Easy Weight Loss? How to Boost your Health and Metabolism with Health Coach Nagina Abdullah

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July 27, 2021 - Episode #72 - Easy Weight Loss? How to Boost your Health and Metabolism with Health Coach Nagina Abdullah

Boost metabolism, gain extra energy, lose weight easily.  It’s sounds like a wish list, right?  And how in the world do you lose weight when you are crazy busy taking care of everyone else??  Ready for some easy, helpful hints to boost your health and your metabolism and make weight loss easier?  That is what is in store for you on today's Healthy Harmony podcast with our guest expert, health coach, Nagina Abdullah.  She lost 40 lbs after having two kids and while working 70 hour weeks. 

​Nagina Abdullah is a health coach for female professionals, corporate executives, and 7-figure entrepreneurs. She is the founder of the website MasalaBody.com. She teaches tested and perfected metabolism-boosting strategies to help busy women lose weight.  You can reach her at www.masalabody.com

If you have been listening for a while, then you know how cautious I am when it comes to discussing weight and weight loss.  There is no quick fix.  It is all about simple, sensible and sustainable lifestyle change and that is why I loved interviewing today's guest.  She provides simple realistic guidelines like having a metabolism boosting morning routine, tweaking what you put in your coffee, having protein at every meal and how to include more vegetables.  I love the delicious suggestions for seasoning vegetables with anti-inflammatory spices so that they taste great, reduce your inflammation and yes, boost your metabolism! You are going to love today's show!

And hey, if you’ve been listening for a while and you are at the breaking point of desperation and need some help transforming your health, let’s talk.  I have a 15 min discovery call so you can understand if  health coaching is what you are searching for.  This brief conversation is catered to understanding your health needs and your particular situation.  You can book that by going to https://calendly.com/coachjennpickett/15min_discovery_call

PS......Need more? 
We are going to continue this awesome discussion and even share tips and recipes on the FB group, FM for Weight Loss - Body, Mind Soul Wellness for Women.  So join us there! https://bit.ly/FMwomenswellness

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Read Full Transcript below
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​Where else to listen:  (note: Google is only available on android devices)

 

FULL TRANSCRIPT

July 27, 2021 - Episode #72 - Easy Weight Loss? How to Boost your Health and Metabolism with Health Coach Nagina Abdullah
 
Speaker 1:
Boost metabolism, gain extra energy, lose weight easily. It sounds like a wishlist right?  And how in the world do you lose weight when you're crazy busy, taking care of everyone else? Ready for some easy, helpful hints to boost your health and your metabolism and make weight loss easier. Keep listening. That is what is in store for you with our guest expert health coach Nagina Abdullah. She lost 40 pounds after having two kids and while working 70 hour weeks.
 
You know, we are very cautious on this show when we talk about weight loss. So I think you will love our guests practical approach to weight loss, with simple suggestions for sustainable weight loss, ready to be inspired. You're in for a treat today on Healthy Harmony.
 
Hey, Hey, welcome to the Healthy Harmony podcast. If you're ready to be empowered to tap into the healthiest version of you.
 
So you can live life with confidence and intentional harmony in my friend, you're in the right place. And Jennifer, as a Dietitian turned Functional Medicine Health coach, I'm here to walk beside you and show you how to take control of your complete health so you can live a life you not only love, but a life where you are truly thriving. Empowerment is right around the corner. We're going to dive into physical health, mental, emotional health, and spiritual health because addressing these areas equals intentional harmony, AKA happiness, fulfillment, and confidence. Let's do this.
 
Hey girl, before we get started, if you've been listening for a while and you're at the breaking point of desperation and need some help transforming your health, let's talk. I have a 15 minute discovery call. So you can understand if health coaching is what you're looking for. This brief conversation is catered to understanding your health needs and your particular situation, you can book that by going to inspire healthy harmony.com and clicking on the coaching tab. I look forward to talking with you.
 
Nagina Abdullah is a health coach for female professionals, corporate executives, and seven figure entrepreneurs. She is the founder at the website, masala body.com. She teaches, tested and perfected metabolism, boosting strategies to help women lose 20 to 40 pounds while working 50 hour work weeks. Even if they've tried every thing else Nagina has a degree in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley and MBA from NYU stern and worked for a top four consulting firm and is as a management consultant before starting her health coaching business. She's been featured on health.com, business insider people.com and many more. Let's welcome Nagina. I am so glad you are with us today on the healthy harmony podcast. We've got a really hot topic, so welcome. Let's get started. How are you?
 
Speaker 2:
I'm so great. Thanks so much, Jennifer.
 
Speaker 1:
So glad you're here. So our topic today, you know, all of my listeners were kind of in the same boat. We have busy, stressful lives. We want to take care of ourselves. We want to look our best. We want to feel our best, but sometimes we just get stuck and you have a very impressive story and know that you reached a difficult time in your life when you needed to lose weight, but you were really busy with two kids. You are working over a 60 hour work week and like that's a pretty monumental task. So what was the breaking point that made you decide, Hey, I need to do something here.
 
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely. Well, when I was working those long hours I had had, I recently had two children and I had struggled with my weight for my entire life where I had gone up and down, um, in terms of, uh, yo-yoing up and down in my weight, trying every single diet out there because I was never confident in my body and I felt uncomfortable. Um, I felt bloated. I felt like I couldn't wear the clothes that I wanted to wear. And so before having children, I struggled so much where I would lose, you know, it takes so much work to lose five pounds and then the moment I would lose it, I would gain it back plus two more and frustrating.
 
Speaker 1:
So frustrating,
 
Speaker 2:
So frustrating. And it was like a long up and down. And so after I had children, I had gained more weight. Um, I was 20 pounds over what I was before pregnancy. And there was a moment where, um, I looked in the mirror and I just didn't know who I was looking at. I didn't re I didn't resonate with the person that I was looking at. And I thought, how did I get here? And what am I going to do to get out? Like, how do I get out of here? Because I didn't feel like myself. I didn't feel like my outsides reflected my insights, like were very excited and motivated. And I felt, um, active. I felt like I wanted to do things with my life, but on the outside I looked tired. I looked exhausted. I looked like I wasn't taking care of myself.
 
And I had to figure out how do I make this connection? And then finally, my children who were very young at the age, they were running around and crying and they wanted to go outside and I physically did not have the energy to take them anywhere. And I thought about my future and I thought, what kind of life do I want to lead with my family? And what kind of life do I want to lead as a career woman? And as a mother, when I have no energy, I'm not going to be able to do the things that were once normal to me. And that's where it hit me in that moment. I need to change myself and I need to lose weight because it's the first step to me feeling the confidence and energy that I can, I need to get this physical weight off of me so I can start to live my life. And in that moment, I realized I need to make a change, but I can no longer go on diets and go up and down in my weight because I don't have the time anymore for that with two children and a 60 plus hour a week job, um, where I realized I need to make this sustainable and I need to make it fun because once it's fun, I want to do it. And I believe that I could do it. And then that's where it started.
 
Speaker 1:
Oh, you're so right. And I, I hear you. And I think so many women relate to that where you look in the mirror and you don't know who you're looking at anymore, you've lost yourself in the hustle and the bustle. And, you know, I heard you describe that yo-yo dieting your whole entire life, that it was a lifelong battle. So I hear this, this breaking point and you realizing I've got to do something, I've got to get this weight off. So my next question is, what did you do? How did you get it done?
 
Speaker 2:
Yes, absolutely. So what I started doing then is that I, you know, I had tried every diet out there from weight Watchers to Atkins, south beach, eating less exercising a lot. And no matter what I did, I kept never losing the weight that I wanted to. I never like was, was at a sustainable weight that I was happy with. And so I knew that none of those solutions would work because I tried so many things. And so what I started doing is I started reading a lot of scientific information. I have a degree in, uh, in biology from undergrad, and I started reading a lot of, um, scientific information and learning about foods that actually help keep you more full and that are healthier for you and also help you lose weight. And, um, and so I decided to start following some of these things and, and to try it out because I knew that I couldn't try the other things that I was. And so it all started actually with something really small, which was the fact that I loved my coffee in the morning. It was, it was my moment to have to myself, to indulge in my morning
 
Speaker 1:
And can relate to that. Yeah. I can relate to that.
 
Speaker 2:
Yeah, exactly. It's like, when you love your coffee, it's just the best thing. And it's definitely like a really great, um, thing to, to connect people is that, you know, your coffee, how much you love it, just enjoying it. And, um, and so I, uh, I realized that my coffee, I was, what I was doing is I was adding two Splenda packets plus all of this French vanilla creamer into my coffee. And what I did is I learned through some of my scientific research that if you start using something simple, as cinnamon, instead of artificial sweeteners and instead of sugar, instead of the sweetness that comes from creamers, if you start using cinnamon, what will happen is that your blood sugar will lower. You won't have as much sugar cravings and you will start to start to get off of having needing feeling like you need sugar in your day.
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And so, so I did that. I just started replacing my morning, uh, Splenda with which I thought was healthy, but it was actually really keeping me keeping me addicted to sugar. I started learning cinnamon, and then I started going with an unsweetened creamer and soon transitioned to a black coffee with cinnamon. And that was the first step where I realized this isn't so bad and my craving started to go away. And I actually started loving my coffee in the morning with that cinnamon because it was kind of luxurious. And so, so that's one thing that I did is that I started with my coffee, my love. And then I started looking at changing up my foods and learning to add more veggies to my food, because I learned that when you add more veggies, you'll feel less, um, you'll feel more full from less calories.
 
Speaker 2:
But the thing is that you have to add, uh, you have to make your, your S your veggies taste good. Otherwise nobody wants to eat veggies. And so I started going back to my childhood, using the spices that I grew up with because I'm, uh, was brought up in a traditional Indian family. So I started adding turmeric to my cauliflower, garlic and ginger, um, to my green beans. I started adding cayenne pepper, um, to my, uh, to my squash. And, um, and my, my, and I started using easy cooking methods, like just, uh, roasting my vegetables instead of, and so that became really easy. So I started doing that with veggies, and then I created this concept that I had learned, which I call I now call protein more. And I started focusing on having protein at every single meal, especially breakfast. Um, and what protein did is it started to make me more full and satisfied that along with the vegetables and the spices kept my metabolism boosted.
 
And I actually that, along with the cinnamon, my sugar cravings went way downhill. I started having no sugar cravings. I started feeling satisfied with all the food that I was eating, because I was adding more protein, delicious tasty veggies, and having these spices that were, that were making all my food tastes good. And so what was so amazing is that every day my husband, he decided to do this with me because he needed to get healthier too. And we would eat our dinner together and he would say, oh my gosh, this does not taste like healthy food because it tasted so good. It was delicious and usually healthy food. The way that I had made it before was bland. It was hardly any food. I, we were never really taught the right way to eat healthy food.
 
Speaker 1:
You're so right. You're so right. Yeah.
 
Speaker 2:
And that's what happened is that we, I consistently started doing that because it was fun. Like I had originally wanted to, I loved eating what I was eating. It was easy. I was using roasting. I was using the Crock-Pot, I wasn't cooking that much. And what happened is that I kept falling this and I lost 40 pounds in nine months. And that's awesome. And it was, you know,  I had mentioned that it was 20 pounds to get to my pre pregnancy weight. Well, I lost that. And then I jetted past it, and I got into the best shape of my life, um, by eating delicious foods that were boosting my metabolism. And, you know, the best news is that it's been over 10 years now, and it's not only stayed off, but I've become more healthy, more active, toned, more energetic, and more athletic, 10 years later. And it it's, it's, it's opened up a whole new life that I would not have had if I hadn't started by losing the weight.
 
Speaker 1:
Oh, I love that. There's so many aspects of your story that I really respect and admire. First of all, you let go of those yo-yo diets and trying to do in something funky. And you got back to the basics and you started with something simple. You started looking at, okay, my main habit, I have that coffee in the morning. What can I do to tweak that? How can I make that healthier? And as you, you know, went back to the research and saw that, man, I can use cinnamon to regulate my blood sugar, and then also saw, okay, I'm putting in Splenda, I'm using this creamer. I think that's an obstacle here. So I think that's so important for us to use that mindfulness and then apply that mindfulness to then being intentional and need to do something different. So I like how it started, just so very simply.
 
And all of these are such solid nutritional techniques, but it's something that we overlook because we're like, no, there must be a secret. No, there's, I mean, yeah, we need to eat more veggies and we need them to taste good. And we need more protein, protein at every meal, of course. So very valuable, especially when it comes to considering our blood sugar. And then I really like how you pour the, in those spices that you had grown up with and that made you enjoy the foods, but also offered just a variety of nutritional benefits. So I want you to touch on that just a little bit, some of those spices that you're using and some of the benefits that they have in the body.
 
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. So, um, the spices were quite transformational and, um, and you know, I had grown up in a traditional Indian family, so it was very common for me. These spices, my husband is from the, is American brought up, um, you know, and from America for generations. And he had not really eaten a lot of these spices. And when he started eating them, he could feel the effect on his metabolism. He would tell me, and again, I, oh my gosh, I'm just, I can tell that I'm, that I'm just dropping weight right now. And so it re you know, there's a multiple studies that show that that many, many spices have a weight loss and health benefits. And so I'll share a few of them. I already talked about cinnamon, um, which, which lowers your blood sugar also gives you that feeling of sweet actually having sugar.
 
Um, which means that you're not spiking your insulin and storing fat, but you're still getting the sweetness. And so cinnamon is a must have something that you can sprinkle in your coffee. You can sprinkle it on your morning, fruit or berries in your Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Um, and even on any dessert that you're having, it's going to help to lower the effects of the sugar going into your blood. Um, the other, uh, the other spice, that's amazing. Um, very, very kind of top of mind right now is called turmeric. And turmeric is a gorgeous yellow color. It also has, um, it's known to be, uh, very anti-inflammatory. And so actually doctors prescribe turmeric in the form of pills, usually just because many people don't know how to use turmeric in their cooking. Um, but turmeric, what, what it does is it like for those people that have joint pain or arthritis, it really helps to alleviate it, but it also helps with decreasing inflammation.
 
If you have puffiness in your face, if you have bloating in your belly, by having, uh, even a half teaspoon of turmeric a day, it really helps to reduce that inflammation. Um, and you know, if you're able to learn how to incorporate turmeric, it's very simple. Um, and I'll give you a couple of ways, what turmeric, uh, tastes like. It's very mild. It's a gorgeous yellow color. So it looks pretty striking, but yet it's so mild and has a very, very, just slight earthy type of taste. And so what you can do with turmeric is that you can add it into your, um, into, into a smoothie that you're having. That's a really easy way. You won't even taste it, your smoothie, maybe a yellow color, depending on what else you have, but you got that in there. And it's really easy. Another great way is if you eat eggs to add a half teaspoon of turmeric to your morning eggs or two to the X that you're eating, because those eggs are gonna really, um, you're not going to taste it. And then you get that boost of inflammation right away. So those are some quick ways to do that. Um, and then you're reducing your puffiness. You're reducing your bloating, you're doing it all natural, and
 
Speaker 2:
We want to do right. Like there's another, you're hitting the high points. That's exactly what we want to do.
 
Exactly. And just like you were, you were mentioning before, um, you know, um, that you, that Jennifer, you were saying that, uh, that we want to do things, you know, these are the, these, like some of the things I was talking about before may seem like, of course we want to do that, but, um, actually learning to make your vegetables like to eat vegetables every day, actually adding protein to every single meal and actually eating real foods instead of processed foods. That is what it comes down to. But yet it is so challenging for many people to actually consistently eat real whole foods every day, because of all the processed foods that are around because of the convenience of eating frozen or eating other things or eating out. And that's these, these ways, these tricks of, um, of adding spices of your metabolism, of eating more protein, they really make all the difference. And it doesn't even feel hard. In fact, it feels fun as I was mentioning. Um, and I can share one more spice too.
 
Speaker 1:
 
I'd love that. Yes, I'd love that.
 
Speaker 2:
I shared a sweet spice, which was cinnamon. I shared a mild spice, which was, um, turmeric. Now I will share a spicy spice. And, you know, before I share this, I want to note that spices are often, um, kind of, uh, categorized as spicy, but almost every spice is not spicy. It's actually mild, or like I mentioned even sweet. Um, but for those of you that likes spicy food, uh, cayenne pepper is an excellent, excellent spice to use that boosts your metabolism, and it actually burns calories. And you can probably taste it if you're not used to cayenne pepper, when you eat cayenne pepper, you might feel a little bit of a, like a slight sweating happening. Maybe, um, you might feel a little bit of heat. Now you may be eating too much if you're feeling that right away, because you don't have to feel that that may mean that you're eating a little too much or that you enjoy having that heat.
 
Um, so, so cayenne pepper, it's very common. You know, we've all seen kind pepper, but you can, the reason that kind pepper is so, um, you know, is so valuable is because it has a compound called capsaicin in it. And capsaicin is what helps you burn more calories and not only burn more calories boost your metabolism, but also curbs your appetite. And so you're going to eat less, but you're going to burn more calories. And that's why this is very powerful for weight loss. But if you don't like the spice of cayenne pepper, cause it is quite spicy, you could eat something less spicy, which are those red chili red, uh, red chili pepper flakes that you often see at pizza places. That's a great way to get station without the, all the heat from cayenne pepper. And if even that is too spicy, then you can start with paprika, which is a very, very slight heat, but it does have capsaicin in it it's even slightly sweet.
 
So those are kind of the different ranges of how to get this spice into your diet and how you can boost your metabolism, burn more calories and reduce your appetite. And that's fantastic. Yeah. And, and, and cayenne pepper is something great that you can do. You know, if you're grilling outside, you can add salt, pepper, some cayenne pepper, and maybe some cumin that tastes amazing. You can sprinkle cayenne pepper on your eggs or on your veggies, um, or really put it into almost anything to give it that flavor. It's really great with tacos. Of course, it's really great with, you know, a lot of things like stir fries even, um, to give it that little extra heat. So that's another way now, as you can see all these different spices, they have different benefits like cinnamon lowers your blood sugar, turmeric lowers inflammation and cayenne pepper, um, increases metabolism and reduces appetite. And when you're using a combination of these and other spices in your diet, you are absolutely boosting your, uh, your weight loss and your health and it, and it actually tastes delicious.
 
Speaker 1:
Yes, like you said, incorporating that fun. And these are such simple practical suggestions. I love the breakdown and how you tell this exactly what it does in the body. I mean, the fact that cinnamon that lowers your blood sugar, you know, tumeric is an anti-inflammatory. You can add it to your smoothie, your eggs, just so very simple. And then how cayenne can burn calories and how, if that's too strong, you can go to red pepper, red chili, pepper flakes, or the paprika, like that's just so practical. And I think that something that is is missing is how these amazing spices they, that tastes so good actually have nutritional value. So I think that's, I know my listeners are just going to absolutely love that and found it interesting niching it, that you had to do all this research on your own, because it seems like once you reached that breaking point, you could easily turn to a valuable resource and figure out how to lose the weight or do a particular program. So I know you probably feel the same about the weight loss industries, but I want to hear from you, what are your thoughts about the weight loss industry and what is wrong with this industry nowadays?
 
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely. And you know, that, the thing is the reason that I, that I created this method by myself is because I tried everything and nothing had worked for me because they were all based all the, all the diets and all the teachings from the weight loss industry are all based on restriction. And they're all on calorie, cutting, and also calorie counting. They're, they're teaching us to eat smaller portions of unhealthy processed foods that leave us hungry and are absolutely unsustainable. And so, you know, the other thing about counting your calories every day and counting points, uh, when you're a busy woman, like there's, you don't have time to te to track that you don't have time to track every single thing. And you don't, and you remove that relationship that we have with food, which can be about warmth and nourishing ourselves and make it a very kind of, um, a very, um, transactional, uh, um, way of doing things.
 
And it doesn't have to be like that. And so when, when I started changing and transitioning and learning new ways, I really wanted to learn more about the foods that I should eat. And what I found is that once you eat the right foods, you don't have to count your calories anymore. You no longer have to look at portion sizes. In fact, I often eat so much that I'm so full and satisfied, and yet my weight continues to drop or continues to stay at the, say that the place where I want it to. And so it is very possible once you learn to eat foods that are real foods that have more fiber in them that are more protein based, um, and that are, you know, that that are keeping you full. And they're also lower in sodium. They're not giving you that bloating when you learn what these foods are, and they're mainly, you start turning to real foods and learning how to, how to prepare them, how to assemble them, how to combine them.
 
You don't even have to cook them if you don't want to cook. Um, you learn that weight loss becomes easy. And that was something that I never would have believed over 10 years ago, because it was the hardest thing that I had found. In fact, I had become successful at my career. I had moved across the country. I had done all of these things that were my goal, but yet I had never been able to have the body that I felt confident in until I changed the approach and stopped restricting. And now what, what I, uh, what I do and what I encourage is to add these really great foods, focus on eating more of the right foods that boost your metabolism and everything takes care of itself, your fat melts away. And not only that, but you get to live a life that's more active. That is more exciting that you can, that you know, will continue well into your retirement years because you are taking care of yourself and you're doing it in the right way. You're not doing it through, up and down dieting and eating unhealthy processed foods
 
Speaker 1:
Because so many valid points there. And, you know, we see too that this is so much more of a positive approach. We have to look at our relationship with food. And so all of the calorie counting and the restricted diets, it creates such a negative atmosphere and it's just not sustainable. So it never works. So, uh, you like so many women just as yo-yo dieting their whole entire life, and that leaves them feeling so guilty. So ashamed, so defeated and so discouraged. So a lot of this positive approach and this positive, healthy relationship with food, I just think it's so valuable. And honestly, I think it's something we have to teach our kids as moms. We've got to look at the behavior that we're doing and how it affects our children, and they need to have a positive relationship with healthy foods. And that is not going to come from counting calories.
 
Speaker 2:
Oh my gosh. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I love that, how you said that a positive relationship with food, because that's what it is. It's a, it really is like looking at food, knowing that it's not going to hurt you, not leaning on food for other reasons, besides nourishment, which is, which is a huge thing to uncover as you go through this. Um, you know, as you go through this weight loss process or healthy eating process is learning that we, we rely on foods for so many more things like helping us feel comfort, helping us get over boredom, um, just getting us through the day. And, and when you actually start to realize that you want to be healthier as a whole person, and you want to have, you want to use food to nourish yourself and then take care of yourself in the ways that you should. It's, it's a really holistic way of becoming that new version of yourself. Uh, it starts with that positive relationship with food, and then you're able to everything else that you were relying on food for, and really up-level yourself in those, in those areas.
 
Speaker 1:
Yes, definitely. Now I know that you're, um, you're really big on having a solid metabolism boosting morning routine. You and I, you know, share in our passion for this. I'm really big on helping my clients implement a morning routine. So I want to hear about your metabolism boosting morning routine. What do you think?
 
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely. So the metabolism boosting morning routine, there's three elements of the morning routine. Um, and this, you know, what happens here in this routine is that the more that you can systemize, um, areas of your life, which means that you're not thinking about them, you're just getting up and doing it. The more that these become habits and, you know, habits actually comprise over 60 to 80% of our day. And so if you can change your habits, then you don't even have to think about being healthy anymore, because you're just doing it like clockwork, just like brushing your teeth. And so that's why a morning routine is so powerful because you're creating this habit where you wake up and you're not wondering what to eat. You're knowing what to do. You're knowing how to take care of yourself so that you can actually think about other things in your life.
 
Um, instead of, you know, feeling guilty about the choice that you made, because you didn't have something prepared already, which is what usually happens. So, um, so the morning routine that, that I'm, that I love and that, that, um, that, uh, so many of our, of our, um, audience follows is to start off with having a glass of what I called infused de-bloating water. Now imagine being at a spa, when you walk into that spa, you know, they're serving you with water that has cucumber, that has mint, maybe it has lime, and you're feeling like you're really taking care of yourself. Well, guess what? All of those things are so simple and easy, and they have such benefits that there's every reason that we could be drinking that at home. And so what I recommend is filling up a pitcher of water with about six cups of water and putting in one lemon, one to two lemons that you, that you cut, chop it into rounds, put it in there.
 
And then, um, add one cucumber that you also cut chop into rounds. And so I'll tell you the benefits of these, the, the lemon, it detoxes your body. It really helps cleanse it of toxins. Not only that, but having one lemon gives you 30% of your daily vitamin C. And especially right now, when we're just kind of hopefully overcoming coronavirus, um, getting our immune systems high is, is absolutely crucial. So you pulled that lemon, you know, it's really helping detox your body boost your vitamin C. Then the cucumber has so much fresh water in it. That when you are having that cucumber with the water, it's helping to cleanse your body and it's helping to deep bloat your body. It's decreasing water retention because it's washing out the sodium from your body. So you're deep bloating. You are, um, you know, you're, you're cleansing your toxins.
 
And then what you can also do is you, if you have some mint leaves, you can also add some mint leaves into the water and mint leaves actually help you overcome your sugar cravings. And it's a really great way to do that. And so you add that now, if you don't have mid leaves, you don't have to add mint in. You can add anything else in, or just add nothing in and just keep it with even just lemon water, but just adding the cucumber is great or anything else you have. And then you let that infuse overnight in the morning, you come to your fridge and, oh my gosh, it, you feel like you're at a spa, you open it up, it looks gorgeous. You poured into a glass and just enjoy that water. And there's a couple of things that are happening here. You are a first you're drinking water.
 
You know, that's, that's key. A lot of us may or may not. You know, we may not drink water in the morning right away. And when you're hydrating your body, you're just getting ready for a weight loss date. What I call a weight loss day, you're getting ready for a day. That is, that is going, you're going to be treating yourself well. Um, and then in addition, you're getting all those benefits from all the things that you added, so that water is de-bloating, and it's infused with all those great elements. So you can do one glass of water, at least do one glass of water. These are a lot of questions that I usually get asked around the water. Um, you can keep it in your fridge for three to four days. Um, and then by that time, the lemon and the cucumber, it will not be good anymore.
And so you can keep it in your, in your fridge and then just pour 'em a couple, one or two glasses a morning, and you can also drink this in the afternoon and you can also heat it up if you like warm water. Um, so that's one, one thing is you start off with your infused water. It's like, you don't even think about it. You just go and have your glass of water. Then if you do like having a caffeine, you have your coffee or tea with cinnamon, and that's going to lower your blood sugar. If you don't have caffeine, you can use the cinnamon on your breakfast. If you have, you know, anything, if you have fruit, Greek, yogurt, cottage, cheese, anything like that, you can put it on there. Um, so you have your coffee with cinnamon. And then the third is that you have what I call a protein more breakfast, and this boosts your metabolism because you're having protein in the morning.
 
It's keeping you more full you'll feel full all the way until the afternoon. And so until lunchtime versus if you don't have protein in your, in your breakfast, you will feel hungry in a couple hours and you're, you'll end up consuming double the calories than you would have. If you had had protein in your breakfast, it will keep you more full. Um, and so I'll give you three quick examples of how to add protein in your morning. One is to have eggs, if you have eggs. So have eggs, have low sugar fruit on the side, or have some nice breakfast veggies like asparagus. Um, and then, um, you know, and that's when I idea another idea is to have a protein metabolism, boosting warning smoothie, where you use protein powder, you get some veggies in there. Um, and if you don't like protein powder, you can use Greek yogurt, but you definitely have in your smoothie.
 
Um, and you can also use some low sugar fruit, especially like, um, uh, strawberries taste. Amazing. Um, and then the third thing that you can do is that you can do Greek yogurt, uh, with cinnamon and with berries and with a little bit of chia seeds to make it even more filling. And Greek yogurt is extremely high in, um, in, in protein and low in sugar. And so that's an a, that's like a grab and go option if you have no time at all in the morning. So those are a few different ways. And so by doing those three things, you're going to hydrate yourself, you're going to lower your blood sugar, and you're going to keep yourself full and boost your metabolism all the way until lunchtime. And you're really going to set up your morning so that you have that weight loss.
 
Speaker 1:
It's so simple and so practical. And I think there's just some things that we've ignored in the hustle and bustle and being busy. You know, there are some things we've, if we've ignored like that simple fact of drinking water to rehydrate ourselves first thing in the morning, and to go ahead and take the time to put some mint and cucumber and lemon in there. And you, do you feel like you're at the spa, it tastes good. Again, it's a pleasant experience. And I think to those smells that come like the citrus smell that comes from the water with the lemon, I think it kind of helps to wake up the senses and kind of jumpstart the body in addition to rehydrating, and then of course, detoxifying. So I think it's such a great suggestion. And then I heard you say the coffee was cinnamon nail. Um, uh, do you like to put your, uh, the cinnamon in the coffee grinds when your coffee is brewing or ha or do you put it in after your coffee has been prepared? Which way is your favorite?
 
Speaker 2:
Oh, yes. So I love to put it in. Um, I just sprinkle it into my coffee after it's done and I just sprinkle it in there. And then if I pour some more coffee, I add a little bit more on top and I just sprinkle it in. It doesn't even matter how much, just, uh, just like sprinkle it in on the top.
 
Speaker 1:
Yes. That's a practical way. I'm so sad because our time is coming to an end very quickly, and this has been so very helpful and most importantly, just practical. Cause I think some, some experts make it sound so very complicated and you know, the, and, and again, women get overwhelmed and they think I can't do that, but you have given us some very clear, um, direction today. And I think it's going to leave everyone saying, you know what? I can do that. So I want to encourage all of you to adopt one or two of these habits that she talked about today, so that you can boost your metabolism and, um, and find an easier way to lose that weight in a very positive environment, a positive relationship with food. So as we're wrapping up, I do have one more question for you. Will you just give a, uh, like a final word of encouragement to that weary mom who is she's feels stuck, she's overwhelmed and she doesn't know what her next step is going to be.
 
Speaker 2:
Oh, absolutely. And you know, the first of all, I can tell you, I was that mom, I was that person. And, um, and there's some times there is lessons that you learn when you feel so down, you realize that you just can't go on like, like this in the same way. And the only way that you can go is up and you will, you absolutely will. And the best way that you can do that is knowing that first of all, it's possible. It's possible for you. It's possible for you to get in the best shape of your life, the best shape that you've ever been in, even before children for your, for your kids to say, oh my gosh, mommy, you're so fit. Oh my gosh, you look so great for your kids to say that that is very, very possible. And in fact, imagining that can be a great vision to really motivate you.
 
Um, and, and then to get started, it's all about taking small steps instead of overwhelming with, uh, kind of with overwhelming and completely up like overhauling your life. All you have to do is take small steps. For example, I started with the coffee and the cinnamon. You could start with the metabolism boosting morning smoothie. You could start with having tasty veggies, finding one recipe. What's one recipe that you can start to add once a week, and really taking that small step, because that's even more powerful than changing all of your habits all at once, because those will stick. When you find a couple of new recipes that you like, or you find a new way of going about breakfast, that's healthier and you just, it becomes easier. So start there, and then you can layer on over time and it'll feel easy, and you're going to have more energy to do that over time.
Speaker 1:
Such fantastic advice. I'm so glad you came on today to the show. I think mothers are just going to love this simple and practical advice, and I think that everybody's going to be inspired. So thank you so much. And I know they're going to want to know where to connect with you. So, uh, give us that information of your website and where they can connect with you on social media.
 
Speaker 2:
Absolutely, absolutely. Well, I have a special free gift that's available right now on my website, and this is my free recipe book, um, where I teach you how to lose your first seven pounds with these seven proven, proven, and easy recipes to flatten your belly slim down and drop two to three dress sizes. And this is available at my website, Masala body.com. And this book includes my very easy, simple and metabolism boosting, um, morning smoothie, which has, uh, strawberries, which has protein more. And it tastes incredibly delicious. In fact, when I started drinking it, it was the next step after I did this, the cinnamon in my coffee that really got my weight loss jump-started so you'll have that recipe. Plus you'll have many other recipes that have some of the spices incorporated in it, but they're not spicy. And it's all about being easy. Um, because I know that busy moms and busy women, we don't want to spend all of our free time cooking. So this, uh, this recipe book where you can lose your first seven pounds  at masalabody.com. And once you've grabbed, you'll be on my newsletter list. And I'll send you an email with a really special training that teaches you what our clients are doing right now to slim down and drop two to three dress sizes. And it's a, it's a training that, that you can take right away.
 
Speaker 1:
That's great. Thank you so much. So I will make sure to link that in the show notes. So you guys can access that easily Nagina, thank you so much for coming on the show today. I really appreciate you.
 
Speaker 2:
I’ve loved being here. Thank you so much, Jennifer.
 
Speaker 2:
I really enjoyed my conversation and Tom with Medina, such practical and simple suggestions that make healthy living a positive experience. And I can't overemphasize how important that is. We're talking about implementing lifestyle changes and showing our kids what good nutrition looks like. So I know I'm looking forward to implementing some of these simple suggestions as she gave us, and we're going to continue this awesome conversation and yeah, even shared some tips and recipes on the Facebook group, functional medicine for weight loss, body, mind, soul wellness for women. So I've been telling you if you're not part of that group, you're missing out. You can join us now. It's Bitly forward slash fm women's wellness. Again, that's Bitly forward slash fm women's wellness. And before I let you go, don't forget to book your discovery, call on the website and until we meet again, I hope you have a healthy and happy day. Bye y'all.