Getting My Focus Back With Yoga

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Yoga looks graceful, but this is what I look like when moving into Warrior Pose! Yoga with Adriene does a great job putting you at ease.

I’ve found my yogi. No not the bear. I’m talking yoga. I’ve been hunting for a local yoga class that doesn’t break the bank and isn’t in a sauna. My physical therapist suggested I try Yoga with Adriene, a Texas raised instructor who teaches yoga via YouTube.

So this morning I tested Adriene’s 20-minute Yoga for Complete Beginners (see below). No I’m not a beginner, but I’ve been sidelined for more than a year. Not with an injury…just laziness. So easing into a routine was what I needed. Read More

Do I Need A Trainer or Can I Do It Myself?

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Our home gym is open for business and my new trainer is eagerly awaiting to torture me.

Yay! We’ve expanded the gear for our tiny home gym.  Now we can work out with actual free weights. The space is still too small for barbells, my husband’s preferred equipment. Thankfully a little creativity was all we needed.

Our New Home Equipment
I already had the resistance bands and yoga mat. We didn’t want to spend too much, and when you are dealing with free weights, that is a challenge. So we added 3 things that collectively cost us less than $440. Not too shabby.

1. Adjustable Weights
Unfortunately we don’t have the space to use barbells. While my resistance bands are a great tool, my husband was a bit leery about using them. If he can’t use barbells, his fall back is dumbbells. But again, space is the issue. Thankfully we saw a solution at our local sporting goods store — adjustable weights. Read More

Jump Starting My Diet: New Year, 2 Challenges

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I’m kicking off 2017 with two new challenges: a 7-day fast and going all of January without alcohol. Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net, KENO64 and Simon Howden.

This is how you bring in a New Year. Not one, but two challenges. I’m doing both to improve my health. Following my cancer diagnosis back in June, I’ve been on a six-month pity party, and that resulted in a lot of unhealthy behaviors creeping back into my life.

It’s time for a reset.

Challenge #1: 7 Days, No Food
Yesterday I started a 7-Day Fasting Challenge. That’s right, no food for a week. I’m allowed water, tea, and coffee. Period. Read More

Top 10 Reasons My Weight Loss Resolutions Always Failed

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What is the #1 resolution people make on the 1st of January each year? Weight loss. Unfortunately 88% of those resolutions don’t even make it out of February.

I have made my fair share of failed resolutions at the start of each year. Always vowing that this year would be different and I’d finally lose weight. After careful thought, here’s the 10 reasons why my weight loss resolutions always failed.

Bookending My Day With Essential Oils

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Early this morning I mixed rose and bergamot oils in one of my diffusers to help focus me. The smell is divine!

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Me…the one who’d make jokes about power crystals, meditation and all the rest of that “hippie” science. Well I’m not laughing anymore. Essential oils are now a big part of fighting my wacky hormones.

If I wake up feeling a little down then I add a few drops of lavender, chamomile, bergamot and ylang ylang into my diffuser. Soon I’m feeling pretty awesome.

No energy to plow through my to do list?  Then I load up my diffuser with a few drops of grapefruit or sweet orange and voila! I’m a bundle of focused energy moving from task to task.

In the evenings, about an hour before bed I load up my bedside diffuser with lavender. While that lovely scent is filling my cool, darkened bedroom, I’m relaxing in the tub with some lavender infused bath salts. When I follow this ritual I’m out like a light when my head hits the pillow. If not, I’m in for an evening of tossing and turning.

Science Be Damned. This Works For Me.
The science on essential oils is very light to say the least. I know that humans have a long history of using plants for healing. But I’m also aware of the power of suggestion. Read More

Healing My Body With A Week Long Fast

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I’m kicking off the new year with a 7-Day Fasting Challenge as a way to heal my body. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and phasinphoto.

I’m ringing in the New Year with a week-long fast. Crazy? Not really. I’m a believer in fasting and it’s many benefits like: lipolysis, boosting mental capacity, reducing insulin resistance, and resetting your set weight point.

Intermittent fasting helped me rediscover what it feels like to be satiated by stablizing the hormone leptin (the hormone signals the brain that you’re full).

However, the big driver behind this 7-day fast is autophagy – the cellular cleansing process. According to Dr. Jason Fung, autophagy is the “body’s mechanism of getting rid of all the broken down old cell machinery (organelles, proteins and cell membranes).”

Now all cells in our body are programmed to die after a certain number of divisions. That’s apoptosis. Autophagy takes place at the sub-cellular level. Basically only parts of a cell need to be purged and replaced. Dr. Fung compares this to replacing car parts rather than the whole care.

Fasting not only stimulates autophagy (clearing out the bad), but it increases growth hormone so our body can produce new cell parts. Double bonus! Read More

Top LCHF Drinks For The Holiday Season

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With all the holiday parties coming up, here are my top LCHF friendly adult beverages. Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and Rawich.

I can’t believe tomorrow is December. Where did the time fly? That mean the seasonal parties are just around the corner. After Thanksgiving, the party season picks up steam as we head into the New Year. Funny how those seasonal festivities always coincide with the us packing on pounds. Hmmmmm…

So starts the time of sugary desserts and carb-heavy comfort foods. But the one thing we tend to over look when it comes to the holiday madness is booze. Hooch. Liquid bread. Sauce. Hard stuff. Oats soda. Liquid courage.

Yep, I’m talking about alcohol.

The good news is you can still enjoy adult beverages in moderation while living a low carb lifestyle. You just need to know what to drink.

Below are my top 5 alcohol choices when hitting the party circuit this season. Read More

Ideas For A Very Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving! Can’t believe Turkey Day 2016 is already here. I’m up early to start cooking. Here are a few tips to help make this day as enjoy able as possible for those of you doing the cooking:

  1. Have a plan of attack!  It just makes it less stressful if you plan everything out. If you are baking a lot of dishes (like me), plan your time around the turkey. I’m up early to get a head start. My pie is already in the oven. Cranberries are done. That frees me up for the rest of the morning to get my stuffing and Brussels sprouts au gratin dish ready. Both go in the oven when that 22 pound bird comes out.
  2. Butter and Cream…they really do make everything taste better.
  3. Ask for help. My husband asked if he can help me prep. I’m going to put the man to use to keep my stress levels in check.
  4. Download A Free Timer App Now. My timer app is something I can do without, especially when cooking my bird.
  5. Treat yourself.  Once that bird goes in the oven, do something a little special for yourself. Maybe a short walk. Or someone can give you a back rub. You deserve it for all that hard work.  Me? A glass of champagne has become my ritual on Turkey Day.

As an added bonus, here’s a lovely chart to help you with Turkey times.

turkey-chart

Getting Into Ketosis By Year’s End?

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What’s your plan? It’s holiday season. Which means lots of celebrations, food and weight gain.

I mentioned to husband yesterday that I didn’t want to hand out any tasty Halloween candy this year. He laughed and said “Oh, yes we are. Leave it to me I’ll pick out the good stuff.”

How can I even suggest such a thing? I’m not in favor in handing out terrible tasting treats that no kid enjoys — I’m thinking of you candy corn! No, I just don’t want any candy that would tempt me. Snickers does nothing for me. Neither does Twix, Three Musketeers or Butterfingers. But we always get the stuff I like and I don’t want that temptation this year.

It’s part of my effort to navigate the upcoming holidays, where the one sure thing is weight gain. Read More

Fox In The Hen House! Surviving Our Cookout

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We’re having friends over today for a cookout. For the first time in more than 4 years, I’m allowing these types of foods in my house. Ugh!

Today we’re having a cookout with some new friends who don’t eat low carb diet. What’s a girl who eats LCHF to do?

I’m not the type of person to force my LCHF ways on people. That’s just rude. I’m inviting people into my home. It’s my job to make them feel welcomed. Yes I’ve had a hard time getting back on track since surgery and treatment.  But all I need is a little planning to keep my guests happy and allows me to avoid any temptation.

Avoiding That Fox In The Hen House
The key for success when hosting non-LCHF friends is simplicity. Foods that my guests and I can eat without feeling deprived. Tonight we’re making burgers and dogs, an easy meal for me to stay LCHF. They eat buns. I prefer wrapping my burger in lettuce. We all come out happy. Score!

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