Christmas & Coffee To-Go

BUY A TO-GO CUP FOR YOU AND OTHERS

Help the environment this Christmas!

I am a frequent visitor to Starbucks and I notice that at Christmas time it is very busy there - like everywhere. People stop and get a coffee (tea, etc) to-go before shopping or stop there after to check their Xmas list, and scratch off some items and take a breather after the busy shops and malls.

It is a festive place to go and when it is cold outside - so nice to have that warmth as you hold onto to your warm, frothy drink.

Because I go there so often, it began to bother me how many to-go cups I was going through in a week, a month, a year!! When I really thought about it, I was disappointed in myself. What is this doing to our landfills and environment! There is something we can do to help and that is:

BUY YOUR OWN TO-GO CUP

That can make a HUGE difference - 1 person can indeed make a difference to our environment. Buying do this yourself you will also encourage others to do it. Once you have one, your friends will see it and you can tell them how good you feel about helping the environment in this way. Make them feel guilty! But in a good way.

OR BETTER YET!!

Buy everyone a TO-GO CUP for Christmas!

Now you are making a difference and so is everyone you give it to.

There are so many cool ones out there now, literally one for everyone. You can also buy to-go cups everywhere.
An added bonus is - THEY KEEP YOUR COFFEE/TEA/WHATEVER WARMER FOR LONGER

I keep mine in my car always. Sure at the beginning I would forget it sometimes. When I did, I would scold myself and next time I would usually remember. Also, I feel SO BAD now when I don't use it. It is like remembering my keys now. It has become a habit. Seriously this DOES make a big difference.

Next time you are in your favourite coffee shop, take a look around and see how many people are getting their coffees/teas to go. Just picture ALL those cups gathering every day in a landfill. Imagine the planet being swallowed up by all these paper cups and plastic lids. Don't turn your back, this is something so easy that you ca do. Something so easy that will make a big difference.

There are many ways we can become more conscious about how we affect the environment. You don't have to start all at once. Just implement one thing a day, a week or even a month.

1 PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Also, you will influence those around you.

HELP OTHERS AT CHRISTMAS
There are so many "ECO" gifts to give for Christmas. Plant a tree in someone's name. There are also so many ways to help others in this world at Christmas. We all have so much stuff already, why not give to someone less fortunate. Buy a goat, pay for a child's education, sponsor a child, etc, etc. The options are numerous.

Again - 1 PERSON CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!!

So go out and BUY your OWN to-go cup. Buy one you just love. One that will make you feel good each time you use it.

Take time to enjoy the holiday season and give thanks!

CHOCOLATE & PERIMENOPAUSE

How many women do NOT like chocolate?

Probably not many.

I have always loved it and over the years, I have improved the quality of wine I drink and the quality of chocolate I eat. I really like fine chocolate!

My favourite is raw cacao. It is pure, raw chocolate from the cacao bean. It is not processed. It does not have sugar added or any additives or preservatives. You can buy the actualy cacao beans (chocolate beans) at the heatlh food store or you can buy the raw cacao powder (like cocoa powder). I tend to buy the powder because I use it in cooking and in drinks. Fantastic chocolate/nut milk!

Tis the season for Christmas parties and I have attended a couple functions. What I brought was some of my home-made chocolates.

Here is a super simple recipe to make some dairy free, wheat free & sugar free chocolate treats!

1/2 Cup Raw (not roasted or salted) Almonds
1/2 Cup Raw (not roasted or salted) Cashews
(You can use any of your favourite nuts)
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Natural Coconut
2 heaping Tbsp of Raw Cacao Powder
1 tsp Vanilla (Pure)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
4-5 Madjool Dates (depends on how sweet you like it)
Some coconut to add after if you want

• Put nuts in food processor. Grind up as fine as you would like them. Depending on how smooth you want this to be or if you want it crunchier.
• Add coconut, dates and vanilla
• Mix until mixture starts to stick together
• Add raw cacao powder and cinnamon
• Mix again until well mixed and sticky
• Test by seeing if you can squeeze this mixture together and it will stick

If mixture is warm and too sticky then place in freezer for about 10-20 minutes until it gets harder.

Next, all you have to do is either press mixture into pan to make brownies or roll into balls and roll in coconut after. You can also make them into a little round flatter cookies.

You can chose to top or roll in coconut, ground nuts or raw cacao powder.

Pop them in the freezer. They are ready to eat any time. You can store them in freezer or in the fridge.

These are so good and so perfect to take as gifts.

If you really want to do this right then soak the nuts in filtered water overnight or all day. Then dry the nuts a bit and then use them. When you soak the nuts like that you make them easier to digest and they are healthier for you.

Test the mixture as you are making it and adjust ingredients to your taste. I like chocolate but I don't like really sweet chocolate so I do not add a lot of dates. If you want to add fewer dates, soak the dates first in water and then will become softer and you can also use some of the soak water when you are mixing. Therefore you will still get the sticky mixture texture using less dates!

Have fun, experiment and most of all ENJOY this healthy chocolate.

Share these treats. People love when you bring them something that you made yourself.

Raw Cacao contains more antioxidants than blueberries and green tea. Eat Natural!!

Enjoy the season!

PERIMENOPAUSE - CHANGE & THE FUTURE....WHAT DO YOU WANT?

I have just finished a fantastic certification course to become a RAW CHEF!

Many of you may already know about eating "RAW" and some may not. There is a ton of great information online. I will probably write about this later.

During the weekend we had to write out our goals and even try to draw them! They gave us some colored pencils and away I went. It was actually quite fun. Believe me, there were a lot of stick people in the pictures.

The ironic thing is that I had been doing this last week before attending this weekend seminar. I didn't realize we would be getting into this during the weekend.

About a week ago I received an e-mail about a great tool for manifesting what you really want in life. It is called a Mind Movie.

Check out http://www.mindmovies.com/

They will send you some free "mind movies" to view and even use and see how you like them. I did end up purchasing a package so that I can do my own. I am very visual and pictures would be a great way for me to manifest. The mind movies can be run on your computer and so you can view it as often as you like.

So this past week and this weekend I spent a lot of time dreaming/imagining/visualizing what I really want in my life - what I want my life to look like in the future. I have written a ton of it down because that is what was required.

When I purchased the Mind Movie package they sent me a questionnaire to fill out. I am almost finished it and this is the perfect time for me to be doing this.

My life is changing quite fast right now and I am beginning to become clear on what I want. We all need to do this more often. It is important to keep dreaming, keep growing and keep imagining what we really want in life. We tend to go through our days almost blindly working, cooking, sleeping, shopping, etc. We procrastinate and put things off until "tomorrow". Then tomorrow never comes.

Check out the Mind Movies site. Maybe it is just what you need.

You may even get some great ideas on how you can do it on your own.

The important thing is to start and start thinking, start imagining, start dreaming. Find your passion again!!

I will write more on this and include some of the questions I am and have been answering to get you thinking. Sometimes we need a reminder to get us moving forward, towards a goal, a vision, a mission.

I know it is my time - is it yours?

EMOTIONAL EATING....PART 2

In my last post I was discussing emotional eating. During Perimenopause our emotions take some pretty big swings. Some months it feels like I am having PMS for 3 weeks!

When these emotional ups and downs come along, often I noticed that yes, I was grabbing food that made me feel better. My weakness is chocolate and peanut butter!!

I will continue talking about the book "Shrink Yourself, Break Free From Emotional Eating Forever."

I told you that I found the great web site www.healthbooksummaries.com that allows you to read some of the books. I was reading part of this book and thought I would share some of it with you.

Part 2....Emotional Eating

When we use food to make us feel better instead of dealing with our problems, it creates a viscious cycle. We may be able to avoid our problems for a while, but the longer we wait to deal with them, the worse they become. We may then eat more.


As I said in the last post that emotional eating has to do with the feeling of powerlessness.

• Powerless about how to deal with your self-doubts
• Powerless about how to get real satisfaction in life
• Powerless about being safe and secure in your relationship, financial state, job, home, etc.
• Powerless about feeling empty inside or unfulfilled
• Powerless about being able to do what you really want to in life

Etc, etc.

The goal of the book is to help you become aware of the pattern you are running so that you can find the space between when you have one of the above experiences of powerlessness and when you begin to overeat. Only by observing your mind and finding that space will you begin to change your emotional eating pattern.

Diets do NOT work because you are emotional eating. The way you REACT to a situation, event, or person sets it off. Not the situation, event or person itself.

Your end up replacing the bad feelings with the pleasurable experience of eating.

The author also goes on to explain why some people may sabotage their diet when they are nearing their goal. He states that the reason could be because if you didn’t have your weight to think about, you might have to deal with what’s really bothering you. It is frightening because you feel powerless to change the things that really bother you.

When you are afraid to stay and explore your feelings, you have already come to the conclusion that you are defeated in some way.

The author states that you need to understand how covering up emotions with food sets you back physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Your feelings aren’t there to make you unhappy. Rather emotions provide you with information about your inner world. They are full of messages you need to hear.

If you are an emotional eater, every time you feel that you are not worthy, you become hungry. Feeling inadequate makes you desire food as much as biological hunger.

It is your own lack of self-esteem that triggers the eating.

Something to think about ..... isn't it.

I know I can relate to this and I am going to practice being more conscious. When I go to grab for chocolate or a spoonful of peanut butter I am going to ask myself "What is up?" When I do, I know that there will be a feeling of being powerless in some aspect of my life. I have already done this in the last few days and sure enough - that is exactly what the issue was. Now I have to work on not being powerless. Work on finding solutions to the areas that I feel I am powerless.

I can change my future, I can affect my present. I am the only one who can - THAT IS POWERFUL! THAT IS WHERE MY POWER LIES

I hope this also works for you. It is the first step.

Check out the site http://www.healthbooksummaries.com/ and take some time to read some of the books that are up to. There are many and you will be very surprised.

Let me know which book spoke to you.

EMOTIONAL EATING .... AGAIN

I found a great book about emotional eating you can read a bit of it online for free. Funny because I was just emotionally triggered by an e-mail and what did I do? I ate chocolate. Chocolate and peanut butter are my weakness for sure.


I had actually chosen this topic before this happened too. Now I know it was meant to be!

There is a great site called www.healthbooksummaries.com

It is so fantastic!!! I love to read but lately I have been so busy with many, many things that I haven’t been able to just sit, relax and read a great book. This site (above) is a place where a couple of health experts have summarized some of the health books they feel are very good. These are actually new books too. They keep adding books to the site, which is so great. I would highly recommend subscribing – which is FREE! The whole book is not there but the summaries are great and they give you some SUPER information.

I was reading one of the books called:

“Shrink Yourself, Break Free From Emotional Eating Forever!” by Roger Gould, M.D.

Funny, I was thinking that I don’t have this problem - ya right!! I proved myself wrong today. I don’t overeat but I definitely grab something that is not that healthy for me when I am stressed or over emotional.

He feels that the feeling of being “powerless” is the reason why people eat emotionally and/or compulsively. He says we should not ask ourselves “Why do you eat?” but “Why are you powerless?”

You know, that is the EXACT issue I was dealing with when I grabbed that chocolate – bad store bought chocolate. I was feeling powerless!

He states that emotional eaters or compulsive eaters (not saying they are the same, I mean 2 types of eaters), are like an addict or an alcoholic. The addict and alcoholic feel that they are powerless when it comes to alcohol and drugs but he says it is really that they feel powerless in some aspect of their life. That makes so much sense! I know some alcoholics (I’m sure we all do) and that fits.

Emotional eaters use food to comfort them when they are feeling uneasy, stressed, emotional, depressed, etc. They chose food instead of really dealing with their problem. That only reinforces their feeling of powerlessness.

He states that the only way to recover that power is to stop and think about what other options you have besides eating. The book is about finding the space between when something has challenged you and your sudden urge to eat (which is not real hunger). Before you grab for that food – what are you thinking? You have been operating on instinct and habit. You have developed this pattern and it just happens without you thinking about it now. You don’t even take the time to stop yourself. Or you don’t know what to think or do during that time if you were to stop yourself.

Food has become your coping mechanism. This is big because you don’t eat like this because you feel you need more nutrition – more food. You eat like that because it helps you cope. If you have been a smoker you know what I mean (I have been).

Diets don’t work and hunger suppressants certainly don’t work. Really, to me those are a joke. How many people really eat ONLY when they are hungry? – not many. I don’t even feel hungry sometimes when I eat – being hungry is NOT the issue.

Counting calories does NOT work. A donut has calories, a cookie has calories. If you are supposed to have 1500 calories in a day then you can do that – it just might not be good nutritional calories. I have NEVER recommended counting calories.

This is a loaded subject and I would like to talk more about it next post.

What I want you to get out of this is:

When you feel that need to eat for emotional reasons, think of how you are feeling powerless at that moment. Stop and think –
“What is making me feel powerless right now?”

Take a look at the web site www.healthbooksummaries.com and check out the book. There are many other fantastic books also. Learn, read, educate yourself. That is the key to handling our health and wellness. It is truly up to each of us.

How Much Protein Do We Need In A Day?

How can I get more protein in my diet?

How much protein do I need in one day?

Am I getting enough protein?

These are questions that I was asked a lot when I was a personal trainer. I was not crazy about this question because I eat very little meat. Basically no meat. I still eat fish - fresh fish that my boyfriend has caught. And the more I learn about our changing ocean enviornment, pollution, toxins, etc, the less fish I am eating also.

So, I often still get people saying I do not eat enough protein.

But.....

I consume a very large amount of green, leafy vegetables which are actually very high in protein. I also consume some nuts and seeds (soaked and sproated first). I follow a raw food diet mainly and I feel fantastic!

My nails are stronger then they ever have been - ever in my life! My skin looks better than ever also and I am 46 years old! Skin, hair and nails are greatly affected by protein levels and malnutrition. If mine are very healthy, then my protein levels are fine.

I am consuming protein that my body can utlize, absorb and assimilate. It is not fatty, wasted, overcooked, overprocessed, full of hormone and drugs protein like in many meat. Hey, my boyfriend and almost all of my friends eat meat so I do not preach about it.

Dr T.C. Fry wrote "Our protein needs, like our carbohydrate, vitamin, mineral and fat needs, are provided by plans and their fruits. There is no need to turn to the animal world to obtain the essential amino acids. In fact, this is a primary reason why there is so much disease and early death."

Making sure you get "complete" protein has been pushed and promoted by the meat and dairy industries of course! How many people do you know have dairy sensitivities? How many vegetarians and vegans are out there?? Numerous and we are all fine! Many people that consume meat are actually very unhealthy.

If you eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, you will get all the essential amino acids you need and you will get your full protein needs.

Most vegetarian animals that eat grass, tubers, fruits, grains, etc, never exhibit signs of protein deficiency.

The amino acids in many complete proteins (cooked meat or dairy products) cannot even be fully used by the body. Consuming the muscle of the body (the meat we do consume), is actually low in some of the essential amino acids. Proteins that have been cooked or heated may lose up to 50% or more of their essential amino acids due to the formation of enzyme-resistant linkages. Many "complete proteins" cannot even be absorbed by the body.

Which fruits and vegetables contain all 8 essential amino acids:
Bananas, tomatoes, dates, almonds, coconuts, filberts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, seaweeds, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, corn, okra, squash.

A variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouts can nourish us with all the essential and nonessential amino acids we need. And there are many, many other vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, omega oils, trace minerals, etc that are present in these foods.

As I stated in my last post - it is about eating more of the right foods and less of the wrong foods.

Eating or not eating meat is a personal choice. I have made mine and everyone has to be comfortable with their own decision. If you are going to consume meat I hope that you do buy meat that is organic, hopefully local, that is not full of chemicals, hormones, drugs or plumped up with water. There are health food stores and many butcher shops that sell organic meat.

It is about becoming more aware and educated. The best way to ensure continued health in the future is to educate yourself, learn, read, ask questions, use your intuition, your own good judgement, common sense, etc. Take baby steps and each day you can chose to eat a little healthier than the day before.

I can guarantee you that you will begin to feel better and that will make you want to eat better.

What do you want your future to look like?

What do you want to look like?

Feel like?

Be like?

THINK ABOUT IT!

Why Diets Don't Work During Perimenopause

The diets I am speaking about are restrictive diets. Diets where you have to buy their food or their supplements the whole time you are on their diet. When you reach your goal then what? If you stop taking the herbal supplements will you gain back the weight? Probably. Does that mean that you have to take them forever? Probably not a good idea.

What about the diets where you eat "their" food. What happens after? Who will prepare your food for you?

These types of diets don't really help you to learn to intuitively know what your body needs and when it needs it. They can be a kick start but then it is up to you and that is when people go back to their old habits.

Also, during Perimenopause your body is going through so many changes and what worked before, will probably not work anymore.

I want you to take the focus off dieting and put it on becoming healthy. I mean really healthy. I mean super charged energy healthy....and it is possible.

I have mentioned in previous posts that women tend to develop sensitivities to wheat and diary at this time in their life. I recommend taking dairy and wheat out of your diet. If you need just a little bit of milk in coffee or tea then that is fine - but that is it. If you drink soy milk, read the label. Is it organic? Does it contain a lot of chemicals - long names of things you have no idea what they are. Google them and find out. The more ingredients listed the worse it probably is. You don't need those toxins in your body, have the real thing but just a little of it.

Also, do not use diet or low fat salad dressings, cookies, crackers, etc. They are full of a whole lot of nothing. Fake food I call them. They are just fillers. No wonder they don't really satisfy your hunger.

What you need to do is eat more healthy, nutritious, organic, whole foods. Simply put - that is it!

When you eat nutrient dense whole food your body is getting what it needs to function properly. This is the fuel it needs. Without the proper fuel, it will not run very well. You will feel sluggish, tired, lazy, depressed, bloated, etc, etc.

Start by taking out some of the bad food you eat. Read labels - all labels. Pay attention to what is in the food you are eating. Don't put chemicals and toxins in your body. They screw up the chemistry and hormone balance of your body. Your tissues hold onto these toxins. You retain water, fat and feel puffy - that is a result of the stored toxins.

You will notice when you eat more good foods that you will feel satisfied and not crave as many of the bad foods.

This should happen naturally. Please give it time. Just like trying to quit smoking, your body is addicted to the sugar, the fat, the fake foods you have been eating and it will crave it until you let it know who is boss and finally stop the addiction.

A great way to start getting more greens into your diet is to drink green smoothies.

You don't need a fancy blender but I do suggest you get something that can blend a smoothy. When I first started I just had a bullet (small personal blender) and that is what I used. I will be sharing in future posts how important green drinks are to you and how they can add super nutrition and give you more energy.

Let's start with my favorite green smoothie

Ingredients:
1 apple
1/4 tsp of cinnamon (optional)
Handful of Spinach leaves
Filtered Water
(I highly suggest organic veggies and fruits - huge difference and you ARE worth it)

• Peel apple and cut up into small pieces
• Put cold filtered water into blender first (enough for 1 drink for you and leave room for apple & spinach)
• Add cinnamon and apples and blend
• Stack spinach leaves and roll up then cut the roll into thin strips (if you have a good blender you do not have to do this)
• Blend again until you do not see any chunks of spinach. Make sure you do not overblend spinach

It will be a very nice green color. Don't be scared - try it!! I promise you it is very good.

It is best to drink the smoothie on its own, without food. I like this mid morning. Sometimes I have it first thing in the morning but usually mid morning. There are many varieties of smoothies to make and one to satisfy everyone's taste. I will have more recipes in future blog posts.

I really encourage you to incorporate a homemade smoothie into your day. It is a great way to add more fruits and veggies in your diet. In the future I will also explain how good these are for you and why it is important to keep them in your diet.

HOW EMOTIONS AFFECT HEALTH AND OUR SYMPTOMS

In my last blog post I spoke about emotions and symptoms. Which comes first, the emotion or the symptom? Can a certain emotion cause a certain symptom? Can a symptom bring on an emotion?

Both are true and I am sure all of you have experienced this.

Dr Christiane Northrup in her book "The Wisdom of Menopause" devotes a chapter in her book on this. She speaks a lot about how emotions/thoughts/feelings affect our physical body throughout her whole book. This is a book I really recommend reading.

She states:
"Depression, in turn, is a very well documented independent risk factor for heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. Emotional turmoil affects the brain and all its functions. Continuing in the same upsetting situation virtually guarantees that a woman's hormones stay unbalanced. The longer she allows negative situations to persist, the more out of whack her hormones will become, and the more physically uncomfortable she will feel."

You may have heard of the "Type C" personality, the one more susceptable to cancer. So watch what you think, what are your thoughts and feelings. With hormones out of balance you can feel a little depressed and if you don't deal with it when it arrives, it could keep getting worse and before you know it you are getting some very uncomfortable physical symptoms.

With so much change going on at this stage of our life, we must check-in with ourselves. Check in to how we are feeling, how our body is feeling. If there is something that is not right, then find out what it is, how you can deal with it. Do some research. You are important and your health is extremely important. What do you want your future to look like? Think about it - seriously.

Christiane goes on to say:
"Your emotions, desires, and dreams are your inner guidance system. Understanding how your thoughts and your emotions affect every single hormone and cell in your body, and knowing how to change them in a way that is health-enhancing, gives you access to the most powerful and empowering health-creating secret on earth.

....when all is said and done it is your attitude, your beliefs, and your daily thought patterns that have the most profound effect on your health. Attitudes and beliefs also influence how well your food is digested and how effective your exercise is."

Maybe in the past you have not taken time to check-in with yourself or have not take care of you. You may have been busy raising your family and putting yourself last. Now your kids are older and you have time. It is now your time. Things may start coming up that you haven't had time to deal with before. Thoughts, dreams and wishes that in the past you pushed away because you didn't have time to deal with them. Now these are surfacing and it is time for you to deal with them.

Maybe you have felt like you have lost yourself along the way and now with this extra time to think you are realizing that maybe your life needs to change. It is time to change your lifestyle. What worked before is not working any more. Your body is changing and your inner self is changing. If you are not good at dealing with change, this can be a bit overwhelming.

Luckily there are so many resources out there. Just walk into Chapters and let your intuition guide you to a section of the book store that has books you need to read that can help. What questions and/or concerns are coming up? What do you need to learn? What do you know and what do you not know? Are you happy with your career? Your relationships? Your body? Your health?

Big questions and there are no easy answers. This is a journey. It can be a fun and exciting journey - but then again - I love change.....

I'll talk more about this in my next post. Take time to reflect and don't be scared of asking yourself the big questions. You don't need to know all the answers.

Chicken & The Egg

So....

Is your emotion the chicken and your symptoms the egg?...

or is it

The symptom is the chicken and the emotion is the egg?....

Wondering what I am speaking of? It will make sense I promise - read on...

Can emotions cause our symptoms? Can emotions cause our illness? I believe yes and a lot of people follow that belief. And now with quantum physics we know that particles (things) can be controlled (manipulated, made to appear) through thoughts (energy, vibration, intention).

You know how it goes - you have a bad headache and you are feeling really crappy so, you get stressed and frustrated because there are things you want to do and this headache is preventing you from doing them.

OR

Deep down you are overwhelmed, worried, stressed, exhausted, etc so your body gives you the headache so that you are forced to slow down and rest?

We may be coasting through a week, feeling positive and happy and wham - we get hit with a bad headache, a bad back, a pain somewhere in our body or maybe we cannot sleep one night. What is going on? The symptom(s) continue and/or get worse and what tends to happen? - our moods and emotions get worse, they become negative, we become frustrated, angry or even a little depressed.

I hold all my tension in my neck and shoulders. I have been struggling with this for years. So much so that I have built a very elaborate story about why I experience this neck pain, tension and headaches. My story is that I have been in a lot of car accidents, I was into heavy weight lifting and injured myself quite a few times, so these injuries are catching up with me, I am getting older, etc, etc. All true - but all a story.

I have a very busy life and I am a high energy person. Many body workers have tried to help me with my neck tension and pain and I have come a long way, but it still can bring me to a complete halt sometimes.

I get told by people to stay calm, find ways to relax, de-stress, etc. I am a yoga teacher so I do practice relaxation breathing techniques and I do make sure I take time to relax.

I have had x-rays, I have seen doctors and many body workers and still this is a big problem for me.

What I have noticed is that when I am feeling uncomfortable - whether it be a headache, upset stomach, etc -the symptom leads me to feel (experience emotion) a certain way. Stress and tension builds up and makes things worse. I can feel it coming on. I try to just sit in the pain or discomfort and not judge it or fight against it. This works great sometimes but not always. When days go by and I STILL have my headache or uncomfortable symptom, my emotions get worse and the situation becomes worse.

I also believe that a symptom (sickness, pain, disease, tumor, etc) is trying to tell us something. We need to listen to our bodies and catch the small warning signs it is giving us. If we ignore these subtle nudges over and over again, they will become stronger and more prominent. Pretty soon something hits us with full force and we are knocked out of control and forced to deal with what we had been ignoring.

I believe that the emotion is first - then the symptom. But I also believe that the symptom itelf can cause the emotion. It really is hard to know what causes the other and I think both is true. An emotion can cause a symptom and a symptom causes an emotion which can make the symptom worse.

Ahh.....It really is a circle.

So if symptoms arrive to tell us something, are the symptoms we experience during perimenopause trying to tell us something?

Hmmmmm.....this may very well be true. I know that Dr Christiane Northrup who wrote the book "Wisdom of Menopause" definately believes so....

More on this in my next post.

How To Make Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Pudding

I thought this title might catch your eye?

Who doesn't love chocolate pudding? Or chocolate for that matter. It is one of my weaknesses, including Peanut Butter. Oh, if I could only kick the peanut butter cravings. Yes, I do have almond butter and I do like it (just not as much).

One thing that is hard when trying to lose weight is eliminating some of your favorite things. If you favorite things include ice cream or chocolate, cakes, brownies, you actually don't have to. Believe it or not. There are healthy, dairy and wheat free alternatives to these desserts and many more. And...they don't require cooking.

Every chocoate pudding requires chocolate so what I suggest you use is raw cacao powder. I am not saying Cocoa, that is different. Cocoa is roasted at a high temperature so it is cooked, therefore many of the great nutrients in chocolate are destroyed. Raw Cacao (spelled different), is not heated at a high temperatue therefore not destroying the fantastic nutrients contained in the cacao bean (which are the chocolate beans).

Raw cacao is very high in antioxidants - more than red wine, green tea and blueberries! Also, it is not processed or any sugar, etc added. Cacao also contains calcium, zinc, iron, copper, sulphur and potassium. Contains proteins, magnesium, beta-caroteine and linoleic acid (just to name a few).

I has a small amount of caffeine which is different when cosumed cooked. So cocoa powder would have a higher level of caffeine than the raw cacao.

Chocolate Pudding - the healthy way:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Raw Cacao Powder
3 Dates (majoli dates work the best
1/2 - 1 tbsp Agave Nector or honey
1/2 tsp Natural Pure Vanilla
1 Avacodo
Sea Salt - just a pinch

• Soak dates in warm water for about 20 minutes or more.
• In deep bowl or smaller food processor, add soaked dates and Agave Nector or honey. If you just have a hand blender then put in deep bowl. Process until mixed.
• Mass avocado with a bit of water. Add Vanilla and Avocado (maybe 1/2 or a little more) into date and vanilla mixture and mix some more.
• Then add 2 tbsp (this depends on how chocolatey sp?? you want it). Then mix again. Do not over process.
• Mix to consistency of creamy pudding. If too dry you can add some more avacado that you have mixed well separately with a bit of water. Also sweeten to taste by adding more or less dates or honey.

This makes a small amount. Next time you may want to make more so adjust ingredients. Experiement with taste as in how sweet, how chocolatey or how thick or thin you like it.

This is so good  - honest! You don't even notice the avocado (of course unless you add too much). May take a bit of trial and error to figure out the right measurements to make it the way you like it. But, it is worth it.

This is far better than grabbing a chocolate snack that is full of sugar and preservatives or cheap chocolate with no nutrients in it.

If you click on the link below it will send you to another blog post where I share some more gluten-free and dairy free recipes.
More wheat-free and dairy-free snacks

HAVE A GREAT HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!

Results of Hormone Testing

Like I promised, info on the hormone testing that I had done.

I had saliva testing done. There are people who agree with it and people who do not. Like everything you hear the good and the bad.

Because I was going through such a hard time with emotions, moods, symptoms, headaches, etc. I did chose to do hormone testing. I researched the different testing procedures and I felt it was the best one. I also spoke with my Naturopath and the Compounding Pharmacist.

If you are not sure what a compounding pharmacy or pharmacist is - click on this link What is a compounding pharmacy

The compounding pharmacist wanted to make sure that I had some knowledge of hormone replacement therapy so he recommended I read a book that he felt was full of good information. The reading was a little dry but very important and informative

My nauturopath and the compounding pharmacist recommended saliva testing so that is what I did.

Saliva Testing and Prodedure
I got the kit from the compounding pharmacy. I had to wake up early and fill a vile with saliva. Try doing that - it takes time. You are not really allowed to drink anything either. I got it done and then it was sent off to the lab. This test cost me (in Canada) just over $200.00. It is a very comprehensive test and instead of me or anyone else "guess" the levels of my hormones, I figured this is what I should do.

Once the lab completes the testing, the test results are sent back to the compounding pharmacist and he/she complies a detailed report and they then recommend what you should be taking. He sent me my test results, which was very cool. I then made an appointment and went in to speak with the pharmacist. I spoke with him for about 1 1/2 hours! He thoroughly explained everything to me. A lot of information all at once. My head was spinning. (Before I did the testing I also met and spoke with him about it)

He was completely confident about the bioidentical hormones. He had attended numerous conferences, studied the topic in great length and has worked with many women helping them relieve their symptoms. Bioidentical hormones are made in the pharmacy by the compounding pharmacists. They are formulated to be exactly like what our body produces (biologically identical) so they cannot be bad for you. I think that if you take them and not sure how much to take or do not follow the strick instructions given with them then you could have some wild symptoms. Just like anything else.

Test Results
My results showed that I was low on basically everything. Low estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. No wonder I was not feeling well at the time!

He explained how hormones are produced in our body and how our body requires minerals, vitamins and nutrients to produce hormones properly. He recommended I take zinc and selenium which is very important in hormone production. He also recommended a good fish/salmon oil (I take a good omega oil blend with DHA).

If our health is suffering, if we are not eating right, if our adrenal glands are being overworked (stress), if our thyroid is not functioning properly - this all affects our hormone levels which in turns affects the severity of the symptoms.

Did you know that thin women produce less estrogen as they age. Estrogen is also produced in body fat. The less body fat you have the less estrogen you will have. Probably the more hot flashes too.

For someone my age (I am 45), it was a surprise to him that I was so low in all of these hormones.

He made me up a dose of estrogen and progesterone. I decided to wait on the testosterone because when estrogen and progesterone levels are balanced, testosterone can begin to naturally increase and sometimes become balanced. He gave me a 3 month supply of the cream (you can get pills but go with the cream because dose can be controlled much easier). The price was only about $97.00 (CAD).

Synthetic Vs Bioidentical Hormones
Please don't get confused between synthetic hormones and bioidentical hormones. They are so very different. Doctors do not receive any training or knowledge on bioidentical hormones unless they chose to research themselves. When articles, etc refer to HRT (hormone replacement therapy). They are often referring to synthetic hormones. When someone is referring to bioidentical hormone therapy they will use BHRT.

If you want a good web site to learn more, the web site is

Dr Erika Swartz at www.drerika.com

She is a medical doctor and is a big advocate for woman's health.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to learn, to research, to educate yourself about what is out there to help you. There is a lot of information and it can be overwhelming.

I am so glad I have chosen the natural way to deal with the weigtht gain and symptoms of perimenopause. Even if you think you are too young to have low hormone levels but you ARE experiencing symptoms, then please get it checked out by someone you trust and someone who knows and is educated themself in the field of hormones.

Below is a link for compounding pharmacists in Canada and the US. They may not all be listed on the link but it is a good place to start.
Compounding Pharmacies

Physical & Emotional Cleansing

Well, I have to tell you I have been through some ups and downs lately. This mid-life thing is a little crazy.

I have been coping with digestive problems off and on for many years. Since I have been in perimenopause they have gotten worse. There are a couple of reasons why.

One reason is that old injuries have spoken very loudly and I have had to stop working out like I used. When I used to run, ride my bike and work out really hard at the gym, I never had to worry about digestion. As soon as I became more sedentary or if I took a trip somewhere, my digestive issues began again.

I am a yoga teacher and teach yoga but do not practice it enough on my own. I still go to the gym but my workout intensity has greatly decreased.

The other reason could/may be a combination of stress, symptoms of perimenopause and a thyroid that is not working 100%.

I have been eating a diet of a lot of raw foods for the last few months. This in itself will detox a person and cleanse them. I decided upon this diet because I love the food, have always eaten very healthy food and was looking for a sure fire way to improve my digestion (I also chose and love eating like this, the food is so great). Even by doing this, my digestion remained sluggish, that is why I chose to try a fast. I have read a lot about fasting and see it as a way of my digestive system healing. I will then see how I feel and resume a diet of raw foods (along with some healthy cooked foods).

I do not eat meat but have been eating fish. I love fish and probably will continue.

The Emotional Cleanse
My emotions and hot flashes have been crazy lately!! Yesterday I felt like I was losing it and it took all I had to keep myself together in public. I still have to work! I have also been having frequent headaches.

Whether these emotional and physical symptoms are part of my detox, because I have been eating mainly raw foods and a lot of juices, I am not sure. If I am still detoxing, then it is a very long detox.

After, what felt like an emotional cleanse yesterday, I decided to try fasting. To do the ultimate physical cleansing. Today I have had water with lemon and herbal tea. Hmmm maybe add some juice (which make myself) later today or tomorrow. I don't feel hungry but I sure miss eating. It hasn't been long and they say the first 2 days are the hardest.

What helped me through yesterday (my emotional cleansing day) was to realize that it was probably just that - emotional cleansing. Just like our body, our emotions need releasing and cleansing. I was obviously holding onto a lot of stuff. I wasn't really aware of what I was so upset about yesterday or what made my emotions so extreme, but I tried to breathe through it, relax and tell myself that it will pass. I also really believe that it is a good thing that I am releasing all this. Blocked emotions can cause illness and disease (what I believe).

The Physical Cleanse
Now, what will the physical cleansing/fasting bring me. They say it brings clarity of mind, lots of energy, more intuitive awareness and of course improved digestion. Well, I will tell you one thing, it certainly was easier and faster getting ready for work this morning when I didn't have to cook or prepare my lunch to bring.

Eating is such a habit. I eat even when I am not hungry. If I was overweight and had to lose weight, an appetite supressant wouldn't work for me. I believe that most women eat even when they are not hungry. If we truly waited until we felt hungr (a good hunger, not starving), then we would not have weight problems. Often it is not real hunger that we feel but thirst or craving for sugar, sweetness, salt, chewing, etc.

I think that a big part of my digestive problems were because I ate too often and I didn't worry about the types of foods that I was combining. That irritated my digestive system. I am going to learn more about that.

Tomorrow my plan is to go without juice for sure until lunch. Then I will see how I feel, if I feel I need some juice to think clearly again and not feel faint, then I will have some.

The third day of the fast/cleanse I will add in some vegetable juices. I am and will go with how I feel. I am not sure what the next few days will hold for me.

I am in the middle of moving so that is stressful and requires a lot of energy but I am almost done!

I realize that in my last post I stated that this post would be about the results of my hormone testing that I had done. Sorry about that. I will write about that in my next post.

I would love to hear from you and if you have any experiences with fasting, cleansing...etc. Any advice?

Anxiety & Depression During Perimenopause Part 2

In my last post I spoke about how during perimenopause you may experience anxiety and/or mild depression, even if you have never had problems with these before.


As I said, it may take you by surprise and you may not know how to cope with it.

FIRST:     DO NOT PANIC – that just makes it worse

SECOND:   GO SEE A NATUROPATH DOCTOR OR A NATURAL HEALTH PRACTITIONER

ALSO: Start reading and learning about perimenopause (a great book is "Wisdom of Menopause" by Christaine Northrup). Take time for yourself and write in a journal or do some soul searching to see if you can get to the feelings of what is behind this. If you feel there is really nothing that could be causing the anxiety or mild depression that has set in, it is a good idea to get your hormone levels tested.

Here is a great link to articles by a very accomplished Dr (MD), Dr Erica Swartz, who specializes in women and hormone issues. Check out the articles for great information:

http://drhotzeblog.netymology.com/?cat=4

She also has a web site at www.drerica.com

How I got myself through this and over it:

First of all, I did not know why I was going through this. With research and a lot of reading I realized it was hormone imbalance. I went to Naturopath and talked to her about hormone testing and the difference between bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormones.

I was also extremely fatigued and cold all the time. It was getting hard to function every day. She looked at me and my HUGE cup of coffee I brought with me, and knew something was up. She tested my adrenal glands and my thyroid glands. We also talked a lot. Then I asked her what natural supplements I could take.

When she got the test results she confirmed that I was definitely in perimenopause but my adrenal glands were also burned right out (she even said it was one of the worst cases she has seen), as well as my thyroid gland was not functioning properly (hence being cold and so tired!!). She recommended some supplements for those things as well as digestive problems I was having.

I then went to a very good health food store and asked them. The health food store I go to is so great and they are very knowledgeable. I started on 2 supplements for perimenopause/menopause. I live in Canada and the supplements are by Lorna Vanderhaaghe.

I also started taking zinc, selenium, magnesium and a good omega oil blend with DHA, along with marine phytoplankton. I have always taken iron (I tend to be anemic), Vit C, E and B-complex. It sounds like a lot but I believe in feeling my best.

The Next Step:

Hormone Testing

The next step was to get my hormones tested to see where they were at…..I will report on this in my next post. I was very surprised, and so was the compounding pharmacist, about the results of my testing. Stay tuned and I will let you know how that went.

Anxiety & Depression During Perimenopause

If any of you have ever experienced anxiety or depression you know how troubling it can be. Of course either of these can occur at any age, but I want to talk about when these symptoms arise during perimenopause.

Many women do not realize that these can occur during perimenopause and if you have never experienced anxiety or never felt really depressed then it can be quite confusing. It is especially confusing if your life is going along like it always has, nothing has really changed.

You wonder...

Why am I feeling like this? Where did it come from? Is it my relationship? Is it my job? What is it?

I know, because I have been there. Up until a year or so ago, I had never really experienced anxiety. Well, maybe a little as a teenager or the anxiety brought on by stress, but not the "come out of nowhere anxiety". I didn't know what to do. One day I would be fine, the next day I would be a MESS! I would feel worried, I would feel panic, anxious, emotional, etc. I didn't know why. I could not figure out what had changed from yesterday to today. In many cases there was nothing that "should" be making me feel like this.

I remember driving around on a Saturday because I could not sit at home, I could not sit still and I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just had to get away. I didn't know where I wanted to go. I couldn't think straight. I was confused, anxious and unselttled. I was very emotional. Some of these times I would begin to cry for no reason so I couldn't even go for coffee!! I couldn't stop anywhere because I was crying and I could not stop myself. I didn't even know WHY I was crying!!! It was horrible!!

These feelings and moods would seem to happen on weekends. Which really sucks!! I guess because I wasn't in routine mode. During the week, life is such a routine and we just "do" things and don't really think too much, especially with a very busy life. Then the weekend would come and I hadn't planned anything and the anxiety would set it. The light depression would be there - for no reason.

I even ended a great relationship because of this. My personality changed. I lost my sex drive completely, I didn't really like myself because I was bitchy and over emotional. Everything my boyfriend did seemed to irritate me. I thought it was him. I really did.

I want all of you to know that if you are going through this - please do not panic. You can change it, you don't have to go on antidepressants or synthetic hormones.

I didn't take any drugs at all. I refused. I found natural alternatives that helped turn me around. I am back to my old self again and back with my boyfriend.

If you are going through this, it may be hard for you to talk to someone or perhaps they do not understand so you feel all alone and are convinced there is something wrong with you. Please don't think that. You are fine. Know that your hormones are just going crazy right now. Remember being a teenager? Basically this is the same thing.

In my next post I will tell you what I did that worked and what you can do. What helps is to understand that this anxiety and depression you are experiencing right now is probably hormonal imbalance. You can do something about it and you don't have to feel like this anymore. Believe me...I know. I felt like I was under a dark cloud and when I found my way out of it...it was like stepping out into the sunshine and clear blue skies. It was wonderful!!

Please stay tuned. Breathe......do something that makes YOU feel good. When I was going through this phase I took a lot of hot baths and would have a cup of tea or wine and read. I couldn't be around anyone. That is when the book "Eat, Pray, Love" came out and I read that. If you have not read it - READ IT!!!What an escape!! Love it!

DAIRY FREE CHEESE RECIPE - SO YUMMY!!

A few posts ago, I spoke about how many women during Perimenopause become wheat and dairy sensitive. I am definately one of them.

Even if you do not think you are sensitive to wheat and dairy, you may want to think about giving them up. If you are having symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, slow digestion, allergy like symptoms and congestion, you may be wheat and/or dairy sensitive. Try giving up dairy and wheat and see if those symptoms go away. Most likely, they will.

I love cheese and that is one thing I really miss but I have found great alternatives.  One is cashew cheese. I realize this sounds a little strange but it is SO good!

When I started preparing more recipes that were not cooked, processed or dairy or wheat based I started with very basic ingredients and appliances. A coffee grinder is a wonderful tool and can make small amounts of pates and nut cheeses.

Below is a recipe for cashew cheese (the way I make it). Because I use my coffee grinder I can only make a small amount at a time so I have to do a few batches, but it is worth it.

CASHEW CHEESE

Using raw, unsalted cashews that have been soaked overnight in salt and filtered water (8-10 hours or more). Then rinse them.
Maybe start with about 1 1/2 cups of the raw cashews

• Put about 1/2 C (or not even) of the soaked cashews in the coffee grinder
• Add a bit of sea salt (about 1/4 tsp)
• Squeeze about 1/4 of a lemon on top
• Add 1 tsp of nutritiona yeast (buy at a health food store - Red Star brand in bulk is good)

Blend in grinder. You have to stop and stir mixture often. If mixture sticks to side when mixing, pick up grinder and shake it around while it is on to make sure it grinds up evenly. Keep opening grinder and stirring it. Continue until it is rich and creamy. The texture of cream cheese. If it is a little dry then add just a touch of water.

If you use a food processor instead it may turn out a bit course, not realy creamy (at least it did for me). I prefer the coffee grinder because it makes it nice and creamy.

Make it to suite your taste. If you find it is too lemony then add less lemon. If you want it more cheesy then add more nutritional yeast. If it is too dry then try adding a bit of water. If you want it salty then add more sea salt.

You can also taste it while it is mixing and adjust to your taste then.

About Nutritional Yeast:
Nutritional yeast is nonactive yeast. It is fine for someone with candida. It is not an active yeast.
It is very good for you as it is a complete protein, contains 18 amino acids, is a rich source of B-complex, some brands are enriched with Vitamin B-12 and it contains chromium. It is low in fat and sodium.
YOU GOTTA TRY IT!!

It is a fantastic food and you can also sprinkle it on popcorn and add it into homemade salad dressings, on top of steamed veggies, etc.

You can purchase it at a health food store where it is usually found in the bulk food section. Red Star is the brand I like. It is very fine and flaky and is a pale or a brighter yellow-gold. It actually has a cheesy smell to it.

You may be wondering why I am recommending a nut cheese that is probably high in fat when my blog is to talk about controlling weight during perimenopause. Well, this does. It is a good fat. It is NOT processed or pasturized. It is free of preservatives, additives and coloring. It is healthy fo you. Of course you should not sit down and eat a bowl of it with a bunch of crackers. It is filling and is nutrient dense and loaded with flavor and goodness.

It is great on veggies. Put it on celery sticks, cut up bell peppers, cucumber, zuchinni, or wrap it up in a leaf of lettuce. It is also great with tomato and avocado.

I hope to add video to this blog where I will show you how to make some more healthy and tasty foods you will love!

If you have any questions while making this cheese or any comments on the cashew cheese, please let me know!

EMOTIONAL UPS AND DOWNS DURING PERIMENOPAUSE

So far I have spoken about many physical aspects of Perimenopause. I now want to mention the emotional or mental aspects of Perimenopause.

Perimenopause is a phase of life where changes occur on a physical, emotional, spiritual and mental level. Coud this be part of a mid-life crisis? I hate to consider this age mid-life and I don't even like talking about it in that way. But people tend to when they don't know how else to explain it.

In our 40's and even late 30's, we look at our life and begin to analyze it.

Are we where we thought we would be at this time?

Emotional things that we may have suppressed or avoided begin to surface. Life may be telling us that it is time to work through those issues. It is time to know who we really are; to become our authentic self.

Many women lose the sense of who they really are. You are busy taking care of your family and tend to put yourself last because that is what your mother did, your grndmother did, etc. Especially if you have had to work full time while raising kids and staying married. Yikes! That takes so much energy!!

Many women during Perimenopause are not sure how to deal with this and feel overwhelmed. Antidepressants may seem like the only answer or a good one at the time. I want you to know that there are many things that you can do and a few resources are listed below.

I have been going through this since my early 30's. It never really ends....but it gets better.

I found a few resources and have listed them below. They have really helped. They focus on releasing emotionas, releasing blocks, not dwelling on them. No psycho-therapy here.

Byron Katie and "The Work"

Who are you without your story? She was once severely depressed. She developed questions and a technique tha pulled her out of it.

http://www.thework.com/

The Sedona Method

A technique, which at first, seems a little odd and almost too simple. It took me a while to really believe in this. I find it isreally good to combine "The Work" and the "Sedona Method".

http://www.sedona.com/

"Excuses Begone!" by Dr Wayne Dyer

He is my self-help guru. I absolutely love him!! His new book is "Excuses Begone!" and I loved the way he explains it. He borrows "The Work" and adds more of his brilliance to come up with his method of releasing. This is really good.

http://www.drwaynedyer.com/

LOOK AT THE WEB SITES.
"The Work" has worksheets and gives out a lot of free information. You can start your work now.

A BOOK YOU CAN RELATE TO:
A FABULOUS BOOK called "How Did I Get Here" by Barbara De Angelis isSO FANTASTIC!! At least is was DEAD ON FOR ME. It expressed exactly what I was feeling and going through at the time I read it. It is a older book but I'm sure you can buy it online or at a used book store (that is where I found it). It appears as if Barbara wrote this book when she was going through Perimenopause. It doesn't mention Perimenopause but it deals with the emotional shift and change that we feel on the inside. When ou inside world changes, we must change out outside world. Very interesting and an entertaining read.

So take a trip to Chapters or your nearest book store and look through these books and others. Everyone is different and what works for one person, may not work for another.

When I go to a bookstore, I clear my head, relax and just know that the right book will find me. It always does. Don't have too many expectations. Be open and have faith that you will find the book that has exactly what you need at this time in it.

Gook luck and let me know what books you have read that have worked for you or that you feel other women would enjoy reading.

OUTDOOR MARKETS & TIME AWAY

Hello everyone!

To all the Canadian's out there, this weekend is Thanksgiving so I hope everyone gets to enjoy some fabulous food and special times with family and friends.

I am from Edmonton, AB and I live in Nanaimo, BC (Vancouver Island) so I will not be with my family this Thanksgiving. These are times when I REALLY miss them. My 20 year old daughter will be with my family and I will be spending it with my boyfriend here in Nanaimo. At least we will all be together for Christmas.

A couple of weekends ago, my boyfriend and I went to Victoria, BC. If you have ever been there, you know how absolutely beautiful it is!! It is about 1 1/2 hours from Nanaimo and is the largest city on Vancouver Island. I have travelled a lot and I feel Victoria is one of THE most beautiful cities I have EVER seen and am very luck I live so close.

It is right on the ocean, the weather is the best in Canada and it is a very healthy and vibrant community. There are quaint outdoor cafes, shops and markets. Below are just a few pictures of my visit there. The weather was incredible as you can see.



There are tons of these little outdoor markets in neighbourhoods. These are my favourite places to shop. We don't have any in Nanaimo so I take advantage of them when I come to Victoria.

Here I am buying some fresh veggies!!

Take a look at these BEAUTIFUL sunflowers!! They are so bright, colorful and full of sunshine - I just love them!

We then went for a walk along the beach. The beaches here are rocky and have huge logs that have drifted up on shore. The logs are from all the logging done on the island (which I am not happy about). Vancouver Island has so many beautiful old growth forests and trees that reach to the sky and are very, very old. It is like a rain forest here with lots of ferns and trees covered with vines and moss. Very beautiful.

One reason why I love to come to Victoria for the day or weekend is that it is like a mini-holiday. I feel far enough away from the everyday stressors and I am in a place that is so amazing, has a lot to do, has some extremely healthy restaurants and health conscious people and it is on the ocean!! How great is that!

I come back home feeling rested, calm, peaceful and happy! When I am there, my body relaxes, my mind quiets and I feel at peace. We all need that.

Where can you go for the day that will help you release the stress, feel more at peace and just be in the moment? You don't have to go far. Just a day trip. We often think we need a holiday far away to rest and relax. You don't. Try taking a day trip. Explore the area around where you live. Be a tourist in your province, in your state, in your city.

Let me know where your favourite day trip is.

To my fellow Canadians - HAVE A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

How to Control Hot Flashes During Perimenopause

Hello everyone

I am going to share with you a rememdy for hot flashes that really works!! If you are going through Perimenopause, Menopause or are Post-Menopausal and are having hot flashes, there is something you can do that will really help to control them. It is all natural and great for your physical and emotional health. It even helps you lose weight!

I have heard others mention this remedy and I can tell you, from personal experience, that it really works. It works for me everytime.

When I stop doing it, the hot flashes return. When I start doing it again, the hot flashes go away, or do not occur as often.

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION NOW?!

What remedy am I speaking about?

Cardiovascular activity. That is right - doing cardio.

You may have been hoping for a pill or something else but this is what works and it benefits you in so many other ways also.

Cardiovascular activity helps decrease high blood pressure, high blood sugar, helps you lose weight, decreases stress, makes your heart and lungs stronger, helps make you stronger and is good for your skin.

I have always been active but have had periods of time when I was injured or on a holiday and didn't do my cardio. That is when I had more hot flashes. As soon as I got back to doing cardio again, the hot flashes would go away. I have read this as I was doing my research on perimenopause and it is proven to help.

My friends agree that this makes a difference for them as well. For me the intensity of the cardio also makes a difference. Each woman has a different fitness level so each woman will be different as to what intensity of cardio works for them.

If I do not do cardio at least 3 x a week I notice I have more hot flashes. For myself, walking isn't much of a cardio workout but for some it is. If I do a power walk and go up and down some hills, if I do the stairs, cardio on gym equipment or ride my bike, my hot flashes decrease.

I realize that you may not have time every week to do some intense or long cardio sessions, but please make time for some cardio each day. Walk during lunch, breaks and right after work (before you go home if you can, then it is done).

Do the stairs, which is a high intensity workout and really works for zapping hot flashes. Just pick a few flights and do those over and over. A workout to try: go up each step 2 x, then every 2nd step 2x, then sideways (once right foot first, 2nd time left foot first), then run up and down the flights, etc. There are numerous options. Play around with it. Challenge yourself each time and watch how you improve!

If you already work out and do cardio and are having quite severe hot flashes then maybe you need to bump up your cardio a notch. Do it for longer, or shorter but more intensly, or do it more times per week. See what works for you. (There are also some great natural products out there that help with hot flashes)

Stress brings on hot flashes. Cardio exercise helps to eleviate stress. Try some deep relaxing breathing also which helps. Combining yoga and cardio sessions during the week would be perfect!

Let me know what works or doesn't work for you. I am sure there are many women going through perimenopause or menopause and would love to here what works for others to get rid of hot flashes.

Time to get moving!

MSG Can Cause Obesity

During Perimenopause women usually gain weight around the waist and deal with bloating and headaches.

In my last post I spoke about not eating preservatives and to read the lables of all food items you buy and have in your house. Since our body cannot utilize the foreign chemicals that are contained in fast foods and packaged foods, those chemicals end up being stored in fat and in fluids in our body. They can also do damage to natural chemical balance of our body.

The following paragraph is from an article called "MSG Is A Slow Poison" by Elizabeth Joyce:
John Erb was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called "The Slow Poisoning of America." In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so the scientists have to create them. They make these morbidly obese creatures by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates; causing rats (and humans?) to become obese.

This is very serious so I wanted to include the names that MSG can hide under.

If a food label has any of the below listed as ingredients - IT DOES CONTAIN MSG:
Monosodium Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Hydrolyzed Protein, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Plant Protein Extract, Sodium Caseninate, Calcium Caseninate, Yeast Extract, Textured Protein, Autolyzed Yeast, Hydrolyzed Oat Flour, Corn Oil.

If a food label lists any of these ingredients - IT PROBABLY CONTAINS MSG:
Malt Extract, Malt Flavoring, Bouilion, Broth, Stock, Favoring, Natural Flavors/Flavoring, Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring, Seasoning, Spices.

If a food label lists these following ingredients - IT MAY CONTAIN MSG:
Carrageenan, Enzymes, Soy Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate.

You may not realize that most chain restaurants and (probably all) fast food restaurants have food loaded with MSG.

Because I get headaches and very bad symptoms when I consume all forms of MSG and other chemicals I have to ask the waitors if the food they serve contains preservatives. They ask if I have allergies and I tell them that I get very sick and I can tell if the food, sauces, desserts contain preservatives - I WILL know. You can imagine they get pretty nervous so they are usually good at telling me the truth. You would be surprised how many places use preservatives in their foods or use sauces, spices, flavorings with preservatives - which in most cases contain MSG.

Do yourself and your family a favor and print out the list above and take a look at your packaged foods, salad dressings and canned food. Read all labels when you are shopping. You will notice how hard it is to buy anything without a chemical name in the ingredients. Educate yourself, make the right choice and avoid these products.

Let me know what you find. I know avoiding foods with MSG and other preservatives has had a HUGE impact on me being able to lose the extra weight and keep it off! Also, my health is so much better for it!

Perimenopause - What Would You Like to Know?

I am new to blogging and before I get to far into all my blog posts, I thought I would take time to ask you what you want to know.

Perimenopause is a broad topic and one that I have researched and learned a lot about. Why? Because I am going through it right now also. I am 45 years old and started having symptoms about 2 years ago. I also started to gain weight around my waist - something that I never had to worry about before.

I am a personal trainer, yoga teacher and health nut so I have never had to worry about my weight. Then hormone imbalance hit and wow! What a difference! That began my obsession into finding out how I can control this unwanted weight gain (around my waist) and some of the uncomfortable symptoms I was experiencing. I realized that it was my responsibility to help myself. I needed to find out what was going on and what I could do about it - NATURALLY! I have gathered tons of information through my experiences as a personal trainer, yoga teacher and my years of studying nutrition, health and self-development.

I do practice what I preach. Below is a picture of me and my cousin this ummer (July 2009) on the beautiful Hornby Island off the coast of Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). I live on Vancouver Island. We are both 45 years old and have had 1 child each. We have had to adjust our eating over the years to help us stay lean and healthy. It is all about what you eat and your lifestyle. It is possible for anyone.

So let me know what you want to know. I will then write about it. Until then, I will post information I feel is valuable and that will help you in your journey through this phase of your life.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Perimenopause Weight Gain and Preservatives

If this is your first time to the blog, I have been talking about how learning to eat intuitively can help lose weight and keep it off. Perimenaopause is one of the times in our lives where a lot of big changes in our body begin to happen and therefore we experience uncomfortable symptoms associated with those changes. Remember adolescence?

One symptom you may not be too happy about is unwanted weight gain. I asked you in a previous post to work on your mind-body connection. To pay attention to how you feel before, during and after you eat. Your body is smart and it is a good idea to get in-tune with it. Many people eat out of habit, instead of really learning and knowing the type and amount of food their body requires.

Now that you are in perimenopause, you need to change your eating patterns and habits if they are not working for you anymore.

Today I will tell you one of my secrets on how to

LOSE UNWATNED FAT AROUND YOUR WAIST AND STAY LEAN

Our food is so full of chemicals and additives. What do you think those are doing inside of of you? What does your body do with all the chemicals you are putting into it? The additives, colorings, etc that are in packaged foods, fast foods and various drinks are not recognized by our body. They are not food so our body cannot utilize them.

Q.   It if cannot use them, what does it do with them?

A.   Most likely our body stores them in fat

The toxins and chemicals get stored in liquid (water retention) and tissue (our fat). The more chemicals you take in, the more fat and liquid your body needs to store them in. Especially if they are not being properly eliminated from your body. If your digestion is not working that well then you are not getting rid of many toxins and chemicals. The more chemicals you take in, the more fat your body needs to store the waste. Think of it as toxic waste - YUCK!

My challenge to you is to read ALL food and drink labels. When you are shopping for foods - read the labels. If you are buying produce - try to buy organic and definiately non-GMO (non-genetically modified). Even look at organic canned foods. They may be grown organic but when they are packaged, preservatives, chemicals, colorings, etc are added to them.

My body is very sensitive to preservatives, chemicals and colorings contained in food, drinks, candy, etc. I get bad headaches, my muscles tense up and I have flu symptoms. So I can tell if a restaurant has has put them in/on their food or used boughten sauces with preservatives in them. I have to ask and tell them I have an allergy and then they let me know if what they are serving has additives in it. Most cases - yes it does. Especially big chain restaurants.

I am also sensitive to dairy and wheat. I usually stay away from anything with gluten in it.

Many women going through perimenopause and menopause develop sensitivities to wheat and dairy. The symptoms may not be dramatic but once you learn to pay attention to how you feel after you eat, you will become aware of what agrees with you and what does not.

I haven't always been this sensitive...but then again, the food that was available was not as full as the "junk" that is is now either.

Wheat and dairy are NOT what they used to be.

When you are reading labels, if you notice your favorite foods or drinks contain chemical preservatives - don't eat or drink them. Will this be hard? Probably, but think of this. Would you drink Mr Clean? Would you add it to your salad? No! That may be extreme but some of the things added to foods and drinks are not that far off the hazardos chemicals we use to clean with.

When I became aware that it was the chemicals and preservatives that were giving me the whopping headaches and horrible symptoms, I stayed away from them. Pain is a great teacher.

What a difference!! No water retention, no puffiness, headaches, sinus problems and most of all - NO EXTRA FAT AROUND MY WASTE!

If you are wondering how you can tell what the preservatives are on a label you are reading. GOOGLE IT. Google the words you don't know (the chemical names). Be careful to notice if the site you are led to is the company that produces the preservative. They will tell you it is fine. Look at the source. You are what you eat and if you are trying to lose weight or maintain the weight you are now, then you MUST be aware of what you are eating.

It is not just how much but "what". I can eat a lot of veggies and fruit and be fine but I know that "light" or "diet" salad dressings, crackers, cookies, etc. contain "empty" calories, "junk" that is not food. No sugar added products could have chemical sweeteners, fillers, preservatives, additives, colorings. They are NOT real food and most of all NOT good for you at all!

They will NOT supply the body with any nutrition - so why eat them? Why treat your body like a toxic waste dumping ground!

They will not satisfy your hunger for long. They may even cause cravings. Because they are not FOOD your body can use so your body is still starving for nutrients. It wants food - so you will feel hungry. If you body does not receive the proper nutrition it needs to function, you will not be provided with energy, your metabolism will slow down and you will compromise your immune system.

Begin to read labels. You will be absolutely SHOCKED!!

I'd love to hear your comments and any questions you may have.

Intuitive Eating for Weight Loss Part 2

Me doing yoga on Hornby Island, BC - it was so beautiful!

In my last post I asked you to pay attention to how you feel physically, emotionally and mentally after you eat.

The point of this is to get in touch with your body. Your body will let you know if it is "happy" or not. You will then become aware if your body is receiving the proper nutrients. You may also gain insight into your thoughts and feelings regarding food. You may attach a lot of guilt to eating. Maybe you are not even hungry when you eat. You may realize that a food you thought you loved doesn't make you feel good when you eat it.

When you are on a diet or trying to lose weight and you crave a food you don't think you should eat, you stop yourself from eating it. Why this fails is that you end up eating more "junky" foods to make up for the one thing you are craving but did not eat. In most cases it would be better to eat a little of what you are craving so that you do not eat a lot of food trying to get rid of the craving.

In most cases, the foods you end up eating (to avoid eating the one you crave) are full of empty calories and probably do not have a lot of good nutritional value to them. So basically, they are added calories that you didn't want and you didn't need and now you will consume more calories by actually eating what you were craving. In the end you have consumed more calories than if you would have just eaten what you craved in the first place.

I know myself, I have periods when I crave either fat, salt or chocolate. When I really, really crave something that is not good for me, I buy a small version of it or choose a healthier version of what I am craving. If I am craving fat and salt, I like to have vegetable tempura. The vegetable tempura satisfies my fat craving and the light soya sauce satisfies my salt craving. This is what I do when a celery stick just doesn't cut it.

When I crave chocolate - I eat it. I make my own chocolate treats with raw cacao powder, which is extremely healthy, so I don't feel bad about consuming chocolate. I also don't eat a lot at once. When you are really craving chocolate it is best to buy a small amount and eat it. You can buy small amounts in the bulk section of a grocery store, but I do suggest eating raw chocolate or buying organic chocolate. Go to a health food store and buy a small bar of organic chocolate. Dark is best.

Think about why you eat what you eat

Why do you want that food item? Do you really want it or has it become a habit to eat it, even if you do not really crave it? Are you eating because you are bored?

Like I mentioned, if you are about to eat something that is unhealthy for you, ask yourself:

• Why do I want it?
• Could I find something healthier to eat that will satisfy that craving?
• Could I find a healthier alternative of the item I am craving?
• Am I eating out of boredom?
• Am I thirsty? (often this is the case)
• How will I feel after I eat the unhealthy snack?
• How will I feel if I choose something healthier to eat?

You do not need to continue with a bad habit. YOU CAN REPLACE IT WITH A BETTER food choice. Even if at first it is not the best food choice, as long as it is better. Then next time you have a craving, choose something better than before. Take steps to continually choose better foods. As long as you are moving forward and not backwards you WILL feel good about your choices.

Steps to take:

• Continue to monitor how you are feeling (physically, emotionally and mentally) before you eat, while you are eating and after you eat
• Try not to eat a bunch of empty calories or junk to avoid eating a little of something that you crave
• Notice if you are eating out of habit or boredom

In my next post I will share more steps to guide you closer to eating intuitively so you can lose unwanted weight and feel more energized and healthy. Whether you are in perimenopause, pre-perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause, intuitive eating will help you feel more energized, stay healthier, lose weight and assist in balancing your moods.

Let me know how you satisfy your craving for something "bad".....