Real blog from a real person

Last night I was wondering, again, if I should perhaps delete my blog, because I am hardly writing in it anymore.

With Facebook, putting up quick little posts has become the norm for me, and yet FB is quiet generic. One doesn't bare one's soul on FB.

I have just read an incredibly "real" post, of how I used to write and how completely honest I was with how I felt, when I was suffering from ME and depression and being a Christian.
http://wateringmustardseeds.blogspot.com/2008/11/alone-in-forest-and-other-visions.html

Now, I feel almost embarrassed to write that way as my posts are going onto my facebook page which is open to the world. Not that my blog isn't, but with a blog, you have to search for content you want to read.
The second thing is that my posts are more and more centred around this scary thing called "bi-polar", and its still a very touchy subject as people think your "mental", if have been diagnosed.
Understand?

Now the question is. Do I remove the blog from directing to my FB page, or should I just be me, and write what is within, no matter who may read it?

I am sure I will have the answer today. And perhaps I even have it now?

Reduce speed now

One of my biggest challenges is that it is incredibly hard for me to "switch my brain off" and relax. I am constantly on the "go", and its really unhealthy for one's body to have a constant demand on your adrenal glands (which produce adrenaline). Basically, I am an energizer bunny from dawn til dusk.

Knowing this, it doesn't means I automatically then slow down, but its sooo hard to "reduce speed now".
Here is a typical example. I eat breakfast standing up and walking around my kitchen. Bit impossible with egg on toast, but cereal, no sweat! I drink coffee and tea standing up and walking around too. You will find coffee cups in the oddest of places in my home. The only time you will find a coffee cup on my desk is during work time.

I think too fast. And when I think way too fast,  I then talk and mix up what I am saying, or, go into a mind fog because I am already thinking about the next thing.

Last week I was advised to start yoga again. Now that season is almost over, I will have the time to do this. I should actually be doing yoga 3x a week during season, but please!! Try running a company and having kids. That leaves very little time to "pop over" to the yoga centre.
I was also told that I need to start meditating again. My form of meditation is a mixture of contemptation prayer and centering. I did blog about that long ago, but will post that blog again as its so worth it!

So, if you have some nice yoga music,please send it to me as I will be needing it as soon as my shoulder comes right. Its still damn sore!

Cheers!

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

My last was about starting to become more healthy this summer. If you are serious about wanting to improve your health then you need to catch a wake up and feed your body good nutritious food.

To recap.
1. Cut down your bread intake. 2 Slices max per day.
2. Increase your protein. Every meal should have a bit of protein in it. Patrick Holford recommends we eat  – 25% of our daily calories from protein. Why? Protein helps balance your blood sugar levels.
3. Cut down your carbs. Atkin was on the right track, but his advise of no carbs, and no fruit is totally unhealthy. 

Carbohydrates are very important for you, and very important for your brain and helping stabilise your mood ( I will be posting on that soon), but its the you need to be eating the right kind of carb's. Your carb's must be low GL. 
What is GL? The GL is the total effect a food has on your blood sugar level. Its that simple. Hi GL food's will see your blood sugar levels rising, which you do not want. Low GL carbs means oats instead of cornflakes, or berries instead of bananas. Rye bread instead of white bread, get it?

Low GL definitely works best because people don’t get hungry. It is easy way of life to follow and it's the easiest to stick to.

Keen to know more? Read the Patrick Holford and Sally Anne Creed's books in my previous post.

Spring and its healthy body time

Spring is here and its not too late to get your body healthy and in shape for your shorts.
I will be posting mainly health tips but they will certainly help drop some of that winter weight as well.

To kick it off you need to up your veg intake A LOT, to your 5 a day and decrease your carbs. I will show you how to do this without feeling like your starving and worried about how on earth you will fit "5 a day" into your diet.
I use the word diet as the food we eat and not "diet" as I don't believe in them. They are all rubbish and bad for you.

Tip one and this is an NB TIP. Cut down the amount of bread you eat. Yes, coming from the one who has a love affair with my bread maker, this seems like a contradiction. But its true! You can still make bread, just please don't eat a loaf of it a day! A medium loaf is enough to make kiddies sandwiches and still leave a slice for you!
Tip two: This is one of the most important tips ever. Balance every meal with protein. I don't mean you need to eat a cow three times a day, but you must eat a bit. In my next blog I will be posting on this topic.

If you want to get serious about your health, then start reading everything you can from the leading nutritionalist SA Sally Ann Creed, and UK's Patrick Holford.

Chat soon!

The best Hummus ever

Hummus is a great hit in our house with the kids, and its a perfect way to get them to eat raw veggies. Slice cucumber, carrots, baby tomato to go with it, and in no time they will be munching them down.
For those who dont know what Hummus is, it is one of the most popular Middle Eastern dips around made from chickpea's. Its super healthy!

Here is a wonderful recipe that I use.

 1x 450g can of drained chickpeas ( reserve liquid)
2 Tbsp Tahini. I find Natures Choice Tahini to be the best around.
2  Tbsp  extra virgin cold pressed oilve oil
2 garlic cloves ( finely minced) or you can use garlic salt
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cumin ( dont leave this out, as it really rounds off the dip)
salt to taste

Combine chickpeas and Tahini in a food processor and blend well. Add reserve liquid as needed and all other ingredients. Blend until you have a paste.

Serve as a dip or as a spread. Enjoy!

Excellent Vitamin's for kids

If your looking for excellent vitamin's for kids that actually taste nice, and not full of sugar and nasties then I recommend Solgar Kangavites. They are more pricey that the supermarket brands, but you at least know your kids are getting the nutrients.

ttp://www.nutritioncentre.co.uk/p/492/Solgar-Kangavites-Childrens-Mulitivitamin-Bouncing-Berry.html

Ditch the wheat for IBS

Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

A lot of woman suffer from IBS and its actually relatively easy to cure. Here are some very good tips from Mary-Ann Shearer.
Although I do not follow a strictly food combined diet, I do know that for IBS food combining works very well. 

Irritable bowel syndrome is a group of symptoms you have had for at least 12 weeks in the last 12 months. It always involves abdominal pain or discomfort along with two of the following three characteristics:

• Pain or discomfort relieved by defecation
• Change in the frequency of bowel movements
• Change in the appearance of stools

Best program we have found to follow is;
1. Combine your food correctly as advocated in our book "Perfect Health" and on our DVDs
2. Remove all dairy products - cheese, milk & yoghurt
3. Remove all gluten products - that is anything made with wheat, rye and oats
4. Remove all raw onion and garlic
5. Drink Herbal Fibreblend daily first thing in the morning WITH 2 GLASSES water and again last thing at night if your condition is severe (use the Raspberry flavour if you like or the capsules - but make sure you drink the water.
6. Drink a 50-100ml shot of pure Aloe Vera Barbedensis Gel , with the same amount of carrot juice ( you can make fresh or use Aim's Just Carrots, before each meal)
All products available from www.naturalway.co.za

Defecon 2 is initiated in our house.

I woke up this morning, with my back feeling super duper, well almost and I was happy. Not just happy, but
SUPER HAPPY. I had super happy tinted glasses on the entire day and the world looked good. Get the drift..check out to understand how happy I was.

The kids and I went to the park and had a picknic with all the wildflowers, and it was just magic! Life was blissful. It was surreal.

Got home, started the day before school routine, which is bath, get school clothes ready and laid out and home work diaries checked and ready at the door,
Then suicide hour began, and if you haved kids know EXACTLY what I am talking about. An insidious evil force takes over your kids and replaces them with these revolting little monsters that say the words NO, DAH with rolled eyes( for stupid) and the latest is screaming " I dont like you", Ouch that hurts.

Where the heck have my lekker kids gone, and who ever took them, please bring them back as this lot is gonna face the wrath of the MOMMA. And so it began! No TV for a WEEK. Instead you are on washing up duty and diswasher packer duty for a week. And you, ...little Adam, You are on no tv and kids lounge clean up. He quite likes this as he then gets to sit and play lego!

However, tonight my family reached.. Defcon 2, it was that bad!  I dont do well being told that I am stupid ugly and the worst mommy in the world! Mamma let rip! I wont quiet let on after that, but I have our insurance coming over to fix loads of broken windows! We are on Defecon 2 right now.
And you know what that means...it means a nuclear war is immenent.

However, tomorrow, I will get up and put flowers in my hair and chalk it up to just a shitty evening, as they day was pretty neat!

The Real Thing is "essential"

If you asked me what the one supplement that you need above all others, I would say that it is omega 3 oil's.

This good fat is so essential for brain and skin function that we cannot do without it. I have found what I consider to be one of the best omega 3 oils, aptly called, "The Real Thing". I use the lemon flavour and its pretty good. It should also be kept in the fridge. It also comes in a capsule. If your oil does not say its "pharmaceutical grade", then its an inferior brand.

I started taking omega 3's  last year August when little Adam's asthma and excema was really bad, and he was on so many med's. His skin was like a lizard, he was so dry and scratched non stop and started having horrid skin infection. So in desperation  I decided to take him to a nutritionist, Sally-Ann Creed.  I cannot believe how beneficial  this product has been for him and our whole family now takes this daily.



As its brain "food", it has been documented how  really good for it is for ADHD , particularly in kids.

Here is some further info on why you should take omega 3 daily.( You dont need Omega 6 as we get far too much in our diet already).

Sleepy time

Still struggling to get up early in the mornings. I feel myself needing more sleep during the winter. Thank heavens that I don't live in a country with long winters.