I have not written for a while because I am moving my blog to another location and it will have a new look also.

I will post the link when I get it.

All these posts will appear on my new blog.

Sorry !!!

Perimenopause is a phase of life where changes occur on a physical, emotional, spiritual and mental level.  Could this be part of a mid-life crisis? I hate to consider this age mid-life and I don’t even like talking about it in that way. But people tend to when they don’t know how else to explain it.

In our 40’s and even later 30’s we look at our life and begin to analyze it. 
Are we where we thought we would be at this time?

Emotional things that we may have been suppressed or avoided begin to surface. Life may be telling us that it is time to work through these issues. It is time to get to know who we really are; to become our authentic self.

Many women lose the sense of who they really are. We are busy taking care of our family and tend to put ourself last because that is what our mother did, our grandmother did, etc. Especially if we have had to work full time while raising kids and staying married. Yikes! That takes so much energy!!

Many women during Perimenopause are not sure how to deal with this and feel overwhelmed. Anti-depressants may seem like the only answer or a good one at the time. I want you to know that there are many things that you can do and a few resources are listed below.

I have been going through this since my early 30’s. It never really ends…but it gets better.

I found a few resources and have listed them below. They have really helped. They focus on releasing emotions, releasing blocks, not dwelling on them. No psycho-therapy here.

Byron Katie and “The Work”
Who are you without your story? She was once severely depressed. She developed questions and a technique that pulled her out of it.
www.thework.com

The Sedona Method
A technique, which at first, seems a little odd and may leave you wondering “How can this work?” It took me a while to really believe in this. I find it is really good to combine The Work and the Sedona Method.
www.sedona.com

“Excuses Begone!” by Dr Wayne Dyer
He is my self-help guru. I absolutely love him!!!
His new book is “Excuses Begone!” and I loved the way he explains it. He borrows “The Work” also a bit in his teachings but Excuses Begone is really good.
www.drwaynedyer.com

LOOK AT THE WEB SITES – “The Work” has worksheets and gives tons of information. There is a lot of free stuff you can get to start now.

A BOOK YOU CAN RELATE TO:

A FABULOUS BOOK that is called “How Did I Get Here” by Barbara De Angelis is SO FANTASTIC!! At least it was DEAD ON for me. It expressed EXACTLY what I was feeling and going through. It is an older book but I’m sure you can still buy it online or try a used book store (that is where I got it).

Go into Chapters or your nearest book store and look through these books. You may be able to find them at a used book store for cheap. Everyone is different and what works for one, may not work for another. I hope you find value in these resources.

Let me know. Please comment on what works for you, what have you tried? What books, resources do you love?

I am going to share with you a remedy for hot flashes that really works!! If you are going through Perimenopause, Menopause or are Post-Menopausal but still getting hot flashes, there is something you can do that will really help to control hot flashes. It is all natural and it is great for your physical and emotional health. It even helps you lose weight!

I have heard others mention this also and I can tell you that it really works. I have done it and it works everytime.

When I stop doing it, the hot flashes come back. When I start doing it again, the hot flashes go away, or are not as often.

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION NOW?!

What I am speaking about is cardiovascular activity. That is right – doing cardio (gym talk). You may have been hoping for a pill or something else but this is what works and it benefits you in so many other ways also.

Cardiovascular activity also helps decrease high blood pressure, high blood sugar, helps you lose weight, decreases stress, makes your heart and lungs stronger, helps make you stronger and is good for your skin.

I have always been active but have had periods of time when I was injured or on a holiday and didn’t do my cardio. That is when I had more hot flashes. As soon as I got back to doing cardio again, the hot flashes would go away. I have read this in the research of others and it is proven to help.

My friends agree that this makes a difference for them as well. For me it also makes a difference in how much cardio and the intensity that I do it. Everyone is at a different fitness level so everyone will be different. I notice that if I do not do cardio at least 3 x a week then I have more hot flashes. If I just walk 3-4 times a week and not work really hard during the walks, I have more hot flashes.

If I do some power walks, do the stairs, do my cardio at the gym and really work hard, then I do NOT HAVE HOT FLASHES. And as I mentioned – there are just so many other benefits .

I realize you may not have time every week to do some intense or long cardio sessions but do what you can make time for some. Walk during your lunch, breaks and right after work (before you go home, don’t go home first). Do the stairs (which is really high intensity and it works!). If I do the stairs outside and there is a long set of stairs I pick 4 sections for example. The ones I do have 19-20 steps per section. I pick 4 sections and stay on those. I do not go up and down the almost 200 stairs. I find it works best for me to do just the 4 sections (about 80 stairs) for 20-30 minutes. I vary what I do. I go up and down 2 times every step, then every 2nd step, then sideways, then run up and down, etc.

If you already work out and do cardio and are having quite severe hot flashes then maybe you need to bump your cardio up a notch. Do it for longer, or short but really intense sessions, or do it more times per week then you are now. See what works for you.

Stress brings on hot flashes. Cardio exercise helps to eleviate stress. Try some deep relaxing breathing also which helps. Combining yoga and cardio sessions during your week would be perfect!! That is what I do (I am a yoga teacher) and it really, really works.

Let me know what works or doesn’t work for you. I’m sure there are many women going through perimenopause or menopause and would love to here ways of getting rid of their hot flashes.

In my last post I spoke about not eating preservatives and to read the labels of all food items you buy and have in your house. Since our body cannot utilize the foreign chemicals that are contained in fast foods and packaged foods, those chemicals end up being stored in fat and in fluids in our body. They can also do damage to our natural chemical balance in our body.

The followng paragraph is from an aritcle called “MSG is A Slow Poison” by Elizabeth Joyce:

John Erb was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called “The Slow Poisoning of America”. In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so the scientists have to create them. They make these morbidly obese creatures by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates; causing rats (and humans?) to become obese.

This is very serious so I wanted to include the names that MSG can hide under.

If a food label has any of the below listed as ingredients – IT DOES CONTAIN MSG:

Monosodium Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Hydrolyzed Protein, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Plant Protein Exract, Sodium Caseninate, Calcium Caseninate, Yeast Extract, Textured Protein, Autolyzed Yeast, Hydrolyzed Oat Flour, Corn Oil.

If a food label lists any of these ingredients – IT PROBABLY CONTAINS MSG:

Malt Extract, Malt Flavoring, Bouilion, Broth, Stock, Flavoring, Natural Favors/Flavoring, Natural Beef or Chicken, Flavoring, Seasoning, Spices.

If a food label lists these following ingredients – IT MAY CONTAIN MSG:

Carrageenan, Enzymes, Soy Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate.

You may not realize that most chain restaurants and (probably all) fast food restaurants have food loaded in MSG.

Because I get headaches and very bad symptoms when I consume all forms of MSG and other chemicals I have to ask the waitors if the food they serve contains preservatives. They ask if I have allergies and I tell them that I get very sick and I can tell if the food, sauces, desserts contain preservatives – I WILL know. You can imagine they get pretty nervous so they are usually good at telling me the truth. You would be surprised how many places use preservatives in their foods or use sauces, spices, flavorings with preservatives – which in most cases contain MSG.

Do yourself and your family a favor and print out the list above and take a look at your packaged foods, salad dressing and canned food you may have in the house. Look at all labels when you are shopping. You will notice how hard it is to buy anything without a chemical name in the ingredients.

Educate yourself, make the right choice and avoid these products.

Let me know what you find. I know avoiding foods with MSG and other preservatives has had a HUGE impact on me being able to lose the extra weight and keep it off! Also, my health is so much better for it!

Perimenopause is a broad topic and one that I have studied and learned a lot about. Why? Because I am going through it right now. I am 45 years old and started having symptoms about 1 year ago. I also started to gain weight around my waist – something that I never had to worry about before.

I am a personal trainer, yoga teacher and health nut so have never had to worry about my weight. Then hormone imbalance hit and wow! What a difference. That began my obsession of finding out how I can control this unwanted weight gain (around my waist) and some of the uncomfortable symptoms I was going through. I realized that it is my responsibility to help myself. I needed to find out what was going on and what I could do about it NATURALLY!

I have gathered tons of information through my experiences as a personal trainer and yoga teacher along with the years of studying nutrition, health and self-development.

I do practice what I preach. Below is a picture of me and my cousin on the beautiful Hornby Island off the coast of Vancouver Island, BC (Canada). I live on Vancouver Island. We are both 45 years old and have had 1 child each. We have had to adjust our eating over the years to help us stay lean and healthy. It is all about what you eat and your lifestyle. It is possible for anyone.

Summer 2009 (I am on the right)

So let me know what you want to know. I will then write about it. Until then, I will post information I feel is valuable and that will help you in your journey through this phase of your life.

Can’t wait to hear from you!

I asked you to work on the mind-body connection. Pay attention to how you feel before, during and after you have eaten something. Your body is pretty smart and it is good to get in-tune with it. We tend to eat out of habit, instead of really learning and knowing the type and amount of food that our body needs.

Now that we are in perimenopause, we need to change our eating patterns and habits if they are not working for us anymore.

Today I will tell you one of my secrets on how to:

LOSE UNWANTED FAT AROUND YOUR WAIST AND STAY LEAN

Our food nowadays is so full of chemicals and additives. What do you think those are doing inside of us? What does our body do with all the chemicals we putting into it? The additives, colorings, etc that are in packaged foods, fast food and various drinks are not recognized by our body. They are not really food so our body cannot use them.

Q.  If it cannot use them, what does it do with them?

A.  Most likely our body stores them in fat.

It stores them in liquid (water retention) and in tissues (our fat is great for this). The more chemicals you take in, the more fat and liquid your body needs to store them. Especially if they are not being properly eliminated from our body. If our digestion is not working that well (This is all in simple terms of course). The more chemicals you put in – the more fat your body needs to store the waste. Think of it as toxic waste.

My challenge to you is to read ALL food and drink labels. When you are shopping for foods – read the labels. If you are buying produce – try to buy organic and definitely non-GMO (non-genetically modified). Even look at organic canned foods. Lots of time they are grown organic but when packaged, preservatives, chemicals and even colorings can be added to them.

I have a sensitivity to preservatives, chemicals and colorings contained in food, drink, candy, etc. I also stay away from gluten, almost all dairy, wheat, oats, etc.

Many women going through perimenopause and menopause develop sensitivities to wheat and diary. The symptoms may not be dramatic but once you learn to pay attention to how you feel after you eat, you will notice what agrees with you and what does not.

I wasn’t always like this…..the food that was available was not as full of “junk” as it is now either. Wheat and dairy are NOT what they used to be.

When you are reading labels, if you notice your favorite foods or drinks contain chemical preservatives – don’t eat or drink them. Will this be hard? Probably, but think of this. Would you drink Mr Clean? Would you add it to your salad? No! That may be extreme but some of the things added to foods and drinks are not that far off the hazardos chemicals we know we need to stay away from.

Once I became aware that I had reactions to these chemicals, I had to avoid them. What a difference!! No water retention, no puffiness, headaches, sinus problems and most of all – NO EXTRA FAT AROUND MY WASTE!!

If you are wondering how you can tell what the preservatives are on a label you are reading, GOOGLE IT. Be careful to notice if the site you are on is the company that produces that chemical or puts it in the food. They of course would claim it to be safe. Notice where the information is coming from.

You are what you eat and if you are trying to lose weight or maintain the weight you are now then you MUST be aware of what you are eating. It is not just how much but “what”. I can eat lots of veggies and fruit (a lot of food) and be fine but I know that “light” or “diet” salad dressings, crackers, cookies, etc. contain “empty” calories, “junk” that is not food and chemical sweeteners, fillers, preservatives, additives and colorings. They are not real food. My body cannot use them. They do not supply the body with any nutrition – therefore the body is starving. You will feel hungry because your body did not receive enough “good food” or “good nutrition”. It did not receive the building blocks that it needs to function properly, provide you with energy, keep your metabolism going and sustain a great immune system.

Begin to read labels. You will be shocked!!

I’d love to hear your comments and any questions you may have.

Me doing yoga on Hornby Island, BC

In the last post I asked you to pay attention to how you felt physically, emotionally and mentally after you eat.

The point of this is to get in touch with your body. Your body will let you know when it is happy or not. You will become aware if your body is receiving the proper nutrients or not. By doing this you may also gain insight into your thoughts and feelings regarding food. Maybe you attach a lot of guilt to eating. Maybe you are not even hungry when you eat. You may realize a food you thought you loved doesn’t make you feel good when you eat it.

When you crave a food you don’t think you should eat, you don’t eat it. Why this fails is that you end up eating more “junky”  things to make up for the one thing you were craving but did not eat. In most cases it would would be better to eat a little of what you are craving so that you do not eat a lot of food trying to get rid of the craving. The foods you usually end up eating are empty calories and probably do not have a lot of good nutritional value to them.

I know myself; I have periods when I crave either fat, salt or chocolate. When I really, really crave something that is not good for me, I buy a small version of it or choose a healthier version of what I am craving. If I am craving fat and salt, I like to have vegetable tempura. The vegetable tempura satisfies my fat craving and the light soya sauce satisfies my salt craving.

When I crave chocolate – I eat it. I make my own chocolate treats with raw cacao powder which is extremely healthy so I don’t feel bad about consuming chocolate. I also don’t eat a lot at once, I am good that way. (I will share a couple of my great cacao recipes with you in a later post for those who love chocolate….like me!) If you are craving and just have to have chocolate then purchase a small bite size piece of chocolate, or head to the bulk section and just buy a few.

Think about why you eat what you eat. Why do you want that food item? Do you really want it or is it a habit to have it at a certain time during the day. We are creatures of habit. You will realize that so often you eat out of boredom or habit.

Like I mentioned, if you are about to eat something that is unhealthy for you, ask yourself why? Or, could you find something healthier for you that will satisfy that craving or that wanting? You don’t need to continue a bad habit. You can replace it with a good habit or a better food choice. Even if it is not the best, it is better. Take steps to continually choose better foods. You may not be able to take giant leaps but that is fine. As long as you are moving forward and not backwards you will feel good about your choices.

Continue to monitor how you are feeling (physically, emotionally and mentally) before you eat, while you are eating and after you eat. Try not to eat a bunch of empty calories or junk to avoid eating a little of something you are craving. Notice if you are eating out of habit or boredom.

In my next post I will share more steps to guide you closer to eating intuitively so you can lose unwanted weight and feel more energized and healthy. Whether you are in perimenopause, pre-perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause intuitive eating will help you feel more energized, stay healthier, lose weight, maintain your ideal weight and assist in balancing your moods.

I had to make a change and I HAD TO LOOK AT

what, when and why I was eating

We need to eat to survive, but eating patterns are a habit. The habit part is what we have to look at. I had been very active and was weight training a lot when I was in my 30’s and early 40’s. I ended up with some injuries so my activity level really dropped but I had not changed my eating habits. At the time I was focused on healing my body and did not think about how I was eating. BIG MISTAKE! When I was very active I was eating a lot. My body needed the food and I burned the calories; I could pretty much eat anything. Even though my activity level greatly decreased, my eating habits did not change. I was therefore, gaining weight; unwanted weight. Weight was gathering around my mid section – front and back!

As we all know, habits can be hard to break. I HAD TO LOOK AT

what I ate, when I was eating it, how much I was eating and why

In the next few posts I will discuss intuitive eating and how it helped me lose weight and feel so much better!! It is something that everyone should be doing because if you are able to learn how to intuitively eat, no matter what happens in your life, you will be prepared and YOU WILL adjust your eating habits naturally, it won’t be an effort.

The first thing I want you to do is:

After you eat a meal or a food, notice how you feel physically, emotionally and mentally

Physically:

How does your stomach feel after you eat? Do you feel light or heavy? Do you feel like there is a big lump of dough sitting in the pit of your stomach? Do you feel like the food is stuck somewhere or unable to move through you? Do you feel really tired and lethargic? Do you feel satisfied with what you ate? Do you feel good and not stuffed and bloated?

Emotionally:

Do you feel drained of energy, or full of energy and ready to go? Do you have a sense of well-being? Do you feel happy and healthy by eating what you ate? Do you feel guilty for what you ate? Are you frustrated because you ate something you probably should not have? Do you feel happy you are moving in the right direction by eating something that is supplying your body with good nutrition?

Mentally:

Is your mind feeling foggy? Are you having a hard time concentrating? Do you just want to find a place to lie down and take a nap? Do you feel  clear-headed, ready to take on the tasks of your day? Do you feel like you can handle anything and feel positive about yourself and your life? Are you disappointed because you made a bad food choice and will beat yourself up for the rest of the day over it?

Start to become aware of how you feel after you eat. You need to develop that mind-body connection. I promise you it will make ALL the difference.

Practice this and I will post more about this very important topic tomorrow.

I am sure most of you know how many calories there are in the muffins and treats you get at coffee shops. They contain lots of sugar and fat. Maybe that is why they taste so good? They also do not contain many actual “healthy” ingredients.

If you are trying to get off wheat and dairy – which is a good idea, then here are some recipes that can help the transition.

Almond Milk

• 1 cup of soaked organic raw almonds (these are sometimes called “natural” almonds. They have not been roasted or sated. Basically, they are right out of the shell. I usually buy these in bulk. Soak them overnight in filtered water)
• 3 cups of filtered water
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla
• Honey or agave nector to taste

Blend in a high speed blender. It takes a while to get the almonds all ground up.  Pour into a fine mesh strainer or pour through cheesecloth. What is left is almond milk. You can also mix in some cacao powder (raw chocolate) and have a fantastic chocolate milk!!

 You can use the almond meal that is left over in muffins, cookies, etc.

For Hemp milk you will combine hemp seeds, water, vanilla and sweetener. You do NOT need a lot of hemp seeds; about 2 tbsp of hemp seeds with 2 cups of water. Try that to start and see if it is strong enough for you. If not, add more hemp seeds and blend.

 Healthy Mini-Muffins

• 2 cups flour of choice (could combine a few if you want. Kamut, spelt, finely ground almonds, etc). I used to mix flours and nut flours
• 1 egg or oil (I like grape seed oil)
• Madjool dates (chopped up)
• Soaked nuts (walnuts, chopped almonds, pecans, etc)
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, salt (all to taste)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add dates and mix. Add egg or oil and vanilla and mix. You want the batter to be the consistency of muffin batter so add almond milk (or whatever kind), water, yogurt, etc to make the batter the proper thickness.

You don’t have to worry too much about measuring the ingredients. If you have baked before you know what muffin batter looks like. It is runnier than cookie batter but still thick. It is hard to screw this up unless you add too much liquid and it gets too runny or too many nuts and seeds and the muffins don’t stick together. If too much liquid, just add more of the dry ingredients (the flours, seeds, nuts, etc.)

Pour mixture into mini muffin tins. You can also make this thick and try making into cookies. I have done both.

Every time I used to make these they turned out a bit different. You can write down how much and what ingredients you put in your first batch and then adjust if you need to for future batches.

** You can also add raisins, cranberries, diced apple, etc.

Let me know how they turn out! What I want to share with you is how to cook and eat intuitively. That way you don’t have to have a cook book in front of you or a detailed list of complicated ingredients.

Now that you have your healthy (wheat free) muffins, remember, don’t pound back 5 at a time. If you put a lot of ingredients into them then they will be filling so you only need 1 or 2 for a snack.

I will talk more about intuitive eating in my next post. It will change the way you eat and how you feel.

If you are in your 40’s (or even late 30’s) you may be experiencing a slight weight gain, maybe it is gathering around your waist. That is where it arrived on me. I have small hips and I don’t have a real defined waist to begin with so when the weight started coming on around my waist, it was really noticeable.

My pants were tighter and uncomfortable and I felt bloated and puffy. I was getting “back fat” which I never really had and love handles – which maybe cute but not to me! This was happening even though I had not changed my exercise routine or what I was eating.

The fat around my waist came on gradually, but at the same time seemed to accumulate quite fast. It was there and I did not like it. When I sat down I could pinch a big chunk in my fingers and I have never been able to do that before. My friends thought it was funny because I had always been so slim. Believe me, I did not find it funny!

In the past, whenever I gained about 5 lbs, I would insist that I lose that 5 lbs. I would not wait until more sneaked on. It would take me only about 2 weeks of watching what I ate and then stepping up my cardio and exercise and being really consistent with both. The 5 extra pounds would then be gone. It worked for me. But this time…it was not working. I had to change something.

What did I start with? This is the #1 thing that I did to start me on the path of staying slim and feeling good at this phase in my life.

I stopped eating wheat and dairy.

As I was doing my research and reading I read that many women going through perimenopause tend to develop sensitivities to wheat and dairy. I knew I was feeling bloated and sluggish so I gave it a try.  

I gave up my healthy muffins made with whole-wheat flour, I stopped eating the cereal with milk and used soy milk (hemp milk or almond milk) for my coffee and tea. (I make my own hemp and almond milk and will share he recipe in a future post).

I even stopped eating yogurt and frozen yogurt. By doing this I realized that I did have a sensitivity to the wheat and to dairy. I felt so much better and the bloating I was experiencing went away.

Because I stopped eating wheat I stopped eating the muffins or snacks at coffee shops. I had to make my own. When I made my own muffins and healthy cookies with wheat-free flours, I would make with them lots of healthy ingredients and less sugar and oil (if any). I also made them small and not large like they tend to be in the coffee shops.

Starbucks is great because you can bring your own food there and eat it and they don’t mind. Try bringing an apple or other fruit with you and one or two of the small muffins or health cookies you have prepared. Having the fruit with your muffin fills you up. You won’t consume as many muffins and/or cookies and you will be eating more fruit.

In my next post I will share my almond and hemp milk recipes plus a recipe for small healthy wheat-free muffins. You will love them!

Until then – have a fantastic day and think healthy thoughts! I would love to hear your comments on what works or does not work for you. Let’s share an help each other!