Why No Wheat?

Tags

diabetes, glycemic index, Grain Brain, no grains, paleo, pre-diabetic, wheat, Wheat Belly

I had the “wheat-free” conversation with two friends recently, which prompted me to write this post.  Over the course of the last year and a half whenever I tell someone that I try to follow the Paleo lifestyle for eating, they always ask why I don’t eat grains.  I suppose sugar is a no-brainer for most people, as it was for me, but I didn’t always have a ready answer on the grain part.  I had only vague “grains are anti-nutrients” statements that I could not support with any memorable scientific notes.  Not being one to try to force people to my way of thinking, I’d shrug and let it go.  What’s right for me isn’t necessarily right for someone else.  Hadn’t I learned that already in my own household?

Last autumn when my husband was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic I read through the literature his doctor sent home with him.  It recommended low-fat foods, fruits, vegetables and lots of whole grains.  Ugh.  But I nearly lost it when the literature encouraged diet soft drinks and sugar-free candy.  ENCOURAGED!!!   I read the absurdities out loud and then tossed the literature across the table.

“Will you help me eat right?” my husband asked.

“I don’t agree with that crap,” I said, pointing to the literature endorsed by the American Diabetes Association. “I can’t even explain to you exactly why I don’t agree with it, but I can’t stomach the idea of medical professionals telling people whole grains and Aspartame are good for you.”

“Then we’ll throw those papers away.  Will you help me eat right?” he asked again.

How could I say no?  He was placing more trust in me than in his doctor, and I wasn’t about to let him down.  I jumped back on my Paleo bandwagon with both feet.  Dom immediately cut out grains and sugars.  His blood sugar, which we tested daily, normalized at once and over the course of the next three months he lost 20 pounds.  Even better than those awesome health benefits, we were enjoying cooking dinner together almost every night and sharing lunch at home during the workdays.  I decided to make it my mission to find out why this grain-free life was treating us so kindly.

Two of the books I have read in my quest are Grain Brain and Wheat Belly, both written by physicians and chock-full of science.  Admittedly, I sometimes found myself zoning out from all the scientific references, but two things caught my attention and held it: 1) Both doctors referenced cases of various illness and disorders which other doctors could not specifically diagnose – all alleviated with the elimination of grain from the diet; and 2) the scientific trials referenced in both books included tens of thousands of individuals – large scale research.  Conversely, I overheard our local news recently touting a health study in which 200 individuals participated.  Wow…a whole 200 people?  Please.

Even though I had already given up wheat and other grains, these books reinforced my resolve to avoid them.  Some basic facts that strengthened my understanding are:

• It’s not my great-great-grandmother’s wheat.  The wheat we eat today has been so genetically modified in order to produce larger crops and greater profitability that it no longer resembles the wheat of our ancestors, and it wreaks havoc on the body in ways that ancient grains simply did not.
• The inclusion of grains as the basis of our food pyramid (not to mention the sheer proportion of grains compared to other foods in our “recommended daily nutrition”) is not based on any scientific evidence.  It was pretty much decided by a group of politicians in the 70’s (who were likely trying to support corporate agriculture) and simply never challenged.
• Genetically engineered wheat (roughly 99% of all wheat world-wide) can not survive in a natural environment.  Originally created to produce higher yields in an effort to offset world hunger, these grains were propelled into our food supply without any studies on their health effects.
• From a blood glucose standpoint, a slice of whole wheat bread whacks out your blood sugar more than a Snickers bar.  (NOT that I am advocating you dine on Snickers!)  To be precise, a Snickers bar has a glycemic index (GI) of 49.  A slice of whole wheat bread has an average GI of 71.  This information alone makes me furious that the ADA literature I referred to earlier actually promoted wheat products and whole grains for people wanting to manage diabetes.  I guess I should just be happy that they didn’t advise we have a Snickers bar with our diet soda.

I looked at the American Diabetes Association’s website explanation of GI on various foods.  They list the GI of a piece of whole wheat bread as “medium GI (56-69)” while stating white bread has a “high GI (70+).” Conversely, according to the Harvard Medical School, whole wheat bread averages a GI of 71, the very same as white bread.  Surprising to most, a “healthy” bowl of instant oatmeal averages a GI of 83.  I looked extensively at various groups’ food GI charts and came to my own conclusion:  given the extensive varieties of food products available to us in the stores, the data pretty much can be expressed in any light to support any claim.  But I have to marvel at the fact that a whopping 79 million people in the U.S. are “pre-diabetic.”  From my standpoint, it’s easy to see why.

Okay, so I gave up bread (and oatmeal and crackers and cereal and donuts and… you get the picture).  Wanna know what else I gave up?  My ever-growing list includes joint pain, cramps, blemishes and skin oddities.  Dom gave up antacids entirely.  Just a little slip (which we made on two separate weekends) brings back symptoms we would have otherwise ignored in our former selves.  So many health inconveniences were just accepted as a part of life and aging.  But the elimination of wheat (and likely sugar too) has proven that life and aging can be so much better than we had been trained to accept!

So, what do I eat?  Well, lots of eggs, uncured meats, cheeses, whole milk (I’m “paleo plus dairy” 🙂 ) fruits, nuts and vegetables.  We drink red wine with dinner.  No sugars, no starches.  I rely on sweet potatoes for an indulgent carb boost and paleo “treats” for my occasional sweet tooth.  (See Living Healthy with Chocolate and PaleOMG for some awesome treat recipes!)  I don’t worry about calories, fat or cholesterol for many of the reasons cited in the two books referenced above.

And no, quitting wheat cold-turkey was not super-easy.  I actually did it three times before it stuck.  This last time, with Dominic’s health at stake and armed with much more information, I walked away from wheat and didn’t look back.  But I know how hard it can be… after all, I made an Italian give up pasta.

I’m no doctor and I don’t pretend to be.  I don’t know your personal situation and cannot guarantee any results for anyone, including myself.  But if you’re dealing with an ailment no one can identify, or you’re simply just wishing you could feel better, try eliminating wheat and grain from your diet.  Give it four weeks and see how you feel.  It may work for you; it may not.  I’m betting that it will.

I found a quote on Facebook the other day that stated, “Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.”  (Credit: Heather Morgan, MS, NLC.)  I have learned that I’m a fighter.  How ’bout you?

I wish you health and peace.

Where Did I Go Wrong??

Tags

aspartame, headache, wrigley's gum

That’s a rhetorical question, of course. I know exactly where I went wrong.  No need to rub it in.

It all started a little over a week ago when Victoria popped a piece of Juicy Fruit gum in her mouth.  Wow…Juicy Fruit.  I used to LOVE that gum when I was little.  My immediate reaction, though, was “That’s not a gum I approve, you know.”  Oh, she knows. My comment made little difference as she smacked away on it and tucked the remaining pack back into her purse.  I reasoned to myself that a stick of Juicy Fruit was certainly not the end of the world, high fructose corn syrup be damned.

Fast forward to last night at the grocery store, where as I am sliding my debit card back into my purse, Victoria is slapping not one but TWO packs of Doublemint gum on the counter behind me, cash in hand.

“What’s in that gum?” I ask.  She shrugs and emphasizes the fact that she’s buying this contraband with her own money.  Fair enough, I reason. I try to give my kids freedom in spending their own money while encouraging them to make smart choices along the way.  How else will they learn, right?

I pick up one of the packs and flip it over to the ingredients list. Corn syrup, no surprise.  Guar gum, gum base, yadayadayada.  Holy crap: Aspertame.  Acesulfame K!  BHT!!  I feel my own head exploding as I announce the evil ingredients.  “Vic!!  This stuff is horrible!!”

“I’m not going to chew a whole pack in a day, Mom!” she protests.

“No,” I reply, “you’re going to poison yourself a little at a time over the course of the next week, rendering your entire nervous system defenseless against the tiny, steady onslaught of toxins.  My God, you might as well start drinking Diet Coke!  I mean, really, what if you want to have children when you’re grown up?  Is that pack of gum worth ruining your chances before you’re even old enough to want them?!”

Yep. There it was.  Did you see it?  I became THAT mother.  I didn’t say anything I don’t believe, but I said it in a way that I can’t stand, and worse, in front of people who don’t understand.  I could feel the eyes of the cashier upon me as Dom bagged up my slew of organic, unprocessed, non-GMO groceries.  I know she was thinking, “Oh, poor kid!”

Truthfully, though, for reasons I couldn’t readily explain to anyone, I felt like a dagger had been driven through my heart.  Aspartame and BHT were two of the first ingredients I identified as dangerous back in 2010.  Everyone understood their harmful effects.  Didn’t they?  Or had the passage of time and priority weakened our commitment to safe and healthy eating?

Our commitment.  Was it really ours?  Or was it just mine, forced on my family because 8 and 9-year olds don’t have as much buying power as (the now) 12 and 13-year olds?  It was a really low moment for me.

In the car on the way home I tried to reiterate to Victoria what Aspartame and BHT do inside the body.  I ran a short litany of side-effects.  At the mention of headaches, light bulbs switched on for both of us.  Vic had been having unexplained headaches for about the past week, complaining at least every other day.  We had estimated causes to be the change in weather, change in hormones, not enough sleep.  It didn’t occur to me to ask, “Have you chewed any crappy gum lately?”  It’s not labeled as sugar-free, because there is corn syrup in it, so I would have never guessed that Wrigley’s made its gum with the artificial sweetener Aspartame.  But now we know.

Part of me feels that she’s still young enough for me to control what she has access to.  And I do not mean to give that up entirely, lest you think I’m okay with her touring crack-houses as a hobby.  But another part of me feels that she has to learn some things on her own.  She has to be allowed to make choices, even those that I don’t agree with.  My part in this stage of her life is to keep her alive and safe and make sure she can match the effect to its cause in any circumstance and learn from the experience.

I just pray that I have the grace to not be such a jerk about it.

Helloooo, July! It’s Sooooooo Good to See You!

Greetings from the road to recovery!  We have actual, reportable progress on so many of my most stressful issues that I just gotta share…

First, I am finally healed from my first tumble.  The doc determined that I did not fracture my elbow and he downgraded me to a sprain, which made me very happy.  Unfortunately, that news was not even twelve hours old when I fell AGAIN right at three weeks ago.  Despite bruised ribs, a gashed up knee and a face that made me look like a volunteer punching bag, I am finally healing – again.  Only in the last week have I actually felt like myself.  I accomplished tasks at work (yay!), cooked dinner, and even did a little more packing.  Oh, and I managed to sneeze without feeling like my ribs would be blown to the four corners of the earth.  For the win, right?

Next, while I was laid up in bed whining over my wounds and snorting Lortab (not really…well, maybe…) we got an offer on our house.  Which, of course, we accepted.   Which means we sold our house.  Which means that we have to get ready to get the hell out of Dodge…for real now.  Aaaaaaaaand, we closed on our construction loan and broke ground on the new house.  Next we move in with my parents.  (And their world will never be the same…)

On the Food Front, I have to thank you all for your support and wonderful comments with regard to me changing our diets for Aaron’s benefit.  It has not been an easy change, and we have had several nights that tried everyone’s patience at the dinner table.  But Aaron is a trooper, and even though he abhorred many of the things we made him try he DID try them, and even found some new things that he likes.  I had to throw in one or two cheat days to keep everyone sane and chugging along with me, but that one night of sundaes and DQ Blizzards was worth the tummy aches we all had the next day, if for nothing more than strengthening our morale (as well as our resolve!)  We are tweaking Paleo to work for us, and in the end I think that we will each have a better ability to make proper decisions about our own nutrition.  The kids have really embraced all this change better than I imagined they would, and I am so grateful to have such earnest learners, even when they are begging me relentlessly for Southern Maid donuts.

Finally, I think the biggest change is once again happening within me.  I’ve learned that falling down is easy (too easy, thankyouverymuch!) but getting up is where you grow and learn.  I learned am learning to slow down – to not rush through these days of change and uncertainty, but rather to embrace them and try to appreciate something different about each day.  Last week as I walked across the parking lot, realizing that it feels so damn good to be “me” again, I found myself hurrying.  And then I realized that hurrying is exactly how I got injured in the first place.  I will make a conscious effort to slow down, physically and mentally.  Because as stressful as I know these days ahead may be, I don’t want to miss a single thing about these events and the opportunity to see my family through them safely.

Mama Drama and a Month of Mammoth Change

I will spend this post sharing more than I am comfortable sharing, and half of you will start the reading thinking that I am crazy or cruel, or both.  By the time I’m done, the weights will have shifted and the other half of you will be convinced that I’m crazy or cruel, or both.  This is not a post in which many of you are going to applaud my maternal actions.  Just know that I’m okay with that.

Also know that before I published this post, I let my son read it, and I got his express permission to share his story.

Oh, and this is a really long post, by the way.  Consider yourself warned. 😉

I had a single recurring nightmare when I was pregnant with Aaron, my firstborn.  I would dream that I had birthed the baby and come home with him.  Like, days ago.  Suddenly I would realize that I had not yet fed the baby.  And I would PANIC because I had no idea if he was going to survive since we had been home ten days or so and he had not been fed even once.  I would wake up in a sweat, grateful that I was still pregnant and had not yet earned jail time as a new mother.  I bet I had that dream six or so times during the pregnancy.  It freaked me out every. single. time.

Contrary to my nightmare, Aaron ate well as an infant and a toddler.  It wasn’t until he turned two and was off of “baby foods” that he started refusing normal table food.  He drank milk.  Lots and lots of milk.  The dream was haunting me.  So I did what any regular, worried, American mom would do: I talked to my pediatrician.

Here’s my disclaimer:  I really, really love my pediatrician.  I do.  I think he is the most gentle and good-hearted man.  When my children are sick and I can’t cure them, he is the only person I want to see.  I wish, though, that I had already come to the realization that physicians are not demi-gods, and that they are not necessarily smarter than I am about me and my children – they just went to school longer and paid more tuition and can explain things about the human body that I cannot.  But that’s about it.  I still respect doctors and I mean none of them any slight.  But now I listen to my own instincts first.  Now, I think Conventional Wisdom may not be so wise.  However, in 2002, I did not have this presence of mind.  I took a doctor’s words as gospel.

My dear pediatrician explained to me that Aaron was getting practically all the nutrients he needed from the milk, and what was not in the milk, I could add as supplement via the miracle of (drum roll, please) Ovaltine.

And that, my friends, is how I addicted my son to a liquid diet of chocolate milk.

Aside from Bob the Builder fruit chews (which would not be allowed in my grocery cart today, much less my home) Aaron subsisted on Ovaltine and milk.  And since the doc said that was all good, by golly who was I to question it?

Ten years later, I can say I really wish I had ignored my pediatrician.

I wish that I had instead listened to people like my dad who said, “The boy’s not gonna starve! Put the meat and veggies in front of him, tell him that’s dinner, and be done with it.”   I thought my dad was so extreme!!  (And now that I write this, I realize that’s twice I have ignored my father’s advice.  Regretted it both times.  Dammit!!)

When Aaron entered pre-school, the teachers told me that they were concerned because he flat would NOT eat lunch.  They asked what he ate at home.  By this time, our culinary tastes had expanded to include the all-holy Cheerio.  The teachers suggested that I pack the cheerios in his lunchbox and they would make sure he was eating.  For the rest of the year, I packed him cheerios and milk for lunch at school.  He ate the same for dinner at home.  We eventually expanded to PB&J sandwiches when he entered kindergarten.  And puffy cheetos.  Woo hoo!  With five items on our son’s menu, we were making progress!!

All the while, our toddler daughter was eating everything Dom and I ate – up to and including crawfish etouffee.  A teacher at my children’s school approached me one day and said, “You have night and day at your house, don’t you?” noting the unmistakable personality differences between my offspring, who otherwise look like twins.  I dropped my shoulders and replied, “Ohhhhhhh, you have no idea!!”

For the next five years, Aaron continued to eat Cheerios and PB&J sandwiches.  He outgrew the Ovaltine, going on a multi-year self-imposed hiatus from chocolate.  (Is he really my son?!!) We flavored the milk with Strawberry Quik.  (Yes, really.  I gag just thinking about it!) Sugar, grains and milk were his steady diet.  We managed to work in plain pasta, and he preferred the whole wheat versions, to my immense satisfaction. And somewhere in the middle of all of this, he fell in love with Whataburger chicken strips.  Other chicken strips get snubbed; Whataburger’s chicken apparently rocks.

During this time we also had a few trips to the pediatrician for tummy troubles.  He was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and we were told to add Benefiber to his milk and not worry that he only consumed pale-brown and white foods.  The symptoms came and went, the Benefiber brought hit-or-miss results, but for the most part he seemed to do okay.  He was growing, after all, and aside from random tummy issues wasn’t ever sick, so what did I really have to worry about??

But then in 2010, I went down the rabbit hole and dragged everyone with me.  It has taken two years to secure foods and snacks that are “Lori-approved.”  Ingredient lists have to be practically virginal before I will buy a food.  Allowing no petrochemicals or partially-hydrogenated oils in my pantry meant many of my kids’ favorite cereals and snacks got the boot.  Cheerios remained, for their lack of the preservative BHT (where other cereals failed us).  Only a few brands of bread survived my inquisition, and as you know I started baking much of my own.

I considered bread to be foundational not only on my dinner plate, but in life around me.  I naturally therefore considered grains to be wholesome, pure and body beneficial.  “Living on Cheerios, crackers and bread is not completely awful,” I would protest.  “At least he gets plenty of fiber!”

This is the point where many of you have already been shaking your head, and you are now chastising me because I feed my child such poorly chosen foods.  No veggies, no greens.  Chicken, of all animals, and not even the eggs!!  Yes, I have heard it all before… “make him eat different foods.  He won’t starve!  You have to force it on him.  Be strong!”  Folks, I tried.  I got all mean and big and bad and threatened to not let him leave the table until he had tried whatever I had cooked.  You know where that put us?  Back at the doctor’s office with chronic upset stomachs (“brought on by stress”) where I was told his dietary preference was simply not that big a deal.  I clung to that and convinced myself that he was going to be just fine, despite all the personal stories I knew of people who had lived on a similar diet and suffered digestive distress as adults.

My choices have never been perfect.  They never will be.  I am still learning.  I am still reading…a lot.  And I am still making changes that affect my whole family.  We are still in the rabbit hole; we just found another tunnel within it.

I’ve been talking to my kids about the things that we don’t need to eat, a list which has very recently expanded to include grains, sugars and starches – the very basis of the foods they love.  Dom and I have switched to a new food lifestyle where we eat primarily meats and veggies.  I say primarily because I still incorporate fruit, coffee and occasional wine into the lifestyle.  And a tiny bit of soft cheese and bittersweet dark chocolate.  (If I ever give those things up I will be totally surprised.)  But here’s where most of you will revolt…I’m making my kids do it too.  My kids who eat sandwiches, cereal and everything sugary are about to go paleo with us.  Oh-Em-to-the-double-Gee, right?

I realize you can’t quite agree with me yet because you have not yet wrapped your mind around why in the heck I would promote and follow something so quirky.  So I will explain…

In my reading and research I have learned that our bodies are not really meant to digest grains and use them for the body’s benefit.  Go figure.  If you have seen Food, Inc, think of the grain-fed cows and the vet/scientist guy who was explaining that cows are not meant to digest grains, so when factory farms feed them grains instead of grass, their digestive systems get all whacked out.  Their bodies still function, but not as efficiently, and certainly not as they are meant to.  This is one of the many reasons to buy grass-fed beef.  It’s better for the animal’s health, better for the quality of meat, and that in turn is better for the person eating it.

In my opinion, the same principle works for humans.  Our bodies were not meant to digest grains because, as Mark explains so well on Mark’s Daily Apple, grains are meant to be planted.  Grain’s natural defense when eaten is to pass right on through so that it can eventually land in fertile soil and grow.  So on its way through our body, it wreaks havoc on our digestive system, leaving virtually no nutritional value in its wake, filling us only with cheap and empty calories.  We cope and we medicate and we deal with all the symptoms that our minds don’t automatically connect to our consumption of things like dinner rolls and oatmeal, but there we are anyway with aches and pains, reflux and gastrointestinal issues.   (These are not to all be totally blamed on grains, by the way.  That’s why we avoid sugars, dairy and starches as well.)

An overwhelming number of Mark’s readers chimed in with testimony to their own health benefits after giving up grains.  All I could think of was my son, destined for a life of tummy troubles if I did not intervene.  Suddenly every doubt and wonder that had crossed my mind over the last decade – What if I’ve been doing it all wrong? What if I don’t listen to the doctor? – came crashing back down on me as escapees from their prison of my own insecurity and self-doubt.  Every what if suddenly had an answer.  And the answer was: I’ve got to change it and I’ve got to change it NOW!!!

The gist of it is that I am taking away all the cereals, breads, pastas – GRAINS – from my children’s diets.  Dom and I have already removed them from our own food choices, so it’s not like I’m forcing something on my kids that I’m not willing to do myself.  They are not insanely giddy over the idea, don’t get me wrong.  But as I started this journey back in 2010 I shared with them everything that I learned and explained the reasons behind the changes I was making.  It is no different now.  I have shared the reasons and the potential benefits I expect to see.  If we do this for a month and the kids don’t notice positive changes in their own bodies, then I will concede to the food pyramid and take back all the nasty things I have said about grains and the FDA.  I can say that because I totally doubt it will come to pass.  My biggest battle will be the attitudes and the wills of my children.  But because I believe so strongly in their health, I will not be deterred until we have clear results – and answers that do not exist only in my head.

Ironically, you know who was freaking out the most when I told them of my plan?  Victoria. (I’m ruining EVERYTHING, you know!!)  Aaron, on the other hand, asked if he could try some scrambled eggs for the first time.  He said he wanted to eat better and feel better and, even though it was scary, he understood what I was doing.

I love that boy.  I love him so very, very much.

Decaf, Schmeecaf

When I tell you that I nearly titled this post, “What the Hell Was I Thinking?” you’ll know exactly where this is going.

So, yeah, I said I was ixnaying caffeine, right?  Would you think terribly less of me if I retracted the whole hair-brained idea???

I’ve been drinking decaf coffee for a month now.  I have also suffered with a month of bad hair days.  Coincidence?  Whatever.  It’s also coincidental that as soon as I returned to full-caf earlier this week my hair went back to being manageable.  But I also totally jacked the experiment by switching shampoos two days ago.  So was it the decaf or the shampoo or just my hair rebelling against 40?  Who knows?  Who really cares?  I gave decaf a fair and mighty shake, but in the end I decided there may be an undiscernable reason that decaf and I just aren’t meant to be together.

I’m no sharper for having switched, either.

I found a few minutes to discuss this with my dear friend Kim the other night while she stirred a pan full of corn.  “I read your post.  What’s all that about?” she asked.

“Oh, I think I’m gonna have to give that up.  Can a month of decaf make me have thirty bad hair days in a row?”

“Of course it can; Venus is in retrograde.  You’re just trying too much stuff.  You need to chill.”

It’s good advice, really.  There’s one thing I’ve learned in these two years of change.  If it’s a good change and worth holding on to, I’ll feel it.  There should be a positive benefit that I am able to recognize after a certain amount of time.  If I struggle with something for a month and experience no positive changes, then it’s quite possibly just not something I’m destined for.

This may be the fastest retraction I’ve ever made on this blog.  Coffee, anyone??

Starbucks Stall-Out

A few weeks ago I gave up caffeine.  Please understand that I never planned on giving up caffeine, as I really didn’t consume all that much of it.  Except on Fridays.  On Fridays I went all Venti on the caffeine.  (“Venti” is “large” for those of you who do not speak Starbucks. Twenty ounces. Ohhhhhh yyyeahhhhhhhhhh)

See, what ha’ happen’ wuz…

One night the evening news (which I hardly ever watch because of my inherent disdain for sensationalized tragedy and inaccurate weather forecasts, but which Dom likes to fall asleep watching) had a story on the effects of caffeine in the brain.  Basically, we all know that caffeine restricts the blood vessels, raises blood pressure, etc.  But this news story was worth watching.  The reporter had an MRI performed pre-coffee, then drank a Grande coffee beverage (medium) and had another MRI done.  The difference in brain activity before and after the coffee was astounding.  Brain activity was reduced to 40% after drinking the coffee.  The medical doctors interviewed in the report stated that after a while, the brain will learn to function with the reduced blood flow.  As in, the 40% becomes your new normal.  Yikes.

And that is also why when you have gone without caffeine after being so dependent on it, you will experience a “caffeine headache” because the blood vessels are returning to normal size, thus allowing a whole lot more blood to flow into the brain and resulting in the pounding in your head.

The key, it would seem, is getting your internal highway system accustomed to full traffic again.  I believe blood to the brain is a good thing.  Which means that after hearing that report (not once, but three times during the night because the television in my bedroom was left on) I decided to ditch the caffeine.

It had only been a couple of weeks since my Lenten sacrifice of customized Starbucks beverages had ended, and I hated the idea of giving it up permanently.   I decided that one custom beverage a week wouldn’t hurt.  I’d switch to decaf and be completely happy.  Riiiight??

(Yes, I vividly recall all my concerns about decaf coffee and the chemicals used in the process of removing the caffeine.  I’m trying really hard to strike a balance here, folks.)

Around the same time, I decided to try out this paleo lifestyle which excludes (among other things) sugar, dairy and soy.  Damn.  No coconut milk at Starbucks?  What’s a lost soul to do??  Again, believing one custom beverage a week was no big sin, I dropped my Venti down to a Grande, further reduced the sugar syrup pumps, and asked for decaf.

Three times I have done this.  Three times I have finished my cup with a dull headache.  Make sense?  Not in the slightest.   Could it be that three separate times, at different Starbucks locations, they spiked my beverage?  I don’t think so.  But something is amiss, and I aim to find out what.  Especially since I talked with another Starbucks junkie who said she recently started having reactions to her custom coffee beverages.  She switched to tea and is fine.

My issue could potentially be all the other changes I was making in my diet.  With the elimination of grains, starches, dairy and sugar (except for the occasional splash of agave nectar in a cup of hot tea) I have noticed several positive changes which I plan to detail in another post.  So I wonder…could the sudden influx of milk and sugar whack me out so much as to induce a headache?  It’s totally possible.  And if that is the case, then there’s all my reason for staying the course with the paleo lifestyle.

I have one experiment to perform before I turn in my Starbucks badge.  I got a card in the mail for a free drink – I hit my “Free 15” (yes, I’m that committed).  I’m going to redeem my card for a full-caf grande and see what happens.  If I still have the issues, then I’ll know the culprits are the milk and sugar.  If I don’t have issues, I’ll know it’s their decaf.  Either way, I should have my answers, and an era of coffee-house devotion will come to an end.

C’est la vie…

Our First Guest Blogger: Katie Moore

It’s time to bring some life to this blog, dontcha think?  😉 I am honored to have my first ever guest blogger today.  Fellow purpose-driven mom, Katie, has some good exercising advice that might even give me a kick-start (and my babies are 10 and 11!!)  Read on, and then be sure to visit Katie at her blog, Moore From Katie.

Getting Back Into Shape After Having a Baby 

At first, getting back into shape after a pregnancy can seem daunting. I for one, never thought I would get my ‘pre-pregnancy body’ back. Thankfully, getting back into shape can be both enjoyable and easy. With a little dedication, time, and a lot of determination, new mothers can lose weight fast, tone their muscles, and ease stress.

All exercise programs require a time commitment, trust me I learned that from experience! For new mothers, this time commitment can sometimes seem impossible. After all, newborns require a lot of time and mothers may feel stretched with just taking care of the baby. When most people think of an “exercise program,” the first thought that usually comes to mind involves gyms and endless hours working out. Fortunately for new mothers, getting back in shape doesn’t have to involve too many hours or trips to a sweaty gym. Getting back in shape can be accomplished while at home.

Before beginning any exercise regime, mother should speak with her doctor. Similar to how a mother worked with her doctor during pregnancy to prepare for post-delivery procedures, like umbilical cord blood banking and immunizations, a mother should work with her doctor to create the best plan to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight.

Mothers should also listen to their bodies; if the body doesn’t feel ready, mothers should hold off on exercising. Pregnancy affects each individual differently and recovering from delivery can take different amounts of time. I found that slowly getting back into a regular exercise routine worked best for me. I started with just a few exercises and a small amount of reps to start. As my body adjusted, I added more exercises and increased the amount of reps I was doing.

When beginning an exercise program, it can be important that new mothers take into consideration their daily schedule. For example, if a mother knows that their newborn will be taking a nap for at least half an hour, that time is a great opportunity to do some physical activities. While my little one slept I loved getting a few exercises in, instead of simply napping (even though that did sound appealing!). Getting in some exercise actually made me feel rejuvenated. Simple cardio and abdominal exercises can be done in the home or outside with very little equipment. A mother can buy a few fun exercise videos as well to help guide her through a well-rounded routine if she doesn’t feel confident in her ability to maintain a routine.

In addition to exercising regularly, new mothers should pay attention to their diet. Mothers that are breastfeeding will have to take that fact into consideration when planning their diet. A mother will need to increase her caloric intake to aid in milk production and will need to be sure to take in healthy foods for that increase. Lean proteins and plenty of fruits and vegetables should be eaten. Hydration is also another important part in assisting in breastfeeding, as well as helping shed pounds.

When planning out a new exercise regime to get fit after pregnancy, new mothers shouldn’t stress; with planning, attention to detail, and commitment, mothers can get their pre-pregnancy bodies back.

“This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche.  If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26.”

Healthy Oils

Scattered in among my current thoughts about houses, summer sandals and particle physics (no, not really!) are a few things you can actually benefit from: my thoughts on healthy oils for your skin. I have two cost-conscious favorites: almond oil and coconut oil.  My splurge oil is jojoba.  I’m sure there are a multitude of other healthy oils, many of which I am learning about for cooking purposes. But these oils are the ones I have tried myself and can vouch for.  Here’s how they have helped me:

Almond oil as makeup remover

Whether you are sixteen or sixty, I hope you aren’t neglecting to take your makeup off at night.  And if you use mineral makeup, as I do, then you know that it doesn’t wash, rub or cry off with any ease.  But that’s okay, because we have oils that make the job ten times easier.  I use about a dime-sized drop of almond oil on a warm-water washcloth to remove my makeup.  It does a great job at a fraction of the cost of mainstream makeup removers AND is beneficial to your skin. Plus, being pure almond oil, it won’t clog your pores, threaten you with cancer or knock your hormone levels out of whack.  After the first rinse, I typically use Style Essential’s Pink Mineral Complexion Bar.  At least twice a week, I skip the Bar and use another dime sized drop of almond oil on my face, followed by draping a hot-water washcloth over my face for a couple of minutes.  Sadly, I cannot remember who I learned this from – either Lisa at Style Essentials or Robin at Toxic Beauty – but I know both ladies would agree that this is an excellent way to cleanse and moisturize.  If you double up on the almond oil, you don’t really even need another moisturizer, but I use one anyway because I absolutely lovvvvvve my moisturizer – it’s an olive oil crème from Style Essentials and it rocks!

One word of caution to contact lens wearers:  When I wash my face at night I still have my contacts in.  If you rub the almond-oil-washcloth too much into your eyes, as I sometimes do because I want to make sure I get all the eyeliner and mascara off, then you could get the oil onto your contacts and blur them up a bit.  Lens solution cleans them right up, and I probably don’t even need to mention this to any of you, except that I’d be the reader who squints into the mirror saying, “Well, crap!  She didn’t say anything about THIS!”  So there.  I said it.

Almond and Coconut oils as body lotion

I first used coconut oil as a moisturizer during my initial 365 days on this blog.  I loved it! The one I bought has no scent, so I ran no risk of smelling like an Almond Joy.  I would use it instead of lotion after a shower.  My heels LOVED it and coconut oil became an immediate fixture in my homespun pedicures.  After a while of using the coconut oil (especially during the winter) I got tired of having to warm up the solidified oil in order to use it, and I was afraid I was using too much and wasting.  So I switched to almond oil – bought the big bottle – and added my favorite essential oil to it.  Voila! Instant perfumed moisturizer.  Into the big bottle I pour about 20 drops of jasmine oil (you can pick any oil or combination of your favorites!) and shake it up a bit.  By the next morning, the essential oil is dispersed through the almond oil and smells sooooooo good.  (NOTE: Do not use the scented oil as makeup remover.  Keep a separate bottle of pure almond oil for your face.  Trust me.)  I have since also put jasmine oil into my coconut oil as well.  And now, I use either the coconut or the almond right before I dry off from the shower – this way, I use less and there’s no chance of being shiny when I leave for work.  J

The only thing I don’t like about the oils – and this may only relate to me and my personal weirdness – is that the oils react with the gold in one of my 14K rings and discolors my skin under the ring.  Coconut oil makes it worse, but it still does it a little with the almond oil.  If it’s the weekend and I have plenty of time between shower and jewelry, then it’s not an issue.  Since it doesn’t react with my wedding ring, I’ve considered asking a jeweler to examine the gold in the other ring.  But really…like I have time for that!

Coconut oil as tanning agent

OK, this is where it gets a little weird.  Even I can see it.  When I wrote the previous post about having to give up my sunless tanner, one of the commenters posted a link that has steered me in a completely new direction.  The Paleo lifestyle…which shall be a whole post unto itself.  I read this post on Sarah’s paleo blog and decided to give it a try.  I mean, I’m already vampire white and eating differently from everyone else.  What have I got to lose?

Sarah suggests that sun protection is more effective when addressed from the inside out.  As the sunburn is a symptom of inflammation, address and prevent the inflammation itself.  Makes sense to me.  While I won’t go all into the paleo benefits and backups in this post, I will say that Sarah listed a small supplement routine that, in addition to the paleo lifestyle, should help increase sun tolerance, i.e. the time you can be in the sun without burning.  Vitamin D (which gets cancelled out by sunscreen), cod liver oil (don’t gag…it’s tasteless in the gelcap form) and – you guessed it – coconut oil are all on the list.

Now, I’m still wrestling with this one, even though I totally see the reasoning behind it.  Sarah suggests downing ¼ cup of coconut oil in a mug of herbal tea each day.  I managed to do it for three days.  Perhaps if I find a coconut oil for cooking that does not have the coconut flavor, I’ll be better about that. (And if, in the last cup, the oil didn’t pool on top of the tea – a fact which led my mom to believe I was completely outside my mind.)  Instead, I have used coconut oil almost exclusively in my cooking.

My tiny paleo results, though skewed because of a week of complete dietary mishaps, are that I only got a tad pink on my neck during my four hours at the school’s Field Day last week, using no sunscreen (in the name of experimentation, people!) Also, my face was blemish-free for two weeks…until I went with Dom for pizza and beer.  Damn the pizza and beer!  I’m climbing back on the paleo wagon and will post more information when I’ve done proper experimentation.  😉

In the meantime, go get you some healthy oils, and be free of the cosmetic chemicals!

New Body by Forty

Sunday was officially the three month mark – three months until I say goodbye to my 30’s and hello to, well, life after my 30s’.

Six months ago I promised that my 40th birthday present to myself would be a new body (via a non-surgical route, thankyouverymuch). It sounded like a good idea at the time, and even though I have already reached my desired weight, I have not come even close to my desired tone. I’m a little, um…soft. And I know that can only be cured with movement. And no, standing on one’s feet from 4-10 pm doing dishes and laundry apparently doesn’t count. Wish that it did.

A house with stairs that I traverse fifty times a day doesn’t help either. My home represents the only time I ever disregarded my dad’s advice…he told me not to buy a two-story house. I foolishly commented that two-stories are “so pretty” and the stairs would give me “good exercise.” Phooey!

So this is it, folks…almost all of the tempting Halloween candy is gone, and I have been doing my level best to help rid our office of the leftover jelly beans. Sugar addiction is easy to fall into and hard to step out of. But I find that I feel sluggish lately, and I am pretty sure it’s a result of eating way too much junk. Heaven help me if my next post ends up being titled “Body by Jelly Belly.” No, I have to do better than this.

I have a lot of simple exercise plans that tout results after 4-6 weeks. I’m going for it. Not blindly, mind you. I am fully conscious of the fact that I should have put the pedal to the metal when I had this idea six months ago. But I didn’t, and so I start now. Three months of honest exercise. Twelve weeks. If I can’t see mild-to-moderate improvement by February, I’ll console myself with Heath bars and Moscato, wistfully toasting my thirties a fond farewell.

PSR, Porch Lights and Prayer

As I write this, one of my religious education (PSR) students, a second-grader, is lying unconscious in an intensive care unit with fluid mysteriously pooling in his brain.  I went to visit him yesterday with Kim, my dear friend and PSR director.  The doctors drained fluid Wednesday night and again Thursday morning.  As far as I know tonight, there are still no answers.

When I think of what this child’s parents are going through, I am embarrassed to admit that I spent most of Wednesday stressing over why my daughter has field trip anxiety.

Of all things.

Wednesday night I came home from PSR exhausted and upset.  I shared the news with the Hubster and my own children.  Then I ceremoniously turned off the porch light and slowly headed up the stairs.  It struck me how simple that little act is – turning off the porch light.  When it is turned on, it is done so with little thought to what all will transpire while it burns, what the day – or night – will hold.  But turning it off – that has always held significance for me… like the closing of a book, the lowering of a flag, or the kiss goodnight.  It means the day is done and we are all safe at home together.  Wednesday night our home ended the day whole, unscathed.  Another family’s did not.

So while I still inwardly reel from recent news of potential legislation that protects the pesticide industry over human health, I hope you will forgive that I just don’t feel like talking about it today.  While this issue is important, my political soapbox is not my priority right now.

If you pray, may I ask that you add my student to your list next time you talk to The Big Guy?  For his family’s privacy, I am not sharing his name here.  “The busy little boy with the big smile” will identify him just fine.

May your family be blessed, may your children be safe, and may all your prayers be answered.