SO I've had the chance to try my new wheels out. Twice! Went for a granny ride around Rocky Point Park... that was nice. haha. I did cruise down some stairs. Full suspension bikes are rad. So cushy. I'm still getting used to the idea that my bike can handle things. Also, it is fricken heavy. A lot more 'bike' to push uphill. The next night I went to the Burnaby Skills park and gave it a go. I can feel the technology in my bike a lot when doing log rides and drops. Sure is fun!
I did some yoga last night. I've been feeling really anxious lately and subsequently my organs have not been functioning properly. I can feel the heat in my hands and chest from the blood rushing away from my vitals. Fight or flight. I hate this feeling. I haven't been breathing properly either. So last night, the only thing I could think to do is some deep deep pranayama. My dog likes to be around when I do this. I think my energy calms him. It's cute. Animals are great like that, they can totally sense your aura, and a lot of times pets will try to heal you because they communicate on a different level than us. They can hear and sense your mood, and because they love us, they'll try to heal us. I did a few 4th chakra opening postures (matsyasana, standing back bend etc) I really love the feeling of opening up my entire chest, feeling the stretch in my cramped up intercostal muscles. It's super revitalizing. Postures like this allow blood to flow to areas that we usualy keep cramped up with poor posture. Also, when your heart chakra is open you release a lot of negative emotional energy that gets held up and blocked in there. A lot of people who are going through things, feel a rush of dread leave their bodies when they do these postures and sometimes will cry. It can be a very overwhelming feeling. If you aren't a believer in the energy body, try doing one of these postures and holding it. You'll feel it. Mark my words.
I did a lot of squish and release postures too. Stimulate the endocrine system, spinal cord, and bring blood to the internal organs again. Now... I am feeling rediculously nauseas. Coincidence? I think not. I've likely been storing bad emotion, stress and actual toxins in my organs, and now I am feeling it as they release and my body tries to process them. I had nighmares last night too. Cleansing the body is a strange journey let me tell you. I can't wait to begin teaching at work, I'm actually getting very excited now. I need to start putting together some flows. hehe.
Anyways... time to keep working, I am trying to keep my breath work throughout my day so I don't fall into another panic attack. That is definitely not what my stomach needs right now, my insides need all the nutritious oxygenated, prana rich blood they can get!
More biking this weeeeeek haha... shore riding here I come.
xoxo have a good weekend blogger-land.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
April showers.....
Hello,
Well... it seems April has not only brought literal showers, but metaphorical showers onto my life as well. Some good, some bad. LOTS of stress this past month. I can't imagine why I am losing weight, I have been stuffing my fool face. I think when I am stressed I eat sporatically. Sometimes I skip meals without even noticing. It's not good. I haven't really had time to write lately. I had a windfall which was cool! Picked myself up a slightly used 06 Norco Six One Free ride bike! YAY. I love it so! I can't wait to hit the mountains!
OH aye... sometimes you just have those weeks dont you? Where you don't even know which way is up. Just a melancholy state of exsistance. I hit the nail on the head of how I am feeling with this quote:
"So tedious is this feeling. This feeling is an addiction of the human spirit. A glass ceiling that you desperately want to break through, Yet fear being fatally cut in the process of its shattering."
Well... it seems April has not only brought literal showers, but metaphorical showers onto my life as well. Some good, some bad. LOTS of stress this past month. I can't imagine why I am losing weight, I have been stuffing my fool face. I think when I am stressed I eat sporatically. Sometimes I skip meals without even noticing. It's not good. I haven't really had time to write lately. I had a windfall which was cool! Picked myself up a slightly used 06 Norco Six One Free ride bike! YAY. I love it so! I can't wait to hit the mountains!
OH aye... sometimes you just have those weeks dont you? Where you don't even know which way is up. Just a melancholy state of exsistance. I hit the nail on the head of how I am feeling with this quote:
"So tedious is this feeling. This feeling is an addiction of the human spirit. A glass ceiling that you desperately want to break through, Yet fear being fatally cut in the process of its shattering."
My most poetic moments are my most stressful moments. Go figure. I can't explain to blogger-land what I mean by this quote. Too personal.
I should start teaching yoga this month. I believe I am having a meeting today to discuss the finer details. I'm both excited and nervous. In my current spiritual state of upheaval I am not sure how I'll guide a group of people on their journey. I can only assume I'll detach from my self. After all, these are all just roles we are playing a part in.
Sometimes I hate the essence of spirtuality because I know it's truth, but I can't grasp it. I know how fickle it is to allow myself such attachment to 'things' 'people' 'moments' and to anticipate a CERTAIN result, when really all are possible. How to change such a hard wired programming in my very cells!? Ugg.
I should start teaching yoga this month. I believe I am having a meeting today to discuss the finer details. I'm both excited and nervous. In my current spiritual state of upheaval I am not sure how I'll guide a group of people on their journey. I can only assume I'll detach from my self. After all, these are all just roles we are playing a part in.
Sometimes I hate the essence of spirtuality because I know it's truth, but I can't grasp it. I know how fickle it is to allow myself such attachment to 'things' 'people' 'moments' and to anticipate a CERTAIN result, when really all are possible. How to change such a hard wired programming in my very cells!? Ugg.
Can you tell my skies are cloudy? This post is depressing. I'm sorry blogger-land.
In other news I did... like... 50 crunches last night! ProPeR crunches. I'm sore.
Here's my new bike, feel free to ooh and ahh. haha.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Today kids, we're going to talk about FIBER!
I've been getting into a lot of conversations with friends who are trying to become healthier, about fiber. It gets forgotten about in the chaos of watching for trans fat, calorie counts, protein and carbs. What I find many people don't realize, is that including more fiber in your diet can help put the other nutritional aspects into balance as well.
What is FIBER?
Dietary fiber is the undigestible part of plant foods that pushes through our digestive system. It absorbs water, and aids in proper and complete digestion and elimination of waste. (Like a pipe cleaner!)
Are you getting enough fiber?
Some signs you are not getting enough fiber are small, foul smelling or irregular bowel movements (you should be going every day or twice a day depending on how much and how regularaly you eat), bloating, fatigue and painful health problems like IBS, which can include diareah, constipation, intense cramping and nausea.
Many people will medicate with over the counter remedies such as gavisgon, pepcid, pepto the list goes on. These remedies do not fix the underlying problem, which is that you have fermented left-overs rotting away in your intestines, that is not being passed through. Imagine for a minute that you would take some cooked ground beef, then keep it in a warm, moist, bacteria ridden place for a few days. Could you even imagine the stench?
Fiber by nature is "Fiberous" it acts like a toothbrush for your intestines. Sweeping away crud, bulking up your eliminates, and pushing everything through. If you aren't going every day - it's like not brushing your teeth or showering every day. The toxins stay behind. Over time, you can actually begin to kill off the good bacteria in your gut, once this starts to happen the problem snow-balls, because now you have toxins, poo-not-moving-through, and all kinds of bad beasties living inside you. Broad spectrum anti-biotics can also kill this beneficial bacteria. You may have heard a lot of hype about pro-biotics. While it is "hype" there is always some truth in there. A pro-biotic helps replenish the helpful bacteria (I call them army guys) Yogurt has it naturally. (Bacterial Culture) or you can buy pro-biotic supplements.
**Tip** A great little way to get both fiber and pro-biotic cultures is grab some Activia Yogurt, and All Bran Buds single serves. It's a great little snack to have before a work out or in the morning at work. The All Bran Buds contain a whop-load of fiber and the yogurt has pro-biotics. It's my personal fav at the moment.
SO! What-ado about fiber?
Start looking at the percentages of fiber in your morning breakfast cereal. Most cereals claim they are a good source of fiber, but if you look closely you'll see this is not true. Lots of sugar, carbs, and junk. Ultimately you want to have a breakfast cereal that is around 8% RDA this will give you a good boost and will also help you feel full longer and who doesn't want that? Blueberries are a wicked source of fiber, so if you like them, eat them lots! Brocolli, leafy greens, potatoes, nuts, grains, wheats, bread - all good sources of fiber. Try to avoid 'white' whenever possible, opting for the "whole wheat" alternatives.
I will mention that "white is right" when you are having an episode of Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS) as it is easier to digest and gentler on the digestive tract. When you are feeling ok though, eat brown. I once had a doctor tell me when I was seeing her for IBS advice...
"You wanna shit brown? THINK brown!"
kind of rancid... but it made sense!
Fiber is especially important to your diet if you eat a lot of red meat! Meat = protein and IRON. Our bodies do not digest meat very well, there have been speculations as to whether our bodies are even designed to eat meat at all, given the length and design of our intestines vs carnivorous animals - but that's a whole other story all together!
Iron, can be very constipating (ask someone who's anemic and on iron supplements!) pair that with meat that we are ill equiped to digest, and no beneficial fiber and possibly not enough water intake to push it through? It would only be common sense you will have pain, cramping, bloating, and just not a fun time!
I'll now explain the difference between between soluble and insoluble fiber, with food examples.
Just like in science class.... something that is soluble is able to disolve in water, something that is insoluble cannot.
(Taken from wikipedia)
Soluble fiber is found in varying quantities in all plant foods, including:
-legumes (peas, soybeans, and other beans)
-oats, rye, chia, and barley
-some fruits and fruit juices (including prune juice, plums, berries, bananas, and the insides of apples and pears)
-certain vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and Jerusalem artichokes
-root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions (skins of these vegetables are sources of insoluble fiber)
-psyllium seed husk (a mucilage soluble fiber).
Sources of insoluble fiber include:
-whole grain foods
-wheat and corn bran
-nuts and seeds
-potato skins
-flax seed
-lignans
-vegetables such as green beans, cauliflower, zucchini (courgette), and celery, nopal
the skins of some fruits, including tomatoes[4]
I'll also add that celery is a negative calorie. (Meaning your body burns more calories digesting it than it gets from the food) and is a great source of fiber. So if you love cellery and are trying to slim down - eat it up! Just be careful in the summer, because it can make your skin more UV sensitive.
Many of the fiberfull foods also contain antioxidants which help reduce free-radicals that cause cell damage and can lead to cancer, omega 3 fatty acids, and numerous vitamins which will further aid in detoxifying your body.
If you're not the type of person who is going to be able to tollerate adding brocoli to your diet, or you hate cereal... there's still hope! You could go to a natural health store and buy organic psyllium husk powder and either mix it with water and slam it, or you could add wheat-germ, ground flax seed**, or wheat bran to your food. A teaspoon or two a day would definitely help.
"Metamucil" is a common drug store brand of fiber supplement. It is primarily made from psyllium husk, but has just been branded. I'd still reccommend buying a bag of organic stuff from a health store.
Now, THIS IS IMPORTANT. Adding fiber to your diet alone is only half the battle. WATER, is the other half. (You wouldn't brush your teeth and keep the foam in your mouth right?) well all the same, water is the final step and it lubricates and makes sure everything keeps moving. Especially if you start having a supplement like Metamucil, which is PURE fiber, you need water, water, WATER! You will become very constipated if you don't drink water. Stand over the sink and slam glass after glass if you need to.
SO this is it. My Fiber report for blog-land. I challenge anyone who is looking to feel better, less bloated, loose weight, or address digestive issues to turn to fiber! I would be you that if you eat more fiber, and drink more water, you will feel healthier in two weeks!
Since I started paying attention to fiber and drinking more h20 I can TELL the difference when I let it slip. It feels just as gross (if not grosser) than that coating you get on your teeth when you accidentally forget to brush them. You feel dirty - but on the inside. When I eat fiber and drink water again, I feel thinner, and have more energy.
So get Bran-Muffining, go buy some cereal, make a brocolli stir fry, or a blue-berry smoothie!
(Whole wheat, blueberry pancakes are heavenly!)
Cheers!! Happy Poo-ing!
**Flax seeds on their own have a slippery gelly coating, you will pass them right through with little to no benefits. They must be ground or cracked to reap the benefits they hold.
What is FIBER?
Dietary fiber is the undigestible part of plant foods that pushes through our digestive system. It absorbs water, and aids in proper and complete digestion and elimination of waste. (Like a pipe cleaner!)
Are you getting enough fiber?
Some signs you are not getting enough fiber are small, foul smelling or irregular bowel movements (you should be going every day or twice a day depending on how much and how regularaly you eat), bloating, fatigue and painful health problems like IBS, which can include diareah, constipation, intense cramping and nausea.
Many people will medicate with over the counter remedies such as gavisgon, pepcid, pepto the list goes on. These remedies do not fix the underlying problem, which is that you have fermented left-overs rotting away in your intestines, that is not being passed through. Imagine for a minute that you would take some cooked ground beef, then keep it in a warm, moist, bacteria ridden place for a few days. Could you even imagine the stench?
Fiber by nature is "Fiberous" it acts like a toothbrush for your intestines. Sweeping away crud, bulking up your eliminates, and pushing everything through. If you aren't going every day - it's like not brushing your teeth or showering every day. The toxins stay behind. Over time, you can actually begin to kill off the good bacteria in your gut, once this starts to happen the problem snow-balls, because now you have toxins, poo-not-moving-through, and all kinds of bad beasties living inside you. Broad spectrum anti-biotics can also kill this beneficial bacteria. You may have heard a lot of hype about pro-biotics. While it is "hype" there is always some truth in there. A pro-biotic helps replenish the helpful bacteria (I call them army guys) Yogurt has it naturally. (Bacterial Culture) or you can buy pro-biotic supplements.
**Tip** A great little way to get both fiber and pro-biotic cultures is grab some Activia Yogurt, and All Bran Buds single serves. It's a great little snack to have before a work out or in the morning at work. The All Bran Buds contain a whop-load of fiber and the yogurt has pro-biotics. It's my personal fav at the moment.
SO! What-ado about fiber?
Start looking at the percentages of fiber in your morning breakfast cereal. Most cereals claim they are a good source of fiber, but if you look closely you'll see this is not true. Lots of sugar, carbs, and junk. Ultimately you want to have a breakfast cereal that is around 8% RDA this will give you a good boost and will also help you feel full longer and who doesn't want that? Blueberries are a wicked source of fiber, so if you like them, eat them lots! Brocolli, leafy greens, potatoes, nuts, grains, wheats, bread - all good sources of fiber. Try to avoid 'white' whenever possible, opting for the "whole wheat" alternatives.
I will mention that "white is right" when you are having an episode of Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS) as it is easier to digest and gentler on the digestive tract. When you are feeling ok though, eat brown. I once had a doctor tell me when I was seeing her for IBS advice...
"You wanna shit brown? THINK brown!"
kind of rancid... but it made sense!
Fiber is especially important to your diet if you eat a lot of red meat! Meat = protein and IRON. Our bodies do not digest meat very well, there have been speculations as to whether our bodies are even designed to eat meat at all, given the length and design of our intestines vs carnivorous animals - but that's a whole other story all together!
Iron, can be very constipating (ask someone who's anemic and on iron supplements!) pair that with meat that we are ill equiped to digest, and no beneficial fiber and possibly not enough water intake to push it through? It would only be common sense you will have pain, cramping, bloating, and just not a fun time!
I'll now explain the difference between between soluble and insoluble fiber, with food examples.
Just like in science class.... something that is soluble is able to disolve in water, something that is insoluble cannot.
(Taken from wikipedia)
Soluble fiber is found in varying quantities in all plant foods, including:
-legumes (peas, soybeans, and other beans)
-oats, rye, chia, and barley
-some fruits and fruit juices (including prune juice, plums, berries, bananas, and the insides of apples and pears)
-certain vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and Jerusalem artichokes
-root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions (skins of these vegetables are sources of insoluble fiber)
-psyllium seed husk (a mucilage soluble fiber).
Sources of insoluble fiber include:
-whole grain foods
-wheat and corn bran
-nuts and seeds
-potato skins
-flax seed
-lignans
-vegetables such as green beans, cauliflower, zucchini (courgette), and celery, nopal
the skins of some fruits, including tomatoes[4]
I'll also add that celery is a negative calorie. (Meaning your body burns more calories digesting it than it gets from the food) and is a great source of fiber. So if you love cellery and are trying to slim down - eat it up! Just be careful in the summer, because it can make your skin more UV sensitive.
Many of the fiberfull foods also contain antioxidants which help reduce free-radicals that cause cell damage and can lead to cancer, omega 3 fatty acids, and numerous vitamins which will further aid in detoxifying your body.
If you're not the type of person who is going to be able to tollerate adding brocoli to your diet, or you hate cereal... there's still hope! You could go to a natural health store and buy organic psyllium husk powder and either mix it with water and slam it, or you could add wheat-germ, ground flax seed**, or wheat bran to your food. A teaspoon or two a day would definitely help.
"Metamucil" is a common drug store brand of fiber supplement. It is primarily made from psyllium husk, but has just been branded. I'd still reccommend buying a bag of organic stuff from a health store.
Now, THIS IS IMPORTANT. Adding fiber to your diet alone is only half the battle. WATER, is the other half. (You wouldn't brush your teeth and keep the foam in your mouth right?) well all the same, water is the final step and it lubricates and makes sure everything keeps moving. Especially if you start having a supplement like Metamucil, which is PURE fiber, you need water, water, WATER! You will become very constipated if you don't drink water. Stand over the sink and slam glass after glass if you need to.
SO this is it. My Fiber report for blog-land. I challenge anyone who is looking to feel better, less bloated, loose weight, or address digestive issues to turn to fiber! I would be you that if you eat more fiber, and drink more water, you will feel healthier in two weeks!
Since I started paying attention to fiber and drinking more h20 I can TELL the difference when I let it slip. It feels just as gross (if not grosser) than that coating you get on your teeth when you accidentally forget to brush them. You feel dirty - but on the inside. When I eat fiber and drink water again, I feel thinner, and have more energy.
So get Bran-Muffining, go buy some cereal, make a brocolli stir fry, or a blue-berry smoothie!
(Whole wheat, blueberry pancakes are heavenly!)
Cheers!! Happy Poo-ing!
**Flax seeds on their own have a slippery gelly coating, you will pass them right through with little to no benefits. They must be ground or cracked to reap the benefits they hold.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Ahhh spring running
Last night was a "fat" night. Delissio pizza and some graham chocolate crunchy bits, pop *blush* and a movie. Fiance's heel is screwed up right now, so I'm on dog-duty in the A.M's
Considering I have use of a vehicle to get to work now (which saves me about an hour in the morning) I have time to take him out. Bryan has been taking him the A.M because he is out of work at the moment - but with his heel all swolen the task has landed on me. I must say though - I kind of like it. At least when the weather co-operates. This morning it was overcast, cool and perfect for a jog. Pizza be-gone. My endurance has suffered over the winter. I used to be able to jog almost 1 km without stopping, now I can barely make it half of that. Time for some goal setting. Now I need to worry about getting the pizzas of yesteryear off my stomach. Bryan and I have just got our P90x dvds and will be starting that soon. Where I am going to get a pull up bar and such I don't know yet.
Diet wise - I've got my all bran buds again! YAY! These things are just great. A 1/2 cup of yogurt and a pack of buds makes a yummmmmmie little breaky and it is satisfying as well. Keeps me full till around 11 which is when I start snacking on almonds and green tea.
I had a wicked idea for a yummy snack - make one of those yogurt coatings... like what yogurt dipped candy is made of - and mix matcha with it. Greentea covered almonds! I know I keep ranting about how yummy green tea and almonds are, but SERIOUSLY. They're really good.
I'm thinking of having another ghetto-fabulous weekend with my friend Annica this weekend. Dancing is such good exersize! NO boys this time though.
Anyways I guess thats all I've got right now. No massive accomplishments haha. I'm pretty psyched about running again though. Too bad my running buddy is the King of Chaos and can't run in a straight line. (Kona) silly puppy.
xoxo
Considering I have use of a vehicle to get to work now (which saves me about an hour in the morning) I have time to take him out. Bryan has been taking him the A.M because he is out of work at the moment - but with his heel all swolen the task has landed on me. I must say though - I kind of like it. At least when the weather co-operates. This morning it was overcast, cool and perfect for a jog. Pizza be-gone. My endurance has suffered over the winter. I used to be able to jog almost 1 km without stopping, now I can barely make it half of that. Time for some goal setting. Now I need to worry about getting the pizzas of yesteryear off my stomach. Bryan and I have just got our P90x dvds and will be starting that soon. Where I am going to get a pull up bar and such I don't know yet.
Diet wise - I've got my all bran buds again! YAY! These things are just great. A 1/2 cup of yogurt and a pack of buds makes a yummmmmmie little breaky and it is satisfying as well. Keeps me full till around 11 which is when I start snacking on almonds and green tea.
I had a wicked idea for a yummy snack - make one of those yogurt coatings... like what yogurt dipped candy is made of - and mix matcha with it. Greentea covered almonds! I know I keep ranting about how yummy green tea and almonds are, but SERIOUSLY. They're really good.
I'm thinking of having another ghetto-fabulous weekend with my friend Annica this weekend. Dancing is such good exersize! NO boys this time though.
Anyways I guess thats all I've got right now. No massive accomplishments haha. I'm pretty psyched about running again though. Too bad my running buddy is the King of Chaos and can't run in a straight line. (Kona) silly puppy.
xoxo
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