Raw Food

I inadvertently started a raw food diet. It started Tuesday, when I wasn't feeling very hungry most of the day. I ate a couple of bananas, and had a regular dinner. I felt okay the next day, but still not very hungry. So, I ate mostly fruit during the day and had a salad for dinner. Such has been the trend all week, it seems. Yesterday I had a banana, an apple, and celery with peanut butter and raisins (a.k.a. ants on a log), then I ate an early dinner. I'm noticing that I've been feeling more alert this week. Maybe it's my body trying to tell me something. Maybe this is the missing link to my energy woes. I've been training as hard as my body will let me, and eating clean. I've removed every food imaginable that could be causing allergic reactions or sensitivities. But, finally, this week, I've gotten some relief from this seeming unending lethargy. I've been on a raw food diet three times for two to three months over the last two years. When I'm on it, I feel great. My mind feels clear, my energy is up, my recovery time is shortened. I've not been able to last past three months, though. I feel like by that time my body hits a brick wall and I start to feel sluggish, and I'm hungry all the time. I think I'm going to give this a shot again, but this time I won't go for 100% raw. I'll eat raw all day, and have a regular vegan dinner. That might help balance out the good with the not-so-good. Who knows, maybe I'll get to feeling like I don't even need the one cooked meal a day. For now, it sounds like the best of both worlds. I'll keep you posted!

Running Again

I finally started running again this week. Well, it was actually last week, maybe Friday. I was hoping the cool weather would stick around, but today was HOT! I went to Bayshore Blvd and enjoyed the smell of fresh cut grass. What I do really isn't considered running any way. It's more of a wog: a walk mixed in with a jog. I'm quite slow, but it feels good to complete a desired distance or duration. The first time I took up wogging was about 5 years ago. It was just before my 30th birthday, and the weather had cooled down. I started with just alternating a block of walking with a block of my wog. Eventually, I could complete 3-5 miles with hardly any breaks. I never thought I would be one of those people who loved to run. But, there I was, most days of the week, hitting the pavement. Then, the following October, my back and right knee simultaneously gave out on me. Old injuries resurfaced. At this point, I could barely crawl out of bed for the pain. I shuffled my feet and spent most of my days shifting positions to try to find relief. I slowly stretched and massaged my way thru the injuries. But, since then, any time I tried to wog again, I would end up in pain in a day or two. I decided that wogging would just have to wait until I felt stronger. Well, this is the first time in 4 years that I really have been feeling stronger. My workouts are well-balanced, as is my diet. I'm still working out some bumps in the road, like this medication I'm taking that makes me sleepy every day starting from about 12pm to 3pm, until about 6pm. It's a sickly kind of sleep; the kind your body forces on you when you're fighting the flu or a stomach bug. I was hoping my body would adjust, but no luck so far. I'm going to have to find out if there's something else I can take, because a three to five hour nap every day is not really conducive to getting things done. Meanwhile, I'll continue to wog every other day, taking it slow, so as not to aggravate old injuries yet again. I'll be smart about putting in my rest days and stretching after each wog. I'll stay hydrated and keep up my protein drinks pre- and post-wog. I'll replace my wogging shoes every three months. And, I'll stay positive. That should do it!

Digestive Health

The power of life and death begins in the gut. My experience as a licensed colon hydrotherapist and digestive health specialist has taught me the importance of digestive health. Many health problems can be traced back to dis-ease in the digestive system. Our bodies are wonderfully created, made to survive in even the least of ideal circumstances. The ideal chemical balances within our bodies are impossible to reach withou an understanding of how those systems work. For example, the digestive system is one long, fancy tube with an entrance point and an exit point. Everything that goes in must be assimilated, and the leftovers must come out. Everything that goes in affects the body in many ways: the body's pH levels, the balance of bacterial flora, the level of hydration, among others, are all affected by what we eat and drink. A happy bowel has 2-3 movements per day. The consistency is as important as the frequency. Any more or less bowel movements indicates that the digestive system is in distress.

I have a few tips to helping the digestive sysemt run smoothly. First, upon arising, drink 16-20 ounces of pure water. Drink this water at room temperature and before taking supplements or eating. This will help you to have a complete bowel movement. Second, eating yogurt daily will help keep your body's natural healthy flora in balance. There are four nutritional supplements that can be taken by anyone to help with bowel regularity. I am including the products in my product line from Nature's Sunshine. These products hold the highest quality standards and have competitive pricing. These are as follows:
1. Probiotics help maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria. Bifidophilus Flora Force provides billions of beneficial intestinal microorganisms that offer a whole range of health benefits.
2. Essential Fatty Acids help coat the lining of the digestive tract, for protection and ease of movement. Super Omega 3-EPA protects cell membranes.
3. Digestive enzymes help the body fully digest the foods eaten. Food Enzymes is a key product for the digestive system.
4. Dietary fiber supplements help ensure adequate fiber to clean and empty the colon. Everybody's Fiber also contains short-chain FOS—a soluble fiber that provides food for friendly microorganisms in the colon.

To order any of these products, please contact me with your contact information and I will gladly help you with your order.

National Pancake Day

I read in the TBT yesterday that today is National Pancake Day. In my attempt to find out more details about this day, I found out that IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day on February 24th. Shrove Tuesday is the day before the beginning of Lent, also known as Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday and Pancake Day. Shrove Tuesday was Tuesday, February 24, 2009
this year. I'm not sure exactly where the TBT got its information, but I definitely enjoyed the idea! In honor of one of my favorite foods, I decided to take National Pancake Day one step further. Instead of just having the expected pancakes for breakfast or brunch, I made pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner! To keep things interesting, I made different versions of this cheap and versatile food. For breakfast, we had banana walnut pancakes, made with buttermilk and coconut oil in the batter. They were splendid! For lunch, I decided to try my hand at pineapple upside down pancakes. The idea came from an IHOP commercial. I've never eaten this particular pancake at IHOP (I've always liked my homemade pancakes better anyway...), but I knew I wanted to try to make them some day. And what better day than today? (Recipe below.) They were a huge hit and definitely called for a repeat visit some time soon. For dinner, I made some corn pancakes. These had a mixture of pancake better and corn bread mix, with thawed frozen corn kernels, and honey butter instead of syrup. My family loved the variety and eating pancakes all day was great fun! My daughter even asked for chocolate pancakes for dessert! Maybe next time. I definitely won't wait til next year.

Marcy's Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

1/2 C lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 C butter
1 large can pineapple slices in 100% pure pineapple juice
1/2 C pineapple juice (reserve from pineapples)
1 3/4 C favorite dry pancake mix (I used a combination of two gluten free flours.)
3/4 C almond milk (I used Almond Breeze Original)
1/4 C ground raw almonds or almond meal
2 T ground flax seeds or flax meal
1 egg
1 T coconut oil
2 packets Stevia sweetener
4 or 5 drops almond extract/flavoring
salt to taste

1. Melt together first two ingredients. Keep on low heat.
2. Depending on size of pot, place 2 or more pineapple slices into above mixture to simmer.
3. Mix together dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients. If batter is too thick, add more almond milk. If too thin, add a bit more dry mix. Allow to sit for a few minutes so bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the batter.
4. Heat skillet on medium low heat.
5. Take one pineapple slice from simmering pot and place on skillet, and pour 1/4 C (I use a spring-hinge ice cream scoop to measure out and pour batter) pancake batter in the middle of the pineapple slice. The batter will spread over and around to cover the pineapple.
6. When small holes form around the edge of the pancake, carefully turn over.
7. Pancake is done when bottom is a light golden brown.
8. Continue with remaining pineapples and batter.
9. Serve with syrup. (I like grade B maple syrup or maple flavored agave nectar.)

ENJOY!!

Low on Energy

I have been very low on energy all this week. It's been a struggle to even get out of bed in the morning. I hear the alarm clock and I crawl under my sheet to protect myself from the morning. My daughters take turns coming in my room to make sure I'm awake. I climb out of bed, my eyes still closed, and shuffle my way into the day, starting my routine. I remember vividly the days when it was no struggle whatsoever to wake up before my alarm rang at 4:30 am to get my daily workout in before waking up the girls and heading off to work and school. I was eight years younger and as much as 20 pounds lighter. I slept about 6 hours a night, sometimes less, and I didn't miss the sleep. These days, I'm dragging out of bed with as much as 8-9 hours of sleep, some days even 10 hours of shuteye is not enough. My workouts have been a greater challenge, too. Back in the day, it wasn't unlike me to kick out a 2-3 hour workout five or six days a week. I would have to force myself to take one rest day every week. Lately, it's all I can do to make the 20 minute mark on the treadmill or elliptical trainer on most days. This week in particular, I have only had two good cardio days, on which I did between 45-60 minutes of slow state (a turtle's pace), steady pace cardio. The other three days I could hardly last ten minutes. On one day, I couldn't even hang onto the treadmill for longer than 3 minutes! I can't figure out what the major discrepancy/ies is/are from then til now that is causing this shift. Granted, I am older (blah, blah, blah...) and I am dealing with multiple health issues which I'm attempting to evaluate and address. But honestly, it's become a very frustrating set of circumstances. Often, I have the will power and the desire to get moving, but my body is not on the same page as my mind. Some days, my body is raring to go, but my head won't clear away the fog. At the very least, I am still making the attempt mostly every day, whether I feel up to training or not. As long as I make it to the gym, and at least go thru the motions, it's better than sitting at home watching Law & Order reruns. So, I'll keep picking myself up off the couch, wrestle with my sports bra, and pack my protein shake, in the hopes that it will get better, eventually.

Skinny enough

I was at Publix, shopping for a few odds and ends, like fruit, water, yogurt and bread. As I went down the bread aisle, I saw a vendor stocking the Pepperidge Farm breads. I don't usually buy Pepperidge Farm, but there were a few new varieties I hadn't seen before. As I was reading the label on a buttermilk loaf, the stock person says to me, "What are you reading it for? You're skinny enough!" I saw the dreaded "High Fructose Corn Syrup" and put the bread back, stating "It has high fructose corn syrup." He went on to tell me how terrible the stuff is and how he breaks out in hives every time he eats it--the Pepperidge Farm vendor! We traded a few more pleasantries, and I was on my way. I was quite confused by the whole situation. First of all, who said I want to be skinny?? Just because I'm reading labels doesn't mean I automatically want to be skinny. I do, however want to be healthy. I don't want to be very thin. I want to be a lean, mean, fit machine! Skinniness to me has a negative connotation: gaunt; bony; scrawny; meager; twiggy; weedy. Lean is also used as a synonym for skinny, but I don't see the two in the same light. Someone who is skinny isn't necessarily healthy. There is such a thing as skinny-fat, where a person is naturally thin, but not fit and can have a large percentage of body fat for his/her size. When a person is lean, they have a low body fat percentage and a high prcentage of lean tissue, including muscle. Someone who is lean is toned, fit, and athletic, not skinny. My desire is to be lean, not skinny.

Secondly, why would someone who has such an adverse reaction to and a distaste for a particular product/ingredient be involved in selling that product? The idea brings to mind an unsuccessful boat salesman who's afraid of water, or a personal trainer who hates to sweat, or even a surgeon who can't stand the sight of blood. Perhaps this guy was trying to build up his defenses against the stuff. Who knows.

Missed Workout?

I inadvertently missed a workout today. I had a doctor's appointment at 8:20 am that I had to cancel because my insurance info wasn't in order: BOOOO! So, I'll have to reschedule for later this week, which means the appointment I had scheduled for later this week will have to be postponed until early next week... Needless to say,, my stress level was at an all-time high bright and early this morning. I spent the better half of the morning on the phone, online, and in tears. I think all will be in order no later than Wednesday. I had every intention of making it to the gym before school let out-I even wore my workout gear all day- but by now I'm just so emotionally drained that I might just leave it for tomorrow. I know I should go any way, at least for 30 minutes or so, and I just might still do that. The activity would help me clear my head, and I could relieve some stress. But as it stands right now, my head is telling me to skip it! I could use the break, and tomorrow I can start fresh. I haven't really given myself a workout break since I started back a month ago. Yesterday was my first real break day where I did no form of exercise whatsoever. Today would be two days in a row. I don't know that I really want to push two days in a row just yet. I have a 5-day training schedule this week, which means that even if I do end up training today, I will have to take another full day off some time this week. Decisions, decisions. I think I'll leave the choice up to fate: If my girls have lots of homework, then we'll come straight home and I'll miss a workout. However, if they have a light homework load, then I'll take them to the YMCA, and we'll all get in some exercise. Sounds like a plan to me!

UPDATE: I did actually make it to the gym this afternoon. The girls didn't have much homework, and so we went to the YMCA. They were supposed to join a youth dance class, but it was cancelled. So, they started their homework while I got in a good 40 minute workout. It was chest and triceps day, and I added a bit of deltoid work since it is a weak area for me. I didn't do any cardio, except for a 5 minute warm up and 7 minute cool down. But, the best part is I felt SO MUCH BETTER after finishing my workout than I had felt all day long. Training really gets the endorphins (feel-good hormones) moving, and exercising is such a stress reliever. I almost always feel better when I make myself workout even when I don't feel up to it. Once my training session is done, there's a feeling of accomplishment and peace. It's not always easy to remember this feeling before the workout, but once the hear starts pumping a bit harder and the sweat starts forming, the familiar satisfaction kicks in and poses a nice reminder for the next time stress is high and energy is low.