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Q and A with KJ Landis

3/25/2021

Folks often ask me questions by email or in person after reading my website. The internet is full of answers, but sometimes the science changes, and so must we adapt to new information Here are some of the questions I received and researched diligently over the years to answer to the best of my ability. I am here to help you in your wellness journey.

Q: I thought I was the fittest and most committed one in the gym. Then this teeny, tiny, totally ripped woman walked into the room, and my self esteem plummeted. What gives?

A: This is a classic case of doing your best versus being the best. Showing up and working mind, body, and spirit toward your health and healing goals are huge steps to undertake. You are here and doing your best. You are reading this book for a reason. Honestly looking at yourself, the journey, and the transformation occurring right now is what counts. You are doing your best. Say this ten times and be happy where you are right now. I guarantee there will always be someone leaner and fitter than you. I also guarantee there will always be someone larger and less fit than you. That larger person may have felt defeated in the same way you did when she or he walked into the room. The smaller and fitter woman or man may have been you six months ago. We cannot figure out everybody else’s pathway to here and now, so just focus on you. Do you. Be you.

Q: There are so many fat burners out there. How do I know which ones really work?

A: After spending lots of money on fat burners purchased at the local pharmacy or health food store with no results except very expensive pee, I decided to use pharmaceutical grade fat burners with no fillers or binders. I use gelatin capsules that do not contain soy. After losing fat and weight, I reduced my collection to three that seemed to have the best effects on me. I take cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and carnitine tartrate. Two out of the three are food based so they are more bioavailable than synthetic fat burners.

Carnitine tartrate powder is an amino acid that supports fat burning and energy levels. Cinnamon regulates blood sugars throughout the day and reduces sugar cravings because there are less dips in energy. Cayenne pepper increases the heat in the body and revs up metabolism. The three fat burners together can lower cholesterol, balance sugar levels in the blood, and improve circulation. I stopped taking anything else because when I reduced my supplements, these were the deciding factors in my stabilization of weight and mood. When I experimented by taking away the synthetic fat burners, there was no difference in my health or my perception of my health. Again, read the labels. Products with less fillers and binders are better for us, and will be better absorbed by the body.

Blessings,
KJ Landis

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Why Protein is Important

3/25/2021

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Let's have a short discussion about protein and why it is an important part of our eating lifestyle. Proteins are tied into fats and probiotics, depending upon where they are sourced from.

Protein primarily feeds the muscle tissue, aids in repair and growth of the muscle tissue, and assists in the body’s physical performance. When the protein leaves the stomach, it has been broken down into amino acids and carries oxygen throughout the body. We rely on food for our nine essential amino acids. Those are the ones our bodies cannot manufacture on its own. Our bodies do have the capabilities to produce other amino acids without getting them from food.

It takes longer for the body to break down protein than sugars or carbohydrates, so protein keeps us fuller for a longer period of time. Protein uses up more energy in the digestion process too. Therefore, we burn more calories just by eating protein calories! Fat, however, keeps us fuller the longest of the three macronutrients; fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

I like more bang for my buck, so to speak. I like the most protein grams per portion of food. If it is a low fat option of a high protein source, I feel free to add a healthy fat to the meal.

My favorite sources of whole food protein are wild caught fish and seafood, alligator, pastured chicken, and pastured eggs. My favorite supplemental foods for protein are raw dairy foods, Quest protein bars, organic gelatin powder, plain, nonfat Greek yogurt, 100 % egg protein powder, Pure Protein brand (35 gram) vanilla shake, raw nuts, seeds, and coconut. Vegetables have protein too, research the highest protein sources on the web for a good variety of vegetables with protein. Remember, variety is key!

I don’t include beans in my diet because they take a lot of soaking and preparing for us to be able to digest them properly. They have way too much gas producing properties for me, and the carbohydrate load is way higher than the well advertised protein portion of beans. Then we have to look at the bioavailability of the human body to absorb the protein from beans. Some are better than others, but the body is trying to reject the bean in some way in order to cause such digestive distress (gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc.).

Notice the division between whole food proteins and supplemental proteins. One group is perfect for on-the-go days, and the other takes care and preparation. Of course the leftovers become the next day’s on-the-run, grab-and-go food! It is a combination of the proteins, fats, vegetables, and fruits that work in beautiful symbiosis creating optimum health. Also note that some foods overlap into more than one nutrient area. A superior health leads to superior self, in more ways than one. Your radiant energy will emerge, and others will benefit from that energy. It is inevitable. The math with love and energy doesn’t always make common sense. The more love and energy I feel, the more love and energy I have to give. And when I give it away, there’s no subtraction of love and energy. I just keep gaining more! You will too.

Blessings,
KJ Landis

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Are You at War with Yourself?

3/21/2021

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We are not meant to be at war with ourselves, especially not over food. When we give in to spontaneous temptation unconsciously, we are giving our power away. While on any protocol that enhances our health and power, if we suddenly say, “Screw it!” and stuff the highly processed chocolate chip muffin in our mouths, we have just given our power to that muffin. Then the muffin sits in our stomachs, we feel guilty, and maybe not so energized. Then the muffin makes its way through our digestive system and we use the restroom. Literally and figuratively, we have turned our power to crap and flushed it down the toilet. Take your power back.

The answers won’t be found in yet another new “clinically proven” magic diet pill or potion. The answers lie in your own head, heart, and hands. Take action for yourself. Research, read, and ask questions of the experts in this field. If we realistically and honestly take care of ourselves, we have the opportunity to take even greater care of our children. If we are not jumping in to our best life possible, we may not even be around or capable of caring for our next generation. I know I sound like a commercial and it seems a little cliché. I feel your heads nodding in agreement, while at the same time, slightly resistant to drastic change. I was in your shoes a few short years ago. I was trying to juggle two jobs, two kids, an insane workout schedule, friends, family, and a husband. I did not have time for me. I did not have time or money to cook clean and green, read labels, and prepare Paleo convenience foods.

So it is basically about prioritizing. Do you love yourself? Do you love yourself enough to streamline the excess stuff in your life so that you may be exuberant and full of the extra energy that the streamlining produces? The money for clean and green foods comes when we stop purchasing grains, sugars, and packaged processed foods. The money will come when we stop buying very expensive baby gifts when we know the baby prefers the pretty wrapping paper and bow the gift arrived in. The money will come when we don’t have to take the kids to the doctor for yet another cold, flu, or allergic reaction, probably caused by undiagnosed food sensitivities. Then, with that extra time away from the doctor’s office, we can go to the park and play with our children because we have time, money, and energy! Being energized and having fun play dates with my kids makes me happy. Having hiking and running dates with friends on my days off have replaced cocktails and all-you-can-eat pasta at the Italian eateries (before noon, at that!). Move more, lift heavy things, play, and laugh more. The answers are there, in your happy spot.
Blessings,
KJ Landis

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Reaching

3/15/2021

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Human beings are always reaching for something. Sometimes that reaching is a distraction from sitting with what we are feeling at that very moment. We give up alcohol and drugs, and faithfully attend the twelve step programs. While we are there we incessantly reach for the coffee, donuts, and cigarettes. We reach for new things to replace the old things instead of allowing the space to be just that...space. We attend a yoga class, and when we are to rest completely still on our backs in dead man’s pose, we reach to wipe our sweat or tear drop tickling our skin, running down towards our ear. Why can’t we be present and still? We reach for the towel, the water bottle, etc. Whatever we reach for, we can change that and internalize it. Reach for yourself. Sit with the depth of discomfort for a few seconds longer rather than ignoring what just came up within your soul spot. These are the seeds of true change. It happens one millisecond at a time.

Relationships to our food are reflections of our connections to other human beings. As our relationship to the food changes, our relationships to every other part of our lives change. We can be free to be who we really are with our friends and family. We can begin creating more clear and honest connections and traditions. When that happens, we will feel more connected to the whole world and know we are part of something greater. Our future will seem open and vibrant.

In my family, we have a tradition of thank you bites. If facing a new and unusual food that is nutrient rich, but unfamiliar, we all take thank you bites to try it out. We feel connected to the labor and energy it took to bring the food from the fields to our mouths. We thank the sun for shining down upon the farm, the rain for watering the produce and animals, the farmers for their hard labor, the delivery system that brought the food to the grocery store, the chef who cooked the food, and the person serving the food seamlessly to our table. These thank you bites bring gratitude from our hearts, and more often than not we discover a new flavor profile that we enjoy. I like to call it truth in sustenance. It brings food to a sacred level. What is your sacred food? What is your food tradition and story that elevates your soul and your connection to others?

Important to the plan of action for any long term life change are fuel, focus, and endurance. They work together to get results.

Your fuel is this blog, my books, and the foods you choose to eat going forward. It is also the fire within you that says, “I got this!” See yourself in the future-present instead of in a state of want. Want creates more wanting and a belief that you are in lack. Fuel yourself with gratefulness for the healthy, optimal body and mind. We humans can talk ourselves into almost anything and everything. How many times have we seen an “okay” looking outfit on sale for 80% off and bought it, talking ourselves into the purchase because it looked “great,” and the price couldn’t be beat? Then it sat in the back of our closet for a year until we gave it to charity. Yes, talk to yourself. Talk yourself into the body and life of your dreams. Say, “Thank you for my healthy, fit, lean, and strong body!” This is the fuel.

Focus is where you dig your heels in and allow those things and people attempting to distract you from your goals to fall away to the side like a set of dominoes. Does the family support or sabotage you? How can the family say they support me when they constantly offer me food that is clearly not on my program? “Just one bite!” I heard again and again. “It won’t kill you!” The sabotage may not be intentional, but it is sabotage nonetheless. Being extremely clear about where you want to go with your health is a way to keep your focus intact. Write it down on a small piece of paper and place the paper somewhere where you can see it every day.

Your focus can be fine tuned by helping someone else. Getting out of your own head sometimes is a good thing. If you volunteer to coach someone else, you become a role model for them. They will be looking to you for guidance. You will be less likely to make deprecating choices. It becomes a karmic circle of loving yourself into success as you are loving the other person that you are mentoring. There is a higher level of accountability when someone is counting on you. Your sense of focus is heightened.

Endurance is the power to stick it out. We build endurance by making it through these twenty four hours with our fuel and focus in place. Then we do it again tomorrow...and so on. Old way of thinking: “Oh, I have such a long way to go. How am I ever going to last? There is so much to remember and so much to give up!” New way of thinking: “I can eliminate one food that does not serve my higher purpose. Tomorrow, I can eliminate another food that does not serve my higher purpose.” We can build upon that. Instead of again thinking in terms of lack and that which you cannot have, think of switching it out. For example, switch out soy, canola, corn, peanut, and cottonseed oil for coconut oil. You have just simplified your grocery list, saved money, time, and served your higher purpose.

We are on earth for a limited time. Even our long term goals are really short term goals in the grand scheme of things. It is how we carry ourselves and what we choose to partake in every moment that will make a difference in our health and happiness. It will also make a difference in the legacy we leave behind. If we want to be truly healthy and balanced in mind, body, and spirit, we must change our behavior and then the rest will follow naturally, eventually. Self trust is key too. Trust the fact that you have arrived here and now, reading this book at exactly the right time in your life. I have seen the perfect body out there...and it is mine. I have seen the perfect body out there...and it is yours. At any stage in our journey our bodies have provided us with our heart, legs, arms, breath, and life. Be grateful for your perfect body. I am.

Blessings,
KJ Landis
SuperiorSelf channel on YouTube

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Artificial Sweeteners and Natural Sugar Substitutes

3/8/2021

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Here is a common question I get by email or in person about sugar substitutes: Artificial sweeteners are zero calories. Can I use any kind on my departure from added sugar?

Let’s get one thing clear my friends. Artificial sweeteners are chemicals. They are not the same thing as plant based, zero calorie sweeteners. There are many of both kinds of sugar substitutes out there. Here is a quick overview of the more popular ones:

SACCHARIN is an artificial sweetener with a sulfa base. It has a slight metallic aftertaste. Saccharin may cause nausea, diarrhea, skin problems, or other common allergic symptoms. It has even been linked to bladder cancer. My body reacts to saccharin as if I have had soda. I use the restroom repeatedly every hour. It makes me more thirsty afterwards, and then I tend to crave salty things.

ASPARTAME is made from Phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol gas. It also has a slightly bitter or metallic aftertaste. Side effects may include headaches, memory loss, anxiety, heart palpitations, and weight gain! What? Weight gain? Yes, the body thinks it is enjoying sugar, and may spike the insulin as if you had sugar anyway.

SUCRALOSE is a substance made by chlorinating sugar. The chemical structure of the type of chlorine in the table top sucralose is the type of chlorine that is banned in the pesticide named DDT! People who use sucralose have reported headaches, muscle aches, cramps, diarrhea, dizziness, and inflammation. Sucralose can impact the immune system, the liver, and the kidneys.

STEVIA is a plant based zero calorie sweetener. It grows in South America and Central America. The leaves are dried and powdered. Some brands do have a metallic or bitter aftertaste. Some people report that after a while they do not notice it. Low doses of stevia have been used for years in Japan for lowering high LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and controlling type 2 diabetes.

LUO HAN GUO is the extract from the Chinese monk fruit. It has been used for centuries in Asia as a sweet tea for sore throats, flu, and joint pain. The Japanese have crystallized it into a brown, sugar-like substance called Lakanto. It is zero calorie, and has no effect on the glycemic index. It has no bitter or metallic aftertaste. Some American companies are using the sugar substitute in their health food products now. Some newer versions of the sugar substitute have added corn starch to the ingredients list. As always, I suggest reading labels. Lakanto released a white sugar version recently, but for me, the golden brown version is more authentic to the sugar taste.

XYLITOL is a low calorie sweetener extracted from the bark of the birch tree. Some companies extract other hard wood barks and plants as well. It looks, tastes, and bakes like white sugar. It does have calories, about 9-10 per teaspoon, but will not spike the insulin levels in the body, as it is very low on the glycemic index. There is no aftertaste at all. Over consumption of xylitol can cause gas, diarrhea, and bloating in some cases.

Artificial sweeteners can stimulate the appetite and cravings, therefore making us eat more than we may need. It creates in our body the supposition that we took in more calories than we actually did (from sugar), so after a while when the digestion system gets the message from the brain that we didn’t actually eat a lot of calories, we physically need to fill that void. Artificial chemical sweeteners disrupt the insulin and leptin receptors. Our metabolism gets confused. Some artificial sweeteners have chemicals in them that stimulate and excite the brain cells so much, that they are called excitotoxins. First they excite the brain cells, then they kill them off.

Personally, I use Lakanto golden brown variety and Xyla white for my sugar alternatives. Now I am experimenting with coffee and tea without any sweetener, just cinnamon sprinkled in or lemon. I have had no side effects from either plant based sweetener.
I hope this helps clear up any confusion on sweeteners.

Blessings,
KJ Landis

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Stone Age Clans and Modern Clans

3/1/2021

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STONE AGE AND MODERN CLANS

The human survival and ability to thrive has always depended upon being with others. The cave man hunted in groups while his mate and children gathered food and supplies. The primitive cultures included community and social connections, even if it was only a few people gathering or living together. Sharing meals, tasks, and stories assisted the human race in growing and developing vigorously.

Our modern clans, that is, our families, work families, religious and school families, hobby and club families, and circle of friends are what keep us feeling connected to each other and to our higher power. This is what I believe. We call upon their strengths and aid when we feel like we just can’t do this life thing, this diet thing, this challenge of this very moment, all by ourselves.

During our initial efforts of changing to an optimal nutrition lifestyle, it is important to establish a support system. Find someone who looks the way you want to look, who exudes buckets of joy, positive energy, and grace. Ask them what they are eating, drinking, and what physical activities they do to stay fit! People love to be admired for the things they are doing well, and honest compliments open up a heart dialogue. Your spouse or partner may be ready to go on this journey alongside of you. Taking the children, elders, cousins, or aforementioned types of family members along the path with you may be just what is needed to impact all of your tribe toward a flourishing life.

We need allies to put up a united front against the health misconceptions and misinformation of the past 80 years. We need allies to put up a united front against cravings, poor food choices, and impulsive food shopping. “No man is an island, no man stands alone.” Joan Baez wrote this song years ago and the message rings true today. The cliché of old habits dying hard is equally true. It is an everyday thing, this health journey. I’m not suffering by any means when I choose foods that enrich my biology, but it is a mental piece of work that is carried out every single time. I would rather carry the work out with my tribe at my side.

Nobody is 100% perfect on any protocol 100% of the time. There has to be a level of self forgiveness and a level of forgiveness towards others in your community. We have the opportunity to be non-judgmental at the same time that we are striving for growth and vitality. If one is committed and has a long term vision, eventually the desired results will appear.

With your tribe backing you up, your goal setting can go a little wild! Some of the most supportive people I have met while on my journey to my superior self have been complete strangers in real life. They have been on discussion forums and social media on the internet. Perhaps because they don’t live with me or see me daily, they can give 100% to being my champion and hold me accountable to my seemingly outrageous personal goals. What little time they do give to me is very much focused and present. I am forever grateful and humbled by the experience. Be fearless in assembling your own clan. Each small step taken in the direction of your goals is an invisible pat on the back. Just do it, and see what wonderful things come your way!
Blessings,
KJ Landis

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Q and A with KJ Landis

Why Protein is Important

Are You at War with Yourself?

Reaching

Artificial Sweeteners and Natural Sugar Substitutes

Stone Age Clans and Modern Clans

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