Generally, I feel moderately okay to moderately shameful/guilty when I am checking out at the grocery store. Moderately good: canned beans, Lean Cuisine, skim milk, whole wheat tortellini, and maybe something naughty. Moderately shameful/guilty: several naughty items (white cheddar popcorn, chocolate, pizza rolls, ice cream, etc.), and maybe something "healthy" like a Lean Cuisine.
I have read on multiple occasions about how we have an incorrect idea of what eating healthy is in the US- Lean Cuisines and 100-calorie packs and lowfat options for everything. I don't think that we necessarily need to completely cut out those things, and they have their place in a healthy diet, but I agree- eating those alone is not a truly healthy, nutritious diet.
Today, though, today I felt great. This entire weekend is going to be thunderstorms in my part of Texas, so I ran out to Whole Foods to restock before the roads flooded (they like to do that here. Today, I also learned that my "safe" alternate route, the freeway, also floods! Good to know). I didn't really notice until I was checking out, but I had solely awesome goodies in my basket. I felt so proud to lay out my stash- a bunch of bananas, baby spinach, two packs of extra firm tofu, a little bit of garam masala from the bulk bins, adzuki beans from bulk, black rice from bulk, raw cashew pieces from bulk, Greek yogurt (2 plain, 2 vanilla), and gluten-free multi-grain penne. Grains, beans, nuts, tofu, yogurt, and fresh produce. I feel like such a health nut vegetarian! Which is, of course, the goal.
I'm trying to focus in on the really positive and really negative feelings various types of eating provoke lately. Yes, I always feel really happy and good when I am making, and even eating my white cheddar sauce on whole wheat penne. But I always feel ill afterwards. I am testing out some GF pasta this week, to see if that is the culprit. When I was eating nothing but beans, yogurt, and whole grains during the summer, I felt ecstatic working out, practically getting giddy when I surged forward in a resistance exercise. Now, I feel weak and shaky early on in a workout. On the more mental side, I generally feel ashamed and guilty when I am at the grocery store, especially lately, but then today I felt so proud and special!
One of the things I have learned in my quest to kick my eating disorder is that there are two major aspects: changing habits (what you physically do) and changing mindsets (how you feel about what you do and don't do, why you do what you physically do). Changing habits is going to be making food substitutions, writing about why I want to binge instead of bingeing (is it actually binging? That sounds like it should be pronounced Bing-Ing, but it's all my spell-check is offering...), riding my bike instead of snacking while I watch TV. Changing my mindset is going to be about focusing in on these good feelings, until they become the norm and the craving, not the exciting exception.
So, what have I learned about what makes me feel good in the check out line? Whole foods, natural fuel for the body. Ingredients for a recipe, not a list of ingredients in and of themselves. I like that the yogurt was the most packaged, processed thing on the belt. I love that I had fresh produce. I love that I had uncooked beans. And tofu just always sends a good message.
Things to know for the future.
Showing posts with label experiements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experiements. Show all posts
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Learning About the Bike
Work on the Bike:
Day 1:
My goals for this Saturday, then:
Day 1:
- Bike arrives
- Put together
- 35 minutes, 6 miles
- Busy all day, but hop on for my minimum required 10 minutes of solid, sweat-inducing work around 1:30 am after DD-ing and dancing all night.
- 50 minutes of medium resistance- enough to feel it the whole time, and work up a consistent sweat, but not to be ragged of breath or pouring sweat. No intervals, but knocked out a good 8 miles while catching up on my USA Network genius.
- For now, this won't count as an actual workout, but will count as time put on the bike each day. However, depending on how I schedule my HITT workouts, 8 miles that leave the legs a little shaky might count as my cardio for a few days each week. I'd like to have a bit more rise in the heart rate, though. This was mainly just to keep moving instead of vegging.
My goals for this Saturday, then:
- Clear up the space/finish organizing the space in the front room where I will do P90X (though I did just have a brain wave the I can probably put it on my laptop and do it in the dining room, which requires no rearranging. Should still organize the front room, though....)
- Clean up the kitchen enough so that I am excited to be in there cooking up good things. Maybe try out that new energy bar formula on No Meat Athlete... I need to break in that food processor at some point!
- Heat up some of the chili and have it over quinoa. I need to get some nutrients in this body, and fast! It's getting angry at me.
- Get the makings for peanut sauce, and sweet chili sauce so that I have stuff for tofu. I know Emily at Daily Garnish loves it with just salt and pepper, but I don't know that I'm there yet.
- Commit to a blender. Get said blender. Make a mini Green Monster and just down it.
- Homework....
Monday, June 6, 2011
Diet Debates
I don't like the word diet because of the connotations it has, but I suppose I am on one, to a certain extent, and it also does apply to the idea of what one eats as a whole, so there you go.
I was going to post a weigh-in update, but I realized that certain hormonal changes have it out of whack this entire week. So my initial "starting weight" might not be all that accurate either. Well, we'll stick with it for now. Fluctuations or not, the scale showed about 2 pounds, which is a respectable number for a week. It's the recommended one, as I recall. I was rather hoping for a few more, but if I can keep that rate for the rest of the summer I'll be in pretty shape indeed.
Having my beans and cheese each morning for breakfast is proving quite easy. How often do we really change up our breakfast routines, anyway? We generally go for the same thing each morning, so it's been pretty easy to stick with it this past week. Aside from having to keep a much larger stash of beans in the house than before (much cheaper than sugary cereal- bonus), it's going to be pretty easy. I'm trying to ease off on how much cheese I put on top, though. Cougar Gold is a little pricey! And I haven't checked, but I very much doubt that it is a low-fat cheese, as preferred under the Five-Factor Diet. As mentioned before, I am not sticking exclusively to this diet while I'm in weight-loss mode, but I can see it being a major part of the rest of my life, for life-long maintenance of what I plan to achieve this summer.
I do still find myself attracted to many grain options right now, however. These are perfectly fine under the 5-Factor alone, but bump up against the no-grain parameters designed for quicker shedding of weight. I'm currently debating the merits of sticking with non-grain/starch snacks, or going with Five-Factor low-calorie, whole grain and protein ones. My current thought is a compromise. One compromise might be to go with the 5-Factor option most days, and once or twice a week decide to really kill it for a day and cut out the grains (before dinner- I'm leaving dinner as a healthy and portion controlled but open meal). Another option is to simply impose a before-noon rule. No starch or grains before noon, then continue on with healthy and portion controlled and Five-Factor Friendly.
Right now, the biggest temptation is granola and muesli. I've discovered a love for non-fat Greek yogurt (vanilla bean- I still can't abide plain yogurt) in this past week that I never knew existed. I sort of liked it before, but now I'm eating it daily and actually orchestrated an otherwise unnecessary grocery run yesterday because I ran out. Now I'm stocked for at least... a week. If I don't start doubling up some days. It's wonderful on its own, but I'm so intrigued by mixing in Kashi Go Lean Crunch, or even getting fancy and making my own granola a la Oh She Glows. I keep remembering a little snippet of an interview with Peter Jackson. For those of you who don't know, he is no longer the lovable puff-ball of the Lord of the Rings DVD special features. He got healthy! When asked about it, he said "I just got tired of being overweight and unfit, so I changed my diet from hamburgers to yoghurt and muesli and it seems to work."
Well, Superfit later today (sadly, no Zumba until Saturday- note to self: wear sunscreen this time), so the next few hours will be spent on my writing goal (and very likely the White Collar marathon on USA) instead.
I was going to post a weigh-in update, but I realized that certain hormonal changes have it out of whack this entire week. So my initial "starting weight" might not be all that accurate either. Well, we'll stick with it for now. Fluctuations or not, the scale showed about 2 pounds, which is a respectable number for a week. It's the recommended one, as I recall. I was rather hoping for a few more, but if I can keep that rate for the rest of the summer I'll be in pretty shape indeed.
Having my beans and cheese each morning for breakfast is proving quite easy. How often do we really change up our breakfast routines, anyway? We generally go for the same thing each morning, so it's been pretty easy to stick with it this past week. Aside from having to keep a much larger stash of beans in the house than before (much cheaper than sugary cereal- bonus), it's going to be pretty easy. I'm trying to ease off on how much cheese I put on top, though. Cougar Gold is a little pricey! And I haven't checked, but I very much doubt that it is a low-fat cheese, as preferred under the Five-Factor Diet. As mentioned before, I am not sticking exclusively to this diet while I'm in weight-loss mode, but I can see it being a major part of the rest of my life, for life-long maintenance of what I plan to achieve this summer.
I do still find myself attracted to many grain options right now, however. These are perfectly fine under the 5-Factor alone, but bump up against the no-grain parameters designed for quicker shedding of weight. I'm currently debating the merits of sticking with non-grain/starch snacks, or going with Five-Factor low-calorie, whole grain and protein ones. My current thought is a compromise. One compromise might be to go with the 5-Factor option most days, and once or twice a week decide to really kill it for a day and cut out the grains (before dinner- I'm leaving dinner as a healthy and portion controlled but open meal). Another option is to simply impose a before-noon rule. No starch or grains before noon, then continue on with healthy and portion controlled and Five-Factor Friendly.
Right now, the biggest temptation is granola and muesli. I've discovered a love for non-fat Greek yogurt (vanilla bean- I still can't abide plain yogurt) in this past week that I never knew existed. I sort of liked it before, but now I'm eating it daily and actually orchestrated an otherwise unnecessary grocery run yesterday because I ran out. Now I'm stocked for at least... a week. If I don't start doubling up some days. It's wonderful on its own, but I'm so intrigued by mixing in Kashi Go Lean Crunch, or even getting fancy and making my own granola a la Oh She Glows. I keep remembering a little snippet of an interview with Peter Jackson. For those of you who don't know, he is no longer the lovable puff-ball of the Lord of the Rings DVD special features. He got healthy! When asked about it, he said "I just got tired of being overweight and unfit, so I changed my diet from hamburgers to yoghurt and muesli and it seems to work."
Well, Superfit later today (sadly, no Zumba until Saturday- note to self: wear sunscreen this time), so the next few hours will be spent on my writing goal (and very likely the White Collar marathon on USA) instead.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Inaugural Green Monster
I JUST HAD MY FIRST GREEN MONSTER!!!! The most basic one, just chia, spinach, banana, almond milk, and ice. It was absolutely terrifying- I actually made my mom come and make it with me because I was wigging out about it so much. We only made a half recipe, and then we split that, but that's still more spinach than my body has seen in... pretty much ever.
In other news:
On the sad side: my go-to decently healthy ballpark meal is not being served this year, I found out this afternoon. I liked to get the little microwave things of brown rice and put teriyaki sauce on it. In the future I should be able to work around this sad development by bringing in my own sauce (probably Emily's healthy peanut sauce, since teriyaki sauce might infringe upon the no-liquids/beverages rule), because a different Asian place finally offers brown rice this year, but only plain soy sauce. I cannot abide plain soy sauce.
On the happy side: We unexpectedly got out of the Mariners game in time to hit Superfit, so I jumped headfirst back into working out! Wasn't expecting to start until Friday. Hurriedly located my workout clothing in my as-of-yet unpacked suitcases, went, and nearly killed myself. It was awesome. We started out with mat abs, which is always the scariest, and he had us doing a round of minute long holds: static leg raise, side bridges on both sides, static push-ups, regular forearm bridge. He told us the 30 and 45 second marks and said we could stop at those if we needed. I probably should have, and will regret my decision tomorrow, but I somehow managed to eek out the full minute each time. Which of course shocked my little out-of-shape body and it wasn't the happiest for the rest of the time, but I managed. Doing interval bursts at level 17 on the elliptical during one cardio break probably didn't help either. But instead of progressing up to medium and heavy weights, I stayed at light weight for all three sets. I need to be able to move on Friday when I go back in!
But main point being: I just had my first Green Monster, people. This is highly momentous. My plan is to try and have them at least three times a week (likely as a pre-workout drink, maybe an hour before? Thoughts on the timing of that?). I'm actually really excited to try the Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bomb one and the Pumpkin Pie Protein Power one. The regular one was good, and is probably the one I will drink the most of, long-haul, but my mental game is still pretty shaky with regard to vegetables, so I think smoothing the way with chocolate and peanut butter is wise.
In other news:
On the sad side: my go-to decently healthy ballpark meal is not being served this year, I found out this afternoon. I liked to get the little microwave things of brown rice and put teriyaki sauce on it. In the future I should be able to work around this sad development by bringing in my own sauce (probably Emily's healthy peanut sauce, since teriyaki sauce might infringe upon the no-liquids/beverages rule), because a different Asian place finally offers brown rice this year, but only plain soy sauce. I cannot abide plain soy sauce.
On the happy side: We unexpectedly got out of the Mariners game in time to hit Superfit, so I jumped headfirst back into working out! Wasn't expecting to start until Friday. Hurriedly located my workout clothing in my as-of-yet unpacked suitcases, went, and nearly killed myself. It was awesome. We started out with mat abs, which is always the scariest, and he had us doing a round of minute long holds: static leg raise, side bridges on both sides, static push-ups, regular forearm bridge. He told us the 30 and 45 second marks and said we could stop at those if we needed. I probably should have, and will regret my decision tomorrow, but I somehow managed to eek out the full minute each time. Which of course shocked my little out-of-shape body and it wasn't the happiest for the rest of the time, but I managed. Doing interval bursts at level 17 on the elliptical during one cardio break probably didn't help either. But instead of progressing up to medium and heavy weights, I stayed at light weight for all three sets. I need to be able to move on Friday when I go back in!
But main point being: I just had my first Green Monster, people. This is highly momentous. My plan is to try and have them at least three times a week (likely as a pre-workout drink, maybe an hour before? Thoughts on the timing of that?). I'm actually really excited to try the Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bomb one and the Pumpkin Pie Protein Power one. The regular one was good, and is probably the one I will drink the most of, long-haul, but my mental game is still pretty shaky with regard to vegetables, so I think smoothing the way with chocolate and peanut butter is wise.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Push-up Princess
Question: when fighting off a cold, does one refrain from exercising so the body can use all available energy for said fighting, or does one go in for at least a light work-out in the name of keeping in fighting shape?
I'm compromising right now by not going for the run I wanted, but still working up a light sweat with my push-up regimen. Might even toss in the AbRipperX a little later. Maybe a walk instead of a run?
The push-ups are going really well. I missed almost a week of it because of a weekend trip to London, and was really worried about starting back up. I started in the second column, and I really struggled with the first week. So, two days ago, I very nervously re-did the third day of Week One. And I rocked it! I felt really strong, and was able to power them out in good form, rather than grunt through each and every one. I just finished Day One of Week Two, and I didn't even feel the first two sets- that's 20 push-ups combined! Full disclosure, I am doing knee push-ups. But once I finish the full 6 weeks, I will start over at full push-ups. A scary but exciting thought!
Eating sans-fridge is still proving to be an adventure. The almond milk didn't hold up as well as I would have liked, so I started making overnight oats with just water. Except the second day I did it, they tasted almost spoiled! No idea what that was about. The oats themselves are fine, I've used them in a few other things since.
Found a great recipe for raw, vegan "cookie dough," which I was really craving yesterday. I wanted SUGAR, darn it, but I didn't want to go buy Mars Bars at the local grocer. And even though I have never really had any qualms about eating unrefrigerated cookie dough, and they don't refrigerate their eggs here, I kinda didn't want to go get all of the stuff for regular cookie dough- flour and baking soda and whatnot. But I found a recipe that uses oats, cashews, agave nectar/syrup, and vanilla- all things I have! I don't have a food processor, but I put the cashews and oats into a plastic bag and completely wore out my arm muscles smashing them with my jar of cinnamon. Didn't completely make my oat-cashew flour, so my "cookie dough" is really more of a chunky oat-nut blend, but it tastes fabulous! And I like knowing that it is made almost entirely of oats and nuts, so I feel pretty okay about eating it. Granted, agave syrup is well, syrup, and cashews are a pretty high-card nut, but it's pretty decent, considering. And it's actually whole food.
I've made my peanut sauce on lentils and quinoa a few more times- last time, I greatly overestimated the amount of sauce I needed, so I ended up making more of a soup. I added a few liberal spoonfuls of chia to dry things up a bit. Still not loving the taste of lentils, but it's working. One of these days that I am in the room pretty much the entire day, I should make a batch of crispy tofu squares a la Daily Garnish and just make little bits of peanut sauce throughout the day to dip them in.
I'm compromising right now by not going for the run I wanted, but still working up a light sweat with my push-up regimen. Might even toss in the AbRipperX a little later. Maybe a walk instead of a run?
The push-ups are going really well. I missed almost a week of it because of a weekend trip to London, and was really worried about starting back up. I started in the second column, and I really struggled with the first week. So, two days ago, I very nervously re-did the third day of Week One. And I rocked it! I felt really strong, and was able to power them out in good form, rather than grunt through each and every one. I just finished Day One of Week Two, and I didn't even feel the first two sets- that's 20 push-ups combined! Full disclosure, I am doing knee push-ups. But once I finish the full 6 weeks, I will start over at full push-ups. A scary but exciting thought!
Eating sans-fridge is still proving to be an adventure. The almond milk didn't hold up as well as I would have liked, so I started making overnight oats with just water. Except the second day I did it, they tasted almost spoiled! No idea what that was about. The oats themselves are fine, I've used them in a few other things since.
Found a great recipe for raw, vegan "cookie dough," which I was really craving yesterday. I wanted SUGAR, darn it, but I didn't want to go buy Mars Bars at the local grocer. And even though I have never really had any qualms about eating unrefrigerated cookie dough, and they don't refrigerate their eggs here, I kinda didn't want to go get all of the stuff for regular cookie dough- flour and baking soda and whatnot. But I found a recipe that uses oats, cashews, agave nectar/syrup, and vanilla- all things I have! I don't have a food processor, but I put the cashews and oats into a plastic bag and completely wore out my arm muscles smashing them with my jar of cinnamon. Didn't completely make my oat-cashew flour, so my "cookie dough" is really more of a chunky oat-nut blend, but it tastes fabulous! And I like knowing that it is made almost entirely of oats and nuts, so I feel pretty okay about eating it. Granted, agave syrup is well, syrup, and cashews are a pretty high-card nut, but it's pretty decent, considering. And it's actually whole food.
I've made my peanut sauce on lentils and quinoa a few more times- last time, I greatly overestimated the amount of sauce I needed, so I ended up making more of a soup. I added a few liberal spoonfuls of chia to dry things up a bit. Still not loving the taste of lentils, but it's working. One of these days that I am in the room pretty much the entire day, I should make a batch of crispy tofu squares a la Daily Garnish and just make little bits of peanut sauce throughout the day to dip them in.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Experimention, Part 2
Update:
This hypothetical-item-which-shall-not-be-named works lightyears beyond where my last hypothetical-item-which-was-also-not-named worked. As in, it can actually create and sustain a roiling boil. Really fast, too!
Lentils are... not bad. Not yet good, but not bad. I think stronger flavoring that coconut milk will be required, and also just repeated eating. I think it will be an acquired taste. And it seems like a good one to acquire!
Just occurred to me that I fearlessly dove into eating a new food. This bodes well for future vegetable additions, I would think. Still a big difference- lentils are essentially a different kind of bean, while vegetables are... well, the dreaded vegetables. It's more of a mental block than anything. Baby steps, I guess.
For my "Lentil Training Period," as we shall call it- I think probably lots of garlic and salt, mainly. Oooh, maybe some butter.... Keep the lentil flavor there, but distract myself with lots of yummy otherness. As I find myself decreasing the add-ons, I'll know I've made it.
This hypothetical-item-which-shall-not-be-named works lightyears beyond where my last hypothetical-item-which-was-also-not-named worked. As in, it can actually create and sustain a roiling boil. Really fast, too!
Lentils are... not bad. Not yet good, but not bad. I think stronger flavoring that coconut milk will be required, and also just repeated eating. I think it will be an acquired taste. And it seems like a good one to acquire!
Just occurred to me that I fearlessly dove into eating a new food. This bodes well for future vegetable additions, I would think. Still a big difference- lentils are essentially a different kind of bean, while vegetables are... well, the dreaded vegetables. It's more of a mental block than anything. Baby steps, I guess.
For my "Lentil Training Period," as we shall call it- I think probably lots of garlic and salt, mainly. Oooh, maybe some butter.... Keep the lentil flavor there, but distract myself with lots of yummy otherness. As I find myself decreasing the add-ons, I'll know I've made it.
Experimentation Time!
Got back from my "shopping trip" and now I'm experimenting happily away with lentils. It's entirely possible that this first set will taste horrible, but now I'm at my luxury to try out multiple different ways.
On today's menu: Green lentils, cooked in water with a dash of curry powder and coconut milk, probably to be mixed with more coconut milk and spices. Quinoa, cooked in water and coconut milk, possibly mixed with more coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, etc.
Going to look up information on running in the Jardin du Luxembourg while the lentils simmer.
Will update with the results of the feast!
On today's menu: Green lentils, cooked in water with a dash of curry powder and coconut milk, probably to be mixed with more coconut milk and spices. Quinoa, cooked in water and coconut milk, possibly mixed with more coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, etc.
Going to look up information on running in the Jardin du Luxembourg while the lentils simmer.
Will update with the results of the feast!
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