Helping You Create Your Extraordinary Life
The election here in the United States is finally over, and it’s been distracting and exhausting. Politics isn’t something I normally talk about, but I’m deeply disappointed in the outcome. Lifting women up and helping them to be the best they can be in their health, relationships, and lives is important to me, and I won’t let anything change that. It’s been hard to ignore, though, so I’ve been trying to focus on what makes me feel good: food and family!
I’m leaning heavily into gratitude these days, noticing how lucky I really am. I’m grateful for my family and friends, for the beautiful place I live, and for the food I’m privileged to cook and put on the table for my family. From looking through my gratitude journal over the past few years, eating together as a family has always been important to me, and now that my son is nearing graduation, I want to savor this time we have together.
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There is such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables out there, yet I think most of us stick to our tried-and-true favorites. I’ve been trying to up my own intake for a variety of reasons, and I think I’ve found a fun way to get more plants into my diet. I bet it will work for you, too.
It’s been a busy week for me. My husband is out of town, and I always think I’ll have less to do when he’s not here, but that’s never the case. While there is one less person to feed, there is also one less person to help! If you manage your household on your own, I give you kudos - it’s a lot of work!
I’ve also got involved with cyclocross, and spent the weekend at a local event. It’s really fun (and hard!) but it’s helping me with my goal of being more motivated to ride my bike. It’s also been great reconnecting with old friends and making new ones surrounding our hobby.
Between...
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of learning about how our body systems all work together. It truly amazes me how each system has its own purpose, yet is intricately intertwined with the entire body. Here is yet another one that sounds a little “woo-woo”, but makes sense once you think about it. Did you know that stress can make your hips tight? And here I just thought it was because I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk.
Have you ever been in a yoga class and seen someone break down or tear up during a deep stretch? Or maybe you’ve experienced your own unexpected emotional release during a hip-opening stretch yourself. The reason is that your hips are directly connected to your fight-or-flight response via the psoas muscle. (Pronounced so-as.)
This muscle connects your spine to your legs, and it’s activated when you’re in a stressful situation. The problem is that most of our modern-day...
I recently turned 55 and I’m more conscious of taking care of my body (and mind) more than ever. Part of the reason is so I can keep living an extraordinary life far into the future; but it’s also about making life better here and now. One way I’m doing both is by reducing stress with exercise.
Right now we’re having conflict with a neighbor over a shared fence we’re replacing and it’s been really stressful. When I’m stressed, my stomach tightens up, then it spreads to my chest, and eventually I get a headache. In the worst times I end up with a migraine.
I went to bed feeling all tight inside and the feeling was still there this morning when I woke at 4:30am. Not a great start to the day, for sure. I considered meditating which sometimes is helpful, but I knew that my busy mind would just take over. When dealing with stress, common reactions are to:
I think it’s probably obvious that I enjoy exercise and active hobbies; but I also love to curl up in bed with a good book or on my comfy old couch to watch bike racing on TV. There have also been (many) times where exercise was the last thing I felt like doing, but I knew I had to get moving in some way.
If you’d rather do anything but exercise in your free time, I have great news for you: you can increase your physical activity level without working out! Staying physically active every day is important for your health, even if you hate the gym.
Being active helps fight diabetes, age-related muscle and bone loss, heart disease, some types of cancer, obesity, and a long list of other ailments that you may haven’t thought of in your earlier years. (Menopause, anyone?) At the same time, being active boosts your mood, improves your sleep, and helps fight stress.
Even with all those amazing benefits, 36% of adults (more than a...
We often think of exercise as something we do to look a certain way or hit fitness goals, like losing weight or getting stronger. But what if I told you that exercise is actually the secret to a better life, not just a better body? I’m here to share why, beyond its physical benefits, moving your body regularly can improve your mental and emotional health too.
Let’s start with something simple: walking. Remember the last time you took a walk outside? Chances are, after you finished, you felt more energized, your mood lifted, and your mind was clearer. It’s not just in your head—there’s science behind this! Studies show that any form of physical activity, no matter the intensity, can make a positive difference in how we feel. In fact, research from Harvard highlights that just 7,500 steps a day can boost your longevity and reduce your risk of heart disease. Another study found that any amount of physical activity can elevate your mood and energy levels...
As I've been very open about, my son has been having health challenges. Another layer was added and then thankfully removed this week, thanks to a sweet beagle named Bagel. He's a mold-sniffing dog who stopped by our home this week.
I’m sure we are also getting to the core of my son's health problems, and we're leaving no stone unturned. We recently had him tested for mold toxicity and the results were shocking! One mold toxin was about 20 times what a normal kid his age would test for. A second was a little high, as well. His doctor already started treatment for mold toxicity right after he took the test so that we didn’t waste any time.
She also told us about a mold sniffing dog named Bagel. He's a cute little beagle that has been trained to sniff out mold in the same way that dogs are trained to sniff out drugs or bombs at the airport. He was going to be in our town the day after we called so we jumped right in and...
Sleep is one of my favorite topics, especially because it impacts just about everything—just like gut health. What’s even more fascinating is how closely linked these two are: your gut health affects your sleep, and in turn, the quality of your sleep influences your gut!
Sleep has been a struggle for me in recent years, especially as I entered perimenopause. I wish I had known five years ago about the role of declining progesterone in sleep quality. Since starting a progestin supplement, I’ve been sleeping through the night, and it’s been an absolute game changer.
But for now, let’s dive into how your gut health is tied to your sleep—and vice versa.
Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria—your microbiome—and maintaining a balanced microbiome is essential for your overall health. This includes your mood, brain function, heart health, digestion, your immune system… And sleep!
The...
Lately, I've been putting more focus on exercise. Not just because it helps me de-stress, boosts my creativity, and makes me sleep like a baby, but because I genuinely enjoy it! Plus, it's well known that exercise does wonders for your immune system, mood, muscles, and heart.
But did you know that exercise also plays a key role in your gut health? Yes, research shows that working out benefits your digestion and whole gut in ways you might not expect.
I’m sure you’ve heard that taking a light walk after a meal helps your digestion. It turns out that’s not just an old wives’ tale. In fact, post-meal walks can help food move through your system up to 30% faster and can balance your blood sugar levels. Keeping your digestive system moving also means you’re likely to be more “regular”—which is always a good thing!
Even more interesting is that regular exercise doesn’t just help after you eat; it helps...
This week I’m sharing something about your gut that you might not know about, and it’s a bit of a “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” situation.
Think about a time when you’ve felt nervous, on edge, or worried about something. That’s definitely been me lately, worrying about my son. It’s been a rough week as he hasn’t been improving as quickly as we had hoped and it’s impacting his ability to attend school and focus.
Like me, you might have had an uneasy feeling in your stomach about it. That’s because a big part of your stress response happens inside your gut, inside your “second brain” that resides in your digestive tract. It’s called your enteric nervous system. It’s made up of layers of cells (more than 100 million of them) that line your gastrointestinal tract, all the way from your esophagus to your rectum.
Your enteric nervous system communicates directly...
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What if you approached self care as a gift, because you know you deserve the very best?
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