Articles and Recipes

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Delicious Chocolate Smoothie

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Celebrate it’s Friday with a Delicious Chocolate Smoothie!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 can full fat coconut milk
  • 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 1 scoop Maximized Living Grass-Fed Whey Protein Chocolate

Optional:

  • 1 scoop of Maximized Living Max Greens

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a heavy duty blender and blend to desired consistency. Add additional water if necessary.



Vanilla Banana Smoothie

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It’s a Vanilla Banana🍌 Smoothie. Try one today with this recipe!

Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
1 cup of coconut milk
1 scoop of Maximized Living Grass-Fed Whey Protein Vanilla or Perfect Plant Protein
1 serving of flax seeds.

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a heavy duty blender and mix to desired consistency.

#sogoodtogetherML#maximizedliving #the5essentials#smoothie


Yogurt Raspberry Smoothie

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Overview of the Recipe

A thick and creamy smoothie to have as a delicious treat on a hot summer day.

Ingredients List

• 1 – 2 scoops of Maximized Living Grass-Fed Whey Protein Vanilla or Perfect Plant Protein.

• 3 – 4 tablespoons of organic yogurt.

• 1/2 – 1 cup of berries.

• Add water to reach desired thickness.

• Ice cubes.

Optional:

• 1 scoop of Maximized Living Max Greens.

• For a chocolate raspberry smoothie, use Maximized Living Grass-Fed Whey Protein Chocolate instead of Grass-Fed Whey Protein Vanilla.

• 1/2 teaspoon Stevia or Xylitol to taste. Most do not need any additional sweetening.

• Garnish with fresh raspberries and/or blueberries.

Cooking Directions

Add all ingredients except for water in blender, add a small amount of water and a few ice cubes, blend in blender adding more water and ice until you achieve the desired consistency.



The Skinny on Hormones

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You probably recognize testosterone, estrogen and HGH as hormones. Perhaps not as common is the vital role hormones play in maintaining a healthy weight. If you are trying to lose weight this year, understanding how to harness the power of four key hormones is crucial for burning fat, controlling hunger, building muscle, and much more. Let’s take a look at the hormones responsible for helping regulate your weight:

Ghrelin Ghrelin is your hunger gremlin. It is produced in your stomach and works with your brain to signal that you are hungry. Reducing calories, in an effort to lose weight, causes an increase in ghrelin. But even after 12 months of reduced calories, research shows that ghrelin levels stay elevated. In other words, your body never adapts to eating less and continues to send hunger signals. This is why maintaining weight loss is often harder than losing it and why our Maximized Living eating plans do not focus on counting calories. Our focus is on changing the type of food you eat. The good news: Intense exercise decreases ghrelin levels, making it a key component to fat loss and weight maintenance.

Leptin Leptin is an adipokine hormone released exclusively from fat cells. Leptin interacts with your brain to get your body to eat less and burn more calories. The more body fat you have, the more leptin your fat cells will release. However, too much body fat leads to too much leptin being released—a condition called leptin resistance. When this occurs, your brain becomes numb to leptin’s signal. To maximize leptin sensitivity, get adequate sleep and pack your diet full of antioxidant-rich berries and green and red vegetables. Losing weight also enhances leptin sensitivity and provides some momentum, as the more weight you lose, the more effective leptin will become in your body.

Adiponectin Adiponectin is another adipokine, but unlike leptin, the leaner your body is, the more adiponectin your fat cells will release. Adiponectin enhances your muscle’s ability to use carbohydrates for energy, boosts your metabolism, increases the rate in which your body breaks down fat and curbs your appetite. You can maximize your adiponectin levels by moving more during the day (getting leaner) and replacing carbohydrates in your diet with monounsaturated fats (olives, avocados, nuts, coconut, etc).

Insulin Insulin aids in exercise recovery, muscle building and maintaining optimal blood sugar levels. However, insulin and carbohydrates are very tightly linked and when carbohydrate intakes are high and insulin is left to run wild in the body, it can inhibit the breakdown and burning of stored fat. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more insulin will be released. To optimize insulin for fat loss, get most of your carbohydrates from vegetables and some fruit. Limit grains and starches to smaller portions directly after exercise.

Don’t wait until January to accomplish your weight loss goals, when swimsuit season is here, and even more importantly— your health is at stake. You can learn how to harness the power of your hormones to conquer weight-loss and turn goals into success by visiting your local Maximized Living Doctor today!

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Dr. Katie Benson has been serving Marysville, Ohio and the surrounding communities since 2008. Dr. Benson and her team of assistants strive to provide the highest quality and most cutting-edge wellness care in all of Central Ohio. Her wellness clinic has become one of the largest in the state and continues to grow.


How To Prime Your Mind For Success

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Learn how your mindset influences your habits and gain a few easy tricks to set yourself up for success.

It’s easy to see what I value. Take a look at my life and you will see the people, places and things that are important to me. Listen to how I speak, what I write and with whom I spend time. That evidence makes it clear. When I need (want) to make a change, I must examine what I value and if necessary, change my mind about the value of what I’m doing.

My mindset determines everything. It is in my mind that I create the perseverance to finish a half marathon. When my body is tired, it is my mind that tells me to keep going and it is my mind that often quits long before my body will. When my mind stops pushing forward, my body follows. I think most of us are like that.

Habits are merely patterns that we’ve created over time that are most often in our comfort level. When we receive an outcome that we don’t desire, we often don’t look for a pattern that created it, but we often look for a remedy to change the outcome. When it comes to success, I have to identify what success looks like (and feels like) for me. How do I want to live my life? What do I want to achieve? What impact do I want to make with the people who mean the most to me? Is my success attached to a dollar value? Is my success attached to a specific outcome? When I have a firm answer, I will be able to see more clearly how to move forward.

Here are some ideas I’ve used to set myself up for success:

1. Get a clear vision of what I want. Is it to complete a full marathon? Is it to lose a certain amount of weight? Is it to write a book?

2. Get a clear vision of who I want to be. What is the expression I want to have with others? What message do I want others to receive having been in my presence? How do I want others to feel when they are with me?

3. Get a clear vision of what the short successes look like.

4. Get a clear vision of what long-term success looks like.

5. What patterns do I currently have that are taking me away from who I want to be?

Once I’ve answered these questions, I can make a plan that will equal success. I can make small changes in the patterns I currently have, to get me to the success that holds value for me.


Kari-Pennar.jpg Kari Penner is a Certified Life Coach, Counselor, and Maximized Living Chiropractic Assistant in Winnipeg, Canada. Kari has spent most of the past decade studying Wellness, Nutrition, Toxicity, and has been a professional Life Coach since 2001. She is passionate about seeing people transform their lives by implementing The 5 Essentials. She has been an office manager and CA with Maximized Living since 2007.



Exercise and Spinal Care: What you should know

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With 2016 being my 20th year in practice, I‘ve heard many New Year’s resolutions during my career. The most common resolution usually goes something like this: “I want to get healthy!” What I’ve realized is that “healthy” for most people means that they want to get fit. Or at least look fit.

While most people know that working out is good for them, the number one excuse I hear is, “I don’t have the time.” A 2012 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology stated that within the first week, 25 percent of people have already given up their resolution, followed by 36 percent within the first month, 54 percent within the first six months, and a whopping 92 percent have given up within the first year1. One would think that if people noticed increased health after starting their resolution, it would be enough motivation for them to stick with it. Many people start the process but don’t notice a difference in their overall health.

You may be thinking: “Shouldn’t I get healthier if I exercise?” Not always. Professional athletes can be some of the fittest, leanest people on earth, but unfortunately, the opposite is often true. For example, the NFL Players Union and Harvard released a study stating that the average life expectancy of professional football players is mid to late 50’s, as opposed to mid to late 70’s for the average person. I have personally seen many lean, fit, very sick people in my career.

So what are they missing? The other four essentials! For anyone who exercises, Maximized Nerve Supply is critical because exercise is physically stressful on the body. In fact, physical stress is the number one cause of spinal subluxation. Spinal subluxation can lead to interference with normal nerve supply from the brain to your body’s cells, organs, and tissues. Without proper nerve supply, your body can’t function properly. So when you start your New Year’s resolution, be extra careful with your spine during your exercise program.

back-500x447.jpg If you are starting out new with any new exercise program, you may need to increase your spinal maintenance schedule to counteract the new stress to your spine. If you haven’t had your spine checked by a Maximized Living Doctor, make sure to do that first, before starting any exercise program.

If you participate in the following activities, be sure to see your chiropractor to see if you have these common subluxations:

  • Running – Lumbar spine, mostly L5
  • Weight Lifting
  • Bench Press – Cervical Spine
  • Standing Dumbbells – Cervical Spine
  • Squats – Lumbar Spine
  • Bike Riding – Lumbar Spine
  • Swimming – Neck
  • Tennis – Neck
  • Golf – Neck and Lumbar
  • Cross Fit – Neck and Lumbar spines

Since MaxT3 was developed by a chiropractic doctor, you can be assured that your spine was taken into consideration in its development. If you are currently on a spinal correction or maintenance program, be sure to follow your doctor’s recommendation with your spinal adjustments and exercises.

1. Norcross, J.C., Mrykalo, M.S., & Blagys, M.D. (2002). Auld lang syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year’s resolvers and nonresolvers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 397-405.

tony-nalda.png Growing up, Dr. Tony Nalda suffered with severe, debilitating migraines. As a result he was i n t r odu c ed to chiropractic care. He is the Essential #2 Instructor for Maximized Living Doctors. He is also a CLEAR Scoliosis Intensive Certified Doctor, providing specialized care for scoliosis patients from all over the world.



Frozen Lemonade

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This recipe is full of fresh fruit juice and is perfect for a hot day sitting by the pool. With all of your summer gatherings coming up, choose a drink that will keep you hydrated and won’t drag you down with sugar.

Ingredients
2-3 lemons or limes if you choose
1 c ice
2 c water
1 tsp stevia or to taste
Optional : 6-10 whole mint leaves or to taste

Directions
Juice lemons or limes into a blender or Vita-Mix, add ice, water, stevia and mint leaves if desired. Blend until frothy.

Want more recipes like this? You can get our Maximized Living Nutrition Plan book here.



No Gym? No Problem!

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No Gym? No Problem!

A good workout doesn’t require an expensive gym membership, a lot of equipment, or a personal trainer. All you need is 12 minutes
and about three square feet of space.

Two of the greatest excuses for lack of exercise are the lack of a gym and the lack of time. Cost can have a huge impact on a person’s health, even when low cost or free options are available. Many people have a hard time finding the motivation to exercise when they are not in a special location specifically designed for exercise. One alternative is to invest in equipment that can cost hundreds, or thousands, of dollars. While your wallet is the only limit with this option, space can be a huge limiting factor. The other option is to use a weight set that is always with you — your body. Body weight exercise and calisthenics are quickly becoming the fastest exercise trends in the country because these types of workouts are fast, require little or no equipment, and are generally free. Calisthenics dates back to the Ancient Greece and the first Olympic athletes. Many high level athletes, as well as the United States military, use calisthenics during physical training programs.

Performing the following exercises in a MaxT3 format will easily kick start your metabolism and help you burn fat during a time of year when most people are adding to their figure!

Squat: One of the most functional exercises is the squat. This exercise is excellent for targeting all of the muscles in your lower body. The movement is extremely important for increasing leg strength and stamina, as well as core stabilization.

Push Ups: One of the most complete upper body exercises you could do is the push up. Push ups focus on the muscles in your chest, arms, back, shoulders, and core, and can be modified to target certain areas specifically.

Bridge: When you think of core exercises, the bridge probably doesn’t come to mind. Most people think of their core as their abdominal muscles, but they forget about the muscles in their back. Your core is actually made up of the muscles that wrap completely around your body, just below your chest and above your hips. The bridge focuses on the muscles in your lower back, as well as your gluteus, hip flexors, and hamstrings.

Plank: When people think about building a great six-pack, they often think about how many crunches it would require, but one of the greatest core exercises you could do for a more defined midsection doesn’t require any crunches at all! The plank might look simple, but staying in the proper position requires abdominal strength and stamina.

Lunges: Most people are familiar with lunges, but few understand the impact they can have on your leg muscles and core. Lunges are an extremely versatile exercise that can be modified to target specific areas of your legs while also increasing balance and core stabilization!

Burpees: This exercise does not have many friends! If you have never heard of burpees, you are in for a treat. Burpees are a complex total body movement that works the upper and lower body while focusing on core stabilization. However, the burpee can be modified and scaled to almost any ability level.

Mountain Climbers: This exercise combines the core stabilization of a plank with the cardio of a sprint. Mountain climbers will help create a burn in the legs, arms and shoulders, as well as the core. The most important thing to remember with mountain climbers is to keep your body weight centered above your shoulders and wrists.

Tuck Jumps: Possibly the most fun (and deceptively challenging) exercises on the list. Tuck jumps are simple in that you only have to jump as high as possible and pull your knees up towards your chest, like you’re tucking into a ball. They have a huge cardio impact and will help to define the muscles in your lower and upper legs, as well as your core.

Pull Ups: This exercise is the only one that requires equipment. However, it is on the list because it is so effective. It might also be the most difficult! Pull ups work the muscles in your back, chest, shoulders, and arms better than any single exercise you could do. While there is a minor financial investment for equipment, the payoff will be huge!

1. Low, Steven (Mar 2010). “The Fundamentals of Bodyweight Strength Training”. Eat. Move. Improve.

2. Yamauchi J, Nakayama S, Ishii N., (Sep, 2009) “Effects of bodyweight-based exercise training on muscle functions of leg multi-joint movement in elderly individuals.” Geriatrics & gerontology International, 9(3):262-9. Note: Access to full text requires subscription; abstract freely available


Zach-Zovath.jpg Zach and his wife Dr. Erin Zovath own Bold City Chiropractic in Jacksonville, FL which is one of the largest Chiropractic Health Centers in North Florida. Zach has advanced certifications in Corrective Exercises and Performance Enhancement along with certifications in CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting. He earned his Masters from UCF College of Education and Human Performance specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorders.