I have done elimination diets a number of times in the past and I have come to the conclusion that a small amount of gluten doesn’t bother me however large amounts cause me to fell bloated, have a hard time losing weight and am often exhausted. As you can see from that list those are all things I DON’T want. That being said it’s time to make a change and reduce my gluten intake.
What I will be doing: Eating more gluten-free foods
As I said in my original post about Becoming My Own Client this is a challenge with a four month old. I imagine that it doesn’t get much better until she moves out, so what am I going to do for the next 18 or so years?
So why is sleep important?
When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy. These cravings are often a result of being sleep-deprived, going to bed late, waking up early, for months and years on end. So getting more sleep would help with goal #3.
Sleep helps to improve memory, prevent weight gain, improve your mood, strengthen your immune system, and cardiovascular system.
Action Steps:
First off I need to go to bed when I am tired. Most nights I push myself to stay up later so that I can finish up freelance or coaching work, spend time with Neil, workout or just relax. Instead of pushing myself to stay up I need to go to bed when I am tired, even if that’s 8:30pm.
The second thing I can do is nap during the day when possible. E is getting to be a better napper which means that instead of running around doing 500 things while she sleeps I need to take a moment and sleep if I am tired. It really is true you do need to sleep when the baby sleeps.
Are you getting enough sleep? Challenge yourself to go to bed 10 minutes earlier tonight and every night this week.
So on Monday we took a deeper look into Goal #2 to increase my energy now lets move on to Goal #3: Break my sugar craving.
Sugar is addictive for 2 reasons. 1: eating a small amount makes you want more. 2. Suddenly quitting causes withdrawal symptoms like headaches, mood swings, cravings and fatigue.
I honestly was never a huge fan of sweets until my pregnancy and then something changed. I read somewhere that when you are pregnant with a girl you crave more sweets and for me this ended up being true. I wanted everything sweet especially fruits, coconut milk ice cream and chocolate. Unfortunately this craving has stuck with me postpartum. Now my goal is to kick the sugar habit.
I have already been making strides to improve this by not making Oh She Glows amazing chocolate chip cookies once a week, or should I say have Neil make them for me. It was awful at one point we were making them at least once per week. I am glad to say it’s been about five weeks since we made our last batch -win!
Although it has been five weeks since I enjoyed those yummy chocolate chip cookies it hasn’t stopped me from making a number of other baked goods, enjoying coconut ice cream and chocolate. I have been using natural sugars as much as possible and my cravings have been reduced but I am still craving a piece or two of dark chocolate most nights.
Action Steps.
Eat Balanced Meals. Make sure to create meals focus on vegetables and then have ¼ of your meal be a whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, barley, millet, bulgar, etc) ¼ should be high quality protein such as beans, tempeh, or tofu. Additionally, add 1-2 tbsp of a healthy fat (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nut butters, nuts, etc); this will help to feel satisfied and curb your cravings.
Replace processed snacks (anything with a long ingredient list or filled with sodium, sugar and HFCS) with whole foods such as fruits, nuts, veggies, etc.
Think before eating. When a craving comes on rather than give into it try to deconstruct the craving to figure out the actual cause.
Now that I’ve laid out my goals in my Becoming My Own Client posts it’s time to put things into action. I am purposely going to skip over, Goal #1: Lose Weight. I’d like to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by October 2013, because my action step to make this happen is to focus on working on goals 2-7. As you will come to see that all of my goals overlap with one or more other goals, to be successful I must find balance in all aspects of my life.
Increase energy by eating more greens
Goal #2: Increase my Energy.
en·er·gy/ˈenərjē/
Noun:
The strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.
A feeling of possessing such strength and vitality.
Synonyms:
power – vigour – vigor – vim – zip – strength – pep
Action steps to increase my energy:
Reduce or eliminate caffeine. Caffeine can cause dehydration and the rise and fall of blood sugar which can cause mood swings and cravings. I don’t have a lot of caffeine, most days just one cup of coffee but more and more I am finding myself having a second cup of coffee to “make it through the day”. That being said my goal is to replace that second cup of coffee with a glass of water or herbal tea.
Drink water. If there is one thing that most people don’t do enough of it’s drink enough water. Most Americans are in a constant state of dehydration which can have a number of negative effects including cravings.
Eat dark leafy green vegetables. Greens a filled with vitamins and nutrients that make you feel refreshed and energetic. They help improve circulation, purify the blood and strengthen the immune system. I love greens but for some reason I don’t eat enough. My goal is to eat dark leafy greens, such as broccoli, collards, bok choy, kale, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, arugula and dandelion greens, 5 days per week.
Use gentle sweets. I am going to avoid processed sugars and use natural sweeteners like maple syrup, agave nectar, dates, and coconut sugar. Also I am going to increase the number of sweet vegetables such as yams, carrots and beets, that I eat to help reduce cravings for sweets.
Get physical activity. Simple activities, like walking or yoga, can help increase energy by doing as little as 10 minutes per day. I have increased the frequency of my workouts but now I want to do more yoga and increase intensity.
Get more sleep and rest and relaxation. A tired and stressed body craves energy and often we turn to food for energy instead of what we really need- a nap. Lately I have been staying up later at night once E goes to sleep but really I need to go to bed earlier so I get more rest.
Take time for myself. Finding activities that restore your energy, such as a walk, a bath, a museum, or a movie helps to increase energy. I haven’t been taking nearly enough time for me so my goal is to take 30 minutes per day to do something just for me.
While pregnant with Edith I developed a sweet tooth and an addiction to bagels with tofutti. Now 4 months postpartum and although I have kicked the two…err sometimes four bagels a week and I am only having coconut ice cream every 4-6 weeks rather than once per week. That being said I’m still far off from where I used to be and after thinking things through I came to an important conclusion.
For the last four months I have been completely focused on E and a little less focused on myself (diet and exercise included). Now that we have a little bit more of a routine (although still ever changing) I am ready to create goals to help improve my diet, fitness and energy levels. A few things I need to consider are making sure I am eating enough calories for nursing and increasing the foods that help my milk production (that’s a whole other blog post).
Okay so first things first I decided to fill out my very own health history just like I would ask prospective clients to do. So lets take a look at the first part.
As you can see my weight is quite a bit higher than I would like and that I put on a good amount of weight while I was pregnant and although I have lost a bit I am far from my pre-pregnancy weight. Goal #1: Lose Weight. I’d like to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by October 2013.
Another notable thing to point out is that my energy levels are lower than desired. I know you’re probably saying umm yeah you have four month old of course you are lacking energy and while that is true I know that I could improve upon this. Goal #2: Increase my Energy.
As I noted above I am a bread and sweets addict. The funny thing is although I have always been a lover of all things bread related I was never a huge sweets fan until my pregnancy. I too often gave into this craving during pregnancy and it has stuck with me. Goal #3:Break my sugar craving.
May 2011
Okay so lets evaluate the section above, as you can see starting at the top I need to get more sleep. E who was a good sleeper is suddenly sleeping from about 7pm-10pm, 11pm-1 or 2am, 2:30a-4a and then she wants to be up. Honestly I don’t know where I am going to get more sleep because I usually have dinner around 7/7:30pm and then I don’t want to go to bed immediately after so I usually stay up until 9:15-10pm. Napping during the day is difficult to do as well so really until we can get E back on a better schedule this is going to be a challenging goal but alas it’s still my Goal #4.
Next lets talk about the gluten sensitivity….yes I am addicted to bread and have a minor gluten sensitivity. I say minor because a small amount doesn’t bother me but there is a fine line between feeling fine and feeling bloated. So Goal #5 eat less gluten.
Goal #6 is to increase the intensity of my workouts. I have actually already started working on this my participating in the Best Body Boot Camp. I have been making an effort to increase the intensity, duration and get back to running. I’ll discuss this goal more as well as my others in follow up posts.
39 Weeks 3 Days (the day I went into labor)
Okay so here we are the last section and my final goal to improve my diet. During my pregnancy I ate really well with the exception of the first trimester when all I wanted were bagels and citrus. Then the baby arrived and if you’re a new mom you know how challenging it can be to make a good meal when you are home alone with a baby. I also hate that we end up eating dinner about 2 hours later than we used to because of Neil’s busy work schedule and E’s desire to go to bed at 6:30. That being said Goal #7 eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and raw meals and make an effort to eat dinner earlier.
3.5 Months Postpartum
Even though I’m a health coach and I know all the things I am “doing wrong” sometimes you just have to sit down and really practice what you preach. I plan to follow this post up with a more in-depth look at my goals and the action steps I need to take to accomplish these goals.
What are your health goals? How do you plan to accomplish them?
I know that the recipe above is hard to read and there is a typo so here is a better version below.
Chickpea-Quinoa Salad
1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed +2 cups water
1/4 cup organic scallions, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, diced small
1/2 bunch organic fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups cooked or canned organic chickpeas
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Bring quinoa and water to a boil, reduce and cover for 15-20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover and allow to come to room temperature.
Prepare and combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add the quinoa and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste
This month over on my health coaching blog we will be discussing how to live healthy on a budget. Above is one of my favorite healthy, inexpensive spring/summer dinner recipes for you to enjoy. For more recipes and to learn different tips on how to live healthy without breaking the bank keep checking back on the coaching blog.
Speaking of health coaching…I have a brand AFFORDABLE new program that just started this week! Check out the details here.
Ricki Heller, the creator of Diet, Dessert and Dogs, is an educator, writer, cookbook author, natural nutritionist and lover of all things canine. She studied natural nutrition at The Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and is currently a college teacher who works as a part-time cooking class instructor/chef and a part-time freelance writer.
I have asked Ricki to contribute a guest post on Candida Related Complex aka Candida, a condition that arises when someone has an overgrowth of yeast (usually candida albicans) in the body. Ricki has been sharing her personal struggle on her blog since March 2009 and today on my health coaching blog she is giving you the opportunity to learn more about candida, the effects it has on the body and what you can do about it. She also has included a anti-candida (ACD) friendly recipe, which I have included below, for you to try and trust me her recipes are a must try, she is an amazing chef (source).
Here’s an ACD-friendly bread recipe that’s perfect for breakfast or brunch. For a savory loaf (from which you can make sandwiches), omit the nuts and use only 4-10 drops of liquid stevia.
1/4 tsp (1 ml) pure stevia powder or liquid, to your taste
1/3 cup (40 g) lightly toasted walnut pieces or chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a regular loaf pan, or line with parchment paper.
Place the psyllium husks, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and almond butter in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to reach the 1-1/2 cup (360 ml) mark. Using a small whisk or fork, whisk everything together until the almond butter is well dissolved in the liquid and no lumps remain. Set aside while you measure the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, sift together all remaining ingredients except for the walnuts. Whisk well to distribute all the ingredients evenly. Add the walnuts.
Whisk the liquid again to ensure that it’s smooth and everything is incorporated, then pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir just to combine (do not overmix!). Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake in preheated oven for 65-75 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, until the bread is well browned on the bottom and sides, and the top springs back when touched lightly (there will be a fairly thick crust by this time, but it should still spring back). A knife inserted in the center should come out moist but clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan allow to cool completely before slicing. The bread is very moist on the first day and dries a bit by the second. Store, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze for later. Makes one medium loaf, or 8-10 slices.
Thank you Ricki for this wonderful recipe and her informative guest post over on my health coaching blog! If you would like to learn more about Ricki head over to her blog Diet, Dessert and Dogs and check out her amazing recipes. I was a tester for her Desserts Without Compromise book and it includes so many amazing recipes perfect for those looking for ACD friendly recipes and for those who just love desserts.
Ricki Heller, the creator of 
