Some people hear the word “fasting” and they think that is an action for religious folk and it only occurs in highly regimented religions.  However, fasting is used for more than just spiritual reasons.  Fasting has many different benefits that can help awaken the body, purify it and keep it functioning at top speed.

There are many different types of fasts.  The first type of fast is the typical “religious” fast in which there is no food consumption and no drinking ANYTHHNG for 24 hours.  This fast is more for the purpose of forcing the body to submit to the will of the Soul.  Although this form of fasting is mostly a religious practice, it does have health benefits.  It is good for the body to rest every once and a while from digestion and to just have time to clear out all the old and start anew.  This type of fasting really only brings you a minimal glimpse of what a longer fast can offer you.

The second type of fast is the pure water fast.  This type of fasting usually lasts from two days to 40 day.  In this fast you can drink water, but there is no food or calorie consumption of any kind.  The benefits of this type of fast are plentiful.

1. Fasting will detoxify your body of all excess waste and purify your body of toxins and chemicals the body accumulates through food consumption and product use.
2. It helps to rid your mind and body of dependencies on certain foods or chemicals.  A lot of people feel they can’t live without a Diet Coke every day!  Doing a water fast will help to eliminate your body’s perceived need for such things.
3. Water fasting will help to curb and possibly eliminate cravings for foods.  Sugar, carbohydrate and heavy meat cravings can all be replaced with healthier cravings such as fruits and vegetables,

The third type of fasting is juice fasting.  This is where you refrain from consuming anything solid or of a non-fruit variety.  Juice fasts tend to be a little easier to handle for longer periods than either of the other fasts.  Juice fasts will help to cleanse your colon, clean up skin problems and cause your metabolism to reset itself and become more efficient.  Other benefits of fasting are weight loss, skin tightening, improved energy levels, improved breathing and possibly even dysfunction or disease ridding.

Now, with all of these fasts, you most likely will experience headaches for the first one to three days.  This is your body telling you it is dumping out all of the bad stuff it has stored up for so long.  You may also experience bowel irregularity while your body gets going on the fast, but do not fear, if you do not cheat on the fast this will soon correct itself and you with be as regular and regular can be.  One note on juice fasts: you need to choose juice that is 100% juice NOT FROM CONCENTRATE!  The purer and fresher, the better it is for your body and the more benefit you will get from it.

It is recommended that a fast be done two to three times a year to rid your body of impurities and disconnect your body from the abuse it goes through every day.  How long you do a fast is completely up to you.  Listen to your body and do what it tells you to do.  No one knows you and your body better than yourself and you get to honor what your body is telling you.  It is ok to feel discomfort and hunger, but if your mental and physical functions start to breakdown, you need to adjust your plan.

One last note, while you are fasting try to stay away from the use of chemicals.  We are talking unnatural hairsprays, lotions, shampoos, oils, rubs, makeup and so forth.  I know this sounds a bit extreme, but the fact of the matter is our bodies are sponges and nearly everything we touch or come in contact with will be absorbed into our bodies to some extent.  So, at least for the fast, keep it as natural as possible.

So go ahead and do something different!  Jump in the “Fast Lane” and watch the benefits of your efforts appear before your eyes.

I have been over weight my entire life.  And at the age of 23, I decided that it had to stop.  I had gastric bypass surgery and went from 252 lbs on my surgery day to 144 lbs less than one year later.  At three months I had lost 50 lbs, at six months I lost 75 lbs and by a year I had lost over 100 lbs.  And through all of the starvation, lethargy and throwing up, I still hadn’t mastered the art of living a healthy lifestyle.  Old habits really do die hard.

At age 26 I decided to go to a nutritionist and get some health counseling.  And it was really interesting what he recommended.  He did not put me on a strict diet.  He didn’t restrict what I could eat; he just gave me some simple guidelines to help me make healthier decisions.  I am sure these tools will help you as well.

1. Get a food allergy test done. There are foods that you may not necessarily get sick from eating, but you body can’t digest them well and they will literally make you “fat”. Mine are wheat, eggs, almonds and cashews. This is really helpful in assisting you in making better food choices. If you know you are better with almonds than peanuts then you can make better decisions. So I would suggest getting that test done. As well as I would get a metabolic analysis test done to see if you are deficient in any aminos or essentials that will help you in metabolizing you food and just plain function better. I found I was deficient in serotonin (the sleep hormone) and so I started taking 5HTP which helps to supplement serotonin and makes me sleep better, and gives me more energy during the day.
2. Eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Never go more than 4 hours without eating. This will keep your metabolism up and working. Even if you have to eat something crappy, it is better to do that than nothing at all. This is a huge issue.
3. It is absolutely necessary to make sure you allow yourself dessert and allow yourself real desserts, not “diet desserts”. HOWEVER, eat your desserts between lunch and dinner, not after dinner. If you eat it after dinner you are going to put your metabolism into overdrive to work during your sleep (which doesn’t work) and then you will either have horrible sleep, which is known to cause people to gain weight, or it will just turn strait into calories and then fat. Dessert is your friend, but make sure you are being smart about when you eat it. Also, make sure it is really what you want. Don’t settle for what is there, make it what is really going to satisfy you. If you don’t do it right then you are just going to keep looking for more.
4. Carbs are your friend. You have to have carbs to survive. However, like dessert, you have to be smart about how you do it. I suggest you do carbs, your bulk of carb intake at breakfast and you can have some at lunch, but cut out carbs at dinner-time. This is for the same reason as the dessert. As well, in my opinion it is better to do you carbs in the form of rice, beans, potatoes, yams, and I would do bread and pasta on occasion. That is my suggestion. I do pasta once in a while when I go out to a restaurant and rarely do bread. I love rice so that is not difficult for me.
5. You must, must, must eat breakfast. To go along with that, eat something within an hour of waking up in the morning. It doesn’t have to be your breakfast, but you need to eat something to get your metabolism going.
6. Drink water. Need I say more? Just do it.
7. With your workouts, it is better to do some light weight lifting 3 times a week then getting on a treadmill and running your legs off 5 times a week. You need to build your muscle and then as you gain muscle you will kick up your metabolism and be able to burn more calories faster. If you want to do cardio to make you feel better do it 2 time a week for 20 minutes and then do your resistance training 3 times a week. I have some great resistance training workouts that I can share with any of you that you can do at home.
8. Weigh yourself once a week, but don’t define yourself by your weight. It is a measurement to see if progress is being made, but it is not the, be all end all, of progress. Especially if you are doing weight lifting. It can be a measurement of progress, but not the grand prize at the end of the road.
9. Always remember to have 1 or 2 people that you can use as your support system. You need people to share your success and sadness with. People who know what you are going through who won’t judge you, but who also won’t be jealous of your success as well. Find these people and hold onto them like they are gold. You will need them.

10. Get at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight a day.  The vitamins the sun provides to your body are essential to your health.  The sun is free and it is pure and you cannot buy a supplement that will do as good of a job as the sun.

11. Always eat sitting down.  Take time to enjoy your food.  Food should not only be a necessity, but a pleasure.  Make it an experience and don’t distract that experience with working, watching TV, or playing on Facebook.  Do yourself a favor, and make eating an all around good experience for your body and soul.

So there you go.  Some great tools to get you on track with your healthiest you.

Ashley Hull

Everyone talks about how they want to lose weight, eat healthier, be more health conscious.  Well, my response to that is, GREAT!  First step…eat!  The worst thing you can do is start starving yourself.  Bottom line, our bodies are like cars.  They need fuel to do their job.  So here are a few tips on beginning your healthy lifestyle.

1. Eat within 45 minutes of waking up.  When we wake up in the morning our bodies have been fasting for 8 hours or more.  Our bodies need fuel and they need it fast.  For me this is especially difficult because I work out first thing in the morning when I wake up and I don’t feel like eating.  However, my metabolism is trying to get going for the day, just like the rest of my body, but it needs calories to make it go.  Grab a quick snack.  You don’t have to eat your full breakfast right then.   Eat a piece of fruit, healthy breakfast bar, granola, yogurt…ANYTHING!  Trust me, you are going to need it, and when you do eat it, you will start to notice a difference in how your body feel and responds to the prompt attention.

1. Eat a good hearty breakfast.  I tend to have a protein shake and some oatmeal for my breakfast.  I keep the oatmeal low sugar, but the oats are a good source of longer lasting carbohydrates that will sustain me until the protein from my shake kicks in.  I know a lot of people feel like they are too busy, too rushed or don’t have time for breakfast, but let me ask you this.  Would you allow your children to go to school without eating something first?  You know how important it is that they be alert so they can be actively engaged in their education.  Don’t you think you deserve that same kind of consideration?  First step to getting that energy is eating a good breakfast.   So go ahead, and in the famous words of Nike: Just Do It!

1. Eat every 2 ½ to 3 hours throughout the day.  Never, never, never, go more than four hours during the day without eating.  Your metabolism runs at a certain level of efficiency throughout the day.  If you do not feed it and feed it often it will drop your metabolic rate and it cannot get back up till your body has completed its next circadian rhythm cycle.  So, even if you have to eat something that you don’t consider to be “healthy” it is better than nothing.  Some people may say, “Well, I can’t do that!  I will eat too many calories if I do that!”  Here’s the deal.  By consuming calories, you are allowing your body the necessary fuel to burn more calories at a higher rate.  Remember, if calories are a concern for you, you can always choose snacks that are lower in calories such as fresh fruits and vegetables.  They have great nutritional value and lots of fiber to keep you regular.

1. Drink, drink, drink.  You have to consume water.  Your body’s cells are made up of water.  If your cells are dehydrated then your cells can’t utilize the nutrients you give them and therefore, you can’t gain the benefits of eating all this good food.  Some people like to put sweeteners, flavors or additives in their water because they think water is boring.  What I have to say about that is: if that is the only way you are going to drink water, then do it.  But I much prefer unadulterated water, pure and clear.  It tastes good going down and it feels good as well.  The profound effects pure water can have on your body are unimaginable.  Energy, cleansing, lightness, hydration.  All good things.

So there you go.  The moral of the story is…eat.  It’s that simple.  Eat soon, eat hearty, eat often.

Ashley Hull

We are introducing Ashley Hull as a new writer for GoBulrey.  She will be covering the new series “Ashley is Fat on Healthy” for all interested in health issues. Welcome to GoBurley Ashley!

It has been said that if you don’t know where you are going there are a thousand ways to get there.  Similarly, if you have a goal, a dream, an endpoint, you have direction.  You can build focus and work towards that goal.  If you don’t set goals you can never achieve them.  This is what we are going to talk about today.  Setting your goal and the framework for what you want to do or where you want to be.

First, to determine where you want to go, you have to be clear on where you are.  If you are going to go on a road trip you might want to find out what city you are in so you can figure out the roads you have to take to get to the cities you want to travel through.  Notice I didn’t say the city you want as your final destination.  Health is never a final destination.  Rather, it is a constant road trip exploring different areas of the whole health map and learning about each health aspect you travel through.

First order of business, get your bearings.  Find out your weight.  Find out your body measurements.  Determine if you have high cholesterol, low blood sugar, gluten intolerance, food allergies.  Thank kind of thing.  To know how to deal with a monster, you have to know what kind of monster you are dealing with.  I know a lot of people don’t like to get on a scale, and I completely understand that.  Weight is only one tool for measuring success.  Other tools you can try are measuring your body fat content, Body Mass Index (BMI), dress size and as mentioned previously, your body measurements.  The scale is a good indicator whether you are headed in the right direction, but it is not the be-all end-all of health success.  I would be more concerned with someone that has a cholesterol level of 235 than with a person that simply weighs 20 more pounds than what they are “supposed to”.  So, determine what you are going to use as your health indicators and start to track those.

Second, you have to determine a plan of action that you believe that can 1) help you get where you want to go, 2) you can live with, and 3) one that people can live with you while you are doing.  Here’s the thing.  My husband and I get a long very well and we have a great relationship, but when I was doing the Atkins Diet (OF THE DEVIL!!!) I was this close to punching his face in about every 2 minutes.  DIETS MAKE ME CRANKY!!!  And chances are they will make you cranky too.  So choose something that you can live with and function like a normal human being where you don’t feel like your going to be sent to prison every five seconds.  The goal is a healthy life, not another crash diet that will inevitably fail you in the end.  And believe me, it is diets that fail people, not people that fail on diets, but I will leave the “diet” talk for another day. Also, make sure to set goals and make rewards for meeting those goals.  Remember, small goals lead to bigger goals, and bigger goals lead to even bigger goals.  Start small.  Make a goal to work out 3 times a week.  Make a goal to eat 3 servings of vegetables instead of granola (which consequently is not that great of a health food).  Goals are the catalyst that motivates us humans to act.

Three, eat something healthy!  You deserve to have a plan that has a nutritional aspect to it.  You can start out small, but just get going.  Decide that you are going to give up refined sugar for more natural sugars.  Substitute processed white flower with whole grain pastas and brown rice.  Now, I know you are thinking, “this Ashley girl has no idea what she is asking me to do.  I can’t live without my Sarah Lee white bread and my Little Debbie Hostess Cakes!”  Believe me, no one is more addicted to white flower and refined sugar than I am.  And, I am not saying that you can’t eat it, I am just saying don’t eat it all day every day.

I make it a point to have a treat or a snack EVERY DAY.  I allow myself to indulge a little every day and revisit the love relationship I have with food.  And it is ok to do that.  It keeps you sane, it keeps you human and I believe it keeps you on track with your goals (you know, those things we talked about in the last paragraph).  Allow yourself to still love food.  Just allow yourself to stretch and do some things that aren’t exactly comfortable for you either.  Take a risk and try something new.  Something different, something just a little healthier.  Maybe something with olive oil as opposed to vegetable or canola oil.  Try sweetening your protein shake with stevia instead of chemical death sugars like aspartame and sucralose.  Your body will thank you down the road.
Lastly, get moving!  Studies show that even 30 minutes of mild exercise 3 times a week can have huge benefits for your overall health!  Personally, because I am crazy, I work out 2 times a day 6 times a week.  But that is because I am going to compete in a beauty pageant in a couple months with a bunch of Blonde Barbies who have never had to count calories or worry about fat grams in their life.  What I would recommend for someone who is mostly sedentary and has never attempted working out would be to start with a brisk walk for 30 minutes 3 times a week.  Slowly work up to 5 times a week and then maybe consider looking at alternative exercise methods.  One that I actually love right now is getting a really good workout video.  Not only does it give you a good workout, but you can sit there and laugh at the crazy instructors and the suckers who actually signed up to be in the video!  My personal favorite is the Biggest Loser Cardio Max Workout Video.  My butt is still hurting from that one!

So there you go, 1) take measurements, 2) make a plan for small yet significant adjustments and 3) get moving! You have a whole life to enjoy, so make it healthy and happy.  Do what works for you and that gets you the results you are looking for, not what someone else says you should be, look like or do.  This is your life!  So live it, and live it well!

Ashley Hull