October 2009 Newsletter

An Inspirational Quote

"Our brain primarily talks to itself and to the rest of the body not with words or images, or even bits or chemical impulses, but in the language of wave interference: the language of phase, amplitude and frequency - the 'spectral domain.' We perceive an object by 'resonating' with it, getting 'in synch' with it. To know the world is literally to be on its wavelength."

Lynne McTaggart, The Field

How To Overcome Sugar Cravings
by Catherine Carrigan, catherine@totalfitness.net

Many people struggle with sugar cravings and food addictions. Here at Total Fitness, I have helped many clients overcome their sugar cravings and let go of life-long food dependency issues using a combination of nutritional therapy and life coaching.

• Sleep
• Sunshine
• Supplement
• Skinny meals
• PROTEIN!!!!!

• Sleep – Focus on getting 10 hours rest every day. Take the number 10 and subtract the number of hours you slept last night. The remainder is the number of hours of total rest and relaxation we recommend you get the following day. Also make sure you get to bed by 10 p.m. since every minute of sleep before midnight is worth 10 minutes of sleep after midnight. Simply put, your insulin won’t work right if you don’t get enough sleep and you won’t be able to rebuild your neurotransmitters to combat sugar cravings if you don’t get enough sleep.
• Sunshine - I do a tremendous amount of healing work on the brain and I noticed when I was working with clients with eating disorders that most of their pineal glands were not working right. I recommend my clients with sugar cravings get at least 30 minutes a day of direct sunlight, which is actually good for your eyes. Avoid wearing sunglasses unless the glare inhbits your driving. In case anybody argues with me on that point, let me say I teach a two-day seminar with healing exercises for the eyes, and many of them revolve around sunlight. Some people of northern European descent, if they are experiencing seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, may actually need up to 2 hours per day of direct sunlight.
• Supplement – We recommend that people with sugar cravings do a zinc test. Zinc deficiency usually results from inadequate intake of foods high in zinc, such as seafood, oatmeal, bran, meat, eggs, and nuts, or from impaired absorption caused by short bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, or pancreatic insufficiency.  It may also be due to excessive intake of foods containing iron, calcium, vitamin D, and the fiber and phytates in cereals, that bind zinc to form insoluble chelates that prevent its absorption.   Alcohol, cirrhosis, dialysis, burns, draining wounds, and corticosteroids increase the kidney’s excretion of zinc. There are quite a few signs of zinc deficiency - White spots on the finger nails and soft nails, poor immune system, acne, macular degeneration, delayed wound healing, severe iron deficiency anemia and eating disorders. There are also other supplements I sometimes use if a client has severe sugar cravings, but I always st art by testing for zinc. Other supplements would need to be reviewed on a case by case basis. I’ll sometimes use the amino acid glutamine, or a high-quality protein shake, but often this is related to the health of gastrointestinal system.
• Skinny meals - You’ll be eating every 2 hours. The key thing to understand about a skinny meal is that if you eat too much of anything – protein, fat, vegetables or carbohydrates – your body may secrete too much insulin, and as a result you’ll feel even hungrier, store what you do eat as fat, and your digestion won’t work right.
• Protein! When you eat carbohydrates alone – even fruit – or just bread, candies, pastries, pasta – your insulin surges, causing fat storage and poor energy levels. Insulin is also the hunger hormone, so eating too many carbs can actually make you hungrier. Eating protein brings down the glycemic effect of your food, keeping blood sugar balanced. We recommend that our clients also eat red meat – at least 9 ounces per week, since red meat contains methionine, an amino acid the body needs to keep blood sugar balanced at a really deep level.

We use these 5 steps with all our clients who want to conquer cravings – not only sugar cravings, but also alcohol or drug cravings. Use this affirmation: I RELAX AND MY LIFE IS SWEET.

For more information, please visit our website at www.totalfitness.net. To watch a video discussing this subject, please visit this link: http://www.totalfitness.net/video.htm

September Workout
by Catherine Carrigan, catherine@totalfitness.net

Here’s a simple workout you can do at home just by watching our FREE exercise videos. You will need a Swiss ball, dumbbells, a bosu, a medicine ball and a body bar. Just visit http://www.totalfitness.net/exercise_index.htm

• Round the Clock Lunges
• Incline Dumbbell Chest Press On Ball
• Squat On Bosu With Cross Twist
• Lat Pullover With Medicine Ball
• Seated Reverse Woodchop on Ball
• Kneeling On Swiss Ball

For Swiss Balls that are strong enough to kneel on, we invite you to visit our webstore, http://www.totalfitness.net/1ShoppingCatalog/fitness_products.html

Healthy Granola
by Paula Owens, paula@totalfitness.net

Preheat oven to 350˚.

• 2 cups old-fashioned, whole, organic, gluten-free oats
• 1 heaping cup organic nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans and cashews) and 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

Drizzle over mixture:
5 tablespoons organic maple syrup and 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Bake 25-30 minutes. Make sure to stir the granola every 5 minutes while cooking. When granola is golden, remove from oven.

Makes the house smell good!

Optional: Stir in 1-1/2 cups of your favorite sulfite-free dried fruit. I use chopped papaya.

Serve with organic goat milk yogurt or by itself.

What’s so healthy about this recipe?

• This recipe is free of two common allergens, gluten and cow’s milk, found in most breakfast cereal combinations.
• Oatmeal contains a special kind of fiber called beta-glucan that has been proven to lower cholesterol.
• Walnuts contain Omega 3 fatty acids and both walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews and pumpkin seeds are high in monounsaturated fats that also help lower your cholesterol.
• Both maple syrup and honey rank about the same on the glycemic index (maple syrup is 54 and honey is 55), but maple syrup may be an even better choice as a sweetener because it contains a higher concentration of minerals, including zinc and manganese.
• Coconut oil is antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal and antibacterial.

Client Testimonial: Panya Walker or
Brooklyn, New York, 30 Pounds Gone

"I've gone to Catherine for wellness coaching for over a year now, and in that time I've lost more than 30 pounds, have more energy, more harmony in my relationships, and greater confidence in all aspects of my life,” says Panya Walker.   

“Pulling from an incredible reservoir of knowledge and expertise, Catherine supported and motivated me to take the steps I needed to be my best self, and gave me the tools I needed to sustain a lifetime of glowing good health and vitality.  

“If you want to experience positive personal transformation, Catherine's holistic approach to wellness, her incredible ability to present information in a way that is easy to digest /and/ to translate into action, and her unwavering love and support will help you get there.  Go see for yourself, you'll be glad you did!"

Catherine Carrigan says, “Panya was referred to me by another client here in Atlanta, Georgia. I met her once when she was visiting Atlanta on a business trip, but most of our coaching was done by phone.

“When I coach clients, I take an integrated approach. I work on goals in all areas of my client’s lives. I helped Panya through a job transition out of corporate America into successful self employment. We worked on improving her body image, her marriage and relationships as well as exercise programming. We also worked on food plans and nutritional supplements to overcome various health challenges.

“After working with me, Panya was inspired to take two workshops with Sue Maes and has signed up for Sue’s internship in Self Empowerment Coaching. It is a joy for me to help my clients recognize their many talents and direct them to other careers that are more fulfilling to them on all levels.”

My Visit To The Isle of Gigha
by Catherine Carrigan, catherine@totalfitness.net

One of the things we all need in order to be happy is a sense of spiritual community.

Many of us find this spiritual community in our churches, synagogues or mosques. And some of us also find this sense of belonging to a larger, meaningful community through our mutual passions, interests or profession.

Finding and being with other people who we really relate to, who share our values and our outlook, feeds us at a soul level and is one of the elements I feel that contributes to a deep sense of personal happiness.

In September, I took a trip to Scotland that fed me at this very deep soul level.

As many of you know, I use flower essences from all over the world. Some of the lines I use include Australian Flower Essences, Masters Essences, White Light Essences, Light Frequency Essences, Himalayan Essences, Bloesem Nederlands Remedies, Perelandra Essences and Findhorn Essences.

Flower essences address what’s going on at the emotional, mental and spiritual level. Understanding each remedy and recommending precise combinations can go a long way to improving our physical and emotional well-being.

Like many flower essence practitioners, I started with Bach Flower Remedies, which were developed in England from 1929-1936. However, when working with vibrational remedies, I feel it is important to keep up with current vibration and to use remedies that address our current global situation.

For the past two years, I had become more and more enamored of Living Tree Orchid Essences made by Don Dennis on the Isle of Gigha, Scotland.

Last year, I was having a session with my client Barrie Moore of Lincoln, England. I recommended a specific essence for Barrie, and when he called to order it from www.healingorchids.com, Barrie ended up speaking directly with the founder of the company. Barrie told Don about our work together, and Don, a long-time collaborator with a medical intuitive in Ireland, emailed me to invite me as his guest to the Isle of Gigha to experience his orchid essences in person.

It’s hard to say what I enjoyed more about Don’s workshop - the orchids, the orchid essences, the scenery on the Isle of Gigha or the other people in the workshop.

So let me take it in reverse order. Although many people say they work holistically, it is rare for me to find other highly experienced practitioners who work with clients mind, body and soul. It was such a blessing to me to meet fellow practitioners from Paris, Chile, Norway Mauritius and Cheshire, England, not to mention Don himself, the creator of www.healingorchids.com and owner of the International Flower Essence Repertoire, which represents 20 flower essence lines from around the world.

Everyone who wants to experience a place of pure land and sky should make a trip to the Isle of Gigha. I have never seen such pure water or clean air. We stayed at Achamore House, which was partially built with the help of young trainee architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh, who later designed the Glasgow School of Art, the most beautiful building I have ever experienced. Behind the house is a walled garden full of cultivated flowers and 50 acres of woodland gardens for walking. One day Don took us out in his boat and we saw a pod of dolphins, including three baby dolphins, who leaped and played beside us.

During the day, our group meditated on and discussed Don’s orchid essences. We also visited the greenhouse where he raises the orchids he uses for his healing remedies. I laughed when we were warned the greenhouse would feel quite hot and humid - to me, it felt just like Atlanta, Georgia, and gave me insight into why my own phalaenopsis orchids grow so vigorously in my studio.

The Living Tree Orchid Essences are probably the most profound flower essence remedies I have ever encountered. Just like some people are more evolved than others, some species of plants keep evolving while others do not. Ferns, for example, are very much the same as they were around the time of the dinosaurs. Orchids, on the other hand, are the most highly evolved flowers on the face of the earth. As such, the remedies they create are some of the most uplifting and enlightening. I highly recommend these to all people who are serious about their own personal development.

Specials for Total Fitness Customers

There aren’t that many restaurants in Atlanta where you can order fresh juice. FROOTS, a chain with three locations in the Atlanta area, offers fresh juices, smoothies and salads. FROOTS has agreed to give a 15 percent discount to Total Fitness customers. Simply print out this newsletter and bring it with you. Find their locations at www.froots.com.

Place an order with our webstore at www.totalfitness.net and get a FREE pack of affirmation cards while supplies last, either Slimmercize Your Brain or Train Your Brain from Sue Maes. Find out about our great deals in fitness, nutrition and healing products at . http://www.totalfitness.net/1ShoppingCatalog/store.htm

Client Testimonial: Barrie Moore, Lincoln, England

“I write this today 10 months from the date of my first session with Catherine. I was recommended to Catherine through my practitioner Hamish Hurley, who is the best operator I know of in his field the UK.

“I am still enjoying the way up and recovering now quicker by the day from my initial assessment from Catherine, which essentially told us that I was in stage 2:2 of adrenal fatigue.

“Through the last 10 months I have engaged in a healing programme with the excellent advice of Catherine, and we have together addressed the following areas: nutritional overhaul, mental re-programming, and from an exercise point of view tai chi, qi gong, yoga and specific stretching. There have been times where progression has been like a roller coaster ride, one day up, and then a day back down, but I have to say that due to my absolute 100% trust in firstly Catherine and the whole process the difficult times become much easier to manage, and actually believe it or not, have come to realize that bad days are critical to the healing cycle.

“As my education has obviously increased in the various different areas, I would advise certainly newer patients to trust the avenue that Catherine is taking you on.

“Catherine’s 360 degree comprehensive approach is by far the most in depth and thorough I have been through. I have at absolutely no point ever second guessed, or questioned, any single part of the healing process, which I’m sure, has really helped me from a psychological point of view. I think we live in a world where everyone wants everything too fast and too quickly, and indeed often with compromise. Therefore again I think it’s important not to compromise at any level, whether its exercise, nutrition, rest etc. etc. I know we all feel like saying, ‘I don’t get time to do this stuff,’ well guess what, I HAVE! And it’s easier to do than you think. I now get compliments like ‘you look so healthy’ and trust me, that feels great!

“I think it’s very fair of me to say that not only will I heal from adrenal fatigue, but the work I do with Catherine now is taking me to the next level of overall health and fitness.

“I know there will be many times where the question mark may remain in your head about ‘am I getting any better, or is this really working?’ Well if you feel that, then I would recommend you do something I promised myself in my first session. Trust at all times, engage the process, and engage and listen to Catherine.

“I know how highly Catherine has been trained throughout the world, but Catherine in my opinion has something that cannot be trained, and if you listen hard enough and you follow 100% the advice you are given you will work out what this is.

“Thank you for your world class advice Catherine and I can’t wait until our next session.”

Upcoming Total Fitness Seminars and Talks

What: Sports and Fitness Nutrition Lecture

When: Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m.

Where: Ramada Atlanta Airport Conference Center , 380 Virginia Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30344

Who: Catherine Carrigan, president, www.totalfitness.net

Mega Sports International is hosting their Fall 2009 Track and Field Coaches Clinic. The clinic will offer extensive lessons in coaching many of the track and field events as well as sessions on sports pyschology, strength training, student life skills and sports nutrition.

We are pleased to have been invited to participate by Larry Myricks, president of Mega Sports International, a four-time Olympian and long jump bronze medalist.

To register, or for more information, please visit this link: http://www.msisports.com/coachesclinictf.html or email clinic@MSIsports.com

Yoga and Qi Gong Classes in Atlanta

Yoga Classes:
Every Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Holy Spirit Prep School
4820 Long Island Drive, Atlanta, GA.
$15 per class or $65 per calendar month.

All the proceeds from August yoga will benefit the Atlanta Pet Rescue.

To get directions to the new location please view this location map.

Qi Gong Class: Every Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
1951 Northside Drive, Atlanta, GA. $15 per class.

Booking appointments with Total Fitness

To schedule an appointment to find out about a personalized fitness, nutrition or healing program that will help you get results, please contact us:

In Atlanta

Catherine Carrigan catherine@totalfitness.net, Phone: 404-350-8581

In Phoenix

Paula Owen paula@totalfitness.net, Phone: 480-706-1158

In London, Ontario, Canada

Sue Maes sue@totalfitness.net, Phone: 519-471-1174

You can also visit us on the web at www.totalfitness.net