Happy!

Yes yes. I am happy! :)
Insanity is the deal! It is absolutely 100% effective.  Just like Sean T says: You just have to commit to hit play every morning (or night), and just go through the 40-50min Insanity!! :) I just LOVE to see my heart rate go up like that, and have the sweat drops all over my body for 30 to 40 minutes non-stop! At the end of each workout, I literally have a puddle of sweat where I'm standing and there is absoltuely no feeling like that anywhere else!

Ok - so this week was my first really and I only started on Tuesday. I'd changed my eating habits for the last 10 days or so... Well - I'm down 1 pant size already and the whole bloated feeling is gone. Obviously still have the bulge on my abs that I want to get rid of but I know it's not going to be too long before I "drop" that! Imagine how awesome it's going to be at the end of week 2! Then 3 then 4... I am excited. It just gets me pumped.

So as a highlight this week - I created a Kale and Beets smoothie! whaddya mean yuck? It's delish! It's packed with vitamins and antioxidants AND makes you feel all energized afterwards. Read on after the recipe to see the benefits of Kale and Beets - we need to consume them somehow, and I for one, cannot do it in a salad.

Here's the "recipe" lol:
2 leaves of Kale
1 small beet
1/4 mango OR banana for sweetness
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup pure carrot juice
1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Then hit the juice program on the Vitamix and enjoy! :) 

I can almost hear you asking why you would need to suffer through something like that. But first, it doesnt taste bad at all. It actually tastes surprisingly good. I guess I really was expecting it to be that bad. Both beets and kale are very nutritious, and their taste is usually not something that many of us can acquire to have them in a salad. The trick for both of these vegetables is that as nutritious as they are, they both lose from their nutritional value when you cook them. So you need to try and consume them as close to "raw" as possible. So the smoothie was the answer to me. Though I now do put about a handful of shredded kale into hot soups just a Im serving it and that isnt too bad either.

First - the benefits of Kale. Kale is full of Vitamins A, C and K. We know about the benefits of Vitamins A (skin, vision etc.) and C (stronger immune system) but Vitamin K is not as popular. Vitamin K it turns out is needed for bone health, might reduce your likelihood of getting certain cancers and even Alzheimers. It also prevents blood clotting if you have any cardiovascular issues.
Aside from the Vitamins Kale is very high in Calcium - higher a milk! So as most of us women don't get nearly enough calcium from milk - this is a solution. Then again for most women as iron deficiency is a big deal, Kale is packed with iron. Finally Kale is very high in antioxidants and fiber making it a great detox food to help your liver functions.

Now the benefits of Beets. Beets have very high and unique anti-inflammatory properties in a way that they help reduce your risk of heart attacks and help prevent or control diabetes. They are also very high in antioxidants and fiber, once again making it a great detox food.

Did you have a rough Saturday night and can almost feel your liver crying for help? Make the above smoothie and literally, suck it up! :)

Insanity!

There's really nothing on my mind today. Just had a regular work then home kind of day. Then just passed out on the couch at 7pm or something. Just woke up it's 10:30pm.

I'm going back to bed at 11 so that I can get up at 5 and get some Insanity to start my day!

So that part was 2 weeks ago.. :) It was sitting in draft since Feb 27th! haha... now I'm writing live on March 14, and it will be published right now too.

I am doing Insanity - albeit cant do it every morning like I would want to. So the results have not been as awesome as last year. I know I can do it, I'm getting there. I need to get to the point where I'm putting my health, seriously and unconditionally in front of work. Almost there. Work is just crazy. lol

Meanwhile - it's my eating that I have really been watching though at all times.

Most of the foods that we eat are more nutritious to us than we realize or even can think about. I've been very conscious about the foods that I am eating since the detox a few weeks ago. I can almost say that I am continuously following the detox diet. I no longer crave red meat, don't even want it actually, but I do crave fish. And when I really have to have something other than fish or a veggie meal I go with white meat chicken. Don't feel like having anything fried or any carbs. Went out the other day for a dinner meeting with clients to a nice Italian restaurant, I didnt even touch the bread and garlic infused olive oil that I would normally have OD'd on! :) I am feeling much more energetic and healthier.

Anyway, I've been eating a lot of pineapples lately. I used to think I hated them. I must have had an unripened one or something, I don't even remember where and when I decided I didn't like pineapples. When we went to Maui and I had the Maui Gold Pineapple, the whole world changed. That pineapple is delicious. But back in the real world, we have pineapples from Costa Rica and they are also good. I'm having at least half a cup a day. :) I looked it up and turns out that pineapples are a miracle fruit. First off they are anti-inflammatory, it helps relieve pain. I do have to say that after reading that I thought of it, and I am not feeling much discomfort on my knee. Not sure if it's related but still...
Second, its great with any form of indigestion. Tested and proven! I will always have pineapple in stock from now on. Anytime you have any discomfort at all have a slice or two of pineapple and you're good to go. So much for any pharmaceutical cure.
Third, they help with sinusitis. If you feel like your congested, or even have a bit of a sore throat - it really helps. It reduces mucus too, so helps with coughs. Its also high in Vitamin C so if you feel like you have signs of a cold or something it's awesome to add it on to your diet.
On top of all of this it helps prevent blood from clotting. So it is good for your blood flow and heart.

So guess what? Im adding pineapple or pineapple juice at least to my smoothies every morning, and it's replaced my chocolate cravings even. :) Just nothing like biting into that sweet ripe fruit!

Detox

Ok so I don't believe in crazy diets, like single ingredients, or just eating a certain food type for a period of time. Mostly, I don't like the idea of avoiding something completely either. Then I saw this Dr. Junger on TV the other day while I was in a meeting and the TV was just creating "white noise" for me.
Dr. Junger is the founder of the Cleanse Program. He has certain items that he completely wants you to avoid during the Detox - Carbs, Dairy, Caffeine, Alcohol (duh). He has his reasons listed on his web site and in his book.
You should be heavily on the "health foods". It's really a life style change more than a "diet" which is why I thought it was intriguing. I did this for a week and lost 5 lbs in a week! :) You need to basically be eating lots and lots of fruit, vegetables and legumes for the protein and you ARE allowed to have fish and white meat chicken if you must have meat. The first week is strict, you have the stuff to completely avoid. Then you can slowly introduce the other stuff like some complex carbs and dairy into your diet in moderation of course. As is the key with most other life style diets it's all about moderation.
I LOVE blueberries so I've been eating pints and pints of them. Putting them in my smoothies in the morning and even in the evening. Then I found out that you can have an awesome smoothy with beets and kale as long as you have something sweet in there, like mango, apples, bananas. Beets are just awesome for you. So the 10 foods that you will be heavily consuming with this life style are:
- Berries!! - raspberries, blueberries
- Legumes
- Green Leafy Vegetables - Kale, spinach, collard greens
- Fish - Cold water fish for the Omega 3 and 6
- White meat Chicken
- Apple Cider Vinegar - helps the digestion
- Lemon Water
- Herbal Teas
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- Coconut Oil
- Plant based protein powder - no chemicals at all

You would be completely surprised the amount of foods that you come up with with JUST these ingredients. Your skin even changes! Because you are only putting great stuff into your body.

And I did find the videos from the Dr. Oz Show - if you want to see Dr Junger and Dr Oz explain the insider story about this type of diet.
Part 1 - Explaining the Detox Program and the foods you should NOT be having
Part 2 - The foods you should be having
Part 3 - The recipes suggested by Dr. Junger

Those crazy squares

You know how. The squares you are looking at take you away from where you are. You forget your surroundings, forget the immediate for a while. You focus on the square. Just recall what you lived while you were composing that square. To others watching you it might look like you're staring into space. It's that moment that you've captured. The feeling that it meant for you, more than the visual it means to others. That feeling it meant to you is mostly so strong that those looking at just that square now, see it too. They dont feel it. They see it. Here's one I took while in Istanbul. Just looking at that square to me has more than what meets the eye. It has the behind the scenes memories. The surroundings. The sounds. The smells. The wind. The rain. All of it, is actually here, you just can't see it.

What's that emoticon?

The one where you're red in the face cause you just have no words... Hahaha... look at my blog. All scrappy. Aaaand it's 11 months this time!! :) Love that BLogger still hasn't given up on me!