"Eat Fat, Lose Fat", Adrenal Gland Fatigue, and B Vitamins

I mentioned this is my previous post: In the interest of weight loss, I finally broke down and bought a copy of Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. Paired with my commitment to not eat sugar anymore, and to temporarily get off grain, I think this book will help me get out from under my baby weight.

I suspect that I am also having a difficult time losing weight because of exhaustion as well. I think I have adrenal gland fatigue and I know I have a B vitamin deficiency.

I have started taking a maca root supplement twice daily that I usually only take during my period. Maca root is shown to balance hormones and help with energy. You shouldn't take maca raw, so only buy brands that are "gelatinized" or pre-cooked. (I use the Royal Maca capsules by Whole World Botanicals that I bought at Sprouts.)

I wanted to buy this supplement from Radiant Life, but it was too freaking expensive. Plus, I didn't know if I would realistically take a liquid daily if it wasn't tasty. But I do like that it's derived from whole foods, fermented, probiotic, and has the full B complex. I found a similar (?) one at Whole Foods today called Raw B-Complex by Garden of Life that was a lot cheaper, claims to be made from whole food sources, and is a lot cheaper. We'll see how that goes as I take it over the next month.

GAPS and Biokult Probiotic Giveaway at CHEESESLAVE

Okay real foodie folks, there is a giveaway you should know about over at CHEESESLAVE's blog. If you follow the directions on the blog, then you will be eligible to win a copy of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's book "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" and a bottle of Biokult probiotics, which is a $53 value. I am hoping I win :)

Either way I am going to get my hands on this GAPS book. I think it is a fascinating subject, how food can go greatly affect our well-being. I also just got a copy of Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck and I am looking forward to reading it as I expand my real food library. I finally broke down and bought a copy of Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. Paired with my commitment to not eat sugar anymore, and to temporarily get off grain, I think this book will help me get out from under my baby weight.

I hope you'll all click over there and learn a little more about real food!

Atlas Shrugged

Just thought I would say that I am really enjoying this book. Anyone read it? I do not necessarily agree with it, on a political level nor a gender role level, but I cannot put it down! Which is good because I need to read Pedestals and Podiums for book club on the 18th and it's a big one.

happyness

1.) i'm home watching Anne of Green Gables (which I got for Christmas and haven't watched yet).
2.) i have a book club meeting tomorrow at my house; have i mentioned that my favorite pastime is talking?
3.) i just made a new goody to serve at tomorrow's meeting. it's so nice to have an excuse to bake (i'm not kidding).
4.) it's been in the 40s and 50s today. do you know what that feels like after 2 months of snow and icky below freezing weather? i, very giddily, wore flip flops to the grocery store yesterday!
5.) i really like my neighbors. when you're married, it's really nice to find two other people that the two of you both like. it's harder than you think. or maybe it's just because Ryan's a little antisocial. or both :)
6.) i'm burning some Vanilla Spice oil and it smells homey and warm.
7.) M did several funny things today: went happily to nursery after a rocky few weeks, got shy when people waved at him and promptly tried to bury his head in the carpet (we refer to him as doing Downward-facing Dog for all you yoga buffs, or as a little ostrich), and ate ice cream at a birthday party and frantically signed and asked for "more" to anyone who would look/listen.
8.) i already have all my Easter decorations up in all their pastel glory. i must admit that it genuinely brings joy to my heart. i love all that kind of crap.
9.) speaking of Easter, i'm planning on having an egg-dyeing party in a couple of weeks. i have bought a package of Paas dye every year for the last 3 years, forgetting that i already have one at home, and we NEVER actually dye eggs. so to motivate a husband who thinks it's not very fun/cool, i'm inviting over friends to force him!
10.) Gilbert just made the mistake of calling Anne "carrots" and broke her slate over his head. One of my favorite moments!
11.) My hair is growing to one of my favorite lengths, so I get to use all my fun bobby pins.
12.) We had a really cool lesson today in church about the temple. The teacher was really moving and honest, and so it caught my attention more than usual. I thought about some of my recent experiences there, and felt buoyed up to the challenge of doing better in few areas. Scripture-reading comes to mind...
13.) Along with the cool lesson were some first rate sugar cookies. Why oh why are sugar cookies sooooo yummy?
14.) I'm almost done with 100 Years of Solitude, and get to choose another book. Yipee!

stream of consciousness

i went to the temple for the first time in almost a year (for shame!) last night and it was really fun. the detroit temple is neat because it's just a little one, but it still has that bright temple look to it, especially with all the snow around it. we have had snow falling out of the sky every day for about 7 days, and while it's never been much all at once, the days have added up to making for some nice scenery around here. without snow, Michigan is a little drab with all the grey clouds.

speaking of clouds, M took a plane ride with us over the break and discovered an interest in clouds from flying through them for 4 hours. he also developed an interest in planes, but not directly from the plane ride itself. it was mostly because the grandparents we were visiting live under a flight path and there was a plane overhead every 15 minutes. in fact, he was pretty confused when we got on the plane to come home and showed it to him, since it wasn't up in the sky and making a lot of noise. we'll have to work on that connection.

speaking of noise, we have some new upstairs neighbors who vacuum every night around 7:30. they're very nice, and the little boy is the funniest one of all. the first time i met him he invited me over and tried to throw a snowball at me. it was pretty great :)

speaking of great, Arc of Justice is going well and is almost halfway read. this is important because i must finish soon. the Book Club chose a book a few days ago, and i'm not in the mood to read 2 books at the same time. sometimes i AM in that place where i can split my concentration, but not this time. it might have something to do with the book we chose: One Hundred Years of Solitude, which for some reason seems a daunting read. but it's not even that big. i've read bigger books without much problem, but this one just seems like i might need a lot of effort to read it. of course i haven't even read a single page, so it's pure conjecture on my part. it might be the readinest book ever, and here i am slandering it. if it turns out that way, i'll make a public apology to it and take it back.

this next topic has little to do with the last paragraph, and more to do with the fact that R just walked in and asked how the "R is the greatest guy in the World" blog entry was going. so now i'm about to write a few things about him to get him off my back about it. he mentions this every time i'm on the computer, blogging or not. R is the greatest. R is the best. R is fun to talk to, even when he doesn't want to talk because it's past midnight :) (that would be my fault, gift of gab that i have). but seriously, R IS the greatest guy in the whole world, and you heard it here. from a very impartial judge.

speaking of judging, there's a funny bit on Arrested Development where they get the actor named Judge Reinholt to come on the show and be one of those TV judges on in the afternoon. also, Judge Reinhold is the same guy that played the Close-Talker on Seinfeld and takes Jerry's parents out on the town. funny guy.

speaking of funny guys, my child is one of the funniest ones in my life. he was so excited this morning to see his daddy was home that after breakfast he just ran back and forth in the main room shrieking and laughing. he also laughed pretty hard yesterday while stomping in the snow drifts that have accumulated this past week. AND(!), we find ourselves full circle to the original topic up top. good job me :) snow.

two books

i would like to recommend a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, even with it's accompanying profanity. it was quite funny, and yet also poignant and even heartbreaking. i read it with my book group. so far i only know that i've read it and my pal Kristen who lives next door (and just gave us free internet access to their wireless connection) has read it. i don't know if the other two gals have gotten around to it yet. that's the problem with book groups, trying to get on the same timeline. on the one hand, i'm glad to be in a book group: you read with a little more purpose, have people to discuss the book with, i tend to pay attention more to details and trying to remember them. on the other hand, what if the other members are offended by the profanity, what if they don't finish it for a long time and it's a little awkward. it's a gamble, those book clubs.

i'm also going to prerecommend a book called Arc of Justice, on R's recommendation. I have read 5 pages. i'll report more later.

i'm going to also shockingly mention another book, even though it means that i will flagrantly disregard my own title to this post. it's called The Stranger and will take about one afternoon to read. it's translated from the French, and is also the impetus behind a The Cure song which I have been singing in my head ever since I finished said book. again, happy reading.