 When it comes to success in most areas of our life we want to constantly be evaluating if we are on the right track to achieving what we set out to do, or if we have somehow deviated from it. Continually checking in with ourself we can get to our goals a hellava lot faster. Which I don't know about you sounds pretty great! It has recently come to my attention, through personal experience, that our health doesn't always work that way. Let me back up just a bit, give you some context, and see how it shakes it out.
Since February this year I have been dealing with chronic urticaria, commonly known as hives. When we think of hives it's usually in response to an acute allergic reaction to something that we have eaten or touched. Chronic hives isn't quite the same, they reoccur seemingly at random without any trigger. Dealing with this has been very frustrating, and I wrote about it on my personal blog, check it out here. I wrote that particular post in March, so pretty early on in the process. If you don't want to read the other post here are the cliff notes. Breastfeeding was triggering the hives, it wasn't the cause and I was on a quest to figure out how to support my body in a way that would allow me to continue breastfeeding without breaking out into unsightly red welts. Fast forward to August. I had about 6 weeks with no hives. Then they were back. I no longer think that breastfeeding is a trigger, but they are cycling on and off at intervals of time. For the last month or so I have been receiving acupuncture and diving into the emotional stressors that may be causing them. Slowly they are improving, for the most part. So what does this have to do with success, your health goals, my health goals and kind of being on the right track. At the start of July I set a goal for myself to figure out my hives in the next two months. I want to be done with them. I want to resolve why my body is freaking out for seemingly no reason at all. But, here's the kicker, it's really hard to know if I'm on the right track. Healing isn't linear. Getting to a hive free (hive-less?) state could literally happen overnight or they could slowly fade away and one day I realize that I haven't had hives in a week. Point A is being all hivey (or insert your condition here) and Point B is being symptom free. The journey between those points is going to be all topsy turvy and look different for everyone. So while I'm and you are working towards point B, we can evaluate our progress and say we are kind of on the right track. I'm not going to pretend that it's not frustrating. As of writing this I had 4 days with minimal hives, until this morning when I woke up with a lot more. What changed... who knows? But I do know it's not going to hurt to consistently put in the work on the path that I kind of know is on track. Right now that entails - Chiropractic care, low carb diet, high water intake, acupuncture, meditation, ramping up my self care (massage, float tank, solo nature time, napping), and specific 3x daily affirmations from Lousie Hay's book Heal Your Body. What about for you? Your 'kind of on track' to your health goals is going to look very different, and it's up to you to find out. That doesn't mean you shouldn't enlist help. Everyone needs a team, but you are the only one who lives inside your body and that means you know it best. Take the time to listen and then get to work. You deserve it. Peace, Love and Wellness, Dr. Liz
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Kelsee has been a practice member for almost one year now. Primarily, she sought out Primal Practice for a different approach to her Chiropractic care, but she also had in the back of her mind - support during (a soon to be) pregnancy! We are so grateful she found us. Kelsee and her husband Levi are preparing for the imminent arrival of their bundle of joy and we have had the privilege of supporting them both through the huge changes that pregnancy brings. Keep reading to hear what Kelsee has to say about her experience at Primal Practice. 1. What brought you into Primal Practice initially? I have received consistent chiropractic care over the last nine years. For the last two years before coming to Primal Practice, I was no longer seeing benefits from my adjustments. I wanted a comprehensive whole body approach to my chiropractic care that wasn't just a one-time adjustment for a specific complaint. My husband and I were also planning for pregnancy and I wanted to do whatever I could to support my body through those physical changes. 2. How have you benefited from getting adjusted? Within a few weeks of receiving adjustments from Dr. Liz, I was no longer suffering from recurring misalignments that I hadn't found relief from for almost two years. I also couldn't imagine how my body would feel if I wasn't receiving adjustments throughout my pregnancy. I have experienced very little back or pelvic pain and I feel that is due to my visits with Dr. Liz. 3. Why do you continue to choose Chiropractic care for yourself and your family at Primal Practice? I strongly believe that wellness is all encompassing and that supporting your body through chiropractic care is just one part of a large puzzle. Dr. Liz's philosophy on health and wellness mirrors my own and I feel wholly supported to feel and be my best. Thanks Kelsee! We love having Carly in the office, she always comes in with a smile and is open to new suggestions on how to maximize her health. Carly sees not only the physical benefits of care, but has noticed an increased resiliency to illness, injuries and dealing with emotional and mental stress. I don't want to butcher any of her words (pun intended) so continue reading to hear exactly what she has to say about her care with Primal Practice. What brought you into Primal Practice initially? I initially started going to Primal Practice at the recommendation of a good friend. Years of using my body hard had me in a state of feeling pain and tightness and I knew I needed to start doing something more to keep my body in good condition so that I had years of going hard left in me. How have you benefited from getting adjusted? When I started seeing Liz for chiropractic care, I noticed the physical benefits first-- less neck/back pain, more mobility. After a while, I began to realize the other benefits. Resilience to various stressors, such as injuries, illness, and emotional/mental stress. I rarely get sick, and when I do, I recover quickly. I sleep like a champ, and I have energy to juggle responsibilities from my full-time career, my family, and our business. Why do you continue to choose chiropractic care for yourself and your family at Primal Practice? We're an active family with a mission to serve our community by raising good food and conserving the amazing natural resources we have here. From riding horses, pitching hay, or scooping up baby calves on our ranch, to hiking up the sides of mountains to survey wildlife for my job as a biologist, to picking up my 8 year old son when he needs a mommy hug, and juggling all these roles, I need to be at my physical and mental best. My guys need to juggle, too, and have the stamina and resilience that's needed to carry out their various roles. Would you like to add anything else? Just like we regularly change the oil, blow out air filters, and grease or tractors to keep them working well for us, we realize that our bodies require routine maintenance to function at their best. Chiropractic care, healthy eating, hydration, and daily doses of laughter, are all critical parts of our family's maintenance routine. Thanks for being awesome Carly! and if you haven't tried her beef yet, then check out her farm Triple L Livestock Montana :)   I have a sore back. It’s been sore for about 2 weeks now. As a Chiropractor, you might think that this is quite ironic. Aren’t we supposed to fix backs and necks? Shouldn’t my back be one of the healthiest around?
I would beg to differ that it’s ironic that I have a sore back. As a Chiropractor my job IS NOT to fix you, your back or your neck. My job is to enhance your life. To help your body and your brain respond effectively and efficiently to your circumstances both internal and external. Here’s the deal, Chiropractic always works. Each adjustment clears the way for your nervous system to be highly responsive to its stressors - physical, chemical and emotional. Does this mean your pain will go away? Maybe. Does this mean you’ll feel better? Probably, but it’s not a given. Does it mean your body will function better? Heck yes it will! Back to my sore back. My self-care is quite good. I get adjusted weekly, have massages bi-weekly, and I have upped my stretching routine. I meditate and exercise and for the most part eat pretty well. But, I am the mother of a one year old so I don’t sleep as much as I should. I own a business, which comes with it’s own stressors. I probably have drunk a little too much wine in the last few weeks. My back pain is a manifestation of my inability to adapt to these stressors, and it’s up to me to get back to balance. It’s not up to my chiropractor or my massage therapist or personal trainer or therapist or spouse. I want to utilize all these people because health is a team sport, but I know that I’m the star of the team, and without my consistent input the others on the team can only do so much. So I’m here asking you, are you being the star of your team? Are you stepping up for yourself and recognizing where you could be serving yourself better? Peace, Love and Wellness, Dr. Liz  Have you ever experienced thinking about someone and then having them contact you in some way or you run into them in the street?
What about walking into a room and feeling a good vibe or a bunch of tense negative energy? Or ever had great chemistry with someone? A spouse, lover, friend...etc All these scenarios are the synchronizing of your energy. We are just one big ball of energy and vibration that is emitted out into the world. We can attract positive things into our life, such as thinking about a friend and having them show up. On the flip side of this we can also inadvertently attract things we don’t want in our life. Our thoughts literally drive this attraction. What we focus on is what comes our way. The ramifications that this has on our health is profound. While it might sound ‘woo-woo’ that we can think ourselves well, what you think about your illness or ailment definitely plays a role in how your body will go about healing itself. It’s actually be proven time and again through the placebo effect. A placebo is defined as a substance or treatment of no intended therapeutic value. However, there are countless reports of people who get better after taking the placebo in a controlled study. They have the sugar pill or fake knee surgery and report the same, if not better outcomes than people who received the actual intervention. What does this mean for your health? It literally starts with your brain. While there is a place for interventions, maybe we should be more discerning about when they take place. By giving yourself the time and space to heal, stimulating your brain with empowering thoughts, and taking healthy action you are literally improving your bodies healing potential. You might be thinking, “Dr. Liz, you’re putting yourself out of a job by telling people this information!”. That would be the case, if I believed you needed Chiropractic care to get you out of pain. BUT, Chiropractic is designed to support these healthy behaviors. The adjustment clears the signal being sent to your brain, thus allowing for a more perfect response. The best time for your adjustment is before something is broken, hurting or dysfunctional. Using your Chiropractor for pain management is like using your iPhone to only make phone calls. You’re scratching the surface of the capabilities available to you! Our next Lunch with Liz is happening on February 20th at 12:15 and we will be talking about how to improve those thoughts in your head through Meditation and Affirmations. I would love to see you there, lunch is on me, but you have to RSVP! Peace, Love and Wellness Dr. Liz  You’ve made your resolutions but now what?!?! Here are some of our favorite hacks to help you be successful in accomplishing your goals.
What are your favorite tips and tricks to stay on course? Not gonna lie, I love a good form! They keep me on course and I can go back and see what was successful and what hasn’t worked for me. Kick off 2019 with a 90 Day Challenge. Put yourself on the fast track to health and wellness with a personalized plan and wellness coaching. Choose either a fitness or nutrition focussed track to best suit your personal goals.
When you are accountable to someone or a group of people for doing what you said you would do, you can easily accomplish your tasks because you engage the power of social expectations. However, when you tell yourself — and no one else — that you will quit smoking, start a new gym routine, write a book, launch a meaningful project or quit your “just okay” job in order to pursue your life’s work, you are less likely to do it. It’s easy to choose something else more comfortable and make excuses. The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability with someone you’ve committed to, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%!! What you get:
If you want to take accountability to a whole new level, this challenge is for you! If you are serious about achieving your goals, this can be one of your most potent sources of support and accountability. If you intend to quit smoking, exercise more, study a new language, take control of your finances, eat healthier, start a new reading habit, or manage your time better, join our 90 day challenge today! Sign up here! Helpful hints, tricks, and recipes to Hack Your Holidays!
Gluten Free & Vegan Quick Bread This recipe is an all time favorite! It is easy and versatile, making it an awesome recipe to keep on hand. I have made this with grated zucchini to pumpkin, or as we are having tonight- sweet potatoes! It also makes a lovely savory bread by omitting all but 1-2 tablespoons of the sugar and adding in savory herbs and spices. Beet Hummus Holiday parties seem to be about over indulging. Sometimes when you take away something you feel like you’re missing out and then end up overeating. These recipes will walk you through making hummus and adding in more of the good stuff like veggies and supportive herbs and spices. Don’t be scared of the beets! They’re good for the heart and have been shown to improve athletic performance and recovery. They lend a lovely color to make your veggie platter pop! Golden beets and turmeric will give your dip a golden glow and help with inflammation from a little too much celebrating. Quinoa Kale Salad This hearty side is great for potlucks and restricted diets! The base is simple, just kale and quinoa. Add in some nuts, then add something sweet and colorful like berries or pomegranate arils, and finish with a bright dressing. This is a nice way to use leftover quinoa or another grain. If you have some extra time, massaging the kale and allowing it to rest overnight allows for a more appealing texture. Pumpkin Pie Bars This recipe may be paleo, but it’s not too far off from the pie grandma used to make! The only big difference in the crust and the swap of unrefined coconut sugar for the classic white sugar. Coconut sugar has a richer flavor, more similar to brown sugar and will add depth to the flavor so you won’t feel like you’re missing out. The crust is a simple blend of almond and coconut flours and ghee. You can use gluten free graham crackers or a commercially made crust too! Whatever best suits your needs. By adding in some extra veggie and a lot of water you WILL survive this holiday season! Strengthen Your Immune System Today!
Our recent class in the Primal Wellness Series was such a hit we wanted to share some of our Top Tips for staying healthy throughout the entire year. On top of eating fresh veggies and washing your hands, here are our favorite supplements and lifestyle tips to help keep you on the go all winter long. Supplementation
Daily Life
By adding in these small and simple practices to your daily routine, your body will be strong and ready to fend off whatever comes your way. Wellness encompasses not just your physical health, but also your mental, spiritual, emotional, and environmental wellness. Meal Planning and Prepping is a great way to take care of your physical wellness by feeding your body meals prepared with thought and love. Meal Planning and Meal Prep are closely related, but still a bit different. Meal Planning is the time you spend writing a menu and the accompanying grocery list. Meal Prepping is taking a few hours one day a week to prepare meals and ingredients for the rest of the week. Getting in the habit of planning ahead saves not only time but money too! It’s a great way to ensure you are getting well rounded meals and no veggies go to waste. You will have virtually no clean up throughout the rest of the week, and you can even plan and prep for weeknight dinners where the kids can help- it’s easy to add ingredients to the pan or crockpot! The basics of menu planning are fairly easy. Our menu is a mostly Paleo/Primal way of eating. We use a variety of veggies and proteins totally customizable to your tastes! This menu feeds 1 person for 5 days. Here we go!
Once you are home with your groceries the fun begins! Clear out the kitchen and start with a clean workspace. You may need to expand out to the dining room table, too! These next directions are geared specifically to this menu. You will have to plan accordingly for future menus, but the concept is the same. Multitask and plan! You will be successful!!  There are plenty of options to change the meals to your liking. Substitutions are easy once you have a solid framework for your meals! There is no limit as to what you can make for your meals.
Helpful hints:
Links: How to and tips! 21 Day Fix - No cook meals!! Detailed directions for our meal plan Grocery list for our menu |
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