Look out world ... I'm back!

I hadn't realized it had been 6 months since I last posted!

Well .. school has finally calmed down somewhat.  Only 4 segments after the one I'm in.  Then it's
co-op work and graduation on October 18th!  And then look out world ... she'll be certified.  Or certifiable ... probably both by then.  LOL

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base, say hi again and let you know that I'll be posting, probably once a week.  Updating you on new information I'm learning, sharing recipes and pictures, general ideas on how to live a happier, healthier life.  Sharing positive, inspirational messages.

I set a VERY large goal of being competition ready by September 14, 2014.  The competition?  Figure competition for the over 40 crowd.  I've got a ways to go but I need a really big goal to kick me in the butt and get me moving.

The following is posted on my wall at work and in my gym at home.  I hope this means something to you.

 

Until next time,

 

Yours in health,

 

Sandy

 

I'm back!!!

I knew it had been a while since I last posted but wow ... 8 months!

So much has been happening.  I'll admit I was really overwhelmed with juggling a fairly new job, a crazy course load at school, taking care of a house, spending time with hubby and friends and family.  It took a toll.  But I am ready to get back blogging.

My commitment to you is to touch base every 1-2 weeks.  Some posts will be short and sweet (when I'm studying for an exam for instance) ... others will be far more in depth when I have something substantial on my mind.

I will be posting again later this weekend but I just wanted to leave you with this thought....

If you could change your life, would you????

This will be the topic of my next post :)  See you soon!

Yours in Health

Sandy

Making Changes for a Healthier Life

I hadn't realized it's been as long as it has been since I last posted.  Time flies when you're running full tilt.

I hope you're having a 2013 so far.  It's been an interesting past couple of months.  School is intense.  Work is busy.  I'm still making progress in my quest to change my life.  It feels awesome.  But I've been fighting something the  past several days.  It's that time of year I guess.

My last course at school was nutrition and the environment.  Interesting.  Intense.  Scary.  I'm not sure anything has fired me up as much as this course.  I won't get too carried away at this point but as I read about the number of chemicals we're subjected to between cleaning products, personal care products and our food system, I got so angry and fired up.  I know that somehow I am going to incorporate this passion into my next career.  And that doesn't even begin to get me started about the genetically modified organisms that are being forcefed  to us without our knowledge.

So all this has prompted me to start changing how I spend the household budget.  I started buying personal care products and cleaning products at health food stores, started buying organic produce as much as possible and I buy my heat from a local butcher who uses small local farms.  Grass-fed beef, grain fed chickens, no antibiotics or growth hormones.  We've had a water filter for drinking water for years; we recently installed a filter on our shower which filters out chlorine and heavy metals.  Did you know that when you heat chlorine you end up with chloride gas?   Baths were brutal before the filter.  Now, there's no chlorine smell, my skin cleared up, and I don't have the lung issues I had before.

And I feel so much healthier.  Between the changes to my diet and exercise regime and the reduction of chemicals, I am much healthier.

I would encourage everyone to think about what they put in and on their bodies.  Even making small choices can help.  It's amazing what a big difference it makes.

Shifting plans and priorities

This has been quite a weekend.

A casual friend of my husband's lost her unborn child and found out she has a tumour.

A friend of ours lost her cousin who was in his early teens.  His parents donated his organs so others could live.  I don't know that a greater gift can be given.

I was reading our local paper yesterday morning and there was one obit which I didn't pay much attention to except I saw that the woman was survived by her son ... a very good friend of ours.  Her memorial service was yesterday afternoon.  So we went.  I had rescheduled a visit with my niece because I needed to study for a big Environmental exam on Monday.  Otherwise I would not have known.  And I don't always ready our paper.  I was meant to see this.

So we got ready and off we went to the memorial.  He was shocked ... and very happy ... to see us.  He had wanted to call but he knew how tough it was with my own mom when she died 4 years ago so he didn't want to burden us.  I was just very thankful that I did see the notice.  I would have felt far worse if I had not known ahead of time.

The only thing was ... I couldn't stop the tears.  My friend's dad reminded me a lot of my own who has been gone 11 years now.  When he hugged me he said "she's gone now" and that started the tears.  I am too sensitive to others for my own good sometimes.  Then I realized that I had not attended any type of funeral or memorial service since my mom.  They would have been close to the same age and as I was watching the photo display it reminded me so much of my mom's photos.  Once I get started I can't seem to stop.

Anyway, we were supposed to go to a party that night but neither one of us were really up to it so we stayed home and chilled.

Today I've been able to study, study, study.  I'm not sure if I'm ready but I've got a bit more time.

I had sent my coach an email to the effect of what happened yesterday and changing plans.  His response back to me was beautiful "Always plan to have plans change.  Flexiblity of thought and heart allows us to navigate and those that can embrace and learn are those that will lead a deeper and more meaningful life."

That served as a wonderful reminder to me to stay fluid.  Life will throw you curve balls when you least expect it.  The trick is to learn to catch those balls ... even if you have to stretch farther than you think you can to get them.

Life has been hectic to say the least the past few months.  I will try to update more often.  I have so much I want to share ... just finding the time to do it is my biggest challenge right now.

But I will be back before Christmas .... I just wanted to share this weekend with you.

Yours in health,,,,

Sandy

MS and Nutrition

I am so excited about this research!  More and more I'm hearing about MS ... such a debilitating disease. 

Barry and I attended a fundraising a little over a year ago to help fund a rather controversial surgery to reverse the effects of MS.

Wouldn't it be better to change your eating habits rather than undergo risky surgery that may or may not work?

So many people (and I confess I used to be one of them) do not understand how powerful the food they eat it.  I know once I discovered I was gluten and lactose intolerant and then changed my diet ... OMG!  The weight fell off and even more importantly, my bloodwork came back normal and I felt AMAZING!

So if you know anyone with MS ... or are just interested in reading about how nutrition can affect our health, I recommend the article linked below.

Nutritional Research on MS

This is the school I'm attending by the way in my journey to becoming a Nutritionist.

Yours in Health,

Sandy

Doing the Cha-Cha

One of my favourite Facebook sites is Optimism Revolution.  The quotes posted on this site are fabulous.  Jim (the author) recently posted one that defines an optimism as someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is doing the cha-cha.

I've been cha-cha-ing my way through the past 6 weeks or so!  Truth be told ... it's probably been the past 3 months or so.

But I refuse to give up.  Going back to where I was is not an option.  For one thing, I'd disappoint too many people ... mostly myself.  And given my future as a holistic nutritionist  ... how can I expect anyone to believe in me if I'm not a living example of health and wellness.  So ... I continue to fight.

A good friend of mine who is going through her own struggles said I make it look so easy.  But it isn't.  Nobody (with the exception of husband the coach) sees me when I'm questioning whether I can continue with this long term.  Or when I've hit a period where I'm cha-cha-ing like there's no tomorrow.  I get on a roll, get sidelined, get a roll again, get sick, get on a roll, get injured..  This has been my life the past few months.  But in spite of it all, I have persevered.  I have not eaten anything that is gluten or dairy.  Maybe I haven't made the BEST choices, but I haven't gotten derailed completely.

The long and short of it is that no matter how had it gets, no matter how discouraged you might be, keep at it.  The rewards are there.    Trust me ... if I can do this ... YOU can do it.  You just have to persevere and never, ever give up!

Yours in health,
Sandy

My Story

My story basically started in 1988 when I was 22.  I ate healthy, worked out regularly, and was in pretty good shape.  I wasn't where I wanted to be so I worked out smarter and dropped 13 pounds and 13 inches in 3 months.  I was 145 pounds at 5'7".  Not too bad.

I met my husband in 1992 ... I was still in decent shape, decent health.  We moved in together in 1994 and got engaged that Christmas (I proposed ... wasn't planning on it .... but it happened and at least he said yes).  By 1997 we were getting married but I wasn't happy with my body.  Sloppy eating and lack of exercise put me back in the "need to get in shape" position.  So I did the Atkins diet (I do NOT recommend this ... it's too extreme)  But I did drop about 15 pounds and about 15 inches in 3 months.  But I was probably still about 175.

My father passed away in 2001, my mom went into a nursing home in 2004.  I had cared for both of  them and neglected my health and fitness horribly.

Fast forward to 2008.  It was the worst year of my life.  I slammed my finger in a sliding van door, got a chest infection and broke my ankle in 2 places.  By the end of January.  Then hubby was in a care accident, wrote off the car but he was OK except for some torn back muscles.  We had 2 floods in our basement bathroom.  Our finances tanked.  My father in law had a heart attack and a triple bypass.  Then my mom died.  And I had the overwhelming feeling that if I didn't get control of my life, I would be joining my parents.

This is me ... topped out at 221 pounds.

So I bought a Bowflex and met with a personal trainer and got to work.  I managed to remove 10 pounds but kept having setbacks.  So I kept at it.  For 3 years, I would make progress, have a setback. Get back to working out.  Got sick.  Worked out.  Got injured.  And so it went for 3 years.

In August of 2011 I was fat, miserable and unhealthy.  A woman I met at work reminded me that I am the only one who can take charge of my life.  So I did.  I decided that my husband and my house were sacred and the rest could change.  And boy did they.

One day my body locked up on me and I needed a massage desperately.  So I called my chiropractic clinic and said I don't care who or when, i needed someone that day.  And that's where I met Andrew.

And my life changed forever.

He told me to remove wheat, gluten and all flours from my diet.  That was the first week.  The second week he took dairy out of my diet.  Turns out I'm gluten and lactose intolerant.  And I was headed towards diabetes (fasting blood sugar was 6.3 for years ... some doctors would consider that prediabetic ... mine didn't)  with a blood pressure of 140/90.  So he restricted salt and sugar.  He got me reading empowering books.  He got me to set  3, 6 and 12 month goals  I felt better within a couple of weeks.  Then I started to feel amazing!  And the weight started to drop and continued to drop until I surpassed my goal of 160 pounds and weighed in at 159 on September 11th this year. 3 days before my 1 year anniversary working with Andrew.  Now my fasting sugar is around 5 and my blood pressure is 100/60 give or take.   I still have a little way to go.  My goal is 145-150.  Plus I want to improve my muscle tone and definition.

The one thing that this picture doesn't really show is how much I've changed inside.  I can't begin to explain how it felt to have spent years in this deep, dark hole and to have someone reach down, offer their hand and help me out into the light.  My life has changed to dramatically.in the past year.  I am happy, positive, full of life and love and gratitude.

So now you've met me.  I'd love to hear your story.

Yours in health....
Sandy