 lbs later, or diabetes, or a host of other diseases and health issues. We are eating SO much of "man made" food like junk into our bodies.  Just like that gas car doesn't know how to process the diesel, it's the same way with our bodies!  They KNOW how to process natural fruits, vegetables and clean meat but all this processed junk is foreign to it!  We strip all the good stuff out of the natural foods like white rice, mineral salt, for example, just to get a "white" pretty colored food and take out all the most important parts!

This morning I got a little mad as well!  I was thinking how our schools teach us some things that we will NEVER use in our lives and yet knowledge about what is MOST important to live longer, healthier, happier lives is very rarely even mentioned!!!  I don't get it!  If we want to avoid a health catastrophe within the American population we have to focus more on PREVENTION instead of chemical medicine to treat the symptoms.  I saw a thing on facebook the other day talking about the Race for the Cure, why not raise funds for the "Race for Prevention of Cancer"!  WHAT A GREAT IDEA!

Anyway I've learned my lesson the hard way!!!  I'm getting back on track and eat foods that are healthy and taste wonderful!!!  It REALLY DOES matter!  If you want to feel better than you are feeling right now, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!  Take responsibility for your health.  No one else will until you start having symptoms of crashing!  Avoid YOUR "Perfect Storm"! Quit searching for the "magic pill"!  It doesn't exist! For help with getting your health back on track you can contact me at:  aspiringtofreedom@gmail.com  or for more information: www.kelliehubler.com

Inflammation, the SILENT killer!! Do you even know you have it?



I had inflammation for years and years and never even realized it.  I have always had chunky ankles, feet, and hands.  Even when I was at a really good weight I had chunky ankles, you know the kind of legs that looks like your calve goes all the way down to your foot.  This was something that has bothered me for years!  I finally thought there is nothing I can do about it because it's just in my genes and that is the way I'm going to be for ever no matter what weight I'm at.  As I began to shift my way of thinking from "dieting" to learning to eat cleaner more whole foods, not only have I lost the weight but something very amazing started to happen.  I began to see my ankles again, my feet and hands have shrunk.  I have to wear my wedding ring on my middle finger because it would slip off!  I thought that this was AMAZING but I didn't really understand why.  From the things that I've learned in my training, I realized that it was inflammation all this time that was causing my ankles, feet and hands to look fat. To tell you how bad it was, I had a friend that had been a former Weight Watchers buddy of mine and who had seen me at a good weight come up to me a couple of months ago after I lost this inflammation tell me that I was looking really good and she couldn't believe how thin my ankles looked!  To me that was HUGE!!  Most people don't notice your ankles but this proved to me that the inflammation was bad even when I was thin!
So how do we get inflammation?  What are the results of inflammation in the body? We get inflammation from the foods we eat, PERIOD!  These foods are processed foods, foods that are found in the center isle of your grocery store, foods that are laden with tons of chemicals, foods that are really man made substances we call food.  We have become a people that doesn't know how to cook or eat REAL food.
I won't go over all the scientific information but bottom line is this, inflammation is a SILENT killer.  Most people are like I was, never even knowing that they have it.  I now can spot it on a person a mile away.  I know what it looks like on a person. Inflammation is associated with cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's, allergies, asthma, and more.  Once the inflammation moves on to these diseases your life expectancy shortens by 10- 15 years!

Take a look at your body.  Be more aware of what's going on.  If you are concerned about inflammation in your body, contact me for a FREE consultation.  Together we can form a road map to better health for you!  I'm really looking forward to helping you live the BEST life you can! For more information go to:  www.kelliehubler.com   Contact me at: aspiringtofreedom@gmail.com

A CLOSE call for this "country girl"!!!

I had the SCARE of my life tonight!!!! Most of you all know I live out in the country. My husband and I like to call it, "God's Country". It's 2 miles from the prettiest lake in Oklahoma. There are rolling hills and it is very green and just a beautiful place to live!! I've lived here since I got married 34 years ago. I was a "city girl" all of my life up to that point and never knew what it was like being out in the country. I did quite a bit of adjusting but soon grew to LOVE it here. I just wouldn't move into the city ever again. WELL tonight, for about 30 minutes I thought about changing my mind. We were eating dinner at my mother in laws house and I had to run home to pick something up and then I was going to run right back over there. We live about 1 or 2 miles away from them. I got home and left my purse in the car and just had my keys. I turned the key and opened the door and heard a thump. I looked down in our door way and just about had a HEART ATTACK!!! It was a young RATTLESNAKE!!!! I didn't know HOW in the world it got up above my door but when I opened it the snake fell down inside the doorway of my house. It was dazed a bit and just layed there. The first thing I thought of was I needed to stop it from slithering into the house any farther so I grabbed a shoe and put it on top of the snake so it couldn’t move. You have to understand I am DEATHLY afraid of snakes!!!!! I started screaming at my dogs because they were trying to come over to me. My husband was still over at his parents house and my phone was still in the CAR!!! I got a board that was laying on our porch and wacked it a couple of times but it still was very much alive. I then layed it on top of the snake as well. I screamed at the dogs to STAY there and I RAN to the car to get my phone and then ran back. I called my husband and yelled, “There is a rattle snake in the house!! Get over here RIGHT NOW!!” I had our car over at our house so he had to borrow my brother in laws truck to get over here. It seemed like an ETERNITY before he got here. I was SOOO afraid that it would get loose in the house but he was able to kill it. I was SHAKING like a LEAF for a very long time but I was VERY grateful it happened during the day while I could see it. My husband earned a LOT of “brownie points” tonight! So I’m back to never wanting to move from the country but this little country gal is going to have a flashlight with me at all times to see when it gets dark and I’m going to look at the top of my door EVERYTIME before I enter!!!

To DIET or not to DIET, THAT is the REAL question!!

Deciding to go back to school and become a student of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition has been one of the very best decisions I've made in my life!  I'm learning more than I ever dreamed I would.  It is TOTALLY amazing as to how what we eat, exercise, stress, relationships, careers, etc. have such a HUGE impact on the health of a person!!!  I'm blown away each and every day I study!  I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge and horizons! 
I've learned for myself that dieting is just a way that we have been brain washed by these big diet program businesses to set us up to fail so we will continue to come back and fill their pockets again and again! I've lost 40 lbs. without going on ANY diet!!  It's amazing to me that these diet companies are getting more and more sly and sneaky about how they market their programs.  Our nation is at least starting to talk about health in a more pro-active way and "Healthy" is becoming a word people are starting to pay attention to because each and everyone of us has been touched by what it's like NOT to be "healthy", whether it is our own health that is compromised or a loved ones health, we've seen for ourselves what that looks like. 
Now these companies as well as other companies are popping up and starting to use the words, "Healthy and Natural" on their products.  BUT DON'T BE FOOLED!! I think the thing that is bothering me the most right now are these new companies that are promoting products that are supposed to be "ALL NATURAL" and trying to make people think their program is not a "DIET" with all their shakes and other "natural" products.  Folks, if it acts like a diet, looks like a diet, and smells like a diet, IT'S A DIET!!!  I have no doubt that they do help people lose weight just like ALL the diets that we've had around for years and years BUT what is happening is the people that try these products and lose some weight on them are being brain washed to think that they have to stay on their products to continue to lose weight AND to keep it off.  How convenient for them!  When in reality we can lose weight ourselves that is TOTALLY sustainable for a LIFE time without having to depend upon ANY companies products.  All we need is a grocery store and the right information!!!!  Starting in September I will be certified to start coaching clients.  I am armed with the knowledge to help you STOP the battle with weight forever and help you to "de-program" your minds in thinking that the only way to reach your goal is to go on one of these diets and in order to sustain all the work you went through to get to the weight you want, you have to keep buying their products.  Your FREEDOM is in site!  I found mine and it is the most amazing, empowering feeling I've felt in my life!  Let me share it with you!  Contact me at: aspiringtofreedom@gmail.com to set up your FREE consultation now!

I'm learning more and more that getting healthy is SUCH a fun and wonderful experience!  The key is to become more open minded and start thinking "out of the box".  Who would have ever guessed that pizza made with a "Cauliflower" crust was SOOOO yummy and light!!!  Have you ever ventured out to try a new food before like Quinoa?  Remember, everything you put into your mouth helps to create your blood cells, your heart cells, your liver cells, your brain cells, etc.  If you are feeding your body junk, you are going to have JUNK cells and organs that will be very susceptible to disease!  I used to think that if a food is "healthy" then it has to taste terrible.  Boy was I wrong!!
 I'm teaching  "Healthy Cooking" classes in Sallisaw and Gore, OK.  Last night I demonstrated how to make an absolutely DELICIOUS pizza that has a crust made with Cauliflower. If you would have seen the faces on these wonderful women as they took their first bite of this pizza, you would know without a doubt that "healthy" IS delicious!!! It is so easy to prepare and doesn't take long to make it.  I have NO doubt that you and your family will just love it!  I will be posting healthy recipes on my blog once a month for you to try that have been tested by my Healthy Cooking class students.  Enjoy!  Please feel free to make a comment and let us know what you and your family thought of the recipe.


Cauliflower crust pizza - Grain Free, Gluten Free

1 cup cooked, chopped cauliflower

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

olive oil

Pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Chop the cauliflower florets into chunks and steam them in a steamer or on the stove until slightly soft for 15 minutes. Place in a bowl and mash it with a fork into smaller chunks.One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of chopped cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Prepare your baking pan by covering it with parchment paper and spreading a small amount of olive oil on top of it.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and cheese. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the baking pan, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, favorite toppings and cheese. I use crumbled cooked Turkey sausage, sliced Tomato, Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Basil, Onions, Mushrooms, and Mozzarella Cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat for 4 minutes. Serve immediately. This pizza is so light, not like the traditional dough pizza!

I got this wonderful recipe from: http://whatsfordinner-momwhatsfordinner.blogspot.com/2012/05/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html?pfstyle=wp

Healthy News!

Just an update on what I've been doing lately.  I've gotten my license to be a Zumba instructor and plan on starting my classes the end of next month.  I'm just waiting to hear if I've gotten permission to use a couple of buildings in my area.  VERY excited about that!  I'm looking forward to spending time with people as we get in shape together and enjoy the energy that these classes produce.  I've also enrolled and a REALLY wonderful nutrition school.  My classes start the end of next month as well.  It will take me a year to get my certification but I will be ready to take clients in about 4 months.  I'm super excited about that as well!!!!  I will be offering the whole package.  I have SOOOO many plans for the future.  My mind has just been racing.  We have a couple of buildings that we are starting to build.  One is my new office and the other is my coaching room.  I'm looking forward to having  healthy cooking classes in there.  I'd like to plan a healthy weekend retreat at possibly the resort here on beautiful "Lake Tenkiller"!  The list goes on and on but wonderful things are going to be happening in the future so "STAY TUNED"!!

"But I HATE to eat vegetables!!!'

When was the last time you drank a glass of FRESHLY squeezed orange juice?  I'm not talking about the juice that you buy at the grocery store in a bottle or carton.  I'm talking about the kind that you've squeezed from the fruit?  Have you ever tried  the juice of a FRESH pineapple?  I don't remember even tasting a slice of fresh pineapple until a few years ago.  I'd only eaten it from a can.  Growing up we mainly ate a diet made up of mostly processed foods. When I got married I continued the same diet because that is all I knew.  But as Maya Angelou once said, "When you know better, you do better." And that is exactly what has happened to me.  I'm DOING better!
Only about 10% of the vital nutrients are left in the food once it reaches your dinner table!!!  About 10% folks!!  The reason is because as these foods are processed they are heated at such high temperatures that most of the vitamins and minerals are killed.  (Not to mention that the food may have been sitting in the store for a few weeks as well losing more and more nutrition every day.)  It's a known fact that when vital nutrients are deficient in our bodies, THEN that is when diseases start to form in our bodies!  With people eating less and less of the foods your body needs to replenish these nutrients, namely fruits and vegetables, and eat more and more of processed foods, NO WONDER obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases are on the rise!!!
I know some of you are thinking, "But I hate to eat my vegetables!"  One REALLY good and tasty way to get these healing vitamins and minerals into our bodies is by juicing our fruits and vegetables. You can mix your fruits and vegetables and hardly even know you are drinking them.   But don't let those fruit and vegetable juices you buy in the stores fool you into thinking that you are getting lots of vitamins and minerals when you drink them because you are NOT.  They add lots of sugar and other harmful ingredients plus they have to heat it as well and that kills most of the nutrition out of it.  I would LOVE to teach you how to do this and share the success I've had and others that I have worked with in getting healthy and losing weight.  Please visit my website at: www.aspiringtofreedom.com to learn more of what I offer and then go to my "Contact Me" page to set up a FREE consultation with me.

When was the last time you thought about good nutrution for yourself or your family?

How important is it to eat nutritionally?  Have you ever thought about that question?  We all know we should eat more healthy but do we know and understand WHY it is so important to eat meals that nourish our bodies? How important is your health to you??  I know as I grow older good health becomes more and more precious.  When I talk about good health to my grown children they are like everyone else.  They know they should eat more healthy but it isn't really a priority.  When I was their age I thought the same exact way.  "I feel good, I'm doing fine. Why worry about one more thing.  My life is busy enough."   But as we age, we don't feel quite so spunky.  We aren't quite so limber.  We feel a few more aches and pains.  We don't see quite as well.  We usually put on extra pounds and have a harder time getting it off.  We don't sleep as soundly at night.  We are a bit more tired.  Our minds drift more to worrying about diseases. 
I'm learning more and more how VERY important nutrition is!! Our bodies use the food to heal itself and re-build itself with the food we give it.  We HAVE to change our mind set!  Instead of thinking about food as a way to heal our bodies we think of food as a primary way of feeding our "emotions".  When we feel sad, we eat.  When we feel lonely, we eat.  When we feel stressed, we eat.  When we feel like celebrating, we eat.  When we feel over whelmed, we eat.  Do you get the picture?  And when we feel these emotions what do we reach for?  Carrots, Apples??  Not likely.  We go for the candy bars, the snack cakes, sugary sodas, JUNK FOOD.  Instead of mindlessly eating the junk food trying to fill that emotion, STOP for a minute and ask yourself, "What emotion you are trying to feed?"  Become more aware!  When you are aware, you have more choices.  You then can either make a wise choice of food or find something else to do.
When we are filling ourselves with junk food we are starving ourselves of CRITICAL nutrition!  How can your body heal itself if you are starving it of the vitamins and minerals it needs?  As the years go on and we continue in bad eating habits, then slowly the weight packs on and then disease smacks us in the face. Diabetes, Heart disease, cancers, high blood pressure, etc. all are good possibilities of becoming a big part of our lives.  I think that we tend to think, "Well these diseases don't run in my family so I'm safe."  But the true fact of the matter is we can all get these diseases.  They are not necessarily genetic.  Just by eating badly we can eventually inflict these diseases on ourselves!
In my next post I will share with you a great way to get your fruits and vegetables in a fun and DELICIOUS way!

What do you consider SUCCESS?

What do you consider success when it comes to weight loss? Are you just interested in losing weight? Every single program I went on, losing the weight was the main focus!  Is that what you consider success?  Just losing 10, 20, 50 lbs.?  I can't tell you how many times I lost the SAME 50 lbs.  I tried diet after diet.  They all had about the same focus, control what you eat and exercise, but they had a little different approach. Each time I would join one of these programs I would pray and wish that "This time was the LAST time I have to go on a diet!"  But every single time the weight came right back on.

Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  I know that there are some of you reading this blog post that want to lose weight but you don't want to try losing weight again out of fear of failing again.  There are some of you that have gotten the courage to try it one more time and joined another weight loss program hoping that this will be the "last time" to have to diet again. Well I'm here to tell you that there is a way to get off that road to "insanity"!  There is a BETTER way!  There is a way to take it off that is much less painful and stressful and you can keep the weight off forever!

When you are taught to count every point, every calorie, every fat gram, every carb you put into your mouth and you have to live that way for the rest of your life in order to keep the weight off, THAT is CRAZY to me!  You become consumed with food!  What you put in your mouth becomes a full time job!  Then there is the shake diets and the diet pill diets and the starve yourself diet and every other kind of crazy diet that you can think of out there!  BOTTOM LINE: You will lose weight with these other diet plans BUT you will have to count whatever FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE to KEEP the weight off!  Or you will have to drink those shakes, take those pills, starve or what ever FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE to KEEP the weight off!  If that doesn't make sense to you, if that is something you find you can't do for the rest of your life then you have to ask yourself , "are you starting that program to just lose that weight temporarily?  Or are you wanting to lose it for the LAST time?

Tomorrow I will tell you how I help you lose the weight for good!  Stay tuned!

Can you be carrying around 5-10 lbs of "False Fat"?

One of the GREAT benefits of learning to slow down while you eat is that you also learn to hear or feel signals that your body is telling you. Your body will send you signals that you really never caught before. It's super important to start listening to it and recognize what it's telling you!


Since I've been eating much more healthier, I've noticed a few things that my body has been telling me and I never made the connection. I read an article the other day that was talking about food sensitivity. We can store from 5-10 extra pounds or more because of the reaction our body has to some foods. That's a LOT! I noticed in the last few months every time I ate anything with a lot of sugar in it, my stomach would just burn. You can also feel bloated caused by swelling or inflammation. In the article there was a list of the 7 most reactive foods that cause the most sensitivity. Here it is:
                                                                            dairy
                                                                            wheat
                                                                            corn
                                                                            sugar
                                                                            soy
                                                                            eggs
                                                                            peanuts
I have a definite reaction to sugar and peanuts. I can't eat either one without my stomach just feeling like it was on fire. So you might want to pay attention when you eat any of these foods and if you have a negative reaction to them, they might be causing you to carry around extra weight!
If you would like some help in training yourself to listen to what your body is telling you, please contact me through my website: http://www.aspiringtofreedom.com/

How are taking care of the weeds in your mind?

I truly hope that you are living a life with dreams and desires.  Just living life from day to day with out hopes and dreams is living and only seeing things in black and white.  There is no richness, no color, no emotion, no excitement!  It's definitely worth taking that leap of faith!!
I want to give you something REALLY important to think about!  I have a really GREAT question I want you to think about and then answer to yourself: Are you getting to the "Root" of your weight loss issues or are you continually fighting the battle by just cutting off the top of the weeds???  What happens in a garden when you go in and just cut the tops of the weeds without pulling the entire weed, root and all out?  They continue to grow and to spread and make new weeds.  So you are fighting more and more to keep them from stealing the nutrients that your vegetables need.  Eventually the weeds starve out your vegetables and all you are left with is the weeds.  You give up on the fight because the weeds have won and you lose out on all of the wonderful fresh vegetables.  This is another reason why "diets" don't work.  We are programed to work on getting off the weight.  We all KNOW what we need to do to lose the weight but we aren't taught how to get to the "root" of what got us to the weight issues we have now.  That is why we all experience the yo-yo dieting.  "Dieting" is temporary!  I have been trained and have the tools that will help you to find the "root" of your weight issues and dig them out so that you can make your next weight loss journey the LAST.  Please go to http://www.aspiringtofreedom/ to learn more and get a hold of me from my "Contact Me" page and we will work together to end your battle with weight for the last time!

Sunday moments (NEW)

I usually "rest" from my labors on Sundays.  But I enjoy blogging so much that I thought I could blog about something positive I learned on Sunday or what ever my thoughts and feelings take me.  So this is going to become a regular posting for me.

Today was a such a great day!  I truly look forward each Sunday.  Today I was pleasantly surprised because one of our young men is going to serve a church mission.  It was his farewell.  The meeting was filled with beautiful music that just made me cry because it was SO beautiful.  Plus we got to hear his parents, brothers speak and then he spoke.  I truly felt the Spirit so strong!  I'm very happy for this young man and I have no doubts that he will do much good on his mission!  He will be volunteering 2 years of his life to the service of the Lord.  What an honor!  The church was packed today with everyone friends and family from miles around to support him and wish him well.  I know that he will be richly blessed and his family will as well.  When our son served on his church mission our family never was blessed more!  It was amazing!

I love our Savior, Jesus Christ with ALL my heart!  I know he lives and loves each and every one of us.   He cares deeply about each of us, even in the little things.  He gave his life so that we might live again with Him, Heavenly Father and our families. I know that God lives and that he is our Heavenly Father.  I'm grateful more than words can express that God allowed us to come to this earth and live as families.  I'm grateful for my wonderful husband and our children and grandchildren.  Life with out them would be a totally sad and lonely way to live.  They are my best friends.  I'm so grateful that we are so close.  When we get together it is a very special time for me.  I hope and pray that you had a very special Sunday as well!  Talk to you more tomorrow!

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

Since I've started this weight loss journey in Feb.  I've has SO many really exciting "Ah-Ha" moments.  It's been so much fun for me and the way I look at weight loss and my life on this journey has just taken a 180 degree turn.  That is what truly motivates me to want to help others with their weight issues!  Through out the last 30 years when I would start to think about losing weight, first I would have to work myself up to start the battle again and then the number on the scale would be my main focus along with the "counting" of points, calories, carbs or what ever else I was suppose to be counting.  It drove me CRAZY for about 5-6 months until I reached my goal. 
Since learning that "dieting" will most always be a temporary fix and causes people to continue to gain weight over the years, I have learned so many wonderful truths!  Some thing that has been life changing to me is that I have learned NOT to focus on the weight loss or the number on the scale but to focus on my habits.  I know some of you may say that is a no brainer.  But for those of you that have struggled with weight, you know what I mean.  When I would get on the scales and the number didn't go down or even went up, that would totally crush me!  It would take me several days to pull myself out of the slump.  I would feel like such a failure and sometimes tell myself, "Well since I messed up again I might as well eat that candy bar." Then for a few days I would really struggle to get back up on the wagon. THAT is what I mean by "dieting" is just a FIGHT for me!  I really hated it! Negative thoughts were something I lived with off and on through out the dieting.  All the guilt, deprivation, feelings of being a failure, losing hope at times just haunted me. 
This year I have learned that I truly need to have a clear goal of size and weight BUT not to have that ALL I think about or focus on.  I now focus on my HABITS.  I am thinking often about ways that can help me reach my goal.  I don't put a time limit when I'm going to reach my goal because I don't want the added pressure.  Because what I've come to learn is that when I work on and conquer my habits THEN my body's natural response will be to let go of the weight.  I've learned to totally let go of the numbers and focus on the habits and then just wait and be patient with my body as it lets go of the weight.  This was FREEDOM to me!!  I can't tell you how freeing that was.  I do still weigh myself 1-2 times a week but there is NO guilt no matter what the numbers are!  This is not a race for me!  If it takes a year to lose the weight I want then that's just fine with me. Making this my absolutely LAST time I go down this journey and getting healthy is WAY more important to me than how fast I can get the weight off!  This is one of the big lessons in making this a lifestyle and keeping the weight off for GOOD!  I've lost 20 lbs. and I know without a doubt that this 20 lbs will never come back again because I totally think differently. If you are having a hard time trying to lose weight and are needing someone to help keep you accountable and guide you, please get in touch with me.  I'd be happy to help! For more information on how I can help you or finding out how to contact me please visit my website at: http://www.aspiringtofreedom.com/

The first step in losing weight for GOOD!

We live in a world that wants everything right now and we have turned into speed demons!  Where has that gotten us?  We have SO many more health issues because of the "speed disease".  We have uncontrollable stress levels.  We have heart problems and high blood pressure. Think about all the drugs that have come out in the last few years that treat Acid Reflux.  This is definitely a symptom of high stress living. And one consequence of the speed disease is obesity. Even low levels of constant stress can be harmful to our health. It can be attributed to Insulin resistance.  This is where our cells become unresponsive to insulin, a factor in diabetes, weight gain, heart disease and aging. I could go on and on about the harmful affects that living a life of stress can have on our physical health, not to mention what havoc it plays on our emotional health.
So what is the cure for the "speed disease"?  It's called SLOWING DOWN!  You might ask, how can slowing down  help me with my weight loss?  Here's the secret.  I once had a client tell me that the reason why they had weight issues was because they liked food to much but they were able to eat a plate of food in 6 minutes.  I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that there are a lot of people that are exactly in the same boat!  Could you be one of them?  Have you ever timed yourself to see how quickly you eat a meal?  The 64 dollar question is, "If we LOVE food that much, why in the world are we not slowing down to eat and REALLY enjoy the food we eat?"  We mindlessly eat a meal barely even enjoying the taste of our food.  What happens when we do this?  We have all heard that it takes 20 minutes for our brains to get the message that we are full.  Think about it.  If we shoveled food into our bodies for 20 minutes, think about how much food we would be eating? We would be eating a whole plateful and then going back for 2nds and maybe even 3rds.  WOW that's a lot of food and CALORIES!  Now lets turn that around.  What if you took a saucer instead of a large dinner plate (portion control) and filled that plate (not overflowing) with food and then took 20 minutes to eat that meal?  You would chew each bit several times, REALLY enjoying the flavor of the food, putting your fork down between each bite, taking a deep breath, enjoying the smell and the texture of the food, and tasting the spices.  Think about the calories you save from just slowing down and really enjoying your meal! If you try this, you will be very surprised at the difference it makes.  I've been eating this way for 4 months  now and it's been amazing!  I actually get full eating a much smaller amount of food and eating is so much more enjoyable!  I've lost 20 lbs and it's continuing to come off.  Now after saying that I want to say there is more that I'm doing but this was the start and a HUGE "Ah-Ha" moment for me that was the beginning of how I think about food.  Eating like a speed demon has become a part of who you are as a society so it will take a real conscious effort to make the change.  You have to re-program your mind to change this habit.  But try it!!  You will really be surprised at the difference it makes!  If you are wanting someone to help you on your weight loss journey please contact me at: aspiringtofreedom@gmail.com  Also for more information on what a weight loss coach can do for you please visit my site at: www.aspiringtofreedom.com

You can't lose if you don't move!

I want to clarify my title a bit.  You can lose weight with out exercise but it is harder and you don't get the toned body with nice lines and the health benefits that you would if you include exercising.  It's important to ask yourself, "Are you interested in just numbers or are you wanting the whole package of getting that thinner, leaner, healthier body?"  If you are going to take on the effort of losing weight, what is your complete goal?  If it is just the numbers on the scale then you probably will not keep the weight off.   Moving your body everyday is an important part of keeping the weight off.  If you research those people who have lost weight and kept it off for long periods of time, they have included daily exercise.  Think about it!  Our bodies were made to MOVE not sitting all day.  Now when I say "move" that doesn't mean an hour of grueling hard core work outs.  Find something that you LOVE to do, dancing, swimming, power walking, hiking, bowling, gardening, ect.  Finding something that you truly love will be the key to making moving a habit and part of your everyday life.  You will look forward to moving your body and being active again.  There a SO many benefits to exercise.  Some of you may say, "I just am so tired when I get home from work that I don't want to do anything."  What if I told you that exercise is the cure for being tired all the time.  If you want more energy get out and move.  You will not only have energy but you will feel so much better.  You will have a clearer mind and be happier.  Some of you may think you don't have time.  Have you ever heard of the acronym N.E.A.T.?  NEAT stands for nonexercise activity thermogenesis.  What that means is all the energy you burn during the day that is not your standard exercising.  This is very important to understand. You can burn more calories each day by increasing your NEAT.  Ways you can do this is by: standing instead of sitting while putting on your make up, wash your car by hand instead of running through the car wash, mow your lawn with a push mower instead of a riding mower, do yard work, doing extra work around the house, taking your dog for a walk, ride your bike around the block, park farther from the store and get more steps in, ect.  Learn to be aware of what you are doing during the day.  Be creative in thinking up some fun ways you can move during the day to get more steps in or activity in.  If you sit at a desk all day takes breaks to stretch and move several times a day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, sit on an exercise ball and move around while sitting at your desk, walk to get some lunch instead of driving your car, ect.  You can burn an extra 100-150 calories an hour by increasing NEAT.  That is huge!  The point is the more time you spend in moving, the more calories you will burn and it doesn't have to be a knock yourself dead work out!  JUST GET MOVING!  If you need more information please visit my website at:  http://www.aspiringtofreedom.com/   You can get my email address there as well.  I'd love to help you!

The poorer the quality of food we eat, the more QUANTITY we'll consume!

When I started my weight loss journey for the LAST time, I learned the importance of eating the best quality foods I could get my hands on.  We hadn't planted a good garden in years.  So I decided that this was the year to do it.  We planted red potatoes, cabbage, onions, asparagus, cucumbers, 3 kinds of squash, rhubarb, sunflowers, okra, tomatoes and more!  (We did go a little crazy!)  When we were in the store buying seeds our mouths just started watering thinking about all this FRESH yummy food that we were going to be eating this summer.  I wanted to plant enough so I could put some in the freezer as well so we could eat it during the winter months.  And it didn't stop at the garden.  I love meals that include chicken!  We set up a large pen and went out and bought chickens!  I love getting up early in the morning to listen to the roosters crow!  We also raise a few cows to have our own beef.  I realize not everyone lives on a place where they can plant a huge garden or have any animals but that is not a problem!!!  There are farmers markets everywhere.  You just have to look for them.  I just googled "Farmers Markets in Oklahoma" and got lots of  information!  When you go you can as the vender if the vegtables are organic or not.  They will tell you.  This is SO important!  You don't want to eat produce that has been sprayed with pesticides.  With all the diseases that are sky rocketing it sure makes me think twice about what we are eating!  Also a lot of the produce we buy in the stores may have been sitting for quite a while and has lost a lot of it's nutritional value.  Our bodies recognize when we are eating food that is poorer quality and feels like it needs more so we eat more to compensate for the lack in nutrition. 

Also there are lots of cattle ranchers that raise good quality beef that is not full of steroids and other chemicals.  We have such a small herd we don't have a lot of extra beef but I am in contact with a rancher that has the best beef you'll ever eat that sells beef once a year.  If you would like his information please get in touch with me and I'll be happy to share that information with you.
We tend to forget that the food we eat heals, protects, nourishes, gives us life and energy and helps determine the quality of life we have.  Think about what you are putting in your body.  Are you giving yourself good quality food that will help you to live life to the fullest???? 
Need help with getting the health and body your want?  Let me help you!  Give me a call: 918-348-1661 and make an appointment today!
Just food for thought:

Changing from the inside out!!

                                                       
 If you are wanting to lose weight there are 3 VERY important components that you must incorporated into your lifestyle.  Getting healthy and thin is much like using this 3 legged stool.

•  The first leg represents:   Eating healthy meals and watching your portions. 
• The second leg represents:  Moving your body! 
• The third leg represents:  Getting your mind in line with your goals. 

You could probably balance in this stool with just 2 of the legs but after while you would fall.  Just like you could lose weight using just two of these components but eventually you will fall and gain the weight right back.  I've truly learned this for myself!

      For years and years I've "dieted" and have lost the same 50 pounds over and over again only to gain the weight right back!  I was missing one of the components that I have come to believe is probably the most important and that was getting my mind in line with my goals.  About 2 years ago I lost a lot of weight and I felt great!  BUT after the "newness" of losing all that weight wore off I began to feel uncomfortable with myself.  I felt like I was not living my "normal" life, almost like a hypocrite.  I felt strange in my new body.  So I began to go back to what felt "normal" to me and I went back all my bad habits where I felt comfortable.  And within a year I gained it all back and then some.  Then the vicious cycle started again.  I started feeling like a failure again.  It wasn't until this year that I FINALLY figured it out and was able to put words to what I was feeling and what happened.  I've always been successful in losing weight but I'd always put it back on.  What happened was that I lost the weight on my body but in my mind I hadn't lost the weight.  I continued living like an over weight person even though I was slim and trim. What I've learned is that our unconscious mind is where our body's control center is and if we haven't changed our thoughts, our self image, our habits, and our behaviors there FIRST then we will live in that Yo-Yo dieting cycle for as long as we can take it and then finally give up.  I would LOVE to help you learn to change your control center to be a tool that helps you to lose weight for good!  Please go to: http://www.aspiringtofreedom.com/ to learn more and contact me.  I know together we can fight your last fight with weight and find the new thinner you!                      

Houston, we have a LAUNCH!!

I once read that starting a new business is like birthing a baby and I believe I'm birthing TWINS!  LOL  My new career is launched! I am a Professional Certified Life Coach and I'm specializing in Health and Wellness.  I have taken and finished my Certification in becoming a Certified Weight Loss Coach.  I'm on my own personal journey to loosing weight and I've successfully lost 11 lbs since Feb. 15th. WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!  I will reach my goal weight by Sept 26th.  I'm still working on tying up the loose ends of finishing my website.  I have my business cards finished, next week I will finish my brochures and then I'm headed for network meetings, talking to people and groups. 
I can not hardly believe in how much my life has changed and the direction it is moving in.  I TRULY would never have believed that I would be where I am now 15-20 years ago.  It is just amazing.  I can't hardly explain how I feel.  The gratitude I have is huge!!  My future is SO clear.  I know with out a doubt where I'm headed for the first time in my life.  The road to freedom is the path that I've found and it's truly exciting.  Success, HERE I COME!
I am loosing weight the NATURAL WAY!!!  No torture!!!  No counting anything!  Being sensible.  I'm NOT taking any diet pills.  NO gimmicky diets.  I'm NOT on a diet.  I've learned what a "life style change" really is!  I'm just eating right and great tasting meals that are home cooked!  NO deprivation, NO starving yourself to death, NO packaged diet meals.  This is extremely exciting to me!  If you are interested, I am going to be starting up my 2nd Weight Loss group soon and I will be taking 4-5 clients in each group.  I know without a doubt that this will be the VERY last time I will be loosing weight ever again!  I have the knowledge and the tools AND the mindset to do this.  I would love to share this with you.  You can contact me at: aspiringtofreedom@gmail.com for more information!

How full is your cup?

"People living in scarcity see the cup half empty.
  People who are positive thinkers see the cup as half full.
  People who are living in abundance see the cup as overflowing.
  But people who are living into their greatness ARE the cup!"-   Kim George

Imagine for a minute, what would your life look like or feel like if you were living in your greatness?  What would you see or hear?  I hope that we all get to the point that we are motivated enough to at least to think about it.  Are you happy where you are in life or not?  Are you at least on the right path to your greatness?  Do you even know what your greatness is?  What my idea of greatness is may be different than yours and that is ok.  We are all individuals with different dreams.  Your expectations may or may not be higher or your greatness may take you in a whole different direction and that is wonderful!  That is what makes our world so fantastic!
Life is truly to short to "just live".  I believe with all my heart that we were born with greatness within us whether we know it or not.  We just have to discover what that greatness is and LIVE IT!  I see life so much more exciting, satisfying and fulfilling when we are living in our greatness.  When we find our greatness and are working towards it, we feel more in control of our lives.  We are MAKING life happen.  We are setting goals and looking towards the future.  We know the end results as clear as day.  The other day I had some time to just ponder while I was driving and I was thinking almost in a prayer and I was looking at my dreams.  All of the sudden I was THERE.  I clearly saw myself living my dream. I felt what it's going to feel like when I accomplish my dream and for a split second I was THERE.  I was looking back at my journey  and I felt like "I FINALLY MADE IT!!!!!"   It was the most undescribable feeling I've ever had.  I felt huge relief. I felt like the fight was finally over.  At that moment I knew I could accomplish all I wanted to accomplish! How grateful I am for that experince.  It will be a great motivator in helping me to always press forward!
My challange for you today is to define what YOUR greatness is.  What does it look like and feel like?  What do you see and hear?  Then set some goals and start your journey!  Leave a comment and let me know how it goes!

What's in your dreams?

The longer you wait for the future, the shorter it will be! -"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."- Anatole France Do you ever dream??? If not, WHAT'S STOPPING YOU? Are you working towards your dream?  Are you living your dream right now?  Or are you just living what ever life hands you? I guess I can honestly say that I have been living my entire life up til the last 6 months with what ever life handed me, other than the blessing of being able to stay at home and raise my children.  That was a dream of mine for forever and I am TRULY grateful for those years and will always cherish them.  But the kids are all gone now and have been for about 4 1/2 yrs now and I just felt kind of lost and unfulfilled.  I tried to do a few things but they just really didn't fit.  They didn't really feel the void I was feeling. This last year I have been REALLY exploring different avenues that I thought might be fulfilling to me and bring me a sense of satisfaction in my life.  I came across some personal development CD's and even went to an all day company seminar that just opened my eyes WIDE open to the possibility if I was able to dream it, I was able to BECOME it!  Since then my life has not been the same!!!!!  Even though I'm not there yet the journey has been SO powerful!  I've learned more about myself and what I really can accomplish if I put my mind to it than I have in years and years. I truly feel free!
This is what I wish for you!!!!!  If you are afraid to dream, start small.  If you don't have faith in yourself or the fact that your dreams can come true, TRY IT!!!!!!  What do you have to loose?  You just have to believe, plan, and work on it!  Dreaming to me is one of the most fun things to do in my quiet time or when I'm exercising.  My challenge for you today is to find some quiet time to dream today.  Really ponder on what would really motivate you in your life, what would fulfill you, what would really make you happy?  Then in the next day or two come up with a plan on how you can make that dream come true. Let me know how it goes!!!!  Please feel free to leave a comment.  I would LOVE, LOVE to hear about some the dreams you decide to work on and how you are doing working towards them!