food

Self Help & Book Junkie

Yup that’s me!!

Anyone else a big self help junkie? I thrive on this shit… If I could get to a point in my life that I could actually help others and be their self help junkie, that would be pretty freaking amazing! I have read every book out there, well not really just a few of my favorites and then I re-read them every other month. It’s super fun when I find new books and then really sad when I get through the book in a matter of a couple days.

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite books that I read over and over again. Just incase you are looking for something new to help convince yourself you are a complete BADASS!

  • BADASS HABITS – Jen Sincero (All her books are freaking awesome!)
  • FOOD SAVED ME – Danielle Walker (Has helped me see what food is actually doing for me)
  • THE UNIVERSE HAS YOUR BACK – Gabrielle Bernstein (Grounded me)
  • GIRL ON FIRE – Cara Alwill Leyba (Will make you feel like you can do anything)
  • GIRL WASH YOUR FACE – Rachel Hollis (Help me realize we are all the same)
  • LOVE WARRIOR – Glennon Doyle (Amazingly feel good book)
  • LIVING WITH A SEAL – Jesse Itzler (Seriously one of the best books I have ever read!!)
  • THE SECRET – Rhonda Byrne (Introduction to the Universe)

A lot of these are books I have read many many times. I would love to share what I’m reading and how I’m feeling about it. I LOVE BOOKS, all books. Let me know what your favorites are!

What book should I read next?!

Switching from Keto to Paleo

I got 3 new cook books this week! I have been doing so much research on how diet can be connected to depression. I think there is hope… I am focusing on keto/paleo to see how this plays out. Like I have said in the past I love the keto diet I have been following but I’m just not a huge fan of the sweeteners used in all the recipes. If I can use natural sweeteners like raw honey or pure maple syrup I feel like that can be healthier for my body? I get that the keto sweeteners are made for a reason, so they don’t spike your blood sugar and you can stay in ketosis, but if I’m really trying to just focus on the quality of food I’m putting in my body, I’m thinking I should focus on what is the most natural.

We have fresh pork from the butcher in the freezer, and am shopping around for beef. I think I just secured 12 hoop houses off craigslist (for free, just need to buy the plastic)! This winter I really want to try and keep some of my garden going. There is so much to look in to and remember everyday that I can do this! I’m doing this to stay off medications. This isn’t for everyone and I get that but I am desperate to heal my heart and head in a natural way. Along with diet I will continue taking all my vitamins and add in meditation.

So what are the main differences between Keto and Paleo, well not much!

KETO                                                          

  • Veggies                                     
  • Meat
  • Fish                           
  • Fats
  • Dairy
  • Nuts and Seeds

My favorite part of Keto is that I can have dairy. I love dairy! But I don’t like that I can’t have much fruit. That is something I love to snack on and it makes happy 🙂 I find that a lot of people that do Keto don’t really focus on the quality of the food they are eating, it’s all about the carbs and they tend to over eat on the fat. (Don’t get me wrong I am not a specialist in this department and please consult a doctor before you make any changes to your diet) I have had great success with a strict keto diet in the past but this time around I’m going after something a little different. This time it’s not about losing weight. This is strictly about my mental health and what it can do for healing the body.

PALEO

  • ORGAN MEAT
  • MEAT / POULTRY
  • FISH / SHELLFISH
  • LEAFY GREENS
  • CRUCIFEROUS VEGGIES
  • ROOT VEGGIES
  • BERRIES
  • CITRUS FRUIT
  • FATS

The paleo diet seems to have a little more freedom, yet not. Like I said above no dairy is hard for me. But I feel like I have the freedom to eat more veggies and fruit. I honestly feel like it’s really close to eating the same way, it’s just a matter or eating for losing weight or eating to heal your body.

The more I research the more I am starting to see a link between mental health and autoimmune disease. I have a mental health problem, however I also have gut issues. Do you think they could be related to each other? I do! I need to heal one to heal the other.

This weekend we start the trials. 37 day paleo diet starts tomorrow! This weekend I shop, plan and cook. I have the carb manager app to keep track of all my food and I’m hoping I can get in the habit of journaling everyday on my progress.

September 25th – October 31st WISH ME LUCK!

Food + Mental Health

Well today wasn’t my finest day…

Woke up with a pounding headache, finally got myself off to work running a little late, tried to get what I needed to get done but ended up not being able to kick the pounding in my head and felt like I was going to throw-up majority of the morning. I don’t know what my deal was but it wasn’t a pretty am. Throughout the afternoon I could feel my mood changing and my head getting cluttered. I have lots of stuff going on at work that stresses me out (and pisses me off), today it boiled over and by the time I left I could feel myself getting anxious and angry. When I got home, I went to pull some veggies out of the fridge, ended up dropping a few things on the floor and spilling them everywhere. This tipped me over the edge. I lost my shit! The worst part is both my kids watched it all 😦 I try really hard to not let me kids see this side of me. They know I battle depression and don’t get me wrong they see some horrible sides of me here and there but I do try really hard to not let them see this side. After yelling a few choice words and getting covered in coffee creamer, I hid in my room and cried…

I HATE FEELING LIKE THIS

I’ve been reading a new book and it’s making me think about what I can do without meds. I’m not against them, I just want to try everything else before I put medication in my body. I’ve been on and off anti depressants since I was 15 years old. They don’t mix well with me. Anyway this book isn’t about depression but autoimmune diseases and how the food you put in your body can help. Got me thinking, what can food do for depression? I know from experience the keto diet helps me have a clear head and my kids say I’m way happier and nicer when I’m following that diet. So what if I really went all in and started taking more out? What if I replaced the sugar substitute with more natural sweeteners like raw honey. What if I got serious about what was going in my body. I love the keto diet I have been following, but what if we took it up a notch and really focused on not only cutting gluten, sugar, and carbs out but learning where our food comes from and what is really going in our bodies. What if I take out all processed food, including sugar substitutes, alcohol and caffeine. Do you think it would help with my mental state? I’m almost past the point of even wanting to lose weight and just trying to see what I can do to help my head and heart. I feel like I’m fully losing my mind lately and I don’t want to see where it leads if I stay on this path. Mental health is such a touchy subject and so many are scared to admit they have a problem or bring it up to someone they are close too.

It sounds daunting the more I think about cutting everything out. Makes me miss food already! However I do love to cook and as long as I make the time this could work. It will have to be a whole family change, I can’t do this on my own that’s for sure.

Anyone have any experience with this? I think I’m going to go hit up the google machine and see what I can find. We know what it can do for the body, but what can it do for the mind?