Dr. Stephanie Maj

Helping on your Journey to Health & Wellness

Hi my name is Dr. Steph & I’m addicted to my iPhone

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My iPhone is stealing my humanity!! I cannot seem to put that darn thing down. I have to admit, I LOVE IT! Love the access to the world. I post my blogs from it. All the pictures on this blog are taken and edited on my iPhone 6+ (because bigger IS better!)

This is the problem, it is also the biggest TIME SUCK known to man (or woman.) Why do I feel the need to fill every free, unstructured moment with this information? Where is the zen in all that? Using those spaces in my day to just be present slows my life down. Wakes me up. Makes me feel more alive!

Try it. Put your phone down. More than that, put your phone AWAY! Spend a day not having it in the waiting room, red lights or commercials on the TV. Try it. I am telling you, it is HARD!

I am making the commitment to step away. Time magazine just posted an article about how to battle your smartphone addiction. Check it out.

Real bread. Fo Reals!

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Ok, this might be my first of many posts about my obsession with how bread has changed. I don’t really eat much bread, doesn’t work for me. It is not that I don’t love it. Who doesn’t LOVE BREAD?!

The thing is, though, that if I am going to eat bread it better be the real deal. Last Thanksgiving I cooked a turkey at my house. I bought cheap wheat bread to make the stuffing. Afterwords, I put the leftover bread in my cupboard and literally found it a month and a half later. Not only was the bread not moldy, it was still soft. YUCK.

I suspected that yoga mat situation like at Subway. Azodicarbonamide (ADA) has been found in hundreds of foods in the US. ADA is banned in Europe and Australia and has been linked to respiratory issues and allergies by the World Health Organization, which cites studies of workers exposed to relatively high levels. I have just picked one chemical likely responsible. Don’t even get me started on gluten. For another post I guess.

I went in search of REAL BREAD and found it right here on the northside of Chicago at a local company Baker Miller.  This company is rejecting the  old way to promote crop diversity, decreased chemical dependency and higher quality grain. They grow it, mill it and bake it. This is serious bread and I love it.

 

Feeding my music obsession

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I just want to start with the fact that I love music. I have always been a huge music fan and these music services like Spotify and Apple music only make me love it more! (Got sick of Pandora-too much Coldplay & can’t pick specific song)

Like the song “Breathe” in the picture. Ok so this is how this old lady stays current with new music. I was listening to Acoustic Afternoon playlist on Spotify. I hear this song and love it. Then I am able to go to the actual album and listen to the whole thing and sometimes I love it, and sometimes I don’t. I feel so grateful though to be exposed to new, emerging artists.

The reason I am transitioning to Apple Music is because of the push from my young feminist role model, Taylor Swift, she has advocated to get artists paid for the streaming of their music! Rock on sista!

I love me some lemon water

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The benefits of lemon water are a small reason I drink it daily.

 

I love my lemon water. I was first turned on to it by an attempt to alkaline my body & thought it would help me drink more water. Half UR body weight in ounces. The real breakthrough for me was when I started adding lemon Stevia to it.  Now it tastes like the lemonade you get at fair. Yum! Try it!

Scientific Benefits of Lemon Water

Lemon Drop Stevia

80/20 Rule

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I remember when a patient was shocked I ate a hotdog at the Cubs game. It reminds me of the Pareto Principle. 

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. 
Being well is not about being perfect. It is about making clean, healthy choices 80% of the time! Today that meant going out to take pix for a photo class and sampling the local cuisine. 

You Can Be Well, too!

Dr. Steph

Why am I so obsessed with this tree?

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I feel like she is my muse. After years of following her, I have learned so much about life and change and resilience and love. 

It was 2 and a half years ago I happened upon her by the lake in the winter. She just hung out there, cutting the wind. I realized I live so close to this rich source of nature and hardly ever visit Lake Michigan. 

I made a pact with myself then to regularly photograph her. Who knew I’d fall in love along with many others who have seen my regular postings. 

Do something. I can’t find my voice if I don’t use it!