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Do you still suffer from menstrual cramps, even though you eat real food now? Me too. I seem to have a cycle that has one painful month followed by a less painful month, and then they alternate. I am fortunate in that my cramps usually only last one day and then disappear completely.
But everyone’s body is different, and I think we all can use a list of home remedies to try out the next time we are suffering through this symptom! Continue reading
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Do you remember those onion soup packets that your mom used to throw into a slow cooker with meat and turn on low all day? Well, they are still around. There are a million Pinterest recipes that use them for “fast and easy” dinners and soups and stews and slow cooker meals. But even if they are fast and easy, are they healthy?
Do you know what’s in the most popular brand of onion soup mix? See for yourself:
Onions (deyhydrated), salt, cornstarch, onion powder, sugar, corn syrup, hydrolyzed soy protein, caramel color, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, monosodium glutamate, yeast extract, natural flavors, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate.
As you can see, these are far from whole foods, and some ingredients are downright dangerous. Monosodium glutamate is the full name for MSG, which is a known excitotoxin. MSG is also a component of other ingredients in this list: hydrolyzed soy protein and yeast extract. (source)
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As you know, exactly one month ago I made an announcement that it was time to embark on a journey of EAT, LIFT, LOVE, and I have the before photos to prove it!
And as I said in my weight loss kickoff post, I would be giving monthly updates to show how you can lose weight while eating lots of food, lifting lots of weight, and fully rejecting diets. FULLY.
But here is the thing about my weight loss success so far: this is NOT the work of merely 30 days on display. It’s merely been 30 days since I decided that it was time to count my calories to 3,000 every day, keep track of lifting and dancing every day during the week with one day off (but where I still get outside and moving, maybe for a walk), weigh myself every week, and be accountable to all of you here.
But I didn’t start creating health 30 days ago. I started that a little over one year ago. Continue reading
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What does it mean to be “body positive”? Well, it means that you celebrate all bodies. Regardless of size, but also color, ability, and gender, you love the diversity of bodies. And all bodies are good!
It means that you let go of the idea that there is a “right” way to eat, and a right way to live and a right way to work out.
See my picture up there? I took it on a whim, with no makeup, having only lost about 8 pounds out of the 100 I am aiming for, with my hair a bit, um, less-than-coiffed. But guess what? I love this picture! I love my body!
My body serves me well. It tells me when I am tired and I need to sleep. It tells me when I am hungry, and what sounds good. It lifts heavy weights, slowly but surely building lean tissue that helps me get stronger. Why wouldn’t I love my body? Good question. Continue reading
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I’m on fire today. I am burning with so many things to say about my body, women’s bodies, and the culture of body hatred that we live in. Do you know why? Because I am ablaze with a renewed realization: that my body is perfect the way it is. Just try to tell me it’s not. I will have words for you.
Today is International No Diet Day. It feels quite appropriate that I would be feeling indignant and fiery about defending my body against the relentless beating down I feel whenever I take a bite of food, eat sugar on purpose, take a day off from working out, admit that I am hungry.
I said this earlier today on my Facebook page:
Why do I embrace my body the way it is?
There is a tendency to assume a lot about fat people. That they are lazy, that they overeat, that they don’t care about their bodies.
And as an overweight person, there is added pressure that I shouldn’t eat too much, because I am already fat. I feel that pressure every time I eat in front of someone. Every time I am out somewhere in public. And yet I need nourishment for my body just like anyone else of any size. This pressure not to eat too much, or least not to eat too much in front of people has really caused some disordered eating over the years.
The cruel irony is that fat people should probably do the opposite of what we think they should. We watch The Biggest Loser and listen to conventional wisdom and think “calorie restriction AND working out will solve all my problems”. And everywhere you look that package is waiting to be sold to you. This diet, that workout regime, this supplement. It’s a RACKET.
This is what happens when you EAT THE FOOD: Your body gets enough energy to use for how much movement you want to do. As a woman, if I sat around all day, I would burn 2,000 calories doing nothing. And if I go to the gym, lift weights, take walks, get active, then I will burn more.
I am losing weight eating 3,000 calories a day. In the last 3 weeks I am down 8 pounds. I got myself moving a little every day doing something I love (dancing, or lifting weights).
Reject diets. Eat the food. Lift heavy things. Love your body.
In response to this, one of my FB commenters said “Eat, Lift, Love?”, to which I say a resounding YES! That is exactly what I am saying.
Reject Diets. Then: Eat the Food. Lift Heavy Things. Love Your Body.
Do you want to achieve this same kind of success that I have had? First, you need to read the books in this metabolism bundle, stat. The author, Matt at 180 Degree Health, is the reason I am no longer in dieting prison, looking for the next thing that will fix my body.
And also this book, Taking Up Space, from my coach and blogger friend Amber at Go Kaleo. She is the reason that I know I can do this, and I AM DOING IT.
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When my son E was born, it was amidst a flurry of health problems including a cleft lip and palate. For his first year of life I breastfed him and made his baby food from scratch and added plenty of melted coconut oil and butter to his veggies.
It was at that point that I truly embraced real food. And when I made it to his first birthday, I was sufficiently convinced that nutrition mattered that I bought 12 jars of cod liver oil, several gallons of local, full fat, organic, raw milk, and sourced some local eggs that I made for us every morning with breakfast. That was my turning point. (Click here for sources of cod liver oil I recommend.)
It was this transition that got me thinking: what does my little E crave for his little growing body? I started to pay attention to what he craves and the results have been fascinating! Continue reading
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Have you seen all those homemade vapor rub recipes on Pinterest and floating around the internet? So have I! Some are simple, and others take a little time to put together.
If you are like me, then you will mean to make vapor rub ahead of time to have on hand, but then it won’t be until you are actually sick that you make some.
Ahem. Not that that’s what happened today or anything.
Anyways, the point is this: vapor rub doesn’t have to be hard to whip up! I literally got a small bowl, put a few tablespoons of coconut oil into it and added 4 different essential oils. That’s it! Continue reading
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I have had a lot of trouble transitioning a handful of recipes over to real foodified versions, and they invariably contain powdered sugar in the original recipe. For example, I have these lime cooler cookies that are to die for, but there is just no other way to make lime juice glaze without powdered sugar! Honey is okay, but powdered sugar really makes them perfect.
But these aren’t lime coolers. And even though the original recipe for Texas sheet cake calls for powdered sugar in the glaze, I am happy to say that my real foodified version of Texas sheet cake is not only bomb, but passed the approval of several high school aged kids that didn’t know they were eating unrefined-sugar and whole grain Texas sheet cake. In fact, all they said was “YUM!” and “What’s your website, again?” I’ll take it!
So first of all, let me tell you why I love this chocolate dessert probably the best of all chocolate desserts, cakes or cookies anywhere. Yep. I love Texas sheet cake that much! Continue reading
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So there’s this collection of e-books. And all added together, they cost $479. My REAL FOOD 101 E-book is one of them (normally $14). But see, these bloggers who wrote the 30 e-books decided to bundle them together and make them a lot less expensive purchased as a packaged deal.
And behold, the VGN Spring E-book Bundle was born. 30 Healthy Living E-books for $39. Literally the best deal on any of these ebooks. It prices each one at less than $1.50!
These are hand-picked ebooks from some of the best bloggers around. Matt Stone, Robin Konie, Heather Dessinger, Jenny McGruther, Kristen Michealis, just to name a few. These are my favorite people to read, to follow, to learn from, and to support. I love the work they do!
Plus there are a few new ones I am about to read! Check out the books with the new button on them!
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I have been through a lot in the past year.
I stopped restricting my diet. I gained more than 50 pounds because of it. I saw my temperature soar as my energy came roaring back to life. (That’s just how it goes when you start eating the food.)
And then I saw myself lose it all when I had a breakdown and crisis that pushed me back into treatment for my PTSD related to the abuse and trauma I hadn’t resolved from my childhood. My temperature dropped again, my energy disappeared, I couldn’t sleep, I shut myself off from people, and I gained more weight.
But then, I saw a glimmer. I saw myself climb out of the hole. I was tenderly rebuilt by friends, family, and my truly amazing therapist. I asked for support from the people who loved me, and they stood with me. Continue reading
