Hypothyroid and Weight Loss

Make it Watercress Juice!

An ancient green, watercress is said to have been a staple in the diet of Roman soldiers, which they used for energy and brain power. It is a part of the cruciferous vegetable family along with kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used watercress to treat his patients. It was widely available until the 19th century and watercress sandwiches were a staple of the working class in England.

Stressing Out Over Your Weight?

Are you doing everything right when it comes to diet and exercise, but you’re still not losing weight especially around the midsection? The issue could be chronic stress. Is stress eating an old friend? How about making poor food choices when you feel anxious, depressed or nervous? Stress is not just some inconvenience to push through. Failing to address the stress in your life has profound ramifications on your weight as well as your health.

Constipation, Weight Gain and Health

Have you noticed that when you get constipated, you gain weight or it becomes hard to lose weight? Maintaining regular bowel movements promotes better health and keeps your stomach flat. Bowel regularity will aid you in losing weight and keeping it off. A healthy intestinal tract will allow you to absorb nutrients efficiently, which helps stave off cravings and allows you to build lean muscle without gaining fat. And most importantly, maintaining regular bowel movements can greatly reduce chances of diverticulosis or colon cancer.

The Power of a Cleanse Retreat

Over two decades ago I attended my first juice and raw foods cleanse retreat. I have never felt so clean and alive as I had that week. I went back every year for a tune up. There was something about cleansing and juice fasting with others that made the whole process much easier and much more fun. I was determined to have my own cleanse retreats one day and to address whole person cleansing—body, soul, and spirit. I knew that’s where I’d see the most powerful and profound changes in people’s lives.

Almost 3 years ago my husband and I started The Juice and Raw Foods Cleanse Retreats. We’ve seen miraculous things happen since the day we started. I’m sharing a couple of testimonies in this newsletter with you. I want you to feel sparkling clean and vibrantly alive too like so many other people have.

We do three days of juice fasting preceded and followed by raw foods. Juice fasting eliminates the usual mucous forming foods from the diet like refined flour, dairy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, and stimulates the digestive tract to be more active. It eliminates irritating substances and prevents the production of excess mucus. In addition, juice fasting helps the body remove dead cells and toxins while also supplying an abundance of nutrients the body uses to heal.

Raw juices are very alkaline and highly beneficial in creating acid-alkaline balance in the blood and tissues. The juices extracted from raw fruits and vegetables require no digestion so your digestive track, and indeed your whole body, gets a rest. Also, vital nutrients are assimilated directly in the bloodstream.

I hope you’ll be able to attend our Fall Retreat—September 20-25 at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane, WA.

Testimonies From Past Retreats

A life-changing event!

“It’s now been a month since I was on your Wellness Retreat, I didn’t want to comment as soon as I got back as I wasn’t sure if the benefits I experienced would be short lived and from the “high” of being there. Today, one month later, as I was walking through the mall, I noticed how energized I feel. My weight is down 10 pounds so far– 6 pounds were lost at the retreat..By the end of the retreat, my constant post nasal drip had cleared up 98 percent . Prior to the retreat, I was feeling constantly anxious and overwhelmed. Now, I feel a sense of calmness. Thanks Fr. John. My blood pressure, which was in the dangerously high zone, is now in the pre-high blood pressure zone and is still improving.. And, I am not craving carbs from wheat any longer.” ~ Eileen

“Thank you for an amazing week!

This retreat was a chance to renew, nourish and connect, body, mind and spirit. I learned how great our bodies can feel when we nourish them with “real” food. And how “delicious” that can be! I also learned how our bodies work, and the amazing things they are capable of if we help them function the way they are meant to. And I learned about connecting our minds to our hearts, the importance of this, and the part our attitudes and emotions play in our health. Each part is important, but if we want to live the lives we are truly capable of, no matter our circumstances, we need to do all three. And Cherie and Father John teach and demonstrate how to do this!

Tiffany lost 8 pounds, gained 20 friends

Mere words cannot express my gratitude to Cherie, Fr. John, and Catherine for last week’s Trinity Wellness Retreat. I was first introduced to Cherie’s juicing through Dr. Mercola’s website and have been enjoying juicing for the past 18 months. When I read about the retreat, I knew it was exactly what I needed to take my juicing to the next level to provide a supportive environment for a week-long cleanse. The retreat exceeded my expectations off the chart! The classes I attended at the retreat were packed with juicing information and recipes, healthy lifestyle changes, and loving support. While weight loss was not my priority, I did return home 8 pounds lighter but far more important were the 20+ new friendships I gained! No matter if you are just starting out with juicing or have been embracing and enjoying it for years, you must treat yourself to this life changing experience!”

How Toxins Make Us Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

In 2008 scientists discovered a surprising and disturbing fact: environmental toxins make you fat and cause diabetes(1). Inside your body, chemicals disturb your ability to balance blood sugar and metabolize cholesterol. Over time, the disruptions can lead to insulin resistance. Why hasn’t this been headline news? Most probably because there are no drugs to treat it. In fact, the drugs would only add to the toxicity. In our efforts to conquer the two biggest epidemics of our time—diabetes and obesity—we must turn our attention to environmental toxins that we put in and on our bodies.

It is imperative that you optimize your body’s ability to detox. If your body’s detoxification tools aren’t up to speed, waste will build up in your organs and tissues. Overtime, the damage is similar to what happens when trash collectors go on strike. The waste piles high, making the area smell and creating a breeding ground for illness. Do you remember the New York City Christmas Trash Collectors Strike of 1981? Trash mounded up in the streets, which attracted rats in droves and led to disease. Had it not been so cold, they would have had a major health crisis. When the trash was finally hauled away, with nothing left to feed on, the rats left.

We live in an environment steeped in chemicals that our bodies were not designed to process. For a disturbing look at the chemicals that invade our bodies, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. In the 2008 report, scientists at the CDC found that nearly every person they tested was packing around a host of nasty chemicals that included flame retardants stored in fatty tissue and Bisphenol A (2), a hormone-like substance found in plastics. Even babies were contaminated. The average newborn has 287 chemicals in her umbilical cord blood, 217 of which are neurotoxic (poisonous to nerves or nerve cells) (3).(4)

Notes

(1) Jones OA, Maguire ML, Griffin JL. Environmental pollution and diabetes: a neglected association. Lancet. 2008 Jan 26;371(9609):287-8.

(2) Lang IA, et al. Association of urinary bisphenol A concentration with medical disorders and loratory abnormalities in adults. JAMA. 2008 Sep 17;300(11):1303-10.

(3) Environmental Working Group “Study Finds Industrial Pollution Begins in the Womb” (www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/newsrelease.php)

(4) http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/20/how-toxins-make-you-fat-4-steps-to-get-rid-of-toxic-weight/

Are You Ready to Detox?

If you are ready to get rid of the breeding ground for illness and disease and to dump the toxins that make your cells fat, please join me for my 30-Day Detox & Weight Loss Challenge. It begins August 10. I’m going to do this with you. I’ll be coaching you all the way and giving you updates on what I’m doing. I’ll have teleconference calls with you as well. Your course materials will come via email. You’ll also be invited to our private Facebook page. You don’t have to purchase a cleanse kit to do this program. But if you want the added help and support of the herbal products, I’ve made the kits affordable with 25% off until the end of this month. Summer is the perfect time to cleanse. Sign up by August 1, and you’ll get the EARLY BIRD SPECIAL!!

30-Day Detox – Weight Loss Challenge

The body’s ability to detox toxins is a significant factor in your ability to lose weight and maintain a healthy goal weight. When toxins backup and we experience toxic overload, we experience expanding fat cells that are stuffed with toxins and fat. This equates to an expanding waistline. This is a survival step to get the toxic load out of your bloodstream and away from key organs. However, this causes weight gain and interferes with weight loss because the body does not easily give up toxic fat it has stored.

Our polluted world is a true test of genetic survival of the fittest. The number of toxic chemicals in our world threatens the reproductive ability of the human race and is a large part of the cancer epidemic. Stored chemicals contribute to weight gain in various ways, including disruption of the hormone signaling system that regulates your metabolism and accumulation of toxins in your white adipose tissue.

Toxic lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is the result of bacterial imbalance within the digestive tract. It stimulates the formation of new fat cells and promotes weight gain. LPS causes leptin resistance and thyroid malfunction. It is an example of internally generated toxins along with waste like inflammatory debris and lactic acid. Environmental toxins affect everyone to some degree and can cause metabolic malfunctions of LPS, as well as increase the risk for cancer. Many environmental toxins are fat soluble, which means they readily accumulate in white adipose tissue. To lose weight, It is absolutely vital that you detox your body in a health way to lose weight.

I’ll help you detox and lose weight with my 30-Day Detox Weight Loss Challenge.

Thyroid Tune-Up

Your thyroid function may be too high, too low, or fifty shades of in between. It’s the “in-between” I want to help because less than optimal doesn’t get addressed with standard thyroid tests. If your thyroid function is suboptimal, you may be fatigued and have trouble losing weight or sleeping. You might have stinging in your eyes or lines on your finger tips. Low thyroid function is a common condition, as evidenced by the fact that Synthroid (synthetic thyroid hormone) is the fourth most prescribed drug in America. But many people struggle with less than optimal health never knowing what to do to get better.

T4 is the primary hormone produced by the thyroid gland but it is not the most active. T4 is converted to T3. T3 is 3 to 8 times more potent than T4. But T4 is the hormone measured. What matters most, however, is how well the thyroid hormones do their job, not just how much hormone is measured in a blood test.

Stress hormones, nutrient deficiencies such as iodine and selenium, mercury, lead, and cadmium toxicity along with certain medications can impair the enzymatic conversion of T4 to T3. Other aspects of thyroid hormone metabolism can be impaired and ultimately result in less than optimal thyroid function. Inadequate thyroid stimulatory hormones from the brain and pituitary gland due to stress, very low calorie diets, inflammation, and environmental toxins can promote low thyroid function. Other dysfunctions include impaired production of hormones due to iodine deficiency, toxins that affect the thyroid (chlorine, bromine, and fluoride), certain medications, excessive intake of certain foods especially sugar, and autoimmune reactions, which can be initiated by food intolerances and other environmental factors.

You can improve your thyroid function and bring it into more optimal function. Take the Thyroid Quiz to get a better idea about your thyroid health.

For my nutritional program to heal the thyroid, get a copy of my latest book The Juice Lady’s Remedies for Thyroid Disorder on sale now for $9.00.

Thyrocsin™ for $27.35 is an excellent thyroid supplement that I highly recommend.

Special offer Thyroid Renew—the book and the supplement $35.95

Special supplement offer Thyrocsin™ 3-pack $59.95.

You may want to couple this with my adrenal support Vitality Renew.

Adrenal-Thyroid Connection

When your adrenals are constantly stressed, this sets off an autoimmune, inflammatory response in your entire body. The adrenal-hypothalamus-pituitary feedback loop regulates the secretion of cortisol. All of your organs and your immune system are impacted negatively by the resulting constant assault of cortisol. Low adrenal function can actually cause someone’s thyroid problem to be much worse than it would be otherwise.

When people with both low thyroid and low adrenal function are put on thyroid hormone alone, they sometimes feel worse. If you have low adrenal levels and take thyroid hormone by itself, the increased metabolism may accelerate the low adrenal problem. Also, interactions between the hormones are sometimes as important as the direct action of the hormone itself. Some adrenal hormones assist in the conversion of T-4 to T-3, and may assist in the final effect of T-3 on the tissues. Some scientists believe that even the entrance of thyroid hormone into the cells is under the influence of adrenal hormones. If your adrenal level is low enough, you could benefit by taking both adrenal and thyroid support together.

Here are some products with a high sugar content that are often NOT considered high in sugar.

BBQ sauce—13 grams of sugar for each 2 Tbsp.
Fruit yogurt—19 grams in many single serving containers. It tastes like desert—that’s because it is desert.
Sweet and sour chicken—19 grams of sugar in many servings.
Spaghetti sauce—one-half cup may contain as much as 12 grams sugar plus the pasta turns rapidly to sugar because it’s digested so rapidly
Sodas—one 8-ounce can offers 29 sugar grams—well this one you probably are aware of—just wanted you to see how much sugar is actually there.
Dried fruit—1/3 cup can have as much as 24 grams of sugar; many manufacturers add sugar.
Gummy worms—44 grams of sugar in every 10 worms
Energy bars—one bar can pack in 12 grams or more of sugar
Energy drinks—some pack in as much as 83 grams of sugar

Sugar and Inflammation

For the last four decades, Americans have avoided fats and gorged on sugar. Sugar is a leading contributor to type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, MS, metabolic syndrome, and excessive weight gain. It also increases the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis; actually nearly every disease has a link to sugar.

Sugar in the amount that the typical Americans eat (about 64 pounds a year) continually upsets our body chemistry and causes the inflammatory process that leads to disease. The less sugar you eat, the less inflammation, and the stronger your immune system, which defends us against infectious and degenerative diseases.

Excess sugar in the blood causes glycation, a process where a sugar molecule binds to a protein or a fat, and leads to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are inflammatory; they are associated with type 2 diabetes, aging, and many diseases.

Don’t be fooled. Sugar is hidden in packaging in many different forms: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, fructose, glucose, galactose, lactose. When a manufacturer wants to sweeten up a certain brand of cereal, for example, it can either do this using 15 grams of sugar, or, 5 grams of malt syrup, 5 grams of invert sugar, and 5 grams of glucose. Some manufacturers seem to be choosing this divide and masquerade method, placing these ingredients lower down on their products’ lists, making the public believe that the amount of sugar in the product is smaller than it is.

It’s all still sugar: Cane juice, dehydrated cane juice, cane juice solids, cane juice crystals, dextrin, maltodextrin, dextran, barley malt, beet sugar, caramel, buttered syrup, carob syrup, brown sugar, date sugar, malt syrup, diatastic malt (enzymes that breakdown starch into sugar), fruit juice concentrate, dehydrated fruit juice, fruit juice crystals, golden syrup, turbinado, sorghum syrup, molasses, refiner’s syrup, ethyl malitol, maple syrup, yellow rock sugar, and sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and mannitol.

Healthy Alternative Sweeteners

Stevia (recommend Sweet Leaf Vanilla Creme)
Coconut sugar and coconut nectar
Small amounts of pure maple syrup
Small amounts of local raw honey

8 Reasons to Ditch Sugar

Here are a few TOP TIPS to help you shed those pounds and feel great:

Sugar is a major contributor to inflammation. Inflammation is a top cause of heart disease and nearly all other diseases. You can read more about inflammation in my book The Juice Lady’s Anti-Inflammation Diet.
Sugar makes you fat. It is loaded with calories that are stored in fat cells.
Sugar will raise your cholesterol. For years we were told it was fat that raised our cholesterol, but sugar is worse.
Sugar makes you nervous. There is a clear link between excess sugar and disorders like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, because of high levels of insulin and adrenalin that get released with sugar consumption
Sugar causes diabetes, kidney and heart problems. Excess sugar can damage the pancreas’s ability to function properly.
Sugar destroys your teeth. Sugar increases the bacteria in your mouth that erodes enamel. The biggest problem with many popular toothpastes is that they contain sugar. They are not required to put the sugar on the label.
Sugar suppresses the immune system. Sugar beats out vitamin C in your immune cells and weakens them.
Sugar causes wrinkles. A high-sugar diet damages collagen, the layer just below the skin that gives you that youthful appearance.

weight gain

Hypothyroid and Weight Loss

Make it Watercress Juice!

Addressing the Stress & Weight Connection

Stressing Out Over Your Weight?

Constipation, Weight Gain and Health

Constipation, Weight Gain and Health