The Official Blog of The GEM.

SHINE BRIGHTER. Our goal is to live better and be better.

Tag Archives: fat


Confessions of a Wayward Juice Bar Owner. You Will Want to Hear This.

Posted on by diamondsonyourinside and currently has 4 Comments on Confessions of a Wayward Juice Bar Owner. You Will Want to Hear This.

Well folks, I have some confessions to make. I’ve been living a double life for the last two weeks, and it ain’t pretty. Let’s just say I’ve been doing all the things (maybe not ALL, but still) that we preach inside The GEM to be bad for your health and happiness. OFF. THE. RAILS.  And you know what? I feel like crap, act like crap, AND I’m starting to really look like crap, too. What’s important here is a) not to judge, and b) to pay attention to the results of this real-life human experiment revealing what healthy living does (or in my current situation, what UN-healthy living does) to your body and mind.

This whirlwind of Slug-dom looks like this: Poorly planned meals, fat bastard cheese on everything, sexy-sugared goodies, gluten-glittered everything, liver-killing tequila too often, badass carcinogenic bacon, the absence of centering yoga, no muscle sculpting weights, and no calming meditation. “Cool,” you might say! “Sounds like the summer of champions!” WRONG. Stress has taken over inside and out, and the buzzards are circling.

Here’s what these choices have brought me:

  • Sloth-like afternoons. All I want to do at 4 p.m. is take a nap. THAT IS NOT NORMAL.
  • Dun-lap. Yep, my puffy belly has dun lapped over my belt. Subtle, but will be a problem if I don’t stop the insanity.
  • Slow-to-NO bathroom visits. You can figure out that one.
  • Old folk joint pain. I might be 50, but before this dark period, I felt like a million bucks. Now? A buck fifty at best. Inflammation at its finest.
  • Terrible sleep patterns.
  • Old lady eye bags and ugly skin. Poor eating AGES you. Almost immediately.
  • Piss-poor mood. I was definitely more pleasant before this tragic health trip. Food and exercise do miraculous things to your brain.
  • More self-sabotage. The worse I do, the worse I feel, then the more bad things I do. It’s a vicious cycle.

If you think these choices make you feel better, trust me, it is very short lived. The effects of this lifestyle manifest fairly quickly. I can vouch for that. Maybe you have a similar story? The struggle is real, people. And the struggle is HARD!

Listen up slugs, NO ONE is coming to save you. YOU are the 911 Rescue. Here are four ways to pull your slimy self up off the floor and start shining bright like the diamond you are. Let’s get our groove back starting with the following action items. I promise you will feel better almost immediately.

  • Drink a green juice each morning. Crowding out the bad stuff with the good makes all the difference. Plus all the veggies bring tons of energy and vibrance – boosts the liver to filter out the toxins!
  • Keep MVP soup on hand and drink a cup everyday this week. It’s 5 servings of veggies, filling, tasty and boosts your energy and metabolism and is chock-full of cleansing greens.
  • Meditate, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Focus on your breathing, focus on the present. It helps manage stress, and keeps your discipline in check.
  • Eat a dark, leafy green salad for at least one of your meals. Keep a GEM Chopped Veggie or Celery salad on-hand for a quick grab and go fiber-filled option. Have it before you go to that poolside bbq so you don’t gorge on the bad stuff.

Special note: Never say never. If you want a heavy, gluten and dairy-filled food carnival, pick a special one – make it worth your while. But please, DON’T MAKE IT YOUR DAILY M.O.  Make The GEM visit your next habit. Your body will sing. See you inside The GEM soon!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave


8 Things Sweet Sugar Does to You and Your Health

Posted on by diamondsonyourinside and currently has Comments Off on 8 Things Sweet Sugar Does to You and Your Health

As yummy and sweet as it is, Sugar is NOT good for your health. With Halloween just a couple weeks away, beware. It tricks you into thinking it’s just simple treats.

Well, it ain’t. Excessive sugar in fact, promotes illness and “un” health. While many of you may know this, few of us are doing anything about it. But do you really know what it does TO you?

sugarblog2

It plays a starring role in your ultimate health—and not for the good of it. If you really knew what it was doing to your body, you might just put it at the top of your “foods to avoid” list. Here are a few things it does to you and your health.

  1. Sweet sugar does NOT heart your heart. It can actually affect the pumping mechanism of your heart and increase the risk for heart failure.
  2. It makes your belly fat. Yeah.  It’s not the planks you missed in the Pilates class that did it.
  3. It grows cancer and may affect cancer survival. High sugar and starch intake negatively affects survival rates in both breast and colon cancer patients.
  4. Sugar jacks with the liver. Poor nutrition and sugar intake is a major cause of fatty liver. A sluggish liver contributes to LOTS of problems in your body.
  5. Sugar sucks your brain power. It causes deficiencies in memory and overall cognitive health. Duh.
  6. It makes you old. Yep, it ages you! Aging of the cells (oxidative stress) can be the cause of those tired wrinkles to something as dire as chronic disease.
  7. It hides in everything. It’s a sneaky little sucker. Some of your favorite foods contain lots of sugar include tomato sauce, fat free dressing, crackers and even bread. And those healthy energy bars?! Don’t even get me started!
  8. Sugar makes us want more sugar and adds to the stress response. It IS a drug—more addictive than cocaine. SO: SAY. NO.

sugar

Sugar is an addictive substance shown to actually change your biochemical pathways, ambush your self-control mechanisms and lure you into eating more and more.

It is a major roadblock to optimal health. It is the root of many ailments including obesity, acne, depression, infertility and cancer.

Want to know more about sugar, stress and how to detox it from your daily life? Our next continuing education group session, Sugared UP and Stressed Out, does just that! Learn what both stress and sugar do to your body and ways to detox from sugar—and don’t let it rule you!

Be there ~ our Forest location ~ or be square, Wednesday, October 26. We now have two classes available:

  • 11 a.m.
  • 12:30 p.m.

 

Cost is $50. Lunch will be served. Call us at 214.792-9928 or email [email protected] to register.