What's your mission? What's Your purpose? If you struggle with these big questions - you're not alone. So, where do you even start to put the pieces together?

Growing up, the only resources I had were suggestions from my parents, what my peers were doing...and a poorly delivered career test given in my high school. This just created gaps between what my brain and heart were telling me.

What if you had the resources for finding a career and calling that fulfills your potential and inspires you?

Finding Your Life’s Calling is available for FREE online from March 24-26, 2014!

Finding Your Life’s Calling is a virtual conference gathering some 12+ remarkable visionaries who have dedicated their life to helping people find what it is they are meant to do.

We’ll be talking about how to reach your unique potential, move through fear, enliven your life with authenticity, and discover your passion so that you can find the path you’re meant to be on.
Hope to see you there!

Finding Your Life’s Calling Virtual Conference
Dates: March 24 - 26, 2014
Price: FREE
​Where: Sign up online here!

We wonder why women have eating disorders and disordered eating? This is why.

When I lost all of my weight, I was conscious of the calories that I ate, but I never actually counted calories or did much exercise - it was a combination of a bunch of little things - learning how and what to eat, learning about proper portion size, reading food labels, parking further away, taking the stairs, etc, that were instrumental in my weight loss. Over time, little changes add up to big changes.

I've been listening to the en*theos Supersize Me 10 Year Anniversary #FixFood Summit and one of the speakers, Jonathan Bailor, wrote a book called "The Calorie Myth", which I found fascinating.

Now, I haven't read it, yet, but the things he said during the interview made a lot of sense. The main idea of the talk can be summarized by this statement: "In the book, nowhere does it say that calories don't count, it says you don't need to count calories; there's a big difference between those two statements."

Available, on Etsy, by ForSuchATimeDesigns

Humans (mainly Americans) are the only ones obsessed with counting calories. Wild animals don't count calories, yet they aren't obese and somehow, instinctively, know when to stop eating. For the most part, they eat a all natural, non-processed diet and survive just fine.

It's not the calories that people eat that's the problem; it's the quality of food that's the real issue. The food industry has made it so easy for people to be lazy, by supplying us with every kind of pre-packaged food imaginable, that we're not getting the quality of food that we should be getting.

200 calories of Pop Tarts (which is only 1 Pop Tart, by the way...) is VERY different from 200 calories of broccoli. Not only in the amount that you eat, but also in the nutrients and inflammation that it causes in your body.

Another problem is that the food industry has done TONS of research on what appeals to our senses and, in turn, engineers the food to satiate our fat, sugar, and salt receptors - thereby causing us to want more and more, thus becoming addicted. It's those, pre-packaged, processed foods that are killing America by making us obese, unhealthy and obsessed with weight and dieting.

Just this weekend, I talked with a woman that had no clue that an order of Aussie Cheese Fries, from The Outback, have  almost 2,000 calories (1,913 to be exact) and that's not including the ranch dressing. It says that it's six (6) servings, but how many people actually know/follow that rule? Between the three of us, my parents and I would eat that whole thing (est. 800 each /with ranch), plus a Bloomin' Onion (1948 cal / est. 800 each /with petal sauce) then I'd have a full bowl of Alfredo pasta (est 800 cal) and chocolate cake (1574 cal).* That whole meal, calorie-wise, is more than I eat in two days and definitely not at all beneficial for anyone's body.

Then when I mentioned a few simple, healthier ways to cook some of her favorite meals, she seemed completely shocked. It was so strange because, to me, it's common knowledge, but the more I talk to people the more I realize that people really have no clue about the food that they're putting into their bodies and that there are things they can do to regain control of their health - and that's scary.

If you'd like to read more on this subject / books, you can check out these articles:

• How Sweet It Is by David Kamp (New York Times)
• Dr. David Kessler, author of The End of Overeating, On Why We Can't Stop Eating by Louise McCready (Huffington Post)

*Information taken directly from nutritional info at: http://www.outback.com/nutrition

Let me preface this by saying that I do believe that, in certain cases, medication is absolutely necessary and that I know that statins are helpful, to some people, but a majority of the people who are taking them, don't need to be.

So when I heard about this, this morning, it made me raise an eyebrow.

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"New guidelines may put 13 million more on statins ¹"

"Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could be prescribed to an estimated 33 million Americans without cardiovascular disease who have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years. That’s according to a new cholesterol guideline from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.

This is a dramatic change from the 2002 federal cholesterol guideline, which recommended that people should only take a statin if their 10-year risk level exceeded 20 percent. The old guideline only considered a person’s risk for heart disease, leaving out the risk for stroke."

The guideline recommends statin therapy for the following groups:

• People without cardiovascular disease who are 40 to 75 years old and have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for heart attack or stroke within 10 years.
• People with a history of heart attack, stroke, stable or unstable angina, peripheral artery disease, transient ischemic attack, or coronary or other arterial revascularization.
• People 21 and older who have a very high level of bad cholesterol (190 mg/dL or higher).
• People with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who are 40 to 75 years old.

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As it is, doctors are too quick to diagnose and prescribe medication, based solely on symptoms, without really addressing the root cause of problem. Now, with these new guidelines, it seems that instead of lowering cholesterol the natural way - by first advising patients to go on a low cholesterol diet - they're going to be prescribing statins much quicker. I'd also like to know how they're calculating the "7.5% or higher risk factors" since technically, everyone has a chance of getting heart attack or a stroke - no one is immune.

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"Obesity should be treated like a disease and cholesterol-lowering drugs could prevent cardiovascular disease in more Americans than previously thought, according to new cardiovascular prevention guidelines released Tuesday by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology." ³
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Throwing drugs at someone who is overweight isn't going to help them. If they want to treat obesity like a disease, then they need to get to the root and ask their patients two simple questions: When did you start gaining weight (and) Was there anything, around that time, that may have triggered it? Weight loss is crucial and the only way that doctors are going to help people is by going back to school and getting a better education in the fields of nutrition and psychology. People need to better understand how (and what) to eat by learning about proper portion size, how to read labels, what goes into our food and why they started to eat more in the first place.


 And then there are the statins potential side effects ⁴:  cognitive impairment, increased risk of raised blood sugar (which could lead to Type 2 diabetes - which, ironically, the statin is also suggested to help treat) and if paired with certain other types of medication, it can increase the risk of muscle damage.




For an otherwise healthy person who should be able to control their blood pressure, through proper education, diet and exercise, is the risk of these side effects really worth it? Apparently, I'm not the only one who thought this way...

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"For healthy individuals who may have some risk factors for future heart trouble, doctors have always been reluctant to prescribe medications when so much of heart disease is preventable, with proper diet and exercise. “For people with no history of heart disease, but who are trying to prevent heart disease, there is already a tremendous amount of overuse of statins in my view in this country,” says Eric Topol. “So my concern is that the new guidelines will lead to potentially even more promiscuous use of these statins than already exists.” ⁵

( Dr. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and chief academic officer of Scripps Health)
------------------------

The best thing we can do is to become our own health advocate. I know that Doctors hate when patients self-diagnose, and come in with a list of things that they could possibly have, but keep doing it! It's your life and your health and you have the right to feel as if you're getting the best care possible. And if you don't feel as if you are, get a second opinion. You know your body, better than anyone else, and if something feels off you're probably right. Do your own research. Dig for the root cause of the symptoms and figure out what can be done to nip the issue in the bud instead of wasting precious time and money on just treating the symptoms.

The face of medicine has to change and it needs to start with us.

In Super Size Me, Alex Jamieson helped change the way we think about fast food and how what we eat affects our bodies but 10 years after Super Size Me rocked America we’re still facing some big challenges and we need to come together and #FixFood.

In the Super Size Me 10-Year Anniversary virtual conference, Alex is bringing together the powerful voices that shaped the film and helped make this little documentary a global sensation. She’ll also ask the 30+ top experts in food and health who have come up in the last 10 years how they intend to help all of us #FixFood.

Super Size Me 10-Year Anniversary is available streaming for FREE online from March 10 - 14, 2014!

Get inside information on what the future holds for food from Alex Jamieson, and experts including JJ Virgin, Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Mark Hyman, John Robbins, Robb Wolfe and many more.
We have the power to change food culture - and it all starts here. See you March 10!

What you need to know:
Dates: March 10 - 14, 2014
Price: FREE
Where: Sign up online at https://www.entheos.com/Super-Size-Me-10-Year-Anniversary?c=tlb_1013

The New York City Vegetarian Food Festival was back at the Metropolitan Pavilion again, this past weekend, and they expanded to two levels this time around.

I think it's safe to say that everyone, including myself, would love for this event to be moved to a larger venue - like The Javits Center - to accommodate all the people without having to wait on such a long line to get in. Granted, this year we only had to wait 45 minutes - past years, people waited for hours and never got in - but it would have been nice to wait on a much, much, shorter line.

We didn't actually get into the building until after 2pm, so we weren't able to listen to a lot of the speakers, but we did have ample time to roam around and check out all the awesome vendors and sample their products!

I think the biggest disappointment of the day, for me, was that Sweet & Sara wasn't there this year. I was looking forward to stuffing myself with some vegan marshmallows and stocking up on some Easter Treats. Also, I missed checking out the latest fashions from Vaute Couture. Please come back, next year, okay?

While there were a ton of awesome exhibitors, I did manage to narrow it down to my top three favorites: three very new and delicious products, that I hadn't seen at the past events, that I hope to see more of in the future.

Vegan Fast Food 
http://www.veganfastfoodny.com/
@VeganFastFoodNY

As a Buffalo Chik'n connesiour, I've tried some amazing vegan drum sticks, namely from Red Bamboo [NYC] & Veggie Heaven [Teaneck, NJ], and I don't know what kind of magic these guys put into their food, but these Buffalo Drum Stix are probably the best ones I've ever had.

The outside of the drumstick was nice and crispy and the chick'n inside had a kind of creamy texture but it really was fantastic and the hot sauce had just the right amount of heat in contrast to the coolness of the blue cheeze dressing.

 There's very little info on these guys right now, but it seems that they're going to be opening up a shop, somewhere in NYC, in the very near future. I can't wait until they do!               HeatSweets
http://www.heatsweets.com
@HeatSweets  

They had a couple of unique varieties available, but we decided to go for the Jalapeno Strawberry Jelly. It's a nice mix of sweet with a bit of heat at the end and tastes amazing on a bagel with a little Daiya cream cheese. We also got to test out their Jalapeno Carrot Mango - which would be great as a glaze on veggies. 


Nuttin Ordinary
http://www.nuttinordinary.com
@nuttinordinary

I'm not a fan of "nut" cheeses, so I was completely surprised when I tried the Spicy Cheese Spread and loved it! The spicy version has a distinct nacho flavor and none of the weird aftertaste that I've noticed with some other brands I've tried. Definitely a HUGE thumbs up!

Onto the Speakers...

We were so busy checking out all the vendors that we missed most of the speakers, but we did head upstairs, to the Apple stage, and wound up catching a couple that I had wanted to see.


Dr. Joel Kahn

Holistic Tips to Power Your Heart
http://www.drjoelkahn.com
@drjkahn

It's always nice when you hear about a medical doctor embracing plant-based nutrition and holistic medicine. I fully believe that Western medicine is useful, in some cases, but a lot of today's diseases can be cured with preventative care & maintenance. If more doctors would incorporate at least some of these ideas, people would much healthier and in turn, be paying less in medical bills and for prescriptions.

Jasmin Singer
& Mariann Sullivan
Fed Up? A New Way to Feed Your Body, Your Soul and the World
http://www.ourhenhouse.org
@ourhenhouse

I volunteered with Jasmin, at some events, for Farm Sanctuary and I gotta say that she is one amazing human being. Her and Mariann have done so much to make the lives of animals SO much better.

While I've heard a lot of the information presented before I did enjoy the skit on 'What would it be like if an alien came to earth and saw how we were living." While it made everyone in the audience laugh, there were some very valid points made - which is one of the best ways to get a message across to people. Kudos you two!

All in all, I had a fantastic time and am looking forward to what next years vegetarian food festival brings. If you're vegan, vegetarian or even the slightest bit curious OR just love yummy food, you should definitely plan to be there next time. :)