Be Your Own Science Experiment

Be your own science experiment. Did you loathe science in school? Yet your body is all about science. Chemistry abounds. For instance, how does the food you eat become the building blocks of nutrition? It’s complicated… very complicated.

And when you add stress along with choosing foods that your DNA recognizes as foreign, you are in for a whole lot of hurt.

Be Your Own Science Experiment

Let’s go over some basics about science experiments first. According to thought.co, these are the steps.

  1. Make observations
  2. Formulate a hypothesis (an idea you want to prove)
  3. Design and conduct an experiment to test the hypothesis
  4. Evaluate the results of the experiment
  5. Accept or reject the hypothesis
  6. If necessary, make and test a new hypothesis

Where am I in this?

Step #1, for sure with an idea of step #2.

My current hypothesis is:

By removing the foods that are identified in my Cyrex Array 10 test, my inflammation and pain will reduce.

If you read my post on June 4th, you saw my observation of the current state of my body. It hasn’t changed much. Furthermore, I have many observations from the past. For instance, I received my first Cyrex lab report in December 2015. This report measures food protein in your blood. They are viewed as foreign bodies and result in inflammation.

Cyrex posts an online video explaining their Array 10 test. Warning, it’s like being in chemistry class, but highly informative. Furthermore, you can read more about my excitement and high hopes in the 2016 blog, Grateful for Changes in my Diet. The gratitude was short-lived as I wasn’t truly ready to make the life-long changes needed. Now the pain is worse, and I still can’t take NSAIDs to ease the inflammation and pain.

What dietary restrictions were and likely are still needed? All dairy, wheat, and rice were no-no’s. There were some other foods removed from my grocery list too; cooked almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, peanut butter, and flaxseed to name a few. Thankfully, I could still eat all meat, fresh seafood, vegetables and fruits. Yeah!

Finding Help

Although you can order the Cyrex test, there is so much more involved. I needed to find someone who could guide me through the process of forming the complete hypothesis of my personal human science experiment. Two weeks ago, the Universe brought them to me.

On June 16th, I called my beloved, extremely booked, massage therapist, Brynne Nowroozi, and casually asked if she had an opening the next day. Brynne texted back, “I had a cancellation tomorrow at 10:30 am.” That made my day! During the massage, I mentioned my 6-month challenge and the Cyrex test from years before. She said, “I’ve had that test.” What?!?

Before I arose from the massage table, Brynne had placed the business card for Dr. Joleene Anderson on my folded clothes. She has a long list of capital letters after her name, but essentially, she is a chiropractic doctor who is also an expert on nutrition and more specifically, gluten.

More Observations in Progress

Tuesday, I had an hour-long discovery Zoom with Dr. Joleene. It was clear we could work together.

Dr. Joleene believes in forming the foundation before determining the hypothesis and I wholeheartedly agree. Currently, I’m working on the intake form… on my health life story. Since I’m a writer, it’s hard not to write a memoir. Today I’m condensing my tome sort of like the erroneously attributed words of Sergeant Friday in Dragnet, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

Furthermore, with Dr. Joleene’s help, we will find the likely root cause of my inflammation and work toward healing this foundational cause. That means more hypothesis. Fun!

Parting Thoughts

The photo of shrimp and pasta at the beginning of this article, uses coconut milk in place of dairy and gluten-free pasta. It’s highly possible the gluten-free pasta may disappear from my plate since it has rice flour in it. Finally, I had no idea that gluten-free means there is no more than 20 ppm gluten in the product. I always thought if ‘-free’ was attached to a word, it meant it didn’t have any. You can read all about gluten-free in Dr. Amy Burkhart’s article.

Next month I’ll let you in on my progress. Perhaps you will want to be your own science experiment too! I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Love and hope for a healthier life,
Dawn

What is Your Why? – Let’s Explore

What is your why? Why do you want to be a better version of yourself? Has something happened in your life that made you stop, look, and question? Is an event coming up and you want to be your best for that day?

What is Your Why?

My Why is Clear

Yes, I arrived at my over-reaching why last fall… Raise the World’s Vibration to the Tipping Point. That is, I want to increase the positive energy in the world until it becomes contagious, a force impossible to ignore. There, I shared it!

The How is Fuzzy

I’ve been questioning my how. My short answer? I started a business. Won’t a business mean I’m invested in my why? At least I feel I went about creating a business with forethought and intention. Still, there was something missing. My how wasn’t clear enough.

Can I use the knowledge I’ve gained these sixty-seven years to help you find your way to a happier life? Perhaps regrouping my decisions and the consequences will help me understand your challenges. My answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

A Short List of My Recent How

Over the last five years, I invested in a lot of ways to create a better understanding of myself.

    • Therapists who helped me understand why I felt ‘less-than’
    • Shamanic healings that removed contracts from past lives
    • Japanese Reiki certification to heal myself and others
    • Masterminds with online communities
    • Personal workout trainer, 3 days/week for over two years
    • MANY online classes opening the doors to my spiritual guidance
    • Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Certification

There’s No Time Like the Present

Here’s the Challenge Behind My How

My integrative nutrition health coach education from IIN strongly suggests it takes six months to make a difference in the life of a client. I’ve chosen my first client…. drum roll… It’s ME!

Most noteworthy, I’m inviting you to join me here… for free. However, the best way to keep up on my bi-weekly check-ins is signing up for my newsletter. In addition to the blogs, I’ll include personal updates on my progress and discounts if you decide you need personal coaching.

What is Your Why?

I challenge you to find your why this week. Why do you want a happier life? Why do you want to feel better? Perhaps you want to prove something to yourself… like I did when I finished my first race.

Are you having difficulty grasping your why? Read my blog on Morning Pages to stir up your subconscious.

Some Reasons for My Why

Since I’m leading this challenge, I’ll lead the way with my why for being healthier.

  • I love being active, but my arthritic knees hurt.. a lot
  • The fat folds on my body are uncomfortable
  • I want to feel better rather than worse with every birthday
  • If I can’t improve my own health, how can I help you with yours?

So, again…what is your why? Leave a comment as a self motivation to commit to a healthier life.

Loving life,
Dawn

Exercise Built Up My Confidence

Last week my husband, Wayne, asked again if I wanted to go with him in the airboat on Lake Marion. I had refused every time, but when I said, “Yes, I’ll try,” I realized it was a result of how exercise built up my confidence.

An Airboat Primer

He started up the aircraft engine while it rested in our central Florida lakefront covered boat slip. I ran the motor to lower the straps, and he pulled himself back out of the slip by grabbing the poles along the side. In contrast to airplanes, airboats utilize a push prop in the rear airplanes have a pull prop on the nose of the fuselage or along the wings.

There are two areas they are similar, the noise and the lack of ability to back up. In contrast to an airplane, an airboat can be spun around. Residents along large lakes in Florida complain about the noise. In our county they passed an ordinance that airboats must have mufflers. It didn’t really help reduce the decibels, however, because the source of the noise is the propeller. You can hear the engine and propeller noise and see the wind blow about debris in this short video of my husband and our airboat.

Airboats have a shallow draft due to their light weight, less than 1,000 pounds and the wide hull. Finally, the underside of the hull is treated with a product that reduces friction even more, Slick bottom. All these factors give an airboat the ability to skim over aquatic plants and even land for short distances.  As he skinned around and headed out past the weeds, I turned around on the dock to head toward the shoreline of Lake Marion.

Trial and Error

I navigated the first obstacle, getting down from the dock onto the cinder blocks that serve as steps to the lakeshore. But how to get into the boat? With my arthritic knees, I feel much better with something to hold onto. Ah yes, I remembered to put my butt down on the bow and swing my feet inside the hull.

Airboat on the shore
Carefully I stood up, whispering, “Thank you, Darrin”, to my workout coach for all the squats he has cheered me through. Aloft, I held onto the frame of the airboat, carefully aligning my feet with the metal bottom to reach the tubular rungs that lead to the backseat behind the driver.

I didn’t have the flexibility in my joints to lift my knees to the first rung. There was fear involved as my actions moved the airboat slightly. Big time fear.

The engine is running, but the prop is still, so I turned to Wayne and said,  “I can’t do it.”

He yelled, “Can you sit on the grate where my feet are?”

It looked possible, so I went forward, easily lifted my foot onto the shallow bow and leaned back with my butt on the platform with his feet. My toes were dangling above the bow as I scooted back. This platform folds the accelerator pedal for Wayne’s left foot, but the right side was open, as his right foot control was beside the platform.

“I can do this!”

The Ride

The only place for my hands to grab hold was the aluminum tubing welded along the underside of the platform. I held on tight as we spun around away from the sandy shore. Our immediate destination was the Eastern shoreline, directly in front of us.

Although my iPhone was stuck in my right pocket, I wasn’t confident of the stability of my situation to take any video until after we say a 10-foot bull gator roll off floating debris ten yards in front of us. My heart skipped a few beats as we skimmed right over his sunbathing platform. But I was disappointed to miss the iconic Florida wildlife photo.

Although the ride seemed really fast to me in my precarious seat, I knew Wayne was being extremely cautious. The roar of the propeller prevents conversation. But I suspected he was looking for the hidden entrance to Indian Springs Run, a slow moving creek emanating from a spring, constantly feeding Lake Marion. As we entered the run, our smooth ride on the airboat allowed me to take a handheld video with my steady hand.

I Didn’t Expect That

We exited the run and headed back out to the water lily pads. My phone safely in my pocket, a sudden outpouring of tears, then sobs overtook me. The anxiety of the stay-at-home pandemic order coupled with my newfound confidence in my improved strength burst forth, like the white egrets taking flight in front of me.

Then calmness reigned. I could now trust both my ability to hold fast on the platform and my husband’s care for me as I enjoyed the rest of the trip. I filmed cattle who had ventured away from the shore to browse on aquatic grass and later, the homes on Bannon Island.

The Next Goal

Two days later I told my trainer, Darrin, about my difficulty on the airboat, I could see the wheels turning behind his bright brown eyes. He added moves to my workout routine that would strengthen all the deep muscles in my hips. Remembering the thrill of the airboat ride enhanced my workout effectiveness. Even more now, I feel the result of how exercise built up my confidence. Next, Wayne’s talking about letting me take the controls on our next airboat adventure on Lake Marion.

I’d love to hear from you if you have any questions about this article. I invite you to write a comment, or better yet, signup for my newsletter so you won’t miss a blog and you’ll receive extras I reserve just for my subscribers.

Have a Safe Memorial Day Weekend,
Dawn