Thanksgiving Throwdown

So, I’m sure we've all been there. In fact, for years, I can remember Thanksgiving as a day where people sat on the couch ALL day long watching football, then at 5:00 p.m., took no more than ten steps to the dining room, where everyone gorged themselves on turkey and starchy carbohydrates. Finally, the night ended with cake/pie AND ice-cream, leading to several members of the family complaining about bloat, fatigue, cramping and headache.

The holidays are wonderful—but whether it’s the shopping routine, the scheduling mess, or the eating mistakes—we get ourselves into these vicious cycles that are more detrimental than we realize;  particularly those of us with medical concerns that arise out of our diets. People living with diabetes, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease and food allergies (just to name a few), often throw their better judgement out the window on Thanksgiving, especially when they aren't doing the cooking themselves. How many times have I walked into a holiday dinner at someone else’s home, looked at the table filled to the brim with food and said to myself, “Wow, there is a lot here I shouldn't eat.” So many. 

But instead of working my way around those food choices I would simply say, “Oh well, I have to eat what’s here,” or “it would be rude if I didn't eat it.”

When you’re attempting to create a food lifestyle for yourself that is meant to HEAL you, not HARM you, these moments can be crippling. So in the true spirit of this holiday, when sitting at the dinner table, let's think: what should we be celebrating?

We at Pretty-Sick suggest celebrating how eating a balanced, healthy meal with the people you love is more rewarding that the candied yams, mountains of mashed potatoes and pecan pie. Now, wait a minute: we’re not telling you that you can’t indulge here and there! But we do think that these are the moments to really see what MATTERS on your plate. Just as it’s time to reflect on what matters if your life.

And to those guests who still think their holiday-dining-fortune is in the hands of their hosts: Trust us, no one will be mad if you bring along a healthy dish that you KNOW you can eat. Just make sure there’s enough to share…who knows, maybe your chomping chums will want to see what this healthy talk is all about.

Happy Thanksgiving, Pretties.

Love, Rachel and Jaclyn

xoxo, Rachel

I've Fallen (for Autumn) and I Can't Get Up!

It's that time of year, Pretties. The leaves are changing, the air is chilly, pumpkin spice is EVERYWHERE, and we're thoroughly encouraged to hide ourselves bundled in oversize-sweaters and slouchy boots. Fall is my Favorite. It's cozy and comforting and carefree...and many times in the past, Autumn has lead me to fall way off the wagon. Why would I go out for a run when it's dark by 6:30 p.m. and I'm nose deep in a mug (read:bowl) of hot cocoa? How can I hold fast to my sugar & gluten free lifestyle when the entire world is baking pies, breads and savory delights? I feel that just by entering a Starbucks, I'm "cheating" on my dietary-lifestyle because the air is laden with the sugar content of that dreamy pumpkin goodness.

Yet, this year, the worry isn't killing me. That little voice telling me that "just one is okay," is almost nonexistent. oh, now don't get me wrong, I've had some particularly scandalous dreams about cookies and cheese steak sandwiches since I took the plunge, but I'm totally aware that's coming from a life/work/financial-worry type place. I've always gone to food for comfort, so that's not a defense mechanism that I think I'll fully let go of any time soon. But somewhere along the way here (without my knowing), my priorities have changed. I've been honestly committed to my consistent weekly CrossFit schedule for about 5 months, and as sick and sadistic this may sound: I look more forward to the "pain" (*Note: this reference to "pain" is not about detrimental physical activity, it's about pushing myself to realize just how strong I am, and how hard I can work if I just try!) than to food!

My dedication to Yoga has only become more heart-felt and heart-driven that I'm finding more saucy delight in teaching than the idea of a big bowl of ice cream. And even though I was regularly eating about 80/20 Paleo (or gluten, dairy and sugar free), this challenge to go 100% for the month of October has already taught me so much about my eating habits in the past 15 days that it friggin' blows my mind! Thinking that this once rolly-polly-chubby gal who ate for just about ANY reason, now knows that food is for FUEL not your FEELINGS.

JIGGA WHAT?! 

It turns out the change in my routine has finally affected my mind. There are days when I still want a cookie, and DAMMIT: there are days when I DESERVE a cookie...and maybe I'll have it. Or maybe I'll hold out until I get to the gym, and then completely forget I ever wanted that cookie. It's up to me. And low and behold, I can get just as much pleasure from a cup of black coffee while I'm snugged up in a cable-knit next to my hubby as I could if it were a Pumpkin Spice latte with Whip. Because I'm there for the moment, not for the food. I love Fall for more than just its food. I love it for its cool, crisp breeze; the smell of acorns and people enjoying bonfires; for its communal nature, encouraging us to get together for a hayride or a scary movie. I love it for the excitement it brought to me as a child...and honestly, what it still brings as I plan out my Halloween costume.

So I turn it over to you, Pretties: what's choice/challenge is going to change your mind?

xoxox, Rachel

I Have a Confession to Make...

I have bad knees…and a weak hip. Thyroid problems run in my family and my immune system reacts poorly to a laundry list of medications.  Growing up, I had crap self-esteem and a heavy physique.  I teach yoga and meditate, but sometimes I swear like a sailor. Buffalo sauce is my kryptonite and--more often than not--I push myself to the limit because I’m an overachiever.

And three weeks ago, I quit drinking coffee.

Being Pretty is in no way being perfect. That’s boring and dated and blah. So with that imperfection, I have my ups and my downs—those good days and bad—and I’m not always on my best behavior. But I know that my health and my well-being are paramount. I can’t take care of others (even the cats!) if I’m not taking care of myself! But I come from a long historical line of women who put themselves last in order to “better” the world for others. HOGWASH! CODSWALLOP! BOULDER DASH, I say! We shouldn’t be waiting until we are diagnosed to take charge…but if that was your wake-up call: GOOD. Put yourself in the driver’s seat of your own cross-country road trip to wellness. This is the time people, I promise you.

But I digress…because today I’m making confession. My weight had always been my gripe. When I was at my heaviest to the days of Healthy, Pretty, SEXY numbers on that scale…there would always be that twinge of fear in the back of my mind, “what happens if/when I gain?” And then the inner conversation starts:

“But I’m doing everything right…”

“...I changed my diet completely...”

“...I exercise every day.”

These were proven facts of my own awesomeness, yet I would turn them around to find a way to make myself not good enough: excuses to binge, to cry, to watch old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer over and over and over again. Soon enough, I’d be in a ball on the couch having my third serving of who-knows-what because it just feels so darn good.

10 minutes into that feeling good….it feels awful.

This was my spiral. The path I was ALLOWING myself to take by blaming the world, the exercise, or the food for my own pitfalls. How was I ever going to really confront what was going on inside (mind and body) and move beyond that heartbreak, if I always allowed myself to take the easy way out. I wasn’t taking charge of my life; I was running from the responsibility of it.

Luckily sometimes, it all just clicks.

Deprivation is not a form of caring.

Over-exercising DJ-Tanner-style-to-look-like-magazine-models is not loving yourself. (Yes, that was a "Full House ref.)

Eating to fill a criterion instead of fuel and fulfill your body is NONSENSE.

So taking the time to learn about what I was putting in my body, what was coming out (yeah, I mean poop) and how all of that was FULFILLING my needs. I won’t lie…the smell of a mile-high plate of Buffalo Wings still lures my brain to those dark evil places of salty goodness—but when I break those bad boys down in my mind and I see what’s really going into my body…it slaps me back to reality before I choose between ranch and bleu cheese.

Thus brings us to today, my Pretties…the time that I gave up coffee.

A crutch I’ve held on to for a long, long, long time. But with the stress of a new job, moving, general life nonsense, my GI tract started hinting that something needed to change, and that change needed to begin with ditching my java dependency. (This point of clarity was kicked into overdrive when fellow Pretty Girl Jaclyn gave it to me straight!) I will admit, there were three days of wicked migraines that I never want to experience again as my body began to flush out the excess toxins. I still have to keep herbal tea and a butt-load of water on me at all times in case that café-con-leche vixen comes sauntering up to me unawares. But it’s about making choices, right? It’s about being the one who is in control.

"I don't need coffee!"

The headaches are gone. I’m not taking part in calories that I obviously didn’t need.  I don’t drink soda or other evil-goody-drinks, so I have completely cut out those burn-out sugar lows mid-day because there’s no caffeine/sucrose/high fructose catalyst. Challenging myself to chug those last ounces of water before I refill the bottle is enough of a jolt for me. But I will reiterate that “deprivation is not a form of caring.” If a Sunday morning comes where my husband and I are getting snugged up for the morning, he whips out the French press and my heart beats only for a Colombian roast: I won’t deny myself the pleasure…that would turn this choice back into a punishment. But maybe it’s half a cup…or possibly it’s a decaf blend that I snuck in the house when the hubs wasn’t looking. (shhhhhh!)

The choices don’t stop when you decide to get healthy.

The choices don’t stop when you slip up.

The choices don’t stop when you reach your “goal.”

The choices are constant...and they are yours always. Isn’t that amazing?!

xoxox, Rachel