A Commitment to Try

So I know a couple that started their relationship off not so well, by all standards disastrously.. yet they decided they were committing themselves to trying.. That seemed odd, what does that mean?? But then I started thinking about it in relation to health.

We start something, a diet, an exercise program, a giving up of something not good for us.. and we falter. We cheat, we relapse, we take the day, week, month off of the new program..
And this is where our real failure occurs. We call it all a wash. We have to start at ground zero, square one, because we messed up.

And that is baloney.

You don't start at square one! You start exactly where you are. You already have all of the information you gained the first, or fifth, go around, so now you simply move forward with a new commitment to yourself..

Sometimes we screw up. But it doesn't necessarily mean 'throw in the towel.' It could simply mean you weren't ready then.

Perhaps you are now.

So over the holidays you broke your diet, you indulged a little, okay, a lot.. and you are now beating yourself up like crazy.

knock it off. So you stumbled, it happens. Make a new commitment to yourself. The commitment to try again. You may stumble again. That happens.

But you haven't yet given up.. And that is progressing forward.

cm

a few thoughts on food, nutrition, and eating

When thinking of diet and nutrition our society is consumed by that big looming C word..

Calorie..

When reading the Nutritional Fact box on the back of a product, everyone seems to look at caloric and fat intake.. well scroll down, or to the side of that box and check out the ingredients list.. THAT is where the truly important information is.. That is the FOOD you are putting in.. Calories virtually wouldn't matter if you are eating whole healthy foods, combining them well, and eating in proper doses! Really, how many carrots, beets, kale, butternut squashes do you have to eat to be concerned over the caloric intake? more than you could ever eat in one sitting, that is for sure.

Some eating healthy guidelines..

• If you dont know the words in the ingredients list, you maybe shouldnt be eating it.. those arent generally foods that grow from the earth.

• If your great- grandparents couldnt eat, maybe you shouldnt either.. it's a good rule of thumb.

• when ingredients lists say 'enriched' and 'modified', run the other way... you dont want food that somehow they took a part out, processed, and then put some of it back in.. you want the food as it was grown.. whole.

• High fructose corn syrup is poison.. There is a mechanism in our bodies, when we take in food, as soon as it hits the small intestine a chemical reaction occurs and the brain is sent a signal saying 'okay! done! We're full! Stop eating!!' High fructose corn syrup turns that signal off.
And high fructose corn syrup is in everything.. Be warned..

Processed foods are not benefitting us. Created to be low calorie low fat they are also exceptionally low in nutritional value. They have been severely altered to be better marketing tools, but they dont tend to give our bodies the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients it needs.

Okay thats it for now.. I am sure I will come up with more later.. eat well, be well.. -cm

Idealbite.com e-zine article about Magnolia house!!

Our herbal treatments and Cold/Flu prevention is written about this morning in IdealBite!

http://www.idealbite.com/chicago/archives/steel-magnolia

how can it help me?

It has come to our attention that many people don’t know much about acupuncture or how it can help them.

So I thought a note may be in order..

Acupuncture is the use of hair thin needles inserted under the skin into Channels.
These channels are like an electrical circuit of the body, or many streams nourishing the whole system. Qi runs through these circuits/rivers. These fine needless are inserted into the channel to either draw energy to the point or away from it. The needles are conductors of your body’s energy. Sometimes Qi gets blocked, like a tree falling into the river, which stops the flow of that river, whilst flooding others perhaps. It is an imbalance within the system, often causing pain, and possibly leading to other complications. This can cause dis-ease and illness.

This is a very basic explanation but it gives you a general idea of what is trying to be done. Keep in mind, it is 2500 years worth of complex medicine.

Since acupuncture and herbs treat the imbalances within the body, and dis-ease is caused by imbalance, in essence, acupuncture can treat any dis-ease

Acupuncture can treat anything from the common cold to gallbladder stones.

Some commonly treated problems are:
• Common colds, flu’s, sinusitis, allergies
• Joint and muscle pain
• Digestive issues including acid reflux, IBS, constipation, and ulcers
• PMS and menstrual irregularities
• Symptoms of menopause, including night sweats
• Stress and anxiety disorders, insomnia, nightmares
• Anger, grief, and other emotional imbalance
• Auto-immune disorders and other chronic illnesses
• Skin disorders
• Urogenital issues including hernias and UTIs
• ADD/ADHD, lack of concentration
• Low energy & fatigue
• Quitting smoking, drinking or drug withdrawal

The list truly can go on and on..

No pain is ‘normal’ and acupuncture is a natural way to helping your body correct the imbalances. The more long term the issue, the longer it may take to correct the issue, but you will notice improvements quickly.

Smoking Cessation!

Ok, first off, it works- as long as you actually want to quit.. If you only kind of want to quit, nope, acupuncture won't convince your addiction it doesnt exist, sorry..

Here is what it will do..
1) It can make the taste of the cigarette pretty gross (remember how it tasted first time you smoked? like licking an ashtray? yep, itll taste like that again..)
2) It seriously calms down that aggressive/snappy mood swing.
3) It helps your body to detox all of the poisons at a faster rate

In general it really gets you over the hump of those first few days/weeks... IF you actually want to quit.

We offer 5 smoking cessation treatments for $125.

Package Treatment Deals

pricing is at www.magnoliahousetcm.com

The first deal...

Buy 3, save 15%
Buy 5, save 20%
Buy 8, save 25%
Buy 10, save 30%

These can be shared with family and friends, so you save money together!

so we now have a blog..

this is all very new and odd to me, I'll admit it..

but it seemed like a good way to keep in touch with people, to let you all know about what we are thinking about, reading about, eating, what we suggest, and most importantly, what specials we are running.. So tadah! The blog...

Welcome, Enjoy, and Thank You. cm