Wholistique Lifestyles

OK!  Here it is...check out Wholistique Lifestyles on the web.  Click the link or try this URL http://abigail-ward.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com.

Live well!

Catch me on EXAMINER

Check out my first article on Examiner.com.  I'll be writing a variety of articles related to holistic health and many of those questions that you've always had!  Subscribe to holistic health newsletters and much more!

Abigail Ward Wilmington Health Examiner

Do we have too many options in the grocery store?

After listening to some lectures on macrobiotics I began thinking about some ideas that are foundational in the theory of macrobiotics.  I'M NOT SAYING EVERYONE NEEDS TO EAT A MACROBIOTIC DIET.  I just want to share this idea...let it sit in your mind and ponder the truths with in it.

America has been the land of plenty since the end of WWII and recovery from the Great Depression.  We are possibly the most glutenous country in the world.  We want everything and we want it now.  Don't get me wrong, this is the mentality that makes us the greatest nation in the world.  We are the land of go-getters and opportunity.  But perhaps this is what has led us down the path of sick care instead of health care.  Our quality of life, is far from the top when it comes to overall health, life span, and frequencies of preventable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  We spend almost three times the amount of money per capita on our health care in America compared to other Westernized countries, we have the most access to the greatest medical break throughs and procedures in the world, yet we have one of the lowest life spans.

When we walk into our grocery stores we can have any kind of food from anywhere in the world at any time of the year from any climate.  We can even genetically modify some of these foods to grown in unnatural climates.  Is this natural?  Perhaps we have too many choices?  Stop and think for a moment that perhaps Mother Nature knows what we need to eat.  Think about nutrition over time.  Think about what the caveman ate during the Ice Age.  Perhaps fruits, vegetables, animals etc grow and thrive in their environments because their meant to be there.  Is nature telling you what you need to eat?  There is a reason strawberries don't grown in Alaska, or people from tropical climates don't eat fatty meat.  Every climate is blessed with the foods that are needed by in its inhabitants.  Think about what foods are in season...these are the foods that Mother Nature intended you to eat.  Think about what foods are historical and traditional to your region.  This is what Mother Nature intended you to eat.  Perhaps dabble in the world of "localvore" (eating locally).  Get back to nature, you'll finally feel like yourself.

Live well!

Ladies...Lets talk about IRON

Iron deficiencies are common for many women, especially aging and pregnant women.  If you an active lady, growing teen, aging goddess or a mommy-to-be you might be feeling tired because of low iron.  NOW...I know what your all thinking!  "OK, I'll just eat more red meat."  Might I warn you of its high fat and cholesterol content.  Although red meat has its perks be wary of these facts.  There are a variety of plant based foods that contain lovely levels of iron and provide you with a variety of other vitamins as well!  I'll take the plants!  So...next time you run to the grocery store try these WHOLISTIQUE wonders!

Dried apricots
Spinach
Swiss chard
Basically any green leafy veggie
Parsley
Dried tomatoes
Beans
Sprouts
Dried coconut
Dried currants
Raisins
Olives

Try sprinkling the dried fruit on your oats in the morning or in your cereal.  Add some greens to your favorite juice!  Or make sun dried tomato pesto pasta!  The possibilities are endless!

Live well!

Wholistique!

So...I know I haven't written in a while.  Soon I will have more time to devote to blogging.  I am in the middle of developing a new website and my new Health Coaching business, Wholistique.  The website will be full of great information about my coaching services, recipes, workouts, fun facts, and all kinds of ways to really harness your inner holistic energy enabling you to live a more full, healthy, fruitful life!  You'll know me by my daring dragon fly ;)

Live well!

Almost Bikini Season Workout

Day 1: Full body workout
20 min cardio of choice (moderate intensity)

These sets will be completed as super sets meaning that there will be no rest in between each exercise. Rest will only be taken at the end of each round.

3 rounds

12-15 body weight squats w/shoulder press 10 lbs
20 pushups/chest press w/dumbell or barbell
20 mountain climbers
15 lunges
15 bicep curls
15 jumping jacks
12-15 bent over rows (dumbells or barbell is fine)
15 bent over tricep extensions
15 bench bent leg v-ups

Rest 2-3 min
Repeat 3 times

Day 2: Cardio 40 min
10 min warmup
20 intervals on cardio equipment of choice (1 min fast, 2 min recovery)
10 min cooldown

Day 3: 20 min cardio of choice. Full body workout from Day 1

Day 4: 45 min cardio
15 min x 3 machines (15 min on each)

Day 5: 20 min cardio of choice. Full body workout from Day 1

Day 6: Active recovery, you can workout if you want to...Or go a for a walk, bike, play a sport etc. Do some abdominal exercises of your choice.

Day 7: Rest

You will complete this workout cycle for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks a new workout schedule will begin.

Food Pyramids

Consider this food pyramid.  In this age of gluttony most Americans consumer TOOOOOOO much protein and of that protein....TOOOOO much animal protein.  If your feeling sluggish or have noticed recent weight gain try experimenting with proteins.  Veggies and fruits are great sources of energy and are waistline friendly!  Also consider the theory of food signatures.  Meaning foods often look like what they are good for...

For instance...

-Leafy greens often look like lungs...and they help cardiovascular function
-Blueberries look like little eyes...guess what they help eyesight and are one of the most anti-oxidant rich foods
-Cauliflower and broccoli look like little brushes...they cleanse the colon and are great for your brain
-Kidney beans are shaped like your kidneys....GUESS WHAT?!  They help support kidney function!

Consider your food!

Party Tip

So...Went to a party last night and since the morning sickness from my new pregnancy has had my tastebuds in tither...all I could bring myself to take was a veggie and fruit platter.  I was certain that no one eat it...At the end of the night...the thing was licked clean!

So take some healthy things to your next party...the response might surprise you!  Or cut up a bunch of veggies for yourself on your next weekend and eat from them through out the week!

Look No Further Than Your Home for a Good Workout

Next time you think you can't afford a gym...look no further than your home!  If you have stairs RUN them...or do leapfrog jumps up them...(place two hand a couple of steps up from your feet then jump meeting your feet to your hands and so on and so forth).  If you have a sturdy coffee table, clear it off and do step ups or jumps onto it.  Grab your heaviest canned goods and do some bicep curls, triceps extensions, shoulder presses, lateral raises...you name it!  Mix in some jumping jacks and mountain climbers for some quick cardio.  And last but not least crank your favorite radio station or song on iTunes and rock out while you do it!  Have your kids join too :)

Live well!

You Have the Power to Heal

In these interviews of doctor's they state that they have noticed a trend in the patients of deadly prognosis...they all decided to live a life that was meaningful.  A life that had purpose.  They began to listen to their inner energy, their life force, their rhythm.  To live for them...not selfishly but whole and clean.  Many times partaking in anti-inflammatory foods like vegetables and fruits, gluten-free and healthy fats.  Participating in yoga, meditation and living an active life-style.

Watch all three parts to this episode.

Dr. Oz investigates spontaneous healing

Got 20 Minutes?

So I know everyone thinks blah blah blah I don't have time for exercise.  Go to bed 15 minutes earlier and wake up 15 minutes earlier and you've got just enough time to get some exercise.

Grab some 3 pound weights or a couple of cans of soup and head out on a power walk.  You can do bicep curls, triceps extensions, shoulder presses, and shoulder raises all while your walking.  And lets say your walk past that park bench every morning or the local play ground....stop and do some incline pushups on the picnic table, or step ups on the bench.  If your really adventurous you could try jump squats onto the bench and pull ups on the monkey bars!

Or even better, if you have rug rats, you can do all of this while your kids are playing on the play ground...just do a couple of labs around the play ground.  You can still see the little rascals while you get some exercise in...and don't forget pushing them in the stroller back to the house is great exercise too!  You could even take your jump rope with you! ;)

Live well!

Live Like a Dog

Ok...so I was sitting on my couch watching my miniature dachshund play with her favorite tennis ball.  She can follow this thing around for hours.  She would roll on her back then onto her belly and push it around some more...wagging her tail and growling with content.  When I come home from work she wiggles her whole body and gets so excited some times she pees LOL.  She rests when she needs to, exercises when she needs too, and eats when she needs too.

Next time you see a dog, simply observe their level of simplicity, content and happiness.  Perhaps we should take some notes!

Simplifying

So I have been looking at a lot of prenatal stuff and what struck me the most is the diet that pregnant women are highly suggested to eat.  When a woman finds out she's pregnant she gives up smoking (if you smoke), alcohol, raw meat, all those nasty chemicals that you get from over-the-counter drugs like cold meds etc, caffeine, and well they basically simplify and cut out all the crap.

In all reality such things as tobacco use and alcohol have no place in a healthy lifestyle, just as excessive over-the-counter drugs, caffeine and just plan garbage.  This really is a the perfect lifestyle diet that everyone should eat.  Increasing water consumptions, fruits, veggies, calcium and good quality fats and proteins.  There really is nothing more you would need if you ate this way.  And I guarantee that you will feel a million times better!

Just some food for thought...

Live well!

Health Coaching

Attention All...

A website is in the works with information about my new and upcoming services...Health Coaching brought to you by my license and certification through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition...I will be providing...

Grocery List Assistance
Motivational Speaking
Personalized Eating Plans
Personalized Exercise Plans
Motivation to helping you find your inner peace

Who knows...eventually a book and or DVD series...I'm feeling like the sky is the limit right now!

Live Well!

The Effects of Mindful Eating

So...I tote my lunch box to work everyday religiously.  Often people ask me...wow that takes so much extra time...I can't believe you do that...why do you do that?  Upon this conversation initiation I often begin to share tidbits of information...usually not always wanted or receptive by the other party...but they asked so I tell.

One of these many people came to me a few weeks ago and told me that he had seen a show on the television that talked about eating less processed food, eating more veggie based diets and eating local or organic.  He said that he felt like this was speaking to him...and that he was totally captivated by this information...that it made sense...and that he was confused as to why very few people actually live their lives this way.

Today I heard from him again.  He said that over the few weeks he has lost almost 10 pounds just cutting out junk!  Getting rid of white sugar, soda, and empty carbs like potato chips etc and was eating more veggies, drinking tons of water and participating in a regular exercise regimen.  He said that he hasn't been this thin since high school.  He also said that his brain feels so much more clear.  That he has been taking some college courses and that he is retaining the information so much better now...he can see the words from the text in his brain, that he doesn't feel tired after work, and that he is sleeping better!

So what have been telling you...

Live well!

Clean Meal Favorite

BRUSCHETTA!!!!!!!!!!

So fresh and filled with tons of illness fighting vitamins!  Make some bruschetta and have enough for left overs you can eat it as a meal or a snack...great for lunch!!!!

What you need:

Plum tomatoes or Cherry if that's all you can get
Fresh Basil
Garlic
Sea Salt
Cracked Pepper
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Boil water and place tomatoes in boiling water for about a min...enough to see the skin crack...drain and rinse with cold water.  The peel the tomatoes and seed them, then chop.

In a food processor or by hand chop one clove of garlic and a handful of basil leaves.  Add to tomato mixture.  Add a splash of salt and pepper to taste.  Start small with the oil and vinegar...usually only a couple teaspoons of each.

Toast some flat bread, pita bread, wheat bread, or traditionally on a baguette.  For some extra protein spread some garlic hummus, then spoon the bruschetta....and viola...a healthy meal!!!

Optional to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top...

Live well!!!

Top 3 Health Investments of 2013

Yes...all of them have to do with food :)

1.  A dehydrator.  I'm telling you its worth the money.  You don't need a big fancy one...you can make all kinds of things, chips, crackers, fruit veggies...you name it!!!  The fruit and veggies are great because there are no added preservatives and chemicals so their are pure and healthy!

Try...
chop up cauliflower cover it in Frank's Red Hot a dash of garlic powder and into the dehydrator...tastes like spicy popcorn bites!!!!

Apples...a old stand by

Bananas...delish

Anything your heart desires

2.  A blender...perfect for making healthy smoothies...put some water and fruits and veggies, some nuts and viola...the perfect power drink...strain it for juice

3.  A juicer...better for you than taking that multivitamin pill...just gives you that extra umph in the morning!

LIVE WELL!

A Place Where Time Stops

So...I have enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I began my first round of classes to becoming certified licensed health coach (can't wait to help all of you even more).  I have been listening to the lectures and have continued to feel so enlightened.

Today the snow began again here in Germany...but I didn't let it stop me...there is something so peaceful about the snow...the world is quiet as if you can hear each snowflake dropping to the ground.  The white is so pure, so untouched.  I took my favorite forest trail into a place where the time seems to stop.  And I did just that on my morning run.  I stopped in the middle of a small logging road and took a big look at the serenity.  The trees are miles high and for about the first half of the trunk from the ground there are no branches and then the branches begin to jut out.  The pine needles heavy with the fresh snow.  And the world seems to stop in that moment.  The outside is so quiet, the green so green and the white so white.  Every snowflake is falling in slow motion and the air is crisp and I forget the muddles of everyday life for just a minute.  That rejuvenating minute is all I need.  I return home warm with the love of the Earth, my lungs clear and fresh from the new air...inspired, loved...

Try to find a place like this for yourself...even if its 5 minutes of meditation in your quiet room.  You can find this place in your mind...I challenge you to find a special place in nature near your home...perhaps its your kitchen for you joy of cooking...or your garden...Tell me what you come up with...

Live well!

Getting to the Bottom of it...

So...I've been studying some very new and fresh things this year so far.  I have been thinking a lot about why we gain weight, why we are unhappy, when we feel a loss of our equilibrium.  

Think way back to health class in secondary school (if your school required you to take one).  Your health teacher taught you about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  At the bottom was the basics...food, water, shelter.  Next, safety, means of providing (job) etc.  Next, love, friendship, relationships.  Next, intimacy, self-love, esteem, confidence, and lastly, at the top was self-actualization, awakening, transcendence.

This is the year that we must all take this seriously.  Eating is the result of a NEED.  Hungry, physical needs, emotional, spiritual, relationship needs, stress relief.  I assure you that many people in the United States and in other Western countries do not eat because they are hungry...the biological trigger of metabolism is not often the trigger for eating.  

Get yourself a notebook/journal...and take 5 minutes every day to write down your reflections.  If you haven't been seeing changes in your weight with the diets that you have followed before think about why you eat.  What are you really doing when you drive through McDonald's and snack on that double cheeseburger meal?  Are you running away from obstacles that you need to confront at work?  Has your relationship with your special person hit a rocky road, are you feeling a sense of self-loathing?  Why have you hated yourself all these years, or why do you hate yourself now?  What can you do about it? Dig deep inside of your soul.  Maybe you need to develop a spiritual practice.  This doesn't have to mean going to a big church and getting all dressed up every Sunday.  This could be 20 minutes of meditation or yoga, journaling, painting, reading etc.  It is simply time that you take for yourself to uncover your inner workings, how you were made, regardless of who or what you believe in. 

Take a look outside, everything around you is working in a harmonious dance and when things become unbalanced something happens, an earthquake, a tornado, a tsunami, etc.  Look at nature, we are nature.  Find ways to ground yourself, make yourself connect with your reality, bring this to the forefront, and live in the now!

This all sounds well and good right.  IT IS!  I have established this as the year of truly holistic health for  myself.  I want you to join me.  I have given up at obstacles before in my life just as you have.  I have taken many routes, routes that have led me to some dark emotional places that I don't wish to visit again if I can help it.  I have spent so many years looking out, being angry and expecting the world to give me something in return, yet I haven't given myself.  I want to take this time to surrender myself to myself, and my sphere of influence.  I want to leave my anger and cynicism behind.  I want to become full, and healthy, vibrant and educating.  My world starts with me!  Your world starts with you!  I will be with you during these challenges.  We must surrender to our soul.  Move outside of our box, both spiritually and physically.  Develop the vibes and the karma that you wish to receive.  Love yourself and others will love you!  Confront your voids and fill them with love and nourishment.  And begin to live in EQUILIBRIUM!

-Live well!

P.S.  It is one of my goals to become a regular.  So follow along, and use my experience as yours!

Must try Pancakes!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/06/whole-wheat-pancakes.html

I used agave nectar instead of sugar (its a one for one trade) and vanilla almond milk!  Super ummy!