Haggis and Neeps

I know it sounds like a new pair of cartoon characters, but it is actually a delicious Scottish dish.  Last night Allen and I attended the annual Robbie Burns dinner.  He is the poet laureate for Scotland who lived in the 1700s.  He is best known for writing the song we sing on New Year's Eve, Auld Lang Syne.

Anyway, you get a bunch of men in full kilt regalia, add in whiskey tasting, bagpipes and highland dancing and you have a fun night!  They always serve haggis and neeps as the appetizer.  It actually is quite delicious.  Haggis is similar to sausage but they incorporate oats. Neeps is short to turnips and they serve them mashed.  I also ordered the salmon instead of the beef, way fewer calories for sure!

It is fun to have different tastes from different cultures to spice up the palate.  I have been eating REALLY clean and low calorie, so last night was a bit of a departure.  I was very modest with my portions, avoided the alcohol and had only a tiny portion of the trifle served at desert.  All in all, a successful evening from a nutrition perspective. 

I keep reminding myself to eat less, feel hungry and embrace greater health!     How are you doing?

Desire to eat less.  Dedication to love hunger.  Discipline to move more.

Complete Vocal Rest - It's a Crack Up!

Happy Sunday.  I have had an interesting couple of weeks.  2 weeks ago today I went to bed because I didn't feel well.  No big dramatic symptoms, just not feeling well.  That was followed by a week of a dry cough.  Then I flew to Dallas on a business trip last Monday.  Then my symptoms blossomed into nasal congestion. 

Then something happened to me that has not ever happened to me before. On Wednesday, the 15th, I woke up, met my co-worker downstairs for brekkie, opened my mouth to say good morning, and nothing came out.  It was the strangest awareness to realize I could not communicate vocally! 

I had to deliver a leadership workshop that afternoon, so I asked for a microphone and whispered my way through the 2 hours.  It was odd for sure.

I flew home Friday morning (still no voice) and went straight to an ear, nose, throat specialist.  She assessed me and assured me that there was nothing "scary" going on with my vocal chords, no polyps or tumors, etc "just" swollen vocal chords.  I am being treated for a sinus infection and laryngitis.  The treatment for laryngitis is complete vocal rest until the voice is "restored an normalized". 

This morning (day 5 of no voice) I can make a bit of a croaking or barking noise, but still no actual voice.  The temptation is to power out a sound but the doctor assured me that this would be damaging to the vocal chords and to not speak until my voice is both restored and normalized. 

Why am I sharing this with you?  I see great parallels to a healthy journey.  It is another example of needing to take care of ourselves, even if we are tempted to do the opposite.  It is tempting to "diet" for awhile and then begin eating things that may not be in our best interest.  What is true and real is that we have to honor ourselves and make good choices for all time to come.  It is not enough for me to rest my voice for a few days, I have to honor that discipline and wait until my voice is fully restored.  It is actually really tough being quiet.  I know the universe is having a good laugh over this.  Anyone who knows me, realizes that I am quite verbal!  :-)

Another day/week/month, another chance to practice making the best right choices to honor myself!

Desire to get my voice back.  Dedication to heal fully.  Discipline to stay silent.

Change Your Mind, Change Your Life

Welcome to 2014!  It is an overused rant, but SERIOUSLY how did it get to be 2014 already!  Another year has flown by.  So many folks are making resolutions.  Forbes magazine said that a scant 8% of those who make a resolution actually achieve them.  My trainer on Saturday said she made 2 resolutions on New Year's Eve and had broken both of them already (no sugar and always being nice to her clients).  :-)

At my restorative yoga class on Friday evening, (I wish you could all go with me it is a slice of heaven!),  Flossie, the teacher extraordinaire, was talking about taking the opportunity in class to let 2013 fall away into the past; to let go of everything you thought you should have done (shed weight?  exercise more? drink less? etc.) and to set your intention for how you want to live your best life in the year to come.  I love how she shares her thoughts and lets them flow for us all to hear. It makes sense for me to let go of last year.  If you never let go of the shore, you will not be able to reach the other side (of life)!

So, instead of thinking about making a resolution, what can you think about in a different way to help you achieve your personal vision to be the very best healthiest person you can be???

For me, my 2014 intention is to spend more time being hungry.  When we are hungry, we are burning available fuel from our bodies.  I know I have abundance of available fuel!!!

So, when I feel the physical sensation of hunger, I will reach for something to drink, most likely water or tea, and wait for the initial sensation to pass.  When the hunger rears it's head again, maybe then I will feed it.  We just have to change our minds about hunger.  It is a good sensation, not one to be avoided.

So, here's to reducing the abundance of available fuel on my body. 

Desire to have a fabulous and fit 2014.  Dedication to paying attention to my physical sensations. Discipline to delay gratification when I feel hunger.

#Gratitude

I am sitting with my husband this morning completely overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the blessings in my life.  He is hooked up to a cryo therapy (ice) machine that is accelerating his healing from knee surgery yesterday.  He had a meniscus tear repaired.  He is doing fabulously!  I am so grateful for so many things. 

First of all, for his strong baseline health.  He takes very good care of himself and is strong and healthy.  So, even though he tore his meniscus, he is in awesome shape. 

Next for the fact that we have good health insurance and can select the finest surgeon to fix his knee.  Thank you Dr. Tallman.

Next, for my Mom, who sat with me during his surgery.  It was so nice to have her company!

Next, for my sister who provided healing homeopathic therapy to speed his healing process.

Next, for the abundance in our lives so that we can afford to buy the cryo therapy machine, which is not covered by insurance, but is considered to be the gold standard in rehab therapy.

Next, for my parents who made Allen his favorite meal, homemade pasta, so he could enjoy it as soon as he was home and propped up for healing. 

Next, for the healing love in the Christmas cookies Mom and Dad brought him for further "pain: medication!

Next, that I work for a company who is happy to give me a few days off so I can be by Allen's side during his initial healing.

I hope that all of you will sit in gratitude and count your many blessing.  It sure is a good time of year to do just that!

Desire to act with gratitude.  Dedication to count our blessings.  Discipline to be sure to thank our loved one for all they do.

San Diego vs. Green Bay

I am sitting here this morning with my beautiful niece (23) who has moved to San Diego from Green Bay 4 months ago.  We just enjoyed a delicious Christmas breakfast including a limoncello mimosa.  Delicious!

We were talking about the beautiful weather here in San Diego after facetiming with her folks (in Green Bay) who had to go out and blow the snow from the driveway so they could go pick up visiting family for the holidays.

We also talked about indulging for the holidays and I said we can all diet on January 1.  Emily reminded me that I had told her never to diet, because the word diet has the word die in it!

First of all, I was tickled pink that she remembered something I had told her!  That in itself was an amazing thing! Then I reflected about what she had said and I actually agree with her!  Diet does have die in the word.  We want to alter the way we eat to become healthier, not to die!  So as I enjoy the treats of the season, I do want to move towards continued health and give zero thought to the word "die".  So we will all continue on our healthy journeys and never diet again!!!

Desire to increase health. Dedication to listen to the wise ones in our lives. Discipline to never DIEt again!

Tri Tri Tri!

One of the most amazing blessings of my life is my husband Allen.  He is the love of my life, the wind beneath my wings, my biggest supporter, my better half and so much more.

An important part of my healthy journey has been to support him and his efforts.  So, this morning he competed in his first ever triathlon, sprint distance.  He is a super star.  He has always been athletic (motocross, rugby, etc.) but this seems like a bigger deal than before.

Yes, I got up at 4:30 on a Sunday and went with him, but he did all the hard work.  I am so proud of him!  If you know him, please send him congratulations!

It takes a lot of training and preparation to do these competitions, even at the sprint distance.  My running days are behind me, so I won't do one, but he represented the McKay name quite well this morning!

Desire to support my loved ones.  Dedication to be his cheerleader.  Discipline to wake up with him at o-dark-thirty.

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Not just now during this very busy season, but all throughout the year?  So many times, getting enough sleep surfaces as a critical success factor for reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.  I know this is an ongoing challenge with my healthy journey.  My sleep patterns are all &$#+ed up.  This week was a particularly notable week of bad sleep due to an unbelievably busy week at work.  My mind simply doesn't shut off for long enough.  I fall asleep easily and well.  But I tend to wake up 4-5 hours later and finish the night with tossing and turning. After 4 nights of sleep deprivation, it is harder to function well.  It is enough to drive me crazy.  There is no doubt in my mind that the added stress of sleep deprivation impedes my ability to easily shed weight.

I have tried everything short of sleep drugs.  I just can't bring myself to do drugs.  Restorative yoga, herbal teas, warm relaxing baths, reading, no TV in the bedroom (never had on in the bedroom, don't believe in it), light dinner, avoid caffeine, no sugar near bedtime, going to bed and waking up at a similar time each day and so much more. 

BUT once in a while there is a fabulous reward, like yesterday.  It rained in San Diego much of the day and my hubbie and I got under the covers in the late afternoon, read a little bit, then took a nap.  IT WAS A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN! 

My happy holiday wish for you all is that you find a way to enjoy some blissful, much needed, hard earned rest and relaxation.  It is the best gift you can give yourself!

Desire to sleep well.  Dedication to keep trying ideas to get me there.  Discipline to do all the right things for peaceful sleep.