Home Sweet Home – Dr. Ritamarie’s Appreciations for Today – Day 22

I’m back home and it feels great.

As much as I love traveling, it always feels great to return to the familiar and comfortable feeling of home.

I love having my kitchen equipment (Vitamix and food processor especially)  and I love feeling comfortable in my own space, not having to tiptoe around and be sure not to inconvenience anyone with my kitchen activities.  I’ve been traveling with my food choices for a long time.  Still, depending on who I am visiting, there’s always explaining about what I do, why I don’t eat the “regular”  food and all that.  While I love educating others, it feels good to come home and just “be”.

Dr. Ritamarie’s Appreciation Journal  for Today – Day 22

1. I am grateful for my beautiful and spacious backyard and all the greenery and wild life back there, including birds, squirrels, lizards, frogs and deer.  Its a joy to look out there as I lounge on the couch indoors writing.
2. I appreciate the mild winter weather here in Austin.  Even though a cold front has just hit, and we’re reaching for the sweatshirts and warm blankets, it’s still in the 50′s during the day and 30′s at night, which we considered warm when we were in Chicago.  Plus in a day or two we’ll be back in the upper 60′s.  Not bad for soon to be winter.
3. I appreciate the huge bowl of soup I just finished, including a combination of raw and lightly cooked vegetables, sea vegetables, warming herbs and seeds for my omega 3 fats.  It was filling, warming and oh so delicious.  I will post the recipe to the blog.

Getting in touch with what you appreciate throughout the day is a super way to  increase your energy, health and joy. Join me on this appreciation journey and watch magical things unfold.

Comment below with 3 things you appreciate today.

With Great Love and Appreciation,

Dr. Ritamarie

P.S. My “Gratitude Weekend” sale has been extended to noon on Monday, November 28th. Enjoy savings of up to 75% on health enhancing resources to make your life more joyful and comfortable.

Gratitude Weekend is described HERE.

Go ahead, give yourself an energy boost. Comment below about what you appreciate today.

My Commitment to My Adrenals: No Fatigue, Just Sleep!

When I work with people with fatigue symptoms, related to thyroid and adrenal overload, I talk about several key things:

1. Whole foods, fresh diet, high in raw foods
2. Proper hydration
3. Omega 3 fat balance
4. Getting off allergenic and inflammatory foods, including gluten, dairy, and sugar.
5. Fresh air and sunshine
6. Exercise
7. Restoring their adrenal reserve and enhancing detoxification via sleep.

I model the first 6 beautifully. I am committed to being as healthy and vibrant as I can be so that I can be a role model to others.

So why is number 7 so ###!!## hard for me?

I did really well on my sleep commitment the first week of my 30 day challenge.

My adrenals loved me for it, and I warded off a bout with adrenal fatigue by giving myself what I needed.

So why can’t I make a firm and lasting commitment?

I’m backsliding. I won’t even say how late it was when my head finally hit the pillow.

There’s still lots to do…there always will be. Yet I am off to meet my pillow and keep my commitment to me.

I made no commitments today and I kept none. What a deal. Tomorrow is a new day.

I did make myself a quart of green juice to start the day. It was lovely. I also did a great job on my omega 3′s today.  The subject is on my mind, as balancing the immune system was the topic of the week for Balance My Body.

I noticed dark circles under my eyes…not good for a fatigue expert to look tired. Not good for someone who prides herself in looking much younger and having the body of a 20 something year-old to notice signs of aging.

Commitments for Sunday, and the rest of the week.

• I will get outside and exercise
• I will make at least 16 ounces of green juice and 32 ounces of smoothie
• I will get my omega 3′s again
• I will eat consciously and with gratitude
• I will…can I say it and mean it…I will…..I will…..go to bed by 11PM…at least Sunday

Please hold me to it. Write me and ask me what time I went to bed. I can’t lie.

Post below and be bold enough to check in and make sure I am doing what I committed to. Sleep is vital for health. Food is great, exercise is great, greens are great…but they will only take me so far if I keep burning the candle at both ends.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Sleeeeeeeeeeeep!

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Healing Adrenal Fatigue, Making Healthy Choices and Keeping Commitments

I used to be limited in my activities by adrenal fatigue, allergies and digestive discomfort. My time was not my own. I learned how to overcome that, and now I love how I feel.

My goals in life are to be as healthy and vibrant as I can be so that I may experience the freedom to choose what I do and when I do it without limitations imposed by my body. Having the strength and stamina I do allows me to be of service to so many people, and that brings me great joy and satisfaction.

What do you do when you have made 2 commitments and when push comes to shove, you have to make a choice because you can’t do both? Wednesday I committed to bedtime at midnight. I also committed to write a chapter of my book to discuss at a meeting Thursday morning at 9AM.

My day was fraught with delays, the unfulfilled commitments of others that created extra work for me, and the needs of my family. By the time I could sit down to write my chapter, it was already midnight. I had to choose between 2 commitments. One commitment was to myself and this community; the other to my “Book Doula”,  Liz. I chose to write the chapter. After all, she was expecting to review it and help me with moving the book forward. I paid her to keep me on track. So I stayed up late and wrote the chapter.

You’ll find yourself in these situations. Of course if you set it up right, you may be able to avoid it. Had I written a half hour every day rather than waited until the last minute, perhaps I would not have been in that situation.

Your life is governed by choices. In each moment, if you choose based on what is in your highest and best good, you will move forward. Notice I didn’t choose between bed and staying up to watch a movie. That would have been an easy choice. Bed moves me closer to my ultimate goal of being the healthiest and most vibrant I can, the movie does not. In this decision making process, both had the potential of moving me towards an important goal. Such is life. I made my choice and I am happy that I did. Had I been ill, or very tired, I may have chose differently.

In my course Creating the Vibrant Health Mindset, there are several exercises and activities that help in this decision making process.

So for my report card for Wednesday:

1- Bed – you already know that

2- Exercise: I only did it for 5 minutes due to the aforementioned backlog

3- time with family: short and sweet

4- Green smoothies : a winner

And for Thursday:

1- Fun: spent a lovely hour and a half with my wonderful son Kevin. Playing cards. I need to finish this post and go cuddle with him. That’s the joy of my day.

2- Exercise: A lovely run in the sun: 4.5 miles!

3- Smoothies: 1 quart of dark green smoothie

4- Bed: a little late,12:30 -  off to lay down with my kiddo right after writing this.

Have a wonderful day.

Keep up the 3 day mini green cleanse.  If you haven’t started, check out my post on March 16 for details,   download yourcopy of  “Blended Greens for Health and Longevity” and, if you’re new to green smoothies,  join in on the  FREE Raw Divas 3 day green smoothie mini course for 3 days of lessons.

The essence of the program is to do the following for 3 days

• Drink Green smoothies and green soup throughout the day, as much as you’d like and as much as you need to keep you satisfied.
• In addition to the green smoothies, eat one or two large salads, loaded with greens and rainbow vegetables and fresh whole fruit.
• For Dressing, you can keep it simple by blending cucumber, apple and fresh herbs, or blend tomato,celery and lemon juice, or tomato, mango and lime juice, or red bell pepper, tomato, lemon or lime and herbs.  Or, make up your own simple blend – it’s easy.  You can also get the e-book  70 Healthy Salad Dressings Recipe Book, a collection of  easy, low fat  and tasty salad dressings you can make in less than 2 minutes.  For the 3 day cleanse, choose dressings that contain little or no added fat to give your liver a well earned rest.

I’ll check in with you later.

(and announce the winner of the contest. You’ve been writing almost daily…you know who you are! Congratulations – I will be in touch personally later, so be sure your email address is in your comment)

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

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30 Day Fun and Sleep Challenge: The Importance of Managing Your Stress

Sleep is important.  Fun is important.  Diet is important.  What’s as or  more important than all of these in creating vibrant health?  Giving your adrenals a rest!

Adrenal exhaustion has become an epidemic and it contributes to so many chronic health challenges.

There are lots of techniques for transforming stress and rebuilding your adrenals.  Nothing is as profound as the power of appreciation.  One of my favorites is to start and end each day by thinking about 3 things that I appreciate.  Try it.  Another favorite is to take a few deep breaths before each meal and tune into what I appreciate about the food I am about to consume.

My friend and Book Doula, Dr. Liz Alexander, wrote a fascinating article about walking meditation using labyrinths as a method of transforming stress and supporting your adrenals.

Tune into where you feel stress in your body, and learn to notice early warning signs.  Support yourself, nurture yourself, have fun and eat green.  You’ll soon find yourself with more energy than you know what to do with.

My report card for Monday:

1- bed by midnight.  Yikes – I really Blew it Sunday night…better Monday.  I had a lot of catch up to do and I took time for fun and exercise, so I made the choice to stay up later than I should have ( 3AM /12:30 AM ) .  I could feel the difference Monday morning, although my energy came back pretty quickly

2- finish writing a few projects that are close to completion – Success here!

3- fun time with kids, who are off school for spring break – Spend some time with my 11 year old

4- running in the sun – yeah.  It was warm again today! I love running when it’s warm.

My commitments for Tuesday:

1- bed by midnight.

2- running in the sun

3- 15 minute fun break

4- 2 quarts green smoothie

Commitment for at least one day this week:  Get to bed by 10 PM and see if it is really as good as it’s cracked up to be!

What about you?  What are you committed to?

Post below in the comments section.

This week we’re having a contest.  I’m offering a prize to whoever posts the most this week…genuine commitments and report cards.  The prize for the winner is an e-book and audio recording.

Wishing you lots of Love, Health and Joy (and sleep, too)

Dr. Ritamarie

Day 14 of the 30 Day Fun and Sleep Challenge: Exercise, Vitamin D and Antidotes for Chronic Fatigue

What do chronic fatigue, belly fat, depression and hormone imbalance have in common?

Exercise, sleep, fresh air, sunshine (vitamin D) and fresh foods.  A deficiency of any or all of these can create imbalances in hormones and  blood sugar irregularities that lead to persistent belly fat, fatigue and depression.  So what do these have to do with the 30 day fun and sleep challenges?  Plenty!  Most people I talk with feel fatigued much of the time and would like more energy.

Lack of sleep is only part of the equation, but it can make you fat.  Researchers have found that lack of sleep can cause decreased leptin levels.  Leptin is a hormone that regulates your appetite. As a result of not getting enough sleep, you’ll find yourself more hungry and you’ll find it challenging to control the amount you eat.  This leads to blood sugar imbalances, insulin resistance and increased belly fat.  Insulin resistance results in fatigue after eating, rather than  increased energy, which means you’re less likely to exercise.  It’s quite the vicious circle.

While I have not been as good as I had planned at writing these blog posts daily, I am pleased to admit that the reason why I haven’t had the time to write the blog posts daily is that I have been fulfilling my commitment to get to bed as close to midnight as possible.  Thus, I am sleeping more.  As a result of sleeping more, I’ve also been exercising more.  A double win!  There have only been a couple of later than midnight bedtimes, and that was because I chose to sit in the sauna before bed.

If my lack of posting has in any way effected your commitment to the 30 Day Fun and Sleep Challenge, my apologies.  I am committed to resuming writing daily, and have it scheduled in my calendar.

Our weather in Austin has finally become warm and sunny!  I’m very happy about that.  The mornings have still been cool…40′s, but the afternoons are in the 70′s and 80′s.  So I have been out for a run in the sun most days this week.  It feels great.

I am usually very consistent with exercise…as consistent as I am with food.  When the weather got so cold and cloudy for so long, I got out of the habit of running first thing in the morning, and some days, time and obligations got away from me and I found my exercise dwindling.

In addition to getting your daily dose of vitamin D on sunny days, exercising in the fresh air offers so many benefits. Exercise is super important for hormone balance, weight management, increasing your energy and overcoming fatigue.  It’s also good for your heart, your mood and your immune system.  Fresh air and exercise are a dynamic duo, so get outside and move as much as you can.

My blog post back in the fall about exercise and burst training is a good one to review for some tips.

My report card for the last few days:

1- getting to sleep at or around midnight:  Excellent

2- exercise:  excellent

3- writing my blog posts:  fair

4- Having fun – good.  I’ve spent a lot of time with family and have had some friend fun too.

My commitments for Monday:

1- bed by midnight.

2- finish writing a few projects that are close to completion

3- fun time with kids, who are off school for spring break

4- running in the sun

Commitment for at least one day this week:  Get to bed by 10 PM and see if it is really as good as it’s cracked up to be!

What about you?  What are you committed to?

Post below in the comments section.

This week we’re having a contest.  I’m offering a prize to whoever posts the most this week…genuine commitments and report cards.  I’ll post the prize on Tuesday.

Wishing you lots of Love, Health and Joy (and sleep, too)

Dr. Ritamarie