health and wellness – marginalia and such

video: The F*ck It Diet review and response

Settle in friends, this is a long one..

I noted in my June “off the shelf” that The F*ck It Diet triggered all my triggers: my history with diet culture, body image, fatphobia, doctor avoidance, and more…
Here, I break it down, share what I learned, my current struggles, and the very real realization that I still see the fat girl I was when I shop for jeans.

Also mentioned: how the Whole30 screwed with my head, and how having hypothyroidism affects my perception of wellness vs. dieting.

MENTIONED

Buy the Book on Amazon
Find it at your local library via WorldCat
Watch – June 2019 – off the shelf reviews

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life: 2019 goals and a recap

Happy New Year! It’s time for the obligatory New Year’s goal post. But, first, let’s celebrate what went right in 2018.

Good things in 2018

I got my promotion!
Celebrated 1 year of podcasting (The Bluestocking Circle Podcast)
Wrapped up another round of edits with the intention to start querying
Restarted my fitness “journey”
Committed to eating less meat and adopted a more plant-based diet
Committed to letting things go, both emotionally and physically
Discovered The Four Tendencies and learned a lot about myself (video to come!)

All good things indeed.

Goals for 2019

Continue to focus on health – dealing with PCOS and hypo symptoms, and using food to heal my body.
Start querying!
Work on a new (old) manuscript
Focus on mental health. I’ve been dealing with more stress than usual and it’s starting to manifest in physical symptoms (see goal 1).

I keep my goals simple. #1 and 4 will definitely affect my ability to accomplish 2 and 3, but I’m optimistic.

What are your goals for 2019? Let me know in the comments 🙂

project use it up: August empties

Another month of empties. Some supplements (if you’re a repeat reader, you’ll know I’ve been experimenting with supplements to alleviate PCOS and thyroid symptoms. if you’re new, hi!), beauty, hair, and coffee related things.

OLLY Restful Sleep – after weeks of sleeplessness, restlessness, and insomnia, I was desperate. I heard that L-theanine could help, so I decided to try these gummies; they have melatonin, L-theanine, and herbs. And they WORK! I never liked the idea of gummy supplements, but there’s something about this particular medium that my body likes when it comes to melatonin. I’m currently using the VitaFusion gummies and separate L-theanine capsules, and I’m sleeping at last.
Solgar Vitamin E – I was taking these in conjunction with Selenium for my thyroid. I am currently taking a multivitamin that includes Selenium, but I may try vitamin E again (noticed that my skin looked great and my migraines seemed to improve – need another try).
Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle – liver support for PCOS.
AuraCacia Sweet Orange essential oil – I love citrus scents. One of my favorites.

ACURE day cream – so I use ACURE a lot… this is an old standard whenever I need a bit of extra moisture.
ACURE radically rejuvenating cleansing cream – probably my favorite evening cleanser. Very gentle. I use it as my first cleanse to get things off.
Juice Beauty Mineral Moisturizer, sheer – I prefer the tinted version of this, but the sheer is clear enough that I can get away with wearing it without makeup.
giovanni 2chic Ultra-revive conditioner – My ends became extra dry when I had some ombré put in, so I went back to using conditioner. I liked this one, but I’m currently trying the purple Repairing conditioner from the same line and find that I prefer that one.

Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee mix, Create with Lion’s Mane & Chaga – so I decided to try mushroom coffee. I can’t say I noticed a difference in my energy, but it was nice to try. I did, however, taste the mushroom. Maybe it’s just me—I am hyper sensitive to tastes and smells. Not unpleasant, just weird.
Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer, coconut – I really wanted to love this, but the coconut milk just doesn’t dissolve very well. Still find that I prefer the basic collagen peptides mix.

project use it up: March empties

project use it up-2

Happy Easter! Here’s what I used up in March.

avatara wipe out nose pore strips: first time using these and it was quite a nice experience. I picked them up at Target and definitely noticed a difference.
elf Ultimate Blending brush – Probably my favorite elf brush, but I had it for years and it gave up the ghost
Juice Beauty SPF 30 Tinted Mineral Moisturizer in Sand – One of my favorite sunscreens. It just matches my skin tone without turning orange. Currently using the un-tinted one in an effort to simplify my makeup look.
fresh Rose Face mask – sample from Sephora. Just a lovely mask that leaves my skin feeling soft and refreshed. I’d be willing to buy a trial size in future.
Dr.Bronner’s Pure Castille Soap in Peppermint – a classic. This is a trial size because I like to rotate the scents and even the small size goes a long way.

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides – My favorite collagen supplement for skin and joints, but it’s pricey and I can’t always justify the cost. I splurge when my knees are feeling particularly achy, or I want a skin boost.
Rainbow Light Just Once Iron-Free – The best multi I’ve tried and one I continue to purchase.
Jarrow Formulas Femdophilus – Probiotics for ladies. ’nuff said. I can’t say I noticed a difference, but it was on sale and I thought it worth a try.
Gaia Herbs Quick Defense – This is one of those products that I try to push on people. I keep a bottle on hand for colds and flu and it WORKS. It speeds up a cold like you wouldn’t believe.

A pen – Because every pen is a success.
Re-Boost decongestion spray – picked this up a few months ago and it’s come in very handy. It’s a natural product that actually works to clear things up.
Nature’s Bounty thrive blend – It smells strongly of clove but I like to think that it works to clean the air during cold season. At least it helped when I was stuffed up last month.

2017 in review

While it had its ups and downs, 2017 managed to leave me relatively unscathed (minus a personal crisis or two).

There were two big accomplishments:

I completed my application for promotion (When one of those two crises hit, I contemplated putting my promotion on hold, then thought better of it. I’m glad I did.)
I wrote 105,037 words (as of December 28th, I may update this number before the year ends).

A few fun things:

I accepted a very excited proposal to co-host The Bluestocking Circle Podcast and I’m so glad I did.
I rediscovered my love of Batman comics with the Rebirth series (though Doomsday has me like)

giphy

And a couple of health breakthroughs:

A re-evaluation of my thyroid health and maintenance plan.
A possible PCOS connection that explains a lot about my hormonal headaches and unpredictable cycles.

All said, not too shabby.

Happy New Year!

video: using things up… Empties #2!

In an effort to make better use of the things I buy, I give you my second Empties video 🙂

Lots of products mentioned here, including health stuff, bath stuff, and some general lifestyle bits. I intended to list them all, but life happened and I lost track of time. So just watch for details and feel free to leave any questions in the comments. 🙂 I’m happy to share my thoughts on all and any products mentioned, or feel free to leave a recommendation.

Apologies for video quality issues, I noticed some blurring as I was editing, but I recycled all the products before I watched the video. Lesson learned.

life: flow

It’s my third day back on a morning yoga schedule and I’m really getting into the flow of it. My workouts tend to shift with the seasons: when the sun starts to rise a little later and set a little earlier, my workouts shift to morning rather than evening. I still enjoy a post-dinner walk, but I just enjoy the gray morning vibe more. Kitty cat #1 (ie. CaramelCat) also enjoys the morning yoga sesh. I think Adriene’s voice just sounds really pleasant to his kitty ears, so he plops out beside me and licks my forehead as I move into shavasana.

I’ve also been enjoying my new diffuser, I like to use oils when I’m stretching and having it in the bedroom makes it that much more effective (morning yoga is bedroom yoga; whereas, evening yoga happens in the living room – see, shifts in mood and place).

Today’s practice was the gentle morning sequence, which was perfect. I feel a bit of a cold coming on and the stretch was just what I needed.

vlog: After the Whole30 – reintroduction

Another week, another vlog 🙂 and no recording snafus! So thrilling.

I completed my Whole30 on Monday and it feels like such an accomplishment. I only broke the rules a couple of times (in a really silly, minimal way, which I explain in the video). Otherwise, I managed to stick to the rules, even when faced with cake, pasta, and other non-compliant foods. Yes, I lost 3.5 lbs, but I saw some serious changes in my body composition, especially around my belly. I’ve started my slow roll with legumes (documenting my reaction to foods as I make the introduction), and have only introduced a couple of added sugar foods (honey-roasted cashews and chocolate). I’m trying to eat these sparingly, as my goal is to keep the sugar monster at bay; however, it’s my birthday this month, so I will be eating cake.

More details in the video. I’m planning a second round in July.

Like and subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates 🙂

off the shelf: 5 books on health, wellness, and living

Once upon a time, I only read fiction; the thought of reading non-fiction or *GASP* “self-help” or wellness books was anathema to me. Then I grew up and started to care about things like health and well-being (happens), which led to books. Lots and lots of books (and websites too, obvs). I started by reading about food and nutrition, then I jumped onto lifestyle, mental health, organization, and so much more. I clearly found a new source of inspiration.

The following are some of the books that have most inspired and enlightened my understanding of health, wellness, and living in general.

Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson

The first book I read on food and health. Easy to read, highly engaging, full of insight on how to eat for optimal antioxidant absorption. Also, provides a history of the foods we eat and how they have evolved with modern farming. I refer to this book more often than I can count.

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

If you’re interested in the science of food, this is the book for you. Journalistic and engaging. Keeps you reading without being judgmental.

Perfect Health–Revised and Updated: The Complete Mind Body Guide by Deepak Chopra

I have an interest in alternative medicine and traditional foods, and was searching for an easy guide to Ayurveda. This definitely fits the bill. If you’re interested in a quick intro to Ayurveda and Ayurveda types, give this book a try.

The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

I’ve talked about it here, here and here, but this book is just the holy grail of home life transformations.

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret, Sophie Mas

A little fluffy, but I just live for French style. J’adore!

in which I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck

This post was going to be about something completely different but I feel like I’ve reached the Pits of Despair! All that energy I had last week? Well, it’s gone. I’m totally riding the “I need a nap” stage of the Whole 30. I was floating along and then BAM! Everything hurts and I just want to crawl back into bed. Not much else to report. Sticking to it, but really hoping this wave will wear off soon.

Writing wise, things are progressing and I’m making good time with my revisions. I have a conference to attend in June (and my birthday!), so my goal is to be done with this draft before then. I don’t want to even look at Scrivener during that time.

I’ve also been looking into tips and tricks for vlogging. I have a rather nice camera, but it does not have a flip screen, so I’m going to give the mirror trick a try. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know in the comments :). I would like to improve and avoid the weird staring into space face that I make when I use my iPad.