You Are Being Manipulated

Most of us are aware that when we walk into any retail establishment, we are being manipulated. Whether it's the lighting, upbeat music, or appearance and layout of the space we are being stimulated to, not only buy, but buy more. I was aware of some of the tricks in the following article, but the lengths to which we are being steered to spend more money in the average grocery store, still caught me by surprise.

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/supermarket-psychology


I wish I could claim to be completely immune to all of these tricks, but I am not. What I have developed over years of trying to, not only eat well but, eat well on a very small budget, is a set of rules to help me avoid the trickery. Calling it psychological warfare may not be hyperbole on the part of the author. This doesn't mean we need to develop a completely adversarial relationship with our local mega-mart, but it does mean that, as informed individuals we should be aware of the environment we are entering so that we can make better choices, that are based in reason, rather than impulse.

Some of these rules were learned at my parents' knee, passed on from their parents, and grandparents, and others I've read in various articles, and books, on health and nutrition. Others I've learned the hard way, by making the mistake I was being lead to make. I am aware that written as hard and fast rules, these sound deceptively simple, but every one of them requires at least some effort, and a certain amount of discipline. Given the psychological trickery you are going to experience when you step through the doors of your favorite grocery store, it is essential that you are sufficiently armored.

Rule number one: know what you already have.

We are all busy, and my compliance with this rule is a work in progress. Everyone, myself included, could benefit from looking through their cupboards, pantry, refrigerators, and freezers before heading out to the store. I am due - this weekend in fact - to inventory my own pantry, make a list of what I have that I need to use up, discard foods that have passed their expiration date, and make a list of staple items I am running low on.

In an ideal world, I should - and you should too - do this weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly - whenever it is you're planning to hit the isles of the grocery store to do you main shopping trip. The good news is, an ideal world isn't that far out of hand. Once you have a handle on your inventory, all you really have to do is scratch things off a list as you use them up. All of us, because we are fallible, should inventory our kitchens at least once a year.

Rule number two: make a meal plan, and a shopping list.

Standing in the isles of the grocery store is no fit time to decide what you're going to eat. As the article says, you are being bombarded with external stimuli, the sole purpose of which is to part you from your hard earned money. This is not an atmosphere in which anyone can make good choices. Making a meal plan is not only an opportunity to use up items in your pantry and refrigerator, but it is the only way to determine what it is you actually need. This is especially helpful when you are trying to make lifestyle changes, or are particularly busy. Yes it takes time, but that time is recovered two fold when it's time to prepare meals, and eat.

There is one more reason having a meal plan is essential. Not to put too fine a point on it, but, it is precisely the act of deciding what we'll eat at the end of a busy day that billions upon billions of dollars in advertising are meant to exploit. It's that moment of choice where we become vulnerable to bad food and budget choices. The narrative goes something like this, "stressed out, tired, got a picky eater at home, just don't feel like cooking today? Let us do it for you!"  It isn't the act of cooking that makes us stressed out, it's the act of deciding. Do this at home before you are being bombarded by all the stimuli. Give yourself the gift of peace of mind, and autonomy, so that you can spend your energy and money where it is needed: on yourself and those you care for.

And, stop referring to yourself as a consumer. Consumers don't have responsibilities, histories, families, or lives. You are a citizen, not a spending machine!

How I do it:

Digital devices be damned, I have found that the easiest way for me to make a meal plan is to sit down with a pad of paper, a mechanical pencil, and a cup of tea. The tea is optional...for you, not for me. I write out the days of the week, with sufficient space to write out a menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, as a sub-category under each heading. This way I can look at multiple day's meals at a glance, and I can erase, move, or change the plan as I go. I also make a note of any appointments, or obligations my family and I have during the week in the margins, so that I can accommodate those, and still stay on plan. This is also the time to look over your coupons and store flyers - most of them are available on-line - and make some choices.

100% compliance is not even remotely possible, unexpected events occur, that is just how life is. However; your meal plan is like a malleable road map to getting food on the table all week long.

....and a list.

Now that you've made a meal plan, make a list of the items you need to fulfill that plan. There are always going to be those items, one or two, that are best left until very close to the time you are going to prepare a meal, but for the most part, your list should prepare you to get everything you need for the week in one trip.

Your list is the essential tool you will use to help you avoid being manipulated once you're in the store. In fact, I take my list, and my meal plan with me: I never know when my hubby will request a favorite meal, or when I'll see something I simply cannot leave the store without. More on this later...

Rule number three: buy only what is on your list.

This can be HARD. Remember how much work, time, and money is put into getting you to buy more than you intended to buy? We are all fallible, sticking to your list may mean that you occasionally forget an item, or even two, but it will help you to avoid the multiple-buy, bulk-buy, and special offers you weren't planning on buying, or did not even know existed before you got to the store. Whenever possible, buy only what you need of the items on your shopping list.

I have to state, emphatically, that YES it sometimes does make sense to bulk buy items you KNOW you will use week in, and week out. Too often, though, we get tricked into thinking we'll suddenly be disciplined and use a large volume of a food-stuff just because we bought it in bulk.  Strictly speaking, there is also nothing wrong with buying items on spec. A great cheese, olives,   produce, or something at the butcher counter can sometimes literally call to you. The trick here is to then adapt your meal plan to accommodate that purchase. This is precisely why I take my meal plan with me.

However; do not be fooled into thinking you will suddenly prepare a meal using some new or exotic ingredient that you are unfamiliar with just because it was on sale. There are individuals who have a particular talent for wandering the isles of a grocery store, or farmer's market, picking up whatever stimulates their imagination, and somehow manage to transform that into meals throughout their week. I have met many professional chefs can not do this! Furthermore, no restaurant can run this way, and you certainly shouldn't expect your household to run this way either.

There are other exceptions, of course, but the hard and fast rule still applies: buy only what you need and you will avoid being stimulated into over buying, and wasting your hard earned money on food that is going to spoil in your refrigerator, or on your pantry shelves.

Rule number four: stick to your plan.

OK this seems like it should be a redundant rule, but, it is not. No matter how great your intentions, life has a way of messing with your plans. This is, after-all, why I write my meal plans in pencil. Of course there will be times when sticking to the plan will not be possible, but there are those moments when all that is needed is a little bit of discipline. It goes without saying that any foods, or meals that don't get made on this week's meal plan, should be forwarded to the top of next week's plan. If you can manage this cycle, not only will you get more out of your grocery dollar, but you will not fall victim to marketeers, and the mind games they play on all of us.

The Bear is Back

After being out sick for two weeks with a fairly nasty chest cold, I was finally well enough to hit the gym last night. I was already prepared to lower the resistance/weight in my usual workout, but even that was taxing enough to really feel it today. I also skipped the last two exercises - I'd already done all the major muscle groups and was starting to feel wobbly, but mostly I skipped them because I was running out energy and time: it just took longer to recover between sets than normal.

There is some debate in the information that I found online about whether you should, or shouldn't, work out when you have a cold. The consensus, and the advise I generally follow, is that working out is fine so long as the cold symptoms exist from the neck up, and do not include a fever. Most sites DID recommend a less intense workout, and "active resting" which in a nutshell means plenty of rest, low intensity activity, stretching, and even treating yourself to a massage, hot tub or sauna.  Whether working out will make your cold symptoms better or worse, or the duration of illness greater or smaller, I think is completely dependent on the individual. My hubby, the Microbiologist, will tell you "the virus takes as long as it takes to get out of your system."

Of course I whined, and fretted compulsively, about missing the gym the entire time, but I stuck it out, and I'm on the mend. Arms and shoulders tomorrow, and then back to my usual rotation on Friday.

Meanwhile I have gotten behind here: I still have to post the recipe for my families favorite home made granola, and a recipe for a new salad, well, new to me. The salad was billed as a "detox salad," but again, I'm not sure I buy the hype. What it IS, is crunchy, lemony, naturally sweet, and chock full of cruciferous veggies, raisins, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds. It was delicious the first day and still crunchy and satisfying on day four.  

Healthy Oatmeal Muffins

These muffins are more of a meal replacement than a sweet treat, although they are that too. What they are is chalk full of great stuff. All of the cholesterol balancing beta-glucan, and more soluble and insoluble fiber that any supplement can provide. They contain all the vitamins and anti-oxidants found in fruit juice, puree, and dried fruit, plus avenanthramdes - the antioxidant exclusively found in oats. Most importantly, once made and frozen they are extremely convenient to grab on your way out the door in the morning.

The recipe originally called for vegetable oil, but with the recent discoveries about the health benefits of coconut oil I've started to use melted coconut oil with out any noticeable difference in the end results. The fruit juice, puree, and dried fruits you choose to use in this recipe is only limited by your imagination. I have used mashed banana, pumpkin and sweet potato purees, but most commonly use organic unsweetened applesauce right off the grocery store shelf. If you've made your own pear or apple sauce by all means use that.

Oats themselves do not contain the necessary components to form gluten, however, since they are subject to contamination from shared milling and packaging equipment. If you suffer from a gluten allergy, Celiacs disease, or other gluten intolerance, be sure to select ingredients from sources that you know are contaminant free. These may be labeled "gluten free" but FDA standards allow for up to 20ppm of gluten contamination, and labeling is voluntary. So, for severe sufferers always check with the vender.

Recipe following the break:


Fruit and Oatmeal Muffin Recipe
Serving Size: 2 small, or 1 large

Ingredients:
270g old fashion oatmeal [~2 1/2 cups]
90g oat bran [~3/4 cup]
3g baking soda [~1/2 tsp]
9g baking powder [~ 1 tbsp]
5g cinnamon [~ 1 1/2 tsp]
2g nutmeg [~ 1/2 tsp]
1g allspice [~ 1/2 tsp]
130g fruit purée - applesauce, pumpkin, sweet potato, pear, mashed banana [~ 1cup]
165g dried fruit - raisins or other variety chopped if needed [~ 1 cup]
75g dark brown sugar - maple syrup or honey [~1/3 cup]
250g apple cider -orange, pear, cranberry, pomegranate [~ 1 cup]
70g egg white - or equivalent egg substitute [~ 2 extra large]
12g vegetable oil - expeller pressed canola or other flavorless oil [~ 1 tbsp]

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 12 regular wells - or 6 large - with paper cupcake liners, or grease with oil or your favorite cooking spray.* Set aside.

2. Using a food processor or blender, grind oatmeal and oat bran into a course flour. Approximately 3 - 4 minutes. If you have a very small appliance, work in batches. Tranfer the oat flour to a large bowl.

3. Add baking soda, baking powder, and spices to the dry mixture, stir to combine and set aside.

4. Combine egg whites and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat until sugar has evenly absorbed the egg whites. Add fruit purée and beat on medium high speed until sugar has completely dissolved. If unsure rube a small amount of the emulsion between your fingers, if you feel any grittiness not associated with the fruit keep mixing.**

5. Add oil to the wet ingredients.

6. On low speed, add dry ingredients in two installments, alternating with fruit juice. Do not over mix!

7. Fold in dried fruit, and portion in to prepared muffin pans.

8. Bake 15 - 20 minutes [small] or 20 - 25 minutes. [large] A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

9. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and remove to cooling rack.

10. When still warm to the touch, pack into appropriate sized zip top bags, or wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze immediately.

* I am not a huge fan of aerosol cooking spray, or other "cake release" products, and usually opt to use canola or vegetable oil from a misting "hand pump" dispenser, such as a Misto. Or, more often I say hang the added few calories and grease the pan with butter. High quality vegetable shortening works, but inexpensive brands containing a larger proportion of cotton seed oils which tend to stick and can add an unpleasant taste to baked goods.

** This can be mixed by hand. Whisk wet ingredients together in the same order until the mixture is frothy, and the sugar is devolved. Stir in dried ingredients and fold in dried fruit.

If serving a group, serve while still warm. Baked and frozen muffins with keep for up to one month, and can be heated in the microwave 45 - 90 seconds. This batter can be made the night before, and stored in the refrigerator. Allow 30 minutes to return to room temperature and then portion and bake as above. The unbanked dough can be frozen, and keeps for up to three months. Allow dough to thaw at room temperature for 1 - 1 1/2 hours before baking as described above.

Walking the Walk

Food, good food, is my passion and, bread and pastry, my particular fetish. I love bread. I would eat it at every meal if I could. And, I'm tired of apologizing for it!

In these carb abolitionist, gluten free, Dr. Atkins and Paleo crazed days, that kind of confession doesn't seem too far off the mark.

So there it is. I love great bread, and I just so happen to be able to make a great loaf of bread in the privacy of my own home. With that confession put aside, I eat far too much bread, and most of it is definitively NOT great. There are multiple factors that contribute to this, including the fact that I do not live alone and cannot dictate the type and quality of every food item that comes into my home. Add to this, the fact that making bread at home, while enjoyable, does require large blocks of time, and quality bread bought from a baker is expensive. Factor in that fact that I cannot occupy the kitchen all day everyday. Add a little human laziness (mostly mine) and the result is that the chemical inoculated plastic stuff from the grocery store is still a part of my regular diet.

I'm not very happy or proud of this fact.

Issues of quality and provenance aside, I still eat too much of the stuff, and I've been trying for a long time to alter my habits. I must say, emphatically, that unless you are a Celiacs sufferer, are allergic to wheat, or suffer from any one of the gluten intolerance symptoms, there is nothing wrong with bread, wheat, or unbleached flour. How many qualifiers can I put on that?

Obviously I am not a prohibitionist when it comes to the daily loaf, but as an omnivorous animal, I should be eating from the greatest variety of plants, fish, and animals available to me that I can reasonably afford - financially or calorically. Allowing one foodstuff, one grain in fact, to take up such a huge part of my diet just seems like a bad idea no matter what that foodstuff happens to be. Still, bread and pastry (bread in a cuter outfit) continue to be areas in which I have a great deal of difficulty "walking the walk," when it come to my own nutritional wellbeing.

So, I've decided to do something about this other than moan that I shouldn't be eating so much bread, as I shovel more bread into my mouth. To do this, I've set up some rules for myself that have worked with other nutritional hurdles in the past. Altered to your needs, they might just work for you.

Rule 1: Any bread I eat must be of the "great" homemade, or bakery kind. No preservatives, conditioners, etc. I've actually done very well with applying this rule to baked goods an pastries, and I have no reason to believe it will not work here.

Rule 2: Don't eat bread just because it's easy or convenient. I do this far too often when I'm feeling a little hungry before bed or even as I'm preparing a meal. Sometimes bread is just necessary component to a meal.  A sandwich is probably the most convenient lunch, but a sandwich can no longer be the default choice when a salad, best yet one containing some other grain, is more sustaining and increases the amount of other foodstuffs I can eat within that meal.

With these rules come the following strategies:

As I mentioned, buying good quality bread from a bakery can very quickly get economically prohibitive, so obviously, strategy number one is get into the kitchen, and make some bread. But isn't that letting the fox into the hen house? The second component of this strategy is to slice and freeze whatever bread isn't eaten the day it is made so that I am forced to thaw whatever I need, when it is needed, and no more.

Since I cannot clear my environment of the so-so not so good stuff this will require some will power on my part but, these rules and stratagem are no good to me, of course, if I don't also savor and enjoy what bread and pastries I do eat, which only feeds into the, "only eat the good stuff," rule.

The second strategy, also involved the kitchen: prepare some foods that are just as convenient to eat as a couple slices of bread. Have them ready to eat in the refrigerator, and then: eat them!

Someone once said that we do not change our diet without essentially, first, changing our tastes. This sounds extreme to me, but there is a nugget of truth there. There is no use depriving oneself of something if you do not simultaneously cultivate an appetite for something else. In other words, having a substitute available is an essential tool to changing any bad habit. You cannot expect yourself to tackle the problem with willpower alone.

Pensive Bear - Creativity

I've been doing a lot of self analysis lately, and was directed by a close friend to examine, "what makes me happy; what turns me on; and gets me out of bed in the morning; what could I do over and over again, for too many hours a day, and still want to get up the next morning, and do it all over again?"

The most clear answer I can give to that question is, I am turned on (made happy) by the act of creating. Whether it's cut flowers in a unique floral arrangement, raw ingredients in a recipe, or fabric in a shirt, what gets me excited, what gives me that, "wow, life is good," feeling is the act of transforming those raw materials into something that, without the use of your hands, your imagination, instincts, knowledge, and practice, did not previously exist. In this same way, words are the raw ingredients of poetry and prose; and soap is a transformation from lye, water, essential oils, and a mixture of fats into a useful object that has it's own qualities of color, lather, and scent, that are - no matter how meticulous and consistent the process - unique to it's maker.

The trouble is that all these activities, while deeply rewarding, are also solitary pursuits. I am perfectly OK with that...most of the time. However; as someone who tends to exist too much inside my own head, and who works best on his own, I find it very hard to exist outside of that private creative world. Having a rich inner world is one thing, but feeling isolated and misunderstood because you don't posses the interpersonal skills to share that world with those closest to you, is another thing altogether.

Am I speaking in code? If you're an introvert, like me, chances are I am not.

Ultimately, I wonder if I will ever be able to accept feeling isolated and alone - from time to time - as nothing more than the price of admission to that rich inner world. I also wonder if turning inward to that world is, in the long run, good for my mental health, and the emotional wellbeing of those who are closest to me. It is clear, after twenty three years, that my husband has come to accept me as I am, just as my immediate family has over my lifetime. But, I sometimes wonder if I ever will accept myself as I am, or, if like some kind of perpetually unfinished project, I'll just keep trying to redesign myself into something I can't quite articulate, but that I can see when I close my eyes.

Achoo!

I do not suffer colds gladly. (Who does?)

I don't mean that I moan and groan, whimper or whine about my symptoms, but I detest the inconvenience. Being sick and having to skip the gym, or my walk, because it's not a great idea to tax my body when I am already ill. Or, when I don't feel like eating or cooking, and only the crappiest of salty or sweet treats sounds remotely appetizing. All of the external minutia that surrounds being under the weather, those things I will complain about until my loved ones want to smother me with a pillow.

All of this is to say, I went to bed feeling perfectly well, and woke up with a chest cold. A small part of me wants to blame a thirty degree shift in the temperature, and hope that I'll just as suddenly feel better tomorrow, but that would be a form of denial. This is a cold; complete with bone deep soreness, scratchy dry throat, post nasal drip, tightness in my chest, and coughing.

So, no gym tonight. Hot shower, Vic's, grab the kitties, and early to bed.

Food or Feed

We've all heard the saying, instead of asking why is eating well is so expensive, we should be asking why is eating poorly is so cheap, but I've got another one, " is it food, or is it feed?"

So, here's the goal of most processed food manufacturers: produce as much caloric value, that is safe to consume (pathogen free) and meets the basic macronutrient needs of most humans for the cheapest price to the consumer at greatest amount of profit possible.

I am not against companies making a profit, nor am I for individuals and families spending more money on staple grocery items than is necessary. Too many of us don't know where their next meal is coming from and the food system that is in place does help some families put food, or at least calories, on the table where as healthier choices are not available, let alone affordable. In other words, inexpensive processed food does keeps families on the margin from slipping into food insecurity. But most of us, can afford to do better for ourselves that we are, and it wasn't so long ago that I didn't see a problem with eating the cheapest most convenient food possible.

My food and nutrition journey started with a different species. A few years ago there was a large recall of cat food because of tainted ingredients.  I was lucky enough not to loose any of my four-legged family members, but some of the tainted food did make it onto my pantry shelves and into my cats. I received a crash course in pet nutrition during that scare, even going so far as sitting on the floor of the food isle reading every single label trying to find pet food that was safe, and nutritious for my pets to eat. I realized very quickly how much of the information was cleverly disguising the truth, and how much I had perhaps naively trusted my pets health to a corporation. My pets feed was predominantly generated from waste products of meat production, and derivatives of three commodity crops, corn, soy, and wheat. Not the grains themselves, of course, but as thickeners, fillers, and emulsifiers. Within one brand the ingredient list read the same regardless of what flavor the feed claimed to be on the bag. The thing that brought me close to tears was the realization that no matter which brand or formula I chose there was a compromise to be made. I even considered making my pets food from raw ingredients to nutritious pate, and, I even made a couple attempts before realizing that wholesome food was of no use, if the cats refused to eat it.

The story gets even more frightening when I started to read the labels on the processed foods that featured as a large part of my diet at the time, and I found exactly the same derivatives of the same three crops. Good news, I wasn't feeding my pets anything I wasn't prepared to eat myself, but bad news, neither of us should have been it in the first place!

Moving on to the second revelation of the pet food scare, a wide variety of the foods on the market were being manufactured in just one facility. Do I need to tell you that the same holds true for many of the processed foods on the grocery store shelves? I am not saying that each brand doesn't have it's own, highly specific formulas, and proprietary ingredients, but what we're not told is this: manufacturing equipment is very expensive to build and maintain. When it comes to economies of scale it only makes sense to share highly specialized equipment than for every brand of (picking something at random here) frozen meat pie on the market, than for each brand to own and maintain it's own equipment and facilities. These are, or have become, economic realities of the world we live in. The unfortunately down side of this, is that even the maker of your frozen meal or dehydrated noodle packet may be at least one or two, or several, steps removed from the process of actually making the food.

Before I get too far afield here, I will try to provide the pathway of logic that led me to the question is it food or is it feed. With real unadulterated healthy food becoming more and more the privilege of the more affluent, and cheap processed food made from recombinations of the same commodity crops the necessary sustenance of the less fortunate. Are we not creating a dividing line between healthy food, and baseline feeding of the masses with substances that administer to only our most basic macro nutrient requirements, just as a cheap can of cat food reportedly does for our pets?

I am not suggesting anything as Marxist as a deliberate plot here. I think the individual parties are simply acting in what they perceive to be there own best interests, whether that is in the name of greater profit for their company - and therefor a better living for themselves - or if the acting forces actually believe they are providing a vital service in the form of more calories for everyone's dollar. I am prepared to say that the fact that many of those calories are empty and of questionable provenance is a consequence of not prioritizing human nutrition - food - over calories consumed - feed. They are - bottom line - the consequences of choosing profit over human beings.

This is by no means complete, I will return to many of the subjects I've touched on again and again because they are, in part, the motivation for the way I have chosen to live my life. 

Depression, Medication, and Meditation

A couple of day's ago I posted the following to my Facebook account, and was overwhelmed by the response:

I am struggling. I am NOT OK. I am only functioning because I do not know what else to do. So I put one foot in front of the other, make meals, do my chores, go to the gym, but it all feels like work. I can't fall asleep at night, and I don't want to get out of bed in the morning.

I'm tired of looking in the mirror and seeing everything I am not. I am tired of rehashing every mistake I've ever made, and every unpleasant thing that's happened to me in my life. I'm tired of feeling angry, or hurt, or numb, and I'm tired of pretending everything is OK. I'm tired of hoping that if I try harder, or if I'm just a little bit more patient, things will be OK again.

I just thought if I wrote it down, let people know the truth, I might just find the courage to let it go, move on, and stop waiting for things to change.

Meanwhile: toast with peanut butter and too much jam; a sleeping pill; collect the kitties; bed.

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This message might seem to contradict what I've been writing about fitness and food, but I still believe that any treatment of depression must involve good nutrition and exercise and I am continuing to pursue that, in fact, it is now absolutely paramount that I stay active and eat well. It is a priority and if other things suffer because of it, so be it. It has become time, however; when I must finally admit that some medication, at least in the short term, is needed before I compromise all the work I have already done.

I had a crappy workout on the day that I posted the above comment because I was unable to get out of my own head and focus on what I was doing. I have since then had one of the better arm workouts that I've had in months because I decided to just see what I could do by focusing on form and less about reps and weight. I actually lifted more, with better form. The lesson is, a good workout is all in your head: or, in my head.

OK so, that's not news. But what are some things I can do to help me - and you - focus before and during a workout? The answer keeps coming back to something I dread: meditation.

I suck at meditation.

I am still researching this, so I'll start with just one meditation exercise and see how it goes. This is more of an active meditation so I'm hopeful it will work for me.

To begin, sit in a neutral comfortable position. Close your eyes breath slowly and deeply from the abdomen. On the inhale flex - or tighten - only the muscle, or muscle group, you're planning to exercise during the workout. Eg. your chest and lateral, arms and shoulders, legs and lower back. Focus on relaxing these muscles on the exhale. Do this for five minutes before stretching those muscles and beginning your workout.

Tonight is a night off from the gym, so I'll post how well this is working in the comments below. If you have any meditative exercises that help you. Feel free to post them below.

Time Managements and Herding Cats

This was the first full week of the new year, and therefore the first full week on my revamped gym routine. You'll remember that one of my resolutions was to add two intense cardio session per week. Last night's cardio session (number two) was rough, and today...well, today I am feeling old. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, I'm physically fatigued and I have some generalized soreness, but I also lack the ambition of youth. In other words: I am wise enough to take my scheduled night off, and rest.

Speaking of schedules; time is a sticky subject whenever you start talking about working out and eating well. As adults we find ourselves with escalating responsibilities and demands, and less, and less, time for ourselves. I get it. I am the stay at home caregiver for my husband and his parents, none of which are completely dependent on my care to survive. Other than a couple of regular limitations, I have an open schedule, and even I find it hard to get all the time I want to dedicate to preparing great food, and going to the gym. If I'm going to achieve all the things I must, and want, to achieve in a day, I find I have to really stingy with my time. At times, it can feel a little bit more like a regimen than a life. And at times, it is more like "literally" herding cats. Did I mention we now have three?

I don't pretend to have any answers here. I do know that if it's a priority - and it should be - adults will somehow make the time. I manage my time in blocks, which requires a level of discipline that I can only manage part of the time. I try to be realistic in what I can achieve in a day, as well as with how long it will actually take to complete each task. For example: I commonly plan between two and three hours for dinner. This block of time is representative of how long it really takes to  prepare, eat, and clean-up after the evening meal. There are opportunities within that block to be flexible, and to overlap other tasks, but blocking time helps me shape my expectations. It also helps me to say no to all of those distractions and interruptions that are always there to take up all your time, and ask for more. Even as I write that, there is a voice in my head laughing hysterically. There are plenty of days that my schedule ends up being little more than a laughable delusion, but many more - I hope - that this planning, and time blocking, actually works.

Some navigate the time requirements of working out and eating well by adhering to a rigorous routine: getting up at the same time every day, eating a regular but small repertoire of meals, working out at the same time, following the same circuit etc. I think it's more important to the process that each individual have a system of time management than to dictate what that system should be. We must all be prepared to change our time management system if it fails to help us accomplish our goals.

Suppliments, Six Packs, and Stupid

I am tired of the six pack-ab being the picture of health. As much as I like being fit, and even working out, you really can't tell much about a person's health by their physique. The only thing that visible ab muscles is indicative of, is low body fat. There is significant research out there to suggest that it is, in fact, indicative of too low body fat for most individuals who's metabolisms don't naturally gravitate towards lower levels of body fat. The rest of us are meant to be just a little more lush, with enough protective padding to sustain us when we're ill, fatigued, or under stress.

The inspiration for this rant was a locker room conversation I overheard yesterday through the vents in the sauna. Eavesdropping at the gym is admittedly bad form, but sometimes people talk loud enough that you can't NOT hear them. And anyway, it's not like I'm naming names. The two guys in question are approximately 25ish, cut, ripped, torn, whatever vernacular you want to use, and they were talking about nutrition. Naturally I was intrigued.

What they were really talking about was lean chicken and turkey breast, protein shakes, pre and post workout supplements, creatine boosters, herbal anabolic boosters, and energy drinks. It's difficult to sound like a dude when your diet resembles that of a starving supermodel. Seeing as I've also witnessed both of them standing outside the door of the gym smoking, it isn't a stretch of the imagination to conclude that what these two live on is a diet of supplements, stimulants, and nicotine with a few bits of food thrown in on "cheat days" so that their digestive tracts don't atrophy completely.

Does that sound like a health to you?

Yet, year after year, the exercise and diet industry makes billions, if not trillions, of dollars on selling products to us, and to these two young muscle-heads, to achieve or maintain a body that most of us just, shouldn't, have. And, I will add, wouldn't expect to have if it weren't for the multi-billion dollar nutraceutical industries. This is not better living through chemistry, it's hooking up a mainline between the factory and our bloodstream.

Yes, I am angry - even outraged - but not for the reasons one might initially suspect. Yes, I'm a forty five year old macro, but that doesn't mean I am jealous of their youth or physique. I am a reasonable person, and I know that some people just naturally retain less body fat than others, and when those people exercise they have a difficult time gaining muscle. There are also those of us who could workout to exhaustion every single day of our lives and never have a waist measurement lower than thirty six inches. My anger stems from the fact that there are millions of people spending billions of dollars in the hopes of achieving unrealistic results, that may only be achievable for a very short period of time by tricking your body with a long list of chemicals. And, when the trick stops working, your left with the choice of either raising the stakes or finding a new trick. You are exactly where the makers of those chemicals want you, dependent on them.

The only way to achieve life long health, fitness, flexibility and balance, is to listen to, and work with your body. It is not the enemy, it is you! Chemicals that produce immediate results, will not produce long lasting results. And, finally, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

This isn't rocket science.

Does Sleepwalking Count as Cardio?

So, here I sit with my iPad trying to tap out something meaningful, and finding myself lacking the drive. I think it is finally time to admit I am still in holiday hangover mode. I've been having trouble falling asleep, and once I am, well, we'll just say have the freedom to stay in bed much longer than I should.

Sometimes life isn't fair. I am in the best shape I have been in for years, but that means the differential between my shoulders and hips is even greater, which means I  can't seem to get comfortable in my usual sleeping positions. When I do try a new position, every cell of my body keeps telling me "this is not the favored position for falling asleep." Having difficulty sleeping hardly seems like a great payoff for all the work it has taken to get here.

Boohoo. I guess I'll work through it. I wouldn't go back now anyway.

Tonight is my first intense cardio session of the new year. I am looking forward to it, or rather, I am looking forward to how I know I'm going to feel afterwards. It should be interesting considering my iPod is loaded with nothing but Christmas music. Reloading it, with upbeat songs more appropriate for the gym, was on my agenda for today, but got skipped so I could stay in bed just a little longer. Oh well, procrastination is the mother of necessity, or something like that. I guess I'll get to it tomorrow. With the temperatures in the single digits, and a windchill warning on its way, I am also very much looking forward to climbing into the sauna after my workout.

And speaking of holiday hangovers, I discovered - I just got on the scale - that I have put on three pounds over the holidays. This is neither surprising, nor a big deal: it just is. I think I have finally learned my lesson as far as holiday stress goes too. It is just too costly to push myself trying to make everyone else happy, when I could do just a little bit less, and still have time to take care of myself. I have also come to realize that 90% of the expectation is in my own head. And, since I'm the one doing the lion's share of the work, I should just go ahead and do what I want. There is a decent chance that no one is going to notice the difference.

Depression and The Body

I came across the following article when a friend of mine posted the link below on Facebook:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/04/depression-allergic-reaction-inflammation-immune-system?CMP=share_btn_fb

As I mentioned briefly, I have suffered from anxiety and depression for most of my adult life - most of it undiagnosed - and at one time, or another, have tried most of the leading medications on the market. I have only anecdotal evidence to base my opinions on, I am neither a doctor nor a scientist so, don't sue me if what I'm about to say doesn't hold true for you. Any treatment of moderate to severe depression should ideally involve medical and psychological professionals. 

Depression, at least in my experience of it, is of the body. It is not the sole property of one organ either. I believe that we aren't going to find a cure for depression, and many of the other "mental illnesses" until we let go of the Cartesian (Rene Descartes) ideal that our intellect and emotional being is separate from our biology. We are, therefore we think. Our bodies are not mechanical transportation for our intellect, our intellect is as much a function of our biology as the digestion of food. To put an even blunter point on it, our emotional life is as much blood and guts as the rest of our bodies processes. 

Philosophies aside, I 'capitol k,' know that when I take better care of my body, I experience a reduction in the duration, and intensity, of both anxiety and depressive symptoms. I know that eating well, and exercising are the reasons I am able to stay away from the pharmacy counter, and all those drugs that have - at least for me - done more harm, than good. I know, as much as it is not my sole reason for eating well and exercising, that loosing 30 lbs has bolstered both my self esteem, and given me more energy to act on any of the pursuits I wish to give my time to. 

While research, such as highlighted in the attached newspaper article, gives me hope that one day we might have a better handle on mental illness in general, I am not willing to wait - nor do I think anyone should - until all the evidence has been collected. Any relief from anxiety and depression is evidence enough to continue to eat well - and as cleanly as you can - get plenty of exercise, and even more importantly, plenty of rest. 

So I will amend my earlier statement, by saying that any treatment plan for depression should involve a medical doctor, a psychologist, a nutritionist, and a membership to a gym, or at least a good pair of walking shoes. 

Forget Pilates, Go Shovel the Snow

In honor of today's weather I will share this: did you know that shoveling snow at a moderate pace burns approximately 400 - 600 calories per hour? Doing some simple math, I'm up to ~1000 calories and I have at least ~1000 more that I'll burn by the end of the night.

All of this is to say, it's snowing here.

And now it's time for another confession. I enjoy shoveling the snow, even on the occasions when I know it's a slightly futile act because there is just more snow coming. I do not like using the snow blower that belongs to my father-in-law because a: it's a beast of a thing that could clear a parking lot, and b: it doesn't do a very good job. It is, I must admit, great for clearing the gravel private road to our house, but for the paved driveway, it kind of sucks. If there is a "c:" it would be because I'm afraid I'll break it.

I like shoveling snow because, while a bid mindless and repetitive, you can actually see your progress as you work literally down to the last shovel width you just cleared. Unlike, say, being able to see your progress at the gym. I like it because it is good exercise, as mentioned above, and I like it because it gives me an excuse to get outside. I like it best when the air is cold, and the snow is thick enough to dampen all sound. I even like the scarping sound the shovel makes as it runs along the pavement.

And that brings me to yet another confession. Sitting for long periods of time makes me unhappy. As much as I will complain when I do not get time to sit and relax, and as much as I am aggravated when common household chores are ALWAYS left to me, I am my father's son, and I get cranky when I'm stuck indoors, inactive.

To me, experiencing the cold and inclement weather, feeling the chill on your skin, the tightness of your bronchioles and sinuses as you breath, and even the ache in your fingers and toes, is part of being really alive. I will harp on this, sometimes eloquently and sometimes not, until I no longer have the ability to speak: it does not do to hide indoors until warmer weather returns.

Or as my father would put it, "yeah, its' cold. So?"

Six Stages of Change

The DiClemente/Prochaska Six Stages of Change were coined twenty years ago following the researchers career-long experience counseling individuals, and groups, suffering from addiction. I first came across these several years ago in the smoking cessation group I belonged to at the time, and I personally believe they are applicable to any positive change we make in our lives.

The theory begins like this: change is a process, it is not something we do in the same way we would put on new clothing, or turn on a light switch. It takes time, and self awareness to change, and individuals do not necessarily go through these stages in order. For illustration, I'll use examples related to nutrition and fitness.

The Six Stages of Change

1. Pre-Contemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Determination
4. Action
5. Maintenance
6. Termination

So, the first of the stages sounds rather odd: What the heck is pre-contemplation? Simply put, we are unaware that change is needed.

When it comes to diet and exercise, most of us are - at least on some level - aware there is a problem. However; we may not yet know if, or how, being overweight and inactive is effecting our longterm, and short-term health. We can't assume, for example, that every individual who is overweight or obese perceives it as a problem. In fact, some of us are just built bigger than others and our size isn't always indicative of any of our metabolic markers for health. (blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose etc)

The contemplation stage is, lets be honest here, where most of us find ourselves when it comes to diet and fitness. We know that change is required, but we have no intention of doing anything about it. Many people become perpetually stuck between this stage and the next: determination.

In the determination stage, we have accepted that we need to make some positive changes but what you still need is a plan, some course of action to take. Unfortunately, the diet and exercise industries are usually our, as well as their own, worst enemies here. We are bombarded with so much misinformation and empty promises that it's difficult to make the right ones. We want an answer, and being as over-scheduled and over-stimulate as we are, we want one that is easy and quick. It's easy to get mired, mislead, and lose hope here. Sending us back into contemplation for long periods of time.

We've reached the action stage. We've chosen some plan of action, and we're going to rip the bandage off, and do it. Here is where the choices we made during the determination stage either pay off, or send us backwards, sometimes all the way to back to the contemplation stage. And, that is perfectly normal. No one hits a home run the first time they step up to the plate, and it's unkind to expect yourself to break that rule.

Look at me using a sports analogue...

Lets assume, for the sake of being positive, that we've made good choices and we've found some lifestyle choices we can live with. We are then in what is called the maintenance stage. Relapse is not only possible, it's normal, and illustrative. It may be possible that the choices you've made are not sustainable for you, or are too extreme for your current health and fitness level. It may be advisable to go back to the determination stage, and consider a new plan of action. Most of us will repeat this many times until we finally achieve the last stage of change: termination.

The change has become our new normal.

Is it Bedtime yet?

I have been dragging butt all day today. It took me forever to get started, and, while I did force myself to complete the two projects that absolutely had to be done today, the key word is FORCED. I've drank an entire pot of tea - which I must admit is not unusual for me - but it didn't fulfill it's usual restorative promise. Not only have I felt like crawling back into bed for along winter's nap, I actually drifted off to sleep while my husband was pumping gas this evening. Thankfully, I was not driving the car.

So, as if there was much of a choice, I've decided to listen to what my body is telling me, and do my best to get a little extra sleep tonight. This means that I'll be skipping the gym. In reality this is no big deal, but in my head, it is! I keep telling myself that it's still technically the holidays, but really, do I need an excuse? I will be at the gym every day for the next two weeks, and then at least five times a week until I re-evaluate everything in late spring.

There is a very good reason I am tired. Beyond the obvious holiday hangover, I am trying to adjust my sleep schedule to match my hubby's work schedule for next semester. Until mid-December he was teaching at 8:00am and now he'll be teaching until 9:00pm which puts all after work activities off until at least 11:00pm. If I'm being completely honest I still haven't quite gotten into the groove of daylight saving time, so it's swings and round-abouts really. The saving grace of the late schedule, beside it making my night-owl side happy, is that it's generally very quiet at the gym after 10:00pm. I am not a social gym rat, I enjoy my time there, but I like to do my thing uninterrupted. Shocking, I know.

One of the must do project that got completed today was making Granola. I have published the recipe before, and will publish it again here soon. It has become a family favorite and a pantry staple. It is easy to make, and beats nearly everything on the grocery store shelves in both nutrition, and taste.

As for now, there is little point to going to bed too early because I will just wake up all the earlier tomorrow: I will simply have to white knuckle it until then.

Pressure and Patience

There is a weird kind of urgency to January 1st, a sort of, "do it or break a promise you made to yourself," expectation that can be both exciting and scary. The combination of novelty, and pressure makes it easy to keep to our resolutions, but that energy isn't terribly sustainable. True there is nothing quite like the pleasure of playing with hope, but once the new aspiration glow wears off, you're left standing in the grey depths of Winter, craving the comfort of the familiar.

Myself, I've done well on some of my resolutions. The gym is closed for the day, which conveniently lets me off the hook exercise wise, and as far as patience goes, well, today was not such good day. To be blunt, I was fed up before me head left the pillow.

So here's today's confession: I find living with other people to be difficult. It doesn't matter who they are, my husband, his parents, or anyone. Whenever real life butts up against my lists, plans, and schedule, I become aggravated. This is doubly true if things are messy, when tasks take longer than expected, or when scheduled overlapping events don't line up elegantly. Of course, this is an everyday experience when one does not live in a cave on a mountain top. (Sigh, someday!)  Life isn't what happens while you're making other plans, life is the thing that obliterates your plans, while laughing hysterically, and tossing your calendar into the bog of eternal flames!

OK that may sound a tad over dramatic. What I can say without a hint of hyperbole is this: it is rare that my plan for the day, ends up being what actually happens that day. And yet, unless I'm very ill, or exhausted, I cannot imagine getting out of bed in the morning without at least some semblance of a plan. Accepting the chaos that just IS contemporary life, without trying unnecessarily hard to control it, is remarkably difficult for me. I accept that the world I live in is chaotic and unpredictable, but life requires structure: meals must be eaten, jobs completed on time, money earned, bills paid etc. Caring for ourselves, and others, simply takes time and must be done in a timely way.

When I was much younger, I liked to imagine myself this free spirit, able to bend and flex with the wind. And maybe, before I had the responsibilities of being and adult that was true. BUT; I've come to realize that I like the freedom of play and creativity, but I can only really enjoy it, if I know all my ducks are lined up in perfectly parallel rows.

This rather circuitous path leads me back to resolutions and patience. Change takes time. During these first weeks of January - particularly these first few days -  it's important that we're all kind and patient with ourselves. Making time to, for example, increase our physical activity, can be deceptively convenient when our focus is so keen. It is normal to slip back into old habits, in fact it's part of the process of change, but it is also important to get back up and remember why we wanted to make the change in the first place. A set back cannot obliterate our intentions.

To sustain our interest in, and adherence to, new routines we must have a clear and concrete idea of what it is we really want. Do we really want to be one size smaller, or look better in a bikini, or do we really want to feel better about ourselves, and live longer - more active - healthier lives?

For example: no one around me is particularly affected by me loosing my patience and becoming stress out. OK yeah, maybe they are because as human beings we have a tendency to share our stress and displeasure with others, even unintentionally. However, compared to the damage done by cortisol and other stress hormones to my metabolism, muscle, joint, organ, and metal health, they aren't remotely affected by it. The only one that gets hurt when I'm upset and stress out is me.

So, my first bit of advice for 2015: whatever your resolutions for the New Year is to take the time to think about your reasons for change, and make those reasons as personal to you as they possibly can be. There aren't any wrong answers here, as long as it means something to you.

Good luck.