Belle’s Isagenix Body Transformation

My transformationMy Isagenix Goals:


My goal with starting Isagenix was to lose body fat around my mid-section – you can see my physical changes in the pics above. I began my body transformation in July 2015, little did I realise that it would transform my mind and my thinking as well. After being on the Isagenix clean eating program for five months at the writing of this post, I have finally found a new respect for my body and for me as a person. I am enjoying the increased energy I have, the brain clarity, and my new leaner and stronger body.

Each month brought a new self-realisation for me to acknowledge and accept myself, and what began as a quest to “lose weight”, saw me gaining self confidence, self awareness and the abiity to let go of more than just fat.

To go from a woman who would yawn her way thru the afternoon, and struggle to pull herself from the couch to cook dinner each evening, to a woman bursting with energy, waking with the sun most mornings, and having the clarity of mind to continue studying well into the evening – it is a miracle.

The Program:

Isagenix has not been a “quick fix” or a “simple solution” for me – even though the program is simple enough: drink 2 protein smoothies per day, choose high protein snacks and enjoy a 400-600 calorie meal once per day.
PLUS Cleanse the body for 24hrs one day per week to help boost metabolism and give my digestive system a rest.

The reason it wasn’t “easy” is because I have a long and committed history around negative associations with food. For me food has been a comfort, a reward, a punishment, a safety, a security and a refuge. Isagenix has helped balance my body’s hormones to a point where I rarely crave chocolate or ice cream, and if I do eat them I don’t feel very good afterwards. Eating well has become a priority to me, rather than eating really expensive and indulgent chocolate! The program has given me the nutrition to physically beat the bad habits, while I release the mental self sabotage that goes along with my eating. This takes time – and I wouldn’t say I am “fixed” yet, but I am well on the way to where I want to be.

Most people I know have trouble doing Cleanse Days and I am no exception. The idea of depriving myself of food really scared me, because I had an irrational fear that not eating for 24hrs equalled dying of starvation.  However the support from my Sponsor and the Isagenix online community helped me make it thru my first one – and the next and the next. Just knowing there are so many people on Facebook groups ready and willing to support me is amazing. It has defnitely been a part of my success. Now I look forward to Cleanse days, especially after the holiday season or a particularly big night (YES you can still indulge occaisionally whilst on the program, the beauty of it is, you won’t indulge nearly as much as you used to!).

me meditating
Are YOU ready for change this year?

This is the most important question you may be asked. The answer you give will determine if you are going to smash the program or succumb to another round of self defeating thoughts and habits.
The Isagenix program will nourish your body, detox you gently at a cellular level, improve your energy and increase mental clarity. Everyone knows your weight is governed by 80% of what you eat and 20% of how you move. The easy part is ordering your first 30 Day Nutritional Cleanse System, the harder part is allowing yourself the opportunity to really give it a go.

contact me today and get ready to see massive changes in your body and mind 

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Do we expect too much from our men in the birthing suite?

As a prenatal massage therapist of nigh on twenty years, it has been my privilege to work with thousands of women in all stages of their pregnancies. Each woman is approaching the birth of her child (whether it be her first or fourth) with the same thoughts and sometimes worries, “how is it going to go?” and “I hope my man can cope”.

Birthing has traditionally been “women’s business”. The term ‘midwife’ is actually from the Old English original word being spelled ‘wif’, meaning woman and ‘mid’ meaning ‘with’. Therefore the word actually means “to be with a woman”. To be a midwife is to be with a woman during birthing. Therefore technically men can in fact be midwives, (so it shouldn’t be so unusual to meet a male midwife!) but just because they can, does it mean they should?

In the old days women laboured at home surrounded by close family members or friends and usually an experienced midwife. Meanwhile their husband would be shuttled away to another part of the house or yard, kept at a distance whilst their baby made their way into the world. Predominantly prior to the 1930’s birthing was usually out of a hospital attended by a female midwife. Increasingly in the latter part of the eighteenth century male physicians are reported to have begun attending births for the aristocracy in America and England.

As so often happens with “progress” common sense was left by the wayside, as it was only once labouring women were given access to hospital that women began to labour alone for long periods by themselves. Interestingly whilst they laboured alone in hospital beds, they were being cared for sporadically by midwives who were overseen by a male doctor. I remember talking to my grandmother about her birthing experience back in 1946 and she left me in open-mouthed disbelief  as she recounted labouring alone on a hospital bed being told to “quiet down” as she muffled her birth noises with each contraction. Having attended a number of births myself, and gently massaging a labouring mama’s back, or whispering words of encouragement in her ear, I can only imagine the fear that my grandmother must have felt. To be alone, in pain and uncertain of the process of birth would have been more than I could have handled. There were no Dr Google searches or YouTube birthing videos to watch and prepare oneself back in the day. There was no “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” books or labouring techniques to read about. Women ventured into an unknown world of birthing with only the stories of other women to put the fear of God in their minds and hearts.

Once the pendulum began to swing the other way in the late 1960’s and 1970’s birthing with a partner in hospital started to become more common, which paved the way for a husband to begin to join in the action.

In some maternity waiting rooms lovingly referred to as “stork clubs” men have written journals of prayers (for a boy baby and the safety of their wife), emotions of anger and frustration at not knowing what was happening in the labour room, and reflections on what their life was going to be like moving forward. Men it would seem, even though they were now in the hospital, only had a foot in the door of the labour suite. Countless men feel useless and helpless in the birthing room, and feel the pressure to grin and bear the experience. Some men even go so far as ensuring they are away for work, and “can’t get back in time” due to off shore postings or last minute emergencies. For some this may just be a dreadful coincidence in bad timing, but for others it is a plausible excuse for not actually having to be in the room at all. (For more historical research see the work by J Leavett (2009) Make Room for Daddy).

Since the 1980’s when the overwhelming push (pun intended) to have men in the birthing rooms was at its peak (and subsequently became the norm), men found themselves in a pickle. Confused with here they would rather be, but because it was “expected” they feel like they almost have no choice to enter the mystery of the birthing room. Women these days expect and often demand their man to be in the room “just the two of us”, with thoughts of an intimate labour and delivery bonding the couple in birthing bliss. Delighting in the ability to enjoy back massages and diffused oils whilst gently swaying in a contraction-motivated movement to a carefully selected blend of the woman’s favourite music on their iPod.

In reality, unless the man is genuinely desiring to be in the birthing room, has a genuine interest and has read a lot about birth, attended a Calm Birth or Hypnobirthing class, he is probably ill-equipped for the noise, the blood and the intensity of emotion that is part and parcel of a birthing experience. A man who cannot appreciate the feminine power of a labouring woman, is probably not equipped for what he is walking into.

Many labouring women move from calm and well-mannered to a demanding ego maniac in the blink of an eye. “Get me ice”, “Massage here! Not there!” and even the most feminine and gentle of woman can be heard shouting expletives at her man just because he “got me into this situation!” Hormonal surges, increasing contractions, perceived bitchy midwives, doctors that are running late, “non-one is listening to me”, anaesthetists that don’t know how to move quickly and drugs that “don’t even work”, are all reasons why a mild mannered labouring woman will suddenly grow devil horns and get very very angry. For a man, it can be hard to see his partner in this state, when the natural urge he has is to “fix it” with suggestions that to the woman are “just ridiculous” and “unhelpful”.

This is why I ask the question “do we expect too much of our men in the birthing suite?”

The role of a woman is to harness her feminine power and to naturally move with the ebbs and flows of her body’s unique rhythm. She will express delight and annoyance, as powerfully as she needs to in order to ride the timed wave of contraction after contraction.

The role of her supporters, midwife or doula is to gently respond, move,  remain calm and to offer grace in all the emotions she will no doubt experience as her body and spirit unite to birth this baby. Without this firm circle of supporters, a birthing woman can experience fear in all its forms, which is known to increase pain sensations, induce panic, reduce blood flow to baby and cause all manner of complications that upset the natural rhythm. Traditionally it has been easier for a woman to be attended by women who embrace their feminine energy and offer grace to one of their own.

A man in the birthing room is required to embody his masculine energy. He needs to stand at the door and take a breath in, knowing he cannot make the woman’s experience anything different from what it will be: a masterpiece of life showing the awe and wonder and power in one birthing woman. For a man to want to witness this, I commend him. But for a man wanting to “change” something, whether it is to medicate and remove the pain from contractions, or to oppose experienced medical advice, or to dictate to the woman “what she needs” I would beg to argue. In my opinion a man is required to stand still and breathe as the woman dances around him in her mysteriously feminine ways. He is to guide her as she wails against the deepening contractions and to hold firm when she declares she has nothing left. He is to be her sounding board and her rock, her safe space to cry and her sure place to rest.

So how does he do that?

By resisting the urge to “fix her pain” or to take away her suffering, and to watch in awe as she navigates this rite of passage into motherhood. Sure he can hold her while she is racked with another wave of intensity, and he can feel her shake uncontrollably as she lets her body move with the force of nature doing her thing. But he is not to get angry, impatient or demanding, nor fight against nature in her full power, but to remain calm and supportive throughout.

Can a man be expected to resist his (un) natural state, and embrace his masculine power in equal measure to his woman’s feminine display? I would ask the same of a woman – can she be expected to resist her (un) natural urge to “get rid of this pain!” or to “go home” and to embrace the flow of energy moving through her body bringing her baby into the world?

Only with wisdom from experienced birthing support people such as doulas or midwives or friends, or family who know the true value of stepping into their own power. Through reading birthing wisdom and practice of meditation and stillness, through quiet reflection on what it means to birth a child, from listening to stories, from watching others, and from an open hearted attitude to the experience of birth as a rite of passage rather than something needing to be endured and forgotten.

Can a man be in the birthing room? Of course.

But the real question is does he want to be, and can he allow himself to become his masculine form as his woman becomes her exquisite feminine expression?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hormones during labour

Hormones during labour – what, why, how do i get more?

Oxytocin is often known as the “hormone of love” because it is involved with lovemaking, fertility, contractions during labor and birth, and the release of milk in breastfeeding.

Oxytocin stimulates powerful contractions, which help to thin and open (dilate) the cervix, move the baby down and out of the birth canal, expel the placenta, and limit bleeding at the site of the placenta. During labor and birth, the pressure of the baby against the cervix, and then against tissues in the pelvic floor, stimulates oxytocin and contractions. 

You can promote your body’s production of oxytocin during labour and birth by:

* staying calm, comfortable, and confident
* avoiding disturbances, such as unwelcome people or noise and uncomfortable procedures
* staying upright and using gravity to apply your baby against your cervix and then, as the baby is born, against the tissues of your pelvic floor
* engaging in nipple or clitoral stimulation activities before birth and giving your baby a chance to suckle shortly after birth
* avoiding epidural analgesia.

In response to stress and pain, your body produces calming and pain-relieving hormones known as endorphins. The level of this natural opiate substance may rise toward the end of pregnancy.  High endorphin levels during labor and birth can produce an altered state of consciousness that can help you flow with the process, even if it is long and challenging.

You can enhance your body’s production of endorphins during labour and birth by:

* staying calm, comfortable, and confident
* avoiding disturbances, such as unwelcome people or noise and uncomfortable procedures
* delaying or avoiding epidural or opioids as a pain relief method.

Adrenaline is the “fight or flight” hormone that humans produce to help ensure survival. Women who feel threatened during labor (for example by fear or severe pain) may produce high levels of adrenaline. Adrenaline can slow labor or stop it altogether. Earlier in human evolution, this disruption helped birthing women move to a place of greater safety. 

You can keep adrenaline down during labour and birth by:

* staying calm, comfortable, and relaxed
* being informed and prepared
* having trust and confidence in your body and your capabilities as a birthing woman
* having trust and confidence in your caregivers and birth setting
* being in a calm, peaceful, and private environment and avoiding conflict
* being with people who can provide comfort measures, good information, positive words, and other support
* avoiding intrusive, painful, disruptive procedures.

Relationships: Man vs Woman

Written by Dr. Caroline Leaf.

Relating with members of the opposite sex can be frustrating and difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Successful relationships begin in the mind (which seeks understanding) and, through the choices we make, will end in the Spirit (which knows truth). In my book, “Who switched off your brain? The mystery of he said/she said”, I show the three C’s of relationships:

We are designed to complete each other and not compete with each other. We are compatible. We are complimentary.

Men and women have been created to complement one another through their own unique strengths; we are exponentially better together. This goes for husband/wife, father/daughter, mother/son, personal and professional relationships.

It does not take PhD to know men and women are not the same – we don’t think the same, talk the same or act the same. These differences aren’t a result of our environments and our upbringing, they’re built in by design, God’s design. As it say in Genesis 1:27, “He made male and female in His image.”

The video clip below from a series I did at Victory world church in Atlanta, highlights some of these points that I discuss in depth in my book “Who switched off your brain? The mystery of he said/she said”. More than a marriage series, it is filled with key insights that will help you better understand the often mysterious behavior of the opposite sex, and practical tips that will quickly improve your relationships! That book is also available as a digital download.

You are you and your express your uniqueness through your maleness and your femaleness, and you will be interacting with the opposite sex daily whether you like it or not! So in order to not get toxic in our minds, we need to understand each other and target that struggle! In doing so we increase our intelligence, health and longevity!

Why is this important? Here is a sobering thought: research shows that couples that have especially sarcastic and argumentative discussions heal 40% slower than those who don’t. And we all want to be healthy! So let’s start the holiday season with great relationships and thanksgiving in our hearts!