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Stress LESS this Holiday Season (and beyond…)

November 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by Tanya Duffey

So the holiday season is upon us and yes, as usual, we moms have the brunt of the load on us.  From the kids parties at school…..work parties….family get-togethers….special dinners…decorating….and on and on we are soon to be overwhelmed with a big TO DO list!!  It hit me just the other day when I was making plans for the upcoming week, all that I had to do.  Do you ever look at your life and think “How did I get so busy? So stressed? Why does it seem like EVERYONE else around me is having a great time while I am running around like a crazy woman just trying to keep up??  And then it hit me, I am allowing the URGENT to take precedence over the IMPORTANT things in life.  Now what does that mean?  Well I am going to share with you what those things were for me and how I eliminated them to bring forth a more fulfilling and less stressful life as a mom.

For the longest time I felt this need to say “yes.”  Team mom?  Sure!  Cupcakes for the school bake sale? Of course, no problem!  In charge of women’s bible study?  Absolutely! Would love to! Oh and don’t forget the fact that I demanded a home cooked meal from yours truly to my family every night…..a spotless home when my husband came home..(I mean what would he think I had done all day if there were dishes in the sink?)…..Okay, do you get where I’m going with this, right?

For some reason I didn’t feel like I was enough. Because I didn’t feel like “enough” I was adding additional stress in my life and crowding my days with things that became URGENT but not always IMPORTANT.  You see, as long as we as moms feel the need to “perform” then we will never have enough to give to the really important things in life.  So here’s the first thing I had to learn, I am enough!  And guess what mama???  YOU ARE ENOUGH!!!  So learn this POWERFUL word and give yourself permission to use it….NO!!  That’s right; you have the power to say no.  Ask yourself this question when you are overwhelmed, “Will this be building into my life or taking away from my life?”  If it’s not building into your life you need to eliminate it from your life.

I’d like to start the second thing I learned with a Proverb we have probably all heard before.  The Power of Life and Death is in the tongue.  What does this mean for us as moms?  Let’s take a quick look at our profession of motherhood.  And yes, motherhood is a profession!!

What have you been entrusted with?  Husband? Children? Home? Money? (yeah, that’s always a sore spot!), time?  Are we using the things we have been entrusted with wisely?  Are there areas we need to work on?  I am going to start by looking at the Proverb from above.  Simply put we have a powerful tool in our arsenal as moms and it is the power of LANGUAGE.

Whatever we speak about today we will live out tomorrow.  For a long time I used my power of language to tear down my children and my husband.  And I didn’t even know that’s what I was doing!  If the kids forgot to do something I had asked them to do it was “you always forget to pick up your clothes!”…..”I knew you would do that”……”you know better”….”you are getting on my nerves”.  See all of these things were tearing my children down.  I had to step back and take a really clear look at what I was saying and how I could change it.

Maybe you have said these same things to your kids.  Here is how we can change it: Flip your attitude and Flip your words!  When we change how we speak we will change the situation completely!!  So how do we flip it?  This works for me and I think it will work for you too!!  I wrote down some typical things we say as moms and then “flipped” the words around to build instead of destroy.  It goes something like this…..Instead of “I’m disappointed in you” try “I’m surprised at your behavior” or instead of “you know better” try “let me help you” and then what about instead of “you’re getting on my nerves” say “you’re helping me stretch”.  A fun little thing I like to say in our family is “the words we say today are gonna come into play.”  So what do you want your tomorrow to be like?  Let’s learn as moms to first say that two letter word “NO” and then let’s use our language and flip or words so they build instead of destroy.

I am hoping you are able to relate to this and are able to use it to make your life right NOW your dream life!!  And to make this holiday season a little less stressed and a lot more blessed!!  Next month we are going to finish up with a few more ways to stress LESS this holiday season and beyond.  Got chores that need organizing?  A home you are ready to make your haven?  You will want to read on next month to find out how!!

I want to leave you with this: YOU ARE ENOUGH MAMA!! YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH AND CREATIVE ENOUGH to rise to every challenge and to overcome every obstacle and to create the life you were born to live!!!!!

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Tanya

Filed Under: Tanya Duffey

Thanksgiving Feast

November 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by Kathy Cobb

For most of us, November is the month when we begin preparing for the cold winter months ahead. In November, work life and outdoor activities typically begin to slow down and we find ourselves spending quality indoor time with family playing games, preparing for the holidays, starting winter projects, catching up with friends and making plans for the upcoming year. November also allows us the opportunity to sit back, wrap up in a fluffy blanket, warm our bodies in front of a fire and enjoy those good old comfort foods!

In late November, we also take time out to celebrate and reflect upon the blessings that God has bestowed upon us as a nation. On Thanksgiving Day, we gather with family and friends for a Thanksgiving feast. It is our way of not only remembering God’s promises, but also thanking God for His provision throughout the year. Here is a little history about our nation and our national desire to give thanks to God! Giving thanks formally began in 1621. The Pilgrims and the First Nations people gathered together to celebrate the harvest of that year. In 1777, the thirteen colonies celebrated a day of Thanksgiving. The first National Thanksgiving day was declared by George Washington, who proclaimed Thursday, November 26, 1789, a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. However, it was not until 1863 that President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving as an official national holiday of thanksgiving and praise. In 1941, Congress declared that the official day would always fall on the fourth Thursday of November. Thus, from the founding of our nation, we as the American people have looked with grateful thanks to the Almighty for providing us our daily bread. I deeply appreciate that our national roots are founded in a tradition of thanksgiving!

In keeping with our history, why not start a new tradition with your family and friends? As you gather together and say your blessings this Thanksgiving, go around the table and have each person share one reason they are thankful. My family has been doing this for years and it is wonderful to hear how each of us has been blessed.

I will leave you with this prayer from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

For health and food

For love and friends;

For everything

Thy goodness sends

We thank thee.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Kathy Cobb / www.kathycobb.info is the founder of Gabbin’ With The Girls – Connecting Today’s 21st Century WomenTM, a global organization that empowers women to live a Victorious life.  Kathy is passionate about inspiring women to ”Awaken The Sleeping Beauty Within” through writing, teaching, public speaking and mentoring.

 

 

Filed Under: Kathy Cobb

Going to Extremes: When Pushing the Limits of Exercise Goes Too Far

October 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by Carol Cottrill, C.N.C.

Imagine this. You’re a healthy twenty-eight-year-old woman at the top of your game. You have a successful career as a fashion stylist and a wonderful social life. You’re in great physical shape.

Now imagine you’re the same person, laid up in a hospital emergency room with extreme muscle soreness and fatigue. Your abdomen is swollen to three times its normal size. Your kidney function numbers are through the roof, and your urine is a brown color usually seen only in a glass of cola. You are hooked up to a road map of tubes.

Confused and in pain, you’re also scared: This all happened literally overnight, and the doctors are stumped.

This frightening scenario isn’t something from a sci-fi novel—it happened last year to Melanie Pace, who has since become my client (I’m a nutritionist), my stylist, and my friend.

Melanie was diagnosed with a condition called Rhabdomyolysis. Her story is a cautionary tale about how the mind can lead the body into dangerous territory.

The picture of health

Melanie Pace has an uncanny eye for fashion. On a typical workday morning, she might deftly peruse the aisles of Neiman Marcus with a client or style a fashion model for a hot trunk show. She appears on television news segments, keeping the masses up-to-date on fashion trends.

Because she is immersed in the world of fashion, Melanie takes a special interest in staying physically fit. She’d sampled various regimens, but nothing helped her attain her ideal results – this is until she discovered CrossFit, a conditioning program centered around high-intensity, boot-camp-style group workouts.

A typical CrossFit class gathers participants at many levels of fitness, from elite, ramped-up athletes to de-conditioned newbies. That’s the problem- the CrossFit program, rather than an individual’s own ability, determines the timing, repetitions, and range of motion. Melanie was working faster and harder than her body could endure.

Melanie did a CrossFit workout five times a week, while maintaining a highly active lifestyle and playing in a competitive softball league at nearly the same intensity as her college softball days. She was so pleased with the results of her regimen that hours before her hospitalization, she documented her success with a photo of her rock-hard abs.

Then it all came crashing down in the ER.

Putting the pieces together

What is Rhabdomyolysis (aka rhabdo), and what brought it on in Melanie’s case? According to Gideon J. Lewis, DPM, FACFAS, a foot and ankle surgeon and sports medicine specialist, rhabdo is a potentially life-threatening condition in which damaged muscles release muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the blood.

The kidneys filter myoglobin out of the blood. But by-products of myoglobin can damage kidney cells, so in addition to destroying muscle, rhabdo can harm and even destroy the human kidney.

Dr. Lewis says, “Most of my experience with this condition has been with patients who suffered severe traumatic injuries [in which fibers from crushed muscle flood the bloodstream]. However, Rhabdomyolysis is also seen in individuals participating in athletic activities, especially heavy strength training, prolonged muscle conditioning, or endurance sports.

“Those at risk for exercise-induced Rhabdomyolysis are usually either out-of-shape individuals who jump into a high-intensity workout program or healthy people attempting a new high-level training program focusing heavily on muscles not often used. There’s also a high correlation with those who are insufficiently hydrated during workouts.”

Melanie fit the profile of a healthy individual who raised her workout ante to extreme levels. Her kidneys, plunged into crisis mode, couldn’t keep up, and she started to retain water. Her damaged abdominal muscles allowed her body to balloon. Her urine was brown because of dense concentrations of myoglobin by-products.

The week before her illness, Melanie ran the warrior dash—a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme 5K run from hell, where participants conquer punishing obstacles and push themselves to be the first to cross the finish line. She played three softball games and conditioned with her team at softball practice. 

The day before landing in the hospital Melanie engaged in a CrossFit core workout—intense rounds of glute-ham developer (GHD) sit-ups, back extensions, knees to elbows, and heavy-weight, stiff-legged dead lifts. She admitted she hadn’t consumed an adequate amount of water.

How much is too much?

Melanie’s account of her ordeal made me think about what we should expect of professional trainers: Shouldn’t a trainer know the reasonable limits for an individual doing a grueling workout? I consulted athletic-performance coach Bryan Meyer, owner of B Meyer Training and personal coach to NBA superstar Dwight Howard.

Coach Meyer said, “CrossFit is responsible for injuring a lot of people. Their concept is backward. Rather than determining the exercise based on the client’s range of motion, the exercise is prescribed without regard for range of motion. Forcing clients into movements where they have no control and then adding weight, thereby stressing the joints and muscles, is a recipe for disaster. It’s no wonder people are getting hurt.”

I mentioned the findings of Kenneth Cooper, MD, at the Cooper Aerobics Center, in Dallas, Texas. A few years ago, Dr. Cooper, then a proponent of intense workouts, did a total about-face on vigorous aerobic exercise when his research proved that the best prescription for health, weight, and fitness is low- to moderate-intensity exercise performed for just thirty minutes, three to four times a week.

Meyer agreed: “Contrary to what some fitness programs would have you believe, more is not necessarily better.”

No exercise routine should jeopardize your health. Never move too quickly through levels of difficulty or otherwise operate outside your comfort zone. In nearly all cases of exercise-induced rhabdo, the patient had attempted an unusual exercise load or an abrupt transition to a much greater load.

Coach Meyer offers advice for a properly designed exercise regimen:

*        Extreme boot-camp-style group exercise can be dangerous. Have a credentialed trainer analyze your range of motion and prescribe an exercise regimen for you.

*        Talk to your trainer. Be open and honest about how each exercise feels to you.

*        Ask questions. Understanding your physiology and the intended result of each exercise will help you recognize when something isn’t right.

*        Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Drink fluids before and after each workout.

Recognizing the warning signs and getting treatment

Anyone who works out too hard and progresses too fast is susceptible to rhabdo—including triathletes, because of dehydration and heat stress, rugby players, who train with leg squats, and soccer players getting into condition with maximum-intensity sprints.

Dr. Lewis says to watch for these warning signs:

* Extreme fatigue

* Severe, delayed on-set muscle soreness

* Nausea and vomiting

* Dark or discolored urine

If you experience these symptoms, immediately seek medical treatment to minimize kidney damage. Treatment requires rehydration via intravenous fluids and removing toxic by-products from the bloodstream. Some patients must undergo dialysis (artificial filtering of the kidneys).

Returning to exercise after Rhabdo

A busy emergency room treats seven to ten cases of rhabdo each year, and its incidence is on the rise. The unlucky few must go through a proper post-recovery evaluation, including clearance from a kidney specialist, before resuming exercise.

Then follow these tips:

*        Gradually return to low-intensity workouts.

*        Stay hydrated.

*        Stop at the first sign of abnormality in your urine.

*        When attempting new exercises, work at 50 percent capacity for the first two or three weeks.

*        Progress gradually. Never jump into something your body is not prepared for.

Moving Forward

More than a year after her diagnosis, Melanie Pace is back on track. She keeps me up to the minute on fashion, and I steer her away from fad diets and outlandish exercise regimens.

Melanie has embraced my philosophy: Metabolism is the sum total of all the chemical reactions in the body. Melanie used to view metabolism as simply a calorie-burning phenomenon, a process enhanced by grueling workouts. She has since learned physical abuse is not only unnecessary—it is counterproductive for sustainable weight management and overall fitness.

Melanie admits, “My inner voice told me working out at such an intense level was too much, but I was hooked. Never in a million years would I have guessed the serious consequences of my obsession with a healthy, fit body.”

Even after a long and arduous recovery, Melanie wanted to give CrossFit another go. That may surprise you, but it shouldn’t. It’s no exaggeration to say that exercise can become an addiction.

For each person the recipe for health and fitness is different. This may be the hardest part of all: finding our personal balance amid the clutter of information spewed out by the experts.

Metabolism does not occur in the body alone. It operates equally and simultaneously in body, mind, emotion, and spirit. If something is truly nourishing for the soul, it is quite factually nourishing for the body. That nourishment fuels Melanie’s metabolism today—and she has never looked or felt better.

“Going to Extremes: When Pushing the Limits of Exercise Goes Too Far”–written by Carol Cottrill, C.N.C.
Copyright © 2012 by Carol Cottrill, C.N.C. Published at http://ngleisure.com/
•Rights to Reproduce: You may reproduce this post, as long as you leave it unchanged, you don’t charge for it, link to it, and you include the entire copyright statement. Please let us know you have used it by sending a website link or an electronic copy to cc@eatinginyourlikeness.com.
DISCLAIMER: The information is intended to inform readers and is not intended to replace specific advice from a health care professional

 

 

Filed Under: Carol Cottrill

Pumpkin Superfood . . . Superstar of the Season!

October 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Scarlet Knight

October slides in and we wrap ourselves in sweaters and shop for pumpkins.  The great gourd, pumpkin, is generally regarded as the face of Halloween.  In a milder setting, they’re paired with colorful mums and bales of straw in celebration of the fall season.

But did you know that pumpkin is one of the top superfoods of all time? In Dr. Steven Pratt’s book, SuperFoods Rx, pumpkin is described as one of the most nutritionally valuable foods known to man. (Oh, and he points out that it’s actually a fruit, not a vegetable. Certainly not a fruit we’ll be dropping in our lunch pail!)

Pumpkin contains: alpa-carotene, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, pantothenic acid and is high in fiber, low in calories. As you can see, pumpkin packs an abundance of disease-fighting nutrients!

Don’t like the taste? Try one of pumpkin’s sidekicks: carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and orange bell peppers.  They all have a similar nutrient value. A super convenient option, is to snack on pumpkin seeds, sometimes labeled as pepitas, which means little seeds. Yummy and oh so nutritious!

Enjoy the season and the bounty of nutrient dense foods that are available! Check out SuperFoods Rx for more information on nutritious foods and recipes.

Filed Under: Scarlet Knight

Playtime

October 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by Kathy Cobb

Recently, I read an article about the breakdown of how much quality time was actually spent with our love ones. The article went on to say that, even with all the latest gadgets to make our lives easier, people were actually spending less time sharing precious moments together. Relationships across the board were suffering because individuals were spending more time with gadgets that rarely required conversation or a dynamic group interaction.

 

Companies sell video games that encourage group activities and, yet, many of us would rather spend 4 plus hours a day glued to the TV that we consider a group activity. My question is, what happened to the days when family, friends and neighbors gathered outdoors to play games and interact socially? Nowadays it seems society does not encourage “nature” activities like hiking, camping or picnicking anymore. Camping has been replaced with hotels, picnicking with fast-food restaurants, and national parks with amusement parks.

 

Remember as a child when you played outside until dusk? When fireflies would appear and the yard would explode with little star lights? Or how about those moments when you ran around bare foot through mud puddles or jumped in the pile of leaves that the family had just raked?  Dads threw footballs, children roller skated and grandparents shared stories of the good old times.  We muddled through life together, and through those times our relationships grew and we learned the how-to’s of life.

 

With all of the so-called time-saving gadgets available to us, life is more complicated now.  Is it still possible to even have moments like those we remember anymore?  I believe the answer is yes!  The fall season is the perfect time to experience new beginnings.  So grab your walking shoes, your family and friends, and head outdoors. Keep in mind your outdoor adventure does not have to be a major event.  It can simply be walking through your neighborhood, going to a local park, playing in the leaves, throwing a football, or roasting marshmallows and hot dogs over a fire.  It is during those moments that people open up, relationships are built and strengthen, and wonderful memories are fashioned in the minds of our loved ones.

 

Yes, life is busy, but remember the blessing gained from an outdoor adventure can and will create memories with family and friends that will last a life time!

 

Kathy Cobb / www.kathycobb.info is the founder of Gabbin’ With The Girls – Connecting Today’s 21st Century WomenTM, a global organization that empowers women to live a Victorious life.  Kathy is passionate about inspiring women to ”Awaken The Sleeping Beauty Within” through writing, teaching, public speaking and mentoring.

 

Filed Under: Kathy Cobb

Where does Santa shop?

September 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Cheryl Draa

Craft fairs are a continual source of product for people who shop early for Christmas presents.  North Georgia has some of the best juried craft fairs around and Labor Day weekend turned out the cream of the crop on the square in Marietta, GA.  One of the newest trends around is recycling and I was very impressed by the amount of creativity to be seen, but not surprising as the people represented were truly the cream of the crop.

Kennesaw Woodpecker is one of my favorites, and Roger Grimes recycles exotic wood species such as Bucote, Black Limba, Jatoba, and Purple heart into works of art to be used for cutting boards.   All the woods used are renewable through forest management and can be passed down to generations.  These are truly not just cutting boards, but works of art that will be enjoyed for many generations.  www.kennesawwoodpecker.com

Lisa Mote has a glass studio in Newborn, GA (www.LisasGlassStudio.com) and was showing off her works of art to several interested customers.   She was in a back corner of her display when I noticed that the man she was talking to looked a lot like Santa Claus (even had on a red t-shirt).  Go figure, Santa likes crafts too!   And it makes a lot of sense, those elves can’t make everything, so what better place than to find creative, quality works of art that are also useful than our very own craft fair.   Of course I had to go talk to him….He showed me one of his favorite discoveries, gourds that have been turned into bowls and beautiful art. He actually made this one himself!   Wonder who he has in mind for this one?  Have you been good this year?  You can contact him at BCrazy@bellsouth.net if you’d like one for your own.  It could be yours….

Creativity saw no end in the works of Jose Troy, a young man with a keen eye for turning found objects and collections into works of art.  He uses the tops off cans of colas, feathers, sequins, and crystals along with paint to truly create unique art.  His peacock art was a crowd stopper.   You can contact him at Mangibintroy@yahoo.com for more information.

Not to be outdone, even the portable toilets had been transformed into art on the outside.  I’m not sure who painted them, but they were being highly photographed while I was there.   And kudos to the organizers who had the foresight to make all things creative!

Look around now for found objects that you can transform, or maybe you could just play Santa for a loved one’s surprise gift.  Christmas will be here before we know it.

 

Filed Under: Editor's Pick, Lifestyle
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