Julie Parkes's Blog

A friend of mine posted that she is getting fruit and vegetables from Bountiful Baskets. I looked at what she bought and for how much and I was amazed. She got a ton for so little money. For those who don't know, Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op. it's all volunteer so all your money goes toward the food you buy. You don't need to pay extra for buildings, employees, or utilities. For $15 you get a basket of 1/2 fruit and 1/2 vegetables. When I got my basket I couldn't believe how much it was. There were oranges, grapefruits, apples, bananas, pineapple, leek, eggplant, lettuce, carrots, potatoes and we got a Mexican style add on with peppers, cilantro, garlic, limes and avocados. It was so much that even with four of us in the house there is still some left over a week later. This is such a great way to make sure that there are always fruits and vegetables in the house. Bountiful Baskets isn't just in Vancouver Washington. There are locations nationwide. So take a look online and find one close to you. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Go to www.bountifulbaskets.org

I posted earlier that I was watching some movies on Netflicks about health and chemicals. This week I started doing something about it. On my normal shopping trip to Costco I added a few new items to the list. One was vinegar. The other baking soda. Now you know, Costco. I bought these items in bulk. No I'm not planning on baking loads of cookies or making hundreds of Easter eggs. These are two items very high on the list of natural cleaning chemicals. I am working on removing toxins from my home that I never realized was there. I grew up with scrubbing bubbles and bleach. I grew up with the blue windex to clean glass. I never knew that there was another way.... Until now. This week I used baking soda instead of bleach to clean the tile on the kitchen counter and it came out just as clean as when I use bleach. It took me 5 minutes and maybe 50 cents worth of product to make a spray bottle of disinfectant and bathroom cleaner. That bathroom cleaner worked just as well as scrubbing bubbles. I always thought you needed to choke on fumes to make something clean. NOT TRUE! My hubby is even excited about it. He found a mop like a swifter at Target that you can add your own chemicals to to mop the wood floor and comes with a washable pad. For pennies we filled the tank where to buy the solution in the store would be dollars. The floor is much cleaner, non toxic AND we are saving money to boot. Yes it takes a little time. But 5 minutes really isn't that much and I save so much time trying to figure out what product to buy in the store, or what coupon to clip. So when it comes to even time I saved that too. I feel so good about this change and plan to change over the rest of my toxic cleaning supplies to these non toxic ones and remove this soup of disease and danger from the house. Healthy living is not only the exercise you do or the food you eat. It also includes the atmosphere you live in. You spend so much time in your home. Lets all strive to make our home environment healthy too.

I'm sick. I don't get sick often, but here I am, laying on the couch and wishing that I was feeling better. At least not feeling well gives me a chance to catch up on a few things. I've been reading my fitness magazines and I am watching some specials on Netflicks. I have found two that really peaked my interest. The first is Hungry for change. In it there were experts in diet and nutrition. Of these experts, the two women battled back stage 4 cancer and at least three of the men had lost about 100 pounds each. One of the men lost several hundred pounds. It talked about high fructose corn syrup, how addictive sugar is, the obesity crisis and so much more. It was really very interesting and has me looking long and hard at what I have in my cubbards and refrigerator. Processed food can make things easy. But when it comes to the future of my kids, I think I would rather take a little more time and make sure they have the good stuff. The second movie I watched on Netflicks is chemerica. That movie took a randomly chosen family and helped them to move the toxic substances out of their house. What got me most about that was the toxic substances they were talking about is cleaning supplies. I was intrigued that by making her own cleaning supplies she had not only saves HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS.... But they also felt the house was cleaner without the chemicals than it was before. Your never too old to learn something new and never too old to make a difference.

Today is Valentines day. The day of Love. My daughter found an old book of mine. It was one of the chicken soup books. She was telling me about how it was teaching her how to find a boyfriend. But the book really doesn't help with finding a boyfriend a husband or a lover. I believe that the only way to find that special someone to share your life is to Love yourself first. You aren't perfect. No one is. But love yourself and your imperfections. Love the little wrinkles around your mouth. Love that you aren't quite tall enough to reach the top shelf. Even Love that little muffin top that you so desperately want to lose. I look at myself and see my imperfections a whole lot clearer than my husband and kids will ever see them. Today I am treating myself with Love as well as I will treat my family because I am worth it. It's so wonderful that today of all days a friend posted a video on Facebook that spoke so clearly to me about the person and Personal Trainer that I strive to be. Enjoy!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djiTvT6s8j4&sns=em

Today is Friday February 1st. That means its SuperBowl Weekend. There are so many who live for this weekend. Every year counting down and looking forward to the game, the commercials, the parties and of course the food. Isn't it funny that watching athletes in top physical condition leads to sitting around with chicken wings, bean dig and bear. This weekend can be hard for so many who are watching their weight. So what is your plan to get through???? As hard as it can be, the best way to make it easy is by having a plan to get through the day. How about I tell you my plan... First, I plan to have the SuperBowl Party at my house. That way I can have some control over the situation. (Control my environment). I'm cleaning the house to get ready for guests so I get some extra exercise by cleaning. And YES! Cleaning is exercise. Second, I control the food. I am cutting up celery, pineapple, hummas, carrots sticks, and vegetarian chili. Of course I will have corn chips (multigrain) and low fat cheese for the chili. Do you think anyone will know or even care that its vegi chili? I'm not telling and I bet they won't say anything. There will be beer, but I will also have some ice tea and cold water available. If you are going to some one else's house, be up front with the host/hostess. Tell them that you don't want everyone to know but you are watching your diet and could you know what the planned menu is? Maybe ask if its ok if you bring something to share and you can bring a fruit or vegi platter. That way you can plan what you are going to do when you get there. Another tip is eat before you go. That way you won't be starving and tempted when you arrive. Finally, drink lots of water while you are there. Water helps keep you full. Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying to not eat while you are there. I want you to enjoy yourself and your friends. I am much more tempted in a situation like this. If I make a good plan, I can enjoy a little of the foods that I really want most, have tons of fun laughing with my friends and cheer on my team, then still have a great weigh in on Monday morning. So enjoy your weekend.

I started my weight loss journey by walking every morning. I always enjoyed walking, even in the rain. When you walk instead of drive you get a whole new perspective on the world. Especially when you do it like I did... with kids. Through my walks I discovered a fantastic group that I had never heard of before... Volksporting. That is a walking group. I get emails every week about a walk that this group does all over the area. Sometimes it's really nice having the company of walking with a group. If you are in the Portland/Vancouver area and would like to know more about Volksporting, here is some information for you. Maybe I will see you on the trail one of these days. The walkoregon@yahoogroups.com group list exists to announce upcoming non-competitive volkssport walking, biking, and swimming events in Oregon and SW Washington These events are open to the public - everyone is invited, so pass this along to your friends. You can access the message at any time on the web, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/walkoregon We have a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/OregonWalking and Twitter http://www.twitter.com/walkoregon You may also want to visit the official web sites of volkssport clubs in Oregon and Washington http://www.walkoregon.org http://www.esva.org AllThingsWalking Calendar of Oregon walking events -- volkssporting and more http://www.allthingswalking.com/calendar.html

The beginning of the year so many people decide to make a change. They make a New Years Resolution. But then sometime is February or March, many find that their resolve has started to fade. I'm not going to lie. Change is hard. It doesn't matter if you are adding exercise, removing sugar or eating more vegetables. Change is hard. So, first... Why did you make that Resolution in the first place? Are you going on a trip, getting married or wanting to play with those kids or Grandkids? Could it be that you have health issues and losing weight, eating different or exercise will be what makes the difference? Is it that you don't like the way you look or feel and are ready? Whatever your reason. Remember that. It's important. Second... Start with small steps. Saying you will go to the gym and exercise every day for an hour is unrealistic for some one who has been sitting on the couch for years. Start small. Take the dog for a walk around the block every morning. Go to the gym 3 times this week. Add Vegis to one meal every day. Then as you get comfortable with that step, then do more. Take the dog around two blocks. Have a vegetarian day each week. Or maybe hire a trainer to really push you. When it comes to changing your life the big thing is to not quit. You might get things wrong and fall into temptation every once in a while but that's ok. Everyone falls. The failure is not getting back up. I discovered Pinterest. I found a picture that really spoke to me. It said if you are tired of starting over then stop quitting. So quitting is not an option. Keep moving forward to your goal. Every journey moves one step at a time.

I hear ads on TV. I see late night infomercials. I have friends recommending this and that to help melt that fat right off. And even though so many of them are a waste of money, I have three things that you can do right now to help you lose weight without diet or exercise. It won't be much and it won't be fast but the weight will come off. First, get plenty of sleep. When you don't get enough sleep you have a tendency to eat worse than you do when you are well rested. Instead of making a meal, you grab chips. Grabbing chips is much easier than cooking. you may not even pay attention to how much. Because you are trying to boost your energy, you tend to crave sugar. And finally, when you lack sleep your body feels stress which leads us to number two. Second... Relieve stress. Way back in history stress was a good thing. It allowed us to outrun the bear. In fact stress causes hormones to be released to hold on to the fat. That fat is held mainly around the waist so when we had to run from that bear we had quick fuel. In order to relieve stress do things like get enough sleep. Take a nice relaxing bath. Meditate. Read. Or do something else to relieve stress. Maybe exercise??? (Hey, I'm a trainer. What do you expect? Of course I'm going to mention exercise). Finally... When you eat, slow down and savor your food. Turn the Tv off and sit at the table. Are you eating because you are hungry, bored or want to eat because of some emotion? Think about why you are eating. Then write down what and how much you are eating. Write down the time and what you are feeling too. This is called mindful eating. Like I said in the beginning, you won't lose much weight very fast this way. If you do watch what you eat and exercise too, then doing these three things will help the scale come down much faster. So take care of yourself and get healthy.

The decorations are all put away. The kids are back in school. No more parties or potluck's on the calendar. Now to face the facts. I walked up to the scale and really didn't like what I saw. But no matter what reason I can come up with, I earned that number. Now the questions are why and what. Why did I do that to myself? Yes, cookies, fudge and mashed potatoes taste great but it isn't like I will never see the food again. Why did I go face first into the holidays and not come out until the goodies were gone? I know a part of it is, I don't like being told what to do. Even if I'm telling myself. The rest, I'm still trying to figure out. What... What am I going to do about it now. It's really easy to just wear that cone of shame on the way to Dairy Queen but that really doesn't help matters any. All I can do is go from this moment on. So what I am going to do is add more fruits and Vegis in my diet again. I am going to take a walk every day. I am going to remember what I was doing when I felt so good and liked how my clothes felt so I can do those things again. It's time to whip off the cone of shame and climb out of the pit of despair. The number on the scale today is just a new starting point.

Here we are. It is now the first day of 2013 and what have you accomplished? Well, I went to work this morning. Afraid of the freezing temperatures on the road and yesterday's snow that melted a little before the freeze came back. I made it with just a few slight slips. I thought about not going in at all, but I had clients counting on me to be there and was WAS NOT going to let the, down. It's funny. I'm so good about putting others above myself. You might be sitting there thinking, yeah, that sounds about right. But it's not. I am important. I am just as important as anyone else. How do you see yourself? Now think about it. If all of a sudden you were gone, what would happen? I know when my mother in law passed suddenly in had a huge impact on me and my family. It was five years ago and we all still miss her terribly. You are no different. Your life means something. So I challenge you to something this New Year. Schedule your time to take care of yourself and stick with it no matter what. This is your new job. It's just as important as earning a living and taking care of the kids. This time could be a daily walking the dog. Or it could be your time at the gym. It could be time in prayer or a nice relaxing bath with a good book. You can even set aside time to find and try a new healthy recipe every week or if your really ambitious, every day. Just know that you ARE important. You really need to take care of you. After all, no one else knows what you need as well as you do. HAPPY 2013!