Lessons from my life part 4

Here is the picture I promised. ;)

Well I do have to throw this in because it is part of the lessons, however there is a bit of a different expression of why. Todays lesson is DIET.
Yes, yes we always hear this, yet its a true problem for so many of us.

Now let me say that I battled weight all my life. I was always 10# overweight as a kid until I was a teen and chose some unhealthy methods to get thin.
Then I had babies and the rollercoaster ride began again.

I learned to let all the fashion and desire of being "something" go years ago. I became anchored to mothering like many of us, but don't let yourself get to far on the other end of just not caring for yourself. There is another lesson on this coming:)

After so many up and downs of weight loss, I decided to try low carbing because I saw a picture of a mama who lost a great deal of weight, she looked so much like me too. I send her an email on a message board and she told me she did Atkins.
So I bought the book, read it, and began my weight loss journey.

I had great success with it, but I must be honest, I felt like I had a yucky mouth all the time and sometimes I would not sleep at night with all that fat burning going on. Outside of that, I would not complain. You eat fats and protein to fill you, enough veggies for nutrition, and keep the carbs low so that fat burning occurs internally by a process called ketosis.

You see for about a decade I have been eating good carbohydrates and healthier foods, but it was not enough. Carbohydrates are a problem for me.
I either crave more food after consuming carbs, or hold onto some weight.
Low carbing did the trick, for a season. I at times felt emotional and not normal that I could not eat like my friends who could walk into the health food store, grab an organic chicken burrito and a juice and be ok. Or to indulge in a cookie now and then and not spiral out of control.

So I decided to go off low carb and try my hand at consumption in moderation.

Well sadly, I have 20 pounds on me again and especially with the lack of hormones and activity, my heart gives me a message via palpitations that I am in the danger zone again.

And getting back on the wagon has been hard!

Now some folks dont have a problem with what they eat and seem to do fine. Gosh I wish I were you! lol

But I see that carbs, even good ones are my battle. I hate it, but its true.

So, for those of you that may be heavy, please consider the health benefits of losing weight and consider if you may be insulin resistant or if carbs cause some problems for you.

BECAUSE, not only can carbs add weight to some of us, but as I found in my winter experience, that they may also cause Candida.

Candida seems to be a word thrown around so commonly for everything ailing mankind, it frustrates me. Yet, that was part of the lesson. I learned that candida can come very quick on you suddenly and that possible other problems could have been candida all along.
And of course what can cure you of candida? Well a low carb diet of course. So observe your body. Do you get vaginal yeast or bad scalp?
Is your tongue swollen and has any coating on it?
Feet problems with itching or athletes foot?
For males, jock itch?

Try changing your diet and dropping some of those carbs and you might fare better.
You can see more at my friend Darcey's blog

And if you need some inspiration, Kalyn is a South Beach Follwer. She has lost 30 # I beleive and is a faithful food blogger of low carb delights.

And I tell ya, mix together burdock root, milk thistle seed say a handful into a quart of filtered water and let sit about an hour in a stainless steel pot. Put the lid on too. After the house, turn the heat on and allow to start simmering, then keep the heat very very low for about 15 minutes or so.
Cool a bit, strain and drink.
You can save the herb mix and do it again once you have drunk the tea. I use mine 2-3 times over.
This will help a sluggish liver and protect liver cells.
If your skin is funky, soemtimes this tea will help clear that if it is liver related.


And we cannot leave this lesson without discussing CAFFEINE. Oh yes, caffeine the addictive substance most of us indulge in. I know I do.

So, what does a 12 hour a day woman in the cold months of winter do? Why she makes plenty of herbal tea:) But when hubby is home, well that turns to an extra pot of coffee.

Now in our younger years, that did not seem to be much of a problem. However, as I get older, boy does it tear me up.
Caffeine can really irritate the digestive system and the bladder.

And overconsumption can not only add stress, but also cause breast pain. I am not sure why that is, but when I drink too much coffee my breasts hurt.

I must say that in the winter, our health was great. Plenty of herbal tea warming on the woodstove and good eats, mostly bone broth soups and stews. We were very healthy and that part we did right, but toward the end, the sugary treats of spring holidays were around and coupled with excess coffee consumption, laid a prime foundation for disaster for me.

So just a word to the wise, examine your eating habits, track them on the free fit day calculator if you want to see your nutrition, calories, fat and carb counts.

What we put into our body is the foundation of health.

And good habits as we are younger may avoid some pitfalls as we get older and build our bodies to be stronger as we age.