Kicking up the Libido

Libido, its a taboo topic for some, just like poop. Well we all know I am not afraid to talk about poop, nor sex.... although not at the same time :) 
Over the many years of working one on one with clients I will hear how their libido is suffering here is what I believe to be true:
 - There is a lack of desire
- There is a lack of will
- and there is crazy hormone stuff going on that gives you no desire and has you feeling unbalance and dry. 
Now the first two are not in my category.   The last one is. If someone mentally knows they want to, has desire for their partner but just can't seem to make it work.  It is a sign of hormone imbalance, due to poor eating, toxicity and stress (lack of sleep lack of self care etc).  
A large disruptor of our hormones and libido is toxicity and stress. When toxins are present in the body and not released they continue through the body and again affect our hormones 

Sex hormones can be converted into stress hormones, but not the other way around.So the reality is, your healthy sex life will suffer and always have to sacrifice and “take one for the team.” Stress ultimately perpetuates toxicity, low libido, emotional disconnect, infertility and difficulty achieving pregnancy.  excerpt from my 21 Day Signature Cleanse

I originally created my 21 Day cleanse for this reason... 21 Days to Better Sex. I got scared, kept the originally under tones of libido and allowed it to still do the job with out the name. We are inherently sexual beings who seek out pleasure. When this is not happening or the body is not clean things will being to feel like they are missing.   
To tap into your energized sexual self here are a few tips:
Cleanse:  Get a great food based cleanse that includes superfood and quality super herbs. Not just a cleanse that has you taking a bunch of supplements but one that cleanses with food... changes habits. ( I know a couple good ones, *wink *wink)
Rest: Practice self care.  get a massage, go to bed a little early, ask for help instead of trying to do it all
Toxic Products:  Begin eliminating toxic products for your body and hormone. Many carry hormone disrupters that are wrecking havoc on your body and not helping your liver do its job. 

I find a healthy sex life between two consenting adults very important for your emotional and spiritual well being. You have to take care of your body and mind to allow this to happen.
I am here for you, and your libido :)

Prepare for life.

I will hear over and over, I know how to eat I just don't do it or prepare.   We know we have to prepare for goals.  It started as early as grade school, prepping for a test.  We had daily class, we read text books and then we studied for the test.  Over and over we did this.   We prep for our week by look at schedules, kids events, and appointments    What outfits or clothes need to be washed for this ball game or this recital.  You get my point right? Planning goes into a everything we do. It becomes so normal we don't even think about it, we just do it.   
Our eating and meals need to also be planned for success. This does not mean you have to meal prep the same boring meal for every day in your plastic Tupperware and hope after you microwave it it tastes good.   This means you look at your week, what it entails and then plan your fuel to match your work load.

You wouldn't plan on drinking a smoothie for breakfast after a big workout if you knew you wouldn't get lunch until later that day (after normal lunch hours). You would do it a couple times  be ravished with hunger and then realized you need more food after the workout or to bring a snack you can have since lunch was delayed.  
Look at your week, see what you physically and mentally have to do. How can you fuel yourself to make it through the week?  Do you know you need more fat to fuel your brain through a long meeting or intense research?  Do you have a lot of tough patients or clients that day and you need to feel strong and stable to get through it? Are you staying at home with your children and the day is all over the place and you need to be light and flexible so you have the energy to go where the day takes you?  
We have to get out of the rut of running through fast food or not eating when our day gets overwhelming.   Are there things you can have in your office or car to make sure when you forget that you can easily fuel so you don't loose all your energy or go into hangry mode?  

Here are some quick grabs for you to stay on track:

1. Trail mix: Made at home  or a good quality purchased ( this means unsweetened fruit, no candy) 

2. Greens powder:  Containers or individual packets to add to water or tea as a boost to your nutrition for that day. It will not fill your belly but it will give your body fuel through vitamins and minerals. 

3. Primal Kitchen bars or Kind Bars: Both are great low sugar options that allow you to grab a quick snack that provides quality fat and protein.  If the weather isn't to hot and you choose ones without chocolate they will not melt.  

4.  Have your favorite quality restaurants on your phone.  Any place can be fast food if you call ahead.  They can make sure you have a snack or meal that is keeping you on track and some will bring it right to your car.  

5.  Utilize apps like, insta cart, postmates, order up, Amazon, and Uber Eats. If you are in their area all the above can deliver you your groceries or your meal.  It may even be getting green juice and bar from Whole foods.  You will pay a little extra in a delivery fee but hey, you would pay more at a diner and also giving a tip. 

Life is always moving and always changing. Some things are in our control others are not.  If we plan ahead we can navigate with ease and not feel like a "chicken with your head cut off"  

I am here for you,

Recipe: Zoodles with Pumpkin Seed Pesto

I hope you have already been playing with Zucchini noodles. They are super easy, nutritious and a great way to get more veggies in and avoid the starchy carbs.  You can find a single spirulizer in most grocery stores. I enjoy using one I purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond. I will place a link to it below.  

I like to use a pumpkin seed pesto on mine. Pumpkin seeds replace the traditional pine nuts. It gives it a wonderful flavor and a nice punch of zinc.  

What you will need: 

Spirulizer

2-3 Zucchini

1/2 cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds

1 large handful of Fresh Basil

Olive OIl

Sea Salt

1-2 small cloves of Garlic

Follow instructions on how to use your spirulizer.  Make noodles.

In a food processor combine the remaining ingredients and blend. Test consistency with olive oil based on how thick you want your pesto to be.  You may also want more sea salt.  Once pulsed to a consistency you will enjoy, combine what you like to your zoodles. Eat alone or add any protein you enjoy!  

Let me know if you make it and how you like it!!

Recipe: Chocolate Avocado Mousse

When my schedule allows on Wednesday night the kids and I do a Facebook live recipe.  Addi enjoys helping me out and it allows me to show that I do teach healthy eating, but don't have time to blog recipes since I am with clients and my kids all day.  

These videos stay up on my business Facebook page, Sarah Moore Health, but I am also going to start sharing them here.  I hope you enjoy, make them, share, tag and have fun with getting healthy! 

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

2 ripe Avocados

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract 

1-2 tsp of coconut oil

1.5 tablespoons of cacao powder

1 dropper full of vanilla stevia (or use coconut sugar or maple syrup)

dash of sea salt 

Remember avocados come in different sizes, adjust the flavor accordingly.

Open avocados remove seed scoop into a food processor. Add remaining ingredients. You might have to adjust cacao powder and stevia to your taste preference as you blend.   You may want it darker or sweeter.   Place in whatever cute dish you would like, top with goji berries and cacao nibs and dig in!    

Healthy foods that are Acidic

As I talked about in last weeks blog post on being alkaline we want to have an 80/20 balance.  It is in my experience that a body that is coming to this new lifestyle extremely acidic they should begin with a 90/10 balance. 

What is extremely acidic?  Disease already present, lack of energy, mood swings, hormone imbalance, skin conditions, prescription drug use. and the list goes on. DIS-EASE.   This is a body that has been fed poor emotional thoughts, toxic food and uses body products that are also toxic.   

Now, you are in the position to change and we take the steps in my previous blog to reverse this acidness. Tons of leafy greens  gentle cooling foods, plenty of water.  There will be healthy food that you can eat with high quality that are mildly acidic. These foods will be the ones that you will need to minimize until you begin to see your Dis- ease reduced. These are animal products, eggs, nuts,seeds, and beans and legumes.   These will be your 10% acidic.  You might also recognize that these foods are also harder on your digestive system.  As you begin healing your gut and your good food is absorbed more efficiently then your dis ease will reduce.  

As always, remember, our thoughts and actions can also be toxic and acidic and have that effect on our body.  Our skin will also eat what we put on it, which can be acidic.  Be mindful and try to use the best quality you can afford.   

To be Alkaline.

Being Alkaline is not just about drinking water at a certain PH and then thinking it will solve your problems.    Darnit, I know that is the trend lately. I find it so funny the trend also involves said Alkaline water in plastic jugs, even if they are BPA free.  

Improvements will be made of course, just because the body is simply being hydrated.  Improvements will also be made because most people are drinking tap water or close to it water out of plastic jugs that is acidic and at a low PH.  This blog isn't just about water, it is about becoming and staying alkaline.   Water is where I see a lot of people go and think it will solve the problem. Choosing to EAT alkaline will solve the problem.    Dis-ease thrives in an acidic environment.  Candida and parasites love when our body is acidic and giving them a place to grow. 

It is like a broken record but start with leafy greens. Chlorophyll is alkaline. Taking in tons of leafy greens will cleanse the blood and allow us to become less acidic.   We do want some acidness, but this will come in the form of nuts and seeds along with animal products if you choose to eat meat. We can shoot for an 80/20 balance.    

It is also helpful to only pair one acidic thing with your alkaline meal.  For instance, the average plate is meat (acidic) carb (acidic) and salad or veggie side (alkaline).  The goal should be protein and tons of alkaline veggies, that is it.  Fruits and good fats are still in the moderately alkaline state, so having an avocado with a meal is fine. 

Remember to be mindful when you look at your plate, or even before you make your food. What does my body need? Is it serving to help fuel me or just to taste good.  Ideally it is doing both for you.  

You got This! 

Loving what's in the Mirror

Picture descriptions below post

Most women can say they have had times where they didn't like what they saw in the mirror.  I am also going to tell you, MEN FEEL THE SAME WAY!  Now they don't share well in general so you don't know.  But if they did, as they do to me (clients), you would realize they step on the scale a lot, analyze their waist line and pants size and also want to look good naked.  

I am going to only speak from a woman's perspective, since of course that is what I am. This will also be personal.  I got into the fitness/nutrition world because I had been an athlete in school, went to college, was not, and chose to figure out the right way to "train" my body instead of doing quick fix, detrimental type things.  Now, did I fall into gimmicks or something that promised a quick response, yes! But intuitively I knew it wasn't right or the long term.   

I became a personal trainer in college, moved into natural/holistic health, started giving colonics and went back to school for holistic nutrition. To now be where I am today. My struggle often came with my body not matching my knowledge. BUT, that is the thing, a book or text is not my body. Its an idea, its a theory, it is someone else's success but it is not me.   

As I lived, grew mentally and physically, my body changed. I had to work within that change. I didn't do well at times.  It might effect my mood that day, or sex, or allow me on occasion to look in the mirror and say who is this girl.   Now, I didn't hyper-focus on it daily but I did think about it when getting dressed or if a client came in and I wondered if I looked enough the part.   

One day, it clicked for me. One day I realized that this is a journey.  A journey that will last my whole life.   I will always be changing, evolving, and so will my body.   I chose to focus on my favorite parts first. My eyes, i love my blue eyes. Ive never had contacts, I see well and they are super blue.   I now have other favorite parts of my body. I didn't get stretch marks on my stomach but I did on both of my hips.  I let the kids know when they see them, I received them from what my body did to grow them. I said I want them to stay forever because they are there because I have you both. So they each claim a side :) 

Now I measure my goals on the mirror and reframing how I look at things. FOR INSTANCE. I struggle with my boobs.  As you can see from the pic above, while nursing they got very large. Now I am lean and thin, so I have no boobs yet the skin that stretched to feed my babies is there and hollow.   I also have stretched skin on my stomach, so when I am in a plank position and look down.... well it's not the prettiest thing Ive seen. BUT it is me.   I also know that those are things that I can't change with my own work.  I would need a doctor to remove skin or give me boobs.   But knowing I am doing the very best I can is actually very calming to me.  

We have to get to this place at our own time. Others can say, you look great. Or your partner could admire you. We, as the one looking in the mirror, have to see it.  We have to see the progress, the life, and the positive things that are unfolding.  We have to love the mirror.  

Caption for pics:   22 yr old sarah, taking a real camera selfie, pic 2 me, before running a half marathon still nursing charlie, my second child.  my morning abs, empty stomach, post first pee. Best they will look all day :), pic 4 I am bending forward for the purpose of this post to show my extra skin.   BIGGEST thing I rememeber from these pics is not how I looked... how I felt based on what I was going through at the time.  

Thank you for allowing me to share ( this was a tough one) 

Recovering from Surgery

I obviously look happy with my swollen cheek, haha

So I have been off the grid so to speak with blog, facebook live and my youtube.  Last week I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled.  I had neglected my teeth from a dentist stand point for years.  Now was time.  I was not worried about being put to sleep I was more worried about taking the antibiotic and the pain meds.  SIlly, I know, as some would welcome the idea of a zen pill that you have to take.   I on the other hand was thinking about my gut and all I had done to get it to this place.  In one day I was gonna drop a bomb on it.  

So here is what I did to help my self recover.   I did pre and post with juices, probiotic vinegar, bone broths,  CBD oil and also capsule probiotics. I also continued to drink my chlorophyl and fulvic minerals.  I wanted to make sure I was combating the antibiotics with good bacteria right behind it. I also chose bone broth because of its ability to nourish and heal the gut. I added coconut oil to it to provide me with more nourishment.   

CBD oil is great for inflammation and will also ease pain. I did this for my gut but also to not take the steroids that were prescribed to combat the swelling in my face.  Now I was told by others I didn't look as chipmunk as they did but i could tell the impact for sure.   After speaking to my Dr., he let me know that my roots were twisted and that when he removed them they all broke apart and they had to get each piece out. OUCH. 

No one wants surgery but sometimes It is necessary and you need to take meds you otherwise would not want to take.  You have to provide your body with what it needs after. If you do not it can turn into constipation, yeast infections and a very weakened immune system.  

Remember I am here if you need me, 

Huge thank you to Dr. Jackson and the staff at Middle Tennessee Oral Surgery Center, you made it a positive adventure :)