Get Results

Wow, it has been along time since I wrote on here. I was looking back on previous posts and realized the last time I wrote was 4 months ago! At that time, I was writing about my experiences seeing a functional nutritionist and getting some more in depth information about my health and symptoms. I was experiencing morning fatige, general fatigue, difficulty losing weight (esp abdominal fat) and had an Adrenal and Hormone Panel run through my nutritionist. The results were not too suprising to me- it showed that I was in stage 3 Adrenal fatigue. Basically, my body has been under so much stress that my adrenal glands, which helps regulate the stress response by producing cortisol, a stress hormone, have fatigued out and are no longer working to their optimum. Basically I do not have enough cortisol, which would explain my symptoms. To help get my adrenals working properly, I was to start Isocort, a cortisol supplement, high quality B complex, as well as much herbals  (ex: Ashwaganda or Rhodiola) that can also help supplement and support the adrenal glands. I did do this for about one month and definetly felt a difference, but as with most things in my life lately, life got in the way and when I ran out of the supplements, I did not renew. Now that I have settled into more of a routine, I have ordered the supplements again and plan on continuing with them for the next few months, then rechecking my hormone levels to see where they are at.

I see so many patients, especially women, that are so tired and burned out, and many of their physical ailgments and even chronic diseases are related to these symptoms, that I want to do the best I can to keep myself healthy and my body working optimally so that I can live the life that I want and feel the best I can everyday.

Unrealistic expectations

Today I was reading a blog post about unrealistic expectations and it got me thinking about my own health expectations. I will admit that if I see a magazine with an article about losing 5 LBS IN 5 DAYS, I snatch it up, read it and am always disappointed . It's all things I have tried or things I am not willing to do ( eat only 1200 calories per day while working out for 2 hrs a day). So why do I keep buying the magazines and buying into it? Well, because I am a busy professional, who, like most people, wants results now without putting in the time and effort! I tend to set goals such as " lose x number of pounds by certain date " or even buy clothes that are too small with the goal of fitting into them by time the season changes. How many times has that happened? Zero. 

I need to focus on long term goals such as improved energy,stamina and health . With those things will come weight loss and changes in your body and these changes will last and become lifelong,because they are not a quick fix, but instead a way of life. That is my goal- to make healthy decisions for my body a way of life.

Some recent unrealistic expectations of mine (and some more realistic versions of them):

1." I need to be a certain weight, and I wont be happy until I am"-instead, I need to think" I want to feel good and look good to myself and the numbers on the scale mean nothing"

2. " I need to do a hard workup for at least one hour everyday to see results"-instead, " i need to MOVE everyday and find exercise/fitness activites that I actually enjoy"-even if I just take a nice walk in the evening, it is moving my body. It is so hard to stay motivated and stick with a workup program if you feel you HAVE to do it, especially if you do not like it. Of course you have to work hard to see results, but work hard at something that you LIKE!

3. "I need to do yoga 3 times per week (or any other specific number)"-instead, " I need to increase the amount of yoga I do/try and practice as much as I can"-again, when I put a number to something and I do not amek that goal, I get discouraged. Life is busy, some weeks more so than others. Instead of specifics numbers, do the best you can and (hopefully) it will become routine.

4. " I cannot eat any gluten, dairy, sweets, fast food, pop, etc"-I need to eat whole, natural foods that nourish my body, and it is ok to indulge every once in awhile-I have tried eliminating foods completely from my diet and have found that sugar seems to be my biggest problem (and biggest weakness!). instead of saying that I cannot have something, I think it is better to learn to eat whole unprocessed foods and if you occassionally indulge in something that is not, it is ok!

Changing your thinking about health and wellness can take some time, but like most things, give it 15 days and it will become habit. that is my goal!

LOVE this photo!

{Be Active}Biking

I... Can't...Move.  Yesterday I completed my first major bike ride-14 mile Nightowl Classic through St. Paul. Now, I have not been on a bike in about 2 yrs, so this was pretty ambitious of me, esp considering that I had done a C2 yoga vinyasa flow class followed by 45 mins Realryder spinning class. While there were definetly some struggles ( climbing the hills in St.Paul) I think overall I did good considering my lack of experience. I would love to get into biking more, since it is a great form of exercise and transportation! The St.Paul classic is coming up in Sept, I may have to sign up for it!

Today I plan on doing some gentle yoga, going for a walk, movie, little shopping, and preparing some healthy meals for the week. Sounds like a good Sunday to me!

{Be Holistic} Taking charge of my health

This summer has been the summer of me "taking charge of my health". I have been stressed, fatigued, bloated, digestion issues and headaches lately and figured that I wanted to do something about it. I have also found that despite working out and eating fairly healthy, I was unable to move the scale and reduce my abdominal fat (not that there is alot, but enough to bother me!). I was convinced for ahwile that it was my thyroid, but those tests have all been normal (although maybe out of the "functional" range). I decided that I wanted to learn more about holistic health and nutritions role in health, and what better way to do that than to make an appt with a health counselor?! I have been seeing a functional nutritionist (Katie Jasper -she is awesome, go see her!) for the past few months and have learned alot of about health and stress. One of the things that I did when I first started to "take charge of my health" was do a detox that was prescribed by the nutritionist. This involved eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol for 2 weeks and adding supplements that support the gut and detox process. After the detox was over I felt great-no more headaches, fatigue or abdominal symptoms and had much more energy than usual. Than-stressed kicked in big time at work and I fell off my healthy bandwagon. I began eating sugar again like it was going out of style and no exercise. I felt terrible and that made my stress worse. It was just snowballing. I know what to do for my health and I have the tools, I just need to DO IT! So after a nice relaxing week away from work and stress, I am back on my Detox, starting to do yoga/running daily and will restart Insanity once my detox is over. I am also taking some supplements to help support my stress and anxiety, and am awaiting the results of my adrenal stress panel to look for adrenal fatigue (my symptoms-fatigue, AM fatigue despite getting enough sleep, abdominal fat that is hard to get rid of, stress/anxiety, etc).
Stay tuned for more updates!

Try Something New

I had all these great hopes and goals for spring/summer, and it is already June and none are accomplished. I had signed up for Core Power Yogas 30 day yoga challenge, but now that it is day 10 and have completed only 2 classes, clearly that was a fail. I've been feeling really unmotivated and frustrated lately, so I decided to employ the experts and try something new.

I have always been interested in functional/integrative medicine and had been meaning for years to meet with one. I found that one of the yoga instructors at the studio I go to opened a practive in holisitc nutrition, so I decided to meet with her. I am so glad I did! After just the initial consultation, I already feel better and more focused on my health. I have my first "real" session coming up this week and cant wait. Not only do I want to learn more about this field for my profession, I also want to learn more about  my self and my body.
I have read article after article, suscribed to blogs, magazines, read books on the topic, and get so confused about nutrition and supplements that I get frustrated and think "forget it". So it is nice now to have someone with the education and knowledge to guide me personaly based on my needs.
http://www.katiejasperhealth.com/

I also caved and ordered shakeology from beachbody and will be starting that tomorrow!

{ Be healthy} Small goals

I just posted about my new start to the spring and decided that I should write down some of my small goals and try and keep myself accountable to them. I tend to have huge goals, so I am going to try and start off small and moderate, and if I stick with them, than expand from there!

1. Do some form of exercise every morning- My p90x workouts are 1-1.5 hrs long and I do not always get up in time in the morning to do them, although that is always my goal. But I know that it is always important to do some form of exercise in the morning, so if I do not get up in time to do my workout in the AM and need to do it after work, than my goal is to still get up a little early and go for a jog/walk for 20-30 mins before work.

2. Find ways to fit in more movement- whether it is walking on my lunch break, talking a walk at dinner, playing tennis, getting up from my desk at work more, I want to try and move my body more in general.

3. Dabble in vegan/vegetarian eating- Limit protein sources to one animal source/meal per day and try and go vegan all day at least 2 days per day

4. Drink more water!-

5. Get new, proper workout shoes-go to the Running Room and get fitted for proper shoes so that foot pain can no longer be an excuse for me!

6. Make new workout playlists

7. Incorporate fresh veggies/fruit into every meal and drink more green smoothies

8. Do more yoga/stretching-yoga at least 2 times per week and some form of stretching daily

{Be Fit} Back at it

It has been a whirlwind few months with my recent move and getting settled into a new house and neighborhood. I took a little time off from fitness and nutrition while packing and moving and now that I am all settled in, I am excited to get back at it! I started a 2 week cleanse to prep for my "spring slim down" that I plan on starting this weekend.

My biggest struggle with fitness and nutrition has been motivation and will power and I am more determined than ever to change that. I have no excuses-a beatiful shiny new kitchen to cook in, a workout room complete with weight sets, rubber flooring, TV/DVD player and other helpful workout equipment in the new basement a la Ben, and a gorgeous new neighborhood with lots of trails, paths, a workout center and pool!I also just purchased the Tone It Up DVD-Beach Babe, as a supplement to my Beachbody (P90X, Insanity and Turbo Fire) workouts.

I have also been reading up on clean eating and gathering lots of good recipes and inspiration. One of the things in the world of nutrition that I want to start doing is eating less animal products and eating more raw foods. As much as I would like to try going completely vegan, I dont know that I want to go that far , yet anyways. So my goals are to eat lots of lean protein, but only allow one serving a day to be from meat ( as a way to try and foprce myself to try more beans and plant protein sources) and try and go meatless/vegan at least 2 days per week.

I also want to get back into what I am going to call Journaling, as a way to highlight my progress, keep myself accountable and remind myself of my goals. While this is a blog, i dont consider myself a blogger or care if anyone reads this, it is just a fun way for me to journal! I love taking picture and want to find a way to incorporate that into my journaling. I recently saw a great idea of using instagram as a way to highlight my journey!

Ready, Set...GO!

Be Holistic..Integrative Nutrition

For the past few weeks I have seen several patients that are frustrated because the "traditional" or "western" medical world cannot figure out what is causing their muscle cramps, pain, bloating, diarrhea, fatigue, frequent infections, etc...Many of these patients have been to specialist after specialist and have had numerous labs and diagnostic tests done that have all been inconclusive. Unfortunately, most of them are told that it is all in their head and to live with it. I have heard from many of these patients that they have turned to holistic practitioners/chiropractors and/or changed their diet and have had resolution of symptoms. I work in the medical field and practice western, evidence based medicine, but I do see the importnance of some eastern philosophies, as well as the role that nutrition and chemicals play on our health. I do get frustrated when I hear patients talk about their practitioner who told them they they were allergic to something because when they held it in their hand, their arm dropped. Where is the science behind that? But I have no problem if patients want to try eliminating certain foods from their diet (the most popular being gluten and dairy) in an attempt to feel better. And if they do, great! I do wish that the medical community took more of a holisitic/integrative approach to health in general, that we could spend as much time talking about the foods patients eat and the activities that they do as treatments to their conditions rather than just giving them pills, but until that happens, the best I can do is try and educate whenever possible. I have seen the power of diet changes and exercise in bringing down blood pressure, blood sugars, and helping patients to stop medications. There is so much information out there about diet and nutrition, some of it good and some bad, that I think patients and people in general get confused and frustrated. One website says eating dairy is good for you and causes weight loss while another one says that it causes heart disease and makes you fat! One of the reasons that I am trying to learn as much as I can about diet, nutrition and fitness is not only for my personal gain, but so that hopefully I can help patients that seek it as well.

I am a firm believer that what we eat adn the way we treat our bodies leads to the diseases that plague america right now. I have seen 80 yr old patients that take no medications because they live an active lifestyle and eat healthy, and thus do not have heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. It has been my goal with this journey to try and change my bad habits for the better for good, so that as I get older, my body stays young and healthy. So, I will get off my soapbox now, just something I had been thinking about and wanted to share. I plan on posting things that I learn along the way, from sources that I trust.

Thoughts?

Be Fit..Fat shredder diet

I had posted recently about my new found fitness motivation....shopping! So I thought I would post a little about my progress. First off, my sister is getting married this summer and I recently ordered my bridesmaid dress. I think iwas being a little ambitious when I ordered it ( either that or I have no idea how to measure myself properly) because it is just a little too small ( a little being kind of a lot). The dress is fitted at the top and flows at the bottom, so the area that need to most improvemt will be my chest, back and waist. So besides hopefully getting a cute new spring wardrobe, I have the ultimate goal of fitting into my dress by May/June ( because I may need a few months if I have to order another one).

So, for the past week I have been trying to follow the P90 X nutrition guide and have been doing the Fat Shredder plan. This plan is high protein, low carb. Basically 50% of my cals from protein and 25% from fat and carbs each. My nutrition plan includes 5 serving protein, 1 fat, 2 vegetable, 2 dairy, 1 fruit, 0.5 grains, 0.5 legume/tubers and 1 snack. I plan on doing the plan for only 4 wks, as I know it is not good to eat low carb all the time. I am hoping that I will develop some good habits through this, as most of my carbs seemed to have come from sweets, breads, pastas ( aka simple carbs). I have also been working out everyday and following my program, along with taking extra whey protein and supplements. So far I feel great and have lost 2 lbs! I have been reading studies that show that doing a low carb, high protein and fat ( good fat) diet for short bursts of time can help your metabolism and help your body be more efficient at burning fat. Again, I stress that eating a low carb diet in the long term IS NOT good for your health, as you need a balanced diet and that includes good/complex carbs (esp if you have an active lifestyle).

I plan on working on some healthy recipes over the weekend that include lower carb and higher protein/ good fat foods and will post those soon!

Be Fit..New found motivation?

After basically taking all of last week off from exercise and eating healthy I was feeling a little bad about myself, and usually when this happens I give up and throw in the towel. I went shopping over the weekend and tried on several things that I thought would look good on me, but as I am in that "in between stage" of my fitness goals, they did not. As someone who loves clothes and shopping, that was enough for me...I need to kick my butt in gear, get fit and the body I want so that I can wear the clothes that I want! So for the past 3 days I have been kicking my own butt and feel AMAZING! To help celebrate my birthday yesterday, I even did 1 hr of Plyometrics (jump training) followed by a 1 hr, very hot, very rigourous C2 yoga class.

It seems a little sad that the prospect of clothes and shopping has been my most motivation so far instead of my overall health, but whatever works!

I am about one month into my fitness program (give or take a few weeks that were "lazy" weeks) and have seen slight changes but am determined to make the next 2 months really count and see SIGNIFICANT changes!

What motivates you?

Be Creative..photography

I have not been very good about cooking or baking this week, as I have mostly just been working and sleeping. I plan on doing alot more of that this weekend!

So instead of posting about health or nutrition, I thought I would just post a fun photo collage showing the things that I love! I am by no means a great, or eve a good, photographer (as you can probably tell from my recipe photos!) but it is my goal to get a good camera someday and learn! I love being creative and taking pictures and would love to be good at it one day!



I love...medicine, nature, baking and of course Lily!



Be Fit..and Get a Strong Core!

I love the feeling of knowing that my body is getting stronger. Beofre starting my workout program, I was, well, a wimp. Not that I am super strong by any means, but I can feel my body getting stronger. For example, I used to hardly be able to do one push up, let alone several Chatarungas (aka tricep pushups) in yoga class. Now I can do chatarungas during vinyasa flow, no problem. These little milestones are motivation for me and get me excited to do my next workout, so I can see how strong I can continue to be.

Right now I am spending alot of time focusing on my core strength, as that seems to be lacking. I feel like I have fairly strong stomach muscles (even though you cannot see them...yet!), but the rest of my core, especially my lower back and chest-forget it. I have learned that core work is so much more than just ab strengh- it encompasses abdominals, back, glutes, thighs and chest-essentially the trunk. And, as Tony (P90X guy) would say, the core is the foundation to all other movements.
So what do you think of when you think of a strong core? Sit ups? Thats what I used to think. Now I realize that core stabilizing exercises are the best. Examples of these include Plank, Forearm Plank and Side Plank. These exercises engage the entire core and engage all the abdominal muscles to hold you in the position.
Below is a great core strengthening series from the Tone It Up girls. After one set my core is on fire, and I have yet to do more than 2 sets, even though it says to repeat 6 times!
Here is the link to the Abs Circuit.

Be Healthy-Clean Eating

I've posted about some of my goals, including wanting to "eat clean". Looking back on my progress so far, I realized that I am still eating too much sugar and still some processed foods, so I wanted to spend some more time looking into Clean Eating and really get myself a good game plan/eating plan so that when I start month 2 of P90X sunday, I can also start with a clean eating slate.

Clean eating is simple really-basically eating whole, natural foods and avoiding anything processed or un natural. A good rule of thumb to remember when shopping is to shop the perimeter of the gorcery store, where are the produce, meats and fresh baked goods are located and to avoid the middle aisles, which consist of canned, frozen, packaged and processed foods. Of course, there are foods in the aisles that are still healhy and should be a diet staple, such as all natural peanut butter, frozen veggies and fruit. But the main concept is to eat foods whole and in their natural form.

I developed a shopping list of foods that I want to eat and have on hand (and only these foods-minus the occassional sweet/indulgence).

Clean Eating List-Shopping and Stocking Up:
EVOO, balsalmic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, natural lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Hummus
Sun dried tomatos
Sea salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and other natural herbs/spices for cooking/baking and adding flavor
Salsa (organic of course)
Dry beans-black, pinto, chickpeas, kidney
Quinoa
Wild and brown rice
Sweet potatos/yams
Variety of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as frozen fruits and veggies
Edamame
Avocados
Spinach/mixed greens/kale (maybe...)
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Lean meats-chicken, canadian bacon
Fish-salmon, tilapia, tuna
Cheese-all natural (feta, goat, cheddar, etc)
Oatmeal/oats
Kashi granola bars (my favorite-Trailmix)
Variety of raw, unsalted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios,etc)
Tea-green
All natural peanut butter,almond butter, jams
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat tortillas

There is not reason you (or I for that matter ) cannot make all your meals with these all natural, whole, clean ingredients.

Starting this AM, I had baked apple oatmeal, 2 hard boiled egg whites, green tea and greek yogurt (vanilla)
For lunch I packed mixed green salad with chicken, strawberries, cucumbers, walnuts and feta cheese, an apple and whole raw almonds for a snack.

My work always has treats and food, which they have again today, so we'll see if I can resist the temptation, as will power seems to be where I am lacking in trying to eat clean. I love the all natural foods and the taste of raw foods, I just love sugar more :)

One thing I was planning on doing this weekend was to start a detox-not a juice or fast or cleanse, but basically a detox to rid of body of caffeine, sugar and processed foods. Starting today I did not have my normal cup of coffee (or 2) and instead will be drinking green tea. I plan on eating alot of protein, fruits and veggies. I am sure that my body will not like me this weekend, as I tend to get caffeine withdrawl headaches, but I have noticed over the past few weeks that I have been getting a caffeine/sugar crash about 2-3 pm where I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I am hoping that detoxing these things from my body will eliminate the vicious cycle of caffeine and sugar, crashing and than eating more sugar and drinking more caffeine to stay awake/avoid headaches. I will post of results of the detox sunday!

{Recipe} Baked Oatmeal and Strawberry Walnut Chicken Salad

In my quest to eat healthier I find myself eating the same thing over and over and than getting bored and craving something sweet and terrible for me. So I have been trying to look up recipes and try new foods to get soMe variety. Today I came across a delicious recipe that I decided to try and the best part is it involves baking, my favorite.

                                Baked Apple Spice Oatmeal



finished product. Another great Ipad photo



Ingredients:

1/2 c oatmeal/ rolled oats

1/2 c egg whites

1/2-1 apple diced
2 tbsp apple sauce
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon,nutmeg to taste
Sweetener to taste ( I like pure maple syrup)

Preheat oven 375
Mix together apples ( heated in microwave 1 min to soften), applesauce, egg whites, vanilla
Separate bowl mix together oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg,sweetener

Mix dry and wet ingredients together, spread into greased loaf pan, and bake covered with foil 25 mins. Bake an additional 5 mins uncovered.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to include other ingredients including pumpkin, banana, nuts, berries, etc.
* recipe courtesy of www.youngmarriedchic.com


Since I was in the kitchen already I decided to make something healthy and easy for lunches.

                             Strawberry Walnut Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
Salad mix
Strawberries
Chicken breast cut up
Walnuts
Feta cheese
Cucumbers
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy! Nice and easy!

Be Fit. Mondays

I've decided that Mondays are going to be all about fitness and getting fit. For me, it is the day of the week that I look back on the previous week and think about the things I did well and not so well, and the changes that I need to make for this week. Looking back on last week, I did pretty good in the fitness department, only skipping one day of workout. I also spent my Saturday doing Hot Yoga and Zumba (first time ever) and I am still paying for it today (as I sit here and can barely move my hips!). My eating habits on the other hand...well, they still need some work. While I have been eating more proteins, I am still eating way too many carbs or sugary foods in general (I thought I was doing well until I looked at my food diary...).
So my goals for this week are to exercie EVERYDAY and decrease the amount of sugar I am eating. I am at the end of my first month in my workout program, P90X, and this week if my receovery week-meaning alot of yoga, stretching, and low impact exercies (which my body needs).

GOALS:

1. Exercise everyday this week, push myself

2. Eat less sugar/carbs

3. Drink more hot tea (thinking about my Ayruvedic dosha!)

I also hope to turn Mondays into not only goals and motivations, but also post some great exercises and challenges for the week.

Alright week, bring it on!

Be Eastern.

While I practice Western medicine, I have always been interested in eastern medicine and concepts, considering that many eastern practices have been around for thousands of years. I've read tidbits about eastern medicine and took a brief Complementaty and Alternative Medicine class in grad school, but recently started reading up more about Ayurvedic medicine, out of India. Ayurveda deals with "doshas"-vata, pitta, kapha- and the balance between them. If your doshas are unbalanced, it can lead to symptoms and disease.

I've struggled with mild anxiety pretty much my whole life and a therapist recommended a series of books, The Chemistry of Calm and The Chemistry of Joy, by Henry Emmons, MD (http://www.partnersinresilience.com/) The books are about combining western and eastern practices to overcome anxiety, depression, and have a better lifestyle in general, through holistic and integrative practices.

	vata	pitta	kapha
ELEMENT	Air and Ether	Fire	Earth and Water
QUALITIES	Dry, rough, cool, mobile	Hot, light	Heavy, moist, cool, stable
OUT OF BALANCE	Flighty, worried, fearful	Irritable, judgmental	Lethargic, stubborn, prone to overeating
IN BALANCE	Creative, lively	Motivated, purposeful	Stable, thoughtful, compassionate
PRONE TO	Constipation, lower back pain, anxiety, joint problems	Acne, diarrhea	Sinus problems, respiratory diseases, inflammation

	Vata Imbalance	Pitta Imbalance	Kapha Imbalance
Symptoms	Prone to distraction, anxiety, worry, weight loss, teeth grinding, insomnia, constipation	Bouts of anger, outbursts, criticism, migraines, ulcers, inflamed skin, burning hands and feet	Stubborn, lethargic, possessive, depressed, prone to overeating
Friendly Foods	Warming foods, like rice, wheat, nuts, and milk products. Avoid raw and airy foods, like popcorn.	Cooling foods, like cucumbers, melons, and dates. Avoid spicy and astringent foods, like chili peppers, radishes, tomatoes, cranberries, and grapefruits.	Artichokes, eggplant, broccoli, cherries, cranberries, and pears. Avoid sweets and nuts.
Healing Herbs & Scents	Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom	Jasmine, lavender, rose	Rosemary, frankincense
Calming Yoga	Slow, meditative practice, including Mountain Pose, Tree Pose, Child’s Pose, and Plow Pose	Gentle vinyasa or restorative yoga, including twists and seated forward folds	Vigorous movement, including Sun Salutation, backbends, and inversions

The charts above show the 3 doshas, their characteristics and what happens when they are out of balance.

I decided to read up on the chapters that deal with Ayurvedic medicine and wisdom. I found that I am a "Vata" or Air type. This type is described as light and thin with dry hair/skin, cold hands and feet, quick random movements, craves sweets, salty/sour foods, prefers hot drinks, irregular bowel habits, inconsistant daily routine, light/scattered sleep. Most of these are spot on about me!When my dominant dosha is under stress and out of balance, I become constipated, have a restless mind, scattered/erratic routine, fearful, nervous, trouble sleeping and I am prone to anxious depression. That sounds about right!A few key points that I learned are that I need to eliminate stimulants such as caffeine and excess sugar from my diet-this is going to be the hardest for me to do because I LOVE COFFEE, CHOCOLATE and sugar in general.Winter and fall are the worse seasons for me due to the cold and that is when I am more prone to imbalance (so true). My main issue is self acceptance and confidence, which is the one personality trait I have always felt I had to work on the most.
My "Prescription" to help keep my dosha in balance included a list of foods that are good to eat, esp hot drinks, soups/stews, lots of proteins and moderation with sweets. I should keep a consistant schedule. I need warm showers/baths/saunas to keep balanced and should drink warm vs cold beverages throughout the day. In terms of activity, I should be doing yoga, being active outdoors and getting plenty of sunlight. Sound is an important sense to the Vata types and I should be listening to calming music and watching light, romantic movies.

Interesting. I think that I can do that. I want to try some of the recommendations for keeping my doshas aligned to see if that helps with some of my anxiety and health in general. I have heard many of these things before when it comes to anxiety, so these are nothing new to me, just a reinforcement of what I need to do.

There are many sites and books out there about Ayruveda and quizes to help you "find your dosha". Here is one website with an easy to take quiz to help you find your dosha!
What is Your Dosha?

{Recipe} Be Gluten Free.

I love to bake, but I have always been someone who bakes from a box and uses store bought frosting. Lately I have been trying more "made from scratch" type recipes, and while they dont always turn out the best, I love the extra time and effort they take and if they do turn out, I feel really good about them. During my journey into the world of holisitc medicine, a topic that is brought up alot is "Gluten Free" foods. While there are people who have Celiac disease and true gluten intolerances and cannot eat gluten, gluten free has also become somewhat of a fad amoungst the health world. Alot of people are going gluten free, thinking that it will make them feel better, lose weight, and be more healthy. I think if you feel better eating gluten free, than great! If you eat more healthy and lose weight, all the more power to you! But if you do not need to be gluten free and you do not feel any differently eating that way, than why deprive yourself of your favorite baked goods?
That being said, I did a little experimenting. After hearing from several people who try and eat gluten free, and some of the bad stories I have heard about the way some of the food tastes, I bought a cookbook, Babycakes (visit their website here-http://babycakesnyc.com/ )a mostly gluten free, sugar free, vegan bakery and cookbook.  Part of me wanted to see what all the hype was about with this gluten free thing and part of me wanted the challenge of trying to bake gluten free and make it still taste great. So I tried several recipes and some turned out ok and others not so much. The real stuff was obviously better, but I felt that I could eat it if I had too.
Than the other day I decided that I wanted to make donuts, so I got a donut pan and started browsing for some good but healthy (ier) recipes, as I am trying to watch the amount of carbs and sweets that I eat. I came across the below recipe for pumpkin spice gluten free donuts and after a coworker explained that she eats gluten free, I decided to give it a try. To my pleasant suprise, they tasted pretty darn good and I got some great comments on them today. I think that my experiment was a success, and I may be making future gluten free recipes!

                  Pumpkin Spice Gluten Free Donuts

Ingredients

2 cup gluten free flour (Bobs redmill all purpose)

1/2 cup brown sugar,packed

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon,vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1/2tsp ginger,nutmeg

1/2. Cup canned pumpkin, applesauce

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

Melted butter and cinnamon/ sugar mixture for coating

Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven 350. Grease donut pan. Combine flour,sugar,baking powder,salt,ginger,cinnamon,nutmeg

Separate bowl combine pumpkin,egg,vanilla,applesauce and milk

Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Spoon mixture into donut pan and  bake 10-12 mins,until lightly browned

Remove donuts from pan to cool, than dip in melted butter and coat with cinnamon/sugar mixture * recipe courtesy of http://withstyle.me/

 

Be...not so motivated.

I am only a few weeks into my workout and I have already started to lack the motivation that I know I am going to need to complete my journey and goals.  My biggest issue with achieving my goals of becoming the healthiest person I can be has always been my motivation. I have the best of intentions and I feel pretty knowledgeable about what I need to do to achieve them, I just haven't figured out how to stay motivated....but I am working on that and will post my progress along the way.

One new goal I want to set for myself is to eat clean and healthy daily,mainly avoid overly processed foods and too many carbs. I will allow myself 1-2 cheats per week of my favorite foods. I have a huge weakness for sweets and carbs and feel that is where I get in the most trouble. I also want to keep a food journal where I write down what I eat everyday to make sure I am getting the right foods in, although I refuse to count calories. I keep hearing the saying that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym, and I need to remember that!

For now I will post what I had for dinner, a delicious and super easy recipe inspired by my sister!

                            Salsa Crockpot Chicken

The recipe is super easy and healthy...basically add 3-4 chicken breasts to the crockpot, pour a jar of salsa of your choice over them and cook on low for 6-8 hrs. The chicken is very moist, tender and flavorful.

I have made tacos/burritos with this, but it also tastes great alone or on a salad.

I know this is not the most amazing food photo ever, but it was taken on my ipad. You get the idea right?

Be Satisfied

I have an addiction to coffee and caffeine in general. If I do not drink it I get a terrible headache that wont go away and I will be super crabby. I wish that I could kick the habit, but I think part of it is mental, and well, I LOVE coffee! This AM I got up and did P90X Kenpo X workout so I had plently of energy, but knew that if I didnt drink some sort of caffeinated beverage, I would regret it at about oh say 2pm when my headache would start up. I usually just make instant coffee with creamer unless I feel like treating myself to something yummy (and low fat) from Starbucks or Caribou. Today I came across 2 yummy coffee drink recipes and thought I would share them- I will definetly be trying to make these this weekend!

Sweet Maple Cappucino
4 oz coffee/espresso
2 tsp maple syrup
4 oz skim milk or almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp Stevia

Mix all ingredients together except coffee and heat over stove/microwave until warm. Pour in coffee and frothed milk (if desired-or if you know how!) and Enjoy!

Almond Biscotti Cappucino
4 oz coffee/espresso
4 oz skim milf/almond milk
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Stevia

Mix all ingredients together except coffee and heat over stove/microwave until warm. Pour in coffee and frothed milk (if desired-or if you know how!) and Enjoy!


* Recipes courtesy of http://www.toneitup.com/ (I highly recommend checking out this site!)

Be Motivated.

So since it is a new year and I have new goals, I might as well write them down. It seems like everyone makes a New Years resolution to eat better and exercise more, and everyone is so motivated for oh, the first few weeks, but then people fall back into their habits and forget their resolutions. I tend to not make resolutions because I seem to forget them right away and am terrible about following through with things I start, but this year I decided to write things down and make a change.
I am not going to have a resolution that I am going to eat right and exercise more, instead I am going to work on some more basic, personal goals that should help me to achieve my overall goal of being in the best shape of my life and living a healthy life in general.

1. Stop being so lazy-and have more motivation! I will admit that I am kind of lazy and lack motivation. I also tend to procrastinate alot and these qualities have held me back from acheiving my goals.

2. Have a more positive attitude-and keep the word CAN'T out of my vocabulary.

3. Cook more-and explore new foods and recipes (healthy of course!)

4. Do more Yoga-and stretching in general, because I feel AMAZING when I do!

5. Take more "ME" time-and do things I love, simply things like baking, reading and now, blogging!

I feel that if I can work on these things, than I will also be achieving my overall goals. And now that they are written down for me, I will make an effort to look back and remind myself of them.

The rest of my life starts NOW!



I love this quote from one of my favorite people!