Update week 4!

Welcome Back!

Well we survived the Thanksgiving holidays....yes, two weekends of tempting foods in a row for us!   We visited my husbands parents in Kentucky and it took a little prep....What is it about going on a trip???  Like emotional eating,  we seem to have our favorite food and Starbucks drinks on speed-dial when we enter the vehicle and head down the road!  I packed some nuts, brown rice cakes and almond butter and that got me there six hours later pretty happy.  

I had not planned to weigh in until the end of the 45 days, but my Mother-in-Law had a scale in the bathroom and I couldn't resist....  12 lbs down!!!  Aubrey texted me later and said that was exactly what she had lost too.  I had packed all my herbal supplements for each day but forgot to pack the slender-aid.  Slender-aid I found out has been a BIG help in the program.  It is a blend of 11 herbs that substantially decrease the appetite.  In addition this particular blend works together to assist the breakdown of fat around the heart and other vital organs.  I really could tell a difference.  I did crave sugar and carbs more.  

My closet is a mix of "now" clothes and "then" clothes.  I had the happy occasion of retiring my only pair of "now" jeans :)  Off to the store I went to purchase a couple of pairs of pants in my new size!!  That was a great feeling!  I'm sure my "then clothes" are pretty outdated by now and will be making a trip to the Salvation Army at some point. (I'm kind of a horder with clothes)  

December 20th is the finish line..It is getting closer.  We have one more 3 day detox period at the end of next week.  Energy levels are still good, waning a bit from all the holiday activities, but all-in-all feeling super good.  This week I plan to get out the pilates video and get to work on that.  Toning and core strength and flexibility are all needed!  My brother's in law put together my far-infa red sauna that had been sitting in the corner of the basement!   I'm excited to incorporate that.  It is a great way to further the detox and is relaxing as well.  I am super excited as I have purchased an infa-red sauna blanket for the spa as well.  It will be a great addition to a body wrap and especially for those going through the Mlis weight-loss program.  

I just scheduled a massage for this Friday too.  Yeah!  It is going to be 90 minutes too.  I have never had a massage that length...HEAVEN!

I've been researching how to bake with healthier grains...oat flour, brown rice, etc. More about that later.  I forgot to mention that my hair and nails are growing like crazy.  I'm sure that is the work of the supplements too.  I will need to be seeing my stylist Sally who has a shop in my office suit!  She is awesome...expecting her first baby too.  How fun to experience that.

Have a wonderful week!

Blessings, 

Brenda

(photo's of our trip

to Kentucky)

Week 3 update!

Hello!

This week has really gone by fast!  First Detox period is over.  Aubrey and I both received our body wrap this week as well.   I'll kind of walk you through what that is like.  

First - body is exfoliated with "buff"  this is a physical and enzyme exfoliant.  Tiny ground pumice and papaya work together to loosen dead skin cells and prepare the body to absorb the niacin cream.  Next the  niacin cream is applied, followed by the wrap.  The wrap is a saran type wrap that is wrapped in a specific way to contour the body and stimulate the lymphatic system.  It is left on a total of 1 hour.  We were warm and comfortable, but not hot while in the wrap.  The idea is for the niacin to be absorbed into the body, not sweated out!  It is important to drink lots of water after the wrap to eliminate toxins.  When the wrap was removed, I felt so great, really calm and rested.  Aubrey did receive her massage, but my schedule did not allow me to this week.  I have it to look forward to next week!  We will continue to apply the body exfoliant and maintain (home care of niacin) to maximize the results of the wrap.  

Thanksgiving!!!  It was wonderful to have many of my family in from Michigan this week/weekend!  My brothers in law and Russ had their own little "deer camp" and our home was camp!  My Mom, three Sisters, my daughters and cousins all had a wonderful time cooking and visiting!  We had our "feast"  Saturday.  We literally cooked from sunrise until about 4:00pm that day!  EVERYTHING from scratch, down to the roasting of a pumpkin from our garden for the pie!  I didn't get to eat that, but the word was that it was the best pie ever!!!   We had all the traditional food, but I had spent time earlier gathering and experimenting with recipes so that those of us (three) who are doing the candida/weight loss diet could have a great meal as well....and it WAS!  

The top picture is one of the tables.  My Sister, Michelle and niece, Martina spent hours making the cute turkey's with each family members names (we had 19 there!)  

The middle picture is my plate...I could have arranged it a bit better, but believe me, it was yummy!

Our "special menu"  was Roast Turkey, mashed cauliflower, quinoa stuffing seasoned with celery, turkey broth, onion and sage,  fresh cranberry relish with walnuts/pecans, slightly sweetened with stevia, lettuce salad with olive oil, lemon juice dressing, green beans and coconut balls (our dessert)  

I think it was the first Thanksgiving dinner that I can remember where I didn't feel like I was in a sick, food coma after...that was really a good feeling!   

I did find that I needed to send home the coconut cream pie, Mom's real stuffing, homemade pumpkin pie, Apple pie, and cheesecakes home with the kids!!!  They were happy to get it and I didn't want it in the house!!!!

Everyone commented how great we both looked! OH, and I went down a pant size!!!!   

We all sat around the fireplace in the living room and told what we were thankful for this year.  Our Faith in God, Family, Friends topped the list.  I am also truly thankful to be regaining my health!!!

Aubrey has been breaking out on her skin.....this is likely the result of a rapid die off of the candida.  

When yeast cells are rapidly killed, a die-off (or Herxheimer reaction) occurs and metabolic by-products are released into the body.   This can cause certain symptoms that will resolve themselves usually in a week or two.   

Aubrey is also getting creative in the kitchen.  She concocted a delicious shake of coconut milk, almond butter and cinnamon!!!  We will be enjoying this all week!!!

Have a wonderful week with YOUR family and friends!!!

Brenda

Mlis Candida/Weight-loss/detox program Week 2!

Hello!

This has been a good week!  Energy level has been pretty high.  The beginning of the week, we noticed that our first 3 day detox in the program would fall over our Thanksgiving, which we are celebrating the 21st.  That would not do!!! We made a minor adjustment and decided to do the detox a bit early.  The detox looks like this:  

 Eat only veggies for two days to prep for detox.  During this time we began taking the DETOX herbal capsules, CLEANSE and FIBER.  On the first day of the detox, we used our Mlis bottle (32 oz) and filled it with juice of three lemons (Several years ago I purchased an electric juicer :)...this is awesome!  Add to the lemons pure maple syrup and distilled water.  The bottle is conveniently marked with fill lines.  This was our "food for 3 days"  Truth is we felt so good that we went an extra day.  The mixture provided all the vitamins/nutrients and glucose that our bodies needed and amazingly we felt great.  I think it tastes like a lemon shake up from the fair...Aubrey is not so sure.   We also continued the Detox herbal capsules during this time.  It was a nice break from all the other supplements!!!!!  Distilled water works as a magnet, attracting unused, discarded and rejected minerals from our bodies, the blood and lymph help and they are eliminated.  The detox period is the only time distilled water is used.  Filtered water is used all other times.  

Our body wrap and massage is tomorrow!!! I have been looking forward to this...kind of a reward.   I'll tell you more about that in the next post :)

Early in the week, before we started detox, I took the time (rather tedious) to empty my supplements into a glass and "drink" instead of swallowing.  I would NOT recommend this...didn't taste too well at all!   

Noticable results???   My belly is shrinking YEAH!!!!  Face looks not quite so round, Aubrey's too...clothes are feeling looser.  I am not a scale person and do not plan to weigh in until the end.  I did weigh before we started.  

Cravings?   I did crave dessert of any kind this week!!! Aubrey misses coffee the most.  Oh and we discovered that Costco has a wonderful tabouli which we ate early in the week in salad....SUPER YUMMY!!!!!!!


I am cooking for 20 plus for our Thanksgiving.  My Sister and Brother in law just returned from seeing a specialist in Colorado for auto immune disorders.  He specializes in this, even has worked for NASA.  He has put them on an anti-inflammatory diet that is very similar to the Mlis program.  It will make cooking even more fun if others will be eating our special "menu"  ...I'll let you know what we had next post...I can't wait!!!

Have a great day/evening and always and many, many blessings to you!

Brenda @ glo facial spa & skin center
brenda@glofacialspa.com
glofacialspa.com

Mlis - Week one update!

Week one is finished! 

 Looking back over my journal entries for the week:  Day 1-3  felt really good.  No real hunger cravings.  (It helped that I had eliminated sugar/carbs/caffine the few days before starting.  Both Aubrey and I did notice that we "peed" a LOT!  Drinking lots of water and hot water with lemon  throughout the day and in the AM/PM to swallow the nutrient supplements, which I will say has been the most difficult thing to get used to.  I kept thinking about all those who because of health problems, have to take lots of med's daily...The supplements are only temporary, during  the program. .I would rather work on staying healthy now and AVOID being a pill popper later on!  Diet day 1 and 2 consisted of mostly salads and the meal replacement (chocolate is delicious!!!!)  I found this to be really convenient at work and sometimes for breakfast when in a hurry.  I got a little creative on day 3 when craving "real food"  I made a concoction of chicken, garlic, roma tomatoes, shredded carrots and onions on the top of the stove for dinner.  It was really great!

Day 4-7  Day four I was feeling a bit tired, but noticed as I climbed the stairs my joint (knee) didn't ache as it usually does!!!  Yeah  I had some extra time today so google found me a great recipe to make (I even served it to my lovely daughter Amanda and her boyfriend Phil who were here visiting from Rockford)  Quinoa meatloaf and mashed cauliflower.  I used turkey for us and did make one with beef as my hubby is NOT a ground turkey fan.   I took a detox bath during this time and continued to use the buff, body exfoliant and maintain detoxifying cream.  I love the smell of the maintain!!!!   It really makes sense to me to keep your body well exfoliated well.  Our skin is the largest elimination organ of our body!!!

We had a family birthday party for my son Alec at Alexander's steakhouse.  I had a bit of Salmon and salad bar.  Olive oil with a sqeeze of lemon is our new salad dressing...Really simple and good!  It felt great to leave there not groggy with overeating...pretty sure that's a first for me there!!!  I even made our homemade traditional birthday cake (jello cake)  I really did want to eat that, but it felt good to make it for my family.  Sophie's birthday is in December and I will have some then :)  

I also took several walks outside in the sunshine this week!  I have a new treadmill waiting for me in our basement that I got our family for and early Christmas gift.  There won't be too many beautiful fall days like this and I wanted to soak in that vitamin D and take in the beauty of the fall color and hay bales in the fields surrounding our home.  Life is Good, God is Great!

Let the Journey Begin!

Week 1 in a candida/weight loss/detox program

Why such a long name?  Wouldn't a simple detox be enough to begin a weight loss program?  What is candida anyway?

Our goal was to increase our health, lose inches and keep it that way!

Following the Mlis wellness lifestyle system (They have been around over 20 plus years and have the case-studies to back up their program)  It is recommended to do a candida screening first before beginning a weight-loss program.  This is because of our American diet (large portions, small nutrition) combined with antibiotic usage and often birth control leaves the majority of us with many symptoms of candida or yeast/fungus overgrowth in our bodies.

After completing the candida evaluation form, we had many of the symptoms and just decided to take care of that first.  It is often difficult to achieve weight/inch loss with a candida overgrowth, so it just makes sense to us!  Since weight/inch loss is also a goal, we will be combining the weight loss program at the same time and so to say, killing two birds (or fat cells) with one stone (program).

This is a 45 day program (yes we still WILL be participating in Thanksgiving, just a slightly modified feast!)

So now comes the humbling part....The before pictures.  I seriously thought about putting my photoshop skills to use and replacing my lovely, more fit daughter Aubrey's body shots with my face, vice versa...you get the picture....Since we work together on a daily basis, I didn't think it was a good idea :)

We also took close up pictures of our faces, as I expect skin to improve as well!

Especially areas of breakouts that sugar is largely responsible for.  (I'll post before/after picture at the end of the program)

Here is what the next two days will be like:  Fruits and vegetables only, removing caffine and sugar/carbs now will lessen the body's shock and unpleasant symptoms such as headaches if done before the detox period begins.  Stopping meat and eating fruits and veggies only gets our bodies ready for the detox that will begin on day three.    I'll post more in a few days!  Wish us luck!

Have a fantastic week!

Brenda and Aubrey

(written by Brenda)

 glo facial spa & skin center

glofacialspa.com

brenda@glofacialspa.com

309-846-4045

Be Choosy about your Sunscreen!

When Choosing a Sunscreen, Be Smart, Think Physical

There is a huge difference between physical and chemical sunscreens. Chemical sunscreens absorb UVA UVB, which causes more of a heat reaction, which increases tissue inflammation and makes your skin more susceptible to damage. You will often see more dark spots, sun freckles, wrinkles, and fine lines because inflammation stresses your skin and reduces immunity activity.

Physical Sunscreens are reflective; Titanium dioxide and Zinc oxide are reflectors so light may bounce off the skin. This is the best protection for skin, to maintain a cooler skin reaction. Physical sunscreens reduce skin stress and potentially minimizes the long term effects of sun damage.

Look on the shelf, you will notice the higher the SPF sunscreen the more chemicals you will see. Check out some of the chemical sunscreen ingredients below. Don’t forget to look at your active ingredients with the drug facts. Chemical sunscreens may not be the solution for your summer fun.

• Octyl Methoxycinnamates
• Benzophenones
• Octylcrylene

Be Choosy when selecting your sunscreen - and remember, to keep your skin younger looking, it should be used year round, not only in the heat of the Summer!

Summertime Skincare

Ahh Summertime!  Nothing brings out the smiles like the sun!  Let's focus on a few tips to keep your skin healthy during your Summer fun.

New Sunscreen labeling - Are you a bit confused about the new labeling in sunscreen?  It's actually going to make you safer in the sun.   In the past, a product (sunscreen or moisturizer with sunscreen included) could be labeled broad spectrum and in fact only give you UVB protection which left you in doubt of the level of UVA protection.  UVA rays can contribute to skin cancer and aging of the skin.  Yes, those UVA (aging) rays can make us look older before our time!  Under new FDA guidelines a product can only be labeled "broad spectrum" if the UVA protection is equal to UVB.  This makes it easier for you to know the level of protection that you really have.

How much protection do I need?  As an esthetician, my recommendation is a SPF of 30.  It is also important to seek your esthetician's advise of which form of sunscreen is best for your skin type and conditions.  For example someone with acne or rosaccea will benefit most from using a mineral (zinc oxide/titanium dioxide) natural formulation.  This is also very easy to apply.  My favorite is Eminence Organics sun defense.  This also has the benefit of lasting longer than organic types of sunscreen.  At the very least, use a light weight product that will not clog your pores.  Note - just because a label reads "non-comedongenic" doesn't necessarily mean that there are not pore clogging ingredients in the formulation.  If you have dry skin, you will benefit from a more emollient sun protection product.  Remember the sun is most intense from 10am-4pm.  Some sun rays DO penetrate through glass, so you need protection always during the day. I see many clients with hyperpigmentation spots on the "drivers side of their face."   Re-apply sunscreen throughout the day as no sunscreen is completely waterproof, only water resistant.  New labeling will tell you how often you need to re-apply.  Find a formulation that is easy to carry with you and re-apply easily.

Sun protection and pigmentation issues: If you are prone to pigmentation (sunspots)  The addition of a tyrosinase inhibitor (the enzyme that causes excess melanin production) is also a great way to help keep your skin tone even.  This in addition to or included in your sunscreen is the best line of defense for keeping your skin young looking!   Regular monthly  lactic acid peels can slough off excess skin and keep your skin hydrated, even toned and even helps regulate pigmentation.  Save the intense skin resurfacing for fall/winter months if you are a sun lover!   Retin A users need to be especially diligent about sun protection as their skin will be more sensitive.  Feeding your skin with antioxidants inside and out also helps regulate melanin and fight free radicals that cause aging!

Permanent cosmetic lip and brow enhancements should also be protected with spf  of 30 to prevent premature fading of color.


Now ready, set, go have some SUMMERTIME FUN!


Healthy Skin to you,
Brenda Berndt
licensed Esthetics Instructor
Permanent makeup technician
glo facial spa & skin center
glofacialspa.com
309-846-4045