Last we talked I was in the midst of the Fab Uplift Detox. What a game changer! The Detox started March 26, today is April 23... I've eaten so abundantly over the last month – following both the detox guide and eliminating my other food allergies – without gluten-grains, without any sort of dairy, without eggs and without animal protein (other than a bit of fish outside of the detox)! I haven't craved any of those food and I've thrived on what I have been eating, which includes lots of nuts and seeds, legumes, some fruit and lots and lots of vegetables and superfoods!
Life has been ridiculously busy these last few weeks too, but I've still managed to find some lunch to take with me every single day. And sometimes dinner, too, on school nights! It's a lifestyle. Some may cringe and turn their heads at my lovely green/brown smoothies, but I thrive as I know all this goodness is doing so much for me and tastes amazing too, I might add.
About a year ago I guess, I hit a big milestone of losing 20 lbs since slowing getting on this bandwagon back in the summer of 2010, when I saw a number on the scale I never want to see again. Now I can say that I've lost 31 lbs! I think the Fab Detox pushed me over as I had been hovering at 28 lbs for months. Anyway, this is just another little checkmark in my mind. Even though it took a year to lose another 10 lbs, I know I've gained lean muscle mass in the process as my body has continued to change (in a good way!). All this meaning that the total fat loss is likely more than this 11 lbs I see on the scale.
Yay for being healthy the real way – by eating REAL food.
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Monday, April 23, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
A lengthy list
Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about how I conquered my allergies? Well I should have knocked on a lot of wood after I wrote that, because a couple days later the uncontrollable sneezing came back and never left. After one particular bad night where I couldn't sleep and then woke up in the middle of the night all congested and sneezing up a storm, I thought it best to seek some more help.
So once again, not wanting to just deal with suppressing symptoms, I made another appointment with my Naturopathic Doctor to see if she had any wise wisdom to share. To be honest, we thought we were dealing with a dust and mold allergy -- but I was doing everything possible to address that issue. So next on the list was food. She suggested I take a food intolerance test. It was a bit of a financial commitment, as it cost over $300, but we were both pretty sure it would reveal something that would be very hard to pinpoint on my own through elimination diets.
On Friday, I had an appointment to go over the results. And it was a doozy. I'm pretty much intolerant to most of the common food allergens. This doesn't mean anaphylactic shock, it just means by body is attacking itself in a way in response to these foods that it sees as foreign, because my digestive tract isn't processing them properly. Which all means that my digestive tract is somehow compromised and needs some healing time.
So the main culprits I am to avoid (in no particular order) are:
I'm trying to stay really positive about it all. I mean there's no point getting angry or pitying myself. I already eat along these lines, so just a few adjustments to make and hopefully in a few weeks I'll start noticing changes in my body.
My dinner tonight: Thai Green Curry with Sprouted Tofu, totally made from scratch! A good weekend meal as it requires lots and lots of prep. But totally worth it, so yummy and so good for me (and you too!)
So once again, not wanting to just deal with suppressing symptoms, I made another appointment with my Naturopathic Doctor to see if she had any wise wisdom to share. To be honest, we thought we were dealing with a dust and mold allergy -- but I was doing everything possible to address that issue. So next on the list was food. She suggested I take a food intolerance test. It was a bit of a financial commitment, as it cost over $300, but we were both pretty sure it would reveal something that would be very hard to pinpoint on my own through elimination diets.
On Friday, I had an appointment to go over the results. And it was a doozy. I'm pretty much intolerant to most of the common food allergens. This doesn't mean anaphylactic shock, it just means by body is attacking itself in a way in response to these foods that it sees as foreign, because my digestive tract isn't processing them properly. Which all means that my digestive tract is somehow compromised and needs some healing time.
So the main culprits I am to avoid (in no particular order) are:
- gluten grains (I was already aware of this one)
- eggs
- dairy (cow, goat, sheep)
- potatoes
- yeasts
- almonds
- peanuts
- corn
- peas
- leeks
- mussels
I'm trying to stay really positive about it all. I mean there's no point getting angry or pitying myself. I already eat along these lines, so just a few adjustments to make and hopefully in a few weeks I'll start noticing changes in my body.
My dinner tonight: Thai Green Curry with Sprouted Tofu, totally made from scratch! A good weekend meal as it requires lots and lots of prep. But totally worth it, so yummy and so good for me (and you too!)
Monday, December 12, 2011
There's a birthday in the house
Would you believe this here little blog of mine is 1 year-old? I find it hard to believe myself. But it's not about how much time has passed; it's more about how my life has changed (so much!) in one short year.
Last year at this time, I had just started my journey to better health. Last December I was paying much more attention to what I was putting in my mouth and my body began responding -- my waist shrunk without much effort and the unneeded pounds melted off. I still eat lots! The key here is that the quality of the food changed!
These changes in my body lead me to enroll in the Canadian School for Natural Nutrition's Holistic Nutritionist program, which I am LOVING.
And it didn't stop there, I also learned that my body has trouble breaking down gluten proteins. I also want to point out that I figured this out through listening to my body, not by subjecting myself to unnecessary blood tests. I'm adapting to a gluten-free lifestyle quite easily as well as a healthier lifestyle in general and enjoying its benefits.
But mostly this year has given me a remarkable appreciation for health and how to stay healthy without the need of pharmaceuticals and vaccines, but through nourishing my body with what it requires! The human body is such an amazing instrument and unbelievably resilient – but remember to treat it well!
I honestly believe that this year, which also marked a milestone in my life with my 30th birthday, has been my best and most life changing yet. I'm so glad I started Everyday Rae to capture some of these moments.
Happy 1st Birthday!
xoxo
Last year at this time, I had just started my journey to better health. Last December I was paying much more attention to what I was putting in my mouth and my body began responding -- my waist shrunk without much effort and the unneeded pounds melted off. I still eat lots! The key here is that the quality of the food changed! These changes in my body lead me to enroll in the Canadian School for Natural Nutrition's Holistic Nutritionist program, which I am LOVING.
And it didn't stop there, I also learned that my body has trouble breaking down gluten proteins. I also want to point out that I figured this out through listening to my body, not by subjecting myself to unnecessary blood tests. I'm adapting to a gluten-free lifestyle quite easily as well as a healthier lifestyle in general and enjoying its benefits.
But mostly this year has given me a remarkable appreciation for health and how to stay healthy without the need of pharmaceuticals and vaccines, but through nourishing my body with what it requires! The human body is such an amazing instrument and unbelievably resilient – but remember to treat it well!
I honestly believe that this year, which also marked a milestone in my life with my 30th birthday, has been my best and most life changing yet. I'm so glad I started Everyday Rae to capture some of these moments.
Happy 1st Birthday!
xoxo
Thursday, October 27, 2011
First Day of School, Part 2
Back in March I wrote here about my first day of school after enrolling at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition's Ottawa Branch. I was so pumped to get started learning about this wonderful world of holistic nutrition. And then I had to stop for a bit -- not my choice. It's a long story and completely uninteresting. But to summarize, I got to complete two courses (about 24 hours worth of class time) and since then I've been on a hiatus.
Until today, that is! Today I start back. And I'm as pumped as I was on the first day. In fact, possibly more excited as my feet got wet during the spring and I know with all my being that this is going to be the right field of work for me. I'm beyond passionate about it.
But you probably know that already too, because if you've been reading along with me here, here and here, oh and here and here too, you'll have realized my passion for yourselves.
P.S. I'm a crazy organizer, I spend a lot of time organizing my life. School, to me, is just as fun to organize. Staples is my friend. As is the coolest bright green laptop bag/brief case-y thing I found this summer. And so is Microsoft's One Note. I got a new computer earlier this year and once I found One Note as part of the Microsoft Office package, I fell in love. It's an organizing, school-going girl's dream come true!
P.P.S. I know I'm crazy and a big nerd. I've come to terms with it. You should too. ;)
Until today, that is! Today I start back. And I'm as pumped as I was on the first day. In fact, possibly more excited as my feet got wet during the spring and I know with all my being that this is going to be the right field of work for me. I'm beyond passionate about it.
But you probably know that already too, because if you've been reading along with me here, here and here, oh and here and here too, you'll have realized my passion for yourselves.
P.S. I'm a crazy organizer, I spend a lot of time organizing my life. School, to me, is just as fun to organize. Staples is my friend. As is the coolest bright green laptop bag/brief case-y thing I found this summer. And so is Microsoft's One Note. I got a new computer earlier this year and once I found One Note as part of the Microsoft Office package, I fell in love. It's an organizing, school-going girl's dream come true!
P.P.S. I know I'm crazy and a big nerd. I've come to terms with it. You should too. ;)
Friday, June 24, 2011
Organizing like my life depends on it
...because it does. Kinda. You see, my all-time best stress-reliever is tidying up and making sure everything has it's own place in my home, my office, my life! When I was a kid, I would clean and rearrange my bedroom every three months or so, so I could give new life to my belongings and re-organize everything.
Recently, I mentioned on my facebook feed that I was inspired to organize. You see, I found this little gem of a blog called IHeart Organizing and I just can't get enough. Such simple touches, to simple spaces to make them feel oh so much more pretty and organized. My dream... sigh...
So I'm on a mission. My first space to tackle is my spare bedroom/office, for me and others I'm sure, this room is the room I spend the least amount of time in and so it becomes the room for everything that doesn't fit in the other main rooms of the house. I took on the bookcase earlier this week with vigour and managed to give the books some order. Hopefully in doing so I made some extra room for my ever-growing collection of nutrition books for school.
My goal is to make the room feel welcoming and inviting, not a catch-all room. I want guests to feel like it is a bedroom that will be restful and I want it to feel like a place I can go to get some work done without having to jump over three things to get in the door.
We'll see how it turns out. I'll try to remember to take some before and afters so we can see together if I've achieved my goal.
I'm so excited (and such a nerd!).
Recently, I mentioned on my facebook feed that I was inspired to organize. You see, I found this little gem of a blog called IHeart Organizing and I just can't get enough. Such simple touches, to simple spaces to make them feel oh so much more pretty and organized. My dream... sigh...
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So I'm on a mission. My first space to tackle is my spare bedroom/office, for me and others I'm sure, this room is the room I spend the least amount of time in and so it becomes the room for everything that doesn't fit in the other main rooms of the house. I took on the bookcase earlier this week with vigour and managed to give the books some order. Hopefully in doing so I made some extra room for my ever-growing collection of nutrition books for school.
My goal is to make the room feel welcoming and inviting, not a catch-all room. I want guests to feel like it is a bedroom that will be restful and I want it to feel like a place I can go to get some work done without having to jump over three things to get in the door.
We'll see how it turns out. I'll try to remember to take some before and afters so we can see together if I've achieved my goal.
I'm so excited (and such a nerd!).
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The world is full of change
This is an overdue post. I wrote it mid-week last week but life got busy and I never got it posted. So pretend it really is May 3rd :)
What a busy few days...
1. I'm changing, by learning. Last week I completed my first course with my program at the Canada School for Natural Nutrition. I can sum it up in one word. Wow. This program is going to blow me away. So unbelievably interesting and fun. I loved every minute of it and look forward to more. I'll be taking one more course, just one full day in June, and then I'll be on a summer hiatus until mid-October. Can't wait to get back at it though.
2. Another change, another wow... our federal election. The conservative vote didn't surprise me that much, it was all the others! NDP with over 100 seats. The Liberals all but defeated. The separatist movement dead in Ottawa? And the Greens have a seat in parliament, ousting a conservative cabinet minister in the process. How is all that not a collective historic wow. The result is what it is. My leftist-self would have liked to have seen the Liberals pull through a in Ontario and hold the Conservatives to a minority again. I think there is a lot of be said for parties working together for the betterment of all Canadians as it puts all ideas/positions into discussion, at least. I only got one vote to make a change, and I used it.
3. This whole Osama thing is a bit weird. Karma, baby, karma.
That is all.
What a busy few days...
1. I'm changing, by learning. Last week I completed my first course with my program at the Canada School for Natural Nutrition. I can sum it up in one word. Wow. This program is going to blow me away. So unbelievably interesting and fun. I loved every minute of it and look forward to more. I'll be taking one more course, just one full day in June, and then I'll be on a summer hiatus until mid-October. Can't wait to get back at it though.
2. Another change, another wow... our federal election. The conservative vote didn't surprise me that much, it was all the others! NDP with over 100 seats. The Liberals all but defeated. The separatist movement dead in Ottawa? And the Greens have a seat in parliament, ousting a conservative cabinet minister in the process. How is all that not a collective historic wow. The result is what it is. My leftist-self would have liked to have seen the Liberals pull through a in Ontario and hold the Conservatives to a minority again. I think there is a lot of be said for parties working together for the betterment of all Canadians as it puts all ideas/positions into discussion, at least. I only got one vote to make a change, and I used it.
3. This whole Osama thing is a bit weird. Karma, baby, karma.
That is all.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
First day of school!
Well, yesterday was my first day of school. And it's been a long time since I've said that! So as many of you know as I alluded to it in previous posts, I made a decision back in January/February to enroll at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition to pursue getting the Registered Holistic Nutritionist designation.
Three words: I LOVED IT!
There's no doubt, it's going to take work, it's not going to be an easy ride. But excited, that I am. I have to take 17 courses, pretty much back to back for the next two years. In addition, I have to fulfill at least 50 practicum hours, complete 12 case studies, and of course, pass the final exam. Oh and last but certainly not least, all the while keeping a minimum of an 80% average.
I have to read a little more into the case studies, but from what I understand I have to find 12 people to be my guinea pigs!If you're interested let me know! But alas, I can't start any of my case studies until I finish certain courses, so that means not until at least July, but probably more like September.
Stay tuned folks, it's going to be a fun ride.
Three words: I LOVED IT!
There's no doubt, it's going to take work, it's not going to be an easy ride. But excited, that I am. I have to take 17 courses, pretty much back to back for the next two years. In addition, I have to fulfill at least 50 practicum hours, complete 12 case studies, and of course, pass the final exam. Oh and last but certainly not least, all the while keeping a minimum of an 80% average.
I have to read a little more into the case studies, but from what I understand I have to find 12 people to be my guinea pigs!If you're interested let me know! But alas, I can't start any of my case studies until I finish certain courses, so that means not until at least July, but probably more like September.
Stay tuned folks, it's going to be a fun ride.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Finding passions
So for the last few weeks, but really for the last few years, I've been thinking that I'm working in a field that doesn't energize and excite me. I wrote a little more about how I got to this point last week. But after some serious thinking and talking to a few people I trust completely, my plan is to enroll in the Registered Holistic Nutrition program at the Canada School for Natural Nutrition.
I know what you're thinking. What? Holy crap Raeanne, that seems totally out of left-field. But, actually if you know me well enough, it isn't so out in left-field and actually much closer to my heart. It actually fits quite well with my personality traits where I would be best-suited to be an educator or help people in some way. Over the last ten years I've become increasingly interested in holistic health practices to prevent and cure long term disease and food allergies/intolerance. Recently I've read stories about people who have cured themselves of digestive disorders through what they put into their mouths. I find this incredibly fascinating.
So with some Google searches and some testimonials from recent grads, I found the Canada School of Natural Nutrition which has schools all across the country, including one in Ottawa. However, they also offer distance education. The program is either one year or two depending on how much time you have, I suppose. So now the only decision I have to make is whether to do distance ed (which I've heard good reviews) or whether I'd want to go to school in person one evening per week. I guess I have to decide what learning style best fits me. If all goes as planned I hope to begin my studies in March, part-time while continuing to work at my full-time job.
I can't express how pumped I am about all this. I hope that I have found my passion.
I know what you're thinking. What? Holy crap Raeanne, that seems totally out of left-field. But, actually if you know me well enough, it isn't so out in left-field and actually much closer to my heart. It actually fits quite well with my personality traits where I would be best-suited to be an educator or help people in some way. Over the last ten years I've become increasingly interested in holistic health practices to prevent and cure long term disease and food allergies/intolerance. Recently I've read stories about people who have cured themselves of digestive disorders through what they put into their mouths. I find this incredibly fascinating.
So with some Google searches and some testimonials from recent grads, I found the Canada School of Natural Nutrition which has schools all across the country, including one in Ottawa. However, they also offer distance education. The program is either one year or two depending on how much time you have, I suppose. So now the only decision I have to make is whether to do distance ed (which I've heard good reviews) or whether I'd want to go to school in person one evening per week. I guess I have to decide what learning style best fits me. If all goes as planned I hope to begin my studies in March, part-time while continuing to work at my full-time job.
I can't express how pumped I am about all this. I hope that I have found my passion.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Changes?
Over the last, maybe 4-5 years, I've looked at my career and asked myself, how on earth did I get here? I'm at that crossroads once again. What to do, what to do? I don't think I'm really and truly happy with my career, but what would I be happy doing?
Some background:
I've been thinking lately about doing a complete 180 and going back to school to do something else. Preferably something that wouldn't put me in school for years on end. But maybe an intense 1-year program. On the other hand, maybe I don't have to leave the government, maybe I need to find that perfect spot for me. I mean I was happy...
What do you think? Have you or someone you know ever done this type of 180 career move? Are they happier?
Some background:
- High school (1995-1998): Totally excelled at math, business courses, etc. Love all aspects of money, investments, etc. Logical choice – apply to business school for university.
- University (1998-2002): Enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration program at UPEI. Love it, start to come out of my shell and see the real me.
- Co-op placement at CIDA (2002): By some randomness and my ability to answer a question in French, I land a co-op placement in Ottawa (well Hull specifically) doing communications for an IM/IT branch. First delve into communications (and government for that matter). Enjoy it. Not 100% comfortable, but that's to be expected, it's new to me. But I think I did alright, my then boss didn't hate me, she kept me for a second term!
- Contract with CIDA (2003): In fact I'm sure she loved me so much that she hired me the second I finished my degree! (ok I may be embellishing the love, but the fact is, she did hire me back!). So I'm back at CIDA, off in communications la-la-land. Telling people how to use new IM tools etc. It's fun! But I'm also fresh out of school and happy to have landed a well paying job, if not completely in my field, in a related field that I liked!
- Multiple Communications positions at CIDA (2003-2008): So contract is only for so long, but turns out I'm able to be "bridged" into a full-time position without a competition because of my previous student status. Bonus!! Still working with CIDA but this time in the actual Communications Branch. Blah blah blah, this goes on for several years, by the end of it (2008), I'm sick of it!
- Communications Community Office (2008-2010): But lo and behold, as my head is doing circles at my desk one day, the phone rings. A secondment offer! To work with a old colleague in a tiny office doing cool things. YAY! I'm there as fast as I could get my director to let me go for two years. This turns out to be the only position that I truly enjoy. I did a lot of writing (not what I would say is my forte, but hey, the bosses loved it) and a lot of event planning and outreach – talking to people about something I cared about (key phrase, I think).
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (2010-Present): Realized I had to move on from CCO. Needed to progress up the food chain. Won a competition and landed at AAFC. Love the people here. Atmosphere is the most positive I've seen or heard about in a government comms shop. Work is familiar to me, as it is similar to what I had done at CIDA. But here again I'm stuck. Bored, I think is more the word.
I've been thinking lately about doing a complete 180 and going back to school to do something else. Preferably something that wouldn't put me in school for years on end. But maybe an intense 1-year program. On the other hand, maybe I don't have to leave the government, maybe I need to find that perfect spot for me. I mean I was happy...
What do you think? Have you or someone you know ever done this type of 180 career move? Are they happier?
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