just think, you too could be this happy eating broccoli!

I was invited round for dinner by some gorgeous friends of mine this week. They have a regular dinner club and I’m feeling rather privileged to make the cut and join them. As always I get the question ‘what do you eat?’ Hmm, good question. Over the last 20 years I have had some weird and wonderful eating habits. In my teens I was a so called vegetarian eating nothing but cheese. When I discovered the wonderful world of nutrition I became incredibly strict cutting out pretty much everything except brown rice and vegetables, then I became a raw foodist, a vegetable juicer, a blood group dieter, a pescatarian, I’ve cut out wheat, dairy, sugar, processed food, you name it I’ve tried it.

Now? Well now I’d say I’m pretty balanced (goes with the brand name) I stay clear of wheat and cows dairy at home, I love fish, I love eggs, I love vegetables and I eat fruits in season. However when I’m out and about eating at someone’s house I’ll eat anything I’m given. After spending years as a fussy dinner guest I get great joy in eating whatever someone has lovingly made me. Yes this includes wheat, dairy, meat, pudding, a nice glass of wine. I truly believe in the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time I eat healthily, what my body needs. 20% of the time I indulge.

Dinner is incredible at my friend’s house. He’s made homemade minestrone soup followed by this chicken casserole thingy. And there are about 7 green vegetables to accompany thy wondrous menu. One of my friends leans over and says “I think the huge quantity of vegetables is for your benefit”. I smile. My friends are lovely. And they listen to me banging on about eating greens. I do this with my family too. My dad is like a child with his vegetables and I have actually said to him when he’s been over for dinner ‘Dad, if you don’t eat your greens you’re not getting any dessert’. Oooh I sound like a vegetable tyrant don’t I. But trust me, if there is not something green on your plate every day you can’t expect to have a healthy happy body. Humans are meant to eat vegetables. So get the kale, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, cabbage, spinach and any other greenies you can find on to your plate. It certainly made my slice of homemade tiramisu for afters that much more enjoyable.

How I picture myself in my bedroom

I woke up this morning surrounded by mess.

Clothes on the floor, overflowing boxes stacked by the wall, half packed suitcases everywhere. Who would have thought I owned so much stuff. I’m moving house next week, giving up my little rented flat in Haslemere to move back to Portsmouth to be closer to the clinic. I lay in bed ignoring the mess. If I ignore it maybe it’ll go away.

I’ve always loved a bit of denial and avoidance. Denial had always been one of my favourite places to be. Warm and comfy, I was the queen of ignoring the giant elephant sized issue in the room. However ignoring them never made them go away. In fact elephant issues fester and have a habit of mutating so by the time you finally get round to addressing them they have become nasty, complicated bad boys that have morphed into a monster the size of Belgium.   

And the biggest problem?  You never know you’re in denial! Ah the joy of ignorant bliss. However the body is very clever. Issues and emotions which are ignored for a period of time can usually express themselves as a physical health problem. A skin rash, blocked digestion, sleep deprevation, hearing problems, the list is endless. Only when I faced my issues did my long term health problems improve. Now if I slip into denial my body usually lets me know - a creek, a pain, a stomach ache. And I listen. I’m now very good at tackling those elephants before they morph. Shame I can’t say the same for messy flats. I’m still really happy to ignore them for ages.

I love a good log.

I love chocolate logs, I love tree logs, I love Startrek captains logs. But most of all I love a good bowel log.

Its the holy grail of health. The first question I ask my clients in clinic, how are your bowel movements. I usually get the answer ‘normal’. Always worrying. Normal in this country is once a week. Ouch. What I’m looking for from a healthy bowel is everytime food goes in, food goes out. So if you’re eating 3 meals a day you should be logging 3 times a day. And when I say logging I mean a good brown solid log. Not rabbit droppings (hmm sounds like a grumbly liver) or cracked and broken (dehydration or maybe lack of oils) I’m smiling to myself whilst writing this. It amazes me how happy I am writing about poo.

Anyway, why have a good log? Because with log you will have energy, glowing skin, be at your optimal weight. Good digestion has a knock on effect with every other organ in your body. If you can’t shift your crap, you’ll feel like crap. It’s really that simple.

So how do you get a good log. Here are my 3 tips for log fans. Number 1, water water water. Dehydration is responsible for many a log problem. Number 2 – up your fibre! We need 35 grams a day. That’s loads. An apple contains 3 grams.  And when I say fibre I don’t mean wheat. Wheat scratches the bowel, depletes the body of nutrients and the high gluten sticks to the bowel lining making it difficult to shift stuff out. Cut that nasty wheat out. And number 3, make sure you’re eating oils. Flaxseed, hemp or olive. It acts like lube. I’ll stop there.

I want to end my log blog with a song. Yes. All kids must love log.