Clarity Wellness

  Fair warning--this post may contain a little TMI.  If you'd prefer not to read anything more about my breasts, then stop reading right now.  However, I have a feeling you might be just a little bit curious, because you might be dealing with some of the very same things that I've gone through over the past few years.  If that's the case, by all means, keep reading, and I hope you get some value out of the story I'm about to tell you. I have dense, fibrocystic breasts, as I know many of you also do.  It's great if you want a perky post-pregnancy pair, but not so great when you start the mammogram dance of suspicious lumps and bumps that tend to come and go on a monthly basis. When I went off of hormonal birth control in my 40's my body did what female bodies naturally do--it cycled, and with those cycles came periods of intense swelling and pain for two weeks out of every month. After my own doctor didn't offer much help besides the offer of putting me back ...

To fuel or not to fuel--that is the question I get the question all the time: " What do you eat and drink when you run? " and I know they're looking for the magic gel, sports drink, or protein bar to fuel their workouts.  The media, including popular running magazines and websites, may have you believing that in order to get the most out of your workout you need a certain amount of carbs per hour to keep it going.   I certainly listened to that advice when I first started running longer distances.  The popular prescription was that you needed to take in one sports gel every 20-30 minutes.  If you've ever tried to do that you know it's a recipe for stomach distress, unscheduled pit stops, and more post-race inflammation than is really needed. Yes, your body loves to run on carbs.  It's like lighting a bunch of dry kindling: it burns fast and hot, but only for a short while, and you have to replenish the supply on a regular basis.  Your body also loves t...

Calm your inner environment by decluttering your outer The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up changed my life. It really did,--just ask my husband and my kids. For years they taunted me with chides of "Does it spark joy for you, Mom?" and railed against my Saturday flurries of purging the clutter. If you haven't read Marie Kondo's book or watched her NetFlix show, I'd highly recommend it. I don't subscribe to all her methods, (I have a hard time spending so much time folding clothes, and I've never been able to effectively thank my purse for the outstanding job it does each day) but the lessons she teaches about why and how to let go of the clutter in our lives are indeed lifechanging. Gretchen Rubin's Outer Order, Inner Calm is another book that resonated with me. It's true what she says: when we organize and declutter our outer environment, it creates calm in our inner environment. That's why cleaning my kitchen or clearing out the pant...

Brain health is one of those things you take for granted-- until you get older, that is, and you realize it's not a given anymore. You start forgetting peoples' names, you forget why you walked into a room, or you can't think of the right word to say. Sometimes you just feel like your brain's a little fuzzy, you're living in a fog, and you just can't quite focus. All of that is normal, to a certain degree, but there are some nutritional and lifestyle changes you can make that will help clear the fog.  Inflammatory foods, like sugar and processed foods, cause oxidative stress, which kills neurons, weakens your memory, and impacts your ability to learn and process thoughts properly. Scary stuff, right?  Instead, focus on whole foods, full of vitamins, and healthy fats that help build neural connections--not break them down. Here is a list of some of the top foods for brain health: Nuts—almonds, macadamias, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans Seeds—flax, pumpkin, sesame,...

I probably don’t have to tell you about all the ways sugar affects your body—the information is everywhere!  Inflammation is the number one problem, and it leads to almost every other health problem out there: diabetes, cancer, heart disease, mood disorders, skin problems, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer's--they are all caused by excess inflammation in one way or another.  Unfortunately, you may not realize how much sugar you are eating each day because it is skillfully hidden by the people who make your food. People today eat an average of three pounds of sugar a week, and much of it is found in processed food that may not even taste sweet! Food manufacturers know that there is a 'bliss point' at which the ratio of salt, sugar, and fat is so enticing that you want to keep eating. Sugar enhances the taste of salt, and vice-versa. They also know that consumers are smart people who look for sugar on the label. That's why there are new names for sugar coming out every day....

I've been noticing myself saying the phrases, "but, whatever," and "who knows?" a lot lately.  Yes, there are a lot of things that we don't know right now, but if I step back and really listen to myself, there's a lot of indecision and resignation in those wishy-washy words. Information overload leads to confusion, especially when it comes to things that are new to us, like the "Novel" Coronavirus.  How do we best protect ourselves?  How effective are the vaccines?  How can I even get a vaccine? And on and on. Then there's the nutrition and wellness scene.  What's the best diet for me? Vegan? Carnivore? Keto? Low-fat? Low-carb?  Who knows?   The research I read says this, but Self magazine says this... but whatever . Self talk affects everything we do throughout the day.   That little voice in your head determines how you react to a situation, how you feel about yourself, and how you feel about others.  Do I want to be resigned and in...

Despite what you've heard, figuring out what to eat is not necessarily the key to losing weight. That's the easy part. Figuring out what's going on in your head when you make food choices is a far bigger challenge, and ultimately is the one that will make the biggest difference. Out of sight, out of mind I know I don't have to tell you this one, but look around your kitchen. Are there treats visible on the counters? When you open the fridge, what's at eye level? How about inside your cupboards? Take anything that you don't want to eat and put it in the bottom drawer of the fridge, the top shelf of the cupboard, or better yet, in the garbage can outside. At work, is there candy sitting on your desk? If there is, and you haven't devoured it yet in a fit of nervous energy, I applaud you. Is there a place where treats often call to you from a co-worker's desk or a staff lounge? If so, stop walking through the lounge. Find another route. Tell your co-worker ...