Hi again, everyone! Today's focus continued on mastering the art of crafting PN-friendly meals, a habit that's becoming increasingly integral to my daily routine. This journey, as we've learned, is not about perfection but about making gradual, sustainable changes.  Understanding PN-Friendly Meals Today's lesson deepened our understanding of what makes a meal PN-friendly. It's about starting with simple meals that fit our lifestyle and goals, and then gradually improving them. We discussed how each meal can evolve from basic choices to more nutritionally dense and mindfully enjoyed options, transforming our eating habits step by step. I like how they focus on where are you now, what can you do to improve that just a bit and the examples were spot on in their meal evolutions. Meal Evolution Insights Through a series of meal stages, we explored how our eating habits could change over time. For example, transitioning from a rushed coffee and croissant to a relaxed and ...

Experimenting at Home with Celery As someone who is a newbie in the land of sustainable living and an enthusiast of watching people use regenerative farming practices online, I've always been thrilled by the magic of watching new life sprout from kitchen scraps. This year I decided to try it myself.  My journey began with the humble green onion a few weeks ago, a gateway into the world of vegetable regeneration that left me eager for more. I now have enough green onions growing at home that I can skip buying them from the store! Who doesn't like saving money? Check out my Regenerative Green Onions Emboldened by success, I ventured into the realm of celery, a vegetable known for its resilience and rapid growth. However, this transition wasn't without its challenges. After a week of sitting in water that I changed every two days and despite clear signs of green shoots thriving, a perplexing snag appeared: the absence of roots. This unexpected twist propelled me on a quest for...

Hello, everyone! Today marks the introduction of a new habit in our PN program—focusing on PN-friendly meals, which synthesize our learnings about lean proteins, veggies, smart carbs, and fats into a comprehensive approach to eating.  Structured Learning and Balanced Meals The lesson today was split into two levels, and I'm starting at level one, which feels just right for where I'm at currently. We reviewed what constitutes a PN-friendly meal, and I'm happy to report that my typical meals, like omelets with veggies and sprouted grain toast, are on track. After tracking my food over the weekend, I noticed a balanced 1:1:1:1 ratio when I look at the total day, though there's always room for improvement for each meal and yesterday I only had 4 servings of veggies.  The shared examples of meals and a simple chili recipe, which I'm excited to try out instead of buying ready-made from the deli but I need to tweak it a bit with black beans instead of kidney beans. My focu...

Hello, everyone! Today’s reflections bring a mix of dietary insights, personal accomplishments, and continuous learning from the PN program. It’s been a day rich with activities and self-discovery, being present to try and make sure that I am making every moment count. Nutritional Deep Dive Today's lesson in the PN program revolved around evaluating our intake of healthy fats. For me, avocado oil has been a standout this week, both for cooking and as a delicious addition to sandwiches and wraps in the form of guacamole. It's not only versatile but also incredibly easy to incorporate into my diet. While I'm exploring its benefits, I’m also keeping an open mind about experimenting with other oils in the future. Celebrating Weekly Wins One of the biggest triumphs this week has been managing to stay on top of my workouts, despite the challenges posed by my PCOS, lack of sleep and my period. This week I really focused on ensuring that each meal was balanced and nutritious helped...

Hello again! With the weekend here and no specific lessons or live sessions in the PN program, it's a quieter day dedicated to reflection and self-directed activities.  Diving Into Nutritional Tracking Today, I started using the tracking sheets provided by our coaches to monitor my intake of proteins, veggies, carbs, and fats. Breaking down meals into these components is quite an eye-opener, and I appreciate using our hands as a simple, scale-free measurement tool. It makes the process straightforward and less technical, which really aligns with my approach to keeping things stress-free in the kitchen.  I'm looking forward to the new habit on plating to see what is recommended and compare the two to see where I can start to make adjustments. I am also trying to use some of the things from the Intuitive Eating book and trust what my body wants to eat, when possible, so not 100% sure how those two things will come together. Active Recovery and Rainy Days The weather has blessed ...

Hello again! As we wrap up another week, today was packed with learning and activities—a double dose of insights from our program coaches and a fresh workout routine. Unpacking the Lessons Today's lesson encouraged us to review our body signal tracking data from yesterday and engage in self-coaching. Analyzing my own data was enlightening; it highlighted how significantly lack of sleep and pain from my PCOS/period affects my energy and mood throughout the day. Despite having a nap, I realized that doesn't fully counteract the tiredness from disrupted sleep. If I were to advise a "client" (myself in this case), I’d commend the efforts to maintain slow eating, regular hydration, and exercise even during these rough patches and remind them that PCOS is rough and periods don't last forever. Workout Progress and Gardening Gains I tackled the third new workout routine of the second phase today, continuing with bodyweight exercises and resistance bands. There’s something...

How Many Types of Hunger? Welcome back to my journey! As I navigate through my holistic wellness changes, starting with the Precision Nutrition program and reading the book, Intuitive Eating, I've discovered that understanding different types of hunger can profoundly influence our relationship with food and overall health. I have seen a lot of articles on the seven types of hunger, but it looks like there might be nine! Here’s a friendly guide to the nine types of hunger I've learned about and how recognizing them is transforming my wellness journey. Eye Hunger This is all about the visual appeal of food. Ever found yourself wanting a snack just because it looked appetizing, even if you weren’t hungry? That’s eye hunger. To manage this, I try to appreciate the beauty of food as part of the dining experience, without feeling compelled to eat when I’m not hungry or having a smaller portion of that food. It's interesting because I have thought that looks great I'll have so...

Hello, everyone! Day 94 has been a whirlwind of emotions and activities, heavily influenced by yet another night of broken sleep due to my period—a common challenge but one that hasn't troubled me this frequently in a while. Tired is indeed the word of the day, pun fully intended. Navigating Through Fatigue Today's lesson was making ourselves the experiment. I embarked on another scientific endeavor—collecting a snapshot of my body's current state, but not through photographs. Instead, I focused on tracking how I felt at various intervals, aiming to read my "inner compass" more effectively. This wasn't just about adhering to an abstract concept; it was about concrete data gathering to improve my day-to-day living. Tracking the Inner Compass Throughout the day, I used my phone’s timer to remind me every two hours to record my energy levels, calmness, focus, and mood on a scale from 1 to 10. These periodic check-ins helped me recognize the fluctuations in my fee...

Hello, everyone! Today marks the 93rd day of my PN for women journey, and I want to share both the challenges and triumphs I've experienced, particularly over the last two days. Living with PCOS means dealing with unpredictable and often painful symptoms, and the past couple of nights have been particularly tough with severe pain disrupting my sleep. Starting Despite the Odds Despite being tired, grumpy and the the cramping and overall discomfort, today was a scheduled workout day and I managed to get it done. Honestly, I wasn't feeling up to it initially—skipping seemed like a reasonable option as I sipped my morning tea and had breakfast. But as the day went on, I decided to start with just the warm-up exercises, which are the same as the last phase and walking on the treadmill and see how it went from there. Surprisingly, I found myself completing the entire workout, including a second stint on the treadmill. I even scored over 30 minutes of Zone minutes on my Fitbit, which ...

Embracing Feedback Over Failure Today’s Precision Nutrition lesson today emphasized the shift from viewing mishaps as failures to seeing them as valuable feedback. Using examples like if you stumbled on a rocky path, it just means you found a rock that wasn't steady—no worries, you haven't failed at walking. This one really hit home to me, I use something similar when I am working with mums as a lactation consultant - if you latch the baby in X position and it doesn't work for one of you, that doesn't mean you have failed at breastfeeding. Their gym example, if you lose your balance in the gym trying a new exercise, it's just a sign you might have leaned a bit too far one way. That's not failing at exercise, that's learning to balance better. And if those super spicy wings gave you a tough night, well, you've just learned what doesn't work for your stomach. You haven't failed at eating; you've just discovered more about your body's reacti...

Earth Day 2024 Today, on Earth Day, I'm reminded of the importance of my environmental impact and the role I play in preserving our planet. This annual event is a call to action to be more mindful of my daily habits and decisions, whether it's reducing waste, conserving energy, or practicing sustainable gardening. For me Earth Day serves as a reminder that even small, personal changes can contribute to a larger global effort to safeguard our natural resources for future generations.  Gardening and Sustainability The day also included a moment of inspiration from a gardening show on the radio, reminding me of the simple steps we can take at home to practice sustainable gardening. I'm exploring options to install a gutter system on my greenhouse to connect to a rain barrel, aiming to use rainwater for watering plants. This sustainable practice underscores a commitment to leveraging natural resources effectively, reducing reliance on town water supplies that have been treated ...

Weekly Recap and Preparation Today's lesson served as a weekly recap and a gentle nudge to prepare for the coming week by stocking up on healthy fats, such as ripening avocados. I'm even toying with the idea of growing my own avocado plants from pits, although my past attempts haven't been successful even though it is supposed to be one of the simplest things to root and grow. Here's to hoping for a green thumb this time! Active Recovery and Practical Tasks As part of my active recovery day, I engaged in NEAT activities like gardening and cleaning out my car—always surprising what accumulates under the seats when you're sharing the space with a son and a dog! She watched to make sure that I didn't throw out any of her toys and helpfully carried them into the house. Regular walks with the dog around the neighborhood also topped off my activity for the day. Training with the New Muzzle I introduced a larger muzzle to my dog because the one last week was too small,...

Measuring Progress Today marks another significant measurement day in my journey, where I took full advantage of assessing my progress through photos, girth measurements, and the scale. Although my rings still don't fit—a change I anticipate as I continue to lose weight—I've shed a total of 10.7 lbs and an impressive 37.5 cm total girth, with over 10 cm each from my waist and hips. We measure neck, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, upper arm, thigh and calf. This visual and numeric transformation underscores the value of comprehensive tracking beyond just the scale. I use a smart tape measure for accuracy, especially for hard-to-reach areas like my shoulders. Health Benefits to Shrinking my Waist Shrinking the waistline is important not just for aesthetic reasons (although that is what we see) but for health benefits as well. A smaller waist can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic syndromes. Reducing waist circumference he...

Today was packed with unplanned events and the final session of this phase's workout series. Despite the chaos, including an unexpected appointment and car troubles with my mum’s car, I managed to complete my favorite workout of the three-day program without changing any resistance bands. Managing Plants and Weather Shifts The morning started with rain and a high of 16°C, ideal for bringing my plants outside to soak up the benefits before cooler days ahead. According to the forecast, the next few days will be too chilly, so I prepared to keep them in the greenhouse where they can stay warm.I have no idea if this is the correct way to nurture plants, just going by what I have read online.  Time for Me Today, I managed to schedule an appointment with my new favorite hair stylist for my second henna treatment. Aligning our schedules was a challenge; I had hoped to fit this in last week or over the weekend, but it didn't work out. Traveling to her salon is a commitment—an hour'...

Full Body Workouts with Resistance Bands Embarking on a new fitness regimen can be both exhilarating and challenging or even a bit unnerving as it is the unknown and that is how I felt just a few weeks ago as I had not used resistance bands for my exercises before. I had used them for physio and had seen some people in the gym using them in the past, but now I think these are brilliant now that I know what exercises to do and plan on taking them with me if I am traveling over my workout days. This is my first series of exercises with resistance bands and the last day of this specific workout routine. I have been having my workout days be Monday, Wednesday and Friday and do them before I have lunch in the late morning after coming back from the trail walks with the dog so she can have a nap and I can focus. The next series of exercises starts on Monday, according to our calendar, and I'm excited to see what that looks like. Remember be sure to check with your primary care before sta...