Thursday, January 31, 2008
Carnival!
| Positive and Successful Lifestyle Tips is hosting the sixth edition of the Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation, which includes my post from the other day on Counting Blessings. If you're in need of inspiration, you'll find plenty of it over there. In other news, I'm snowed in. I'm blogging from my mom's computer, but both the connection and the computer are so slow that I'm not able to do very much from here. I'm taking advantage of the unplanned day off to actually have a day off, starting once I get offline. I'm going to read and knit and just sit and think and dream and be as lazy as I want to be. That doesn't get to happen very often. I'm really looking forward to it. Have a safe and happy weekend, everybody. Labels: carnivals, mental health |
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Craving badness
| I'm really, really, really, REALLY tempted to go out and get a hamburger for lunch today. Just a little one... a Junior Whopper, or maybe a dollar menu cheeseburger. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I don't know why it sounds so delish all of a sudden, when I've been eating so healthy. *headdesk* Labels: food |
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Fancy pants, won't you please be mine?
| I got pretty excited when I effortlessly dropped ten pounds after starting the meds my doctor put me on to straighten out all the ways my dysfunctional thyroid had messed me up. I kind of expected the weight to keep falling off. That doesn't seem to be happening, though. I feel like I've hit a plateau. It's frustrating, because I'm living a healthy lifestyle. I'm working out regularly, I'm eating right, I'm drinking plenty of water... it's just like always, where the only way I can lose past this point is to either starve myself or double up on my workouts. Too bad I'm not really willing to do either of those things. This might be a sign she needs to adjust my meds. I was going in for a checkup every three months, but last time I was in, she was so encouraged by my weight loss that she said I didn't need to come back for another six months. So I'm wondering, should I call her? My husband goes to see her at the end of the month; maybe I'll just wait and bring it up to her then. And maybe by then I'll have made it off this plateau and started making downward progress again. I really hope I do. I'm thisclose to finally looking good in the last pair of fancy work pants I bought right after my honeymoon and haven't been able to wear all year. If I can just wear those pants again, I'll be happy. Labels: body image, weight |
Friday, January 25, 2008
On body image and good health (and the trolls who confuse them)
| There's been a bit of a kerfuffle exploding over at the "body image acceptance" blog,Big Fat Deal, this week following their inclusion in a New York Times article on "fat acceptance" blogs. It brought a lot of people out of the woodwork to leave comments expressing, in no uncertain terms, their disgust for fat people and for their obviously wrong-headed and immoral insistence on--wait for it--liking themselves and having high self-esteem. GASP! Those whores! Yes, that last line, in case you're the sort who needs to be told, was intended as sarcasm. I think the most frustrating thing in reading the comments were those commenters who couched their negative opinions in terms of concern for the poor fat girls' health and well-being (not as disturbing as the ones who came right out and accused them of being, essentially, lazy, gluttonous deviants who deserve to have health problems, but those people are a lot easier to brush off as hateful jackasses and ignore). Either way, these comments share an underlying prejudice based on the assumption that if you don't conform to a certain body type, then it must be because you fail at diet and exercise and, somehow by extension, moral character. Um, yeah. I'll keep that in mind when I'm dragging myself out of bed at 4:30 AM to go swim a bunch of laps and do Pilates before sitting down to a healthy breakfast of low-carb oatmeal and lowfat cottage cheese. It's not my thyroid problem! It's not my genes! It's all because I'm lazy and I love food too much! Now, I'll admit, I DO love food too much. That's certainly something I struggle with. My husband and I are both foodies, and we enjoy trying new restaurants, new recipes, new ethnic dishes... and about once a month we'll splurge and gorge ourselves on pizza. We also enjoy our alcohol, especially beer, which isn't exactly light on the calories or carbs. We do it all in moderation, but I can admit that if we cut these things out completely, we'd probably both be healthier (and lighter) for it. But I can guarantee that we wouldn't be happier. And that's the thing: if someone isn't harming anyone (other than, arguably, themselves) and they're happy, then who are you to decide they have no right to be happy because they don't look or act the way you think they should? And who are you to judge whether or not someone is healthy? Newsflash: you can't tell whether someone is healthy and fit by their appearance. There are thin supermodel types who can't walk up a single flight of stairs without wheezing. There are normal weight people who have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. And there are fat people who work out regularly, eat right and are perfectly healthy. I'm not as big as I used to be. But I'm not thin, either. On the BMI scale I'm on the low end of overweight, just a few pounds shy of "normal." I've struggled with my weight ever since puberty. Last year I started seeing a doctor that figured out I have a thyroid condition that makes it extremely difficult to lose weight. She put me on a combination of medications to treat it that almost immediately caused me to melt off ten pounds. I'm eating healthy, for the most part, and I'm getting plenty of exercise, and I'm taking the best care of myself that I know how to take. I will probably never get below a size 10, which is, atrociously, still considered fat by a lot of people. But I'm healthy. My doctor says so. And I'm beautiful. My husband says so. The only other opinion besides theirs that matters to me is my own. It took a long time for that opinion to become a positive one. I'm okay with my size. I'm more than happy with my curves, and so is my husband. If I disgust you because of that, well, guess what? You disgust me, too. Labels: body image, fitness, food, mental health, weight, women's health |
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Comparing Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil Brands
| I'm a big believer in the benefits of taking fish oil. Recent studies have shown that it has positive health effects on heart disease, Alzheimer's, inflammation and concentration. High doses have helped my ADD symptoms, and I just plain feel healthier when I take it. High quality, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil can be pretty expensive, though, especially if you're on a budget. So naturally I'm always on the lookout for better deals on the stuff. Purportedly, the best fish oil you can get is Dr. Sears' Zone Omega Rx Fish Oil. This is what my husband takes and swears by, but I just can't bring myself to spend over $50 a month on a single supplement. But it's been through the most stringent purification process possible and received the highest marks from the International Fish Oil Standars testing agency, so it's the standard by which I judge all other fish oils. As an alternative, I've been taking Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega. I can order a month's supply from Vitacost for just over $40, or in a pinch I can pick it up at Whole Foods for the SRP. This is pretty comparable to the Zone stuff, quality-wise, and has also received really high marks from IFOS. It saves me $5 to $10 over the Zone brand, but it's still hard sometimes to fit it into my budget. I was kicking around the idea of eventually applying all of this blog's income to a Fish Oil Fund to help me afford the stuff. I might still do that, but nevertheless I'm thrilled to have just discovered Omega 3 Life Support by See Yourself Well. It's nutritional label and test scores line up almost exactly with the Zone brands, and at the above link it's only $34.95 for a five-week supply. At that price, I'm definitely willing to try it out. I'm nerdily excited about this. Labels: mental health, supplements, women's health, zone |
Monday, January 21, 2008
Weekend diet confessional
| I did not eat healthy this weekend. I tried for the most part, but well, there was the baby shower. With cupcakes. And chocolate fondue. And yummy dip and delicious Little Smokies in blankets... and then there were leftovers. Oh Lord, the leftovers. I had help putting them away, but still. By Sunday morning I was in sugar headache hell. So naturally I'm eating by the Zone book today to make up for it. I didn't make it to the gym this morning, but only because it took me a long while to fall asleep last night, and I thought my brain would be better served by sleeping in an extra hour than by getting up to go swim. I should have an easier time getting myself up at 4:30 tomorrow, and then I can start swimming off the damage. The fancy work pants I bought almost a year and a half ago and haven't been able to wear for the past year until recently are still fitting, though, so I must not have gone too far overboard. That gets a yay. Yay! |
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Counting Blessings
| That's what I did as I walked into my office today. I was not having a good morning. It started with nearly losing control of my car on an icy road before I even got out of my neighborhood. When I got to the gym to swim my laps, I realized I had forgotten my towel, and they don't provide any. After my swim, since I didn't have a towel to wrap up in, I took my underwear into the shower with me, where a stream of water spouted out of the top of the shower head and directly onto said underwear, thoroughly soaking them before I realized what was happening. NOT a good way to start the day. Add to that a complete lack of coordination that caused me to keep dropping things, and you can imagine that I was pretty frustrated by the time I arrived at work. Crossing the parking lot to my office building, I fumbled and dropped my bag as I tried to put my car keys away. Standing there, staring down at my bag on the ground and thinking, "Of course!" I realized I had a choice to make. I could either make up my mind that the universe was out to get me, feel sorry for myself, and go around being grumpy and miserable for the rest of my day; or I could shrug it off and count my blessings. There have been plenty of days when I chose the former. But today, as I picked up my bag, I decided to be grateful that I had a bag to drop. That I had a good job to go to. That I had a free gym membership through said job, and that I made it there safely on icy roads. That none of the things I'd dropped that morning had broken. That an astute co-worker who was also at the gym suggested putting my underwear in the dry sauna to dry out while I did my hair and makeup. That I had a heavy coat to keep me warm on a freezing morning. Once I got going, I realized that the list was almost endless, and that God had taken pretty good care of me. That put my still slightly damp skivvies into perspective and caused my outlook to do a one-eighty. It can be so easy to let little things get you down; but if you think about it, chances are you'll remember a lot of good things in your life, both big and little, to be grateful for. Dwelling on those things can do amazing things for your state of mind. Happiness is determined by what you choose to dwell on. Everybody has bad stuff going on, but it's generally those who have a spirit of thanksgiving who tend to be the most content. What do you have to be thankful for today? Labels: mental health |
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Women's Health Checklist
| The Top Five Lifesaving Tests Every Woman Should Have - I've only had one of these tests, but at my relatively young age and my mostly healthy family history, my doctors are okay with that. Actually, I take that back--I believe my doctor did screen my cholesterol levels when I first started seeing her, and that checked out okay. According to my OB/GYN, I don't need to worry about mammograms for a few more years. A colonoscopy hasn't even been on my radar. The one I should probably have done most regularly, with my fair skin and tendency to freckle, is a skin check, but I never have. I'm pretty good about wearing sunscreen and avoiding direct sunlight, most of the time, but I have had my share of bad sunburns. Maybe I should add this to my list of health goals for 2008. It certainly couldn't hurt me to get it checked out--not nearly as much as NOT checking it out could if there's something there that needs catching. Labels: medical info, women's health |
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Healthy Food Finds: Hormel Oven Roasted Natural Chicken
| Since we follow the Zone eating plan, my husband and I are constantly on the lookout for convenient and affordable sources of protein to balance out our meals. Convenience is a major factor in everything we eat. Not only are we usually too busy or too tired to cook, but we also don't really have much of a kitchen in our tiny efficiency apartment. We do our best to avoid caving in to pre-packaged foods and fast food, for both health and budget considerations, so most of what we eat is more the type of meal you can assemble rather than actually cook. Nachos are a pretty popular meal in our household for just that reason. But we cannot live on nachos alone, unfortunately; or at least we can't and still expect to be very healthy. We've been big fans for a while now of Hormel's natural lunch meants, and we recently discovered their packs of natural oven roasted chicken. This isn't processed lunchmeat--it's more like the pre-cut, pre-cooked fajita chicken you'd find over in the freezer section, except it's even more affordable, more convenient and every bit as deelish. I've practically become addicted to this stuff. I don't include it in every meal, but it's close. It's so versatile--it's perfect for tacos and quesadillas, salads, wraps, tossing with steamed veggies--I actually could live off of this stuff. Here's one of my favorite stand-by "recipes" using this chicken:
Toss together with a tablespoon of pesto, sprinkle with parmesan, and serve. If you don't facter in the time it takes to cook the spaghetti noodles, this takes about five minutes to throw together, and it's delicious. And healthy, too. |
The Blog Is Go
| I'm fully dressed now, so come on in! Labels: meta |
Monday, January 14, 2008
Peeking under my skirt
| Er... hi there, Technorati people! I didn't expect to get catalogued there so quickly. You've caught me with my britches off--this blog hasn't officially launched yet. Please make yourselves at home while I finish getting dressed and update the sidebar material to go with this here blog. Labels: meta |
"You put cottage cheese in what?"
| My choice of breakfast constantly gets made fun of by my co-workers. And really, I can understand them turning their noses up at the notion of mixing cottage cheese with oatmeal and peanut butter; that just doesn't sound right. The combination is, however, much, much tastier than it sounds, and it's the best, tastiest and most convenient way I've yet found to add protein to my morning meal. I've long been an oatmeal devotee, since way before the media starting touting its health benefits. There's just something about its wholesome heartiness--or maybe that's hearty wholesomeness--that makes me feel like I've started my morning off right. But carbs alone do not a healthy breakfast make--sorry, Special K--and so the addition of cottage cheese (protein) and peanut butter (healthy unsaturated fat) to make it a healthy breakfast-in-a-bowl. "Jean," some of you, as well as some of my co-workers, may ask, "why not just eat the cottage cheese on the side? Do you have to mix it in your oatmeal? Because frankly, that sounds pretty nasty." I could do that, except for the fact that my palate finds cottage cheese on its own to be pretty nasty in its own right. Plus, that would require juggling two bowls with my coffee cup on the way back from the office kitchen. The cottage cheese mixed in, however, gives my oatmeal a tangy kick and makes the texture of the cheese bearable. They can scoff all they like. I, meanwhile, get to feel superior in the knowledge that my breakfast will keep me sustained and energized all morning, and won't fill out my waistline and make me crash after two hours like their donuts and bagels always do. And there's the yummy factor. Because it is, indeed, yummy. Trust me on this. |
Friday, January 11, 2008
Grow healthy with me!
| Come along with me as I blog my journey to eat and live better. By "better" I of course mean healthier. We're here right now because I've learned that the best way to make oneself feel accountable about something is to blog about it. I don't intend to blog regular, detailed updates of what I ate today, how much I exercised, daily weigh-ins, or anything like that. This isn't about me being on a diet--it's about trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Watch for links to resources and relevant info, articles on healthy living, recipes, shopping resources, and yes, the occasional "Yay Team Me!" post. Some facts about your host: I'm an acolyte of The Zone, although I'm not nearly as faithful as I should be. I want to eat organic foods and fresh fruit and veggies, but I'm on a tight budget, so that doesn't always work out. I have ADD, and possibly also a touch of Asperger's, according to certain tests. I recently started treatment for hypothyroidism, and it has subsequently become much easier for me to lose weight. I swim fairly regularly, but not as often as I should if I want to be athletic and svelt. I don't really care that much anymore about being athletic and svelt, so that's okay. I just want to be healthy. For me, health includes not just the physical, but also mental and spiritual dimensions, and this blog will encompass all of those. But mostly it will be practical, because I'm a practical sort of person who prefers practical solutions. Welcome aboard. |