The power of raw food and vitamins

I saw an amazing movie last night called "Food Matters." It's not as horrifying as "Food, Inc" regarding the genetic modification of our foods and treatment of our animals, but it is about nutrition and the importance of good nutrition. And what a lack of nutrition can do to us. And the numbers show it with now 13% of women getting breast cancer and prostate and colon cancers on the rise. When this movie was made there were nearly 600,000 people dying a year from cancer.

That is FRIGHTENING.

The movie talked about food digestion and nutrition and how raw (uncooked) foods were the best (granted, there is evidence for both sides of the coin on this one) and the benefits of vitamin supplements. They talked about cancer and disease and how the medical community has failed us in these regards. Did you know that nutrition is not taught in medical school? I know, for one, I'm never asked what my diet consists of when I go to the doctor for a malady. Unless I go to a naturopath. He always asks.

I'm angry and I'm revved up and, while we all know there is very little we can do on a grand scale of things, I CAN take charge of my own life and my own choices and my own nutrition.

Granted, I'm pretty good about eating a salad most days and doing my best to get my produce every day b/c I know how much better I feel, but you know what else I'm going to do? Start taking more Vitamin C. Cancer cells don't like Vitamin C and while it has shown to stunt and possibly reverse the growth of cancer cells, it is most certainly a potential preventative measure. I'm also getting a juicer for Christmas. I can get a lot of raw foods into my body in an easily absorbent way with a juicer.

I'm not a zealot. But I don't want to be sick and malnourished. I want to be healthy... and active... and happy. And I've known for some time that the quality of my food and the amount I move my body on purpose is directly related to my mood and outlook on life in general. I want to live the best life I can live without prescription medications, without pain, without disease.

Don't you?

Injuries happen

2 weeks into boot camp, I'm feeling great, I'm having a wonderful time and I'm getting the hang of waking up early. The trainer is so supportive and encouraging as are other folks in the class. I've even heard a rumor that I've inspired folks by how hard the "fat girl" is working. Which is AWESOME.

But this week I hurt myself. Got myself a case of Plantar Fasciitus which is excruciatingly painful. Essentially my foot hurts and I'm limping around and am scared to death to continue to injure it by continuing boot camp. I can honestly say: this sucks!

So I'm taking the rest of the week off boot camp, I'm going to see a chiropractor tomorrow who works with plantar fasciitus and sneaking in some R&R by getting a facial and manicure with Megan at NW College.

So just wanted to check in and say officially, that injuries suck. But one has to take care of themselves to prevent further injury. Would love to know what others have done regarding this... have you taken time off, sought medical attention, pushed through it and kept up your exercise routine, etc?

Happy weekend!

Reward systems

I can't say I've spent as much time thinking about the intricacies of how one rewards oneself as I've spent thinking about other aspects of my diet and fitness self, but I think it's an important thing to start thinking about. Research even shows that using food as a reward or punishment with your children sets them up for poor eating habits as adult (DING DING DING!!)

A friend noted to me the other day that, in the few years that we have been friends, she's noticed that I regularly reward myself for food or fitness successes with food. I've spent lots of time sitting in weight watcher meetings talking about reward alternatives to food and here I am not thinking about or implementing any of that. When I have a good week, I celebrate with chicken wings. Or my favorite Hawaiian joint.

Frankly, I never REMEMBER to do it any other way. It's so ingrained. Just like sometimes, it honestly never occurs to me to order grilled chicken at a restaurant when I can order the cheeseburger (no joke, it rarely crosses my mind). But I'm making some really big and drastic changes in my life right now in regards to health and fitness and I need to be able to reward myself for milestones. A reward for my first 10 lbs. A reward for my first pant size lost. A reward for a month of consecutively showing up to have my arse kicked at 7am 4 days a week. But I don't want to continue to enforce poor eating habits by having those rewards revolve around food.

So I'm kicking around some ideas and would love yours as well. Mani/pedi is common for us ladies. Maybe a new book or some new yarn I really want. If I lose enough weight to have to buy new clothes, then a new outfit! I also thought of putting $20 aside for each milestone so when I hit a big stride, I can do something really special like a 90 minute massage or a spa day or a night at the coast. I believe rewards should build on each other... each one getting a little bit bigger and better with each goal you achieve.

So, I think my first reward, which will come when I lose my first 10 pounds or 30 consecutive days (whichever comes first), will be that I can go to Powell's and browse for however long I'd like and I can pick out a new book that I find there. I love going to Powell's and getting lost and reading backs of books and it can take me 20 minutes to 2 hours to find just the right thing. I'll even go to the Powell's downtown instead of cheating and going to the one on Hawthorne. I can't wait!!

What are your non-food rewards?

Commitments

I am a huge commitment-phobe. Not with it comes to things like relationships or people, but when it comes to having to be somewhere at a certain time on a regular basis. I do some volunteer work and it's about once a month or so and even THAT is hard for me. It's, like, 4 hours a month and I choke up with having to go. I don't like being obligated for the most part.

So strangely enough, I have made a commitment to doing a boot camp class. It's about 65 blocks away from my house, it's at 7am and it's 4-5 days a week. I made the commitment for SIX MONTHS. Oh dear lord. I've been sick with anxiety for two days since I made the commitment. I've also been scared b/c this kind of regularity with my work outs AND the fact that it's first thing in the morning, meaning I'll be burning more fat and not sugars.... I'm bound to drop weight. And there is a little demon inside of me that is freaking out. B/c I've held onto all this weight for some reason or another all this time.

Today was day one. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting and I think the WillPower and Grace class I took 2 weeks ago at 24 hour fitness was infinitely harder. Not that it wasn't challenging. I can't believe I woke up so early and dragged myself ANYwhere and actually had FUN during the work out. The group seems nice and the trainer is no nonsense, but kind.

I intend to have some pics and results up as time goes by. Until I have any semblance of an "after" I'm afraid I'm to shy to share my "before" but I will at some point.

On top of this commitment to working out at 7am 4 days a week, I make the following commitments to myself:

1. To eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. To pause and reflect the best I can on satisfaction level.
2. To have one meal a week that I really want, but not go all out on a "free day". To continue to eat whole foods as a core part of my daily diet.
3. To show up.
4. To blog more regularly.
5. To take it easy when I need to, to push when I can... to not worry about other peoples' judgments.
6. To make every day the best I can and wish the same for all of you!

Stay tuned for more next week!

P.S. As I start to blog again more regularly (which I intend to), if there is any topic you'd like me to write about, let me know!

With singlehood comes motivation

It's so true what they say that when you are in a relationship and you're comfortable, you tend to put on a few pounds. While I've vacillated up and down 20 pounds all year (my weight is VERY volatile), I put on 10 pounds over the summer after a 20 pound loss just because my sort of boyfriend wanted to eat hot dogs and hamburgers all the time. So we did. But he has a different metabolism than I and I pack on the pounds just by THINKING about it while he stayed an even 175.

Well, possibly the only good thing that comes out of a break up is that I have more time to do other things, namely exercising, and less pressure to eat out or eat poorly. I can go back to my breakfasts of steel cut oats and turkey bacon. A salad every day for lunch. And chicken and rice for dinner instead of burgers, hot dogs, beer and other miscellaneous goodness that Special K liked to partake in. Of course I'm terribly terribly sad so the eating better and working out serves to make me feel better and more put together. Helps me relieve both my stress and my sadness. Give me something to focus on other than how much I want to call the now ex or how much I miss him.

PLUS, I'm going to Maui for New Year's so it sure would be nice to drop a few pounds and be feeling good while I'm prancing around an island in a swimsuit in January. :)

So I'm here to say I'm back... and pushing through harder than ever.

*ugh*

I haven't been the gym in nearly a month and I ate an entire half gallon of ice cream in two days.

That's all I have to say for now.

*sigh*

Waving at the wagons

I've fallen off the wagon in a big way.

Does anyone even know how that saying came about and why it means what it means?

ANYway... My life has been chaos. And one wants to think that they are consistent and motivated when under duress, but that has not proved to be the case. I only have the intellectual and emotional capacity to do so much. It has turned that I cannot focus on eating well and working out every day and getting enough sleep when my house is a demolition zone and the stress of my job and money issues has put me in the only space I know how to be in ... Auto Pilot.

I flooded my house, dropped my phone in the toilet and lost my diamond ring (found a few days later, thankfully) all in one day. I have the entire contents of my storage closet along with other furniture and doors, sitting in the middle of my living room. I have no bathroom floor or carpet padding in spots throughout the house. It's chaotic and messy and it makes my mind just as chaotic and messy to have my environment be such.

In said auto-pilot, I can't seem to make it to the gym b/c I spend 1-2 hours a day dealing with contractors or carpet people or whatever and the rest of my day I'm slammed at work so I really do have to try to pay attention. I go to the store and all I buy is salad and rice and still all I eat is away from home. I stayed the weekend in a hotel and while I did manage to have 2 home cooked meals while there, it didn't stop me from drinking heavily and having a delectable burger one of the nights.

I don't WANT to beat myself up about it. And I don't want to jump on the scale. I want to get through this and then refocus. I want to get my home in order and have a sense of peace and then maybe my head will be less full to have the rest of it in there. In the mean time, I wave at the wagons that pass me by every day when I make the choice to not eat a salad or not go to the gym.

And trust me, I really am doing the best I can right now. The very best I can.

Weekend full of food

For the fourth of July I spent the weekend at a friend's cabin on a river. There were about 16 people total so needless to say, there was A LOT of food. I have been to these events before and the sheer amount of food and booze is outstanding! So this year I did things a little differently in order to try to stay moderately on track.

I volunteered to make a quinoa salad that I make often and is chock full of vitamins and veggies (granted, and olive oil). This way I had a healthy snack whenever I wanted. I brought baked and sun chips instead of regular chips. I DID bring a package of Oreo cookies which was, with my help, polished off in the first several hours of arriving at the river.

But otherwise, I kept my eating under control mostly. I was never hungry when it was meal time and one breakfast I ate WAY more than I should have and needed to, but it was just so good! I snacked on a couple cupcakes and a few handful of chips, but otherwise, didn't do a ton of mindless grazing, which made me proud.

I think next year, I'll prepare even more and bring more salad goodies. It was amazing how, at the end of the weekend, all I wanted was a salad and there wasn't one to be had. Guess I miss my roughage when I don't get it.

In other news, I definitely feel off the wagon. I have only been getting to the gym 2 days a week instead of my normal 5. The hot hot hot weather and my body being totally swollen from bug bites hasn't provided much motivation, either, but I need to get back on track. I feel bloated and I'm never going to reach my goal by sitting here and waiting for it. I'm on my rear end all day at work. All. Day. I need to make a conscious choice each and every day to move my body on purpose ... to sweat and pant a little bit (or a lot in my case). And to prepare meals even when it's so hot here all I can do is LOOK at the kitchen.

I'm not liking what I see in the mirror these days and every time I drop some pounds and am so happy I'm going in the right direction, I seem to put it right back on again. I need someone to come and just hover over me and count calories FOR me! I need a chef. hahaha!

What are you doing to eat well and work out during the summer heat?

Social Eating: how to manage your eating at buffet-style dinner party

Despite my outgoing nature, I actually have a bit if social anxiety at events where I don’t know nearly everyone. And because I have a bit of that anxiety, I usually make sure I eat myself into comfort. Tonight I had a huge accomplishment and didn’t fully realize it until after it was over.

Tonight I was invited to a dinner party where I didn’t expect to know many people. Turns out I did know a handful of folks, which was nice, but the point is, I didn’t want go to the party and overeat, as I'm apt to do. I’ve been eating pretty lightly and trying to eat only when I am hungry and I wanted to stick to that. I tend to grossly over indulge at buffets and community eating situations.

So today I had a snack about an hour or so before leaving for the party. My contribution to the party was a caprese salad which is super yummy and healthy. And off I went.

I started by not drinking. Mainly because I drank too much last weekend and it’s still too soon for me to have another after that bender. But it helped because oftentimes, with the social lubricant of alcohol, it’s easy to not be mindful of what goes in one’s mouth. ANYway, I stuck with water and ended up visiting with people away from the dining area where the food was laid out. I made note of when I saw people starting to spoon up appetizers, but I was enjoying my conversation and saw no reason to interrupt that in order to spoon up just yet. At one point someone passed around some bruschetta, of which I had a slice, and I noticed, just then, that I was watching him, wondering if he would make it to where I was sitting. Which he did, but I made a note to only be present with my conversation and not worry about anyone else or what was going in their mouths.

When I decided I was ready, I helped myself to one piece of my Caprese, a piece of another Caprese and a small hunk of cheese. I savored each bite and was perfectly happy. I had small spoonfuls of what they served for dinner and enjoyed each of those bites as well and didn’t go back for seconds as I was no longer hungry. When I finished, I threw away my plate so I would not be tempted to go back for more food for the simply sake of going back for more.

And as I left, I thought “wow, I did really well at that!” I practiced what all the experts say to do at things like this… don’t go to the event hungry, start with small servings, stay away from the food table when socializing and be mindful and enjoy your food. I feel VERY happy! And now, an hour later, I’m going to indulge in a single serving skinny cow ice cream cup. GO ME!!

What do YOU do to get through parties/ social events to enjoy the food and the people without stuffing yourself full?

Good food under emotional diress

This isn't one of the things I was going to talk about, but I do suppose it's relevant now. Things in my life have changed since my last post. My relationship of 6-9 months (depending on how you look at it) has ended. Things are still up in the air in regards to possible reconciliation, but at this time, we are not really in touch until our next talk date which is Friday. But that's a side note.

The point is... I'm sad. You know... like break up sad. I cry all the time, I reach for him in bed, I pout when I drink my morning coffee alone, and all songs, no matter what they are about, break my heart. A few hours after Special K left my house on Sunday, I went out with my best girl and had 12, count them TWELVE chicken wings. They were gooey, hot and fatty goodness. Except, when I think back on it, I really only enjoyed the first three. The others, I just shoveled in and didn't really notice. Wow, what a thing to realize.

So even though my eyes are leaking and I'm totally confused and sad, I have continued to eat my salad every day along with my rice, beans, fruit and seeds, and to do my work outs... No matter what. And honestly, having gone through breakups before, I feel way different. I feel like... I'm sad... but not broken. I'm crying but I'm not poisoning my body with loads of empty calories and fat. I'm still fueling and my energy is still maintained despite my emotion and that is... REALLY powerful stuff.

I can honestly say I have always taken advantage of going on an emotional eating bender. B/c fast food and ice cream comforts me. Right? Wrong. It makes me feel bloated and full and I don't even taste it. Now I am saving my fast food and ice cream moments for when I really want to enjoy it instead of using it to numb out. At least... for now. This is a huge, HUGE accomplishment and it goes to show you (ok, me) that mindless emotional eating doesn't have to occur at every emotional turn in one's life.

What a big revelation!! *as I sit here and munch on my salad* :-)