Author: The Pilates Blonde

I announced on Monday my SUPER exciting post for you today!!!! My Anti-Inflammatory Detox Diet is officially live (duh, your reading it). This is the exact diet I followed to put my arthritis and lupus into remission THREE years ago…except better.

As you probably know I am in a flare and I am trying to get my body back from ‘Lucy Lupus’ so it is time to step up my game and I’m inviting you to do it with me!! Best part? It’s FREE and flexible. The whole idea behind this diet is listening to your body and giving it what it has been begging for.

Guidelines?

Nothing processed. BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t have a treat every now and then. I know if I don’t have a piece of chocolate every couple of days I will start eating a bunch of junk I don’t want in my body. If you want a chocolate chip cookie make (or buy) them with the purest ingredients, indulge and then bring the rest to the break room at work or send them into school with your kids to share at lunch. It’s all about balance.

How to get started…

Figure out and WRITE down your ‘Why’. Why are you switching to an Anti-Inflammatory lifestyle? I need it to be a BIG why.

“I want to feel the better than I ever have before.”

“I want to put my health first.”

“I need to finally have the energy I have been craving.”

“I want to be in control of my health.”

“I want to confidently wear a bikini by June 1, 2017.”

Make sure your ‘Why’ is bigger and more important than the taste of the slightly under-cooked Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookie from Wegmans. Make sure your ‘Why’ is more important than hitting the snooze button for those 15 extra minutes of shut eye. Your ‘Why’ needs to be bigger than your excuses.

My Why: I never want to feel the way I did on Saturday//Sunday ever again. 

Clean House

If you live alone or your family is detoxing too throw out the junk. Almost everything in a box is processed and full of chemicals so get rid of it (minus a few exceptions..we will get to those later). If you are like me and live with people who aren’t detoxing you have to flex those will- power muscles and steer clear of the junk. DON’T leave treats on the counter. Put them away somewhere where you have to put in effort to get them. If you aren’t looking at cookies every time you fill up your water you will be far more successful.

I want you to fill your fridge.

Print my FREE Goddess Grocery Guide, run to the store and fill up your cart. I like to go at weird hours… I love a good late night Wegmans run to read ingredients without being in the way of busy shoppers. After you bring all your goodies home, make the healthiest choices the easiest ones the grab…those easy to eat fruits and veggies need to be visible.

Prep your FAVORITE lean meat. Mine is lean organic ground turkey..I LOVE ground turkey. I make two pounds of it at a time on the stove with a little coconut oil, pepper and purple onions. That way it is easy to add to veggies, lettuce wraps, salads or just having it plain. Again, you want it to be almost effortless to throw together something delicious in a pinch.

Are you ready for how you eat?

You start when you are hungry and stop when you start to feel full. That’s it. Your body will learn to give you clues as to what nutrients it needs. Meats and veggies are always a good first choice, if you need carbs add brown rice or a sweet potato. Craving sweets? A bowl of fruit or my Berry Blemish Blaster will calm the craving while still filling up on nutrients. If you want chocolate HAVE IT. Just make sure it had the cleanest ingredients.

Confused if you are actually hungry or just bored // stress eating? Start with a green juice // smoothie. If you are still hungry after that —  EAT.

Now let’s talk about the foods you get in the aisles. You will need rice or a healthy pasta option to stay sane. Peanut butter is another packaged food you can totally have… just read the ingredients for a brand that only contains peanuts and salt. You should know all the ingredients listed on the label. Would it be better to make EVERYTHING you eat from scratch? Yes, but it’s not realistic. Do what you can to make sure your lifestyle is maintainable. As long as you are comfortable with the ingredients, eat it.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS.

Popcorn, for example, is one of my favorite snacks but the microwave stuff you find at the store is covered in chemicals. Instead I have a popcorn machine I (my dad) found on Amazon…which means I can have as much pure organic popcorn as my heart desires. Easy switches like this make all the difference in how your body functions and feels. If the machine is just too ‘lifestyle blogger’ for you brands like SkinnyPop are a fab alternative.

Another thing to stay away from is counting calories. If you are someone who stops reading food labels at the calorie count,  this is for you. For manufacturers to decrease sugars and fats in food, chemicals are added to replace them. YUCK. If you live on 100 calorie servings and coke zeros, an anti-inflammatory lifestyle will increase your calories BIG time, while making you so much healthier. I have explained this all before HERE if you need more details.

Get ready to DRINK. I’m talking a gallon (or more) of water a day. Think about it this way, if you have been eating poorly for your entire life you need to flush out the toxins you have accumulated over the years. Our kidneys filter waste from our blood, which contains Red Blood Cells that carry oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. The byproduct of filtration we all know as urine. In order to (literally) flush the toxins away you need to get well hydrated. Make sense?

Supplements are tricky. I love using supplements to increase the effects of the foods in my diet but it is so hard to know exactly what you need. Because I don’t know your exact health history or what medications you take I am going to tell you what supplements I use…most of which benefit everybody. IMPORTANT: supplements are used to help you achieve well-rounded nutrition…not be main vitamin or protein source. Plus it is so much more fun to eat your nutrients.

– I will boldly say that every BODY needs a probiotic. Why? Gut health is essential to overall well-being. After we ingest food it is the job of our gastrointestinal (GI) tract to get all the good stuff (nutrients) out of what we eat. If any part of our GI system is inflamed or sluggish it won’t be able to absorb the goods. Without a healthy gut you won’t be getting all the wonderful benefits from the  Anti-Inflammatory Detox Diet. Long story short? Get a probiotic.

– Alkalizing Greens: This is the Mac Daddy of all my sups. I love this stuff. Because I have already bragged about it I will let you read that HERE.

– Magnesium: I have a new relationship with Mag and it is so blissful. I LOVE my daily dose of calm. I won’t bore you with details because it’s HERE for you to read.

– Collagen: Again this is one I talked about before (!!!!!!!!) and it is def one of my STAPLES. What I didn’t mention is that in addition to helping your skin look fly, it is SOOOO good for autoimmune diseases. Total win-win.

– Vit C: Boosts your immune system. I read years ago that Vit C infusions used to be a treatment of choice for cancer patients…ever since I have been taking vitamin c daily.

– Vit D: THIS ONE IS SO IMPORTANT. I don’t get enough sun. It turns me purple and gives me a rash so I try to stay covered up at all times. The downfall is shitty Vit D levels. Essentially 80% of the population is Vit D deficient due to rarely being outdoors and the use of sunscreen. Luckily we know that now and we can pick up a supplement pretty much anywhere.

–Protein Powder: I feel like a lot of people think this is a ‘food’ but it isn’t meant to be. I like to use protein powder when my only other option is Wawa. It is so much better to get your protein from authentic food sources but realistically life gets in the way. Find yourself a CLEAN protein powder with minimal ingredients for those days where you are in a pinch.

THE TAKE AWAY:

I don’t want you to feel restricted or hungry. I simply want to help you live your best life through filling your perfect bod to the brim with the highest quality food it deserves. Go crazy trying recipes from your favorite healthy foods. Challenge yourself to turn your favorite treat meal into one you don’t have to feel guilty about because you know the quality of the food you are using! If you get stuck EMAIL me or post on my Facebook page. Send me your recipes and I promise now that school is (almost) over I can give you several of my favorites each week!

Also, keep in mind that my Goddess Grocery Guide is just that… a guide. Not scripture. I know there are thousands of healthy foods that aren’t on my list but these are the ones you will always find in my kitchen. You can always add or take away from my favorites. This is your life and you can adjust how you eat to fit your body’s needs and your personal goals.

Over the next few months I will continue you share recipes and ‘food diary’ vlogs along with check in about how eating an anti-inflammatory diet has impacted my health. I know the difference is going to be clear very quickly. I am so excited to show you how easy and delicious it is to follow an Anti-Inflammatory lifestyle.

THANK YOU for reading. Thank you for your support. I really appreciate every single one of you!!

xoxo,

K

Recipe Ideas 

These two are definitely my favorite, but there is plenty more where that came from under ‘bites’

Veggie Sketti

All-In-On Meal

Why hello there,

I said in Friday’s blog (posted at the bottom for your viewing pleasure )  it’s totally okay to admit when you’re riding the Struggle Bus because we, at one point or another, have all been there. There is no shame in the struggle game…however, there is shame in knowing your reaching your breaking point and not doing anything about it.

I’m pointing a big, swollen, rash covered finger at myself.

Here is the deal… Im in a lupus flare. I have been saying the words, drinking green smoothies, eating 85% clean but it wasn’t // isn’t enough. A few weeks ago I called my doctor and asked for meds after three years of taking nothing… admitting I needed them was a MAJOR step for me. Admitting now, weeks later, that they aren’t enough was more of a challange. Joint pain, extreme fatigue, rashes and systemic body aches aren’t okay or normal so after spending Saturday morning in tears, I decided to get myself some steroids (even though I’m allergic).

Why don’t I want to take anything? Honestly, I’m scared. Medication hasn’t always been my bestie and I don’t believe that pills can solve more health issues than a good diet and healing exercise (Pilates and yoga). That being said, I know that (for right now) meds are necessary.

Lupus is a tricky thing and I’m still not sure what it looks like in my body…All I know is Lucy Lupus has taken over and she is NOT staying. I know what arthritis looks and feels like and I became an expert at hiding when I wasn’t feeling well. Lupus on the other hand is so obvious… I mean it is hard to miss a big rash on my face. It’s impossible to ignore the sudden onset of swelling in my cheeks, feet and belly. Plus those naps I need every. single. day…. the list goes on and on. The other factor with lupus that is so much different from my experience with RA is the organ involvement. Ignoring a lupus flare has a much greater impact on the body so I need to get with the program.

Now that I have fully admitted Im not okay and Im taking some of the meds I need to function ( I still need talk to my Doc about one or two more ) I need to adjust my lifestyle to a more extreme version of what I am currently doing. I’m talking taking my 85% clean diet back up to 99.25% — nothing proceeded and all organic.

When I first came home from the Mayo Clinic my diet was perfect for my body. Everything I consumed was pure and of the highest quality. Three years later I have gotten a little lazy about my neurotic ways… but not anymore.

My body needs the OCD, ultra strict lifestyle right now…diet being the priority. Weekly massages, acupuncture, and a TON of Pilates // Yoga are also at the tippy top of my to-do list.

I have started working on my next BIG post and I am VERY excited about it. Im giving you a blueprint to my Anti-Inflammatory Detox Diet for FREE. This is the exact diet that put my Arthritis and lupus into remission for three years. There will be a PDF with my Goddess Grocery Guide, a full day of eating vlog, and new recipes ALL for you on WEDNESDAY.

The Grocery Guide will give you all the ingredients to make any recipe you can find here on TPB. The video will give you an idea how I time, prep and cook my meals. The blog post will provide guidance for how to make this lifestyle work for YOU.

Let’s turn this negative situation into a positive shall we? If you want to detox your bod, and feel refreshed and energized with amazingly healthy, and delicious, foods be sure to check out TPB on Wednesday morning!!

xoxo,

K

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZN5yUXcLNU[/embedyt]

Happy Friday!! I hope you’re having a good week…. mine has been overwhelming in the craziest of ways. The last two weeks I have been getting signs from God or the universe or whoever is running the show.

These signs have been the kind of BIG in-your-face, impossible to ignore kind of signs.

I started sharing ‘My Story’ when I launched TPB and I have gotten away from it. Why? One, I don’t feel like I know the person I used to be. I find it hard to connect with her because she was so…lifeless. The person I used to be didn’t know how to hold a conversation with peers and she faded into the background. She was unnoticeable and unremarkable. She lacked passion whether it was obvious to others or not. She was the type of girl who let things happen to her instead of taking control. I don’t know her anymore.

The other reason I stopped sharing my story is because it’s hard. Going back and reliving it is just plain hard. I have always been an optimistic person. Even at my lowest points I saw the silver lining…but writing about ten years of sickness is just too negative for the place I am in my life. I am just too fulfilled to get back into that mindset. I cannot connect with her.

In the last two weeks I have reconnected with and/or met half a dozen people that have a direct correlation with the old me. In the last fourteen days I have connected with six people… I cannot believe that it is just a coincidence.

These new friendships and reconnecting with old ones has allowed me to share the happiest part of my journey. So today we are going to skip ahead seven years and get right to the good part.

Buckle up babes… it’s about to get CRAZYYYYYY. It’s also super long but trust me it is worth it.

I was 19, blind in my left eye, forgetful, weak, achy and dull. I had different diagnosis from anxiety to Multiple Scleroses to early onset Alzheimer’s all in addition to my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I quit my job, dropped my classes and spent my life in bed. I was so forgetful I would drop words from conversation. One day I forgot how to turn on the car.

My parents couldn’t take the ambiguity and lack of urgency with some of my doctors so they called the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. After being accepted as a patient Mom and I flew half way across the country for answers. I packed enough clothes for two weeks because we didn’t know how long we would be there.

Mom and I arrived at the teeny tiny town the day before my first appointments. We drove around to find Target, the laundromat, and most importantly the hospital. The Mayo Clinic is a city… the hospital itself is like a city… it is the most spectacular thing I have ever seen. You have three or four appointments a day with different specialties. The doctors work together to piece the mystery together. Everything works lightening fast. After having blood drawn the results come through on their app as you walk to your next appointment. I’m talking results in seven minutes. It is truly incredible.

After three days we learned that I wouldn’t need to be placed in a group home (as one doctor from home had suggested). I was simply allergic to a medication I was receiving for my arthritis. That’s it. Months of thinking my world would forever be confined to the walls of my home and the halls of the hospital I was told I was going to be fine.

Momma and I took a trip to the Mall of America (duh) after we found out I was a-okay

I don’t think anything lights a bigger fire in your soul than a second chance. I was stuck in the fog of this medication but I needed to get it out of my body and fast. I was determined to detox as fast as humanly possible. I literally had poison in my veins pumping through me, reaching every part of me. I felt like a caged animal.

During my time as a Stay-at-Home-Daughter. My only job was to heal myself. Not many get the luxury to press pause on life and work on themselves which is why I need to share my story.

I knew that as each day passed more of the medication metabolized  and I was becoming healthier. I spent all my energy researching. I read medical journals for information and foods with anti-inflammatory properties. I researched cleanses. I researched every ingredient in my food. When I was too exhausted to read I would watch documentaries.

Soon I was driving daily to Whole Foods and Wegman’s to try new organic veggies or grab the ingredients for a new recipe I found. My entire life was pursuing ‘healthy’. Months later I was talking Pilates classes daily. I became so full of energy and life. Every experience was amazing because I had earned this new outlook of my body. Not one that was superficial in nature, I truly learned to love my body because of how I felt inside it. I felt healthy, vibrant and alive.

I spent seven years on strong medications… five of those years I had chemo weekly until it started to damage my liver. None of those medications ever allowed me to go into remission. Switching to a almost chemical-free lifestyle saved my life.

If I knew at 12 what I learned at 20, I would have traded the Oreos for kale in a second. I learned the hard way that everything you eat helps or hurts your body. Living a healthy lifestyle is so much more than calories in and calories out. It’s about listening to your body and  getting in as much nutrients as possible.

Feed you body the things it needs and you will be repaid tenfold.

I don’t think there is a bigger or better message. The secret to your best life isn’t being at your pre-college or pre-baby weight. It doesn’t come from counting calories and punishing yourself at the gym for having a donut. It comes you body working at its best because you are treating it as it deserves.

Don’t get me wrong… I have my bad body days, we all do. Lately it has been abundantly clear that I need share what I have learned so others don’t have to go through years of pain and living a subpar life.

Just so you know this is my favorite part of my journey…it’s the one that made me who I am and allowed me to live my best life. I have been goal setting so hard these past two weeks and I think Im going to share them with you. I look at my goals and they excite me. They also terrify me. When I read them I get butterflies in my stomach. I am so excited for what has to come. Stay tuned!!

xoxo,

K