"The Seven Pillars of Health"

I've just finished reading the greatest book: "The Seven Pillars of Health" and I wanted to share some of the big ideas that I learned that are changing our lives right now. The book is broken into 7 sections, each focusing on a different aspect of health, here are the big points that I thought were important and how we're incorporating them. The author is a Doctor, just so you know....and this is really long. Feel free to read it in section, all at once might take a while. :)

WATER
My mom's been telling me to drink more water FOREVER, but now I understand why. Here are some things you may not know about water:

-Water helps you loose weight.
-Water is the main lubricant in joints and helps prevent arthritis and back pain
-Water increases the efficiency of the immune system
-Water helps to prevent the clogging of arteries because it opens up blood vessels and lowers blood pressure.
-Water is directly related to brain function-it is needed to produce hormones like serotonin and melatonin
-Water helps prevent memory loss with age
-Water gives skin a smoother and sparkling luster
-Water provides your bronchial tubes with the hydration it needs to prevent constriction, which will help ease asthma symptoms.
-Water is a cheap cure to digestive problems
-When your body doesn't get enough water it goes into starvation mode and saves all the water for your most important organs, so things like your digestive system and skin get left to shrivel, wrinkles anyone?
-Don't drink a ton of water with or right after meals because it flushes out important enzymes from your stomach that help with digestion.
-DO drink a lot 15-30 minutes before meals to help curb your appetite.
-Perfectly purified water is the best, and all bottled water is NOT equal. Arrowhead is a good choice, especially because it is alkaline which helps keep your body's pH levels normal. Here and Here are a couple of websites that compare water.
-Divide your weight in half, that's how many ounces of water you need every day.

I could go on, the point is that drinking the right amount of water is THE most important thing you can do for your body.

SLEEP AND REST
There was lots on snoring, sleep aids, insomnia and other stuff, but this is just the stuff that applied to me:

-Your body is designed to sleep when it is dark, like they always say: "Early to bed, Early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Sleep when it's dark. Our new schedule is 9:30-5:30 and we're loving it!
-Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night
-A study done by NASA showed that a 10-40 min nap each afternoon improved performance 34% and alertness 100%. Wow.
-Some hormones are ONLY released when you're sleeping, LEPTIN is an important one.
-LEPTIN "directly influences appetite and weight control. It tells the body when it is 'full.' A person who doesn't have enough of this regulating hormone often has a runaway appetite."
-Sleep lowers cortisol levels. Too much cortisol can make you irritable, more prone to depression, and anxious which can lead to all sorts of disease. blah
-When you can't fall asleep try to list twenty things you're grateful for. It takes my mind off of my worries and allows me to relax. I LOVE this new technique!


TO BE CONTINUED (when Teagan remembers to nap for longer than 45 minutes)

Cute Guy

I haven't been updating my blog lately because I have been tooo distracted with a few new fun things.

1. I'm really taking this eating healthy thing to a new level, I went to the library and found some good books to read about nutrition so I've been spending my blog time reading good literature.

2. I've been spending more time making food, who knew that eating healthy was going to require a time committment? And if I don't want to just ignore Teagan all the time I need to get meal stuff done during his nap, which means less blog time.

3. I re-read "Love and Logic," the BEST parenting book ever. It seriously has made my life so much better. It has taught me how to handle Teagan without breaking a sweat. I don't have to scream and yell to get him to obey, just take action. He is learning so fast and has been such a sweet heart ever since I've buckled down on the discipline. There are of course moments when I'm being lazy or he hasn't slept enough, but our lives are good.

4. In my attempts to be a better mom, I'm trying to spend some quality time with Teagan. We went to the library and got tons of books about A things and B things. This picture is of him on A day. We made the Alligator paper bag puppet (he ripped off the eyes) that is eating Apples and read books about Apple trees and Alligators.

Today started B day. We Decorted a huge letter B with blue buttons, blue balls and mini b's. Then we read books about birthdays and blueberries. He LOVES it. It is quality time together and I think he's learning!

So that's what we've been up to. Well, Me and Teagan at least. Zac has been wowing all the Physical Therapists at his internship. He's been working with stroke patients and is 2.5 weeks in. He Graduates in less then 7 months! Whooooooo! Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post s0on.

What Keeps you motivated?

I know what keeps me motivated....weighing 8 pounds less today then I did one week ago! I usually don't talk about weight in terms of scales, because my weight fluctuates a ton from day to day, but EIGHT pounds!?!!? That is just a little unreal for me. I've been rather annoyed at my scale lately. In about 6 or 7 weeks I slowly went from the low 130's to 141.5... Note that this is while I'm on a pretty intense workout program, so yes, I was annoyed.

Then all of the sudden my weight has gone down. Every morning I'm a pound or more lighter and I'm a little shocked! What could I have possibly done to make this happen??? Here are my theories:

1. I started a new exercise program 2.5 weeks ago that is very different from what I've done in the past. It's all interval training and my whole goal is to get my heart rate going up higher. Apparently it was a good move.

2. During my "special" time of the month I always gain a couple pounds so part of the weight loss is me just getting back to "normal."

3. I've been trying to drink more water.

4. Did I mention to anyone my diet change? Yes, I gave up processed foods and I've been stuffing my face with unlimited fresh, organic fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

My theory: I was doing almost everything right and my body just wouldn't let the weight go because I wasn't eating right. As soon as I made the diet change my body was getting all the nutrients that it needed and the weight is coming back off. So if you're having a hard time loosing weight you should try the no-processed food diet cause it is working wonders for me!

Confessions of a Tree Hugger

If you've talked to me in the last week you've probably heard me obsessing over me and Zac's latest obsession. It all began when we signed up for a free trial on netflix. One of the first movies we watched online was a documentary called "Food Inc." Maybe you've heard of it? It was Zac's idea and I'm SO glad he found it, we both learned so much about where our food comes from.

I highly recommend this documentary to everyone! Although we didn't agree with everything the guy said and all of the information presented, it was still extremely informational and eye opening.

A few days later we watched another documentary about obesity and that was the one that pushed us over the edge. Here are the main things we learned from the movies that are influencing the major shift in our eating habits.

1. Pretty much all processed food contains some form of corn (high fructose corn syrup, corn starch) and/or Soy Bean Oil that help preserve the food. Check your labels and read the ingredients. In most of the packaged foods we have those items are within the first few ingredients. I know that corn is a veggie, but it is an extremely starchy veggie and it is no secret that starches fatten you up. Most farmers these days feed their animals corn to fatten them up faster. I'm still going to eat my starchy corn on the cob and mashed potatoes, but I don't want corn in everything I eat. Soy Bean oil is full of too much fat so that just adds calories to whatever it's in.

2. There are too many uneccesary preservatives in food that aren't good for us. All the produce is sprayed with all sorts of junk to make it ripen or not ripen or have color or what not.

3. Most of the food industry is governed by a few major companies. They control how food is grown and how animals are cared for, and because they want to make a maximum profit, the quality is going down. Buying from local farmers helps keep quality up.


There is a lot more, but those are the main things. This week we've been on a "no processed food diet." We aren't super strict, but we are trying hard. The main changes that we'll be making in the Daniels home are:

1. The ingredients label of every item that goes into our grocery cart will be carefully examined. We are trying to only buy items where we recognize every ingredient and where the first ingredients aren't oil or sugar. This definitely limits us! We were eating some serious crap!

2. I'm going to start shopping at our local farmer's market for all our fresh produce. When we have a little more room in a couple years we will grow our own garden and try to buy our meat from local farmers. This helps the local economy and lessons the control of the big businesses AND means healthier and fresher fruits and veggies for us. :) It's a little tougher on the wallet, but I think a heart attack would set us back quite a bit more!

3. So far this post has been the shared opinion of both Zac and I, but I'm not sure he would agree with me on this next one. I am done with fast food. It is just nauseating to me now that I know what all that stuff is made of, or at least realize that I don't know what it's made of. I want my children to out live me so I need to start by setting the example and taking care of my body. Fast food is a fast road to obesity and I'm not going to take my family there!

Am I crazy and obsessed or what!?!?!? I know, moderation in all things. but if I'm going to be obsessed about something at least it's not drugs and alcohol right?

Feel free to share your opinions, I'm NOT an expert on anything that I've written. I do have 2 grandmas in their 80's that are both still thriving, doing their own yardwork living healthily without medication and I think that a HUGE part of that is that they eat SO healthy and stay active. What better motivation is there than that?

I'd love any tips and pointers and recipes from any of you that know or have opinions on this stuff!

We LOVE having Zac home!

Zac finished the semester on Wednesday (4.0 again, he is like a machine!) and the celebration began!

We headed to Disneyland Thursday and had a blast. Our new favorite ride is the Toy Story ride. I'll let the pictures do the talking, it was a little chilly so the lines weren't bad, we LOVED it!

Instead of going home we headed up to see my mom for the weekend. Disneyland is the perfect halfway point pit stop!

It was a fabulous trip and she helped me put together a fantastic bulletin board for our primary. We were spending a lot of time working on that so we decided we needed a break so my mom treated us to a round of mini golf. It was a blast! Thank you mom!

Teagan quickly figured out that it's easier to kick the balls then hit them with clubs.

Teagan jumped on my mom's exercise ball pretty much any time he could get the chance. He got pretty good at doing front flips, it was pretty funny and a little scary to watch!

Since the big ball at grandma's house Teagan has become rather attached to jumping. He is jumping off of anything and everything. We found a park with a sand VB court so they started jumping into it. Me and Zac practiced our long jumping skills too it was a blast.

Of course, that wasn't exciting enough so they had to jump off of the walls that were even higher.

Then he wanted to jump by himself....

Then he decided he wanted Dad to jump next to him but he didn't want to hold hands "no, me" was his response to Zac reaching for Teagan's hand...

Of course the last jump resulted in tears and cries of pain, which is why it was the last jump. After a full foot exam Dr. Daniels has come to the conclusion that Teagan is fine, but he's keeping close tabs on Teagan's foot just in case. Of course he was up and running in about 3 minutes and has shown no signs of injury all night....boy will be boys I guess.

We are all loving this time we have to spend together. It's the break we all need after Zac spends so much time studying and prepping for his classes. I can't believe he only has 2 more semesters! December 12th is getting SO close!

Out with the old, In with the New

This might be shocking to all of us, but this post has nothing to do with the Price is Right or Legos. I'm trying to broaden my horizons. :)

I am a girl of lists and checking things off lists. Honestly, I will waste an ENTIRE day and do absolutely nothing, even if I feel great if I don't make a list the night before. There is something about that list, that only I see, that makes me want to do something.

My sister, Julie, and I decided to make one for our workout schedules for a 7 week program. I did SO good! I was out of town for a week and I forgot to bring my chart so I didn't feel the need to exercise so I didn't get to highlight that week very much, but other than that I did pretty dang good as you can see by all the highlighter. :)



SO, I made a new chart, isn't it beautiful and perfectly white? It starts tomorrow. I took last week off and I'm ready to start again. My goal: get faster and stronger and gain more endurance and highlight EVERY square. I think I can do it!
And I think this little guy will like this program better because I'm doing my strength days outside where he likes to play so that he can exercise/play with me!

I'm putting it on here so that I feel even more responsible for making it happen! I'm really excited/nervous, hopefully I won't be too sore!

Legos Are AWESOME!

So since last Wednesday when my legos were delivered we have been having WAY too much fun building our creations. I received 18 sets and we've built 5 of them and 2 of them were already built. So we still have 11 left! I have come to terms with selling at least 6 of those remaining 11 though, but still! It's like Christmas every day!

These are the two that were pre-assembled. They are enormous and incredible, pictures do not do these babies justice!

I actually put together a couple Toy Story ones for Teagan before this one, but I forgot to take pictures of them...

This is Indiana Jones, so much fun! There are trap doors and lots of weapons, plus it's basically a rollercoaster. Teagan LOVED playing with this one. It's already repackaged and put away for a rainy day.

Zac claimed the Sponge Bob set. Teagan was really helpful. :)

CBS put this one together for the show, but took it apart before they gave it back to me. So Zac and I put all 2500 pieces back together over the weekend to make sure all the pieces were there. We are sad to announce that there are 6 missing pieces, I'm about ready to write Drew Carey a letter! just kidding :)

This one was really fun. There are so many tiny details and I love that you can pull apart all 4 levels. Teagan loves to stack and unstack this one all the time!

Although he loves the apartment complex more than the Indiana Jones one, I find comfort in the fact that he likes it because he can throw the lego people out the upstairs window... And that's what he does over and over. He holds them in the window and yells "no, nooooooo" and then pushes them out the window and does a variety of sound effects to represent falling and crashing into the ground. I sure love my little boy!

I'm determined not to open any more sets until Zac is done with finals. We'll see how that goes. :)