How could Girl Scout Cookies be a bad thing? With their fresh-faced and smiling sales people, they must be full of goodness, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong at the cookie factory since I sold them many years ago.

Today’s Girl Scout Cookies are chock full of…unpronounceables. You know, the processed food-like substances that are cheap to produce and have a shelf life until sometime in the next millenium? My rule of thumb? If you can’t pronounce it, your body won’t know what to do with it, so toss it out.

Sadly, Girl Scout Cookies are just processed crap. Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s the truth.

So, the next time a sweet girl in a green uniform tweaks your heart asking you to buy Girl Scout Cookies, might I suggest making a donation instead? If enough people do this, perhaps Girl Scouts of America will get the idea and take a stand for whole food, wholesome ingredients - the kind you would use if you were a girl scout baking cookies to earn a merit badge.

I want to thank you again and again because not only has your podcast helped me battle some of my struggles with weight but it has also helped me pursue my own dreams of being a professional singer. I have always lacked confidence and when I listen to your podcast I not only apply it to eating but also to pursuing music. And it shows! When we first started playing live about 4-5 years ago, everyone told me that I needed to move on stage, that I was so stiff and nervous looking. Strangers, friends, family, band members… everyone made it a point to tell me how uncomfortable I looked up there. But now I only get compliments on how natural, comfortable and great I look on stage. Because I am no longer afraid to reveal that side of me. I really believe that your podcast influenced me in that way too. And now I believe that I will achieve my goals in music.

BEFORE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GydR2Y9f3CE

AFTER:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgBEYG5JsO0

Thank you so much for sharing Gretchen!

THE KNOTS PRAYER

Dear God,

Please untie the knots
that are in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,
may nots, and
might nots that find
a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,
would nots and should nots
that obstruct my life.

And most of all, dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind
my heart and my life all of the am nots
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought
that I am not good enough.

Amen.

It’s hard to imagine how such a finding could be news to anyone who knows much about weight and fitness, such as those that designed the study. BMI has never been anything but a gross measure, to give a general idea of appropriate weight.

Any personal trainer worth her salt will tell you that what really matters is not BMI. BMI can be skewed by muscle mass. Since muscle is much denser and heavier than fat tissue, those with lots of heavy muscle will have an elevated BMI, but still be super fit.

I remember last winter olympics looking at the body weight of the female hot dog skiiers. These women, at the extreme of fitness, weighed much more than a similar, non-athlete woman of the same clothing size. The same holds true of any athlete.  By BMI standards, they will be overweight, or even obese!

So what’s a better metric? You may already know. Body fat.  Body fat, while still a somewhat crude metric because the margin of error of most ways to measure it is 2-4% points, tells a much fuller story. So if you want to get into the nitty gritty of your fitness level, go to a gym and have your body fat measured. And have a workout there while you are at it! Then, if you set a fitness goal, set it around body fat % rather than BMI.  That way, if you lose fat and gain muscle, but the scale doesn’t change, you will know your are still increasing your fitness.

Here’s a link to the Wall St. Journal article that reports on the study: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704762904575025313433081780.html#

What’s the net-net of all this? Scales and BMI only tell part of the story, and could even be downright misleading.  Plus, the scale accounts for an awful lot of angst and obsession.

Focus instead on feeling really good in your body, each and every day by eating to feel good over time, and exercising to get a feel good buzz all day long.  :)

Here’s the description:

Learn how to translate your goals and your blocks into another language (that you already know), to breakthrough to the next level, and gain a few IQ points while you are at it!

Also, you’ll hear what caused Lisa’s breakthrough, and how to set the stage for your own.

If you have a question or comment for me, call 206-350-5333

and let me know!

Also, friend me on Facebook! I’d love to see your pic!

My name is kelly and I live in Sydney Australia. I listen to your show all the time and am proud to say I have lost 64kg which is just over half my body weight.I find your ‘Inside Out Weightloss’ podcast inspirational and it has helped me to keep persevering with the journey.The biggest stand out for me is that weight loss is a mental process that will work over time if we change our thinking to weightloss and move away from vigourous diets and calorie counting.Just wanted to share part of my journey in the hope I can help others too!

Cheers, Kelly

Fortunately, my family is flexible, and happy to eat the same main course several nights in a row. If they weren’t I’d still do the big cook, but would freeze portions and defrost throughout the week, alternating between this week’s dish with previous week’s dishes.

 As it is, I sometime provide a little variety for the side dish.  For example, yesterday I made quiche, so a couple of nights I will make a salad to go with it, maybe steemed broccoli another night, maybe cut up cucumber and red peppers and carrots another night.

 Here’s this week’s recipe.  Note that I wrote it up in the “over the top” way.  Just use regular cooking oil, or non-organic ingredients if that’s what you have on hand.

I made 4 quiches yesterday (!!).  I buy whole wheat frozen pie crusts at the health food store. 1 quiche had brie cheese and sauteed onions. 1 had brie and sauteed onions and zucchini, 1 had shredded extra sharp cheddar and onion, and 1 had cheddar, onion and zucchini.

Renée’s Organic Quiche – Kid friendly version

(Adapted from “The Moosewood Cookbook” ©1992 by Mollie Katzen)

1 10” frozen, organic, whole wheat pie crust made without hydrogenated oils (available at health food stores)

1 t organic butter

1 ½   c chopped organic onion

½ t ground sea salt

black pepper to taste

a pinch of thyme

½ t dry mustard

4 medium organic eggs

1 ½ c organic whole or 2 % milk

2 T organic, unbleached flour

1 ½ c loosely packed, grated, aged, hard cheese such as a good gouda or cheddar (you can substitute about ¾ cup cubed brie, or mix bits of left over cheeses)

paprika

1. Preheat oven to 375  degrees
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add onions and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes. When the begin to soften, add salt, pepper, thyme, mustard. Sauté about 5 minutes more and remove from heat.
3. In a blender, combine eggs, milk and flour, and beat well
4. Spread the onions over the base of the pie crust. Top with cheese. Pour in the egg mixture and sprinkle with paprika
5. Bake for 35 – 45 minutes, or until solid in the center.

Optional variation (adult friendly)

Sauté 6 oz fresh spinach with a 1 t butter or high smoke point oil, and 2 cloves of chopped organic garlic until just wilted.  Add to pie crust with onions, top with cheese.

Note: - I normally make about 4 of these quiches at a time.  They freeze pretty well and keep for about 4 days in the fridge.

Post a comment and let us know!

I just came accross the latest scientific experiment on the power of intention to transform water, through Lynne McTaggert, author of “The Intention Experiment”.  Very cool:  http://www.theintentionexperiment.com/results-of-the-clean-water-experimentof-glowing-light-and-alchemy.htm.

Notice the similarity of Emoto’s picture of undistilled mineral water, and McTaggert’s water photographs.

The question then becomes, if we can transform water through our intention, which it seems we can, what can our intention do to the food we eat, and our bodies?

Episodes 90 and 91 explain how to use the power of your own intention to transform your food and your body.

PS, My friend Melinda Inn creates and sells “Pure Intent Water” by purifying it with her own intention. Check it out: http://www.melindainn.com/pure_intent_water .