Curiosity Enlightened this Cat. on Healthier Eating

After a month on the detox diet eliminating all potential allergens, we have found ourselves feeling much better. So how do people who choose to live this way all the time do it? I decided it was time to find out.. And here are some resources I found on the path. My husband and I are partners in this activity to learn and discover more about processed sugar and gluten free living.


First on Ning, I was pleased to find some great resources:
View my profile on Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease

Reading More About it:





Some Health Benefits to learning of Celiac Disease:

• Adverse Fetal Outcome in Pregnant Women suffering untreated Celiac.
  
• CNN Health Notice on Celiac Disease
  
• Food Allergies and Depression
• Gluten Free Diet can Reduce risk of Malignancy.
  
• How Women Overcame PCOS.
  
• Migraines and Celiac.
  
• Obesity and Celiac
• PMDD and Celiac.
  
• The Vertigo Connection!
  

Some Shopping Resources:





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Day 22 of Whole Foods Invigoration

I heard this yesterday, and decided to stop holding my breath. "Breathe in- optimism, Breathe out- fear."

Day 22 of our whole foods invigoration. This is the first time my husband and I have gone for 3 weeks without refined food, sugar, artificial sweeteners, soda, milk, cheese, margarine, bread, gluten, malt, honey, and caffeine. This week we reintroduced poultry and seafood into our diet- so far so good, in fact, that little bit of protein seems to make my workouts more efficient.

I am cooling down from a magnificent work out with my trainer at Lifestyles. Jason is great, because he pushes me, just a little more than I really think I can do, and at the end of the workout, I feel like superwoman. Amazing on the lack of sleep I have had this past 3 days, that I have such a delicious sense of well being!

So far Kevin has lost almost 10 pounds and several inches.
I have lost 19 pounds and almost a foot-- no not one of those 2 I walk on, but significant inches!

Yesterday was a challenging day at work, and I never realized how I have trained my body to just do whatever it takes to get me through the moment. I had a network problem that was completely out of my control, and I had 3 meetings today to get ready for. Don't 'they' understand I am busy, I want a sandwich, darn it -- and dessert--- you know, the kind with real bread, creamy horseradish, beef, and cheddar cheese crumbles melted with a sided of aus jus. For dessert, something with dark chocolate and carmel sauce, and a cup of coffee-- that way I can get everything done in my plan, even if the outage got in the way.

Breathe out fear.. I let me friends in on the deep inside joke that is my psyche. I don't like that feeling of being out of control. From a place of sheer fear, I start to make myself and my dreams more verbal-- my health goals, my career goals, my professional productivity... Fear is a bad and wicked spiral staircase to a place that gets hotter, and more rapid, to a vertigo like place.

For me, fear is this deep seeded belief that I will make a mistake in life, so big that I will be left alone, penniless, failing, not a friend in the world.

Breathe in optimism.... Okay so what happens if everything is NOT done on time? What breaks if I need to reset expectation? Only my disappointment in myself for not being and doing all I can to get things done. I am responsible. I am responsible for my best productivity, and most of the time I get alot of things done, within my control, but clearly the issue is my belief that I can control all elements of the business nature, and that is expecting the impossible. I can do many things. I can do more things, by being a little less unreasonable on myself. I am training new muscles now, new disciplines. Inconvenience is part of that training, flexibility is another part, and a muscle well worked, never atrophies.

Breathe in faithful optimism: Miracles DO happen. Dreams DO come true. I have DONE way more than I have failed at in life. I am not unique in my feelings of fear and pain avoidance, I am simply choosing a unique approach that is different for me in that I will laugh at it lightly, to observe it and let it pass.

Laughing at my own neurosis? You bet!

It can not be any more insane than believing comfort food can ease discomfort of a challenging work environment. Part of the faithful optimism view that I have taken however, is that we have immense power and choice-- to retain or release a belief system that serves, or fails to serve us.

What's my next goal? 15 more pounds to go, and then the focus turns to endurance training, and seeing if it's time to get off some of this medication, and find something new to enjoy in place of the trips to the doctors office, emergency rooms, or time spent hiding from the world because I am too hideous, too whatever to be seen. There is a new me emerging, and I choose to get to know that side, even better than my well established neurosis routine. :D

Day 18 of Detox Diet..

Week 3 of the Detox Diet. So far the health benefits far outweigh the limitations of a diet without Caffeine, chocolate, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, flour, soy, honey, peanuts, etc.

After 2 weeks without the 'usual' foods, we are experiencing a remarkable sense of well being. I have lost over 10 inches and some 16 pounds. Being logical people, my husband and I realize that at the end of this month, we will be giving up some of our traditions in exchange for a stay of our health results.

We are watching "American Dreamz" and having a snack of garlicky Mustard Seed. Gluten Free Food for Life Brown rice toast with sauteed mushrooms, and 'mozzarella/rice' cheese. American Dreamz is very funny, and yet a slightly agitating parody of life.

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Detox Diet, Day 14 What I learned on the path so far

Day 14 of the Detox Diet.. Not so bad, in fact the results have been remarkable. I am feeling 14 pounds lighter, and have lost over 10 inches!! YEEEEE HAW. This is what a half month of healthy and deliberate eating and working out has offered me.

New healthy eating habits I have learned on the path..

1. Steamed vegetables do not have to be boring! Add imaginative tea and spices to the water bath you steam in, and watch your vegetables transform! For example: Steamed Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Chinese Peas in the steamer-- add Lavender Tea and Chinese 5 Spice to the water bath (also good for asparagus).
   
2. For a deliciously elegant potato dish, put roasted red potatoes and green beans in the steamer with 2 cloves of garlic and basil-- add rosemary, chili pepper and green tea to the water bath.
   
3. Boil a cinnamon stick in pure unsweetened applejuice, and add that as a base to oatmeal for a deliciously satisfying treat.
   
4. Mix 1/2 bag frozen organic black cherries with almond milk and carob for a deliciously satisfying ice cream like- treat.
   
5. You don't miss the sugars from great salad dressing with great ingredients. Mix some flaxseed and garlic infused olive oil with a bit of mustard and raw apple cider vinegar for a delicious dressing. Add this to an herb salad with raisins and cashews, and you are not missing a thing!
   
6. There is nothing quite so elegant as an heirloom tomato and herb salad... no dressing needed, just a bit of sea salt and alot of beautiful gold and red tomato!
   
7. White peaches and raspberries or blueberries makes a delicious pick me up any time!!
   

Dawn

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Aligned in Right Livelihood..

This week for me I am focusing on drinking in gratitude. Often in life I use a negatively motivated choice to try to create a positive outcome. I love my work, love my job, but am working incessantly too hard at everything I do. Why? Well I don't look at this often enough, I just work. Why? Because it feels better to do something than do nothing but 'feel'. Why? Because I am getting a feeling of accomplishment from the something. I am not sure I get anything from just 'feeling' when my thoughts and dreams are so vivid and dramatically insistent that I must change now, or lose everything.

I can almost hear my dear friend Carol's words now, "Dawn, who's limitations are you carrying?"

The notion of aligning to right livelihood creates an awakening to what you do and the values of working hard to help others on their path to enlightened living.

With distractions and deadlines, interrupts, and reprioritizations, it is easy to fall off course, while we are enjoying a generous security, or income, and thus lose our higher purpose. With a world of abundant opportunity, why do we suffer? It feels remarkable to be feeling connected, appreciated, and using our talents to ease suffering and produce resolve, that we are able to sense from our work environment how we can add value, and find the passion and commitment to do so.

The difference between watching life in a semi-engaged, semi-ready stance, and being fully engaged is one of passion, decision, and vision. Negative emotions like boredom, fear, even insecurity is a choice we make, but it is not the only choice.

What can you do differently today to experience a full connection to your source energy?

1. Are there areas of your work where you find yourself passively checking out and marking time?
   
2. What can you do to create meaning and momentum?
   
3. If feeling connective and productive is valued, what actions are you willing to trade to move out of feeling stuck?
   

Wishing you joy!

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Verti-ah go go..

I have wondered recently on my journey which strategy is best to break through the health issues-- it would seem to focus attention on them, is to magnify them, but to be aware of them, is to move through them, to ignore them it seems is to be largely impractical... How then does one manifest health without obsessing over the agitating symptoms that get in the way?

Vertigo was my journey this week.. It came suddenly unexpectedly in the middle of the night, the room was spinning and I could barely make it down the stairs. By the next morning I was experiencing little blackout spots from the outside of my eyes in, so I went to the Emergency Room, sensing that if the spots got much bigger, I could faint, and I really wanted to return to 'normal' equilibrium.

I have found some fascinating work out of Australia's Addison's Disease Association on the linkage between Vertigo and Cushings Syndrome. It seems very difficult to either diagnose, treat, or manage this disorder... And it seems the more I read, the more I think I really need a fresh medical approach to resolve this... I sense that the solution that will work for me is right around the corner, if I could only find that corner.

And then I read Erica's Story, and oh my goodness did I relate! Her talk of migraines, vertigo, PCOS, and of course coming up with perfectly logical reasons why the symptoms were plaguing her. Like Erica, I attributed it to 'not finding the right hormonal balance', stress, overwork, over tired, under rested. Working out 3 times a week and eating lots or a little seemed to have no progressive affect..

So I began to think of the natural balance point for this disorder. It is clear there seems to be a direct relationship between sinus problems, vertigo, and glucose intolerance.. Not sure how, but I am sure that they live in a similar block, if not the same house. Summing up another statement on Cushings,

"If the Cushing's Syndrome is curable, or if iatrogenic Cushing's Syndrome must remain, these individuals will have to cope with persistent fatigue, muscle weakness, abdominal and facial weight gain, depression, mood swings, and all the other signs and symptoms mentioned earlier. Regular visits to a physician for examinations, blood tests, and treatments of infections and complications will be necessary and are often viewed as a sever burden."

Can Natural Homeopathic Solutions be applied?

Allopaths seem aware of the cause, what of the natural fix?

Lets Cultivate Optimism and Possibility..

At it's simplest form, the paired adding of 2 negative values will never equal a positive outcome. In mathematics as in life, 'nothing from nothing' means nothing, (or less than that even).

As adults somewhere between the ages of 35 and 45, many of us have adopted a peculiar reverse logic that, if not addressed, can cause an atrophy of our dream muscles. If this reversal of values that happens in us goes long enough unaddressed, it seems like the universal law that 'anything that can go wrong, will', proves itself out more times than we might like.

Operative notion 'than we might like':

If we like the ideas of stability, big dreams, appreciation for our work, connectedness to one another, and healthy living, why is it we feel obligated to change our understanding of basic math as middle aged adults to cope?

It could be the task of "being grown up" mandates we be practical about preparing for the worse. Now I am not suggesting blind optimism, but I am suggesting a shift in the headlines that attracts our attention, and the self talk that supports our experience. Truly expectations have much to do with the outcome of our life experience.

As I look through my mail, news, and inbox I see how common the occurence is that we try to rail against a negative value to make a positive impact:

• "Let's stop bully and tragedy."
• "Actor reflects on last days as Tony Soprano "
• "Drunk driving not just Paris "
• "Chained to your desk"
• "Iraq surges towards more violence"

What have we given importance and attention to, when a public figures failur becomes a consolation prize? What ongoing experience is that creating for us mentally? If we act on our values, then surely the headlines would suggest:

• Pain hurts, lets kill it, medicate it, sue it, fight against it.
  
• A really popular TV Show is proof as well that nothing good lasts forever and this might be your last break.
  
• See success is just about waiting to get busted for being your natural self-- everybody does it, and if you have money, you might get treated unfairly too.
  
• Working hard to earn the right to be caught drunk driving or worse, never getting a chance to get caught as better than insurgent violence in it's extreme danger.
  

And so my friends, I suggest an opposite approach to flexing our dream muscle. The newspapers have some 100 or so pages every day to give you the highlightw- the good, the bad, and the ugly.. The news has an hour or so, unless it is one of those news show looping the world news every 2 -3 hours until something more urgent happens.

The problem is not the news-- the media is reacting plain and simple to demand. If demand is for failure, pain, heartache, and reasons for societal demise, their first obligation is to profit. What sells? Hard fought success or disgracefully bad behavior?

Here are some alternative thoughts and headlines spoken throughoiut the years:

• "I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there."
  ~Mother Teresa
• "Art, like a garden, must be nurtured and sustained"
• “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”" Confucius
• They WON friends and Influenced Advancement.
  
• “An education which does not cultivate the will is an education that depraves the mind.” ~ Anatole France
• Because as with biodiesel, doing good has to be good for business
• As soon as you concern yourself with the 'good' and 'bad' of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weaken and defeat you.
  ~Morihei Ueshiba

What can you do today to create and cultivate optimism and powerful possibility? What are you willing to let go of in order for this to recognize it's highest form?

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