'Spring has Sprung' - on yourself

Spring cleaning time is here and that usually means time to de-clutter your house, work space, wardrobe, car, garage but let's start with the most important house - YOU and your body beautiful. Take an honest look at what you are doing so grab a sheet of paper and make a list of things to do in the following three categories:

1. Keep

2. Toss out/Stop/Remove

3. Change/Start something new.

 

KEEP going to bed before 10pm, eating three balanced meals with protein, carbohydrate and fats, daily aerobic sessions to give your ticker aka heart a workout at least 5 x a week, pick up some weights and throw them above your head at least 2-3 x a week, chill out, relax and recover at least 1 x week, talk to a real person at least 1 x a day, turn off all electronics at least 2 hours before you hit the hay. Keep doing all those great things that we have taught you over the past months and you should be moving towards great working order. Be diligent in your health quest.

 

TOSS OUT at least one bad habit as they don't serve a purpose. Poor blood sugar control and being dehydrated is a no brainer, get rid of them. Staying up late after midnight is another, eating junk food is on this list as well. Take the stress out of your body, back off on the coffee, alcohol and/or chocolate consumption and give your liver a break. If your running shoes have seen better days then go buy a new pair and ladies, take a look at your sports bras. 'The girls' need to be supported so maybe a visit to Victoria Secrets or Lululemon is in order to get new workout gear. Be disciplined.

 

CHANGE your mindset to be good to your body. Make a plan of doing one new thing a month be it eating a new vegetable, riding your bike a little longer, getting up when the sun comes up, hike along a mountain trail and make your body sweat a little more, try tai chi or maybe take a leap of faith and go skydiving. Be mindful of what you are putting into your body, plant a vegetable garden in your back yard, grow your own herbs (legal ones) so you know where your food is coming from. Take the time to write an old fashioned letter to a loved one. Re-connect with family and old friends. Be curious.

 

So, look at your sheet of paper. How many things do you have on your KEEP list? Hopefully it is a longer list than the TOSS OUT list but just know it takes 21 days to break a habit so baby steps are OK. As long as you are moving forward that is all that matters. However, before you know it summer will be here and the bikini or board shorts will be calling your name. Make a plan to commit to being fit and healthy NOW. Like your tax return - just get it done! You'll be grateful when you turn 90 and you're still able to dance on table tops, well that's my plan. Who's gonna join me? Red heels will be required!

As promised here is the first installment of "Being in the Pink' - moving towards healthy female hormonal control. Whenever there is an hormonal upheaval or a change in a women's menstrual cycle it is important to look at the basics and assess 'where you are at'. Moving from 'WOW' to 'WHACKED' can happen in one cycle. Below are the first six basic building blocks to restoring some form of order.

1. Fill out an HAQ - Health Appraisal Questionaire. This form gives an overall baseline view of your health and shows us where we need to start before we delve into the deep rabbit hole of hormonal testing panels via blood and saliva. It is full of great information and so shoot me an email or call me if you are interested in filling one out. We can then arrange a follow up phone consultation or skype call to discuss your findings. Each block of questions pertains to an organ system so don't forget this test can also be done by the boys.

2. Fill out a food and sleep dairy. If you are not feeding yourself correctly or not getting decent sleep and recovery, inner stress will be the consequences and your hormones will move towards whacked!

3. Digestive Function. It's all well and good to get a load of blood tests BUT if your gut is not functioning as it should and you are not able to digest and absorb what you eat then it does not matter if your food is organic and of the highest quality, if it's not going in at a cellular level then you just have very expensive stool and urine waste products coming out! There is a Gastro Test which shows if you are producing sufficient HCL in the stomach and/or if you have an issue with stomach acid moving back up into your esophagus (that is not supposed to happen) so let us know if you want more info on this test as it is relatively simple and you can do it at home.

4. Ferritin levels. When was the last time you had your iron levels checked? Ask your Dr for a Serum Ferritin test or go online to www.privatemdlabs.com and book one yourself. Low iron levels can be the culprit behind fatigue and no or lack of 'get up and go'.

5. Cholesterol, HDL, LDL and Triglycerides all need to be tested. We need cholesterol to build healthy cells but you also need the other three markers to give us a good picture of what is going on. Think heart health AND are you getting enough good fats in your diet?

6. Vitamin D ladies. When did you last check this? I'm thinking about your future bone health so add this to the list as those legs of yours need to be dancing!

Take a stock of where you are at with the above tests and next month I will tell you what to do with the tests results before moving onto the next group of 'things to know'. WOW is where I want you to firmly be as WHACKED is tiresome and not at all sexy!

Let's go green on Sunday and get a large dose of chlorophyll, the green pigment found in plants! Grab a shot glass and juice up some of your favourite green vegetables. According to 'Dr Google', a shot of wheatgrass (you know the stuff you see shoppers at Jimbos and Wholefoods lining up for) is a potent liquid packed with a vitamin wallop equal to the most nutritious of leafy green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli. Two to four ounces (57 to 113 grams) twice daily is the recommended dose as it has curative properties particularly for digestive problems. The juice contains a heap of enzymes, amino acids, a small amount of protein, beta carotene, vitamins E, C, and B12, as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and potassium. So it's gotta be good for you right? Take note - the grass is cut before the wheat berry forms and they say people with wheat allergies usually have no trouble digesting small amounts of it. I beg to differ - if you are gluten intolerant is it worth taking the risk? Juice up some spinach, celery, broccoli instead or just steam it and get your green on that way. You could also be a rebel and go yellow on Sunday. Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a glass of warm water first thing in the morning when you get up as this is also a great way to say hi to your liver and support your overall constitution. Your other choice is to just wear green, while running outside in a green forrest. I like that idea, you may just meet an Irish Leprechaun holding a four-leaf clover! 

Enjoy your day Janet and Chris xxx