Good morning readers! Over the weekend we went to two weddings and had loads of fun. One of them was an outdoor wedding, isn't this a pretty setting?
Cute couples, huh? 🙂
By the way, thanks to all 259 of you who jumped in to offer your advice when I wasn't sure what shoes to wear! It was between these two:
And most of you suggested the ‘strappy' ones, which is what I went with. (And yes, I wore the same thing to both weddings, I didn't feel like figuring out another outfit…ha!)
- I'm having some design issues here on the blog; however, the subscribe box up at the top is finally working correctly, so if you don't get blog updates via email, please subscribe so you'll get notification when a new post goes up. 🙂 And if you stay subscribed you'll be automatically entered into periodic gift card giveaways, too!
(Another one is coming very soooooon…)
- This is gettin' scarier, did you guys see this? South Korea joined Japan in halting imports of U.S. wheat! Who's next? Read about it here.
- Did you love this post from Cara, too? The Benefit of Letting Your Children Become Bored. I commented there about how this looks at our house. Read it and let me know what you think.
- Here's one from Kendahl last week that I'd also love your thoughts on: What is Fat Hatred? Do you agree?
- Hey all, my body has been weird lately and I'm wondering if I need to do some type of detox. Anyone have suggestions for what kind I should do or any thoughts on that at all, what I need to be aware of, etc.? I will do thorough research first, but wanted to see what you guys say, too. (I also put it on Facebook, so I'm looking forward to everyone's feedback.)
- Anyone need some summer salad ideas? Or some healthy snacks to have around for the kids once school is out?
- By now you've probably all heard about Vernon Hershberger's big win, but here's another post you may want to read: Wisconsin, “America’s Dairyland,” Wastes Three Years of Vernon Hershberger’s Heroic Life… Vernon Hershberger is a hero in the civilly disobedient spirit of Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
- Ever seen one of these? It seems like it might help my core muscles while I'm blogging and facebooking. Anyone use one before? Are they helpful for your back/core? Comfortable? It's available here with free shipping. (Or pin it here!)
Jennifer says
Kelly – about the chair… I’ve been using an exercise ball in lieu of a desk chair for years. Not exclusively, but about nine months out of the year. I don’t have the “chair dock” for mine, I just sit on the ball. What I’ve found is that I MOVE a lot more when on the ball as opposed to using a regular chair, because with the ball I’m constantly making tiny adjustments to stay centered and upright. And every so often, I’ll sit cross-legged on the ball just to see how long I can keep my balance, or I’ll lean back and do a set of sit-ups. I figure, with the ball on a chair base, I’d definitely not be doing the minute adjustments, and the cross-legged balancing wouldn’t be a challenge (since the chair base stabilizes the ball. I’d suggest trying just the ball at your desk first, and see how you feel about using it as even a temporary chair replacement. I think the ball with the chair base loses something, but it would provide more stability than just a ball. Of course, if you wanted to work on your core, you could always invest in one of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDnoKJYN_M8 😉
DS says
I think Cathy F. made some very good points. Gary Taubes made a lot of good points in his WHY WE GET FAT book. It is fascinating reading. I have always felt sorry for very fat people because they do not WANT to be that fat. USDA recommendations are just WRONG, and probably so is your doctor’s advice. I gained weight by listening to my doctor. I think Weston Price and Kelly and Taubes and Dr. Mercola are great resources. Mary Vernon and Andreas Einfeldt (the Swedish diet doctor) are two doctors with great advice.
It is very hard to lose weight today in this country unless you do all your cooking yourself, and even then shopping is not easy. Working couples are especially challenged, and since a lot of children eat USDA-approved food at school, the problem is only going to get worse.
Erin T says
I was a skinny kid, not vibrantly healthy, just skinny. At the age of 16 I packed on a the pounds and the battle with weight lasted until I was 22. I have been on both the “skinny” and “fat” side. As a 39 year old mother whose sixth baby is almost five months old I am hanging on to a bit more around the middle than I would like, but still fit into most of my size 6 clothes. Four of my older children are normal weight, lean and healthy, not skinny. My seven year old daughter, however, is on the heavy side. At every church pot-luck or family gathering she gorges herself if we don’t watch her very closely. It’s as though she doesn’t have an “off” switch when it comes to food. All my husband’s sisters became obese following the birth of their first child and the weight never comes off. It makes me wonder if there isn’t something with how your body works that truly makes it harder for some people to maintain a healthy weight.
We do monitor our daughter and make sure she knows we love her no matter what she looks like, but for her sake, we don’t want her to feel awful about herself as she gets older. We are not sure what to do as we don’t want her to have a warped relationship with food and her body. She is our ray of sunshine and lives life with zest, it would be awful if bad food choices robbed her of her enthusiasm and energy someday.
Peggy says
There are times I’m really glad I’m not still actively blogging and today is one of them. If I were, I’d have to own up to my disappointment and anger at the fat hatred portrayed on television last week. Fortunately, I have your blog to spout off on! Thank you for asking!
Kirsten Powers, writer for The Daily Beast, was asked on camera if she thought it was fair that obese people and smokers be penalized under the new “Obamacare” “health” “care” law. Her body language of disgust spoke even louder than her verbal condemnation of those fat people who raise everybody’s rates by being ticking time bombs ready to keel over and die a long, slow death on HER dime. I wanted to reach through the screen and grab her by her Brazilian Blow Out Bleach Blonde locks and dissect HER lifestyle: the fat she doesn’t eat, the diet sodas she drinks, the three inches of makeup applied to her face, the hours she spends out of the sun in front of a glowing screen: all in the name of being camera-ready for part of her chosen profession.
I was beginning to cite studies and construct arguments in my head when it hit me. This is not helpful. The WRONG response to fat hatred is anger and skinny hatred. Fat hatred is another attempt by a well-known enemy to divide people. To sow infighting and strife.
And a good deal of the hatred and anger I would spew all over Kirsten and her ilk, is actually harbored in my own heart against myself. It is difficult to be an overweight person at this particular point in history. Just a few hundred years ago, the tummy roll was revered as being feminine and evidence of fertility. Now the overweight are the object of public humiliation and scorn as if one more ignorant person telling us to lay off the Mars bars is going to make a difference. And few are coming to our aid. “Everyone agrees” that being overweight is unhealthy. “Everyone agrees” that less food and more movement would solve the problem. “Everyone agrees” that fat people are lazy overeaters who need shaming in order to heal.
“Everyone” is wrong.
BarbaraAinSC says
I am overweight and trying to regain my health and hoping to lose weight in the process. It is so hard in our culture not to judge people by how they look, especially by how much they weigh. I remember reading an article in the last few years that being overweight is the new “sin”, since sexual sins are no longer taboo in our society. That is, being overweight is one thing that it is “OK” to judge people for. I try to remind myself that health is more important than weight, but I often don’t think that people will listen to any of my health advice when they look at me.
I also do find myself frequently pitying people that are very obese, because I am concerned about their health and movement and how they must feel about themselves. But then I also worry about skinny people who obviously eat poorly and the almost inevitable problems that will come their way, if they haven’t already. Personally, I wish that people would eat more real food and could find healing and stop primarily worrying about excess weight. It is certainly an uphill battle in our culture, and I don’t think the demonization of saturated fats has helped any!
KitchenKop says
Rant here anytime you like, Peggy! 🙂
(Or feel free to turn it into an all-out ranting guest post if you want to, you’re always welcome!)
Kel
Linda says
I am wondering if The Nourished Metabolism is similar to Matt Stone’s book Diet Recovery 2. I am following that one as well as Eat for Heat. I wonder what would be different about her book, mainly because I am stuck! I get the feeling I am still not eating enough food!
Elizabeth Walling says
HI Linda! I actually get that question a lot. 🙂
Matt and I share some similar ideas on metabolism, but my approach is more balanced and holistic. It’s very uncomplicated, it’s just about putting together all the factors that can influence your metabolic health, like eating enough, quality nutrition, good sleep, balanced exercise, limited stressors (like emotional stress, toxin exposure, not getting enough sunlight), and really learning to listen to your body. Matt’s books are more of going to the opposite extreme to recover from extreme diets. My book leans more toward finding a balanced, lifelong approach that works for you.
Linda says
Ok, thanks for clearing that up. It sounds good.
Cathy F. says
Regarding the “fat hatred” question, excess body fat is not healthy. I come from a mixed-obese family. Mom was obese her entire life, Dad was thin until he hit old age. I and my siblings struggle with fat at different levels. I experienced fat hatred first hand, and it is a cruel thing. Mom cycled between ineffective low-fat/low-calorie diets and “I don’t care” until the day she died, but she remained obese nevertheless. I take after my dad and have managed to control my weight. I hate fat because of what it does to the body (sickness) and to the spirit (humiliation, embarrassment, despair). What I’ve discovered, however, is that fat can be conquered by eating a counter-intuitive diet high in fat, contrary to those nutrition “experts,” and low in carbohydrates. But the price is high…too high for many people. It means giving up sugar, bread, and processed foods…possibly forever. It’s much easier to make peace with the fat and accept it as “normal.”
DS says
I think you and Kent make a cute couple.
Cathy F. says
Regarding the detox question, find a good integrative medicine doctor and get tested first. You can discover a lot that way– vitamin deficiencies, heavy metal toxin levels, candida yeast levels, etc. once you know what’s wrong, then you can tackle it with confidence. Last year I thought I was suffering from candida overgrowth. After getting tested, it turned out I wasn’t. I had a lot of inflammation and oxidative stress among other things…but the point is, I was no longer guessing. We were able to put together a plan of action based on good information.
BarbaraAinSC says
How did you find your integrative medicine doctor? I have heard of functional diagnostic medicine. I am currently seeing an alternative doctor in my hometown, but am considering other options. Just curious. Thanks for any feedback.
Megan E says
I am part of a Mom’s Nutrition network and we are all doing a detox together next week. The detox consists of drinking 1 SueroGold (a whey drink from Beyond Organics) every two hours during awake hours for four days. The chiropractor that recommends this cleanse to her patients said she didn’t deal with feeling hungry except when she went over the two hours but as soon as she had her drink about fifteen minutes later she felt fine again. She especially recommended doing it for 4 days and said this was the best amount of time for detoxing at a cellular level. If you cannot get the whey drink you can also do it using homemade beef broth.