So cozy in my comfort zone but so miserable

Successful performers know that the most uncomfortable place in which to be is the “comfort zone”. Anthony Steward who in 1992 sailed around the world in a 5.8-meter open boat was asked to tell when he was the most afraid, and his answer was, “When I was on the island, because I was going nowhere”.

Comfort zones do not allow you to go anywhere. Instead they cause you to experience frustration, resentment, fear, anxiety, etc. The focus becomes inward and you begin to be a victim. The absence of risk is called: the comfort zone. The more you are in your comfort zone the less you are alive. We as human beings are in constant need of challenge. Failing to continuously set new targets puts an individual at risk to automatically get ruled again by the old patterns uploaded by the sub-conscious.

There may be an area or two in your life where you feel there is no traction, no growth. Let’s consider health, eating habits that leave you feeling yuck. Once you decide what it is that you want, don’t worry yourself too much or overwhelm yourself silly thinking about exactly how you will achieve it. Just have your end result in mind – more energy? Optimum weight? A better relationship with food?

 Consider possible little things you can do or change that takes you a bit out of your comfort zone. Small changes start a chain reaction that lead to you experiencing new feelings, opportunities and circumstance that will get you to where you want to be.

 Allow me to share my baby action steps out of my comfort zone and then you write down a few action steps next, for yourself;

- get up 15 minutes earlier and mentally create my day and my body

- drink a green smoothie daily

-Use Stevia instead of Processed sugar

- exercise for an extra 10 minutes

- start up a monthly potluck or support group for people in my community that also    want to create more health.

 What positive challenges can you think of committing to that will make 2013 even better than this year?  Accomplishing a few little things yields greater results over time and they are easier to stick to.

Little tiny change requires little tiny steps

Great big change requires little tiny steps.

 Much Love

5 ways to avoid weight gain these holidays

Hello Friends!

I hope you are also looking forward to the holidays after a great,crazy blessed year. I love the holidays because its my time to connect with my family more, reflect on my year and rest. I am very grateful for not going away or having any huge plans, staying at home with family is such a cosy feeling.

 Definately on every woman's (and mens) mind are the holidays and planing: Events, cooking, family, eating, drinking, eating, gifts, eating...

For some it leaves us feeling like we need a holiday from the holiday but not me, no sir. Water rich food is my salvation.

I want to share some ideas on keeping energy levels up, tummy flat and feeling like you want  to get into that bikini.

In South Africa, we get to enjoy a very hot summer so staying juicy and raw is wonderful.

1. Juice. Having fresh vegetable juice every morning will keep cravings away and give you a happy feeling. Have as much as you want. It will flush your body and mind of toxins and hydrate you.

2. Before a big meal (lunch and dinner), have fruit or even better, a green smoothie. Packed with fibre it will fill you and nourish you so you eat less of the main meal and pudding.

3. No late night eating.

4. Avoid wheat, glue (gluten) and processed sugar. Substitute breads with wholegrain rice or Quinoa.

5. Good Food Combining. My Fiance' enjoys fish and chicken but he has changed how he eats his meals. After listening to my advice (  ;) he does not combine protein with starch. Protein is combined with salad at one meal and carbs with salad at the next. He reports that he feels good, no bloating or tiredness.

These tips are not just for the holidays but will serve you well always. Id love to hear what works for you.

Enjoy the holidays beautiful people.

My Brothers 10 day Raw food cleanse. The results are in.

Hello lovely readers!

I am so happy to be sharing this stuff with you!

A few weeks ago, my brother approached me and asked me to help him detox physically.
His goal was to feel better about himself, to lose some weight as it affected his self esteem and to have the energy he needed to be productive and have mental sharpness. Ofcourse, he came to the right sibling, when he asked me I was so excited :) and thats because I know the difference raw foods can make and I want it for everyone :). Thank you Pano for letting me share this info!

The 10 day journey was unique to him and was based on where he was at, his goals, which raw foods he likes nore than others. Eating has to be enjoyable you know, even on a cleanse ;).

His lifestyle and diet pre-cleanse was;
no consumption of fruits or vegetables (raw or cooked)
very little water.
The basis of his diet was bread, meats, dairy (a lot of cheese and milk), sugar,coffee and alchohol.
No exercise
High levels of stress

The 10 day cleanse eliminated all aminal foods and consisted of:
Salads with steamed vegetables
green smoothies and juices daily to super hydrate and flush
water
fruit
A live supplement of dehydrated grasses


I am happy to report these changes. He did all the hard work, endured detox and was patient with himself.

                                               Before:                             After:

weight                                     96.3kg                             90.3kg   - 6kg down
body measurements                                                       11cm down
blood pressure                        128/97                              112 / 77
PH level                                   5.5                                    7.00    - This is 100 times less acidic from 5.5
Blood Sugar                             4.8                                   4.3

The beauty of this way of cleansing and eating as opposed to conventional diets is that with live alkaline foods we put nutrition into the body when we eliminate the bad instead of only doing the latter. We give it what it needs to cleanse. Nature knows best.

Well done Brother, your discipline inspired me. Love you!!

I can tell you why you should eat more leafy greens.

Hi Beautiful people.

I thought Id share knowledge about this super food because its super important in creating better health. Im talking about leafy greens; kale,all types of spinach,lettuce,parsley and various herbs.

Leafy greens in their raw state are a complete food, loaded with Iron, vitamins,calcium,magnesium and potassium. These are all the alkaline minerals that our body needs. Greens are in fact the best source of alkaline minerals in the world, next to sea vegetables.

Chorophyll is what gives leaft greens their colour. A molecule of Chlorophyll is almost identical in form and composition to a molecule of human blood, giving our blood exactly what it needs - natures blood transfusion. This is so vital because the health of our blood determines the health of our organs.

The chlorophyll also shows their rich content of antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the plant cells from free radicals that are generated by sun rays. Eating raw greens means that this benefit becomes your benefit from the inside out, and it shows!

Also, an abundance of raw greens in your diet reduces unwanted cravings of salt and fatty foods.

I have noticed my own skin improve from making this one dietary change alone because Leafy greens are filled with beta-carotene, essential for renewing skin cells, re-building skin and giving you a clear glowing complexion, healthy looking hair and nails.

There are a variety of ways that you could incorporate more into your life;
add raw spinach,parsley and herbs to your salads
use swiss chard to make wraps filled with fruit. the combination is delicious
make green smoothies and juices daily

Experiement, explore and make the change in ways that are best for you.
To your health and hapiness

Love Evagelia



Conscious eating

Eating is such a huge part of our lives, no matter how healthy or unhealthy we are. No matter how disciplined we are in eating the right foods, its a massive part of our daily lives.

What should I cook for Lunch?,dinner?, Is it lunch time yet? What do I feel like? Im craving this, I wish I had that! Lets catch up over breakfast! What shall I Cater for that event. We use feasting to celebrate events, to mourn our losses and to cope with discomfort, Its endless, but tasty right?

Very seldom do we ask the question; why am i eating right now? – to nourish our body ofcourse ! In fact to many this question seems silly. But are we realy nourishing our body and mind all the time? Are we experiencing true hunger all the time?

Im my experience in juice fasting/feasting, after day three or four without solid food, the digestive system closes down and the body’s nerve energy is redirected to detoxify the body and mind. At this time, hunger feelings vanish and physical and mental energy soars. So where does this abundant energy come from if Im not eating at all, let alone once or twice a day?

I studied Dr Herbert Shelton’s work on Natural Hygeine. He facilitated over 10 000 fasts during his career in healing many dis- eases. He stated that true physical hunger has not been experienced by many people because we eat all the time. In fact true hunger is not an uncomfortable feeling but rather a subtle prompting by the body, much like thirst.

Your body is so amazing and infinite in its intelligence, it will tell you what you need, when you need it, If you eat consciously. This means being mindfull when you do eat.

Before you reach for that bag of crisps or cook that meal, ask yourself:

·         Am I really hungry right now?

·         What does my body need the most? (maybe its water, rest or fruit instead of a snickers bar)

·         Where are my emotions at? Am I sad, Happy, angry? Am I using food to suppress this emotion?

·         While you eat, become aware of how you are feeling, your body will tell you when to stop, when enough is enough. This will always prevent over-eating and weight gain. When you eat consciously you will stop eating at satisfaction instead of when you feel stuffed.

Asking yourself the right questions always brings the right answers from inside you and you start to become conscious about your relationship with food. Awareness is the first step to making a change in the direction you want, be it more energy, weight loss or physical self-esteem. Eat consciously.

When you listen to your body and its true needs your health will improve dramatically, over time your weight will be balanced, your mind will be clear and emotions stable. You will be happier. The answers will always come to you, in the form of a feeling, a thought or a mental picture. Your Body and unconscious mind has all the answers and your answers are perfect for you and not the same as mine.

You are welcome to me with your thoughts, experiences and questions, Id love to hear from you.

Love

Evagelia

 

(picture credit; livewellfitnow)

 

21 Day Juice feast Success.

Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since my last post. Quite a lot has happened.
I want to share my experience of my 21 day juice feast.

Juice Feast?
Yes: Consuming atleast 4 litres of fresh raw juices a day, half of which are green alkaline juices.

I reached out to a very special nutritional coach, Courtney Pool, to coach me through my journey. It was one of the best decisions Ive ever made. You can find her at www.courtneypool.com. I cant say how important it is to have an experienced coach helping one through this because it does get tough and having someone who understands what one goes through is oh so valuable.

Let me start with a quick backround. I used to eat emotionally. Food was my drug of choice to mask unhapiness with my life and self, to numb my pain and insecurities. I struggled with weight problems a lot, rollercoasting between funny diets that did more harm than good. I knew there was a way of living that could heal of of this. Ive always believed that pure health and vibrant freedom was MY foundation to success in every other area, right? So for me, a living food diet was my answer, i resonated, but I struggled to make the shift from a SAD diet to living food nutrition.

So what changed for me in these 21 Days?
Physically;
I released quite a lot of toxic waste. waste = weight.
My skin blemishes cleared up. Its like my skin glows now. oh so smooth.
I have so much energy and need less sleep.
My hair, skin and nails are healthier, stronger.
Sorry but this is important - No more constipation! feeling lighter.

Emotionally;
I faced toxic emotions that I had burried and let them go, now my emotions are so stable and peaceful. I feel them more and its wonderful to not resist them.
I feel happy all the time.
Complete Freedom.

Spiritually and Mentally;

Limiting beliefs surfaced, all of them. As an NLP coach I thought I dealt with them but I had more to learn. the feast woke me up from the illussion I had about my 'limited worth'. Funny in Hind Sight.

I discovered Self Love for the first time. So wonderful. Loving myself completely has rippled into every other area and my life is still changing before my eyes. As within, so without ;) I Beleive that taking care of my Body in the best way is a practice of Self Love.

My Juice feast forced me to drop all my props; food, caffeine, sugar, junk food and do a lot of healing. I cant explain how profound a juice feast can be. It forced me to look inside and shoved me in to the present moment. When I took food and cooking and comfort eating out of my life, I had so much time all of a sudden. Me time. Time stood still and I consciously chose how to spend it. pouring my new found energy into my passions, things that make me feel good, like reading, art, dancing.

This journey propelled me to take action toward my passion, hence this blog, and Conscious eating. Nothing makes me happier than helping people reach hapiness through  real health. I am now committed to sharing my knowledge and connecting with people all around the world that want to take their own journey and change themeselves from the inside out, literally.

If you have any questions please connect with me. Id Love to hear from you.

Much Love

Eva

Comfort and change

My wonderful friend and consciousness coach, Marcel Dallende, inspired me a long time ago, to make a move out of my comfort zone, scary but sooo rewarding.I want to share this with you .

 Successful performers know that the most uncomfortable place in which to be is the “comfort zone”. Anthony Steward who in 1992 sailed around the world in a 5.8-meter open boat was asked to tell when he was the most afraid, and his answer was, “When I was on the island, because I was going nowhere”.

Comfort zones do not allow you to go anywhere. Instead they cause you to experience frustration, resentment, fear, anxiety, etc. The focus becomes inward and you begin to be a victim.

 The absence of risk is called: the comfort zone. The more you are in your comfort zone the less you are alive. We as human beings are in constant need of challenge. Failing to continuously set new targets puts an individual at risk to automatically get ruled again by the old patterns uploaded by the sub-conscious.

What positive challenges can you think of committing to?

It doesn’t need to be a big change. Less is more. For me particulary, small changes out of my comfort zone create longer lasting results that a major leap out of it. My 30 day smoothie challenge (below) was a small step, but a powerful one.

On a deep note...

I talk a lot about change. Its what I help others do as an NLP Results coach.

Its our nature to grow. Growth is never ending. No matter how wonderful your life may be, it can be better, you will want more. I do. This is not an ego thing of never being satisfied. Its from our deep knowing of our infinite ability to grow and change into anything we desire, anything we want to experience. As we change and grow in a positive direction, we change the lives of the people in our world. Its bigger than just me or just you.

 My positive change unconsciously gives others permission to do the same. Your positive change and growth unconsciously gives others permission to do the same.