Tiny Habits: How to make big change

I love this concept! It makes hard things seem really, really doable! Researcher/professor BJ Fogg explains the power of the "Tiny Habit" -- and demonstrates the Tiny Celebration!

Watch the video below -- and maybe get inspired to start your own big change with a tiny habit.

(Note: Hang in there through the cryptic chart with "Blue Path," etc. You don't really need to understand it.)

Inspiration: Type 2 Diabetes - Reversed!

Is Diabetes Type 2 irreversible? That’s what Bernard Bollen’s doctor told him, and that’s what conventional wisdom says.

Then Bernard tried the Paleo diet, a way of eating that emphasizes healthy fats and proteins, vegetables (and lots of them!), and limits or excludes processed foods, especially grains. Here’s his story:

I am 59 years old and have eaten a nutrition-sparse diet most of my life, high in sugars and refined carbohydrates. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes 6 years ago, my doctor told me that diabetes was a progressive disease that would require management, but that it was ultimately incurable. My feet were beginning to go numb, a sure sign of nerve damage in the extremities.... I was resigned to what I saw as the inevitable, a limb amputation, blindness, a stroke or a heart attack. 

Then, one year ago... I became aware of the Paleo diet. Its underlying nutritional philosophy just made sense to me. I... threw myself into the Paleo program. Over the next few months I certainly began to lose weight, but more, my whole relation to food... changed.... 

One month ago I saw my doctor.... who one year ago appeared to be skeptical of the benefits of the Paleo diet (so was I for that matter). Today he calls me his ‘poster boy patient’. Nearly all of the medications that I took a year ago have been dispatched to the [trash] bin. My life has been transformed in many ways. 

After six months on the Paleo diet I had already lost 15 kg (33 lbs) and felt that I had made a health breakthrough.... So I enrolled in a gym and regularly engaged in aerobic and resistance exercises. Now, 12 months later I have lost 30 kg (66 lbs) and I look and feel so much better.... 

Today I am cured of diabetes.

Was it the Paleo diet specifically that reversed his condition, or merely getting the processed foods out of his diet and/or reducing carbs? I suspect either would have made a radical difference.

Even if you're not ready to go full-on Paleo or Whole30, I believe -- from my own experience and from what I've seen in others -- that just eliminating sugar and processed foods can make a huge difference in your health -- not just your weight; your overall health!

Diabetes Type 2 increases your risk for multiple, serious health issues:

• Heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes doubles your chance of heart attack or stroke, and dramatically increases your risk of other cardiovascular problems, including CAD, atherosclerosis, and high blood pressure.
• Nerve damage (neuropathy). Poorly controlled blood sugar can eventually cause you to lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. 
• Digestion problems. Damage to the nerves that control digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. 
• Kidney damage. Diabetes can damage the delicate filtering system of your kidneys. Severe damage can lead to effects which require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
• Eye damage. Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the retina, potentially leading to cataracts, glaucoma, and even blindness.
• Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of various foot complications. 
• Skin conditions. Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.
• Alzheimer's disease. Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The poorer your blood sugar control, the greater the risk appears to be.

Learn more about diabetes' effect on your health:

• About the Diabetes-Alzheimer's link; Alzheimer's Association
• The connection between diabetes, heart disease, and stroke; U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
• Type 2 Diabetes complications; The Mayo Clinic

Read some Whole30 success stories. (Whole30 is a 30-day elimination diet based on Paleo principles.)

Bernard's story is edited from an original article, here.
More success stories from the same site, here.

What is that sweet drink costing you?

In this video by CBS News, a researcher explains how many pieces of bread and crackers equal the calories in one average-sized sweetened drink: Calories - not all created equal

To see the video, go to: https://youtu.be/lRlocHYc3kE

Here's the most jarring news:

In just two weeks of drinking sugar- or high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drinks (for 25% of their calories), researchers began to see elevated risks for cardiovascular disease -- even in slim subjects as young as 18.

Sugar-Alzheimer's connection

"Researchers have uncovered a unique connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, providing further evidence that a disease that robs people of their memories may be affected by elevated blood sugar, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis."

Read the full article from Science Daily here.

Inspiration: Naomi Teeter

I just discovered Naomi Teeter's blog and her inspiring story. She weighed 300 pounds when she decided to change her life. Now she weighs under 180 and is a life coach for others!

Here are some of her "Before and After" pics:

I love that she's not ultra-skinny -- just a healthy weight and shape for her, that still includes some curves! I also love that she doesn't emphasize it being all about looks or fashion, but more about having freedom to live a life that you love.

She says, "I weighed around 275-300 pounds between the ages of 20-25. ...I also suffered with painful acid reflux that kept me awake at night, water on both of my knees, painful joints, extremely dry skin, acne, and always running out of breath. I tried to lose weight many times. I would succeed at dropping 20-40 pounds, but then gain it all right back after giving up on myself again. It wasn’t until the age of 26 that I hit another fork in the road and made the firm decision that I needed to get the weight off for good. There were many times that... it felt like it was impossible, but I kept doing it and didn’t give up on myself this time. Over a year’s time, I liberated an astonishing 150 pounds from my body. Over the course of 5 1/2 years, I’ve maintained a stable 125 pound weight loss."

Hope this inspires you to start where you are -- today!