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!