Great News, but it's still not over. :)

Last week was a great one due to my 6 month follow up with my doctor to check my glucose levels and see if once again I am diabetic or not. I have been watching what I eat but I do admit sometimes I have my days where I just want something sweet. As always though, I just let that day roll off my shoulders and continued to eat healthy, try to bring up my immune system with probiotics, spirulina, and chylorphyll and prayed for the best. As I waited for my doctor to come in; I was nervous. At the same time, I believed in myself that I wasn't going to be diabetic because I have been taking care of my weight and my health. My doctor came in and told me "Judy, I looked over your blood test results and you are not diabetic." The sense of relief just filled my eyes up with tears. Then he says, "You’re not out of the woodworks but I can safely say your are no longer borderline." I thanked him and he set up my annual exam in June. My new goal is to bring my sugar down another 10 points and lose some more weight to really put myself in a great healthy position.

I couldn't believe it, what one hard year of change in diet, exercise, focus, and pure will power has done for me . I'm not diabetic. I'm happy but it's only the beginning, I can't just start eating what ever I want again. I must continue to work on my eating habits and one of my goals is to really give up on all sugar. Unless it's from fruits or something like that and make that to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, due to my dad's side of the family having diabetes I am stuck with that risk for the rest of my life. Seeing some of my closest friends and co-workers suffer from the effects of poor diet, not taking care of themselves etc. has made me realize that I never want to make my family suffer like that because I didn't take the time to take care of "me".

To the people, that are doing what you can to be healthy, good for you! To those that aren't I urge you to get checked by your doctor and get a physical, do bloodwork and make sure everything is okay. There are too many individuals that haven't even gone to a physical check-up in years. Why? Because you feel okay? Try to think of how your family member, spouse, children, who believe when you say "I'm Okay." how they would feel seeing you on a hospital bed and not knowing why you are laying there. Until, the doctor comes and tells you, your loved one was not taking care of themselves and they have Hypertension, Diabetes, or their Kidneys are not functioning, their anemic, or they have to have dialysis. The list can go on and on. What I'm saying is, it's up to you to decide your fate and your health. Nobody else. So if you feel that you need to eat that Whopper Meal and make it KING SIZE fries, and drink. You are not thinking about your family or yourself. Nevertheless, it's your life and your body, do as you please. Remember this, your body will tell you when it's tired of what your doing to yourself. You could end up in a hospital bed. That's an expensive lesson to learn. Are you ready for that? Not me...

That's all I have today. I got great news last week but today I'm drinking peppermint tea, with my Lara Bar snack and having a great week. If you haven't tried a Lara bar. Minimal ingredients and just plain good. They are the only bar I can truly say is completely healthy for you. TRY ONE They are AWESOME!



Thanks for reading. See you next time.

Juicing is it worth it?

Juicing has been one thing that lots of people talk about that it sooo good for you. My first juicing experience was when I took my mom's 1990's juicer and bought some mangos, apples, oranges and tried to make this incredible juice. What actually came out was a lot of gunk from the skins and barely any juice. It wasn't even that great when I tried it. So needless to say, I dumped my mom's juicer and decided that it wasn't for me. I didn't want to invest in a $500+ juicer and just yet. So today I went to the Home & Garden show in Orlando with my hubby and as I'm walking I see this guy who is making all these things in the VitaMix blender. I watched him make this smoothie with grapes, banana, cantaloupe, orange, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and ice. This blender blended with seeds of the cantaloupe, the white skins of the orange and guaranteed that no seeds will be in the smoothie. As I waited I heard that how by keeping the seeds and the skins give the juice more vitamins and anti-oxidants to the body. My hubby wanted to leave but I asked him to stay because I was dying to try this smoothie. When he finally served it he mentioned about all the fiber this smoothie has. I still wanted to try it. When I tasted it, it was smooth and not to sweet but not bad either. My hubby tried it and I think he actually liked it too. When we found out how much this cost we left. Blender at the show - $400 with a cookbook on how to make smoothies, soups and ice cream. Bummer...

As the day went by today, I kept thinking how could I make a smoothie that would taste good but still add the fiber and nutrients I need. I started cooking and as i'm making the vegetables. (I had broccoli, orange & red peppers and carrots) I looked at my blender and I thought "Let's try it" I took some broccoli, and carrots and threw it in the blender. I also grabbed some frozen blueberries, and strawberries from the freezer and added them. I took some fresh OJ and Apple cider and put it in the blender. I looked at it and said to myself, do it! I started to blend it. I blended it for 3 minutes, while I was waiting for it I wondered it can't taste too bad. When I poured it in the glass, I tried it and other than it being very thick it tasted good. You can't taste the broccoli or see it. The only thing is that it was thick. Overall, I think it came out pretty good. :) So for those of you that want to juice things. Use the blender, leave it in there to really blend it, you'll be able to drink away to your health. :)

Stay tuned for more blogging. Happy Juicing!

Grief and how it affects how you eat.

I haven't written in a while but lots of things have been happening. As our economy tries to come back from a recession. Many companies are doing things to help rebuild. Such as mine, it has decided to do what they call a "Spin-off" and create 2 companies vs. one. What does that mean? It means where I worked for 20 years now may be lost because the affiliate I work for will become a franchise. It was a low blow for me when I heard and read about it in our daily newsletters. To think that I worked 20 years for a company and that it's all possibly gone due to a split. It was not a good day for me on 2/15/2011. I Was very confused and my mind told me to do something that I haven't done in a long time. Yup, I opened a coke can and drank it. (I know you probably thought I was going to drink , nope) What was funny is I did miss the whole thing of drinking soda but I immediately made me a cinnamon tea to regulate my sugar levels and drank it shortly after the coke. It was the only thing I thought about doing when this happened to me.

That same day I went to visit my acupuncturist Dr. O'Shaughnessy and I told her about my day and what had happened. She even asked me "Did you eat something bad?" and I said yes. She was like , "What was it?" (she had that "OMG What did you eat look") I told her "I drank a Coke." She was like "That's it? I thought you would of eaten some Chocolate Cake or something." I told her no and also told her how I drank Cinnamon tea afterwards to reverse the blood sugar. She laughed and began to give me treatment. She did some *cupping, and acupuncture to help me with grief and some other stress relieving pins to help me through the week. As I laid there with the cupping I wondered how is it that if I go to my regular doctor they really wouldn't give me or do anything to help me with my grief. Maybe give me a pill to sleep or relax. I come to a acupuncturist and they try to help me relax and relief me from whatever ails me. It's crazy but I feel grateful to have met this Doctor that cares about keeping me "in balance" and not so much in pushing me to take pills. She even gave me some "Detox" soup that she is making that is all natural and helps clean the blood, your insides and cleans you out. She has this whole set of soups that helps all the body systems. She has them for your metabolism, adrenal glands, blood, colds, skin, etc. All from veggies that we buy at the store and by having the right combination you can cleanse and let your body heal itself. It's crazy but I love what she offers. I left happy, relieved and revived from my difficult day.

Yesterday morning I missed a call from my mother. My mother never calls and I was very scared of what I was going to hear. When I called her, she told me my 12 year old dog Lucky passed away around 3am. I was very sad, but at the same time relieved that he wouldn't be suffering anymore from the Cushing's disease he had. I told my husband and before I went to work I rushed to my parents to see my doggie that I brought home 12 years ago and pay my last respects to him. He was a sweet dog and I loved him very much. As I left to go to work I said to myself Day 2, another day of grief. This time when I went to work I didn't drink any soda, I did my daily routine and had no urge to eat anything sweet. It's funny cuz I wonder if it was the acupuncture? Was it my own body telling me, you don't need that sugar? Who knows but honestly I'm happy to feel like my body is finally realizing that I don't need to eat sugar to suffice my grievances. I just need some time, and maybe a few moments to cry and realize that life goes on. Don't eat your sorrows away. I made it through by writing a note on Facebook about my dog and let it all go. It was nice to see all the comments from people giving me condolences and advice. I got through it and I was able to let go my sadness and move forward.

I guess if we sit and think about it what's the purpose of eating a whole pint of Ice cream when we are sad, lonely, or grieving? What does it give you? Happiness? To me it would give me a belly ache.

Till the next time. Thanks for reading.

Here is a link to explain what *cupping does.
http://acupuncturetoday.com/abc/cupping.php

What would you try?

Throughout the years, I have tried many things to lose weight. From weight-loss pills to eating salad w/ lemon and shredded turkey for 30 days. I've tried it all. It took me to meet an acupuncturist to make start thinking maybe I need to change what I eat and understand that sometimes you have to let your body heal itself.

Here is something I tried 1 year ago.

When I first met my ACU Dr. Michelle O'Shaunessy, I purchased one of those $60 get 4 treatments of acupuncture and whatever else services they provide. First time I met her I was overweight, always tired, etc. and I decided to try one of her treatments. She gave me a full run down of what was wrong with me. Told me I had a "fire" in my stomach and that I needed to start to do some things to change the way I eat. She spoke to me for about 30 minutes before she even did anything with the acupuncture. At first, I didn't know what to think but I got my treatment and left. Second time I came I took a facial treatment with acupuncture. It was refreshing and I recalled when she was putting needles in me. She says, "your liver is not happy with you, (there was a pressure point she touched me and it felt like she drove a nail in my bone very painful) have you been eating alot of carbohydrates this week?" I said, "I'm not sure", she asked me what I ate last night for dinner, breakfast, and lunch for that day. I can't remember what I told her. She then said, "hmmm may I recommend something to you to see if it helps you out?" I said sure. Then as I laid and waited for the facial mud mask to harden and my body to relax from the needles. She wrote out this receipe for me.

1 cup of cabbage
1 cup of carrots
1 cup of acorn squash
1 cup of onions
4 1/2 cups of water

She told me to take those ingrediates and let the boil for 10 minutes. Strain and let them cool down. Drink 4 oz a day for 4 days. Come back and see me in 2 weeks and we will check that pressure point and see if it helps. At first, I thought this is crazy how can broth from these simple vegetables can take away that sharp pain I felt on my leg. I was a good girl and made the broth. It didn't taste bad, just like a very bland veggie broth with no salt. It was a tad sweet from the squash. She told me I could eat the veggies too on the side and that was good. Did I have any issues? Not really, I noticed that I went to the bathroom more frequently and it wasn't a bad experience. I did feel that my body was taking "cleaning out" a lot. I did my first 4 days and afterwards I didn't know if I should of done it for 2 weeks. I did it just in case. I went back to her 2 weeks later and she did her routine checks, and she asked me did you take the soup receipe and drink it. I told her yes and I did it twice because I didn't know if I needed to. She was surprised and she said "Let see how your liver feels today." She grabbed my leg and touched that area that felt so bad when she touched it. Crazy enough, that awful pain was not painful at all. She grabbed it and really put pressure on it to see how I felt and it was soar but a dull pain. She then told me. "Well Judy, it's better but not yet where I want it to be but i'll take it for now. You need to take care of your adrenal and lymphatic systems. I told her I would. That was just the beginning of what I started to take care of me.

That's all for now. I'll continue my stories with Dr. O'Shaunessy soon. If you are in the Orlando area and would like to see her you can go to her website.


http://www.aestheticacupunctureclinic.com (copy and paste link)

She also sells Herbal Soups at your local Chamberlain's Supermarkets if you want to try it.

http://www.healingherbalsoups.com (copy and paste link)

Glycemic Index my bible to eating healthier.

As promised here is the Glycemic Index that I use to determine what i'm eating and how much sugar I could be consuming. For those who are diabetics we are to eat fruits and vegetables that are in the Low Index. You can do the Medium Index sparingly, just be aware of what your eating and exercise a little bit more to burn off those sugar carbs in your body.

This guide I got from the "The Diet Solution Manuel" This book really taught me a lot and made me realize why I had to change my habits. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to make that commitment and change. It will be hard but in the end you'll feel awesome!

One thing that I haven't mentioned yet here is. Exercise plays a big role in this. Which alot of us can say is one of the hardest thing to get motivated to do. I will blog soon about my experiences are and what I try to do to keep up.

Thanks for reading have a wonderful weekend.

Thoughts about shopping healthy.

After writing yesterday, I began to think about how one can say. It's difficult to eat healthy because everything is so expensive. To a certain extent it is true, but you can find some deals if you just look for them. I went to Whole Foods a few days ago because I find if I buy my "steel cut" oats there it cheaper. Here in FL I saw the price of $1.29 per lb. When I went to check out the lady weighed my oats it turned out that there was a sale and it was $0.79 a lb. I got my 1.35 bag of oats for $1.07. THAT'S A DEAL!


Today, I went to a regular grocery store (will not mention which store i'm sure you'll figure it out) and found a price tag of $4.09 for Quaker Steel Cut Oats. I didn't take the picture of the Organic Oats that you get in the other section where they want $5.99! Why is steel cut oats so expensive? It makes no sense but I guess if you want quality oatmeal you have to pay for it when you go to your local grocery store. I vow from now on I will continue to go to Whole Foods to buy my oatmeal there because it honestly is CHEAPER to get it there.


I also found out that some things aren't always what it seems. I use to eat Cheerios because it says "Whole Grain Guaranteed" on the top of all their boxes. What I realized and from hearing a lot about reading the labels. You come to find out that sometimes things aren't what they always are cut out to be. This bothers me alot. What in the heck is Whole Grain Corn? If you never watched the movie Food Inc. I recommend you to watch this movie if and when you are ready to make a change in your eating habits. This label purely proved to me that what these people are saying about how everything is being made out of corn is possibly true. What else bothered me is that the 2nd and 3rd ingredient were Sugar, and Corn Syrup. Why both?
If you continued to read it you see they also put dried corn syrup and corn bran. If Cheerios is suppose to be good for you then why does it contain so much corn syrup? This specific Cheerio's brand was the Chocolate Cheerios. I must say some of the Cheerio's boxes do have Whole Grain Flour. I just wanted to make sure you all know that sometimes you just have to read the label to know what your putting in your body. Again I repeat i'm no expert but if you are trying to be healthier putting corn syrup and whole grain corn is not going to help you get there. But that's just me. "I'm just saying!"

Yesterday, someone emailed me about what I wrote about potatoes. I want to make sure that it's the "White" potatoes is what I'm talking about. They are not as nutritional as the sweet potatoes. This is what I have read in the "Top 10 Most Nutritionous Vegetables" on Healthmad.com:

"A cup of baked sweet potatoes with skin is an excellent source of vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene as it contains 13107 IU of this powerful antioxidant. It is also a very good source of manganese and vitamin C and a good source of vitamin B6 and the minerals copper, fiber, potassium and iron. Purple-fleshed sweet potatoes are rich in anthocyanins and have the highest antioxidant activity among sweet potato varieties."

If you would like to see this article copy and paste this link.

http://healthmad.com/nutrition/10-most-nutritious-vegetables/#ixzz1CufuAkF3


So if you are eating Sweet potatoes that look like these! Your GOOD!

That's all I have for today. Stay tuned for more of me blogging about "why is it so hard to be healthy."

Why is it so hard?

I'm writing because I keep seeing people who make the "New Year's" resolution to get healthy and we fall off the wagon so quickly. Why is that? Is it because we have no will power or is it we just think it should be easy and we can just buy a "pill" and everything will be okay? I have borderline diabetes and although I have not been diagnosed with it. I'm very scared that if I don't take care of myself. I'm going to eventually get this terrible disease. Doctors say "it's in your family, so you will eventually get diagnosed." Now how horrible is that to know that no matter what I try to do that at some point diabetes will get the best of me.
I started to do some research on what other methods I could try to kick this habit. I have read about the "Raw Diet" where you go without eating any animal protein (All meat from any animal) and do this for 30 days and it could reverse your diabetes. Which I believe it could do it but if you are a meat lover. You will end up eating meat again so would it really be beneficial to do this? I wonder? I realize that in order to get control of your body you have to understand what is going on with it and what makes it react. Everyone is different. So my method of controlling maybe different for someone else.
I decided to put this out because there are many people probably wondering the same thing. "I'm overweight. I need to get healthier. Why do I always get sick? etc" What can you do? Well if you really want to try to save yourself and make that effort. I'm here to tell you. You have to make a commitment to really change your eating lifestyle. You have to give up certain things. My 5 things I literally had to give up 100%.

- Eating things that contain corn syrup, sugar, Malodextrin, Dextrose, Sucralose, Glucose. These are things that are listed in the ingredients section on everything you buy. (Fresh Fruits and some veggies will have some type of sugar but I will provide a guide so you can see what is best for you)
- Any type of soda, diet, flavored. The only exception would be Soda water and you can add a lime or lemon to add flavoring if it's the carbonation that you miss. That is what I did to help me get through it.
- The "Whites"- White rice, potatoes, sugar, dairy products, pasta, bread. All of these are refined and for someone like me these items just turn into pure sugar and then becomes fat in my body. GIVE THEM UP!!! I can give you some "sweet options" on what will not affect your sugar level if you use them sparingly for your sugar fits.
- Wheat products, need to read the labels and see what you are actually eating. I will go over this at a later time. You can have sprouted wheat grains but this is a once a week type of deal. I will tell you why soon.
- Last but not least, Fruit Juices that you buy "ready to drink". If you want fruit juice. Get a juicer and make your own! You'll know it's 100% pure JUICE.

If you think about all of this I haven't even gotten to the meat part of things but I'll be coming back again to go over that. If you thought it was hard. See if you can give up all those things I that I did in my list. Try it for 5 days... You will hurt and your body will beat you up mentally... Try it. You'll start to understand and maybe you'll want to continue to read my blog. Feel free to share this.

Please consult your physican if you are attempting to lose weight or anything health wise. This is only my experience and I cannot speak for anyone else. This is a blog to express ideas, and options for those who would like to make a change in their eating lifestyle. :)

Enjoy your day!

J