YOUR PARTY DAY PLAN:

• UPON RISING: Make a blender of MB CLEAN DRINK: Makes the blood more alkaline, is cleansing and starts you off on a good, hydrating note.    

• BREAKFAST:  ALOHA Protein Shake for breakfast

• EVERY HOUR TILL 5PM: Drink 8-12 ounces of Traditional Medicinals Gas Tea mid morning and mid afternoon or MB CLEAN DRINK

 

• LUNCH/DINNER BEFORE EVENT:

1. Protein shake
2. 12 ounces Organic Chicken Bone Broth
3. Lean protein and veggies
   
   

Eating food helps to reduce the acetaldehyde in your stomach, and it is the acetaldehyde that is thought to be one of the main causes of hangovers.  If you are going to a party that will be serving small bites, be sure to have a before going out!

• WHEN YOU GET HOME IN EVENING:

1. Blend one tablespoon of CALM magnesium + 1 packet Daily Good berry flavor with 8-12 ounces of water.
2. Drink one cup of Smooth Move Tea. It’s good for elimination and you’ll want to eliminate as much as possible/flush toxins out the next day.
   
   

• BEFORE BED: Best not to eat before bed but if you’re starving try these things in this order

1. 1 T of almond or sunflower butter or
2. ALOHA chocolate protein shake or
3. One piece of gluten-free toast with grass fed butter + drop or two of raw honey.   
   
   

• AT BEDTIME:

1. Open a window to freshen the room and get some fresh air. This will oxygenate your body and help you sleep better too. Be sure your room is 67 degrees or cooler.
2. Take two squirts of Source Naturals Melatonin under your tongue and hold for 60 seconds before swallowing
3. Put your Melatonin next to your bed and if you wake up anytime before 3AM and can’t go right back to sleep, take 2 squirts and practice breathing through your nose six counts in and out until you fall back to sleep.
4. Practice TWO BELLS BREATHING if feeling anxious. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, close your mouth and inhale/exhale six counts. Repeat for as long as you like. Optimally a minimum of 28 minutes per day. This is my fav meditation/stress reducer. Download the recording HERE and put on your iPhone today and use for immediate, stress relief anywhere, anytime.
5. Avoid taking acetaminophen based pills. Alcohol metabolism increases the toxic effect acetaminophen has on the liver and can be dangerous when mixed with the alcohol in your system-even before going to bed while alcohol is still prominent in your system.  These also make you urinate more leading to further possible dehydration.

• Joint Aches/Muscular stiffness: Many times I’ve had a client complain of sudden, inexplicable*back ache. Once I out rule a possible strain or injury I ask, “Are you hydrated?” Nine out of ten times the response has been, “No, in fact I haven’t had anything to drink all day.”  After a couple glasses of water and some electrolytes the ache almost always disappears.  All joints have cartilage padding, which is composed mainly of water. When the body is dehydrated, cartilage is weakened and joint repair is slow resulting in pain and discomfort.

          * Meaning they’d not injured themselves or had a history of back pain.

• Weight gain a result of insatiable cravings for sugar and other processed/unhealthy food-especially ice cream  and/or sugary drinks.  

• Constipation - Click HERE for details on this and the below MNN’s fabulous “what dehydration can do to your body” Infographic

• Fatigue

• Asthma and Allergies

• Digestive disorders

• Bladder or kidney problems

• High Blood Pressure

• Skin Disorders

• Premature Aging

BENEFITS OF HYDRATION:

• Feel better: have more energy
• Skin looks better

• Make better food choices
• Weight loss as a result of improved digestion, reduced cravings, increased energy/higher likelihood of working out.

FAQ’s RECOMMENDATIONS & TIPS:

Q:  How much water/liquids do YOU need?

A:   Approximately ½ your body’s weight in ounces.  Green veggie juices and herbal teas count.  The average adult loses about 10 cups of water every day simply by breathing, sweating, urinating and eliminating waste.   However the total amount one needs can vary a great deal from person to person depending upon how many veggies you eat, how much you exercise, medications you’re taking and your environment.

Q:   What do I think of seltzer water, soda water and mineral waters?

A:   I think they can cause bloating in some people and I avoid them for the most part except when out socializing (see below Q about what bevvy I reco).

  Add another cup to your total if:

1. You’re in extreme temps-hot or cold
2. For every caffeinated or alcoholic bevie
3. Exercising or sweating a lot

• Purchase a 16 oz, BPA-Free container
• Upon rising have one glass tea temp water with juice of ½ lemon  
• Try to get ⅔ in by noon &  complete by 5PM
• Avoid guzzling water during exercise. Click HERE to read reasons.
• Download and app such as the cute and clever Water Your Body to track your intake and send you helpful reminders.

Q: I'm drinking my recommended daily amount of water but still suffering from the symptoms of dehydration. What are possible causes?


A: Dehydration is often a combination of liquid and essential mineral depletion such as calcium and magnesium. I reco. you have 2TB of the magnesium supplement with calcium, CALM a day and one Nuun Electrolyte for every hour of exercise or the morning after you've had more than 2 drinks. See below for related advice on the latter.


Q:  What to drink if you want to have a cocktail when out socializing? (Most commonly asked Q.)

A: My pick to avoid hangovers and to keep you hydrated:

1. Order Patron/Don Julio or other "top shelf" tequila in tall glass on rocks filled with FRESH lime juice and seltzer  
2. At the same time 1 large glass seltzer/soda water, no ice
3. As soon as you drink a couple sips of drink fill to top with soda water. Repeat every time you take a sip.
4. Do not order another drink until you've gone through 3 tall glasses of seltzer. You will have to get a side of ice before you get through three glasses water.
5. Limit your total drinks to two per evening. Easier said than done when having a good time, I understand. See related blog for other ways to avoid hangovers.

Happy hydrating ya’ll! xoMB

CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
ONE OF MY FAVE HEALTHY HABITS - AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

After 20 years in the business of helping people feel and look their best, I’ve distilled my healthy living recommendations down to eight essential things, that if done most of the time (meaning 80%), lead to a healthy, happy, energized, peaceful mind and body and can allow you to avoid the effects of life’s stresses and avoid most if not all disease and stave off common issues associated with aging.

Next week I’ll be speaking  about five of my eight fave healthy habits at my friend’s Joe Cross’ Reboot Camp. The prep for my talk entitled “ Setting Yourself Up For Success - Simple tips for establishing routine of healthy habits”  prompted me to do a series of blogs on all eight of these healthy habits starting with what I consider to be the most essential of the eight, GRATITUDE.

What if I told you that by being more grateful you could feel happier, be more alert and energetic, have more determination, optimism, less depression and stress, be more likely to exercise regularly and make greater progress toward achieving personal goals and improving your romantic and other relationships? Cool, huh?

 "Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others." -Cicero

WHAT IS GRATITUDE

Gratitude is a feeling, an emotion and an attitude. It means thankfulness, counting your blessings, finding simple pleasure in the seemingly mundane daily occurrences and an acknowledgement of a benefit you’ve received or will receive. It means treating even small wins as miracles, and being aware on a continuous basis of how fortunate you are. We are what we think and what we think we're not....

Gratitude shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. It makes you feel better instantly among many other benefits and research shows it heightens the quality of your life.


THE BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE

GRATITUDE INCREASES QUALITY OF LIFE

Two psychologists, Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, wrote an article about an experiment they conducted on gratitude and its impact on well-being.

The study split several hundred people into three different groups and all of the participants were asked to keep daily diaries.

The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day without being told specifically to write about either good or bad things.

The second group was told to record their unpleasant experiences; and the last group was instructed to make a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of :

• alertness,
  
• enthusiasm,
  
• determination,
  
• optimism,  
  
• energy.

And LESS:

• depression,
  
• stress,

AND...

• were more likely to help others,
  
• exercised more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals.

More on gratitude and associate with well-being from Wikipedia:  A large body of recent work has suggested that people who are more grateful have higher levels of subjective well-being.

Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships[16][19][20] Specifically, in terms of depression, gratitude may serve as a buffer by enhancing the coding and retrieve of positive experiences. [21] Grateful people also have higher levels of control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life, and self acceptance.[22]

Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpret and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem.[23]

Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep.[24]

Gratitude has been said[by whom?] to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any character trait. [25][4]

GRATITUDE CAN BOOST A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP 


While being grateful is good for you, being on the receiving end of it can juice your romantic relationships! A recent study found that after receiving gratitude, participants noticed that their partner was more responsive to their needs;) and overall more satisfied with their relationship.

I learned from a very smart relationship's therapist that successful relationships tend to have  a  20/1 ratio of positive to negative things said to one another and a 5/1 ratio of positive interactions to negative ones that predicts whether a marriage will last or become one of the sad statistics of divorce.

GRATITUDE AS A MOTIVATOR OF BEHAVIOR

Gratitude may also serve to reinforce future pro-social behavior in benefactors. For example, one experiment found that customers of a jewelry store who were called and thanked showed a subsequent 70% increase in purchases. In comparison, customers who were thanked and told about a sale showed only a 30% increase in purchases, and customers who were not called at all did not show an increase.[10] In another study, regular patrons of a restaurant gave bigger tips when servers wrote "Thank you" on their checks.[11]


TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN CULTIVATE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

The brain can only hold one thought at a time. When we’re busy noticing what’s right we can’t be worrying or thinking about what’s wrong; we’re in the present as opposed to the past and future.

I think the the best way of cultivating an attitude of gratitude and the one I practice myself is to start as soon as I wake up in the morning, just as I'm cracking my eyes open, I start to list those things for which I am grateful. And try not to stop until I get to my kitchen where I turn on my water on to boil. Some days it’s hard, especially when I’m tired or I didn’t complete the things I wanted to complete the night before. The monkey mind jumps around and says, things like,  you shoulda gone to sleep earlier , then you woulda been able to do your TM first thing in the morning and you....coulda. And on and on. By the way, let’s take those words, shuda, wuda, coulda right out of our dictionary today, ok? They’re all about the past.

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”   -Brian Tracy

MY RECOS:

1. Practice at least 1x a day, pref at the same time every day. Think it.

Like most new, healthy habits, it’s best to practice at the same time every day. Research suggests it takes anywhere from 30-60 consecutive days of repeating the desired behavior for it to become a habit. So it's best to start first thing in the morning before your mind gets over active. Say something to yourself like “Thanks Universe for this cozy bed I don’t want to get out of, the roof over my head, for my body that's getting healthier day by day. Thank you for my clients...Whatever you can think of works. List at least three things and if you can, keep going. You will see that your active  monkey mind will get quiet.

2. Repeat. Write it down.

The more you repeat something the more likely it is to become a habit. This is true of unhealthy habits as well. The easier a habit is to do, the harder it is to break. Keep a gratitude journal, a spiral notebook or something more special and in it every morning once out of bed or asap, write down at least three things for which you’re grateful. Writing something is just another way of reinforcing the ideas and the energy you get from them. And you can keep a running list and look back on it. My Dad gave me my first Gratitude Journal when I was 18. I still have it. I love looking back on my lists from a few years ago, they always make me smile. There are even apps, like The Happy Tapper that can help remind you to list your three (or more) things for which you're grateful.

Other tips:  Start a Gratitude Jar-If you’d rather not keep a journal try keeping a Gratitude Jar. Can you guess who taught me about this?....Yep, my Dad. We started one together last New Years. It’s never too early to start practicing  gratitude. And my clients have started them with their kids and they really get into it. 

It’s never too early to start practicing gratitude. Psychologist and researcher Jeffrey Froh created and implemented a gratitude curriculum for kids aged 8 to 11. The youngsters who received the lessons showed an increase in grateful thinking, appreciation and positive emotions as compared to their classmates who did not partake.


3. Practice. Speak it. 

Throughout the day whenever I catch myself thinking or worse, saying something negative, I find something positive to say. I look for what’s right, what’s working, what I like. I make a point of telling as many people I encounter what’s great about them. Speaking is the third way to reinforce and share the good energy and love you feel or want to feel. It’s a law of attraction thing. Like attracts like. 

From telling the cab driver how nice his maneuvering skills are, to complimenting the waitress’ attentiveness, small acts of gratitude and kindness pay off for everyone involved and for the people that the person to whom you’ve just expressed gratitude encounters next. Yes, it’s contagious, so YOU have the power to affect many people's day and life in general. 

What happens when we encounter a difficult person...someone else’s monkey mind? 

Limit as much as possible the time you spend with people who are always complaining. Just as gratitude is contagious, so can be negativity. If you can't just leave the conversation and you're experiencing them ranting, dumping or worse, talking poorly about someone else, be polite and compassionate and tell them, ”I’m really working on staying upbeat and having a better attitude. Could we change the topic of conversation?” Or offer to help them find a solution to their conflict and ask them questions that will create a more productive conversation about whatever is upsetting them. Or if you know there’s no real solution, for example it’s an ailing parent they’re complaining about, let them vent some then give them a big hug. It releases feel good chemicals in the body and brain and they probably need it. Aw. Whatever you do, be kind.

TRY OUR OWN 100 DAYS OF HAPPY CHALLENGE:  Tag us in your gratitude photos and quotes on Instagram. @mindbodyreboot or Twitter @magenbanwart and we’ll repost em for you and share the love. A great way to start practicing and to develop a new, healthy habit of happy. 

And finally, one of my fave books is an interpretation of the Tao Te Ching  by Wayne Dyer called Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life. And it's really good at helping you to shift your perspective about life's events and ourselves. I've used it in my Yin Yoga classes for years. You're meant to read one short  section each day so it's easy. Not a reader? Try watching this video or get the audiobook and play it or another inspirational book in the background as you do your busy work or simple tasks. It will help you keep your mind in a happier place. 

Practice every day in little ways starting first thing in the mornin' tellin'  yourself what you appreciate about yourself, your life and those you love. Then repeat, write it down. Challenge that monkey mind and the negative Nelly's in your world and stay vigilant for looking for what's right. Share with anyone who will listen. Give compliments, do good deeds without expectation. Life is so very, very good and "all you have to remember is how fortunate you are." -Sri Sri

 STAPLES TO HAVE ON HAND AT HOME​

• LUNCH & DINNER FOODS for day before and the next day when your'e not feelin' like eating healthy:   4 ounces lean protein,  Organic hormone and antibiotic-free chicken breast, turkey OR Quinoa + green, leafy veggies (kale, chard, broccoli, brussels sprouts asparagus.)  Amy’s Organic Gluten Free, Dairy Free Pizza (they come in small or large) OR Amy’s Organic Rice Pasta OR Andean Dream Quinoa Pasta. Get them next time you’re at Whole Foods or click the links to order on Amazon.com. These non-perishables are my quick & healthy go-tos for comfort food.
• MORNING AFTER BREAKFAST:   Food For Life Gluten free bread, muffins or bagels (These taste great and are also corn and soy free which many gluten free products are not).  Organic, free-range, hormone and antibiotic free eggs (Vital Farms is my fave provider), turkey bacon.
• SMOOTH MOVE TEA
• Good Olive Oil   

• 1 fresh LEMON or a 1/2 inch piece of ginger.  Ginger is a great digestive aid and can soothe the stomach. Great to keep around.  

• Several packets or one box of DAILY HEALTH BOOSTER E BOOST & NATURAL ENERGY E BOOST.  These give you a dose of all the vital nutrients like the B vitamins and C you need to help maintain your energy and your mood as well as some of the minerals you may lose from drinking.  You can also use any high quality multivitamin. My FAVE:  INNATE RESPONSE FORMULA* for Women or Men Over 40.  If you’re under 40 get their regular multi.   
• Innate Response Magnesium Supplement or CALM Magnesium
• SOURCE NATURALS NUTRA SPRAY MELATONIN
• BACH RESCUE REMEDY Natural Stress Relief.  Dr. Oz uses this for himself and the kids version for his kids.
• NUX VOMICA Natural hangover remedy