Who and what is Lighten Up 4 Life?

The face behind Lighten Up 4 Life:

Jill Seward RHN, RNCP, ROHP

Jill is a Certified Life Coach Practitioner, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Red Seal Chef, with more than 23 years experience in the weight loss, health and wellness and food industry.

Jill has established a reputation as a leading motivational lifestyle and nutritional educator and has obtained numerous additional certifications as an obesity and bariatric personal coach. Her core strength is empowering clients to achieve their weight loss, health and wellness goals.

Jill is the founder and president of Lighten Up 4 Life. She has developed and implemented the WhyWeight?™ Therapeutic LifeStyle Programs which is a unique weight loss program that includes the transitioning keys that include psychological, emotional skills and in conjunction with First Line Therapy for lifetime health and wellness success.

Laser-focused on client needs, Jill fervently believes that as a coach she has done her job when the client no longer requires her services. To paraphrase a Chinese Proverb, “Teach me to diet and I diet for a day. Teach me the skills to change and I no longer diet, it is a way of life.”

Jill successfully completed her nutritional studies with the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. Additionally she has earned several support and facilitator certifications from the International Bariatric Support Centres and most recently has become a Certified Coach Practitioner as well as a FirstLineTherapy^® Educator. For eleven years, Jill owned and operated Culinary Alternatives. The latter 8 years of this venture was committed to utilizing her combined skills to offering her services as a personal chef most specifically to clients who required portion controlled meals for health and weight loss purposes as well as dietary restrictions.

She has volunteered at Hill House Hospice.

Jill has a passion for cooking and seeing her clients succeed in making life long changes to their health and well being. Living in Richmond Hill with her husband Chris “Chipper” Seward, Jill is the mother of three children and has four adorable grandsons.

What is Lighten Up 4 Life and what can their WhyWeight? programs do for you?

At Lighten Up 4 Life we work to help you lose weight, develop and maintain lifestyle changes, and live an overall happy "light" life.

What would you change about your health?

Have more energy? Be stronger? Have more sex drive? Think more clearly? Be thinner? Sleep better? Be less moody? Stay healthy and active?

Lighten Up 4 Life is a weight loss system that includes developing psychological techniques for a lifetime of health and wellness success.

We will work with you to create a program that iscustomized for your needs and establish Nutritional and Weight Loss Goals that will start you on your journey to Lighten Up 4 Life!!

Visit our website today for more information www.lightenup4life.ca

We are special and unique!

Tip of the Week

Don’t compare yourself to others. Every body is different. It stands to reason that everybody will lose weight differently. Even if you do the exact same things that I do, you won’t lose weight at the same rate. The key is in finding your triggers. Keep your goal in sight, and do whatever you have to do to meet that goal. When you start looking at someone else’s habits, you’re only going to become discouraged and quit without even realizing that it’s physically impossible to be anybody but yourself.

Recipe of the Week

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded into bite-sized pieces
4 cups torn fresh spinach leaves or 1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 8-oz. carton of nonfat sour cream
1/4 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons gluten-free flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
6 gluten-free tortillas, 6-8 inches in diameter
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium sized saucepan, cook fresh spinach with a small amount of water, covered, for 5 minutes on medium-high heat. If using frozen spinach, do not cook it. Drain well.

2. In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, spinach and green onions. Mix well and set aside.

3. Make the sauce: In a medium sized bowl, combine sour cream, yogurt, gluten-free flour, cumin and salt. Add milk and jalapeño pepper and mix well.

4. Pour half the sauce into the chicken and spinach mixture and mix well. Divide the filling among the tortillas. Fold opposite ends of a tortilla up about 1 inch over filling then fold the left and right sides over the folded end, overlapping.

5. Place filled tortillas, seam sides down on an ungreased rectangular baking dish.

6. Spoon remaining sauce over the tortillas and bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until heated through.

7. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.

8. Top with salsa and chopped green onions as desired and serve.

TEXT VERSION OF NUTRITION FACTS: Serving Size: 1 enchilada (196 g) Servings Per Recipe: 6
	Amount per serving
Calories	248
Calories from fat	57
Total Fat	6 g
Saturated Fat	2 g
Cholesterol	41 mg
Sodium	384 mg
Total Carbohydrates	28 g
Dietary Fiber	2 g
Sugars	3 g
Protein	20 g
Vitamin A	70%
Vitamin C	25%
Calcium	20%
Iron	15%

Quote of the Week

"Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got." - Jim Rohn

Its okay to indulge...once in a while!

Tip of the Week

Don't be overly-restrictive!
Everyone has his or her favorite treats. Simply allow yourself a little indulgence, but watch out for the frequency and the quantity. Having a small treat once in a while can be rewarding to your weight loss experience. Cutting too much of your favorite treats usually lead to an early relapse.

Recipe of the Week

Insalata Caprese (Pasta Salad)

If you boil the pasta in the morning, drain, and let chill in the refrigerator, all you have to do is toss the ingredients together and dinner is served!

4 cups cooked whole-grain pasta blend, cooled
2 cups ripe cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, cut or torn into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons olive oilSalt to tasteGround black pepper to taste
16 slices reduced-fat salami, quartered (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a medium serving bowl and toss to blend well.
Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Per serving: 360 calories, 19 grams protein

Thought of the Week

Don’t always listen to your mate. Although it is suggested that you tell your family, sometimes members of your family will try to dissuade you from trying to lose weight. It’s simple: they might not want you to succeed where they may have already failed, whether consciously or inadvertently. Your loss is not always their gain. Watch out for statements like: “You’ve lost enough weight.” or “I like you just the way you are.” Fact of the matter is, if YOU don’t like the way that YOU are – then YOU are going to have to do something about it, no matter what anybody says. They still love you, though!

Getting to know your eating habits

Tip of the Week

Keep a food journal!
Why keep a food journal?

• Tracking the food we consume forces us to take responsibility for our food choices. It shows what we're really eating.
• An accurate food journal helps us see eating patterns, giving us insight into when and why we eat.
• Monitoring the foods we eat helps us estimate calorie intake, so we can make adjustments, by eating less or exercising more.

What should your journal include?

• What you eat and how much you eat: You can estimate portions, but be honest and be thorough-- don't forget items such as candy, condiments, etc. Record as you go to ensure accuracy.
• When and where you eat: Time of day, how long you were eating, if you ate in a fast-food restaurant or the company cafeteria, etc.
• Who you were with and any other activity you were involved in: Were you reading or watching TV, or having brunch with your best friend?
• Your mood while eating: Were you bored, frustrated, happy? This may tell you whether you engage in emotional eating—eating triggered by mood, not hunger.
• Any exercise you did, including the activity, length and intensity, and estimate of calories burned.
• Any special categories for which you want to monitor consumption, such as carbohydrates, fat, or fibre content.

Recipe of the Week

Mediterranean Shrimp (serves 4)
198 calories, 9 g carbohydrates, 17 g protein, 8 g fat per serving
4 tsp. olive oil
2 cups finely chopped peeled eggplant
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1 cup water
1 tbsp. chopped oregano or marjoram
¾ lb medium shrimp, peeled & de-veined
1/3 cup crumbled, low-fat feta cheese
2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the eggplant and sauté until lightly browned. Stir in the onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, oregano, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates. Add the shrimp to the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until they turn pink. Serve sprinkled with the feta and parsley.
Recipe Idea: If you have any leftovers wrap them in a wheat free tortilla and savour the flavour!

Thought of the Week

When you are looking for solutions to weight problems, it's tempting to believe that there is a fast and painless way to success. As a result, many people buy questionable products to help them lose weight and tone their bodies but are usually disappointed in the lack of results. The sad reality is that permamnent or beneficial change usually comes with hard work and perseverence.

Welcome

Jill Seward and Lighten Up 4 Life would like to welcome you to our newest resource for all your weight loss tips, tricks and information.

Every week we will offer valuable information to assist you on your weight loss journey. All information, tips and recipes encompass not just the nutrition aspect of weight loss but also health and wellness issues and obesity and bariatric (LapBand) support tools.

Specific questions and requests for blog content are always welcome and appreciated so please do not hesitate to contact us!

We hope to inspire, support, motivate and guide you on your journey to Lighten Up 4 Life!!