The new Canada’s food guide is now more than ‘just about the food we eat’ and I feel it deserves some respect for the progress that it has made.

The food guide has come a long way since it was last updated and personally, I’m pleased with the changes and hopeful that even more positive changes will continue to be made.

Historically, Canada’s Food Guide was heavily influenced by the Industry Lobby and was something that many nutritionists (including myself) felt we had to work against.

Now with the recent changes to the food guide, it feels like we’re getting much closer to being on the same page.

Previously, our food guides haven’t done a whole lot to improve eating behaviour.

Our Country is eating more junk food and processed foods than ever, and our food guide didn’t help with that.

Canada’s new food guide was just released last week, and it’s different than any of its previous versions.

I feel there is still progress to be made, including more of an emphasis on healthy fats, since they are essential to our health and well being, so I encourage you to always do your own research and empower yourself and your family with education.  

That being said, these are the changes that I'm pleased to see in Canada’s new Food Guide:

1. They listened to feedback and had the right objective

• With this new food guide, Health Canada took feedback from citizens and used it to create the new version. 
• They put citizens over industry profits. As a nutrition professional, who is also Canadian, it’s refreshing that the food industry was not invited to the table to shape Canada’s new food guide. I believe that a lot of the food industry will be very upset about this, however, I’m happy to see that the government put the health of Canadians first. 
• These changes will affect our schools and hospitals. I'm hopeful to see the changes over the next few years, where the recommended beverage of choice will now be water, instead of juice or chocolate milk (both of which are known to promote tooth decay and contribute to diabetes).

2. It includes help with changing eating behaviours
There are many other factors that we know affect people’s food choices and the new food guide offers helpful tips that were previously not included.

Things like the following healthy eating habits:

• Be mindful of your eating habits
• Cook more often
• Enjoy your food
• Eat meals with others
• Use food labels
• Limit foods high in sugars, sodium, and saturated fat
• Be aware of food marketing

These are all things that us nutritional professionals teach on a regular basis, so it’s so nice to see our country’s food guide now reinforcing what we’ve been teaching for years.  

3. It is simpler and more practical to implement
The new guide focuses on an overall healthier pattern of eating, instead of specific servings (this is easier for us since we don’t carry around measuring cups with us.)

The new focus is so simple. It says at meals to aim for:

50% fruit/vegetable,
25% whole grains, and
25% protein (dairy, meat, and alternatives)

* As a personal note, I would really like to see an emphasis on healthy fats, which right now, are only touched on when you tab to the second page.

They’ve also included a “Tips” button which includes helpful topics such as:

1. Meal planning, cooking and healthy choices
2. Healthy eating anywhere
3. Life stages

I have a question for you. Do you feel it will be challenging for you to aim for half of your plate being fruits and vegetables?

Do you know that only 1% of North Americans are eating the required fruits and veggies each day that are required for healthy living?

As always, I would love to hear your comments. Let me know what you think about the new food guide!

Until next time,

​May Anne
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While I don’t necessarily believe that a 2 or 3-day cleanse is going to solve all of our health problems, I do believe that dedicating a period of time to removing all processed, convenience foods that are void of nutrients from our diet and instead only choosing whole, live foods as close to nature as possible, is an extremely beneficial thing to do.

Doing this allows our body to do what it was made to do, and that is to heal.

Your body is actually pretty amazing and needs no help to heal, just no interference.

The reason we eat the right foods and remove the harmful foods is so that you have less interference and your body can do what it was designed to do.

When we don’t, we can start to feel really tired, bloated and just blaaahhh. We don’t feel our best and we can’t get up the energy to go for a family walk after dinner. We start to feel like we’re missing out on life and stuck in a rut.

Even if we have the motivation or energy to buy healthy food to cook, by the time it comes to actually make dinner we just can’t muster up the energy to do it.

This is where taking a dedicated period of time to remove all interference and give our bodies the nutrients they need can do wonders, to begin clearing out the junk and getting our energy back and feeling like ourselves again.

Although it may be hard to start, just know that you will feel so much better afterwards and let your ‘end goal’ keep you going.  

Cleansing requires a lot of motivation in order to achieve your goal as it might force you to alter your plans according to the times of cleansing or detoxification.

In order to make sure that your desire to achieve your goal and your motivation to cleanse you should follow the steps mentioned below in order to overcome all the challenges that you might face:

1. Many women tend to complain that if they shop with an empty stomach they tend to eat a lot more than they actually need. Hence people who are planning to cleanse their body through the process of detoxification should buy all their groceries and other household items before they start off with their cleansing journey.
2. Every individual should come up with a schedule that highlights all the major events that are coming up. This will ensure that your process of cleansing and detoxification does not overlap or clash with the dates when you have a family gathering or event to attend.
3. In order to accomplish any goal, it is very important to have a clear set of guidelines that you should follow. It is better to plan out your guidelines and follow them rigorously. Always keep them in front of you so that you are reminded of them again and again. It will help you remain focused and determined to cleanse your body with ease.
4. Many people believe that they tend to follow their diet charts and plans if they have a company that also wants to follow the same steps. Hence it is better to find out friends from within your social circle who actively take part in such activities. It will not only give you company but see them doing the same activity would make sure feel motivated. Motivated partners or motivated groups or social circles ensure that you stay motivated as well.
5. All the vegetables and fruits that you love should be incorporated in your diet as the will help you get rid of the idea that you are not eating all the other food items that you love. It is a psychological fact that if your taste buds taste the item that you love, it sends a very positive signal and message to your brain.
6. If you are visiting your friends and family members during your cleanse journey or even before you start it, it is better to share your plans with them. They will point out all the positive aspects linked with cleansing hence you will feel more motivated to achieve your goal.  It will also ensure that you are not forced by your family or friends to eat something that goes against your diet chart or cleansing schedule. They will make sure that they respect your decision and help you achieve what you want to achieve.

Once you are on the road to success, make sure that you pen down all your memories and parts linked to the cleansing journey. It will help you relive all the moments again in future when you want to.

Moreover, in future, if you plan to start the cleansing journey again it will help you to stay motivated and complete your struggle. The memories can also be shared with friends and family members, as you would be inspirational sources for them to start and achieve something out of the cleansing of their body. People tend to believe individuals who talk about results rather than other aspects that are not backed up by proofs.

I used to be exhausted almost all day long, and I know how hard it is to work all day and then try to find the energy to make a healthy meal for the family or muster up the ambition to go out and do something after work. It can be so frustrating. 

What helped me is basically the framework of the 14-DAY BODY RESET. It was actually a life-saver for me because it helped me jumpstart a healthier lifestyle and from there I had the energy to make even more healthy changes. I believe it can be just what you need as well.

The 14-DAY BODY RESET gives you a simple, done-for-you guide to healthy eating, and it’s a great kickstart to helping you make smarter food choices, regain your energy and start feeling like yourself again.   

Ready for your jumpstart into a healthier lifestyle? Click HERE.

May Anne 

P.S. The 14-DAY BODY RESET could be the jumpstart you need to helping you make smarter food choices, regain your energy and start feeling like yourself again.
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If I were to ask twenty women how many times their New Years resolution has been to lose weight, at least half of them would say “way too many.”

If it's been more than one or two times for you, you are so not alone.

Do you know what the Top 2 New Years Resolutions are?

1. Staying fit and healthy
2. Losing weight

Did you also know that statistics show that over 90% of people who diet gain the weight back again? And over 95% of those GAIN BACK EVEN MORE WEIGHT than they lost. How disheartening.

It’s no wonder that dieting is a billion dollar industry. People pay hundreds and thousands of dollars for quick fixes and temporary solutions involving injections, specialty shakes, counting calories, weighing food or counting points, and most of these can’t be maintained long-term and are damaging their health in the meantime.

Admittedly, I used to be a calorie-counter myself, and would deprive myself of anything that tasted good in order to either lose weight or maintain. I thought that boring, bland diet food was the only way to go and felt guilty every time I had something that tasted good.

The fact is, diets don't work - at least not long-term. They're not sustainable, which makes it almost impossible to maintain any weight loss, and they keep people coming back again and again.

Also, the body gets full from nutrients, not calories. So this just blows the whole “counting calories” theory out the window.

​Obviously eating 22 almonds builds your brain, decreases inflammation and many other things, while eating a Twinkie increases inflammation and blood sugar and causes cravings for more of the same.

Most people count down the days until they can get off their diet (and really, who can blame them!) because they feel restricted and deprived or it’s just too hard, and it doesn't work for everyday life.

​As soon as the diet is over, they fall back into familiar patterns and all of the weight creeps back on again.

To make matters worse, each time a person diets they run the risk of damaging their metabolism, making harder and harder to lose weight the next time (it’s not just your age that makes losing weight harder, it’s the repeated years of dieting.)

Each time they gain back the weight, the confidence level takes another hit, which makes it even harder to try again. That’s when the mentality of “I just can’t do this, it’s too hard for me. Everybody else can, but I can’t” settles in.

If this is your experience, the thing is, IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT. You've just never learned how to do it properly. What you need is to learn how to work with your body, and not against it.

There are a few very important pieces to the puzzle that dieting doesn’t include and they are:

• eating in a way that balances hormones and blood sugar (reducing cravings and increasing willpower)
• giving your body the nutrients it needs (also reduces cravings)
• boosting metabolism

Without doing these things, it will be next to impossible to lose weight and keep it off.

If you’ve dieted in the past, chances are your metabolism is damaged and your hormones and blood sugar are out of whack, and until they’re brought back into balance, trying to lose weight will be a never-ending battle.

If this is a struggle that you’re experiencing, and you keep doing things the same way you’re doing them now, you’re going to be in the exact same position this time next year making yet another New Years Resolution to either lose weight or get healthy. I don’t want that for you and it doesn’t have to be that way.

If your goal for 2019 is to either get fit and healthy or lose weight, then I have a different solution for you - one that will bring more freedom into your life.

THE SLIM DOWN PROGRAM 

My passion is helping women say goodbye to rabbit food, restrictions and dieting and instead, learn to use food to fuel their metabolism and enhance their energy levels, so they can lose fat, become healthier, and feel amazing.

The SLIM DOWN PROGRAM is the same way I've been eating for years. It allows for everyday living because it’s simple and completely do-able (and it allows for life’s indulgences, without the guilt or shame.) It's a win-win!

If you're ready to make 2019 the year that you stop dieting for good and instead, discover the metabolic boosting foods that balance hormones, level blood sugar and help you drop the weight, without having to count calories or spend hours in the kitchen click HERE.

My SLIM DOWN PROGRAM is now open for registration, with an Early Bird Special UNTIL TUESDAY AT MIDNIGHT.
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Please share this with anyone else who might like to never make dieting their New Years Resolution again!

Until next time,

​May Anne

​Click HERE to sign up or for more information on my SLIM DOWN PROGRAM.