BASICS OF NUTRITION: The quick and easy and never changing.....

 

BASIC NUTRITION NUTS AND BOLTS

I want to keep this as short as possible.  Obviously it could be a book. Nutrition can seem like SO MUCH. So many plans, philosophies, numbers, timing, adaptogens, supplements, all the things.

It’s so complicated. And also, so simple.

THINGS THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE:

*You will not get fat from eating fruit. Or eating fruit at certain times of day.  I challenge you to show me someone who got fat from eating too many apples. Oranges. Whatever. (also bananas aren’t going to make you fat, I cannot talk of this further0.

*You do not need to “cleanse” (if you have working organs, your body gets rid of stuff it doesn’t need).

*Attempt to get as much of your nutrition from FOOD SOURCES as possible, rather than supplements, where vitamins and minerals are absorbed in combinations that naturally occur together in certain foods. Then, fill in the gaps.

*Fresh food is always better than packaged AND YES: we live in a world where we will eat packaged food so just try to eat fresh in situations where it is possible.

*Most of us know 1-2 nutritional changes that we really should work on, so acknowledge those things and make a plan, including hydration.

THE BASICS:

EAT IN MODERATION. An occasional treat is not going to ruin your body composition.

2 QUESTIONS TO ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF when eating a snack or meal: 1. What is my protein or calcium 2. What is my fruit or vegetable.  (A snack of an apple is not adequate- pair it with a protein or calcium).

PLAN AHEAD! WASH and PREP FOOD! (This takes like 20 minutes on a Sunday to maybe boil eggs, make quinoa to add to salads, prep overnight oats containers, wash/chop veggies to have available to use. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE HUNGRY to plan or eat!

DO NOT EAT IN ONE DAY IN A WAY THAT YOU COULDN’T maintain for the rest of your life.

CARBS ARE NOT AN ENEMY (especially if you exercise, and you obviously should). Obviously don’t overdo, maintain balance, and choose QUALITY/whole grains.

FOCUS ON INCLUSION VERSUS EXCLUSION: PRIOTIZE getting IN what you need rather than making a huge mental focus on statements of things to avoid.

Protein: lean proteins, every time you are eating, there should be some protein (and fiber)

Fiber: check labels- make this a priority to accumulate

Plants/veggies/fruits: every single day try to get as close to 5 fruits and 5 veggies daily!

Whole grains: these are not bad for you!  And they have many more nutrients that you won’t get if you are avoiding!

Healthy fats: add PB to a smoothie, avocado to sandwich/salad, fish high in omega 3 regularly.

Heartache

 Maybe not my most uplifting writing, but it's been a hard few weeks.

“Heartbreak is what happens when love is lost.”

“To love with any level of intensity and honesty is to become vulnerable.”

“Heartbreak is unavoidable unless we choose not to love at all.”

-Joe Reynolds

Oh, my heart.

I was 16 when my heart was broken. I remember lying in bed, in the dark of night, wondering if I would die of the pain in my body. In my chest. I realized it was my heart. That the word “heartache” wasn’t just a word. I realized mine literally was physically broken. I could literally feel it. I had no idea if this was normal.

34 years later, I feel these similar feelings- not the personal depth, but the pangs of the heart. It is hard to describe. The sharp intensity of angst, the corners of despair. And now I know. This is my heart and it’s doing what it does. The flight crash last week in DC brings back my internal horror of 9/11. My terror of what so many people are dealing with in the dark of the night. So many families and friends are laying there with these cells just dying within. And it seems like it is a slow tearing, like heartbreak is actually a torture of the heart.  It isn’t the rip of a band aid and done. It is there, slowly staying.

And you learn to live, knowing what is going on inside. You realize you aren’t the only human that has ever felt this and you won’t be the last. AND… that you are alone in the feelings of your heart.

You go to work the next day, the bus stop, the grocery store, for a walk, and you realize that you are on your own island, figuring out how to do this alone. There will be no one coming to save you. Nothing can turn reality around. You will never unlearn this, you can never unfeel this.

I’ve always been “too sensitive”.  To me, what an insult. That means soft, not strong. That means I’m not strong enough to weather the storm, that I’m a liability, the weak link.

But I realize now. I realize now the power of the vulnerability to feel so much, care so much, connect so much, human so much. We are all one. I am you. I share your pain and heartache. I see the story of your loved one, I see the story of your humanity.  I see perfection in the imperfect lives and families and stories that were lost. My cells are tearing, the walls are seeping their powerhouses and strength. I cannot live without being connected, even to those I do not know. I am unknowingly carrying, or wanting, to help carry a segment of this loss. I know it personally, I am you; I am of this world. I’ve picked myself up and figured out how to somehow stand up in the morning, to just go one more day.

“The brokenhearted are the bravest among us- they dared to love.” -Brene Brown.

Our country is at a crisis point I never imagined. My insides are reeling, there is always grief under anxiety. My heart is doing its thing.  For all those who have come before us and lived the ideals of our nation.  Who have served, worked, believed in, trusted, risked and LIVED the ideals of our country. And, we seem to be seeing, day by day, there is no one coming to save us.  Noone to stand up for what has been fought for and died for. The intensity of these days is not lost on me, and I am living it alongside so many.

And I’ll take it. I will find my way. I accept it.  You cannot shut out grief and heartbreak without also shutting out the possibility of joy and love. What I am holding onto as the way to wake up and carry on is the fact that we can only control where we put our attention, where we focus our own energy.  And I am choosing to continue putting my attention and energy in the things I love about the world, the way I like to be in the world, the joys that I love experiencing and sharing with others. I want to continue waking up with delight at the day, what I get to do and share and be a part of.  Every day, I try to remember to say a morning prayer of “Dear God, thank you for the gift of this day” and that is how I want to continue living my days in this world, seeing the gift, seeing the glimmers of hope and possibility and joy and love. I will find refuge in living with a full, open and brave heart. Life is both brutal and beautiful.

The Sound of Silence, the gift of quiet.

 

How ironic to have so much to say about silence. I have to actually wonder what people think of me in terms of if I am quiet or loud.  I am super quiet.  I am also loud. And very often, I enjoy silence.  I’m quiet in meeting new people, large groups and I try to be quiet when I’m listening to people.  I’m LOUD when I am speaking sometimes (sometimes I think it is too harsh and loud sounding when I hear myself) but I also am thankful that I can project my voice.  And many of you know I love silence.  Silence often coincides with my alone time.  As an introvert, my heart flutters just thinking of these times! 

I travel alone usually once a year. I’ve had people ask me if I get bored being by myself. And I looked at them like they had a zillion heads.  Oh my gosh NO. I love being by myself, I don’t have to be careful, ask anyone else when or what they want to eat, if I am being too much, too active, too this or that.  I am purely myself. I frankly find that to be bliss.  I find though on these trips that it actually is interesting that when you are alone, you end up meeting people and having conversations more because people are more likely to talk to someone by themselves than obviously if I were with someone talking.  So, it is a nice way to get to have conversations with local people.  It is a nice blend with the silence of spending days on my own.  It is nice to be in nature, hiking and listening to the sounds of nature, letting my inner thoughts just run free. Somehow, letting this silence wash over me for some time, just feels refreshing. Any overwhelm just dissipates and clarity of my mind and heart connecting, being free, just reignites my energy.

It reminds me of going out for long runs.  I mostly run by myself. When training for long races, marathons, half ironmans (long time ago was the full ironman race)….  I spend hours with myself, hours both in my head but also just letting my mind dissociate.  I have learned how to do channel tools to manage this time on my own, how to focus inwards, how to focus outwards. How to manage situations that arise that I need to reorient how to keep on, how to calm, how to be with myself through challenges. Some runs, this silence is my favorite part of the run.  Other times, when things aren’t going well, I get FRUSTRATED and wish I had help, company, an escape route. But in the end, I think it is one of the great benefits of long distance training and endurance sports is to learn these lessons of figuring out the strength within to trust yourself, to make it work, to sometimes just survive!

In the past 6 months, I Had hours and hours of silence as I drove from VA to NY when my mom was in the hospital, and then died. The first trip was shock, panic, despair, unknown, worry, confusion.  I first called my sweet daughter, Phoebe, to make sure she knew what was happening.  I knew I needed to be strong for her and it strengthened me.  After that, I drove in silence.  I talked to a few friends along the way, but it was 7 hours of silence other than those few phone calls.  I love music, podcasts… but I did not want anything in my ears. It was strange. I could not dare turn on the radio. My heart literally needed silence.  Have you ever had that experience? There was so much stimulation that I Honestly just could not take more.

Sometimes my mind was reeling.  Sometimes it was still. I drove back after my mom died. 7 more hours of silence. Allowing time, stillness and silence to do its work. There could literally be no distractions or stimulation.

Over the past 2 years I have begun listening to podcasts while I run/walk. I am so thankful for them and enjoy them.  However, there are times when I just know.  I need silence. Nothing in the ears. I need  my ears to be all in connection with my heart.  I need my ears to be open to the air, the nothingness. I remember in Maui this past April hiking alone and hearing the silence and thinking, “silence is a sound”!! The sound of the air, the palms, the universe connecting to your heart. Have you ever heard that sound?

I have people who sometimes tell me that they cannot come to my yoga class because they cannot be “with themselves” for an hour. I think those are the people that need to come the most!  (and not for flexibility reasons). We (myself included) can get so used to having constant external pings on our system- stimulation coming from everywhere, that it becomes even that much more important to practice the skill of being present. I sometimes try to not even say “focused” because that sometimes sounds like it is this rigid way of intensity and just can seem like you need to be focused on something, but what?!  I like to think of it as more of a soft focus, or just simply awareness of the moment. Can you be with yourself?

I went last weekend to a “float spa”- salt water- sensory deprivation, temperature of water and air match, darkness. There were so many things that were interesting (that is for another conversation). But I will tell you for sure:  If I did not do yoga- I literally would NOT have been able to stay in that float spa for 55 minutes. To be with yourself and be able to just be.  That sometimes takes practice. But, also, what a beautiful thing.  To be “at home in yourself”.  To be able to find that place where all you need is yourself. To be able to hear your breath and heart. That is really, honestly a lot. But what a celebration and bliss of life to be able to be with yourself. I really was proud and thankful that I had the skill and had put in the work to be where I am.  I have said to my kids and my classes and clients, “be where your feet are” because I know how important that is.  But really, also, be where you find your heart.  Life is fleeting. How lucky we are, and sometimes I find the miracle is best felt in this space of being able to be fully in connection with myself in silence.

I sometimes hear the sound of silence and realize it is the sound of life, and it reminds me of the quote by Ruth Haley Barton, “We are starved for quiet, to hear the sound of sheer silence that is the presence of God himself.” This past year, hiking in silence in Maui, I paused in exhilaration as I really felt the presence of communication in the sounds of the wind in my ears, the literal air felt like it was speaking to me, actually hugging me. And, thankfully, I was present to be in awareness of this miraculous gift.