Pink Weekends for myself

Once a month I have scheduled out an entire weekend just to myself. These weekends are highlighted in pink marker on my calendar and called my Pink Weekends. During this time I accept no demands from anyone on my time (with the exception of ambulance calls). I choose what I want to do, when I want to do it...or if I even want to do anything at all! My Pink Weekends are for ME.

This was a Pink Weekend. I slept in on Saturday. Enjoyed a lazy morning in my pj's and then went for lunch with a book. Most of the afternoon I laid on the couch watching Christmas in July on Hallmark. After church Sunday I went for lunch with my parents and had plans for supper with a dear friend. In between there was more couch laying and Christmas in July watching. 

The problem with laying on the couch with the air conditioner on and under a blanket for hours at a time watching Christmas movies is that when you get up and go outside, you realize it is July and not really Christmas! Not gonna lie, I felt a bit let down.

It is now Monday and my Pink Weekend is over. It's back to work and the daily demands of life, but it's ok, I'm relaxed and ready to take it on. I know everyone can't take a whole weekend to themselves. I've got them scheduled out through the rest of the year and constantly have time demands trying to sneak in on them. It is important though to find SOME time for yourself on a regular basis. A time you can look forward to when things are rough. A time to let your body and mind relax and recharge. Maybe your time will be an hour walk by yourself after supper every Tuesday and Thursday. Or a soaking bath every Sunday night, or Friday night after work until Saturday morning with no demands on you.

Whatever your Pink Time looks like is up to you, the important thing is to make sure you find the time just for YOU.

My anxiety and depression

I'd like to say being  the lovable happy me you all get to enjoy comes naturally, but unfortunately this is not how it is. For a big part of my adult life I had been a hot mess of anxiety accompanied by the lowest of low self esteem.   What DID come naturally was self doubt, insecurity and shame for feeling the way I did while others around me seemed to have it all together.

For many years I self medicated with alcohol and men.  The alcohol numbed the bad feelings and allowed me to be more free with myself without worrying what others thought of me.   The men gave me (momentary) confidence in myself.  I allowed myself to be used in order to get the temporary feeling of being accepted.  

Then I met my husband.  Nineteen years later and I am still amazed how my life changed simply by having circumstances surrounding my life change.  Don't get me wrong, the beginning had some difficult times, but then we settled into life together and I am blessed for it.   Besides my mom, I had someone in my life who believed in me.    Greg helped to build confidence in myself which helped push the anxiety and depression down.   

But....it is not gone, it is always down there waiting for the opportunity to come out and play.   
* Comparing myself to others
* Knowing others are doing things together and not being invited
* Falling behind on commitments 
* Not knowing what is going on
* Stress related to work
These are just a few of the situations that are likely to set me off.   In order to deal with it all I used to take an over the counter medication to take the edge off.  It pretty much worked, but I was also putting a lot of chemicals into my body which was doing its own kind of harm.

For the sake of shortening this post, let's jump ahead to the research I did and learned that I'm not a crazy hot mess, what I had was a nasty dirty gut.  Once I found a good probiotic that accomplished what I needed it to do, my emotional health soared!!   My immunity is improved, my serotonin is able run free with its friend dopamine, and my digestion is incredible!

http://d2xz00m0afizja.cloudfront.net/cdn/shareables/vitalbiome-product-info-sheet.pdf

If you are like I was and tired of living a life determined by your anxiety or depressed moods, do some research on your own.  You DON'T have to live this way!  I can tell you from personal experience there is so much more.





 

Liver: Elevated enzymes

I have had several inquiries if Plexus could help with elevated liver enzymes. Although Plexus Slim does not attempt to treat, diagnose or  cure any disease, I thought I would pass along this bit of information concerning one of the main ingredients in Plexus Slim, Alpha Lipoic Acid.

Benefits for Liver Protection
Alpha-Lipoic Acid has been used successfully for the maintenance of liver health and as a treatment for several toxin-related illnesses. Alpha-Lipoic acid has been used extensively in Europe for years as a non-toxic nutrient to treat various chemical overdoses such as mushroom poisoning, radiation poisoning and alcoholic hepatitis.

It has also been used to treat elevated liver enzymes. Elevated liver enzymes, which can indicate liver damage, can be a serious problem for people with life threatening diseases. For people who take oral medications such as antibiotics and/or anti-virals, balanced liver enzymes are essential for these drugs to get metabolized properly. Unfortunately, these same drugs can cause increased liver enzymes. Alpha-Lipoic acid may help protect the liver so that you can take certain drugs.
Another benefit of Alpha-Lipoic acid may be its ability to elevate the levels of glutathione (GSH). Low levels of glutathione may cause oxidative stress, and cause inflammation and damage organs. Glutathione latches on to toxins and makes them water-soluble enough to be flushed out through your kidneys. "The quickest way to rid the liver of toxins is to stimulate glutathione production by means of Alpha lipoic acid ," says Savant Mehta, MD, director of the liver-transplant program at the University of Massachusetts

So for those of you who want and need to bring down those liver enzymes, Plexus Slim MAY help you.  You have nothing to lose by doing a bit of research into it.

Keto Plus Plexus

Anyone out there doing the Keto diet?

Here’s why supplementation is so important...
On a Ketogenic diet, you are basically cutting out all carbohydrates and sugar. Once your body is in a state of ketosis, it is then relying on fat for energy. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, not exactly! If your body is used to high carb intake and you take those away, it’s possible you might experience what is known as the keto flu.   It subsides, but your body feels achy, and you are fatigued and irritable.

 So, here’s how Plexus can help:
Plexus Slim: has  chromium which helps normalize blood glucose levels, reducing cravings and providing energy and less irritably as your body enters ketosis. The prebiotic, XOS, feed the butirate that we NATURALLY have in our system to help produce more fatty-chain amino acids. What does this mean for you? Your body goes into fat-burning mode more easily! AND has only 2 carbs, so it has negative net carb impact on your Keto day! 

Plexus BioCleanse: contains magnesium which will help replenish your electrolyte levels, preventing muscle cramps, headaches, and trouble sleeping. 



Plexus ProBio5: balances your gut health. Starting a diet like this can stress your gut leading to either constipation or even upset stomach as you are introducing higher levels of fats to your body.
 
VitalBiome: reduces bloating and gut distress, improves digestion and regularity, makes you feel calmer, and improves mood. 

XFactor Plus: it’s sugar free, which is important on a keto diet! It contains Aloe, which increases  absorption up to 300%, allowing your body to really absorb the vitamins and minerals. It also has vitamins B and C to help beat tiredness.

Plexus is a TOOL to aid you with overall health! I’ve said it OVER & OVER...Plexus is NOT JUST about weight loss! It’s so much more than that! Get healthy from the inside out with Plexus!
Note: SOME people will look at Slim HC and be concerned over the 8 carbs. However, those doing keto should know to go off of NET carbs (Carbs - Fiber = Net Carbs) That makes Slim HC only 2 net carbs.