Thoughts: 8.31.08

I just finished working out and boy, was it tough. I hadn’t done a real workout since Wednesday, so I half expected as much. I feel good now, though. If I don’t workout in more than 3 days my mood goes south pretty fast. Depression runs in my family [not just your average blues... melancholic, suicidal nastiness...], so exercise, for me, is like taking preventative medicine – without the toxic chemicals. I’ve read studies that show that even small amounts of exercise on a daily basis are as, or more effective than a daily dose of a common anti-depressant like Prozac or Zoloft. It really is amazing what a difference exercise makes. My husband noticed my mood change yesterday. I was tired, bored, unmotivated… nothing excited me [where normally it takes very little to make me happy - I'm generally an optimistic person], and the worst part of it is, everything SEEMS difficult, which makes starting anything – exercise included – difficult. 

One, good workout is all it takes to reset my brain and all is right in the world again.  =)

To read this great article on the correlation between exercise and depression, click here: Exercise Keeps Your Psyche Fit on PsychologyMatters.org

Image Credit: Artwork by Christos Magganas via GoGreenDude.com

Kiwi Fruit

I just ate some kiwi with a little Greek yogurt [that I strained myself using regular yogurt, since I ran out of the Greek stuff], and drizzled a touch of honey over the top. So delicious! I knew kiwi was good for me, but I didn’t know how good until I just did some reading. Turns out kiwi are not only full of protective antioxidents, they’re full of phytonutrients that have been shown to protect DNA. They’re not sure how yet, but scientists believe it goes beyond their large amounts of common antioxidents like Vitamin C – a kiwi has 95% of your recommended daily value, more than an orange has [by weight]. Another interesting factoid about kiwi is that it’s antioxident power gets stronger as it ripens, so it’s worth waiting for them to naturally ripen at room temperature to reap the full benefits. They also get sweeter as they ripen so it’s also worth it from a flavor standpoint. 

Uses:

I like eating kiwi on their own, right out of their ’shell’ like a soft-boiled egg [slice off the top and enjoy with a grapefruit spoon], or I peel and slice them up to eat with yogurt or as part of a fruit salad. They add awesome color to any fruit salad with their pop of emerald green. I have a feeling they’d also lend themselves well to a fresh salsa – and since I have several kiwi on hand this week, I just may try that. 

For more information, check out this fantastic website where I go for quick info on different foods and their health benefits: WHFoods: Kiwi

Image credit: NutritionousFruit.com

Small Victory: Wheel

This probably won’t mean much to anyone else reading this, but this was a huge deal for me. I practice a little yoga almost every day as part of my warm up and cool down for workouts, as well as before bed to stretch and relax. The other day I decided to try to do ‘wheel’ again. I haven’t been able to do it in years. Not strong enough, too heavy… just plain out of shape, I guess. I used to be able to stand up, lean back and fall into it as a teenager. Now I have to start it from a lying down position, which is fine. Ultimately, I would like to be able to not only get into it from a standing position, but also be able to be in ‘wheel’ and come standing again. To me, that’s a better goal than any number on a scale. Along with wanting to be a race car driver when I was a kid, I also wanted to be a contortionist. lol… I don’t think that’ll ever happen, but that doesn’t mean I can try. ;)

Another physical goal is to be able to do ’scorpion pose’ someday. I think it’s so beautiful to look at when someone else is doing it… I have a long way to go, but incremental progress also feels good on the road to achieving it. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and keep working on the postures that prepare one for scorpion pose until the day I’m successful. I’m the meantime, I’ll keep getting inspiration from seeing pictures of it and visualizing myself doing it.  =) 

Images: Wheel Pose courtesy of SachYoga • Scorpion Pose courtesy of Julie’s Yoga

Supermassive Black Holes

I’ve been watching a lot of the Science Channel lately – we have it in HD now and it’s my new, favorite thing! I’m an artist by trade, but I have always loved math and science. It was tough deciding what to do with my life as a result. lol… So now I do the design thing for a living, and satisfy my ’science tooth’ with TV and reading, which works out well. 

So, yesterday, I watched a program on Supermassive Black Holes [which happens to be my favorite Muse song... hee hee], and was fascinated by the fact that every galaxy has one in the center, and in all likelihood, rather than being only a super destructive force, they’re also responsible for creating all physical matter and life as we know it. Go figure. Watching it all unfold, it had the same effect on me that sitting on the beach in front of a choppy sea does. It made me feel small, and my problems smaller. Not that I have much to complain about these days. I really don’t. Everyone has ups and downs, crazy relatives and daily struggles as part of being a member of human society, but overall, things are really good. And I find myself wanting to know one thing: What came first, the supermassive black hole, or the gaseous cloud? lol… 

I remember being very little and thinking along the lines of…”our planet is in the solar system, which is in the Milky Way galaxy, which is in the Universe…” But when I’d try to think of what was beyond the Universe itself, every single time my brain would literally go “TILT” and I’d get a headache. lol… and as I got older I decided it was okay to leave some things a mystery. I don’t need to know everything to enjoy my life. But if someone else figures out the answers – I still want to know.  =)

So… you’re probably wondering ‘how do these black holes relate to diet and exercise?’ Well… I guess it’s just a matter of perspective for me. Not all ominous things [or crappy situations or circumstances] are bad. Sure, a black hole could swallow everything in our galaxy up, us included. But without it, we wouldn’t be here in the first place. Kind of like the saying those crazy movie moms used to say from time to time, “I brought you into this world… I can take you out!” lol…

For me, I relate this to… if I hadn’t had all the [crappy] experiences I’ve had up until now, or the genetics that make it more difficult for me to lose weight – or if I didn’t have a weight problem – I probably wouldn’t be so interested in diet and exercise and I may not have lived as long, or as healthy a life as I plan on doing now. I do believe everything happens for a reason. In the end, there’s very little I take for granted. I’ve been through a lot, I’ve worked through a lot, I’ve learned a lot [like many of us. I'm not special]. I’ve had to work hard for everything in my life, so why should getting healthy be any different? In the end, when you have to work hard for something, you appreciate it that much more than the next guy [or gal], right? And besides, the very phrase ‘weight problem’ infers there there is, in fact a ’solution’! As long as the learning part never stops, things will always look up, no matter how bad they may seem at the moment.

The other analogy to draw from is, when looking at a supermassive black hole, it sucks matter in on one end, and spits it out on the other. You could say it’s destroying what it’s sucking in, but in doing so, causing all the friction and heat within the gases that surround it, it’s initiating the reactions that all life came from. Like any problem, you can either focus on just the negative, or you can look at it as a whole [no pun intended], and choose to focus on the good that will come of it. What I want to know is – where does all that stuff go – does it come out the other end and start life there too? Does that mean there are Universes on top of Universes and these supermassive black holes are the doorways? [TILT]… ouch… ;)

Image: An artist’s impression of the accretion disc around the supermassive black hole that powers an active galaxy. (Image credit: NASA / Dana Berry, SkyWorks Digital) via University of Leicester, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Thoughts: 8.29.08

Today was the first day since I started eating better that I found myself craving the old favorites… chocolate… popcorn… chips… ice cream…

Did I give in?

NO. I made a big Caesar salad [minus croutons], and when that didn’t do it, I had a big, hot cup of spicy cinnamon tea – and that seemed to work. I also realized that I hadn’t taken my vitamins today [I usually take them with breakfast and dinner], so about a half hour after I took them with my dinner, the cravings went away.

Note to self: Cravings may be my body’s way of telling me it needs NUTRIENTS. Not necessarily crunchy salty stuff or sweets.

I’ve been preoccupied both yesterday and today with finally getting my ebay store up and running – and unfortunately, was so immersed in getting it done that I hadn’t eaten enough either day, nor did I workout, so I feel kind of ‘off’… but, getting it done is a nice, big monkey off my back. I have many more listings to put up [I make jewelry] over this weekend and then its a matter of just listing as I make new items. I’m so glad it’s a long weekend. I have sleep to make up for. 

So, after 12 days, according to physicsdiet.com, I am officially down 1.1 lbs. Even though I’m weighing in every day, I’ve gotten over the number fluctuating because I’ve been below the ‘trend line’… so it definitely has helped take the emotion out of it. I’ve actually lost 2.4 lbs as of today, but I like the averages better. I’m sure as more time goes by and I keep going below the trend line, the weekly average loss will go up. I’m not worried about it.  =)

8.30.08 AM Update: Getting on the scale this morning, I somehow managed to lose 1.8 lbs from yesterday… so that would make a total of 4.2 lbs in 13 days… but who’s counting…  ;)  I’m sure it’ll go back up tomorrow when my body realizes it let too much water go, but that’s okay.

Thoughts: 8.27.08

Getting on the scale this morning I was mildly disappointed to see it go up almost a pound from yesterday. But, luckily, I also found it interesting, which distracted me from the minor disappointment. Interesting because yesterday I didn’t eat much AND I didn’t exercise. I took a day off. Today I’ll get more food in me and workout this morning before I head to work – and when I’m at my desk I tend to drink more water than when I’m home [I work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays because the office is 75 miles away...]. I think establishing a routine at work is much easier. I haven’t been working from home that long, and only just started to do 2 days a week. I had been doing 1 day a week for several months and it was sort of an ‘Aussie Rules’ day for eating and exercise. I’d let myself sleep in since I didn’t have to worry about the 60-90 minute drive [depending on traffic]. But now that I work from home 2 days a week, I can’t let it happen both days. In fact, I need to establish a routine for those days as well. 

One way would be to clean out the den and actually use my desk for work vs. floating between the dining room table and the living room couch. Being more aware of time would help, too, so that I snack and eat meals at the same time I would if I were at the office. It’s easier when there’s a group of people who all tend to get hungry around the same time for lunch and initiate the reminders of ‘time to heat up’… 

Anyway… I’m looking forward to my workout. Today is a circuit day. Fast and furious – I love it. I’m also considering starting to go for a half hour walk after work, now that it’s not so hot out anymore… We’re relatively new to this neighborhood, so I don’t have a normal route yet. I’ll have to get on Map My Run and plot out a 2 mile loop and just do it. I’ve been procrastinating, mildly afraid of not liking the route or getting lost, which I sort of did the first time I attempted it last year. A lot of the side streets here are windy with no sidewalks and are narrow, so if it’s after dark… it’s dangerous. But, there are also plenty of sidewalks on the main roads, and I live on one of them, so I really can’t use that as an excuse. I just happen to prefer quiet side streets over main streets. But I could get over that.  ;)

Recipe: Micro Fast Veggies

My mother was probably the first person in our town to get a microwave. She saw it as the ‘wave of the future’ [pun intended...], a way to cut cooking time drastically since both she and my dad worked full time when I was a kid. She made EVERYTHING in it – not all the time, but she could if she had to. So I do use my microwave for a lot of things – like cooking anything that I would normally steam on the stove. It takes a fraction of the time, and sometimes, saving that little bit of time can be the difference between eating a healthy meal or going to the drive thru. So, today, for the Spicy Coconut Soup I made for lunch [recipe below], I used the microwave to get a head start on the sugar snap peas. That way as soon as everything was heated through I could just add them to my bowl, vs. simmering them in the soup. And I packed them up separately for use later – either on their own as a side, or added to the soup for another meal – instead of leaving them in it and turning that icky color of brown/green that is SOOOO unappetizing. 

Method:
- Take your veggie of choice: green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, asperagus… whatever… and put them in a microwave safe container with a lid
- You can add any liquid you want – keep it simple and just add some water [maybe 1cm or 1/4" from the bottom], or you can add more flavor by using chicken stock, white wine, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce – whatever you like
- Season with salt and any other flavors – many times I’ll add a smashed garlic clove that I can take out later, that just gives that essence of garlic flavor
- Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then check for doneness, depending on the power of your microwave and how much vegge you’re steaming [I do artichokes all the time and they take between 4-5 minutes - I'll post that recipe separately]
- That’s it. Add some slivered roasted almonds or pine nuts or leave it plain and just season to taste – it’s good to go.

Recipe: Spicy Coconut Soup

I was inspired in the ‘international aisle’ at the grocery store the other day and bought a few new ingredients for my pantry. I tried a couple of them today in this soup I made for lunch. These measurements are approximate, as always… adjust to your liking.

Ingredients:
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Lemongrass, sliced [fresh or jarred]
2 Tsp Coriander, toasted and ground
2 Tbsp Thai Hot Chili Sauce
1 Tbsp Ginger, minced or grated
2-3 Tbsp Scallions, white ends, sliced thinly
2 Chicken Thighs, pre-cooked, cut into chunks or shredded
1 Can Water Chestuts, cut into chunks
2 Cups Chicken Stock, low sodium
1/2 Can Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Scallions, Green ends sliced
2 Cups Sugar Snap Peas, steams or blanched ahead of time 

Method:
- Heat a medium sized pot and add olive oil
- Add lemon grass, chili sauce, ginger, coriander, sliced white ends of scallions and chicken, stir to coat and warm through, season with a little salt at this point
- When chili paste thickens and starts to turn darker, add the chicken stock to deglaze, bring to a simmer
- Add coconut milk and most of the green sliced scallions [reserve some for garnish] and bring back to a simmer, taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary
- Plate and serve – drop in handful of sugar snap peas per serving, garnish with dots of chili sauce and more green sliced scallions. Enjoy!

Notes:
- When I was making this, I was tasting along the way and I could have stopped before adding any liquid because the chicken tasted so good with the chili sauce, coriander, scallions and ginger – this could be used as part of a stir fry as-is…
- You can substitute shrimp, scallops, mussells or all of the above for the chicken, or leave it out for a vegetarian option
- If you don’t like spicy food, you can leave out the hot sauce or replace it with red pepper paste made from sweet bell peppers for the added color and sweetness, without all the bite
- I tried the jarred lemon grass for the first time today and have to say it was just okay – if you can get fresh, it’s worth it for the extra fresh flavor, but the jarred is great if you want to whip something up in a pinch…

Mixed Signals: Hunger

So I’m sitting here, working and my stomach is growling, but I’m too busy [or distracted] to stop until my brain starts to yell, “I’M HUNGRY!!!!” at which point I usually scramble to find something to eat quickly. Luckily I have plenty of fruit and nuts on hand for just such emergencies, but before this past week, this is when I’d dive into the snack drawer at work and eat chocolate… and keep eating chocolate because it was so tasty, but not satisfying. Kicked the habit, though, so… moving on… 

I’ve read conflicting information on hunger and where you should be at before eating:

1] Wait until you’re at a 2 out of 10 on the hunger scale – 0 being passed out and 10 being… well I don’t want to think about that. It sounds like some kind of torture to be that full. And NOT to eat unless you are ‘TRULY’ hungry

2] Don’t wait until you’re hungry, eat every 2-3 hours, small meals or snacks to keep your energy levels and blood sugar even so that your metabolism is always cranked.

So what is the truth – or does it matter? 

I know for me, hunger comes on pretty fast. I’ll have mild hunger and within a few minutes I’m ravenous. And being hungry is uncomfortable. I’m not good at it [part of the reason I need to lose weight]. I’ve also read that if you wait until you’re ‘truly’ hungry, food tastes better than if you eat when you’re not quite there, yet. When dieting you hear things like, “Hunger is your friend!” I have enough friends, thanks. But what they mean is, if you’re feeling hungry, you’re “burning fat for fuel because you’re all out.” I don’t know if that’s 100% accurate. Sure, hunger means your brain needs glucose, and it’s not easy to convert fat to glucose, so your brain kicks in the adrenalin, which causes an artificial flush of glucose into your blood stream from the liver, which then means more insulin is released to counter the barrage… and it’s a vicious cycle. And of course your brain decides it’s being starved and proceeds to shut down your metabolism, effectively halting any fat burning going on. Unless, of course, you’re actually starving – your body WILL burn off it’s fat supplies, but along with it, it’ll burn off your muscle tissue – including organ tissue as a last resort, which is why you hear of people suffering from Anorexia dying of heart failure. 

So… don’t starve. Starving is bad. Hunger means what it says – get your brain some fuel so it DOESN’T shut the power plant down. 

Okay… so, eat regularly, right? But if you’re eating when you’re NOT hungry, it means you’re taking in calories your brain doesn’t need, so what does your body do with those calories? Supposedly it stores it as fat right away. Or does it? No, really – I’m asking. I have no idea!!! lol… 

Maybe it’s a matter of paying more attention and nipping hunger in the bud, but only when it’s still considered hunger? This is probably a very natural thing for most people. For me, it’s still ‘new’… after telling my body what it wants and WHEN for so many years according to whatever diet I happened to be on at the time, I think it’s as confused as I am [that makes me sound pretty detached, but I'm not - just relearning some things... me and my body are one in the same!].  =)

Anyway… I’ll have to see if there are any new answers to this issue. Until then, at the very least, I’ll try to eat healthy when I think I’m hungry – BEFORE I’m starving – and hope for the best. Until I find something else, here’s Oprah’s ‘Best Life’ Hunger Scale to guide us to peace, love and happiness… All hail Oprah.   ;)

Recipe: Chicken Salad

I was tempted to call this, “Everything But The Kitchen Sink Chicken Salad,” but as you can see, that name is WAY too long. lol… I came up with this recipe this morning, basing it off others I’ve made before, but changing it up a bit and it was so delicious, so I have to write it down [or... type it out]. I’m only going to include the ingredients and method for the chicken salad itself. I ate it over a regular green salad with a light oil & red wine vinegar dressing. I’ll have a picture uploaded when I eat the rest of it – this made 2 servings for me. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 Chicken Breast, shredded into chunks
1 Tbsp Miracle Whip [use whatever mayo you prefer]
1-2 Tbsp Greek-Style Yogurt [to your desired creaminess...]
2 Tsp Whole Grain Mustard
1 Tsp Frank’s Hot Sauce
1 Med Celery Stalk, diced small
2 Mini Kosher Dill Pickles [or use one regular sized pickle], diced
1 handful Red Seedless Grapes, diced [8-10 grapes]
1 Tbsp Fresh Italian [Flat Leaf] Parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp Feta Cheese, finely crumbled
1 Handful Roasted Hazelnuts, coarsely chopped 
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Method:
- Shred up some pre-roasted chicken breast into bite-sized pieces [room temp to cold]
- Add mayo, yogurt, mustard, hot sauce and mix until incorporated
- Chop up the rest of the ingredients and add them in, folding in as you go
- Sprinkle feta and freshly ground black pepper over the top and serve 

 Notes:
- You can sub out anything you don’t like – leave out the hot sauce and/or mustard if you just like a creamy chicken salad
- I usually use walnuts in chicken salad, but didn’t have any on hand – substitute your favorite roasted nut for hazelnuts, or leave them out if you don’t like added crunch to your chicken salad
- I like parsley for that added freshness, but it can be left out if you’re not a fan…
- You can sub out the grapes for granny smith apples – which is what I normally use, or any semi-crunchy fruit – pears would work, too…
- this makes for a great sandwich, or as part of a salad, or it can be eaten as-is
- I didn’t add salt because I had the pickles and the feta cheese in there… but if you leave the feta out, you may want to add a little salt to taste – you could use blue cheese or gorgonzola in here, too, or goat cheese – this is a versatile recipe that takes well to changing things up so you can have it fairly often and not get bored with it…