Mastering Time

Have you ever wished for a few more hours in the day? Why is it that some people seem to get everything done effortlessly and others feel that time constantly eludes them? The secret to managing your time well isn’t working more hours. The secret is working smarter, not harder. It is about prioritizing the important things and learning to use the time you have more efficiently and effectively.

Some of us, by nature, organize and get tasks out of the way before we relax, while others of us play first and work later. It is important to first recognize which type you are and whether your style is allowing you to have the life you really want. Maybe you are super-organized at work, but burned out because you don’t know how to make time for yourself. Maybe you are naturally a less organized person who knows how to relax, but you are dissatisfied because you aren’t fulfilling your goals and dreams.

Rather than labeling yourself or beating yourself up, realize that time management is an area of your life that you can strengthen. Like a new muscle, it takes practice and repetition to make it stronger. To help you get started, here are some steps to streamline your days at work and at home. Try the first one or two that jump out at you:

- Allocate time for planning and organizing.
- Create to-do lists that are realistic, not intimidating. Use only one to-do list.
- Under-schedule your time: leave time for the unexpected and for interruptions. When you estimate how long something will take, add on 1/3 of that time.
- Schedule your time in a way that reduces interruptions that lower your productivity.
- Practice the art of intelligent neglect: eliminate trivial tasks.
- Prioritize what is most important and do that first.
- Consider your biological prime time: at what time of day do you work best? Plan to do your most important work at that time.
- If you say yes to everything that comes your way, learn to say NO.
- Ask for help and delegate.
- In the evening make your to-do list for the next day, so it will be out of your brain and on a piece of paper. Leave work with a clear head and a clean desk.
- Acknowledge yourself daily for all that you have accomplished.

Also take a look at the two biggest hindrances to using time effectively: procrastinating and lacking purpose. We usually procrastinate when a task seems too daunting, too large, too complex, or when we feel we won’t be able to handle it. When you get that “deer in the headlights” feeling, try “chunking”: break the large task into smaller, manageable action steps, and start with the first one. We also often drag our heels or use our time inefficiently because we are bored, unengaged, and uninspired. The most effective people will tell you that they love what they do and are aligned with a greater purpose. When it comes to managing your time, you may need to ask the larger questions, “Am I doing what I love to do? Am I doing something meaningful to me?”

As you strengthen your new time management muscle, keep your focus on getting organized so that you can live the life you came here for. Instead of being a chore, good time management can be your ticket to more fun, greater satisfaction, and a vibrant, exciting life.

Postponement and Reward

Update on the New Groups: We are postponing group sessions until after Sukkot and then we'll all begin. If you are interested in signing up for any of the 3 groups:

Weekly Weight Loss,
Weight Loss for Resistors,
or the last 30-Day Detox,

please email me at Emily@TriumphWellness.com asap!

Private counseling continues as normal throughout the Holiday period.

My weight loss method is a NO-DIETING method. When you eat delicious, healthy, whole, natural foods, weight releases from your body naturally. This allows you to also maintain what you've lost without constant deprivation, calorie counting, and struggle.

Lite bread filled with artificial flavors and preservatives, non-fat dairy products filled with chemicals fillers and fake fats, artificial sweeteners, packaged, processed food made by machines... all of these these are toxic and unrecognizable by your body. Each of those foreign substances are stored away in your fat cells and actually lead to weight GAIN! Ick. PLUS all of those artificial flavors just keep you jonesing for more and your appetite rages out of control.

Dieting is a temporary solution to your weight loss problem. You lose weight while you're on the diet white-knuckling through with will-power, but then you fall off the diet because it's so dang restrictive, and you gain your lost weight back. Sound familiar? Sure it does because we've ALL done it over and over again!

I'm sure you have all heard that expression about the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again while hoping for a different result.

How about trying something different? Something that makes sense and listens TO the wisdom of the body rather than stifling it with tortuous will-power and subjegation?

I invite you to hang up that ineffective dieting practice and learn to eat to feed your body and your health. Your body is an incredible machine and it knows what it's doing. I will teach you how to listen and give it what it needs to run at top efficiency.

Join one of the groups, work with me privately, read my newsletter, email me, call me...It's time.

OK, so if you got this far in the post I am giving you a reward! Last night two of my 30-day detox groups wanted to celebrate the completion of their detox, so we had a party. It was a pot-luck. Do you imagine that everyone brought cheesecake and chocolate, chips and soda to celebrate? No Way! They are all feeling so amazing and so hopeful that they ALL prepared beautiful, healthy whole-grain, veggies dishes that tasted SO GOOD! There was:

Creamy Roasted Vegetable Soup
Vegetarian Chili
A Giant Fresh Green Salad
Brown Rice Salad with Apples and Cranberries
Thin Tofu Slices with Tomatoes, Basil, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar
Vegetable Casserole
Quinoa with Orange, Spinach & Chickpeas
Green Tahina Sauce with Herbs

Wow! Everything was really delicious. And I brought a yummy dessert that didn't have anyone's blood sugar flying off through the roof or set cravings in motion or anything! Safe, high-fiber, full of nutrients and delish. Here ya go:

Emily's Vegan Flax Cookies

1 cup oats, ground in the food processor to make a flour (1 cup ground actually)
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup ground nut flour leftover from making nut mylk
1/4 cup whole flax seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave nectar
1/3 cup sunflower or coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 180 C (350F). Oil a cookie sheet.

Stir together flour, flax, cinnamon and salt. Add maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Stir until combined. Drop teaspoon-fulls onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until turning golden. Cool on a rack.

Isn't this better than dieting???

New Group Programs for Fall!

In addition to my regular individual counseling program, this Fall I will be running several groups based on overwhelming request. There will be THREE groups as follows:

1. Weekly Holistic Weight Loss Group
In a small group setting, we will support one another in making healthy lifestyle changes. This is NOT a diet plan and no meal plans will be handed out! Diets are only band-aid measures. They treat the symptoms - over-eating and over-weight - without addressing the causes, which can be anything from Adrenal Fatigue or Food Intolerances to uncontrolled Emotional Eating or unchecked Limiting Beliefs about ourselves and much more. This group will meet weekly for 8 weeks beginning mid-September. Yes, we will be working together THROUGH the Holidays. Wouldn't it be nice to eat well and FEEL well this Holiday season, rather than depriving or stuffing yourself as usual?

This group is ideal for:
-People who are ready and motivated to finally make healthy changes in their lives by learning to prepare delicious healthy, whole foods and to overcome obstacles that have tripped them up in the past.
-People with a Can-Do attitude who are willing to stop Dieting and start Eating real food!
-Graduates of my 30-day Detox program who are looking for more guidance and support.
-Adults age 18 and older

Eight 90-minute meetings include:
-Personalized Binder with handouts, coaching exercises, recipes etc
-Healthy cooking food demo and tasting at every session (Kosher kitchen)
-Between meeting personal support with me via email and with the group on our own private yahoo group.
-We will cover foods such as truly healthy sweets and snacks, whole grains, greens, beans, sprouts, sea vegetables and super foods while reducing sugar, artificial sweeteners, wheat, dairy, junk and processed foods.
-Coaching topics will be as needed by the group and will include Setting Irresistable Goals that draw you forward, Elimination of Limiting Beliefs and Inner Resistance that hold you back, Buidling a Balanced Life, Erradicating Emotional Eating and Evaluating Cravings.

This Group will meet weekly beginning around Sept 15 through November 3. Email Emily@TriumphWellness.com for exact times.

There is currently NOTHING like this Group being taught in Israel. This is all my best stuff and tons of new information as well. If you want to get off the Diet-Rollercoaster and find peace with food for once and for all, THIS is the group to join!

Cost is 400 nis per month for 2 months.


2. Weight Loss for Resistors
I have developed this format after spending the summer studying the Psychology of Change - why we make changes and why we don't. This is a group specifically for people who have been told they need to lose weight by a doctor or spouse, but can't summon the strength to do anything about it. We will work together, very gently, examining why we are resisting healthy change, evaluating our current mental and physical states and discovering motivation we didn't know we had. Again, this is not a diet or meal plan, but rather a behavior modification program that will allow you to understand and dissolve your resistance to permanent weight loss

Eight weekly meetings beginning in late September.

This group is ideal for Adult men and women who
-are resistant to changing their habits
-have tried before and failed and thus believe change is not possible
-feel hopelessness and despair over their weight but feel powerless to change it
-are mired in denial about the seriousness of their problem

This Group will meet weekly beginning around Sept 24 through November 12. Email Emily@TriumphWellness.com for exact times.

I am basing much of this program on the ground-breaking psychological program the National Cancer Institute has found to be more that TWICE as effective than standard programs in helping smokers quit. I have adapted the information on smoking to weight loss.

Cost is 400 nis per month for 2 months.


3. My Famous 30-Day Detox
This will be the LAST time I run this group until the Spring so if you've been putting this off, here is your last chance! In a fun and supportive group setting we will slowly eliminate sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, wheat and dairy and watch our energy soar and our health sparkle! This program is VERY popular so sign up fast. The dates for the last 30-day detox of 2009 are October 12 - November 2.

Who is the Program Suitable For:
-Men and Women, age 18 or older
-Any size, shape and weight welcome
-This detox is healthy and safe for anyone, regardless of any current illnesses or health challenges.

What Does the Program Involve: A safe, supervised gradual detoxification from sugar, artificial sweeteners, wheat, dairy products, coffee, beef, alcohol and processed foods. This program uses only real, regular food you can buy in any market. There are no supplements or powders required. You will feel strong and healthy during the detox and so it may be done without affecting your work or home life. We will only be eliminating the above foods while increasing enzyme-rich fresh fruits and vegetables.

What benefits can you expect to achieve by following this 30-day detox?
-Weight loss of 2-5kgs is typical
-Improved Digestion
-Reduction of Gas and Bloating
-Better Energy Level
-Clearer Skin
-Improved Mental Clarity
-These 30-days are an excellent jumpstart to an on-going weight loss or wellness program!

Special Group Price of 400 nis per person includes:
-Four 90-minute small-group sessions jam-packed with information, support, motivation and fun
-A Personalized Binder full of handouts, tips, menus and recipes
-Unlimited email support between sessions on our own private Yahoo group
-Demos of healthy Detox-friendly food preparation and tasting at each session (Kosher Kitchen)
-An exclusive group-member discount on colon hydrotherapy treatments at B-Teva Clinic in Raanana (these are optional treatments for those who want a deeper detox experience)

ALL Groups meet in Kfar Saba. If you'd like to organize and host a private group in your home, email me! Emily @TriumphWellness.com

For registration and more information email or call Emily Segal Emily@TriumphWellness.com 054-441-9858. Read more on my blog http://www.emilysegal.blospot.com/

Two Detox Groups Now Open for Registration

It's time for more Detox Groups! I have had a lot of requests for new groups following so many success stories in my previous groups. Let's get one more round of detox in before the start of the Fall Holidays! Here's the info:

TRIUMPH WELLNESS 30-DAY GROUP DETOX

Do you ever wish you could push a Re-Set Button on your diet or health? Just wipe the slate clean and start afresh without all the old addictions and bad habits? Maybe you have wanted to try a detox, but didn't know how to put it all together?

My name is Emily Segal, a Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist from New York and founder of Triumph Wellness, a private Nutritional Counseling practice in Kfar Saba. I have been running these extremely popular and effective 30-day Detox Programs throughout the Spring and Summer. This is your last chance to join in before Fall!

Who is the Program Suitable For:
-Men and Women, age 18 and older
-Any size, shape and weight welcome
-This detox is healthy and safe for anyone, regardless of any current illnesses or health challenges.

What Does the Program Involve: A safe, supervised gradual detoxification from sugar, artificial sweeteners, wheat, dairy products, coffee, alcohol and processed foods. This program uses only real, regular food you can buy in any market. There are no supplements or powders required. You will feel strong and healthy during the detox and so it may be done without affecting your work or home life. We will only be eliminating the above foods while increasing enzyme-rich fresh fruits and vegetables.

What benefits can you expect to achieve by following this 30-day detox?
-Weight loss of 2-5kgs is typical
-Improved Digestion
-Reduction of Gas and Bloating
-Better Energy Level-Clearer Skin
-Improved Mental Clarity
-These 30-days are an excellent jumpstart to an on-going weight loss or wellness program!

Special Group Price of 400 nis per person includes:
-Four 90-minute small-group sessions jam-packed with information, support, motivation and fun
-A Personalized Binder full of handouts, tips, menus and recipes
-Unlimited email support between sessions on our own private Yahoo group
-Demos of healthy Detox-friendly food preparation and tasting at each session (Kosher Kitchen) -An exclusive group-member discount on colon hydrotherapy treatments at B-Teva Clinic in Raanana (these are optional treatments for those who want a deeper detox experience)

All meetings take place in Kfar Saba. If you live in Raanana, and have a group of 5 or more people committed to joining in the Detox with you, contact me for details on hosting the program in your own home. For registration and more information email Emily Segal
Emily@TriumphWellness.com

*************************************************************************************
What past participants of the 30-Day Detox Have to Say:

"I learned that I can control my eating and that eating healthy food is better than eating diet food. The group was inspiring and supportive. I feel great and know that I have done my body a favour!" - G.S.

"Emily is lively and knowledgable. She provides valuable information week by week along with great recipes and yummy tastings! She makes a month-long detox seem very easy." -I.R.

"I lost 4kgs and have finally gotten on the right track to healthy living. I always knew what I was supposed to be eating before, but just was never able to DO IT before Emily showed me how."
- T.W.

"I never thought I would be able to make it through a single day without sugar and soda. Here I am 30 days later, several kilos lighter and feeling better than I could have imagined. I will never go back to the way I ate before. I couldn't have done it without Emily and the group!" - L.R.

************************************************************************************

WHEN:
4 Sundays from 12:00 - 13:30 beginning August 16, 2009

OR

4 Mondays from 19:30 - 21:00pm beginning August 17, 2009

WHERE: Lovely Kfar Saba

Email me to join. Come on, It'll be FUN!

Emily@TriumphWellness.com

Teach Your Children Well

I very often have clients who do not know how to cook. They were never taught. Think about that for a minute: These people were never taught how to provide for themselves in the MOST basic manner. They were not taught how to FEED themselves. To me, that's a pretty basic survival skill and I can't help but wonder how their parents missed teaching it? These are people who were taught to use a toilet rather than a diaper. They were taught to share toys, to tie their shoes, and to tell time. They grew up to succeed in all sorts of professions from doctor to lawyer to salesperson to pilot. But cooking food....I don't know, seems that they skipped that lesson.

My mom taught me how to cook. She's an excellent cook and even ran her own catering business when I was a child. She was also ahead of her time healthy food wise. She cooked a lot of vegetables, not so much meat, very little fat. Then when I got married and moved in with my husband, I learned his entire Israeli repertoire, much learned from his own mom, and some from life in the army, and added it to my own skill set.

I realize that others were not so lucky. In many cases, their parents didn't know how to cook anything decent either. Or their parents liked to eat fried foods, endless steaks, and the only vegetables served were "creamed" and from a can. Maybe it was not considered important enough to teach? Most of us grew up at a time when the tv dinner and the microwave oven were beginning to make the kitchen arts obsolete.

But now as I mother myself, I see a trend that troubles me. I have plenty of friends who DO know how to cook. Yet, it has not occured to them to TEACH this skill to their children. These moms tend to wait on their kids and serve everyone at the table their separately prepared preferred item: plain pasta for child #1, a hot dog for child #2, a bowl or milk and cereal for child #3, insisting that each child only likes this certain thing and being a short-order cook and waitress is better than fighting over food each night. So, here we have kids who don't know how to cook AND they don't know how to eat properly either.

Am I the only one who sees BIG TROUBLE brewing on the horizon for these kids?! As moms, are we thinking ahead here? Our kids will be adults one day, out on their own. What will they prepare for themselves to eat? Hot dogs? Yeah, that's exactly what they will be preparing and when they have kids that's what they will be serving too. And this is precisely the point when they end up in MY office!

I've got a picky eater here in my house too. I KNOW it's a challenge. But since when has "Challenge" equaled "Surrender"? We have GOT to teach these kids how to take care of themselves! I myself am included in this. I quite often have to grit my teeth and bite my tongue in order to let the kids set their creativity loose in my nice clean kitchen. (See above picture to see how bad it can get!) But it's worth it. I want them to grow up loving a large variety of healthy foods - how to prepare them and how to enjoy eating them!

Here's a recipe my 11-year old came up with and prepared almost entirely on his own:

L's Chinese Fried Rice

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 T olive oil
1 T sesame oil
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 carrot, julienned
3 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 T soy sauce
2 cups mung bean sprouts

To make the rice. Rinse the dry gains in a colander under cold water. Place in a pot with the water. Bring to a boil, turn down heat, cook over very low heat for 30-40 minutes until rice is cooked and water is absorbed. Set aside to cool completely.

Warm oil in a pan. Saute broccoli and carrots until tender-crisp. Toss in rice and stir fry until all is coated. Toss in scallions and soy sauce. Serve topped with bean sprouts.

You can also make a 2-egg omelet, slice it into strips and serve on the final product. Or add some peanuts for a crunchy kid-friendly appeal.

L says "It's fun to cook and then I get to eat it!"

Boot Camps, Detoxes & Challenges, Oh My!

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I'm almost always doing some sort of self-created Challenge around personal habits, food or exercise. What is up with THAT?! I was speaking to a woman yesterday about my detox program and she said "Well, I don't really believe in detoxes." Let me tell you, I have heard that A LOT. Mostly from people who are stuck where they are, unable to make lasting behavior changes or harness the power of any on-going motivation. I mean, what's not to believe in? That you body doesn't deserve to get a break from all the crap we put into in every single day? Or maybe that embarking on a Short-Term "fix" is going to lead to any lasting change?

When I started running detox groups, I was just doing it for the former reason. Thirty days to rest and heal the digestive track of harmful substances like sugar, junk foods, coffee and artificial sweeteners. Thirty days to eliminate potential allergens like wheat and dairy. I didn't think anyone was going to stick to the changes after the month was over.

Boy was I wrong!!!

I don't think a single person in any of my detox groups finished those 30-days unchanged. While I expect that many will go back to eating some, if not all, of the eliminated items from time to time, I can also see that their eyes were opened to how they COULD look and feel. Once your eyes are open like that, you can never really close them again. In addition to that, is the powerful sense of personal accomplishment you have when you have pushed yourself hard and done a thing you didn't think you'd be able to do. Once you get a hard-won accomplishment under your belt, those walls and barriers you have set up all around you don't stand a chance. Folks start blasting on through their self-limitations right and left. I see it happen everyday in my practice and it is fabulous!

I personally think regular detoxes or nutritional cleanses are an extremely important part of yearly self care. Just as you change your closets over each season, it's important to change your food and habits over as well. Heralding a new season with a seasonal fast or cleanse is a wonderful way to set yourself up for the new season and enables your to better meet the new climatary changes without becoming clogged, sick, fatigued and unbalanced. This is one of the keys in Ayurvedic medicine, but that will be another post...

Now, on to Bootcamps and Challenges. Whenever I start becoming unbalanced in some area of fitness or personal habit, it is easy to say "Oh yeah, I really should do more yoga." And then totally blow it off. If on the other hand, I say "I am going to do a 40-day Yoga Challenge" and tell all my family and friends about it, you can bet I'm gonna get it done! Same thing with "I wish I could run a race someday" versus signing up and paying for, say the Westchester Half-Marathon. (That's me in the above picture, at the finish line of said race, with my two little fans.) Heck, I even set work-related challenges and personal growth challenges! Everything from "One hour of focused marketing everyday for 100 days" to "Sixty-day Affirmations Bootcamp".

Look, personal growth can become tedious. Weight loss and maintenance get boring! Even fitness gets stale if you are not constantly challenging yourself. The key to ongoing growth and success is to keep stretching yourself. Keep reaching, keep pushing a little harder, a little farther. Shake it up and have fun!

So, here's a step-by-step on how to create your own challenges:

1. Pick something you have been wanting to do but just not doing.

2. Pick a challenging, but realistic length of time. 28-days to create a new habit and all that. 40-days is also a very auspiscious length of time for challenges of a spiritual or personal growth nature.

3. TELL PEOPLE. Close every email with "Day 25 of 100-day No Diet Coke Challenge". Post it in your Facebook status or on twitter. Ask your friends or spouse to keep you accountable by asking how it's going. Get a friend to join you!

4. If you mess up and miss a few days, my personal opinion is do NOT go back to day one. Just start where you are and carry on. If you have to go back to the beginning, you negate all the days you DID get it right and risk losing serious motivation.

5. Hire a coach, trainer or Holistic Health Counselor to cheer you on, kick your hiney when it's dragging, and prop you up when you don't think you can go on. I LOVE being the support person behind the heroes reaching for the gold in life!

Now, who's ready to step up to the plate and post their self-challenge in the comments section? I'd love to hear what you're up to and you never know who you're going to inspire.

As for me,

Today is Day 23 of my 40 Day Yoga Challenge and I'm getting those sexy Chatturunga shoulders my friend Jenn has, woohoo!

Happy Challenging!

What Was for Dinner Tonight

I get an awful lot of questions from people about what I and my own family eat on a day-to-day basis. I have decided to start a new blog feature called "What Was for Dinner Tonight" and I will give recipes when we have a particularly good or interesting dinner. I hope this will give folks some ideas.

The recipes and meals I will present here will run the gamut from vegan, to raw vegan, to lacto-ovo vegetarian, as we are all of these things in turn. Sometimes we just eat scrambled eggs for dinner, so please don't think we are perfect. I have been known to throw lettuce leaves on the table and call it a salad. But sometimes I do get my act together in the kitchen and produce something we all eat and enjoy. Those are the dinners I'll tell ya' about.

Dinner Tonight was Lentil Loaf, Vegan Eggplant Rollatini, Brown Rice, and Salad. Raw Freezer Fudge was dessert, yum!

Lentil Loaf

Before you start this recipe, cook 1 cup of dry lentils in a pot of water with a strip of kombu seaweed for 30 minutes or until soft. Drain the lentils and discard the kombu. Set aside.

1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 T curry powder
dash cayenne pepper
sea salt to taste
2 cups cooked and drained lentils
2 T natural peanut butter
1/4 cup whole grain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 190 C (375F). Oil a loaf pan and set aside. Saute the veggies in the oil until they are soft. Add the spices. Put all into the food processor with 1 cup of the cooked lentils and the peanut butter. Process until smooth. Stir in the remaining lentils and the crumbs. Mixture should be very thick and pasty. If it's runny, add more breadcrumbs! Press into loaf pan and bake in oven 30-40 minutes or until firm. Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing.

Vegan Eggplant Rollatini
1 large eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into thin slices
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup whole grain bread crumbs
3 T Nutritional Yeast
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 190 C (375F). Lightly oil a baking sheet and place eggplant slices on it. Flip them over so both sides are lightly coated with oil. Cover with foil and bake 15 mins or until soft. Set aside. While the eggplant is baking, saute onion in the oil until soft, add in nuts, crumbs, raisins and tomato sauce. When eggplant strips are cool enough to handle, lay them on the counter to ready for filling and rolling. Place a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce in the bottom of a small baking dish. Place a few spoonfuls of filling onto the small end of each eggplant slice and roll up tightly. Place seam side down in the pan. Continue until all are rolled and packed tightly into the dish together. Top with any remaining filling and the remaining sauce. Bake 20 minutes and enjoy!

I think that's enough for today's post. I'll post another time with the Raw Freezer Fudge. We will be eating THAT all summer long!!!

B'teavon,
emily