Dr. Ritamarie’s Then and Now – Birthday Thoughts and Remembering Mom

April 4 was my birthday.  Ironically, on this same day my mom gave me life she also took her last breath – back in 1991.

As a result, celebrating my birthday is bitter sweet.

I get to celebrate another year of life, joy and abundant health, a career that is fulfilling beyond belief and a wonderful family I love and cherish deeply.

I also get to celebrate my mom with gratitude to her for the gift of life and with a pang of sadness that she is no longer with us “in the flesh”.  As a result of losing both parents at a young age, I have learned to deeply cherish connecting to those I love and let them know regularly.

My birthday celebration was joyful.  My kids got me cards that would bring a tear to any mother’s eyes, filled with expressions of appreciation and love.   Here I am with my almost teenager, Kevin.  Luckily he’s still a cuddler.

We were joined by dear friends at Beets Café in Austin, a fantastic living foods restaurant, for a delicious celebration meal.

I feel so blessed and thankful.

In celebration of my birthday, and in honor of my mother, whose life might been saved  had she been guided to the diet and lifestyle choices that restore and create vibrant health,   I’ve put together some gifts and special offers, as a token of appreciation to you for allowing me to live my passion.

There are two products I’m offering for free and many more at huge discounts.

The special Birthday Party Discounts are available until the end of my birthday week, Friday, April 8, at midnight so hurry and get access to some amazing products and services.

I am even offering an introductory consultation with me for 55% off to the first 10 who sign up.

Dr. Ritamarie’s Birthday Gifts for YOU

With Love and gratitude,

Dr. Ritamarie

P.S.  Let me know if you think my baby picture looks like me.  Comment below.

Reduce Belly Fat and Brain Fog Strategy2: The Magic of Burst Training Exercise

In a previous post I discussed  7 of my favorite strategies for reducing brain fog and reducing excess belly fat.  These are:

1. Get a handle on stress.
2. Burst exercise
3. Regulate your Blood Sugar
4. Eat a Nutrient dense diet rich in whole, raw plant foods and test nutrient levels and function regularly
5. Balance  Your Immune system, avoid allergens and eat a Gluten Free Diet
6. Get sufficient high quality  Sleep
7. Incorporate regular Cleansing and Detoxification, like a 7 day green cleanse every quarter.

As you know, I am a big fan of exercise. Not only do I LOVE to move my body and work up a sweat, I recognize just how important it is as a  vibrant health solution.

I all too often see people who are struggling with their health, in spite of eating a pretty clean and nutritious diet.

When I ask them about their exercise, they often reply,”Exercise? I don’t have time for exercise!”

Let me ask you this. If you were building a house would you follow standard protocols for housebuilding and include all the parts needed to create a sturdy house, like foundation, sub-flooring, floor, studs, wall boards, sheet-rock, roof…etc?

Or would you decide you didn’t have time to put in the wall beams and go right to sheet-rock? Unlikely! The house would lose some of it’s integrity if you did. In fact, it would most likely fall down with a huff and a puff just like the first two houses in the 3 little pigs story.

When you are working on building or rebuilding a strong and healthy body, you CAN’T omit any of the important ingredients.

Exercise, unfortunately, is the one that falls by the wayside most quickly.

BUSY PERSON’S GUIDE TO EXERCISE

One of the best ways to get started is what’s called burst training.

Burst training has become one of my absolute favorite methods of exercise.  What this entails is short bursts, between 30 and 60 seconds, of extremely intense exercise.  It needs to be at intensity that you cannot continue past 60 seconds.  I prefer 30 second bursts.

Research shows that 30 seconds of full out exercise to the point of panting induces the equivalent amount of growth hormone as does 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.  The good news is that the growth hormone surge lasts up to 90 minutes.  Growth hormone, in a nutshell, it stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration.  It stimulates the building of muscle and the burning of fat.  Burst training is also good at regulating blood sugar and insulin levels

In a nutshell, research has shown that 30 seconds of maximum intensity exercise increases growth hormone and decreases insulin as effectively as 30 minutes of aerobics. An added benefit is that growth hormone stays elevated for 90 minutes.

The TIMER SYSTEM FOR EXERCISE

I set a timer to go off every hour to remind me to do 1 minute of exercise. The first 15 seconds is warm up, the next 30-40 seconds are all out full intensity that leaves me panting and then a cool down of 10 – 15 seconds.

My favorite bursts are my small stair climber and running up and down the stairs with a 10 pound medicine ball. My video will show you how I do it.

The other day I also decided I would like to be able to do 100 push-ups without stopping. Right now I can get to 29.

SO what I do is as many push-ups as I can several times throughout the day. For the past three days, while on a green cleanse, I’ve done between 100 and 110 push-ups each day.

Start with doing as many as you can. Decide what your goal is and do that many throughout the day. Your strength will increase the more you keep it up. Each exercise session is short and sweet. You can fit it into even the busiest schedule.

Another resource for getting started on an exercise program is a new virtual event called  “Women Getting Fit”

I’ve been invited to be part of this unique series, organized by my friend Michelle Melendez, a personal trainer and fitness instructor.

I met Michelle at a holistic practitioners seminar and was impressed by how fit she looks as well as her passion to get people moving.

The event is free and runs from March 8 through April 14. There are 2 calls a week, so you can easily fit it into your busy schedule.  My talk is scheduled for March 17.

Michelle Melendez, the founder of  the “Women Getting Fit” Wellness Teleseries, starts off the event with “Three Big MistakesYou Make When Starting An Exercise Program.

Love, health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

P.S. The best way to start an exercise program is to just DO IT.

Start with 5 minutes a day and increase at your own pace.

Get motivated, educated and inspired so you can start an exercise program you love!

Today’s Question:

What’s your favorite form of movement?

Eating for Hormone Health: New Hope for Hormone Imbalance

I’m excited to be doing a talk in New Jersey this week on Eating for Hormone Health.

Karen Ranzi, author of “Creating Healthy Children” is hosting me.

Here are the details.

If you live in the area, come on by.

Eating for Hormone Balance

The Secrets to Staying Young and Vibrant At Any Age

With Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, MS, DC, CCN, DACBN

How to Nourish Your Hormones and Keep Yourself Strong, Safe and Healthy Your Whole Life Through.

In this Inspirational talk, You’ll learn:

• Who all the members of your hormone family are and how you can keep them balanced and humming
• The role of your digestion,emotions and your environment in keeping your hormones balanced and safe.
• How balancing your hormone starting as early as in your 20’s leads to improved vitality and strength in your later decades — the untold secret to seeing more life ahead of you than behind you.
• The 5 foods you MUST eat and the 5 foods You MUST avoid for hormone health
• How stress effects your hormones —and techniques for protecting yourself from the dangers of being in fight-flight mode daily
• How nutrients effect hormone balance, and why synthetic nutrients can be dangerous
• The importance of sleep in protecting you from hormone-related cancers.
• How hormones are disrupted by the environment and essential secrets in protecting yourself.

In her fun and exuberant style, Dr. Ritamarie shares her passion for vibrant health and her secrets for creating for herself more strength and stamina in her 50’s than she experienced in her 20’s. There’ll be ample time for questions and answers.

For over 2 decades, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo has been a student and practitioner of natural health and whole fresh food diets as a path to wellness. Her success in recovering from chronic fatigue and lifestyle induced health challenges prompted

As a doctor of chiropractic certified in acupuncture, clinical nutrition and herbal medicine, Dr. Ritamarie empowers powerful transformation and vibrant health in busy people worldwide. Through her coaching programs, nutrition consultations and books, Dr. Ritamarie touches countless lives with her message of self-healing. Visit her website www.FreshnFunLiving.com for lots of resources, recipes and valuable information.

Thursday August 5, 2010 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Ramsey, New Jersey (201) 934-6778

Investment in your health: $20 in advance, $25 at the door

To register contact Karen at karen@superhealthychildren.com

Stress Management for Adrenal Fatigue and Hormone Imbalance

Do you have techniques in place for management of chronic stress, or does your stress manage you?

Are you like I used to be…a stress bunny…always feeling overwhelmed and worrying about this or that?

I have an active mind and I’m always juggling many projects along with my own health rituals.  I learned over 2 decades ago how food adds to the stress burden and I healed myself from chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, chronic sinusitis and debilitating headaches by conquering my stress demons.  My personal demons were related to food and attitude.  Do you know what yours are?

Adopting a plant based mostly raw high green diet, regular detoxification and learning the the attitude of gratitude allowed me to escape the grip of my stress demons and become the healthy, vibrant, energetic and happy person I am today.

Just last week, I was interviewed for the telesummit, “20 Fun, Easy & Effective Ways to Reduce & Manage Stress” and I shared my strategies for transforming stress using cleansing, detoxification and the art of appreciation.  It will be aired on Sunday July 25,  I’m sharing the stage with 19 other top self help professionals, including Dr. Bernie Siegel, best selling author of “Love, Medicine and Miracles”.

I’m really excited about it because all of the life changing talks are at NO COST to you.  Take a look at the lineup and I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s worth the time investment.  You can pick and choose the events you’d like to hear.  Each day between today and next Monday, there will be 3 talks aired and you’ll have 24 hours to listen for free.

There are 3 fabulous meditation digital audios  given away as free bonuses when you signup for the free Stress Reduction Summit. You can play these  in the background while you work to reduce stress.  It’s a great way to reduce adrenal fatigue.

http://www.drritamarie.com/go/StressSummit

It’s amazzing how quickly you can restore your energy by addressing your own stress demons.  I am so excited to be part of the Premier Stress Summit and the gifted authors and healers who are donating their time to sharing their strategies.My interview was filled with valuable tips and I know the others will be too. Conquering the stress demons is a critical part of getting your hormones and neurotransmitters balanced so you can live your life joyfully, youthfully and full of energy.

Love, Health and Joy to you,

Dr. Ritamarie
http://www.drritamarie.com/go/StressSummit

Adrenal Fatigue: Tips to Restoring Your Energy and Your Health

Do you ever wake in in the morning, even after a long night of sleep, only to feel sluggish and wishing you had another few hours to rest?

This is one of many signs of adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue is a common condition in our fast paced, stressed out society.

Your adrenal glands are your body’s mechanism for responding to stressful situations.  In the olden days, this meant getting chased by a tiger or dealing with severe cold without shelter or proper clothing.

Fortunately for us, tigers and lack of clothing are not problems we deal with on a regular basis.

Unfortunately we have our own modern day tigers, and they chase some of us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Modern Day Tigers that Stress Your Adrenals

• Deadlines at work?
• Juggling kids schedules with your own?
• Worry about the economy?
• A sick parent or child?
• An unreasonable boss?

Whatever it is, the response is similar to a real tiger chasing you.  Your adrenal glands step into action and do what they do best…shift you into what is often called “fight/flight mode”, and in scientific terms, “sympathetic nervous system dominance”.

In hyper vigilant adrenal state, your heart rate increases, your respiration quickens and the blood supply to your brain and vital organs decreases and is sent to your extremities…so you can run away or fight.

In addition, your digestive track activity decreases and the sphincters– the valves between sections of the digestive tract– tighten.  This is to protect you from needing to use the bathroom in the middle of running away from or fighting a tiger.

Translate this into modern life.  If you find yourself stressed out and worried quite a bit of the time, you increase your risk of indigestion, constipation, gas and bloating as well as heart and circulation problems due to prolonged increased heart rate.

Oh, and I forgot to mention.  In fight flight mode, your sex drive goes away, too.

Doesn’t help to be having lustful thoughts when you’re trying to get away from that tiger.  On a biochemical level, the same chemical molecules that make the adrenal hormone cortisol, which gets elevated under stress, are also needed to make estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, all needed for libido and reproductive function.

Another problem with cortisol is that in excess it can cause damage to your mitochondria, the energy producing mechanisms in each of your cells.  Cortisol also damages your hippocampus, the part of your brain that helps with short term memory.  Ever walk into a room, only to forget what you went there for?  That’s likely because your hippocampus has been impeded by the cortisol you produced when you were stressed out.

Yikes!  SO if this is you, what can you do to fix things?

In my over two decades of clinical practice, I’ve seem many cases of adrenal burnout and the damages caused by chronic stress.

Fortunately there are actions you can take reverse the damage and repair your adrenal glands.  But if you keep getting stressed out, you’ll be a lot like a hamster on a wheel….working hard but never getting anywhere. Repairing your adrenals and transforming your response to stress take some time and retraining, and the transformations you experience when you do can be miraculous.

3 Tips for Combating Adrenal Fatigue

1- Learn stress management and stress transformation techniques. One of my favorites is called Heart Math, and uses a combination of deep breathing, focusing on your heart and feeling appreciation.  It completely changed my life.  I did a 90 minute stress transformation teleseminar a couple of years ago that guided the participants through the process and the response was dramatic.

2- Nourish your adrenals. Did you know that 80% of the vitamin C used in your body is used by your adrenal glands?  Excessive stress depletes your vitamin C stores and can lead to allergies, poor wound healing, easy bruising and increased susceptibility for colds, flu and other infectious disease?  Your adrenals also use lots of B vitamins, especially pantothenic acid and B6.  That’s why a lot of B complex formulas are called Stress formulas.  Eating a whole foods, high raw, high green diet will ensure you have adequate intake of nutrients to maintain your adrenals when they are brought back to normal;however, when you’re in the mode of recovery, supplementation is often needed.

3- Support your body’s detoxification systems by periodic cleansing. Face it, eating on the run, making even occasional poor food choices and being stressed out impair your liver’s ability to do it’s job of cleansing.  One of my favorite ways to cleanse my body is with green  smoothies. Even though I eat really healthfully, exercise on a regular basis, and do my Heart Math exercises daily, I’m not perfect.  I still get stressed out sometimes, I’m exposed to toxins and I eat on the run more often than I’d like.

I personally do a Green Cleanse at least quarterly by taking a week off eating and just drinking green smoothies or juices for 7 days.  I am always amazed at how much more energy I have when I do this.  That’s why every 3 months, I lead a group green smoothie cleanse.  I have hundreds of success stories from people who feel they got their life back after a green cleanse.  This time around I’ve added a new component – daily interactive journals.  The details about the cleanse, go to my Green Smoothie Cleanse Website.

If you’ve already done a green cleanse or a short cleanse and are ready to take it to the next level, I suggest you do a deep tissue detox like my Six Week Deep Tissue Detox or something similar.

Bedtime and Wake-up Rituals for Adrenal Fatigue Support

One last tip for rebuilding your adrenals – create supportive bedtime and morning rituals that re-establishes
your circadian rhythm. Here’s a starting set that I recommend to my adrenal fatigue patients:

1. Shut off all electronics within an hour of bedtime.
2. Eat your last meal within 3 hours of bedtime.
3. Fill a 16 ounce glass with pure water and the juice of 1 lemon and put it by your bedside.
4. Find 3 things to appreciate before you fall asleep.
5. Find 3 things to appreciate before you get out of bed.
6. Drink the water as soon as you get up.
7. As soon as you get up, go outside and get 5 – 15 minutes of sun, even if the sun is not out.  Face in the direction of the sun and sip your water.

Get going on these habits, cleanse regularly and master the Heart Math techniques and you’ll soon be bouncing out of
bed in the morning with vim, vigor and enthusiasm for life.

I hope to meet you soon on a green smoothie cleanse.

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie