kapachino

Category: health

  • preparing for whole30

    preparing for whole30

    Well, I’m doing it. I’ve been talking about it for weeks and finally I’m starting the Whole30 on Monday. This weekend is my last fling with pancakes, Starbucks’ iced mochas, chips & queso, and chocolate. I don’t mean forever – I fully intend to enjoy those delicious treats in an intentional way in the future – but I’m ready to break my body’s addiction to them.

    I admit that I am pretty nervous. Here are my concerns, roughly in order of biggest to smallest:

    Cooking new foods and with new techniques that I’m not used to, and the time in the kitchen it will require. 

    Not planning well and going hungry as a result.

    The initial cost of pantry staples, and the ongoing cost of high quality ingredients, especially meat.

    The way I will feel the first couple of weeks as I detox, and being able to function well as a wife, mother, nurse, etc.

    Juggling meals for the rest of my family while maintaining the rules.

    Giving in to a craving.

    All of those might end up being unfounded, but laying them out there helps me to anticipate problem areas. I’m hoping that Meredith will enjoy doing more work in the kitchen with me and that she will be open to these foods (I’m not going to keep her on the diet strictly but also won’t be making her separate meals and will limit her snacks).

    I’m hoping the costs will be offset somewhat by not buying all the other stuff we normally eat, and that we can cut back in other areas to maintain our budget.

    I’m hoping that I can manage to cook some decent-tasting meals that will keep me full for several hours. I’m not at all confident in my cooking skills which is why this concern is at the top of the list.

    I’m hoping that accountability from a friend who is doing it with me will be enough encouragement since David is currently doing his own thing. (Because I’m the only one in the house doing it, I can’t really do a “pantry purge” so there will be extra temptation there.)

    I’m hoping that I don’t feel terrible, and that the benefits will be worth it.

    What I’m doing to prepare:

    >Obviously I had to make a Pinterest board of recipes. But I’ve also been compiling all sorts of meal ideas from other sources, and tomorrow I’m going to nail down a meal plan for the first week.

    >I visited a couple grocery stores and plan to check a couple more out over the weekend to find the best prices and to see what product brands are Whole30-compliant.

    >Had a conversation with my friend & partner on this journey since she has done it before. It was great to hear a testimonial in person and get some tips and ideas about how to make it work.

    >A big ole grocery trip is in store.

    >Splurging. When I said I’m having a last fling with forbidden foods, I meant it. And I’m going to enjoy them guilt-free.

  • health update : physical

    physical health

    It’s time for an update! Since my original post on physical health I’ve made a bunch of changes and have more planned.

    Exercise

    What I’ve been doing: I mentioned I ran a 5k! It was so encouraging and motivating to be in a race environment. Most importantly, I felt really good running and I was very proud of myself. The week after the 5k it rained – I’m talking downpour and flooding – for about 5 days straight. So instead of running I did some yoga at home a couple of days, but mostly I made excuses. Boo. The next week I decided it is just too hot outside to run so I started the 30 Day Shred. Ouch.

    Plans: I realized that up until this point completing the Couch to 5k program has been my goal, so now I need another motivating factor to keep me exercising several times a week. On the same day that I decided I couldn’t run outside anymore (at least during the summer) a friend of mine asked me to train for the Houston half marathon with her. It’s in January, and though I’ve never run that far before I think it’d be possible since I’d be able to really start training in the fall. We signed up for the lottery as a team and we hope to get in, but if not I think there is another half around the same time that we will run. Scary!

    In the meantime I’m going to alternate the 30 Day Shred with yoga. Once the gym opens at work this is going to change because I want to start including weight training, elliptical, and spinning. I’m not really exercising on the weekends right now because of the kids, but I’m thinking of how I can add it in. Also, I’m still considering getting something like a FitBit even though I know it’s just a glorified pedometer. I think the syncing and the statistics would be really motivating for me. (Reading Elise’s and Sarah’s reviews were helpful.)

    Food

    What I’ve been doing: For several weeks I was back to counting calories on My Fitness Pal. My daily goal is totally obtainable because I get 500 extra calories from exclusively breastfeeding, and while I was taking care to track I was usually under my goal. So far I’ve lost about 3.8 pounds.

    Plans: I have been reading the book It Starts With Food and it has totally sold me on doing Whole30. No sugar, grains, dairy, or legumes for 30 days. It sounds crazy and impossible but I think my body really needs a reset. Although tracking calories is working somewhat for weight loss, it’s not achieving my overall goal of eating healthy, real food. I still cheat a lot and have cravings that I constantly give in to, and who knows what that is doing to my hormones and internal health. My projected start date is next Monday, June 16, and I’ll be back before then to talk about my planning process.

  • whole person health : emotional

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    I didn’t think I could do a series on whole-person health without addressing the emotional/mental side of things. Remember that this is just my own personal journey and not any kind of prescription for you. Although I have experienced true anxiety and depression in my life, I do not suffer from any chronic conditions in these areas. I have several close loved ones who do, but I am not going to address those things here because I can’t speak from personal experience.

    What I am going to talk about is my own mental and emotional health, which usually boils down to managing stress. Obviously as a woman I also have hormones to deal with, and maybe I’ll discuss that in the future. Right now though, stress is a key factor.

    We are just coming out of a very stressful period of life. A new baby, an adjusting toddler, a three month period of severe dog anxiety framed by the death of both of our dogs, and financial strain had me on the edge. (Thank God that during this time I didn’t have to stress about work too.) During the last month everything has improved somewhat but hasn’t disappeared and probably never will.

    On Sunday morning I found myself suddenly feeling highly anxious to the point of panic. It was a normal morning and the kids were behaving and I had slept fine. Meredith was just taking forever to fill her bowl with blueberries and I randomly began to cry. My heart was racing and I felt jumpy and sad and overwhelmed. I was also surprised at this reaction because this kind of thing doesn’t happen to me very often. So this is what I did to deal with the immediate situation:

    Removed myself. I told David how I was feeling and that I needed to get away from the kids and the demands of the house for a bit, and then I took a long hot shower.

    Let it out. While I was in the shower I shed a few tears and talked to myself and prayed. It felt good to express the emotion I was experiencing.

    Took stock. I wanted to figure out what brought this on. So once I had calmed down a bit I examined the areas of my life and how my gut felt toward them. I was scheduled to sing in church that morning, was I nervous? I don’t think so, when I thought about it I felt excited. What about work? No, my feelings were neutral there. Kids? Maybe a little stressful. Home stuff? At this point the chores were done and the house was clean but immediately my gut still felt twisty about all the things I wanted to do around the house that I didn’t have time for.

    Adjust expectations. Although I’m not sure exactly why I felt so panicky that day, I think a big thing that was happening is that I was taking all the multitude of projects I wanted to do for fun and mentally putting them on a list of have-to’s. Then when I realized I couldn’t do them all I started to break down. I was losing my patience with Meredith taking so long to do one small thing when I had so many things to accomplish. I think for a goal-oriented and creative person like me, this is something I’m going to have to wrestle with my whole life. I will have to keep adjusting my expectations. Currently I have several “extra” projects that I’m working on, and for now I’m going to take a step back from a couple of them to focus on one or two.

    That’s how I dealt with an acute period of stress and anxiety, and it’s also the basic formula that I use when I notice my stress level reaching a high point. The part that sometimes changes is the last point, which is the action step. It depends on the reason behind my stress as to what will relieve it. Sometimes I just need to eat something and take a walk. Sometimes I need to get organized. Sometimes I need to be super productive, like get a bunch of chores done quickly. But overall, these steps work for me: take a break, let it out, examine the situation, act.

    What are your biggest stressors these days, and how do you handle them?

  • whole person health : physical

    physical health

    Continuing with my series on getting back to a state of whole-person health, I want to talk today about a huge chunk of that, which is physical. I’m going to start out by outlining my goals, and then discuss how I plan to address them. In the future I hope to give shorter updates of my progress.

    Personally, my goals are:

    1. To fit back into my pre-baby clothes and hopefully get back to my ideal weight (I’m about 10-15 pounds over right now).

    2. To be in shape and feel strong. I would also love to see some muscle definition of which I currently have none.

    3. To feel proud of the food that I’m putting in my body. I want it to be real and balanced but I don’t want to feel restricted.

    4. To maintain healthy overall habits.

    These goals are pretty broad, but I’ve broken the action steps down into three main categories.

    Exercise

    I know that weight loss doesn’t come primarily from exercise, but it’s the only way that I’m going to feel in shape and strong, plus it has lots of other benefits.

    • Running – this is what I’m doing now. For the past 8-9 weeks I’ve been doing the Couch to 5k program and it’s been great. I run about three times a week and I’m signed up for a 5k this weekend. Running works for me because it’s basically free and I can do it right out my front door, and it really feels like a good workout. Running is also going to be tough to keep up with during the summer when it’s 90-100 degrees at 5pm, which is my only time slot to run.
    • Gym – I am really excited about this option. A free one is opening up at work next month so I’ll be able to add in elliptical, spin, and weights.
    • Yoga – Sometimes I do this at home on my off days. I really need to do more of it though.
    • Taking the stairs – A few times a day at work I have to go up two floors (which is four flights of stairs) so I walk it instead of taking the elevator. It doesn’t sound like much but it’s actually not that easy!

    Food

    This is the area that I probably need the most help in. It’s what is really going to help me lose the weight I want to, and it also seems to be the hardest!

    • Cut back on sweets and sugar in general – I was addicted to sweets, especially chocolate. I was having multiple desserts a day. A few weeks ago I instituted a two desserts per week policy, and although I haven’t kept to it completely, I have drastically cut back. Eventually I want to get to a point where I am not taking in much sugar at all.
    • Calorie counting. I don’t mean for the rest of my life, but this is what works for me to actually lose weight. I just want to lose those last few pounds, and then go into maintenance mode.
    • Learn to cook healthier recipes with more whole foods. It’s hard when you have a picky husband and toddler to deal with, but I’m determined to try.
    • Smoothies! I’m very excited about incorporating these into our diet once I get a blender.
    • Meatless. I want to eat less meat overall for financial, health, and environmental reasons.
    • Water intake. I’m soooo bad about this. I’d love to do at least half my weight in ounces per day.

    General Health Maintenance

    • Flossing – my old nemesis. It’s so annoying to me and I can’t seem to stick with the habit!
    • Vitamins. I don’t think everyone needs a multivitamin, but since I’m breastfeeding and it’s possible for me to get pregnant again eventually, a prenatal is probably a good idea.
    • Regular doctor’s visits and screenings. Although I do have a primary care physician, right now I just do yearly exams with my OB. I am good about going to the dentist every six months, and recently added a dermatologist into the mix. I do need to remember to do my monthly breast exam.
    • Use all natural products. I’ve been working on this transition for years and I am pretty much there, although I’m still searching for my favorite brands. I also want to start making my own cleaning products at home, and use my essential oils more.

    Okay, so that’s a lot of stuff to tackle! I feel good about it though. Right now I’m just working on 1-3 items at a time instead of doing a huge overhaul, but that may need to change soon if I want to make some real progress.

    Can you think of anything I’m missing? Where do you stand with your physical health? What would you say your goals are?

  • whole person health : spiritual

    spiritual health

    Today I want to start talking about my journey back to spiritual health. I’m not going to get into my faith background and I’m definitely not saying that I have this figured out. I am just your average Christian girl who has a deep love for Jesus but hasn’t been nurturing that relationship. I’ve let it slip to the background, and although it will always be the foundation of my life, if I’m not growing in this area I am falling away.

    I want to be brutally honest for a second: my relationship with God began to suffer once I had kids, and not just because they are so much work and keep me so busy. I mean, I was so grateful for my babies and I prayed for them…sometimes. But not nearly enough. In reality, they became my gods. I began to feel that my life would be worthless without them. They are incredible gifts from God, but they are still his. And how can I raise my kids to know God when I’m not in a good relationship with him? Because I think they’ll be able to tell if I’m faking it.

    One thing that I knew needed to happen was to set aside some time every single day to spend alone with God. When I was on maternity leave my women’s group at church began a Bible study so I joined, and I am happy to say that I completed that study (it took 12 weeks) even though I couldn’t continue going to the weekly meetings once I started work. It was exactly what I needed. Most importantly, I got into the habit of waking up early to make this a priority. If I don’t wake up early before the kids, it’s just not going to happen.

    So when I first get up I make coffee, then I sit down on the couch with my Bible, my study book (if I’m doing one), and my journal. I read and I think and I write and I pray. In my journal I write how the day’s reading has affected me, personal assessments, prayers, or just stream of consciousness. When I have this time, it changes the course of my day.

    I admit though, I haven’t been attempting to wake up early on the weekends. I want to change this, but I do want to say that even with just having my devotionals most weekdays (sometimes kids wake up extra early and foil my plans) I have felt a definite shift in my relationship with God overall. For a long time I’ve been going to church and singing the songs and listening to the sermons and not really feeling much. Now I become emotional almost every week. I crave that worship and learning time and want to feel more of God’s presence.

    I don’t want my spiritual journey to stop here. I’ve been thinking of what else I need to work on and brainstorming ways to keep reminding myself of God throughout the day. Some ideas I have are: intercessory prayer, scripture memory, more worship music, accountability, service, and giving. As I work on these things I’d like to continue to share with you in the future.

    Can anyone out there relate? Have you ever had to take similar steps, and what are some things that have worked for you?