Sunday Confessional

My lovely sisters gave me publishing rights on this blog and I never post anything. Until now.  I don't post things as this is not my preferred method of encouraging myself to be more healthy.  However something that does speak to me is Mathematics.  I recently read an article that mathematically explains the issue of obesity today.  Being an applied mathematician I found this article fascinating.  I would draw your attention to some of his ending remarks:

Any practical advice from your number crunching?

One of the things the numbers have shown us is that weight change, up or down, takes a very, very long time. All diets work. But the reaction time is really slow: on the order of a year. 

People don’t wait long enough to see what they are going to stabilize at. So if you drop weight and return to your old eating habits, the time it takes to crawl back to your old weight is something like three years. To help people understand this better, we’ve posted an interactive version of our model at bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov. People can plug in their information and learn how much they’ll need to reduce their intake and increase their activity to lose. It will also give them a rough sense of how much time it will take to reach the goal. Applied mathematics in action!

Article from the NY Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/science/a-mathematical-challenge-to-obesity.html

The simulation is interesting and not too complicated to use so try it out.  And remember you are using a beautiful thing called mathematics.

On a less serious note I've had a song stuck in my head almost all weekend.  The chorus says "My body tells me no, but I won't quit 'cause I want more."  It makes me think of my delicious pasta salad I made this weekend. I guess I'll have to dance around to the song a few more times to burn off those extra calories.

loving yourself

 A long time ago - when I was at a weight I'd give anything to be at right now - I was trying to lose weight. And I had a thought. I'm always reading and hearing about how you aren't supposed to "diet", you are supposed to make life changes. Anyone can crash diet and lose weight, even a lot of weight. It's keeping it off that is the real challenge. So my thought was... I shouldn't just be focused on losing weight, I need to learn to love my body (regardless of how I feel about it when I look in the mirror). Treat it well. Take care of it.

Easier said than done.

 

I've always been extremely self conscious about how I look, my weight especially, and that's not something easily overcome. A big part of doing this weight loss challenge between Sandie and I is that I just need that extra nudge to remind myself I need to take care of me. Eating right and exercising is the biggest part of it, but I'm trying to do other small things as well. This is particularly difficult with a 3 year old and a 4 month old... but every little bit helps. Whether it's trying to make sure I'm getting enough sleep (ha! 4 month olds are totally known for letting their moms get sleep), or taking time for something small like a hair treatment or a pedicure. All the moms out there definitely know what it's like to put yourself last on the priority list... so take this challenge and do something for YOU this week!

I'll leave you with this last picture - I think it's completely on par with what I'm trying to convey here. It also reminds me of my Grandmama who is 94... or 95? To this day if you asked her how old she is, she would tell you "sweet 16".

Sunday Confessional

     Sometimes I feel like there is a lot of food obligation. What do I mean by that? I'm talking about instances in everyday life where people or circumstances predict the outcome of your dietary intake. This is always a huge downfall of mine! Guys especially seem to have a need to feed women, like we're starving away just because we're on a diet. Friday was my worst day of all! I had actually been great all week and steadily loosing weight, and then there was suddenly too much food obligation! I was working too hard - up super early, no breakfast, no lunch, squeezed in some water breaks and an energy bar, then went into OT and then stopped in to spend several hours helping a friend with their own job that was overwhelming them. Naturally I was offered food - Rinconsitos (so yummy!). Which I turned down since I was headed to dinner at my sister's house. But these 2 guys wouldn't take no for an answer! So they ordered me 2 small tacos, made sure I ate them, bought me a soda, dared me to eat a whole jalapeño, then tried to force more tacos on me! Then I went to my sister's house where we ordered amazing Indian food - followed up with ice cream desserts (and I'm lactose intolerant). I'm pretty sure I crashed my whole diet in one day!! The confessional is open please post or add encouragement for others. 

It's Not A Diet

       A few years ago Melanie (my amazing little sister) had her adorable and wild son Matthew. After recovering from the birth and getting back to work she sent out a plea - the baby weight needed to go and she didn't want to do it alone. I was out clothes shopping when her text dinged. I took one look at the offer, one last look in the dressing room mirror and eagerly responded "when can we start?!" BEST. DECISION. EVER. One of the first things I did was call up a good friend of mine who is a personal trainer and asked about diets. She told me not to go with any of the diets, but instead change the way I look at food. She steered me towards Tosca Reno and her popular Eat Clean Diet. She immediately added "It's NOT a diet! It's a way of life." If you haven't checked this out yet, you should! The biggest most important message is about moving towards whole grains and natural healthy foods and cutting out processed foods full of sugars and empty calories. This means smarter shopping and more home cooked meals - and as my friend added "only treat yourself once a month" so no more packaged or fast foods. This "diet" is surprisingly easy, very satisfying, good for the whole family, and honestly a bit of an adventure! I didn't realize how many basic foods I've never even tried. Trying new rice alternatives opened up so many options I just wasn't familiar cooking with - and I have so many favorites! Here is a favorite from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook:

MAUI BLACK BEAN SOUP 

In a large skillet, heat 2T olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 ribs of celery (coarsely chopped), 1 fat carrot (peeled and chopped), 1 small purple onion (peeled and chopped), and 1 red and 1 green bell pepper (cleaned and chopped). Sauté until onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes. Add 2 cloves of garlic (through a garlic press), 1 tsp. dried cumin, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp chili powder. Cook another 2 minutes. Add 4 cups stock, 2 (15 oz) cans of black beans, and 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Using a blender, purée soup to desired consistency (some chunks are nice so don't blend 100% without trying it first.) Add 1 cup fresh corn and let simmer another 5 minutes. Serves 8

Sunday Confessions

It's confession time again - and I am proud to say that I have been SO good with my diet this week! I can't think of a time that I've cheated even once (this may be a first)! I've really tried to construct my diet around a realistic, healthy new way to eat. But more on that later.

Just because I haven't cheated on my diet, however, does not mean I don't have anything to confess. I've been extremely lazy about exercising. I'm here to confess I haven't done a single workout since last Saturday! And I don't mean yesterday-Saturday, but a week ago Saturday. In fact the only reason I'm still losing weight is because I've been so good on my diet! This morning when I did my weigh-in it occurred to me that if I would just do my workouts, I'd probably be losing weight like crazy. I struggle so much with time though.

There are 1,440 minutes in a day, and I need to set aside just need 20 of those. 

Somehow. Somewhere.

So what is your confession for the week? Eat a whole box of cookies (been there)? Have fast food every day for lunch at work (done that, too)? Let's hear it!

Adding a Little Spice to Your Life

Let me be honest - I'm a wimp! I'm pretty tough for a girl, but in a rediculously delicate package! I cannot handle the sun in any form thanks to my beyond fair skin, let's not even start on my blue eyes, and I wouldn't even go near mild salsa until I was about 17. I AM A WIMP! Or I should say - was. Then I met someone who cooks the most wonderfully authentic Mexican food. It was "man" up or loose out on an amazing experience. After about 6 months it became clear that I was actually better at tolerating spicy foods than he was! I actually eat whole jalapeños and dump hot sauce on 90% of what I eat now. My son actually said to me "why don't you just use the whole bottle of hot sauce on that tostada?!" To which I replied, "because I might want seconds!" Little did I know, the benefits of eating spicy foods are great!

Did you know that spicy foods can speed up your metabolism? They contain capsaicin {the element that gives chillies their heat} which increases your heart rate and your body tempeature upon consumption - which speeds up the rate at which your body burns calories. Unfortunately the increase is at only about 8%, strength training exercises being your best bet since muscle is a more effective calorie burner. You would have to make an extreme diet change to see a larger effect. But it is still something to consider the next time you go out to eat, stray from your diet, or are just looking for a snack. It should also be noted that similar effects were also found with black pepper and ginger. Capsaicin has also proven to be an appetite supressor - studies suggest that people who consume spicy foods tend to consume 200 calories fewer than those who didn't eat spicy foods. In addition it is a natural blood thinner, an anti-inflammatory, helps to reduce allergy and asthma symptoms, releases good endorphins to the brain, and even helps to control pain!

So keep exercising, keep eating healthy, but don't be afraid to add a little spice to your life!