Assembling Your Elephant: "It Looks Like a Fan!"

Julie Andrews is ringing in my ears right now. "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with string." Today I ask, 'What are a few of your favorite things?' Identifying what you are a Fan of is the next piece of the Elephant.

Be a fan of your food: Thirteen essential vitamins exist in nature and are required by the human body; they are are essential because they cannot be made within the body and are needed for immune function, growth, hormone production, digestion, cellular respiration and many other secret activities that take place under the skin. Getting those vitamins out of nature and into your body is key. Salads, for sure, are easy go-to assemblies of vitamins and minerals, but if you don't like the garden variety salad, it's probably not on your menu. Take a moment and think about vitamin packed foods you not only like, but will actually eat. Simplify your grocery list by purchasing fan favorites and then... eat them. (An incomplete list of Nutrient Dense foods can be found here.)

Be a fan of your movement: Interest in exercise in individual. While I like to run, my son likes to rollerblade. While Cadence likes to pedal her way around the world, Kendra likes to chase a soccer ball. While my husband is swimming and biking and running to the base and beyond, I am gardening, cleaning and walking beside the dog(s). We all know we need to move around in order to create and expend energy; it's time to stop waiting for Monday and decide what type of exercise you are a fan of. And then... go do it! Don't worry about all of the days you didn't do it, just seize the moment and work it out!

Be a fan of your work: My job is not a singular one. I am a mother. Wife. Health Coach. Teacher Assistant. Student. Friend. Family Traveler. Wine enthusiast. Just like you, I have many things I work at on a daily basis; things I have chosen and that I love to nurture (me, kids, gardens, etc.). There are also things I am not a fan of. Instead of dwelling on things I dislike (dirty toilets, bills, the post office), I have identified what I love and have willingly focused the bulk of my energy on those things. Now is the time for you, dear reader, to decide if you are a fan of your work! If you are not, ask, "What am I a fan of?" and then... be it!

Be a Fan of Your Elephant:  Dear reader, you have followed me along this path of Assembling Your Elephant with dedication and interest, and I thank you.  So far I've rambled on about walls, snakes, trees, spears and fans, and hope you have taken something away that has helped you assemble your elephant.  My final post in this series will be Wednesday.  Before then, please send me a picture (literary articulate description or photo) of your elephant.  I would love to include reader photos and comments, with your permission of course, in the final post.

While you craft or photoshop, eat real food, drink plenty of water, give your vitamins their vitamins and, as always, remember to wash your hands.  

Anna~

Comment or send your thoughts and photos to anna@infiveparagraphsorless.com.  Thanks!

Assembling Your Elephant: "It Looks Like a Wall!"

Every time I start something new it's exuberayting, and then, three or four days later, boredom sets in.   If I get past the first few weeks, which I often do, I hit a wall, take a break, feel defeated and deflated,  then I start something else.  (I'm sure this only happens to me.)  Walls.  The great thing about them is they usually contain a window or lead to a doorway; I am learning to utilize the exits.

Walls exist, I believe, only because I want them to.  I dislike running with almost as much energy as it takes me to run.  Because of this, I use a 'wall' as an excuse to discontinue or to take a break.  To overcome it, I bought a number made of paper so I may pin it to my chest and run thirteen miles as a motivator not to quit.

The same for writing.  I love to write and think on paper but I use a 'wall', writers block, as an excuse not to be successful.  The truth is that I always have something to write about; there is always a  vitamin to describe, a dose of food for thought or encouragement to deploy.  Instead of following through on self-set goals, I procrastinate.  I am in my own way a lot more than I should be, it's true, and often my excuse is a 'wall'.

What I am coming to realize, though, is that walls aren't permanent.  They can be taken down.  A window can be added.  A wide handicap accessible doorway can be created.  If one cannot be removed, it can be painted a beautiful color and used to hang a mirror.  Walls are useful when providing support, necessary separation and privacy, but they are not unsurpassable for sure.

I encourage you, dear reader, to decide for yourself what purpose your walls have.  Are they keeping you from a goal?  Deterring you from success?  Separating you from what you desire?  Or are they beautiful places utilized for reflection and reprieve?  While you begin to decipher the purpose of your wall, grab some real, delicious, naturally occurring food.  Wash it in with a tall glass of water.  Give your vitamins their vitamins and, as always, remember to wash your hands.

Note:  Walls should not be mistaken for Stop Signs.

Anna~

If you wish for help assembling your elephant, I can help~  The only things we are truly meant to do alone are poop and play solitaire.  For everything else, hire a Health Coach!  www.nutritionalcadence.com

"What Have You Done For Me Lately?"

Okay, now I would never directly discourage you away from the computer, for that would lead you away from my message, but time in front of the computer hardly qualifies as exercise.  I spend about 90 minutes a day in front of some sort of screen (computer, television, e-book) and the more I do, the less motivated I feel to do anything else.  But two days ago, as I sat on my couch with my computer in my lap, my husband called and, after reporting his 40 mile bike ride and 9 mile run, suggested a blog post title:  'What have you done for your body lately?'  I could only reply with this:  "Good Question?"

I am training for a half marathon in October.  Running, for me, is no swift task.  I use my calves more than my thighs, I can't quite get my hips to swing, I have a moderately strong core and lack a competitive instinct.  So, I tabata every morning, run three times a week and focus on my goal and will to accomplish it.  But, even though it's hard and laborious and uncomfortable, I know I am doing my body good by moving toward a goal that will take me 13.1 miles around the earth (the .1 is the most important piece).

Also, for my body, I aim to balance what I eat with what I crave.  My cravings change as swiftly as the days and as gracefully as the seasons, and I listen to them.  I eat sweet things, salty things, fatty things, fried things and savory things.  I drink coffee and water and wine.  I sleep when I'm tried and linger when I'm feeling lazy.  I also recognize when my hunger has nothing to do with food.  My body and my mind don't always ask for the same things, but when I listen I can usually pick out the wiser voice and the instructions I receive are delicious.

So, I ask you the same question, as you sit on your bottom with your computer on your lap, "What have you done for your body lately?"  The defensive answers will sound something like: "I had salad!" - "I took time to read Anna's blog." - "I didn't eat the last two pieces of cake." - "I walked the dog."  I am not interested in those answers, and neither should you be.  The most interesting and informative answers won't be answers at all; they will be goals, aspirations, and attainable dreams fueled by the will achieve them.

I don't always eat real food, I don't always drink enough water, and I don't always get all my vitamins in.  What I can say is I always listen to my body and make every effort to decipher the questions and requests correctly.  I have washed my hands of what the world says I 'should do' and have successfully become aware of what my body needs and desires.  When my body asks, "What have you done for me lately?" I contemplatively respond, "Good Question!"

Anna~

InFlammation!

Exercise: activity requiring physical effort, carried out esp. to sustain or improve health and fitness. Seems simple, right? Jump on a bike, assume the plank position, crawl across the pool, turn some cartwheels, don the running shoes, handle the bars, or take your dog for a walk. It's all fun and games until sore muscles kick in. Is the soreness worth the serenity? You bet, but it is important to know why your muscles get sore and how to lesson the pain in order to get back on the horse or treadmill or yoga ball.

Let's start with muscle movement: adduction and abduction;  flexion and extension; rotation and circumduction.  The human skeleton is strapped with muscles in a way that allows a range of motion limited only by muscle and tendon length, strength and vulnerability.  All muscles are connected, although groups of muscles can be isolated during exercise.  When one group of muscles is worked and others neglected, a size imbalance occurs and vulnerabilities in the system develop.  Equally true, when one action, say adduction, is exercised more often than abduction, muscle and tendon lengths will vary and vulnerabilities will occur.  

When muscles are taxed, they tear or break down.  The body then creates more muscle tissue from amino acids and other nutrients within the body and fills the gaps to lengthen the muscle or build the muscle for strength.  During exercise oxygen in the body decreases and muscles are then used to boost energy by an anaerobic process during which muscle cells produce lactate.   The acidity within the muscle cells then increases. The long and short of it is when you exercise you over use muscle tissue and the process causes pain, both immediate pain that alerts the body stop and recover, an delayed pain referred to as DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).   

Inflammation is the root of the problem but can be treated in a number of ways.  Water.  Plant based foods (skip animal based foods for they cause inflammation within the body as well).  Sleep.  Message.  Cold compress.  Patience.  Education.  A series of soothing stretches that cover all muscle movements might be the best medicine for a sore muscle structure.  All of these treatments are great after work-out remedies.  Eating fueling, reparative foods before your workout is also good practice.  (Men, this is a better source of information for you.)  A cup of black coffee, a bowl of real oatmeal with bananas, a glass of water and an orange are great an hour before any work out no matter what gender you are!

Eat real food, drink plenty of water, give your vitamins their vitamins and remember to wash your hands.  Then Go get your Work-Out On!

Anna~

Need a source for anti-inflammatory foods?  Check this out!  

This Simple Phrase

Christmas Cookies.  Home made fudge.  Candied yams.  Pumpkin pie.  Ambrosia.  Decadent sweets beautifully and deliciously offered in addition to large meals representative of sharing the year end feast.    Holiday traditions vary from home to home, as do financial means to deliver an ample feast to the table, but if we look at the hem in the table cloth we can find a common thread between us all; indulgence.

Indulgence is not a four letter word.  The Christmas season brings food to the table that may only be eaten once or twice a year.  There is nothing you can do to avoid the spread of sweats and savories created to share, so don't restrict yourself to the celery plate.  Eat.  Share the food and the experience.  Bake with your kids.  Make your grandmother's recipes with your sister.   Relax your 'I'm only going to have one bite' mentality and allow yourself some flexibility.

To get through the holiday feast and still be able to get through the door, there are many, many things you can do that don't require a gym membership.  The most important tool you can use is your body.  Listen to the cues.  When you slow down, chew your food well, and allow time for your stomach to send messages to your brain, you will find you eat well ...  but less.  Eating when your body says you're hungry and stopping when you're full can save you indigestion, bloating, constipation, cramping, lethargy, regret and mental upset from 'over doing it'.  Take your time this holiday season and listen to what your body has to say.

Several more tricks and tips can help your body digest the feast.  Drink hydrating fluids.  Alcohol actually diminishes your body's ability to digest fat so it stores it away to deal with later.  Try lemon water, warm mint tea or club soda instead.  Also, add raw veggies to the feast.  A broccoli and red cabbage salad with walnuts can add essential nutrients and fiber to your plate to help move the rest of the meal through your system.  Bring something green or raw or fresh to all of your holiday pot lucks so you know you always have a healthy choice.  And, before you hit the party, take in a brisk walk around the neighborhood.  Better yet, get moving after dinner!  Dance!  Laugh!  Play charades at the party you're hosting and you'll meet both wickets.  

More tomorrow on mindful eating and enjoyable feasting, but for now I encourage you to eat real food.  Wash in the goodness with plenty of water.  Don't forget to give your vitamins their vitamins and, as always, remember to wash your hands.  My sister enveloped my thoughts with this simple phrase, "Be clean inside and out."  (Thank you, Kelly~)

Anna~

A Week in Review: Be Accountable for Exercise!

With a holiday menu planning and a naughty or nice list started, exercise is probably right there on the back burner, right?  Isn't it funny how the less we focus on exercise and the more we focus on clutter the more stressed we become?  Menus are cluttered.  Shopping lists are cluttered.  The November and December bank statements are cluttered with purchases (whether we remember them or not).  The table is cluttered with dishes, the halls are decked with decor, the tree loaded with ornaments...  and the stress we feel during the season is directly related to the mess.   De-stress and enjoy more of your holiday season by adding in a little dance, a little jog, or a little vacuuming...  Exercise!

From April 5, 2013:

Be Accountable for Exercise! (Exercise?  What's That?)

Readers, you all know that exercise is serious business, but what you may not know is how many of your daily activities count as exercise!  Running, walking, weight lifting, elliptical riding, biking, stair climbing and yoga all count.  So does Pilates, Zumba (and the other kind of Zumba), Insanity, P90X, kick-boxing and Jazzercise!  But bowling, vacuuming, Wii boxing, Just Dance-ing, skiing, reading and laundry all make the same list.  When it comes to exercise, sweat isn't the tool of measurement; movement is!

This weekend I am running a road race with my husband and three hundred other 'in-shape' pavement pushers.  As you have read, I have been running a few times a week on a treadmill with a revolving goal of beating my own 30 minute distance.  My first 'run' delivered just under 2 miles while my latest half hour belt beating delivered a 2.74 mile distance.  Still progress.  Now I am committed to 10 Ks of bridge and borough through Jamestown, RI.

I vacuum a few times a week as well, the dog makes sure of it.  More often than not I am more impressed and pleased with my afternoon push of the vacuum than I am with my afternoon pull on the treadmill.  My entire body moves, my floors look great, and the air smell less like a Hazel-nut.  Laundry brings the same satisfaction.  Visual accomplishment accompanied by skinny jeans and clean cardigans.  The best part?  Home-work satisfies my body's need for movement!  My Fitness Pal accepts my entries of folding and defur-ing as graciously as it accepts my 2.74 miles on a treadmill.

Movement in any shape or form requires, yep, you guessed it, fuel.  I asked my husband this morning what to eat before a run and he replied, "I thought you would be the person to ask!?"  So, as with all other things, I looked it up.  Exercise requires a slow release of carbs, vitamins, and sugar.  What you eat before you exercise depends on how many minutes you have between the meal and the moves.  Oranges, because of their natural sugar, vitamin C, and fiber are great to eat right before a work out while hummus and carrots are good to eat about an hour or so before you hit the gym.  Oatmeal is good early, yogurt is good closer to the run.  Caffeine is good to help maintain focus and fight muscle fatigue but hot coffee works against you because it raises your body temperature.  Needless to say, I found out way more than one paragraph's worth of information on, "What to eat before you run-"  I encourage you to do a quick search before you lace up and vacuum...  fuel is what all movement is made from!

Now off with you!  Exercise, eat real food, give your vitamins their vitamins, drink plenty of water and remember to wash your hands.  And please, if you can spare some, wish me some luck!  I have never run anything close to 10K in my life...

Anna~

On the Agenda~

Cadence plays the piano.  She started a few months ago and has soared in lessons.  Her instructor has instilled pride and joy into Cadence's fingers; as they move across the keys song is what we hear.  She isn't just playing the music as it is written on the page.  She brings the music out of the instrument, off of the staff, to life from within herself.  Watching her makes us feel proud for and of her.  This weekend she will be able to play on her own piano, given to us from dear friends, here, for all of us to absorb and live by.

I come from a long family line of unrecognized musicians.  My late grandmother was a pianist from a very young age and graced many with her music - I never met her.  My brother, many cousins and extended relatives are guitar artists and many of us use our voices as instruments.  My late cousin Cameron made a living on the side as a musician singing and playing on albums, on radio shows, on coffee-shop stages, but the living wasn't about the money, it was about the music.  The joy or sorrow, the pain or laughter, the love or anger that music evokes is individual, indeed, but music is a universal language that can bring one comfort or a crowd to chorus.  Profound.

Monday, my own lessons start.  I am not a savant when it comes to an instrument, unlike many of my family members. I cannot just sit down at the piano and play; I cannot just pick up a guitar and strum; I cannot just rosin up a bow and bring music forth.  I, at one time, could easily harmonize with another in song, but that talent has collected dust.  Over the next 8 weeks I will hopefully pick up a new foundation to play with and the dust may be swept off my vocal chords as well.  Who knows, Cadence and I may be hosting Open Mike Night in our living room before the summer is out~

Before the piano rolls in and the guitar is tuned, a 5K will be pounded out by all five of us RI Burrills.  Scott is well rehearsed with the organized run, as Sean is, but we three girls are new at the event.  We also have dinner planned with friends, a baby shower to attend, a lawn to mow, and thirteen other 'must-do's' to finish before the new week plays out.  It would be easy to talk myself out of participating in the 5K to save time and knee pain, but then I would miss the experience of crossing the finish line with the rest of them.  I am my biggest challenger and I am my biggest challenge.

Before the day moves any further into the sky I should go eat breakfast.  You all know what I am going to say next...

Anna~

Challenges; Challengers!

Challenge: a call to take part in a contest or the act of engaging in a competition.  Getting out of bed in the morning, completing a day of work, running a 10K, climbing Mt. Fuji and getting along with your mother-in-law all qualify as challenges.  Eating a whole foods diet.  Exercising on a regular basis.  Taking care of your own mental health.  Nurturing your own emotional and sexual needs.  Education.  Challenges are faced, overcome, or ignored depending on one catalyst: you!

Our middle child is doing a non-fiction report in her fourth-grade classroom this week; Henry Ford is her subject.  One of his quotes that found its way onto her story board is, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."  This has been ringing in my ears for days now applicable to almost every decision, trivial or significant, I make throughout the day.  Can I run 5 miles?  Can I get the laundry done?  Will I have dinner ready on time?  Do I have time for myself?  Can I add guitar lessons and a nutrition class to my schedule?  Am I able... ?  The outcome is usually certain before any task begins based on my own belief in my own abilities.  Whether I think I can or I can't, I am right.

Challenger: one who competes against another in a competition or contest.  It is socially acceptable to compete with others in many different arenas around the globe.  Football, soccer, gymnastics, glee, battle of the bands, chess, debate.  Other challenges are against abstract opponents; a thyroid disorder, insulin dependence, depression, an unhappy spouse, a difficult course or class, a dissatisfying job, weight, health insurance, an underwater mortgage.  Nothing is harder to battle than the challengers we battle emotionally and physically at once.

Abstract challengers are arguably the most difficult to overcome. "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."  Can you lose weight?  Can you beef up your education to get a fulfilling job?  Can you eat better food in order to rid yourself of disease?  Can you become less dependent on your doctor and more dependent on nutrition?  Can you find happiness within yourself?  Are you able...  ?

Defining challenges and challengers is certainly an important part of any growth or health plan.  Remembering that you are your biggest challenge and, you, your biggest challenger is the most important piece of tactical information needed to overcome any and all opponents.  You decide to forgive, to try, to learn, to eat, to sleep, to smile, and to love yourself and others, or you decide not to.  I encourage you to eat food that fuels and nourishes your body, to drink water to nurture your health, to give your vitamins their vitamins, and to wash your hands of doubt and obstinance.  Whether you think you can or you can't, you are right!

Anna~