wellpdx

Recently, in a class I was teaching on goal-setting, someone raised the topic of self-sabotage.

“Why do we do that to ourselves?” I asked the class.

“Habit,” came the immediate reply from a participant.

“We don’t mean to do it, we just do it,” said someone else.

They are so right! The question is, why on earth would we develop an uncontrollable habit of sabotaging ourselves? Don’t we want to accomplish our goals?

The answer may be this: We do and we don’t.

With self-sabotage, it’s as if there are two people inside us -- two different selves with two different sets of beliefs.

One self thinks we can achieve our goal. But the other self says something like, “Who do I think I am? It’s not

Almonds have often been called “the King of Nuts” because of their high nutritional content and the positive impact they can have on a person’s health. They are high in fats (the “good fats”, monounsaturated fats found in olive oil that are associated with lower levels of LDL cholesterol as well as reduced risk of heart disease) as well as a good source of vitamin E, vitamin B2 and tryptophan.

The nutritional benefits of consuming almonds has been proven in many different studies, but the fact that they taste great and can easily be added to garnish salads, soups and entrees allows the easy integration of these nuts into your every day diet. Almonds can be sliced and browned in the sauté pan to give black rice a touch of nuttiness; almonds can be ground up and added to lentil cakes to give more body to the cakes; these nuts can

Making Contact…

If we allow ourselves to sit and watch the world we will be witness to an ever-flowing movement. A hummingbird flies in for a closer look and then flies back out to safety; a wave from a large body of water comes in to make contact with the earth then retreats, and the Morning Glory flower that gently opens by day and closes by night. All of life is a product of this flow, and as we move in and out of relationships and experiences we also must find our way back to our center to retreat, to rejuvenate and get ready to move forward again.

At our very best we can move from this connection with the world and then withdraw from it easily and at our leisure. However, often our careers and family and other obligations pull us out of this natural rhythm into one that over time can, and will, end up having a negative impact on our lives. If we only move outward and don't take the time to retreat- anxiety, depression, fatigue, over indulging and pulling away from those who generally provide us with the love and support we need are often the outcome.

Each of us has to find a way to take the time to retreat and renew on an ongoing basis. Now

Fat: friend or foe?

I often observe a trend following the holidays of “cutting-out” (sugar, coffee, alcohol, and fat). Don’t cut out the fat! Side effects from removing fat in the diet that I have observed in my patients include: depressed mood, anxiety, hormone deficiencies, increased pain and inflammation, fatigue, weight gain, and immune deficiency.

Fat and cholesterol are essential building blocks in the body. For example, every cell in our body has a protective cell membrane made of cholesterol, and every hormone is synthesized from cholesterol. Fat in the diet is necessary to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K. Fat also supports a stable blood sugar and energy levels.

So what kind of fat and how much should we eat? According to Mary Enig Ph.D., nutritionist/biochemist and