Today's Social Experiment.

Today I embarked upon a journey that was nothing short of awesome.

These days, it's easy to handicap ourselves from human interaction.
We live right on top of each other, but everyone is a stranger.

I do write this blog, but I also make a conscious effort to limit my time spent staring at a screen. 

That is why, pictured here... you can see my telephone. 
That's right! It flips open. It has buttons. It does not have internet. 

I like to interact with people in real life. The internet is nice. I like the internet. I am in no way anti-internet!...
But I am certainly PRO-SOCIAL INTERACTION!!

I like to know what people are doing. Which is why travel entices me! What are people doing  everywhere and why?! What makes people do the things they do?! Why are some people so damn happy and some so sad?!

So there's this shop in the inner city, kind of near north side.. it looks like a bicycle shop. There are bicycles outside.. So does this shop sell bicycles?! and what an unusual location to sell bicycles.. somewhat hidden, nothing else around.. except, buildings that are not shops?..  I've never heard of this place..

Like most people I know of my generation, I am somewhat reserved about going into a random place that I have no idea what it is! But there are BICYCLES! 

I should go inside that place and see if they would sell me their bicycles!

I walk in and there are three people sitting in a circle. 
   They all smile at me.. 
I go on about how I found them and why I walked inside.
They seemed delighted. We talked about all kinds of things.. like bicycles and jobs and their program!

Which is awesome!

Freewheelin' is a youth development organization that uses bicycles to captivate a child's interest by working on the bikes and riding them. These activities teach life skills, good health habits, and leadership! 


You can volunteer, donate, or purchase bikes.

They do a lot of cool stuff with the kids, and they also have programs for adults. 
You can navigate their website from here for more information.


...the moral of my story: If you are curious about something, just go talk to people. I have passed this little bike shop so many times so curious about what their story is. 
         Now I know & now I have a story to go along with it.

Enjoy Coca~Cola!

I gave up soda my sophomore year of high school when I used a 2 Liter of Coke to clean the corrosion off of my battery terminals in my car.

I will never forget that pivotal moment in my life where I watched the acid sizzle away the build up. I remember like it was yesterday.. 
..ever since, I have never even viewed soda as a drinking option because in my mind, it wasn't.
Putting those chemicals in my body where they could possibly corrode my delicate organs like they did to my battery??
No thanks..

So I ran across this article today about a man who decided to experiment with drinking 10 Cokes a day for 30 days... 


Most people do not drink 10 Cokes a day, but the reason he chose that number was simply because the amount of sugar in 10 Cokes comes close to the equivalent amount of sugar a lot of Americans will consume in one day.
Whether it is in your coffee, in your fruit juice, in your gatorade.. yes, unless you are making a conscious effort to read every label of every item you put inside your body, you are probably consuming more sugar than you think.  If you haven't taken my Sugar Challenge yet, Please, please, please!!.. Click here to see how much sugar you might actually be consuming VS the      
                                                                        amount of sugar your body needs..

To sum it up for you, the average American consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar per day... 
.....and do you know what is recommended?

6 teaspoons for women

9 teaspoons for men

This man did this experiment to spread awareness about how unhealthy consuming large amounts of sugar can be.

And here are some highlights of his experiment:

                         DAY 1                     Day 30

weight:                  168 pounds                        191 pounds
body fat:                     9.4                                      15.3
blood pressure:        129/77                                143/96


That is a weight gain of 23 pounds and a body fat increase of 65%!!

Along with his body image, other things that changed were his mental clarity and energy.

We have a choice.

We can choose to feel amazing, look amazing, think clearly, beat depression, control anxiety, have clearer skin, think more positively, and ENJOY our lives.

                  ..health IS a choice.

and a lot of us have no idea.  

Please do your friends a favor and spread awareness.. This information is life saving.


To visit his website and learn more about the man who consumed 10 Cokes a day for a month, Click Here!

LOVE YOURSELF. seriously.

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.

-Lucille Ball (1911-1989)

I have been wanting to write more about self love, because from my experiences, I never fully felt satisfied about anything until I learned to love myself.

I am currently reading a book about creating the relationship of your dreams. Why?.. Because of the author . . (The Laws of Love: Creating the Relationship of Your Dreams. Chris Prentiss) ...you can literally buy this book for 23 cents! I love Amazon.

       But if this book really has advice on creating the relationship of your dreams, why not?! 

And what I have discovered that I love most about this book isn't the relationship advice, but the emphasis on living in accord with the Universal Laws.

So the man who wrote this  book asked his wife, who is a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to share her thoughts on the key ingredients to a successful relationship..

This is what she said:

    "Taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being is the same as taking care of your partner.  It is the seed of the ability to share happiness. Working on yourself everyday to being out the best in yourself is the same as working on the partnership. It represents the building blocks of your partnership- your future."

I have found that loving myself has been key to making health conscious decisions. Self love has been the determining factor in having the discipline to be able to listen to my body. Just because my mouth wants to taste cheese, does not mean my body agrees with that.. Which is very unfortunate for me.

 How I can feel my best, look my best, carry myself the best, make intense eye contact, smile constantly, rub my positive energy off on complete strangers, take on challenges that are difficult. These are all related to having enough love in your heart for yourself.

If you do not love yourself, you will not have adequate desire to make good decisions. 

You will doubt yourself. 

You will be hard on yourself when you screw up. 

!!!!! Shift your perspective. !!!!!

You are human and are going to screw things up..

..& we've all been taught to learn from our mistakes.

But you can't fully learn when you're busy internally being angry at yourself for screwing up.

Bad things are going to happen, but the bad things that happen to us are prime occasions for growth and learning!! 

..if you don't treat these shit times as such, you are going to make things harder on yourself than they have to be.

So, do you love yourself?

I hope you do! But if you have a difficult time doing so, there is so much you can learn to have the most amazing relationship! The most beautiful relationship! The most perfectly, amazing, beautiful relationship! 

............................................................................with yourself. 

It can start right here, right now.

 Here is your assignment! 

      Even if you are already in love with yourself, which I hope you are! 

             There is always room for improvement!

• What is one change you can make this week to nurture your body? 
• Mindful eating?
• Choosing foods that energize rather than weigh you down?
• Getting 8 hours of sleep?
• Eliminating a certain food from your diet that you know is not good?
• Go get a massage?
• Meditate?
• Play?
• Laugh?
• Stare at yourself in the mirror and find the things you DO like. maybe you don't like your hair, but you love your skin.. compliment yourself. seriously. I am not joking. I do this ALL the time! You need to hear that you are lovely!

I know I refer you guys a lot to Mind Body Green.. But I absolutely love their articles! 

         & I found this one on What Self-Loving People Do Differently, and if you have the time, it is definitely worth a read. <3

Have the most beautifully, amazing day!!

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I am going to be happy in it."

     Groucho Marx(1890-1977)

1 Minute Action To Transform Your Life

Being Mindful Before Eating! (:

                            ..really, that is it!

Mindful eating has been shown to improve digestion and mental well-being!

So how do I eat more Mindfully?!
       It is SO simple!!

**This image taken from zomt.com.au

I want to incorporate many elements of living well into my blog, with the focus being nutrition. However, nutrition is only part of doing things holistically. 

I don't want to just regurgitate information, so to read more about how being mindful during mealtime can transform your life, click here for the entire story. 

~

I am going to leave you with a picture I took while I was at Kripalu studying digestive health..
This quote was shared with me by one of my teachers there, and I swear, I have never washed dishes without thinking that there is no other place on earth I would rather be. Than Right Here. Right Now. Washing This Dish.

This Is What Happened To Me Today..

I did an experiment today. (I have been wanting to this for a while)

I stopped eating gluten in June.

Today I ate a gigantic, fried pork tenderloin sandwich on white bread.

As soon as I finished my sandwich, I felt really full. 

Of course! Right?!

Then I felt a slight pain in my stomach, followed by the kind of energy depletion that goes along with lack of sleep, and also a very minor, but definitely present headache.

I ate the sandwich about 5 hours and I still feel the effects from it.
I am TIRED.

I never thought I could five up gluten because sandwiches have always been some of my favorite meals..
..but the reason it is so easy for me to eat cleaner is the way I feel.
When I eat heavy, empty-calorie foods, I feel heavy and have zero energy.
When I eat clean, whole foods, I feel energetic, light, fun, and happy.
What you put in your body can affect you so much more than you know until you just dive into better foods.

What's the best thing about taking the steps necessary to feel your best?
If you get off track, just get back on again!
So you had a giant fried pork tenderloin sandwich for lunch?!
No big deal! 

Click HERE to find a 2-Day Clean Eating Reboot for between the holidays!.. Even if you don't do all of it, that is okay! 

Even just having a glass of warm lemon water in the morning is going to give you a jump start on your metabolism and have a detoxifying effect on your liver. 

3 Tips for a Healthier Thanksgiving

Bring a healthy dish of your own to share with friends and relatives!!

        
         

No Bake Pecan Pie Bars that are both paleo and vegan! Holy SH**! These look amazing and I will be making a variation of this for Thanksgiving.. Get the recipe here.

~

Something I also had a great time experimenting with that turned out friggin' DEELISH was Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes." Really SIMPLE. Only 4 ingredients!

4 INGREDIENTS!

Get the recipe here!

..& if you eat butter, feel free to add 2 tablespoons to this recipe. (:

~

Make your plate 80% Vegetables / 20% Protein

&

Make Your Plate Colorful!

Lots of holiday foods are white, brown, or something in-between. Get the most nutrients by  choosing the foods with the most color! Leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, beets.. The more colors, the more broad the nutrients! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!

Candy & Strawberries

VS.

Sugar from candy and sugar from strawberries are two different kinds of sugars, and your body reacts to those sugars differently. The sugars from both are classified as simple carbohydrates, so what is making them so different from each other?!

FIBER!!!

As soon as you eat candy, your small intestine sends signals to your brain that you just got a rush of sugar. Your brain then tells your pancreas to start pumping out insulin like crazy. 
Insulin's job is to allow sugar into your cells for energy!! A process called Glycolosis, which is very complicated, but if you're curious, here is one minute of medical school.

So, who cares and why does this matter?

A strawberry, and all fruits for that matter, have enough fiber to keep your blood sugar from spiking because it is not being absorbed all at once. It is giving your body a nice steady stream of energy.. think of it as the difference between a nice, calm, summer rain shower(strawberry) and torrential downpour(candy).

This is also one reason why you can become addicted to sugar.. you literally get a temporary "energy high."

As soon as your insulin grabs all the sugar from your coca-cola(assuming that your pancreas is working okay) you have a drastic decrease in blood sugar, which results in you feeling shaky, light headed, brain fog, maybe even cold and clammy. 

So what do you do?


-Grab some candy
 -spike your blood sugar(energy high), 
   -and the cycle repeats. 
 -You will crash again, 
  -need that next fix,
   -grab the first sugary thing you see, 
    -and consume it.




When you consume simple carbs without fiber, your pancreas is working overtime.. and just like anything else, you can't expect optimal performance from something if you don't take care of it.

Examples of Simple Carbs to Avoid:

Candy 

Soda 

Syrup 

Table Sugar

What You Can Do To Maintain Healthy Blood Sugars:

-Decrease simple sugar consumption. (with the obvious exception of fruit!)

-Eat More GOOD protein!  Protein keeps you full because you digest it slowly.

-Decrease the amount of sugar you use to sweeten things, and over time you will realize you want less and less..

-Eat high fiber foods! (i love nothing more than cashew butter on a banana)  

-DO NOT replace sugar with artificial sweeteners!!

-Read your labels and check for hidden sugars!

   Sugar can hide in plenty of drinks and foods that are marketed as "HEALTHY."

next time you are at the store and see these guys, check out their sugar content..

Check out my Sugar Challenge if you haven't already!

Healthy Habits take time to develop. 

Be nice to yourself. Your body will reward you, I promise!