Wellness Wednesday: Why you should eat more FAT!

This post is just in time for New Year's!

And I know this is the time of year that everyone is thinking about going on a diet or cleanse of some kind. But before you do there are some things you should consider. 

A couple of months ago my cousin Courtney turned me on to this book called, "Beautiful Babies" by Kristen Michealis

Beautiful Babies: Nutrition for Fertility, Pregnancy, Breast-feeding, and Baby's First Foods 

This book is not all about fertility, pregnancy and breast-feeding. It's basis is on getting back to eating REAL FOOD. 

"...The kind of food we ate before the industrialization of our food supply. This is the food your great-grandmother would have recognized as food"

 She backs everything with facts and research. I feel like I could go on and on about the things she says. They all make so much sense! Although it is overwhelming to think about changing your diet- she likes to go by the 80/20 rule which states that 80% of the time we should try to feed our families healthy sustainable foods and 20% of the time we need to give up the control. 

I'm going to share with you one of my favorite findings in the book:

Why FAT is good for you!

-It used to be common knowledge that saturated fat (butter, red meat, eggs) was high in cholesterol and thus caused heart disease. Well now those studies have little to no credibility because of modern research. 

1.  Fat does NOT make you Fat. Sugar/refined carbs make you FAT.

This is probably the biggest misconception in our society. 

Fat is good for you!

Remember: When fat is combined with sugar/carbs it is NOT GOOD. So don't go and eat a gallon of ice cream or a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting just cause I told you Fat is good for you. 

2.  Hormones are made from cholesterol. Without cholesterol we cannot make necessary hormones leading to hormone imbalances

"In 2007, a team of researchers at Harvard University found that women who consumed skim milk and low-fat dairy had 85% higher infertility rates than women who consumed whole-fat dairy"

-Yes there is a link between infertility and your hormones being balanced. 

3. When you take out fat you have to replace it with something else (usually processed/artificial sugars or carbohydrates)

-Next time you are at the grocery store look at the yogurt/milk products with LOWFAT or NONFAT labels and compare them to the WHOLE fat ones.

They always will have more sugar/carbs!!! or artificial sugars added

-This is one of the biggest lies told to women- That we need to eat everything "low-fat" in order to NOT BE FAT. 

-And guess what, Women have the most hormonal imbalances! (see #2)

4.  Fat makes you feel fuller longer and helps you store important vitamins like A,D,E,K. 

 If you are not getting enough fat in your diet than you are probably deficient in those vitamins because your body does not have the fat stores to store them!

- Plus you need vitamin A to make estrogen and other pregnancy hormones

Eating the RIGHT FATS

First we need to understand the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio: The amount of these two needs to be somewhat balanced. In American we get WAY TOO much Omega-6 from Corn (which causes: inflammation of arteries, depression/anxiety, insomnia, low-levels of energy).  Corn is in everything!!!!! and its ratio is 46:1 which really messes up everything. Corn is fed to all animals that we eat and it is turned into oil/sugar/starch which is in turn in everything we eat. It's a problem. 

So when it comes to FAT that you eat. You want it to be CORN-FREE!

1. Say No to Modern Vegetable Oils

-EAT: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Sesame Oil, Avocado Oil, Macadamia oil, Red Palm Oil

-DON'T EAT: Canola Oil (corn oil), peanut oil, sunflower oil, Safflower Oil- basically any yellow-seed based oil

2. Eat Traditional Fats

-Butter from grass fed cows (not corn fed cows)

-Sour Cream, full fat with live active cultures

-yogurt, full fat with live active cultures (harder to find than you think!)

3. Eat Meat and Eggs

-When choosing meat, try to choose grass-fed. This tends to be expensive but sometimes at stores like Trader Joes or Sprouts you can find deals or cheaper frozen options

-try to choose antibiotic and hormone free

-Don't be afraid of Bacon!

-The best eggs are ones you can get from someone local! Look on craiglist or ksl (in Utah)

-Second option: Choose eggs with Omega-3s and DHA (usually only a $1 or $2 more)

third option: Organic Eggs

4. How to Choose Dairy

-Best Choice is raw milk but good luck finding it and someone you trust who is selling it

-Second choice is Pasteurized whole milk and cheeses from grass fed cows

-Milk is one thing that I always choose to buy organic and spend a few more dollars on. 

5. Eat more Seafood

-the best source of vitamins A&D, omega-3 fatty acids and much more!

-eat more oily fish like sardines, anchovies and salmon

-try to stick to WILD vs Farmed (they are more nutrient dense)

Sorry if this all seems overwhelming!! When I first read this book I was definitely overwhelmed. But just remember FAT does not make you FAT!

CARBS/SUGAR DO!

So don't be afraid to eat 2-3 eggs for breakfast and some bacon! you will be shocked how much fuller you feel.  Just stay away from the donut and pancakes--most of the time :)

I definitely don't follow all these guidelines 100% of the time but I try to follow the 80/20 rule. Everything in moderation. 

Wellness Wednesday: Fill Your Life with Love

Today I just wanted to share a chapter out of one of my favorite books, 

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff"

by Richard Carlson. 

I like to read a chapter out of this book every now and then. They are only a page or two. Here is one of my favorite chapters

91. Fill Your Life with Love

I don't know anyone who doesn't want a life filled with love. In order for this to happen, the effort must start within us. Rather than waiting for other people to provide the love we desire, we must be a vision and source of love. We must tap into our own loving-kindness in order to set an example for others to follow suit.

It has been said that "the shortest distance between two points is an intention". This is certainly true with regard to a life filled with love. The starting point or foundation of a life filled with love is the desire and commitment to be a source of love. Our attitude, choices, acts of kindness, and willingness to be the first to reach out will take us toward this goal. 

The next time you find yourself frustrated at the lack of love in your own life or the lack of love in the world, try an experiment. Forget about the world and other people for a few minutes. Instead, look into your own heart. Can you become a source of greater love? Can you think of loving thoughts for yourself and others? Can you extend these loving thoughts outward toward the rest of the world--even to people whom you feel don't desert it?

By opening your heart to the possibility of greater love, and by making yourself a source of love (rather than getting love) as a top priority, you will be taking an important step in getting the love you desire. You'll also discover something truly remarkable. The more love you give, the more you receive. As you put more emphasis on being a loving person, which is something you can control--and less emphasis on receiving love, which is something you can't control--you'll find that you have plenty of love in your life. Soon you'll discover one of the greatest secrets in the world: 

Love is its own reward. 

Exercising Post-Baby

Working out post-baby is easier said than done. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to find the time and then to have the energy to exercise! I always said that I was going to run a half-marathon after having Chase (coming from a non-runner here). I thought I would get all into running like all those other super skinny moms.....well, that has yet to happen. I still hate running. I wish I loved it. I am trying to get Casey to get me a treadmill hoping things will change. So in the mean time I have found a couple of ways to get my workouts in. I hardly ever use my Gold's Gym pass because basically my only chance to use it is when Casey comes home and who wants to work out right before dinner when you are starving and tired? 

So I have a couple of different things that I have been doing lately. I used to walk a couple times a week but now that Chase has a set morning nap at 9am I usually just work out at home during his nap. Here are a couple of things that I have found work well for me:

1. Walking!

Especially in the beginning when I was pretty limited on physical activity. My goal was to make my walks between 30-45 minutes a couple of times a week. Lately I don't walk much because Chase doesn't sleep as well in his car seat as he used to :(

2. Tracy Anderson DVDs and Youtube videos

She is a trainer for lots of celebrities like Gwenyth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian. Her whole thing is to not use lots of weights. I love her arm workouts because they focus on making your arms lean. She only uses 3lbs weight max! Sometimes if I don't have a lot of time to workout I just do a 10 minute youtube video of her arm workout HERE.  

3. Jillian Michaels DVDs

These are what I started with when I had my 6 week go-ahead to start working out again. I was super diligent about doing the 30-day shred at least 3 times a week. I think it really helped me to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight pretty quick (except for the last 5lbs which I still can't lose :( ). Recently I like to alternate between these two DVDs and Tracy Anderson. I've also tried Jillan's "Ripped in 30 days" but I didn't love it. It was a little too intense and I was worried I was going to injure myself. 

4. Xtend Barre

My sisters and I bought the Groupon for the Xtend Barre studio in Provo just down the hill from my house. I only have a couple of classes left that I am savoring! I wish it wasn't so expensive for a pass ($99/month) ugghhhhh. But they have free day care! which is awesome because I could go whenever I want! Anyways we love Barre. It is such a good workout! I am not a dancer AT ALL and I still love it. You don't have to be very coordinated haha. It is more like pilates with ballet moves incorporated. Here is the link for the Provo one. Your first class is free!

All of the DVDs are found on AMAZON and they are all under $10!

a new goal

There is a saying that I like that says there are three things you need in life to be happy. They are as follows...

1. Something to do 

2. Someone to love

3. Something to look forward to

I have always like this because it is so simple! But it's amazing how those things really make you happy. The "something to do" really changes when you have a baby. Of course I have something to do everyday now! Take care of my baby. But it is nice to have other things too. That's why I'm so glad I still work as a nurse--luckily only a few times a month.  Even though I don't really love my job I do love getting out of the house, socializing with adults (I love the people I work with) and using my nursing skills. Which brings me to my newest goal. This could be years away but I think it's always good to have goals.
I am going to be a Lactation Consultant/Specialist!

For those of you who don't know what this is (you probably haven't had a baby). They are the ones that come in and teach you how to breastfeed. They help you with any problems you might have and teach you ways to overcome the obstacles of breastfeeding. They were seriously lifesavers for me! When Chase was in the NICU I always fed him and they were right there to help me! I still need to research what I need to do to make this happen. Once all my kids are in elementary school I want to work more and this is what I want to do! I know this goal is kind of a long ways off but I'm still pretty excited to make it happen:)