2013

Reflecting on 2012 and I dont think I did too shabby! Well except for not coming on here that much.

Lets see – Did pretty good on the exercise path until about May, had a few minor set backs and was hit n miss due to my body being a complete spaz, but did what I could when I could. The important thing is I kept moving. walking, hittin the treadmill when I could.  Hmm Food- well in June I went back to eating Ice Cream. no remorse there, at least I didnt wallow in the vat to the point of no return, its all about moderation (something I learned this year). Tried to eat like crap a few times only to suffer the consequence of food hangover. Realized that my crap eating is still better than how I use to eat. I never quit paying attention to ingredients and made sure there wasnt a lot of crap in the what I considered crap food. LOL

Discovered a new found love of certain Beers and Ciders – who knew?  wait is that good for you? – oh wait who cares they are good!

I’m not really a resolution person, never have been. I joke that my resolution is to not make any. But I do set goals for myself and revisit them every so often to see if I need to adjust or make them bigger.

My outlook for 2013 is positive  – I am repeating a goal I did not make in 2012 and that is to run a 5K, I walked 2 in 2012.

Gotta make sure I keep my body moving.

Eating right for me.

Keeping a positive, fun loving group of friends. Its amazing how if you have the wrong friends, for the life you want, will continually drag you down. But when you have friends in your life that hold similar thoughts and goals in life, life is much happier and you are much more successful in what you want to achieve.

This year I am going to try to blog more, not a daily food journal but about Food, Life, Health and Taking Care of Self.

Looking forward to things to come and gotta reset my dream board!

Enjoy!!!

 

 

Emotional Connections…

I recently cleaned out my closet and felt so much lighter. Even though I had less clothes and had to part with some of my favorites, they were just to big for me and no longer looked flattering. What a happy day.  But for some it is a huge struggle to let go of the clothes that no longer fit..  I am personally guilty of this, I had clothes in my closet that I had kept that were to small, you know for that day when I would lose weight and fit in them. Thankfully that day actually came. But for some it never does.

So many people are emotionally addicted to FOOD, but did you know you can be emotionally addicted to clothes? I dont mean Shopaholics.  I mean the daily clothes we wear. Im not a shrink, but it was an interesting thought I had the other day so of course I had to look it up. Its the way we feel when we look at an item of clothing in our closet.

Maybe we wore that pink shirt and so many people complemented us on it and we like how it made us feel. So regardless of how small or big it is – we keep it because it is a constant reminder of how we felt in that moment, who would want to give that up? But just like eating food to fill the emotional void, we sometimes keep clothes to relive that moment. It is sometimes hard to toss that bridesmaids dress because maybe there was a cute guy/girl that flirted with you while you wore it and you want to hang on to that feeling.

Did you know that you can actually gain weight from holding on to these clothes? Sounds silly huh? But it is an emotional response that occurs in our bodies that releases the same hormones as food.

It is so much healthier for us to just toss out clothes and keep the memory in our minds and let the clothes go – Besides when you have room in your closet, you get to go shopping and buy things that look good on you NOW instead of in the future or the past.

So while it maybe scary at the time, it does feel good to just TOSS TOSS TOSS!

Id love to have this closet! So clean and organized!

PCOS – Dr Karakas

Thought I would share some interesting information on PCOS, I was unable to make this lecture, but someone was nice enough to post their notes on the Facebook wall.

Dr Karakas Specializes in treating women with PCOS at the UC Davis Center in Sacramento

Dr. Karakas Lecture Notes

by PCOS Foundation Sacramento on Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 11:35pm ·

• If a women has skin tags or darkening of the skin (in patches), it usually is a sign that there is too much insulin in the blood
• 1 out of 5 women with PCOS get type 2 diabetes before the age of 40
• insulin resistance is not defined by blood sugar, it is defined as to what it takes to keep insulin down, or under control, in the blood
• Male hormones in the ovaries can cause menstrual cycles to skip. Women who have PCOS and missed periods usually have this problem. Birth control can be helpful as it suppresses the male hormones that are produced in the ovaries which can allow for periods to restart
• Women who have PCOS should keep a diet that is low carb and low intake of sugars. Things to avoid include fruit juices, sugary sodas (i.e. coke), and coffees. Avoiding these item can help cut down on the fat that appears around our bellies.
• PCOS is not a disease! It is a syndrome and needs to be properly diagnosed. There are specific tests to ask your doctor for.
• If you are having bad side effects with Metformin, try the extended release medicine from your provider. It should produce less side-effects
• Exercise is crucial. If you exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes or more, you will decrease your chances of diabetes by 70%
• If you are trying to get pregnant, weight loss and metformin are recommended. Although there are many doctors out there that say you need to get into your ‘target’ weight before considering getting pregnant, if you have 7% weight loss, it will promote pregnancy
• If facial hair is a problem symptom, an oral contraceptive that blocks the male hormones is recommended
• To help loose weight, options include the low carb, low sugar diet mentioned above, metformin, or topamax. Make sure you consult your doctor.
• For scalp hair loss, talk to your doctor about Finastride. This should only be taken if there is no chance of pregnancy
• Ultimately your body needs a period at least 1 every 6 months. This is to clean out your body and helps prevent endometrial cancer. If it is difficult or you do not have a period every 6 months, taking provera can help for 14 days twice a year.
• Dr. Karakas works at UC Davis and can take you as a patient when referred. After your initial visit, she can help work out a schedule that is specific for you and your symptoms that can help you manage your PCOS and take back control of your life.

• Being accountable for your symptom management makes the difference! Grab a friend, family member, colleague, or another women who shares your PCOS, and hold yourself accountable for the actions you take. Support systems really do work!

If you would like more information on PCOS and Nutrition there will be a seminar:

Tuesday: March 20 2012    9:00am until 12:00pm

Lawrence Ellison Building, 4860 Y St, Ste 200 (lower level on the right).

This is the meeting that Dr. Karakas recommended to our group. UC Davis has a special nutritionist that leads a group to discuss PCOS and nutrition the third Tuesday of each month. Karen Cale is a UCD member who can bring as many guests as she would like. We’ll be meeting with Karen in the waiting room in suite 200.

If you think you have PCOS or know someone that does, or maybe relate to some of the issues listed about please feel free to visit  PCOS and find a chapter near you.

Meditation ~ is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit. In over 1,000 published research studies, various methods of meditation have been linked to changes in metabolism, blood pressure, brain activation, and other bodily processes.Meditation has been used in clinical settings as a method of stress and pain reduction ( taken form wikipedia)

With that being said…

Today was a very odd day for me, woke with an unexplained headache, then it subsided so I got up and headed to my fave store, Whole Foods, half way through I had a major anxiety attack ( and yes I have been to the Dr and diagnosed with them, however after being numb for 10 years, I decided to get off Celexa but that is another story for another day)  so I finished up what I was doing and got the hell out of there – of course now I have to drive home. Excitement!

As soon as I got home I decided the best course of action was to go outside, lay in the sun and meditate.  Of course the goal in meditation is to not think and make to do lists. So I decide to allow the sounds around me, birds chirping, soothe me.

When I first started meditating I had a hard time sitting still long enough to relax. I was told light a candle and watch the flame, but then I would wonder what if things caught on fire? How long is this candle going to burn? so instead I decided to burn half a stick of incense. I would find the scent that mellowed me out and let it burn, knowing that when it stopped burning my time was up so to speak. I have now graduated to a full stick.. in a time demand society where everything is quick quick or there is an app for it – you just cant rush an incense stick or meditation.

So back to today, I lay out a blanket in my backyard and light my incense.  Birds are chirping.  I close my eyes and have to clear my head, so deep breathing come into play – clear out the thoughts on the exhale and bring in the surrounding on the my inhale. Eventually I can hear the tree leaves rustling, I think the coolest sound is of palm leaves blowing in the wind… Eventually not thinking is no prob and my anxiety attack has stopped and I am calm.  I have left my phone in the house, if it rings I cant hear it nor do I care.  By the time the incense is done I am a new person! the sun was warm and amazing – so getting a lil Vita D along the way never hurts.. considering it is what helps with depression!

I slowly come back to reality and all is well. Didnt have to pop a pill and my senses are alert.Its amazing what 15 mins of meditaiton will do for you!

For those of you that know me, you know that I am a total gemstone junkie! for those that dont know that about me – you know now!

Of course I laid out stones to help me relax, today I chose to do a simple Clear Quartz lay out.  4 Stones pointing in the N, E ,W, S  positions to bring in the energy from all directions.

Why Quartz? It is the Universal Stone. Quartz enhances energy by absorbing, storing, amplifying, balancing, focusing and transmitting. It channels universal energy. Quartz also enhances thoughts, as they are a form of energy. Because it directs and amplifies energy, it is extremely beneficial for manifesting, healing, meditation, protection, and channeling. Due to its ability to balance, quartz is excellent for harmonizing and balancing one’s environment. Quartz is a stone of clarity which dispels negativity and clears away negative energy. It can be used to purify and clarify on the spiritual, mental, and physical planes. It is also powerfully protective

 

( I have included some pics)