If I had more room in the title bar, I’d call this post, “inflammation, fuzz, food, geeky scientists, movement, yoga, inner space, enlightenment, spirituality and twisty-bendy stuff.” I might even add the word cadaver, but I wouldn’t want to scare you away before you even got to the post.

In case you’re wondering about the photo, cotton candy has nothing to do with this post, other than it looks exactly like fuzz. I wanted something that would visually compare to fuzz in case you wanted to opt out of the cadaver video.

I bet you’re curious, though.

I’m a nutritionist, but my college education began with a degree in exercise physiology. Because both disciplines are science-based, I’ve ended up taking anatomy, physiology and bio-chem two different times, from different teachers, at different institutions. My first semester (20-some years ago) of anatomy included a cadaver lab. It was there that I found my religion (seriously) and began my intense fascination with how our bodies work from the inside out.

Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, joint pain and inflammation where a daily thing for me. Nothing debilitating, but it was annoying and constant. I even slept with my arms in a pillow-version of traction because my shoulders hurt so much. I attributed the pain to a lifetime of physical activity and overuse. To make a long story short, a gluten-free, whole foods diet and lots of yoga solved my problems. No more inflammation and very little pain — as long as I eat well and move often. Bend, stretch, twist, twirl and dance.

I’ll let my dear friend Gil Hedley explain why. (Okay, Gil has no idea who I am, but I find his approach to teaching anatomy and physiology humorous, creative and spiritually enlightening. He’s also brilliant and charmingly geeky, which I absolutely love.)

Did that help (and isn’t Gil charming)? Doesn’t fuzz look like cotton candy? Well, there’s no need for either.

Movement is key, but so is food.

Now on to inflammation.

Inflammation isn’t always a bad thing. It’s a natural and protective response by the immune system to infectious agents, toxins, tissue injury, temperature extremes, cooties and other icky things. It’s a bad thing when the response is misdirected, never shuts off and targets healthy tissue. Because inflammation is a general and non-specific protective mechanism, the response is similar whether the damage is caused by gluten cooties, poor diet, a fall down the stairs or a misdirected hammer.

So — what can we do to decrease inflammation and enhance our health?

Make anti-inflammatory foods your foundation and twist, bend, stretch, twirl and shake your booty every day. You might also consider some beneficial body work.

Here are 10 tips to get you started.

1. Eliminate or minimize processed foods, fast food and junk food. Avoid products containing trans-fats, partially hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup, chemicals, additives and other “non-food” ingredients. Sugar is also pro-inflammatory.
2. Choose healthy fats such as extra-virgin olive oil, coconut, avocados, nuts and seeds.
3. Avoid soda pop and opt for old-fashioned water or green tea. If you choose to drink alcohol, an occasional glass of red wine has been shown to be beneficial.
4. Choose a wide variety of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables. Organic is best. Strive for 9 to 10 servings per day. Eat more veggies than fruit (5-6 servings of veggies, 3-4 servings of fruit). This is just a guideline.
5. Eat healthy non-gluten grains like teff, montina, quinoa, amaranth and brown rice. Legumes (beans, peas, lentils) are also a rich source of high-quality plant protein.
6. Choose nuts, seeds, raisins and dates for snacks or an occasional small serving of dark chocolate when you need a “sweet fix.”
7. Season foods with health-enhancing herbs and spices like garlic, capsicum, turmeric, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, parsley and cilantro. This list is endless.
8. The right balance of EFAs (essential fatty acids) is important. In general, omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and omega-6s are pro-inflammatory. I’ll do an entire post on this one of these days.
9. If you choose to eat animal products, 100% grass-fed, organic choices are best. Meat and dairy products from 100% grass-fed animals contain higher levels of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which studies show may fight inflammation and have anti-cancer properties.
10. Reduce stress, think positive thoughts, get adequate sleep and exercise.

Bottom line?

Your body is a temple, not a trailer park. Go inside, learn as much as you can about the inner workings that make up the divine space in which you live. As my dear friend Gil (yeah, I know) so eloquently expresses in his book, Reconceiving My Body – Take Two, From The Heart, “I realized that I had been sitting for my whole life outside the doorsteps of the most finely wrought Cathedral ever built, without ever having gotten off my arse to walk through the doors and have a look about. My body in all its complexity represented the wonders and workings of God’s creation. Rather than being some insufferable obstacle to spiritual growth, my body as a temple could become my greatest resource for beholding the hidden face of the Divine within me.”

Go forth and explore inner space. The more we understand the magic of what’s going on inside our bodies, the more likely we are to appreciate and take care of this wonderful creation.

Peace, love and inner space!
Melissa

Spring is the season of awakening, time to crawl out from under the weight of winter and transition into summer. It’s a perfect time to move away from heavy foods to lighter fare and commit to a mild cleanse to refresh, renew and revitalize. My form of detoxifying is simple and easy (except for that no wine, no coffee thing). Nothing extreme, nothing weird, nothing expensive – just a chance to focus on nourishing foods and get rid of the bad habits that periodically creep back in.

My dictionary describes detoxification as, the metabolic process of removing toxic substances or neutralizing toxic properties from the body (normally a function of the liver); an application that is intended to relieve illness or injury.

Detoxifying cleanses are normally safe and very beneficial, but check with your health care professional first, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing or have a chronic disease.

Melissa’s spring cleanse/detox
guidelines

1. Organic
Organic food is free of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics and is generally easier for the body to break down, absorb and assimilate. Some studies show organic foods to be higher in nutritional value, but what they lack is almost more important, especially while cleansing. The point of detoxifying is to get rid of the nasty stuff from your system, not add to it. We’re living in a different world than our ancestors did and are exposed to 40,000 – 50,000 chemicals that didn’t exist decades ago. The average American (eating the Standard American Diet, also known as the SAD diet) ingests around 120 pounds of additives per year. Choose organic, whole foods whenever possible.

2. Avoid
Eliminate all gluten-containing grains (whether you need to in normal life or not), dairy (with a few exceptions); most soy foods; sugar; caffeine; soda; alcohol; meat; all processed, packaged, and fast food. Cut back on starches (potatoes, yams, peas and beans) and nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant).

3. The base
Eat a combination of fresh organic vegetables, a good portion of them raw. Eat more vegetables than fruit and choose fresh fruit over dried (although unsulphered, unsweetened dried fruit is fine in moderation). Use olive oil for salad dressings, coconut oil for cooking and ghee for other uses (if you like ghee, which is clarified butter). Unfiltered raw honey or stevia can be used for occasional sweetening. Pastured organic eggs, naturally sweetened goat yogurt or kefir, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa and teff are fine in moderation. So are raw cheese, nuts and seeds (again, in moderation).

4. Rough it up
Eat lots of whole, high-fiber foods. Fiber in the form of raw veggies and fruit is instrumental in helping to move toxins out of the body. Fiber is high on my list of important substances, but add it slowly or you’ll explode (and it won’t be pretty). At the least, you’ll be feeling icky until you get used to the sweeping effects on your digestive system.

5. Flush it out
Drink lots of water while cleansing, especially since you’ll be increasing your fiber intake. Water, water, water! Divide your weight in half — that’s the amount of water in ounces you should drink daily. If you weigh 150 pounds, that’s 75 ounces of water per day, which is about nine or ten 8-ounce glasses.

6. Turn up the heat
Not in your house, but in your body. Exercise daily and sweat it out. I love yoga for detoxifying as it’s bendy and twisty and stimulates fluid movement in the body. It helps wring things out. Sweating and deep breathing helps eliminate toxins via the breath and skin. This is one of the most important components of detoxifying, healthy living and thriving – movement and developing a conscious mind/body connection. Skip the high-powered pounding on the stairmaster or the 80s-style aerobics classes and opt for yoga, walking, hiking, dancing or tai chi (choose less intense and more calming exercise). Most importantly, have fun and choose activities you enjoy and will do daily.

7. Eat less
According to my Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition book, if you live for 65 years or longer, you will have consumed more than 70,000 meals and disposed of 50 tons of food. FIFTY TONS OF FOOD?! Wow, that’s almost creepy. Actually, it is creepy. Okay, I will admit to eating more calories than I need a good part of the time, but spending a little less time at the trough makes us realize that we’ll not only survive, but we’ll be much healthier if we don’t super-size everything.

8. Just say no to stress
Stress can sabotage your good intentions, so emphasize rest, relaxation and positive emotions. Yoga, meditation and deep breathing help eliminate stress.

9. Sleep 7 to 9 hours per night
Uninterrupted, rejuvenating, high-quality sleep is essential for good health. Naps are also good, but try to get consistent and sound sleep at night. This is important on so many levels – from slowing the aging process to losing weight. For a detailed post on sleep, please check here. (This is a tough one for me as I don’t want to miss anything!)

Go forth and nourish your own personal garden (that would be your body, mind and spirit)!
Melissa

This recipe is for my city-riding, bike messenger, fixie friends (you know who you are); my marathon running friends (that would be you, Jack); my ultra-paddling friends (Fly Fish Chick and Banning); and my Livestrong friends who are an inspiration to all.

I’m a big fan of smoothies. You can pack vegetables, fruit, seeds and all kinds of healthy ingredients into a breakfast drink. Just imagine how much your body will love you if you start your day with several servings of high-end antioxidants and building blocks. I won’t go overboard with the geeky details, but Dr. Glyn Howatson, exercise physiologist and lab director at the School of Psychology and Sports Sciences at England’s Northumbria University (I also adore my UK friends), found that marathon runners who drank cherry juice twice a day for 5 days before and 2 days after the London marathon, recovered much faster than those who didn’t. Howatson and his research team (talk about geeky*) also found that cherry juice reduced oxidative stress and inflammation. To make a long and biochemically complicated story short, the substances in cherries help reduce physiological stress, diminish inflammation, boost immune function and speed up recovery time. All good things.

Here’s how I see this and how I apply it to my life and to everyone I mention above. We’re all under physiological stress, whether you’re a bike messenger in NYC (check here to see what that’s like), running the Boston marathon (run Forrest run – uh, I mean Jack), “sprint” paddling 262 miles from central Texas to the Gulf coast (check here for details about my friend Christine and Team Paddlefish’s attempt at this grueling race), or fighting cancer (which puts everything else into perspective).

Whatever we’re doing we’re experiencing oxidative stress.

Okay, so what is oxidative stress?

My Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, & Human Performance book defines oxidative stress as cellular damage caused by an accumulation of free radicals, which ultimately increases the likelihood of cellular deterioration associated with many diseases, a general decline in central nervous system and immune function and advanced aging. I’m paraphrasing; that’s the abridged version. The detailed version is much scarier. Oxidative stress is to us like kryptonite is to superman.

Yikes! Please pass the cherries.

Here’s what’s so amazing about the human body. We have an elaborate natural defense system that fights against free radicals and other icky things, but we need to equip our army with the right battle tools.

A donut doesn’t have the fire power of a broken squirt gun.

I want a battleship, a rocket launcher and some grenades. That’s what you get when you supply your troops with high-powered, nutrient-dense foods.

Does that make sense?

If so, then let’s support the troops! This smoothie is full of ingredients that help fight cancer, boost the immune system, combat oxidative stress, speed recovery time, restore tissue damage and blah, blah, blah.

power-packed cherry cabbage chia recovery smoothie
what you need

1 cup coconut water (wonderfully healthy electrolyte drink)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen organic cherries, about 10-12 (see health information above)
1/2 cup Redwood Hill Farms vanilla goat yogurt (I love this stuff)
3 or 4 large Napa cabbage leaves, washed and chopped (contain anti-cancer substances)
1 tablespoon ground chia seeds (high-quality protein)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (helps balance blood sugar)

what you do
Add ingredients to a blender or VitaMix and blend well.

* Bananas and pears also taste great in this smoothie. Be creative.

I prefer using all organic ingredients, but if nothing else, make sure your cherries are organic. They’re on the Environmental Working Group’s dirty dozen list. Check here for a downloadable shopper’s guide to pesticides in foods.

* I’m very fond of nerdy guys and am not knocking these cute UK science geeks.

You might also like these geeky posts
Performance enhancing beets
Does my butt look big

Go forth and power up your army!
Melissa

It’s a dazzling day here in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. The sun is shining, it’s crisp and clear (although a bit nippy at 14 degrees) and I’m ready to launch back into blog posting. I spent last week at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and am renewed, refreshed and re-energized. I took a 5-day workshop on “Designing and Leading Transformational Workshops” from two brilliant, engaging and delightful teachers.

I’m transformed!

Into what, I’m not sure yet, but I’ve found another avenue for growth, learning and exploration. (Check here for information about Ken and Leslie and their truly enlightened workshops.)

I also found a new best friend and spiritual guide in Swami Pajamananda, mirthful darshan of delight. I’m inspired by the shared wisdom of our group and am ready to toss what I’ve learned out into the universe.

You might want to duck. Seriously.

But first, I’ll share with you one of my favorite early morning, attitude-transforming smoothies. By now you’ve probably heard that green tea borders on being a miracle elixir. I have a tendency to be skeptical about raving health claims or magic potions, but there’s a lot of convincing research available touting the medicinal benefits of this antioxidant beverage. I’ve taken notice and although I’m not much of a consistent tea drinker, I do make jars of green tea to occasionally use in smoothies.

Transformational green tea smoothie
what you need
4 Mejool dates, pitted
2 cups washed lettuce (the green leafy kind)
2 cups green tea (steeped and chilled)
1 ripe banana or pear
1 cup frozen cherries (organic, no sugar added)
1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon

what you do
Soak pitted dates in the 2 cups green tea for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until soft and icky looking (they do look rather nasty looking). Place pumpkin seeds and chia seeds in a grinder (I use a coffee grinder specifically for grinding nuts and seeds) and pulse until well blended. Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz well. You may need to add more tea or some filtered water to gain the consistency you like. Adjust or substitute as needed. Sip and soak in all that antioxidant goodness. Makes 4 servings.

You might also like –
Watermelon chia seed smoothie
Napa cabbage and beet drippings smoothie
Hemp protein smoothie

Peace, love and transformational goodness!
Melissa

I’m having a little trouble staying on task lately. I had a “beet the winter blues” post under way, but couldn’t polish it off. Then I decided to tackle “the differences between boys and girls.” After a couple of days wrestling with that one, I had an epiphany. The differences are monumental, endless, glorious and can be represented by a marshmallow. Unfortunately, those random thoughts were too difficult to gather together and put into sentence form. But I’ll work on that, as it’s food-related and worthy of further contemplation.

Here’s the problem. I’m distracted and can’t seem to stay focused. I think I’m lamenting the passing of the decade. A whole decade of my life just whizzed by and I hardly had time to notice.

Yes, a whole decade. That’s TEN years. And don’t give me that stuff about how the decade really isn’t over until the end of 2010. You could make that argument if you want to go all the way back to 1 AD (or 0 AD), but it doesn’t matter, ten years is a decade and it’s over. To add insult to injury, ten years ago was the turn of a century. So the first decade of this century is over. Doesn’t that sound significant?

What do you have to show for it? Were there any profound lessons learned? When 2000 dawned, did you have lofty goals for the next decade? Did you accomplish the things you set out to do?

So much for losing 5 pounds (my current goal, which sounds rather trivial right now). I want to climb a big mountain. Rainier, Fuji, Orizaba – something like that.

Melissa’s 2010 Bucket List in no particular order
• Climb a big mountain
• Finish the last 250 miles of the Colorado Trail
• Complete advanced yoga teacher training
• Climb Colorado’s 14ers
• Write a book
• Lead transformational workshops (long story)
• Get over my jitters of public speaking
• Build a cabin in the mountains
• Nurture friendships, treasure family time and meet some of my blogging friends
• Volunteer at the American Mountaineering Center
• Ski more
• Get involved with the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame
• Have dinner with Charles Krauthammer (don’t ask)

What’s on your bucket list? Tell me – you might win a prize.

If you don’t want to think about it, here’s a pesto recipe instead.

spinach pesto
what you need
4 cloves garlic
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or a blend of Parmesan, Fontina and Asiago)
3 tablespoons raw pine nuts
freshly ground black pepper

what you do
1. Chop garlic in food processor, add spinach, herbs and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pulse to chop finely. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until slightly smooth. Drizzle over cooked potatoes or use as a dressing for potato salad (or whatever else comes to mind).

Go forth with bucket list in hand. Don’t let the next decade pass without accomplishing your goals and realizing your dreams.
Melissa
P.S. Yes, I realize a bucket list has nothing to do with buckets.

The competition was fierce (see prior post), but in the end, the brownie sundae took the crown. It didn’t seem to matter that it’s now winter and half the country is experiencing record lows, people have an unrestrained and almost delirious passion for ice cream.

I’m a nutritionist, but half the time I feel like an investigative reporter or an underpaid research geek. My last post and your amazing response sent me into overdrive. I’m obsessed with books, obsessed with research and my office is a study in organized chaos. And although I’m not proud of this, I’ve had an intimate relationship (a serious love affair) with Amazon.com since 1995. I’m a charter mistress. Talk about insatiable appetites – I have one for books. And damn that Amazon, their one-click ordering with free shipping makes it nearly impossible for me to resist. My UPS guy just shakes his head. I’ll get to why and how this ties in with brownie sundaes in a moment, but for now, let’s just say this whole dang thing with over-indulging is complicated business.

The brownie sundae was the hand’s down favorite, followed by the bacon cheeseburger and the chocolate cake. It’s no surprise that raw broccoli came in last. Other than being the choice of a few of my hyper-healthy readers, it had no chance against ice cream and chocolate. I like broccoli, but when I’m craving a blissful treat, raw cruciferous veggies don’t jump to mind.

Why is that? Why do we choose to pig-out on ice cream and not bok choy? Who obsesses over Brussels sprouts?

Not me.

Studies show that we’re more apt to crave fat, sugar, salt and more fat, sugar and salt. A few of you did said you might choose the broccoli if it was covered with cheese sauce. And a few others mentioned that I failed to include nachos. You’re right, chips or cheese fries should have been on my “tempting foods” menu. But no one suggested parsnips or beet greens.

We’re almost three weeks into the new year and many of us started 2010 with intentions of eating better, losing weight and exercising more. I did, and right now I’m doing fairly well with my intention, mainly I believe, because I’m focusing on something that trumps the feel-good sensation I get from eating tempting treats. I have a goal and it has nothing to do with conventional dieting.

Diets are bad and they don’t work. Changing what you eat, how you think about food and replacing the buzz you get from over-indulging with something physical, is good. And don’t count on the food industry to help you out. In fact, be very suspicious of them, very suspicious indeed.

I grew up in Colorado and back in the 50s and 60s, hardly anyone was overweight. I look at old photos from my parents’ generation and from when I was a little girl and everyone appears to be a “normal” weight. Our serious weight gain has happened in the last couple of decades and along with it, a rapid rise in lifestyle-related diseases. Two new studies suggest that 2/3rds of adults are now overweight or obese. Check out these guys in the photo above. These are many of the men who lived in a small Colorado mountain community where my dad grew up. The photo was taken sometime in the 1940s. My dad is 4th from the left in the bottom row. Healthy looking guys, right? Fit, handsome characters. If you took the same sampling now, many would be overweight and out of shape. We don’t exercise as much and we eat totally different foods from what these guys ate.

There’s a variety of reasons we’re becoming a nation of overeaters, one of them being what is available to us now. Ridiculous “foods” that weren’t around back then. Quick-fix breakfast cereals that turn milk weird shades of pink and purple. Ding Dongs that never spoil. Irresistible brownie ice cream sundaes that are absolutely loaded with sugar, fat and salt and designed to make you want more. That kind of food gives us a sweet rush of dopamine, the “reward” neurotransmitter. We like that feeling and seek out the foods that give us that high. In fact, so much so that we often can’t think of anything other than the plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table or the brownie sundae on the menu. Add in the perceived depravation of having celiac disease (no gluten means less treat options) and all the sudden that gluten-free brownie sundae at the chain restaurant (I won’t name any names) takes on monumental importance. If you feel deprived, you think you need and deserve the “reward” even more. The food industry knows this and has figured out the right mixtures to make us obsess over the brownie sundae or double whopper with fries. Fat, sugar and salt. It’s “almost” not our fault. We can “almost” blame the food industry, much like we blamed the tobacco industry. They are a sneaky bunch and they want you to want more of what they’re selling. Here’s the catch though, if you believe it’s not your fault, you have no control.

Power to the people, as Flo says on the Progressive ads! We get to choose.

Now, what do we do instead of overeating and then dieting and depriving ourselves? This one’s tough because we have imbedded in our neural pathways the delicious dopamine spike we get when we eat the tempting foods. It’s hard to replace that with a handful of raw broccoli. That doesn’t work for most people. We need something that trumps the buzz we get from the fat, sugar and salt. Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix. No pill, no diet, no magic formula. We have to take control, retrain our neural patterns, adjust our lifestyle habits and change our perceptions. We have to find something physical that makes us want to eat better. That’s especially hard when there’s a donut shop, a burger joint or a chain restaurant on every corner. It’s way too easy to get the fix, just like it’s way too easy for me to hit “one click ordering.” (Ooh, but I get so excited when I do that.)

Does this make sense?

Yoga helps me overcome the food part because it connects me on a deeper level with my body. I have a greater respect and appreciation for what’s going on inside, even on a cellular level. I feel stronger, healthier and have more energy. I like that, it feels better than eating the brownie sundae.

I feel better, I look better, so I continue to eat better. And on it goes.

I’m taking a 4 week arm balancing class right now from one of my favorite yoga instructors. A 4 week inversion class will follow. It’s hard to do these poses if I weigh just 5 pounds more than my normal weight (which I do now), it hurts my wrists and I find I’m not strong enough to hold that much weight upside down (or sideways). Five extra pounds is too much. That’s my “tipping point.” I need to weigh less and that is my motivation, that is my reward. Yoga trumps my desire to eat high-calorie, low-nutrition food. Most of the time, although I got sidetracked during the holidays and now I’m paying the price.

Maybe this will add fuel to your motivational fire. Here’s the breakdown of what’s in that irresistible brownie sundae that is served at a major US restaurant chain.

Calories: 1911
Carbohydrates: 135 g
Dietary fiber: 13 g
Total fat: 153.8 g
Saturated fat: 88 g
Protein: 26.9 g
Cholesterol: 426.3 mg
Sodium: 401.4 mg

So, skip the brownie sundae and take a yoga class. Or ride your bike to the farmer’s market and buy some broccoli. You’ll feel much better if you do.

Melissa
P.S. Forgive me Lord, for I have rambled.

References:
1. Nutrition Action Health Letter (Dr. David Kessler)
2. Deconstructing the Vanilla Milkshake

What does the future hold?

Can you see down that long (hopefully) and winding road that makes up your life journey?

No, none of us can. But I’m going with the intention of living a long and healthy life so I want to make sure I’m positioning myself to do so. And in style.

January 1, 2010.

No better day to start than today.

I have trouble considering myself as anything other than early-middle-aged (oooh, that seems strange), so to have that play out chronologically, I need to make my way to the other side of 100. And as I said before, do it with style. I want to be one of those old ladies doing handstands on the beach (or the only one), telemark skiing and climbing mountains with Colorado’s “over the hill gang.” Perhaps sporting an antique blond (also known as grey) ponytail and wearing chic and groovy clothes. Even golden girls can feel good, look good and be full of life. I want to eventually be that golden girl.

Thriving in style.

No time to waste. I need to be preparing for that now. I got sidetracked with the holidays and have been baking (and eating) muffins, cookies and cakes. Drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate. Not exercising enough. My metabolism is off-kilter and I’ve gained 6 pounds. Okay, I know I should know better and I’m not going to mention any names, but it’s not entirely my fault.

Now that the holiday roller coaster ride is over, I’m ready to get back on track with a healthy eating and exercise program. If you’re remotely interested, read on. Here’s what I’m going to do to lose that 6 pounds, reset my metabolism and get back in shape before this uptick in weight becomes the norm. That’s how it happens, my friends. Before you know it, this slow, inauspicious cookie-creep becomes an accepted part of your backside (or spare tire for the guys).

I don’t want to go there. I want to be able to do cartwheels when I’m 80 and each extra pound makes stuff like that sooo much harder to do. Pretty soon playing upside down is longer an option. And that’s not in my plan.

Your plan may be different, but the bottom line is the same. We want to stay healthy for a variety of reasons, whatever they may be.

This isn’t a cleansing protocol, that will come in the spring. This is my basic weight loss protocol. Nothing complicated, but after the sugar rush of the holidays, certainly not easy.

Onward, with resolution resolve!

1. I’ll eat a good, healthy and relaxed breakfast each morning. Something like a bowl of GF oatmeal, a smoothie, a sliced apple with almond butter and a cup of goat kefir, or poached eggs with greens on teff toast. The best thing right now is something fairly substantial, but not high in calories – and with a mix of protein, carbs and fat.

2. No snacking in between meals. I’ll stick with herbal tea or water.

3. Exercise every day. I will either go to yoga, go for a long walk, ride my bike (or indoor trainer), go skiing – anything that gets me moving, stretching, breathing and thriving.

4. Eat my main meal at lunch – something like a healthy bowl of soup or stew, a side salad and a few flax crackers.

5. Eat a light dinner before 6 PM. No snacking after dinner. I’ll drink some nice mellow herbal tea with honey before bed.

6. Drink lots of water throughout the day. Have an occasional glass of red wine on the weekend, but not during the week. No sugar, no processed foods, smaller portions, no snacking in between meals.

That’s a start. I had a bowl of oatmeal (see recipe below) for breakfast early this morning and now I’m going to go ride my bike trainer and listen to 80s music on my iPod.

Hearty and healthy GF oatmeal to usher in 2010 *
what you need
2 cups water
3/4 cup certified GF oatmeal
2 tablespoons teff grain
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped nuts (or a mix of nuts and seeds)
handful of raisins

what you do
1. Bring water to a boil, slowly add oats and teff, stir well and turn heat to low (the lowest setting).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, blend well, cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Check and stir occasionally. Add a touch more water if you need to.

Serve with brown rice milk and raw honey. Makes 2 hearty servings.

* Some people with celiac disease  or a gluten sensitivity don’t do well with oats even if they are pure and uncontaminated, so check with your health care provider before adding oats to your diet.

Music to ride by – 80s iPod play list
1. Start Me Up (The Rolling Stones, 1981)
2. Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler, 1983)
3. I Love Rock & Roll (Joan Jett, 1982)
4. Billie Jean (Michael Jackson, 1983)
5. Love Shack (The B-52s, 1989)
6. Straight Up (Paula Abdul, 1980) Sorry about this one, but who can resist singing along?
7. Thing Called Love (Bonnie Raitt, 1989) Go, Bonnie, go!
8. I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues (Elton John, 1983)
9. Super Freak (Rick James, 1981)

It’s 2010, let’s get moving!
Melissa

Exercise regularly . . .

. . . and eat right!

Laugh and be serious about the business of staying healthy (yes, you can do both at the same time).
Melissa
P.S. Thanks for the inspiration, Kylie!

Pillow talk, overnight success, slumber party, rooster rants, or finding endarkenment — I couldn’t decide which title to use for this post. A couple of spicy ones also came to mind, but to spare myself a flood of weirdo spam comments, I decided to play it safe and go with dream on.

As in sleep.

Uninterrupted, consistent, rejuvenating, high-quality sleep — that’s my number one bedtime fantasy and it should be yours, too. Okay, so that’s not a very exciting fantasy, but it should at least be second on your list. Or in the top five.

In some ways, I wish I didn’t have to sleep at all as I find awake time much more fun. I don’t want to miss anything, but I know how important nighttime rejuvenation is to overall health, so I’m consistently working on ways to improve my sleep habits. I’m not the only one. According to the Centers for Disease Control, millions of Americans suffer from insomnia and various sleep disorders. A National Sleep Foundation survey reports that well over 50% of us complain of insomnia at least a few nights a week. More than 53 million prescriptions for sleep aids are filled annually. That’s a lot of sleeping pills! And a lot of people tossing and turning.

Here’s a run-down of why quality sleep is important and what you can do naturally to improve your odds of getting a good night’s worth.

Chronic lack of sleep causes the following
• elevated blood sugar levels
• boosts levels of the stress hormone cortisol
• blood pressure can become elevated
• increased cardiac risk
• weight gain (long story on that, worthy of its own post)
• thyroid function is interrupted
• immune system degeneration occurs
• increased toxic burden
• strength, vitality, balance, coordination and endurance are diminished
• memory, judgement and mood are affected; depression is more common
• lack of purpose

Good things that occur during sleep
• human growth hormone (good, good stuff) is released
• important brain chemicals are released
• regeneration of tissues occurs
• the brain has a chance to organize and archive memories (funky dreams?)
• replacement of aging cells
• energy needs fall, giving the body a chance to repair and restore function

Why we don’t sleep well
• bad nutrition habits (caffeine, alcohol, sugar, processed foods, tobacco)
• energy drinks can impact sleep 12 hours after you drink them
• stress (financial worries, toxic relationships, poor health or lifestyle habits)
• lack of exercise
• medication side effects
• not putting the time and effort into sleeping well

What we can do to sleep well and awaken refreshed
• find your own natural circadian rhythm and stick with the schedule
• try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day (allowing 8 hours for sleep)
• caffeine interrupts our natural sleep signals, avoid all caffeine 6-8 hours before bed
• exercise daily, giving yourself 4 to 5 hours between your workout and sleep
• yoga and meditation are wonderful sleep promoters
• alcohol can help you fall asleep, but it stimulates a wake-up call soon after
• clear your mind, don’t watch the news before bed
• create a sleep sanctuary in your bedroom; clean, comfortable, dark and cool *
• take a hot bath before bed
• avoid having your LED light face you, turn it away so you don’t see it
• eat a light, healthy meal at night; let your body focus on regeneration, not digestion
• drink plenty of water throughout the day, but slow down in late afternoon and evening
• tryptophan-containing foods can help induce sleep (turkey, cheese, milk, nuts, eggs)
• pillows *

* I’ll clean my messy room as soon as I publish this post. I promise. Since I’m advocating a clean and organized sleep sanctuary, I better pick up all the books, magazines and fuzzy socks off the floor. It’s a mess, I admit it.

* Oh my gosh, get yourself a couple of high-quality pillows and cuddly, soft pillow cases. There’s a reason little kids have their blankies and teddy bears. My version of that is my pillow. I’m a total nutbar when it comes to my pillow, I even travel with it. Seriously, I have issues.

Go forth and get some ZZzzzs!
Melissa

I used to buy fresh coconuts, drill and hammer them into submission, save the milk, dig out the coconut meat with a 7 inch oyster knife and blend up my own coconut cream. Since I’m not an oyster fan, I bought the knife specifically for coconut excavation. I’ve only tried oysters a couple of times and it wasn’t a particularly good experience. Not that I would know, but they give me the sensation that I’m participating in a immunity challenge on Survivor Java and I’m trying to force down rhinocerus boogers or something. Ewww.

How quickly I get off-task — back to the point of this post, which is to highlight the beneficial properties of coconut oil. By the way, I no longer bother with starting from scratch with the coconuts as I quickly realized there were better ways for me to spend my time. Plus, with all those potentially dangerous tools I was fussing with, I was afraid I was going to injure myself in an attempt to stay healthy. Luckily I found a very good supplier who does the work for me.

First off, you need a jar of organic, cold pressed, centrifuge extracted, extra virgin coconut oil. Next, take a glob of it and work it into your hair, pile it on top of your head and hope no one rings your doorbell. Let it sit for a couple of hours, wash and rinse thoroughly, swing your head back and forth and admire the shine.

I’ve been using coconut oil, milk, water, flakes, cream, powder and flour for quite some time now and I’m sold on its goodness. I’m not sure it’s the all-out miracle cure some claim it to be, but I do like it for a variety of reasons. I use coconut oil for all my sautéing and frying, regardless of what I’m making and surprisingly, it doesn’t impart a coconut taste to the food. I also use it in baking for its delicate taste and the “oily” moisture it provides to gluten-free baked goods.

The type I use is made from fresh coconuts that are cold pressed into a milky emulsion, then chilled and placed in a centrifuge where the oil and water are separated. The finished product is unrefined, stable, pure and it tastes wonderful.

I won’t bore you with too many details, but coconut oil is a concentrated source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which do not require bile acids for breakdown. Instead of a process of emulsification and enzymatic activity in the small intestine, MCFAs are sent directly to the liver for processing.

This is where sports nutrition, one of my interests, comes into play. MCFAs give your engine better gas mileage because they’re converted to energy more efficiently (and not stored as fat). I make little energy bars from coconut oil and several other ingredients that I take along on hikes. Like most of my food preparation, I make them differently each time, so I don’t have a reliable recipe. I’ll figure it out and do a post on it one of these days as I know from personal experience that they provide balanced energy for difficult endurance activities. Coconut water is also filled with electrolytes, making it a good addition to homemade energy drinks and smoothies. Although there is lots of information suggesting coconut oil speeds metabolism by impacting overall thyroid function, I’d like to see more reliable scientific evidence supporting the link between the two.

On to digestive health. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but it’s a good one and plays a structural role in cell membrane integrity and works as a precursor to various substances that regulate intestinal motility. Blah, blah, blah — these fats are good ones and provide all kinds of benefits to the GI tract, boosting overall intestinal health and immunity. Remember, a large part of your immune system is located in your gut. Research also indicates coconut oil to have anti-viral and anti-microbial properties, so it’s a wonderful addition to a healthy diet.

Coconut flour: naturally gluten-free, high in fiber, low in carbohydrate, good source of protein, high in good fat, adds rich texture and lends natural sweetness to baked goods. Replace up to 20% coconut flour in your recipe, you must also add additional liquid or it will be too dry.

For a detailed post I did on fats and oils, please see do you need an oil change.

Go forth and smell like a coconut!
Melissa