Back to Basics

May Calendar Printable and new Healthy Habit!

May 1, 2015 By Kara Leave a Comment

Hello, friends!

Can you believe it’s the first day of May??? 2015 is surely flying by quickly.

May is my busiest month of the year at work and so I’m trying my best to start off the month organized and committed to my goals.

May also brings with it our newest Back-to-Basics Healthy Habit #5.

If you’re new to this page, you can catch up on the past Habits by reading these posts:For the first three weeks we worked on
drinking water (find those posts here, here, and here), then we spent three weeks working on moving our
bodies (find those posts here, here, and here) and then we began working on Sleep. Read
those posts here and here. And here.
Our fourth healthy habit was reducing sugar and you can find that post here.

Today we start our 5th habit and it is: ADDING PROTEIN to our daily snacks and meals.

Why Protein?

Protein is an ESSENTIAL building block to cell growth and regeneration as well
as in your diet. It can aid in blood circulation, skin regeneration, muscle
repair and bone strength as well as in fat loss.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in
2010, those that ate diets high in protein had reduced insulin levels, less
hunger, decreased food cravings and were able to maintain their current muscle
mass when losing weight which means LESS rebound weight gain down the road.

When we eat a protein-heavy meal, we will feel full for longer and resist the
urge to snack much easier. In fact, for every 1 percent increase in protein intake,
people naturally decreased their calorie intake by 32 to 51 calories a day!

It also requires more calories for your body to process protein as compared to
fat or carbohydrates. Protein requires TWO TIMES more calories to breakdown
than carbs!

High protein intakes can also increase bone density and
decrease the risk of osteoporosis.

Studies have shown protein consumption can contribute to
better sleep, better brain function, lower blood pressure, more energy, and
even better skin, hair and nails!

For the next month, look for ways to increase the protein in your snacks and
meals. You’ll feel fuller, have less cravings, more energy and possibly a
smaller waistline!

I’ll try to share some ideas on this page, also.

Now, here’s your monthly calendar to print off and use to stay accountable. I changed it this month as the way I instructed you to do it in April was just too overwhelming in my opinion.
For this month’s calendar, I’m going to just use TWO ways to mark each day.

IF I have met my healthy eating goals for the day (including water and the habits we have covered so far), then I’ll put a vertical line down that day’s box. If I have moved my body in exercise, then I’ll put a horizontal line across that day’s box. If I’ve done both, then I’ll have a CROSS over that day.
The goal? As many crosses as you can get for the month.

To print yours, go here.

I’ve also included 3 daily challenges per week. If you do those, bonus points for you!

You can do this!

And just in case you haven’t yet seen the items I listed in the store, go check them out by clicking HERE.

There are some super cute items at great prices. STORE closes Sunday night 10 pm EST.

Happy Friday!

April Back to Basics Calendar

April 1, 2015 By Kara Leave a Comment

Hey, friends!

This past Sunday, I made some confessions, and promised you that I would be getting back on track and back to basics. I also told you I would have you an April Calendar ready for you.

To go print your own .pdf copy, click HERE.

Basically, each day you will record how well you did meeting the FOUR Back2Basics Healthy Habits that we are working on:

Here’s a quick video explanation:

If reading this through your email or a feed, click HERE to see the video.

Instructions:
1- Water: Did you drink your water? If so, put a vertical line down the middle of that day’s square
2- Exercise: Did you move your body today? If so, put a horizontal line across that day’s square.
3- Sleep/Resorative Care: Did you get enough sleep or do a restorative activity like leisurely walking or stretching/yoga? If so, put a check mark in the upper right hand corner of that day’s square.
4- Limiting Added Sugar: Did you limit the amount of added sugar you consumed today? If so, put a check mark in the upper left hand corner of that day’s square.

The goal is to have as many lines and check marks as possible. Easy enough, right?

At the end of the month we will share our calendars and see how everyone did.

Are you with me? Go print your calendar and get started. You can do this. Small, sustainable changes that add up to long-term health benefits and a healthier lifestyle.

Praying for you and cheering you on!!!

Back to Basics Healthy Habit #4: SUGAR

March 16, 2015 By Kara 3 Comments

For the past 9 weeks, we have been working on developing
lifelong healthy habits.

. For the first three weeks we worked on
drinking water (find those posts here, here, and here), then we spent three weeks working on moving our
bodies (find those posts here, here, and here) and then finally we began working on Sleep. Read
those posts here and here. And here.

Today, I’m introducing a new habit. This habit is CRITICAL to your long-term
health and may be a challenging one as it involves a product most of us are
highly addicted to: SUGAR.

For the next 3 weeks, I want you to work on reducing sugar from your diet.
Notice I didn’t say eliminating (although that would be best), but reducing.

So that you
understand how critical this habit is, let me teach you a little bit about
SUGAR.

Currently, two out of every three people are overweight or obese. If we keep
growing at our current rate, 95% of all Americans will be considered overweight
within 2 decades. We aren’t just physically overweight, but we’re also getting
sicker. For example, since 1980 we have gone from having ZERO documented cases
of Type II diabetes in Adolescents to having almost 60,000 by 2010. And for the
first time In history, your children have a shorter life expectancy than you
did when you were born.

Many attribute these scary statistics to one product: SUGAR.

In the year 1800, the average person consumed around 5 lbs of sugar per year.
Today, that number is over 152 lbs per person per year. From 5 lbs to 152 pbs PER
YEAR! Now multiple that number over the typical 80 years you may live. That is
a lot of sugar!

In the last 35 years alone, Americans have DOUBLED their intake of daily sugar.
Much of this came about at the same time as the low-fat food craze began. Companies
removed the fat from products (thinking IT was the problem) and began pumping
in sugar to make it taste better. In fact 600,000 food products on our shelves
right now have added sugar. This includes items such as taco seasoning, pasta
sauce, saltine crackers, and even over the counter medications!

80% of every product made today has added sugar.

And this crazy sugar consumption is linked to a huge list of conditions,
symptoms, and diseases including heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol problems,
stroke, cancer and Alzheimer’s. Yes, Alzheimer’s. In fact, a diet high in sugar
and carbohydrates increases your risk of this terrible disease FOUR TIMES. Some
even as now calling Alzheimer’s Diabetes Type III.

And as we all are beginning to realize, cancer thrives on a diet high in sugar.
An article I read recently had this headline in large print: “What is Cancer’s
Favorite Food? SUGAR!”

Your tasks for this week:
1). Begin learning how to read your labels.
Look for the word SUGAR and then the number listed beside it. Every 4 g of
sugar is equal to 1 tsp, so if you’re drinking a softdrink that has 36g per
serving, you just ingested NINE TEASPOONS of sugar.

The recommended daily limit for men is 36g PER DAY and for women is 24g PER
DAY.

2). Watch this video I made a couple years back. Good info that may surprise
you about your foods and the sugar they contain.

3). Begin learning other names for sugar such as: Some of the more common ones
are in bold.
Barley malt
Beet sugar
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Cane juice crystals
Caramel
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Carob syrup
Castor sugar
Demerara sugar
Dextran
Dextrose
Diastatic malt
Diatase
Ethyl maltol
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Galactose
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Grape sugar
**High Fructose Corn Syrup
Icing sugar
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltodextrin
Maltose
Malt syrup
Panocha
Rice syrup
Sorbitol
Sucrose
Treacle
Turbinado sugar

Aim to decrease the amount of sugar you are choosing to
consume each day. Realize that artificial sweeteners are NOT the answer and
will cause a whole host of other issues (we will discuss these more next week).
Also, even natural sources of sugar such as HONEY can cause the same insulin
spike which leads to the same problems down the road. Technically, simple carbs
such as bread, pasta, fruit juice, tortillas, etc. all break down the same way
as sugar in your body, but for this week, let’s just look at ADDED sugar to
your food products.

Start to be aware of the amount of sugar in your food products and then make
the best choices you can. We’ll learn more next week.

YOU CAN DO THIS.

And you’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel once you’ve broken your
sugar addiction- you’ll have more energy, less cravings, better skin, and even
more regulated emotions!

You’ve got this, friends!

Keep using your other habits also: WATER, MOVEMENT, and SLEEP!

Monday Morning Motivation and Habit #3 Week 3:SLEEP

March 2, 2015 By Kara Leave a Comment

Hey, friends! Happy Monday!

Here’s your Monday morning motivation video based on Colossians 1:10-14 MSG.

(If reading this in an email, click HERE to view the video).

Also, today starts week 3 of our Healthy Habit #3: SLEEP!

For the past 8 weeks, we have been working on building in life-long sustainable
healthy habits. For the first three weeks we worked on drinking water (find
those posts here, here, and here), and then we spent three weeks working
on moving our bodies (find those posts here, here, and here). Two weeks ago we began working on Sleep. Read those posts here and here.

How is it going? head over to the Wellness Witness Facebook Page and let me know how you’re doing in each of these areas: 1- Water Consumption 2- Physical Activity 3- SLEEP!

I did not make a new checklist for you this week, but want you to really focus on mastering these habits. YOU CAN DO THIS, friends!

Next week we move onto a new habit: Limiting SUGAR!!!

And check back tomorrow. I hope to have a new post up for you with a Real- Life weight loss success story that you are going to LOVE!

Monday Morning Motivation and Habit 3 Week 2 Post

February 23, 2015 By Kara Leave a Comment

Today’s Monday Morning Motivation video is about something I think many of us struggle with. I pray that it blesses you and gives you some new insight.

If you’re reading this in your email, you may need to click HERE to see the video.

And for week 2 of our healthy habit challenge. Remember we’re working on our third habit: SLEEP.

For the past 7 weeks, we have been working on building in life-long sustainable
healthy habits. For the first three weeks we worked on drinking water (find
those posts here, here, and here), and then we spent three weeks working
on moving our bodies (find those posts here, here, and here). Last week we began working on Sleep. Read that post here.

How did last week go? Were you able to implement some
practices that may help you get more rest? This is NOT an easy habit to master,
so keep persevering and trying to gain ground when you can.

I did NOT make much progress in this area, but I’ll keep working on it. It’s worth pursuing!

Monday:
Sleep helps your brain to work properly and to function at its best. When
you’re sleeping, your brain is preparing for the next day. It’s forming new
neural pathways that will help you remember important information and to learn
new skills. Your task for today: Continue the practices from last week of
limiting caffeine after 2 p.m., relaxation/stretching before bed, no electronic
devices in 20 minutes before sleep, setting a ‘go to bed’ alarm, and covering
any lights in the room. Today, add in a new practice: Brain Dumping. Keep a
notepad by your bed. Before lying down to go to sleep for the evening, make a
list of what all you have that needs to be accomplished tomorrow. Not a list of
every single task you have looming over you for the next several days, but just
the critical things that must be done when you wake.

Tuesday:
Did writing down your Brain Dump list help?
Today, continue focusing on each of the tasks you have been given up to
this point. You are not suddenly going to be able to go from sleeping 5-6 hours
a night to sleeping 8+ hours a night, but keep working your way towards this.

Wednesday:
We will spend roughly one third of our life sleeping, so the right environment
for sleeping should be a priority. We have discussed the importance of limiting
lights in your bedroom, but here are some other helpful tips:
-The use of a sound machine device has been shown to improve quality of sleep
and decrease the number of times you wake through the night.
-The ideal sleeping temperature is 68 degrees or below.
-Blackout curtains are a great way to keep the room dark.
-By having a set bedtime that is consistently followed each day, and a set wake
time (even on the weekends) sleep quality is improved drastically as it can
improve your hormone cycle.

Today’s task: Write down what your ideal sleep time and wake time should be.
Each week, take steps to get closer to these times.

Thursday:
Studies have shown that several nights of losing sleep of even just 1-2 hours
per night can affect your ability to function as much as if you haven’t slept
at all for a day or two. Lack of sleep can also cause microsleep which are
brief moments when you are awake and then briefly sleep. The scary part of
microsleep is that you cannot control it and you may not even be aware of it.
This can be increasingly dangerous for those of us that drive often or work in
the medical or industrial field.

Keep practicing the habits we have been working on!

Friday:
Because it’s the weekend you will be tempted to stay up extra late tonight and
to sleep late tomorrow. Remember, keeping a standard sleep time and wake time
is best for regulating your system and your hormones. Try to keep to your
schedule if at all possible. If you want to sleep in a bit tomorrow, try not to
vary from your standard wake time by more than an hour or so.

Saturday:
Realistically, there are just seasons in life where getting 7-8 hours of sleep
each night is not possible. If you find yourself in this situation due to work
or family commitments, (hello Moms of young children), just do the best you
can. I know it’s tempting to want to stay up and enjoy some time to yourself
once the kids are finally asleep, but by going to bed, you’re going to be more
patient and in control during your day with them. If you can, sneak in a short
nap when the kids are napping, or at some point during the day. Since you may
not be able to meet your sleep needs fully, be sure you are stretching and
doing restorative activities such as walking or yoga when you can to lower
cortisol levels.

Sunday:
Continue working on these habits. Finds what works for you. Look back over your
motivation journal and see how much progress you’ve made. It is hard, but it’s
also worth it. Press on today, friends. Go check in on the Facebook page and let
us know how you have done with this habit.

Proud of you!

Here’s your checklist. You can also download and print it from HERE.

Date	Task	Complete?	Water?	Activity?
2/23	Work on your first Brain Dump. Continue all previous tasks.
2/24	Brain dump plus all previous tasks.
2/25	Read through the suggested ideas for making your bedroom a better space for sleeping. Implement any you can.
2/26	Keep practicing all that we have talked about over the last week and a half!
2/27	Keep your regular sleep and wake schedule even though it’s Friday night!
2/28	Keep practicing!
3/1	Keep practicing! Go check in on the Wellness Witness Facebook page.

Back to Basics Challenge: HABIT 3

February 15, 2015 By Kara Leave a Comment

For the past 6 weeks, we have been working on building in life-long sustainable
healthy habits. For the first three weeks we worked on drinking water (find
those posts here, here, and here), and for the last three weeks we have worked
on moving our bodies (find those posts here, here, and here).

Today I introduce a new habit to you- SLEEP.

This is a HARD habit. To be honest
with you, the past two habits have not been challenging for me as I mastered
these back at the beginning of my journey. But sleep, SLEEP, is a hard one. We
lead busy lives. We rush and we strive and we try to fit in way more than our
24 hours is meant to hold. And because of that, some things are pushed to the
back burner or cut out completely- sleep needs being one of them.

The truth is, you can eat really well and stick to nutritious, whole foods and
get in plenty of exercise and still not lose weight because of one thing that
is missing: SLEEP.

I know that it is easier said than done, but I also know that it’s worth
working towards. So each day I’ll give you some new information on why your
body needs rest and some tips/ideas on how to incorporate it.

Week 1, Day 1:
Sleep
matters for weight loss. It not only affects your metabolic
functioning, but it also affects the food choices you make throughout the day.
Think back over times in your life when you were really sleep deprived (moms of
newborns I know you feel me on this one).

Now think back to the food choices you made while in this stage of life. Were
they good, healthy ones? Probably not! Numerous studies have shown that the
more sleep deprived that you are, the more ‘comfort food’ you will choose to
ingest. More specifically, SUGAR LADEN FOODS seem to be our food of choice as
well as HIGH CARB junk (both terrible for our waistlines and our hearts).

Your task for today, get out your motivation journal (if you don’t have one
yet, go back and look at habit #2 intro and week 1), and record in it your
sleep and wake times for one week. Every day this week write down the time you
lay down to go to sleep, the time you actually think you fell asleep, and the
time (or times) you woke.

Day 2:
When we don’t get enough energy from resting each night, our body will try to
get energy from other sources, namely the sugar laden junk foods I talked about
yesterday. Our bodies want to find the quickest, most accessible energy
possible, which is why we head towards sugar and carbs. As you may know,
choosing to indulge in a high sugar/high carb food feels good temporarily until
your blood sugar crashes and then you need more and more to even it out.

Your task for the day- head to bed 10 minutes earlier than normal. That’s it.
10 minutes.

Day 3:
When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, your insulin sensitivity is affected.
This is the body’s capacity to process the carbs you eat instead of storing
them as fat. By not sleeping, our insulin sensitivity can be reduced which
means you are MORE LIKELY to store food as fat, and yet still be just as hungry
after eating.
Your task for today: Don’t fall asleep watching TV, reading an electronic
device, or looking at your phone/ipad. Give yourself at least 10-20 minutes of
down time where you read a traditional book, talk with a friend/spouse, or do
some relaxation activities. Try to pay attention to if this improves how
quickly you fall asleep tonight.

Day 4:
Lack of sleep has been proven to increase inflammation in the body. That means
an increased risk of developing cardiovascular, metabolic, and
neurodegenerative diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.
When our bodies rest, our bodies are able to heal, repair and renew. It matters!

Your task for today: Cut off ALL caffeine after 2 pm. See if it makes a
difference in your ability to fall asleep quicker OR to stay asleep throughout
the night.

Day 5:
Today I want you to plan ahead and try to set a reasonable bed time. Take the
time that you are supposed to wake up in the morning and then count backwards 8
hours. Once you’ve figured out what time that would be, set an alarm on your
phone for 30 minutes earlier. For example, if I had to get up at 6am, I would
count backwards and know that at 10 pm I need to be asleep. Now, count back
another 30 minutes, and set an alarm for 9:30 p.m. At 9:30, all electronic
devices should be off and I should be either reading or resting in bed trying
to settle down so that at 10:00pm, I can go to sleep.

Day 6:
How did it go last night? Did you feel any more rested when you woke? Or maybe
you had trouble falling asleep that early? Remember that each day’s tasks are
building off of one another, so it’s important that you’re doing things such as
cutting off all caffeine after 2 pm, and turning off electronic devices and the
TV at least 30 minutes before bed. Today, I want you to spend about 10 minutes
before your bedtime in prayer, stretching, or relaxation exercises. This will
signal to your body that it’s time to begin shutting down and to prepare you
for a good night’s rest.
There are some great resources you can utilize on YouTube or even apps you can
download for your smart phone that will coach you vocally through different
relaxation techniques.

Day 7:
Did you know that your immune system relies on sleep to keep you healthy? To be
able to defend your body against foreign and harmful objects, proper amounts of
rest are required. Those that are chronically sleep deficient are more likely
to be sick and to have trouble fighting off common infections.
Today’s task: Continue each of the items from earlier this week, but add in a
new one: Set a “stop time” for work. This is a time that you pre-determine that
you will not work past. If all of your tasks/work isn’t yet done for the day,
you still set it aside and go to bed. I can promise you that even if you don’t finish
everything, you will be MORE productive the following day if you’re properly
rested.
Now go spend your 30 minutes relaxing, praying, stretching, and head to bed!

For the printable checklist for the week, you can access it here: