Almond Milk!!

Earlier I posted about Soy milk and my eminent switch to Almond milk. It has been a month now and I am pleased to say - I can feel the difference. It is great! Also, almond milk does not have that goop that is sometimes at the end of the soy milk carton. Which, is gross to say the least. Normally, I only use these liquids in my smoothies and on the occasional cereal in the morning (crumble and raw oatmeal) and although vanilla or plain almond milk are not to my liking yet, they will be. I decided to start with Chocolate Unsweetened almond milk. The beauty of this is that I can not taste the chocolate, it doesn't really taste like anything. I do not see a significant taste change from the vanilla or original soy milk to the choc. unsweetened almond milk and that is why I decided to use choc almond milk. I didn't really want to suffer the taste change; who does?

Tools for change

Recently I was invited to a class on nutrition and health. I walked away frustrated and had to share it. The class was okay in the sense that it talked about what people should do (eat more fruits and veggies) and should not do (avoid starches, sugars, processed) but when it came to the area of how to apply it to ones life...that is where it fell short. They didn't give one example of what to do once the people left the class. In one ear - out the other. How can people learn if they do not apply it to their lives, even in small doses? One tool could have been - start making smoothies in the morning. One more tool could have been - start bringing almonds and pumpkin seeds to work for a snack in the day. Anything that would change your bad habits to good - is a tool that could be used. Write a sticky note that says "I want to be healthy" and place them around so that you can start to repeat it and believe it and work toward that goal. Sticky note reminders are tools.

The next time you go to a class - look for the tools that you can take home with you - if you do not see any, ask the instructor for some. It will help you and all the other people who are also in that class looking for tools.

We all need tools to help us fix those unwanted behaviors.

Ceasar Wrap

1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped spinach
1 to 2 teaspoons (you decided) of Marie's Ceasar Dressing
a sprinkle of parmesian cheese.
Mix

Place on top of a heated tortilla shell
(optional)
sprinkle some grilled salmon on top
sprinkle some fresh salsa on top

Roll up and eat.

Not raw... but on the healthy side of cooked.

No, No, Soy?

It has come to my attention that soy isn't all that it is 'advertised' to be. It is an interesting turn of events for me, since... I switched my entire family from nasty milk products (a few years back) to soy.

Findings: Soy - is the top mucus producer of any plant.
That alone is huge. There are millions of people who suffer from allergies who do not NEED or WANT extra mucus. So, if we can eliminate it - why wouldn't we?
I am researching it like crazy and my research is not showing glowing reports on soy.
All the good press on "those healthy Japanese who live on soy" - they don't eat nearly the amount that is being reported. From what I can tell they are not eating any of the soy products the Americans consume in bucket loads. No. They eat soy in its natural, unprocessed state called edamame pods and very small amounts of tofu and miso soup.
This finding is not the end of the world - but it does change a few things in my life. Starting with my fruit smoothie in the morning (of which I like to put soy milk in).
My plan is to do an experiment; remove soy from my diet for 30 days - and since I do have the occasional allergies and they are hitting right now as everything is blooming - it should be easy to see if the removal of soy decreases the amount of mucus allergies cause. I do not do dairy (the TOP mucus maker) nor do I do a great deal of wheat (I tend to avoid bread except for the occasional tortilla shell). I will let you know of any more soy findings (good or bad) and later I will talk about my findings on this experiment.
I would love to hear from anyone who may or may not know more about this topic.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that a certain amount of soy can decrease prostate cancer risk for men. Seek more information.

Friends for health!

A person really can not put a price tag on how much a friend is worth. It is always amazing when I spend time with my friends. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction listening to the things that have happened to them - funny stories from past and present, listening to information about their lives, and just basking in their crazy personalities. I love each and every one of them and it is a constant reminder on how important it is to go out and make friends. It is good for your mental health. It calms the spirit and soothes the soul. AND if you have a few CRAZY ones - all the better - because then you have laughter as well.
Today, my friends came over and pulled me out the door so that we could go to the coffee and smoothie cafe in town and chat over our favorite drinks. It still boggles my mind that they can be so loving and not once did they comment on how dark the circles are under my eyes or the fact that I hadn't even jumped in the shower! Because of fast paced events in my life - I haven't been getting any sleep (I don't recommend it) and life in general has been in chaos at my house. They may or may not have known it... but, I needed the break. It came at a good time.
It wouldn't have come at all... had I not had friends.

Pain Reduction - a plan that works!

Here are some articles that talk about how hypnosis really works for pain reduction.

In an article for Kaiser Permanente: "Hypnosis is suitable for patients with the following medical conditions: chronic headache, chronic back pain, psychogenic weakness or paralysis, chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, panic attacks and phobias." http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/Fall01/hypnosis.html



http://health.discovery.com/centers/althealth/pain/painmgt.html

http://www.hypnosisseattle.com/acute_pain.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050326100346.htm

One bite of chocolate cake, please?

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why am I so consumed with the thoughts of food?”
When you go on a diet, do you realize that the biggest difference isn’t what you are eating…but what you are thinking? It is as if the word ‘diet’ is the key word that triggers your mind to think of food 5 times more than you normally would; and your normal amount of thinking about food was already on overload.

You go on a diet and you tell yourself, “that chocolate cake is bad for me”, “I want to lose weight so I need to avoid that cake”, etc. Your unconscious mind is saying, “What is the harm? Define bad? It hasn’t hurt me before…and one bite isn’t what is making me overweight. I can have just one bite!”
Here is a good rule of thumb in psychology; “ANYTHING that is reinforced is likely to occur again.” This little rule, although very powerful and can be a great thing for changing behavior…it also works against us and we have to be diligent to notice when those times are.
Let us think about this. If every time we have taken a bite of chocolate cake, it gives us pleasure, isn’t that a reinforcement? YES. What is the rule for reinforcements? ANYTHING that is reinforced is likely to occur again.
You have had a lifetime of reinforcing bad eating habits.
Fortunately, we can change those eating patterns; replace them with healthy ones by accessing the area of mind where these habits have been stored. Hypnosis is a powerful tool for change. By using hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming – self-sabotage and bad eating habits can start being replaced with a healthy outlook on life, an increased desire for exercise and a boost in self-esteem and confidence. While in hypnosis you can reinforce healthy life choices and what is the rule? Anything that is reinforced is likely to occur again.
With your determination and commitment, hypnosis makes it easier to reach your goals.

2 steps toward change - can start today.

One: If you notice that your internal dialog is speaking in the negative – start to notice this and change it to the positive.
EXAMPLE: If you say, “I want to lose weight” or “I want to lower my cholesterol” this needs to be changed to “I want to be healthy” (which is a positive statement).
The reason for changing how we word our thoughts and how we talk to others, is because our mind does not take in negative suggestions. A great example of this is, if I were to tell you – “Do NOT think of a purple elephant.”
>okay I am giving you a second to NOT think of that<
What did you do? I told you not to do it and yet… you did. So, by telling yourself “I want to lose weight” your focus is on your weight – where it should not be. Your focus should be on the positive ways to make you healthy. IE: start reading books that promote health (check favorites list), start adding one or two new staple foods to your diet (check list), drink enough water, etc.
Two: Start writing 21 affirmations at night, in cursive, right before you go to bed. An affirmation is something you would like to see for yourself in the future, something you want to see as already true. Do this for 21 days. Tell me about your progress!
If it is a weight or health issue – a good affirmation is “I love myself and I make time everyday to explore how to be good to my body with healthy food decisions.”

Direction of your motivation

There are two directions of motivation. Either toward what we want in our life or away from what we do not want. Which direction your motivation runs can greatly affect your life. Both directions can be useful as well as hazardous – depending on the situation.
We can all understand the importance of moving away from something when it is dangerous or negative. OR when we notice all those great places we could go or the nice people we could meet or be around, it is understandable how wanting these things could motivate us to make it happen.
In a sense, we are either motivated away from pain and failure or we are motivated toward our own images of pleasure and success. What is your motivation direction?
Are you feeling sick – and you are motivated to make healthier choices so that you do not get worse? OR…did you notice the next door neighbor who looks great and you are motivated to look as good or better? Can you imagine yourself looking great? Could this motivate you to clean out your cupboards of all sugars and toxins?
Many times if you are only using one form of motivational direction it can hinder your success. One example is when people are motivated to eat healthy because they are sick, and then tend to slide back into old habits when they feel better. If they KNOW they are motivated to eat healthy because they are moving away from sickness they can then consciously start utilizing the motivational direction of moving toward being healthy because it looks and feels good.
Think about it and try to find out what motivates you. I will talk more about this topic later.

Imagination Motivation!

How many times have I sat up in the morning with good intentions to be good to my body? One? A hundred? Um… Ten years? 20?
Today I woke up with GREAT intentions. It is now 1:12 p.m. and I still have not exercised. This always happens if I do NOT change my clothes. A great motivator is to change into some work-out clothes. When I get finished posting here…I am changing my clothes!! Nothing motivates me more than when I look in the mirror, with my work-out clothes on, and imagine the body I want to see there. I will get it - it is already mine. It may not match exactly to my imagination…but it will.
The goal this week IS to jump-rope until tired and walk 20 minutes - daily. Along with that - stand about three feet from a nice wall and do 20 push-ups against the wall. If it is too hard…move feet forward, too easy move feet back. It should be hard but not impossible. My goal this year is to do 20 REAL push-ups before summer. Upper body strength is very important. Of course, strong arms with a little muscle has a nice look to it in a swimming suit!
Tonight, at bedtime - I will close my eyes and imagine 3 things I am doing to benefit my health. For example, close my eyes and I can imagine how in the morning and every morning I wake up feeling refreshed and ready for my day. Waking up and working out (with my work-out clothes on). I can imagine how good I feel after the 20 minute walk and how much energy I have after drinking a green smoothy. I can imagine being aware of how much water I am drinking and to make an effort to drink at least 6 eight ounce glasses of water, if not more.
Let us see the goals we want to accomplish.
Let us see (in our minds eye) those goals as if they were already accomplished!