As I sit typing to you at Greenwich and 111th street on a box, returning to a place of sorrow filled discovery, I want to share my heart. To give the feelings (energy) back to the universe. To fully feel both sides of this day. Thanksgiving. The beautiful scenes and moments as well as the equally heart grasping sad moments. Yin and yang. Light and dark. Positive and negative. (Hopefully to see and experience them more objectively, as this seems to be karma’s lesson for me this year). Being brave enough to really feel the feelings, communicate them … to release them like butterflies back to the beautiful earth.

I have so many thoughts that I want to express. Feelings to let flow from my heart, through my fingers to the universe (aka blog, book, your heart) with the earnest intention of letting go of what I don’t need anymore, healing soft parts and maybe (hopefully) inspiring others to do the same. I look at the world and my heart is so saddened with the disregard, blindness, hardness, anger, hate. Love will heal all. This I have always believed. This I have faith in. Unwavering faith. And with this next challenge I have committed to (epic freaking comeback of 2018, being the best human being I can and hopefully rock out another ironman) I am working to bring more of all my being to that faith. To live more in that. The truth that all that is needed is LOVE. Less in pain, hurt and anger.

Quick shift in gears. (T1)

I want to blog about my experience of the medical mission trip to Ecuador and the following adventures. The experience was so intense and I came back a different person. So different that I kind of don’t know myself anymore, yet at the same time I feel as if I’m more “me” than I have ever been. I’m pretty excited to see how I evolve … more on that adventure.

A good friend asked me during the mission trip what I was learning (like big life lesson). I thought for a couple days and landed on being more …. open and honest, clear eyes and full heart, to the equal and opposite side of things. The JOY and the PAIN, as if they weren’t “good” or “bad” but more just opposite ends of this beautiful rainbow that I’m experiencing. As I ask for MORE EPIC adventures/results/goals/victories, I need to toughen up a bit or something to experience the other side of it without … my habitual “OMG” reactions. So much more on this … but maybe you get the idea.

(T2)

LIGHT: This morning running with my friends at the Say Grace 5K. I love racing with my friends. As I’m a HUGE SOCIAL BUTTERFLY! For a person that use to (still has) person space issues (thanks Coach for helping me work on this by sitting on me with your sweaty body 😉 ) I love love love hugging my peeps and planting kisses on their cheeks. More hugs and kisses I say! 🙂

DARK: Experiencing the complete suckage of the state of my running. These heart rhythm struggles have really brought me to my knees. Who likes to get past (in the dust really) by all their friends. And past by the lady that says … “oh, you’ll be waiting on me because I’m super slow”. Humbling. (I will definitely call bs with any dogging of the back of the packers. Or bullying on fb in this realm. Nope.)

Honestly this new lesson for me, experiencing both ends equally is making me feel like I’m bipolar. For reals. The joy of running with friends, racing, getting cool bling, finish line crosses and then hiding behind a tree for a bit because the race was crap-freaking-fantastic and makes you doubt with every foot fall any success at ironman. Hiding behind the tear to let the tears fall. #cleareyesfullheart

The ponying up. Not texting your coach to tell you to ignore the thoughts of doubt because …. it’s so early and what are you going to do quit? Maybe it’s progress to not text him, yet to hear his voice in your heart … “get your mind right Kissinger”. Get on the pony and go biking.

LIGHT: Going on a beautiful (seriously beautiful) bike ride. With good friends. The weather is gorgeous and we just ignore the stupid slow legs and enjoy yourself. Take a couple good selfies. ;). After all, isn’t THIS what Thanksgiving is about … being thankful for the tiny moments that you have. That you have breath to breathe. Sun to see by. Wind to try the sweat and tears.

DARK: Experiencing the beautiful land with so much awareness that you spy and full experience the state of the human condition. A bag full of dead animals. Are they kittens, puppies or dead ducks. Does it matter? What do you do with that feeling … that some human beings are terrible. That as a species, we are destroying this very beautiful place. Maybe that’s why we focus on Black Friday sales, buying stuff we don’t need or can’t afford, to stick our head in the sand about how horrible of a species we actually are. So vivid in my mind and heart is swimming with sea turtles and experience life in a POOR country yet feeling so much more … at peace there as they CLEARLY volume life more than we do. My heart aches for the life that is now in this box. Discarded like trash. No value.

Maybe there is the soft spot. Having been always left in one manner or another.

So … typing this on a box filled with useless loss, a bag full of dead ducks, I feel this experience fully. And am extremely grateful. That I am becoming wiser. Less harden. Stronger and more at ease. I will figure out how to gracefully and with love return these creatures to the earth and with them, let go a bit of my abandoned “soft spot”. Very grateful for a texted question from mostly a complete stranger …. “what got you off course.” The honest answer … “being hurt and losing a bit of faith in the universe.”

I am returning to that place of peace. FAITH.

A place of security, however not devoid of pain and joy. As both are needed to change the soul.

While it might be daunting to decide to take a radical change in course, say quit your engineering job for running your own Coaching practice, there are concrete elements that you can practice and fine tune before you take that Scary Final All in Leap, aka quit that job and go for it. COMMIT.

Your am Ham, not eggs.

So that fuels the superpower of Manifestation and GETTING SHIT DONE !?!?!

Check out this list:

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Do you stand up for truth and honesty. Helping people. Do you value material things. Do you like to create things. Do you like to build things. Do you like to problem solve. Do you like to work with people face to face. Do you want more privacy and alone time. Are you good at lists? Do you suck at lists? Are you super creative but can’t spell worth a lick? Do you have problems with procrastination but can ROCK OUT helping someone in the moment?

GENERAL DIRECTION

Have a general idea of what you want or where you want to end up. General in the sense of … “I want to help people” with the freedom in your mind to allow the Universe, God, Chance, whatever the room to give you magical gifts such as “triathlon coach” or “Juice Plus Distributor” or “Teacher” or “Firefighter” …. know the direction, allow God to do the specifics.

HAVE A SYTEM TO KEEP YOU FOCUSED

Planner. Dream board. Both.

DAILY METHOD OF OPERATION

FIDELITY

To the planner. To the system. To the workout plan. To the things you don’t want to do. Do the things you want to do. To doing the hard stuff and the fun stuff. TO THE VALUES THAT STARTED THIS BLOG. And there you come full circle.

Some things about how I rock out my system that I’ve developed over the last 15 years. I work to bring in a number of aspects about myself. I am creative and very Type A. I work to balance out the two with vision balance of colors. I have creative this planner at Plum Papers to help me with balance as well. It helps me to not overload a single day with too many todo items. Which I am notorious at. I like arts and crafts so I find pictures and save them on my phone. Each month I use “FreePrints.com” app on my phone to print out some pictures (old school) and tape those imagines and such that SYNC with WHO I AM into my planner. And tape on to my Mac. Vision ques and reminders that I am a rockstars and have epic shit to manifest. So keep at it. EVEN WHEN I DO NOT FEEL LIKE IT. All of this activity helps me to really

Connect to my planner / manifest to hell out of things system

Balance my life

Only put things in there that I know feed into Manifestation

In doing this activity every Sunday, I feel equipped and PROTECTED for the week to come. Because you know, sometimes life comes at your hard. If you have your planner/system in place, it’s easier to stay the course. You put your tape and scissor action in there, thats part of you loving on your goals and dreams, which turns into magic sauce in staying committed to the activities, when you feel like you just can’t or don’t or wouldn’t or really just want to say FUCK THIS.

NUTSHELL OF HOW YOU PRODUCE ENERGY

1. Food enters the digestive track, the pancreas “hears” about it. (through hormones and the nervous system).
2. The pancreas sends insulin out to prep the cells to be able to receive the glucose from the food.
3. When the pancreas “hears” that the insulin levels are going down it sends out glucagon so the cells stop taking up sugar so levels of sugar in the blood don’t get too low.

When Things go Sideways

1. When the system doesn’t work properly the cells don’t take up the sugar and it stays in the blood stream.
2. “Insulin resistance” is a term that is used to describe when the blood sugar management system is off, the insulin is being sent out but the cells are ignoring it. It’s like a traffic jam, the ambulance can’t get through. Generally INFLAMMATION is blocking the cells.
3. Mind insulin resistance often gets overlooked because the signs are mild and the body works hard to correct this vital system. After all, we are talking about each and every cell in the body doing everything that they do so you can breathe, walk, poop, blink, etc.
4. As this imbalance gets worse, the main players, the muscles, liver and fat tissue, get negatively impacted as they are they have a lot of responsibility with energy storage and usage.
5. The brain also gets affected as they have cells that are very sensitive to blood sugar. This is why you hear the term “brain fog”, “burnt out” with the “belly fat” when referring this type of weight/energy issue.
   1. Food Intake
   2. Body weight
   3. Reproduction
   4. Learning
   5. Memory
6. Early symptoms: feeling foggy, unfocused and scatter brained. Sometimes you will feel like NO amount of caffeine will get you going in the am. Huge sugar cravings in the afternoon are related to this as well.
7. Insulin resistance –> Diabetes –> Metabolic Syndrome
8. Metabolic Syndrome is serious business in that it causes stroke, heart disease and is one of the leading causes of death. It has strong ties to PCOS and now studies are showing that it’s a factor in endothelial, breast and colon cancer.
9. For most people fasting glucose isn’t high when insulin resistance begins. The fasting glucose testing isn’t early enough in the process, so while this clue doesn’t trigger any action, the issue is causing negative impacts to the health of the body.

SYMPTOMS OF INSULIN RESISTANCE

• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Belly Fat
• Sleepiness after meals
• Sugar cravings (especially right after a meal)

Signs that things have progressed to diabetes

• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination
• Poor healing of cuts and wounds
• Increased hunger
• Unexplained weight loss
• And fasting glucose is up to 120 (avg/consistent)

Criteria for Metabolic Syndrome

• (3 or more of the following)
• High triglyceride levels
• abdominal obesity
• High blood pressure
• High fasting blood sugar
• Low HDL cholesterol levels

Four other syndromes that are related to insulin resistance

• PCOS: this is a form of metabolic syndrome. The cysts on the ovaries that really aren’t the issue. It’s the metabolic changes that are the real issue. More on this later.
• PMS. Directed affected by insulin resistance.
• Thyroid Hormone Imbalance, high insulin levels can cause the thyroid to malfunction. And hypo/hyper thyroidism can have an impact on insulin.
• Gestational Diabetes

MORE FUN FACTS

• EXCESS WEIGHT INCREASES INSULIN RESISTANCE
• Excess weight also raises estrogen
• Women that are over weight are more prone to conditions related to estrogen dominance
• Weight lose improves insulin resistance and estrogen dominance
• Info on Hyperglycemia
• Info on Hypoglycemia

more geeky information

Our blood glucose level, or blood sugar level, is the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. The amount of glucose in the blood is measured in millimoles per litre (mmol/l). Glucose levels are measured most commonly to diagnose or to monitor diabetes. It is also important to keep an eye on blood glucose levels during certain situations – for example: during pregnancy, pancreatitis and with increasing age. Normally, blood sugar levels stay within a narrow range during the day. A good level is between 4 to 8mmol/l (or under 85 with a glucose monitor). After you consume food, your blood sugar level will rise and after you have had a night’s rest, they will usually be lowest in the morning.

Diabetes is a common disease in our society, affecting 2-5% of the general population, with many more people unaware that they may be affected by this condition. Diabetes results from a lack of insulin, or insensitivity of the body towards the level of insulin present. Thus if you have diabetes, your blood sugar level may move outside the normal limits.

Why is controlling blood sugar levels so important?

Carbohydrate foods are the body’s main energy source. When they are digested, they break down to form glucose in the bloodstream. If you make sure you eat regular meals, spread evenly throughout the day, you will help maintain your energy levels without causing large rises in your blood sugar levels. It is also important to maintain a stable and balanced blood sugar level, as there is a limited range of blood sugar levels in which the brain can function normally. Regular testing of your blood sugar levels allows you to monitor your level of control and assists you in altering your diabetes management strategy if your levels aren’t within the expected/recommended range.

Long term complications, including eye disease, kidney problems, nerve problems, cerebrovascular disease such as strokes, and cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks, heart failure and high blood pressure, can be significantly reduced. Based on studies of people with type 1 diabetes (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial : DCCT) and type 2 diabetes (United Kingdom Prevention of Diabetes – UKPDS), maintaining near normal blood sugars and glycated haemoglobin levels significantly reduces the risks of complications arising from diabetes.

8 Major Hormones

Remember! Hormones affect every single tissue in the body. So when hormonal health gets out of whack, the affects are complex and wide reaching.

• Gut function
• Muscle growth and recovery
• Brain function
• Bone health
• ETC ETC ETC

ESTROGEN: a group of sex hormones where there are at least 15 forms.

• Estradiol (E2): Dominant hormone in women during reproductive years. This hormone facilities the cyclic release of eggs from the ovaries. Highly involved with HEART health and BONE health. Brain and colon. The decrease in E2 is what causes the common “menopausal” symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes.
• Estrone (E1): Dominant hormone in post menopausal women.
• Estriol (E3): Estrogen released from the placenta during pregnancy.

Estrogen is mainly made in the ovaries. Adrenal glands and fat cells can make small amounts . Responsible with the characteristics of being female. The onset of puberty, public hair, breasts, thigh formation, etc. Men have estrogen too however in much smaller amounts. Estrogen is also responsible for regulating:

• Cholesterol Levels
• Urinary Tract
• Heart and Blood vessels
• Bones
• Breast Health
• Skin
• Hair
• Mucous membranes
• Pelvic Muscles
• Brain health and function

PROGESTERONE This is a hormone that is produced by a temporary endocrine gland that the body produces in the ovary during the second half of the menstrual cycle. This is the KEEP CALM and CARRY ON hormone because it has the ability to sooth the nervous system. Both men and women needs this hormone and progesterone is a precursor to testosterone.

• Calm the nervous system
• Prepare uterus for pregnancy after ovulation, trigger the lining to thicken to house the fertilized egg.
• High levels of progesterone during pregnancy help to support life and develop of the fetus.
• Direct access to the brain and nerves when it is circulating in the blood stream. It has a big job in protecting the brain and helping it to heal after injury. Promoting the growth of the myelin sheath, the protective layers of nerve fibers.
• Supporting breast health
• Supporting cardiovascular health
• Supporting nervous system health
• Helps to maintain healthy brain function
• Helps to regulate mood
• Helps to ease anxiety
• Facilitate memory
• Promote healthy sleep
• Promote relaxation
• Helps to maintain the traits of masculinity by counter acting the affects of estrogen.

CORTISOL: Main stress hormone. But this is not a BAD hormone. It has very vital functions in the body. It is released from the adrenal glands at the sign of stress. It helps the body to survive. For instance, when you fear for your life, cortisol will shut down digestion so you are more able to do other things, like run for your life. At the same time it facilities the release of fuel for energy in the body, so you can run and run fast. Other roles of Cortisol are:

• Mobilizing energy from storage sites in the body (adipose tissue aka fat cells).
• Breaking down molecules to release energy
• Reducing inflammation and allergies
• Preventing the loss of sodium in the urine to maintain blood pressure and blood volume (water management)
• Helps maintain mood and emotional stability

The issue with this hormone, and where it gets it’s bad rap, is when chronic stressers are around, like a stressful desktop, relationship issues, etc, this constant stress response can reek havoc on the body. This constant stress response can to this to the body:

• When cortisol mobilizes energy from storage sites it increases amino acids in the blood and liver. It then stimulates the liver to convert these amino acids into glucose so the body can use this for more energy. (run faster so you don’t get eaten, by the tiger, or your boss)
• It rounds up glycogen and fatty acids in the blood to be to be used as fuel
• Because you aren’t actually running from a tiger, all the “energy” or glycogen/glucose is stored (aka belly fat) . This is why that apple shaped appearance is also called hormonal fat. (later on we will discuss why this fat in particular is very unhealthy)

THYROID GLAND: Produces two main hormones, T3 and T4. FYI. TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone isn’t produced in the thyroid. This is produced in the pituitary gland in the brain. Think of the thyroid hormones as the GO GO GO hormones.

• T3: active form of T4. The body does make a little bit of T3, but 80% of T3 needs to be converted from T4. T4 is excreted into the blood stream by the thyroid. It then travels to the other parts of the body, most notably the liver and kidneys, where it is converted to the active T4. (see why liver health and kidney function might be critical in this as well?)
• These hormones work as a feedback loop along with the hypothalamus and the pituitary to coordinate production and release. TRH (thyroid releasing hormone) can be trigger in the brain (hypothalamus) to help to regulate the levels of T3/T4. Which triggers the pituitary to release TSH. And the circle goes on.

T3 Plays a MAJOR role in regulating:  Stay slender, prevent brain fog and feeling happy.

• Metabolism
• Heart function
• Digestion
• Muscle Control
• Brain Development
• Bone Maintenance

The thyroid is highly dependent on iodine and tyrosine. Iodine is a critical micro-nutrient. We will discus later the caveats about getting enough iodine in our diet.

PREGNENOLONE: Steroidal hormone, synthesized from cholesterol

Pregnenolone is produced mostly in the adrenal glands, but also in the ovaries, testes, brain and white blood cells. It naturally peaks during youth and declines with age. It is known as the master hormone, the precursor from which all other hormones are made. Estrogen, , progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and cortisol. Check out what it does:

• Protects neurons from damage
• Helps repair myelin sheaths
• Enhances memory, motivation, and mood
• Pregnenolone supplements have been used to treat some mental disorders included anxiety and depression
• Improves sleep quality
• Reduces symptoms of PMS and menopause
• Improves immunity

TESTOSTERONE: Power and motivation. produced in the testes in men and ovaries in women and in small amounts in the adrenal glands of both men and women. Testosterone has a critical role in having a healthy libido. Interesting enough, a significant amount of Estradiol is converted from testosterone.

• Masculine physical and emotional characteristics such as facial hair, aggressiveness, assertiveness, risk taking
• Sex drive
• Turn fat into muscle
• Increase bone density
• Boost mood
• Manage stress
• Support cognitive function
• Signals the body to produce blood cells
• Support and maintain of bone growth
• Give a sense of power, motivation, and assertiveness

DHEA: Youth and fertility

DHEA is a steroid hormone that is synthesize from cholesterol and produced by the adrenal glands. The body uses DHEA to make sex hormones in both men and women. DHEA peaks in the mid 20s and declines with age. DHEA has been show to do the following:

• Reduce abdominal fat
• Improve insulin resistance
• Reduce inflammation
• Decrease Incidence of heart disease
• Improve libido
• Improve symptoms of depression

NOTE: more of DHEA isn’t always better. It is an androgen, or a male hormone, so a female that gets too much DHEA can experience aggression, hair growth and other unwanted masculine characteristics.

ANDROSTENEDIONE: Steroid hormone that has affects on levels of estrogen and testosterone in the body. 50% of a female’s testosterone comes for the conversation of DHEA and androstenedione from the adipose (fat) tissue. In females androstenedione is release from the adrenal glands and ovaries into the blood stream. There is it converted into estrogen and testosterone.

Basic Gut Health Protocol

• Reduce Inflammation-causing agents / toxins
• Balance the good bacteria in the gut
• Increase Digestive “Fire”

FIRST STEP: REDUCE INFLAMMATION

1. Reduce wheat, dairy, soy, corn, refined sugar. Also, conventionally grown meat.
2. Reduce inflammatory substances: alcohol, antibiotics, birth control pills, synthetic drugs. These damage the gut flora, leading to a weakened gut lining and leaky gut.
3. Drink Bone Broth: Heals and seals the gut, helps to fix leaky gut. Check out these instructions of making your own bone broth. It isn’t difficult.
4. Increase Gelatin or collagen: helps to heal the gut lining and improve the muscus layer. Adding collagen (as a powder) to your smoothie is easy. Check out this recipe.
5. Introduce L-Glutamine: Heals the gut lining. Feeds the lining in the gut. FYI – Can be over stimulating to brain cells.
6. Consume Turmeric: reduces inflammation, though needs fact and black pepper to be fully absorbed. Such as coconut oil.
7. Introduce zinc carnosine and quercetin supplements (amino acid and antioxidant that helps to produce organs). Zinc carosine helps to heal cells.

SECOND STEP: BALANCE THE GOOD BACTERIA

1. Eat fermented foods: improve the health of the gut flora. Note, if you are sensitive to histamines (allergies) then skip this step as fermented foods generally have a lot of histamines causes allergy type reactions.
2. Take probiotic capsules: 10 to 50 billion CFUs per day taken with food. Start smaller, with 10 billion CFUs a day to avoid bloating, skin rashes, gas, other common side affects.
3. Take digestive enzymes: easiest and most beneficial step to start. Juice Plus has digestive enzymes in them already. Take before.
4. Chew food thoroughly: chewing starts digestive enzymes. Plus it will slow you down enough to eat less, meaning that you body has the time to tell you that you are no longer hungry, hormonal signals.
5. Add fiber to their diet. 35 – 45 grams each day. Again, start slowing to avoid constipation, gas and bloating. 12 – 24 hours is the correct transit time. 😉
6. Consume resistant starch (pre-biotic): selectively stimulates the good bacteria. Lentils, chick peas, potatoes that have been cooked and cooled. Like from the crock pot.

THRID STEP: Light Digestive Fires (stomach acid)

• Reflux, burping, etc are signs that you need to change up the digestive “fires” or change the stomach acids
• Lemon Juice: hottish water
• Apple Cider Vinegar (15-30 before meals, or after meals to fix reflux) . Liquid apple cider vinegar can be harmful for the teeth. Pill supplementation is available and beneficial.
• Digestive Bitters: Increases the digestive “juices”
  • Dandelion
  • Fennel
  • Ginger
  • Beet Root (good for cardio vascular
  • Goldenseal root
  • Milk Thistle (healthy for the liver as well)
  • Peppermint
  • Wormwood
  • Yellow Dock
• HCL or hydrochloric acid
  • More advanced step and is recommended that you work with a functional medicine practitioner.
  • Read more here
  • DO NOT take with any anti-inflammatory medicines. Greatly increases the risk of bleeding or ulcer.

Juice Plus

• Fruit and veg pill: plethra of plant nutrients
• Improves all aspects of health: immune function, gut health, lower inflammation, prevent cancer, etc etc
• Helps the body absorb and utilize all other supplements/food

Magnesium

• Electrolytes
• Sleep
• Hormone

D3

• Regulates Ca and phosphorus in the blood
• Enhances Sensitivity to insulin
• Blood pressure, lowers plaque build up

B-Complex

• B1: Nutrients into energy
• B2: Food into energy, antioxidant
• B3: Cellular signals, DNA production, metabolism
• B5: Food into energy
• B9: Cell growth, amino acid metabolism
• B12: Neurologic function, DNA production, red blood cell development
• ALL SORTS OF THINGS

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