What in the World is Kombucha?

Now that I have been on the Body Fat Challenge for 3 weeks, eating can get a little monotonous. So, I have been on the lookout for foods that are delicious, but also fit into my diet.

One of my favorite finds of the past few weeks is a drink called Kombucha. Literally speaking, Kombucha is a fermented tea that has been used to aid digestion and other issues since the 5th century AD. It may have been around for 1600 years, but I had never heard of it!

The first brand of Kombucha that I tried is made by Synergy. They have a wide range of flavors and have two types of Kombucha drinks. The first is 100% Kombucha and the other is 95% Kombucha mixed with 5% organic fruit juice. Kombucha tastes a little like vinegar and I cannot handle the 100% variety all that well, but I LOVE the kind that is mixed with the juice. Luckily, even the juice-mixed variety is low in calories and carbs!

While I was at Mother's Market, I actually passed by a taste-test for another brand of Kombucha drink made by a company called High Country Kombucha. They also have a wide variety of flavors. This product has a little bit of a mellower taste....which is very good....but I think I prefer the bite of the Synergy brand. The guy handing out the samples pointed out that Synergy uses a dairy-based strain of probiotics, and they don't. This is worth noting for those of you who are vegan, but overall I would still go for Synergy.

So I am the newest Kombucha enthusiast, but there is a lot to learn about this wonder tonic. I found this blog post that sums up what Kombucha is in just a few lines. Granted, the post is a review of Synergy Kombucha that isn't very good, but still great information. It is definitely an acquired taste!

"Kombucha is inappropriately referred to as a mushroom. Actually it is the symbiosis of a live culture, much like what is found in yogurt, when mixed with yeast and fed a diet of sweetened black or green tea. The result is a filtered sparkling beverage, Kombucha tea, that holds the health properties of the cultures, as well as a slight alcohol content (less than 0.5%) from the fermentation. Essential nutrients are then present after fermentation such as active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols." - ReallyNatural.com

I will say that every time I drink this I have CRAZY energy!

Body Fat Challenge - Week 2

This week I purchased a body fat calculator to monitor my progress at home.

I also talk about my favorite iPhone application for working out at home...Couch to 5k. It is great for those of us who are intimidated by running long distances. The program starts out with 60 sec intervals of running and 90 sec intervals of walking. It is amazing how fast I have been able to build up my running endurance. LOVE IT!!!

Why We Need Protein & Anti-Oxidants During Weight Loss

During a fitness boot camp I attended last year, I also got to see a nutritional presentation on how to eat for weight loss. One of the principles the nutritionist went over was how protein shakes should be consumed after a workout for optimal lean muscle growth. I have since then done some additional research and it looks like many sources suggest drinking protein before a workout and others suggest after.

Turns out BOTH are right! I found this website that gives a very nice and simple explanation on the arguments for both opinions. Read it and decide what's best for you!

As far as YOR Health's MRP product, it is much more than a protein shake because it also contains so many essential vitamins and minerals, but the same principles of protein drinks should apply as far as when to drink it for optimal muscle growth and fat burning.

Here is a quick snippit from the article referenced above.

"Consuming a protein drink, defined as a “quality” protein drink, has definite advantages. When you are dieting, you could lose fat, or you could lose muscle. You body requires a certain amount of amino acids (a component of protein), to survive. If you do not provide your body with sufficient amino acids, or a complete array of essential amino acids, YOUR BODY WILL CANNIBALIZE YOUR OWN MUSCLE! This is a really big NO NO. You want to lose fat, not muscle. Cheap protein drinks will be lacking in a full spectrum of essential amino acids. Cheap protein drinks are hard to digest, and are hard on your kidneys. Quality protein drinks a well worth the extra investment."

The doctor who wrote this article goes on to talk about how when your fat cells shrink (during weight loss) toxins are released from the fat cells into your body. Here is the quote:

"Fat cells store toxins. As you lose extra content in your fat cells, you will also be discharging the majority of the toxins that were in the same fat cells. You will not lose the fat cells; you will only be decreasing the size of the fat cells. Our environment is loaded with toxins, and our bodies are also loaded with toxins."

This is a seriously GREAT reason to take the YOR SuperGreens even if you're primarily concerned about weight loss. As your fat cells release those toxins into your body, the YOR SuperGreens helps remove them with it's super potent anti-oxidant power. It truly does work the best as a system!

BMR vs. BMI

I first heard about BMR when I was listening to Jillian Michaels' old radio show, and I initially thought she was just talking about BMI or Body Mass Index. BMR is different, it stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, and essentially represents the amount of calories you would burn if you were to lie in bed all day. So if you did absolutely nothing, you would still burn that many calories. BMR Calculators are a great tool when you're trying to set your daily caloric intake goals.

My BMR is 1557.4. That means that if I go under that amount of calories per day my body will go into starvation mode. Then I will have difficulty burning excess fat because my body will be holding on to everything it's got in order to get me through a time when there isn't enough food.

When I first heard about this I was ecstatic! You mean I shouldn't live off of 500 calories a day if I want to lose fat??? Awesome!

Although they are not the same thing, both your BMR and your BMI are important numbers to know. It's pretty common knowledge at this point, but for those that don't know.... your BMI indicates whether you are at a healthy weight for your height. So if you're embarking on a weight loss or health challenge of your own, make sure you know both of you numbers!

BFC Video Post - Week 1!!!

Body Fat Challenge - Week 1!!!

Well it's officially been an entire week since I started the BFC. I am down 4 lbs so far and feeling great! I wasn't able to exercise quite as much as I wanted to this week, but that's one of the aspects I love most about YOR Health Products... even if I don't get to exercise as much one particular week I can still lose weight. This definitely is a great motivating factor that keeps me excited to keep going and try harder!

So I would also like to give a big shout out to all of the ladies that attended "Ladies Night" at Erin's house! I had a great time and cannot wait to do it again. I will be putting some links up for the other ladies' jewelry a little later when I post my first VLOG today!

I am off to clean the house and go for a run after that! Happy Super Bowl!

Body Fat Challenge - Day 4

So it's the 4th day of my BFC and I'm feeling great! I haven't been able to do quite as much exercise as I was hoping, but the YOR Health Regimen is going great. It's amazing how fast these products make you feel thinner. My theory is that it must be because my body is getting into balance and eliminating all of the toxins.

I am definitely going to step it up in the exercise department the rest of the week. It's so funny, I always feel more motivated to work out when I am already losing weight through diet.

Stay tuned, and I will be posting my first video update on the BFC this Saturday.

YOR Health Digestive Enzymes Are Tough to Beat!

When I was first investigating digestive enzymes I felt a little overwhelmed. Because they are considered nutraceuticals here in the U.S. there is no standardized unit of measure that every manufacturer has to include on the nutritional label. This made my quest to compare products very difficult.

So of course, I spent a few nights searching for any tidbit I could find on digestive enzymes. After weeding through a lot of random medical studies and a few overly complicated websites, I happened to find a great little site that does the best job breaking down the basics of digestive enzymes. That website is called Enzyme Stuff.

If you are looking to try and compare digestive enzyme products, GO HERE and read about how to compare enzyme products.

I won't recreate everything from the Selecting Products Guide, but there are a few key insights that I'd like to share that were helpful for me. I will include links to sources whenever possible.

1. Digestive enzymes should never be measured in milligrams (mg). Since a digestive enzyme's effectiveness is based on the activity level of the enzyme, milligrams are a useless measurement. Any product that ONLY gives you milligrams is a waste of money. Many products give you milligrams AND units that measure activity. One common unit of measure used to measure the activity level of protease (digestive enzymes that specifically digest proteins) is an HUT.

YOR Health Digestive Enzymes all have 80,000 HUT of protease per capsule. I have found that this is pretty high per pill. Also there are no fillers in these products at all, wheras most I found have fillers that can add sodium.

EXAMPLE: Competitor Product A has 26,000 HUT of protease per 2 capsules = 13,000 HUT of protease per 1 capsule. What this actually means is that YOR Digestive Enzymes work a little over 6 times faster than the competition. The competition is about $5 less than YOR, but you can see that if you compare the effectiveness, you would have to spend much more to accomplish the same amount of digestive power if you chose the competition.

2. Just what are enzymes and why are they so important? I found this video to be extremely helpful. This guy simplifies everything so even a child could understand it!

3. All digestive enzymes are not created equal! Many plant-based enzymes can survive the hostile environment of the stomach and actually make it into the intestines where the majority of nutrient absorption takes place. YOR Digestive Enzymes are the highest quality and are super potent. They were developed by Dr. Fuller who is one of the pioneers of digestive enzyme research.

Here is an article explaining the difference between enzymes.

....and a video.

Quick Start Training - New Distributors START HERE ;)

I'd like to encourage everyone who has decided to become a YOR Health Distributor to give your business a kick-start by watching ALL of these videos (made by Phil Walker) and taking notes. If you haven't yet made the decision to join the YOR Health family, please take a look at these videos to get a preview of some of the great training and leadership our team can offer you when you start your business. Enjoy!!!

Let the Challenge Begin!

My Body Fat Challenge 2010 is set to begin this Sunday, January 31, 2010!!! Also to be known on my blog as BFC, the Body Fat Challenge is a challenge I have set for myself to try and lower my body fat percentage 10 points in 90 days.

During these 90 days I will be working out on my own without the help of a personal trainer or even a gym membership. My reason behind this approach is that I want to prove that you don't have to hire a personal trainer or a personal chef for that matter to achieve the body (and level of health of course!) of your dreams.

Just good old exercise and my YOR Health regimen!

I will be video blogging once a week on this subject and will report my body fat percentage every 4 weeks.

2 more days to go!!!

YOR Health: YOR Weight Management - Video

YOR Health: YOR Weight Management - Video

Why Do We Need Digestive Enzymes?

I love finding outside sources to support the need for supplemental digestive enzymes! Natalie does a great job explaining the basics, and also discusses how she treated her IBS with digestive enzymes.



Here is the written explanation included with this video:

Digestive Enzymes are enzymes that specifically work in the digestive system to facilitate the digestion, absorption, and transportation of nutrients. They also work to promote timely elimination of digestive waste products that are not of use to the body. Without enzymes, our cells would not get adequate nutrition and we would not survive.

Enzymes function as catalysts to enhance and dramatically speed up biochemical reactions that occur in every one of our cells. They are only activated in water, so staying hydrated is very important for enzymes to work effectively. Enzymes must be present to ensure proper digestion of nutrients, energy production, metabolism, transportation of fluid to cells, and elimination of toxins among many other functions.

Enzymes exist in foods to help our body's breakdown what we eat. Raw, uncooked foods are the only foods that contain enzymes. Since the majority of our diets are cooked foods, we significantly limit the enzymes available in our food for digestion, thus putting more stress on our digestive systems. Some supplemental enzymes should be taken with food to enhance digestion and absorption of nutrients, whereas other supplemental enzymes should be taken on an empty stomach to support circulation, decrease inflammation, support our immune systems and combat stress. Imbalances in these factors have been scientifically proven to be associated with or the cause of numerous diseases.

YOR Health: DicQie Fuller, Ph.D. - Scientific Advisory Board

YOR Health: DicQie Fuller, Ph.D. - Scientific Advisory Board