When life hands you lemons...

...pack up your lemons and your juicer (and the rest of your veggies) and maybe your dog, and head to your aunt’s house in North Carolina.

At least, that’s what I did this weekend.  Since I like to be completely candid and honest with you, here’s my deal:

I got a 3-day suspension from my restaurant job for doing the crossword puzzle. Yes, perhaps I should not have been doing the crossword puzzle. In my defense, I didn’t have any tables and it was before the lunch crowd was coming in. In any case, a 3-day suspension seemed a bit harsh for a minor infraction, but all that is neither here nor there. Whatever the circumstances were, I was pretty upset about the situation.

So what did I do this weekend when I was not working? Well, I gave myself a much-needed vacation! Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I just got out of town and left all of my troubles behind.

Which is not to say that I avoided dealing with my problems. First I wrote my manager a nice little letter in my journal. I never intend to send it, but it felt really good to get all of my feelings out. After I finished that, I packed up the car and started driving.

When I have a lot to think about, a long drive can be the perfect cure. Something about the solitude and the open road gives me the chance to mull everything over, get out some tears, and see new opportunities in front of me.

While I was in Greensboro, I made sure to breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the beautiful blossoming trees, partake in some delicious homemade meals, and relish the company of family. It’s so easy to get caught up in going at the speed of light in our everyday lives that you forget how nice it is to let someone else take care of you for a few days.


I believe that everything happens for a reason. Not only did this basket of lemons give me an opportunity to get out of the city, take some deep breathes, and nourish my body, but it also got me thinking about my next plan of action. If I’m so unhappy in this job, why don’t I do something about it? I’ve been saying for practically a year now that I’m going to move back to San Francisco, and a job that makes me miserable is no reason to keep putting that off. Pretty great and empowering realization, don’t ya think? Now I’ve got a time line and some monetary goals to turn my dreams into reality.

So thank you, manager who shall not be named, for that lovely gift. I guess I don’t hate you so much after all.

Molasses needed a vacation too!

What do you do when you have a lot on your mind? What’s your favorite way to get out your emotions? Where do you like to escape to? I’d love to hear from you!

P.S. – If you want to help me get out of my job even faster, sign up to be my next client! :)

You RAWk!

If you live in the DC area, then you got to experience some beautiful sunshine this past weekend. Weather likes this puts me in such a good mood – everyone at work can certainly tell you how happy I’ve been since Friday.

The start of spring also makes my body start to crave raw food, interestingly enough. You may or may not know this, but last summer I ate raw for about 50 days, and I felt great! Eating raw during the summer time cools you down, gives you energy, and makes you feel alive! I was fully dedicated to the raw foods lifestyle, until the weather started to get cold. BAM – I started craving brown rice! After that I thought I never wanted to go back to eating raw foods again. I decided that I loved cooked foods too much.

But like I said, it’s starting to get warmer, and all of the sudden I want salad, and fresh raw veggies, and light, uncooked food! Are our bodies intelligent, or what?

So what is a raw food diet? What are the benefits of raw food? Why has my body started to crave them again now that the weather is getting warmer?

Food is considered raw when it is not heated above 118 degrees (this number is slightly up for debate – some people say you have to stay below 104 degrees). A raw foodist is someone who eats anywhere from 75-100% raw foods.

The benefits of raw foods are many, so I will summarize them here for you into my top 3 favorite reasons: 

1. Living and raw foods contain enzymes that our bodies can’t make on their own. Enzymes are essential in keeping your body functioning – they help with everything from digestion to detoxification to brain function and immune health. When you cook food above 118 degrees, those enzymes in your food are destroyed, and you have to spend more energy digesting what you just ate!
2. Raw foods help balance your pH levels. Remember in high school chemistry when you learned about acid and alkaline substances? You may have slept through that lesson, but it’s important to know now that your body has a pH level too! Your body functions best when it is slightly on the alkaline side. When you’re too acidic, you can experience symptoms like a runny nose, heartburn, inflammation, arthritis, poor circulation, chronic fatigue – even cancer! Eating raw foods will keep you on the alkaline side and help you avoid all those nasty-sounding health problems!
3. Raw foods give you energy. When your body is functioning more efficiently and digestion is easier (see point number 1), you have more energy to spend on other things! When I was on a raw food diet, I found that I needed less sleep, could exercise harder, and stay at work longer before I got tired. And who doesn’t want more energy?

But why do I want raw food more now that it’s starting to get warm? Our bodies are intelligent machines, and they are programmed to eat seasonally. Raw foods help cool down and hydrate your body, which feels great when the weather’s hot! Raw foods also help detox your body, which our bodies naturally want to do in the spring as well.

Want to know more about raw food? I’m in the process of putting together a raw food preparation and detox program, so keep an eye out for more information on that in the coming weeks!

These are my confessions

Continuing on the cravings theme from last week, I have something to share with you.

Remember how we talked about honoring your body’s cravings, even when you’re craving something bad for you? Well, I’ve been craving something, and lately I’ve been having an internal debate – “should I just eat it? No, I can’t just eat it, it’s not right.”

I’ve been craving chicken.

WHAT?! I’ve been craving CHICKEN?!

Yes, I’ve been craving chicken. For those of you that don’t know, I’m a tried and true PROUD vegan, and have been for almost 2 years. Before being vegan, I was a vegetarian for 4 years. It’s been a long time since any kind of meat has come near my plate, let alone my mouth.

So why chicken?

I’m thinking there are probably two possible explanations for this strange craving. The first is that I’m missing some of the nutrients that chicken can provide me with. The second is that for me, chicken could mean comfort and a complete meal. I used to survive on chicken. I was never a red meat kind of girl, but I loved me some chicken.

So it’s probably a combination of both. I just got my blood work done and discovered that pretty much everything is in the recommended range, which is awesome. I know I’m not suffering from some major deficiency, but maybe there’s something in the chicken that other plant-type proteins can’t offer me. It could also be partly an emotional craving. I’m around chicken all the time at work, and to be honest with you, those pear salads look much better with chicken on them than with a scoop of beans (protein option number 2). As I mentioned, I also have this intense background of eating chicken, and my body could be associating it with other comfort foods.

Am I going to eat chicken? To be honest with you, I haven’t decided yet. I don’t want to ignore my body’s cravings. I also don’t know if I could physically go through with eating a piece of meat. The idea of eating a cute little animal, even if it was pasture-raised and slaughtered humanely (don’t get my started on how “slaughtered humanely” is such an oxymoron), just doesn’t appeal to me. So I’ve got myself a little conundrum here.

If you were me, what would you do? Have you ever craved something that you thought maybe you should but you reallllllly didn’t want to? What did you do? I’d love to hear from you!

You mean I can still eat chocolate cake??

Pick up any diet book these days and it will tell you what to eat and what not to eat.  Eat a turkey burger, not a hamburger.  Drink red wine, not a vodka cranberry.  Eat fruit for dessert, not that chocolate cake.  If I subscribed to this theory, I would walk around all day thinking about what I could and couldn’t eat, feeling deprived and depressed!  What if one day I just want to eat that chocolate cake? If you approach life thinking about all of the things you can’t have, one day you’re going to snap and binge on that chocolate cake. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Is there an alternative to this way of living? Absolutely, 100% YES!

Yesterday a co-worker approached me at the end of her shift to tell me that she was craving something really bad, and she told me that she needed me to talk her out of eating it. You’re not going to believe it, but I told my coworker to just go ahead and eat that unhealthy food. One hamburger (or whatever your vice may be) is not going to kill you.

I should warn you though, there is a catch. I also told my coworker to order something healthy – like a side salad, some sautéed spinach or grilled asparagus – and to eat that first. Eat that entire bowl of veggies, and THEN start in on your “unhealthy” food. Chances are, you probably won’t be able to finish that whole hamburger after your big bowl of veggies. Approaching your cravings this way will kill two birds with one stone – you’ll get a full serving of vegetables, AND you’ll get a little taste of that food that’s nagging at the back of your mind.

Next time you want those vegan nachos or some chocolate chips (my two out of control addictions right now), eat a salad first. Then fully enjoy some (but not the entire plate) of those vegan nachos. You don’t need to feel guilty, it won’t ruin your diet, and it certainly won’t kill you. It’s great to be healthy 100% of the time, but life is boring if you don’t do a little living!

Let's Get Personal

To be honest with you, in terms of food and emotions, this past weekend was a rough one for me. It didn’t really feel like it at the time, but looking back, I can see that a lot of my food choices had to do with some underlying emotions that I was subconsciously not addressing.

Friday was the one-year anniversary of my dad’s death. It was a special day for my mom and me – we took some of his ashes up to Harper’s Ferry, WV, where he led a 100K hike for over 10 years.  We spent a lot of time as a family up there, so it was fitting to celebrate my dad’s life in nature where he had so many good experiences. My mom and I scattered his ashes into the C&O Canal, we shed some tears, and we enjoyed some delicious vegan chipotle pumpkin soup at the Canal House Café.

Do you know what else I did this weekend?  I ate.  A LOT.  Falafel, cupcakes, chili, sweet potato fries, peanut butter banana chocolate chip oatmeal, chips and salsa…the list could go on. It wasn’t until this morning that I made the connection between my incessant need to stuff myself to the brim with food and my underlying emotions about my dad’s death.  Realizing that, I don’t feel so bad about everything that I ate.

Healing is a long journey. As soon as you think you’ve made some good progress, something else comes up and there you are, down in the dumps again. In general, I feel like I’m doing really well for someone who lost her dad to cancer a year ago, and it’s mostly because I’ve learned a lot of techniques for dealing with emotional pain. Meditation, yoga, personal transformation, etc. This past week I added EFT, or meridian tapping, to my toolbox of healing, and it really helped me identify the emotions behind my over-eating. I did a little tapping this morning and realized what was going on with my eating. I immediately felt better – like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could think clearly.

EFT is super easy to put into practice. All you have to do is tap on your meridian points while repeating statements that bring up your emotions. What I love about EFT is you can say all of the things about yourself that you feel deep in your gut that you rarely take time to acknowledge. Saying these things while tapping on your meridian points allows you to really get clear about the emotions, and then reprogram yourself so that you have a new set of emotions.

Confused? Watch this quick video where Jessica Ortner, tapping goddess, teaches you the easy steps to get you tapping.


Here's a diagram of the meridian points:


I’ve started tapping every morning for 5 minutes after I meditate, and WOW is it bringing up a lot of my emotional gunk. This is definitely a tool that I’ll be bringing in to my coaching practice.

So there you have it. I recognize that I’m not perfect, that I have emotions that affect my relationship with food, and that I’m still learning and growing every day. If you recognize that too, and you're ready to deal with some of those emotions, why not give tapping a try this week.

Challenge: Following Jessica Ortner's demonstration, try tapping on something that's been bothering you lately - issues with your boss, an unresolved relationship, overwhelm about your busy schedule - whatever it is for you, tap on it for 5-10 minutes each morning. Then, come back and let me know how it goes!
Bonus: If you really want more guidance with your tapping, the 2011 Tapping World Summit is FREE and there are still 3 more days to listen to the audio classes. The first few days of the Summit really got my interested in tapping, and now I'm hooked. It's a great resource that you can add to your toolbox, too!

Sending you peace & love,
Katie

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a surprising number of complements on my complexion.  “You have great skin!”  “How come you never break out?”  “I wish my face was as clear as yours!”  I have to say these complements have done wonders for my self-esteem.

I’m not telling you this because I want to brag about my beautiful face (sarcasm), but because I want to share some secrets with you.  Here’s the first secret: I don’t have a clear face just because I didn’t get the acne gene.  In high school and college I had my fair share of mornings spent moaning at the mirror – “I swear that huge red thing was not there when I went to bed! How am I going to hide that before my date tonight?!”  Is it just me, or do those pesky things pop up (literally) when you least need them?

I know you’ve been there too.  So how did I transition from a mirror-moaner to a worshiper?  The answer lies in this week’s Secret/Not So Secret factoid.

Not so secret: Your lifestyle affects your skin.  Secret: If you’re looking for a devil to blame for your pesky pimples, I’ve got two for you - dairy and sugar.

Why Dairy?  Simply put, milk contains hormones.  Increased hormones in your body = increased oil underneath your skin. Increased oil = BREAKOUTS!  In addition, dairy products can cause inflammation in people that are lactose intolerant (and believe it or not, the majority of the U.S. actually is lactose intolerant).  Internal inflammation can lead to external inflammation in the form of zits.

But what about sugar?  Refined sugar quickly raises your blood sugar, which triggers a similar hormone response to dairy.  More inflammation, more hormones, more oil, more breakouts!  Check out this article for a more detailed explanation.

Still not convinced about the connection between dairy, sugar and acne?  Why not try an experiment?  Yup, it’s challenge time.

Challenge: For the next 7 days cut dairy and sugar out of your diet completely.  This includes all forms – cheese, milk, ice cream in the dairy category, and evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, raw sugar in the sugar category.  Why 7 days?  Because within the first 3 days, your body will probably start to detox and you may see an increase in breakouts.  Give it some time.  On the 8th day add in either dairy or sugar (but not both!). See how you feel the next morning. Got break outs brewing? On the 9th day add the other devil back in. Now are those pimples ready to pop? After this experiment, you'll know if one affects you more than the other. If both make you break out, then at least you'll have an idea of what foods to avoid before your next big date.

If you’re tired of breaking out, but all of this information sounds daunting, why not shoot me a little email and schedule a free nutrition breakthrough session with me?  We’ll go over your health concerns and goals, and together we can make an easy-to-follow plan to tackle your troubles!

Sweat, Baby, Sweat

My readers asked for it, so here it is: my secret, easy tips for finding the time to exercise on a budget.
I know you have your excuses. It's cold. My wallet is empty. I'm tired. I don't have space in my house. I'm out of shape. I've heard them all. What I'm going to tell you today will help you blow those excuses out of the water, without having to wake up at 6 am for an Army-style Boot Camp.
So here they are, my top 5 secrets for gettin' your sweat on!

• Not so secret: Start small. 5-10 minutes a day of light, intentional exercise, and you will see noticeable results in a shockingly short amount of time. Secret: You can stay small! 12-15 minutes of heart-pumping stuff is all you need! You don't need to run for 30 minutes every day, you don't need to do 1,000 push ups or a million crunches. Just get in 12-15 minutes of regular exercise each day, and you'll hold on to those results that you started to see after starting small with just 5-10 minutes!

• Not so secret: You can exercise at home. Secret: Exercising at home can be fun! If all you need is 10-15 minutes, it's easy to find something in your house that will keep you occupied for that short amount of time. If you live in a house, I know you have a set of stairs. If you live in an apartment, I know that you also have a set of stairs. Put your earphones in, and run up and down those stairs for 15 minutes. Feel the burn! You can also try to channel your inner elementary school P.E. class and do some jumping jacks. You wouldn't believe how sore your arms will be the next day. If you can't imagine doing jumping jacks for 15 straight minutes, try what I do: turn on the radio, and do one exercise for each song. Alternate with jumping jacks, stair climbing, jump roping, hula hooping, jogging the obstacle course between the rooms in your house...seriously, get creative! It's just 15 minutes, I know you can do it.

• Not so secret: You can find workout routines online. Secret: Ish Kamara, my personal trainer. He has an abundance of SERIOUS videos on his website that will really make you feel the burn. Go to the "women do it better" section and try anything that he has posted. I really like the "core ab combo" on the third page. It hurt to sneeze for 3 days. It was fabulous.

• Not so secret: It's good to go to a gym or attend a class to get motivated. Secret: You can do it for free! A lot of gyms offer free trials or classes for your first (or first few visits). Take advantage of them! Almost every Zumba class will do a free first class, and a lot of yoga studios will too. Gold's Gym also does a free week trial, and I don't know about you but I have at least 5 Gold's within a 15 mile radius of my house. I've already done free trials at 2 of them!

• Not so secret: When you exercise more, you can worry less about what you eat. Secret: If you pair a consistent, easy workout routine with healthy eating, you will see amazing results!

So there you have it, my top 5 secrets for staying in shape without making your wallet or your schedule sweat. Do you want more motivation and support? Head on over to Kris Carr's CrazySexyLife and join her Fit Club! She's leading a 3 week exercise challenge, and I know I'll be taking part.

As I mentioned in my newsletter, I'm limiting myself to 10 new clients from now till the end of February. Will you be one of the 10? As part of my program, I can help you find the motivation and keep you accountable to your exercise routine. I will also help you figure out how to complement your new routine with the right foods for optimal results. Why not show yourself some love and be one of the 10 before space runs out!

Challenge: Try out these tips, and leave me a comment in the next week to let me know how it goes. Everyone who leaves me a comment will be entered into a contest to win an at-home exercise kit to make exercising easier! You don't want to miss this, trust me! So don't forget, try out these tips, leave me a comment, and get entered to win! I'll announce the winner in next Monday's blog post!

Happy "U" Day!
Katie