The Search for Sustainability

A note from Carly: Regardless of your relationship with food (positive or negative) we all still have to eat it...everyday....a few times a day in fact.  We have to make choices all day long that either help us live our best life, or contribute to our nightmare.  Nothing fills my cup more than to help other people find more happiness, health and peace in their lives.  Food, weight, body image and mood largely dictate someone's quality of life, which is why the practice of conscious eating is so vital to one's overall happiness. We have now completed two conscious eating workshops with such great success that it was only logical to create another one! For all of you who wanted to come but couldn't, were thinking about coming but never pulled the trigger (yes I'm talking to you) come join us this time for discussion on one of the most important topics relative to our overall happiness.  Come learn how to improve your relationship with food, end the pendulum swing of being "on" and "off" the program and simply how to start putting your self-care as first priority.  Here's to food freedom! Wishing you health, happiness and a peaceful mind! Upcoming Event: Conscious Eating Group Workshop  led by Carly Pollack Who: Current clients in need of continuing wisdom Former clients who want to stay connected Anyone looking to join a health-conscious community and meet like-minded people Friends and family in need of a little wisdom What: This is a two-part group workshop that will guide you towards self-discovery. You will establish new relationships, not only with yourself, but also with others who are embarking on a similar path towards overall health and balance. Our goal is for you to leave with a renewed sense of well-being and a concrete practice of daily self-care.  You will receive:  -Two 90 minute workshops  led by Carly (two consecutive Sundays) -A specific daily self-care routine -Rules for conscious eating -A supportive community -Practical tools you can put into place right away to overcome obstacles and choose your health over instant gratification -Three hours away from your children, partners, email, and iPhone! When:  Sunday April 27th & Sunday May 4th 12:00pm - 2:00pm Where: Soma Vida Garden Studio  1210 Rosewood Avenue, Austin TX 78702 $75 per person Limited space available   Testimonials from previous workshops:   "I loved the workshop and feel like it's given me tools to continue working on myself. The workshop was not about "eating" but about "living." I learned a lot listening to others about their struggles and to hearing their strategies. Carly is a very good leader and very funny! Her experience and insights are invaluable." "I loved having more time with Carly and her incredible wisdom! It felt a lot like an extended one-on-one session. I really liked that we all went around and introduced ourselves because hearing other's reasons for being there really resonated with a lot of the things I wanted to accomplish as well. The one thing that I really took away from this was learning to really enjoy my food. Whether it's a slice of pizza or Brussels sprouts, I am now taking my time, really savoring the food and amazingly, I am actually enjoying it more."  "Carly is engaging and gives people a comfort level to open up which creates an overall positive environment for what can be sensitive issues." "Carly is a wise soul, and she presents information in an engaging and non-judgmental way. I liked that the participants all seemed to have a common need to be there. I also liked the sharing among the group, hearing what others' challenges are. I think the worksheet is awesome, and all the items in the notebook are very helpful and something I can go back to again and again."    The Search for Sustainability by Way of Transcending the Diet Dogmas Most of us see pictures of our parents or friends from 30 years back and screech at whatever heeeedious outfit was cool and in style at the time. Personally, I look at my current wardrobe and think it would be impossible that in 30 years I wouldn’t be wearing the same clothes and still looking effortlessly chic (what? My ripped jeans from Zara aren’t going to be appropriate in 30 years?!). Sometimes it’s hard in the moment to picture any other way of life fitting us better and serving us more than what we are doing now. Ten years ago, with the help of Jennifer Aniston, The Zone Diet seemed to be the answer for healthy eating. Currently, the Paleo Diet is sweeping its way across the nation. I’m not picking on either diet; in fact, many diets out there (minus any diet selling boxed foods, and the Fruitarian diet) have some base of sound principles that do help people improve upon what they were currently doing at the time. Most practical diets remove sugar and processed foods and put some importance on eating vegetables. We can all agree that it’s a healthier way to live. Regardless of whether it’s the South Beach diet in 2004 or Paleo in 2014, all of these “diets” share a commonality: they don’t create balance and life-long lasting change, and most importantly people are relying on rules and not on their inner communication with their bodies to guide them to eat what is healing for them at that moment.   This inner communication I call conscious eating. Conscious eating is a spiritual practice that can never be mastered. It is a discipline much like meditation, exercise, being kind to others, and thinking positive thoughts. You don’t get to check it off your list much like a 30-day diet challenge (sweet! Finished the 30-day detox, let’s go grab a burger!) The number one rule for conscious eating is to ONLY eat when you are physically hungry. I know my sweet, Jewish mother would gasp at the idea of me skipping dinner because I’m simply not hungry for it, but listening to your body is the only sustainable way to maintain ultimate health and vitality.   The human body is constantly changing. Stresses, our environment, activity level, immune system function all vary depending on circumstance. Following any one rule or diet basically says that we don’t trust the innate wisdom of our bodies to guide us. I understand completely (without judgment) why clients come to me begging for rules. This conscious eating I speak of is virtually impossible if you aren’t connected to your inner guide. You may be thinking, “what the f&*k is my inner guide”? It’s a voice inside you that comes from your higher self, always guiding you in the right direction to make the best decisions for your life and health. This guide only works when we quiet our minds and sit still enough to listen to its whispers. Because our current culture places very little to no importance on the practice of mediation, breathing, and reflection time, for most of us we are left only to our thoughts to guide us, and when it comes to eating, the mind can be your worst enemy.   There is a pendulum swing we typically see when we use rules to govern our nourishment. We go back and forth from “food prison” to “reckless abandonment”. I’m not saying rules are bad; they are usually the beginning of how we change a habit that is no longer serving us until conscious eating can allow the rules to fall away naturally. Rules will never last forever. They aren’t sustainable. Listening to your body and asking questions like “Am I hungry? What am I hungry for? Will my digestion like this? Am I eating something medicinal for my body? What am I feeling? Does my body want this at this moment?” is the only sustainable way to achieve long lasting health. Do you know how many times I would reach for food (with the excuse of “it’s healthy so who cares if I am hungry or not”) when after asking those questions what I really needed was to get in bed and watch reruns of Sex in The City?   I’ve been practicing conscious eating for years, I lead workshops on it, I write blogs about it and I teach the practice to clients one-on-one. Even with this level of consciousness, I still have to gently remind myself to come back to it when a rule has taken over. I normally eat animal protein with every main meal; usually I don’t feel good without it. I was fighting off a cold last week and for the first few days I ate as I normally would and went to sleep feeling full and uncomfortable. After two nights of feeling off, I woke up the next morning, sat still for a few minutes and came to the conclusion that my body didn’t need meat for that day. I made one of my favorite breakfasts from childhood: a piece of gluten free toast with a half of avocado spread on it, sea salt, tomato and sprouts with some strawberries on the side. Before I ate it, I looked at this beautiful plate filled with colors, and 4 different fruits and veggies and thought to myself “how sad it would be for my clients to think this is an unhealthy option because there is a piece of toast in this scenario”.   I promise you, most of us are overweight not because of carbohydrates but because we eat too much food, bottom line. It doesn’t matter if it’s too much egg white omelet, or too many nuts. We completely over estimate how much food we need to thrive. We feel we need these strict diet rules to help us get to our ideal health and they wind up driving us crazy and making us feel deprived. Practice only eating when you are physically hungry, and asking your body what it truly wants (you may be surprised when the answer is green juice instead of potato chips) and allow all those diet rules to slowly fall away over time. Trust yourself. If when you read this you think that this would never work for you and you need rules or else all hell will break loose, then you simply just need a little help aligning yourself with your inner guide! When we are energetically at peace with ourselves, we want to put nourishing foods in the one and only body that we have to carry us through this life. Break some diet rules today and instead practice going within and eating more consciously. Avocado toast for everyone! Recipe of the Week  Chorizo Paella Ingredients: 2½ cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons ghee 1 lb chorizo sausage, casing removed and crumbled (homemade or nitrate free) 2 chicken thighs, cubed (boneless and skinless) 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 roma tomatoes, chopped 2 teaspoons sea salt 1 teaspoon saffron threads ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika ¼ teaspoon cracked pepper 1 head cauliflower (about 4 cups chopped) ¼ cup fresh parsley lemon wedges for garnish olives, for garnish (optional) Directions: Place the cauliflower florets in a blender or food processor, and chop finely until it resembles short-grain rice. Set off to the side. Pour the chicken stock into a saucepan set over medium heat. Keep warm while you cook the meat. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown the chicken on all sides. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, paprika, pepper, and saffron. Continue to sauté for another 7 minutes until the onions have softened. Pour ¾ cup of the broth mixture into the skillet, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the riced cauliflower and simmer for 25 minutes then remove from heat. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve each dish with a lemon wedge. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and top with olives right before serving.