Tag: healthy living

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Coconut Oil Pulling

This is another topic that we can credit to my holistic guru.

For some reason, I kept seeing posts about coconut oil pulling on my Pinterest feed.  It looked interesting but also disgusting.  I couldn’t imagine putting a spoonful of oil in my mouth.  Period.  But when I talked about it with my guru friend, she convinced me that it would not be too horrible to just try it and easy enough to get out of it if I was totally grossed out.  So, I decided to give it a shot.

Full disclosure: this information is all my own personal experience OR things I learned from reading various random Pinterest posts.  This is not scientifically proven or professional advice.

First, I guess that you could use different kinds of oils.  I know someone who does this using sesame oil.  I tried and really like using coconut oil because that was what was big on Pinterest and also because I generally find anything coconut wonderful.  It makes it interesting because the consistency will change depending on the time of the year.  For me, I like putting a spoonful of solid coconut oil in my mouth and sort of chewing it until it melts.

So, what you do is you put a spoonful (it doesn’t have to be a very full spoonful) of oil in your mouth.  Then swish it around for 5-20 minutes.

According to Pinterest this is detoxifying because the blood vessels in your gums are very close to the surface.  Allegedly the oil will pull toxins from your bloodstream.  Also, according to Pinterest, it takes 15 minutes for your blood to circulate through your whole body, so if you do it for at least that long, you will have cleansed your whole blood stream.

I will do my coconut oil pulling first thing in the morning before I go to the gym.  I shove a spoonful of oil in my mouth and then go about my business getting ready for the gym.  I will usually keep it in my mouth for 15-20 minutes before spitting it in the trash, brushing my teeth and heading out the door to the gym.

Public service announcement: do not spit coconut oil down the drain.

Here is what I feel are noticeable results for me from coconut oil pulling:

  1. My dental cleanings are easier.  My teeth are cleaner, and the hygienist doesn’t have to go to town as hard on my gums.
  2. I feel like it helps clear my sinuses.
  3. I think that it makes the skin under my eyes and across my cheeks smoother and clearer.  I know, weird, but I swear, if you do it for 5 days in a row for 20 minutes, you will notice a difference.

I also think that having the oil in your mouth and swishing around is probably good for your face because you are working your face muscles.  I haven’t spent any time seriously trying to measure this, but it makes sense, right?

Have you tried this before?  What was your experience like?  Are you thinking about trying it now?

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Foam Rolling

foam roller

Again, I have to credit my homeopathic guru for introducing me to foam rolling.  She actually gave Mr. Man a foam roller for Christmas many, many years ago (it might have been before we were married).  Since then, foam rolling has gotten sort-of mainstream.  It is something that I appreciate and am always happy to have done, but something that I certainly don’t do as often as I should.

The cool kids these days are referring to foam rolling as “self-myofascial release” because it is a type of deep tissue massage that you do to yourself.  Fascia release is becoming a big thing these days, just watch, you’ll start hearing a lot about it.  I met someone through my homeopathic guru whose entire chiropractic practice is dedicated to myofascial release.  It is a really interesting modality, no neck cracking involved.

I would certainly rather have a professional myofascial release me, but it is nice to be able to do it myself at home.

My favorite foam rolling position is to lay on top of it with the roller positioned along my spine (head resting on one end and tailbone at the other, knees bent and feet flat on the floor).  I will roll side to side a little bit but prefer to articulate my lower spine a few times until I feel that arch in my lower back flatten out.  Then I like to do cactus arms (elbows in line with shoulders, hands in line with ears) and just hang out.  Some days it is REALLY painful because my trapezius are too tight/overdeveloped, whatever you want to call it.  There was a good stretch of time (get it, stretch, ha-ha) that my elbows wouldn’t even reach the ground.

Boy, do I feel better, taller, and straighter once I spend a few minutes like that.

That position is also a convenient opportunity to do some ab work.  I can really feel my spine connecting to the roller easier than the floor.  I will sometimes do crunches as well as heel lowers (a balance challenge) from this position.

I have to admit that I am not a fan of actually foam rolling my whole body.  Because it hurts!  Sure, you feel great when you’re done.  I’m just a wimp.  Will do hips/glutes, sometimes.  The other week, I was SUPER sore from Glutes, Guns, and Guts and decided to foam roller my quads.  It did not feel good.  After a few passes, (not that many, maybe 4-5 times) I could actually feel the muscles loosening up.  It really, really helped!

I did some research about foam rolling to make sure that I wasn’t giving you any bad information.  The big thing to be careful about is your lower back.  While you can put the foam roller perpendicular to your spine and roll out your upper back/shoulders and your glutes, you should not roll your lower back.

Do you foam roll?  Do you actually roll or just lay on it while watching TV like I do?

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Flabdominals

Flabdominals (noun): flabby abdominals, particularly the kind that jiggle when participating in high-impact exercises and/or solicit congratulations on a person’s non-existent pregnancy. Also, a word that Cynthia made up.

I have lovingly referred to my tummy region as my flabdominals for several years now.  I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point, my daily abdominal exercise habit evaporated and the era of flabdominals began.  Up to that point, I had been used to having a toned middle; it was not one of my problem areas that I needed to dress around.  Quickly, I had to learn to dress around the fluff that had invaded my middle.

Currently, I am feeling that I may be at a point with my fitness that I can conquer the flabdominals and reclaim an at-least moderately toned middle region.

And so, I am going to issue a challenge to myself to do 10 minutes of abdominal exercises everyday (in addition to anything that happens in any workout class at the gym) for 30 days.  I don’t want to turn it into a big thing that is going to become another block of time to schedule; I think that I can fit 10 minutes in either in the morning when I get back from the gym or as part of my bedtime routine.  I know that I will see some difference, I’m interested to see how much.  Also, I’m curious to know if it will stick, if I can get my daily ab exercise habit back.

One of my barriers to re-forming a daily ab habit (cough *lame excuse* cough, cough) was deciding what exercises to do.  So, this time, I’m going to set a series that will be my daily go-to.  Afterall, I do like to eliminate that whole having to think business whenever possible.

I think I’m going to go back to good old-fashioned Pilates mat series.  These are the exercises that I kept up for years after college.  Yes, I took Pilates as a class in college, that’s what dance majors do.  It was two units, we had a text book and tests and everything (of course I got an “A”).  The full series takes more than 10 minutes, I’m going to start with just a few.

The Pilates Method of Physical and Mental Conditioning by Friedman and Eisen
Pilates text book from college

10 (ish) Minute Ab Series

  • Heel lowers (10 reps)
  • Pilates 100s
  • Roll Up (3-5 reps)
  • Roll Over (3-5 reps)
  • The Vacation Special (10 of each):
    • Single Leg Stretch
    • Grand Battement
    • Double Leg Stretch
    • Cross Over (Bicycles)
    • Leg Lowers

Do you already have a daily ab habit?  What are some of your go-to ab exercises?  The one you love and/or the one you hate so much but you know it works.

If you don’t have a daily ab habit, do you want to play flabdominal boot camp with me this month?  We can do a check-in at the end of the month (no measurements!) just to see how we did with doing the work, if we noticed any difference, if we are going to keep doing/do more/do better/do less.

Let me know if you want to play along at home!

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Try Castor Oil

I know what you are thinking.  I would be thinking the same thing.  But trust me, Castor Oil is good for all sorts of things and you don’t have to ingest it.  So, no need to panic.

I have a very dear friend who is my homeopathic guru.  I solicit and trust her advice about ANY health/personal care type things.  Several years ago, we were talking about this lipoma (a non-cancerous, fatty tumor) that I had which I was hesitant to have removed surgically.  Since it was fat and since she knew that Castor Oil dissolves xanthelasma (those little yellow cholesterol deposits that some people get under their eyes) she suggested that I could try Castor Oil on it.  She didn’t promise that it would get rid of the lipoma, but she knew that it wouldn’t hurt anything to try.

It did not shrink or dissolve my lipoma, but it did make the area feel better, so I kept using it for that for a while.  I also started using it for other things (since I had it out anyway):

  1. It helps strengthen and grow hair (I use it on my eyelashes and eyebrows).
  2. I like to use it as an under-eye night cream.  It is very thick and emollient, and I think it helps with fine lines and puffiness.
  3. It can be used topically on your tummy to get the same results that you would by ingesting it.  Rub it onto your tummy clockwise (down on the left, up on the right, end on a downward stroke) before bedtime for results by morning.

I looked around on the internet to see what other people have to say about Castor Oil and I found some other uses for it. The most interesting to me was that Castor Oil has anti-inflammatory effects and can be applied topically reduces inflammation and relieve pain.   This is probably the benefit that I was getting when I would apply it to the area of my lipoma; when I would wake up in the morning, I would notice that the area always felt noticeably less achy.

One very popular internet application for Castor Oil is for promoting hair growth.  I’ve tried it on my eyebrows and eyelashes, and I think that it maybe, sort-of works.  I mean, you’re not going to look like Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street.  What I noticed is that, for example my eyebrows seemed smoother and fuller, not as wiry as before.  It could just be that the hair follicles are plumper and smoother because they are moisturized.

Because it is so thick, it can be messy, you really have to take your time to rub it in.  It has a sort-of nutty smell; it’s not delicious smelling like coconut oil, but it also isn’t offensive.  A 6-ounce bottle of food-grade Castor Oil at the drug store is under $5.  I think that it is great for specific applications.

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Strength Training Works

I’ve been spending my Mondays with Adam doing glutes, guns and guts for a few months now.  I am still the wimpiest gal in class, but I have a workout buddy who I partner up with every week and she helps keep me motivated.  The workout still makes me sweat my brains out and feel like I’m going to die but I’ve learned to keep a towel tucked into the back of my pants like a little tail so that I always have it handy as we move through the circuit.

Here’s the thing that I want to tell you: strength training works.

Ok, so that isn’t a shocking revelation.  I’m just saying that with the rest of my weekly activity staying pretty much the same, I’ve lost three inches from my waist and hips since I added this into my week. 

Every week is a mash-up of a bunch of various exercises using dumbbells, barbells, TRX, steps, Bosu, and any other random stuff Adam finds laying around the gym. When I started out, I would always pick the lightest weight so that I could do more reps and not take breaks (who knew that one minute could be so long?).  I remember Adam telling me that he would rather see me doing less reps with a heavier weight and thinking he was crazy. 

As the weeks went along, I would pick at least one exercise on the circuit to try a heavier-than-I-wanted weight.  Sometimes I would surprise myself with being able to manage it.  Sometimes I would notice that the exercise felt more effective because other muscles were being recruited to provide stability.  I’ve learned that using heavier dumbbells (20lbs) for exercised like walking lunges forces you to engage your core and helps you keep your balance more than a lighter weight will. Sometimes I would just have to stop after a couple of reps and find a lighter weight.  C’est la vie!  

My favorite development over the past few months is the improvement in my posture and my shoulder strength.  I really took for granted having a strong upper back from all those years of ballet training.  Sitting at a desk, staring at a computer all day has that sneaky way of building that permanent hunched forward posture that is neither attractive or comfortable.  Eventually, I hope to get everything evened out; it’s nice to see and feel the progress so far.  It made me really happy when I could see the line of my shoulders more closely matching the line of the barbell when we were doing back squats last week. I am not a fan of the over-developed trapezius look.

So even though I suck at it and it hurts, I keep showing up and trying my best.  I’m never going to be the ripped girl in the belly shirt, but I am optimistic that if I keep it up, eventually I will be able to do a proper push-up (and maybe even crush some 10lb dumbbells for bicep curls).

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2018 Suggestions

As we approach the new year it seemed like a good opportunity to look back at my 2018.  This has been a fairly significant year for me, there have been so many milestones and changes. My friend who is in to numerology would tell me that it is because I am in a whatever number year (I can never remember the formula to figure out what # year you are in).  Whatever number year this was, a lot has happened.

I was flipping through a notebook that I’ve been using this year for various notes and lists and I found a list that I had made for myself in January.  I’m not a big “new year’s resolutions” girl, but I remember wanting to give myself some things to focus on for the year.  I called it “2018 Suggestions”.

I had forgotten that I had written these things down (the way that most of us forget about our new year’s resolutions) and it made me smile to read it with fresh eyes. Even if my handwriting makes me cringe. 

Nine suggestions for 2018

I recently participated in a webinar about goal setting.  The presenter said that there are three levels of increasing effectiveness. The first is to think it. The second is to write it down and share it. 

A few of the items that I had written down penetrated my subconscious and have gathered some steam over the year, specifically:

  • Wear less black
  • Walk more
  • Less shopping
  • Write some things down (tada!)

Some rattled around in my brain but didn’t really gain much traction:

  • Be pulled together (my cheat for this is wearing lipstick)
  • Send birthday cards (it’s hit-and-miss)
  • I need a better reminder to make more cream puffs!

“Spend some time on abs” didn’t get off the ground although Mondays with Adam has been helping that whole issue. This will be a topic for another day. 

That I was able to get four of my nine suggestions to stick makes me happy.  The good thing about good habits is that they become easier to maintain which frees up some mental energy to add new ones.   I think that I’ll try giving myself some suggestions again for 2019.  I’m going to replay a few, think about what else I might want to add and see what I can get to stick (hopefully cream puffs and birthday cards at least).

The third effectiveness boost for accomplishing goals is to report your status regularly.  It doesn’t matter who you are reporting to.  Just the fact that there is someone who you are going to tell how (or what) you are doing to make progress on your goals makes you more likely to take some action.

So, I was thinking that I will share my 2019 suggestions here with you in January.  And if you have something that you want to suggest for yourself, you can put it in the comments.  Then every so often, we can have a check-in and share what/how we are doing.  What do you think?  Do you want to play?   

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Pinnacle Peak

Remember how I’ve been working on my walking?  Not walking, but getting my steps in.  Well, it’s a good thing! I was just in Arizona to visit my beautiful and talented friend K who recently relocated there.  Among the many fun shenanigans that we got up to, she took me for a hike at Pinnacle Peak Park in Scottsdale.  Since I’m barely a walker, you can imagine that I’m not much of a hiker at all.

Of course, K happens to be an elite marathoner, so walking (even up and down hills on a rocky trail) is a piece of cake for her.  Let’s just say that it’s a good thing that she is so kind and sweet-hearted because I was certainly not anywhere near being able to keep up with her natural pace.  My accomplishment was that I didn’t hold her back too much for at least part of the trek.

It was an incredible experience.  Shortly after we began our hike, we saw a couple of Blue Angels fly overhead.  Since it was a cool day the beauty of the dessert landscape was easier for me to appreciate.  The trail had great signage identifying the different plants along it.  We took a break to admire this in-between things tree.  It was certainly thriving in the gaps.

There were also fantastic views of gigantic Scottsdale golf course homes.  This one has a bridge to the guest home!  A guest home that is probably at least twice, probably three times the size of my little bungalow.

Once I got home, I looked up Pinnacle Peak Park. I was guessing that we hiked around three miles.  The trail is 1 ¾ miles one way (so 3 ½ miles round trip) which is a do-able walk.  It was all of the up and down hills that got me, especially the last third of the trail (where the “strenuous past this point” sign was) which became a long, steep uphill coming back.  Turns out that the 1,300 feet of elevation change is something that I don’t get in my ambles around town.

It was such a fun excursion.  Even though it was strenuous and pretty challenging for me, I can’t wait to try it again.  We’re already planning my next visit and that will give me a training goal to make sure that at a minimum, I’m getting my steps in every day.

Are you a hiker?  Where do you like to go?

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100 Cycle Classes with Rachel in 2018

On Saturday, November 17, I completed my 100th cycle class with my instructor, Rachel.  Not only that, I was the first person to complete the challenge that she set out for us in January.  I don’t know how that happened, but I am basking in a sense of accomplishment over it.

I had only become a Rachel groupie a few months earlier.  There is just something about when she is yelling, “yes, you can!” at you that makes you believe it.

Rachel teaches twice a week, Wednesdays at 5:45am and Saturdays at 8am.  No one goes to spin class at those hours for just for kicks, those are serious, get the grrrr out people. But 100 classes is still a formidable challenge.  I love getting activity credit, checking things off, and discrete goals so I signed up right away.

At first blush, it seemed nearly impossible: Rachel teaches twice a week and there are 52 weeks in a year, so you can only miss four.  All year. Yikes. If she was subbing for another instructor, that would count; also, you could count up to ten classes with other instructors toward your 100 (so really you only need to take 90 Rachel classes). If someone was subbing for her, that counted toward your ten.  Ok, still challenging, but potentially moderately do-able.

I wound up using nine of my ten freebies, so I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of the year to making those up.  My new-improved goal is to have 100% Rachel classes before Christmas.  I’m not a perfectionist, but I do like to go back and fine-tune things when time allows.

Did I mention that there were prizes?  How fun is that?

At 25 classes, you got a certificate.  To me, this is a prized possession.  For so many years a big part of my job was creating and producing recognition certificates and awards but this was the first one that I had received since I was in school.  It makes me so happy to see it on my refrigerator every day.

Best certificate ever

At 50 classes, you got a granola bar.  I somehow neglected photographic evidence of this award, but let me tell you, it was delicious.

At 75 classes, you got a water bottle. A fancy, Lulu Lemon squeezy-style water bottle.  It says, “Your GOALS are showing.”  This treasure spent a few weeks on my desk (aka dinning table) as a trophy before I deigned to put it into action.

Anabel practicing her trophy pose

I had to show up to class number 101 to claim my final prize.  It is  starting to feel like winter in So Cal and as I walked out to my car at 5:30am that morning, I remember thinking that I really should spring for one of those cozy Lulu Lemon snappy scarf things.  Long story short, that was my prize!

Manifesting dreams

Sally and Anabel thought that my accomplishment was great and sure, that was a nice gift, but they really thought that the gift bag was the real prize.

Kitten priorities

I am very grateful to Rachel for all the time and energy and resources that she put into this challenge because she loves her spin tribe.  And I am so honored to have found and been granted membership into this group.

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Stretching Helps

Here’s the thing, flexibility is relative.  People are just put together differently, and some people are just more flexible than others.  And some of it has nothing to do with muscles.  Tendons and ligaments impact joints’ range of motion.  And some joints, like hips, have a lesser or greater range of motion because of the actual skeletal structure of the joint.

But everyone can benefit from stretching.  Think about it like stretching allows the muscles to support a joint’s optimal range of motion rather than restricting it.  Think about it like everyone can stretch to their optimal capacity but your optimal capacity and mine are not necessarily the same.

For better AND worse, I am naturally very flexible (worse because hypermobility can strain joints).  Being flexible does help make stretching more enjoyable for me.  It’s something that I can feel like I’m “good” at even though it has nothing to do with my goodness.  That being said, I am no where near as flexible as I once was, and some stretches that used to be pleasant are uncomfortable these days.

Back in the day, stretching was an integral part of my day.  Not just the stretching before/during/after dance class, but something that happened during hanging around the house time (while watching TV and especially before going to sleep).  I remember one time either during or just after college when I was visiting my family.  My brother and I were hanging out having a conversation about something and I decided that it was a good time to stretch my back.  Apparently, it is unusual to carry on a conversation with someone while contorted in that way and J was a little surprised.  Well I tell you, if you don’t use it you lose it!  The last time I tried to do that stretch, I couldn’t get close.

While I would love to think that I’ll get back to being able to fold myself in half again, I don’t know that I am up for putting the kind of time in to get there.  And I feel like that is ok for where I am in my life right now.  But I am going to try to start making a point of getting up and getting a quick stretch in here and there throughout my day.  I’ll start with some easy forward folds and see if I can’t work back up to something more interesting.

Remember when instead of saying “forward fold” we would say “touch your toes”?  I’m a fan of this evolution of the nomenclature.  Because “forward fold” allows for so much more variation in the position.

I tend to like to move through a few different styles when I’m doing this stretch.  My favorite variation these days is with bent legs and resting your chest on your thighs.  Then it’s not about hamstrings, but more about your back, neck, and shoulders.  I’ve even gotten Mr. Man to do this sometimes when his back is bothering him.  Because it helps!

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Good Morning Habits

I sure hate this whole changing the clocks thing.  I really, really wish that we didn’t do it at all.  But if we’re going to have to “fall back,” I’m going to encourage you to take advantage of this week to put that time to work for you.  If you don’t have an early morning habit and want to start one, this is the week.  Now’s your chance!

Caveat: you will probably wind up wanting to go to bed an hour earlier (aka, your usual bed time before the time change) too.

If you want to try to get up an hour earlier to work out, here is my advice: KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Trust me, you can get out of bed, but you don’t want to have to do a lot of thinking after you do.

First tip: set out your gym clothes before you go to sleep.  Just make a little pile (don’t forget your socks and sneakers) somewhere near your bed.  If you put on your gym clothes as soon as you get out of bed, it’s a deterrent to climbing back into bed.  Also, have your gym bag ready to go – water bottle, headphones, cycling shoes, yoga mat, grippy socks, whatever – you don’t want to be looking for/collecting these things when you’re just waking up.

Next: get out quick.  Brush your teeth, grab your gym bag and get out the door.

Last tip (or actually, this probably should have been the first tip): know what you’re going to do when you get to the gym.  You already know that I’m a fan of group fitness classes.  More reasons why: 1) they happen at set times, so you know when you need to be there; and 2) someone is going to tell you what to do when you get there, so you only have to be awake enough to listen.  Also, you usually have to sign up ahead of time and there is usually some sort of penalty for no-showing, which can be motivating on those days when turning the alarm off and rolling over seems like the better option.

If you aren’t interested in starting an early morning work-out habit but you do want to start meditating or journaling or eating a healthy breakfast or one of the million other things “first thing in the morning” options that you haven’t tried to start doing yet, this is your week.  Pick one.  Try it.  Starting your day by doing something for yourself is a wonderful gift.  Maybe you decide that the best gift you can give yourself is that time in bed,  that’s ok too.

For me, I feel like my “first thing in the morning” list is long enough.  Sure, there are more things that I would like to do like meditate, or drink hot lemon water, or read the news (ok, well maybe this is a good one to keep not doing). But, going back to my main point, it’s better to: KEEP IT SIMPLE.  When something becomes important enough to me, I’ll find time in my day to make it happen.  In the meantime, I’m going to protect the small habit that I’ve established.

Do you already have an early morning routine?  What gets you out of bed?