Healthy Choices, Happy Life

As threatened promised, here is the nutrition and exercise plan I've been on, more or less, for the last few months, in all the gory glorious details.

My wrists hurt, so I'm not going to be typing up any new posts for a little bit. The attached file is over 20 pages (but mostly bullet points, very easy to read).

And it's free, okay? This guide  summarizes what I have learned from dozens of books and online articles. And the shit works, trust me.

I really do want feedback on this, if anyone tries any of it and it is successful, etc. Or that I'm a crazy, elitist, New Age hippie trying to push her organic, meditating agenda on the world. Either way, thanks.

Download HealthyChoices.pdf

If there is a positive response, I may make it pretty and expand and even consider bookifying it for reals. If it's a bomb, I'll just slink away from it and we can all pretend this messy little incident never happened, 'K?

In Chapter 1: Cleaning House, Inside and Out, I talk about the importance of detoxification, and include several options (from "Full On" to "Free (or Cheap) and Easy") for internal cleansing, to give your bodily organs a break, while also clearing out any old undigested matter, parasites, bacteria, etc.

In Chapter 2: Let Food Be Your Medicine (and Vice-Versa), I talk about the other white devils - flour and sugar, and the glycemic index of foods--how quickly certain foods are broken down and converted to glucose, and if this is too quickly, you have insulin "spikes" that lead to a host of problems, including adult onset diabetes if the problem is not cured. I discuss the details of my allergy-clearing diet, focusing on sugar addiction and eliminating sugar, dairy and wheat and gluten. I also give some examples of delicious alternatives, with links to recipes, retailers I like, many suggested books and websites, etc. [Edit - I just found a good site called Milk Sucks, check it out.]

In Chapter 3: Get a Move On – Exercise Does a Body Good, I talk about the importance of aerobic, strength training and flexibility exercises and give examples of each, from Full On to Free and Easy.

In Chapter 4: Om, Where Were We? I discuss the importance of a meditative practice, and also delve a bit into (with ample "New Age Alert" warnings) motivation and manifestation.

Here is the Introduction, after the cover page:

Healthy Choices, Happy Life

Earlier this year, I realized that I had felt lousy--fatigued, congested, digestively ‘challenged’--for so long that I had come to believe that was “normal.” Like most Americans, I lead a busy life and reached for coffee (or “go-juice,” as my husband calls it) first thing in the morning to get me going, sought out a sugary snack late afternoon to pick me up, and ate whatever was quick, tasty and convenient in between. I was drinking often in social situations and as a stress reliever.

While I was not overweight, I did not care so much for how “squishy” parts of my body had become over the years. Also, my skin often broke out; as a professional in my mid-30’s, I was tired of having pimples.

But mostly, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I Googled my symptoms and food allergies or sensitivities kept popping up as a possible cause. I read up on the most common food allergies, and even read an excellent book (with good recipes!) on the topic.

After reading about food allergies, I decided to give my body a 30-day break from the most common allergens, to see how I felt afterwards. I did this, along with an herbal “cleansing” program, exercise and meditation for a month.

I felt and looked (if I do say so myself) so much better afterwards that I continued the program and the “diet” turned into what I hope will be permanent lifestyle choices. I also wanted to share what I had learned; perhaps others could benefit from this program.

Here I am before diet and exercise . . . then after
several months making healthier lifestyle choices. 

I wish I could take a picture of my improved mood and energy, but you’ll just have to take my word for it! 

Good luck and healthy living,

~ Jayne (http://happy.blogs.com/)

Comments

[Robin]

Wow! Okay... 27 pages. I can see I'll be printing this out (from work) and reading it over a tall glass of water ;)

Thanks, Guru!

[Jayne]

Oh, shit, I forgot about the water (seriously). But everyone knows the whole 8 glasses a day, blah blah blah, right? I can see a second edition already on the horizon . . . and I'm happy to make your work life less productive : ) (but MORE productive in the long run if you feel energized, etc., right?)

For 2nd Ed. of my obsession:
- water (alkalinize or die?)
- supplementation
- caloric restriction

[Michael Bains]

Hola Jayne,

I referenced something you've posted on in the past (and linked to you) and then came over to see what's up. Very cool, Lady! I can seriously relate to you as you express yourself here.

I'll give your "agenda" a serious look. {-; It's time again for me to start working instead of whining.

Give those typist wrists a rest, eh!

[Michelle]

Thanks for sharing this, I am definately going to check it out. I have a friend who really belives in organic remedies and they have worked out well for her and her family. She has even helped control her sons autism and published a book about it.

[Kelly]

I can't remember how I found your blog but I've been reading it for a month or so, I just printed out your pdf and it looks great. I'm currently in the process of removing unhealthy stuff from my diet, especially my big weakness sugar. When I stopped eating salt it took about 30 days for food to taste good without tons of salt. I'm sure the same will be true of sugar but I'm finding it very hard to give up, congrats on managing to break the sugar addiction..with tons of willpower hopefully I'll be able to kick it soon.

[Edge]

Good stuff Jaynie, thanks for sharing

[kenju]

I need to think about a good diet and an exercise plan. This is food for thought, so to speak. Thanks.

Michele sent me.

[coyote/timethief]

Well, here I am under the correct post laughing out loud because I just placed a lengthy comment that belonged here somewhere else. ARGGHHH! I'll leave it to you to move it as I obviously can't. lol

[coyote/timethief]

I too was absolutely sick and tired of being sick and tired. So I did some research, attended some workshops and made some lifestyle changes. Over the course of the last few years I have gone through a life changing transformation in terms of health, happiness, groundedness and deep peace. So we most certainly are kindred spirits traveling on the same pathway.

I quickly scanned your chapter summaries all the while shouting yes! yes! yes! and yes! again. Then I downloaded your booklet in a state of exhilaration. I took a look at the lovely cover photograph and smiled from ear to ear at the beauty in the water, and all the while I was thinking "deep peace of the running waves to you".

My beloved and I have a 2 day long art show this weekend and the annual island wide BBQ but you can make bet on it when I say that I won't be nibbling at your booklet. I intend to set it aside until next week when I can sit without interuption and digest every wonderful morsel.

Thank you so much for sharing your "beauty walk" with us Jayne. I feel like I'm becoming part of a family gathered around your campfire and it's a fine feeling.

Namaste

[Mark H.]

Okay, so we shouldn't drink cow's milk because we weren't intended to drink it and there is controversy in the dairy industry and all that stuff. That being said, what are the alternative sources of calcium? Green leafy vegetables? Excuse me, but those are grown by corporations too. The irrigation is sucking the water table dry (hello California) and the work is labor intensive and seasonal - the pay is low and everyone gets laid off after the season. So, that leaves us with calcium fortified products such as soy milk and orange juice. Do you know where they get a lot of the calcium to fortify these products? I think you can guess...

The point is, we could take every bit of food we consume and find something controversial about it. And don't tell me it's organic, because I can find negative things about organic farms as easily as you can find negative things about the large corporate farms. Example: there's a farmer down the road who raises pigs on straw, does not give them any medication, and butchers them himself. Sounds good right? Here's the catch: the pigs are not born on his farm; he buys them from a large corporate barn when they are about 8 weeks old, at which point they have already received all the vaccines and medications they are going to get. The final product - - - organic all natural pork.

I could write a lot more about this, but basically I just want you realize that things are not quite the way they appear at first glance. Many of us manage our farms responsibly and use the animal wastes as an asset. We take soil samples so that we don't add more nutrients to the soil than are needed to grow the crop. Most of us do not raise our animals on medication, but rather administer it at a young age for preventative measures. As far as things like udders dragging on the floor, you will very rarely see that. If you still think corporate farms are ALL bad, then the only alternative is to go back to the days when 40% of the population lived on farms. Since this is not realistic, we need to debate the issues and present a balanced point of view that will actually to constructive change.

Or am I mistaken? Do we have millions of people just waiting to move out here and run a farm?

[Pearl]

Fascinating. I'm reading it.

[Mark H.]

http://www.newhope.com/nutritionsciencenews/NSN_backs/Oct_00/natnews8.cfm

[Jayne]

MB: Working instead of whining, yeah, I can relate ; )

Michelle: The more I read about healing modalities, the more convinced I am that you can use herbs, acupuncture, etc. for almost everything (but Western medicine can't be rivaled if you are in an emergency medical condition, trauma, etc.)

Kelly: Hi, Kelly, thanks for your interest! That is interesting about recovering your taste after cutting out salt. I can tell you how SUPER (inedible) sugared things taste after cutting out sugar. You've got the willpower - actually, it's just a matter of telling yourself to try it for 30 days, nothing to lose.

Edge: You're welcome.

Kenju: Oh, that pesky Michele ; ) I will come visit you, soon!

Coyote: Ha! I moved the comment, no worries. Thanks for sharing your journey as well. I am still a work in progress, but I so much enjoy these exchanges, information sharing, etc.

Mark: Thank you for your comment, this topic obviously touches a chord with you. Did I say anywhere I think all corporate farms are ALL bad? I don't think so, and if I did, I probably over-generalized. However, I am VERY concerned (obsessed, even) about where my food comes from and I research most companies where I buy food from. I do tend to buy mostly from companies that have some kind of sustainability (in labor, environment, health, no undue animal cruelty, etc.) Are these choices all perfect? Probably not. But we all do the best we can to make informed decisions. We tend to spend more on food than most people, probably, because we support those companies that are smaller and don't have the profit margin huge corporations have, and they don't cut corners to maximize profits. When it comes to what I injest, I don't want corners (at least as it affects my health, the environment, labor practices, animal health and safety, etc.) cut

And for calcium, I drink enriched Rice Dream rice milk (fortified with calcium, vitamins, etc.) and the calcium comes from "tricalcium phosphate, which occurs naturally in phosphate rock and lime." http://www.tastethedream.com/pages/products/ricedream.php

So, I'm not sure what you were implying there.

If you have a responsible, sustainable farm, without placing too much of a burden on the enviroment and human health, good on you! But the BIGGEST corporate ones from my reading at least scare the bejeezus out of me. Profits are the only consideration. Read Fast Food Nation, etc.

And would I like to live on a farm? Well, I would like to be more self-sustaining, and have a garden for my family, maybe some chickens. We've already "downshifted" and live in a rural area, make a lot of our own stuff, etc. Also, we support biodynamic farms (see http://www.biodynamics.com/) -- it can be done.

PS - I don't HAVE to be balanced, I am a BLOGGER, not a journalist, and this is where I express my opinions! It is my strong opinion that we should phase out dairy and beef (cow) farms because of the cruely, the greenhouse gasses they emit, (seriously, methane, research it) the growth hormones and antibiotics, mad cow disease, the fact 20 people can be fed on the land it takes to raise one cow, the runoff that pollutes our waterways, the health concerns of eating red meat and animal fat . . . if you have a dairy farm and take offense - so be it! You are welcome to debate it and put the "balanced" debate on your own blog. Peace to you.

Pearl: Great! Let me know what you think, it really does need a lot of work, this was sort of written in a fevered (figuratively) state . . .

[Mark H.]

Jayne,

Sorry for venting on your blog. You are absolutely right - it's your blog and you are entitled to your opinion.

Just a quickie on the methane. The number of cattle that we have in North America today are the equivalent of the millions of Bison used to roam the plains. I have researched the methane issue, and I have never heard a plausible explanation for this, or any explanation at all for that matter.

Peace to you also,

Mark.

[Jayne]

Mark: PLEASE come here and vent and argue with me, any old time! Seriously, I love it and always learn something (even if I'm not ready to admit it at the time.) Have a fabulous weekend.

[Dick The Boomer]

This is good work, Jayne! As I've probably said before, you're amazing.

And I know you don't mind some friendly critical comments. So... your suggestions in Chapter 1: Cleaning House, Inside and Out, seem a bit extreme to me. You've blogged on this subject before and I just don't get it. Wouldn't a proper diet with plenty of excercise and sufficient fluids make all of this irrelevant?

Also... your suggestion to not hang out with smoking people seems a bit elitist to me. I think most smokers are well aware they are considered "lepers" by society and go out of their way to smoke only where they are allowed to smoke. I grew up in the 50's and 60's when everybody smoked. Ok, not everybody. My parents didn't. But second-hand smoke was everywhere - restaurants, public transportation, even grocery stores. I even smoked for awhile. I'm nearly 60 and I honestly don't feel like Im going to keel over any minute because of all that.

That's all. I'll shut up now. All in all, this is a great "Little Work in Progress." I hope you continue with it.

[Melissa]

I just finished reading this and I think it is great. It's really inspired me, though I have never suffered from allergies or bowel problems and have been a longtime vegetarian, to see what differences I could feel by choosing to be more careful about what goes into my body. Thanks for this, Jayne.