Injuries suck!

So right now, my left heel has been hurting due to a heel spur, plantar fasciitis, or a little from both. I'm not supposed to be running on it. Oh man, it is SO HARD to not run in Kaia! My heart hurts (not literally) from having to power walk and not able to run with my tribe. Honestly, I can definitely run with them. The next day, my heel reminds me that I should not have.

My primary care doctor has prescribed my some physical therapy. It's helping quite a bit! I'm sure the resting part is also doing its job. But that's the hardest part of all of this - the resting part. I think if you've been in Kaia for any lengths of time, you're bound to have tried our high impact Kaia level. The hard part is controlling what I do, or don't do in this level. Sure, it seems to push you harder than all the other levels, but if you truly need to rest your body, why are you pushing it?!

This past week's Fit Tip was great! It talks about "being brave enough to slow down your movements and commit to focusing on the balance level of each exercise. Work on good form and full range of motion." This is exactly what I need to work on. For some reason, as a Kaia vet, we think our Kaia sisters will think less of us if we slow it down, like we're going to be less of an athlete if we do balance level. Sometimes, we need to break it down in order to build it back up. 

With speed, sometimes, we compromise form. It's not good - when FORM goes out the window, you know who shows up: INJURIES. So even if we have to bite down our pride, we should all practice getting back to balance form, executing perfect form, using those mirrors placed FOR US - in order to visualize if we are doing something correctly or just going through the motion, and lastly, listen to your Kaia coaches! Sometimes, as vets, we don't want to hear that we're not doing something in perfect form - that little voice in my head says, "Well damn! I've been here so long, I KNOW what I'm doing." I'm here to tell you that your coach might see something that you might not and we're not just walking around correcting form for 'shits and giggles'. With LOVE, we are here to help reduce injury, & reduce exercise downtime, so YOU don't get stuck having to walk/powerwalk like I have to.

Take it from me, slow it down, take it to Balance Level, and perfect that exercise before adding speed, weight or injuries!

Detox Week Tip

I was at work this past week and a patient's family member had brought in doughnuts and coffee to thank the staff, just as BRIK had started. I mean, literally, BRIK started hours before. We had orientation on Saturday and I worked Sunday night. I was really good though, and stayed away from eating any doughnuts and drinking any coffee as one of my absolute NO's is caffeine for this BRIK.

It was a mistake to take a photo of said doughnuts and coffee. It was on my brain ALL night long. And I work 12 hour shifts! Do me a favor: DO NOT do what I just did.

Reverse psychology works on a lot of people but if you're trying NOT to eat something and you tell yourself "NO - NEVER!" I feel like it makes me want that item more! Dangle this dangerous "dare" in front of me, and I don't know if I'm going to succeed, or setting myself up for failure. 

Nothing is ever 100%. I mean, by telling myself that I cannot have caffeine for the whole BRIK, I pretty much have coffee on my brain all the time. I'm not fond of doughnuts at all, but by putting it on the "NO list", I wanted that doughnut more! Don't put hard limits to your nutrition. It can only set you up for failure UNLESS you are VERY VERY DISCIPLINED (::cough:: Caren!)

So do me a favor and for Detox week, try LESSENING those dirty habits instead of banning them altogether. It might just be me, but I feel like diving into cutting everything out can be overwhelming and can set you up to fail pretty quickly. Ease yourself into this warm bath by choosing healthier food to crowd out the junk food. Slow and steady wins the race! Or in my case, not diving into a box of doughnuts when no one else is looking!

PAPAYA smoothy!!

PAPAYA smoothy!! 

1. When buying papayas choose fruit that

• is at least partly yellow
• gives slightly when pressed
• has smooth skin
• bruises free

2. When making smoothies

• remove skin
• remove seeds from middle
• I like to cut mine up in little pieces then put in the freezer for later use

Papaya Smoothie Recipe

• 1 to 2 cups of your liquid ( organic soy milk, organic almond milk, organic rice milk or organic low fat milk )
• 1/2 cup of your cream ( Organic natural yogurt )
• 2 to 3 cups of frozen fruit. (can be papaya)
• Cruhed ice – if not using frozen fruit

Other add-on fruits which go well with papaya for mixed smoothies are:

• kiwi
• pineapple
• mango

Carbonated Water: Healthier than Soda or Myth?

There are different types of carbonated water. It seems that people are substituting carbonated water as a healthier alternative to soda. 


Here are the different types:

• Club Soda: carbonated water with sodium

• Seltzer: carbonated water without sodium

• Tonic Water: contains calories from sugar/sweeteners

• Flavored Sparkling Water: often contains additives including sweeteners, caffeine, citric acid, calories, vitamins, and minerals

• Soda Stream: unless you add to it, this is strictly carbonated water choice

Here is what evidence based follow ups suggest:

1. Calcium loss in bones. Sodas are linked with lower bone mineral density, which might come from the phosphoric acid (phosphorus is important in building strong bones) and caffeine. Caffeine is known to interfere with absorption of calcium. Plain carbonated water lacks both caffeine and phosphorus! Yay to not losing more calcium in bones!






2. Tooth Decay. Reading the label is important: Anything with SUGAR, or CITRIC ACID, or PHOSPHORIC ACID may lead to erosion of tooth enamel which will eventually lead to tooth decay. By taking slices of enamel and immersing them in different soft drinks for six, 24, and 48 hours, Poonam Jain at Souther Illinois University School of Dental Medicine demonstrated that enamel does begin to erode. However, if it's just plain carbonated water (no sugar, no citric acid, or phosphoric acid), through adding pressurized carbon dioxide to plain water, will NOT cause tooth decay. So read your labels!





3. Weight gain. My advice: read your labels! They are your friends! Sweeteners and fake sugars are a big no-no. Your body does not recognize these sugars and cannot break it down as easily so it stores it for later which leads to weight gain. So if you're drinking carbonated sparkling water, look for ones without extra sweeteners. Plain carbonated water should be fine! If you have soda stream, you can always add natural flavors like lemon or herbal tea to the mix instead of adding pre-packaged soda flavors!




4. Bloating & IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Club soda includes sodium into the mix. Too much of a good thing can be bad, as too much sodium can cause an increase in GI (gastro-intestinal) motility. Carbonation may cause bloating and gas which can lead to IBS.




5. Feeling of fullness. This can be good or bad. Registered dietitian Ruth Frenchman recommends that you should avoid carbonated water after a workout as you might not hydrate properly if you are feeling full already. On the other hand, if you are trying to eat less, maybe drinking carbonated water before meals might be okay so you feel full sooner, and may eat proper food portions.

New Years Resolution

My New Year's Resolution is to stop eating crap and get healthier. My fitness goals are to show up to TRX more, get TRX certified eventually, and stop eating junk I don't need. I have the workout portion down. I can show up, I have no problems motivating myself to workout - I love to workout! I love Kaia! I need to love to eat better. Fuel my body with nutritious foods that are healthy and good for my body. Love my body by fueling it better. I have such a hard time with nutrition so that's what I want to focus in on for 2016. Maybe by the end of next year, I can see some abs? Not seeing my abs isn't the end of the world, because I know I'm pretty healthy. But seeing abdominal muscles does not come from working out; it comes from eating healthy.

I will definitely need my hubby's help on this one. If he's on board, we can stop eating out as much, eat more prepared meals and more greens. This will be the year that I buckle down in the kitchen. The kitchen will NOT defeat me this year!

Be adventurous - try new things: Rooibos Tea anyone?

I meant to write about this awhile back since this happened a while ago, but here it is:

I was being adventurous one morning and I ordered something I had never tried before. This could go either way, I could totally hate it, or I could totally love it. Luckily for me, I enjoyed trying rooibos tea (pronounced: roy-boss). So I read up on what I was drinking.

It is also known as red tea, or red bush tea. It is in fact, more an herb than a tea. It's the national drink of South Africa. It comes from the branches and twigs of a tree called Aspalathus linearis.


Pros:

- naturally CAFFEINE FREE!! score for me!
- low in tannins so it helps with insomnia
- high in antioxidants (37 natural kinds)
- has calcium, manganese, and flouride for stronger bones and teeth
- has flavonoids which act as bronchodilator, and anti-spasmodic (helps people breathe better)
- has vitamins and minerals including

• vitamin C

• zinc 

• copper 

• manganese 

• magnesium 

• potassium 

- has alpha-hydroxy acid which helps with skin and nail renewal
- can be applied directly to skin to help with eczema, sunburns, acne, etc.
- can be given to babies with colic, sleeping problems, or stomach cramps
- has been used to help suppress HIV virus
- has polyphenols which has been shown to be

• anti-cancer 
• anti-mutagenic 
• anti-inflammatory 
• anti-viral 

- it tastes pretty good




Cons:
- low level of tannin which slows iron absorption - if you're anemic watch out!
- can demonstrate estrogenic activities which if you have hormone sensitive cancer like breast cancer -check with the doctor before taking

Nutrition goal: Take the white stuff out

Think about it: what are foods that are white? 

- white rice

- cream cheese

- cheese

- flour

- sugar 

Of course, there are exceptions (egg whites are super healthy and nutrient packed). But this list is a really good start. To start working out, and working on that six pack abs, one must stay away from these white foods. Replace white rice with quinoa, or brown rice. Replace dairy with more leafy greens. Flour can sound healthy on the package label, but what "enriched white flour" really means is that the company, stripped the flour of nutrients, then added unnatural nutrients of its own, which is still not as healthy as whole wheat flour (or if the company just left the flour alone in the first place).

And of course, sugar. Our goal is to eat less than 10 grams of it, or none at all. That's pretty hard unless you have the time to cook everything yourself or have a personal chef. But just be cognizant when you read labels. A lot of things that seem healthy, have a lot of sugar in them: flavored yogurt (also white), canned spaghetti sauces, BBQ sauces, instant oatmeal, bottled teas, Gatorade, vitamin drinks, canned or packaged fruits, and the list goes on and on!

Read up on specific brands 

http://www.m.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/sugar-shockers-foods-surprisingly-high-in-sugar

http://www.everydayhealth.com/pictures/high-sugar-foods-youre-probably-eating-every-day/

So main point here: read your labels and try to stay away from white foods.