Holiday Musings

Here I am. . . . . at the end of my first year without sugar.  I realize that I did not live entirely without sugar.  July August & September were pretty shady months.  Not that I was running around snorting pixie sticks, but I was not paying that much attention.  The little things slipped through the cracks.  As I look to 2011, I am anticipating another year without the inGREEDient.  More planning, better knowledge, more resources . . . . maybe these things will help me to do better. 

I know that I have not even begun to scratch the surface of truly healthy living.  I wish I could choose only organic products - I wish I could grow all of my own vegetables - I wish I could raise my own grass-fed beef. . . . etc. etc. etc.  It is not to be - at least not at this juncture in my life.  Unless someone wants to turn my blog into a movie, these things are just to far outside of my budget. 

While home with my family for Christmas, I read Dr. Mercola's Total Health Cookbook & Program.  I don't know if I buy into the 'Eat for your body type' philosophy, but I am quite thrilled that it contains 150 grain free recipes.  Dr Mercola's philosophy includes the conversion to a completely organic lifestyle with an emphasis on animal products and vegetables with a minimum of grains, starches, and fruits.  I struggle the most with the lack of fruit in this particular prescription.  

I have tried some of the fad diets - Atkins, South Beach, I think I even tried the cabbage soup diet for a short time.  Any diet can help you lose weight.  Simply by eliminating a food group, or by halving one's calories it follows that weight loss would be the result.  

I have noticed lately that I have often dwelt on and expounded upon the weight loss aspect of my decision to give up sugar.  Don't get me wrong, after more than a decade of struggling with my weight, I am thrilled to have lost weight.  What's even better is that it takes very little effort on my part to maintain my new weight.  More importantly, though, my health has been transformed.  I do feel vital.  I wake up every day with a new plan to conquer the universe.  No matter how overstated a cliche, it is so true that only a change in lifestyle, not just a temporary fast or binge, is what enables us to change the course of our health.  

Yes, I do wish for a Pepsi now and again.  I wish for the simplicity of boxed dinners that only require adding water to make them 'food'.   I wish that dark chocolate bars didn't contain sugar.  Wishing doesn't make things happen.  Action makes things happen.  So I am going to act in such a way that my health continues to progress from that of an average person to the point where people start wondering if I'm really a super-hero.

I have two major goals for the first quarter of 2011: 

1. No more Vitamin Water (or similar beverages).  I have been telling myself that these drinks are acceptable because they are sweetened with a stevia product.  The problem is, I suspect that the sweetener used is far more processed than mere ground stevia leaf.  It's back to water and unsweetened tea for me.
2. I am going to drastically cut back on the amount of pasta I eat despite the fact that I adore pasta.  OK.  Here's the truth.  I detest whole wheat pasta.  I can never seem to cook it properly.  Either I don't cook it enough, and it is tough, or I cook it too much and it becomes mush.  Either way, I just don't like it.  So I have continued to eat regular pasta.  White flour, however is generally considered as unhealthy as sugar itself - having had all the nutrition refined out of it.  An anti-nutrient, if you will. 

Right now I have no idea how to fill in the pasta gap, but I'm sure I'll manage.  Your suggestions are always welcome.  More experimentation with strange foods I've never tried before?  Probably.  Will they all turn out perfectly?  Probably not.  Such is life - trial and error.  No one gets it right all the time.  Success rarely presents itself without a fight.  I shall leave you tonight with a quote. 

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. - Teddy Roosevelt

Strive Valiantly!
Dare Greatly!
Avoid Sugar!

JamiK

Sometimes You Have to Wait for It. Sometimes You Have to Work at It.



Sure, I'd like to make a wish and bring back the 70° weather we enjoyed here for most of October and part of November, but I'm pretty sure that I will have to wait until Spring.  Of course I'd love to be able to be able to pop a pill and magically have legs like Vera Ellen, but it's just not gonna happen. 

When the weather gets colder and I spend more time indoors listening to the radio or watching television, I am reminded of the insanity of our fast paced lives.  Sometimes I wonder if we all realize how much we have come to expect an 'easy button' for every aspect of our lives. 

Heard on the radio today:

"Remember the days of 'X' wonder drug?" (yeah, you know, that drug that is no longer on the market due to whatever tripped out side effects it caused)  "Wasn't it great how the pounds would just melt away and you could eat whatever you wanted?" (yeah, because it's so intuitive that results should appear out of nowhere) "Well now we would like to offer you a free trial of our new 'XX' wonder drug!"  It works even better than 'X', and the best part is, it doesn't have any of the old side effects!" (yeah, because it has new side effects that are probably worse than the old ones, but no one has noticed them yet).  I fell for the scheme when I was in college.  The only thing those pills ever did for me was give me case of the shakes that wouldn't go away for about six years.


I get so irritated with all the get rich quick and lose weight fast gimmicks out there.  We know they don't work. . . . if they did we would all be thin and rich.  Oooo, Oooo!!  I have an idea!  Maybe congress can legislate us some weight loss next year! 

What ever happened to good old fashioned determination and elbow grease?   You get what you pay for.  Garbage in, garbage out.  Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.  There are a host of sayings that speak to the probability that grit and perseverance are the best way to get something done. 

Oh, wait!  What about the 'my pain pill is better than your pain pill commercial'?  This is Jill, who took two 'Q' pills in the morning, two more with lunch, two with dinner, and another two pills before bed.  (insert breach of time-space continuum returning to the morning) This is Jill, who took two 'Z' pills in the morning and enjoyed the rest of her day. 

Now I realize that I am not what many would consider 'in the mainstream'; but really?  Who goes through life in constant pain and does nothing but pop over-the-counter pain pills to alleviate the agony?  Change your diet, exercise, see a chiropractor, see a doctor.  Get help.  Good grief people get a grip!  Treating symptoms is no way to cure a disease.  The key to happiness does not lie in a pain pill, a weight loss pill, or a get rich quick scheme.  For more inspiration, please see my post from 01/01/10 .

Don't give up on life if it isn't perfect, start working towards what you want.  Make a change, even if it is difficult.  Believe me, I realize that Vera Ellen's legs are a pretty lofty goal, but I am going to keep working towards them. 

There is no easy button for life.

Work Hard - Avoid Sugar

JamiK


p.s. I made a big ol' batch of chili yesterday - the perfect food to warm me back up after shovelling the driveway and walking the dog.  Chili Recipe here

A Clean Conscience

How many times in my life have I experienced food guilt? There are probably not enough fingers and toes in the state of Iowa to count.

When I was a teenager, I was a dedicated dancer at my ballet school. I danced as a student for eight to ten hours per week, taught pre-ballet and fundamentals classes for eight to ten hours per week, and during performance seasons, I rehearsed for eight to ten hours per week. Despite this, I constantly struggled to manage my weight, developed allergies, and fought strep throat on a regular basis. I told myself that it was just my body type, I had a sluggish thyroid, I wasn't meant to be a ballerina. . . . . . . but I knew, deep down that I was lying to myself.

You see, just a block away from the ballet school was the candy store - a daily stop on my way to class, or after rehearsal, or between dancing and teaching. Gummy bears, fruit slices, strawberry Cokes, and chocolate milkshakes were my particular weaknesses. They also made a killer grilled cheese sandwich - processed cheese product on white bread. Guilt, guilt, guilt. These things do not make up the diet of champions; or prima ballerinas for that matter.

In college, it was doughnuts, iced sugary coffee drinks and the vending machine. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Post college, it was fruity drinks and lemon drops, coffee loaded with sugar and flavored creamer, and lots of soda. Guilt, guilt, guilt, and more guilt.

What gets me the most about my guilt years, is that there was no ignorance involved. It's not as if I didn't know everything I ate was loaded with sugar. It's not as if I was under the impression that these 'foods' were healthy and/or good for me. I just wanted to pretend that eating and drinking the white death was OK, and that there must be something else that was to blame for my deteriorating health and constant weight gain.

Well, it's taken me nearly 20 years to get from one end of a sugar addiction to the other. I won't pretend for a minute that I'm 'cured'. I still crave sweets. . . . but I no longer lie to myself and say that it's not the sugar that affects my health and weight. I don't find myself looking around to see who is watching when I eat. My conscience is clean - the food guilt is gone.

My new favorite night of the week is Tuesday night - I watch my favorite TV shows, and enjoy homemade chocolate ice cream sans guilt.

JamiK's Chocolate Ice Cream
(adapted from MomK's ice cream recipe which I found too icy and not enough creamy)
Blend:
1 quart half & half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of local honey
2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa

Pour it into an ice cream maker and churn away. Every machine is different. . . . . about 40 minutes gets me soft serve quality ice cream. I usually put it in the freezer for another half hour to make it a bit more frozen. Enjoy!

Keep your conscience clean,
Avoid Sugar!

JamiK

Common Sense Vs. 'The Idiot'

Yes. . . . . that would be me - The Idiot.

Let me explain . . . . no, there is too much. Let me sum up. My mother and my chiropractor have the same irritating habit of always being right. I could present you with a cornucopia of examples, but for the sake of brevity, I shall stick to the two that are currently relevant to my healthy lifestyle.

Example 1: MomK tells me I should give up sugar if I want to achieve the weight loss I've been wishing for since I was 16. Do I follow that advice? Well . . . not for a year and a half after she starts telling me. Even in the face of her amazing success with the GREED-free lifestyle I think that somehow it just 'isn't for me'. Now. . . . as I look back at my own success (not just with weight loss but with the Total Health Makeover I experienced as a result of choosing to live GREED-free) I realize that I should probably just throw in the towel and follow her lead regardless of whether or not I think she's crazy. She's pretty much always right.

Example 2: DrK knows that I detest exercise. But, as it is his responsibility to look out for my health, he frequently tells me that the condition of my hip and back would improve much more quickly if I would just walk (And the man doesn't give up . . . . he's been telling me for four years now). No need to run, climb stairs, or lift weights, just walk. Do I listen? Well . . . . no . . . . not until I started dog sitting a couple of months ago.

Honey is my new room mate. She is a 9-year old shepherd mix that walks me around the neighborhood several times per day. It took me about 3 days to get used to walking; my shins and calves were not thrilled with me at the outset of this change to my daily routine. However, by the end of week one, I realized that the usual aches and pains that I notice were all but gone!

Six weeks into walking the dog, I went to see DrK for my usual Thursday adjustment, and the thermal scan revealed NOTHING wrong my spine, and therefore NO need for an adjustment. I don't usually have a good grip on slang or pop-cultural vernacular, but I believe the present-day term for this sort of occasion would be 'WOOT WOOT!'.

Soooo . . . . . This week's advice is: Don't ignore common sense!

Healthy living is not rocket science. Have you ever noticed that every day in this country brings us another report or study on health, nutrition, weight loss, exercise, or medicine? Despite all the 'knowledge' we are developing; as a society, we are growing fatter, weaker, and sicker and we lean more and more towards dependence on drugs and surgery just to stay functional? There is something wrong with this situation.

Don’t ignore common sense!
Avoid Sugar.

JamiK

Enough Already! - Back to Business.

When I posted in August, I committed to being back on track with my GREED-free lifestyle. Well . . . . I didn't succeed in living up to that commitment. I continued to allow special occasions and exceptions clutter up my meals because I just didn't feel like summoning the resolve to say no to foods that I enjoy despite the fact that I know how they will impact my health. The past couple of weeks have strengthened my resolve, and I can confidently say that I am back on track again . . . . for real this time.

What has strengthened my resolve?

1) Mother Nature kicked my derrière this month. I haven't had cramps like that since April.

2) My face looks like a war zone. I had almost forgotten about acne until one day last week when I woke up to a mine field on my chin. Not only does it ruin the aesthetic appeal of my face, it hurts like the dickens too.

3) I am finding it increasingly difficult to get out of bed in the morning - and when I do get up, I have very little motivation to get going.

4) I started gaining some of my weight back . . . made it all the way back up to 170 by the end of September.

I finished cleaning out my refrigerator and cupboards this morning to make sure that I eliminated anything that might cause me to stumble in a weak moment. As it stands, my greatest hurdle for the week will be coming up with ideas for dinner. I admit that I am not the most creative individual in the kitchen. Suggestions are welcome.

As I look back at the past couple of months and consider the things that kept me from my August commitment I realize that my greatest stumbling blocks have been my own lethargic willpower, and peer pressure.

Every time I was met with the decision 'to eat it, or not to eat it?' I found myself facing the age old internal arguments: 'Just a little bit wont hurt', 'My friends eat sugar and they are fit and healthy', 'I'll really get serious tomorrow'. Adding to that, the voices of my friends and acquaintances: 'As long as you eat it in moderation there is nothing wrong with eating sugar', and 'There isn't any reason to be so extreme'.

I allowed my resolve to be swayed by the voices in my head. No more. I'm done.

Now - off to make some sugar free pasta salad.
I'll share the recipe once I make sure the idea in my head is actually palatable.

JamiK

Kind of blah, but doing ok nevertheless.

OK . . . . I'm getting a little bored . . . . my life is beginning to feel like an endless parade of salads. When I started travelling, I was looking forward to investigating and visiting an endless list of restaurants and discovering ways to live on the road without sugar. In reality, however, most nights I am too tired to go out to eat - and eating out alone gets old. I'm eating a lot of veggies. Hummus when I can find it. Salad, salad, salad. I always have my own dressing with me, but I run into issues when I don't have a fridge in my hotel room . . . . I hate to throw away expensive salad dressing when I've only used a couple of tablespoons out of the bottle.

I did have a bright spot in my week here in NC. Monday night, I got to meet one of my company's new agents, and go to dinner with someone who knew the area. We went to a steak house and I had an excellent steak accompanied by steamed spinach. The best part wasn't the food, but the conversation. Have you ever noticed how much more enjoyable a meal is when it is accompanied by conversation? My new friend is about my parent's age, but we had a lot in common. . . . . we discussed everything from transportation to politics to child-rearing to health to homeschooling to literature to door-to-door sales. I highly recommend eating with someone whenever possible:)

I am somewhat torn on the subject of red meat. I know there are many who claim that read meat is bad for us. I don't really have an opinion myself, as I haven't dug into research on the topic yet. I plan to start reading up on this when I get home from Buffalo next week. We'll see what I find. Let me know if you have any suggestions for books to read on red meat.

Hope you are well.

JamiK