Clarity Wellness

  It's easy to get frustrated when it comes to health and nutrition.  We try so hard to follow a healthy eating plan.  We work out as much as we can.  We try to do all the "right" things, and sometimes they work for a while until they don't.  At that point it's easy to just give up and skip the workout, stay up late eating popcorn and ice cream, and have that extra margarita with your friends.  You get down on yourself, you feel like nothing will ever work, and you're resigned to holding on to that Covid 19 that you gained over the last couple of years. For me it often happens after I've lost a few pounds during the week, then go out for dinner and drinks Saturday night.  Sunday morning I wake up having gained back everything I lost, and sometimes more.  Was it the wine?  The salad with cheese and questionable ingredients?  Was it the little piece of bread I snuck from the bread basket, thinking that one little slice wouldn't hurt? Inste...

  My husband and I went to band camp last week with our youngest daughter and 160 or so of her closest friends.  We handed out Band-Aids, ice packs, and Tums like there was no tomorrow. We dealt with vomit at 6:00 am (and 11:15 pm), the bloodiest noses I've ever seen, and a rifle butt to the eye. It was intense and unpredictable, and here I am several days later still feeling like I could sleep 10 hours a night. We had a blast, however, and loved seeing how their music progressed throughout the week. At their parent performance on Saturday I got a little teary-eyed, feeling parental towards all 160 of them, and just so darn proud of all the hard work they put into it. So how does one eat low-carb at band camp, you ask?  I gotta admit, it's pretty tough unless you want to bring all your own food.  Here's what I did, as well as some things I should have done better. 1.  I chose my carbs carefully .  At this particular camp they make their own bread, and oh my...

I am truly like a toddler sometimes. If I can't eat something everyone else is eating, I throw an inner tantrum. (Cheese! I want cheese!) If I don't get enough sleep, I can be quite grumpy.   And if I'm upset, I may just want my binky (in the form of whatever snack is handy--usually mixed nuts or raw almonds). At 52 years old, you would think I'd have that figured out by now, but the hormonal roller coaster ride I'm on right now is actually making it harder.  So what's a girl to do?  Well, remember back to when your kids were toddlers?  What did you do with them?  Do the same thing with your adult self! Make sure you have healthy and easy food choices in the house. Make sure you are drinking enough water. Have a consistent bedtime routine and get enough sleep.  If you can make it work, naps are pretty awesome. Make time for play.  If you want to call it exercise, that works too. Preferably go outdoors. And most importantly, get lots of hugs and cu...

Over the last few years I've learned a lot about hormones and their role in our bodies.  I've read a lot of books and articles about the subject, and I listen to endless podcasts with experts like Anna Cabeca , Cynthia Thurlow , and Sara Gottfried (just to name a few!)  Now that I'm knocking at the Menopause Door myself, I'm especially interested in how to get through the next few years, but I really wish that I had known what I know now back in my 20's and 30's. In a recent conversation with my teenaged daughters about the state of affairs in our country, I realized that what I thought they were learning about the female cycle and human reproduction in school is vastly different from what they had actually learned.  And contraception?  Not a word.   Now in a perfect world, I would love it if all teenagers prescribed to the abstinence-based education they were getting, but I don't think that's realistic.  And what about when they graduate, enter a lon...

Ever have one of those days where everything you had planned flew out the window and you became a slave to everyone else’s agenda? Who am I kidding? I have a hunch you all have, and if you have kids, I KNOW you have. This morning I had plans to go on a long, soul-soothing, solo hike. However, when I woke up, my aching hip had other plans. No problem, I thought, I’ll walk to the coffee shop with my husband and get some quality time in with him, while loosening up the hip at the same time. That I did, and then worked on meal planning for the week, baking a birthday cake, and doing some PT for my hip. All well and good, until the shizzle hit the proverbial fan. Suddenly I found myself putting out fires right and left, hunting down a rotten smell from the fridge, calling the dentist for the third time this week to reschedule (yet again), and rushing to the store for last minute groceries, all while trying to plan a birthday get-together. Oh, and did I mention that my hormones are a...

Is the nutrition world making your head swim? Eat only meat! Eat only plants! Stay away from carbs! Sugar is the devil! It doesn't matter what you eat as long as you count your calories! I'll admit, I'm sure I add to your confusion sometimes, and I probably add to your stress levels.  My cousin recently told me, "I read your stuff on Facebook, and I just want to go eat a cookie." I'm sorry.  I really am.  It shouldn't be that confusing.  All the science out there essentially boils down to two things:  eat whole, unprocessed foods, and control your blood sugar. Even if we know the science, our relationship with food can be a complicated one.  It's doesn't have to be that way, though.  If you're not happy with the relationship you have right now, it's like any relationship.  You're not going to change it overnight.  It takes work, it takes patience, and it takes baby steps. Sometimes you're hit by a lightning bolt (a diagnosis, the de...

Picture this: you're craving the chocolate bar that's hiding in your cupboard, so in an attempt to satisfy the craving, you eat a handful of nuts.  That doesn't work, so you make a keto mug cake that you found on Pinterest and eat that.  Nope.  Still want that chocolate.  So you try some almond butter mixed with a little cacao powder.  Then some Greek yogurt.  Then some cheese.  Nope. Nope. Nope.  What could possibly calm that craving?  Ummm...maybe a little piece of chocolate?  Unfortunately now you've eaten a whole day's worth of food when that's all it would have taken. That's called "eating around" food.  You've heard that if you want something sweet you should eat something with artificial sweeteners instead.  Or if you want something salty and crunchy you should reach for the celery sticks. And yes, often when we crave something it's indicative of something our body needs--whether it's salt (electrolytes), quick energy (c...