Walking the Talk

Day 17 Over Detoxing

Well I think I have gotten a tad carried away this week.  First of all I really liked the Beet puree with pine nut “cream” and I ate a lot of it.  I ate so much of it that it even turned my urine pink.  That was a bit of a surprize :)  Beets are very detoxifying and I know this, I tell patients this - especially patients who are juicing.  Beets are great for your liver and traditionally were recommended for “cleansing the blood”.  I’ve never really been a great fan of beets - but then my only exposure to them as a kid was pickled beets from my grandmother with the scent of cloves sometimes overwhelming, or occasionally in university I would attempt to make borscht because I knew it was supposed to be good for me.  Recently I have enjoyed raw beets put through my spiralizer on salads.  That is tres yummy.  But really - roasted beets made into the puree were really good.  Too much for me it would seem - or maybe 3 meals of it was just too much as I seem to be over burdened just a tad.  Nothing serious.  Just a little niggly headache - of course that could be the period that’s expected tomorrow too.

I also did a wonderful Moor Peat Mud Bath full body immersion which was a fantastic experience.  Kinda like a sauna in your tub.  But way better.  I am not such a big fan of sweating like one does in a dry sauna or an infa red sauna.  I of course recognize the therapeutic value in it but I am not one who will choose to relax in a sauna.  I much prefer a steam room.  MMMMMM.  And the Moor Mud Bath was wetter than the steam room and much more stimulating.  My heart rate went up, I was definately sweating, definately I could feel a reaction in the tub.  With the increase in heart rate and body temperature I would imagine I had some Lipolysis happening and a big dump of toxins into my blood stream.  Note to self - drink a whole lot of water before and after future Mud Baths.  The bath was very relaxing too and it smelled so good!  I am a fan.  I felt really really awesome that evening and the next morning - light and energized.  But today combined with the Beets, long shifts at work and a touch of PMS I do have this headache.

So what to do?  Well I am drinking a ton of water and going to bed early!  Oh, and I find that hockey games in which the Canadiens whallop the Penguins are a great remedy for headaches :)

Tagged: DetoxCleanseNaturopathic MedicineWeight lossMoor Mud BathJuicingBeetsendometriosis

Day 15 - Quinoa Really is a Super Food

I told my kids tonight that the quinoa that sneaked from my dinner to theirs instead of the usual brown rice was really “Cave Man Rice”  My 12 and 15 year olds both smirked and said “Oh Sure”.  My 8 year old bought it.  Cave Man Rice is very cool.  And yummy.  And sooooo easy to make in my rice cooker.  The verdict was that Quinoa tasted great and my 15 year old polished off 2 helpings and my less adventurous 12 and 8 years olds tried it and didn’t hate it.  Yay!  Resistance is futile.

It was fun introducing everyone to Quinoa and the recipie for Abracadabra Quinoa is fantastic, quick and very simple.  What the Quinoa did was allow me to open up a dinner table discussion about “ancient grains”, which lead us into genetically modified foods and factory farming.  Very stimulating dinner conversation.  My kids are so brilliant.  My husband wants us all to watch Food Inc. together soon.

I was reminded tonight of growing up in the 70’s and my mom would try and sneak healthier things into our Kraft and Campbell Foods repertoire.  We often had brown rice, we always had brown bread and we did eat standard veggies.  Lots of potatoes, peas and corn.  I grew up in the Ottawa Valley where there is actually a fairly high concentration of old living-off-the-land communes still in existance.  In high school my best friend, Rebecca, had grown up on one.  There was definately an awareness of a more “granola” way of eating than what was traditional in our community.  Being Polish/Irish/Scottish Lumberjacks, the basis of most of our diet was pork and potatoes.  Yum.  And black tea.  Lots and lots of black tea - somehow that kept everyones cholesterol in check.  Wink Wink.  My mother would yell “Arbita?” whenever a guest walked in the house.  I think this meant tea in some bastardized 5-generations-away-from-the-homeland form of Polish.  Sprouts, brown rice, brown bread, tofu, stir frys, home made granola - all were considered distainfully “hippie food”.  Which makes me chuckle tonight as every single one of these things are staples in my kitchen and I wonder now what would be thought of my hemp seeds, almond milk, buckwheat noodles, pine nut sauce, chia seeds, raw beets and goji berries.  Or that the fact that I am openly identifying as a Wheat-Free-Vegan.  Wow.  Radical.

Tagged: health foodveganvegetarianhippiecommunegranolaTeaPolishQuinoa

Day 14

I’ve stopped feeling guilty if I slip-up a little, because really, who cares?  Rather I celebrate successes!  Like how yesterday I had two vegan raw food spring rolls for lunch and how I really like my smoothies in the morning and how freaking awesome my grocery cart looked at loblaws yesterday morning packed with all kinds of yummy vegan items and how not only are my new jeans now loose on me but they slip way down over my hips and I have to keep hiking them up!

Also, I have to say I have noticed how increadibly clear headed I’ve become.  I can multitask again.  My memory has improved.  I am on top of things.  And energy!  Yay!  Lots of it.  And an elevation in mood which is fabulous.  Cheerful in my house of chaos is a good thing - lets me roll with the unexpected!

And I notice if I slip.  Mostly the next morning - but holy cow.  You really notice if your body is sensitive to something - last night I had some dip that was a little questionable in terms of what it had in it to make it taste better (I am thinking it was full of MSG because it had a funny burn-y sensation in the mouth while eating)  and this morning  WHAM - yup something in there didn’t agree with me.  I am snuffly and headachy and kinda dumb - sllllooowww. 

But it’s been really interesting to see how much I can function at a higher level both physically and mentally (and emotionally) when I am eating well vs if I choose to indulge there are direct and measurable reasults in how I feel the next day.  In fact, it’s like feeling hung-over.  Huh.  So I am realizing that I was functioning in that lower state for probably the past 3 years - maybe even 5 years.  Too much caffeine, too much wheat and dairy, too much alcohol.  Not enough nutreint density.

Its actually remarkable to me that I could have gotten stuck there for so long.  But we all get there and I think it takes a positive experience like this to get us out of it.  Three kids, renovating a house, running a business, teaching, writing - all demanding things.  I think to cope we all reach for stimulants which have the most remarkable effect of stimulating us in the short term but depressing function in the longer term so that at some point you have stimulated yourself to the point where you burn out, you no longer respond to the stimulus because you’ve got nothing left.  I didn’t get to that point but I did get to the point where I realized that I was stuck in a negative feedback loop and had to fix something!

It’s mothers day today and cold.   I indulged myself this morning when my kids took me out for breakfast to their favourite place.  It was yummy and comfortable.  Now I am home by my fireplace and I plan to read a book and drink tea and be cozy and lazy all day long.  I even bought myself some patchouli bubble bath that I plan to have a good long soak in this afternoon.

So, in her recipie book for the spring cleanse, the feel good guru says, “When we’re feeling challenged, lets turn it around to see it as our opportunity to transcend.  We have an opportunity to make a concious choice with every bite and every sip.  Bringing presence to our food as a new way of life will keep us on our brilliant path.”

It’s PMS this week and a high stress week as my family prepares for a wedding on Friday and family in town and staying at our house and I have a birth client literally due to deliver any moment - which means at least one sleepless night and chaotic and unpredictable day.  This kind of week would usually wipe me right out and completely derail any wellness goals I have set for myself.  I know myself well enough to know that stress makes me reach for stimulants to cope - whatever I can get my hands on!  Fat, sugar, caffeine, alcohol…. I am curious to see if I will have any improvements during the pms week and I am determined to stick to my goals.

My goal this week is to stick to the cleanse recipies, get my exercise, drink more water and sleep a lot.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Day 11 - A Confession

I fell of the horse.

Huh.  Not surprizing when I describe the circumstances but it has really thrown me for a loop today and made me wax philosophical about commitment and motivation.

So, first, lets celebrate successes - I went for a nice long walk today 7.5 km with my Dog Daisy whose 1 year birthday it was today.  I walked all the way from my house on the Danforth down to the beach and along the board walk a bit.  I have to say that I absolutely love how the air smells when water is around.  It’s fresher.  And yes yes I know all the chemical and scientific reasons for it.  But if I get out of my head and just say that I love how it smells and feels I think that’s better :)

Now for the falling off the horse bit.  Going out socially on a cleanse is hard.  I know that.  So I prepared before hand.  I ate a huge dinner of my yummy vegan chick pea vegan butter chicken.  I mentally prepared to order a sparkly water with lemon.  But you go to a familiar place that’s awesome, with friends who are wonderful, after walking in the rain and getting soaked and then getting the best seat in the house by the fire  - I have to say that I had ordered my Mort Subite Cherry Beer before I had remembered that I was now a vegan and alcohol free at that.  And, well, then came the sweet potatoe fries which I rationalized technically were still vegan (and soooo good).  And after the second beer (hanging my head in shame) the chicken wings smelled so good that my rational brain shut off and my stomach took over.  I ate the last three as all my friends laughed.  And it was extremely satisfying.  :)

I paid the price this morning - I was just slow and grumpy - which is unlike me.  I am definately noticing some gastrointestinal issues with what I consumed and that has been plaguing me all day. And my waist and flat tummy that I had earned over the past 10 days was gone.   So, motivation not to fall off again.

Today my eating has been great.  Although I woke up HUUUUUNGRY for the first time in a week.  And with the 7.5 km walk just one protein shake didn’t do it.

So, perhaps big social situations are best to avoid until my new habits are more entrenched.  I really do have to keep in mind that when changing habits that it’s best to be quite strict with yourself really for the first 3-4 weeks until your mind and body become acclimatized to the new eating habits and the new rules :)

I have a friend coming into town on Saturday, maybe we will stick with Vegan friendly restaurants:)

It happens.  Bumps in the road.  What I am not going to do is let it derail me.  I am inspired every day by my patients.  I had a patient come in today who has been on a cleanse for 14 weeks - she started as part of our therapeautic plan and then lost so much weight on it that she was motivated to continue.  We modified it so really she is just eating a very healthy diet.  She says that she has decided to only include things on her “cleanse” that she can sustain as a lifestyle choice.  She is now down 32.5 lbs and feels fantastic.   She admitted to me that she turned 45 two weeks ago and she too fell off the wagon -  she especially found that her carb and sugar cravings came back when she cheated even a little.  “But”, she said, “I am doing this for me, I will loose 50 lbs by Canada Day.  I can get back on track”.  She has a goal.  She’s is utterly determined and confident that she can do this and as much as I can support her and encourage her and supervise her weight loss, she is the one who makes the decision every single time she puts something in her mouth - this is a lonely road.  She can do it. 

And I can too.

Tagged: VegetarianVeganhealthyEndometriosisCleanseDetoxificationLiver CleanseNaturopathic MedicineNaturopathyWeight loss

This Keeps Getting Easier

Day 10 

First of all my weekly weight report is 183.5lbs.  Which is down almost 3 lbs (2 and three quarters to be exact)  Yay me.

Second, not only did I say no to a coffee this morning which I really really really wanted but managing this eating is easy.  This has always been hard to do vegan and no wheat.  But it’s easy this time.  What is it that makes it easy? 

Knowing I only have 14.5 weeks until I turn 40?  That’s motivating, but was not motivating at the beginning of the year. 

I think honestly it’s my health and the fear of feeling crappy because of my endo and the crazy period issues it brings with it.  I wonder why illness is always the best motivator?  Why do we need to feel fear before we will make change?  I wonder why the idea of prevention is not a better motivator?  Maybe because we fool ourselves into believing that everything is going to be ok until it is not.

It feels good to be committed to this.

So tonight I am varying from the dinner plan again.  My family is having butter chicken, so I am having vegan-butter chick peas :) and rice.  And maybe some more of that asparagus that was so good last night!!

Is it weird to crave Asparagus?

Day 9. 9pm and yes I am craving asparagus. The way my husband does it. With olive oil and garlic. In a cast iron pot until its bright green and a little soft. Mmmmm and looking around my kitchen the baby leeks I picked up at the organic market would be good too. So, rather than heading down to watch Glee with my usual glass of wine and chips or crackers I am heading down with asparagus and leeks and a wine glass of sparkling boysenberry juice. Yum. Weird yes. But yum.

Day 8 (already?)

So, I have found that the easy way to ease into a cleanse and to get past the nasty caffeine headaches and cravings is to get very ill for 5 days.  Wow.  Sorry I have been incommunicado.  My sore throat turned into an upper respiratory tract infection and knocked me flat on my butt!  I am still having issues with my breathing, so still on the mend. 

However, I did start to feel significantly better Sunday evening, so that’s good.  The great news is that I have stayed mostly on the diet.  We went out to dinner with a friend to our favourite mexican place on Saturday night and I totally caved and had yummy lime margarita.  But other than that I have been following the guidelines (if not the printed diet) from day one.

A couple of things I have noticed: 

• I am eating a ridiculous amount of veggies!  And its making it’s way to my dinner table and translating into my kids eating more veggies.  Which is awesome.  We just have more veggies prepared and everyone dives in.  It’s great.
• There is a HUGE amount of fiber on this diet.  YAYAY fiber!
• I am not hungry.  Ever.  I don’t feel like I am being deprived.  I don’t feel like I am on a diet.  Everything tastes good.  It’s delightful.  I can tell that Moria Nordholt actually enjoys food, enjoys eating and enjoys flavour.  What a wonderful welcome change!
• My thirst increased so I am not having such a hard time with the water.
• bowel habits remain great - so many cleanses make it hard to keep this up!
• It’s really difficult to cook two seperate meals at every meal - one for me and one for the family.  So they end up trying what I am eating and that’s okay.  Opening up their horizons in terms of taste!  I am also cooking what they like to eat.  So cooking is time consuming.
• Sometimes I detour from the cleanse menu just to survive in terms of cooking time.  So if the family is eating something that fits in my guidelines and looks appealing I just go for that.
• We have much healthier food in the house.  Rice cakes and hoummus, dried fruit.  Salsa and chips is my biggest “sin”.
• I have been waking up very rested.  Wide awake and ready to go WITHOUT coffee.  Yay.  I like that.
• Thank goodness for the Superfood bars, the pumpkin spread and the Hoummous
• I have been to the organic market twice in 7 days where I don’t think I had been there in 6 months before!
• I am noticing weight loss already.  My pants are hanging off me because my belly is flatter.  That’s a good side effect.  :)  Except that they were brand new jeans!
• Hemp seeds seem to be no longer available.  Hulled hemp seeds are but not whole hemp seeds.
• Almond milk is amazing.
• I am cheating on the smoothie with a yummy protein powder I use at work.  It’s not really cheating.  And I will make the enormous almond filled green smoothie again Wednesday.

I did finally find the darn fava beans.  I found them at a little Italian vegetable mart.  They were amazing.  First time I had ever had fresh fava beans.  They were very very good.  Very filling too.  Today on my menu was Anasazi beans - which I have never even heard of and searched the organic market for to no avail - but the recipie says I can substitute pinto beans so that’s good.

So, end of day 8 and I have learned some lessons about my relationship to food and stimulants.  First of all - I don’t need caffeine, coffee, diet pop, energy drinks or anything else to make it through the day.  If I eat well I feel great.  And second and more important I can feel my relationship to food shifting.  It’s subtle but there is a shift.  Healthier, nutrient packed foods make me feel great.  For me, this journey needs to lead to a lifestyle change in the way I use food to fuel myself.  I really feel like I am making friends with food again and enjoying putting things in my body that are great for me.

Tomorrow I work the early shift again, so am up and out early.  I am starting to also really pay attention to sleep and excercise.  Looking forward to my bed tonight!