Oh, Moringa!

November 4, 2012 by 10 Comments

Giiiiiirls…I gotta testify.

Wait.

Before I do, let me warn you…this post is partially about poop… Or the lack thereof.

OK.

You’ve been warned….

So…I have had a problem for…oh…let’s say….31 years ;) it’s called constipation. I just didn’t poo.  I tried every day…but I just couldn’t. Whenever this would come up in conversations with family/friends, they’d always have suggestions of what would “definitely” work:

  • prunes
  • hot water w/ lemon
  • metamucil
  • fiber bars
  • fiber cereal
  • green veggies
  • raisins
  • detoxes
  • colon cleansers
  • water on the hour

I tried ALL of it, and then some more. Nothing worked. I went vegetarian for a year or so, thinking it would help, it only made me poo every 6 days versus every week. I would do a medley of poop bringing techniques and would even (don’t laugh) meditate about my chakra that controls my gastrointestinal system. All to no avail.

I just couldn’t shit. Period.

I figured I was just doomed to poop weekly (if I was lucky), and with lots of…um…effort…required (read: grunting). And pain and strife. And sometimes ::sniff:: tears.

Enter my crazy “cousin” Nat.

He came to Rohan’s sip and see back in August all hopped up with excitement, carrying a bush and ranting and raving about how magical it was. He said “You’ll never go to the doctor again!” “It will cure any ailment!” Now, every time I see Nat he’s got some new magical powder, or tea, or something…so I was not impressed with this bush he was going on about.

Then I googled it. Moringa Oliefera. Turns out…this stuff is legit. Dr. Oz spoke about it:


And the moringa plant is used all over (not in the US of course, thanks to Big Pharma) to prevent disease and heal disease. Not just increase energy like Dr. Oz mentioned.

My family in Florida, we all got suckered into crazy Nat’s salespitch. He gave everybody plants.  And then my aunts went to the nursery and bought more…just in case. ;)

So, Gram started making tea w/ the fresh leaves of the plant. I drank it each morning for about a week. My vain hope was that it would help clear up the skin on my face. Maybe give me more energy if I was lucky.

Instead…..I got thrush in my mouth.

Yes, THRUSH.

FYI That’s called A YEAST INFECTION.

IN.

My.

MOUTH!!

Remember when I told you about formula feeding baby boy while I was on meds? Well, that’s why.

How gross is that?!

Thanks a lot Moringa!  You filthy bitch, you.

So, I took my meds for the thrush, figured that moringa was the devil, and kept it moving

Until I realized…I’d been moving!

I’d been pooping daily ever since day 4 of drinking the tea!!

Hold Up. Waaaaaiiit.

So of course I went through the disbelief that something could actually make poop come out of me. I tried to think if anything else was different about what I was doing, eating, drinking etc… Nope.

Just Moringa.

I don’t know if I had some weird overgrowth of yeast that needed to come out? I don’t know if I had something binding that just had to be released and came out in the form of yeast? I don’t know if the moringa just eradicated a bacteria that was clogging me, and also eradicated the good bacteria too.  I just don’t know.

All I know is I’ve been pooping daily ever since, and I FEEL GREEEEAAAATTT!!! 

(i hope you read the “i feel great” the way oprah would say it.)

If you dont know the vice grip of death, that is constipation, then you won’t get the true meaning of the freedom and joy moringa has brought into my life. I’m a daily pooper yall!!

I CAN POOP!!!!

There are other gastrointestinal moringa benefits for me. I am less gassy after eating certain foods (read: dairy) and I have had no tummy aches since. I am going to re-up on fresh moringa leaves when I go back down to Florida, but until then I’m going with this brand: Moringa Source

 

Re-energize your life - As seen on Dr. Oz
Moringa Source

(FYI: this is an affiliate link, if you buy from them, I get a few pennies thrown my way! So if you go…please buy $48,000,000 worth of moringa stuff :) )

You can find Moringa Products on Amazon too, if you prefer shopping there.

There are more than just teas and pills, there are beauty products that incorporate moringa as well. I think I’m going to try some out. I bet one day I’ll wake up looking better than Halle after using moringa!

OK, well…maybe it’ll clear up my face like it cleared out my poop chute. (was that gross?)

Have you tried moringa yet?

Filed Under: Health / Fitness, My Life, Reviews

I’m In Love With A Ninja

October 16, 2012 by 5 Comments

Not this ninja…but he’s a close second:

Remember that?! HAHA!

Well the new Ninja I’m in love with is the Ninja 1100 that I bought a few weeks ago.

Since then I’ve been a smoothie-holic. Every day I’m concocting all different vegetable and fruit based drinks for John and I. They’re SO GOOD!

A while back we watched this movie, and it got us all gung ho about juicing and making smoothies to kick our veggie intake up, but my sad old blender just didn’t do a great job.  We lasted about a month, and not even making them daily.  The blender left big chunks, and didn’t give a nice smooth consistency.

Enter…the Ninja.

OMG this bad boy is powerful! First off, it turns ice into snow…so…#winning right away.  But it also chops up fresh carrots like it’s nothing! Apples get the business too.

I’ve been trying to have one green smoothie a day at least. Frozen spinach has been the base of most of my drinks and they all taste SO good. It’s the most delicious healthy change I’ve made for myself in a long while.

If you’re interested in making smoothies a part of your life you may want to check out this site: http://www.jointhereboot.com/ Loads of info and different ways to incorporate juicing there. Also just googling “green smoothies” brings up TONS of blogs and recipe websites.

I need to find a good juicer now. That way I can make an apple juice or a carrot juice the liquid base for my smoothies instead of water. MMMMM

Are you juicing? or Smoothie-ing? Have a good juicer recc?

DONT FORGET to ENTER THE GIVEAWAY of Lia Naturals Products or USE THE 25% OFF Code!

Filed Under: Health / Fitness

I’m Going INSANE

September 14, 2012 by 8 Comments

Insanity Logo

So remember my whole workout plan I told you about? Well…I didn’t do so well with that. The only thing I did was run fairly regularly. I’ve started a new journey with my whole fitness life. My friend and beachbody coach Celester got me on it. I’m now doing the INSANITY challenge and chronicling my journey every single day and even coaching/helping to motivate other challengers. I’ve got an accountability group that I check in with every day and get to whine to about how tough the daggone workouts are. That’s helpful. :)

Confession: I feel like I was wildly out of integrity. As a personal coach, I’m having deep and sometimes super intense conversations with women that facilitates their positive change in their daily habits and longer range goals. So here I am helping these women and then turning around and failing to exercise, failing to eat right, failing to just do better… It was eating me up inside. I think I was giving myself an out by saying, oh I just had the baby…(which yes, is a big deal)… but seriously, if I could binge on oreos, I could binge on fruits instead. I don’t let my clients get away with feeble excuses, and I was letting myself off the hook so easily.  Not Anymore.

I started on Sunday, and have kept up well despite it being hard as hell, and today realized I’m going to have to change my diet a bit.  I’m going to post weekly updates on the FITNESS page here, but I’m keeping a daily log on a mini fitness blog I made just for chronicling my journey back to a fit life. I lost my mind and posted “before” pics and gave the link to my INSANITY challenge group as well, for double the accountability.

No turning back now!

Hope you ladies have a healthy and happy weekend! I’ll be sore, but happy :)

Any plans for the weekend?! Have you ever tried Insanity or other BeachBody Products? What about other at home workout dvds? How’d it go?

 

Filed Under: Health / Fitness

Nutrition During Pregnancy

June 17, 2011 by 3 Comments

I got this in an email this week, and Lisa okayed me putting the info here for you all.  We always hear about women “eating for two” during pregnancy and it’s so not necessary.  300 extra calories a day is all that’s really needed. (tho I’m sure I’ll be going over that a lot of the time)

Anyhow, here are some prenatal nutrition tips straight from the mouth of a Registered Dietician who specializes in Pre-Natal Nutrition:

According to The American Dietetic Association, “a healthy pregnancy includes appropriate weight gain,
a well-balanced diet within recommendations, vitamin/mineral supplementation, & avoidance of alcohol,
tobacco and other harmful substances and safe food handling.”

1. Gradually increase calories to promote a healthy weight gain:

Focus on getting these calories through plenty of plant-based foods, lean protein and
healthy fats. Average weight gain is between 20-40 pounds based on BMI.

Daily Needs: ~300 extra calories for 2nd trimester & up to 450 during the 3rd trimester.

  • 300 calories = Apple + 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter or 1 cup pasta + ½ cup Tomato Sauce
  • 400 calories = Italian bread + 2 Tbsp Olive Oil or 1 Cup Frozen yogurt w/ sprinkles

2. Fill up on fiber:

Fiber-rich foods contain nutrients, particularly vitamin A, C, B’s, Iron, Magnesium and Folate and helps treat/prevent constipation & Gestational Diabetes.

Daily Needs: Up to to 28g/day. Lactation needs increase to 29g/day.

Sources of Fiber:

  • 1 cup berries or melon = 5-8g
  • ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw veggies = 3-6g
  • High Fiber Cereal (Fiber One, GoLean Original, Etc.) = 8- 14g
  • ½ cup beans = ~8g

3. Meet higher nutrient needs:

Consume a well-balanced in combination with your prenatal supplement.

Daily Needs: Iron (27mg/day), Folate (600ug/day), Zinc (11mg/day), Calcium (1,000mg/
day), Niacin(B3) (18mg/day), vitamin C (85mg/day) and B-vitamins (1.4-2mg/day).

  • Iron (27mg): Shellfish, Lean Beef, Liver, Beans & Fortified Cereal
  • Folate (600ug): Lentils, Beans, Dark Leafy Greens
  • Zinc (11mg): Lean Red Meats, Seeds (sesame, pumpkin), Yogurt
  • Calcium (1,000mg): Dairy, Soy or Tofu, Dark Leafy Greens, Salmon/Sardines
  • Vitamin C (85mg): Oranges, Grapefruits, Strawberries, Red or Green Peppers
  • B-Vitamins (1.4-2mg): Seafood, Lean Meat, Nuts/Seeds, Legumes, Grains

4. Avoid Harmful Substances:
Besides alcohol and tobacco, avoid high mercury seafood and high pesticide produce.

  • Highest mercury seafood: Swordfish, Tuna, Mackerel, Bass, Trout, Halibut & Snapper.
  • Lowest mercury seafood (choose 2- 6 ounce servings per week): Flounder, Haddock, Scallops, Salmon, Crab, Sole, Tilapia, Sardines, Shrimp, Squid, Oysters & Clams.
  • Dirty Dozen (Buy Organic): Apple, Celery, Berries, Grapes, Leafy Greens, Cherries, Etc.
  • Clean 15: Onions, Avocado, Melons, Kiwi, Pineapple, Mango, Sweet Potato, Asparagus, Grapefruit, Eggplant, Etc.

Food Safety Tips:

  • Set Fridge to <40 degrees F; 
  • Keep eggs/milk on interior shelves; 
  • Store raw meat in sealed containers; 
  • Distribute leftovers into shallow containers

Lisa Moskovitz, RD, CDN is a Registered Dietitian specializing in Pre/Post Natal
Nutrition. For more information on Lisa’s nutrition services and availability, please call (212) 233-0633 or
email her at Lisa@halevylife.com. 

(This was not a sponsored post, I simply wanted to share.) 


Did you do these things and eat this way during your pregnancy(ies)?

Follow me on Twitter @OKDani
Filed Under: Health / Fitness, Pre-Pregnancy, Pregnancy Tagged With: , ,

Living La Vida Low Carb

May 18, 2011 by 10 Comments
“woke up in new york citaaay”
FYI I wish I could take credit for the snazzy title of my post, but I totally stole it from THIS GUY where I found this interesting article.


I’ve switched to a low carb way of eating. John’s on this kick permanently and I’m joining the club.  It’s going to take a lot of getting used to but ultimately I think it’ll be worth it for my health.  I’m not sure which low carb plan I will go with.  I have to research them all and see what feels right to me.  John is a fan of Atkins, and I hear such good things about the Paleo way of eating and Sugar busters too… I will probably read about them all and then not do any of them, and just do what feels good to me.

At first I was vainly thinking I’ll just try low carbing as a short term diet until I can see my abs without clenching in my gut… and putting my arms up in the air….. and bending 45 degrees diagonal…and squinting….in the right lighting….(per my 30 before 30 list) but after reading about the health benefits of minimizing your carbohydrate intake I’m thinking I will just make it my new way of eating for good.

I could totally live without pasta/bread/rice/potatoes/desserts (except cheesecake)….but not fruits or my mama’s preserves…no way! ::shaking head furiously::

I know myself and if it feels restrictive I will buck and inhale 25 chocolate croissants in one sitting, so I’m going to figure out a nice easy way to work it and also figure out what the nutritional needs are when I’m baking up a baby in my belly, so I can readjust.  If baby needs crusty bread dipped in olive oil w/ balsamic vinegar and parmesan shavings, baby’s gunna get it! :)   (is it bad that my mouth got watery just typing that out?)

Oh yeah, and I’m going to try to like the taste of fake sugar.  If that’s even possible. What is the deal with that stuff?

Are you a low-carber?? What effects has it had on you? Is it a temporary diet for you or just your natural way of eating now?

Random Ricky Martin story: So in 11th or 12 grade I cut school with this one girl Sandra and we went to Virgin Records or Sam Goody or something to see Ricky Martin and get a pic an autograph!  We got there at like 7am, and waited on this looong ass line ALL goddamn day.  Then. When there were only 2 people left in front of us on line…they announced that Ricky has left and we didn’t have to go home but we had to get the F up outta there.

I cried.

The end.

Follow me on Twitter @OKDani
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