sundries641

Bloodsugar: A story of fainting spells and an emergency call

I used to be the fainting type. I remember fainting at least twice as a child and once when I was in college. The two childhood episodes were due to stupidity, not low blood sugar. One time my older sister, Hannah had a neighbor friend over named Sherry and they were leaving to go somewhere fun, I’m sure. I remember asking them if I could go along and them telling me I couldn’t. I remember trying to persuade them to let me go. I’m sure I had turned on the charm as I tried to convince them. We went out the front door and I was walking backwards in front of them, making my case. As I backed off my front lawn onto the sidewalk, I tripped backwards over a stroller that was folded up and strewn across my path. The next thing I knew, I woke up to my sister and Sherry kneeling over me with worried expressions on their faces and Sherry comforting my sister that I was going to be OK.

The next time I fainted, it was a Sunday evening and the same sister and I were in our bedroom hitting each other over the head with rolled up sleeping bags. These were not the 1 pound, rated for 30 degrees below zero bags that REI now carries. These were heavy sleeping bags from the early 80s with stars and stripes patterns on them. I started feeling heat on the back of my neck, so I walked to the bathroom across the hall to get a cold washcloth from for my neck. Which is when I apparently fainted and woke, again surrounded this time by my mom, who, I’m told, was slapping me in the face to try to wake me, and my sister was in the bedroom crying out of concern for me.

I have no explanation of why I fainted in college other than low blood sugar.

I think every woman suffers from low blood sugar to some degree. I think the Standard American Diet (SAD) has a big role in this. A lot of carbs do not make for a well balanced diet, and tends to spike and then plummet our blood sugar.

I was a poor college student, and for a while, lived in the basement of a small, in-home assisted living center. In exchange for free rent, I fed 4 elderly ladies their dinner and helped them to bed. I had one roommate, and we would alternate nights. Life was pretty good.

The basement of this house was expansive. It had a huge main room, a large, sunny bathroom that had more of a bedroom closet with side by side hanging doors on sliders, and 2 bedrooms. One morning, I had showered and was doing hair and makeup in the bathroom. I think I started to get a little light headed, which happens to me sometimes if I stand up too fast, but I’m usually fine if I get low to the ground. This time, though, I must have blacked out completely because my roommate found me lying face down in the closet. She shook me awake, but my forehead had been resting on a metal pipe in the back of the closet and I had been there long enough that my forehead had the indentation from the pipe for the next few hours. I can’t imagine how that must have been for my roommate to walk in on a body strewn across the bathroom floor like that. She helped me sit up and lean against the back of the closet. My world was still very fuzzy, and my roommate kept saying things to me like, “It’s Ok, Rachel, don’t give up on life,” and I thought to myself, I just need to sit here for a minute, and I need to get this girl out of my face, so I asked her if she would go get me a glass of water.

She left me alone, which was a relief, and I sat in the back of the closet for I don’t know how long waiting for my vision to clear. Meanwhile, my roommate called the owner of the assisted living center, and she called an ambulance. The paramedics show up, and I reassured them as best I could that I was fine. After they left, the owner started questioning me. I told her this fainting thing was unusual and that she really hadn’t needed to call the paramedics. She asked me what I had for breakfast, and I said I had a poptart. She told me that a poptart does not count as breakfast and that I needed to start eating better.

No Sugar in the morning

Learning to eat right, and especially learning to manage my hypoglycemia well has been a lifelong journey, one I’m still learning. I feel I can still take my health and well being to the next level. I’ve cut some things from my regular diet that I didn’t even know were unhealthy. My college fair consisted of eggo waffles, canned soup, and my favorite wheat crackers. As an adult, I used to eat toast every morning for breakfast, and a ham sandwich most days for lunch. Switching those 2 things out for high protein meals has made all the difference for my hypoglycemia.

I used to get Hangry, with a capital H. I couldn’t stand for long periods of time without needing to sit down. Can you imagine if that was your normal? And I was young, this was while I was growing up and as a young adult. I’m so glad I don’t deal with that anymore.

One of the biggest tricks for managing my low blood sugar is making sure I don’t eat sugar in the morning. Sugar in the morning knocks me out. You may as well lie on the couch and cover me with a blanket if I eat a big pancake breakfast, because I’ll be there until noon. But if I eat protein in the morning, I have great energy. I can stand and not sit, and be productive.

I’ve watched kids react the same way to sugar in the morning. I used to work in a daycare, and the little babies would come in smelling like maple syrup. I’m just as guilty. I didn’t feed my kids pancakes or waffles every morning, but I did feed them instant oatmeal laden with maple syrup, which is just as bad! What if we never fed our kids sugar? What if we didn’t start them so young on this obsession for sugar?

My nephew, who was the sweetest kid, used to tip the scales when his blood sugar got too low. He was inconsolable. Only his mom could get him to drink a glass of milk to get some protien into him. Years later, I was with a friend and her young kids when her son started acting similarly. She handled it the best she could but started telling me that she thinks he might have low blood sugar, and she didn’t quite know how to manage it. I advised, no more sugar in the morning. Start the day with protein, and your days will go so much smoother.

These hacks have helped me stabilize my blood sugar. I feel more even keel instead of having to manage highs and lows. I have more energy and don’t have to eat to prevent breaking into a hungry sweat or having wild mood swings. And I’m no longer the fainting type.

Financial Literacy

Can I afford this house?

Asking your mortgage broker how much you qualify for on a home mortgage is like asking a fox to count how many chickens are in your chicken coop. The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

We bought our first home in 2004, 4 months before our oldest was born. 2004 was leading up to the housing crisis that rolled to a boil in 2008. This house was an emotional purchase. The guy we bought it from fixed and flipped houses while he lived in them. This house was so stylish, it had a trex deck with a fire pit, and a built-in BBQ. It had a hot-tub, a fireplace in the master bedroom, a clawfoot tub in the bathroom, designer tile, hardwood floors, and a huge shower with multiple shower heads. We liked it a lot and it was expensive. The bank was willing to lend us way more money than we could afford. I knew very little about finances at the time, and I was still shocked at what the bank was suggesting we could afford as our monthly payment.

Since then, I’ve learned a few things: You have to consider whether you will be able to maintain the property yourself, or if you have the income to pay someone else to take care of it. Here are a couple of questions to consider when looking at buying your first, or subsequent homes:

Make sure you can put away 5-10% of the mortgage every month for repairs. Home repairs are inevitable, and it’s always better to be prepared for those costs.
Look at the roof line, are you going to be able to climb up there and clean the gutters? Are you going to have to buy a new ladder in order to do that?
How big is the yard, do you have the time and desire to care for the yard?
When it comes time to paint, will you be able to do it yourself, or will you have to hire out?

Don’t get into a mortgage payment that takes all your resources. Your mortgage should ideally be around or less than 30% of your net income in order for you to live comfortably, and not always be “house poor.” The banks want the loan, they may be nice and smiley, but their end goal is to secure the loan. The logic bankers sell for getting buyers into a mortgage payment they can’t afford is: “you’ll increase your earnings and be able to afford the payment in the future”. What a bunch of crap!!

Stand up for yourself, don’t let a mortgage broker talk you into more than you can afford. Rent while you save. Buy what you can afford, and enjoy your apartment, or smaller house, and don’t compare yourself to anyone else, or where you think you should be.

Nurture Others

A rising tide raises all boats

What actually makes people successful is each other. Margaret Heffernan

You are meant to thrive, and by thriving you automatically help others to thrive too. Jen sincero

Success breeds success. It’s like a rippling effect. When someone does well, financially, scholastically, or otherwise, the positive effects ripple out. I am constantly inspired by other’s success. When our businesses do well, we create jobs and can be more generous with our teams. When we do well financially, we inspire others and support their efforts by buying their goods and growing the economy. When we educate ourselves, we can share our expertise and tend to inspire others to educate themselves. When we work out and eat healthy, we are stronger, and the people around us tend to care for themselves better also.

This spreading of success happens everyday on a small scale and on a grand scale.

As a small scale example, my brother-in-law makes a good income. His wife and my sister, Deborah, has been a stay-at-home mom since they had their first little one, and now they are empty-nesters. Because she stays at home, she has the time to escort my 79 year old mom, who has dementia, to visit her 99 year old mom who lives across the country. Deborah did not want to accompany my mom. It takes time and money, and Deborah has her own life and responsibilities. I have the good fortune of being able to work and help pay for the ticket. We work together for our success. Deborah and her husband are successful together, I get to be around them and see that. Our good vibes and hustle goes back and forth and round and round in circles between us as we lift each other higher.

On a grand scale, I’m talking about all the guys in Silicon Valley like Elon Musk who really want to build businesses that will change the world. I’m talking about entrepreneurs like Liela Janah and Scott Harrison building companies to better our world, because we’re all in this together and if we are thriving we help each other to thrive, but if one of us is suffering and unsupported, it means we all are. We are a global community now. We can see what is going on if we take the time to look. And once we know what is happening to our brothers and sisters, we have a responsibility to help.

I’m talking about massive use of major resources to make the world a better place for everyone.

I celebrate other’s success. It makes me so happy when a business owner I meet tells me they’ve had a great month, or a friend loses 30 lbs, or runs their first marathon. I love it when someone finishes school. I love seeing other people accomplish the things they have been working for. What we do to better ourselves, challenges those around us to better themselves, and we all start to rise.

What better reason to make yourself strong and powerful than to use your strength to build others?

What would our success mean if we didn’t have other people to share it with? What would our wealth matter if we were the only person on the planet? Nothing. Sharing with others is what brings meaning to any material thing we have the blessing to enjoy.

You are given what you have to bless the lives of others. Ruth Yeboah

So go on with your bad self, thrive, challenge yourself, see what you are made of. Don’t leave anything for the walk home. And we will succeed together.

Uncategorized

Thank you… next.

Sometimes the reason we start something isn’t as important as the fact that we start.

I never exercised growing up, until a boy broke my heart during college. It was a very short relationship, but during it he said to me, “let’s start running together”. After we broke up, I kept running, almost out of spite. I thought, “I’m going to get fit by myself”. I ran out of spite for a while, but eventually kept lacing up for myself. The rewards of running have been many, including time to myself, being out in nature and witnessing beautiful sunrises and sunsets, staying fit throughout my life, running races with the company and support of family and friends.

We can use anger, loss, failure, or other strong emotions as fuel to better ourselves and accomplish what we need to get done.

Morning Routines

Morning Magic

All my podcast faves talk about their morning routines:

My morning routine consists of:

Meditation, journaling and affirmations, make my bed, and movement. I also drink 12 oz of water, and do cold exposure, where I turn my shower cold at the end for around 60 seconds. I’ve found that if I turn the water cold slowly, it doesn’t shock me or leave me breathless.

After my morning routine, I am ready to face my day head on.

By far the linchpin in the magic of my morning routine is movement. I look forward to meditation and journaling, but getting up and moving my body sheds any layers of self-doubt, or I-don’t-want-to-get-out-of-bedness that may be lingering.

I work out 5 mornings a week, but twice a week I have early mornings, and can’t get a workout in, but I still move. On my early mornings, I will play a song with a speedy tempo and get my heart rate up for 3-4 minutes. It is fun, and works to shed the last of the I don’t want to face today yet feeling.

It’s magical.

To see where I got my inspiration for setting up my mornings, please check out:

Chase Jarvis

Chase Jarvis and Tim Ferriss

Aubrey Marcus

Kelly Brogan

Jim Kwik

Josh Waitzkin – I had to put this one in. Josh has mastered learning and coaches top business professionals. His methods for finding answers to your MIQ’s – your Most Important Questions, are worth checking out, and something I added to my mornings the day I listened to this show.

You get the idea. Enjoy!

Add Value

Self Reliance – The Evolution of Giving Back

No one can take care of you the way you can take care of you, so make sure you take care of yourself. The Rock to Lilly Singh

When I was a kid, I would imagine how much money I would have if every person in the United States gave me $1.00. It’s not much from them, but it would be a whole lot for me. Currently it would be 327 million. I could get used to that.

But the truth is, everyone has to work for their own achievements. No one can lose weight for us, no one can learn something, or practice something for us, we have to do these things for ourselves.

We have help, of course. We might not have people handing us their money, but we have teachers, doctors, athletes, scientists, business owners and lots of others who share their knowledge and skills with us. But your career, how you take care of your things, what you save and invest, your work ethic, this is on you. No one can do it for you.

I don’t want a hand out anymore (not that I ever had one coming my way). I want to earn what I get. And then I want to help others. The best part of achievement is using your new knowledge to help others.

We go to school, or learn a trade to improve our skills and better our circumstances. We use these skills to improve our family’s standard of living. We teach our children skills and do our best to set them up along a path of success, always remembering that they are individuals, and will walk their own path.

Our support for family and friends, at least in the United States is more communal than monetary. At least it has been for me. But we teach our children to always be giving back, contributing to charity by giving 10%.

All achievements are for yourself first, and then when you master your skills, you can turn your achievement outward and serve others.

Relationships

On Relationships – How to be and attract the best companion you can

I love the Winona Rider version of Little Women. As a teenager, I watched it over and over. I remember when Meg attends Sally Moffat’s coming out party, a very fancy affair. The girls there have different priorities than Meg. But the girls take Meg in, dress her up for the night and make her feel special. She gets lots of male attention. Laurie, a wealthy young man who is in love with Meg’s sister, Jo, ridicules Meg for being untrue to herself and she gets upset.

After the party, Meg saysto her mother: “It was nice to be praised and admired, I couldn’t help but like it.”

To which her mother replies, “Of course not, I only care what you think of yourself. If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind. Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage, these are the things I cherish so in you.”

When I saw this scene, I honestly thought, what else is there besides being hot?” Like, for real, that’s how shallow I was, and honestly it took me years to believe that people are so much more than the way they look.

I’m not saying looks aren’t important, of course they are. We’re attracted first to physical appearance, but there is so much more. If we want to live our best life, and attract the best people into our lives, we need to develop ourselves in every area, including, but not limited to character, relationships, career skills, fitness, and contribution to humanity.

When I was a teenager, I wrote a list of what I wanted in a husband. I’m sure it included something like brown eyes, dark and handsome, and has money.

Now, I see things differently. My list would include:

Kind

Hard working

Stands up for what is right and speaks the truth

Able to apologize and forgive

A sense of humor, especially when life gets hard

A drive to make the world a better place

Consciousness

Energy to engage in life

Focused on their own and community health

A desire to keep their space clean and orderly

A willingness to give 10% of income to charities

A desire to continually grow personally

A desire for knowledge

Someone who brings out the best in me, and vice versa

Someone who we can act independently, but still come together

Easy to talk to

Could be dangerous, but doesn’t

Now, I have to look at that list and see how I measure up.

Here’s my challenge to you: write characteristics of the person you want to be with. Now, look at yourself and start to develop those qualities, because the better person you are, the better person you will attract.

Personal Excellence

Why we do what we do

We do what we do to feel what we feel. Dean karnazes, Ultra Marathon Man

Dean runs ultra marathons, which are 200 mile races, by himself. He’ll order pizzas and cheesecakes delivered roadside and eat them while continuing to run.

Why? Because he loves how it makes him feel.

Why do we do what we do?

Why do we work out or not? Why do we eat healthy or not? Why do some people smoke?

It’s because of the way those things make us feel.

Take a look at your habits and decide which ones you want to keep and which you want to discard.

It’s okay to keep some of your vices as long as you own that you are doing them because of how they make you feel. And when you are ready to change, own that too.

Challenge Yourself

What is achievement?

When you ask for safety, when you asked for ease, know that you are saying a prayer for weakness. And when you take the hard way, know that you are forging yourself. Tom bilyeu

We’ve all heard the story of kids who get a 4.0 by taking easy classes. These students have it all wrong. School is about learning and challenging yourself, not about getting a 4.0. Colleges can see past that.

I would rather my students choose the hardest project they can and get a C than choose the easy path to get a guaranteed A. If you choose the harder path, chances are you will rise to the challenge, and if it is just too hard, then you will have learned something valuable, and can be proud that you challenged yourself.

There is no success in choosing the easy path. It doesn’t feel good because you know you’ve cheated yourself.

College, Personal Excellence

How to get into the best colleges, stress-free

Colleges want to recruit the best and brightest, so be that. Structure your time, focus and energy so that the best schools try to recruit you, and you have your pick of them.

Put this into practice with your career after school. Be the best. Develop skills such that multiple companies make you offers and you get to pick where you work and demand a high salary.

Challenge yourself, but don’t stress over school or work. Remind yourself that you are building skills, that you are strong, that you can learn anything you put your mind to. Demand excellence from yourself.

There is so much fear in this world about just surviving. Money is a concern for so many people. Start now to make sure money is not a concern for you. How can you do that? Build skills.

I know that sometimes as a teenager, you might feel like your life isn’t totally in your control, and that is partially true. You might be too young to drive, you might be old enough to drive but don’t have a car. But you are in control of how you spend your time. And the library has free internet and books for everyone to use.

Use the resources you have. Only excuses are holding you back now.