Clarity Wellness

  I noticed this morning during my walk that I was ravenously hungry about an hour into it. This doesn't usually happen to me. I can typically go all morning without a twinge of hunger. However, I've had a couple of weeks of not-so-low-carb eating and I can definitely tell a difference! Give me a teacher appreciation donut, some graduation cake, or a couple of pizza slices with the kids, and boom! I'm right back on the blood sugar rollercoaster.  You know how I can tell? I wake up in the middle of the night a hot mess, I run hot periodically throughout the day, my brain is foggy, my running injuries are aching, my nose is stuffy, and I'm hungry more often than usual. I'd like to think that I can have a little bit of sugar and feel ok, but every experiment fails and I find myself scrambling to get off the rollercoaster and back onto solid ground. Here are some key ways I've found to get back on track and feel better soon. Get it out of your house (and work...

Aren't they pretty? Hi friends, here's a little bonus I thought I'd put out.  Short, sweet, and yummy. :) If you'd like to talk to me more about creating a wellness and nutrition plan that works for you , I've got you!  I'm a certified Nutrition Coach who will create a simple, customized meal plan for you and coach you through how to implement it into your busy life.  We also talk about all the pitfalls that make it hard, and help you make it the anchor that keeps you healthy, energized, and sane through the whirlwind of your everyday life. I'd love to talk to you about the program, so  book a free consultation with me by clicking the  Calendly  button. I look forward to talking to you! Click here to sign up for my weekly newsletter Join my  Clarity Wellness Low-Carb Ladies Facebook Group

Have I ever told you how much I love Costco? They do an amazing job of finding high quality products at the best prices so we buy most of our grocery staples there. Let's take a trip around the store, and I'll point out some of my favorites along the way. 1. In my store, the first section you come to after you pass the clothing and housewares is the alcohol section, so we'll start there. :) If you want to stay low-carb and still enjoy a cocktail from time to time, grab a bottle of the Kirkland vodka and a case of sparkling water. 2. Next comes the meat section, where we pick up a pack of organic ground beef, some organic chicken thighs, breasts, and/or wings, and whatever else might be on our list for the week. 3. In the refrigerated section we often find snack packs of cheese, sausage, pre-cooked chicken, and guacamole or avocado mash. They also have a great selection of good quality brie, aged cheddar, Parmesan, mozzarella, etc.  Look for the ones that come straight f...

Nature's perfect food Ah, avocado! Just about the most perfect food, if you ask me. Creamy, delicious, versatile, and oh so good for you. In just half an avocado you have 15 grams of healthy fat, 2 grams of protein, 9 grams of total carbohydrate with 7 grams of fiber (that's 2 grams of net carbs for those of you counting), 14% of your RDI of potassium, as well as vitamin C, B6, B5, E, folate, and magnesium. Find out more here:   DietDoctor.com . I recently asked the ladies in my  Clarity Wellness Facebook Group  about their favorite ways to eat avocado.  I'm kind of a minimalist who likes to keep things simple, so I expected more of the same.  Boy, was I blown away by the responses! If you're not hungry after you read this, you must not be feeling well.  I personally am planning to bake some avocados with eggs tomorrow for our "Breakfast for Dinner" night.  I know avocado toast is a big thing right now, but unless you can find a good grain-fre...

In an effort to keep the Christmas spirit alive and well this year, I baked all the usual cookies and treats:  buckeyes, fudge, caramels, snowball cookies, chocolate crinkles, ginger snaps... Everyone has a different favorite, of course, so I had to make them all, despite making proclamations that we would not go overboard this year and I was going to narrow down the list of things we would make.  I could try and make gluten-free, sugar-free versions, but what would be the point, really?  My kids wouldn't eat them, I would be stuck looking at them and feeling guilty that I wasted the time and money on them, and would feel obligated to eat them all myself.  Usually we make cookies and keep them in the freezer, doling them out little by little as we make our rounds of holiday parties.  This year, however, there are no parties to go to, and home baked treats are not as well-received as in years past. So...guess who's eating the cookies this year?  Yep, I fell ...

I have tried every type of diet out there--from vegan to carnivore, low-fat, high-fat, paleo, keto, etc., and here's what I've discovered:  every body is different, our bodies are different at different times in our lives, and if you just cut out the processed crap you are doing your body a world of good right there. Here's what works best for me, as a 50 year-old, pre-menopausal woman: 1.  No sugars :  200 years ago the average person ate two pounds of sugar a year. Today the average is about three pounds per week!  Sugar consumption is linked to diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, cancer, and many other health conditions.  The biggest thing I noticed when I cut back on sugar was that I was able to get off the blood sugar roller coaster and stabilize my mood, energy levels, and tummy troubles.  I didn't feel hungry all the time, I didn't feel comatose every afternoon around 1:00, and my brain just seemed to function better.  These days when I indul...