Procrastination; Development and Definition

The rain here has been intense and has now just ended after 36 hours of showers.  Dreary weather has caused a boredom to settle into our home; one the dogs are acting out against, we have become sleepy by, and the kids have embraced for love of the television.  The wind has picked up, as it typically does as the last of the storm sweeps through, and the clouds are becoming thin strings of white backed with blue.  It feels as though my race is moments away, the blocks are set, my sneakers are laced, and I am waiting for the line judge to call me to it.  There's the buzzer!

Never mind.  It was just the dryer.  Three kids, two of which are sick, the last of whom is athletic like his Dad, created mounds of laundry throughout the week.  My in-laws just visited which caused me to change the linens, an act much over due, so adding to the pile beside the washing machine.  The All is almost out, so I have been selectively sorting clothes and kitchen linens to dis-infect; efficiency is important but I'd rather clean underwear populate our drawers instead of laundered linens occupy the shelves.

I have this crazy housekeeping method that is effective, efficient, and employs the entire family body.  Vacuum and wash floors on Monday; dust and declutter on Tuesday; vacuum and bathrooms on Wednesday; laundry and linens on Thursday; vacuum, fridge and garbage on Friday; yard work and garage on the weekends.  Daily chores consist of picking up all the things that are down, poop removal, dishwasher, rooms, reading, and revealing the stairs.  Two or three easy things a day to accomplish with grace and discipline.

In a perfect week I actually follow my list, but often times I write instead of wash, read instead of arrange, and play instead of purge.  When procrastination occurs, every chore gets smashed into one or two days, or ignored altogether (like the linens), and then embarrassment sets in (especially when the in-laws come to visit).  Procrastination by definition is the delaying or postponing of an assignment or action; the stress procrastination creates is much larger than a simple definition.

I do not know how to eliminate procrastination from any one's diet, dear reader, for I subscribe to it from time to time as well.  There are tips we can all use and follow that can prevent procrastination from creeping in and taking control.  While you reflect on where you allow procrastination to control your life, and the consequences that come from it, grab a bowl of real food, a tall glass of water and some vitamins for your vitamins.  Let's get ready to begin washing our hands of procrastination... Tomorrow.

Anna~

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes!

Preparing dinner nightly is something I truly love.  Our kitchen is separate from the rest of the house, allowing me some time for creation, quite, and a glass of red while I assemble a meal meant to nourish those at our table.  This last 12 days have tried my culinary abilities due to the fact that an elimination diet has outlined our dinner ingredients.  More than resetting the system and allowing for good elimination, an elimination diet calms inflammation throughout the body allowing the body to function, heal, and metabolize properly.

To explain, an elimination diet removes dairy, gluten, soy, eggs and corn, as well as stimulants, sugar, and meats, fruits and vegetables that can cause inflammation within the body.  We mostly followed the below chart for 7 days:

my-clean-diet-experiment

Scott has allergies to many of the foods on the 'can eat' side of the diet, but he willfully refrained from most of the restricted foods.  Because he has never had any problems digesting red meat (O-, Eating Right 4 Your Type), we did have steak tips over greens, onions, broccoli and red cabbage as a meal. 

Inflammation is the body's natural response to space invaders.  Viruses, damage, bad bacteria, poorly digested food, or a highly acidic environment can cause inflammation.  Low stomach acid, high sugar intake, caffeine, alcohol and/or a sedentary lifestyle can also cause inflammation to sneak around inside the body.  Inflammation is commonly mistaken for fat, for tiredness, for sleeplessness, for headaches, for allergies, for constipation, for diarrhea, for unpleasant periods, for arthritis...  the list goes on.

I did not follow this diet as strictly as Scott did (and still is after 12 days), but as I watched his allergies calm, his waistline decrease, his sleep improve, his complexion brighten, and his mood hover over a more even keel, I encouraged him to keep going based on results.  After 7 days of strict food selections, we moved to no eggs, no dairy, no soy, no gluten, no corn, no sugar, no stimulants, opening up many of the fruits and vegetables we had avoided per the chart's suggestions.

Now he is slowly reintroducing foods.  He has had raw cheese and eggs to find they do not  cause stomach upset, irritable bowels or cold symptoms.  He has not reintroduced gluten, corn, soy or sugar, for these are the foods he fears cause inflammation in his feet, in his face, in his body.  He has lost 12 pounds of belly fat in 12 days and has had increasingly successful workouts; higher output, less pain and soreness, shorter recovery times.  His allergies are not completely gone, but the results we've witnessed is worth avoiding inflammatory foods.  

My advice to you is the same as my advice to him:  Nothing changes if Nothing Changes~ If you are experiencing symptoms that you dislike, instead of taking an allergy pill or a sleep aide, try changing your food.  Listen to your body as it tells you what it can tolerate and what it can't.  There are so many resources to help you find what real foods you should or shouldn't eat~  I am one of them.  Make sure to drink plenty of water while you research, give your vitamins their vitamins, and, as always, remember to wash your hands -  you eat with those things!

Anna~

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Oil Pulling, Yoga, and Practice!

So, I am trying it right now.  I measured two teaspoons of organic expeller pressed olive oil, warmed it over a candle to liquify the mass and I pulled it into my mouth.  During the duration of this post I will swish the contents to remove plaque, trap toxins and pull puss from my gums; then into the trash it will go.  Oil Pulling.

I see multiple home remedies for numerous things consistently throughout the day.  Herbs for pain, remedies for indigestion, salts for inflammation, spices for memory, cures for the common cold.  I am a believer in all of them to a great extent, but they are only effective if one actually tries the remedies.  Can cinnamon increase blood circulation?  Only when eaten or rubbed into the skin.  Can lemon and honey calm a cough and ease a sore throat?  Only if taken often and in addition to rest.  Can oil pulling really improve oral health?  Only if practiced routinely.

Many times I hear myself offering advice to others, advice even I don't religiously follow, and I hear in retort, "I tried that once and it didn't work."  That same reason is true for all things.  I tried playing the guitar once and I was terrible at it, so I practiced until I became comfortable with the guitar.  Trying anything once delivers a clumsy, unimpressive result.  Practicing a remedy, a talent, a trade, an instrument, or oil pulling until results over time can be measured is the only decisive way to see if any one thing actually works or falls short of its claim.

Last November and December I was practicing yoga 3 or 4 times a week.  I would get up early, enjoy a quite hour of stretching and coffee before the house awoke, and get my yoga on.  I felt great the rest of the day.  My posture was improving, my sleep was sound, joy was more present throughout the day.  Even my back and neck were nearly pain free.  Then January delivered a puppy and much skiing, February delivered puppy training, less sleep, and snow, and now its March; yoga has been absent for nearly two months.  It is time I return to a practice that revealed more space, better posture, and louder joy.  Hopefully, with practice, the oil pulling will reveal whiter teeth.

My time is up.  Before I go spit in the trash and rinse with warm water, I will leave you with this:  You, dear reader, are worth the practice.  If you are wondering if any one thing really works, practice it every day~  the results will amaze you!  Start with real food.  Add plenty of clean water.  Give your vitamins their vitamins.  And, because there are germs everywhere, remember to wash your hands.  In the words of Henry ford, if you think you can do a thing or you can't do a thing, you're right!

Anna~

Acceptance Must Come with a Side of Understanding.

Organic food and their inorganic counterparts are scattered across the news.  Thick skinned, inorganically grown bananas and fruits are said to be fine, while we are urged to eat organic lettuce and other delicate veggies.  We don't eat the skin of the banana so it makes sense when the FDA suggests the banana itself is safe from chemicals.  Also understood, lettuce, a veggie we consume in its entirety, should remain clean and unbathed in chemical solution for our own safety.  For me, organic isn't as much about what we end up eating on our produce; it's more about what we end up eating in our produce.  "You are what what you eat eats!" -Michael Pollen


Lets pretend, for a moment, that the ground is fertile, the air is clean, water is abundant, and food grows naturally from seeds deposited on the earth from animal droppings, wind distribution and fruit decay.  A long time ago, right?  Today, crops are grown mono culturally.  Seeds are more or less created through hybridization with the intent of producing higher yield crops with larger fruit in a shorter maturation time.  Plants are sprayed for bugs, the soil is treated for weeds, man and animal made fertilizers are then reintroduced and viola~  your super market is stocked with global produce.

Now, there is a big difference between the natural or organic growth cycle of a plant and mono agriculture; that isn't hard to accept.  So where does organic farming fit in?  Organic farming in America is an agricultural practice where mono culture growing methods are still used, but without spraying for insects and introducing chemicals to the soil.  In theory, clean water is used to water, insects are used to kill insects and crops are rotated so the soil is not depleted of nutrients; a middle ground between farm stead gardening and conventional agriculture.  The growing season is longer, the yield is less, the cost is more for a myriad of reasons, but the produce is of higher nutritional value.

It is easy to see and accept the fact 'chemicals are poisonous'.  As a society, we also accept a number of other chemical results:  seeds that are modified to withstand drought, temperature variance, and pests;  fruits and veggies that are sprayed with chemicals that kill or repel bugs;  soil that is sprayed with chemicals to keep water-drinking, nutrient-absorbing weeds from encroaching on intended crops.  This acceptance, though, must come with some understanding:  crops are watered and washed from rain which saturates the soil with residual chemicals;  plants then become the water, nutrients and chemicals found in the soil while creating the produce intended.   We, the people, then, visit our local markets, pick the fruit and ingest all the fruit itself has ingested whether we peel it or not.

Is it acceptable that plants grown without chemicals are a healthier choice?  You decide.  While you think, eat real food, drink plenty of water, give your vitamins their vitamins, and, as always, remember to wash your hands (especially after gardening).


Anna~

There is Always a But!

Spring; to originate or arise from - or  - to move or jump suddenly or rapidly upward or forward.  The anticipation of Spring is all but overcoming me.  I find myself looking for green evidence, measuring the length of the day, and giving myself permission to calm down.  This may be my most transformative season yet and I welcome it with sneakers tied and a smile upon my face; my hope is for a clam, smooth transition into the forward movement of Spring.

The phrase 'forward movement' has been ringing in my ears for weeks now.  Our pantry remains scantily stocked as our refrigerator becomes increasingly full of fresh food and clean water.  We have signed our names on lists of willing runners committing to push three miles of pavement away from our feet.  We are setting loftier goals for the summer and fall, both individual desires and family commitments.  We have all decided, in our own separate ways, to move forward from the places we were and to achieve the places we admire.

Forward movement has also given a name to my health coaching practice; Nutritional Cadence.  Health is not a one dimensional, unilateral, universal state or application. Health is a balance of movement, communication, food, love, joy, work, water, nutrition, education, and spirit.  The human body cannot make what it cannot make; also true, it cannot become something more or less without a constant effort toward growth.  But (and there is always a but), just as the seasons move and change rhythmically, so too should self care, growth, nourishment and movement ~ Nutritional Cadence (Thanks to Sue Plunkett for the conversation.)

There are many disrupters of forward movement.  Fear.  Comparison.  Career.  Failure.  Habit.  Choice.  Knowledge.  Location.  Money.  Life.  This last two weeks I have been intent on encouraging those around me (and myself) to commit to small changes with goals in mind for the ownership of forward movement.  I believe it is better to be afraid and moving forward than afraid while standing still.  Because you are in control of everything you eat, everything you say and everything you know, you are in control of everything you want.

This week, I encourage you all to plan.  Shop mindfully.  Eat real food.  Commit.  Drink plenty of water.  Laugh.  Cook.  Think.   Wash your hands of 'this is the way I've always done it' and ask yourself, "Does this help me achieve my goal?  or Not?"  That, dear reader, is forward movement.

Spring!

Anna~