Misunderstood, Frustrated & Smart

8/20/2008

I spent a week recently with my mom and my sister. My diet always is an issue when the family gets together now that I don't eat meat. Not a bad issue, just one that seems to always come up. I think this is due to my family being one of those families that constantly feeds each other. That is just what we do when we all get together. Everyone has to eat. There have been times that I know my mom has been on the verge of a meltdown because we are all out someplace, the kids scream that they need food and we will stop and grab a fruit bowl, a pretzel or god forbid, an itallian ice. I am telling you - it makes my mom INSANE. She is from the time when you ate your meals at a table and they needed to be square. Main dish, side, a veggie if you can manage it and a beverage. In today's world, we are on the go non stop. My kids are as laid back as I am. We will grab a snack and be perfectly content to continue playing and adventuring.

In any case, our trip...my diet. We arrived at my sister's house. We arranged a grocery store trip so we could all eat for the week. There was some stress about what to feed Queenie. Not from me, but from my momma. She is still trying to feed her freaky vegetarian daughter a square meal only she minuses the meat dish. Ummm NOT gonna work Momma. I managed to grab what I needed, toss it in the cart and I ate just fine during the time I was gone. I also realized quickly that not many people know what healthy food is. I would like to state to anyone reading this entry that just because a bag of food says that it's "All natural" does not make it health food. If the label reads "Low Fat" - it doesn't mean that it's good for you. "Low sugar" "Low calorie" and god forbid "No Preservatives" does not give you free reign to shovel it into your mouth.

All these labels mean is that you should be extra careful and read that label before you eat it. Those words should send up red flags and warning bells in that brain of yours. READ THE LABEL!!!

Low sugar, sugar free etc just means that they are using chemicals that have been proven to cause seizures and contribute to alzheimers to sweeten that processed food you are getting ready to eat.

Fat free and low fat on a label means that they have processed that food so darn much that they worked all of that technical fat out of it before it went in the bag. PS - You can have a fat free item that is loaded with hidden sugar. It still makes you FAT even though the label says fat free.

No preservatives? Really? Unless you are buying fresh produce, I can promise there are preservatives in that food. There has to be before the FDA will let it be packaged for sale. If there is a shlef life of longer than 2 days, there are preservatives. I promise.

My rule of thumb when I look at a label is that if I can't pronounce it, I don't eat it. I know that vitamin C is often listed as ascorbic acid on the label. I know that sugar is the master of disguise and often will look like one of these: Corn sweetener,Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Dextrin, Dextrose, Fructose, Fruit juice concentrate, Glucose, High-fructose corn syrup, Lactose, Maltodextrin, Malt syrup, Maltose, Maple syrup, Molasses, Raw sugar, Rice Syrup, Saccharose, Sucrose, Syrup, Treacle, Turbinado, or Xylose. Preservatives? Here are a few ways they hide those: Ammonium Chloride, Nitric Acid, and Phosphoric Acid.

I will always look at a label of any new food that I am trying BEFORE I put it in the shopping bag. If I don't know whats in it, I don't buy it. Let alone eat it. The times that I feel crappy, I can go back and realize that it's because I have eaten food that isn't on my new rule list. Loaded with processed grains and sugars. Sometimes, even I am weak. When I am feeling good though, it's because I am eating a diet of pure foods.

Making this one change in my habits is what got me well on my way to my almost 50 pound weight drop by the way. If that isn't incentive for you all to read labels, I don't know what is. Heh.

Yummy Chocolate Cake Recipe

8/18/2008

Oh yes. Seems funny that me here, on this site devoted to health and weight loss, I am sharing a recipe for Chocolate Cake, of all things. I can assure you, this isn’t a typical cake. It’s made with whole wheat flour and will pass the taste tests of even the most discriminatory sweet addicts. Give it a try. PS: I hope you all will notice that there are no eggs, or butter in this either.


Yummy chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons of sifted good quality cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar - I prefer Sugar in the Raw here.
0.5 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cold water

Directions:

By far the most surprisingly deeelightful cake. This recipe is great for adults and for kids ages 3 and up.

1. Put your flour into mixing bowl, add cocoa, baking soda, vegan sugar and salt and mix well.

2. Make three deep holes in the dry mixture. Into one, pour the oil, into the next, pour the vinegar into the next, pour the vanilla.

3. Pour the water into the bowl, over all of this--- making a great big mess.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until there aren’t any more lumps and pour into a 9 inch by 9 inch baking pan, two inches deep, it doesn’t even have to be greased.

5. Bake at 350 for about half an hour, test with a fork.

Ommmmm....Yoga

8/16/2008

Yoga has long since been associated with health and weight loss. What you might not know is why this quieting form of exercise works so well to help you on your quest for health.

People are walking around like little stress bombs lately. We are all wigged out over our jobs, the mortgages, the kids, and of course trying to look fabulous. When you are stressed out, your body sends cortisol and other stress hormones into our bodies. These stress hormones are all associated with binge eating and high cortisol levels cause any calories that you do ingest to be quickly turned into fat. Not energy. FAT. Yoga works to teach us to calm our minds. When we calm our minds, we reduce the amount of cortisol that is released and then our bods can metabolize those calories properly into energy.

Most of you already know what you need to know to lose weight. The ones of us that haven't reached our goals yet are too damn busy to take care of ourselves. We are also the ones that make all the excuses in the world why we can't lose weight, exercise or otherwise do what we are supposed to do. Yoga, even at a light pace for a short amount of time can help you get your mind in a better place and stop your body from sending out these nasty stress hormones. Most people that can find 20 minutes to do yoga each day also find that they take more care on what they put into their bodies. Hence, the weight loss.

As the weather here is cooling off, I plan to add back in a short yoga workout to my day. If nothing else, it will be quiet time for me. You don't need an instructor either. I searched around online to find some very basic poses that I can do on my own.

Classic Postures

• Sit/Easy Position - A starting position that helps focus awareness on breathing and the body; helps strengthen lower back and open the groin and hips. Sit cross-legged with hands on knees. Focus on your breath. Keep your spine straight and push the sit bones down into the floor. Allow the knees to gently lower. If the knees rise above your hips, sit on a cushion or block. This will help support your back and hips. Take 5-10 slow, deep breaths. On the next inhale, raise your arms over your head. Exhale and bring your arms down slowly. Repeat 5-7 times.


• Dog and Cat -- Increases flexibility of spine. This is really two poses, one flowing into the other. Begin on your hands and knees. Keep your hands just in front of your shoulders, your legs about hip width apart. As you inhale, tilt the tailbone and pelvis up, and let the spine curve downward, dropping the stomach low, and lift your head up. Stretch gently. As you exhale, move into cat by reversing the spinal bend, tilting the pelvis down, drawing the spine up and pulling the chest and stomach in. Repeat several times, flowing smoothly from dog into cat, and cat back into dog.


• Mountain - Improves posture, balance and self-awareness. A deceptive pose in that it appears so simple that some students may ask - "why bother?" But just as there's more to breathing than meets the eye, there is more to standing, too. Stand with feet together, hands at your sides, eyes looking forward. Raise your toes, fan them open, then place them back down on the floor. Feel your heel, outside of your foot, toes and ball of your foot all in contact with the floor. Tilt your pubic bone slightly forward. Raise your chest up and out, but within reason - this isn't the army and you're not standing at attention. Raise your head up and lengthen the neck by lifting the base of your skull toward the ceiling. Stretch the pinky on each hand downward, then balance that movement by stretching your index fingers. Push into the floor with your feet and raise your legs, first the calves and then the thighs. Breathe. Hold the posture, but try not to tense up. Breathe. As you inhale, imagine the breath coming up through the floor, rising through your legs and torso and up into your head. Reverse the process on the exhale and watch your breath as it passes down from your head, through your chest and stomach, legs and feet. Hold for 5 to 10 breaths, relax and repeat. On your next inhale, raise your arms over head and hold for several breaths. Lower your arms on an exhale.
  Repeat 5 times.


• Forward Bend or Extension - Stretches the legs and spine, rests the heart and neck, relaxes mind and body. Begin standing straight in Mountain pose or Tadasana. Inhale and raise the arms overhead. Exhale, bend at the hips, bring the arms forward and down until you touch the floor. It's okay to bend your knees, especially if you're feeling stiff. Either grasp your ankles or just leave your hands on the floor and breathe several times. Repeat 3-5 times. On your last bend, hold the position for 5 or 10 breaths. To come out of the pose, curl upward as if pulling yourself up one vertebrae at a time, stacking one on top of another, and leaving the head hanging down until last.


• The Triangle -- Stretches the spine, opens the torso, improves balance and concentration. Start with your spread 3-4 feet apart, feet parallel. Turn your left foot 90 degrees to the left and your right foot about 45 degrees inward. Inhale and raise both arms so they're parallel with the floor. Exhale, turn your head to the left and look down your left arm toward your outstretched fingers. Check that your left knee is aligned with your left ankle. Take a deep breath and stretch outward to the left, tilting the left hip down and the right hip up. When you've stretched as far as you can, pivot your arms, letting your left hand reach down and come to rest against the inside of your calf, while your right arms points straight up. Turn and look up at your right hand. Breathe deeply for several breaths. Inhale, and straighten up. Exhale, lower your arms. Put your hands on your hips and pivot on your heels, bringing your feet to face front. Repeat the posture on the other side.


• Warrior II -- Strengthens legs and arms; improves balance and concentration; builds confidence. Begin in mountain pose with feet together and hands at side. Step your feet 4-5 feet apart. Turn your right foot about 45 degrees to the left. Turn your left foot 90 degrees to the left so that it is pointing straight out to the side. Slowly bend the left knee until the thigh is parallel with the floor, but keep the knee either behind or directly over your ankle. Raise your arms over head. Then slowly lower them until your left arm is pointing straight ahead and your right arm is pointing back. Concentrate on a spot in front of you and breathe. Take 4 or 5 deep breaths, lower your arms, bring your legs together. Reverse the position.

These aren't all yoga poses obviously, but these will give you a good place to start. Is anyone else here willing to try this 20 minute a day work out with me?