Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Annmarie and Kevin Gianni to Visit Austin for a Potluck at Dr. Ritamarie's

I'm thrilled and excited to welcome a very special couple to Austin. They have been spreading the message of vibrant health through self care for several years, and have done a wonderful job of bringing together experts in the field of nutrition and fitness. Now they are traveling the nation in a vegetable powered RV by the name of Kale Whale, spreading the word of the healing powers of fresh whole, green and alive plant foods.

On March 18, 2009, Kevin and Annmarie Gianni of Renegade Health will be making a special guest appearance in Austin for a raw potluck and a presentation.

Kevin and Ann Marie have been spreading the word of health through green living foods and self care to tens of thousands of people via their daily video blog and expert interviews.

Please join me in welcoming Kevin and Annmarie to Austin and hear all about their exciting cross country journey.

To sign-up, and learn about the healing power of raw and living foods, share a meal and be inspired by Kevin and Annmarie, go to www.drritamarie.com/meetup

I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

http://www.FreshnFunLiving.com

"Creating Vibrant Health One Bite at a Time"

(c) 2009 Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, MS, DC, CCN, DACBN

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Exciting News For You if You Have Chronic Fatigue, Adrenal Exhaustion or Would Just Like to Have More Energy

Have you ever thought about things you might be doing if you just had more time and energy to get to them?

Did you ever wish you were one of those people who could jump out of bed every morning, enthusiastic about starting a new day?

Perhaps you've been struggling with fatigue and exhaustion for as long as you can remember, or maybe you're just feeling a little more tired than you used to and you'd like to have more energy for living your life with purpose and pleasure.

Either way, I have some very important news for you.

I'm going to do my best to contain my excitement here, but quite frankly, that's hard to do. You see, to say that I'm passionate about what I'm about to tell you would be an understatement.

Maybe you've been told that it's "normal" to be less than boundlessly energetic at "your age". Or perhaps you've been told that you have chronic fatigue, or fibromyalgia, or hormone imbalances or low thyroid or depression or adrenal fatigue, and you'll just have to learn to live with it, or take medication to keep it from getting worse.

The good news (or should I say GREAT news) is that you have within you the ability to make it better. You see, it's not your fault. You just haven't been given the tools and the guidance to uncover the underlying causes of your fatigue. You haven't been taught how to fix your broken energy producing systems and regain your vim, vigor and lust for living.

Vibrant Energy is Yours for The Asking When You Apply Dr. Ritamarie's Simple, Proven Strategy

I've coached many people, possibly even some just like you, who are so grateful to be really living again, and accomplishing things they never thought possible.

Like the 33 year old woman who spent her days on the couch, unable to do even the simplest of tasks, like making lunch, without becoming exhausted. Now she is a highly paid IT consultant, takes art classes and teaches communication seminars on weekends. Talk about getting your life back.

Or the special education teacher with fatigue related to thyroid problems, who's cysts have shrunk and thyroid tests begun to normalize. Oh, yeah, she's now teaching the power of fresh whole foods to her friends and colleagues. Plus she's taking classes so that she can become a health educator and counselor and help others just as she's been helped.

HIPAA regulations (privacy in medicine) prevent me from revealing their names in public, but their stories and those of hundreds of others like them, fill the file cabinets in my office.

You'll be amazed to hear that the answers are quite simple

1- Identify and Remove the underlying causes of your fatigue

2- Repair the damage that's been caused by these causes

3- Add back in the diet and lifestyle factors that have been missing and balance what's out of balance

4- Create a support structure to insure that your new habits stick with you for life

Chances Are You've Heard the Expression "You ARE What You Eat!"

But have you ever really thought about it?

The foods that you eat make a huge difference in your quality of life. But what are the right foods?

Identifying the right foods for YOU is an important part of solving the puzzle, but there's more. Just eating the right foods doesn't guarantee that you're digesting and absorbing the right foods. And if you don't get the nutrients INTO your cells, you can't extract the energy from them, and you'll still be tired. To get the nutrients into your cells requires optimizing your digestion, immune system and hormonal systems, as well as enjoying low stress mealtimes.

And I'm not just preaching at you. About 25 years ago, I was like just like most of you. I was fueling myself on caffeine and sugar, burning the candle at both ends, and was plagued by nagging symptoms like sinus congestion, heartburn, headaches and fatigue. My weight fluctuated weekly, as I yo-yo'ed between the latest fad diet and binging till it hurt. Quite frankly I was a mess.

It was really frustrating, until I discovered the connection between what I was eating and how I was living my life and how I was feeling. I experimented for years, devouring every book, tape and article I could find on health and nutrition. I was determined to fix my broken body, and after I did, I gave up my successful career in high tech and went back to school to earn the privilege of helping others to repair theirs too.

Using whole, fresh, plant based foods, mostly alive and raw, in proper proportion for my body's unique needs, along with detoxification, stress transformation methods, exercise, attitude and a green environment, I completely transformed my health. Now, in my fifties, I have boundless energy without any caffeine and I lead a joyous and fulfilling life, showing others to do the same.

The Cure is Right Under Your Nose

It's in the kitchen, the bedroom and at the office. It's at your local grocers, in your garden and at the park. It's literally all around you, in the activities you do EVERY day. And it's not exactly rocket science, but because you've been so inundated by the wrong messages, that it's hard to see it clearly.

The hardest part about overcoming your health and energy challenges is that almost everyone around you is stuck in "wrong thinking". They're still believing that what you eat, drink, breathe and thing has no effect on how you feel, so they're stuck in the old patterns.

When you decide to get unstuck, you need to get the right support guidance, not only to get you started, but to keep you on path, even when everyone else around you is doing it differently.

Once you experience my 7 step process, you'll have learned the habits that will make you feel like you actually DID trade in your tired, used body for an energetic new one.

Your friends will be asking you what you're doing (and you'll be excited to share).

I'll soon be announcing a teleseminar called "New Hope for Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms and Chronic Exhaustion: A 7-Step System for Identifying and Eliminating Your Energy Zapper" The exact time and date will be announced here in a couple of days.

What I learned in my process is that it's important to have support and guidance when you're working on improving your health. If you wanted to learn to play an instrument or play a new sport, chances are you'd work with a mentor. Why should it be any different with your health?

I'm really excited to be working with an amazing group of women, dedicated to taking charge of their health and creating energy, purpose and comfort in their lives.

We kick off on Monday February 23. There are 2 spots left and I'd love to fill them with fun and dedicated women who want to create vibrant energy and optimal health..

The purpose of the 90 day program you can join these courageous women on is to show you how to uncover the underlying causes of your low energy or sub-optimal health. Throughout our 90 days together you’ll be systematically guided through assessment of all your major organ and glandular systems.

You’ll be shown how to balance and optimize your hormones, rest/movement cycles, digestion, detoxification system, immune system, neurotransmitters and stress response and cellular energy metabolism.

You’ll be guided to make diet and lifestyle changes at your own pace. You’ll be shown how to determine the correct foods for your body, including not only what to eat, but when to eat as well.

You’ll get in touch with just how much you’re missing out on because your health is not the best it can be, and be gently guided to take action and create a life that brings you comfort, joy and fulfilling relationships.

At the end of our 90 days together you’ll feel a renewed sense of well being and experience a level of energy that far exceeds what you experience today…without the use of stimulants.

As a result you’ll see improvements in your relationships, your work performance and your participation in recreational activities. You’ll be playing more often with your kids or grandkids, if you have them.

You’ll have the energy to socialize and have fun in the evenings instead of crashing in front of the TV, or into bed.

You’ll find yourself less snappy and irritable and thus enjoy your relationships more.

You’ll be leaner and more fit, and able to make decisions and focus more easily.

You’ll be celebrating reaching the 90 day bold goal that you’ll set at the outset of the program.

You can claim your spot at http://www.drritamarie.com/90DaysToVibrantEnergy.htm

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

The Women's Fatigue Expert and Vibrant Health Mentor

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Fatigue, Exhaustion and Adrenal Burnout: Cause for Alarm or A call to Action?

Feeling tired a lot of the time? Wishing you had the energy to make it past the have-to's on your list and get to do the want-to's?

You're not alone. Some sources report that up to 50% of all visits to the doctor are for symptoms of fatigue, exhaustion and mental sluggishness. In all my years of practice, I've found that just about everyone I see wishes that they had more energy and less fatigue related symptoms.

I'll be writing a lot about fatigue and exhaustion, including adrenal fatigue symptoms and "brain fog", in the coming weeks. I'll be reviewing the causes, symptoms and treatment approaches.

Tip of the Day: Avoid Energy Zapping Foods: Unfortunatley, most of the foods in the standard American Diet, sometimes known as the SAD diet, are energy zappers. Here are a few that you'd be best served to avoid.

1- Refined sugar disrupts the mitochondria, the cellular energy powerhouses, by robbing them of the B-vitamins and minerals they need to convert sugar to energy. While you might feel a temporary high from sugar containing foods, you’ll notice that you quickly experience post sugar fatigue symptoms, and you reach for more.

2- Refined flour , whether it's wheat or gluten free white rice, refined flour has been stripped of its B- vitamins and has a similar effect to that of refined sugar.

3- Caffeine whips your cells into action, without actually providing any nourishment. The result is a post caffeine fatigue, followed by the urge to consume more to get your energy back up, albeit artificially and temporarily.

4- Alcohol disrupts the mitochondria, stresses the liver and damages brain cells. Does this sound like a prescription for improving your energy and mental clarity?

5- Trans fats, also known as hydrogenated fats and oxidized fats are probably the most damaging of all. They create free radical damage to blood vessels, disrupt the DNA, create cell membranes that are more rigid and thus less able to transport nutrients into the cells and wastes out. This leaves your cells sluggish and toxic. Oxidized fats also disrupt your immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to infection. I'm sure you know from experience how exhausted you get from infectious illnesses.

ACTION PLAN: for more energy and less adrenal fatigue symptoms, pick one energy zapping food that you 've been eating and ZAP it out of your diet. Make your way through the list one at a time, making suitable, energy enhancing substitutions (more in a later post) . You'll probably notice an energy boost almost immediately.

Comment below and let me know which one you're choosing first. Then write back in a few days and let me know how it's going.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Creator of the 90 days to Vibrant Energy Program

"Creating Vibrant Health, One Bite at a Time"

www.FreshnFunLiving.com

Austin, Texas 78730

© 2008 Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo. MS, DC, CCN, DACBN All Rights Reserved.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Art as a Therapy for Adrenal Fatigue

I used to do a lot of water color painting, but I haven't painted in a long time. In fact, I haven't picked up a brush in many months. I started the painting to the left over a year ago, and it's still not finished. When I took classes, not only did I paint each week during class, but I was so excited about what I was working on that I'd set aside time during my week to paint.

It really helped me to have a mentor to guide me through the process. Weekly exposure to new techniques helped me to progress at a steady pace. I stopped going to the classes so I could save on travel time and expense, thinking I'd just paint at home, and have even more time to do it. That was a big mistake.

In spite of putting a three hour block of time on my calendar each week for painting, I just never seemed to get around to it. Some excuse or another came up and kept me from doing an activity that brings me so much joy and peace.

It just hit me that I need a mentor or I'll just keep letting the excuses and the pace of life deprive me of the pleasure that art brings me. I've started looking at local art classes through community centers and schools, and I'm planning to get into a class soon. I love creative expression, and I also know how good it is for me. I even started to look at online art classes, too, to see if that's a possibility. I just need some structure and routine to get me started and keep me going.

As I was contemplating the art dilemma, it suddenly hit me. The struggles that my patients and students have with sticking to health enhancing habits are very similar to mine when it comes to making time for art.

Having a mentor , attending classes and keeping in touch with others on the same path makes it so much easier to stick with the program. Getting support is one of the most critical components of any program that requires learning new techniques and having consistent follow-through. Making a commitment to someone else , rather than to just yourself is a great way to ensure success.

If you get support on a regular basis, your healthy choices will just naturally flow and it will get easier. That explains the fabulous results I hear from the participants in my 1 week green cleanse program. The regular reminders, teleseminars and forum keep everyone connected and on track.

In the 7 step coaching process I use with my private clients and patients, getting support is a big piece of the program. In addition to my coaching, I encourage them to create a support structure to help them stay on track when it gets rough. That may involve an accountability partner, attending potlucks, joining a mastermind group or participating in online forums. The results of 12 step programs for addiction hinge strongly on the support of having a sponsor and going to meetings. Why should it be any different as you upgrade lifelong habits to those that support your vibrant health.

I'm determined to get back on track with my art. How determined are you to experience maximum energy and vibrant well-being?

Please comment below and let me know. And I'll keep you posted about my art progress. Make a comitment this week to do one thing consistently everyday that you KNOW will result in more energy and improved health. Your adrenal glands will love it, and it will go a long way towards helping you beat chronic exhaustion and the tired, mentally foggy feeling that keeps you from experiencing the level of joy and fulfillment you want and deserve.

Don't try to make too many changes...just pick one and do it consistently every day this week.

How about eating something green at every meal? Or drinking 2-3 cups of pure water in the morning, before you eat anything? Are you drinking at least one green smoothie every day? Have you been wanting to try

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Raw Foods Teacher Training by Karen Knowler

Karen Knowler is offering a FR^EE teleseminar called "How to Design and Create a Raw Food Class that Fills Up Every Time!"

She has me intrigued, and I'll be attending even though I've taught dozens and dozens of classes, quite effectively and successfully. I'm of the belief that I can always learn more, so I registered for Karen's class. After all, it's FR^E^E.

I've worked with Karen in the past, and learned a LOT about business from her. She's bright, lively and fun to be around.

Karen asks: "Are you ready to learn how to create, market, fill and teach raw food classes that you love to teach, that delight your audience over and over again AND enable you to create or enhance your living?"

If your answer is YES, then this teleclass is for YOU!

It happens on Wednesday Feb 4 at 3PM Central time. It will be recorded in case you can't make it. But you need to register to get the recording. For details and to sign-up, go to

http://www.drritamarie.com/KarenKnowler

I've already reserved my spot.

Here's the link again:

http://www.drritamarie.com/KarenKnowler