Healthy Life Lessons

I have a hard time finding clothes that fit me well. You see, I am not only petite (vertically challenged), but I also have, what is diplomatically called by fashion experts, an 'athletic' body shape. This essentially means I have no shape. No waist. No hips. I am shaped like a toilet paper roll. Since losing 3 bra cup sizes to breast feeding, its even worse! So I really have to be careful what I wear or it just looks all wrong and/or is very uncomfortable. Since I am so cylindrical, things often ride up, or slide down, etc. It's maddening! I am on a constant quest for dresses. I love dresses because they can be very comfortable, they are an all-in-one outfit, and they look professional. I don't even mind biking in them. But it is always hard for me to find one that will be flattering and suits my tastes (i.e. no bright colours or huge, loud prints). I also don't like to spend tons on clothes. Oh, and because I am always hot, I refuse to buy any long sleeve...

Good morning and welcome to a new week! I am certainly hoping this one is better than the last one. Unfortunately, we are still without a working oven, but I've been able to do quite a lot in our toaster oven including roasting veggies, baking cakes and cookies. I am feeling better but still not 100% but poor little A is still suffering from this cold and has a wet, hacking cough. Anyways... Let's talk about brain health today. Taking care of your body is not just about increasing longevity, its about improving and maintaining quality of life. A good example is dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Some individuals do experience early onset, but most cases happen to to the elderly. If you are thinking that you need not worry about cognitive decline, because, after all, eventually you won't even be aware you are in it, then just think about the devastation that these diseases will cause your loved ones. If you are thinking that its just an inevitable part of aging...

Hello and Happy Friyay! Happy Black Friyay, in fact! Even here in Canada, though we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in November, we do celebrate the retail craziness of Black Friday. While I've been offline I've been super busy. When I say busy, I am not even referring to being sick, to Little A getting sick, to still having no working oven, or to the power outage we experienced Wednesday morning. Whew! Nope, I am referring to the intensive professional training program I was doing...and only part 1 of 2!! Adding to my repertoire of therapeutic modalities I offer, I am training as an EMDR therapist. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Ever heard of it? Here is some info: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of treatment primarily used for PTSD, or other anxiety-related disorders. The theory is that trauma or other experiences that overwhelm normal coping mechanisms cause pathology when they are inadequately p...

Hello and happy Friday! I am glad its the end of the week, it felt like a tough one. I came down with a cold which has left me with a headache and tons of mucus. I get sick so much less often than I used to that when I do catch something, I feel even more frustrated. But obviously expecting to never get sick isn't realistic! On top of that, its been a crazy busy week between work and the girls' and their activities and our related commitments (last night was parent-teacher night at their school). To make matters even more complicated, our brand new oven died. I know, like WTF? Our research suggests that it needs its electronic panel replaced AND that this is a common problem with this model. Unfortunately, the company we bought it from is offering servicing, not a replacement. If this becomes an ongoing problem with this oven, I am going to lose my shit. Oh and if you think that's bad, last night our downstairs toilet overflowed. Oh yes it did! We had to call the...

Good morning and happy Wednesday! Its rainy here but I'm not letting that make me feel gloomy. Its pretty amazing how gorgeous and mild this fall has been. Like I rode my bike to work on Monday and didn't even need gloves. In fact, I was sweating by the time I got there! I am still enjoying salads and have not needed to transition to entirely hot foods yet. I am sure that time is coming, it always does here in Toronto! As my brother says, where else does the temperature range from +30 Celsius to -30 Celsius on a regular basis?? Speaking of salad, I have a great recipe for you today. I know fat is all the rage right now, and while long gone are the days where any health experts recommend a fat-free diet, the researchers I trust agree that fat should still be eaten sparingly.  Why? no matter how healthy the fat you eat, it is extremely calorically dense and most North Americans don't burn enough calories to justify eating much of it.  Sorry, there is no evidence that...

Good morning and welcome to the beginning of a new week. I can't say I am feeling more optimistic about the state of the world right now, but talking it out with friends and family does help. Alright, lets move on to talking water bottles. After smashing my Lululemon water bottle , I was all set to buy another one and try again.  But on my way to the store, on a trip we took to Yorkdale Mall a few months ago, I made a detour into Home Outfitters.  I decided to just see what my other options were, as I suddenly started having doubts I can handle another glass water bottle.  So far I'm 0/2 in keeping them longer than a few weeks before I break them. After perusing all the options, I decided stainless steel was a better choice for me.  I chose an Aladdin Flip and Seal, though it looks like its for hot drinks, it can be used for both, and it promises to be leak proof.  Not that many of my past water bottles haven't broken that promise! Well, so far so good...

Since Wednesday I have been stumbling through life feeling like I keep waking up into a nightmare that is not going to end. I could write 8,000 posts all about my thoughts and feelings relating to the U.S. election results, but this isn't a political blog, so I won't. I have a list of posts I plan to write, but right now my mind is blank, I can't really focus. One thing that troubles me is explaining what's going on to my children, and I know many parents who are going through the same thing. So here are a few resources to help. This one is serious . And this one is for a laugh (because I don't know about you, but I need one!). I have a busy work day today and tomorrow, but Sunday I am having coffee with a good friend I haven't seen in a while. She is coming to see our new renos, and I will be seeing her for the first time during her current pregnancy (she also has a toddler). For me, there is almost nothing more therapeutic than hanging out with good ...

Are you like so OCD, that you have to arrange all your clothes by colour? Just because you like things organized or tidy, does not mean you have OCD, which, by the way, is not an adjective, its a mental illness. OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and its nothing to laugh at. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings around the condition, and a lot of silly misrepresentations in the media. Its not something cute and quirky, it is potentially very serious and disruptive to a person's life. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted, uncontrollable and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsions).Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, but this only provides temporary relief. Not performing the obsessive rituals can cause great anxiety. OCD is often associated with eating di...

Good morning, how was your weekend? If you're like many people, the weekend is when you fall of the wagon with your healthy habits. You may not get to the gym, you go out and have a few (or too many) drinks, and you indulge in rich, sugary treats. If this is the case, you may start every Monday with feelings of regret. Well fear not! I've got you covered, at least in terms of indulging your sweet tooth while staying on track with a healthy eating plan! Here are a bunch of ideas for you. For those of you who cannot give up the real thing, find a way to incorporate it into your diet regularly. Most people try to eliminate their weakness altogether, which leads to feelings of deprivation, and usually bingeing. Instead, give yourself permission to have a small amount of said item as often as is necessary to make you feel satisfied (i.e. a small square of the best dark chocolate every day after lunch). Just be aware that not everyone is good at doing this, and are vulnerable t...

Though many of us love our salty, fatty foods, it seems that most people have an insatiable sweet tooth. Unfortunately, while we once thought that avoiding fat was the key to health, we now know that sugar is quite possibly more harmful than are even saturated fats. You may have heard the recent headlines about how the sugar industry manipulated research to exaggerate the health risks of fat consumption to minimize the risks of sugar consumption? This doesn't mean we should start gorging on fatty, fried foods, but it does reinforce the point that low fat diets are not necessarily the ideal, particularly if they are high in sugar. So if sugar isn't our friend, how do we satisfy that sweet tooth? Is there a way to do it healthfully? Fortunately, the answer is yes! The ideal is to wean yourself off of sweetened foods altogether and start just enjoying the natural sweetness from fruits and veggies. Ha, ha, right? I know, this is absolutely something we should all strive ...

Are you still in a sugar coma from Halloween? The girls are enjoying their daily treat from their Halloween stash, but to my surprise, we didn't have to cull them down after all. The girls volunteered to give Adam and I a huge portion of the candy they collected. After Adam devoured a pile of mini chocolate bars from their donation pile, I took the rest in to the office. Though I hate encouraging unhealthy food consumption, I've found that if you bring anything junky to an office, it always gets consumed in record time. Now lets talk potatoes. If you love potatoes but avoid them at all costs because you think they are unhealthy, well I have good news for you...you can (and should!) eat them! Potatoes, in and of themselves, are not unhealthy, its just that most people prefer to eat them prepared in unhealthy ways (fried or mashed with a ton of butter and cream). They are high in fibre and full of nutrients. They are also very satiating, meaning that relative to their ca...