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How Stress affects you body, come and experience HeartMath biofeedback

If the image above is a little blurry, here's the original 




Bad, huh?
Yes, in general, stress is bad.  A little is ok, but most of us have waaaay more than a little stress in our lives.

So how does HeartMath work? What is it doing?

It's harnessing your innate heart-brain connection, and using that internal power for good (relaxation and restoration) instead of evil (panic attacks and out of control emotions). 

Trippy, huh?

It is optimizing the communication between your nervous, cognitive hormone and immune systems to balance out any mis-signaling.  

Through this process you will learn to identify and remove all internal signals that, perhaps subconsciously, are working against you instead of for you. 

The end result? 

Common effects are increased happiness, more positive outlook on life, little or no stress reaction from what was before stress-inducing issues (work, relationships, finances), a full release from prior feelings of overwhelm and burnout and the ability to finally overcome a physical or hormonal issue (like those listed in the graphic above) just to name a few.

This technique is simple, powerful, and transformative.  Everyone should give it a try.

How does this whole process work? 
You can learn from the decades of research and look up conditions and information important to you on the HeartMath website.  They offer biofeedback devices to anyone, though working with a healthcare professional such as myself ensures proper monitoring, assistance and its optimal placement within a comprehensive wellness approach.

I use HeartMath biofeedback during office visits and program check-ins for those who could benefit from its use as well as offer shorter stand-alone sessions. 

To best learn and implement the biofeedback techniques in your everyday life above and beyond the few times I guide you through the process. 

Most patients benefit from an initial round of 4-6 sessions which will be part of an all-inclusive integrative plan where all your healthcare issues are addressed and attended to.

My current weight loss and stress reduction program, 'slim down & happy up,' includes HeartMath sessions during as many of the bi-monthly check-ins as you'd like.

That means up to 6 HeartMath sessions are automatically included in the program, no extra cost at all!

The next 'slim down & happy up' program will run 3 months, starting September 9th.

Registration begins on our next session Monday, August 19th, check out the full details here.

To your good health,  

There are so, so many things that I despise about all the popular nationally-known diets.  If it involves meal replacement shakes, points or counting anything, I probably hate it. 

From ‘slim down & happy up”:

A lot of well-known weight loss programs have good intentions but poor execution.  A calorie restricted diet is a common strategy.  Calories in, calories out, right?  We just get you to eat less and work out more, and the pounds will fly right off, right? Nope.  It’s not that simple.

So let’s highlight one very popular weight loss strategy: portion control.

Blech.  Even saying “portion control” makes me uncontrollably contort my face like these kiddos (except the yogurt girl; I’m pretty sure I’ve never looked that cute).

“But, Dr. Angela, shouldn’t you be all for portion control since you help women lose weight?”

You would think, but no, no I’m not. 
Because food selectivity is much more important than portion control. 

While helping women lose weight through slim down & happy up, we talk so very much about our food choices, and leave grams, calories and servings to those other guys. 

I actually find that both slender and overweight women alike tend to under-eat- I more commonly advise women to eat more food rather than to scale it back.  We should be more mindful of what you’re eating, and less about how much.  Women in ‘slim down & happy up’ eat until they are full, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And how is that? How am I assisting in weight loss without counting calories, points or replacing meals with shakes?  Well, that takes a while to explain.  Five weeks, to be exact.  Never fear, registration is now open for the next session of ‘slim down & happy up.’  We’re starting June 27th, so you’ll have to get on board before then!

Oh, and to get a private discount code for this current session, sign up above to get on my contact list.

Here’s to eating to your fill,

 Yep, I’m anti-grazing.

“I need to eat every 2 hours, or I just faint, get grouchy, become homicidal, start eating dirt, etc.”

I’ve heard it countless times.  I used to say it myself.

But where did we ever get the idea that that was normal? Let alone healthy?

Feeling like you will pass out or go crazy if you don’t eat every two hours is not healthy.  I don’t let that slide.

Why? Why do I care so much because you eat kale and grass-fed lamb and organic walnuts every two hours?

Because I care about you and your hormones.  Yes, it’s back to hormones again.  This time, those responsible for the endless grazing cycle loop are insulin and cortisol (and also a dozen other digestive hormones and other neurochemicals).

A major part of the grazing addiction is blood sugar instability.  Blood sugar roller coasters, lead to off-the-wall insulin responses and set you up to need to graze constantly.  A stable, healthier blood sugar response, on the other hand, allows for the best use of calories, including fat burning.

That means grazing (and their wacky blood sugar patterns) can actually lead to weight gain- the very thing that grazers often are trying to avoid!

As I explain it in ‘slim down & happy up’:

insulin excess + insulin spikes = belly fat

Guess what else happens when blood sugar responses go from crazy-roller-coaster to nice-and-smooth? Stress goes down because cortisol (the stress hormone) will decline naturally.

Wanna learn how to break the grazing cycle and reduce stress?  An added bonus just might be losing a little belly fat in the process.  Registration is now open for ‘slim down & happy up,’ my way to target weight loss through stress reduction (and get those pesky hormones under control for once!)- so sign up now while you still have time.

If you aren’t already on my contact list, sign up and receive a private discount code for this current session.  We begin in a few weeks- don’t get left behind!

Here’s to helping you de-stress,

            cook smarter, stress less

...you gotta eat, so why not upgrade your kitchen time?

do you...

...struggle with trying to cook homemade food without spending all your time in the kitchen?

...stare into your fridge for long minutes, with only mustard and bare shelves staring back at you?

...want to eat healthier lunches at work, but never cook ahead of time, so you end up eating out more often than you'd like to admit?
(warning sign #1: the fast food clerk knows your name and order)

if so, then join Dr. Angela on this free 3 day workshop

and find out how to...

...structure your kitchen time for minimal prep and maximal meal production

...eat better, cook smarter and stress less over your food choices

...learn how to keep your fridge stocked with healthy meals and snacks

...and get a few bonus recipes to help you get started, now!


join me from the comfort of your pjs

Register for the workshop now (it takes 2 seconds), then sit back and follow along as the entire course is sent to your inbox through my short course on upping your kitchen game.

Each day will bring a new e-booklet to your inbox, so you can read and follow along at any time.

so what's the cost?
For all this love, time, and organization, I'm bring you Let's Get Cooking
for free
...but only if you sign up now through June 9th


alright, so when do we start?
Let's Get Cooking runs Monday June 10th to Wednesday June 12th.

Sign up today to save your spot. 
If you have a friend who also needs some kitchen intervention, pass this link along and Get Cooking together!

Getting a few days or more under your belt will help you get the best picture of how you spend your time.


Like money, time can be spent, invested, wasted or saved.  


Are there areas where you could be spending your time a little more wisely?


Step two: craft your own inner time snob


After you have diligently tracked for a week or so, let the next week be all about time analyzing.  

Scrutinize your time spent in every area of your life.  
It's all about values and priorities.


Here are some areas where I help my patients find more time:


-- time for self care (exercise, sleep, hobbies, play)
-- time for cooking healthy meals
-- time for rest, restoration, nurturing and downtime when necessary


And where are we going to find all that time?  
It doesn't just grow on trees, ya know.


Well, let's run through an example.
Say you can't find the time to spend an hour cooking for yourself on the weekends, but you want to prepare a few batches of food for quick-to-reheat workweek lunches and dinners.  
(in slim down & happy up, I share with participants my exact steps to minimize kitchen time for maximum meal impact).  

Alright... where are we going to find an hour?  
How about cutting email time from six (or is it twelve?) times a day to three?

Or limiting facebook time to a twice a day indulgence 
(or better yet, just dump that app from your phone and remove the impulse entirely).


The success of time re-organization comes from you. 
Your input and your investment in its success.  


If you take a keen eye to how (and where) you use your time, you'll be surprised where all your free time is hiding out.

I love HeartMath.

It's the only computer program that I can think of that I'd call a life saver.  Others are useful, helpful or necessary for business operations.  But not live savers.

HeartMath is.  It's for real. Myself and all my formerly-stressed-out patients who have experienced the biofeedback training using the HeartMath system can attest to this.

At first, there was the emWave as a desktop or handheld version.  I use the desktop version with myself and my patients (I do practice what I preach!).  I usually have one or two handheld devices on hand for those patients who are most eager and committed to relieving their stress that they enthusiastically continue biofeedback training in their own time away from my office.

Then a month ago I learned about the Inner Balance Sensor: the next generation version for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.  Check out the video all about it, and get brushed up on this innovative technology in under 3 minutes.

It turns iPhones into biofeedback devices.  That is seriously cool.  Anyone can now access and use this technology in their daily lives.  I've long been looking for a way to bring my in-office biofeedback sessions on the road.  It's difficult to explain in words a concept that's instantly understood by just watching and experiencing biofeedback in action.  Now when I'm out and about at meetings, presentations and other public events, I'll be able to fire up my iPad and have a scaled-down version ready to demonstrate on demand.

I recently saw that Dave Asprey, the Bulletproof guy, recently endorsed the Inner Balance Sensor as well as provided a very comprehensive overview of how it works.  He's known for dismantling the entire way that we eat, and reconstructing his Bulletproof diet based entirely on research findings for optimal human performance and activity.  Check out his diet guidelines, they're pretty spot-on. 

As Dave Asprey's writings can be trusted to be firmly rooted in the scientific research, his articles are well worth a read: How to Biohack Your Courage, How HeartMath Training Helps You Live Longer, and Six Ways To Hack Your Nervous System. His theme is "biohacking" your body's physiology through the use of science, if you can't tell.

Well, that's my exciting news today, though there's much more in the works.  But that will be exciting news for another day.

To your good health,

More on this topic:Just who do I think I am, anyways?
Stress in the news
Gain (health) without the pain
Stress: what is it good for?

Absolutely nothing.

Ok, so that's not entirely true.  But 99.9% of reactions to stress nowadays are harmful and unnecessary.


Here's a whirlwind tour on what stress is doing to you and your body, why it sucks, and what you can do about it to have a happier, more kick ass life.


Most of us have heard that the physiologic (body) response to stress has evolved to run away from woolly mammoths or saber tooth tigers or something along those lines.


Well, ok, great, but we were also club-swinging unibrow-sporting troglodytes (word of the day for ya).  Things have changed.  So why on earth would morning traffic and work deadlines cause the same effects in your body as a near-death experience as the hands (or claws?) of a neolithic lion?  Because, for the most part, deep deep down in your genes and cells, not much has changed.  You're still living, breathing and metabolizing like its 1999.  B.C that is.


And what is stress and who defines it anyways?  What cranks one person's stress-o-meter up to 11 (public speaking anyone?), is exciting, challenging and enjoyable to another.  Well, the million dollar answer is: that person, thing, event or activity that is "stressful" is only stressful because you're responding stressfully to it.


Ok, before I go too esoteric and off into "what is is" land, let me break it down another way:  stress as a word was not created to describe a human physiologic response.  It came from civil engineering, and only afterwards did biology researchers take the idea and apply it to the human body.  Stress is a force from the outside that is exerting its effects in you (or a bridge, but why split hairs).  Or to quote the never-wrong wikipedia, "stress is a measure of the internal forces acting within a deformable body." Sexy definition, right?


So something is trying to deform your body (boss breathing down your neck, kids going nuts, no time to yourself) and stress is the amount those things are affecting you, internally.

How do you respond? Crack like an eggshell? Crumble like saltine?


How do you want to respond? Bounce back from any hardship like a superball? Nonchalantly and gracefully move from one project to the next like a slinky?

You may have minimal influence over commuter traffic, paying the bills and having a ever-expanding to do list with never enough time-- but what you do have maximal influence over is your response.


This is more than a matter of "just think good thoughts" or "quit your job and move to Fiji" (though if you're looking to take a concierge doctor to Fiji with you, let me know).  I work with people to build up their internal reserves so that they can react to life more like a slinky and less like an eggshell.  


Getting and maintaining that attribute is a process (unless you do just move to Fiji)- but one that when working together, I have always seen stress diminish, anxiety dissolve and positivity and resilience grow in their place.  And from that standpoint, you can take on the tigers and bosses without losing your cool.

To your good health,

More on this topic:
From overwhelmed to overjoyed
Holidays leave you wiped out? Boost your Inner Ease in 1 minute
Stress vs. Well-Being: how do you measure up?
Financial Stress- its effects and what you can do about it