Adrenal Fatigue

This is a subject that I wish I knew nothing about. Unfortunately, I know a whole lot about it, having experienced varying degrees of adrenal fatigue over the years, from mild to I-can-barely-function severe. This is something that so many people are dealing with and, having recently suffered a bout of it, I thought I'd give it a proper post.

Adrenal fatigue creeps into our lives via so many different avenues. Stress, over-work, trauma, lack of sleep, major life changes, surgeries, infections, autoimmune disease, over-training, blood sugar fluctuations (these stress the adrenals), vegetarian/vegan diets (high in copper/low in zinc, as well as high in carbs that can cause blood sugar swings), Leaky Gut Syndrome, pregnancy... the list of contributing factors just goes on and on.

My own adventures in adrenal fatigue began with major knee surgery when I was 14, followed by years of poor sleep habits and hypoglycemia, coupled with a high-carb, low protein vegetarian diet, which made the hypoglycemia worse. I treated myself with vitamins and herbs with varying degrees of success (I never really corrected my poor sleep habits, which is critical. I can't stress this enough!).
By the time I was 31, I had a pretty severe case of adrenal fatigue going on. As a result, my reproductive hormones and cortisol had taken a major nosedive (as well as my fertility) I had to quit my stressful job, do a lot of lifestyle and diet changes, as well as alternative therapies (acupuncture and medical qigong) to get back on my feet.

To illustrate how easy it can be to end up with adrenal fatigue, let me tell you a little story: back in August, I went on vacation to my hometown. Though fun, while I was there, I got little sleep, ate more sugar than usual and had a stressful family situation occur. By the time I got back home, after the 11 hour drive, I was the most exhausted that I've been in years. I had scheduled an extra day to recover from my drive but then a coworker got sick and I had to immediately rush back to work and work several extra long days in a row while already feeling exhausted from my trip. By the weekend, I was fighting off a summer cold. About a month later, I got a nasty respiratory thing that was making the rounds and it really took the wind out of my sails and it felt like it took FOREVER to fully recover! Through all of this, I had really slacked off on my qigong practice, which didn't help matters!
All of that left me feeling fatigued and draggy and flabby (6+ weeks of not being able to work out due to fatigue/illness, coupled with whacked out adrenal hormones= a noticeable increase in belly fat!) I also had a very short and extremely painful menstrual cycle that month.

I went to my holistic doc and did an Adrenal Stress Index and it came back showing that my morning cortisol was very low, my progesterone was low and my DHEA was borderline low. My doc gave me an herbal formula to take in the morning and at noon to raise cortisol levels and he put me on a low dose of pregnenolone- the hormone precursor to progesterone and DHEA. I took coenzymated B vitamins with extra B5 as well as extra vitamin C.
I'm happy to report that my energy levels are really bouncing back. Also, my last menstrual cycle was longer and much more comfortable than the previous one.

We always hear about stress-induced high cortisol, which does all kinds of not-fun things like increasing belly fat and killing brain cells! But what happens when you've cranked out the stress hormones for so long that you've exhausted your adrenals? You start experiencing hormone cascade disruption in the form of "pregenolone steal":

What happens is that, instead of converting pregenolone into DHEA and then into sex hormones, it gets shifted toward cortisol production (cortisol is more vital to our existence than sex hormones are and so it gets prioritized. Cortisol is a major steroid hormone and too little of it really drives up inflammation).

Here's a little video discussing pregnenolone steal:

Effects of Stress - Pregnenolone Steal from Dr. Bryan Walsh on Vimeo.

There are 4 stages of adrenal fatigue:

Stage 1: Alarm Response/Fight-or-Flight (Increase in cortisol is still within the body's output capacity).

Stage 2: Resistance Response/chronic stress (The adrenals are not able to keep up with cortisol demand. Fatigue is present. Ability to handle stress is decreased. Sleep disruption occurs. Thyroid hormone conversion is affected.)

Stage 3: Adrenal Exhaustion (Low cortisol. Hormone production suffers and clinical symptoms appear. Muscle breakdown. Chronic fatigue. Increased pain).

Stage 4: Adrenal crash/failure

For a more detailed look at the stages of adrenal fatigue, please read Dr. Lam's informative article.


So, what are the symptoms of adrenal fatigue? Could I have it?

Morning fatigue/morning headache.
Not really feeling awake until around 10 a.m.
Afternoon “low” (feelings of sleepiness or clouded thinking) from 2 to 4 p.m.
A burst of energy at 6 p.m. when you finally feel better from your afternoon lull
Sleepiness around 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. However, you resist going to sleep
A “second wind” at 11 p.m. that lasts until about 1 a.m.
Never feeling rested, no matter how much sleep you get
Cravings for foods high in salt and fats
Increased thirst/frequent urination (water goes right through you)
Chronic low blood pressure
Sensitivity to cold and feeling chilled
Increased PMS or menopausal symptoms
Mild depression
Mood swings
Mental fog
Memory problems
A decreased ability to handle stress
A decreased ability to recover from illness/injury
Heat intolerance
Light-headedness when getting up from a sitting or lying down position
Decreased sex drive
Frequent sighing
Inability to handle foods high in potassium or carbohydrates unless they’re combined with fats and protein
Sugar cravings
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Increased food/seasonal allergies
Increased sensitivity to sunlight
Low progesterone/DHEA and possibly estrogen
Hot flashes
General inflammation
Achiness or joint pain
Poor exercise recovery
Difficulty losing weight/belly fat
Difficulty in changing body composition/hard gainer
Muscular weakness
Purple or blue under-eye circles
Vertical lines in the fingertips
Ringing in the ears
Heart palpitations or tachycardia
Thyroid hormone (T3) conversion impairment

You can fill out this questionnaire if you suspect adrenal fatigue.

A lot of these are symptoms of other health issues (and there's a lot of overlap between adrenal fatigue and other issues, as well) but if you score high on the questionnaire I recommend getting an Adrenal Stress Index. You don't need a doctor's prescription, although it's preferable to work with a doc or practitioner who is familiar with saliva tests and adrenal fatigue.
NOTE: Many conventional doctors do not recognize adrenal fatigue as a medical condition, nor utilize saliva hormone panels. They are trained to only recognize full-blown Addison's Disease. If your doctor falls into this category, you're going to have to find another practitioner to help you.


Once you know that you have adrenal fatigue, you have to be willing to commit to lifestyle changes in order to heal. If you have mild adrenal fatigue, you can recovery quickly with the right tools and changes. If it's more severe, realistically it will take a minimum of several months and it's highly recommended to seek the care of a good practitioner (someone who practices Functional Medicine/FunctionalEndocrinology or even a skilled acupuncturist/OMD). There may be underlying factors that need addressing that are beyond your ability to identify or address.

Be aware that for more advanced adrenal fatigue, the healing process is not a linear one. You might start to feel good and then feel not so great again for a little while. Be patient!


Some helpful things for healing adrenal fatigue:

-SLEEP! As much as possible, get 9+ hours. Yes, this is a lot, but you need that much to heal. Don't make the mistake I did by skimping on sleep!

-Get to bed early! Getting to bed before 10 is preferable. You want to go to sleep in that window of sleepiness before your second wind hits. That second wind is a surge of cortisol (not good!) and will work against your progress.

-Eat a diet (preferably Paleo/Primal!) that's easy on your blood sugar. Eat lots of protein and fat and to avoid blood sugar fluctuations and eat carbs like sweet potatoes or berries that are easier on your blood sugar. The cold, hard truth (that I learned the cold, hard way) is that it's a lot harder to heal adrenal fatigue on vegetarian/vegan diets (as per Dr. James Wilson, one of the most experienced in his field).

-Don't exercise too hard. You'll only set back your progress. Learn to gauge what you can actually handle. If you can't recover quickly or feel worse the next day, it's too much. I recommend sticking to short walks, gentle yoga and esp. tai chi or qigong (qigong really helped my healing!) Now is not the time to be trying to get buff (you won't be able get buff anyway until your cortisol/sex hormone levels are healthy!)

-Add 1/4-1/2 tsp. unrefined salt (any salt with color like Redmond Real Salt or Pink Himalayan) to your water. This sounds odd, but when you're in a state of pregnenolone steal, you're not making much aldosterone (see the chart), the hormone that regulates sodium/potassium levels and the balance of these minerals is upset, causing sodium loss, which is made worse by drinking large amounts of water, which further dilutes blood sodium levels (hence the low blood pressure/dizziness upon standing/muscle weakness/heat intolerance.) The salt will quickly correct those symptoms.

-Read "Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Syndrome" by James Wilson. This is a fantastic book and it covers ALL aspects of healing adrenal fatigue.

-Be kind and patient with yourself. Give yourself permission to not get stuff done if it's not immediately pressing. Let go of perfectionism. Get help from others when possible.

-To help with mental stress, try L-Theanine. Theanine is an amino acid found in green tea and it helps the brain make alpha waves, which will put you into a calmer, more focused state. 100-400 mgs at a time is the dose. It can be a sanity saver!

-Deep breathing. Such a fundamental thing, but most of us don't even know HOW to breathe properly! Get yourself into the habit of doing a few minutes of deep breathing upon waking, before meals and before bed. I promise you will feel a difference!

Here's my favorite video illustrating proper breathing (qigong style!):




-Meditation. Meditation doesn't have to be complicated and you don't have to do it for an hour to reap the benefits. I like to do a meditation called the "5-8 Meditation", which is a simple breath awareness technique. All you have to do is sit in a comfortable position and breath into your relaxed belly through your nose for 5 counts, pause, and exhale slowly through your nose for 8 counts. Just be aware of how your breath feels and allow any thoughts to pass through you.
If you'd like to add a visualization, you can imagine cool, white light or water flowing down through the center of the top of your head and washing through you, taking any tension and stress with it. You can start with 5 minutes. Doing this in the morning before you start your day can have a profound effect on your whole day. It's also a great way to end the day.


For those who suspect mild adrenal fatigue or just need a little extra help with handling stress:

Besides taking advantage of the suggestions above, you can use supplements for a little extra help:

-Himalaya Stress Care is one of my favorite adaptogenic, adrenal supplements. It's been extensively researched over the decades (see Geriforte research papers) and is proven to reduce cortisol and boost adrenal function (it's also a great antioxidant!) You can take the recommended dose for maintenance or take a higher dose during periods of stress and/or fatigue.



I truly hope this info will help those that are feeling less than good due to the effects of adrenal fatigue!

-Erin

My Story

I love reading people's stories (especially success stories!) They give me hope and encouragement. They motivate me. They give me ideas. It recently occurred to me that I've never told my own story and one of my Facebook friends asked to hear it. It's something I've been meaning to write about for a long time but it just kept slipping my mind. So, here is my story.


In The Beginning...

I was born in 1977 near Detroit, Michigan. My parents had the good sense to move out of the Detroit suburbs and up to the north woods of northern Lower Michigan (Michigan is comprised of two peninsulas, in case you're confused: the Upper and Lower peninsulas.) We moved near the little finger area of the mitten.

I spent the first eleven years of my life in the woods, in a little house with a woodstove next to a river. My mom was fairly "health conscious", so my family ate a lot of whole wheat bread, brown rice, hot cereal, whole grain cold cereal (and no sugary cereal), alfalfa sprouts, yogurt, honey, dried fruit and mostly whole foods (including venison and fish that my dad hunted and fished). How many people's moms served barley as a frequent side dish? Mine did! I will say that I was probably exposed to a much wider variety of foods than my friends were. Who else, outside of California, in the early 80's was eating steamed artichoke?
Other than recurring ear infections (the bane of my childhood existence!), I wasn't sick much. I had lots of energy and spent most of my time in the woods with my younger brother (our property was adjacent to state forest land) building forts and exploring in all seasons.

After my parents divorced and my mom remarried, I moved a few hours south to the shores of Lake Michigan where I spent my adolescence. When I was 12, I had started to have a lot of issues with my left leg (esp. my knee), which has a large birthmark running the outside length of it (it looks like spider veins and faint, blue veins). It would slightly swell and become so painful that I couldn't walk.

By the time I was 13, it was bothering me frequently, so I had tests done and vein abnormalities were found. I had major knee surgery right before my 14th birthday to remove the offending veins. My surgeon at the time had never seen my condition before and it would be another 12 years or so before my condition was diagnosed as Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, a rare congenital vascular deformity. I basically have twice as many veins in my left leg and internal (in the muscle) varicose veins that can pool with blood, causing the muscle to stiffen and the tissue to swell. In normal veins, blood flows in one direction. In my veins, it's a free for all; a vascular clusterf*ck.

I recovered from the surgery well and it did help to greatly reduce my discomfort, but in retrospect, I think it was the beginning of adrenal fatigue for me. I lost a lot of blood and it was a pretty invasive surgery, with my knee being taken apart to get at all the veins and then put back together. My health never quite felt the same after that.


The Problems Begin...

In the years following, I developed hypoglycemia, low blood pressure (I'd often see stars or start to black out if I stood up too quickly) menstrual problems (horrible cramps and simultaneous IBS), and general feelings of fatigue. I had bad bronchitis every winter. I just didn't feel good anymore. I discovered my mom's stash of old nutrition books from the 70's and 80's, including titles like "Are You Confused?", "The Vegetarian Guide to Diet and Salad", "Fit For Life" and Adelle Davis books.

I began to experiment with nutrition and herbs, eventually dropping meat from my diet when I was 15, after reading an Utne Reader article on factory farming. I still ate a little fish once in awhile, but for the next 16 years or so, I would eat a largely vegetarian (and at times, vegan) diet. I even got a part-time job at the little health food store in my town. I became one of those health-nut types.

I ate lots and lots of "healthy" whole grains in the form of sprouted Ezekiel Bread veggie sandwiches, oatmeal (nearly every morning!), brown rice, tortilla chips, etc. Lots of salads. Lots of rice milk (because dairy was bad, of course!) And lots of Soya Kaas, though not a lot of fake meat, because those were the days when fake meat was really awful and variety was limited.
Being vegetarian wasn't cool or mainstream yet (I was the only vegetarian I knew!) Those were the days before T. Colin Campbell and "Skinny Bitch". The days when Dean Ornish was just getting started and Dr. McDougall still ruled the (low-fat/low protein) vegetarian roost.

I went through phases of being dairy free and then wheat (but not gluten) free in hopes of curing my wicked menstrual cramps (to no avail). My mom worried about me being too legalistic about my diet, every time I decided to drop a food for awhile. I was hungry all the time and had frequent low blood sugar, so I took chromium (it didn't help that much). I got lovely cysts on my chin that took forever to heal. I felt spacey and frequently unfocused. As I got closer to 18, I suddenly started to gain some weight. It was such a bummer, as I had formerly always been skinny and never had to think twice about what I ate.



Into The South (where things went further south)...

When I was 19, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee along with my mom and sister. I had decided to move here and my mom, in the midst of a divorce and wanting a change of scenery, decided to also move, so we all moved together. That was the summer that my hair started falling out.

Hair sheds in cycles, but when your hair really starts to shed excessively, you know that something is wrong. The shedding eventually abated, but in the following year, I developed some fairly severe fatigue. I was working in the kitchen of a macrobiotic vegan restaurant at the time and I'd come home and have to lay down and nap for an hour to even be functional. It didn't help that I had to work at 7 am and that I was a night owl and therefore never seemed to get 8 hours of sleep.
It also didn't help that my free lunch (and lots of take-home leftovers) consisted of soy, grains and beans galore. I was SO tired (and scared that someone so young could be so tired!) and in the winter my hands and feet were freezing all the time! I'd be at work, prepping lettuce for the salad bar and my hands would just ache every time I had to put them in the sink of cold water. They'd ache to the point of making me grouchy.

In my search for health, I discovered that I had a whole lot of hypothyroid symptoms. The hair loss, fatigue, weight gain, cold hands and feet all fit the bill, so I went to the health food store and got a thyroid supplement. It did help with somewhat with the fatigue, hair loss, and body temp issues, but it didn't cure me of all my ills.

After the restaurant job, I got into supplement retail and stayed there for the next nine years. In those nine years, I learned a whole lot about and experimented with tons of vitamins and herbs (I also met my lovely husband and got married right before I turned 26). I read a lot of nutrition books, but I was pretty much only reading things that supported my veg-centric philosophies.

It never occurred to me that my "healthy" diet could be the root of my still persistent health issues (by this time I had developed hay fever. Great.) I had insomnia (thank you acupuncture and understanding hubby for helping me get through that!) My short-term memory was like a sieve. I also had a lot of fatigue and no matter which herbs or vitamins I took, I didn't have energy. I had barely enough energy for work- it was challenging being on my feet all day- and then none left over when my workday was done. I sometimes felt vaguely achy. I had a nagging feeling that I was teetering on the edge of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or something along those lines.


Raw Food: Lessons Learned...

Somehow or other I got into raw food. I didn't jump all in at first. I experimented, I did little bouts of raw and when green smoothies became all the rage, I drank a blender full every day. Eventually I decided to go all-in to see if I could heal myself. I began seeing my acupuncturist shortly after going raw and she was very frank with me. She told me that I was infertile (I had already been diagnosed with Luteal Phase Defect and low progesterone by my gynecologist) and so depleted of energy that it could take several years to heal. Crap!!! I realized that the stress of my job was working against my healing, so I decided that I had no choice but to quit my job (I had SO wanted to quit it, but it took a real wake-up call to give me a reason). My husband was extremely understanding and his career was now solidly on track, so we could afford for me to quit.

I really thought that acupuncture + raw food would heal me in record time. Imagine my disappointment when I didn't improve. Where was the "raw" energy and the glow I was supposed to have? Why wasn't my skin clear and why did my periods still hurt? Why did my skin suddenly seem to age (I was 30 at the time).
I was eating so many green smoothies, salads, superfoods, veggies, nuts, fruit, fermented foods, sprouted raw bread and hemp protein. My acupuncturist would take my pulse after a treatment and shake her head in confusion. No improvement. No energy. Weak digestion (food was going right through me!) In fact, I had started to lose muscle (and I didn't have a lot to begin with). Not cool.

I diligently read my favorite raw food forum, looking for tips on tweaking my diet to make it more successful. I met a lot of great people on the forum (many of whom I'm still friends with and most of whom now eat animal products;) One day, one of them who suffered from similar health issues as me confided that her new acupuncturist told her that she absolutely had to eat meat in order to heal and that she was going to try it. She was one of the most experienced members of the forum and the most knowledgeable and had tried every raw diet out there. I think her being brave enough to change planted the seed for me to change. I started reading the stories of failed vegetarian/raw diets on a site called Beyond Vegetarianism. I was realizing that raw and vegan diets seemed to be problematic for a lot of people. Could my own diet be keeping me from healing?

Then the dreams started. In the first dream, I was getting an acupuncture treatment and the doc said, in a stern voice, "Are you REALLY willing to do whatever it takes to get better?" When I woke, I had a sinking feeling that he was referring to eating meat (I was still raw vegan and hesitant to eat meat at that point). In the second dream, I was eavesdropping on two Chinese medicine doctors talking about me and one said to the other, while shaking her head in frustration "She NEEDS to eat meat!!". Ok, ok, subconscious! I was starting to get the picture!
In the final dream, I was outdoors and before me was a large table piled high with slabs of meat, fish, veggies and tubers (I can't remember if there was fruit). Sound familiar? It was the food eaten by a very tall, strapping, fit man and I was supposed to write it all down and analyze it. It was Paleo food. I didn't even know much about Paleo diets at the time.



The Home Stretch...

I was still keeping in touch with my now meat-eating former raw foodist friend and she had begun to tell me more about Paleo and Primal diets. She was healing and doing much better, so I decided I'd take the plunge into meat eating. I decided to go big- big as in BISON! My reasoning was this: what kind of animal embodies the strength and vitality that I'm so lacking in? Bison! So, I had my hubby cook me a bison patty and I was so nervous about taking the first bite. Would I gag? Would I get a stomach ache?
None of those happened. I took a bite, it was awesome, I ate the whole thing and then had to restrain myself from eating a second (I didn't want to push my luck with the stomach ache thing!) I didn't look back.

I went a few months eating an omnivorous diet, feeling a bit better and gaining back the muscle that I had lost. Little warts that I had on my fingers for nearly 2 years magically vanished. I decided to give acupuncture a break and try Medical Qigong treatments (of which I had heard great things) for my adrenal fatigue. Wow. They truly got me over the hump, so to speak. I had some energy again! That was also the beginning of my fascination with (and eventual training) in Medical Qigong, but that's a story for another time.

It was sometime shortly after that that I read "Primal Body, Primal Mind", at the suggestion of my friend. A thousand light bulbs went on in my head! It all clicked! OF COURSE I hadn't been able to heal my adrenal fatigue while eating so many blood sugar spiking grains! I decided to drop grains and immediately. I had big improvements in my energy and mental function (at least for a time). It was wonderful.
I fell in love with cooking again (partly because I had enough energy to even want to cook!) I also discovered a whole host of Primal/Paleo blogs (see my blog roll). What a fun time that was! My skin really improved. It stopped breaking out so much (I can't remember the last time I had a cyst on my chin) and it also started to look younger. I lost a little weight without trying (I had gotten skinny when I was raw but quickly gained some extra weight back in my omnivore phase). My menstrual problems also really improved. My digestion improved tremendously, too.

I was feeling much better, although I still had symptoms of hypothyroidism and hormone imbalances (you can't have balanced hormones if your thyroid is messed up.) There were still some missing puzzle pieces. I had finally figured out that thyroid issues are complicated and not something that you can treat on your own. I think it was my aforementioned friend who turned me on to the book "Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal?".
Reading the book was so eye-opening! It rocked my world. I'd read so many books and articles about hypothyroidism over the years and this book was telling me things I'd NEVER heard! I learned that the majority of thyroid problems are autoimmune in nature (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) with GLUTEN being a main culprit (I was eating Primal but still "cheating" by eating bread once in awhile, like while on vacation). Could this be why I was still having issues? Why my brain function had devolved back into brain fog after initial improvements? Could I have an autoimmune disease??

I decide to steer clear of the gluten from then on. By sheer coincidence, I happened to find a functional health practitioner in Nashville who was using the protocols outlined in the book and so I went and got a thyroid antibodies panel. It came back positive. No more guessing; my immune system was attacking my thyroid (and probably other things as well!) So, we determined which part of my immune system was being overactive through a supplement challenge and I was put on a regimen to dampen the overactive side (by avoiding substances which stimulate cellular immunity) and stimulating the underactive side with specific supplements. More info on how this works HERE.


I started to feel better within a few weeks. I started to feel normal again. That was nearly a year ago. I've had minor setbacks (always after a virus- it seems to throw my immune system out of whack) but I've gotten back on track every time. I've had more periods of "normal" in the last year than in my entire adult life. I keep discovering more little pieces of the puzzle (like a neurotransmitter deficiency) and I keep improving. I keep on healing. Even though it's felt at times like my progress was happening at a snail's pace, it still happened. When I run into people I haven't seen in years, they ask me what I'm doing differently and tell me I look so much healthier and alive than I used to. It's nice to finally be walking among the living.

-Erin

Almond Flour Breaded Mahi Mahi

I got home from a fun but less than relaxing vacation to Traverse City, MI (the most awesome place that you didn't know existed) a little over a week ago. I've been feeling a bit under the weather ever since, due to a week of lack of sleep (aren't vacations supposed to be restful??) and having to work some extra long days immediately after getting home. I'm not sure if I've just fried my adrenals, if I've been fighting something off or if it's allergies which, for me, manifests mainly as intense fatigue and a vague sore throat (my allergies were non-existent last spring and fall). Adrenal fatigue exacerbates allergies.

Anyway, I haven't had much inclination to post, but I'm on the upswing now, thanks to lots of sleep and some big doses of Himalaya Stress Care (even if my adrenals aren't the main issue here, it won't hurt to give them a boost after all that lack of sleep!)


I've noticed that my food posts seem to be the most popular type of post so I thought I'd start doing more of them (my readers obviously like to eat;) Here's my latest and greatest kitchen adventure:

I was shopping at Trader Joe's (my home away from home) recently and I discovered some frozen mahi mahi chunks and hubby decided he wanted fish tacos and I thought they looked perfect for making fish sticks with. So, I did a little internet sleuthing to see how people were breading their fish with almond flour, since my own attempts had been yummy but not crispy/crunchy like I had wanted.

I noticed that a lot of people were including grated parmesan in their breading mixture, so, I tested it out and I'm happy to report that I achieved stellar crispy/crunchiness! I used Spectrum shortening, which is made from organic, sustainably harvested palm kernel oil and, being a saturated fat, stands up to heat, yet has a neutral flavor.
This breading would work well on other fish and it would make some great fried chicken, too!


Almond Flour Breaded Mahi Mahi Sticks

Breading:
-Almond flour
-Grated parmesan
-One beaten egg

-Palm shortening for frying

Combine in a ratio of between 4:1 and 3:1 almond flour to parmesan (I didn't measure, so play around with it.)
You can add a bit of garlic granules, black pepper and other seasonings (taco seasoning is good if you're making fish tacos). Get creative!

Dip the fish in the egg and then dredge in the breading mixture. Fry in a generous amount of palm shortening, making sure not to let the oil get too hot (almond flour will burn quickly!)
Drain on paper towels

If you're anything like me, you're kitchen will be a mess when you're done and you will be disinclined to clean up. Some loud music is the answer to help get you going. Tame Impala is my latest favorite doing-the-dishes soundtrack:



Enjoy!
-Erin

Attempting Mindfulness

A few days ago, I woke up, had a cup of tea and instead of checking emails/facebook/news etc. first thing like I usually do, I decided to go for a walk before it got hot out. It's been really hot here in Nashville lately and, not being a huge fan of sweltering heat, if I don't walk early, which I nearly never do, I don't walk until around sunset.

First, I walked a block over to my mom's to feed her cat, who I'm taking care of while she's out of town. And then, instead of planning a course to walk, I just started walking. Walking with no particular destination or goal other than to be walking and noticing my surroundings, rather than being stuck inside my head while the world flies on by like I so often can be.

I noticed things I've never noticed before: a little stand of pine trees (which I had to take a detour and explore;) and the lovely smell of the hot pink crepe myrtles. I never realized that they even had a scent. The thing I noticed most of all was how clear my mind was and how it set the tone for the rest of the day. I felt mentally and spiritually better than I have in awhile and I realized that this feeling of clarity and centeredness is something that has been vitally missing for me recently. My mind was aware of and part of my surroundings, rather than somewhere else.

As I was in this relaxed state of mind (or the Zen term "no mind", as a friend referred to it) just experiencing my surroundings, the elusive topic of my long overdue blog post that I had been struggling to feel inspired to write suddenly became clear: I will write about mindfulness.


In the search for health and wellness, it's so easy to get caught up in the cycle of food choices, macronutrients, exercise, etc. and when we pile these things onto an already busy life, it's easy to plow through the day without really taking in our surroundings and pausing to breathe. Pay attention to your breath for a second. Are you subconsciously holding it or breathing shallowly?
It's easy to forget that collapsing on the couch and watching TV is entertaining, but entertainment isn't the same as pleasure. Are you cultivating any true pleasure in your life- not just passive entertainment?
You might be making a healthy meal for yourself, but are you sitting down to eat it in manner that allows you to really appreciate it or are you multitasking as you eat? Are you nurturing yourself with your food choices or just trying to be thinner/cleaner/better but forgetting to be loving and kind toward yourself?


All of those questions help illuminate a few of the many moments that we can miss out on being mindful about what we're doing. Without mindfulness, we make choices that are less conscious and we miss opportunities to experience more joy and pleasure.

As a neurofeedback technician, it concerns me that the majority of my clients (and myself) have at least low level attention issues. Our minds are restless and if we're not multitasking, we get antsy. But if we're always multitasking, we're also not truly ever experiencing a moment fully.

Unfortunately, this kind of behavior actually alters our brain over time and rewires our brains to be impatient- looking for the next thing, whether it be the next comment on our facebook page, the next text, the next whatever. We skim everything, not going very deep. There is no mindfulness going on. When I read the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", I recognized what had happened to my brain. I used to be the kind of person who could immerse myself in a book for hours. I could read an article all the way through without feeling restless and flipping or clicking to another. I've rewired my brain to have an impatient attention span and I want to rewire it back.


So, how am I going to rewire my mind to take in more of life in each moment and not to be chomping at the bit for the next thing? Here's how:

-I've realized that postponing opening my laptop and starting my day with a walk is one of the best things for my mind. It sets the tone for the whole day. If I can't walk, I can drink my tea and listen to music. I can do something OTHER than reaching for my computer, first thing.
-I can do my qigong in the morning instead of the evening.
-In the evening, instead of just watching TV, I could read or look up recipes to make for the week or even lay on my hammock and enjoy the quiet.
-I can do a few minutes of deep breathing when I wake, before each meal and before I go to sleep.
-Instead of washing the dishes mindlessly (I hate washing dishes) or putting off washing them, I can put on some music to make the task more enjoyable. For me, a clean house makes a huge difference in my amount of mental clutter, but I often don't take small opportunities to pick things up or clean and then everything gets so messy that it makes my mind feel cluttered and unfocused.

All of these are small things that make a huge difference in how I feel and experience my life.

There are so many ways I can engage my life more mindfully. I want to take advantage and not only get more out of life, but find greater presence of mind and balance. How will you practice mindfulness?

-Erin