Sunday, April 19, 2015

21 Day Fix Sample Menu- Week 1

* You can also have a healthy snack after dinner, but try to finish it 2-3 hours before you go to bed. It will also be helpful to drink an 8 ounce glass of water before each meal. This will help you feel fuller at your meals and your daily water intake (which should be 1/2 of your body weight in ounces).

Clean Eating

Clean Eating Principles:

   1.  Eat more often. Eat 5-6 small meals each day, spaced 2.5-3 hours apart. Include a protein and complex carb at each meal with a big glass of water.
  2.   Eat breakfast everyday, within an hour of rising.
  3.  Make your last meal 3 hours before bed.
  4. Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal.
  5.  Eat sufficient healthy fats every day.
  6.  Drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water each day. Add some lemon, limes, cucumbers or orange slices for extra flavor!
  7.   Carry a cooler packed with clean foods and snacks each day.
  8. Depend on fresh fruit and veggies for fiber, vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes.
  9.  Adhere to proper portion sizes (see below)
 10.Eat only foods that have not been overly processed, or that contain artificial additives (sweeteners, colors, preservatives, etc.), saturated and trans fats.

Read the ingredients label:
What to Avoid:

·      Avoid all over-processed foods, particularly white flour and sugar
·      Avoid all chemically charged foods
·      Avoid foods containing preservatives
·      Avoid artificial sugars
·      Avoid artificial foods such as processed cheese slices
·      Avoid saturated and trans fats
·      Avoid sugar loaded beverages, including sodas and juices
·      Avoid or do your best to avoid alcohol intake
·      Avoid all calorie dense foods containing little or no nutritional value. I call these anti-foods
·      Avoid super sizing your meals


Avoid anything that contains the following on the label:
High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup
Aspartame
Sucralose
Maltodextrin
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Enriched
Modified, Genetically-modified, etc.
From Concentrate

TIP: When you see the words “diet”, “sugar-free”, or “lite”, chances are it contains artificial sweeteners like Aspartame – which can be harmful to your body.

* The portion control containers will make it easy to learn your portions (the cups found in the 21 Day Fix)
Complex Carbohydrates from Fruit and Veggies:
         6 portions each day
A portion is:
·      1 cupped handful or a piece of fruit such as berries, grapefruit, melon, apples, and mangoes.
·      2 cupped handfuls of veggies including both based/vegetable puree soups.

         Complex Carbohydrates from whole grains and starchy
         Carbohydrates from whole grain and starchy   
         Carbohydrates:
2-4 portions each day
     A portion is:
·      1 handful of high-protein, sugar-free cold cereals, such  clean muesli or granola.
·      1 handful of cooked cereal
·      1 piece of whole grain bread or wrap (I like “Flat-outs” harvest whole grain wheat- I get them at Wegman’s)
·      1 handful sized serving of sweet potato, yam, corn,or squash



Lean Protein:
6 portions each day.
A portion is:
·      1 cup or handful of dairy products such as low fat soy, almond, rice, coconut, or skim milk, cottage cheese, or plain fat free sugar free yogurt
·      1 handful of raw, unsalted nuts (also a healthy fat)
·      2 tablespoons of all natural nut butters such as almond or peanut butter (also a healthy fat)
·      1 palm-sized portion of lean meats
·      High quality, sugar and chemical-free protein powder

Beverages:
·      2-3 liters per day of fresh, purified water (sodium-freer)
·      Clear herbal tea (unsweetened)
·      Black coffee in moderation
·      Green or Black tea

Sweeteners/Sugars that are OK to use in moderation:
·      Organic Cane Sugar
·      Agave Nectar
·      Maple Sugar
·      Rapadura Sugar
·      Natural Stevia (plant-derived, non-processed)

*Want to Learn More? This book will teach you ALL about Clean Eating!







Wednesday, April 8, 2015

PTNS- Post Tibial Nerve Stimulation

I have great success with the PTNS Treatment with decreasing my urgency and frequency. Before doing PTNS, I was going 30 times per day. Now I am only visiting the restroom 8-10 times a day which is a HUGE improvement. This treatment is not usually prescribed for IC patients, but for more for overactive bladder syndrome. However, my urologist read an article about doing the PTNS combined with the bladder rescue treatments to help IC patients (the PTNS for lowering frequency and the rescue treatments to help with the pain). It has made a big difference with my IC symptoms. Please comment below if you have questions or want to chat more about this.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

My Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle

Roadblocks along the way:

 I have been exercising consistently for the past 3 months, and loving every minute of it. For the 1st 2 months I stayed faithful to the 21 Day Fix workouts, and Zumba (the Zumba 1-2 times per week). As a Beachbody Coach, I thought that it would be fun to try a new workout program so I order PIYO because I adore Chalene Johnson, and love Pilates and Yoga. I have always been flexible, and with some bladder issues, thought it would be perfect because it is a lower impact workout.

Flashback- 2 years ago, I did have some lower back issues, and after visiting the physical therapist, chiropractor, and orthopedic doctor, I was diagnosed with Lumbar Osteoarthritis- which is basically when your cartilage gets worn down as you get older. Here is a video that explains it a little better:Lumbar Osteoarthritis Video

So the doc put me on anti inflammatory meds, which helped a little bit, and I stopped all exercise for about a month. Over time, I did start to feel better, and also had some success with taking the over the counter supplement, Osteo Bi flex (containing Glucosamine and Chondroitin).

Ok, so fast forward....I have not had any back pain since then...UNTIL I did 2 workouts of PIYO- soooo bummed. My back did not hurt while I was doing the PIYO, but after 2 days of it, I was in a lot of pain in my lower back.

When thinking back to 2 years back, I realized that what had triggered my back pain last time was also a Yoga class (more flow Yoga than gentle Yoga).

So now I am back on anti inflammatory meds, no exercise for at least a couple of weeks, and the realization that I can't do Yoga flow moves :(   It was kind of strange the way the doctor explained it- he said that flexible people are able to push their body with certain moves/stretches, and it does not hurt as you are doing it- people who are not flexible have bodies that are able to say, "Stop, that is hurting". Basically people who are flexible tend to push our bodies too far....and as we get older, it does finally catch up to you- boo!

Any way, it is a really disappointing day, because not only can I not do Yoga any more, I am off limits to any workouts for a little while.

I just bought a Wegman's brand containing the natural supplements of Glucosamine (1500) and Chondroitin (1200). The Glucosamine is supposed to help with cartilage formation and the Chondroitin helps give cartilage its elastic properties, and can have an anti inflammatory effect, which can help with the swelling of the joints. I am anxious to see how this works in comparison to the Osteo bi flex- this brand contained more of Chondroitin than the Osteo.

Please comment below if you have dealt with back issues like this and have had any luck with natural supplements. Thanks so much!

Getting old is a real pain...literally!

***Roadblock with my fitness journey- I have been exercising consistently for the past 3 months, and loving every minute of it. For the 1st 2 months I stayed faithful to the 21 Day Fix workouts, and Zumba (the Zumba 1-2 times per week). As a Beachbody Coach, I thought that it would be fun to try a new workout program so I order PIYO because I adore Chalene Johnson, and love Pilates and Yoga. I have always been flexible, and with some bladder issues, thought it would be perfect because it is a lower impact workout.

Flashback- 2 years ago, I did have some lower back issues, and after visiting the physical therapist, chiropractor, and orthopedic doctor, I was diagnosed with Lumbar Osteoarthritis- which is basically when your cartilage gets worn down as you get older. Here is a video that explains it a little better:Lumbar Osteoarthritis Video

So the doc put me on anti inflammatory meds, which helped a little bit, and I stopped all exercise for about a month. Over time, I did start to feel better, and also had some success with taking the over the counter supplement, Osteo Bi flex (containing Glucosamine and Chondroitin).

Ok, so fast forward....I have not had any back pain since then...UNTIL I did 2 workouts of PIYO- soooo bummed. My back did not hurt while I was doing the PIYO, but after 2 days of it, I was in a lot of pain in my lower back.

When thinking back to 2 years back, I realized that what had triggered my back pain last time was also a Yoga class (more flow Yoga than gentle Yoga).

So now I am back on anti inflammatory meds, no exercise for at least a couple of weeks, and the realization that I can't do Yoga flow moves :(   It was kind of strange the way the doctor explained it- he said that flexible people are able to push their body with certain moves/stretches, and it does not hurt as you are doing it- people who are not flexible have bodies that are able to say, "Stop, that is hurting". Basically people who are flexible tend to push our bodies too far....and as we get older, it does finally catch up to you- boo!

Any way, it is a really disappointing day, because not only can I not do Yoga any more, I am off limits to any workouts for a little while.

I just bought a Wegman's brand containing the natural supplements of Glucosamine (1500) and Chondroitin (1200). The Glucosamine is supposed to help with cartilage formation and the Chondroitin helps give cartilage its elastic properties, and can have an anti inflammatory effect, which can help with the swelling of the joints. I am anxious to see how this works in comparison to the Osteo bi flex- this brand contained more of Chondroitin than the Osteo.

Please comment below if you have dealt with back issues like this and have had any luck with natural supplements. Thanks so much!

Monday, April 6, 2015

My IC Story

Ok, here is my story in a bit of a nutshell. I was diagnosed with IC over 20 years ago- the urologist didn't really know what to do with me- basically after a bladder distension, he said- you have very condition called IC which there is not a lot known about- and rarely seen in someone at your young age (was 23 at the time)- still to this day don't know if this has anything to do with my diagnosis, but I did have a ton of UTI's as a kid, and had to get my urethra dilated at age 6. That doctor sent me off with Pyridium and told be to take it as needed- ha!  I actually went into somewhat of a remission for awhile, until after I had my kids. It was manageable until about age 36. I had 2 traumatic births with my son and daughter- which definitely caused prolapse with my uterus, and had a rectocele. In December of 2014, I did have a hysterectomy and rectocele repair, which did help my bladder symptoms a bit. Let's see past treatments that I have had- bladder dystension, elmiron, botox...currently I do PTNS (Post Tibial Nerve Stimulation) 1 time per month- I will post some info. about this- has helped tremendously with my frequency of 30 times per day, down to 8 times per day...and I do 1-2 rescue treatments (bladder cocktail) each month- which helps with the pain. For the last 3 months I have also added a clean eating regimen and exercise. I do feel that cutting out the sugar (for the most part- I cheat a little, has also helped a lot). I think what I have learned over the years with this chronic, very painful condition is that there is no "magic pill" no quick fix... and what helps 1 person may not help another person. However, I do think it is important for us to support each other, and share our successes and failures... because through trial and error, hopefully each of will find something that can help reduces our bladder flares/ decrease the pain, etc. Though I do still have flares on occasion, I am in a much better place with my IC than I have ever been before.

 I would love for you to comment on what has worked for you, what hasn't, etc.  I have just started a closed group on Facebook, please message me if you would like to be included. Here is my facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.bendettoisola

or email me at cherylisola@gmail.com

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Healthy Snacks


Clean Eating and IC

Clean Eating and IC

Clean Eating and IC

You Tube- My Experience with Clean Eating and IC

Challenge Group Application

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My Journey to a Healthier, Happier Lifestyle

My husband Jim and I signed up to participate in a 21 Day Fix online challenge group on January 5th, and we have not looked back since. We are eating healthy and working out everyday. The key is to have that support and accountability from an online Beachbody Coach. We were required to check in daily, and this truly made all the difference in the world. I am currently down 14 pounds and 8 total inches- 2 in the waist. I love my experience so much that I decided to become a Beachbody coach. I would love to help you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. NUTRITION + FITNESS + SUPPORT + ACCOUNTABILITY = SUCCESS

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