Roslyn Franken Group

With all the news reports of
doom and gloom out there,
it's too easy to feel down and
neglect your self-care.

So to stay positive and
on a healthy track,
Why not give yourself and others
the gift that keeps giving back?

Find out more,
don't wait,
because this special gift is only available till
MIDNIGHT, DECEMBER 31, 2008

Go to www.roslynfranken.com/thegift.htm

Warmest wishes to you and your loved ones for a very healthy and happy holiday season!

Roslyn Franken

Listen to this month's HOW TO THRIVE AFTER 35 podcast as host Roslyn Franken shares practical guidance from her book, The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living, on how to make sense of confusing nutrition labels. Listen HERE.

Over the next few months Roslyn has some exciting guests lined up including Derick Fage, Canada's popular and witty co-host of Rogers Daytime Television and Sandra Yancey, Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork, the #1 resource for connecting and promoting women and their businesses worldwide.

Get informed and inspired with Roslyn's FREE Healthy Hints Newsletter. Sign up today!

With holiday party season upon us, event and meal planning, baking, gift shopping and social eating are 4 main activities. Who can resist all those holiday treats and that extra glass of wine? Who has time to exercise?

As a result, most of us will gain an average of 8-12 pounds if not more during this festive period. Then come January 1^st, we sit back crying the holiday weight gain blues and make our New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get in shape, just like the year before. Sound familiar?

Why do we do this to ourselves year after year? What can you do differently this year?  Let’s look at how to enjoy the season without crying the holiday weight gain blues.

Read full article

 

For many of you struggling with food and weight issues, you may be identifying your entire self-worth according to some number on the scale. This is both unfortunate and unproductive since one of the biggest lessons I learned in managing to shed my own unwanted pounds AND keep them off, was that the end results are so much more meaningful than just the number on the scale. The number is just that, a number. It has no meaning except for the meaning you yourself attach to it.

When you lose your excess weight, you will not only be physically lighter according to the number on the scale, you will also feel lighter mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Carrying around lots of extra weight is a burden in more ways than one. It weighs you down physically in that it adds extra pressure on your joints and you can’t move around as easily as you’d like. It also increases a long list of weight-related health risks such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, sleeping disorders, breathing disorders, arthritis, some forms of cancer and more. This can impede on your ability to enjoy your favourite activities to the fullest such as gardening or playing with your grandchildren. The problem is that you get so used to functioning with your excess weight that you don’t even know how much better, easier and fulfilling these activities can be without all the excess weight. How can you know if you’ve never experienced it? Or maybe you’ve experienced it in the past, but it’s been so long that you don’t even remember.

A great example is a client I had who at her heaviest weight decided to join a running group. It was extremely difficult for her to keep up and I remember her telling me how her husband would laugh at how she’d come home with her face beet red. She had trouble breathing, all her joints would hurt and it was just too difficult. After a short while, she decided to give it up. However, in working with her we decided that while she was changing her eating habits, she would also gradually increase her activity levels and maintain a more active lifestyle. Over time she lost more than 60 pounds and decided to re-join her running group. From eating properly and being more physically active over many months, all of a sudden she was not only able to keep up with the group, but lead the way. The confidence and reassurance that this gave her was astounding and just motivated her that much more to continue on with her healthy eating and positive living habits. Her weight loss allowed her to “lighten up” on so many more levels than just the scale. Freeing herself of all that excess weight allowed her to experience greater joy and light in her life. The dark cloud of her excess weight had lifted for good.

Too much excess weight can impact your level of self-confidence and make you more self-conscious in your appearance which can weigh you down mentally, emotionally and spiritually. All this to say is that if your weight is getting you down and you want to get your weight down instead, then know that it will help you to lighten up in more ways than one as well. Yes, you will be lighter according to the scale, but you will also walk taller, feel proud of your accomplishments, increase your self-confidence, boost your energy and have a greater sense of control over your eating, your lifestyle and your own quality of life. Just like the lady I described, your new found confidence will propel you to try new things, challenge yourself and take more risks than you ever would have dreamed before. You will lighten up in your life both personally and professionally reaching outside of your comfort zone that your excess weight can so easily keep you trapped in. When you learn to “lighten up” on all levels, your whole outlook on life will change. It is a powerful transformation that can happen for you too, one bite at a time.

Tired of struggling with the excess weight that's weiging down your life? Then let Roslyn Franken help you lighten up with her telephone counseling program. Get the professional guidance and positive support you want to help you change habits for results to last a lifetime. Find out more!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You may use this article, but only if you clearly include this complete statement with it:

Roslyn Franken is the author of The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living, a powerful self-directed guide for achieving your long term health, lifestyle and weight management goals.

Roslyn has overcome her own food and weight issues and has helped many others through her personalized counseling program and professional speaking services. She counsels clients worldwide by telephone and email who are ready to build a healthy and positive lifestyle maintainable for a lifetime.

To purchase The A List book and for more information on Roslyn Franken’s personalized counseling and professional speaking services, please visit www.roslynfranken.com. Take your complimentary online Readiness Assessment and be sure to sign up for your FREE Healthy Hints newsletter.

Simple strategies to help change your sleep habits

Get to bed earlier: If you typically get to sleep around midnight, start by going to sleep at 11:30pm. Get used to that and then cut it back to 11:00pm, etc… Your goal is to get a minimum of 6-8 hours of solid, undisrupted, good quality sleep.

Improve your sleep hygiene habits: Start slowing and winding down at least a half hour before going to bed. Give your mind and body a rest. For example, get off your computer, , turn off the television. Instead, do some deep breathing exercises, take a relaxing bath, do some light stretching to relieve your muscles of the tension built up through the day, spend some quality time with your loved one. Take time for yourself to calm your mind, slow your breathing down, relax and unwind and avoid eating right before bed.

Take notice of your patterns: If you wake up and are wide awake in the early morning hours way before you have any intention of getting out of bed and have trouble falling back asleep, take notice of what is typically happening. Are you worrying or obsessing about your To-Do list for the next day? Are you emotionally troubled over a problem you are trying to solve or decision you have to make? Then, I encourage you to get out of bed and write down your thoughts and then learn to practice self-relaxation techniques to get you back to sleep.

If you still wake up tired and feel tired throughout the day, speak with your doctor as there may be other medical or emotional issues impeding your proper sleep such as obstructive sleep apnea which disturbs breathing and induces snoring, or perhaps an intense level of emotional stress that has taken over your mind’s ability to let go and relax enough to sleep properly. Either way, the problems need to be identified and treated so that you can get back to a good night’s sleep.

If you still wake up tired and feel tired throughout the day, speak with your doctor as there may be other medical or emotional issues impeding your proper sleep such as obstructive sleep apnea which disturbs breathing and induces snoring, or perhaps an intense level of emotional stress that has taken over your mind’s ability to let go and relax enough to sleep properly. Either way, the problems need to be identified and treated so that you can get back to a good night’s sleep.

 

Check out my two other great articles on this subject!

Roslyn Franken is a proud cancer survivor and acclaimed author of The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living and Death Can Wait: Stories from Cancer Survivors. She is a motivational speaker and host of the How to Thrive after 35 internet radio show. Roslyn also offers one-on-one counseling by telephone and email conveniently accessible world-wide. For more information and a complimentary consultation, visit www.roslynfranken.com, send email to info@roslynfranken.com or call 1-877-852-5852 .

Benefits of getting proper sleep

 

Although we all have different sensitivities to these hormones, getting enough good quality sleep with minimal disturbances can only help you in your efforts to reach and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.

 

Here are some key benefits of a good night’s rest:

• Your cravings for sugary, high carbohydrate and calorie-dense foods may be fewer and less intense.
• You’ll have greater resistance to cravings and may not feel the need to give in to every temptation.
• Your brain will get the message that you're full faster so you’ll have an easier time stopping after only 1 cookie instead of 3 or more, for example.
• You’ll have more energy during the day
• You’ll be better able to concentrate, solve problems more effectively and be more resilient in the face of daily stressors. Since your coping mechanisms in the face of stress will be stronger, you won’t be turning to poor food choices for comfort as much.

Roslyn Franken is a proud cancer survivor and acclaimed author of The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living and Death Can Wait: Stories from Cancer Survivors. She is a motivational speaker and host of the How to Thrive after 35 internet radio show. Roslyn also offers one-on-one counseling by telephone and email conveniently accessible world-wide. For more information and a complimentary consultation, visit www.roslynfranken.com, send email to info@roslynfranken.com or call  1-877-852-5852 .

Part 1:

 

When people talk about weight loss and control, the discussion usually revolves around improving diet and increasing exercise. Now, what if I were to tell you that you could actually help yourself control your weight while you sleep?

 

When I first learned about this, I thought the same thing you’re probably thinking – that it just sounds too good to be true. However, I have found through my own experience and that of many of my counseling clients that it really IS true. With mounting medical evidence linking quality sleep and appetite control, catching your zzzz’s is one of the most important ways to conquer your cravings especially for sugary, high-carbohydrate and calorie-dense foods. And as a result, you will have better control over your weight, improve your health, feel better and look great.

 

Let’s look at your own sleep habits, WHY you may need to make some changes and HOW.

 

Which of the following statements are TRUE for you?  

• I rarely go to sleep much before midnight.
• I usually have trouble falling asleep.
• I usually wake up during the night.
• I often feel sleep deprived.  

If one or more of these statements are TRUE for you, then you may not be getting proper sleep. This could seriously be holding you back from reaching and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle.  Here's why...

 

The effect of hormones

Roslyn Franken is a proud cancer survivor and acclaimed author of The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living and Death Can Wait: Stories from Cancer Survivors. She is a motivational speaker and host of the How to Thrive after 35 internet radio show. Roslyn also offers one-on-one counseling by telephone and email conveniently accessible world-wide. For more information and a complimentary consultation, visit www.roslynfranken.com, send email to info@roslynfranken.com or call  1-877-852-5852 .