Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
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Walking the Walk

Date: May 26, 2010 • By • Comments 0

Those that know me know that I talk a big game. Now it’s time for me to put some concrete actions behind all that talk. I’ve made a career out of helping other people get their shit together–personally and professionally. I am great at it and I love doing it. But the problem is that I am not always so great at doing it for myself, at least not consistently. Isn’t consistency, with anything, always the hardest thing?

I’ve taken some time away from this blog lately because I needed the mental space to figure out how I am going to walk the walk and get my own shit together. Where am I now, where do I want to go, and how am I going to get there? Back in January I wrote about my resolution for this year. It was fairly abstract, so I also came up with more concrete goals that I kept to myself. My number one goal for this year is to heal from my back injury and become stronger and fitter than I have ever been. Time is essential for me to reach this goal, but there is also a lot of effort involved. Time is passing, which means that my broken bone must be healing, but on the effort front, things have kind of fallen apart. I’m not taking care of myself as well as I should be. I’ve been spreading myself too thin and trying to focus on too many things. Getting healthy and strong is my top goal for this year, but it is not my only goal. In fact, I’m kind of embarrassed to admit how many goals were on my list, especially since I always force my clients to limit the number of goals they set!

So recently, as part of my effort to attain my most important goals, I cut my list of things to accomplish this year by more than half. That was hard. I like to achieve! A lot! And I’m really positive so of course I would look at my list of 50 goals and say, “Oh, sure I can do all of that! Piece of cake!” But if I want to achieve, I need to focus. Focusing means that I took my goal of being strong and healthy and determined what I need to do daily in order to achieve that goal. Healing from a broken back isn’t all fun and games, you know! In addition to the fun and I games I also need to: take my vitamins and supplements, sleep a minimum of 8 hours every night, and do trigger point every day. Three things that are much easier said than done, but I am determined to walk the walk and make them happen. No more inadequate sleep, no more skipping vitamins and trigger point out of laziness or distraction. No matter what, these are the things I will prioritize every day. My goal of health, strength, and fitness is itself important, but even more important is that attaining this goal will enable me to achieve all of the other things I want to accomplish.

Remember, if you have a lot of things on your plate or many things that you want to accomplish but you feel stuck or overwhelmed, start with your health. Taking care of your physical self produces results quickly, and those results (more energy, clearer head, and ability to handle stress better, just to name a few) will help you tackle challenges in other areas of your life with more ease and success.

Fingers For My Toes

Date: January 28, 2010 • By • Comments 1

Vibram Five Fingers
I really want a pair of Vibram Five Fingers shoes. They may not help me in my efforts to be stylish at all times, but oh I want them so bad. This past fall I got really into going barefoot around the house. I have always liked the feel of being barefoot, but usually avoided it because I have been conditioned my whole life to think I needed special support for my extremely flat feet. Well, then I read this article on Mark’s Daily Apple about strengthening flat feet and thought I’d give the barefoot thing a go. After an initial period of adaptation, during which my feet and lower legs were seriously achey, I was converted. I had previously suffered from plantar fasciitis as well as other foot pains related to weakness and tightness. After a few months of going barefoot 90% of the time I’m home (which is most of the time since my broken back has left me pretty house-bound), my plantar fasciitis and other issues have disappeared. I do notice that my pain returns if I revert to my old habits of always wearing slippers or flip-flops at home, or spend too much time out and about (which means I’m wearing shoes since I don’t go barefoot outside). So I’ve decided that I need a pair of Five Fingers for those times when I need some sort of shoe but want to keep that barefoot feel. The plan is to get black ones and use my powers of style to make them fashionable and cool! After all, a woman who is hobbled by foot pain is never chic.

The Internet Has Come Alive

Date: October 21, 2009 • By • Comments 2

I was in Whole Foods a couple of days ago when familiar-looking girl walked up to the deli counter and stood next to me. It took a few seconds, but I realized that the reason she looked familiar was not because I knew her, no, it was because I read her blog. Woooo, Internet + real life = awkward moment? I stood there for a minute trying to decide whether to say something to her or not. It could be interpreted as stalkerish to be all like, “Hey, I read your blog!” but if my blog had a reader I’d certainly like to know, so I decided to introduce myself.

Me: Are you Catherine?
Her: Yes [looking surprised]
Me: I read your blog! [yes, I sounded like a dumbass blurting that out, but what can you do?]
Her: Oh, hi! [looking even more surprised]

This Catherine person is of course Catherine Hart, whose awesome blog about her journey to health and fitness is linked to over in the sidebar on the right. Catherine turned out to be perfectly nice and just as lovely in person as she comes across on her blog, and after a few minutes of chatting it up about CrossFit and healthy eating I really didn’t feel too awkward at all. Catherine does CrossFit at CrossFit Central, where I trained when I was pregnant (incidentally, this is how I even found her blog in the first place, since it was linked from CrossFit Central’s site). I let her know that I find her blog really motivating, inspiring, and educational, and I think that really made her feel good! She had apparently not even been sure she had many (any?) readers at all, a sentiment that I think most bloggers can identify with.

I realized at that moment that I should have written her an email or commented on her blog months ago to let her know that what she is producing is doing someone other than her some good. I think sometimes that people are too shy about complimenting other people on substantive things. It’s easy to say, “I like your haircut,” but much harder to say, “Reading your deeply personal narrative about your struggles with your weight and with changing your bad food habits has really been meaningful and inspiring to me.” Why is that? My guess is that it makes the person giving the compliment feel vulnerable and like they might somehow embarrass the person receiving the compliment. But that is just silly. Is there someone out there who is doing something that is meaningful to you? Have you told them so? If not, do it! And if it’s someone you’ve never met, who you only “know” online, whose blog you read when you have a spare minute, even better. Make the Internet come alive for yourself, and for the people whose content you’re consuming. I swear it will make you feel so good!

Things I Don't Understand

Date: September 21, 2009 • By • Comments 4

screencap from

When Dylan woke up yesterday morning he had a bright red rash on his cheeks and chin. He had started a medication for thrush two days before, and I was worried that he was having an allergic reaction. I paged his pediatrician and described the situation for her. She was certain that it wasn’t an allergic reaction–apparently that would have likely happened sooner and covered more of his body–so she wasn’t too concerned. He wasn’t bothered by the rash, so there wasn’t an issue there, either. She then told me to keep an eye on it and to call her if it got worse. Then she told me to go get a hydrocortisone cream to apply to it. Huh? So, you want me to watch the rash to make sure it doesn’t get worse while I’m superficially suppressing the inflammation with a steroid cream? Also, just to be clear, you want me to apply this steroid cream to my infant even though the only problem seems to be that it mars his appearance a bit? Oh, okay. That makes perfect sense. I’ll get right on that.

After I got off the phone with the pediatrician, we headed out to buy luggage for an upcoming trip. Our first stop was a strip mall, where there was a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes research. Guess what the fundraisers were selling to raise money for juvenile diabetes research? Cake. I would love to buy a piece of cake to support a disease that has reached epidemic proportions in the US largely because we eat way too much sugar. That sounds great! It would be even better if the cake was the kind of flavorless, sugar-laden, artificially-colored specimen you get from a cheapo grocery store bakery. That would be excellent! I think Brian summed it up best when he said, “What? Are they trying to promote diabetes?”.

We then decided to go to Costco. We thought they might have deals on luggage, and we figured if they carried grass-fed beef or wild salmon then it might be worth it to buy a membership. We should have just turned around and left when we saw the streams of people walking zombie-like out of the store, pushing their supersize carts full of supersize crap. We were reminded of the people in the movie “Wall-E” who float along in their motorized little pods, constantly consuming, oblivious to their surroundings. I felt very naive once we made our way past the jewelry, electronics, and lawnmowers and started checking out the food. Why did I ever think Costco would have grass-fed beef or wild salmon? We walked around a bit, in awe of enormous packages of everything, disturbed by the fact that it is possible to buy mangos, vacuum cleaners, and jeans all in the same place, and then we left. Walking out of there empty-handed felt like the greatest escape. Like, we went to the mecca of over-consumption and didn’t consume anything. Yesss! I just don’t understand how Costco manages to trick people into thinking they are saving money when really they are just buying a bunch of stuff they don’t really need.

The whole experience of our day was sort of jarring, a reminder that we are living a very different life than most Americans, probably different even from a lot of our friends, and that we can be horrified and confused all we want but that doesn’t help anyone. We can complain that everyone else is lazy and uninformed, but unless we are actively trying to motivate, inform, and set a good example of what conscientious, engaged living looks like in a world that is more focused on what is easy than what is healthy or smart, then we are just like those people who were selling cake to support diabetes research. Only worse, because we know better.

35 Weeks Pregnant and I'm…

Date: May 7, 2009 • By • Comments 4

Everyone seems to want to know one thing lately: Am I ready for the baby? The short answer is: NO.

I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed and stressed because there is still so much to do before he arrives. My list of things that need doing:

  1. buy baby stuff (all we have are the carseat, stroller, and as of today, a dresser)
  2. upgrade our life insurance
  3. get disability insurance (in my mind, this will mean we never need it)
  4. set up a trust for our assets (our wills are outdated and a trust is a better option for us now)
  5. a million other things that would totally bore you if I listed them out

In addition to feeling like where will I ever find the time/energy to get on top of things in the next 5 weeks, I’m also feeling like a big (or possibly small, depending on how you look at it) failure because I only gained .7 pounds in the last two weeks. I forgot to chant “Gain weight! Gain weight!” to myself when I was eating and look what happened. I knew I was not consuming enough food, but I naively thought I was doing at least a little better in terms of caloric intake than I had previously. The increase in the size of my belly helped give me a false sense of security; it is so much larger than it was two weeks ago that I was sure I’d put on the 2 pounds Michele had ordered me to gain. Turns out my belly is bigger because the baby has packed on some serious weight (estimate is around 1.5 lbs for him over the past 2 weeks) and is still growing fabulously. That fact coupled with the fact that I basically didn’t gain anything is really bad news. Really bad news made worse by the discovery of ketones in my urine. I know you read this site because you want to know about my urine, so I’m going to tell you all about it. Ketones are a byproduct of the breakdown of fatty tissue. Ketones in the urine basically means that fatty tissue is being broken down in the body. In my case, it means that I am not taking in enough calories for both me and the baby, so he is breaking down my body to get what he needs. Thank god babies are efficient parasites, and that mine seems to be especially efficient, but man, this sucks.

I think it’s important to take a minute here to explain why this lack of weight gain is so bad, especially since we are conditioned to think that being thin, even in pregnancy, is like the greatest thing ever. Women need to store fat during pregnancy for two reasons: 1) to keep up their energy level, and 2) because they will really need it for breastfeeding. Caloric needs for breastfeeding women are even higher than for pregnant women (an extra 600 calories a day compared to 300 per day for preggies). It’s nearly impossible for most breastfeeding moms to get enough calories for two reasons: 1) that’s a lot of extra calories, and 2) they’re busy taking care of their new babies. This is why breastfeeding is directly related to losing the baby weight–the baby literally eats it away! Anyway, if a woman doesn’t store enough fat during pregnancy she will feel more tired both during pregnancy and after the baby’s born, and she may also run into problems with her milk supply. The body needs energy to produce milk, and those pregnancy fat stores are a great source of energy. If a breastfeeding mom isn’t taking in all the calories needed to sustain her and support milk production, her body can rely on fat stores to help out. Since we’ve already discussed how hard it is to actually consume the requisite amount of calories for breastfeeding, it’s easy to see how low fat stores can become a real problem for a breastfeeding mom.

But wait, it gets better! In addition to the overall lack of calories in my diet, a review of my diet records revealed that I don’t eat anywhere near as great as I thought I did. Too much fruit (Hello, sugar! Michele’s words were, “Girl, you are begging for a yeast infection.”), and nowhere near enough protein and fat. I hadn’t really looked at my diet records but when we went over them I was pretty horrified. I ate a lot better before I was pregnant than I do now. I can blame several things for this, including the heat (saps my energy so that eating well is just too much damn effort, also makes me only want to eat fruit or other cold/wet things like popsicles), general third trimester fatigue, pickiness, and rigid ideas about food and eating habits. To my detriment, I am one of those people who will often just not eat if the available foods either don’t match up with my appetite in that moment or don’t satisfy my requirements for what I feel I should be eating.

I’ve realized now that all the old rules don’t apply anymore. I think I’ve mentioned menu planning on this site before; we plan our lunches and dinners every week and then shop based on the meals we’re fixing. This is not a flawed strategy in itself, but my ideas about how the menu should be constructed are in need of major revision. I used to feel that we should alternate carnivorous days and vegetarian days for both variety and budgetary reasons. At this point, having 2-3 vegetarian days a week is just a dumb idea. I need the protein, fat, and calories that come from eating a lot of animal foods on a daily basis. Vegetarians may wish to argue this point. True, vegetables have protein. But the fact is, animal foods have more (a lot more), and are also a better source of fat and calories overall. And since I’m certainly in no danger of overloading on protein, fat, or calories, I think it makes sense to base my diet on the densest sources of these nutrients. Part of this strategy has been to throw my dairy restrictions out the window. I’m sensitive, so this means I now suffer with more congestion than when I wasn’t eating dairy products, but it’s worth it to get the protein, fat, and calories. Generally speaking, I used to try so hard to do everything “right” that I made things very difficult. I need to come to grips with the fact that cooking every single thing from scratch for every meal is not practical and does me more harm than good when I opt to just not eat or to eat something like an apple or a handful of tortilla chips instead of a more nutrient-dense food because of the work involved in preparing the nutrient-dense food.

All of this is to say: I need to step it up, big time. I could go on about the specifics, but really I just need to stop kidding myself and start making my diet my #1 priority. I’ve got 5 weeks until my due date, which is an estimate, I know, but I am really hoping to keep this bun in the oven at least that long so that I have a chance to gain as much weight as possible. My goal is 10 pounds over the next 5 weeks…

33 Weeks Pregnant and I'm…Small

Date: April 24, 2009 • By • Comments 1

I had a check-up with my midwife and her apprentice yesterday, and found out that I only gained two pounds in the last month. I should have gained twice that, or even a little more since I was so petite before I got pregnant. The good news is that the baby is growing just great, he’s right on target in terms of his size. But, it would be better for my energy level, and would be very helpful when I start breastfeeding, if I could pack on more pounds (especially fat pounds!) before the birth. So, we had to have a little heart to heart about my diet and exercise routines. The midwife made several recommendations I didn’t want to hear, but her logic makes sense and I want to do what’s best for me and the baby even if that is not what I originally planned on doing.

First off, I was told I have to quit CrossFit because it burns too many calories, and because she thinks the activity could worsen my abdominal diastasis. Have we talked about the diastasis yet? Basically, the two halves of the outermost layer of my abdominal muscles (the rectus abdominus, best known for looking like a “six-pack” when well-developed) have started to split apart from one another. This is common in pregnancy, it almost always heals up after the baby’s born, and most people don’t even notice when/if it happens. I, however, have been acutely aware of the separation because mine’s a little larger than normal, and because it hurts! This is the price I must pay for having very toned abs pre-pregnancy. I know. Everyone wishes they could have this problem.

So, I broke up with my CrossFit coach this morning, and will stick to the very specific activity limits the midwife prescribed to try to slow my speedy metabolism and get my body to store more fat. I thought I was storing fat! My ass is way bigger and squishier than it’s ever been, and every time I look at it in the mirror I feel proud of my body for knowing how to be pregnant. Apparently what I perceive as a fat ass is, in fact, not. I know. Everyone wishes they could have this problem, too.

Along with limiting my activity, I also need to seriously increase my caloric intake. I knew this, though. For some reason eating has given me the hardest time since I’ve been pregnant. Even though I’m not sick like I was early on, I still have some food aversions and am just pickier than normal. I know I haven’t been eating enough, but it’s been really hard to force myself to eat more. I start to feel ill whenever my blood sugar drops and then often feel nauseous when I do eat, both of which make eating kind of a pain and not something I’m really interested in. Plus, it’s hot here, which definitely decreases the appetite.

In order to get on top of this eating every two hours thing we’re using the air conditioning more (so I don’t get overheated and lose my appetite), and I’m logging my food to keep me on track with eating frequently. My food logs are actually due to the the midwife at my next appointment in two weeks so she can see what I’m eating and how much. She suspects that my diet is too clean and that I need to load up on french fries, ice cream, burgers, milkshakes, etc. She is probably right. When we left her office we went to Hyde Park Bar & Grill and got burgers, fries, and some wickedly delicious peach-buttermilk cake that was served in a pool of fresh cream. So tasty, and satisfying in a way that our quinoa and bean salads are just NOT. The downside was that I wasn’t hungry again for hours, but the upside was that it got me thinking about ways to revise our weekly menus and grocery shopping to get more calories in my body.

Oh! And the last thing I was told I need to do? Everytime I eat I’m supposed to say to myself, “Gain weight! Gain weight!” in an effort to capitalize on the mind-body connection. There are many reasons why I am so much happier with a midwife than I would be with a doctor, but that piece of advice might just top the list!

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