Bring on the Sun… screen.

Most of us are looking forward to some sunshine and rest this weekend. If you are planning on catching some rays too I’d like to let you know about one of the best sunscreens available.

Burt’s Bees makes a chemical free SPF 30 Sunscreen that works great at protecting your skin from burning while not providing your skin with the harsh chemicals that most sunscreens contain (many of these have actually been proven to CAUSE cancer).

If you do get a little too much sun or just want to help your skin heal more easily, remember to use an all natural aloe product before and/or after sun exposure or reach for Burt’s Bees’ “After Sun Soother”.

It’s great to know that your body needs sunshine in order to make Vitamin D, a hormone (not really a vitamin at all) that is a part of building your bones and muscles. So enjoy the sun, rather than fear it, but remember that pain from a sunburn is your body’s way of reminding you that you’ve gone too far and need to protect your skin better in the future.

Bring light layers of clothing that you can cover up with.

Oh, and here’s a cool tip… eat fresh tomatoes and dark leafy greens, they also help your body protect itself from burning!   

Bring on the SUN     

Liisa.

The power of a Power Nap.

I learned yesterday just how powerful a power nap can be.  This particular nap lasted all of about 10 minutes but believe me it was a full-on nap, complete with vivid dreams and twitching. 

I’ve never been a “napper”.  In fact, I don’t tend to nap well at all but after a great swim and a big lunch I was nearly incapable of keeping my eyes open.  Pregnancy does that I realize but even before I was pregnant, I had had these moments and always resisted the nap because I don’t tend to wake up very well and am anything but friendly (or conscious) for the first 20-60 minutes after napping. 

This time I decided to nap because of an article I found in Andrew’s office that stated that even our ancestors napped thousands of years ago.  It doesn’t make much sense to be out hunting and/or scavenging in the mid day sun, so naps were probably the ‘cool’ thing to do.  The article also stated that everyone naps differently and we should take the time to figure out if we do best with less than 20 minutes or as much as a 90 minute nap midday.

It was stated that 20 minute naps help to boost our productivity, clarity of mind and focus; while an up to 90 minute nap can help with creativity and ingenuity.  In fact, naps have been shown to lower your risk of heart attacks and other chronic stress diseases (these make up over 80% of the diseases Americans suffer from today). And, the 90 minute nap won’t typically interrupt your night time sleep pattern (as long as you get enough exercise in your day). 

Pretty cool for a past time I thought was for slackers. 

Truth be told, I would have napped a lot longer than the 10 minutes I had but I was incapable of keeping my eyes open and basically face planted onto the adjusting table I have in my office.  Our patients often comment that they would love to sleep on these tables; they have no idea just how comfortable they are… blissful.  Maybe this is why my 10 minute nap gave me a complete recharge.  Maybe it’s simply because I always thought I needed at least 20 minutes to have a nap in and had never tried, but for the first time, I was able to wake up from this nap with only about 2 minutes of grogginess and I felt like the day had started over!

We all need the license to sleep sometimes, pregnancy (I’m learning) offers plenty of leeway; however, next time you’re struggling to stay awake (pregnant or not), I suggest you try out a 10-20minute nap and just see if it isn’t more than you thought it might be. 

The best time according to the research is between 12:30pm and 3pm so hey, maybe go for a walk on your lunch, eat, and take a little siesta.  Heck, it’s in your genes.

It’s your life,

Love it 

Liisa.

The Skinny on Skinny Fat.

I love the new trend that ‘STRONG is the new SEXY’.  I’ve always felt that way; in high school, the boys who always caught my eye had huge shoulders, bright eyes, great skin and loved endurance sports.  Being Canadian, I was probably unconsciously looking for someone who could kill a bear and drag it home for me to cook for him   Regardless of the reason, my point is, you can talk about butts all day but I won’t even bother to look unless your shoulders say “yup, I’m strong”… “I can handle the bear”. 

This is becoming an expectation for men looking at women too and I LOVE it!  It’s a big reason why lululemon has exploded onto the scene.  Women not only want to be thinner, they want to be strong now too.  They are quickly realizing that you CAN’T get stronger without getting healthier too.  You can’t grow muscle while living on processed foods.

Let me define healthy in case you think THIN means healthy.  Healthy means you can run a mile in less than 10 minutes (probably much less).  Healthy means you can eat fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts and seeds, and PLENTY of water for weeks on end and not feel like you’re sacrificing anything because you don’t have a bag of Oreos in your cupboard.  Healthy means you are mindful of what you put in your mouth because you know that the quality of what you put in will determine the quality of what you have to put out into your thoughts, actions and words that day.  Healthy means you can speak positively about yourself, your loved ones, your life experiences and the world.  It also means you love to move.  Healthy means, well, healthy; Optimal physical, mental, and social well being.

Back to SKINNY FAT.  You can fit into a size zero and still be fat.  Yes, I said it.  Skinny Fat means your body composition is made more of fat than lean muscle.  Want to see a Skinny Fat person, go to Starbucks.  You can find plenty of them in fast food chains too but I wouldn’t recommend you walk into those, so head to Starbucks for a cup of tea and people watch for a few minutes. 

Here’s why: Skinny Fat people LOVE SUGAR!  They live for it.  I call their drink of choice ‘the sugar covered caffeine snack’ and they drink them by the Venti load.

The trend of Strong being the new Sexy is putting our focus back on what makes us attracted to another person.  Genetically speaking, we’re attracted to the person we can best pass our genes on with, and therefore help our children survive our environment (hence my strong man who can kill bear equals sexy definition). 

BUT (somehow) the media was able to convince us that skinny was sexy and then (somehow) we lost our minds and started eating foods that were made in factories rather than grown AND while at the same time we (somehow) decided to park ourselves in front of computers and televisions for the majority of our day and (not so surprisingly) our bodies started to morph into this weak, unhealthy version of ourselves.  Skinny Fat.

The solution? Ditch the sugar covered caffeine snacks, pick up a pair of running shoes, have a glass of water, crank out a few push-ups, re-fuel with some great food, and pair up with someone else who can keep you on track and maybe even help you to pass on your now healthier genes. 

It’s your life,

Love it!

Liisa.

Food for thought.

I was asked such a great question yesterday.  A friend and Chiropractor asked if I remembered the actual day in which I decided I would take care of my spine and nerve system for the rest of my life. 

Honestly, it never really occurred to me before!  I mean, I know without a doubt that I will always have a Chiropractor on my health care team.  I know that in order to keep up with the lifestyle I lead I will probably get checked and adjusted weekly for the rest of my life.  I talk about that with our patients all the time.  I call us ‘Lifers’.  I’m committed to a full life, a healthy life, a ‘power’s on’ life.  But, was there a specific day I decided this?  It’s like asking when I decided to brush my teeth, drink water, eat fruits and veggies, or read every day. 

But there must have been a day, right?  If I’m honest with myself, I have to say there had to have been a day or I wouldn’t be so committed to it.

I bet we all do MANY things that are healthy and cause growth and development within ourselves every single day, but are we stopping to take notice?  We notice when we’ve done something ‘wrong’, missed a workout, or eaten the whole cheesecake for example, but do we notice when we consistently do something right?

Do we take notice and give ourselves credit when we do things regularly that help us get stronger, smarter and healthier?

I’m grateful today for questions that make me think.  And for questions that bring about more certainty and more clarity around the things I value and don’t want to take for granted.  Oh, and definitely for having such smart friends that they continually challenge me to do so 

It’s your life,

What do you love about it today?

Liisa.

Oh Baby!

I love tackling a new project; so, recently, when I found out I was pregnant, I think my ‘project brain’ went into overdrive.  Very fortunately for pregnancy hormones, many of my project ‘brain-storming sessions’ happened from the couch and I was not able to drive myself into a tizzy

There are just so many exciting new adventures that arrive with that double pink line!  Baby names; new furniture to purchase, arrange… and rearrange; finding the perfect midwife, doula, and birth center; determining new health goals and challenges, modifying a few, adding a few more; tweaking my nutritional goals and standards; reassessing how green our home really is and how it both impacts my health and the health of our developing baby – before and after his arrival.  (I think it’s a boy

Being organized is a wonderful way to live.  I think I always have been but ‘project baby’ is giving me great reason to both laugh at myself and to congratulate myself on creating a life that is so balanced and in many ways very simple that adding a newbie to it feels wonderful more often than it does overwhelming.  I thank my husband for that too; marrying a Virgo (when you are a Virgo) can either be incredible or disastrous.  Lucky for us, it’s absolutely incredible.  We have found our niche in this world and are loving the opportunity we have at home to share our gifts, joys, talents, and silliness with someone new just as much as we have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, sharing greater health, wellbeing and balance with our patients in our Chiropractic practice these past 5 years.  This blog will be a fun place for me to share our lives with you.  Thanks for visiting today!

It’s your life, love it!

Liisa.