The next day...so far so good

Pau d'Arco Bark

Hola amigos...
The first day of the cleanse went well. The only thing I think I could have eaten better was dinner. When I get home at 9:00 PM after a long day, I am starving. I ate 2 frozen veggie burgers and 2 slices of Ezekiel bread. I added lettuce and a tad of ranch dressing. The ranch has dairy in it, but it was only a bit and I have not had time to make my own mayo yet. I drank a glass of unsweetened almond milk and then pau d'arco tea.

Pau d'arco tea is great when you are cleansing. Shams introduced me to it a long time ago and I plan on drinking it daily during the cleanse. Here is some info on Pau d'Arco...

"Pau d'Arco tea or tincture concoctions have had beneficial effects for cancer victims, anywhere from alleviation of chemotherapy symptoms to complete remission of tumors. An article published by Dr. Daniel B. Mowrey on Pau d'Arco stated that "who Lapacho has produced clinical anti-cancer effects without side effects." This taheebo tea has been helpful to many.


Candida Albicans, a fungus which causes yeast infections, has also been treated by the Pau d'Arco herb. Clinical studies also showed strong in vitro activity against various other bacteria, fungi and yeast, including: Aspergillus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, Helicobacter pylori (common cause of stomach ulcers), Bucella, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and dysentery. ""
Basically its great for getting bad bacteria out of your gut. You can get it in bulk or capsules. Click Here for my favorite online herb shop Mountain Rose Herbs. They have great medicinal herbs and yummy oils etc...

I also need to up my water intake. Some days I am great about it and drink about 100 oz of water a day, but some days I don't get nearly enough. I can really tell a difference when I drink lots of water.
Today's menu:
Oatmeal with stevia and cinnamon
Chai tea with stevia and unsweetened almond milk
Hummus & rice crakcers
Tomato & Cuke salad
Apple and almond butter
Dinner???
I really need to get to the grocery store!

Day One...

Day one of the yeast free diet & Heather's life makeover!
I really am looking forward to it instead of dreading it. I am excited about losing weight, feeling 100% better and cleansing out toxins in my gut & blood. This is the first of many steps I am taking to live a more authentic life that honors the way I want to live. I am not selfish, but I give a lot and I also tend to morph myself to adapt to situations that I may or may not want to be a part of. That stops now.
Whew. Powerful.
I just felt a bolt of positive strong energy jump into my heart.
I do not think this is going to be easy. Tears will flow, but so will joy, smiles and freedom.

First things first, clean the shell. My body needs a good cleaning, scrubbing down with greens, water and herbs. Great food, acupuncture, massage and yoga are my new drugs of choice. Alcohol and anxiety meds - be gone! I am finished with you! I did the right thing and tapered off of the meds that I have been on for 2 years. Since Hailey was diagnosed with the big C word medication was not an option, I needed it. I think I would be in a padded room if it were not for those pills. However - its time for me to let them go. This is a personal decision for me. Some people are much better off on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications. Its medically necessary. So, if you are not ready for this - DO NOT DO IT. Always talk to a professional before you start on this journey.

Cleaning my shell will include a "yeast free" diet. Its really the best diet for me. I have done it before and felt like a million bucks. But, I like beer, and pizza, and cheese...so its not a lifetime diet for me. However, I will only use the aforementioned foods in moderation since they do not jive with my organic constitution.

What is a yeast free diet? The "no list" is pretty long, but here it goes:
No cheese/dairy (except eggs)
No vinegar, with the exception of Apple Cider vinegar with the "mother"; this one is difficult because all condiments have vinegar, so you have to make your own dressings and such - I need to find mayo with no vinegar...is that even possible?
No SUGAR. At all.
No white food - like white bread, white potatoes, pasta etc...
No fermented foods, so no soy sauce, pickles or alcohol (how will I make it through the nights when I just want a cocktail?!)
No artificial sweeteners like aspartame and look out for sugar alcohols in "sugar free" foods

YES FOODS:
Veggies - the greener the better
Eggs
Lean, organic meats (yea...I am going to have to work on that one since I am a vegetarian, ugh.)
Protein shakes
Certain fruits like dark berries and avocados (can not have anything too sweet like pineapple)
Lemons, limes
Seafood
All spices and herbs
Whole grains like brown rice, rice pasta and quinoa (I will explain quinoa in another post)
Beans
Oatmeal
Tofu and tempeh in small amounts
Braggs liquid aminos
Ezekiel bread - but only on occasion
Lots, and lots of water

That is the gist of it. Eating out is the biggest challenge - and family gatherings. Why does everything at a family dinner have to include mayo and cheese?
Today's menu
Unsalted rice cake with almond butter and organic blueberries (breakfast)
Egg cups (mid morning and afternoon snack)
Hummus with rice crackers (lunch)
Tomato & Cucumber salad with olive oil, dill and apple cider vinegar (lunch)
Apple with almond butter (pre-yoga snack/dinner)
Brown rice and beans if I am hungry after yoga tonight - if not, I am really going to try to stick to tea because eating at 9:00PM every night is not good for the digestive system

Till tomorrow....
Love and Light

Power Balance

Hi all
Today I went to one of those networking meetings. It was fun and I met some great women. One of the ladies sells these power balance bracelets. They are rubber and have some sort of hologram on each side. She did this test by yanking on my arm to see if I fell out of balance, and I did. She then handed me the bracelet and did the same thing and I did not move.
I immediately purchased the bracelet.
I came home and did the same experiment on Mike and dang, it worked. So strange!

http://www.powerbalance.com/powerbalance

scam? for real?
I can feel the difference wearing it...is it mental? Mind over matter or does this bracelet have some truth to it?

Acupuncture - my Qi is stuck.

I am in love with acupuncture. I think its the best thing since sliced bread. It does not hurt that my acupuncturist is really cool and really knows her stuff. Most people are afraid of acupuncture because of the needles. When I recommend acupuncture to someone, they ALWAYS ask "doesn't it hurt?"
No. The needles do not hurt. There is sometimes a sensation after the needle (which is about as thin as a hair) goes in - and that is your Qi moving, or changing or something like that. The sensation sometimes feels like an electric shock, warming, really good or sometimes it hurts (but only for a second).


I can hear you saying "Hello Heather~~~~~ I took health class in high school and I don't remember anything called a Qi." Well smarty pants, that is because its not recognized in American medicine - but Qi (pronounced chi) is the foundation of Chinese medicine and can be compared to Prana in Yoga.  It is your life force, your energy, the stuff that we can not pull a vile of blood and see how your Qi is doing....but believe me, you and your body know when your Qi/Prana is out of sorts.


This energy runs along meridians in your body and it gets stuck, festers, gets stagnant, over produces or is just plain out of whack. This is where the tiny little needles come in - stick the needle in at the EXACT right place and the Qi moves or calms down or whatever its supposed to do.
Beyond that - you need to talk to an expert about Qi because I understand the concept, but I can not explain it further without royally messing something up.


I do know that one of the best spots to heal your kidneys is in your chin/calf area. I also know that one time when Shams (my acupuncturist - I sound very possessive here, but I will share!) put a needle in the back of my knee I felt a lightening bolt of energy shoot all the way through my big toe. Every time I get acupuncture, I leave feeling as though I got a massage - or better. I normally feel very, very relaxed and kind of tingly in a good way. Amazing stuff.
So for more professional info - click here for Shams's website. 


Shams told me that that I have stagnate liver qi. She recommended some herbs for this and acupuncture once a week till I get the liver qi moving again. So, me being me, I had to look up what she actually means by stagnated liver qi. This makes no sense to my American medicine brain. The symptoms included something that knocked me out of my chair: a constant lump in the throat. I HAVE HAD A LUMP IN MY THROAT FOR OVER A YEAR. It drives me nuts. Nothing I can do about it. I have tried tea, burping, not talking unless necessary, somebody recommended crystals and I have meditated and practiced pranayama trying to make it go away. The pranayama (breath work) did the trick for a day or so, but it always comes back. So annoying. I am thrilled that these herbs and the acupuncture will hopefully get it to go away. Whooo hooo!


till next time...


Love and Light -
H

Lunch...

I want a bento box! I really think one of these suckers will be handy when packing up lunch. They are so cute and portion control is a cinch. Also, I would not have to worry about finding stupid lids to match my bowls in the morning...and suffering through the tupperware avalanche.  Click here to see it on amazon