Several months ago a friend of mine quit smoking. We bumped into each other at a party, and I asked her how it was going. We spoke about quitting smoking for a few minutes, at which point she said to me,"I know you're well-intended, but all this talk about what I'm trying not to do is making me want to do it."
I've been thinking about her feedback in recent weeks, as I read the tweets and comments from health colleagues related to holiday eating and bingeing. It makes me wonder if this doesn't end up being counterproductive. With all due respect to my colleagues, it is as if the health professionals are as obsessed with holiday eating as the people they want to help.
Obsessing about what you're NOT going to do and what you DON'T want to do isn't any better than doing it. It is still obsessing!
I decided that rather than join in the obsession, to make this blog a safe haven for anyone who prefers to focus on healthy changes. Research shows that when you surround yourself with healthy peers, you're more likely to adopt healthy changes.
So from this point forward, talk of bingeing and holiday excesses will be noticeably absent. We'll focus on modeling healthy behaviors and strive to be your online resource to surround yourself with.
I can't promise it will wash out all the noise you're hearing in other places, but I do promise you'll get positive energy and messages about what kinds of choices constitute healthy living. Hope to see you often during December!
Tempe, Arizona If you're wanting to make this holiday season the one you enjoy completely (and that means not worrying about the food or your weight), please come to Whole Foods for our"inCYST on Better Eating!". I purposely scheduled the calendar so this class occurs right between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This topic is the most popular of the four, and it only comes around once every four months. So if you are interested, now is the time to register! Topics we'll cover include:
--What’s a good carb, what’s not --Manage those cravings for sweets --Which fats are good for fertility, which ones are not --Eating well despite the chaos --How food can help mood swings and depression
I met with the Whole Foods staff last week to get the holiday deli menus from them, including ingredients. They've got some great items in their deli that can make your holidays a whole lot less stressful. We'll be looking at those to see how they fit into a healthy eating plan.
As always, we'll wrap up the class by cruising the aisles and looking for new things to try. If you have recipes for the holidays, be sure to bring them so we can discuss how to maximize their nutritional value.
Time: 6:30 — 8:30 pm Cost to participate: $15. You can either call me and register by phone at 623.486.0737, or register online. I am still trying to figure out how to get my Yahoo store to not charge the shipping charge that pops up. If you see it, please know, I manually remove it before processing any charges. I am a much better nutritionist than I am a techie!
Marina del Rey, California I am working on a Whole Foods set up in LA as well. Until we have it confirmed…we're meeting at the Panera Bread in Marina del Rey, 4720 Lincoln Blvd. We'll test drive something on the Panera menu and go over your holiday menus and any other questions you might have about healthy eating. Time: 6:30 — 8:30 pm. You can either call me and register by phone at 623.486.0737, or register online.
If the Wednesday night time just doesn't fit into your schedule, keep our January Saturday seminar in mind. All four classes are rolled into one, and we'll be meeting at Ellen Reiss Goldfarb's office. Click here for more information.
Please do register in advance so I know how many handouts to bring.
I hope you can make it! This class is incredibly fun, and the more the merrier.
Monika M. Woolsey, MS, RD http://www.afterthediet.com
If you're in the Phoenix area and you want to come, please do! I'm focusing on holiday eating, which can be stressful if you don't know what your good options are. My goal is to get you excited about what fits into the program!
We'll be at the Tempe Whole Foods, Rural and Baseline Road, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. We meet in the eating area by the checkout lines.
Cost is $15. You can bring a check or cash, or register online: http://yhst-34497545168533.stores.yahoo.net/
If you're in LA, please email me or call me for Wednesday's details. marika@google.com or 623.486.0737
Hope Thanksgiving was fun and relaxing for all of you!
I asked our team for some ideas for holiday gifts that promote healthy mind, body, and spirit. If your loved one is asking for ideas, or if you're shopping for someone who is trying to make changes that benefit their health, hope these wonderful inCYSTers provide you with some inspiration! Julie Dillon, RD, Julie Dillon Consulting, Greensboro, NC
--cooking classes/lessons --magic wand (I purchased a cheap one and my clients and I often laugh about it yet it also stimulates great discussions) --yoga gift certificate --pretty journal (there are some amazing leather bound ones that make great gifts) --comedy club tickets because laughing brings the blood sugar down and it's great stress relief;-)
Hana Feeney, MS, RD, CSSD,Nourishing Results, Tucson, AZ
Healthy cooking magazine subscriptions, such as Eating Well A food scale, I like the ones with nutrition information for those who are into numbers Portion plates Spice and herb blends Specialty teas Massages Acupuncture treatments A CSA share A community garden plot Gift cards to running, cycling or other fitness related stores Gift cards to natural grocery stores Pedometers, I’m checking a new one out that has multiple features called Striiv Healthy cookbooks
I just had a patient tell me she wanted to give her mother a gift certificate for acupuncture as a stocking stuffer. I told her I have gift certificates, but to also consider an acupuncture face lift. Many acupuncturists (myself included) do facial rejuvenation treatments.
Danielle Omar, MS, RD, Food Confidence, Fairfax, VA
My Busy Woman's Guide to Stress Free Grocery Shopping is a great gift! It's on sale this month, too!: -)
Sarah Jones, RYT I offer discounted private yoga lessons.
Meri Raffetto, RD, Real Living Nutrition, Temecula, CA My recently released book, The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Dummies, is available at amazon.com
Susan Van Dyke, MD,Van Dyke Laser and Skin, Paradise Valley, AZ
Give the gift of:
Purity Freedom from age spots and lines with Fraxel Dual (Susan Van Dyke, MD)
Self esteem Beautiful skin with Vivite Skin Care (Heather Anderson, RN) Sexiness Smooth legs without shaving with LightSheer Duet (Tina Villalobos, MA, Back Office Coordinator)
Youthfulness Facial volume in the right places with Sculptra Aesthetic (Sherry Rodgers, Office Manager)
Confidence Fuller, seamless skin with TNS Recovery: the collagen stimulator (Cameron Vessey, Aesth and Laser Tech)
Clarity Gorgeous Glow with Clear + Brilliant (Traci Lee, Front Office Coordinator)
Serenity Relaxed frown muscles with Botox or Dysport (Jessica McCarthy, MA)
Knowledge A VDLS seminar (and it is free!) (DeAnne Dunn, Aesth and Laser Tech)
Generosity VDLS gift certificates for everyone’s favorite products and procedures (Diane Davies, Front Office)
The entire Van Dyke Laser & Skin team wishes you a glorious holiday season!!!
Monika Woolsey, MS, RDIncyst, Phoenix, AZ and Santa Monica, CA
As for me? I second all and I hope my gift buyers are reading this! One suggestion I do have for Phoenix readers, is a gift certificate to Chow Locally. It's a twist on the farmer's market concept, you can create your grocery box online and pick it up at one of three metro locations. For anyone who loves the farmer's market but whose weekends are filled with other"to-do's", it's a great option.
Many thanks to all of our readers, network members, and fans for making this such a hugely successful year for inCYST! We are so looking forward to even bigger and better things in 2012.
I know, I know, that includes a lot of foods. I promise after the holidays, I'll get back to information about specific foods. But it being the holidays, and the relationships we have with food during the holidays not always being healthy, I wanted to digress today.
Part of the reason I want to digress is because I've had some wonderful food experiences this week. Monday a friend and her husband invited people over for a Caribbean holiday dinner. From the mango-cucumber-avocado salad with the peanut butter chutney dressing to the platanos to the almond paste…it was fabulous! And most of all, the conversation around the table was a wonderful way to spend a blustery winter evening.
Last night Ivonne, who sometimes posts on this blog, asked me to meet her and her fiance so she could share some gingerbread (made with stout) that she loves to make over the holidays. Again, we spent a couple of hours chatting and laughing in the coffeeshop of a local Barnes and Noble and just enjoyed the company. And, I had a delicious yet unconventional treat for breakfast this morning!
These are not foods I normally eat, but Christmas is not a normal time of year. The important thing is not what I ate. It was how what I ate blended into the rest of my life. I am still working out, but I'm not adding an extra hour to make up for the extra calories. I am still enjoying the food, but I'm not starving myself in between to"account" for the goodies. And, I haven't thrown up my hands in defeat and started eating and drinking everything in sight with a"What's the use, I've blown it?" kind of attitude.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that when your life is balanced, that is, you're eating a variety of foods in moderation, you're physically active, you're getting enough sleep, and you're managing your stress, an occasional Caribbean meal or gingerbread breakfast, in the long run, shows up as a slight blip on the screen, but it doesn't send off the warning bells. But, only if you TREAT it as a blip on the screen.
There's no need to punish yourself with extra exercise, starvation, guilt, whatever, because you took the time to enjoy the food that accompanied the festivities. Holidays are not an excuse to eat, and they're not a reason to punish yourself. They're about family, friends, reflection, and celebration.
I sure hope you've got Ivonnes, Gerdas, Joses, and family in your life to help you partake in the fun! (I'll talk about comfort food next week after my family celebration.)
I recently received a newsletter from one of our network members that I wanted to share with you. Karen Siegel, in addition to being a registered dietitian, is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. Her practice is located in Houston, Texas. She writes a wonderful newsletter entitled,"Qi Mail", which some of you might really enjoy. I am pasting the contents of her most recent newsletter for you to sample. Karen's contact information is listed below, if you'd like to schedule an appointment, or sign up to personally receive these wonderful newsletters. The actual layout is much more beautiful than what I can reproduce here, I can only paste the content in Blogger's format. As many of you are likely rushing around this weekend to get the last few holiday gifts, foods, and details taken care of, I thought this topic was especially pertinent. Enjoy!
REST, RESTORE, REVITALIZE
In nature, winter is the season where all living things slow down, conserve their energy and prepare for the outburst of new life and energy in the spring. Our bodies are instinctively expressing the fundamental principles of winter – rest, restoration and revitalization.
The Nei Ching, one of the earliest surviving medical books on acupuncture, advises: “During the winter months one should refrain from overusing energy. Retire early and get up with the sunrise, which is later in winter. Desires and mental activity should be kept quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret.”
Eating warm hearty soups, dressing warmly, and refraining from cold and raw foods is also recommended.
Element: Water Nature: Yin Organs: Kidney, Urinary Bladder, Adrenal Glands, Ears and Hair Emotion: Fear and Depression Flavor: Salty
Seasonal acupuncture treatments in winter serve to nurture and nourish kidney Qi (the organ associated with winter) which can greatly enhance the body's ability to thrive in times of stress and aid in healing, preventing illness, and increase vitality.
Call now for more information or to schedule your seasonal tune-up
De-stress this Winter with Acupuncture
While optimal health and well-being in the winter season calls for rest, energy conservation and the revitalization of body and spirit, your holiday activities may have a different agenda. This year can be filled with a mad scramble of visitors, family get-togethers and frantic shopping trips. Compound the usual seasonal pressures with the constant barrage of bad economic news and you may find this to be one of the most stressful times of the year.
Stress, frustration and unresolved anger can cause a disruption in the flow of qi or energy through the body. These energetic imbalances can throw off the immune system or cause symptoms of pain, sleep disturbances, mood changes, abnormal digestion, headaches, and menstrual irregularities, and, over time, more serious illnesses can develop. Acupuncture treatments can correct these imbalances and directly effect the way you manage stress.
Studies on Acupuncture and Stress
Numerous studies have demonstrated the substantial benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of stress.
A 2008 study published in Anesthesia & Analgesia found that acupuncture point alleviated preoperative anxiety in children while a 2003 study conducted at Yale University showed that ear acupuncture significantly lowered the stress level of the mothers of children that were scheduled for surgery.
A German study published in Circulation found that acupuncture significantly lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The extent of the blood pressure reductions by acupuncture treatments was comparable to those seen with antihypertensive medication or aggressive lifestyle changes, including radical salt restrictions.
Another study from the University of New Mexico measured the affects of acupuncture on 73 men and women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The researchers found the acupuncture treatments to be as helpful as the standard treatment of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Needless to say, if the stress in your life is throwing you off balance, consider acupuncture therapy to regain peace of mind, regulate your immune system and stay healthy.
Miso Soup with Scallions
Did you know that Miso Soup with Scallions is actually an ancient herbal remedy for colds?
In 300 AD famous herbalist, Ge Hong, writes about Miso Soup with Scallions in a book called, Bei ji zhou hou fang or Emergency Formulas to Keep Up One’s Sleeve.
The soup is indicated for the onset of a cold when a person is just beginning to feel a headache, stuffy nose and a slight fever. So, the next time you feel a cold coming on, be sure to have your miso!
Miso Soup (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
* 6 cups water * 3-4 Tablespoons Aka Miso or red soy bean paste (usually sold in the refrigerated section) * 3-5 green onions stalks, chopped
Directions:
* Dissolve the miso in a little bit of boiling water (about 2 tsp.) * Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and add the miso & scallions. * Simmer for 5-10 minutes. * Remove from heat top with green onions and serve.
Variations: you can add various other ingredients to make a more substantial soup, such as tofu, seaweed, fresh mushrooms, cooked shrimp, snow pea sprouts, cooked rice noodles, or paper-thin slices of fresh ginger.
Be a Good Friend Refer someone you know for acupuncture and get $10 off your next acupuncture treatment.
Stress Busting Foods
The foods that you eat play a crucial role in your overall well-being as well as your ability to handle stress.
Over 1400 chemical changes occur as stress hormones, such as cortisone, sap important nutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin C and magnesium from the body.
Here are three foods that can replenish your supply of these nutrients and enhance your ability to manage stress:
Cauliflower – Cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, and kale are chock full of stress-relieving B vitamins. Cauliflower is also one of the very best sources of vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid.
Pantothenic acid helps turn carbohydrates and fats into usable energy and improves your ability to respond to stress by supporting your adrenal glands. Fatigue, listlessness, numbness and tingling or burning pain in the feet are all indications that you may need more vitamin B5 in your diet.
Salmon – Salmon is a healthy and delicious way to get your dose of B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin B12 supports production of red blood cells, allows nerve cells to develop properly and is essential to the synthesis of the “happy” brain chemical serotonin.
Among the many benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, a 2003 study published in Diabetes & Metabolism found that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids significantly reduced the stress response and kept the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine in check.
Blackberries – Blackberries are jam packed with Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium. Vitamin C has shown to be a powerful stress reducer that can lower blood pressure and return cortisol levels to normal faster when taken during periods of stress.
Magnesium and calcium act together to help regulate the body's nerves and muscle tone. When there is too little magnesium in your diet, nerve cells can become over activated and can trigger muscle tension, muscle soreness, muscle spasms, muscle cramps, and muscle fatigue.
Blackberries have more than double the amounts of vitamin C, calcium and magnesium than their popular cousin, the blueberry.
We know that most of you who originally come to inCYST are looking for help with your infertility, your acne, your weight, and/or your depression. We take that seriously and we hope you find our information helpful, meaningful, and relevant.
That is our immediate goal.
We also have a much bigger picture in mind. One reason we believe you're having so much trouble with your hormone balance, is that you're living on a planet that has been so badly mistreated that it has trouble supporting healthy balance within all of you. Because of that, one of the most important things we hope to communicate through our mission, is that our choices have effects far beyond us, and those choices that best benefit the earth, have the most potential to resolve the more personal concerns that initially introduced you to us.
From the very beginning, I've believed that to the best of our ability, our recommendations for food and lifestyle are consistent with what you might see on a green living website. I've also been very aware that, with PCOS affecting 1 in 10 women, the shopping habits we culture have potential to collectively influence what kind of food is available for everyone on the planet to eat.
Because we are so pro-omega-3, we cannot ignore that the type of seafood we recommend must be sustainable. Earlier in the week a Huffington Post article reported that 40 species of fish (including one that is very popular in sushi) are on the verge of extinction, largely due to overfishing and pollution…reinforcing how what we do at inCYST needs to keep all of you healthy and keep the planet healthy enough so that goal #1 is even possible.
So I was super excited to receive an email yesterday, Earth Day eve, from our inCYST contact in Nashua, New Hampshire. I've come to know Pat Hunter and her counterpart Kristen Rioux through planning events to promote their new PCOS support group.
We had planned an event which was to occur on April 1, but which we have since rescheduled to the fall. The problem was, we had received a generous donation from Australis, producers of the high-omega and sustainably farmed barramundi, which we had intended to serve at lunch so that the women coming to our event would have an opportunity to try this fish. We didn't want to waste the food and we wanted to be sure that Australis was happy with their inCYST experience, so Pat and Kristen arranged to have two barramundi promotions in their employee cafeteria.
We thought Lent might be a nice time to try this, since most people are eating more fish then anyway. But we knew that New Englanders love their cod and wondered if they'd be open to something new and different. (We even joked around that a fun marketing tag line might be"Give up cod for Lent!")
I heard from Pat and Kristen yesterday and it turns out the fish was so well accepted they are now working to make it a regular menu item for their employees.
This is a change with potentially far-reaching effects. Anyone eating barramundi at work is more likely to think of it to prepare at home. The more demand for this fish increases in local stores, the more likely it is to start showing up on restaurant menus. And the more barramundi that is bought, the less stress and strain on other fish populations that may not be healthy enough to provide our demand for more seafood.
So thanks to Pat, Kristen, and especially Australis for making it so easy to give a new audience an opportunity to try a new, sustainable (not to mention tasty) food choice, and encourage its popularity to take hold, we are very enthusiastically celebrating Earth Day at inCYST.
If we've gotten your curiosity up, please check out the Australis website. Farmed seafood has a terrible reputation, but this operation has a whole lot of thought put into it. They have gone to great pains to describe their farm in detail to answer any questions you might have. You might be surprised at what you learn.
Happy Earth Day to all. Be kind to yourselves and the world around you…you depend on each other for survival!
Every year when Lent comes around, I'm reminded of my years working in an eating disorder treatment center. It was the time when my patients viewed the holiday as an excuse to indulge their disease. Over night, everyone seemed to become Catholic and want the special dietary rules to apply to them!
I decided to have a rule that other than the"fish on Friday" tradition, all Lenten sacrifices would have to relate to something other than food. After all, Lent is supposed to be a practice of sacrifice, and making it easier to live in your comfort zone is not really what Lent is about.
Here are ten sacrifices to consider that may indirectly have to do with food, but in a way that may allow you to come out of Lent with a new healthy habit that benefits you long after the 40 days it felt like a sacrifice.
Any behavior change is hard. The purpose of Lent is not to punish yourself, but to pull yourself out of living with a focus on yourself and turning it toward others. The healthier you feel, the more likely it is you will want to interact with others. And social support can, over the long haul, help to balance your hormones.
The beauty of Lent as compared to a New Year's resolution is, you only have to commit to 40 days. Then you can re-evaluate. There is something about the permanency of a New Year's resolution that almost insures its being broken. Lent is a way to try a new behavior on for size and evaluate if it works for you.
1. Give up negative self-talk
2. Put away excessive weighing on the scale
3. Instead of spending money on that nail job or that new eye shadow color, buy the fish oil. And take it!
4. Go to bed at a regular, earlier, hour.
5. Get up early and get to that yoga class on time.
6. Pack your lunch.
7. Limit your social networking time (Facebook, Twitter) and attend a new meetup group once a week. A group that has absolutely nothing to do with food, exercise, fertility, or PCOS.
8. Practice a daily random act of kindness.
9. Do something daily that has no purpose and is just plain fun!
10. Spend a little bit of extra money on organic household cleaning products.
A few weeks ago I was visiting my parents in Tucson. You could tell the holidays were coming, because the corner lots were all occupied by chili ristra vendors. These chilis, popular in the Southwest, are crafted into artistic wreaths and strands that hang on doors, gates, and walls, everywhere you look. Traditional wisdom says that a house with a ristra hanging out front is a happy household.
I thought this would make a fun food for a holiday greeting, and perhaps if we hung a ristra on this blog, we'd radiate electronic happiness and goodwill.
What is so great about chilis? Well…what isn't?
They are a great anti-inflammatory. Capsaicin, a compound in chilis, has been found to delay the onset of arthritis, and to be therapeutic for diabetic neuropathy. Both of these conditions are more likely to be issues in people prone to inflammatory disorders.
Chilis can reduce cholesterol and heart attack risk. They can reduce the risk of diabetes.
From a practical standpoint, chilis make food interesting. It's easy to eat healthfully if you like what you're eating!
Here is a recipe for Mexican Red Chile Sauce, a staple in New Mexico and excellent on pork…or leftover turkey.
Whether you like Mexican, Szechuan, Indian, or Thai food, don't forget the chilis.
OK! We've cruised past the candy corn…mastered the Thanksgiving pie…what is it about these nasty carbohydrate cravings that make it so darn hard to keep a respectful distance from all of these holiday sweets?!?!?
You may not be imagining things. And you may not be a nutrition wimp. Your body chemistry actually changes with the seasons.
Did you know, for example, cholesterol is actually higher on average midwinter than it is midsummer? Yup, so if you have your annual physical midwinter, get a high reading, and go on medications, the drop in your followup may not be entirely due to medication. It's just how nature does things.
One of the toughest seasonal changes is mood. Back in the days when we were more exposed to the elements, it probably made sense to want to be more sluggish and a little heavier. No need to waste body heat on exercise when we need it for warmth. And a little extra fat for insulation was more than welcome.
Nowadays, we prefer to have our weight be as stable as possible, and this time of year it can be hard to achieve that. About 20% of the population (and 4 times more women than men) experience such a radical shift in mood, hormones, and biochemistry, that they qualify for an official diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Symptoms include: tiredness, depression, crying spells, irritability, trouble concentrating, physical aches, decreased sex drive, trouble sleeping, less desire to be physically active, increased appetite (especially for carbohydrates), and weight gain.
I'm guessing that a pretty high percentage of the audience reading this is thinking,"But this is how I feel all the time!". If you have PCOS, that may be true, but it may become more intense…progressing to out of control…in the dark of winter. Here are some strategies to try to help you get through the winter solstice. Remember, from December 22 on…it's all uphill!
1. Check your vitamin D levels. Low vitamin D may be part of the problem. If it is, be sure to supplement.
2. Do your best to get outside. It's hard with short days and cold temperatures, but even a few minutes a day can make a difference. Even on a cloudy day! Ultraviolet rays are present even with cloud cover. Take advantage of them.
3. Consider phototherapy. I have recommended light devices for clients living in places like Seattle and Alaska, and they can work wonders. All they do is bring sunshine indoors. Working, studying, or reading the mail in the presence of one on a regular basis can help to promote a biochemistry similar to what you naturally experience in the summer.
4. If your SAD progresses to where the symptoms are incapacitating or dangerous, antidepressant therapy has also been found to be helpful. Ask your physician for a discussion about your options.
5. Of course, you know I'm going to say this…prioritize diet. Take advantage of comfort foody crockpot meals like chili, and lentil soup, to help keep your blood glucose stable. Don't forget the protein. It's easy to forget about protein in the mountain of Christmas candy and cookies we're about to tread through, but a little packet of Justin's Nut Butter or string cheese stashed in your purse or briefcase can work wonders for staving off those carbohydrate demons.
6. Don't panic. If you've noticed over the years that your weight naturally fluctuates 5, even 10 pounds between winter and summer, and it naturally self-corrects without radical dieting, you are simply in tune with Mother Nature. Appreciate the fact that you can get by with fewer bulky sweaters and scarves to stay warm, and don't get caught up in unhealthy eating and exercise habits to try and"fix" what is likely a completely natural phenomenon.
Golden, R.N., B.N. Gaynes, R.D. Ekstrom, et al."The Efficacy of Light Therapy in the Treatment of Mood Disorders: A Review and Meta-analysis of the Evidence." Am J Psychiatry 162 (2005): 656-662.
Both Jews and Christians are celebrating Holy Days this week, and since I've never written about Jewish eating, I thought it would be interesting to learn more.
One of the wonderful things about Jewish cuisine is, that in its most historical form, it is the original Mediterranean diet! Hummous, tabouli, nuts, many of the foods you eat year round, regardless of your religious persuasion, originated in the Middle East. So in general, a diet using foods native to Israel and its surroundings is going to be quite healthy.
Of course, as with all cultures, modernization has altered these foods the way our ancestors enjoyed them, and those less healhy tweaks tend to appear at holiday time. So I wanted to share some links I found with many suggestions for making sure your Seder celebration enhances, rather than derails, other goals you are working for whether or not it is the holidays.
Here is a link for vegan ideas, including vegan matzoh ball soup, apple charoset, sweet potato kugel, even chocolate matzo.
Martha Stewart's website offers a collection of healthy Seder side dishes, including Brussels sprouts with pears and a parsnip-apple mash.
And of course, what is Passover without matzobrei? I fell in love with matzobrei while attending college in New York. For this Southwestern girl, it was like Jewish chilaquiles! (No jalapenos, of course). I'm back out West these days, but matzobrei followed me and makes a great addition to my repertoire. A few simple tweaks and you've got a great hormone-friendly breakfast. I adapted this recipe from one I found on Yummly.comhttp://www.yummly.com/
6 whole wheat matzos 6 omega-3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill (chopped) 2 onions 2 red bell peppers 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Break matzos into roughly 1-inch pieces into a colander, then rinse under hot tap water until pieces are softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
Lightly beat eggs with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon dill in a large bowl and stir in matzos until coated well.
Cook onions and peppers in oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add matzo mixture, then increase heat to moderately high and sauté, stirring frequently and breaking up clumps, until matzos are well browned, about 17 minutes. Season with salt, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon dill.
May you all enjoy your Passover celebrations this week!
The following blog post was written by a woman with PCOS. I know many of you feel this way. My response is at the bottom.
Dear (trainer) Kevin, Mamavation moms, Bookieboo, and (dietitian) Monika,
I did not work out today as intended. I meant to, I swear.
I’ve been doing great! Hour long walks to train for March for Babies, grueling sessions with pilates at home, and a killer interval-training session at the gym that actually made me cry when I hit muscle failure.
But see, when I woke up I had just enough time to get Buttercup to her first swim class. Which required me to keep her 33lbs afloat for 45 minutes. Which seriously, is probably why my arms are currently feeling like Jello.
If Jello hurts, that is.
But back to the crazy day and my really good excuse(s) for not getting to that 20-minute pilates DVD I promised I was going to do today. After swim class, I carried Buttercup’s sleeping self into bed where she enjoyed a 3.5 hour nap. During my break from motherhood, I meant to work out. I really was going to. But first I had to make the brownies. And the cupcakes. And the fudge. After I went to the grocery store, of course, for the crap on my list I meant to buy yesterday and we really don’t need to get into that whole mess.
So after I successfully escaped from the special hell that is a major grocery store the day before any holiday, I came home. And then I made the brownies. And the cupcakes. And the fudge.
Then it was dinner time. Then we had to clean up after dinner time.
And then it was time to dye the Easter eggs and carefully explain to Buttercup that no, the eggs we were dying do not contain baby birdies that will hatch after the Easter Bunny comes which makes me think tomorrow is really going to be interesting and I might need to start looking for a therapist for my daughter on Monday.
Okay, so that’s when I was going to work out. After all, things were done now, right? Right?
Almost.
Because see, we’re grilling tomorrow. A nice Easter lunch barbecue with rib-eye and veggie kabobs and a very real need for a filled propane tank. Which I didn’t realize we already had until I got to the Quickmart with the so-obviously-heavy-I-should-have-known-it-was-full-tank and the kind cashier gently informed me that I could have my $26 back.
And then I got home (again) and it was time to help my mom with the kitchen and then of course, at 8:30, I took Buttercup up to bed. Where, I should point out, she normally passes out after one book. I should also point out she normally does not take 3.5 hour naps.
And after two books and 65 renditions of “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” (thanks to the lyrics I had pulled up on my blackberry which I always keep in my bra) she finally did pass out. At 10 p.m.
So I sneaked out and headed downstairs, grateful to find The Husband had managed to nuke the dinner I forgot to mention I prepared for him and ate it all on his own! But I still had to do my nightly Mexican June Cleaver routine and prep his cooler with a sammich and goodies for his midnight shift. And after I finished that, I sat down to prep Buttercup’s Easter basket. The old one, mind you. Her new Elmo Bunny basket is the one going to church with us so we don’t have to worry about any hip-checking incidents like last year during the Easter egg hunt.
And then I kissed The Husband good-bye and, like, totally planned on working out then.
But the kitchen floor was gross. So mom vacuumed. And then I steam mopped. And then we both realized that the fridge was nasty inside and our guests will think we’re cave people and we had no room for all the goodies I baked, so we emptied, cleaned, and rearranged.
And then I looked at the clock and thought I was a fucking lunatic if I was even going to attempt to do pilates at 12:30 a.m. when I had church the next day.
So I sat down to blog instead.
Sincerely,
Pauline
Dear Pauline,
I think you had a marvelous day. You spent it with Buttercup. You spent it with your mother. You spent it with your husband. And it was filled with love.
You created memories. You took the time to record those memories so they would never be forgotten.
And, for the record, just because lifting a 33 pound child in her swim class enough times to turn your arms to jello isn't something you see in Jillian Michaels' videos, doesn't mean you didn't get exercise.
Give yourself credit for being surrounded with all that Easter goodie stuff without eating any of it.
And enjoy the grilled food you made for Easter dinner!
There's more than enough guilt in the world to go around. Any trainer who would fault you for the day you prioritized above doesn't understand something very important. If you eat perfectly and work out perfectly, but your life is emotionally and spiritually empty, it doesn't really matter. Fill your spiritual and emotional cups, and somehow the rest will usually fall into place. Life is not about being perfect, it is about being fulfilled.
Keep the blog posts coming. You always put a smile on my face.
Sincerely,
Monika
Pauline's blog can be found atwww.aspiringmama.com
I've never experienced infertility. I was overweight as a child/teen, but I've been the same weight for most of my adult life. I'm relatively healthy. I'm not saying this to intimidate anyone, but rather to share an insecurity I've had about what I do for a living.
I always wonder how in the world women who have those issues can even find me relevant and helpful if I've never had to experience them?
The last two months have presented me with a situation that, even though it may not be apparent on the outside, has very much changed me on the inside. I've learned a lot about control, gratitude, and what is truly important in life.
And I feel like this journey, challenging as it is, is molding me into someone better equipped to help the people who come to inCYST for help.
Regular readers of the blog will remember that I wrote about my sick kitty in October. I thought I was dealing with a simple urine crystal issue that a diet change would fix. I'm a dietitian, I know how to change diets. This was simple, or so I thought.
Well, Rodeo simply never recovered from the crystal incident. He would not eat. He became lethargic. About a month after the vet visit, I noticed, he just wasn't breathing well. Being the data fiend that I am, I started monitoring his respirations. They seemed stable, so I figured maybe he was allergic to the new diet he'd been prescribed for his urine crystals. I changed back to the old diet and waited to see if he responded.
Then he crashed. I got the last appointment on a Friday evening with his vet, and learned that he was dealing with one of four potential diagnoses. One was a fungal infection (no problem), one of those was a 100% fatal virus (that would require euthanasia), one was cancer (fatal over time), one was heart disease (manageable but life-shortening).
I had to wait almost a week for the pathology report to come back, and to get an appointment for an ultrasound with a cardiologist. (Yes, my cat has more specialists in his Rolodex than I do at this point).
The good news is, it's not the fatal virus, and it's not cancer, but it is heart disease, and it's a serious problem. There is no cure, but there is a lot I can do to manage the situation.
Sound familiar?
I told the vet,"If you can give me heart disease, I'll take heart disease. I can do that." Two sentences I never, ever envisioned coming out of my mouth at any point in my life.
I can tell you this. I have a reputation for being pretty even-keeled in even the most adversarial of situations. During my eating disorder treatment center gig, it was not uncommon for cans of Ensure to be flung my way after a tough counseling session. Nothing phases me after that!
But the night I came home from the vet with a couple of medications and no idea what was happening, I laid on my bed and cried my heart out. I didn't even notice that Rodeo had jumped up on the bed. He felt like crap, and he was sitting there trying to take care of me. I realized, of my two kitties, he is the one most affected by my emotions. And here he was, more concerned about me than about the X-ray, the aspiration, and all the poking and prodding he'd been through.
That was reality check #1. I knew I needed to allow myself to feel what I was feeling, but I needed to learn how to do it in a way that didn't turn itself back on the problem in a negative way.
As I imagine has happened with many of you, my life changed in a mere instant. I became hyper aware of respiratory rates, fluid intake, food intake, urine output, medication times…my life was filled with new details I had no choice but to learn to live with.
Even though I run a business, it's the holidays, and I had committed to coordinating vendors for a huge market here in Phoenix. Even though my five major plans for December revenue pretty much collapsed within days of getting the kitty diagnosis. Somehow, I had to figure out how to make it all work.
This is where I started thinking of all of you. How many of you readers are busy, successful women, juggling a million different responsibilities, happily living out your lives…when you're told you have to start monitoring what you eat, when you eat it, when you ovulate, when you menstruate, what your blood glucose number is…and on top of it all, every expert on the planet expects you to figure out when to work out, to plan the perfect meal combination, each and every meal, to buy the supplements, and on top of it, manage your anxiety, frustration, and anger over the situation?
Do these health professionals even have a clue? Did I ever have a clue with any of my clients I thought I was helping with inCYST? That's what's been going on in my head in the two months since Rodeo's diagnosis.
Reality check #2 for me was realizing what I was doing any time I had a free moment, especially during the week when I didn't know what I was dealing with. I found myself surfing the Internet, Googling symptoms, reading everything I could find about lymphoma and cardiomyopathy, looking for the worst in kitty, looking for anyone, anyone at all, who could tell me that there was a supplement or pill I could give him that would just make this all go away.
That behavior is known as magical thinking. It is a very common thing to do when faced with a situation that leaves you feeling cornered. Getting older. Cancer. Weight that won't come off. Infertility. It's about trying to find something, anything at all, that can give you the illusion that you're in control of something. Note that I used the word illusion. You're really not in control. You've transferred your need to be in control of outcome to a concrete, more manageable option. That's all. The only thing magical thinking succeeds at, is allowing us to avoid the pain of a situation. In many cases, it keeps us distracted from constructive and helpful things we can be doing.
So…knowing from working with all of you that this is what I was doing, I told Rodeo's vet what I do for a living, that I'm a real biochem nerd, and that I was probably dealing with my stress by reading waaay too much about cardiomyopathy. I told him at any time I was becoming annoying and intefering with his treatment plan and Rodeo's progress, he had permission to put me in my place. We negotiated a few things I wanted to try, one we're using, most we're not.
And I am adhering completely to what the doctor ordered. Even if it means staying up past my bedtime to get a med in, even if it means passing on a social invitation if it interferes with the treatment plan, even if it means using money I wanted to spend on something else to buy medication. The vet is not cheap. But he's incredibly smart. If kitty is going to get better, I can't be bargaining with him because of the inconvenience the instructions impose on my life as I wish it was.
Reality check #3 has been about how much control issues can be triggered when life throws a curve ball. We can do everything exactly perfectly. And Rodeo has a bad day. Or Rodeo can go dumpster diving, eat a fish head, throw it up, and be perfectly fine. At least for a day. How Rodeo feels today, is not at all about what I did for him this morning. It is about the consistency of what we do over time.
Oh, I'm so embarrassed to even be saying this, but this simple reality took me awhile to"get". I wanted him to always breathe perfectly. To eat when I gave him the food. To love the deli turkey. It doesn't happen that way. Some days he eats like he's the size of Zenyatta, other days, nothing strikes his fancy. I have had to learn to roll with it, and to not view one incident as failure, but as a challenge to figure out what another option might be.
On the days when things don't go as planned, I have to adjust my life. Yesterday morning, for example, meds did not go in at 8 am as scheduled. I spent 4 hours getting them in, but realizing that the four hours it took to make that happen was four hours I'd planned to spend making my contribution for a holiday potluck I was to attend tonight…I made the choice to cancel my attendance, focus on medication, and spend the evening tonight taking care of myself here at home.
Reality check #4. You know what happened when I stopped stressing about how I was going to do both the medications and the potluck and OMG what happens if I'm at the potluck and he bottoms out?!?!?! Rodeo settled in to one of the absolute best respiratory patterns and ate better for me than he did all week. I suspect he picked up on my more relaxed demeanor and was able to put energy into himself that he was putting into me. Some of the things I am inadvertently doing affect kitty as much, if not more, than the things I am supposed to be doing.
Reality check #5. I sometimes find myself getting annoyed at people complaining about things that now seem minor in the big scheme of things. All these people complaining about having to much to do for Christmas? In my eyes they are lucky they are able to participate. I have to remind myself, their situations are different and even though I might envy them, in their own scenarios are lessons from the Universe in action that may not include a cat. Still working on that one.
There are many early Christmas gifts this situation has brought me.
First of all, I have kitty happily sleeping on the bed today. He doesn't fit into a stocking and probably wouldn't consent to it if he did…but he's here compliments of two of Santa's finest elves…er…angels in elves' clothing, Dr. Oyan and Dr. Paige.
Secondly, my priorities, as healthy as I thought they were, needed some addressing. I have been able to let go of situations that I simply have no time to accommodate. I have more time to myself, since I'm home more, and that has given me quiet time to think about what inCYST will be for all of you in 2011. I hope you like the inspirations you'll see in the next 12 months.
Thirdly, I feel like I have a much better idea of what it is that you all need from inCYST in the first place. I am still at a disadvantage for not having experience every single thing you all have exactly as you have, but I have been humbled, I'm dealing with a challenge, and it cause me to consider every inCYST choice I make in an entirely different fashion. Humility is never a bad thing on which to base intention.
Fourthly, I've learned that it's not always bad if success has to be redefined. Of course I'd love it if there was a cure for cardiomyopathy. But there isn't. I can be angry about it, not follow the vet's instructions because I managed to find an obscure website on the Internet that contradicted them, turn to supplements which would put more control in my hands than his, or do nothing and hope the Calgon cardiomyopathy fairy will just swoop in and whisk us away to Kitty Tahiti.
None of that is going to happen. I got over it, decided to listen to the vet, and to redefine success as staying informed, being proactive and communicative with new information, and to the best of my ability, prioritize my life so that I can enact the recommendations I've been provided with. It's slowly turning things around. Not curing them. But, gratefully, allowing kitty to breathe. Oxygen in heart cells…is a lot more important than a complete and total cure. We have learned to think simply.
Finally, I still don't know what it is like to be infertile, not be able to lose weight, or live with insulin resistance. But at least I am more aware of how important it is to always remember that no matter who are you are, when you look to inCYST for help, guidance, support, inspiration, your story, especially the part we don't know about, or cannot immediately relate to, is important to consider in everything we say and do.
I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday season, whatever customs you practice.
One last thing. To all of my friends who are tired of hearing me talk endlessly about the cat, now that he's stabilizing I can get back to the gym and put the stress there. I appreciate all of your ears and support.
We’re now in the thick of the holiday season, and we’re socializing, eating too much of the wrong things, and talking about gratitude and miracles. At Thanksgiving, in particular, we gave thanks for the year’s blessings. Our loved ones, homes, jobs, and perhaps our health were on the list. For me, this has been a dramatic and miraculous year, when it comes to health.
In August, I was accidentally infected with pasteurella as a result of the bacteria entering my hand through some broken skin while I was pilling my cat. Although I cleaned it and put antibacterial ointment on it, a large purplish black welt quickly formed on my finger, followed by heat, redness, and streaking up to the knuckles, which are classic signs of infection. By the time I reached the emergency room, the streaking had gone to my elbow. This was a terrifyingly quick-moving infection that was threatening to go systemic. The only possible treatment was antibiotics, and lots of them — immediately.
Now, I am loathe to resort to antibiotics unless they’re absolutely necessary – but it did occur to me that I could actually lose my hand, arm, or life – which is exactly what would have happened a hundred years ago. I surrendered to four types of IV antibiotics, a six-day hospital stay, and emergency surgery to save the function of my right index finger. Although my hospital stay was fraught with complications, I am eternally grateful for the miracle of Western medicine and its powerful antibiotics. I have faced other extreme infections in my life, but this was the most serious I’ve ever dealt with. I really do feel it’s a miracle I’m alive.
However, it’s not just these big drama moments in our lives that are miracles. Every moment, I’m a miracle, and so are you. We survive trauma, abuse, bad upbringings, alcoholism and other forms of addiction, PCOS, incompatible spouses, cancer, sick children, and elderly relatives with dementia. We work, we care for ourselves and others, and we do what we can in spite of often seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We struggle through challenging courses in school, minor or major health crises, mental illness, financial downturn, and intense disappointments. We get through the day when it seems as if the day will never end. We restrain our tempers, our tongues, and our appetites. We drive ourselves forward, making giant strides on some days, or crawling on our knees on other days. We survive. We try to thrive.
Instead of lamenting your weight, the size of your thighs, the incredibly annoying behavior of your ADHD child, the way your husband never brings you flowers, your highly imperfect boss, or the fact that you’ve got this damn thing called PCOS, I wonder what it would be like if you instead asked yourself, “How am I a miracle today?” The shift will be powerful. You’ll appreciate yourself more, and love yourself a little more easily. Your self-esteem will soar, when you realize precisely how miraculous you are, right here, in this moment, and always.
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She has completed the inCYST training. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at AskDrHouseMD@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.
Hazelnuts have always been around my house. When I was a little girl we even had a dog who knew how to crack them open and enjoy the kernel inside! They're a common ingredient in holiday cooking, which has me thinking of hazelnuts a lot right now.
Hazelnuts are not as commonly known in the United States as other nuts, but they are a great PCOS-friendly food to become acquainted with. Hazelnuts are very high in monounsaturated fatty acids, putting them in a category similar to macadamia nuts, olives, and avocadoes.
In addition, they are a good source of iron, calcium, zinc, and potassium.
You can enjoy them the way Coco used to, simply cracking them open and eating them, or you can grind them into powder to use in baked goods, breading for fish and poultry, and salad dressings…anywhere you might use ground flaxseeds. (I like the way my coffee tastes after I've ground hazelnuts then coffee in my coffee grinder!)
Here's a great recipe for hazelnut pad thai from the Hazelnut Council. To make it even more PCOS friendly, try it with Shirataki Noodles and use either hazelnut oil or canola oil for cooking.
Thought I would bring a psychotherapist's perspective to treating PCOS. In the past few months I have attended three scientific conferences and one practitioners conference on PCOS. The one unanimous and certain recommendation from every one of them was 'lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle'. But what does that mean? Does it mean eat less and exercise more? Does it mean feel shame when you indulge in holiday egg nog this season? No. Lifestyle to me means just that…style your life. Make changes to honor your life and take care of your chronic condition. Attached is an outline I wrote to help me explain and promote 'Lifestyle' to my clients.
Treating PCOS: Lifestyle for Success A Psychotherapist's Approach Stacy Korfist, LMFT L is for the lifestyle change that is critical to make. No more diets, no more ‘someday’. Lifestyle change obviously includes nutrition and exercise, but it also includes stress management, adopting a new way of living, a new way of coping and a new way of playing that is essential.
I is for Identity. This is your sense of self; your self esteem. This includes facing anxiety and depression. Setting appropriate boundaries helps you to claim yourself. I is also for Integrity. No more broken promises to yourself or others. They only lead to self deprecation and more shame and depression. Be a person of your word.
F is Food & Feelings. Eat when you are hungry; stop when you are full. Understand the thoughts and ideas which fuel eating behaviors. Learn all you can about insulin resistance. Don’t be fooled into another diet that is too difficult to sustain. See a dietitian that knows about polycystic ovarian syndrome.
E is the Education and knowledge that you must obtain in order to take care of yourself. PCOS is a chronic condition, not one that requires only medication. YOU must be your own case manager. PCOS involves almost every organ in your body. Learn about lab work and what your results mean. Don’t assume your treatment team is aware of your ‘whole self’. Trust yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Remember, PCOS is a syndrome, a squirrely disorder which pops up in many places.
S is for Support and Healthy Environment. Surround yourself with encouraging people and rid yourself of as much conflict and chronic stress as possible. Pay a little more for organic food and avoid false estrogens in plastics and cleaning products.
T is Teamwork. You can’t do this alone. Ask for help, make plans ahead and let others help you. Being strongly-weak will get you so much farther than being weakly-strong. Assess your treatment team. Are you being seen by too many providers; broken up into too many pieces? Are you taking too many medications?
Y is for YES! Yes is the attitude to have. In order to avoid deprivation backlash, it’s important to focus on what you can have versus what you cannot have. Live with full passion. Y is also for Yesterday. Let go of yesterday and focus on today and tomorrow. Having a positive future-focus will help achieve successful endeavors.
L is for Lower Threshold, not lower calories. Although weight loss is important for some, reducing calories too much can prove counter-productive. People with PCOS can have a lower threshold for oxidative stress. It doesn’t take as much to put the body in stress mode. Exercising too much or restricting too little are stressful on the body. When you do this, you often experience backlash and yo-yo weight gain.
E is for Energy and Experiential Therapies. Learn mindfulness skills. Occupy your body. Achieve mind-body congruity. Change requires an awakening. We awaken in movement, awaken in relationship and awaken in journaling and art. This allows us to be with ourselves, in our own space. It teaches us self monitoring and self regulation, which slows down reactivity.
Stacy Korfist, LMFT Redondo Beach, California (310) 720-6443 info@pcosnetwork.com
Here's a snack with potential benefit other than immediate gratification!
Dark chocolate covered tart cherries. Dark chocolate is a great antioxidant. So are tart cherries.
Of course, if you eat them by the bucketful the cost of the choice can begin to outweigh the benefit.
But in moderation--even a couple thrown into a smoothie--you're doing better than you might imagine.
You can even take the cue from the photo and make your own, which allows you to dip the cherries in more chocolate and less sugar than pre-prepared versions might contain.
Here's a link to an online cherry store where you can buy some, if you can't find them in your local market.
I'm still trying to figure out why my clients have trouble with healthy eating. It's so tasty when you do it well!
