Living Proof

I always have these little things that I do that people are always like, "I never knew that!" And usually, it really works. So I decided to do a fun little post about my little habits and what works for me health-wise and spiritually as well. Hope this helps you too! You may have already heard of some of these, but I live by these religiously. Sprinkle some cinnamon in your coffee. It's not only delicious, but it lowers your blood sugar. When ordering a new drink at the bar, ask the bartender to put it in the same glass. Your ice is officially seasoned and will taste much better. (Bartending experience.)  Render bacon fat and always use it when frying eggs. burger or steak in the pan. Trust me.  Include avocados when eating eggs of any style -- it will fill you up until later afternoon or even dinner.  For a hangover, especially for an upset stomach, take a probiotic with 2 billion active cultures.  Add 2-3 drops of vodka in your ear if you have a wax build...

Normally during this time of the year, especially with the long stretch of February, I'm no joy to be around. I'm depressed, grumpy, cranky, irritable, impatient----you get my drift. Last year, I cannot tell you how many times I almost checked myself into the funny farm, but this year was quite different, especially for a February. With that being said -- the holidays is a whole other can-o-beans because I'm just nutty around Christmas regardless. But February is my 'to-be-feared' month for those around me. As you've heard a million and one times before, I'm still on a very low carb diet, (Paleo) and doing things to boost my immunity and health, like eating egg yolks and not just egg whites to appease calorie/cholesterol intake. I started taking 3,000 IUs of vitamin D. I get my calcium and vitamin C through broccoli and steer away from fruit. I also take 1,000 mg of vitamin C (probably just expensive urine), but I find that it helps somewhat. If at all pos...

Been away for a while. I guess you can say I was on vacation in a spacious room with an ensuite.  You guessed it: the hospital. I ended up there due to stomach bleeding. I was vomiting blood which looked like coffee grinds. I know this due to my friend Google. I was also there for severe - and I mean, excruciating body pain. No one could figure out what the hell was going on with me. Once in the ER, they had to put me in a wheel chair because I was unable walk by myself. I was shaking and crying - it was so unbearable. Then they needed to check for "samples", need I say de la poupe or good ol' merde . Needless to say, after the nurse checked me with a latex glove and some jelly, she never did bring me out to dinner afterwards. I'll put a complaint in later.  They detected blood and basically, that was their main concern - not my cries of pain from every single part of my body hurting. That was just "normal" to them. They pumped me up with morphine after ...

The theme of this month has been brought to you by PAIN. And with its unknown or 'guessed' diagnosis', I'm officially calling it bullshit. Lower back pain. Keepin' it simple. It's slowly fading off into a tolerable type of pain, but nonetheless. The only thing that makes me tolerable, is the good ol' herb I've been counting on for when the ibuprofen doesn't quite cut it. This is my nightstand. It holds two or three essential needs for my evening and morning 'lockups'. I think it should be prescribed as an antidepressant, pain reliever, and medication for sleeping disorders. Maybe it already has in other states.   In other news, I have a lot of work to do on my cooking blog, trying to reduce inflammation and pain (as well as trying to lose weight) with the Paleo diet. I was unable to maintain the diet while I was plastered to my bed with a locked up back, but I'm back baby. I've been buying grass fed USDA organic beef and making thes...

No one knows the truth, or better yet, perhaps everyone thinks they know the truth. I found myself amazed last night over the the amount of 'death chatter' regarding young people dying of strokes and heart attacks. "Well she worked out, she was young and healthy."  What is "healthy"? Dr. Oz even had these cardiologists come onto his show and say that if you have high cholesterol, then you will live longer. They said, "Eat more saturated fat" while other doctors cringed and said, "Take more statins!" Our uncle died of a heart attack in his 30's -- so did my mother's cousin. All ate well, jogged, had a "healthy lifestyle" as the average person would see it. I have a doctor friend who inspired me to take the Paleo challenge. "Eat all the bacon you want!" Of course that comes with, "Stay away from all sugar and pastas."  The pasta part was the hardest for me. But think about all of the contradictions ou...

"Even I can't stay on this Paleo diet." The challenge is over. I failed miserably. For the first couple of days it was okay. I usually don't eat my burgers with a bun anyway and kept up with my meat and veggie intake. As I kept reading about the Paleo diet, it also had some conflicting "beliefs" from dedicated followers. For example, some people feel it's okay to eat tomatoes, while others say stay away from them. Most say do not eat beans or coffee since the cavemen didn't eat them. But, they're naturally grown, perhaps found later on during the earth's life ...right?  Then you have to consider the strict rules in the quality of your meat - only grass fed burgers and steaks and organic vegetables and never buy fish that is farmed. Your life is basically dedicated to researching where your food is from when you're doing simple grocery shopping. And that's just it: it's not simple! While we try to cultivate a healthier lifesty...

There goes all my dinner parties... There is not one diet I haven't tried. There hasn't been one diet that has really worked for me, except for Weight Watcher's - but for me that was like a starvation project. I've always had issues with weight --  up and down and getting round -- so I decided to bite the bullet and do a no carb thing, perhaps even the Paleo diet, also known as "the caveman diet", suggested by my doctor friend who is guiding me right now, cringing at every mistake I make along the way. Paleo's focus (or in my opinion because I know I will get corrected on this which is fine) is on cutting all sugars out of your diet, including grains like wheat bread, pastas, starches and even beans. The list goes on about what you can't have, but there are some perks. I'm Italian so this is very difficult for me to eliminate pasta, however, I'm also allowed to eat all ~the evils~ that I was told not to eat by my family doctor. Foods inc...

Dear Mayor Bloomberg, I understand you're banning soft drinks in large quantities as well as trans fat in most chain restaurants. While I think it's a great attempt to improve our health, I also think you've missed a few other things that are bad for our health in large quantities. I would like to give you my suggestions if you're just going to limit it to soft drinks and trans fat, so hear me out. Make all bars limit each patron to two drinks maximum. Not only will you save lives by not having people drive home drunk, but you're saving women from the risk of breast cancer as "studies" show. Don't let any (one) person buy an entire pizza pie, unless they come in with a family of eight.  Make every New Yorker pay dues to a gym membership. If our health is so important, then enforce a gym membership rule.  Ban all white bread. 'Nuff said. Ban all "Americanized" Chinese takeout food. China is known for eating medicinal foods that ...

How do you control stress? How is it that some people handle it better than others? Some people lose weight, some gain. Some lose their minds, while others get stronger and much more courageous for the next set of chaotic events to come. I guess it depends on "you". I do everything in my power to relieve myself of all stressors and anxiety, like praying, meditating, enjoying my hobbies like playing guitar or writing music. Still, I'm grasping for straws and desperate for relief. I even started going to a place that provides Reiki and polarity treatments. Still, I'm grasping for anything to relieve me. Sadly, at this time, the only thing to relieve me of my pain, sadness and anxiety is alcohol. Suggestions to exercise would be wise, but it makes my heart race and subliminally tells my noggin, "Hey! You're having an anxiety attack - look at your heart rate!" And although I know the heart rate is normal - I still think, "abnormal". Abnor...

You would think a hospital would be clean with cold air circulating, so that any potential germs or bacteria would be quickly diminished. Not in this hospital. While waiting for Madelene to get taken into the operating room, we walked through the hallways into where she had to sign in. There were hampers of soiled gowns, sheets and other miscellaneous dirty clothes that were piled high against the corridors of one of the wings. It was warm and it smelled musty. I tried holding my breath, but I needed to breathe. It wasn’t easy. I figured this was just one part of the hospital that had bad ventilation and a bad cleaning staff. While Madelene’s mother and I sat in the waiting room, hoping for a good report from the surgeon, there were other people in there with two loud screaming little girls. One little girl screamed so much, that she threw up all over the floor. The cleaning crew came over and just placed a towel over it. It began to stink so badly that we had to actually move from whe...

Madelene's going into the hospital tomorrow to have surgery. Can you please say a prayer that the doctors' hands are guided by God, and that her recovery time is quick? She has been going through some physical turmoil for quite some time now, and needs to have this major procedure done. This is the first time I have ever seen her look nervous about something. She'll be in the hospital for 4-5 days and then I'll be helping her for about a month or so to recover. Any prayers would be so appreciated at this time Madelene, remember, by His stripes, you are healed! I pray that you recover from the painful experiences of what you've been through. May God touch the hands of the surgeons who work on you tomorrow. I pray that your fear goes away, because you know God is there with you every step of the way. I will always be there to take care of you. I also pray that you recover from the awful hospital food! I'll be sneaking in some goodies for you! Love, Deb