It’s a New Year and TIME for a COMMITMENT, not a RESOLUTION.

This year it’s time to put away the RESOLUTIONS and focus on COMMITMENT! What that means in this instance is… being GOOD to YOU. Being the BEST YOU, the HEALTHIEST YOU and most EMPOWERED YOU that you can be. So, let’s start with nutrition; I know it’s a scary word these days, but it’s so true, you are what you eat and well, let’s be real… these days, that’s a scary thought! All the processed foods, drive-through fast food places, depleted soil, mass produced crops laced with pesticides and no telling what else? Not, to mention the energy drinks, sodas, diet pops, chemically enriched milks we drink and the coffee we consumed to keep us going… Makes me crave REAL food and THIRST for REAL water, how about YOU?
Okay, let’s get started…
The only way to eat this ELEPHANT is ONE BITE at a TIME. Sorry, to all the Vegans and Vegetarians out there, but this a HEFTY subject and requires a lot of discipline and hard work; I know, I have been there and it’s not easy, but the end result feels so good and is truly rewarding!
I don’t want to lose you, bore you, or give you the same “song and dance,” so I am going to start slowly…
Here we go …
Breakfast – The most important meal of the day! It’s true. After sleeping all night, when we rise we should be ready to get up and get going, right? Our body needs fuel in order to get it moving, but it needs the right kind of fuel to run it’s best race each day.
Ready… Set… GO…
- Start with a very warm glass of water and add the juice of one whole squeezed lemon. This helps to alkalize the body as well as detox the liver. Do this on a daily basis and first thing in the morning.
- Consume plenty of good fruits like; strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, they are full of antioxidants, a great source of Vitamin C and they provide fiber.
- Eat good whole grains; steel cut oatmeal is a great one to start with, grind up some flaxseeds and toss in for a great fiber and omega source. Add pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts or slivered almonds along with REAL butter - plenty of it, we need good fats for so many reasons. Sprinkle a teaspoon of cinnamon – helps regulate your blood sugar levels, very important for long-term good health, and finish it off with a teaspoon of RAW local area honey, if you can find it, if not, just honey, no SUGAR, please?
- Another great breakfast option is a smoothie with just fruit, or a goat milk or whole milk yogurt preferably RAW and from a local farm, if you don’t have a source or the time, then Organic, please? Add berries, bananas or other favorite fruits, as well as ground up flax seeds, cinnamon, a touch of honey and a splash of vanilla, pour into a cup, grab a straw and sip on your way to work or your appointment with your mat at Inner Peace Yoga.
- Juicing is another great way to start your day and there are plenty of wonderful recipes online, just Google or Yahoo them. Again, pour your freshly juiced veggie juice into a cup, grab a straw and out the door you go to keep that very important appointment with you and your mat at your favorite Yoga Studio.

FYI - My favorite Yoga Studio is Inner Peace Yoga Tulsa
See ya there…

Blessings & Namaste
Check back mid-January for more “Good for "YOU" Health & Food News.”

Be Good to YOU in 2012!

Adrenal Fatique - Does it really exist?

Does Adrenal Fatigue really exist? My answer to that question is, “yes and no.”
Here’s why…
When I was in the very throws of not feeling well, every key hormone in my body was somewhat compromised and any compromise in one-hormone leads to compromises in other hormones. Our body is machine of sorts made up of a “perfectly combined chemistry” to ensure that we function properly. What’s the best FUEL for our body? Well, I am sure that it will come as no surprise to every SMART GIRL that reads this, so here it is…

- A BALANCED LIFESTYLE -

Here are some things you can do to help get your ADRENALS back in shape and functioning in a way that helps BALANCE the rest of your HORMONES.
Sleep – enough of it, 7- 9 hours every night.
Exercise – this is good for encouraging good hormone production and great for stress relief.
Water – drinking half your body weight in ounces of water to help move toxins out of the body and keep you hydrated. We can live without food longer than we can live without water. Drink good “pure” water free of harmful chemicals that are found in our tap water, the solution; invest in a water filter, (you can find them at Target, Walmart or online), water machine or have a whole house filtration system installed to cover all your body’s water needs.
Eating small and frequent meals - consisting of proteins, organic veggies and fruits. Cutting out all processed foods, sugars and bad carbs that convert into sugars. It is KEY to keep our BLOOD SUGAR levels stable, this helps BALANCE the body, our moods and creates a basis for an overall well –being in a SMART GIRL’S world.
Cut out or cut back on all SUGARS and CAFFEINE. Sorry Starbuck Lovers, including me, I miss my lattes, and I miss drinking Dr. Pepper’s and eating Snicker bars, but I like feeling better and having more sustainable energy to get me through the day without this kind of ENTERTAINMENT for my mouth that compromises my body.
This is a good place to start. If I went into more detail than this right now, I know I would lose you and I don’t want to do that and change happens slowly. The only way to “Eat any Elephant” is one bite at a time and CHEW SLOWLY to ensure proper digestion. Our hormones, including our Adrenals didn’t become “unbalanced” overnight and that will not become rebalanced in a day, and it is KEY to remember; one-hormone imbalance leads to a DOMINO EFFECT.

I tell myself daily, “Take it one step at a time and if I “MESS UP” no need to “BEAT MYSELF UP.” Just pick myself up, dust myself off and get myself back into a rhythm of doing the best I can.”
That’s what any SMART GIRL would do, right?

Checks and Balances

SMART GIRLS – LISTEN UP!

In TODAY’S world, it’s more important than ever to pay ATTENTION to your BODY and what it is trying to tell YOU. This cannot be stressed enough. We were made so perfectly, (Girls, that is – ha-ha) “Sugar and Spice and Everything nice.” Right? Well, if our bodies are out of BALANCE, especially our HORMONES… WRONG! In that case, that little old saying could not be further from the truth. When we are tired, fussy, forgetful, overweight, out of shape and ready to BLOW and RAGE at something or someone for no reason at all, the last word that comes to mind is nice. No, when this happens, it isn’t a pretty picture; I have been there so many times and I want to share with you what I have learned from my journey of hormone imbalance. So, what’s a SMART GIRL suppose to do, and where does she begin? A SMART GIRL is proactive and takes charge of her life and her health, so let’s get started.
I started this tradition with my daughter three years ago and I call it, “My Hormonious Day.” We make a girl’s day out of it; we have lunch at a special place, then go home or to the movie theatre and watch a chick flick or comedy.

Call and schedule an appointment with your GYN physician for an annual exam and ask them to run the following tests:

Please feel free to print this list:

Thyroid Tests:
TSH
Free T-3 and Free T-4
TPO- to check for thyroid anti-bodies

Adrenal Test:
Cortisol – This should be drawn at 8am and again at 4pm to get an accurate assessment.


Hormone Panel:
Estrogen
Progesterone
Testosterone
DHEA
IGF-1 (This is your Human Growth Hormone level)

Note: One thing to remember about Hormone Blood Level results is this; if you are told that everything is in THE NORMAL RANGE, but you still just don’t feel like yourself and you know that something is just not right, I want you to know this; you are not crazy and should start looking for someone that can help you get to feeling better and back on track with feeling like “you” again.
That’s what SMART GIRLS do.

Complete Metabolic Blood Panel
Make sure you ask them to include your cholesterol levels in the blood work.
Vitamin D level – very important! (Optimal Vitamin D levels should be 45 and 70) I will share an informational video on this topic soon.
C-Reactive Protein Level

At the end of the appointment I make sure I ask the nurse to mail copies of the test results to me. This way I can reference back to and research what I need to if there is something that needs to be addressed. I have a “special” file folder that I keep these records in; it’s pretty and pink. Okay, It’s a girl thing, but it does make it easy to spot visually.

This is a great place to start and the results will give you a good gauge of your overall health. What you do with the information you learn is up to you. I, myself, find empowerment in knowing I have control over my body, my hormones and my health.

Be good to yourself and your body, you deserve it.

Gone Green and Loving It!

Yippee! The first “real” pickings from our own backyard garden that we can bring to our kitchen table, now that is for “me” as good and green as it gets! For the last five years I have been committed to buying organic and at the local Farmer’s Market, but I wanted to go all in as much as I possibly could for the space we have in our backyard. This year “thanks” to my husband’s birthday gift to me that has become a REALITY!
“Thanks Frank, I love you and Happy Father’s Day!”