Acupuncture: One Prick at a Time

The busy holiday season is coming and along with it a new group of seasonal employees have started like I had a year ago at Sur La Table. While I am still surprised to have continued my part time job nI can’t complain since after all it did pay for my vacation to Hawaii. This new group so far seems very nice and one in particular peaked my curiosity.  She is a treat to work with and while chatting I learned she is a licensed acupuncturist and recently moved to Massachusetts to opened her own shop Second Spring Acupuncture.

While working on her client list she is supplementing her income by working part time with us. I told her about my 101 things in 1001 days and how I have always been curious about acupuncture and she suggested I make an appointment for her $20 for 20 minute intro to acupuncture promotion. Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine, sterile and single-use needles placed in specific acupuncture points to assist in re-balancing organs and bio- mechanical disharmony.

I regularly suffer from stress headaches and I do my best to resist popping an aspirin I am not always successful. While I am not 100 percent sold on traditional Chinese medicine as the answer it certainly is something I have heard a lot about and I figured I’d give it a try and see what it can do for me. We are all over medicated and or dependent on pharmaceuticals like hand sanitizer and aspirin as part of our daily lives that we do not give our bodies the opportunity to work as they should to heal themselves. Perhaps this session will kick start a healthier me.

When I arrived she was just setting up the room for me and asked me to fill out the routine questionnaire and liability forms. Shortly thereafter she had me roll the legs of my jeans up to my knees and laying back on her table.

She was very easy to talk to and definitely put me at ease. She explained what she planned to do and how it should feel and what it will do for me.  She asked me if I was ready one final time before beginning.

The first needle she put in was called Vertigo. It is centered and just above the nose. It’s called the Third Eye and is designed to help with clear thinking.

Next she moved to my hands where she placed on in HeGu. Hegu is one of the most commonly used of all Acupuncture points and has a wide range of uses. It is especially useful for all kinds of pain in the face, including eyes, ears, and nose. Next she put a few on my wrist and one on my arm. The first of the on the wrist was called Shenmen and the second was Lingdao. That left me with a total of three on each hand.   She also added one to my arm but I have no idea what it is called.

Then she moved down to my feet where she put one on the top of each foot which she said would help ease any thoracic back pain I might be experiencing and another just behind the ankle. I believe she referred to the spot on top of my foot as Xiangu. The next spot was just behind the ankle called Kunlun.

She also added on to my calf but I couldn’t tell you the name of that one. She also added one to my stomach just below my chest. Sadly I missed the name of that one too.

When all said and done I had 16 needles in my body before she turned out the lights and put on peaceful music for me to relax and let the needles do their work.

As I laid there I could feel what I would describe as bloodflow in my arms and feet that I didn’t ever feel before. It didn’t hurt nor was it uncomfortable. It was just a warming sensation. My face felt much more relaxed and my feet and ankles I didn’t notice the needles were even there.

She returned about 10 minutes later and slowly began removing each needle. As when she put them in I felt nothing when she took them out but from the vertigo position. That one I felt almost like it was slightly stuck with a tad of pressure. It didn’t hurt and didn’t bother me.

Before I left she put two “ear seeds” in each ear. Ear acupuncture points may be stimulated for a longer period of time by using ear seeds or ear tacks.  One went on “point zero” and another went on what she referred to as an allergy point. She told me I could remove them the next day if they bothered me or I could leave them in as long as I liked. They were seeds from the vaccaria plant.

I hadn’t noticed it until I was in the car on the way home that my headache was no gone and I felt far more relaxed then I had all day.  It was a great experience and next time I think I might try a hybrid of cupping and acupuncture.

Juicing 3-Day Challenge: Day 3 (End Day)

With Day 3 now over I wanted to reflect on the experience. I can understand why juicing isn't for everyone. It's expensive, time consuming, and certainly not easy to stick too. What I will say is that even having only done the 3-day challenge I felt much more energy in the mornings then I usually feel and I lost 5 pounds in three days. That's not bad. Juicing is a great way to Reboot your system and I can definitely say my cravings for the sweets while not gone has definitely been curbed.

What I will say is that it has to be something you really want to do. The hunger feelings were sometimes hard to manage but the reward I feel was worth it. You also need to make sure if you have a family that they support your choice and assist you. Its very hard to have people around you eating delicious but bad food while you are sustaining yourself on produce and fruit juices.

While I will admit this I enjoyed the process I see it as something I will occasionally do to kickstart better eating habits but I don't have the will power to sustain an all juice diet for much longer then the 3-days I did it. I will admit that there were a few juices that I would and could see myself making because they tasted delicious. The Morning Sunrise and the Peach Pie Delight are worth it.

Juicing 3-Day Challenge: Day 2 (Hump Day)

Day two was a repeat of Day 1’s recipes. It was today that the craving for something sweet really hit me. It took all my will power to resist the urge to run a dollar through the vending machine for a snickers bar.

I forced myself to drink more water then I had the day before and I felt much more energy than I had the first day. The increase in water definitely helped with the hunger and kept me on track.

At lunch time I went to the gym with a co-worker and took a circuit training class. It was a great workout but the burpee’s really took a lot out of me and the lack of anything of real substance in my stomach definitely lead to pretty serious dizzies. I didn’t lose my juice but it was close. I took a quick ice cold shower after to bring my body down to temp and kept my afternoon pretty low key.

My afternoon juice definitely gave me some energy back and when I got home I was glad that I didn’t have any bad food left over or hanging around. With nothing but my produce in the fridge I made my dinner and dessert juices before taking it easy and calling it an early night.

One thing I have noticed is that I woke up more energetic today then I had felt in a long time. That is something I hope continues. Tomorrow I'm going to start my day juicing but every Friday the guys and I go out for lunch and as much as I'd like to say i could go and drink my juice it isn't going to happen. I'll just focus on picking something healthy like a salad.
 

Juicing 3-Day Challenge: Day 1 (The Beginning)

Standing 5’10 and after a morning weigh in of 185lbs typical BMI calculators clock me in at 26.1. I just miss being considered normal weight and instead fall into the overweight category but I am hopeful that this reboot will not just help me shed a few pounds but will help break me of my sweet cravings. As I wrap up day 1 I was surprised at a few things. Of the 5 different juice options I picked I didn’t really find any that were unpalatable.

Knowing that I needed to bring my lunch and afternoon juices with me it took me only about 20 minutes to juice everything and clean up before leaving the house in the morning. I did end up with a full waste container and clean up was a breeze with the Breville composting bags I picked up by recommendation.

My morning “Orange” juice was called Sunrise and consisted of 4 carrots, 2 oranges and 1 beet. It was sweet and refreshing and actually pretty good. I packed up my lunch and afternoon juices in a cooler and took my coconut water with me.

I already knew I liked coconut water so that was an easy one. I was pleased that I hadn’t really had any hunger cravings yet and by lunch time I was still feeling pretty good. My lunch juice was a “Green” Garden Variety and had 2 apples, 2 cucumbers, 8 kale leaves and a handful of parsley. The apples and cucumbers really were the dominant flavors in this one and it again tasted pretty good.

As the afternoon went on I started to feel cravings about 1:30 for something sweet. I tried to combat that by drinking more water and while it didn’t satisfy the cravings I wasn’t hungry. My Mid-Afternoon juice was a “Red” Un-Beet-able. It’s made from 1 apple, 1 beet 3 carrots, 1 small piece of ginger root and 3 cups of spinach. I think I might have put a tad too much ginger since it definitely had a zing to it but it wasn’t bad and it satisfied me

For dinner I decided to go with the “Green” Green Lemonade. More kale which I was a tad disappointed with the amount of juice it yielded, 3 handfuls of spinach, 1 green apple, 1 cucumber, 2 celery stocks and 1 lemon. It was a little bitter but not too bad and went down with out much trouble.

For dessert I picked a “Purple” Peach Pie Delight. The only real strange ingredient in this one was the sweet potato. The 2 peaches, 1 red apple, 1 handful of blueberries and a dash of cinnamon all made sense to me. It was delicious. I might have to pick up some more peaches to make this again tomorrow.

Juicing 3-Day Challenge: Day 0 (Shop & Prep)

Well this is it folks! Tomorrow morning I start my 3-Day" Reboot with Joe" Juicing Challenge. I am both excited and nervous. As someone with a pretty bad sweet tooth and a distaste for being hungry this might be a struggle to finish.

To prepare I figured I should unboxed my Juicer and made sure everything was operational. I sacrificed a seedless grape. The juicer is fairly quiet as far as juicer's go but I hope I don't wake the neighbors in the morning with my juicing.

I also went grocery shopping today and picked up all the ingredients. Some were harder then others to find and I had to go to two different grocery stores to complete my shopping list. I partly blame the fact that I live in a college town and I shouldn't have been surprised to discover that all the mint was gone. I also oddly struggled to find beets. I added a few pictures below of my prepared juicer, the receipts for the roughly $70 bucks in fruits, vegies and herbs needed and a huge pile of produce I will hopefully consume over the next 3 days or 72 hours.

Juicing My Way to a Healthy Me

I sell juicers often while working at my part time job and one of the bonus items customers get with the Breville juicers is the movie Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. Intrigued I watched it on Netflix and watched Joe the Juicer transform his life and become healthier through juicing.

Joe Cross better known now as Joe the Juicer stared is an Australian film maker who finds himself overweight at nearly 310lbs and battling a debilitating autoimmune disorder. Realizing that the doctor he was seeing and medication  he was taking was only treating his symptoms he found himself having to take a more active roll in getting healthy. To gain control of his life and failing health he decided to focus on a better diet.  The movie / documentary chronicles this battle during a cross country trek where he engages with every day Americans in discussions about health and obesity. His challenge to himself was a 60-day juice challenge and while driving cross country he used a generator, his juicer, and fresh produce he purchased along the way to sustain his dietary needs. As the story was told you could really see a transformation in his physical appearance. He literally was shedding the pounds.

While I wouldn't describe myself as overweight my BMI is hovering at 26 so technically speaking I would be considered overweight but just barely. His story inspired me to buy a juicer myself and see what juicing could do for me. I recently purchased a Breville Juice Fountain Elite.

I am going to start with the 3-Day Challenge I pulled off Joe the Juicer's website "Reboot with Joe". I figured it can't hurt to give it a try and maybe it will help me shed a few pounds before Hawaii. I am going to start on Wednesday since I have too much going on this weekend and a busy start of the week and don't want to stray from the guide. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Some people who have done it have noted that they got a tad cranky and were more irritable. Hopefully I won't be too cranky or irritable as a result of this juicing challenge.

Vitamix: Eating Natural

Task 40: Eat all natural, nothing processed for 1 month

This Christmas I got a Vitamix 750 Professional series blender. I have wanted one of these for years and have sat through more demonstrations at the Big E then I can remember. Any one that doesn’t know what a Vitamix is, let me explain it. A vitamix is more than a blender; it’s a way of life. With the vitamix you can make hot soups, ice cream, blend, chop, and so much more. It can replace most small appliances in your kitchen.

The vitamix is the one of the best ways to begin and maintain a diet of non-processed foods. With Task 40 in my Day Zero Project being to do just that I thought that this appliance would be a great way to help me accomplish this goal. In the box with my newest kitchen appliance was a book called “Create: Inspiring recipes for every day of the week”. I plan to make each and every one of the 200 recipes it contains. Tomorrow morning I am going to start the year of right with the first breakfast recipe; A Blackberry Pear Smoothie.

Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day

This morning while I was putting together my lunch for the day I noticed a few to-go-containers. Given that I am currently in the middle of my month long quest to not eat out I realized that those containers had to be at the very least 15 days old.

It got me thinking I need to clean out my fridge. Funny enough when I got to work and signed online I noticed that today is Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. I was curious what the origin of this day was but I wasn’t able to find too much information other then suggestions that Whirlpool originally promoted Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day starting in 1995 and was planned for the third Wednesday in November. In 2000 when the e-cards gave it the fixed date of November 15^th which has stuck since. In 2004 Whirlpool declared April 4-10 Clean out your refrigerator Week but it seems to have been too late to change the date.  I also found other speculation that it was created just in advance of Thanksgiving to allow room for holiday leftovers.

Why is it important to clean out your refrigerator? The answer is simple. Food like everything has a shelf life even if refrigerated or frozen. The food is only safe and health to eat as long as it is stored properly. Proper storage is the most important thing. Improperly stored foods can become rancid or oxidize, making them more dangerous and can lead to other food spoiling or losing its flavor or texture.

Before I grab my gloves tonight to remove the potential biohazards in my fridge I thought I might share some interesting refrigerator facts.

1.    The ideal refrigerator temperature is between 34-40 degrees

2.    Food experts say that fresh poultry, homemade dips, ground meat etc shouldn’t be stored in the fridge for more than 2 days.

3.    Do not store food in the refrigerator in paper bags instead all food should be covered with foil, plastic wrap or in airtight containers.

4.    Some foods can stay longer in a fridge then others and they include raw eggs and cheese.

5.    Never put a hot pan or hot food in the fridge because it can raise the temperature of the fridge beyond the ideal levels. This can cause other food to spoil as a result of the warmth it releases as it cools down.

So guess what I plan to do tonight. That’s right I am going to clean out my fridge. There are a few suggestions on cleaning out your fridge. It doesn’t just involve removing the expired items.

1.    Take everything out of the fridge.

2.    Wash down and disinfect the inside walls of the refrigerator, the shelves, the draws and along the door seal.

3.    Wash everything going back in even the outside of jars;

4.    Vacuum both under the fridge and behind the fridge. Over time dust bunnies accumulate and can reduce the efficiency of the refrigerator.

So guess what I plan to do tonight. I am going to clean out my fridge of anything that is past its prime or nearly there that I don’t plan to use anytime soon is out for good. Wish me luck that I don't run into any USO's (unidentified shriveled objects).