Leslie's Lifestyle Nutrition

This is not a sympathy post! I hope this post informs you, motivates you and provides you with a little strength to get you through a tough time. As many of yo...u know I’ve been working on improving my handstands, so that one day soon I can take 10 steps on my hands (don’t ask why). Everything was going ok until Friday afternoon when we went to Wild Waves Waterpark and I took my second crack at the blob (see video below). I landed on my left arm (total fluke), leaving me unable to move it at the shoulder and in excruciating pain. I was convinced I broke my arm. I powered through the rest of the day at the beach and went boating (summer is almost over, I didn’t want to go to the hospital ). The next morning was worse so I headed to the ER. X-RAYS showed a slight fracture of my scapula. Fracturing this area is so rare, so I had 2 more ortho docs come in and then the surgeon to assess. They sent me for a CT scan to confirm it. It ended up NOT being fractured! I have an ultrasound this week to find out what soft tissue injury I have. I’m in a sling for a bit, but I’m still encouraged to move it (thank goodness). I had many times during that day that I thought oh my gosh, how am I going to function, do day to day activities, run my bootcamps? I was so mad at myself for taking most of the summer off from painting knowing I’m booked solid for September and October (I need my arms!). I was crushed that my bootcamp girls who count on me for motivation and encouragement would no longer have that. My garden; how the hell was I going to help my kids dig up their 450 potato plants to sell? Everything I do revolves around my body working well, this was not cool. But guys, you have to know this! I started taking a very powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant called CURCUM-EVAIL. I generally take one/day for the arthritis in my back, but I’ve upped it 8/day. I haven’t taken any pain meds (besides the 2 Tylenol at the hospital they gave me). I didn’t have any Advil or Tylenol in my house, so it wasn’t an option. Guess what? The pain and mobility is 100000% better already and it’s only Monday! I wasn’t able to lift my arm more than 6 inches from my body and now I can lift it to shoulder height with minimal pain. I’ve changed my handstand training to one arm pushups (they are pretty bad )for now and I plan to have a full recovery and get back at it! Whenever you feel defeated, just know that there’s always something you can do, something you can focus on, something or someone who can motivate you to get you through it. PS- if you want some CURCUM-EVAIL let me know, I’ll hook ya up. It’s da bomb

I truly believe that BALANCE is the key to success in all aspects of life! We need yin and yang, sunlight and rain, darkness and light, birth and death. As wel...l.... Too much work will result in becoming burnt out. Too much play will result in no work getting done. Spending too much time with friends could lead to a lack of identity. Spending too much time alone could lead to loneliness and social issues. Too much sleep can lead to a number of health issues including depression. Too little sleep and your energy and health will suffer. Doing too much exercise will lead to overuse injuries and adrenal fatigue. Lazing on the couch all day will lead to small muscles and poor energy output. And the list goes on and on.... Balance is KEY and important in life because with many things, being extreme is typically a detriment to living our lives the right way. Today, I’m finding my physical BALANCE!

Veggies are one of the BEST foods to fill up on, but some of those veggies could be making you feel unwell. Nightshade vegetables are the edible parts of flowering plants that belong to the Solanaceae family and may be contributing to inflammation in your body. These types of vegetables are nutrient-dense and ... may provide a number of health benefits through their vitamin, mineral, fibre and antioxidant content. Unfortunately, if you suffer from arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis) or autoimmune conditions (Lupus, Hashimoto’s, Cancer) nightshades can often worsen your condition. A group of substances found in nightshades called alkoids which are typically found in the leaves and stems of nightshades are believed to be the culprit. They are often very bitter and function as a natural insect repellent. The edible portions of these plants contain some alkaloids too and have been found to be toxic in the body in some instances. The only way to know is to fully eliminate them from your diet for a period of time. Some people notice a difference after only a few days, while in others it takes much longer. If you think nightshades are contributing to your issues try cutting them out and make note of the changes.

Every time we eat, we give our body an instruction to do something. Choose foods that support the body!

A fun little challenge I did with my workout group.

It wasn’t until #covid19 that I realized I needed much more sleep than I thought. Let’s back up a minute.... For years I’ve been going to bed about 11pm (at least that was my target, often it was much later) and waking up at 440am, which would give me approximately 5 hours, 40 minutes sleep (at best). I can honestly say that at the time, I functioned off this amount of sleep just fine. I would either run bootcamps (at 530am), or do my own workout at that time. Sometimes... I would just wake up because I was programmed to or I thought I would miss out on the day if I didn’t. I’ve always been like an energizer bunny, so I never really gave my lack of sleep much thought. Then in January I invested in a Fitbit and it tracked my sleep. I set my goal for 7 hours per night because I know the health benefits of getting 7 hours or more (yes, I know I didn’t take my own advice prior to this). In January I decided that I needed to start sleeping more, not because I actually wanted to but because I set that little goal on my Fitbit. It really annoys me when I don’t reach my goals, so I was determined to sleep. But I still struggled to get to bed! There was always something to do, someone to respond to, or other unfinished business that stopped me from getting to bed early. So, instead of worrying too much about getting to bed at a decent time, I started to sleep in whenever possible to try and get my 7 hours. It was hard! I’m a creature of habit and I do much better when I go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. It did improve though- I was averaging about 6 hours/night. And although I was functioning off of this much sleep, I yawned A LOT. ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, I YAWNED. It didn’t really bother me. I knew I was sleep deprived but that’s just the way it was, the way I operated. I also have OCD tendencies so it was (and still is) very difficult for me to go to bed if everything that I had on my to-do list for the day wasn’t complete. Fast forward to the last 5 weeks..... #covid19 I cancelled all bootcamps, cancelled all painting jobs, and just worked my nutrition business from home (which is more like a part time gig). I didn’t have to get the kids up for school, my husband didn’t have anywhere to go, so I just started to sleep. I can honestly say I’ve never had so much energy in my adult years as I do right now at the age of 40. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve yawned in the past 5 weeks and I feel completely refreshed. I’ve been averaging about 7 hours/night, which for some people that’s still not enough. It’s working for me and going forward my goal is to continue on my path to more sleep!