Monday, December 9, 2013

Vegas Doesn't do Bulletproof.

Alas, my efforts to stay on point with Bulletproof philosophy has somewhat failed me in a rather sizable way. Or shall I say, I allowed Bulletproof to slide while on our vacation. What would I have done? Packed my French press and a quarter pound of coffee? The only reason why this may work out either in my favor or while breaking even, is because the time spent in Vegas, and the amount of food we even ate was minimal.

Anyway...

Who fasts while in Vegas??!?? ...I kind of did.

It wasn't really my intention. But I sort of just didn't eat. I don't know exactly why, but it seemed to be the thing to do. I mean after all, we weren't there to ruin our girlish and boyish figures, but instead to have fun. And right in the midst of learning to do a new thing with my fasting, was not the proper time to even come to Vegas. So I made the best of it. I also made a new decision to find a similar stride next time, as the food options at the Luxor were slim pickings.

Since being on a grass-fed regimen, I realized I had one of several choices: I could pack my meals from home, freezing and precooking my meats and metering out everything,  I could buy some ready-to-eat foods like almonds, nut butter, protein powder, fruit and jerky, or I could be subjected to the dreaded monster food breakfasts, lunches and dinners at both fast food and sit-down dinner restaurants. This was my dilemma, to which had a simple fix: Don't eat until 2p and then don't eat unless you're hungry, eat snacks I bought from the store before getting on the road, and most of all, if you buy a sandwich and it doesn't for some reason hit the spot, you know that your mind and thoughts do not have to be centered around food, in order to have a good time.

I ended up having a rather uninteresting beefsteak sandwich of only half I chose to eat. The next day I had a chicken sandwich and a coffee. That was it. Earlier that day I had apples and almonds. I guess I ended up substituting my food calories out for a little alcohol. The great thing about alcohol and food consumption is, I get to choose what, how much of it, and when.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Bacon, Steak and Grilled Kale: Mealtimes will Never be the Same again.

Once I realized what my day consisted of, it became a day of cooking and backloading proteins. Once my fasting section of the day was done, I began cooking my bacon and had them with hard boiled eggs. Next for dinner, I cooked almond flour pancakes, bottom chuck steak and grilled kale. It was important to eat the coconut slathered kale with the beef, so as to assist and ensure the digestion of such rich proteins.

By the evening, I felt stuffed like the fatted calf...mealtimes were changed forever.

The one very awesome thing about going back to meat is the sensation of fullness that had been previously missing from my diet in a large capacity. Not only that, but I feel a different, stronger foundation is forming, as if I really am extracting nutrients from my food the way nature intended. My body responds well to real food in all forms. But now I'm really trying to get it to respond to weight loss, and it's no surprise that it finally is.

Dave Asprey explains that it takes something upward of years to heal any preexisting metabolic damage created from past formidable lifestyles. It also takes time to shift consciousness into a receptive state where it is willing to receive new information and utilize to its highest advantage. Ain't nobody got time for a lack of results! Not this mujer.

Speaking of consciousness, I find it valuable information inside my scope of practice that I've tried multitudinous nutritional disciplines with a moderate success rate, and here I am back at bacon and eggs for dinner. What gives? How could I at this point seem almost hypocritical to the Atkins adage of "it's going to kill you" song and dance I used to sing? What happened to the old me, besides more education? Nothing. Just more education. And what you choose to do with education is the very difference between being something individual but simple, and being unique and great.

What I find most entertaining about the whole food experiment is that the next day, I was indeed not hungry even in the least and had consumed a mere chunk of beef and kale leftovers, along with my normal morning bulletproof cup and some tea. Monday morning brought a long stretch of fasting success followed by several handfuls of mixed nuts, one apple and some pepperoni (that will no doubt keep forever I reckon) and a serving of nut thins. Then I proceeded to eat a lemon. Why, I'll never be able to answer that. But I can tell you, it was worth every lemony, sour lip-puckering moment imaginable. Would Dave approve of such sour bliss? Even though it's not grass fed beef? Yeah. Probably.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Pancake Hacking, Kitchen Hacking, Nonsense Hacking.

 Everything seems to need hacking these days.

In fact I wished some people would have their mouths hacked. Ah, but I digress (almost).

Nowadays when I see a pancake made with flour, after years of licking my lips and contemplating the first buttery bite I ask myself, why? With this question I can now rule my world. To satisfy my sometimes present pancake lust, I bought some almond flour and worked it out with some organic heavy whipping cream and eggs. With a pinch of salt, this alone justified my pancake. After smoothing a small dollop of honey butter cream on my fluffy treat, never again would I even so much as need to consider any other fattier, more carb-ridden option than this.

In the kitchen I hacked away at tossing things out that no longer made sense to be in my midst. I looked onto my refrigerator shelves and found condiments, foods and bottles of undone, unopened or uninteresting options that clearly hadn't yet seen the trash can, but meant to jump in a long time ago. This part was easily done. I thought I had the healthiest oils in my kitchen and down to a science, but after hearing Dave's thoughts on it, I decided to take another course of action and stop consuming a majority of vegetable oils. I'm down to coconut oil, MCT oil and grass fed butter. In fact I was so concerned about having enough for my morning cup that I grabbed two packs of butter the last time I was at the store. I've never eaten more butter in my life and lost weight from such madness....but it definitely explains my deeper, inner knowing craving butter for so many years without knowing exactly why.

Growth is always about doing something slightly or even majorly uncomfortable in order to get crazy awesome results from something you don't normal obtain such successful joy from...and you're sick of not attaining that state, finally.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

A Relatively quick food log; a check-in.

I had so much to do tonight, and I sit here typing.

Not my intention, but when the writing bug bites, you swat and scratch.

It's not that I won't still get it all done, it's just that it's getting done over the course of the evening in its own time. That may result in sleeping on a desk somewhere, or just simply recoffeeing at some opportune moment in the day, which I have not been accustomed to doing since the Bulletproofing had begun. I haven't had to even think about extra caffeine mid-morning or anytime throughout that day. It's actually been so awesome that I've also realized I can pseudo-cop the effects of the full shabang with a tablespoon of coconut oil. 2T was too much but one works fine for some reason. What I did was poured about an ounce of brewed coffee out into a shot glass and downed that with a glass of water so I could water down the remainder and enjoy at my leisure without any tummy pain, for both the strong coffee and oil induction at once. Then I basically waited until about 1p and sat in the sunlight soaking in Vitamin D.

...and now I am sleep hacking. But I digress.

I ate some mixed nuts, nut thins and two apples, then headed back in. About an hour later I enjoyed a peanut butter protein bar. I didn't eat again except for fluids until around 9p. At this point I made myself a couple of mini grass fed burgers with garlic and an aged cheese garnish slice. I ate some squash and purple potatoes some time later. When I need to carb back load it's difficult for me to stay too low in the carb sector, but then I realize I usually crave carbs for good reasons and not sugary, lacking in nutrition and agenda-less calories. Once I had two almond flour pancakes made with cream, I was good to go. I was super excited about the fact that I found a very effective and fluffy pancake recipe that is creamy delish and has a great taste to it. My honey butter cream is even better and mostly on the approved side (to the left) when looking at a list of Bulletproof foods.

Super hopeful that my package arrives in the morning tomorrow. I have to do everything I can to restrain myself from jumping out of my skin for a good cup.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Turkey Talk...

Wow. Just wow.

I ate my first slice of turkey last night (you know what comes next) after 14 years. Yes. Turkey. Wow. Really Connie? What is compelling you? My whole family asked. I told them it just seemed like it was time. That's the same way I started dating Mike, the same way I conceived Kai, the same way I went into teaching. Everything I've ever done, especially important, just seemed like it was time to take care of. And so I did.

I want everyone to know that this was a long and tough decision for me. I involved all who would listen. I involved the nutritionally educated meat eaters and the vegans. Everyone had a chance to input their feelings on the situation. And everytime I asked myself if I was sure. That's what kept me pescetarian one more day.

And then it happened.

I think what made me try turkey last night was my sister. She seemed happy that I was rejoining the carnivorously inclined, and I thought, "no sis. I'm not going back to eating how the family does, but back to healthy and clean meats that had a nice life, more or less, and didn't die under a major amount of stress." That would change the flavor quality of the meat anyhow.

I don't know what made me do it, except for the compelling research that kept me on the edge of my seat about all the nutrients I wasn't getting, and how I should at least look into supplementation. But that's the problem with supplementation. There's no real logical reason, except for experimentation, that we aren't getting our nutrients from the soil. But if we have healthy farms with healthy foundations and humane butchering practices, (*gulp*, still makes me feel nauseous) with a 100 percent grass fed and finished animal, our bodies will come out all the healthier.

Quietly, impatiently waiting for my Coffee...

I'm waiting for my Bulletproof package to arrive. All I can say is, RRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

How incredibly impatient I'm feeling! I was getting such good effects from using the MCT oil that I hate missing days of taking it. Of course I'm still consuming the butter in copious amounts, but I'm using coconut oil and in fact, can only  use about a tablespoon of the oil when in coffee. For some reason the MCT oil seems better or thinner, and can be assimilated better. That is only a guess of mine. In fact I'm getting pretty excited about the Brain Octane but felt I should curb my enthusiasm and allow my body to understand the changes occurring under the particular MCT reign.
     We could always be getting better results but I really want to make the most out of all the products I use, and since I purchased the upgraded vanilla, there are results I'm supposed to love from that alone, regarding mental performance I'm real excited about. Next I'd like to try the chocolate and the upgraded whey. I can add flavors to anything; the coffee or protein. Additionally it is starting to sound like the reports are telling me to consume L-glutamine and glutathione, commonly found in meats, particularly beef and eggs, two things I have held off consuming for 14 years...until now. I wonder what my body will experience as it goes through all these changes? I hope nothing but pure awesomeness. I'm super excited.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping my package is waiting at the door for me when I return home. I am seriously impatient.

Monday, November 11, 2013

A Most Bulletproof Decision to Go Grass Fed and Wild Caught...

So...
I have been bitten by the Bulletproof bug, in the quest to become the best version of myself possible. I've listened to the research, I've looked over the reports, and I've observed my own life. I listened to accounts of many raw vegans who went omnivore, those including Rob Wolf, Dave Asprey, Jamie Jamison and Mark Sisson. I went pescetarian for a year. And now...I've broken my fast from eating animals.

I know. It seems to most people that, as we improve our spiritual life, that we continue to make choices to preserve life and not contribute to the destruction of our planet. But as time progresses, it seems that not all our choices, even as a vegetable eating maven, has always contributed to top health or top spirituality. I know that my spiritual life changed when I first went vegetarian, but I have seen gurus who still eat meat. So it's not like siddhis disappear with the consumption of meat.... Hence, this is one of the reasons that relaxed my choice to become less of this and more of that. I do promise however, to choose the best, most well-treated food as humanly possible, given all of our environmental and spiritual concerns.

Did I cry about it? Did it bother me? Did it make me feel like less of a human? Did I see the eyes of the innocent cow in my dreams? Sure. But then I thought of what I thought God and the Universe would want for my life, what was best for it. I realize that maybe, just maybe, God would want me to eat the highest source of nutrients possible from my food, and not from a pill. Maybe it was true, that we were given options for a reason...otherwise the animals would prove to be unconsumable.

There were vices I began to rely on like caffeine and vitamins, to feel good and stay awake throughout the day. I'd constantly be looking for options to heighten my energy. At a certain point it didn't make sense that I kept fighting for this balance, even when my energy had always been optimal until that moment. I also began to overconsume sugar. This is how I knew something was grossly out of proportion.

Now after all my changes, I'm happy and at peace. I've removed the majority of caffeine intake, reduced sugar, improved the quality of my proteins and sent soy and canned, packaged food packing. I've increased my vegetables more than when I was eating vegetarian and I'm much stronger. This to me is living proof that eating cleaner protein makes so much sense to my health and well-being.

I want to know that at the end of my life, I did everything I could to the best of my abilities, and that I helped as many people as I could on my way out. I cannot convince anyone that this may be the best way for everyone to live, but at least my life can prove to be an example of someone who put out everything, herself aside at times, to help humanity improve.

List of Foods I've been consuming, Bulletproof or not.

Listening to so many reports has made the time go by. In fact, it's what keeps me from bringing a fork to my lips, is just the discipline of listening to the reports that tell me of so many important facts I need to know about the food supply, and how perilous bad food is to our health. I'm scheduling my weekends now to be about food and self care, in addition to the occasional class and seeing clients. Otherwise, I spent all day yesterday in food prep! It's awesome though because now I am ready for the week, versus last week where I purchased salads with tuna I should not consume, which inadvertently threw me out of my keto cycle. The tuna probably contained some sugars. I am pretty much of the belief now that I should continue fasting when I don't bring food from home. Or something....anything but eat out, is my belief.

I haven't been eating grains, but I've had a few bites of quinoa pasta with cabbage and broccoli rabe in the last day or so. I've also taken to nut thins (made with nuts and rice flour) with Kerrygold aged cheddar. The verdict seems to still be out on feeding our bodies ferments, so I'm going to do some more research on it. I had been loving the ferments but now I wonder if I'm not feeding a candida state in the body a little, due to my craving for it. Meanwhile if I'm going to consume a grain, it seems to be that rice and quinoa would be okay to consume. I can safely say I have not touched wheat pretty much since two months prior, and no other grains but infrequent legumes. I have most recently went back to cheese near the end of october (and before my cycle) to try the cauliflower crust pizza, which was way worth it.

My staples are: Apples, lemons, cabbage, kale, strawberries, squash, cream and grass fed butter, wild caught fish like salmon, ahi, cod, sole, pollock (though not recently due to some environmental issues) and now sardines, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, infrequent bananas and grapes, arugula and mixed greens, avocados and tomatoes, Sunwarrior protein powder, walnuts and cashews, almonds, eggs both hard boiled, fried and deviled, infrequent beans, grass fed cheese (mostly), whole milk mozzarella and kombucha. If I consume sugar, it's honey or coconut sugar. I've had some items with refined sugars and every time I've thought of the consequence on my efforts and how long it'll take to recover from them. I know that all of my foods are not in the green zone of the Bulletproof diet, but I do shoot for the green.

This is all in addition to the Bulletproof coffee mornings where I consume 2T of MCT oil and butter nutribulleted into smooth, rich creaminess. I've been doing a coffee shot lately outside of my brewed coffee to give me a jolt and also to lighten the heavy flavor of the coffee. This most recent organic blend is so far my favorite. This guy started the organic movement in coffee so it seems sensible to assume that he has the best coffee next to Dave Asprey's suggestions. Though this is better coffee than the last organic bag I've purchased, I'm still looking forward to the five pounds in the mail waiting for me.

Truth is, the Bulletproof morning with all the accoutrements is still the very best combination of ideas for my body.  Not only do I feel optimal, I don't have additional cravings for caffeine and I feel quite awake. I'm even waking up better as well. I may be adding to that list of foods rather soon.


A Rant on Discipline and Rebellious Food Behavior.

I have always been annoyed with how resistant I am to eating with discipline.

I mean, I've been successful with it, and I begin to see results...but then there's that moment where I have to get all crazy on a food choice, and then I lose it all together.

What's important to understand here, that as soon as the food hits your gut biome, all sorts of hormonal manifestations occur. What drug am I looking for? What experience am I trying to have? It's not so awesome that I keep searching for the perfect food high, though I don't know a soul who doesn't do exactly what I've done in this debacle.

I realize that I have to keep playing this game with myself in order to continue improving my mission. If I am going to somewhat obsess about getting better and creating a higher performance state in myself, then I have to ask myself these questions. I would worry more about  the person who thinks that what they do is perfect and are completely happy with not changing a thing. It's so important to keep changing! Staying the same is what breaks us down and down and down....

I remember having my mom tell me about food. She had me on high protein, low carb diets my whole life. At the time I was working within the limits of my understanding. Thank goodness the world doesn't completely beat down on me for this. I couldn't eat this and couldn't eat that. It's not that I didn't want to, it's that I was told it would make me sick...but then none of us in the family had any willpower to stay away from the foods that would one day kill us. But now I realize that mom wasn't completely wrong, even as I rebelled from omnivorous behavior to vegetarianism, then on to pescetarianism. What we did then, probably saved my life, and had no idea why.

One very positive aspect to all of this is to see myself as that food rebel that continues to chip away at self improvement, which says much about my commitment and discipline. It's only as grim or as wonderful of a picture we choose to paint.







A Change in Schedule...Deviant Bulletproof behavior.

The third weekend was met with birthday surprises, inadvertently throwing me off my bulletproof regimen. I had no idea my coworker friend would sugar bomb me with a delicious mango cheesecake friday, and some fried rice and honey walnut shrimp on Sunday. Whatever sugars I consumed in those two days threw me into a tizzy, one in which about a week was lost while climbing back onto schedule. Lucky for me, I'm human and I err, so it made it alot easier to make a mistake without drilling what was left of my discipline into the ground. Though I did not excuse myself and say "oh that's okay, you can always come back," I documented the shift and it was noticeable. I didn't feel quite as optimal as I had prior to that perfectly fasted moment. But even that would take a few days, so the next level had not even quite begun...

The following week came with yet more surprises that I should more closely document. Sometimes they are subtle and sometimes they are vast. Either way, I feel changes in my mood and physiology, when I eat different foods. As I've become more accustomed to eating fish again, I have noticed that I've thought of steak on more than one occasion...and then when I finally realized that I was eating ahi tuna as a form of meaty steak-like sustenance, I decided I may need to consider more than just the tuna....

In my life today, I am asking the question "why" to the foods I choose and what I decide is okay to consume. I'm looked at among my friends as an explorative eater. (You may want to question my motives should I begin to consume insects.) I'm not really like the people who live a primal life, feasting on organ meats, nor am I the vegan/vegetarian righteous one who perfectly preserves the life of the animal. I've never been the astute, well disciplined guru, nor the to-the-letter dieter who's planning for a fitness competition. Even in the fact that I am currently alive and breathing, could be considered a deviation in itself, as, according to my mom, I would not have lived if it were not for the doctor that refused to lose another child that belonged to her. I guess I've been deviant since the very beginning.


Saturday, October 26, 2013

Saturday week 2: Mission Bulletproof Life.

It's about 1:30p, and I woke up about 9a in a slightly hungry state. I guess because I didn't get up and have the bulletproof coffee at 7a as I usually do, my weekend schedule changes my digestive schedule. I've been listening to a large number of Bulletproof podcasts, and as soon as I feel nice and caught up, I'll begin listening to Paleo Solution. I'm just interested in obtaining as much information as humanly possible. Such deeply rooted information exists on such a wide scale that I have a new scientific vocabulary when it comes down to it.

My mind and performance have definitely improved. I'm aligning myself with the mental patterns of the Bulletproof frequency, like dialing into that radio station. The lean results I'm expecting should have already been in place, not from doing this program, but in my life, and I've been wondering how to unlock that. I'm thinking this is the way...for now. My clients will appreciate my experimentation, trial and error on myself. They are more likely to listen if I have firsthand experience with it. In fact my question always has been, how can one proclaim a certain way of life works or doesn't work if one has not gone through the process of discovering it? As I teach my students about the six steps of the scientific method, I realize that my own junior biohacking is in the same category. You must ask the right questions, hypothesize your results, then test it to see if it worked.

I've never quite taken to heroes and role models to define my life, as I'd prefer my life set the tone and the example for many, but really, when I am admiring a scientist, biohacker, author or dancer etc., I really am looking up to their accomplishments and what I can glean from their experience, without getting confused as to what to choose for myself. I know that through this experiment, I find the best methods and timing for each, that work for me. So much has come from this time.

Back to the Bulletproof journey. I've weighed myself and noticed about a 4 pound deficit since the last time I weighed myself several months ago. I'm finally beginning to see the benefits of what I do as a natural course of constant improvement. The hunger pangs have completely subsided, though I did want to consume things this morning as I rose....but I figure part of that is due to me not having eaten enough in the last few days. My body is looking for a slight bit more, but if I satiate that, I'll be in a predicament of not being able to shed fat weight because I keep feeding the hunger pangs. To create a deficit, one must feel a bit empty; a bit of a loss....not in a bad way, but there needs to be some negative space created in order to advance the body.

     In the last few days I have been increasingly spending time canceling out negative patterns, behaviors and reactions to negative information with binaural beats. I've used them for focus, concentration and improving relationships, expanding love and joy, and finding greater wealth (which I think involves much focus, concentration and love, all the same goal focused into a product). I'm finally getting out of my own way and focusing on the things that need doing in order to be successful, and truly maximizing my time.

I was always meant to be a hard body. It was always meant for me to be able to walk about and proclaim that what I do works, and to not stop encouraging people to chip away at a DEFINABLE, MEASURABLE GOAL.

I had to put that in caps because I don't always think that people are looking at this. They are not seeing how much preparation and planning goes into manifesting and designing the architecture of a goal. People just say, "I wanna be skinny," or "I wanna be strong and toned." People don't think of the painstaking work it takes to get there, or the intense, dialed in focus and direction your trainers and coaches have to have in themselves, in order to teach it to you.

Let's face it. On a basic level, sans any intellectual or spiritual wisdom, I like feeling my abs when I touch my stomach. I like seeing them. I like grabbing my hard thighs. I like jumping higher than many others with power, grace and stamina. I enjoy being an UberHuman in the making. I get much value in other areas of my life by working this hard to see what I feel has always been meant for me to see, to experience.

No one said losing weight would be easy, or that getting lean would not involve some monk-like discipline at times, but the goal acquisition, and the life-changing moments of clarity and discovery obtained from such a journey, is well worth the struggle.

One, two many cups of bulletproof coffee....

Well this spelled sleepless night. I also didnt consume much food that day. With only two apples, peanuts and two fried eggs, I went into deep slumber. Funny thing is, I felt perfect all day and not a bit hungry (but grateful to eat nonetheless). I'm not sure my muscles appreciated not having much carbohydrate on such intense physical labor, but I figure it's nothing a few good days of sleep and an inversion table can't fix.

Truth is, I'm really obtaining quite a bit of benefit in stacking my mTOR pathways in this manner. It's a lot more manipulative to your biology than exercise, and a faster method if met with discipline. Also, my mind is on fire.

Friday Night Food Window.

10:57p: I realize that the food window that I am supposed to observe is supposed to close at 8p, and yet I have so much to do that a hot meal is inconceivable once I arrive home...I'm working out until then. It's the only time window I have on a regular basis, so I have to shorten the number of hours I spend in a fast until I can control my schedule a little better. I have to check my notes to see if the difference between 16 and 18 hours in a fasted state makes an important difference.

1a: When most mere mortals would go to bed, I am still awake. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that. However it becomes an issue when one adds two fried eggs and a red apple to the equation. I'm thinking this is an awesome little meal, and  the world is really not far off my ideas, if it weren't for my goals. But I push ahead, and feel that the weekend may prove to land on my schedule differently than was originally thought.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Day 8, 9, and emotional flowering.

Day 8 and 9 had an interesting twist to my emotional development, in the moment of a watery sign retrograde in a commonly airy mercury state. My investigations as of late have been going deeper and deeper. I am asking the hard questions of myself and of others, my actions and theirs, versus historical events that have changed the course of lives in an impactful way. I ended up talking to my kids about silent inflammation and foods that cause it. I talked about brainwashing and how it is not in the government's best interests for us to stay healthy. As a means of population control, it is easier to send damaging subconscious messages via television and other forms of flashing media, allowing those who are weak to consume on sugary snacks. After all, catch them when they young and susceptible, right?

     I feel this is a common epidemic and it only began occurring to me in the last day or two, that there are some real issues in the world to consider, and that with food out of the way, at least during a major part of a thinking day, that I have space to think about these things. Before this moment I don't think I was even interested in getting into any full scale thought about the state of our world. It only proves that food creates us. It makes us who we are and where we're going. It is the definition of how our mind thinks. If we eat clean, our thoughts seem to come out cleaner...and in the process, purify into higher states of ability. We can do more if we can think more clearly....

I also found that I came to some ground clearing revelations with emotional and spiritual development, as a result of simply having my body focus on what it does internally, as opposed to reaching outside of itself for information and fuel. The body is a pretty unique self-fueling system in itself, if you let it do what it does. I'll go into my revelations in my blog Dawn of a New Thought.

Intermittent Fasting Gone Mad.

     I didn't plan on only eating two apples at 2p and dancing for two hours before getting to a handful of peanuts at 7p. The great part about this is that I finally reached my goal of waiting to eat until 2p. I was so excited, because on Tuesday I felt hunger around noon and by 12:45p, gave in to my emotions. After all, really, eating is a desire to eat, not always a physiological response to needing food. One can learn much about the psychology of eating when one is in a deficit, but it often be difficult to focus on when the body is responding to old messages such as "I always eat at this time, so feed me, please."

     Maybe science is finding that the old adage of eat on a schedule, even if one is not hungry, is actually an incorrect approach when it comes to food. Also if one has spent their life dieting, or has any kind of predisposition to illness, the body may have spent some time in a metabolically challenged or damaged state. Furthermore, it seems to be the case that eating is a recreational event where if there is any downtime between the person and an activity or task, sometimes food can conveniently intersect the event, creating a distraction from actually attaining success at that task.

By 9p, I began my trek home, but it wasn't until almost 10p that I cooked two fried eggs and enjoyed them immensely. That's all I had. Amazing. It seems to me that my body is acclimating to eat its own body fat for fuel with no issues at all whatsoever. Oh how I love that.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Day 6: The Game Changer.

Day 6 consisted of a night where I couldn't sleep...I woke up with crazy dreams and couldn't really ever go back to sleep. That's when I decided to go for mantras, and then by morning, binaural beats. I felt an emotional overload of thoughts and feelings rise to the surface and dissipate. I am beginning to think that sugar shovels emotions down.

Next I began to think beyond my traditional precepts and started pondering transhumanism and the thought of a zombie apocalypse and I said to myself, "people really think this way?" To which I realized that maybe all great thinkers and doers have to do something different to surpass the human condition...

I mean if you really think about it, those who have gone outside themselves to attain wisdom have done well in school, but nonesuch have attained the type of wisdom that moves mountains, when one looks from within.

All my searching and wandering the earth seeking that better, more productive life has come to this one moment: everything I have, and everything I am, is more than what I ever thought I could be....I just have to find that seed, that core of discipline, (logs) and that spark (fire) to make the next phase of my existence alight with passion, truth, and the triumph of reaching the success that affords me the life I seek.

The second half of this post was brought to you by carbs. Yes, good old fashioned, sloppy dirty party carbs. Back to the fasting grind in the morn. I have goals.

Days 3,4,5, and the Odd change in Thinking.

Day 3 was fantastic. I had a ton of energy and did not think much about food...well, maybe just a little. My mind really went through a process of discovery with what I was doing and what it could do for me. My thoughts did not go too far beyond my food and how I felt though.

Day 4 turned into a long stretch where I didn't get a meal until 2:30p or so...Friday was just tough all around because I kept zoning out. All that mental clarity of the days before had fallen into a mush by the time I returned. I couldn't wait to get to my meal and so had a handful of cashews by noon. That held me over until I got home. I felt my creativity peak, and I was definitely more excited about making new things happen, especially in my classroom.

Day 5 was a sleeping in and a joy to behold because I got to 4p before I had my first meal. I taught yoga in the morning and was actually hoping to practice with my students, but not this morn, though it was definitely an enlightening conversation.
 Honestly I couldn't get to my meal before then so it worked out. I did have a kombucha though at noon, and that seemed to work well. I ate fish and cauliflower leftovers. 

One of the things I really started to notice was that I was eager to learn about my life, my experiment, and what performance enhancement could do for me. I must have listened to about three shows in that day alone, and my brain was bristling with new information. I have lots of friends to discuss health with. I have been feeling encouraged to jump back into the driver's seat and pick up some new clients.


Thursday, October 17, 2013

Day 2 Of a New Mental Clarity and some other discoveries.

9a: This new mental clarity needs to stick around for a bit, as I am thoroughly enjoying this new level of focus I feel I have this morning. Is this unlike other mornings? Is this upgraded coffee, butter and MCT oil really doing the work of numerous brain-building supplements? I just found out that I should leave the tea alone until later, at least until after I am off the fast. Sometimes being aware of something you're "supposed" to be doing makes one resistant to follow through. You know the story.

Let's look at what might be making me feel so sharp. MCT oil is touted to be an energy booster, and very little of the oil is stored as fat. That's a solid, clean-burning, carb-free energy source. Grass fed butter contains short and medium chain fatty acids, lauric acid, omega-3's, conjugated linoleic acid, and vitamin A.

10:30a: Oh wow I just want to eat something!! ANYTHING!! I'm sleepy! What's happening to me?

11a: Oh, whew. I'm okay now. I just want my lemon water. These brief waves of oddness is interesting! I've also been told that we need to ignore "hunger pangs" as well, as they are created, not real signs of hunger...or so I've been told...

12:30p: Having a dip in energyyyyy againnnnnnnnnnn..............the toughest part is to get my mind off of food. I have salmon and sweet potatoes with arugula salad waiting for me. I'm chomping at the bit...

12:45p: YES!! It's salmon, arugula and sweet potato time!

So I gather that it's only a matter of time until I train my body to respond to not eating mid-morning. Every day is different, but if that means I will be able to produce more energy from what is already contained in my tissues, that means greater fitness and physical efficiency all around. Then I will look and feel like the monster production machine I was always meant to be.


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Bulletproof Experiment.

I have to say that Dave Asprey is a genius. Whoever can put together that something like yak butter tea could work in the real world is brilliant. And, they also have a lot of common sense. Just like fur keeps an animal warm in winter, so would eating extra fats increase fat metabolism. Right? Well maybe not to everyone, but if it works for those in the Tibetan mountainous terrain, it can work for us all. Probably. Well we'll see. But we have faith.

I am fully ready to chronicle my bulletproof journey. I just purchased my MCT oil and upgraded coffee. I was so excited that I made a frothy cup at 8p! Of course I didn't eat my usual dinner at that point...but had a little something after about 4 hours. I know. Look, I'm being completely honest. I was up late prep cooking for the next few days and I didn't know when I'd get the next chance, so I decided to burn the midnight oil. Don't judge, yo.

After falling asleep at 1:30a, I woke up to a burning hot stomach at 6:15a. My whole body heated up like a furnace! The first thing I thought was, I'm bulletproofing! Well not quite, but my metabolism was definitely kicked up. I made myself a fresh cup and bought into the idea of grass-fed butter in my cup o' joe. Woah. Grass fed butter. And I'm not even really a Paleo girl! I saw my avantgarde ways in that moment.

Today went quite well, and I was impressed with the idea of me fasting through until 2p. I would have thought I would be famished, but I actually wasn't, and could have made it until 2p. I broke the fast at 1p due to a school lunch party. That would certainly save on meal prepping for school, now wouldn't it? The idea of bringing two, hot and frothy mugs to get me through the morning, along with tea and lemon water, seemed like a hell of a plan.

I see now why it is imperative that only the upgraded products be used. I admit that I tried to bulletproof organic store brand coffee and coconut oil, as I was way too excited to try the buttery combination, but it only ended in weird burping and grumbling that deeply concerned me and had me running for food by 11a. Was it the fasted state? Stopping eating by 8p? (Not sure I even did that.) Or maybe it was the idea that I no longer had to run to find food at my conference period anymore. Relying on a cup of low toxin, caffeinated bliss has its perks.

Today's cup was pure brilliance. This is an experiment I will want to see all the way through. Well, I'm not convinced it will lead this newly turned pescetarian into a grass-fed beef eater, disavowing all carbs as I had once done in the past, but it may just shave a few pounds off my winter physique, circa 2004...

Back in the Game...

I feel like I dropped out of the game for a minute, but I'm back. For me, dropping out isn't a total and complete departure though, unlike others I've known who'll take the opportunity to eat anything and everything in their pursuit for happiness, shoveling down another emotion instead of letting it release from the body by eating something cleansing and nutritive. Eating healthy is a purging of the soul that most don't see from first glance, but after looking in just a little bit deeper, they find a wealth of information underneath that surface that may just be important to one's next big discovery about themselves.

I'll use myself as an example. I just finished what I call a huge sugar binge, where I started to eat products with refined sugar and starches. I even bought a few egg muffins from said fast food institution whose name will remain unknown, in a desperate attempt to not go the day long without eating. This was the result of going to bed at night instead of packing a lunch. Something always suffers.

And then the next layer of the problem, again like most Americans, I wasn't willing to fix the situation. It seemed to occur after the purchase of my new car. This to me and my energy system was like buying a new home in another country, totally throwing me off my original game. Finances were also affected, as I was not originally planning to lay down extra funds to pay for a car. This simple fact alone changed my food on just a financial level.

Once I got everything under control again, I took myself to the grocery store at the beginning of this month. I loaded up on ahi, salmon, arugula, sweet potatoes, eggs and grass fed butter. I also bought smoothie preparation for my nutribullet with walnuts, pineapple, strawberry, mango and peaches. I made a brown fried rice with lots of green and white onions and garlic. I threw in some fluffy eggs and brought it to work with my buffalo salmon chunks, since I was craving hot sauce flavor. It came out deliciously! Along with several supplements I like taking, I think I'm back in the game.

Thoughts on becoming a certified health coach.

Airplanes instruct us to put our masks on before helping others put theirs on. Firefighters put on protective clothing before going in to put out the flames. Monks meditate and clear their minds before doing their daily chores and counseling families. Chefs prep and cook before making a beautiful presentation and serving to the customers. Everyone makes a preparation, a plan, a protective practice, before going in to meet the needs of their population.

As a health coach, I realize that I may have a largely varied group of people who represent a cross section of the population, or a certain set of goals. There will also be the client that needs close to an emergency level of help with their situation. In fact I am often in awe of the scenarios painted in the Integrative Nutrition forums on a regular basis. As I would love to have an ideal client, I may get a few that expand my practice in ways I would not expect, always giving me something to grow into.

I've been in fitness and nutrition for some time, since 2000, and have been a vegetarian for as long. I sometimes wished I would have made a bigger stink about writing nutrition articles and journals then. People would have known me, and I would have a brand. Either way, I've always been a bit obsessed to the point of either something definably noticeable as exercise bulimic or orthorexic (addicted to healthy eating to anxiety ad nauseum), as clarified by Dr. Steven Bratman. Yeah, when I started worrying about peanut butter possibly being the demise of my health (I was eating a sandwich on whole grain and running marathons), I knew I was either passionate about what I was doing, and needed to make a better living at it, or I needed mental help.

Today I am more obsessed with experimentation and finding the best fit for my body at the age and shape I'm in. This is no easy feat, when one looks at the factors that seem to weigh against us as we age. But do most people know that food is a deciding factor on how well or how poorly one ages? Do people realize that all we need to do is follow a few simple rules about what we put into our mouths and minds? Do we all understand that the same universal principles apply for all, and that age has little to do with level of health to a large degree? And finally, do we realize that we can have optimal health at any age? I hope so. If not, I'm here to teach you that.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Tuna steak: The Gateway Meat.

I was beginning to become this sad little girl, at all the farm raised fish on the market. Farm raised fish today causes silent  inflammation tomorrow, along with a host of other problems that we need to consider when purchasing food. 

At this point, looking at the prices of wild caught fish has made me reconsider how many times per week I actually need to eat fish. I mean, I still eat the stuff, it's just that my protein habit has to be altered just a little bit, in order to get the amount of proteins I want in my life, without such huge fish consumption. After all, we all know what the oceans are going through, and that's enough to make me want to become a breatharian…

… But I'm not giving up yet, especially when a delicious fish named tuna steak, has come into my life. Now I need to remind you of something. I have just recently become Pescetarian, and there have been moments when I had considered going back to full-time vegetarianism. At this point however it would completely change the way I would do things. So I'm content to eat fish because it would be far healthier for me to do, then to go back to consuming the amount of eggs and cheese that I was consuming in the past. 

So my real question is, cheese and yogurt, or fish? I think that's the way I lift weights classifies me as a bodybuilder, so I think that putting in an excess amount of unhealthy fats such as cheese is out of the question. So is canned tuna… And here is where tuna steak enters the equation.

The butcher told me to sear the meat. Well I was at a festival last weekend ago, and they were serving tuna tacos. They felt the need to tell me that the tuna was seared… Which means raw. It means raw... The meat is raw?! Did not sound like a really good plan to me, suddenly, to eat that taco, So I decided to go for the large wild caught fish taco on non-GMO corn tortillas.

Tuna has been on my mind since then. I mean, did I really need to cook and eat the tuna raw? Or could I serve it cooked through a little bit more? I had this discussion with the butcher, who just happened to be a graduate of culinary  school. He said that he had always learned to sear the tuna and not cook it through. He didnt know reasons other than for presentation. I imagine that I could see this as a dilemma, as I was about to commit the unimaginable.

Here my decision was, to actually cook the fish through! Instead of five minutes on each side, I went a full seven. That's right, seven minutes on each side. The result was this tender juicy pink inside, and a deliciously crusted outside. I had let the tuna sit lovingly on my pink salt cooking block before doing the deed.

The deed was done. I stood there staring at that heaven on a platter after having tasted it, the flavors infiltrating all my senses. It barely gave me enough patience to prepare a big salad I wanted to have with the fish. I could say it was like a dream come true, but I can't say I was dreaming of eating a slice of beef exactly… But that's sort of what it began to taste like. It tasted like a beef steak! Only it was a bit more delicate in some ways, but what a dense piece of fish that was! I had no idea…

Now this thought alone is what made me start to wonder if tuna was the gateway meat. I mean come on, that piece of fish alone, if cooked well and if enjoyed, would definitely inspire one to want fancier cuisine. I had been talking about what nutrients I may be missing if I am not consuming beef, chicken or pork products. Even though my health is much more important than eating animal flesh, the one reason I did begin eating fish had to do with my health in particular. So I really had some things to consider, if you think about it.

Hard-core vegetarians will definitely not agree with me when I say that there are nutrients missing from the diet where a supplement simply will not suffice. I've grappled with this concept many a day and hour, and after 13 years is what made me decide to make the leap. Now I don't know that consuming beef for its CLA content is in my future, but I have certainly considered it.

 It's a hard journey to know when a food is not whole, and to know that health is at stake, while you continue to make the same choices. It's equally tough to know the truth of our oceans and the reality of ending life for the meal on our plate. I am at least thankful for every fish who has given up their life for me...especially that tuna steak. Thank you.


Monday, July 29, 2013

Correct thinking about food.

Correct thinking is an art form that must be cultivated over time.

Now granted, I am referring mostly to food, but if you think about it, it applies all throughout life. The correctness of those thoughts must continue to rise, form, change and transmute into something lesser, softer, stronger, larger...something that is more correct to the discipline in which the thought has been applied, ultimately, to get the best effect from that world.

Okay, I'm getting to the point already.

Many of us don't think correctly about food. It's not because we can't or don't want to. Heck, we try all the time with these loud and oftentimes annoying messages of  all who want to lose weight and "tone up." I'm not a fan of the word "tone," only but for the sound the whale makes.
We read these magazines, look at websites and books, searching for that perfect diet or that plan that just makes it all work. No one ever says that there isn't only one way to work food, although there are a variety of examples on this theme. Point is, I think our country is only just getting to the real issue that exists, that will help us all to think correctly about our food.

We all want a life of joy, and we want this in as many ways as possible. If we think that losing weight is connected to that ultimate source of joy, we will wage this battle happily for the expectation we afford. However, expectation often breeds disappointment, since we attach ourselves so heavily to the outcomes. As humans, we desire. All of our prayers and meditations, intentions, desires, are all to lead us to the holy grail of some form of higher satisfaction, our joy. But what if we could find this joy without having a thing? Being thin does not equal an automatic check being sent in the mail. Being rich doesn't make the love interest of your dreams love you back. Having a home means having a house note, which means another responsibility. Do we need to think of what our desires mean, if they manifest into reality? Do we really know what we are asking of ourselves when we make these plans and goals? Do we know what work and possibly suffering goes into our goal?

Conversely, do we understand what the pleasure of attaining a disease-free life is without the sacrificing of a few earthly pleasures? As we expand our consciousness into a higher state of being, we need to look at what truly frees us from suffering. This is what we strive to attain when we have deep desires for certain things such as weight loss. What if we were forced to grow accustomed to eating a certain way because we got sick? What choice would we have then? As a diabetic or a heart attack survivor, etc., we would not have the choices we have now in our disease-free states.

Here's my take on what I feel is correct thinking about food, that I have had to come to over the past year: we are always either feeding our cancer cells or shrinking them. We are either eating whole and raw foods or we are eating some lesser form of food that is inherently less whole. We are either fully awake in our reality that eating in restaurants has an element of danger, or we know for sure the standards that restaurant claims. We read packages and allow ourselves to be informed consumers, and we eat to live. We look at our money and we make strong decisions on whether we want to spend the extra cash on having wild fish shipped to us, or we spend extra money on our hospital bills when something goes really wrong. We have a choice, and it goes beyond, far beyond, any weight loss plan we could summon up.


Sunday, July 14, 2013

Soupy Soup, not Stew, Which I usually make.

The stew I had been so known for making, has become soup.

It's almost like a graduation. Anyone can make a stew and put too many ingredients, bulking up the stock and filling the bowl with saucy goodness, but can one make a soup delicate enough to be served alongside a meal but hearty enough to be called a meal if it came down to it?

I found a balance to those two things and I didn't even have to call mom or find a recipe to get this balance. I guessed, which is even more fun. I sat down with the following ingredients and proceeded to chop myself into a certain food-induced bliss while listening to Anne Marie Colbin and her lecture on mostly bone health, the nature of cravings and bio-individuality as it applies to the five elements theory of Chinese Medicine.

It was a meditation while I listened to the funny and choppy voice of Colbin. Okay was someone going to give me a heads up on how tough it is to chop into a celery root? Wow, delicious flavor, much smoother and mellower than celery, but so hard to get into. The same commentary is reserved for kohlrabi, whose leftovers I sauteed and served with flounder and black rice. Kohlrabi has a great flavor and crunch, but it is almost impossible to chop.

My other ingredients I threw in were yellow onions, carrots, garlic, parsley,  thyme and coconut oil. I let them sweat in the oil before throwing them into a vegetable stock I flavored with just a shake or so of red pepper and garlic powder, and a little salt at the end. It's nice to rely more on flavor these days, as the mineral richness adds much flavor. This was a very kidney balancing blend. In fact I've got extra for dinner this evening.

That mysterious Peruvian Sauce tastes amazing on many things.

....I haven't tried it on oatmeal. That might not work.

Ah, the secret for the ingredients in this Peruvian sauce seems like a long search for many. I just remember frequenting El Pollo Inka with my then hubby, in Redondo Beach or Hermosa? Maybe it was the border. I would ask about the sauce and I was once told of its contents by a nice waitress. Or wait, maybe she didn't give me the whole list. She told me it contained lettuce and jalapenos. Since I got the Nutribullet, I thought it would be absolutely awesome to make the sauce and really break open the nutrients in this sauce, so it would become even more potent for me healthwise. I love my Nutribullet, but I think this gem of a blender deserves its own post.

I  don't often follow recipes so I hadn't even tried looking up the sauce prior to making it. I just remembered what the waitress said, and was intent on trying it. Funny that it has taken me this long to get to it. I mean, we are talking years. Seriously?

This is what I decided my sauce should have: 1 full head of  iceberg lettuce, 3 large jalapenos, I Mexican green onion (the one with the big bulb, or maybe just add extra green onions), 4 cloves of garlic, and lettuce. That's it! I cut the ingredients and blended down most of the lettuce before putting the onion, garlic and jalapenos in. Salt was very last. I allowed my tongue to guide that process.

Once the sauce was made, I took such great delight in eyeing this beauty of a sauce! It looks so bright, fresh and green. It is amazing in taste and goes well with a variety of dishes calling for a flavorful, spicy element. It also adds that boost of water, fiber and minerals, selenium in particular, comes to mind.

Here's my flageolet bean and cabbage dish with my version of the sauce.



But I should reveal to you what I think most people are talking about when they refer to that Peruvian sauce. But I could be wrong. I also could have been mislead on its ingredients! Either way, my sauce was amazing, and I can build on it or even try this recipe I'm about to post, because it sounded delicious as the one I made. http://www.cookbookpeople.com/blog/2010/08/03/lettuce-enjoy-peruvian-dipping-sauce/

Friday, July 12, 2013

Burned Rice, Sprouting Fails, and other Kitchen Calamities.

I finally managed to successfully burn the rice. Joshua, my head mentor teacher and owner of the largest nutrition school in the world, would surely smile at this statement and nod his head in approval, as he waited for me to breathlessly exclaim my findings. I'm also sure that at least a hundred others wrote the same exact creepy words on their blog...all you can do is smile about it.

I also managed to over salt the fish, undercook the kohlrabi, and made creamy parsnips that were delicious in flavor but had woody cores whose warnings I had ignored. I wished I hadn't for the mere fact that it really disturbs the smoothness of whipped parsnips with inedible bits that do more to annoy, despite the delicious and naturally sweet flavor. With parsnips, it was the first vegetable where I noticed it quelling a sweet craving. No other vegetable has inspired me to even think something so ridiculous...

The salt block is an incredible natural event and a phenomenal invention from someone who found that one could cook on it as well. God bless them. But here's the thing. If you don't really know what you're doing, you could come out with one salty mess-terpiece. I mean, let's really look at this. Unless its a super dense piece of meat, don't venture to leave anything moist on the block for longer than a minute or two, otherwise you will have some very highly salted food. No matter how much I claim to love salt, there is such a thing as too much. 

Well, I found it. Now I use the Touch It Once technique on my salt block: smooth the food over it, or lay the food down MOMENTARILY. Then abruptly pick it up and transfer to a nonsalty plate. Now, if the food is dry or you place a film between the food and the block, this could be something to look at, whether that film is oil, plastic wrap or a banana leaf, just a few ideas. Of course the wrap would make tacky the natural salt patina, but it's your dinner! Choose wisely. Meanwhile, the pink salt provides a well rounded flavor profile that completely compliments the natural flavor in the food. I find it to be miraculous and have not enjoyed my food until I discovered it. Also, finishing with salt is different than the salt plate. Try it and see what I mean. Just like any food, leaving it in its whole state closest to how it's found in nature, applies here. 

Whew! Meanwhile, turning to my kohlrabi, he and I needed to have a discussion about the nature of him still being in my fridge. A very sturdy but watery root vegetable, it cooked up nicely and has a lot more crunch than most root vegetables so it takes a long while to cook. No mystery here. It needed another five to ten minutes. Instead I seasoned it very simply and began to consume with reckless abandon. A small shake of black and red pepper, mustard and salt, did the trick. Not a huge fail after all, but it's fun to practice talking about what DIDN'T work. Honestly it's just the talking about it at all, that makes it so special. The kohlrabi must feel loved. Every living thing should.

Okay, I'm just gonna say something short about the sprouts because I did an inhuman amount of veggie prep cooking for someone who was cooking for no one: no dinner parties, partners or children, just exploring the kitchen and my ability to transform and repurpose food. Oh and of course I've got dinner ready tonight without any prep at all, and this pleases me to no end.

Okay, the sprouts. First there were gnats, then fear of over fermenting, then it was too cold in the fridge (because I wanted the gnats to leave), so big sprout fail. But there's still hope. I'm going to try again with a new batch of different beans and hope for the best while salvaging these at least. I know there must be some additional benefit for the fermenting. I still ALMOST win...

Okay enough failing. Here are two successful reports: my Peruvian hot sauce, and my cabbage. These both did so well, that in my final stretch when writing on deadline at the wee hour of the morning, I decided to cook them at 6a. Yes, I had managed to stay up all night.o got a nap and celebrated my food win. I now have some nutritious hot sauce for my cabbage and rice! Speaking of rice, I'd better check on my rice sprouts...

Monday, July 8, 2013

My first real foray into sprouting grains.

So the time had come for me to do the deed, the sprouting deed. I was so resistant to the entire process. I came up with quite a few excuses about how I wasn't eating grains, and how I didn't have the time, which was true. So many crazy events had happened in my school year that I didn't have a chance to focus on anything other than what I was trying to accomplish with the kids...

Once things had become a more normal state, it was time to begin making a sprouting name for myself. Again, remember that I had given up grains as an experiment. Ultimately I felt that there were a few things that needed to be purged from my system before heading into the next territory of whatever bio-individual experimentation I chose to divulge my nature in. Besides, at the time, the closest thing to fasting I could do, was to purge myself of the foods that seemed to be giving me digestive stress and some silent inflammation: dairy, wheat and soy. Fish and vegetables became the name of the game, and it was a refreshing new chapter in my food life. I was ready to make more striated muscularity.

And so my plan was working, but I did get hungry. Next thing I knew, I was clearing out my pantry and found some old wheatberries I hadn't eaten. Thinking that sprouting would offer me less carbohydrate (as it is the fuel used for sprouting and converting the berry into a deeper level of nutrients) and more protein was a guarantee. Add to that greater digestion power, and I had a meal forming that was worth eating.

I soaked the grains in an airtight mason jar and rinsed the berries twice daily. Before long I had tails growing from them. It was wonderful as I went ahead and cooked them up. They became my breakfast cereal for a few days with butter and agave nectar. Once I saw this non-threatening meal as a success, I went onto the big leagues with the brown rice. I wasn't trying to get too many sprouting projects done at once, though I had the idea all along of getting more sprouts into universal design.

The tongues of fire beans were next. An heirloom bean meant high quality food, so I went for it. The beans underwent a slightly different process, as I had to drain the remaining water after soaking time was through. I then rinsed the beans and allowed them to drain while being turned on its side or head, with a mesh top meeting the top of the jar. This encouraged me to take the time to make sure the beans were done properly. After a couple of days the beans were sprouting, and I didn't wait for them to get very long tails as I wanted to taste their higher food value loving goodness! I cooked them in a small bit of coconut oil and spices from a red cabbage dish I made in that same pan, a teaspoon of Prussian blue salt and a shake of both garlic and red pepper. I was very surprised and pleased by the tastes of all my sprouts!

The difference between the ordinary bean and grain and the sprouted bean or grain, is  mainly the taste and nutrient value, not necessarily in that order. I'm really excited to be able to create healthier foods around that help to improve my nutrient profile and offer me a better experience of my health, as I learn more about them.

I am so pleased to be able to produce healthy life.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The Salt Block Blog...




I had a passionate love once for iodized table salt that extended far past the limits of any love I thought I was able to attain. Once I realized how unhealthy our attraction was, I found another lover: Himalayan pink salt. Now I'm finding that for higher mineral content I need to dump the pink salt and get with the grey salt. While I will be grabbing up some French grey salts, I won't forget my pink lover, for pink still has a higher mineral profile and still maintains those benefits. Some would say that pink salt is a bit hyped, but anything that beautiful has to have some wonderful energy behind it.

Before i go on, you can check this site out to see the lovely salt blocks that I fell in love with some time ago, and I'll show you my own, with its own special patina to it, since I've had it for some time.


http://www.atthemeadow.com/shop/Himalayan-Pink-Salt-Blocks


Knowing that the discovery of the salt mines dates back to the 4th century, and that salt was used to trade among countries (hence The term salary), I thought I would post this lovely historical tidbit. Awesome site.


https://www.bespokepost.com/the-post/salt-block-the-history


I also just found out that it's the root word of salad, because they used to salt their lettuce, and sausage. I think you can figure that one out.


http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_HistoryOfSalt.asp


So there you have it. This is verification of my love for the block. Salt blocks can definitely be used in a multitude of ways, but I think I am enjoying the idea of serving on the plate more than anything. And I
can see myself making salads in my salt bowl that is arriving very soon, although I'd like to own a salt bowl as an elegant salt cellar too. The energy of having these salts around in your kitchen is unbeatable. I actually heated and cooked eggs on the block. But mostly I use it to salt my vegetables and fish. For dinner, I had
over salted some fish by leaving it too long on the block and ended up using the fish for flavoring my rice bowl.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Flowering Kale and related living things.

I just bought some flowering kale for 7.99...

I don't know that much about it yet. But here's a few things I can report on.

1) It's beautiful, for kale. I mean, kale is pretty in itself, but otherwise, who would think to buy it for beauty?
2) It looks like a huge purple green rose that's going to eat you, though you can eat it. You know, Feed me, Seymour. Feed me all night long.
3) It's edible. Completely. I'm wondering if I can grow it for dinner. That'd be cool.
4) Kale is from the cabbage family? I did not know that. Family Brassica. Okay.
5) There are different varieties! That is just too awesome.
6) The guys at Whole Foods didn't know a whole lot about it, and they work with produce, so I officially don't feel that bad about never really knowing.
7) Here's an article on flowering kale. This woman knew a little more about it than I do.

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/diggin-it/2010/1105/Flowering-kale-and-cabbage-Too-pretty-to-eat

Okay so then I purchase it and put it in a vase, though what I really wanna do is pour some dressing on it. I'm thinking that it may grow larger though. So when I returned home after the space of about two hours, it seemed to be larger. This could also be my imagination. After all, humans are delusional.

Now I found this absolutely gorgeous site that gives lovely pictures and information regarding this new kale creature. Saturday is kale day. All things green go into my mouth, except for spoiled things and things that probably shouldn't. Here's that second site I told you about.

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/10/flowers-a-z-b-is-for-brassica.html

Now go have yourself a kalerific day, and when you eat kale, think of me.

Living the grain carb reduced life.

Ahh, how I miss my grain carbs. And I wonder, if this is the case that I miss them, will I run to eat a batch? Is this what makes me think I want a hot stack of whole grain pancakes, or is it that I need to up my starchy vegetable carbs and I'll be content? This is the current musing I am walking into on this Saturday morning, as I contemplate a redo on my diet, while continuing to attain a loss in body fat.

My chiropractor said that the warrior style of eating may have been too harsh, but I haven't seen any better or worse results for my troubles. I'm beginning to wonder why this weight is so stubbornly sticking with me, and how my tests are not showing my thyroid as having any issues.   I guess it's time to dig a little deeper...but yet, maybe my hips and thighs are completely perfect as they are and need no revision, just continual time under tension. maybe the consistent healthy diet and body manipulations are all I need.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Grainless Wonder.

I realize this post is a retrospective, considering how I experiment with food, and how food changes me and my impulses toward things. At the time of my decision to type about the wonders of not eating grains, I was feeling the moment as being very specific to my leaning out goals. But come on Connie, who wants to go to holistic sessions to focus on weight? You go for the deeper, more pertinent goals right? Well when the calling is right motivation to focus on a physical pursuit, we realize that nourishment is part of the body, our groundedness, and the experience of our souls on earth plane. Having said that, if the goal is to radiate greater health and vitality through food choices, then this was the correct motivation.

After my spiritual pat on the back, I have myself the go ahead to have another bowl of soup and work out the logistics of offering my body a grain-free paradigm for a few weeks. 

I was up for the challenge of finding myself looking for soulful and yummy vegetables that would satisfy me while offering enough nutrition. I ate greens and potatoes, a variety of veggies, lots of onions and fruits, using bananas and apples and cherries as part of that carb content. 

But the more I did this, the hungrier I was. I increased my proteins and sucked it up. I ate warrior style during the daytime, eating very little fruit, nuts and seeds until dinner time, which was after working out, which consisted of the heaviest fishes cooked in coconut oil or butter. There were moments where I did too much compensating, but that is of course the pathway one takes when consuming a warrior profile. I was beginning to take it personally, that food was becoming less manageable, until I ended up wallowing in a sugary fiesta come Vegas at the beginning of June, which apparently destroyed my workout. How that day could continue to mess with my intake, I'll never know...

At this moment, I'm currently exercising the possibility that bringing SOME of the carbs in was a good idea, but is mostly just connected to mom and my upbringing with the fork. Those dieting patterns are tough to break out of.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Food Victories.

Everyone has that moment before the sun rises, where things just don't seem to be clicking into place, and then there's that golden moment where it finally does. That's where my diet is. It is finally having its shining, clean moment in the sun.

Food is commensurate with one's own personal physical goals, and the quest is to create some leanness in the body, so the lean muscle shows. I personally have never really seen my body super lean, but the truth is, I want to. In fact I need to, because I feel I've been in this business for a long time, but I never wanted to starve. I finally found a way to eat that works for me, based on bioindividual principles and intuitive eating...and wouldn't you know it, I'm on my way to lean.

Lately I've been getting my fill of salmon. Dinner consisted of a blackened piece of salmon with mixed veggies, salad and brown basmati rice that I decided against eating. If I didn't love it, I didn't want to spend those calories having zero fun. That sounded droll. Monday's lunch consists of carrots, tomatoes, avocado, smoked cold salmon, and a kale salad I made with pomegranate and black raspberries.





Sunday, April 7, 2013

Today's Sunday Deliciousness.

Ah, Sunday.

 This is truly one of my most favorite days of the week for many reasons. One is because I get so many sweet delights from it: spending time with family, making the choice to do something fun, having time to work, cook, clean and run errands, relax, read or just sleep the day away. While i usually choose to work and clean and blah blah blah, I know that this is a healthy choice offering a wonderful outcome.

Today I had Michael over for lunch and cooked him a double decker beef patty on whole wheat, lettuce, tomato, cheddar and nitrate-free bacon. (A 6'5" trainer male can utilize this food in about an hour without too many metabolic issues). As for myself, I had a beautiful bowl of seasoned kale, yams, avocado, grape tomatoes and pan seared tilapia, seasoned with smoked paprika, red chili pepper and cayenne, good metabolic thrusters. I was way pleased at the outcome of this dish and wanted to eat all day. It was my only big meal and the rest consisted of hydration, supplementation and meditation (lots of great words all at once using-ion!). I was ready to make dessert an apple with almond butter, but I didn't get that far (couldn't fit it in).

...Okay, so I caved and had two squares of bittersweet dark chocolate. My mind thought it was the weekend...and went with it. My darn mind has a mind of its own. All of this fine food accompanied both black and green cups of tea, my favorite drink to consume from sun up until its setting. I always feel so sattvic with a little bit of tea to soothe my senses. I'm also about to down a bottle of water infused with minerals and chlorophyll. I'm thinking that this is the way to go, is to continue to drench my body with wonderful sources of nutrients it loves to experience.

Later on I had a perfectly boiled brown egg. I've been marveling over my eggs and how I've gotten the times down on cooking. I heat the water and place the eggs in slowly. I cook for 13 minutes and immediately remove them from the water, allowing them to sit for about ten minutes in replacement water that I salt. Then I proceed to crack, roll, then peel under cool running water and they peel beautifully. I've heard tale of not boiling a fresh egg, but two fresh batches later, and I had the most perfect eggs I've ever seen myself peel!

The day rounded out perfectly with having been able to accomplish a huge number of tasks, including cleaning my room and putting away clothes, washing dishes, prep cooking for the week, totally planning my meals mentally at least, and throwing out bags of trash. I'm on a mission to not only get my diet right...I'm out to get this life right. Namaste.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

A Day of Successful Clean Eating

We talk about eating clean but I don't think most people actually have a grasp of what it means to eat clean. Eating clean contains all whole, unprocessed animals and vegetable and fruit calories (but not too much), the odd sweet potato and the occasional brown rice, keeping the amount of carb grams to a fat burning minimum (which according to some research, 100-150 carbs can still burn body fat and is just enough where fat loss can still happen). Protein totals and overall sugar intake matters, so that insulin is not compromised (which some say is good for muscle leanness and performance).

Here's a couple of articles on eating clean.

http://caloriecount.about.com/means-eat-clean-b583101

http://www.completenutrition.com/blog/posts/2013/march/what-it-means-to-eat-clean/

Eating clean is a discipline for me of major proportion, but I still attempt to produce. It's nothing easy but the results are so worth it. Every time I eat clean, I see a major difference in the way I look and feel. However I must say that it initially makes training harder, but at the same time easier, because ultimately you can see more muscle and striation by eating this way.
For muscle building competitors, they are even impressively organized on the timing of meals and what and how much they consume and when. When you are a week out from competing, it's a whole 'nother ball game. I considered competing for that reason alone, and I need to see if I can sustain the type of intake that is suggested, or I'd fail plus lose my entry money because it wouldn't be worth it to put on a swimsuit and be called fat by your peers. It's a different scale of measurement. The Gods and Goddesses of the muscle realm call it shop lingo, but I digress.

Last night I went to bed without any carbs, just a protein shake, sauteed shrimp and greens. I had a huge amount of protein for my dinner. In the morning I had my almonds and tea for breakfast. Here's an entire breakdown.

Morning: 40 almonds, plain black tea, coffee with some cream and sugar (I broke down), apple, orange, banana.
Noon: 20g of spicy Thai tuna, brown rice bowl, 20 baby carrots.
Dinner: 6 oz. BBQ salmon, 3 cups mixed greens (1/2 dino kale, 1/2 dandelion greens), sweet potato with butter.
Lemon water and green tea helps me to stave off weird sugar cravings.
Snacks: 50g total protein from 2 different protein shakes

Food Is Love.

Ever since I could remember, I connected food to a true sense of belonging. Every little bite and morsel that I ate, was contributed to some loving and supportive moment in my life. No wonder I fell in love with food. It was my greatest supporter and my biggest fan growing up! It was there for me in my lowest moments, when no one else was. It was a surrogate father, a replacement emotion for the man who wasn't there. Today I am back in that father relationship to heal it, and I realize that I make the same mistakes while being with a man who helps to recreate the reasons for my food choices.

My mom energies helped me to recreate the reasons I was supposed to find that same food disgusting. Now my mom never even seemed to enjoy the concept of being in a marriage, and wanted all of us daughters to get our careers and our skinny "on" before accepting a man (read: loser bum I have to take care of ) into my life. Mom projected a fear onto me that wreaked of a little bit of hatred for men, a hatred for choosing that man, and looking at fattening, sugary foods as the enemy. No wonder men left a bad taste in my mouth...

So then, was food really love? Yes it still was, if that food could give me the satisfaction that a man wasn't giving, food once again became the hero. Besides, mom would never approve of any of the men, but a hot baked pie, she might approve of that.

Holidays was a must to attend, and would be piled high with all the fun, exciting, crazy fattening foods one could find in one sitting. Everyone would gather in the kitchen at mealtimes to talk on a regular basis, and it was in fact what my mom wanted for us, was to have a community watering hole where everyone felt comfortable coming into and contributing our efforts to. It wasn't often after a certain point in all of our lives that we would sit to the table together to eat, so I immediately felt a void being the youngest one, to not have that table meal. It is no wonder that I had to cultivate a sense of need around serving Mike and Kai a meal at dinner, no matter how subservient I felt doing it. That's another topic in itself for another time.

When I didn't feel skinny, I ate a peanut butter cup. That put me backwards and almost drove me to seek counseling after a bulimic bout. No matter how mild, there was a part of me that wanted to go down that road, and another part of me that just knew how awful it was to take on bulimic habits. If food was love, throwing up was not the answer, even in my desperate state.
So since I eliminated that option, I headed over to another form of desperation, exercise buliminia. Don't even THINK about eating peanut butter. That sent me into an easy 5 miler and making me think it wasn't enough. That's when I started eating vegetarian. I guess now orthorexia was in my cards.

Is this still love? One thing I learned was, food may have signaled some form of love coming from an external force, but it definitely did not express self-love in my life. I wonder what other family members taught me that a lack of self-love was okay.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

We all emotionally eat...My Big Opinion.

...Okay. So I'm sitting here, thinking of the last sugary thing I ate, and laughing at how rebellious I can be about my food at times. I also realize that all of us can be rebels when we choose it. It is a matter of knowing when the choice is conscious, and when it is unconscious.

I know that I was feeling a loss of sweetness in my life at the moment I felt a craving creep up for sugar. I also knew that I needed more protein, and had eaten less of it over the course of the last 24 hours. Well I read the energy right, but I simply ignored it, and chose to feed my emotion, rather than feed the regimen I'm on to achieve the results I truly want out of my body. After all, I'm getting ready for photos! Gotta be lean...I even bought a bag of carrots most recently to feed my sugar urge.

So what was going on when the sugar urge hit: Physiologically, I had celebrated that past weekend with a little alcoholic imbibement...this led to a surge and drop in blood sugar levels. Emotionally: I had some issues with my partner. Sugar! Missing the sweetness in life! Louise L. Hay has an affirmation for this one. She writes: "This moment is filled with joy. I now choose to experience the sweetness of today. I now choose to make my life light and easy and joyful." (I put two together.) Mentally: "I want sugar, and I will have it because I'm rebellious!" Spiritually: I didn't do enough meditation, and I definitely needed to do some yoga. I also may not have journalled that day. For me, all of these things are very important to offset my childhood urges for sugar, which began at birth. ...
What do mommies give their babies when they are upset? Sugar. What is given as rewards for good behavior? Sugar. What is considered dessert food? Sugar. What is in all processed, packaged, fast foods?
Sugar. What is the first thing that drops when you realize you're famished? Sugars. Don't tell me we don't all emotionally eat. It has to be connected to SOMETHING.

So here's my thought: since eating has been a part of our lives since our humble beginnings, just like our DNA, then there is no way that we haven't connected our emotions to what we consume, as it such a sensitive topic for so many, and because we feel such satisfaction from eating particular foods. Many of us also understand that emotions are the window to our soul's walk, so it is important to listen to the messages our emotions bring us, for they tell us a great deal about ourselves. Ultimately, it is about a reprogramming of this emotional trigger and tendency, to allow our souls the joy of choosing a food because it is good for us and not because it feeds our emotions...though I do have to say, sometimes a little celebration is pretty awesome! Namaste.


Thursday, March 14, 2013

Salmon tacos, zucchini and cucumbers

I'm so happy right now. I just made a yummy yummy, and a minor kitchen cleaning victory, and dug it.

The evening began with me coming home late from the last dress rehearsal for Beauty and the Beast, a wonderful play directed by Bob Arnold, at Romer MS, my old home, and I committed to choreographing it last year. Oh it was so much fun. But the real point was that it was late, and my son and I hadn't eaten. My food intake consisted of some tuna and a few crackers, some dark chocolate, an apple and water. It wasn't until dinner, that I had consumed the real sustenance. It feels funny to look at carbs and glycemic load again.

I didn't want to make the same (possibly) boring slab of fish with some veggies, so it occurred to me that I had some organic corn tortillas waiting for me to notice them. I found salsa, avocados, peppers, and diced some onion. I even found cilantro! I so scored with that. As I was cooking, I came across an English cucumber and sliced it up. When I ate several slices, they tasted so sweet and delicious, almost as if it was the first time I had ever had a cucumber. I topped them with salsa and avocado, and wondered why I didn't open up a can of black beans.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Too Alkaline, now too acidic. Back to the Drawing board.

I went to my holistic chiropractor appointment today and I noticed a few new things I had developed.

Firstly, my weight is going down the scale (yay!). I definitely see a difference in both the way I look and feel. Mike said I looked skinny tonight. (Now you know I like hearing that.) I've reduced my "junk" nutrition (at the moment, that would be grains, mostly, except for this weekend). Doc did a Ph test on me and I came out acidic. Now I know for sure, that this is due to several things. Would you like to see all the reasons I know why I went acidic?

1) I eat fish now, and lately, a bit more than I normally would, as I had cut grain carbs and thought to increase proteins grams of real food. Any protein, especially flesh product, will register as acidic.
2) I have been drinking strong coffee the last two weeks. I knew I was feeling a change in my body and I needed to adjust.
3) I hadn't any kombucha.
4) I reintroduced bread and sugar the last few days.
5) I hadn't had much green tea lately.

Okay so this is the complete list. When I look at what my diet once was, it makes much sense. At that time I was too alkaline, or at least I didn't need to worry about my ph levels. Now, since I've discovered this new information, I realize that animal products do quite a lot to raise that acid level in my body, and how since I should be done "experimenting" and hunting for the best fish at the moment, I can focus on really piling in the salad greens and cucumbers, zucchini etc.

I'm feeling good! Okay, so I know how to fix this, and it won't be tough. I am losing weight and creating a deficit, and sometimes my body tries to find those food calories to feast on so my weight doesn't go down. The darn body is always trying to attain homeostasis. That works both for us and against us at times.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Saturday Detox by Day, Splurge by Night.

What originally began as a light, cleansing day, quickly turned into nighttime deliciousness.

I can honestly say I have not reported a night like this in some time, but I thought it interestingly balancing to share, that having a nice cleanout before an indulgent meal has its place. The day started out as any other day. I haven't taken to eating much in the mornings anymore, and so I leisurely slept through some of this. However, after being up for a couple of hours, around 12 or 1p I decided to eat a huge bowl of broccoli rabe. You can believe that this vegetable sauteed in coconut oil, lemon pepper and sea salt, and slightly toasted in some areas, was the treat of the day. At first.
After consuming two heads of broccoli rabe, I made a small piece of tilapia and flounder (about 38g of protein total). I was relieved to see that flounder was low in mercury, but some of the fishing practices for flounder were either contradictory or controversial, so I think I'll go back and do more research before purchasing again, even though it is a delicious and light piece of fish. With the fish, I prepared a glass of lemon water, and put some detoxing herbs in. Actually it tasted quite refreshing. A good, clean job well done a short time later, and I felt light as a cloud.

A few friends started on dinner plans, as my night became free. We decided on the Cheesecake Factory. Well this certainly blew my mind, as I hadn't been out anywhere in a while, and not in that price range, and I couldn't remember whether I had really enjoyed the food (except for the avocado rolls, decadent and exquisite, though wrapped in refined flour). They brought out a basket of that molasses bread (is Outback in cahoots with Cheesecake Factory?), and I quickly ordered to avoid much consumption of it.

The real treat was dinner. I chose a BBQ grilled salmon dish with mashed potatoes, onion rings in a very thin batter and corn succotash. I say pass on okra-type things, as they are slimy! Ugh! I instead went for kale and a drizzle of olive oil. I had my black lava sea salt with me and ate half my potatoes for the iodine while passing the onions around. I dipped my fork into a few cheesecake selections with a small cup of coffee, but not my own, and called it a night.

The grilled salmon and kale was the real win, because I didn't know I could choose any vegetable to go with my fish, which was perfect. They took real care to cook and serve the meal, and I felt really well taken care of. Then my friend had a little fun to support me as he knew I was a little down. Something made me mention birthdays during the random conversation, and suddenly a group of waiters came out to sing happy birthday to me in the middle of March!! Oh what surprise and fun was my merry unbirthday, and so fitting, as we saw Oz afterwards. So a delightful and rather healthy day was had by all, and I didn't even feel too poorly about the splurging.


Sunday, March 3, 2013

Your Reasons for Wanting Weight Loss

If you're not doing it for you, who are you doing it for? And if you can't honestly answer that question, it's time to look in just a little bit deeper. Most people say they want to lose body fat and build sexy muscle but they say that it's for them. Once I talk to them for just a little bit longer, I find out that they had a bad situation with a relationship, emotional or physical abuse history, childhood weight issues, or felt that they should look like the skinny standard represented on television and film. This is what we are dealing with today, in groves.

I spoke to a great counselor friend of mine yesterday about my personal fitness goals. We had a wonderful conversation about how the mind and preexisting thoughts, feelings and behaviors are already in place before  reacting to a craving and taking that first bite. It seemed to go in line with what I teach about feeling the vibration of the food. The thing is, the deprogramming must first be in place with each individual involved.

I realized that just recently, I was allowing my weight to quietly and slowly slide upward. After checking my thyroid and other physiological factors, I saw that everything was fine, except for my diet. So what was it to be eating and feeling as if I was eating a healthy diet while the scale increased? After all, the average human gains an average of 1.5 pounds per year by eating 300 carbs daily, and I'm sure we can add or subtract and look at athletic exceptions as well. Once I changed my diet, the scale started immediately sliding back down by 3 pounds in the first week. But why did I want to lose weight? Why do I still want this?

When I think of weight loss, I think of losing body fat in order to see more beautiful cuts, the product of the incredibly intense workouts I put in on a weekly basis. This may be why any avid exerciser would want to lose. Most of all, I enjoy the abundant health I experience from staying very active.But there was a time when I would have said that wanting to see cuts was out of vanity. Doesn't it ultimately show the peak of physical health, mental discipline and spiritual stability? Not to discourage people who don't see things in this way, but we all have to find reasons for wanting to actually see pounds melting away. For me, it's simply a result of weight I no longer needed.

Contemplations on Warrior-style eating

I'm told that the Roman soldiers would go all day without as much as a few nuts or seeds before returning home from the warring fields for his nightly feast, which was filled to the brim with meats and fruits and grains. I'm not thinking that there was much dairy at the time, but in ancient Rome, there was olive oil and bread, for sure.

Anyway all this to say that there is this theory going around about an eating style where the participant eats very little food during the day and has the main brunt of their caloric intake at night before, yes, bedtime. How does this approach actually appease the appetite and satisfy the fitness enthusiast who goes for their nightly workout, without having much food in the system?

Ori Hokmekler said that this diet came to him one day while in the Israeli special forces. He noticed that he felt more energy crashes during the day when he was eating 5 to 6 meals. When he and others began waiting for that moment where they could rest their digestion, he would eat that evening meal and would feel much better than before. This is where he got the idea to develop the Warrior diet.

I feel that some of my day cannot include a heavy meal, but I seem to have to develop a modified plan when approaching my meals. So I'll eat plain Greek yogurt and almonds, apples with peanut butter and a protein shake during the day, I won't eat an actual meal until after I work out, and this plan seems to work well. The only contention I have is carbohydrate loading. It seems to work much better to have a fruit carb as opposed to a grain, and even then, it has to be when I have had a low carb load during the day. Otherwise, veggie carbs are allowed but nothing else in the evening for me at this point. We will call it my most recent experiment.

Dodging junk carbs when eating out.

Stranger Danger!!

Get that white flour or white rice processed thing off my plate NOW before I eat it! Ugh...
Since my discipline isn't perfect, I need extra help at times, especially when eating out, when it comes to the food they bring to the table, like bread for example. It's easy enough if I were to go to dinner by myself. Otherwise, that brown molasses bread came to our table at grandpa's birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse, and it was time to make some powerful decisions.

I cut up the bread, passed it out to everyone, and made sure I had a very small taste of it, so that I didn't go into a pouting fest regarding the wish of not having tasted the bread.

Then I asked them to bring out my grilled shrimp and veggies without the rice, and wouldn't you know, no one listened. So I ate my salad and veggies, ate my shrimp, took a couple of bites of rice, and asked them to take the plate as soon as I was finished with my shrimp, which by the way was delicious.

It's the little things like this, that keep me from making distrastrous choices and filling up with foods I had no intentions of eating in the first place.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Being sensitive to our food needs

I was listening to one of Joshua Rosenthal's lectures in my health coaching program about how people view food, and how it shapes and colors our perspectives, just as religion and politics do. Food practices have most likely broken up marriages! What a shame that is, when we could possibly practice connecting with one another and finding compassion for one's path and purpose. Then over time, one could become well accustomed to finding small, healthy ways to open up a discussion about food and eventually, a change that supports a greater sense of health and wellness for your family. Health is a big journey that doesn't become perfect in a week.

I was waiting for the moment in the program where a fire would ignite over my health and food choices. As I've made the transition to pescetarian, I think this shows the shift in perspective I am taking on as I explore how food affects the mind and body, and how it also directly reflects and impacts what place we are in at that point in time. Part of my change was due to wanting to reduce unhealthy fats like cheese and get some more variety into my diet, plus an increase in iodine. I was thinking that would help me for fat loss and satiety. I had always noticed how eating vegetarian would make it difficult to consume small portions of food. Eating dairy kept me from being as hungry, and ultimately supplied me with essential B vitamins and fat. But beyond that...the proteins from the dairy were fat laden enough to possibly disrupt digestion. At least with fish, I'm getting both lean and clean protein that is easily digested but keeps me well sated.

But there is a deeper problem. As I settle myself and my diet needs, I feel clearer, almost as if the body is able to rest better. Herein lies something new, is finding a way to be that wonderful health coach and be sensitive to the needs of my clients. It is true that finding oneself inspires the gateway emotion to helping others successfully process their emotional attachments surrounding food. I reflect on how I was emotionally attached to being vegetarian, for example. People take their food very seriously, as the hormonal responses it offers, colors our experience of the meal. But what about the people who are seriously suffering from  food issues? I see my partner, once an avid competitive bodybuilder, as being one of those men who've suffered from a distorted body image his whole life, and has been self destructive in his self-hatred of his body, which to me is absolutely beautiful. However, I've had to become very sensitive to his internal tapes, and only over time, have I been able to slowly affect his thought process on food and how he allows it to positively affect his new path.

For me, this starts the beginning of a new exploration in how I approach clients who already a distorted body image and somewhat of an eating disorder, if not a large one, where time and personal image has grossly affected their food choices. Only the slow process of chipping away at one's huge wall built over years with information, advice and a ton of love, can truly bring together what distortion has torn apart.