5 Ways to Keep Your Mood Up and Weight Down This Holiday Season

Found these AWESOME tips that you might find helpful this holiday season! 

Who says being jolly means having a belly like a bowl of jelly? You can still be merry this holiday season while you keep weight gain out in the cold. All it takes is following five simple rules.

1. Eat breakfast. You’ll jumpstart your metabolism and cruise through the day in a better mood with more energy. You’ll also be less likely to mindlessly nibble or full-blown overeat later in the day. In fact, eating breakfast is a daily habit for the “successful losers” who belong to The National Weight Control Registry and have maintained a 30-pound or more weight loss for at least a year. Another research group found those who ate breakfast ate fewer calories overall during the day and were more likely to exercise regularly.

2. Drink water. When you’re dehydrated, you feel tired. If you’re slumping by early afternoon, drink a couple glasses of water rather than wiping out the cookie platter to perk up. If your water level is low, you won’t have energy to exercise and it’s harder for your body to burn fat.

3. Squeeze in a walk. Exercise is a way to decompress from stress and keep your metabolism fired up. Even 30 minutes a day can prevent weight gain. And a brisk walk can leave you feeling energized and less tempted by the naughty elves who are keeping you supplied with cookies and candy.

4. Skip the alcohol. Briefly, you may feel more relaxed but drinking dissolves your resolve so you may find yourself face first in the cheesecake — complete with a lampshade on your head. Alcohol is also full of empty calories and interrupts sleep and increases depression and anxiety. Who wants to spend the holidays like that?

5. Give in to carbs – carefully. It’s not your imagination: winter tends to intensify carb cravings. Ignoring the cravings can lead to an all-out binge. So once or twice a day, treat yourself to a portion-controlled carb snack, such as ¾ cup full of crunchy cereal, pretzels, popcorn — and maybe even a small piece of heart-healthy dark chocolate. Just remember: treat yourself right!

Lean on a Weight Loss Partner

If you want a weight loss partner to help keep your appetite under control and your metabolism humming, turn to Relìv’s Slimplicity® Weight Loss System. A delicious Slimplicity meal replacement shake for lunch will keep you energized and satisfied all afternoon as you skip past the cookie platter. Then two Accelerator capsules before a holiday party will keep your appetite in control while blocking and burning fat. Together, the shakes and capsules are a powerful team to help you lose or maintain your weight through the holidays. And the system’s food and exercise journal will help keep you on track day in, day out.

Why is good nutrition so important?

I always knew it was good to eat right and exercise.  But I never really understood what happens to your body when it doesn't get what it needs from the food we eat.  Stress, combined with foods that are seriously lacking in nutrients contribute to the break down of the body in various ways.  This leads to fatigue, sickness and disease.

In June 2007 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after the birth of my second son.  I was only 26 years years old and was devastated!  I was exhausted to the point that I couldn't even blow dry my short hair without stopping in the middle to rest.  I had terrible headaches and tingling and numbness down the whole left side of my body.  I could barely take care of myself, let alone my family and home.  I didn't know what to do, but I did know that I didn't want to be on the medications my doctor was offering.  I knew there had to be a better way and so I started searching for it.  For the next year or so, I changed my diet radically to where I was eating fruits, vegetables and very little meat.  Everything I ate was organic too.  I was taking 5-6 vitamin supplements and 5-6 herbs a day!  I also went to massage therapy once a week.  Needless to say, it was costing a lot of money, but I was doing what I thought was best for my body.  I was the sickest healthy person I knew.

After a year of doing all this, I wasn't much better.  Although I had a little more energy than before, it wasn't much.  I still spent most of my time on the couch.  The tingling and numbness was gone from my left side, but then it moved into my right leg and no matter what I did(or didn't do), my leg was continuing to become more and more numb.  I still had a lot of digestive issues.  I was severely depressed and desperate to feel better.

So I decided that I would try the medications.  What other choice did I have?  Then I got a call from a lady that knew my husband's family and knew I had MS.  I did not know her, but she wanted to share some information about something that might help my MS.  She told me that it wasn't anything but good nutrition.  A supplement called Reliv.  I told her I wasn't interested because I had already tried so many things.  She asked if she could at least share a story with me and I said she could.  I then listened to a story of a woman who had my same disease and Reliv had helped her.  After hearing her story, I knew I had to give it a try, or I would always wonder.

I got started on the product and went on to get great results my own!  Within the first three months my health had dramatically improved and I was feeling better than I had in YEARS! Even though I was eating the healthiest foods and taking supplements before Reliv, I still wasn't feeling good.  Three months on these products and I was feeling so great! I also met many others who were getting results diabetes, cancer, weight loss, high cholesterol, energy, better sleep and the list could go on forever!  I was amazed by what this good nutrition was doing for others!

So why is good nutrition so important?  I say "good nutrition" because not all nutrition is created equal.  Good nutrition feeds our cells and helps the body to produce new and healthy cells.  Those healthy cells help the body to function the way it is supposed to!  If you would like more information about what Reliv is all about click here.

*Reliv does not make any health claims.  Reliv does not claim to treat, cure or prevent disease.

Anti-Aging Article

Here is a great article about how your body ages and what you can do to help make that process easier.  We all know aging is inevitable, but why should we submit to it so easily?  There are ways to truly "age gracefully"; to keep our body working at it's best as it ages.  So why not do that?  Check out this article written by Dr. Carl Hastings, renowned nutritional scientist and Reliv's chief nutritional scientist.

Welcome Friends!

Hello Friends and welcome to my blog!  My name is Jessica Barnum and I have spent the last few years learning about nutrition and the affects it can have on your body.  The reason I began this quest for nutritional knowledge was because I was very sick and on several different medications that were supposed to help me feel better, but I was only feeling worse.  Over the past few years I have been able to come off all the medications I was taking and have been able to stay medication free!  This blog is dedicated to sharing information about what I have learned, and continue to learn!  I will share articles I find, recipes and tips on how to stay healthy!  Comments are always welcome as long as they are positive!

To Your Health!
Jessica