Fat Ladies Blog

Test Your Hormones

2011-07-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

John Lee, MD. is well known in the female community as a proponent to progesterone cream. I checked out his site and found a test to check your hormone levels. With a simple check mark answer sheet I found it very helpful in establishing what could possibly be off for my hormones.

Check it out for yourself and see what your levels are at. http://www.johnleemd.com/store/resource_hormonetest.html#answers

Healthy Uterus = Healthy Body

2011-07-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

It was in my opinion that PMS was "normal", however I have learned that PMS can be a side effect of things wrong with the body. For instance the irritability and cravings associated with PMS can actually be a sign that you are lacking certain minerals necessary to allow proper cell function thus leaving us starved and irritated on the cellular level.

Certain minerals such as magnesium, which will relax you, are so important for calcium absorption, for immunity, muscle and nerve function, and yet we don't hear enough about it! Read more about magnesium here.

Progesterone cream can help alleviate estrogen dominance, which by the way will cause major mood changes, weight gain (especially in the abdomen), cravings for sugar and starch. Watch this video for more info.

Avoid eating refined processed foods, anything that comes in a box! Sugar, alcohol and caffeine will all irritate your system and make your body more prone to symptoms associated with PMS. Eat more vegetables especially those cruciferous veggies; broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts (they are great for thyroid & metabolic support). Eat fish or take your fish oil supplements (omega 3 is a natural hormone stabilizer).

Plus there is so much more out there not being taught and instead being overlooked.

This is where I believed for the first time that uterine health is so important to the rest of our body's health. It's an indicator of things right or wrong, if you struggle with PMS there is something lacking in your body. It's important to understand what your body is trying to tell you. I wouldn't go rushing to the doctor for answers because most doctors believe in helping the sick, not maintaining health. Most doctors will tell you if you eat right and exercise you will be fine (this is a whole other subject too). They also believe things like PMS & menopause are normal! Do you feel normal when struggling with bloating or irritability, hot flashes?

While most of these things are yet to be solved, there is a wealth of information on the web. It just takes a little digging and research to find the answers, also trust a good health food store owner, or a kinetic chiropractor, they are all about healing the body as a whole and not just a few things.

Progesterone: The Cinderella Hormone

2011-07-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a video on progesterone (a hormone) that can help with PMS or Menopausal symptoms.

An Update on Acne

2011-07-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last time I posted to this site I talked about my cystic acne problems. It's been a few months now and while I am still in better shape than I was a few months ago, my problem has not resolved itself. In fact currently I am not very happy with my face.

It's that time of the month again and this week has been especially discouraging. I'm not certain as to what has caused my sudden outbreak all over my chin and sides of my face, however it's clearly hormone related.

I spent some time researching "hormonal imbalance and acne." What I found was a bunch of sites recommending birth control. (If you read my last post then you know that I am not going down that road ever again!) But after one site in particular that swears they have the "answer", this is not a "quick fix" solution etc, I was very curious. This is that site. If you bother to read through it you will notice words like "prostaglandins". The problem with sites like this one is that they try really hard to sell you on something you may not even need, not to say that their efforts and information isn't valid, it's just that I want to find out the answers without paying $$$$ for a book & spam in my email!

So I took the word "prostagladins" and did a little research. Basically we really need them and our body creates them naturally when there is inflammation or an injury to our body. You can help support your body to produce them by taking Omega 3 and Omega 6, which you can find with fish oil and flax seed oil! Watch this video for a brief introduction to prostaglandins.

The next common word I kept reading on was "androgens". Androgens are another hormone that we naturally create. When our body over produces androgens it will cause acne problems, hair loss, PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome) of course most of the recommendations for balancing hormones is birth control! Let me be clear about this BIRTH CONTROL IS NOT THE ANSWER! Read here & here about androgens.

There are a few things you can do to help minimize our production of androgens. One thing is diet; eat less meat and carbohydrates, eat more vegetables and flax seed (they also suggest soy products but that will increase your estrogen and if you're having problems with hormones you may want to hold back on soy). It's also suggested to drink lots of green tea (a natural anti-inflammatory & DHT blocker). Read here.

What is DHT? It's one of the major androgen hormones we produce in our body. If you google DHT blockers, the first thing you are going to notice is men are using it for hair loss. Don't let that scare you into the benefits from a natural DHT blocker and there are several of them; Saw Palmetto, Pygeum, Stinging Nettles, Pumpkin Seed Oil, etc. What you should also notice is that these blockers are all natural from plants and seeds! Not a prescription drug that you will need to get once a month from your doctor! Read here for more info.

The last thing that I found in common was the liver could be toxic. Over production of hormones, plus the daily intake of pollution from bad food choices to the surrounding environment clogs up our liver and other organs. What's so special about the liver is that it naturally detoxifies our blood system, if the liver is not working at it's full capacity to clear the toxins out you can count on getting sick and having problems like acne. Detoxing your liver is pretty simple, green tea and milk thistle supplements can make a big difference in clearing out the bad. Read here and here for more info.

I have just stocked my cupboards with some milk thistle, green tea extract, and a combination supplement of saw palmetto, pumpkin seed oil and stinging nettles. I will update again in a month or two on this subject to see how my body has handled the supplements and if there are any changes in my acne.

Success with Acne

2011-04-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

I have been battling some major acne issues for the past 5 months. It started in December right when all the baked goods were being made and I was overindulging myself with sweets. I thought that was my problem, but there was clearly a much deeper issue going on. Since then I have tried starving myself of sugar, eating next to no carbohydrates, drinking tons of water to help flush my system, detoxed my colon, all to no avail.

My acne was out of control and I was frustrated beyond comprehension. I felt like I had lepracy or something similar, it was disgusting and humiliating, I could barely gain the strength each day to look my friends in the face for fear they would see my disgusting lesions. Then I did the worst thing imaginable... I went to the doctor.

I explained everything that was going on, she took her time listening and examining me. Then she whipped out her prescription plan for me. I was to take a low dose birth control pill, wash my face in an unscented soap and moisturize with Cetaphil, at night I was to put a light layer of 10% Benzyl Peroxide. After one week of being on the new regime I started to see results, my face was clearing up a little bit around my mouth and cheeks, but it was not clearing up my painful cystic zits on my chin, jaw line, and forehead. My face was quickly becoming very dry and irritated, I started to itch like crazy so I skipped a night to help it heal.

By week two my hormones were completely out of whack. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, everything made me nauseas and I could smell things that I usually can't or don't bother me, it seemed like I was pregnant! I started screaming at my children for very small things, I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open by 2 o'clock. Then one evening on the 10th day I lost all control and screamed at my husband! (GASP!) I was then done with birth control. There is nothing in this world that should make me feel as miserable as I was those 2 weeks out of per desire to have clear skin. On top of it I stopped using the Benzyl Peroxide due to how irritated my face had become and still there wasn't any remarkable difference.

From there I started dry brushing my face with a soft brush, using the oil cleansing method to help heal the rest of the bleached skin. I also purchased a book called "The Truth About Beauty" by Kat James. While I haven't read through the whole book, (mostly skipping through to what I wanted to know about my problems) I did find some very applicable changes that I could made starting right away. I bought a water filter to cut out the chlorine in my daily shower usage. I also bought Biotin, Beta Carotene, Melatonin, and started taking my fish oil supplements. In just a few days I started to see enormous results!

Not only had my skin started to improve, but my hair too! I naturally have thick wavy hair, but have slowly lost large amounts of hair, not only in my hair brush but in the shower I could pull out chunks of hair (I set this chunks aside to throw away so's not to clog the drain). My hair had become thin and dull, my hair color had washed out within a few weeks much to my hair stylist's dismay. But now I could comb through my hair without the brush getting stuck at the top of my head, it was now smooth and easy to glide through. I am not having to clean my brush out everyday, not even every few days!

AND my skin! The cystic acne is now gone! I've had a few pimples around my chin/mouth but nothing serious. I am amazed at the difference! I continue to use the unscented soap to cleanse at night, however I don't wash my face in the morning other than getting it wet to waken up. I also have not had to use a moisturizer, instead I use a small amount of coconut oil around my eyes and dry patches. I also like to spread some on my neck and upper chest. I believe that things will continue to improve but I am not going to say that this is my "cure" or that my problems are over with. I know all too well that I shouldn't claim such things as we are always adapting to our environments. I also believe that I should finish reading Kat James' book and apply some of the other things she suggests.. except eating/drinking soy (that stuff is evil).

I will continue to update this as I need.

My Kefir video

2011-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

Kefir- Actively helping Acne & Other Things

2011-02-25T07:10:00.000-08:00

"Milk kefir grains are live active cultures consisting of yeast and bacteria which exist in a symbiotic relationship." -Cultures for Health

I started reading about Kefir a few months ago, but I never had the motive to get started with it. Then my daughter grew sick and I took her to the doctor like any mother would. The doctor said it was strep and wrote us a prescription for antibiotics. After a week she was doing better. Then the following week off the antibiotics she was sick again... this has never happened in all her life. We have been the typical Americans going to the doctor when we are sick, eating foods from the store, even enjoying the occasional fast food item. But when my daughter was sick with spiked fevers and crying with pain I knew that another round of antibiotics weren't going to help. So that's when I went to our local health store and purchased some kefir grains.

I also picked up some Epicor (basically dried yeast fermentate) and took her to the chiropractor. Within a few hours of her adjustment and taking the supplements her fever left her and she was pain free. However, I only had a starter for the kefir, so I couldn't give it to her that day and had to wait 48 hours for it to grow. Though, she did remain fever free and recovered splendidly the rest of the week!

My daughter's sickness flew me into actively seeking more information about living a healthy life. Eating good whole foods and learning more about foods we haven't ever tried before. Most people will look at kefir like it's soured milk and in a way it is, but the kefir grains turn the milk into a good bacteria that helps your body to digest foods better, it heals you from the inside out.

My proof: my face! Ever since I stopped taking birth control (evil cancer causing things) I have had continuous break outs all over my face. It got worse over the holiday season, probably due to the increased sugar from all the baking we were enjoying. But even with going through a colon cleanse, 3 weeks of low-carb eating and increasing my water intake nothing helped relieve the embarrassment of pimples everywhere!

It's only been a consistent week of drinking my milk kefir, but as of right now I barely have any breakouts like I usually do, maybe a few spots whereas before there were LOTS! I am hesitant to say for sure that it's the Kefir as I have this ongoing problem for months now.. it's hard to not be hopeful tho.

I am very excited to see what else Kefir will do for our family. My husband suffers from allergies, asthma and ADHD. He is actually much better OFF his ADHD meds than on them! We are doing a lot in our diet to help change these things, I will post more about it another time. Look out for the video on how I make my kefir!

Carbs & Depression

2011-01-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't written anything in a very long time! I have been searching on/off for months about eating foods that are good, healthy for you. Not foods that the FDA say you should eat.. for instance a lot of carbohydrates ie: Grains, breads, pastas, etc.
Most of my information I have been learning from Kelly the Kitchen Kop or The Nourished Life. They have been great resources in my quest for food truth. What I am learning is that food should help you, not harm you. Foods that are processed, packaged, convienently wrapped are not going to be good for you. Our bodies weren't meant to take in food dyes, pestacides, chemicals that taste good but do our bodies nothing in return.

Here's what I have recently learned: I can't eat carbs! I have been eating a very carb lean diet for 3+ weeks and suddenly feeling very left out from eating crackers with dip, or sandwhiches, or even something sweet, I started to slowly add more carbs back onto my plate. Then last night I really hit rock bottom by eating pizza! It was good, deliciously greasy and cheesy. OH MY, I had THREE peices! It wasn't until this afternoon when I realized the damage that had been done. I was depressed! Like crazy depressed, I coulnt' wrap my mind around what was wrong with me! I had no motivation whatsoever! And this wasn't the first day I felt this way, oh no, it happened a couple days ago when I was eating more chocolate than I would normally have allowed. Eating more carbs has affected my chemistry completely and not in a good way.

So I can't promise I will be back on writing up new posts anytime soon, but I did want to share this with you, whoever is reading, so if you are feeling depressed and let down why not try cutting back on the amount of carbs you are eating? Before I allowed myself to get out of control I was allowing one meal with a carb, usually dinner time because it was easier to plan a meal with the family that way. I would eat a potatoe, or rice pasta (rice because there is no gluten, which is difficult to digest), or rice, sometimes I would have bread - but not in combination with another carb.

I know it's going to be difficult to go back to eating my low carb foods (eggs, after a while are bleh), but in the long run it's better for me this way. I am a mom and can't get depressed when trying to be patient with them! Amen?!

Sick..

2010-11-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

I hate being sick, I know many of you can relate! In October I had bronchitis for over 3 weeks and just when I was starting to feel better a stomach virus attacks me..

Yep, folks I was in the hospital for most of the day yesterday due to severe dehydration. I was throwing up and had stuff running out of me faster than I could say "diarrhea". Now it's been 2 full days and I've just eaten my first meal, roasted chicken, potatoes & carrots. I hope that it all stays down.

I am terribly weak and my back is throbbing from the upchuck movement, hopefully another day and I will be back into action. I was fortunate enough to have my hubby stick around and do all the mommy stuff. As a matter of fact yesterday he did all the grocery shopping, ran the kids to/from school, sat with me during all my torturous acts of sickness & today he did dishes, vacuumed, made dinner, and ran the kids to/from school! I am truly blessed to have such an awesome man! If it weren't for him I probably wouldn't have gone to the hospital and would be in worse condition that currently am now. It's so important to take care of ourselves, I can not stress this enough! And why is it that us mom's don't want to stop to do that for ourselves?

So in case you are wondering if my commitment to exercise has gone askew, I am here to just say that is not so, I will be back at it very soon!

For now, remember that YOU ARE IMPORTANT to those in your life and they need you to be healthy & happy!

Hello? Anyone Home??

2010-11-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Haha! I'm sure that's what all my readers and followers are thinking! Right? Well long story short, we bought a house, have moved in and are settling ourselves in quite nicely. I have most of everything put away, it's scary how obsessive I am with trying to get everything organized.
Fortunately, for us we didn't have a lot of stuff.. as a matter of fact if not for all the garage sales, thrift store finds or free furniture from my parents this house would seem horribly bare! I just love it when you can find a good bargain!

As for me and my weight loss goals.. they went right out the door when we moved in. I have remained good to eating healthy WHOLE foods (except maybe a handful of meals). I also managed to stay away from chocolate for almost the full 40 days, I did try some dark chocolate after reading the benefits of it relieving stress and containing antioxidants! (and believe me I needed the stress relief) So while I may have given into some chocolate I have not gone overboard with my eating.

However, after a month or two of being completely stressed out with the move and not taking care of myself as well as I should have been I am now regretfully a few pounds heavier... UGH!!! WHY??? Stress.....

What to do?! Exercise! So I am setting some goals for myself.. very simple ones.

Goal: Put 30 minutes a day to moving my body!

That can be walking, running, cleaning vigoursly, DVD workout, yoga, just something that makes my body move!!! 30 minutes isn't that hard to squeeze into my mundane mommy life, I can do it!

So welcome me back, I'd love to hear from you!

Where I am & What I'm Learning...

2010-09-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't written a new post in a while now, and I apologize to my readers. You are all so wonderful for following me and it's my bad for not keeping up with things over here. I do have a reason though...

As you all know I have been learning about living a healthy lifestyle, that I believe in our overall health over how thin a person is. I don't believe that we should starve ourselves or go out on crazy diets in order to loose weight.

What surprised me in my research is how wrong most American diets are and that most of what we learn is unhealthy advice. For instance most people (doctors, dietitians, nutritionists, trainers, etc) will tell you that by eating less calories you will lose weight, and while that is true you are also setting yourself up for failure. Eventually you will want to eat a healthy amount of calories again. After limiting yourself those calories your body eventually goes into "starvation mode", holding onto whatever you do have. It's a sick game we play on our bodies.

What I have been learning is that by eating healthy foods, that come from a natural source, and by not over eating on these items your body will heal itself and you will naturally lose weight. Sounds weird huh?

I have been reading much about the Weston A. Price lifestyle, better known as the WAPF diet. Weston Price basically encourages us to eat natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, real butter, eggs, meat, cheese, yogurt, etc. He says that by giving our bodies the healthy fats, proteins, fruits/vegetables we will be feeding our bodies what it needs in order to stay healthy. He says to avoid all the processed, refined garbage that we buy in the stores and at fast food restaurants. If we are eating chemicals, highly processed foods, then we are not eating foods that nourish our bodies therefore making our bodies sick with disease, excessive body fat and causing all kinds of problems.

I know it sounds crazy! I was all for things in moderation, but I ask you "if you take rat poison in small amounts, what happens?" Eating foods that are loaded with chemicals and fake ingredients are just as harmful over a longer period of time.

I know many of you will probably disagree, or you will find yourself just as shocked as I was when I first heard of this. Our government is operating to make money and it doesn't matter that it's at the cost of our health. I do believe that we can make a difference, that by changing our mindset we can not only live healthy long lives we can also change the way America views food and go back to a more natural lifestyle. I challenge you all to read labels, research foods, find out for yourselves!

Start at the Weston A. Price website, visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop and read her story. I will post more in due time to share what we've been doing to change. Thanks for reading!

Know What You're Eating: Salad Dressing

2010-09-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

Do you watch everything you put in your mouth? I know I wasn't one of those people! I pretty much ate what I wanted without looking back. Forty pounds later and feeling like crap I am finally starting to pay attention.
I think that most foods can seem very deceptive. For example you think that eating a salad would be good for you, but if you are anything like my husband who piles on the ranch dressing then take a closer look.

Looking into my fridge I have Blue Cheese, Free Ranch & Lite Ranch dressing.
The Blue Cheese: serving size of 2 tablespoons it contains 120 calories, 13 grams of FAT, 380 mg of sodium, and 1 gram carb.
Free Ranch: serving size of 2 tablespoons it contains 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, 330mg of sodium, and 11 grams of CARB.
Lite Ranch: serving size 2 tablespoons has 60 calories, 6 grams of fat, 350 mg of sodium, and 3 carbs.

Did you notice that there wasn't a good balance of fat, calories, and carbs? If the calories were low, the fat was high, or the fat low and carbs high! On top of that have you read the labels? Half the "ingredients" I can't even pronounce!

For example on the Lite Ranch it's ingredients are: Water, soybean oil, vinegar, maltodexrin (a polysaccharide used as a food additive), sugar, salt, food starch- modified, whey, nonfat dairy milk, phosphoric acid (Food-grade phosphoric acid (additive E338) is used to acidify foods and beverages such as various colas, but not without controversy regarding its health effects), xanthan gum (polysaccharide used as a food additive and rheology modifier) garlic, buttermilk, monosodium glutamate (MSG-need I say more?), onion, egg yolks, ARTIFICIAL COLOR, lactic acid, disoium guanylate and disodium inosinate (Disodium guanylate is produced from dried fish or dried seaweed and is often added to instant noodles, potato chips and other snacks, savoury rice, tinned vegetables, cured meats, and packaged soup.), natural flavor, potassium sorbate and calcium disodium EDTA (preservatives), spice and dried parsley.

Doesn't this just sicken you? The thought of not only eating foods that are not "real" but also the idea of thinking we are eating healthy when it's not!

There is a solution! Make your own salad dressing!

-Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing & Dip, by Kelly the Kitchen Kop
-"Out of Salad" Salad Dressing, Allrecipes.com
-5 Basic Elements of Homemade Dressing, Christie's Corner
-Life123 has a few listed that sounds delicious from Honey Chipolte to Classic Ceasar

- My friend Robin, a dietitian, offered a very simple recipe that I found delightful:
         1/2 cup half and half,
         2 T sugar
         1 T vinegar

Do you have any healthy, "real" suggestions for salad dressings? Please share and Enjoy!

Confession

2010-09-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take time to point out that no one is perfect, that we all fall short. The problem is that many of us just give up, and today I'm not giving up.

Confession: I have a love for chocolate. Well okay, not really a love, more like an addiction! It's my one true weakness, especially double stuffed oreo's. I know, it's cheap, but I just adore the crunchy chocolate and the creamy middle. I eat them with milk or without milk. I twist them and lick the cream off first. I eat the top and then lick the white creamy middle and leave just enough to finish the bottom. I will bite half, walk away from the second half and then come back to it... (you see I am crazy for some double stuffed oreo's.)

So today I am feeling a bit sick, with a cold. I can't breath out of my nose and liquid just keeps pouring out from it. I've been fashioning a breath right strip all day and have gone through a full box of Kleenex. On top of that I've already drank 3+ liters of water, plus 3 cups of tea. What's my point? I have no desire to dip into the last few oreo's hidden in my cupboards. So that being said I decided enough was enough!

Here is my next baby step: Fasting from all things chocolate for 40+days!

I did this last year and lost 15lbs, I know I've managed to gain most of that weight back, so here I am again promising myself that I will not allow my weakness to take a hold of me again. It's simply not worth it.

Want to join me? Think of something that you are addicted to whether it be soda, chips, chocolate -whatever it is that you can't keep your hands (or your mind) off of and come join me!

It starts when you are ready to start. I'm ready! How about you?

Water: How much should you consume?

2010-08-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's raining cats and dogs today, so obviously water is on my mind. I have been thinking about this post for quite a while now, water is such an important part of losing weight & staying healthy.

Most people believe that if you drink 8oz of water 8x a day then you are good.. but the truth is if you count drinking any caffeinated or sugared drinks then you are not getting enough.

My Chiropractor once wrote these 4 words on a board in his office: Coffee, Soda, Tea, Juice. What do all these have in common? They are Diuretics - definition: is any drug that elevates the rate of urination and thus provides a means of forced diuresis. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.

You might wonder why this is a bad thing? Doesn't water make you feel bloated? Women who are on their monthly cycle may find that taking a diuretic will help relieve some of the discomfort. Some professionals say that taking diuretics can cause you to loose weight. So what's the problem? You may become slightly or even severely dehydrated!

Dehydration can cause irritability, headaches, dry mouth, dizziness, confusion, fatigue in just minor cases. Severe dehydration can cause seizures, loss of elasticity in skin, extreme sleepiness, increased heart rate & respiration, even death.

That being said how much should a person consume in a day? The above measurement of 8oz, 8x a day is a good start, but if you are overweight, breastfeeding, working out, live in a hot climate or drinking caffienated or sugared drinks you should increase your water intake! Some say to take your weight and half that to equal the amount you should be drinking.

Example: I weight approx 180 lbs therefor I should be drinking 90oz a day. But if I had a cup of coffee in the morning (like I usually do) I need to add the extra oz of water to offset the diuretics I just consumed. I usually only have one 10oz cup of coffee in the morning and that is it, I am not a soda drinker unless I am out. However I will occasionally consume an adult beverage in the evening, again another area to increase my water consumption.

With all that information and water, it can be overwhelming! So I will leave you with this last thought, try to drink more water and find ways that help you reach a goal. One way that helps me drink more water is filling a large bottle and keeping it by my side at all times. Drinking from a straw may help as well as it forces you to drink more.

Do you have any great ideas on how to get more water in?

*I found a really great article while doing some of my research on this subject, Click Here to read more.

Walking Follow Up

2010-08-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

It has been over a week.. and I have to admit that while I have picked up on my progress for walking, it hasn't been what I wanted it to be.

As a matter of fact I only walked once by myself this week for a full 30 minutes.. .I had no idea I could walk so far by myself.

I did walk several days with my children to the post office and back, which is probably only 10 minutes each way on my own (with them it was more like 30 minutes).

It felt good though to get out and walk and feel my body move. My knees were tight a the end of the walk and sometime earlier I had strained my right hamstring, which cause it to feel really tight and tempted to cramp up. I seem to be very prone to leg cramps, especially as I sleep.. I have learned to resist stretching in the morning, but that is sooo hard not to do!

I feel like the next step is to rethink my plan. Walking is not as convienant as I had thought, but I do have lots of time to spare during Ethan's nap. I am hoping the box labeled DVD's will have some of my workout video's. If so I really hope my yoga one is in there or at least the pilates one.

If you are reading this, what works for you? Have you ever tried yoga or pilates?

Check In

2010-08-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here's where I'm supposed to tell you that I lost some weight drinking healthy shakes and eating less processed foods... but I can't tell you that... because I gained weight (hangs head in shame).

Gained.

Weight.

Ugh.

So what happened? Well, I haven't been working out (no shoes till this weekend, yea!) and I've been eating way too much BBQ (my husband is a really good with the grill).

Too much food + not enough movement = weight gain

I'm not surprised. But I am so disappointed that I couldn't even squeeze into my favorite pair of jeans today. Major bummer.

Now I have some good shoes and no more excuses! I'm currently downloading music and starting tomorrow I'm walking at least 30 minutes a day! That's my current goal, 30 minutes of walking each day for one week, then after one week I will re-examine and set a new goal!

Carbohydrates

2010-08-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

We've all heard of the Atkins and South Beach diet and that they essentially are about cutting out carbs all together. I am not discounting their success for many people who have tried these diets. However, I am hesitant to say that they are the best way to go, after all carbohydrates are an essential part of a healthy person's diet, or are they?

So what's the truth about Carbohydrates? Why do we need them? Is there a healthy amount that we should stay within? These are all answers I am hoping to answer plus a few more.

What are Carbohydrates? Wikipedia has much to say about the subject, but what I am most interested in is how are they nutritionally important, and guess what? They aren't!

"Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients in humans: the body can obtain all its energy from protein and fats[10][11]. "

So WHY does the USDA food pyramid suggest we eat at least 6-11 servings a day (based on the 2,000 calorie diet of an active man/woman)?

"Eating grains, especially whole grains, provides health benefits. People who eat whole grains as part of a healthy diet have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Grains provide many nutrients that are vital for the health and maintenance of our bodies."

To sum this up: Carbs are not nutritionally important to growth of our bodies, but they are just as equally important for us to consume (especially the complex or multi-grain carbs) in order for our bodies to rid itself of the waste and toxins. Healthy carbs are the essentially the stuff that scrubs the junk out of our bodies, much like exfoliating our skin rids of unwanted dead skin cells. A healthy dose of grains will keep your system going clean and strong.

So go ahead and get yourself a healthy dose of grainy carbs, your tummy will thank you!

For more information: The Food Pyramid is a great resource to find out how much you should be getting per your age, sex, and activity level. They also have a list of carbohydrates that are best for you to consume. Go check it out and learn more!

New Shake & Some Tweakings

2010-08-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

After counting up yesterday's shake calories, fat, carbs and protein I was determined to do better today!

So here's what I made today:

Strawberry/Banana Shake (serving size 2)

1 cup strawberries 28 cal, 0 fat, 3.8 carbs, 2.2 protein

1 banana - 172 cal, 40 carbs, 0 fat, 3 protein

1 cup 0 fat vanilla yogurt - 140 cal, 0 fat, 27 carbs, 7 protein

1 cup skim milk - 90 cal, 0 fat, 13 carbs, 8 protein

*1 scoop Estrium - 80 cal, 2 fat, 11 carbs, 7.5 protein

*1 scoop Dynamic Greens - 45 cal, 1.4 fat, 6 carbs, 2 protein

Totals: 555 calories (ugh), 99 carbs (double ugh), 3.4 g fat, 29.7 g protein....

Here's what I forgot about yesterday's shake: I'M SHARING THIS WITH MY HUSBAND AND SHOULD CUT THE INTAKE IN HALF!!! Seriously.. how do I function? I'm so glad my head is attached!

Totals I consumed: 340 calories, 0 fat, 58.9 carbs, 19.6 protein (that's so much better)

I'm still not completely happy with the amount of carbs, I don't know it seems high to me, but I have been doing my research on this and feel I'm not too far off - be on the lookout for that post, some very interesting stuff!

*full serving, not to be cut in half, optional!

Breakfast Shake

2010-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It's like fuel for a car, giving you the energy you need to start the day right. I absolutely agree with that idea 100%, especially when I look at my kids and see how they benefit so much from eating a meal first thing in the morning vs not eating one. This simple example of eating vs not eating shows me that I too would benefit from sitting down and eating a proper breakfast, but who has time?

Shakes seem to be a very trendy breakfast meal, a way to get all your nutrients in for the day. They are an easy and healthy option for the everyday woman or man. With scoops of fiber, protein, multi-vitamins, minerals, probiotics, plus many options of fruits, yogurts, orange juice or milk there are so many ways to keep from being bored too easily. But what happened to eating "normal" foods?

While I agree that shakes seem to be a tad bit trendy, I also think that our view of "normal" food has changed. We live in a society driven to do more, quicker, faster, better! With that we go for the fast and quick fixes, which unfortunately, is mostly refined and processed foods. AND they are addicting!

What about the idea that simple is healthier? That foods from their natural and original state of being are better? I find it easy to rinse a bowl of grapes and hand those out, rather than potato chips. Rather than blending a bowl of cereal with milk I can blend yogurt and fruit.

So this morning I chose to make a shake rather than eat my normal cereal. I have a lot of things that need tweaking as when I added up all the calories, fat, carbs and protein it was much more than a bowl of cereal. However, I think that by far the shake was a nutrient rich option vs my processed option.

Here's what I used:

1 cup yogurt (strawberry and banana) - 210 calories, 1.5 g fat, 42 carbs, 7 g protein
1 cup peaches
1 scoop EAS protein (vanilla) - 170 calories, 20 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 19 carbs
1 scoop Estrium (hormonal support for women's health) - 80 calories, 2 g fat, 11 carbs, 7.5 protein
1 scoop Dynamic Greens (a powerful antioxidant) - 45 calories, 1.4 g fat, 6 carbs, 2 protein
1 cup orange juice - 110 calories, 0 fat, 3 g protein, 25 carbs

Totals: 615 Calories, 6.4 g Fat, 103 Carbs, 39.5 Protein... (needs some major tweaking)

If you have any favorite shake combinations please share!!!

Top 5 Goals for this Blog

2010-08-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Top 5 reasons I started this blog and what I hope to learn from it:

Why do I struggle to take care of "me" when it's the most important thing I could do for myself & family?
I want to smash all the trendy/hype diets!
Help other women learn to love themselves and accept who they were created to be.
My focus is to do what's right, not buy into everything we hear.
Set goals and conquer them:

exercising
eating healthy
drinking water, etc.

Stress

2010-08-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

It's a well known fact that stress wreaks havoc on our bodies, causing us to become more prone to sickness as common as the cold to feeling downtrodden with anxiety and physical depression.

We are in the middle of some of life's most major stresses: MOVING, NEW JOB, BUYING A HOUSE!

My husband was offered a job in a city an hour and a half southeast of where we were living, it's an opportunity of a life time, so of course we accepted the offer. However that means some major changes in our fairly normal life.

Now, I am not one of those women who takes change very easily and on top of that I don't handle stress very well at all!!! I sink. Straight down into a depression.

So here I am the 3rd week into a new town and I've barely made a dent into all the things I would hope to accomplish. Patience. Patience dear woman, calm yourself! I have to remind myself that things don't happen over night and I need to learn how to relax. So that got me thinking once again about health and because we all know that stress is KEY to our health both mentally and physically, I started to think about how I could relieve my stress levels.

One of my stress relievers is writing, another is reading. So while I am desperately looking at other people's blogs (reading) I realized how neglectful I have been of my own. (I have a few)

There are lots of other great ways to relieve stress:

Exercise (hello!!! I NEED to do this!)
Sex (it's true, how good do you feel after an "O", common!)
Meditation (pick your style, mine is with Jesus)
Reading/Writing
Watching a movie

Are you feeling overwhelmed by stress? What ways do you relieve stress? Do you take time daily to care for yourself?

Vitamins & Supplements

2010-07-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

There are so many to choose from!! I have suffered with PMS for a long time; I get the shakes, crabbiness, irritability, bloating, the need to eat too much of the wrong foods, etc.

My GYN told me that I should be taking 1000 mg of Calcium, 300 mg of Magnesium & 100 mg of B6, daily for PMS support. She also said that I could find Optivite and take that as a supplement (I found it in the eye health section) for PMS symptoms, however you have to take 6 tablets per day!! I started thinking... why 6? Then after I calculated how many other pills I would need to take in order to get my daily recommended allowance I would have to take a lot more than 6!

So now I am on a quest to find the right vitamins and supplements for women of my age. So what do you take?

One thing I did find that was common is that taking too many vitamins can be harmful, interesting...