During the last year I gained about 40 lbs and weigh almost 200 lbs. This is the most I have ever weighed in my life.
It's a little scary to share this and be vulnerable with you because it's not something I want you to know. But I know it's a challenge many of us deal with and think it's important to talk about...
How do we enjoy life fully and stay healthy?
Eating delicious food makes me really happy and is a huge part of feeling like I'm living a full & abundant life.
Although one of the primary reasons I gained so much weight, is that I just had a baby! While my partner was pregnant our regular exercise routines became non-existant and eating french fries & Mr Dewey's cashew ice cream (so good), while watching netflix became regular sins.
My partner and I had a healthy & beautiful baby girl on Valentine's Day. As a side note, I never thought I would be a dad. Though now that I am I can't imagine not having this amazing, heart opening experience.
Since my daughter was born I have been really committed to getting healthy again.
As of now our netflix account has been cancelled and we are back to making bi-weekly pilgramages to the farmers market. Loading up on veggies, extra virgin olive oil, avos, almond butter & salad greens.
One thing that has been immeasurably helpful in helping both of us feel better and shed fat is, not eating any sugar (even fruit) 6 days a week. *We have a cheat day on Saturday when we eat sweets.*
This may seem like a crazy share since I own a chocolate company.
Though one of our new items has actually been a lifesaver for me. I love sweets and this helped me get through all my cravings without feeling like I was missing out.
One of my highest values is sharing healthy & delicious food with the world. This bar is a great expression of that and is really great for those times when you want to cut back on sweets and still want to enjoy your life to the fullest.
I've been doing this for about a month now and have lost 15 lbs and counting. I feel stronger, clearer and more healthy than I have in a long time.
Wishing you vibrant health on your journey,
Daniel
PS. Leave a comment below and let me know what big turning points you've had this year. Feel free to share any sugar free sweet tips or recipes below.
***All pickups for Saturday Berkeley & Sunday Civic Center Market must be placed by Thursday at 10am.***
***All pickups for the Tuesday Berkeley Market must be placed by Monday at 10am.***
Many items are made to order from scratch so they are as fresh as possible for you, so more notice is even better ;)
2. After you choose your items, let us know what market you will pick up at in the special instructions box in your shopping cart. Then click "Proceed to Checkout".
3. Next type in code: FM PICK UP at the checkout page and then click "Apply". This will get you free delivery to the farmers market. Leave "USPS Priority Mail- FREE" as the default shipping method. Next enter your payment info and then click "Complete my purchase".
That's it! If you have any questions you can always call us at 510-984-4848 Mon- Fri 9am-5pm PST.
Also please let us know if there's ever anything we can do to better serve you!
Thank you for being a supporter of Coracao and the farmers market!
We appreciate you!
Daniel, Matthew, Sean, Lee, Marielle, Taylor & Lacy
Do you love the spicy thrill of a hot chili? Aside from being a enlivening and enjoyable experience for many, studies are showing that chilis pack some powerful benefits.
(Image Credit BBC)
1. Capsaicin & Weight Loss
Studies have shown capsaicin may help fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue, and lowering blood fat levels, as well as fight fat buildup by triggering beneficial protein changes in your body.
Part of the benefit may be due to capsaicin’s heat potential, as it is a thermogenic substance. Meaning it increases heat through metabolic stimulation, which could positively impact your metabolism and fat-burning potential.
Research suggests that consuming thermogenic ingredients like chilis, may boost your metabolism by up to 5 percent, and increase fat burning by up to 16 percent. It may even help counteract the decrease in metabolic rate that often occurs during weight loss.
2. Capsaicin May Help Kill Cancer Cells
Capsaicin has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and has shown some promise for cancer treatment. Research has shown, for instance, that capsaicin suppresses the growth of human prostate cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.
In one study, about 80 percent of the prostate cancer cells in mice were killed by capsaicin, while treated tumors shrank to about one-fifth the size of untreated tumors.
Capsaicin has also been shown to be effective against breast, pancreatic, and bladder cancer cells, although you might need to eat very large amounts of capsaicin to get such benefits (such as eight habanero peppers a week).
3. Chilis are high in vitamins & minerals, especially Vitamin C
Fresh chili peppers are a rich source of vitamin-C. 100 g fresh chilies provide about 240% of your RDA of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant and is required for the collagen synthesis. Collagen is required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps protect from scurvy, develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity), and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
Chili peppers have amazingly high levels of vitamins and minerals.
Just 100 g provides (in % of recommended daily allowance):
240% of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid), 39% of vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine), 32% of vitamin A, 13% of iron, 14% of copper, 7% of potassium,
Do you love eating chilis? if so how or why do you enjoy them?
Most people don't know this, but chocolate is actually a fermented food. Cacao beans must be fermented in order to get the dark, rich & complex chocolate flavor we know and love.
Many fermented foods have beneficial stomach bacteria in them, like yogurt & sauerkraut.
So we were pleasantly surprised to discover that dark chocolate also helps improve our gut microbes, but in a slightly different way.
According to the Scientific American, new research suggests that beneficial bacteria that reside toward the end of our digestive tract ferment both the antioxidants and the fiber in cocoa.
So John Finley, a professor of food sciences at Louisiana State University, and his students took the work a step further to see what else the body might be getting from chocolate and how...
They created a mock digestive system using real stomach bacteria to test what happens as chocolate passes through the digestive system.
They also used three different kinds of cocoa powder, one minimally processed, one medium processed and one heavily processed (dutched). What they found is that the minimally processed cacao produced the most beneficial compounds.
They found that beneficial microbes are fed by the chocolate and create anti-inflammatory compounds that have been linked to cardiovascular health & many other health benefits.
Daily consumption of dark chocolate or cocoa lowered people's blood pressure an average of two to three points (millimeters of mercury), according to a 2012 review of 20 different studies.
Remember to choose minimally processed dark chocolate in particular, when wanting the most health benefits from your chocolate.
Have you experienced any of these or other benefits from eating dark chocolate?
Please leave a comment below and let us know, we'd love to hear about it.
Isn't it weird how some people think chocolate makes them fat? Or even feel guilty about eating chocolate!?
Those people who believe chocolate will make them fat, throw the baby out with the bathwater. What they don't know is that chocolate itself (cacao) has been shown to help people lose weight and that it's really the refined sugar, dairy (processed milk powder, cream, butter etc) and other non cacao "fillers" in most chocolate that cause weight gain.
Have you ever noticed how diet drinks promote chocolate? They'd love for you to believe that they are doing you some sort of big favor by adding chocolate to their drink, but in reality they do it because studies show chocolate actually helps people boost their metabolism and lose weight.
A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine tracked 1,000 adults and found that the people who ate chocolate more regularly had a lower BMI (Body Mass Index).
On average the people who enjoyed chocolate regularly weighed 5lbs less than those who didn’t.
Here are some possible reasons why, according to David Katz, MD, MPH, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center:
1. "Dark chocolate is bittersweet. Whereas sweet stimulates appetite, bitter actually suppresses it. So the benefit comes from eating dark chocolate in particular."
2. "It’s high in (good) fat, a quality that slows digestion and helps curb appetite longer."
3. "Chocolate also has a little caffeine. Caffeine revs metabolism, increasing the number of calories the body burns at rest."
We recommend 70% cacao content or higher- A general rule of thumb is that the higher the cacao content the better it is for you. All our chocolates are made with 81% dark chocolate.
Enjoy the good stuff, you deserve it ;)
Matthew & Daniel
PS. Has good dark chocolate supported you in losing weight or staying in your ideal range? If so please leave a comment below and share your story.
*Update:
Our comments section is temporarily down :( In the meantime we'd still love to hear your experience. You can reach us at Info@coracaoconfections.com
A Mexican woman who is believed to be the oldest human ever, turned 127 earlier this year and has claimed chocolate is to credit for her longevity.
Leandra Becerra Lumbreras was born on August 31, 1887 and has lived through every historical event of the last century. She was 27 at the beginning of World War I and 82 when man first set foot on the moon.
Leandra with great great grand child (Photo: El Horizonte)
Her family says that chocolate is the key to her long life, as well as getting lots of sleep, never getting married and keeping busy.
"She was still sewing and weaving until about two years ago... She never ceased to be active." granddaughter Miriam Alvear, 43, told El Horizonte.
Ms Lumbreras believes her love of chocolate played a factor in her long life.
"She is entirely lucid. She blows your mind with stories from the revolution," Lumbreras's granddaughter told El Horizonte.
The former seamstress has 73 great-grandchildren and 55 great-great-grandchildren.
What do you think about this story and do you believe chocolate can help you live a longer life, if so why? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Thank you for choosing the best for your body! All of our chocolates are made with the purest ingredients, including raw cacao, which is full of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and those "happy brain" chemicals that we so love. It is our mission to provide you with deliciously decadent and nutrient rich options to common junk food chocolates. We hope you enjoy!
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