Tag Archives: Weiser Academy

Boost Your Health With Essential Oils & Giveaway

There are many simple tasks we can implement to boost our health year around. During the cold and flu season it is especially important to pay attention to the choices we are making and intentionally strengthen our immune system.

Even the most basic changes in our daily habits of how we sleep, drink, eat, move, use essential oils, detox, and use superfood supplements can be life changing. If you find yourself frequently fighting infections, and feeling “under the weather”, daily use of essential oils combined with these simple steps can boost your immune system.

Essential Oils To Boost Your Health:

Essential oils by doTerra can be an easy and affordable component in building a balanced immune system and keeping it working strong. As a matter of fact, essential oils can be a human’s best friend in nearly every area of life 24 hours a day. They can be used in self-care, whole family care (from birth to old age), pet care, home care, education, gardening, farming, therapy, disease protocol. Even if you choose not to use them 24/7, then at least use them in your immune system tool kit.

My Essential Oil Tool Chest. I still have room to add more oils. An essential oil tool chest is a "must have" in every home.

My Essential Oil Tool Chest. I still have room to add more. An essential oil tool chest is a “must have” in every home.

Specific oils can be weapons of mass destruction and shields of protection against nearly everything that comes against the human immune system, and many have already been scientifically proven to be more effective than most pharmaceuticals on the market today. When your body goes into the repair shop, it could use a few specific tools. Essential oils are the tools that can assist you in boosting your immune system.

Sleep:
It is so easy to forget how important sleep is for protecting our immune system. Since we do it everyday, most of us just take it for granted. For example it is best to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep and to go to bed by 10:30 to get a good nights rest and reach REM sleep in which the brain puts the body into a detoxing and repair mode. Your body literally goes to your own built-in repair shop when you go into REM sleep. If we don’t reach this restful state of sleep, the body gets behind in its repairing process. To help you get to sleep at this healthy hour, be sure to put away anything with a lit screen (TV, Smartphone, Computer, Bright lighted room) at least one hour before bedtime. Instead of TV or computer time, read in soft light, or listen to relaxing music, or even take a relaxing bath to get your body and mind ready to go to bed. Essential oils can assist you in relaxing and getting a good nights sleep. Some can be applied to the feet or massaged into the muscles, neck, etc. Also use a diffuser in the room and use calming oils for you and your children to help you relax and sleep well.

Drink:
Another wise choice to boost your immune system, is to drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated throughout the day. All of the body systems need water to run efficiently. When we get dehydrated the body suffers and our immune system is weakened. I recently read that many folks who survived the Ebola infection were the ones who were able to stay hydrated and drink at least 100 oz or more of water. That volume of clean water in their location is hard to come by per person each day, and many are loosing their battle with Ebola because their immune system is weakened. When we are hydrated our immune system can function at its best to protect us.

To boost our immune system there are specific oils that are safe for internal use that we can add to our drinking water that help to kill infections from virus and bacteria and mobilize our defense system. It’s like bringing in the Calvary to the battle.

Eat:
Eating right, getting plenty of rest, moderate activity, and staying hydrated are the basic foundation of a healthy life. Eating right involves eating a variety of nutrient dense foods and avoiding “Franken foods” (man-made foods that have been seriously altered from their natural state or ingredients that were never food in the first place).

Some of the foundational foods we should include in our diet are:
1) Fresh organic fruits and vegetables that provides live enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, carbohydrates, fiber, and more.
2) Bone broths that provide dissolved and easily assimilated minerals,
3) Healthy fats like cold pressed coconut oil, cold pressed olive oil, grass-fed butter, free range eggs, fresh raw milk with cream, sprouted nuts, etc.
4) Cultured foods like yogurt, sour cream, raw cheese; also fermented foods like pickles, chutney, kimchi, and kraut; and fermented beverages like coconut water kefirs, dairy kefirs, new wines, kombucha, etc. Cultured and fermented foods provide so many amazing nutrients that are ready to digest for easily assimilated vitamins, live probiotics to aid digestion of our other foods, and the healing and protective strategy they provide the digestive tract.
5) Herbs, spices, and essential oils for flavor and their protective qualities.
6) In moderation, animal proteins from Grass-fed and wild caught animals, such as wild salmon, wild deer, or grass-fed beef. It is very important that these animals eat as natural as they would in the wild. This is the best way to ensure the nutrition for them and for you is at the right level and not out of whack. If you don’t have access to this kind of meat, it is better to go without than to try to use factory farmed animal proteins that result in disease for the animals and the humans that consume them.

Beyond these basic areas, not much else is needed for food for the human body’s nutrient needs. A few other enjoyable foods that still contain intensive nutrients are fine in moderation too such as: raw honey, maple syrup, un-sulfered molasses, succanant or rapadura sugar, lohan fruit sugar, coconut sugar, sprouted organic or chemical free grains, sprouted organic legumes, etc. but don’t over eat these as they can raise the blood sugar level, upset the digestive system, etc.

Specific essential oils that are safe for ingesting can be used as remedies but also used to flavor food, wash food, enhance digestion, enhance metabolism, used in home remedies, and to boost the immune system. Many essential oils are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. So you get the combined benefit of making your food taste great, and boosting the immune system at the same time.

Avoid eating white sugar, and white flour, and grain alcohol. This is another simple task we can do to stay healthy. White grains and sugars are basically sugar in the blood stream and hard on the body organs. They can weaken the digestive system, neurological system, endocrine system, and the immune system. We are talking about the immune system specifically in this post so it is important for you to know that white sugar interferes with the white blood cell’s ability to fight infections. White sugar is really dangerous to the immune system because it literally immobilizes and weakens the fighter cells to less than 25% of their fighting capability for several hours after consuming white sugar. It stops the conversion of vit. D to vit C and also blocks receptor sites and blocks the white blood cells from accessing the vitamin C and vitamin A rendering them useless in an attack. That is why we get sick so easily when we consume a high sugar diet. Sugar has a long half-life in the blood stream and the white blood cells do not return to their full fighting capacity for several hours, and for some people it can take a day or two to get it their immune system back up to normal, even when we have consumed as little as a few teaspoons of sugar. This is why the Standard American Diet can be so dangerous. Imagine if you consumed this small amount of sugar everyday, which most Americans consume way more. Your immune system would be vulnerable to all kinds of attacks on a constant basis and would not have the ability to efficiently protect you. Adding in anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal essential oils helps a person have more of a chance to fight infections when perhaps their diet isn’t the best.

Supplements:
For various reasons, the human body may lack certain needed nutrients to function at its optimal capacity. It could be due to dietary choices we make, but it could also be due to illness, medications, stress, toxins, disease, etc. all of which can have long-term negative effects on the body and suppress its functioning.

One way to improve your nutritional intake and jump-start the healing process is to use superfoods and superfood supplements. Superfoods are a concentrated form of all natural nutrients. These are nutrients that naturally exist in nature, and we when eat them in a concentrated form, they can provide the tools we need to repair and renew our bodies. Supperfoods come in various ways, such as liquid, or dried and ground into powder, perhaps the liquids or powders are added to capsules, or left as a powder or liquid to stir into drinks or smoothies. Some superfoods are made into extracts and oils too. Some examples of superfood supplements are probiotics like PBAssist +, xEO Mega Essential Oil Complex, Alpha CRS +, MICROPLEX VMz, TerraGreens, Terrazyme multi enzymes, and more great superfoods like Spirulina, food Extracts like elderberry extract, Herbal Extracts, Spirulina, Fish Oils which provides Omega 3 Fatty Acids, cinnamon oil, oregano oil, and so on.

Detox:
Toxins seem to be something we don’t think much about, but our bodies encounter them daily. The effects of toxins on the body can build up over a short or long amount of time, and be detrimental, leading to a compromised immune system and disease.

Toxins are everywhere including in the air we breath, water, food, soil, personal care products and cleaning products in our homes, where we live and play, and in our workplaces too. It is a wise decision on our part to reduce as much exposure to toxins in our daily life as we can.

I love diffusing my doTerra essential oils!

Essential oils can play a major role in helping the body detox. Helping our body detox from environmental, digestive, and immune system toxins is a great way to boost and protect our immune system. Some oils detox the air and help us breath fresher cleaner air, some oils detox our bodies through both internal and external use. Soon I will post more information on specific oils we can use to detox our bodies and boost our immune system. Be sure to check back for more posts about essential oils.

Want to know more about how essential oils can boost your immune system? Check out this Webinar to learn about more ways to use do-Terra Essential Oils to “Power Up Your Immune System”.

GIVEAWAY

Are you ready for a doTerra Essential Oils Giveaway?

I hope after reading this post, and viewing the webinar that you agree that essential oils belong in everyones home and can be incorporated into every area of life, play, and work.

This giveaway is an incredible opportuntiy to win 10 essential oils that boost the immune system for FREE! My mentor is an incredibly generous person. She is a wife and mother and understands the health and wellness needs of families. She and her extended family have been involved in natural health and wellness for at least 20 years or more. She is one of four sisters who are all educators and healers with essential oils. One of her sisters is also a Naturopath Doctor. She has an incredible amount of knowledge about essential oils and natural methods of health and wellness. She wrote the webinar you just watched, and she is offering my readers a free personalized sample of essentail oils to everyone who enters this giveway. Her goal is to put a healer in every home and equip families with the knowledge of how to care for their own families and boost their health through a lifestyle of using essential oils.

Every completed entry in this giveaway is a winner of a free personalized doTerra Essential Oil sample. When you leave your contact information in the entry form, I will contact you and we can discuss the specific essential oil sample that will address your needs the best, and get it shipped to you right away. Use this sample oil in your home to boost your health and wellness and be encouraged to learn more about essential oils.

ONE ENTRY WILL WIN a do-Terra Family Physicians Kit! This kit retails for $166.67 WOW! The doTerra Family Physician Kit contains 10 CPTG Certified Pure Theraputic Grade Essential Oils and Essential Oil Blends in 5ML glass bottles. The bottles can be stored in the case it comes in which includes a summary of how each oils is used. These are the Frankincense, Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Melaleuca, Oregano, Deep Blue (soothing blend), Breath (respiratory blend), Digestzen (digestive blend), and On Guard (protective blend). This is an AWESOME kit! I know you will love it. My life has been so blessed by learning to use essential oils for better health and I know yours will be too.

Be sure to like my Weiser Natural’s Facebook Page. I will post regular updates on different essential oils and kits there so you don’t want to miss it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post will be linked up with:
Raising Homemakers
Raising Memories

Disclaimer: Affiliat links are included in this post and through out this web site. Your purchases through my links, do not cost you any extra, but they do help me in small increments pay for my expences to host this web site. Thank you for supporting me.

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SDA For Homeschoolers Review

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Looking for a fun and challenging homeschool curriculum option for your students? Then you might want to check out Standard Deviants Accelerate for homeschoolers.

Standard Deviants Accelerate Homeschool Courses (SDAccellerate.com) are an easy to use, online, homeschool curriculum for students 8 and older. Courses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online (videos, interactive quizzes, writing, etc) and you can access them through your desktop computer, mobile laptop, and smart device like a tablet too. So this greatly increases your options of where and when you can find flexible time to work on your school work. They can be used as a supplemental program, but also may fit as your main learning program in a given subject too.

Homeschool Courses:

Standard Deviants Accelerate is appropriate for students ages 8 through adult. They currently offer 14 different homeschool curriculum options for middle school and high school age students, and 2 curriculum options are also appropriate for elementary aged kids in 3rd and 4th grades and above.

Each course offers a full year’s worth of learning materials including videos, note taking, quizzes, written work, review, and exams for your student. Each regular course costs $99.00 for a year subscription, or $24.95 for a month to month subscription. The AP courses cost $14.95 a month. They are currently running a special, and offering you to try out the program for free for 6 months and see if it is a good fit for your family.

Arithmetic – Grades 3+
Fundamental Math – Grades 4+

Nutrition – 6+
Earth Science – Grades 6+

Algebra – Grades 7+
Biology – Grades 7+

English Composition – Grades 9+
U.S. History – Grades 9+
Chemistry – Grades 9+

AP Biology – Grades 11+
AP Chemistry – Grades 11+
AP U.S. History – Grades 11+
AP U.S. Government & Politics – Grades 11+
AP English Composition – Grades 11+

How We Used Standard Deviants Accelerate In Our Home:

I am very grateful for this opportunity to review this homeschool program. I have taken time to explore all of the classes for grades 3 through 9 for the purpose of writing this review. I have not explored the AP classes yet, but hope to look through them too. I would encourage you to click the link at the bottom of this review to read what other TOS Crew members had to say about the regular and AP homeschool courses and see if this program would work for your homeschool.

My kids and I each have our own seperate dashboards when we log in. I have the kids log in each day and view the video assignment, take notes as they watch the video and save their notes on the computer program. They complete any related written work and take the quiz. The notes they type are stored in their “locker” which is a filing system they can keep track of all of their notes for classes. On my dashboard, I can view their progress, what areas need more practice or review to improve their understanding. Check out this short Teacher Account Video that explains more how this works.

Homeschool Algebra:

There are so many great features with the SDAccelerate.com Homeschool Alegebra curriculum that benefit the student and the teacher. Here are just a few:

220 minutes of video (with scrolling transcripts)
54 vocab words (with audio playback)
Note-taking
38 critical thinking questions
205 multiple choice questions
14 drag n’ drop graphic organizers
Re-teaching
Automatic grading
Progress reporting
Meets State and National Standards
RTI alerts
Differentiated Instruction
Editable rubrics
Student-to-teacher messaging

Below is a picture of my 8th grader working on Algebra. He is also working through the U.S. History, English Composition, Chemistry, and Biology courses. He is thrilled with these classes. He is not really a video oriented learner and prefers to read information for himself in most situations. I am very glad the classes include the written transcript of the video lessons. This fella loves to read and work independently and doesn’t need videos to grasp information though he does find it helpful at times. Over all though he loves the curriculum and is self motivated to work on it each day. He sets high standards for himself and strives to get good scores on his work. I feel like he is gaining a solid understanding of the information presented. We do disagree with some things regarding evolution in the biology course work. We believe the earth and all of creation was created by God and our faith plays a big role in our education. The course work is not written from a Christian perspective, but putting the evolution issue aside, the curriculum is done well and the kids like it.

Homeschool U.S. History:

Some of the great features of the SDAccelerate.com Homeschool U.S. History curriculum include:

149 minutes of video (with scrolling transcripts)
144 vocab words (with audio playback)
160 multiple choice questions
Note-taking
29 critical thinking questions
14 drag n’ drop graphic organizers
Meets State and National Standards
Progress reporting, Editable rubrics, Re-teaching
Automatic grading, and Student-to-teacher messaging

Below is a picture of my 6th grader on the computer working on the SDAccelerates U.S. History course. He is also working through the Nutrition and Earth Science courses too. Even though the U.S. History course is advanced for his grade level, he works exceptionally well with this style of learning. He is an audio-visual learner and works his best and excels when school work is presented in a combined audio video format. He does not like to read a lot of verbage, and will quickly become bored if expected to read all his school work. But he stays attentive to video presentations. His learning style is the complete opposite of his older brother, and I am thankful for SDAccelerate’s fun video style learning program for him to use.

Standard Deviants Accelerate on Social Media

Be sure to follow Standard Deviants Accelerate on their social media links for all the latest news, courses, updates, and teaching ideas, and more:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SDAccelerate
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SDAccelerate
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/SDAccelerate/
Google+: google.com/+Sdaccelerate
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CerebellumCorp/videos

Check out what other homeschool families on the Schoolhouse Review Crew had to say about using Standard Deviants Accelerate with their family.

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Lego Adventures At Homeschool Coop

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David and Goliath Lego Adventures at Homeschool Coop.

We had a great time learning about robotics, physics, faith, and retelling a story using Legos at homeschool coop.

I chose the bible passage of 1 Samuel 17 for our lesson. This bible passage is about David going to visit his brothers who were in the Israelite Army. They were on the front lines in a battle against the Philistines. The Philistine Army had a warrior named Goliath. He was a giant of a man standing very tall and he was very strong and covered in metal plated armour, and no-one could defeat him in battle. He often said bad things to the Israelite Army and made fun of their God. He challenged them to a fight and if they could defeat him, his army would be their slaves, but if he defeated the Israelite who fought him, then the Israelite Army would be the slaves of the Philistines. David overheard this challenge and the horrible things Goliath said against God. David saw that everyone in the army was afraid, but he was not afraid and knew God would help him defeat the enemy of Israel and the enemy of God. David accepted the challenge to fight Goliath. He trusted in the Lord to help him. He chose five flat stones from a river bed and put one of the stones in his sling, swung it around, and let the stone go into the air. He had learned to fight off animals like wolves, lions, and bears that tried to attack his flock of sheep so he was very good with the sling shot. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead and killed him. David had trusted in God to deliver him from Goliath, and he defeated the enemy of Israel and the enemy of God.

The kids used Lego’s to retell the story. We also set up a robotic Goliath with Lego WeDo. The Goliath robot is built with Legos, pulley gears, worm gear, lever, motor, axle, and movable joints. The kids programmed the computer software program to tell Goliath to stand up and to sit / fall down. They can time his movements and change the speed, as well as program sound effects. They had Goliath stand up and growl his threats to the Army, programmed the sound of David, and his stone hitting Goliath, and then also programmed cheering by the Army after Goliath is hit with the stone and falls forward. It is really neat how you can program sound effects to go along with the robot’s movements.

Everyone took turns manipulating the computer software and retelling the story with Legos. They also take apart the giant and rearrange the location of motorized lever attachment to learn how placing this in different positions, and rearranging the software commands caused the giant to move (or not move). They could re-engineer the set up and try out different ideas. They also completed a coloring page about the battle between David and Goliath and a vocabulary word puzzle.

We also did some physics science in the gym. We used rubber bands for sling shots. We used a large basket placed several feet away on the floor as the target. We took different kinds of balls (cotton, pompoms, foam, and rubber) to learn what materials would be more accurate to hit a target. The kids learned about trajectory, mass, stored energy, kinetic energy, and how to aim at a target. They learned that the more dense their ball was, and the further back they pulled their sling shot, the better and faster the object was able to hit the target. The kids also spent time playing in the gym. They played basketball, tag, hide and seek, and raced each other all around. The gym is such a great place to do a variety of learning, skill building, and physical activities.

Logos are a great teaching / learning tool that can be used in so many fun ways. I love teaching and learning with Legos. I have taught Lego and Robotics Academy Club and several workshops with homeschool and 4H kids in North Carolina for several years, and I have missed it terribly since moving last summer. I hope in the near future I will be able to host Learn It Build It workshops again in the community, and also start a Lego and Robotics club again and perhaps eventually have teams that can compete in First Lego League. But right now, started a new class called Lego Adventures and I am blessed the local homeschool coop has invited me to teach these great kids, and we can learn about science-technology-engineering, and robotics, and use bible stories to build their faith in the Lord. Be sure to check back each month for more Lego Adventures.

Be blessed!

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Hewitt Homeschooling Review

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Hewitt Homeschooling has some great products for homeschool families. We are reviewing My First Reports: Bugs and Worms by Hewitt Homeschooling, and we are learning lots of great information and having fun at the same time. If you are in the process of putting your curriculum choices together, I would encourage you to add products from Hewitt Homeschooling to the list.

My First Reports

One unique product Hewitt Homeschooling offers is a curriculum supplement called My First Reports. My first reports uses a step by step approach to help elementary age children learn about a subject they are interested in and write a report about it.

Skills used in My First Reports include:

Research
Organizing
Sorting
Writing
Penmanship
Vocabulary
Reading
Critical Thinking

There are several My First Reports to choose from and they are geared for different ages, but all are flexible and can be used for grades 1 – 8 depending on the skill level of your student.

My First Report: Music
My First Report: Transportation
My First Report: Weather
My First Report: Me
My First Report: Famous People
My First Report: Wild Animals / Large Mammals
My First Report: Wild Animals / Small Mammals
My First Report: Pets/Farm Animals
My First Report: Bugs and Worms
My First Report: Birds
My First Report: Reptiles/Amphibians
My First Report: Plants
My First Report: Solar System
My First Report: Marine Life
My First Report: Olympics
My First Report: Outdoor Activities
My First Report: Sports
My First Report: My State
My First Report: Eastern United States
My First Report: Western United States
My First Report: Middle United States
My First Report: Southern United States
My First Report: Lewis and Clark Expedition
My First Report: Focus On The World

You can purchase My First Reports individually for $8.95 , or buy 14 titles as a bundle for $69.95 and save nearly 40% off retail.

Our Experience:

We chose My First Reports: Bugs and Worms for this review. It is designed for kids in 3rd – 4th grades, but can be used for younger students in 1st-2nd grades or older students in 5th-8th grades too. My First Reports: Bugs and Worms contains 52 pages including reproducible forms, worksheets, suggested reading and resources, and a unit study.

When we received the packet from Hewitt Homeschooling, I placed the pages into a binder. The pages come already hole punched so you can put it into a three ring binder for convenience, or into your students completed notebook if you desire. I am a unit study “collector”, or perhaps a unit study nerd might describe me better. I guess and I love being able to insert them into a binder and keep them for future use. If someday I pass along our schoolroom to my own grown kids, or to another family, hopefully all the unit studies we have acquired or created over the years will be easy to just grab and go because they are arranged neatly in their own binders. You could fill a whole book shelf with them. Ooohhh Awwhhhh. Yep, I am a unit study nerd!

We were very excited about this curriculum. This package covers information about 12 different bugs and worms:

Grasshoppers
Flies
Ants
Bees
Fireflies
Crickets
Ladybugs
Spiders
Caterpillars
Butterflies / Moths
Dragonflies
Worms

Unit Study Approach

This set is designed to used for 12 weeks, in a unit study method, covering one bug or worm and corresponding worksheets and suggested activities per week. Being a unit study, many different ages of kids can enjoy it, and it is cross curricular for many different subjects and covers:

Math
Reading
Social Studies
Music
Art
Language
History
Science
Health
P.E.
Bible
Suggested Field Trips

(Picture my son took of hundreds of new born baby spiders emerging from their nest on a tiger lily).

During the process of learning about a bug or worm you will also do many activities mentioned in the accompanying unit study. For example, various activities to choose from might include: geography you will take a map of your state or a region and list bugs found there. Younger students might cut out pictures and paste them on the map and older students would likely create a map and write a list of various insects identifying them and their locations or to add in an art aspect, they might sketch them too. In the bible they would learn about insects mentioned in various verses. For reading and literature they would read various books, magazines, news articles, and poems about bugs. For Language you would learn insect vocabulary words and spelling of each insect, as well as answer the report questions on the worksheets. You might create word puzzles and give an oral report too. For Math, you put the insects in order based on a category such as length or color or weight ect. Perhaps you could make a graph for comparisons. You might calculate speeds and distance traveled or the amount of food they eat. For Science you will make comparison graphs for body characteristics, learn about habitats and how to classify, catch-observe-release different insects when you are studying each one, etc. One suggestion is to build a wormery when you study the worms section. For art and science you might make a kite and then for P.E. you would go outside and fly it. Also for P.E. you would take a hike through your neighborhood or a park to look for insects and study where they are found, what they sound like, etc. For music you might study and recreate the sound of various insects, sing songs about insects and songs about creation including songs and praises to God. Art has so many suggestions like making a spider web, visiting an art museum, making collages or mosaics, sculptures, and various crafts. Field tips ideas include hikes or nature walks in various locations like parks, nature preserves, zoos, museums, the insect section of the library, a honey farm, or other farms where insects are used in some way, nature store, etc.

While learning about each “critter”, my 3rd grader completed a worksheet for each bug we learned about. The worksheet includes a picture of the bug, its class and scientific order, vocabulary words, and several questions to research further. He is encouraged to write complete sentences when answering the questions. When the week of learning about the insect is complete, and he has answered all the questions, he can transfer that information into a finished report by using his answers to help create paragraphs for a report about the insect he is writing about.

I have always loved the hands on aspect of Field Trips. My kids love the adventure and learning outside the classroom / house. We took a field trip two weeks ago to the Creation Museum to learn more about the history of insects and see various species in their collections.

This is a great curriculum resource and I would encourage other homeschool families to work it into their learning adventures this school year. My First Reports would also be a great adventure for summer school, Sunday School, or afterschool learning adventures too.

Social Media Links:

You can follow Hewitt Homeschooling on their social media to keep up with all the latest news and updates.

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/HewittHomeschooling

Twitter
https://twitter.com/HewittOnline

Pinterest
http://www.pinterest.com/hewittonline/

Google Plus
https://plus.google.com/b/115323246990194958229/+HewittHomeschoolingResources/posts

Hewitt Blog
http://hewitthomeschoolingresources.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check out what other families on The Old Schoohouse Review Crew had to say about using various products from Hewitt Homeschooling to meet your homeschool needs.

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90 Day “Healthy Choices” Low Carb Challenge

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Are you tired of guessing if you are getting enough nutrients each day? Are you tired of trying to figure out how to loose weight? Are you tired of feeling like you are starving when you try to keep that New Years Resolution to go on a diet to loose weight? I can tell you with certainty that I am tired of listening to false dietary advice from folks who really don’t know what they are doing, and tired of failing at getting fit and trim. Instead of guessing, I want real answers. I want to know the science of how it works, why it works, and how to repeat it with success. Don’t try to sell me a pill, or some fancy weight loss program that costs hundreds of dollars! I want the real change and it should be free because it should be about understanding some facts rather than buying products that may or may not work.

Next week I will be joining up with the 90 Day “Healthy Choices” Low Carb Challenge. The upcoming challenge runs from July 16, 2014 through October 13th, 2014.

The goal of the challenge is to help you get healthy by making wise food choices, and eat around 20 NET Carbs a day. The majority of your nutrients should come from healthy fats, healthy proteins, and low carb / high fiber vegetables and low carb / high fiber fruits. The goal of a low carb meal plan is to maintain an over all low glycemic index, maintain ketosis, and help the body use fat as its main fuel instead of glucose.

All sugars in their various forms, and all starches, and even proteins are broken down into glucose in the body. You might be asking “What is glucose? What is glycemic, or low glycemic?” Glucose is the form of sugar the body uses for fuel, and it breaks down all other sources of sugar into this chemical structure for use. Glycemic ratio is a method of computing how fast foods are broken down into glucose. It measures the impact breaking down carbs such as sugars and starches has on the blood stream. The higher the glycemic load on the body, the higher the glucose in the bloodstream and the harder the liver and pancreas has to work to regulate blood sugar. High glycemic load results in high blood sugar and eventually leads to diseases like Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes II, etc, and also feeds various fungus and cancers. But a low carb lifestyle that maintains a low glycemic load on the body, and tends to support ultimate health and longevity.

I have always studied nutrition since my highschool days. In college I spent countless hours studying dietary information. I also allowed a dietary student to follow my food journals to help them and myself learn. After college I became a medical social worker and observed first hand the impact of food and medications on mood and behavior as well as weight loss or gain and overall quality of life in my clients. When I was in my late 20’s I learned about a better way of food preparation based on traditional diets of our ancestors instead of highly processed foods. I joined the Weston A Price Foundation as a student and lover of learning and kept up with all the latest research about the health impact of various foods and how foods should be prepared to maximize their nutritional value. Following the WAPF methods of food prep and eating traditional foods helped me overcome infertility and restored my reproductive health. I finally had my first child at age 30 and now have a total of six living children and two in heaven. During this time, I also opened a healthy foods store to sell natural traditional foods and supplements to my local community. We eventually closed the store when I was 38 years old, to take a job opportunity for my husband in another state. But I will never forget all the lives that were forever impacted for the better including my own. I give all the glory to God, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn about real nutrient dense food.

Fast forward and I am now 44 years old. With my last child born two years ago, I had an emergency C-section that seems to have caused some damage to my metabolism and immune system. My body did not recover as fast as I had expected it to from the trauma of emergency surgery and the effects of anesthesia. I also gained weight after the surgery and I could not seem to maintain my weight. So last year I began a new journey of learning about the endocrine system (mainly the thyroid and adrenal glands) and how to heal.

Over the past year I have learned a lot about using carbs and fats as fuel for the body and how to separate them in various meal plans so the body only has to uses one fuel source provided instead of having to use one and store one when they are both provided at the same time. Last spring I dug right in and learned about The Fast Metabolism Diet. This book provided an introduction to manipulating meals and causing healing of the thyroid with nutrition. FMD helped me loose 18lbs by eating 5 meals / snacks a day, starting within the first 30 minutes of waking. They also encouraged mild exercise every other day and have a helpful Facebook group for support. Then this past winter I dug in and read a huge book and learned about another method of food combining and fuel switching called Trim Healthy Mama. I finally tried it out in February and by April I had lost 14lbs following this method. I really liked THM because it allowed dairy (cream, cheese, butter, etc.) and because it is Christian based and it supports the whole person, not just menu planning, and there is tons of support through a forum and various online Facebook groups.

Both programs, FMD and THM control the kind of fuel being used by the body and give the body a rest between eating a different fuel source. The FMD switches fuel sources every two to three days. So it has two days of moderate carbs and protein, two days of no carbs (or very little) and lean protein, and three days of moderate carbs, protein sources that contain higher fat, and healthy plant-based fats. The THM switches fuel sources as often as every other meal. Both programs space meals and snacks three hours apart and with both you eat about 5 times a day. Both programs are seeing wonderful successes and I have learned a lot about how to meal plan and when to switch fuel sources.

I am wanting to take my nutritional goals a step further, as I am learning about auto immune reactions to foods, and I want to eliminate most legumes (eat only occasionally or not at all), and eliminate most grains (though I would still enjoy some soaked or sprouted gluten-free low carb grains), and bring the over all carb counts from plant foods down in the meals. This is very exciting as I learn more about the body and how various foods and nutrients impact the body differently.

I have been creating some recipes, and doing meal planning before starting the challenge. On my trial run, I tried to reach a goal of 20 or less net carbs (total carbs – fiber carbs = net carbs) on a few different days over the past few weeks to see if I could actually eat this way. It is one thing to read about it. It is a whole different thing to actually try to live it 24/7. Most of the time, by the end of the day, my overall total carbs were between 35 to 90, and my net carbs (carb count after subtracting fiber) were usually between 19 carbs and 30 carbs with a few days over 40. So I am feeling hopeful that with a few more tweaks, and learning how to actually keep up with keeping track of net carbs while still getting all the macro and micro nutrients, I will be able to do this. It boils down to a learning curve and following through with a plan.

On this challenge, I plan to make lots of low carb meals and snacks, many from my own original creations with dietary knowledge I have gained from learning different methods. I think my recipes will combine ideas from Trim Healthy Mama, Weston A Price Foundation, The Fast Metabolism Diet, Keto, Paleo, Glutenfree, and Sugarfree variations. I plan to track not only my carbs, but understand the various nutrients in the meals I eat and what nutrients are in excess and what nutrients are lacking and need increased for a more balanced nutritional approach.

I am personally at a point in my life where guessing about my health and nutrition is not a healthy option for me. Don’t just tell me this or that is healthy. I want to understand the macros and micros of what I am eating and know with confidence that I am doing the right thing for my body. I have been tracking the nutrients on each recipe I create and also on the menu for the whole day. The results have been eye-opening. I can see what days I need more protein, or more thiamine, or B12 for example. This mix of research and recipes should be a fun exploration, delicious I hope, and a very interesting learning journey as I track my changes over a 90 day period.

I hope you will check back for my progress updates.

If you would like to join the 90 Day Low Carb Challenge, check out the information over at Traveling Lowcarb and register with your email for updates and encouragement. It’s free!

Be blessed!

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