use food as fuel!

While watching a recent show on TV, I was a little disturbed by a doctor who was on. No by no means am I a doctor or even close to one, however I do have mass amounts of useless knowledge from having a pretty sick child and myself being diagonosed. You become your own personal doctor when others have failed. Anyway, this doctor was giving snack and food ideas for those that are weight worried all the time. His ideas were pretty textbook but seemed good, however I felt he could have offered the audience more. If I was a doctor and was being put in the spotlight I would be throwing my useless knowledge everywhere and into everything! :)

So here is what really annoyed me, he was showing how to do this great smoothie as a snack [again nothing novel about the smoothie] he said strawberries, bluebeeries, cinnamon, honey, ice and soy milk. Basically something out of a Good Housekeeping or Shape magazine. Here is how I would have made the smoothie on TV if I was a doctor or someone famous..:) and I will give you reasons for each ingredient!!

Blueberries - antioxidants
Frozen Bananas [or not frozen] - potassium and the freezing of the smoothie
Ice - duh
Ground flax seed - amazing benefits!! Omega-3, fiber
Cinnamon - flavoring, appetite suppressant and many other benefits!!
Stevia - all natural flavoring that is good for you
Raw local honey [or if not available regular local honey] - local honey is important because it is from your local bees :) they help you fight allergies because they pollenate from your area! And raw honey is full of TONS of minerals and vitamins and gives amazing flavor
Coconut milk - Good stuff! Full of calcium and other vitamins. Soy free and dairy free.

Blend and enjoy!! Here is something else to think about, our PH level is such an important part in our well being and how we feel. Believe it or not blueberries are very acidic in our bodies so when we pair it with bananas which is alkaline it 'evens' out in our bodies. Raw honey/local honey is also alkaline but processed honey is acidic. Stevia is very alkaline which is super awesome for our bodies!! The more alkaline we are the better off we are!! Cancer cells and many other diseases thrive in acidic environments so keeping tabs on your levels is something to think about. :)

wow has the time flown...I cannot believe that another summer has come to a close. The kids have been back in school for a week and I am an empty nester during the day now!! I picked up teaching at the gym three to four classes a week during the summer and hope to keep that steady schedule. Staying in shape keeps me feeling [and looking] good and also keeps my mental attitude in check. I easily get down and really get in ruts quickly so if I don't maintain at least 4+ good workouts a week I am grouchy!!!

I know I know some people say, 'I work long hours and just can't fit it in' or 'the kids have me running every direction' or even 'I have no energy!'. I feel your pain sister!! I use to work many long hours, drove my oldest everywhere under the sun for sports and activities, and felt completely drained with no end in sight!! I have some encouraging news for you, you can work out and still have time to do all of the other stuff too!!

Before you stop reading this hear me out. When I think of working out, I automatically begin to think of long hours on cardio machines or classes that seem to take too long or weight training that is bombarded with men who think they know all there is to know about weights. All those things are false, sure you can spend hours on the treadmill or elipitical or whatever your machine is of choice. However interval training has become the new 'in' thing that shortens the amount of time you are on the machine and gives you max results! Thats true stuff there.

I personally prefer the spin bike, it seems to be good for my joints as long as I keep the time limited to 15 minutes. Yeah you heard me 15 minutes tops! I bought this cool interval timer from gymboss and it was $20 and it is amazing!! You can set this timer to do all sorts of stuff. So jump on your cardio machine set the timer and go! Here is an example, I will start slow warming up, probably about 3 minutes. I pick up the pace [not so fast I can't breathe but a good pace]. Then [the interval timer set ahead of time] I will begin the timer. I usually have the timer set to beep first, it gives me a 30 second window [or 45,60,90 whatever you prefer] and the next time it beeps I lean on the elbow cushions with my tush in the air I go hard on the bike for whatever I set the timer for [usually 30 seconds but you can start with whatever] then when it beeps again I sit back down and catch my break for that 30 second window. Then when it beeps again I go hard for 30 seconds and so on. I take the last few minutes to slow down on the machine. I guarantee you will see, feel and know you have worked hard in a short amount of time! Its amazing being done with a cardio workout quick and drenched in sweat! :) This type of training should be done no more than 3 times a week. You can do other types of cardio, but the interval stuff should be limited.

Anyone encouraged yet!!! 'I can do all things through him who gives me strength.' Philippians 4:13

Okay well thanks to my EDS my hands are begining to feel some soreness so I will end this entry and pick up with more good info soon....

light bulb..

I love how some days I feel completely fogged over and other days my mind is as crisp as a fresh fall apple!! Today is a crisp day!! I am sprung with numerous ideas and thoughts that are actually conceivable!! I mean this stuff totally motivates me!! Gotta say its a good day!

I must begin work on some of my 'plans' :)

Dropping in on frustration..

So, I sometimes feel like the world is spinning and everyone is moving but me. I feel like that time goes fast and I stand still. Ever have that feeling? I think I am completely losing it. :) Well not really I suppose, however I keep seeing in slow motions things happening to me that I tend to not realize is my reality. For example, I was preparing myself a protein shake about a week ago and put the lid on it and went to put it away when the lid slipped off and bamm! protein powder everywhere!!! I mean I saw it all happen like out of body. My MD so graciously fooled me into thinking that I had tightened the lid and then the slickness of the container slid right out of my hands. You see this is not just a weird scenario, this is my life whether I approve or not. More and more things are affecting my daily routine, I even have pain from writing or typing too much because my hands ache and are cramped up for hours afterwards. Strangely enough, I have yet to find another person with EDS and MD - Charcot Marie Tooth Disease. Finding 1 person in this world of 7 billion who can understand me would be worth more than a lot of people think!

I have a word of advice for any parent or grandparent out there. Whatever your case may be, whether you are healthy are constantly sick, please document ANY and I mean ANY thing that may have caused a death in the family or even illness!! I thought I knew everything about my family even after I talked to my living grandparents!!! Unfortunately, some things were forgotten and names were not documented and when I did find out more and more about my relatives and how much I had in common with them it was too late. Meaning most of my relatives had passed and anyone that could relate to me was no longer there to talk to. We have to keep the lines of communication open to our children and grandchildren!! I am not saying that knowing some things ahead of time would have prevented any of my diagnosis, but being able to talk to someone related to me who could give me positive advice would have been priceless!!!!

So please document illnesses or any other diseases!! :)

Thought for the day;

Control your thoughts; they may break into words at any time.

yo

Well did my first yoga class this morning. I was very nervous! I had a really great support system from my friends and family and once I got going into the class everything seemed to fall into place.

I don't really have much more to write. I think I may try to aim this blog towards healthy alternatives when you bake, cook or maybe even reasons to take certain vitamins. I need to give it a little more thought though.....

then there are those days;

So some days I want to do a lot and feel really good about it, but as I am busy accomplishing my many tasks I began to realize my joints are hurting and weakness is setting in. This isn't a feeling you can ignore and like a tornado it comes on quick and damage can be felt even quicker. No permanent damage [usually] occurs however for the next 12 hours I will feel good about everything I have gotten done but angry at the fact I can now barely move my joints.
The wonderous joys of EDS is that the ligaments are weak and not stable so even though I can still work out
 and get errands ran and cleaning accomplished; the fatigue of muscles kicks in quite quickly. Then the MD causes tingling and sometimes burning sensations thru my hands and feet. Similar to having a limb fall asleep and then begin to wake up that is what I go thru almost daily.

We cannot control what happens to us; but we can control how we react to it.

misc and more....

Well a group of us ladies went to a women's conference in Fort Wayne. It was quite moving, entertaining, emotional and left an imprint on my heart. The women there have gone so much and have made a complete turn around in their lives by staying close or coming close to God. Anyway, we had a fabulous time and a quote I left the conference with was 'The messiah can take any mess and turn it into glorious message.' :)

When things in my every day life happen I think 'man I need to blog that' and I have it all written out in my head...until I get the time to type it. It doesn't work out quite Like I want it to. Maybe its the emotional state I am in when the event or thing occurs or maybe its just looking back and realizing it wasn't as important as I thought it was. For example, this morning while getting ready for church I dropped my bottle of facial lotion. Not necessarily a big deal to a normal person, but to a person with Muscular Dystrophy - CMT it is a multi daily occurrence that drives me nuts and reminds me of what I have. I HATE to complain and even worse I hate what MD does to me. The trouble I face even down to trying to button my daugthers' shirts/pants or putting a necklace on myself is enough to make ANY person extrememly frustrated. Anyway, positive thoughts right?? Thats what gets me by...