Having good health is important for living a good life full of happiness. Let Mountain Trek help you improve your health and wellbeing.

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Cinnamon Granola Recipe

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Recipe for Cinnamon Granola

This delicious, gluten-free Cinnamon Granola recipe is perfect for breakfast because it’s easy to make and can be stored for weeks. The ingredient list below is enough to make eight servings.

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups rolled oats (certified gluten free)
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
¼ tsp almond extract
½ tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 325°F
  • Mix grains, nuts and seeds together on a large baking tray
  • Combine remaining ingredients together in a saucepan and heat briefly
  • Pour over nut/oat mixture and toss well to coat
  • Bake for 45 minutes until lightly toasted. Stir every 15 minutes to brown evenly
  • Cool before storing in airtight container

How to Know if Energy Healing is Right For You

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Brunette-woman-having-Cranial-Sacral-Therapy

What is Energy Healing?

“Energy work” or “energy healing” are terms used to describe different forms of therapies that manipulate the energy circuits in our bodies to regain balance and facilitate healing. Some people swear by their effectiveness, while others believe it to be pseudoscience. We encourage you to test out a session and decide for yourself. Some energy practices include:

  • Cranial Sacral Therapy
  • Acupuncture
  • Reflexology

Here we explain how each of the above works and whether they might be right for you.

Cranial Sacral Therapy

This type of therapy concentrates on the connections between the cranium and the sacrum. In other words, the skull and the bone at the bottom of the spine between the two hipbones. This is an incredibly gentle and non-invasive form of healing touch during which a practitioner applies light pressure to a patient’s skull, face, spine, and/or pelvis. As we’ve mentioned on the Mountain Trek blog and during the program, the human touch is incredibly powerful and can help stimulate endorphins but in the case of Cranial Sacral Therapy, the intent is to also gently manipulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the body. This form of therapy is typically used to relieve symptoms of tension or stress and patients usually report feeling deeply relaxed during and after treatment.

Acupuncture-Puppet

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the key component in traditional Chinese medicine, which has been in practice for over 2,000 years. The treatment involves inserting tiny needles into various meridian points of the body in order to relieve blockages of energy. (If needles make you squeamish, there are other forms of the therapy that involve the application of heat, finger pressure, or laser light.) A patient will usually lie on a massage table and might feel the tiniest of pricks from the needle but mostly the therapy is relaxing and can be effective for pain relief.

Reflexology

Reflexology

Reflexology involves the application of pressure to the feet and hands using specific techniques and without the need for lotions or oils. It’s similar to massage therapy but, as with acupuncture, the intent is to remove blockages in a patient’s energy meridian. The idea is that certain areas of the feet and hands correspond to organs and zones within the body and that by using gentle finger manipulation on these areas, positive impacts can be experienced in other areas of the body. As with massage, this is a very gentle healing technique and is used to relieve stress among other ailments.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Travel Tips To Ensure a Healthy Spring Break

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Every Spring hordes of North Americans escape the cold, wet weather and flock to sunny destinations to relax by a beach or a pool. In most cases, they get too much sun, eat and drink a little too much and come home feeling more tired and unhealthy than when they left. By now many of the staff at Mountain Trek are experts at Spring Break travel given the fact that this time of year we’re always guiding an adventure trek somewhere in the world.  Aside from the list we compiled called  14 Travel Hacks to Ensure the Best Trek Experience Ever we also wanted to share with you five ways to ensure you enjoy a healthy Spring Break vacation and return from your trip more relaxed and fit than when you left!

1. Keep Moving

Staying-Active-on-Spring-Break

For many, a vacation can involve a lot of lounging by the pool or on a beach. But as with your regular day-to-day life, it’s important to walk at least 10,000 steps a day to ensure your muscles don’t begin to atrophy. Something like this is easy when you’re walking around the historic sites of Europe or hiking in a national park but for more sedentary-style trips, be sure to go for a walk along the beach or stroll in the woods. This also applies to your plane journey to your destination: if you have a long flight, be sure to periodically raise and lower your heels while seated and walk up and down the aisle occasionally.

2. Sleep Soundly

towel-elephants-on-a-bed

You may be looking forward to some good-quality shut-eye after you’re stressful day-to-day regimen but it’s important to acclimatize to the time zone you find yourself in first. At the outset of your trip avoid alcohol as that will disrupt your sleep patterns even further. Nor should you fall asleep in your hotel room or condo right after you’ve checked in (unless you arrive at night of course). Try your best to get on local time but if you do feel like you need a nap, keep it under 45 minutes.

3. Drink Water

woman-on-the-beach-drinking-water-in-a-white-robe

No matter what we’re discussing, whether it’s detoxing, nutrition or travelling, we always stress how important it is to drink water. It’s just so imperative to help your body function better, especially when travelling. Eight eight-ounce glasses a day is a rough guide for most people but a better indicator to ensure you’re drinking enough water is to gauge the colour of your urine: it should be clear with a small tinge of colour to it. If it’s too yellow you’re not drinking enough and if it’s crystal clear, you’re drinking too much. Consuming water can be tricky in some countries where bacteria such as giardia is a concern. In those cases drink bottled water or carry a water filter with you: Steripen makes different models that are just a little larger than a magic marker and use ultraviolet light to make water safe to drink.

4. Eat Like a Local

eat-like-a-local

One of the best parts of travelling is enjoying the amazing array of food each country specializes in. This doesn’t mean you have to eat out at restaurants for every meal, though. Eat like the locals and buy fresh produce at colourful local markets. (If water-born bacteria is a concern where you are, only buy produce that have peels.) Snack often and remember to stick to the habit of eating two-thirds of your daily food within nine hours of waking up. When you are at a restaurant, remember they’re there to serve you: ask that your meal be prepared to your specifications, order sauces and dressings on the side, and in the evenings, request a “to-go” box for half your meal. Oh, and if you’re going to drink, make sure it’s with food and you have some water in between glasses.

5. Relax

Couple-relaxing-on-the-beach

Vacations are all about getting away from our stressful daily lives, but it can be nerve-racking travelling to a foreign place. To avoid undue drama and stress, be sure to research where it is you’re going first and plan out the itinerary of your first few days including where it is you’re going to stay. Once you’ve acclimatized, then you can fully explore your surroundings. Alternatively, let others take care of all the details for you. When you join Mountain Trek at our beautiful lodge in British Columbia, for example, the price is all-inclusive meaning we take care of absolutely everything. All you need to do is ensure you show up!

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia and featuring daily sunrise yoga and night-time restorative yoga, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress, anxiety, and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

A Full Day of Spa Cuisine Recipes

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Spa-CuisineThere has been a lot of talk about “spa cuisine” in the past year and some people are questioning just exactly what the phrase means. Some assume it’s vegetarian or flavorless or served in tiny qualities. Others wonder if it’s new-age “superfood” or supplemental vitamins. In actual fact, spa cuisine can include meat, it’s delicious and, at Mountain Trek, it’s served in perfect portions at the right times during the day so your body doesn’t crave non-essential foods. From a scientific perspective, spa cuisine utilizes the natural elements, nutrients, and minerals in food to assist the body so that it can function at an optimal level of vitality. In layman’s terms, it looks colorful and tastes delicious! You’ll find little-to-no processed or refined ingredients in spa cuisine, and in many instances, a lot of what you’ll be consuming is locally grown or raised and seasonally appropriate. At Mountain Trek, you’ll discover that every single one of our meals is well-balanced and amazingly tasty. In fact, we have an on-site nutritionist who ensures the ideal amount of protein, carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables are consumed throughout the day, and at specific times of day, while our chef is always discovering new and delicious ways to prepare the dishes. To learn more about meal composition and timings read our Healthy Eating Tips blog. But if you’re looking for a daily sample of delicious spa cuisine, we’ve included three recipes below for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Bon Appétit!

Breakfast

Manna Bread Breakfast RecipeManna Bread Breakfast

Manna Bread is made with whole sprouted grain berries and pure water – a far cry from the heavily processed bread you find in most supermarkets. Manna bread can come in rye or multigrain or varieties and is available at your local health food store. Loaves tend to be smaller but that’s because Manna Bread is more dense and filling. At Mountain Trek, we’ll typically serve men three half-inch slice in the morning while women receive two slices. Women’s portion – serve with:

  • 2 slices smoked cheese (equaling ½ oz. or 14 grams)
  • 2 slices avocado
  • 3 slices tomato
  • 1 tbsp almond butter
  • Alfalfa sprouts

Men’s portion – serve with:

  • 3 slices smoked cheese (equaling ¾ oz. or 21 grams)
  • 3 slices avocado
  • 3 slices tomato
  • 1 tbsp almond butter
  • Alfalfa sprouts

Lunch

Kootenay Mushroom Barley Lentil Soup

Kootenay Mushroom Barley Lentil Soup

This recipe tastes best when you use freshly picked mushrooms from the forest floor, like we do at Mountain Trek. Whatever mushrooms you use, though, this recipe (which serves 4) will be sure to delight and fulfill.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¼ cup yellow onions, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp grapeseed oil
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup celery, sliced
  • 1 cup carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 cup spinach
  • 1/3 cup barley
  • 2 ½ tbsp red lentils
  • 2 ½ tbsp sherry
  • ¾ tsp fresh rosemary
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¾ tsp paprika
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • 3 ½ cups veggie stock
  • 1 whole bay leaf
  • 2 ½ tbsp parsley
  • ½ tbsp Bragg’s or tamari sauce
  • 2 tbsp flax oil
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne

Directions:

  • Heat oil and butter in a large soup pan.
  • Add onions, celery, carrots, and sauté until translucent.
  • Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté until translucent.
  • Add barley, lentils and spices and sauté for 10 minutes.
  • Add stock and let cook over medium heat for approximately 30 minutes or until the barley is done.
  • Add Bragg’s, sherry, flax oil, and parsley.
  • At Mountain Trek, our portions are typically two cups for men and 1.5 cups for women.

Dinner

The Kootenay Bowl

The Kootenay Bowl

This easy-to-make dish is as colorful as it is delicious. It serves four.

Tofu + Marinade:

  • 1 ½ blocks (600 grams) herbed tofu, cubed. (By freezing, thawing, and then squeezing the excess water from the tofu its texture changes, allowing it to absorb the marinade.)
  • 2½ tbsp tamari
  • 2½ tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 2½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ – ½ tsp. rosemary powder
  • Blend the above ingredients and marinate cubed tofu in it for at least 2 hours before cooking.
  • Reserve some marinade for cooking tofu.

Dressing:

  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
  • 2½ tbsp water
  • 2½ tbsp tamari sauce
  • 2½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 1 tbsp tahini Blend above ingredients and serve on the side.

The Bowl:

  • ½ cup quinoa cooked in 1 ¼ cup water
  • 4 cup mixed greens
  • ½ cup beets, grated
  • ½ cup carrots, grated
  • ½ cup red cabbage, shredded very fine
  • 4 large cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted 4 pinches alfalfa sprouts
  • Rinse quinoa well and cook until tender (about 12-15 minutes).
  • Sauté tofu in a small amount of the marinade until browned on all sides.
  • Place greens on the bottom of each bowl, put quinoa on top of that, then add rows of carrots, beets, and red cabbage.
  • Sprinkle with sunflower seeds; add tofu, sprouts, and tomatoes.
  • At Mountain Trek we serve the following portions: women receive 7 cubes of tofu, 1/4 cup of cooked quinoa and 1 1/2 tbsp of dressing; men receive 9 cubes of tofu, 1/3 cup cooked quinoa and 2 tbsp of dressing.

To find more Mountain Trek recipes and to get the shopping list for these recipes, download our Habits 2 Health App now.

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10 “Non-Diet” Weight Loss Tips and Simple Holiday Detox Ideas

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a woman in a red coat in a winter wonderland

The “Non-Diet” Approach to Weight Loss

Mountain Trek does not subscribe to any diet plan. In fact, we don’t believe in the concept of dieting at all; yet we guarantee those who participate in our program will lose weight. And they always do. Why is that?  It starts with the food we eat. So what’s the secret?

Have you ever stopped to wonder why there are so many fad diets out there? The fact is, none of them work, certainly not for any length of time anyway. So many of us binge and then starve our bodies, only to repeat the cycle, that it’s no wonder we have trouble maintaining a healthy consistent weight. Problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are all a result of improper eating practices combined with lack of physical activity for which our bodies were designed for.

At Mountain Trek, we’re not interested in short-term efforts for losing weight but rather we want to encourage a long-term lifestyle change for lasting health. A large part of it rests on the nutritional pillar of our program, which isn’t so much based on counting calories as it is about encouraging healthy eating patterns. We focus on balancing blood sugars, and the hormones Insulin, Glucagon, Leptin, and Grehlin, in order to raise and maintain an Anabolic metabolism. Which is just one way of saying, we teach you about healthy eating habits that transform your health. Our guests learn how to “diet” without actually going on a diet; along with the support-structure and strategies for turning them into long-term habits.

10 Weight Loss Tips

1. Eat Breakfast within 30 minutes of getting out of bed

a bowl of yogurt granola and blueberries on a wooden table

2. Eat two-thirds of your food in the first 9 hours of the day

Steaming Bowl of Soup

3. Eat multiple food groups every 3 hours during the day

a wooden box of apples grapes walnuts and almonds

4. Eat slower and chew more

a person eating an apple in a kitchen

5. Eat out at restaurants less

a couple cooking a meal together

6. Lower your intake of alcohol

three clear glass tea pots of tea

7. Eliminate or minimize artificial sweeteners

a jar of honey

8. Detoxify your body regularly (see below)

a woman in an infrared sauna detoxing

9. Eat less processed food and more organic produce

Fresh, local and organic produce

10. Drink more water

a person drinking water from a water bottle

Detox

Detox Your Body This Month

If you read our tips for relieving holiday stress, chances are you’re feeling fit, healthy, and happy. However, if you’re like most of us, you indulged a bit during the holiday season and are now looking to get back on track. Well, aside from the weight-loss pointers mentioned above, there’s one other key thing you can do in order to encourage wellness and lose a few of those extra pounds that might have crept on what with all the holiday chocolates lying around. And the good news is that one thing is relatively easy to do.

Related Article: Hot Springs Benefits

Detoxification has been a tradition among most cultures on earth for centuries. From Scandinavian saunas to American sweat lodges, mankind has understood the value of purging toxins through the skin. Essentially, the term refers to the process of removing injurious substances from our bodies, which can be biological (such as bacteria and viruses) or harmful chemicals like heavy metals, food processing compounds, and cosmetics. (Nowadays processed foods contain more than 3,000 chemicals whereas at the turn of the century, the only preservative found in food was salt.) These toxins are continuously being flushed from our body through breath, sweat, urine, etc but problems arise if we can’t detoxify fast enough. What happens when we don’t purge these toxins quickly, our fat cells will get larger so the body can store the excess toxins and keep them safely away from sensitive tissue.  When the toxins are more concentrated, our fat cells will also increase in size to keep them diluted.

In other words, detoxing is not only good for riding the body of bad biology and chemicals, it’s also a good way to ensure your body doesn’t start harboring fat cells.

Here are just a few easy actions you can take to support your body in detoxifying

  • Drink enough water throughout the day so that your urine is almost clear. This will help support your kidney’s removal of water-soluble toxins.
  • Utilize exercise, saunas, and steams to aid the release of stored toxins.
  • Dry brushing your skin is another good way to encourage blood circulation, cell regeneration and toxin removal.
  • Eat fibre-rich foods to aid your intestines in moving toxins out of the body.  Constipation leads to toxin re-absorption.
  • Eat organic, pesticide-free produce, and less processed food.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

7 Crucial Healthy Eating Tips and 5 Easy Nutrition Tips

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a woman eating an apple with words tips for staying healthy

Wake up groggy – Coffee – Commute to office – Coffee – Quick lunch at desk – Chocolate/Coffee to spike low energy – Commute home – Huge dinner – Watch TV – Sleep – Wake up groggy

Sound familiar? This vicious cycle can be a hard one to break. Perhaps you’ve tried diets or removing certain food groups from your meals in order to lose weight and be energized throughout your day. Or maybe you’ve swung the other direction and are addicted to certain foods and can’t get through a day without them. Like coffee for example.

Let’s take a step back and look at the types of food you’re eating, and how you’re consuming them. Our modern-day culture stresses what kinds of food to eat, but few are concentrating on meal timing. How, and when you eat also has an impact on your overall health. It’s more important than ever to stress some key healthy eating tips

7 Crucial Tips for Healthy Eating

a blueberry smoothing in a jar with the words Meal Timings

Meal Timings

1. Eat Breakfast Within 30 Minutes of Waking

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember one thing: eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. Even if it’s just an Energy Smoothie. With the prevalence put on coffee these days, most of us wake up and have a cup of joe–or several. And, because caffeine is an appetite suppressant, we go the entire morning without eating. The problem with this scenario is your body reacts by thinking it’s being starved and builds up fat cells. Fall into a habit of this and quite quickly it becomes too hard to shed weight because the body is always worried about when the next meal will come. The simple solution is to eat some form of food within a half-hour of waking. After breaking your fast first-thing in the morning, you will:

  • Kick-start your metabolism for the day
  • Be supporting your circadian rhythm and will have more energy
  • Keep your liver from initiating the “famine” response

We know that a warm cup of coffee is very comforting, especially as the cold weather settles in, but consider trying alternatives like ginger tea, which helps cleanse the liver rather than tax it, or perhaps a barley-based coffee substitute like Bambu or Akava. At the very least, try lessening your coffee intake by just have one a morning after your first meal or smoothie.

2. Eat two-thirds of your food in the first nine hours of the day 

This is an issue that’s especially prevalent in North America where we tend to consume coffee during the day and then have a huge meal right before we watch TV and fall asleep. The issue with this scenario is the body doesn’t have the ability to work off all those extra calories while sleeping so it tends to store them all as fat. By eating most of your food during the first half of your day you:

  • Allow your body to burn off those calories by walking and being active 
  • Reduce your evening blood sugar levels so insulin doesn’t store the excess as fat

This may seem difficult to do at first because large dinners can seem so satisfying, but just try it for a little while and we’re positive your energy levels will increase in the morning.

3. Eat Every 3 hours

Not only will you benefit from eating within the first nine hours of your day, but you will also feel better if you consume multiple food groups every three hours. By snacking regularly you convince the body you’re not starving and it will be less likely to store fat. Let’s preface this, however, by saying that a snack does not include an entire bag of Doritos. All you need is a piece of fruit and a handful of seeds or nuts or any of our top 5 on-the-go-snacks to keep your energy up. And by eating throughout the day you will:

  • Maintain level blood sugar and avoid insulin spikes in response to large meals
  • Avoid the “famine” response that results in fat storage from skipping meals
  • Avoid energy drops associated with low blood sugar that tends to have us craving coffee, chocolate, or another caffeine source

a basket of vegetables with the words Meal Composition

Meal Composition

As mentioned above, meal timing is important. But we also must consider what food, and how much of it, we consume.

It’s crucial to combine multiple food groups at each meal and snack. So whether you get your protein from meat, beans, or certain leafy greens, you should be eating it at every meal. Avoid store-bought protein bars, which contain empty calories among other things. Try our delicious homemade protein bars instead. 

Along with your protein, be sure to include complex carbohydrates, vegetables, and fruit. Think slow-cooked oatmeal, not white bread, and most cereals that consist of refined sugars and simple carbohydrates. 

We should also stress it’s important to include a wide variety of local, fresh, organic, and unprocessed foods. Stay away from the center aisles at the grocery store. And if you’re eating animal protein, choose organic, wild, or free-range that are free of hormones and antibiotics. Here is how we break down our meals at Mountain Trek:

4. Equal Volumes at Breakfast

At breakfast, we recommend equal volumes of complex carbohydrates, protein, vegetables, or fruit. As well as a teaspoon of omega oil and a small amount of dairy (substitute if you’re allergic or have an intolerance). By combining these items you benefit by:

  • Supporting a “glycemic load,” which contributes to a longer, slower release of blood sugars and avoiding insulin spikes
  • Getting important minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals, which do the body wonders especially first thing in the morning
  • The high fiber from complex carbohydrates provides chromium to help regulate blood sugars and it creates a sense of fullness, lowering appetite

5. Two-Thirds Vegetables at Lunch

Your lunch should be two-thirds vegetables and one-third protein with a small dairy component or substitute.

6. One-Half Vegetables, One-Quarter Protein, One-Quarter Complex Carbs at Dinner

Your dinner plate should be one-half vegetables, one-quarter complex carbohydrates, and one-quarter protein with a small dairy component or substitute. This is because:

  • Higher vegetable portions provide antioxidants, fiber, and phytochemicals to support active, growth-centered metabolism (salads, soups, steamed or sautéed)
  • Fewer dinner calories reduce the chance of fat storage
  • It promotes a healthy appetite for breakfast

7. Soul Food

At Mountain Trek, we believe in feeding the body AND feeding the soul. Therefore, we don’t expect you to follow this eating program to the letter. If you can try to eat like the way we detail above five days of the week and allow yourself two days to consume what we call “soul foods” you’ll be happier, and that has a huge impact on your health as well!

Support Healthy Eating With These Easy Nutrition Tips

Aside from the seven suggestions above about when and how to eat, these five easy-to-implement nutrition tips will help increase your vitality and support your health.

a woman drinking water with the words Drink your food; eat your water

Drink Your Food; Eat Your Water

In other words, eat slower, chew more, and swish your water around in your mouth before you swallow. This will help initiate the breakdown of carbohydrates with saliva enzymes and ease digestion. You will also allow time for the vagus nerve to communicate when you’re full, thereby avoiding overeating.

a woman feeding a man pasta sauce from a wooden spoon with the words Eat Out Less

Eat Out Less

We all love restaurants but there’s a reason their food tastes so good: lots of butter, oil, sugar and salt. By visiting fewer restaurants you’ll avoid oversized portions, lots of empty calories, and fat. We’re not saying to avoid restaurants entirely, but perhaps limit it to once-a-week or special occasions.

someone holding a mug and saucer with the words Drink Less Alcohol

Drink Less Alcohol

It’s especially important to avoid more alcohol as the cold weather and holidays approach. All alcohol has empty calories (even the ones marketed as being free of carbs) and when combined with excessive eating around the holidays, it’s a one-two punch that will guarantee weight gain. We’re not saying don’t drink at all, just limit binge drinking and consider only drinking at mealtimes to help your liver process.

grapes on a white plate with the words Minimize Artificial Sweeteners

Minimize Artificial Sweeteners

This means limiting (or better yet, eliminating) sodas, energy drinks, candy, and all the toxins associated with them. If you want a treat, consider having chocolate that contains 80% cocoa or better yet sweet fruit like dates. We can’t stress this enough because, ultimately, artificial sweeteners fall into the category of really bad foods given their poisonous qualities.

a white ceramic dish filled with eggs with the words Explore the Sour Eight

Explore Your Sensitivity to the “Sour Eight”

The Sour Eight are wheat, corn, dairy, soy, sugar, eggs, alcohol, and peanuts and the majority of the population has some form of sensitivity to at least one of these. Sensitivities could range from full-blown allergies to mild discomfort. But by taking time to remove one of these from your diet for a month, you could avoid constipation, bloating, excess mucus, fatigue, headaches, water retention, and most shockingly of all, you could eliminate 5-15 pounds of water retention in your bowels! 

Try it! Start with peanuts and see how you feel after a month. You may not notice a difference in which case move on to eggs and then work towards the others, which you’ll find are a little more difficult to eliminate as they’re so omnipotent. But ultimately isn’t your health and vitality worth it?

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

10+ Tips to Keep Well and Active as the Cold Weather Approaches

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Autumn Hiking at Mountain Trek

When winter sets in, the days get shorter, the thermometer drops, and our bodies enter into what was, traditionally, a time of dormancy. Before the industrial revolution, we humans would spend the winter months in a state of quiescence – there was very little farming, hunting, or gathering to be done so we’d slow down and conserve our fat stores. These days, our bodies are still programmed to a certain amount of inaction during the colder months but, unlike the past, we now have plenty of fatty and processed foods to snack on during that time.

Tips to avoid unhealthy snacking and remain well and active during winter

1. Avoid Drinking More Coffee

Morning Ginger Tea

With cooler temperatures comes the desire to drink hot drinks and the most prevalent, especially in the Western world, is coffee. However comforting that cup of Joe is on a cool day, however, one must remember the harmful effects of caffeine. There is a proven relationship between caffeine and weight gain. Continuous consumption of it leads to prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream, which has a negative effect on metabolism, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. Instead of drinking more coffee, consider other hot drink alternatives such as a detoxifying and energizing morning ginger tea.

2. Avoid More Alcohol

Avoid Alcohol

As we enter months where the nights are longer, we as a species are driven to socialize more in the evenings. And in our modern world, that typically means there is more alcohol on offer. We at Mountain Trek are not abolitionists by any stretch but we think it’s important to stress alcohol’s relationship to weight gain. All alcohol has calories (even the ones marketed as being free of carbs) and so by consuming more, you’re adding to your fat stores. In the case of alcohol, this is doubly taxing because it stresses your liver and impairs its ability to flush toxins. Imbibe in the occasional drink but considering capping of the evening with a nightcap of #3.

3. Drink More Water

Drink More Water

Last year we wrote a post about water versus soda pop and one of the most interesting facts about the lack of water was that it is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue. As we enter the longer, colder months, our bodies tend to want to slow down and lethargy is more prevalent – drinking a few glasses of water easily rectifies that. Plus it helps you flush toxins and curb hunger pangs.

4. Get a Good Nights Sleep

Get a Good Night's Sleep

As the nights get longer our bodies respond by desiring a bit more shut-eye. Although our bodies require between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, there are many sleep problems that are preventing some of us from getting that. The good news is there are easy things you can do to ensure a good night’s rest. In this post, we list seven tricks but the most important is to make your bedroom a work-free and gadget-free zone. Leave all electronic devices outside the bedroom and enjoy some shut-eye unhampered by bells, lights, and agendas.

5. Go For a Soak

Go for a Soak

This one is easy, especially as the colder months set in: find yourself a bathtub, hot tub or hot spring and just lie there. That’s it. There are many therapeutic benefits to a good soak but the main one is relaxation; the power of de-stressing is not to be underestimated, especially because balanced hormones lead to balanced health.

6. Get Massaged

Massage

As with #5, this one isn’t that difficult either. There are reasons most cultures on earth have offered some form of massage for thousands of years: not only is it relaxing, it’s also good for your health. In fact, an evening massage is one of the best ways to relax after the day’s activities. It will help prepare you for a restful night’s sleep.

7. Enlist the Help of a Friend

Enlist the help of a friend

In another blog post we listed seven reasons why you should work out with a friend and these apply that much more in the cooler months when it’s easy for us to justify sitting in front of the TV under a blanket instead of getting up and moving. A friend will help keep you accountable but will also make fitness that much more fun.

8. Exercise – Even Just a Little

Exercise

It goes without saying that we here at Mountain Trek are big fans of exercise, no matter what time of year it is. We also appreciate, however, that when the cooler weather sets in, it can be harder to get motivated. That’s why we’ve compiled some tips to help beat sedentarism some of which are as easy as doing stretches in your office doorway. Remember, though, that to keep your metabolism up and your weight down, your body has to move for at least 40 minutes a day, even if it’s just a brisk walk around the block.

9. Show Yourself Some Love

Show Yourself Some Love

There are many ways to pamper yourself but the best is to do something you enjoy. It seems like such a simple thing and yet many of us work so hard, by the end of the day we only have energy to sit in front of the TV. Take time in the coming months to do something that recharges your batteries: read a good book by the fire, indulge in a hobby or attend a class. You’ll find you’ll be happier and have more energy to face the cooler weather and shorter days.

10. Book a Stay with Mountain Trek

Book your stay at Mountain Trek

The best way to pamper yourself is to dedicate a vacation to you and your health. Join us in autumn at our gorgeous lodge in British Columbia where you’ll enjoy the pristine mountains and hang out with like-minded friends by the fire, in the natural hot springs, or in our spa.

Related Article: Beating the Winter Blues

Where Do I get my Vitamin D?

When UV rays from sunlight touch the skin, this triggers Vitamin D synthesis. But when sun exposure is at a minimum during the winter months, we can turn to diet to help with our vitamin D intake. Unfortunately, very few foods are high in Vitamin D naturally, and so it is not possible to get all the Vitamin D you need from diet alone. In conjunction with a high-quality multi-vitamin, here are some of the best food sources of Vitamin D:

  • Fatty fish: So very nutritious for you for so many reasons, fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, and even seafood such as oysters, contain some of the highest concentrations of Vitamin D in food.
  • Eggs: Not only high in protein and so many other nutrients (Vitamin B12), the sunshine yellow of egg yolks do contain a hearty helping of Vitamin D.
  • Beef liver: Not everyone’s favorite, but when mom said ‘eat up!’ to those liver and onions, she knew what she was talking about as far as Vitamin D’s concerned.
  • Mushrooms: Certain varieties of mushrooms, like white button, can provide Vitamin D among other nutrients (Vitamin B5) when lightly cooked.

Many foods are fortified with Vitamin D for the simple reason that we don’t get enough in our diet, or in general. Almost all milk (and baby formula) in the U.S. and Canada is fortified with Vitamin D as are some orange juices, soy products, and cereals. But please use caution and check labels, as many of these products can contain refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, and other undesirables.

What About Sunny Vacations?

Sunny Vacations

Who doesn’t enjoy a relaxing trip to a more sunny clime during the cooler fall and winter months? It’s important, though, to moderate your solar intake while on vacation. So many of us rush to the beach and neglect proper sun care in the quest for the perfect tan. This is definitely more harmful than not having any sun at all. Instead, stay out of the sun when it’s at its peak or cover up with loose-fitting, SPF-rated clothing, hat, and sunglasses.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Mountain Trek featured in Canada’s Largest Newspaper

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Mountain Trek  was featured on the front cover of the Travel section of The Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national newspaper, this month:

“7 hours a day of exercise…Welcome to your vacation.”

The Globe feature was written by Amy Rosen who found “bliss in a boot camp getaway.” She chronicled her experience in a diary-format and spoke of each day and what she ate, experienced, and witnessed from “halibut fish steaks with pineapple mango salsa” to “vibrant green old-growth forests.” This is an excerpt:

“Mountain Trek’s spa and fitness studio have floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the 100-kilometer Kootenay Lake. There are gardens and wildflowers, mountains and blue skies. Meals are local, organic, plated – and most delicious, enjoyed by guests around family-style tables. So that’s the good news. Back at my weigh-in, the excuses fly: “I’ve been traveling a lot, no time for exercise. It’s summertime … and those gin and tonics aren’t going to drink themselves!” Until, finally, acceptance: I’ve gained a few on the rump. Let’s. Do. This.”

Click here to read Amy’s entire article, and to experience a similar personal transformation to what she did, contact Mountain Trek and we’ll let you know about what program would best suit your needs.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

How to Beat Food Addiction

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Food Addiction

We’ve all been there: you get to the grocery store with only the best intentions, and somehow when you get to the checkout, you wonder how those chips and cheese dip made it into your basket. Or you go to the kitchen with a clear idea that you will be getting an apple and almond butter for your afternoon snack, and find yourself going for a few cookies instead. Food addiction is a very real phenomenon that affects almost everyone, whether we know it or not. But the good news is, like any addiction, we can overcome it and train ourselves to make healthier choices.

How does food addiction work?

If you’ve ever tried to kick a food habit, you know just how much of a challenge you’re facing. Sometimes it can feel demoralizing. Perhaps thinking you’re weak-willed or glutinous. Although personal responsibility and empowerment do play a factor, the reality is that any addiction is biochemical. Your brain chemistry and hormones play the main role in your sugar, fat, and carb cravings.

As outlined in The Hunger Fix, research shows that when consuming these refined foods, our brain releases dopamine, the feel-good hormone. This results in a very similar biochemical effect in the brain to cocaine and heroin. No wonder these food cravings can be hard to resist.

Since we require food to survive, we cannot just quit eating food altogether to eliminate bad habits. This makes food addiction one of the most difficult addiction battles one can face. Yet, by managing our cravings in ways that line us up for success, we can manage addictive food behaviors. And eventually kicking cravings to the curb, for good.

How do we stop food addictions?

Detox

To break free from these addictive substances, we have to be rid of them by detoxing our bodies and brains. Yet, as mentioned above, this can be difficult since we do need to keep eating something. When we are treating a cocaine addict or an alcoholic, we don’t say ‘practice moderation’ and prescribe only one drink or line of cocaine per day. Literally resetting your metabolism is a sure way to eliminate these toxins and chemicals from our bodies. Ideally, through a well-designed program like at Mountain Trek, in an environment that will set you up for success.

Eliminate Temptation

Don’t buy those sugary goodies to have in the house. Do not let yourself drive by that fast food joint on the way home. If that means enlisting a supportive friend to go grocery shopping with to keep you focused on the list, or changing your drive route home, do it. Enlist the support of those you live with to please refrain from bringing these things into the house. Do not give yourself the opportunity to make the choice – eliminate it entirely.

Practice Mindfulness

It isn’t realistic to think that once we decide never to have processed sugar again, we won’t. There are birthday parties, coworkers who bring in baking, and the holidays. If we practice the Mountain Trek rule of thumb of 5 days on 2 days off in a week, this allows for the realistic flexibility of everyday life. If in those moments where we are offered a treat, we take a moment and ask “Is this what I really need right now?” 

By simply taking a moment to thoughtfully consider, rather than mindlessly opening that beer, will allow us to connect to our choices. Sometimes the answer will be yes, I really do need this piece of birthday cake, and sometimes the answer will be no, I am actually good to have a few pieces of fruit instead. And either answer is fine. The point is to be present when making food decisions so that we become accustomed to being aware of our choices.

Practice Compassion

Combatting a surge of chemicals and hormones is not an easy feat. En route to this new lifestyle change of cutting out food by quantity or quality, practice compassion towards yourself. It can be easy to go into a guilt-shame spiral if you step out of sync with your new-found regimen. But by showing yourself grace and an attitude of non-judgment, it will be easy to continue on the path of success.

The more we are aware of the biochemical forces at play, the more we can stop judging ourselves. We can start practicing mindfulness, eliminating temptation, and detoxing. Subsequently, leading us to better choices, and better health.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below: