Go big or go home... Ugh!

This saying is so last year. Not only that, it's wrong. When it comes to eating, that is.

There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet these days - hence the reason I rarely blog. It's such a challenge to find the truth. There's some good in this, however. The truth is simple: you can't read the truth on a blog, in a book or even hear it from your friend. Only you can find it out to be true for you and the only way to do that is try it out for yourself!

That being said... I am a believer in small meals. I've seen the websites saying that this is a myth, but I've found it to be true for me and this is the way I've eaten for a number of years and I continue keep my weight in balance. Furthermore, big meals jam up your digestive system - think of it like rush hour traffic. When you eat smaller, frequent meals in conjunction with yoga or other beneficial exercise, you are better able to keep your metabolism working in harmony with the other systems in your body.

Check out this blog from Duke, it explains the medical lingo and vernacular that we yoga teachers don't possess. Also, be sure to check out my yoga blog - I'm rarely on this blog anymore and I don't want you to miss out on any yoga nuggets you may find helpful. Visit lorigivensyoga.com. See you on the mat!

Balls to the wall!

"Yoga is not for the man who overeats..." Ok then, so what are we to do if we do overeat or over indulge or over consume... or are, simply put, Americans? You have to start somewhere, right? We are told by our teachers, "begin where you are." Begin by appreciating your own self worth. Put your oxygen mask on first, etc. Sounds easy enough. Ok then, I'm going to start.... now! Waiting... and waiting... hmph. Why doesn't it magically work? Because like anything else, it requires training. This can be frustrating when we begin the practice of yoga with it's stereotype: twisting into a pretzel while trying to control our minds then mumbling something in Sandskrit as we leave. Then we say, "You know something, I tried yoga and I didn't like it, or it's not for me, or it's too hard, or I'm not flexible, or I hated the teacher or it was boring or too structured or that's not what yoga is because I know everything about yoga..."

Remember that dissatisfaction with learning is a sign of learning failure so a change in curriculum is obviously necessary. Patanjali begins the 8 limbs of yoga, not with asana or posture, but with the yamas: abstention from harming others (ahimsa), falsehood, theft, greed and being chaste. Next the niyamas: the observances of purity, contentment, self-discipline (tapas) and study. So the answer is, not only should you begin where you are, how about this brilliant idea: "begin at the beginning."

In my personal practice of yoga, one of many discoveries has been an imbalance in tapas or the practice of conserving energy for the use of achieving yoga (union of the body and mind). This requires self discipline. Self discipline... yes... I can do that. Deprive myself of stuff, push my body really hard and just go balls-to-the-wall, right?

Through the proper study and practice of yoga, a yogi learns and eventually knows that when we are practicing self-discipline, we have to be very careful that we don't become fanatical and self-punish. True discipline is in quiet self-control. But, that sounds hard! And yes, it actually is. The good news is you can begin again, right where you are. Yoga is simply a method. It's a way to break contact with pain and unify the body and mind. Whether your mind be restless, scattered or overly passionate, every mind can be transformed to be able to attain a "perfect" yoga. It's only a matter of practice.

Who are you and what have you done with Lori?

"You only know how a snake crawls when you become a snake."

As a teacher in yoga, if you have not examined yourself thoroughly, completely and continually, then you can not help your students.

As human beings, it's part of our nature to seek balance and understanding.

Like most of the western population, I've been running 90 miles an hour with my hair on fire, basically living life in a controlled fall. When I began to slow down, I realized just how much I depended on momentum to keep going. Not only did I discover that I was grotesquely out of balance, I learned that if I did nothing to correct the imbalances, they would certainly continue to manifest themselves in my life in exponential proportions and ways that were completely unmanageable.

Yoga provides us the tools to find balance in our lives. From self-awareness to form and asana practice to the bones of yoga: breath. Your breath is the bridge between your body and your mind. When your mind is agitated the fluctuations are reflected in your breathing patterns. Breath not only reflects your state of mind, it also can be recruited to calm your mind. Indeed, there is a neurological sensory and motor response between your breath and your mind. Prana or life force energy is brought into the body primarily through your breath. So, if you aren't getting enough, you are cheating yourself of oxygen AND PRANA. If you are running 90 miles an hour, if you have injuries, disease, stress, a poor environment, unresolved grief (who doesn't?)... all of these things contribute to our inability to breathe fully. The result? Your body becomes stressed and this creates even more anxiety further tipping you out of balance.

When you begin to MANAGE your breath, you can begin to "take the tooth out of the tiger," you can relax your mind and FINALLY come into to balance, the gap, the stillness within.

Is your yoga practice ALL physical? (yes Bikram yogis, I'm talking to you!) Well, then you can rest assured that you are indeed out of whack. If you are out of whack in your yoga practice, guess where else you are screwed up? Do you want to live your life just getting by, dulling the pain with more pain? Pain doesn't cure pain, stillness cures pain - understanding cures pain - freedom cures pain and the recipe for success all begins with balance.

Please pass the Vitamin D to Charlie Sheen!

EVERYONE is talking about it. It's one of the top searches on Google and in magazines all over newsstands. NO, not Charlie Sheen, VITAMIN D!

Did you know: deficiencies in Vitamin D are linked to mood swings, depression, and also conditions like heart disease, diabetes, allergies, cancer, parathyroid problems, immune system and yep, you guessed it - weight loss.

Forget Chuck and his issues, let's stay focused. Everyone already knows that your body needs Vitamin D to properly absorb calcium (and if you didn't, now you do). But, if you are having trouble losing weight, could a deficiency in Vitamin D be a factor?

Let's discuss.

Firstly, if you are still living off of your regular daily vitamin or worse, nothing at all, you are living on "minimum wage nutrition." According to Jonny Bowden, PHD, Taking the "recommended daily allowance" for Vitamin C, enough to prevent scurvy (which is rampant in the States), the recommended daily allowance for Vitamin B1 (thamin) is enough to prevent beriberi. She says these amounts, again "minimum wage nutrition," are utterly irrelevant to those interested in optimal health and well-being. And I agree.

There is a vast amount of literature on Vitamin D and some of it is scary. Just this past November, the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board released a report that said taking Vitamin D in any amount over 800 IUs is "unnessary and could even be harmful." BUT, the committee only studied the amount of Vitamin D needed for bones. Again, to quote my friend Jonny Bowden, "That's like evaluating an iPhone based solely on the ability of its built in calculator to add and subtract. The calculator is one tiny feature of the iPhone, but its hardly a complete picture of what a good smartphone can do." Agree yet again.

The Vitamin D Council, a much better judge of Vitamin D's good and harm, says that the correct figure for a minimum daily requirement of D is actually 4,000 IUs (from Zoltan Roma, MD, Author of Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin).

So what does this have to do with losing weight??? A recent study which measured blood levels of Vitamin D in overweight men and women has shown that for every increase in blood levels of Vitamin D in the blood stream, those folks ended up losing almost half-pound more on their diets. ALSO, the higher the baseline of Vitamin D, the greater the abdominal fat loss. HORRAY!

Studies over the years have also shown there is a direct correlation between higher blood levels of Vitamin D and leaner body mass. There is also a direct correlation with Vitamin D and insulin... but doctors still don't understand the complete scope of how it relates to our individual biochemistry.

So, is toxicity something to consider with Vitamin D? Well, as long as you stay under 10,000 IUs a day, you are out of the "toxicity MIGHT happen" category set by the Food and Nutrition Board.

I'm all about me some Vitamin D right about now. Time to get in bikini shape by summer! My pick? Gummy Vitamins! Yes, I know... sugar. There is something to be said for moderation as well as having your gummy bear and eating it too. Pick and choose your battles an in this case I say absolutely!

The sugar conundrum continues...

Sugar. That beastly little grain from a cain. It is so enticing, so so... addictive? YES. The truth is slowly coming to light - that little white powdery stuff we all love is in fact ADDICTIVE. I know, you don't want to hear it. You don't drink, you don't do "drugs", you just have a little dessert from time to time, only eat a roll or two or three before dinner, only one potato chip - really, just one. Heck, you might even be vegan so maybe you only eat chips and guac for dinner. You don't even drink coffee that often and you only put just a little cream in it, right? Why am I talking about chips and guac or coffee and cream when the subject is obviously sugar? Sugar is sneaky. It's either in these things (that Venti Chai Soy Latte is loaded with it) or when something is heavily processed like chips, white bread and other things like plain old pasta and pretty much everything that is "shelf stable", it is no longer food, it's actually pure refined carbohydrate and your body can't use it. Good ole plain white refined sugar is even worse - it drains our bodies of vitamins and minerals. And it's also acidic - when eaten every day (and who doesn't eat it every day? you? Ha!) causes the body to become overly acidic and then the body searches down deep for vitamins and minerals, leaching the body of any remnants that might be left. Then... the liver becomes taxed. The frustrating part is - you may not even know you are eating it. Sugar is sneaky, it's hiding around every corner, lurking in all of your food. Cereal, instant oatmeal, juice, mayonaise, mustards, ham, even turkey and other meats, milk products, yogurt, soy/rice milk products, Asian takeout foods, Pizza sauce, sausages, sweet potato fries, corn chips, baked beans, ketchup, bar-be-que and so much more... Pretty much everything you put in your mouth on Thanksgiving? Yep - Grandma has loaded it with sugar. Even the stuff with "no sugar added" has sugar in it. You know when you take a bite of Pad Thai and you are in heaven? Do you know why? Sugar. You know when you are craving salty chips or fries - why? Sugar. Pizza? Sugar. Sandwich? Sugar. Salad dressing? You guessed it. SUGAR.

Even Dr. Oz has been talking about the effects of too much sugar. Fatty liver ain't just for alcoholics any more y'all - it's for sugar-holics too. It used to be thought that only alcoholism caused fatty liver, but then, it also used to be thought that the world was flat. It's time to open your mind to the truth about sugar. Too much sugar means too much acid. Too much acid means too much inflammation. Inflammation is an immune system response - it's the body's attempt to protect itself from "injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process." When there is chronic inflammation, there is chronic disease.

"Chronic inflammation may be the root of all degenerative disease." - Dr. Andrew Weil, www.drweil.com

What's worse is the list of chronic diseases that are linked to chronic inflammation: allergies, Alzheimer's, anemia, arthritis, cancer, congestive heart failure, fibromyalgia, fibrosis, heart attack, kidney failure, lupus, psoriasis, stroke... Are you paying attention now?

"To heal anything, you must know it's cause. As stated at the beginning, chronic inflammation begins at the end of your fork... Sodas, French fries, chips and burgers are the real weapons of mass destruction."

OUCH.

It hurts, I know. But sometimes the truth hurts.

Don't look so sad... It's 100% possible to enjoy food and it's so much more enjoyable when you eat REAL food and know exactly what is in the food you are eating. Moderation, moderation, moderation. First of all, make it a habit to steer clear of High Fructose Corn Syrup, avoid refined carbs like white sugar and corn syrup. Instead, seek out real sugar - sugar that is natural or only very slightly refined. Have you ever actually used REAL maple syrup? It tastes TOTALLY different than the maple syrup flavored corn syrup we all grew up on. Try baking with Agave Nectar instead of refined white sugar, re-train your palate to like the way foods taste without adding sugar to them. Avoid cooking dinner recipes that call for added sugar. If you know something has added sugar, eat something else. Know what's in ketchup? Yep. Added sugar. Juice, you wonder? Why drink the juice when you can eat the fruit? It's better for you. It's that simple. There really are other options. You just have to wrap your mind around the idea that your body is your temple and that food is fuel. The more processed the food, the less nutritional value and the higher it is on the glycemic index... which means, it becomes highly addictive and has the same effect on your body as that sneaky, five-letter-word: SUGAR.

I realize this is a lot to think about. It may even turn your world upside down. In the words of a very wise-with-words man, "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." Yes, you can still have your sugar and eat it to. But THINK about it before you eat it.

Step...away...from...the...cupcake!

Forgive me food blog, for I have sinned...

It has been 6 and a half months since my last blog. Why? Wow, where to begin? The entire story or sum it up in a nutshell? Nutshell it is. Forget the nutshell, let's move on. Most of us are emotional eaters and around stressful times, like change, holidays, weddings, funerals, and just when life happens every day, we reach for the bottle. The bottle of sugar. You've all heard of the book, Potatoes Not Prozac, but have you really thought and considered what sugar does to the brain? No? Good, I will tell you.

Firstly, your brain cells need two times more energy than any other cell in your body. Glucose is the form of sugar that travels in your bloodstream to fuel the furnaces responsible for your brain power. Neurons can't store glucose though, so your brain totally depends on your bloodstream to deliver a constant supply of fuel, ie: blood sugar. This blood sugar is obtained from CARBS. YES, CARBS! But here's the kicker, too much sugar or refined carbohydrates at one time can actually deprive your brain of its fuel – depleting its energy supply and compromising your brain's power to concentrate, remember, and learn. This is why you feel sluggish when you don't eat.

BUT...though a snack or powerbar with too much sugar in it (or heaven forbid a soda full of high fructose corn syrup - bleh) might quickly give you a boost of energy, it's short lived. When you eat something with a high sugar content your pancreas starts to secrete insulin. And get this, insulin then triggers cells throughout your body to pull the excess glucose out of your bloodstream (you know, the fuel for your brain?) and then stores it. 'Stores it' you wonder? Thats what we are talking about. Storing the carbs. You become a big fat storage unit for carbs... literally you will develop a fat 'asana'. Stick with me here, it gets worse before it gets better.

"Soon, the glucose available to your brain has dropped. Neurons, unable to store glucose, experience an energy crisis. Hours later, you feel spaced-out, weak, confused, and/or nervous. Your ability to focus and think suffers. The name for this glucose deficiency is hypoglycemia, and it can even lead to unconsciousness." Oh and p.s., eating like this will lead to type 2 diabetes, making the brain even more delicate and you will then become vulnerable to depression and are more likely to suffer a decline in mental ability as you age. Fun.

This is why I say EAT! BUT, be careful (mindful, aware, present in) WHAT you eat. When we are emotional, stressed out, experiencing change, etc, we go through different stages of anxiety. Anxiety is a relative of fear - it's a negative response. We reach for comfort, for something to settle our stomachs and thusly settle our mind. We grab fries, greasy pizza, a pint of ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, a few bowls of cereal, a box of fig newtons, an entire bag of Sun Chips, etc., etc., and we reach with a numb mind. When you have got a ton on your mind, the last thing you remember to do is count calories let alone even pay attention to what you are putting in your pie hole. And when you do this, your brain function worsens, you continue to eat poorly because you aren't thinking straight BECAUSE you aren't eating right. Hop on Hammy the hamster, because you are just going round and round and round and round...

Pay attention to what you eat. Pack healthy snacks. Steer clear of the dessert table at holiday parties and avoid all alcoholic drinks with any added sugar in them (more on sugar and alcohol next time). But, if you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. There is no sense in that. That's like beating a dead horse. In the words of Ronnie from the Jersey Shore, "If the horse is dead, leave it alone!" Treating yourself this way just attracts more negativity to you. I don't need to go there do I? More negativity? You'll turn yourself into a black hole for goodness sake! Grow up, use your brain (I know it hurts to think sometimes, but you can do it!). Ok, I know I'm getting snarky now, but it's the Holidays people. You have got to think before you eat. Stay present, take a breath and DRINK WATER WATER WATER! You are nothing if you are not hydrated.

Peace, love and H20.

Kombucha!

Every morning I have my breakfast and a Kombucha. What is a Kombucha you say? Well, I shall tell you. Firstly it is pronounced kom-BOO-cha. It's a tasty drink, but it's so much more than that. It's an organic and raw elixir... of life!

G.T.'s Synergy Kombucha says, "Kombucha is alternately known as a Chinese tea, a plant, or a mushroom. But it's not really any of these. It's a living culture of beneficial microorganisms.... it is delicately cultured - some liken it to fermentation - for 30 days. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality."

I came across it after an advanced yoga training in Hawaii. At least 30 or more folks were driking it between classes. I'm not in to overpriced juice drinks. I don't waste my money on bottled juice period. Eat the fruit for goodness sake. So what is this expensive bottled drink that tells me it will rejuvenate, restore, revitalize, repelenish and regenerate me? I was determined to find out for myself.

I picked up a bottle at the local Whole Foods for a hefty price tag, there were plenty of flavors so I went for the one that sounded the most tasty, mmmmm mango. So I open it and have a little taste and then immediately dumped the whole thing out. Bleh! What a waste of money! Those people who drink this stuff are crazy! Gross! A week later, I've sworn off Kombucha and I mentioned this to a fellow yogi. He told me he felt the same way until he tried the grape. He always recommends "first time Kombucha-ers" try grape. So I gave it another shot... hmmm... not bad... if you like wine or beer, there is a similar fermented flavor and aroma of grape must... kinda tasty in fact... and immediately I noticed my head feeling clearer, my shoulders relaxing and my energy lift. My stomach, though not upset, actually felt settled and my entire body felt great!

How on earth can a simple "tea" do all that?

Kombucha isn't so simple, it's packed organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids, and polyphenols. It helps with elimination y'all, and who here in the south doesn't need help with that! Kombucha also helps with: digestion, metabolism, immune system, appetite control, weight control, liver function, body alkalinity, anti-aging, cell integrity, healthy skin and hair. (from G.T. Dave, Synergy Kombucha). Now it's no miracle pill, it's just a drink guys - so don't get up in arms if you try it and you aren't "fixed." You have to fix you, but this drink can certainly help.

The controversy you may have heard about in regards to this amazing drink is some folks who made it themselves at home in unsanitary conditions. The "tea" must ferment so that will take time - if you do it at home, be very careful and follow instructions completely. Or just quit Starbucks and join the Kombucha revolution like me. Yes, it's pricy but man is it worth it!

So - go to your natural health food store and pick up the Grape flavor. Look for one with a few bubbles on the top, it should be lightly effervescent. DON'T shake it, could very well explode all over you! (I speak from personal experience whilst driving - bad idea.). Then venture out and try all the flavors - my long time favorite is gingerberry.

Mmmmm... just finished my last sip. Love this stuff.

Metabo-what? It's midnight and I'm HUNGRY!

Just the other day my mom was saying, "If only I could stop eating at night." Every night since she was a little girl, my mom gets up just a few hours after laying down and has a snack - nothing huge, just a little treat like a tiny bowl of cereal, a small cookie, something a little sweet with a little crunch and always some milk. I admire here ability to have "just a little." Just a little is not something I can or have ever been able to do. For example - as a girl, I was a bit of a sugar addict and when given say, a box of chocolates for Christmas or Valentines Day from my dad... well, let's just say it was gone in 60 seconds. Then, I'd go looking for more like a bloodhound on a trail... right into my sisters room and polish hers off too. While I can sit back and blame them for contributing to my sugar addiction :P, I can also genuinely thank them for great metabolism genes.

Regardless, I realize there are people out there who can and do in fact understand and can successfully accomplish moderation. So, if you eat late at night, will you gain weight? In my mom's case, NO. BUT, if you are one of those who is eating SEVERAL bowls of cereal late at night or if you haven't eaten all day and then come home and gorge on a huge meal late at night... well, you are in fact going to gain.

Here's the deal with your metabolism... it's not just genetic. And, you CAN change the way you metabolize food. Metabolism is a term that not only refers to how your body converts food into fuel but also how efficiently you burn that fuel. Of course, not everyone burns calories at the same rate. Age, sex and the proportion of muscle you have AS WELL AS heredity all make a difference. Some people just burn calories at a slower rate than others.

Here's an interesting and surprising fact from Colette Bouchez on WebMD: The more weight you carry, the faster your metabolism is likely running. That's one reason it's almost always easiest to lose weight at the start of a diet, and harder later on, nutritionist Molly Kimball, RD says: "When you are very overweight your metabolism is already running so high that any small cut in calories will result in an immediate loss." Then, when you lose significant amounts of body fat and muscle, your body needs fewer calories to sustain itself, she says. That helps explain why it's so easy to regain weight after you've worked to lose it.

So, to maximize your metabolism, the best thing to do is eat more often. Small and frequent meals (say, 200-300 calories 5-6 times a day) help keep your metabolism kicked into high gear which means you'll burn more calories WHICH MEANS you will lose weight!

If you skip breakfast and lunch then have a huge meal late at night, your metabolism isn't functioning at all and your body goes into "starvation mode". Then, your body wants to keep every calorie you just snarfed down and you'll actually end up gaining weight.

So - as I always say - EAT. Pack a Z-bar for emergency snacking. I never leave home without a snack - just ask my boyfriend. Every morning, oatmeal. Packed in my Bikram Yoga Memphis tote bag for later: yoga clothes, a kombucha tea and Z-bar for me, hard boiled egg and low fat string cheese for Gregg. Happy snacking!