It Makes a Difference

3.17

Since I started living a wellness lifestyle about 6 years ago, I've been surprised by what is possible physically, mentally and emotionally, when we feed our bodies with nutrient-rich foods. This weekend turned out to be a gardening and lawn weekend. I cut two different lawns, did the weeding of flower beds, planted a bunch of flowers and put in a boatload of mulch at both.

My Fitbit told me that I had over 260 'active minutes' yesterday, and another 180+ today. (An active minute is measured as a certain level of physical exertion, and starts counting after you've been active for at least 10 minutes) So that's over 440 active minutes between yesterday and today... whew, no wonder I'm beat.

But years ago, I wouldn't have just felt the expected tiredness or stiffness of hours of gardening, I would have been debilitated. I remember episodes of a day of shoveling snow or mulching, when I still ate a standard American diet, and I was a mess afterward, sometimes for days.

Now, with a pantry of great, nutrient-dense foods I can recover simply with some healthy calories and a good nights' sleep. And that's what I did this weekend. I went hard at it yesterday with yard work at one property, and did ours today. And I'm ready to find something to do tomorrow as well.

There are many benefits to keeping a power pantry. Sometimes it's just getting a lot of yard work done on a holiday weekend, and feeling great afterward. No matter what, our bodies will thank us for pursuing nutritious foods and cutting out the junk.

By the Way

One other thing my Fitbit told me is that I burned over 4500 calories yesterday and over 3000 today (the physical activity tracking, combined with the the heart-rate data, gives a good estimate of calories burned.) So breaks included snacks of walnuts and apples, and a great dinner last night of salmon, steamed veggies and rice. Lots of good, tasty calories. Mmmmm...

Unique Nutritional Snacks

3.16

Until about six years ago our family ate a standard american diet. Corn and wheat products, artificial colors and sweeteners, flavor enhancers, sugar and salt were all normal. We weren't especially unhealthy compared to American expectations, but the truth is, my health was a mess, and Jen's was headed for a train wreck.

We've committed recent years to peeling back layers of nutritional revelation, and we're now significantly healthy...maybe even exceptionally healthy. It hasn't been an easy journey, and what we needed along the way were beneficial co-conspirators, especially in the form of great nutrient-dense food providers.

One of these I am thankful for is Mary Waldner, founder of Mary's Gone Crackers. She has a great story , and I really resonate with her journey. She turned away from standard american foods toward ancient, gluten-free grains, seeds and vegan recipes, and grew her home-made cracker business into a thriving enterprise. Now we all can benefit from the crackers, pretzels, cookies and treats Mary and her bakers create.

I love that Mary has gone to great strides to not only be gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan, but they use low-glycemic sweeteners like palm sugar, and support local farmers and fair wages. Her crackers and snacks taste great, they're unique, and they are good, nutritional foods.

You won't find saltines and Ritz crackers in our pantry anymore, but you definitely find sweet potato chips, rice cakes and Mary's crackers among our snacks. Those are small changes, but they have proven to be much better choices for our health. How about you? Have you purged some poor choices from your pantry lately? Today is a good day to do just that. Your life and health are worth it.

By the Way

Mary's crackers and snacks are distributed nation-wide through a network of distributors, and if you can't find them, either ask the store manager to get some on the shelves, or order online.

Something Completely Different

3.15

Have you stood and stared at your pantry or fridge lately? If you did, would you see some great, nutrient dense foods and choices? We're well into 2016, and maybe you began the year with aspirations of a healthful diet and chance to finally lose that weight that's been nagging you. If you haven't made enough progress, today is the day to start.

I think back to what our family food choices looked like 10 and 15 years ago. In many ways it is frustrating that I followed a typical Western diet for so long, and yet I'm grateful a friend introduced me to Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, 'Eat to Live'. That book, and some great instruction on a Mediterranean diet, was the start of tremendously beneficial changes for me and our family.

Now we find nutrient-dense foods abounding in our fridge and pantry. And if they are there, then the great foods will naturally end up in our cooking and on our plates. That's how a power pantry works. And the benefits of those nutrient-dense foods have been nothing short of incredible:

• the elimination of numerous health struggles for me and Jen
• the avoidance of who-knows-what in health struggles for our kids; they are healthy and active, and visiting the doctor seems reserved solely for sports physicals
• maintaining ideal weight, instead of those 'typical' extra pounds
• being blessed with a vitality and energy that I missed for over 20 years of my life; I literally feel physically like I did in my late teens and early 20's (how cool is that?!)

And it all started from the desire, and then commitment, to do something completely different. How about you? Are you ready to try something completely different in your wellness? Do it today. Commit to purging your pantry of the sugary, empty calories, the prepared snacks and cereals and sides full of preservatives, and the artificial sweeteners and sodium so common in typical American foods. Take a step now and another tomorrow, and pretty soon you'll be on your way to better health.

By the Way

Power Pantry has a lot of resources in past posts, so if you're newer, follow some of the food-related Labels to older content about nutrient dense foods. One like these:
Whole foods
Food
Micronutrients

A Good Nights' Sleep

3.14

For years I've set modest goals in a number of areas in life, and one of those involves sleep. I'm sort of a night-owl and early-bird combined, so I stay up kind of late and get up kind of early, consistently. I've learned that 6 hours a night isn't enough shut-eye for me, and 7 hours in bed finds me staring at the ceiling. The result is that about 6 1/2 hours a night has been my goal.

Problem is, I rarely achieve it. Regardless of setting and genuinely pursuing the goal of 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night, I would regularly stay up too late, knowing I had to get up at 5am or so. And about 3pm the next day I would crater.

So, when I recently got a new Fitbit device which tracks sleep, I thought this is my chance to take my humble sleep goal more seriously. Long story short is that it's working! I think it's kind of goofy that I couldn't control my late-night behavior enough to get a good nights' sleep before the tracker, but since I have a goal set with little reminders and dashboard popups, I'm getting more sleep.

Now, instead putting a documentary on Netflix (which I fall asleep in the middle of anyway) or grinding through my gmail account to keep things cleaned up, I just go to bed. By 10pm, the kids are mostly in bed (our oldest teens have a tendency to do homework late into the night), I'm not into Facebook, so that's not keeping me up, and anything else can wait.

The result? I log about 6 hours and 20 minutes to 6 hours and 40 minutes of sleep a night, I wake more rested, and I do significantly better the next afternoon - no thick, sleepy feeling after lunch or in the middle of afternoon meetings. I'm also certain I'm thinking more clearly and more creatively with a better nights' sleep. Go figure.

We all know the value of a good nights' sleep. All we have to do is do it. If you tend to short your nightly slumber, maybe it's time to be more proactive about it so your wellness can benefit too.

By the Way

Studies consistently show that young adults through the elderly need about 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Of course, individual needs vary, but to function ideally day after day, that's the right amount. Check out this great article and video from the National Sleep Foundation on their recommendations for a good nights' sleep at any age.