I know you’re full of new January resolve (and maybe a few too many holiday indulgences) but diets don’t work (you know that, don’t you?).  And there is a better way.

Cutting calories doesn’t work.  It just sets you up for an even slower metabolism and a worse rebound.  Exercise can help, but exercise alone won’t get you to your goals.  And besides, most people spend way too much time doing the wrong kind of exercise.  I’d like to teach you how to use exercise most efficiently, so you will get better results in less time.

And I want you to learn how to eat!  That dreadful article in the NY Times this weekend got part of the story but not the whole story. Yes, that’s right, I’m going to contradict the conclusions of all those scientists, doctors and journalists, and tell you that it is possible to lose weight and keep it off, and that it doesn’t have to mean you are obsessed with not eating for the rest of your life (wouldn’t that be awful?!), or that you feel constantly hungry or deprived. NOT AT ALL!  The trick is to work with the metabolic issues they identify, but not by severely cutting back calories (500-550 calories a day? come ON!), or trying to burn off everything you eat in the gym.  Or by using food “products” that you have to buy in order to stay on the program.

I want to teach you how to successfully navigate each and every situation in which you might eat: not only at home in your own kitchen, but a restaurant, a holiday event, parties, visiting friends, your in-laws, etc.

I want you to know how to choose foods that give your metabolism and your hormones the correct message every time: to retain lean muscle and burn fat.  When you are eating healthy, you will naturally lose weight.
What’s that? You say that you already eat healthy? That’s what many of my clients tell me when they first come in to my office. But there is a very big difference between eating theoretically healthy and eating individually healthy, for you, as a unique individual.  I can help you identify what is individually healthy.

• Wouldn’t you like to know what specific foods are stressing your system and telling your body to store fat? (it’s often foods we think of as healthy!)

• Wouldn’t you like to identify the triggers that drive your cravings and that feeling of insatiable hunger that sometimes comes over you?

• Wouldn’t you like to know how to avoid the energy slumps that come mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and the will power failure that goes with them?

• Wouldn’t you love to have will power not be an issue?  To have your own body re-balance so that your cravings are eliminated and this time you can stay with your resolve to look and feel better?

It’s not only possible, it’s within your reach. I have successfully helped many hundreds of people, from their teens to their 70s, succeed at this.  And not only do they lose weight, and look and feel better, but lots of other symptoms start to disappear as well, including achy joints, headaches, respiratory problems, rashes, fatigue, brain fog, and much, much more.

Want to fit into those skinny jeans?  Want to have more energy, more radiance, more focus?

Why not get started? Sign up for your 13 Week Success Program and I will personally guide you through it every step of the way.  This program will give you the guidance, support and accountability to reach – and surpass – your goals, and it is all customized for you, as a unique individual.  This is not a one-size-fits-all program, which is a large part of why it is so successful.

Want to learn more about the Program and how it works?  Click here. Want to read more of my client’s experiences? There are lots of testimonials on my website, but here’s a new one from a very happy client:

Get Started! Book Your First Appointment Now!

This article below was originally published in my column Holistic Outlook in The Times Herald Record on February 2, 2011.

Link to original article is here. Links to the 3 tips are separate: here, here and here.

Researchers now predict that one out of three of us will have diabetes.  Twenty five percent of our kids take prescription medication before they’re out of their teens. Forty-eight percent of us take at least one medication, and the average number of prescriptions per person is somewhere between 12 and 15, depending on the research you look at.  People over 65 filled an average of 31 prescriptions annually, with women taking about one-third more than men.

What is going on?  Are we really so ill-designed that we now need pharmaceuticals to function and survive?  Is there no alternative to our bodies breaking down so terribly, long before we’re done using them?  Is being and staying healthy so uncommon it’s no longer “normal”?  And is it inevitable for our bodies to function so poorly as we get older?

My answer to all of those questions is a resounding NO!

Much of what people take prescriptions for, including cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, arthritis, even depression and anxiety, has a great deal to do with lifestyle choices, and often can be addressed nutritionally.  Please understand: I am not saying stop taking your medications!  But I am saying that people who are willing to make significant lifestyle changes can also often work with their prescribing doctor to reduce or eliminate their prescriptions as their health improves. And it can. I have seen it happen hundreds of times in my practice, with young kids as well as adults in their 50s, 60s and even 70s.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who stopped smoking and started juicing. He knew both changes would be theoretically good for his health, but he was surprised to find how much better he felt, so quickly, and – bonus – that he no longer needed caffeine to get him through the day.  All of a sudden, he had so much more energy, naturally.  When we reduce the toxins and improve our self-care, the results are often remarkable.  That’s how we’re naturally designed: with a remarkable ability to heal.  Why not take advantage of that, and make some changes that will not only help with how you feel, and how you look, but with how you age?

Are you afraid that in order to get good results, life as you know it would end? Or that you’d have to deprive yourself of everything you like? It’s not true!  Even small changes can make a difference.  In fact, it’s better not to do everything at once. Slow and steady is much more likely to succeed for the long run. The trick is to keep making small changes consistently, so that they eventually add up to big ones.  You can begin with one step, as long as you begin!  Then, maintain that change, and add another, building on your improvements week by week.

I recommend starting by adding some new healthy habits in before you take the less healthy ones out.  That gives you additional support. You can use the lists below to get some idea of how to start.  Pick one to start, and then commit as if your life depended on it.  It just may.

TIp #1: What to add in:
Lots of water. Green juice. Fiber (think beans, legumes & veggies rather than grains). Non-starchy veggies, like broccoli, zucchini, salads, kale, chard, cabbage, etc. (Make these half your plate, twice a day.) Fruit, especially berries.  8 hours of sleep.  Exercise – find a way to move that makes you feel more alive.

Tip #2  What to take out:
Fried foods. Foods that come in packages. Caffeine, especially those syrup-sweetened lattes! Sugar. Artificial sweeteners. Artificial creamers. Alcohol. Diet and regular sodas. Breakfast cereals (you need protein at breakfast). Fruit juice (highly concentrated sugars). Snacks when you’re not hungry.  Eating late at night.  Mindless eating, any time.

Tip #3: Substitutes
Xylitol or stevia for sugar. Green tea for coffee. Club soda & flavored seltzers for sugared or diet sodas. Coconut milk for creamer. Brown rice for white. “Real food” carbohydrates like sweet and white potatoes, beans & legumes, peas and carrots for processed foods like bread, bagels, rolls. 70% or higher cocoa bars for milk chocolate.

1. Simply reducing calories is not a healthy way to lose weight, and often is not a way to lose weight at all.  Instead, cutting calories slows your metabolism so that you need fewer and fewer calories to survive.  The calories in/calories out equation is a myth! It does not work, as your experience has probably showed you by now.  Instead of counting calories (or points) learn how to eat, in any circumstances, to feel healthy, full and focused.
2. Being thin is not the same as being healthy.  Don’t try to get healthy by losing weight.  Instead, get healthy and you will lose weight.  Getting healthy promotes fat loss by its very nature: a healthy body is a body in balance; a healthy metabolism burns fat.  It also results in more energy, better focus, sounder sleep, clearer skin, better muscle tone, etc.  You must heal your metabolism if you want to be both lean and healthy.
3. Eating fat does not make you fat. In fact, eliminating fat will, sooner or later, make you sick.  It is essential to eat moderate amounts of healthy fats of all kinds.  Fats are critical for brain function, joint health, bone health, great skin, satiety and nutrient absorption.  And, like limiting calories, eliminating fat slows your metabolism.
4. Eating foods containing cholesterol does not (generally) adversely affect cholesterol levels.   Our systems are so much more complex than this.  Actually, eating a diet high in processed foods and refined carbohydrates is much more likely to result in high cholesterol levels than a diet which includes foods that contain cholesterol but come from healthy animals, including meat and eggs.  (A healthy animal is not factory-farmed or fed foods unnatural to it.)
5. Losing weight doesn’t make sense if you are losing muscle, bone and other fat-free mass, or hydration. The only thing you want to lose is fat. Otherwise you are eroding your health and speeding the aging process.
6. There is no such thing as “slow metabolism” is not a permanent condition.  You have either a damaged metabolism, or a healthy one. If your metabolism is damaged, you can heal it and return it to a healthy, fat-burning state using balanced nutrition and the correct kinds and amounts of exercise.
7. Dry skin, dry or brittle hair and nails, fatigue, memory loss, and lack of libido are all indications of malnourishment and imbalance, regardless of weight.  These are symptoms that can and should be addressed and repaired nutritionally.
8. You can be overweight and still be malnourished. This has to do not only with eating the wrong foods, but with inability to absorb nutrients because of damage to the intestinal tract.  Fortunately, the intestinal tract is resilient and can usually recover when nutrition is correct and balanced.
9. Identifying and eliminating food sensitivities is essential to any weight loss program. In fact, it is essential to any health program.  Otherwise, the chronic inflammation produced by your food sensitivities will continue to impede your weight loss, and your health, causing both short-term and long-term issues.
10. Most of the degenerative problems and diseases we accept as “aging” are significantly directed by our own lifestyle choices.  Every day you make thousands of choices, and every single time you have the opportunity to make a bad choice or a better one.  Educating yourself about your choices is the first step to living a life that is not only longer, but healthier and happier too.

Do you know someone, or are you someone, who has tried everything, done everything right, but still hasn’t been able to lose weight?  One of my specialties is helping people in that situation, by identifying the issues underlying the difficulty, helping correct them, and finally be successful.  Please see my 13 Week Success Program for more information.
© 2008 Fran Sussman

Don’t let ANYONE tell you these are the “normal” signs of aging! Now is the time to reclaim your life!

• Thinning hair?
• Tired all the time, and tired of being tired?
• Lost your libido?
• Weight creeping up more than you’d like,
  especially on your belly?
• Feel a little foggy?
• Too tired to exercise?
• Pains in your joints?

In a culture that worships at the altar of youth, what can a woman expect once she reaches her forties and fifties? Is it true that aging means gaining weight, lost libido, thinning hair, and increasing aches, pains and physical woes? Absolutely not! This can be a wonderful time of life, if women learn to take care of themselves as well as they’ve taken care of everyone else in the decades before.

Overworked, overwhelmed, overtired, over-committed, this can be the time when it all starts to unravel. The worst part is the authoritative voices, in doctors’ offices, in the news, on tv and in the movies, suggesting that this is how it’s supposed to be. It almost seems like we’re expected to just roll downhill from here. NOW is the time to reclaim your fabulous, vibrant, sexy, successful, fulfilling life!

Being this age does not have to mean a slow inevitable deterioration with increasing debilitating symptoms. And it certainly doesn’t mean the end of our sensuality or sexuality. It can be a time of great vitality, growth and new freedom. These are the years when lifestyle choices really pay out: the great ones and the not-so-good ones. It’s the time to make the changes that determine the quality of your life for the decades ahead. Decide what you want to change, educate yourself about the options, and get support. Don’t accept conventional wisdom about what can and can’t heal. Much more is possible than you think.

The most important issues at this age are healing the metabolism and balancing hormones. What worked in your 20s, when your body was still geared toward growth and reproduction, no longer works. Women who have been on and off diets and up and down the scale for a couple of decades are almost always insulin resistant. Many also have burned out their adrenals from a combination of chronic stress, too much caffeine and too little sleep. The good news is that we are incredibly resilient: all of this can be healed. To get help right now, either click on the Book Now button to the right and let’s get started.

I Can’t Lose Weight!
Women at this age often complain that they don’t eat much but seem to gain weight anyhow, and losing weight seems impossible. If that’s your experience, you are not wrong, but you probably have a damaged metabolism. Healing your metabolism involves identifying and eliminating food sensitivities; balancing protein, carbs and fat every time you eat, according to your current state; reducing your toxic load, including nicotine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, and caffeine. And don’t depend on soy for protein. Soy suppresses the thyroid, causing further havoc with your hormones. By making consistently good choices you can heal your metabolism and become a more efficient fat-burner. We don’t get healthy by losing weight – we lose weight by getting healthy.

My Hormones Are Out of Whack!
Somewhere in their forties or fifties almost all women start to experience hormonal changes signaling the end of the reproductive years. Hormonal changes are responsible for many symptoms we associate with aging, including dryness, loss of flexibility, aching joints, thinning hair and plummeting libido. Instead of trying to replace estrogen directly, it’s better to lower cortisol, which is always in inverse relationship to estrogen (as testosterone is, for men). Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glad in response to stress, and stress hormones take precedence over all other hormones, so if you are stressed, your calming and reproductive hormones drop. Lowering cortisol helps bring all your hormones back into alignment. You can do that by: getting more sleep, reducing caffeine, practicing stress management, and taking Phosphatidyl Serine, a naturally occurring phospholipid, which reduces the cortisol response. PS also improves cognitive function and has been shown to reduce age related declines in memory, including name recall. It also helps you lose belly fat. Therapeutic doses of VItamin C help repair the adrenals and lower cortisol levels. There are so many nutritional changes and supplements you can use that will support your healing in this process. I can help you find the right ones from the hundreds that are available, and make sure you get the quality and dosage of supplement that will actually work for you.

Sleep It Off
Want to look and feel younger, lose weight, have more energy, improve your immune system and your heart health? Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night! It’s a myth that you need less sleep as you age. Sleep is the precious time when our body does repair and rebuilding. It’s also the time we stop producing cortisol, so sleep contributes to hormonal balance as well.

Turn Yourself Upside Down
Hot flashes? Night sweats? One of the best things you can do is inversions. There are many reasons to do yoga during these years, but headstands and shoulder stands are truly stellar. Start with 10 breaths, and work up to a count of 100. Don’t do these without warming up first, and if you’ve never done them, you’ll want to find an experienced yoga instructor to help you. In the meantime, you can lie on the floor with your legs vertical, against a wall, and small pillow under your lower back.

Find Your Still Point
Mind-body techniques such as visualization and meditation help us find the calm in the center of the storm. Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting in unmoving full lotus for an hour, nor does it mean not having any thoughts. There are many forms of meditation and you are bound to find one that suits you if you shop around. Many places, including my office, offer free classes, so compare styles and formats. And you can take a mini-vacation any time by simply taking a few deep breaths while thinking of something pleasurable, somewhere beautiful, or someone you love. To hear two examples of meditation that I teach and practice, click here. To find the next meditation class I am teaching, see the Events Calendar to the right.

Exercise Smarter, Not Harder
As we age, extended cardio is less effective for losing weight and maintaining health. You can lose more fat, support hormonal balance and increase energy by doing exercise “bursts.” Go all out for one minute and then let your heart rate return to normal. Repeat 3-8 times, 3 times a week, and you will produce more human growth hormone and testosterone, keys to lean muscle, and helpful for improved energy and libido. To get the best results in less than 20 minutes a week, and burst with no impact to your joints, I recommend the Xiser.

Make a Commitment to Yourself
Your forties, fifties and beyond can be a time of vibrant physical health, healthy sexuality and sensuality, and pleasure and delight in a full and active life. It all begins with making decisions that support you in thriving in your own wonderful life, and following through with them day by day. Ready to start now? Let me help you with an individualized program to heal your metabolism and rebalance your hormones. You don’t even know how much better you can feel!

Aging Ills Reversed in Mice – WSJ.com.  The subject of telomeres is fascinating, and one I have been following for several years. In fact I wrote my very first blog piece about telomeres!  When this will actually benefit humans in a safe and reliable way is still not foreseeable, but the potential is intriguing.

In the meantime, if you want to look and feel years younger, there is an approach that is safe, reliable and available right now.  Sign up for my 13 Week Success Program and you will improve your health, your appearance, your body composition (less fat, more lean muscle, better hydration), your energy, your focus, and more.  Why not start the New Year with a New You?

Top 7 Foods That Slow Your Aging.

Great article by Dr. Mercola.  Did you know he also studied with Dietrich Klinghardt, and incorporates much of Dr Klinghardt’s teaching in his principles?  I think this article is a great primer.

A few notes:

• See my article on protein shakes for my whey recommendations.
• I’m so glad he makes the point that you can not ingest glutathione directly. I see a lot of people wasting a lot of money on this expensive and relatively useless supplement. Instead, you must boost your body’s ability to manufacture glutathione, or use a top quality whey protein such as Whey Cool or PaleoMeal.
• I’m not as big a fan of nutritional types as Dr Mercola, but I do think it’s essential to individualize your eating for optimal health. That means identifying and eliminating hidden food sensitivities (most people have one or two) and healing your metabolism  if it has become damaged.  This is the fundamental work of my 13 Week Success Program.  Please also read my article on Food Sensitivities.
• When we had chickens in the backyard, I was more confident about eating their eggs raw. I hesitate to recommend this unless you are getting them very fresh from nearby uncaged healthy hens, and that’s hard to know for sure.  I do recommend eggs as a food though, and have been telling people for over 15 years that there has never been research showing that eating food that naturally contain cholesterol raises your cholesterol.  (Refined carbohydrates and processed food are much more likely to do that, by lowering your insulin sensitivity.)  So buy the healthiest local eggs you can find, and cook them lightly.
• My breakfast recommendation for almost all my clients is a customized shake with a cup of berries and a little bit of other fruit.  I often use cherries.  Another way to get your berries is to have them as a snack, with a little bit of coconut milk and some nuts or seeds. Delicious and nutrient-dense.
• Chlorella is truly marvelous.  I am using it extensively in protocols for Lyme and heavy metal detox. It is extremely gentle and safe, even for pregnant and nursing moms, and very effective.  It comes in very tiny tablets, easy enough for even kids to swallow, or in powder.
• I would add Chia Seed to this list of SuperFoods.  Chia is a nutrient dense powerhouse that provides protein, omega 3s, fiber, and calcium.  It can be used many ways. I put it in my shake, and soak it with some almond milk and xylitol to make a pudding, but it can be added to just about anything.  You may have heard of the best seller Born to Run: chia is the “magic potion” the runners take to improve their endurance and stamina as they age.

I hope you find at least a couple of bits of information here that help you boost your health and well-being. And of course, as always, if you would like some help figuring out the best way to do that for you, please get in touch!

Read my article, plus an interview with 2 of my wonderful clients, as featured in the The Times Herald Record on December 23, 2009.

Can Going Gluten Free Change Your Life?

Goodbye to Gluten: Two Who Feel ‘So Much Better’

From Fran’s column, Holistic Outlook, in The Times Herald Record.

Is it true that, for women, aging means gaining weight, lost libido, thinning hair and increasing aches, pains and physical woes? Absolutely not! This can be a wonderful time of life, if women learn to take care of themselves as well as they’ve taken care of everyone else in the decades before.

These are the years when lifestyle choices really pay off — the great ones and the not-so-good ones. It’s time to make the changes that determine the quality of your life for the decades ahead. Don’t accept conventional wisdom about what can and can’t heal. Much more is possible than you think.
Related Stories

“I can’t lose weight!”
Women at this age often complain that they don’t eat much but gain weight anyhow, and losing weight seems impossible. If that’s your experience, you probably have a damaged metabolism. One key is identifying hidden food sensitivities. You can become a more efficient fat-burner if you remember that we don’t get healthy by losing weight — we lose weight by getting healthy.

“My hormones are out of whack!”
Somewhere in their 40s or 50s, women experience hormonal changes signaling the end of the reproductive years. These are responsible for many symptoms we associate with aging, including dryness, loss of flexibility, aching joints, thinning hair and plummeting libido.

Instead of trying to replace estrogen directly, it’s better to lower cortisol, which is always in inverse relationship to estrogen. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. Since stress hormones take precedence over other hormones, calming and reproductive hormones drop. Lowering cortisol helps bring your hormones back into alignment. You can do that by: getting more sleep, reducing caffeine, practicing stress management and taking targeted supplements.

Sleep it off
Want to look and feel younger, lose weight, have more energy, improve both your immune system and your heart health? Get eight hours of sleep a night! It’s myth that you need less sleep as you age. Sleep is when our body does repair and rebuilding. It’s also the time we stop producing cortisol, so sleep contributes to hormonal balance as well.

Turn yourself upside down
Hot flashes? Night sweats? Do inversions. There are many reasons to do yoga during these years, but headstands and shoulder stands are truly stellar. If you’ve never done inversions, work first with a qualified yoga instructor.

On your own, you can simply lie on the floor with your legs vertical, against a wall, and a small pillow under your lower back. Slowly work up to holding the pose for 100 breaths.

Always seek the advice of a qualified health-care professional before undertaking any physical, dietary or lifestyle changes.

Find your still point
Visualization and meditation help us find the calm in the center of the storm. Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting unmoving in full lotus for an hour, nor does it mean not having thoughts. There are many different forms. You can take a minivacation any time by simply taking a few deep breaths while thinking of something pleasurable, somewhere beautiful or someone you love.

Exercise smarter, not harder
As we age, extended cardio is less effective for losing weight or maintaining health. Do “bursts” to lose fat, support hormonal balance and increase energy. Go all-out for one minute and then let your heart rate return to normal. Repeat four to six times a day, three times a week, to increase human growth hormone and testosterone — keys to lean muscle and helpful for improved energy and libido.

Make a commitment to yourself

Your 40s, 50s and beyond can be a time of vibrant physical health, healthy sexuality and sensuality, and pleasure and delight in a full and active life. It all begins with making decisions that support you in thriving in your own wonderful life, and following through with them day by day.