Writing Lucy's Letter

Welcome back to Lucy's Letter. You may have received my letter as an email newsletter before the days of blogs. You may have attended one of my workshops on Body, Mind & Wellness, been with me at a Mannatech event, or learned how to be Naturally Thin. Or you may not know me at all.

I'm continuing to write to you in blog form. This past weekend, I was at a sewing retreat with the Utah chapter of the American Sewing Guild. After we each introduced ourselves, one of the participants later asked me if I was the same Lucy Beale. She had received my email newsletters for years, printed them out, and kept them in a 3-ring binder for reference. She'd attended a talk I gave at Orrin Hatch's Annual Women's Conference years ago.

My emotions flew through amazement, incredulity, thankfulness, gratification, and satisfaction. Also sadness that I had discontinued writing the newsletter. Some of you found it valuable. I loved writing it. So it's back.

Here's my update: I've written 12 books on wellness and weight loss. Many of them are cookbooks: Terrific Diabetic Meals, Low-Carb Meals, Anti-Inflammation Cookbook, Glycemic Index Cookbook, Glycemic Index Snacks, Feeding Your Family on a Budget. You can view all of my books at Lucy's Books. (This is a link to Amazon.)

I'm still learning about and researching health. So much has changed in our levels of knowledge, while plenty has stayed the same.

I still do a couple Pilates sessions weekly. I add in a weekly hike or snowshoeing adventure with Pat in the Wasatch mountains close to our home in Utah. I do Body Rolling to successfully manage/heal some plantar fasciitis in my right foot. I also use the Ma Roller for ultimate relaxation and rest. The Body Rolling system has added a routine to renovate the face -I'm using the Yamuna Body Rolling Save Your Face Kit . The first person to see a difference was my husband, then the gals at the Pilates studio. Then my hair stylist. Fewer wrinkles. No more need for Botox. Tighter skin. What more could a gal ask for?

After a year-long allergy treatment with LDA - low-dose-allergens, I am quite pleased. My skin no longer itches, I can wear makeup without itching - yes, even mascara but only if it's Tarte Cosmetics Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara 0.24 oz. I concoct my own face oil for a moisturizer - argan oil, with drops of lavender, sandalwood, sea buckthorne berry, and clary sage oils. I add a bit of  DR. HAUSCHKA Translucent Bronzing Tint, 1 Fluid Ounce if I want some color.

I'm no longer allergic to basic foods, although I need to avoid wheat and dairy. I still love sugar and chocolate. Stayed off sugar for over a year. Oh, but I did eat chocolate. I found a couple of really good 100% gourmet bars. And ate them slowly. Very slowly as they are so intense. If I needed a bit of a sweet chocolate taste, I added boiling water to unsweetened chocolate pieces with a stevia tablet. It's OK, but not enrapturing.

My husband had patiently - rather, mostly patiently - endured my weird diet. But I do feel better and that makes him content. I mean, he still makes homemade ice cream. I just don't eat it. And I still bake up my special brownies for his office from time to time. And again, don't eat them. But I might take a taste.

The biggest news in wellness for me this year is discovering that I have the 677T homozygous MTHFR mutation. This didn't mean anything to me either when my doctor suggested the blood test. Since that time, I've been taking the dietary supplements of methyl folate along with methyl B12 - I have tons more energy, am more emotionally balanced, have surprisingly clearer vision, In fact, with all that additional energy, I am writing this blog, traveling more, renewed my interest in sewing (avidly), writing a second blog on sewing at www.lucybeale.com, and have more energy to keep up with my husband who has infinite stamina. His kids used to call him the "camel."

Much of our family has the mutation so many have been tested an are on the supplements with varying degrees of enhanced health.

In this blog, I'll be posting new info on wellness, and weight loss, just as before. If you're curious, I seem to have shrunk an inch to 5"7". My weight still ranges between 127 and 130. With size inflation, I wear a size 2 or 4. Which is silly to me. I add color to my roots and no longer streak my hair, so it's brown.

I am so excited to be writing to you again. Please send your comments to me at: lucybeale@gmail.com.