Fit 2 Love: How to Get Physically, Emotionally and Spiritually Fit

You’ll receive life-changing advice on health, food, fitness, and finding your sexual essence as well as getting the results you are looking for.

Does your self esteem suffer because of issues around your body image and weight?

Are you wanting a more passionate and fulfilling relationship?

Based on JJ’s new book, Fit 2 Love: How to Get Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually Fit to Attract the Love of Your Life, you’ll learn how, in just 6 weeks, you can erase your old body image from your mind and create a new “body blueprint” that will help you breakthrough old patterns to get you the results you are seeking. “If you do not love and cherish yourself, how can you expect others to?” says JJ, whose work and programs have been featured in national magazines and on FOX, CBS, KTLA, and NBC television appearances.

In her talks, Flizanes gets personal, revealing her own relationship woes and the steps she took to manifest lasting love as well as lasting results with her body. You’ll also receive life-changing advice on health, food, fitness, and finding your sexual essence, and you’ll hear stories of men and women who learned to love and care for themselves in ways that created the results they were looking for. You’ll leave this enlightening talk full of inspiration and energy to get your personal fitness program on track and transform yourself into someone who attracts love and romance.

WHEN:  Saturday April 28th, 2012

WHERE:  111 Eucalyptus Drive,  El Segundo CA 90245

TIME:  10am-11:30

COST: Free

To register: email info@invisiblefitness.com with name, phone number and email address

OR call 800 571 5722

* space is limited

““We all want to be loved. JJ provides help for everyone who wants to love
themselves, their bodies, and to attract more love from others.”
– DR. CHÉRIE CARTER-SCOTT
#1 New York Times Bestselling author
If Life is a Game, These are the Rules
If Love is a Game, These are the Rules

“Just when you think you’ve read everything about attracting THE relationship,BOOM, along comes JJ Flizanes with new information and a magnetizing format. Fit 2 Love is MORE than what you might’ve read before: it’s a treasure map; it’s a menu planner; it’s a true way-shower. Read it! You’ll love it!”
– MARY MANIN MORRISSEY, author,
Building Your Field of Dreams
No Less Than Greatness

“JJ Flizanes is passionate about the power of fitness and self care to transform your health and your love life. She is living proof that her formula works. If you are ready for a transformation, then, Fit 2 Love, is your prescription!” Allen Peters, M.D. of Nourishing Wellness Medical Center

“Whether you are looking for love or just want to have a better relationship with your body, JJ’s 5 steps in Fit 2 Love will definitely transform your body and your life. JJ’s passion and plea for the best life you can live is heartfelt on every page.” Jeanne Peters, RD of Nourishing Wellness Medical Center

WHEN:  Saturday April 28th, 2012

WHERE:  111 Eucalyptus Drive,  El Segundo CA 90245

TIME:  10am-11:30

COST: Free

To register: email: info@invisiblefitness.com with name, phone number and email address

OR call 800 571 5722

* space is limited

1. Family time does not have to mean sit and eat.  Quality time together can be spent doing other activities.  Try to clear the table while people are slowing down to take away temptations of over eating.
2. Traditional meals probably contain high calorie ingredients such as pasta, butter, oil, cheese and sugar.  Be creative and consult some low fat cooking sources on alternative ingredients that will cut several hundred calories per dish using items like egg whites, applesauce, fruit paste, lighter versions (not fat free) and etc.  No need to tell the family–they probably won’t notice!
3. Add some new dishes to the dinner table of salads, vegetable, fruits and broth-based soups.  These are generally healthier choices so you can fill up in these and eat less “empty calorie” stuff.
4. Schedule in your exercise in the mornings.  Ask a friend or family member to join, it will help with accountability.
5. Learn to say “No Thank You”.  You do not have to try every dish prepared or eat all that you take.
6. While in preparation, only sample the food that is necessary.  You could potentially eat 500-800 calories in sampling before you sit down to eat.
7. Eat ONLY until you are satisfied, NOT full.  If you sit at the dinner table for more then 2 hours, you are probably going to eat more then you need to because it’s there.
8. Keep a log of ALL of your exercise and food.  The average amount of calories for an adult between the ages of 30-55 who participates in moderate activity of 2-3 hours a week is 1800 (women)-2300 (men).  The average holiday meal including drinks can average around 2800-3200.  Logging keeps you aware of why the scale goes up and down.
9. Create a 15 min exercise routine that you can do every during the busy times. Add things like jumping jacks, jump rope, bridge, push ups, etc.  You want to have tools outside of the gym!
10. Holidays are stressful times and sometimes depressing for some.  Exercise boosts your body’s production of serotonin, the body’s “happy drug”.   Don’t let stress win!  If you need some support hire a trainer or a coach.  You’ll be glad you had the discipline and you will be ahead of the game for the New Year!

**this is an excerpt from my book Fit 2 Love: How to Get Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually Fit to Attract the Love of Your Life**

“Your relationship with yourself is the central template from which all others are formed. Loving yourself is a prerequisite to creating a successful and authentic union with another.” Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott

One of the tools that was pivotal in helping me manifest and manage all my relationships since 1998 was Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott’s book, If Love is a Game, These are the Rules. It was the first time I really understood the concept that how others treated me was a direct result of how I treated myself. When I could stand back and be objective about my behavior toward myself and what messages that sent out to others, I realized that the relationship I had to focus on most to get what I wanted was with myself. If I was not willing to treat myself like a queen, then how could I expect someone else to?

Your turn.

How do you treat yourself? When you wake up in the morning, what do you say to yourself? Do you compliment or criticize your body? Do you try on clothes, pinpointing all of the negative things you can, secretly wishing you could have someone else’s body?

If you do, you are not alone. This common practice of most women is the exact behavior that drives the fitness and weight loss industry—and I hate it. We focus on perfect bodies and how can I spot reduce this area so I will like myself, or so someone else will find me attractive and valuable? The underlying emotion here is fear. Many spiritual teachers of mine over the years have all agreed that our actions are motivated consciously or subconsciously by either love or fear.

Fear is defined as a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by present or imminent danger and a feeling of disquiet or apprehension. Fear can be a good tool when you think your life is in danger, but most people live in this emotion all day long with no such threat. Fear is uncomfortable to be in and around. Fear can also be defined as lack of trust.

Love is defined as a deep, tender feeling of affection and care toward a person, such as that arising from kinship or a sense of oneness, and a person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction. Love feels good, and we seek it all the time. We hold others as objects of our attention to give love to, and we want to receive love from others.

Which of these is activated more in your life when you deal with your body? Is it mostly love or fear?

How many times in your relationship life do you attract people who do the same thing or change the way they treat you as the relationship progresses? They start off complimentary and wonderful in the first two or three months, then the compliments stop coming because you either did not receive them or you argued about them.

You trained them how to treat you.

How often do you deflect a compliment? Someone tells you that you look pretty, and you say, “Oh no, I just rolled out of bed, and I am having a bad hair day.” This blocks a compliment.

Many women do it because they have a hard time receiving. You are not allowing yourself to receive the gift because your inner critic does not believe what the other person says. You want to feel attractive, then someone gives you a compliment, and you reject it. Can you see what message you are sending to that person? Why would anyone compliment you again?

Take out a sheet of paper and answer these questions to see what your body blueprint says about you based on every area of fitness and self-care, including exercise, diet, rest, play, and self-talk. We will then work on creating a new body blueprint that can yield more desirable responses.

1. List all the thoughts you can remember you had today, from the time you woke up to now, about how you look or any judgments on your character. For example, if you made a mistake, did you quickly internalize with a thought like “I am so stupid,” or did you think “Oh well, glad I learned that now?” List all of your thoughts in a single column.
2. Underneath the last thought, write a list all the actions you did today, from taking a shower to eating breakfast. Also include things you would have like to have done or should have done and didn’t. For example, you did not take your supplements today.

You should have one long vertical row that contains all the thoughts you were aware of today and all the actions you have accomplished so far. Now make another column to the right of the first one and answer these questions.

1. Next to the thoughts you had, write down if they were positive comments or negative. If you criticized yourself, that is negative. If you brushed your teeth, that is positive.
2. Next to the actions, write down a brief reason for doing that action and whether it came from love or fear. For example, if you wrote down ‘had a cup of coffee, went to work and skipped breakfast,’ do you think skipping breakfast was an act of love or disregard? You know the body needs fuel, so if the reason you skipped breakfast was because you were too busy, you put work before yourself, which sends the message that you are not as important as your work. Keep going through your list and be honest with yourself about the messages you are sending.

What Does Your Body Blueprint Say?

Answer the questions below and identify the message you are sending with each of your answers.

1. Exercise: How do you take care of your body? Do you exercise regularly? What kind of exercises do you do and why?
2. Diet: What foods do you consume on a regular basis? Are they high energy, clean foods that provide vitamins and nutrients for your body? Are they processed, chemically created foods that contain large amounts of fat and sugar with no nutritional value? Do you consume the amount of water your body needs to function optimally every day? Do you ingest toxins and drugs?
3. Rest: Do you sleep at least seven to eight hours a day? Do you unwind before going to bed? Do you take breaks during the day to relax and recharge your mind and body?
4. Play: Do you have fun on a weekly basis? Do you laugh often? Do you feel joy and do things you love every week?
5. Self-talk: How do you treat yourself with the words you use in your mind? If you talked to someone else the way you talk to yourself, how would they respond?

The thoughts you are aware of and your actions are part of your consciousness. You can change those behaviors starting now. But before we start to focus on the steps of changing your body blueprint to build the kind of relationships you want in your life, let’s acknowledge how some of these habits got there in the first place. Why is it this way? Where did these patterns of thought come from?

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To order the book or get your free copy of the 4 Week Fit 2 Love Plan, please visit www.fit2love.info

If you ‘d like to listen to a 60 minute call about Your Body Blueprint, you can download the MP3 for free by clicking here.

To listen to the call online, click here.

This is an excerpt from my book, Fit 2 Love: How to Get Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually Fit to Attract the Love of Your Life.

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”                                  Virginia Woolf

We have lost touch with our relationship to food. With at least three opportunities every day to practice receiving the transfer of energy from our meals to our cells, eating has become a source of confusion and conflict, rather than a delightful pleasure. The lack of respect and abuse of food is one of the reasons why our health, as a culture, is rapidly declining. For some of us, the concept of doing anything except ordering in or going out seems like too much work. Our lives are too busy to slow down and prepare a home-cooked meal. Having a food love affair means having a deep, meaningful, respectful, and loving relationship to the food we put in our bodies.

In cultures throughout history, hunting, gathering, raising, and preparing foods was an honored and respected daily ritual. People were in tune with the abundance of each season and the different foods the earth provided throughout the year. Modern living has taken away the need of our attention to this. If you are looking for love, practice these principles with your food first. You have to create a love affair with food to attract the respect of your body and have success with health and weight management. To heal the obsession of dieting and calorie counting, you are going to treat food as your new lover, with whom you see the potential for a committed relationship. Rather than making food the enemy, you want to fall in love with food.

The Courtship

When you meet a man who interests you, the curiosity can be overwhelming. You want to know so many things: Who he is? Where he is from? What does he do for a living? How was he raised? Passion and excitement surround the quest for knowledge about this new person. It is an important step in finding the right partner. I want you to take a similar heightened interest in what you eat. Every day you fill your body with ingredients that make a huge impact on your health, state of mind, emotional well-being, and size of your waist. Take a look inside your refrigerator and kitchen cupboards and ask these questions: How did this get made? How does it affect my body? Where did it come from? Start to be more curious about seeking knowledge of the most vital relationship you already have—your diet. We take for granted what we consume everyday and how it impacts our lives. We are missing the spiritual connection to food.

Imagine you are looking at a red pepper. How does it affect your body? How was it grown? Did the farmers use pesticides on the plants? Was it just picked, or has it been sitting in a grocery store for a few weeks after being shipped from a warehouse? What’s the difference? I chose the red pepper because my husband and I have just started growing our own vegetables, and we have green and red bell peppers. Prior to planting a garden, we were regularly shopping at the local farmer’s market. At the last minute while preparing brunch for guests, I had the direct experience of comparing the shelf life of farm fresh veggies over the grocery store bought version. The store bought celery started to turn brown after two days, while the farmer’s market celery lasted for over two weeks. This confirmed my choice to go directly to the farmers to get my produce as often as possible.

The red bell pepper has many nutrients you want to know about. Studies have shown that red bell peppers have significantly higher levels of nutrients than green. Red bell peppers contain lycopene, which helps to protect against cancer and heart disease. They are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, beta carotene, and folic acid. Peppers contain a large amount of phytochemicals that act as antioxidants to protect against cataracts, blood clot formation, and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Sounds good, yes? Can you get more excited about eating a red bell pepper and all the wonderful things it can help your body do? If you find yourself more interested in the red pepper, this is good news. You are creating a love affair with food.

In my book, I cover a few more steps and ways in which we engage with food and how it can enhance different parts of our lives as well as our bodies.

I am doing a complimentary class on 3 of these stages at Whole Foods Market Redondo Beach.  Click here to get more info and learn how to register for these classes.

Just like your relationship to a person, food is no different.  Your relationship with food can always be improved and deepened for a more satisfying union!

Let me  show you how to Create a Food Love Affair-The allure of Energy and Superfoods in a 3 part series:

#1 – The Courtship

You want to know so many things. What is it?
Where is it grown? When does it grow? How do I prepare it?

Juicing (green apple, lemon, cucumber, spinach, celery)
Unique Seasonal Fruits
Majool Date

Wednesday, September 7th from 6:30-7:30 pm

Space is limited. Please rsvp sprdb.marketing@wholefoods.com to reserve your seat.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

#2 – The Engagement

You’ve decided to commit, you’ve made a decision to engage. Plant a garden, make regular visits to Whole Foods Market, or the local farmer’s market. Give it your energy.

Soup- JJ’s Easy Veggie Soup (onion, garlic, olive oil, water, zucchini, broccoli, parsely, kale, raw cashews, sea salt, pepper)
Berries with Chocolate Dipping Sauce ( raw, unsalted almond butter, chocolate powder, agave, vanilla bean or extract)

Wednesday, September 14th from 6:30-7:30 pm

Space is limited. Please rsvp sprdb.marketing@wholefoods.com to reserve your seat.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

#3 -The Marriage

When you commit yourself, managing your relationship is what
makes the difference between a healthy or an unhealthy union.

Kale Salad
Nut Cream with Berries (raw macademia nuts, medool dates, 2-3 oranges)

Wednesday, September 21th from 6:30-7:30 pm

Space is limited. Please rsvp sprdb.marketing@wholefoods.com to reserve your seat.
OR sign in on facebook clicking HERE

Fit 2 love final for WF RB class

There are times when I want to be Picasso in the kitchen, so I use many ingredients and enhancements to create a fiesta of flavors in my sauces.  When I was given these tomatoes, I found that I didn’t have  a lot of time so I decided to do this as quickly and simply as possible.  Wow!  I was in shock and amazement at the taste -I had to do it again and again and share the recipe with you.

Start by using a large deep pot (one big enough for the amount of tomatoes you have.  I used a small one the first time and this last batch was bigger)

The tomatoes were from my client’s garden but the onions were from our garden. I turn the heat on low, add some olive oil and lightly saute the onions first

Wash and cut up tomatoes and put them in the pot- saute in olive oil for less than 2 minutes.

You only saute the onions first to get that caramalized flavor- they will be cooked along side the tomatoes to make them softer.

Do not add anything else- no water or tomato paste necessary!  I used to use a little of both and since eliminating it all together, it makes this sauce so much faster and better!

What you can add is crushed garlic (or regular cloves of garlic), basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and anything else you may want in your tomato sauce.

I used fresh basil from our garden plus one or two frozen basil cubes from Trader Joe’s because I wanted more basil than we had!   I also used 1-2 heaping tablespoons of crushed garlic ( I love garlic) so if you only like it, I’d use less.

Cook this over low to medium heat for at least 20 minutes.  Because it splatters, I put the lid on.  This will keep the moisture locked in so when you want to thicken it after blending, cook with the top off.

I added pink sea salt and fresh ground pepper before I starting cooking but save the bulk of the salt and pepper for after it’s all blended so I can really only salt to taste.

Years ago,  I would have used a blender because that’s all I had.  Until recently my mother gave me a Cuisinart Smart Stick- I love this thing.  However, I did not like using it with mashed potatoes- it made the texture weird to me. ( prefer a hand mixer for mashed potatoes)

After the tomatoes cook, I turned the heat off.  This little gadget can be put right in the bowl or pot that you are using to make less mess and easier cooking- love it!

After blending it, I took the stick out and tasted it to see if I needed more salt and pepper. Once spiced the way I like, I turned the heat back on low, put the lid on half way, leaving it open to allow the moisture to evaporate, and cooked it for another 20 minutes or so until it was a little thicker.

Here is my finished product.  I LOVE homemade sauce.  It’s extremely easy and inexpensive.  Plus it’s healthier and more vibrant because we use organic gardening and this produce came right off the tree and from the ground and into my kitchen.

I will be bummed when tomato season ends here.  I do put the sauce in jars but I have not yet taken on “canning” yet so this sauce does have a shelf life in the refrigerator.

So start to finish, it take less than 1 hour but you can put a timer on for the 40 minutes it cooks (before and after blending) and do other things.  Just make sure to put on a timer that has a beeper so when you walk away, it WILL remind you with sound.

And I wouldn’t recommend you go too far…wouldn’t want you to burn the house down because I told you to multi-task!

Happy sauce making!

I have a feeling some of you can relate that to your diet and exercise program maybe??

Well none the less, I am now involved in a group where I am held accountable for posting new videos every week.   Today’s video is short since it was not really planned in my schedule but my deadline was quickly approaching.

Feel free to post questions or topics you’d like to see more information about. I plan to go through both of my books and pick out some of the information I give there in video form.

If you need some accountability on getting in quality exercise, attention to your daily diet, or how to shift your mindset so making healthy choices is EASY…. get in touch with me.   800 571 5722/  invisiblefitness.com

Benefits:

• Getting more fruits and veggies into the diet
• Eating more vibrationally alive foods
• Getting more enzymes
• Increasing fiber
• Increasing antioxidants
• Changing your relationship with food and self care
• Detoxifying

Dangers:

• Lack of protein
• The “culture”  will talk more about that later
• Harder for the body to break down if you lack the enzymes or have problems with digestion
• Can be time consuming for pre planning and preparation (but not always)
• Lack of organically grown produce based on climate – increase of pesticides
• Lack of sufficient B vitamins like B12 which is needed to convert carbohydrates into glucose in the body, thus leading to energy production and a decrease in fatigue and lethargy in the body. It also helps in healthy regulation of the nervous system, reducing depression, stress, and brain shrinkage. B12 helps maintain a healthy digestive system and protects against heart disease by curbing and improving unhealthy cholesterol levels, protecting against stroke, and high blood pressure. It is essential for healthy skin, hair, and nails. It helps in cell reproduction and constant renewal of the skin. Vitamin B 12 also helps protect against cancers including breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer.
• Chinese medicine does not support raw food when you are trying to get pregnant or deal with issues of low or stagnate “qi” (energy) in the lower region of the core. Raw food is harder for the body to break down and can take energy away from healing or conceiving.

In preparation for my week of raw food, I wanted to explore and share all the emotions and thoughts about a raw food diet.

First off, I will tell you that I have eaten many raw meals before, had countless vegetarian and vegan meals and even exclusively ate this way for short periods of time in my life for various reasons.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, where I was raised, Lent was a time where we did not eat meat at all for 40 or 50 days (the 2 prep weeks before Lent).  During college, I would challenge myself to “give up” more each year because I was successful in my practice the year before.

After college, I even got so disciplined that I gave up all meat and fish (as well as sugar and dairy) and ate mostly a vegan diet for 50 days- I got creative and it taught me a lot about my relationship with food.  It was a good way to practice detaching from any emotional triggers with food.  I am thankful that this was the religion I was born into because the practices taught me a lot growing up. Doing any kind of food experiment is easy for me because I have practiced it all my life.

How this experiment got started:

My friend and webmaster complained recently of some digestive issues and I suggested he “go raw” for a week and that I would be happy to do it with him.  Since I am in a raw movie that comes out very soon, I thought I should live the lifestyle fully so I could talk about my experience.

To get me started, I ordered Karen Knowler’s Raw Food Made Simple book which came with a guide to “go raw” for a day and included a few easy recipes.

Karen has a simple, easy going approach to raw food that I appreciate.  She acknowledges that it can turn people off so she takes the stance for people to just try it and to do it as much as you are comfortable with- thanks Karen.  I got very excited about the recipes that Karen shares.

Before her book arrived, I was gifted a different book (one that I will not publically bash) but let’s just say the person who wrote it is an extremist.  His approach, while seemingly easy going by his writing, has condescending undertones the entire way through.  The statements made basically read “if you are not eating raw, you are an idiot.”

As you can imagine this PISSED ME OFF.  I got very discouraged before starting this experiment because it’s people like this that I, and a lot of “meat eaters”, reject for their extreme approach. Trying to calm my emotions, I thought of some of the most respected PhD’s and RD’s that I know like Jeanne Peters RD and Dr. Jonny Bowden- neither of them are raw and both eat meat.

In fact, Dr Jonny did a blog post last year about why he would never become a vegetarian. http://jonnybowdenblog.com/why-i-am-not-a-vegetarian/

I even called Jeanne Peters after getting emotionally triggered by this “book that will remain nameless” to ask her about the benefits and dangers of going raw.  I don’t think I know anyone, I mean ANYONE, more connected to the earth, the soil, food, sun, spirit and science like Jeanne is.  I trust that if this sacred earth mama is not a raw food-ist, then there is surely a scientific AND spiritual reason for it.

Within 48 hours and a few phone calls, I recovered from my slap in the face that “we who cook our food are stupid comments” and began to plan the menu and grocery list.  Going raw for a week is definitely something that requires some time and preparation to get started.

When I was checking out at Trader Joe’s, the guy helping me said “that is the healthiest cart I have seen!”

Here is what I left with!

And this is what I prepped before my “students” arrived to prepare ourselves for a week of raw food.  I decided the day before to sprout some beans to have on hand to make dips and hummus.

Stay tuned for the report!

Over the next year and a half, I proclaimed that I was NEVER (ha ha) giving up dairy because I loved my cheese and I was already gluten free.  That was in 2009.  In February of 2010, I decided I could give up dairy for 4 months to clean out my system and strengthen my digestive system.

Did you know that about 80% of your immunity comes from your digestive system?

Several nights a week I would experience congestion before bed so I knew it was something I was eating or drinking that was causing a problem.  After getting the results back of my Alcat test, I made a video to share all the products I picked up in order to substitute my favorite foods as an easy transition into a new diet.

After completing a few months of dairy free living, I added it back in.  It was no shock to have the congestion come back and I realized that maybe I need to remove it from my diet period.  When it comes to gluten, I rarely have it.  Maybe once every 6 weeks-but I plan for it.  I take some enzymes and usually have it while I am on my menstrual cycle because there are days I am more bloated anyway.

I still consume some dairy but I have cut down dramatically. Cheese was a part of my daily diet and would appear in often 2 meals a day.  Nowadays, I probably have cheese once a week.  The substitutions I made when I eliminated it for 4 months have stuck.  I use mostly coconut creamers, almond and coconut milk and buy hemp or coconut ice cream if I want some dairy-like dessert.   The products I have been using have become my favorite products and I honestly don’t miss the cheese.

My friends, before the wedding, would tell you that I was a cheese-a-holic.  And I clearly was not ready in 2009 to even consider it.  But as time went on, I realized that it is ONLY food and at the end of the day, my health and body are important to me.  I found some suitable substitutes and my palate has changed.  Thank god.

Growing a garden has been the best way to enter into a healthy marriage with my food- this reference is from the food chapter of Fit 2 Love: How to Get Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually Fit to Attract the Love of Your Life.

Our garden is small and we don’t currently have enough planted to produce vegetables for lunch and dinner every day.  When we do, I get very excited about finding new ways to prepare what we are harvesting.  But right now we are in mid-season.  The eggplant is growing, the tomatoes are in process and the zucchini is starting to take off but none are ready to eat.

A few months ago, I was interviewed on film for a documentary about Raw Food.  The chapter in Fit 2 Love was a missing piece in the film about our relationship to what we consume and how to nurture a healthier relationship with food.

I consume raw products but I have always thought it was too hard and unrealistic to eat Raw 100% of the time.  But I have hit a point in my life where I love focusing on my food and I need a new goal!  Going raw for a week or two seems like the next step for me.

Here is the trailer for the movie, I am in frame 3:26. The Raw Natural Movie that is due out this summer!

http://www.therawnatural.com/

I have one or two people who are going to be doing this experiment with me.  If you’d like to join me, we start on Saturday July 30^th!

Mark your calendars because I will also be doing a 3 part class at the Whole Foods Redondo Beach in September to transform your relationship with food! Based on the Fit 2 Love principles, get your copy today and look for the emails about registering. The class is limited and it is FREE!

This past weekend we had a local church putting on a Greek Food Festival.  For those of you who do not know, I am Greek (and Italian).  I grew up in the Greek Church for 13 years and we also put on a food festival every year. So I know and love this food…..

However, it’s not gluten free and it’s mostly high fat, high calorie dishes.  So what did I do?

I planned for it!  ALL week long, I ate and exercised with the idea that I was going to be eating more than I normally do on Friday and Saturday evenings (and taking more digestive enzymes to help my body break down the gluten and dairy).  Each day I did about 45 minutes of cardio and kept my other meals small and clean.  I was super excited about enjoying my Greek food-I knew exactly where I wanted to “spend” my calories.

When we got there Friday night, I focused on only the foods I knew I loved.  Surprisingly, I was not very impressed with the way these foods were prepared. My mother is a great cook and I eat some of these foods every year anyway but the Greek Food Festivals of my past were legendary so you can imagine my disappointment when my taste buds were not singing after a few bits of each of my favorite dishes.

This was Friday night, the first day of the festival.  In my mind, I had planned to go Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The good news here is that because I was not impressed, we could skip Sunday and I would be eating WAY less than planned on Saturday.

The one item they did very well were the Loukoumades- honey dipped fried dough balls.  Yes, I said fried dough.  I don’t eat many fried things but this food is part of my childhood and I remember helping the ladies put the dough into the oil when I was young and then soaking them in honey and sugar solution when they came out.  The last time I had one of these, I was in Greece in 2005.  Before that, it’s probably been at least ten years since I had one of these desserts.  Saturday morning, I made sure I got my butt on my spin bike for at least 45 minutes and I even jumped in the pool for a bit before we met our friends at the festival on Saturday to enjoy the second half of the day and early evening.

I want to outline a few key points about this past weekend, how I handled it and the lessons I hope to pass on to you.

1. I love and appreciate food. When it’s really important to me, I say yes to whatever it is and I plan for it (digestive enzymes)
2. I don’t want to gain any weight so I planned my meals and activity to balance out the indulgence I was planning to have. (45 minutes of cardio everyday and super clean, protein and veggie based meals before that with no starchy carbs)
3. Once I tasted the food I was so excited about and didn’t love it, I stopped eating it.  It wasn’t “worth it”
4. When I found something I could really enjoy, I ate only that and savored it.  I decided to enjoy the time with my friends, listen to the music and make the food festival NOT about food.

How you can use these points to make a difference in how you celebrate or occasionally indulge with your favorite foods. (think holidays)

1. In Fit 2 Love, I talk about a having a Food Love Affair.  A healthy relationship with food means you can appreciate it, enjoy it and have power over it- not the other way around.  In most cases where someone does not have a healthy relationship with food, my food festival weekend would have still continued and you may have continued to eat all the food even after realizing it was not as good as it “should” be or that you planned for.
2. Planning and thinking ahead- it takes less than 3 minutes to look ahead for the day or week to see where there may be outing, parties, or gaps of time where you will need to eat.  I often here people tell me they do not have time to think about their food but YOU DO ANYWAY!  We all eat…. So take an extra 3 minutes to plan it out in your head.  If you need help with this, ask!
3. “Is it worth it” is a phrase I teach all my clients.  If nothing else, ask yourself before you eat something that you think maybe you “shouldn’t”, IS IT WORTH IT?  If it’s not worth gaining weight over or not losing weight, then put it down.  In one respect, it’s only food.  You can replace it with different food.  If it IS worth it (in the case of the fried honey balls for me), then accept it and its consequences and PLAN.  I took my enzymes, I did my exercise.  So there is no guilt or problem.   I loved them and it’s OK.
4. Just because it’s there does not mean you are hungry or that you need it.  Someone people are so hypnotized by having food in front of them, they must think the food is yelling “EAT ME!”  Thanksgiving dinners are the prime example of overeating JUST BECAUSE it’s there.  I use to do it too but in the last 7 or 8 years, I have had a completely different relationship with holidays because I could hear my mind chatter and I changed it.  A habit is just a habit because you keep doing it and haven’t changed your internal conversation. You CAN change that internal conversation but first you have to be aware of what you are ALREADY saying to yourself.
5. Food Vs Exercise: THEY ARE BOTH IMPORTANT!