Tag: food

New Year and New Dreams

Well, it is hard to believe that it is a new year again and time to define how I want to spend my efforts in 2025.  Last year, I was focused on health and wellness which has placed me in a much better position than January 2024. I am really happy that I achieved my goals although if I were truly honest, which is part of my personal brand, I slid most of my positive results in the last two months of the year. If you recall, I had vowed to lose the remaining five pounds and move into weight maintenance mode. What can I say, sometimes getting to the end goals can be sloppy – form over function 😊. Anyways, let us keep the past in the past and as they say … only forward. As 2025 unfolds I am expanding my efforts in the health arena by developing a lifestyle focused on consistency with my habits around eating, strength training, personal and spiritual development. I also made a commitment to travel and explore my sense of adventure… Woo Hoo. So needless to say, I am tackling a lot of stuff this year and am excited to get moving and grooving.

In the last few weeks, I have breathed new life into my home gym. For the past 11 years, it turned into the dogs’ bedroom without much exercise action from me. The typical story of about 98% of everyone who has workout equipment. I must say, I am really happy with the room’s transformation. My treadmill and elliptical are ready for the challenge of being used again. I also set up my audio visual, lighting as well as all my covid weights, bands and  dusted off the trampoline. These are the moments when I rejoice over my addiction to shopping – ha-ha. It is that closet that has not been opened for years but holds many treasures for the fitness enthusiast. So, over the past month with tremendous help from YouTube, I have been able to create a lot of variety in my workouts. I can dance a little hip hop, rebounder workout with some gal in front of a barn, weight training and the power plate (which is really cool and helps with your circulation) to mention a few. Also, I am trying to improve my running speed on the treadmill (so when people see me outside, they won’t tell me that they saw me walking 😊).  Needless to say, I have look forward to my daily visit to the home gym – you cannot beat the commute and there are no annoying members to fight over equipment.

I am also expanding my spiritual work by offering chakra balancing in a more official way now. It is so rewarding to help people feel better, relaxed and in flow and I am hanging up my side-gig shingle. Let’s just say I am diversifying with HR Unwrapped (my business) and now I can add additional services beyond business consultation to more holistic support.  I also have been gravitating towards Tarot Cards and been learning and growing in this area too, which is a nice extension. I have this great journal, stickers that have kept me engaged. I always loved a nicely laid out workbook with fun accessories. It takes me back to those lazy days when we played with Colorforms. I will keep you informed on my progress or as they say – it is written in the cards.

And then lastly my third focus is travel and adventure. I have booked a trip to Italy and looking forward to a relaxing retreat and exploration. My boyfriend just mentioned going on a dog sled ride up north – that is kind of intriguing  too. Who knows, I am pretty open to expanding my horizons before I succumb to another pug or two. I am still obsessively watching videos and I think my vow of no more dogs may fall to the side as a dream of a new puppy named Daisy.

Well, in all fairness, I really thought I was going to stop writing as it was starting to feel like a chore and according to my analytics, there may be 10 people reading this blog, so much for the advertisers and side cash. But in fairness, I do like to commit to paper and then I know I have to tackle my next set of goals. So, congratulations, there may be another  long winded blog series from me or at least until my subscription ends. Let us see how it goes…

Transformative Actions

Back in September, I wrote about what I thought was going to be a great doctor’s visit after all the hard work of better eating and losing weight.  Although I had many positive affirmations at the office, my blood work indicated otherwise. I was stunned to see that my cholesterol was high (I never had a problem that I was aware of before) and my LDL was borderline not fabulous.  This made me rethink my eating approach one more time as I did not want to go on medicine.  Unfortunately, I had high hopes for my new doctor to help me through the interpretation of  my numbers and how I could improve them naturally.  Another shocking truth which is no secret, most doctors are not trained to assist in using your body to self-correct,  which is a great shame.  We have become a society of solving problems with medicine instead of getting to the root cause.  After piecing different data points together using various experts and non-experts, I decided I needed to adhere to a eating plan that would be more than just losing weight but helping me thrive. 

I had improved my lifestyle over the course of the last year and a half, but it was time to learn about nutrition and take matters into my own hands.  I turned to Dr. Fuhrman who is a nutritional doctor and been practicing and writing books for 40+ years.  He is data and nutritionally scienced based.  I listened to podcasts, read his books (again), joined his membership to understand not only the “whys” but to operationalize this program in my life.  I am always a little dense when people talk in concepts when I just want to know, “when do I eat beans and how much?”  I finally found the answers I was looking for and felt more confident that I understood what the heck I was supposed to do.  His program is about moderate caloric intake that is nutrient dense.  Otherwise known as greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds/nuts.  When combining these foods (and eating a ton of salads, soups, etc.), you get a well rounded diet of nutrients that basically fill your soul and tummy.  This provides high fiber for gut health and slows intake of fats and other needs that allow you to stay satiated throughout the day.  I am amazed how well it works considering my obsessions in the past (after worrying about Isabelle – a parental must) was what was I going to eat for my next meal.  I am embarrassed to admit but true – I was addicted to low quality processed food.  It  never filled me up and left me with cravings and self-esteem issues.  Boo Hoo ☹.

Anyhow, I decided to join one of the pre-holiday challenges introduced in the Fuhrman community.  It was 21 day program where there were classes, interactions, recipes, motivation and web meetings with Dr. Fuhrman.  This guy is 70 years old and has a six pack – kind of freaky.  As I heard these amazing stories about health transformation, nothing shocked or surprised him anymore. People made miraculous turnarounds in their life from stage 4 cancer, diabetes, multiple-sclerosis and more … now they were healthy.  Also, a side note which I think is super cool,  he used to be a professional couples skater and I believe he may have gone to the Olympics in his day. He shared that we would go through a detox state where we may not feel well in the beginning – but I did not experience any of that.  I think I had slowly transitioned and the final push was not that difficult.   I made the recipes, and a few of my own (thanks to Charles – my chef boyfriend who by the way has been completely supportive – major shout out to him), and they are all delicious.  When you get off of low nutrient food, your taste buds change and you lean into the foods that you are supposed to eat as a species.  What used to be bland, now feels very flavorful and fulfilling.  What a journey this has been, I am still a little in shock that I am down ~90 pounds.

I am happy to report in the last 2 months+, I have not only reached my goal weight but have gone beyond in this plan.  Your body naturally goes to the right weight for you – so weird and exhilarating too.  I redid my bloodwork and my cholesterol was down 47 points (still have some work but am in normal range), my HDL Cholesterol was down 20 points, LDL was down 28 points and all in the normal range.  I have more energy and feel younger – as my Oura ring states too (can’t make a well-being statement without it 😊).  There is still some more work as well as  maintenance to continue with, but boy – what a difference two months can make.  I feel in flow with my body and you know what – damn proud of myself!!!  This is probably the biggest accomplishment of my life as this was the problem I struggled with over the years.  I really needed this …  GO ME!  Now back to the grind… should I eat broccoli or cauliflower?  Such life choices – hmmm… Wishing everyone a very Happy and Healthy Holiday.  I think I have one more blog to come out to satisfy my monthly publishing goal… stay tuned.