Please don't tell me what to eat!

I know, I've been there.  You've transformed your life with food and you want to share your experience with the world.  What better way to do that than tell everyone who will listen what they should eat to make them feel better?  You're really on a mission to share what you truly believe will help everyone.  But here's the thing, just because it worked for you, doesn't mean it will work for me.

As Joshua Rosenthal says in Integrative Nutrition, "Nutrition is a funny science.  It's the only field where people can scientifically prove opposing theories and still be right."  We are each biologically diverse and there are many factors that may contribute to nutrition study findings.  Correlation is not the same as causation.

For me, personally, I get irked when people tell me that all humans should be vegetarian, and the only reason to eat meat is because it tastes good.  I can tell you from several years of personal food exploration that I do not do well on a vegetarian or vegan diet.  I get bloated and lethargic when I eat too many grains, or any legumes at all, which are primary sources of non animal protein.  If I don't get enough protein I get serious blood sugar drops and spaciness.  I am not alone in this. I know quite a few people who have had the same experience, including some who spent a significant amount of time eating vegan, such as this person.  I once happened upon an article from a woman bemoaning the fact that our environment was so toxic that even on a perfect vegan diet she still suffered several autoimmune issues refusing to consider the fact that maybe her diet wasn't so perfect for her after all.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against vegetarian or vegan diets in general.  If you are on one and thriving - that is awesome!  I'm just saying that it can't be assumed that it is the perfect diet for everyone.

If you are concerned for ethical reasons, I totally respect that.  I found this article interesting. It does not condone factory farming, but it looks at the ethical issues of farming from a perspective I hadn't considered. 

I myself have found that something close to the Paleo diet, or "Perfect Health Diet" seems to work best for me.  When I first discovered the difference it could make in my energy and health, I wanted to share it with the world.  I realize though that what works for me, might not be great for everyone.  When people trash the concept though they are not seeing the people for whom this diet has really transformed their well being.

Most of us know these days that cutting out processed foods and moving to a more whole foods based diet can have a positive affect on our bodies.  Everybody has different needs though when it comes to proteins or processing different types of foods such as grains, legumes and dairy.

Please do share your own experiences with food, but lets make a deal - don't tell me I'm wrong for eating meat and I won't ask you where you get your protein.

Easy Dairy Alternatives

There's a reason it's hard to give up dairy. Cheese is actually addictive. It's no wonder it took me so long to admit it was an issue for me when my reaction to it was not immediate.  Unfortunately, when that was the only major thing I cut out, the evidence was undeniable. My skin cleared up, my digestion improved and I lost the 10 pounds I had gained when work started back in the fall.  

The idea of never eating cheese again seemed terrible. I immediately got an Artisan Vegan Cheese Book. Unfortunately many of the recipes are pretty time intensive, and I don't have a lot of time to spare these days. I'm sure I will get to experimenting with the recipes some time, maybe this summer, but in the mean time there are some easy recipes I've tried when cutting out dairy in the past, and a few new ones I'd like to try.

Almond and Coconut Milk - One of my biggest vices is a nice creamy and sweet cup of coffee.  I've gotten to the point where I usually limit it to one time a week, if I have something like teechino instead.  Still, I like it sweet and creamy.  I'm not a fan off soy milk (or really any soy that's not fermented).  My local coffee shop Di Tazza makes me a great almond milk latte with maple syrup. They even went out and bought almond milk when I asked for it.  I find though that too much nuts can be overload on the system, so at home I often make my own coconut milk by putting one cup shredded coconut in a blender with two cups of water.  For almond milk I use about twice as much water.  With my Vitamix, I just blend on the smoothie setting and strain through a nut bag.  With a standard blender, I boiled the water first and blended for a whole 10 minutes before straining.  Coconut works well for me in coffee, but if I want to make hot cocoa for myself and the boy, almond is more creamy.  Next time I think I'm going to try to combine the two! 

Banana Ice Cream - My favorite healthy ice cream substitute is simply a frozen banana in a blender or food processor.  It's great alone or with added cocoa, nut butter, cherries or anything else you can dream up!  I take any extra and put it in push pop molds for future consumption. 

Almond Cream Cheese - When I first went paleo, I made a grain free pumpkin bread with this cream cheese substitute.  It was super tasty and a big hit at parties, but I realized I was going overboard on the nuts so now its an occasional thing.  I also tried it as a substitute for sour cream to make a tasty dip. 

Nacho Cheese Dip - This one was surprisingly tasty. When I stopped eating a lot of grains and beans, I haven't really used it, but I think I will try it again. It might also be a good cheese sauce in some sort of casserole or Mac n' Cheese like recipe. 

Cashew Parmesan - Another deceptively simple one.  I just combined cashews, salt and garlic in the food processor and blended until the texture of Parmesan cheese.  I even put this on one of our attempts at grain free pizza.  The "cheese" tasted better than the crust. 

Cauliflower Ricotta - So many cheese substitutes involve nuts or other foods you probably shouldn't consume in large quantities, so I was super excited to find this substitute for ricotta that mostly consisted of cauliflower!  I even made an easy lasagna by layering sauce, gluten free lasagna noodles, "ricotta", ground meat and sauce two times and then topped with Daiya cheese. 

It's not super pretty, but it was super tasty!

The Problem with Elimination Diets

I once went for almost an entire year without chocolate.  I thought that I saw a correlation between chocolate eating and break outs.  It's possible that it made a difference, but in hindsight I believe it was more likely standard American chocolate that was the problem, not ALL chocolate.  I tell you this to convey the fact that I am not unwilling to consider that something I love is contributing to my unwellness, and cutting it out.

That said, I have felt like there's been a missing piece in my attempts to find the right balanced diet for me.  Despite numerous attempts at elimination diets, something just wasn't adding up.  I recently went to a new naturopath and she did a food intolerance test.  I feared the worst - that I might be intolerant to fruit, since I had eliminated pretty much every thing else out of my diet at one time or another (outside of a few select vegetables). I recently got back my results, and the big culprit was... dairy!  That, and peanuts as well as fruit combined with with sugar - which I guess makes those chocolate banana peanut butter smoothies I often crave and occasionally indulge in a giant no no!

"How could this possibly be?"  I asked myself.  I've eliminated dairy numerous times and never noticed any major issues when I reintroduced it.  I did start to suspect it was contributing to breakouts but then I concluded that it was just hormones.  I guess it was just too easy to rationalize any potential reactions away.

Here's the thing though, unlike food allergies, which I never tested positive for, food intolerances don't always have an immediate effect.  It can take up to two days to see an effect, and even then it might be subtle.  On even the best and most deliberate of reintroductions, you wait a few days between foods - maybe even a whole week for big stuff like gluten and dairy.  Still, when you consider stress, activity level, hormones and any number of other factors, what seems like a response to food, could be attributed to any number of thing and vice versa.

When I reintroduced eggs after the autoimmune protocol, I was convinced for a while that I had issues with eggs.  But then I had a few times I had them without issue. I figured out that the times I was trying eggs were on lazy Saturdays when I didn't get up to do much until the afternoon.  Seems the problem was more with getting going after a long period of inactivity than it was with eggs themselves.

Funny thing is, when I cut out dairy and had the occasional coffee indulgence, I would use almond milk and get an immediate negative reaction.  When I reintroduced dairy with my coffee, the immediate response went away.  This seemed further evidence to me that dairy was just fine. So when I got loose with my dietary restrictions, dairy was usually one of the easiest to go overboard on.

I was told the biggest obstacle against trying an elimination diet was that it was so hard to follow.  For me, though it was a challenge, with good preparation it was manageable.  The biggest obstacles for me were all the other factors that can influence my response to food.

I'm not saying that I didn't get anything from the elimination diets.  I still feel that I do better when I don't go overboard on grains, beans, sugar and even nuts.  When I overindulge, I tend to feel bloated and tired.  I tend to do best with something resembling the "Perfect Health Diet," which is another reason I thought dairy in moderation seemed OK.  I think it's really good to get a sense of how things make you feel and start to listen to your intuition about your body.  Just realize that there are so many factors involved and it's easy to rationalize your way into the wrong conclusion.

So, by all means, pay attention to what you eat and how you feel when you eat it. Try an elimination diet if you want to get more specific.  Just don't over rationalize it and consider that it might also be useful to try a food intolerance test (not just a food allergy test) to see if there's something your missing.

Broccoli White Cheddar Soup

And here's a tasty soup I won't be having again (though I may play with modifying it): 2 cups whole (raw) milk, 2 cups broth (beef), 12 oz broccoli pieces, 3 oz white cheddar, 1 t salt, 1.2 t onion powder, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/4 t white pepper.  Blend in a Vitamix on soup setting (or heat in saucepan when ready).  Steam 4 oz broccoli florets.  Add and pulse a few times when done. 

Summer food highlights

Summer is rapidly coming to an end and I seemed to find myself busier than during the school year!  It's harder to keep in a good rhythm of cooking without routine, but I managed to fit in a few noteworthy meals.  

Impromptu Shepherd's Pie (Paleo)

Shepherd's pie is one of my go tos since I usually have ground beef on hand.  You can use any ground meat, and a combination of yam, sweet potato or cauliflower.

• Steam 1 head of cauliflower and 2 sliced large sweet potatoes.
• Brown 2 lb ground beef.
• Slice carrots and asparagus in food processor to make thin round discs (I kept the asparagus tips to cook tomorrow).
• Add carrots, asparagus and frozen peas to beef.
• Season with garlic powder, onion powder and Herbamare salt to taste.
• Top beef mixture with cauliflower/sweet potato mixture.
• Bake for 20 min at 350.
• Broil for 5 min on high.

Pork Stir Fry (Paleo)

Stir fry is one of the quickest ways to throw together a reasonably healthy meal.  In a pinch, I've heated up some precooked chicken and added whatever veggies I had handy.  

This one used ground pork with asparagus (left from the shepherd's pie) & mushroom seasoned with coconut aminos, Herbamare, powdered ginger, garlic & onion.

Modified Mac n' Cheese (Perfect Health Diet)

At the cousin's house, the kids asked for mac n' cheese.  They had some in a box, but I ran home to get some ingredients to make something that actually resembled food.

I used rice pasta, shreded yellow squash, ground beef and added some cheese and butter.  For a little added creaminess, I added some cottage cheese as well, and seasoned with season salt.

Vegetable Beef Soup (Paleo)

The boy asked for "San Diego Souper Soup" and I had to do some digging to figure out what that meant.  Turns out when he went to SD with his dad, they threw together some veggies with beef and broth. 

I browned some ground beef and added some chicken broth, carrots, yams and sweet potatoes and cooked until soft.  Seasoned to taste with onion powder, garlic powder, Herbamare, Basil and Marjoram.  

Marinara Squash Casserole (Paleo/Primal)

We had lots of squash to use up from the farm share, so I improvised. Summer squashes, carrots, chicken sausage, rice noodles, mushrooms, olives, chicken broth & a jar of marinara.  Top with cheese if desired.

Plum Banana "Ice Cream" with Chocolate Chips (Paleo - ish)

"Mom, it's yummy, so yummy! Probably the best thing you've ever had!"

• Food Process two frozen bananas until smooth.
• Add 1 chopped frozen plum.
• Add Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.

Donut Experiment

The boy and his cousin wanted to make "healthy donuts" but wouldn't use a recipe, so I made my own. Theirs won out two to one!

My recipe was: Banana Maple Donuts

Their recipe involved instant oatmeal, squeezed orange, raisins, crumbled rice cake, water, and at my suggestion a bit of almond & coconut flour, baking powder, some coconut oil & eggs to make it stick together and not to the pan.  Held together better than I thought it would, but a little soft in the middle. 

Gluten Free S'mores with homemade marshmallows

Home made marshmallows from stuff I already had in the pantry - free. Having s'mores for a highly allergenic boy on our camping trip - priceless!

Paleo Marshmallows - I did this without a candy thermometer (just let the honey melt fully) and a hand beater. Used a silicone mini muffin tin sprinkled with arrowroot to get the shape.  They don't brown well in the fire, but they taste great otherwise - especially on top of hot cocoa (below)!  I think I'll try some on top of yams for the holidays!

Hot Cocoa with Cayenne & Homemade Marshmallows!

When I got back from our camping trip, I had some marshmallow fluff left over, so I used it in some cocoa.  I added a little cayenne for a kick.  I used real milk this time, but I've also been known to use coconut milk. 

Warmed milk with 3-4 spoonfuls of cocoa powder, one spoonful of maple syrup and a couple sprinkles of cayenne topped with home made marshmallows (above).

Eating well on the road!

I just got back from a nearly two week trip to San Diego to visit family and attend a 5 day life coach training at the Life Purpose Institute.  It was a fabulous trip and an amazing training, but I realized that traveling is an extremely hard time to keep up with developed healthy eating habits.  When I'm feeding myself, I do pretty well, but it's so easy to make exceptions when traveling and dining out.  I can't say I did stellar at this - I definitely consumed way too much sugar, coffee and ice cream.  I did, however, do some things before and during my trip that made it easier not to stray too far.

Prepare

Before my trip, I went on a dehydrating frenzy!

One thing that is a life saver for me to have on hand when traveling (or other times in general) is jerky.  The easiest way for me to do this is this Ground Beef Jerky recipe.  I usually use a jerky gun, but I couldn't find part of it, so I just patted it town thinly on the trays and broke apart when dry.  They turned out even better because they were so thin they weren't too tough for my son!  Next time I use the gun, I'll pat them down a bit as well.  I brought some of this with me on another trip when I was easing out of the Autoimmune Paleo protocol.  It was a lifesaver when I ended up at a party that was serving a vegetarian burrito bar, so the only protein was in grains and beans.  I pulled some jerky out and crumbled on top of a taco salad, and it worked like a charm!

I also love to have some good trail mix on hand, though I try to go easy on the nuts and dried fruit.  I dried apples and strawberries and added to unsweetened coconut flakes, cashews and sunflower seeds.  If I'd been really vigilant, I wold have soaked and dried my nuts and seeds.

I wanted something sweet to have on hand to curb my sweet cravings.  I also wanted to use up some grounds I had left from making Choffy and Coconut Milk.  I made these:

Chocolate Banana Dehydrator Cookies

Chocolate Banana Dehydrator Cookies
Grounds from 4 cups Choffy (about 8 T)
Grounds from 4 cups Coconut Milk (about 2 cups)
4 bananas
4 T sunflower seed butter

Spoon onto fruit leather sheets and dehydrate until firm.

Other things I packed included baby carrots, a bar of dark chocolate and some chili spiced mangoes.  Larabars and fruit leathers can also be useful, but I figured the trail mix was enough.

Not sure where my clothes fit!

Once arrived

Both of my aunts that I stayed with were kind enough to pick up some groceries for me, and since I had access to a fridge and cooking devices, I had them get a few staples that covered quite a few breakfasts and dinners, as well as a lunch or two.

The firs thing my son requested was almond butter and apples, and we had that almost every night!

For breakfast I had eggs most days, either hard boiled or with spinach (and occasionally cheese).

Lunch was harder when out and about, but some organic turkey wraps and carrots worked nicely.  I just wrapped some spinach and cheese with the turkey.

During my training, I had pretty much the same dinner every night.  My aunt thought I might want more variety, but I got enough from my lunches and snacks.  I had her get me a rotisserie chicken and some spinach.  Topped it off with some sliced almonds and craisins along with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  A couple of those days I also paired it with some of her home made gazpacho!

The little guy trying his first gazpacho!

All in all, though I didn't eat as well as I should have on this trip, I would have fared much worse without a little preparation.  I think next time, I might buy myself a portable blender so that I can make myself some smoothies!  That might help curb the sweet, creamy and caffeinated cravings I get when I travel!

I know what to do, so why can't I follow through?

As long as I can remember, I've been highly sensitive to my environment.  I remember feeling like an emotional roller coaster and would experience times where I'd be overwhelmed by a specific sensory input, such as sound.  I also constantly struggled to pay attention in school and learn "inside the box."  In early college I read about ADD, and thought "Aha!  That must be me!"  I went to a counselor to pursue a diagnosis, gathered original copies of my school files to give him and never followed up on an appointment to get "officially diagnosed."  I was never able to track those papers down since by the time I thought to look into it again, I could no longer find the practitioner.  I remember later taking a psychology class and learning about dendrites, which are your neuron's branchlike extensions that carry nerve input to the cells, and deciding that my problem was "overactive dendrites." Somewhere in there, I began experiencing the beginning of Fibromyalgia with Chronic Pain and Fatigue.  I always believed that these were all intertwined, but only recently has there been the beginnings of research to support it, such as this article, which connects them both as Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction.

Executive Functioning and Chronic Pain

People with ADHD have difficulty with Executive Functioning, defined on Wikipedia as, "cognitive processes that regulate, control and manage other cognitive processes, such as planning, working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning, inhibition, mental flexibility, task switching, and initiation and monitoring of actions." In the educational setting, we often compare Executive Functioning to an "Executive Assistant" who helps to plan, execute and manage projects.  In Executive Functions, Self-Regulation, and Chronic Pain: A Review, they note that, "Chronic pain conditions may be associated with impairment in executive functions, which is not surprising given that the same brain regions are implicated in both."  In addition to the negative impact that executive function and self-regulatory issues can have on physical pain, physical pain can also have a negative impact in the other direction.  It was found that "self-regulatory strength is a limited resource that can be depleted or fatigued."  This presentation further supports the idea that chronic pain has a negative impact on persistence of self-regulatory tasks.

So what exactly does this mean for me?

In short, poor self-regulation skills can contribute to chronic pain and chronic pain can exhaust your stores of self-regulatory ability.  Almost all of the things we know to help increase wellness and decrease pain involve creating consistent positive habits.  Creating new habits requires a significant degree of self-regulation.  Well crap!  No wonder I've cycled through any number of diets and physical therapy programs without sticking to them! 

Unblocking the roadblocks on your path to wellness

I've been working on this question for years, but things have really started clicking for me personally in the last year or so.  I am embarking on a journey to research what works to help people with self-regulatory issues actively change their habits and make it stick.  In the mean time, I will share what I've learned from a personal standpoint that has really helped.

Find something that works

Now this may seem like a no brainer, but over the years I've noticed something about my self.  If I haven't noticed a significant change in two weeks - I am highly unlikely to keep it up.  This is especially difficult with fibromyalgia, since it is very hard to find something that is so quickly effective.  I'm not saying not to do things that you know will have long term positive consequences, but if you can find even one thing that has an immediate impact, it can increase your motivation to make the changes that don't. For Patricia Stephens, author of Reversing Chronic Disease, it took a diagnosis and medication for AD/HD to spark the healing process, then she went on to find natural ways to treat her issues without conventional medication.  I shared the things that have worked for me personally in my last blog post.  These things were so powerful, that it was easy to maintain them.  When I found stretches that stopped my chronic headaches in their tracks, it became much easier to do them than not to.  When I can see how eating grains can make me feel like I was hit by a mac truck in the morning, it takes almost no willpower to avoid the muffins in the staff room.  

Routine, routine, routine!

As a school psychologist, this is one thing that I encourage in all students with Executive Functioning issues.  For me, if it's not in a routine, I'm unlikely to do it.  Since bedtime is the one consistent part of my day, it helps to tie things to my bedtime routine.  This means it often takes me an hour to wind down for the night, but that process also helps to slow down my brain and prepare for sleep.  You can also plan routines around wake up, getting home, after meal times or any other natural transition in your day.  

Ditch black & white thinking

This is big!  When you lack self-regulation skills, moderation can be hard work!  For years, I would dive into something 100%, then fall completely out of it after one break. Food has been one of those things until very recently.  I'd try something that felt intuitively right, but never made enough of a difference to stick with it.  Now I realize that low carb diets felt good for me for a while mostly because I wasn't eating grains.  Now I've come to learn that I can eat more carbs and still feel good, as long as I stay away from most grains except rice.  I am finally able to make decisions about what I eat on a case by case basis.  If I'm tempted to eat something that I "shouldn't," I weigh the pros and cons.  Sometimes "but it's delicious" is a completely valid argument.  I sometimes acknowledge that I overindulged, but I never feel guilty about it or "throw the baby out with the bath water."

Listen to what your body has to say

When a grain of sand in the bathtub is extremely irritating to you as a child, you begin to learn to block things out.  When your body is constantly sending messages of pain and discomfort, you try your best to stop listening.  I have always said that I have a very low pain threshold, but a very high pain tolerance.  Having been through natural childbirth, I now know this to be true.  The thing is though, if you are ignoring what your body has to say, you might miss when something is starting to work.  More importantly, if you aren't paying attention to the signals your body is sending, you will likely persist longer in activities that aggravate your pain.  This is where the mindful moments I discussed in my last post can be useful.  Basically, set a reminder for yourself every hour to check your pain and tension levels.  This can take you a long way in awareness of what is going on in your body and how things progress.

Take care of the ones you love by taking care of yourself

For some of us, it may be much easier to do something for the sake of others than for ourselves.  My best persistence with self-care activities was when I was trying to get and stay pregnant.  Fixing my pain for myself was never enough, but fixing my body for the sake of even a future child suddenly became more motivating.  Partly for this reason, my pregnancy was the healthiest time of my adult life.  What I've needed to remind myself is that taking care of myself is the best thing I can possibly do to take care of the ones I love.  First of all, there's the concept of putting your mask on first before you put it on your child.  If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be as effective at caring for those close to you.  Also, those who love you are often pained at seeing you suffer.  Finally, if you have a child and want them to thrive, the best way of doing this is to be a strong role model for good personal care.  

Take time to plan your time

When you are lacking internal organization in your brain, it becomes imperative to create external structures to support organization in your life.  Plan time in your week to do the things you need to do to feel good.  If you don't schedule it, it is unlikely to happen.  I recently took a webinar with Marydee Sklar on her program, Seeing My Time.  In this program she walks you through the process of making the abstract concept of time more tangible by making it visual.  Some strategies she uses include using analog clocks to see the passing of time and always having your daily schedule in view.

I am continuing along this journey toward wellness and finding my way as I go.  Even if I don't always feel great in the moment, I am learning that every step I take toward self-awareness is a step in the right direction!

Things that have worked for me!

This isn't exactly about food outside the fact that changing my diet has been one of the single most powerful tools that has improved my well being.  Like many people with Fibromyalgia, Adrenal Fatigue and digestive issues, I have tried many things that haven't worked.  Add to that attention deficit/executive functioning issues which make it very difficult to start and stick to anything, and even things that might work in the long term are very difficult to maintain.  Turns out though, when something makes a serious and immediate impact, it is much easier to stick with!  I have had very few of these, but I thought it was worth sharing those things that have.  

Nutrition - I've tried all sorts of nutritional theories over the years and nothing really seemed to make a major difference until I tried eating Paleo/Primal.  I had gone gluten free before with no noticeable change, but cutting out all grains gave me more energy than I've had in my adult life for the first few weeks.  It went down a bit over the winter and with work stress, but as the sun has been out more, my energy has picked up more.  I've experimented with different foods, and discovered that the Perfect Health Diet has been the best fit for me so far, which includes white rice and is a little less restrictive.  When I had a ton of non-gluten grains and some legumes for my son's birthday, I felt like a mac truck hit me the next day.  I hadn't realized how much better my fatigue had gotten until I remembered having that feeling all the time!  If I have too much sugar I tend to get brain dead in the evening and just veg out.  I do plan on doing some experimentation with sprouted or fermented beans and non-gluten grains, but for now it's working for me pretty well. If I choose to eat something "forbidden," I don't stress about it.  I enjoy it with the awareness that it's worth it in the moment.  I'm not often tempted by most grains though, since it's rarely worth the way it makes me feel!

Acupuncture - I first started acupuncture about 13 years ago, and woke up for the first time pain free in years.  I got rear ended that day and it started to loose it's effectiveness.  I do believe that it was responsible for me getting healthy enough to have my son and a very healthy pregnancy.  In fact, it may have contributed to the fact that pregnancy was the healthiest time in my adult life.  I have had the occasional pain free moment following acupuncture, but not always.  It does, however, consistently reduce my tension and pain, especially when cupping or scraping is used.    

Myofascal Stretching - I was a chronic physical therapy dropout until I was trying to get pregnant and stuck to it until the physical therapist gave up on me.  At that point, I got referred to acupuncture.  However, there has been one stretching tool that made such a difference that I did them religiously for about 5 years.  These stretches targeted my chronic headaches that I had had about 50% of the time for at least a year.  The headaches stopped, and as long as I kept them up, they didn't come back.  After a while I got out of the habit, and it probably took another 5 years before the headaches came back.  Now I'm back to doing them every night.  I have searched online for something describing these stretches, but can't find anything that does.  I decided to share here what worked for me.

Fascia is the connective tissue surrounding your cells.  The way it was described to me, if you over stretch, the fascia can snap back like a rubber band.  Myofascal stretching uses micro stretches that you hold for a minute or so until you feel a release.  The ones I did focused on my neck tension.  It is important to note that the pictures below are exaggerated to show the difference in each move.  When I actually started doing them, you could barely see my head move.  The key is to stop the second you feel a slight stretch - not pain. Then hold for a minute.

Nightly headache prevention stretches:

1. Look down - hold

2. Tilt head to the side - hold

3.  Keep head tilted and look down - hold

4. Keep head tilted and look up - hold

5. Repeat steps 2-4 on other side

The above stretches worked most of the time and kept not only headaches at bay, but also improved my tendency to get car sick.  I have, on occasion though, experienced nauseous headaches or motion sickness.  The following stretches help with nausea so much that I stop and do them any time I feel it coming on, and they stop it in its tracks!

Anti-nausea stretches:

1. Lean head back with head support, either behind your head upright, or laying down (a towel behind your neck to support is helpful)

2. Look to one side - hold

3. Look to the other side - hold

This concept can be applied to other areas of tension by just passively stretching the area that is tense and holding for a minute or until released.  I have done this when my jaw is tight by simply holding my mouth open.  Just remember to stop and hold at a slight stretch sensation and before it feels like pain.  

Mindful Moments - When I learned the myofascial stretches, they also had me do another powerful exercise  which I like to call Mindful Moments.  I had a watch set to go off every hour on the hour.  When it went off, I just observed in the moment my level of pain and my level of tension.  This tool was very powerful in helping me observe my body as things progressed.  If I had a full blown headache, nothing outside of sleep could make it go away.  If, however, I could feel it creep up the back of my neck before it hit my head, I could stop and stretch and prevent the headache.  I'm actually thinking I need to do this again, so that I can observe how my body is reacting throughout the day to work tasks etc.

Movement - This has been something I get glimpses of every now and then, but with my past fatigue, it's been hard to get myself moving.  Now that I have more energy through diet, I'm getting into yoga.  I could see a difference doing hot yoga the last month, but as it's getting hotter outside, I haven't wanted to increase inflammation.  I'm working on finding good routines I can do at home, and hope I can maintain it since I'm starting to see the benefits.  I think the hot yoga was a good way to start for me, since it's a more immediate impact.  I do believe though that regular practice on my own will be a good thing.  Another thing that has helped when I do it is a daily 5-10 minute walk.  Recently, I've found a free app on my iPad called "Office Fitness" that gives a reminder at a set time of day to take a 5 minute guided movement break on an area of focus of your choosing.  I'm not using it every day, but when I do, I notice a difference!

In thinking about this post, I asked my friends "What healing approaches/techniques have had an immediate impact for you (difference within 2 weeks or so)?" Some of the answers I got included: Ancestralization/ Dagara Rituals, meditation, yoga, studying nonviolent communication, kickboxing, high dose vitamin D, crystals and stones, acupuncture mixed with cupping, compassion practice and mindfulness.

What strategies have had an immediate impact for you?  Comment below: