Good evening Beautiful,
How is your week going? Is it off to a wonderfully sweaty start?? So far I’ve worked out both days this week and feel fantastic!! Yesterday was really cold here in Toronto and if you watch the weather or live near the area, you’ll know that the weather was INSANE on the weekend. On Sunday when I was driving in my car at about 2pm, the weather outside was 15 degress - NUTS! That’s like April weather!! But I’m not one to complain :).Needless to say, yesterday was not 15 degrees. It actually felt like -6 degrees with the wind chill. I had gotten myself all pumped up Monday morning because I knew Jenny and I were going for a good run together, but when I got to work I realized that I had forgotten my toque and gloves that I usually use when running in cold weather. I had planned on just running inside or maybe not at all... but at one point something inside me went “efffff that” and I walked over to Jenny’s desk, told her we were running regardless of the cold and she agreed.
So at about 2pm (our usual workout time) we got changed and went outside. I decided to also sport my purple pashmina because I didn’t want to be frozen when I got back. We got outside and it was much colder than Jenny thought it was, thank god I wore a scarf. The wind was the worst part... it was burning my ears, my eyes were watering and my nose was running. However the scarf kept me warm and my Lulu running jacket/sweater thing has those things on the sleeves that you pull over your hands to keep them warm and they totally worked, I found myself airing out my hands a few times because they got warm.
Neither of us had really focused on running in a while, so we weren’t trying to break any records, however we did manage to bang out a solid 4.6km in 30 minutes. Not bad! It was actually a great run. It was the kind of run that didn’t feel like work. We were able to chat the whole time and at the end I felt like I could keep going. Do you ever have runs like that? I feel like when I have runs like that, it trumps all the really bad runs which is more often than not, and that’s why I continue to run. The fact that my wicked new Asics help with all the pain I used to feel running. Hmm.. maybe some longer distance running is in the near future? :) At least once, just to test them out. We’re going running tomorrow again so I’m going to convince her to go about 8km and see how we feel! I’m actually really excited! I haven’t been excited to run in a long time :).
Today’s workout was tough to get through. Both Jenny and I were sluggish and annoyed with work and yeah, it wasn’t the best. We hit up the weight room in attempts of doing a full body circuit workout, but it wasn’t intense like a circuit.... it actually wasn’t THAT intense at all, we did workout our whole bodies however. This is what it looked like...
It could have been a little more intense. I got warm during the leg exercises, but I don’t think I ever actually broke into a sweat. I knew we should have done tabata sprints. Neither of us were feeling it today so neither of us was motivating the other. Not good my friends!
Guess what?? I’m 1.5 pages of questions, and about 8 pages of reading away from my first test in my quest of becoming a Registered Holistic Nutritionist! I’m totally behind in my work and I’m only 1 course in, but I’ve learned SO MUCH already..! It’s unreal! If someone asks me something about food, or how to help a particular ailment they may be facing, I’m actually pretty good at recommending (note: I only do recommendations from personal experience! I never prescribe... I’m not a professional... YET!) some things that might help. I even took my own advice last week when I was feeling sick. I had woken up with a sore throat and a semi-runny nose. So I then started taking Oil of Oregano every morning with some pure cranberry juice (it was the only juice I had at the time). By the end of the week I was no longer sick, and haven’t felt any of it come back as of yet! Mind you, I was also eating extremely clean, drinking a ton of tea and water and doing light exercise... But nonetheless, my sickness is gone and I didn’t have to use medication - whoop!
I think a lot of people have the wrong idea of what medication does to a person. When you have a cold or the flu - there is NOTHING you can take that will make you any better. Cold’s and flu’s are viruses which means they can’t be treated with antibiotics (which means they are anti bacteria, which is not a virus). The best thing you can do for yourself if ensure you’re getting plenty of rest, make sure you have adequate water intake (especially if you have the flu where you may be losing water out “both ends” if you know what I mean), eat clean and perhaps take some extra vitamin and mineral supplements to help your body’s immune system get stronger in order to fight off the virus itself. Here are some supplement recommendations from myself if you have a cold or flu (be sure to check with your doctor before taking any of these for the first time)...
Aloe Vera
Polysaccharides in aloe vera juice stimulate macrophages which are the white blood cells that fight viruses.
EchinaceaIt’s been known for a long time to boost immune system function and help fight the common cold by strengthening our immune system to help fight bacteria, viruses and atypical cells which don’t belong in the body.
GarlicThe antiviral compound in garlic is called Allicin. A study found that people who took a daily supplement of allicin reduced their risk of catching a cold by 64%, the symptom duration went down by 70% and they were much less likely to develop more than 1 cold. (Source)
Shiitake MushroomShiitake Mushrooms are super interesting, they are able to boost the immune system when it’s needed (ie. sickness, injury) and it’s also able to slow down immune system activity when it’s overstimulated. They stimulate macrophages in the body (these cells are responsible for identifying and disposing of cancerous cells in the body) to help keep you healthy!
If you’re suffering from the nasty bug that’s going around, give any of these a try and see how it helps! It’s a much better choice than trying to treat with over the counter drugs! Oh! And don’t forget tea :) Not only is it super comforting and delicious - it also hosts a lot of health benefits as well which you can find here!
For those of you that are curious, this is David's Tea Green
& Fruity green tea.. one of my favs!!