Archive for October, 2007

In my weekly meeting with my health counselor (yes, I have one- even though I am one. I think everyone should) I was talking about everything that is going on with my life and the fact that even though I preach that everyone should take time for themselves, sometimes I don’t realize that I’m not taking my own advice.  So, I decided that I should delve into a world that I don’t know too much about- meditation. Meditation can be some of the greatest self care around, sitting alone with your thoughts or finding a mantra that helps set up the day or wind down the day, putting your thoughts in order and your mind in the right place.

I first tried to meditate on the train to my desk job (I’m on the train about 25 minutes to and from work), my HC suggested putting on some soothing music and relaxing. My problem? I didn’t have a focus. I didn’t have a mantra or something that I could stop all the thoughts in my head from eating up. It turned out to be just another time that my brain started wandering and I kept getting off track. My type A personality hated it. In addition, whenever the train would stop I would worry about where we were or if I would miss my stop. Overall - not a good way to meditate.

I then discovered the magic of podcasts. There’s a daily meditation available for download right onto my ipod! There are a bunch  of mantras, a lot of interesting music, and goal specific meditations (stress relief, weight loss, etc.)- I started listening to one before I go to bed every night! I’ve noticed clarity of dreams, as well as intensity of dreams, I wake up feeling more refreshed and am able to put my mind to sleep each night a lot more quickly. I’m trying to do a quick 10 minutes in the morning and again before bed. I fall asleep easier, and sleep better and it helps keep me on track for a better day. If I’m particularly sleepy in the morning, or happen to be in a bad mood (it happens!) it can help save your morning.

Even if you don’t have the benefits of an ipod, you can still enjoy the benefits of meditation.  Pick a mantra and start meditating, or if you live in a large community like I do, there are a lot of places offering free classes on meditation, check it out! Everyone should incorporate some daily meditation- PickTheBrain had a great blog the other day on even more benefits. Don’t wait- meditate!

Diethack had a great article out yesterday.

http://www.diethack.com/2007/10/do-you-need-supplements.html

Got me thinking.  I had the immense pleasure of studying with a Raw Foodist/Detoxification master (check her out) in Thailand and she was always professing the fact that we can live only off the earth.  There’s been a lot of controversy over this fact because we’re continuously polluting our environment and contributing to the extinction of many different species.  In addition, we may think that we (as a nation) are starting to consider our health more often (not necessarily always true), but there are still millions upon millions of herbicides, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics making it into our food (or the meat or the soil), which is messing up the nutrients that food can provide, the majority of our ‘conventional’ produce is merely a shadow of what it once was.  Lastly, our technology is also killing us, is it really possible that a seedless watermelon has the same overall affect on our bodies as its seeded counterparts? Think about what exactly that means, we’re taking out the seed of the watermelon, or it’s ability to reproduce. Can you imagine if we screwed with our genetics in the same way? Aren’t those some pretty vital organs/abilities?

All in all, I’m not sure we can get every nutritional need from the earth, but even if we could, how many of us would? The body is a phenomenal machine, we literally never miss a beat- as long as we’re trying our best to eat organic/local as often as possible, eat our fruits and veggies and minimize our intake of meat, milk, dairy, chemicalized, artificial junk food, can we live our life to the fullest? Not sure, but I’m trying!

So, you would think as a holistic health counselor/personal trainer that I eat well and exercise all the time, right? Well, sometimes it’s good to have a rude awakening just to remember how important it is to do so. The other night my I was sitting at home, wishing that I had something good in my cupboard to eat, when my sister came home with some pancake mix.  And yes, she proceeded to make delicious white flour filled, corn syrup laden, maple syrup drenched pancakes. Yes, you’re right, they were delicious and I have to say, I ate my fill.

After eating I was resting relatively comfortably on the couch watching the newest episode of one of my favorite TV shows, The Biggest Loser, when I started feeling very sluggish, looked down and had what my friends affectionately call, a food baby. Meaning, you’re looking pregnant- not by sperm, but by something equally as disgusting, simple carbs.  I ended up not sleeping very well, and woke up with a food hangover. Now, I dislike getting a regular hangover, but I can usually chalk it up to having a few too many drinks, usually accompanied with a lot of fun and a few bad choices, with a food hangover all you can do is skip the fun memories and realize that all you did was make bad choices. The rest of the day was sluggish, all my clothes didn’t look right, I just missed the train, was in a terrible mood, had no motivation at work and a three pm slump (which I am usually wide awake for). It seemed as if nothing could go quite my way.

The silver lining? That it made me realize how important my healthy lifestyle really is. I made sure to eat a healthy breakfast, a veggie-chalked lunch and by the time I got to the gym I was feeling relatively revitalized. After a wonderful workout I was immediately in a better mood, and sweated up a storm. I had a nice protein shake to top it off around 6:30pm and ate nothing else for the rest of the day. Was there a difference this morning? You betcha. I woke up on the right side of the bed, with energy, practically skipped my way to the train and am having a very productive day today. 

I’ve heard the theory that everyone should eat a meal like that once a month, just to remember how much better it feels when you’re eating healthy, but as of now it seems that the memory of lethargy will last me a lifetime, then again, next month that pancake mix may look just as good. We’ll see!

This is an amazing take on fast food advertising, targeting Wendy’s new ad campaign for the ‘Baconator.’

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/09/19/notes091907.DTL&feed=rss.mmorford

Got me thinking.  The author, Mark Morford, refers to the way we’ve controlled advertising (smoking, alcohol, etc.) in the past due to the apparant de-evolution of our brains (or our inability to control the way we respond to advertising) and lack of self education and motivation.  What do you think? Should we continue to ban products from television simply because we, as a species, cannot comprehend that these are not foods that we should eat for every meal? 

Interesting stuff on the FDA’s disapproval of the natural sweetener Stevia. Check it out!

 http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_7140.cfm 

Pumpkin isn’t just a staple for your Thanksgiving dessert, it’s recently getting a lot of press, from the return of Starbucks latte’s to this month’s Women’s Health. Pumpkin is no longer just a dessert treat, it can be used for anything, from pasta’s to cereal.

I thought I’d give you yet another reason to try our fall friend, one of my favorite morning, afternoon, evening or night treat - a pumpkin smoothie!

Fall Pumpkin Smoothie
(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients
1 medium banana
1 cup vanilla rice milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree or fresh pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allsice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions
1. Add all ingredients in the blender
2. Blend until smooth
3. Pour into cups
4. Enjoy!

If you’re anything like me, the past year has been an exploration of your own journey to optimal fitness, so you may think that the rest of the nation is following suit, right? Turns out we’re wrong. According to a recent article in the LA Times it turns out that the obesity rate in ALL states is increasing. Mississippi is the fattest among them all, taking the crown as the first state to have more than 30% of its residents classified as obese. And before you start worrying about Mississippi, listen to this- 47 states are above the 20% mark.
Jim Marks, the senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a healthcare philanthropy group that sponsored the study commented on the data about the climbing obesity rates for children, “These children could be the first generation to live sicker and die younger than their parents.”

Still wondering how your state did in the line up? The Trust for America’s Health’s website gives an interactive feature that allows you to click on your state and find out how it measures up to the rest of the nation. I urge you to check it out and continue to spread the word of health and fitness in your community. We forget that a healthy lifestyle can be contagious, if you start living it, soon it’ll rub off.

In a recent NY Times Article quoting the New England Journal of Medicine’s detailed analysis of over 12,000 people followed for 32 years it turns out there really is truth to healthy eating habits being contagious. If your friends are obese, turns out you’re 57% more likely to become obese yourself. So let’s make it true the other way around- take your best friend out for a healthy workout in the park, get together and make a healthy breakfast together (see the pumpkin smoothie below) or just take a walk around the block! This nation won’t turn itself around, let’s do our part!