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Your Career Might Be Making You a Compulsive Eater

“When I’m at work, I can’t help but eat the doughnuts and cookies people bring.” “I get so stressed at work that I eat to get through it.” “When I get home from a long day at work, I’m so stressed and tired and I end up eating a lot at night.” and sometimes people say, “I eat much better on days off.”

These are common things I hear from my clients when they describe the terrain of their compulsive eating patterns. Of course, not everyone who compulsively eats does so in relation to their work or career, but a great percentage do — enough to make me want to write a blog post about it.

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My March Juice Cleanse, Days 5-7

Greetings, blog readers! I have finished my Juice Cleanse, which I decided to just have be one week this time around. I am feeling physically amazing as always happens when you drink a lot of green juice, and am very glad to have this spring cleaning. I’m looking at this lovely spring bouquet in my window. It’s sunny outside and nearly 50 degrees!

Days 5-7 were great and fine. Physically, there is not much to say other than that I felt fantastic and productive – I almost always feel even more productive and efficient on Juice Cleanses than otherwise – and grateful for the bounty which allows me to make fresh juice!

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My March Juice Cleanse, Days 1-4

My March Juice Cleanse, Days 1-4

I am chuckling at myself because every time I post the first blog of my juice cleanses every few months, I am always compelled with starting off by talking about the weather. Sigh…  Anyways, the weather is gorgeous and has been in the 50’s here in Philadelphia. It really feels like Spring and this feels like a Spring Juice Cleanse!

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Myths About Healing Compulsive Eating

Throughout my years of healing my own relationship with food and letting go of compulsive eating, and also talking with many, many people on their own journeys doing the same, I’ve identified some common myths about healing compulsive eating. These were myths that I believed and many people with whom I work also believe(d).

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Recipe: Dessert Spice Superfood Smoothie
Journal, Nutrition, Recipes Anna Stanford Journal, Nutrition, Recipes Anna Stanford

Recipe: Dessert Spice Superfood Smoothie

Happy February, juicy ones!

I’m enjoying the slightly warmer weather and more frequent sunny days here in Philly, which received approximately 1/348874th an inch of snow from storm Nemo. But no matter how cold or warm it is, I love my superfood smoothies. I have a smoothie almost every day, usually as breakfast but sometimes as dinner, particularly if I’ve just finished a workout and don’t want to eat anything very heavy before heading off to bed.

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Guest Post: Brandi’s 21-day Juice Feast
Health Practices, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford Health Practices, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford

Guest Post: Brandi’s 21-day Juice Feast

My name is Brandi, I’m almost 38 years old and I live in Hawaii! I’ve been thinking about doing some sort of cleanse for about the last 9 months, but really since my son was born in 2008! Only just now am I finally ready to commit to the process. After great thought, I have decided that 21 days of green juice, with the support of a juice coach like Courtney, is just what I need to get clear, lose weight, find inner peace, have sustained energy, and replace negative food patterns with a whole new way of plant-based eating. I am ready to have a new outlook on life and the way I eat and to feel better than I have in a very long time. The first step of a long journey is a deep cleanse with green juice. A flush that will purify my organs, brighten up my eyes, and heal my entire body with extraordinary, unmatched nutrition. I am so ready for this and I cant wait to see where this journey takes me!

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Juice Cleansing Isn’t Just For Your Body

Juice cleansing is most well-known for its physical benefits. People report endless benefits, including increased energy, better sleep, clearer skin, weight loss, digestive improvement, minimized pain and aches, and so much more. Today I’d like to talk about the benefits beyond the physical benefits that juice cleansing can bring us.

I want to do this for two reasons. The first is that I’d love to illustrate possibilities that can happen during juice cleansing which you might find exciting, so that you might consider adding non-physical goals to your intentions for juice cleansing. The second has to do with the misconception that cleansing is inherently or necessarily superficial, which comes from those who are simply unaware that juice cleansing does not have to be only about the physical, nor is it even mostly about the physical for many people.

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My Holidays in Utah

I am back in Philadelphia from my holiday vacation! I went to visit my immediate family, all of whom live in the Salt Lake City and Park City area of Utah, where my family moved for my dad’s job when I was a teenager, but then everyone stayed, realizing that outdoor sports were more epic and diverse in Utah than they were in Vermont (read: powder vs. ice). We are outdoor sports obsessives and enthusiasts, partaking constantly in activities including but not limited to snowboarding, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, water skiing (southern UT), wakeboarding, mountain biking, and dirt biking.

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My December Juice Cleanse, Days 6-7
Journal, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford Journal, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford

My December Juice Cleanse, Days 6-7

My recap of the last couple days of my Juice Feast is clearly delayed. Lots of holiday activity and business!

The last 2 days went well. I enjoyed some delicious beet juice, as you can see in the photo, and more green juice and coconut water and other delights. It was uncharacteristically warm in Philadelphia, making it surely one of the less chilly December Juice Feasts that I’ve done.

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My December Juice Cleanse, Days 1-5

Hi, readers! I have begun my next juice cleanse. As you’ve likely read before, I do a 7+ day juice cleanse ever 3 – 6 months. This one is just slightly prior to my 3 month mark, but I’ll be traveling back home for the holidays soon and wanted to get it in before then. The first couple days were quite smooth, with some minor classic detox symptoms, such as energy swings and cravings, that usually subsided after a trusty enema. These days, when I cleanse, I start to feel the “fasters high” very quickly. I have rekindled my obsession with parsley juice this time around, too. I just adore parsley. Cilantro is another favorite, but the smell and taste of parsley makes me want to write poems of herbalicious passion.

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Eating in the Dark

During my recent trip to Montreal, Sarah and I went to an internationally famous restaurant called O.Noir. At O.Noir, diners eat in complete darkness. I mean complete darkness — the kind where you can’t see your own hand if you wave it 5 inches from your face. According to O.Noir’s website, there are multiple purposes for this experience. One is that when you can’t see your food, the people with whom you’re dining, or anyone around you, you tune in more than ever to the taste and aromas of food. Additionally, it gives one a beginning understanding of what it is like to be blind. All of the wait staff are legally blind, and serve as guides to sighted folks who visit.

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When We Heal Compulsive Eating

When I was a junior in high school, I had a Government teacher that looked like a brunette version of Keith Urban. He was a kind-hearted jokester, was smart, and overall a favorite teacher. All of the students respected him, yet we all thought he was super cool, as is usually goes with favorite teachers, and he somehow transformed the subject of Government into one of the most fun and fascinating courses I took.

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How to Juice Cleanse in Cold Weather
Health Practices, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford Health Practices, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford

How to Juice Cleanse in Cold Weather

Can you Juice Feast when it’s cold outside?

Yes!

I have done many Juice Feasts during cold weather, including the tail end of my 60-day Juice Feast, which went through a December. Many fasting centers still offer juice fasts during cold weather and many people all over the world have completed successful Juice Feasts when it is cold outside. All you need to do is take some extra measures! You might be able to do just a few of these things, or you may need to do all of them. Thus far, my clients who have done every single one of these steps have been totally fine.

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Why You Deserve To Change Your Diet

Why You Deserve To Change Your Diet

In my recent blog post, I wrote about how to talk to people who are not supportive of your cleansing. This week, I want to take things a little deeper, or perhaps, back-track a little. The post was based on what I tell my clients who are doing Juice Feasts and who are concerned about the less-than-supportive friends, coworkers and loved ones they may encounter. By the time my clients come to me for coaching, they may still feel nervous about telling people around them that they are changing their diet or doing a cleanse, but it is not enough to keep them from moving forward and making the changes.

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Guest Post: Josefin’s 7-day Juice Feast

Guest Post: Josefin’s 7-day Juice Feast

“You are doing a what!?”

This question is one I have now answered about ten billion times this past week, and is exactly what I would have asked myself a year ago. “A Juice Feast” is the correct answer, and was something I had never heard of before my host family in Florida introduced me to their juicer during a visit last summer. Back then I didn’t really buy the concept of not eating, which goes against everything I had learned about health growing up in Sweden.

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Telling Unsupportive People That You’re Cleansing

Do people give you a hard time about juice cleansing? Or, if you are considering doing your first cleanse, are there individuals who would?

It might be our partner, our parents, our child(ren), our best friend, or our coworkers. Some of us face minimal resistance, such as one parent being slightly concerned (“Honey, are you sure this is a good idea?”) but you only talk with them once every couple weeks anyways. Many of us face far more intense resistance from people we might be around daily. Some of us have people around us who will be plain nasty and rude about it.

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Guest Post: Emily’s 21-day Juice Feast

Guest Post: Emily’s 21-day Juice Feast

What I most took away from my 21-day Juice Feast was the principle of balance. Having wrestled with a tendency to vacillate between extremes in lifestyle, diet, emotion, and thought, I longed for a sense of peace and wellness. While to many people the idea of living on juice for 3 weeks could seem extreme, I found that what it unearthed in me was a deeper sense of what it meant to find equilibrium and calm.

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My Fall 2012 Juice Feast – Days 6-9

My Fall 2012 Juice Feast – Days 6-9

I am finished with my Fall Juice Feast! The last couple days were stellar and delicious in so many ways. I feel more harmonious in my body, and I love  to emerge out of the Juice Feast on the other end with that feeling. It is always my intention to carry over all I learned about myself and my body and all that I experienced into my “normal” eating mode.

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My Fall 2012 Juice Feast – Update on Day 5!

My Fall 2012 Juice Feast – Update on Day 5!

Yes, I have been Juice Feasting for the past 5 days! I like to do some Juice Feasting every 3-6 months as a tune-up. Much like tuning up your car or your instrument, the body needs some tuning and maintenance. Though we may eat very well, we still take in toxins through the air, water, things we put on our skin, things we touch. Beyond that, even, our organs need some rest and deep-cleansing here and there. How long will I go? I haven’t decided yet — I like to leave it up to intuition, but for at least 7 days.

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What is the Best Juicer?
Health Practices, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford Health Practices, Juice Feasting, Nutrition Anna Stanford

What is the Best Juicer?

What attributes does a fantastic juicer have?

  1. Makes your liquid rocket fuel (juice) with no pulp in the juice. No floaties welcome here.

  2. Leaves the pulp adequately pulverized and dry. It squeezes (literally) the most out of the money that you paid for the produce

  3. You use it and clean it and use it again. 100% of the juicer you don’t use doesn’t make juice.

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