Fat Does Not Make You Fat…Sugar Does.

It also weakens the immune system, causes diabetes, and has been linked to colon and other cancers., and you know what? Our bodies really do not require much sugar at all! We get all of our glucose and fructose from the healthy fresh foods we eat, and it is really plenty for a strong healthy, illness-free body.

Now let’s talk about added sugar. Added sugar is sugar that we add to our diets that is not coming naturally in our healthy foods. Many of you will say…” I never add sugar” or “I don’t like sweets”…but unfortunately there are added sugars hidden in our food every day.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:

• Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons)
• Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons)

But regrettably, the average added sugar consumption per day is 76.7 grams – – an incredibly dangerous amount for the body to process.

This week we are going to break our addiction to sugar, or at least put a big dent in it.

Keto, once known as Adkin’s (same concept, small differences) is not just a reduction of sugar in your diet. They are about going back to the body’s natural metabolic processes which create energy. Again, we mentioned that you can actually get all of the sugar you need with natural foods…but if you pay even close to those items your body changes its system to find fuel.

Our bodies are full of fuel. Stored fuel…in our fat cells. But no one can seem to really burn it off. That is because there are still already so many easily available energy molecules in your system. Since our American diet clearly has us eating WAY over the recommendations…the sugar is stored as fat.

To burn the fat you have to remove the easily available energy sources. That is the added sugars.

The body is super efficient and always looks for the easiest processes to do something. If it needs energy/glucose it breaks down the easiest source for that to use it. We have to starve the easy sources so that the body has to CHANGE the way it metabolizes…and this is called KETOSIS.

When the body is in Ketosis, it has to look for energy in other sources…and it takes work. The source it will find is our reserves…our fat. In Ketosis the body switches into a different system. Always working to supply the brain with what it needs, the brain is the largest glucose user in the body. In fact, your body protects your brain by making it the number one prioritizer of glucose.

Now…Let’s Get Ready!

Stock your fridge. Fresh veggies and lean meats…and guess what? Butter! I recommend European butter, it tastes better and is made from free-range cows. You can get it at any grocery store.

Pick things you know you like…but here are a few suggestions:

• Tri-Color Peppers
• zucchini
• squash
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• olives
• asparagus
• NOT POTATOES
• chicken
• steak
• lean pork
• seafood
• lemons
• herbs
• liquid aminos

Journal Assignment:

How do you start your day? Do you put sugar in your coffee? Are you a cereal person? What time do you start adding sugars to your diet? Please take time to write in your “Daily Thoughts” section of your journal on this, or any other subject that is on your mind.

Tomorrow we will discuss the addictiveness of sugar…see you then!

Hi, I’m Eliza, one of your wellness coaches for this program. Some of you locally may know me from teaching AquaGym Fitness classes. I’m also a certified yoga instructor. For this program, I’ll be leading the mindfulness and reflection content that is sent to you on Sundays.

In anticipation of the official launch of our program tomorrow, I wanted to shared a podcast that is, in part, an inspiration for how we structured the wellness program this year. I listen to this podcast regularly and they cover a wide range of topics. One episode, called The Obesity Epidemic, was really eye opening because it talks about all the things we don’t understand about weight, wellness, body shaming, emotional eating and so on. One takeaway from the episode was this idea that there is no one wellness regime — diet, fitness, etc — that fits all. We are all different and wellness needs to be an individual journey. I shared my insights from this episode with Stephanie, the founder of this program, and she took it from there.

I encourage you to listen to the episode as well. It’s eye opening. Here are some different ways you can.

Listen on Audible:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Youre-Wrong-About-Podcast/B08K567VYM

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-obesity-epidemic/id1380008439?i=1000465289968

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/x16sklOaJBU

Setting up your Journal

Your Wellness Journal is going to be an important part of your journey to health. We hope that you have already received yours, or have plans to get one soon. It does not have to be fancy, a simple notebook will do. I particularly like the ones with tabs separating sections as it makes it easy to flip from section to section throughout your day.

We are going to separate our Wellness Journal into 5 sections, each with about the same number of pages in them.

Section 1: Shopping Lists

Section 2: Daily Thoughts

Section 3: Fitness Journal

Section 4: Food Log

Section 5: Goals and Tracking

We will explain how to use these sections as we progress through the weeks ahead.

But let’s talk about “YOUR WHY”.

In preparation for kickoff day, we want you to write about “Your Why” in the “Daily Thoughts” section of your Journal. Be sure to date your entry.

• Why have you chosen to do this?
• What are your expectations?
• How are you feeling? Excited? apprehensive?
• etc.

Your entry is your personal information. You will never be asked to share anything unless you would like to. These thoughts are important to the approach you take in this program. Please be honest with yourself.

OH…

AND NO NEGATIVE SELF-TALK!

That is against the rules over the next 8 weeks…It is time to LOVE YOURSELF!

Check-in Monday for the initial week! We will be focusing on breaking sugar addictions and discussing ketosis.

Expect lots of colorful veggies and lean meats in your world next week. In fact, you can already begin shopping for items in these categories that you know you already like. Fresh produce, lean meats (preferably organic, but that is optional at this time).

In Health and Wellness,

Stephanie, Crystal & Eliza

Your AquaGym Fitness Wellness Team

We hope you are excited to begin the 2022 Wellness Program!

It is important to begin to prepare for the weeks ahead. We will be focusing on Ketosis, The Bullet Proof Diet, The Mediterranean Diet, Your Gut Health, Plant-Based diets, detoxification, and more! Each week we will focus on one particular program, learn about its principles, why it works, how to apply these concepts in your life, and your personal takeaways. Each week we will also be providing an online workout that you can do at home as well as recipes and kitchen tips and tricks to help make your healthy lifestyle easier to manage.

Each day we will be putting up the content of the day. Be sure to check in daily and see what the focus is for that particular day. Sometimes there will be “homework” as well as opportunities to write in your Wellness Journal. The journal will be an important part of your journey. As we progress through these next few weeks, you will use the journal to document your food log, fitness log, measurements and weight (if you choose to), and most importantly, how you feel throughout the process.

If you would like additional resources such as total cookbooks and reading materials, we will provide a list of additional materials you are welcome to purchase, but it is not at all necessary. In today’s modern world we also have wonderful e-books, apps, and websites that can easily be downloaded. Below is a small starter list of ADDITIONAL RESOURCES that you might like to have on hand.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40537097-keto-diet

https://www.olivetomato.com/the-mediterranean-diet-cookbook-for-beginners/

https://us.thebeautychef.com/collections/books

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/plant-based-diet-food-list-meal-plan-benefits-more/

Forks Over Knives – The Cookbook

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-blood-sugar-solution-10-day-detox-diet-mark-hyman/1115250938

Focusing on our Wellness Journal – any journal will do. You can go with something as simple as a spiral notebook, go with a nicer journal you might find…or our favorite choice the Commit 30 Fitness Journal.

Fitness Journal

Remember that we will be using our Facebook group quite a bit as well. Be sure to join this group and introduce yourself! We hope that all of our participants will use this resource to ask questions, help each other out and support each other through our personal wellness journey.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wellnessbyaquagymfitness

Each participant will receive a one on one assessment. Be sure and book this with Stephanie Newberry personally. If you are participating from another location, this assessment will be done either by live cam or zoom.

stephanie@newberry.com

904 206-1057

Welcome! We are so excited that you have chosen to prioritize YOURSELF for the next 8 weeks…we hope for even longer.

During our 8 weeks together we will be diving into the typical American diet, how the body works on a scientific level, and how to make heads or tails out of several dietary programs. We will also take time to dive into emotional eating, daily stressors, and a personal approach to wellness.

Expect daily information regarding the topic of the week, as well as tips and tricks, journaling about what works for you, recipes, cooking clinics, fitness routines, bonus AquaGym Fitness classes, and much much more!

We will have an online community of participants at our Facebook group! Please join!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wellnessbyaquagymfitness

This is an amazing resource for questions, community, shopping, videos, and more. If you Facebook – we HIGHLY RECOMMEND you join this group!

Each week will be based on a specific topic or dietary plan… we want you to experiment with it. The very best way to know what does and does not work for YOUR body is to try. Each week you will be asked to write out your “takeaways”. The writing portion of this program is very helpful…and emotionally soothing. By the end of the 8 weeks, you will have a comprehensive understanding of your personal human machine, how to fuel it, how to comfort it, and how to thrive!

Stay tuned! We have SO MUCH TO SHARE WITH YOU!!!

Check-in daily! Enjoy the workouts and the fun recipes and cooking clinics! We are here to support YOU on your journey of personal wellness.

We are so PROUD OF YOU!!!