Begin the New Year thin

January 3, 2011

Begin the New Year thin 1

by Zia Wesley • Food, Health and Nutrition, Weight Control

Satisfied HCG users Clark and Zia
Satisfied HCG users Clark and Zia

I never thought I would be writing an article on how to lose weight based on any personal experience. Even at the age of sixty-five, my metabolism was still pretty high and I could eat whatever I wanted, until the two week Mediterranean cruise on board the Seabourn Legend, that is. In just two weeks of eating six meals a day (with wine, cocktails, and dessert), I gained eight pounds. On my five-foot frame, eight pounds is exactly two clothing sizes. The good news is that I bought new clothes in France and Italy as I grew. The bad news is that I had to have them all altered…ultimately really good news.

In just fourteen days, I lost the eight pounds I had gained on the trip plus another two just for good measure. I went from a size 6 to a size 2, no mean feat for someone who never thought she could diet. The trick was HCG, human chorionic gonadotropin, the magic weight loss bullet that has swept Marin County like an LA wildfire. I personally know more than twelve people who have lost an average of twenty-five pounds each during the last year. I know one woman who lost sixty.

There are many ways to obtain HCG: doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors,nurse practitioners, health/diet coaches, and the Internet. It may be injected or taken homeopathically under the tongue. I interviewed two doctors who offer a neat package of HCG shots or drops along with supplements for $400 and $600 respectively. They provide guidance and monitor a users progress, which is a very safe idea for those needing to lose a substantial amount of weight. Since I only wanted to lose 8 to 10 pounds, I didn’t feel the need for monitoring and chose the Internet source. I understood the need for supplementation and the possible side effects that could occur, and was willing to begin, unaided by a professional, with the caveat that I would call upon one if the need arose.

I discovered a plethora of HCG offers on google. After hearing stories of people who had purchased bogus HCG drops this way, I chose a reputable lab that had been producing the product for ten years. They also offered a clear satisfaction/money back guarantee as well as various methods of support for users. Along with the drops, they supplied diet guidelines, and blank forms to track results on a daily basis. They did not mention the necessary supplementation, which would have been helpful for users who had not done their own research in this area.The cost was $99 for two, two-ounce bottles, enough for me and my boyfriend to get started.

In my next article, I will divulge the name of the lab that makes the HCG drops along with the information and sources for the necessary supplementation for the DIY diet.

October 8, 2010

Make your own cosmetics 4

by Zia Wesley • Health and Nutrition

fruits and veggies
good for your skin

One of the informative sites I sometimes refer to is smartskincare.com. Independent Skin Care Product Reviews

They offer a wide range of useful information about cosmetics and other skin related topics. Today, while perusing their site for information about a specific cosmetic ingredient, I found an offer for a “booklet” on how to create your own cosmetics. Since I created an extensive line of such products, (Zia Cosmetics, Inc), my interest was peaked.

In order to obtain this booklet, one needs to include the smartskincare link on a website. So, I decided to include it in my new post, and ask readers for their feedback on the ease and efficacy of these formulations. I will also give it a try and let you know what I think.

Meanwhile, as fall is here and summer is (possibly) over, it is a good time to exfoliate sun damage, brown spots, and the remainder of any tan, natural or bottled, from your skin. I don’t recommend grainy exfoliants (on the face), because they can break capillaries. I prefer fruit acid peels instead and there are many of these on the market. Two of my favorites are made by Mychelle: Active Brightening Peel and Guava Cactus Mask. For something stronger, try one of the Sanitas glycolic acid products.

If you haven’t had a facial in a while, now is the perfect time to treat yourself. A gentle acid peeling facial will remove all of the dead skin cells and brighten your skin as well. Independent Skin Care Product Reviews“>

September 28, 2010

Guess what? You really are living in the Matrix 1

by Zia Wesley • Articles

In my first post last January, Zia’s Back, I wrote about how your thoughts (about aging) create exactly what you think. In most of my previous books,  I discussed this at length and made suggestions on how to dispel and disable them. It seemed evident that these practices worked, but there was not “proof”. I have recently been introduced to proof positive by a DVD titled The Living matrix.  This is a documentary from Edgar Mitchell’s Institute of Noetic Sciences, that features some of the brightest scientific minds on the planet. It is informative, inspirational, and mind bending at a cost of under twenty dollars! Available from thelivingmatrixmovie.com.

One of the featured practitioners is a molecular biologist/healer named Adam, whose particular technique works “remotely” across any distance. This had always seemed impossible to me and just another theoretical new age possibility, until seeing the living matrix DVD. Adam’s web site, dreamhealer.com, is a fascinating source of information. I also recommend any of his books and videos for the exploration of this healing modality. In many ways, his work corresponds with the anti-aging (Youthing) meditations and mind/body experiments I have used for almost thirty years. His work has given me a new understanding of why these things actually work and how we can incorporate them into our daily lives to reverse negative signs of aging on our faces and in our bodies. I encourage you to check out these extraordinary Youthing tools!

March 26, 2010

Quick weight loss tips that really work 0

by Zia Wesley • Excercise, Food, Health and Nutrition, Weight Control

Here are some favorite tips to try for weight loss. They work on different levels and for different reasons and some may work for you and others not. You don’t have to do them all. Try working a few of them into your daily routine, and add others, as you feel appropriate.

Begin every day (before getting out of bed), by imagining yourself looking and feeling as you would like to for at least five minutes. Feel how good it feels. This programs your brain to give you your perfect image. The more often you can hold this image, the faster you will create it.

1. Drink a cup of warm water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon first thing in the am.

2. Do some type of aerobic exercise for 10 to 12 minutes in the am before you eat anything (except the lemon tea). Check out www.PACE.com for the latest fast and effective fat-burning technique.

3. Skip breakfast until after you’ve done a real workout and then, eat simple protein. Some choices are: eggs, cheese, avocado, quinoa with left over veggies, turkey bacon, smoked salmon, yogurt, cottage cheese, or a yogurt/greens smoothie. Some of my favorite combos are:

scrambled eggs (use 1 yolk and 3 whites) with a little cheese and 1/4 avocado and mushrooms.

1/2 avocado with a tomato and cucumber salad with olive oil and lemon juice dressing and 1-2 tablespoons cottage cheese.

2 tablespoons cottage cheese, two tablespoons yogurt and blueberries or a cut up apple

scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and a little onion sautéed.

Left over veggies mixed with left over quinoa (you can add 1 or 2 egg whites to this and scramble it up).

4. Eat your main meal at lunch time and a small, light meal no later than 6pm. It’s good to feel a little hungry when you go to sleep. A teaspoon of yogurt takes the hungry feeling away.

5. No starch as in bread, rice, potatoes, cookies, oatmeal, cereal.

6. No sugar (remember that even a little makes you crave more) except for honey in tea or coffee. Or use Splenda or Xyletol for a few weeks.

7. Eat fresh fish, poultry, lean meats and lots of steamed and/or raw veggies.

8. Make a fist and remember that’s how big your stomach is…cut down your portion sizes accordingly and stop eating before you are full or stuffed. It takes 15 to 20 minutes after eating for your brain to give you the signal that you are full.

9. Drink lemon water instead of sweetened juices or sodas, and in place of snacking. Snack on celery (not carrots…sugar).

10. SNACKS: a handful of raw, unsalted nuts and/or seeds, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin, sunflower once a day as a snack or add to a salad. Celery and olives are also good.

11. Drink trace minerals in your water throughout the day.

12. Take 2 cinnamon capsules before bed to burn fat.

13. Use 2% milk or unsweetened rice milk in coffee (if you heat it up and froth it, it tastes richer).

14. If you HAVE to have something sweet, eat 1 square of really dark chocolate.

March 23, 2010

Dr. Perricone product warning 2

by Zia Wesley • Anti-aging, Anti-Aging, Anti-Aging, Articles, Health and Nutrition, Makeup, Neck Treatments, Night Treatments, Night Treatments, Product Reviews, Serums, Serums, Skin Care

New findings by the Cancer Prevention Coalition http://www.preventcancer.com,  have brought Dr. Perricone skin care products into an unfavorable light. “Nanoparticles, less than 1/10,000 of a millimeter in size, readily penetrate skin, and can invade underlying blood vessels and produce body-wide toxic effects, including brain degenerative disorders, and nerve damage,” stresses CPC Chairman Dr. Samuel S.. Epstein, MD. Dr. Epstein is professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois, at Chicago School of Public Health, and the author of Toxic Beauty, published by BenBella Books in 2009.

Based on a January 6, 2010 Skin Deep report by the Environmental Working Group, at least 7 of 26 of Dr. Perricone’s products were found to contain nanoparticles, along with other toxic ingredients such as acrylamide, ethylene oxide, dioxane, nitrosamines and formaldehyde. The group rated 25 of Perricone’s products as posing “moderate to high hazards.”

Dr. Epstein warns that the anti-aging claims made by Perricone are “baseless, as they are made in the absence of scientific evidence based on double-blind clinical trials.” This is no surprise as almost all cosmetic manufacturers make unfounded claims…it’s called “advertising”. Unfortunately, the responsibility of making sure the products you use are safe depends on you so, do your homework.

The Perricone products are not the only ones containing carcinogenic ingredients or nanoparticles. You may want to research the products you use on the, California’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Act website and read their report on nanoparticles,  http://www.safecosmetics.org/article_php?id=307. Dr. Perricone products are conspicuously missing from this voluntary site.

Life is like a butterfly

March 12, 2010

Life is like a butterfly 0

by Zia Wesley • Articles, Mind/Body Connection

Ariane

Life is like a butterfly because:

it undergoes extraordinary changes, funny, grotesque, strange, mysterious and beautiful.

it follows it’s own path and sometimes lands on you.

you can follow it and observe it, keep it in your sites but, eventually it will go beyond your reach.

if you try to hold onto it, it will be impaired.

if you hold it too firmly, it will perish.

Enjoy life’s beauty and the unknown journey. Appreciate what is in front of you in the moment. Zia

Get off the refined sugar rollercoaster

February 3, 2010

Get off the refined sugar rollercoaster 3

by Zia Wesley • Food, Health and Nutrition, Natural Sweeteners, Weight Control

Do you love sugar but hate the effects of having too much: roller coaster energy levels throughout the day, tooth decay, skin breakouts, excess weight, fat, and cellulite? Let’s face it, it tastes good but has no redeeming qualities.

Most sugar substitutes such as aspartame and saccharine are even worse: possibly carcinogenic (specially when heated), terrible to bake with, and unpleasant after tastes. Who knows how these chemicals may effect your body after prolonged use? Stevia is a good replacement if you can stand the taste, which I cannot. Honey works well in hot beverages, but not in baking.

Finally, there is Xylitol! This is the HOT new low-glycemic index sweetener that looks, cooks, and tastes like sugar with 33% fewer calories. Not a chemical compound, Xylitol is a truly natural substitute that comes from fruits and vegetables and has a GI (glycemic index) of 8 compared with glucose at 100. The most reasonably priced brand is a 5-pound bag made by Xlear, Inc at xlear.com. Individual packets are also available to carry with you during the day.

Just for the fun of it, I’m sharing one of my own gluten-free and sugar-free recipes usng Xylitol Zia’s Amazing Gluten-free Corn Muffins.

Latest and Greatest

January 28, 2010

Latest and Greatest 0

by Zia Wesley • Articles

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Zero is the brilliant new non-caloric natural sweetener of choice because it does not add any taste (or after taste) to drinks or foods. It can be used just like sugar in recipes, cereals, or hot and cold drinks. It has zero calories, and zero glycemic index.

Organic Zero is produced from Organic Sugar Cane Juice, which is naturally fermented and crystallized to create Organic Erythritol. Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that is found in our bodies, as well as in many fruits, vegetables and even certain fermented foods.

Available at Whole Foods Market and on line, www.wholesomesweeteners.com

January 24, 2010

Zia’s Back!!! 5

by Zia Wesley • Anti-aging, Mind/Body Connection

After twelve years of professional silence, the logical place for me to begin seems to be where I have been. The short answer is “Colorado.”  After selling my company, Zia Cosmetics, Inc, in 1997, I retired to a small town in Colorado, and indulged myself in all of the “things I had always wanted to do but didn’t have time for.” This included; going to country auctions, refinishing and re-purposing old furniture and objects, selling my auction haul items in an antique furniture co-op, painting, planting organic vegetable gardens and a corn field, canning, pickling, making jams and chutneys, landscaping, lolling in natural hot springs, skiing, cross country skiing, horse back riding, hiking, lots of meditating, yoga and Pilates, acting in local theatre, singing with my friend’s band, and writing the historical novel I had wanted to write for twenty-five years.  It was an extraordinary gift to be able to do so many things I absolutely loved and had so little time for previously.

During the summer of 2008, my fifteen-year marriage fell apart. In October, I returned home to the Bay Area to be near my daughter and grandchildren and to start a new life. For a going away present, my closest friend, Carole, presented me with a small cosmetic compact. On the cover is an illustration of a women who looks typical of the 1950′s, with a caption that reads, “She saw no good reason to act her age.”  My personal mantra. Neither do I see any reason to look my age.

Perhaps I have no fear of aging because I have successfully defeated it for over twenty years. This is also the reason I have never chosen to preserve my looks with cosmetic surgery. The only surgery I have had was blepharoplasty (an eye lift) in my late forties.

During my years of “retirement”, friends kept urging me to write another beauty book. I would tell them, “I don’t have anything else to say.” Having written six, (available on Amazon.com) between 1983 and 1995, I could not imagine anything I’d left unsaid. However, when I returned to the Bay Area, people seemed shocked by my appearance. “You look exactly the same! What are you doing to your skin?” In answering their questions, I suddenly realized that I had a lot to say. I had a wealth of new information about being sixty-three years old and looking twenty years younger. I love telling my age. The first reaction is always disbelief and the second is always a question: “What’s your secret?” I have  lots, and I am going to share them all with you.

Secret #1: Thinking that you’re old will make it so.

By now you probably know that your mind and body are connected. More specifically, your beliefs create your (aging) reality. Don’t take my word, check out Deepak Chopra or Dr. Robert Morgan, president of the Division of Gerontological Psychology for the International Association of Applied Psychology: “As children we are easily impressed by the beliefs of elders. As we grow up, these subliminally held beliefs begin to program us.” Your first task, should you choose to become younger instead of older, is to discover your subconscious beliefs around aging. We all have them.

Today’s homework is to read this list of statements through once and see if you can associate any with someone from your childhood. Then reread them, and check the ones that you’ve found yourself saying or thinking.

  1. I guess I must be getting old.
  2. That’s just part of getting old.
  3. I’m not getting any younger.
  4. When I was young…
  5. I’m not as young as I used to be.
  6. I’m too old for (to wear) (to do) that.
  7. When you’re as old as I am…
  8. It’s all downhill from here.
  9. At my age…

Stayed tuned for my next post on how to disarm your aging program and re-program towards “youthing”.

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