Turning over a leaf

Well, it’s not a really a ‘new’ leaf, hence an incomplete idiom. 🙂

It’s been 11 months since I moved to California and a healthy lifestyle was something that I surely expected from a life in sunny Cali. But it wasn’t quite so.

I spent my last 11 months settling into a new place, getting to know a new job, new colleagues and making new friends and I had a great time. I reconnected with my favorite charitable running organization, Team in Training, and made great new awesome friends.

BUT

The healthy lifestyle stopped at regular exercise.

With a new year and my ‘honeymoon’ period over I am ready to get back to focusing on a healthier lifestyle. I have been following Jess Ainscough, The Wellness Warrior, for some time now. And finally I bought her newly published book Make Peace with Your Plate this week.

So the first thing I did today is run to the local Farmer’s Market and get some organic goodies.

My first goal: Get rid of the pesticides in my pantry and fridge!

I was successful:

My second goal will be: Learn to get some of the great nutrients as a juice.

I will need to buy a juicer. So something to research this week. In the meantime I started small with my blender. Just some apples, bananas and kiwis:

It tasted YUMMY!!

Healthy food is cooking right now. I’d better go and check on it.

Happy and Healthy Eating everyone.
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Let go…

I saw this today on the Science is Madness Facebook page and just wanted to share:

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

Source: Science is Madness Facebook page

Someday…

Someday all you’ll have

to light the way will be

a single ray of hope –

and that will be enough.

~ Kobi Yamada

Today sucks. One of my friends who was diagnosed with lung cancer last year is on his way to the hospice. I met Jay about 5 years ago when I was training for my first half marathon. He is full of life and we have been running and fundraising buddies ever since we met. I am not the praying kind, but I’ll be having a long conversation with the Guy Above tonight. Please take a moment today and think of your loved ones, call a friend, call your mum, dad, brother, sister and tell them that you love them. Cancer sucks!

Healing foods for a broken bone

There is one thing that I really wish the doctors would have given me advice on when they put my broken foot in a boot.

What can I do to support the healing of my broken foot?

Unfortunately, the doctors didn’t provide me with any advice on best behavior for a broken foot. They didn’t tell me whether to rest completely or exercise a little. They didn’t tell me whether physiotherapy may help or not. They didn’t tell me how to adjust my nutrition to support the healing process. This has been bothering me from my first encounter with A&E. So I did some research.

A lot of the right behavior depends on the way the foot is broken, so other than my doctors no one could (or should) really given me any advise on resting, exercising, etc. But the right nutrition to support bone healing is probably less dependent on the exact nature of the break.

Here is some information that I found. Some of it may be self-explanatory for the nutrient-wise, but not all of us are nutrient-wise when it comes to broken bones…

TO EAT…

Protein – to support the healing process and reduce further bone loss

• milk, yogurt, cheese, lean meats, poultry, eggs, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, almonds, quinoa, vegetables

Calcium – important for bone strength

• broccoli, Chinese cabbage, kale, milk, yogurt, cheese

Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin K – for bone growth, bone formation and regulating blood clotting

• oranges, broccoli, salmon, tuna, mackerel, fish oil, red bell peppers, strawberries, brussels sprouts.

Natural anti-inflammatory nutrients – to reduce pain and promote the formation of new connective tissue called bone collagen

• citrus fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, whole grains

SKIM MILK, YOGURT, BROCCOLI, FISH and ORANGES seem to be some of the best foods to eat for healing broken bones.

OR NOT TO EAT…

Stop eating foods containing ingredients that either inhibit calcium absorption or increase calcium loss:

whole milk dairy products

red meat

processed foods

sugar

carbonated beverages

alcohol

caffeine

Here are some of my sources:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5682948_eat-healthy-heal-broken-bones.html

http://www.livestrong.com/healing-broken-bones/

http://www.womentowomen.com/bonehealth/speedbonefracturehealing.aspx

Coping with a broken foot – Day 5

It’s day 5 of life with a broken foot. Did I tell you I fractured the 5th metatarsal on my right foot? I am slowly getting the hang of moving around my apartment with the cast and it’s the first time I am actually happy that the apartment is so small. I have no stairs to worry about. I have large patio doors that allow me to open them up and feel like I am outside (and quickly closing them again as it is bloody freezing…).

my crutches

Crutches. I am finally able to use both of my crutches and move around the apartment swiftly.

Carrying stuff around is more problematic. I use the smallness of my apartment and my long arms to move stuff from one table to the next to a shelf, etc. Works fine. I am only a hop or a few away from my phones, so I don’t need to carry them with me. Of course they ring when I am at the other end of the room…

plastic bottle and plastic glass

Plastic. Plastic. Plastic. I don’t want to cause another accident involving glass, so I am using plastic glasses and unbreakable flasks  to move liquids around. I have a whole shelf full of plastic bottles for my running, so they are coming in handy even when not running. Also very useful when you want to water your plants and you need to carry water around.

Online grocery shopping. That’s a no-brainer. But feeling sorry for myself makes me buy more chocolate. Bad. Bad. Bad.

my patio door – see the snow in the background?

Bath-time. This is a tricky one. I am not to get my cast wet. And my bathroom layout makes it really difficult to take a shower and hang the right foot out of the bathtub. So, wet wipes are the way to go. They work for a quick clean-up after a race and they actually work for clean-ups with a broken foot. So far. So good.

Friends. I have great friends who have been driving me to the hospital, making me lunch, bringing me flowers, taking my trash out and keeping me company. Thanks to you all!

Overall I am coping quite well, hobbling along on one foot, having the other in a cast. I can’t say I am enjoying it, but I guess it could have been worse. I am counting my blessings that I am at least mobile within my apartment to some extend. I am avoiding moving around as much as possible. I have 2 day-time ‘stations’: at my dining table with my laptop and on my sofa with a TV remote in my hand.

I think I am moving back to the sofa. There must be some daytime reality show on right now… 😉