Vacation’s almost over – for now – and it’s real life again for a few days before my Nutritional Therapy 4 Day Weekend starts next Thursday.   Here’s my work-out wrap up for the week:

Thursday – 12 sets of Back (machine rows, rows with dumbbells, rear flies), 3 set Biceps, NO LEGS because they were tired; biked in AM and PM.

Friday – 100 machine quad extensions, 5 sets shoulder press, 5 sets wide hand push-ups, 5 sets pull-over/crunch; walked on beach for an hour, AM bike ride;  paddleboard in ocean for an hour(HARD).

Eating at the beach went pretty well. ( check my What I Eat page ) Wish I hadn’t eaten the chips those two nights, or the cheese cake on Thursday, but Oh Well.  The big family dinners were a lot of fun; and for the most part, I stuck to foods that make me feel good. ( Two of my sisters and their families are here in Duck too, different houses, but close enough to hang on the beach every day and have dinner together every night. My sisters eat clean too!)   I’m always working on my brain and hoping that some day I’ll get to a point where I could no more eat flour or sugar – EVER –  than I could munch on a cigarette.  (I always come back to cigarettes, don’t I?  I just think they’re gross.)

I finished a GREAT book, The Mood Cure by Julia Ross.  Have you heard of it?  Fantastic!  She’s a Psychotherapist and Clinic Director who believes, after decades of dealing with addiction, that Mood is HIGHLY influenced by the foods and supplements you eat /take or don’t eat/take.  She explains that our Neurotransmitters: Seratonin, Dopamine, GABA, and Endorphins, are made from AMINO ACIDS, which are the building blocks of Proteins, and that 60% of the Brain is made from Fatty Acids.  She has a questionnaire in the book to help you determine which of the neurotransmitters you may be deficient in, how they affect you, exactly what to do about it, and not do:)  I’ll be adding a few amino acid supplements to my routine, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Honestly, when you look at the statistics of the amount of people, both adults and children, who are on drugs for anxiety, depression, or behavior, and the SUCCESS rate of these drugs ( 30 – 50%, placebos work better) and the SIDE EFFECTS of these drugs (they’re serious), doesn’t the alternative of the right foods, the right supplements, and exercise, sound better?

I know I’ve harped on this before, but there’s a direct correlation between the Standard American Diet, which is full of Sugar, Hydrogenated Oils, Flours, and Chemicals – 4 Huge sources of Toxins to the body and brain –  and the Mood and Health of Americans.  (Let’s not forget Weight either.)

Learning about, and cementing-in the negative effects of bad foods ( which this book talks about in detail) helps to make the whole Healthy Eating thing much easier.  And really, that’s the SECRET to being healthy and having a good body weight: when you eat Real Whole Foods because they appeal to you, and avoid processed, refined foods because they Gross You Out. 

Off to start packing!