Andy's Idea Factory

Living without sugar is still a daily challenge for me. I've covered this topic often because going sugar free helps me so much, but it SO isn't easy, so I hope these posts help you, too. Especially around Valentine's Day. But let's face it, every month of the year has at least one holiday that's infused with sugar. A February free of...  - 2/1/17 Raw, vegan lifestyle isn't just for crazies anymore  - 3/11/16 30 days of "no" sugar - successes and challenges, and moving forward  - 2/9/16 30 days of sugar free: Kicking the Addiction  - 1/28/16 30 days Sugar Free: Switching date sugar  - 1/11/16 Committing to 30 days without sugar - YOU will hold me to it  - 1/10/16 Partying with a restrictive diet - yes, it can be done!  - 3/24/12 Healthy Living 2: Healthy Eating  - 8/5/10 Healthy Living 1 - Read the Label  - 7/28/10 Bottom line, I know I feel exponentially better without it  –  sugar gives me headaches, tummy ache...

I was in a book store in Oregon, about to embark on a journey across land and sea, when a book fell off the shelf and dropped to my feet. I looked around to see if someone had pushed it - the shelves were the old school library kind, where books were backed up against each other on metal shelves between narrow aisles. But no one was there. I was 23 and a little jumpy. I bent down to pick up the green book and read its unsuspecting, all-text cover. "The Celestine Prophesy," it read. Hmm, prophesy, I thought, that's cool. But what's a Celestine Prophesy? So, I flipped it over and read the summary of a man on a journey to find an ancient manuscript. It felt somehow connected to the journey I was embarking on. I wasn't headed to South America, but it didn't matter, I had been delving into the depths of myself with my first metaphysical teacher for a year and was ready to dive further. I was headed to Scotland, and it was cold and dark and raining there. Perfect...

Welcome February! I am embarking on a month with the theme of free . I have tried gluten free . Dairy free. Grain free . Sugar free . Alcohol free . Caffeine free. But I rarely try them all at once - I like the old adage "everything in moderation," although there are times when I do adopt all of that. At once. For months. I know, that's crazy talk. But I felt amazing. I was pain free. Insomnia free. Worry free. So now is that time again. After the holidays, and then another month of "I'm kind of being good" with my diet (not the weight loss kind of diet, but my clean eating regime) while on the road, I figured February was a good (short) month to get back on track. I am committing to cutting all of those things out, while adding in a daily workout of any kind (from just walking to cross country skiing), a morning and midday smoothie with my Complete protein Today's smoothie: Pumpkin, cranberry, soymilk, flax, hemp seeds, and Complete powder,...