Archive for January, 2010

Shoulds and Self-Care

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

“I feel full of ‘shoulds’ about my self care”,
an exhausted client recently said to me.
“I should eat more nutrient rich foods.
I should cook more.
I should take care of myself better.”

How well I know this feeling!
And how I’ve learned that it doesn’t get me where I want to go.
‘Shoulds’ are no fun.
They don’t inspire us to right action.
They shove us towards a goal with our feet dragging all the way.

So how can you make eating better more fun?
In this blog I plan to share ideas for a joyous dance of self care.

One idea for better eating
is to invite a friend to cook a new recipe together.
We aren’t designed to cook alone or eat by ourselves,
we’re meant to cook and eat together.
Oxytocin, a hormone that gives the feeling of bonding and trust
Is released when people share meals.

After months of staring blankly at a Kim Chee recipe,
a Korean fermented vegetable dish with therapeutic benefits
I knew I should make,
I called up a friend and asked if she wanted to join me.
It was a blast to do together.
Easy. Fun. Delicious.

Call up a friend or several this week
and cook and dine together.
Make enough for leftovers.

Balanced Blood Sugar

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

This week I started teaching a teleclass called Overcoming Carb Cravings.
I’ve taught this class a few times, it’s really fun for me to teach.
One theme is balanced blood sugar.
It sounds routine, like unless we are a diabetic of course we have balanced blood sugar.
Not so -  many of us without a diagnosed disease
have blood sugar that blasts up and crashes down several times a day,
yanking us along in a jagged experience of energized frustration
followed by a dismal lethargy.

Sometimes we think it is the circumstances
outside of our body that brings these mood
But I’ve learned that if we are not caring for our bodies a bad mood
can start from deep inside the chain of chemical reactions of our cell
Slowly over time I’ve learned how to have balanced blood sugar
and experience steady, even energy that makes life feel easier.

It’s worth the effort to attain it, I promise

Have breakfast with protein.
Eat every 4-6 hours
Avoid refined carbs.
Enjoy healthy fats.

Dawn Sky, Red Dirt Farm, Forest Ranch, California